Book One: The Rise of the Blue-Haired Devil.

      - This kid is really something..." Mokou's thoughts drifted to Mokou as he watched the boy fight. - At such a young age, he is already capable of fighting at such a high level. That's very interesting. Perhaps he will become a challenging ninja. - The gambling enthusiast finished his musings, switching to the voice from outside.       - Moku-san, this child is worth far more than we agreed. He defeated two ninjas single-handedly in less than two minutes. - The dumbfounded Baron clarified the situation. He wanted to get as much money as possible for this boy.       - And what do you want? The deal is already done, and according to the contract I can just take him. - literally spat out the words of the rich man of the people. He disliked greed very much.       - The contract doesn't say what happens if Michiko wins. - Tenga stood his ground, hoping to the end that he would get more money from the goods in question.       - You make an accurate point, however the boy lasted three minutes against two ninjas, even though they were not strong opponents. It doesn't matter if he won or not. A deal is a deal. - Mokou said as if cut off. The expression on his face was calm, but lava was already boiling inside. It was hard for him to communicate with the Baron. - Our arguments could go on forever. - He added, seeing that his interlocutor wanted to object. - Ichira-san, can you judge us? - Mokou turned to the man overseeing the contract.       - You are right, Moku-san, you can take the boy back to your place and pay the agreed amount on the document. But I will ask you to reimburse me for your new ward. These two ninja were certainly not outstanding, but some simple tasks they could still perform. - Clarified the daimyo of the Water Country in a majestic voice.       - As you say, Ichira-san. - Mokou answered him, looking intently at Tenga, a mixture of anger, disappointment, and resentment running across his face. With a cluck, he still gave the order to his ninja to hand Michiko over to the gambling enthusiast. Mitsuko was already owed a lot of money for this kid, but seeing his potential made him want to keep him, but he realised that his interlocutor had his eye on Michiko beforehand. He already knew of the youngster's abilities from somewhere.       I was given first aid and then handed over to some ninjas I didn't know. The caravan we were all travelling in consisted of several horse carts and a few dozen ninjas. They put me in the only carriage without even immobilising me, which seemed a very strange and incomprehensible action to me. Are they not at all afraid of the fact that I will escape? The attempt to flee again crept into my thoughts, but I was in no hurry to act. This opportunity wasn't going anywhere from me. I became very curious as to who had bought me. His behaviour was very unique, and to escape would require a plan that would take me some time to put together. Just running away when I was surrounded by so many shinobi was unwise in my opinion. My wounds hadn't healed yet. I was somehow sitting up straight. The urge to pass out on the spot was incredibly strong, but I had much more interest in the persona that pulled me out of the arena. For about fifteen minutes I waited. Time flowed slowly and unhurriedly. Those minutes felt like hours. The door of my vehicle creaked open and two individuals climbed in. One of them I knew perfectly well. It was Yumiko, who, upon seeing me, smiled the happiest smile on the planet. The second, however, was a man in the usual clothes of a peasant, which confused me. For about a minute we played silent. The man studied me intently and I studied him.       - Would you two start a dialogue already? - Yumiko, who was sitting next to me, said, sensing the tension hanging in the space. I involuntarily shifted my gaze to her to see what was driving her. After all, this man bought us, and as much as I hate to say it, we are his servants.       - My name is Moku. - The man spoke in a calm voice, holding out his hand to me.       - Michiko. - I replied, shaking his hand. We burned each other with an interested look without unclasping our hands. I already realised that this man was testing me. This could go on for a long time...       - All right, enough of this nonsense! - Yumiko interjected into our verbal altercation. She clearly didn't like what was going on here. - Uncle, don't play around! And you (pointing a finger at me) stop showing your temper! - said the girl with resentment in her voice.       - All right, all right, you little beast! Just don't get mad! - replied the man, raising both hands up in a conciliatory gesture. Yumiko threw a very angry look at the man. Even I got a chill down my spine from something like that. - You better explain to your dear friend what's going on here. - Mokou added, fleetingly catching that look from the child. At those words, the little girl immediately smiled, turning towards me.       - Moku is my father's brother, so he is an uncle to me. And Riko, as you've already guessed, was my father. My father along with my brother used to gather all the unfortunate people in one place. They want... - the girl paused, realising the current situation, after which she adjusted herself... - ... wanted to create their clan, but there was one problem, that was the specialness of the clan. We didn't have something special, so the daimyo of the country didn't recognise us as a clan. For years, Moku and Riko had been looking for a solution to this problem, and they succeeded relatively recently. The Uzumaki clan helped us in this. It turns out that they have an enhanced genome awakening seal that has an interesting property. But this technique works in a unique way. When it is used, a person's speciality is awakened. All this happens with the release of chakra. If the person the technique is used on does not have the enhanced genome, then he dies, simply passing on the chakra to all the other people around him, increasing their supply forever, otherwise he stays alive, awakening the power hidden in him and passing on a bit of his power to everyone around him. It would be harder for the others to utilise this genome, but it would be quite possible. The peculiarity of the clan was to be something that is still unknown and unexplored by anyone, so Riko went to the most dangerous place to search for "special" among the lost children. - Yumiko told the whole situation, watching my face with interest. I was just shocked at what was happening. I felt like I had been doused with cold water. After her words, I started to feel uncomfortable.       - Don't worry, no one will hurt you. Rico thought you had about a ninety percent chance of awakening an enhanced genome. He's been studying your blood and DNA, where he successfully and found a few anomalies. I don't think there will be any problems. - Mokou added in a soothing voice, noting the change on my face.       There was silence. Two pairs of eyes awaited my response while I myself pondered over what I had said. Anomalies in the blood were not yet a sign that I had an enhanced genome. But I was fascinated by the fact that I could get something like that. You don't get that kind of power for nothing. I knew that. Obviously no one had ever experienced this technique before me, and otherwise they wouldn't have talked to me. It's a risk to me, to my life, but I was already dying, so I see no point in being afraid. Rico was very confident in my abilities, I wish I could study my blood anomalies myself, but it would look very strange from the outside. Okay, he who doesn't take risks doesn't drink champagne.       - I'm in. - I said confidently, looking into Moku's eyes, who smiled back at me. It took us about a week to get to their house. We were in no hurry, making two passes a day. No one was tired, just eating and sleeping on time. All this time I was communicating with my interlocutors, who had drawn me into a dizzying story. The first thing I learnt from talking to them was that it is better never to make Yumiko angry. That girl is very vindictive and conniving. She could bring up old grievances quite unexpectedly, starting to make fun and mock. Mokou was the first to experience the full wrath of his niece on himself. She had just slipped him a laxative that she had made out of herbs. The man ran into the bushes for 24 hours. My torture was of a different kind. Rico's daughter just made me feel uncomfortable around her. It was seemingly random, but it wasn't really random at all: Yumiko could casually fall on top of me or playfully stroke my knee. Her fantasy was playing tricks on me. Bestia was the one word that completely described her.       When we arrived at the site, I was a little surprised. Two brothers had managed to build a small village of a few Ionian-style houses. There were children frolicking in the street, and their parents were sitting nearby on benches, chatting among themselves and occasionally glancing at their children. When the crowd noticed us, or rather Moka and Yumiko, they immediately rushed towards them, asking questions of various kinds. I stood back, watching the whole thing. Riko's daughter was telling her friends something, gesticulating furiously with her hands and fingers. She occasionally glanced over at me. It was only after an hour of chattering about life that my attendants calmed down, coming back to me. The first to approach was Mokou, who was about to take me to his house so I wouldn't waste any time since it was already evening outside, but Yumiko, seeing her uncle's actions, quickly said goodbye to her girlfriends as she approached us. She didn't even ask why I didn't approach them. Apparently, she had already figured it out. It was just that I was a stranger to everyone here.       Their house didn't stand out from the rest. It had two floors. The ground floor had a kitchen, a hall, an entrance hall, a toilet and shower room, and a small pantry. The first floor had three bedrooms, one study and a bathroom.       - I spoke to the elders of the clan. We've been lucky. One of the Uzumaki is visiting us right now, so we'll do the ritual tomorrow. - Moku shared the information he received. His gaze was thoughtful and heavy. Something was bothering him, but I didn't ask him about it. As long as I didn't have enough power, it made no sense for me to be interested in something heavy. Yes, I was an adult, and I knew how to solve problems, but in this world, almost everything is solved by force, which is why I need an enhanced genome to unleash my power.