"Three brats?"
With a casual glance over his shoulder, Shiro Akira spotted them and immediately formed a plan.
Without revealing anything, he turned into a secluded alley, then stopped and faced back—just in time to see three delinquent-looking kids walk in.
The leader cracked his knuckles with a sinister grin and said to Shiro Akira, "You've got a death wish, huh? I was just thinking about how to find a chance to teach you a lesson, and here you are, walking right into it. Don't worry—I'll go easy on you this time. Just break one of your legs. Pretty merciful, right?"
All three of them looked a bit bigger than Shiro Akira, probably around eight or nine years old.
"Did Asuma Sarutobi send you?"
Shiro Akira asked calmly.
The leader scoffed. "You're not worth Young Master Asuma making a move himself! Enough talk—die!"
The three of them charged forward, fists swinging.
"So they're just picking a fight on their own…"
Shiro Akira instantly understood.
These three were probably just lackeys trying to curry favor with Asuma.
"Lightning Activation!"
As the three rushed at him, Shiro Akira immediately used the Rumble-Rumble Fruit's power, lightly stimulating the cells throughout his body with electricity. His reaction speed, strength, and agility all rose slightly.
Then, faint arcs of electricity flickered beneath his feet as he suddenly accelerated, closing the distance to the leader in an instant. Lightning gathered around his fist as he drove a punch straight into the boy's jaw.
"Puh!"
The leader was sent flying on the spot, blood mixed with several white teeth spraying from his mouth.
The electrical stimulation instantly knocked him unconscious.
"Lightning Fist—Double Strike!"
"Bang! Bang!"
With superior reaction speed, Shiro Akira dodged the punches from the other two delinquents and struck back with two rapid punches, sending both of them flying as well.
"Impossible! How can you be this strong?!"
The two remaining delinquents, though injured and partially paralyzed by electricity, hadn't lost consciousness. They stared at Shiro Akira in disbelief.
They couldn't understand how someone like Shiro Akira—who had only average performance in class—had suddenly become this powerful.
They were even a grade above him.
"There's nothing impossible about it. Maybe you're just too weak."
Shiro Akira smirked and walked over to them. Then, with a righteous expression, he extended his hand. "Robbery. Hand over all your money. Otherwise, I don't mind letting you experience electric shock again."
As he spoke, blue lightning crackled in his other hand with a "zzzt" sound.
The two delinquents: "…"
Frightened by Shiro Akira's strength, they obediently handed over their money.
Under his direction, they even went over to their leader—who had just regained consciousness from being electrocuted—and took his money as well before giving it all to Shiro Akira.
The leader glared viciously at them.
"Hmm, 2,300 ryo. Not bad. That's enough for a few meals. Thanks! Come again anytime—but next time, bring more money. If you come empty-handed, it won't end as nicely as today. I'm off!"
With that, Shiro Akira casually slipped one hand into his pocket, waved behind him, and walked away at an unhurried pace.
The three delinquents were left behind, struggling to get up from the ground, on the verge of tears.
"Slap! Slap!"
Once Shiro Akira was gone, the leader immediately smacked each of his underlings across the face and roared angrily, "Who the hell told you to take my money?! Pay it back in full tomorrow, or I'm not done with you!"
The two underlings looked like they were about to cry. "Boss, we didn't want to! But if we didn't, we'd still get beaten—and he would've taken it himself anyway!"
Their boss was unreasonable—and a trap.
None of them noticed that a masked figure was standing on a nearby wall, having witnessed everything.
It was none other than Kakashi Hatake.
"Shiro Akira… he's not simple after all. That technique just now—could it be some kind of nin-taijutsu?"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes slightly.
He had grown interested in Shiro Akira—the boy whose looks were about on par with his own.
He made up his mind to find a chance to spar with Shiro Akira next time and properly gauge his strength.
Meanwhile, in the Hokage's office—
Hiruzen Sarutobi sat smoking his pipe while watching the scene through his crystal ball.
It was precisely the scene from earlier.
"Well, well… I should have someone warn those kids. We can't let Asuma think he can abuse his status."
"But this Shiro Akira… if I remember correctly, he's Qianyuan's child, isn't he? Didn't expect him to have such talent. Seems I've overlooked him before—perhaps I should pay more attention."
Qianyuan was Shiro Akira's father in this life.
He had died for the village and possessed Jonin-level strength, so the Third Hokage remembered him clearly.
This entire situation had only caught his attention by chance.
After all, he often used the Telescope Technique to observe the village—cough, cough—to check on its condition.
Seeing a peaceful village always filled him with a sense of accomplishment.
"The technique that boy used… is it Kumogakure's lightning body tempering?"
"No… not quite. Similar, yet different. It might even be something he developed himself."
"With no guidance, he's already reached this level. Quite the talent."
At that thought, the Third Hokage quietly made a decision.
…
Back on Shiro Akira's side—
After teaching those delinquents a lesson and earning a small sum, he arrived at Ichiraku Ramen.
Back when he watched the anime in his previous life, he had always been curious about how the ramen tasted.
Now, he could finally try it.
"Old man! One tonkotsu ramen—make it an extra-large!"
Shiro Akira sat down and raised his hand to call out.
"Coming right up! Haha! Just a moment, young man!"
The still-young Teuchi replied with a cheerful smile… though Shiro Akira couldn't help but joke to himself—Ōtsutsuki Teuchi.
Of course, that was just a meme.
Shiro Akira could sense that Teuchi had no chakra—just an ordinary person.
…Or perhaps he was hiding it so well that Shiro Akira couldn't detect it?