Stories of power abuse by petty tyrants were nothing new. They existed in every era, in every village, and even in the grandest of shinobi novels. These bloody dramas of injustice weren't rare—they were routine. And today, Hoshino Kaede found himself standing in the middle of one.
He had been in the middle of buying some sweet dumplings and smoked yakitori for his mother when it happened.
A loud, disdainful voice broke the atmosphere of the marketplace.
"Hmph! Letting you filthy civilians live here is already a mercy. Now you want money too? What a joke."
The voice was venomous—young, arrogant, and self-righteous.
"I don't know what those old fools up top are thinking. All these commoners are just wasting precious air."
Gasps rippled through the nearby crowd. Angry murmurs began to rise. Shoppers who had once been smiling now stood stiff, glancing toward the source of the disturbance.
Kaede calmly moved closer, lips tight, eyes sharp.
He already had a good guess what was going on. Still, he needed to see it for himself.
"—You're going too far!" shouted a middle-aged man, his face flushed red with indignation. "We already agreed on a price! I gave you the sword as discussed!"
Despite his attempt at sounding strong, the man's tone wavered slightly. Kaede could tell—it wasn't confidence. It was desperation held together by pride.
The civilians in the crowd whispered amongst themselves, their voices low but not quite hidden from Kaede's ears.
"It's those guys again…"
"That's the fifth time this month."
"Just because they're shinobi, they think they can do whatever they want. No shame at all."
"Poor guy's from a new clan, just moved into the village. Probably doesn't even know who he's dealing with."
Clan leader?
Kaede's eyes narrowed.
So the man being bullied was a patriarch? That was… interesting. From the looks of it, he was from a minor clan—not enough power or influence to push back against the village's older, more entrenched families.
Which made him an easy target.
Kaede touched his chin thoughtfully.
He could already guess what had happened.
The man had been tricked—perhaps asked to hand over a weapon in exchange for some goods or land agreement—and now that the ninja didn't want to honor the deal, they were using their rank to mock and intimidate.
The middle-aged man's hands clenched at his sides, but he didn't strike back.
Kaede watched him silently loosen his fists.
The moment he backed down, the bullies laughed.
"HAHAHA! See? Untouchables don't fight back. Not even when they're clan heads. What a disappointment."
"Forget it. I'm feeling generous today. Let's not waste time on this loser."
"Guess I expected too much from a supposed 'patriarch'... boring."
Their arrogance was thick enough to choke on. They turned, preparing to walk away, basking in the humiliation they had caused.
Kaede sighed.
"Disgusting," he whispered.
Then his sapphire eyes shimmered—just faintly—with a hidden pulse of power.
A soft blue glow passed through his pupils.
A ripple spread out, unseen by most. But for Kaede, the world had suddenly changed.
[Eye of Time – Slowness]
The marketplace froze.
It wasn't immediate, like stopping a movie. It was gradual, as if someone had pressed the slowest slow-motion button in the world. People moved like molasses. A single step became a slow crawl. Laughter turned into a deep, distorted echo. Even the wind fell silent.
The dust in the air danced in the sunlight—suspended mid-flight like glitter.
Kaede blinked. In this moment, he was the only one moving normally.
It was surreal.
He had bent the tempo of time itself.
He stared at his surroundings in awe. The bullies were frozen mid-sneer. The civilians' mouths still hung open in breathless anticipation. The middle-aged man had his head turned just slightly—anger still written on his face, but suspended by time.
Kaede took a deep breath.
"This is what power feels like, huh…"
A tremor ran through his chest.
With this kind of ability, he could change outcomes—rewrite injustices.
He felt the temptation whisper in his ear.
"Life and death... justice and cruelty... All of it, under my control."
But he quickly slapped his cheeks, forcing his rising emotions back down.
"No. Don't get carried away."
He muttered to himself, repeating the words like a mantra.
"Power needs discipline. Arrogance leads to ruin."
Only when his heartbeat returned to normal did he move forward.
He approached the frozen ninja at the center of the mockery—the one who had spoken most loudly.
Kaede rifled through his flak vest and retrieved a thick wad of ryo notes.
He grinned.
"Call it karmic tax."
He turned to move to the others, but even he could feel the chakra expenditure straining him.
Slowing down time required enormous energy. At his current level, he couldn't maintain it much longer.
With a sigh, he returned to his original position.
Time resumed.
The world burst into motion again—the wind, the noise, the laughter.
"Let's go," said the ninja.
But as he turned, he felt something wrong. He patted his pocket—then again, harder.
"Wait… where's my money?!"
His face paled. The others looked confused.
Kaede, standing among the crowd, innocently chewed a rice ball.
When the crowd finally dispersed, Kaede noticed the clan leader still standing there, shoulders slumped. He had turned away, preparing to return home in silent defeat.
But before he could take another step, he felt a tug at his sleeve.
He looked down.
A small boy with bright blue eyes was staring up at him, smiling.
"Uncle, are you new to Konoha?"
The man blinked in surprise, forcing a polite smile.
"…Yeah, I am. What's it to you, kid?"
Kaede ignored the tone. "Then… how do you like the village so far?"
It was an odd question for a child to ask—but something in Kaede's voice made the man pause. His expression softened.
"…It's good," he said quietly. "Stable. Much better than traveling from place to place."
For a moment, the fatigue disappeared from his face. He seemed younger—hopeful.
Without realizing it, he began speaking again, like confessing to an old friend.
"I used to be a wandering samurai. When I heard about the Hidden Leaf Village, I thought it might finally be the safe place my family needed."
He smiled again, this time more genuinely.
"Thanks to the Hokage's kindness, we—my family, the Hatake Clan—were given land here. We're not rich, but at least we can live peacefully now."
Hatake?
Kaede's smile froze for a second.
"…Hatake, you said?"
"Yes. Why?"
Kaede laughed awkwardly, scratching his head. "No reason. It's just… I think you guys are going to be pretty famous one day."
The man blinked, confused.
Kaede offered one final smile and waved.
"Well then, Uncle Hatake—welcome to Konoha."
And with that, he walked off, his little hands now much heavier with snacks—and a slightly lighter heart.
Fate, it seemed, liked to play tricks.
He had stepped out for food—and met the ancestor of Hatake Sakumo, the White Fang.
Maybe even Hatake Kakashi's father.
The wheel of time, he realized, wasn't just something he could manipulate—it was something he was now a part of.
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