[02] Family Conflict

Chapter 02: Family Conflict

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"Akio wake u-"

A purple-haired woman with an enticing figure was about to yell, but seeing that the bed was empty, she stopped. Instead, a boy stood across from her – dazedly staring at himself in the mirror.

Miko tutted. "If you're already awake, then come for breakfast."

Not staying for a second later, she walked out and closed the door.

Akio noticed her bitter tone before she walked out of the room – and he knew the reason for this all too well. As of now, the memories of this body had been well etched into his mind, feeling like his own – yet at the same time, it felt like he was a spectator.

He closed his eyes, and not a second passed by before he opened them back up.

'Miko – the stepmother of this body. I need to be careful around her. From what I've seen in these memories… She's quite a vicious one. I'd be a fool to set off her anger.'

In this split second, Akio browsed through his memories like it was a file and found out information about this woman. Even he raised his brow at such an ability – he could instantly scan through every nook and cranny in his memory like it was some sort of folder.

'I can't remember such information like it's a photographic memory, but I can instantly recall it through some search. It's like some type of instant recall. I can even look at memories from my previous life with absolute perfection – it's like I'm watching a movie. If I had this ability then, I'm sure I could have graduated at the top level.'

Right now, he was testing this as he inwardly spoke – and the more he scanned through it; the more he realized the beauty of such ability.

He could look through different perspectives, such as the first-person or from afar; it could even let him recall all relevant and minor info on Naruto. With such a cheat, he was sure that this upped his chances of survival.

As he tested this ability, he scanned through the memories of this body again and summarised everything.

Akio is this body's name and he was five years of age. His mother died of a miscarriage, yet she was a shinobi – which was rare, the baby just took too long to come out. The father was devastated but soon remarried a few months later. This of course was Miko who had just come in now.

He dug deep for more information and found that he was born before the second shinobi war. By scanning through his previous life memories and connecting the dots, he was younger than Minato but didn't know the exact details.

'So I am in the body of some backwater clan called Hanshiro in Konoha. Can it be even called a clan anymore?– it was just a surname now. There was a lot of trouble for this body in this house too… just great. A lot of obstacles will be in my path already – this is why I need to grow stronger.'

Now that he knew his complete situation; he decided to go over a few minor details, and start heading downstairs before Miko hassles him again.

Even though he had seen this home in his memories, experiencing it was quite different. The corridor – no hallway was enough for an echo to sound out – and it had around a few bedrooms that weren't even being used.

'I know it's a useless clan that has fallen from its peak, but my living conditions are quite comfortable… that's if there wasn't so much hassle surrounding this body.'

Akio knew best about the hidden conflict in this house. The worst part is that he was the target of interest – in other words, the victim.

He was now on the last step where the sounds of chatter were now louder, so he went forward – heading toward the kitchen. However, just as he was about to walk inside, a familiar voice came from behind him.

"Hah,' a voice snorted with disdain. "Father's not going to be happy. You're late again like always."

Akio's brows creased for a second before turning around, although, as he did; he was nudged out of the way, losing his balance.

A snicker subtly echoed – and a tall figure walked past as he tried to maintain his stability.

'Ariza… this guy is nothing but trouble.'

Although he was just pushed over to the side, Akio didn't pay any heed to this kind of action.

'A kid still a kid. He may be this body's nightmare but to me, he's just an immature brat.'

Ariza was Miko's son and the same age as Minato. He held the superiority between the siblings, and of course, he hated his stepbrother. So it's obvious what he does to him– bullying him every day. This was one of the many troubles this guy had, but Akio had 20 years of experience in his previous life – how could a mere kid provoke him?

Instead, he felt absolutely nothing – not even a ripple in his heart was caused as he just walked forward. Only his gaze revealed depth, staring at the looming figures back.

"About time, he's here," an indifferent voice spoke as Akio arrived at the table.

The person who spoke was a girl; she was called Imawa and was 9 – Miko's other child and older than all of them.

She had the signature purple hair and mole on her left lip; her face was quite sharp and had a bitch face feeling to it.

'Another obstacle… Just going over this body's memories pisses me off. His stepmother, stepbrother, and lastly the sister. My luck is just great.' Inwardly he observed.

In front of him were a variety of breakfast dishes, and without even replying, he leaned over, clutching a spoon to fill his plate.

Although no one found this to be abnormal – the previous Akio was also a quiet child. Yet it was probably due to being a product of his environment that caused such a personality. Unlike his other half-siblings, he was meek. Another reason why he was being thrown around like their puppet.

"Father, guess what… I was 7th in my class today for the spars." The first one to speak up was Ariza.

The clashing of utensils sounded whilst everyone chewed their food. Finally, after his father gulped down a mouthful, he replied.

"Hmm…" he had a pleasing smile. . "Who was that kid – the blonde one? Did he come first again?"

Ariza sheepishly scratched his head and smiled. "Uh, Minato – yes he came first like always."

"Aw my baby, I knew you would be at the top," an extremely comforting voice came. Of course, it was his mom.

Akio merely gave a few glances as he gobbled down his food. An amusing spectacle is what he found.

'Hehe… she's so different from what I've seen in this guy's memories.'

Right now, Akio was seeing a completely different side of this woman's behavior. Normally she's all fun and giggles in front of her husband, but when alone it's a different story.

'7th in the class? Hmm, it's quite good against the clan kids I'm guessing. So he isn't some genius nor is he a bad talent though.'

Suddenly a voice spoke to him. "So Akio, have you decided on what you want to do?"

It was his father, so he stopped chewing his food and had a thoughtful face for a second. "I also wish to attend the academy next year."

Immediately, a gloomy atmosphere was felt as he said this – he expected it too. Even Miko's emotions slipped for a split second before changing to her calm demeanor.

Except for his father, whose lip creased and intently stared at him.

"Um, Akio… didn't you not want to go to the academy all this time?" Miko innocently asked. "I thought you had no interest in being shinobi."

He wasn't good at acting as this body's previous behavior…. More so, he just didn't want to. Of course, he did think about it and can try, but with the plan, he's taking; he can't act like a meek child anymore. It was time to take his future into his own hands – that was if he wanted to survive.

"Nah.." he bluntly stated, casually eating his food. "I changed my mind."

She was startled by the way he spoke. Wasn't this Akio – the kid who struggled to form a sentence in front of her?

"What made you change your mind?" Ariza curiously asked.

Previously, this body didn't like any type of violence nor did he have the courage to be a shinobi. Everyone knew this and expected him to take a different path which disappointed his father. But except for him, his step-siblings and mother were over the moon. To his stepmother, only the will mattered – if his own blood was useless, would he not pass it on to her kids?

"A dream." He picked up an apple and bit into it.

What?! A dream – is what all of them thought. Is this kid playing around?

Akio swore, he just saw a red tick forming on Miko's forehead.

"Haha!"

Whilst all of them were inwardly fuming, his father just heartily laughed.

He wanted his son to grow up – go to the academy and become a strong shinobi. But ever since he turned two; he just had no interest. Thinking that he would just grow up; he would have interest again but contrary to his expectations, that disinterest grew stronger.

As time passed, he accepted the reality – his son was not made to be a shinobi. Although now… he was so excited that he never doubted the new behavioral change in his son and the stupid excuse of a dream.

"Finally! My son wants to become a shinobi. I had to wait 4 years before it came out of your mouth!" it seemed a whole new color was brought back to his face. Akio felt some type of pride when he saw this boy's father act like this. It's not like this was his real father, so he didn't hold much attachment.

On one side of the table was the happiest father alive whilst the others felt extreme dread. Akio even felt the eyes Ariza stare at him maliciously.

He didn't pay any heed to this as he took the last bite of the apple and stood up from his chair. The rest of them had finished, so they did the same whilst a few maids came to clean up.

Akio immediately headed upstairs back to his room.

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