Chapter 272: Dan's Family of Four

Dan was very satisfied with his daughter Marisa.

From the moment she was born, Dan knew - Marisa had perfectly inherited his talents. Just out of the womb, the outlines of her muscles were already visible.

However, Marisa growing to over 1.8 meters tall and muscular at just eight years old still exceeded Dan's expectations somewhat.

What surprised him even more was

Marisa had not only awakened a Stand, validating Dan's research into hereditary Stands, but the Stand she awakened was actually Star Platinum.

In the JoJo original work.

This was the same type of Stand as The World, and looking at their stat sheets, The World was "3A 2B 1C" while the terrifying Star Platinum was "5A 1C", much stronger than The World.

In fact, DIO's The World was completely overwhelmed by Jotaro Kujo's Star Platinum in the end.

Perhaps affected by this transtemporal twist of fate.

Marisa had been rebellious since young. Not only disobedient, she was always trying to challenge her dad, eager to defeat him with her own hands.

Faced with this "greatly filial daughter", Dan was not angry or worried.

On the contrary, he found it interesting.

Dan looked forward to seeing just how far his daughter with the Star Platinum Stand could grow in the future.

After all.

If there came a day when Dan was truly invincible in the world, with no more worthy opponents, he hoped Marisa could become his final opponent.

By then, he would peer into the pinnacle together with his daughter in a bare-knuckled battle -

The Muscle God.

Speaking of Stands.

Dan looked towards his younger son Hagoromo not far away.

He was three years younger than Marisa, turning five today. Unfortunately, Hagoromo didn't seem to have inherited Dan's talents and physique. There were no signs of a Stand awakening in him at all.

For now, he could be described with two words: mediocre.

Perhaps in the Uchiha clan, whether it was Izuna in the past or Sasuke and Hagoromo now, these younger brothers were destined to live under the halo of their elder brothers (sisters).

Of course, that said.

Compared to his prodigious sister Marisa, Hagoromo's mediocrity was only in that context. If compared to his peers, his talents as a shinobi were still outstanding.

Dan withdrew his gaze.

He glanced at Marisa still kneeling before him with her head lowered and panting. Dan said lightly:

"No need to keep kneeling, good daughter. Get up now, I've felt your filial piety already."

After speaking, he strode across the yard and came before Hagoromo.

"My precious son, happy birthday."

Dan squatted down before Hagoromo. As he spoke, he took out a beautifully wrapped book from his pocket as a birthday present for his young son.

The Complete Chronicles of Shinobi Secrets.

Kids loved reading books, and were especially curious at this age. Naturally they'd be most interested in this kind of book.

Sure enough.

"Thank you, Father."

Hagoromo's eyes lit up as he happily accepted the book and carefully held it to his chest.

Heh.

Dan smiled silently. He reached out a big hand and ruffled his son's hair, then stood up and went inside.

After he left.

Hagoromo immediately ran over to Marisa's side, helped her up and asked with concern:

"Sis, are you alright?"

"Damn old man!"

Marisa looked unhappy. She raised a fist and slammed it heavily into the ground, venting her impotent rage.

She was naturally strong-willed.

From as early as she could remember, Marisa realized she was different from other kids.

She developed quickly and had a very sturdy physique. Compared to children her age she was like a tiger cub mixed into a group of kittens.

However.

Marisa's appearance also attracted some mocking voices saying she was neither male nor female, and looked scary.

Her response to this was direct - she punched back to shut up those hateful people.

It was also during this process that she unexpectedly awakened her Stand, Star Platinum, and gradually came to enjoy the thrill of fighting and brawling. Or rather, battles.

Marisa didn't like bullying the weak. She felt no sense of accomplishment from that.

Her greatest enjoyment was challenging the strong. Each time she defeated a powerful opponent, it gave her tremendous satisfaction and fulfillment mentally.

And so.

From the age of five when she entered the Ninja Academy, in just three short years Marisa had fought her way through the entire student body, whether they were seniors or juniors, genin or chunin.

She had even crossed hands with the likes of Sasuke and Neji, hailed as Konoha's "golden generation", trading wins and losses.

All along, the biggest goal in Marisa's heart was only one man - her father,

The Sixth Hokage, Uchiha Dan.

Also known as the undisputed strongest in the shinobi world.

Unfortunately, every time so far that Marisa ambitiously challenged Dan, she ended up bruised and beaten, taught a lesson. Even her greatest trump card, "Star Platinum", was completely suppressed by her father's Stand, "The World".

Her old man Uchiha Dan was like an insurmountable mountain of unknown height, blocking Marisa's path.

It made her despair.

What Marisa didn't realize was

In the process of regarding her father as the highest mountain and constantly climbing it, trying to conquer it, she had easily crossed over countless lesser peaks.

Perhaps one day in the future.

When she finally reached the summit, she would suddenly realize the land beneath her feet was already a mountain of ten thousand peaks.

...

Dan pushed the door open into the living room. At a glance he saw a table full of steaming hot dishes, aromatic and appealing.

Clang clatter dang.

Sounds of pots and pans came from the kitchen.

Dan walked straight into the kitchen and saw Samui busy cooking, tied up in an apron.

"Dan, were you fighting with Marisa again? You're her dad, stop bullying our daughter so much, okay?"

Samui spoke without turning her head.

Hearing the commotion in the yard, she had guessed what happened. Her tone revealed some helplessness.

Dan just smiled without responding. He reached out his big hands and embraced her from behind.

"The kids are home, what are you doing."

Samui's face immediately turned red as she murmured.

"We're old married folks for so many years, what's there to be shy about."

Dan shrugged. As he spoke, he leaned down and pecked Samui's cheek, then went to the sink to help wash vegetables.

The two chatted about daily affairs as they cooked.

"I heard Marisa fought someone in school again, and it was a big deal this time, just her versus over a dozen chunin..."

Samui nagged on, feeling a headache coming. Having a daughter like Marisa definitely meant endless worries for the parents.

But clearly, Dan's concerns were different from Samui's. His first reaction was:

"Did she win or lose?"

Not waiting for his wife's response, Dan muttered to himself:

"She must have won. Just a dozen or so chunin, that's no challenge at all for Marisa."

"Hey, winning or losing isn't the point here."

Samui rolled her eyes at Dan, hoping he would properly educate their daughter as a father. Going around fighting all the time was no good behavior.

"Did you forget, I was expelled on my very first day at the Academy for assaulting a teacher?"

Dan looked at his wife incredulously.

"..."

Samui was rendered speechless for a moment.

Indeed, with Dan's deeds as a prime negative example, he had no right to lecture their daughter at all.

Come to think of it, Marisa not following her dad's bad example was already pretty good.

Seeing Samui so worried over their daughter, Dan patted her shoulder to reassure:

"Kids have lots of energy and need outlets for it, or they'd go crazy bottling it up. How about this, after Marisa completes the Chunin Exam I'll have her graduate early and find something else for her to do."

"That's an idea."

Samui nodded and sighed.

Half an hour later.

The family of four sat around the dining table celebrating the youngest Hagoromo's birthday.

"Happy birthday, little Hagoromo!"

After handing over her present, Marisa patted her brother's shoulder, then picked up the nearby glass and downed its nearly one liter of chicken broth in one go.

Gulp gulp gulp.

As her throat rolled, the fresh chicken broth entered her stomach entirely, becoming rich protein nutrition.

"I want to drink that too, to grow muscles and become strong like Sis."

After making his birthday wish, Hagoromo resolutely stated his desire to drink chicken broth as well.

As a result.

"Bleh!"

The boy had barely drank a mouthful before making a face, nearly spitting it back out.

"Have the birthday cake instead, Hagoromo."

Samui scooped out a slice of cake and brought it to her son's mouth, smiling tenderly with motherly love in her eyes.

After caring for her son, she then showed concern for her daughter, looking to Marisa and asking:

"By the way, Marisa, how's your Chunin Exam preparation going? Don't forget your academics."

In addition to the practical combat tests, the Chunin Exam also had a written exam component. Samui worried her daughter might forget to review and suffer for it.

When Marisa heard this, after swallowing down a big piece of beef, she mumbled:

"Don't worry, Ma. I won't be like the old man getting expelled on the first day at school without even becoming a genin. I'm just too bored and want to become a chunin in one go, so I don't have to keep wasting time at the Academy."

Not long ago.

Konoha's golden generation had all graduated. Marisa felt she was at their level and had nothing left to learn at the Academy, so of course she should graduate early as well.

Hearing Marisa's complaints.

Dan thought for a bit, looking straight at his daughter and said:

"Alright, after you become a chunin I'll have you graduate early. It works out, you can form a team with your cousin Sasuke and leave Konoha for some training and experience outside."

"Really?"

Marisa was instantly delighted. She had long wanted to go out adventuring and see the wide shinobi world.

"On one condition."

Dan crossed his arms and lightly reminded his daughter, "This Chunin Exam has the largest scale in a decade. Shinobi from villages all over the shinobi world were sent to participate."

Samui chimed in:

"That's right, I heard the number of participants in this Chunin Exam adds up to over a thousand.

Many of them already possess chunin or nearly jonin level strength, but deliberately remain genin just to get good results and win glory for their villages.

You absolutely can't let your guard down, Marisa!"

One could say this Chunin Exam was a crouching tiger, hidden dragon. That description was no exaggeration at all.

But upon hearing this, Marisa wasn't scared at all. On the contrary, she got fired up. Her eyes flashed fiercely as she slapped her chest and vowed:

"Even better. I've decided to participate solo like cousin Itachi and take first place!"

She was brimming with confidence.

After speaking, Marisa wolfed down her meal in just a few mouthfuls. She put down her chopsticks, wiped her mouth and said:

"I heard cousin Sasuke got beaten up and is hospitalized. I'm going to visit him."

Visit?

Clearly she wanted to ask Sasuke which guy beat him up.

Dan and Samui exchanged a glance, both guessing their daughter's thoughts but not poking holes in it.

"I...I want to go with Sis too."

Hagoromo carefully raised a hand and timidly said.

When Samui heard this, she instructed Marisa:

"It's your brother's birthday today after all. Take him out to have fun, but remember to come back early."

"Okay!"

The siblings were overjoyed. Marisa immediately carried Hagoromo on her back and dashed out of the house in a blur.

Watching the departing backs of the brother and sister, Dan shook his head meaningfully and commented:

"Finally some alone time for the two of us."

Samui gave him another look and threw over her shoulder: "Do the dishes first."

In the kitchen, sounds of clanking and washing commenced.

"Sigh, I've been tired so easily lately. Looks like I'm getting old and it just crept up on me."

Leaning against the kitchen island, Samui wiped a bead of sweat from her brow and lamented feelingly.

Women were always sensitive about their age, becoming anxious as they got older.

Hearing this, Dan looked his wife over and said incredulously:

"How's that possible? You clearly look more beautiful, and your figure's gotten even better."

In his eyes, the 29 year old Samui was a woman at her prime.

One word: ripe.

"Really?"

Samui was somewhat unconvinced, thinking Dan was just trying to flatter her and wasn't telling the truth.

Dan walked over and swept her into his arms by the waist, suggesting:

"Life lies in motion. Exercise keeps one young. Dear wife, time to get fit, let your coach here keep you in good shape."

"Well then...you'll have to teach me something new." Samui gazed at Dan, blinking coyly.

"Satisfaction guaranteed."

...

In the blink of an eye, a week had flashed by.

Dan's ploy to lure the snakes from their lairs seemed to have failed, because nothing had happened in Konoha over the past few days.

The village remained as peaceful and lively as always. The people's lives kept getting better, presenting an idyllic scene of tranquil times.

Dan was in no hurry either. He took another vacation to accompany his wife and kids at home, enjoying the quiet, happy life.

Then the Chunin Exam arrived on schedule.

With Konoha's Ninja Academy development and improving education system over the years, the Chunin Exam had gradually become a major event for the village.

It concerned the future of many students and tugged at countless parents' hearts.

Moreover, with Konoha's technological advancement, the Chunin Exam matches were now televised, bringing the live footage into thousands of households, even broadcast throughout the shinobi world.

Industries catering to the Chunin Exam had also sprung up. At some underground casinos, betting lines were even offered on the exam results, for gamblers to stake their favored participating genin.

Whenever there was a competition, first place always garnered the most attention.

For instance, at the recently concluded Jonin Exam, the champion Uchiha Sasuke had won endless acclaim and applause, rightly becoming Konoha's number one genius with resounding fame in the shinobi world.

And in this Chunin Exam, the odds-on favorite to win was undoubtedly

the Sixth Hokage's daughter -

"Iron Fist" Marisa.