After Danzō departed with his escorts, the office fell into silence. Only Hiruzen Sarutobi and Lock remained.
The boy let out a careful breath, tension slipping from his shoulders.
Hiruzen, however, exhaled in a different tone—part sigh, part calculation. He, too, had coveted Lock's ability, though not with the same ruthless obsession as Danzō. He wasn't blind to the danger.
If this power could be reproduced endlessly… an entire corps of invisible shinobi would be more terrifying than any weapon. That would not safeguard Konoha—it would crush it.
Just as with the Moonlight Clan's rare breakthroughs, a solitary anomaly was manageable. A plague of them was not. In that sense, the inability to replicate Lock's gift was perhaps a blessing.
He studied the boy again. A talent like this must remain in the village. Properly guided, he could become one of Konoha's pillars.
"Lock," Hiruzen asked gently, "is there anything else unusual about your ability?"
The boy furrowed his brow, answering with feigned hesitation. "Hokage-sama… even this invisibility isn't instant. I tested it—it takes six seconds from the moment I start channeling chakra until I vanish completely. And once my chakra runs out, the invisibility ends at once. I can't hold it forever."
Instead of disappointment, Hiruzen's expression softened. "That's natural. If you could sustain it indefinitely, that would be unnatural. Every bloodline limit begins with restrictions. With training, it will sharpen."
Lock dipped his head, hiding the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes. He decided it was safer to reveal a little more—enough to seem honest, without showing the whole deck.
"Hokage-sama… I also have a feeling. That my invisibility isn't all there is. It's just an intuition, but it feels like there are other abilities… waiting in the dark."
Hiruzen's eyes lit with approval. The words were simple, but they carried possibility. So… more than camouflage. Very interesting.
"Good," the Hokage said warmly. "Then take your time. When you discover something new, tell no one else—come to me directly. Understand?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
With that promise, Lock felt the invisible weight on his shoulders ease. Hiruzen had seen his value, and that meant protection. In a village as treacherous as Konoha, being noticed by the Hokage himself was the best shield a child could ask for.
"Go now," Hiruzen said, leaning back. "You've just become a shinobi. Soon you'll be assigned to a team under a jōnin. From now on, your rest will be uncertain. Missions may come at any time. Do not expect leniency for your age."
Lock nodded obediently, though his thoughts whispered otherwise. Special treatment is inevitable. Kakashi and I aren't like the others…
When he finally stepped out of the Hokage Building, the boy exhaled fully at last. What looked like an ordinary conversation had been a trial by fire. Under the scrutiny of both Hokage and Hyūga's eyes, every word could have betrayed him.
But he had survived. And earned Hiruzen's attention. For now, that was victory enough.
Back at the family snack bar, the mood shifted instantly.
"Oh! That's a forehead protector, isn't it?" Aunt Kirigakure rogue-nin, who was tidying the counter, exclaimed when she caught sight of him.
The shop was quiet—between meal rushes—just Kirigakure rogue-nin and his mother, Yuzu, busy in the kitchen. Hearing the outburst, Yuzu stepped out, drying her hands, and her gaze fell on the gleam of metal tied to her son's forehead. A smile tugged at her lips.
"See, Mom?" Lock grinned, puffing out his chest. "Your son's a shinobi now! From today, life only gets better for us."
Yuzu promptly smacked him on the head with a sharp crack. "Don't get cocky. You're just a genin. Save the boasting for when you're a jōnin."
Kirigakure rogue-nin chuckled from behind the counter. "Yuzu, you shouldn't hit him anymore—he's a ninja now! What if you knock the brains out of him? If my boy had half his talent, I'd be living easy already."
Her son was well into his teens and destined for civilian work. That only made her more envious of Yuzu's child, who had already donned the forehead protector.
"Lock became a shinobi so young," Kirigakure rogue-nin added wistfully. "He's bound to be a jōnin in the future."
Yuzu folded her arms. "Sister Kirigakure rogue-nin, don't flatter him. Whether he's a genin or Hokage himself, he's still my son. I'll knock him on the head if I please. Who dares complain?"
Lock groaned, rubbing the sore spot. Some truths were universal—no rank could save him from his mother's discipline.
"Honestly, Mom, would it kill you to be in a good mood without hitting me?" he muttered.
Then his face brightened. "Anyway, I won't be home for dinner. Obito and the others want to celebrate with Kakashi and me. We're going for barbecue. Lend me some money?"
Normally, Yuzu would scold him for even asking. But seeing the boy trying to treat his friends, she surprised him by pressing a generous handful of bills into his hand.
"Take it. Eat something good. From now on, as a ninja, you'll have fewer days like this. Don't forget your friends, Lock. Don't end up like your father…"
Her voice caught—half complaint, half longing. Though she cursed the man who had left them too early, her grief was plain. Even after five years, she hadn't let go.
Lock closed his hand around the money. "Understood, Mom. Once I start missions, I'll give you everything I earn."
Money itself meant little to him. As long as he could buy ninja tools, the rest hardly mattered. In his last life, he'd been obsessed with wealth, always chasing and never catching. This time, he refused to repeat that mistake.
Of course… his system did require money to grow stronger. In the end, perhaps it wasn't so different after all.
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