Naruto: Legacy From Leaf To Clover

"Pfft!"

Lily, Nash, Yuno, and even a few others, couldn't help but spit out their water. That leap of logic was absurd!

"What are you imagining? Already dreaming of being the Magic Emperor's long-lost relative?"

Houma rolled his eyes. He had grown quite a bit in the past six months, now half a head taller than Yuno. That was the power of physical training. After months of grueling effort, he had matured into a broad-shouldered, handsome young man.

"Come on now. Do I look like the kind of person who sucks up to authority?"

The priest huffed with mock irritation, but the moment he remembered that Houma and Yuno would be leaving soon, his heart felt heavy again. Without Houma, the church would feel hollow and lifeless...

The next morning, Houma and Yuno officially set off.

"Traveling is a form of training, too!"

Houma was walking on his hands, upside down. His unconventional method of traveling attracted quite a few curious stares from passersby. But most just gave a casual glance before turning away, after all, Yuno was drawing far more attention, chanting spells as he moved, his aura stirring the air around him.

Their unusual display eventually caught the attention of a group also headed for the royal capital. The most eye-catching among them was a blonde man dressed in ornate silver robes, he clearly held a commanding position in the group.

"You two must be on your way to the Royal Capital for the Magic Knights Exam, right? The journey's not exactly a walk in the park, beasts and bandits alike pose real dangers.

As it happens, I know a shortcut to the capital. How about we travel together?"

The blond man approached Yuno with a friendly smile, his eyes sharp. He'd already noticed the four-leaf clover insignia on the back of Yuno's grimoire.

Yuno glanced at Houma for his opinion but said nothing. Whether they traveled alone or with others made no difference to him.

Houma, on the other hand, didn't even bother acknowledging the man, at least not until he caught the flicker of greed in his eyes.

Despite the man's noble demeanor, Houma, still inverted, had noticed the calluses on his hands. His fancy clothes were too long in the legs and ill-fitting, clearly not tailored for him. Most telling of all was the way his gaze kept drifting back to Yuno's grimoire.

A thief in noble's clothing.

"Sure," Houma replied, standing upright in one fluid motion.

He was taller than the blonde man and exuded a quiet dominance, making the previously self-assured stranger look rather shabby in comparison.

"Then let's join up. The rest of our group is also headed for the Magic Knights Exam."

The blond man, Kerr, forced a polite smile, but something in his eyes said he now considered Houma a problem.

The group they joined was fairly large, over twenty people in total. Among them were three reasonably attractive girls who were constantly being approached by overeager young boys.

Yet those three girls only had eyes for three people: Houma, Yuno, and the blond man, Kerr.

"Wow, the two who just joined are both really good-looking!"

"Right? Especially that silver-haired one. His eyes are gorgeous!"

"Still, judging by their clothes, they must be commoners. But Kerr, the one who brought us all together, is a noble after all."

The girls whispered among themselves. While Kerr had the air of a gentleman, he didn't quite match up to Houma or Yuno. Besides, their intuition told them something about Kerr's eyes was... unsettling. If he hadn't been a noble, they probably would've kept their distance.

"Brother Kerr... isn't this road heading into the mountains? I thought the capital was in the opposite direction?"

After a while, a gray-haired boy couldn't help but voice his doubt.

Kerr smiled mildly, as if expecting the question. He had his excuse ready.

"Ah, perhaps you didn't hear, but there was a heavy storm a few days ago. This area is prone to landslides, so I'm taking us through a safer route. Of course, if you feel this is too much of a detour, feel free to go ahead on your own."

"...Uh, n-no, I'll stick with the group."

The gray-haired boy immediately backed down. The capital was far away, going alone was a terrifying thought.

"Kerr is amazing. He thinks of everything!"

"Yeah, totally!"

"Let's just trust him. Better safe than sorry!"

The flattery poured in, even from the prettiest girl in the group, whose admiring gaze softened toward Kerr.

Houma smirked.

The fox's tail was finally showing.

He casually dusted his hands of dirt, already itching to draw his broadsword.

Back then, taking down a mere lower-rank Tier One mage like Rebuchi had netted him [300 points].

Now the only question was: how many mages did this little bandit group have?

Judging by how indiscriminately Kerr had been recruiting, Houma figured the size of this gang wouldn't disappoint.

His grin grew devilish.

Hunting for points, that's the real reason he joined up with Kerr.