Hasegawa Yamato was an extremely taciturn chieftain of the tribe, preferring a strong blow to beautiful words. The only words he said to his daughter were "get up," "eat," and "don't cry!"
Even other warriors of the tribe regarded such harsh upbringing of his daughter with displeasure, but they were all obliged to keep their opinions to themselves, for Yamato's cruelty toward his daughter was immense love compared to the cruelty he showed to everyone else.
All manifestations of softness and tenderness from Noriko were taken by Yamato as an insult and nipped in the bud. All her clay toys were trampled, all aspirations toward beauty and femininity were mocked, despite her tears.
Yamato was the most aggressive warrior in the tribe and raised his daughter in his own image and likeness, believing that a glorious warrior shouldn't play with dolls or hang out with pampered girls. He saw his daughter not as a little girl, but as a future chieftain who would lead the tribe to prosperity. That's why little Noriko, at six years old, was thrown into the mountains, forced to hunt small game with her bare hands to avoid starving to death. It was then that she awakened chakra and, like a wild beast, began hunting everything she could catch.
Yamato was extremely pleased with his daughter, but even this didn't make him treat her specially, and all the other tribe members clearly saw this neglectful attitude, so they didn't hesitate to treat her the same way, taking away her best food and pills specially issued by her father.
He didn't need a pampered daughter. He needed a fierce she-wolf ready to tear out any throat and lead the tribe to a bright future. That's why, when Noriko became the strongest among the younger generation, Yamato publicly forbade his daughter from touching any tribe member under pain of death.
Young Noriko hated her father insanely, but feared his furious gaze to death, and always lowered her eyes to the ground, until some members of the younger generation got so bold that they spat on her, beat her, and took her food, driven mad by impunity and enjoying bullying the one who could beat them with one hand.
Yamato turned a blind eye to everything, thereby encouraging even more aggressive actions, until finally one member of the younger generation decided to dishonor her. Many of his friends, learning of his intentions, tried to dissuade him, but he was so consumed by his impunity that the only one who could stop him was the chieftain.
However, the only thing Yamato said upon learning that one of the insolent ones intended to dishonor his daughter was "whatever." On that day, his best friend, who had closed his eyes to the mad upbringing of his daughter until the end, turned away from him. He wanted to prevent the upcoming outrage, but Yamato was the strongest warrior in the tribe and stopped his friend, allowing events to take their course.
When the aggressive youth burst into the barracks where Noriko lived and pounced on her from above, she completely broke, awakening her Kekkei Genkai for the first time. The attacker was killed in that same second, and the barracks itself was destroyed to the foundations by a huge, muscular, steam-covered girl.
Without delay, she rushed to her father's house and engaged him in a fierce battle, intending to kill him and avenge years of bullying, but even the girl-chunin who had become ten times stronger couldn't inflict significant damage on her father, who was glowing with joy.
When it was all over, Hasegawa Yamato praised his daughter for the first time and appointed her his successor. Only from then on did he begin to treat her like a true father and personally killed everyone who dared to offend his "little princess."
However, even after that, Noriko regarded him no more than as a chieftain. Nothing could shake her heart anymore or make her love or fear this man. Not until they found themselves surrounded by a group of elite Konoha shinobi, and Hatake Kakashi removed the bandage from his eye.
At that very moment, Noriko felt fear for the first time in many years. She was terrified that her unyielding, unmatched father might fall, for she saw the impossible. Hasegawa Yamato grew three times in size and fearlessly clashed with the enemy, furiously ordering all his warriors to retreat. Even as the strongest shinobi at the Chunin level, Noriko couldn't resist the chieftain's roar and fled with tears in her eyes.
The subsequent days of fierce battles and flight deep into the Land of Fire were like a dream to her. She came to her senses only in captivity by the Kimura family, having lost a leg and an eye, barely breathing, with a broken larynx and knocked-out teeth. She could only rasp hoarsely, trying to break free and avenge the chieftain's death, but it was all in vain.
"Whether you want it or not, you will become part of my Nakayama Family. You may not realize the influence I exert on your mind, but sooner or later you will gain a loving family and rid yourself of the darkness in your heart," Kenshin said, taking a seat opposite Noriko.
"Influence on my mind? What nonsense! It's impossible to put genjutsu on me, don't flatter yourself!" Noriko declared with a smirk, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You don't understand... This is much stronger than genjutsu; my ability is stronger than anything in this world," Kenshin replied with a sigh. And though he was glad about the lack of conflicts in the family and complete obedience, the patriarch system had its downsides. He didn't know how his women would treat him and each other without this ability. Communicating with a disobedient and uncontrollable woman brought him extremely unusual and long-forgotten emotions. Even rudeness, refusal, and coarseness didn't hurt his pride but only spurred him to rethink his behavior.
"And what's the point? Why did you need to influence my mind and make me part of your family?" she asked, tapping her fingers discontentedly on the armchair.
"The thing is, I'm looking for talented and strong women who can give incredible offspring. Those two bodyguards are my sons," Kenshin said calmly.
Noriko was ready to hear anything, but not that. All her guesses were incredibly far from the shocking truth. For several seconds, she couldn't utter a word, pondering what she had heard.
"Your sons? How old are you really?" she asked, feeling that everything was becoming stranger.
"I'll explain, but first, listen to the end before asking questions," he said with a sigh, and slowly began telling her everything she needed to know.
For the next five minutes, Noriko barely restrained herself from interrupting his shocking, madness-filled tale. She couldn't believe such an ability could exist in this world, and when Kenshin told her exactly what he wanted from her, her composure failed.
"WHAT?! No way!" she shouted in rage.