"Puahahaha!"
Loud laughter echoed across the open training ground. A sound that should have seemed frightening instead felt amusing because it came from a five-year-old girl.
Her laughter was not shrill. Instead, it sounded light and bright.
Charlotte looked genuinely delighted after finishing the demonstration she had been eager to show.
That was simply who she was.
Charlotte loved being acknowledged and noticed whenever she did something she considered impressive. If she managed to accomplish something cool in her eyes, she always wanted someone to witness it and react.
For Charlotte, that alone was enough to make her feel deeply satisfied.
Ian had understood that side of his sister for a long time.
Since they began spending so much time together, Ian had grown used to observing Charlotte's behavior and listening carefully to what she said. He did not simply follow her blindly.
Ian always processed Charlotte's words and actions, then measured them against the teachings he had received from their father and mother.
Today he saw it clearly.
Over there, Charlotte stood with her head held high. Her expression was full of pride, as if she were waiting for someone to praise her for completing such an incredible performance.
To an ordinary person, what Charlotte had just done truly looked like a miracle.
When his sister first said she would show him the magic she had learned from their father, Ian had also felt very excited.
His feelings were not much different from Charlotte's when she first discovered that their father was not an ordinary person.
But Ian's goal was different from his sister's.
Charlotte wanted to become famous in the future.
She wanted to be known as someone great, someone extraordinary.
Ian did not think about things like that.
His wish was far simpler.
He only wanted to become strong enough to protect his family.
Their father once said something that Ian always remembered.
Family is everything.
Within a family, the emptiness inside a person can be replaced by warmth and affection.
Ian had felt that truth himself.
His father and mother gave so much love and care to him and his siblings.
That was why he wanted to protect the home that had given him all that warmth.
"Hah..."
Ian let out a soft sigh.
He shook his head when he saw his sister's strange behavior in her own unique way.
"Just like the villains Father talks about."
James often told short stories before Ian went to sleep.
At first Ian had refused, thinking he was already old enough.
But gradually he began to enjoy those stories.
His father's tales were always different and never boring.
James once said that villains in stories usually shared several traits that were easy to recognize.
One of them was their distinctive laughter.
Besides that, they often displayed arrogance and pride when showing their power.
All those traits were now clearly visible in Charlotte.
Ian actually wanted to grumble.
But he restrained himself.
Right now his sister was extremely excited. He did not want to ruin her mood.
Ian's gaze then shifted to the ground in front of Charlotte.
There he saw a long trench cutting across the earth.
At the far end of it was a small crater formed by the explosion.
For someone Ian's size, the crater looked fairly large.
Imagining himself standing inside it sent a chill down his spine.
The power produced by Charlotte's ninjutsu truly looked terrifying.
Yet at the same time, it was incredibly impressive.
From a certain perspective, the ability was not much different from magic.
Both could unleash extraordinary destructive force.
Ian still clearly remembered how Charlotte looked at him sharply before demonstrating the technique.
"Watch carefully."
Her voice had sounded very serious.
"Remember every movement."
Ian immediately nodded.
After confirming that he was paying attention, Charlotte raised both hands.
She began pressing her palms together and forming various strange patterns with her fingers.
At first her movements were very slow.
"These are called hand seals used to release ninjutsu."
Charlotte briefly glanced at Ian.
"I am doing it slowly so you can remember every seal from the beginning to the end."
She added firmly,
"Do not miss anything."
"I understand, Sister."
"Good."
After hearing that answer, Charlotte continued.
She repeated the sequence of hand seals several times.
Her movements remained slow so Ian could memorize them.
Once she felt he had watched carefully enough, Charlotte finally moved to the next stage.
Her hands began moving again.
But this time far faster.
Her fingers shifted positions repeatedly within seconds, forming patterns almost impossible for ordinary eyes to follow.
Ian could not keep up at all.
All he saw was the blur of his sister's hands moving rapidly.
A moment later Charlotte took a deep breath.
Then a large fireball burst from her mouth.
The blazing flame shot straight forward.
The ground along its path split open, forming a long trench under the pressure and heat.
When the fireball struck the ground at the end of the path, a loud explosion followed.
A crater formed there.
Grass, leaves, and branches along the attack's path were scorched and burned by the intense heat.
Ian swallowed.
He was quite certain that if his body had been standing in that path, he would have been burned to ashes by a fireball that large.
Truly incredible.
Power like that felt astonishing.
His sister, who was only five years old, was already capable of spewing flames with such destructive force.
A truly remarkable ability.
He exclaimed silently in his heart as a powerful desire suddenly surged within him.
Ian wanted that same ability.
The calm he usually showed—the calm he had learned by imitating his father—collapsed the moment he witnessed Charlotte's fire ninjutsu. For a child his age, such power felt almost invincible.
If someone could use "magic" like that, then among children their age, that person would almost certainly be the strongest.
Ian wanted it.
His heart and mind seemed to scream, urging him to try it immediately.
Without realizing it, he began moving his hands, imitating the hand seals his sister had just performed.
But before he could finish them, Charlotte suddenly stepped forward and grabbed both of his hands.
"What are you doing?" Charlotte asked firmly.
Ian looked at her, the excitement still clear in his voice.
"I want to copy you. I also want to release fire ninjutsu like that."
But Charlotte immediately shook her head.
"No."
"You're still too young."
She continued with a serious expression.
"Father said that a ninja can end up in danger if the chakra in their body runs out from using ninjutsu."
Ian fell silent.
Charlotte looked at him with a slight frown.
"I don't know how much basic chakra you have right now."
She emphasized her words.
"Don't do something like that without Father's supervision or permission."
Ian opened his mouth slightly.
"But—"
"Not now," Charlotte interrupted.
"We can ask Father again later."
She stared at her younger brother seriously.
"Understood?"
Ian finally nodded.
His hands, which had nearly completed the hand seal, slowly lowered again. Charlotte also released her grip.
The burning excitement inside him gradually faded, like a flame being doused with cold water.
Still, he understood what his sister meant.
Charlotte was only worried.
If something happened, she would also be scolded by their father.
Charlotte noticed the subtle change in Ian's expression.
Seeing that he looked a little downcast, she spoke again, this time more gently.
"There's no need to look so sad."
She lightly patted Ian's shoulder.
"You'll be able to do it too someday."
Charlotte smiled confidently.
"It's only a matter of time."
Ian nodded slowly.
"Yes, Sister."
Charlotte chuckled again.
Her cheerful attitude returned, along with the slight arrogance that had become her trademark.
Then she seemed to remember something.
"By the way..."
Charlotte turned to Ian with a wide grin.
"What do you think?"
She placed both hands on her hips.
"How amazing is your sister's power?"
Here it comes again.
Ian immediately realized it.
Inside, he was slightly surprised. For a moment he had thought Charlotte might forget about it after a while.
But apparently not.
Charlotte was truly waiting for praise.
Ian sighed quietly in his heart.
Not wanting to ruin his sister's excited mood, he finally answered enthusiastically.
He even made a large circle gesture with both of his hands.
"Your power is amazing!"
"That fireball was really big and hot."
He paused briefly, then remembered something their father had once said.
"You're truly unbeatable."
"Puahahaha!"
Charlotte burst into loud laughter again.
She proudly patted Ian's shoulder.
"You're right!"
"Your sister really is unbeatable."
Then she raised her small clenched fist high in the air, like a hero giving a speech.
"Listen carefully."
"If someone bothers you someday..."
"Or if someone makes you angry..."
She pointed at herself confidently.
"Come to me."
"Tell me who it is and what their name is."
Charlotte swung her small fist through the air.
"Your sister will go to them and deliver Charlotte's punch of justice!"
Her gesture looked heroic, but also a little mischievous.
If one thought about it carefully, it was actually closer to abusing power than delivering justice.
But Ian simply smiled.
Perhaps someday it might actually be useful.
"Alright, Sister."
"I'll remember that."
Charlotte nodded in satisfaction.
"Good boy."
Then she added casually,
"I hope our youngest sibling will be as obedient as you."
Ian's lips twitched slightly.
The reason he was obedient was actually simple.
Charlotte was his sister.
He respected her.
If not for that, he might have often distanced himself from his sister, who sometimes truly looked like a little villain—just like the ones their father often described.
"Of course, Sister."
Ian replied.
"Ryan will definitely become an obedient little brother."
Charlotte nodded with satisfaction.
"That's right."
"Then if he's naughty, help your sister deal with him."
"Alright, Sister."
Neither Ian nor Charlotte actually knew what Ryan would be like when he grew up.
But Charlotte hoped their youngest sibling would be like Ian.
Meanwhile, Ian hoped Ryan would grow up like himself.
Because if another Charlotte appeared—a male version—he could already imagine the future of their family being filled with two people who had the personality of a "villain."
Ian quickly pushed that strange thought away.
He then shifted his gaze toward the area that had been struck by the fireball earlier.
"Sister."
"Let's take a closer look."
He pointed toward the trench carved into the ground.
Charlotte immediately grabbed his hand.
"Alright."
"I'm curious too."
The two of them walked closer.
When they arrived, they began carefully examining the traces of the attack.
Ian slowly walked along the trench created by Charlotte's fireball, from the starting point all the way to the crater at the end.
Charlotte herself stood quietly near the crater.
She stared at it without moving, as if her mind had drifted somewhere else.
Ian did not pay much attention to that.
He crouched down and touched the cracked ground scorched by the fire.
The surface had hardened.
It was still warm.
His small white palm quickly became stained with black soil and fragments of burnt twigs.
But Ian did not care.
He wanted to feel the trace of that power for himself.
After a while, he stood up again.
He picked up a small fragment of stone from the ground and held it in his hand.
The stone still felt hotter than the soil he had touched earlier.
Ian stared at it as if thinking about something.
Then he murmured softly to himself.
"Truly..."
He looked toward the crater at the end of the trench.
"An extraordinary destructive power."