Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Prologue

It had been decided that the Five Kage meeting would be held in the Village Hidden in
the Leaves today.
Since a delegation of the ninja villages, which are each one in one of the Five Great
Countries – the Kage of each village – were to gather here, an unusually tense
atmosphere was wrapping the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
The checking-in of the people who passed through the Aun gates, the entrance of the
village, and the inspection of their luggage were carried out even more strictly than usual,
the people in charge of security were always keeping a watchful eye to check if there
weren’t suspicious people and things downtown, and all around the place of the meeting
they had formed an impregnable security network that wouldn’t let pass a mouse or an
ant, if someone would use a transformation technique. Furthermore, even at the Academy
that the children were attending to, the lessons were to end earlier that day.
In short—
In the village, they were in an extremely high state of alert. It was a situation in which
there was vigilance everywhere.
Even if it was a peaceful world in which there weren’t disputes between fellow villages,
no, exactly because it was a peaceful world, they couldn’t be off their guards towards
those who tried to destroy it.
Much less during the meeting of the actual Five Kage, although it wouldn’t be an
exaggeration saying that they’ve built friendly relationships as they’ve never been in the
ninja world history.
Because in any age, in any country, people who’d try to disturb peace will certainly
appear.
If an one-time thing happened, it would become an international problem – as well as an
issue that would affect the Village Hidden in the Leaves’ reputation. If some problem
happened as a lot of people from the other people were watching, even if it was a silly
child’s prank, they couldn’t apologise with just a «It’s just a child’s doing…»
Of course if the opponent were really a child, even the people of the other villages
wouldn’t scold them over a thing like that, but things don’t go like that in this kind of
society.
The Village Hidden in the Leaves as a whole, as the place where the meeting was held,
would have set a bad example for the other villages. Especially today, it would be an
extreme shame if the Mountain of the past Hokage, which was the symbol of the village,
would be vandalised with graffiti.
Of course, there shouldn’t even exist a person who would do such outrageous thing.
They hoped there wasn’t.
Really…

Well—
In a corner of the unusually extremely guarded village, there were two men.
Without most of the people of the village knowing it, quietly, they were carrying out a
sort of secret plan.
The man who had his mouth concealed by a dark mask asked his companion coolly:
«…well, how about you?»
The man that had been questioned had his right foot covered in a plaster cast and was
sitting on a wheelchair. The man in the wheelchair made a face not as dissatisfied as he
should have shown, and answered the question. Apparently he intended on following his
secret plan.
The absolutely secret plan the two were carrying out was this—

HOTSPRING TRIP

There’s something pleasant on the fact of being two people alone, completely and
carefreely submerged in hotsprings in various places while having a tour in a missed
place.
In a big day like the Five Kage meeting, a secret plan carried out in a peaceful village—
if they heard about something like that, it would sound as if those guys of the party that
wanted to destroys peace were plotting something for some reason, but something
dangerous like this is only in the middle of our story.
The man with the mask covering his mouth, Hatake Kakashi, was thinking like this.
Kakashi, who had guided the Village Hidden in the Leaves as the Sixth Hokage, had
handed over this duty to the Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, and now had already
retired from active duty.
In the presence of the current Naruto, who was holding the Five Kage meeting and had
built favourable relationships with the Kage of the other villages, old-timers ‘butting in’
in this and that would be a problem.
Kakashi, taking the chance since he left the Hokage seat, suggested to go on a short trip
to his childhood friend. This trip could happen only because Naruto had grown to
adulthood and was sustaining the village splendidly. When he had been super-busy with
work, it had been an extremely impossible talk.
The man in the wheelchair, who was following Kakahi’s proposal – Might Guy,
Kakashi’s eternal rival even if his friend – gave voice to a certain problem as if he had
thought about it accidentally as he was coming here.
«However, the previous Hokage can’t go wandering about outside the village on his own
accord, right?»
It was an extremely natural problem.
Although he had retired from active duty, the previous Hokage was an important person
in the village. In time of need, it would be a problem not knowing where he was.
However, he had already gone through this chat with Naruto.
«True, but there’s a person who’s been recommended from Naruto.»
The Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, had recommended a certain person as their
attendant.
Kakashi and Guy, and the recommended attendant.
At the same time of the Five Kage meeting, the three’s absolutely secret mission, or
rather, hotspring trip, was about to begin.
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Chapter 1 – Sacred place

I, Sarutobi Mirai, swelled my chest with anticipation.

Because the today’s mission was different from usual.
Because usually, it was me the one who escorted the Seventh, but this time I’d go to
another country as the attendant of the previous Hokage, Hatake Kakashi-san (and Guy-
san).
The content of this mission was apparently simple, a pre-inspection in order to develop
together the undeveloped regions that were along the borders of the Land of Fire and the
Land of Hot Water – that is, guarding them, but for this mission, surprisingly enough, the
Seventh had personally recommended me.
The Seventh Hokage was the hero of the village who had brought the Fourth Shinobi
World War to its end.
And of course a recommendation from the Seventh is not a common thing.
There must have been a suitable reason for fact that he had expressly recommended me
as an attendant to accomplish an important mission like guard duty. In short, there’s no
way I would be a mere attendant.
A shinobi is a person who reads between the lines.
Perhaps it was a mission that would go easily beyond an S-rank level. Even if I’d pretend
to be a mere attendant and deceive those around me I should protect the Sixth from the
hands of wicked evildoers risking my own life in case something happened, it was
probably a highly dangerous mission like that. That’s how interpreted it.
In short, the Seventh was telling me that he only relied on me, just on me, to perform this
highly dangerous mission. For this reason I was full of anticipation.
The Sixth, who was the subject of my guard duty, looked somehow idle, and was in an
important position, that is, he was the previous Hokage. I expected that he’d be probably
targeted by all the bad guys. Probably, his life kept being targeted by terrorists and
terrorists, and then even more terrorists, three hundreds days a year twenty-four hours a
day.
However, I’d be there now. It was my time to shine, now that the Seventh had
recommended me.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration saying that I’ve always served as the Seventh’s guard and
guarding was naturally my speciality, and as long as I was there, they wouldn’t lay a
finger on the Sixth (and Guy-san). Better, if a finger approached them, I’d break it. I’d
smash it. For this reason I went through a hard and strict training.
«As I thought, you can to protect the Sixth from foul terrorists, Mirai… Only you
’ttebayo.»
I’m sure that even the Seventh would tell me this.
In this mission, I intended on working so hard that everyone in the village would be
amazed, and showing them more than enough this true strength of mine. And then, I’d
live up to the Seventh’s expectations!
Before I left home, I joined my hands in front of my deceased father’s portrait, filled with
excitement.
The mission would last two, three days.
For this reason, several days later they would speak about Sarutobi Mirai’s great
enterprises, the one who protected the previous Hokage (and Guy-san) to the very end all
by herself and knocked out wicked terrorists, in Konoha and through the whole ninja
world as well.
The mission that would increase the Sarutobi clan’s pride even further, and that I couldn’t
absolutely fail, started now…!
—And, like that, I was full to the brim of anticipation, but…

«Kakashi, the wind feels so good, ne?»

«Yeah. So lucky there’s a fine weather, really.»
While pushing Guy-san’s wheelchair, the Sixth looked up to the sky. The day was sunny
and calm, just like the two’s calm expressions and voices.
I was following them as I watched their exchange speechlessly. Since the two, who were
in front of me, were walking extremely calmly, I was inevitably proceeding with a calm
way of walking as well.
We were walking along a quiet highway that commanded the view of many mountains in
the distance and was surrounded by fields all around.
Since it was a street with that good view, even ordinary people like merchants and
travellers used it, and it was also not far off the Village Hidden in the Leaves, it was a
relatively safe highway.
The quiet and dull landscape continued.
«Oh, a bird’s singing…»
«Yeah, that’s a shrike.»
The quiet, harmless and inoffensive conversation continued.
«Speaking of shrikes, they’re famous for impaling their preys on twigs.»
«You mean, the fact that they stab the insects they’ve captured with twigs, right? Come
to think of it, didn’t you drive some stakes into the ground in four places once, and dare
to do push-ups above them?»
«Yeah, I miss those times. It had turned into a good training…»
Guy-san looked quietly up to the sky.
«Because I was far from the ground. If I had used up all my strength, I’d have fallen. If I
had fallen, it’d have been really painful. That’s why it was a nice training, because I had
to do my best not to fall at any cost!»
«About that, when was it, that you had started talking about doing push-ups standing on
your hands only, after you did ordinary push-ups above the stakes?»
«Now that you mention it, it might have happened… it might have not… If I remember
correctly, I had got rather irritated because no matter how many times I asked you to join
me in my training with stakes, you were carefreely reading books in the shade of a tree.
And I said “Look at me, Kakashi!”»
«Was it that time when you let your hand slip and knocked you stomach on a stake and
vomited? I saw you fell senseless on top of the stake, your body completely bent over,
and even now I remember well that I thought you looked like the prey of a shrike impaled
on a twig.»
The Sixth listened carefully to the singing shrike with a calm expression.
«Since then, whenever I hear a shrike singing, I remember about your senseless figure…»
«Hey, don’t remember a thing like that! Forget it!» Guy-san yelled while his cheeks
blushed a little.
Since we left the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the two of them had kept being in this
way.
The Sixth and Guy-san amused themselves with reminiscent talks while breaking their
journey here and there for things like famous places in the outskirts of the village,
walking slowly.
The mission was to last two, three days, and we absolutely had to go outside the country,
but I wondered if it would be alright at this pace. Even though I had an uneasy feeling, I
walked in silence. If it had been just me, I could have proceeded as fast as I wanted, but
an escort mission doesn’t work like this.
As to control my feeling of impatience, I adjusted again the knapsack I was carrying on
my back.
By the way, it was a common thing for every ninja, not just for those who had guard
duties like me, but ordinarily, when they move through long distances, ninjas are
expected to carry a big luggage on their back. Because when the time comes, it would be
absurd for a ninja that has to use a kunai promptly and throw shuriken and form hand-
seals to had their hands busy with luggage.
Of course, on the contrary, there are also people that do hold their luggage in their hands.
Maybe there are even assassins who pretend to be travellers and not ninjas, and attack
you suddenly. Just because the hands of the people that walk past you are busy with
luggage, you mustn’t have the wrong impression that they aren’t ninjas. Because the
foundation of a ninja is also taking the opponent by surprise.
Naturally, the three of us were dressed up as travellers now, but…
According to the Sixth, the current mission was a top-secret mission, and an appearance
that immediately gave out that we were Konoha shinobi would bring trouble. Therefore
the top-secret mission was like this, with few people moving, and with me as the only
guard.
For this reason all the three of us had changed into traveller-like clothes, and we were
walking carefreely through this safe highway, but… But, nevertheless…
—So slow…
I sighed silently. As expected, I couldn’t tell the Sixth, who had retired from active duty,
and Guy-san, who was in a wheelchair, to move as fast as a young person, but when I
looked at their extremely slow pace, I felt rather irritated. That was merely taking a stroll.
It looked like I was watching an elderly couple taking a stroll.
I was thinking things like these, when a genuine elderly couple turned up exactly in front
of us.
They were slowly walking towards us. Now that I looked at them, they seemed a good-
natured couple. They had matching hats and a rather large knapsack, and were carrying a
stick in their hands. However, given that their legs and hips looked steady, those sticks
were probably for climbing mountains.
I’d say that the couple went climbing since they had been blessed with such a good
weather.
However, I couldn’t be fooled just because they looked like an old couple.
Their hands were busy with the sticks. But even sticks can become weapons. They could
even have inserted a blade into them.
While I observed the old couple’s every move, they passed by us.
The moment they passed by, the old couple nodded slightly. Also the Sixth and Guy-san
nodded in reply.
Then, they slowly increased the distance between us. However, I didn’t let my guard
down behind us. I had a burning feeling of tension. A single cold sweatdrop ran down my
spine. Then, the distance between us and the old couple increased steadily, and their
retreating figures grew smaller. Finally, the figure of the old couple that didn’t have
luggage disappeared.
«Err… what’s the matter? You’re making a scary face…»
At the Sixth’s anxious voice, I suddenly came to my senses.
Apparently, my expression had spontaneously stiffened.
I relaxed my stance, flustered. However, I couldn’t say, as one would expect, “Because
maybe the old couple would make an unexpected turn and attack us from behind.”
«Ah, no, err, I-I thought that some terrorists might appear suddenly from these bushes
here and I was on guard and… a-ha, a-ha-ha-ha…»
In the peaceful highway, only my dry laughter was breaking the calm.
The Sixth and Guy-san made a bewildered expression. Ah, strange atmosphere had fallen
over us.
In the first place, I didn’t know what should I talk about with those two, who were old
enough to be my father. I wondered if it was because I’ve been without a father since I
was born, or if this kind of things happens to everyone. Anyhow, I had said strange
things. That moment, my cheeks burned red.
«The bushes…? Hmm… I don’t think so. They’re normal.»
The Sixth grinned. While I felt my ears become bright red, I answered «Yes, right.» in an
almost vanishing voice.
As a result, without the old couple that had passed by turning into assassins and baring
their fangs at us, and without terrorists jumping out of the bushes around us, the never-
changing scenery continued stubbornly, the reminiscent talk of the two became lively, I,
who was supposed to guard them, just walked, still bored, also Guy-san hummed in a
good mood with the singing birds that fluttered in the wind, and the dull hours passed
uneventful and quiet.
There was peace all over.
I didn’t really think that it would be good if anything happened in particular. Generally, a
top-secret mission is over when terrorists get to know about it and target you. It means
checkmate.
Even if I guarded them, the best thing would be that it ended calmly and uneventfully. Of
course I understood this. I understood it, but, however…
That moment, I suddenly thought about it.
I surely couldn’t become like the Seventh.
No matter how much I worked hard, no matter how much I trained, I surely couldn’t play
a role as important as the Seventh’s. That was a thought, almost a conviction, I had had
since I was a child.
To begin with, the Seventh had lot of great achievements that even now were narrated as
legends, of the generation before mine. A thing like this would probably have nothing to
do with me.
Anyhow, times had changed.
As for my battle experience, I had only guys that were some kind of armed thieves, poor
excuses of a ninja at best, as opponents. Honestly, they weren’t even opponents. There’s
no way I would lose against blockheads who had run away from the village and misused
the techniques they’ve learnt for their selfish desires. No matter how many of those guys
I’ve dealt with, I wouldn’t possibly be a match for the Seventh’s legendary enterprises.
My great efforts got immediately hazy.
For this reason, I thought about it sometimes. I considered it.
Peace was a wonderful thing. However, if there was constant peace, and everyone was
happy, and it became a world in which there weren’t any bad guys or people in trouble,
what would become of ninjas then? What should people like me do in this kind of world?
In the first place…
—Why did I become a ninja…
I thought things like that while I gazed at the absolutely quiet and peaceful scenery.

«Why did I become a ninja? Why do I keep being a ninja even now…why? That’s right,
a crying child like my past self shouldn’t have stayed alone, that’s what I thought.»

Suddenly, I remembered those words.

These were the things my cousin, Sarutobi Konohamaru, told me once.
Since we are both the Third Hokage’s grandchilds and both worked in a mutual
familiarity with the Seventh, I often meet Konohamaru. Even though he has a good
command of the Rasengan, a technique that has been passed on him directly by the
Seventh, and he supports the village as a remarkable jōnin, he’s in the elite that acts as a
supervisor for the Seventh’s son, Boruto-kun, for me he’s just like an older brother about
my age.
And during a trifling conversation with Konohamaru, I had casually asked him this
question.
If I remember correctly, I think I asked him something like why he kept being a shinobi
to the point of training hard and painfully in the current times, when there was peace.
That time, it had no particular meaning, it was only in the flow of the conversation for
some reason, I had asked it just out of curiosity. It’s a faint memory, but maybe it was
something in the middle of the story that Konohamaru was cooperating in the research
and development of a new ninja tool.
Apparently, they had reached the point that anybody would be easily able to use
complicated techniques, if they used this ninja tool.
I had said something like “If it’s so, there would be no one who works hard and train
anymore”. I don’t remember exactly, but I probably asked the previous question at that
point.
However, after a seemingly awkward answer, Konohamaru’s intrepid profile left a
strange impression in me.
Because I wondered if my father had that kind of face, when he was young.
However, thinking back now, it’s natural that Konohamaru had answered that way.
When the Third – my grandfather, and then my father died, Konohamaru was barely still
at a genin’s age, probably. I wonder if he was an Academy student, perhaps.
That surely was the answer of a person who had shed tears for his own lack of strength,
of someone who was still a child and couldn’t do anything in front of the death of a close
person.
So, how about me?
Since I was born, my father wasn’t there. He wasn’t there from the beginning. It was
natural.
For this reason, it isn’t really clear for me the feeling of loneliness of not having a father.
Of course, if I had to say if I’m lonely or not lonely, I’d say lonely.
But I wonder if the meaning of the world lonely is different for me, who have never had a
father from the start, and for people who had lost their fathers in midway.
If I think about it, it’s not that when I was a child I was too much aware of the families of
my friends compared to mine and things like that. That was surely thanks to my kind and
sometimes strict mother, and probably thanks to the many people of the village that took
care of us children.
However, for this reason the answer wasn’t the same for me, who have never lost, and
Konohamaru.
Konohamaru is a person who has lost somebody, I’m not.
If it’s so, why did I become a ninja, why did I keep being a ninja?
Because both my father and my mother are ninja? Because I’m the granddaughter of the
Third Hokage? Or because I’m the member of a clan who has a ninja lineage? In the end,
it was just because I only thought about that. It was just because I’ve been living as a
person who would become a ninja as a matter of course when she grew up. In short, did
that mean that I was only walking through this path as I’ve been channelled…?
Even now that I was quietly walking matching my pace with the Sixth while
accompanying the Sixth as his guard like this and pursuing the path the Sixth was
walking, following after the Sixth, wasn’t it completely the same thing?
Then it seemed to me that I had no such thing as a will.

“Even if we’re keeping on proceeding forward at a lagging pace, in the end we’ll end up
arriving somewhere” I thought, intently. The three of us finally arrived at a post town.
The sun was still somewhat high, but apparently the plan was spending the night here
today.
We got a reservation in an inn, and went through the busy main street. In the middle of
the tumult, I walked silently next to the Sixth for a while, but, finally, I boldly asked him
this question.
«Err… it’s really okay moving at this pace…?»
Maybe it was natural that we were looking around for various sightseeing areas for our
inspection, but even so I was bothered by the slow pace. Even this town was still within
the Land of Fire’s jurisdiction.
However, the Sixth’s buoyant attitude didn’t change.
«Mh? Yeah, it’s alright, it’s alright. Look over there.» the Sixth said, and pointed to a
mountain range that appeared in the outskirts of the village.
«If you pass over that, you’re already in the Land of Hot Water.»
«R-really. The Land of Hot Water…» I muttered, and stared intently at the mountains.
“Does it mean that we are already near the national border? And tomorrow, about this
time, will we go beyond the national border and be on the other side of these mountains –
in the Land of Hot Water?” I was thinking for no particular reason.
Thereupon—
«O~i, Kakashi, there’s a hit-the-target here. What do you say, are you going to play or
not?»
We heard Guy-san’s voice coming from in front of us. His face appeared from a shop
nearby and he waved.
«Hmm… well, let’s try it out.»
«Oh, you’re easy to be influenced! That’s so different from the old times!»
«Well, that’s because even I got rather old. My personality mellowed out, more or less.»
The Sixth passed under the curtain of the shop with the hit-the-target stand, while
laughing lightly with a hahaha. I looked at him silently.
Since those two were always in that kind of mood, I didn’t felt like we were on a mission.
I looked around my surroundings with the umpteenth sigh today.
The post town was crowded with people. It was very trafficked. And why did I feel like it
was oddly full of young people? Or rather, except for us, there were almost only young
people. Guessing from the atmosphere, they were probably couples, but why like this…?
Mixed with the young people, the Sixth and Guy-san were chattering in high spirits.
Despite they were old enough to know better, the two men were switching from sadness
to joy as they threw wooden kunai and rubber balls.
To be honest, I felt awfully out of place. And what the hell was I doing, protecting them
behind their backs…
What would the people around us think about the three of us? Probably they thought it
was some kind of meeting. At least, probably nobody thought that one among us was the
previous Hokage, but if they could have done it I’d have run away for the impulse of
wanting to escape from this place, aborting the mission right away.
«Nuu, another draw…!»
Immediately, Guy-san came out of the shop. Also the Sixth came out while pushing Guy-
san’s wheelchair, following him. I stared at their two figures, who had come out sooner
than I thought.
«Eh? E-err… the hit-the-target…?»
«Hn? Yeah, we didn’t hit even one.» the Sixth answered with a smiling face. Apparently
they hadn’t taken any prize at all. In short, the person who was supposed to be the
previous Hokage couldn’t even hit the prize of a hit-the-target… I was almost too stunned
to move.
«No~, though if they had been real kunai we would have hit it.»
«Yeah, so bad. However, it was a nice fight!»
Before those two’s radiant smiling face, my face didn’t changed from being ghastly pale.
I mean, the previous Hokage, of all people, had messed up… No, there was no point in
getting irritated by their playing. Or rather, how difficult was the hit-the-target there?
«Alright, well then, Kakashi, let’s go in the next shop for another match!»
«Err, wait a second.»
At Guy-san’s voice, the Sixth fetched his wallet and checked inside in a hurry. Now, he
looked more like my mum rather than the previous Hokage…
—And, suddenly, a shout of joy occurred.
When I looked, thinking about what was happening, I heard the voice of a young girl who
was making an excited noise coming from the previous hit-the-target shop. Apparently, a
couple had totally got the prize.
—Those people had done better than the previous Hokage…
When I shuddered slightly at the couple that was coming out of the shop while holding
the big prize—
«Oops.»
Suddenly, the Sixth grabbed the arm of the man that was walking near him.
«Eh!?»
When he looked around, surprised and confused, the Sixth’s wallet was clutched in the
man’s hand. He was a pickpocket.
«Is it so… in a sightseeing area like this.»
In the midst of the traffic, the Sixth sighed quietly. Even if he had tried to flee, he was
grabbing the man’s arm tightly and didn’t let him go. Then, he gave me some instructions
in a calm voice, as if nothing had happened.
«Sorry, but will you call a security guard for me?»
«Y-yes sir.» I answered in nervous voice. I had been careless. Despite the fact that I was
the guard, I was completely exhausted because I was annoyed by the two’s relaxed air.
To think that we had been targeted by a pickpocket.
However, as expected from the Sixth. As I thought, the previous Hokage’s reputation
wasn’t just for show.
A moment later, ba–m, the Sixth’s wallet revolved in midair.
«Ah…» the Sixth let out an idiotic cry. The pickpocket, who was being held by his arm,
snickered broadly.
At the same time, another man, who had appeared suddenly from the crowd, seized the
wallet that had been thrown and quickly ran away. The pickpockets were two.
«No! Mirai, follow him!»
As Guy-san yelled, I started running.
I followed after the man that was running away, skilfully making my way through the
spaces between people. Above the main street, which was packed with a lot of tourists, he
had an advantageous position. If I lost sight of him even once, it would be all over.
—I couldn’t let it happen…!
I quickly formed hand-seals as I ran. The movements of the man, who was often
checking behind him if I wouldn’t catch up with him, stopped suddenly.
«A-argh, what’s this!?» the man yelled. Because at the man’s feet, trees and shrubs had
grown all of a sudden. Without stopping, the trees and shrubs slowly coiled around the
man’s body, and in the blink of an eye the man was constrained.
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death.
This genjutsu, passed down in Konoha since ancient times, is a technique that arrests the
opponent showing him an illusion of trees and branches coiling around him. If you’re not
resistant to genjutsu, you can’t even move one finger.
Originally, it was a technique invented in the epoch of the First Hokage, Senju
Hashirama, who was a Wood Release user and the founder of the Village Hidden in the
Leaves. At the beginning it was used to convince the opponent to think that he was under
the influence of a Wood Release ninjutsu.
In short, by showing this illusion to the enemy, it was used to scare them and make them
think if, perhaps, it was Senju Hashirama the one fighting with him now, and if Senju
Hashirama was in the enemy’s corps. As the one and only Wood Release ninjutsu user,
the First Hokage was know all through the ninja world — and this genjutsu was born
because of his influence.
—Well, I had a superficial knowledge of most of this story because I heard it from my
mum, but…
I approached the man, walking slowly. When I stretched my hand, the man stiffened his
face and «Noo» moaned. His face got pale as cold sweat beaded it. Probably, he didn’t
even notice that he had been put under a genjutsu.
I recovered the Sixth’s wallet from the man’s hand, who couldn’t make the slightest
movement.
Finally, I had been able to do a task worthy of the name ‘guard’.

I handed the pickpocket over to the town’s public security maintenance corps, I went
back to the Sixth and Guy-san’s side, and even though his wallet had been stolen, the two
were pleased for some reason.
«Nooo, I’m astonished. That there were two of them.»
«Indeed. I hadn’t realised that. Those guys were professionals!»
“Waah ha ha”, Guy-san laughed. “Hahaha”, the Sixth laughed as well.
I felt it was too soon to relax during my absence, even thought I was handing the
pickpocket I had caught over to the public security maintenance corps.
Guy-san was clutching his fists exaggeratedly.
«Kuu~, however, I’ve grown old, too. If I had been in my prime, not just two, but one or
two thousands pickpockets wouldn’t have been a big deal. On the contrary, I’d have
driven these fists into them before they could steal my wallet!»
«No, you can’t drive your fists into people who hasn’t done anything yet.»
«Ooh, that’s true!»
The two started their thoughtless conversation again and burst into laughter. Somehow, I
was gradually getting angry.
«Oh, you came back?» Guy-san, who had noticed me, raised his voice. I raised my voice
towards the Sixth, who had turned around.
«Please, cut it out! What are you laughing so idiotically for!?»
The Sixth and Guy-san were stunned. But I didn’t stop.
«If we had made even just one mistake, we’d been done for, right!? That is, surely letting
the pickpocket approach you was a mistake of mine, right? However, it doesn’t mean that
I’m blind to my mistakes, but please be more cautious, both of you!»
Becoming aware of the gazes of the people around me now that I kept talking on and on
out loud without pausing, I lowered my voice.
«In the first place, he took advantage of you because you had been too easy on him by
just grabbing his arm. He passed the wallet to his friend. You should have smashed the
bone of his arm.»
«I’d never do that kind of things without warning! I’m not Guy.»
«Oi oi, even I’d never smash someone’s arm without warning!»
«Well then, a Lightning Release! Use a Lightning Release! You should have stunned
him!»
«Mhhh, if I’d used that we would have stood out too much. Look, for the time being, this
is a top-secret mission.»
«Well…»
Surely, it was just like that. It was just like the Sixth had said. Breaking his arm while he
was restricting him would have been excessive, and he couldn’t have used a Lightning
Release, especially in front of many tourists. I understood it. However, why was I so
depressed?
«Besides—»
With a smiling face, the Sixth pointed at my hand. To be accurate, at his wallet, which
was in my hand. I had thought of giving it back and I was still holding it.
«Can you open it for a moment?» I was told, and while I thought it was suspicious I
checked inside the wallet. Thereupon, inside it, for some reason there were no notes and
coins at all, but only a scrap of paper.
When I thought “What?” and tried to open it…

Fail you should stop doing bad things.

Inside, there was this message and an illustration of the Sixth’s caricature.
«This wallet is a fake, really.»
«Why, really? As expected from you, Kakashi.»
The Sixth and Guy-san burst into laughter again.
But naturally, for me, it wasn’t funny at all. Well, I was irritated in general.
«Well, now that also my spare wallet came back, let’s have a look around.»
The very unfamiliar word “spare wallet” made my heart sink.
I had been of no use as a guard yet. My irritation worsened. What I was so irritated at? At
myself, because I didn’t do anything.
«Well then, that way—!»
Guy-san pointed to another shop, and the Sixth pushed his wheelchair. Just like the other
time in the hit-the-target shop, the two of them went running again in high spirits,
chattering like children. Then I watched their two backs, looking abated.
—I wonder if this person was really a Hokage…
This doubt appeared instinctively.
This person, nonchalantly, with a slow pace, looked as if he wasn’t thinking about
anything, he even missed the hit-the-target, on top of that his wallet, though fake, had
been stolen, and despite this he laughed idiotically the whole time, looking completely
unreliable: was he really fit for a great task as the Hokage?
The Hokage is a special shinobi, the top of the village. It couldn’t fit a person like that,
who takes commemorative photos mixed together with a crowd of young people with
such a light-hearted mood — such a fool!
«What are you doing!?»
Flustered, I tore off the Sixth and Guy-san from a group of young people. My heart had
turned into an alarm-bell. It was a dangerous place. That moment, a short space had
opened between us, and it was an unworthy mistake for a guard to be surrounded by a lot
of strangers. And I shuddered if I thought that some young people could have burst out
with an explosion. About this time, the Sixth and Guy-san would have lost their lives.
«P-please, don’t go wandering about on your own…»
I hanged my head while out of breath. When I raised my head, there was Guy-san in front
of me, who smiled showing his white teeth. Or rather, there was only Guy-san.
«Whaaaah, Sixth!?»
After a while, a strange voice came from the bottom of my stomach. Rather than that, I
had called him “Sixth”. Despite the fact that I had to call him “Kakashi-san” in front of
other people, out of security.
I had never expected that so often in one day my pride as a guard would have been hurt
until here. I frantically looked around me. Thereupon, the figure of the Sixth in a lane not
far away.
The Sixth, who was loitering in the lane, for some reason had put his hands on a roadside
tree nearby and had his eyes wet.
And he was muttering incessantly «Perhaps this is “that tree”…?» and so forth.
«E-excuse me, that…»
At this overly ambiguous and strange scene, I was somewhat taken aback. Thereupon
Guy-san, who was coming next to me moving his wheelchair, smiled calmly.
«He’s always been saying that he wanted to come here. Until now, he had always been
busy and his wish never came true.»
«Eh, come… here?»
Surely, before I’ve become old enough to understand it, the Sixth had been worked to
death with paperwork the size of a mountain as Hokage. Maybe he hadn’t had a holiday
worthy of that name in which he could have travelled afar.
However, no matter how I looked at it, this place seemed nothing but an ordinary lane.
«Ooh, don’t tell me that this is “that shop”, this place I’m about to stand in is “that
road”…!»
The Sixth had raised a shout of joy while his eyes sparkled, looking around restlessly. He
was completely like a child in a toy shop. I wondered if it wasn’t strange that the Sixth,
who had always been having that impression of being aloof from the world, was exposing
his delight to this extent.
What in the world was this place, which fascinated the Sixth to this extent…
«Finally… finally, my long lasting dream came true… Now I’m standing in “that place”,
in the sacred place of “Make-Out Paradise”!»
The Sixth raised both his hands to the heaven, and emitted a cry of joy.
«Make-out… eh, what?» I asked Guy-san without thinking.
«“Make-Out Paradise”… Kakashi’s favourite book since he was young.» Guy-san
muttered, and in his cheeks, for some reason, there was a stream of tears.
«Your dream… your dream finally came true, Kakashi…!»
Guy-san was sobbing, and the Sixth had raised his fists as if he was raising a war cry of
triumph.
What? I didn’t get the hype. Then, what? A book with this dumb title. Surely the person
who wrote it was dumb as well.
I wondered what kind of book was it… I wondered if the fact that I felt so many young
men and women around me was because of this Make-out something…
Thereupon, the Sixth muttered as if he had digested his joy: «This is the location of when
they made the movie…»
They even made a screen version.
I wondered if it wasn’t that, perhaps, only the title was strange, and the content of the
book was unbelievably useful. Was I too hasty in judging it by its title alone? Anyhow, it
was a book that the Sixth loved reading when he was young. Surely it was something
very secret.
«It’s okay if I read it too, right?»
«Eh?»
Guy-san looked up to me, emitting a hysteric voice. Since he was staring at my face too
fixedly, I felt somehow awkward.
«W-what is it?»
«For you, it’s too soon…!» Guy-san declared flatly.
His figure was just like some teacher’s. A teacher that puts theory in practice just saying
“Watch and learn” without coaching directly his student.
However, I didn’t give up.
«W-well, its contents at least…»
When I insisted like this with a serious look, Guy-san furrowed and made a sullen face.
«Its contents… contents…» Guy-san thought, and then he suddenly covered his face with
both his hands.
«Aaah, I can’t tell you! I simply can’t tell you!»
Guy-san shook his head just like a little girl, saying “No way, no way”, while his face
became red till his ears.
What’s up with him…
At Guy-san’s unexpected reaction, I was completely let down. Either way, I was in the
middle of a mission now. I would take care of the book after I came back home.
When I made this resolution within myself, Guy-san was holding out the copy of a book.
«This is…!?»
«If you read, I hope you’ll read this book. It’s “Rush out, youth! Twenty-four hours of
hot-blood exercises” I supervised! And there’s also a video with which you can exercise
together with me!» he said, and handed the book over to me without even listening. Or
rather, he half-forced me to take it.
On the front cover, there was the figure of Guy-san pointing his thumb at his nice smiling
face. Then Guy-san continued, with the same facial expression and pose reported onto the
front cover of the book.
«In this book, there are written down the methods of exercise I invented and performed
while sitting. It has been thought so that even old people with frail legs and waist can
easily exercise. By reading this book, and exercising for twenty-four hours with me
thanks to the enclosed training video, everyone will surely become healthy and sound in
the blink of an eye in their own homes!»
What… If they didn’t withdraw this book from sale immediately, old people would die.
I was still holding the book dumbfounded, when the Sixth came back, satisfied for the
sacred place.
«Aah, this book. I mean, the one you’re holding…»
Looking at the book, which was already sweltering from the front cover, the Sixth made a
weary expression.
«Twenty-four hours, that’s plainly impossible…»
«That’s not true! Lee was greatly excided for this book and he even said “I’ll begin this
training every day from now on!”!»
Oh, no… They had to hurry up even more to withdraw this extremely dangerous book
from sale. Lee-san’s whole life from now on would be completely devoted to exercise.
«No, look, that’s because that kid underwent a special training…»
«What the heck do you know about my student!?»
I stared at the two’s bustling exchange, peacefully. Their frank verbal arguments, which
were made possible exactly because they really understood each other’s feelings and they
had been friends for long years, were pleasant even from an outsider’s point of view. At
the figure of the Sixth that treated Guy-san lightly, my features softened instinctively.
—Somehow, they’re always in this mood, those two.
Then, while I watched those two’s figures, I realised I was thinking about my late father.
Both the Sixth and Guy-san should have been about my father’s age.
If dad had been alive, what kind of feeling would he have had?
Would he have been a hot-blooded man like Guy-san?
Or would he have been a carefree and easygoing person like the Sixth?
Even if I joined my hands in front of him every night, I couldn’t get to know his voice
and his character from his portrait only.
If the people who knew my father saw his portrait, probably they would recall valuable
memories, but I didn’t have any memory with my father. I never knew firsthand what
kind of way of talking my father had, with which kind of voice he spoke.
«Alright, if it’s so, let’s go back to the inn and put my proud exercises into practiceeee!»
«Mmh, no, I’m okay like this.»
«Damn, you’re not answering in the right mood here! As expected from my rival…»
The Sixth and Guy-san’s boisterous exchange was still going on.
«Twenty-four hours of hot-blooded exercises at the long-awaited hotsprings, not what I
wanted really…» the Sixth said, and pushed Guy-san’s wheelchair. Apparently they were
heading towards the inn. The sun had already set, and the scarlet that was slightly left in
the sky at west was blending with the black of the night.
I silently followed after the two. That day had been hectic, but it was because I had been
their guard. I had been assigned to guard them directly from the Seventh.
«Surely… the long-awaited hotspring will be a long-awaited holiday.»
Gradually, our surroundings grew dark. In the fronts of the lines of shops, the light of the
paper lanterns was gleaming.
«…eh.»
My voice escaped from my lips instinctively. However, my voice was erased by the
tumult of the town.
«Really, you’re so serious, too. Anyhow, if it hadn’t appeared as a mission on paper, we
wouldn’t have been able to leave the village like this.»
At the words that Guy-san had said fro some reason, my feet stopped.
Holiday. On paper. Surely he had said it.
In short, this was only sightseeing. And this place here, even if they called it inspection,
was only a place they wanted to come to. I was really a mere attendant, it was impossible
to do a meritorious deed as a guard, at best I’d only been brought along because I was
needed on the official papers for the trip of the previous Hokage…
Out of all the things that rushed about inside my head, just one thing I thought at first.
—Seventh, why me…?
Why did he leave me out of his guards on the important day of the Five Kage meeting?
Why was I standing in a place like that instead of being the Seventh’s guard?
I had been excluded because I was inexperienced…?
The Sixth and Guy-san were going on. I stared at their backs, dumbfounded.

Night.
In one room of the hot-spring inn, the Sixth and Guy-san were having supper. The figures
of those two dressed in yukata looked completely at ease. Or better, far from being at
ease, it seemed that the Sixth was somehow absent-minded. As usual, I got the vague
impression that made me doubt of the fact that he was the previous Hokage.
Guy-san was Guy-san, had an extremely big appetite, and he was just as I saw him.
I was looking at their two figures through binoculars.
Right now, I was outside the inn – above a tree that was in the garden. I had declined
supper, and I decided within myself that I’d guard the two of them, who were inside their
room, from here.
Even if it was a mere holiday, even if it was sightseeing using the pretext of a mission,
then I’d carry out this mission till the end as I pleased.
The attendant of a sightseeing tour – in short, if those two could even finish their
enjoyable sightseeing and go back to Konoha without problems was fine enough. In that
case, there was no need of having supper with them, and there was no need of staying in
the room next to theirs either. I wondered if it was enough that the things I had to do were
things like arranging as much food as possible and getting a reservation at the inn, and
then looking at them from afar in this way.
Anyhow, my duties would be over tomorrow or the day after. It was boring, but it was
something I could endure. Then everything would be over. This futile mission as well.
I leant on the trunk, and sighed. The steam that rose up from here and there in the post
town was absorbed by the evening sky while being illuminated by lamps that filtered out
of the houses. I, who was thinking about sightseeing for some reason, made my body
tremble suddenly. Night had fallen, and I got a little cold.
— Really, why am I doing a thing like this…
In the binoculars, Guy-san was stuffing his cheeks with an appetizing-looking tempura.
— What? This meaningless scene and time…
Grooowll, my stomach roared.
I fetched a military ration pill, and ate it, squirming. It tasted as usual. Rather than being
familiar with it, it was a taste that I was pretty sick of. However, I was grateful that I
could eat a food I was familiar with in time of emergency. Because in a strict mission, or
in an unfamiliar land, I could stabilize my soul by feeling in my mouth a known taste.
In some way, even now I was in a strict and unfamiliar situation, though it was a thing I’d
have liked to eat in a mission that looked much more like a proper mission.
When I peeped through the binoculars, Guy-san, who had eaten up all the tempura that
was in his plate, was holding out his chopsticks to the Sixth’s plate. Then, he stole the
tempura from the Sixth.
«Unbelievable…»
What’s up with those old people? It’s not that they were children. But I wasn’t surprised
only for that. It was the Sixth. The Sixth didn’t react at all. Even though it was in his
meal, apparently he hadn’t even noticed that his tempura was disappearing from his plate,
as he was staring absentmindedly into space. Wasn’t the only ornament in there the one
holding chopsticks and bowl?
«How dull…» I muttered instinctively.
Having been close to him all day long, I kept being disappointed by the Sixth.
At any rate, he was completely different from how I had imagined him. He was
extremely different from the Seventh. I thought he was a much more splendid, amazing
person.
But was that really the truth?
I was disappointed by a thing like that. It was really a disappointment.
Once again, I checked the Sixth’s condition, who was spacing out. To begin with, how
did a person with his lips covered by a mask intend on eating? Come to think of it, I’d
never seen him without his mask along the way, not even once. What kind of face on
earth did he have…
I watched him attentively, holding my breath with a gulp. Thereupon, my eyes and the
Sixth’s eyes met.
«You’ll catch a cold, you know?» the Sixth asked me.
«Please, ignore me. I’m just keeping watch on my own.» I replied with a sour look. No,
wait. Now, how that voice…
«Ha!?»
I turned around, disconcerted. The Sixth’s figure wasn’t in the binoculars anymore.
«But I can’t eat if I’m worried that you’re here like that…»
On top of the tree behind me, there was the Sixth’s figure, who was talking with a calm
tone.
«N-no way… fast…!»
I opened and closed my mouth just as if I was suffocating. For the excessive shock, the
words didn’t come out well. Then, after a pause, sweat suddenly came out of my body.
Despite I was affected by the cool evening and my body was cold.
It wasn’t normal for me being surrounded from behind without even noticing it. I could
have said it was impossible. But despite this, the Sixth was standing there with a carefree
air just like until not so long ago.
«W-why are you so fast only now, while you didn’t mind that your tempura was being
stolen!?»
«Tempura?»
At those words, which had finally come out of my mouth after I had regained composure
a little, the Sixth tilted his head.
Then—
«Aah, I’ve always disliked tempura. Well, that was also a long time ago, but Guy has
always been eating them for me. That guy eats them even if I told him that he could get a
bad stomach ache nowadays because of his age.» he answered while staring at the
window of the inn – at Guy-san, who was inside the room.
«Is… that so?»
It was natural for those two not worrying about their tempura disappearing. In short, I had
misunderstood.
«Apart from that, you became hungry, right? How about eating supper with us now?»
Since the Sixth had asked it with a smiling face, I reacted without thinking.
«…okay. At any rate, I’m just an attendant!»
I had said those things, stressing the word ‘just’. I had expressly said those things. I knew
that I was being absolutely childish, and I got sick of it. However, when I thought that I
couldn’t be a guard fair and square, and I was useless in the end, my real feeling was that
my back had been exposed before I became aware of it, and it had been a terrible day…
Thereupon the Sixth looked up to the sky, and clutched the haori that he was wearing
above the yukata.
Then, he said one thing in a low voice.
«As the Hokage’s son, I wonder how did he feel…»
A thing like that, without any logical connection.
«What, all of a sudden. Are you talking about Boruto-kun?» I answered, still with a
sullen look, thinking that he had suddenly averted the discussion.
«No, I’m talking about your father.»
«…eh?»
The trees were noisy for the night breeze.
«When I look at you, I recall the young Asuma. You’re the spitting image of his
clumsiness.»
The spitting image of my father… Oddly glad for this, rather than having been called
clumsy, I eagerly stared at the Sixth.
«Asuma…»
Quietly, the Sixth began talking.
«He was tall. And then, after his voice changed, it turned into a nice and austere voice.
He was quite popular with girls. Oh! He didn’t notice it very much.»
«…what about he being the Hokage’s son!?» I, who was listening thinking that it had
turned into a serious talk, exclaimed instinctively.
«Yeah, that’s right, that’s right. Mmh, well… I’ve heard that a lot of things happened.
That he was in disaccord with his father and such. And there were the expectations and
strong pressure from those around him.»
This conversation was rougher than I thought.
«Maybe it was because of his rebellion towards his father that he left the village for a
while. However, when he came back he was able to take his mask off. Somehow, he was
more relaxed than before. Since then, I wonder if that’s why their father-son relationship
settled down without stiffening.»
The Sixth smiled, looking at me.
«Well, I’m having this conversation now because you were so stiff, just like Asuma when
he was young. I think you should be much more relaxed.»
«Relaxed…»
«Yeah. Being diligent is okay, but don’t steel yourself too much. Even Naruto is worried
about it. He says it’s such waste of your true strength. Curiously, when you put too much
weight on one’s shoulders, even things that should go smoothly turns out badly.»
«The Seventh, a thing like that…»
That’s the thing he had always been worried about. Why, in the day of the Five Kage
meeting, had he expressly left me out of his guards? Because he was caring about me.
«Is that so… right.»
Still leaning onto the trunk, I hugged my knees. I thought that he didn’t care about things
like mere guard duties. But I was wrong. The Seventh was looking at me attentively.
«Besides, even though I said it was a holiday or something, even a top-secret mission is a
full-fledged mission. We have to do it as travellers, and not as Konoha shinobi. You were
looking around with binoculars, oddly stiff as a guard, we’ll be found out.»
«W-were my eyes really that sharp?»
«Yeah. To be frank, they were the eyes of a carnivorous animal that aims at a prey.»
I wasn’t even a shinobi.
I planned on restrain myself well, but I had been found out like that.
When the Sixth and Guy-san, even while they were more in high spirits than needed,
were doing it to pretend to be travellers, I didn’t even notice it. Then, in this case—
Then, I remembered something.
«Then, the fact that you weren’t able to get the prize at the hit-the-target was on purpose,
in order to pretend to be mere travellers perhaps…?»
The moment I asked this, the Sixth’s face darkened.
«No… that was accidental…»
«You really didn’t hit it!?»
«No, I couldn’t be frank with you, I discussed with Guy, and when I said something like
“Let’s get the biggest prize here as a surprise present”, it was more difficult than I
thought and everything went wrong. It was useless. To think that two old men would
think about that.»
The Sixth smiled lightly, and continued.
«However, I can tell you only this. The fact that Guy and I were able to laugh in peace
and having fun today, Mirai – it was because you were here, our guard specialist.» he told
me with a smiling face, as he always did. Surely, those words weren’t too casual for the
Sixth. Probably the Sixth was like that with anybody.
However, it wasn’t the same for me.
With these casual words, all the things that I had done today had been rewarded in an
instant.
Those words were warm just like a hotspring.
«Tomorrow, I’ll relax a little more, and yet I’ll be your guard with all my strength…!» I
answered, embarrassed.
I’d be spontaneous like the Sixth and Guy-san while pretending to be a mere attendant.
However, when I thought this, I felt it was a pity.
«However, that’s bad.»
The mission was to last two, three days. Even though I could surely learn many, many
more things thanks to the Sixth and Guy-san’s informal and relaxed behaviour, this
mission would end too soon. Now I had a feeling of regret about fact that I thought,
before, that I’d endure it because the mission was going to end soon…
I frankly gave voice to what I was thinking.
«In one or two days, it will be over already. This mission…»
«Eh!?» the Sixth exclaimed, and made a doubtful expression. What?
«Err… I thought they informed you that the mission was going to last “twenty days”…»
At his words, my mind froze.
«Aah, maybe, you misheard “two days” instead of “twenty days” or… something…?» the
Sixth told me, and when I tried to remember very carefully, calming down, I realised it
way too well.
«Aaaargh, I got confused!?» I yelled instinctively, at my wit’s end.
Surely there was “twenty days” written in the documents.
However, for some reason the impression of the number “two” was stronger, and then,
after I arranged my baggage and joined my hands in front of my father’s portrait, I had
told my mother “I’ll be away two or three days”, and I had completely misunderstood
“two days” myself. Thanks to this, also the knapsack I was carrying was wrong. I was
carrying a baggage for four, five days at best.
«Mmh, you’re like that. That type of kids that look all serious but they’re unexpectedly
spontaneous.»
Ha ha ha, the Sixth laughed gently.
Extremely embarrassed, my cheeks turned crimson in a moment.
«N-no! It was an accident! It was really an accident!»
As I frantically denied, my voice rose up to the night sky together with the flickering
steam.

In any case, just as I wished (?), this trip would last a little while more…
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Chapter 2 – Strange festival

I like maps.
Especially, I love when the topography depicted in the maps and the actual scenery match
precisely.
Because I think that even the person who made that map once had seen the same scenery,
just like me now, and I get excited.
Also that day, I unfolded the map and checked the situation around me.
I tried to compare the map with the place of many mountains in the distance, and the
position of a streaming brook.
The whole scenery that was spreading in front of my eyes and the map I was holding in
my hands matched exactly to the inch. The map was extremely accurate. Surely, a skilful
person had drawn it.
It seemed to me that the person who had drawn this map – someone whose face and name
I didn’t know, as opposed to a map like this – was guiding me through time, and I was
deeply moved.
This single sheet of map that I was holding in my hands was the footprints of a person
who had walked through unmapped roads, and the crystallization of their hardships, left
behind for the people who would come after them.
Even I would add new writings in a map like this.
The places of sources that don’t appear in a map, and information on roads that are closed
for landslides or something like that.
I’d improve maps for those who come after me. The new information I’d note down
would be probably updated again by someone else’s hand, and would keep being revived.
Even if just a little, I felt like I could leave behind me a proof that I existed.
Someday, the things I noted down may be useful to someone.
It was nothing but a single sheet of a map, I thought, but for some reason it made me
happy.
The detailed map of the environs of the country border was a precious thing.
No matter how peaceful these times were, shinobi couldn’t wander about the country
borders as they liked, and also a lot of information of the maps had become inevitably
obsolete.
This mission was an inspection of the undeveloped areas near the country border.
Of course, we needed to bring the maps of the outskirts up to date. We had to report the
results of our research in both the countries, the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water,
and share our maps.
Naturally, on the point of view of a person who was scheming evil plans, something like
detailed geographic information of the areas near the country borders was a thing that
they wanted desperately. My improved information might be used to hurt somebody. This
couldn’t absolutely happen. I don’t want them to be useful for evil people.
However, the previous Hokage was travelling together with me in this mission so that it
wouldn’t happen.
Probably, they’d never have imagined that the previous Hokage in person would have
come even near the Land of Hot Water, not even in their dreams.
Because even I wouldn’t even have imagined in my dreams, just few days ago, that the
previous Hokage would have considered a thing like this and done an inspection mission.
This wasn’t a mere pleasure trip. No way.
«Is everything all right?» the previous Hokage – the Sixth – asked me.
«Everything seems okay along the road.» I answered, the map still unfolded.
Right now, we were walking down an old highway that was in the area near the border of
the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water.
Since its width was narrow and unhandy, another highway, which had been built anew,
was used nowadays.
For this reason, of course there was no one in the old highway except for us. However,
for the sake of our duty of improving the map, we ventured to walk even in this sort of
place.
«Good. The map is old, so I was a little worried.» the Sixth said without looking like he
was worried at all, on the contrary, still with his rather calm expression. Then, he
proceeded while pushing Guy-san’s wheelchair.
The old highway continued as if it was weaving its way through the bare surface of the
mountain. If you looked at it from above, a river was streaming at the bottom of he
valley. The scenery was extraordinarily nice, but there were no fences or anything. If you
missed your footing once, you’d end up head over heels. The highway was narrow, and
you simply couldn’t proceed at night or in a bad weather.
The fact that this road wasn’t used nowadays was probably because of this.
However, luckily it was sunny now, and also the unobstructed view was favourable.
Since there weren’t travellers, surely there weren’t even bandits aiming at them. On the
contrary, it was a safe road for us.
Moreover, as one could expect from the fact that it was used as a highway in the past, the
soil under our feet had been neatly maintained. The stone paving, which was probably
neatly spread all over in the past, here and there had cracked, come unstuck, and even if
the grass had grown wildly from the gaps, it was more comfortable than cutting
recklessly through the mountains by far.
«Can we rest a little?» the Sixth began, after we had proceeded for a while.
«The weather is good, and it’s not a hasty journey.»
To be honest, I was grateful for this proposal.
Even now – in this inspection mission – my role was the Sixth and Guy-san’s attendant,
but even if I was guarding them, the thing I could do besides it was adapting myself to
the situation of the moment, taking the initiative.
Anyhow, I was the only shinobi in active duty; in short, also exploring my surroundings
to bring up to date the information of the maps was my duty, and of course, just like some
time ago, before the research I also had to be vigilant as a guard, and while I was
checking the road and the topography I also had ensure ourselves water and food
supplies, just in case; and even if said I was guarding the Sixth and Guy-san it didn’t
mean that I was always at their side: I had to move skipping about here and there,
surprisingly busy.
And even this was natural, but in order to down the position of the sources that didn’t
appear in the maps yet, I had to walk on the actual places – which looked like routes that
normally people didn’t use, probably I was the first human being to have walked on them
– and it was extremely hard to do.
I, who had been walking continuously since morning, stopped my feet, folding the map.
«Sure, I’m a little bit tired.» I said, and stretched. It was a good moment for a break.
«Mirai, you mustn’t be exhausted this much. You should have much more physical
strength.» Guy-san told me as I was stretching my arms. Guy-san was always positive.
Even those words, they weren’t a criticism, but a strong cheering exhortation.
«It wouldn’t be an exaggeration saying that physical strength is the most important thing
for a shinobi…!» Guy-san continued, staring at the green in the distance.
«Maybe because of age, I’m losing physical strength year by year…»
Suddenly it had turned into a painful conversation. Without stopping, Guy-san started
clutching his fists.
«Day after day, I thought that if I kept training much more when I was young…!» Guy-
san groaned, and the Sixth muttered, with a weary expression: «No, if you had trained
more than that, you’d have died…»
“What kind of training on earth did he do?” I wondered, but I didn’t want to guess too
much.
«Well, at any rate, having physical strength is better than not having it. Mirai, you’re still
young. From now on, you’ll improve much, much more. Improve especially your
physical strength!»
It was exactly like that. Physical strength is necessary. I nodded, and the Sixth whispered
into my ear: «Guy is partly a monster of physical strength, so it’s okay if you listen only
to half of the things he says.»
«Kakashi! I heard youuu!!»
There was an awkward atmosphere at first, maybe because of the age difference between
us, but now I thought that I was getting a lot used to this.
«Well, physical strength is important, but as I thought, spiritual strength is the thing that
counts most in the end.»
Ha ha ha, the Sixth laughed.
«There’s no point in having spiritual strength without having physical strength, in the
end!» Guy-san replied, and laughed heartily.
«We all train, so it’s pretty natural that we have physical strength, right? Physical
strength is a standard among others for a shinobi. That’s why I think it’s spiritual strength
for sure.» the Sixth said, smiling.
«Having spiritual strength is a shinobi’s feature. That’s why it’s physical strength for
sure! If you neglect the basis, then to hell with spiritual strength, too! I think that you
have to be aware of and forge your physical strength.» Guy-san said, smiling as well.
Both the Sixth and Guy-san were talking in a calm tone, but I couldn’t help but feel that
there was something somehow different from the usual atmosphere of some time ago.
«Right, Mirai. What do you think?» Guy-san asked me with a smiling face.
«What, you ask…?»
«Well, of course, we were talking about which one is more important, physical strength
or spiritual strength. Right, Kakashi?»
«Right. Assume that you have to choose one of the two.» the Sixth nodded with a smiling
face.
I didn’t know why, but I broke out in a cold sweat as those two were staring at me with a
smiling face. For some reason, I felt the air of the place strangely heavy. It had become
suffocating. Why this? I couldn’t stand it. I had no time to hesitate any longer. I
swallowed with a gulp, and I gave them the answer that seemed boldly the best.
«Err, they’re both important–» «You can’t say that.»
That moment, I was interrupted by the Sixth.
«Yeah. One of the two.»
Guy-san smiled gently. There was no way out of it.
Physical strength? Or spiritual strength?
Which on earth should I choose?
However, in this situation, even if I chose one of the two, certainly it would turn into a
two-versus-one relationship. It was the negative effect of a group of three people. In a
group of three, things like these happened sometimes. The position of “third wheel” is the
most extreme example.
When I was troubled about what was the best thing to choose between the two, the Sixth
spoke.
«Uh-oh, if we don’t leave soon, it’ll get dark.»
«Ooh, that’s right. We have to leave this mountain quickly.»
«Well then, this ends our break.»
As the two began to prepare their baggage cheerfully, I instinctively let out a long sigh of
relief.
«If we arrive to a post town, first of all a hotspring!»
«Yeah, that’s right. I’m pretty sweaty.»
before I became aware of it, we had came back to the usual loose atmosphere. I was
saved…
Finally I had been set free from this irrational double choice. Even if I say so myself, I
think I endured it well. As expected from me. Even if I had been pushed into an absurd
choice, I showed that I could endure. “A shinobi is a person who endures”, right? Then,
even if I had averted this discussion like this, and even if the situation had settled down,
if only we managed to reach quietly the post town…
«Well then, the answer of some time ago after we arrive to an inn.»
The two grinned. Did it mean that I still had to endure?

We left the mountain, and many tourists appeared in front of us, who had finally arrived
to a post town. In terms of structure, it wasn’t a big town at all, but it was full of people.
«Strange… I’d heard that it was a much quieter town, but…» the Sixth said with a
doubtful voice.
«Hey, there won’t be any rooms, right…?»
Judging from the looks of the town, which was jammed with a lot of people, the
reservation of a bed today would probably be hopeless, without even asking. Perhaps, all
the inns had no vacancy.
«Looks like there’s a festival.»
Guy-san pointed to a poster affixed on the front of a shop.
In it, together with the character “festival” written in big letters, there were drawn, one
next to the other, a mask with a motif of dogs, and a mask with a motif of cats.
It seemed that lots of people were all indifferently looking forward to this festival.
«A festival, indeed…» the Sixth muttered, looking around him. I kept a watchful eye on
my surroundings, too. Of course, to keep guard. I sharply observed the gazes, the
expressions, the movements of the people walking down the road. Without being noticed,
thoroughly smoothly.
«At any rate, those masks are unusual.» the Sixth said carelessly. Surely, among the
people that passed by, there were a lot of people who wore the mask drawn on the poster.
Probably they were participants of the festival.
The children that were running around and playing were wearing it on their faces, but
also the adults were walking wearing it on their brows or the back of their heads, or on
their arms or waists. Even though the way of wearing it changed according to each one’s
liking, somehow they gave the impression of ninja forehead protectors.
Then, people who were wearing dog masks were having friendly conversations with
those who wore the same dog mask, and of course people who were wearing cat masks
were happily walking together with fellows with the same cat mask. I had the feeling that
those who wore the same mask were friends.
«What kind of festival is this?»
When I looked closely, even the employees of the shops around us were wearing one of
the two masks, dog or cat depending on the shop. It was natural, because it was a festival
of the whole town, but the strange thing was that the name of this festival, which was
supposed to be the main point, wasn’t written anywhere in the posters.
Thereupon, the Sixth lowered the volume of his voice while he was examining his
surroundings for some reason.
«This is the so-called “Dog-Cat Festival”… no, it’s also called “Cat-Dog Festival”…»
«Which one?»
«Mmh, the way of calling it changes depending on people…»
«…?»
At the Sixth’s extremely vague reply, Guy-san tilted his head, and began to talk.
«This town is a little special… Mirai, pay attention to the line under your feet.»
The line under my feet – in the main street where I was standing, a straight line that
divided the street exactly into two had been drawn.
At first, I wondered if it was the right side of the passage or the left side of the passage or
a rule like that, but when I looked at the passers-by that were walking as they pleased, it
didn’t really seem like that. Since it wasn’t clear, I hadn’t paid particular attention, but…
«Right. Maybe it’s for this festival?»
«No. That’s the country border.»
«The country border!?»
I’d never have thought that in the main street, crowded with people, there was the border
of the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water. Or rather, did you end up in crossing the
line of the country border and emigrate and immigrate continuously by just taking a stroll
or going shopping?
«This is an unusually curious place, the post town in which there’s the country border.
The Land of Fire is on the right side of the line. Likewise, the left side it the Land of Hot
Water.»
At the Sixth’s words, I stared intently at the country border. The line drawn beneath my
feet. Just by taking one step forward from here, I’d be in another country. It’s not that the
odour of the air and the colour of the earth changed, but that was another country. It was
a rather strange sensation.
«Aren’t the townspeople confused by this?»
«Once, the residents of the Land of Fire were those who had their homes in the half of the
Land of Fire, the residents of the Land of Hot Water were those who had their homes in
the half of the Land of Hot Water, and in case the building was straddling across the line
of the country border they had to decide in which country they were residents judging by
the position of the entranceway or the percentage of the area of the lot, but that was
basically settled with the negotiations of the official documents once and for all, that the
people of this town were just “residents of this town”.»
«However, only this day the situation is different.» Guy-san, who had nodded in approval
at the Sixth’s words, continued, making an unusually serious face.
«There are two ancient hotsprings in this town, which straddle across the line of the
country border. One is called “Hot Spring of the Dog”. And the other one is the “Hot
Spring of the Cat”.»
Guy-san began telling a legend that was passed down in this town.

This is the story of before this place had become a town – of when it was a village.
They said that a dog, which had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, was digging in the
ground with a youth of the village.
In place where the youth had dug, a hotspring had gushed forth.
Thanks to the hotspring, the village where people were gathered expanded, and soon
became a town.
The people of the village were thankful to the dog, “That dog was surely a messenger of
the Dog God.”, used a mask that represented the Dog God as a charm thereafter, and
named that hotspring “Hot Spring of the Dog”…

On the other hand, there’s also this story.

Likewise, it’s a story of before this place had become a town – of when it was a village.
A cat, which had appeared out of nowhere, had incessantly been beckoning a youth of the
village in a certain place.
In the place where the youth had tried to dig, thinking that it was strange, a hotspring had
gushed forth.
Thanks to the hotspring, the village where people were gathered expanded, and soon
became a town.
The people of the village were thankful to the cat, “That dog was surely a messenger of
the Cat God.”, used a mask that represented the Cat God as a charm thereafter, and
named that hotspring “Hot Spring of the Cat”…

«W-wait a second. They’re practically the same story, aren’t they!?» I exclaimed
surprised after Guy-san told me the legends that were passed down in that town. Now I
was amazed by this town for both the country border and the legends.
«The two hotsprings has two similar legends… In the end, a violent antagonism arose
among the people who live in this place because of this. It was a dispute that concerned
which one of the stories was true, and which was the legitimate god of the town, the Dog
God or the Cat God. As time passed, the dispute changed shape, and before they became
aware of it, it became a festival. And today, coincidentally, must be the day of the
festival, which takes place one a year…!»
Hearing the story of the origin of the town and the history of the festival from Guy-san, I
remembered that the Sixth had spoken ambiguously about the name of the festival some
time ago.
“Dog-Cat Festival” and “Cat-Dog Festival”
Probably, the residents of the faction of the Dog God who wore the dog mask called it
“Dog-Cat festival”, and on the contrary, the residents of the faction of the Cat God who
wore the cat mask called it “Cat-Dog festival”.
It was natural that the Sixth had lowered the volume of his voice, paying attention to the
eyes of those around him.
Depending on the way you called the festival, it was clear which faction you belonged to.
In short, it meant that the other faction would be automatically against you.
«I already said it before, but they had settled the matter using the sense of value that all
the residents here, rather than being people of such-and-such country, are “residents of
this town”. They don’t stick to the country border, this is the characteristic of this town,
which has been brought up in the antagonism dogs or cats.»
While listening to the Sixth’s speech, I mused.
The fact that the matter had been settled with an antagonism between dogs and cats
looked like an improbably story if you thought about it in general, but it was surely like
that in this unique town.
For example, if the house on your right was straddling across the line of the country
border, it would be in another country, despite being very near. Also the people who lived
in it would belong to another country. However, the people were of the same dog faction
as yours. So you could have a friendly relationship with them.
On the other hand, if in the house on your left there were people of the same country as
yours. But they were of the cat faction. During the festival that was held once a year they
were against you, but usually you get along with them, helping each other. So you could
have a friendly relationship with them.
Guessing from the Sixth’s and Guy-san’s story, I wondered if the settlement of the whole
town wasn’t born with a feeling like that.
«Oh! It looks like the residents always settle things like this, but I’ve heard that the day of
the festival they’re extremely against each other. Besides, in recent years, the dog
factions and the cat factions from around world, who heard rumours about this festival,
are gathering here.»
«For a thing like this, people…»
This was the reason why there were so many people in a town that wasn’t so big. It was
because the dog factions and the cat factions from around the world marched on this city,
aiming at that day.
«On top of that, this festival is the so-called “Quarrel Festival”.» Guy-san added, and the
Sixth nodded.
«The one in which strong men wearing nothing but a loincloth make the portable shrines
of a huge dog and a huge cat clash while emitting a war cry. It’s famous thing that
everyone has heard of at least once.»
I had heard of this ceremony for the first time in my life. I couldn’t say that I didn’t know
what to do.
«Apparently, there are a lot of injured people every year.»
«That is, if the number of people increases that much…»
The two calmly looked at the people taking part to the festival.
«It must be some kind of fate that we accidentally came here the day of the festival.
Kakashi, how about watching the portable shrines in the special seats, since we have the
chance?»
«Oh, okay.»
In the end, he had suggested that.
However, as their attendant and guard, honestly I’d have preferred that they’d stop
watching a dangerous festival like that so up-close. Because there were too many people,
too much for me to keep an eye on all by myself. And far from wanting the help of a cat,
I needed the help of a highly trained ninja dog.
«This is a little…»
“…dangerous, please stop”. The moment I tried to said this, I was interrupted by Guy-
san’s voice.
«Ooh, look, Kakashi! The dog and cat factions are already shooting up fireworks here
and there!»
Lured by his voice, I unintentionally looked around, too. Near the line of the country
border, the confrontation between the dog and cat factions had already begun. With an
imposing stance, they didn’t budge an inch. There weren’t only people. Before I had
noticed it, also dogs and cats had gathered around us.
In the commotion, the growling of the dogs mixed with the noise of the crowd.
Sometimes, the bursting high-pitched cries of the cats resounded. Soon the portable
shrines would probably follow. The town was already wrapped in a feverish atmosphere,
and between the dog and cat factions, which were facing each other, the air was full to
the brim of a tension that seemed the calm before a storm.
Thereupon—
«…eh!?» I exclaimed, perceiving the figure of a familiar person at the margin of my field
of vision.
«Kiba-san!? Tamaki-san!?»
They were facing each other near the line of the country border. I knew those two very
well, since I was a child.
«Mirai!? What are you doing here!?»
Kiba-san, who had noticed me, opened his eyes wide. It was an unlikely place for a
meeting. Probably, even I was making the same face.
Kiba-san, who had a wild appearance, with his straight bangs combed back and his
goatee, was one of the best ninja dog user in Konoha, and one of my mother’s pupils.
Glad to see a known face, I rushed over to Kiba-san.
«I happened to pass by in a mission.»
«Ooh, so it’s a coincidence. Ah, hi, Six– Kakashi-sensei, Guy-sensei.»
When he noticed the Sixth and Guy-san, who were behind me, Kiba-san made a fawning
bow while smiling a little awkwardly. Being on the verge of calling him “Sixth”, and
correcting himself, flustered, was typical of Kiba-san indeed. In a place full of people like
this, he couldn’t call him “Sixth” or “Hokage-sama”. Because you never know who’s
listening.
«Are you two in a holiday trip?»
Unlike me, the Sixth was calm, not particularly surprised. I wondered if it was his old
man’s wisdom what made him heavily prepared.
«Ah, no, well… that’s right but…»
«Oi oi Kakashi, aren’t we intruding?»
«No~ it’s that…»
With a rather evasive tone, Kiba-san gave Tamaki-san a fleeting glance. Thereupon,
Tamaki-san turned away with a «Humph.», crossing her arms.
«Err, it’s not the wrong moment, right…?» at the Sixth’s puzzlement, Kiba-san answered
with an awkward expression.
«Straddling across the country border, there’re these things called “Hot Spring of the
Dog” and “Hot Spring of the Cat”, right? Well, we were kinda having a little dispute over
which one we would go in first…»
«Eh!? For a thing like that!?»
Probably he had imagined it was something much more serious. The voice of the Sixth’s
heart had escaped out of his mouth.
«Can’t you do a thing like this, each one of you goes in the one he or she likes the most?»
«No, because we came here expressly for that… after we came all the way here for the
festival…»
At Guy-san’s suggestion, Kiba-san answered with a bitter smile. Surely there was the
distance from the village to the country border in itself. The fact that they had expressly
come here was a lonesome story.
That’s right. Speaking of coming expressly here—
«Akamaru, that’s my boy. He managed to come here.»
With an “Alright, alright”, he brushed Akamaru gently, making him knead. Akamaru was
a considerably old dog, when I was born was already an adult dog. I remember that when
I was child he often played with me.
Nowadays I have heard that, maybe because of his age, his legs and loins have weakened
and he sleeps at home all day long more, but it’s as one would expect from a ninja dog.
He had often walked to places so far away.
I brushed him gently while I calmly thought things like those, and a puppy rushed over
me shaking his tail. This white puppy, which looked like a little Akamaru, was a ninja
dog of the next generation that would take over Akamaru’s techniques. When I brushed
the puppy just like I did with Akamaru, Tamaki-san’s voice echoed: «If you’re still
complaining despite the fact that we decided the “Hot Spring of the Cat” with the
majority rule, you’re not a real man.»
«“The majority rule” you say, it is if you include the cats!»
Kiba-san, who was talking in a different tone when he was talking with the Sixth and
Guy-san, raised a voice of protest.
Tamaki-san was a beautiful woman with silky hair, and was famous for her fondness for
cats. Even now, it wasn’t clear if stray or what, a lot of cats were gathered around
Tamaki-san.
Apparently those two had decided whether to enter in the “Hot Spring of the Dog” or in
the “Hot Spring of the Cat” first with the majority rule. In this case, it seemed that
Tamaki-san was saying that she had won, including also the number of the cats she had
brought.
Probably the matter had become extremely complicated, but why did they end up in the
ambiguous discussion of using the majority rule in one-to-one situation to begin with? It
was a mystery.
Then, if the condition was that they’d include also the dogs and the cats in the majority
rule, why Kiba-san didn’t notice the fact that he’d definitely lose before they started,
judging by the difference of the number of dogs and cats they had both brought along?
Were there so many things I didn’t understand about quarrels between adult couples?
«Actually, I already told you before that if it’s so, also the “Hot Spring of the Cat” is
okay, didn’t I?»
«But I’m not happy if you come reluctantly like that.»
«Eh? I’m not particularly reluctant!»
Kiba-san and Tamaki-san’s quarrel began again. Probably they had been quarrelling like
this from before we came here. Strangely, the dispute between the dog faction and the cat
faction had broke out today, just like the festival that was being held that day in that
place.
On the background, there was the statue of a dog that emitted hot water from its mouth,
overlapping with Kiba-san’s figure.
Also at Tamaki-san’s side, there was the statue of a cat that emitted hot water from its
mouth.
At first glance, the two statues seemed fountains, but a thick steam rose up both from the
hot water that gushed out of their mouth and from the hot water that gathered at the feel
of the statues. It seemed that, somehow, the hot water that was emitted had a quite high
temperature.
The very hot water that flowed abundantly out of the statues reached a moderate
temperature while it passed through the pipes from here, and was supplied in various
places of the town as hotsprings.
The two statues were probably the reproductions of two legends that ware passed down in
the town. The statues were completely separated by a wall that had been built between
them, and the “Hot Spring of the Dog” and the “Hot Spring of the Cat” never met.
The scene was just as if it was symbolising those two right now.
«Aah, enough! I got it! I got it!» said Kiba-san with an increasingly louder voice.
«If it means that much to you, let’s decide again with the majority rule. Of course, only
with people this time.»
“With this, there won’t be any future troubles”, he informed Tamaki-san.
«You’ll complain in any case, no matter what result will come out, right?»
«I won’t. Because I’ll win this time. Kakashi-sensei! Kakashi-sensei, you’re in the dog
faction, right?»
The Sixth, who had the force of the conversation suddenly pointed towards him in the
middle of the quarrel, answered, though confused: «Ah, yeah. If I were asked which one,
because I was a ninja dog user, too.»
«Alright! Well then, it’s the “Hot Spring of the Dog”.» Kiba-san said, and pulled the
Sixth near him. It looked like that we had been involved in those two’s majority rule.
Then the majority rule had begun and soon become a two-against-one, and Tamaki-san
puffed her cheeks, dissatisfied for the outcome. However, Guy-san had already moved.
«If Kakashi is for that faction, I’m for the “Hot Spring of the Cat”!»
Guy-san lined himself up with Tamaki-san, moving his wheelchair skilfully.
«Frankly, I don’t care at all about your love-quarrel! But Kakashi and I are eternal rivals.
I’ll always get in Kakashi’s way!»
—This person really says what he’s thinking…
I stared at Guy-san, who was yelling hotly pointing at the Sixth, half amazed.
However, anyhow, with him the majority rule had turned into a two-against-two.
Tamaki-san was rejoicing, jumping up and down, and Kiba-san was making an
unpleasant expression.
Then—
Their gazes focused on me.
Kiba-san and Tamaki-san, and even the Sixth and Guy-san, were staring fixedly at me.
«E-eh…? Don’t tell me…» I faltered, and Kiba-san smiled at me.
«Mirai, you’re in the dog faction of course?»
«Oh, Mirai-chan has always like cats since she was a child, right? Right?»
Also Tamaki-san smiled gently at me.
That scene was nothing but a déjà vu.
That was the negative effect of a group of five people. Again, I had become the last
person.
«Mirai has been playing with Akamaru for ages, right? She can’t be a cat-lover!»
«But Mirai-chan often played with the cats of my house, too!»
«Eeh? But she’s been playing with Akamaru for longer!»
«But the memories of when she played with my cats are more impressive, right, Mirai-
chan?»
Kiba-san and Tamaki-san’s quarrel began again. Moreover, this time it was a fight with
me in the middle. Because the faction that I’d choose would win according to the
majority rule.
However, an important role like that was too much responsibility for me…!
Nervously, I tried to suggest something to those two.
«Err, I like them both…»
«You can’t say that!» they yelled the same words completely in sync. Why were they
acting like this despite they were so friendly…
“So bad…” I thought while making a stiff smile.
Dogs or cats. Which on earth should I choose? However, even if I chose one of them,
surely I’d hurt the one I didn’t choose.
Both Kiba-san and Tamaki-san were adults that have often been looking after me since I
was a child. I simply couldn’t choose one of them.
«Hey, Mirai. I beg you. You’re for the dog faction, right? Please, say the dog faction.»
In the end, Kiba-san began urging me. Somehow, I even felt like he had teary eyes.
«Eeh… why, a thing like this…»
«I beg you… As Kurenai-sensei’s child, I need you to be in the dog faction…»
Of course, from Kiba-san’s point of view, who was a ninja dog user, a student of my
mother’s, and who’s been taking care of me since I was born, it was natural that he
wanted me to be a dog-lover, too.
At Kiba-san’s words, I remembered an event of my childhood.
That’s a story of Shino-san, who was a student of my mother’s just like Kiba-san.

That day was my birthday. Since it was quite a long time ago I don’t remember well how
old I was, but it was before I even entered the Academy.
Even now there are illustrated encyclopaedias in the bookshelf of my room, but that day
Shino-san had given one to me as a birthday present.
«There are also illustrated encyclopaedias of animals, weathers and geography. If you
read them, you’ll learn a lot of nice things. And my advice is also an illustrated
encyclopaedia of insects. Because I–»
That time, my eyes sparkled at the sight of those illustrated encyclopaedias spreading one
by one in front of me.
«I’ll read this!»
Among the others, there was an illustrated encyclopaedia of animals that had attracted the
child me right away.
I turned the pages, just like inside a dream, in which there were drawn the ecology of
various animals, and at the end there was a page called “Human beings and their animal
friends”.
There, they had inserted a lot of photos of every species of dogs and cats.
«This looks like Akamaru.»
I pointed at the picture of a dog, and Shino-san nodded gently.
«That’s right. It’s just like Akamaru. They also recorded how to make friends with dogs
here. However, there are a lot of dogs in this village beside Akamaru. That’s why I’d like
to recommend you to read this illustrated encyclopaedia of insects first. Because in this
illustrated encyclopaedia there are unusually rare insects that you can’t see in the
village—»
«Also cats are cute!»
«That’s right. Cats are cute. Also cats are animals like this. However, this illustrated
encyclopaedia of insects here–»
«Their fur is so fluffy~»
«There are also insects that grow fur. If you read an illustrated encyclopaedia of insects
like this–»
I remember that next to me, who was staring at the illustrated encyclopaedia of animals
as if I was about to devour it, Shino-san was incessantly offering me the illustrated
encyclopaedia of insects. Thinking back now, even though he said it was a set of
illustrated encyclopaedias, Shino-san wanted to give me an illustrated encyclopaedia of
insects in fact. Taking a set of illustrated encyclopaedias with also an illustrated
encyclopaedia of insect was very typical of Shino-san. Probably Shino-san, as an insect-
user, wanted me to become an insect lover, just like Kiba-san now.
If I thought about it, even if I was a child, for some reason I feel rather guilty that I really
got into the illustrated encyclopaedia of animals. Surely, I had made him feel lonely deep
down…

I was thinking these things in front of Kiba-san, who was begging me to say the dog
faction.
By the way, these illustrated encyclopaedias had also been the reason why I had grown to
like looking at maps. The maps of the world that was depicted in the illustrated
encyclopaedia were the first.
For me, who hadn’t been outside the Village and hadn’t entered the Academy yet,
illustrated encyclopaedias and maps were the only important things that connected me to
the outside world.
I stared at the world maps almost every day without getting tired of it, to the point that
I’m amazed if I think back now. Besides maps and illustrated encyclopaedias, I also love
reading.
Staring at the maps, I was thrilled by the world, which I hadn’t seen yet, and looking at
the illustrated encyclopaedias my heart raced sometimes, while I daydreamed about when
I’d meet the true thing. But I’d never had imagined that I’d become the last one in a
majority rule in a town that was just above the line of the country border.
«The “Hot Spring of the Dog” is nice. No matter what they say, the history is different.
The episode of the dog that digs working together with the human is heart-warming. The
“Hot Spring of the Dog” warms both your body and your heart, don’t you agree?»
«What? It’s a rip-off of the “Hot Spring of the Cat”. The “Hot Spring of the Cat” is
absolutely better than that. It’s the birthplace for sure, because it’s a mysterious place in
which the beckoning cat had taught the position of the hotspring!»
The situation in which I was torn between the dog faction and the cat faction – between
Kiba-san and Tamaki-san – continued. It wasn’t the moment to remember the story of the
bug faction – I mean, the faction of the insects.
«Why do you say that the cat beckoned? There’s no way that the cat would know
something like the position of the hotspring!»
«If you say this, what about the digging dog? Dogs don’t dig things like hotsprings. Dogs
digs holes and bury bones in them, the end. And yet I’m astonished that they have
completely plagiarised the legend of the “Hot Spring of the Cat”.»
Tamaki-san sighed openly, and shook her head with a “my, my”. On the other hand,
Kiba-san gritted his teeth, showing his sharp canines.
«Tch, grrr, you’ve been saying “rip-off, rip-off” for a while! It was you cat bastards that
had plagiarised the legend of the “Hot Spring of the Dog”! These cat-burglars!»
«C-cat-burglars!? You’re so rude! Apologise! Apologise to all the cats!»
«Why should I apologise to all the cats? To begin with, you’re always…»
—Then, that moment.
Oooooooooooo!
A war cry rose together with a drumming sound that seemed to reverberate till the bottom
of my stomach. In the central part of the town, the portable shrines were coming along
the main street.
The gazes of all the people who were in that place focused in the same spot. In front of
our eyes, a large number of men were carrying the portable shrines on their shoulders. It
was a terrific scene of muscular men who wore masks and nothing but a loincloth
knocking the dog and cat portable shrines against each other. It was way more intense
than I had imagined hearing the Sixth’s story.
The cheers of the people around us blended with the roars of carriers. Every time the
portable shrines clashed violently, the dogs barked somehow loudly, and the cats meowed
as if they were in heat. In the end angry roars began mixing with the cheers, and in an
instant the whole town was wrapped by a noisy atmosphere.
People marched on together with the portable shrines. It was completely like a wave of
people. Between the portable shrines, the dog factions and the cat factions that had
gathered from around the world began pushing and shoving. That surely was the “Dog-
cat festival”, or “Cat-dog festival”, that had been passed down in this town for ancient
times.
Meanwhile, some muscular men wearing a dog mask that were next to us – members of
the dog faction – began stirring for some reason. It seemed that somehow they were
intermittently peeking at our situation.
Shortly after, one of the men approached us.
«Excuse me: are you perhaps that famous Kiba-san, among the ninja dog users, that is
said to have been extremely close to become Hokage!?»
Even if he blinked for the sudden development, Kiba-san nodded immediately.
«Ah, yeah. That’s right, but what the hell…»
«Ooooooh!» the men raised a hoarse cheer.
Those stern men, who were wearing a dog mask and leather jackets on their bare skin,
became excited like little girls in front of their favourite actor.
«Cool, it’s him in person! The real Kiba-san! That Kiba-san, who’s said to be the
strongest person in his generation of ninja dog users!»
«That Kiba-san, who’s said to be well-informed about every walking course in the
country and thoroughly strict like a demon towards owners that mistreat their pets!»
«That Kiba-san, who’s said to love dogs too much and to have begun selling his original
dog food! They say that Kiba-san samples it by himself!»
The men of the dog faction began giving praises to Kiba-san unanimously.
I had the feeling that as they went towards the latter half, the quality of the rumours
decreased considerably, but anyhow it seemed that the men looked up to Kiba-san quite a
lot. At first, Kiba-san was taken aback in front of those men, but immediately when I
wondered what was he thinking—
«That’s riiiiiight, I’m Kibaaaaaaaa!»
He clutched his fist tight, and began howling towards the sky.
Probably he was in a good mood because he was unexpectedly famous. At Kiba-san’s
yell, also the other people of the dog faction that had gathered around us emitted a
«Uooooo!»
«He’s Kiba-san! That Kiba-san came hereeee!»
«If Kiba-san is here, we have the strength of a hundred people!»
«Uooo, smash the cat faction! As I thought, dogs are the number oneeeeee!»
At Kiba-san’s appearance, the people of the dog faction were getting more and more
excited.
«Alright guys, let’s teach those guys of the cat faction the awesomeness of dogs
noooow!»
A choir of «Kiba-san!» rose near us, and Kiba-san was lifted up by the men.
«Move on move on move ooooon! Give way to Kiba-saaaaaan!»
«I’m Kibaaaaaa!»
Kiba-san, who had turned into a portable shrine, began parading through the town. The
men cried out angry yells.
«You guys of the cat faction, clear the road! He’s Kiba-san!»
«That’s riiiiight! I’m Kibaaaaaa!»
Then also the cat faction began stirring, for a different reason from the excited dog
faction’s.
«Who…?»
«Who’s that?»
«No way, it’s really him!?»
As they had various degrees of enthusiasm, the confrontation of the dog and cat factions
continued.
«Eat shit, cat faction!» the men who were lifting Kiba-san yelled gathering all their
voices. Also Kiba-san, who was looking vary pleased of being lifted like a portable
shrine, yelled joining the men.
«That’s riiiiight, eat shit, you selfish cat factioooooon!»
However, a moment later, I clearly heard a voice among the ruckus.

«As I thought, we’re not meant for each other…»

It was Tamaki-san who had muttered this, sighing.

Tamaki-san was making a sad face. Just like me, someone else had heard Tamaki-san’s
voice. Kiba-san was taken aback. However, since they were being pushed by the wave of
people in their wild frenzy, the distance between Kiba-san and Tamaki-san opened
further and further. We were completely swallowed by the wave of people who
proceeded together with the portable shrines.
«Tamaki…! No, I…»
Kiba-san was frantically following Tamaki-san with his eyes. However, the wild dog and
cat factions were ruthlessly driving them apart.
«Dammit, why did it turned out like this. I just want to be with you…!»
The violent clashing of the portable shrines began. The sound of the drums and the voices
of the people made the air vibrate. Kiba-san’s cry of pain was erased by the tumult of the
festival. Probably, Kiba-san’s voice hadn’t reached Tamaki-san. The wave motion that
was the dog and cat factions, which seemed so big that a single person couldn’t do
anything against it, was trying to split the two with all its strength. The dog faction, or the
cat faction. The thing that I, who couldn’t choose which one of the two even with the
majority rule, had to do now was—
«Kakashi-san, this way!»
Slipping through the wave of people around me, I began moving with the Sixth. I made
the Sixth, who was jostled between the dog faction and the cat faction, take shelter in a
safe place. Really, I was also worried about Kiba-san and Tamaki-san, but there was a
thing I had to do. I had to protect the Sixth…!
That was the thing I had to do now.
Out of breath, I slipped out of the wave of people without taking even a break. The
portable shrines were going far off. Also Kiba-san, who had been lifted together with the
portable shrines, was going far off, without being able to go against the strong flow.
It was just like a battle.
It was no longer the size of a festival.
I looked behind me, and stared at that scene dumbfounded while catching my breath.
The two legends that were passed down in this town. The antagonism between the dog
and cat factions that spanned long years. The quarrel festival that continued even now.
Kiba-san was like the leaf of a tree that was floating and being tossed about in the middle
of the flow of the large river of history, which was spun continuously like this.
Probably Kiba-san himself couldn’t do anything about it anymore. It had been decided
from the start that things were like that: no matter how much you wanted it, dogs don’t
get used to cats, and cats don’t get used to dogs—
Surely, there were rare exceptions like him.
And I, who couldn’t decide which one of the two, couldn’t do anything even there.
I hanged my head, and the Sixth asked me quietly: «You’re worried about those two,
right?»
«But, I…»
«I’m okay, so why don’t you go?»
The Sixth smiled sweetly.
However, what could I do in this situation?
The wave of people that filled the whole road didn’t reach Kiba-san and the other side.
When I yelled, my voice faded out immediately.
With that, the huge wave motion of the dog and cat faction didn’t stop. It couldn’t stop.
«How can I do it…»
«Do you remember when the portable shrines came? The conversation stopped
immediately, and the gazes of all the people who were in that place focused on the same
spot, right? You should do a thing like that.»
Just like the portable shrines – surely, Kiba-san and Tamaki-san’s dispute had stopped
that moment. All of us, and also the other people who were in that place, looked at the
portable shrines simultaneously. However, what could I do like that…
I was perplexed, so the Sixth whispered quietly into my ear.
«Something that is a dog, and also a cat. Something like this exists, right?»
«I see, that’s right…»
At the Sixth’s words, my eyes sparkled. Interesting. If it’s so, maybe I could stop the
uproar of this place – maybe even the wave motion of the great history.
«You can do it. Right, Mirai?»
«Yes sir!»
Then, I dashed. My body was light. The fact that I had been tormented by a feeling of
impotence not long ago seemed a lie.
Then, the Sixth’s voice reached me from behind.
«Ah, that’s right, could you look for Guy while you’re at it?»
«Ah…»
Right. I had completely forgot that Guy-san had been left behind in the wave of people.
However, I found him right away. Because the uproar had calmed down in no time.
The first thing I had to do was gathering everybody’s gazes just like the portable shrines.
I noticed a lighter that had been dropped. Probably someone had dropped it in the
mayhem. Just what I needed.
I turned on the lighter I had picked up, and threw it with all my strength.
The lighter passed beneath people’s feet while revolving, sliding on the ground. In the
end, the lighter went past both the portable shrines and the wave of people, and stopped
colliding with the towering wall that separated the “Hot Spring of the Dog” and the “Hot
Spring of the Cat”. Then, I formed hand-seals without delay.
—Fire Release: Flint Yagura!
Thereupon, the small flame that was lit on the lighter turned immediately into a pillar of
fire.
«Wah, w-what’s this!?»
«T-there’s a fireeeee!»
All the gazes of the people who were in that place concentrated on the flames that had
appeared all of a sudden.
Flint Yagura – it was a technique that made a small spark burst into a pillar of fire.
Essentially, it’s a jutsu that catches the enemy off guard with a small flame, or makes
them avoid the small flame, and then it instantly makes the flame bigger to the enemy’s
astonishment, but this time it became the magnet of everybody’s attention instead.
I mad other hand-seals.
Thereupon, a huge mask emerged from the flames. It was exactly as if half mask worn by
the dog faction and half mask worn by the cat faction had fused together.
At the appearance of a huge mask that was half dog and half cat, both the dog and cat
factions were equally surprised.
Shrieks rose from here and there, and in the place were they were fighting each other
there was no one anymore.
«What’s this monster!?» Guy-san’s voice resounded. Since his voice was loud, it helped
me to know his whereabouts.
Of course, that huge mask wasn’t a monster, but a thing I had made with a genjutsu. I had
used the flames as a screen, and projected my genjutsu onto them.
«W-what the hell…!?»
One final push to the stirring crowd.
<<Children, stop this futile fight…!>> I hummed in a dry voice still forming hand-seals,
and my voice was emitted by the huge mask. It turned into a deep voice different from
mine, similar to a thunder, and it made the buildings nearby tremble as well.
The atmosphere, which could be just be mistaken for a battlefield, changed completely,
and now all around me fell suddenly quiet. Everyone was holding their breath with a
gulp, and watched attentively the image of the mask that was floating near the wall that
separated the “Hot Spring of the Dog” and the “Hot Spring of the Cat”.
One final push – a divine message.
From the start, the two legends that were passed down in this town were deeply
connected to a background of antagonism between the dog and cat factions, which
continued for long years. The story that the dog, which was a messenger of the Dog God,
had found the hotspring, and the story that the cat, which was a messenger of the Cat
God, had found a hotspring. They were fighting over which one was the legitimate one,
and which one was the real guardian deity of this place, so it’d been nice if there wasn’t a
pretext to fight.
In short, this meant that with the apparition of a supernatural creature that was half dog
and half cat right between the two hotsprings, by giving them the divine message that
both the legends and the guardian deities, the one of the dog and the one of the cat, were
legitimate, I’d stop the dispute of both parties.
The thing I needed to achieve this was a third fictitious deity created by a genjutsu.
From the Sixth’s hint, I had invented this huge masked deity.
It was a hurriedly invented deity, but if it was the divine message of a god that had both a
dog and cat face, surely both the dog and cat factions – all the people who were in that
place should obediently lend an ear to it.
«C-could you possibly be the third god that protects this place, “Cattog-sama”?»
—Are you for real?
That was close. I had almost said a punchline without thinking.
<<…yeah.>> a townsperson had asked me that, and when I answered with the god’s
voice, everyone began stirring.
«The third deity…»
«The one that they said it could or couldn’t be right between the two hotsprings…»
«Was it real…»
What the heck was that…
Instinctively, I shifted my gaze towards the Sixth. When our eyes met, the Sixth, who had
his arms crossed, nodded slightly. Probably, the Sixth knew about the story of the third
deity from the beginning…
If it was so, even though I thought he should have told me this from the very start, I
concentrated on continuing the divine message. Actually, it was just right if there was the
story of a third deity. I could stop the futile fight between the dog and cat factions
immediately, found Guy-san while I was at it, and even go soaking in a hotspring
quickly. Too much things had happened today.
And, that moment—
At the corned of my field of vision, something jumped.
It was Guy-san.
«Eeeeh!?» I yelled instinctively, still forming hand-seals. For some reason, Guy-san
(wheelchair and all) had jumped in a straight line towards the huge mask.
<<Eeeeh!?>> the huge mask screamed in a deep voice. The buildings in my surroundings
trembled, rattling. The people that had been taken aback by the god’s sudden roar
screamed as well. Suddenly, everyone panicked.
«You monster, you plan on destroying the festival! I won’t allow such thing!» Guy-san
yelled, and thrust himself towards the huge mask. I didn’t understand at all how things
had turned out like this. In front of my eyes, before I could even think, there was Guy-
san’s figure revolving in midair. In the first place, I didn’t even know how he had
jumped. What was that person? Why was he going towards me, when the divine message
had done the trick? What’s this boldness? Anyhow, everything was a mess because of
that!
As Guy-san was falling violently, I screamed as well.
«Stop, Guy-saaaaaaan!»
«Nuoooo! Dynamic Entry!»
Guy-san stuck out his left leg in front of him, and precipitated like a meteor. Guy-san’s
kick didn’t hit – although he was hitting directly the mask. That was because it was just a
genjutsu I had created.
<<Stooop Gwaai-swaannnnn!>> the huge mask yelled, and disappeared, crumbling
wretchedly. Guy-san had disappeared behind the screen of flames that was behind it.
«Hot, oooh damniiiiit!?» I heard Guy-san’s screams.
It was obvious. Because he had slipped through the genjutsu, and plunged into the screen
of flames. Then also this screen of flames disappeared once and for all as if nothing had
happened. All my concentrated energies were disturbed by an unexpected movement near
Guy-san.
From the spot where Guy-san had landed, I heard a bang! slam! twitch! crash! and other
ominous breaking sounds.
However, a large quantity of steam and a cloud of dust were enshrouding the
surroundings, and I couldn’t see anything.
«G-Guy-san…?»
When finally the steam and the cloud of dust cleared out, there—
The dog statue that emitted hot water, and the cat statue that emitted hot water as well,
were built one next to the other. This town’s invariant scene. No, it was different. The
wall that was between the two statues had crumbled into piece. Next to it, a slightly-
burned Guy-san was lying down together with the rumbles. Apparently, he was
exhausted.
The thing that Guy-san, who had become a shape that had slipped through the genjutsu
and jumped into the flames, had driven his kick into was the wall that separated the “Hot
Spring of the Dog” and the “Hot Spring of the Cat”, which was behind it. The breaking
sounds of some time ago were the sounds of the kick hitting the wall, which cracked and
crumbled.
Despite the fact that they were still one next to the other, the statues of the dog and the
cat, which you could never see both figures because you were obstructed by the wall,
were now facing each other.
And that wasn’t the only thing that had changed.
«Oi, that’s…»
A voice of surprise rose from the people who were staring at the crumbled wall
dumbfounded.
«The “Hot Spring of the Dog” and the “Hot Spring of the Cat” became one…!»
The wall was destroyed, and the hot water gushing out of the statue of the dog and the hot
water gushing out of the statue of the cat were blending together.
«The two hot spring, which have never met…»
«Don’t tell me that the wall is destroyed…»
The people around me stirred, and I broke out in a cold sweat. Not only the divine
message had gone bad, but the wall that had been separating the two statues for long
years had been destroyed. Moreover, the direct cause of the destroyed wall was Guy-san,
an outsider. I wondered what the townspeople would think in seeing this. Would the dog
and cat factions, who were amusing themselves at the extreme quarrel festival, really
approve this?
As I thought these things, I couldn’t stop trembling, even if it wasn’t cold.
«The divine message…» someone muttered, sighing.
«The divine message…» someone else muttered in the commotion.
«It was a divine message from the “Cattog-sama”…!»
The voices of the crowd became gradually louder.
«The two hotsprings, which mustn’t have met, became one. This is the divine message!»
«Being unable to be indifferent to the futile fight between the dog and cat factions,
“Cattog-sama” came here and visited us!»
«We should join hands like these hotsprings, and develop the town!»
“Uoooooo!”, people shouted excitedly.
There weren’t the figures of the dog faction and the cat faction anymore. In front of the
destroyed wall, there was just one great bond that exceeded both the dog and cat faction,
that is all the people loving this city and the hotsprings.

…everything was basically settled with the fact that the people of this town were just
“residents of this town”.
It was just as the Sixth had said. I reflected thoroughly about the weight and the meaning
of these words again.
A town divided by the country border.
A country that was different from the written documents.
And the dog faction and cat faction that quarrelled at every opportunity.
However, the residents of this town loved this town in which they lived from the bottom
of their hearts, and were proud of it, and had really good relationships with everyone.
«Well, I guess everything turned out all right in the end.» said the Sixth, who had come
standing next to me without me noticing him, and smiled.
«Yeah, but I failed…»
I couldn’t be happy about it, honestly. Even if an unexpected situation had happened, it
didn’t change the fact that I had lost my concentration and accidentally dissolved my
genjutsu. What would have happened if it had been a real fight…? I felt like I had plainly
displayed my immaturity.
«Mmh, failure… I don’t think so. Look.»
When I looked, prompted by the Sixth, Kiba-san and Tamaki-san had managed to meet
again, separated from the crowd. Kiba-san was apologising frantically. And Tamaki-san
was smiling bitterly at Kiba-san’s appearance. There wasn’t even an atom of the gloomy
atmosphere that was between them some time ago. Apparently, they managed to make
peace.
«Oh, Mirai!»
Kiba-san, who had noticed my gaze, came together with Tamaki-san.
«You know, I’m sorry I made you worry… After this, we were thinking of going in the
hotspring. We shouldn’t have argued about which hotspring going on first.»
Kiba-san, who was smiling looking embarrassed, lowered the tone of his voice a little.
«Thank you, Mirai.» Kiba-san said, showing his white teeth. Kiba-san had noticed that
the genjutsu of the huge mask was my doing. Surely, I couldn’t deceive a student of my
mother’s?
We bade farewell, and I looked at Kiba-san’s and Tamaki-san’s back as they walked
away. Following after them, the dogs and the cats (Akamaru included) were walking
cuddling close together.
There wasn’t the image of the dog and cat factions glaring at each other anymore.
Even if the exact opposites attract, maybe sooner or later the day will come in which they
can understand each other. It’s awfully difficult, but surely it’s not impossible.
Anyhow, their personalities were just like the exact opposite Sixth and Guy-san, who
were good friends and were going in a hotspring trip together like this…
«It’s surely him, the dark man who was able to come as Cattog-sama’s messenger!»
«Ooh! The dark man that watches over the space right between the statues! The good
man who’s been burned black!»
«Let’s build a statue of the dark man here!»
Cheers were rising from the townspeople. Guy-san, who had lost consciousness for the
impact that had destroyed the wall, had been surrounded by the townspeople before I
became aware of it, and had been lifted up.
Of course, now that there wasn’t the wall anymore, both the dog and cat statues had
become a new sightseeing spot, but now it turned out that they’d build a statue of the dark
man between the dog and cat statues instead of the wall. If we didn’t prevent it at all
costs, or rather, if we didn’t bring him home quickly.
«Let’s go, Kakashi-san.»
Together with the Sixth, I went at a confused Guy-san’s side.
Our surroundings were full of tourists. Even this relatively small town couldn’t help but
be crowded with people in a day like that.
«Ah.»
That time, I remembered something that I had forgot just till then. And the moment I
remembered it, I felt like my whole body had turned pale.
«Come to think of it, what shall we do about today’s inn…»
There was so much traffic. Without even a reservation, naturally there wouldn’t be any
vacant inn. Today a reservation of lodging place was already hopeless.
«Eh, p-perhaps, camping…? We came till here? A thing like that…»
I was at my wit’s end for the too many events.
It had been an intense day. My body, that had been running around since morning and
was exhausted, needed a hotspring and a soft mattress. However, it seemed that my wish
wouldn’t come true.
I made a fed-up face, but the Sixth, who had been travelling with me, wasn’t perturbed.
«Mmh, camping… Well! If we have physical and even spiritual strength, we’ll make it
somehow.»
With a relaxed atmosphere as usual, he laughed with a carefree “Ha ha ha”.
«Even a fire is refreshing if you clear your mind! The thing we need is physical and
spiritual strength!»
Coming to his senses, the burnt Guy-san started yelling things like that.
Before I became aware of it, also those two had understood each other just like the dog
and cat factions. However—
Physical and spiritual strength.
Those words were a sort of déjà vu. Or rather, those words were completely like déjà vu.
I, who was feeling irritated for the too many déjà vu, yelled at the top of my lungs: «Of
course we’ll need both! Cut it out!»
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Chapter 3 – Ghost inn

The Land of Hot Water.

A small country that confines with the Land of Fire, in which there’s the Village Hidden
in the Leaves.
A country in which, just as its name says, hotsprings gush out all over the place.
A country whose main activity is tourism, and that flourishes thanks to the blessing of its
rich natural resources.
A country that has a shinobi village called Village Hidden in the Hotsprings, but insists
on being pacifist.
And—

The country in which the man who killed my father was born.
«Haa~, it soaks into my exhausted body…» I muttered earnestly while I surrendered to
the muddy hot water, pure white as snow, and inhaled with my whole chest the
indescribable scent typical of the hotsprings.
The voice of my heart had accidentally escaped from me like this when I realised that I
was relaxing in the warmth that was wrapping me. I couldn’t even express with words the
tremendousness of hotsprings, in which people bare not only their bodies but even their
hearts as soon as they enter.
«Hey, they’ll call you an “old man”.»
Thereupon, these words replied from behind me. However, also the owner of this voice
sank into the hot water, and groaned a similar thing «Ku~, it penetrates into my whole
body~!» in a voice even louder than mine. When I stared speechlessly at her, the owner
of the voice – Tenten-san – made an awkward face.
«Ahahahaha, as I thought, I accidentally said it!»
“But” Tenten-san said, stretching her arms.
«The fact is that I can’t resist to this feeling of freedom.»
Under the cloudless blue sky, Tenten-san smiled wryly. Infected by it, I smiled too. The
gentle and smooth touch of the hot water, the open air that cooled my hot shoulders, and
the slight breeze that brushed my hair were pleasant.
Surely, a feeling of freedom like that was the greatest charm of an open-air bath.
Tenten-san and I were in an open-air bath of an old inn in the Land of Hot Water.
Maybe because the sun was still high, there weren’t other people besides us in the open-
air bath, and it was a reserved situation. The fact that we had the hotspring of a free-
flowing source all for ourselves was quite a luxurious personal experience – a blessing of
Mother Nature.
In the hotspring health resort of this old inn there wasn’t only the milky-white muddy
hotspring, but also various kinds of hotsprings gushed out, different for both appearance
and the quality of the water, like hotsprings black like ink, hotsprings of the reddish
brown colour of earth, hotsprings of the refreshing green colour of bamboo etcetera.
Even in the Land of Fire there were hotspring health resorts with a similar atmosphere,
but this was the Land of Hot Water, another country.
As I thought, here and there in proximity of the country border, and then after we crossed
the country border, the unfamiliar uses and customs that made me feel I was in a foreign
country became the rule.
One of these was the custom called “drinking spring water”.
Apparently, in the Land of Hot Water everybody regularly drank the water of the
hotsprings.
For this reason, here and there in the Land of Hot Water many things called “spots for
drinking spring water” had been created, no matter in which hotspring you went, they
also sold bottled water of the hotspring that was dispensed as beverages, in the
restaurants they had this way of cooking in which they boiled meat in the water of the
hotsprings, and if you went to the hospital they told you «Just drink the water of such-
and-such hotspring for one day» instead of medicines.
By the way, speaking of hotsprings, it’s not that it was healthy drinking the water of any
of them, there was water of hotsprings you could drink a lot, and water of hotsprings you
couldn’t drink. Apparently, there were also hotsprings in which it was good for your body
when you soaked into it in general, but its component were too strong and would turn
into poison instead if you drank the water directly.
Moreover, it’d naturally make you harm if you drank too much water, even the one of the
hotsprings you can drink. Just like medicaments, also when drinking spring water you
had to follow the doses and rules of use. And there were expert doctors (called
“Hotspring Doctors”), characteristic of this country, who had a full knowledge of the
composition of every hotspring and made this kind of ascertainment. There are antidotes
to sulphur, which is one of the components often included in hotsprings, and classes held
at the Academy, but I was amazed by the fact that the custom of drinking spring water
had taken root like this even in the world of medical science, and there are even medical
specialists. Of course it probably depended on sickness, but the fact that doctors healed
with hotsprings without medicines was a wisdom typical of this country, which had been
connected with hotsprings since ancient times.
For me, who thought that hotsprings were only things where you soaked into, it had been
a new discovery. Even if we’re looking at the same thing, the point of view changes if the
country changes. Also the way of thinking changes.
Also in the Land of Fire you drink hotspring water, but going there expressly to drink
hotspring water is not popular, and it’s not that there are establishments to drink spring
water here and there like in the Land of Hot Water. Of course, drinking spring water is
not a major thing to this extent in the Land of Fire.
It’s natural, but I thought that the further I got from the Village Hidden in the Leaves, the
more the worlds I hadn’t seen yet would become, and I got excited. I thought from the
bottom of my heart that when I would meet new sceneries, new point of views, new way
of thinking like this, I’d be glad I was travelling.

Well, speaking of the reason why I was immersed into a hotspring with Tenten-san in
such a place, so far away from the village, it was mostly related to that misunderstanding
of mine.
I was to accompany them as an attendant in a mission to inspect the undeveloped areas
that were near the country border, but I had misunderstood the number of days of the
mission as “two days” instead of “twenty days”.
For this reason, it turned out that the number of equipment tools I was carrying wasn’t
enough, and they sent me a supplementary baggage from Konoha in a hurry. And Tenten-
san was the one who carried the baggage all the way from Konoha till here.
Tenten-san is a specialist that excels at wielding ninja tools, and on top of that she has a
natural good figure and she’s a model of stylish kunoichi. They say that she was Guy-
san’s student, but the teacher-student relationship between Tenten-san, who always
shows a calm look and appearance, and Guy-san, who’s extremely hot-blooded, seems a
strange combination. Also the Sixth and Guy-san were like that, but the fact that those
two, who seemed so unfit for each other at first sight, got on surprisingly well was a
mystery.
So, I thanked again Tenten-san.
«Tenten-san, thank you very much for today. Because of me, you came all the way to
such a far place...»
«Come on, you don’t have to apologise so much. I already told you, but I only stopped by
for a day-off hotspring tour while I was at it. Better, I guess I want to thank you because I
had an excuse to come fair and square to a splendid hotspring like this.» Tenten-san said,
and smiled.
Tenten-san would be on holiday right from today on.
Apparently, you have to submit a notice when you travel and lodge outside the village
during holidays, but Tenten had requested to go to a hotspring in her next day-off a lot of
time before.
Meanwhile, since she had heard by chance about the fact that someone had to bring me a
baggage in a hotspring, Tenten-san, who was hoping of going to a hotspring, was
designated, on the condition that she was on holiday while giving me the baggage.
Apparently, it would have taken her at least two days to take the baggage at my home and
come here, but she came running quite fast, so within two days she had already crossed
the country border. She was also fast in understanding while the hot water of the
hotspring was wrapping her whole body. Really, I was no match for Tenten-san.
«Well, my mum – ah, my mother, what did she…»
«“That kid, she looks like she’s reliable but she’s a little bit careless since she was
young.” she said while smiling, but?»
«Uuh… I’ll be scolded when I get home…»
Looking at me, who had dropped my shoulders heartbroken, Tenten-san giggled.
«Come on, you’ll be alright.»
«I hope so, but…» I sighed. Honestly, the atmosphere had become heavy.
Tenten-san had told me that she wanted to thank me instead, because she had been able to
come to a hotspring, but the truth was that she had been troubled for my fault, moreover I
broke any record by mistaking “twenty days” as “two days”.
The question was how would my mother take it. Tenten-san said she had laughed, but she
had reacted with a smile because she was in front of other people, what would she really
do when I came back home…
Aah, frightening. I didn’t want to come back to the village. I wanted to stay submerged
into the hotspring for the rest of my life. I wanted to soak into that hot water that was
considered to be good for a beautiful skin. I wanted to soak in it because it was
considered to be good to prevent sun-related skin damages, too.
My mother is extremely scary when she’s angry. I was afraid to the point that I didn’t
want to get out of the hotspring.
«If you do something bad, it’s genjutsu!» was my mother’s favourite phrase.
«Genjutsu, nooooo!» I used to say as a child when I heard it, and always burst into tears.
However, that time I cried because I was afraid of my angry mother’s strong tone of
voice, she never put me under a genjutsu for real of course. Or rather, when I think about
it normally, it was impossible that she’d do it, but she often scolded me like that. It looks
like that in other families they say «If you do something bad, the bogeyman will come»,
but unfortunately I’ve never believed in things like ‘the bogeyman’ when I was a child,
and I wasn’t afraid of it at all, so it looks like she ended up saying things like that instead,
as a last resort, even if she was my mother.
By the way, after that, when I entered the Academy, I had casually asked my mother to
perform it for my genjutsu studies.
«Alright–» also my mother had agreed right away with a light tone.
However, maybe because it was when I was a child, I don’t remember too much about
the main point of genjutsu.
When I force myself to remember it, I don’t know why but my whole body starts
trembling and sweating profusely, my breathing becomes erratic and foam comes out of
my mouth, so I stop.
…I got off the track, but anyhow, mum is better when I don’t make her angry.
«No, she wasn’t really angry! It’s all right!» Tenten-san encouraged me, probably I was
making a very serious face.
«Besides, I already told you a while ago, but I’m thankful to you instead!» Tenten-san
said, and fetched a kunai from nowhere with a white smoke. As expected from a ninja-
tool user. Come to think of it, Tenten-san excelled also at space-time ninjutsu.
«Hey, look at this.»
«What is it?»
The thing Tenten-san was holding in her hand was a common kunai I often happened to
see. However, Tenten-san was displaying the kunai with an expression full of confidence.
«This is a hotspring-use kunai I made by myself. I was wondering if I should sell it in my
shop next time.»
Naturally Tenten-san, who was a ninja-tool user, loves ninja weapons to the point that she
collects every ninja tool from all over the world as a hobby. Moreover, her hobby
developed so much that she even opened a full-fledged ninja-tool shop, but in this
peaceful epoch ninja weapons don’t sell well, and apparently it’s always empty.
«No matter how you look at it, it looks like a normal kunai… But in fact it’s a wonderful
kunai that never rusts even if you use it in a hotspring! How about it? It’ll sell well,
right?»
“There!”, Tenten-san said with a proud expression, the kunai in one hand.
Apparently, Tenten-san wanted to put this kunai, which she had developed by herself,
into practice in a hotspring. That’s why she had requested a day-off in a hotspring.
However, I didn’t understand well the meaning of what Tenten-san had told me.
«Err, why in the world I’d want to use it in a hotspring…?»
According to Tenten-san, surely there was some deep meaning, but I didn’t quite get the
situation in which I’d use a kunai in a hotspring, no matter how hard I tried.
«That’s because, if you have this kunai, you can carry it even while you’re taking a bath
in a hotspring like this!»
“Because it doesn’t get rusty!” Tenten-san replied, swelling her chest.
«But normally it’s not like that you fight while you’re taking a bath in a hotspring,
right?» I tried an extremely honest question that probably everyone would have thought
immediately. Probably, from there on I’d be told the deep meaning of a hotspring-use
kunai according to Tenten-san.
However…
«Yeah, come to think of it, you’re right…»
Tenten-san made a dark face.
«Why did I create a thing like this…» she said, and began staring dumbfounded at the
white and muddy hot water. There was no deep reason. It was absolutely useless. Her
shop would close, and she’d show her passion for investigating.
People call that “spacing out”.
«Ah, but!»
However, Tenten-san’s face cleared suddenly.
«If you carry a kunai like this in a hotspring, you’d look frighteningly sexy, right?»
Far from deep, she began talking about frighteningly superficial things.
«Wait a minute, I don’t understand very well but…»
«Eeh, if you look at this from a man’s point of view, he’d surely think that you look
sexy…»
«I’m not a man, so I don’t understand it well, but…»
But, I was really sorry for Tenten-san, who was talking gleefully, but the image of
someone carrying a kunai in a hotspring completely naked seemed nothing but funny to
me.
«As I thought, it’s useless…»
Probably because my reply had been doubtful, Tenten-san began feeling down again.
Well, had the situation just turned upside down, like some time ago?
—I give up…
As it was, Tenten-san’s ninja tools shop, which was completely without customers even
under normal circumstances, would go bankrupt. If I didn’t do something…
I was staring at Tenten-san’s kunai while thinking frantically. Then, I had an idea.
«That’s it! Tenten-san, it’s not a “hotspring-use kunai”, how about selling it as a “kunai
that never gets rusty, no matter how harsh the circumstances are”?»
«It looks rough, but usually there are kunai like this already… And this is meant to be
used in a hotspring, no matter how much you struggle. Because it’ll get rusty
immediately in the harsh conditions outside the hotspring…»
Tenten-san sighed deeply, and looked too much sad. What should I do? I couldn’t think
of any other way to use it normally. Why did she create something like that?
I didn’t know what should I tell her. If her ninja-tool shop had gone bankrupt, Tenten-san
would have lived while having a large inventory build-up at her home. I had the feeling
that it’d have been hardly different from now, but she’d have lived even more surrounded
by ninja tools.
Thereupon, Tenten-san muttered, still staring into space.
«As I thought, I should ask the Sixth or Guy-sensei, not you, Mirai-chan… I should ask
them if a kunai in a hotspring is sexy…»
«Please, don’t! They’d be embarrassed!» I said immediately, and Tenten-san burst into
laughter.
«Pff, hehe… Ahahahahaha!»
I was more embarrassed for Tenten-san, who had burst into laughter all of a sudden.
«W-what’s the matter!?»
«Ahahaha, because, your retort was so hasty. Besides, when I remember the Sixth’s and
Guy-sensei’s embarrassed faces, haha, when you said it with that serious look, it’s too
funny!»
Tenten-san made her joyful laughing voice resound around us, holding her sides. It
seemed fake that just a moment ago she was feeling depressed, with a kunai she didn’t
know how to use in her hands.
«Ah–… However, I’m glad.» Tenten-san said after a short pause, taking a deep breath
and whipping away a tear with her finger.
«Really, I was a little bit worried.»
«Worried? Was it the hotspring-use kunai?»
«That’s okay! I made a thing like that as a hobby from the start, actually I’m already fully
satisfied with it because I was able to test it in practice like this.»
“It’s not that” Tenten-san continued.
«I’m glad to hear that you’re getting along well with Guy-sensei, Mirai-chan. Listen,
Guy-sensei is a little bit tiresome. I was wondering if you wouldn’t get along, but you
understood perfectly Guy-sensei’s character, Mirai-chan, and you guessed perfectly his
reaction, so I’m happy and that’s funny…»
Saying this, Tenten-san began laughing again.
Apparently, Tenten-san had always been worrying about what should she do if Guy-san
and I weren’t getting along all the way up to this inn. Surely there were a lot of girls that
didn’t understand Guy-san’s mood and character, and if not that, there was the age
difference in addition.
As his former student, it was natural that Tenten-san was worried.
However, when she understood that I was getting along well with Guy-san, leaving the
fact if I understood his mood or not aside, she had unintentionally burst into laughter
because she felt relieved.
Tenten-san crossed her arms, and nodded frequently while saying things like «No~, I’m
glad you don’t dislike Guy-sensei.». Even thought she said this and that, I understood
how much Tenten-san loved Guy-san, and somehow I made a smiling face as well.
«Well, how’s Guy-sensei? That man, he easily gets carried away while talking, so you
have to be the straight man anyhow, and eventually you can’t take it anymore, right?»
Tenten-san began talking about things like that with her eyes sparkling. They were
sparkling like or even more than when she talks about her ninja-tool shop. Apparently she
couldn’t help but talk about Guy-san.
I could understand terribly well this feeling. I wasn’t as familiar with him as Tenten-san,
but only by travelling with him for a short while there were a heap of things I wanted to
say about Guy-san.
I wanted to talk with somebody who could understand this. I wanted to share this.
Guy-san had something that gave me this impression. All the more if it was Tenten-san,
who had been training and going in mission together with him, and has been close to him
as master and student since she was a child.
How should I put it, I wasn’t the only straight man anymore. I wanted somebody to
rescue me, please. I couldn’t fight against an opponent this strong alone. A straight man
couldn’t keep up with him.
That kind of feeling.
After that, Tenten-san and I got very excited while talking about Guy-san.

«Then, when I realised it, he had jumped all of a sudden. And then, with a feeling like
“You monster!”, he threw himself at my genjutsu!» I talked on and on while agitating my
bottled milk in the dressing room.
The Guy-san discussion of the open bath had continued so much that I got all excited and
had become as red as a lobster. Even when we came back to the dressing room, both of us
dizzy, I kept talking like this.
«Ah, I understand… Just as if the scene were vivid before my eyes–» Tenten-san
muttered earnestly while fanning her flushed face flapping both her hands. By the way,
Tenten-san had eagerly drunk up her bottled milk right after we bought it.
«That man, he’s always like that you know? Because he always jumps in like that without
thinking.»
«Even so, I panicked completely because of that unexpected development, too. When I
yelled “Stoooop!” instinctively, the genjutsu dissolved, and it was a shock, honestly. I’d
never have imagined that the genjutsu would be dissolved because of that. Really, it was
the first time in my life.»
Then, even I drank up the rest of the milk in one gulp. The cold milk felt pleasant in my
heated body.
«However, what was it, bravery on the verge of strangeness? It was amazing.»
When I thought about Guy-san, who used to say “There’s one thing I learned in my life:
there’s no end to training.” and kept training his body even now despite the fact that he
wasn’t a ninja in active duty, I already felt a feeling of respect towards him.
Probably he is a person who acts rather than talk, a proud man that can’t show himself
ashamed in front of his former students, as their role model.
However, surprisingly, Tenten-san’s point of view was a little different.
«Uhmmm… amazing bravery you say, well, I agree but…»
Tenten-san lowered her voice, as if she was telling me a secret.
«I wonder if Guy-sensei isn’t a coward, really.»
«Eeeh!? Impossible!»
«Between you and me, staying with him for long years, I involuntarily came to think so,
but he’s not a coward through and through of course, you know? As you see, I think he’s
a person who has a terrible courage. However, in some respects, he’s also a scaredy-cat.»
In the quiet dressing room without other people, Tenten-san continued.
«Guy-sensei is always cheerful to the point of being annoying, and unnecessarily
tiresome, and when something happens he jumps into it taking the initiative by himself,
right? When I was a child I had acknowledged him as “A person like this”, but becoming
an adult I reached the same age of Guy-sensei in those days, so for some reason I came to
think like that.»
«That he’s really a coward?»
At my question, Tenten-san nodded.
By the way, by “Guy-sensei in those days”, Tenten-san was talking about when she was a
child, when she had graduated from the Academy and had been assigned to Guy-san’s
team, so Guy-san was probably still in his twenties.
Guy-san in his twenties… I couldn’t imagine him well.
Did he look young, keep his hair long, and acted all worked up?
As if my power of imagination had reached its limit, Tenten-san began talking again.
«Every time something happened, Guy-sensei always showed us his nice-guy pose with a
smile and cheered on us, but surely even Guy-sensei was afraid. Well, he’s a human, so
of course he thought “No”, and he didn’t want to do it, but even so it occurred to me that,
being a sensei, he said it out loud on purpose, so that he wouldn’t make us feel anxious,
no matter if it was frightening and painful and difficult, and he went forward and forward
without showing it even a little bit.» Tenten-san said, and smiled gently.
That story made me think that it was right. It was surely as she had said.
It’s not that a sensei is a sensei from the very beginning.
That’s a thing that can be said not only about Guy-san, but about everyone.
Surely, nobody is a brave person from the beginning. People become brave for the first
time when they show their bravery for their sake, or rather, for someone’s sake.
At least, Guy-san has always acted like this.
«…However, if it’s so, as I thought he’s an amazing person, isn’t he?»
At these few words I had unintentionally let out, Tenten-san smiled broadly.
«That’s right. Guy-sensei is amazing. Impossibly amazing!»
Tenten-san smiled, looking pleased. I suddenly thought that I had seen that face even
some time ago, at the open bath.
When we were talking about Guy-san, Tenten-san was always doing it, smiling looking
pleased.
«However, when I reached the same age as Guy-sensei in those days, I wondered if I felt
much more like a child, compared with the old Guy-sensei. Maybe even now I feel like a
child.» Tenten-san said and smiled bitterly, but I didn’t understand well her feelings yet.
In the future, when I’ll reach the age of the current Tenten-san, what will I ever think
about myself? Will I think that the current Tenten-san felt more adult than me? Or—
«Ah, however, I wonder if Guy-sensei is afraid ghosts.»
«Weren’t we talking about the fact that he’s a scaredy-cat, really…»
Somehow, the pleasant story and the atmosphere were spoiled in a moment.
«No, really. That man had a big reaction, right? Even for a person like this, even in a
scenario where other people were only a little afraid, doesn’t it feel like he kicked up a
fuss? Even if it’s a characteristic story from the start, is he a scaredy-cat or not?»
«Well, surely I had that kind of impression, but…»
«Then, “Taijutsu have no effect against ghosts, so it’s useless.” seems like something
he’d say, right?»
«Ah, that looks like something he’d definitely say.»
There’s no reason to fear something as long as you can hit it. But there’s nothing you can
do if you can’t hit it.
That’s why he was afraid.
For some reason, that was probably a way of thinking typical of Guy-san.
Or rather, now I was aware of it, but even if I wasn’t very familiar with him as we
travelled together, a thinking similar to Guy-san’s was taking form inside of me. This was
much scarier than ghosts.
—If this situation keeps going on, I’ll surely become like Lee-san…
I was seriously thinking things like that.
Such a pointlessly strong power of influence. As I thought, Guy-san was an amazing
person.

When I went out of the dressing room with Tenten-san, wearing a cute yukata with a
shuriken pattern, I caught sight of the Sixth’s back, who was wearing a similar shuriken-
patterned yukata. For some reason, he was making a phone call.
«What?»
Tenten-san tilted her head a little, but she didn’t manage to catch his words because he
was chattering in a low voice.
«Ah, Guy-sensei is over there.»
Tenten-san spotted Guy-san. I thought he was in his room, but he was wandering
aimlessly with an idle appearance. Since it seemed that the Sixth’s phone call wasn’t
over, I followed after Tenten-san for the time being.
«Guy-sensei, what are you doing?»
«Oh, oooh, Tenten?»
Guy-san was going back and forth in front of the souvenir store without doing anything,
but as soon as he raised his voice, his face brightened suddenly.
«Since you came all the way to this inn, please relax in your room…»
However, when Tenten-san told him this, for some reason Guy-san became nervous.
«No, well, I was thinking about going in a place to drink hotspring water.» Guy-san said
while smiling heartily. However, for some reason, he looked strange. He felt different
from usual. However, apart from that—
«We already went to a place to drink hotspring water not long ago, didn’t we? We can’t
do it again. One cup a day is enough.»
I warned to Guy-san, who had started talking about going to a place to drink hotspring
water all of a sudden. Before we came to the inn, we had already drunk hotspring water
in a place to drink hotspring water. If you drink too much spring water at once, it could
give the opposite effects. “You must drink only one cup a day”, a written warning said
clearly.
«Ah, aah, that’s right, that’s right. Noo, I was kind of free…»
«Please don’t disregard the rules of use and doses just because you have spare time.»
I was utterly amazed, but it looked like Tenten-san was thinking. She smiled
complacently like a mischievous child, and began talking.
«Heeey, Guy-sensei. Isn’t it that you’re afraid of being in your room alone? This inn has
quite a history. You’re afraid that something may happen.»
Her way of speaking was just as if she was looking at a little child with a pleased look.
«Don’t be ridiculous. What do you mean with “something”? It’s not as if I were a child.»
Guy-san made an indignant expression. It was a natural reaction.
However, this inn had quite a history, as expected from something called “old shop”, and
the building was old.
There were places, like the reception desk and the public bath, that had been renewed
here and there, but the Sixth’s and Guy-san’s room was a separated guest room with an
old structure, deep and deep down the hallway.
If I had been alone in a quiet place, without the other guests around, in which the
employees rarely came, leaving ghosts and similar aside, maybe I’d felt helpless.
Actually, the Sixth had left to make a phone call, and Guy-san had been left alone for a
short while. Probably he had rushed out of the room because there was too much silence.
—Maybe his room was surprisingly lonely…
I stared at Guy-san, thinking about what to say.
At the same time, I thought that also the fact of not being able to stay still all alone was
typical of Guy-san.
By the way, the guest room was far away, but I had ventured to choose a room like that.
They had relied on me for the part of the inn, and I had assigned them a room far away
with no people around.
Naturally, as their attendant, I made arrangements for an inn, and as their guard I booked
a room.
It didn’t mean that I had soaked into the hotspring with Tenten-san absolutely carefreely.
A room where to stay is an easy thing for a guard. It was the most basic thing of all the
basics.
A room in which a party of tourists were staying around was unreasonable, and we’d
have been troubled if an unspecified number of people would have loitered around the
hallway in front of the room.
And of course, I had checked inside the room previously.
What was going on outside the window? Wasn’t it something out of place in the furniture
or the equipment of the provisions? Were there monsters hiding above the ceiling? Were
there yukata with cute patters or not…?
I had checked every possible thing like that.
I needed to check indirectly and learn by heart also the faces and the number of the
employees and the guests that were staying at the inn. If the faces I didn’t recognise
increased, I’d have to be cautious.
Moreover, I had to postpone the time of my bath.
While bathing and going to bed, it’s easy to be taken by surprise. It’s the time when you
have to be especially vigilant. For this reason, it didn’t mean that I’d carelessly take a
bath at the same time with the targets I was guarding, of course.
Moreover, if something accidentally happened to the targets of my guard while I was
taking a bath, I’d end up running stark-naked without even having any equipment. Then
for sure I’d need the hotspring-use kunai Tenten-san invented. It was basically an
unlikely situation.
That day, the Sixth had charmed me with the words “I’ll keep an eye on Guy, so you can
go ahead.” and I went bathing before, but I could call it a special treatment.
In a normal mission, far from postponing the time of bathing, I wouldn’t have been able
to take a bath in the first place. I’d have ended the mission covered in sweat and mud, and
I’d have taken a bath only after going back to the village.
If compared with that, the fact that there were hotsprings in the land of the mission and
that I could even take a bath was like a dream.
On the contrary, if I had been told this condition before my departure, I’d probably have
hesitated in accepting it, being afraid that there was something behind it, or rather that the
pattern had turned into a nightmare.
The marvellous combination of the loose content of the mission, that was almost a
holiday, and the fact that the one giving directions was the even more loose Sixth,
brought me the good treatment that I could hardly have thought of normally, that is that I
could rest in a hotspring carefreely like this.
I expressed my thanks towards the Sixth’s back, who was at the phone.
Thanks to the Sixth, I could enter in a hotspring even that day. I could sleep on a warm
mattress. There was no way that I’d sleep outdoor. Thank you very much. Thank you
very much…
«Eh, what?»
While I was joining my hands with my eyes closed, the Sixth, who had finished his phone
call, had come near me unnoticed.
I deeply thanked again the Sixth, who was bewildered by the fact that I was praying in
front of him.
«Thank you very much.»
«Mh. Eh? What do you mean…?»
«I was able to go to a hotspring.»
«Ah, yeah. …eh?»
I tried to ask the Sixth, who had tilted his head in contemplation, what was worrying him.
«Err, the phone call… who was it? If it was a scheduled message, later I’ll…»
«Oh, it was from Naruto.»
«From the Seventh!? Maybe it’s some state of emergency…!?»
Since I’d never had imagined that he was talking at the phone with the Seventh, I raised
my voice in surprise. I shut my mouth, panicking, and checked my surroundings. It
seemed that nobody had noticed it in particular.
Lowering my tone of voice, I continued.
«Do we have to come back?»
The fact that he was talking at the phone with the Seventh meant that something
important had happened. Depending on the situation, we might have gone back to the
village immediately.
However, the Sixth’s expression wasn’t different from usual.
«No, it’s nothing special. It was a phone call just to check a little on us. Besides, even if
something had happened, you don’t need to worry more than necessary. In the end, all
my students are reliable.» the Sixth answered, still smiling. Just to check a little – just by
looking at this situation, it didn’t look like a situation in which the previous Hokage had
to come back. I relaxed. Then, while I was relaxing, I was a little embarrassed, but there
was another thing I wanted to ask.
My eyes instinctively wandered around. I couldn’t look straight to the Sixth’s face.
«E-err, by the way, did the Seventh say, well, some words of encouragement, about
me…»
«Mh? We didn’t talk about us here in particular. Well! I guess he trusts us that much.»
“Hahaha”, the Sixth laughed. Looking at the Sixth’s appearance, Tenten-san sighed.
«Ah… is that so…»
Although I had expected it a little, the conversation ended drastically.
«Well, if you two came back, we can go to the bath, too?» the Sixth said, and started
pushing Guy-san’s wheelchair.
«Kakashi, can we play ping-pong before the bath? I came here just for this!» Guy-san
started talking while mimicking a practice swing. What about the conversation about
going to a place to drink hotspring water? I stared at the two, who were going towards the
game centre.
Thereupon, suddenly—
«Hey, something amusing came into my mind, but…» Tenten-san whispered into my ear.
Whispering, my ear tickled.
«After this… when they come back… I… How about it? It sounds amusing, doesn’t it?»
Tenten-san made me some proposal, and smiled innocently.
«But, such an obvious ghost…»
«Sssh» Tenten-san put her forefinger in front of her lips.
Of course, so that the Sixth and Guy-san didn’t hear us. Tenten-san wanted to play a trick
on Guy-san, when he’d come back from the hotspring later.
«Well then, I’ll make the arrangements, so please buy me some time with the ping-pong
or whatever.»
«Ah, wait a second…»
«Mirai, I’m sorry but can’t you do the referee?»
«Ah, yes!»
In the span of time my attention was caught by Guy-san’s call, Tenten-san quickly
disappeared. She had gone fetching clothes to use for her trick.
—Without even disguising herself, she’s already like a ghost in terms of disappearing…
I thought about Tenten-san, when I noticed she had disappeared.
So, it looked like Tenten-san wanted to scare Guy-san by disguising herself as a ghost.
I thought that it was not as if he were a kid, but since she had disappeared the moment I
was about to say what I wanted to say, it couldn’t be helped. On top of that, she looked
happy with such an innocent face…
—Why do Guy-san’s students have such a feeling…
Also Lee-san looked like this, but why do they have this somewhat strange enthusiasm,
or – I don’t know how to put it, but in any case: why do they act like this?
—They’re strong… Team Guy…
I was thinking about these things absentmindedly.
Then, I tried to imagine again Guy-san when he was in his twenties. Without the long
hair, perhaps – no, surely he wouldn’t be different from now, wearing the same hairstyle.
Guy-san was that kind of person.

«Kakashi, don’t hold back!»

Guy-san’s voice echoed in the game centre. There weren’t other people besides us, and in
the deserted looking game centre there was only a billiard table besides the ping-pong
table.
The Sixth and Guy-san were facing each other, the ping-pong table between them, a ping-
pong paddle in one hand.
I was sitting nearby on a chair with torn fabric. As those two’s referee, since they had
decided to have a ping-pong showdown, sweating out before going to the hotspring.
Guy-san made a practice-swing as if he was slashing the air.
«Humph, humph, good rhythm! Start whenever you like! Today for sure I’ll—»
Thereupon—
Dong!
The ping-pong ball bounced in Guy-san’s court, making a satisfying sound. Without
stopping, the ping-pong ball fell onto the floor. Of course, the Sixth was the one who had
scored.
«Ah, that’s another point.»
When I said it while chasing the rolling ping-pong ball, Guy-san yelled: «You, aiming in
the midst of a practice swing is unfair!»
«No, you said “whenever you like”…»
«Heey, the match starts now!»
Guy-san was as boisterous as usual. Would this Guy-san really be surprised by a puerile
ghost prank? Rather than being surprised, wouldn’t he normally get angry?
—If he gets angry also with the accomplice, I’ll be in trouble…
While I thought about these things, the match proceeded.
Guy-san’s cries of «Nooo–» or «Come on–» blended with the satisfying sound of the
ping-pong ball bouncing. Finally, the rally began for real.
The ping-pong ball flew fast before my eyes.
Neither of them made a step back, and the violent exchange of blows continued. Neither
of them scored a point.
I had been asked by Tenten-san to buy her time until she could prepare the ghost prank,
but there was no need to buy time that much.
—A ghost…
As I stared absentmindedly at the struggling match, I suddenly remembered a thing.

Do you think that ghosts exist?

When I passed the Chūnin Exams, I asked this question.

We talked about it when I had joined my hands in front of my father’s grave, and told
him about my success. It’s not that I was thinking about it deeply, but the words had
escaped from my mouth almost instinctively.
«How should I put it…»
At my question, the answer came back from behind me.
«Well, actually I did almost die myself, but still I didn’t go as far as becoming a ghost.
They may exist, and they may not. Substantially, when people talk about ghosts, it’s
always been like that, right?»
Usually, the story that “he had almost died” came out mixed with a bitter smile. With a
light way of speaking, as if it was nothing.
In my epoch, which didn’t know war, that was a nearly impossible feeling. Those were
words of an echo that you could hear only in a distant epoch, just like in a tale.
«…However, I think that they don’t exist.»
I turned around, smiling.
«If ghosts existed, dad could come and meet me at least once, couldn’t he?»
That was a thing that I had thought when I became old enough.
If ghosts existed, were was my father now, and what was he doing?
Why didn’t he came and meet me and mum?
Was there a reason he couldn’t come and meet us?
No, it wasn’t like that.
Things like ghosts don’t exist from the start.
It’s simple. If a person dies, it’s the end. That’s why my father doesn’t come back.
No matter how much I wait, no matter how much I want it, he’ll never come back.
There’s no coming back.
As I stared with cold eyes at my classmates that got excited for ghost stories, I was
always thinking these things. It seemed stupid to say “Whaa whaa, eek eek” for
something that couldn’t exist.
«You can’t see him with your eyes but, surprisingly enough, he came back to meet you.»
Even I understood that those were words of mere consolation. However, I—
«If I can’t see him, there’s no point…»
At least a glimpse, I thought. Especially in a day like that day, in which I had
accomplished something.
«You were able to become a chūnin, so you wanted to tell him personally…»
Then, I wanted him to give me some words of well-done.
I was in front of his tomb, which I had visited many times since I was a child, but I had
never become sentimental until that day.
«I’m sorry… today I’m feeling a little bit off…»
I smiled awkwardly, and he suddenly gave me a certain thing.
«This is…!?»
That was a chakra blade combined with a brass knuckle that you used wearing it on your
fist. It was a custom-made article made with a rare metal that acted according to the
user’s chakra.
«Sensei, your…»
«That’s right. And it was also your father’s.» my sensei said, and nodded silently. As to
say “take it”.
«I don’t know if ghosts exist or not, but I think that souls are immortal…»
I put the chakra blade I had taken in my fist, and tried to grasp it tightly. It was unrefined
ninja tool that sparkled dimly. Probably it was just another weapon from the point of
view of a person that didn’t know it, but for me it was different.
It was my father’s memento, a thing that my sensei had inherited. It was a meaningful
thing.
My sensei had said that souls are immortal.
As a young boy he had been my father’s student, and when became an adult in the end,
he became my sensei.
My sensei had been trained by my father, and now he trained me.
And then—
My father’s form of existence, which my sensei had inherited, was now clutched in my
hands.
Now that I thought about it, my sensei had always, always been protecting me in my
father’s stead.
When I thought about this, the fact that ghosts didn’t exist seemed nothing special to me.
Because, rather than that, I could feel my father’s breathing, my father’s soul, much
closer to me.
«I’ve always been dreaming about this day… At last, I’ve been able to hand it over to
you…»
My sensei smiled gently.
«You gave it all, Mirai. Congratulations on passing the exam.»
If my father had been in his place, I’m sure he’d have told me the same things.
I firmly clutched the chakra blades, which were my congratulation gift for passing the
exam.
«…yes.»
My voice was hoarse. I had my back still turned towards my sensei.
«Please, look at me from behind.»
Even if they were tears of joy, I didn’t want my teacher to see me crying. I couldn’t make
him worry for me forever and protect me anymore. From now on—
«I’ll become a fine ninja, so you can relax and watch me, sensei…!»
Somehow, with the inherited will in my hand, I wanted him to watch my back as I
proceeded forward.
I believe that it’s the least thing I can do in exchange of it, for my sensei…

Snap, the ping-pong ball hit the net. At that sound, I came back to my senses, taken
aback.
And the moment I came back to my senses, my cheeks blushed red.
—Somehow, I feel like I said something quite embarrassing…
It was a rather creepy feeling. Just now, I had remembered about the day I became a
chūnin.
«Haa, haa…Alright, for today… Let’s stop here…» Guy-san said, staggering and
dripping with sweat, as if the words had been squeezed out of his throat.
«Mirai, which one of us won…?»
Even if I was staring at Guy-san, who was panting out of breath, my eyes wandered about
into space.
«Ah… err… s-sorry… I was lost in thought…»
«Whaaaaat?» Guy-san yelled, his shoulders still dropped, crestfallen. Since I was
remembering my past absentmindedly, I hadn’t paid much attention, but probably it had
been a worthy mortal combat. Apparently, when I told him that I didn’t know the score,
he lost all his energies in one go.
«Which one… which one on earth won…?»
Guy-san had no longer his usual vitality in his voice. I did an inexcusable thing.
However, the Sixth was calm, as expected from him.
«At any rate, for one point difference the victory is mine, I think.» he said, and grinned.
He had been counting the points by himself.
«Whatever. Let’s call it a draw for today…» Guy-san muttered with a disappointed look.
«No, for one point difference, I…»
«Kakashi, let’s go to the bath…» Guy-san said, and went towards the large public bath,
dejected.
«Guy, at any rate, I…»
«Nuu, it’s a draw…! Guu~, too bad…!»
«Isn’t it that you’re doing it on purpose, maybe?»
«…it’s a draw!»
Following after Guy-san, who was stressing the word “draw” excessively, also the Sixth
went to the large public bath.
«Well then, see you later.» I was told by the Sixth, who had looked over his shoulder, and
I nodded silently. I intended on waiting for them still sitting on the chair in front of the
large public bath until they came back.
The moment I was about to escort those two and leave the game centre as well—
Bam, a slap on my shoulders.
Now that the Sixth and Guy-san were gone, there shouldn’t have been anyone else in the
game centre.
I calmly turned around, and a bloodstained woman was standing in front of my eyes,
wearing white clothes.
«Ah, you made the arrangements.»
I sighed relieved, looking at her figure.
«I’m glad you made it in time. Just now, they’ve gone to the hotspring.»
Unlike me, who was smiling relieved, the face of the woman in front of me became stern.
«Wait, what’s this!? Why aren’t you scared!?»
«No, but you had told me that you’d disguise yourself as a ghost, right?»
«That’s why, if a person stands behind you without warning, normally you should be
frightened, right!?» the bloodstained woman – Tenten-san, who wore a make up with
sticks of blood – shouted, more frightened than me.
«Even if you tell me that it doesn’t seem normal…»
It was as unthinkable as one would expect. Even though, for my part, I was more scared
by the scared Tenten-san rather than the fact that she had disguised herself as a ghost…
Since I don’t like being misunderstood, I told her in advance that it wasn’t that my
reaction was weak.
«But I wasn’t frightened because it was you, Tenten-san, you know? Because you had
informed me about the ghost prank and I knew.»
«T-that’s right! Ah well, it’s surely like that! But still, if a person that wasn’t me had
been standing bloodstained in front of you, you’d surely be frightened, right?»
«Of course, I’d have reacted properly. I’d have asked, “Are you okay? Let’s go to the
hospital”. Of course I wouldn’t have left her alone.»
«What’s with this mentality… These young guards are terrific nowadays…»
For some reason, Tenten-san began feeling the gap between our generations.
«It’s not that, shouldn’t you say “A ghost!”?»
«No, because ghosts don’t exist.» I declared flatly, and Tenten-san made a rather sad
face.
«Kids are amazing nowadays… I’d never have imagined that I’d come to think things
like “young people these days”… Is that so–, did I think that–? Ahaa, I’m thinking again
that I’ve grown old…»
Tenten-san sighed deeply. For some reason, the atmosphere in the room became heavy.
I felt like the current situation was really more ghost-like than some time ago…
However, even if I thought so, I couldn’t tell her.
«B-by the way, what will you do when those two come back?»
Tenten-san was feeling down, so I brought up the topic of the prank. Although I had
thought that it was a childish trick the first time I heard about the ghost prank, now I had
become the instigator, and it was me the one who looked forward to it.
—I give up. Well then, as I thought, I’m an accomplice.
Even though I was thinking so, I couldn’t hold back my excitement. My heart was
throbbing violently.
Surely, now my eyes were sparkling fierily.
Naturally, it was the same also for Tenten-san. An evil smile was floating on her face full
of blood – dry blood, to be accurate.
«Wait and see. I’ll make Guy-sensei’s shrieks echo through the whole inn!»
Tenten-san clutched her fist firmly. Her face was full of dry blood and determination.
Probably, she intended on scare Guy-san as much as she couldn’t scare me.
Tenten-san told me the plan of the prank, and finally the moment approached…

The prank that Tenten-san had devised was extraordinary simple.

«The simpler, the better.» Tenten-san told me.
First of all, since we acted quickly, we didn’t even have the fear that Guy-san would
notice us.
Furthermore, the more we had tried to make an elaborate thing, the more inevitably
contrived it would have become, and I had the fear that Guy-san, who’s unexpectedly a
person of quick perception, would easily see through it.
«Even if he’s got old, he’s still Guy-sensei*.» Tenten-san said. Of course, I understood
what that expression meant, but I wondered if also that prank would make her former
teacher grow old.
For this reason, we had no choice but play with a simple, explosive prank. Anyway, there
was also the Sixth near him. Taking too long wasn’t a good plan.
Our strategy was like this: I would join the two of them, after they returned from the
public bath, and suggest that they would go back to their room.
When they would reach a detached hallway with no one else around, Tenten-san would
appear, and frighten him.
That was it. Truly simple.
By the way, while we’d go from the public bath to the hallway, I’d add that Tenten-san
had gone back to her own room beforehand to rest. That was my duty.
Then, finally the two of them came back from the public bath.
«No–, but the match of some time ago was disappointing. A draw…»
«Guy, technically, for one point I…»
I suggested that the two of them, that were still arguing back and forth, went back to their
room. Conversationally, I also told them that Tenten-san had already gone back to her
room to rest.
None of them showed any sing of suspicion. There was no reason to be suspicious from
the start. Success.
I followed after the Sixth, who was pushing Guy-san’s wheelchair.
The detached room was getting near. The hallway that led to the detached room was
gloomy and deserted. Quiet. The only thing that could be heard was the faint sound of our
footsteps and the sound of the wheels of Guy-san’s wheelchair.
—Well, where will she come from…
The right time would probably come soon. While trying not to smile, I kept wearing an
expression of feigned ignorance.
“Aah, Guy-san, please forgive your guard that can appreciate pranks.”
I apologised in advance inside my head. “However, I really love the fact that I’ll watch
the person who will fall for the trick. For this reason, for this prank only, I won’t protect
you.”
“But Guy-san. I want you to fall short of my expectations. I want you, Guy-san, to show
Tenten-san that you’re a man who’s not afraid of ghosts.”
“On the contrary, I want you to surprise Tenten-san without raising even a scream.”
«Nuwhaaaaaaaa!?» Guy-san shrieked.
Aah, it’s useless… Even I, who don’t believe in ghosts, would have shrieked if I had
been deceived without knowing it.
All of a sudden, a bloody Tenten-san was hanging upside down in front of Guy-san’s
eyes, who was pushed in his wheelchair by the Sixth and was going towards his room.
Even though she said it was simple, hanging upside down was a way of frightening
characteristic of Guy-san’s students, who are famous for taijutsu.
Guy-san, who was face-to-face with an upside-down Tenten-san with a ghost make-up at
a super point-blank range, threw his head back, still shrieking, and couldn’t step behind,
since there was the Sixth pushing his wheelchair. For this reason he ended up in twisting
his body unnaturally, and knocked the back of his head with all his might against a pillar
nearby. As a result, he fainted, with foam coming out of his mouth.
«Hey, see? The prank was a huge success!»
At Guy-san’s figure, Tenten-san landed, cutting the ropes that kept her upside down
while rejoicing.
«What? It was a nice reaction, right?»
Tenten-san smiled proudly, turning towards me. Aah, she had revealed the fact that I was
her accomplice.
«Hold on, you two…»
The Sixth was stunned. By the way, the Sixth hadn’t moved at all for Tenten-san’s
surprise attack. Although he was standing behind Guy-san, that was a perfect surprise
attack. Tenten-san had said that the more unnecessarily boisterous the type, like Guy-san,
was, the bigger the reaction would be, and it was surely like that. Anyhow, I couldn’t
imagine the figure of the Sixth shrieking and panicking.
«You shouldn’t teach mean mischief to your juniors. You should try to become a much
better example.»
«Ye–s, I’ll pay attention from now on–»
At Tenten-san’s light response, the Sixth let out a sigh.
«Good grief… Even under normal circumstances Guy is so sensitive…»
While he muttered these things, he carried Guy-san, who had fainted, pushing his
wheelchair.
«Well, in this case, if we have done a little more elaborate prank, it might have ended up
badly.» Tenten-san muttered while seeing the Sixth and Guy-san off. She’s a wicked
woman.
Tenten-san began smiling again like a mischievous child.
«For example, wouldn’t it be fun if a lot of tags were affixed for no particular reason,
like, on the other side of their sliding door, which the two of them will see after they
return to their room?»
It’s an inviolable rule of pranks. It says that in the moment you lose focus, pretending that
it’s all over, it’s very easy to get caught. However, in this case, I did a bad thing to
Tenten-san.
I apologised nervously.
«I’m sorry, I accidentally tore them off.»
«Eh…?»
Tenten-san, who was grinning, made a straight face all of a sudden. I fetched a bundle of
tags from by breast pocket, and handed them to Tenten-san. They looked an old type I’d
never seen.
«Since they were affixed somehow at random, I removed them for the time being…»
«Eh, wait, waaah!? You took them!? Why!?»
Tenten-san’s face, who had taken the tags, grew gradually pale. For some reason, she was
more ghost-like now than before.
By the way, tearing off the tags was the first thing I had done as soon as I had arrived to
this inn. It was when I had checked if there wasn’t something strange in the room. It was
the room were the Sixth would stay. There shouldn’t have been anything at all.
They didn’t look like exploding tags, but there were odd tags affixed in the room. I didn’t
understand well what were they used for, but probably, as a guard, I had to tear them off
of course.
«But if they scared those two, it should have been better not to tear them off, right?»
«No, those were things that you mustn’t tear off!» Tenten-san yelled with a terrified
expression, in contrast with me, who was laughing with a ahaha.
«W-what do I do…! I’m afraid but…»
Looking at Tenten-san, who was trembling, I gradually realised it, too.
«Aah, is that so. Tags for ghosts?»
«So why did you tear the off! Jeez!»
Tenten-san, despite she was wearing a ghost make-up using even clots of blood, was
afraid of ghost curses. She was a different person.
«Err, Tenten-san, ghosts don’t exist. As for the tags I accidentally tore off, it’s okay
because I’ll apologise afterwards with the people of the inn.» I told the frightened
Tenten-san, and we went back to our room.

The next day.

Although I had a somehow washed-out feeling, maybe because the tiredness of the
journey until now had appeared suddenly, or because I had bathed for too long yesterday,
I welcomed the morning as usual, as if nothing had changed.
Of course, it’s not that during the night ghosts had appeared or something, and I fell
asleep immediately. Apparently Tenten-san, who was frightened for a little while, fell
asleep immediately, maybe because she was tired as well.
«So, I told you that ghosts and things like that don’t exist, haven’t I?»
I easily made some flexing exercises while breathing the refreshing morning air and the
odour of the hotsprings with my whole chest. I stretched my arms, and my neck and
shoulders creaked. As I thought, it seemed that the weariness of the hotspring had
appeared.
«However, if I had been told to sleep in the room where the tags were affixed, it’d be
impossible for me, you know?» Tenten-san told me in a small voice.
Of course, since the room with the tags affixed was the detached one where the Sixth and
Guy-san were staying, it wasn’t our room. However, even if I asked the Sixth indirectly,
apparently he had slept soundly, and he had made a nonchalant face. As I thought, ghosts
don’t exist.
However, only Guy-san had a face as if he were about to die, with dark shadows below
his eyes. It seemed that Tenten-san’s prank had been super effective, even if for one
night.
«I… saw it…» he muttered, whispering. Apparently, it was true what Tenten-san had
said, that Guy-san might really be a coward. I couldn’t help but think that the manly Guy-
san had such a side. Probably, everyone has a thing in which they’re weak, but even so,
to end up like this for a mere prank… Isn’t this a true scaredy-cat?
«Well, err… Well then, I’m off to my holiday hotspring tour.»
We decided to part from Tenten-san in front of the inn. Our inspection mission was still
continuing.
«I’ll try to explore the possibilities of my hotspring-use kunai in this country for a little
while more!» Tenten-san said, and gave me a thumbs-up. She hadn’t given up yet. As
expected from a student of Guy-san’s. She already resembled him even in the pose.
«I hope it’ll sell well.»
While I said these sugar-coat words and so forth, we parted from Tenten-san.
By the way, after that, Tenten-san worked on the hotspring-use kunai, but in the end it
turned out to be a great success among the evil people and the celebrities of every country
as a stylish self-protection tool to use while you take a bath.
Apparently, the fact that it was easy to understand defeated its rough appearance, which
wasn’t different from ordinary kunai, the fact that it was easy to handle, and the fact that
it’d normally become rusty under the harsh circumstances outside the hotsprings.
The request came from the people that were protected, who wanted to have a weapon just
in case something happened. Despite the ones who protected them, no, exactly because of
the ones who protected them, they hadn’t thought that far. The fact is that you never
know what could happen in the world.
Well then, we had parted from Tenten-san and went back to our observation journey…
«Guy has been worried like this since yesterday…» I was given this piece of advice by
the Sixth. His tone included just a little bit of biting remark, as if he was implying it was
because we had done that stupid ghost prank.
Guy-san was trembling all over with a pale face. And he kept saying «I saw it.» as usual.
To Guy-san’s eyes, Tenten-san probably had looked like a true ghost.
Guy-san with a dark expression for the whole morning. The Sixth speechless.
Since, Tenten-san, who was the mood-maker for better or for worse, wasn’t there, the
atmosphere became quite awkward. I had to do something. It was my duty as their
attendant.
«Err, Guy-san.» I timidly tried to start a conversation.
«I’m sorry about yesterday. That was Tenten-san’s prank.»
Since Guy-san was too much scared, I reluctantly revealed the trick. The only one who’d
reveal the trick, and get scolded after this, was me. In the end, all my efforts would come
into nothing.
However, unexpected words came out of Guy-san’s mouth.
«Mirai, what the heck are you talking about…?» he asked me with a straight face.
«No, err, yesterday, it was only a prank, I’m saying that the one dropping from the ceiling
was really Tenten-san disguised as a ghost…»
«The one I saw was an armoured warrior ghost, you know? Besides, that was a man, no
matter how you look at it…»
«…eh?»
In a moment my head became completely blank. I hadn’t understood well what Guy-san
was saying.
«It was a frightening figure… a bloodstained armoured warrior…»
Guy-san began narrating last night’s events while trembling.
«In front of me, who couldn’t fall asleep, a guy appeared. It was slightly transparent, and
the moment I took a look at it, I understood that it didn’t belong to this world. The next
moment, my body froze, and I couldn’t move. Also my voice couldn’t come out. I could
only hear Kakashi’s regular breathing, who was sleeping next to me. It loitered in our
room for a while, and it slipped through the window, and got out. I frantically followed it,
moving only my eyes. It slipped through the wall of the main building, and Mirai – it
disappeared into the room where you and Tenten were sleeping…»
While I listened to Guy-san’s tale, for some reason my physical condition worsened.
Come to think of it, my body had been oddly languid since morning. It probably had been
my imagination, but I had felt my shoulders particularly heavy…
«Surely I had been frightened by Tenten’s prank, but it was cute compared with last
night’s armoured warrior. Also playing pranks together with your juniors is fine, it’s part
of youth, isn’t it?»
That’s probably why he couldn’t sleep. Guy-san smiled with a disheartened face. Or
rather, Guy-san was saying that he had understood Tenten-san’s prank, and he had seen
an armoured warrior – something else besides Tenten-san – and in addition he had seen
that guy, which seemed half-transparent, slipping through a wall and entering into the
place where I was sleeping…
This morning, when I apologised for having torn off the tags when we left the inn, all the
employees of the inn became pale at once.
They asked me things like «Were you all right?» and «Did something happen?» while
being frightened. I don’t believe in ghosts, so I replied «Nothing happened in particular.»
in a light mood, and smiled. But that—
My whole body grew pale at once.
That was the reason why Guy-san was reluctant to stay in his room alone.
When he had purposely left the room to the point of following the Sixth, who was
making a phone call, at that point of time, there was already a somehow evil presence in
the room… Because I, who had checked their rooms just before, had torn off the tags
thoroughly, driven by my sense of duty as their guard…
«As I thought, that was because I shouldn’t have torn the off…!»
Then, I began trembling together with Guy-san. Somehow, my shoulders felt heavier than
before. What could I do, I couldn’t go back anymore…
And, then—
«What’s up with you two? You have dark faces, you know?»
Hahaha, the Sixth laughed. He had said those words in a mood different from usual.
To me and Guy-san, who were wrapped in terror, his voice was so calm that it seemed
out of place.
—Scary…
I wasn’t talking about ghosts.
The Sixth, who wasn’t perturbed no matter what happened, was scary. Unbelievable.
When I saw the Sixth laughing even more carefreely, with Guy-san and me pale in front
of his eyes, the fact that I didn’t understand well that thing of the armoured warrior was
not important anymore.
Instead, it was the Sixth that had been sleeping soundly till morning in a room in which
an armoured warrior was loitering. And why was he reacting so calmly about it? How
could he smile so gently?
The Sixth’s extremely relaxed atmosphere was gradually painting out the horror of the
place.
And apparently, even the most relaxed people feel panic at some point.
Looking at the Sixth, who was smiling carefreely, I didn’t think that he’d get the
goosebumps for the above-mentioned story of the armoured warrior.
—This is… the Sixth Hokage…
I gulped, covered in a cold sweat.
While being afraid of the monster-like mental strength of the previous Hokage, our
journey continued.
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Chapter 4 – Huge Rock

«A mountain…» Guy-san said.

«Aah, a mountain…» the Sixth continued.
«A mountain… isn’t it…» I muttered, too.
The three of us were standing stock still, dumbfounded, while looking up until our necks
hurt.
Because the object that was in front of our eyes was a thing that looked just like a mountain,
no matter how you looked at it.
But that thing, so big that it seemed that it reached the sky, wasn’t a mountain, but a rock.
And, originally, it wasn’t there.
«What do we do…?» I asked, and the Sixth scratched his head, troubled.
«What do we do…»
As one would expect, also the Sixth had no idea.
Or rather, I had asked him anyway, but from the moment I had taken one look at it I could
vaguely understand that we were already in a situation we could do nothing about.
—Surely, this is…
I looked up again towards the mountain-like huge rock that was towering over us before our
eyes.
The hotspring we intended to go to was underneath…

The story began just a little while before.

We were coming along towards a village in the recesses of a mountain that was on the
country border of the Land of Hot Water.
It was a place surrounded by many close mountains, so hard to reach that you could as well
describe it as a solitary island of the land.
As for the reasons why we had gone to the recesses of the mountain like this, we also had the
pretext of making a map, which was part of the mission of observing the areas near the
country border as well, but, more than anything else, it was because we had heard that in this
village there was a hotspring that had a good reputation especially within the Land of Hot
Water.
In the Land of Hot Water, where you could come across various hotsprings, the hotspring of
this village, known to few people, was treated as a secret hotspring because it was very
difficult to reach, and it was a hotspring you’d want to visit once, if there were a street
leading to it. The Sixth, who had obtained such information in a post town we had stopped by
before, had decided to drop in on the way with his usual relaxed appearance, changing our
schedule with flexibility.
While there was also the story of developing the undeveloped areas near the country border
in collaboration with the Land of Hot Water, if many people said it was a good place, surely
we should go and see it.
“We need to stop by, even if we have to rewrite the map of our journey”, the Sixth had
decided.
The distance to that village wasn’t relaxing, unlike the Sixth’s appearance, but rather it was
extremely stern as they rumoured, but although we had become completely exhausted we
finally arrived to the village.
And there, there was the aforementioned huge rock.
The first one to notice that there was something strange was me, who was looking at the map
as usual.
«…?»
I had compared the map with the actual scenery. I felt that something was different.
Even if the map was old, I had heard that the cartographer was skilled, and it had always been
accurate so far, but when we arrived there it had suddenly become strange.
«There’s something that looks like a mountain, in the place where the hotspring is marked.»
In the map, where the topography and the information of the village were noted down, they
had left a memo, “Potato”, and a hotspring mark. Apparently, potatoes were this village’s
local speciality, and from the fact that their fields were spreading out in the surrounding, I
could understand the meaning of the memo, but…
However, I couldn’t understand well the main point of the hotspring mark.
Not only the symbol had been written in an improbable place, and the topography of our
surroundings didn’t match the map, but also there was no sign of the hotspring itself.
«Mmh, because it’s an old map…» the Sixth said, and called out an old woman that was
working in a farm nearby.
«Excuse me. I’m sorry to interrupt you while you’re working, but which part is the
hotspring—»
However, just when he said the word “hotspring”, the old woman shook her head.
«Hotspring? Aha, no good, no good. It has been completely buried.»
«Eh?»
«It has been squashed by the rock.» she answered awfully loud, as if her hearing was a little
bit poor.
According to the old woman’s tale, there had been a large-scale landslide about one month
ago.
That was the cause, and the village’s well-known secret hotspring had been squashed by a
huge rock that had slipped off from a mountain nearby, and had been buried.
We went towards the actual place together with the old woman, who kindly showed us the
way. It was exactly the place where the hotspring mark had been put into the map. The map
wasn’t wrong.
And the huge rock towered before our eyes. It was so big that I should describe it ‘mountain’
rather than ‘rock’.
It was natural that all the three of us, when we had looked up, had called it mountain.
She had said that the huge rock had slipped off from the top of the mountain together with the
landslide, but rather, wasn’t that a mountain itself? It was a mass of rocks so huge that it
made me think so.
In the slope nearby, there were also the ruins that had been excavated deeply. Comparing it
with the map, the appearance of the mountain had changed a lot. The cruel scars left on the
surface of the mountain indicated that there had been quite an impact in this place.
Apparently, because of this landslide, the hotspring resort and the buildings that were nearby
had been damaged, but luckily there were no casualties. That was really good. It merely
resulted in this amount maybe because the population was that of a small village from the
start. Even so, I could call it nothing but a miracle. The surroundings of the huge rock were in
such a sorry state.
I stared at the traces of destruction caused by the landslide and the huge rock.
Apparently, since it was thing of already a month ago, the earth and the sand of the
surroundings had already been cleaned up by the villagers to some extent. But even so, the
after-effects of the calamity were vividly left.
In the middle of this, the huge rock. It was sitting there motionlessly, still squashing the
hidden hotspring, the village’s pride. It couldn’t be removed by the hands of the villagers,
and it had been enshrined above the hotspring for one month.
«How about the Land of Hot Water?» the Sixth asked the old woman.
«We’re a village in the recesses of a mountain, you know. So even coming here is
troublesome.» the old woman said, and she pointed. We looked, and several men were sitting
in front of a private house in the middle of some constructions, and were having a drinking
bout despite it was broad daylight.
The ones sitting on brand-new logs that were material for construction were probably
workers. Forehead protectors were tied on the head of several people who were friendly
chatting with them. They were ninja of the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings.
«Even if some people came, we are shorthanded. It can’t be helped.»
With a bitter voice, the old woman shook her head.
Besides the carpenters in the village, several Yugakure ninja dispatched by the Land of Hot
Water had come, but even so it was like cooling a hot stone with a drop of water, she said.
Unless they did something about the huge rock, the village couldn’t complete its
reconstruction. However, only several people were not enough manpower, and they couldn’t
possibly remove the huge rock.
«Ngh, I’m so sorry to hear that. If I were ten years younger, I could smash a rock like that…»
Guy-san clutched his fist, looking really frustrate.
«Say what you like, but it’s impossible…» the Sixth said, and put his hand on the surface of
the rock.
«This isn’t a mere rock. It probably contains metal.» the Sixth concluded after brushing and
knocking on the surface of the rock. Apparently, the thing was so hard that it couldn’t be
compared with the rocks around there. He said that a thing like that was buried in the top of
the mountain, or maybe underground, and had slipped off together with the earth and sand.
Suddenly, the word “meteorite” floated in my mind.
Since it was a thing happened before I was old enough to understand it, I didn’t remember it
well myself, but they told me that meteorites had fallen incessantly in Konoha, once. It had
been a calamity without precedents.
Under the Sixth’s command, the village avoided destruction, but I wondered if in the deserted
summit of a mountain or in a wild land, the meteorites that had been falling that time were
still there. A thing like that had rolled down onto the population after ten years for some
reason…
For some reason, I was thinking about these things. Of course, it was nothing more that a
guess, but…
That moment—
«O–i, travellers? Come here!»
The group that was having a drinking bout in broad daylight waved their hands towards our
direction.
«It’s an empty village, but what do you think about it? Come and have a drink.»
With a merry air, the men held out a bottle of saké. The Sixth and Guy-san exchanged
glances.
«For the time being, let’s hear what they’re saying.»
«Right. We’ll just look around, if you insist.»
After bowing slightly to the old woman, the two joined the drinking bout in haste. I bowed
my head to the old woman, too, and followed after them.
«Oh, hey there, pretty miss.»
«Surely you’ll grow into an awfully beautiful woman.» the men looked at me and said
excitedly, with their faces red for the alcohol.
I wondered for how long they had been drinking. Despite they were on their doorstep, they
were considerably reeking of liquor. So much that I wanted to frown, pinching my nose, but
since I was glad that I’d been called pretty, frankly, I decided to stay with a quiet and
cheerful face.
«Fine, fine. Thank you for asking…»
The Sixth took a saké cup, sitting down. Also Guy-san quietly took a saké cup.
Although they were Yugakure ninja, we didn’t reveal our social position in a place like this
of course, and pretended to be mere travellers. It was a relaxing journey, but we were there
on a mission.
«After you bothered to came all the way up here. The hotspring ended up like this…»
«Well, “drink it up” they say… but how are you going to drink that?»
Everyone was naturally wondering about the Sixth, who had his mouth concealed. I was
wondering about that, too. However, the saké cup that the Sixth was holding was already
empty. Before we even noticed…
«E-eh? How the hell did you do it? Surely it was full before…»
The drunkards were blinking with surprise. However—
«Well, it doesn’t matter! You’re a good drinker indeed! C’mon, another cup!»
With this atmosphere, they resumed their drinking bout again.
Probably the drunkards would have been like this no matter what country we’d come from,
but the sight of those grown men who were drinking and merrymaking on their doorsteps felt
relatively singular. Because my mother, who prefers excessively strong drinks, would
probably never make a scene like that even if she got drunk.
No, it’d be absurd to drink and make a scene all alone to begin with.
«How about the reconstruction?» the Sixth asked quietly.
«No, I give up. That’s impossible. Impossible.» a Yugakure ninja answered while gesturing
exaggeratedly, his face red.
«Even if we’ve been told “do something about that sort of thing”, I dunno if it’s a rock or a
mountain.»
«Yeah yeah. We removed even the earth and sand, and we did the things we could do.» the
workers added to that.
«So, today also our mutual work has reached the time for a pause and having a break is good,
so here we are.»
«Even if we work dripping with sweat, there’s no hotspring. In this case, there’s no other
thing to do but drink.»
The workers gulped down their saké while laughing lively. “No hotspring ⇒ let’s drink”: it
was a flawless theory.
«Geez… those guys of the middle don’t understand anything. Imposing things on us just
because this is a remote place. We had told them that we didn’t want to go because it’s far
away.» a Yugakure ninja began complaining. With that “guys of the middle”, he was
probably talking about the centre of the Land of Hot Water, rather than the Village Hidden in
the Hotsprings.
«You’ll understand if you come here and see, I said. What do they expect us to do about that
sort of huge rock? Send us much more people, you bastards!»
Probably, they were feeling considerably disgruntled. Even if we stayed silent, the
conversation proceeded of its own accord.
«To make matters worse, I don’t know if by bandits or what, but they say that young girls
have been kidnapped in a village nearby.»
«They’re kids about the same age of this little miss. How many were they, again?»
«Feh?»
Suddenly becoming the centre of the attention, I was taken aback. On top of that, I had let out
a strange voice. As for me, I was sipping the water I was holding little by little, bored.
The Yugakure ninja continued, sipping their saké little by little.
«So, you see, people’s life is at risk, right? Of course, those guys have the priority.»
«Right. That’s why there aren’t even reinforcements from Yugakure in our place.»
«If it’s so, wouldn’t it be preferable to ask for reinforcements even from Konoha instead?»
one of them said, and the other ninja began laughing at once.
«Coming till the recesses of a mountain like this crossing the country border? No, no. They
wouldn’t come.»
“We did come”, but I didn’t say it.
«Well, even if they bothered to come. In the same country with us like this, at first they’d
only send underlings without much jurisdiction to inspect formally.»
“The one sitting next to you who come to inspect is the previous Hokage”, but I didn’t say
that, too.
Even those guys would probably never have imagined in their dreams that the previous
Hokage was quietly drinking saké next to them. Because he was a personality that shouldn’t
even be there in general.
Since Konoha’s name had come out during the discussion, I indirectly examined the Sixth’s
appearance. The Sixth was listening to the story silently with a composed expression. What
was he thinking…
One of the ninja agreed, with a bitter smile.
«Hahaha, that’s for sure. There’s no point if they send here guys like us.»
«Or rather, even if a remarkable Earth Release user came here, he alone wouldn’t be strong
enough, right?»
«Really, as huge as it is, there’s no way to do it…»
A deep sigh mixed with their complaints. Surely it was a fact that there was no way to do it.
However, it was natural that they were dissatisfied, but nevertheless, they were not supposed
to drink saké in front of their door…
Even though they were drinking heartily, the workers were repairing the buildings that had
collapsed with one thing or another, so I couldn’t agree with the fact that even ninja in the
middle of a mission had joined them with the theory “We can’t do it ⇒ let’s drink”.
If it had been just removing the earth and sand, even the villagers could have done it. Hadn’t
they been dispatched here to do the things that the villagers couldn’t do?
If it wasn’t so, I don’t know why did they made them ninja…
I secretly stared at them, who were grumbling.
The ninja of the Village Hidden in the Hotspring had a low level of ability. I had heard about
it.
Of course, just by looking at those sulking group, I didn’t think that all the ninja were like
this, but surely it seemed that they were practically postponing, or folding their arms, about
this village’s huge rock.
They say that the Land of Hot Water is a pacific country, and apparently has the tendency of
hating extremely, or stubbornly, to have military power, and this kind of inclination and
disposition is really evident even towards the hidden villages.
Sure, loving peace is a wonderful thing.
However, weren’t they aware that peace is not a thing that is just vaguely there, but
something you have to build and grasp and protect yourself?
Didn’t even the ninja of the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings undergo a painful and harsh
training for this?
I wondered if they had already forgot that the present time existed because the ninja of the
world had fought as one risking their life for peace during the Fourth Shinobi World War.
I didn’t understand well the circumstances of the other countries and the other villages, so it
wasn’t a thing I could say as a rule, but that made me think.
Once, my father, who loved peace, had been killed by a man who had trained in the Village
Hidden in the Hotspring.
Apparently, when he confronted with my father, that man had already become a missing-nin,
but I wondered what was he thinking while he lived in this country, and trained in this village
here.
I had accidentally thought these things for a moment, when I was walking in this country.
When I caught sight of children who ran around happily, and the beautiful scenery of a
sightseeing area full of shops.
When I was looking forward to a local speciality, but it had a questionable flavour when I
tried to eat it.
Or at the end of the day, when I closed my eyes while listening carefully to the night scenery.
In casual moments like these, for some reason I suddenly thought about it.
And even now, among this circle of men that were drinking saké, I was thinking about these
things.
Even if they were complaining about this and that, those good-humoured men’s drinking bout
continued as usual.
The Sixth’s face hadn’t changed colour yet, but unlike him, Guy-san was dead drunk, his face
deep red. I hoped he wouldn’t talk too much while he was drunk, but since even the others
who were listening to him were in quite drunken state, it was all right.
I, who had nothing to talk about in particular, could do nothing but smiling forcedly while
sipping my water little by little. I was so bored. Suddenly, my eyes turned towards the huge
rock.
«Bored?» the Sixth asked all of a sudden.
«Yes. Ah, sorry…»
Since I was absent-minded, I had answered frankly without thinking.
«No, it’s okay. You’re worried about the huge rock, right? It doesn’t matter if you leave your
place.»
«But…»
«It’s okay, I’m keeping an eye on Guy.»
The Sixth smiled. I decided to take advantage of his words.
«If it’s so, I’ll go looking at the huge rock for a little.» I said, and stood up.
Free from that air that reeked of liquor, I went towards the huge rock, breathing deeply. As I
approached it, the cavities and the cracks of the rock became clear. The more I looked at it,
the huger the rock seemed. Suddenly, the fact that a thing like that had slipped off was
unbelievable. What kind of impact had it been?
I slowly walked parallel to the huge rock. The hotspring was buried underneath. And unless
they did something about this huge rock, the village would never return to its original
condition.
I tried to place my hands on the rock, as the Sixth had done. The enormous rock was covered
in moss here and there, and grass had grown onto it. Even if I had thought this and that about
the Yugakure ninja, even I couldn’t break this rock.
Even if I had proudly thought about this and that, even I wasn’t able to do anything in
practice.
In that case, I couldn’t really criticise other people.
It wasn’t just about the Yugakure ninja. It was also about Shikadai.
Just a few days ago, I was keeping him company in his training.

I’ve been acquainted with Shikadai, who’s my sensei’s son, since he was born.
Since I’ve also been training under my sensei, it immediately became a close brother-sister
relationship.
And when Shikadai entered at the Academy, I’ve come to supervise his training instead of
my sensei, who serves as the Seventh’s advisor and he’s always busy.
Even so, Shikadai is a person who tends to find things bothersome a lot, and in general he
doesn’t try seriously.
To the point that whenever I keep him company in his training, I have to scold him even ten
or twenty times in a row.
Moreover, the truth is that when I avert my eyes he disappears, and to make matters worse
he’s cheeky, considering his age. Unbelievable.
Even that day, for the umpteenth time I deeply sighed at Shikadai, who wasn’t trying
seriously in his shuriken-throwing training, thinking that it was troublesome.
«Look… cut it out with all your “troublesome, troublesome”. In the world, there are also
things that you have to do even if it’s troublesome. Understood?» I told Shikadai, crossing
my arms and with a stern face. However, Shikadai himself was going off on a tangent with a
distracted air.
«Shikadai, answer!» I had unintentionally raised my voice, irritated. Thereupon, Shikadai
muttered, sighing while looking away.
«You’re annoying… are you a mum…» he said, making a face that resembled my sensei
somehow. He was the spitting image for both his dress sense and hairstyle. His appearance
oddly caused me to get angry again.
«I’m not old enough to be a mother! I’m a young girl!»
«Yeah yeah, I understood.»
«The answer is “yes”!»
«Oui–»
At that utterly contemptuous answer, I sighed again, repressing my willpower of shouting
without thinking.
Shikadai began throwing his shuriken reluctantly. I wondered since when he turned like this,
despite the fact that when he was a child he was much cuter …
However, apparently Shikadai was secretly popular with the girls at the Academy because he
looked like this.
Probably, the fact that he had a composed and mature atmosphere among the boys of his
class, and the feeling that he had the attitude, a little bit cynical, to consider everything
troublesome, was amazing and cool and charming for the girls of his generation, but I wanted
to say out loud: girls, wake up.
You mustn’t choose such a cheeky guy. If he stays as he is, he’ll surely turn into a mere
rebellious, no-good adult who thinks that things are troublesome.
That’s why, I’m here to make sure that he won’t become so.
I have to make him train steadily instead of my busy sensei. I have to pass down the
techniques that I’ve learned from my sensei to Shikadai. That’s my mission.
For this reason, I must become much more adult. I suppressed my anger. I must train my
body kindly and gently to the point of spitting blood, never becoming emotional…
Together with this decision, I firmly clutched my fist. I have to show him the way…
I watched over Shikadai like that for a little while, and suddenly a voice coming from behind
called me.
«How’s going, Mirai?»
«Ah, Shikamaru-sensei!»
When I turned back, there was my sensei, who had come behind me unnoticed. He was
standing still in the shade of a tree, his arms crossed. My sensei standing still in the sunlight
that filtered through the trees. It was really a scene worthy of a picture. The strength of the
fist I was clutching decreased.
Shikadai, who was looking at that appearance of mine, muttered again.
«Gross… Changing suddenly your tone just when Dad came…»
However, I didn’t miss those words.
«Eh!? Throw those in silence!»
Shikadai glared at me with extreme rage, and resumed his training in a hurry. I was worried
that he’d really become an all-talk but clever person. “If he says another mocking thing, I’ll
grab his hair tied to look like the tip of a writing brush, drag him and knock him down.” I
thought while staring at the back of Shikadai’s head.
Then, here, I realised that I had accidentally raised my voice in front of my sensei.
While my cheeks became red, I thought “Let’s do something about the bad atmosphere of
this place”, and cleared my throat slightly. My throat-clearing couldn’t help but seem forced.
Because it was forced.
«Cough… err, the training’s all right.»
«R-really… sorry to interrupt.»
My sensei showed a complicated expression. Funny. But still awkward. What did I have to
do?
However, it had no effect on my fake cough, but it was true that the training was all right.
I looked at the shuriken that Shikadai had thrown. The shuriken, which had flown revolving
exemplarily, had hit the dead centre of the target. A nice sound echoed in our surroundings.
Shikadai turned around, and smiled as if he wanted to say “look what I did”. His smiling face
looked like his mother’s, rather than my sensei. Probably it was also the feeling that he
wanted to show his father his strong point that had fired him up. It was a total bull’s-eye.
Even if he considered things troublesome, Shikadai was a determined guy when he decided
so.
That’s why it was all the more disappointing that he had a troublesome disposition.
Because even if he was good now, even if he had managed it somehow only with the
intuition of his innate disposition, it was certain that he’d have some difficulties in the end, as
he was now.
It had been arranged that Shikadai would undergo the Academy’s graduation test soon. The
graduation had probably been arranged so that he would realise extremely well that it would
be nothing but a start from that point onward.
That’s exactly why I wanted to teach him in advance the things that I’d been taught. I
wondered if the fact that I didn’t want him to taste any of the same hardship I tasted wasn’t
parental love, but rather sisterly love.
At the same time, I also thought that unless he learned it firsthand he wouldn’t be able to
grow into adulthood.
It was a complex feeling. Although, there was one thing I could say in any case.
«Even if it’s all right, I’d like him to be much more devoted to his training.»
«Right. He still lacks discipline.»
My sensei smiled. As he did so, he stared at Shikadai, looking amused. Also the fact that my
sensei could come and check the situation of Shikadai’s training like this was surely because
he had managed to find a little bit of spare time for hismelf. Otherwise, my sensei wouldn’t
have been able to be present at his training. He was so much busy.
Usually, my sensei runs around here and there as the Seventh’s advisor.
The Seventh is so busy that he always works using Shadow Clones, but I wondered if in a
sense you could say that my sensei, who supports the Seventh from the background, was even
busier than the Seventh.
However, my sensei is fit for his job not only because he’s excellent, but also because he’s
honest and hard-working. And I wonder why Shikadai, who’s my sensei’s son, grew up with
such a lazy personality.
—Despite he’s the spitting image of him…
My sensei and Shikadai. Every time I looked at those two, I wondered why.
«Please, scold him too, sensei. When he’s training, he never ever opens his mouth without
saying “troublesome”. Really, who did he take after…»
«A-aah, who did he take after… haha, hahahaha…»
For some reason, my sensei made a bittersweet smile. That time, he seemed somewhat
helpless, unlike usual. As I thought, I had to transmit the importance of training from that
point on.
If I didn’t, Shikadai would surely become a no-good adult who drinks in broad daylight and
says nothing but “troublesome” when he opens his mouth.
I clenched my fist again.

—Lack of discipline…
I was thinking absentmindedly while looking up towards the huge rock.
See what happens when you tell other people “training, training” so much.
No matter how much I clutched my fist, right now I didn’t have enough power to do
something about this huge rock. I wondered if I’d be able to do something about this huge
rock sooner of later, if I kept training from that point on.
In the distance, the kind old woman of some time ago was working in her farm. Even while
the men were doing a drinking bout, the old woman was always working.
Nevertheless, I couldn’t complain about the men. They had already done what they could do
by themselves. Even the fact that they invited us for a round of drinks was probably because
they wanted travellers, who came to the village without going to the hotspring, to like this
village even if a little.
All of them, they weren’t bad people. I could tell it very well from every one of their words.
However—
I remembered the old woman’s face that said «Even if some people came, we are
shorthanded. It can’t be helped.» while looking at the Yugakure ninja.
“Sooner or later” was no good. If I didn’t do something about it immediately, the village
wouldn’t be able to revive.
However, I couldn’t break the rock. Maybe it’d be impossible even for a twenty-year-old
Guy-san with a secret technique of some sort. To begin with, a secret technique of some sort
was more unlikely to happen than breaking the rock. The Sixth was so relaxed that it was
unlikely he’d do it. I was cornered.
With this, I didn’t understand what we claimed to be ninja for.
Now, what are ninja, if they’re not able to help the only troubled old woman in front of their
eyes?
Hadn’t we endured a harsh training to become the strength of people like this?
However, that was the truth. I couldn’t do anything.
I was standing puzzled in front of the huge rock, when—
«Even if we merely destroyed the rock, some big fragments would be left…» the Sixth said
while he came round.
«Even if we just moved it somewhere in another place, we’d have a hard time. It’d be nearly
impossible for few people like this. On the other hand, if we used a power so great that it
destroyed it into very small pieces, we’d surely cause damage to the surrounding areas.» he
said, looking up towards the huge rock with sleepy eyes. At the Sixth’s words, I realised
again that doing something about the huge rock was impossible.
It was a foreign country after all. There was nothing to do. It was like that.
I hanged my head, still not fully satisfied.
«It’s impossible, right… This village will always be like this…»
«No, there’s another way.»
At these few unforeseen words, I stared intently at the Sixth.
Wearing a smile different from usual, the Sixth told me: «Casually, there’s a ninja who came
to the country border on a mission. Just now, he’s made contact with us.»
«In this case…!»
«He’ll come tomorrow about this time.»
The moment I heard these words, I felt as if everything had become bright in front of my
eyes. Somehow, the Sixth had called a ninja who could deal with the huge rock. The Sixth
had been thinking about this huge rock during the whole drinking bout. He had been thinking
about it more seriously than me, by far.
I’d been an idiot. It was impossible that the Sixth would do a thing like forsaking just because
he couldn’t do it.
The sun was setting, and the shadow cast by the huge rock was about to cover the village
completely, becoming even more pronounced.
In the shadow, I smiled of relief. Tomorrow. Tomorrow, this village’s secret hotspring would
be resurrected.
«Ah, come to think of it, what about Guy-san?»
I looked towards the men who were merrymaking, and Guy-san was sleeping in a position
that made him almost fall from his wheelchair. Around him, also the men were sleeping
together in a huddle, snoring.
«Since everyone fell asleep, I have some free time…» the Sixth, who usually had sleeping-
looking eyes, complained unusually.

Thus, the following day. I kept waiting for our helper, restless.
The previous night I had been excessively excited and I hadn’t been able to sleep enough, but
a short while later, when morning came, I became suddenly quiet, and on the contrary I felt
uneasy.
The Sixth had used the expression “a ninja who came to the country border on a mission”.
It was neither “some ninjas” nor “a team”.
So it meant that the one who would come along as our helper would be just one.
I quickly checked the Sixth’s appearance.
«Uuh… ouch… it hurts as if my head was splitting in two… why…?» Guy-san moaned
while holding his head with both his hands, and the Sixth joined the men’s drinking bout
again together with him. Even that day, it looked like the Yugakure ninja weren’t doing
anything in particular, and they were hanging out, apparently free. That day, they were
having a drinking bout with playing cards in one hand.
—Who did the Sixth call, I wonder…?
As I missed the right timing to ask this, the drinking bout continued and time passed.
Right now, I was thinking about the ninja who was coming towards that village.
Was there really a ninja who could do something about the huge rock all by himself? The
only one I knew that looked like he could do something like that was the Seventh. However,
it was unlikely that it was the Seventh, since he had to stay in the village as Hokage. He was
so busy that it was unlikely that he’d send a Shadow Clone.
In that case, perhaps the ninja who was casually getting near because of a mission, the one
who was so strong that could be compared with the Seventh, was the one who was wandering
the world for Konoha’s sake, the legendary—
That moment, a human silhouette appeared at the entrance of the village.
The village was in the recesses of a remote mountain. Now that there wasn’t the hotspring,
the village’s pride, you could say that the one who was expressly passing by in this place at
this time was probably the ninja who had received the message from the Sixth.
I observed the human silhouette, holding my breath.
With a calm way of walking, one man entered in the village. He was wearing a cloak, looked
like as if he was accustomed to travelling, and went straight towards the rock.
A massive figure, gentle features, and a bag of chips on his left hand.
So, he surely was—
«Chōji-san!?»
He was completely different from the person I had imagined.
«Ah, Mirai-chan.»
Chōji-san, who had noticed me, raised his hand. In his hand, he was holding a half-eaten
potato chip. Apparently, he had been walking while eating.
Nearby, the men who were amusing themselves with the cards raised their voices.
«Alright, one of the InoShikaChō!»
The men began stirring at once. As usual, they kept drinking saké in front of their door.
«Humph, here we go. Yeah, today’s hot…»
Chōji-san took off his cloak, and wiped off his sweat while sitting down heavily at the foot of
the huge rock.
«Just right, the shadow will save me.» he said, and finished eating the rest of his bag of
potato chips. Then, he fetched a new one from the bag and began eating it straight away. This
time it had a different flavour. At Chōji-san’s figure, the anxiety I had been feeling since
morning rose immediately.
Sure, I knew that Chōji-san was my sensei’s best friend, and with Ino-san of the flower shop
the three of them were called the “InoShikaChō” trio that Konoha was proud of, but…
«Have one too, Mirai-chan.»
Chōji-san handed me another pack he fetched from his bag with a smile.
«Ah, thanks…»
I took it, perplexed. He had offered it to me with a smiling face, and I opened it. I wondered
if he wasn’t just a good-humoured father.
About Chōji-san, even I knew since I was a child that he was my sensei’s best friend, but I
had never had very much the impression that he was a resourceful person who actively
completed his missions.
Rather than that, I had the impression that he was a kind, daughter-loving father, whom I
often caught sight of while he was eating in good terms with his daughter.
I couldn’t imagine Chōji-san doing something about that huge rock all by himself.
I had never heard that he was an Earth Release user, and even if he used the Baika no Jutsu, a
secret technique with which you enlarge you body, wich Chōji-san – of the Akimichi clan –
had inherited, I wondered if this huge metallic-looking rock wasn’t still too much for him.
However, the Sixth had said that there was another way besides crushing it.
«Chōji-san, it’s a huge rock, but…»
«Yeah. There’s a hotspring under it, right? We have to restore it right away.» Chōji-san
replied cheerfully.
«First of all, I’ll try to thrust it.»
«Eh?»
«Nh? I’ll thrust it, what’s wrong with that?»
Trytothrustit… Fry to crust it?* No, thrust it? Thrust it!?
I was taken aback by that unexpected suggestion.
Surely, if you couldn’t break it, you could remove it by pushing it. Simple. However, it was
too simple, and apparently there were really a lot of people in this world who could do a thing
like that. But Chōji-san was the one who would move and push a rock so huge that it reached
the clouds.
«You can do it!?»
«Mmh, if I don’t give it a try I’m not sure, but I’ll try to give my best.» Chōji-san answered
with an extremely buoyant attitude. I wondered if it was really all right.
Thereupon, the Sixth’s voice called us.
«Sorry. You came all the way to a place like this.»
Despite my anxiety, the Sixth, who had come along, was his usual self. Apparently, even that
day the men had made him drink, but the colour of his face hadn’t changed a bit.
«You were far away, right? Yes, this is a steamed potato. It’s hot, so pay attention.»
The Sixth thanked Chōji-san, smiling. He had come to give me and Chōji-san a steamed
potato. Potatoes were harvested in the village.
In the Land of Hot Water, they cultivated agricultural produces taking advantage of the
terrestrial heat. Their potatoes are extremely famous, and are called “geothermic potatoes” by
the local people. No matter which post-town you go to, you’ll surely see one dish of the
geothermic potatoes, which are steamed with the steam of the hotsprings. It was the same
even in this small village.
«T-that’s a geothermic potato! It wouldn’t be an exaggeration saying that I came here to eat
that!»
With a chuckling smile, Chōji-san bit into the steaming potato.
Even though he was eating potato chips, they were still potatoes. I wondered if he wasn’t
tired of them.
Or rather, I had the feeling that he had said that he came here to eat those, but, the rock…
I was in a dither between the geothermic potato I had been given in my right hand, and the
bag of chips I had been offered in my left hand, and the Sixth called out to me gently.
«Well then! It’s all right. Stay calm and wait and see.»
Then, the Sixth went back to Guy-san’s side.
Thereupon, Guy-san, who looked like he was still suffering from the hangover, suddenly
began shaking from convulsions while holding his mouth. The men around him were noisy
for another reason.
—Those guys over there look terrible…
While I looked at that scene, shocked, Chōji-san ate completely the potato he had been
offered. Maybe because he was full after the meal, he wet his throat with the water he was
carrying.
«Alright…»
Tap, Chōji-san clapped his knees. Finally the time had come to push the huge rock.
«Let’s eat the second course.»
And Chōji-san stretched his hand towards another bag of chips. He was a person that it
wasn’t clear where his meal finished and when his snack time began.
Working hard on a mission – I watched Chōji-san not doing so and eating his potato chips.
Meanwhile, I finished eating my geothermic potato as well, and since I had nothing to do I
came to the point of eating the crispy potato chips that I had been given this time. A strange
time flowed, in which I ate potato chips while staring at a person who eagerly ate potato
chips.
Then, Chōji-san’s hand finally stopped.
He had finished eating all the packs of potato chips that were squeezed in his bag. Or rather,
somehow the bag itself was just one big pack…
However, with that he started his work of doing something about the huge rock at last.
I gave him a look of anticipation, but Chōji-san immediately made a downhearted face.
«I’m sorry, but as I am now, I’m short of calories…»
«Eeh!?»
He had eaten so much, and still it wasn’t enough.
«It looks like I’ll be able to do something with a little bit more… the calories of just another
bag of chips… ah.»
Chōji-san stared intently at the bag in my hands. I showed him the bag in return. I had
already eaten its content.
«Is that so… there are no more…»
«I-I’m sorry! No, but, Chōji-san, you had given it to me…»
«Yeah, you’re right. But what do we do now? I want to eat potato chips…»
Humph, Chōji-san sighed.
Chōji-san is a ninja who uses a special technique consuming a large quantity of calories.
Apparently, to push the huge rock that was towering in front of our eyes, he needed to eat just
a little more potato chips. There weren’t steamed potatoes, and we needed potato chips,
which contain oil, at any cost.
However, the problem was that this was a village in the recesses of a remote mountain that
could be even compared to a solitary island of the land.
They didn’t sell things like potato chips. We could buy them if we had gone down to the
nearest post-town, but it would have taken too much time. By the time Chōji-san would come
back to the village, his stomach would probably become empty. Then, what do we had to
do…
Maybe discussing with the Sixth? No, or else…
In front of me, who was hesitating, someone was holding out a potato. It was the old woman
from yesterday.
«There are plenty of potatoes.»
Apparently, the old woman had been watching Chōji-san eating his potato chips
continuously, and had come here, worried. Probably it seemed that his stomach was quite
empty.
«Is it all right?»
Prompted by the old woman, who nodded with a smile, I took the potato.
Then, at the same time I made a decision.
If the huge rock couldn’t be destroyed, we’d removed it by pushing it. It was simple.
In that case, if we couldn’t buy potato chips, what should we do?
We had to make them by ourselves.

I, who had borrowed the old woman’s kitchen with her favour, was staring at the potato, stiff.
Because even if I had thought of making potato chips, when I thought about it I had eaten
them when I bought them, but I’d never made some.
I had never thought that I’d try to make some by myself to begin with.
Until then, I thought that selling them was normal. I thought that they were a thing you get
immediately, as long as you have money. However, also the potato chips lined in the shops
wouldn’t exist from the start if there weren’t people who cultivated potatoes with the sweat of
their brows like the old woman.
Then of course, if there weren’t someone who processed them, potatoes wouldn’t become
potato chips.
It was obvious, but I thought again that someone had just made them instead of me until then.
If nobody did it, even the most natural things in the world would be impossible.
Now, I had to do by myself something that someone had naturally done for me.
Nonetheless, surely potato chips weren’t supposed to be a product that needed a complex
procedure. In short, I had to deep-fry finely chopped potatoes. I had no choice but manage it
somehow, making a free use of the information I possessed. There was no sooner or later, I
had to do it “now”. I prepared myself, and grabbed a carving knife.
First of all, I peeled a washed potato.
Then, I cut the potato, thinly thinly and as uniformly as I could.
And then, the slippery part of the cross-section – if I remember correctly, it’s called starch or
something, a thing like that – I dropped it into the water, refining it. Probably it was okay to
replace the water two, three times.
When I shook off the dampness of the potatoes well, I finally put them into the oil.
At first, the low fire was okay. I gently put the finely chopped potato, slice after slice.
Thereupon, foam began rising from the edge of the finely chopped potato. I carefully fried
them, while moving them with the chopsticks so that they wouldn’t stick to one another.
I heard a light and delicious sound, characteristic of deep-fried food. It was a nice tune.
I kept frying the potatoes, absently. In the end, when they slightly took colour, I fried them
crisp and dry with a strong fire. I took the potatoes out of the oil in turn, and shook the oil off
them.
When I put the salt while the potatoes I had taken out were cooling down—
«I did it…!»
A mountain of potato chips was towering on the tray in front of my eyes.
«I made too much of them…!»
I had prepared extra ingredients because I was afraid of making mistakes, but deep-frying
things was more enjoyable than I had thought and in the end I had kept frying them one after
the other. I’d never have thought that I’d be able to make them well from the start, but
anyhow, it was a huge success.
I thanked the old woman, and when I carried the potato chips to Chōji-san, the men who were
having a drinking bout gathered around me, maybe lured by the scent.
«What’s this?»
«Oh, they look tasty–»
«I was just craving for a snack.»
Several men began saying things like these.
«Err, everybody, I’m glad, but…»
Considering the situation, normally I couldn’t have offered them, but anyway I had made too
much of them. It was just right. I held out the mountain-like helping of potato chips.
Just like children, the men happily stretched their hands towards the potato chips one after the
other.
«Maybe because they’re deep-fried, they’re tastier than the ones you buy–»
«Their simple flavour is so good. The saké comes into play.»
«This village’s potatoes make unexpectedly good potato chips, don’t they?»
The men ate the potato chips while saying “tasty, tasty” all at once.
On the other hand, also Chōji-san wasn’t losing to them.
«Thank you, Mirai-chan. They’re delicious.»
As he said these kind things, a large amount of potato chips were immediately stuffed in his
mouth. With a tremendous impetus, Chōji-san grasped the potato chips and put them into his
mouth.
Probably, I had never seen such a sight, which matched exactly the imitative sound “munch-
munch”. Perhaps, the fact that hands were stretching from all the directions and the potato
chips in front of his eyes were decreasing had ignited Chōji-san’s appetite.
With a way of eating that didn’t seem the one of a person who had already eaten up a lot of
packs of the same thing, Chōji-san decreased the whole helping in a flash. Immediately, the
potato chips decreased till the last one.
Yum, Chōji-san put the last potato chip left on the tray in his mouth, and slowly savoured it.
«The flavour of potato expands into the whole mouth…»
Chōji-san made a satisfied expression while nodding, his eyes closed. Rather, it was just right
that I had made too much of them? It had turned out that they were almost not enough.
«Yeah. If it’s so, it looks like I can go. Watch out, everybody, step back.»
Chōji-san stood up, and turned towards the huge rock while stretching his shoulders lightly.
«Alright, here I goooooo!»
Chōji-san raised a psyched roar, and at the same time white smoke wrapped him all around
just as if an explosion had happened. Immediately after this, the earth shook. Something huge
stepped firmly onto the ground. A giant person appeared suddenly from inside the white
smoke.
Chōji-san, who had become huge, grappled the huge rock that was towering high in the sky.
It was just like a contest of strength between a huge man and a huge rock. A mythic sight
unfolded before my eyes.
Voices of commotion rose from the men, who had gathered around me. They probably had
noticed here for the first time that Chōji-san and we weren’t mere travellers, but ninja.
Also the people of the village, old woman included, rushed out of their houses at once with
curiosity.
«Oooooooh!»
Chōji-san’s war cry resounded in the village. On his back, the power of the chakra had
gathered so much that it was visible, and beautiful wings had appeared, just like a butterfly’s.
«Amazing… beautiful…» I muttered when I noticed them. It was the first time in my life I
had seen Chōji-san like that. This was the power of the famous Akimichi clan, which is said
to be the shield among Konoha’s weapons – almighty for both offence and defence.
However, the huge rock hadn’t made the slightest quiver yet.
«Mirai-chan…!»
From a remote point above my head, Chōji-san’s voice poured down on me. It was as if his
voice was squeezing out of his throat, maybe because he was putting his body and soul into
pushing the huge rock.
«Aren’t there… some potato chips… left…?»
«There were still not enough!?» I yelled without thinking. Didn’t he have enough calories
yet, even if I gave him the potato chips that I thought I had made too much of? Still, the huge
rock was unyielding.
«A little bit more… a little bit more…!»
Chōji-san’s strained voice resounded around us. Has it been a poor move to share the potato
chips with everyone, thinking that they were too much? However, I could do nothing about it
anymore.
And, that moment—
«Nuuooooo, I’ll push it tooooooo!»
Guy-san, who had jumped up all of a sudden, began pushing the huge rock.
«Full poweeeeeer!» Guy-san shouted. Maybe because he got drunk for two days, his face
colour was very bad. Even so, Guy-san didn’t stop pushing. Fixing his wheelchair, he poured
all his strength into his pushing arms.
«Oi…»
«…yeah.»
Seeing Guy-san like that, the Yugakure ninja followed him.
«We’ll push it, too! We’ll show you the strength of the ninja from Yugakure!»
«We won’t let some strangers outdo us! Am I right?»
Saying this, they lined up next to Guy-san. Face to face with Guy-san’s figure, who had gone
ahead taking the initiative, they looked as if they had suddenly sobered up.
«We’ll get back this village, this hotspring!» the Yugakure ninja yelled. From there on,
everything happened in the blink of an eye.
Following the Yugakure ninja, all the workers and the villagers rushed towards the huge rock
at once.
«Everyoneeeeeee, puuuuuuush!»
«Uooooooooo!»
At Chōji-san’s feet, everyone put their strength into clinging to the huge rock.
«Well then, after so long, I’ll get serious, too.»
The Sixth relaxedly went towards the huge rock, and I followed him, too.
Before the huge rock, the roars and the cheers flew about due to the people gathered.
«Heyyy! We won’t loseeee!»
«Give your beeeeeest!»
«We’re almost there!»
While I was surrounded by a lot of voices, I began pushing the huge rock, too, joining the
circle.
Then, the time came.
With a roaring sound that shook the earth, the huge rock slowly moved.
It was right after the huge rock moved just a little. Everyone’s strength became one, and the
huge rock slid slightly. Chōji-san pushed it straight away, taking the chance.
While the villagers, who were pushing it with their whole strength, collapsed pitching
forward, the hotspring surged up from under Chōji-san’s feet. The hotspring, which was
squashed under the huge rock, was now restored.
While a hotspring rain poured down on them, everybody raised joyful shouts.
People who hugged one another, people who broke down crying, people who began praying
joining their hands towards the hotspring… a rainbow formed by the warm rain was spanning
above those people’s heads.
This sight, so happy that it seemed the happy ending of a tale to the extent that it’s too good
to be true and you almost burst into laughter instinctively, was spreading in front of me.
In front of the removed huge rock, next to the hotspring, Chōji-san, who had returned to his
normal size, sank down to the floor. Maybe because he had consumed a huge amount of
calories, he had become thin beyond recognition.
My and Chōji-san’s eyes met.
At Chōji-san’s figure, who was holding his stomach even if he was smiling, I instinctively
made a bitter smile.
“Later, I’ll ask the old woman to let me use her kitchen again.” I thought.
The next time, I’d prepare much more potato chips for Chōji-san, who was feeling hungry.
There wouldn’t be a helping as big as a mountain in the tray, but a helping as big as the huge
rock.
«No matter how much you search for it around the world, an hotspring at the base of such a
huge rock is nowhere but here.»
Nearby, the Yugakure ninja were having this kind of conversation with the villagers.
«That rock, if you look at it well, it looks like a potato, right? Near the rock, we’ll sell
potatoes taken from the fields nearby! Also other villages have steamed potatoes, so how
about potato chips?»
Apparently, they had immediately started making plans of reconstruction.
That impression was completely different from when they were sulking and drinking saké.
They were discussing about what was the best thing to do so that tourists came back to the
village, their eyes sparking.
«Uuh… my head still hurts… It’s a terrible day…»
The Sixth came along, joining a grumbling Guy-san. The Sixth was sporting a pale face, in
contrast with Guy-san, weary for the two-day drunkenness.
«I’m glad it all ended well.»
The Sixth looked at the Yugakure ninja, and smiled.
«It’s quite nice. Something like this.»
I smiled as well while I looked at the rejoicing villagers.
«Despite the fact that countries and situations and business and ages and genders are
disconnected, the moment when we pushed the rock, everybody’s feelings were surely one. I
think that it’s the reason why the rock moved. That’s awesome.»
The scale might have been different, but I suddenly wondered if the Fourth Ninja World War,
where they fought as the Allied Shinobi Force for the first time in history, hadn’t had such
atmosphere.
A village that had lost its secret hotspring and without tourists.
They didn’t hate the huge rock that was the cause of it, but they searched for a solution to live
together with it.
Huge rock and hotspring.
It was a strange combination, but in the end also this huge rock will probably end up with
being accepted by a lot of people as the symbol of the village. It was better like this, rather
than leaving it as the painful memory of a catastrophe.
«We’ll make country-style, simple-flavoured potato chips a speciality…»
«Not country-style, this is just an ordinary rural area.»
«Rural areaaa!? You bastard, are you making fun of our village?»
«N-no, if it’s so, how about naming this huge rock “potarock” and turning it into a mascot…»
Hearing the fiery discussion between the Yugakure ninja and the villagers, I updated the
information of the map on my hands. Below the hotspring mark and “Potato”, I added a new
note.

“Huge rock hotspring” “Potato chips”

—Please, let it become a village loved by a lot of people.

While I made this wish, I joined up with the others as well.

*There’s a pun in the original text. Chouji says he’s going to push (osu) the rock, and Mirai for a moment
misunderstands that as “vinegar” (osu). I couldn’t find a better translation.
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Chapter 5 – Divinity

The hanging lanterns were dimly illuminating the darkness of the night.
The only thing I could hear was the rustling sound of the hotspring surging from the spring.
Together with that sound, the steam was dancing in the faint light.
When I looked up, following the steam, the starry sky was spreading way above my head.
I surrendered myself to the warm hotspring, stared at the stars that were floating in the dark
sky, and fell into a marvellous sensation just as if my own body was becoming one with the
night.
My hands and feet were gradually becoming numb, this sensation spread to my arms and
legs, and in the end the silhouette of my whole body became fuzzy. In the silence, the only
thing that was reflecting in my eyes was the sparkling starry sky. It seemed that my soul
alone, which had been set free from my body, was drifting into the sea of stars, and before I
became aware of it I was wrapped by a pleasant feeling of solitude.
The deserted open-air bath taught me that loneliness wasn’t solitude.
I was soaking into a hotspring that had been gushing out copiously from way long before I
was born, I was admiring alone the stars of the night that were shining on the other side of the
sky, and I couldn’t help but think that there were different kinds of solitude.
There’s the painful and bitter solitude that is loneliness, and the relaxing solitude you’re able
to enjoy because you’re alone.
That light of the stars that we were watching was the one of some years, hundred years, or
maybe hundred million years before. I had heard that from my sensei, once.
Apparently, even the light of the sun we’re looking at is the one of eight minutes before.
Between the stars and the sun and me, there’s a distance that takes that much time, even if
you proceed at the speed of light. An eternal and far away distance. However, it’s not infinite.
If the light keeps proceeding, there’s also a distance it arrives to, sooner or later. Then, you
witness it in the present moment.
At a time like that, I was thinking about the solitude of the stars, which keep shining in the
darkness. I was thinking about my own solitude, who was staring at them all alone. Then, I
was thinking about the people who had looked up to the night sky all alone like this in this
place just like me – some years, hundred years, or maybe much longer before.
If stars and hotsprings had something like memories, I wish I could learn what kind of people
they were.
Surely I’d have become good friend with those people.
Instinctively, I dreamed about things like that.
«Mirai-san, you have pretty hair.» I was told, sighing.
I, who was staring absent-mindedly at the starry sky, was confused all of a sudden.
«Eh, r-really? However, it’s completely unruly, and it’s been giving me troubles since I was a
child…»
Hahaha, I replied with a bitter smile. I had turned up in the open-air bath aiming to a period
of time when a lot of people were sleeping, but that day I wasn’t alone.
«No way! I don’t mind curls at all. Or rather, it’d suit you even if you grew it much longer,
wouldn’t it?»
The surprised voice replied from right next to me.
«Yeah, well… I don’t know about it…» I answered vaguely while touching my hair with a
wet hand. Since my hairstyle looked like my mother’s, if I grew it much longer it’d look like
my mother’s when she was young, but I wondered if it would really suit me growing them
more than that.
I couldn’t imagine it clearly because I had never grown my hair that long, but if it was longer
than that, when I entered into a hotspring like this it’d seem troublesome, I involuntarily
thought like Shikadai.
Because the girl in front of me – Tatsumi-chan – had tied her hair together to enter into the
hotspring.
Apparently she absolutely has to untie her hair when she washes it, and she has to spend time
even to dry her hair. Probably you need a great deal of time when you tame it, but…
«I think it’d suit me, but…»
I was sorry for Tatsumi-chan, but when I thought about that quite-hard-to-say sensation when
your wet hair stretch on the nape of your neck and your back, it seemed to me that my
hairstyle was nice as it was now.
First of all, it wasn’t suited for me, a skilful kunoichi who’s good at both fashion and
training. I wasn’t continuously told by those of my same age “good-looking type rather than
cute” just for showing off.
However, that was just between me and Tatsumi-chan. Because if you are a ninja, you just
don’t introduce yourself to people you’ve just met.
So, I had met with Tatsumi-chan in this hotspring just now.
We had both turned up in this hotspring purposely aiming at an hour in which people were
sleeping.
Probably there are people who think alike anywhere in the wide world, but the fact that we
had unexpectedly met the same day, in the same place and at the same time maybe had been a
little predestined.
She was a person with similar tastes who enjoyed solitude as well.
You could as well call her a comrade whom you could share your own secret time with.
We were also of the same age, and we immediately opened our hearts to one another.
Or rather, it was a strange conversation because the two of us, who had met by chance in the
open-air bath by night, stayed there in silence without uttering a word. As one would expect,
it was awkward.
When I said that I was travelling, Tatsumi-chan answered that it was the same for her.
She had lost her mother, who was her only blood relative, just few days before due to an
illness. Now, she had returned to the hotspring that her mother said she wanted to go to when
she was alive as a tribute for her.
As one would expect, she was travelling taking her mother’s spirit along. And, at the same
time, there was probably also an ending, and a beginning, towards the soul itself, in response
to the fact that she had lost her only blood relative.
There was also the fact that the face that she showed sometimes seemed to disappear faintly
somewhere, and when I heard that she had lost her mother I could understand why.
Surely anyone would do such face, if they lost a close person.
«Haa, it’s nice. The hotspring by night…»
Tatsumi-chan closed her eyes, looking as if she was feeling good. Her white and slender
shoulders caught my eye. That kid wasn’t a ninja, without doubt. I thought a thing like that
for no particular reason. She’d never get hurt in a dangerous mission, nor die. She was a quite
ordinary girl, who was born and raised at home.
Although we are in a peaceful epoch, danger is an indispensable part of a mission. It’s sad,
but there are people who loose their relatives for that. I’m living in a world like this.
However, even if they’re not ninja, and haven’t been in a war, people die for accidents or
illness. Or maybe they die a natural death. That was the truth of the world and human life. It’s
natural.
It was such a natural thing, and she, who was a quite ordinary girl, had become a person
without a single relative in the world.
It was an intolerable thought.
However, the truth is that it’s nothing but an event that all the living beings face sooner or
later.
Both the flowing hotspring, and the stars sparkling in the night sky, were naturally there.
However, even they weren’t eternal. If they thought about the miracles they could meet by
chance here and now, people would live the present time with all their might, treating every
instant with great care.
«Tomorrow, where are you going?» I called out to Tatsumi-chan, who had her eyes closed. I
was worried about her, who had said that she thought of crossing the country, aiming to the
sea for the time being.
That was also because in the village of the huge rock we had arrived some days ago, the
Yugakure ninja had told me about the incident that was happening, that they were kidnapping
young girls near the country border.
However, apparently Tatsumi-chan hadn’t heard that rumour, and «Tomorrow, I’ll cross the
mountain–» she answered in a light tone.
«Isn’t it dangerous? Look out, are there bandits or something?»
When I asked her this, Tatsumi-chan looked as if she was thinking about it.
«Mmh, even if you call it a mountain road, there are a lot of visitors besides me who are
coming around here to sightsee, and as expected from the current times, there aren’t things
like bandits, right?» Tatsumi-chan told me, and I agreed that it was surely like that. In a place
where there was a lot of traffic of sightseeing tourists, it was unlikely that they’d leave
lawless fellows like bandits at large.
The Land of Hot Water, which is a country that aims at becoming a sightseeing place, is
especially famous for its good public order. Of course, pickpockets that aim at tourists and
foul criminals of fraud haven’t disappeared after all, but they say that thanks to the Yugakure
ninja’s continuous effort, even those have been decreasing year after year.
—Then, what the heck is this kidnapping the Yugakure ninja are investigating about…?
I wondered if it was no big deal, since they didn’t even look disturbed by it. The way they
were talking about it seemed as if they were investigating without wasting men for the thing
itself, but what was going on…
I was thinking about these things while staring absent-mindedly at the steam.
«In this country the public order is fine, so also a young girl that travels alone can relax.»
Tatsumi-chan made an innocent smile.
Just when I thought that I wouldn’t be able to see her face anymore the day after, I had a
selfish feeling. Ironically, there’s also a time when even the peaceful solitude when you’re
alone gets spoiled when you become two.
It was pity, despite I had finally met with a girl of my same age to talk with. If only I could
have travelled together with her. If only we could have gone along the way together.
However, it was impossible.
«Tomorrow, you’ll cross the mountain… you said, but it’s actually today? I wish we could
chatter much more, but we’d both better go to bed soon.» I tried to say in a light tone on
purpose, so that she wouldn’t understand my feeling of reluctance.
If we had gone out of the dressing room, the only thing left would have been going back each
one to her own room and sleep.
Probably, I wouldn’t have been able to meet her face anymore.
Because if morning came, I’d have my own journey, and she would have her own journey.
«…I’m going now.»
I couldn’t help but leave my feeling of attachment behind for good. I stood up to go towards
the dressing room.
That moment—
The water made a splashing noise.
As I had got up, Tatsumi-chan had grabbed my wrist.
«Err, Tatsumi-chan…?»
Tatsumi-chan was looking up to me with a gaze that looked as if she was clinging onto me.
«…I’m sorry, Mirai-san. I’ve told you a lie.»
«…?»
Even if I was perplexed, when I sank my body in the hot water again with a splash, Tatsumi-
chan’s hand left me.
«The story that I visited hotsprings in my mother’s memory was different, really…»
After a moment, Tatsumi-chan stared straight at me as if she was deciding something.
Then—
«Mirai-san… do you know about that hotspring in which you can meet with the dead?»
These utterly unexpected words burst out of her lips.
«That, how…?»
I, who was shaking for her question that I’d never had imagined, stared at her, silently.
«I was thinking about going there after this.»
I couldn’t understand well the meaning of the things that Tatsumi-chan was saying. But—
«Meeting with the dead… it’s impossible.» I said, muttering.
Tatsumi-chan was staring at me intently. I was staring intently at Tatsumi-chan as well. Only
my figure was reflecting in Tatsumi-chan’s eyes.
«You can, in this country. And I’m travelling for this reason. At any rate, just another time, I
want to meet my mother, even one glance is okay…»
She said these things as if her voice was squeezing out of her throat. However, what was
Tatsumi-chan going to say in the first place? Something like meeting the dead was possible—
«Before I was born, there was a war. A huge war that involved the world. The Fourth Ninja
World War… do you know about it?»
I nodded slightly, silent.
«It seems like that during this war, a lot of people who had died had come back again to this
world, and fought. Since it happened that the dead appeared, it doesn’t mean that’s absolutely
impossible.»
That was something even I had heard about. If I remember correctly, it was a forbidden jutsu
that summoned the dead in this world using a sacrifice. It was a foul jutsu that toyed with the
souls of the dead that were sleeping peacefully. They say that during the Forth Ninja World
War the enemy had manipulated and resurrected some people who had become famous for
their long military service and heroes of the past with this jutsu. What was its name…
Anyhow, there was a logic even in the things she was saying. This kind of jutsu existed once.
It had also happened that the dead had showed themselves in this world. In this case, also the
story of the hotspring where you can meet the dead—
«You don’t have anyone, Mirai-san?»
«Eh…?»
«A person you want to meet at any cost…»
Tatsumi-chan drew closer, and I backed off. But since I was still immerged into the
hotspring, I was immediately at a loss of where to go. As if to escape from Tatsumi-chan’s
clear eyes, I turned my eyes away.
Maybe I was feeling dizzy. My body was hot. I was out of it, somewhat. My thoughts weren’t
well in order. A person I wanted to meet. Meeting with a dead person. If something like that
really existed, then I—
«If I could meet… my deceased father…» I said before I knew it.
The inside of my mouth was dry. My throat hurt as if something was stuck into it.
«I’m glad. To tell the truth, I was uneasy about going alone.»
Maybe out of relief, Tatsumi-chan smiled gently.
«Let’s go together. Because you have a chance only during the night.»
After this, Tatsumi-chan intended on leaving towards the hotspring in which you can meet
the dead. Apparently, also the place wasn’t far away. And you had a chance only during the
night. For me, only now…
While I stared at Tatsumi-chan’s back, who had stood up excitedly and had gone towards the
dressing room, I moistened my aching throat with saliva. Had I ever hesitated? This kind of
thought sprouted.
Both the Sixth and Guy-san were sleeping already. As usual, I had also inspected their room
beforehand. There weren’t tags for ghosts affixed. Among the employees and the other guests
of the inn, there wasn’t anybody suspicious.
New hot water was incessantly flowing from the spring. The stars were still sparkling, and
the quiet night wasn’t about to be over yet. If I returned before morning… even I, just once…
The fact that I was trembling like that was nothing more than an outward appearance.
Because the sense inside me had already found a solution. All that was left was just stepping
forward.

I, who had changed my clothes to my usual travelling attire and sneaked out of the inn with
Tatsumi-chan, was walking down the post town in the dead of the night. As expected, there
weren’t other people beside us, and also the shops were closed.
I surveyed our surroundings while feeling the pleasantly cool air of the night with my skin
after taking the bath.
The daytime sight of the town jammed with people seemed fake. On the contrary, it seemed
that loneliness was just as much conspicuous as liveliness. Eventually, a different scenery
from daytime was bound to appear.
Faded banners. Rusty signboards. Damaged stalls.
Under the light of the day, they were things that you didn’t care about in particular in the
flourishing downtown.
When I looked at them, I had the feeling that everybody had fallen asleep, and we had been
left alone in a deserted world where not a single person was awake.
«Let’s drop in a place to drink spring water.»
In the place in the outskirts of the town we had turned up, Tatsumi-chan, who was walking in
front of me, turned around. Apparently, she had decided to take the mountain road in front of
her. She was thirsty, so she wanted to drink hotspring water together.
«Please, use this bottle.» she said, and handed me a brand new bottle. It was a bottle to be
used exclusively in a spot to drink hotspring water.
In the Land of Hot Water, there was the hygienic use of drinking little by little while walking
through the hotsprings that employed this bottle. I often had noticed people who were
strolling in the public parks of the neighbourhood, with their bottle hanging from their neck.
We imitated them as well, and we drew the hotspring water and carried it with us.
In the deserted spot to drink hotspring water, fresh spring water was provided as usual, just
like in the morning.
When we finished drawing the water until it was full, we immediately tried to drink it using
the straw included in the lid. I wondered if there was an iron component in it. I don’t know
how to describe it: the flavour was neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but it’s something you
can drink if it’s for your health.
By the way, there was a straw included in this bottle, but it was purposely made so that you
could drink only a small quantity. The stomach gets upset if you drink hotspring water with
strong components all at once, so it’s made so that you drink it holding it in your mouth
slowly.
While we sipped the hotspring water little by little, we began proceeding in the dark
mountain road. Although there was the light of the stars, the mountain at night was dark all
the same. However, Tatsumi-chan was walking without hesitation. Tatsumi-chan’s long hair,
which she had tied up in the hotspring, was swaying slowly in front of my eyes. It was
swaying as if I was inviting it to come there.
«A little bit further.»
Suddenly, Tatsumi-chan was out of breath. It was because out of the road to ascend to the
mountain, the ground under our feet has become bad all of a sudden. I followed after her
while hearing the faint ‘haa haa’ sound of her breathing.
I wondered if she had come to inspect the place once. In the darkness, she hadn’t lost her way
at all.
Then, I wondered how much time had passed – when the hotspring water of the bottle had
become half, Tatsumi-chan stopped her feet. In the slope in front of our eyes, a noticeably
deep darkness had appeared. It was a cave.
«Here…!»
Tatsumi-chan wiped her sweat while catching her breath. I wondered if there was really a
hotspring where you could meet the dead in a place like that. Surely it seemed a place that
people didn’t approach, but…
I set foot in the cave together with Tatsumi-chan. The humid hair, still different from the air
of the night, while pleasantly cool, was sticking on my skin.
“Surely, proceeding like this in the darkness, where the light of the stars doesn’t reach us, is
dangerous”… when I thought this, Tatsumi-chan lit a candle. The faint light began
illuminating the inside of the cave slightly.
«It’s better than nothing.»
While laughing with a ehehe, Tatsumi-chan fetched a portable candlestick – a candle-holder
with a handle.
Led by the small light of the candle in front of us, we proceeded walking further and further
inside. If there really was a hotspring where you could meet the dead ahead, the light of a
candle would look just like a soul that was going towards the other world. Maybe people,
when they die, go to the other world passing though a place like this. I was suddenly thinking
things like these.
We proceeded like that for a while, when a faint light appeared at the end of the path.
Was it the hotspring of our intention? We kept walking inside the dark cave, and when finally
the light could be seen in front of our eyes, it seemed as if we had really gone to the other
world.
The more we proceeded, the more the light got near. And then, we arrived to an open space.
And, that moment — I, who had stopped walking, halted Tatsumi-chan with my arm, who
was next to me.
«Wait. There’s someone here…!»
Promptly hiding ourselves in the shadow of a rock nearby, I examined the situation.
In that place, which was just like a huge cave, a lot of candles had been lined one next to the
other, and a lot of people were gathered. Probably, they were at least twenty people. It wasn’t
normal that so many people had gathered inside a cavern despite we were in the dead of the
night.
However, the thing that really surprised me weren’t the people, but their appearance.
All the people who were in that place were wearing clothes that looked like ropes, which
concealed them completely from head to feet, and had a cloth hanging in front of their faces.
With that, I couldn’t tell neither the’eir figure nor their gender, let alone their expressions.
Why did all of them conceal their faces? I had an extremely unpleasant feeling. On the cloth
that concealed their face, there was drawn an unfamiliar pattern, a triangle inside a circle.
«Doesn’t it seem… that everyone is taking part to a ceremony…?» I muttered, lowering my
voice. There was only one person in the group who was wearing clothes of a different colour,
and it seemed like some gathering where this character was going to play a central role, but…
Illuminated by the many candles, the shadows that stretched from the mysterious group were
slowly flickering on the walls of the cavern. It was a wide space, but thanks to those candles
its inner appearance was well visible. Apparently, the hotspring where you could meet with
the dead wasn’t there.
“I have to retrace my steps”, the instinct inside me told me. However—
Suddenly, Tatsumi-chan went out of the shadow of the rock.
«Tatsumi-chan…!?»
«It’s okay.» Tatsumi-chan said, and lined the candle of her portable candlestick with the
other candles.
«They’re all friends.»
Tatsumi-chan turned around, and grinned.
Thereupon, the main character that was wearing the clothes of a different colour noticed us.
«Tatsumi-san, you came just to the right place.»
A gentle voice. It was a man. His face wasn’t visible because of the cloth with the triangle
and circle drawn on it, but from the tone of his voice and his way of talking he seemed a
young man.
«Ryūki-sama.»
Tatsumi-chan rushed over the man – Ryūki.
«As I promised, I’ve brought a new friend along.»
«I’m glad. I think it’s time to begin the ceremony.»
The two were talking as if they were close friends. As I didn’t understand what was going on,
I was surrounded by the mysterious group. I gave a quick glance at the appearance of their
backs. People were in my way, and they could come forth at a moment’s notice.
«Tatsumi-chan, what the heck…?»
When I asked her this, Tatsumi-chan answered with an excited look.
«When he says a prayer to a hotspring, Ryūki-sama can fulfil any miracle. He can even turn
an ordinary hotspring anywhere into a hotspring that can heal any kind of disease, or into a
hotspring that can communicate with the dead. Even I will be able to meet my mother after
this.» she said, her eyes sparkling.
«Using the power of this miracle, I’ll lead the world to a better course… that’s my dream.»
Saying so, Ryūki opened both his arms wide. I couldn’t see his expression because of the
cloth, but he was probably smiling. Then, Ryūki continued in a calm voice.
«However, I have a lot of comrades for this purpose. Because I have to act passing through
the country. For this reason, I decided to make Tatsumi-san introduce one of her friends to
me.»
That meant me.
Tatsumi-chan would meet her deceased mother thanks to the power of this miracle, so she
was told to bring also a friend along with her when she came to the meeting. That, or
something like that…
When I frowned, Ryūki fetched the bottle for drinking hotspring water from a place that
looked like a simple altar. Also around the altar there was drawn the same figure of the
triangle inside a circle of his cloth on his face.
«From today, you are one of our friends, too. Well, first of all, let’s carry out the ritual of
enrolment. Drink up the water of this miraculous hotspring I offered a prayer to, please. So
that you’ll take benefit of it…»
He handed me the bottle with an extremely exaggerated gesture.
«Haa, thanks…»
With a half-hearted response, I brought the bottle I had taken to my lips—
I didn’t drink it. A moment later, I removed the lid of the bottle and threw the content away.
«What!?»
Everybody around me stirred. However, I threw away also the bottle, unmindful.
«Mirai-san…!?» Tatsumi-chan called me, surprised.
I, who was staring at the wet ground and then shifted my gaze to Ryūki, said with a smile:
«Aah, I’m sorry. By the way, that thing you called miraculous, was it a sleeping draught?»
In a second, everyone around me fell silent. A small «Eh?» escaped from Tatsumi-chan’s
mouth. I felt as if I could hear Ryūki clicking his tongue.
Ryūki, who had stepped back without a word, made a movement pointing at me with his
chin, and those guys around me swooped down on me at once. My arms were pinned behind
my back, and pressed down at left and right.
«Ryūki-sama, w-what does it mean…? Please, release Mirai-san…!»
With a sidelong glance to a bewildered Tatsumi-chan, Ryūki muttered, as if was spitting it
out: «When I thought that I had gathered enough sacrifices, at the last moment you’ve
brought along a particularly quick-witted girl…»
His gentle voice of some time ago changed completely, and turned into the tone of voice one
has when he thinks he’s alone.
«However, you can’t get away anymore. I’ll begin the ceremony immediately!»
His voice had the air of a composed and good young man, but just like now he looked like a
beast.
However, no matter how much a feral beast howls, it’s insignificant for me.
The people who were holding me down revolved in midair.
«Ehe!?»
Ryūki’s hysteric voice resounded through the cave.
Why were they suddenly revolving in midair? Why of course, because I had thrown them.
When I untied the restraints, I had thrown them with a blow, but they were completely
ordinary people.
It didn’t look like that they had received some kind of training. But while I looked down on
them, who were rolling on the ground and moaning in pain, I had no sympathy for them.
Because there was a thing I wanted to ask.
«Earlier, you said “I’ve gathered enough sacrifices”, right? Let me hear this story in detail!»
I, who had got rid of my travelling clothes and was now in my mission attire, warned the
people around me with a glare.
«All of you, don’t move! You’re the criminals of the kidnappings that have been happening
near the country border, right?»
«This vest…!» Ryūki yelled, backing off.
«Shiiiiiiiit! You’re a ninja of Konoha, aren’t youuuuuuuuuuu!»
Clash, Ryūki bumped against the altar behind him, and distanced himself from me, flustered.
«Shit, shit, shiiit! You fool! Why did you take this girl with you!?»
Ryūki was blatantly flustered. Voices of commotions rose also from the group that was
surrounding me.
«I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, Tatsumi-chan. I’m a ninja.»
I smiled towards Tatsumi-chan, who was opening her eyes wide while covering her mouth
with her hands.
«Well then…» I, who had overawed the people around me again with a narrow glance, asked
Ryūki: «Are the people you abducted okay? What are you planning?»
Thereupon, Ryūki began laughing quietly, as if he had regained his composure a little.
«Hahaha… what… what, you say? I already told you before. I’ll rule the world and…»
«For this reason, the sacrifices…?»
«That’s right. I need them to gain an immense power of influence against the world, without
being tied by anyone, without hindrances in my way… that’s the ceremony and immortality
of the body! Now, I’ll become a being similar to a divinity that transcends even the truth of
human life, and rule this world!»
His voice carried well. That man was saying nonsense making who knows what kind of face.
It seemed a pity that he had his face hidden by the cloth.
Even so, a moment later an applause broke out in the cave, which had fallen silent as death. It
was due to Ryūki’s comrades that were around me. At that, I winced, as one would expect.
Meanwhile Tatsumi-chan, who had probably received a bigger shock than me, raised her
voice calmly, even if she was standing stock still in a daze.
«A thing like that… In this case, the fact that you’ll help people who suffer from illness with
your miraculous power…»
«Of course, they were a bunch of lies! I need money to manage the organization! It’s
inevitable. Surely, also the people who suffer from illness will understand!»
«Besides—» Ryūki continued, smiling with a tinge of self-derision.
«Even people with a weak heart are profitable. Guys like those have an extremely narrow
field of vision. That’s why I dangle fake hopes in front of their eyes. It’s funny how they look
when they frantically bite into them. Well, clinging onto an easy hope and being deceived is
worse.»
Without looking sorry, Ryūki, who had finally revealed his criminal technique, announced
out loud: «I’m full of money already! All’s left is only an immortal body! With that, I’ll be
able to become a perfect being!»
With Ryūki standing in front of her like that, Tatsumi-chan was weeping.
«Then, also when you said that you’d make me meet my mother was a lie…?»
While shedding tears in large drops, Tatsumi-chan drew closer to Ryūki.
«Why did you tell such a lie…!»
However, the ones that came out of Ryūki’s mouth were unexpected words.
«Your mother? Oh, that was true.»
«…eh?»
Tatsumi-chan looked up to Ryūki while sniffing and wiping her tears. Ryūki’s voice had
turned back again to the calm one of the beginning. The way he had change so much was
even eerie, but in his words, which were like a surprise attack, bewilderment came before
eeriness.
«There’s one thing I haven’t told you, Tatsumi-chan. They’re words that we’ve been
treasuring a lot for quite some time – things that one might call our doctrine.»
While saying so, Ryūki raised his hand slowly.
Also Tatsumi-chan unintentionally looked up towards the hand that was raised in front of her
eyes.
The thing that was visible from his cuffs was—
«“Thou shalt slaughter thy neighbour.”»
It was a blade. A small scythe was clutched in Ryūki’s hand.
«This is the teaching of us, the Jashinists! As I promised, I’ll make you join your mother in
the other world!»
«Tatsumi-chan!»
Kicking the ground, I forced my way between the two.
While holding Tatsumi-chan in my arms, the scythe that Ryūki had swung downward pierced
my right shoulder very deeply. But I got away from Ryūki together with Tatsumi-chan
without minding it.
«Ku…!»
My blood splattered around. From the point of the scythe that Ryūki was holding, scarlet
blood was trickling down in drops.
Tatsumi-chan gulped.
«Mirai-san, I…»
«It’s all right. It’s all right, so stay close to me.» I told her shortly, and immediately turned
around to face Ryūki. Something like a wound on my right shoulder was trivial. There was
something much more important than that.
«You… what did you say just now…?»
I glared at Ryūki, my breathing erratic.
«Jashinist… you said…?»
That was the name that appeared on a certain top-secret document that I shouldn’t have read.
It was a document I had a stealthy look at in the deserted archive of the Hokage’s room. This
is a name I’ll never forget.
Of course, if I had been discovered, I wouldn’t have got away with that. If they had found
me, I’d have been arrested, and there was even the possibility that I’d have been killed, if I
had screwed up. However, I had reasons to read this document at any cost.
“Akatsuki”
This was the title of the document of my intention.
I looked for the countless files one after the other. I skimmed through the minutely written
documents. Then, I found a certain account, and stopped my hand.

Sarutobi Asuma killed in action

For a little while, I stared at those characters. Oddly, my head was clearer than usual.
While being wary of my surroundings, I read the information on the front and the back with
diligence in a hurry.
Jashinist… that was the word that appeared in the document concerning my father.
It was the same of a radical religious organization that worshipped a divinity called Jashin-
sama and considered murder righteous.
However, all I could understand was that this reality was enshrouded by a lot of mysteries,
and it seemed that this new religion was born in the Land of Hot Water. In the document,
there was also the account of an extra inquiry, but it ended without having been able to find
even one member of this religious movement, not to mention its location. So, at the very end
of the document, there was written “it’s possibility the fruit of a conjecture” by the one in
charge of the inquiry.
The one and only thing I understood was that the man who had killed my father was a
zealous member of this religion. I was there to know that man in detail.
Restraining my impetuous feelings, I turned the pages of the document. The man’s name
was—
That moment, I felt the presence of a person, and closed the document in a hurry. Someone
was getting near the room.
—Shit…
I wanted to see a little bit more, but it was no use. Being caught here would have meant
causing troubles for the Seventh, and make my mother sad.
Putting all the documents as they were before, I quietly slipped out of the room.
If I think about it, that was the first day in my life that I had dared to do something like
breaking the rules.

The cave was wrapped by silence for a short while.

I took another long look at the man in front of me.
The man in front of me – Ryūki, had surely claimed to be a Jashinist.
In that case, I could understand also the story of the ceremony with which he’d obtain an
immortal body using sacrifices. It wasn’t nonsense talk, but it had suddenly turned into a true
oath. Because also the aforementioned man, who had once belonged to “Akatsuki”, was said
to have an immortal body.
«Are you… for real…? Did you really say you are follower of Jashinism…?»
When I asked him this, Ryūki muttered as he prepared to use his scythe.
«Judging from your way of talking, you know about us, right… aah, is really Konoha at this
point… in this case, you know about that man, right?»
With a look as if he had understood something, Ryūki raised his voice.
«You guys of Konoha, not only that detestable Konoha but also this country, you didn’t
understand a thing about that man. The world calls that man “the demon of murder who was
born in the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings”, but I want to say out loud that it’s a big
mistake…!»
That man – he was talking about the man who appeared in the documents of the “Akatsuki”.
«Oh yes, before talking about that man, let’s talk about the village of Yugakure in this
country. Do you know how the world calls the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings?»
«…?»
When I kept quiet at that question, whose meaning I couldn’t understand well, Ryūki
answered quietly.
«“The Village Hidden in the Warmsprings”.»
At those words, I recalled something.
The low level of proficiency of the ninja from the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings. Just
some days before, I had surely recalled words like those.
«This country, and this village, yell “peace, peace” as if it was the only foolish thing they
know. As a result, they promoted disarmament and the Land of Hot Water became
pacific…or so it seems. However, such thing is just pretence. If something happened, they’d
run about trying to escape, examine the other countries’ expressions, rely onto the other
villages, and they wouldn’t be able to do anything by themselves. Under the name of
pacifism, we’re still an eternally weak and small country. In a village that is totally immersed
in tepid water like this, that man suffered alone in a valley of irritation and sense of
impending crisis.»
With a tone of voice filled with rage, Ryūki continued.
«The thing that helped that man, who was in such a pain, was Jashin-sama and the religion of
Jashinism. That man, who was freed from that curse called ‘peace’ and acquired an immortal
body, kept fighting for this country all alone. To bestow the same irritation and sense of
impending crisis as his own onto each person. Doing so, he tried to rule this country, and the
world.»
Only Ryūki’s voice was resounding in the cave. Despite there were many people besides him
all around, I couldn’t even hear their breathing. They looked just like corpses standing up. As
opposed to Ryūki’s hot speech, a pleasantly cool air was hanging around me.
«That man wasn’t a mere demon of murder. Fighting, killing. That was the ideal figure of all
the existence of this world, and that great man embodied it. But also that man’s efforts were
fruitless, and nowadays the curse of peace is spreading in the world. Everybody actively
decided to soak into tepid water. Why that? Because nobody understood the real figure of
that man. However, only I know him. There’s nobody who understands that man as I do.
That’s why I inherited that man’s will. I’ll obtain an overwhelming power to which everyone
will prostrate, and I’ll rule the world!»
«And for this reason you need an immortal body…»
«Exactly. I’ll obtain the same body as that man and spread Jashin-sama’s teachings to the
world—»
«There’s no way that a shady guy like you will be able to rule the world.» I said, interrupting
Ryūki’s speech, and the followers around me, who had been silent until then, began stirring.
«Wha…»
Ryūki was at a loss of words. I stared right at him.
«Those fellows who talk about peace irresponsibly gave birth to a person like you. I’m sorry
about that… However, you’re too dangerous. Only those who have the same was of thinking
as you do will acknowledge you, you associate only with people like that. Extremely strict
with other people, thoroughly indulgent towards yourself and your fellows, for your own
goals you affirm even murder and violence by any means. Do you really think that there will
be people who would want to live in the world and the country that a person like that
idealised?»
At first glance, the Land of Hot Water was peaceful and with a good public order, but the
darkness of this country was deeper than I thought. I had no problem whatsoever against
them myself, and the situation wasn’t going to change and settle down immediately.
However, I just couldn’t overlook the evil intention that was clear in front of my eyes.
«From now on, you’ll surely make a lot of people unhappy…»
I firmly tied my Konoha forehead protector, and—
«I won’t let you make your debut in the world. Before you do so, I’m going to crush you here
and now…!» I declared.
«Kuku… hahahahaha… “Do you really think?”, you said? This is my line.»
Ryūki let out a simmering laugh.
«Look at your situation! You’re outnumbered! Even if you say you’re a ninja, do you really
think that you’ll be able to walk around all alone with us all as your opponent while you’re
protecting that burden?»
As if they were acting in response to Ryūki’s voice, all the members of the religious
organization around me took their small scythe in their hands at once. With a slow
movement, the members of the religious organization surrounded Tatsumi-chan and me.
«Mirai-san…!»
While protecting a panicked Tatsumi-chan with my back, I put my chakra blades on both my
hands.
«If those guys use weapons, I can’t go easy on them, too.»
I firmly clutched the chakra blades, which were shining dimly, and prepared myself.
«Still, it doesn’t change the fact that you are sacrifices. However, I’m done with capturing
you alive already… I’ll kill you twoooo!»
As Ryūki howled, the members of the religious organization raised their scythes over their
heads and swooped down on us.
I stuck out my fists towards the point of the scythe that was being swung downward in front
of my eyes.

When I was clutching my chakra blades like that, I always remembered my sensei’s words.
«Listen, Mirai.»
My sensei told me, who was preparing to use the chakra blades.
«Imagine the Nature Transformation of Wind like dividing the chakra in two and rub those
parts together. Just as if you were sharpening the two chakra thinly and sharply. Well, that’s
all a second-hand knowledge though.» my sensei said, and smiled.
At my feet, there was a shadow that was stretching from my sensei’s feet. It was my sensei’s
strong point, the Kagemane no Jutsu.
«I’m teaching you all the things – Asuma’s techniques – I’ve seen until now… Even so, I
have no talent at taijutsu. You have no choice but learning taijutsu like this, are you ready?»
“Of course I am” I answered, and my body began moving of its own accord, with the same
movement as my sensei.
I was taught the same movement repeatedly many and many times over. Slowly, it made the
techniques penetrate into my body one by one. They were all the things that my sensei once
witnessed. The way my father fought.
«Well then, pour your chakra into them. How about getting into an actual fight soon?»

—Flying Swallow!
The moment my chakra blade came in contact with the point of the scythe—
Slash, the point of the scythe was cut just as if I had cut some tofu. That was the jutsu Flying
Swallow, which turned chakra at a high grade of condensation into a blade.
This technique, which my father liked and used, not only enhanced the power of killing and
wounding of the weapon, but it could also change the range of the attack acting according to
the chakra control. It could create to an extensible blade of light by combining the amount of
chakra with the chakra blade, which becomes easy to manipulate.
I flew about, skilfully changing the length of the blade, and the next moment the scythes that
the members of the religious group were wielding turned into mere sticks. The severed parts
of the blades fell onto the ground while making a snapping sound.
At the same time, also the members of the religious organization crumbled down one after
the other.
«No way…» Ryūki, who was in front of the altar, muttered, dumbfounded.
Although I said I was surrounded, the ones who were directly facing me were nine or ten
people at best. Even if they were using weapons, they were amateurs. It didn’t mean that they
were going to use techniques, or that they were going to attack me with a cooperation attack.
I wouldn’t be defeated by an enemy of this level.
«Ryūki…»
I turned towards Ryūki again.
«You were saying this and that about me being all alone… Don’t underestimate a ninja.»
When I pointed my chakra blade clad in the Flying Swallow towards him, Ryūki raised a
small shriek behind his face-cloth.
Around me, there were the members of the religious organization who had fallen down and
were moaning. The other members left just watched me surrounding me at a distance as if
they had lost their fighting spirit, without moving.
«It’s over. I’m arresting you…!»
I slowly moved towards Ryūki. Thereupon, Ryūki’s legs gave way in fear.
«Uwaaaaa! D-don’t come…! Shiiit! In a place like this I, I… my immortal body thanks to the
ceremony… the sacrifices for that… uuwaaaaaaaa!»
Ryūki backed off while shrieking, but all of a sudden he yelled to the members of the
religious organization that were in the room.
«Bring the sacrifices immediately! I’ll kill them all! I don’t care about it anymore! It’ll be a
massacre!»
Those were probably words he was saying on the spur of the moment, in confusion. It was a
completely illogical speech. However, it was that man’s true nature, and the only effect of
those words was at least that I stopped my feet.
«Damn it…!»
When they saw that I was taken aback, the members of the religious organization rushed
towards a passage that was inside the cave. At the other side of that, the girls that had been
kidnapped as sacrifices were held prisoners.
Seeing my reaction, Ryūki began laughing immediately.
«That’s right, don’t move. They’re hostages. If you move, I’ll kill the hostages! Hahahaha,
that’s fine. This is Jashin-sama’s guidance. The fruit of our habitual creed!»
Ryūki stood up unsteadily, wheezing.
«If you want to save the hostages, become a sacrifice quietly…»
«You’re a completely clichéd villain. Even if I come quietly, you’ll kill everyone anyway,
right?»
«It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? However, I’ll kill the hostages if you move.»
What did I have to do… My heart became an alarm bell. Don’t be impatient. If you arrest
Ryūki, the members of the religious organization are capable of killing the hostages on a
rampage. However, even if I don’t move, Ryūki will perform the ceremony anyway…
Even if I pretended to be calm, I was at a loss of good ideas. At a time like that, what would I
do if I were my sensei? If there had been my father. Konohamaru, or the Seventh. The Sixth
and Guy-san…
My thoughts weren’t in order. So bad…
Than, that moment—
«Guah!»
I heard a voice coming from inside the cave.
«Uah!»
A voice, again. Together with the voice, I could hear the sound of people collapsing.
«Ryūki-samaaaa!»
«W-what… what’s the matter?»
One of the members of the religious organization ran back to him in a hurry.
«All of a sudden, a recklessly strong man… uh!?»
An electric sound that hurt my ears. The member of the religious organization collapsed on
the spot, fibrillating.
The one standing behind him was—
«Kakashi-san!?»
It was the Sixth, with the point of his fingers clad in a bluish-white electric current.
«Aah, the recklessly strong man is not me.»
The Sixth pointed towards inside the cave with his usual aloof-from-the-world attitude. From
there, I could hear the shrieks of the members of the religious organization, and Guy-san’s
hot roars.
Whenever Guy-san’s vigorous enthusiastic shouts resounded, the shrieks of the members of
the religious organization echoed.
«W-what are these moves!? H-help-eeeeeeek!?»
«What’s going on!? What’s going on-bwahaaaaaaaaa!?»
«Impossible! This kind of strange beast, I’ve never see-hihiihiiiiin!?»
«Uuwaaaa muuuuuuum! Ngyaaaaaaa!?»
From inside the passage, I could hear voices that sounded just like agonizing cries.
—What movements on earth is Guy-san doing with his wheelchair…
I listened to those mysterious voices, shuddering, and in the end there wasn’t even one sound.
Thereupon, Guy-san immediately appeared from inside the passage, in his wheelchair.
«Kakashi, the hostages are all safe!»
Guy-san smiled, sticking up his thumb. His nice-guy pose was quite reassuring.
«Yeah, I’m relying on you to restrain the enemies one after the other!»
The Sixth replied sticking up his thumb like him.
«Leave it to me!»
Guy-san’s well-carrying voice resounded inside the cave. Relieved by the fact that the
hostages’ safety was confirmed, I asked the Sixth: «Kakashi-san, what are you doing in a
place like this…?»
«Why, I was worried because you had left the inn in the middle of the night. If you had only
gone on a trip with a friend it wouldn’t have mattered in particular, but still it was strange of
you to go out of the town and penetrate into the mountain.»
He was surely worried if he had observed me penetrating into the mountain all of a sudden in
the dead of the night. I wondered if he hadn’t followed me with a Kage Bunshin or a ninja
dog he had summoned. I hadn’t realised it.
«Ah, sorry. It looks like I’m getting more prone to worry as I grow older…» the Sixth said
apologetically, but thanks to him I was able to escape from that desperate situation. I had to
tell him about the tags in exchange.
«No, you saved me. I’m sorry I sneaked away on my own accord…»
Bang, the altar made a crashing sound. Ryūki, who had tried to escape, had bumped into it.
«Kakashi-san, I’m leaving this child to you.»
Leaving Tatsumi-chan to the Sixth, I prepared to use my chakra blades again.
«Ryūki, I’m arresting you…!»
«Hiii, don’t comeeee!»
I approached Ryūki, who shrieked clumsily trying to use the altar as a shield.
Then, a moment later—
Ryūki’s shriek turned into a laugh.
«Hahahaha, you fell for it! How nice, you came within my range! If people are told not to
come, they’ll surely want to come!» Ryūki declared loudly, raising his arms as if he was
looking up towards the sky.
«From here, I’ll begin the ritual!»
«…!?»
When I looked around me, at my feet – all around the altar – there was the aforementioned
figure of a triangle drawn inside a circle. Ryūki and I were standing together inside the
figure.
—The shrieks, and his clumsy figure, they were a trap to make me approach…!
When I realised it, Ryūki had already moved.
«Idiot! You let your guard down! You carelessly got near me and now you’ll lose!»
While yelling so, Ryūki picked up a human shape that was decorating the altar. It was a
rough but somehow eerie human shape made out of a jute bag. The human shape was
hanging its head from the threads that were stretching from the tip of Ryūki’s fingers.
In a moment, I put myself on guard as if it was a puppet, but the ones stretching from the tip
of his fingers were ordinary, physical threads. Ryūki, who wasn’t a ninja, couldn’t use puppet
techniques to begin with.
Ryūki, who was holding the human shape in one hand and the small scythe on the other hand,
assumed a relaxed posture.
«For your fault, anything and everything is a mess… Because of you, before I obtained an
immortal body, I ended up with doing another ritual… It’s all ruined, despite I had prepared
it with great trouble…»
While he said so, Ryūki licked the edge of his scythe. There, a bright red liquid – my blood
of when he had swung it down on my shoulder – was sticking to it.
«Please, lend me your power, Jashin-sama! I’ll bestow your divine punishment to these
guys!»
«What the heck…?»
I opened my eyes wide. The threads hanging from the tip of Ryūki’s fingers slowly dyed in a
dark red. It looked just as if the blood was soaking into them, going from the tip of his fingers
to the human shape.
Then, when the threads became completely dark red, the human shape of jute bag raised its
head. On the head, an unpleasant patter similar to a skull appeared.
«What’s this jutsu…»
It was a technique I had never seen. Any jutsu has its own lineage, but the strange thing was
that I couldn’t even understand which current was it coming from.
«Mirai, go away!» the Sixth yelled. It was the first time I hear the Sixth with such a frantic
voice.
«It’s too late! You’re already cursed!» Ryūki yelled, as if to erase the Sixth’s voice.
«“Curse Technique: Body Manoeuvring Blood”.»
Suddenly, I couldn’t move as if my feet were stuck to the ground.
«This is not a ninjutsu… a curse jutsu you said…?»
«This is Jashin-sama’s power that casts a curse using the opponent’s blood! Now you and this
human shape are completely tied together! And this jutsu doesn’t dispel even if you die! In
short, even if you become a corpse you’re my puppet foreveeeer!»
When Ryūki moved his fingertips, the human shape’s legs gave way with a thump.
Thereupon, also my body sank down on the spot of its own accord.
«Uh…!?»
No matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t use my body as I wanted to.
«If I can, I don’t want to use this technique… because I can’t use it if I don’t accumulate
enough power… Because of you, the ceremony to gain an immortal body became far away…
However, for the sake of my dream, you guys ended up here… I won’t let anybody… get in
my way…»
Ryūki’s breathing became gradually heavier.
«Woman, I’ll kill you first…! Then I’ll kill those two manipulating you! And at last, I’ll kill
the man with the sweltering face that is inside! With that, my plans won’t go amiss… I’ll
await the next chance, and aim to an immortal body again… There’s no problem…!»
While making a painful-looking breathing sound, Ryūki raised his scythe over his head. Then
he swung it down in one go aiming at the limp human shape. The scythe was thrust deeply
onto the human shape’s chest.
That moment, my body had a convulsion with a sudden twitch.
«Co-ough…»
A large quantity of blood started overflowing from my mouth. I collapsed on the spot while
shedding blood in drops.
«Fu… haha… hahahaha, I did it… the other three left… I’m going to kill them…!»
When Ryūki moved his fingertips, the human shape, which had collapsed on the spot, stood
up. At the same time I, covered in blood, stood up, too. That was surely a cursed jutsu that
didn’t dispel even if I died.
«Well then, kill those twoooo!»
Ryūki sent the human shape towards the Sixth and Tatsumi-chan. However, I didn’t move.
«Why is that…?»
Ryūki frantically moved the human figure. However, I didn’t react at all. Or rather, it’s not
that I didn’t react. Because I hadn’t got caught in Ryūki’s technique to begin with.
For this reason, I obviously hadn’t coughed blood from my mouth; in fact, there was no
wound in my shoulder.
Seeing me like that, the Sixth grinned.
«Don’t tell me that he had already been caught in your genjutsu…»
«S-such a fool…»
I smiled towards Ryūki, who was flustered.
«What did the hotspring water taste like?»
«A-aah… it wasn’t… blood…?»
Ryūki slowly looked down towards the human shape.
The human shape in Ryūki’s hands was hanging its head loosely just like when I had seen it
the first time. There was no pattern of a skull on its head, nor deep red threads. It was a mere
puppet.
And the thick thing that was sticking on the scythe that Ryūki was holding wasn’t blood, but
mere hotspring water.
It was the one I had drew in the spot to drink hotspring water with Tatsumi-chan while we
were coming here.
«I knew very well that he activates his techniques using blood.»
I proudly told the Sixth, who had praised me.
«The moment I heard “Jashinism”, I remembered the sentence of the document that says
“they use an unknown technique using blood as an intermediary”. That’s why I pretended to
shed blood on purpose, just to be sure.»
Saying so, I fetched the bottle to drink hotspring water I had received from Tatsumi-chan. In
the bottle there was the trace that the scythe had penetrated deeply, and all the water inside
had flowed out.
«No way… I’m sure I pierced your shoulder…» Ryūki muttered incoherently, staggering.
Sure, Ryūki’s scythe had been swung downward on my shoulder. However, that time, when I
was trying to protect Tatsumi-chan and I had forced my way between the two, I had stopped
the blow of the scythe with the bottle I was holding on one hand.
The thing that had splattered around wasn’t blood, but hotspring water. Also the thing that
had stuck to the scythe was hotspring water.
Because of my instantaneous genjutsu, I pretended that it was blood. And Ryūki saw the
illusion of the scythe piercing my shoulder and blood scattering around.
Naturally, Ryūki, who wasn’t a ninja properly speaking, couldn’t even pierce my Konoha
vest, which had special fibres weaved into it, by attacking me with his scythe in that way,
but…
Even so, I had prepared traps and trump cards on purpose. That was also a thing that I learned
from my sensei.
«In this case, the taste of that blood…»
Ryūki, who had talked until then, was taken aback.
«The hotspring water… don’t tell me that it has an iron component…!?»
Ryūki moaned, looking disgusted.
Since people’s sense of taste is surprisingly vague, many times it depends on the sense of
sight and smell.
Seeing the image that I got injured, and the red fluid stuck on his scythe, in Ryūki’s tongue,
who was thoroughly convinced that it was blood, the iron component included in the
hotspring water surely felt like the taste of true blood.
«Well then, what do I do next…?»
When I took a step forward, Ryūki took a step backward.
«If you still have traps and trump cards, you’d better reveal them quickly…?»
Another step forward. The threads of the human shape fell from Ryūki’s hands.
Even if I had just caught him, nothing had changed for that man. He just hadn’t had enough
painful experiences. From now on, he’d probably hate the world continuously, and keep
having bad aspirations.
I didn’t know whether I could rid of him completely or not, but I had to drive the fact that it
was useless thoroughly into him, no matter what he did. But even then, there was bound to be
some root of evil in the future.
«Hey, listen well…»
Step after step, I approached Ryūki.
«From now on, you’ll surely bring sadness to someone again. However, each time you’ll
scheme something evil, I’ll block the way in front of you. No matter how many tricks you’ll
play, I’ll always be many steps ahead of you. Absolutely, I eternally won’t let you do as you
please…!»
And finally, I was standing in front of Ryūki’s eyes.
«Uuwaaaaaaa!»
This time, Ryūki shrieked for real. It was the voice of a person scared out of his wits.
Wind was swirling with my fist – my chakra blade that I was clutching – as its centre.
Despite we were inside the cave, the atmosphere around me was noisy. In the end, this wind
wrapped my whole arm.

Wind Style techniques were something I was taught by my sensei’s wife, Temari-san.
Temari-san, who is the previous Kazekage’s daughter as well as the current Kazekage’s older
sister – in short, a princess of the Village Hidden in the Sand – is also a Wind Release user to
the point that she was one of the best during the ninja war.
«Well then, there’s Wind Release next, but there’s no way for me with this only. So—»
At my sensei’s suggestion, he arranged that Temari-san would teach me Wind Release, but…
Temari-san was an extremely hard teacher.
«There’s no way that I’ll explain a thing like that with words. Learn with your body.»
Temari-san said bluntly, and waved the folding fan she was holding once. Thereupon, a
sudden wind was created, and my body revolved in midair in the twinkle of an eye. However,
I fell immediately. I miserably failed to land.
I learned with my body. Surely there are a lot of things that you can’t understand by just
explaining them with words, such as the carriage of the body and the feeling of a technique,
but even so the plans of training of this married couple are the same.
From that day, whenever I trained I was agitated by Temari-san’s folding fan and ended up
revolving in midair.
When she was silent, Temari-san made a beautiful yet a little bit frightening impression.
However, after she blew me away she always showed me her extremely rare innocent smile.
That was the smile that Shikadai inherited.
While I suffered that sudden wind from Temari-san many times like that, I came to think why
my sensei had married such a scary woman.
Then, when I thought things like those, the feeling of the Wind Release penetrated into my
whole body more than enough.

While remembering the days of that dear training, I focused chakra on my arm.
To be honest I didn’t want to go back a second time. Discarding idle thoughts, I only focused.
This technique, which had the Kamaitachi no Jutsu that Temari-san uses at its basis, takes
shapes with the image of the Seventh’s and Konohamaru’s Rasengan. The compression,
keeping the chakra on the fist and making it revolve, is difficult, but I used a similar thing on
my whole arm with the chakra blade I was grasping tightly as a cardinal point.
I had clad my arm with a typhoon, so to speak. And this typhoon was a revolving blade of
wind.
It stroke, excavated and pierced. My jutsu was both a striking attack and a slashing attack.
And its name is—
—Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist!
I drove my fist into Ryūki’s stomach. That moment, the wind that was cladding my arm
pierced through Ryūki’s body.
Ryūki, who had been agitated and blown away by the sudden wind, collided with the wall of
the cave and collapsed.
Of course, I didn’t kill him. He just couldn’t move. Since I had seriously come to do the
unthinkable thing of driving a blade of wind into Ryūki, who wasn’t a ninja, that time I only
left the shockwave without piercing him. Just like Temari-san did during my training in the
past…
I quickly restrained Ryūki, who had fallen down.
«Uh, ah… me… in a place like this… No. I, like that man…» Ryūki moaned in pain. Even if
he had been cornered to this point, his strong tenacity of purpose hadn’t disappeared yet. That
was something that you could even call a grudge already. However—
«Ryūki you said? It’s an ironic name…» the Sixth said quietly, looking down on the
restrained Ryūki.
«Your name means “dragon”, but you can’t even become a “rook”. Forever.»
Ryūki’s heavy breathing was the only thing that resounded quietly inside the cave.
Even if he clutched his fists trembling, looking tranquil, and quivered, Ryūki’s fists were
only grasping the empty space. Ryūki kept silent, and said nothing more thereafter.
That instant, I felt like I could hear the sound of Ryūki’s mind breaking.

«We have no choice but leave the rest to Yugakure and the Land of Hot Water.» the Sixth
said, and promptly restrained the other members of the religious organization that had
collapsed around us.
«I’ll make my ninja dogs go towards the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings. They’ll come
immediately.»
I was taken aback by the excessive goodness of his planning.
«You already got in touch with them!? Whatever the circumstances may be, wouldn’t it be
too soon!?»
When I asked this overly shocked, the Sixth smiled as usual.
«The truth is that it’s because this mission was also to investigate their movements.» the
Sixth told me without hesitation while pointing towards Ryūki and the members of the
religious organization.
This mission, that is inspecting the undeveloped areas near the country border while being on
a holiday.
However, its real goal was to investigate the unidentified religious group that calls itself
Jashinism at the same time.
We had moved to clarify the truth of the religious group, in a cooperation between the
Village Hidden in the Leaves and the Village Hidden in the Hotsprings.
«I made Kiba, Tenten and Chōji gather information in each place pretending to be merely
sightseeing for this reason. We met them all on the way, right?» he said without hesitation,
smiling.
Sure, we had met both Kiba-san and Tenten-san and Chōji-san. But that was necessary, not
just accidental. Both making a stopover here and there in crowded sightseeing areas, and
going out on that drinking bout, was all to gather information…
In short, this mission was being on holiday and inspecting and gathering information, all at
once…
The more I thought about it, the more my head was about to explode.
«Why this to me…»
«The opponent was a mysterious religious group whose actual condition couldn’t be
understood. We didn’t know where its members were. We didn’t even know where its
headquarters were. That’s why we needed to gather information pretending to be ordinary
people.»
«You could have told me, couldn’t you?»
«No, because your mission was guarding us to the very end, and not gathering information.
Besides, somebody had to examine the undeveloped areas and make maps.»
Now that he mentioned it, it was surely as he was saying. Kiba-san and Tenten-san and
Chōji-san had been gathering information under the Sixth’s guidance.
«No, but, even so…»
When I insisted onto it once more, the Sixth smiled weakly.
«Surely I was troubled as well. However, if I had told you, you could have behaved showing
your wariness even more, making carnivorous eyes and searching for the members,
unconsciously…»
“I wouldn’t have done such a thing!” But I didn’t say that. Because even I thought that I’d
have done that.
Anyway, it’s not that I would have gathered information, even if I had been asked to.
Of course, I could even say that I was glad that I had been able to focus onto another mission
without knowing it. Maybe it was because I didn’t know this story that I had been able to
penetrate into the religious group’s hideout like that.
I had obtained a thing I didn’t hope for without difficulty, and I didn’t easily get the thing I
hoped. People who naturally have something that somebody else hopes from the bottom of
their heart can’t realise its true value.
Also Ryūki had surely lived his life like that. I suddenly thought about a thing like that.
«Well! You were the right person in the right place in this mission. At any rate, despite your
achievements, it’s went well.»
Hahaha, the Sixth laughed.

When Ryūki and the others were taken by the Yugakure ninja who had come along, it was
morning.
Also the kidnapped girls had been rescued, and the matter was settled.
In the end, things like the actual conditions and the members of the religious group would
probably be clarified with a further investigation.
«Kuu~, the morning sun stings my eyes… it’s the springtime of youth!» Guy-san raised his
healthy voice when we went out of the cave. He had been taken for an enemy by the ninja of
Yugakure that had come along and he had been arrested, but that was also typical of the
springtime of youth.
Imitating Guy-san, who was breathing deeply, I thoroughly enjoyed the fresh air of the
morning as well. Maybe because the air inside the cave was stagnant, it felt good. I hadn’t
been able to sleep a wink, but now my eyes were wide awake.
Then I called out to Tatsumi-chan, who had been continuously hanging her head in shame
until then.
«Tatsumi-chan, what’s the matter?»
«I… I’ve unintentionally deceived you, Mirai-san… How can I apologise…»
The voice that came back from Tatsumi-chan seemed to vanish. Tatsumi-chan was regretting
the fact that she had told me about the hotspring in which you could meet the dead and
brought me along in the cave.
However—
«Here.» I said, and I fetched and showed Tatsumi-chan the bottle to drink hotspring water
that I had received from her. In the bottle, there was clearly the cut made when I protected
her from Ryūki’s scythe.
«After you gave it to me… I’m sorry. I should apologise.» I said, and smiled. Maybe, if I
hadn’t had the hotspring water, I wouldn’t have been able to use Ryūki’s trap against him.
For me, that bottle had been like a lifesaver.
«Besides, you’ve been deceived too, Tatsumi-chan. Don’t worry.»
«But, I…»
I conveyed a certain feeling to Tatsumi-chan, who had raised her face while showing tears.
«I’ve been worried, recently… What’s a ninja. What did I become a ninja for. Why I had
been training hard and painfully until now, and various things, I didn’t understand it…»
While saying so, I unintentionally made a bitter smile.
«However, I suddenly thought this when I was fighting while shielding you with my back,
Tatsumi-chan. “I’ve surely been training for a time like this. I’ve become a ninja for this.”»
I looked right at Tatsumi-chan.
«I was glad I could fight. I was glad I had power. I was glad I was able to protect a friend.
That time, I thought these things from the bottom of my heart.»
«A friend…»
«When you enter in a hotspring together with someone, and look up towards the starry sky
together, that’s also friendship.»
The two of us casually thought about the same things, and we had met at the same time, in
the same place.
And we talked together, entering in a hotspring both in our birthday suit. We shared our
feelings while staring at the starry sky. If that wasn’t a friend, what in the world could you
call a friend?
«I think that hotsprings are places where everyone becomes happy. We, who had met in a
place like that, are both fellow people who can share the same happiness. That’s friendship.»
I said, and Tatsumi-chan nodded while wiping her tears.
Why did aim to be a ninja? Why did I become a ninja?
It was too obvious, sometimes it just wasn’t clear, but I knew it deep down. I had
unconsciously realised it inside me. I had always known the answer.
I wanted to protect somebody’s future.
And protecting somebody’s future meant protecting somebody’s present.
Somebody’s present is the future that my father wanted to protect.
I’m living in this kind of world, in this kind of epoch.
The feeling that my father entrusted my sensei with, just like my sensei entrusted me with it;
I too will entrust the future, the next generation, with this feeling. That’s why I became a
ninja.
I am a leaf swirling in the wind. I’ll transmit the blueness of the sky to the young leaves that
will bud next. I’ll transmit the wideness of the world. This is my goal.
«I… I think I’ll stop looking behind me…»
A smile returned on Tatsumi-chan’s wet cheeks.
«When I return to my home village and hold a proper memorial service for my mother, I’ll
look straight forward.»
The light that was filtering through the spaces between the trees gently illuminated Tatsumi-
chan.
I thought that also the future that was waiting in front of where she was heading towards
would surely become tender and bright like that sunlight filtering through the trees.
«Well then, shall we go back to the inn with everyone?»
We began descending the mountain with a calm feeling.
Also the once-dark mountain path was completely illuminated, and the road that we had to
follow was visible. It was a relatively troublesome mountain path when you had to ascend,
but it wasn’t a particularly big deal when you looked at it in the light.
«That’s right. By the way, Mirai.» the Sixth said as if he had remembered something.
«Yes?»
I, who was descending the mountain path in the refreshing air, turned around, smiling.
«You were talking about the document of Jashinism and this and that, but browsing through
that is forbidden…»
My heart almost jumped out. In an instant, my face lost all its colour.
Come to think of it, I had the hunch that I had talked proudly about having read that
document while I was fighting…
I had trouble with breathing. I couldn’t breathe fair and square. The cold sweat was terrible.
My body was trembling. Somehow, it seemed that also the mountain path in front of my eyes
was awfully inaccessible. These symptoms were surely a curse technique of some sort.
«Auh, ah… t-that… cough… that… auh…»
When I became flustered, the Sixth suddenly adopted an exaggerated tone.
«Aah, come to think of it, I had authorised its browsing a lot of time ago.»
«…eh?»
«…just in case something happens, it’s something along these lines, okay?» the Sixth said in
a small voice, and smiled. I had the feeling that I had caught a glimpse of the previous
Hokage’s tolerance.
«Nuuh, as one would expect, descending a mountain with a wheelchair is intense… But I
won’t give in…!»
There, I heard Guy-san’s voice saying things like that.
«If it’s so, from that cliff over there, in one go…!»
I ran over Guy-san in a hurry, who had begun talking about absurd and dangerous things.
«I-I’ll help you!»
«Oh, sorry.»
I descended the mountain while pushing Guy-san’s wheelchair. We were all dripping with
sweat from the morning.
Guy-san raised his cheerful voice while pointing towards the post-town as if he was taking
command of a corps in a battle.
«A–ll right, when we return, a morning bath with everyone!»
«Eh, a mixed bath?»
At my sudden reply, the Sixth sighed.
«There’s no way we’ll do something like that…»
Hearing that, Tatsumi-chan began giggling.
Seeing Tatsumi-chan’s smiling face like that, I smiled brightly as well.
When we return to the inn, I’d immediately go in the hotspring again together with Tatsumi-
chan.
Under the sun that was shining bright, surely this time the conversation would get much more
lively than before.
Because between us there were no more lies and secrets.
 Konoha’s true story: Steam Ninja Scrolls

Epilogue

In a certain corner of the inn—

Hatake Kakashi was standing alone in front of the telephone receiver.
The scheduled contacts with the village were a duty of Sarutobi Mirai’s, who was travelling
with him as his guard, but that day the circumstances were different from usual. While he
informed him that the mission had concluded safely, Kakashi had a certain reason for which
he had to make the phone call by himself.
«Yeah… we’re in the Land of Fire already. Soon we’ll be back home.»
Kakashi told him his actual position, and casually checked if there weren’t people around
him.
«…then, how did the other matter go?» he asked under his breath.
The one at the other side of the telephone was the Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto.
«That’s right… Sasuke and Sakura. That went well. Also Sarada was delighted.»
The thing they were talking about was the object of the urgent phone call he had received at
the inn, some time before.
«So, those kids… yeah, Kabuto… Yeah, it’s okay. He’ll appreciate that.»
Kakashi’s tone of voice had become a little softer.
«How nice that both matters have ended well… Yeah, that’s right. Mirai did well.»
Kakashi smiled while listening carefully to Naruto’s voice, which he could hear coming from
the other side of the telephone.
«That’s right. Lately she’s been feeling like that. I know very well that you were worried.»
Then, he returned to his serious tone again.
«Vague hatred towards the terrorists. Sense of justice too strong. Strongly diligent and not-
flexible personality. Surely all of this was risky. I know that you were worried and sent her to
me. Anyhow, that’s because you’ve been looking a lot at this kind of things since she was a
child…»
While saying so, Kakashi smiled spontaneously.
«However, it was an absurd fear. She’s all right. You too knew it deep down, right?»
Hearing Naruto’s answer, Kakashi made a bitter smile again.
«You… you’re more prone to worrying than before… Well! I am, too.»
Hahaha, he laughed raising his voice instinctively.
«It’s mutual, you became the family of everyone in the village. I know this feeling. Of
course, being a little prone to worrying turns out well. When it’s important, if you can decide
accurately because of that…»
And, that moment—
Kakashi noticed a man on a wheelchair coming along from the other side of the corridor. He
was his best friend, Might Guy.
At Guy’s appearance, who must have been waiting for him in the inn’s entryway before,
Kakashi decided to end the phone call with Naruto there. He shortly communicated him the
remaining business.
«—well then, soon we’ll set forth towards home… yeah, nice to talk with you…»
At few words from Naruto, a little smile escaped from Kakashi.
«No, it was a nice holiday.»
Kakashi turned around, quitting the phone call quietly, and promptly asked Guy: «What’s the
matter?»
«Well, if the sun sets before we return to the village, Mirai will get angry…»
Saying so, Guy made a worried face.
«For me, it’d be alright even if we stopped one night more, but…»
At Guy’s words, Kakashi nodded.
«Yeah. Also our hometown hotsprings will be nice after a long while… Do you want to go?»
«But Mirai…»
Guy pondered, crossing his arms. At that rate, while she was waiting for the phone call to
end, maybe Mirai would get extremely nervous. Kakashi thought something like that.
«Was my phone call that long?»
«Well, yeah. To the point that Mirai began rewriting the road map without a word.»
«Did she get so much angry…»
While saying so, the two went back to Mirai.
Kakashi and Guy were going through the hallway one next to the other.
«…actually, she’s doing well.» Guy muttered, sighing, after a short silence. Of course, he
was talking about Mirai.
«Yeah…» Kakashi answering, smiling. Then, they began talking for no particular reason.
Because seeing Mirai’s figure, who had oddly met face to face with an enemy that one might
call her own destiny in the Land of Hot Water, Kakashi had a thought.
«…the man called Ryūki was arrested, but it looks like that whenever he recognised a person
who has lost a person who suffered from an incurable disease or a relative, he took away their
money with deceiving words…»
«Such an atrocious thing… and even Mirai…»
«Maybe… However, if I had been told that there was a hotspring that could cure any kind of
injury, my heart would have trembled too, I thought…»
At Kakashi’s words, Guy began laughing out loud.
«Are you still worrying about me? How many years have passed since that?»
Unlike Guy, who was laughing large-heartedly, Kakashi had still a meek face.
«However, if there was a hotspring that could heal your leg, I…»
«Kakashi, cut it out…»
Guy continued, looking straight in front of him.
«I’m living now. I can talk with you like this. That’s enough. What are one or two legs, after
all? Instead, you’re always by my side, aren’t you? That’s something I wish the most.»
Guy made a gentle face. Seeing him, also Kakashi nodded quietly.
There—
«Kakashi-san, Guy-san, what are you doing? We won’t come back home within today like
this, you know?» Mirai, who was looking at Kakashi and Guy’s figure and waiting, called out
to them.
«What should I do? Night will fall on our way back, you know?»
Urged by her severe tone, Kakashi’s eyes wandered about.
«Mmh, that’s true, but we could stop another night in a post-town on the way today, or
something…» he answered, turning his eyes away as if to escape from Mirai’s gaze, who was
looking fixedly at him.
Thereupon—
«Alright, let’s do it. Shall we take it easy?»
Saying so, Mirai opened the road map that showed the trace of having being rewritten. On it,
there was already written the plan of stopping by an inn that night, and the arrival to Konoha
the afternoon of the day after.
«I’ll contact the village later.»
While saying so, Mirai showed a gentle smile.
At that appearance of Mirai, also Kakashi instinctively made a smiling face.
«Well, I’ll leave it to you to keep guarding us, too.»
«That’s right. We’re on a mission until we get back to the village!»
Guy clenched his fist firmly.
«Leave it to me please! That’s my speciality.» Mirai answered, still smiling.
Aiming at their hometown at the other side of the steam, the three’s journey continued one
night more.