“Orochimaru-sama, there are apples and eggs packed in here for you, along with some military rations pills.”
Two days later, at the village gate.
Mikoto had come to see Shingetsu and the others off.
After handing the package to Orochimaru, Mikoto continued, “The eggs are cooked, so please eat those first on the road.
The apples won’t keep for too long.
I know you dislike cold food, and these military rations pills are the kind that won’t melt when heated…”
“That’s enough.
You’re nagging like a mom.” Shingetsu clasped his hands behind his head and curled his lip in disdain.
“Thank you, Mikoto.” Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed slightly, a trace of warmth visible in their depths.
Then he turned to Shingetsu.
“Shingetsu-kun, you really should be grateful to have a younger sister like Mikoto.
She’s spared you quite a few beatings.”
They were twins, yet their personalities were complete opposites.
At the Ninja Academy, Shingetsu was practically a little tyrant.
Whenever he disliked someone, he would lash out with sharp words, and Nawaki and the Hyūga were his biggest victims.
Fortunately, he mostly ignored civilian ninja.
Otherwise, he really would have been bullying the entire school.
Though, come to think of it…
Ignoring people counted as a kind of bullying too, didn’t it?
This time, he had applied for leave from the Ninja Academy under the excuse of traveling for business.
The dean of students approved it immediately, with the urgency of someone sending away a plague.
“Huh?
I get one too?”
Sakumo accepted the package, and Mikoto bowed.
“Thank you, Jōnin Hatake, for looking after my brother.
When you return safely, please allow me to thank you properly.”
“Haha, you’re being too polite.
Just call me Sakumo!”
Sakumo nudged Shingetsu with his heel and laughed.
“Shingetsu and I really hit it off.
If Orochimaru hadn’t gotten there first, I would’ve loved to take him as my disciple!”
Indeed, in terms of fighting style, Sakumo was a better fit to be Shingetsu’s teacher.
Shingetsu had considered that before, but what he was thinking about was the future.
Compared to combat techniques that could be made up for later, he cared more about the help Orochimaru could give him in many areas, especially in terms of wisdom.
As for Shingetsu’s own brain…
well, everyone had their strengths.
It was better to trust the professionals.
Then it was his turn.
“The red bag has military rations pills, the white one has dry rations, the purple one has jerky, and the vegetables are in…”
“Do you have enough money on you?
Only eat the military rations pills in emergencies.
When you can, stay in nearby towns…”
“It’s not safe outside.
Walk along the main roads during the day, and at night, don’t…”
Shingetsu impatiently picked at his ear.
He had expected this yesterday, but Mikoto was even more annoying than he had imagined.
“Hey!
What’s with that impatient look?”
Mikoto pointed at Shingetsu’s nose, one hand on her hip.
“Are you listening to me or not?”
“I’m listening, I’m listening.
Are you done yet?”
“It’s not like I’m going to war.
Why are there so many things to worry about?”
Mikoto went on about every little detail for a long time before finally unfastening a sword-shaped object wrapped in black cloth from her back.
There was sadness in her eyes as she forced out a smile.
“Dad thought you wouldn’t become a ninja, so he gave this to me and told me to protect you properly.”
“I originally wanted to wait until my brother became a ninja…”
Shingetsu pulled away the black cloth.
It was a long sword with a black-and-red sheath.
Their father had been the Uchiha Clan’s most outstanding swordsmith, and their mother had been a veteran Jōnin.
They had left the siblings a considerable inheritance.
Even without the condolence money issued by the clan, the two of them would not have had a difficult life.
As for their cause of death…
They were ninja.
It was never strange for them to die at any time.
Clang.
The blade left its sheath, and a cold crimson gleam flashed into view.
Blood-red patterns wound like snakes across the silver-white blade, giving it a cold, eerie, dreamlike beauty.
Shingetsu curled his lip.
“Tch.
That sloppy guy actually managed to forge a sword this beautiful.
What a surprise.”
“This was Dad’s proudest work.
Its name is Hiki (Crimson Vessel).” Mikoto looked at it as if remembering something, and a gentle smile appeared on her face.
Their mother, Hizuki, had died during a mission.
Not long after, their father had wasted away in grief.
Shingetsu had been furious.
Furious that his father had failed to protect their mother.
Furious that the man had abandoned him and his sister just like that, choosing the cowardly way out.
Shingetsu had been four years old that year.
Only gradually had he come to understand.
Their father simply had not been able to endure that kind of pain.
It had crushed the life out of him.
After a moment of silence, Mikoto smiled and said, “The person Big Brother cares about most must be me, right?”
“You’ve lost it.
The person I care about most is myself.”
Shingetsu poked Mikoto on the forehead and hung the long sword at his waist.
“I’m leaving.”
“Meow!”
“And me!
I haven’t said goodbye to Mikoto-chan yet!”
A pair of cat paws tugged at Shingetsu’s hair, struggling to climb out from the gap between the huge bundles.
Her fur was entirely black, except for the layer of snow-white fluff covering all four paws.
Her round, gilded eyes were clear and warm.
She was an elegant female cat with a slender build.
There was a humanlike irritation in her eyes as she slapped Shingetsu across the face with one paw.
“Watch it, you little brat!
You almost crushed me!”
She had been dozing on Shingetsu’s shoulder earlier.
When the shadow of that huge bundle covered her, Lulu had almost seen her great-grandmother.
Shingetsu did not know the Summoning Technique, so like the Inuzuka Clan, he could only adopt a companion method.
This ninja cat named Lulu was the child of his mother Hizuki’s ninja cat, and her mother had sent her over not long ago.
She occasionally followed Shingetsu to school and bullied Tsume Inuzuka’s Kuromaru.
Shingetsu picked up the black cat and tossed her onto the bundle.
“Stop clinging to me all the time.
One day you’ll get flattened into a cat pancake.”
“Hmph!
I’m going to cling to you anyway!”
The black cat Lulu held her head high.
“Without me, Lulu-sama, a guy with no chakra like you wouldn’t be able to do anything!”
“Sure, sure.
You’re the greatest.”
Shingetsu answered perfunctorily, then turned, waved a hand, and caught up with Orochimaru and Sakumo, who were not far ahead.
…
Before long, Orochimaru stopped at a crossroads.
He was heading in another direction.
“Sakumo, I’m leaving it to you.”
There was little small talk.
After a simple farewell, Orochimaru parted ways with the two of them.
Watching Orochimaru disappear into the distance, Shingetsu’s eyes darkened slightly.
Orochimaru had never told him the details of his mission, but judging from how each of his trips outside the village lasted longer than the last, along with the strange atmosphere inside the village…
It was now the middle of Konoha Year 30.
Shingetsu vaguely remembered that the Second Shinobi World War officially began around Konoha Year 32.
A war that affected several ninja villages would have a prelude.
It was not as if everyone suddenly stepped onto the battlefield and opened fire the moment Year 32 arrived.
The ordinary people of Konoha could not feel it, but the ninja whose mission loads were increasing had already smelled the smoke of war.
The root cause of the Second Shinobi World War was the widening economic gap between countries after the First War.
The hawkish factions of each nation advocated expanding outward to ease domestic economic pressure.
As events developed, the Land of Rain became the battlefield for Konoha, Sunagakure, and Iwagakure.
Dissatisfied with this, Hanzō, the leader of Amegakure, declared war on the three great nations, officially beginning the Second Shinobi World War.
This war would have far-reaching consequences.
Jiraiya, Tsunade, and Orochimaru would face the Demi-God Hanzō and receive the title of Konoha’s Sannin.
Sakumo would kill Sasori’s parents in battle against Sunagakure.
Nagato’s parents would be killed by Konoha ninja.
Nawaki would die after wandering into an explosive tag array, and Dan Katō would suffer fatal injuries, directly affecting the state of mind of the Sannin.
Tsunade would develop hemophobia, Orochimaru would begin obsessing over the true meaning of life, and Jiraiya would grow even more desperate to find the Child of the Prophecy.
Was it coming…?
Shingetsu felt a strange excitement welling up in his heart.
He would not think about profound questions like the nature of war.
In any case, as long as humans were alive, they would never stop fighting.
All I have to do is win in that struggle.
That’s all.