Although he hadn’t received a clear answer from the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, Daimaru had largely achieved his objective.
As long as he wasn’t simply ignored, opportunities would eventually present themselves.
As for his potential new teammates, Daimaru felt somewhat hopeful, though he didn’t place too much expectation on the matter.
Integrating a new member into a squad that had lost someone in battle was already difficult enough, and that was considered the ideal situation.
If several lone ninja were thrown together into a brand-new team, things would be even worse.
Most shinobi who couldn’t fit into a team tended to have issues of their own.
Putting several such problem children together made the chances of avoiding trouble extremely slim.
I wonder who my future teammates will be.
If I end up with two idiots, the Chunin Exams are going to be a headache.
As for the supervising Jonin, Daimaru had no particular demands.
Sunagakure’s ceiling was simply too low.
Its ultimate military powers were the One-Tail’s Jinchūriki and the Magnet Release bloodline.
Ordinary Jonin below that level could no longer provide Daimaru with significant help in a short period of time.
Temporarily setting those troublesome matters aside, Daimaru wandered through the somewhat desolate streets and, before he realized it, arrived in front of his home.
It was a simple two-story building.
Upstairs lived Daimaru’s mother, Uyo, an ordinary housewife who supported herself and Daimaru’s elderly grandfather by operating a laundry shop on the first floor.
Given the climate of the Land of Wind, where sandstorms dominated most days of the year and water resources were scarce, centralized washing was far cheaper than having each household do its own laundry.
Because of this, countless poor families managed to survive thanks to laundries scattered throughout the village.
Daimaru himself had once lived here and had many unforgettable memories of the place.
Since he had returned anyway, and there were no missions at the moment, it wasn’t a bad idea to visit his family.
Pushing open the weathered front door, he stepped inside.
The lighting in the main hall was decent.
Clothes waiting to be washed hung everywhere.
A few belonged to civilian households, but most came from nearby ninja.
Only shinobi with relatively decent incomes were willing to spend money on laundry services.
Busy at work inside the hall was Daimaru’s mother, Uyo.
Besides her, there were also two young women—one tall and one short.
“Welcome— Ah!
Daimaru, you’re back?”
“Yeah.
I happened to have some free time, so I came home for a visit.”
“Perfect timing.
Go see your grandfather.
He was talking about you not long ago.”
“Really?
Every time I come back, he never gives me a pleasant expression.”
“He’s old and his temper isn’t very good.
Just bear with him, Daimaru.”
“Got it…”
Though he answered perfunctorily, every visit usually ended unpleasantly anyway.
“Daimaru, you’ve finally been discharged from the hospital?”
“That voice…
Chi?
Long time no see.
And Yome—sorry, you’re so short I almost didn’t notice you.”
The taller female ninja possessed brown hair tied into a ponytail, with braided side locks falling naturally on either side of her face and covering most of the forehead protector she wore on her head.
Her eyes were brown with dark pupils.
Like most female shinobi of Sunagakure, she wore mesh armor beneath her clothes.
A blue-purple sash wrapped around her waist, while a fitted red dress, fingerless gloves, leg guards, and black sandals had all been carefully chosen, giving off a youthful and energetic aura.
As for the shorter female ninja, Yome, she was so tiny that without her forehead protector, no one would believe she was a ninja.
Her hair was slightly darker than Chi’s and styled into twin tails.
She wore light, youthful clothing beneath a pale yellow vest meant to shield her from the desert sun.
“Daimaru, you’re still as mean as ever.
You just love bullying people.”
The moment her height was mentioned, Yome immediately became unhappy and puffed out her cheeks in protest.
Chi, who was much more familiar with Daimaru, was already used to his personality.
The two were the same age and had become Genin in the same batch as Temari.
Yome, meanwhile, was over a year younger and had only officially become a ninja last year.
Of course, nearly every child around their age—including Temari—had experienced Daimaru’s iron fist.
Sunagakure’s most notorious child king hadn’t earned that title for nothing.
He rarely hit girls, but he often frightened them with desert lizards, scorpions, and other reptiles he caught.
The tall Chi teased with a smile,
“Yome’s still a sentimental child.
When she heard you’d died in the line of duty, she even cried.
Making fun of her like this is disrespecting her tears.”
“Really?
Then I’ll bully you less in the future, little sister Yome.”
“Don’t call me little sister!
I’m a ninja now too!”
What Yome hated most was being treated like a child—especially by people taller than her.
If not for her small stature causing others to underestimate her, she could have become a ninja two years earlier.
“Got it, little Yome…”
Ignoring Yome’s indignant outburst, Daimaru turned toward Chi and grinned.
“By the way, when you heard I’d died, didn’t you cry?”
“No.”
Chi denied it decisively.
“And just so you know, Temari didn’t cry either.
She was only a little disappointed that she’d lost one idiot.
Life would’ve become much more boring afterward.”
“The ‘idiot’ part was unnecessary!”
Compared to Daimaru, Chi was clearly much closer to Temari.
The friendships between girls were sometimes inexplicable, and the relationships among female ninja were even more incomprehensible to Daimaru.
“I heard about yesterday.
You confessed to Lady Temari and got mercilessly rejected.
How tragic.
I thought you’d be crying your eyes out, but you don’t look too miserable.”
“Do I really look that fragile?”
Daimaru replied indifferently.
“I wonder which bastard’s been spreading rumors.”
“Who knows?
Judging from your expression, you’re not planning to give up, are you?”
“Of course not!
Sincerity can move mountains and split stone.
Sooner or later, Temari will be touched by my feelings.”
“Is that so?
Then I wish you success.”
After collecting the freshly washed clothes, Chi and Yome bid farewell to Uyo and departed.
“Daimaru, are you really alright?”
His mother asked worriedly.
“About what?”
“The matter with Lady Temari.
Everyone’s talking about it.
Ours is just an ordinary family.
The difference between us and the Kazekage’s daughter is far too great…”
Outsiders could laugh all they wanted, but as his mother, Uyo couldn’t help but worry.
“It’s fine.
I know what I’m doing.
Mother, I’ll head upstairs first.”
“Daimaru…”
Uyo still wanted to say something, but Daimaru had already walked away.
“Ah…”
The hardships faced by poor families in Sunagakure were beyond imagination.
Fortunately, after Daimaru became a ninja, his mission income helped support the household.
However, being a shinobi was expensive.
Genin didn’t earn much to begin with.
After giving part of his income to his mother and spending another portion on ninja tools, very little remained in Daimaru’s hands.
…
Daimaru quietly pushed open the door to his grandfather Kazejiri’s room.
Advanced age had drained the old man’s energy, and he was already asleep.
Not wanting to disturb his grandfather’s rest, Daimaru returned to his old room.
Although he hadn’t lived there for a long time, Uyo had always kept it clean, so it showed no signs of neglect.
Removing his headscarf and taking off his ninja vest, Daimaru remained dressed only in simple white training clothes as he looked at the promising young ninja reflected in the mirror.
His short brown hair gave him a vigorous appearance.
Its color was slightly darker than Chi’s but lighter than Yome’s.
Combined with his sun-tanned bronze skin, he looked healthy and full of vitality.
Not bad.
My face isn’t ugly, and there’s still hope for improvement.
My build is average though—not burly enough.
I’m only sixteen and I train regularly.
I should still be able to grow a little taller, right?
(End of Chapter)