"Come on, chop chop chop! We've gotta get going soon, and I want to enjoy this until the very last minute."

Ebisumaru was leaning on the counter in the kitchen area barking orders to the chefs. They had no idea they would be serving someone so greedy, and many of them had grown bitter and even considered a career change. They would often sneer at Ebisumaru or curse him under their breath while he wasn't looking. Each one of them couldn't wait for him to leave.

The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon. Ebisumaru had been too excited about eating more of this irresistible food to sleep any longer than this, and had gone straight to the kitchen wearing nothing but his loin cloth. The chefs averted their eyes at the gruesome sight as much as they could manage without appearing too rude.

"Let's go, guys. My friends are probably gonna want to leave in about an hour, and I want to see how much I can eat before then." The chefs groaned when they heard "about an hour," and started cooking with only half of the zeal they had the previous night.

The sound of a creaking door was heard behind Ebisumaru. Sasuke walked into the main room and to the kitchen area. "That oil last night really hit the spot," he said. He swung his arm in a circle to demonstrate the smoothness and silence of his movement. "Green tea, please."

One of the chefs stopped cooking Ebisumaru's order and walked to a steaming kettle. He poured the tea into a cup and handed it to Sasuke with a smile.

"Oh no, Sasuke's up. That means Goemon and Yae are probably gonna be ready soon," Ebisumaru thought.

"Quick, get back to...whatever that is you were cooking. Pick up the pace, we're running out of time!" he shouted.

Another door opened, and Goemon, fully dressed, emerged and joined Ebisumaru at the counter. "Morning, guys," he said pleasantly. One of the chefs placed a bowl full of sticky noodles and soy beans in front of Goemon. Ebisumaru slowly reached for the bowl, but Goemon snatched it before he could get to it. "Wow, natto! I love this stuff. Thanks a lot, guys!" Goemon walked to the table where Sasuke was sitting and picked up a large clump of noodles with his chopsticks. He put the entire morsel in his mouth and chewed with a huge grin on his face. "This is great, Ebisumaru. You have no idea what you're missing out on. Oh, and you should put on some clothes. Yae will probably be ready soon."

Ebisumaru looked like he was about to cry as he watched Goemon eat one of his favorite breakfasts. Dejected at the sight, he sighed and dragged himself to his room.

Moments later, the bathroom on the opposite side opened, and Yae stepped out combing her damp, untied hair. "Good morning, everybody," she said. Another bowl appeared on the counter, this one with a pleasant-smelling miso soup. A bowl of rice was soon placed next to it. Yae politely thanked the chefs before taking both bowls and joining Goemon and Sasuke.

Ebisumaru finally came out of his room and noticed Yae sitting at the table and eating soup and rice from two bowls. "Oh, drat," he said disappointingly. He leaned against the end of the counter and waited for his own breakfast.

"I need more food," Goemon said to Sasuke and Yae. "Some rice. And tea, that would be great." As if by magic, a bowl of rice and a cup of tea appeared on the counter a second later. Ebisumaru eyed it greedily, but once again Goemon was too fast for him. "Wow, it's like they're reading my mind or something," he said as he took them back to his table. "Eat quickly, Ebisumaru. We need to get going." Ebisumaru let out a despondent moan as he watched Goemon and Yae eat the food that rightfully belonged to him.

---

Goemon, Ebisumaru, Sasuke, and Yae waited in the lobby to hand in their keys and check out. This was the moment Goemon had been dreading since check-in: the time when they would have to pay.

The innkeeper gave a plain gray key to a grumpy-looking old man in front of them and called for the next guest in line. "Ah, leaving us already?" he asked when he saw Goemon and his friends looking up at him. "Did you enjoy your stay?"

"Oh, we sure did. There was great food, and a hot spring, and comfy beds. I can't wait to do it again!" Ebisumaru said. He sounded like a little kid who had just come home from an exciting day at a carnival.

"Well, that is certainly good to hear. Now then, we come to the hard part. Please hand in your keys." Everybody put their keys on the desk. "And that will be 750 ryo, please."

Ebisumaru began moving his hips in a slow, circular motion. He raised two fingers high above his head and waved them in time with his waist, while at the same time humming an eerie tune.

Yae and Sasuke had heard of Ebisumaru's infamous "Hypnotic Dance," but they had never had the misfortune of seeing it for themselves. They wanted to look somewhere else, but for some reason they couldn't peel their eyes away from the layers of fat that jiggled as Ebisumaru moved in this suggestive manner. There was definitely something unnaturally mind-numbing about the undulation of Ebisumaru's blubber.

The innkeeper was also staring intently, at least until something brought his expression closer to a frown than Goemon and his friends had ever seen him have. This something was Ebisumaru removing the outer layer of his clothes, but before he could get very far, Goemon placed a bag of coins on the innkeeper's desk and said "There. That's all of it." Fearing that Ebisumaru would follow through with his promise to try his dance in order to get a discount for their stay, Goemon had gathered enough money from both Sasuke and Yae the previous night to cover the full price. He dragged Ebisumaru out by the arm and Sasuke and Yae followed, their eyes blank and their steps slow.

"Oh, but Goemon, it was working. The innkeeper was going to give us that discount, I just know it," Ebisumaru complained.

"I don't know what innkeeper you were watching, but I don't think anybody would ever give a discount to somebody who does that. Fix your clothes, people are staring." Ebisumaru whined and did as Goemon commanded.

It was at that moment that Sasuke and Yae finally snapped out of their stupor. Yae pulled the antenna out of Sasuke's back. The clockwork ninja stood there, concentrating on interpreting the signals he was receiving. "Well, Sasuke? Where to next?" Yae asked.

There was a moment's silence while everybody waited for their navigator to give his directions. "There!" Sasuke shouted. His arm thrust out and pointed towards the northwestern border of Zazen Town.

---

After hours of walking, Sasuke led Goemon, Ebisumaru and Yae to the mouth of a dense forest. Because the trees left little room for walking, they were often forced to proceed in a single file line. The antenna coming out of Sasuke's back compressed into a silver circle. "I shouldn't need that anymore," he said. "We're almost there. I can feel it."

Goemon looked up at the trees surrounding them. There was no sign of wildlife in any of them. Not a single nest was situated in any of the branches. "I would suggest putting our stuff in one of those trees, but I don't want to waste another hour looking for them later," he said. "Of course, in this place it might take a lot longer to find them." Goemon assumed that Ebisumaru had eaten most of the contents of his sack on the way here, but Goemon still had some useful items in his own pack that he didn't want to lose. "Wait right here, guys. I'm gonna put my stuff near the entrance of the forest."

"Hold on, take mine, too, Goemon," Ebisumaru said. He tossed his nearly empty sack to Goemon, who picked it up and turned around.

"Don't get lost, Goemon," Yae shouted after him.

"Don't worry, I'll only be gone for a minute," Goemon replied. He ran off and soon disappeared in the maze of trees.

Ebisumaru, Sasuke and Yae didn't know whether they should stay where they were to wait for Goemon, or if they should keep moving towards the Jewel of Light. It didn't take much thought to realize that it would be disastrous if they got separated, so they stood there and observed their surroundings. The forest was absolutely silent. There was no breeze, no animals, and the three ninjas didn't move a muscle as they waited for Goemon to return.

However, this silence didn't last for long. A distant sound could be heard, like a powerful sea breeze. It grew louder and fiercer, and was soon mixed with the sound of splintering wood. Yae looked in the direction of the sound just in time to see its source. "Look out!" she shouted. She grabbed Ebisumaru and Sasuke and dove out of the way of a giant tornado that had ripped the trees in its path right out of the ground. There was nothing left where the tornado had plowed through, save for some strewn branches and leaves. After passing by the three ninjas sprawled on the floor, it stopped and shrunk, eventually disappearing. Yae stood up, pulled out her katana, and waited for the source of the attack to reveal itself.