Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

by Neon Majestic

During the periods of time skipped over by official records, people did not sit in a vacuum. They lived their lives, being who they were, doing what they were able to do. These chronicles tell tales of people who lived at the same time as the Kyuushingai. SUPPLEMENT to "Kitsune no Ken: Fist of the Fox." GAIDEN 64, "Mist City Chronicles, Part 8," now up!

60. Reckoning, Part 4

Kitsune no Ken GAIDEN Chronicles

Written by Neon Majestic

(DISCLAIMER: The Naruto franchise and the characters therein belong to and were originally created by Masashi Kishimoto.)

OoOoO

GAIDEN 60 – Reckoning, Part 4

(N.B. This Gaiden takes place immediately after the events of Gaiden 44.)

Thursday, August 3, 9:00 a.m.

"We begin with a developing story," the news anchor spoke gravely on TV screens across the country. "Nearly all police officers assigned to the Whirl City precinct have called in sick this morning, according to a release from the national police federation, and other officers assigned to other precincts on the country's mainland are said to have informed their divisions that they will also not be turning up for work today. Reports suggest that the absent officers are standing in solidarity with one of their own from Whirl City, who is said to have been recently suspended for what is being described as 'an unfair reason.' More in this report…"

In one apartment in particular, the door between the bedroom and the bathroom was wide open, with the TV on full volume as the newscast continued. In the bathroom, the occupant—a woman with shoulder-length green hair, with two yellow strands of hair coming down either side of her face from her brow—carefully rinsed herself with mechanical movements, her ears focused on the TV as a reporter's voice came on in the news anchor's place.

"I'm here outside the Whirl City Police Station just now, and while you'd normally expect police officers to be reporting in early for duty at this time, so far only a small number of men and women in uniform have actually turned up, plus a few others who've identified themselves as either janitorial staff or civilians coming in to make reports," the reporter was saying—and the woman, still listening, mentally noted that this segment of the news had to have been pre-recorded ahead of the 9:00 broadcast. "But the police have so far been tight-lipped about the exact circumstances concerning the reduced manpower here at the precinct. Additionally, efforts to contact Whirl City's police chief Kaiza for a comment have so far been unsuccessful, and the mayor's office has refused to comment at this time, saying that city officials will release a statement later today."

The woman shut the shower off and stepped out, towel in hand to dry herself off. "Good luck getting them to talk the truth," she growled under her breath.

"In other cities and towns, reports have been coming in to our news center that their local precincts have a similarly lower police presence than normal, with amateur video footage being supplied as evidence of this morning's phenomenon," the reporter continued. "In Suna City, for instance, only the desk sergeant and a few other officers could be seen at the precinct, while in Ame Town, only one police patrol car was sighted on the streets within the space of an hour. When our correspondents sought comments from the few officers who were seen on duty as to why their colleagues were absent, the police declared that they were not in a position to speak to such matters at this time."

The reporter continued speaking on the TV, even while the woman came back into the bedroom and began to dress for the day as she continued listening to the newscast. "But an answer to the question of why the police were absent came half an hour ago, from the vice-president of the national police federation, Detective Sergeant Enomoto Ibara. In an exclusive interview on our radio sister-station, Ms. Enomoto said that the police officers' sick-out has come in response to the suspension of Whirl City's police chief Kaiza, and also in response to the recent events which unfolded at Parliament. Speaking specifically to Mr. Kaiza's suspension, which was said to be in response to certain actions following the recent self-outing of Uzumaki Naruto as a former member of the Kyuushingai, this was what Ms. Enomoto had to say…"

Then a picture-graphic showcasing a brown-haired woman with the name Enomoto Ibara underneath it appeared on the screen, and a recording of her voice blared from the TV while the green-haired woman picked up the remote to lower the volume somewhat. "It's very simple," Ibara was saying. "Our police officers are sick, all right—sick of unfair treatment, imbalanced justice, and good officers of the law being punished for making hard decisions that nobody else should ever have to make. We risk our lives out on the streets every time we go to work in the morning, and what thanks do we get? Being trodden underfoot and then forgotten, as if all our hard work was nothing more than a waste of time. Well, that is exactly what has happened to Mr. Kaiza, a decorated officer who has gone through more tribulation in his career than some entire precincts ever endure COMBINED. And we are saying that what was done to him was wrong and uncalled for, and we insist that the powers that be should move immediately to reinstate him, and not just to reinstate him, but to also apologize to him for putting him in this humiliating position."

The green-haired woman, now clad in a blue tank-top and black shorts, went out of the bedroom to the kitchen and opened her fridge, taking out a covered dish; uncovering it revealed a half-eaten submarine sandwich which she proceeded to eat right there and then. The TV was still on in the bedroom, though, and she could hear its volume just the same as she sat down at the kitchen-island and continued munching away.

"But in a swift response a short while ago, the police federation president, Maboroshi Kisuke, condemned the actions of the dissenting officers and at the same time distanced himself and the police federation from Ms. Enomoto's comments," the news went on.

Then a man's voice came on the screen, and the woman immediately brought up a mental picture identifying Maboroshi Kisuke's voice with a face she'd seen many times before: a brown-haired man with a distinctive hair-bang hanging down one side of his face, and very prominent cheekbones that accentuated the stern look he always seemed to wear. "Ms. Enomoto's comments, which I heard on the radio earlier this morning, do not reflect the views of the wider police federation," he was saying in a sharp tone. "If she and other officers believe that a fellow officer has been unjustly treated, there are better and more mature ways of addressing the issue than what has transpired this morning. But if Mr. Kaiza was given disciplinary action for whatever reason, allow it to run its legal and lawful course—don't try to hold the rest of the country to ransom just because of one issue that you don't like. Besides which, events such as this only provide a clear and present invitation for criminals to not only run amok themselves, but to also spit on the authority of the police. How can we speak to others about respecting the rule of law, if we do not strive to respect it ourselves?"

The woman shook her head. "You were always a fool, Kisuke," she mumbled through her sandwich.

Riiiiiiing! Riiiiiing!

Her cell-phone, left in the bedroom, rang loudly enough to overpower the TV's volume; setting the sandwich down, she hurried back into the room and nabbed the device with one hand while grabbing the remote with the other to lower the volume. Glancing at the phone's caller-ID, she sighed and answered it. "Hello."

"Detective Takumi Kujaku." The same voice of Maboroshi Kisuke which she'd heard on the news moments ago now sounded into her ear. "Why are you not at work? Don't you have cases to follow up on?"

"I've got a sick-day today. I have a notice from my doctor," Kujaku replied.

"I see. So if I come over to your house right now and ask to see that notice, will I see his signature and ink-stamp on it as well?"

"You actually want to come here and see me? I'm truly touched, Lieutenant Maboroshi, sir."

"Don't start the sarcasm with me, detective. I don't have the patience for it this morning." The scowl could be heard in Kisuke's voice. "I'm actually a few blocks away from your place right now. Make sure your written excuse is at hand when I get there."

It was Kujaku's turn to scowl as the call abruptly disconnected. "Douchebag," she muttered as she put down the phone. "Well, time to brace for the hurricane."

Heading back out of the bedroom and to the kitchen-island, she finished the rest of her sandwich and took the plate to the sink, washing it thoroughly and putting it on the dish-rack to dry. Then she sat at the kitchen-island and continued listening to the TV's still-running newscast.

"And Prime Minister Kazahana Sousetsu has issued a statement concerning the police force's action today. In a release from the Office of the Prime Minister, Mr. Kazahana has ordered that all police officers who are capable of carrying out their duties must immediately report to their commanding officers to receive their instructions. He said, quote, 'The issues which appear to have triggered this action from our uniformed men and women are best handled at the discussion table in an appropriately scheduled and directed forum, not by withholding a necessary service which is closely tied to the issue of the nation's security. Do not give any lawbreaking elements in our country an excuse to further disregard law and order, but set an example for the rest of the populace by doing your duty according to law and order.'"

"Bull, Mr. Prime Minister," Kujaku sneered in the direction of the TV.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock!

Her eyes narrowing as she heard the pounding at her door, Kujaku got up and went to answer it…and standing outside, as she expected, was Lieutenant Maboroshi Kisuke, his hands stiffly at his sides and a severe look on his face. "Hello, Lieutenant," Kujaku said casually, leaning against the door-frame.

"Detective," Kisuke said in a steely tone. "I don't see the physical excuse you claim to have for why you haven't reported to work. Plus, you look healthy enough to me, if you're able to answer your door on your own strength."

"You know, you're right, I don't have it on hand. Wait a minute, would you, while I fetch it?" and without waiting for an answer Kujaku turned her back on Kisuke and headed back toward her bedroom.

Kisuke didn't bother to follow her in, but he looked around at what he could see of the dwelling from the doorway. From where he was standing, he could somewhat see right into the bedroom, where Kujaku appeared to be bustling about quite heatedly, grabbing random things he couldn't exactly make out…then she came out and strutted back toward him, holding what appeared to be a magazine in hand. Before he could open his mouth to comment, she thrust the book up into his face. "Okay. What do you see here?" she demanded.

He cocked an eyebrow. "A magazine?"

"Real clever." There was no humor in her tone. "What exactly do you see on the page I'm showing you?" and she shook the magazine for emphasis.

Snorting in annoyance, Kisuke now bothered to actually look at the magazine's page that was up in his face—and what he saw made him scowl more than he'd been doing earlier. "Kyuushingai in Konoha?" he read aloud. "Okay, so you like reading trashy gossip publications in your down-time. So?"

"Do you not see whose image is plastered on that page with that headline?" Kujaku asked indignantly.

"Sure…that Uzumaki kid," Kisuke offered.

"And Nii Yugito!" Kujaku exploded. "Both of them—identified as Kyuushingai!" Her eyes narrowed. "Although I'm sure everybody in the Kumo City Police Department already knew about Yugito long before this thing was ever published, right?"

"I fail to see what this has to do with your excuse for not reporting in, detective." There was an ominous note in Kisuke's voice.

"This is my excuse, Lieutenant Maboroshi!" Kujaku snapped. "One of this country's finest cops gets dumped on, and these—these—excuses for human beings are allowed to roam free and get all the perks of law-abiding citizens? Where is the justice in that? Tell me!"

Kisuke's brow was fully furrowed now. "Kujaku, Whirl City's disciplinary matters with their chief of police are their business, not yours. And I refuse to stand by while any of the officers under my direct command throw a tantrum in an effort to reverse a decision that doesn't affect them directly."

"Oh, the hell it doesn't affect us directly," Kujaku hissed at him. "Especially us in Kumo City's police force. We had a Kyuushingai among us, and we've failed to bring her to book—just like how that Uzumaki kid slipped out of Whirl City's fingers back when they had him."

WHAP!

Kujaku started as Kisuke slapped his hand on the wall near the door. "Cut the crap!" he shouted at her. "We both know you've had a beef with Yugito from long before the 365 days' incident was even a concept. Her turning out as one of the Nine Terrors is just a convenient excuse for you to keep this ridiculous chip on your shoulder. Being a cop isn't a competition, Kujaku, but for whatever reason you always treated your job like you and she were in contest with each other. But frankly, I can't recall anywhere in the police academy handbook where it says you're supposed to be in any kind of rivalry with your fellow officers for any reason. You needed to get over it then, and you still need to get over it now!"

"Are you done?" Kujaku asked frostily.

"As a matter of fact, no." Kisuke returned her glare. "Take your pick right now. Either you quit participating in this little tantrum and report to work like usual, or you set yourself up for disciplinary action. What's your decision, detective?"

Kujaku's eyebrows knitted together at that. "Wait right there again." She turned on her heel and stalked back toward her bedroom. Only a few seconds later, she grabbed what she'd gone there to retrieve and came back to the front door—and she was holding her badge in one hand and her holstered gun in the other. "How's about I save you the trouble of a disciplinary hearing," and she tossed both items out the door, they landing on the ground behind Kisuke.

Her superior officer turned to look at the items as they lay on the ground. Then he turned to look at her again, indignation on his face. "Kujaku…!"

"If you want to spit on our collective pride as cops by not sticking up for Kaiza, that's on you, Kisuke," Kujaku said coldly. "But I'm done tap-dancing to your beat. If you have nothing useful to say to me, then have a nice life." And she slammed the door in his face, the sound of a bolt sliding into place following a second later.

Kisuke stared for a long moment at the shut door. Then he sighed. "Oh, Kujaku," he growled under his breath as he turned and bent down to pick up the discarded gun and badge, before straightening up and walking away from the door.

OoOoO

Whirl City, 9:45 a.m.

The four suited men of the Whirl City Police Department's Internal Affairs department sat together in their conference room, looking grim. "So this is what Kaiza's started," Suit One drawled.

"He's got charisma with the department's officers—there's no denying that," Suit Two remarked. "And it's not just our cops—over on the mainland, several precincts are also reporting a serious decline in the number of their men and women failing to turn up for duty."

Suit Three pinched his nose-bridge between his thumb and forefinger and sighed heavily. "If I may say, on a personal level, I don't think it'll be only the police," he said. "My wife and I were talking this morning. Apparently she's hearing a few little rumblings from some of her fellow teachers here in Whirl City…they're thinking of planning strike action for the first school day in September in protest against Kaiza's suspension."

"So the gossipy hens have already started wagging their tongues, eh?" Suit Four wondered aloud. "I'm not surprised. My son told me at breakfast today that one of his friends said a teacher from their school came by the friend's house last night to talk to the boy's sister—she's a secretary at Uzushio High—and they were talking pretty specifically about the Uzumaki boy. Apparently, they were openly blaming him for Kaiza's suspension."

"It's only been two days and already the word-of-mouth is spreading fast. Ugh." Suit One groaned. "And like you said, Kaiza's got charisma. He's popular with the people of Whirl City. If it gets out far enough, we might wind up with a full-scale riot on our hands."

"Which is why we need to nip this in the bud right now," Suit Two said grimly.

"What's being done to do that?" Suit Three asked.

"I already asked one of my subordinates to get proactive on this," said Suit Four. "We should get an update by the latest noon today…"

OoOoO

Kaiza was on the front porch of his house, standing on the first few rungs of a ladder, hammering a board into place along the top section of the front door. The sound of a car pulling up on the roadway caught his ear, and he glanced briefly at the vehicle before turning back to the task at hand, not bothering to look again as the sound of the car's door opening and then slamming shut carried over to him, followed moments later by determined footsteps coming up the walkway.

"Kaiza," a familiar voice spoke in a dark tone.

He deigned to look behind him again, cocking an eyebrow as he did so. "Tokisuki Kabure," he called the visitor by name. "I'm surprised you even remember where I live. Did the Internal Affairs idiots decide to give you a break and let you off your leash for the day?"

Kabure, a stout-bodied man with pointed brown hair, scowled at that. "Come on, Kaiza, don't be like that. We're not the bad guys in Internal Affairs; we're just here to make sure cops stay honest."

Kaiza carefully hammered a nail into a section of the board. "Your superiors sure could have fooled me."

Kabure glanced at the door. "Is your daughter here?"

"No, she's not. I sent her out to buy groceries for dinner later." Kaiza began hammering in another nail.

"Good. Then I can speak freely." Kabure nodded. "I'm sure you know about what's happening across the country with the various police departments. Cops are refusing to show up for work, and the federation's V.P. specifically mentioned you as the reason. And right here in our neck of the woods, our precinct's manpower is almost nonexistent now."

"Your point?" Kaiza asked.

"Kaiza, I don't know what you said or did to cause this, but—" Kabure started.

"I didn't cause anything, Kabure," Kaiza interrupted flatly. "Your bosses started this ball rolling when they put me on suspension for the crime of being caught between a rock and a hard place. You want to blame what's happening now on anybody, blame it on them."

"My point is, all of this revolves around you. Which means that you have the power to put a stop to it. Probably not in the wider country, but at least here in Whirl City." Kabure's eyes narrowed. "The cops here will listen to you. The rest of the city, by extension, they will listen to you. Make them stop this."

Kaiza finished hammering the latest nail, stepped down from off the ladder, and turned to face Kabure fully. "I don't have that kind of power that you seem to think I have. I'm on suspension right now, remember? And even if I wasn't, I can't influence people's free will or force them to do anything they don't want to do. If Internal Affairs wanted to recommend that I be relieved of duty even temporarily, that was their choice. If people here in Whirl City or anywhere else want to react to that movement, that is their choice. And by further extension, whatever the higher authorities want to do to resolve this whole matter, one way or another, it will be their choice. And we must all reap the results of every choice we make."

Kabure folded his arms over his chest. "And by your own logic, aren't you also reaping the rewards of your own choices?"

Kaiza cocked an eyebrow. "Do you wish to elaborate on that remark?"

"I read the report, Kaiza. I know what transpired with the Star-Boys gangsters. I read their statements that they submitted to the police through their legal counsel, I read your daughter's statements, and I read your statements too." Kabure's look was steely. "You were hit with a difficult decision—cooperate with the Star-Boys to kill Uzumaki Naruto in exchange for them sparing Hokuto's life, or refuse and have her be subjected to their not-so-gracious mercies. Then you faced another decision—to cooperate with Uzumaki, a young man you and the lion's share of Whirl City have held in contempt even before he exposed himself as one of the Terrors, in an effort to save Hokuto, or refuse to work with him and, again, have her left to the mercies of Sumaru and his goons. There were always going to be repercussions no matter what you chose, Kaiza, but hear this—all of those choices were, in themselves, the fruit you wound up reaping because of a particular choice you made prior to all of that."

"…which was?" Kaiza prompted him in a low voice.

Kabure's look did not falter. "To keep clinging tightly to a long-dead ghost instead of letting her go."

The hammer was still in Kaiza's hand—and in one swift, sharp movement he swung it up so that he was pointing its business end right in Kabure's face. "We are done here. I have a home improvement project to finish before Hokuto comes back. I would suggest you let me get back to it." His tone was still low, but now with an added hint of warning.

"…have a good day." Kabure turned on his heel and went back to his car, and in a moment he was driving away, mindful that Kaiza was still watching him all the while.

OoOoO

"…I see." Suit Four spoke coolly into his phone. "So that was his response."

"I'm sorry, sir," and the apology was clear in Kabure's voice.

"You needn't apologize," said Suit Four. "You did as you were instructed, plain and simple. And you made an effort to avoid escalation of a stressful situation."

"Shall I come back to the office now, sir?"

"Not yet." Suit Four's brow furrowed. "Listen…"

OoOoO

Yu City, 10:15 a.m.

The gray-colored Honda Accord cruised leisurely along the city's suburban streets, Minato at the wheel and carefully looking around as he drove toward his destination. "Hmm…here we are," he muttered a moment later, having spotted where he wanted to go—a certain comfortable-looking family house. "All right, then."

He eased the car up to the sidewalk in front of the house and parked, momentarily stepping out and going up to the front gate and pressing the buzzer. Then he took a step back and waited, eyes narrowing.

"Hello?" a voice came over the speaker.

"Oishi Taiseki?"

"Yes. Who is it?"

"My name is Namikaze Minato, from the Ministry of Justice. I need to speak with you urgently, please."

"…the Ministry of Justice? Do you have ID on you?"

"I do."

There was a momentary pause. "All right, then, I'll be out in a minute."

Minato waited. Then he saw the front door open, and out came Taiseki, his gun-holster securely in place and one hand cautiously fingering the firearm as he approached the gate. For a moment Taiseki's brow furrowed as he looked at his visitor. "Let's see that ID," he spoke up.

"Sure." Minato eyed the other man's gun. "I'm taking it out of my coat now," and he slowly reached into his coat, pulled out his government ID, and held it up so Taiseki could see it clearly.

"Hmm…" Taiseki examined the card for a full minute. "Yeah, you're legit. So, Mr. Namikaze, how can I help you?"

"I won't beat around the bush," said Minato. "I'm here concerning your old academy batch-mate, Mr. Kaiza from Whirl City. We've received a report that you and he have been in contact and that the two of you made communication with Uzumaki Naruto in Konoha Town."

Taiseki's expression was impassive. "I think this is the part where I ask to speak to my attorney before I say another word to you."

"Oh, sure, by all means. It's within your right for you to ask," said Minato. "In fact, why don't you call him up right now, and while you're on the phone with him, you tell him how any refusal to cooperate with a government investigator might put you at risk of being arrested for obstruction of justice."

"Don't try to scare me. I'm a cop. I know all the terminology already." Taiseki turned and walked back toward the house. "I'll be inside making that phone call now."

"And I'll be here, waiting for your lawyer to show up," and now Minato went back in the car and settled in his seat, eyeing Taiseki as the other man headed inside the house.

OoOoO

Elsewhere, at that very moment…

"…so that's what you're doing, then, Itachi?"

"You got it, Yugito. Minato-sama's marching orders, after this morning's news broadcast," Uchiha Itachi answered as he drove along the highway, his phone conversation being hands-free as the device was securely locked in place on his dashboard. "He said to get a sense of what your current standing is with Kumo City's mayor."

"Well, don't be surprised if he gives you a frosty response when you mention my name," Yugito advised him. "The last time he and I exchanged words, I was…less than pleasant to him."

"The time you opposed his decision to downplay the death toll in Kumo City from the 365 days—yes, I remember you spoke a few times about that," said Itachi. "Don't worry, I'll see if the Uchiha family charm can win him over. He and my father are longtime friends, so I should at least be able to have an audience with him."

"Good luck with that. While you're doing that, I'll be following Minato-sama's instructions and keeping as low a profile as possible."

"What will you do in the meantime?"

"Continue training Hinata, of course. And probably Sakura-san and Ino-san, too, if it's needed. Hinata's been inviting them here to train with her, since they're close enough in size, weight and experience to be adequate sparring partners for her. Talking of which, Sasuke-kun is continuing his training, too, isn't he?"

Itachi chuckled at that. "Sasuke's kept up his training routine religiously, with and without me there. He's determined that he won't lose to Naruto, Kyuushingai or not."

"I have to say, Itachi…these kids all have some serious potential. Don't you think so?"

"No argument there. I'd like to see how far their potential takes them. And where Hinata especially is concerned…you've been a great influence on her, Yugito, make no mistake about that." Itachi made no effort to restrain the smile coming onto his mouth.

"I guess I have, haven't I." He could hear the smile in Yugito's tone. "Anyway, I'm gonna let you get back to the mission. Good luck, okay?"

"Thanks. I'll see you soon."

"Okay. Bye."

OoOoO

At the exact moment Itachi and Yugito were having their phone conversation, back over in Whirl City…

Hokuto wheeled her shopping cart to the cashier's table, placed her items on the counter, and waited patiently as the cashier rung up her bill. Paying the required money, she watched the bagger transfer the groceries to two shopping bags, and with a gracious "Thank you," she accepted the bags and passed through the supermarket's sliding doors, stepping out onto the sidewalk. "Shopping's done, time to get home now…"

"Hokuto-san?"

Poised to start her walk home, she froze where she was on hearing her name called. She looked in the direction of the speaker, a man who was only just then emerging from his parked car. "Tokisuki Kabure, from the Internal Affairs division at the precinct," he introduced himself, pulling out his ID and holding it up for her to see.

Hokuto looked at the ID, then at the newcomer. "You're here about my father," she said knowingly.

He nodded. "I am. I saw him a little earlier, and…that meeting could have been better, I'll admit."

"So why come to me? This whole issue with Dad has nothing to do with me, even if he is my father," Hokuto said flatly.

"Maybe not. But…" Kabure glanced skyward for a moment before setting his eyes back on Hokuto. "I think I'd rather have a conversation with you to find out what your thoughts are. Hokuto-san, no matter how this whole brouhaha goes…don't you think it would be okay to at least make sure you and your dad come out of it okay, and that somebody at least was able and willing to listen to your views on it all? And besides…those bags of yours look pretty heavy, and your house is quite a walk from here."

Hokuto frowned. She looked at the bags in her hands, then back at Kabure. "Are you being square with me about wanting to hear my thoughts?"

"Only if you're willing to share what Hokuto thinks," said Kabure. "Not the police chief's daughter, not a girl who people have certain expectations of because of who she's connected to—just the real and honest you."

Hokuto's fingers gripped the handles of her shopping bags tightly…then she sighed. "Could we maybe go to one of the cafés near here? I think I'd like an orange tea."

Kabure nodded. "Sure. I know just the place for that."

OoOoO

END GAIDEN 60

00000

NEON MAJESTIC: All right, folks…after roughly five months since the last Gaiden chapter that I uploaded, I am back and rearing to go! And…honestly, I need to apologize for the lengthy wait, it's just that things have been honestly hard for me in recent weeks, between having to deal with work, the policy changes surrounding this blasted pandemic, and bouts of personal issues. And yet, I still want to flesh out the Kitsune no Ken universe as best I can so that you readers get value for your reading time, which is why I have been spending quite some time mapping out the timeline for the story, including the various points when the different Gaiden chapters take place in the timeline, in order for the whole story to flow smoothly.

Now, to the characters I have brought to the fore in this Gaiden chapter. In canon, Ibara—previously introduced during the forty-fourth Gaiden chapter—was a housewife who hated Naruto for being a jinchuriki, and she didn't have a revealed surname. Here, she's been given the surname Enomoto, for ease of reference. In like manner, Kujaku, who didn't have a surname in the canon anime arc she appeared in, takes her surname here from the village she hails from. (As a matter of fact, I've been thinking for some time now about going back and giving everyone a surname in this story who didn't have any surnames or full names revealed in canon. It just seems weird to have people referring to one another without them having full names.)

Also, in canon, Maboroshi Kisuke was a member of Konoha's Anbu, so it makes sense to make him the president of the police federation here in this story. Meanwhile, Tokisuki Kabure was a Konoha chunin in canon.

And, as far as this particular Gaiden-exclusive "Reckoning" arc is concerned—writing stories with the kind of conflict as presented in this arc is a lot harder than it looks. When writing stories that have problems which can't simply be solved by punching, you have to make it so that all the players in the story have compelling reasons for doing what they do, and the end result has to both be satisfying and make sense. It's my sincere hope that, once this arc is finally completed, both will turn out to be the case (which is especially difficult when you're writing different Gaiden chapters in a non-chronological order, such as how all the Gaiden chapters to date have been written).

Now…next Gaiden chapter, we won't be heading right into the next segment of this particular arc. Instead, we'll be going back to the heroes of a different subplot in this whole story—the protagonists of the Mist City Chronicles, chronologically taking place prior to Chapter 1 of the main Kitsune no Ken plot, and what we have coming up is them preparing to take part in the mysterious Zenkusen tournament! Stay tuned!