Chapter Thirty-Seven
A few days after the examination of Anko's seal, Ken asked the rest of the Uzumaki to meet him outside at the crack of dawn with everything they would need for training. When they filed out, Ken was waiting for them with a decidedly neutral expression. Ken's warnings about Danzo flashed through Karin's mind and she gave the minor effort to sense his chakra to confirm it was Ken's, nodding to herself that it was.
Ken greeted them a good morning, with Naruto grumbling about it being way too early, and led them through the winding streets of the village and then into the forests within, eventually stopping at the shores of a small lake formed by a wide portion of one of the rivers running through the village. "Welcome, Uzumaki clan," the clone said, "to the future site of our clan compound."
"Our what?" they all asked.
"I've been searching for a site for our new compound," Ken explained. "I started when I first moved here, but only really got serious after the Chunin Exams." After we found you two. "We can't stay in the rental house forever, and I wanted to have a place to call our own." He gestured at the small lake. "This is the closest thing to a shoreline Konoha has, and the Lord Hokage has permitted us to purchase a plot of land and begin building. He even recommended an architect whom I've been consulting with and we've got the plans pretty much done."
The trio were stunned before Kaori lifted her fingers to her lips in thought. "Ken, I understand the reasons and I support them fully," she said, "but how can we afford this?"
"I've set up a loan with the First Bank of Konoha," he explained. "And we'll pay that in installments."
"What about Danzo?" Karin asked.
"He won't be a problem," Ken assured. "Lord Hiruzen has promised to assign ANBU to watch over the site until the compound is ready." He grinned. "And after that, when I've had time to really install 'security,' there's no way he and his ilk will be able to touch us inside our home."
"We're gonna have a home," Karin whispered.
"We're gonna have a home!" Naruto cheered and began to run around, cackling like a madman.
"Granted, they haven't even surveyed," Ken pointed out, "so it'll take about six months to finish construction."
"Details," Naruto waved off. "We're gonna have a house!"
"I'm glad everyone's happy," Ken said. "Because I thought we'd train here today. We're gonna be training on this land for years to come, so why not start now?" He gestured for them to gather up and nodded as they did so before taking some slips of brown paper from his pocket.
"Hey," Naruto piped up, "are those-?"
"Yes they are," Ken said. "Chakra induction paper. Naruto, would you explain to Kaori and Karin what these are?"
"Yeah, sure!" Naruto said, happy to be able to show off book knowledge for once. "You channel your chakra into it and it changes to tell you what your best element is."
"Well put," Ken noted, handing pieces of the paper out to each of his family. "As Naruto just said, how it reacts tells you what your affinity element is. For example-" he held up his paper and it crumbled into dirt, "-my chakra leans toward Earth Release. Naruto, would you show them yours?"
Naruto grinned and channeled his chakra, the paper splitting in two.
"That indicates Naruto's Wind affinity," Ken explained. Then he gestured to Karin.
Karin glanced between her male clanmates before setting her features and channeling her chakra. The paper in her hand grew visibly damp. "I'm guessing that's a Water affinity," Karin said.
"You guess correctly," Ken chuckled. "And now you, Kaori."
Kaori nodded and did as everyone else had … and her paper wrinkled and crumpled in on itself. "What is that?" she asked.
"Lightning," Ken said, laughing. "I can't believe you all fit the trifecta."
"What's a tri-whatever?" Naruto asked.
"The elements of the storm," Kaori said, her tone wistful. "I haven't heard of that in years."
"Elements of the storm?" Karin asked.
"Each of the major nations has a most common affinity," Ken explained. "Ninja native to the Land of Fire most commonly have a fire affinity, Suna has more Wind natures than anyone else, the Raikage are all renowned users of Lightning Release, and so on. It's also common for certain ninja clans to have a common affinity. The Sarutobi are known for their use of Fire Release, for example, as were the Uchiha."
"So what does that have to do with us?" Naruto asked.
"The Uzumaki clan didn't have one common affinity," Kaori picked up. "They had three, which they called the elements of the storm."
"Whoa!" Naruto said, stars in his eyes.
"What were they?" Karin asked.
"Wind and Water were the most common," Ken said, "and Lightning close behind." He huffed a laugh. "Fire was less common, but still prevalent. Probably because we kept such strong ties to Konoha."
"What about Earth?" Karin quickly asked, glancing with a haughty grin at Naruto counting elements on his fingers. He gave her a light glare in return before they refocused on Ken.
"Earth was rather rare for Uzumaki," Ken admitted. "I'm lucky my grandfather had learned it during his ANBU career or it would have been a pretty big inconvenience."
"So are we gonna learn cool element techniques?" Naruto asked, visibly pumping himself up.
"Not quite yet, kiddo," Ken said, and Naruto visibly deflated. "What do we say about the basics?"
"'You learn the small stuff to make the big stuff easier'," Naruto groaned.
"Exactly," Ken said with a smile. From his pocket he removed a small booklet that he thumbed through. "Each element has different exercises for conversion. Let me see … aha!" Ken moved to pluck a leaf from a tree and handed it to Naruto. "Your first task is to cut this leaf in half using only your chakra," Ken instructed.
"Cut it in half?" Naruto echoed.
"Yep," Ken said with a smile. He hummed in thought. "Give it a shot on your own and I'll ask Tomoko for some pointers later. She's mastered Wind Release." Naruto nodded and dropped into a cross-legged sitting position to begin focusing his chakra.
Ken consulted his booklet again and nodded before placing his hand on the ground and fashioning an earthen cup before he crossed over to the river and filled it with water. He brought the cup to Karin and handed it to her. "Okay Karin. Your exercise is to place your hand on the side of the cup and force the water to shift to one side while leaving the other dry."
Karin looked at him like he was crazy, but shrugged and sat down as well to focus on her exercise.
Finally, he moved on to Kaori and passed her an iron needle and ball bearing. "And for you, Kaori, your exercise is to produce enough electricity to magnetize this ball bearing and attach the needle." Unlike with the others, Ken demonstrated by holding the iron ball in the fingers of his left hand and the needle in his opposite palm. He visibly concentrated and touched the ball to the needle before lifting it again, the needle rising with the ball.
"Oh my," Kaori whispered.
"Yeah, I started learning Lightning before I came here. I haven't made a lot of progress since, though." He smiled self-depreciatively and handed her the materials. "Give it a try."
As Kaori took the ball and needle, a thought struck her. "How long does it usually take to master these exercises?"
"These low-level ones?" Ken asked, and kaori nodded. "About six months or so. And that's from Academy graduates with a year or two under their belts." At the gobsmacked looks on all of their faces, he gently laughed. "Look everyone, there's a reason that very few people are recorded as ever having mastered all five elements. It takes a long time."
"Who has?" Naruto asked, eyes shining.
"Off the top of my head," Ken said, "I know that the first three Hokage did, the second Tsuchikage, and I've heard rumors that Orochimaru and Kakashi Hatake have, too." He glanced at Naruto. "Note, Naruto, that out of the hundreds or thousands of ninja to come from the Hidden Leaf, only five are known to have mastered all five and the two extra."
Naruto squinted his eyes before they shot open again and he grinned, his eyes practically burning with blue fire. "Well, I'll be the sixth, y'know! Just one more step toward being Hokage!" He focused on his leaf. "And Wind, you're first in line!"
Ken nodded and, after resolving to have the kids learn the Water-Walking Exercise soon, decided to continue his own training in Lightning Release. Like the kids, he took a seat as he held his hands about a foot from each other. He concentrated, focusing on increasing the vibrations of his chakra until it converted into electricity … and arcs of blue-white plasma began to jump one-by-one between his hands. He grimaced, the goal to create one continuous stream, and concentrated even more.
Once he could sustain the current, he'd be ready to learn some Light Release techniques.
Across the village, a young girl was smiling faintly as she went through the chore of polishing her father's kunai and shuriken. Many might find it tedious, but her papa always said that taking care of the little things kept them from causing bigger problems down the line. Besides, if she did a good job he would take her to the clan's training yard to practice her marksmanship.
At age nine, the girl was somewhat plain — not at all ugly, but … unremarkable. Her charcoal-black hair hung to her shoulders while her bangs reached her eyebrows, both falling in spikes that refused to stay tamed. Her skin was pinkish, her cheeks always seemed flushed, and her gray eyes seemed dull. She wore a simple brown tunic tied with a length of red cord, loose trousers, and shinobi sandals, as well as bronze bracelets on her left wrist.
The girl was just finishing up when there were three firm, measured knocks at their door. "Hatsume, could you get that please?" her mother called from the other room.
"Yes ma'am," she called back as she put down her work and moved for the door. She opened it up, mustering a faint, welcoming smile … that wilted at the sight of the person who had come to call, her eyes widening in sheer shock.
At the door stood an elderly man with short, spiky black hair, his head and right eye wrapped in bandages and an X-shaped scar on his chin. His dark eyes were sharp and seemed to miss nothing, while his expression was almost painfully neutral. He was dressed in a white shirt under a strange black robe that hid his lower body and entire right arm, the other hand holding a cane.
"Hatsume, who's at the door?" her mother — a woman even more plain than her daughter with mousy brown hair in a braid and brown eyes — asked, entering the living room and stopping dead in her tracks. "Oh my … Lord Danzo." She bowed at the waist. "To what do we owe this … honor?"
"Mei Shimura," Danzo greeted stoically. "Wife of Han Shimura," he added, then he looked down at Hatsume. "And you must be Hatsume."
"Y-Yes, that's me," she said, trying to sound strong for the famed elder of her clan and the village.
"May I come in?" he asked, addressing Mei. She nodded hesitantly and motioned for him to enter and take a seat in their living room, a silent invitation that he took with something like grace. He settled with a few pops of old joints, carefully containing and grunts or groans. 'Blasted old bones,' he thought before focusing on the task at hand.
"How may we help you, Lord Danzo?" Mei asked, kneeling before the elder with her daughter by her side.
"I have a request of sorts to make of your daughter," he said. "An unofficial mission, if you will."
"What kind of mission?" Hatsume asked, both intimidated and intrigued.
"Gathering of intelligence," he explained. "You are familiar with a new classmate of yours, one Karin Uzumaki?"
"The new clansman of the Nine-Tails' jinchuriki," Hatsume added. "Yes sir, I am."
"And your thoughts?" he prompted.
"She's, uh …" Hatsume looked down and considered the question. "She's very smart. And she's getting better at practical skills every day. She has a temper, but usually keeps it under control." She looked up to meet that stoic gaze. "I think she will make a fine kunoichi for the village."
"Very good," Danzo commended. "And that is precisely the essence of your mission. I ask you to learn what you can about the girl. You will befriend her if possible and report to me on her progress in the Academy." Danzo reached his left hand into his robe and withdrew it to reveal rolls of bills that he handed to her. "I will, of course, compensate you and your family for your efforts for an extended, off-the-books mission."
Hatsume took the rolls with wide eyes, resisting the urge to start counting them. Her brows lowered as she considered what she was being offered. "Lord Danzo," she said carefully, "what is your interest in Karin Uzumaki?"
'A critical thinker,' Danzo thought. 'Good.'
"She and her mother are foreigners brought into the village with little analysis of their background. To me, this means they could be threats to the safety of the village." He tightened his grip on his cane. "They have been brought into a potentially influential clan recovering its numbers, and so I cannot make motions against them without … suspicion." He nodded to her. "Can I trust you to keep an eye on her and report anything … compromising?"
Hatsume glanced down at the money in her hand before looking back up to the elder of her clan. Danzo had a reputation for ruthlessness and duplicity, even among his own clan. His loyalty to the Hidden Leaf was beyond question, but rumors of his goals and the methods he used to pursue them were … unsavory, at best. At worst, he would be convicted of war crimes several times over.
Did she want to work for someone like that? Even distant family?
"As an added measure, I would be willing to personally instruct you in our clan's secret techniques," Danzo added. "Starting within the week."
Hatsume gasped, her thoughts whirling. Her father had said she would not be taught the Shimura clan's secret arts until she graduated from the Academy. But Lord Danzo was offering to teach her early … and as unsavory as his reputation was, no one could deny that he was a powerful and experienced shinobi.
"Well, Hatsume?" Danzo asked. "What do you say?"
Hatsume looked at her mother, who nodded faintly as if to say, 'This is your choice.'
"Shall I approach her over the summer?" Hatsume asked. "Or wait until the Academy starts back to avoid suspicion?"
Danzo narrowed his eyes a little, the barest shadow of a smile on his lips. "Should your paths cross, approach her directly. Should they not, you shall begin in the autumn."
"Yes, Lord Danzo," Hatsume said.
'Excellent,' Danzo thought.
"Why is this so hard?!" Naruto shouted. He'd been at this for hours and hadn't even made a cut in the leaf!
"If it were easy, everyone would do it," Ken noted. He hissed as he closed his hands against the burns that dotted them. "But it is time you all take a break. I want to introduce you to someone."
"Another revelation, Ken?" Kaori asked teasingly as she pocketed her needle and ball bearing in her dress. "At this rate, you'll lose your air of mystery within the week."
"Oh, I still have a few things up my sleeve," Ken assured. He bit his thumb to draw blood and flicked through a five hand seal chain that Naruto recognized immediately. "Summoning Technique!" he shouted for effect, clapping his palm to the ground.
In a burst of smoke, a slug the size of Naruto appeared before them all. The slug glanced around before bowing its head. "Greetings, honored Uzumaki," she said. "I am Lady Katsuyu of the Damp Bone Forest. A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"Hey, you're the slug from the Chunin Exams," Naruto said with all of the grace he was known for. "But you're way smaller. How does that work?"
"Naruto!" Karin scolded. "Show some respect!"
"Lady Katsuyu," Kaori greeted with a bow. "The honor is ours. I have heard many stories of your exploits with Lady Tsunade."
"Many were exaggerated, I'm sure," Katsuyu said modestly. She glanced back at Ken and her eye stalks twitched. "Young Ken, your hands are burnt."
"I've been training my Lightning Release," he explained. "I'll be fine in-"
Two small portions of Katsuyu peeled off into separate slugs that leapt to attach to his hands. When they did, they began to glow with faint green light and Ken felt the strangest sensation as his hands became both cold and warm. He grunted at the bizarre feeling, and Katsuyu's clones hopped off and re-merged with the main body, leaving Ken's hands covered in slime … and freshly healed.
"How did you do that?" Ken asked.
"I am no true healer," Katsuyu said, "but I have learnt much from Lady Tsunade just as she has learnt from me." She twisted a little in place, as if tilting her head. "It helps quite a bit that your life force is so potent. You could think of it as an extension of that Rejuvenating Bite of yours — it is slower, but has no side effects."
"Whoa," Naruto said. "You're so cool!"
"Why thank you, young Naruto," Katsuyu said, her eye stalks twisting around each other in something like pleased embarrassment.
"Lady Katsuyu?" Karin asked, going so far as to raise her hand.
"Yes, child?" Katsuyu said before shifting in place and turning back to Ken. "Ken, you have not given proper introductions," she gently scolded.
"Oh, right," Ken said with an embarrassed smile of his own. "Lady Katsuyu, you already recognized Naruto. But this is Kaori," the mother nodded with a smile, "and Karin Uzumaki."
"Much better," Katsuyu said before turning her attention back to Karin. "Now then, child, you were saying?"
"W-Well, ahum …" Karin stumbled, her cheeks reddening. "When I was little, my mama would tell me stories about Lady Tsunade and yourself that she mentioned." She twiddled her thumbs and bit her lip before her eyes flashed and she nodded resolutely. "Would you be willing to share some of them? Like how you met, or some of your best battles?"
Katsuyu seemed to consider the request for a moment before answering. "I suppose I could tell a tale or two," she replied in an almost motherly tone. "Please, sit. I do love stories."
The Uzumaki clan, Ken very much included, took seats and prepared for a story.
"Not long after Lady Tsunade had traveled to the Damp Bone Forest to join forces with me, she was sent on a mission with a comrade, a fellow ninja named Biwako Sarutobi …"
"The Lord Third's late wife?" Ken asked.
Katsuyu did not speak for several long moments, long enough for the silence to become uncomfortable. "Shall I continue, young Ken?" she asked.
"Yes, Milady," Ken said, cheeks red.
Katsuyu kept a tight vigil, two of her small selves on the shoulders of both Lady Tsunade and Lady Sarutobi. The two kunoichi had been dispatched to a remote coastal village that had seen a very strange ailment in recent weeks, with severe burns suddenly afflicting many of the townsfolk. Though the hidden village was still very much at war, the bizarre nature of the disease had caused enough concern about infection to have Lord Hiruzen dispatch two top-tier medical-nin to look into it.
"It seems to be some form of chemical burn," Tsunade noted to Katsuyu, whom she had summoned to continue developing their summoner bond. The clone on her shoulder nodded and the clone on Lady Biwako related the information.
"Agreed," Biwako said. "Now we must determine how they were afflicted."
"And how so many were targeted," Tsunade added.
The medical kunoichi had been healing for hours, and the fruits of their labor were clear as the line of afflicted had slowly shrunk until there were only a few left. Many of those cured had hung back to gather and watch with awe as the painful, burning welts and burns were healed by these miracle women whose hands glowed with jade light.
"Surely you are not ninja," the mayor said, "but angels."
"I assure you, sir," Biwako rebutted as she and Tsunade finished up with the last of the victims, "that we are indeed shinobi of Konohagakure. And mortal, besides."
"Let us hope so," a new, male voice said from above.
The kunoichi scattered as a large man crashed into the ground before them. He was a squat man of average height and heavy build, his hair and beard bleached white and several burn scars spread across his body. He wore a blue vest and dark hakama tied with a sash of green silk with a sheathed tanto tucked into it, while a headband of Kirigakure sat proudly on his forehead. And on his cheek sat a tattoo of the kanji, "Six."
"Moya of the Mist," Biwako breathed.
"Jinchuriki," Tsunade gasped.
"Yes, indeed," Moya said. "It's nice to see two lovely ladies are up-to-date on their bingo books."
"So you caused these ailments," Biwako surmised. "You must have laced the sea fog with your Boil Release acids. All to divert the Leaf's forces during the war effort."
"I personally did not care for this plan," Moya said matter-of-factly. "I thought it was very indirect and had little chance of any measurable effect." He shrugged. "But, who am I to defy my village and Kage?" His eyes suddenly hardened. "And perhaps when his wife is dead, the Hokage will lose some of his grip."
"You can try, fool!" Biwako snapped as she wove hand seals. Her cheeks swelled and she spat a stream of fire toward the jinchuriki that clung to the surfaces it touched like napalm, the Sarutobi clan's Majestic Flame Technique. Moya leapt from its path and handsprung into a safer area, the flames merely roasting the main street of the village.
"Bastard has us at a disadvantage," Tsunade noted, cracking her knuckles. "He doesn't care how many people get hurt while we need to worry about casualties."
"Watch your mouth, young lady," Biwako said harshly, in sheer reflex. "But you are correct. We need to move this somewhere else." With that, they nodded and raced for the edge of the village, hoping against hope that the jinchuriki would follow them rather than kill the villagers.
Luck was with them as the squat Kiri-nin followed, his dry expression revealing that he knew exactly what they were doing and was choosing to go along with it.
When they had made it some distance away, Biwako was breathing heavily. "Smart move on his part, waiting until we were done healing," she commented bitterly. "My chakra reserves are sorely low."
"Feeling your age, Lady Biwako?" Tsunade asked with a teasing smile.
"Lady Tsunade," Katsuyu said, "it is not polite to comment on any woman's age."
"Just wait, girl," Biwako snarked back. "Age comes for us all."
"Not me," Tsunade boasted. "I'll be young forever."
Their verbal sparring was halted by Moya's arrival. "It seems the hens are too busy gossiping to notice a chicken hawk in the coop," he commented. "Do try and keep up. I haven't had a good fight in ages." With that, Moya flicked through hand seals, summoning a dozen water clones that charged with battle cries.
Tsunade smirked and braced her stance. "Allow me, Lady Biwako," she said before charging in to meet the clones. In a blur of punches and kicks, the clones were decimated in a matter of moments to leave her standing proudly.
"Not bad," Moya admitted with a grin. "Guess it's time to step it up a notch." Rather than summon more water clones, Moya raced to engage them in person.
On her part, Tsunade narrowed her eyes with a faint smirk and gathered chakra in her fist, the sheer concentration forming a burning blue aura around it. With a fearsome cry, she struck the ground, and the resultant shockwave ripped the battlefield apart and sent Moya flying with a cry of shock.
He spun in the air to land on his feet and looked at Tsunade with wide eyes before nodding to himself, his expression decidedly neutral. "Yes, a challenge indeed." He flicked through hand seals and his cheeks swelled before he spat a wide stream of faintly pink fluid that splashed on the broken ground and began dissolving it, eating away at the earth to leave massive holes in its wake.
"The acid of the Six-Tails," Biwako warned. "Do not be careless, Tsunade!"
Tsunade seemed to ignore Biwako as she charged, delicately leaping from one patch of safe ground to another as she closed in. Moya unsheathed his tanto and swung at Tsunade, who gracefully dodged and lashed out with a punch in return.
Moya laughed and ducked before leaping away. "It was unwise to show your hand, Miss," he noted. "Had you simply struck at me, I would have blocked and your strength would have broken me like a pane of glass. But now I know only long-range tactics are viable."
Moya took a breath and formed hand seals before unleashing a rolling cloud of dark pink mist from his lips that was no doubt just as corrosive as the fluid had been. In reply, Tsunade used Earth Release to manifest a huge wall of stone to stop it, but the mist began quickly chewing through it.
However, Tsunade's wall was joined by another to reinforce her defense before Biwako bodily leapt into the fray. With a chain of hand seals and a scroll that she unsealed to reveal a torrent of seawater, she rained a deluge upon the mist that diluted it and rendered it harmless.
"Come, boy," she spat, bearing her own tanto. "Test your mettle against the First Lady of Konohagakure."
Moya nodded and charged, and a duel of the blade began.
Tsunade shattered the wall and prepared to back up Biwako, but more water clones arose from the semi-acidic water and began spraying more acid to stall her. Tsunade smashed through one, but the water that splashed upon her from sizzled and burned, and Tsunade yelped and leapt backward. She swore and quickly healed herself with the Mystic Palm Technique. These water clones were imbued with Moya's Boil Release acidity. Which meant this would be tricky.
For some time, it seemed roughly an even match between the first lady and the jinchuriki, Katsuyu watching from her perch on the woman's shoulder. But soon enough, Moya seemed to grow tired of it. "You have real skill, First Lady," he admitted with no bitterness. "But I have my mission. Farewell."
With that, he leapt backward and spat a stream of corrosive fluid at her, widening the stream to cover retreat to the sides. But Katsuyu had seen enough and summoned a much larger portion of herself that spat her own spray of fluid, the streams meeting … and hissing with steam as they canceled each other out.
"It would seem that the Six-Tails uses a powerful base as its corrosive," Katsuyu noted. "I produce an acidic compound, which neutralizes a base."
"What on earth?" Moya said. He clutched at his chest, as if to assure himself of something. "What do you mean you won't fight her?" he said, apparently to himself. Or to his Tailed Beast. "Beautiful?! What does that have to do with it?" He blinked rapidly, his eyes flicking from one side to another and Katsuyu and Biwako traded a bewildered glance. "Fine!" Moya finally shouted. "This was a poorly-conceived mission anyway." Moya flicked through hand seals and leapt into the ground, expelling a torrent of water from his mouth that swept over the battleground and washed the kunoichi and slug away before they could brace themselves.
When the water receded, Moya was gone. And not a moment later, Tsunade landed beside them covered in small burns that she was still treating. "That little-!" Biwako cleared her throat and Tsunade cast her a wary glance. "-Freak," she said. "At least he won't be harming this village anymore."
"Be that as it may, Lady Tsunade," Katsuyu said, "I feel we must address your carelessness from today."
"I agree," Biwako said coldly.
"Wow! Lady Biwako sounds amazing!" Karin said.
"Of course she's amazing!" Naruto added. "She's Gramps's wife. There's no way she couldn't be awesome."
"Was, actually," Ken said. "Lady Biwako was killed during the Nine-Tails Attack." Ken swallowed at the thought that the First Lady had been one of the midics that helped deliver Naruto, silently sending a prayer of thanks for her sacrifice.
"Ah man," Naruto moaned. "Poor Gramps."
"Was Lady Tsunade really that impulsive?" Karin asked.
"Was …" Katsuyu confirmed teasingly. "Still is. And with her Uzumaki heritage, probably will be for many years to come."
"Wait, she was an Uzumaki?" Naruto asked.
"She is a descendent of the Uzmaki clan, yes," Kaori said. "Her grandmother, Mito Uzumaki, was the first First Lady of Konoha, the wife of Hashirama Senju."
"Oh cool!" Naruto shouted, jumping to his feet. "The more I learn about our family, the more awesome we seem!"
As everyone laughed at Naruto's enthusiasm, Ken was suddenly struck by a sense of dread. Then he brushed it off and continued to listen as Katsuyu told stories, this one about the Sannin's legendary battle with Hanzo the Salamander. Whatever the future may bring, whatever revelations may come … he wanted to remember days like this.
Chapter thirty-seven! Not a whole lot of plot, but it was really fun to write.
*There does appear to be a small lake with uninhabited forest within the walls of the village, near the center. I consulted the wiki's map to make sure.
*Allow me to introduce Hatsume Shimura! No, she's not named for the My Hero Academia character! Hatsume no Tsubone was a historical kunoichi who provided the name. Her mother's name, Mei, is an extremely common woman's name in Japan - also a mere coincidence in relation to MHA. Her father's name is also very common and is not related to Han the Five-Tails jinchuriki.
*Moya of the Mist is my own creation, presumably the jinchuriki before Utakata. His name literally means "mist," hahaha. He was fun to come up with and to write, a boisterous bruiser who nonetheless has a level head.
As always, I hope this was a fun read and do please leave a review! Carry on, you crazy fans!