Interlude: Tales of the Wind Walker (Yadato)
At the first site of thatched roofs peeking through the tree growth, Yadato Nadasu sighed loudly in relief. He'd been traveling through the eastern forest of the Land of Fire for several days without seeing another soul or sign of civilization. He'd begun to second guess his navigation skills. But finally, he reached the tiny marker on his map that represented the small fishing hamlet that was Kirono village.
Kirono Village was not his final destination. Once reaching the coast his plan was to follow the coastal road south eventually passing into the Land of Noodles. Once there he would spend the winter along the temperate coasts teaching the children of nobles and others who could pay how to read and write. But he needed to rest and restock his supplies before heading south.
The small village was comprised of a dozen or so buildings. Most of them appeared to be single-family cabins. Two larger buildings in the center were most likely the village hall and tavern. To his right, down near the shore was another larger building connected to a wooden dock jutting out into the sea. Yadato guessed it was most likely used as a prepping area before the fishermen set out for the day's catch. Beside the building near the dock, several small fishing boats bobbed up in down with the tide. Their wooden hulls clanged against the dock with each passing wave causing a wooden creaking sound to reverberate through the village.
Once he neared the center of the village, the sound of laughter and conversation reached his ears. Yadato followed the noise and it led him to one of the larger buildings he noted before. He climbed the three wooden steps that led to the door and gently pushed it open. The room instantly became quiet as all the inhabitants paused their conversations and turned towards him. Rough folk stared back at him. Their faces and hair were weathered by sun and salt. Yadato gave his best-disarming nod and headed straight for the counter. The tavern was modest in size, dotting the center were eight tables of varying sizes for patrons to gather and sit. Wooden pillars sprung up from the ground in ten-foot intervals to help support the second story above. Nets, fishing poles, and oars decorated the ceiling and walls serving as a reminder of the lively hood of this small village if you ever managed to forget.
Yadato slipped the straps of his large pack off his shoulders and let the hefty green monstrosity fall to the floor. His small frying pan and a tin coffee mug that was strapped to the outside of the backpack clattered against each other causing all the inhabitants of the tavern to again stop their conversations and turn to him.
"Sorry." He said with a hand raised in apology. Yadato rolled his sore shoulders in satisfaction, he then turned to the barkeep and pulled out a wooden stool. The barkeep was a large bald man with an impressively bushy beard. His enormous biceps and broad shoulders hinted that the man either had a physically demanding day job or hadn't always been a barkeep. Either way, Yadato was sure his physical build helped him keep the piece in this Tavern.
The barkeep walked over towards him. On the way, he grabbed a glass and started polishing it. "The names Enoba. What can I get you, stranger?"
"Your strongest beer please," Yadato said as he continued to rub out the knots in his tired shoulders.
Enoba let out a deep chuckle and walked over to one of the beer taps. He gave the wooden handle several pumps to get the dark amber liquid flowing and filled the large glass to the brim. Walking back, he set the now filled glass down on the counter with a satisfying thump. A nice head of white foam spilled over the side of the glass and Yadato licked his lips in anticipation.
After a week on the road, he needed this. He grabbed the pint of beer with both hands and took a large gulp. Letting loose a satisfying sigh he set the glass down and smiled at the barkeep. "That's the stuff. Thank you, sir. You don't understand how much I needed that."
The burly man crossed his arms and smiled with pride. "That's my own creation right there. Took me years to perfect the recipe. I'll be happy to give you as much as you want, as long as you've got the coin. Five ryō please."
"As yes, coin. Of course." Yadato said and dropped the required payment on the counter.
"So, what brings you to the humble fishing village of Kirono?" Enoba asked while Yadato took another large gulp of his beer.
"The names Yadato. And I'm just passing through. You see, I travel and collect stories for a living." He said while wiping some beer foam from his upper lip.
The barkeep raised his eyebrow in disbelief, "A traveling storyteller? How do you manage that?"
Yadato laughed, "Not very well as you can see." He said while gesturing towards his dirty and ragged appearance. "I tend to make barely enough money to continue going, with the occasional delicious beer of course." Yadato paused to take another sip and then continued, "I collect stories from all over the world, document them, and then make sure the world hears them."
"People pay you for this?" Enoba asked.
"Not all the time. And whether they pay or not I typically still tell my tales. However, nobles sometimes hire me to document their lives. Although, most of them tend to be boring and full of lies. But occasionally I'll cross someone with a truly fascinating tale. A tale that deserves to live on." Yadato said and then gulped down the rest of his pint. Seeing that he was now empty the barkeep nodded towards the empty glass to which Yadato slid the pint glass across the bar signaling he wanted more.
As Enoba turned to refill his beer a picture hanging on the wall behind the bar caught Yadato's attention. The picture depicted a young boy with blue-black hair holding a fishing net over his head. A man slightly hunched over with age stood behind the boy, a proud smile plastered on his face and a tender hand placed on the boy's shoulder.
Yadato nodded in the direction of the picture. "Who's that boy?"
Enoba turned towards the picture once he had finished refilling Yadato's glass and smirked. "I believe you've just found your next story." He said and placed the refilled pint in front of Yadato.
Yadato raised his eyebrow questioningly, "How so?" He said before lifting the newly filled mug to take a satisfying swig of beer.
"That's a young Kaito Furukawa."
Yadato choked in surprise and coughed up beer onto the counter. The barkeep laughed and tossed a rag to him. "You're joking right?" He managed to spit out while wiping up the mess he'd made. "Right?"
"I'm completely serious. Kaito Furukawa was born right here in Kirono." The barkeep said while leaning over the counter and wiping up the rest of Yadato's mess.
"The Kaito Furukawa, hero of Asatori Bay, legendary Wind Walker, the fucking Fourth Hokage?" He stammered out still wiping beer that managed to come out his nose during his coughing fit.
"Yup," Enoba said as his face took on a solemn look. "And may he rest in peace."
Yadato's astonishment was pushed momentarily to the side as he joined the barkeep in a silent prayer for the deceased hero. The Nine-tails attack had been months ago. He'd been traveling near the Land of Wind's border when the devastating news reached him. Yadato wasn't from the Leaf nor a ninja. But he was born in the Land of Fire so naturally was predisposed to root for the Leaf's wellbeing. News about the enormous loss of life traveled fast. But when the delayed news of the Fourth's death finally made it out, it hit differently. Moral around the Land of Fire dropped. Their hero, the man they rallied behind during the third ninja war was gone. And with his death, the hope of a new era disappeared with him.
The barkeep turned and grabbed the picture from the wall. Once he laid it down in front of him the resemblance was undeniable. Yadato had visited the Leaf several times during Kaito's reign, and while he never saw the man up close, he did see plenty of pictures in the village. The man was a celebrity. The young boy in the picture had the same black hair with a hint of blue. And of course, those unmistakable amber eyes. A wide grin was plastered on the boy's face, obviously proud of whatever achievement the picture was commemorating.
"The old man behind him is his grandfather. A fisherman who has lived his entire life in this small village."
"And his parents?" Yadato asked while he rummaged through the pockets of his pants until he found his notebook and pencil. All his instincts were ringing. This small discovery had pointed out how little he knew about the Fourth Hokage, and if he knew little then it was very likely that most people knew even less.
"Both died when he was young. His mother became sick soon after his birth, and his father disappeared out at sea during a particularly bad storm when Lord Fourth was only four."
Yadato scribbled furiously in his notebook taking down every detail as well as adding small notes for himself to investigate further.
"Unbelievable," Yadato whispered to himself while continuing to take notes. "I always thought he was native to the Leaf. But to think he was born outside of the village and then still managed to become its Hokage."
"This village isn't much. We aren't even on many maps. But we do have the honor of Lord Fourth. Many of us saw him during his youth. Hell, he used to help carry sacks of barley from the dock to this tavern on brew day." Enoba said and raised his glass. "He's our pride and joy. We make sure to honor him every chance we get."
Yadato turned to see everyone else in the room had again stopped talking and were also raising their drinks in honor.
"To Kaito Furukawa!" Enoba yelled and immediately a matching chorus of voices responded.
"To Kaito!"
After the last voice rang out, they all took a large gulp and slammed their pints back down on the table. Yadato turned back to the barkeep. "Does he have any living relatives?"
Enoba nodded, "Yes, old man Namura his grandfather is still alive."
Yadato couldn't believe his luck. "Really! I assumed he had passed."
Enoba laughed. "That old man is too stubborn to die. He lives down in the fishing cabin by the dock. He's the best damn net weaver we have."
Yadato quickly shot up and closed his notebook. He still couldn't believe it. He'd stumbled into this tiny village only his region-specific map even documented and found the god damned father of the Wind Walker.
"No, you don't," Enoba said sternly from behind the counter.
Yadato looked at the man in confusion. "What do you mean? My whole life's purpose is to travel the world and document stories. I'm not passing up a gem like this one."
"I know and I'm not saying you can't go talk to Namura. But it will have to wait until tomorrow. It's getting late and the old man needs his rest." Enoba stated with force. "Rest here for the night. I'll give you a discount on the room if you help me clean up and serve the rest of the customers. Then tomorrow you can go and chase your story."
"But" Yadato managed before the man cut him off with a wave of his hand. Sighing in frustration he finished his beer and joined the barkeep behind the counter. He doubted he would get any sleep tonight with the promise of such an interesting story looming the next day. But at least he would sleep under a roof for a discount.
After a couple of hours of helping Enoba with the tavern patrons, Yadato retreated to his small room and plopped down tiredly on the bed. He reached over the edge and found his notebook in the pocket of his backpack. Flipping to the most recent page, he noticed he needed a title. While he typically waited until the end to name the story, an obvious one popped into his head immediately.
Tales of the Wind Walker
Yadato smiled. Yes, that would be perfect. Finally, a story worth chasing. Kaito Furukawa was a legend. Stories of his victories and prowess were already told far and wide. But not much is known about his early life. Yadato remembered the first time he heard of Kaito. It was after the conclusion of the Second Great Ninja War and rumors of a rising young ninja of the Leaf were starting to emerge. Kaito Furukawa, the teenager who saved Asatori Bay and helped put an end to the eastern front between the Leaf and Mist. Yadato knew Kaito would get his second and more famous nickname The Wind Walker at the beginning of the Third ninja war, but other than those two tales he didn't know much. Even the stories for those two feats were questionable at best. The exact details of both were most likely far beyond the truth by the time they reached his ears. Each teller added their personal spin and exaggerations.
Yadato closed his book and placed it back in his backpack. Tomorrow he'd hopefully learn about Kaito's young childhood. But he would no doubt have to travel to find accurate information covering events later in the legendary man's life. The life of a ninja was dangerous and spent on the road. Despite being his grandfather, Yadato doubted the old man who spent his entire life in this village would be a good source of information regarding Kaito's later life. No, he'd have to follow leads elsewhere to expand the tale. After talking to Kaito's grandfather perhaps he would travel to Asatori Bay to get a more accurate retelling of the hero's deeds. Or maybe head to the Leaf Village to learn about his early ninja career. Either way, it looked like his plan of a lazy winter in the Land of Noodles would no longer come to pass.
Yadato yawned as the weariness from his travels sunk in. Those decisions could be made later. For now, he needed rest because tomorrow no doubt would bring more questions.
Authors note: If it wasn't obvious, this chapter is from the perspective of a character living in Kaito's previous reality where he was the Fourth Hokage. Due to the story starting with Kaito as an adult and right into the action, I realized I needed a way to introduce the backstory I developed for Kaito. I wanted to do this without just having Kaito explain everything to someone in his new reality, especially because his identity is a secret.
So, I thought this would be an interesting and fun way to do it. I plan on having an interlude chapter every 4 to 5 chapters in the normal story. Most of them will be from the perspective of Yadato the traveling storyteller. He will be chasing down leads about Kaito's past and learning about his life. How did Kaito become a ninja? How did he get his many nicknames? Where did he get his hawk summons from? What did ninjas from other villages think of him? I've developed backstories for many of these events and I want to tell them in an interesting way, again without having Kaito just tell someone about himself. I want to experiment with these interlude chapters and try new things. I don't believe they will have much if any action in them, but I want to experiment with different ideas. Fireside chats, drunken stories told at taverns, journal entries from ninja who fought Kaito. For example, I definitely want to do an interlude chapter covering how enemy ninja viewed Kaito. What if some of Kaito's deeds were horrific instead of heroic?
This first interlude chapter, I've interjected between already existing chapters. I apologize for the confusion if you saw a new chapter posted and the bottom chapter is already one you've read before.