That evening, the streets and taverns of Konoha were livelier than ever before.
"My god! You didn't go today? You seriously missed out!" A red-faced villager slapped his friend on the shoulder, spittle flying as he spoke excitedly. "That samurai from the Land of Iron—damn, he was incredible! Sure, his methods were a bit… ahem, not exactly honorable, but even jōnin Shinku and jōnin Hizashi were defeated by him!"
"What? Even those two…?" His companion was so shocked he nearly dropped his cup.
"Exactly! But the best part came later!" The man's eyes lit up as he gestured wildly. "Our village's Shinichi—Higashino Shinichi! That kid stepped forward! You should've seen it—he went head-on with that samurai, trading blows, and his sword even shattered! Then—whoosh! With just a wave of his hand, a sea of flames erupted—no hand seals at all!"
He gulped down a mouthful of alcohol, then lowered his voice mysteriously. "And that final move—that was terrifying! A blazing red fireball, like a miniature sun, came crashing down! That samurai had to turn his entire body into something like bronze just to withstand it! And after the fight, guess what? That samurai actually clapped his hands and, in front of everyone, declared Shinichi a genius never seen before in history! He even said he'd acknowledge him as the strongest, and that they'd fight again in the future—once they both became the strongest in their respective countries!"
"The strongest? Shinichi's only ten years old!" His friend sucked in a sharp breath.
"The strongest in the future of the ninja world! But honestly, it's about the same thing. With that kid's talent, he'll definitely become the strongest of this era!"
"Is that so? That really is just like Shinichi…" His companion sighed. "I always thought he was outstanding before, but today I realized—we'd been underestimating him by a mile."
Similar discussions buzzed across every corner of Konoha. Excitement, pride, and amazement filled the air alongside rising smoke and lantern light.
...
Inside the Hokage's office, the lights burned brightly.
A staff member from the mission department stood respectfully, delivering a final report to the Third Hokage.
"Third-sama, the client, Isshin-san, has just settled all payments at the mission reception desk," the staff member reported. "He stated that he was extremely satisfied with this exchange and believes it was well worth the price. In addition to the base fee of 500,000 ryō, he added another 2,000,000 ryō at the highest standard, for a total of 2.5 million ryō, all of which has been deposited."
Hiruzen sat behind his large desk. Upon hearing this, he nodded, a gentle smile appearing on his face. "Mm. Although the process was somewhat complicated and stirred up quite a bit of trouble, the final result is satisfactory."
After a moment's thought, he continued, "Since Shinichi carried out the final duel with the client, and his performance earned the other party's recognition, this special mission will be recorded under Shinichi's name. The mission record and reward distribution should be handled accordingly."
"Yes, Lord Third. I'll make the arrangements immediately," the staff member replied respectfully.
"By the way," Hiruzen added as if recalling something, "where is Isshin-san now? Has he already left Konoha?"
"Reporting to Hokage-sama, Isshin-san is currently dining at Ajino Takumi Restaurant within the village," the staff member answered. "According to the escorting personnel, he plans to leave the village directly and return to the Land of Iron after his meal."
The report should have ended there, but the staff member's expression grew strangely awkward, as if the next part was difficult to say.
After hesitating for a moment, he added, "Additionally, Third-sama, before leaving after paying the commission, Isshin-san asked us a question."
"Oh? What question?" Hiruzen lifted his gaze.
The staff member carefully organized his words and repeated it as faithfully as possible: "He asked whether Konoha would need mercenaries in the upcoming war. If so, he could act as a mercenary and fight on Konoha's behalf. The price is negotiable."
Mercenaries?
Hiruzen was briefly stunned, then a mixture of absurdity and amusement rose within him.
Traditionally, it was always outside forces or nobles from various countries who came to Konoha to issue missions and hire Konoha's ninja. When had anyone ever turned it around and asked whether Konoha needed to hire mercenaries?
This samurai from the Land of Iron truly had a rather unique kind of belligerence and mindset.
Although the Third Shinobi World War had not yet officially begun, border conflicts were constant, and all major nations were strengthening their military forces. The tense situation was obvious to anyone with eyes. For him to raise this question at such a time wasn't entirely without basis.
After pondering for a moment, Hiruzen lightly tapped the desk and instructed, "Convey my gratitude to Isshin-san for his generous payment, as well as my respect for his formidable strength. As for the matter of mercenary service…"
"Please inform Isshin-san that Konoha appreciates his goodwill. However, since its founding, Konohagakure has relied on the unity and strength of its own ninja to protect its home. We are fully capable of meeting any challenge and have complete confidence in our ninja."
"Additionally, as a permanently neutral nation, the Land of Iron maintains a tradition that its samurai do not participate in conflicts between ninja. Isshin-san, being a renowned samurai of the Land of Iron, if he were to be employed by Konoha in war, it could affect both the nation's neutral stance and his personal reputation. We accept the sentiment, but must decline."
The staff member understood immediately and bowed. "Yes, I understand. I will properly convey Hokage-sama's intentions to Isshin-san."
"Go on."
...
After the staff member left, the office returned to silence.
A moment later, as if recalling something else, Hiruzen's eyes sharpened slightly. He spoke in a low voice toward an empty corner of the room: "You two—go to Root and keep an eye on things. Make sure nothing unnecessary happens in the next few days."
His tone was calm, but no further explanation was needed. The ANBU instantly understood his meaning—
Watch Root.
Watch that elder, Shimura Danzō, who always treated every potential threat—especially powerful outsiders he couldn't control—as a thorn in his side, and who often acted under the banner of "for Konoha" while resorting to extreme measures… only for the Hokage to clean up the aftermath and bear the responsibility.
"Yes!"
Two brief responses sounded. The air stirred faintly, then returned to stillness.
Hiruzen let out a soft sigh and rubbed his temples, hoping this precaution would prove unnecessary.
That samurai, Isshin—though flamboyant and controversial in his conduct—was still a legitimate client. He had demonstrated great strength and paid a generous reward. If he were to mysteriously disappear or even die right after coming to Konoha…
It would inevitably lead to enormous controversy. Even if Konoha had nothing to do with it, they would still bear the blame.
...
Isshin, however, knew nothing of the arrangements in the Hokage's office—and even if he did, he wouldn't have cared.
At that moment, he was sitting in Ajino Takumi Restaurant, devouring several large plates of grilled meat with great satisfaction, completely ignoring the mixture of awe and curiosity in the gazes of the surrounding diners.
After eating and drinking his fill, Isshin slapped a few banknotes onto the table, hoisted his iconic—and fearsome—halberd onto his shoulder, and staggered out of the restaurant, while the shop owner, Fujiwara, nervously but politely called out, "Please come again."
The streets of Konoha were now lit with evening lanterns, the night breeze cool.
His tall figure and that deadly weapon stood out sharply among the crowd. Wherever he passed, people instinctively made way, whispering among themselves.
"Look—that's him!"
"He's the one who defeated jōnin Shinku and jōnin Hizashi…"
"Shh, keep your voice down."
Isshin paid no attention to the murmurs. With long, unhurried strides, he walked along the main road toward Konoha's gates.
His expression was calm, even carrying a trace of post-meal laziness, as if the man who had stirred up a storm in the arena earlier that day—and made a pact with Konoha's genius to compete for the title of strongest—had nothing to do with him.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long, overlapping with the shadow of the halberd slung across his shoulder, both cast across Konoha's clean roads as they gradually receded into the distance.
Root? Danzō?
What kind of small fry are they?
Go say that to my Summoning Technique.
He appeared to be leaving in a careless, wide-open manner, completely unguarded, but in truth, he had already prepared his way out.
Long before he had officially entered Konoha under the identity of the samurai Isshin—back when he met up with the original body in Tsukimi Village two days earlier, on the night they signed the summoning contract—everything had already been arranged.
At the time, besides adjusting the clone's Entries and signing the summoning contract, the original body had also created two additional shadow clones.
Those two shadow clones had set off at the same time, sneaking toward the northwestern direction of the Land of Fire.
Judging by the time, they should be somewhere near the Land of Grass by now.
One of those shadow clones was carrying a vial of the original body's blood.
The moment he stepped out of Konoha's gates and a safe distance had been confirmed, Higashino Shinichi's original body, still inside Konoha, would only need a single thought to instantly dispel one of the shadow clones.
Once the shadow clone was dispelled, its memories and information would return.
Then, when the other shadow clone far away near the Land of Grass saw the shadow clone beside it disappear and return, it would immediately know that "the matter in Konoha is finished."
What came next was simple.
That shadow clone would use the original body's blood it carried on it as the medium and perform the Summoning Technique.
At that point, no matter what undercurrents might be moving within or outside Konoha, no matter whether that so-called Root or anyone else coveting him actually dared to make a move, he could still ignore the distance of space through the Summoning Technique and be summoned directly from near Konoha to the Land of Grass.
This was his greatest source of confidence in daring to walk alone into the meeting and stir up trouble in Konoha. This was the composure of someone who had been born standing in an undefeated position.
Konoha's magnificent gates were already right in front of him. The guarding ninja looked at him with complicated expressions as he approached, but after checking the paperwork and verifying his identity, they silently stepped aside and opened the way.
At the very end, Isshin turned back for one last look at Konohagakure, where night had just fallen and countless lights shone brilliantly. His gaze lingered briefly on the towering Hokage Rock, then he let out a light chuckle.
He turned around and strode out through the gates. His figure quickly merged into the darkness outside and the silhouettes of the distant mountains.
The gate guards watched the direction in which he disappeared, and almost at the same time, all of them secretly let out a sigh of relief.
This troublesome yet powerful guest had finally left.
What they did not know was that almost at the exact moment Isshin's figure vanished around the bend in the road—
In a remote mountain forest somewhere in the Land of Grass, a burst of white smoke exploded outward.
Isshin, tall and powerfully built, with the halberd resting on his shoulder, was already standing there at ease, gazing in the direction of Konoha to the southeast, a satisfied smile on his face.
The trip to Konoha had ended perfectly.
"There's something very interesting," the shadow clone that had performed the Summoning Technique said after finishing its final sentence, then with a bang turned into a puff of white mist and scattered into the night wind, returning directly to Higashino Shinichi's original body far away in Konoha.
"Oh?" Feeling the information transmitted back with the shadow clone's return, Isshin grinned. "Now that really is a little interesting."
Half an hour later, at the edge of the same forest—
Trees had been severed cleanly at the roots and lay scattered every which way across the ground. The road had been twisted beyond recognition, as though some giant beast had trampled through it.
Eight corpses lay strewn amid the wreckage. Judging from the forehead protectors on their heads and their uniform clothing, they were clearly ninja from Kusagakure.
Most of them had died cleanly and directly—some with shattered skulls, some split in two, some smashed and twisted out of shape by overwhelming force. Their deaths carried the pure efficiency and intimidation of brute violence.
Isshin sat grandly on a relatively clean boulder, his halberd planted at an angle in the ground beside him, the blade still stained with fresh blood.
He was sizing up with obvious interest a young man and woman standing before him, still shaken, leaning against each other for support.
Both had striking crimson hair and looked to be around twenty years old.
The man was somewhat thin, wearing round black-rimmed glasses. His face was pale and carried a scholarly air. His eyes were full of lingering fear and vigilance, but he was doing his best to remain calm.
The woman leaned against him. She too had fiery red hair, along with a pair of ruby-like eyes that matched it. At that moment, she looked uneasily at Isshin, then could not help glancing toward the corpses of the Kusa ninja, her body trembling slightly.
"Th-thank you, sir, for saving us." The man steadied himself, then pulled his wife along and bowed deeply toward the burly samurai seated on the stone. His voice still shook with the trembling of someone who had narrowly escaped death. The woman also lowered her head in thanks, her voice as soft as a mosquito's hum.
"Mm." Isshin grunted in acknowledgment. His gaze swept across their striking red hair, and he asked directly, "Why were the people from Kusa after the two of you?"
Though he said it that way, he already had a rough guess in his heart.
The young couple exchanged a glance. A struggle flashed in their eyes. In the end, the man stepped forward and decided to tell the truth. "Sir, we are survivors of the Uzumaki Clan. My name is Uzumaki Dōsuke, and this is my wife, Uzumaki Kichō."
After the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools, they had both still been children, following what remained of their respective clansmen as they wandered from place to place. After enduring countless hardships, they had finally arrived several years ago in this relatively remote border region of the Land of Grass, settling down there under assumed names.
The two had depended on each other for survival and opened a small clinic to make a living. Dōsuke had inherited some of the Uzumaki Clan's knowledge of medical ninjutsu and medicinal herbs, and over time he had gained a bit of a reputation locally. His wife, Kichō, worked as his assistant and helped manage the clinic.
Their days could have gone on quietly like that, until a sudden change a few days ago shattered the peace.
A Kusagakure ninja, gravely wounded and barely clinging to life, had been brought to their clinic by his companions.
After examining him, Dōsuke discovered that the injuries were simply too severe. With his medical skill and the conditions they had, there was no way to save him.
Just as he was about to declare that he could do nothing, his kind-hearted wife Kichō could not bear to watch a life slip away right before her eyes, and she made a decision—
She let that dying Kusa ninja bite her arm.
A miracle happened.
After biting Kichō's arm, that Kusa ninja's grave injuries stabilized at a speed visible to the naked eye and began to recover.
The man was saved.
But what it brought was disaster.
After that Kusa ninja recovered and returned to the village, not only did he fail to repay the debt of having his life saved, he instead reported Kichō's miraculous healing ability to his superiors.
Very soon, a squad of Kusa ninja came to their door. Without another word, they tried to forcibly take the husband and wife away, clearly intending to place Kichō—and perhaps Dōsuke's medical skills as well—under control as medical resources.
Resistance was futile. Just as they were being escorted away toward Kusagakure in despair, this samurai carrying an exaggerated weapon descended from the sky like a war god and swept through all the Kusa ninja with overwhelming force.
"That is how it happened." After finishing his account, Uzumaki Dōsuke bowed deeply once more. Beside him, Kichō tightened her grip on her husband's hand, fear still lingering in her eyes.
"I see." Isshin nodded. There was not much emotion visible on his face, but inwardly he thought, Just as expected.
Red hair, healing ability, Kusa…
Most likely, this couple in front of him were Karin's future parents.
"So what do you plan to do next?"
Dōsuke and Kichō exchanged another look. The same confusion and helplessness appeared on both their faces.
They could no longer remain in the Land of Grass. As for anywhere else… they had already experienced all the hardships of a wandering life, not to mention the possibility that other ninja villages or factions might covet Kichō's ability as well.
Seeing the two fall silent, Isshin did not try to persuade them further. He simply hoisted his halberd onto his shoulder, turned around, and began walking deeper into the forest, tossing out a single line behind him: "If you've got nowhere to go, then follow me. If you want to, keep up."
His pace was not fast, but there was not the slightest sign that he intended to wait for them.
The husband and wife looked at each other once more, hesitation and unease mixed in their eyes.
Should they continue wandering aimlessly, waiting for some unknown disaster?
Or should they follow this powerful, mysterious samurai who seemed to bear them no ill will?
In the end, Dōsuke clenched his teeth and gripped his wife's cool hand tightly.
"We're following him, Kichō," he said in a low voice, his gaze turning firm. "At the very least, this man saved our lives."
Kichō nodded. The fear in her ruby-red eyes receded slightly. Looking at that broad figure ahead of them, she gave a soft hum of agreement.
The two of them hesitated no longer. They stepped forward and followed after the figure carrying the massive weapon, gradually disappearing into the dense forest.
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