In the afternoon at the Daimyo's residence, sunlight filtered through the lattice of the paper doors, casting mottled patterns across the tatami.
Ai sat by the window, embroidering something.
Shin-chan lay sprawled on the floor beside her, his head resting on his arms and a chocolate stick between his lips as he watched her in boredom.
"Ai, what are you embroidering?"
"A protective charm." Ai did not look up. "I heard that if ninja carry one during missions, they'll return safely."
"Oh." Shin-chan rolled over. "Is it for me?"
Ai's hand paused, and the tips of her ears turned slightly red.
"...It's for Chashu."
"Huh?" Shin-chan immediately sat up and leaned closer. "Why does Chashu get one and not me? It doesn't even go on missions."
"It patrols beside the pond every day. That's very tiring." Ai pulled the cloth closer to herself. "Besides, it helped you chase away a mouse that tried to steal your chocolate sticks last time."
"It wanted to eat the mouse," Shin-chan muttered. "I work much harder than it does. Every day, I have to inspect the snack supplies, accompany you while you eat sweets, and also..."
His voice abruptly stopped.
The chocolate stick nearly fell from his mouth.
"Young Master Shin-chan?" Ai raised her head and looked at him in confusion.
"There's someone strange nearby. His chakra..."
Shin-chan walked to the window and looked toward the outside of the wall southwest of the Daimyo's residence.
"A strange person?" Ai joined him at the window and followed his gaze. "An assassin?"
"I'll go take a look."
"Young Master Shin-chan, please be careful." Worry appeared on Ai's face.
"Don't worry."
Chakra gathered beneath Shin-chan's feet. With a light leap, he disappeared over the rooftops.
Ai stood by the window and watched him leave, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the protective charm in her hand.
Chashu strolled out from the corridor and rubbed against her ankles.
She bent down, picked up the cat, and whispered, "He'll be alright, won't he?"
Chashu yawned, wearing an expression that seemed to say, He supplies my dried fish, so of course I hope he'll be alright.
...
Shin-chan moved silently across the rooftops without disturbing a single tile.
That strange chakra was still moving, though not very quickly. It stopped and started repeatedly.
Shin-chan landed on the roof of a three-story building and finally saw his target.
A tall man in a long black robe stood at an intersection, wearing a mask that revealed only his eyes.
He held a crumpled map and looked left and right.
"Damn it. The intelligence said the Land of Fire Daimyo's treasury was in this direction," Kakuzu cursed under his breath. "There isn't even a road sign."
He had come to the Land of Fire's capital to carry out a "private mission"—robbing the Daimyo's treasury.
The Land of Fire's Daimyo was obscenely wealthy. His treasury was surely filled with gold, silver, and jewels. If Kakuzu succeeded just once...
Kakuzu slowly turned his head toward the rooftop where Shin-chan stood.
"Who's there?"
"I've been discovered."
Shin-chan stood up without hesitation and waved down at him.
"Yo, hello, mister."
Kakuzu's eyes darkened. He folded the map, placed it inside his robe, then turned and walked away.
Shin-chan jumped down from the roof and followed him from about twenty metres behind.
The two continued walking one in front of the other, passing through the busiest commercial street in the capital.
As he walked, Kakuzu calculated silently.
Being discovered was slightly troublesome, but it was not a serious problem. He merely needed to lure the brat somewhere deserted and eliminate him.
Shin-chan followed behind him, also making calculations of his own.
This guy is really calm. Even after being discovered, he's still walking steadily. The best option is to follow him outside the city and fight somewhere without people. I can't start a fight in a crowded district, or they'll deduct points from my mission evaluation.
Each of them continued making their own calculations as they walked farther and farther away, into increasingly deserted streets.
Kakuzu stopped and looked at the boy standing before him with a chocolate stick in his mouth, his brows slightly furrowed.
"Brat, you've followed me for this long. Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
"No." Shin-chan removed the chocolate stick from his mouth. "I want to know what you came here to do."
"That has nothing to do with you."
"This is near the Daimyo's residence, and I work here, so it definitely has something to do with me."
Kakuzu rapidly evaluated his opponent.
The boy appeared to be around twelve or thirteen years old and wore a Konoha flak jacket. Judging from the feeling of his chakra, however, he was no ordinary ninja.
Still, it did not matter.
He was only a child.
"Remember my name." Kakuzu decided to finish this quickly. "I am Kakuzu, the man who once fought the First Hokage."
He expected the mention of the First Hokage to terrify the brat.
After all, the First Hokage was known as the God of Shinobi, a legend in the hearts of all ninja. Surviving a battle against him was Kakuzu's proudest achievement.
However, Shin-chan's reaction was completely beyond his expectations.
"You know Uncle Hashirama too?" Shin-chan placed the chocolate stick back in his mouth. "You should've said so earlier. If you had, I wouldn't have followed you for so long. We walked so far that my feet are sore."
Kakuzu: "???"
He suspected that he had misheard.
"What did you just call him?"
"Uncle Hashirama." Shin-chan repeated himself. "Are you two friends?"
Kakuzu took a deep breath. "Do you think casually claiming to know the First Hokage will fool me?"
"I'm not lying." Shin-chan took a small notebook from his ninja tool pouch. "Uncle Tobirama taught me a lot of ninjutsu, and Uncle Hashirama even discussed village construction with me."
"The Second Hokage taught you ninjutsu? The First Hokage discussed village construction with you?" Kakuzu let out a cold laugh. "Are you going to tell me next that the First and Second Hokage also owe you something?"
"Chocolate sticks." Shin-chan opened the notebook. "Uncle Tobirama owes me twelve chocolate sticks. I wrote them all down."
Kakuzu stared at the brat before him, who had half a chocolate stick hanging from his mouth, was flipping through a shabby little notebook, and wore an expression that clearly said, Everything I'm saying is true.
He couldn't help asking, "Brat, is there something wrong with your head?"
"No." Shin-chan closed the notebook. "My brain works very well. Uncle Tobirama said that even though I look unreliable, I'm actually very talented. Uncle Hashirama said I'll definitely become Hokage someday."
"The First and Second Hokage died decades ago. How old are you? There's no way you could have met them."
"Oh, that. I spent some time in Konoha Year Ten."
"???"
"Do you have any more questions, mister? If not, it's time for you to explain what you were doing near the Daimyo's residence."
Kakuzu regained his composure, and killing intent gathered in his eyes once more.
"Why should I tell you?"
"Because if you don't, I can't let you leave."
"Such arrogance from a mere brat." Kakuzu sneered and raised both hands. Black tendrils poured from his sleeves. "Who do you think you are?"
"My name is Nohara Shinnosuke." Shin-chan straightened his body. "A ninja of Konoha and the current head of security for the Daimyo's residence."