People Who Like XX Aren't Bad People

Outside the bookstore.

A customer with half his face completely covered by a mask stood outside, glancing around somewhat furtively. Only after seeing that no one nearby was paying attention did he dart inside at incredible speed.

The owner of the bookstore, which received hardly any customers, was standing behind the counter, nodding off, when a somewhat low voice startled him awake.

"Boss, do you have that thing here?"

The startled owner hurriedly shook his groggy head, then looked down and saw who had spoken.

The customer raised his voice a little in displeasure, though it sounded somewhat deliberate. "Boss?"

"That thing?" the owner repeated, somewhat uncertain.

Then he saw the customer raise an eyebrow and suddenly understood.

A gleam flashed in his eyes. He rubbed his fingers together awkwardly. "That's a hot commodity! Besides, you're-"

"Bang!"

A heavy wallet slammed directly onto the counter with a loud thud.

The owner's eyes lit up. In an instant, he tucked it into his clothes at a speed no ordinary person could have managed. Only then did he carefully take an exquisite box from beneath the counter, all the while boasting.

"Customer, I'm not just bragging. In the entire Land of Waves, you won't find a treasure like this anywhere but here. After all..." The owner raised an expressive eyebrow.

The customer nodded in agreement and opened the box with some solemnity.

Suddenly, his whole body went rigid. "Wh-what is this?" he asked in disbelief.

"Why, customer, isn't that Icha Icha Paradise?" The owner lowered his voice too, a lewd look on his face. "Anywhere else, no one would sell it to a customer your age!"

The red-haired boy's mouth twitched several times before he said, at a loss for words, "I meant a map!"

The bookstore owner scratched his head in embarrassment, grumbling inwardly that the kid's sneaky behavior had naturally led to a misunderstanding. He was just like the last customer!

Still, maps were forbidden books that almost no country allowed to circulate beyond its borders, so it was no wonder the kid...

He reached out to take back the treasure, but his hand closed on empty air. The treasure had already vanished.

Suppressing his complaints, the owner took out a very rudimentary map.

Dōmeki scanned it and saw that it only showed the outlines and locations of most of the countries in the Shinobi World. His destination, the Land of Water, was almost entirely blank.

The boy couldn't help asking a few questions about the Land of Water, but the owner's expression immediately grew tense.

The bookstore owner leaned close to the boy's ear and said solemnly, "Customer, you mustn't go to the Land of Water!"

"I hear the Land of Water is in complete chaos right now. Outsiders, whether merchants or civilians, are killed by the ninja. Besides, you're so young and traveling alone. You'll definitely be taken for a fat sheep..."

Dōmeki sighed helplessly, understanding what the owner meant.

An ambitious man harboring hatred had set his sights on Kirigakure in the Land of Water. His brutal blood dance policy had turned the entire ninja village into a river of blood, and even the Fourth Mizukage had become someone else's puppet.

On top of that, its closed-border policy did indeed bar all outsiders from entering.

Troubled, Dōmeki touched the white bracelet on his wrist, only for the little white snake, as thick as a thumb, to give him a gentle bite.

Ever since Orochimaru had dumped the boy in the Land of Waves, he had vanished, leaving only Xiaobai, a summoned beast used for communication. Even the boy's funds were gifts he had received from the good people he had visited who worked in property transfers.

The boy couldn't help sighing. "Life isn't easy!"

Dōmeki wandered around the docks and asked several fishermen if they could take him to the Land of Water, but they all refused. After all, no one was willing to gamble with their life.

The boy squatted dejectedly by the water, wondering whether it would be more convenient to swim across.

Suddenly, his ear twitched, and his gaze snapped in one direction.

A small boat sat at the edge of the dock, with a young man standing aboard, half his face covered as well. The young man was paying for the boat while dealing with the person who was still trying to dissuade him from sailing to the Land of Water Governance.

The young man had a head of white hair and a tall, sturdy build. His entire body gave off the air of an utterly listless salted fish, but his vacant, dead-fish eyes were quietly observing his surroundings.

Dōmeki's lips curled upward. "What a coincidence. Isn't that Senior Gintoki?"

Kakashi Hatake was in an irritable mood. Anyone would be unhappy about being sent on a mission to a dangerous place like the Land of Water, especially to a country that had left such a deep impression on him...

But as the Third Hokage had said, who in Konoha besides him had the strength to infiltrate Kirigakure and verify that information, a mission of S-rank difficulty? They couldn't very well send Might Guy, could they?

Thinking of his friend, Kakashi couldn't help shuddering. He could already picture a certain someone charging into Kirigakure in a green bodysuit, shouting "Youth!"

Just as he was about to untie the mooring rope, he suddenly sensed a dark shadow flash past. When he looked up, he found a red-haired brat standing on his boat.

What incredible speed! Kakashi's heart tightened. With a turn of his right hand, he was already holding a gleaming kunai.

But when he got a good look at the boy's outfit, he couldn't help freezing. The kid was dressed far too much like him, especially with half his handsome face covered by a mask. Apart from their different hair colors, he was the spitting image of Kakashi as a boy.

"Senior! I heard you're going to the Land of Water. Could you give me a ride?"

The red-haired brat asked with a smile, seemingly unaware of Kakashi's wariness.

"The Land of Water?" Kakashi's gaze sharpened as he considered the other's objective, all the while probing for information without betraying his thoughts.

"Boy, I hear it's a dangerous place right now. Why are you risking your life to go there?"

The red-haired boy scratched his head in apparent distress. "I have no choice. An elder of mine is waiting for me there, but no one here is willing to go!"

The boy pressed his palms together in a plea to Kakashi. "I happened to hear someone here was going the same way. With no other choice, I could only impose on you and ask for a ride, Senior."

Seeing the sincerity in the boy's eyes, and confident in his own strength, Kakashi relaxed his guard slightly and quietly put away his kunai. Even so, he narrowed his eyes and asked a question.

"Boy, do you really trust me that much?"

"Of course!"

Kakashi was astonished to see the boy suddenly grow excited.

"I had some doubts at first, but after seeing you, Senior, I feel completely reassured!"

"Huh?" Kakashi tilted his head, a puzzled look on his face.

The boy pointed at the corner of an object protruding from Kakashi's breast pocket and shouted.

"People who like Icha Icha Paradise aren't bad people!"

"What kind of reason is that?!!!" Kakashi was momentarily dumbstruck.