Come Bully an Honest Person

Only after soaking in the hot spring did Dōmeki feel a little warmth return to his heart. He had visited who knew how many "friendly people" to earn those three million ryō, only to lose it all in one day. The thought still made the boy's heart ache.

But his mood improved a little when he looked at Kimimaro, who was extremely awkward and unaccustomed to being naked in front of others.

"Relax, Kimimaro!" Dōmeki placed a towel on his forehead. "You need to learn how to enjoy life!"

Kimimaro clumsily copied Dōmeki and lowered himself into the hot spring. His stiff body relaxed a little. "It really does feel good!"

"Huh, wait!" Dōmeki suddenly remembered something. "Where did Haku go?"

Kimimaro looked puzzled. "The proprietress stopped Haku before he came in. She said he'd gone the wrong way, then took him away!"

Dōmeki froze. He suddenly remembered how Haku's face was all he needed to get in and out of women's bathhouses. A flash of envy crossed Dōmeki's mind-pah, it was realization. That talent would bring even Jiraiya to tears!

When the refreshed boy led Kimimaro out of the men's bath, he immediately spotted Haku, who had been waiting for them.

The boy, whose delicate features resembled a young girl's, had his head lowered. Even from a distance, they could see that his face and neck were bright red, and white steam was rising from his head.

Dōmeki appeared beside Haku in an instant and threw an arm around his shoulders. Poking Haku's cheek repeatedly with a finger of his other hand, he said with a mischievous grin,

"Our Haku's becoming an adult too! When we get back, I'll give you a few copies of Icha Icha Paradise to broaden your horizons. In a few more years-"

"You brat called Dōmeki, I knew I wasn't mistaken. You really are a pervert just like Jiraiya!"

Interrupted in the middle of his lesson, Dōmeki looked up and saw swaying, snowy whiteness.

Tsunade was facing Dōmeki, her arms holding up that mass of fat. Her long, jade-white neck was raised slightly as she looked down at the boy as though he were trash. Behind her, the fresh-faced, black-haired girl in a yukata was also looking over, her face bright red.

"Hey, Lady Tsunade, you can't just make up lies about my good name. A pervert like Lord Jiraiya peeps on people everywhere he goes. The only reason he hasn't been beaten to death yet is because he's skilled and runs fast!"

Dōmeki adamantly refused to be lumped in with a pervert.

"Oh?" A sharp glint flashed in Tsunade's eyes. "You seem to know Jiraiya and me pretty well, brat?"

"Hahaha! You two are famous throughout the Shinobi World."

That was what Dōmeki said, but inwardly he insisted that he had never read any Wataru Sunahara.

"Something about you just doesn't seem right, brat!"

Tsunade suddenly felt a chill rise through her and couldn't help shuddering.

Maybe she was a little cold after just getting out of the bath? Tsunade pulled her collar closer.

Though Dōmeki always struck her as a little strange, for some reason, Tsunade felt a natural fondness for the boy.

"Hey, brat, want to have another gamble tomorrow?" Tsunade tossed aside her thoughts and challenged him with a beaming smile.

"I'm afraid I'll have to apologize!"

Dōmeki's face darkened at once. "My companions and I are leaving tomorrow to complete a mission, and I'm short on funds too! But I look forward to seeing you again, Lady Tsunade!"

"Mission, mission!" Tsunade became extremely irritated in an instant. "If you're not gambling, then get lost!"

With that, she turned and strode away, leaving an embarrassed Shizune to bow and apologize to everyone.

But after taking two steps, Tsunade paused, and her voice rang out.

"Don't you go dying, brat. I'm still waiting for you to save up more money and lose it to me!"

"Next time we meet, it might not be so pleasant!" Dōmeki murmured as he watched Tsunade walk away.

The next day, Dōmeki and his companions saw no sign of Tsunade and the others, so they headed for the island.

"Lord Dōmeki!"

As soon as the three set foot on the lonely little island, members of the base who had received word appeared before them and respectfully welcomed them to the secret base.

"Just as I thought! Another cave!"

Dōmeki looked at the entrance set into the mountainside. Even though a sunny island was hardly suited to digging underground, Orochimaru had still hollowed out a cave inside the mountain. He really had taken a snake's fondness for dark, damp places to the extreme.

Looking at the rooms where test subjects and prisoners were confined, Dōmeki directly asked the person in charge for information about the monster.

According to the person in charge, the unknown monster had appeared on the island a few months ago, but had remained hidden in the dense forest. A member of the base had stumbled across it while hunting, when the monster, whose whole body seemed to be made of wood, was frenziedly destroying the forest. The moment it spotted him, it had gravely injured him. He had only survived because the monster had suddenly left for some unknown reason.

Afterward, members of the base had gone out several times to capture the monster, but had suffered heavy losses again and again. They had been forced to ask Orochimaru for support.

"The forest?" Dōmeki considered this. "Haku, Kimimaro! Come with me. Let's go meet the monster's true form!"

"Yes, Lord Shun!"

Although the island was fairly large, nearly half of it was barren and lifeless. The other half, however, was lush with vegetation, the trees so densely packed that they seemed to block out even the sunlight.

"Such dense natural energy!"

As Dōmeki led the two through the forest, he couldn't help being surprised by how abundant the natural energy was. Although natural energy existed everywhere in the Shinobi World, in most places it was so thin as to be almost nonexistent.

Places rich in natural energy were all extraordinary, but they had long since been occupied. The most famous among them were the Three Great Sage Lands: Shikkotsu Forest, Ryūchi Cave, and Mount Myōboku!

Of course, there were also quite a few mysterious places outside the Three Great Sage Lands, such as the Ninja Cat Clan, which had close ties to the Uchiha Clan. Its leader, Cat Granny, was also a being who could take human form, just like the White Snake Sage.

"Lord Shun, is that monster connected to natural energy?"

Hearing Dōmeki's murmurs, Haku asked curiously.

"Well, if it's the child I'm thinking of, it's certainly possible!"

Dōmeki spoke unhurriedly.

In a clearing in the forest, the sunlight was just right, its brilliant rays spilling freely among the trees.

In the very center of the clearing, a child with orange-red hair sat upright, holding millet in cupped hands with a gentle smile. Several birds had perched on the child's shoulders and arms, chirping as they pecked at the food from time to time.

A small white dog was jumping and barking around the orange-haired boy, who chuckled as though he understood what the puppy was saying.

"Don't be impatient! I'll go find you some food in a little while, Xiaobai!"

At that moment, Dōmeki and the other two were standing in a large tree nearby, looking down at it all.

"Another Xiaobai! Sure enough, he's an upright, honest kid just like me!"

Dōmeki nodded in great appreciation, while the corner of Haku's mouth twitched beside him.

Suddenly, Kimimaro, usually a man of few words, spoke up. "Lord Shun, is that child really the monster's true form?"

"That's right!" Dōmeki rubbed his chin. "It would be a little improper to bully an honest kid like that..."

"So, Kimimaro!"

"Yes, Lord Shun!" Kimimaro bowed slightly and waited for the boy's instructions.

"Go meet your future best buddy!"