Biwa * Fingerstyle

Tobirama received the commission as he was leaving the Daimyo's Residence.

It was an official document wrapped in fine silk, bound with gold thread, and stamped with the emblem of the Daimyo of the Land of Fire.

Back at his lodgings, Tobirama looked at the scroll on the table, his feelings complicated.

Would he agree?

The question wound quietly around Tobirama's heart like a vine.

Based on what he had always known, whether of his own late archenemy or of Ninja, especially powerful elite Ninja, Tobirama didn't think Izuna would agree.

A Ninja's pride was etched into their bones.

They revered strength, pursued victory, and held their clan's honor and their duties as Ninja as their highest principles.

Music? Performing? Playing for nobles?

If it were necessary to complete a mission, of course they could do it, and do it well, but this wasn't a mission.

As Tobirama saw it, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had dressed it up in lofty words, but in reality, this was an insult to Konoha. One misstep, and they could find themselves associated with the despised status of "actors" or "entertainers."

Uchiha Izuna.

The Uchiha second-in-command who had once been known on the battlefield for his ruthless swordsmanship and precise tactics, who had valued the Uchiha Clan's pride above his own life... Would his self-respect and sense of honor allow him to do such a thing?

Even if this Izuna came from a Parallel World, with an unrestrained personality and an unconventional way of doing things, had that pride that belonged to the strong really vanished?

If someone else made such a request of him, he would probably refuse them outright, perhaps even develop killing intent.

But this was a rare opportunity. He could understand what the daimyo had said: improving relations between Konoha and the Land of Fire was imperative; the only question was how long it would take.

The sooner they reached an agreement to cooperate, the more both sides would benefit, but playing an instrument...

Tobirama closed his eyes for a moment. In his mind, the warrior who had always opposed him gradually gave way to the lively young man of the present.

...I'll take it back first, anyway. Maybe that guy can come up with some clever idea? If nothing else works, we can always refuse and wait for the next opportunity.

The model of shinobi villages and nations was already underway. Sooner or later, the Daimyo of the Land of Fire would be unable to sit still.

We can afford to wait.

Tobirama's expression grew resolute.

Earlier, during the days when Matsuda Hōshi had come to the Capital to spread the music of fingerstyle, Izuna's life in Konoha had remained as leisurely as ever.

Konoha was changing with each passing day.

Shops sprang up along the streets like bamboo shoots after rain, and the goods they sold gradually expanded from the original Ninja Tools, medicinal herbs, and grain to include some novel items.

Brightly colored fabrics, unusual hair ornaments, and little ornaments with an exotic flair.

Izuna's daily routine was quite regular:

In the morning, Madara "accompanied" him to the training ground, where he warmed up, "instructed" each of the little Uchiha who arrived "on time" to "report for duty," and picked up some furious protests from Takuma along the way. Then he told the children a few stories.

At noon, he went home to eat with Madara. Sometimes Hashirama also dropped by for a free meal, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

In the afternoon, he was either dragged to the Hokage Building by Hashirama to serve as a "free consultant," or he wandered around the village on his own.

These past few days, his biggest achievement had been finally finding a musical instrument shop.

Ever since that street "concert," he had been planning to get himself a stringed instrument to play with.

There was no helping it. The entertainment in this world was just too scarce!

No phone, no internet, no games, not even a decent novel to be found. If he didn't find something to entertain himself, he was afraid he'd be bored enough to grow mushrooms.

Back in college in his previous life, Izuna had been not only a rhythm game expert, but also a music enthusiast.

He had specialized in stringed instruments—the kind with strings.

He could play the guitar, electric guitar, and bass. On a whim, he had even dabbled for a while in the biwa, known as the "king of plucked instruments."

He had shamelessly pestered a master senior in the Guitar Club into teaching him fingerstyle, then practiced until his fingers bled and grew calluses before he could barely be considered a beginner.

As for the biwa, honestly, he wasn't proficient in it. But anyone who had played a stringed instrument knew they had things in common, and the basic techniques could be applied from one to another.

That was why, when he had snatched the old monk's biwa that day, he hadn't been completely at a loss and had managed to play a few notes in a recognizable pattern.

But he had always regretted not figuring the biwa out.

Now he had time and was bored, so it was the perfect opportunity to pick it up again and study it.

As he entered the instrument shop, a smell of wood, rosin, and age hit him.

The shop displayed a few shamisen, some flutes and shakuhachi, and a few biwa that looked ancient.

Izuna eagerly began to browse.

After looking around, however, he couldn't help frowning.

"Sir, these biwa of yours..." He picked one up and gently plucked the strings. The sound was dry and dull. "The tone isn't quite right. And this one, the neck is a little crooked... These are all antiques, and they haven't been well maintained."

The shopkeeper was a short, stout middle-aged man. Hearing this, he rubbed his hands awkwardly. "My lord Ninja, this is a small shop with slim profits. Good instruments are hard to come by, and these are already the best in the village..."

Izuna curled his lip. You're just bringing in defective goods to fool people because you think nobody here knows any better, aren't you? That's no way to run a business.

His gaze roamed the shop. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and settled on a dusty corner behind the counter, where a long object wrapped in a Dark Blue Cloth Cover leaned against the wall.

"Sir, that..." Izuna pointed. "Could I have a look?"

The shopkeeper's face changed, and he hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no! That's my shop's prized treasure. It's not for sale! It was passed down from my grandfather!"

"Your shop's prized treasure?" Izuna's interest was piqued. Regardless of whether the shopkeeper was willing, he flashed around behind the counter and reached out to lift the cloth cover.

"Hey! My lord Ninja! You can't..." The shopkeeper stamped his feet in distress.

Izuna undid the cover, revealing a biwa that was dark red all over, made of smooth wood, and carved with exquisite cloud patterns.

The body was exceptionally well maintained and still had a dark sheen in the dim light.

He reached out and gently brushed the strings, feeling their coolness and just the right tension against his fingertips.

A fine instrument!

Izuna's eyes lit up. He didn't even need to test its sound; the wood alone told him it was a good biwa! It was far better than the sorry specimens out front!

"Sir, I'm taking this one!" Without another word, Izuna pulled out his purse, counted out a few gleaming gold coins, and slapped them onto the counter. "Is this enough?"

The shopkeeper looked at the gold coins, enough to buy half his shop, then at Izuna's "I'm not leaving unless you sell it to me" stance and the conspicuous Uchiha Clan Crest on his back. Finally, he swallowed and said with a miserable face, "Enough, that's enough... But it's a family heirloom..."

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of it!" Izuna picked up the biwa with a radiant smile. "In my hands, it'll surely make even more wonderful sounds!"

With that, he left, perfectly satisfied, carrying his newly acquired treasure and humming a tuneless little song.

The shopkeeper was left staring at the gold coins, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear. "My shop's prized treasure..."

With an instrument that suited him, Izuna added another activity to his daily routine: practicing.

Every day after training, or after "getting off work" at the Hokage Building, he either returned to his room or settled under the shade of a tree by the training ground, held the dark red biwa, and began his "musical research."

The little ones at the training ground soon grew used to hearing the sound of the second-in-command's biwa every day between their Taijutsu sparring and Ninjutsu practice.

At first, the sound was indeed a little strange, somewhat like a broom.

Izuna was clearly still finding his way. His fingering was clumsy, and he often played the wrong notes, stopping and starting in a way that made listeners anxious.

But who was Izuna? He was the formidable player who had fought his way into the global top three in Rhythm Game Hell. His control over rhythm and finger coordination had long since been honed to an inhuman level.

Add to that the exceptional neural reflexes and muscle control of his Uchiha body, and his speed at learning an instrument far exceeded that of an ordinary person.

In just a few days, those stumbles disappeared.

Izuna quickly figured out the biwa's tonal characteristics and how it produced sound, his fingers flying over its four strings with increasing skill.

Then he began to "play" with it.

He didn't go and learn any traditional biwa pieces.

To be honest, he didn't even know what pieces there were for the biwa.

He treated the biwa entirely as another form of guitar and began trying to play it with fingerstyle guitar techniques.

Tremolo became rapid arpeggios; hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides came naturally to him. The fingers of his right hand tapped the soundboard or strings, creating rhythmic effects like percussion.

What delighted Izuna most was the enormous advantage his Ninja physique gave him!

In his previous life, worn, broken skin on his fingers and aching wrists had been commonplace when he practiced certain highly difficult fingerstyle pieces.

Some techniques demanded tremendous speed and strength, such as rapid, continuous hammer-ons and forceful tremolo. He had needed to put in enormous effort just to barely manage them, and even then he couldn't keep them up for long.

But now?

His fingers seemed to possess limitless endurance. He could easily execute even the most complex fingering sequences, and his control over the strength in his wrists and arms was exquisitely precise.

Some showy passages that he could only dream of in his previous life, unable to play them at all, now came easily to him, and the results were astounding!

Pieces he had always wanted to tackle but had never been able to perform perfectly now came naturally in this world, with the help of this body and this fine instrument.

Izuna was utterly absorbed in it.

Every day, in the time left over from training, he played the biwa, studied new fingering techniques, tried to perform songs he had liked in his previous life on the biwa, or simply improvised some cheerful tunes...

It became his greatest source of comfort and joy in this boring Ninja world.