Sōichi * Yūko

"Now that things are settled, let's discuss the festival arrangements," the Jurōjin concluded.

"The summer solstice is just around the corner," he said. "We should get moving and go through this year's Early Summer Festival from beginning to end."

Around three in the afternoon, the soft sunlight slanted through the windowpanes, casting dappled shadows on the tatami mats.

"Let's put the festival aside for now." Daikokuten suddenly raised his hand and spread a list on the ground. "Take a look at this first."

The list above is densely packed with invitations to this year's Early Summer Festival.

The first few rows were representatives of local trading companies and temples in the Land of Hot Water, but the names became increasingly unfamiliar as they went on, and the Family Crests and official titles attached to them became more and more conspicuous.

He is the young prince of the Major Counselor's Office in the Land of Lightning, the vice-minister of the Magistrate's Office the Land of Water, the vice-general of the Daimyo's Personal Guard in the Daimyo of the Land of Earth, Elder of the nobles in the Land of Wind, and even a close attendant of two Court Nobles in Kyoto, the Land of Fire.

Next to each person's name, the number of people accompanying them, their accommodation location, and their arrival date were noted.

"These people have all accepted the invitation," said Daikokuten. "They will arrive in Hot Spring Street in three days at the latest."

The hall remained quiet for a while.

Bishamonten sneered, "They're treating our Land of Hot Water like a chessboard. The Early Summer Festival hasn't even started, and they've already laid out their pieces. If you ask me, we should just cancel it..."

"Be careful what you say." The Jurōjin spoke, and even the hot-tempered Bishamonten quieted down.

"The Summer Solstice Festival must be carried out as planned, without the slightest mistake," the Jurōjin said. "This is our traditional activity, our ceremony, do you understand?"

The other gods of fortune bowed and said yes.

"If there's nothing else, this meeting is now adjourned," the Jurōjin nodded to everyone, "Thank you all for your hard work."

After leaving the Council Hall, Fukurokuju's gentle demeanor finally crumbled.

He strode out of the corridor, and only when he was a distance from the hall did he lower his voice and whisper, "How can we form an alliance with the Land of Whirlpools of Land of Whirlpools? Didn't everyone want to avoid anything with them before? How could they change their minds so quickly!"

Ebisu walked beside him, and upon hearing this, looked up at the sky.

The light filtering through the clouds was like soft cotton wool, gently covering the midday breeze. The air was filled with the damp smell of Sulfur, and the dappled sunlight moved slowly across the ground, giving the newly green treetops a faint warmth.

"You saw the Hurricane yesterday too," Ebisu suddenly said.

The figures of Fukurokuju, and Shou paused in their tracks.

"Hiroyama makes it sound so easy, only saying that it blew people away from the docks." Ebisu's tone was tinged with apprehension. "But last night's gust of wind could be felt Renjō."

"I was in the tavern with a few managers checking accounts when suddenly the windows started shaking violently, the door was blown open, and the account books on the table were being tossed around by the wind. I thought the weather was about to change."

"That's probably what Hurricane looks like," he said, lowering his eyes. "But in Hiroyama's description, it was just Uchiha Izuna gently fanning the air. Have you thought about what would happen to the Land of Hot Water if he had really used his full strength?"

Fukurokuju understood what he meant.

In the past, a newly formed Hurricane could force them to seek Hurricane in the mountains. If it were man-made... then they wouldn't even have anywhere to hide.

Under such coercion, they have no choice but to face reality.

In the Land of Hot Water, it's impossible to remain unscathed.

Ebisu sighed and took another step, "Besides, Daikokuten didn't bring this up on a whim. The reason the Land of Whirlpools has survived until now is because the chaos outside has absorbed our prying eyes."

"People used to think it wasn't time to take sides. But if we don't choose now, when summer comes, it won't just be a few Ninjas sneaking around hiding that arrive with the Natsuhi Sun."

"At that time, there won't be another Uchiha Izuna happens to be passing by."

At the same time, Luotai stepped into the doorman's room.

When they entered through the side door, the owner of the house seemed to have been informed in advance and was squatting in the side hall. In the backyard, which had an unobstructed view, several well-trimmed black pines swayed gently in the wind.

A young servant in gray led the three into a side hall, served them tea, and then quietly withdrew.

The man sat in the main seat, without a coat, wearing only a gray-blue casual kimono.

He was thin, with black hair and eyes, a clean face, and a gentle demeanor even when he wasn't smiling.

Namikaze Sōichi the retainer of the Masato whom Luotai was wary of.

Luotai felt no relief at all seeing how mildly he treated them. He had seen too many people who wore a gentle facade; the more polite they smiled, the faster they would stab someone in the back.

In particular, when this Namikaze Sōichi was working under Masato, many of the chilling suggestions that made people's hair stand on end came from his mouth.

"Luotai," Sōichi spoke first, his tone as natural as greeting an old friend, "I heard you brought friends over. I apologize for any shortcomings in our hospitality. What brings you here today?"

Luotai didn't beat around the bush and stated his purpose directly. "We're looking for a Courtesan, blonde and blue-eyed, with features resembling those from the Land of Lightning. Someone saw her heading this way. Mr. Sōichi is the most knowledgeable person in this area, so we wanted to ask if you've seen her."

Sōichi moment. "Blonde hair and blue eyes... I don't remember anyone like that ever coming here. If someone had, I would know it."

"However, it's quite unusual for two Ninjas and you to go to such lengths to find a Courtesan."

Shin and Enma frowned. He recognized them too quickly, immediately understanding their identities Ninjas. This person was not easy to deal with.

"If you say you haven't seen it, then I'll pretend I haven't," Luotai said steadily. "But I'm in such a hurry, I can't just believe someone and go back."

Sōichi smiled and didn't rush to explain, "I know you're wary of me. We used to work for Masato. Although we weren't very close, you should have heard about my habits."

"I never hide people of unknown origin. This is for my own sake and for the sake of everyone in this household. If you don't believe me, you can ask yourselves."

He raised his hand in a "please" gesture, indicating that he would allow them to search him.

Luotai didn't move, he just looked at him.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment.

Just then, Zhen suddenly spoke up, "But my mouse brought me here."

Sōichi paused for a moment, then turned his gaze to her.

Zhen lifted the swaddled baby in her arms a little higher, and explained to Sōichi's gaze, "My spell followed us to this area. That woman did come by; she stopped for a while, but didn't come in, and just left."

"A technique?" Sōichi frowned slightly.

Zhen said, "I released the Word Mouse, and it followed the scent left by that person to your house. Then the Word Mouse stopped and just circled around the wall."

Upon hearing this, Sōichi's gentle brows furrowed almost imperceptibly as he turned to look towards the door.

Zhen also turned her head to look at him.

Outside the threshold, the guiding Word Mouse was still sniffing around, then it turned and ran towards the door.

Startled, he tried to stand up and chase after it, only to find that the Word Mouse had already vanished.

"What does that mean?"

Zhen frowned. "She came by, but she didn't come in."

"She came..." Sōichi repeated softly, a faint look of worry appearing between his brows.

After a long pause, he gently shook his head. "I really haven't seen any woman. If she really came to the door, it must be because the person at the door didn't announce my name, otherwise I would definitely have received the news."

"Perhaps the person at the door was distracted," Enma said indifferently.

He had learned this lesson the hard way; servants sometimes try to guess their master's intentions and deliberately pass on the wrong information.

Sōichi glanced at Enma, ignoring the barb in his words, and turned to Luotai: "How about this, if you trust me, allow me to check with the gatekeepers and servants on duty today to see if anyone has seen that woman. If there is any news, I will personally send someone to deliver it to you by tomorrow morning at the latest."

Luotai stared at him for a long while, then nodded. "Since you put it that way, I have no reason not to believe you. However, that woman is still weak after giving birth and cannot afford to delay. If she remembers anything later, please send someone to let me know."

"Wait a minute." Sōichi called out to Luotai, who was about to get up and leave.

Luotai stopped and looked back.

Sōichi's gaze fell on the unusually quiet swaddled baby in Zhen's arms, as if he had just realized why the three of them had been carrying this child since they entered the room.

He opened his eyes slightly, his face full of astonishment.

"Just gave birth?" His voice was a little strained, his gaze shifting from the swaddling clothes to Zhen. "You mean that woman... she's pregnant?"

Zhen quickly hugged the child tightly, afraid that the man in front of her would take the child away.

Sōichi's gaze remained fixed on the swaddled baby in Zhen's arms, and a hint of panic, which he had been trying so hard to hide, was now showing on his previously calm and gentle face.

His body leaned forward involuntarily. "That child... is it hers? Is that woman's name Yūko?"

Zhen subconsciously leaned back, tucking the swaddled baby even deeper into her arms.

Enma also turned slightly to the side, blocking Sōichi's view.

Luotai stepped forward, subtly blocking the two of them, and smiled politely at Sōichi: "Mr. Sōichi, we also need to confirm who the mother is first."

Sōichi's eyes remained fixed on the swaddling clothes. "Blue eyes... He's definitely Yūko's child! How about this, you leave the child here, and I'll take care of him? I'll give you money to hire you..."

"No need for you to worry about that," Luotai said calmly, firmly rejecting Sōichi's request. "Excuse me, we're still looking for someone, so we'll have to leave now."

After he finished speaking, Chao Enma and Zhen exchanged a glance.

She understood, picked up the child, turned, and walked towards the door.

Enma kept one hand hidden in his sleeve, holding Kunai and remaining vigilant.

Sōichi chased after them for a few steps, but found them to be extremely wary. Helpless, he could only sigh and ask the servant to lead the three of them away.

The faint scent of Pine Resin still lingered in the air, and the three people's footsteps echoed softly on the bluestone slabs.

After the three had walked away, Sōichi remained standing in the same position.

A moment later, he slowly raised his head, a chilling and somber expression appearing on his face.

"Investigate." His voice was soft, yet it sent a chill down the servant's spine. "Go to Pleasure Quarter's place and find out what happened to Yūko. Ask them, I clearly remember instructing my men to keep an eye on her, so how did she end up outside?"

The servant kneeling at the door pressed his forehead to the wooden floor and replied in a trembling voice, "Yes, sir. I'll take care of it right away."

He practically scrambled out on all fours.

Just then, he seemed to sense a gaze coming from nowhere, but when he turned his head, he saw nothing.

Namikaze Sōichi frowned.

Is it just an illusion?

Standing outside the wall, Mokushō quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "He really is a perceptive person."

"But he said to take good care of the woman. Could it be that Pleasure Quarter made the decision on his own? After all, some guests really don't like their beloved woman getting pregnant. But it seems like this man should be responsible."

Mokushō leaning against the wall, stroking his chin and talking to himself.

"Hmm, let's take a look. I wonder if this person has ever visited the Inari Shrine."

He took out a Five-yen Coin, aimed it at Namikaze Sōichi, and flicked it upwards with his thumb.

The coin soared into the air, shimmering and spinning a few times in the sunlight.

As it approached him, the coin seemed to have been hit by something and made a sound.

[Bite--]

"I think we should set off for the Land of Whirlpools as soon as possible," Tobirama suddenly said.

They had finished their Shrine visit and were now on the dirt road back to the Hot Spring Street.

"I agree," Izuna replied, without stopping, his tone surprisingly cheerful.

Tobirama raised an eyebrow and glanced at him.

The sun rose in the west?

"But before that, let me attend the recent festival." Izuna looked towards the street.

The chaos of last night seemed to have no effect; several children ran past them, chasing a rolling Bamboo Ball, their laughter carrying far in the wind.

Vendors were climbing ladders to tie red ropes to the eaves, preparing new signs, and there was even a faint sweet fragrance in the air.

Tobirama sneered upon hearing this, "I knew it."

Ban glanced at him. "You have a problem with that?"

Tobirama rolled his eyes, not wanting to talk to this guy who was Tenten picking a fight.

Izuna, however, got down to business. "After all, the best place to start a war is somewhere peaceful enough to hold a festival. It'll be perfect for me to have some fun too. Festivals and such are sure to be interesting."

Tobirama's brow twitched slightly. "I didn't expect you to have thought of that."

"It's nothing, just a lesson from history."

"But if that's the case, we'll have to find a way to get the person in charge to cancel the celebration," Tobirama said.

"That would cause even bigger chaos," Izuna shook his head. "Besides, everyone's already started preparing; the festival will go ahead as planned no matter what we say."

"Perhaps everyone prefers peace. But believe me, they are also prepared for war. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to force the Tsuchigumo Clan to the point of having to stay last night. If the festival is canceled now, it would be tantamount to declaring war, and no one would do that."

Tobirama's brow furrowed even more deeply. "Isn't what happened last night clear enough? How could anyone be so foolish as to continue maintaining a facade of peace?"

"But the war hasn't even started yet," Izuna said leisurely. "We believe the war will affect the Land of Hot Water, but people living in peaceful areas won't think about it affecting them personally."

Tobirama looked at him strangely, "That's incredibly arrogant."

"Isn't that right?" Izuna completely oblivious to being insulted. "We're all a bunch of fools, that's why we need smart people to protect us."

Tobirama's expression became even stranger.

"With us here, they won't dare do anything," Ban suddenly said, his voice lazy.

He walked along the outer edge of Izuna, his gaze slowly sweeping over the rooftops of the Machiya where festival preparations were underway. "If they make a move, we can simply consider it a declaration of war against us, and then we can respond."

Hashirama sighed, his tone unusually heavy. "It would be best if we could avoid that outcome. But if it really comes to that, I won't hesitate."

Izuna immediately turned his head and gave Hashirama a thumbs up. "Good! Haki!"

"Stop stirring things up." Tobirama glared at him, then sighed.

"Whatever you want." Anyway, I'll have to save the day eventually, so I'd better stock up on Flying Thunder God Kunai in advance.

The dirt road was covered with small pebbles, making a rustling sound as you walked on it. The shadows of the trees on both sides were already quite long, and the wind blew in from the foot of the mountain, carrying a slight chill.

Hashirama, with his hands behind his back, suddenly laughed, "Speaking of which, I saw you looking quite intently at the Shrine earlier, and I thought you were going to make some grand wish. But when I asked around, it turned out you were just watching the Ema boards for fun."

"It's all because the Ema plaques there are so interesting," Izuna laughed. "I originally thought that only people at Inari Shrine prayed for prosperous business and abundant harvests, but I didn't expect that there were more people praying for marriage than for wealth. Half of the plaque is covered with the word 'money,' and the other half is covered with the word 'marriage.' In this world, money and love are indeed the most touching things."

"So did you write it or not?" Tobirama asked.

"No," Izuna replied matter-of-factly. "I see everyone else writing so enthusiastically, but I can't think of anything myself. However, I saw one that was particularly interesting, hanging quite high up, which read 'May my sister find a good match,' and it was signed by Tamaro."

Ban raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this. "Oh?"

I really envy those siblings, they're so lucky.

"If you want me to hang it up, I don't mind going back now and hanging it up for you."

Izuna was startled. "Forget about that! I don't want to get married!"

Ban laughed. "Didn't you say you were envious?"

"I'm talking about sibling affection! I'm touched! Touched, you know that?!"

Ban seemed thoughtful. "Perhaps I should go back."

"Brother Ban!"

"But you're still young, don't you really want to find a girlfriend?"

Izuna pursed his lips. "We'd have incompatible values. There's probably no girl in this world I could really connect with."

"Are you so sure?"

"I'm absolutely certain!"

Tobirama expressed his incomprehension. "Then why are you watching it so enthusiastically?"

"I just enjoy seeing other people happy," Izuna said, shrugging.

After saying this, he stepped onto the long bridge spanning the river.

The bridge was about twenty meters long, and the wooden surface was polished to a shine by the footsteps of passersby. The river below reflected the sunlight, making it dazzlingly bright.

Izuna walked across the bridge, he suddenly said, "Speaking of which, do you know a story?"

Hashirama was very enthusiastic. "What's the story?"

"There was once an exceptionally handsome young man who, one day, passed by a river and saw his reflection in the water. He fell in love with that reflection. He spent every day gazing at it from the water's edge, becoming increasingly mesmerized. Finally, he tried to reach out and grab his reflection, but he fell into the water and drowned." Izuna sighed. "To love someone you can't have is indeed the most tormenting thing in the world."

Tobirama bluntly commented, "That's just stupid."

"And there's another one," Izuna continued. "There was once a woman who loved a man, but she felt she couldn't be with him. They were mutually in love, but the woman didn't feel the same way."

She kept thinking, "Oh, how stupid I am! How could such an adult possibly look at someone as despicable as me?" So the more she thought about it, the more disheartened she became, and she even considered jumping into the river and dying.

As Izuna walked and talked, his tone rising and falling, and he even imitated the voice of a woman in a play, which made Hashirama and Madara look at him Tobirama gave him a "you're talking nonsense again" look.

Izuna continued telling his story, swaying his head back and forth.

So she took off her shoes, climbed over the railing, thinking that death would bring relief. But just then, the man's face appeared before her eyes.

"She thought again, ah, in the end, she still wanted to see that sir one last time..." He turned his head to look behind him, just as he was sighing, when suddenly he saw a white figure leaning forward, about to jump into the river. "Wait! Wait!"

The coin finally fell back into his hand with a "clink".

Mokushō looked down.

"Wow, you're so lucky! You're destined for a smooth life, and you'll only have one marriage line in this lifetime."

He carefully put the coins away, his tone softening. "In that case, the woman should be alright."