Act One × The Ninja and the Taira

(If you're not interested in The Tale of the Heike, you can skip it, you can skip it, you can skip it.)

(The entire second volume is The Tale of the Heike. You can click on the volumes instead of scrolling down. Don't scroll down, there are over thirty chapters. Please skip them yourself. (Damn, I had no idea anyone could be stupid enough to give me a bad review over this. (What a freak show.))

(Also, the author posts six chapters a day for you, so don't give me a low rating because there's too much to skip. I'm not kidding when I say I'm ready to run off at any time.)

(But note that your reading experience *will be incomplete. There will be parallels to this part later on, so it's normal if you can't make sense of them, because that's the intended effect. That's all.)

(Once again: *you can skip it! You can skip it! You can skip it!)

From the moment Izuna first conceived this unprecedented performance, he had known exactly what his goal was.

To break through the narrative that had remained fixed for centuries and show everyone the vivid human side of the ninja.

The story couldn't be too long. Time at the Spring Festival was limited, and so was the audience's patience, especially with a mixed crowd gathered in an open-air square.

An overly complicated plot would only put people to sleep or send them away halfway through.

The story couldn't be incomprehensible, either.

He couldn't count on everyone in the audience knowing what The Tale of the Heike was about.

So, as if making a movie, he had to extract the most iconic episodes and present them as plainly as possible.

Izuna discarded a wealth of intricate details about court struggles and subplots involving minor characters, keeping only a few scenes that best reflected the turning points in the Taira's fortunes and the tragedy of the era.

The splendor of Taira no Kiyomori at the height of his power over court and country, several major turning points and key battles, the final elegy of the Battle of Dan-no-ura, and the survivors' wanderings and memories after the fall of the Taira.

Between those streamlined historical bones, he inserted a great many stories about ninja that he had made up himself.

When Matsuda Hōshi first saw the "adaptation outline" Izuna had put together, he was so shocked he nearly pulled out his beard.

"Th-this... Lord Izuna! This is a far cry from The Tale of the Heike as we know it! None of this is recorded in the histories. It could provoke criticism!"

Izuna had merely smiled calmly and asked in return, "Matsuda Hōshi, in those Heikyoku passages you taught me, how much of what the ninja did was recorded?"

Matsuda Hōshi was at a loss for words.

"Since no one knows exactly what the ninja did or experienced behind those momentous events in history..."

Izuna's eyes were clear and sharp. "Then who can say for certain that the stories I've invented don't accord with history?"

His voice held a faint note of mockery. "If you ask me, what I've made up is closer to how they actually lived than those so-called official histories that deliberately blur them out and reduce them to tools."

Matsuda Hōshi stared blankly for a long time. At last, he let out a long sigh and said no more.

He had a vague feeling that Izuna might be planning something.

He just didn't know whether that plan would be good or bad for the Land of Fire and its people.

Suddenly, the space around Izuna lit up.

A dark figure landed lightly beside Izuna, dropping to one knee with a clean, swift movement and the agility unique to the young.

It was Uchiha Takuma.

He now wore a simple dark ninja outfit, and his face was painted light purple so people at a distance could identify him.

He didn't look at the audience below, keeping his eyes straight ahead before leaving again.

Meanwhile, Hashirama, seated among the honored guests, quietly formed Hand Seals with his fingers inside his sleeves.

Wood Release: Great Forest Wall!

Wood Release: Four Pillar House Technique!

The ground around the raised platform gave an extremely faint rustle, and wood slowly began to emerge.

Then thick but smooth wooden structures grew and extended rapidly as if alive. In the space of an instant, the originally cramped platform for a single performer expanded into a stage large enough for several people to move about.

He also made some covered walkways and simple pavilions of the sort found on a Noh stage.

The entire process was smooth and natural. Had they not seen it with their own eyes, people might almost have thought the extension had been there all along.

After their initial alarm, the crowd suddenly erupted in cheers, and even the Daimyo couldn't help applauding.

"I didn't expect Ninjutsu could even build houses," the Daimyo said. "If this could be used in construction..."

The surrounding ministers voiced their agreement.

But what they agreed with...

"Indeed," an elderly minister said slowly, stroking his beard. "But such crude techniques are ultimately the lesser arts of fighting men. When it comes to governing the realm, helping the people, and building a foundation to last a hundred years, we must still rely on rites and laws, regulations, and skilled craftsmen."

Another minister immediately chimed in. "Quite so. No matter how ingenious the ninja's techniques may be, they are nothing more than tricks unfit for respectable company."

"Besides," a third minister said in a lowered voice that everyone nearby could nevertheless hear clearly, "it would hardly be proper to let those shadows from the gutters lay their hands on the great undertakings carried out in the light of day..."

The folding fan in the Daimyo's hand paused, and he narrowed his eyes.

These old bastards.

Onstage, the set crew, who had long been ready, immediately darted out and swiftly put several screens painted with exquisite designs and other props in place.

Meanwhile, under the precise control of five Uchiha Genjutsu experts, the Genjutsu backdrop surrounding the stage shifted seamlessly from the poignant, dreamlike night of falling blossoms to a sunny daytime scene of deep courtyards.

Light and shadow changed smoothly and naturally. Birds chirped faintly, and tree shadows swayed, as though the audience had been pulled into another time and place in an instant.

A dignified middle-aged man in the lavish robes of a court noble appeared at the end of the walkway.

He was one of the ninja using the Transformation Technique, and he was playing Taira no Shigemori.

Taira no Shigemori, Taira no Kiyomori's eldest son and the wise lord of the Taira. Loyal and benevolent, accomplished in both civil and martial affairs.

Simply put, he was a formidable man who was damn good in battle.

But at this moment, he looked like nothing more than a kindly middle-aged man.

Before him, three children dressed as ninja knelt on one knee.

Their kneeling postures were impeccable, but their slightly tense shoulders betrayed their unconscious nervousness before Taira no Shigemori.

Shintarō lowered his head and spoke in a precise, formal manner. "Lord Taira no Shigemori, Shintarō, Takuichi, and Shinrei have come. As ordered, from this day forth, the three of us will guard the young masters of the Taira."

Taira no Shigemori's gaze slowly swept over the three children, and a gentle smile appeared on his dignified face. "Rise. Thank you for your efforts. Come and meet the people you'll be serving from now on."

He turned and beckoned toward the covered walkway. "Koremori, Sugemori, Kiyotsune, Arimori, come here."

Four boys gathered from behind the walkway's pillars.

The eldest, Taira no Koremori, was already a youth, and his manners could already be called courteous. He gave the three a proper bow. "Sorry for the trouble from now on." His gaze was clear and kind.

The round little Taira no Sukemori squeezed forward. He was half a head shorter than Koremori, with chubby cheeks, but his eyes held undisguised scrutiny.

He looked the three ninja children up and down, then snorted through his little nose. "So these are the 'Guardian Ninja' Father talked about? They don't look like much. Hey, can you do tricks? Are you fast at climbing trees? I heard ninja are all shadows. Do shadows need to wear shoes?"

He pointed at the conspicuous tall wooden clogs on Shintarō's feet, his voice carrying a touch of scorn he seemed entirely unaware of. "Hmph, you even wear shoes like those. How lowly."

"Sugemori!" Taira no Shigemori reprimanded him in a low voice, though he wasn't truly angry. It was more a matter of disciplining him for form's sake.

Takuichi jerked his head up and glared at Taira no Sukemori. "What did you say? You—"

Shintarō reacted quickly, placing a hand on Takuichi's shoulder. He didn't press hard, but it was enough to make him swallow the rest of his words.

Shintarō kept his head lowered and replied evenly, "Forgive us for the poor showing, young master Sugemori. What ninja learn are practical skills for protection, not tricks. As for my shoes, there's no need to worry. Ninja can carry out our duties well even barefoot."

"Tch, boring." Taira no Sukemori curled his lip. Feeling he had gained the upper hand, he grew even more smug. "But you still have to do what we say, right? If I tell you to bark like a dog, will you do it?"

"Sukemori!" This time, Taira no Shigemori frowned.

Seeing that his father was genuinely a little angry, the boy lowered his head sheepishly and pouted.

Takuichi's face turned red with anger. If Shintarō hadn't been holding him down firmly, he might really have jumped up. "You bark like a dog! You damn fatty!"

Sukemori had been about to stop talking, but he couldn't hold back after that. "Who are you calling fat? You freak with your face all painted up!"

"Fatty, fatty! Round-ball fatty!"

"Painted-face cat! Purple eggplant!"

The two children traded insults just like that, shouting at each other from a distance while their respective older brother and leader held them back, like two little animals with their fur standing on end.

Taira no Shigemori held his forehead and sighed, Koremori held his unruly younger brother with a helpless expression, and the maids around them covered their mouths and giggled.

On the other side, the young Taira no Kiyotsune watched his older brother argue and found it immensely amusing. He clapped his little hands and giggled, his eyes curving into crescents.

The youngest, Taira no Arimori, paid no attention to the quarrel at all. He was lying at the edge of the walkway, stretching out a chubby little finger in an attempt to reach a white butterfly perched on the railing, making muffled "Pff... pff..." sounds.

The audience below the stage was already laughing.

The sudden quarrel between the youngsters had unexpectedly struck a chord with everyone's sense of humor.

No one had ever put such trivial matters onstage before, but the humor they brought was something everyone could appreciate.

It was so much like watching their own children quarrel that even the nobility could understand the joke.

In particular, seeing Taira no Shigemori's pained expression, as if lamenting his family's misfortune, and the two little tots arguing until their faces were red, even the most serious samurai would probably have been unable to suppress a smile.

The farce didn't last long.

After the two children's anger had been soothed, the scene began to change.

The Genjutsu backdrop followed the characters as they moved, revealing different corners of the courtyard or scenes indoors.

The performance onstage was brought vividly to life through simple gestures and the support of the Genjutsu backdrop.

To the surprise of many in the audience, especially the nobles and samurai, the relationship between the ninja and the young Taira masters portrayed onstage was not the purely cold one between master and servant, or tool and user, that they had imagined.

Apart from being solemn and diligent while carrying out their protection duties, these adolescent boys and girls actually behaved like ordinary youngsters in private.

They laughed and played together over amusing things, argued over trivial questions, shared simple food after training, and secretly changed into ordinary clothes to mingle in the streets during festivals.

Of course, before the Taira adults, they immediately resumed their respectful, silent demeanor and kept to their duties.

But the closeness and trust that had naturally grown through spending so much time together and growing up side by side came across clearly to the audience through one small interaction after another.

"This..." An elderly samurai with a goatee stroked his beard, surprise showing in his eyes. "Letting the ninja become so close to the young masters... Lord Taira no Shigemori's approach rather resembles... the nurturing of samurai retainers."

The nobleman beside him replied quietly, "Indeed. Only by growing up together and sharing both joys and hardships from childhood can true loyalty be cultivated. But... using such a method of managing subordinates on ninja?"

Their discussion was quiet, but it represented how many members of the traditional classes felt at that moment.

They were surprised to see ninja portrayed in such a human light, even given a narrative resembling a samurai's path of growth.

But subconsciously, they still interpreted the relationship as a clever way to manage subordinates, a means of making a tool more useful.

They saw the affection, but had yet to fully understand what Izuna wanted to express: the emotions and choices of ninja as "people" and independent individuals.

But the Daimyo understood. His gaze was deep as he silently watched Izuna, who had spent the entire performance off to one side playing the musical accompaniment, successfully removing himself from public discussion and becoming part of the background.