The Land of Hot Water lay northeast of the Land of Fire. This small country, which had no ninja village, was shrouded year-round in mist rising from its hot springs. Volcanic heat had created countless springs, their steam curling perpetually among the scattered inns. It was both an ideal place for spies from the great nations to meet in secret and a favorite trading hub for black-market merchants.
The Dog Hot Spring Inn stood at the end of the busiest street in town. Legend had it that long ago, when this place was still a poor little village, a dog suddenly appeared one day. It kept barking at a particular patch of ground. Unable to bear the disturbance any longer, the villagers finally dug up the spot under the leadership of the village's young men.
Splash!
Scalding spring water suddenly gushed out, its billowing steam enveloping the entire village in an instant. From then on, the village prospered through its hot springs, eventually growing into the resort town it was today. Convinced that the dog had been a messenger sent by the Dog God, the villagers named the spring "Dog Hot Spring." The inn built later inherited the same name.
Second floor of the inn · Japanese-style room
The paper door slid gently open. Hizashi Hyuga knelt beside the window. His black blindfold had long since been removed, but his pure white Byakugan remained slightly narrowed. After so long in darkness, he still struggled to adjust to the light.
They had traveled for two full days since his rescue. During that time, the black-robed man had given him no instructions beyond using the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary traveler. There had been no restraints, no interrogation, not even any unnecessary conversation. With a simple "Keep up," the man had led him across the border to this place.
What on earth...
Hizashi's fingertips unconsciously traced the rim of his teacup as questions kept surfacing. If the man truly wanted to take his Byakugan, he could simply have bound him tightly, as Kumogakure had. And if he were a ninja from another village, he certainly should not have attacked the Kumogakure convoy so openly.
What puzzled him most was this.
When the black-robed man rescued him, he had said, "I'll take the Byakugan." Yet so far, he had not even touched Hizashi's eyes.
Familiar footsteps sounded outside the paper door, and Hizashi immediately straightened his back. With a creak, the figure wearing the Fox Mask appeared in the doorway, still dressed in the same long black robe. Fortunately, the faint oppressive aura surrounding him had disappeared, perhaps because he was no longer fighting.
Hizashi Hyuga maintained a proper kneeling posture. Across from him, the mysterious man also sat on the floor, the hem of his black robe spread over the woven-rush tatami. The Fox Mask concealed his face entirely in shadow.
Silence settled over the room, broken only by the faint sound of flowing spring water outside the window. Just as Hizashi was considering how to begin—
"You must have a lot of questions right now."
The Masked Man spoke suddenly, his voice filtering through the mask.
"I can't tell you much about my identity." He raised a hand and lightly tapped his mask with a fingertip. "And I can't take this mask off. If you need something to call me... call me Menma."
"Lord... Menma." Hizashi chose the respectful title carefully. After watching this man single-handedly annihilate the Kumogakure delegation, he instinctively observed the utmost courtesy.
He drew a deep breath, his white eyes looking directly at the strange mask. "This question may overstep my bounds... but what is your objective?"
Unexpectedly, Menma did not seem offended by the blunt question. He remained seated casually on the tatami.
"It's all right. There's no need to dance around that question. Strictly speaking, I'm not a ninja affiliated with any village. As for saving you..."
"It wasn't for the Byakugan, either."
Hizashi visibly stiffened for a moment. Those words from the battlefield—"I'll take the Byakugan"—still rang clearly in his ears. Now the man was dismissing them so casually?
Apparently noticing his confusion, Menma volunteered an explanation. "To be precise, I said that to make those Kumogakure fellows believe that was my goal. What I did amounted to a declaration of war. They're bound to paint me as some vicious monster, aren't they?"
A soft chuckle came from beneath the mask. "I don't want anyone using morality to pressure me. In front of them, I might as well play someone they fear."
Hizashi froze. He realized that the meticulous thinking this man displayed now was far more alarming than the strength with which he had so easily destroyed an elite unit.
"Then... what is your true objective?"
Menma did not answer immediately. He picked up the teapot on the table and slowly poured tea into a cup.
"Other than my Byakugan, I can't think of anything I have that would..."
Hizashi paused, his throat shifting slightly.
"Make me worth saving."
Menma's fingers lightly traced the rim of his teacup. "Would you believe me?" His voice suddenly took on an indescribable emotion, something like anger, something like compassion.
"Sometimes, saving someone... doesn't require any special reason."
He set the teacup down hard on the table, splashing a few drops of tea.
"I simply couldn't stand it." Menma's voice abruptly turned cold. "I couldn't stand those self-righteous hypocrites sending an innocent man to his death under the banner of their nation's greater good."
"That's all."
Hizashi's body went rigid.
...What?
His thoughts froze. Simply because... he couldn't stand it? This powerful man, who could effortlessly wipe out Kumogakure's elite troops, had risked making an enemy of a great nation just because...
He wanted to do the right thing?
The absurd thought almost made him laugh aloud. A pawn abandoned by his village, a sacrifice who had willingly accepted death—and now he had been saved for a reason straight out of a fairy tale?
Menma saw through his turmoil and tilted his mask slightly. "Of course, saving you isn't without its benefits for me. But as for the specifics... forgive me, I can't explain."
Silence spread through the room.
Suddenly, Hizashi slowly rose to his feet. Under Menma's puzzled gaze, he stepped back a few paces, then—
Thud.
His forehead struck the tatami as he prostrated himself in a formal bow. Hizashi's voice was low and trembling. "This debt of gratitude..."
"I had already prepared myself to die. I had already been abandoned by my own people. I never imagined I could be given a new life like this."
When he raised his head, complicated emotions shimmered in his white eyes. "Whatever your purpose may be... the life I have now is indeed a gift from you."
"Should you have any command for me, I, Hizashi Hyuga... would gladly die ten thousand deaths to fulfill it."
Menma—or rather, Naruto, who was currently wearing the Fox Mask—scratched his head in mild distress. He was not used to such solemn formalities. Although saving someone's life certainly warranted a bow, having someone swear allegiance so earnestly left him feeling strangely awkward.
Fortunately, Hizashi soon straightened and returned to his seat. His expression remained calm, but complicated emotions faintly stirred in the depths of his pure white eyes.
"I truly wish I could say that... Truly, thank you so much. But... I'm sorry. Even after everything you've done, I'm afraid my life... won't last much longer."
Menma did not let him continue.
"I know."
A calm voice came from beneath the mask.
"It's the Caged Bird, isn't it? If the Konoha High Command wants to appease the Raikage's anger, the Main Family will activate your Curse Mark—even if you've already been 'abducted,' they'll use it to ensure your 'death,' won't they?"
Hizashi was briefly taken aback, then smiled bitterly.
"...You really do know."
Menma watched him quietly before speaking a moment later. "But even so... no matter how much you convince yourself that you've 'accepted death'... in the end, you still don't want to die."
Those words struck Hizashi in the deepest part of his heart, stirring emotions he had suppressed for far too long.
I don't want to die... I'd already prepared myself. I'd already decided to die for the Hyuga Clan, for peace in Konoha... Yet the moment I stepped into that prison wagon, all I could see was Neji's face.
My child... he's still so young...
Menma slowly stood, the hem of his black robe falling silently. "As long as someone still has something they care about in this world, they never truly want to die."
His voice held an unquestionable conviction. "Since I decided to save you, I won't stop halfway—I'll see this good deed through to the end."
Hizashi looked up, Menma's figure reflected in his white eyes. Menma walked over to him, reached out, and gently placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't move."
The next second, a gentle yet profound current of chakra flowed from his palm, seeping into Hizashi's body like a trickling stream.
The chakra gradually traced out an intricate mark. Its lines intertwined like chains, yet bore a distinctive style.
"This is...?"
Hizashi stared at the mark, feeling that... he had seen a similar jutsu formula somewhere before.
Menma withdrew his hand, and the mark's glow slowly faded. "The moment you feel the Caged Bird activate, channel chakra into this mark."
"I'll sense it immediately. I can't guarantee success, but I'm at least seventy percent confident I can keep you alive."
Hizashi's pupils contracted slightly. Stop the Caged Bird?! Does a jutsu like that... really exist?
"Afterward, once things settle down in Kumogakure, I'll arrange for you to meet your son while maintaining the illusion that you're 'dead.'"
"My... son?"
Hizashi's voice suddenly caught.
Neji...
That small figure instantly appeared in his mind—the stubborn gaze, the expression that refused to admit defeat, and the way he would grit his teeth even after training himself to exhaustion and say, "Father, I can keep going."
Can I... see him again?
That promise was like a key, instantly unlocking the emotions he had suppressed for so long. Something seemed to lodge in his throat, and even his breathing began to tremble.
"Lord Menma..."
He opened his mouth, only to discover that he could say nothing more.
Menma waved a hand, cutting off any thanks he might offer. "Until then, stay here. I've already paid for your room."
He paused, a subtle trace of amusement suddenly entering his voice. "Of course, afterward... there really is something I'll need your help with."
Before Hizashi could respond—
Poof!
With a soft sound, the Menma before him suddenly dissolved into a cloud of white smoke.
A Shadow Clone?!
Hizashi stood frozen, alone in the empty Japanese-style room. The faint sound of flowing spring water drifted through the window. Only the chakra mark on his shoulder proved that the mysterious man had ever been there.
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