Three Mifune and Kyuzo

Three days later, a black-haired boy with a long sword on his back appeared in the Land of Iron.

"Is he planning to make his move when I head back?"

The boy looked along the road he had come by and muttered to himself.

Naturally, this was Neji.

Neji found a yakiniku restaurant, ordered a few side dishes, and then asked the owner,

"Excuse me, where does Mifune live?"

The owner paused and curiously sized Neji up.

Neji wasn't wearing a Forehead Protector, and his Byakugan was hidden behind protective goggles. However, a Chakra Blade hung at his waist, and Kyuzo's Tachi was strapped to his back.

The owner seemed to understand. In a low voice, he said, "You're looking for Lord Mifune. I suppose you must be hoping to study under him?"

"Yes."

"I've always admired Senior Mifune's swordsmanship. I've come a long way, hoping he'll accept me as his student and teach me a thing or two."

Neji was slightly taken aback, then nodded.

Being mistaken for someone else was safer.

So he had no intention of explaining.

"Ah."

The owner sighed. "With the rise of the shinobi, samurai have fallen into decline. Fewer and fewer young people are willing to become samurai."

After voicing his thoughts, the owner returned to the matter at hand.

"Mr. Mifune's residence is at the end of the first street ahead. Turn left at the first intersection. You can't miss it—there are two bamboo swords hanging by the entrance."

"Thank you," Neji said earnestly.

"No need to thank me. I hope he takes you on as his student," the owner said with a smile, then turned to serve his other customers.

After eating, Neji followed the owner's directions and arrived at the residence with two bamboo swords hanging by the entrance.

He knocked firmly on the gate and called, "Senior Mifune, are you home?"

Before long, a middle-aged man opened the gate.

He was thin, and his slender hands were steady and powerful, covered in calluses.

Neji also sensed a sharp aura coming from him.

This was a master swordsman.

Neji studied Mifune. He looked younger than Neji remembered.

Mifune, the general of the Land of Iron, was the most renowned samurai.

As the owner of the yakiniku restaurant had said, with the rise of the shinobi profession, few people chose the path of the samurai.

However, the samurai of the Land of Iron weren't quite like the samurai of the past, before chakra had appeared.

Though they couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, they sometimes used chakra in battle.

Mifune looked at Neji and asked curiously, "Young man, were you looking for me?"

Neji nodded. "Yes. I was asked by Kyuzo, a Chunin of Kumogakure, to bring you his Tachi."

"Kyuzo?"

Mifune looked puzzled and furrowed his brow in thought. Then, as if a realization had struck him, he exclaimed in surprise, "So he's still alive—and he became a shinobi?!"

"Senior Mifune, Kyuzo was gravely ill. When I left, he was on his deathbed. By now, I'm afraid he may have..."

Neji fell silent, but Mifune understood what he meant.

Mifune let out a long sigh. "Life is unpredictable. I never thought that fellow would go before me."

Neji took the long sword from his back and handed it to Mifune.

He'd examined it earlier.

It was an ordinary long sword used by samurai in the Land of Iron. Aside from the unusual pattern carved into the hilt, there was nothing special about it.

Mifune took the sword and slowly drew it from its sheath.

The blade was rusty and covered in cracks.

Like its owner, it seemed to have little time left.

"Senior Mifune, I've delivered the sword. I'll take my leave."

Neji gave Mifune a slight bow.

But Mifune sheathed the sword and stopped him. "Young man, it's getting late. Why not stay the night at my humble home and set out tomorrow?"

Neji turned and studied Mifune carefully.

The goggles hid his eyes from Mifune, who met Neji's gaze without hesitation.

Neji saw nothing amiss. In a low voice, he replied, "In that case, I'll trouble you."

Mifune never involved himself in disputes between samurai.

Given his character, there was no way he would harm Neji.

"Please, come with me."

"Sorry for the trouble."

Mifune's residence was clean and simple, a very typical Japanese-style home.

The only thing that stood out was the number of swords hanging throughout the residence. Each one was distinctive, and no two were alike.

"Sit over here, young man."

Neji followed his instructions and sat cross-legged on a cushion. "Thank you."

"Young man, tell me about Kyuzo," Mifune said.

Neji looked a little awkward and smiled ruefully. "Senior Mifune, I had no connection with Kyuzo. I don't know much about his past."

Mifune looked disappointed. "Don't blame yourself, young man. Kyuzo had a strange temper. Back when he lived in the Land of Iron, I was his only friend. Would you be willing to hear the story of the two of us?"

Perhaps the sight of the sword had brought back memories. Mifune had a lot to say, and he needed someone to confide in.

Neji nodded. "I'm all ears."

A wistful look appeared in Mifune's eyes. "More than thirty years ago, Kyuzo and I were the most ordinary samurai in the Land of Iron. I was determined to uphold the way of the samurai and keep our country peaceful and stable amid the chaos. He felt the same way. We trained together and formed a deep friendship."

Neji fell silent.

Mifune and Kyuzo had been kindred spirits in their youth, both devoted to the way of the samurai.

Neji couldn't understand what was worth holding on to in the samurai's way, but he wasn't about to judge someone else's path.

Mifune continued, "Later, war broke out. Amegakure invaded the Land of Iron. To protect our home, the general led the samurai in resisting the Rain shinobi. Before long, Hanzō poisoned him."

Neji took a small sip of tea and fell into thought.

The Land of Iron had no fertile land and was short on natural resources.

And the vast Land of Fire lay between it and the Land of Rain.

Neji had no idea why Hanzō had crossed the Land of Fire to invade the Land of Iron.

Still, when he considered how, during the Third Shinobi World War, Sunagakure had fought Kirigakure despite the Land of Fire and a vast ocean lying between them, the whole thing suddenly seemed much more plausible.

"After the general died, the samurai were thrown into a panic," Mifune continued. "That day, the ninja squad led by Kyuzo and I suddenly ran into Hanzō. I bravely drew my sword and stood in front of my comrades. Kyuzo ran for his life."

"..."

Neji looked up and studied Mifune's expression.

The middle-aged man's face showed recollection and reflection, but not the slightest trace of hatred.

That made sense.

Mifune was the kind of man who'd sacrifice his own life to get Hanzō to spare his comrades.

He was just as "foolish" as Naruto.

Someone like that wouldn't hold on to hatred.

Neji didn't understand it, but he respected it.

Of course, that was as long as Mifune didn't do anything foolish like Naruto.

"I lost to Hanzō, but instead of killing me, he gave me an antidote. I was lucky enough to survive."

"After that, I never saw Kyuzo again. I thought he'd died in that war."

"Perhaps, like all the samurai who took up the path of the shinobi halfway through their lives, Kyuzo longed for power and eventually chose to become a shinobi."

"But honestly, that fellow... After all these years, he couldn't even come back to see me once."