Mirai's Life

The man standing before the unit had a square face, a scar of no small length across it, and his right eye was covered by a black eyepatch—clearly someone not easy to get along with.

"I am Elite Jonin Kojima of the Operations Department, and I will lead everyone to the border. If there are no questions, we depart now."

With that, he glanced at Hoshino Maki in the crowd, who offered him a gentle smile.

By rank, Hoshino Maki held a higher position than him; it should have been Maki commanding this support unit, with Kojima assisting from the side.

But now the other had voluntarily stepped back within the unit, letting Kojima take the lead—a rare sight in Sunagakure, where hierarchy was strictly observed.

When Kojima returned to the village, he had also looked into this Medical Ninja who was riding a wave of fame.

With an unremarkable background and talent, if not for the reputation Maki had built in the hospital recently, Kojima might never have had the chance to meet someone from a Great Clan like himself.

For someone like that to suddenly land the position of Medical Corps Commander, it was impossible without backing from behind the scenes.

But regardless, having an Elite Jonin like him address such a brat as "Lord" was a bit hard to swallow.

Kojima was still considering what attitude to take toward this rising star, when the other directly took half a step back, pushing him to the forefront while retreating to the background.

He didn't know what the other was planning, but he acknowledged this goodwill.

Kojima's stiff face squeezed out a faint smile, nodding slightly at Hoshino Maki.

The Land of Wind was vast; from Sunagakure in its center to the border of the Land of Rain took about a day and a half. The support unit had traveled for a day and rested at an outpost.

After Kojima summoned his Summoning Beast to notify the Frontline Troops, he was about to close his eyes and rest when he vaguely heard intermittent laughter. Frowning, he stood up, walked to the door, and was about to open it to scold them when he heard a young ninja outside shout:

"Brother Hoshino, tell us one more!"

Kojima recognized the voice—Hatta Yota, a direct descendant of a Great Clan, far nobler in status than Kojima himself, a bastard. A newly graduated Genin this year, assigned to the Communications Department; to him, this war was probably just a gilding trip.

But this kid was usually proud and aloof. Kojima had no idea how Hoshino Maki had gotten on such good terms with him, even to the point of being called "Brother."

"Yota, it's already late. We have to travel tomorrow morning."

"It's fine! If you're worried about Uncle Kojima getting mad, I'll handle it!"

Yota puffed out his chest, raising his head as he spoke.

"Yota." Hoshino Maki reached out and ruffled Yota's spiky hair, speaking in a serious tone. "From the moment we left the village, we've been in a state of war. Cloud Ninja's shuriken don't care about our origins or ranks. Having a veteran ninja like Captain Kojima lead us into battle is a valuable asset—it helps us return to the village alive. Think of your parents and loved ones, Yota. Don't you want to see your mother and Yami again?"

At the mention of Yami, Yota's face flushed red, and he stubbornly said, "I, why would I think of her? She just bullies me."

"Haha, Yota's blushing!"

The others chimed in with good-natured teasing.

Hoshino Maki looked around, seeing the atmosphere turn cheerful again, and seized the moment. "Alright, one more story, and then everyone goes to sleep."

Not just the little guys gathered around him, but even the ninjas farther away tilted their heads and pricked up their ears.

Hoshino Maki cleared his throat:

"A Mist Ninja, a Hot Water Ninja, and a Leaf Ninja sat together discussing what the happiest thing in the world was.

The Leaf Ninja said: The happiest thing in the world is sitting high on a cliff wall, eating dumplings while overlooking the endless lush forest in the distance;

The Hot Water Ninja sneered and shook his head: Too boring! The happiest thing in the world is on the first snowy winter day, soaking in a Hot Spring while drinking freshly brewed green tea, then letting out a satisfied sigh;

Finally, only the Mist Ninja was left. He was silent for a moment, then said: The happiest thing is when someone knocks on your door in the middle of the night, and you open it to see a group of stern-faced, tall ninjas standing outside: 'Don't move, Yamazaki! We are the Chasing Ninja Squad. I declare you are under arrest. Come quietly with us!'

'Your honored lordship, you've made a mistake. Yamazaki lives next door to me.'"

"Haha!"

"More Mist Ninja jokes!"

"Another one!"

The grim and terrifying Blood Mist Village became a source of foolish comedy in Hoshino Maki's mouth, making the little guys who heard such jokes for the first time double over with laughter.

No wonder Soviet jokes never go out of style.

Hoshino Maki smiled and shook his head. "It's getting late. Next time for sure. Everyone go to sleep."

The group that had been sitting around obediently nodded, those who needed rest resting, those on duty switching shifts. Before long, the outpost returned to silence.

Kojima's hand on the door handle had unknowingly lowered. He leaned against the wall, replaying the Mist Ninja joke in his mind, hearing the cheerful laughter of those Genin.

This was rare in the strictly ordered Suna forces, but since the instigator was Hoshino Maki, the highest-ranked in the unit, and Kojima hadn't objected, no one said anything.

How long had it been since he'd heard children laugh so happily?

Kojima couldn't remember.

He himself hadn't since graduating from the Ninja Academy. His child...

Sigh. He hoped the kid could have a peaceful, stable, happy childhood.

That was also his motivation for picking up a Kunai and fighting for the village, for his family.

"Lord Hoshino, the bed is ready."

A Medical Ninja had prepared the bed and stood respectfully to the side.

"Kazaguruma, thank you."

Hoshino Maki pulled a candy from his pocket and placed it in the hand of the medical ninja who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy.

"Eat it tomorrow. Eating it at night is bad for your teeth."

His rank naturally entitled him to a private room, but he still chose to sleep with the Medical Corps.

As for the reason, don't ask—just say they were brothers in arms.

"Sir... I, can I ask you something?"

In the quiet room, the medical ninja named Kazaguruma spoke timidly.

"Of course."

Hoshino Maki replied casually while taking off his coat.

"What was that 'dumpling' you mentioned earlier?"

Hoshino Maki's hand, about to remove his clothes, froze mid-air. He turned to look at Kazaguruma, whose face was full of curiosity.

Thinking back carefully, among those children earlier, a few hadn't laughed. He had assumed his joke wasn't funny, but now it seemed they simply hadn't understood.

Without any surprises, most of them would never leave the Land of Wind in their lives—born, aging, sick, and dying, all on this land covered in yellow sand.

In this era where photography was a luxury, much of what lay beyond their borders was only heard of, or even unheard of, leaving them to imagine it on their own.

Seeing that Kazaguruma wasn't scolded for speaking up, the other children who had been pretending to sleep also got up and gathered around Hoshino Maki, asking curiously in a flurry of voices:

"Yes, sir, what is snow? The village elders say it's white water falling from the sky, but the Land of Wind hasn't seen it in a long time."

"Sir, what's a forest? Is it a bunch of cacti squeezed together?"

"Sir..."

When Hoshino Maki didn't respond for a long time, the ingrained education of Sunagakure made them realize their behavior was far too rude. Frightened, they quickly knelt and bowed:

"We were presumptuous! Please forgive us!"

Hoshino Maki silently folded his clothes neatly and placed them by his pillow. Looking at these children, heads bowed low and trembling with anxiety, he said softly, "Get up. You've done nothing wrong."

"Snow is a kind of crystal, cool and crisp. When it falls heavily, it can cover distant mountain ranges in a silver coat."

"Dumplings are made from rice, some sweet and some savory. Actually, there's a place in the village—run by an elderly couple from Konoha. When we return, I'll treat you all."

"A forest is made of many big trees, with plenty of shrubs and fruits, and small animals you won't see in the Land of Wind. No matter how scorching the sun, you won't feel hot there."

"..."

"I'll make sure you see all these things. When you grow up, you can go surfing in the Land of Water in summer, soak in hot springs in the Land of Hot Springs in winter, take your future children on a spring outing in the forests of the Land of Fire in spring, and in autumn... I haven't figured that out yet. Anyway, you can go wherever you want."

"By then, there will be no more war."

Hoshino Maki's tone was gentle, as if speaking to these children, or perhaps just to himself.