The Shinobi World Is So Small

High above the clouds, a figure flapped her wings with all her might, flying forward.

Behind her, a black-haired girl sat cross-legged in midair. In a world invisible to ordinary people, her long black hair had formed a slender feather, buoyed by the wind. A towline attached to its tip was fastened to a blonde girl ahead of her.

Dressed in a red-and-white shrine maiden outfit, the blonde girl desperately beat a pair of transparent fairy wings, leaving a flurry of afterimages.

This was a great youkai and a Little Monster, a mistress and her beast of burden.

Yura studied the Earth Grudge Fear forbidden technique scroll in her hands, turning it over in her mind. Sunlight shone down, and the years seemed peaceful and beautiful.

Lucy's face was full of resentment. So much for training her—she was just being used as a beast of burden to pull a carriage! It wasn't even hard work, but it was deeply insulting!

"I hate this so much..."

"What are you muttering about?" Yura asked with a faint smile as she closed the scroll.

"N-nothing!" Lucy shook her head vigorously and beamed. "The weather! The weather's so nice!"

Yura lowered her head, considering how she should respond.

"The weather..." A gust blew against her face, stirring her hair. Yura looked down at the rivers and mountains rushing by beneath her and the boundless landscape. The little people walking through the towns looked like ants. She narrowed her eyes slightly in the sunlight and smiled. "The weather really is nice."

"D-do you have anything you like...?" Lucy shouted, struggling to fly into the wind. It rushed into her mouth, distorting her voice.

Yura chuckled and tilted her head. "What do you mean? Are you trying to set me up on a date?"

"A-a date?" Lucy exclaimed. "You like going on dates!?"

"As for things I like..." Yura said. "You're an idiot~"

What did she mean? Was she insulting me?

I didn't even do anything to her...

Lucy looked aggrieved and fell silent. After a moment, she worked up the courage to say, "Um... um, I like food. Meat! Big chunks of meat!"

"Do you like eating people?" Yura nodded. "I understand~"

Dun-dun-dun!

Lucy's heart skipped a beat, and the corner of her mouth twitched. She hurriedly said, "Huh!? Oh! That's right! I do!"

"By the way, you're a youkai, aren't you?" Yura said with a faint smile.

"Ah! That's right!" Lucy nodded repeatedly and hastily added, "Um! I like... Do you like rainy days? I love them! The sound of rain calms me down and helps me forget my worries. You have worries too, don't you?"

Generally speaking, rain meant being unable to go outside. People like that tended to be introverted, poor at socializing, and lacking in a sense of security.

"I like it when it rains blood."

Rain blood?

Lucy's mind was still trying to process that.

Yura smiled faintly. "Whenever warm blood splatters across my face, I feel an inexplicable sense of relief. So I want the sky to rain a great flood of blood."

For the Yura of the past, it meant the fighting was over and she could finally relax her taut nerves. She had survived again. That was something worth celebrating.

Lucy's expression stiffened, making her dark little face look adorable.

"You understand that feeling, don't you?"

Terrifying! Terrifying! Terrifying!

"I get it! I get it!" Lucy nodded furiously, her face scrunched up as if she were about to cry. Still, she couldn't help playing along. "Then what do you hate?"

"Little Monster~" Yura smiled faintly.

"Huh? That's it?" Lucy turned to look at Yura. "You're not going to say anything else?"

"Little Monster~" Yura smiled faintly.

Realizing what Yura had said, Lucy's face fell. She opened her mouth and asked listlessly, "Why?"

"You talk too much. All that jabbering is annoying." Yura said, "Focus on pulling the carriage, Little Monster~"

"I hate this so much..." Lucy whipped her head around and flew through the air, pulling Yura along in a huff. Suddenly, she remembered something and shouted, "Lucy's here!!!"

It was the only thing her parents had left her. She couldn't afford to lose it.

As they traveled, Yura considered which shinobi village she should join. Kumogakure was out of the question; it was full of muscleheads, not the least bit elegant. Besides, it was way too high up. It wasn't that she was afraid of heights—she just felt that living so high up would be terribly lonely. Yura would rather live among the bustle of ordinary people.

As for Sunagakure, it was too poor. No thanks.

Iwagakure... Although its resources were scarce...

Yura gazed down at the increasingly barren land below.

"Of all the places in the Shinobi World, Konoha really did end up with the best territory..."

To establish Gensokyo, she needed to claim a piece of land. What should she do? Yura wanted the best, but Konoha already had it.

"Other places don't look so bad to me..." Lucy said. "Hidden Waterfall seems pretty nice..."

Come to think of it, there were other lands overseas in the Shinobi World, too. She wondered what they looked like.

And the Shinobi World also held the body of God of Otsutsuki, Otsutsuki Yaume. He was the ultimate divine being evolved from the Ōtsutsuki Clan. His true form had already transcended the concept of life and death and left this dimension. He was no longer in this universe.

So, traveling between dimensions?

She wanted that!

It was worth taking for herself!

She needed to plan it all out carefully. First, she had to get her ticket into the Ōtsutsuki Clan.

So Madara was waiting for something, and Yura was waiting for that same thing.

That was the kind of youkai Yura was. She took whatever she wanted.

"Little Monster~" Yura called.

Lucy was startled. "What?"

"Slow down. Someone's about to fall behind," Yura said.

Lucy slowed her flight. Before long, two figures drifted over from the horizon, one tall and one short. The shorter boy was even shorter than Yura. He had a stocky build and a large nose like a garlic bulb. He looked rather stony, with a comical, unassuming appearance.

They hovered in the sky, about fifty meters apart.

Yura's gaze settled on the man wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu.

Not long ago, he'd fought the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hozuki. Gengetsu had exhausted his chakra, been badly wounded, and collapsed from fatigue, leaving him unable to attend the Five Kage Summit. Mu, meanwhile, had ended up with burns all over his body. The extensive burns had nearly killed him.

In about ten years, both of them would be dead.

The Second Tsuchikage, Mu, was a brilliant tactician known for his schemes and political savvy. He was the same sort as Tobirama Senju and wielded Dust Release, a Kekkei Tōta that surpassed Kekkei Genkai. He was one of the few shinobi who could fly.

The two sides faced off in silence, sizing each other up.

Yura's scarlet eyes fixed on Mu. The little brat beside him wasn't worth a second glance.

But in an atmosphere like this, the fourteen-year-old boy had trouble holding his tongue. "Sensei! Didn't you say there were two people? There's only one blonde who looks pretty stupid!"

"Huh!?" Lucy's eyes widened as she glared at the boy. Her smile was bright and sinister as she said coldly, "You little shrimp! Do you want to die?"

"Bastard!" The boy turned to Lucy, ready to hurl back an insult. But for some reason, his heart suddenly lurched. A wave of terror rose within him, and sweat began to trickle down his skin without him noticing.

Lucy had unconsciously used her ability again, one that let her manipulate and affect other people's emotions.

Lucy was startled by Ōnoki's reaction, and her smile turned sinister.

You're scared!

After being around the great youkai for so long, she'd almost forgotten she had this ability.

Then you're as good as dead!

"I hate this so much..."

At the words, Ōnoki's heart thumped nervously. For some reason, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Just then, a large hand came down in front of the boy. "Ōnoki, take another look. There's someone else here." A pair of eyes watched Yura warily.

That blonde was dangerous. The enormous chakra she radiated was frighteningly obvious to his senses. But even more dangerous was the strange feeling this girl gave him. If not for the blonde's immense chakra beside her, Mu was certain he wouldn't have noticed Yura at all, even with his senses fully alert.

That made her extremely dangerous!

Yura smiled faintly. "The Shinobi World is so small..."

"It's still pretty big," Mu replied.

Only then did Ōnoki notice Yura. Sweat had already beaded on his forehead. He wasn't just an ordinary fourteen-year-old boy; he was a seasoned shinobi.

"Your range of perception is pretty impressive, too," Yura said with a faint smile.

Lucy really was far too conspicuous.

What a show-off!

"I'm flattered. Your range of perception is no less impressive," Mu said gravely.

If the other side hadn't deliberately slowed down, he and his student wouldn't have been able to catch up with their flying speed.

Watching his teacher's cautious demeanor, Ōnoki silently swallowed.