(P.S. Skipping class! Writing a book! Haha!)
When, after finishing their meal, Kanna knocked on Kanna Tokiomi's door.
"Come in," came a deep voice from inside.
"Father." Kanna entered, bowed, then knelt on a cushion and said, "Father, I feel like my training has hit a bottleneck lately, so I'd like to go out and take a walk."
"Go out?" Kanna Tokiomi asked, slightly taken aback. "Where are you going?"
"Nowhere far. I'll just walk around the village," Kanna said. "Also, I'd like to visit the village's various clans while I'm at it. New Year is coming up, after all, and as the son of the Mizukage Aide, it's proper for me to pay my respects."
Tokiomi's lips curled into a slight smile, and he nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Very good. You really have grown up. Since you're so conscientious, I have just the task for you."
Kanna straightened up. "Please give me your instructions, Father."
Seeing how nervous his son looked, Tokiomi finally laughed. "It's only a D-rank mission. As is customary every year, the Lord Third is preparing to invite the various clans, representatives from all walks of life, and outstanding shinobi to the New Year's ceremony. Since you're going to visit those clans, you can take the invitations to them while you're at it."
Success! Kanna was delighted. With these invitations, it would be much easier to visit the Kaguya Clan!
"No problem. I'll make sure they get them," Kanna replied with a smile.
"This will be good training for you, too," Tokiomi said. "Take my letter of introduction to the Mizukage Building and find the Lord Third. Ask him to give you the invitations for the clans."
Kanna Tokiomi promptly wrote a letter of introduction and handed it to Kanna. Then he pointed out the location of the Mizukage Building (Kanna had actually learned where it was back when he was practicing the Flying Thunder God Technique) and sent him off alone.
It was the usual time for people to take their afternoon break, but the Mizukage was still in his office. Kanna Tokiomi was the same. They were both busy handling mountains of paperwork, with hardly any time to spare. They worked diligently and tirelessly. To be honest, Kanna's own hard work was truly influenced by his father's attitude.
Focus! Perseverance! Hard work! Progress! That was the way to succeed.
After leaving his father's room, Kanna told his mother what had happened. Then, as she reminded him to "be careful," he jumped out onto the balcony, ran across the roof, and headed toward the Mizukage Building.
Shinobi were known for their speed, so Kanna didn't need to worry about taking detours. Whenever he encountered an obstacle, he simply leaped onto it and used tree-walking to get across. Before long, he arrived at the Mizukage Building. After showing Tokiomi's letter and proving his identity, he was escorted to the Mizukage's Office.
When he pushed open the door, he saw a middle-aged man with gentle features. He wore a Mizukage's robe, and his hat hung from the back of his chair. His smooth black hair fell past his shoulders, with several silver beads woven through it. He was bent over his desk, reviewing documents.
The Mizukage with the fewest records in Kirigakure's history. The only Kage whose achievements had never been recorded. No one knew when he had taken office, nor when he had died. At any rate, in the original story, he was a mysterious figure—or perhaps just a high-ranking extra.
His name had never even been mentioned. People called him "the Third" or "the Mizukage," so Kanna had no way of knowing his name either. But since he had become the Mizukage, he must have been highly capable and powerful—a man of some importance.
"Lord Mizukage," Kanna called softly.
The Lord Third looked up, sized Kanna up, then smiled. "So you're Tokiomi's boy. What is it? Did your father send you to see me?"
"That's right. Father recommended me to deliver the invitations for the New Year's ceremony." Kanna took out the letter and handed it to the Lord Third. "I was planning to go out for a walk anyway and pay my respects to some of the elders, so..."
"I see. Understood." The Lord Third nodded with a smile, took a stack of invitations from his drawer, and handed them over. "Children should get out more. Since this is Tokiomi's request, no problem. I'll leave this task to you. Do your best. Your father often talks about you."
"I will." Kanna took the invitations. "I'll do my best!"
"Haha, off you go."
And so Kanna set off on his first journey, even if it was only around the village.
"This is an invitation from the Lord Third, inviting you to the New Year's ceremony, Uncle. Please be sure to attend."
"Haha, all right, I got it. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
"I'm Kanna. I've been given the task of delivering invitations from the Lord Third. This is yours..."
"Oh! Now I remember. The New Year's ceremony, right? You've gone to a lot of trouble."
He delivered them from house to house. It didn't take long to reach all the clans in town. The only ones left were the clans living on the outskirts of the village.
Like the Kaguya Clan!
After spending the night at one clan's home, Kanna packed his things the next day, said goodbye to his host, and headed for the Kaguya Clan.
The atmosphere in Kirigakure was somewhat oppressive at the time, but things were still relatively normal. At the very least, no one was trying to assassinate the Mizukage, kill the daimyo, or attack the village. Everyone minded their own business and went about their lives. This state of affairs would continue until after the Third Shinobi World War, when Obito took control of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura. So, after Kanna presented his calling card, he was allowed into the Kaguya Clan's compound without difficulty.
"Is that so? The New Year's ceremony? I'd almost forgotten about it."
A burly middle-aged man with twin topknots, a white robe, and two red dots between his brows received Kanna. He was the head of this generation of the Kaguya Clan.
The moment Kanna saw him, he nearly burst out laughing, but managed to hold it in.
Damn! Nezha? Kanna silently grumbled to himself.
"No problem. I'll attend the New Year's ceremony," the Kaguya Clan Head said briskly, waving his hand.
Kanna was caught off guard. When he'd visited the other clans, everyone had been polite, inviting him in for a cup of tea or to sit for a while. But the Kaguya Clan was so blunt? They didn't bother with any pleasantries at all?
Originally, Kanna had planned to wait until the Kaguya Clan invited him to rest or look around their compound, then use the opportunity to learn more about the clan. He'd planned to show his approval—or even admiration—for the Kaguya Clan, praise them, and give them the gift he'd carefully prepared: a Flying Thunder God Kunai.
But did this guy's tone mean he was asking Kanna to leave?
Pushing through his awkwardness, Kanna said, "There's something else I wanted to do. Besides delivering the invitations, I'd also like to visit the Kaguya Clan. I've been cooped up at home for a long time, so I wanted to get out and see the world. Clan Head, what do you think..."
"Oh? You want to visit us? Hahaha! Of course." The Kaguya Clan Head didn't think much of it. Visitors were perfectly normal.
"Shime! Show Kanna some hospitality. Remember to be polite! And don't challenge him to a fight! Kanna's only a Genin, so he can't beat you. Understood?"
While Kanna stood there, torn, a young man stepped forward from the crowd and replied coolly, "Got it, Clan Head. You're so nagging! I'm only interested in strong people."
"Hiss..." Kanna drew a sharp breath inward. Listening to their conversation, he felt as if all the etiquette he'd been studying lately had gone to waste. Didn't these people know what manners were?
"Come on. Where do you want to go? I'll show you around." Shime walked over and patted Kanna on the shoulder, apparently trying to show goodwill.
"Hiss..." This time, Kanna really did cry out in pain. What incredible strength!
If a Kaguya Clan member who hadn't awakened a kekkei genkai was already this powerful, what about the Shikotsumyaku?
No matter what! He had to get his hands on those Shikotsumyaku bones!
Before you continue