It Really Was Delicious

On Kage Rock.

After wrapping up their training, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen raced off to catch a glimpse of Lord Hokage's newly completed statue. They crossed the soot-blackened rocks around the bonfire together and stood atop Kage Rock, gazing down at the vibrant village of Konoha.

After several days of rest, they were ready for what came next: facing the legendary Nine-Tails.

The scorching sun beat down on them, so they hurried into the shade and sprawled lazily on the grass. Danzō blew his bangs up off his forehead, then turned to his companion. "Hiruzen, have you ever seen the Nine-Tails?"

"The Nine-Tails?"

Hiruzen lay beside him on the grass, staring through the swaying leaves at the strange shapes of the white clouds as he murmured.

His gaze gradually grew distant. He remembered how his father, Sarutobi Sasuke, had once led their clan into the Nine-Tails' territory. They had taken one quick look from afar before hurrying away.

Hiruzen pondered, trying to recall the hazy memory, then answered carefully. "No one's ever seen its true form. But its sinister chakra, which makes you tremble all over, left a particularly deep impression on the clan's sensory ninja."

"Just its chakra?" Danzō asked in disappointment, gazing at the sun hidden behind the clouds. The shadows of the clouds fell across the ground beside them.

His thoughts wandered with the shifting clouds. Wearing a solemn expression, he guessed, "According to legend, the Nine-Tails is a fox demon. It must have nine of every body part!"

Danzō sprang to his feet, grabbed a stick, and drew an extremely abstract picture on the ground.

It was a fat fox lying limp on the ground, with nine fangs, nine ears, nine tails, and nine legs.

Hiruzen could make out those parts.

But there was also a circle with a nine on the fox's belly.

Puzzled, he asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nine hearts," Danzō replied briskly.

Hiruzen couldn't hold back. He clutched his stomach, tucked up his legs, and rolled around on the grass, weeds sticking to his head and clothes.

Then he realized that might be a bit rude. He scrambled to his feet and bit down on his lip, desperately trying not to laugh aloud and hurt his friend's fragile feelings.

"Hmph."

Danzō tossed away the stick, thinking that ordinary people simply didn't understand his art. He kicked his drawing into oblivion, then strode over, ready to tackle Hiruzen to the ground.

Hiruzen seemed to have anticipated the move. He dodged, rolled to the side, picked up the stick, and started redrawing the picture over the smudged ground.

Danzō missed his tackle, brushed the weeds off himself, and strolled over, curious to see Hiruzen's drawing.

It showed a fierce fox sprawled on the ground with its front paws stretched out, striking a mighty pose. Nine tails stuck straight up behind it. The nine fangs and nine legs were gone, but Danzō noticed that the nine ears had survived.

"What do you think? Doesn't it fit the image of a fox demon perfectly?" Hiruzen asked with a hint of pride, clapping his hands.

"No. I think you should've kept the nine legs."

Danzō knew his original drawing had been a little exaggerated, but he still reached for the stick to add nine legs to Hiruzen's picture. Hiruzen grabbed his wrist and held on tight.

A silent struggle began.

Neither would back down. They stared each other down, sweating under the sun, until Danzō finally dropped the stick and lost.

It was another victory for Hiruzen.

Danzō seemed accustomed to losing. Ever since he'd met Hiruzen, he'd lost far more often than he'd won.

After cleaning themselves up, the two eagerly set off for an ice-drink shop in the village.

A ninja with Ice Release, a Kekkei Genkai, had recently arrived in the village. Apparently tired of conflict, she'd come to Konoha and opened an ice-drink shop that had received widespread praise.

People had all kinds of theories about where she came from. She might have been a ninja from the Land of Snow, or perhaps she belonged to the Yuki Clan from the Land of Water.

Whatever the truth, the Interrogation Department and Anbu had thoroughly investigated her and ruled out the possibility that she was a spy.

After a long wait in line, Hiruzen and Danzō happily carried their lemon iced tea and chilled watermelon juice to a table inside the shop and savored every sip.

The drinks went down cool and refreshing. In the heat of summer, they felt as if their souls had been elevated.

As he savored the icy watermelon juice, Danzō thought back to the amazing scene he'd just witnessed. The owner, who looked surprisingly young, had packed the juice and chilled it in the palm of her hand in an instant. It was astonishing.

"Hey, Hiruzen."

"Ah! What is it?"

Danzō nudged his companion with a finger, reminding him to watch his manners. There were a lot of kunoichi in the shop. Hiruzen shouldn't reveal his lecherous side so soon.

"That lemon sure is big."

Sarutobi Hiruzen reluctantly tore his gaze away from the owner and quietly sighed as he held his drink. He'd decided he was going to keep coming back to this shop, no matter what anyone said.

"Good!"

A cheer rang out from the auditorium inside the Hyuga Clan compound.

They held large meetings over small matters and small meetings over large ones. This was one of those small meetings.

The few Hyuga ninja sat in a row on cushions, kneeling upright.

Hyuga Ryudo paced across the wooden floor, excitement on his face as he addressed the young ninja kneeling at the front. "When we seal the Nine-Tails this time, the Hyuga Clan will have the clearest view. Make sure you observe everything carefully and don't miss a thing, so you can come back and tell us exactly what happened."

"Yes, Clan Head." The response rang out in unison.

"There's no need to worry about our pure Byakugan. Although the Uzumaki Clan makes up most of the team this time, Tobirama Senju definitely won't pull anything underhanded." Ryudo thought back on his dealings with the Senju Clan and arrived at his conclusion after careful consideration.

He glanced discreetly at the boy whose forehead wasn't wrapped in bandages, and at the stooped old man beside him.

Hyuga Gencho.

The Great Elder of the Hyuga Clan.

When he'd heard about the village's plan to seal a Tailed Beast, Gencho had been the most vocal and enthusiastic supporter. He kept repeating that the Hyuga Main Family had to take part in sealing the Nine-Tails. Otherwise, the Hyuga Clan would lose face in the Shinobi World.

But when the specific rules for choosing participants arrived, they were all dumbfounded.

The candidates would be chosen from the Ninja Academy, based on their rankings in the regular exams.

The news that came afterward put the other clans in the village at ease.

There was no need to worry if you didn't make the first team. There'd be plenty of chances to seal other Tailed Beasts. As long as you worked hard in the exams, you'd get picked.

But they weren't going to fall for that promise. Of the first twenty chosen, five were Uchiha, while the Hyuga Clan had only a few members of the Branch Family.

That wouldn't do.

The members of the Main Family showed unprecedented unity.

Ryudo, cornered outside his own home, still remembered the man who had most fiercely opposed letting Main Family children attend the Ninja Academy.

Hyuga Gencho had stood at the front of the crowd, demanding that Lord Hokage give them a spot.

He'd also promised that the next Ninja Academy intake would be expanded, so all the Main Family children could be sent there.

What could Ryudo say?

He'd used his old face to trade with Lord Hokage for a spot.

He clearly remembered the way Tobirama's red eyes had glinted with amusement in the Hokage's Office as he watched Ryudo, as if he'd known all along how things would turn out.

That was right.

All they'd wanted was for the Hyuga Clan to show a willingness to give in.

Even the Uchiha, who were famous for their pride, had disbanded their Clan Academy. The Hyuga still clung to theirs and refused to let go. It was rather laughable.

Once the small meeting was over, Ryudo waved for everyone to leave.

He watched Qingxuan, Dugu, and the old man walking away with his grandson's little hand in his, their warm figures growing more distant until they vanished completely in the dusk.

Ryudo didn't think their stubbornness was laughable. He just felt a faint sadness. The great tide of a new era was rolling in, sweeping away old men like them, still clinging to the idea of the clan, without mercy.