The Ninja Academy's Incredible Legends (20): Why Are There Fewer and Fewer Kids Dreaming of Becoming Hokage?

Little Miyuki, who had not felt Father's dignity or painstaking intentions at all, left the well-fed little bear cub asleep and went out alone for a walk to clear her mind.

She held a daphne flower she had casually picked from a flower shop, gently shaking it absentmindedly. Her pale yellow dress and silver hair, simply tied behind her head, danced lightly in the wind, making her look like an elf who had stepped out of a painting.

Only the slight furrow in her brow showed that the little girl was troubled.

Before she knew it, Miyuki had wandered into a crowded area and only then came back to her senses.

This ever-changing "little village" was a place the little girl had visited countless times growing up, and she knew it well. Back when she went out riding terrifying summoned beasts, practically no one dared stop her.

After she got a little older, she realized that charging around recklessly was inappropriate, so she began using her short little legs to personally "measure" the entire village.

Now, though, something seemed to be drawing a crowd in the bustling square.

After squeezing past a row of "long legs" and finally pushing through the wall of people, Miyuki reached the front and found a group of oddly dressed people parading through the streets.

Tiger headpieces, lion masks, young people dressed as clowns, and scar-faced oddballs carrying strange spears...

"Is there going to be a temple fair?"

There were no proper festivals this season, nor were there any noteworthy local customs nearby. There should not have been any grand event.

"That little big sister is dressed as a zashiki-warashi, right? And there's a kappa, a lantern boy... Huh, that is—"

A short man dressed as a kasa-obake removed his mask because he