Twilight Spring Valley

"Ahhh, why won't it explode?!"

Naruto's frustrated roar rang through the forest, startling a flock of birds into flight.

"What kind of crazy jutsu is this? It's so hard!"

Uchiha Kei strolled over and casually picked up the water balloon from the ground.

"Hard? You're just not calm enough."

Something seemed to flow inside the water balloon. Spike after spike pushed against its surface, and it burst in an instant.

"Chakra is energy that flows like air. You have to keep it steady and continuous. You can't rush it."

Naruto gazed enviously at the water balloon in his hand.

Then he looked at the burst balloons scattered at his feet, his expression growing more and more resentful.

It was their fifth day since leaving the village.

The Twilight Ninja Village wasn't far from Konoha. It lay near the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water.

They should have reached the Twilight Ninja Village long ago, but Uchiha Kei had been training Naruto, and they hadn't even covered two-thirds of the journey.

Those five days had been pure torment for Naruto.

First came all kinds of taijutsu lessons, with punches and kicks flying every which way.

Then came ninjutsu training: chakra-assisted tree climbing, chakra control over water, and so on.

In short, Uchiha Kei had turned into a demon instructor. Whenever something displeased him, he gave Naruto a sound beating.

"All right, that's enough training for today. Get ready to eat."

At the mention of food, Naruto's listless state vanished at once.

"I'll go gather firewood!"

Naruto turned, and in an instant, he was gone.

Uchiha Kei shook his head with a laugh.

That guy couldn't get enthusiastic about anything except food.

After a quick look around, a shuriken appeared in Uchiha Kei's hand. He raised his arm and flung it, leaving a blur in its wake.

"Thud."

A plump rabbit was pinned to a tree.

By the time Naruto returned with the firewood, Uchiha Kei had already finished preparing the rabbit.

"That smells great."

Naruto watched the rabbit sizzling over the fire, rendered fat glistening on its skin. A faint trace of drool appeared at the corner of his mouth.

After sprinkling on a handful of seasoning, Uchiha Kei decided he ought to remind Naruto of something.

"As a ninja, you don't cook over a fire while on a mission outdoors. It gives away your position."

"Got it, got it."

Naruto nodded repeatedly, though he secretly scoffed.

You make it sound so easy. Since we left, you've had a barbecue at every meal, and now you're lecturing me...

"All right, it's ready."

Uchiha Kei split the rabbit in half and was about to hand Naruto a piece when his expression changed.

"Come out."

Uchiha Kei's voice was cold.

"Huh?"

Naruto's outstretched hand stopped in midair. He quickly looked around, alert.

As tension mounted, a filthy little child emerged from the woods, staring longingly at the rabbit in Uchiha Kei's hand.

"What? It's just a kid."

Naruto relaxed, took the rabbit Uchiha Kei offered him, and walked over to the child.

"Hey, little one, are you hungry?"

The dirty child lifted his bright eyes, his throat moving involuntarily.

"Here, have some."

Naruto looked a little reluctant, but he still held out the rabbit to the child.

The child hesitated, then gave in to his hunger and took it. He didn't even wait for it to cool before stuffing it into his mouth.

Naruto dusted off his hands and returned to Uchiha Kei's side.

"That's so sad."

"Yeah, yeah."

Uchiha Kei watched Naruto warily, unconsciously eating the rabbit faster.

"Compared to him, I guess my life isn't so bad. At least I have you with me."

"Yeah, yeah."

He's getting sentimental now!

Uchiha Kei ate even faster.

"Kei, I suddenly feel like I'm actually pretty happy."

"Yeah, yeah. Uh..."

Uchiha Kei paused mid-bite.

"What's wrong, Kei?"

Naruto turned and saw Uchiha Kei's face had gone red. He immediately panicked.

Uchiha Kei pounded his chest as hard as he could, tears welling in his eyes.

He'd choked.

After a flurry of activity, Naruto looked at him reproachfully.

"Why were you eating so fast? It's not like I'd steal your food. Honestly."

"When have you ever not stolen my food?"

"That's a lie! You're slandering me! You're trampling on my dignity!"

"Fine. I was planning to roast another one..."

"Hehehe, my dignity is yours to trample. I'll lie right here and let you do whatever you want~"

Watching them bicker, the child let out a little laugh.

The two turned to look at him.

Under their gaze, the child stiffened all over, even slowing down as he ate.

Only after the child had eaten his fill and started burping did Uchiha Kei speak.

"Hey, little one, what's your name?"

The child nervously twisted the hem of his clothes.

"My name is Twilight Spring Valley."

His voice was weak, yet clear and sweet.

"You're a girl?"

Uchiha Kei clicked his tongue in surprise.

Then again, the child was tiny and disheveled, dressed in ragged clothes. At that age, it was hard to tell.

"What village are you from? Why are you all alone?"

Naruto hurried over to ask, unwilling to be left out.

"I... I'm..."

Tears welled in Twilight Spring Valley's eyes, then spilled down her cheeks.

"Huh? Don't cry. I was just asking so I could see if we could take you back to your village."

Seeing Twilight Spring Valley cry, Naruto floundered, scratching his head in a panic.

"I'm from the Twilight Ninja Village..."

"The Twilight Ninja Village!"

Naruto cried out in surprise and quickly turned to Uchiha Kei.

Uchiha Kei was taken aback too.

Wasn't the Twilight Ninja Village wiped out? Could there be a survivor?

"How many people are left in the Twilight Ninja Village?"

"None. They're all dead. My aunt and uncle, my grandma and grandpa—they're all dead."

Twilight Spring Valley covered her face and wept.

Naruto had always hated injustice, and after hearing Twilight Spring Valley's story, he was even more outraged.

Uchiha Kei held back the furious Naruto and looked at Twilight Spring Valley.

"How did you escape?"

"A ninja uncle put me in a water barrel and told me not to make a sound."

"When I came out, everyone was dead."

Uchiha Kei's gaze shifted as he considered this, then he nodded.

"We're ninjas from Konoha. We came here to investigate the Twilight Ninja Village. Why don't you come with us?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he nodded without hesitation.

"Yeah, you can come with us. Once we've figured out what happened to the Twilight Ninja Village, you can come back to Konoha with us."

"Can I?"

Twilight Spring Valley lifted her head, but looked to Uchiha Kei.

She could tell that, between the two of them, Uchiha Kei was the one who made the decisions.

"Of course."

Uchiha Kei smiled as he spoke.

"Th-then, thank you, big brothers."

A strained smile appeared on Twilight Spring Valley's face.

Even as she smiled, her grief was impossible to hide.

"Don't cry. I'll have you know, we're both really strong. We'll definitely find whoever destroyed your village!"

Naruto wiped the tears from Twilight Spring Valley's face and thumped his chest. Then he turned to Uchiha Kei.

"Right, Kei?"

His voice was a little uncertain.

"Sure, sure. You're absolutely right."

Uchiha Kei looked at Twilight Spring Valley, somewhat distracted.

"But... they're really strong."

Twilight Spring Valley hesitated.

"How do you know they're really strong? Didn't you hide in the water barrel from the start?"

Uchiha Kei abruptly looked up, his gaze fixed on her.

"I..."

"Hey, why are you being so harsh, Kei? You've scared her."

Seeing Uchiha Kei suddenly turn serious, Naruto wasn't happy about it.