Maybe I Can Become the Mizukage

Outside Tanzaku Town, at a fork in the road.

One path led east, passing through the interior of the Land of Fire to reach the outskirts of Konoha.

Another path led west, following the coastline toward the Land of Rivers and the Land of Wind.

Sōji stood at the fork and stopped, while Tsunade followed three paces behind him, neither approaching nor leaving.

The setting sun cast long shadows of the two figures, overlapping before separating once more.

Silence, broken only by the wind and the faint chirping of distant birds.

Sōji suddenly turned around and looked at Tsunade.

Tsunade stood there, her long golden hair shimmering softly in the setting sun.

She still wore that short white kimono draped with a long green haori, the back bearing a large kanji for gambling, while the blue diamond-shaped mark on her forehead mirrored the red lotus on Sōji's brow.

She looked at him, waiting for him to say something, but Sōji stepped toward her instead.

One step, two steps, stopping right before her.

Then, he leaned forward and gently pressed a kiss to her forehead, as light as a feather falling upon water.

???

Tsunade's body froze, her eyes widening, pupils contracting slightly as if she had been petrified.

That kiss landed upon her brow, right upon the blue diamond-shaped mark, carrying the warm body heat of a youth.

Only for an instant, and then Sōji stepped back, looking at her with the corners of his lips curving upward.

In that smile, there was slyness, tenderness, and a hint of something indescribable. "This is to return what you gave me before."

Tsunade was stunned.

Before?

What before?

Her mind went completely blank, incapable of thought, and then she saw that Sōji's hand held a necklace she hadn't noticed appearing there.

A dark cord with a crystal-clear jade pendant hanging from it, diamond-shaped and casting a warm green glow in the setting sun.

Tsunade's pupils violently contracted. First's Necklace.

Left to her by her grandfather, given by her to Nawaki, returned to her hands after Nawaki's death, then given by her to Dan, and returned to her hands once more after Dan's death...

That ominous necklace.

"You... when..."

Her voice caught in her throat.

Sōji gripped the necklace, his smile deepening slightly. "I'll take this necklace as a parting gift."

With that, he took a step back, turned, and bolted, his figure light as the wind, surging a dozen meters away in a single instant.

Seeing this, Tsunade finally snapped out of it.

"You brat—!!"

With an explosive roar, she prepared to give chase, but Sōji had already run far off, his voice carrying back from a distance with laughter.

"Sister Tsunade, take care! Next time we meet, I'll be even stronger!"

Before the words faded, his figure had vanished into the twilight of the setting sun, leaving Tsunade standing in place, maintaining her lunging posture without taking another step.

She looked in that direction, watching the back that had vanished into the light, falling silent for a very long time.

Then she lowered her head, raising a hand to touch her own forehead as if the warmth of the youth's lips still lingered there.

Very light, very warm.

The corners of her mouth twitched, wanting to curse, yet the words wouldn't come; wanting to smile, yet holding it back.

In the end, she merely stood there, looking down that empty road as the setting sun drew her shadow long and deep.

In the distance, Sōji stopped, leaning against the back of a large tree and panting heavily.

It wasn't exhaustion, but tension; at that exact moment just now, he had almost thought Tsunade would punch him flying.

Yet she hadn't, simply standing there stunned.

Sōji lowered his gaze to the necklace in his hand.

He had watched this necklace for a long time; if it wasn't taken away, Tsunade would never escape those sorrowful memories.

A necklace symbolizing misfortune—yet the necklace itself wasn't ill-fated, but rather the Shinobi World was far too cruel.

Nawaki died on the battlefield, and Dan died on the battlefield; it wasn't the necklace that killed them, but war, and the inherent cruelty of this world.

Yet Tsunade blamed it all on herself, blaming it upon this necklace.

Sōji gripped the necklace tightly, the warm jade pressing against his palm with an ineffable texture.

Peace, in no matter which world, was truly a marvelous lie.

The setting sun gradually sank below the horizon, and the final trace of twilight at the edge of the sky dyed the entire world a gentle orange-red.

The fork in the road.

Tsunade was still standing there.

Behind her, Shizune caught up panting at some point.

"Tsunade... Lady Tsunade, where is Sōji-kun?"

Tsunade did not answer, and Shizune followed her gaze to find an empty road with nothing at all.

"He left?" Shizune's voice dropped.

Tsunade still said nothing.

Shizune looked at her and suddenly froze.

For she saw that the corners of Tsunade's mouth were turned slightly upward—very light, very faint, but it was undoubtedly a smile.

"Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade finally spoke. "That brat..."

Her voice was soft, as though scattered by the evening breeze. "He really is quite skilled at stealing things."

Shizune blinked.

Stealing?

Stole what?

Yet she did not ask, because she saw Tsunade touch her own forehead, a movement so light and gentle as if she were touching something immensely precious.

Shizune suddenly understood something, and she smiled too.

"Lady Tsunade, let's head back as well!"

Tsunade nodded, cast one final glance down that road, and then turned to walk toward Tanzaku Town.

The setting sun fell behind her, the evening breeze gently stirring her golden hair, and she walked very slowly, as if waiting for someone to catch up.

Yet that person had already run far away.

Night fell. At the border of the Land of Rivers, Yamada Soji stopped in the lee of a hill.

A sparse grove stood here, featuring a flat rock among the trees that served well enough as a campsite for the night.

He set down his simple pack, gathered some dead branches to start a campfire, and orange-red flames leaped up in the night, driving away the chill of the early spring evening.

The firelight reflected on his face, casting a warm glow over the red lotus mark.

Sōji sat by the fire, drawing the necklace from inside his tunic.

The crystal-clear jade glowed with a warm luster in the firelight, still bearing his body heat. Holding it, the pads of his fingers gently rubbed the smooth surface of the jade.

What was Tsunade doing right now?

Probably still drinking at the tavern? Or perhaps she had already returned to the merchant guild, chatting idly with Shizune.

He suddenly recalled the instant before their parting, her stunned expression, slightly widened eyes, and the warm sensation upon his forehead.

The corners of his lips curled upward of their own accord, and then he tucked the necklace back inside his clothes and looked up at the night sky.

The stars were like a sea, the Milky Way stretching across the firmament. This world was truly vast!

Yet the Shinobi World was also cruel.

This was his deepest realization since his rebirth: the Blood Mist Night, the journey of exile, every battle, every struggle on the edge of life and death, all served to remind him that this was a world that devoured people.

Peace? That was merely a beautiful lie spoken by those in power.

The Five Great Nations kept each other in check while small nations scraped by in the cracks; allies of handshakes today turned merciless enemies tomorrow. In the world of shinobi, there was no eternal peace, only eternal war.

Yet he desired peace—not the hypocritical, fragile peace that could shatter at any moment, but a genuine peace that allowed the people he cared about to live in security.

Tsunade, Achun, Shizune, and perhaps plus Tonton?

They were his only warmth in this world.

Tsunade was destined to become the Hokage; he understood this more clearly than anyone.

Deep within that woman's heart, she had never truly let go of Konoha, nor abandoned the Will of Fire left behind by her grandfather.

One day, she would return, become the Hokage, and shoulder the entire village.

And what of him? What could he do? Continue acting as Tsunade's little follower?

Yet perhaps, he too could become the Mizukage!

Among the Five Great Nations, if just two major powers united, it would be enough to quiet the entire Shinobi World.

Konoha and the Hidden Mist, fire and water, Tsunade and him.

He would make Tsunade and Shizune live within a world of peace secured by his own balance of power.

That would require sufficient strength, but fortunately, he still had time.

His encounter with Tsunade had given him, for the first time, a sense of belonging in this cruel world.

He was no longer a mere bystander, no longer a refugee struggling merely to survive, but... someone who wished to protect something.