Yan's Ninja Way

At an abandoned Uchiha site somewhere in the Land of Fire.

Masked, Yan opened a Scroll lying among the ruins.

"July. Dodai's squad failed to find the target."

"Sarutobi and Senju forces appear to be closing in."

That was the final entry on the Scroll. It looked like a mission log.

Yan learned from it that the outpost had been abandoned when the Senju and Sarutobi clans closed in from both sides.

Orochimaru found nothing of value either. Master and student left the outpost; temporary bases like this probably held no historical records.

It was the third site they had searched.

Orochimaru took out his map and crossed off several temporary outposts. Next, they would focus on places where the Uchiha Clan had lived for years, or on front lines where it had fought other shinobi clans.

Orochimaru put on his mask and took Yan to a nearby town to rest. After a long journey, they entered its streets.

The town was not far from the heart of the Land of Fire, and its various trades were fairly prosperous.

But under the rule of the Nobles, Yan saw plenty of beggars as soon as he entered.

By comparison, Konoha was paradise. Even the poorest of the Konoha Rabble owned something and had not been reduced to begging.

The two entered a restaurant. They could live on Soldier Pills, but this was not a mission. There was no need to make themselves suffer.

"Yan, how does it feel to leave the village for the first time?"

Orochimaru noticed Yan's expression and grew curious.

"About as I expected. Without shinobi to protect them, people can barely afford to stay alive."

"Heh." Orochimaru chuckled, remembering his own first trip outside the village. "When I first left, the First Shinobi World War had only recently ended. Things were far worse then."

"Your noodles with fried eggs, gentlemen."

The owner brought over two bowls. Orochimaru looked at the fried eggs on top. "Yan, you should eat more eggs."

Orochimaru recalled Yan's earlier idea and took out a Scroll.

"Yan, my Shadow Clone and Anko have finished the experiment. They confirmed that a substance essential to the human body comes mainly from eggs and meat."

"Looks like I can submit an article to the Daily Newspaper telling everyone to eat more eggs."

Yan picked up his chopsticks and took a bite of noodles. "Really? Then how about calling that substance protein?"

"Protein? What a fitting name. Getting more protein is good for the body."

Yan finished his noodles in a few quick bites. "Meat is essential too, not just eggs."

As he spoke, Yan glanced toward the beggars outside the door. Health mattered, but some people were already giving everything they had just to survive.

Orochimaru was about to say something when the beggars scattered like startled birds.

Three ronin in ragged clothes walked into the noodle shop, swords in hand.

"Oi, boss. Where's this month's tribute?"

"I'm terribly sorry, gentlemen..."

The owner greeted them with a fawning smile, only for one of them to shove him to the floor.

"You know what happens if you don't pay. Hand it over. Now!"

The ronin pressed his chipped blade against the owner's neck.

Yan reached for Crimson Sky on his back. At only six years old, he was a little shorter than the sword and could only carry it there.

"What a clichéd storybook scene. You're going to step in anyway?"

Orochimaru stopped eating and watched Yan with interest.

"Teacher, have you heard that art comes from life? Even the most clichéd stories draw on reality. But the rest of that saying is that art rises above life."

Yan spoke as he walked toward the ronin.

"Stories are clichéd because a hero always comes to the rescue. That doesn't happen in real life, so reality isn't art. Unfortunately, I have a little trouble telling the two apart."

The ronin saw a kid approaching with a sword taller than he was and burst out laughing.

"Kid, what's this? Playing shinobi? Get lost, or I'll—"

The kid drew his sword. White light flashed, and the rest of the ronin's words died with him as his body fell in two pieces.

Yan gripped the bloodied Crimson Sky and watched the two halves hit the floor.

"Ah!"

The other two ronin froze for an instant, then screamed. The person before them was not playing shinobi. He was one.

"Sor—"

They had barely started to kneel and apologize when Yan cut them down.

Yan tore a strip from their already tattered clothes, wiped the blood from Crimson Sky, and sheathed it.

"G-guest..."

"Tell me who we've offended and where their backers are. Don't bother telling us to leave. We're shinobi."

Yan had anticipated everything the owner was about to say, leaving him at a loss for words.

After gathering his thoughts, the owner spoke.

"Lord shinobi, those men used to be local thugs. At some point, they started serving a bandit in the nearby mountains. He gave them swords, and they went around collecting tribute. If someone refused to pay, the bandits would strip them of everything on their next raid."

Yan pulled up a stool and sat down. "The Nobles do nothing?"

The owner sighed. "That bandit never robs the Nobles, only commoners. And he's a Rōnin. The Nobles' samurai can't beat him."

The more the owner spoke, the more bitter he sounded. "He comes around demanding money all the time. Pay tribute, and he takes a little less. Refuse, and he takes everything. He might even kill you. Since he leaves the Nobles alone, they ignore him. And we can't scrape together enough money to hire shinobi to wipe him out."

Yan had not expected a bandit to understand sustainable business.

After getting directions to the hideout, Yan took Crimson Sky and set off to kill. Orochimaru followed silently.

Inside the bandits' hideout.

"Mm, that's it. A little higher."

The bandit leader toyed with a heavily made-up woman, drawing a coquettish protest from her.

"My lord~"

She had been a prostitute in the pleasure district. After she grew old and lost her looks, she was thrown out and drifted around nearby towns for a while before attaching herself to the bandit leader. She had even recommended three thugs who had once been her customers as his subordinates.

"Why aren't those three back yet?"

The leader took a swig of wine and reckoned the time. They should have returned by now.

He glanced down at the woman. He was growing tired of her. Those two fools must have grown just as brazen as she had.

"B-boss! Ah!"

The commotion at the entrance made the leader push the woman off his lap and stand.

A boy with a sword kicked the head of one of his men into the room. He carried the heads of two ronin inside as well.

"Ah! Kill him! Quick—"

At the sight of those familiar heads, the woman shrieked in terror.

The leader slapped the foolish woman across the face.

One glance told him the kid was definitely a Konoha shinobi.

Damn it. Did those people manage to scrape together the money?

"My lord, whatever they paid you for the job, I'll double it. And this woman..."

The leader faltered. Yan was so young that even if he wanted her, he could hardly do anything with her.

Yan said nothing. He simply raised his sword and pointed it at the leader.

"Damn it! Do we really have to fight to the death?"

Seeing that Yan would not budge, the leader angrily picked up his Samurai Sword, oblivious to how badly outmatched he was.

He made as if to charge, then grabbed the woman beside him and hurled her at Yan as he took his first step.

"Ah!"

The woman screamed as she flew toward Yan, blocking his view. Yan cut her down, but the leader had already used the opening to weave hand signs.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

A small water dragon burst from the leader's mouth and rushed at Yan. Yan channeled Chakra into Crimson Sky.

Flames engulfed the blade. With one slash, Yan split the Water Release before it could reach him, turning it to steam that dispersed in front of him.

The leader's eyes widened. When the steam cleared, Yan was gone.

"Here."

The leader shouted and swung toward the voice. Yan blocked the strike and knocked his blade aside.

Clang!

The leader saw Yan's guard wide open and raised his sword for another blow.

The brat can't even fight hand-to-hand, yet he came in close. Die!

As his blade drew nearer to Yan, unrestrained delight surged in the leader's eyes.

Clang!

Yan slipped sideways past the strike with a movement the leader could not follow and pinned the blade beneath his foot.

Thud!

After triggering Counterattack twice in succession, Yan was at his peak. He pushed off into the air, held two fingers before his lips, and gathered his Chakra.

The force of Yan's step snapped the leader's sword in two.

"Don't misunderstand. I just wanted to burn everything thoroughly."

Yan's voice came from above. When the leader looked up, a huge fireball was falling toward him, filling his entire field of vision.

Moments later, the bandits' hideout was a sea of flames.

"That Secret Technique was fascinating. Your Fire Release was nearly as powerful as an elite Jonin's."

"Also, Yan, you could try developing your Nintaijutsu. Combine your swordsmanship with Ninjutsu."

Orochimaru smiled at Yan as he returned. "Yan, your sword can cut down one evildoer. Can it cut down the countless evils in this world?"

Yan shook his head. "I don't know. There's only so much a person can see, and only so far their hands can reach. But wherever I can see and feel what's happening, I'll cut down what I cannot abide and protect the people I cherish."

"In shinobi terms, that's my ninja way!"

Firelight in the distance lit the boy's face. Orochimaru looked up. A new flame was about to ignite in the Shinobi World.