What's Your Dream?

"It's fine. I don't think any of that could threaten me anyway."

Eiji shrugged. If research at that level could threaten him, it only meant he wasn't strong enough yet.

In return, Eiji received an exceptionally sharp Kusanagi Sword from Orochimaru.

Looking at the Ninja Blade in his hand, Eiji smiled with satisfaction. At last, he had a suitable weapon.

He still preferred using his fists, of course. But maybe he could land a Black Flash with a sword too. He could try it once he learned the technique.

"One more question, Eiji. What's your dream?"

"My dream? To become the strongest in the Shinobi World, of course. If I can, I'd also like to live as long as possible. The longer, the better."

Orochimaru's smile widened at Eiji's answer, as though he had found a kindred spirit.

He had always been fascinated by life. How could he not be pleased to hear someone as strong as Eiji share his views?

"Heh. I thought you'd say you wanted to become Hokage."

"Hokage?" Eiji lowered his head and thought for a moment. "If everyone wants me to do it someday, then I will. But I won't chase the position. In the span of my life, it would only be a brief memory."

Eiji waved, said goodbye to Orochimaru, and left the secret laboratory.

Orochimaru stared after him in astonishment.

A brief memory?

But his expression soon returned to its usual calm.

"You grow more intriguing by the day. I look forward to seeing just how far you'll go, Eiji."

That night, Eiji sat in the corridor of the Ancestral Home, staring absently at the moon. Kushina and Sayuri sat on either side of him.

The Daimyo's party was leaving Konoha tomorrow, and Sayuri had to go with them. This was her last night at the Ancestral Home.

He glanced at Sayuri out of the corner of his eye.

She was taking delicate bites of watermelon. Her poise made it obvious at a glance that she came from a distinguished family.

Did she have to maintain her manners even away from the Daimyo's Palace? Being a princess isn't easy either.

Eiji thought she was a wonderful girl. In his previous life, she would have been considered outstanding by any measure. But this was the Warring States period, and she had no say in whom she married.

After all, this era resembled Japan's Sengoku period.

Technology in the Shinobi World was still relatively backward. During the Second Shinobi World War, Ninja had fought each other hand to hand with cold weapons.

Yet less than a decade later, by the Third Shinobi World War, medical care had begun to spread, and electric lights and power grids were gradually coming into use. By the time of the original Naruto story, Naruto could even eat instant noodles, while utility poles and other modern inventions lined the streets. The Shinobi World's technology was advancing like a rocket.

Its institutions, however, had not kept pace. The Daimyo and Shinobi Village system persisted all the way into Boruto: Naruto Next Generations. They even had laptops by then. Was that supposed to be a joke?

Under that system, Sayuri could only obey her family's arrangements and marry someone wealthy or powerful. Grandma Mito had said Sayuri was born to a concubine, which made her an even more likely choice for a political marriage.

Perhaps she was already engaged. But how many people in the Shinobi World could live freely by their own will?

That was why he had to grow stronger. Only then could he decide the course of his own life.

He turned toward Kushina. She sat at the edge of the corridor in her wooden clogs, her fair-skinned legs dangling and swinging back and forth.

The summer breeze stirred her red hair.

Come to think of it, what exactly is my relationship with Kushina now?

In his previous life, he had always been a single workhorse. Everything he knew about romance had come from his imagination.

Now he could clearly feel the special bond between them. If nothing unexpected happened, he would probably confess to Kushina once they were both adults.

What a dreamlike life. If my parents were still alive, their jaws would drop to hear that I'm going to marry the richest woman in the Shinobi World and that I've become a student of Princess Tsunade, the God of Shinobi's granddaughter.

Then again, maybe I'll get to see them. If I can't stop Kabuto from collecting dead Ninja's bodies, that day might come.

By then, I might already be married with children. Am I supposed to bring Kushina and the kids to the battlefield for a tearful reunion with them?

While Eiji gazed at the moon and let his thoughts run wild, someone tugged at his sleeve. Kushina was looking at him in puzzlement.

"Eiji, you've been staring at the moon forever. You finally won the championship, so cheer up! Right, Sayuri?"

"I think Lord Eiji is missing someone he has lost. I've seen that expression on other people's faces before."

"...Is it that obvious?"

Eiji touched his cheek in surprise. Was he really that easy to read?

"Huh? Eiji, are you really missing someone?"

"My mind was just wandering. Speaking of the moon, I remembered a legend about a princess who lived there and came down to Earth."

"There's a story like that? I've never heard it before." Sayuri was taken aback. She spent much of her time alone in the Daimyo's Palace, where there was little to do besides study strategy games and read. Yet she had never heard of the story Eiji mentioned.

Kushina folded her arms and thought hard, but soon gave up.

"Hmm... I haven't heard it either. Why don't you tell us, Eiji?"

Seeing that they were both interested, Eiji sorted through his memories of The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. Fortunately, he remembered the broad outline. He just had to make the important parts engaging.

Eiji raised a finger and began.

"All right. Long, long ago, an old man went up a mountain to cut bamboo. Inside one stalk, he found a tiny little girl. Overjoyed, he took her home and raised her with his wife... In only three months, the girl grew into a graceful young woman. Her beauty was like the moon in the sky, and the room where she lived shone with light. So the two elders named her Princess Kaguya."

Eiji had not expected to be so good at storytelling. The opening alone had drawn Kushina and Sayuri in, and they listened quietly as he continued.