Love Letters Again

The Tsuchikage's office in Iwagakure.

"What a headache. What a damn headache."

After reading the intelligence scroll, Ōnoki set it down and shook his head.

"Why are such brilliant prodigies always born in Konoha?"

Ōnoki's son, Kitsuchi, had also read the scroll. Though his face still looked childish, he was sturdily built, and shock showed plainly on his face.

He scratched his head and asked in disbelief, "Dad, this report isn't fake, is it?"

"Hmph. I wish it were! But if, just if, it's true... in thirty years, Konoha will have a terrifying force of bloodline shinobi!"

"Then what should we do? Should we sneak into Konoha and take Ryuuzaki Eiji?"

"Don't suggest the kind of shameless thing those Kumogakure brutes would do!"

Ōnoki bristled. Just bringing it up made him angry!

The Third Raikage was utterly shameless. Lately, he had been sending people to cause trouble near the village, trying to abduct Iwagakure's younger children. If Ōnoki hadn't been on guard, the man would have succeeded once!

Iwagakure was short on talent as it was, and he wanted to steal what little they had? How was that anything but kicking them while they were down!?

The thought made Ōnoki miserable. Looking at his disappointing son only made him angrier.

It was his own fault for not thinking about raising an heir when he was younger. Now he was pushing fifty and had only just gotten this little brat.

Kitsuchi was only about eight. Ōnoki had planned to take him to the battlefield so he could see the world, but knowing a prodigy like that existed among his peers in distant Konoha, then looking at his own son, left Ōnoki seething.

"I told you to learn Dust Release, but you wouldn't! Ryuuzaki Eiji is bound to become a great enemy of Iwagakure. When that happens, how are you supposed to lead the village and hold our place in the Shinobi World!?"

Ōnoki suddenly pointed at Kitsuchi's face and rounded on him, leaving Kitsuchi baffled.

"Uh, Dad, didn't you say I don't have the aptitude for that Kekkei Tōta stuff? There's nothing I can do, no matter how hard I try."

Ōnoki choked on his words. That only made him feel worse.

It was true. His Kekkei Tōta was a precious gift possessed by one person in ten thousand. Not just anyone could learn it.

But Ryuuzaki Eiji was different. His Kekkei Genkai could easily be passed down to the next generation. At this rate, sooner or later Konoha would dominate the entire Shinobi World.

When his father fell silent, Kitsuchi asked, "Dad, aren't we going to do something?"

The corners of Ōnoki's mouth lifted slightly. "No need to rush. This intelligence is public. That savage bastard in Kumogakure must have received it too. Why give ourselves a headache when we can leave the problem to him?"

Given the Third Raikage's habit of snatching up talented people, he must be frantic by now. And with a major war looming, Ōnoki had no time to trouble Hiruzen Sarutobi.

Three months passed in a flash. The outrageous news that Hanzo of the Salamander, leader of Amegakure, had declared war on the surrounding great powers swept across the Shinobi World like a gale.

Konoha was no exception. When the villagers learned that Konoha planned to send troops into the Land of Rain, they supported it wholeheartedly. Hiruzen Sarutobi and the other leaders had proclaimed that they were fighting for peace in the Shinobi World, giving the campaign a righteous cause.

Eiji had long known that Hanzō had little choice. Caught between great powers as a "buffer zone," the Land of Rain desperately wanted to change its circumstances to survive.

What was more, Hanzō was at the height of his strength, and his reputation as the "Demigod" had spread. That gave him even more confidence to challenge the Five Great Nations.

But he had still overestimated himself. No matter how strong he was, he could never withstand the Five Great Nations bearing down on him together. Defeat was inevitable.

In the end, he would not even dare deal a killing blow to Jiraiya and his two companions. He would grant them the name "Sannin," then obediently return to develop Amegakure.

Over the past few months, Eiji had become a celebrity in Konoha. He drew stares wherever he went. His battle at his Ninja Academy graduation had made his name known throughout the village.

The Six Eyes, his Dojutsu Kekkei Genkai, had shot to prominence alongside the Sharingan and Byakugan, even seeming to surpass them. The perceptive had already realized that the two great Dojutsu bloodlines would soon become three.

So plenty of opportunists tried to get close to Eiji, and there was no shortage of gifts.

Besides, the Shinobi World respected strength above all. And though it sounded a little conceited, Eiji thought his looks could put the Uchiha to shame.

So in the Shinobi World, where people were especially susceptible to such things, he found piles of love letters in his desk almost every day he went to the Ninja Academy.

Today brought another bumper crop of love letters.

Carrying a huge pile of them, Eiji walked with Kushina toward the Senju Ancestral Home. She had happily dragged him to school that morning, but now she trailed behind him, clutching her head with a sour look.

"Seriously! I'm so mad! Just looking at those girls gets on my nerves!"

Kushina clicked her tongue. She sounded like a girl gang leader straight out of a delinquent high school.

She really was hiding it less and less. She had held back a little at first, but once she got used to life at Konoha Academy, she quickly started acting like the boss.

Lately, she had even recruited a bunch of first-years to run errands for her. Eiji figured that by the time Kushina reached her sixth year, Konoha Academy might as well change its name to Delinquent High.

Eiji let his imagination run for a moment.

Kushina sat cross-legged on a Ninja Academy desk, scowling. A white cloth band was tied around her head, bandages covered her arms, and she wore a chest wrap beneath a black trench coat.

A wooden katana rested against her shoulder. Around her stood a crowd of delinquent girls in masks and long skirts.

Footsteps sounded at the classroom door. A girl rushed in, holding an oil-paper-wrapped bun high as she shouted,

"Boss! I got the fried noodle bun! And it's the new one with extra toppings!"

Eiji hurriedly shook the image from his head. He didn't want to dream about that tonight.

"I can't take it anymore. Maybe I should just beat them up!" Kushina said, punching her fist into her palm.

"Don't say something so scary. Keep this up and the villagers will start complaining."

Eiji sounded helpless.

Actually, they've probably complained already. The Homeroom Teacher must have buried it every time because of Tsunade and Grandma Mito.

"Eiji, what's wrong with you? Those girls obviously have ulterior motives! No one used to give you love letters, but the moment you came first, all these secret admirers appeared? That makes no sense!"