A Grass-Woven Shuriken

Dawn had barely broken, and the thin mist had yet to clear. Before the dew on Sarutobi Sasuke's clothes had even dried, he had already arrived at the Hagoromo Clan Territory with his son.

The Hagoromo guards welcomed him into the council hall as soon as they saw him.

Everyone throughout the clan territory was rushed off their feet. Only Setsuna had been completely excluded.

Setsuna kicked a stone by his foot, misjudged his strength, and nearly sent his boat-shaped sandal flying off.

"Miss Sailor Moon!"

A clear, bright voice came from behind him.

Setsuna turned to see Hiruzen Sarutobi running toward him, an excited smile on his little monkey-like face.

Hiruzen Sarutobi held up something bright green and presented it to Setsuna as though showing off a treasure.

"Look! Father taught me how to fold this. It's a shuriken made from reed leaves!"

Setsuna lowered his gaze. Sure enough, the thing had been folded into the four-pointed shape of a shuriken.

Yes, to pass the outrageously long stretch of idle time, he had put on that furisode again, donned his wig, and dressed up as "Sailor Moon."

Since he had nothing better to do, he might as well fish for information from this brat, who was visiting the Hagoromo Clan Territory with his father for the second time.

As a small, neutral clan, the Sarutobi Clan dealt with all the major powers. Growing up around that, Hiruzen, its heir, ought to know at least a few things Setsuna did not.

Uchiha Izuna happened to pass by and spotted the scene at once-the boy, lively as a monkey, was eagerly trailing behind Setsuna in his girl's clothes, his eyes shining as he chattered away.

Unable to bear the sight, Izuna immediately closed his eyes and turned his head slightly aside.

Once he knew that the apparently adorable, spoiled little girl was actually that ferocious little bald kid with sanpaku eyes, he could never sincerely call the sight "pretty" again. It was simply painful to look at.

Setsuna, oh, Setsuna, do you realize you're taking advantage of that little boy's innocent feelings?

What a disgrace to the Uchiha.

Izuna took a deep breath. He had intended to march over and expose this ridiculous farce, but on second thought, airing his own clansman's dirty laundry in front of an outsider would be the real disgrace.

He decided to give Setsuna a stern talking-to once he had finished his work, then strode away with a dark expression.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, meanwhile, had clearly forgotten all about the unpleasantness of being treated coldly by "Sailor Moon" last time.

When Setsuna waved him over in that furisode and hime-cut wig, his face had indeed flushed for a moment.

After less than a second's hesitation, he had scampered over eagerly.

As long as he did not think about the little bald head beneath that wig, Sailor Moon was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.

Besides, it was not as though hair could never grow back. What was there to mind?

And what was more...

The tips of Hiruzen's ears quietly turned scarlet.

When Miss Sailor Moon scolded people, a faint blush spread across his face, and his eyes went round and wide. He looked both proud and full of life-to be honest, he was rather pretty that way too.

Hiruzen Sarutobi seemed to have awakened some remarkable new taste in beauty.

But he was still young. All he knew was that time passed especially quickly when he was with Miss Sailor Moon.

Setsuna took the reed-leaf shuriken and gave it a light twist with his fingertips. The bright green leaves began spinning rapidly between his fingers, darting up and down through all sorts of tricks.

"That's amazing!" Hiruzen Sarutobi stared, utterly transfixed, and praised him from the heart.

Setsuna lifted his chin, struggling to suppress the smug curl of his lips, though he kept his voice casually indifferent. "It's nothing. Just basic shuriken handling."

Yet a subtle trace of envy stirred in his heart.

As the heir to the small, neutral Sarutobi Clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi would surely have opportunities to visit many places, meet many people, and see all kinds of ninjutsu and techniques.

The experience he accumulated from childhood would lay the firmest foundation for his eventual rise as the "Professor of Ninjutsu" and his ascent to the position of Hokage.

Viewed that way, Hiruzen Sarutobi was certainly someone he needed to befriend.

Setsuna's thoughts raced. He simply turned to face Hiruzen's shining eyes.

Toying with the grass-woven shuriken in his hand, he asked casually, "Want to learn?"

Hiruzen nodded obediently. "Yes, I do!"

"Then teach me how to weave one of these from reed leaves first." Setsuna raised the green-leaf creation as though the request were perfectly natural.

He meant it. He really did want to know how this thing was made.

From the moment he had become conscious, he had been a character "born twelve years old," with nothing but the Arena before him.

He had never had a real childhood, never handled toys, and never had anyone teach him how to fold a beautiful shuriken from a reed leaf.

He was genuinely curious. What exactly was the difference between him and real people who had grown up from childhood, one step at a time?

"Sure!" Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile held not a trace of gloom. Sincere delight filled his little monkey-like face, as though he had finally found something he could do for the girl.

Looking at that smiling face, Setsuna suddenly remembered Madara Uchiha's assessment of him-

"Despicable."

He frowned, suddenly feeling that he really was despicable.

He was only being pleasant to Hiruzen because the boy was "useful."

He was exploiting a child's innocence and kindness to extract information and cultivate a connection.

Self-serving, mean-spirited, unscrupulous...

Those descriptions Madara Uchiha had used for Tobirama Senju now applied to him, and they made him deeply uncomfortable.

Setsuna felt unsettled. His brows drew together slightly, and, for once, his conscience bothered him.

Just then, an awkward look appeared on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face.

"Um, but..."

"But what?"

Hiruzen looked thoroughly apologetic. "But there aren't any reed leaves here. Reeds grow by the water. I picked some along the way when Father and I came over from the Naka River."

Setsuna was losing interest anyway and wanted an excuse to end the encounter.

"Then bring a few more leaves next time and teach me then," he said, turning to leave.

Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly noticed the girl's sudden low spirits. Thinking he had disappointed him, he immediately hurried after him.

"We can go pick some by the river! There are lots of reeds along the Naka River. We can get there and back in no time!"

He caught Setsuna's sleeve, a hint of urgency on his face, as though determined to prove himself useful.

"There's a ceasefire right now. Nobody will attack without a reason. If we hurry, we can be back in half an hour. The adults definitely won't notice!"

Setsuna stopped.

He was actually wavering.

The Naka River-that was the front line where the two sides faced off. If he could use this opportunity to take a look, scout the Senju Clan's deployment, and establish what they might really intend to do next... it would be an opportunity he could only dream of.

After all, Hashirama Senju had shown his sincerity, but Tobirama Senju's scheming had never stopped.

In the past, he would have gone himself without waiting for Hiruzen Sarutobi to invite him.

But now...

After being lectured by both Izuna and Madara in turn, he had grown more wary, and more worried too.

He feared that acting without permission might disrupt the entire strategic plan for the peace talks.

After all, the negotiations were at their most critical stage. One careless move could undo everything they had achieved.

"If the Senju Clan catches me, it'll put us at a disadvantage in the negotiations," Setsuna said glumly.

Hiruzen Sarutobi muttered, "We're both just kids. What would they gain by catching us?"

The words stung Setsuna-"kids," "unimportant"... He thought it over and realized that he really did not qualify as anyone important.

The talks would go on without him. The Uchiha Clan would be fine without him too.

That realization left him feeling humiliated, as though his pride had been viciously stabbed.

He snorted and snapped stiffly, "I am important."

"Yes, yes, you're important." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, imitating the way his mother soothed him.

Then he patted his chest and declared confidently, "And you've got me, haven't you? My father is the messenger carrying word between the two sides. Haven't you heard that 'even when two armies are at war, they don't kill the messenger'? Even if we get caught, with our parents' standing, they won't do anything to us."

Then Hiruzen lowered his voice and leaned closer. "Besides... as long as we go and come back quickly, before anyone notices, nobody will know we went to the Naka River."

Setsuna fell silent for a moment.

He had to admit that the brat's reasoning made sense.

There and back in a flash, without anyone being the wiser...

As long as they handled it properly, this would be both a reconnaissance trip and a fine opportunity to grow closer to the Sarutobi heir.

Two birds with one stone.

"...Let's go, then." His brow relaxed, and his voice regained its usual indifference.

"This way." Hiruzen Sarutobi's smile brightened.

He took Setsuna by the hand, greeted the guards, and slipped out of the compound.

The two small figures followed the path toward the Naka River, one behind the other, and vanished into the shadows of the mixed woodland.

Setsuna heard a notification ring in his ears: "Ding! Rebellion points +1."

Heh, now that's three birds with one stone!

Setsuna became even more convinced that his trip to the Naka River was justified.