Hand shadows and rice balls

Setsuna sat alone in the tent the Hagoromo Clan had assigned them.

Only one oil lamp burned in a corner of the tent, its bean-sized flame barely casting a dim yellow halo on the canvas wall.

Setsuna had not gone with the children to collect dinner.

Toshihi had said he was withholding his dinner, and Setsuna had no intention of shamelessly begging for those awful rice balls.

He had already experienced them anyway-gritty brown rice, bitter coarse salt, and the biological weapon-grade pickles Kagami Uchiha's mother made.

Skipping one meal would not kill him.

Bored out of his mind, he sat beside the oil lamp and raised his hands to make shadow puppets on the tent wall.

This was an animation the player had originally bought for him as a stand-in for Megumi Fushiguro from another series.

Because he and Megumi Fushiguro had the same sea-urchin hairstyle, the stubborn blockhead had burst out laughing when he saw someone post comparison pictures on the forum, then immediately spent sixty yuan to buy the shadow-puppet animation.

Now it had become his only entertainment in this world.

He interlaced his fingers, shifting their angles.

A crooked rabbit appeared on the tent wall, followed by a dog, then a bird.

He stared at the shadows cast by his fingers while his mind worked on something else.

He thought of the Nara Clan's shadow manipulation technique, a ninjutsu that belonged to none of the common elemental natures.

Nara Clan characters had pinned him with their shadows countless times in the game. He knew all too well what it felt like to be immobilized and left at someone else's mercy.

If shadow manipulation leaned more toward mental control and worked on principles similar to genjutsu, as players discussed on the forums, then it was a form of Yin Release.

According to the author Masashi Kishimoto's setting, Yin Release was a branch of chakra nature centered on spiritual energy, a power that created form out of nothing.

And the Uchiha's Sharingan Genjutsu was, at its core, another manifestation of Yin Release.

If he could manipulate shadows, then give them form using a concept like Sai's Super Beast Imitating Drawing...

Setsuna's fingers stopped.

That's right. This was entirely possible in theory!

Super Beast Imitating Drawing was Yin Release-giving life to form.

And shadow manipulation was Yin Release-using the mind to influence physical matter.

Using shadows as a medium, he could give them form and life.

He might even create something like Megumi Fushiguro's Ten Shadows Technique.

At that thought, cold sweat broke out across Setsuna's back.

The system of techniques in the Warring States Period had not yet been classified and standardized as thoroughly as in the game, but the basic principles of Yin Release and Yang Release held true in any era.

His next goal was clear: train his spiritual energy and sense yin chakra.

The most valuable thing he currently had was the "focus" upgrade option in the rebellion point system.

Focus was bound to be linked to spiritual energy, and spiritual energy was the fuel that powered Yin Release.

As long as he invested points in focus, his efficiency at sensing and controlling yin release chakra would improve.

Then he could save up more rebellion points, raise his stamina enough to sustain intense combat, and improve his recovery enough to keep going on the battlefield.

Once he maxed out all the basic stats and unlocked derived talents, there might be a branch among them that matched a Yin Release skill tree.

Right now, he needed more rebellion points.

Insulting Madara had earned him one point, refusing to kneel another, talking back to Izuna five, mocking the Daimyo one, and disobeying the leading Jonin's orders to turn back on his own three.

He had spent ten points upgrading stamina, leaving him with one.

The rewards varied considerably, but he had more or less figured out the pattern-the more outrageous his defiance to someone's face, the more rebellion points he received.

He was calculating whom he could squeeze a few more rebellion points out of after returning tomorrow when the tent flap lifted.

He looked up to see Kagami slip inside like a little mouse.

Kagami's left leg was still bandaged. Toshihi had given his sprained ankle a basic dressing, and he walked with a slight limp.

But the terror he had worn when cornered during the chase that day was gone. His round eyes had regained that infuriatingly kind gleam.

He sat beside Setsuna, took a rice ball from inside his clothes, and casually broke it in half, offering one half to him.

"Here."

Setsuna turned away. "Toshihi said I don't get dinner tonight."

Kagami tilted his head and held the rice ball a little closer. "Toshihi took away your portion, but that doesn't stop me from sharing mine."

Before Setsuna could speak, the tent flap lifted again.

"Then I'll share mine with you too."

It was another child from their group. He crouched down, unhesitatingly broke half off his own rice ball, and placed it before Setsuna.

Then a third child slipped inside.

A fourth.

A fifth.

The little kids who had crossed the Neutral Zone together that day crowded into the tent one after another, each breaking their rice ball in half and offering it to Setsuna.

Setsuna looked down at the rice balls.

Some were packed tightly; others had already crumbled into pieces.

Some still had dirt and bits of grass from the children's fingers stuck to them.

The misshapen rice balls piled up in front of him.

The tent was full of children. Lamplight shone on their faces, turning every pair of eyes into tiny, glittering points of light.

Setsuna stared at the pile of rice balls and opened his mouth, his feelings too tangled for him to say a word.

After a long moment, he turned his head away and said irritably, "Are you feeding a pig or something?"

Kagami grinned. "Then just eat mine, Setsuna. You saved my life, after all."

With that, he shoved the rice ball straight into Setsuna's hand.

His fingers were warm, and that warmth mingled with the warmth of the brown-rice ball, making Setsuna's palm tingle slightly.

The oldest child in the group-eight years old and half a head taller than the others-also squeezed inside, sat cross-legged, and pushed half a rice ball into Setsuna's hand. "I heard you killed two Chunin today. That's amazing."

Setsuna took a bite of the rice ball Kagami had given him.

It was still brown rice, still cold, and still mixed with grains that had not been husked, but this time he did not bite down on any grit.

He swallowed the rice, lifted his eyes, and declared in a tone of supreme disdain, "They were only Chunin. Even if Madara Uchiha came at me, I'd string him up and spank him."

The tent fell silent for half a second.

Then the little kids collapsed into laughter.

"You're lying, Setsuna!"

"Lord Madara is the clan leader!"

"One Fire Release and you'd be a roasted sweet potato!"

"String him up and spank him-hahahaha-"

Surrounded by laughter, Setsuna felt the corners of his mouth twitch despite himself.

"Tch. Tell the truth and nobody believes you."

He stuffed the remaining half of the rice ball into his mouth and chewed in big mouthfuls.

Outside the tent, Toshihi leaned against the entrance with his head tilted, watching the little children huddle together through a gap in the flap.

The expression on his scarred face softened for once. He called through the canvas, "Setsuna, Lord Izuna is coming tomorrow."

Setsuna stopped chewing for a moment.

Toshihi continued from outside. "He's taking you to the Hagoromo Clan's grounds to visit their clan leader."

The children in the tent fell quiet and all turned to look at Setsuna.

"Lord Izuna is coming from the front lines himself. Anything that draws him away from the defenses against the Senju must be important. Get to bed early tonight, and don't cause any trouble tomorrow." Toshihi's voice faded, followed by the sound of his footsteps retreating outside.

Setsuna slowly swallowed the rice in his mouth.

Izuna wanted to see him and take him along to visit the Hagoromo clan leader!

His mind raced-his mother had been a young lady of the Hagoromo Clan, married into the Uchiha to cement an alliance.

So Izuna needed a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Hagoromo Clan, and he was that living, walking blood tie?

If that was the case, bringing him to the negotiating table would be more persuasive than any document or treaty.

"Tch," Setsuna muttered.

Still, that worked out nicely. He'd been worrying about where to farm rebellion points, and now Izuna was delivering himself right to his door.

Should he bring up Tobirama Senju again?

Setsuna seriously assessed the feasibility of that plan.

The last time he had mentioned Tobirama Senju at the clan meeting, he had gained five rebellion points outright, and Izuna's face had darkened with fury on the spot.

The results were outstanding, but the risk rose in proportion.

With his tiny frame, even after upgrading stamina to level two, a beating from an A-rank ninja swordsman like Izuna would probably leave him bedridden for days.

Setsuna leaned against the tent wall, raised his hands, and formed a crooked shadow puppet in the circle of lamplight.