On the downhill path outside Gokokuji Temple in Bunkyo Ward, several tourists were walking away in disappointment.
"What rotten luck. We finally get Golden Week off, but when we went to Gengaku Temple this morning, it was closed to visitors. Now we come to Gokokuji Temple in the afternoon, and it's closed too."
"Nothing we can do. A fire broke out in Gokokuji Temple's side hall last week, and the whole hall collapsed. They're repairing it now," a tourist said helplessly after taking out a phone to look up the news.
"But Gengaku Temple didn't even give a reason for closing. It makes no sense."
"What a wasted trip. Where should we go next?"
"Let's go to Jokoji Temple."
Amid the stream of people turning back, a young face headed against the flow. The tourists glanced at him and thought nothing of it.
Although Gokokuji Temple's main hall was also temporarily closed to visitors, Gokokuji Cemetery remained open, and people coming to visit graves during Golden Week arrived in a steady stream.
It was just that this path led toward the temple buildings, and reaching the turnoff for the cemetery required quite a long walk.
Perhaps he had taken the wrong path, or, like them, he did not know Gokokuji Temple was closed to visitors.
A few minutes later, Uchiha Naruto arrived among a stretch of ruined walls with a black shoulder bag on his back.
This had originally been Gokokuji Temple's side hall, but it had been razed during Uchiha Naruto's earlier battle with Higuchi Orochi.
The shoulder bag on Uchiha Naruto's back suddenly shifted. He set the black bag on the ground and pulled open the zipper, which had not been fully closed to begin with. A little yellow dog darted out.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
After coming out,