War

Ryuto walked back from the fields with a hoe over his shoulder. The sun was about to set.

He wiped away his sweat and looked up at the sky.

Something was wrong.

Smoke rose on the distant horizon-not cooking smoke, but thick, billowing black smoke. He could faintly hear something, too, a muffled sound like thunder.

"They're fighting again?"

Ryuto frowned, swung the hoe onto his shoulder, and quickened his pace.

This place was pretty remote, with no other settlements anywhere nearby. There was just their little village of a few dozen people, farming to get by. But over the past six months, that commotion had been drawing closer and closer.

The Senju and the Uchiha-those two clans never stopped fighting.

As he walked, Ryuto wondered whether it had been five years since he had crossed over.

Time really flew.

Five years ago, he had opened his eyes to find himself lying in the woods outside this village, his whole body aching as if it had fallen apart. Yamano Tarō had carried him back, given him water and food, and let him stay in the village.

Back then, Ryuto had been completely dazed.

The Shinobi World? The Warring States Period? Hashirama Senju? Madara Uchiha?

Well, damn. Talk about a hardcore world to end up in.

Luckily, Ryuto had an ace up his sleeve-he had been a Dragon Ball fan in his previous life and knew the theory of Ki inside out. Chakra? That stuff was a little like Ki, but not quite the same. Well, he was already here. Might as well train.

For five years, he had farmed and worked alongside the villagers during the day, then secretly slipped off to the mountain behind the village at night to practice Ki.

From sensing Ki to forming Ki Blasts, he had figured it out little by little.

Nobody knew what he was practicing. The villagers all thought he was just an ordinary young man who was a bit stronger than most. Yamano Tarō had asked a few times, but Ryuto had brushed him off by saying he had learned some ways to strengthen his body in the past.

"I need to get back, fast."

Watching the smoke grow thicker in the distance, Ryuto felt a little panicked.

That direction... seems to be where the village is.

He drew a deep breath, pushed off, and shot forward with a whoosh. It wasn't a ninja's Body Flicker Technique, just acceleration through a burst of Ki, but his speed was frightening. He left a trail of shallow footprints along the dirt road.

On a distant hill.

Hyūga Tenshu stood in the treetops with his Byakugan activated, sweeping the entire area with his blind-spot-free, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree vision.

"Captain, there's fighting to the northwest. A fairly large battle," a Hyūga clan member reported.

"I see it." Hyūga Tenshu's voice was calm. "The Senju and the Uchiha have run into each other again. This time, they're very close to that village."

He paused, his Byakugan suddenly turning in another direction.

"Hm?"

"What is it, Captain?"

"There's an energy signature... moving toward the village." Hyūga Tenshu frowned. "It's not Chakra. The way it flows is strange, and it's moving very fast."

He stared at the point of light racing through his field of vision.

The energy of that point of light was a completely different color from Chakra-a pale gold. The way it flowed was also more... how should he put it? More direct, more violent.

"Record the coordinates," Hyūga Tenshu said. "I'll take a look once we're done scouting here."

"Yes, sir!"

Ryuto ran all the way to the village entrance in one go and caught his breath.

The village looked unharmed for now, but explosions could already be heard rumbling in the distance. Even the ground was trembling slightly.

Several villagers had gathered at the entrance, panic written across their faces.

"Ryuto! You're back!" An old man spotted him and hurriedly waved him over. "Tarō's looking for you!"

"Where's Uncle Tarō?"

"At the ancestral hall, trying to persuade those stubborn old fools!"

Ryuto nodded and ran straight toward the ancestral hall.

Before he even reached the door, he heard Yamano Tarō's voice, urgent and angry.

"Third Elder! Look at the situation! Listen to that noise! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late!"

"I've lived seventy years. What haven't I seen?" an aged voice replied stiffly. "This is our home. If we leave, what happens to the fields? What happens to the houses?"

"Our lives matter more!"

Ryuto pushed the door open and went inside.

Five or six people stood in the ancestral hall. Yamano Tarō stood in the middle, sweating profusely with anxiety. Opposite him was a white-bearded old man leaning on a cane, his face stubborn.

"Uncle Tarō," Ryuto said.

Yamano Tarō turned and saw him, his eyes lighting up. "Ryuto! Perfect timing. Help me talk some sense into Third Elder!"

Ryuto didn't try to persuade him. He simply said, "I just came back from the eastern fields. I saw smoke, no more than ten li from here. Judging by the sound, there are plenty of people on both sides."

The ancestral hall fell quiet for a moment.

Third Elder's cane paused.

"Ten li?" Yamano Tarō's expression changed. "That fast?"

"And the fighting's moving this way," Ryuto said bluntly. "Stay here, and we wait to die."

The words were harsh, but they worked.

Third Elder opened his mouth, then finally sighed and planted his cane against the floor. "Let's... let's go."

Yamano Tarō sighed in relief and quickly called out, "Everyone, go home and pack. Only take the essentials. Meet at the village entrance in fifteen minutes!"

The villagers dispersed.

Yamano Tarō wiped away his sweat and looked at Ryuto. "Good thing you were here. That old man only listens to you."

"I only told the truth." Ryuto paused. "Uncle Tarō, you'd better pack, too."

"I know." Yamano Tarō patted his shoulder. "You go, too. Don't dawdle."

Ryuto nodded, turned, and headed outside.

At the door, he stopped and glanced back.

Yamano Tarō was gathering the ancestral tablets in the hall, carefully wrapping them in cloth one by one.

This thirty-five-year-old man had saved him five years ago and given him a home. It might have been just a shabby village, and life might have been tight, but Yamano Tarō had never treated him as an outsider.

"Uncle Tarō," Ryuto suddenly said.

"Hm?"

"Thank you."

Yamano Tarō froze for a moment, then smiled. "What are you thanking me for? Get moving!"

Ryuto smiled, too, and left the ancestral hall.

He returned to his little wooden hut. There really wasn't much to pack. A few changes of clothes, some dry rations, and... He felt beneath his pillow and pulled out a small cloth bundle.

He opened it. Inside were a few pieces of silver and a short blade.

Yamano Tarō had given it to him last year, saying it was a coming-of-age gift.

"Around here, you're an adult at twenty," Yamano Tarō had said at the time. "Take it. For protection."

Ryuto tucked the short blade into his belt and slipped the cloth bundle inside his clothes.

He walked to the window and looked into the distance.

The smoke was thicker, and the explosions were clearer. He could even faintly make out flashes of fire in the distant woods.

A war between ninjas.

Ryuto clenched his fists.

For five years, he had kept training, kept getting stronger. But he had never wanted any part of this crap. He just wanted to live in peace and practice his Ki. Maybe one day he could even become a Super Saiyan.

But now, war had come knocking.

"Ryuto! Time to go!"

Yamano Tarō's shout came from outside.

Ryuto took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and stepped out.

More than twenty people had already gathered at the village entrance, carrying bundles and leading children by the hand, all with fearful faces. Yamano Tarō stood at the front, holding a lantern.

"Everyone here?" Yamano Tarō counted them. "That's everyone. Let's go. We'll hide in the mountains to the west!"

The group began moving, stumbling out of the village.

Ryuto brought up the rear, glancing back from time to time.

The village grew more and more distant-the little wooden hut he had lived in for five years, the fields he had farmed for five years, and the old pagoda tree at the village entrance...

Boom!

A tremendous explosion came from the east, closer than any before it.

The ground gave a violent jolt.

Someone in the group screamed, and the children began to cry.

"Quick! Keep moving!" Yamano Tarō shouted.

Ryuto looked back, his pupils contracting.

The eastern sky was lit up by fire.