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The situation for Kumogakure was indeed grim.
Their initial enemy had been Kirigakure. That war had dragged on for a full year. Then, right in the middle of it, Iwagakure, hoping to ignite a conflict between Kumo and Konoha, had disguised their ninja and launched a surprise attack on the Land of Lightning.
The Third Raikage's brain hadn't processed it fast enough. He sent men to strike Konoha. Only then did he realizeāhe'd been played by Iwa.
Perfect. Now they were at odds with every major village.
The only thing that offered the Raikage any solace was the fact that every other village was in a similar mess.
Yugito led Tsuruki to the Third's lavish residence. Tsuruki had to admit he was impressed. The place wasn't any worse than Uchiha Juri's home.
"Princess, I'll take you somewhere!" Yugito said, grabbing Tsuruki's hand and leading him down a wide street.
Kumogakure's streets were broad, and its people spoke with booming voices. Apparently, loudness was just the local custom.
After crossing a few blocks, Yugito stopped.
A massive training ground filled Tsuruki's vision.
"What is this?"
Tsuruki whistled softly. It was quite a sight.
The ground could hold over a thousand people. Right now, it was packed and roaring. Civilians and ordinary shinobi alike crammed the spectator stands, buzzing with excitement.
"This is where we hold our martial tournaments! It's the best!" Yugito's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Everyone in Kumo knew Yugito, the jinchūriki. She easily pulled Tsuruki up into the stands.
The excited crowd punched the air, faces flushed. They looked like the audience at an underground fighting ring from his past life.
"ā¦"
Truly a robust culture, Tsuruki thought.
His gaze dropped to the arena's center. Two muscle-bound men were engaged in a pure contest of strength. Fists met flesh. The sight was enough to get anyone's blood pumping.
"This is nothing!" Yugito said, noticing Tsuruki's wide-eyed look. She dismissed the fighters with a glance. "I'll go down later and show you something real."
"Butā¦ it looks so dangerousā¦" Tsuruki shook his head. "Please, Yugitoā¦ don't."
That only solidified Yugito's resolve to amaze the princess.
"Next match!" The announcer's voice boomed through speakers. "Ottoro versus Kamoi!"
"Hmph!"
A flash of movement. Yugito landed in the arena's center.
"Lady Yugito!"
"Why is she going up?"
"Are we really going to see Lady Yugito fight?"
"HELL YEAH!"
Her appearance caused an immediate uproar.
"WOOOOO!"
The atmosphere hit a fever pitch. Amidst the deafening noise, Yugito's eyes found Tsuruki's in the stands.
[Ding! Target Yugito's Favorability: 50!]
Yugito's eyes shone, a triumphant grin on her face.
More and more shinobi began flexing and stretching below. They knew Yugito's power. But the chance to test themselves against a powerhouse? That excited them more.
Watching the highly suggestible Yugito, Tsuruki confirmed his plan in his mind.
Yugito will be the entry point.
Soon, a shinobi leapt into the ring. His muscles were coiled, his eyes locked on Yugito with intense focus. "Lady Yugito! Please teach me!" he shouted, then charged.
Yugito's lips curled. She moved like a spirit-cat. Smooth palms shifted. Sharp claws extended from her fingertips.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
A few slashes later, the man was decisively out.
But it wasn't over.
Seeing the still-eager shinobi, Yugito lifted her chin. "Come at me. All of you."
Tsuruki raised a brow, looking at the excited crowd.
That'sā¦ quite a few people.
Yugito's strength wasn't in question. But a sea of bodies? Even the Third Raikage couldn't hold out forever against that.
He didn't know how much time passed. Wave after wave of Kumo-nin fell, littering the ground.
Finally, Yugito stood panting in the center. Minor scrapes marked her skin. Sweat beaded on her small face.
A deafening cheer erupted from the stands. Everyone was on their feet, roaring for her.
Yugito's eyes immediately sought Tsuruki again.
She expected to see him cheering too. Instead, the princess high above simply watched her with a gentle gaze. When his eyes found the cuts on her cheek, they filled withā¦ concern.
Yugito froze. She stared, unblinking, until the heat in her own cheeks reminded her how strange this felt. She yanked her gaze away, heart pounding erratically.
[Ding! Target Yugito's Favorability: 55!]
[Ding! Target Yugito's Favorability: 60!]
[Ding! Target Yugito's Favorability: 65!]
The cascade of Favorability notifications in his mind surprised Tsuruki.
Seriously?
He knew his act would raise her Favorability, but this much?
On the walk back, Tsuruki carefully pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around a cut on Yugito's hand.
"It must hurtā¦"
His face was all sympathy.
Yugito stared at him blankly. Only when he gave her a puzzled look did she snap out of it. She looked away, ears burning, and coughed. "N-no! It doesn't!"
More Favorability chimes. Tsuruki's expression went numb.
The whole walk back, Yugito's Favorability had been yo-yoing up and down. He was desensitized.
"Yugito, come with me." Tsuruki looked hesitant. He took her hand and led her toward a dark, secluded alley.
Yugito's face exploded with color. She couldn't look at him. "Wh-what for?"
The alley was silent. Empty.
Tsuruki took her hand again. A soft, warm glow emanated from his palm. In moments, all Yugito's wounds vanished.
"Princess!"
Yugito's expression changed instantly. All the blush drained away, replaced by shock and sharp suspicion.
"You're a medical-nin!" A kunai was at Tsuruki's throat. "Which village sent you?"
Her hand trembled. Anger flashed in her eyes.
Tsuruki's eyes widened in confusion. "Yugitoā¦ youā¦"
"Talk!"
She wouldn't listen. The kunai pressed forward. A bright red line appeared on Tsuruki's neck.
"Yugito, I just wanted to heal youā¦" Sadness filled Tsuruki's eyes. "You know who I am. I don't know what medical ninjutsu is. I can't use ninjutsu."
The Reverse Cursed Technique looked similar to medical ninjutsu, but the feeling was different. It was more like a unique transformative ability.
Yugito's grip loosened.
She knew the princess's identity. The Grass Country princessāthat couldn't be faked.
She also knew the princess truly couldn't use ninjutsu. Her reaction had been pure instinct.
Slowly, she withdrew the kunai.
"Yugito, I'm sorry. I frightened you." Tsuruki bit his lip.
What?
She was the one at fault, and the princess was apologizing?
Yugito felt even worse.
[Ding! Target Yugito's Favorability: 75!]
"When did this ability appear? How did you discover it? Does anyone else know?" The questions spilled out, sounding like an interrogation. Yugito grimaced at her own tone.
"I found out once when I fell from a swing at the mansion," Tsuruki answered, his voice laced with innocence. He seemed unbothered by her manner. "I was so happy. I thought I'd become a shinobi!"
"Besides my father, no one knows." He hung his head guiltily. "The maids who knewā¦ Fatherā¦"
He didn't finish. Yugito understood.
A power like this had to be hidden. Otherwise, you'd become a target.
And she was the princess of a small, weak country like Grass.
Yugito filled in the blanks with her own reasoning.
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone."
As a Kumo-nin, her first instinct was, inevitably, to bring the princess to the front lines to save lives. But a selfish part of her didn't want to put the princess in danger.
"Thank you, Yugito."
The cut on Tsuruki's neck healed silently.
First time I've been superficially wounded in this world, he mused. Didn't expect that reaction from her.
His plan was actually for Yugito to spread the word. Instead, she wanted to keep his secret.
Back at the Raikage's mansion, the Third's roars echoed from down the hall.
"What the hell?!"
"Those Iwa bastards!"
"That damn Ånoki!"
"All they know is underhanded tricks!"
The Third Raikage was fuming.
Tsuruki crossed the main hall, meeting the Raikage's gaze.
"Son of a biā"
The Third swallowed the rest of the curse. His conscience told him not to swear in front of a child.
Tsuruki gave a polite nod and retreated to his room.
He lived in Kumogakure, uneventfully, for nearly half a month.
Yugito was too serious. She really hadn't leaked a thing.
Half a month later.
Tsuruki sat on the tatami in the main hall, watching an attendant perform an elaborate tea ceremony. Bored, he rested his chin on his hand. Two pending items glowed on his mental screen: Jiraiya's Favorability, and Yugito's, already past sixty.
Suddenly, he paused.
He stood up and stepped aside.
CRASH!
The entire wall exploded inward.
The attendant, now coated in dust, froze in place.
"Where's my old man?"
A muscular powerhouse stormed through the debris, ignoring the dust-covered attendant. He grabbed Tsuruki by the collar and hoisted him into the air.
"ā¦"
I will genuinely lose my shit.
If the location were different, he'd love to give the future Fourth Raikage a solid slap.
"Who are you?"
A didn't remember anyone like thisā¦ this small thingā¦ in their house.
Tsuruki forced a smile. "Hello, I amā"
"I got it!" A cut him off, thick brows furrowed, eyes radiating menace. "You're some little brat from one of my old man's mistresses, aren't you?"
"ā¦"
If I don't act now, it'll be rude.
Tsuruki's smile slowly froze.
"A!"
Tsuruki's feet touched the floor.
The future Fourth Raikage was embedded in the opposite wall, courtesy of a punch from the arriving Third.
"What nonsense are you spouting?!" the Third roared at his son.
A climbed out of the rubble as if it were nothing, patting dust off his clothes.
"She's the subject of a mission," the Third grunted. "Why are you back?"
His son A was supposed to be holding the line against Kiri. Why had he abandoned his post without notice?
"Kiri's starting to pull back."
"What?!" The Third's eyes bulged.
Watching them converse like he wasn't there, Tsuruki stood awkwardly.
Not like I'm trying to eavesdrop. They're just not hiding it.
They kept talking. He kept listening.
Honestly?
Being a spy in Kumo felt pretty relaxed.
"So this is the Grass Country princess?"
"Yeah. That's her."
"Why's she living here?"
"Gotta protect her."
"You're protecting her?"
"Yes."
"What'd the Grass DaimyÅ give you?"
The Third was silent for a beat. "A lot."
"ā¦"
Tsuruki finally saw his opening. He stepped forward, nodded at A, and looked at his leg.
"You seem injuredā¦"
The Third's gaze followed. Sure enough, a kunai was lodged in his son's thigh.
"ā¦"
"Ah, it's nothing!" A glanced at his leg, utterly nonchalant.
"Are you sure?" Tsuruki stared at the steadily flowing blood. "Maybeā¦ perhapsā¦ it hit an artery?"
A looked down. His pant leg was soaked crimson.
"Guess I need the hospitalā¦" A mumbled, starting to move.
"Don't move!" Tsuruki urgently stopped him. "If you move, the blood will flow faster."
The Third Raikage: "So what? He just stands here and bleeds out?"
"ā¦"
Tsuruki paused. Another day, another moment of being left speechless by the Raikage family. "I'll do it."
"You? You know how?" A frowned.
"I've treated small animals before."
"ā¦"
"ā¦"
He approached A, yanked the kunai out, and activated the Reverse Cursed Technique. The wound sealed instantly.
"!"
"!"
Two nearly identical facesāthe Third's and A'sāwore identical shock.
"Youā!"
A's fist shot toward Tsuruki.
THWACK!
A familiar sound.
The Third intercepted the punch and returned one of his own.
A climbed out of the new pile of debris, glaring at his father in confusion.
"She's a spy-nin."
"I'm not!" Seeing the misunderstanding, Tsuruki hurried to explain. "I'm not a shinobi, and I'm not a spy. I just have a special healing ability. I just saw you were hurt."
He waved his hands, looking sincerely at the Third. "Yugito knows. I'm not a shinobi."
The Third simply nodded. A strange light flashed in his eyes as he looked at Tsuruki.
"She's the princess of the Land of Grass. She's definitely not a shinobi," he said to A.
They had no proof she was from another village. Her identity as the Grass princess was real.
If they killed her, the Grass DaimyÅ would be furious. He'd cancel the supplies and probably open his country's borders to foreign shinobi. That would be a disaster.
Besides, if she really were a spy, why reveal her ability?
The Third Raikage's brain wasn't the sharpest, but he could still reason through the small stuff.
"Thank you, Lord Raikage." Tsuruki gave a grateful smile.
"Then take her to the front! Have her heal our men!"
Among the Five Great Villages, only Konoha had a proper medical corps. The others were pathetic.
A said it without a second thought.
"ā¦"
The Third looked at Tsuruki's suddenly pale face. For the first time, he doubted his son's intelligence.
Didn't A know the meaning of 'gradual'?
He was going to scare the poor girl to death.
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