Akihiro walked toward the vilge entrance.

  There, he found two people talking.

  —Hello, Sensei. Hello, Hiroshi —he greeted as he approached.

  —Hey, Akihiro. Weren’t you going to say goodbye? —Hiroshi said, raising his hand for a high five. The two spped hands cheerfully.

  —Sorry, you know I’m not good at goodbyes —Akihiro replied, a bit embarrassed.

  —Don’t worry, Miyuki told us all. The fact that you’re here means you already met with Aiko and Nao, right? —he asked.

  Akihiro nodded.

  —Did Aiko… you know… do it? —he asked with some interest.

  Only to be disappointed when Akihiro shook his head.

  He sighed in frustration.

  —That idiot… I get why she dresses like that and why we’re supposed to refer to her that way, but at this point, it’s more annoying than anything else.

  Akihiro nodded in understanding. The fact that Aiko was a woman was pretty obvious, but everyone pyed along because she was their friend. Still, he understood that if she kept locking herself into that role, she’d never be able to move forward.

  —Anyway, let’s ignore that for now. I’ll talk to her ter —Hiroshi said with a hint of irritation. —The pce you’re heading to will be dangerous, so take this —he said, handing him a sword.

  —You know I’m not good with weapons, right? —Akihiro said as he took it.

  —I know, but it’s better than nothing. Besides, you won’t be able to use your ninjutsu or genjutsu where you’re going, so you might as well try using a sword for a while.

  Akihiro sighed and nodded.

  It wasn’t like he didn’t know the romance between a man and a sword was almost innate. Even he couldn’t deny that deep down, he too wanted to wield one.

  —Alright then, I’ll be going. I wish you luck wherever you’re headed… and come back safe, got it?

  —Of course. If I don’t come back, who’s gonna watch your back?

  Hiroshi let out a ugh and walked off.

  —Ready? —Miyuki asked.

  Akihiro nodded. —Yeah, let’s go —he said, and the two of them left the vilge.

  Akihiro gave one st gnce back at his home.

  —Five years… it’s not a short time, but I’ll be back. I promise —he said quietly.

  Then he turned and walked away with Miyuki, without looking back.

  ◇◆◇

  Hours passed quickly. Akihiro soon reached the border between Kusagakure and Takigakure.

  —From here on, we’ll travel discreetly —Miyuki expined. —Takigakure has a lot of internal issues, so as long as we don’t draw attention, we’ll go unnoticed.

  —From there, we’ll reach the border with the Land of Fire. From that point on, you’ll be on your own. Got it?

  Akihiro nodded.

  They continued their journey, alert at all times, watching every step, doing their best to stay out of sight.

  The journey moved quickly. Aside from a few rogue ninja groups, bandits, and Takigakure patrols, they didn’t encounter much trouble.

  Luckily, none of them turned out to be especially skilled shinobi, so staying hidden wasn’t too hard. Thanks to that, they quickly reached the border with the Land of Fire.

  Miyuki looked toward the other side of the border, from the Land of Waterfalls to the Land of Fire.

  —This is as far as I can go with you —she said, turning to Akihiro. —Sorry for leaving you halfway, but going further would just bring more trouble than help.

  —It’s no problem, Sensei. The fact that you came with me this far was more than enough —Akihiro replied, bowing his head respectfully.

  —I’ll be waiting for your return to Kusa, kid. Take care —Miyuki said, turning around before disappearing into the forest.

  Now alone, with no one by his side, in an unfamiliar nd, Akihiro took a deep breath.

  —Alright… let’s wait for nightfall —he murmured as he looked for a hiding spot.

  At dusk, he stood up and pulled out a cloak covered in concealment fūinjutsu. The seal prevented his chakra from being detected, making him practically invisible to sensory-type ninjas. It was a design he had created long ago, though until now he’d never had a real reason to use it.

  Of course, that didn’t mean he’d go unnoticed by exceptionally perceptive ninjas… but it was better than nothing.

  Under the cover of night, Akihiro crossed into the Land of Fire. He walked carefully, not using chakra to enhance his body, only walking on foot and avoiding any noise. As a ninja, he was used to this, so he moved, step by step, and no one noticed his presence.

  Slowly, he moved away from the border and into the depths of the Land of Fire.

  The road was long, but Akihiro didn’t stop. One day passed quickly, and the next arrived without him having slept at all. Still, he kept going, moving under the protection of the trees.

  From time to time, he ran into ninja teams, but he managed to hide in time and avoid being detected. However, sometimes he wasn’t so lucky, and the squads searched near his position. In those cases, he had no choice but to remain hidden for hours, even days, before he could continue his path.

  It was exhausting, both physically and mentally. But he didn’t compin. He just moved forward.

  A week had passed, and he still wasn’t near the Hidden Leaf Vilge.

  Every now and then he’d stop in a small vilge to buy some food, but he never stayed long. He knew that running into the wrong ninja could ruin everything, so he left as quickly as possible.

  During this journey, Akihiro had seen many things, and he started to understand why Konoha was considered one of the Five Great Vilges. Its military power was immense, but more than that, what was truly impressive was the number of shinobi it had.

  There were so many ninjas constantly patrolling that, with just a fraction of them, they could take over Kusagakure without trouble.

  The reason they didn’t was clear: they didn’t want a direct border with another Great Vilge. Maintaining that line would mean having to protect it constantly, which would be a burden even for them.

  It was only natural… and that was the only reason small vilges still existed in the ninja world. If not for that political bance, they would’ve been wiped out long ago.

  The only positive thing was that, despite its military potential, the number of high-ranking individuals was retively low. Konoha still didn’t have the Three Sannin, and up to that point, the only high-ranking shinobi were Kakashi’s father and the Third Hokage himself. However, in the long run, that wouldn’t be enough to stop the other vilges.

  Of course, in the Second Shinobi War, the three legendary Sannin would appear, and in the Third War, the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato. With that, Konoha could stay at the forefront, but in exchange, they had to sacrifice a rge portion of their military strength.

  That’s why, in the future, there would be so many individuals with infted ranks. Shinobi with Chūnin or Jōnin ranks who didn’t actually have the power to match. It was simply a way to fill the ranks.

  They weren’t the only vilge doing this; the rest of the Great Vilges had to adopt simir practices to stay afloat. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have enough strength to hold off the smaller vilges.

  As he thought about all this, Akihiro reached the outskirts of the Hidden Leaf Vilge. He sighed and started looking for a cave to hide in.

  It didn’t take long to find one, and he immediately began weaving countless fūinjutsu seals, including, of course, concealment seals.

  It took him an entire day, but in the end, the cave walls were covered in seals.

  —First step complete. Now, onto the st —he said as he pulled a scroll from his waist and released Rokuro’s body.

  —Yin Style: Cloned Mind Transfer Jutsu —he said, and a faint chakra figure, almost invisible, appeared behind him, taking control of Rokuro’s body.

  Rokuro slowly stood up, stretching his body.

  —It’s been a while since I’ve used this body.

  —You know what you have to do? —Akihiro asked.

  Rokuro nodded and left the pce.

  Akihiro continued weaving countless fūinjutsu seals on the ground as he waited for Rokuro’s return.