"Bus Route 1?" Roshi looked at the map given by the Uzu-nin and muttered, "I should be able to take it here."
Although he didn't know what "taking the bus" meant, or why Uzushio had so many strange things, now that he was here, he could only adapt slowly.
Especially after witnessing some unruly ninjas on his way here. They thought their status as ninjas exempted them from following a small nation's rules. The result?
They ignored the traffic lights.
Uzushio had traffic lights at every intersection. According to the rules, you had to stop at red lights and go at green lights. If you didn't follow them, the green-vested traffic police would catch you and make you assist them for half an hour.
If you resisted or caused trouble, you'd be detained.
So…
Even though there were many strange things here, Roshi followed the rules carefully.
He didn't want to be arrested!
Glancing at the orange-haired kid waiting beside him, Roshi thought for a moment and walked over. "Hey, kid, can I ask you something?"
"Are you waiting for the bus too?"
The orange-haired kid looked up at the bearded man and nodded. "Hello, yes."
Was this a foreigner? His forehead protector marked him as an Iwa-nin.
For the past few days, because his father had been sick with a cold, he hadn't been able to train with Nagato and Konan. But today, his father had recovered, so he had arranged to train with Nagato again.
Now, he was waiting for the bus to head to the small forest where they usually trained.
"What's up?" Yahiko asked curiously.
"Well…" Roshi laughed awkwardly. "How do you ride this bus?"
He didn't see anything around that looked like a bus.
"Oh, that?" Yahiko scratched his head. "You just wait here. The bus will come soon."
"Which route are you taking?"
"Route 1," Roshi said. "I need to go to the pet hospital."
"Pet hospital?" Yahiko blinked. "For registration? A summon?"
"I'm also taking Route 1. Just follow me when we line up later."
"Thank you." Roshi smiled.
As for whether it was a summon or a tailed beast, he didn't specify. Even though the Uzu-nin had said he didn't need to hide it, he still didn't want others to know.
But…
Yahiko scratched his head sheepishly. "Can I see your summon?"
He had never seen a summon before. After all, very few ninjas in Uzushio had summons. He was curious—how were they different from Konan's paper creations?
"Sorry." Seeing Roshi's strange expression, Yahiko realized his request might have been inappropriate. "I was just curious. If it's not okay…"
"My apologies."
Yahiko bowed.
Roshi sighed and looked at the apologetic boy. A faint smile appeared on his face. He suddenly wanted to see if this country was truly as the Uzu-nin had described.
This child was a good test.
If even children here despised tailed beasts, how could the country possibly accept them? Maybe that Uzu-nin had lied to him.
"I don't have a summon," Roshi said gently. "But…"
Yahiko's face fell in disappointment.
"I have a tailed beast sealed inside me."
Yahiko froze. Roshi thought he had scared him.
"Really?!" Yahiko's eyes widened in excitement. "You have a tailed beast?!"
Roshi was taken aback. This kid… wasn't afraid at all.
"Aren't you scared of it?" Roshi frowned. "It's a tailed beast."
"Why should I be scared?" Yahiko tilted his head. "Our academy textbooks say…"
"Tailed beasts are intelligent creatures. If we can accept summons, why not tailed beasts?"
"But tailed beasts hurt people," Roshi said. "They're too powerful."
"Just because they're strong, we should reject them?" Yahiko scoffed. "The textbooks say tailed beasts don't harm people without reason. It's always those awful ninjas controlling them to do bad things."
"If you don't provoke them, tailed beasts rarely kill. More people probably die at the hands of ninjas each year than by tailed beasts."
Yahiko stared at Roshi eagerly.
"Is your tailed beast the Nine-Tails?"
Roshi's heart trembled. It was true—most of the destruction caused by tailed beasts was due to ninjas. If they could accept summons, why not tailed beasts?
A genuine smile spread across Roshi's face. "No, it's not the Nine-Tails."
"It's the Four-Tails."
"Oh." Yahiko's excitement dimmed. "Not the strongest one? With so few tails, it must be weak."
Roshi laughed freely. "It might not be the Nine-Tails, but the Four-Tails is still strong."
For the first time, he felt… light.
Silently, he apologized to the Four-Tails.
The Four-Tails snorted. "Foolish."
It never expected such a place to exist in the ninja world. What they said was true—tailed beasts had killed far fewer people than ninjas.
How unfair. They had done nothing, yet the entire world saw them as monsters.
Imagine living peacefully in a paradise, only to be suddenly locked in a cage. Wouldn't you be furious?
Hearing someone defend them like this, the Four-Tails felt something strange.
Perhaps… this country could truly realize the Sage of Six Paths' ideals.
"And…" the Four-Tails grumbled. "Our strength isn't determined by the number of tails."
Stupid humans.
Roshi chuckled but didn't respond. Viewed this simply, tailed beasts… weren't so different after all.
Maybe this trip would truly show him a different nation.
Yahiko sighed regretfully. "Since it's a tailed beast, I can't see it."
He really wanted to see one. There were only nine in the entire world—rare and powerful creatures.
But sealed tailed beasts couldn't be seen.
---
"See this?" Jiraiya held a Rasengan in his palm, grinning proudly. "A seal-less ninjutsu! Only a genius can learn it."
"Now…"
"I'll teach you this technique."
After watching Minato practice the Rasengan so many times, he had finally deduced its principles and recreated it himself.
Not only that, he had advanced further, mastering chakra shape transformation.
Truly…
"I, the Toad Sage, am a genius!" Jiraiya laughed, hands on his hips. "Being my student is an hon—"
His words caught in his throat.
Nagato was holding a Rasengan in his small palm.
"You… you…" Jiraiya stammered. "Are you one of those prodigies who can learn a jutsu just by seeing it?"
Had he stumbled upon another genius?
But…
"Prodigy? Hardly." Nagato rolled his eyes. "This is a basic ninjutsu taught at Uzushio's affiliated academy."
"Like the three basic jutsu, it's a bit hard to learn, but a few fourth-years manage it."
This fraud… where had he learned Jun's technique?
Should he report this to Jun?
He had stayed here, enduring the debt, to see what this fraud was capable of. But…
He was disappointed.
Nagato sighed and shook his head.
Jiraiya stood frozen.
This technique… was a basic ninjutsu?
A seal-less ninjutsu… something he had painstakingly reverse-engineered… was already outdated?
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