The first rays of dawn chased away the lingering chill as the sun rose over Rinjin's courtyard. Childish cries of "hiya!" and "hah!" echoed through the crisp morning air.
Curled up in his warm bed, Kakashi cracked open sleepy eyes and let out a big yawn.
Outside, little Terumi Mei was already at it—dressed in a tiny combat suit, she punched away at a sandbag with surprising seriousness. Judging by the steam rising from her head, she'd been training for quite a while.
Standing nearby with his hands clasped behind his back, Rinjin occasionally called out corrections, his voice calm but sharp.
"Uncle, I'm tired!"
The little girl pouted, glancing up at Rinjin with pleading eyes.
He just grinned and shook his head. "No you're not! Your mom wrote me yesterday—she said she and your dad got mugged by some nasty thugs down by the Wangchuan River. Now they're broke and waiting for you to come pick them up!"
"Then can you take me there, Uncle?" Terumi Mei blinked, secretly rubbing her sore arms.
"No can do. To get to the Wangchuan River, we'd have to pass through the World's Greatest Martial Arts Tournament. I could never beat Piccolo or the Turtle Hermit."
Rinjin delivered the nonsense with a perfectly straight face.
But Terumi Mei wasn't so easily fooled. She shot back, "Uncle, that's a lie! You're way stronger than my mom and dad. If they made it through, why can't you?"
He froze for a split second, eyes darting as he scrambled for an answer. "W-well, that's because your mom's a real beauty. The Turtle Hermit is a total perv—he let them through on account of her looks."
At that, the little girl's chubby cheeks puffed up in protest. "Then just take me! I'm a little beauty!"
"..."
Rinjin hesitated, then shook his head with exaggerated seriousness. "No way. You're too young. The Turtle Hermit only likes beautiful women who are married—not little girls who aren't."
Terumi Mei stared up at him, lips pressed tight. After a moment, she seemed to accept her fate and started pounding the sandbag again.
"Married... married... I wanna get married..."
Watching her mutter and grumble, Rinjin wiped away imaginary cold sweat and let out a secret sigh of relief.
Damn, this girl's tough to fool!
After a moment's thought, Rinjin crouched in a corner, clapped his hands, and summoned two shadow clones. Lowering his voice, he issued swift orders.
"You—head back to Hidden Rain. Tell Riē to send out all the White Zetsu clones. Have them track down Uchiha Madara's hideout.
And you—go to Tsunade's side and guard her. I've got a feeling someone's watching us lately."
The two shadow clones nodded in unison, formed hand seals, and vanished.
As they disappeared, Rinjin's expression turned cold, his eyes narrowing.
Black Zetsu had suddenly shown up in Hidden Stone.
All the spies embedded in Hidden Mist from other villages had been purged overnight.
And now, Terumi Mei's mother's identity as a Hidden Stone agent had been exposed.
Was there a connection?
He pulled out a stack of blank paper and started scribbling, piecing the clues together. He hated conspiracy theories, but he always planned for the worst.
Terumi Mei's mother's identity had been handled personally by him; under normal circumstances, Hidden Rain had no way of uncovering it. Unless something had gone wrong in Hidden Stone, and a large number of agent identities were leaked.
Of course, there was a slim chance Hidden Rain had discovered it on their own, but that seemed unlikely.
A sharp glimmer flashed in his eyes.
What was Black Zetsu up to?
Taking advantage of his absence to meddle in Hidden Mist again?
But why Hidden Stone? Framing them, getting them to stir up trouble with Hidden Rain—just to slow him down?
It was possible. After all, he'd already got Hidden Sand by the tail, and water supplies were no small matter.
Why not target Konoha instead? As a check against him, Konoha would make more sense.
What Rinjin didn't know was that Black Zetsu had already approached Shimura Danzo. But after learning Black Zetsu wanted to target Hidden Rain, Danzo nearly had him captured on the spot.
In Danzo's own words:
"I've spent over a decade clawing my way out of this pile of dog crap, and you want me to jump right back in?! You think you can take down Sakuhō Rinjin? If you can't, then get lost and die somewhere far away! Screw you!"
...
After a long bout of scheming, Rinjin decided: first stop, Hidden Stone; then, a visit to old man Madara. He'd study the old fox up close.
Having settled his plans, Rinjin stood and called the little girl inside for breakfast.
In the kitchen, seven or eight shadow clones bustled about, filling the air with the mouthwatering aroma of grilled meat.
Before long, Kakashi wandered in, rubbing his eyes, clad in his puppy pajamas.
"Uncle Rinjin, grilled meat for breakfast? I want bread..."
At that, Rinjin frowned in mock disapproval.
This kid needed some toughening up. Couldn't he see little Mei was drooling already?
"Heh—women from the Nohara family eat bread. Real men in the Rinjin family eat meat."
Kakashi's mouth twitched.
That's... way too absolute!
Just then, plates of steaming grilled meat landed on the table, filling the room with savory aroma.
"Eat!"
At Rinjin's command, little Terumi Mei dug in, attacking the feast with both hands, drool streaming.
She'd never had the chance to eat her fill of meat before—her family background was modest, and Hidden Mist's closed borders meant supplies were always tight. She was young, growing fast, and after a morning's workout, she was famished.
Watching the girl wolf down her food, Rinjin smiled in satisfaction.
Good kid! Knows how to eat!
Back in the day, that girl Riē could pack it away just as well.
Her personality might've gone a bit sideways, but her strength never did.
Wind, earth, water, fire chakra natures and a massive chakra pool—she was a real powerhouse.
Take away the cheats, and she was absolutely worthy of being Hidden Rain's first leader.
Off to the side, Kakashi watched Terumi Mei devour her food, pursed his lips, and picked up a piece of grilled meat with his chopsticks.
It was delicious, but he still wasn't used to eating meat so early.
Soon, after a bowl of noodles and a few pieces of meat, Kakashi put down his chopsticks.
"Uncle, I'm full!"
Rinjin's brows drew together instantly. He glanced at the plate in front of Kakashi, frown deepening.
"Really full?"
"Really."
"You're hopeless!" Rinjin muttered with mock disgust.
"When your old man was your age, he'd eat ten bowls of noodles at a time and still complain if he wasn't stuffed. How'd you end up like a little kitten?"
He didn't say it loudly, but just enough for Kakashi to hear.
Sure enough, little Kakashi's face turned red. Unwilling to lose, he lifted his bowl with a stubborn look.
"I'm not full—give me another bowl," he grumbled.
Seeing this, Rinjin beamed inwardly.
Silly kid, I've managed to handle even old man Madara—you think I can't sort out a cocky little brat like you?
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
The story isn't over...
🤔 Want to know what happens next to the characters?
🤫 Eager to explore the untold secrets of this world?
✍️ Ready to read more of my wildest stories?
✨patreon.com/DarkGolds