In the forest clearing, Kaito looked at the girl who had grown quite a bit taller in front of him. He took off his mask, revealing a face full of amusement.
"I thought my disguise was perfect. How did you figure it out?"
"Hmph!" Kushina wrinkled her little nose and said resentfully, "You've got some nerve. Why did you have to bully me the moment you got back? If it weren't for the fact that Big-Eyes is only this docile with people he knows, you would have scared me to death."
"So it was you who gave me away." Kaito gently kicked the chameleon. "Shoo, go squat somewhere else." The chameleon gave him an innocent look before vanishing, disappearing to who-knows-where.
"It must be fate that we ran into each other here. So naturally, I wanted to test just how much a certain someone who made big promises has grown." Kaito shook his head. "Unfortunately, the results were not satisfactory. If I were a real villain, you'd have been tied up and sold for money by now!"
"What are you talking about!" Kushina retorted, her face flushing. "What kind of villain as strong as you would come looking specifically for me? That's not fair."
"That's true," Kaito agreed with deep empathy. "There aren't many people with my level of skill."
"Pfft!" Kushina couldn't help but let out a laugh. Realizing what she'd done, she quickly composed herself, flattened her palm, and held it out to him.
"?" Kaito thought for a moment, then took her small hand in his large one.
"No!" Kushina shook his hand off, her face turning redder as she held her hand out to him again.
"Oh, I get it now." With a look of sudden understanding, Kaito jumped up into a tree and retrieved the roast chicken he had hidden. He placed it in Kushina's hand. "I should mention, that big guy ate most of it. I only had a little bit."
She looked at the chicken skeletons with barely any meat left in the bag and sighed. "I can have as much of this roast chicken as I want. I don't care about this."
"Not the chicken either? Then what do you want?"
"A souvenir!" Kushina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You were gone for so long. Don't tell me you didn't bring us back any gifts?"
"Oh, so you wanted a gift."
Seeing Kaito's mischievous smile, Kushina finally realized he was teasing her, and her face turned an even deeper shade of red.
"What? You don't think you should have brought us gifts?"
"I should, of course I should," Kaito readily agreed. "I brought back lots of great gifts for all of you. There's bound to be one you like."
"Really?!" Kushina said happily.
"I can let you pick one right now." Kaito unslung the backpack from his shoulders and handed it to her.
Kushina eagerly opened the bag. Her eyes fell upon numerous scrolls of various sizes, and a bad feeling crept into her heart. She picked one up and her eyes widened.
"Are these all... ninjutsu scrolls?"
"Mm-hm. I went to great lengths to get them. Do you like them?"
"Heh heh. I love them."
"See? I knew you would. That's enough ninjutsu scrolls to keep you busy studying for a year or two. For the foreseeable future, your days will be incredibly fulfilling."
"On behalf of everyone, I thank you so much!"
...
A young girl's heart is as fickle as the summer weather.
One moment, Kushina was puffing her cheeks out in anger; the next, she was skipping cheerfully in front of Kaito, a bright smile on her face. Her infectious mood lifted Kaito's spirits as well.
Before long, the two of them returned to their home in Twin Rivers Village, only to find it empty.
"Sister Ruri is at the office, Sister Kaori is at the restaurant, and who knows where those two rascals ran off to play," Kushina said with a shrug.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you to go inform them that I have a major announcement and they should come back right away," Kaito said with a smile. "And I... shall cook a delicious meal to celebrate our reunion!"
"That's a great idea!" Kushina clapped her hands. "I haven't had your cooking in so long, Brother Kaito. Sister Kaori's always feels like it's missing a little something."
And so, they went their separate ways.
When Ruri and the others returned home, they were greeted by the sight of a table laden with fragrant dishes and a figure they had missed dearly.
"Kaito!"
"Brother Kaito!"
Kaito easily caught the two little bears who launched themselves at him, ruffled their hair a few times, and then steered them behind him. He walked slowly over to Ruri and said softly, "Sister Ruri, I'm back."
"Hmph. So you finally remembered to come back." Ruri reached out and pinched his cheeks, saying fiercely, "You were gone for so long without sending a single letter back. I don't have a heartless little brother like you. If it weren't for the fact that you made a name for yourself in the Land of Rain, I wouldn't have even known where you were."
"Sigh, Sister Ruri, I couldn't help it. You know the Land of Rain is ravaged by war. How was I supposed to send a letter back?" Kaito put an arm around Ruri's shoulder. "I was thinking of you all every day. Look, I even brought you gifts."
"Wow, gifts! I want to see!"
The two little rascals rummaged through the scrolls, and their eyes lit up when they saw what they were. "Wow, this is awesome! I can learn so many more ninjutsu!"
Kaori also held her medical ninjutsu scroll, unable to put it down.
Kushina: "???"
With his silver tongue, Kaito finally managed to earn Ruri's forgiveness. The big family began to enjoy the delicious food on the table, and for a time, the room was filled with a happy atmosphere.
Kaito glanced at Tetsuren, who was floating by the table and drooling, and felt a little sorry for her. But it was her own fault for having such poor aptitude. After several days of effort, she still couldn't even make herself visible to others and couldn't even subdue Kushina, who hadn't even graduated from the academy yet.
Shaking his head, he paid Tetsuren no more mind and focused on the food in front of him, asking about the changes in Twin Rivers Village from time to time.
As they talked, the topic shifted to Kaito's experiences over the past year. He downplayed his accomplishments, but even his simplified account stirred a longing for adventure in his younger companions.
"I really want to go out and explore the world too."
"Explore what world!"
Ruri channeled the combined authority of a big sister and a school teacher, easily suppressing the little monkeys who wanted to escape her grasp.
"You want to go exploring? Fine. You can go after you beat me." She cracked her knuckles, making Kushina and the others turn pale.
Kaito couldn't help but smile. Sister Ruri should be at Jonin level by now. If Kushina and the others want to defeat her, they'll need to work hard for a few more years.
Having effortlessly quashed the children's overambitious ideas, Ruri wore a satisfied smile. Then she looked at Kaito and asked, "So, what are your plans now?"
"To continue developing our influence, of course," Kaito said with a smile. "But Twin Rivers Village's reputation is too low. It's time to give it a golden sign."
"The time is now ripe. I've decided to establish a ninja village!"
"A ninja village?! Here in Twin Rivers?" Ruri took a deep breath. This was a direction she had never dared to imagine.
"That's right." Kaito nodded. "On my way back, I passed through the capital and happened to meet the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers. His Lordship greatly admires Twin Rivers Village and has already agreed to let us establish a ninja village. He even kindly provided a large sum of money as a grant."
"Soon, His Lordship will formally announce the establishment of our ninja village to the other major nations."
"Then... will it still be called Twin Rivers Ninja Village?"
"No. We are of the Land of Rivers. We will be the Village Hidden in the Silver River!"