In the heavily guarded residence of Hanzo in Amegakure, a masked Rain Ninja emerged carrying a tray of untouched food.
"Is Hanzo-sama still refusing to eat?"
Hearing the guard's question, the Rain Ninja sighed softly and shook his head.
Another guard, also wearing a gas mask, sighed helplessly at the sight of the untouched meal on the tray.
It had been a full month since young master Katsura left a note saying he would "go incognito to observe the people's hardships and understand their suffering," slipping away from Hanzo's side without a word!
During this month, Hanzo—revered as a demigod in the Shinobi World—had barely eaten or slept, spending his days and nights in Katsura's room, sighing over mementos of his beloved disciple.
"Young master Katsura is truly inconsiderate. The leader worries so much about him..."
The moment these words left his mouth, the guard stiffened, clamping his lips shut in terror.
He could feel a murderous gaze burning into his back!
"If I hear such words again, I'll kill you!"
Hanzo's icy voice dripped with killing intent.
No one in this world was allowed to speak ill of his precious disciple!
"Speaking of which, why hasn't it arrived yet?"
Hanzo suddenly looked into the distance and began pacing.
His beloved treasure had promised to send a letter every month—today marked exactly one month!
Suddenly, Hanzo's eyes widened as if he had noticed something, and without regard for the torrential rain outside, he dashed out!
Soon after, the guards also spotted a faint, plump white figure running towards them through the distant rain curtain!
That was... Young Master Katsura's summon, Elizabeth!
Every time they saw this summon, the guards couldn't help but feel the urge to complain, especially at the thick, uncle leg hair on its limbs.
Calling it a person? It couldn't speak.
Calling it an animal? Yet it communicated effortlessly using that strange cardboard sign.
Perplexed by Elizabeth's identity, the guards eventually settled on one possibility: it must be a powerful bodyguard assigned to Young Master Katsura by Hanzo-sama!
Elizabeth came to a halt before the eagerly approaching Hanzo and pulled a letter from its mouth.
[Hanzo-sama, this is a letter from Katsura-sama.]
The guards were already accustomed to the white wooden sign that instantly appeared from behind Elizabeth.
"Give it to me! What if it gets soaked in the rain?!"
Hanzo impatiently snatched the envelope, treating it like a treasure as he quickly tucked it into his chest.
With such heavy rain outside, what if it got wet while reading?
Watching Hanzo hurriedly turn and sprint back toward his residence, Elizabeth remained silent for a moment before politely bowing to the guards.
Then, it vanished into a puff of white smoke.
"Is that a shadow clone? Can summons even use shadow clones?" Guard A expressed some surprise.
"You must be new here," Guard B curled his lips. "That thing can't possibly be a summon. Clearly, it's a powerful bodyguard assigned to Young Master Katsura by Hanzo-sama."
"But if it's a bodyguard, why is Hanzo-sama still so worried?"
"Old age, I guess. I see this kind of thing every day. My dad spoils his grandson just like Hanzo-sama dotes on Young Master Katsura. A tiny scratch on the hand can make him fret for half a day."
As soon as Guard B finished speaking, the other guards' gazes toward him shifted.
Damn, this guy's actually married!
Traitor!
In just a few minutes, Guard B had drawn the ire of all his colleagues and was promptly pinned to the ground for a thorough beating. Bruised and battered, he wisely begged for mercy.
"Stop! Stop hitting me! Hanzo-sama's in a good mood now—hurry and remind him to eat!"
"The food's already been sent. Beating you up won't delay anything. Keep going, everyone!"
"Got it!" ×n
In the perpetually rainy Land of Rain, where entertainment was scarce, the guards of Hanzo the Salamander had finally found a way to unwind starting today.
That way was Guard B—pummeling him left them refreshed and invigorated!
*****
The Second Shinobi World War had finally come to a close, with the Land of Fire's Konoha emerging victorious—at a grievous cost.
Konoha, Memorial Stone.
The ceremony mourning the fallen war heroes had just ended.
Gintoki sighed as he looked at the rows of newly added gravestones.
Back during the Joui War, so many like-minded comrades had perished without even leaving behind their names.
A mound of earth and a sword—that was all that marked their final resting place.
The Third Hokage was delivering a deeply moving speech beside the enormous flame-like statue, but Gintoki didn't catch a single word of it.
"Everyone's a loser in the end..."
Hearing his eldest son's muttered complaint, Sakumo sighed softly in agreement.
"You're right. No one likes war. But humans are creatures who will draw swords to protect what they hold dear."
Gintoki, digging his pinky into his nose, lifted his head and shot Sakumo a dead-fish-eyed glare devoid of energy before wiping his booger on the man's clothes.
"Don't treat Gin-san like some ordinary kid. Gin-san here is just like those elementary schoolers who can knock out grown-ups with their watches—turned into this after being force-fed weird medicine by shady black-suited, sunglasses-wearing guys in an amusement park. Gin-san's soul is as stubborn as this natural perm!"
"Stop spouting nonsense. And if you wipe your snot on me one more time, no dango for you this month!"
"Tch!"
*****
Meanwhile, in the Land of Rain.
Inside a rundown shack, Katsura—whose body had somehow reverted to his original adult form—was instructing three kids he'd met while observing the common folk, all while wearing a turtle shell on his back.
"Katsura-sensei, will carrying this turtle shell really make us stronger?"
The orange haired kid kneeling on the ground raised his hand to ask.
"Call me Captain!"
"Uh… Captain…" The orange kid replied wearily before raising his hand again.
"Then, Captain, will carrying this turtle shell really make us stronger?"
"Not Captain—Katsura!"
"Damn it, you're so annoying! Anyway, will this thing actually make us stronger?!"
"Mm-hmm, absolutely!" Katsura nodded with his arms crossed and eyes closed, a nostalgic look crossing his face.
"Back in the day, when Gintoki and I trained with Master Roshi on a southern island, this was how we got stronger."
"Who's Master Roshi?" The blue-haired girl raised her hand.
"A respected teacher who once taught me the Spirit Bomb."
[Katsura-san, Kaio-sama is the one taught you the Spirit Bomb.]
Elizabeth promptly raised a white signboard beside him.
"Oh, my mistake. Then he was the one who taught me how to tell apart cat paw pads from dog paw pads."
"What kind of teacher is that?!" Yahiko couldn't help but yell.
"That's completely useless! What's even the point of learning something like that?!"
"Exactly!" Katsura nodded emphatically before launching into his own complaints.
"Seriously, what a completely pointless skill! What's the use of distinguishing between them?! Don't they know I love all paw pads equally—whether they're from cats or dogs?!"
"That's what you're focusing on?! And just how much do you love paw pads?!"