Chapter 48: Mifune and Kyuzo
Three days later, a black-haired young man with a long sword strapped to his back appeared in the Land of Iron.
"Are they planning to make their move on my way back?" he murmured, looking back down the road he had just traveled.
This was, of course, Neji.
He found a yakiniku restaurant, ordered a few side dishes, and then asked the owner, "Excuse me, do you know where I can find Mifune-senpai?"
The owner paused, looking at him with curiosity.
Neji wasn't wearing a forehead protector, and his Byakugan was hidden behind his goggles, but he had his chakra blade at his waist and Kyuzo's katana on his back.
The owner seemed to understand. "You're looking for Lord Mifune," he said, his voice a low rumble. "You must be here to become his apprentice."
"Yes," Neji replied with a slight pause, then nodded. "I greatly admire his swordsmanship and have traveled a long way in the hopes of becoming his student, to learn a thing or two."
Being mistaken for an aspiring apprentice was safer. He had no intention of correcting the man.
"Sigh," the owner said, "with the rise of the shinobi, the way of the samurai has fallen into decline. Fewer and fewer young people want to become samurai these days."
After his lament, he got back to the point. "Lord Mifune's residence is on the next street. Turn left at the first intersection, and it's at the very end. You can't miss it; there are two bamboo swords hanging by the gate."
"Thank you," Neji said.
"Don't mention it. I hope your apprenticeship is successful," the owner said with a smile before turning to his other customers.
After his meal, Neji followed the owner's directions and soon found himself in front of a residence with two bamboo swords hanging by the gate.
He knocked firmly on the door. "Is Mifune-senpai home?"
A few moments later, the door was opened by a middle-aged man. He was lean, with slender, powerful hands that were covered in calluses. Neji could sense a sharp, piercing aura from him. This was a master of the sword.
Neji studied him. This was the great general of the Land of Iron, Mifune, the quintessential samurai. His face was younger than Neji remembered.
As the restaurant owner had said, with the rise of the shinobi profession, very few people still chose the path of the samurai. But the samurai of the Land of Iron were different from the historical samurai who had existed before the age of chakra. While they didn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu, they did occasionally use chakra in combat.
"Can I help you, young man?" Mifune asked, looking at him with curiosity.
"Yes," Neji replied. "I've come on behalf of the Hidden Cloud chunin, Kyuzo. I've brought you his sword."
"Kyuzo?" Mifune looked puzzled, his brow furrowed in thought. Then, as if remembering something, his eyes widened in surprise. "He's still alive? And he became a ninja?!"
"Mifune-senpai, Kyuzo-senpai was gravely ill when I left. I'm afraid by now he has already..." Neji's words trailed off, but Mifune understood.
"Such is life," Mifune said with a long sigh. "I never thought he would go before me."
Neji took the long sword from his back and handed it to him. He had examined it earlier. It was an ordinary samurai sword, with nothing special about it except for the intricate pattern carved into the hilt.
Mifune took the sword and slowly drew it from its sheath. The blade was rusted and covered in cracks. Like its master, its time was short.
"The sword has been delivered, Mifune-senpai. I will take my leave," Neji said with a slight bow.
But Mifune sheathed the blade and stopped him. "It's getting late, young man. Why don't you stay the night? You can set out again in the morning."
Neji turned and studied him. With his goggles on, Mifune couldn't see his eyes, and he met his gaze without flinching. Neji saw nothing out of the ordinary. "In that case, I'd be imposing," he said, accepting the offer.
Mifune was not a man to get involved in the conflicts of shinobi. Neji was sure he meant him no harm.
"Please, come in."
"Thank you."
Mifune's residence was clean and simple, a very typical Japanese-style building. The only thing that stood out was the vast collection of swords that adorned the walls. Each one was unique.
"Please, have a seat," Mifune said, gesturing to a cushion on the floor.
"Thank you," Neji said, sitting down cross-legged.
"Tell me about Kyuzo," Mifune asked.
"Mifune-senpai," Neji said with a wry smile, "I'm afraid I didn't know him very well. I don't know much about his past."
"There's no need to apologize," Mifune said, a look of regret on his face. "He was a strange man. Even back in the Land of Iron, I was his only friend. Would you be willing to hear the story of the two of us?"
Perhaps the sight of the sword had stirred up old memories. He seemed to have a lot on his mind.
"I would be honored to listen," Neji said.
"Over thirty years ago," Mifune began, a nostalgic look in his eyes, "Kyuzo and I were just ordinary samurai of the Land of Iron. I was determined to uphold the way of the warrior and bring peace and stability to our country in those chaotic times. And he was the same. We trained together and became close friends."
Neji was silent. They had been like-minded partners in their youth, both dedicated to the way of the samurai. He couldn't understand what was so great about that path, but he wouldn't judge another's choices.
"Then, the war broke out," Mifune continued. "The Land of Iron was invaded by the Village Hidden in the Rain. To protect our home, the General led the samurai against the Rain ninja. But it wasn't long before he was assassinated by Hanzō."
Neji took a sip of his tea, lost in thought. The Land of Iron had no fertile land and was poor in natural resources. And it was separated from the Land of Rain by the vast Land of Fire. He couldn't imagine what Hanzō's motive could have been for bypassing the Land of Fire to invade them. But then, he remembered that during the Third Great War, the Hidden Sand had managed to fight the Hidden Mist, despite being separated by the Land of Fire and a vast ocean. It suddenly seemed a lot more plausible.
"After the General's death, the samurai were in disarray," Mifune said. "One day, the squad Kyuzo and I were leading was suddenly ambushed by Hanzō himself. I bravely drew my sword and stood before my comrades. Kyuzo... ran."
"..."
Neji looked up and studied Mifune's expression. The man's face was filled with a mixture of reminiscence and contemplation. There was not a trace of hatred.
Of course.
Mifune was the kind of man who would willingly sacrifice himself to save his comrades. Just like Naruto. Such a man would not hold a grudge. Neji didn't understand it, but he respected it. As long as he didn't do anything as foolish as Naruto.
"I was defeated by Hanzō. But he didn't kill me. He gave me the antidote to his poison, and I survived."
"After that, I never saw Kyuzo again. I thought he had died in the war."
"Perhaps, like all the samurai who abandoned their path to become ninja, he longed for power and ultimately chose that path."
"But that man... after all these years, he never once came back to see me."