Kazakuro Murasame transformed her body into water, merged with the sea, and began to move.
It was a physical transformation unique to the Hozuki clan. For some reason, she, a distant relative, also possessed this power, which is why she used this escape method.
To leave the Land of Water, an island nation, one would normally have to use a boat, but doing so would mean being instantly spotted.
She had heard of other rogue shinobi who had fled by diving underwater and using underwater breathing ninjutsu, but she couldn't use such an advanced technique. Besides, after that incident, sensory barriers had apparently been extended into the water, making that method impossible as well.
However, by assimilating with the seawater and spreading herself as thin as possible, it was nearly impossible to detect her.
The only one who could was Ao, a shinobi renowned as the best sensor-type, who had stolen Konoha's secret dōjutsu, the Byakugan. But she had heard he was on a long-term mission and not currently in the village.
Above all, the only ones who knew she could use the Hydration Jutsu were Suigetsu and her father. So, once she reached the sea, she had little to worry about.
"Konoha... Kumo..."
She considered her destination, relying on the map she had pounded into her head.
When trying to move from the Land of Water to another country, the first ones you hit are either the Land of Fire or the Land of Lightning.
If those were her 2 choices, the answer was clearly the Land of Fire.
The Raikage, the leader of Kumogakure in the Land of Lightning, was supposedly an extremist. There was no telling how he would treat someone from another village.
On the other hand, the Hokage, the leader of Konohagakure in the Land of Fire, was comparatively moderate. Of course, she didn't know if that moderation extended to people from other villages, but her chances were far better than with Kumo.
—Besides, while Kumogakure certainly had many sword styles, the fact that a lewd man who would lick a sword in public belonged to it had left a very bad impression. As she thought, people should maintain moderation and live chastely.
"Speaking of Konoha, I am curious about the Konoha-Style Crescent Moon Dance... Yes, if I'm going anywhere first, it's Konoha."
In the first place, she held the absolute pride that even if a place had many sword styles, there was no way there was a swordsmith better than her. Her true feeling was that since she had gone to the trouble of leaving the Land of Water, she wanted to experience "something different" that could be applied as "sword technology," rather than just more sword styles. Therefore, there was no need to prioritize a place just because it had many sword styles.
—Thinking that far, another idea suddenly surfaced.
In terms of shinobi technology, there was another village that had flourished with innovative ninja tools, rivaling the Mist's ninja swords.
It was certainly a bit far, but it would probably be easier to enter than Kumogakure. She set that village as her destination and proceeded through the sea.
▼▼▼
She slipped ashore unnoticed in a small country near the Land of Fire and headed west.
2 days, 3 days... The days passed without much trouble thanks to the camping gear she had prepared. Eventually, the surrounding scenery began to include more sand.
Another 2 days from there—Murasame was in the middle of the desert, dying.
"Water... Where... is the water..."
Her ninjutsu skills as a shinobi were far beyond the level of a Genin. She had not slacked on physical training as a smith, and her physical abilities—while not great—were more than compensated for by her chakra control.
Even so, she learned firsthand that a person cannot withstand such a change in environment.
She was painfully aware that it was impossible for someone raised in the Land of Water to survive in a desert like this. Still, for the sake of her ideals, she tried to force her body up—but it was no use.
"I should have saved up more funds and hired an escort..."
While crying with regret, she somehow managed to stay conscious.
When the sun sets, the desert cools rapidly. For her, at least, it was an easier time than under the blazing sun. She decided to move then, let the strength drain from her body, and closed her eyes.
"—Are you okay!? Hey, missy, if you can hear me, open your eyes!"
But at the sudden voice, she slowly opened her eyes.
A man in a Sunagakure shinobi uniform.
He was a distinctive man with bangs covering one eye and a beard.
"You'll die if you sleep in a place like this!"
"...I'm fine. I'll move when night comes..."
"I'm telling you you'll die before night comes."
The man looked like he was holding his head at her words, but she didn't understand why. Was her argument strange? Her head felt sluggish, likely from the desert environment.
"...From your clothes, you're not from the Land of Sand, at least. You don't look like a shinobi, but tell me your affiliation. Otherwise, I'll either leave you here or I'll have to take your life on this spot."
It was true. If she were from some village, she wouldn't be dying in the desert with no external injuries.
In other words, she was certain she had managed to alleviate the suspicion against her, if only slightly. She felt a little more at ease—and with that, her consciousness, now a little clearer, focused on the kunai in the man's hand.
She shot up, grabbed the man's collar to pull herself up, and brought her face even closer to his right arm, which held the kunai.
"Wha!? What is with you!?"
"This kunai... it's been used a lot... To use a kunai, which is primarily a disposable tool, this much... you must be a wonderful person... But the maintenance is still insufficient! Please! Entrust that kunai to me! I promise I will return it to you in perfect, more beautiful condition!"
"Seriously, what is with you!?"
▼▼▼
Apparently, that exchange had made her seem suspicious. 2 other Suna-nin in similar attire, likely the man's comrades, were called, and she was now surrounded by 3 people, including the first man.
After receiving a cup of water from a kunoichi the man had summoned, she calmed down and revealed her identity.
Of course, it was the cover story she had prepared for leaving the village: She had run a smithy for shinobi in the Land of Water, but she hit her limits and wanted to learn techniques in another country to start a new smithy there.
The "limit" she meant was that her skills could not improve any further in the Land of Water, but she conveyed it with the nuance that her business had failed and she had hit her limit financially.
After she revealed her story, their suspicious gazes softened a little. Next, she took a scroll from her breast pocket and summoned her self-made swords. The men's expressions changed completely.
"Amazing... Every one of these is a masterpiece..."
"—Did you really make these?"
However, the fact that she had used ninjutsu—even if it was just for summoning ninja tools—and the high quality of the swords, conversely, made their suspicion grow stronger.
—But that was within her expectations.
"Yes, I've been hammering iron since I was a child... But many of the Mist shinobi have things even better than this... so these are swords that won't sell over there."
At those words, the Suna-nin gasped, looked at each other, and began exchanging whispers.
This was one of the reasons she had chosen the Land of Sand over Konoha.
She had heard that the Land of Wind was currently undergoing a rapid demilitarization policy. It wasn't something the Suna-nin had decided, but a policy being pushed by the Land of Wind's feudal lords. The Suna-nin were supposedly worried about their own—and their country's—weakening.
Therefore, their interest in superior weapons was stronger than other villages', and they were sensitive to the power of other villages. The information that the Mist possessed many weapons surpassing even the blades before them must have given them a sense of crisis.
By the way, there was no lie in what she had just said. Many Mist shinobi did possess masterpieces far superior to the swords she was showing them now.
And since she, the creator of those masterpieces, was the one saying it, there was no mistake.
After that, they must have reached a conclusion among themselves. The first man, who introduced himself as Yura, led her to the Land of Sand. She was given an old, abandoned smithy in a corner of the Suna village, though she was placed under surveillance for a while.
The result was well within the best-case scenario she had envisioned. Her heart pounding, she struck the iron, forging masterpieces on par with those she had made back in Kirigakure.
If she continued to earn their trust, she would eventually get the chance to come into contact with the Land of Sand's technology: the "karakuri" mechanisms used in the "Puppet Jutsu." Dreaming of that day, she swung her hammer down, feeling the gaze of the Anbu on her.
▼▼▼
Half a year had passed since she came to Sunagakure.
She continued to hide the fact that she could use ninjutsu. Her life as a simple smith had succeeded beyond her own imagination, earning enough to expand her smithy slightly and secure a decent environment.
The Anbu surveillance was gone, and she had begun to interact more with the Suna-nin, especially those in the Puppet Brigade, who tended to have an artisan's temperament.
As her interactions increased, her routine remained the same. She would find a relatively "gossipy" person among her shinobi customers and have them teach her jutsu in exchange for a discount.
By collecting knowledge and funds this way, she was finally able to get her hands on a base puppet body.
Her physical abilities were compensated for, but she had identified the puppet as a way to make up for her weakness: a lack of polished taijutsu. She was elated to finally have one, but even more, her heart raced at the thought of all the masterpieces she could install in it.
A mechanism where a sword blade shot from the palm. A mechanism where several blades sprang from the arm, becoming beast-like claws. A gimmick where the abdomen opened like a large mouth, for which she replaced all the rib parts with swords, creating an ominous yet captivating set of fangs. Other blades in the legs, and even razor blades installed in the hair. A creation equipped with blades all over its body, a mechanism truly worthy of the phrase "a lady's romance." "Fukurō" (Owl) was complete.
She had briefly made a mechanism for a sword to shoot from the mouth, but—she felt a strange, unknown sensation and excitement welling up inside her, which scared her a little, so she decided against it. Instead, she made the teeth into small blades to strengthen its biting power.
"...Sublime... It's more beautiful than I could have imagined."
"A puppet with only close-combat mechanisms like this is useless in a real fight."
One of her regular customers, the Sunagakure Genin Kankuro, who had helped her build Fukurō, muttered in exasperation.
She didn't know what he found so exasperating, but she couldn't just ignore a customer. She returned from her world of fantasy.
"Thank you, Kankuro. It's all thanks to you. —As for your payment, it's just as we first decided."
"Oh! Seriously? You're really gonna do it? Guess it was worth askin'."
The deal for his help with the mechanisms was everything in the store at half price.
Kankuro seemed to have done it half in doubt, but without him, Fukurō would never have been completed. It was complex work; she almost felt she should have given him an even better deal.
But since he himself seemed satisfied, she decided there was no need to lower the price further.
(Well, for a Genin, the Puppet Jutsu, which requires a ton of mechanisms and weapons, must be hard on the wallet.)
While Kankuro's eyes darted from item to item in the shop, she sat at the counter. She moved the chakra threads extending from her fingers, and Fukurō moved with a clack-clack.
Its movements were still clumsy, but she just had to find time to practice.
With this, in addition to her Hydration Jutsu which nullified physical attacks, she had gained a means of attack with a mechanism that didn't rely on her own taijutsu.
Combining these, she could fight an average shinobi. And if things went well, she might even be able to impersonate that shinobi and infiltrate another village.
No, before that, it might be good to try building a puppet with arms and legs made entirely of swords, using Fukurō as a reference.
Even among the Seven Swords Great-grandfather built, some deviated from a proper sword's shape. It would be interesting to include a karakuri puppet like that as one of the 7 "New Ninja Swords" that would surpass them.
She would call it "A human-shaped sword that moves by remote control using chakra threads, 'Human Sword: Puppet.'"
"Yes... That's really good! I'll start on the blueprints at once..."
"What are you muttering about all by yourself? It's creepy."
Oops, she had been hallucinating again.
She turned her gaze to Kankuro, who seemed a bit put off by her enraptured expression and muttering. He had picked out several small knives—a good size for puppet mechanisms.
There was also a large needle mixed in.
"Adding something new?"
"I'll soak it in poison and use it as a poison needle. I was just lookin' for somethin' to put in Karasu's mouth."
"!? —I-I see... In the mouth... As expected of a real puppet master. Your 'level' is so high."
"It's not really a big deal, is it?"
As Murasame shuddered at Kankuro's casual reply, the shop door opened again, and a Suna Chunin from the Puppet Brigade entered.
"Hey, Murasame! Got some big news!"
"...Did you find some good ore?"
"Nah, you really do only think about sword-making... Oh, Lord Kankuro, you're here too."
Even as a Genin, Kankuro was brimming with talent as a puppet master, and he was also the current Kazekage's son. The man gave Kankuro a slight bow and took a small booklet from his pocket.
A Bingo Book. It was a book made of wanted posters for shinobi who had left their villages, from both allied and enemy villages.
On the open page of the book was a photo of a certain person—but a large 'X' was drawn over the photo, indicating the person was no longer of this world.
—And it was someone she knew well.
"That 'Demon of the Mist,' Zabuza Momochi, was apparently killed in the Land of Waves."
"!"
The man's words sent a shock through her.
Zabuza Momochi. A genius of the "Silent Killing" technique who had defected from Kirigakure several years ago. A man who excelled in both ninjutsu and taijutsu, and whose name was counted among the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen."
She remembered him visiting the shop several times when her father was still forging swords.
He didn't talk much and had an intimidating atmosphere, but he seemed to enjoy looking at swords and shuriken. He had even taken a liking to a few of the swords she had made, so she personally didn't have a bad impression of him. Even if he was a criminal of the Mist who had attempted a coup d'état.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment, offering a silent prayer for the man she hadn't seen in years. —Then, she immediately asked the man about something more important than his death.
"Is there information on the person who killed Zabuza? ...Was it the Mist's Hunter-nin?"
"Nah, apparently it was a Konoha squad. Led by that famous 'Copy Ninja,' Kakashi Hatake."
"!! That White Fang's—"
She didn't recognize the moniker "Copy Ninja," but she recognized the name "Hatake."
Sakumo Hatake. The legendary shinobi with the White Light Chakra Saber. Hearing this man was his son, she instinctively shot up from the counter.
Kakashi Hatake. She didn't know what kind of person he was, but from the man's tone, he was clearly a very famous shinobi. A man of his stature surely wouldn't just leave his late father's sword as a keepsake, unaware of its value.
Furthermore, if he had defeated Zabuza, he had undoubtedly taken the Decapitating Carving Knife "Kubikiribōchō" as a war trophy.
There was no more room for thought.
She gathered all the funds in the shop, including the money she had just received from Kankuro, and at the same time, began sealing all the swords on display into her scrolls.
At her sudden actions, Kankuro's face turned pale, as if he knew what was coming.
"Wait, wait, wait! What do you think you're doin', suddenly packin' up!? —Don't tell me!?"
"I'm stepping out for a bit."
"Liar! You're obviously planning to go to Konoha!"
Kankuro was practically shouting, but the man next to him quieted him.
"Give it up, Lord Kankuro. There are a few guys like this in the Puppet Brigade's development team, too. The 'artist' type, or maybe 'zealot' type... guys with crazy values who'll do anything to improve their craft. They won't listen to anything you say."
"But..."
"Just know this, Murasame. Right now, you're a 'smith' who's 'cooperating' with Sunagakure. If you sell your current techniques to Konoha, you'll be executed as a traitor to Suna, no exceptions. I don't think Konoha would go after a simple artisan who isn't even a shinobi, but if you get carried away and sell your swords there—your head will fly off one day."
The man warned her, tapping his own neck with the side of his hand.
The village wouldn't stop her if it was just an expedition as an artisan, but if she crossed the line, she'd be "killed."
She gave a small nod, finished packing her things, and tidied her luggage.
She lowered the shop's sign, locked the door, and headed for the main gate leading outside the Suna village.
▼▼▼
"Jeez, what a sword-freak..."
"Don't say that. Like I said, people of that breed pop up from time to time. In that sense, maybe Suna and Kiri are similar."
Villages that chose the path of developing ninja tools rather than pure ninjutsu or shinobi skills. Perhaps even the traits of the people born there become similar.
"But to see that much talent and that much devotion at such a young age... there's probably only one other person like that, even in the Land of Sand."
"...Who're you talkin' about?"
"—The greatest genius of the Sunagakure Puppet Brigade, 'Sasori of the Red Sand.'"
The name of the genius puppet-maker who had defected from the village 20 years ago, the man who had created countless puppets, including Kankuro's own "Karasu." Kankuro burned that name into his memory as he watched the girl's back head out of the village.
▼▼▼
She gave her name to the gatekeeper and stepped outside the village.
The desert that had nearly claimed her life 6 months ago filled her vision, but she now had 6 months of experience living in this desert land.
There was no reason to fear it—because her puppet, "Fukurō," was carrying her.
Coming to Sunagakure first had truly been the right answer.
She marveled at the convenience of the puppet and praised her past self for noticing it.
Back in Kirigakure, her few friends, like Suigetsu, used to tell her, "You're a hopeless screw-up when you're not making swords." But now, she was confident that she was a pure genius, not just a genius smith.
—She had completely forgotten that she had almost died from her "unplanned" trip to Sunagakure in the first place.
In any case, right now, she had no attention to spare for anything other than Konohagakure—or rather, her target, the man named "Kakashi Hatake."
The Decapitating Carving Knife, "Kubikiribōchō," which she hadn't seen even once since Zabuza defected.
Her goal was to surpass it, but that aside, her heart pounded at the fact that she would once again see the sword her respected great-grandfather had built, a sword more beautiful than any work of art.
And what's more, she might even get to see the White Light Chakra Saber, the symbol of Sakumo Hatake, the "White Fang of Konoha," a man praised as a genius shinobi whose name had reached even the Land of Water where she lived. Her feet couldn't be stopped—well, it was the puppet doing the walking.
In any case, it was a situation where Christmas and New Year's had come at the same time. She raced through the desert, floating on air, her dreams coming true—
"Huh, Fukurō? Why did it stop—!? Sand in the joints!?"
This is terrible... I got lost in my daydream, and my control over the puppet became sloppy...
Even if I try to maintain it, if I disassemble it in the middle of this desert, it's obvious sand will just get in again. It can't be helped, I have to go back to Suna once—no, wait. My current position is right in the middle of the desert. I'm already too far to just casually go back.
"...Life never goes as planned."
But it can't be helped. No, if I change my way of thinking, I'm already halfway there.
The trauma from 6 months ago made her flinch, but she had now lived in the Land of Sand for 6 months. She could probably manage the other half.
Besides, unlike that time when she had to build her reputation from 0 after crossing the desert, this time, the "Kubikiribōchō" and the "White Light Chakra Saber" were waiting for her.
Her motivation was on a completely different level, making not just her heart, but her footsteps light.
—Yes, so surely... she'd better fine.