"You're quick, but a little off, though you landed close enough.
"It isn't some dark secret anyway. What's wrong with wanting to improve?
"I'm interested in fūinjutsu, and I have no channel to learn it, let alone Uzumaki sealing arts.
"If you return to Konoha, Kushina won't be stingy. She'll teach you everything she can.
"And out of gratitude she may point me toward fūinjutsu as well."
Sealing arts had weight in the shinobi world. Almost nothing ignored them, not even the Ōtsutsuki. Uzumaki Koume knew their value; otherwise Uzushio would never have been wiped out.
Hearing Kokugetsu's aim eased her. No aim at all would have been worse.
"I see.
"The war only just ended. Kusagakure is on tight alert.
"And I can't do anything. How are we getting out?" she asked, worried.
"I knock you out. When you wake up, we'll be outside."
He stood and walked toward her.
"Let me bring rice balls and pickles. I'm hungry," she said.
"What's good about that?
"I'll buy you a real meal."
Before she could answer, his hand chopped lightly to the back of her neck. Her eyes rolled white and she slept like a baby.
He caught her by the shoulder. His right eye turned black, a thin gold gleam in the pupil. A black-red spiral gate of space unfolded.
Anywhere he wished to go among the great powers of the shinobi world was like walking home. Easy and unhurried.
In a blink, at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Grass, the black-red spiral opened again.
Kokugetsu stepped down with the sleeping Koume, pressed her philtrum, and she stirred awake.
"Where is this?" she murmured, blinking.
"Bamboo Town, Land of Fire.
"Come on, we'll get an inn. You'll pose as my maid."
He spoke as his left hand flashed through a seal. In an instant he was a dashing young lordling with a folding fan that read Leisure and Looks.
He left off the word money; border towns were messy, and that word drew trouble.
"Oh."
Koume nodded meekly and followed him toward the lights of Bamboo Town.
Konoha was lively, but it wasn't the only such place in the Land of Fire. Kokugetsu had seen plenty. Koume, stepping into town, was dazzled.
They passed a clothier, and he turned in.
"What style does young master prefer?" asked a pretty clerk in a soft voice, bowing.
Kokugetsu snapped the fan shut and smiled. "Not for me. For my new maid.
"Three fine outfits in different styles. You pick."
Koume saw the price tags and flinched. "Young master, I don't need clothes, and these are too expensive," she whispered.
"Price is my concern. Enough talk. Pick."
Koume fell silent.
Did he really think he was a noble's son? Money wasn't easy for shinobi.
He was too forceful, and she was too soft. In the end she chose three of the cheapest.
"Change into one. What you're wearing is too shabby. You'll make me look bad."
Koume held her tongue.
Clothes do make the person. In a fresh set she looked different at once. No makeup, and still presentable at his side.
A woman who could bear a daughter like Karin was no plain face. In the animation she had lost too much chakra and vitality, and with poor food she had seemed prematurely old.
"Let's eat. Seafood tonight."
The Land of Grass was inland. Seafood was pricey. Kokugetsu didn't mind. He wasn't spending his own money.
The pretty clerk watched them go with envy.
If she could, she'd be a maid too. One seafood feast equaled half a year's wages.
They ate well and found a good inn. He took two rooms.
In the morning he claimed unfinished business, left Koume a sum of money, and headed out.
In truth, he went to play, drifting between border towns of the Lands of Fire and Grass, even into the Land of Rain.
Koume stayed in, never leaving her room, ordering the cheapest meals and having them sent up.
Over a week, his three diligent subordinates fed back steady intel.
Once he felt the net was full enough, Kokugetsu messaged them to meet at the Cloud Over Bamboo Inn in Bamboo Town.
They slid his door open to a laden table and a woman they didn't know.
"Close the door and sit."
"Yes, Captain."
They took their places. Hawk sat beside Kokugetsu and passed him a scroll.
"Captain, intel from the last two days. I consolidated it."
Kokugetsu nodded, took the scroll, and spoke offhand. "Uzumaki Koume.
"An Uzumaki survivor I ran into in Grass. I'm taking her to Konoha."
The three started, then greeted her kindly.
They didn't know the old story; few in Konoha did. They only knew the Uzumaki were Konoha's closest allies, and their manner was warm.
Koume returned each greeting, a little stiff.
"Don't wait on me. Eat.
"You've worked hard across two long missions. This is for you," Kokugetsu said, eyes on the scroll.
The three traded glances, struck by a thought.
Their captain was headstrong, but beyond that, no faults to speak of.
Other ANBU leaders treated now and then, but not like this. Chicken, duck, fish, beef, live seafood, fruit and greens, all of it.
"Thank you, Captain. You've gone to great expense," they said, standing to bow.
"No matter. I've no living pressure at the moment and money to spare.
"A man should be good to himself. For shinobi, all the more," Kokugetsu said, pressing his left hand down for them to sit.
They said nothing more and ate quietly. Even the Inuzuka's ninken kept the noise down, careful not to disturb him.
Soon he'd finished reading. With the earlier reports, he had a clear map of Kusagakure's leanings.
"Twelve elders. Ox, Horse, Tiger, Monkey favor Konoha. Rat and Dragon are neutral.
"Rabbit, Snake, Sheep, Rooster, Dog, Pig lean to Iwagakure.
"Rat, Dragon, Rabbit died in the war. Sheep, Rooster, Snake, Dog are alive.
"Four targets is a lot. Risky.
"We hand the rest to Root to trim in stages. Thoughts?"
"We follow the captain," they answered together.
High risk was best left alone when possible.
Root's machines were unpleasant, but they got things done.
"Settled.
"A toast."
They lifted soft drinks. No alcohol on mission.
After they'd eaten and rested, they checked out. Kokugetsu led three men and one woman back toward Konoha.
He had brought back a prize. What reward would Sarutobi Hiruzen give?
He could have filched those rewards himself, but this was different. Distinct rewards were capital.
His small goal was to become the sun of Konoha. Take the throne by brute force or by plots, and you never became the sun.
Even if you did, you were a black sun, the kind the world tried its best to snuff out.
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