Chapter 7: So Unlucky!

Chapter 7: So Unlucky!

"Man, what rotten luck."

Katsuragi let out a silent sigh, then returned to his seat to continue eating. At the same time, he tried to calm the furious Three-Tailed Fox in the courtyard, who was ranting about teaching those Cloud ninja a lesson.

"Alright, Fox Sis. They've already left—just let it go," he said, looking at her enraged expression. "Besides, my skill level is too low. I don't even know the most basic Three Academy Jutsu, and I have no real combat experience. The odds of winning would be slim."

Hearing this, the Three-Tailed Fox fell silent. After a moment, she spoke with regret: "I'm sorry, Little Katsuragi. It's my fault for being too weak. I can't make you stronger."

"If it were Lord Ōtengu or Lord Tamamo-no-Mae, I bet this wouldn't be a problem…"

"Don't say that!" Katsuragi hastily replied, worried that she was blaming herself. "Fox Sis, you've already helped me a ton. You take such good care of me day to day. Who knows what I'd be dealing with if I'd summoned another yokai!"

"Besides, even if I did manage to summon one of them, it's not guaranteed my body could handle their power!"

He wasn't just being polite. Over time, Katsuragi had realized that when the Three-Tailed Fox initially reached three stars, there wasn't an immediate, dramatic change in his physical abilities. But as he diligently trained, gradually improving his physique, the Shikigami's inherited power also seemed to manifest more noticeably.

Of course, part of that could be from his own workouts, but Katsuragi suspected it was also because his young body had inherent limits on how much of the Three-Tailed Fox's power he could use.

While Katsuragi comforted the Three-Tailed Fox, Teuchi-ossan at the ramen shop also spoke up apologetically: "I'm sorry, Katsuragi. If I hadn't asked those questions, this whole thing wouldn't have happened…"

"Huh?"

Katsuragi paused, then quickly waved it off with a cheerful smile. "Teuchi-ossan, how could this be your fault? It's clearly that guy who's afraid I'll become a strong ninja, that I'll surpass him, or that Konoha will become more powerful. It's got nothing to do with you!"

"Kid, well said!"

Suddenly, a new voice chimed in. Katsuragi turned to see a Konoha ninja smoking a cigarette, looking rather roguish. Judging by his flak jacket, he was at least a Chūnin, maybe even a Jōnin. He was currently watching Katsuragi with an approving expression.

For some reason, Katsuragi felt as if he'd seen this face somewhere before. But it had been so long that most of his old memories were blurry—he only remembered the biggest plot points.

"Kid, what's your name?" the ninja asked, smiling. "Gotta say, you showed some guts. Didn't embarrass us in front of those Cloud guys."

"My name is Takanashi Katsuragi, sir!"

Katsuragi answered immediately. Internally, he was also piecing things together: No wonder that Cloud leader kept glancing this way and telling his subordinate to back off—he must have noticed this ninja was sitting here.

"Takanashi…" The ninja blinked in surprise, then mumbled under his breath, "Must be Lord Guiyi's kid…"

"Katsuragi, my name's Asuma. If anyone hassles you in the future, feel free to drop my name," he added, puffing out a ring of smoke. He flicked his cigarette ash with a nonchalant air that practically screamed 'Don't worry, I got your back.'

"Asuma…?"

Katsuragi froze. If he wasn't mistaken, this had to be Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Third Hokage. He looked so different compared to his heavily bearded appearance in the anime that Katsuragi almost hadn't recognized him.

"What's wrong? Have you heard of my big reputation?"

Seeing Katsuragi staring blankly, Asuma asked with mild interest.

"Uh, no, not at all!" Katsuragi quickly shook his head. Under normal circumstances, he really shouldn't have any knowledge of Asuma's identity.

"Alright." Asuma didn't mind either way. He shrugged, then got up and walked over to Katsuragi. Patting him on the shoulder, he encouraged, "Keep it up and don't disgrace your father's name. I'm taking off now."

"Boss, I'll cover his bill!"

"No need, no need. It's on the house today—I feel like it's partly my fault anyway," Teuchi-ossan said, still busy at the noodles.

"In that case, thanks a bunch. See you around!" Asuma exhaled another puff of smoke, waved with a smile, and stepped out of the ramen shop.

Katsuragi, still seated, found his thoughts drifting. From Asuma's comments, it seemed like he might have known Katsuragi's father—makes sense, since he's a ninja of the village and might well be acquainted with important figures.

Growl…

Katsuragi's stomach soon reminded him of more pressing concerns. His ramen was already on the verge of going cold, and he didn't want to waste time worrying about other details. Grabbing his chopsticks, he started slurping down the noodles. He still had to look for that bear in the forest later that afternoon—time was valuable.

The sky was still full of falling snow. The blankets of white on the ground were almost a hand's width deep, making it more difficult for Katsuragi to travel. Even after searching until dusk, he still hadn't found his quarry.

"Sigh… failing again, huh?"

Checking the Bounty Seal in the courtyard, Katsuragi let out a quiet sigh. Glancing at the darkening sky, he thought, No worries. I can keep searching for a bit longer. Maybe I'll get lucky and run across one any second now!

Making up his mind, he rested for a moment and resumed his hunt. Unfortunately, bears in hibernation know how to hide themselves well. By the time night had fully fallen, Katsuragi still hadn't found so much as a paw print.

"I should head back. It's too dangerous to be out any longer."

He looked up at the bright moon overhead. Normally, he rarely stayed in the forest after dark—at night, it was several times more frightening than by day.

In the hushed forest, punctuated by random insect chirps, Katsuragi hurried along at top speed. He was almost out of the woods when a sudden sense of alarm pricked at him, followed immediately by the faint whistle of something slicing through the air. With no time to think, he dove into an awkward roll, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Swish!

He glanced at the kunai now embedded deep in the snow. Spitting out the mouthful of snow he'd accidentally swallowed while rolling, Katsuragi warily looked toward the spot from which it had been launched.

Two silhouettes stood side by side on a tree branch.

"Didn't expect this brat to have some moves," sneered a voice he recognized all too well. The tanned skin, the outfit, and the Cloud forehead protector left no doubt—it was the same Kumo-nin who'd insulted him at Ichiraku Ramen earlier.

"Stop running your mouth—let's finish this quickly. We've got a mission to do," the man's companion, who was carrying a small bag on his back, urged impatiently. He mumbled under his breath, "Seriously, you let a kunai miss a kid who's only a few years old? What the hell kind of training did you do?"

"Got it!" Shusai (the rude Kumo-nin) threw his partner an annoyed look, then fixed Katsuragi with a vicious grin. "You little punk… you had a lot to say this afternoon, huh? Well, looks like you'll be the first to die tonight!"

Katsuragi didn't respond. He furrowed his brow, thinking hard. The area was desolate, so getting help seemed difficult. Still, it wasn't a guaranteed death trap—based on that single kunai throw, Katsuragi had a shot at escaping, given his speed and agility.

And, more importantly, this was Konoha territory. If foreign ninja were attacking a local kid, maybe a patrol would spot them…

End of Chapter 7