"The weather's pretty nice…"
Link lay on a rooftop, gazing at the blue sky and white clouds. He was enjoying the warm morning sun, still exhausted from draining his body earlier and having just refilled his stomach. The combination of digestion and sunlight made him feel comfortably lazy.
After all, energy doesn't appear out of thin air—it comes from taxing his body. Even if he avoids permanent damage, replenishing his energy takes time.
Below in the courtyard, Teishi—the client—was busy working. Temari sat under the eaves, tap, tap, tap, playing with a kendama. Kankurō, ever diligent, was maintaining a new puppet he'd purchased by borrowing money from his sister a few days earlier—two new puppets, in fact.
Gaara stood nearby, quietly observing Teishi's efforts in the sunlight.
Ever since Gaara had opened up, he'd become curious about many things, including gardening—probably because the Land of Wind's environment didn't allow for much long-term planting. He was eager to learn about different plants, and a professional gardener was obviously intriguing. His older siblings encouraged him to express these new interests in a healthy way.
But naturally, his silent, watchful presence stressed Teishi out quite a bit. Imagine having a pale, dark-eyed teenager standing by, staring at you without saying a word…
All around the building, Link's shadows lurked in corners, quietly keeping an eye on things.
The yard contained quite a lot of plants that Kusawara and his men had brought over, plus two trees ready for transplantation. The air had a refreshing fragrance.
"Aside from some sealed scraps of Tailed Beast Chakra at home, I also have around a dozen fully intact chakra blocks. Maybe when I get back, I can try having a few shadows swallow them in Eight Gates Mode…"
Link mused. From how the Earth Dragon swallowed Tailed Beast Chakra, he knew many of his summoned "Stands" had "mouths," even the odd Metallica. Yet for the same reason he'd never let the Earth Dragon become an independent lifeform, he worried about letting his Stands gain their own autonomy. Many stands in various stories (he recalled) had their own will. Link wasn't truly a "Stand User"; if the ninjutsu-created stands became independent, the consequences were unpredictable.
What if they became uncontrollable? With shadows, there was no precedent for that, but many stands in manga possessed self-awareness. It was the biggest risk in letting them become "Tailed Beast–like."
He mulled over this until, hazy with drowsiness, he briefly nodded off. And so the leisurely morning slipped by.
After lunch, Link headed to the experimental site he'd used the night before. The Swamp of the Underworld—or rather, the strange earth Gatō had left—still hadn't disappeared. It seemed permanent.
That foul odor persisted as well, and the rabbit that stepped in the mud and fled yesterday had been caught by the shadows and cleaned repeatedly. Even after washing, it still stank—he suspected the smell had "marinated" into its fur.
That alone could be weaponized, he mused: throw the mud at a target, and the reek would give away their position.
He had a shadow use a tool to collect that sticky, blackish-yellow, forever-malodorous mud. It wasn't much—maybe about ten pounds total, surprisingly little.
Crucially, the stench couldn't be contained. Cloth, plastic, wooden boxes, metal containers—none of them could block the smell, which was suffocating. In the end, Link had a shadow bury it somewhere and stand guard; he'd retrieve it when leaving the Land of Waves.
"Shadows can't smell, right?" he thought seriously. He certainly had no desire to handle that stuff personally. He wouldn't even go near it. After all, that poor "pickled" rabbit still reeked a day later.
The afternoon passed quietly as well. Work on the property progressed swiftly. Teishi was truly a master gardener, and this world certainly wasn't short on plants—he could just dig up whatever he needed. If anything was missing, he asked Kusawara, and the tattooed man—despite his bad reputation—came right away whenever called. He was surprisingly cooperative.
It looked like a single day more would be enough to finish, and that was with Teishi working solo.
Close to dinnertime, Link stepped outside to summon Momochi Zabuza, Haku, and Baki.
"What bizarre idea do you have now?"
Baki was the first to step out of Rashōmon. Seeing no battle at hand, he tensed and asked warily.
"Since we've all fought side by side, I figured we could eat together," Link said with a smile. "Gaara and the others will be there, too."
"Fought side by side," huh? Baki thought sarcastically. He means I worked myself to death for him, right? Even so, he kept his face neutral, unwilling to offend this kid—for the sake of both his village and his own rest in the afterlife.
Then again, with this kid around, he might not get any peace. Baki sighed deeply.
Zabuza and Haku followed next. Link explained it was just dinner, nothing more. Haku believed him easily and was delighted to join. The two older men—both elite jōnin in life—exchanged glances, recognizing each other's identities:
The "Demon of the Hidden Mist," Zabuza.
One of the Suna's Kage's right-hand men, Baki.
The conflict between the Suna and Kiri villages hadn't ended so long ago; they'd definitely taken note of each other's top fighters. It wasn't hard to imagine who they each were.
Zabuza couldn't figure out why this "elite jōnin from the Sand" would take orders from a Konoha brat, while Baki, in turn, gave Zabuza a look of sympathy. From a single glance, he realized the relationship between the kid and "the Demon" was unusual. Facing the naturally wicked Konoha brat… poor guy.
As they reached the doorway, they spotted Kusawara staring in dazed shock. The man's face ran through several expressions—thinking hard, then panicking. Without a word, he turned and bolted.
"Does he know Zabuza, or maybe Haku?"
Link wondered a second, but paid it no mind. Rashōmon's duration was limited, so he'd better get them to dinner quickly.
The meal was slightly awkward. Teishi didn't react much to the sudden addition of three more people, but Zabuza's fierce presence put him on edge. After a couple bowls of rice, he left the table early.
Link's three subordinates initially wanted to chat with Baki, but upon recognizing the "Demon of the Mist," they had nothing to say. Gaara and Temari immediately noticed that these two newcomers had no shadows, so they must be summons from the afterlife.
Haku was a man of few words, quietly cherishing each breath, each bite of food, and any moment spent by Zabuza's side. He ate politely, wearing a radiant smile the whole time.
Every so often, Kankurō stole a glance at him—yes, even a "puppet geek" took interest in humans once in a while…
~~~
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