Night had settled over the Yūhi residence.
Soft lamplight warmed the cozy living room. Yūhi Kurenai finished pouring tea for her father and placed the cup on the low table in front of him. She knelt gracefully to one side, looking a little troubled.
"Dad," she began softly, breaking the quiet.
"Hm?" Yūhi Makoto set down the scroll he'd been reading and turned toward his daughter. He shared her crimson eyes, though his were deeper and steadier, with a gentle, reserved presence.
"You're… fighting that samurai from the Land of Iron tomorrow, aren't you?" Kurenai asked. The announcement hadn't come out officially yet, but the sudden Anbu visit earlier had tipped her off.
Yūhi Makoto gave a small nod, not denying it. "The Hokage has given the order."
Kurenai opened her mouth, ready to say something like "That guy's way too dirty," out of habit. But the words the samurai had spoken that afternoon—about life and death on the battlefield and how weak people shackle themselves—kept echoing in her head.
She realized she couldn't just slap the label "underhanded" on him the way regular villagers did anymore.
Plus, she was a ninja. It hit her that she'd only assumed he was playing dirty because she'd expected a samurai to follow all those strict bushido rules.
In the end, she swallowed the words and simply said, "Be careful out there."
Yūhi Makoto paused, picking up on the complicated note in his daughter's voice. It wasn't just worry—there was something else mixed in.
He smiled gently and reached over to ruffle her hair, his voice calm and reassuring.
"Don't worry."
Looking at her father's steady, confident face, some of Kurenai's unease faded. She nodded and didn't press further.
---
"Way too underhanded! That was seriously underhanded!"
Inside Tsunade's house, Shizune's frustrated voice cut through the quiet night.
"Lady Tsunade, you really missed out by not showing up today!"
Even though Tsunade was Team 10's official instructor, Shizune still called her "Lady Tsunade" in private.
Shizune's cheeks were flushed from both anger and the rush back home. Her eyes were wide. "That samurai from the Land of Iron—he actually pulled a gun in the middle of the match! Against Jonin Kawano, bang! bang! bang! Just started shooting! What kind of crap is that?"
"Senior Kawano was respecting him as a samurai and fought with sword techniques the whole time. Even when he used ninjutsu, he did it straight-up and fair. And what does the guy do? Waits for an opening and opens fire! That wasn't a fight—that was a cheap shot, pure cheating!"
Tsunade lounged lazily by the window, a small bottle of sake in hand, sipping by herself. Moonlight filtered through the lattice and caught in her long golden hair.
She listened without interrupting as Shizune dramatically recounted everything that had gone down that afternoon at Training Ground Three, with plenty of extra flair.
"And then he has the nerve to say stuff like 'everything in the world can be a sword' and 'clinging to proper form is just a shackle for the weak'! That's complete twisted logic! He's just making excuses for his dirty tricks! If you have to win that way, what's even the point of winning at all?"
Seeing Shizune's cute, world-shaken expression, Tsunade finally let out a soft chuckle. She tilted her head back and finished off the sake in her cup, the amber liquid gleaming in the moonlight.
"You done?" Tsunade set the cup down, her voice carrying that familiar lazy drawl with a hint of sake warmth.
"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune looked even more annoyed at the laughter. "You're laughing? That samurai was completely out of line! Both Kurenai and Shinichi thought so too!"
"Really?" Tsunade said mildly. "Don't forget, little Shizune—you're a ninja now."
Right… I'm a ninja. What right do I have to call his methods dirty?
Shizune's words stuck in her throat. She suddenly remembered how, during the match, the loudest angry voices had come from regular villagers and young hot-headed ninjas her age.
The older shinobi had looked serious but not exactly surprised.
Still, she muttered stubbornly, "But he's a samurai. Winning with tricks like that still feels pretty low, no matter how you look at it."
"Low? Maybe." Tsunade shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. She shifted into a more comfortable position and stared out at the quiet night. "But you know, little Shizune, that samurai had one point dead right. On the battlefield, when it's about getting the job done and staying alive, you can't put limits on yourself. Ninjutsu, genjutsu, taijutsu, poison, traps, explosive tags…"
Tsunade paused briefly. A shadow flickered across her eyes at one particular memory, but she quickly brushed it aside. "Bottom line—in a real fight for your life, any method that keeps you and your comrades breathing is a good method."
"That samurai's way of thinking is extreme… even dangerous. But if you completely reject it, you might pay a price you can't afford when the real war comes. Because the enemies you'll face won't be holding back either."
"His win-at-any-cost philosophy might be weird for samurai, but for ninjas, it's basically business as usual."
Tsunade's voice grew softer, sounding like both a teacher and someone reflecting to herself. "What you need to learn is to understand why people think this way. Then find your own line in the sand. Know which methods you're okay with, which boundaries you won't cross, and exactly how far you're willing to go to protect what really matters."
Shizune opened her mouth, then closed it and gave a quiet nod.
Outside the window, Konoha's lights were gradually coming on. Beneath the peaceful night, undercurrents were already stirring in preparation for tomorrow's arena.
---
The next day, Konoha's Main Arena.
The massive venue—normally only used for huge events like the Chunin Exam finals—was packed solid. The circular stands were nearly full, and the roaring crowd sounded like a boiling sea.
Unlike the casual onlookers at yesterday's training ground, most villagers here today had come with a clear purpose.
They wanted to watch that arrogant, dirty-fighting samurai from the Land of Iron get absolutely crushed in front of Konoha's real powerhouses.
The air crackled with heat and a near-festive buzz. The theme of this "festival," however, was the promise of a decisive victory that would wipe away yesterday's embarrassment.
Up on the VIP viewing platform, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, stood calmly at the railing in his formal robes, looking down over the dense crowd and the empty arena floor. His face wore its usual gentle smile.
Beside him stood the two Hokage advisors, Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu.
"At a time like this, letting the village blow off some steam, shift everyone's attention, and ease some of the tension that's been building isn't a bad idea," the Third Hokage said with a smile to the advisors.
Mitokado Homura adjusted his glasses and gave a small nod, his expression neutral.
Utatane Koharu's face was noticeably tighter. She frowned slightly, clearly unhappy with the eccentric samurai who'd stirred up so much drama and public anger in the village.
What bothered her more was that Hiruzen hadn't kept things low-key. Instead, he'd turned it into this huge public spectacle, giving the guy yet another stage to build his reputation.
"Koharu, stop making that face," Mitokado Homura said with a chuckle. "Hiruzen had to handle it this way. Look on the bright side—at least it's lively, right?"
Koharu's lips pressed together. In the end, she just gave a soft snort and stayed quiet.
Deep down, she understood the difficult spot Hiruzen was in. The man was a legitimate client who'd paid a massive deposit and written the request in black and white: no restrictions, any opponent welcome.
Konoha could have refused the mission. But once accepted, losing meant they simply weren't strong enough.
They couldn't just eliminate the client because he proved too difficult.
Well… they could, but then what? Konoha would become the village that murdered paying clients. No one would trust them again.
The damage to their reputation would be catastrophic—far worse than losing a few exhibition matches.
So even if it stung a little, Hiruzen's approach was the smartest play: handle it formally and cleanly, right out in the open, using Konoha's true strength to neatly put this troublesome challenger in his place.
It would save face, strengthen their reputation, secure the rest of the mission payout, and quietly remind some of the villagers who'd gotten too comfortable in peacetime what real power looked like.