Nighttime, the border of the Land of Snow.
The campfire crackled in the cold wind, sparks occasionally flying up before being quickly scattered into the darkness.
Makoto and his group were not in a hurry to travel.
Doto was dead. The princess who had been on the run for so many years could wait one more night.
He had something more important to do… testing the loyalty of his Pokémon.
Ran squatted by the fire, skillfully preparing the ingredients.
As the one best at cooking among the three, she had naturally taken over the task of making dinner.
The crisp sound of a kunai slicing through wild vegetables, mixed with the bubbling from the pot, gave this cold night a touch of warmth and life.
Utaha hugged her knees, the firelight dancing on her face.
She tilted her head, her eyes sparkling: "Makoto-sensei, about that Mangekyo Sharingan you mentioned earlier..."
"Does it have anything to do with the Uchiha's Sharingan?"
Megumi naturally followed up.
Having been staying here for so many years, she had also heard a lot about Kekkei Genkai, not to mention the famous Sharingan.
Ran, who was cutting vegetables, paused her movements, her ears subtly tilting in that direction.
The corner of Makoto's mouth curled into a smile.
"Among the Uchiha Clan, only those who have trained their Sharingan to the utmost limit can awaken the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan."
His voice was calm and steady, "In the long history of the Uchiha, no more than ten people have awakened these eyes."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the three focused faces: "Once these eyes are awakened, the left and right eyes will each gain different abilities."
"My left eye is Shinatsuhiko, my right eye is Amaterasu."
"Shinatsuhiko?"
Utaha tilted her head, "That sounds like a name from Japanese mythology."
"That's right."
Makoto nodded, "Shinatsuhiko allows me to teleport to a target's side."
This effect was somewhat similar to Sasuke's Rinnegan ability, [Amenotejikara].
And Amenotejikara instantly swaps the user's position with a target in their line of sight.
To use Pokémon skills as an analogy, Amenotejikara is like [Ally Switch], while Shinatsuhiko is [Teleport].
"As for Amaterasu... it's called the inextinguishable flame."
At this point, Makoto added a mental note: 'Though in the original work, it hardly ever actually killed anyone.'
Utaha nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly stiffened as if something had occurred to her.
"Wait."
Her voice changed pitch.
"I remember... four years ago, the Uchiha Clan was wiped out by a man named Uchiha Itachi..."
She didn't finish, but her meaning was clear enough.
Megumi's gaze fell on Makoto's face, and even her usually calm eyes showed ripples.
Ran also stopped what she was doing, her lips slightly parted.
Three pairs of eyes focused intently on Makoto.
Meeting their gaze, Makoto nodded frankly: "You guessed right. I infiltrated the Uchiha Clan's compound back then and took these eyes."
The campfire crackled, and a burst of sparks traced a brief arc of light through the night.
Silence.
Ran, holding the freshly made dinner, had her fingers trembling slightly, "Th-this... can you really tell us this?"
Makoto took the plate, scooped up a spoonful of porridge, put it in his mouth, chewed twice, and then said slowly: "Of course not."
He took another sip of porridge, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather: "The Sharingan is one of the best Kekkei Genkai in the entire Ninja World. After the Uchiha were wiped out, the eyes in the clan grounds should have been 'kept safe' by Konoha's higher-ups. By taking them, I snatched food from a tiger's mouth… and I took the most precious pair at that."
"If the Konoha's higher-ups find out..."
He looked up at them, a half-smile on his face, "They won't let me off."
Another silence.
The sound of the burning campfire was now exceptionally clear.
After a long while, Megumi asked softly, "Then... Makoto-kun, why are you telling us this?"
Makoto put down his bowl, looked at them, and a gentle curve slowly formed on his lips.
"Because you're not outsiders."
Just a few simple words, but they were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake.
Megumi's eyes widened.
Utaha was stunned.
Ran's eyelashes fluttered slightly.
Makoto raised his hand, his fingertip lightly brushing the cheek of Megumi, who was closest to him.
"Are you going to tell anyone about this?"
He asked with a smile, "If you do, I'm done for. My sensei will definitely send a squad full of Elite Jonin after me."
"No!"
Megumi blurted out almost instantly.
Then, noticing the sensation on her cheek, her face turned bright red. She stepped back two paces, flustered, "Makoto-sensei, you... don't go touching and groping like that."
Makoto laughed and raised his hands in surrender: "Sorry, sorry, it was an impulse."
Utaha snapped out of her shock, letting out a light snort: "Sensei-kun really underestimates us. Even if we aren't strong, we're not the type to betray our friends."
Makoto couldn't help but smile.
'Sensei-kun?'
He remembered that Utaha had a habit of giving nicknames to people she was close to.
Ran lowered her head, silent for two seconds.
When she looked up, her gaze was clear and firm: "I won't tell."
Makoto smiled at this, then suddenly opened his arms and pulled all three girls into an embrace.
"As expected of my students." His voice was filled with laughter, "Come on, a hug."
The warmth rushed over them.
Megumi's face turned crimson in an instant, struggling to push him away.
Utaha pushed at him too, glaring at him disdainfully, "Are all guys this disgusting? Always trying to take advantage!"
Ran blushed and lowered her head, silent as a startled deer.
What they didn't know was that during this brief embrace, Makoto had already placed Flying Thunder God technique marks on each of them.
He withdrew his hands, watching the three girls adjust their rumpled clothes, a deep glint flashing in his eyes.
He thought to himself, 'Who will be the traitor?'
That said, his attention was mainly focused on Ran.
He knew that this little unicorn's childhood friend, that detective named Kudo Shinichi, was investigating him.
Some readers might wonder how he knew?
He asked with his Sharingan, of course~
Earlier, when Ran had gotten up during the night to explain things, Makoto had followed her.
Don't misunderstand… he was just asking questions. He didn't do anything else.
Although he was interested in beautiful girls, he wouldn't stoop to Sawanaga Taisuke's methods. That was too low-class.
Mainly, Makoto also wanted to know what this girl had been so distracted thinking about these past few days.
After finding out, Makoto wanted to see what Ran would do.
Would she go to Hiruzen and report him for the sake of that 'genius detective'?
Ran's choice would determine her life or death.
…
Two days later, the border of the Land of Snow.
When Doto's head was thrown on the ground, the entire film crew fell deathly silent.
On that twisted face were frozen the terror and unwillingness from before his death.
After a moment, Sandayu collapsed to his knees with a thud, tears streaming down his aged face: "Sosetsu-sama! Rest in peace! This evil man... this evil man has finally received his comeuppance!"
Koyuki covered her mouth, tears falling like beads from a broken string.
Years of fear, running, and suppression finally burst through the dam at this moment.
Makoto stepped forward and gently patted her shoulder.
The next second, Koyuki suddenly turned around, hugged his waist tightly, buried her face in his abdomen, and burst into loud sobs.
Megumi tilted her head and whispered to Utaha beside her: "According to the typical novel plot, the princess should fall for the bodyguard next, and then they live happily ever after... that kind of ending, right?"
Utaha pursed her lips, looking displeased: "That kind of clichéd ending went out of style a long time ago."
Megumi blinked: "You weren't saying that a few days ago."
Ran remained silent, her gaze flickering between Makoto and Koyuki for a moment before dropping her eyelids again.
The next morning, Koyuki resumed her identity as a princess and officially announced her true identity to everyone.
She invited the entire film crew to the capital to witness her inauguration ceremony as the new Daimyo of the Land of Snow, and stated that even after becoming Daimyo, she would not give up her acting career.
The crew cheered.
Makoto also clapped along.
As the group was preparing to leave, Koyuki, wearing wooden clogs, walked toward the carriage. As she passed by Makoto, she suddenly stopped.
She turned slightly and placed a light kiss on his cheek.
Brief, then she pulled away.
Then she lifted her skirt and dashed up into the carriage like the wind.
Makoto stood there frozen.
He raised his hand and touched the spot where he had been kissed.
'Uh... Miss, is this really appropriate?'
His original plan was not to get too involved with girls from other worlds.
Not far away, Utaha turned her head expressionlessly and said to Megumi, "A clichéd ending, indeed."
Megumi showed a rare, subtle expression: "You weren't saying that a few days ago."
Ran remained silent, but her hand hanging at her side unconsciously tightened its grip on the hem of her clothes.