Sunlight filtered through the dense leaves, casting mottled patches of light and shadow across the ground.
Konoha's marketplace was bustling with noise and activity.
Misae carried a basket as she crouched in front of a vegetable stall, picking through the tomatoes.
"Morning, Misae!"
A familiar voice came from beside her. Misae looked up. "Morning, Mrs. Tanaka. What vegetables did you buy today?"
"Some daikon and potatoes." Mrs. Tanaka shook the grocery bag in her hand. "Vegetable prices have gone up again. Everything keeps getting more expensive. At this rate, we won't even be able to afford radishes anymore."
"Exactly," Mrs. Suzuki said as she approached carrying a fish. "By the way, have you heard? It sounds like there might be a war."
"Is that true?"
"Will Konoha get dragged into it too? My husband just received orders yesterday to patrol the border."
"Probably not. Lord Third is so powerful. He'll definitely protect us."
"War isn't a game of mahjong. It's not something that starts just because someone says so."
The housewives chatted for a while longer before the vegetable vendor called them over to look at a fresh shipment of lotus roots. Their conversation naturally returned to vegetable prices and the weather.
Misae smiled and said goodbye to them. But when she turned toward home, her steps were noticeably faster than before.
When she opened the front door, the living room was completely quiet.
Shin-chan was lazily sprawled across the sofa, his body folded into a crooked star shape.
"Shin-chan?"
"I'm undergoing extremely important training." Shin-chan did not even open his eyes.
"What kind of training?"
"Breathing through my skin."
"That's what frogs do." For some reason, the tension in Misae's heart suddenly eased. "You're a human."
"Frogs can jump, and I can jump. There's no difference."
"Then show me a jump."
"I can't right now. My chakra is circulating through my body. If you interrupt me, I might suffer chakra deviation."
Misae reached out and flicked him on the forehead.
"Ow!" Shin-chan sat up while covering his forehead. "Why did you flick me?"
Misae sat beside him. After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Has anything... unusual been happening in the village lately?"
"Something unusual... Ah, I know."
Misae's heart suddenly jumped. "What?"
"This morning, while I was sitting on the toilet, I discovered that we were out of toilet paper."
"...Anything else?"
"Then I called Hima to bring me a new roll, but she ignored me."
Misae took a deep breath. "I'm asking about things happening in the village, not what happened while you were using the toilet!"
"Things in the village?" Shin-chan changed positions. "Oh, right. Yesterday, the auntie next door said her cat ran away again. That's already the third time this year."
"I'm not asking about a cat."
"Then a dog? The uncle across the street's Shiba Inu gave birth to four puppies. They're black and white and really cute."
Misae rubbed her temples. "I mean... something related to war."
"War?" Shin-chan looked utterly confused. "Do you mean the sumo tournament they've been holding lately?"
"You certainly know a lot."
"My observation skills are S-rank. They just only activate for important matters."
"What counts as important?"
"Whether the ramen shop has a discount today."
Misae sighed. "Forget it. Continue your frog training."
"Breathing through my skin," Shin-chan corrected before collapsing onto the sofa again and closing his eyes to resume his "training."
In the evening, the sound of the front door opening came from the entryway.
"I'm home." Hima saw Shin-chan sprawled across the sofa like a star and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Big Brother is slacking off again."
"I'm training. Once I master the Skin-Breathing Technique, I'll be able to stay underwater for three hours without coming up for air."
"There's no such training." Hima walked around the sofa. "Mom, I'm home."
"Welcome back." Misae poked her head out from the kitchen. "How was school today?"
"In practical class, I hit the center of the target three times in a row. Teacher said I'm very talented."
"Of course." Shin-chan spoke as though it were only natural. "You're my little sister."
"What does that have to do with you?" Hima rolled her eyes at him.
"A lot." Shin-chan rolled over and lay on his stomach. "My superior genes spread through the air, and you breathed them in."
"Genes don't spread through the air." Hima picked up an orange from the coffee table and began peeling it.
"Hima." Shin-chan suddenly leaned closer. "Give me half of that orange."
"No. Peel your own."
"My hands are sore."
"You've been lying down all day. Why would your hands be sore?"
"Breathing through my skin consumed a massive amount of chakra from my hands."
"No." Hima stuffed the entire orange into her mouth.
"You're so cruel. You're actually leaving your own brother to die."
"You're not dying."
"I'm close. If I don't eat an orange within three minutes, I'll die."
"Then we'll talk about it in three minutes."
When Misae brought the stew out of the kitchen, she saw Shin-chan wriggling across the sofa like a caterpillar while chanting, "Orange, orange, orange."
Hima sat at the other end holding a ninja academy textbook, pretending she couldn't hear anything.
"Alright, wash your hands and get ready to eat." Misae placed the stew on the dining table. "Your father will be home soon."
As soon as she finished speaking, the front door opened.
Nohara Hiroshi kicked off his shoes and walked into the living room while loosening his collar.
He looked as if mountains of paperwork had completely drained the life out of him.
Misae served Hiroshi a bowl of rice. "Was the Hokage Building busy today? You look exhausted."
"I heard some news at the office today." Hiroshi picked up his chopsticks. "The Third Kazekage of Sunagakure has disappeared."
Hima asked, "How could he disappear? Ninja don't get lost."
"Ninja do get lost." Shin-chan immediately raised his hand. "Like during that mission to gather medicinal herbs on the mountain. I followed the map exactly, but somehow ended up at a ramen shop."
"That was because you were holding the map upside down," Hima said expressionlessly.
"What difference does it make whether you hold a map upright or upside down? It's still paper."
"It makes a huge difference. Holding it upside down only takes you to a ramen shop."
"But that shop's tonkotsu ramen was super delicious." Shin-chan's mouth nearly began watering as he spoke.
"Eat your dinner and stop talking." Misae pushed the food closer to him, then looked at Hiroshi. "Isn't the Kazekage supposed to be extremely powerful?"
"That's what makes it so frightening. Sunagakure is already in complete chaos."
"Maybe he just wanted a vacation." Shin-chan stuffed a large mouthful of stew into his mouth.
The dining table fell silent for a moment.
"Think about it." Shin-chan gestured with his chopsticks. "He has to sit in an office stamping documents every day, listen to old men hold meetings, and he can't even secretly eat snacks. If it were me, I'd want to run away too."
Hima disagreed. "You're not the Kazekage."
"This is my understanding of adults." Shin-chan looked at Hiroshi. "Right, Dad? Don't you often want to escape from the Hokage Building too?"
Hiroshi opened his mouth.
Surprisingly, he did not deny it immediately.