Chapter 19 - A Wayward Child's Unexpected Bath
Spring had arrived, and the gentle breeze had carried away the last of winter's chill.
Seeds were sprouting from the soil, and the frozen river had begun to flow once more.
Naruto stood at the river's edge, staring at the still-cold water that had only recently thawed — with very obvious fear on his face.
"Don't worry, Naruto! Go for it bravely!"
Hashirama's encouraging voice drifted through from the sealed space.
"Will I... freeze to death?"
Naruto's voice trembled slightly as he pulled off his glove and dipped one finger into the water.
Ow. That's basically ice.
"Don't worry at all! You'll be perfectly fine!"
"This training method was developed by my younger brother who is only slightly less brilliant than his older brother, of course."
That was true.
This training had been developed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, specifically for Ninja Academy students.
It came in two stages — basic tree climbing, and the more advanced water-walking training.
However, the version Hashirama knew only included water-walking. Tobirama had added the beginner tree-climbing stage later — and had deliberately never mentioned it to his older brother.
Tobirama: It's better if my idiot older brother doesn't know about this. I'd rather not have him ruin a promising student.
And so, from his very first day of training, Naruto was thrown straight into the advanced version.
Naruto swallowed hard and gently placed one foot on the surface of the water.
Splash.
His foot went straight through.
"Sensei... how long did it take you to learn this back then?"
Naruto pulled his foot out and looked up toward the sealed space.
"Me? Let me think..."
"Hmm... hmm... I believe it only took me about two days."
"You can do it, Naruto! I believe in your potential!"
Two days?
That actually sounds pretty manageable, Naruto thought.
What Hashirama had quietly forgotten to mention was that he had begun water-walking training as a teenager — not as a child who hadn't yet turned four.
And then Naruto fell into the river.
Kurama watched in silence.
"It's FREEZING!"
The cold river water soaked through Naruto's clothes and clung to his skin like ice.
The ANBU members stationed in the trees nearby spotted him immediately and rushed over to pull him out.
"What exactly do you think you're doing?!"
Yugao was not pleased.
Children this age were supposed to be at home, playing with friends — not performing unannounced diving exercises for undercover operatives.
"Ah, Big Sis! I'm practicing how to walk on water!"
Yugao stared at Naruto — who barely came up to her waist — and then at the river, which was deep enough to reach his neck.
She was, for a moment, genuinely speechless.
"Who taught you about this kind of training?"
"I saw a ninja uncle standing on the water and fishing one day, so I wanted to try it myself!"
Naruto hugged himself tightly against the cold.
*He really should have listened to Kurama. He should never have come to this awful place.*
"Alright, let's get you to a bath first. I'll have someone bring dry clothes from your apartment."
The face behind Yugao's cat mask was thoroughly done with today.
*Which ninja would be out here fishing in a mountain river in the middle of the day?*
...Actually, wait. There is one white-haired guy who's suspiciously fond of grilled fish.
Never mind. Bath first.
Yugao didn't stop to worry about the river water dripping off Naruto. She picked him up and headed straight for the bathhouse.
"Hmm. Soft."
That was Naruto's assessment of being carried.
Yugao, mid-stride, reached up and tapped him firmly on the wet head with one finger.
"Don't. Move."
That did it. Naruto went still immediately.
They arrived at the bathhouse shortly after.
"Welcome, ANBU — oh, is that...?"
The bathhouse owner recognized the small figure in Yugao's arms. Wasn't that the boy the whole village had been talking about?
From the look of him, he'd fallen into the water somewhere.
A three-year-old Jinchuriki accidentally fell into a river. What a world.
"Oh! Isn't that Yu— the ANBU?"
A man with a bowl-cut hairstyle and an extremely green jumpsuit had spotted them from across the room. He'd nearly said Yugao's name out loud, but caught himself when he saw the mask and uniform.
It was Might Guy.
"Guy! Perfect timing. Could you take this child for a bath?"
Yugao had been quietly debating whether to bring Naruto into the women's side herself. Guy's arrival solved that problem neatly.
"OH HO HO! Water training — in early spring — at this age?!"
Guy's eyes were already glistening.
"THAT! IS THE POWER OF YOUTH!"
"Leave it to me! Consider it done!"
He wiped away the tears threatening to spill down his face, struck a thumbs-up pose, and flashed his most blinding smile.
Naruto: My youth hasn't even started yet. I'm literally still a toddler.
Yugao watched Guy's spontaneous emotional climax with her lips pressed flat beneath her mask, then held Naruto out toward him.
"Naruto, go take a bath with this uncle, okay?"
Naruto opened his eyes — and immediately recoiled.
"AAAAH! A KAPPA!!!"
Might Guy's smile froze solid on his face.
Then he scooped the soaking wet Naruto up under his arm anyway.
"What wonderful spirit! But Uncle is NOT a kappa!"
"Uncle is the Sublime Green Beast of Konoha — Might Guy!"
Naruto, tucked firmly under Guy's arm, squirmed with everything he had.
That's... genuinely impressive strength,Guy thought, feeling it. *Easily thirty percent of a grown ninja's output. From a child this size.
He could only shake his head in quiet admiration. A Jinchuriki really was something else.
"No — let me go — I want to take a bath with Big Sis—!"
Naruto said this without thinking.
Yugao, who had been watching with quiet amusement, went very still behind him.
"...Naruto."
Her voice came from directly behind his head, low and calm.
"What did you just say you wanted to do?"
*!!*
*She's still HERE?!*
"A— apchoo!"
Naruto faked a sneeze with full commitment, then grabbed Guy's hand and dragged him toward the men's entrance at top speed.
"Hey — you haven't paid yet!"
The bathhouse owner, who had been standing quietly to the side this entire time, finally spoke up. He wasn't going to just watch two people walk in without paying.
"Here."
Yugao produced a 100-ryo note from inside her uniform and handed it over without breaking stride.
"Oh ho ho! So generous! Please, go right ahead, take your time!"
The men's bath charged 20 ryo per visit. With the place empty at noon, business had been slow.
But this composed, elegant ANBU operative had just single-handedly met the entire midday revenue target in one transaction.
How had the owner known she came from money, given the mask?
Simple. You can just tell. Some people carry themselves a certain way.
Even a rough stone shines brightest when it's the only one in the room.
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End of Chapter...