That evening, after finishing his day's work, Hiruzen Sarutobi did not head straight home as usual but instead made his way to Ichiraku Boulevard.
On the way, he noticed a young Uchiha boy named Obito carrying a training dummy, limping as he passed by. With a glance, he saw that the dummy resembled Kakashi and was heavily damaged in certain areas...
(ー`ー)
What exactly has this child done to that dummy? Hiruzen shook his head, deciding not to delve into it and continued on his way.
After greeting several passersby who recognised him, he turned into an alley. Moments later, a plain-looking young man emerged from the alley, bearing a slight resemblance to a young Third Hokage.
Clearly, this was Hiruzen Sarutobi using the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself.
His curiosity piqued by his inability to see inside the bar with his crystal ball a few days ago, Hiruzen decided to visit the Shinobi Tavern himself to see what the younger generation was up to.
Considering his status as Hokage might make others uncomfortable, he decided to disguise himself.
Soon, he arrived at the bar's entrance. Even before entering, he could hear the lively atmosphere inside, indicating good business.
Is this the Shinobi Tavern? Is the Shinobi card game really that fun? With this question in mind, Hiruzen pushed the door open.
The scene inside almost made him draw a kunai.
The place was dark and smoky, decorated with many eerie pumpkin lanterns, creating a spooky atmosphere. He even saw a semi-transparent creature floating by and winking at him!
The patrons were either wearing hoods and masks or sporting bizarre, colourful hairstyles, all looking quite dubious.
The scene reminded Hiruzen of a past mission to destroy a cult's altar, which looked very similar to this...
So, is this a bar or a den of evil? But seeing everyone casually drinking and playing cards, Hiruzen realised it was indeed a bar and managed to suppress his impulse to destroy the place with a Five Element Grand Bullet Technique.
This made Hiruzen wonder if he needed to be in touch with the times. Do the young people really like this kind of setting now?
"Hey there, first time here? Don't be scared; it's just the boss' Halloween theme decor. We're all just regular folks."
As Hiruzen stood hesitantly at the door, a man with a multicoloured, spiky hairstyle and a chin like a chisel approached him, smoking a thin cigarette.
He didn't look like a regular person at all.
Hiruzen frowned. For aesthetic reasons, this guy's Transformation jutsu could have been better and more balanced, to the point of being counterproductive.
If this guy were a Konoha ninja, Hiruzen would have to reconsider the quality of the Academy's teachings. He also wanted to meet this guy's parents and see how they raised him.
Seeing Hiruzen's lack of response, the man didn't mind and continued with a smile: "I'm Dongba. Want me to show you how to play the Shinobi Card Game?"
Hiruzen's frown deepened.
No good deed goes unpunished, huh? This guy must have some ulterior motive.
Dongba, seemingly used to the suspicion of new customers, called over a waiter to vouch for him.
The waiter explained with a smile: "This bar is running a 'Newcomer Guide' event. Anyone who guides a new player through the tutorial mode of the Shinobi Card Game gets a special 'Guide Pack.' That's what Mr. Dongba is after."
"All this for a card pack?"
Hiruzen looked at Dongba in surprise, not expecting someone to spend so much time on such a thing.
I really want to meet his parents.
The mention of the card pack also piqued Hiruzen's interest. Does this game have various types of packs?
Hiruzen pondered this, then pulled out a copy of "Sasuke's Fierce Biography" from his pocket and asked: "Can I exchange this book for a card pack?"
Dongba's eyes lit up: "Oh, you're a fan of Sarutobi Sasuke, too? Me too!"
Hiruzen's expression softened slightly, appreciating Dongba's good taste.
But then he glanced at Dongba's colourful hair and chiselled face, falling into deep thought...
Fortunately, the waiter's response brought him back:
"Yes, sir. Just create an account and scan the code on the last page of the book with the machine to get a Sarutobi Sasuke-themed pack."
Hiruzen glanced at the players interacting with their game interfaces or commanding miniatures on the tables. It looked complex.
So he decided to give this strangely-styled Dongba a chance to show him how to play the game.
Dongba was overjoyed, rubbing his hands together and leading Hiruzen further into the bar.
As they walked, Dongba fished something out of his pocket and offered it to Hiruzen: "Want one?"
Hiruzen, who usually smoked a pipe, decided to go with the flow and nodded.
Dongba handed him a lollipop.
Then he said: "The boss taught me this. If you lick it fast enough, the end will smoke, making it look like you're smoking a cigarette. It's healthy and cool."
""..."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, holding the lollipop, fell into contemplation again...
In the end, he felt a bit envious.
Such a skill could only be matched by someone from the Kato clan.
So, the two of them, each with a lollipop in their mouths, arrived at an unoccupied "Kigin" machine.
Sarutobi Hiruzen pointed at the unoccupied machine on the bar's central platform and said, "That should be a 'Kigin' machine, too. Why don't we go there to play?"
East Baa, looking speechless, replied, "I wish we could, but only the top ten players on the leaderboard are qualified to use that duel platform. It's not a place for people like us."
"What's the leaderboard?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bit lost, with unfamiliar terms popping up one after another.
"The leaderboard is too far off for newbies, brother. You should start with the tutorial mode to learn how to play the game," Dongba dismissed him.
Hearing this, Sarutobi Hiruzen thought it made sense. He sat down at the machine in front of him and, under Dongba's guidance, injected chakra into the machine and created an account.
Even though he hadn't started playing yet, just interacting with the projected game interface made Sarutobi Hiruzen, a master of ninjutsu, sense the extraordinary nature of this "Kigin" machine.
At the very least, he prided himself on his knowledge of sealing jutsus, but he had no idea how this machine worked.
Although he tried to use chakra threads to investigate the machine's internals secretly, he was soon blocked by a sealing array and had to give up.
However, from the dense rune circuits around the edges, he could tell that the machine's design philosophy was markedly different from typical sealing arrays.
It seemed to focus on quantity over quality, using various combinations of numerous simple, basic rune techniques to achieve highly complex functions.
This required the designer to have an excellent foundation and confidence in their accuracy to create such a novel design.
Thus, Sarutobi Hiruzen's evaluation of Natsuhiko's sealing jutsu skills rose a notch, marvelling at the talent of the younger generation.
But he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity with the sealing array, similar to the ones used in public baths recently...
After creating the account, the interface moved on to the card selection screen.
[Senju Hashirama Deck] [Uchiha Madara Deck] [Sarutobi Sasuke Deck]
Seeing his father's name listed alongside those two, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a bit embarrassed.
Fortunately, his many years as Hokage had given him a thick skin, so he didn't show it.
When it came to choosing a deck, he naturally didn't hesitate to support his father.
Next, under Dongba's guidance, he scanned the code on the last page of "The Tale of Sasuke" to claim his gift pack.
When he opened the pack, a purple light exploded from it.
"Wow, a purple epic!"
"Brother, you're lucky, pulling an epic card [King of Apes, Enma]."
Dongba, looking envious, explained the differences in card rarity to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
When he learned that this epic card could sell for at least a few thousand Ryo, Sarutobi Hiruzen was astonished.
But that was just a tiny amount. Dongba cryptically revealed that not long ago, Uchiha Fugaku bought a legendary variant of the Uchiha Madara card for two million Ryo.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt his worldview being rewritten.
Such extravagance!
That could fund two S-rank missions!
He wondered how Uchiha Fusan would react if he knew...
At least his two sons weren't this wasteful.
Hmm... but Asuma also played this game often at school. He'd have to keep an eye on that.
Although Sarutobi Hiruzen wasn't interested in spending money on virtual cards, knowing his card could be sold for cash made Him quite happy.
Thinking of the many samples of "The Tale of Sasuke" he had, he turned to Dongba and asked, "Is there a limit on exchanging for card packs?"
Dongba replied, "Of course not, but each book can only be exchanged once. How many do you have, brother?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll take out two more."
He took out two more copies of "The Tale of Sasuke" and scanned them, exchanging them for card packs.
Dongba, watching, felt a pang of jealousy, thinking this must be a rich man who buys books in threes: one for collecting, one for viewing, and one for spreading.
Poor him, scraping by, guiding new players to earn card packs.
After exchanging the packs, Sarutobi Hiruzen opened them immediately.
But this time, he got only blue skies and white clouds, leaving him a bit disappointed.
It was challenging to pull good cards.
But he didn't mind, as it was just a game. Besides, his job as Hokage kept him busy, so he probably wouldn't return after that.
So, Sarutobi Hiruzen, under Dongba's guidance, officially entered the tutorial mode.
Like most players, he wanted to scoff at the game's default "when in doubt, play cards" plot.
But the story of the boy named Kinoshita Toukichiro deeply captivated him.
Though the characters were fictional, they had a peculiar sense of realism.
One couldn't help but get emotionally invested in the fate of the characters.
Especially the line, "Monkey, bring me the straw sandals."
It struck a familiar chord with Sarutobi Hiruzen.
That Oda Nobunaga seemed to combine the forthrightness of the First Hokage and the wisdom of the Second Hokage.
This brought back many almost-forgotten memories, making him feel nostalgic.
And because of Donba's reminders, he replaced the useless cards in his deck with the ones he had just drawn before starting the tutorial, significantly boosting his deck's power. He breezed through the tutorial mode, clearing stages quickly.
He saw Toukichiro, once insignificant, eventually becoming the ruler of a nation, fulfilling his great ambition.
Sarutobi Hiruzen felt a rush of mixed emotions.
Significantly, when the image faded, a soft voice echoed, "Monkey, bring me the straw sandals."
And the young Toukichiro's flustered response made it feel like time had returned to the beginning...
Though only an hour had passed, Sarutobi Hiruzen felt as if it had been a lifetime, his nose tingling.
Dongba, beside him, felt the same. Though he had seen this story many times while guiding others, it never got old.
"Brother, you got lucky."
"In the past, there was a challenging Demon King Nobunaga stage that no one could pass so that they couldn't see the ending."
"Due to many complaints, the bar owner moved it to an extra solo mode, allowing us to see the story's end."
"If you're interested in the story, brother, you can check out the solo mode. It has some side plots and stories with other protagonists."
"Demon King Nobunaga, huh? I'll remember that."
Sarutobi Hiruzen, still engrossed in the story, grew interested upon hearing this.
But then Dongba said, "Since you finished the tutorial, brother, could you come to the bar with me to help me claim my guide pack?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed readily and followed Dongba to the bar, where he proved that East Baa had dutifully guided him.
The server handed Dongba a card with a code like the one on his book, presumably for the guide pack.
Seeing Dongba's joy, Sarutobi Hiruzen couldn't help but shake his head.
Then Dongba eagerly redeemed and opened the pack at a nearby machine.
Curious, Sarutobi Hiruzen leaned over:
Wow, blue skies and white clouds.
But Dongba seemed used to it, quickly regaining his composure after a brief twitch.
Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled and was about to find another machine to see how tough Demon King Nobunaga was.
Then he heard Dongba say,
"By the way, brother, you haven't played the versus mode yet. How about we play a few rounds?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen, grateful for Dongba's help, agreed to the duel invitation without hesitation.
The two headed to an empty machine.
However, walking ahead, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't notice the sinister smile on
Dongba's face behind him...
(End of the chapter)
I am back after a short break, as my laptop was completely fucked up. I did not get any support on my Patreon, so I did some minor fixes to my device, and here I am. The fiction will be updated on a regular basis now.
Chapters 128-125 are up on my Patreon.
Chapter 105 is free on my Patreon.
pat reon.com/ReidAstrea