Chapter 78: The Bond of Red Hair
In Hiiro Rinko's habits, rainy days and reading had always been a best match.
In his past life, whenever a heavy rainstorm hit, he would lazily flip the sign to "Closed," then curl up in a reclining chair with a book and a pot of whatever drink was handy to kill the entire day.
It was his favorite pastime outside of research.
Unfortunately, after coming to the Land of Wind, it was hard to experience that leisurely atmosphere.
The Land of Rain had rain almost every day, and with his Split-Thinking ability, he would have been happy to sit there and read all day. But that life would be a bit too decadent, and his current circumstances didn't support it.
Neither the previous war nor his current solo search for the user of the Spirit Transformation Technique allowed for a leisurely life.
In fact, in the nearly two weeks since Rinko disengaged from the front lines, this was the first time he had encountered such heavy rain. That was why he interrupted his travel and search, quietly sitting in this cave to seriously flip through the booklet recording the 'Nara Secret Techniques' that Chiyo had given him.
After all, acting alone meant he couldn't carry much experimental equipment. A project like this, which didn't require much auxiliary gear to attempt, was perfect for killing time.
Because the records were obtained through interrogation and memory extraction, the booklet was full of fragmented, disjointed theories.
The only thing worth celebrating was that, flipping through it occasionally while traveling, he hadn't found any contradictory content yet. Even if scattered, he could still see a consistent line of thought.
However, piecing it together into a usable "Secret Technique" would definitely take a good amount of time.
Rinko was full of interest in this.
The shadow is the residence of the soul.
This statement sounds subtle at first. In his previous life, similar theories were countless. Things like "blood is the currency of the soul" or "the heart is the dwelling of the soul."
After the wheel was invented, some claimed the world was a wheel. After the book was invented, some claimed the world was a book. After the computer was invented, some claimed the world was a computer. It felt a bit like "jumping on the bandwagon"—a bit like that Miwa-chan.
But unlike theories popularized by vampire literature, or the idle, sentimental chatter of young men and women, the idea that the shadow houses something is a point worth discussing.
As an extension of darkness—humanity's oldest and most basic fear—shadows naturally provide infinite room for imagination.
In the Jujutsu World, it was generally believed that dark places were suitable for the accumulation of curses.
Many Cursed Spirits and anomalies often manifested as shadows before their true forms were revealed. As for other mystical systems, literature, and fantasy works, shadows were almost never absent.
Of course, the thing most associated with shadows in the Jujutsu World was one of the Zenin Clan's inherited techniques: the Ten Shadows Technique.
Summoning corresponding shikigami using hand shadows and storing items in shadows—Rinko had been quite envious of that move back then, mostly for the latter effect.
But now, with storage scrolls as a substitute, he didn't care as much.
Although they both utilized shadows, the difference between the Nara Clan's shadow techniques and the Ten Shadows Technique was quite obvious.
From a modern scientific perspective, a shadow is a dark area formed when light is blocked by an opaque object. The area illuminated by light is depressed due to light pressure and material hardness, making the shadow part appear to 'protrude' in thickness.
However, a shadow itself is not a substance but an optical effect. Therefore, in the traditional sense, a shadow is considered a 'phenomenon' without thickness.
As an extension of Yin Release, the Shadow Secret Technique is the technology of giving 'substance' to this 'phenomenon' of one's own or another's shadow and manipulating it.
Creatively speaking, the ancestors of the Nara Clan were truly imaginative and pioneering people. But having said that, simply manipulating shadows wasn't very meaningful for Rinko, who already possessed Ether Lines.
After all, the Nara shadow techniques were clan secrets created based on their own constitution. Naturally, they wouldn't consider universality or development directions beyond their own capabilities. But Rinko was far superior to the Nara Clan in Yin Release adaptability and output rate, so he planned to try something new.
He wanted to reference the logic of the Ten Shadows Technique and turn the shadow into a conscious 'beast.' Not summoning a shikigami, but something in between—a type that could be manipulated by him or allowed to act freely.
Rinko had reflected on whether his obsession with 'automation' was too deep because he was always too busy, but since it wasn't a decisive flaw, he didn't plan to change it.
If anything, it was this obsession that allowed him to advance by leaps and bounds in many fields he was touching for the first time.
To be honest, while the application logic of this move was built on the Ten Shadows and Nara techniques, the source of inspiration was actually 'Rashomon.'
The ability from Ryūnosuke Akutagawa in Bungo Stray Dogs—turning clothes into a shape-shifting black beast capable of cutting through everything, including space.
Rinko was indeed impressed by this, not just by Rashomon's versatility, but also by the convoluted relationship setting in that manga where 'Akutagawa admires Dazai.'
As mentioned before, likely out of a rebellious psychology, he really disliked the works of the Burai-ha (Decadent School) writers.
Even if pathological and twisted, one must hold their head high. Even if gums bleed from clenching, one must grit their teeth and keep walking. He didn't care about society, the circumstances of others, or social trends. He had no mind to attack anything, nor time to reflect.
But if he read those books now, he might have some new understandings.
While trying to infuse pure Yin Release Chakra into his shadow and making corrections in his notes, Rinko thought this, while another part of his mind locked onto three figures approaching the cave in the distance.
No Chakra, weak life energy... war orphans?
Using water as a medium, Rinko's sensory abilities could be extended considerably. Even without closing his eyes to fully focus on the Mind's Eye of Kagura, he could distinguish this level of information.
Thinking of the tragic plight of war orphans, Rinko considered sending these three children away from this world that was too harsh for them. But recalling his own experiences when he first arrived in this world, and Sasori who was still waiting for his family to return in Suna, he lowered his raised hand.
Forget it. Let it be...
"Come in, brats. If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't even have had the chance to discover me."
Sighing in his heart, Rinko called out to them.
"Um... are you... a ninja too...?"
After a long silence—actually not that long, in Rinko's perspective, about the time it took to read five pages of notes—Yahiko pursed his lips, gathered the courage he had been brewing for a long time, and asked.
"Mhm."
Rinko, still immersed in the notes of the Nara Clan's techniques, only responded with a low hum. But despite that, he had actually been observing the three children through his 'shadow.'
Reverse-engineering the complete Nara techniques in less than two weeks with just that "secret manual" was undoubtedly a fantasy, but he didn't plan to learn that exact thing anyway. It didn't stop him from absorbing the concepts for a 'derivative work.'
Filtering out the negative components of Yin Release Chakra with the purer negative power of Cursed Energy, then injecting pure Yin Release Chakra into the shadow to breed a 'consciousness' connected to him but relatively independent, giving the shadow limited substantiation.
This was Rinko's current research result.
He couldn't freely manipulate it like the Shadow Secret Technique yet, but it was enough as an extension of his senses. However, the hazy 'consciousness' bred in the shadow, although inclined toward inertia due to the pure Yin Release Chakra, would occasionally stretch unconsciously, causing Rinko's shadow to pulse.
Through the shadow, Rinko could clearly see the three children huddled together in constraint, and the orange-haired one gathering courage to talk to him.
Red hair... quiet and well-behaved, looks a lot like Sasori.
Grrrr~
But just as Yahiko wanted to say something more, his stomach growled uncooperatively.
They hadn't had a proper meal for a long time, and with the cold from the rain, the three were starving. Not just Yahiko; Nagato and Konan in the corner also awkwardly covered their stomachs, trying to muffle the sound.
Interrupted like this, the momentum Yahiko had worked so hard to build instantly deflated.
The Legend of Courage in the Land of Rain, officially ended!
Even though Rinko was younger than many ninja he had seen, Yahiko could sense a strong strangeness from him. It was like standing in a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, making it hard to speak.
"Eat."
Rinko looked up, glanced at the awkward Yahiko, then at the shrinking Nagato and Konan. He clicked his tongue in boredom, threw the notebook back into the scroll, and casually took out a few blocks of compressed rations and a water canteen, tossing them to Yahiko's feet.
"Can't guarantee the taste, and it's dry as hell, but it does a good job of filling stomachs."
"...Thank you."
Completely unexpected reaction. Yahiko was stunned for a moment, then bowed deeply to him before picking up the food and water, running back to share with Nagato and Konan.
"He's cold, but maybe he's a good person."
The three children gnawed on the rock-hard compressed biscuits like three hamsters, eating the bland rations with the gusto of a royal feast.
Having lost interest in reading, Rinko propped his chin on his hand, quietly observing them, thinking that if he hadn't been found by Chiyo and brought back to Sunagakure, his first few years in this world might have been like theirs.
Oh, there would be a slight difference. He could have gone to another town and found a blacksmith shop to be an apprentice.
Red-haired people should forge iron; it's a rule handed down from the ancestors.
Kunio Yanagita, the founder of Japanese folklore studies, proposed a very important concept in Japanese folklore about fifty or sixty years ago—the Yama-bito (Mountain People).
He believed that the recorded 'Yama-bito' were not the yōkai in people's perception, but another race, the ancient indigenous people of Japan living in the deep mountains. However, their civilization had gradually declined and was driven to extinction by the dominant ethnic group in history.
Yanagita divided the history of the Yama-bito into five eras: the Era of Country Gods from the mythical period to the capital relocation to Yamashiro; the Era of Demons from Heian to Kamakura; the Era of Mountain Gods from Kamakura to Edo; the Era of Apes from Edo to Meiji; and the modern era after Meiji.
From an indigenous people hostile to the Yamato people at the beginning, the Yama-bito retreated step by step into the mountains to hide their traces. The Japanese initially called their chiefs 'Ara-gami' (Violent Gods) or 'Evil Gods,' then changed to demons and monsters, and finally, they were seen as less than baboons.
This concept is built precisely on the evolution of this country's mythology.
Izumo Province was famous for ironworking for a long time, and three major powers once existed there.
The eastern Izumo-no-Omi clan, the western Tsukushi clan as the origin of the Inaba myth, and the Susa clan originating from Susa village.
The description of Japan's most famous monster, the Ara-gami Yamata no Orochi, includes blood oozing from its belly, which is the image of red Iron Sand.
Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi—in some versions of the myth, it is Okuninushi who slays it, but in mainstream legends, Okuninushi is Susanoo's descendant. Origin-wise, the symbolism of the two is no different; essentially, it is the encroachment of the Susa clan upon the tribe with the primitive Snake God faith.
Susanoo discovering the Kusanagi Sword (Sword of the Gathering Clouds of Heaven) in Orochi's tail probably implies the annexation of a certain tribe to obtain iron sand and iron smelting technology.
However, later, the Izumo region was annexed by the Yamato people, so in subsequent myths, Susanoo became the exiled younger brother of Amaterasu.
The myth of Okuninushi ceding the land is actually no different in essence from Susanoo slaying Yamata no Orochi; both are products of one ethnic group annexing another and carrying out cultural transformation.
This is a terrible food chain.
Primitive faith's Mountain God/Snake God -> Ethnicities and cultures like the Yama-bito disappearing in the river of history.
Then Susanoo, Okuninushi -> The Susa Clan.
Finally, the Amatsukami -> The Yamato people who took over everything.
Snake God and Mountain God beliefs, Onis, various mountain monsters... this is also the process of the legends and beliefs of the Yama-bito being gradually demonized.
The 'Red-Haired Oni' circulating in Japanese folklore, and the saying that Onis are born as the children of the Snake God, are also based on the fact that Izumo was famous for iron smelting for a long time, and iron sand is red.
However, amidst this, the Tengu being surprisingly accepted as a mountain faith is another story.
In short, Kunio Yanagita once believed that the Japanese drove the Yama-bito to near extinction, making them sworn enemies.
However, after a few years of research, his attitude towards the opposition between Yama-bito and plains people gradually softened. Although he insisted that the legends of Yama-bito were not yōkai but real humans, he largely admitted the extinction of the Yama-bito.
Yanagita believed there were many reasons for the extinction of the Yama-bito. Aside from being conquered, annexed, and exterminated, most of it was because the Yama-bito gradually mixed into the plains people, and the environment for their unique culture ceased to exist, gradually assimilating with the Japanese.
Hiiro Rinko's research into folklore wasn't deep, but he had benefited from this karma in his past life.
Precisely because he also had blazing red hair in his past life, he was able to learn quite a bit of Shugendō and Feng Shui knowledge from the genuine, pure Yama-bito who survived as 'Yamabushi' (mountain ascetics) practicing Shugendō in the mountains for generations.
Later on, they would even occasionally send him ores from different regions.
Reviving in the Naruto world in the body of a red-haired child from a blacksmith family, with an adoptive father, brother, and nephew who were all redheads... this fact made it hard for Rinko not to feel nostalgic about this karma, and thus feel some compassion for this small group before him that included a red-haired child.
"Red-haired brat, come here."
Being called, Nagato was stunned at first, clearly not expecting this. He looked down at the nearly finished rations in his hand, then at his companions beside him, took a deep breath, and walked over with the air of someone marching to their death.
Then, after a few steps, he couldn't hold that momentum anymore and reverted to his timid and dejected look.
"U-um..."
Mhm... there's still a bit of difference...
Ignoring Nagato's stammering, Rinko just reached out and rubbed Nagato's hair, sighing with a slightly complicated tone.
Because of the campfire, he had slightly misjudged the child's hair color.
Sensing the uneasy gazes of the three children, Rinko patted Nagato's shoulder gently and explained, "My nephew also has red hair. But his hair color is brighter; yours is actually more similar to mine."
"Were your parents from the Uzumaki Clan?"