Kiden.
Neither a name nor a single person.
It is a bond, a secret association built long ago to protect the great nation of Inoku the biggest nation ever known by its people.
Inside this nation are four great towns, many hidden villages, and clans buried beneath the roots of the mountains.
They all exist to protect one thing the mysterious energy known as Ki.
People who are born with this power are gathered, trained, and shaped like ninja.
They are called Kiden those who live without emotion, without freedom, without smiles.
Their purpose is clear: to eliminate anyone who breaks the laws of Ki.
Since the war, anyone who possesses this power must live under the command of the four strongest leaders
the Yon-Kage, known across Inoku as the Shadows of Inoku.
The next morning after the snow battle, Yakosobi Uma woke again.
He lived far from the village, in a small wooden house hidden deep in the forest.
Once a Kiden himself, he now lived alone, an associate of no one.
His current job a teacher for children born with Ki.
He was meant to guide them, teach them control.
But since no mother in the village wanted her child to walk the path of the Kiden, he had almost no students.
The people of Ikinoku feared the Kiden feared them, yet trusted them too.
And so Yakosobi, a man with no one to teach, worked instead as a woodcutter, supplying firewood to the small mountain village of Ikinoku
a place hidden by bamboo, snow, and fog.
Ikinoku was known for its mountains and riversides, a place where travelers came to breathe and forget their pain.
Though it was one of the smallest villages in Inoku, it was always filled with life always busy.
Yakosobi had forgotten about the girl he saved the night before.
He woke up, carried his axe and basket, and walked again into the cold forest.
The snow bit his skin. His scarf pressed tight against his neck as he dragged his boots through the frost.
He tried to remember her face the girl with the white hair that shimmered like diamond
but the more he tried, the more her image disappeared from his mind.
Until
He saw it.
A hand buried in the snow.
Hair glowing faintly under the pale morning sun.
Without thinking, he dropped his basket and rushed forward, digging through the snow.
There she was again the same girl, her body cold, her chains still wrapped around her leg and neck.
"Why didn't you run away?" he whispered. "Don't you have a home…?"
He realized then she was a slave, a runaway from somewhere far beyond the mountain.
He lifted her onto his back and carried her through the woods, forgetting his purpose, forgetting the firewood he came to gather.
He brought her straight to his small home.
He laid her down gently on a mat, placed a small stove beside her to keep her warm.
It felt strange for him a man of twenty-five to care for a young woman.
She looked so young… maybe eighteen, nineteen. Still a child.
But if he didn't help her, she would die in the snow.
He sighed quietly and changed her clothes into dry ones.
He left her food near the stove, then went outside to burn the frozen rags she had worn.
He realized he'd forgotten his basket in the snow, so he returned to search for it.
By the time he came back, the girl was still asleep.
He left again, walking to the village for lunch.
When she awoke, the girl stared in confusion.
She was in a stranger's house warm, safe, and alive.
Her chains were gone, her clothes replaced.
She didn't want to think about who had saved her or why.
She ate the food quietly, then left the house without hesitation.
She had no plan only the desire to leave before she could be found again.
She walked barefoot into the snow, through the forest, until the trees parted and the village appeared.
People stopped and stared.
A strange woman, in a man's yukata, white hair shining like crystal.
They whispered: "A slave… a thief… a ghost…"
Fear spread quickly.
At the same time, Yakosobi had just finished his meal when he heard the commotion.
"Someone strange in the village!"
"A runaway!"
"She's barefoot her hair… white as snow!"
He froze.
He knew it was her.
He ran back toward the sound of the crowd.
There, surrounded by villagers and guards, she stood trembling.
The village Kiden were already closing in, ready to take her away.
Without a word, Yakosobi stepped into the circle, grabbed her hand, and pulled her out.
The villagers fell silent.
They all recognized him.
A former Kiden.
A man of no laughter and no fear.
No one dared question him.
He led her back into the forest, back to his quiet home hidden among the trees.
Inside, he finally spoke.
"Do you understand where you are?" he said quietly.
"This village does not welcome strangers.
And your hair… no one has ever seen such a thing before.
You walked straight into Ikinoku what do you expect people to think?"
The girl stayed silent. The firelight flickered between them.
Outside, the snow continued to fall soft, endless, and white like the hair of the girl who changed Yakosobi's fate forever.