Maki wandered through the woods with Kiko and Naori.
She said she wanted to hang out with Naori, but clearly had no idea where they were going.
Naori suggested several places—snack bars, shopping streets, parks, even Hokage Rock—but Maki rejected them all.
They were all popular spots for kids in the village.
The snack bar was a given—who didn't like sweets? The shopping street had clothes and toys. Even Naori, who liked shiny trinkets and pretty outfits, had an obvious motive: dragging Maki along for fun.
As for the park, it only had swings, seesaws, parallel bars, and piles of sand. During the day, it was packed with boys playing ninja games, and they wouldn't leave until dinner.
Hokage Rock was the most famous spot. Kids loved pretending to be Hokage while gazing out over the village. The view was breathtaking.
But the hike was long and exhausting. Most kids only went once.
Still, when it came to scenery, Maki thought Konoha was most beautiful in the winter.
A world covered in silver-white snow… serene, silent, pure.
She thought the hot springs district would've been a perfect destination. A warm dip in the winter chill sounded like bliss.
"Here," Maki said at last, handing something to Naori.
Naori had been watching Maki's hands with her Sharingan open, curious about what she was doing.
She hadn't expected this.
A simple little trick—woven grasshoppers, made from straw.
Maki handed another one to Kiko. She took it without hesitation… and promptly popped it into her mouth.
Maki stared at the twitching grasshopper legs poking out from Kiko's insect mask.
Naori, meanwhile, waved her grasshopper happily and asked, "So? Where are we going now? Hunting beasts in the forest?"
"There shouldn't be any around here," Maki said, walking ahead.
"Huh? But isn't this a forest? Shouldn't there be lots of wild animals?"
"Beasts have territories. They mark them by scent. Within a certain range, no others show up."
In this area, the most dangerous beast was the one currently chewing on a grasshopper.
Kiko, the "bug girl," had claimed Maki's lab as her nest. Maki had basically designated the surrounding forest as her grazing ground.
"So then… what are we even doing?" Naori asked, puzzled. "If there's no second beast…"
"Ninja game," Maki said simply.
"Wait, seriously? I thought you didn't like those."
"That depends on the game," Maki replied.
Naori perked up. "What kind of game is it?"
Maki smirked. "We play with bugs."
Naori blinked. "…Is that even a ninja game?"
Some boys loved huge beetles and all that, sure. But swarms of tiny, twitching insects? That was… creepy.
Still curious, Naori followed Maki into a dark cave.
As they walked, glowing swarms of flying insects parted, forming a path. The air was warm, damp, and buzzing.
They went deeper and deeper, winding past forked tunnels. Without a good sense of direction, it'd be easy to get hopelessly lost.
But Naori's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Maki did know how to play. This felt like a real secret ninja base.
The boys had their "bases" too, but they were usually just old crates stacked in a field, filled with random junk.
This? This was something else.
"Whoa…" Naori gasped. "Did the bugs really dig all this out?"
"Yeah," Maki nodded.
"That's amazing!"
"Don't tell anyone," Maki warned.
Naori grinned and held up a glowing insect in her hand, whispering, "It's our secret."
"Don't touch them," Maki said calmly.
Naori quickly pulled her hand back.
"They're poisonous. No matter what you see in here, it's best not to touch it. The prettier it looks, the more dangerous it probably is."
"Will it kill you?" Naori asked.
"No. But it'll make you really uncomfortable."
"Whoa… are those fireflies?" Naori looked up. Dozens of glowing insects drifted around them like floating stars. But when she looked closer, they weren't fireflies at all.
"Nope. Fireflies aren't the only bugs that glow."
"Maki, are these yours too? What do they do?"
"Not much," Maki said. "They're just pretty. Though they look kind of gross in sunlight."
"They're so pretty," Naori said, fascinated. "If they're useless, why keep them?"
"For decoration."
"Hehe… still, it's like being surrounded by glowing stars. It's really beautiful," Naori whispered.
The crypt around them shimmered in the faint blue light, like being underwater in a glowing sea. It felt… romantic. Dreamlike.
Eventually, they reached the end of the tunnel, where a small, cramped room came into view.
"Welcome to my insect house," Maki said, surprising even herself with the words.
"Whoa…" Naori stepped inside, eyes wide with curiosity. She wandered over to a glass bottle and pointed. "What's this?"
Inside the bottle, a small animal floated in dark green liquid, curled tightly.
"Cat," Maki replied.
"Cat?" Naori blinked. "But it has three tails."
"It's a Nekomata," she guessed. "A monster?"
"Without chakra, it's just a normal cat," Maki said. "I tried to mutate it for a while. It didn't survive."
"It died?" Naori's voice grew soft. "That's… sad."
"As a ninja, you can't be soft about life and death, Naori," Maki said flatly.
"I know… but still…"
"You didn't seem this upset when you ate bugs."
"That's different! Cats are—"
"What's the difference?" Maki asked. "Kittens are cute, right?"
"Eh?" Naori looked at her, surprised she'd say something like that.
"Because they're bugs, they can die however. That's what you're thinking, isn't it?"
Naori hesitated.
"But life isn't ranked. There's no high or low in the nature of life. Whether it's a cat or a bug, they're all alive. They all fight to live."
"So the death of a cat… is no different from the death of a bug," Maki said. "Same goes for people."
Is that… true?
Naori didn't know what to say.
"But…" she wanted to argue, but couldn't find the words.
She turned her gaze away from the bottled kitten, uncomfortable. The Uchiha clan's summon beasts were mostly ninja cats, after all. She'd grown up fond of them.
"Cats are vicious hunters," Maki said. "They're at the top of the food chain. They kill countless creatures—sometimes for food, sometimes just for fun."
"If you're going to pity the cat, maybe pity the little animals it killed first. Or… you could pity me instead?"
Maki added that last part almost sarcastically.
"I don't think you're cute," Naori replied without missing a beat.
Maki smirked.
"In nature, balance is everything," she continued. "Life, death—it's all part of that balance. No need to feel guilty."
"Come. Look at this."
Naori walked over, curious again.
Inside another bottle was… something strange.
"Wait… is that—!?"
"That's right. Slug Sage."
Naori stared in disbelief as the little Slug Sage inside the bottle looked up and spoke gently, "Little girl, what do you plan to do with me?"
"Naori, have you ever eaten braised slugs?"
At that, the tiny slug straightened up in horror, clearly considering a desperate retreat to Shikkotsu Forest—if only it still had chakra.
"You kidnapped the Slug Sage!?" Naori gasped.
"Yup!" Maki said proudly. "During the exam with Tsunade, I took advantage of the chaos and grabbed part of its tissue."
She lifted the bottle and gave it a good shake.
It didn't hurt, but the poor slug looked visibly dizzy.
"Stop! Stop! Little girl!" it cried.
Whether it was reacting to the idea of being braised or to the shaking, nobody knew.
"Exotic creature acquired," Maki said smugly. "Though infection progress is kind of slow."
"I don't want one!" Naori shouted. "It's slimy and gross!"
"Hey, aren't slugs cute?"
"Not even close!" Naori said firmly.
"That's just because you haven't seen sea slugs," Maki sniffed. "Remember what you said today. Don't come begging later."
Maki shook the bottle again.
The slug screamed in protest.
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