Tale of the Setting Sun.

Shinobi VI

"This is nice, isn't it?" he heard Kakashi comment congenially. "Hm, this steam's making it hard to see anything." There was a splashing sound. "Oh, there goes my towel. Guess I'll have to get a new one..."

There was another splashing sound, and then the sound of a wet foot slapping on rock as Kakashi climbed out of the bath.

This is it!, thought Naruto. Quickly making the appropriate hand seals, he then slashed his hand in Kakashi's direction. A gust of wind swept through the bath, rapidly clearing the steam clouds. There was a whistling sound, and then something that sounded like barrels crashing on rocks and breaking. This was soon followed by the sounds of high-pitched screaming from the women's side of the hot spring.

"Nice one, Naruto!" cheered Rai.

The steam had all but cleared from the bath now, and Naruto now saw that there were at least twenty other people standing around in towels. They were all looking around, blinking in confusion.

"Where's Kakashi-sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Ah, thanks for that Naruto," he heard Kakashi say from behind him. "I found my towel." Naruto and Rai whipped around, to see Kakashi back in the hot spring pool. He was still wearing his hitai-ate on his forehead, and had wrapped his newly rediscovered towel around the bottom half of his face.

Covering his face with a hand, Rai let out a groan.

After the three had finished soaking in the hot spring, they changed into cotton yukata provided by the inn (Kakashi somehow managing to put his facemask back on as well) before rejoining Mayu at the outdoor garden. Several families were by the pond, admiring the colorful fish that swam in its depths. It was dark, so the garden was lit with several paper lanterns that hung from lines strung all around the walls.

Attracted to different aspects of the garden, the team soon split up. Kakashi settled down on the bamboo veranda with a book, while Rai joined several other boys who were admiring some ornamental weaponry on display within glass cases. Mayu, seemingly entranced by the bobbing lights, excused herself to walk through the garden.

In the end, finding himself alone, Naruto hovered by the veranda for a few minutes before slowly making his way over to the pond. The families had moved on, and there was now only one other man who was by himself at the pond's edge. Together, they stood in silence for several minutes, watching the fish dart through the shadowy water.

"Nice chakra control earlier, kid," the man said suddenly. "Though you packed a lil' too much punch in it."

Startled, Naruto gave him a cursory glance; the stranger had short, slicked-back silver hair, but he was even younger than Kakashi. He was fit and his arms were muscled, indicating extensive training. The man – or was he a teenager? – was not wearing a yukata like everyone else, but rather simple nondescript black shirt and pants. Around his neck was a hitai-ate that Naruto didn't recognize: It had three diagonal lines. Naruto wondered whether the Land of Hot Water also had a ninja village hidden away somewhere.

"What village are you from?" he asked.

"Yugakure," replied the man with a careless shrug of his shoulders.

Naruto's brow furrowed in thought. "You mean this place used to be a hidden village?" He couldn't imagine a sleepy tourist village such as this one being the headquarters of a group of highly skilled assassins. Yet the man standing before him was undoubtedly a shinobi, and from what he could sense, a very skilled one at that.

"It used to be a proper ninja village, before these fat merchants came in and turned this place into the laughingstock it is now," said the man, folding his arms across his chest. "Now, the village's become just like this pond...and the people, simple ornamental fish."