"Hey, bald old man, do you still have water left?"
Han arrogantly questioned Master Fenfuku, who was meditating. The boy's lips were cracked, and his cheeks were dry and chapped, clearly showing signs of not having had water for a long time.
Master Fenfuku untied the water pouch from his waist, shook it to make a sloshing sound, and handed it over without hesitation.
"Drink sparingly; there's not much left. We don't even know when we'll get out of here."
Han, ignoring the advice, pulled out the stopper and raised the pouch, gulping down the water with abandon. In no time, the pouch was emptied.
"Ah, that's refreshing!"
Han let out a long sigh of relief and tossed the nearly flattened water pouch back to Master Fenfuku.
"And you call yourself someone from Sunagakure? You can't even find your way?"
Han complained with a face full of discontent.
Master Fenfuku, however, showed no sign of frustration. Instead, he put his hands together in prayer and replied, "Apologies. I've been meditating in the abyss since childhood and have only ventured out in recent years. Ever since the highways were built, I've become unfamiliar with this desert. I haven't traveled much. And yesterday's sandstorm wiped out all the hidden markers, leaving me unable to distinguish the direction."
"Hmph!"
Han snorted in frustration and picked a direction to walk off to.
"Hold on! That direction is wrong. If you head there, you'll surely perish in the desert."
"Then tell me which way to go!"
"Right now..."
Master Fenfuku shaded his eyes with his hand, gazing at the sun high in the sky.
"I don't know either. I never learned to tell directions by the sun."
Master Fenfuku spread his hands helplessly.
"You! You! You!"
Han was nearly knocked over by anger upon hearing this.
"But I can read the stars," Master Fenfuku smiled slightly, opened the water pouch, squeezed out the remaining drops, and took a small sip.
"So, we'll have to wait until nightfall."
He then found a shady spot by a sand dune and resumed meditating to conserve energy.
Han hesitated for a long time before reluctantly joining Master Fenfuku in the shade to rest.
So, how did this pair end up stranded in the desert?
Here's the story:
According to the peace agreement between Iwagakure and Sunagakure, Han was handed over to Sunagakure as a "war trophy" and placed under the guidance of Master Fenfuku. Initially, this arrangement seemed promising, but it wasn't long before everyone realized that Han was a complete troublemaker.
At first, he smashed tables and chairs, refusing to obey orders, shouting curses at Master Fenfuku day and night. Later, realizing he couldn't return home and wasn't strong enough to overpower the monk, he continued to cause mischief, aiming to disrupt the monk's life.
When the monk tried to teach him scriptures, Han would stand on the table and urinate into the inkstone. When taught how to control the chakra of his tailed beast, Han would tear up the monk's scriptures and fold them into paper boats. One day, he climbed the Buddha statue to draw a mustache on it; another day, he threw grasshoppers into the monk's teapot. On several occasions, he even unleashed the Five-Tails, Kokuō, to wreak havoc. If it weren't for Shukaku intervening, Han might have demolished the monk's small temple.
By the way, after the incident with the kidnapping of Shukaku, Jinghang had hoped Master Fenfuku would move into the village for safety. However, the monk refused, saying he was accustomed to the simplicity of the temple and didn't want to trouble the village. Moreover, Han still harbored a lot of resentment, and if he were to transform into the tailed beast within the village, countless innocents could be harmed.
Jinghang found this reasoning valid but still stationed a squad near the temple and even built a fortress nearby. In case of emergencies, ninjas could arrive within five minutes.
The plan seemed solid, but this time, the monk was fine—the troublemaker ran away instead.
Han's mischievous nature wasn't without reason. Years ago, when the first Five-Tails Jinchūriki passed away, a replacement was urgently needed. Coincidentally, a newborn baby in Iwagakure was chosen—Han. He became the new Jinchūriki.
At the time, the Second Tsuchikage, Mu, had just died in battle, and the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, had recently taken power. Under Ōnoki's leadership, dozens of Iwagakure jonin performed the sealing of the Five-Tails, Kokuō.
Unexpectedly, during the sealing process, Kokuō broke free, rampaging through Iwagakure, killing many villagers, including Han's biological father. It took all of Ōnoki's efforts to reseal Kokuō within Han's body.
Such a child was unlikely to be welcomed in the village. Han became a lonely and ostracized boy, often bullied and excluded by other kids. People would throw stones and spit at him, and he would return home covered in bruises, unable to understand why he was treated so poorly despite doing nothing wrong.
Fortunately, his mother was still alive at the time and provided him with some love and care. She would comfort him gently and tend to his injuries, keeping him from losing his sanity.
But two years before the Second Shinobi World War, his mother succumbed to an old illness. On her deathbed, she tearfully held six-year-old Han's hand, saying, "My poor child, I can only accompany you this far. The rest of the journey will be yours alone." With that, she passed away, joining his father in the afterlife.
Han cried bitterly, and the village provided a modest sum for a simple burial. From then on, Han had no restraints and became even more unruly.
Unlike Naruto, who had figures like Iruka and Hiruzen Sarutobi to show him warmth, Han had nothing—only a meager monthly allowance from the village. Before, he had his mother to tend to his wounds and cook for him; now, he was left with only a solitary grave.
This marked a turning point in Han's personality. He became more violent and rebellious, stealing and causing trouble throughout Iwagakure. Even when fighting other kids, he would aim to seriously injure them. Adults would intervene, and he'd often end up in the village's detention center.
Ōnoki was deeply troubled by this situation. Iwagakure had only two Jinchūriki—one had left due to ideological differences, and if Han were to fail as well, the village would lose its tailed beast weapon. Thus, Ōnoki assigned Han to his prized disciple, White Earth.
White Earth was rational and cold, and his method was straightforward. He dragged Han to the training field, demonstrated Iwagakure's signature jutsu, such as Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall and Earth Style: Rock Fist, and asked, "Want to learn?"
Seeing the earth-shattering techniques before him, Han's eyes lit up, and he became White Earth's disciple. He spent all his time practicing ninjutsu, leaving little room for mischief, much to everyone's satisfaction.
However, due to the influence of the tailed beast's seal, Han struggled to refine chakra. Despite his talent, his ninjutsu remained mediocre. Upon realizing this, Han secretly broke into the village's archives and found Iwagakure's unique sealing technique for tailed beasts—the Seven Stars Sealing Method.
Before he could fully grasp it, he was caught by the guards and detained. Ōnoki handed him over to White Earth for punishment.
White Earth wasted no time, dragging Han to the village square, tying him up, and whipping him mercilessly.
Han was beaten so badly he nearly passed out. In his delirium, he recalled part of the Seven Stars Sealing Method he had glimpsed:
"The seal consists of seven points arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper: Tian Shu, Tian Xuan, Tian Ji, and Tian Quan form the ladle's bowl; Yu Heng, Kai Yang, and Yao Guang form the handle. Attack the bowl, and the handle retaliates; attack the handle, and the bowl retaliates."
In essence, the seal functioned like a ladle. When the tailed beast tried to break free, it would encounter resistance from the opposite end.
Han wondered, "What if I attack the central point, Tian Quan?"
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