| Volume 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Volume Info | |||
| Volume | 1 | ||
| Next | Volume 2 | ||
| Pages | 200 | ||
| Release Date | |||
| Japanese | June 02, 2023 (ISBN 978-4-08-883584-6) | ||
| English | July 09, 2024 (ISBN 978-1-9747-4085-7) | ||
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This is volume 1 of the Konoha Shinden manga.
Chapter 1
- "Mirai Sarutobi!!" (猿飛ミライ!!, Sarutobi Mirai!!)
Mirai Sarutobi, a genin, searches the forest near Konohagakure for a missing cat. She finds the cat, only to realise that she's wandered off from her teammates and that she furthermore isn't sure how to get back to the village. Embarrassed about how this may reflect on her dream of being a great ninja like her father and grandfather, Mirai tries to get her bearings. She comes across a man discussing the role of ninja, proclaiming them to be a relic of the past. Mirai recognises him from the Bingo Book as Mezu, a former Konoha-nin.
Mirai tries to remain concealed as she observes Mezu, but he notices her anyway. He dismisses her as a mere child and begins walking away, but Mirai calls out to him by name, accusing him of betraying the village to become an assassin. Mezu reprimands Mirai, as by revealing that she knows him he will be forced to kill her. Mezu is joined by his gang of followers and Mirai prepares for battle, casting Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death against them. When this fails, she uses Shadow Shuriken Technique. Mezu blocks most of the shuriken, but one manages to scratch his face. Annoyed, Mezu grabs Mirai, intent on making her an example of how irrelevant ninja have become. Mirai vows that she and her fellow ninja will endure.
Mezu is stopped from killing Mirai by the Shadow Imitation Shuriken Technique. Mezu recognises its user as Shikamaru Nara, who apologises to Mirai for not arriving sooner. Mezu's men engage with Shikamaru, distracting him long enough to free Mezu and escape with him. Mirai insists that they must pursue, but Shikamaru says there's no need: as Mezu and his gang run off, they cross paths with Kakashi Hatake, the current Hokage, who happens to be on a walk through the area. Kakashi easily defeats them all after a brief fight. Mirai is frustrated by her performance against Mezu, believing she was powerless against him. Shikamaru doesn't deny this, but explains that by recognising her own shortcomings she has proven her qualifications to become a splendid ninja.
Shikamaru and Kakashi later discuss the incident. Kakashi doesn't give much thought to Mezu and his gang, instead remarking that he'd like to have some free time longer than a walk through the forest, perhaps even a vacation. He dismisses this as impossible given the obligations of being the Hokage. He does, however, agree with Shikamaru that Mirai will be a great ninja someday. Several years later, Mirai, no longer a genin, comes across the same cat. She notices the cat is being searched for by another team, but she can't help since she's running late for her new mission: to escort Might Guy and Kakashi (now retired) to the Land of Hot Water.
Chapter 2
- "S-Rank Mission!!" (S級任務!!, S-Kyū Ninmu!!)
Mirai is sent on a mission to secure a bandit hideout. She's able to defeat all of the bandits without incident, but her use of chakra blades is still lacking due to her poor control over her chakra. Nevertheless, when some Konoha-nin arrive to take the bandits into custody, they note how skilled she is, just like her father and grandfather. Mirai is flattered, but feels anxious as she walks home afterwards, wondering if the comparisons to her father she's received her whole life are her only reason for becoming a ninja.
On the day of a Five Kage Summit taking place in Konoha, Mirai gets ready to leave on a mission, praying to a picture of her father before she goes. Her mother, Kurenai, asks if she'll be guarding the Seventh Hokage during the Summit, as she's done before. Mirai reports that she's actually accompanying Might Guy and Kakashi Hatake. Kurenai is surprised and asks her to be careful, which Mirai promises that she will; she reports she'll be gone for a couple of days. On her way to meet Guy and Kakashi, Mirai reflects on when Shikamaru gave her this assignment: to escort Kakashi and Guy as they inspect the border region between the Land of Fire and Land of Hot Water. Mirai was surprised by the assignment, but accepted when Shikamaru told her that the Seventh Hokage specifically recommended her.
From Shikamaru's words, Mirai guesses that the Seventh had some special reason for assigning her this mission. Her assumption is that Kakashi, the former Hokage, must be under constant threat of assassination, and therefore requires a ninja of Mirai's calibre to protect him. Mirai vows that Kakashi will come to no harm. Her vow comes true, as not a single attempt is made on Kakashi's life when they leave Konoha, not even by an elderly couple that Mirai suspects may be terrorists in disguise. Instead, Kakashi and Guy are able to enjoy a discussion of birds and reminisce about the past as they slowly walk to their first destination: a small town within the Land of Fire's borders where they'll spend the night. Mirai is frustrated that they haven't made more progress on their first day, but is quieted when Kakashi points to the Land of Hot Water visible in the distance, the homeland of her father's killer.
Chapter 3
- "Kakashi's Sacred Place!!" (カカシの聖地!!, Kakashi no Seichi!!)
Kakashi and Guy compete at a target-throwing booth while Mirai keeps watch outside, worried that they're too conspicuous. She's partly glad when neither of them manage to hit a single target, but she also wonders how Kakashi, the former Hokage, could miss every throw. As they walk through town, a pickpocket steals Kakashi's wallet. Kakashi catches the thief, but he manages to pass the wallet to his cohort, who runs off. Mirai pursues and stops the second thief using Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death. When she returns to Kakashi and Guy, Mirai takes some blame for allowing the pickpocket to get close to them at all, but urges them to be more aware of their surroundings. Kakashi doesn't feel it was a big deal, pointing out to Mirai that the wallet was a decoy: instead of money, it contains only a message to the pickpocket discouraging theft. Mirai is disappointed that her efforts were so unnecessary, but remains doubtful that someone like Kakashi could have once been Hokage.
Mirai briefly loses track of Kakashi and finds him crying next to a lone tree. Mirai is confused by this display of emotion, which Guy (also crying) reports to be because the site is "sacred" and that Kakashi has wanted to visit for years. Mirai wonders if this was the objective for their mission and begins approaching Kakashi to comfort him, only for Kakashi to announce with ecstasy that this tree is featured in the film adaptation of Icha Icha Paradise. Based on the title, Mirai assumes the book is trashy, but since it's supposed to be Kakashi's favourite book she wonders if it has greater depth than the title suggests. She asks if she should read the book, but Kakashi and Guy proclaim she is too young and refuse to even summarise the book's plot to her. In place of a book, Guy recommends an exercise video to Mirai. As he and Kakashi argue over the video's merits, Mirai wonders if they've always been like this, and if perhaps her father would have accompanied them if he were still alive.
While returning to the town, Mirai hears Guy sympathizing with Kakashi, because only by filing paperwork for a fake secret mission is he ever allowed to go on vacations like this. Mirai is stunned, as the Seventh Hokage assigned her to this mission in place of keeping her as his bodyguard; she wonders what this says about the Seventh's opinion of her abilities.
Chapter 4
- "The Border Festival!!" (国境の祭り!!, Kokkyō no Matsuri!!)
Even if her assignment is not as dangerous as she originally believed, Mirai is nevertheless intent on doing a good job: she watches Kakashi and Guy eat dinner from a nearby tree, ignoring how hungry and cold she is so that she can attend to them. She wonders why Kakashi doesn't seem to notice that Guy is stealing his food, once again making hr question Kakashi's supposed legendary skills, when Kakashi suddenly appears at her side. He expresses concern about how seriously she's taking this mission, believing she's putting too much pressure on herself; he remarks that her father was the same way at her age until he learned to loosen up. When he confides that the Seventh Hokage shares these concerns, hence why she was assigned to this mission, Mirai is relieved, as it means that the Seventh still has faith in her abilities.
Mirai promises to start enjoying what little time remains of their mission. Kakashi corrects her, as the mission she evidently thinks is to last two days will actually last twenty. While Mirai processes this mistake, Kakashi also notes that, although they are approaching this as a chance to have a vacation, their mission to inspect the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water is real. They spend the next day doing just that, and then stop for the evening at a town that lies exactly on the border of the two countries. They notice many people in town are wearing either cat or dog masks, and that arguments over cats and dogs seem to be fairly common. Mirai is confused, but Kakashi and Guy recognise this as the Quarrel Festival.
Legend has it that the town's two hot springs were discovered with the help of a cat deity and a dog deity, but the town is bitterly divided over which hot spring was discovered first. This disagreement has since grown into an annual celebration/competition between cat lovers and dog lovers. As they walk through town they spot Tamaki and Kiba Inuzuka, who are arguing which hot spring they should visit first. Kakashi sides with Kiba in recommending the dog hot spring, and Guy sides with Tamaki in recommending the cat hot spring, purely so that he can oppose Kakashi. They turn to Mirai to be the tie-breaker, who tries to pick both. Kiba and Tamaki make pleas for siding with them, but before she's forced to choose they are drawn to a commotion in the center of town.
Chapter 5
- "The Third Choice!!" (第三の選択!!, Dai San no Sentaku!!)
As the Quarrel Festival gets underway, Kiba and Tamaki begin arguing over its origins, Kiba believing the story about the dog deity and Tamaki believing the story about the cat deity. Mirai calls out to them in an attempt to calm them down, but this only catches the attention of several dog worshippers, who recognise Kiba's name. Because of Kiba's lifelong commitment to dogs, as well as the rumours that he's in line to become Hokage, the dog worshippers believe that his presence will give them an advantage against the cat worshippers. Kiba is initially enthusiastic to help until he sees Tamaki sadly walking away, having lost faith in their relationship. Kiba becomes distraught, but is prevented from following her because of the intensifying fighting.
Mirai removes Kakashi to a safe distance. Seeing that Mirai is upset by Kiba and Tamaki's argument, Kakashi encourages her to help them. Mirai doesn't know what she could do, so Kakashi points out how their argument briefly stopped when they were distracted by the festival's mikoshi. This gives Mirai an idea and she begins running back to the centre of the town; Kakashi requests that she also look for Guy, who Mirai neglected to bring with them. Mirai creates a fire near where the cat and dog worshippers are fighting, which she then gives the appearance of an entirely new deity, one that is equal parts cat and dog.
Chapter 6
- "Asuma and Kurenai, Fire and Illusion" (炎と幻術, Asuma to Kurenai)
Mirai speaks to the participants of the Quarrel Festival through her Genjutsu: Ghost Fire, urging them to stop fighting. She worries that the participants won't believe in the deity she's just invented, but the participants immediately recognise the Ghost Fire as "Cattog", the deity rumoured to mediate between the town's cat deity and dog deity. As Cattog, she begins making arguments in favour of peace, but is interrupted by Guy, who charges at the Ghost Fire and attacks it, believing it to be a monster. Guy dispels the Ghost Fire as he passes through it and crashes into the wall that separates the cat and dog hot springs, destroying it and combining the two. Mirai panics over this potential act of vandalism, but the townspeople instead interpret this as the will of Cattog that they unify at long last.
Mirai is disappointed that her Ghost Fire failed to fulfil its purpose, but Kakashi corrects her: amongst the joyful cat and dog worshippers are Kiba and Tamaki, now reconciled. They thank her for bringing them back together, having recognised the Ghost Fire as Mirai's doing. As the two head off to enjoy the new combined hot spring, Mirai marvels at how opposites can be brought together. She and Kakashi then seek out Guy, who is dazed from his ordeal. The townspeople believe he is a messenger of Cattog, and vow to make a statue in his honour; Mirai and Kakashi take him away before that can happen. Because of how many people are attending the Quarrel Festival, none of the town's inns have rooms available, forcing Mirai, Kakashi, and Guy to camp out for the night. As Kakashi and Guy sleep, Mirai wonders about the cult that used to be active in the Land of Hot Water.
