I don't know if my regeneration could actually grow back a severed arm, but by the eighteenth day, I felt like I could easily go without the cast. The only time I felt any pain was if I tried to lean on my arm, but I could already carry a bag of groceries with it without the slightest discomfort.
I have no idea how my recovery speed compares to regular shinobi, but just in case, I decided to keep my arm wrapped up, so I wouldn't attract any extra attention. Two layers of bandages didn't really do much, but for any onlookers, it meant my arm was still a bit messed up. Out in public, I'd even frown sometimes, like I was in "pain" - maybe nobody was actually watching, but as they say, better safe than sorry.
The day I ran into the Ino-Shika-Cho team at my restaurant, Shikaku wanted to invite me over to his place, but when he saw my cast, he decided to wait - around here, it's considered bad manners to invite someone over if they're sick or recovering. So, he told me to come by once I was feeling better. Yesterday, while I was out for a walk, I stopped by the Konoha post office and had them send him a letter letting him know I was ready to accept his invitation.
There aren't any mailboxes here - invoices or letters usually get slipped under the door or handed over in person if the owner's home. Most of the time, the post is used to send letters or packages to relatives in other cities in the Land of Fire, and less often to other countries. I'm sure if the recipient is in another country, the contents get thoroughly checked.
Since I don't have my own personal courier, I used the post office. I don't know how the other clans handle it, but this way was easier for me.
Today, I got a reply, so I was heading over for a visit. I was curious what the head of an entire clan wanted from me. Just to sit and have tea? I doubt it - he's got enough on his plate as it is, so this meeting must have some purpose. It bugged me that I couldn't even guess what it might be.
His clan couldn't possibly benefit from working with me. If it were the Akimichi clan, I could at least imagine what we might collaborate on, but the Nara clan? What could the village's medicine suppliers want from me? It's all pretty strange, but I had no good reason to avoid meeting with him.
As I walked toward the northeast district, I found myself thinking about the local level of technology. From the anime, it was always hard to tell which areas they were advanced in and which ones they lagged behind.
TVs, for example, definitely existed in canon - just remember the chunin exams - but I only found out they existed here by accident, thanks to a merchant from Keichi who offered to reserve one for me for a hefty sum.
Turns out, there's a reason I hadn't seen any TVs around - they're still rare, because they're hard to make and there's not much demand. The main buyers right now are the military, but since tape recorders and cassettes are already a thing (the merchant told me people can now watch recordings from special surveillance devices on TVs), it won't be long before people realize TVs are a new way to get information and news, besides radio - which I keep forgetting to buy - and newspapers, which are mostly just propaganda about the greatness of the daimyo and the Land of Fire.
What's weird is that the merchant offered to sell me a TV and cameras for video surveillance at my restaurant, and he went on and on about all the advantages of the technology, saying the picture would be almost lifelike, just a little blurry.
So, the commercial line is just starting to appear, and the manufacturers are already offering color images. He also "confided" in me that the daimyo, who's recently gotten into going to the movies (I'm sure the place gets locked down whenever he visits), decided to invest in improving digital projection technology, which means that pretty soon, people will be able to enjoy all the wonders of cinema without having to go to the only movie theater in the Land of Fire - which is almost impossible to get into unless you live in the capital.
To get more info, I went to see Homuri. Because of his position and frequent talks with Torio, he knew a bit about the state of digital tech. According to him, this year, movie theaters would also open in Tanzaku and in the industrial capital of the Land of Fire - Otafuku. As for a theater in Konoha, he wasn't sure yet - it all depended on the village council. Torio-san was taking a wait-and-see approach; he wanted to see how theaters outside the capital would be received.
Personally, I wasn't interested in the local film industry, but being an investor… unfortunately, I barely had any money, otherwise I'd do everything I could to open my own theater in Konoha.
As for making a movie… that's way too complicated, takes a ton of time and attention. If I had the chance, I'd rather just be the screenwriter.
****
[ Third POV ]
Shikaku Nara, head of the Nara clan, was looking forward to his guest's arrival. Besides intellectual games, sleeping, and lazing around while watching the clouds, he enjoyed talking with smart people. Actually, if it were up to him, he'd only talk to people on his own intellectual level, or at least not too far off, but Kami knows, those chances are rare.
"Smart people are always sleepy," his father used to say. All the Nara clan members tended to nap at least eight hours a day, so Shikaku was inclined to believe it. Unfortunately, such a precious thing as a long sleep was a rare treat for him, thanks to his daily workload. For the first time in two weeks, he'd managed to get at least nine hours of sleep, and with a guest coming, he was in a pretty good mood.
Akira Zoldyck… even though he hadn't managed to talk to him about the topics he was really interested in, even their casual chats about everyday stuff showed him that, despite his young age, this guy was pretty sharp. His projects, which had been approved by the council, already proved he was a creative thinker - and people like that are never dumb by default.
It had taken Shikaku some effort to get his hands on Akira's book, even as the head of a whole clan. He'd even had to send a clansman straight to the print shop, since all the stores and bookstalls had waiting lists booked up for a month. One of the sellers mentioned the book was especially popular among the Uchiha, and it's no wonder - the main character was a lot like them.
Among regular folks, there was a whole resale market for the book, so only real book lovers willing to part with a few thousand ryo could get it.
In his opinion, the book deserved all the praise and was worthy of being read at the palace. Even with his excellent memory, he planned to read it a third time. He'd been surprised to find out the main antagonist was actually a pretty cheerful and likable guy. Only after finishing the book and starting it again did he realize why Sandamu sometimes laughed strangely or seemed to know too much about certain situations - and it had nothing to do with his supposed ties to the Fomozuki clan, who specialized in gathering and selling valuable information.
"Even just discussing the book would be a pleasant way to spend the time," Shikaku thought as a clansman disappeared after delivering the message about the guest's arrival.
"Visited the spirit world,
tied up gazes with a rope.
Narcissus blooms."
"Good thing I don't have a daughter," Shikaku said out loud, imagining how many problems that would bring.
"I apologize for my rudeness and lack of manners during my last visit," came a voice from the entrance.
"Not at all, Akira-san, it was my husband and his friends who were out of line," replied the lady of the house.
After a few more polite exchanges, Yoshino led the guest to the living room, where he took off the offered house slippers and stepped onto the carpet to meet the head of the family, who had stood up to greet him. [ image ]

"I'm honored to welcome such a distinguished guest to my home," Shikaku bowed.
"Thank you for your respect and hospitality," Akira bowed in return.
After the meal and all the formalities, leaving the lady of the house behind, they moved to the engawa - the veranda - where a small coffee table with cushions for comfortable seating stood on either side. On the table were mugs and a shogi board. They sat down at this table, finally leaving the formalities behind.
"You're looking at the pieces with such interest - never played shogi before?" Shikaku asked, pulling a book from somewhere inside his robe.
"To be honest - no, I only know the basics. Would you mind explaining?" Akira asked, picking up one of the wooden pieces and examining the kanji on both sides.
"Hm, I see. No problem." As soon as Yoshino brought the teapot, Shikaku started explaining the rules, sketching out the moves on a scrap of paper.
"Basically, it's like chess, but with extra rows and more pieces, plus you can use captured pieces against your opponent and place them almost anywhere, with a few restrictions," Akira mused, looking over the sheet.
In shogi, the board is nine by nine, unlike chess's eight by eight. Each player has twenty pentagonal wooden pieces. The pieces are only distinguished by the kanji on their front and back. You can tell which pieces are yours by the direction the point faces. Some pieces, like the king ("royal general"), rook ("flying chariot"), bishop ("angle mover"), and pawn ("soldier"), move just like in chess, but the game gets more variety from pieces like the gold general, silver general, and lance - the last of which, unlike the bishop, can move any number of spaces, but only forward. [ image ]

Each turn, players can either move a piece or do a "drop" - placing a captured piece from their reserve onto almost any square. When a piece reaches the last three rows on the opponent's side, it can be flipped over - for example, a rook becomes a "dragon king" and gains the ability to move like a king as well. The goal, just like in chess, is to checkmate the king.
After two training games, which Akira managed to lose several times just for breaking the rules, the "real" game began - though it only felt real to the guest. Shikaku played calmly, reading the author's book and commenting on both Akira's moves and the book's plot.
Akira wasn't bothered by how easily he was being beaten:
"Sure, I'm a transmigrant, but how am I supposed to beat someone who's played this game since childhood? I barely played chess in my last life - maybe a little Monopoly online or some checkers when I was bored, but I always played to relax, not to fry my brain," he kept thinking, jotting down notes after every loss. For fairness, Shikaku didn't even glance at the notes - with his skills, he could probably read the tiniest upside-down text from ten meters away.
"All right, I get how to play, but I'm afraid without experience, we won't have a very interesting match. How about we try a different game?"
"No need, Akira-san. For a first-timer, you're pretty good. The only other game I could offer is Go."
Akira grimaced a little and glanced thoughtfully at the board. After scratching his chin for a moment, he had an idea.
"There's a game called checkers - I'd like to teach you."
Shikaku looked up from his book, curiosity piqued.
"Never heard of it. Would you mind explaining the rules?"
"Heh, I took first place twice in my school's checkers tournament. Out of all my friends, no one's ever beaten me more than once in ten games. Let's see how this goes…"
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