「Head to Tori Village and meet up with Kakashi for your next mission. He will brief you about it. – Fifth Hokage」
Michiko sighed as she reads the message from Tsunade. She did not get a chance to take a short break and here comes another mission.
Tsunade-sama is really good at fully utilizing the village's human resources, right...?
But she is not going to complain since it is a mission with Kakashi. Once Michiko was done packing, she set off for the Tori Village.
...............
"Geez, why didn't you tell me from the beginning that the mission was ghost extermination?" Naruto said, with slight hint of annoyance.
"I didn't tell you?"
"You didn't mention a single word about it. But well, it's a rumour anyway, isn't it?"
"I haven't seen it myself."
"Eh, s-see?" Naruto put both hands behind his head, slightly relaxed.
"But my master, Mousou-sama, has truly seen it."
"A-Are you serious?" His expression changes immediately.
Before Naruto could ask any further, Neji suggested to get moving to reach their destination as soon as possible. Kakashi on the other hand sighed at the thought of heading to the faraway country, but at the same time the thought of seeing Michiko makes him happy.
And so, the team led by Neji, along with Chishima, and Kakashi following behind them, head for the Country of Bird.
Along the way, nothing much happened. Just that at some point in time Naruto had to carry Chishima in order to move faster. During dinner time, Ten Ten sweated at Chishima's appetite. Naruto took this chance to ask more about the Samurai.
"By the way, does the so called cursed Samurai ghost really exist?"
"Some people say he was the ghost of the former Daimyo, Oowashi-sama."
"The ghost of the dead Daimyo..." Naruto shivered.
"Please tell us more about the Country of Bird, rather than just the ghost," said Neji.
"Hai. The capital of the Country of Bird lies along the bank of a lake where migratory birds rest. The lake water is drawn into the moat, and it supports a lot of vegetation. It was a beautiful and peaceful town. However, ever since the sudden death of the former Daimyo, Oowashi-sama, the situation has degraded. His son, Sagi-sama, and the tactician of the former regime, Koumei-sama, both were candidates to be the next Daimyo. Koumei-sama strongly opposed Sagi-sama becoming the new Daimyo because he was too young. But in the end, Sagi-sama took the position. The matter was settled by the high priest, Mousou-sama, acting as mediator. However, his younger twin sister, Toki-sama, suddenly died half a year later. Since then, the cheerful Sagi-sama turned into a cold person. He deals with politics and locks himself in his house. Around that time, the cursed Samurai began to appear in the town. The townspeople said that Ooowashi-sama had been killed by someone. The cursed Samurai was said to be the ghost of Oowashi-sama, who seeks revenge on the person who killed him."
"Scary." Naruto shuddered.
"Ghosts don't really exist." Neji asserted.
"But..."
"The one who benefitted most from Oowashi's death is that monk called Mousou?" Neji asked.
"Mousou-sama is a man of great virtue with no greed!" Chishima raised his voice.
"Then, the suspect is..."
"The tactician, Koumei, is the only one left, isn't he? I'm sure he tried to assassinate Oowashi and become the Daimyo but failed." Ten Ten continued for Naruto.
"That guy kept complaining after Sagi-sama became the Daimyo. If it's Koumei-sama, he can easily spread the rumour of a cursed Samurai and torment Sagi-sama." Chishima exclaimed with agitation.
"Okay, this must be the case. The identity of curse Samurai must be Koumei." Naruto clapped his hands and announced.
"The identity of the ghost may be nothing at all." Neji scoffed. The four sat in silence for a little while more before setting off again. As they reach the Country of Bird, they increased their pace and head to Mousou's mansion. There was a commotion in the mansion where Koumei was, and the four of them stopped in their tracks. They were wondering what happened when Neji saw the cursed Samurai flying in the sky.
"He's flying?!" Ten Ten asked.
"Wearing white armour, holding a halberd, donning a frightening mask... I'm absolutely sure. It's the cursed Samurai!" Chishima asserted. Naruto's face went pale.
"After him!" said Neji. With that, Neji and Ten Ten went off, leaving Naruto and Chishima.
"Hey, Nii-chan. How long are you planning to make me carry you?" Naruto asked as he put Chishima down. "You wait here. I'm going to find out the true identity of the ghost."
"Eh? Hai..."
Naruto went off in the direction where Neji and Ten Ten went and he soon caught up with them.
"Where has he disappeared to?" Naruto muttured.
"Over there!" Ten Ten exclaimed. The three of them kept their eyes on the cursed Samurai and went after him. They reached an old shrine when the cursed Samurai disappeared. Neji used his Byakugan to survey the shrine and its surroundings.
"I don't see him."
Both Ten Ten and Naruto were shocked.
"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"There's no sign of a human in there. At least, there's no living thing in there."
"W-Why did you have to put it that way...?"
Ten Ten suddenly stepped forward, surprising Naruto. "Did you hear something just now?"
Just as Ten Ten finished her sentence, the door to the shrine slowly opened, revealing the cursed Samurai.
"Didn't you just say that you didn't sense any sign of a human?!" Naruto shrieked. Even Ten Ten was speechless.
Neji scoffed. "I did say there's no living thing."
The cursed Samurai was moving closer to the three Genin.
"W-W-What is this about? Damn it, damn it!" Naruto yelled as he threw some kunai at the cursed Samurai, but there was no response from him.
"You..." Ten Ten jumped as she took out her scroll. "Kusari Fundou (Chain Weight)!" Ten Ten aimed the chain at the cursed Samurai and the helmet came off. But there was no head and it was emitting a flash of light. The cursed Samurai was getting closer and closer to them.
"Ghosts don't exist. Ghosts don't exist!" Naruto tried to convince himself as he jumped and ready to attack the cursed Samurai.
"Stop it, Naruto! That thing...!" Neji tried to stop him but was too late. Naruto used Kage Bunshin and attacked the cursed Samurai, which caused his armour to crack. The light was gone and the armour fell to the ground.
"Yay! Now, let's see his true identity." Naruto smiled as he ran towards the armour. "Eh? This is..." He picked up part of the armour as he studies it. "It's empty inside." He started having cold sweat and his face turned pale. "Eh? This means... It was a real ghost!"
Meanwhile...
"Hehhh... A ghost? Interesting... And Naruto is in the team right?"
"Hmm. He was shivering."
"Hahaha! I can imagine that. Anyway, our mission..."
"Yeah, Just like I've explained. And we'll go with the plan I just mentioned."
"Okay, understood. Let's go before something happens."
...............
"Is this really Mousou's house?" Naruto was looking around the room as he asked.
"I was expecting a fancier building with gold folding screens since he's an Ometsuke (supervisor of Daimyo and vassals)." Ten Ten added.
"You guys are too loud."
Chishima smiled and began to explain, "Mousou-sama is an admirable man without greed. That is why he lives a simple life."
"But still, he's the second most powerful man in the country after the Daimyo, right? Don't you think this is a little too shabby?"
"Naruto."
Just then, a laughing voice was heard. Chishima opened the door and an old man entered the room.
"My my, it's really embarrassing to be living so poorly."
"Mousou-sama." Chishima greeted Mousou with a big smile and bowed.
"Eh?!" Naruto looked from Chishima to Mousou, and pointed at him, while Neji and Ten Ten bowed. "This man, who looks like some old man from dango store, is...?"
Mousou laughed once again. "So I'm an old man from a dango store, eh?"
"Man, I can't believe this."
"Baka!" Neji got up and pulled Naruto down with him.
"What are you doing, Neji?!" Naruto struggled.
"Now now, make yourselves comfortable. So you're the ninjas who came all the way here from Konoha?" Mousou asked as all of them got up.
"From your right, it's Naruto-san, Neji-san and Ten Ten-san."
"Hmm. I heard you guys saw the cursed Samurai that appeared in front of Koumei-dono's house?"
"Hai." Neji nodded.
"And? How was it? Were you able to find out its true identity?"
"Yes, he's a real ghost." Naruto answered.
"Oh? A ghost, eh?"
"Don't decide on your own." Neji chided.
"But... he appeared out of nowhere and can fly."
"Yeah, plus the armour was empty inside." Ten Ten added.
"There are tricks to most of the mysterious things. I will determine its identity."
"Un, how reassuring. The Daimyo just changed, and the people are still restless. Please get rid of this rumour about the cursed Samurai as soon as possible. I beg you." Mousou bowed to the three Genin. They have no idea how to react, but since it is their mission, they will definitely accomplish it.
Later, Chishima brought the three to a local shop for some snacks.
"Here you go. Chicken wings."
"They're here, they're here! It looks delicious!" Naruto cheered as he began to dig in. "That Ometsuke, Mousou, seems to be a good guy." He mumbled with his mouth full of food.
"Hai, it was also Mousou-sama who picked me up and promoted me to a page."
"The Daimyo's son took over the throne and a superior Ometsuke supervises. The government seems stable..."
"Then why the strange rumours about the previous Daimyo haunting?" Ten Ten asked.
"There must be someone who is not happy with the passing of the Daimyo." Neji finished. Chishima looked down.
Naruto finished gobbling his food and turned to Chishima. "Do you have someone in mind?"
"It might be Koumei-sama after all."
"Is he the tactician who wanted to be the Daimyo?"
"Then why did the cursed Samurai appear at his house?" Ten Ten asked.
"Most likely so people won't suspect him." said Neji.
"That's it! I'm sure of it! Yosh! Now that it's decided, let's quickly capture this Koumei guy and make him confess. Everyone, let's go with enthusiasm!" Naruto raised his fist in the air with excitement.
"Baka! We can't do that when we don't have any proof." Neji stared at Naruto.
"He is the country's tactician." Chishima added.
"Hmmm... How boring." Naruto mumbled with a bone in his mouth.
"First, I'd like to meet the Daimyo, Sagi-dono." Neji told Chishima.
"That's not possible. Sagi-sama doesn't like seeing people."
"Mah mah, don't say that. Let us meet him. You're his 'chikubi no tomo' (friend of a nipple), right?" Naruto put an arm around Chishima's shoulder as he said.
"It's 'chikuba'(chikuba no tomo = childhood friend)."
Chishima then brought to three Genin to the lake. They were hiding within the tall grass, waiting for Sagi appear.
"Can we really meet him in a place like this?" Naruto asked.
"This lake holds memories for Sagi-sama. And... for me too. When we were young, Sagi-sama always played here with his little sister, Toki-sama. He may come here with his attendants today... if we're lucky."
"'If we are lucky', eh?"
The cranes on the lake flew away suddenly.
"It's Sagi-sama." Chishima said. Just as Chishima said, Sagi appeared, along with his attendants. When they got a closer look of Sagi, Ten Ten blushed and commented on his good looks, saying he might be her type. Sagi was wearing a melancholy expression when he took out a pocket watch.
"Na, what is he doing?" Naruto asked.
"He is probably absorbed in his memory. The only thing that can comfort Sagi-sama now is his memories of Toki-sama." Chishima explained. Naruto was surprised to see Sagi teared.
Just as everything seems peaceful, Neji sensed a murderous intent and used his Byakugan to survey the surroundings. He then turned his attention to the lake when he could not find anything on the land. Just as he suspected, shurikens came flying out from the lake and was going towards Sagi, but was stopped by Neji's kunai. However, one shuriken hit the carriage where Sagi was and this made the guards on alert.
Three ninjas with mask wielding short knives came out from the water and engaged the three Genin. They were easily brought down and stayed back while Naruto asked who they were. After staring at Naruto, Neji and Ten Ten, the three masked Ninja made an escape through the lake. Naruto went after them but luckily Neji stopped him in time, as there was a huge explosion from underwater right behind Naruto. Naruto was washed back to shore by the impact of the wave from the explosion.
"That was close. If you had kept going, you would have been caught in that." Neji said.
Naruto heaved a sigh of relieve. In the meantime, Chishima went to calm down the bull that was pulling the carriage, which it panicked due to the commotion.
"Sagi-sama." Chishima walked towards Sagi. "Are you alright?"
"Yes." He nodded. "I'm fine."
"Thank goodness." Chishima felt relieved. "Sagi-sama, these three are the ninjas from Konoha. I hired them to investigate the identity of the curse Samurai."
"Doing something unnecessary... Was it Mousou's idea?"
"Everything was done out of concern for your life, Sagi-sama. As a matter of fact, if they weren't here..."
"Silence."
"Uh, hai."
"Hey, hey, hey! Do you really not understand his feelings? He's really worried about you! If it weren't for his friendship, Konoha wouldn't have acted with that small sum of money." Naruto yelled.
"I'm not grateful. What a nuisance."
"What did you say?!"
"Friendship is a thing of the past. I'm a Daimyo, and he is nothing but a page. We stand on different levels now."
"Say that again! I'll give a good whack to those who tear friendship apart!" Naruto was about to charge at Sagi when Neji pulled him back.
"Stop it, Naruto."
"What are you doing?! Let go! People like him need a good whack!"
"He's the Daimyo." Ten Ten warned.
Sagi took the shuriken in his hand, staring at it painfully before throwing it aside.
"Go."
"Ha."
With that, Sagi left, leaving the four of them behind.
"Geez, who does he think he is?!" Naruto grumbled.
"Geez, he's the Daimyo." Ten Ten sighed.
"Please forgive him." Chishima said.
(To be continued...)
------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I apologize for not updating for quite a few weeks as I've been busy with school work. T_T
Not only that, I don't have much motivation to write these days and I really don't wanna post stories that are done half-heartedly. That being said, I'll try to update if I can before going on for another break?
Right, I'll be taking a break from late April till probably beginning of June. I have an exam in April & I'll be in Japan for the entire May till early June. （≧∇≦）
So I won't be able to update till I get back. >.<
Thank you to those who are still reading and enjoying this story. (⌒▽⌒)