Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own The Gamer manwha.
Chapter 10: A Comrade in Need. part 1
"At full speed we'll make it to Tatsu in a week and a half. Though if we move at traveling speed we will arrive in a month, give or take. But since we can't do the ladder we will have to travel at a faster pace, sorry munchkins"
Geez… There's a new nickname for us all the time
"I don't really mind" I said "the sooner we get there the faster we can start looking for Hagashi"
Freya nodded
"I hope he's okay" Leon added
We had prepared for at least a month, we all went home to let those who needed to know we were leaving for a C rank mission. Freya didn't want to risk bringing along kaldra, she still was too small—so instead she insisted the cub stay with Hestia for the time being. Apparently she has taken a liking to Hestia over time so at least she wouldn't be uncomfortable about it
Right now? We were outside the gate to the village. I had put all my tools I used for experimentation in my inventory along with the arm I was working on. I needed something to do when I wasn't guarding or training Right? Technically I didn't need sleep because I didn't get physically tired unless I use tons of chakra but it did have an impact mentally…
I shrugged "while I rather see the outside world that isn't the village, you've got no objections from me"
"alright then it's settled" Yugao-sensei said "let's get moving cupcakes, triangle formation. Leon at the back, Freya and Zephier at the hip while I take the front. And don't worry we'll go to Asteris just once, I bet you three would like to see it there"
This time it's cupcakes… Or maybe she was just in a mood for sweets? Well...I was pretty excited! I've never been outside of the village before! Well maybe except for that forest… Or was that even outside the village? Do the dungeons count? I mean I guess, it was in some sort of different dimension according to my abilities
3 hours later
"Hey Yugao-sensei?" I called out
"hm, yes?" she responded while flipping a page of her book
I looked toward her "have you ever been to Asteris? What's is it"
She didn't bother looking up "I have, it's a really large, and beautiful city. The capital of the fire country"
"What's it like? Do they have any cookies?!" Freya asked with stars in her eyes
Sensei chuckled "I'm pretty sure they have cookies snow white—and well their architect is slightly different than what you are used to back in the village"
"How come?" Leon spoke
Yugao-sensei turned a page "they are working on what's called urbanization. It's a practice that causes villages to make large buildings suitable to house multiple different apartments for people, for maybe a hundred in one building—they are calling these new type of villages, cities"
"Whoa! That's a lot of people!" I said
She nodded "the population in Asteris is quite large, in fact it is the largest population in all current civilization—it's a haven for civilians whom are non-ninja or samurai"
"If there's so much people how do they feed everyone" Leon commented
Yugao sighed "they don't… Or at least they try but there's a shortage in food stock. People are stealing food, running amuck and openly protesting against the daimyo. He rejected trade opportunities with the land of iron, the land of tea, even Seng'e"
"huh? What is Seng'e?" I asked
Freya looked at me questionably "out of everything you know, you know nothing about the water country?"
I crossed my arms "hey in my defense I wasn't very interested in terrestrial landscape"
"English?" Leon said
"I wasn't too crazy about other countries or the land they inhabit" I sweat dropped
Freya sighed "Well Seng'e is the capital of the water country"
"they have a capital too?" I asked
Yugao-sensei nodded "Yes, all major countries have a capital"
I put a hand to my chin in thought "but wouldn't the hidden villages be the capitals?" I said
Our sensei shook her head "No. While that may seem like it would be correct, the answer is that a ninja village is a militaristic village that doesn't focus much on civilian related things—which is why there is a civilian council who is in charge of certain aspects of those areas" she answered
"Ooh, makes sense" I said
"But like I was saying before" she turned a page in her book "to decline commerce with Seng'e is a fool's decision—they are known for their rich water-related natural resources… For the Water Daimyo to even offer commerce is a rarity in itself. Rumor has it that he's a selfish and cruel man" Yugao-sensei finished
I perked up "then why would the Fire Daimyo decline that?" I ask
She shrugged "No one really knows, he refuses to address that matter"
My eyes narrowed "but his people are going to suffer because of it!"
"Which is why rebels are planning something. But our job is to only find Hagashi and return him safely, nothing more, nothing less" she finished
I grit my teeth. How could a leader allow his people to go through that when you had a golden opportunity to establish trade with a wealthy city that could supply you with an abundance of food in exchange! Something's not right, that just doesn't make any sense at all
"Does the daimyo have kids?" I asked
Yugao voiced a nod "two daughters I believe" he said
"How old are they?" I asked
"w-w-why in the hell would you want to know that!" Freya exclaimed
I shrugged "curiosity"
Yugao-sensei snickered "They may be your age or a year older… But be sure to remember you are on a mission blueberry—save your charm for another time"
"Ch-ch-ch-charm?!" Freya stuttered
My eye twitched "hey it's nothing like that!"
Yugao-sensei grinned "well you are getting older, and when boys get older they need-
"Okay! That's all I needed to know thank you!" I said quickly
"They need what sensei?" Freya asked innocently
"N-n-nothing Freya" I said
She laughed "my little munchkins are adorable"
Meanwhile Leon listened amusingly
An hour later
We've been walking for an hour in silence. I couldn't help but wonder how Naruto was doing in terms of seals, perhaps I should've asked him—maybe I should also check up on Sakura and see how she is doing with her new staff as well… Come to think of it I should try and get her to look into medical ninjutsu, her chakra control is definitely up to snuff to do so—this way she'll not only be able to provide ranged support but also heal her team if they are injured
My eyes widened as I silently gasped
I felt ten chakra signatures up ahead, all seemed to be genin or below chakra reserves. Could they be bandits? I've heard of people waiting on open roads to rob unfortunate travelers but I didn't think much of it till now…
I looked in Yugao-sensei's direction, she was walking with her eyes closed and arms folded under her chest. She is an ex anbu agent so of course she would know right?
Looking towards Leon and Freya they walked normally with no indication of alarm… How can I inform them?
Shit is there even a way to communicate without actually communicating?
Wait… Oh I can do that!
I stomped the ground softly in my step while using Earth manipulation. In front of both Freya and Leon appeared the words etched in the ground 'Ten ahead. On guard'. I made sure they both saw it before making the words turn back into it's previous earthen state, they both nodded looking forward with narrowed eyes, clearly wary. Good
We continued to walk for two minutes then-!
Two people leapt hastily out of the trees from both sides and slashed Yugao at intersecting horizontal angles with daggers—she simmered out of existence, Zephier grit his teeth and took out a kunai in vice grip, Leon drew his kama and Freya drew her sword
The other perpetrators showed themselves all wielding weapons from axes, swords, and daggers
"boss, they're ninja" one of the bandits said in slight fear while looking toward their 'boss'
The boss gave a lecherous grin "so what they're just a bunch of kids' ain't look much to me" he replied and turned his gaze toward the white haired girl "oh? We' got us a beauty huh boys"
The men all leered at Freya like horn dogs while throwing provocative and vulgar comments. Freya instinctively snarled in disgust uncomfortably
"whadd'ya say boys, we can have our fun' wit her and sell her for a good price, look at that body!" the boss said with a sadistic smile
"Disgusting bastards!" Leon shouted
"You monsters make me sick" Freya said angrily
Zephier had his head down, hair overshadowed his face as his form erupted with his own amethyst chakra. He snapped his head furiously forward toward the boss in a mix of disgust and anger; he activated his chakra pressure. The immediate area darkening and his aura being the only source of light
The men all stared with open mouths and wide eyes
"wh-what is this?!" one of the men said strained
"what kind of freak are you!" the boss shouted frightened
Zephier stared with disgust as he walked forward taking a step, they took a step back "You attack us. And now you back down?" He said with strained anger
"No one talks to Freya like that and gets away with it!" Zephier said irate
Freya blushed in awe "Zephier…" she whispered with her arm to her chest gazing into the blue haired teen's back
"incredible…" Leon voiced
Zephier brought up his right arm and aimed his palm toward the group of bandits
"Gravi-
"That's enough now" a voice said
All the perpetrators immediately passed out as a blur hit them with a strike all at once to their neck in a second. Yugao then revealed herself standing in front of the fallen men
"tch, pigs" she said
The aura died down and Zephier immediately calmed down
"Why did they attack us?" Zephier asked
Yugao turned on her heel to face the teen "they're bandits, they steal and make a living out of it. Most likely they wanted subjugate Freya to slave trade. Really they're low life predictable scum" she said
Freya pulled at Zephier's coat gently "are you okay…?" she asked genuinely
He smiled brightly "I'm fine, more importantly are you alright?"
The white haired smiled with a blush and nodded "sticks and stone" she shrugged "it's going to take more than that to get to me"
Leon shook his head "how could people be so vile" he asked himself sadly
"You three are somewhat new to this. As ninja you'll quickly learn that there is many people in this world who are worse and would stop at nothing to cause misery for others" she said "but regardless, let's keep moving"
My eyes narrowed 'yeah... like Orochimaru'
"But what about the attackers?" Leon asked
Yugao created a single shadow clone "my clone will take care of them. Don't worry about it" she said while starting to walk
The teens all followed suit "hey… Sensei?" Freya said
"yes?"
The white haired teen gulped "by take care… Do you mean… k-kill?"
Yugao sighed "yes"
"O-oh" Freya said while sadly looking down
The purple haired woman turned an eye toward her "You shouldn't feel bad. Those men were despicable; just imagine how many lives they have ruined for their own gain; how many women and young girls they've raped, stole and killed. Killing them would be doing the world a favor. No one else will ever get harmed by them again" she finished impassively 'they're still kids though…' she sighed "someday you three will come face to face with someone who's life you must take. In this world, it's you, or them"
All three teens looked toward the ground in mixed emotions
'Me… Or them' Leon thought
'take a life…' Zephier thought
However Freya's thoughts were different
'yes… One day, you will die by my hands' Freya stared at the ground with cold merciless eyes as she thought of the man who killed her mother
Flashback
"Freya you must run, now, GO" a woman yelled "please! You must live!" she had long silky white hair and blue eyes
"No mommy I won't leave without you!" a child version of Freya yelled with tears in her eyes
They were surrounded in a rapidly burning building
"Freya I love you darling but I am your mother please listen-
Schlech
The little girls eyes grew wide in horror. Blood splattered on her young face
"M-mo-mmy?" she said horrified
A sword went right through the chest of the white haired woman—one of the legendary mist swords
"Mommy!" Freya screamed with a hand to her mouth as tears freely fell from her eyes
The now dead woman fell to the ground in front of her child harshly. The little girl looked up to the man who had killed her mother in fear. The man smiling in a twisted amused manner, flicking the sword of blood
The man had white hair, and brown eyes
Flashback End
Freya's fists balled until they were white and bled 'one day…'
3 hours later
"Lets stop here and set up camp to rest" Yugao-sensei said
"Yes ma'am" we said simultaneously
"Whew finally, I'm exhausted" Leon said
I handed him a bottle of water "thirsty?" He eyed it before taking it
"Thanks" he said before he wolfed it down, I nodded
It didn't take very long to set things up, I gathered stones to circle a fire place for us while Freya gathered dry branches and leaves which left Leon to build up the tents for us.
We sat in a circle in front of the fire eating some deer meat that I had in my inventory, it needed to be cooked but the campfire provided that opportunity for us.
Yugao-sensei stared at the fire sitting down on a log with her sword on her lap
"Hey Yugao-sensei you never told us about your sword" I said
She sighed "yeah, I guess I didn't"
"Id really like to know too" Leon said
Freya nodded
"This sword" she grabbed the middle of the scabbard and stood it on the ground "is a mythical sword called 'Vampiric Slayer'. The myth says that it is a powerful katana made for slaying vampires—
"wait, whoa, vampires are real?" I asked incredulously
She chuckled "very real" she said "like I was saying—in exchange for that power, the sword turns the user into a being known as a Helsing. They're similar to vampires but they are more like the opposite"
I raised an eyebrow "wouldn't the opposite be normally human?"
She leaned the sword against the log "it does sound like it doesn't it. But no, a Helsing is the natural enemy of a vampire"
"um I thought werewolves were the natural enemy of vampires" Freya commented
Yugao-sensei openly laughed jovily "oh don't be silly, werewolves aren't real!"
We all sweat dropped… But vampires and Helsings are real?
"A Helsing is probably what some might call a 'true' vampire. We don't need blood to survive, in fact I'd prefer normal food—though drinking blood gives me a nice power up and adrenaline rush" she said
"so that's why your eyes sometimes turn black and red?" Leon asked
She nodded "Yes, being a Helsing my eyesight becomes exceptionally better—and when I get emotional it changes like that"
My face turned pale "w-wa-wait so that means there's vampires out there in the world"
Yugao-sensei chuckled "no, not anymore" she said "they were all wiped out or rather, turned back to human by all Helsings hundreds of years ago so now they are just myth"
"so now there's just Helsing?" Yugao-sensei shook her head and shrugged
"I'm not sure, but all I know is that I'm one because of this sword" she finished
"did you know it would do that when You first wielded it?" Leon asked
Our purple haired sensei shook her head and adopted a sad faraway look but only for a few seconds "no… I had no idea at the time. It wasn't my choice"
We all felt the history of the subject in the air, it was full of pain. What ever had happened to her stuck with her to this very day
"do you ever miss being regular human?" Freya asked
Yugao-sensei nodded "very much" she began "but it has it's perks and I've come to grips with that reality long ago"
"Still sensei, I think what you are is cool!" I said, Leon and Freya nodded
Leon put a finger to his chin "so is a Helsing still human?" He asked curiously
Yugao-sensei nodded "regardless if it's a vampire, Helsing, Hanyou, or even Jinchurriki, you are still very much human—just a different line of humans, the best example I could give you is how it's similar to several different types of dog species but they are from the same family—the same concept applies here" she said
I folded my arms and nodded "makes sense"
"Alright honey buns, it's time to call it a night" sensei got up "I will take the first watch and we will rotate every three hours, understood?"
"Yes ma'am" we replied
Six hours later
Leon woke me up to begin my shift as watch, I yawned and got out of the tent to begin. I sat on a log next to the fire, putting more dry leaves in it and pushing it together with a tree branch stick. I sighed, what was I going to do for the next three hours?
I suppose I could study the Flying Thunder God seal, I DID reach a master level in fuinjutsu after all. I took out a small worktable, a magnifying glass, a notebook and a quill so I could write notes on it. Finally I took out Lord Fourth Hokage's kunai and began analyzing the seal
3 hours later
I sighed to myself. The assumption I had initially was half correct—the seal did target time itself, the fourth dimension But it also targeted limbo. Limbo is a place in between dimensions, a reality inverted to actual reality where time doesn't exist. The sealing matrix has a couple of mechanisms that aide these targeted places—a marker, which is in every single flying thunder god seal. It is a median that acts as a push and pull feature which will pull a person directly interacting with a marker and push them through limbo and summon them to the designated marker… Usually a concept like this would take a few minutes to happen but that's where time comes in. It's simple really, the mechanism is layered with a time accelerated feature that makes the summoning instant… In every sense of the word the seal is genius! Additionally, it even has a direct DNA seal that allows the user to detect the exact location of a marker whenever they please
Hypothetically anyone can decipher the Flying Thunder God seal, but no one can use it. To even activate the seal, one must be Lord Fourth himself due to a signature seal which binds a whole sealing matrix to the users direct DNA. The only way to use the seal is to reverse engineer the seal and add ones own DNA to the signature seal… In all sense of the word it's like a copyright seal that prevents others from stealing and using it. I sweat dropped
Though recreating the seal is only half the battle, once that's done the person would have to learn how to be able to use it effectively. Though I'd rather not use the Flying Thunder God—it just doesn't feel right to me. That honor should go to Naruto! I'll have to teach him all about the seal when I get back to the village—hopefully he isn't slacking in his fuinjutsu studies
But just because I don't want to use the jutsu, doesn't mean I can't make a new one based off of the design from the original one. I sighed and yawned, it was time to wake up Freya to switch shifts. I put everything in my inventory and went in her tent and gently shook Freya's form
She opened her crystal blue eyes, it truly was something beautiful… She is beau-
W-wait what the hell am I thinking! My face flushed a crimson red "u-u-um it-its time to s-sw-itch now" I stuttered as low as possible and looked away
She sat up and yawned "okay, get some sleep Zephier-kun" she said tiredly and got up to exit the tent
Wh-why did that sound so sexy?!
I quickly got into my sleeping bag still flustered, heart racing a hundred miles per hour!
I took steady slow breathes to relax… And to calm the rushing blood that surged to a concentrated… Point in my body—ugh it has a mind of its own!
One week later
"Is that Tatsu Village?" I asked
We were running the whole day in silence the past few days have been very uneventful. I had also begun working on engineering my own version of the Flying thunder god seal to work on my weapons... That might sound the same considering that the Fourth Hokage has used Kunai to get everywhere but I was simply going to use it literally for my weapons; to be able to spawn them in my hand and be able to instantly desummon it while also be able to recall it immediately. It may also sound like simple summoning seal or storage seal but the difference is that a summoning seal only works once, one way—and a storage seal stores an item in a pocket dimension; however, you would need to locate and memorize where it is you are sealing it within the storage seal and channel chakra through that point to get it out... With my seal I can just feel it anywhere in the world and call it to me instantly.
The flying thunder god worked opposite to this, he couldn't teleport his weapons to him—he merely teleported himself to his weapons, and tags. I'm teleporting my weapons to me immediately... And while I'm at it I should probably add the feature in to be able to teleport myself to my weapons that are within my vicinity already summoned.
I haven't thought of a name yet but hell I'll figure it out
Yugao voiced a nod "yes we're here" stopped at the front of village, it wasn't that big in terms of defense. It simply had a medium sized wall surrounding the village while the gate was all made of wood. I sweat dropped.
If any ninja wanted to break in without climbing the walls all they would have to do is use a simple grand fireball or any C rank equivalent jutsu...
"Halt" a voice called out from atop of the wall
"Who goes there!" They said
"Ninja from the leaf village, as per requested from a client within the village" Yugao said slightly raising her voice so they could hear her
The man on top of the wall disappeared from the top, he was probably racing down the wall to open the gate
The gate opened slowly with creaks and the man stood there with his spear idle in his hands and a smile on his face
"You all must be here for Delia, her son had not made it to their home yet and she is very worried"
Yugao-sensei nodded "yes we are here to investigate what might have happened to Hagashi Yakumo, can you tell us anything you might have seen, heard, or know?"
He nodded "yes he came here just two weeks ago at the gate, he was nervous but he's not the nervous type—he was acting strange but we let him in because he is like family to everyone in the village" he said
"Do you remember anything he might have said or what time it was in the day, was there anyone with him, the direction he went in after being let in?" Yugao asked
The man thought to himself as he looked up "hmm, it had to be at midnight—he was alone and there didn't seem to be anyone else. He greeted us normally but there was something off about him, he was very pale in the face... like he was spooked or something! He went in the direction of his mother's house and that's the last I seen him" he finished
Yugao-sensei nodded "could you point me in the direction of her home"
He nodded he pointed north-west of his position "go that way, you can't miss it—it's on a farm with their family name on the mailbox"
Yugao smiled "thank you for your help, and if you remember anything else—please come find us"
He mirrored the smile and nodded "will do"
We walked in and they closed the gate behind us
"What do you think it means sensei?" I asked
She put a finger on her chin "it's too soon to say, it could mean a number of things. He was spooked, nervous, and never showed up at home but went there anyway..." she began "we are going to have to gather more information before we can make any assumptions"
"Okay" I agreed
Freya and Leon didn't say anything but you could tell they were in thought thinking the same thing
It didn't take long before we stumbled upon the farm, it was a few acres long and the main house was in the middle beside a barn that most likely contained their livestock. Their wheat looked great and fresh, this place must have been one of the food sources for Asteris—it would make sense right? Commerce and all of that stuff.
We walked to the front door. It didn't seem like anything was out of the ordinary here
Yugao-sensei rang the door bell—it was on the right side of the door
"One moment" a woman called out from behind the door
The door opened to reveal a middle aged woman with dark brown hair that had grayish tones coming in
"Hello Mrs. Yakumo we are ninja from the hidden leaf here in response to your request about a fellow shinobi, your son"
She smiled in relief "thank the heavens you're here"
Sensei nodded "we would like to ask you a couple of questions regarding your son is that okay?" She asked
The woman nodded "of course, come in come in—I was just about to make some tea" she invited us in and held the door
Sensei accepted and walked in, we followed suit. The lady directed us to what appeared to be the lounging area with a sofa and two loveseats that had a reclining chair to the far right
"Please have a seat, I'll be right with you with refreshments and tea" she went to the next room which I'm guessing is the kitchen area
A minute later she came in with a tray that held a tea pot, and a whole gallon of what seemed to be sweet iced tea as well as tea cups and regular drinking glass cups. Beside all that was a small basket of snacks that ranged from different types of cookies... I looked towards Freya who looked like the happiest Cheshire cat. She set it on the coffee table and sat on the reclining chair
"Please help yourselves" the lady said
"Thank you~" Freya sang as she grabbed cookies and happily munched away, we all sweat dropped... she was in bliss right now
I took a cup of tea as did Leon, however, Yugao Sensei politely declined
"Now what would you like to know " the lady said
"Please, Yugao is fine" Sensei quickly countered "what could you tell us about your son that may help us in our search for him. Places he would usually go, routines, friends, other family, or did he have any enemies"
The lady took a sip of tea and sat it down on her hand sadly "Hagashi's favorite place was always on the farm. He loved raising the animals and treating the crops but..." she paused "by the time he hit age seventeen my oldest son had gone missing... We were told that he was most likely dead... Hagashi's has started meeting with a new friend that I didn't particularly like. He started getting into trouble with the village guard, coming home late. Then a year after he was set on becoming a ninja for the leaf. Me and my oldest son are the only relatives he has" she said and took a sip of tea then sighed
"He would come and visit every year at the same date and same time afterward but now he hasn't shown up and I'm worried that something may have happened to him"
We all sat and listened intently "what could you tell us about this friend he had" Yugao asked
"He was tall, he had a face tattoo that said 'Rimi' spelt on the right side of his cheek and I believe his name was... Don? He had this vibe about him that screamed trouble. But ever since our oldest son... Hagashi has changed a lot"
"I see. Thank you this was very helpful information . Do you have a picture of Hagashi so we can ask around if people seen him?" Yugao Sensei said
The woman nodded and went next to the fire place and took a photo out of a frame and handed it to Yugao Sensei
Yugao thanked her and we got up. She motioned to us to go and we followed suit
"Please promise you'll find my boy" the lady asked from behind us
"We will do what ever we can to make sure he's alright" Sensei replied
"Thank you" the lady said
We left out the door we came from and closed it behind us.
I grunted to myself "back to the drawing board?" I asked out loud
Before anyone could respond Yugao shook her head "no" she started "we start with the friend, the name 'Rimi' that is tattooed on that guys face belongs to a well known crime family that dominates the self proclaimed fire countries underground drug ring" she finished
Leon's eyes widened "then that means!" I began
She nodded "yes, Hagashi might have got himself mixed with them"
"Where do we start looking then" Freya asked
"We should head to Asteris, I believe their base of operations could be there as well as Hagashi. We'll ask around if people had seen him and go from there. Ready team?" Yugao-Sensei asked
"Yes" we said in unison
Then we took off. It took about 5 minutes to reach the village walls at full speed and climbed up with our feet. Speeding down the road, we jumped to the trees and began to head toward Asteris
"How far away is Asteris?" I asked leaping from a tree branch to another
"Should be around ten kilometers from here, we'll reach it in less than an hour" Sensei said
I nodded and leapt in silence the rest of the way
45 minutes later
"Whoa…" I whispered to myself in awe
"That's!" Leon started
"Amazing!" Freya finished
There was massive buildings that had multiple lights, some seemed to be made of brick and others with different kinds of material but they were all impressive!
"It is something isn't it" Yugao-sensei commented
"it's so different! And full of people!" I said
Yep I heard so many people up and about, it was very lively and we weren't even in the city yet! Asteris was sure a beauty; it must have taken a long time to get like this
We walked forward towards the gates that were open. The size of the gates seemed to be equivalent to the size of the Konoha gates back home
"Halt!" a man shouted as soon as we entered
We stopped walking and looked toward the source of the voice. A man wearing light armor holding a spear approached us in surprise
"Konoha ninja? What business do you have in Asteris" he asked sternly
"Me and my team are on a mission and have reason to believe one of our associates could be here" Yugao-sensei said professionally
The man gave a surprised gasp and nodded "I see, please forgive me for presenting myself rudely. Recently there has been an increase in rebel activity in the city and it has us all paranoid"
"There's no need to apologize, I fully understand" Sensei replied
"If there is anything I could help with, please let me know" the guard said
Yugao-Sensei brought out the picture "actually yes, have you seen this man around here recently?"
He looked at the picture in thought "hm, yes actually I've seen him recently in one of the local bars, that is about it"
She nodded and put the picture away "thank you, could you tell me where this bar is?"
"I'll do one better, I'll escort you and your team there!"
Yugao-sensei nodded "of course, you may lead the way"
The guard smiled "Thank you, my name is Tom Space"
"I am Yugao Uzumi, these are my little brownies—Zephier, Freya, and Leon" I sweat dropped
The man chuckled and bowed "it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance"
We all nodded and exchanged pleasantry and began walking to what I'm assuming would be the bar the man spoke about. I looked around fascinated by all the differences of the city, the lively amount of people—it sure was a sight to see! Seriously I've never seen so many people in one place before going about their day!
There was a lot of vendors and shops and… What the hell?
My eyes widened, in a dark alleyway were pale anorexic children… Their bones were practically visible through their skin and looked to be maybe 7 to 8 years old… I balled my fists hard
"hold on" I said
They came to a stop and looked at me curiously as I approached the children in the alleyway. From my inventory I took out a lot of hamburgers in a basket a long with $1,000 and put it in front of them
Their lifeless eyes turned their gaze to me practically longing to cease of existing. They then smelled the hamburgers and their lifeless eyes became replaced with massive lust for food. They turned their gaze to me again hopefully—I smiled and nodded. Tears welled up on the corners of their eyes as they hungrily ate the food I gave them. It was two little girls and a boy; I smiled fondly and pat them on the head like my father always did for me, then I got up and turned around to leave and go back to my team who was waiting for me
"Wait mister!" a child voice shouted out
I turned around to meet one of the little girls
"What's your name mister?" she asked
I smiled and knelt down to her height "my name is Zephier, Zephier Raiden and I'm a ninja"
The cute anorexic girl smiled happily "Thank you Mister Zephier ninja!" she exclaimed before going back to eat more
I smiled fondly and turned again to walk to my team
"Well aren't you the humanitarian" Yugao-sensei said with a smile
I shrugged "they're just kids… Malnourished and homeless kids. They need it more than I do"
"What did you give them?" Tom asked
I shifted my gaze to him "A lot of food and some money"
He raised an eyebrow "where'd you get the food from?"
"A preservation storage seal that allows me to store food at its current status and maintain its state until I take it out" I said
Lie Successful
He stared at me blankly before smiling "you ninja and your resourcefulness, heh good job kid"
"You're the best Zeph" Leon praised
I rubbed my head sheepishly "ah it's no big deal, just try'na' help"
Within the corner of my eye I could see Freya staring at me, face flushed red "What's wrong?"
She gasped in surprise like if she was in a trance "N-n-nothing, I-I was just thinking th-that you did a ni-nice thing is all, hehehee…" she said
"I apologize for the state of our city, lately food is scarce" Tom said
I shook my head "its not your fault, don't worry about it"
He slightly grimaced, though he nodded anyway
I smiled "Well let's get a move on"
A few minutes later
We stopped in front of a bar with a large sign that held kanji for 'Barlu's Tavern'. It didn't seem all too impressive but I guess this is what passes for the usual tavern-like appearance
"Well this is it, I must get back to my duties, I do hope you all will enjoy your stay and I hope that you have a safe mission ahead of you"
Sensei nodded "thank you for your help"
He nodded "See you all around" he waved as he walked away
We went inside the bar, there were several wooden tables and chairs with a wooden bar that had wooden stools to sit on. It seemed like the theme was just a bunch of wood—perhaps I was expecting more?
We walked in front of the bar and sat down on the stools, the bartender was a woman who I assumed was the owner named Barlu
"Ninja' ey?" She asked rhetorically "what can I get' ya fellers"
"One glass of red wine please" Yugao said then she looked toward us
Uhm... Well it IS a bar so...?
"I'll have sprite soda" Freya said
Oh... so there's more than just alcohol here, go figure
"Water please" Leon said
Then everyone looked toward me and I gulped "uhm, strawberry juice?" I kind of more or less asked myself more than anything
"Comin' right up" the bartender said
I heard a snicker and turned toward the source and looked at Yugao who snickered at me "what?" I asked and shifted uncomfortably in the wooden stool
She giggled again "nothing cutie"
I felt my cheeks heating up and crossed my arms trying to hide my increasing embarrassment
A few moments later the bartender came back with our drinks
"It's pretty empty at this time isn't it" Yugao said taking a sip of wine
The woman leaned one hand on the bar table "ye' sometime' ya get the occasional day drinkers though. But later during the night there's quite some folk up'n about here" she replied as she went to clean a glass with a rag making eye contact with Sensei
"I bet, this is some pretty good wine too" she took another sip
The bartender lady smiled and nodded "imported straight from the land' o' tea herself"
"Is the wine good there?" I asked
She nodded again "why' it'd be the darnest good wine in the nations" she said
Yugao Sensei voiced an agreement "they are well known for their ripe grapes and making of wine with them" she said
"Oh I didn't know alcohol was made with fruit" Leon said and in agreement
"Yep, some alcoholic beverages're made with the kinda' stuff you wouldn't think of" the bartender replied
We spent a minute in silence after that exchange
"Barlu, do you often get ninjas in your tavern?" Yugao asked
She shook her head "what gave it away"
Yugao Sensei took the last sip of her wine "the surprise on your face when we came in"
She put the cup down on the part people would drink out of, is that a bar thing? Or maybe that's so dust didn't get in the cups?
"Yeah there's not much ninja that come'round here—e'cept this one feller" she said as she refilled Yugao's drink, I had finished mine as well... Not that I wanted another drink, maybe? It was pretty good
Yugao-Sensei took out a photo and showed it to the bartender lady "did he look like this?"
She nodded "yeah' that'd be the one" she said "friend of yours?"
"He's a fellow shinobi from the leaf, recently he may have got into some trouble and we're here looking for him" Sensei said "could you tell us anything that might help us at all?"
Barlu thought for a moment "yeah' he' be comin' in waitin' for a shady lookin' feller at the same time every day so far. They exchange something then leave" she said "I reckon around eleven PM would be the exact time"
Sensei nodded, stood up and put a wad of cash on the counter that held an obvious generous tip "this is for the drinks and information" she said
The lady thanked her and we were on our way
"Are we going to wait?" I asked
"Maybe stake out the place?" Freya added
"Try to find him?" Leon said
Yugao-Sensei shook her head negatively "good pitches kids, I'm almost proud. No, we are going to relax for now and gather information. Patterns, eavesdrop and shadow. There's a possibility that Hagashi went rogue, so I don't want to risk that off chance and be caught off guard especially since this is the first mission for you three outside of the village at a higher rank than chor- um D ranks" she finished
She was definitely going to say chores... But still. I can't help but feel nervous when thinking of a rogue ninja... Mizuki
I gulped. And Mizuki was just a Chunnin—I'm not sure how strong he was amongst other Chunnin but he was strong and the guy we are looking for is in that same league
"Hey, blueberry don't worry. I'll be there just like always" she said
And I knew exactly what she was referring to. I let the breath out that I didn't know I was holding in and smiled then nodded
"For now let's find a place to stay while we are here. A hotel shouldn't be far" the purple haired team leader walked off in a direction
We walked for fifteen minutes. The streets were busy and I mean busy, there was so much people everywhere! I had to reduce my chakra sensing range to my immediate person because the sheer number of different chakra signatures I was sensing had started to give me a migraine! It was quadruple the size of Konoha like a mass mess of underlying insects!
But hell when we reached the hotel I was blown away. It was vastly different than the rest of the city, while other parts seem to be run down and in desperate need of maintenance and remodeling. This was practically lavish! The buildings nearby even seem to be well off... it makes no sense! Why would this part of the city be any different from the rest? I looked around for any sort of poverty and found none. People were well dressed in fancy clothes and jewelry
"This is Plaza Hotel. It's the most beautiful place in the city and by far the best hotel I've ever seen with many, many rooms... It even looks better inside" Yugao-Sensei said admiring its beauty
"But Sensei how come this area is different from everywhere else?" Leon asked
I nodded "I was wondering too"
She sighed "there's a saying around here... The rich stay rich and the poor stay poor" she began "many markets are dominated by monopolies and yes while this may be against everything any sovereign state would stand for... The Daimyo does absolutely nothing about it" she finished darkly
"This is another reason Asteris and her people suffer" she added
"That's terrible..." Freya said in shock
That's ridiculous there's something going on here... I just know it!
"Yes. It is. However the more we don't think about it the better" she said dismissively
The purple haired female walked forward with Leon and Freya closely by while Zephier balled his fists in anger and frustration "how..." he began
She perked up and turned around "what?"
"How... How could you say that!" He shouted
Yugao's eyes narrowed
"These people are suffering! Going through a recess in depression and surviving on scraps and the only thing you could do is say don't think about it?! How could you toss people in need to the side like that! We're ninja isn't that what we do?! Protect the innocent!? The civilians who are defenseless against our enemies?! Those kids and others!" He shouted again
"Oh yeah? And just who is going to save them? You? You go ahead and try, there's more people in this city than a mathematician would bother to count. This isn't our home; that is a direct violation of national affairs to meddle in the business of Asteris which could lead to bad blood, do you want to cause a war in our own country? Because if you keep up that attitude that's where it's heading"
Zephier gulped "I... I didn't-"
Yugao sighed "it's okay just relax... it's best not to get too attached... it hurts less" she said sadly and walked in
We all followed behind. I wish there was something I could do to help... But I guess it couldn't be helped
True to sensei's words the inside looked even better than the overwhelming outside! Marble everywhere! The most expensive looking floors, walls, trinkets, lights, hell even the staff looked like they were expensive!
Yugao-Sensei walked up to the front desk receptionist and smiled "I need four rooms please" she said nicely
"Four rooms of course" the man didn't look up from what he was reading
I tried to peer over and see over the desk but I was too short! It looked like an orange book. The same book that Yugao Sensei and Kakashi Sensei read?
"How long" the man didn't look up
"Two weeks" she said
The man still face in book didn't look up but he shifted his head and I saw Yugao widen her eyes slightly. I looked toward what she was looking at and saw a tattoo on his neck that said 'Rimi'
"That'll be $41,72- oh" he looked up finally and his eyes set itself on our headbands
"Sorry we're full, there are no rooms available" he said
What the fuck? But he didn't even check! He was reading his book the entire time
I saw her eyes narrow and she nodded her head and turned around to the entrance then walked "let's go" she said plainly
As we made it outside we stopped "Sensei he-"
"Yeah. Something is going on here" she replied
She sighed "well looks like we will have to camp out in the woods, that was the only hotel in the city"
I clicked my teeth "damn I really wanted to see more of that place" I said in frustration
She nodded "it's a once in a life time kind of thing for many people because it's so expensive. It's at least $745 for one night in one bedroom"
"And you were going to spend all that money for two weeks in there?" Freya's mouth hung loosely
Sensei nodded "being a high ranking ninja has its benefits" she shrugged
Technically I could have paid that too... But compared to Sensei I'm basically a hack, I sweat dropped
"Where will we stay?" Leon asked
Yugao-Sensei turned her gaze toward him "there's a forest within the city that stays untouched, it's not far from here—we can stay there for the time being, any objections?" She found none "good, follow me"
I wonder what kind of jutsu I should make for the gravity release that I could actually use... The cost was insanely high and attempting to do the one skill I have could possibly kill me... Possibly, or just knock me out for a long while.
I needed to start small for now till I'm capable of handling tougher jutsu... Perhaps things as little as flying? I remember in one of the lessons Iruka taught us in the academy was that the Tsuchikage Ohnoki was capable of flight but how if not for gravity release? He had his particle thing...
"We're here" Sensei said
We arrived in the forest. It looked like any other ordinary one, we arrived at a clearing that would benefit our survival. I could see deer scattered throughout the land so food wasn't going to be an issue... Not that we needed it since I have x423 Deer meat still from the graduation exam
"Right now it's approaching the evening, we'll get ourselves set up and then we'll go out to Barlu's tavern to do some recon—you kiddies already know what to do~" the purple haired Sensei said
My eye twitched considerably 'we're always setting up while she watches or rather in her terms "supervises"' I sighed and got to work
3 hours later
"Alright" Sensei began
We finished setting up our tents and made a fire place to provide us with warmth and cooking. We were next to a stream that had fish going through it so water was fine with extra source of food
"It's about that time we head out to investigate our leads, now what have we gathered so far?"
"Initially Hagashi was declared missing, supposed to have arrived for an annual visit to his family home that he never misses" I started
"Then with little information presented to us we concluded that he may have got into something bad, which was later confirmed with the story his mother told us" Freya continued
"We connected the Rimi family to Hagashi's disappearance, which lead us to take our investigation to Asteris where we later find out that he has frequent meet ups with a suspicious-like person that is possibly connected to the Rimi family, then later found another member of that same family an employee at the most expensive hotel possibly in the world—in a city of famin" Leon finished
Yugao-Sensei smiled and clapped "all correct, glad everyone is on their toes" she stretched "okay munchkins let's go"
Cliffhanger
Well I'm back, heh
Not for a set schedule or anything, yet. But I hope everyone had a good year and good holidays since last chapter. I had revised all chapters, changed some things and added some so if it's been a while since you've read you might want to re read the chapters, if not then that's on you but anyway I had more to this chapter but decided to leave things here and have the extra for the next chapter. This chapter is the start of their first C rank and some lore/world building etc. there will be more action in the next
any questions just pm me, please review and tell me what you think.
Till next time