Chapter 11 Murano Renjiro
Murano Renjiro sat patiently on dock thirteen, waiting for his subordinates to finish tying the ropes to the rest of the cinderblocks. Light from the full moon reflected off the calm water of Tekan harbor. His short black hair swayed with the wind. The rhythmic clanging of a nearby boat rubbing against the dock helped drown out the whimpers from under the burlap sacks.
"Renjiro sir, it's ready." Said one of the men he'd recently recruited to their cause.
Murano sighed and stood, his sore back protesting the awkward sitting position he'd been holding for the past ten minutes.
"Remind me to teach you fools how to tie knots next opportunity we get. Watching that was painful." He said as he paced up and down the dock, his amber eyes taking stock of the miserable wretches he had tied up. All of them having crossed him in the past week. Either reporting him to authorities, trying to take an unauthorized cut from his operations, or actively attacking his men.
All of them would serve as an example. An example to this city of rats that he was the new power here. Not the Leaf, not the Tekan City Guards, and most certainly not the misguided nobles who believed they called the shots.
When he first laid eyes on this city ten years ago as a mist ninja, he was shocked such a city could exist in the prosperous and just Land of Fire. For such a disgusting and corrupt city to operate under the protection of both the Fire Daimyo and Hidden Leaf seemed preposterous. It wasn't until five years ago when he and the Mist had a falling out that he realized the potential of this city.
Not for the Land of Fire. No. Tekan was already lost to them. They were just trying to milk what was left of the sea trade that its harbor dominated. Tekan was too big, too old for the Daimyo or Leaf to fully control. Its corruption ran deep. Tearing the tumor out would destroy the city.
So, they let it fester.
But for him, it was the perfect bedrock to expand his operations. Nowhere else in the elemental nations could you find such a densely packed population without adequate ninja surveillance. A population so poor, so uneducated, they were practically eating themselves alive for the smallest morsel of food.
A muffled moan escaped one of the hunched-over forms on the dock. Murano crouched and lifted the burlap sack, revealing a gagged man. With a small tug, he removed the gag from the man.
This one's name was Koda.
Murano slapped the man across the cheek. "What was that Koda? You must speak up if you want people to take you seriously."
"Please, please let my men go. They were just following orders. Take my life, but please let them go. They won't attack your shipments again." The man begged.
Koda and three other dock workers decided several days ago that it was a good idea to take the law into their own hands. They attacked several of his shipments passing through the slums and threw the valuable product into the ocean.
"Oh Koda. You know I can't do that." Murano said, still crouched in front of the kneeling man. "You see these people behind me? They all work for me. Do you know why? Some of them left their villages and betrayed their friends to follow me. They take extreme risks and put themselves in danger. Why would they do that?"
"Out of fear. They work for you out of fear." Koda whimpered.
"No. Fear isn't enough. They work for me because I don't lie to them. I told them I'd make them rich. I told them as long as they did as I asked, they would get a cut of the spoils. I've never once threatened to kill them. They are free to leave if they want." Murano paused and jabbed his finger into Koda's chest. "But this poses a problem for you. You see, I like you Koda. You fight for what you believe is right. I was once like you. But when I told you and your friends that if you intervened, there would be a price to pay, I made a promise. Not only to you but to those men and women behind me. Letting you and your friends live would break a promise. I'd be lying to my loyal business partners. And I don't lie."
"Please. Murano, please. Some of these men have families, children back home that need them."
Murano sighed and stood up. "Good. How are they supposed to serve as an example to this city if no one cares about them?"
Murano kicked the cinderblock tied to the man directly to Koda's left. The block slid off the dock and hit the water with a resounding splash. As the rope drew taut, the hooded man yelped as it pulled his legs out from under him and he hit the cold, deep water of Tekan's harbor. Bubbles rose to the surface as the man screamed under the waves.
"You fucking monster!" Koda yelled. "You can kill us, but how long do you think you can continue here? The Leaf will eventually come, the Daimyo will send forces."
"No doubt they will. But not for a while. You see, they are caught up in a little conflict called the Second Ninja World War. And it's not going well. When they finally turn their gaze here, we'll be ready. My drugs will be flowing through the streets. The number of men under my employment will have tripled. It'll take another war to flush me out. A war they won't have the appetite for."
Murano turned to his men and gestured towards the fifteen remaining tied-up unfortunate souls. "Finish the rest. But leave Koda here for last. I want him to watch his friends die. I want him to realize the magnitude of his failure before he joins them in the cold deep."
As he walked away, he heard the splashes behind him start. It was uncivilized, dirty, but it needed to be done. If he was to achieve his goals, if he was to keep all the promises he made, then it was inevitable some examples had to be made.
As he walked away from the harbor, the crouched silhouette of Sera Chise, one of his longest and most valued partners, became visible in the moonlight. She was one of his first followers. A fellow ex-mist ninja now rouge. She dropped from the building above and stalked towards him. Her long white hair swayed in the ocean breeze. Vivid green eyes glowed in the darkness. Blood dripped from her fingernails.
"Has our tail been dealt with?" He asked while continuing his walk.
"Yes. I handled the Mist hunter-nin. I don't believe he reported our location to the Mist village."
"Good. We can't have The Mist intervening. We aren't ready yet for conflict with the villages." He paused and grabbed Sera's hand to inspect it. "You aren't hurt, are you?" She didn't pull away. They've been together for years, even back in the Mist they worked as teammates.
"None of it's mine." She said, letting him wipe off the blood.
"Good. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." He said, dropping her hand and continuing his walk.
"And Amaya. Where is she?"
"She's up in the lighthouse, as usual. She's been distracted all week during training. You should talk to her." Sera said as she folded her arms over her chest and leaned against a wall. "I'm still not sure what you see in the girl. She isn't particularly skilled, and her chakra reserves are puny."
"I can remember our sensei in the mist academy saying the same thing about us. And yet look what we achieved in the Mist. Look what we are working towards here." Murano said and turned towards the lighthouse. "You see it in her eyes, just as I do. She is the same as we used to be. Abandoned and lost. But there's power in her, not raw strength but resolve. We can hone resolve, sharpen it into something great. It is far more deadly than raw talent and much harder to find."
"Well, then you'd better go talk to her. I think she needs you."
"I know. But before I go, no more moonlighting around for you. I need you here in Tekan, by my side. These next couple of years are critical." He said while pointing at Sera. He received a sarcastic eye roll. Shaking his head, he chuckled. She would listen. He could always count on Sera. He occasionally just had to rein in her more bloodthirsty tendencies.
Turning to leave, he started the slight uphill trek towards young Amaya's favorite hideout. He remembered the first time he laid eyes on the young street urchin. She was a bruised and discarded mess in a dumpster. Some older orphans had cornered her after stealing some food from the central market. The slums were a brutal place. If you weren't hiding from the guards, you were running from other slum dwellers who were trying to steal a piece of your spoils.
And yet when he peered over the rim of that dumpster, instead of seeing some beaten and defeated animal, he saw something else. Sure, she was bruised and battered. But there was a spark of defiance in those violet eyes of hers. She was already planning her next move. Already putting herself back together to steal the next loaf of bread.
Walking up the last couple of steps to the lighthouse platform, he saw the small form of the ten year old girl sitting with her legs dangling over the ledge. The moonlight glistened off her midnight black hair. He made a noise to alert the girl and saw her quickly put an envelope in her pocket. She could keep her secrets. He wasn't interested in them. He could tell the letters she received from her mysterious friend brought her joy. A joy he had no right to intervene in.
"Sera tells me you've been distracted during your studies. Do you want to talk to me about it?"
"No." the girl stated forcefully.
He sighed and sat down next to her. Stubborn as always. It was both her most annoying and enduring quality.
"Fine. Can you at least tell me how your chakra exercises are going?"
A frustrated sigh escaped the girl as she gave him an annoyed look. "They're going fine. I've mastered both tree and water walking. I can perform the transformation, clone, and substitution jutsu."
"That's good. You've come a long way."
"But I've been able to do those for months now!" She snapped, her arms flailing in annoyance. "When can I learn the cool stuff? Sera and you can do all sorts of cool stuff. Water clones, dragons, weird illusion stuff. I wanna do that!"
He laughed, "Weird illusion stuff. I've never seen it described like that in the books."
"You know what I mean."
"Yes." He huffed, laughter still escaping his mouth. "Yes, I think I know what you mean."
"Sooo, when can I learn it?"
Murano sighed. He'd gone over it a hundred times with the girl, but it never seemed to stick. Thankfully, he had some good news. He'd finally made a breakthrough.
"Amaya, your chakra is too small for those types of jutsu. That's why we have been teaching you the basics."
The girl pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "Why me?" she said softly. "Everyone else has something, but I was never given anything."
Murano wrapped his arm around the small girl and pulled her to his side. His arm dwarfed the girl. Sometimes he forgot just how small she was.
"No one has everything, Amaya. But life is about learning to work with what you have. And you have more than you think."
"Like what?" She pouted sarcastically from his side.
"Well, you're quick on your feet, flexible, agile, and very very devious."
"Devious?" she exclaimed from his side, pushing him away to make an accusing face towards him.
"Oh, so I'm supposed to believe the pile of live harbor crabs in Kamino's pillowcase wasn't your doing?" he said with his eyebrow raised.
Amaya quickly looked away, trying to hide a smirk. "He deserved it."
"He most definitely did. It was a good prank and excellent use of your stealth skills."
"Wasn't it! I distracted him with the clone jutsu and snuck the crabs in when he wasn't looking." She exclaimed before reddening in the face as he smiled down at her.
"Look what you did with just one of those basic jutsus. Sera isn't strong because she can use large destructive water-style attacks. She's strong because she doesn't have to use them. She plans her engagements, prepares beforehand, and has mastered the basics so that she can use them without thinking."
"I know. I just wish I could do them. I wish I could be of more help to you and Sera."
He smiled at the girl and put his hand on top of her head, giving it a playful tussle.
"You're more helpful than you could ever imagine, Amaya. Your insights in the slums here have been instrumental to our success."
He saw a small flicker of doubt and shame swirl in her eyes. She still had doubts. He didn't blame her. Murano had no delusion of his goals. He knew he wasn't a good man. But he would never force this girl into anything. She deserved the truth, deserved the choice. It had to be her decision to join them.
"I've given you a month to think about it. You've seen my organization's actions. You know the type of person I am. Have you decided?"
No doubt this was what had Amaya distracted recently. A tough decision to lie upon the girl. But his plans were moving, the timelines were shifting forward. He needed to know if she was in. If she wasn't, then he would let her go with no hard feelings. He gave everyone the choice. But if she said yes, he would give her everything.
He watched as emotions swirled in her violet eyes. Guilt, anger, happiness, and then finally resolve. The girl reached into her pocket and pulled out the envelope. Holding it between her index finger and thumb, she tore it in half. Releasing it into the ocean breeze.
"I'm in." She resoundingly stated.
His heart swelled, and he smiled. The girl had wormed her way into his bitter heart, carving out a place along with the few others he truly cared for. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a seal. He'd been working on this for months. Yesterday he finally made a breakthrough in the seal design. A seal designed to allow its user to slowly siphon chakra from their coils and store it for future use. He hoped it would help the girl bypass her chakra deficiency.
Reaching over, he placed it in the girl's small hands. "I'm happy to hear your decision and would like to welcome you to the family." He removed his hand so that she could see what he'd given her. "I give everyone a gift when they join. A pledge of gratitude from me to them. Each person gets something different, something unique to them. This is your gift."
"What is it?" The girl asked as she delicately flipped it in her hand, trying to decipher what it was.
"A chakra storage seal I designed. It will help you overcome your chakra issues. If you continue to practice and focus on your studies, it may even allow you to use some of those crazy jutsus you keep asking about."
Amaya looked up at him in surprise. Her eyes filled with tears, and she tackled him in a hug.
"Thank you, thank you thank you!" she yelled into his chest, tears and snot rubbed into this shirt. Her feet kicked up and down in her excitement.
Murano knew he wasn't a good man. He'd done horrible things in his past, killed countless innocents. But at that moment, he knew. He'd do anything for the girl crying into his shirt. He'd build an empire for her, even if it meant burning one down.
Authors Note 2/23/2022:
Hi everyone! Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
A change of pace. We finally get an update on Amaya, and we are introduced to Murano Renjiro. He has moved into Tekan and is expanding his operations. He mostly acts under the radar to keep a relatively low profile, but taking over the underworld of a city is bound to make noise. But with the Leaf spread thin during the war, their eyes aren't pointed towards Tekan. His rising threat isn't on their radar.
He was fun to write. He's devious and evil, yet loyal to his partners. Amaya was left alone when Arashi left. But she has found kinship in this group, despite their less than noble plans they are all she has, and Murano believes in her. Four years have passed since Arashi left Tekan, and new powers are moving into the void the Leaf left when moving more resources to the war effort.
Unfortunately, I've caught up to the serious detailed storyboarding I've done for this story, so my updates will most likely slow down. I need to plan out the future 10ish chapters in more detail. Also, my time is divided between this and my other story, The Wind Walker. But I think it is a good point to take a small breather and do some planning. Arashi and Kochi are out of the academy and entering ninja life. Amaya is doing her thing in Tekan. They are all entering new chapters in their lives. These new chapters should mark a tone shift in the story.
As always, let me know what you think by leaving comments and asking questions!