"Alright, here we are." Natsumi smiled and pointed at the simple building that stood before them.
"What's this place?" Naruto stopped walking and looked it over.
"It's the public records." Sakura answered for him, then turned to Natsumi as she led the group. "But, I thought Kakashi-sensei said that the records would be impossible to get? Anyone can access these records."
"Well, yes." Natsumi nodded. "But, there might be some information stored here that is still useful. The actual investigation file will be under lock and key."
"How are we going to get it?" TenTen asked.
"We're going to split up." Natsumi crossed her arms and looked between them.
"W-What?" Naruto crossed his own arms and looked at his twin. "No way!"
"It's the best plan." Natsumi pointed at the door. "I'll need you guys to go in there and ask Oto-sama for any information about the Princess that she might have, while I sneak into the sealed records and classified archives."
"Alone?" Shikamaru looked her over.
Natsumi met his eyes. "Yes, alone. Why?"
Several of the Genin looked between themselves and back to the redhead. She sighed.
"I know what you're thinking, but I'm the best one for the job."
"What do you mean?" Kiba scratched his cheek, making a face. "You don't think we could do it?"
Natsumi sighed again, then retrieved a Kunai knife and began to draw blueprints in the dirt.
"Let me instead put it this way. The Villages' oldest artifacts and records are stored in high-security vaults underground. Some of the most valuable and ancient Shinobi relics, as well as some of the most top-secret records are stored here. As a result, it's guarded day-and-night by senior ANBU members."
"A-ANBU?" They blinked and she nodded.
"Yes, so, unless you're able to take out ANBU members or slip by them unnoticed, it has to be me."
"And what makes you so qualified?" Ino raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Does anyone else know the exact layout, the guard's rotation schedules, and the location of the secret entrance?" She looked at them, smirking faintly. "No? I didn't think so."
"It's almost as if... you've done this before." TenTen watched Natsumi.
Her cheeks warmed slightly. "Uh... well..." She smiled. "It's not important."
"Wait!" Naruto pointed at her with wide eyes. "Y-You've stolen from the ANBU before?"
Natsumi laughed quietly under her breath and shrugged. "Well, I've never stolen anything before... but... sneaking in to read scrolls from time-to-time without taking them from the premises... I've done that."
Their mouths gaped open.
"N-Natsumi-chan..." Kiba blushed faintly. "Y-You're so cool."
Naruto pressed his lips together and furrowed his brows. "How come you've never told your own brother about it before?"
"Because you're terrible at keeping secrets." She giggled.
"Hmph." He turned away. "But, I'm your brother."
Natsumi tapped the end of the stick on the blueprint she drew.
"In the cellar of the public archives, there's a way for me to get in undetected. Considering how long ago the Princess was killed, those records are probably here." She tapped one of the rooms. "Getting there is pretty straightforward, and, because it's the oldest section, I'll have the advantage of being able to avoid the main halls where most of the guards patrol."
Natsumi drew a line to show the path. "Even so, there are still security cameras and the ANBU, but getting in and out is the easy part. What will take the longest is to find the exact files we need. The organization in the older section isn't very good."
Natsumi crossed her arms and looked over the map.
"Altogether, it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. During that time, you should be able to get plenty of information from Oto-sama. She'll tell you anything you need to know if you compliment her. She can be a little vain, but she's sweet overall."
"You can't just expect us to just do nothing while you do the hard work!" Naruto shook his head.
"Naruto..." Natsumi pressed her palms together, taking in a breath and releasing it slowly. "If I get caught stealing from these vaults, I won't just get in trouble. They'll probably ban me from any Shinobi work and I will no longer be a Ninja. That would be the most lenient punishment."
"What would be the worst?" Sakura asked.
Natsumi smiled, too sweetly for her tone. "Worst case scenario I'd be branded a traitor and either exiled from the village or executed."
The color drained from their faces and she patted Naruto's shoulder.
"I'm alright with the consequences, but I won't let anyone take the fall for something that was my idea. I know the place well, so if I go alone, I have the strongest chance of success."
"Y-You can't just expect me to let you do this! Not after saying that!"
"Naruto," Natsumi met his eyes. "I don't want to, but if you won't cooperate, I promise that I will use my paralysis Jutsu on you."
A chill ran down his spine and he nodded slowly. "F-Fine. But if you're not back in time, I'm going to find you."
"You seriously expect us to believe that you're capable of sneaking past ANBU as a Genin?" Shikamaru raised a brow.
Natsumi returned the Kunai to the sheath on her thigh and put a hand on her hip.
"Oh, you're right, I don't know what I'm talking about."
She held up a hand, formed a sign, and then her body slowly began to fade away until they could no longer see her.
"S-She's gone!" Naruto looked around. "Where'd she go?!"
"I'm right here." Natsumi giggled.
"You're invisible!" They looked at the empty space where she stood.
"Impressive." Sasuke stared at where she had been. "Where did she learn to do such advanced Ninjutsu?"
"Okay, I'm going to go in now. See you guys soon." Her voice faded away and Naruto grumbled to himself.
"I guess we should go in now and talk to this 'Oto.'" Sakura looked at her teammate, who nodded begrudgingly.
Shikamaru led them inside, while Neji stayed behind.
Inside the building was well lit and filled with bookshelves and filing cabinets. A desk stood in the corner, where an old woman sat.
The Genin approached slowly, and she glanced up from her writing to look at them.
"Visitors?" She chuckled and turned in her hair to meet their eyes with a small smile. A long pipe sat on one of her hands, filling the air with a bittersweet aroma as incense were lit on her desk. She wore heavy stage makeup and an elegant geisha's kimono and blew a ring of smoke in their direction. Her long, white hair was pulled up in a formal style and adorned with flowers. "I have no candy here if that's what you're looking for."
"We're looking for any information about Princess Akahime." Shikamaru said plainly.
"Oh?" The old woman chuckled and returned the pipe to her mouth. "I didn't think anyone cared for ghost stories anymore, particularly at your age."
Lee slammed his hands on the counter with his eyes moist. "We heard the terrible, tragic story and we need to help her soul to rest in peace! Can you help us?"
Oto chuckled and blew smoke at him. "So serious..." She smirked faintly. "We do have some information about her, but..." She glanced at the group. "We are technically closed at this time. You'll have to come back tomorrow, I'm afraid."
Sakura looked at an old photo of a beautiful young woman that hung on the wall behind the old woman. Oto followed her eyes and posed the same as the woman in the photo.
"I see you have a wonderful eye for art and beauty."
Sakura looked from the photo to the old woman. "That was her? But she was so... young and pretty. She didn't age very well..."
Sakura nodded, then forced a small smile, her eye twitching as she lied. "Of course I recognized it as you. You don't look any different."
"O-ho!" Oto posed and patted her cheeks, beaming. "You're too kind, too kind."
Leaning forward to look more closely at Sakura, she drew in a large puff from her pipe and exhaled, resembling a dragon.
"So, young lady, you're interested in the Princess Akahime? What would you like to know about her?"
Sakura stepped forward toward the strange looking woman. "W-Well... we heard the story of how she died and wanted to know more. Is there a book about her anywhere?"
"Hm..." Oto blew several more smoke rings of various sizes and then nodded. "There is one. It was written by the most beautiful woman in all of Konoha, of course."
She opened one of the drawers of the desk and pulled out a large, leather-bound book, and set it on the desk in front of Sakura.
The Genin gathered closer as Sakura opened the book and turned to the first page of neat handwriting.
"I've been working on this book for many years now." Oto chewed on the end of her pipe proudly. "I've gathered every tale of spirits and lost souls from all over the country and compiled them into one complete work."
Reaching over, the woman turned the pages until she reached the final section of the book and pointed at the first page of the tale.
"You must really like ghost stories." TenTen met the old woman's dark eyes.
"Oh, they're not stories." She chuckled. "Each lost soul I have documented is absolutely real. I've seen each one that I have written about with my own eyes."
Lee looked at her brightly. "Y-You have?!"
"Yes, of course." She turned the page to reveal beautiful sketches of a tall maple in the center of a peaceful clearing. "That's how I was able to draw so accurately."
"Amazing..." Sakura muttered at the art.
"Yes, I am, aren't I?" Oto laughed and then her eyes fell onto the portrait as Sakura turned the page and she swooned over the sketch of the handsome, red-haired man with vibrant green eyes. "Ah, I remember Yuudai well. He was always so handsome. I was quite jealous when I'd heard the news that he had gotten married. I was devastated for weeks."
"Yuudai?" Sakura looked down at the portrait. "Who's that?"
"Why, the Princess' older brother." Oto chuckled and they looked at her.
"But... he lived so long ago. How did you know him?" Naruto squinted at her. "How old are you?"
Oto pursed her lips and then blew smoke in his face.
"The people from Uzushiogakure were exceptionally long-lived. They could live for hundreds of years, aging very slowly, and outlive several generations of families from other villages."
"Uzushiogakure?" Shikamaru thought. "I've never heard of a country with that name before."
"Oh, it's long gone now." Oto's voice softened.
"Gone?" Naruto asked.
"Yes." Oto nodded. "The entire country was completely destroyed in the last Great Ninja War. All but a handful of its people were killed."
Their eyes widened slightly. "But... why?" Sakura's eyes fell back on the portrait.
"The people of Uzushiogakure were exceptionally powerful. They had unnatural levels of Chakra, the incredible ability to heal others, and the skill of using simple hand signs to trap and seal even the most dangerous of demons. They were greatly feared by most nations. Even after they allied with Konohagakure, they had many enemies."
Oto turned the page to show a landscape of an island country, where the water surrounding was filled with whirlpools. Tall temples and buildings lined the landscape, and a sunrise illuminated the background.
"No way..."
"So, it was real?" Shikamaru examined the picture.
"Oh, yes. It was very real. I went there several times." Oto turned several pages and pointed at the family portrait. Each member of the family had bright red hair and regal clothing. "Here is the Lord and Lady, with Yuudai as a young man. They were there when the Leaf Village was first founded." She chuckled. "I painted this picture for the occasion."
"What about the Princess?" Lee asked.
"Ah, of course." Oto turned the page and pointed at the picture. The maple stood in the center of the drawing, but the Princess stood beside it with one hand on its trunk. Her hair was straight and long, nearly touching the ground, and a cluster of white plum blossoms adorned her hair. Her exquisite silk gown was a soft pink, and the sash tied around her waist was a deep violet color that matched her eyes.
Naruto's eyes widened. "That's the Princess?!" He stammered. "I-It looks just like Natsumi!"
The group stared at the girl in stunned silence.
"The resemblance is uncanny..." Sakura muttered.
"Is it?" Oto took another look at her drawing. "Hm. I never realized it before, but it seems you're right."
"What happened to her family?" Ino asked, and Oto shook her head.
"All died in the siege, I'm afraid. There's nothing left of their home except for ruins and graves."
The Genin fell silent and Shikamaru picked up the book, reading the passages carefully.
"There isn't much detail here about what happened." He commented.
"I'm afraid not." Oto puffed on her pipe. "After her body was found at that tree, her family left the founding celebration to return to their home and bury their beloved daughter. Lord Hashirama had the monument erected in the exact spot that she had been found, and then all information regarding the investigation was classified and stored."
"Were you able to get any details when you saw the ghost?" Shikamaru flipped through the pages, scanning the information carefully.
"Spirits do not remember their own death." Oto held her pipe in her hand, then rested it on the desk. "Those that do commonly become twisted and dangerous."
"What's so important about her pendant that her soul is still searching for it?" Sakura followed along as Shikamaru read in his head.
"The amulet?" Oto smiled and shook her head. "It's priceless."
"Kakashi-sensei said it was powerful." Naruto crossed his arms. "What does it do?"
"Well, perhaps one of its most intriguing qualities is that it chooses its wearer. It's very selective."
"Chooses?" They asked.
"Oh, yes. It was said that it would glow in the presence of the chosen bearer and grant them a vision."
"A vision? It shows the future?" Kiba asked.
"And the past or present, as well." Oto returned the pipe to her mouth.
"Amazing." Ino murmured.
"That's not all." Oto chuckled and directed them to the page where a sketch of the amulet filled two pages. "For as long as you remained its chosen, the pendant could increase your Chakra ten-thousand-fold and grant you everlasting youth and vitality."
"I-Immortality?" The exclaimed simultaneously.
Shikamaru nodded to himself as he thought. "It's no wonder that someone was willing to kill for it. If you possessed that pendant, you would be invincible."
"How do we help the Princess to pass over?" Lee tapped his chin in thought.
"You find her pendant, of course." Oto smirked. "Once her spirit is reconciled with the pendant, she will be at peace."
Shikamaru thought for a moment and rifled through the remaining pages of the entry.
"You wouldn't happen to know where we should start searching, would you?"
Oto released long tendrils of smoke from her nostrils.
"I'm afraid not. The details of the investigation were kept secret and the murder itself was kept quiet. Only certain people were privy to that information. If it became common knowledge that the pendant was lost, any number of people would have come looking, and it would have fallen into the wrong hands."
She chewed on the end of her pipe thoughtfully.
"Although..." She shook her head. "No, nevermind."
"What?" Sakura asked as Oto tapped the end of her pipe to her chin.
"Well, the formal records are all sealed, but, as far as I know, the survivor's cabin is still standing."
"The survivor?" Shikamaru tilted his head slightly. "What survivor?"
"Oh, that's right." Sakura softly hit the heel of her fist into the open palm of her other hand. "Kakashi-sensei did say that one of the Princess' guards survived the attack."
Oto nodded. "Yes. Hisoka Fukui. He lived in a cabin Northeast of Konohagakure, only a few kilometers from the Fire Temple. He and his brothers were sent to escort the Princess from her home, and he was the only survivor." She exhaled and blew one large smoke ring. "The attack traumatized him so much that my grandmother said he had gone insane, and, consumed with guilt as the sole survivor, killed himself."
Oto paused and looked over the Genin. "If you are truly interested in finding the amulet, I would suggest searching his home for clues. Perhaps he kept a journal."
"Thank you, Oto-sama." Sakura bowed her head respectfully.
Oto returned the gesture. "You're welcome. From one lovely woman to another, I hope that you are successful and bring peace to the Princess."
Sakura blushed faintly at the praise. "Lovely woman?! I'm... lovely?"
Ino glared at Sakura, crossing her arms. "L-Lovely? Billboard brow is lovely?!"
"And, if you do succeed, do come back and relay the details to me. I would love to finally document a happy ending for Princess Akahime's tragic tale."
"We will!" Sakura waved and the group turned to leave. Before they could, Oto cleared her throat.
"One more thing..." They turned to see her and her expression darkened. "I must warn you."
"Warn us?" Naruto scratched his head. "About what?"
Oto pointed the end of her pipe at them and released a slow puff of smoke that circled around them.
"Normally, lost souls are rather harmless and peaceful. They have little understanding of the passage of time since their death and lack the memories of their demise. If a peaceful spirit is told the truth, their memories return to them, and the trauma of such terrible memories tends to... twist them."
"Twist them?" Sakura shuddered. "What does that mean?"
"It means..." The swirling smoke shifted in form, resembling a ravenous dragon that watched them eagerly. "That many of the evil spirits, poltergeists, and demons you have heard of in bedtime stories, were once peaceful, lost souls like the Princess Akahime."
They froze in place.
"W-What?" TenTen stuttered.
"Tread very carefully, children." Oto warned, and the wispy dragon floated around her body, keeping his grey eyes on them. "When dealing with spirits, you could quite easily turn a peaceful soul into a dangerous one. You mustn't reveal to the Princess that she is dead or how much time has passed, or else..." The dragon grew in size suddenly and flew at them with its mouth open wide, then transformed back into a puff of harmless smoke the moment before its jaws were to snap around them.
Oto chuckled and returned the pipe to her mouth. "Good luck, and have a happy Halloween."
They blinked and found themselves suddenly standing outside. Looking toward the door, a collective shiver passed through their group.
"W-What happened?" Naruto stammered and looked around, the color drained from his face. "H-How did we get out here all of a sudden?!"
Sakura glanced back toward the door and shuddered. "That woman... she's even more mysterious and scary than Natsumi!"