Chapter 38 – Mission in Nami no Kuni I
"Talk"
'Think'
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto sensei. So…yeah.
Nami no Kuni
"Great Konoha Bridge? Wow!" exclaimed Naruto as he, Noriko, Tenzō and Kakashi were crossing the long bridge to get to their client's house. During the walk, they noticed the tense atmosphere amongst the villagers.
They arrived at a large, double-storey, wooden house and knocked the door. It was opened by a pretty lady with blue-coloured hair who introduced herself as Tsunami and invited them inside.
Once inside, they were introduced to their client, an old bespectacled man with grey hair and large beard, Tazuna.
"I understand you were attack by bandits?" asked Kakashi.
"In a way, it started two months ago. A friend of mine was waylaid and robbed by two men on his way home. One of them began to attack when the other one stopped him and said, Boss Tazuna would be angry if his friends got hurt. Three weeks after that, one of our neighbours was awakened by loud noises and found that his house was robbed by three men. Upon seeing my neighbours, who are elderly couples, two of robbers began to attack when one of them stopped them, saying the same thing. Last week, my grandson Inari was walking when he heard something. He saw a local merchant being beaten by a thug who said that the merchant lives on a mercy of his leader, Boss Tazuna. It appears that something is going on and my name was dragged through the mud!" Tazuna pulled his hair in distressed.
"It does appears someone tried to destroy your reputation. Do you know anyone who has a grudge against you?" asked Kakashi.
"No! I mean, apart from Gatō, but he's dead" answered Tazuna.
"Who's Gatō?" asked Naruto.
"He was a tyrant who used to terrorize this village. I'm sure you saw the bridge on your way here" this was responded by three head nodding "It was completed two years ago. Before that, we depended primarily on boats and ships for transportation and Gatō monopolized that. When things got so bad around here, my late son-in law, Kaiza proposed we asked for help from one of the Great Shinobi Villages. Unfortunately, the Daimyō of Nami no Kuni did not have much though he did proposed the bridge building as a mean to boost our economy and to pay for the shinobi service in instalments. I went to Konoha since it has a good reputation-" Naruto's, Noriko's and Tenzō's chests swelled with pride "and after some discussions with your Hokage and our Daimyō, we've reached an agreement. Sadly, during my absence, Kaiza died protecting the villagers from Gatō's tyranny" Tazuna face was clouded at the end of the story.
"So, what do you think?" Kakashi asked each of his student in their room.
"It seemed obvious that someone tried to vilify Tazuna-san, perhaps too obvious that he may be the real perpetrator?" suggested Noriko.
"No way! I don't believe that. I think someone really is trying to bring down Tazuna-san" objected Naruto.
"Maybe, but who would gain from that?" asked Noriko back.
"Maybe we could interview those victims for their accounts and ask their opinions?" proposed Tenzō.
"We should search the location of those bandits!" said Naruto.
"We could also interview the villagers in general, asked their opinions about the events and Tazuna" said Tenzō.
"Dibs on search!" said Noriko. Kakashi, Naruto and Tenzō looked at her, "Why?" asked Kakashi.
"Rajah taught me that I could channel him to improve my senses. See?" she showed the snout that replaced her nose "I've got Rajah's sense of smell. I did this when we were travelling here along with my byakugan"
"That's awesome, Noriko" said Naruto.
"Yeah, Noriko" agreed Tenzō.
"Very well, in that case, tomorrow we'll split into teams of two. Naruto and Tenzō will interview the victims and the villagers. Try to be casual, strike up the conversation, put them at ease so they don't feel like they are being interrogated. Try also to find out if there's anyone targeting Tazuna-san. In the meantime, Noriko and I will go to the elderly couples' house with both of you. Noriko, try to pick up unfamiliar scents. Then from there, we'll go to the other locations and see if we can start tracking" ordered Kakashi.
"Hait, sensei" said the three of them and Tenzō added "Here, take this" he offered three seeds on his palm.
"What's this?" asked Kakashi.
"This is my sōshinki. They transmit signals that only I can detect. You know, in case of emergency" said Tenzō.
"What to do with it? Eat it? Keep it?" asked Naruto.
"Either one is fine" answered Tenzō.
"How long can this one functions?" asked Noriko.
"If you eat it, it'll last for as long as the seed was in your system. If you keep it, it can last 3-4 days" explained Tenzō.
Naruto, Noriko and Kakashi then took a seed each and put it in their most secure pockets.
End Chapter 38
Nami no Kuni – Land of Waves
Sōshinki – Signal Seeds