It was 4 years earlier, soon after a harsh winter storm. Lord Hokage asked me to travel to a nearby city called Tsuki, where civil unrest had been on the rise due to the lack of fairness of the new laws passed by the city's council.
I came across the city, which was built into mountains, around mid-day, while the sun was high in the sky. Many of the buildings were beginning to crumble, even though they did not seem too old. I judged the high mountain winds had a hand in that. The city wasn't a pretty picture. The buildings were all a greyish-brown color. Even the piling up snow didn't make it any better; it only became grey as it had been stepped on multiple times. The outer city streets were deserted, which I found odd for that time of the day.
As I walked through the city, I came across many boarded up buildings which must've at one point been small businesses. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the eyes of people staring through small cracks between the planks. They were hiding? The question was…from who…or possibly, what? Surely not from me…this left me only more curious as to the state of this city.
I looked around to get a better idea of what was happening in the city. The piles of snow covered much of the roads and buildings, leaving little to be observed. One thing did catch my eye. Snow…blood red snow… I was surprised I hadn't noticed it sooner. The deep color was going down the side of one of the multiple mountains surrounding the city. It looked as if it had been dumped from a single building which was built into the mountainside. Was it real blood? I couldn't tell from so far away. But, I knew one thing for sure…I did not like the feeling I was getting.
As I walked further into the city, I could faintly hear screaming coming from what appeared to be a town square. Of course, I had to investigate. There was a large group, no more of a mob, of people surrounding something. I was able to push my way through the screaming people to see what was going on.
In the center of a clearing of the people, stood a blood-stained whipping post. This alone was enough for me to wish I had not encountered this event. What I saw dangling from the whipping post, was far worse. A man, who must've been only a few years older than me, was knelt in front of it, with his hands dangling from the chain connecting him to the post. His back was covered in large lacerations from the whip, pouring out blood onto the cobblestone street. He, himself, was unconscious. How many lashes had they already inflicted on him? I couldn't even count the number of bloody marks, but it was certainly enough to knock him out.
By then, I could understand the people's screams. They all screamed, "He is innocent…let him go!" Many of them had tears streaming down their cheeks. As they yelled, the man holding the whip paid no attention. He raised the whip once more, and struck the poor man. As the tail of the whip came in contact with the man's bloody flesh, the crowd flinched, and continued screaming, even louder.
I noticed her, for a brief moment. She stood across the clearing from me. Men dressed in the same uniform as the man doing the whipping held her back by her arms. She seemed almost like a child, with tears running down her face. She was screaming something, but I couldn't make it out over the roaring of the crowd, which seemed about ready to riot. It was, I believe, something along the lines of, "Stop! Stop! Let him go!" She seemed to be much more frantic than the others I observed. I assumed she must've known him personally. Perhaps a friend, or a brother, or a cousin. Either way, I knew that what was happening was immoral.
Before I knew what I was doing, I stepped in front of the whip as it started coming down once more. It struck me on my arm, though it was nothing I couldn't handle. I turned my attention to the man with the whip, and declared, "That is enough. Whatever this man has done, he's obviously paid for."
The crowd gasped, apparently they never thought of intervening. The thing is…why did I? I didn't know the man, or anyone there for that matter. I didn't even know what crime he had committed to earn such a punishment. I remembered the faces…screaming, crying, and terrified. Young children, being hidden from their parents as best as they could, watched a man being whipped to near death. That's why…that's why I stopped it. You could tell by the people, that it was unjust.
Lord Hokage's words floated through my head. "Civil unrest has been on the rise due to the lack of fairness of the new laws passed by the city's council. I need you to try and put an end to it." Civil unrest? No…this was political unrest… Our report must've come from a politician looking to stop the people from uprising. When in truth, that's exactly what was needed.
The uniformed men sneered at me, but didn't bother starting any trouble. The first coiled up his whip in his hand, while the other two dropped the girl onto her knees. They pushed their way through the crowd and made their way backs towards a large building which I assumed was some sort of city hall.
The girl got to her feet and stumbled over to the man, still chained to the post. Most of the crowd dispersed, but a few stragglers stayed behind to help. The chain was unwrapped from around his wrists, and he fell limp to the ground. The few men left behind picked up the man as the girl tried to stop the bleeding…mostly unsuccessfully… As they passed me, the girl whispered, "Thank you." And then they carried him off, up to the mountain house with blood red snow.
I don't necessarily remember anything else which was important from that mission. The disputes were resolved, and both the civilians and politicians were decently happy with the results. The whipping post was also removed, to everyone's relief.
The man had turned out to be the girl's oldest brother, Shusuke Kata, who had been falsely accused of murder when he was found with a drowned woman, who he had actually been trying to save. As punishment, he was sentenced to 30 lashes…though he ended up with 60, passing out after 50…and life in prison.
Asking around, I found out the meaning of the blood snow down the side of the mountain. The way it was explained, whenever someone in the Kata family suffered a wrongful death, they would drain the blood from the victim's body, and pour it down the side of the mountain. This was so that the murder(s) would be forever reminded of the loss they had caused. Being on the leeward side of the mountain, the blood was rarely ever covered by snow or blown away by wind.
I refused to have anyone tell me the fate of unfortunate Shusuke Kata. I admit I was curious…until right before I left the city…when I watched two men pour a tub of deep red blood down the cursed slope.