"Carefully..."
Deep into the night, numerous ninjas, wearing the forehead protectors of Kusagakure, were found at the site of ruins. Based on their operation, they seemed to be excavating, trying to dig something up from underneath.
"Just as a reminder, we have to do this without Konoha and Ame knowing. It's the order that came directly from the higher-up!"
Dust flew. Coughs and grunts filled the scene as the ninjas, unable to make a ruckus, had to resort to an old, barbaric method of digging with tools.
"I didn't become a ninja for this shit, bro..."
They complained, but nonetheless fulfilled their duty. Small talks went back and forth to ease the tiring work.
One of them, seemingly in a thought, then questioned,
"You know, I've been thinking... the fact that the higher-ups are reacting like this means that the rumor's got to be true, right?"
"What rumor?"
"That Hozuki clan was behind the massacre of the Shizen clan! Why else would they want us to excavate what used to be the Shizen clan's residence?"
"...Chunin."
A shinobi who was overseeing their work sighed.
"J-Jonin Mikado."
"Don't question the orders given to you. Ninjas execute them, and there is nothing more needed."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
'But he is right.'
While the jonin, Mikado, managed to silence the team, he, too, was quite curious.
'In the past, there was a seal that blocked the entry of anyone into this residence. With there being no one of enough strength or knowledge to break it in Kusagakure, it was left in ignorance. Then...'
Three to four years ago. Mikado still remembered what he saw.
There was a huge clash between the two jinchurikis of Iwagakure and Konohagakure's Team 6, which was composed of Jiraiya, Namikaze Minato, and two other jonins of the village.
In the end, it was Team 6 that withdrew. During the fight, Namikaze Minato managed to redirect a bijuudama toward this area, which broke the seal with nothing but its sheer power.
It was after that fight that Konoha sought an alliance with Ame, who had just recovered from an abrupt attempt of 'Red Blade' Akashi to assassinate Hanzo, but that was a story for a different time.
'Now that Kusagakure has regained partial control over the land of grass, this is the first thing that the higher-ups are making us do.'
The higher-ups of Kusa were, of course, the Hozuki clan. They've been reigning for years in this daimyo-less land of grass.
'I heard that there is a Hozuki clan in Kiri as well, but they are great at water release instead of fire... I wonder if they are related.'
The ninjas of Kusa continued to work.
Upon removing the fallen trees, rocks, dirt, and loads of many other things, they finally began to see the sight of broken-down wooden frames.
Below, there was a small opening. It looked like the building managed to withstand to some extent, for upon peeking through it, Mikado saw a tunnel of some sort that led to the inside.
"Fuck yeahh!!"
One cried, causing others to roll their eyes.
"We're heading in. Prepare yourselves."
As some ninjas swallowed their saliva out of nervousness, Mikado lit a torch.
They walked inside, venturing into the narrow space.
"This is..."
The paths were complex. It was akin to a maze.
Wooden constructs were supporting the ceiling.
Though the building above collapsed, these paths were intact.
"...I see. It wasn't that the building withstood the impact, but that they simply had a huge and sturdy underground."
Shizen clan. They were full of mysteries.
During the prosperous times of Kusagakure, they were the primary producers of the medical ninjas. Well known for their talent in chakra control, a rare few who became battle specialists instead made up to the rank of chunin at the very least.
"Were they up to something? Why would they need a huge underground like this, unless they're hiding something?"
"It isn't too strange. Every clan has one thing or two that they're hiding, you know."
Mikado, ignoring the small conversation of his subordinates, frowned.
'The wind...'
There was a wind blowing not just from the path they came from, but from a path laid out ahead of them.
It meant that their entrance wasn't the only way in.
'Could there be others here... no, there is no way. We should be the only ones aware of this location.'
Erasing such a thought, they continued moving.
Searching from room to room, they explored the entire underground, but there wasn't anything noteworthy. Skeletons of the dead, diaries, rotten things, and foul odors.
"Bleurgh... can we get over this already..."
Wishing to get out of this space as quickly as they could, they sped up their search.
Eventually, they stopped in front of the final room, one that was located at the center of this maze-like underground.
"I'm opening the door."
Mikado creaked the door open. Seeing that there wasn't any booby trap of some sort, they slowly walked in, on guard.
The hall in front of them wasn't dark like the others. There were torches all across the walls of this cave-like room, illuminating it red. Seeing that, Mikado killed the fire on his torch and discarded it.
They walked—
"...Stop."
Then, stopped as Mikado quickly raised his hand.
All the ninjas became tense. The jovial, relaxed demeanor was instantly lost.
"...Who are you?"
Mikado took out a kunai, with his eyes sharpened. Killing intent emanated from him.
Tap. Tap.
The walking sound echoed as someone mysterious stepped out of the dark.
The person was revealed to be a woman. Wearing a black cloak that had red clouds drawn all over, her facial feature was hidden by the hood of the cloak. The only things that they could see were her red locks that fell out of the hood and her red, plump lips.
Swiftly, the ninjas Mikado too took out their weapons. With stoic expressions, they got themselves ready to fight.
"Hm... I guess it isn't strange for the ninjas of Kusagakure to investigate this site."
The woman didn't bother to answer. She remarked instead, clearly unfazed by the threats that Kusa ninjas were sending at her.
"Identify yourself. Should you not do so, we will deem you an enemy."
"Enemy..."
The woman smiled, rather mockingly.
"You? Oh, please."
She lifted her hands, about to form hand seals.
'Ninjutsu? In this area?'
Mikazo's eyes narrowed as he realized that she was trying to use ninjutsu against them.
'Ninjutsu of a huge scale may end up collapsing this space. That means that conventionally, the ninjutsu should be no greater than B rank.'
Mikado then ordered.
"Formation A—"
"Water Release: Heavenly Weeping."
Just as Mikado shouted, the sharp senbons of water were shot out of the woman's mouth.
There was no hand seal; her act of raising her hands was a fluke.
Each and every one of the senbons landed on the vital spots of the Kusa ninjas' bodies—except Mikado, who managed to dodge and block the senbons directed at him just in time.
"Huff... huff... you..."
Mikado grimaced as all his subordinates fell. He knew that they were beyond saving.
In seconds of time, all his teammates were lost. Clearly, this woman ahead of him was dangerous... she was a trained kunoichi.
Water Release: Heavenly Weeping. It was an infamous technique that originated from the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama. Spread out far and wide afterward because of its simple concept, those who could use this technique could be considered to be at a level of a mid-jonin at the very least in terms of ninjutsu.
'The power, the accuracy, and the number of water senbons she shot in one go...'
Mikado learned that the woman's power was far above his.
Therefore, he changed his plan.
'I need to run and warn—'
That was the last thought he had before the water senbon that he previously dodged exploded into even tinier pieces of senbons from his back, embedding themselves all over his back.
With eyes widened, Mikado fell to the ground. His back has become hideous, bleeding through numerous holes.
The woman, Mei, watched as Mikado slowly bled to death. Confirming the deaths of everyone in front of her, she eventually turned, retreating back to where she came from.
There wasn't an ounce of compassion or sympathy. Cold and uninterested—Mei was no longer the same as who she used to be three years ago.
Walking, the hall eventually opened up into a wide area.
The torches all around illuminated this space. The area was probably a hidden meeting ground for the members of the Shizen clan, Mei assumed as she looked around.
At the end of the room, a table existed. Atop the table, the brown-haired man, Akashi, was seated, flipping through an old book.
"Have they been dealt with?"
Akashi asked without bothering to look up.
"Yes. There were nine, as you told me."
Mei peeked at the book in Akashi's hands.
"So, what does it say?"
"Tobio Shizen was the first to learn ninshu from the Sage of Six Paths. Being a passionate scholar, he dedicated his life to trying to decipher the nature of chakra. At the verge of his death, he realized that it wasn't that Sage of Six Paths gave chakra to the others. He simply taught them how to use it."
"...A history?"
"This is merely the first page of the book. I would need more time to get all the details."
"So..."
Mei hummed.
"It looks like that book is the only thing we managed to find. Considering how there was a seal protecting this compound... quite strange."
"No. Not really."
"What do you mean by that?"
Akashi shook his head, earning Mei's curiosity.
"This book details the decline of the Shizen clan due to the aftermath of the First Shinobi World War. The Hozuki clan, who are the immigrants from Kiri, took this chance to take over Kusagakure. They deliberately weakened the Shizen clan, and thanks to the incompetence of the Shizen clan leader, the events went exactly as they wanted."
Closing the book, Akashi tapped it lightly against his right palm.
"Apart from a few jutsus that they had, the Shizen clan likely was on the brink of decline. Hence, nothing of worth down here."
Akashi unrolled a scroll. Pushing his thumb through a seal drawn inside, he proceeded to seal the book with a puff of smoke.
"We found the evidence of Shimura Danzo's involvement in the affair of the Hozuki clan. Danzo was chasing someone... and that someone was likely my father. Connecting the dots with a little bit that I read from this book, I now know that my father was associated with the Shizen and Hozuki clans."
Chakra control. Immensely strong fire nature, one that surpassed even what was spoken of Hattori Hanzo.
Shizen clan for the chakra control. Hozuki clan, along with the blood of Hattori, for the fire nature.
Yes, that was the reason why Akashi was here: to uncover his origin. To gain a better understanding of his power.
"Anyway, it's time to... hm?"
Pocketing the sealing scroll that contained the book, Akashi raised his head to look at the ceiling, having heard a vibration from above.
"Ah... a backup, I see."
"It looks like they had a way to tell if their ninjas died."
Neither of the two was fazed by the approach of the enemies.
"No matter. Our search here is done anyway."
Akashi held his hand up. Smiling, Mei held it softly with her own.
At the next moment, the two were gone from the site.