Shaking his head, Naruto decided to get back on track and try to learn what he could for this mission. "Right, well, why don't you tell me a little bit about this Cursed Warrior that has been appearing in your village."
Chishimo stopped eating his eighth serving of rice to look over at him. The man swallowed what was in his mouth, making Naruto cringe a bit – seriously, if he was this bad Naruto swore to himself that he would start eating with better table manners – then said, "Some people think it's the disembodied spirit of Sagi's father, Ōwashi-sama." Naruto shivered a bit at the words disembodied and spirit, but quickly shook it off.
Deicing that he really didn't want to hear anymore about this ghost business for the moment, Naruto decided to change the subject. "So, why don't you tell me a bit more about Tori No Kuni? You know, like it's history and background."
"Alright," Chishimo said, setting his half-eaten ninth serving of rice aside for the moment so he could speak. "It's called Tori No Kuni because our capital is built on a lake to which the birds come with they migrate. It's always been a beautiful and peaceful place, made fertile by the waters from the lake and the many canals. The first signs of trouble came from the sudden death of our previous Daimyo, Ōwashi-sama. As to who would take over the leadership, it was between his son, Sagi-sama, and his most trusted adviser, Kōmei-sama."
Naruto had to blink for a moment as he heard that Sagi's position as Daimyo had actually been in question. Unlike the Kages, who were selected based on their strength and abilities as a leader, Daimyo's were always selected by blood. Only someone who was of the same blood of the previous Daimyo could become the next Daimyo, unless the entire family was killed off. That an adviser could become Daimyo was troubling. Of course, he didn't know enough about Tori No Kuni to actually make any kind of true assessment to the situation. Maybe that was just how they did things there.
"Kōmei-sama argued that Sagi was far too young to assume the role of Daimyo, and there were many who agreed with him. Nevertheless, Sagi-sama assumed the role of Daimyo, mainly because Mōsō-sama, our high priest and my master, agreed to act as Regent, advising Sagi and helping him govern our country." Naruto rubbed his chin with a thoughtful expression, noting the difference in the man's tone when he spoke of Mōsō to when he talked about Kōmei, but didn't say anything as he allowed the man to continue.
"Then, less then half a year lady, Toki-dono, Sagi's sister, died as suddenly as his father." Naruto narrowed his eyes a bit, but didn't comment. Chishimo didn't notice his expression as he continued, saying, "Since that time, the Sagi I knew has become a completely different person. He's retreated from view, sees no one, and governs from the confines of his palace. And it was about that time that the white warrior began appearing in the capital. Rumors started to spread about Ōwashi-sama's death, that it was not a natural one. People began to say that the white warrior was, in fact, the spirit of Ōwashi-sama, come back to earth to reek vengeance on the traitors who murdered him."
Naruto gulped, an action which Chishimo thankfully did not notice. Unfortunately for the blond, someone else did and had no problems teasing him.
'You're such a baby Naruto.'
A growl almost escaped his lips at the teasing sound of Kyuubi's face. No one called him a baby! Fortunately he was able to keep it internal. It wouldn't do for Chishimo to think he was some kind of psychopath, after all.
'I am not a baby! I've just... never dealt with real ghosts before.'
Within the confines of his mind, Kyuubi giggled. 'It's alright to feel frightened. After all, you may be a big bad shinobi, but you're still a kid. If you want, you can come into the seal and I'll provide you with some succor, Na-ru-to-kun.'
'Guh...' Naruto shivered at the way Kyuubi spoke his voice. Stupid Bijuu, trying to act all sexy to mess with his mind. What's worse was that he was almost tempted to do as she said. Almost.
His actions did not go unnoticed, however, as Chishimo watched Naruto shiver with a bit of worry. "Are you alright, Naruto-san?" he asked, sounding concerned. "You look a little..." actually, Chishimo really couldn't come up with a proper way to describe how Naruto looked. His face looked pale and he had broken out into a cold sweat. At the same time, his cheeks were suffused with red, almost as if he was blushing. Not able to think of anything, the man finished lamely with, "Um, well, you look like you're not yourself."
"I'm fine," Naruto was, shivering a bit more as his fear of ghosts and embarrassment at Kyuubi's words warred within his mind. Doing his best to shake them both off, he said, "just remembering something is all." Not wanting Chishimo to question him anymore – and needing to speak of something, anything, so that he could ignore the giggling within his mind – Naruto changed the subject. "I'm not really sure I believe this Cursed Warrior is actually a ghost."
When in doubt, go with denial.
"Then what do you think this Cursed Warrior is?" Chishimo asked, looking slightly skeptical. The man seemed to be somewhat superstitious. Not that Naruto could say anything, much as he may try to deny it, the blond had always believed in – and been deathly afraid of – ghosts.
"It's quite possible that this ghost is the work of someone who is looking to spread chaos in your country to gain power," Naruto said, trying to think through this logically. He refused to believe that a ghost was actually involved. Though this could have been more out of fear then actually believing his own words.
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