"You think so?" Chishimo asked, surprise evident on his features.
"Yes," Naruto stated, more to himself than Chishimo.
"But who would do such a thing?"
Naruto was beginning to suspect this man was as naïve as he used to be. There were always greedy people who would be more than willing to kill others if it got them what they wanted. Hell, there were people who would do even more despicable things if it allowed them to accomplish their goals. Naruto's mind instantly went to Orochimaru, who was willing to defile the previous Hokages by resurrecting them from the grave and forcing them to fight against their village. If there were people out there who were willing to commit atrocities like that, then there had to be hundreds of people who were killing someone and pretend to be his deceased spirit.
"Whoever had the most to gain from Ōwashi's death," Naruto said, pausing in thought as he reviewed all of the information that had just been given to him. He looked over at Chishimo before continuing. "From what you've told me, there are two people here who stand to gain the most. The High Priest, Mōsō, could have –"
"My master is a good and virtuous man!" Chishimo interrupted Naruto, some anger lacing his voice. The blond was actually taken aback by the venom in the man's voice. From the way he was talking, one would think Naruto had just insulted his ancestors. Before the blond Chunin could even think of speaking, Chishimo continued, saying. "He couldn't be involved in this!"
Naruto looked at the man before shrugging. It was obvious Chishimo was biased towards this Mōsō guy, but the blond knew he had to look at everything objectively. Facts were facts, and even if Chishimo firmly believed that his master would never be involved in a crime like this, there was always the possibility that the man he served was simply lying to him in order to gain his trust. Such things were not uncommon. Still, he said nothing more on the man's master, not wanting to anger him.
Instead, he said, "Then there is also Kōmei. It is quite possible that he assassinated your Daimyo to gain power, then got angry when it didn't work." Considering the Daimyo's adviser had been considered for ascension to Daimyo himself, it was a very plausible theory. And it was clear that this was the one Chishimo believed.
"It's true, he's been complaining bitterly ever since Sagi-sama was chosen over him," Chishimo stated firmly. His eyes seemed to blaze with conviction, or desparation as he grasped at straws. It was hard to tell with him. "I wouldn't put it past him to manufacture the Cursed Warrior himself, and then started these evil rumors."
"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Naruto said, bringing Chishimo down from his fanatical high. It was obvious to Naruto that the earnest man truly believed Kōmei was responsible, but that was more of a by-product of his belief that his master, Mōsō was too just to be involved in something like an assassination. Naruto had no such beliefs one way or the other, and until he had more clues with which to go on, would hold them both in suspicion until one or the other was proven innocent or guilty.
After all, a ninja must always look underneath the underneath.
After the first few days of travel, Naruto ended up growing tired of the civilian pace being set. In order to speed up their progress and get to Tori No Kuni faster, he had taken to carrying Chishimo piggyback. That way he could use his chakra enhanced speed to blaze a trail to the man's country. With the pace the blond had set – the kind of pace which only the likes of Maito Gai and Rock Lee would ever bother going – they arrived in the capital of Tori No Kuni within two weeks, instead of the standard month.
Naruto had to admit the country was beautiful just as Chishimo had said. The capitol possessed a lot more flora than most other cities, giving life to the otherwise standard buildings and dirt roads. Much of the city itself had walls following the roadways, creating an interconnecting set of paths that were much like a maze. With his unnaturally sharp eyes, Naruto could see the large hedging surrounding what the blond assumed was the palace, even though it was the dead of night. Running into the capitol city with Chishimo still on his back, the blond followed the path set for him by large plaster walls.
"So which way is it to your master's place?" asked Naruto as his eyes moved back and forth across the city. The entire place, except for the palace in the center, all looked the exact same to him. Even if Naruto knew where Mōsō's house was, he would probably get lost because everything looked identical.
"It's just a few blocks ahead. If you go right at this next intersection, then take another left two intersections down, you should see it. I'll point it out to you when we get closer."
"Right." As Naruto continued moving the sound of a whistle pierced the night air. It was a pretty shrill noise, one that cut through the air like the wail of a banshee. It sounded like some kind of alarm. Skidding to a stop, the blond shinobi surveyed the area while saying out loud, "What was that sound?"
While Naruto did not find out what the sound was or where it had come from, he did find something else which was likely the reason the noise had appeared in the first place. Up in the sky above him was a figure clad in white samurai armor. It floated through the air above him, hovering just like one would expect of a ghost. The sight sent a chill down Naruto spine that he refused to give into. He wouldn't fail some mission just because of some stupid ghost!
"Clad all in white with a helmet and a halberd in it's hand, wearing the mask of an evil demon with the eyes of fire, there can be no doubt about it. That's the Cursed Warrior!" Naruto's right eye twitched violently. Did Chishimo have to give him such an evil and creepy description? It wasn't like he needed one, and really, listening to the guy just made him feel that much more jittery.
Focusing back to the task at hand, Naruto began saying, "Ok, this is where you get off." Chishimo looked surprised as Naruto set him down, then made the handseal to his favorite jutsu.
"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu." Two clones appeared next to them in a puff of smoke. The blond pointed at the copies he made and said, "These two will escort you to your master's house. I'm going to go after this Cursed Warrior and see just what kind of warrior he really is!"
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