As they walked through the streets of Konoha, the joy of the market contrasted with their concern. He felt like his world was falling apart and rebuilding at the same time. He had more questions than answers. But one question was more urgent than the rest: he was running out of money.
"We need income," he said quietly, looking at Lia.
She looked at him intently. She didn't need to speak. She understood. They both knew that the money they had gathered during their journey would barely last them a few more days.
That's when Ryan thought of Nobu, the merchant. They found him unloading boxes next to a spice stall. When he saw them, the man smiled.
"Hey! How did it go in the village?" he asked as he set a box on the ground. "What was your first impression?"
Ryan was direct.
"I need a job. Not as a ninja. Something more... independent."
This statement was definitive. Ryan knew better than anyone that if he made the decision to become a ninja, he would have no control over his own life. He saw it as more of a problem than a solution, an idea that was somewhat misguided in relation to his actual circumstances.
Nobu crossed his arms and looked him up and down.
"Then you came to the right guy. Not all jobs go through the Hokage Tower. There are people who need help, small jobs, nothing official... but well paid."
Ryan nodded.
"Tell me where."
Nobu handed him a small, rolled-up scroll, handwritten.
"It's a simple job. Go to a woman named Yuki, who lives near the western edge of the village, right where the training paths begin. Look for a cabin with a red pendant at the entrance. She has a problem to solve, and she pays well."
Ryan put it away and looked at Lia, who nodded enthusiastically.
"Thanks, Nobu," he said, and they said goodbye.
As they walked away through the streets of Konoha, Ryan didn't know it yet, but this would be the first step of many. A chain of assignments that would take him to the darkest corners of the shinobi world, facing dilemmas, unexpected allies... and enemies that would connect him, little by little, to the origin of the curse he carried in his blood.
The sun was beginning to set when Ryan and Lia arrived at the less-traveled part of the village. The houses here were older, and the bustle of the market was behind them. Among the trees, a cabin stood out because of a red pendant hanging above the door. A bell swayed in the wind.
Ryan knocked softly.
The door opened shortly after. An elderly woman looked at them with tired but attentive eyes.
"Are you Nobu's envoy?"
Ryan nodded.
"Ryan. This is Lia. What's the problem?" Ryan introduced himself.
Yuki invited them in. Inside, the house was modest, with an altar filled with incense and photographs. There was silence... but an obvious tension.
"It's not bandits or thieves," the woman began, serving tea without being asked. "It's something more... strange."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"Strange how?"
Yuki took a breath before speaking.
"My grandson died three years ago. Since then, something has been haunting the forest at night. At first, I thought it was animals. Then the whispers began. Footsteps. Voices imitating his. I've heard him calling me. Asking me to look for him."
Lia squeezed Ryan's hand. He remained silent, thoughtful.
"What do you want us to do?"
"Find whatever is doing this... and destroy it. I don't care if it's a beast or some trick. But I want it to end."
Ryan nodded. They accepted the mission.
During the day, Ryan and Lia explored the surroundings. Lia, though still young, imitated Ryan, looking for tracks, marks on trees, sounds. It was her first practical training.
"See this?" Ryan showed her a broken branch. "Something big went through here, not long ago. Learning to read the terrain can save your life."
Lia nodded attentively, writing down everything she learned in her notebook.
That night, they waited. And then the whispers began. It was a child's voice.
"Grandma... help me... I'm cold..."
Lia shuddered.
Ryan got up quietly. He took out the kunai he had taken from the bandits. He held it as if it were part of his body. Ryan never believed in anything paranormal; since he was a child, he had always been taught that such things did not exist in real life, but this was another world, where anything was possible now.
The stories that were told among the children in the complex gradually disappeared over time.
Ryan heard a small thud among the trees. Something was moving.
Ryan moved forward among the trees, each step firm and silent. Lia followed close behind, trying hard to imitate his movements. Despite the fear in her eyes, she did not back down.
The whispers were becoming clearer.
"Grandma... why did you leave me?" said the voice, in a plaintive tone.
Ryan stopped dead in his tracks. Something didn't add up. There were no signs of humans around. No body heat. But... the feeling was real.
"Stay close," he said to Lia in a low voice, and she nodded.
The temperature dropped suddenly. The air became thick. The branches creaked without wind. That's when they saw it.
A childlike silhouette, motionless among the trees, with its back to them. It didn't move... but something about its form was unnatural. It didn't blink. It didn't breathe. Its skin was opaque, and the edges of its body seemed to vibrate with an invisible mist.
"Is that... the grandson?" Lia quickly wrote in her notebook and showed it to Ryan.
"No," Ryan lowered the kunai, his voice low and tense. "It's not human."
Ryan didn't understand what was in front of him or how this was possible. Part of him didn't understand anything, but he was also aware that this was no longer his world and that new things were going to come his way, just as was happening right now. The figure turned slowly.
It had empty eyes, without pupils. Its mouth moved, but the sound came out before it opened.
"I'm cold... Grandma..."
Ryan felt a sharp pain in his head, as if an image had crashed into his mind: the vision of a child crying, trapped in a storm, calling for his grandmother. The same image appeared in Lia's eyes.
"It's an illusion!" Ryan shouted, putting his hand to his head. But it was more than just a mental trick.
The forest around them changed. They were no longer in the clearing where they had camped. Now everything was foggy. Crooked trees. Shadows. They heard footsteps. Distorted laughter. And always, that voice: "Help me... I'm alone..."
Lia was shaking, but she didn't give in. Ryan took her by the shoulder.
"Focus on what you know is real. I'm here. This isn't real. Listen to my voice."
She nodded, breathing heavily, clinging to Ryan's words. The bond between them tightened and strengthened in that moment. It wasn't just protection. It was guidance. Trust.
Then Ryan understood: the illusion was something deeper. The very atmosphere was altered.
That's when he felt it: a residual presence, like an energy he had never felt before in his life. A strange chakra permeates the earth. Unstable. Ancient.
He didn't understand what it was, but he knew it came from deeper in the forest.
"Let's go," Ryan ordered, moving toward the source of the distortion.
They came to an old cave, hidden by roots and moss. At its entrance were broken seals and unknown symbols. Inside, they found a small abandoned shrine and a circle with invocation marks on the floor, corroded and deformed.
"What is this place?" Lia asked, writing in her notebook again.
Ryan looked around. Remnants of scrolls, traces of fluids in broken bottles... and an old symbol on the wall: a snake coiled in a spiral.
"This is old... but not natural." I've been to a place like this before; in fact, it's almost the same as the place where I woke up."
As he touched the ground, a final echo resonated in their minds: the image of a child crying in a capsule, alone, before being discarded.
The chakra of the trauma had become imbued in the earth. It had mutated over time. And the natural energy of the area, contaminated, kept it alive like a shadow. A yūrei, yes, but formed of pain, chakra, and nature corrupted by experimental chemicals.
Ryan, without knowing how, broke the central seal. The vision faded. The air cleared. The cold disappeared.