Kurokawa Yasumasa understood the situation and tactfully refrained from pursuing the topic further, his tone softening somewhat.
"Elder Takahashi, I have already inquired thoroughly. The reward those villagers managed to pool together would, within Konohagakure's mission system, be rated at most as a C-rank mission. According to Konohagakure's usual practice, such missions are generally assigned to genin, at most accompanied by a chūnin leading the team. Their abilities are limited; they are not particularly difficult to deal with. However, they represent Konohagakure."
He deliberately slowed his speech, making his words sound more persuasive: "There is no need for us to clash with them and incur unnecessary risk. Since they intend to complete their mission, we can simply let them complete the so-called mission. Afterward, they will naturally return to Konohagakure to report back. At that point, everything will have nothing further to do with us."
Elder Takahashi in the shadows fell silent for a moment. His hood shifted slightly, and a cold voice emerged: "If that is the case, then when you meet with the Konohagakure ninja, I must also be present to observe."
Yasumasa frowned slightly, weighed the matter quickly, and nodded in agreement. "Very well. At that time, you will pose as my steward and stand at my side. But you must not act rashly! Everything will proceed according to my arrangements."
"The end is near. Only by returning to our God. The Holy Son descends into the world, bestowing grace upon all living beings."
Elder Takahashi said nothing further. He merely murmured the church's doctrinal slogan in a low voice, and his figure slowly merged into the shadows behind him, disappearing from sight.
The secret chamber returned to silence.
The corner of Yasumasa's mouth curled into an undisguised sneer.
A bunch of thoroughly brainwashed fools!
It was not as if he had never read that so-called Holy Divine Gospel. It was no different from other cult scriptures that feigned mysticism—throughout, it was filled with ravings such as, "In a few decades, the end will descend," and "Only by devoutly believing in the Holy God, awaiting the birth of the Holy Son, and enabling our God's true body to descend into the world can believers be led through the calamity and arrive at a new age."
In a few decades, the end will descend?
Utter nonsense!
Even if there were the slightest trace of truth in that pile of drivel—if, decades later, some damned apocalypse truly were to come—
So what?
With this body of his, gnawed day and night by illness, Yasumasa might not even last two more years.
Calamity? A new age? What would any of that have to do with him?
He tacitly allowed the church to operate here, and even—half pushed, half yielding—became one of them, for a reason that could not have been more pragmatic:
What they provided—the blood-colored liquid said to come from the so-called "Holy Divine blessing"—could indeed suppress the bone cancer agony that made life worse than death for him, and delay the worsening of his condition.
And also… that faint, deepest sliver of hope in his heart—that perhaps it really could completely cure this terminal illness.
…
Three days later, in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire, at the edge of a dense forest near the border.
Two figures, one after the other, stepped out onto the forest's soft, decayed humus.
The view abruptly opened up. A stretch of rolling hills with gradually gentler terrain spread out before them; in the distance, they could already make out wisps of cooking smoke and the outlines of field ridges.
"Up ahead is Narumi Town." Kosuke, walking in front, stopped and introduced it in an even tone. "This place sits on the northeastern edge of the Land of Fire. The climate is a bit cooler than over by the village. There are lots of mountains and forests. The farmland isn't very fertile, but the mineral resources and timber are decent. Compared to the inland, the people here are a bit more tough and fierce—after all, it's close to the border."
He turned slightly, letting Shinichi get a clearer view of what lay ahead, and continued, "If you go further northeast from Narumi Town and cross that not-very-high border mountain range, you'll reach the Land of Hot Water. It's a very interesting country—beautiful scenery, and in particular, hot springs all over the nation. It's known as a country of wellness; even its name comes from that. Many nobles and wealthy merchants like to go there for recuperation and vacation."
Along the way, Kosuke was not merely teaching Shinichi essential shinobi skills such as mission reconnaissance, trace identification, and wilderness survival.
Every time they passed through a place, he would, as if reciting treasured knowledge, describe the local geography, customs, and even some hearsay anecdotes in detail.
This seemingly trivial knowledge was, in fact, the most direct accumulation of how an experienced old shinobi understood the shinobi world. At this moment, he was imparting it to the young man behind him without holding anything back, subtly broadening his horizons.
Following his gaze, Shinichi looked toward the border mountain range shrouded in clouds and mist in the distance.
The Land of Hot Water…
That place was not only Jiraiya's favorite source-material haven, but in the original course of events, it also seemed to be the birthplace of that later Akatsuki member, Hidan.
A fellow who worshiped an evil god, possessed an immortal body, and had bizarre curse-killing abilities.
However, by the timeline, Hidan should not have been born yet.
As for the evil god cult and the evil god he spoke of, he had no idea what their origins really were.
Shinichi withdrew his distant gaze and pulled his thoughts back to the present.
"Senpai, once we arrive, should we first meet the client, or go to the Narumi Castle security office and speak with the local guards to learn what information they have?"
Kosuke pondered for a moment before replying, "The clients are scattered among several villages outside the city, while the security office is inside the city. Since it's on the way, we'll enter the city first. Official records and details from on-site inspections are sometimes clearer than anxious villagers' accounts. It will also save us from having to make a second trip."
The two did not delay further and quickened their pace. Before long, they arrived at the entrance to Narumi Castle.
The walls of this small border city were not particularly tall, but the inspections carried out by the guards were noticeably strict.
Kosuke stepped forward and calmly presented Konohagakure's mission credentials.
After carefully verifying them and glancing at the forehead protectors worn by the two, the ashigaru captain at the gate turned and whispered a few words to one of his subordinates. He then addressed them politely, "You two are the Konohagakure ninja who have come to investigate the case of the missing children, correct? The lord of the city has already given instructions. If you arrive, you are to be invited to the residence for a discussion. Please follow me."
Kosuke and Shinichi quickly exchanged a look, each seeing the doubt in the other's eyes.
Konohagakure indeed held a transcendent position within the Land of Fire, and the Hokage was nominally the highest military commander of the nation.
However, when it came to specific local affairs—especially investigations involving civil cases—there was no explicit hierarchical subordination between Konohagakure ninja and local administrative officials.
The usual procedure was for ninja to deal directly with the mission's client, or to cooperate with local security institutions in intelligence matters. The highest local authority rarely intervened directly and proactively in such contact—unless the case involved matters of a very high level.
Moreover, the two of them were merely genin.
For a city lord who governed an entire city and held a position of no small status to so swiftly and formally invite two low-ranking ninja into his residence was, by any standard, somewhat… overly courteous.
Their original plan had only been to go to the security office, review the files, question the personnel in charge, obtain the official preliminary clues, and then leave.
"Thank you for leading the way," Kosuke said with a mild, even somewhat rustic smile, as if he were simply an ordinary old ninja accepting a well-meant invitation, without revealing the slightest anomaly.
He shifted slightly to the side, signaling Shinichi to follow.
Shinichi nodded and silently walked half a step behind Kosuke. The two followed the guard, their pace steady, passing through the city gate and heading toward the most prominent residence in the city.
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