Seeing this, Kurokawa Yasumasa tactfully dropped the subject, his tone softening slightly.
"Elder Takahashi, I have made inquiries. The reward pooled by those villagers would be rated at most as a C-rank mission in Konoha's system. According to Konoha's practice, such missions are usually assigned only to Genin, with at most one Chunin leading the team. These people have limited abilities and are not difficult to deal with, but they represent Konoha."
He deliberately slowed his speech to make his words sound more persuasive:
"There is no need for us to clash with them and increase the risk. Since they want to complete their mission, we will let them complete their so-called mission. Afterwards, they will return to Konoha to report back, and everything will have nothing to do with us anymore."
Elder Takahashi in the shadows was silent for a moment. His hood moved slightly, and a cold voice came: "In that case, I also need to be present when you meet the Konoha Ninja."
Kurokawa Yasumasa frowned slightly, weighed the options quickly, and nodded in agreement: "Very well. At that time, you will disguise yourself as my butler and stand by my side. But do not act rashly! Everything will be done according to my arrangements."
"The apocalypse is coming; only by returning to our God, the Saint descends to the world, blessing all living beings."
Elder Takahashi said nothing, only whispering a slogan from the scriptures before his figure slowly merged into the shadows behind him and disappeared.
Silence returned to the secret chamber.
A blatant sneer curled the corner of Kurokawa Yasumasa's mouth.
A bunch of completely brainwashed fools!
It wasn't that he hadn't flipped through the so-called "Holy Spirit Gospel." It was no different from other cult scriptures that played on superstitions, filled with ravings like "The apocalypse will come in a few decades," and "Only by devoutly believing in the Holy Spirit and awaiting the birth of the Saint to bring our God's true form into the world can the believers be led through the catastrophe to the new world."
The apocalypse in a few decades?
Utter nonsense!
Even if there was a shred of truth in those lies and some damn apocalypse really happened in a few decades.
So what?
His own body, gnawed day and night by disease, likely wouldn't even last two years.
Catastrophe? New world? What did it have to do with him?
The reason he allowed the church to operate here and even reluctantly became a member was simple and pragmatic:
The thing they gave him—the blood-colored liquid derived from the so-called "Holy Spirit's Gift"—could indeed suppress the agonizing bone cancer pain that made him wish he were dead, slowing the progression of his illness.
And... the tiny, faint hope deep in his heart that it might actually cure this terminal illness... Three days later, in the northeastern part of the Land of Fire, near the edge of a dense forest close to the border.
Two figures walked out, one after the other, treading on the soft humus of the forest floor.
The view suddenly opened up, revealing a gently sloping hilly area. In the distance, wisps of kitchen smoke and the outlines of field ridges could already be seen.
"Narumi Town is just ahead," Maruboshi Kosuke, walking in front, stopped and introduced in a calm tone. "This place is located on the northeastern edge of the Land of Fire. The climate is cooler than back at the Village, with many mountains and forests. The farmland isn't very fertile, but the minerals and timber are decent. The local customs... are a bit tougher compared to the interior, as it's near the border."
He turned sideways so Shinichi could get a clearer view ahead and continued, "Going further northeast from Narumi Town, over those relatively low border mountains, is the Land of Hot Springs. It's a very interesting country with beautiful scenery, especially the hot springs found all over, earning it the title 'Land of Wellness,' which is where its name comes from. Many nobles and wealthy merchants like to go there for recuperation and vacations."
Along the way, Maruboshi Kosuke didn't just teach Shinichi essential Ninja skills like mission reconnaissance, track identification, and wilderness survival.
At every place they passed, he would talk about the local geographical features, customs, and even some rumors and anecdotes as if he knew them by heart.
This seemingly trivial knowledge was actually the accumulation of an experienced old Ninja's firsthand understanding of the Ninja World. He was now passing it on to the young man behind him without reservation, subtly broadening his horizons.
Shinichi followed his gaze toward the mist-shrouded border mountains in the distance.
The Land of Hot Springs... not only was it a sacred place for Jiraiya to gather material, but in the original timeline, it also seemed to be the birthplace of Hidan from the Akatsuki Organization.
A guy who believed in an Evil God, possessed an immortal body, and had bizarre curse-killing abilities.
However, according to the timeline, Hidan shouldn't be born yet. (Note)
He didn't know the exact origin of the Jashin Cult and the Evil God that Hidan spoke of.
Shinichi withdrew his distant gaze and brought his thoughts back to the present.
"Senior, after we arrive, should we go see the client first, or go to the Narumi Castle Police Station to exchange information with the local guards?"
Maruboshi Kosuke pondered for a moment and said, "The clients are scattered in several Villages outside the city, while the Police Station is inside. Since it's on the way, let's go into the city first. Official records and details from scene investigations are sometimes clearer than the oral accounts of anxious villagers, and it saves us from having to come back later."
The two didn't delay any further, quickening their pace and soon arriving at the entrance of Narumi Castle.
The walls of this small border town weren't very tall, but the guard inspections were quite strict.
Maruboshi Kosuke stepped forward and calmly presented Konoha's mission credentials.
After carefully checking, the Ashigaru Captain at the gate looked at their headbands, whispered a few words to a subordinate, and then said politely to the two, "You must be the Konoha Ninja who have come to investigate the case of the missing children? The Lord of the City has already given instructions that if you arrive, you must be invited to the manor for a talk. Please follow me."
Maruboshi Kosuke and Shinichi quickly exchanged a look, both seeing the confusion in each other's eyes.
Konoha's status in the Land of Fire was indeed transcendent, and the Hokage was nominally the highest military commander of the Land of Fire.
But regarding local affairs, especially investigations involving civil cases, there was no clear subordinate relationship between Konoha Ninja and local administrative officials.
The usual process was for Ninja to directly interface with the mission client or collaborate with local security agencies for intelligence; the highest local official rarely intervened directly or proactively—unless the case involved a very high level.
Moreover, the two of them were only Genin.
For a high-ranking City Lord who governed an entire city to so quickly and solemnly invite two low-ranking Ninja to his manor seemed... a bit too courteous, by any logic.
Their original plan was only to go to the Police Station, review the files, question the personnel in charge, obtain preliminary official clues, and then leave.
"Thank you for leading the way," Maruboshi Kosuke said with a peaceful, even somewhat simple smile, as if he were just an ordinary old Ninja accepting a kind invitation, showing no sign of anything unusual.
He turned slightly and signaled Shinichi to follow.
Shinichi nodded and silently followed half a step behind Maruboshi Kosuke's side. The two followed the guard, walking steadily through the city gate toward the most prominent mansion in the center of the city...