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Shadow King Side Mission 6
🕑 Added 2025-01-17 04:55:31 +0000 UTCThe forest was quiet and the nighttime was eerie, Shika stood with his eyes calmly assessing the two shinobi in front of him. The lithe and quick girl took twin daggers out, strange since they were small enough that even kunai could replace them so why bother using them separately?
The man was broad and imposing, he carried a katana sword. Shika now was getting a little confused, Shinobi don’t usually use big weapons like this, it hinders movements. By their clothes or the way their fighting stands stood, it was hard to figure out where they were from. Shika can’t help but go into this fight all blind without any information.
Both looked skilled and Shika knew he was outmatched in raw power. But he had his shikigami.
‘In times like this, I wish I had an ace like Rasengan or Chidori…’ He can’t help but grumble.
The woman moved first, darting toward Shika with incredible speed. Her daggers gleamed as they aimed for his vital points. Shika’s hands formed a quick seal, summoning his divine dogs, Shadow and Snow. They leapt forward, intercepting her attack. She flipped backwards, narrowly avoiding their sharp fangs.
“Summons ?” She muttered with a little surprise.
“Trying to fill the number gaps with this dogs. Pathetic….” The man roared and charged.
Not wasting time he swung his sword in a wide arc, forcing Shika to side them. He wanted to take out his own sword but he wasn’t that good of a swordsman. Not to mention he wasn’t only fighting one person, he needed to be as much as mobile as possible if he saw that he had to get out of there.
Shadow lunged at the man’s exposed side, but the shinobi blocked it with his blade. Snow, meanwhile, circled behind him, snapping at his legs and keeping him off balance.
Shika used the distraction to use the Genjutsu he learned under Kurenai. A swarm of paper cranes emerged from his shadows, darting toward the woman. It was an Illusion but she fell for it. She spun and slashed, cutting through some. But to both Shika’s and the man’s perspective, she was just swinging her daggers in the air.
“What you did to her.” Asked the man in irritation. This was a little strange to Shika honestly, anyone could tell that she was in a Genjutsu. Maybe the man knew but in all this rush wasn’t able to say?
“You’re tricky,” the man growled, charging Shika again.
‘No, I’m pretty sure that you are dumb.’ Shika wanted to say but what was the point.
Shika dodged, weaving through the trees, his mind working fast.
“Just as he had a chance he overpowered his handsign with curse energy and summon the most powerful Nue he could and shouted.
“Now Thunderbolt.”
Nue had a ridiculous face like asking whether Shika thought of him as a Pokémon but he did what he asked nonetheless.
A powerful lightning bolt came out of Nue’s wings and went directly towards the man who was holding a 15-inch long steel sword in his hands. Zapping him until he couldn’t stand it anymore and he fell down.
“Huh… that it ?” Shika can’t help but ponder to himself just what happened?
He was anticipating a big fight but nothing like that happened.
He was a little disappointed.
“Hmm, whatever, let's get this over with and get back home.” Shaking his head, he just sighed and bound the two, ready to take them back to Konoha.
—-
[Konoha Hokage Office]
“So that's what happened ?” Asked Hokage as Shika handed out the paper in his hand to the Hokage.
Though the Hokage didn’t show it on his face but he was looking concerned.
“Yes, I have brought both the shinobi back in good condition and handed them over to the guards,” Shika replied and to this the Hokage looked even more worried.
“Sigh,” Letting out a long sigh he put the paper back in his deck and finally opened his mouth to say something.
“Say Shika Kun, do you know who those Shinobi were ?” Asked the Hokage, making Shika confused. He tried asking them but none said anything.
Shika was planning on torturing them but he was too lazy for that and decided to leave this all to Ibiki.
“No.” Shika just shooked his head, not exactly interested in this all bullshit.
“They were from the capital.”
“Capital…” Shika hearing the Hokage at first didn’t get it, but when what the Hokage was implying kicked in his head, he started to sweat bullets.
Whether it was the fact that he was thinking about torturing them or the fact that the Daimyo had his own Shinobi team that he was using to infiltrate Konoha, nothing sat right with Shika.
“It’s always refreshing to talk with a Nara, they understand things much faster. So maybe you should also understand why this should be happening right…” Hokage asked Shika but Shika was still contemplating things to himself in his mind.
“But…” Shika after thinking about it and having no response finally asked.
“But why? Why would Daymio do that? I can see him having his own Ninja force but what’s the point of making them infiltrate Konoha like this ?” Shika asked.
Though there was always an possibility that the Daiymio didn’t believe Konoha but that would be a little far-fetched.
“You are right, though Daiymio had many reasons to send someone to Konoha and infiltrate us but it's not for village secrets but to know how Konoha itself is faring and how its internal struggle is going on.
You see Shika, a Ninja Village is the military power of a country, if that power is not under the control of the Daiymio then no ruler could stand still and maintain peace.
If they had the ability then those rulers of the land would have long taken control of the hidden villages.
The only thing which stops them from doing so is that they can’t, the power to do that is something they lack, not to mention they can’t actually act against a hidden village without actually confronting a political upsurge by going against some of the unwritten rules which the entire Elemental nation work on.
Without the funds which a Daiymio provides, ninja villages like ours can’t survive, while without a powerful ninja village in a county, no land will remain safe.
It’s a balancing act. You can say it by the quality of their homegrown Shinobi, you fought them right, not up to the mark were they… ” Hiruzen Sarutobi seems to enter into his professor mode and explain everything to Shika with patience.
Shika too listen to everything with attention. Much of what he was hearing, he already knew thanks to many fanfiction he read over his last life.
“You should already know that every hidden village has spies right, even Konoha has its fair share of spies,” Hokage asked to which Shika again nodded.
It is no hidden fact that many villages don’t outright cut spies down even after knowing they have some in their village just to feed either wrong information or to maintain a fake upfront to others in the world.
“Do you know who sends the most spies to Konoha?” Asked Hokage again to which Shika had many names but seeing the past only one name came to his mind.
“Kumo…” Shika asked. The Hidden Cloud is by far the most strongest village beside Konoha after all. Even after Konoha was seriously have gotten weak over the years.
“Close, they are the second.
The most spies right now in Konoha actually came from Capital of Land of Fire…” Said the Hokage making Shika wide mouth.
“The capital has always been wary of our strength, not only the land of Fire but many other Daiymo are the same with their hidden villages. And we just let them.
There is a reason why.
Becuase the probing is only by the extent of whether we are still loyal to the capital or not. And though staying loyal is a strong term but as long as our allegiance go with the Land of Fire, Daiymio doesn’t care.
This has been happening for a long time.” Hiruzen said making Shika take a few seconds to sink this all in. But that was when his mind went to the paper he brought back.
“Than what was that paper ?” Before Shika knew it, he asked it only to realized that actually he didn’t want to know. What if it turns out that it was Konoha who was really planning on taking full control of the land of Fire.
Hiruzen certainly won’t do it but Danzo…
“Yes, this paper you see here was actually forged evidence that shows that Konoha was planning on going against the Daiymio.
One of the very few cases where people learn how to use this leeway we give to the spies from the capital for their own gain.
This pair of lovers as you described them was certainly planning on using this obviously fake documents with little real evidence mixed in them to sow discord between the Daiymio and Konoha. “ Hokage replied finally, the last part coming with a stern tone.
“Oh…” Shika now get it.
“The only thing which is bothering this old man now is who would try to do this. To use this small loophole and sow discord between the village and the capital…” Hiruzen sighed.
Shika on the other hand was just flabbergasted on how much complicated this case turn out to be.
“Anyway, you did good my boy. Though you have a nag for picking out troublesome C-rank missions but every time you help out the village.
However, this time too I can’t give this mission it’s real ranking due to the nature of the mission, not to mention it might attract too much attention towards you. But you will be compensated….” Hokage smiled to which Shika just nodded absentmindedly.
“Hmm, may I ask a question ?” Shika was ready to just get out of the office and throw himself to his very much inviting bed but before that he asked, he just had to know his.
“Go ahead.” Hokage gave a grandfatherly smile and motioned Shika to go ahead.
“What would have happened if that paper was really delivered to the Daimyo.” Shika asked, can’t help but his mind wondering what would have happened if he hadn’t stopped this from happening.
“Hmm, well a piece of paper certainly can’t make Daiymio completely act against us but it would have stressed our relationship with the Daiymio.
A simple military budget cut would have been the best outcome, as for the worst… well who knows.” Hiruzen at this time looked old suddenly. Like he didn’t want to think about this anymore.
O..Oh, I see. Well good thing that I went after her I guess.”
“Yes, indeed. Seems like chasing a girl is not always worthless…huh.” Hiruzen chuckled and went back to his smoke pipe and tobacco…
Shika too exists in the office. Too much in his mind, this was the first time he come in contact with so much political aspects of the village.
However just as he left the village, the smiling face of Hiruzen was gone.
“Imu.” He called and an Anbu in black mask appeared instantly.
“Search out for all the spies, from capital or otherwise. We need to screen them. Also, bring Danzo here.” Hiruzen said with a cold tone, anger boiling in his eyes as he looked at the paper.
Only he understood what this paper means as they were written in a secret Konoha code.
And this was Danzo’s doing. Only sage knows what would have happened if this were to fall on the hands of someone from capital or even worse someone from other villages.
