"I don't know," he said at last, pausing only for a second before continuing to speak. "Something just feels...not quite right when I look at Sagi," The whisker marked shinobi watched as the Daimyo took something out of his pocket, he couldn't see what it was, but whatever he was holding seemed to make the young country leader depressed. "Then again, maybe I'm just a bit shocked at seeing someone so young ruling a country."
Chishimo gave him an odd look that Naruto couldn't place for a moment, before nodding. "I guess I can understand why you would think that," he said, then turned his attention back towards Sagi who was now wiping the corner of his eyes with his sleeve. "The truth is many people do not actually think Sagi is fit to lead due to his age, there was a bit of unrest when it was decided that he would succeed to the throne after his father died."
Naruto perked up slightly at hearing this. The information Chishimo had just unknowingly given him was quite possibly the best bet for discovering the secret behind the Cursed Warrior. Thinking on it, the whiskered shinobi was more than capable of believing that one of the higher ups had decided to create the ghostly figure that had been haunting the country due to their dissatisfaction with the new Daimyo being so young. Perhaps out of jealousy, or maybe even –
Naruto's thought process was halted, his entire body stiffening silently as the 'sixth sense' he developed for sensing killing intent and chakra usage pricked at the back of his mind. It was a small feeling of menace, so small that had it been anyone else his rank they would have missed it. The only reason Naruto could even sense the intent was thanks to his transformation in the Forest of Death increasing his ability to feel out such shifts in the atmosphere.
'Kyuubi –'
'The feeling is coming from beneath the water,' the vixen told him, having already sensed what he had and predicted his question. 'However, it's not directed at you, which means...'
'Sagi!'
Just as Naruto's mind realized who was being targeted, three shuriken came flying out of the water. Knowing there was very little time to react, the Konoha shinobi flicked his wrists, summoning his own shuriken into his hand. Another flick sent the star shaped projectile weapons slicing through the air, where they met with the other shuriken in a clang of steel and sparks. Over where the jiao still sat, the oxen became restless while the guards all brought out their swords as a threat revealed itself to their lord. Sagi himself looked just as surprised as those guarding him.
With the shuriken no longer a threat to the Daimyo of Tori no Kuni, Naruto dashed forward from his cover. From within his pocket he pulled out the scroll concealing Kubikiribocho, unsealing the massive head cleaving sword and placing the blunt end against his shoulder. Absently, he frowned at how long it had taken him to unseal the massive weapon. He would need to find a way to bring his sword out much more quickly if he wanted it to be usable in combat against S-ranked opponents.
Those thoughts were soon dispelled when three swords emerged from the water, sticking up like the fin of a shark. Naruto appeared in front of the jiao with Sagi and the guards that were trying to quell the frightened oxen just as the water in front of him burst. It was time for him to go to work.
There were three of them, Naruto noted as his enhanced eyesight took in the ninja assassins. They were all wearing the same outfit, blue gi with flared out blue pants that ended in a pair of two-toed boots. Underneath that was a long-sleeve mesh shirt, and their outfits were topped off with a gray mask that had brown spikes on the top, making the three ninja look nearly identical.
Each one of them was also carrying a bladed weapon, a kodachi, a short sword with a straight blade typically used for piercing attacks. Despite their usefulness very few ninja actually used those kinds of weapons. Naruto would have thought on it further, but the mere fact that they were here to assassinate the Daimyo of the country he was under contract with made that point moot right now. They were enemies and had to be eliminated, that was all there was to it.
Moving with the speed granted to him by his yōkai enhanced legs, Naruto burst forward, his form blurring. The first one to fall to his blade was completely unprepared, Naruto appeared right before him, Kubikiribōchō raised in the air, before, with a great heave, he sliced the blade downwards. The results were rather messy as the head cleaver severed the man in half from the left shoulder to the right hip. The man didn't even get a chance to yell before he was killed.
As a spray of blood descended upon the area surrounding the fallen body like mist, Naruto turned his attention onto his next foe.
This one was much more prepared, though from the way his eyes had widened behind his mask, he was definitely experiencing a high level of emotion; whether that was fear, shock, or anger was unknown to Naruto. The blond came in, planting his left foot firmly on the ground and swinging the massive blade in a graceful arc that whistled through the air. The ninja who he had targeted jumped back, dodging the attack entirely.
Or at least, he would have if that had been all there was to the attack. Having seen the muscles of the ninja assassin tense in preparation to dodge his blow, Naruto infused the Kubikiribocho with wind chakra, extending the blade's reach a great deal. The wind natured chakra created an extension of the blade that was at least a foot longer than it had been, and the ninja who had jumped back had only moved the bare minimum necessary to dodge the steel of the blade itself. When Naruto ran wind chakra through the blade, the ethereal green energy sliced into the ninja assassin's abdomen, opening up a large wound that caused blood to gush out like a geyser and the spine to become severed. The man fell into a heap on the ground, his hands holding his stomach closed as he bled out, staining the brown dirt red.
The last of the assassins, having seen the way his comrades had been killed, was quick to dive back into the water. Naruto was tempted to go after him, but his instincts were telling him to be cautious. A good thing too, as moments after the assassin disappeared, there was a large explosion from within the water, causing the liquid to shoot up into the air like a geyser.
"He used paper bombs in the water to cover his escape," Naruto murmured to himself, his eyes narrowing as he cursed his missed opportunity. He had been hoping to capture one of them for interrogation, as doing so may have very well given him the best lead to discovering who the Cursed Warrior was. Now that opportunity was lost, and he would need to find another way to solve this mystery.
With a heavy sigh, Naruto turned his attention back to the Daimyo and his guards. During the time he had battled with those assassins, Chishimo had made his way over to Sagi and was now doing his best to calm down the frightened ox in front.
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