6 6
"Please have mercy", A woman begged in tears while holding his legs, "I- I will do anything, whatever you say, You already killed my husband, please at least let my kid live, he is just an infant"
There was blood as the woman and the newborn were dead. Killed by Ghost without mercy.
Riiiinnnggggg
The alarm clock goes off and he jolts and woke up from the nightmare.
He huffed as he gets up, and goes to the bathroom to take the anti-depression pills. He looks himself in the mirror, "Huff Huff... The dreams... they are getting worse these days"
...
Hokage tower~~~
Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a sigh while straightening his Hokage hat. The recent talk of alliance went downhill sooner than he expected.
Suddenly, there was a knock on his door and he blinked, then he turned to see the clock and it was already midnight. Who would visit him in the middle of the night?
"Come in..." He called.
And the door opened to reveal it was his secretary, however, Hiruzen immediately sensed something was wrong with her and his eyes sharpened as he stared with steel eyes at the woman.
The secretary seemed to be unfazed before she dropped to the ground like a lifeless doll and behind her, emerged a shadow.
The Hokage also noticed that this man smelled... Bad... It was a mix of... Pepper, garlic, and... Ughh, it clearly gave quite a bad impression on his nose and it was only thanks to his hardened battle experience in the war that he was able to hold himself.
"She is not dead, but in Genjutsu", The unknown person said plainly with a changed voice.
His presence also aroused the presence of Anbus guarding the Hokage.
"Who are you?" The Anbu demanded sternly as he and his comrades brought out their Kunai and weapons.
But in response, all they heard was silence.
"Everyone, form a protective barrier around Hokage sama"
"Sleep", The shadow said as soon as he came to light. The Anbus fell asleep without any resistance.
"I must admit, your Genjutsu is getting better and better", Hokage smiled, "Ghost"
Ghost kneeled in front of Hokage, "Hokage sama" He called.
"I know time is critical, so we will go straight to the point. Have you heard of Kirigakure's situation", The old Hokage asked bluntly...
The shadow nodded silently.
"I need you to go and find out why is their village in lockdown for no reason at all..!", Hiruzen explained while looking at the masked figure.
"Please forgive me for asking this, but what's the point...?!" The ghost said in a low voice, "And besides, any Anbu can do this simple of a job"
The old man sighed as he leaned back in his chair, "Jiraiya sent a piece of information this morning —— a name... Akatsuki"
"Akatsuki..?!"
"We don't know what it means, it might be a mission codename or some organization or even something else... However, according to Jiraiya, somehow the Kyuubi attack on our village is related to this Akatsuki..."
Hiruzen paused, then continued, "That being said, Kirigakure's lockdown is not sitting well with me. If someone related to Akatsuki has the capability to attack us, then they have the capability to attack Kiri as well. Although it's just a wild guess of mine, I have a hunch that we will have more information from there...! And there is none who could do this better than you", Hiruzen finished
"Yes Hokage sama"
"You are going in blind on this one, and we don't know how much reach this Akatsuki has, that's why you won't inform anyone of your mission details. Not a single soul...", Hokage ordered, "Stage the play for your disappearance, other than you, me, and Jiraiya, others can only know that you are traveling to Kirigakure...!"
"Understood Hokage sama"
Hokage nods his head, "Remove your mask, I wish to see your face"
The shadow did not hesitate and slowly put a hand on his mask, revealing his face.
Hokage shook his head, "I know this is not your real face, but the makeup underneath the mask... A face says a lot... So I ask you to remove it completely. Show me who you really are", he demanded.
"My face is whatever you imagine Hokage sama", Ghost blurred and disappeared and everyone started waking up.
Hiruzen stood up as if nothing had happened as the Anbus started to wake up one after another only to see Hokage glaring angrily.
Hokage growled, "That assassin... he managed to run away...", He clenched his fists with fury.
The Anbu were quick to take action and they were ready to move in for the kill until Hokage ordered them to stand down.
"What will you guys even do...?! Where are you gonna find him in this whole village? Did you guys even see the assassin's face..?!", Hokage asked.
The Anbu lowered their head and gave an apology.
"Just forget about that and focus on doing your job better!"
After a long moment of silence, Anbu could only mutter in dismay.
"Yes, Hokage sama...", The group said as they all blurred into the shadows leaving behind Hokage who sighed with exasperation at how much more difficult his job had suddenly gotten since he gets to know Ghost...
Ghost is unlike other Anbu black ops, he does not exist; his existence is fake. Only his shadow exists along with a single name. Ghost.
The only ones capable of calling him are few, and even they have to follow the rule of hiding him so that no one knows he is there.
The old Hokage sighed and sit on his chair as he bring out a small diary called 'bingo book'
This is a book that every ninja keeps that lists records of ruthful missing-nins and are considered to be on the "hit list" anyone mentioned in this little red book is known as the best of the best and can be killed at any time by anyone.
The old Hokage flipped through the pages and stopped when he found "his" information...
─ Name: Unknown (Codename: Ghost)
─ Weapon: Sword/flute
─ Skills: Unknown/ Demonic sensing ability
─ Bloodline: Unknown
─ Rank: SS+
─ Bounty: 1,000,000,000 (every great nation); 5,000,000 (every minor nation)
─ Records: Defeated every Kage of the five great nations, including the third Raikage and fourth Hokage, rumored to have completed more than 100+ S-rank missions last year, and destroyed the entire Iwagakure's entire army all alone during the invasion of Konoha. Recognized all throughout the world to be untouchable.
─ Location: Unknown (Konoha)
─ Appearance: Unknown
The bounty on this man's head was huge enough to make anyone shiver in greed, and the fact that he remains unknown makes it even more dangerous.
The old man sighed and closed the book.
...
A week later, Konoha's training ground.
Boom
The thick tree could not withstand the sword attack and was separated from the main trunk and hit the ground with a "boom"
Tweet
Hiss
Fierce sword intent filled the air making Raizel's skin tingle, but Raizel as if fallen into a situation of epiphany, he kept waving his brand new katana.
In a new form, wearing new makeup, and having a new face. Raizel practiced for a long time.
"Yo! what's that..?!", A young boy walked in with girls in both of his hands, "I lost my sword a few days ago, the thief was a boy wearing shabby clothes. You are that thief, right?"
Raizel who was drenched in sweat turned over.
But the arrogant boy did not care, his eyes only contained greed, "Hey boy, Give my sword back and I will let you go, or I will call the authorities and tell them how you stole my sword"
Raizel turned back around and just continue to swing the sword.
"Oi, I am talking to you shabby boy"
He still didn't stop.
The arrogant boy was angered as he ran toward Raizel to punch him. Either way, the boy seemed to be weak, and he is a mighty Chunin. He was confident in his abilities only to feel an uncontrollable force stopping him from moving even a bit.
It was Raizel's killing intent, making the arrogant boy hesitate from moving forward. Raizel stretched out his hand to grab the arrogant boy's neck and lifted him up. He glance at the fearful girls, "Sleep", There was a flash of light and both the girls beside the arrogant boy suddenly fell onto the ground. Unconscious.
"You... Put me down... Do you know who I am? I... am telling you, I am the elder Homura's grandson", Even though he was caught up and out of breath, the arrogant young man was still confident.
"Yes I know"
The arrogant boy was overjoyed when he heard it. He thought that the boy in front of him would be intimated and put him down.
However, what Raizel said next directly took the soul out of his body, "That's why you are here, in this situation"
The arrogant boy gulped, Raizel simply stare into his eyes with a stoic face, "I have been training here for the last 7 days just for you to come here"
As if possessed by a demon, his eyes were radiating a huge killing intent, which was extremely frightening.
The arrogant young man couldn't help but shudder, "I... I am telling you"
Crack!
With the crisp sound of broken bones, The arrogant boy's arm was broken immediately.
The arrogant young man suddenly screamed like a pig, his face was full of pain, and his eyes couldn't help but tremble in fear.
There was another sound of broken bones, and another scream of the arrogant young man resounded everywhere.
Aaarrgghhh
He tried to struggle in Raizel's grasp, he kicked his legs furiously but it was to no avail.
"Do you know? I bought this sword just to seduce you", Raizel whispered softly in the ear of the arrogant young man
The young man shuddered, he wanted to yell for help but could not.
He looked at the arrogant boy whose face was turning blue from the lack of oxygen
Sensing Hokage and elders nearby and in hearing range, Raizel immediately yelled.
"You dare to be so aggressive because of your grandpa..!! You idiot, everyone is expendable. Especially useless trashes like you", Raizel stretched out his hand and tapped on the arrogant boy's chest, and injected some chakra.
The arrogant young man directly screamed as the green veins on his forehead bulged out, but because he was hanging in the air being choked by Raizel, he could only twist his body in pain.
But what is surprising is that he did not pass out due to severe pain.
"Stop it", Just when he was about to do it again, a furious voice suddenly came over.
Sure enough, the moment Hokage council arrived, old man, Homura yelled with a commanding tone.
Raizel immediately let the arrogant boy drop to the ground and kneeled in front of Hokage and the elder council.
"Hokage sama! Danzo sama! Elders!"
Koharu Utatane, another elder with them immediately ran to help the young one.
As the former head of the medical hospital, her medical skills were naturally not bad. With her treating the arrogant boy's wounds, they were not worried that anything serious would happen.
But...
"Crack!"
Elder Koharu put some green chakra on her hand and tried to heal the broken bones, but for some reason or another, the arrogant boy suddenly uttered a scream like a pig, which was extremely ear-piercing.
"W-what is going on? Koharu", Homura asked feeling panicked
"There is a foreign chakra in his body, If this is not treated in time, the boy will go into a coma"
"Boy, do you know what you have done? is it possible that you want to bear the charge of killing your companions?", Homura Mitokado shouted angrily.
"Companions? Does he know the meaning of this word? He tried to steal the sword that I bought using every ounce of money that I saved for years, just because he felt like it. Elder, congratulations, your son has produced trash"
Hearing it, Elder Homura's face was red with anger.
Danzo closed his eyes and said calmly, "Raizel, you are crossing your limits"
...
~~Konoha Hospital~~
"Sarutobi, this fellow, who is it? I have never seen such a wild boy", The elder asked feeling very angry.
"He is just an unremarkable chunin", Danzo explained very calmly, "That's why you probably don't remember him"
"No matter who it is. We absolutely can't let him stay in the village anymore, otherwise, no one knows who his next target will be"
"This guy is a psychopath, and everything depends on his mood. Things like today must not happen again. For Konoha's sake, For people's sake, he must be controlled!"
"This... what you said makes sense, but... I feel a bit wrong to just make a decision like this!", Hokage said
Homura wasn't the only one, Koharu Utatane joined him, but what surprised everyone was that Danzo kept quiet in all of this.
Sensing their greatest backup Danzo was quiet in all of this, Hamura was hesitant for a second.
"Hiruzen, I know you are benevolent to children. You must do it when it is time to do it. Not now, If it is inconvenient for you, then let me give him punishment, I will give him a proper punishment"
"Um... I guess that's a good suggestion, well, but you must not go too far, and cause his backlash again. That kid is not a person you wish to harm..!!", The elder groaned for a while before agreeing, and being reminded at the same time.
How could the third Hokage not understand the hatred? Homura has practically lost his mind. The old elder may not necessarily listen to him!
"I hope you won't make me regret my decision Homura", The third Hokage said, as Homura nodded and left.
Looking at the departing figures of elders, the third Hokage sighed, as he puffed his smoke pipe.
"Tell our people to start mixing poison. The elder's grandson must not leave this hospital room for some time now"
"Hai"
...
Raizel does not know what trick Hokage used, but apparently, as the punishment decided by elder Homura, he was given the scroll. Even Danzo agreed to it.
"Sneak into the bloody mist to investigate their sudden lockdown situation", Raizel read the scroll
On the road, Raizel blurred from tree to tree, rushing towards the Kiri. Leaving behind a permanent shadow clone inside the village.
...
Cool breezes flew in from the north, gracing the fair-skinned man's face as the boat traveled north. His rower, darker than he in skin hue, continued using his oars to propel the small rowboat towards their destination, the land of water country.
His rowboat docked, and the rower asked, "Are you sure you wished to be dropped off here?"
"Yes", He stepped out onto the small island's snow, "I'll take it from here. Thank you"
"Just doing what I was paid for", The rower takes back his boat.
...
A wandering sickly teenager was begging on the streets all day long. He picked food from the trash cans and slept on the floor. Taking whatever he could find to cover himself up in this cold weather.
He did it for full three months with black and heavy eyes from the lack of sleep.
Just as he was about to do today's begging. There was a young woman that came to him.
She looks the same age as him, dressed in a blue dress, that was opened till it was above her thighs. The brown hair on her forehead intertwined into a loving shape.
After this woman appeared, the beggars on the street forgot to pretend to be pitiful, and the businessmen forgot to care about the price.
Heck, anyone would agree that this young woman is hot and sexy.
Everyone's eyes gathered on the young woman's body, and their greedy lustful eyes scanned the woman's body burning it into their minds.
The woman is no one else, but the heir to one of the most prestigious families in Kirigakure. Terumi Mei.
She stood directly in front of the teenage beggar, "Boy, come with me, there will be a lot of delicious food with me, so you don't have to wander on the streets and get hungry again!"
Terumi Mei's words were simple and clear.
"No thanks...!"
"Why? Don't you want to go with the pretty lady?", Mei asked a little stunned, this is her first time getting rejected for anything. Especially by a man
"I might not be as noble and educated as you are, but I know people don't help anyone for no reason..."
She smirked and bent down to match the teenager's eyes.
The people around him swallowed again, their breathing began to become rapid, and their eyes never looked away
Mei smirked, "I am a noble from Kirigakure. So what do you think I would gain from helping a beggar like you..?!"
"I don't know, some people do it for status, some just do it to satisfy their ego, or to look cool in front of others... some just feel pity for guys like us..."
She smiled, "What do you think my reason is?"
"I can't tell...", The beggar said as he looked to the side, he is pretty sure if it hadn't been for her strength, these people would have long since turned into demons and rushed forward to ravish her... and judging from her expressions, it's obvious she learned how to ignore it a long time ago...
"Come with me...! I've been watching you for quite some time now. As for my intentions, well, You will find out soon enough", Mei said as she grabbed the boy's shoulder...
The boy remained silent for a few minutes. But finally, he spoke, "will... you give me food", The beggar asked.
Mei laughed, "You can have more than just that, I'm taking you to a real feast. Come on, come with me!"
The beggar bit his lips and after hesitating for a little too long, he nodded.
"Let's go then, I will buy you some clothes, and then make you take the bath, maybe you will turn into a handsome guy!", Terumi Mei took the beggar and walked off.
The people in the street, stared at her back with envy, admiration, and lustful eyes, as the people were all filled with jealousy.
That beggar is of course a nightmare, who will bring chaos to Kirigakure!
This boy, the one being escorted by this lovely woman is none other than the most lethal assassin known to mankind...! Ghost of Konoha.
