New Identity

The road on the way to the village was not much of a proper road. It was more of a path through the wilderness with the occasional signpost. As soon as Natsume reached the road, small flakes of snow started to fall. Despite it being spring, the weather would only get colder as she traveled north. It took her an hour to reach the village and by then, her hair was covered in a layer of frost.

Natsume saw the village gates up ahead with two people standing on watch. Natsume had changed into one of the training uniforms and decided to go with the identity of aspiring samurai. Her main goal was to master their technique of channeling chakra through their weapons. She felt that this would be a significant power boost for her and could be used at any stage of her development.

"Halt, the village is closed. Please go back." One of the guardsman noticed Natsume when she was within a few hundred feet and called out to her. She frowned and didn't expect to get stopped. Looking around, the wooden walls went up to the mountain and down to the coast. She would have to climb back up to go around the village or swim around the village.

"I am just passing through."

"No one is allowed to enter the village. Please come back another time." He stood his ground.

"And when would that be?"

"When we are not closed." At that point, Natsume started to get frustrated.

"What if I force my way in then?" When she said that, the guard took out a metal tube, and pulled the chord. After a small bang, something flew into the sky and blew up, spreading a red powder in the air. Natsume was confused for a moment and then realized it was a signal. She suddenly sensed several strong chakra sources approach her.

Several fully armored samurai jumped over the wall and circled her. They each had a hand on their hilt and prepared to strike. Natsume could tell that they weren't interested in a conversation and drew her sword. Seeing this, the samurai were perplexed. The red signal was meant to be used for shinobi trying to cause trouble in north. However, Natsume did not seem like a shinobi.

All but one samurai stepped back and changed to a less aggressive stance. There were two kinds of warriors that came north from the main continent. First were shinobi looking to plunder the nearby villages during times of war. Although the north wasn't very rich in resources, when major wars were happening, people became desperate. And second, warriors that wished to train in the way of the samurai.

"My name is Yori. I am the head of this samurai unit. What is your purpose in coming to Hachimori village?"

"My name is Suzume. I wish to learn the way of the sword." Natsume sheathed her sword and bowed to him. Since they were willing to talk, she would be respectful. Her body was stiff and her hands shook slightly as if holding a heavy emotional burden. Hearing her words confirmed Yori's assumption. However, they couldn't just trust people from their word alone. Many shinobi have tried to lie and infiltrate the Land of Iron believing there was some great treasure there.

"Those that wish to join the samurai are naturally welcome, however, you have come at a bad time."

"Please! There is a war south of here. I have nowhere else to go." Natsume's voice trembled as she was on the verge of breaking down, but she made fists with her hands at her side causing her knuckles to turn white. The keen eyes of the samurai naturally caught these little details and were convinced. Meanwhile, Natsume was calm internally. She understood that they were suspicious of her and crafted a perfect play in her mind.

"This unit is preparing to fight back the dangerous beasts from the sea. It is not appropriate to leave you in the village." Yori was regretful that Natsume showed up at this time. Seeing her determination and courage made him want to take her directly to the Three Wolves Mountain as an apprentice.

"Please let me follow your unit! I can help." Natsume straightened her back and tried to give off a heroic vibe. Although she was young, the discerning eyes of the trained samurai could tell that she was strong. Even her weapon was high quality. They would naturally believe that she could defend herself, but they were a unit that trained together for a long time. If she disturbed their coordination, it could be fatal.

Yori was torn. Bringing back a strong apprentice would not only strengthen his position, but also strengthen the samurai. However, he didn't dare to play with his subordinate's lives so he couldn't make the decision so easily.

"Yori-sama, I am willing!" One of the samurai in the encirclement shouted. He was the youngest member, also someone that fled to the land of iron as a refugee in search of strength. In response, several others also sounded out their approval of Natsume coming along. They could see various aspects of their younger self in her, and wanted to pay the grace they received forward.

More than half of the samurai vouched for her, making Yori's decision more complicated. He turned to one of the older, more experienced samurai who had not said anything, and he simply nodded his head. Although he was not as hot-blooded as the young samurai in the group, he also saw potential in Natsume that would be a shame to waste.

"Suzume, are you willing to come under me as your senior?" Yori didn't waste any more time and directly recruited her.

"Suzume pays her respect to Sensei!" Natsume bowed deeper and smiled. Although she was good at deceit, Natsume didn't particularly like doing it. Lying was a necessary skill for her to have in these trying times. One day when she was strong and unmatched in the shinobi world, she could be as honest and simple as the 'god of shinobi.'