Chapter 427: Side Story Part 7: Redaku Arc: Protectors of Redaku
"Don't tell me something like the past Lunar eclipse is about to happen again." Worry appears on Akai's face.
"With so many suspicious people entering and exiting the town, it's not just speculation anymore. Even the increased aggression of sea monsters is similar to the previous incident. I am afraid we might face the same tragedy as our predecessors." The black-robed man sighs helplessly.
"We lost a lot during the previous incident. Even the previous clan head lost his life in that incident." The black-robed man sighs.
"Any lead on who might be the culprit behind these attacks?" Akai inquires.
"There is no definitive proof, but so far, all investigation points towards the members of the royal family. There might even be the involvement of an unknown third party. But we aren't sure of their identity. We don't have enough manpower and resource to get to the depth of this matter." He shakes his head.
"Tch… those damn Royals! The lives of us commoners are worth dirt in their eyes. Innocent people are caught in their filthy game of power struggle. They didn't even hesitate to sacrifice their subjects to find fault with each other. Even… even my daughter… she…" Tears flow from Akai's eyes.
"Mom… don't be sad." A secret passage opens up and the silver-haired lady enters the secret room.
"I chose this path out of my violation. You don't have to blame yourself for this." She wipes the tear from Akai's face.
"Yuri, my dear daughter." Akai's finger slides through the silver-white hairs of Yuri.
"Your bloodline was the purest among all the descendants of the Uzu clan in the past hundred years and yet to maintain that seal… you…" Akai sobs and embraces Yuri.
"Everything will be alright, mom. We must believe in the Sea Lord." Yuri consoles Akai.
'I wonder if another hero will make his appearance!'
Yuri's vision turns blurry, and she falls to the ground.
"Yuri… Yuri…"
"Ojou-san!"
"Viktor… hurry up! Help me carry her to the infirmary."
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Yawn…
A few hours later,
Izuna wakes up and stretches his arm. He walks downstairs to eat his breakfast.
"Good morning, dear customer!" Akai welcomes him with a warm smile.
"Here for your breakfast?" She inquires.
"Mm… serve me your breakfast specialty." Izuna nods. He glances at her retreating back from the corner of his eye.
'She seems slightly older than before and even her hair lost some of its colors. Her red hair seems to be a trait of her bloodline.'
Izuna recalls the ritual from the previous night.
'She wasn't a part of that ritual. So how did she?'
"Dear customer, your breakfast!"
A young lady with shoulder-length red hair and red eyes places a plate full of seafood.
"Smoked Trout Eggs Benedict, Lobster "Roll-Less" Avocados, Sardines and Avocado Toast and Lobster Waffles!" She meticulously introduces the names of each dish to him.
"Thank you so much!" Izuna smiles at the young lady and picks up a loaf of bread to eat.
'Hmm… this taste different than the seafood of the shinobi world.' Izuna enjoys breakfast.
The red-haired young lady continues to stand beside him with a smile on her face.
While eating, Izuna ponders the situation.
'No wonder that inn lady looks so pale.'
He glances at the red-haired lady standing beside him.
'Isn't she the Miko with the silver hairs who was holding the blood rite summoning ceremony?'
Summoning arts and Blood rite arts are also a part of the Fuinjutsu techniques. He previously delved into the blood arts after reading a record of them in the Uzumaki clan's scrolls. He even created a blood art technique to send a suicidal explosive incarnation at the enemy.
However, over time, the technique lost its appeal to him since it had many constraints on fuinjutsu seals, chakra, and blood. Also, he didn't like to unnecessarily lose blood and become anemic for no reason.
He takes another glance at the pale faces of most of the staff in the hotel and the inn.
'These people lost a lot of blood during the previous ceremony. If not for the blood transfusion from the blood bank, these people might not even have spare energy to move, much less work. Especially this Ojou-chan, she lost a lot of vitality with her blood. Just the transfusion from their blood bank wasn't enough."
He finishes his breakfast with some scrambled eggs and a glass of milk.
"This breakfast was very satisfactory. I am very pleased with your service." Izuna smiles at the red-haired girl.
"Since I am satisfied with your service, I will leave a little gift for you." Izuna ponders for a second before taking out a necklace with a dark green emerald in it.
"This is for you, Ojou-chan! Red suit you a lot, but sometimes a bit of a change of color might intensify your beauty."
He chuckles and exits the inn.
"Lord Izuna!" Hoshi and Kei are waiting for him at the entrance of the inn.
"So, what are our plans for the day?" Izuna inquires.
"Lord Izuna, today we plan to visit the…"
Soon, the group departs from the inn, leaving behind a stunned red-haired lady with an emerald necklace in her hands.
"Yuri! Yuri!" the inn lady calls her name.
"YURI! What's the matter?" Akai approaches Yuri and pats her shoulder.
"Why were you in a daze all of a sudden? Are you feeling unwell?" She presses her hand on Yuri's forehead.
"Or are you still exhausted from the previous day? Should I take your place tonight?" Akai enquires in worry.
"No mom! I am completely fine." Yuri shakes her head as the necklace dangles in her hand.
"This necklace…" Akai's gaze lands on the emerald necklace.
"Such a pretty necklace. Where did you get it from?" She picks up the necklace and touches the emerald stone.
Shoom…
A burst of green energy enters her body. Akai's slightly pale complexion turns rosy and the slight wrinkles on her face disappear. Even her hair regain its deep red color.
"W… WHAT?"
Shock appears on Akai's face. She quickly turns around and signals to the nearby butler. The butler understands her gesture and makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the floor.
Whoosh…
A red circular fuinjutsu formation appears on the floor and encompasses the rest of the customers.
"What… what's going on?"
"What is this thing?"
"Is it some sort of prop?"
"Hey, it could be the secret ninja technique from the legends!" A shinobi enthusiast remarks.
"Hey, I didn't sign up for this. I have an urgent business meeting in a few hours."
Panic ensues among the customer as the glow of the red fuinjutsu formation encompasses them.
After a flash of bright red light, the room turns normal. All the customers slightly shake their heads in confusion and continue eating their breakfast.
Yuri silently follows Akai. They enter the private room of the owner. Akai closes the door and then walks towards the fireplace. She makes some hand signs and taps a few points on the wall.
A small fuinjutsu formation appears in the fireplace, revealing a secret entrance. Both ladies enter the room and the fireplace return to normal.
Inside the secret room.
"Mom! What's the matter? How did you suddenly turn so young after touching the necklace and you even went as far as to use the 'Memory Erasure Formation' on the customers?" Yuri has lots of questions in her mind.
"Before that… tell me, where did you get this necklace?" Akai asks her.
"Umm… Mom! Do you remember that handsome young man with black-blue hair and black eyes?" Yuri's face turns red as she describes Izuna's features.
"You mean that, young man?" Akai raises an eyebrow.
"Ah yes, him! After eating breakfast, he praised the quality and taste of the food and gave this necklace to me as a gift. I thought it was pretty common since lots of rich customers visit us frequently. However, somehow, I felt something different about that young man. Even the summoning seal on my hand was reacting to his presence…"
Yuri removes the gloves from her hand to reveal a small complex fuinjutsu seal on her hand.
"So, it was that young man who gave it to you." Akai's eyes widen in surprise.
"Maybe we underestimated that guy!" Shock appears on her face as she collapses on her rocking chair.
"For him to easily give away such a treasure, he isn't just a small figure." She clutches the emerald necklace in her hands.
"Perhaps we still have hope if such a powerful figure decides to help us." Hope appears on Yuri's face.
"NO! We can't impose on him." Akai shakes her head.
"He already has helped us plenty, as it is." She ties the necklace around Yuri's neck.
"This necklace will help you recover and it will also suppress the burden of the ritual to some extent."
A much-dense green glow encompasses Yuri.
Chapter 428: Side Story Part 8: Redaku Arc: Brewing Conflict
Yuri's complexion turns rosy and her hair turns deep red. She slowly regains an appearance suitable for her age.
The green hue lasts for a while. The glow of the emerald dims down slightly.
Yuri hides the necklace in her garments and inspects her appearance in the nearby mirror.
"Mm… mom! Look… my face." Yuri touches her face.
"Yes… my daughter. You are back to normal." Akai gently strokes Yuri's face. Tears flow from her eyes.
"Miss… young lady!" Viktor, the butler that laid down the memory-erasing formation, enters the secret room. He is slightly stunned to see the appearance of both ladies.
"I… I can't express how delighted I am that both of you are back to normal. If only… if only master was here." Viktor sighs before turning his attention to the ladies.
"So, miss… how did all of this happen?" He asks.
"It's because of this necklace," Akai explains the effect of the necklace to him. She also narrates the incident with Izuna.
"So, it was a gift from that young man. It's a relief that we didn't make any move against him or else… I can't even imagine." He shakes his head.
"Perhaps it's a blessing from the ancestor and the sea lord." Viktor closes his eyes.
"Speaking of Sea Lord… why did you even approach that young man in the first place?" Akai turns to Yuri.
"I asked one of the servants to deliver the order and yet you were the one to serve him. Also, your expression at that time… it was like you were in a daze." Akai frowns as she recalls the incident.
"Uh… mom, I am not sure, but as soon as I saw that young man, the summoning seal on my hand reacted on its own. I felt a certain attraction to something in that man's possession. I am not sure what it was… but I felt an intimate connection. So, my body moved on its own. After that young man handed me this necklace, I lost that feeling." Yuri attempts to recall that feeling.
"Perhaps it was this necklace. That young man noticed it and thus handed it to you out of goodwill." Akai speculates.
"No… it was something else… something related to the Sea Lord. It was as if the contract seal on my hand was attracted to that young man. But… but… how is that possible? Only a selected few members of our Uzu clan with pure bloodline can sign a contract with the Sea Lord. In my generation, I had the purest bloodline. So, I got the opportunity to bear this responsibility of maintaining the contract." Yuri shakes her head.
"Despite being the summoning contractor of the sea Lord, I… I can't even communicate with him, much less summon him to our aid. I am so useless." Yuri clenches her fists.
"Everything will be alright. We will find a way!" Akai assures her.
Outside of the commercial district,
Izuna is being escorted by Hoshi and Kei.
'Well… gifting that necklace isn't a big deal, since there are plenty of those emeralds in the Shikkotsu Forest. Those emeralds have a similar effect as the advanced health potions from the game. Not only do they help in the removal of any negative status, they even restore vitality and life force to the consumer.
Those emeralds are produced by the gigantic tree located in the center of the Shikkotsu Forest. The giant tree absorbs a large amount of nutrients from the surroundings and releases nature energy in return. Its roots are connected to the ley lines of the world and are among one of the seven biggest nodes of the underground ley-line network. As such, nature energy is very dense in the Shikkotsu Forest.
The same story goes for Mount Myoboku and the Ryuchi cave who also occupy a respective ley-line each. Of the remaining four ley-line nodes, one of them lies deep in the ocean, and the central and the most important node lies in the HOLE, a top-secret place that houses most of the weapons of mass destruction of the shinobi world.
The third one is located in the ruins of the ancient city of Loran. The Ryumyaku, or that's what it is called by the people of Loran, was previously sealed by Minato-san after Mukade's failed attempt to use its power to dominate the world. I later reinforced the seal to prevent a similar incident.
As for the fourth and the final ley-line node, despite all my attempts; I wasn't able to locate it at all. I even explored the uncharted territories of the shinobi world and yet I couldn't even spot a single trace of it. It was much later that I came to know that the Isshiki Otsutsuki hid away the seventh and the last ley-line.
He used his ocular power to isolate the ley line and used its nature energy to feed the ten-tail clone. After the previous battle, he must be recuperating in his secret dimension. So, it's hard to keep a track of him. Anyway, I am not a shape to take him on again.'
Izuna shakes his head and follows the merchant group.
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Soon, five more pass in the blink of an eye.
Despite multiple ongoing shady incidents in the background, Izuna continued to enjoy his vacation in the Redaku. Hoshi and Kei explained the in and outs of the business and other activities in the Redaku to him. As a business mogul of the shinobi world, he didn't hesitate to invest his money in various businesses.
After exhausting his money from trading the body of the sea monster, he didn't hesitate to launder the collection of some of his rare gems to purchase more assets.
'It's not like was I sitting and relaxing while doing nothing in these past few days.' Izuna enjoys a meal in a seaside restaurant as he stares at the outline of a giant building in the center of the town.
'I have figured out the identities of all these people lurking in the town to create a ruckus. Currently, there are four different major groups… five if I count myself in the town.
The first group is the members of the Uzu clan who act as the protector of this town. Their history dates back as long as five centuries. Apparently, their founder was a powerful shinobi from the shinobi world. Back then, that founder was the person who summoned the Sea Lord and had it fight against the terror monster Umibozu. Later, he sealed the monster in a shrine and married a Miko of this village to maintain the seal.
After a few years, he vanished from this place to never return. I am pretty sure he returned to the shinobi world. Based on this story, I have a speculation about the identity of their founder.'
Izuna recalls some records in the Shikkotsu Forest.
'If my guess is correct, then that founder is most likely Kenshiro Senju, who also happens to be the founder of the Uzumaki clan. Back then, he left on a journey to discover his potential.
Either due to some coincidence or some other factors, he came to Redaku. In Redaku, he slowly honed his skills in Fuinjutsu. Later, he fought against the terror monster Umibozu and used his newly trained Fuinjutsu to create the first Summoning seal known to the shinobi world. According to the Shikkotsu Forest records, he is the first person to use a summoning jutsu since the Summoning techniques are also a part of the Fuinjutsu; all of it makes sense. Though all of it's just my speculation and I need more information to come to a definitive result.
The second faction includes the people sent by the royal family. They are a part of the current ruling King and they are here to keep an eye on the third faction, which happens to be a part of the King's brother faction.
The mayor of this town is torn between these two factions. Poor guy has no choice but to entertain both groups. Now, for the final and the most mysterious group; I can't seem to ascertain their identity since their memories are protected by a power seal. I can crack open the seal, but it will not only kill the bearer, but it will also alert their higher-ups.
This faction is also the one who is responsible for inciting all those monsters in the sea. They might be a member of some cult or faction that worships those sea monsters and Umibozu. They disguised themselves as performers and even cursed the people with a sacrificial command seal. Either way, these people are the reason lots of incidents are happening in the town.
The mayor has his hands full with the two ruling factions and thus can't take action against these people. As for the Uzu clan, they have invested all their manpower in reinforcing the weakened seal. My gift gave them some respite, but still, at this rate, they can't hold for much longer.
And that's what I want. I am neither a saint nor a devil; I am just a profiteer.' He chuckles and sips some fresh coconut juice.
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