Red Blade (3)

"Well done, jonin Minato."

As Namikaze Minato, the sharp-looking young man with jagged blonde hair, genuflected in front of the old-aged man who wore the robe that was defined by red and white—Sarutobi Hiruzen the third Hokage—Hiruzen spoke with an authority in his tone.

"Your astounding victory has provided numerous advantages to the land of fire. It truly bring me the joy to see that... the will of fire still stands firm."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama,"

Spoke Minato, with a slight shake in tone at the end of his words—due to a sense of accomplishment.

"And I apologize that we are unable to give you what you deserve at the current moment. A single, worthless words of congratulations and thanks from an old man like me..."

Directing his eyes away from Minato, Hiruzen sighed. To that, Minato raised his head with his eyes exhibiting a surprise. Immediately, he shook his head in denial,

"N-No, Hokage-sama! You have no idea how heartened I was to hear such a praise from you!"

"...You have a heart of gold, Minato."

Hiruzen made a tired smile. Pausing slightly, he took in a light breath before speaking solemnly,

"If there is anything that a hero deserves right now, it is a break above all things. Have a carefree rest, and when you return—

—you will lead a team, just as Jiraiya once did."

Minato found his widening in yet another surprise.

__________

Land of waves. It is a nation located on an island near the land of fire.

It does not have a hidden village of its own, and therefore, often relied on assistance of other hidden villages such as Konohagakure for military operations.

This also meant that it was a perfect place for thugs, missing-nins, mercenaries, and many other lawless ones to gather.

"..."

A sharp-eyed blacksmith, holding onto a deadly-looking sword, was sharpening its blade skillfully. The chill-inducing noises were generated each time he did so, and with the cool wind blowing, there existed nothing but coldness in the atmosphere of the town.

A few people, those who carried weapons of their own, then shifted their eyes at once peculiar scene, finding it abnormal.

"Huff... huff..."

It was one boy with a bowl cut of a hair, one who seemed exhausted and without anything of worth. With nothing but a tattered book in his arms, he walked—with a certain goal in his mind.

At the corner of the street, there were three people with bamboo hats who were sipping a cup of tea as they stayed seated. Upon noticing the boy's entrance, one of them silently peaked at the boy, revealing his or her green-coloured eyes.

Unable to suppress his amusement, one man who was playing with a jagged knife snorted,

"Go back, kiddo. Where do you think you are in?"

Said boy turned to the man and immediately paled up as he saw the knife. Upon closer look, the boy noticed that the knife was stained in blood, which further raised his nervousness.

However, he instead shouted, as if trying to defeat the nervousness,

"I AM HERE!!!"

His cry instantly earned everyone's attention. The blacksmith paused his work. A few frowned, annoyed by the noise.

"TO FIND RED BLADE!!!"

Silence. Upon hearing the term 'Red Blade', many people's eyes instantly became a several times colder.

"...You mean that scourge who cost us our greatest client and destroyed the market three years ago."

One man, who seemed to hold a contempt for 'Red Blade', growled.

"Explain why you need to find him. Depending on your answer..."

His eyes narrowed,

"You may or may not lose your life."

The child gulped as the killing intent arose from all around. His face became pale, as he felt as if he was getting suffocated. However, even with his body trembling, he mustered up the courage to shout.

"I AM MAITO GAI FROM KONOHA!!!"

As soon as he shouted, the fear within him disappeared.

Gai remembered all the hate and discrimination he received from the people. With Dai imprisoned, he had no one to rely on and no one was willing to help him.

He could no longer attend the academy, for he had to scavenge the trash bins to find food.

The small home that he lived in was completely raided and ruined—to an extent where it was impossible to live within. The book in his arms was the only thing he managed to salvage.

Finding no hope within the village, Gai ran out of the place. He was nothing but a civilian—even less perhaps—and therefore, was able to leave without any consequence.

And here he was, with his eyes bloodshot, blazing in wrath and desperation.

Engulfed by the emotion, Gai didn't see that at the back, one of the three bamboo-hatted people facepalmed.

"MY FATHER WAS WRONGLY IMPRISONED!!! HE DIDN'T BETRAY HIS TEAM!!! I KNOW THAT RED BLADE WAS THERE, SO HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN PROVE MY FATHER'S INNOCENCE!!!"

"...What?"

The man seemed dumbfounded.

"That may have been the dumbest thing I've heard in my life."

"Huff... huff..."

Gai held his neck in pain, having shouted with all his energy. Ignoring the worrisome state of Gai, the man bickered,

"Let me teach you a thing or two, kid."

Standing up and approaching Gai, the man leaned down.

"So your daddy was imprisoned, eh? Well, you see, it doesn't matter whether he is in the right or wrong, whether he was wrongly accused or not."

The man let out a mockery-filled chuckle,

"Your daddy was imprisoned because he was weak. In this world, there is no such thing as 'justice prevails'. As long as you win... nothing else matters. That's the way of ninja."

Slapping Gai by the back of his head and knocking him over, the man continued speaking,

"Your daddy is a loser, one who can't take care of his own family. Poor you, it seems that the only thing you inherited from him is your stupidness."

"Ugh..."

Sprawled on the ground, Gai felt the tears flowing out of his eyes in sorrow.

However, what hurt him the most was the feeling—feeling that the man's words were true.

And the man, having finished his words, brought his body back up and revealed a kunai.

"Watch, this is how the job is done. Since I badmouthed you, I should be wary of the chance that you may seek revenge on me in the future, right? To prevent that, I will now be taking your life."

No words came out of Gai as he peaked at the gleaming kunai from the corners of his eyes.

The kunai was slashed, and Gai closed his eyes shut, thinking that everything was over.

CLANG!

A loud metallic noise resonated, and no pain came.

When Gai opened his eyes, he saw a person with a bamboo hat and cloak in front of him, blocking the kunai of the vile man with kunai of his or her own.

"Huh? Who are you?!"

The man growled as he quickly backed, entering a state of alert.

"You are a despicable person."

And came from the cloaked person, a feminine voice.

"Someone like you shouldn't deserve to live."

"H-Hey! What have I done to you?!"

"And what has this child done to deserve death?"

Through the bamboo hat, the streaks of red hair and green eyes were revealed. Along with the white tone of skin, the womanly appearance of this person—at the age of a teenager—spoke of nothing but elegance and beauty, such that a few men spectating the scene revealed greed and lust, albeit subtly.

This girl then spoke coldly,

"Ao."

Just as she said so, another person with a bamboo hat appeared behind the panicked man.

"C-Cough... what..."

And said panicked man now had a kunai drilled into his heart. Coughing blood, he fell to the ground, dead.

As this happened, one of the keen-eyed spectators whispered to himself upon witnessing a metallic gleam,

"...What the hell are kiri ninjas doing here?"

The three bamboo-hatted people, they wore the forehead protectors that had the symbol of Kirigakure—without a strikethrough to indicate that they weren't the rogue ninjas.

"Those three, eh."

And another one aside the keen-eyed person commented,

"They arrived here just a day ago, seeking to hire 'Red Blade' themselves."

"...How much did you earn out of it?"

"Heh, trade a secret if you wish to know."

The red-haired girl who wore the bamboo hat now knelt in front of Gai and held her hand out.

"You said that you are looking for Red Blade?"

Gai looked at the girl in a daze.

"T-Terumi-sama!!"

The man named Ao spoke in surprise.

"...Terumi?"

And this unintentional leakage of information brought many to an interest.

"As in Terumi clan of Kiri?"

One of them silently brought his hand to the hilts of his weapon, seeking an opportunity.

Then, said person's neck was decapitated from his head, and before he realized it, he was dead.

There was a man wearing a bamboo hat just as the red-haired girl and a man named Ao, who held onto an ordinary broadsword, one that just drew a blood.

And others, who managed to peak through the bamboo hat, instantly recognized the third man.

"Demon of the Hidden Mist... Zabuza Momochi...!"

Everyone now knew that the three people in the middle of the scene weren't the normal folks. Slowly but surely, they began to move away from the area, and eventually, only the three of them, Maito Gai, and the blacksmith were left in the scene.

"...Mei."

Zabuza snarled,

"Quit making more works for us. Don't you see the urgency of our situation?"

The red-haired girl, whose name was revealed to be Mei, completely ignored Zabuza. With her hand still held out, she spoke to Gai,

"We also are seeking for Red Blade. If it's fine with you... we don't mind with you joining us."

"R-Really?"

From the back, Ao sighed. Zabuza let out another angry remark but was completely ignored for the second time.

A glimmer of hope entered Gai's eyes.