37 The First Two Souls (1)

Author Note: Hope everyone enjoyed their winter break although mines were basically just a barrage of homework D: Anyway back to your regularly scheduled program.

The very next day had gotten himself ready to set out. In total, he was hoping to at least find 4 candidates by the time he returned. 'Four is nowhere near the amount I want but it should be fine as a start.' Standing outside the main gate leading outside Rei looked over the rows upon rows of buildings.

"Big Brother Rei was here!" Running out of the building Rei turned around and saw Fuyumi, Ren, and Seiki all lining up behind him. "Sorry, we overslept since you said we should take it easy." Seiki apologized when Fuyumi looked over at him and rolled her eyes. "Don't lump us in with you! You are the one that overslept! When I tried to wake you up you put up a barrier around your bed." Hearing Fuyumi call him out Seiki refuted her.

"Hey, even if we don't need sleep since we are Shinigami it doesn't mean my brain doesn't need rest. Besides once Brother Rei leaves we won't have time to lie around anymore might as well abuse it now." Rei sighed as he shook his head calling their attention. "Alright alright, that's enough you two. Counting on all of you to all act mature while I'm gone. Meaning no more accidental battles that could spark a war."

Listening to Rei the two of them stopped arguing and nodded hesitantly. Surprisingly Rei had a smile on his face. Despite the situation, he was excited to go back out into the world and explore more. He knew only what he was taught about the different nations and ninja in general so it was a good opportunity.

'And I'm off.' Turning back towards the gate Rei didn't waste any time. Taking a step forward his speed spiked and before they could even blink he was gone from view. Leaving only a small puff of dust from where he was standing the three of them looked around but couldn't see nor sense Rei. "You know despite him acting smart he really likes to show off."

Seiki showed a pout like a face before sighing and turning back around to head inside. Soon both Fuyumi and Ren did the same. At the same time in those few seconds, Rei had already traveled over a mile's worth of distance. 'So this is what Flash Step is capable of in an open area.' This was one of the techniques Ryujin Jakka had Rei learn though he couldn't say he was the most proficient at it.

It was almost like teleportation due to the way it temporarily increases your speed to an insane pace. It was the same ability he used to stop Fuyumi, Seiki, and Ren from fighting Team 10 and 8. Crossing entire patches of land in seconds Rei was like a phantom appearing and disappearing for the next few minutes until he finally reached the wall.

Continuing to travel at full speed Rei held out his arm in front of him as he narrowed his eyes. Just before he collided with the wall a small patch of it turned back into Reishi. Passing through the hole he had created and the barrier Rei made a quick turn as the wall fixed itself turning back into stone.

Just like that Rei had left and begun making his way towards where he had sensed the two souls. Not taking any detours Rei had to travel through the majority of the Land Of Fire. 'Spending two years to train only to use the techniques you've learned to travel from one side of a nation to another. When I get back teleportation is definitely being researched to an extreme.'

Making a mental note to himself Rei continued his journey for the next few days. And in that time Team, 10 and 8 had officially arrived back at the Leaf Village. Although they were all pretty tired from traveling their first objective was to immediately report to Tsunade due to how urgent this all was.

In a matter of minutes both Team 10 and 8 were lined up inside of the Hokage's office. Stamping three different documents Tsunade put her fingers on her temples and pushed the papers to the side. "Sorry about that ever since Gaara was taken the paperwork has almost doubled. I'm being swamped and there is still no word from Team Kakashi."

Hearing Tsunade explains the stressful situation they were in Asuma nodded his head. "I see I didn't realize things had gotten that bad." The others listened carefully as Tsunade sighed and continued. "In any case tell me what happened. Did you manage to discern anything?" Asuma held his tongue for a moment before reporting to Tsunade.

"The person who is the source of the construction and the barrier is Rei. I assume you know him?" Tsunade's eyes widened slightly as she slowly nodded her head. "That kid? Last we heard of him he had killed Orochimaru but doing something on this scale shouldn't be possible alone."

Hearing Tsunade's skepticism, Kurenai diverted her eyes and thought to herself. 'We all thought the same thing but it's true…' In response, Asuma continued. "Yes, however, we can confirm this is all true. He is surprisingly talented and his methods are unknown however despite all that he was quite understanding."

As Asuma continued to tell Tsunade everything they had learned he painted Rei in a good light which didn't go unnoticed by Kurenai and everyone else. At the end of the day, Rei wasn't a bad person in their eyes. Even when they told him about the possibility of the Daimyo attacking he remained passive.

Normally someone like Rei would have a major character flaw like arrogance or a short temper. Asuma couldn't count how many feudal lords he had to deal with that kind of personality. By the end of his discussion, he finished his report. "All in all he has asked you to delay the Daimyo's decision for two months." Placing her hands under her chin Tsunade went into deep thought.

'Delaying shouldn't be that much of an issue however should I? Putting too much focus and too many resources into this could leave us open to the Akatsuki but rushing into…' Glancing over at Kurenai, Tsunade leaned back in her chair as she asked a question. "Moving away from the political side of things what would you say our worries should be if an order to attack is given?"

The concept caused the room to turn slightly stiff as Ino who was listening carefully felt as if a weight had been placed on her shoulders. 'Lady Tsunade isn't actually considering the idea of attacking Rei right?' Glancing at Asuma, Kurnai answered to the best of her ability based on what they had seen during their mission.

"The three kids Seiki, Fuyumi, and Ren are all strong no doubt. However, they are still young and inexperienced. Overwhelming them with numbers or slightly over matching them with Jonin level ninja should be enough. However, the real issue is Rei himself. Compared to the reports of him two years ago his strength seems to have spiked." Tsunade's interest seemed peeked as she continued to listen.

"Even if I and Asuma both fought him I'm afraid we would lose and that's without knowing his full strength. He was fast enough to completely immobilize all of us in a matter of seconds. As ranking stands that along with his previously known ability and the fact he trained those three kids… Would be at S-Class without a doubt." Tsunade took a sharp breath in before breathing outwards.

"I see… I never imagined he could grow to be a threat like that in a matter of two years." Tsunade whispered under her breath before sitting up straight in her chair. "Alright, then you can all consider this mission complete. An issue like this requires me to consult with Shizune along with the elders." Hearing they were dismissed all of them took their leave.

Finally leaving the tense atmosphere Choji was the first one to let out a sigh. "Man I didn't expect that. I thought she was going to make a decision right then and there." Kiba agreed with him nodding his head. "Ya, now that I think about it I guess this mission was pretty important. They were pretty nice so I forgot there was a chance we could become enemies."

Ino, who seemed slightly down, walked up to Asuma and asked him a question. "Asuma Sensei do you really think Rei could be considered an S-Classed threat like Kurenai said?" Asuma pulled out a cigarette and prepared to light it before answering.

"Ya, that's why I and Shikamaru had been so quiet during the journey. We've been trying to figure out exactly what's wrong with that place but we can't put our finger on it. Rei is planning something we just don't know what it is or if it's bad or not." Ino's worry grew even more after hearing Asuma as Shikimaru walked up from behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Listen Ino I know you two are friends but I don't want you to be surprised if things don't go well especially since it's almost impossible for Rei to hold up his end." With that, the two teams eventually separated outside of the Hokage mansion. After the separation, Choji left to go to a restaurant while Ino decided to go home to think on her own.

Asuma and Shikamaru on the other hand wanted to talk more so they went their separate ways. Days passed fast and following Rei he was getting extremely close to his destination. After traveling for over five days he welcomed a new sight. Jumping into the air Rei wanted a better look at his surroundings as he passed the treeline.

A couple of miles away he could see something he could see a large ocean-spanning to the horizon. "The sea? Please don't tell me the souls died in the middle of the sea." Despite all of his qualities Rei absolutely hated to swim. Even though he did swim with his dad from time to time in nearby lakes he hated it all the same.

"How am I supposed to swing a sword properly if there is no ground to stand on. And Ryujin Jakka… I don't want to think about it." Looking lower down slightly he saw what looked like a town at the edge of the sea but before he could take a better look he fell back to the ground. "I guess that's a better place than any to start looking."

Heading in the direction of the town Rei eventually reached the town's entrance which was marked by a path winding through the forest he just exited. With a slightly tense movement, a violent force shot from Rei's body blowing off all the leaves and other foliage sticking to his clothes.

Deciding to move along the path Rei was greeted by a bustling town that seemed to be doing extremely well. Lining the streets were vendors selling different types of seafood and people walking around happily. Compared to the other few towns he had visited this one by far had the best atmosphere.

While avoiding running into anyone Rei made his way to a nearby vendor who seemed to be closing up his shop for the day. Loading his products onto a large wooden cart the vendor suddenly heard Rei's voice. "Can you spare a moment?" Loading up a box he dusted off his hands and turned around. "Hmm? Sorry, I'm closing down early for the day so I can't sell you anything."

Rei shook his head with a smile. "No, I just have a few questions I just arrived here." Observing Rei closely the vendor noticed that he definitely dressed differently. Over his black underclothes, he was wearing a black and white cloak. "I see, well I can spare a moment. What do you need?" Hearing him agree Rei looked around and asked his main question.

"Can you tell me if any major battles ever went down here or in the area?" Hearing the weird question the vendor gave Rei a strange look. "Well not really the only one that anyone would remember anyway is the battle for the Great Naruto Bridge to finish its construction." Rei's interest peaked as he smiled and asked the vendor to continue.

The vendor explained an entire series of events that happened a few years ago involving ninja from the Hidden Leaf and two missing ninjas. 'Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were here before?' Though Re didn't know them personally he remembered Naruto and Sasuke due to their fights at the Chunin exams though out of all of them Sakura didn't leave much of an impression on him.

'In any case, these Missing Ninja that fought the three of them and their teacher might be the ones I'm after.' Rei asked the Vendor to point him in the direction of the bridge before thanking him and leaving.

'If they are the reason I'm here then they must have been pretty damn strong when they were alive and pretty dangerous.'

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