Chapter 5 - The sin of greed

I HAVE A NEW COMPUTER!!! I'm a bit sad since I had the old one for so long, but man this thing can run games so much better. It has a few bugs, at least I think they're bugs, but overall this is so much of an improvement! Anyway, now we're beginning to exit the prologue and enter the real story. The two next chapters are somewhat longer so expect that, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!

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As the sun began to set over the village, the two guards were still at their positions, hiding in the shadows of a large tree. They had been stationed there for hours, only venturing out briefly to update their supervisor on their progress. They watched as the villagers went about their daily lives, working, walking, and playing, all while the guards remained hidden and vigilant.

As the hours passed, the guards began to grow restless. The thought of giving up and quitting their mission crossed their minds, but the burning desire to uncover the truth kept them in their place. They refused to leave until they had discovered what was happening in the village.

Just as the night was settling in and the guards were beginning to lose hope, they heard a low, rumbling sound coming from the smithy. The guards saw Ryu stumbling his way through the stairs, his eyes bleeding.

The guards were taken aback by the situation at hand. They were well aware that Haru held his son dear to his heart, so taking that into account the odds of someone using the smith as a front seemed to rise. However, they also couldn't ignore the fact that if the person behind this was so careful about hiding their activities, they wouldn't hesitate to eliminate anyone who posed a threat to their secrecy, including Ryu.

With these thoughts in mind, the guards decided not to linger on the matter any longer. They quickly made their way from the tree and appeared in front of Ryu in a matter of seconds. Startling him with their sudden appearance.

"Ryu, what happened to your eyes?!" The guard with the sword, a tall and muscular man with black hair and eyes, wearing leather armor, exclaimed. "A-!" Ryu jumped back yelping in surprise, but the guard immediately covered his mouth with his hand. "Ryu, did Haru do this?!" The guard said with rage bearly contained in his voice.

"Stop it, Akemi, you're hurting him," The guard with a spear, a blond man of average height with lean muscles and blue eyes warned the sword guard as the latter unconsciously tightened his grip around Ryu's mouth.

"Shit, thanks, Akira. Sorry, Ryu. Anyway, did Haru do this to you?" Akemi the sword guard, now a little calmer and with his hand off Ryu's mouth questioned Ryu. "N-no, he didn't. Where did you two come from? You arrived here so quickly," Ryu asked the two after answering Akemi's question.

"Um, we were on patrol in the area. Also, what the hell is that?" Akemi asked while pointing at the open ground and the staircase below it. "...Can you ignore that?" Ryu asked with an awkward tone. Akemi chuckled as he asked, "Are there any illegal or unsafe things going on in there?"

"No, nothing! I promise!" Ryu said with conviction. "I see. Well, Ryu, can you give us proof? Not that I'm doubting your credibility, but we need it before we close down the investigation," Akemi said.

Realizing the two were firm on investigating the tunnel, and knowing he didn't have the power to stop the two, Ryu understood he couldn't really do anything in this situation. "...Can you promise that you won't tell anyone?" Ryu asked Akemi.

Truthfully, Ryu's social circle was limited to Akemi and Akira, who were practically his only friends. Ryu lived a busy life, as he was undergoing rigorous training under Haru, which left him with little to no free time. As a result, he could only interact with individuals who were near the smithy where he trained.

Despite Ryu's busy schedule, Akemi and Akira made a conscious effort to interact with Ryu. They would visit him regularly during their patrols and make an effort to have meaningful conversations with him. This consistent interaction and genuine interest in Ryu's well-being made him feel that he could trust these two individuals.

"yep, if your dad isn't hiding anything harmful, then that's none of our business," Akemi confirmed. "...Alright, follow me." Akemi walked after Ryu into the staircase with Akira behind him. The trio went down the stairs for a while, and when they stepped into the cave, the two guards wore an expression of shock.

"What the hell..." Akemi mumbled while Akira stared in awe. The majestic weapons took their breath away, but as they stared at the weapons the sound they made alerted Haru. Haru, recognizing the voice as that of a stranger, spun around while channeling Chakra into a longsword he grabbed off the wall before throwing it.

The sword was hurled towards Akemi with incredible velocity, but just a fraction of a second before it reached his face, a spear intervened, clashing with the sword. The sword easily pushed the spear aside with its power, but the spear managed to redirect the sword somewhat so it flew upwards instead of hitting Akemi, hitting a dagger off the wall and near Akira's feet.

Just as the clash ended, Akemi, who was covered with sweat, heard a muffled sound. He turned around to see Ryu crashing against the ground with a spear in his hand. Akira could've sworn Ryu's eyes were red for a split second, but he decided to postpone thinking about that since Haru just tried to murder him.

"Haru what the hell! Have you gone mad?!" Akemi shouted. "What are you doing here?! How did you get in!?" Haru yelled as he grabbed a spear off the wall, preparing to throw it. "Calm down first! We heard muffled banging noises in the smithy when you and Ryu were supposed to be on a trip, so we investigated. We found a weird rupture in the earth and the sound was coming from it. It was pretty obvious what was happening so we made an ambush. Long story short, Ryu came out of it with blood around his eyes, so we rushed in, and here we are. Now can you put down that spear?" Akemi asked after recapping the events.

"I understand. However, I can't just let you leave, I hope you understand that," Haru said as he still held the spear tightly. "Haru, we won't say a word! I don't know why you don't want your marvelous creations to stay hidden, but if you don't use them against the village we can keep this between us. No other soul would know, you have my word," Akemi explained.

"What guarantee do I have? I can let you two go and you can report me right away, or sell the information. I'm sure the Hidden Mist will pay a fortune for my weapons," Haru argued. As Haru finished his words, Akira's eyes widened for a split second, before a greedy light shone in them. Nobody noticed how he snuck the dagger near him into his sandal, using the space between his foot and the sole to hide it.