The fall of the Kenhikari clan

Ryuu and Kakashi went to inspect Kazumi's body.

"Nobu, can you do anything about this? Can you restore some of her memory or something?"

"Her chakra hasn't completely faded, so I believe I can."

Nobu emerged from Ryuu's body as a small Phoenix.

He closed his eyes to focus.

"What's he doing?" Kakashi asked.

"Nobu has incredible control over chakra, with even the smallest hint of someone's chakra, Nobu can restore just a little, enough to restore some life, and then he searches that person's mind.

That's how I get Intel off of some corpses.

There are some which are too late.

This one isn't one of them somehow."

Kakashi nodded.

"Ryuu-sama, I think you should see this for yourself."

"Enough with the prefixes already, you know."

"Right, I forget you don't like them."

Nobu opened his eyes.

"Anyway, I'll project what I found in her memories inside your minds."

Ryuu and Kakashi nodded.

"The Kurosu gang is a group of previously trained shinobi and bandits.

The gang comprises 5 members, one of them you've met.

This lady, her name is Kazumi, was raised by the leader of the gang.

A man named Hideshi Shinonashi,

They did not give Kazumi a surname just like the others, and she didn't even know what it would be.

17 years ago, the Kurosu gang was offered a job to slaughter the Kenhikari clan. They sent one of their members called Himiko. She was the woman you saw in those paintings earlier.

Himiko was the prodigy of this gang, she could do any mission and she shortly became a leader too.

Himiko had a mission to gain the Kenhikari clan's trust, and so she did.

She also earned the trust of the villagers.

Knowing that they wouldn't stand a chance against the Kenhikari clan's defenses, she used this trust and manipulated all of them into thinking that a coup d'état was a wise decision. She made them think that the Kenhikari clan was lying to them about protecting them.

She lied to them that the Kenhikari clan had a secret device that could make everyone as wealthy as them and even turn this place into a hidden village itself hidden away in their treasury.

The Kenhikari clan were known for the vast knowledge in scientific ninja tools and devices, and their secret ninjutsu that's similar to your Chidori."

"Similar? How?"

"Well, your Chidori is used to attack. It can be activated and then deactivated.

For them, once you activate this jutsu, it's incredibly difficult to deactivate it.

They call lightning to their fists and they can involuntarily summon it and defend themselves, even when they're knocked out." Kakashi's eyes widened.

"That makes sense when Kurama was being controlled to attack the village. Mina knocked me out because she was frightened." Kakashi stated.

"Mina knocked you out?"

"Yeah, I didn't expect her to know a jutsu like that."

"But still… that's amazing, you know…

Anyway, Nobu, did you find out anything that can help us find whoever did this?"

"I did.

You see, after that coup d'état; the villagers realized the big mistake they made, and so did that gang.

After the fall of the Kenhikari clan, the village slowly became a wasteland, their crops were dying, and most of the Kurosu gang parted ways too, but they also saw the results of their crime.

They lost all the money they got from that coup d'état.

What the Kurosu gang didn't know is how big the Kenhikari clan was.

Nations relied on their devices for decades, especially when there was war, and no one could come close to their influence.

The day they fell, the other businesses shot up to the roofs, even the criminal organizations, and these small villages started getting ignored such as this one.

Years later, the villagers started realizing the mistake they did, but it was too late.

The other businesses rose to the top and this small town was forgotten.

However, recently there has been a rumor of someone sneaking into and out of the Kenhikari compounds.

They say it's a member of the Kurosu clan."

"How would they know for sure?" Kakashi asked.

"Because of this." Nobu projected a chain with a symbol of two blades across each other and a diamond in the middle.

"That's the symbol that represents the Kenhikari clan." Ryuu nodded.

"A few days ago, some villagers smelled something awful coming from up there. Usually, no one ever goes back to the Kenhikari compounds, but one day a young boy went to see what smelled that awful.

He saw the dead bodies piled up at the entrance; he ran back home, screaming, but just as he was leaving, he saw a masked man with the Kurosu gang emblem on his chest.

The young boy called for Shinobi. this was bad news for Kazumi because recently, she was in contact with one of her old teammates through a messenger bird. She convinced the other villagers to keep quiet about it, but I'm sure she didn't expect us to be here."

"Where does the kid who reported this live? Did she know?"

"Yes, he lives on the other side of the compound, we can get answers from him." Ryuu nodded.

"Let's go, Kakashi."

Ryuu entered lightning chakra mode, and so did Kakashi. They appeared right outside his house and knocked after leaving lightning chakra mode.

"Hello? We're looking for someone in here. We're shinobi from the hidden leaf village, we already know about your agreement to keep quiet about the masked man.

I can sense you here, so there's no point in hiding."

He still didn't respond, Ryuu looked at Kakashi for answers.

"Open it." Ryuu nodded.

Just as Ryuu was opening the door, a man a little older than them opened the door. He had short black hair that was straight and parted to the right; he was sweating a lot with a blanket covering his body.

"You're both… shinobi?" Ryuu and Kakashi nodded.

"We don't want to hurt you, we just want answers, so we stop this man."

He peaked outside and look both sides before gesturing for them to come in.

"What are you afraid of? What or who made you look outside?"

"Oh, um… it was miss Kazumi, she's really scary sometimes. Also, I've been worried that the masked man was looking for me. Hunting me."

"I see…

Well, we're here to protect you and the others, so long as you answer our questions."

The kid was still shaking and sweating.

Ryuu connected his mind to Kakashi.

"He's terrified. We need him to be calm first before answering our questions.

I could ask Nobu to search his memories too, but if he's as terrified as he looks, even that can be altered because of his emotions and age."

"So? How should we approach?"

Ryuu removed his mask.

"You're… Ryuu Uchiha, aren't you?"

"Yes, what's your name?"

"M-m my name is Harumi. It's an honor to meet you, sir.

I'm a big fan of yours."

"Really? Thanks." Ryuu replied as he nervously scratched his head.

"Listen, Harumi, you're the only one who's seen this person. I need your help to catch him, I need you to be calm a little. Just think of what you remember, no one will hurt you. I promise." Ryuu reassured him by putting his hand on his shoulder.

Harumi stopped shaking a bit, he composed himself and thought about that day.

"You promise?" Ryuu nodded.

"Well, a few weeks ago, while I was walking to town to grab a drink, I started smelling something awful from up there. As you can see, I live the closest to the mansion.

That smell hit me pretty hard from here. I asked around what the others thought, but no one knew or cared to check because they couldn't smell it from there.

I climbed up using the root that the lady uses."

"The lady?"

"Yeah, there's a lady that sneaks into that mansion every week except last week.

She keeps the garden fresh. I get to see her sneak in from up here, I don't think she knows."

Ryuu and Kakashi exchanged glances.

"Go on."

"I snuck up there, and what I saw…

Is the most terrifying thing I've ever seen…

He piled the bodies up on top of each other, the kids, the elderly… everyone.

It was sick…

It's still stuck in my mind. All of them.

I ran towards my house, yelling and crying, I'd never been that terrified my whole life.

That's when I saw him.

A masked man was hiding in the forest.

He wore dark clothes with the Kurosu emblem on his chest.

I don't know if he saw me, but I know which way he went. And likely where he went, too.

You see, the Kurosu gang were called the famous bandits from the west because they had a base there, that's where this man went too. I'm sorry I can't help you more, but… that's all I know."

"Thank you, that's enough. You're very brave, you know."

Harumi looked at Ryuu.

"I am?"

Ryuu smiled.

"Here, take this and keep it close. I'll be there with you if you ever need my help."

Ryuu gave him a dark kunai.

"Thank you, Ryuu-sama." Ryuu smiled and nodded.

"Thanks for the help. We should get going now." Ryuu picked up his mask and wore it.

Ryuu and Kakashi left Harumi's house and started heading west.