A Farce

"Crack!"

The sound of breaking bone rang out, sharp and clear. The man screamed, and the short blade slipped from his hand.

Naoki caught the falling blade with his left hand and swung it backhanded. The edge sliced across the second man's thigh, spraying blood as he screamed and collapsed.

The third man swung his club at him. Without even looking, Naoki kicked him in the chest. With a dull crunch of breaking ribs, the man went flying backward and crashed into a table, overturning it.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment Hasegawa Kenichi sprang into action to the moment his three men fell screaming, no more than two or three breaths had passed.

Naoki stood where he was, the short blade in his hand still dripping blood. His expression hadn't changed at all, as if he'd merely swatted a few flies.

In the distance, two men were watching what was happening inside the tavern.

"Mr. Shimada, do you think that kid's a ninja?"

Shimada Shinichi pinched his mustache and nodded.

"Looks that way. What ordinary samurai could pull off something like that? That kid's at least a Chunin!"

"Huh?" Koji was startled. "Th-then how are we supposed to deal with him?"

"We'll go back and discuss it with the master."

As he spoke, Shimada Shinichi prepared to leave, but a dark shape came hurtling toward them.

Shimada Shinichi quickly drew his sword and slashed sideways.

Blood sprayed.

Only then did he realize that what had flown toward them wasn't anything else—it was Hasegawa Kenichi's body...

"Run!"

Shimada Shinichi grabbed Koji and fled, but the next second, Naoki caught up and kicked him flying.

Before he could catch his breath, he heard another scream. Ignoring his injuries, he scrambled to his feet. Only then did Shimada Shinichi realize that Koji, who had been watching with him, had already had his throat slit by Naoki.

Seeing Naoki kill Koji and then walk toward him again, Shimada Shinichi took two or three steps forward, dropped to his knees, and kowtowed frantically before Naoki.

"Sir, I was only passing through. I have nothing to do with the people you killed!"

Naoki sneered and planted a foot on the man's shoulder.

"Don't move!"

With that, he swung his blade and sliced off one of Shimada Shinichi's ears.

"Get lost. Go tell your master not to mess with me!"

Clutching his ear and enduring the pain, Shimada Shinichi kowtowed, then turned and fled.

Naoki flicked the blood from his blade and turned back toward the tavern.

Aikawa Yumi leaned against the bar, a glass of wine in her hand that hadn't been there before. She sipped it leisurely, as if the bloody slaughter that had just taken place had been nothing more than a dull play.

"My Anu is so impressive," she said with a bright smile, letting her gaze linger on Naoki. "You took care of all those people in no time. I was absolutely dazzled."

Naoki ignored her teasing, tossed the short blade onto the bar, and formed Hand Seals.

Using Water Release, he moved the bodies sprawled across the tavern to the back, then washed the blood from the floor.

"I'll take care of those bodies." With that, he turned and left the tavern.

Meanwhile, Shimada Shinichi fled in panic to a castle on the outskirts of Kannazuki Town.

Clutching his bandaged ear, Shimada Shinichi knelt in the middle of the hall, his body trembling uncontrollably.

At the head of the hall, a man in black finery sat behind a low table, holding a string of prayer beads and rolling them slowly between his fingers. He had a gaunt face, and his eyes and brows carried a sinister air.

"A Chunin?" the man finally asked. His voice was as hoarse as sandpaper scraping against itself. "Are you sure?"

"I... I saw it with my own eyes, sir," Shimada Shinichi stammered. "That kid moved so fast that Koji didn't even have time to react before his throat was slit... And Hasegawa Kenichi and the others couldn't last three breaths against him..."

"Oh?"

The man rose and slowly descended the steps.

The candlelight revealed his face: he looked to be around thirty, with gaunt features and a sinister cast to his eyes and brows. His black finery glimmered darkly in the light.

"So," the man said in a low, unhurried voice, "the person who killed your men is quite a nuisance."

"A Chunin?"

"Hmph!"

"So what if he's a Chunin? I've never failed to get the woman I wanted!"

He beckoned, and several samurai stepped forward.

"Go. Tell those Kirigakure Ninja who fled here after their defeat in the Land of Fire that it's time they got to work!"

The moonlight was cold, and the sea breeze carried a briny stench across the desolate rocky shore.

Naoki dragged the last body and tossed it into the pit he had dug beforehand.

He stood at the edge of the pit, gazing at the twisted bodies piled atop one another below, and began shoveling dirt over them without expression.

One shovelful, then another, then a third...

The dirt landed on the bodies with dull thuds.

Naoki kept shoveling, over and over, while his mind replayed the scene in the tavern.

The vicious look on Hasegawa Kenichi's face as he sprang into action, the frenzy of his men as they charged, and the warmth of blood splashing across his face as he swung his blade...

He had killed before, many times on the battlefield. But that was war, a matter of life and death, a fight to the finish.

But the men just now had been nothing more than a gang of thugs, ordinary people without even a trace of chakra.

They had attacked first, and they deserved to die, but Naoki still felt something was off.

It wasn't because he had killed them. It was because he had done it so calmly, so matter-of-factly, as if he had simply swatted a few flies.

When did I become like this?

Naoki stopped shoveling and looked up at the night sky.

The moon was full, its clear light stretching his shadow long across the ground.

He thought of Konoha, of Uchiha Zongxin's ever-smiling face, of Uchiha Zongye's steady gaze, of Itachi's eyes, far too mature for his age, of Uchiha Yashiro's nagging concern, of Uchiha Fugaku...

And Hideko.

Her gentle face, her eyes as clear as spring water, the way her cheeks had flushed when he'd held her arm on that rainy night.

"Hideko..."

Naoki murmured softly and reached for his chest.

There was nothing there.

The amulet was long gone.

He took a deep breath and continued shoveling.

The pit was soon filled in. Naoki covered it with a layer of gravel and dead grass, making it look no different from the surrounding ground.

When he was done, he turned and headed back.

When he returned to Kannazuki Town, the town was utterly silent.

For some reason, an inexplicable unease suddenly welled up inside him.

Moonlight spilled across the empty streets. The doors and windows of the houses on either side were shut tight. There wasn't even a dog barking. The silence was almost eerie.

Naoki frowned.

Something was wrong!

Very wrong!

He quickened his pace and sprinted toward the tavern.

The wooden door stood ajar.

He pushed it open. The tavern was in complete disarray.

Tables and chairs lay overturned, wine glasses were shattered, and several fresh streaks of blood stained the wall. A faint smell of blood hung in the air.

"Yumi!"

Naoki called out, but no one answered.