The monk was Uchiha Naruto, disguised using the Transformation Technique from the Three-Body Technique.
His model was the Fire Temple monk from Naruto who had died almost as soon as he appeared. Since the Naruto manga did not exist in this world anyway, Uchiha Naruto had shamelessly borrowed the character's name and appearance.
Having decided to deal with the evil spirit himself before nightfall, Uchiha Naruto slipped out of the hospital. He wandered through the nearby streets, then transformed into an unremarkable middle-aged office worker in the stairwell of a crowded supermarket.
After walking some distance, he transformed into the monk Chiriku in an alley without surveillance cameras, then took the train to the crime scene.
Buddhism flourished in this island nation. Even an international metropolis like Tokyo housed dozens of renowned old temples, so seeing a few monks on the street was nothing unusual.
The closer Uchiha Naruto came to the crime scene, the more fiercely his cheek stung.
Just as Uchiha Naruto was about to head upstairs, he saw a police car pull up. A rather gloomy-looking middle-aged officer got out and climbed the stairs, and he quietly followed behind.
He then saw Yuuji Kanbara fail to open the door. Instead, whatever was inside stirred and tried to open it, only for him to stop it in the nick of time.
"Master Chiriku, didn't you see the police cordon outside? Why is a monk like you at a murder scene? Which temple are you from?"
As Yuuji Kanbara tried to remember what temples Nakano Ward had besides Koenji, he unconsciously slipped into the tone he used to interrogate suspects.
"It is precisely because I am a monk that I have come here."
Uchiha Naruto spoke meaningfully.
Yuuji Kanbara frowned. Remembering the eerie incident outside Room 201, his expression grew uneasy.
He understood what the monk was implying.
But did unclean, inhuman things really exist in this world? Yuuji Kanbara had not witnessed anything himself, after all. What had happened earlier could still be explained by someone hiding inside Room 201 and playing tricks.
Yet when he recalled that hair-raising terror, even he could no longer convince himself with that explanation.
"Have you come to perform rites for the late Ogura, Master?"
Yuuji Kanbara phrased the question tactfully. Performing rites could mean several things. Ordinary families hired monks to chant sutras for their deceased relatives, but his unspoken question was whether Chiriku had come to lay Ogura's haunting spirit to rest.
People in this island nation really did love beating around the bush.
"Yes."
Uchiha Naruto gave a calm nod.
The more he said, the more likely he was to slip up. He had only come to exorcise the spirit because he had no choice, and he knew absolutely nothing about such matters. Every extra word risked exposing him.
Uchiha Naruto placed his hand on the handle and applied a little pressure. The door that had opened on its own earlier, as though malfunctioning, now refused to budge.
"Why shut me out, madam? Then please forgive my intrusion."
Uchiha Naruto channeled chakra into the sole of his foot, then lashed out with a kick, knocking the door straight open.
Behind him, Yuuji Kanbara's eyes widened. This Master Chiriku was far too wild.
The moment the door opened, an aura that made his hair stand on end washed over him. That creepy sensation made Yuuji Kanbara feel as though he were standing in a morgue.
A large patch of dried blood lay in the entryway. Presumably, this was where Miyui Ogura had been murdered.
Yuuji Kanbara cautiously peered inside from the doorway. He had already braced himself. Whatever he saw now, even Miyui Ogura's ghost, would not surprise him.
It was a single-person apartment of only twenty square meters. The bathroom stood beside the entryway, and the bedroom was just two steps farther in. The ceiling was dull yellow with faint patches of mold, and the tatami looked ready to creak underfoot, but sufficiently cheap rent could cover every flaw.
Beer cans, bento boxes, and snack wrappers lay piled haphazardly inside, revealing that its occupant had been quite a slob.
Unexpectedly, there was nothing inside.
Yuuji Kanbara looked at Chiriku in uncertainty, but the monk remained perfectly calm.
"Amitabha. What comes next is not something ordinary mortals should meddle with. Please wait here, sir. I will return shortly."
"Why say that, Master? We're already in the third decade of the twenty-first century, the fourth year of Reiwa. Even if demons and ghosts really exist, they can't be allowed to escape the law. If you truly can lay the dead to rest, Master Chiriku, that would be a boundless act of merit. There's no need to hide it. Besides, with two of us inside, we can support each other. It's safer." Yuuji Kanbara raised the police pistol in his hand.
"Then please wait a moment, sir."
Uchiha Naruto frowned, but ultimately agreed.
Uchiha Naruto raised his hand and chopped at the door. Wood chips flew, and in fewer than a handful of blows, he dismantled the entire door and tossed it outside.
In horror movies, victims often entered a room only for the door to close by itself and refuse to open, trapping them inside. Wouldn't removing the door prevent that problem?
If anything went wrong later, he would even save himself a step when fleeing through the doorway.
I'm so cautious.
"Please come in, sir."
Uchiha Naruto led the way into Room 201. After a brief hesitation, Yuuji Kanbara followed.
The first thing Uchiha Naruto did upon entering was turn on the light.
The rented single-person apartment was small to begin with. Under the dim yellow light, everything was plainly visible. The middle of the room, its corners, and the ceiling all looked normal.
Yuuji Kanbara gave the room a quick inspection. There was nowhere anyone could hide, so who had been turning the handle from inside earlier?
Just then, the light began flickering. That unprecedented sense of dread seized Yuuji Kanbara again. The feeling of facing a wild beast unarmed rose in his heart once more, only stronger this time.
A woman dressed entirely in white, her face frighteningly pale, suddenly stood in a corner of the room. Her gray-white eyes stared at the two of them with venomous hatred.
"Miyui Ogura!"
Seeing the woman's face, Yuuji Kanbara could not help crying out. It looked exactly like the corpse and photographs he had seen earlier.
Yuuji Kanbara aimed his gun while casting a pleading look toward Master Chiriku. The monk's expression remained unchanged as he invoked the Buddha's name.
"Amitabha. You suffered in life and found no peace in death. You have endured far too much, madam, but you need fear no longer. I will now guide you to the Western Paradise. From this moment onward, all the pain and sorrow of this world will have nothing more to do with you.
"Namo Amitabhaya, Tathagataya..."
As Master Chiriku recited the Rebirth Sutra, the evil spirit's face grew increasingly hideous. Her features, which had still retained some beauty, now resembled those of a wild beast. The sight alone sent chills down the spine.
Yet the chanting continued without pause, flowing smoothly onward. Influenced by Master Chiriku's composure, Yuuji Kanbara could not help calming down as well.
Master Chiriku looked like an enlightened monk. Perhaps once he finished the Rebirth Mantra, Miyui Ogura's resentment would vanish and she would peacefully attain Buddhahood.
Hope began to rise within him, and he glanced toward the evil spirit.
In truth, Uchiha Naruto was feeling rather nervous himself, but there was no turning back now. He had staked everything on his Level 2 Fire Release Technique. As he chanted, he kept his eyes fixed on the evil spirit, searching for an opportunity to strike.
"Gagana, Chitakali Svaha..."
"Master Chiriku, do vengeful spirits have shadows too?" Yuuji Kanbara asked in a trembling voice.
How should I know? This is my first encounter with a haunting in either of my lives. How would I know whether ghosts in this world have shadows?
Uchiha Naruto's gaze involuntarily dropped to the evil spirit's feet. She did indeed have a shadow, and it suddenly twisted and stretched in an uncanny fashion, reaching toward them across the tatami!
Seeing trouble coming, Uchiha Naruto nimbly sprang backward, darting straight from the bedroom to outside the apartment. Yuuji Kanbara failed to dodge, however, and the evil spirit's shadow connected with his.
Undisguised malice gleamed in the evil spirit's gray-white eyes. She clamped both hands around her own neck, and Yuuji Kanbara's hands rose against his will to grip his throat.
"So... that's how she killed herself..."
Yuuji Kanbara's eyes rolled back as a crushing sense of suffocation overwhelmed him. Just then, a sharp shout rang out:
"Madam, it is time for you to depart. Amitabha!"
Boom!
An enormous fireball over a meter across flew in from outside and slammed into the evil spirit. Sparks scattered and heat surged, making Yuuji Kanbara feel as though his hair had been singed.
A second later, he realized he could move again. Yuuji Kanbara scrambled out of Room 201 on his hands and knees.
Seeing Master Chiriku, Yuuji Kanbara hurriedly said, "Master Chiriku! Watch out for the ghost's shadow. If it catches your shadow, she can control your body!"
"I see."
Then Master Chiriku's expression changed. His hands formed hand seals, he uttered "Amitabha," and he spat an enormous fireball into the apartment.
It was as though another grenade had been thrown into the room. A thunderous explosion and scorching light and heat blasted out once more.
After his Fire Style reached Level 2, Uchiha Naruto could use C-Rank Fire Release Ninjutsu such as the Great Fireball Technique. His destructive power had improved by leaps and bounds, and that was what had given him the confidence to come exorcise the spirit.
"Master Chiriku, did you blow up... lay Ogura's ghost to rest?" Yuuji Kanbara looked at Master Chiriku with a complicated expression and struggled to get the question out.
Is this how you monks lay the dead to rest?
Shouldn't you be tapping a wooden fish and chanting sutras while the ghost's malice washes away in Buddhist light and she peacefully attains Buddhahood? Or pulling out a monk's staff, bellowing "Amitabha," swinging it with mighty force, and sending the ghost straight to paradise with one blow?
This is nothing like what I imagined! Did Master Chiriku retire from some battlefield?
Uchiha Naruto had not heard a kill notification, which meant the evil spirit had not been eliminated.
But the stinging in his cheek had eased considerably. Apparently, the evil spirit had not fared well against two Great Fireball Techniques. She might even have been severely injured.
"Alas, her resentment runs too deep. Her soul still clings to this apartment. We cannot leave things this way. If it becomes a haunted house, that will be troublesome. This room must be thoroughly purified," Master Chiriku said compassionately.
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