On the road to the Land of Rice Fields, Gekkō Hoshiyomi and the others could no longer suppress their curiosity. The three of them kept pestering their sensei, Akimichi Torifu, over and over about the nature of their mission.
Just as the old saying goes: human nature is inquisitive...
Torifu was nearly driven mad by the three little parrots repeating the same question. Finally, with no other choice, he surrendered.
"Alright, alright! Stop asking already. My head's spinning. I'll be honest—truth is, I haven't told you because... I'm not entirely sure what the mission is myself."
Hearing this only made the team even more curious, urging him to explain. Torifu paused mid-search through his backpack for jerky, fell silent for a moment, then suddenly dropped his voice into a deep, ominous tone:
"Have you ever heard of ghost stories?"
They had set out in the afternoon, and now after a long march, the full moon hung high in the sky.
Torifu's rugged face, illuminated by moonlight and paired with that deliberately low voice, made for an unexpectedly spooky effect.
Sakumo shook his head, feigning disinterest. "I'm not into silly legends."
But the cold sweat on his brow gave away his nerves.
Shinku, on the other hand, was thrilled. He eagerly urged Torifu to continue. These sorts of ghost stories fascinated him.
As an aspiring genjutsu master, Shinku saw ghost tales as perfect creative material. His imagination was far richer than most, and with it, he could take a vague story and mentally turn it into a full-blown, high-fidelity VR horror movie.
He even had an ambitious idea: to create a massive, multi-layered genjutsu technique inspired by all known ghost stories. If successful, it could make his dream come true.
Hoshiyomi was also intrigued—but not by the stories. He was far more interested in the subtle tremble in Sakumo's demeanor.
Who would've thought the fearless Sakumo was afraid of ghosts? That gap in personality... quite charming, really.
And come to think of it, in the original timeline, Sakumo did appear in spirit form. One had to wonder how he'd feel about that now.
But none of that mattered. What mattered was that Hoshiyomi now had a golden opportunity to mess with Sakumo. He exchanged a glance with Torifu and Shinku, then lowered his voice and said eerily:
"Teacher, are you talking about things like the Yuki Onna, Rokurokubi, or the Slit-Mouthed Woman?"
Torifu and Shinku blinked. "Slit-Mouthed Woman? Never heard of that. Tell us!"
Only then did Hoshiyomi realize the story was from modern folklore. But hey—when there's no story, make one. And so, he began weaving a version of the urban legend:
"They say the Slit-Mouthed Woman was once a vain beauty. She hated her small lips and asked a doctor to enlarge them. But during the surgery, she couldn't stand the doctor's greasy hair, moved mid-operation, and... well, the scissors slipped. Her mouth was cut all the way to her ears."
"After being disfigured, she wore a scarf to hide it. But one day, a kid yanked it off as a prank. Seeing her terrifying face, the villagers called her a demon and killed her. Filled with rage, she became a vengeful spirit who hates children…"
(He didn't bother finishing—padding the word count wasn't his goal.)
Torifu and Shinku were captivated.
"Wow, can't believe I've never heard of that one!"
"This is perfect! I'm totally turning this into a genjutsu."
While those three were having a blast, Sakumo was anything but. Slit-mouthed woman, operates at night, hates kids… he felt personally targeted.
Even though he kept telling himself it was all made-up, his mind kept conjuring the image of a ghost woman with giant scissors.
The future White Fang of Konoha, a man known for his deadly efficiency on the battlefield, was now pale and clutching Hoshiyomi's arm tightly, trying to sound calm:
"Can we stop? This is pointless. Time to rest. Maybe sharpen our blades or—whatever. It's late. Let's stop for the night."
Hoshiyomi, seeing Sakumo like that, knew it was enough. Any further and he might actually crack. So he gave a subtle nod and let the topic drop.
But of course, the chaos didn't end there—because Hoshiyomi wasn't the only mischievous one in the group.
Torifu raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh? Turning in already? Aren't you curious about the mission details? It is related to ghost stories, after all."
Hoshiyomi made a show of washing his hands of it. "Hey, I gave up the topic."
Shinku, however, was practically bouncing in excitement. "Sensei, tell us more! What's the ghost story mission?"
Before Torifu could respond, there was a loud thud from the side. Sakumo had already laid down, eyes shut, muttering:
"So tired... It's late... Let's all just sleep... Talk in the morning."
The others tried to keep straight faces but failed. They all knew better than to push further. It really was getting late. So they laid down to rest, letting the fire crackle peacefully.
A few minutes later, from the darkness, came Sakumo's awkward whisper:
"Hoshiyomi... you awake?"
"What is it?"
"Come with me... to the bathroom..."
The only reply he got was the uncontrollable laughter of three very heartless teammates.
—
The next morning, the team continued their journey under the rising sun.
Maybe it was the daylight, but Sakumo—though still a bit red in the face—had returned to his usual cool self. Looking at Torifu, he asked:
"Sensei. Can you finally tell us what the mission actually is?"
Torifu, now done teasing, finally got to the point:
"Honestly, the exact details are unclear. Several villages near the border of the Land of Rice Fields have reported strange sounds at night. Livestock disappearing. The rumors kept spreading—then last month, someone went missing entirely."
"Locals are convinced it's the work of a demon. They say both animals and people are being taken."
"The situation's gotten so bad, the daimyo requested Konoha's help. That's why we're here."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin