The cloaked figure stood before the clan head in a head-on confrontation.
With a chessboard in-between them, the clan head sat calmly and thought about his next move.
He had been trying to trap the cloaked figure's queen, but every time he got close, he was in danger from other pieces that seemed to appear and target all of his vulnerable spots.
But when he focused on the other pieces, the queen wreaked havoc. The cloaked figure picked up his queen with a flick of his wrist and moved her away to reveal a piece hiding behind her.
The clan head gasped dramatically and fell into deep thought, but a tapping sound could be heard on the side of the table next to a wrapped package.
The clan head sighed heavily and moved the chessboard aside.
"Fine, fine. I did say I would only accept the package after you won me in chess, but aren't you too impatient today? You even wiped out most of the newbies on your way."
The cloaked figure stopped his tapping and looked the clan head dead in the eyes. He spoke with a raspy voice like it hasn't been used a lot.
"Late, your fault."
The clan head laughed deeply at the figure that treasured words more than gold.
"You're quite effective when putting newbie ninjas in their place or testing them, are you sure you don't want to join my clan? You would be respected and have a high position with a hefty amount of pay..."
The cloaked figure stood up opened a window. His pitch black, common cloak swayed slightly. He just shook his head lightly and when the clan head glanced at the chessboard and back, he was gone.
The clan head leaned back in his seat in thought. He was the top ninja of his clan and yet, he couldn't win the messenger if he tied the cloaked man's hands and feet behind his back.
He had not even succeeded in removing his mask or revealing his gender. Every important person knew about the black messenger. He almost never spoke, always wore low-quality black clothes and could never be followed or beat.
No one knows where he popped up from, but one day he started transporting the most classified and important messages and packages at a pace far faster than imaginable and had never failed to deliver.
He was swayed by neither riches nor prestige and was never bias or showed any interest. He was the perfect middle man. A ghost.
That was the black messenger.
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A guard standing outside the clan head's office saw two beat-up young ninjas approaching and chuckled silently.
He put on a serious face as they arrived in front of him and asked them what their business was.
A girl with big blue eyes answered energetically.
"We have to warn the clan head! A master of great talent with bad intentions has entered the clan and it could spel disaster! Quick, let us in!"
The guard could already guess who came to visit and the younglings were correct about one thing, the black messenger was a true master and if he decided to pick a side or attack something or someone.. there is nothing left to salvage.
The guard calmed down the two youngsters, or more like only the girl. The boy stood close to her, but never talked. The boy was obviously more suited for this line of work than the girl.
"I see you have met the black messenger. He is called once a year around this time to test the new potential ninjas. I guess only you two pass. Congratulations, now when you see him next time, don't anger him and try to stay out of his way. He seems to prefer it that way."
He shooed away the two youngsters who were still in a daze. He shivered on his way back to his post outside the door. It seemed he had not noticed the black messenger's presence even though they were separated by only a wall.
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The supposed black messenger was currently crossing the border of the clan and was heading into the neutral zone.
It wasn't that the area of the East Claw clan was small, but rather that the speed he was moving at was quite incredible.
The neutral zone is a small rocky area between the three ninja clans. There was the East Claw clan, North Tooth clan and West eye clan. All of these clans are on a continent that resembles a three clover leaf.
There is only two other continents and two kingdoms have absolute control over each of them. The Cotton and Silk kingdoms. The Cotton kingdom is to the North East of the Ninja clans and the Silk kingdom is North West of the Ninja clans. (Please excuse the names, I'm terrible at naming things and people)
When he arrived in the dead centre of the neutral zone, he checked the traps and reset them and took the animals they caught with him into a cave. The cave looked normal except that it was quite deep and everything quickly got dark once you step inside.
The figure turned sharply right after entering and shoved a big boulder with his shoulder. The boulder gave way and under it, it revealed a hidden entrance roughly made.
after entering and pulling a strong rope to resecure the entrance, the figure decended stone steps to enter a small room lighted by a few candles.
The figure tugged off his hood and removed his mask to reveal a young girl with clear grey eyes.