Chapter 39
Snow crunched under Utakata's foot as he fought against the freezing wind. The Land of Frost was as brutal as he remembered it to be. Even with his shinobi training, there was only so much time he could stay under such brutal weather before parts of his body started to freeze. It was an endless battle, as he used his chakra to warm his body and also melted the snow that turned into ice in the cold. The cycle continued before he found a suitable place for a camp.
He didn't have a change of clothes—only a coat that covered his kimono. And now he was completely wet. So, when he started a fire and dried his body and clothes, he felt like a new person. Hot tea and fresh bread cooked on the coals of the firewood quickly relieved him of the hardships of his travels. It had been a few rough days.
But he had no choice but to go through these mountains. As he expected, once he had left the Land of Fire, he sensed hunter-nin tracking him down. They didn't give up easily, no matter how many times he managed to escape them. At least he hasn't met any shinobi from the Cloud. Hopefully, the hunter-nin after him has lost his tracks by now.
After resting for a few hours and regaining his energy, Utakata started to descend the mountainous range. In a few hours, he should get out of here. The winds shouldn't be so harsh once he is down, and hopefully, he will find the main road soon. Utakata was running low on supplies. It would be really unfortunate to freeze to death because he didn't think of bringing thicker clothes.
Still, not everything was that bad. He could practice his ninjutsu by covering himself in a massive bubble that defended him against cold and wind. He still needed to find an optimal size for it, as the bigger the bubble was, the less resistant it was to the harsh wind. But he couldn't make it smaller, as the oxygen didn't last long enough.
Well, there was no such thing as perfect jutsu; all he could do was improve as he tried. And Utakata managed to find various rare plants in the mountains. They had wonderful effects that could help with many sicknesses. As messed up as it might sound, Utakata was eager to test their effectiveness and see how much they differed from the theory he learned.
Once Utakata had fully walked out from the mountainous region, he was met with a forest. And it was getting dark quickly. The last thing he wanted was to get lost while walking in the dark. So, he covered as much distance as he could before looking for a place to sleep. He also needed to find dinner, but that was easier as there were plenty of rabbits or deer but barely any dry place that would shield him from falling snow.
After catching a rabbit and building a fire under a massive tree that covered him from the most snowfall, Utakata blew a bubble around him and lay down by the tree trunk. The bubble was big enough to have enough oxygen to last for the night, and if it broke, it would wake him up. So, he was mostly safe for the night.
…
Utakata woke with a silent scream. Cold sweat covered his face and drenched his clothes. It had been a long time since he had dreamed about that day. Maybe because he was close to that place, he started subconsciously remembering more about it. Either way, it scared him, as he didn't wish to relive that moment ever again. But he had to visit them at least and ask for forgiveness.
He didn't know any other way to move on from these nightmares. He couldn't be stuck in this self-hatred cycle. Utakata knew that he couldn't be like his forever. But knowing didn't do too much for him. It was impossible to forget what he had done. And there wasn't anyone who could forgive him for what he had done, so he had to live with that quilt.
…
On the way to the capital city, Utakata saw many things. And he didn't like them even a bit. The towns were worn out, and roads were unattended for years. People were malnourished and desperate. If Utakata didn't know better he might have thought the Land of Frost was in war or something. He couldn't think of another explanation for it to look like this.
"Thank you, Master Uta," An elderly lady said, squeezing Utakata's hand with her own.
"Please don't call me master; I am simply trying to help to the best of my abilities."
It was the closest town to the capital, but this town didn't escape poverty. People were sick; it wasn't anything serious, but they were malnourished and weak. The cold took out most of them. Utakata still couldn't understand what was happening. Nobody spoke about the problem like it was forbidden, and even though Utakata wanted to know, he didn't push them to tell him.
It certainly wasn't a pandemic or economic crisis. The towns felt oddly authoritarian. It was like someone was holding them hostage, and if they dared step out of the bounds, they would be dealt with without hesitation or mercy. Yet, he couldn't find anything concrete. Still, even if it felt weird, Utakata continued to walk to the capital city.
The closer he got to the capital, the better the road was, but he also encountered more soldiers. So far, he couldn't sense any shinobi, but the military presence was larger than that of the Land of Fire. It wouldn't surprise him if the Daimyo hired a few shinobi, too, since he is capable of paying for the military. Well, it was none of his business, but he still kept a close look at his surroundings.
…
"See, it wasn't that bad, was it now?" Utakata asked as he finished bandaging a little boy's forehead. "It would heal in no time, and you will be able to continue playing with snow. I will make sure to tell your friends that they should be careful not to pick up any pebbles when making snowballs."
"What do we say, Asashi?" The boy's mother asked, looking at the boy expectingly.
"Thanks!" The boy yelled and ran off, probably embarrassed.
"Thank you, Master Uta," The mother said as she looked where the boy was running to. "I'm sorry, we don't have much to offer for all your help."
"Call me Uta," Utakata replied with a smile. "Even if it is quite feminine. It is my name."
"I think it is quite cute," The mother said with a giggle. "Well, I should go before that rascal hurts himself again. I swear children these days have no preservation. Just leave them alone for a moment, and who knows what they will do."
The capital city of the Land of the Frost was just more what he had seen of this country. Common people seemed to be struggling to put food on the table and keep their homes warm, while guards always surrounded the inner-city folk. In the few weeks he has been in this city, he has already seen three festivals the rich and powerful have organized.
Utakata didn't try to get inside, as he felt a few powerful chakra sources coming from there. One in particular was very powerful, above normal Jonin level. He didn't know who the Daimyo had hired, but it wasn't a normal shinobi. Well, with all the money he spends on the military and taking the little the common people had, it shouldn't surprise Utakata.
Still, he felt responsible for this situation the people were in. Not many dared to talk badly about the current Daimyo, but much was said about the previous one. So much was said that it made Utakata more and more guilty. He didn't think he could feel any worse than now. Not only did he kill innocent people, but he also ruined so many lives because of his actions.
"Master Uta, master Uta!" One of the children in the poor neighborhood Utakata stayed in yelled out for him. "There is troupe coming. I saw them; they were singing and playing various instruments while wearing colorful dresses."
"Is that so?" Utakata asked as he made sure that the hair on the left side of his face was still hiding his appearance; even though he didn't think anyone would recognize him, he couldn't be too careful.
"They are playing in the inner city; everyone is going to go to watch," The girl with twin tails replied excitedly. "Will you come to see them?"
"I will have to see if I have time," Utakata patted her head as he lied.
He had no intention to go. Even though the inner city wasn't walled off, the quality of the buildings and the presence of the military deterred people from the outer city from coming. Still, as long as they didn't cause too much disturbance, nobody could chase them away. So, people would come to see the festival as the rich gathered to watch some kind of performance.
This time, it seemed to be a troupe. Children especially liked the entertainment, as there wasn't anything more to offer them in these parts of the city. The adults were more worried about how to provide children with necessities than entertainment. That is why he was so welcomed here. Proper doctors and medicine cost too much for these people.
It was shocking for Utakata to see the state these people lived in. This country was falling rapidly into poverty. It was only a question of time before these people couldn't afford to live anymore. So, Utakata tried to give as much support as he could to them even if it was too little, too late. He could only hope that the little things would add up sometime in the future.
…
Sōsetsu Kazahana, the beloved Daimyo of the Land of Frost. From how his grave looked, it was hard to believe he was beloved. It was overgrown with weeds, and the gravestone was dirty and had multiple cracks. It was a private graveyard reserved only for nobles of the city. So even if the people of this country loved him, they could do nothing to look after his grave as it was barred from them.
Utakata did his best to clean it and even plant some flowers on the grave. It was the least he could do. Too bad he couldn't find the previous Daimyo's daughter's grave. He thought it would be close to the father, but it seemed he was mistaken. No grave dated the day he had murdered her. So, he was left with an empty feeling in his heart. He didn't even know her name.
Utakata couldn't stay here for too long, as he risked being discovered. So, after cleaning the grave to the best of his abilities, he left. Unseen, he sneaked out of the graveyard and entered the streets of the city. As he was returning to his temporary home, he heard music coming not far from where he was. He had no interest in it, but he felt quite a few chakra sources from that direction, so he decided to check it out.
The troupe the children were talking about was playing music and dancing in an open area. People, mostly the better-off, would come to observe and donate money for them. Utakata kept his distance as he observed them. Six people among them had trained their chakra. It was weak, no better than that of novice chunin.
Yet, Utakata's attention was quickly diverted to a woman who played a lute. Utakata didn't know much about music, but somehow, he could feel her melody. It was lonely and hurt, yet filled with hatred. As he got a closer look at the woman, somehow, she felt familiar. Utakata was sure he hadn't seen her before, but her long black hair, violet-blue eyes, and a red scarf covering her neck made her very familiar.
"Bravo, bravo," Utakata was so distracted by the woman that he didn't notice soldiers and shinobi pushing through the crowd as a man came in front of the troupe. "Very beautiful. I heard of the Gale's troupe, and I am delighted that you decided to come to my country and city to perform for once. I would like to extend an invitation to you to come and perform at my castle."
"Lord Kazahana," an elderly man came before the Daimyo of the Land of Frost, and the rest of the troupe stood close by. "How could we reject such an invitation coming straight from you? The Lord of this beautiful land," The elderly man said, but Utakata noticed the hatred burning in the eyes of the woman who played the lute. The elderly man noticed it, too, and quickly changed his tone. "A lord that ruined this land with his greed. Taking a position that wasn't his and slowly killing this country's people. I will take the invitation to kill you."
It was a fast attack; the elderly man didn't have any training in chakra, but he was surely a soldier in his younger years. Revealing a hidden blade in his sleeves, he plunged into the terrified Daimyo. It was a quick death for the assassin, as three shinobi guarding the Daimyo stabbed the assassin. Yet, Utakata saw how the elderly man smiled and grabbed the shinobi as he fell to the ground.
By this moment, chaos ensued as the rest of the troupe used the moment when the shinobi guarding the Daimyo was held back to attack the Daimyo. The six shinobi that had hidden themselves moved fast for the Daimyo while the rest of the troupe held back the soldiers surrounding the Daimyo. Utakata didn't interfere, but he stood in front of the civilians as they started panicking and running away.
"It is over, uncle," The woman who got Utakata's attention spoke in a soft voice. "I came to take what is rightfully mine. Your tyranny is over."
It took only a moment for Utakata to realize who she was. His body trembled in fear. He couldn't move as he was faced with his nightmare. Utakata could only watch as she walked to the Daimyo, who was held down by the shinobi who came to assassinate him. It would have come to an end as the woman drew her slender sword and was about to strike her uncle.
The assassination would have been successful. The assassins got the Daimyo in surprise. His shinobi were held back while he was defenseless. Well, most of his shinobi. There was one that stood and watched as people killed each other. He only moved when his employee was in grave danger. Utakata felt him before he saw him.
A red triple-bladed-scythe flew above the daimyo, instantly killing the shinobi holding him by cutting off their heads. The woman stopped in her tracks before the Daimyo as her shinobi died before her eyes. But it was the end. Soon, the other members of the troupe got killed by the soldiers, while a man with a bare chest and bandaged stomach walked up to the Daimyo and pulled him to his feet.
"What a mess," The man said as he ran his hand through his slick grey hair. "Well, it's a good thing you have paid me a fortune to protect you, isn't it?"
The man barely looked at the woman now alone, with all the troupe members dead or dying. She stood in place, accepting her fate as the red scythe was raised and fell on her. But Utakata couldn't accept it. So, in an instant, he appeared before the woman, and with his pipe, he blocked the scythe. Then kicked the man away, took the woman into his arms, and ran away.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.