Naruto: I, Shikotsumyaku, Byakugan Princess

Chapter 10 Crisis
"Uh... little sister, are you talking to me?"

A light rain was falling. Kurio Mari, holding an umbrella, smiled at the girl huddled under the eaves and leaned down to ask her a question.

His tone and attitude were much more amiable than when he was dealing with the Dark Division.

If the ANBU who were just guarding the gates of Kirigakure were to see this, they would probably collectively complain in their hearts about this heartless face-obsessed person and this world that judges people by their looks.

"Hello, big sister, my name is Hui Li. I heard that the village is cracking down on spies and has imposed a ban on leaving the village. I can't see and I don't know if the ban has been lifted yet."

When talking about her eyes, the girl's clear voice became somewhat low, as if she was ashamed of her disability.

Kuryu Mari glanced at the girl's delicate face, which was covered by a blindfold, with pity, and her attitude became even gentler and kinder.

"The ban hasn't been lifted yet; it might take a few more days..."

"...I understand, thank you, sister."

After politely thanking her, the girl silently lowered her head.

Tick ​​tock!

Rainfall is gradually increasing.

Raindrops from the eaves accumulated into streams of water, falling on the girl's head and body, wetting her long, silver-gray hair into strands.

The girl shrank further under the eaves to avoid the rain on her head.

"Little... Hui Li, aren't you going home because it's raining?"

Seeing the pitiful girl, Kuryu Mari couldn't help but ask.

"My home is outside the village."

The girl's voice grew even lower as she spoke.

Kuryu Mari silently watched the lonely blind girl huddled under the eaves.

The girl, whose home is outside the village, is now homeless due to the ban imposed by the Hidden Mist Village.

Having understood why the girl was hiding here waiting for the ban to be lifted, Kuryu Mari felt a heavy weight in her heart.

Memories of the past kept flashing before her eyes, vividly recalling the murder of her family when she was a child. If it weren't for her brother's protection, she might have ended up alone and helpless like him!

Now that her brother, with whom she has depended on since childhood, has disappeared, she herself is also homeless.

For a moment, Kuryu Mari's feelings seemed to resonate completely with Hairi's.

"Little Grey Glass, don't be afraid. Where is your home? Shall I take you home?"

"Really...really?"

The girl looked up, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

Looking at the girl's cute smiling face, Kurio Mari seemed to be infected and couldn't help but smile as well.

"But...the village's prohibition..."

The girl showed signs of worry.

"It's alright, my sister is a Jonin from Kirigakure, the ban has no effect on me."

Perhaps in order to maintain her shining image in Hairi's heart, vanity drove Kuryu Mari not to reveal her identity as a member of the Dark Side.

"Jonin! Father said that Jonin are the most powerful ninjas. Big sister, you're amazing!"

The girl exclaimed in surprise.

Kuryu Mari couldn't help but smile.

Growing up under her brother's wing, Kuryu Mari heard mostly about her brother, and people would only say that she was Kuryu Shun's sister.

The girl's surprised praise completely hit Kuryu Mari's sweet spot, and her bad mood due to her brother's mysterious disappearance improved somewhat.

"It's not that powerful. So, Hui Li, where do you live? I'll take you back now."

"Thank you, big sister. My home is in Tanabata Street in the Land of Fire."

The girl said this in a seemingly innocent manner.

Through the blindfold, watching Kuryu Mari's smile gradually fade, Hairi's smile became even more innocent and carefree.

……

street corner.

The rain became increasingly torrential.

The fine raindrops almost formed a continuous curtain, completely engulfing the fog.

The wide street directly opposite the gate of the Hidden Mist.

Two figures, one tall and one short, huddled under the eaves, looking at each other.

"You mean you come from Tanabata Street in the Land of Fire, and came to Kirigakure with your father to do business, but your father has been missing for a long time and you want to issue a mission to escort you back to Tanabata Street to find your family."

Hui Li nodded, adding many more details to her backstory.

"Then why don't you just ask the Hidden Mist ninjas to help you find your missing father?"

Kuryu Mari keenly noticed the flaw in Hairi's words.

"My father didn't leave me much cash. If Kirigakure can't find my father in a short time, I will starve to death in the village."

Logically, it seems to make no mistake. Kuryu Mari rested her chin on her hand, lost in thought.

Hui Li silently activated her White Eyes, scrutinizing the pretty woman with brown hair and blue eyes in front of her through the blindfold.

He concealed seven kunai and a sealing scroll on his side and thigh, 1,230 taels of silver in the lining of his clothes, five explosive tags on his lower back, and 20 senbon needles and four shuriken in his ninja tool bag for later use.

The chakra in his meridians is roughly at the Jonin level, his muscle and bone strength is average, and there is an unidentified purple powder hidden under the fingernail of his right index finger.

Non-taijutsu-type ninjas can escape from a distance, but can be instantly killed by close-range sneak attacks.

He silently weighed the combat strength in his mind.

She had been lying in wait on this street for three days.

The fog-shrouded blockade has a huge impact.

Every day, countless merchants and villagers come to the door to inquire about the reopening time.

As ordinary people, they simply lack the ability to break through the Dark Guard's blockade.

But just because ordinary people can't do it doesn't mean ninjas can't.

Hui Li firmly believes that as long as a utopian society where everyone is equal has not been realized, all rules set by human society will inevitably be broken by humankind itself.

This is an ironclad rule that applies to every world.

Now, she has indeed found someone capable of breaking the rules.

Although it is unclear what this woman's name is.

However, the fact that many secret agents bowed and greeted him at the door confirmed that the other party's identity was indeed extraordinary.

She hoped that the other party would help her leave the Hidden Mist out of pity for her loneliness and helplessness; otherwise, she would have no choice but to transform into the other party's appearance and try her luck. In order to play the role more convincingly, she would have to ask the person in person for certain information.

of course.

Since Hui Li is not skilled in illusion magic, she can only ask questions physically.

I gaze at Kurio Mari, who is quietly deep in thought.

Beneath the blindfold, a faint deathly gray shone in the center of the pupils of her milky-white eyes, and her hands, covered by wide sleeves, turned a ghastly white as her fingertips twitched.

"Little Grey Glass, can I see your hands?"

The bone spur on her fingertip snapped back, and her little hand clenched into a fist in tension.

Hairi looked at Kuryu Mari, who had made the request, with surprise and uncertainty.

How does she know?

Have I been exposed?

One idea after another popped into my head, but I still couldn't find my weakness.

Suppressing her nervousness, she obediently extended her left hand.

Kurio Mari grasped it firmly.

It feels warm, soft, and smooth to the touch, as if it has no bones.

The skin on the back of her hands was as white as jade, and her fingers were long and slender.

Kurio Mari stroked her small, work-like hand with her fingers, examining it carefully.

It's not a transformation technique.

Calluses and scars from not practicing martial arts or throwing techniques.

But Kurio Mari still felt that something was not quite right.

The Mizukage has disappeared, the Master has disappeared, his brother has disappeared, and even all of his brother's subordinates in the Anbu have vanished. The various unusual events in Kirigakure have put Kuryu Mari on high alert.

The timing of this girl's appearance was too perfect.

It just so happens that today, she went to the Dark Guard to inquire about her brother's whereabouts, and coincidentally, after inquiring, she met a pitiful blind girl trapped in a village by the forbidden village order. And coincidentally, she herself has the ability to break through the Dark Guard's blockade.

Although there is no major problem in terms of logic.

But there are just too many suspicious points.

Furthermore, none of the girl's statements can be verified or disproven, which is typical of a lie.

My brother is a powerful figure in the entire ninja world; there aren't many people who could make him disappear so easily. Could it be that my brother and the others were also tricked into leaving the village like this?

Why would the person behind this lie to me?
Are they afraid I'll leave the village and find my brother? So they're trying to find something to delay me?
Kuryu Mari's wild guess.

"Little Gray, you just said I'm a Jonin, right?"

"Yes, my sister is amazing."

With his left hand being held, Hui Li had no idea what the woman in front of him was thinking, so he could only deal with her casually.

"Then you probably don't know what type of ninja I am, right?"

Kurio Mari grasped Hairi's wrist; her delicate wrist seemed as if she could break it at any moment.

Her azure eyes locked onto the petite girl before her, a terrifying killing intent enveloping the space: "Sister, I am a sensory ninja. The chakra fluctuations emanating from you—are too dazzling!"

(End of this chapter)