Unforeseen Incident

With the deal with the Akatsuki in place, Shiki was prepared to just let at least a few days go by before he revisited Nagato, simply no make sure no suspicions were aroused in Zetsu or Obito.

However, he received a report that made hims change such plans. It was one of those rare ones that actually came as a total surprise to him.

There were two small settlements near each other , close to the border of the Land of Fire called the Tonika Village and the Hacho Village, they were a part of the Power Arc in the original series and the former was the resting place of a powerful superweapon by the name of Ama no Hoko.

Due to this, Shiki had always made sure to keep this village as a point of interest so that he would know what happened in the area since he was planning on claiming and researching said superweapon some time in the future.

The events surrounding the arc of the anime that dealt with the village however, were something that happened much further down the line and Kabuto was one of the main instigators.

As such, Shiki kept it as a low priority matter since there were more urgent things to take care of. Oftentimes even forgetting there was that matter to take care of.

Unfortunately, due to Mugetsu muscling in on the underworld of the Land of Fire, having the entire country's underbelly pretty much fully in control many former big player coincidently flocked to the area of these two villages.

Firstly, it was merely the Hacho Village which had nothing Shiki considered of importance and so, Aion did not see any reason to warn him.

But, other criminal factions the were evicted from their territory in other places by Mugetsu started hearing about the place and going there as well, establishing a sort of anti Mugetsu alliance. THeir power and influence were so tiny however, that Aion fully dismissed them as an actual threat.

Still, it kept watch, just in case they became a problem worthy to be nipped in the bud. Things changed however , when the Village Head of the Hacho Village, who seemed to be quite the criminal himself cut a deal with these outsiders.

The band of outlaws began occupying Toniko Village as well. Having a deal with the outsiders, the Village Head, Disonasu, advocated for nonviolent action and suggested abandoning the village but he was discovered by a little village girl that managed to uncover his true face and intentions.

At the moment, the village was fiercely resisting the band of criminals mounting a siege but they would not hold out forever and their time was running out.

All of this happened incredibly quickly and, Mugetsu did not have any forces in the area to information was slow to arrive, hence, by the time the situation deteriorated enough for Aion to consider warning Shiki, things were already quite bad for the village.

Still, that also meant they would be willing to give much more in return for their Salvation and so, hearing Aion's report, Shiki immediately set out to take advantage of the poor villagers' situation like the true villain he was.

Arriving at the village took a bit no longer as he had never been there personally so he could not juts teleport there but with his speed and stamina, it was a relatively short amount of time before Shiki got there.

As he observed the situation, with his White Eye of the Kagura, he saw that things seemed to be relatively calm at the moment.

He could see quite a few bodies, casualties from the conflicts so far but neither force was yet near depleted. Even so, the defenders were extremely outnumbered with only the improvised defenses set up around the village giving them enough on an advantage to hold on.

The attacking side seemed to be quietly waiting, intent on not spending any more of their men on needless attacks as they had completely surrounded the village and they would run out of supplies eventually.

After all,m these were criminals, not soldiers, self sacrifice for a cause was not in their nature and even their leader wanted to avoid loosing men and thus authority, specially since they had lost many of those loyal to them when they were evicted from their original territory by Mugetsu's forces.

Meanwhile, A meeting was seemingly taking place between what seemed to be the interim leader of the village, the person in charge of security and a few other important members of the community on what should be done.

That was where Shiki was planning on dramatically appear as per his bad habit of needless going for surprise dramatic entrances.

As the total of seven people sat around the tabled in a heated discussion, Shiki, in his full Reaper outfit, suddenly appeared seating casually in the middle of their table.

They all stopped in absolute shock, not understanding at all what was happening, their brains short circuiting at the sheer outrageousness of the situation.

A woman thought, seemingly in her thirties and dressed in some sort of military looking gard was the fastest to react however.

Shiki judged to be the leader of the village's security forces and she slashed at him with a quickdraw maneuver full of sharpness, strength and speed which left him quite surprised as the lady lacked any training in the use of chakra.

Still, not being threatened in the least by the attack, Shiki casually caught the blade with two fingers and commented.

"Such a bloodthirsty welcome!"

This seemed to unfreeze the atmosphere as everybody but the woman whose sword SHiki had grabbed backed off from the table.Said woman was still struggling trying to get her blade out of Shiki's grasp.

"Now, now. No need for such hostility." Shiki said, letting go of the woman's blade, after which she retreated but as as further back as the others, still intent on facing him despite being fully aware of how inadequate an opponent she was to the man before her.

"Who are you?" She questioned with authority as the others still seemed to be overwhelmed by the sheer pressure Shiki unwittingly gave off when not intentionally restraining himself.

"The world knows me as the Reaper." Shiki amusedly replied, gauging their reactions.

Most did not seem to know the name but the interim Village Head and the Security Chief that had attacked Shiki seemed to recognise it.

"The scoundrels attacking our villages have mentioned your name before . . ." The woman started, calmer and more softly.

"In hushed whispers of fear and hatred as the leader of the organization that destroyed their previous groups, forcing them into seeking refuge far from the bountiful lands they previously lived in." She said.

"Yes, that would be me." Shiki acknowledged.

"So you're the one at fault for our suffering!" A few people accused.

"Calm down! Although those scum may have come her after this person tossed them out of their previous home. It's not like the responsibility lays solely with him." The interim Village Head, aa man named Dokku said.

"But he is still part of the problem!" One of the accusers argued.

"And?" Shiki mockingly asked.

"Should you do something to fix this situation as one of those responsible?" He self righteously asked.

Both Dokku, and the security chief the mature woman by the name Shiseru looked at the man who had spoken out in sheer shock at his stupidity.

"My people crushed the gangs that now plague before. And that was when they were at full strength, not the pitiful remnants bothering you now. Do you really think you can demand anything from me?" Shiki asked, looking at the man like the idiot he was.

Dokku immediately tried to mediate.

"Please do not be offended!" He started.

"This whole situation as all of us on edge." Dokku pleaded.

"Oh do not worry. He is far to insignificant for me to be offended by his words. I just found his entitlement amusing that's all." SHiki shrugged, stunning everyone present with his arrogance.

But they had to admit. The aura this mysterious man gave out, it made the feel such arrogance was not only okay but fitting and well deserved for some so powerful.

"So why did you come here?" Shiseru inquired.

"This village has something of interest to me so I came to offer you deal." Shiki explained.

"What could this village possibly have that one as powerful as you may desire?" Shiseru asked.

"The Ama no Hoko! The Reason the old Village Head betrayed us." Dokku revealed.

"Indeed!" Shiki confirmed.

"I require the Saezuri as well as the method to properly use it. In return, I will save both this village and the neighboring Hacho Village and put them both under my protection, that they may never be attacked in the future." He made his offer.

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P.a.t.r.e.o.n is officially up!

The link is: https://www.p.a.t.r.e.o.n.com/lusoba without the extra dots of course.

You'll get to read up to FOUR week ahead, a full month, but I'll still post here.

There's also my other novel Archon of DanMachi, do check it out!

I would greatly appreciate any support since this is going to be my breadwinner.