Chapter 171: The Echo of Byakuren, Part I

Two weeks had passed since the last mission.

The sky above Kirigakure was leaden, yet no rain fell. The air was heavy with humidity, and the ground slick and soft beneath the sandals of the four young shinobi heading east toward the Village of Minakusa, beyond the Mizuashi Swamp. The path was narrow, twisted, and the broken branches along the way seemed to whisper stories of their own.

Kurara walked at the front, her face more relaxed than usual, but her gaze remained sharp. Behind her, Shin — straight as a spear — watched every movement around them, while Shinji dragged his feet with a bored expression, hands behind his head.

"Whose brilliant idea was it to send us out again so soon after the last mission? Two weeks isn't recovery, it's a lunch break," Shinji grumbled.

Suiren, walking beside him, smiled without turning her head. "You could at least thank the Mizukage for the trust, Shinji-kun."

"I'd prefer a hot bowl of ramen. Maybe two."

"Quit whining," Shin replied without changing tone. "We've been assigned a C-rank mission, not a stroll in the park."

"Yeah, yeah, escorting some old cartographer and his maps. Riveting."

Kurara turned slightly, curious. "But why now? Why does a cartographer need protection?"

Suiren didn't respond right away. Her eyes half-lidded, her mind distant. "The Village of Minakusa is close to the old sacred swamp. They say there's been... unusual activity lately. Maybe bandits, maybe something else. But the mission is simple: escort Natsui from Minakusa to the western border, where a team of jōnin will take over."

"And what's a cartographer doing in a place this remote?" Shin asked, suspicious.

Suiren shrugged. "He charts ancient maps of the Land of Water. Some say his work is so precise it's considered historical."

Shinji yawned. "Maps. Wow. What an adventure."

The path narrowed with each step.Jutting roots, dry branches, invisible insects whispering in the silence of the swamp.Wooden planks creaked under the Team Suiren's steps, suspended above still water that mirrored the sky.The village of Mizuba appeared before them like a memory suspended in time.

Homes built on stilts, dark wood, moss-covered sloped roofs.Small bridges connected the buildings, creaking, damp.The air smelled of mold and fermented rice.No sounds but the wind rustling through reeds and the distant cry of an animal.

A figure waited at the edge of the dock.

"Welcome to Mizuba."The man wore a gray hood, his back slightly hunched, his voice slow, almost melodic."My name is Kyōro, I am the village caretaker."

Kurara leaned forward slightly, observing the few villagers peeking from behind their shutters.Cautious eyes. Distrustful gazes.No greetings. No smiles.A subtle chill that had nothing to do with temperature.

"I'm Suiren, and this is a team sent from Kirigakure. We're not here to cause trouble."Her voice was firm. But the silence that followed seemed to absorb it.

Kyōro turned and led them along the suspended walkways to a small central plaza with a well and a large, rusted bell.

Kurara moved closer to Shin, who walked with steady steps and eyes fixed ahead.

"Have you ever heard of Mizuba or the Mizuashi Swamp?"Shin didn't look at her, but replied.

"Very little. In my clan's records, it's mentioned... once a sacred place used by early explorers. But nothing specific. Many pages... missing."

Kurara nodded slightly.Behind them, Shinji scratched his head tiredly.

"Sacred or not, this feels like the perfect place to catch swamp fever. Mud everywhere, rice humidity, and I bet the only bathroom is frog-infested."

Kurara smiled, but Shinji wasn't entirely wrong.The humidity clung to her clothes, and most annoyingly... she could feel chakra moving sluggishly, like immersed in a bog.It was hard to sense the flow around her. As if the swamp was absorbing it.

Suiren didn't speak.She watched. Always.

Kyōro eventually led them to a hut with a slanted roof and several scrolls hanging from the entrance.Some were scorched. Others… ancient.

"Here you will find Natsui. He is one of the few scholars left in the region."

Inside, the air smelled of ink and old paper.A lantern swayed above a table covered in maps.A man with long hair tied in a loose ponytail turned and smiled, giving a small bow.

"Greetings, shinobi of the Mist. Visitors are rare here."He had thin, precise hands. And a gaze that never quite rested on anything, as if always searching for a point just beyond.

Kyōro sat in a corner, silent.

"My name is Natsui. If you seek guidance through the swamp… I might be of use. Some maps no longer exist in official archives. But I… saved what I could."

"We don't need extra exploration," Suiren spoke for the first time since entering."Our mission is clearly defined. We won't delay."

But Kurara stepped closer, intrigued.The maps on the table showed broken routes, areas marked with strange symbols.

"You're from Kirigakure, aren't you?" Natsui asked her."Your name?"

Kurara stiffened for a moment.

"Kurara... and Yes... I grew up there. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just curiosity. Sometimes names carry echoes of things long lost."

Kurara blushed slightly, then looked down.She felt something, a vibration in the way he had said that sentence.But she couldn't decipher it.

"Tomorrow I'd like to show you an old trail. It leads to a shrine in the swamp. It's been there... since before us. I think you'd find it interesting."

"The mission comes first."Suiren cut the proposal like a blade.Natsui smiled.He didn't insist.

Outside, the sunlight had faded.The fog settled thick like a burial shroud.Seated on a step, Kyōro slowly sharpened a small knife, his gaze lost in the distance.Every so often he looked toward the hut.

Suiren stood under the porch, arms crossed, breath calm.She watched the dark waters lapping against the village foundations.

This mission... something about it doesn't add up.

- - -

The night slipped away like the mist covering the docks, and a new day — identical to the last — rose over the swamp village.

In the small quarters assigned to Team Suiren, the constant drip of water from rooftops seemed to tick off time frozen.No one truly slept.The sound of frogs, of insects, and that slight tension clinging to the skin like humidity, kept any real rest at bay.

Shinji stretched with an exaggerated yawn."Two weeks off, and now we're back in the mosquito capital. Well done, us."

Kurara, already up, fastened her arm guard."It's still a C-rank mission."

"Yeah, but soon it'll be Z-rank just for surviving the climate," Shinji muttered, scratching his neck."If another leech bites me, I'm switching villages."

Shin was getting ready in silence. As usual. But this time, his brows were slightly furrowed.

Suiren entered the room with a firm step."We leave in ten minutes. Kyōro is waiting at the pier."

Kurara moved closer to Shin while packing her gear."You're the well-informed one… know anything about this village?"

Shin paused a second, thoughtful."Only brief mentions. Some clan records talk about ancient trade routes that passed through here. But then everything stopped. No notes on why."

"Nothing suspicious?" Kurara pressed.

Shin shrugged."Depends on what you call suspicious. This place feels like it forgot itself."

The group set off again, following Natsui, who awaited them at the dock alongside Kyōro.The path took them out of the village center, along narrow walkways built over stagnant water.Moss-covered logs, giant ferns, and a thick veil of mist that never fully lifted surrounded them.

"We're heading north," Natsui explained. "An old path that once led to a now-abandoned settlement. There might still be some useful traces for your map."

Kurara walked beside Shinji, who was mumbling to himself."Abandoned settlement… classic. Let me guess — crumbling houses, creepy noises, collapsing roofs?"

"If a roof falls, I'm pushing you in first," Shin replied without even turning.

Kurara chuckled quietly. "Didn't take you for the scared type, Shin."

He scoffed. "I don't have time to be scared. Too many things to keep under control."

"Like?"

"Like… you guys," he said seriously — though for a brief moment, a smile escaped him.

Farther ahead, Natsui turned to Suiren."I made a slight detour. There's something I'd like to show you along the way."

Suiren eyed him for a moment."What matters is that we stay on schedule. We can't afford useless delays."

"I understand," Natsui nodded. "But I think it might be useful. Or… at least interesting."

No one responded. They kept walking.

Behind them, Kyōro brought up the rear.His steps were slow, measured.From time to time, he turned to look back at the path they had come from.Then lowered his gaze to the knife at his belt.He didn't touch it.Not yet.

The sun hadn't been visible for hours, and yet the day was already advanced.The swamp gradually opened before them, revealing a small plateau of firmer land, where the ruins of old wooden structures rose from the mud.

Kurara approached one of the buildings, examining the blackened remains of a stone support beam."They look ancient… but no visible seals."

"Just remnants of dwellings," Natsui cut in. "Maybe there were markings, but time erased them."

Shinji sat on a rotting crate."Only thing they want to erase here are our footprints — the second we step too far."

Kurara looked at him, then let it slide.

The day kept slipping by, but the mystery of Mizuba remained unmoved.No ancient chakra, no strange presence.Only humidity, long silences… and shadows that moved just slow enough not to be noticed.

And in the fog, Kyōro kept watching.

[Thanks Everyone for your support, specially:

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