The Ghostly Traveler

Her life with Kaguya is fun. She provides for her, teaches her about Japanese, about the politics and warfare, about clan management and public relations. She would always open the next page of the book she is reading, because Jessica is a ghost, she can't touch anything. She would spend her time trailing and annoying Kaguya.

At that time, she didn't know the world she fell into was the world of Naruto, the world of ninjas and chakras and wars and bloodsheds…

Kaguya is kind, in a way like a kind and understanding sister, and also in an annoying nagging mother way, and Jessica is grateful for that.

And Jessica provides her with a listening ear, and advices in occasional, because those are the only things she can give to Kaguya.

They rely on one another.

If Kaguya is a source of unlimited power, of yin and yang, of spiritual and mental, then Jessica is the emptiness, nothingness, the void. They balance each other. In a way, they are similar to yin and yang, to the balance of spiritual and mental energy that was needed to form chakra.

But Jessica is a mass of conscious spiritual chakra, so perhaps that description doesn't really fit.

Jessica was Kaguya's support when she got engaged. She listens to Kaguya's familial problems. She provides Kaguya with stories and entertainment as she got pregnant and was restricted only in her room.

And when the first child was born, a set of twins, complete with Otsutsuki's trademark horns and grey skin, Jessica was in awe at Kaguya's expression of fondness and care, as if the two babies were her world – her universe.

She named the baby Hagoromo and Hamura– Hagoromo and Hamura Otsutsuki.

Jessica lightly joked that she might be unable to help Kaguya with the babies, since she is a single and unable to come in contact with anything. Kaguya just shook her head exasperatedly, saying that she will be appointing Jessica as her children's teacher when the time comes. Kaguya laughed when Jessica blanched in horror.

But as it turns out, teaching the twins were not as traumatic as she thought it would.

At that time, she still had not realized who they are, what roles they play in this world.

She mentored the two sons, and they grow and grow and grow…

And then the both of them discovered the skills they had – chakra manipulation – a skill that only Kaguya, eater of the Shinju Fruit, should have.

Years of being labeled as strongest, as Rabbit Goddess, took a huge hit, and it was her sons who were threatening her position. Madness spurned with jealousy and power and the sadness that the realization that it was actually the sons that she loved oh-so-much…

And so, begins Kaguya's descent to insanity.

She tried to stop her, she really did. She reasoned to Kaguya that perhaps it passed down to the generations, that it is normal, and that she doesn't need to be worried because no matter what Kaguya was the one who ate the Shinju Fruit so she was always, will always be the strongest.

Kaguya didn't take any of that.

And before she knew it, Kaguya became a monster and her two sons fought against her and then she was sealed inside Hagoromo and then she was left alone in this world with no way back to her own world and only Kaguya have the power to rip dimensions and oh god with Kaguya sealed how can Kaguya keep her promise to return her home…

And she mourned and cried and Hagoromo and Hamura tried their best to cheer her up and apologize for their actions but then, they needed to do it because otherwise who knows how many lives will be taken by Kaguya…

But wait… Jessica had thought… doesn't this story a bit familiar?

A mother who ate fruit of a divine tree to end war, who has sons she became jealous of and she ended doing genocide but was then sealed by her son….

Ah… Jessica belatedly realized… It's the story of Sage of Six Paths, from the anime Naruto…

And then she felt even worse and cried even louder and Hagoromo became even more panicked because damn he did not have any lessons on how to handle crying untouchable woman and Hamura had already given up because she just kept on getting louder and louder and louder…

And finally, like water bursting from a dam, she blurted everything out, about the anime Naruto, the Tailed-Beast, and oh god Kaguya will come back in the future to destroy the world and that this is just so messed up and damn she should have realized this sooner and how could she return back to her own world without Kaguya's help?

And Hagoromo, sitting silently by the side as she continued her tirade, in a way, was comforting.

No, not Hagoromo, it's Sage of Six Paths.

.o0o.o0o.

Since the first time Jessica opened her eyes in this world, she had always wondered why is the dark sky so blank? There's something very important that is missing in the night sky…

The moon…

Ever since sealing the Ten Tails inside Hagoromo, he went travelling around the continent, teaching and sharing chakra to the people. The Otsutsuki Clan remained in their beloved cave, restoring and recovering the damage of the Ten Tail's attack.

Jessica, on the other hand, continued to wander aimlessly, sometimes she searched for Hagoromo just to annoy him, other times she just float around in the air doing nothing…

And then she realized she became sleepy, and slumbered for the 50 years to come. But when Jessica opened her eyes, expecting to see the blank night sky, what she saw was the huge silverish orb far, far up in the sky…

The moon…

She found Hagoromo surrounded with the nine Tailed Beasts as he taught the beasts the human language, his body clearly becoming weaker and weaker.

The Ten Tailed Beast had been separated into ten parts. 9 of them were the Tailed Beasts, who prowled on the lands, the 10th part, the skeletons, was thrown high, high up in the night sky…

As the moon.

'Old man', that's what she called him. It's the truth no matter how much Hagoromo tried to deny it. His body, which was supposed to live up to thousands of years, no longer held the youth and power ever since Hagoromo created the moon. Hamura came to visit, but he was still as young as ever.

And for the first time, she met Hagoromo's children, Indra and Azura, who were already full grown men. The two were baffled by her appearance and mannerism as she teased Hagoromo and Hamura endlessly. Indra, in particular, became enraged at the blatant disrespect she was showing Hagoromo.

Indra's and Azura's expression upon being told that she was actually their mentor was worth remembering.

Hagoromo passed away few days later, naming Azura as his successor.

The whole Otsutsuki Clan went to the moon few days later, Hamura carrying Hagoromo's dream for peace.

But Indra…

Jealousy, burned by hatred and thirst for power grew and flourished in him.

Just like Kaguya…

And the feuds between Uchiha and Senju started before the name 'Uchiha' and 'Senju' became their clan name.

The only thing she can do was to promise to Hagoromo's grave that she'll try to stop the both of them.

.o0o.o0o.

The Tailed Beast separated way, dispersing into the world in an attempt on familiarizing with humans and their environment. There were several attempts of the Tailed Beast trying to aid a human, only to have the human in a fright at their size and intelligence.

And all that was left for her to do was to bother each and every Tailed Beasts, or just do nothing at all. Sometimes she tried to mend the Uchiha's and Senju's relationships without revealing herself, but still, it was kind of hard because she can't hold a pen to write.

And then she found out she can possess humans.

The first host was an unconscious and injured human girl she found lying on the forest. Possessing her was an accident, but she didn't regret it because she finally felt alive once more. She can feel! She can touch!

But it was soon forgotten since her head was throbbing very badly and she can feel the pain in her ribs and the bear bite marks on her arms.

She quickly went to the nearest village and asked for treatment.

At first, she was overwhelmed with the worry that the villagers showered her, but it seems like this girl was known to be an angel in the village, so she let them be. It didn't hurt that her treatment was actually free. And then her real trouble comes when it comes to possessing someone she didn't know…

"Sis! Sis!"

A family member – a young boy – started asking about her. Is she fine? Does it hurt? Dad was worried! And is the bear very scary?

Jessica was at lost at how to react, but there was that urge, as if she knew really well about what she is doing, as if it was a habit grained deep in her mind, but in actuality, it doesn't.

She ducked her head with a blush, muttering a low apology and assuring him that she is indeed fine, before silently walking behind her brother.

Jessica, in her entire live, had never ducked down in the presence of a male; she was silent and contemplative, not submissive. But somehow, this urge…

A subconscious tug, perhaps she doesn't need to worry about being out of character by too much. She decided to stay longer.

But to her eternal horror, this body that she was borrowing was actually going to get married to a greedy fat noble as a concubine.

She decided then and there that she is leaving, no matter what.

Her first plan was to leave the body she was possessing, but at that time, she was still new in all of this and how in the world could she know about how her possession works?

If she failed to leave the body, just remain in the body and run the hell away, because no way was she getting married, not even if she was given tons of gold, not even if her husband is a bishounen of the right age trying desperately to get her attention. The most she would do was just to reconsider him.

She found out that the body has chakra running, but her spiritual chakra mingled a little with the mental energy of the body. And she ripped them apart, her ghostly form thrown out of the body, and the girl was left with no memories of her possession.

The girl moved on, a little bit drowsy but otherwise she was fine. She continued on, as if Jessica had never possessed her, as if she knew what Jessica did during her possession even though it was only unconsciously, as if Jessica's actions during her possession was actually her actions.

But she can feel it, the remains of her own chakra mingling with the girl's spiritual energy. She can still control them; it still bends around according to her wishes.

And the girl froze and moved in a way that Jessica wanted her to move.

Like a puppet

A puppet without strings.

Puppets who doesn't even realize that they are a puppet.

(And that was how she made 9 great loyal shinobis destroy their own beloved village.)

.o0o.o0o.

Her first ninja possession was a Hyuuga child by the name Ryuugo Hyuuga. She didn't know he was a Hyuuga at first, because the boy was unconscious and bleeding. She just possessed the child and went to the nearest medic.

She learned how to control chakra, how to fight effectively because at that time the Gentle Fist style was not yet formed, how to actually act like a boy to her eternal embarrassment, and how to use the Byakugan. She learned effectively of the difference between a normal human and a ninja.

But then the parents and elders of her host started pestering her about marriage and she was horrified at the thought of marrying a woman when she was actually a woman herself.

She left the body.

But then she realized, life is going on smoothly. She could see that Hyuuga stoniness in the boy, together with the slight mischievous streak he had when she possessed him, and also, there was a bit of her personality in that Hyuuga boy.

That is something she knew will happen if she went as far as possessing a young child and grew up as part of the child.

.o0o.o0o.

Another of her memorable possession was when she possessed a certain woman.

She grew up with a man who she felt comfortable with. There certainly was love, but she was unsure of what kind of love she felt. Is it friendship? Familial? Lover?

And unexpectedly, the man proposed to her and, with a red face, she actually accepted the proposal. She became part of his clan of blacksmiths, reining an unexpectedly clingy and possessive husband.

It was… embarrassing, but she can't say she hated her time as a wife.

It came as a shock to her when one day, when she was done picking berries with fellow wives, she came back to ruins of her village, with Shukaku the One Tailed Beast roaring, sand dancing around wildly, crushing and turning everything into a big whole mess.

The body went into shock, and Jessica tried desperately to mend the mind back together, but it was useless, the mind of this body was broken beyond repair, she can't do anything anymore but to leave the body.

But how can Shukaku, who belongs to the desert, stand here within fogs and mists? Shukaku loves staying in hot, dry, windy, sandy place, so why bother going to somewhere far away where everything is wet and cold and moist?

The answer came in one word: Kyuubi

She should have known better.

She raided the whole lands in search of Kyuubi to rant on him, but she never mentioned her encounter with the man she planned to spend the possessed body's life time with. She never told anyone about the person she became close to during her possessions.

And then her name, Jessica Huang, became only Shika. It was only coincidence that Shika means Deer. She has no prior connection to a deer.

.o0o.o0o.

Jessica became a wife, a warrior, a blacksmith, a dancer, a wife of the 'blessed' clan, a tavern owner, one of the 'blessed' clan members, a princess, a healer, a loyal maid, a samurai…

She no longer remembered just how many identities she took, but she did remember that one time she tried to possess a bear cub and a flying eagle. The muscle movements came hard when she tried to control it consciously. It was a mess because the eagle fell and splattered to the ground and she still possessed the eagle.

It was painful.

And then she helped the three avenging merchants that will rise into a powerful clan in the far-far future. She taught the merchants how a man from a 'blessed' clan thinks, how a 'blessed' clan operates, how to survive and how to fight, how to handle the normal people when you are part of a 'blessed' clan, how chakra works and how to use them…

They succeeded their goals, and built shrine and glorified her name even though she was red faced and insisted they stop, because how could she rest calmly when there are desperate people coming to her shrine? She'd be tempted to help them.

The three of them shared a wry grin. She left them to do what they want, but in return, she requested the three of them, together with their descendants, to guard a set of scrolls.

The scrolls were written in a language she knew almost as well as her Korean Language, the English Language, which spoke about whatever she could recall about the timeline in Naruto's world, which was a lot, as she followed the story closely.

Just in case if she forgot. No one can possibly decode an entirely new language after all. And she knew the three clans will guard it zealously.

And the name 'Shika no Kami', 'The Red-Tipped Shika' spread. Shika became considered as a god who listens to their wishes and desires, who brings justice to the people, who protects and guides the lost doe.

'Shika no Kami', the god who grants wishes.

Her shrine immediately became popular.

And Jessica cursed the three clans under her breath for made up stories and major exaggerations in the stories that really did happen. She shouldn't have left them to their own device.

.o0o.o0o.

Less of her time was spent possessing a body, and she was always spending her time fulfilling wishes.

She didn't fulfill all of the wishes. There were those who made stupid wishes, and those who made selfish wishes, those who wish for other's misfortune and those who wished for something impossible.

There was one who comes to her shrine asking for the success of his new slave trading business. The next night, his slave trading business plunged for the worst, and the slaves managed to escape.

There was a worried mother who brought in an alive, yet unresponsive baby. She gave the baby a bit of her spiritual chakra and that sheen of light returned to the baby's eyes.

There was someone who wished her brother to be healed from whatever sickness it was. The next morning, a bottle and a description of how to use it were placed in an open window.

And there was once, a memorable wish, belonging to an orphan boy who pledged for power for him to avenge his family who was burned to ash by his uncle.

The first wish Shika granted, after all, was the wish to fulfill a revenge, as long as the revenge is righteous, she found no mistake in doing so. Shika was a god of wishes after all, as long as the wish is righteous and possible enough.

To him, she became a teacher, a guide, a companion, and a spy in his quest of revenge.

Faintly, she wondered of the unborn Uchiha boy who will pledge for revenge to a man who destroyed his clan. Will he, too, come to this shrine?

.o0o.o0o.

The Three Clans

He was sleeping when he met her.

Her hair multiple shades of blonde and brown, before ending in such a strong blood red.

He has never seen her, never knew of her, so why would he dream about this stranger? Why was she so detailed and vivid? Why was she wearing clothes that were to foreign for him?

Yamanakas prided themselves in their mind organization. He had never seen her, so that left only one possibility.

Mind Possession

"Who are you?"

"I'd like to borrow your body."

And the strings of his body's control were snatched. He felt his physical eyes opening, his body standing up, and then his legs stepping and stepping and stepping…

Meanwhile, he was here, struggling desperately to take over what was his. He tried to thicken his mind's defense, he tried to form mental attacks against the intruder, and he tried to block her strings against his body.

But it was all futile.

He was the Head of Yamanaka Clan, prodigy in the art of mind possession, so how could a stranger defeat him in mental skills so easily?

"There's no need to worry," the womanly voice said, "I have no negative intention."

And he cannot do anything other than to wait and watch what his body was doing from inside his mind. The Shika Shrine came into view, and his body entered it. Shika Shrine was a holy place, only the Head of Yamanaka, Nara and Akimichi can enter.

What would this stranger need in this recently built shrine?

The Forbidden Scrolls

The scrolls that was passed down, generation to generation, the scroll that his late father told to guard, the duty that he shared together with the Nara and Akimichi, the scrolls that they kept secret and forbidden to open, the scrolls that they had just moved into this particular shrine together with their clan admittance to Konoha…

There must be something inside, a jutsu, a technique, a forbidden story, a secret…

Shit, he's not going to let this stranger place a hand on those scrolls.

"Calm down," the woman's voice resounded once more, "I just need to check on some things inside the scrolls. I'm worried that I might forget some things."

That's right… calm down… there were seals inside, pass codes which no one outside of Nara, Yamanaka and Akimichi knew of.

There was a small statue of a deer and a woman. People believed Shika no Kami took the form of a Deer, therefore they are more prone to choose deer, while in actuality, Shika is a human woman. This fact was only known to the three of them. All that was needed was a drop of blood and a little chakra pulse while in contact with the human statue.

The intruder did exactly just that. And the seal opened, the place shifted, revealing an underground path.

"How-"

.o0o.o0o.

She did not want Madara to know of her existence, but she needs to somehow save Kurama from being sealed. Being sealed only made assembling the 9 Tailed Beasts harder; therefore the harder it was to summon Kaguya back.

So she strived for that.

When Hashirama, the First Hokage of the first Hidden Village sealed Kurama into Mito, his wife, she was angry, so she ranted and ranted and forced Hashirama to made an oath that he will not seal any sentient being anymore.

But then, he broke his oath for the sake of calming the remaining Hidden Villages. For the sake of something as stupid as 'equality', so that the other nations will not try to attack Konohagakure because Konoha is way too strong.

Did he not realize that war damages are the greatest if two villages have the same power? That there will be less damage if only one nation triumphed them all? She admits that it was unfair, but it was in this way that there will be less war.

And it was in this way that she can return Kaguya easier.

So she left some of her spiritual energy in 9 strong shinobis, and when the last of the Tailed Beasts was sealed, chaos blooms, and the Hidden Villages burns, and 9 loyal shinobis was labeled traitor.

Even when they were merely puppets.

.o0o.o0o.

Inozo Yamanaka sighed into his pipe, relishing the moment of peacefulness that finally reigned in the Elemental Nations.

It was a first for everything. Back then, before Konoha was even built, it was days and days of continuous tension and war. There was unrest, looking out for the direction of the war and doing their best to avoid it. The war between Uchiha and Senju dragged a lot of the other clans.

Thankfully, Shikato proposed a treaty with the Senju. They will aid any injured Senju clan member they see, in turn that the Senju clan warn them of their plan. He made it clear that they have no wish whatsoever to get involved in the war.

Senju accepts.

It was one of the reasons they can be here, inside Konoha.

But the recent event of betrayal…

9 great shinobi from all Hidden Village was subdued and killed for genocide.

Currently he was in the sacred ground, Shrine of Shika no Kami, one of the grounds that Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi shared within Konoha. He stood in front of the small shrine, relishing every detail that happened few nights ago, before the 9 Betrayals, when Shika no Kami came to check the scrolls.

Somehow, he has a feeling that Shika no Kami was somehow involved in the betrayals. The timing was just so… coincidental.

He observed the small statue of the human girl, finally realizing the uncanny similarity between this statue that was made hundreds of years ago and the girl who had visited him in his dreams.

There were many mentions of how Shika no Kami influenced the three clan, but Inozo has always considered them as fake. He believed there was no god, and even if there is, they won't place themselves low enough to mingle with humans.

So that night was… a revelation for him.

Yamanaka's Mind Techniques was modeled after Shika no Kami, who can possess people with ease.

That was also true, after all. The Yamanaka Technique holds no candle against Shika no Kami's skills.

He felt someone behind him. Heavy steps, strong and sturdy…

"Chouruo? What brings you here?"

The Yamanaka's instinct went haywire when Chouruo smiled in that odd, weird way, so different to how Chouruo would usually smile. Shikato entered the shrine too, eyes trailing after Chouruo in that suspicious, suspicious way that the Nara only makes when there was something seriously wrong.

Chouruo ignored the trickling tension. He turned towards the statue, prickling his finger jerkily with a kunai, as if he was unaccustomed by the movements, as if his body was not his body at all, and then smearing blood on the statue of the girl.

"Chouruo," Shikato drawled, "What are you doing? There's practically nothing down there."

Chouruo ignored him as he went down the underground path, Inozo and Shikato following closely after closing the entrance. There was a silent agreement between the two of them, and that they were going to confront Chouruo down there.

Chouruo went to the end of the path, unlocking the seals and opening the huge chest. Eyes darting around the chest in search of something before Chouruo finally took out a scroll.

Shikato stretched his shadow, stopping Chouruo from unfurling the scroll, but oddly, there was no struggled coming from Chouruo.

Chouruo sighed uncharacteristically, before looking at Inozo, as if waiting for him to explain the situation. Inozo ignored that in favor of his tingling paranoia. He used his mind jutsu against Chouruo.

For a moment, all he saw was haze, mist, fog, and then there was a figure – Shika no Kami – before he was promptly thrown out of Chouruo's mind.

Inozo stumbled, but otherwise he kept his balance. Shikato sent a worried glance his way.

"Shikato, let Chouruo go." Inozo rasped out, "It's Shika no Kami."

Shikato furrowed his brows, and Inozo could see that his genius Nara brain turning to make a connection between the dots, before Shikato finally let go of his shadow.

"Much better," Chouruo commented with tones and inflections that Chouruo would never use.

Chouruo opened the scroll, rolling it on the ground, revealing words and letters that Inozo remembered seeing on that night. Those writings that was entirely different than their own language. Their own writings were full of elegance, tiny inflections and flowing motions, but the writing in the scroll was arranged, several sets of simple characters lined in one horizontal line.

Shikato's eyes trailed at the length of the scroll – the Forbidden Scroll – now laid on the ground and open for him to see.

Chouruo used the finger that he had pricked earlier, crossing out some lines and adding some notes in that same odd language. He rolled back the scroll, returning it to the chest, and taking another thing – a glass bottle – out.

For a moment, Chouruo observed the bottle, turning it around, inspecting it with such sharpness, before thrusting the bottle to Shikato.

"I'd like to see what you three can make out of this." Chouruo said, "It is sweet smelling sake as old as 300 years old, so it's extremely strong and intoxicating. Also, please change the pass code of the inner shrine. That idiotic Hokage know about me, and I don't want him snooping around this particular shrine. Oh, and don't be surprised if that idiotic Hokage landed himself in some embarrassing situations. He was practically asking for it."

There was a pause, and then Chouruo blinked a few times, shaking his head, before coming into full alert. "Why am I inside Shika Shrine?"

And then there was a wisp of smoke, and a girl with red hair tips appeared, feet inches from the ground. "Lastly, the three of you stay strong together, and also your descendants. You have my aid and blessings."

With that, the girl leaned back, passing through the cave wall, before disappearing in wisps.

.o0o.o0o.

"Humans are puny."

Somehow, as she lived on, she found herself believing that line Kurama said years ago.

Long ago, when she was cornered like that, with nowhere to go, she would have stuttered out something unintelligent. But now, she felt that it was just a chore, as if the one blocking were just buzzing flies that don't know when to stop.

Perhaps that was why she just waltzed into the Yamanaka's body, because either way no one is capable of stopping her possession. Perhaps that was also why she ignored the Nara's inquiries when she possessed the Akimichi's body to check the Forbidden Scrolls, because either way, she can get back to the scroll. She just needed a physical body to unroll the scroll.

She can possess civilians and children with ease, but those who had mental trainings proved more trouble, especially those she had never possessed. The Yamanaka can form a struggle in the mind, and the Akimichi had decent training courtesy of being close with Yamanaka. It made moving the two shinobis weird and jerky. The muscle memories don't help because they were both trying to get her out.

Yamanaka can still recall her time possessing him, but the Akimichi doesn't seem to remember. It's the only consolation she had. At least the three clan heads knew of her existence and will not be attacking her when she visited next time…

Humans are such a chore.

She found herself shivering in discomfort when her mind actually believed it.

Perhaps that was also why she gave the three of them a bottle of 300 years old brandy that she made a long time ago because she is curious about the taste of the most delicious brandy. Some sort of apology, since she knew she was in the wrong right then for thinking such things.

But their faces at receiving such impromptu gift from Shika no Kami were worth remembering.

.o0o.o0o.

It was an important council meeting. The heads of each clan were talking with one another, but Shikato himself leaned on the table in an attempt to sleep, even though sleep is impossible with all those sounds.

Uchiha Head were having some sort of glaring contest with Tobirama Senju and Hyuuga Head. Inozo took to himself to drag Chouruo to socialize with the Inuzuka, Sarutobi and Kurei Clan Heads.

And then as if there was some sort of curse, Inozo noticed him lazing around and invited the group to his seat. Shikato huffed in exasperation.

"Ugh!" the Inuzuka Head's hand rose to pinch his own nose, "What smell – Oi, Nara! You've been drinking sake before coming here? Why didn't you even invite us over! How did you even find such strong sake?"

Shikato raised his eyebrow, sniffing his arm, smelling the sweet dizzying smell that he had became familiar recently, "I didn't drink sake, I just got an… interesting substance and I've been testing it together with some Yamanakas and Akimichis."

That bottle of strong smelling sweet sake that Shika had given him. He has been trying to incorporate it as a hallucinogen after realizing its strong intoxication properties.

"Such interesting subject it is," Inuzuka snarked, "I guess I'll have to avoid your clan compounds if this kind of smell is thick in the air."

The Hokage entered the room just then, and the clan heads started to return back to their respective places.

"There's a problem that requires your attention," the Hokage started. "We have 5 Great Shinobi Villages, and several minor hidden villages, all accounted and their existence recorded."

"What is wrong with that?"

"Copies of this letter were on each of your tables. Please read it." Hashirama gestured to the piece of rolled parchment.

There was a moment of silence as everyone did as told.

"Impossible! Are you saying that there was another shinobi village and we don't know of their existence up till now?"

"There was a probability that this is an elaborate prank."

"There should be signs of a growing shinobi village. We should've been able to notice the discrepancies before the village was fully formed."

"The other Kages also received the same letter," Tobirama interrupted, "sent directly into their own office even though it was well guarded. Its scale is too large to be a prank."

"Yureigakure, Hidden Village of the Ghosts. That's a pretty eerie name."

"Is there something wrong with this letter, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes," Hashirama answered, "this letter was actually sent a few years ago. We thought that this was an elaborate prank in the beginning, but we still keep a lookout. It was only recently that we are able to confirm the existence of the village."

Tobirama continued for his brother, "My squad was doing a scouting mission slightly outside Land of Fire when we saw Kiri shinobis attacking someone we assumed as civilian, as he held no ninja head band. But this civilian moved like a seasoned shinobi and knew taijutsu and earth jutsus, and has excellent genjutsu skills. We decided to stay back and watch."

"The man was overwhelmed by Kiri shinobis and was injured badly. We saw no point in aiding him as he is not Konoha nin. But then, his chakra became weird, spiking and plunging in an abnormal rate, and his movements started to change. It was like a berserker, his body was unhindered by pain and exhaustion. We decided to detain him after he got rid of Kiri nins. The man was now chained in the hospital for Chakra Exhaustion, but my squad is guarding." Tobirama ended his brief report.

"And how did you decide that he comes from Yureigakure?"

"Before he went berserk," Tobirama answered, "He said, 'I guess my errands for Jessica-sama and Yureigakure will be unfinished. Hopefully, the only one to join the Lake of Blood is your blood.'."