The Sakura Legend

Red Shoal Island

After asking around Red Shoal Town for a while, Sakura, accompanied by Hinata and Shino, finally located the site where the old altar once stood.

The area was now occupied by an impressive four-story building. Its main doors were open, revealing a sparsely populated interior. It seemed to be some kind of shop, though its purpose wasn't immediately clear. A plaque above the entrance read: "Red Shoal Teahouse."

"Alright, let's go in," Sakura said, looking towards the entrance.

"W-Wait, Sakura," Hinata stammered, her face flushing pink. "I don't think... this is the sort of place we should be entering."

"Hm? Why not, Hinata?" Sakura asked, turning to her teammate.

"Because... well... it's... it's..." Hinata fidgeted, blushing furiously, unable to articulate the reason.

"This is a place where yūjo reside," Shino stated suddenly, though there was a hint of awkwardness in his logical tone.

"Yūjo? What's that?" Sakura asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Ahem... This is a type of pleasure house," Shino clarified, a bit stiffly. "A brothel."

"Eh?!" Sakura blinked, glancing back at the elegant sign. It clearly says 'Teahouse'. How could it be a brothel? She wasn't entirely naive; she'd seen plenty of such establishments during her travels with Jiraiya, but those places usually had a distinct, less refined look. This teahouse possessed a quiet, almost scholarly elegance that seemed completely at odds with that kind of business.

"Ahem, yes. It is a more traditional, older style of establishment," Shino elaborated.

Sakura peered through the entrance again, momentarily speechless. "Okay... Hinata, can you use your Byakugan? Scan the area around this building, see if you can find any remnants, anything that looks like it might have been part of an altar."

"Mm," Hinata nodded, activating her dōjutsu. Almost immediately, her face turned scarlet, and she snapped the Byakugan off.

"What is it? What did you see, Hinata?" Sakura asked quickly, concerned by her reaction.

"N-Nothing... nothing important," Hinata managed after a moment, though her blush remained vivid. "I'll... I'll continue."

Watching Hinata, Sakura strongly suspected she'd accidentally seen something highly inappropriate. Sakura hadn't expected people to be patronizing such a place in broad daylight, but she supposed the stranded merchants, bored and wealthy, needed some form of entertainment on the isolated island. The teahouse must have been making a fortune these past few days.

"There's nothing special," Hinata reported after another scan, deactivating her Byakugan. "I couldn't find any structures that looked like remnants of an altar."

"Okay, I understand." Sakura felt a pang of disappointment, though she'd been prepared for this outcome. Now, everything hinged on whether Kiba could identify the creature from the bite marks. "Let's head back and get some rest for now. We have to be ready again tonight. I'll go find Kiba and see if he's made any progress." Without waiting for a reply, Sakura headed off.

She found Kiba still diligently examining the torii gate.

"Figure out what made these yet?" Sakura asked.

"No dice," Kiba sighed, scratching his head in frustration. "There's just no known creature that matches these teeth marks."

"Hmm~ Maybe it's a species that's never appeared on the mainland before," Sakura mused. "Alright, new question: give me your analysis. Why haven't we encountered the monster these past two days?"

"Maybe... it's scared?" Kiba suggested. "Animals are way more sensitive than humans. Maybe it sensed us here and decided to lay low."

"Mm, that's definitely possible," Sakura agreed. "But that's a problem. We can't find it if it stays hidden, and the moment we leave, it'll just come back out. We can't complete the mission like this."

"Could we maybe use some wood shavings from this torii to lure it out?" Kiba proposed.

"But the monster won't come out if we don't leave," Sakura pointed out with a helpless sigh.

"Then let's tear down the torii, move it to the beach, and hide somewhere far off," Kiba suggested logically.

"Headman Soga would never agree to that," Sakura countered, throwing up her hands slightly.

"Well, then I guess we just wait," Kiba said with a yawn. "Since it's clearly targeting this gate, it's bound to show up eventually. Might as well treat this mission like a vacation."

Sakura shot him an exasperated look. While the idea wasn't entirely without merit, her sense of responsibility wouldn't let her drag the mission out indefinitely. No choice. I'll have to try reasoning with Headman Soga again.

She circled back to the headman's residence. He wasn't in the usual reception area, so Sakura, after a moment's hesitation, hopped silently over the wall into the courtyard. She recalled Ryuichi mentioning that Soga's family had all passed away; both times she'd visited, the large house seemed occupied only by the old man himself.

Sakura wasn't planning on stealing anything. It was just that both her conversations with Soga had left her with a nagging feeling that he was hiding something significant, despite his outwardly cooperative facade.

She moved quietly through the house, checking room after room. Most were unremarkable – the main reception hall, a bedroom, a tea room. Nothing seemed out of place.

Finally, she opened the door to the last room and found something different. It was starkly empty except for a single low table placed against the far wall. The table was covered with numerous carvings.

Sakura approached cautiously, examining the display more closely.

This... this is an offering table, she realized, recognizing the arrangement. The carvings were lined up with obvious care. An ancestral altar.

But the carvings themselves were peculiar. At the highest position were three simple, pillar-like wooden cylinders, inscribed with the characters 天 (Heaven/Sky), 高 (High/Tall), and 神 (God/Spirit), respectively. They bore no other decoration. Below these were two humanoid figures with deliberately blurred faces. And further down were twelve more figures, depicting both men and women, also with indistinct features.

The wood of all the carvings looked ancient, certainly not new. Sakura scanned the room again. Besides the altar table and its carvings, the room was bare. Something feels off... unless this table isn't just a simple ancestral altar.

She leaned closer, studying the carvings. From a slight distance, one could discern the basic shape of faces, but their specific features were impossible to make out. Up close, they remained frustratingly blurred. The skill of the carver was remarkable!

"What are you doing here!"

A low, grim voice spoke from directly behind her. Sakura froze, every hair on her body standing on end. Pure instinct took over; she drew a kunai, spun around, and threw herself backward.

The room was small, offering little space to retreat. Changing tactics mid-motion, Sakura channeled chakra to her feet and leaped upwards, sticking upside down to the ceiling. She stared down warily at the person who had materialized soundlessly behind her.

Her eyes widened in shock when she recognized him. It was none other than Headman Soga.

Sakura didn't lower her guard. She had snuck in, her senses heightened, yet this old man had approached without making a sound. Normally, no ninja should have been able to get the drop on her like that. Unless... Headman Soga's abilities are leagues beyond my own.

A bead of sweat trickled down her forehead. For a terrifying moment, she felt the overwhelming urge to turn and flee immediately. So he was hiding his true strength! But why couldn't I sense any chakra from him?

"How did you get in?" Soga asked again, his voice suddenly shifting back to the slightly quirky, almost impish tone she remembered from their first meeting. "And what exactly are you doing here?"

"How did you get so close to me?" Sakura demanded, keeping her kunai gripped tightly, ready to bolt at the slightest sign of trouble.

"Hey, hey, kid!" Soga bristled, puffing out his cheeks indignantly. "You break into my house, don't even bother apologizing, and now you have the gall to question me?"

"I came to discuss something important," Sakura explained, trying to sound calmer than she felt. Her kunai hand was slick with sweat. Soga's rapid shift in demeanor only made her more uneasy. "You weren't home, so I... decided to look around."

"Hmph," Soga scoffed. "Is this what they call being a 'ninja' these days? Sneaking into people's private homes?"

"Of course not," Sakura said quickly, bowing her head slightly from her upside-down position. "It was an urgent matter, so I acted rashly. I sincerely apologize for the intrusion."

"Doesn't look very apologetic to me," Soga retorted, gesturing pointedly at the kunai still clutched in her hand.

"My deepest apologies," Sakura said, reluctantly sealing the kunai away. She remained suspended from the ceiling. "But seriously, how did you approach me without making a sound?"

"How? I just walked over, simple as that," Soga replied dismissively. "You seemed quite engrossed in examining those things; you didn't notice anything else. Now, are you going to come down? Didn't you say you had something you needed to discuss with me?"

Sakura hesitated. "What... what is this place?" she asked, gesturing towards the carvings below.

"Hah~" Soga sighed dramatically. "So that's what caught your interest? These are carvings of my ancestors. They've been here since I was just a boy. This is where we honor them. You have similar customs on your mainland, don't you? I believe Ryuichi mentioned something like that."

"Ancestors?" Sakura felt a sliver of understanding, or perhaps misdirection. She finally released her chakra hold and dropped lightly to the floor.

"Come with me," Soga said, turning to leave the room. "This isn't the proper place for conversation."

Did I imagine it? Was I just overreacting? Sakura wondered, watching him walk away. That initial dark tone still echoed in her mind. Maybe I really am just exhausted from pulling an all-nighter. My senses could be dulled. She tried to reassure herself as she followed Soga back to the familiar ten-mat reception room.

"What?! Absolutely not!" Soga rejected Sakura's proposal almost before she finished speaking.

She had explained her idea: carefully take a few shavings of wood from the torii and use them as bait to lure the monster into a confrontation. As expected, the headman's refusal was immediate and vehement.

"But Headman," Sakura argued, "if we just keep waiting like this, the monster might never show itself. And if it doesn't appear, we can't resolve this problem for you."

"If the monster doesn't appear, then you will stay here until it does!" Soga declared, his tone resolute. "We will provide for all your needs – food, lodging, whatever you require. But the torii must absolutely, under no circumstances, be touched!"

"But think of all the merchants and civilians from Ise Town trapped on the island," Sakura pressed, trying a different angle. "And if this situation drags on for too long, Ise Town's beef supply will be severely impacted..." She hoped threatening the economic partnership might sway him.

"No! It is absolutely out of the question!" Soga interrupted sharply. "If this is what you came to discuss, then please leave. We can discuss any other matter, but on this subject, my answer is final. No."

"Do you know why the monster would gnaw on that torii?" Sakura asked abruptly, changing her line of questioning.

"Th-That..." Soga stammered for a fraction of a second. "I... I don't know. Why would it?"

He hesitated! He knows something. Sakura caught the subtle slip. He'd started to say something else then quickly corrected himself. It only further confirms the existence of that energy...

"I don't know either," Sakura replied smoothly, deciding to keep playing ignorant since Soga was doing the same. "But I discovered numerous bite marks all over the torii gate. I theorized they might belong to the monster, which is why I suggested this desperate measure."

"Nonsense!" Soga immediately shot back. "During the disaster decades ago, no monster ever touched the torii! I know this for a fact! Your hypothesis is completely baseless!"

"Eh? It didn't?" Sakura was genuinely surprised by his adamant denial.

She paused, recalibrating. Okay, let's set aside the possibility that Soga is secretly ridiculously strong. As Kiba suggested, the monster might be hiding because it senses us. If Soga was powerful enough to handle it, he wouldn't have hired Konoha ninja in the first place.

But this new information was confusing. Sakura had assumed Soga was refusing her plan simply to protect the secret of the torii's energy. Yet, he now claimed the monsters didn't chew on it during the previous attacks... So where did those ancient bite marks Kiba found come from?

Is Soga lying to me now? Sakura mentally cursed not having Karin and her sensory abilities on this mission. This situation was proving far more complex than anticipated. But what benefit would he gain from lying about this specific detail? My plan only involves taking a tiny amount of wood; it shouldn't hinder the torii's function if the wood itself is the source...

"I am absolutely certain!" Soga insisted vehemently. "Back then, the monsters only caused trouble out at sea; they never once set foot on shore! That was precisely why we were forced to start relying on cattle for food! If those creatures had come ashore, we'd all have been slaughtered long ago!"

Sakura stared intently at Soga's face for a long moment, searching for any sign of deception. Seeing none, or perhaps seeing only conviction, she sighed inwardly. "Alright then. Thank you for your time. I'll take my leave now."

Though Sakura remained convinced the torii was the monster's ultimate target, Soga's unwavering refusal left her without options for her current plan. She needed to find another way.

As Sakura walked away, Headman Soga visibly relaxed, letting out a quiet sigh. He sat still in the reception room for a moment, eyes closed in thought, before standing up and heading back towards the room containing the ancestral carvings...

It was already late afternoon by the time Sakura left Headman Soga's residence. She found a small eatery and ordered some of the island's famed beef, eating distractedly.

For some reason, the image of the carvings on the offering table kept replaying in her mind. There was a strange feeling nagging at her, a sense that she had overlooked something important.

She meticulously recalled the details: The carvings... the wooden cylinders inscribed with 'Heaven,' 'High,' 'God'... the blurred faces...

...Wait.

Suddenly, Sakura's pupils contracted slightly. She finally realized what was wrong. The three cylinders had characters – 天, 高, 神 – carved onto them. Soga had claimed those carvings existed when he was just a child, over ninety years ago.

But Soga also said the island only gained a written language after outsiders arrived – he even mentioned hearing about it from Ryuichi! Her mind raced back, connecting the dots. She recalled her thought about the Lord of Chino Castle potentially being the one who introduced writing. If writing was introduced after Soga was a child, then how could those ancient-looking carvings from his childhood already bear written characters?!

She had been too tense, too focused on Soga's sudden appearance back in that room, to notice the glaring contradiction earlier.

This means... the island must have possessed a written language long before the outsiders Soga mentioned.

And if that's true... then... it's possible the history of this island has been deliberately erased or hidden.