-five days until Kenzo returns home-

  Pov: Naruto

  Come on... just a little bit more... I just need to keep focusing... haaaa- never mind, I give up.

  I drop the leaf on my palm and y on my back, staring at the ceiling I wonder to myself- why am I so bad at this? Why can Kenzo do it so easy while I cant?

  There has to be a trick to it or something- I refuse to believe I am a talentless loser... if Kenzo can do it than so can I!

  I sit up straight and pick up a leaf to pce in the centre of my palm.

  ...

  ...!

  I look up and see that gramps has appeared in the academy training grounds I am at.

  "Gramps! What are you doing here?" I ask as he walks up to me.

  "Hahaha- I came to handle a few things for the teachers of the Academy... I saw you training well as I left and came to have a look" Gramps smiles and scans my hand for something... probably my ck of ability.

  "Hmm? Still stuck on chakra control? Cant do the clone technique?" He asks and kneels down.

  "Yeah... but I will get it down Dattebayo!" I decre.

  "That you will Naruto, how is it living without Kenzo for a bit?" He asks me.

  "Boring! I didn't realise how boring my afternoons where without training or hanging out with Kenzo- I do get to eat ramen everyday though..." I drool and imagine my dinner- ramen of course.

  "Hahaha- of course, well you enjoy your training Naruto, and make sure to at least eat something healthy for your brothers sake" Gramps tells me and gets up to leave.

  "Bye gramps!" I wave as he leaves and he returns it with a smile.

  ...

  I kind of want ramen now.

  I get up and dust myself off before running out of the Academy training grounds and rushing through the streets, soon I reach home and open my favourite cabinet that holds all my precious, precious ramen!

  ..!

  Wait! I could use the money in Kenzo's safe to eat Ichiraku's! I walk over to his bed and pull out the safe from under it.

  I enter the code... three different times before getting it right- *click* I look inside and see bundles of cash, some scrolls? What do these do? Oh- right, storage scrolls.

  I wonder what he has stashed in here... hehehe, I grab a few and open one... various unique clothes? Emergency food? Ninja kits? Masks? What does he need all these for...?

  I grab the money and close everything back up before shoving it under the bed.

  That's an emergency kit to leave isn't it? Why does he have that? Is Kenzo leaving? Why would he pack something like that at all, doesn't he like Konoha? Doesn't he want me to be Hokage?

  I pocket the cash and walk outside to Ichiraku's... maybe he is just prepared for anything that could happen... like another big evil fox thing that happened here a while ago.

  ...

  ---

  Pov: Kenzo

  ...

  I'm sick of this pce- nothing is adding up and the only evidence we have is that the owners of the inn we are staying in is a bit odd.

  That's all- a whole day of searching and nothing to show of it.

  "Are investigations always this long?" I ask.

  "For ninja? Yeah... if we aren't guards at a post or anything the missions get really long, sometimes these things can be months at a time due to being given little information and having no leads... luckily C-ranks have a one month limit on spending our time, we will be leaving within a week however, if we cant find a trace now we wont ever find it" Kurenai tells me.

  "Got it" I lock that away for ter... in the future I have to ensure interesting missions for my system to reward me.

  "Any chance the brother could have just ran away? Didn't like his family or something?" Kanata asks.

  "Unlikely... he was going to that city to fill out forms for his family farm..." Katsuko adds.

  "Why are we all sitting in my room?" Kurenai-sensei asks.

  "Because... your cool?" Kanata replies.

  "Brainstorming together" Katsuko says.

  "Because your cool" I nod my head sagely.

  "Right... any other thoughts from you three? Any suspicions?" Kurenai yawns and flips through a page in her book.

  "Owners didn't seem scared of us... they seem menacing to me, at least that is what they sound like, cant actually see them or anything" I tell them.

  "Menacing how?" Kanata ughs.

  "They don't speak like elderly people... try to stay away from us... and they have a certain confidence to their words and actions- decisiveness that contrasts with the indecisive nature on meeting us all the time... plus- we are investing one man and they said many are missing, we haven't heard anything about that- might be a slip up" I tell my opinion.

  "Good catching on the slip up- its what caught my ears at least, Kanata? Katsuko? You notice anything?" Kurenai-sensei asks and I hear the ancient song sing a melody of joy and victory emanate from her.

  Joy? Victory? Oh- she is testing us isn't she, I bet she knows exactly what's happening here, that's why she can confidently leave within a week.

  What did I miss? Surely I didn't miss something with my eyes did I? I haven't even seen the older couple... hmm...

  "Well... it is strange that the two owners have no idea on how to run this pce... but they have to be the owners, our employer gave us the description of this pce alongside the owners description" Kanata says.

  "Katsuko?" Kurenai asks with a smile.

  "... are the owners the bad guys?"Katsuko asks.

  "Kenzo, you are on to something, Kanata maybe not and Katsuko I am afraid you are only half correct" Kurenai says.

  "You know what happened?" I ask seriously.

  "Of course... have you?" Kurenai-sensei asks with smirk.

  "Wait! You did it!? Cant we go home and py violin!!" Kanata jumps up excitedly.

  "I did it... and not my young and trainable genin" Kurenai chuckles.

  Kanata deftes back onto the floor and turns around in annoyance.

  "You cant sleep in my room" Kurenai says sternly.

  "I wasn't!" He gets up and storms out of the room.

  Why is he so angry? Cause he cant go back to py violin? Why is he so addicted to that thing? Hmm... maybe I should py some genjutsu for him ter.

  "I suppose we will leave you to it sensei" Both me and Katsuko follow after Kanata into the hall.

  Menacing owners.

  But also timid to us.

  ...

  Maybe I am looking at this all wrong, I can hear them being menacing but maybe I am relying on just one sense when all others tell a different story... maybe my hearing isn't all that at its current level.

  If we ignore my hearing.

  Timid owners who cant clean.

  Multiple people missing.

  Confidence behind the panic around ninja.

  They are hiding something definitely, and it seems that Kurenai-sensei figured it out after talking to them as thats when she stopped investigating- that means I should go speak to them.

  I turn down the hall instead of following Katsuko up it.

  "You aren't going after Kanata?" Katsuko asks me.

  "Not now Kat, I am going to speak with the owners- if I succeed and Kurenai-sensei forbids me from helping... probably your best bet too, go talk with Kanata" I tell her and then walk down to the owners door.

  *Knock Knock* *Creak*

  "Hello young man" The old dy smiles at me and I hear the Old man grunt behind the door... he is gripping something.

  "Hello dy- are you gonna ask if I need something?" I say.

  "..." She stays silent and I can practically hear the wooden bat being gripped tighter and tighter by the old man behind the door.

  Okay. They are definitely trying to keep me out of here...! I got it! Kurenai spotted something in this room, she went up to talk as well- I listen intently to the room in order to find any clues with my hearing.

  "Do you... need something?" The old dy asks with more confusion than anything else.

  "Maybe... maybe not" I reply and cant find anything... have to drag the conversation out.

  "Well if that's all..." The old dy starts to close the door.

  "Wait- I need help finding the tea bags in the kitchen downstairs... you said we can help ourselves right?" I ask of her and try to say my sentence as slow aw possible.

  "Yes... first cabinet on the left, just as you enter- cannot miss it" The old dy turns her body and begins to shut the door again.

  *Snap!~*

  A civilian or two is easy to entrap with my genjutsu affinity and skill.

  I step into the room as both owners stand completely still as they were.

  I stare through my blindfold and have a look around the room- trying not to catch the two in my gaze... gold neckce alongside many other rings and neckces on the bedside table- definitely that family heirloom, matches the description perfectly.

  Now... what did they do with the guy himself? Probably dead... or trapped and alone somewhere, I would have been hearing him screaming or trying to get away if he was in this building.

  So somewhere else?

  I scan the room more and find another clue, how did sensei manage to find this stuff in a small conversation at the door? Jonin magic surely.

  Its a bunch of old rope under the bed, blood stains on it... unless the owners are freaky than I can assume that these are for captives.

  I look some more and find a map on the wall to the left- it marks out a few tourist locations... and also a pce belled 'buyer', maybe they sell the kidnapped people? They part of a human trafficking scheme?

  Who to? The only camps around there would be bandits and such, no big operations that need manpower... maybe they want the people for other things, or maybe they sell them for a better price in some other pce.

  Hm.

  At least we know where to go now.

  I step outside the door and face the dy before snapping my fingers once more.

  "Thanks for the help!" I smile and rush downstairs so they can hear me head into the kitchen.

  I dip out of the kitchen and head upstairs to Kurenai's room, I open it and give a thumbs up before leaving to the others.

  *knock*

  I give a knock to the door and see Kanata opening it, seems Kat has calmed him down, great.

  "Found a clue, want to travel two hours away from here by foot?" I ask.

  "...sure" Kanata turns and grabs his ninja tools while Katsuko gets up and goes to her room in order to get her stuff.

  We walk downstairs and see Kurenai-sensei standing at the entrance.

  "Kenzo, I will take these two. You stay here and keep an eye out understood? This may be an... enlightening experience if we have to fight and, if forced to- kill the 'buyers'" Kurenai tells me and I nod my head.

  That's going to be a lot for those two- best to have sensei with them, unfortunately I have been through a lot- mostly my own bullshit training so I am not in need of this desensitization of killing.

  Well... not in as much need as these two here at least.

  "Haha! See ya O!" Kanata ughs gleefully as they leave.

  He doesn't understand what he is about to do does he? Well, lets make some tea then shall we, I asked for it after all.

  I go into the kitchen and start pouring some tea for myself.

  As I sit down and sip I hear something i nn my mind, the itch of a notification.

  ------

  Complete: Investigation for a brother.

  Reward: Ten Bandits Challenge scroll.

  ------

  ...

  That's... I mean... I am almost certain that is worse than my other one entirely.

  What can I even train in there? Just taijutsu? Or moving target practice? I thought I would at least get something better for this mission.

  And why the reward now? They just left and haven't found anything yet? Maybe its because I cracked the case? Hmm... or maybe its a reward for completing half the quest?

  I don't know, time will tell.

  I listen in on the two upstairs and wait.

  ---

  Pov: ???

  What next? What else to add? What else to gift? My orange box has so many uses... and yet I cannot find any fun with it.

  My mortal is pying safe with my challenge scrolls... useless- what was the point of them if he doesn't challenge himself?

  I need something new.

  I need something to make it all the more interesting.

  What else is a 'system'? The watchers vaguely told me about it and I have tried to capture its 'beauty' as they called it... titles... stats... skills... maybe css? No- doesn't make sense within his current realm.

  Shop? For what! He has shops within his vilge already... the watchers described systems as being unique... what makes my own unique? The use of my orange box?

  Perhaps I should add a unique feature to his list of many things... what can I grant this mortal? What would make things more interesting?

  The most exciting thing he has done is kill those three root agents.

  I need more of that.

  If I give him quests or challenges like that however... he wont prompt himself- he needs to be surprised and angry at what surprises him enough to kill that thing then and there, despite the risks and such.

  I refuse to put him in any stupid situations forcefully, that defies the entirety of what I want to do.

  I gnash my teeth and ripple my flesh.

  Who should I ask for advice? The watchers? My dear old friend? Bah! They would only mock me, I need to find something on my own.

  ...

  Csses... don't fit- but what about subcsses? Benefits for his shinobi life? No... he would keep that hidden due to his own situation.

  Abilities- not skills... something innate- bloodlines? Those red eyes or white ones perhaps? No... I hate copy and pasting things... something else.

  Some other abilities he can earn and use...

  Powers.

  Gifts.

  Evolutions.

  Something innate.

  Something without skill.

  Something that can be trained.

  Yes. I will set this up for when he arrives back in Konoha... that will be a quest reward.

  ---

  -three days until Kenzo returns to Konoha-

  Pov: Kenzo

  ...

  So- we handed over the two inn owners to some civilian authority, and both Katsuko and Kanata are down in the dumps, absolute train wrecks the both of them.

  It makes sense since their first kill was two days ago, it is very sad to see them like this.

  Was I like this once? I didn't feel that bad about killing those root members... maybe its different if you kill someone you hate, someone who tortures you- I killed them and forgot about them instantly... didn't have happy or sad thoughts about it at all.

  ...

  Am I a monster?

  I would be by my home pnets standards... but in this world? I feel as though I would get a light sp on the wrist for killing three people.

  I have definitely changed.

  But... then again maybe I never did? Maybe I was horrible in my old world and never killed anyone so I never realised I was...

  This is a lot to process, I need to save it for ter.

  Right now though- we are heading towards the brothers current location, he was sold to some rich person in need of a servant, Sensei is going to speak with the guy and get him back while we wait at the gates to the city and then escort him back.

  Simple and easy.

  Next mission I was told to let Kanata or Katsuko figure stuff out however... I do have a few cheats to use so it makes sense that I got to the finish line first.

  I would have never suspected the couple without my ancient song hearing, in fact I cant see them so I wouldn't of had a clue about the body nguage they were showing to Sensei.

  Haaa- I need more exciting missions, C-ranks are far too boring and long for me.

  Maybe in the future investigation missions will be better, no need to train three genin and all that.

  I yawn out loud and stretch.

  ... lets just get home quick, Naruto is probably eating his way through my emergency funds.

  Thanks for reading :)