Thud!
Thud!
The sound of blows being connected or deflected rang out of the courtyard. Murakami and Katsuro went on with their exchange for a short while longer before Katsuro jumped back and made a couple flips to distance himself from Murakami.
Seeing Murakami didn't give chase and remained standing, he finally relaxed. "Oi oi Murakami, are you sure you're 12?"
"Do you give up?" Murakami directly ignored the question and asked him.
"I don't know how you trained to have such a hard body, but those won't help you from here on out." Katsuro said and made a hand seal. "Don't complain going forward."
Murakami immediately felt it.
A familiar shift in the air around Katsuro, an invisible wave to all except for sensors.
With that activation, Murakami noticed the shift in Katsuro's shadow. "The shadow possession technique…" he muttered to himself as he watched the shadow slither towards him.
He considered avoiding it, but then shook off the thought. This was the perfect opportunity to get a taste of the shadow possession abilities.
Soon the shadow possession took hold and Murakami was shocked to find every factor of his physical ability restrained.
'What is this…?' he thought in mild apprehension. 'Calm down and assess my situation,'
As he introspected, he found that his body's overall system had not been hijacked, just the external body.
His chakra still flowed, his breathing wasn't hindered, he could control his haze, although he couldn't tongue he could still produce sounds in his throat.
Knowing this, he came to a new understanding on why the Nara clan are feared. An average Shinobi will be at his mercy if there aren't subsequent plans made beforehand.
To Murakami though, this wasn't a problem. "While this is an interesting ability, Katsuro, it has one glaring flaw."
Katsuro's eyes showed confusion as he heard Murakami's voice despite the person's mouth being shut.
"You don't have to look surprised. It's a nifty technique I came up with." Murakami's voice came again and Katsuro was forced to frown and look deeply at Murakami.
"Is this the flaw?" Katsuro asked. "While it restrains the physical body, it doesn't do the same to chakra."
"Exactly. As of now, you're already in my genjutsu, although not harmful, it could very well be…especially since I just finished circulating my chakra."
"What?" Katsuro had a disbelieving expression but the next moment, he saw a ball of chakra form on his hand. "Impossible…"
"Heh." Murakami's teasing sneer rang out but his expression was still neutral due to the shadow possession hold on him. "Impossible is a word found in the dictionary of the weak."
As soon as his words fell, the ball of chakra in his palm expanded slightly before exploding in a controlled blast that shook the earth between the two of them, raising dust clouds in the process and destabilizing the ground.
"Let me ask you this." The dust clouds were still obstructing their view but Murakami's voice rang straight into Katsuro's ears. "Of the four…where do you think you are?"
There was a long stretch of silence as the dust slowly cleared out. Murakami knew the nature of the Nara clan and wasn't in a rush for an answer.
"Honestly, I'd rather not be in the room in the first place." Katsuro's reply finally came as his figure came into view.
He sighed and slumped down on the ground. " Come on Murakami, I've known you long enough to know what you're driving at."
"The village, the clan and personal wealth…You want to know which takes priority in my life as a shinobi."
Murakami didn't say anything and just kept standing opposite him, his hands hanging loosely at his side.
"Remember what I said about our clan? We've always chosen our own path. Even if I choose the village over the clan or the clan over the village, what matters is that I decided on that path."
"Hmm. Let's take a break then." Murakami did not comment on the answer and turned around, walking to his balcony.
Katsuro groaned as he stood up and followed behind. "Which of the four do you fancy yourself to be, Murakami."
Murakami paused and slowly turned to him, looking him straight in the eyes, he said. "I'd like to see myself as the one who set up the room."
"Oh." Katsuro didn't know what to make of the answer, but seeing Murakami smile and continue on his way, he didn't dwell on it.
They soon reached the balcony where they sat down. "I need your help with something."
Murakami said after a short moment of silence.
Katsuro hummed. "What is it? As long as it's not going to pull me into some conspiracy, I'll try my best."
"I need some quality hides. Amongst the clan of Konoha that deal in animal life, your Nara clan and the Akimichi clan are most prominent." Murakami paused and looked at Katsuro expectantly.
"Uh…that's a very complicated request."
"I know. With the war and everything else going on, it'll be difficult to acquire certain quality products, but that is not an issue for you as a Nara." Murakami said with a reassuring smile. "Money is not an issue to me either."
Katsuro was immediately tongue tied before he pouted. "That's going to be a hassle on so many levels."
"Do it properly for me and I'll give you something interesting as a graduation gift." Murakami patted him on the shoulder and laughed lightly.
"Something even you consider interesting?" Katsuro perked up a bit. "Hmm. I'll look forward to it then."
The two stayed there chatting for a long while before Katsuro had to leave.
Murakami saw him off before heading to the main Lotus store. Upon arriving, he stopped for a moment to take in the atmosphere in the store.
With his numerous seals in place to give the store a modern ambiance, the store always had people walking through it.
As for fear of theft, that was nonexistent. Murakami's anti theft seals worked to make that a possibility.
With one final look, he made his way to the top floor where Hina's office resided.
Upon arriving, he pushed the door open and walked in, making no effort in masking his presence.
"Oh? Murakami-kun." Hina called up, a bit surprised. "I didn't expect you to be joining us today." saying that, she put down the scroll she was going through.
"Me neither." Murakami said as he slopped down on a soft round mat opposite her. "But as the situation demanded it, I had to come."
"What situation are you referring to?" Hina quirked her brow. As far as she knew, anything that could bring Murakami to the store must be important.
"Pertaining the leather craft I want done." Murakami replied and picked up a piece of sweet from a jar on her table.
"Oh, I have to apologise, Ishida-san hasn't gotten back to us regarding the craftsmen, it's expected to come in tomorrow at the latest." Hina said in an apologetic tone.
"Hmm." Murakami hummed. "I'm not talking about that. I already expect favourable news from him. I'm talking about the raw materials for the things I want made."
"Oh. We haven't really gotten any leads on that." Hina said as the topic was brought up. "As you know, with the war going on-"
"I know." Murakami interrupted with a polite smile. "You don't have to worry about that. I already got someone who will deliver on the materials."
"Really?" Hina looked genuinely surprised, and for good reasons.
"Hmm," he modded. "I'm here to make a withdrawal from my personal funds."
"I see. How much do you need?" Hina asked as she pulled out a short scroll, unfurled it and picked up her writing brush.
"400,000 would do. I am not aware of the prices and I didn't bother to ask, but I am sure this will suffice." Murakami said and paused as though thinking through something. "If there is a remainder, I'll be using it for personal reasons."
"Hmm." Hina nodded as she penned everything down, folded the scroll and sealed it. As soon as she was done, she used a minor communication seal on her desk to call on an attendant.
"Would you like to wait here for the money to arrive or would you return and I will arrange for it to be delivered to your doorstep?" Hina asked as she waited.
"I'll wait." Murakami said. "It's been a while since we both had some time to ourselves. Let's use the opportunity to catch up."
"Ara~? Murakami-kun doesn't have something more important to be busy with?" Hina teasingly asked but didn't get to continue as a knock rang on the door.
"Come in." Hina said as Murakami's figure disappeared.
A young lady wearing the Lotus store green kimono stepped in. "You called, Hina-sama."
"Yes I did, Natsu-chan. Take this to Hashimaru and have him take care of it." She said and handed her the scroll.
"Understood." The attendant, Natsu-chan, bowed and elegantly walked out of the office, closing the door behind her.