Chapter 173: Making a Mountain Out of a Molehill
If Toukuma had to choose between Asuma and Kaidō, then Nauma and Kitane would definitely side with Kaidō.
That way, their Lightning Release Four wouldn't fall apart — and everyone would be happy.
"It's Kaidō. He's always like this. Asuma is our companion too, but he doesn't care about him at all. Whenever I bring up Asuma, he argues with me!" Toukuma said angrily.
Recently, Kaidō had been constantly clashing with her whenever Asuma's name came up. It made her both frustrated and upset.
Kaidō, on the other hand, was equally unhappy. The girl he liked wouldn't stop mentioning another man in front of him — it made him burn with jealousy.
He couldn't understand what Toukuma saw in that scruffy, bearded Asuma. Wasn't he more handsome? What were girls even thinking?
Expression dark, Kaidō coldly snapped back, accusing Toukuma of bringing up Asuma every single day.
"Where did I talk about him every day?! I only mention him sometimes!" Toukuma retorted stubbornly, unwilling to admit it. Even though she did talk about Asuma a lot, there was no way she'd admit that now.
She huffed and accused Kaidō of being petty — of not caring about a friend's safety and being cold-blooded.
That stung Kaidō deeply, but even though he was angry, he couldn't bear to raise his hand against the girl he loved.
Nauma and Kitane stood nearby, looking helpless. They'd already seen scenes like this several times recently.
Nauma sighed inwardly. Maybe after our shift ends today, I should talk to Chiriku. As the abbot of the Fire Temple, he's probably helped people sort out their troubles before. Maybe he'll know how to fix this tension between Toukuma and Kaidō.
But just as the thought flashed through his mind, a massive shadow suddenly fell across the courtyard.
A chill ran down Nauma's spine. He looked up — and saw a huge green bird soaring overhead. It circled twice, then descended, landing atop the high tower of the Land of Fire Daimyō's Residence.
With his sharp eyes, Nauma caught a glimpse of several vague human figures on its back. His heart tensed immediately.
"Stop arguing and look up!" he shouted in a low, urgent tone, pointing toward the high tower.
Both Toukuma and Kaidō turned and followed his gaze.
The tower — usually used by the Daimyō for leisure — now had a massive bird perched on it.
"What… is that?" Toukuma asked in surprise, eyes widening.
"It's a giant bird," Kaidō replied, narrowing his eyes.
Nauma frowned. "Toukuma, go call Chiriku and Kazuma — bring everyone here, now."
"Seriously? It's just a big bird," Toukuma said with disbelief. "Do we really need to alarm everyone?"
"Go!" Nauma barked, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"…Fine," Toukuma muttered, still thinking he was overreacting. It's just a bird… maybe it's resting. But since Nauma was the senior among them — their recognized leader — she didn't argue further and hurried off to summon the rest of the Guardian Twelve.
Once she left, Nauma turned to the others. His voice dropped low and serious.
"Kaidō, Kitane — be ready. I'm not completely certain, but I think I saw people on that bird's back."
Both men stiffened.
"Are you sure?" Kaidō asked, eyes narrowing.
"Not completely," Nauma admitted. "But it looked very much like it."
"Then that means…" Kaidō said grimly, "…it could be a ninja's Summoning Beast."
Something that big, arriving without warning — it almost certainly meant trouble.
Kaidō and Kitane immediately became alert, focusing entirely on the giant bird perched above. If it made even the slightest move toward the Daimyō's quarters, they were ready to rush in and move him to safety.
Inside, the Daimyō was currently undergoing his regular acupuncture session. He had given strict orders not to be disturbed unless absolutely necessary.
Nauma hesitated. Should he risk interrupting the Daimyō now? If this turned out to be a false alarm, they could all be reprimanded — or worse, dismissed.
So he decided to wait. If the bird did nothing, they would reassess once the other Guardian Ninja arrived.
For a while, the giant bird remained motionless atop the tower. Slowly, Nauma's tension eased. Maybe I really did imagine it…
Soon after, Toukuma returned — and with her came the rest of the Guardian Twelve.
Now, all eleven members were present — except for Asuma.
Kujaku, standing behind Kazuma, frowned impatiently.
"Seriously, Nauma? You called everyone over for a bird? Aren't you overreacting?"
Nauma glanced at Kazuma, who remained silent but clearly agreed with Kujaku's sentiment.
Before Asuma had left, the Guardian Twelve had split into two factions over a certain matter — the moderate faction, led by Asuma and including the Lightning Release Four and Chiriku, and the radical faction, led by Kazuma and the other five members.
Six on each side.
After Asuma's departure, Kazuma's faction had only grown bolder, often challenging Nauma's group at every opportunity.
Nauma sighed inwardly. Forget it. Let's focus on the real issue first.
He pointed at the high tower.
"I suspect that bird is a Summoning Beast. I think I saw human figures on its back. Kujaku — if you think I'm exaggerating, why don't you go up there yourself and check?"
Kujaku followed Nauma's gesture and looked up. Sure enough, the bird was massive — far too large to be any ordinary creature.
Maybe Nauma wasn't making a mountain out of a molehill after all.
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