Bridge 32 ( Bodyguard geto!)

After that brief moment, things calmed down slightly in the room. I still had my head buried in that woman’s chest but the somber mood was no longer so heavy. She seemed happy enough with my offer even if it was not what she wanted.

“Thanks, Ito-kun. Sadly since I can’t take you away with me I am going to have to hold up my end of the bargain.” She spoke out lightly as she held onto me.

I stiffened in her arms but let out a sigh. I could argue that she did not but who was I to say those things? I had no clue about the intricate games being played in the background. I had stumbled my way into this world and I was lost for a good long while.

“Don’t worry too much about it Ito-kun I don’t like Kiri very much but I suppose I can take pleasure in the government that dealt with my clan is being devoured from the inside.” She spoke out quietly. Clearly not fine with the direction things were playing but knew that they needed to go this way.

I looked over at Ringo to see how she was taking this woman's words but she just shrugged. Ringo may have been born and raised in Kiri but her attachment to this place was incredibly low.

The bloody mist policy made no friends for the ninja populace. Instead of encouraging bonds and mutual growth Kiri made killers plain and simple. To them, a ninja is a tool that can be used and discarded as they please. As you can imagine a policy like that did not encourage loyalty.

It was not even good for the village in the long term. Sure, using this method they were able to get a stranglehold on assassination contracts but they were strangling their potential by killing off half of the graduating class.

It’s not just about having numbers to pad war time but sometimes Ninja can be late bloomers. Jiriya was considered the loser of his class and he now stood on the very pinnacle of the world. How many clanless ninjas were killed because they did not have the resources to show off their potential?

Ninjas like Zabuza were a rare breed. Most of the graduating classes were filled with clan kids as they had the ability to teach their children advanced justu and hone their edges. That fact was one of the contributing factors to the blood mist policy being accepted by the populace.

The civilian ninja populace could remember the hopeless despair of that graduation day. That desperate struggle as they killed their classmate to make sure they would live to see another day. The fact that those clan kids came to class like it was all a big game bred endless animosity toward the clans.

I would say it was a brilliant move from Madara and Obito to ruin the Mist but this was a policy that had been going on far longer than them. Obito certainly made the polices more bloody but he did not cause this cancerous system to be born.

“I can’t say that I know what is going to happen next but I will help you revive your clan miss,” I spoke out firmly. I kind of fumbled with my words as I felt the urge to promise her to show my resolve but binding myself was not a good idea.

“I would say you are an overreaching brat but you really know what you are doing. Or you have been stumbling on paths that led you here. Either way, you have probably won yourself a rather steadfast protector.” Ringo shot out as she polished her blades not really paying attention to the woman still holding onto me.

“You may have rejected my kidnapping Ito-kun but your bodyguard over there is right. I will protect you with everything I have. I will throw away my pride, my dignity, and the last embers of my life if it means you will see another day. You don’t even have to revie me if I die for you Ito-kun. I just hope you will revie my clann when you have a shot.” She spoke out while patting my head. I scoweled at being treated like a child but I was one in this case.

I opened my mouth to say something but hesitated. I look over at Ringo and bite my lip.

“How trustworthy is she Ringo? I have a lot of secrets and having another person protecting me as I grow would be great but if she is going to stab me in the back I’ll slow my roll down.” I spoke out while looking as serious as a child could be. Ringo seemed to get my message as she just rolled her eyes.

“Prudent. Trusting me is not a usual ninja tacit so you are making massive ground here. Let me put it this way Ito-kun. I will protect you as my veins bleed out and summons tear me limb from limb. I need you healthy so I will ensure that you live through whatever is to come. Although I would prefer you do not challenge Yagura again.” She spoke with an incredibly focused look on her face.

“You can trust that she would rather pull out her own heart before she would risk offending you,” Ringo spoke out from the side as she looked over the women for a good long moment. Said woman only gave a sheepish shrug but did not deny what Ringo said either.

I got it, she needed me and she would be whatever I wished for her to be. If only because she desperately wanted her wish to come true. I looked over at her with some hesitation as trusting her with what I could do was a bit much but it’s not like my abilities would make me more valuable in her eyes.

I could run with Ringo whenever I wished so reaching out to trust this woman should not be too bad.

“I have some more abilities that I have been hiding from the Rebellion….I am going to trust you with that information…. Actually can you tell me your name? You never actually introduced yourself and it’s been driving me crazy.” I spoke out after a moment of looking at her seriously.

The woman wore a serious expression on her face till I got to the second part of that sentence. Then she blinked and paused before letting out a laugh.

“The name is Tsuyukoi Uzumaki. Not used to introducing myself but I should have known better.” She spoke out sheepishly while patting my head. I finally had a name to associate with her face. Seriously would it kill people to introduce themselves when meeting me?

“It’s nice to meet you Uzumaki-san,” I say awkwardly as I look over at her. She frowns at my words for a moment.

“You can call me Tsuyukoi Ito-kun.” She spoke out softly but with some steel in her voice. I raised an eyebrow as I did not expect that sort of reaction from her. I looked over at her trying to figure out what was driving this reaction but I was not seeing anything.

“Okay, Tsuyukoi-san. Now, I have been feeling a bit confided int eh Rebellion so I was going to take Ringo on a little trip. Since you are signing up to protect me as well then you are coming along as well.” I spoke out seriously. She blinked at my words before looking over at Ringo who shrugged at her.

She looked back at me with hesitation but a bright smile on her face. She clearly did not want to stick around here either.

I motioned for Ringo to come over and take her hand. I then offer my other hand to Tsuyukoi. She looked a bit confused but took it. As soon as I made contact with both of them I activated the Kaleidoscope while narrowing down he range to Low Fantasy.

We were dragged in a swirl of ever-expanding colors as the blind eternity showered us. It was just as bad as it was before with everything and the kitchen sink assaulting my senses but it was over quicker. Apparently having a destination made things a bit easier even if said destination was also random.

We appeared in a medieval-looking city. I took a hesitant look around. The place had western styling with large stone walls surrounding the city. The city looks busy and lively so there should be no war going on here right now. Than again worlds with Demon Kings were able to offer somewhat peaceful cities for the heroes to hang out in.

While we drew some attention from our sudden appearance it was not at the level our appearance warranted. So this society had some sort of magical element going on.

I tried to listen in on the conversation going around us. There was a lot of random chatter but I was able to get the city name. We had arrived in the city of Lurden.