A mailman was walking from one door to the other, dropping by packages and mail for the families to find once they wake. The elder had been doing this for many years, during the war, back when he was in his prime, he used to deliver mail not only in Konoha but also to other countries.
Serving as a Courier Ninja was a difficult job, one had to travel through countries that may not have always had the best of relationships with his own, one had to worry both about their reception, village ninja on missions and rogue ninja at the same time. Needless to say that the man enjoyed the tranquility that the twilight of his years brought.
Something quite odd hit the man's eye once he passed the street to deliver a package to the house on the other side of the street to the one where he was. A young man walked past him, almost like ignoring him and just kept on walking. His facial features were barely visible but what little the courier's eye did catch reminded him more of a young boy than a seasoned warrior, yet this kid had an immense presence and not the best of feelings around him.
He felt like bloody murder, just being around him creeped the old man out, as a man who served as Courier Ninja he had encountered many men with Killing Intent, this one's was nothing special, yet still surprising having the boy's early years in mind.
"Hey..." the courier tried to strike a conversation with the young man but the youth just kept walking quickly disappearing from the mailman's sight. It wasn't that big of a deal that this youngling was wandering the streets, after all, if he was inside the village walls that meant that he was let in. If the guards at the village gate found the youth trustworthy so should anyone inside the gate.
Still, very few were outside at such a time, it may have been four or five in the morning and so only those who were obligated to be outside usually were. It was not some fear for the village's safety that intimidated the man, it was the oddity of the boy's presence that confused him a bit. Just minutes after encountering the young silver haired boy who seemed to have let his hair grow far too long for the man's tastes he forgot all about the youth and just continued his job.
"To Meiko Wakizashi at the Kirikuzu Workshop..." the old timer read the next letter's address. The last name of the young lady who was the receiver of the letter sounded quite fake. These kids and their silly youthful heads, full of air... Back in the mailman's days, the last name of a clan was something to be proud of, to wear like a badge of honor, these days kids just ditched this honor for some fake sounding made-up names like "Wakizashi"
"Was Meiko Katana or Meiko Buckler taken? If she were my kid, I'd smack her good, smack the dumb name right outta that brat..." the grumpy mailman kept talking to himself as he headed towards the Kirikuzu workshop.
Talking to oneself may have seemed like an odd thing to do but it was how the man kept his sanity with him throughout the years of wandering the world during times of war. It was either talking to oneself or going mad from the combination of loneliness and fear that any small rodent below you could be a ninja disguised to catch you unprepared and steal all the mail, all the valuable information. The time of the old courier had long since passed.
*****
Mana tapped her foot impatiently by the Administration building. She informed Meiko by sending her a letter that the magician had finally done enough research about the Box of Ultimate Bliss to approach the Hokage with the information. The girl wanted to tell the Hokage about what she'd found out so that maybe the woman let the two of them out.
Both of them could actually use this little field trip. Even if they didn't find anything, Mana could have used the company of a friend as quirky as she was, also she wanted to know just how much of her abilities still remained. If she was attacked by a simple rogue bandit outside the village walls, could she still defend herself? Was there still hope for Mana to return to normal life? Maybe somewhere down the line, she could still manage to do a mission or two even without her chakra control.
There was also a hidden agenda behind all of it. It was the nature of the said box which the two of them would be looking for. Most of the girl's hopes towards the mission counted on it being a fail, maybe they'd explore some ruins, find some dead ends and Mana gets to scope out her own abilities and give Meiko some good time for that amazing service that the magician got in her father's workshop. There was still an astonishingly minuscule possibility that Mana with Meiko's help could find that box. That was where the magician suddenly started feeling bad. She wanted to use that box, use it for her own gain...
"Hey, Mana, wow, you actually walk dressed like that? I thought it was just a show thing?" Meiko sniffed in a fit of laughter into her fist. She should've been the last person to judge, she looked like a warrior from one of those fantasy plays about those orc and goblin things. Even in the ninja world those plays and movies sounded ridiculous. An old species of people-like barbarians living in the mountains? That sounded stupid even in a world where children breathed fire and summoned lightning.
"Yeah... Well, my uniform is very closely tied to my fighting style and my abilities as a ninja. I found myself without it during my last mission and it was a drag, I quite literally died without it" the magician shrugged, knowing fully well that her friend would get confused by that story.
For some reason, the magician insisted on keeping her loss of chakra control from Meiko. It may have become apparent at some point but Mana just felt too embarrassed to admit it. Meiko looked down on herself for being sloppy in terms of ninjutsu and other chakra manipulation techniques but Mana's chakra manipulation was completely lost.
The magician didn't want the blacksmith to think that the two were absolutely defenseless or hopeless or to kick what little remained of her self-confidence in the nuts. It wasn't all selfless however, a significant part of it was Mana's own embarrassment, she felt like a lesser being for not being able to do what she always could.
Her chakra used to be a part of her identity. Now she stood in front of a young woman who beat herself over being sloppy at it when Mana had absolutely nothing to say about it. Some people categorized ninja and their abilities into special groups: special ninja and physical ninja. It was an integrally flawed classification seeing how the best physical ninja relied on chakra to enhance their physical abilities, but, basically, a physical ninja was a ninja who fought with a weapon or their abilities of pure physical power or speed as opposed to illusions, ninjutsu techniques or seals. If Meiko felt like such a trash over being a lackluster special ninja, what exactly was Mana, someone who had lost all of it? Admitting her lack of chakra control would've made Mana admit that she was worse than trash in her own mind and she just couldn't do it.
"Huh? That's weird... Oh well, I'm glad you got better then! So, wanna maybe tell me a bit about that box? I know very little about it, I may have an interest with legendary weapons but I don't have that much of a fascination with artifacts" Meiko scratched the back of her head having decided that suddenly she was OK with Mana's attire and her style.
Meiko was dressed in an actual steel armor, it didn't cover all of her body but it was on her shoulders, some of the more sensitive arteries close to her neck, her chest and her knees as well as a little below the groin. The rest was all cloth or leather for easier movement. Just tough enough to protect her most sensitive spots but not restrictive enough for free and slick movement. It appeared that the redhead was quite ready to leave right after the two confronted the Hokage about it that was good, Mana had packed her things too but she left it at home. In the best case, all she needed was a brief drop by to pick them up and she was good to go.
"I'll be explaining it all to the Fifth anyways, she isn't the kind to know those kinds of things so you'll have all your answers then. Just know that if I asked you to meet me – the clues are solid enough" Mana encouraged the armored blacksmith with a gentle tap on her shoulder. It was strange how the magician could easily tell that her friend was worried just by how often and how much her chestplate lifted up every time she drew breath in.
After Meiko nodded confidently the two girls headed straight for the Hokage's office, waiting outside for a little bit before the ninja that entered before them could get their business straight with the Fifth. After the door opened Mana observed a bunch of kids leaving the office with a woman in a red dress and wearing a Konohagakure headband around her arm. The kids were fooling around, laughing and casually talking to their mentor who also looked cheerful enough, just how long of this childish joy could they have still had? When exactly would a tragedy make these kids realize just what the nature of this job was? Mana remembered being a lot like these kids one day, she had her reminder on the first day of the job what it was all about...
"Mana! You're staring, let's go already!" Meiko snapped the magician out of the stream of memories of her old team that started to take her over. The two walked into the office and Meiko slammed the door behind her. After the eyes of Mana, the Hokage and her assistant all fell on the blacksmith she just smiled awkwardly and apologized. Nervous Meiko was a bit cute, Mana had to admit.
"So... Have you finally had a medical ninja have a look at your chakra network?" the Fifth instantly asked, she looked really angry at Mana for missing all of her scheduled examinations for months. The last thing everyone in this building wanted Chestnut Hanasaku to be was angry...
"Ummm... No. I feel fine, I don't need examinations. In fact, I came here with an emergency mission I need authorization for" Mana tried to salvage her hopeless situation. A loud bang on the table silenced her instantly, having the Hokage's strength in mind it showed remarkable restraint that she didn't even grind the table into sawdust with a single tap.
"No way! I've already suspended your license until a professional takes a look at your chakra network and confirms that you are fit for duty. Whatever this is, you two can go now" the woman thundered out shutting the magician and her friend down, Meiko was already in the process of leaving.
"Wait! That means I'm not a ninja right? I'm technically a civilian at the moment?" Mana jumped up in surprise, as hopeless as the situation was, she had an idea that could've still salvaged it.
Hanasaku nodded, a little confused as to where the girl was going with it.
Mana put her hand and pulled out a cute but excessively oversized plushy wallet that looked like a bunny cuddling with a heart and unzipped it, slamming all of her ryo onto Hokage's table with a confident smile.
"Then I request to be a client of a mission!" Mana shouted out.
Hanasaku first stood up to yell at the magician but then thought about it for a moment and sat back down, she smiled so much that she was almost laughing so the woman had to hide her grin behind her own hands.
"Go on..." the woman's assistant encouraged to hear Mana's request out.
"Way back you gave us a C-Rank mission to find a hidden archive and retrieve a bunch of scrolls. I request a similar mission, as you know during my free time I spend a lot of time studying history, lore, and legends in the Konohagakure Archives. Well... I believe I found sufficient enough clues to claim that I found the possible location of the Box of Ultimate Bliss deep in the Wind Country desert" the magician explained, after giving that last bit of detail she heard Meiko complain behind her.
"Aw man, you should've told me it was in a desert, I wouldn't have worn that leather under my armor. Steel bruises are better than sweating my brains out!" the blacksmith complained before realizing that she interrupted everything and once again after the annoyed stares of everyone in the room looked at her the young lady blushed and apologized.
"Box of Ultimate Bliss?" the Hokage scratched her head. As expected Chestnut Hanasaku justified her reputation of being quite a numbwit, while the object was a complete unknown for most ninja, anyone interested in history or in a relevant position of power should've at least have heard the name.
The annoyed Hokage's assistant fixed his glasses and sighed, he waved at Mana, "Please explain it to Lady Hokage as non-scientifically as possible... She usually loses interest after ten words or so"
"Well... The Box of Ultimate Bliss is said to be able to fulfill any wish of its owner. After that, it disappears and reappears at a random location in the world. It is known to have appeared underground, underwater and inside volcanoes but it also had previously appeared right in a center of a village" Mana started from the most attractive trait of the box, just so Hanasaku properly understands the importance of the clues that Mana put together after almost a week of endless studying with just her magic show and secret workouts getting in the magician's way.
"I see... Why should I not send every ANBU operative and Jounin I have on call right now after the box?" Hanasaku scratched her head still relatively confused, "I mean... Something impossible sounding like that should attract the attention of every village in the world? Why isn't it in Sunagakure's possession right now, they're quite close to the desert in question..."
"That's because it's a longshot. What I've found describes the box's location but the box may have already been used and changed its location. Also handling the box requires someone with intimate knowledge of it, it is said that one of the First People sealed something inside of it and it is quite possible that careless handling of the box might make some of its power leak out and damage the environment or kill its possessor" the magician was preparing for this conversation for a while, she tried to foresee any possible angles from which the Hokage would try and bust her attempt at this which was odd – the Hokage never attacked a mission like this, even if it was a lady who lost her kitten or a man who needed to have his dishes washed...
"Something?" the assistant wanted Mana to explain in more detail. He must've been familiar with the box's reputation of being a wish-fulfillment device of legends but he had never heard about its origins and the story behind it.
"Well, it is said that during the early days of our world, back when it was still forming and shifting, there was a being so ancient and so evil that it controlled death itself. It is said to have come from somewhere deep inside the Earth, it just burst from underground and destroyed a small settlement, its very presence corrupted this world and threatened to destroy it. It was on the level of the Ten-Tails' power but whereas Ten-Tails was a force of nature, this entity was pure evil. Whenever during its existence a person died it became a puppet and served its needs, it might be said that this entity "created" death itself, some particularly crafty poets claim that what we know is death is just leftovers of that entity's malevolent chakra. However, that creature is now sealed inside a box the size of a ball and it is tied to the box's will"
"Wait... Are you sure it's a good idea to mess with that thing!?" it was strangely Meiko who interrupted Mana now.
"Absolutely, while the box is closed it is of no danger to anyone, even when it is opened the entity inside it would not be set free. There is not a being living or dead strong enough to break the chains that hold it although careless use of the box might leak some of its evil chakra out" Mana tried to calm everyone down.
"You said that this box can fulfill any wish its owner pleases, what's that about?" Hanasaku's face then suddenly shifted from a worried and somewhat relaxed to extremely serious.
"Well... It is said that the entity inside it wants to come out just for a moment and it rewards those who let it free for even a single free heartbeat by fulfilling their greatest desire. There are some people who claim that by finding the box they managed to bring their loved ones back to life, their claims are unimportant though, there is no solid proof that the box had ever been used since everyone who ever openly admitted finding it disappeared without a trace."
"It sounds like more trouble, if you find it and bring it back you will give Konoha a great bargaining chip but will also put a target on its back for any nation looking to test their military strength... Also... I hope this isn't about Tanshu... You're not trying to play me to use the box and try to bring him back, are you?" the Hokage stood up and turned to look through the window, to see her villagers go around their own business absolutely unaware of the matters being discussed in the Administration building.
"No... I am a firm believer that the Box of Ultimate Bliss has only cultural value and no mystical abilities. I wish to give it to the ownership of the Konohagakure Museum. If the mission is successful and the chances of this are one in a million... The clue is solid enough to come to you but not solid enough to make it a sure thing" Mana admitted, she did lie about the first part, she was quite on the believing side of the box's abilities and wanted to possibly use it if she found it to restore her chakra manipulation.
She was greatly pained by the Hokage's question about Tanshu, Mana would've brought him back if she believed there was such a chance. Still, it was years since Tanshu-sensei died, just what shape would he be back in? Could he even be brought back? What makes him so special to bring him back and not a bunch of other people that died like the Fourth?
Everyone had already achieved some closure with these terrible tragedies, to bring any of the two back would be to claw at those stitched wounds. There were just too many questions about this venture but Mana counted on using the box if they found it, claiming that she didn't find anything to Meiko and when they came back. A clue to a legendary artifact being a dead end was nothing too tough to believe, was it? Mana craved her chakra back, her gift, her identity.
"Very well... I shall make this a C-Rank mission because it is such a longshot and because the only danger seems to be the departure from the village walls. You will be followed and protected by three genin to the location of the said box, your mission is to validate the clue, just check its validity, do not touch or use the box in any way once you find it unless it is in danger of being compromised" the Fifth finally gave in.
"Wait... Three genin? Who? We need to leave as soon as possible, we've already possibly wasted a century or two based on the age of this hint, granted the scroll came from the archive we discovered so it is unlikely someone else read it but still!" Mana almost freaked out. She may have been able to put Meiko to sleep with a sleeping gas card from her pocket but taking out two ninja would be troublesome.
"Don't forget, you're not a genin, Mana, you're a civilian so you'll need two more people for this mission. It just so happens that there is a young man waiting to have his license re-approved who would like to assist you, I told him you're scheduled to meet me and so he so pleasantly waited nearby..." Hanasaku smiled and pointed at the wall.
A loud poof echoed through the room and a large cloud of smoke shot out from the wall revealing a young man having used some sort of camouflage ninjutsu technique. The young man wore torn up, burnt and bloodied green rags and had below shoulder length silver hair that was greasy and messy like the man had spent years dipping them in someone's innards without washing them. And he wore those same glasses he had when he left the village and had that same awkward smile.
"It's been a while, Mana..." Shimo waved at her.