The Land of the dead

Part 1

A figure is kneeling, surrounded by the ruins of what once was the Heido temple. In his right hand, the man holds a bell while with his left, he is making the Vitarka sign.

"Otara...Go to Vishra now."

With this he rings the bell once.With this sound to put an end to the prayer, the soul of the monk will be at peace for a while. Unfortunately, Otara is but one of the many members the Vishra sect has lost. While in the past the duties of tending to the souls of the fallen was shared between all members, only one remains to do the deed.

"Himeno...Go to Vishra now."

With this he rings the bell once. The whole process started over an hour ago yet Inshun is not even 10% done. Despite starting at the crack of dawn, it is likely that by the time he is done, the sun will be setting. This has been the life of the hermit for a while now. With the ceremony being as long as it is and needing to be performed daily, he has been unable to sustain himself. It is inevitable that he will die of starvation soon.

"Guru...Got to Vishra now."

With this he rings the bell once. Still, as the sole survivor and leader of the cult, it is his duty to care for the souls of his brothers for as long as his body allows. Of course, once he is gone, there will be no one left to pray for him but....perhaps that is the punishment he deserves for failing to die alongside the rest of the cult. His atonment will continue in the afterlife when his soul wanders for all eternity.

"Yama...."
But the monk stops. For the first time in weeks, his eyes perceive the presence of humans in the area. But those who came here did not do so in peace. Tears run down Inshun's face as it contorts in anger.
"Wretched shinobis. Have you not taken enough from us yet?"

Part 2

The orders were simple. Go through the mountains and set up an ambush to cut off the enemy's retreat. Once they are gone for good, the Ichiraku clan will be undisputed for control in the area.

"Speed up, we have a long road ahead if we want to make it in time."

The unit is composed of 4 ninjas. Considering the size of the army they are expected to face one could think that number to be too low but the unit specialises in Barriers. Once they are set up, they will be able to put in place a virtually unbreachable wall against which fleeing ennemies will break themselves. Perhaps this will be the last of the fighting, at least for a short while.

"Hey stop lagging behind!"

The group comes to a halt. One of their members broke formation and is now standing at the center. With his left hand, he is making the Vitarka sign.

"We don't have time to.."
"Heretics...Go to Vishra now."

In an instant, the group is wiped out.

Part 3
In the wake of the defeat suffered by the Ichiraku clan, several clans tried to fill the vacuum left in their wake. Yet, each time a group got close to the area, they would simply dissapear without a trace. Little by little, the zone surrounding the Heido temple started to be known as the "land of the dead". But the frightening part was that even after shinobis stopped entering it, the same events started to occur all around the country.