Rise of the Shadow
Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or The Night Angel Trilogy, Kishimoto and Brent Weeks do, respectively.
He was the perfect killer, the youngest of Konoha's elite assassin group, he was a Wetboy. A group of selective potential ninja who were trained from an early age to be masters at only one thing, to kill for the Hokage. At fifteen years of age, he was already the best, however -since he was the best- no one even knew. He was so talented with chakra, the things he could do astonished even the most proficient, and made them glad they weren't enemies of the Hokage. Every one who knew him also knew fear, and those who didn't at the very least, knew the rumors of an invincible shadow, he was called Durzo Blint.
Durzo had appeared next to his captain, a tall man whose hand has had more than it's fair share of blood. He was a man who truly believed in the wetboy motto, 'life is worthless'. He didn't have a name or at least no one knew it, Durzo, along with everyone else just called him 'Kira' and he was his master, his mentor, his teacher; there were many words he could call him but most of all, he was the man Durzo respected the most.
"Where is Iroh?" Kira asked. Even though he couldn't see his face under the hood, Durzo knew that his master had that ever present frown of his.
"I'm sure I have no idea Master." replied Durzo in his almost signature dry yet sarcastic tone "He's probably late again, you know how he is."
"We have a new mission for the Hokage, a difficult one..." and if Durzo didn't know better, he would think his master looked a bit nervous, but he knew that was impossible, because even though he was the best of the wetboys, Kira was the most experienced, and if something made him nervous, then that something was a threat to even him. "If he is going to be late for important work like this then he is of no use to me." That was a threat and that was also Iroh`s cue.
"Wait! Wait! Don't be so mean, I'm here! I'm here!" Iroh yelled in an outrageous frantic fashion."I wasn't late, I was just playing around! You know, right?" Was he drunk? High? A combination of the two? Durzo never could really tell with Iroh, but one thing he knew was that Iroh was a genius archer, the sniper of this three man team and his arrows could hit anything, if it wasn't a one hit kill, then the poisonous chakra he laced them with would finish the job.
"Whatever, let's go see what the Hokage wants" Durzo finally blurted out, quickly getting frustrated with the fool's antics, but before he could leave, Kira stopped him.
"Durzo, Iroh." he spoke in a sombre tone that quickly straightened the spines of both killers "I have a bad feeling about tonight, I have been briefly told what we are doing, and I don't like it. Our deader is a powerful man with many connections. Be careful, remember, when the mission starts, we won't be brothers or comrades, we'll be killers with the same goal. That being said." he salutes them with a fist over his heart and he recites the wetboy chant "To bathe in the blood of the worthless!" they salute him back and respond in a quiet whisper that barely overpowers the quiet night's wind "Life is worthless"
The Hokage waited for his assassins, and frankly, those three scared him. Any one of them has the potential to surpass even his predecessor the Yondaime, as ninja they would have been legends, but to have all that potential forcibly redirected in one direction, he knew they were the best killers ever bred into existence and it was his fault. He let Danzo talk him into continuing the living weapons program for the village and he regretted it every day since he first looked into the eyes of the youngest. 'But tonight it would all end!' he thought. He couldn't help but feel a little smug at the thought. He grew serious as soon as he saw a little movement in the shadows, if it was anyone else, they wouldn't have seen it and then they would be dead.
Kira emerged from the shadow first and greeted his Hokage with a bow. Followed by Iroh who also bowed and then the young Durzo behind him, who didn't bow.
"Greetings Hokage. What is it you wish of us? Who is your deader?" Kira spoke up after stepping forward.
Sarutobi loved the fact that none of them ever added the -sama to his name, although he thought that was probably because they were so out of tune with the society around them. "Tonight..." he mentally cursed himself, this was no time to back down "I want you to take out Danzo." and although he couldn't see their eyes, he knew they were all wide in surprise.
"Hokage, you want us to kill a high council member of Konoha?" Durzo voiced the opinion of all three. Sarutobi almost visibly winced. 'Did he have to use the word "kill"? They have no sense of tact'
"Yes I am. I have no evidence of criminal actions from him, because if I did I would have sent ninjas and I would have made it publicly known." Durzo knew what that meant, this was to be swept under the rug, no one could ever know and if the Hokage was smart, he would have them killed afterward, and he probably would have if it weren't for the fact that Sarutobi grew soft after "that event" eight years ago.
"This scroll has all the information you'll need, you know what to do." Kira nodded and they all merged with the shadows. Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh, was he doing the right thing? He "failed" to tell them that Danzo knew they were coming and he had been expecting an assassination attempt for a while, but this was cruel. They were his most loyal soldiers and he was leading them to their death, he even had his most trusted seal tracker awaiting confirmation of their death. Regardless whether this was right or not, he knew Durzo would do his best to survive and if anyone could overcome impossible odds it was him. If Durzo survived, he would reward him, the time for wetboys has come to an end, that boy would do much better as a shinobi.
Durzo and his teammates were seated at a table in a cottage on the outskirts of fire country, one of their many safe-houses all over the elemental countries. Currently they were close to the boarder of Suna, which was right where they needed to be.
"Our deader will be here in one hour, on return from a diplomatic mission in Suna cementing Konoha's alliance with them. We are to kill him under the guise of an assassination team from Oto. His body is to remain recognized, that means no burning, Durzo, and we want to leave witnesses, so no long range sniping either Iroh" Kira said in a commanding tone, he then stood at his full height to finish the most important part of his briefing "I will be taking the deader at 'tree mark VII'" tree mark VII was one of the the many possible point of engagement Durzo and Kira had found in the forest, this one in particular had an out-stretching branch where a wetboy could emerge from the shadow to deal a quick death blow"Durzo will remain on standby in 'tree mark IX' as the back up and Iroh will be on hill II taking out any 'unknowns', the two bodyguards he has will be the only witnesses to be left alive." all three were ready to kill and be killed, it was the life of a wetboy, they weren't the first and they won't be the last... if only they knew.
Durzo was nervous, but he knew he shouldn't be. He had inhuman reflexes, was extremely fast, even when not boasted by chakra, he knew the human body inside out, knew where to hit and how. His only weakness was strength, at fifteen, he was 5'7" -which was pretty tall for his age- and he had already filled out his frame, not overly muscular but firm. However without augmenting himself with chakra, there was little he could do against a full grown adult who also knew how to use chakra. However, he was smart, he excelled in everything else that was related to killing, he knew how to mix the right herbs for poison and he could use his chakra for incredible things and he knew how to kill and enjoy it, killing was his life and that made him perfect. Yet here he was, moments from the biggest mission of his life, killing Danzo would be like killing a Kage, and he was nervous.
Danzo walked with the characteristic confidence of a man who thought he was destined to win, when he reached a clearing with a larger branch overhead, he instinctively knew this was it, 'If Sarutobi sent them this would be the perfect spot' he signaled his Ne that had lagged behind and through their seals he felt them disappear.
Rau was a sensor, he could even sense the Hokage when he was hiding his chakra, but in this situation he couldn't sense anything, were they fighting shadows? Unlikely, that would be ridiculous, Rau was currently far behind Danzo and his two bodyguards, he had no place with them nor should he be with the teams in hiding. He was just too weak, not enough chakra, with the amount he had he could be mistaken for a civilian.'This tree should provide enough cover during the ambush, no self-respecting sensor would want to be caught in the middle of a battle. Although I doubt there even is a battle, Dazno-sama is just too paranoid, no need to fight something that isn't there.' Rau didn't even have enough time to realize he was dead before an arrow pierced his skull and exited through the back.
Danzo knew if he didn't move fast he would die, a split second of hesitation would kill him, but he was powerful, years of war had honed him into a warrior and even without his arm, he could make the Professor himself sweat. Expecting the attack was nearly not enough, but he managed to dodge the pure black ninjato which he could only hear. The moment he dodged, his plan went into motion, Torune and Fu -his bodyguards- both disappeared, and a figure appeared from the shadows.
"You must be more skilled than I had thought If you managed to dodge Retribution's steel." the man spoke.
"And you must be Kira, a wetboy." Danzo replied with an eery smile.
"How do you know that?" asked Kira almost in a panic 'This man is too well informed, regardless of whether the Hokage wishes it or not he must die.'
"As a dead man, you shouldn't worry about that." Danzo disappeared in a shimmer replaced with three of his elite Ne
"An Ambush! Dammit!" the mission was falling apart, there were too many variables. How much did Danzo know? How many enemies? How many abilities? What rank were they? There was not enough time to adapt. 'Shut up and calm yourself, no ninja can stand against Retribution's blade and besides, I'm not alone.
The three Ne that appeared before Kira were skewered with arrows before they could move towards him. Then six more appeared, the battle had begun.
Durzo stayed hidden in the tree he had been originally assigned to, not daring to move a muscle. The show being played before him was a marvel to behold. His master was fast and powerful, but Durzo saw every movement, every twitch. Nothing escaped his eyes, although he almost laughed when he saw Master Kira pull the eyes out of a man with one senbon, one after the other, and then with the same senbon, put him out of his misery. These fools knew nothing, they probably haven't even realized that a wetboy was always in a team of three. All he was doing was waiting for an opening, and he knew it would come soon.
Kira moved in a rehearsed manner, 'Dodge left, kill right, duck, kill left.' this is what he lived for, and what he would die for. The Ne finally realized they couldn't win like this, a battle of attrition was useless, but they also realized that against this killer, they couldn't use their ninjutsu, or any chakra at all for that matter, 'They have finally realized that my main ability is using my own chakra to disrupt my enemies' chakra, a little late but better than never. Although there is a weakness... they're not stupid they must have noticed it by now' the Ne had started to back away, did they know some thing he didn't? Then he realized, the supporting fire coming from Iroh had stopped. He knew that could only mean one thing, he was a corpse. As a wetboy, he couldn't afford to mourn, but he would anyway, in his own style, by dealing out death before he died. He needed to give Durzo an opening at Danzo and he needed to do it now.
Two more Ne appeared before him, the ones who killed Iroh he supposed. They seemed different, they held more confidence than the others, they must be the elite of the elite. Danzo's disembodied voice was heard "Your partner is dead, your alone, just die in peace."
Kira, predictably answered by tightening his grip on Retribution. He welcomed death, with only one regret.
"Fu! Torune! Kill him." a simple order.
Half of the remaining Ne shinobi began getting ready their kunai to use as projectiles.
'So they figured it out, well, what is a better death? Going down in a hail of kunai or torched by the ninjutsu made famous by the Fire Country? Oh well'
All wetboys had the ability to use their chakra as an almost perfect defense if need be, Kira perfected it which is why even Durzo wouldn't be able to beat him, but what could he do against these numbers? Chakra could only be used for one thing at a time after all. Once he blocks the kunai, for one second, his defense will go down, but that one second would be enough, the Ne would be able to use their chakra and he would burn. Now the question is which way to go.
'What a stupid question. I already know the answer, 'a wetboy is never killed, only missing in action' shame I won't see the kid become great' with that in mind, he threw Retribution high in the air and touched a seal located on his chest where his heart lies.
Durzo knew what the explosion meant, his master was dead, the man he considered his father failed and it cost him his life. Iroh would soon join him, one hour after the heart stops beating the seal would activate. 'This is it. The last surviving team of Konoha's wetboys die trying to assassinate Danzo' suddenly a fury spread through his veins followed quickly by adrenaline. 'I can't let it end like this! I have to complete the mission, it's already cost too much.' Kira had opened a path for him and now he had to exploit it.
He spread his chakra throughout the battle field trying to assess what options he had, when he remembered something his master taught him "A man who knows he is going to die is the most dangerous man of all." and now he was that man, he had nothing to lose, Danzo would die tonight. All he needed to do was get to him and that was easy, he was after all, a shadow. Durzo had envisioned the entire attack. Of course no plan ever stood after the first step, but this wasn't a plan, this was art.
Danzo couldn't hide his look of surprise when Durzo appeared before him and he had no time to stop the twisting chakra enhanced palm that hit his chest, next came a minor knuckle punch to the trachea, then a sharp kick to the Achilles heel followed by one to the base of the femur which had him on the ground out of breath and options. Using his chakra, he called his master's Retribution and it came to him. In his hand it felt natural, it's black blade barely visible in the night, it was the perfect ninjato. He didn't hesitate, it's blade found it's way through Danzo's back cutting through the spinal cord with a precision that only a wetboy can have. Danzo was now paralyzed, but Durzo wouldn't end it there, he began to pull the short sword towards him, slicing through the diaphragm, ribs and the lungs before lodging itself within his shoulder, and if that wasn't enough (which it was) Retribution was always poison laced.
All that happened in the span of seconds and still the Ne hadn't reacted, maybe they were shocked or maybe they were slow, either way nothing had changed, Durzo was still going to die. They started moving, he could react, he could fight back, but he didn't and he died, sliced to peaces by the many shinobi he'd just made master-less.
After the Ne had left, there was no one to notice that there was no explosion one hour later, there was no one to notice the red wisps of chakra bringing Durzo Blint back together.
AN: Hello! I'm obviously Hayatenox, and this is Rise of the Shadow, an idea that just wouldn't leave my head, and since the one hour and a half commute to college is a long time for something to eat away at you, I needed to get it out. Read The Night Angel Trilogy, it's really good, although I myself am not done yet, I think Brent Weeks is a genius in the way he sets everything up. On another note, has anyone read Dracula The Undead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt? It's a legitimate sequel to the original and it's now my favorite book of all time. If you thought the original story wasn't done, then this could be your favorite book too. Dracula rules! If you have to criticize, then be constructive, I'm doing this to improve my writing to the point were I'll eventually be able to write a novel, but I don't know my strengths or weaknesses yet, oh well. Before anyone askes, yes, certain assassins are called "wetboys" in the books.