The Tengu had chosen his prey. Out of the crowd his servants brought forth a young man. Smirking inwardly, the Tengu saw the evident callowness about him, though he tried to hide and disguise himself as an experienced warrior. As his servants neared closer, the Tengu saw something that pleased him greatly…this young warrior was sweating blood, a sign of great fear and distress. Closing his eyes, the scene remained fresh, the Tengu couldn't remember how many countless of times before he had seen this…
"Warrior, are you ready to die?" the Tengu asked in a low tone, like a snake talking to it's prey.
The warrior nodded quickly, his face had gone pale, and uncertainty and fear were etched into every part of his face.
"No…you are not ready to die, I can see that clearly," the Tengu whispered as he slowly circled him.
"Tell me-what makes you afraid of death?"
The warrior's meticulous green eyes, narrowed, as if calculating the right reply, "I am timorous of the way in which I shall die", he answered in a quaky voice.
"Ah- then I shall let you know of how your demise will come to be. First, I shall bring my sharpest and deadliest sword". Pausing, the Tengu looked at the warrior, or ninja, but to his shock, he seemed eerily calm. "Yes, when I get my sword I shall have you tortured a bit beforehand. When that is done my servants shall hold you down, while I come towards you. Slowly, very slowly and painfully, I shall drive my sword into your flesh; I tell you the pain shall be great. You will plead for mercy, and you shall regret ever stepping foot here."
"I see, Tengu", the ninja spat.
"You speak to me in such a manner?! Very well, fool! This shall be taken into account when I kill you!" The Tengu growled, "As for now, guards throw him in the dungeon!"
The coolness of the dungeon made the Ultimate Ninja shiver. He still couldn't grasp the fact that he was about to die…for real. Ultimate Ninja felt angry and scared more than anything. Why had he been chosen for this? Did they not know he was a prince with a nexus to inherit?! The Ninja knew there was no way out, but if only he could--
There was an ear-piercing creaking as the dungeon door opened and in came a mob of guards, nastier looking then the first batch. Ultimate Ninja turned away as they bound his hands and carried him off. The Ninja's best guess was that he was going to be tortured now, and unfortunately, he was correct.
Coming into room full of malicious weapons, they shut the metal door tightly behind them. The guards ordered Ultimate Ninja to strip, which he couldn't do because his hands were duty-bound tight. So the guards came and ripped his garments from his body. Ultimate Ninja was now left only with his underpants, Ultimate Ninja felt hot with humiliation.
Lash after lash stung the Ninja, sure, being whipped wasn't the worst thing, and he could cope with it. Ultimate only hoped that this was the only punishment. The lashing stopped, Ultimate Ninja felt utterly numb as he collapsed onto his knees, taking slow deep breaths. He felt sure that it was over. Unexpectedly, a hand grabbed his long red hair which he had up in a ponytail. The guard pulled it back, the Ninja longed to cry out, but he couldn't, he wouldn't let himself afford to look weak. This new pain brought some sense to his numbness, only he longed for it to cease…now! There was a low growl from one of the henchmen, he exploded in anger and began to yell at the Ninja's tormentor. Feeling as if a club knocked him in the head, Ultimate Ninja now knew WHY someone had intervened, he knew what voice…those words! Glancing around slowly, his suspicion was confirmed, it was none other than Leonardo!