Chapter 4

Kinzo watched as two Greeds fought the Kage, unable to determine which one was the real Greed. They fought similarly, going in for a taijutsu hit, backing out and casting jutsu based on the situation. It was debatable if either of them was actually Greed, as most knew that he didn't engage in close combat unless it was completely necessary. These two were purposely trying to force a taijutsu fight.

Suddenly, two more Greeds ran in from behind. The Kage put up a barrier of ice, separating him from the four Greeds. The first two undid a reflection jutsu, and revealed themselves as Greed's Umbra. A figure appeared behind the Kage, who was known as Yukigakure's military police captain.
"Did you round up the Yokubo?" The Kage asked. The captain nodded his head in response. "Good. I need you to take the Umbra elsewhere, and hold them off until I can defeat Greed." As the Kage talked, he eyed the two new Greeds. Their battle began, and Kinzo had to finish his own.

The village ninja and Katakiuchi were killing each other off, and the ones that came after him earlier were engaged in combat. Kinzo jumped, landing silently behind a few Katakiuchi ninja in the uproar of battle. Drawing a kunai, he swiftly launched himself toward the closest ninja. With regret, Kinzo plunged the blade into the unsuspecting shinobi's neck. Brutal, but it got the job done. The cries of pain that escaped the shinobi before he was dead for good attracted attention.

"Fūryoku hane senkai!" (Wind Blade Whirl) Kinzo shouted as he formed hand seals. Three rings, a little under two meters in diameter, materialized around Kinzo. They spun with him in the center, not moving side to side but rather slightly tilting. These rings were sharp enough to cut through almost anything, and carried the appearance of ghostly kunai rotating rapidly in a ring formation.

Kinzo rose one closed hand, and one of the rings lifted above him. Pushing his hand forward violently, the ring followed the same action, but not going far. Kinzo charged the main body of Katakiuchi, manipulating the ring to cut through his enemies.

Two ninja rushed Kinzo from behind, only to be cut in half by the two rings still rotating him. Using Kaze no Shifuto, Kinzo propelled himself up in the air. However, someone followed him. It was the ninja from before, with the dragon hands technique. He seemingly easily used fire to burst himself into the sky, and prepared a Great Fireball Jutsu. Reacting quickly, Kinzo thrust his hand in the direction of the ninja, and unclenched it. The ring flew, unbound by his control.

The ninja had to shift his chakra into dodging the ring, which gave Kinzo enough time to use Kaze no Shifuto to get away, and land on the ground. Kinzo looked around again. There were very few people left standing. He had heard about Katakiuchi's village raids, never ending until the Kage was dead.

A few village ninja ran to him, fresh to the fight. "You might want to get out of the village now. It's going to get much worse." One of them said. Kinzo dismissed their warning, and turned around, searching for Greed. Kinzo spotted the two Greeds, dueling in equal pace with the Kage. He started to run towards that battle. Greed may be way out of his league, but he could still assist the Kage. Raising a clenched fist, Kinzo levitated one of the two rings that remained.

He raised his other hand, splitting the ring into two smaller ones. Kinzo jumped into the air, launching a small ring at each Greed. They both easily dodged them, but the third ring was already close to hitting the Greed closest to Kinzo. In an incredible display of wind chakra control, Greed reached out his hand, taking control of the ring, and sending it back at Kinzo.

Good news: that was most likely the real Greed.
Bad news: Kinzo was about to get his head rolled by his own jutsu.

The Kage rose a wall of enchanted ice, blocking the ring. However, the ring didn't dissapate on contact. Rather, it starting shredding the wall. Greed must've infused his own chakra into it. The cutting sent fast moving shards of ice all over Kinzo, cutting and poking him. After what seemed like an eternity, Kinzo hit the ground harshly, badly injured.

Without pause, the Kage made a quick move on the fake Greed, who wasn't paying attention to the fight, instead looking at the scene that unfolded with Kinzo. Four pillars of ice rose, impaling the fake Greed. A satisfying poof revealed the fake Greed to be an officer of Katakiuchi.

The Kage jumped back, pleased with his ability to find the real Greed. Greed stood facing him, staring down his opponent and readying a kunai. A ninja landed next to the Kage, and Kinzo recognized him immediately. The captain of the Yukigakure military police. The captain had apparently finished his fight with the Umbra. However, something didn't seem right.

And something wasn't right. There was no time to counter it. The captain reached out and jabbed a dagger through the Kage's spine. He crumbled to the ground. The battle they had fought so hard for was lost in an instant.

In the moments that followed, the few remaining Yukigakure forces scattered.

Kinzo, beaten and bruised, looked up at the captain. It was no longer the captain, but rather Greed. The Kage noticed this as well.

"Your instincts are going bad, old man. You should've seen through me from a mile away." Greed said.

"I suppose you win." The Kage spat. "You showed such promise, even as a young child. I shouldn't have let your life go so wrong." He gritted his teeth in pain.

The Kage rolled over and coughed up blood. "I knew you would surpass me one day."

"J-Just not like this."

More people kept dying while he just watched.