"I'm so sorry, Riku. I had no idea you went through something like that. If I had known, I surely would have come to help." Kageru explained, sympathetic.
Riku shook his head, "Hanzo was powerful, you would have fallen just as easily as I did."
Kageru scratched his head slightly, "Ah, perhaps you can show me the wounds you sustained in your battle with Hanzo?"
Riku shrugged, "My arm I can show you, but the eye, i'm afraid not. It causes immense pain upon those who look into it. I still have yet to discover all the abilities of it, but its proven quite helpful."
Riku unbuckled the belt wrapped around his arm and made a tiger seal with his right hand. The runes that sat on Riku's bandages seemed to pulsate as they began to glow white. The runes slowly faded away. Riku proceeded to unwrap the bandages around his hand, revealing the pale flesh of his hand. His hand seemed cold and lifeless, his veins were purple due to the poison that flowed through them and were vividly clear through his skin.
"This is my arm now. The rods implanted into my shoulder keep the poison from flowing to the rest of my body, but allow blood to flow normally. Purifying it from poison as it passes through a seal." Riku explained.
Riku began to wrap his arm back up, redoing the seal and belt. Kageru looked up as he heard the flapping of a carrier pigeon nearing his vicinity. Kageru held out his left arm, allowing the bird to land gently. Kageru retrieved the message from the bird's right leg and read it to himself.
"What is it, Kageru sensei?" Riku asked.
"It seems the pass I requisitioned to travel to the Hidden Mist has arrived, i'm clear to travel whenever i'm ready."
"Why are you going to the Hidden Mist?" Riku inquired.
Kageru sent the pigeon on its way back to the village, "Well, besides you, Riku, I owe my life to another as well. I'm going to repay my debt to him. He's embarking on a mission and I would like to offer my help."
"Ah, Jinn as I recall. Well if you are leaving now, by the time you reach the Mist, Jinn will be gone." Riku warned.
"How do you know?" Kageru asked, puzzled.
"One ability my eye offers is that I can imprint somebody's chakra, and track them wherever they go. Unfortunately, the imprint only lasts a few days. I had imprinted everyone in your group when we last met, just to be safe. But Jinn reached the Mist just recently. If you leave now, he will have already left. Your best chance is to intercept him on his path." Riku explained.
Kageru motioned for Riku to follow him as he climbed out of the crater the two had created. As the two reached the surface, they noticed that the trees in the area had been bent away from the crater due to the powerful winds. The nearby river had been filled with dirt, turning it a translucent brown. Kageru seemed astonished at how much damage had been done in such a short time, the lands he once treaded had been transformed drastically into something new.
Kageru quickly focused on his task, "Where do you suggest I intercept then?"
Riku closed his eyes and clasped his hand together. He stood still and motionless for several moments. Riku's visible eye opened.
"Jinn has already departed, I can sense about four other chakra signatures around him, probably his squad mates. He's crossing the ocean to the mainland, if he continues on his path, your best course of action is to travel to Otafuku town near the Hidden leaf, and wait there for a few days. I can guarantee that he will pass through that town."
Kageru nodded to Riku, "Thank you, my friend. What will you do? I'd hate to think you will continue to wander the land again."
Riku shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know, Kageru sensei. I have been wandering the lands for a many years now, searching for a way to bring back my sister. I have learned a great deal in the medical field, but nothing has proved helpful." Riku seemed saddened as he looked at the ground.
Kageru walked up to Riku and placed a hand on Riku's shoulder, "Do not worry, Riku. Return to the Hidden Waterfall. Once I return, we will travel together and search for a way."
Kageru smiled a simple yet warm smile that seemed to brighten Riku's spirits.
"You have become strong Riku, Stronger than I could ever hope to be. You have been through so much. It is time you took a well deserved rest. Return to the Waterfall. I will meet up with you in a week or so, and I will help in any way I can."
Riku smiled and nodded, "Arigato gozaimsu, Kageru sensei." Riku turned and left for the Hidden Waterfall.
Kageru sighed deeply and turned as well, departing for Otafuku town in the Land of Fire. Kageru arrived at his destination during a late afternoon a few days later. The sky had been painted a warm orange, fading into a light purple as the sun continued to set over the distant horizon. Kageru climbed to the top of a nearby tall tree, which allowed him to overlook the small town and the surrounding area.
Kageru was blown away at the very sight of such serenity the landscape offered. The town rested in a valley between several large mountains, the sun sank behind the farthest mountain. Simply gazing across the land, Kageru felt glad to simply be alive to see such a sight. Kageru climbed down and made his way to the town. Kageru walked through the streets, passing several gambling dens and restaurants. Kageru came across an inn towards the edge of the town.
The lobby was serene and calming as Kageru entered. Water fountains lined the edge of the walls with a blue carpet lined with red trimmings lay across the floor. A fountain sat on both sides of the entrance, shooting water a short distance upward, balancing a ball at its top. Kageru stayed at the inn for several days, waiting for Jinn to arrive.
On kageru's fifth day of waiting, he ventured to the large tori arch that stood at then trance of the village. Kageru leaned against the arch and waited for Jinn patiently. It was still early in the day, about noon, Kageru simply stood in wait for Jinn to arrive. Kageru's patience had paid off several hours later when the town was approached by a group of five shinobi dawning black hooded cloaks with ANBU masks shielding their face from view. Upon closer inspection, Kageru noticed the Hidden Mist insignia upon each mask.
The group came to a halt before Kageru as one man approached him from the back of the group.
"Kageru?" asked the man, surprised.
Kageru was able to determine who the man was almost instantly, "Ah, Jinn. You're finally here."
"What are you doing here, Kageru?" Jinn asked.
"Well, remember the man we ran into on the way back to my village on our mission? He predicted you would cross through these lands, and I had to find you." Kageru explained.
Jinn became severely confused, yet intrigued, "How did that man know we would be passing through here?"
Kageru closed his eyes and shook his head, "It's a long story, but if you must know, long story short: that man was a student of mine about a decade ago...I'm proud of his progress, but i digress. I have come to lend my services."
"Lend your services? What do you mean, Kageru?"
"Jinn, if not for you, I would have died in that dank cave. I owe you my life, and to repay the debt, I wish to lend you my strength in your quest to avenge your clan."
Jinn seemed awe struck by Kageru's offer, "Kageru...I don't know what to say...You can join us if that is what you truly want."
Kageru stood up straight and bowed to Jinn, "Thank you, Jinn."
Kageru, Jinn and Jinn's group had begun to travel north for two days. The group had been moving almost nonstop, for Jinn had feared his prey had already departed. It was midday when Kageru spoke out to break the uneasy silence throughout the group.
"So when we reach our destination, how is this going to happen?"
Jinn, who had been leading the group, fell back to meet Kageru, who trailed slightly further back, "Kageru," he started, "I wasn't sure if you should have come for a certain reason."
"What's that?"
"The clan we are hunting, the Shigekazu, slaughtered my clan in its entirety. Men, women, children, elderly, no one was left alive. I will return the same courtesy to the Shigekazu...will you be able to kill women, children, elderly, and families? You have no quarrel with these people."
Kageru had not taken that fact into account. He hesitated for a moment with a somber look on his face, "I don't know. But we will cross that bridge when we come to it. Where are we going exactly?"
"I have reports that a large group has made camp in the plains just before the Land of Sound border. They're said to be coming from the Hidden Mist, so we're going to investigate. If it is the Shigekazu, then we kill them all. I already formulated a plan so we will have little problems. The area shouldn't be much further."
The group moved onwards for a little over 20 minutes before Jinn called for everybody to stop. The plains that the group sought after were just ahead, and further out was a large camp, complete with walls and guard towers.
"Looks like these bastards have set up a perimeter." said one of Jinn's squad mates.
"They're smart, setting up in the plains to eliminate a surprise attack." added another.
"It will be a full moon tonight, even a night raid will be tough." noted a third.
"You guys are well trained for this." Kageru pointed out.
"We are hunter nin," Jinn replied, "it is our job to be prepared for any situation, a day raid will be suicide, they're location makes it impossible to sneak up on them, and the moon's light will allow them to spot us easily in the night."
"So what's your plan?" Kageru inquired.
"We wait until the dead of night, I will cast a genjutsu around they're camp so we can approach easily. But for now, we must plant traps in the surrounding woods to prevent any of them from escaping. Kageru, from what i've seen, you posses the most jutsu with great range, radius, and power. Worst case scenario: I want you to wipe the camp off the face of the earth."
"Why don't I just wipe them out now?" Kageru asked.
"Well for one, there may be Shigekazu away from the camp doing business, I want all of them dead, and second, the Shigekazu will die the same way my clan did. I want them to know what it's like. And if anyone sees the head of the clan, notify me at once...that bastard is mine."
The group nodded in unison and spread out to lay the traps in the surrounding area. The task took the group until dusk to complete. Everyone regrouped at the previous location.
"Are all the traps set?" Jinn asked.
The group nodded once again and waited for further orders.
"Just in case, I will make a precaution of my own." Kageru said as he made eight shadow clones and sent them off in four different directions in groups of two.
"What are the shadow clones for?" Jinn inquired.
"Those shadow clones will prepare my ultimate jutsu, if the worst should happen and we are unable to complete the task, I will unleash my strongest jutsu as a fail safe. I will call everyone to my position, do not ignore the call, if you do, you will die."
"Admirable, Kageru...Now while we wait for nightfall, would you like to explain how you were able to intercept us?"
Kageru sat on the grass, making himself comfortable. The rest of the group followed his example and sat down as well.
"Well, the man we encountered is a former student of mine. He visited my village for two years while I trained him in wind style ninjutsu. He left the village once his training was complete, I had heard he was dead a few years after. He came in possession of a special eye, which I was unable to see due to its powers, which can imprint a person's chakra. He can then track that person wherever they go for a few days after...I am surprised by how much progress he's made. He nearly killed me in a test of strength before I knew it was him. Perhaps once this is over, You can meet him again, this time under better circumstances."
Jinn chuckled to himself, "I'm sorry but I don't think that will happen anytime soon."
"Why is that?"
"After we are done here, I have something else that must be done..."
"Ah well, maybe some other time then."
The group sat and talked amongst themselves for several hours, Jinn looked up at the sky to see the midnight sun high in the sky. He stood up and spoke out.
"It's time."
The rest of the group stood up as Jinn began to form a set of seals, "Hidden Mist Genjutsu."
The plains slowly became enshrouded in a deep fog.
"Wouldn't something like this give us away? It's too sudden." Kageru noted.
"This is a different type of genjutsu, As we travel through the fog, we will be completely invisible to those we target. To them, they see no fog. And as we move through it, they won't see us either."
Kageru was impressed, "That's quite a handy jutsu to have."
Jinn nodded, "Come, we will strike from all sides of the camp. We must hurry, the fog will not last long."
The group spread out and moved quickly towards the camp. Kageru snuck up on the west wing of the camp while Jinn went to the north wing, and his squad mates went in groups of two to the south and east wings. Kageru scaled the stone walls and onto the walls between two guard towers. He quickly dispatched the two guards in the towers nearest to him, along with two guards patrolling on the wall.
Kageru jumped down into the camp which had been filled with many tents. Kageru listened as the quiet chatter throughout the campsite became quieter and quieter as Jinn and his team made consecutive kills. Kageru entered the tent in front of him, only to be caught off guard by a man with his wife and two daughters. The daughters shrieked in terror as the father quickly rose to defend his family. The father attempted to punch Kageru but was simply deflected by a weak kick
Kageru tried to follow through and kill the family, but could not bring himself to do so. Kageru listened as the camp quickly became louder due to the girls alerting shrieks.
"Damn it all!" Kageru cursed.
"If you are going to kill us, " started the father, "you're going to have to go through me first."
"I came here with the intention to kill all Shigekazu, but now that I am confronted with this, I cannot do so. If you stay here, you will all die. I will help you escape but I cannot say the same for anyone else in the camp. Follow me."
The family seemed confused yet grateful as they followed Kageru through the back of the tent. Kageru walked up to the wall and blasted a large hole into it using a wind style palm strike.
"Go, hurry. There are traps around the area, I will send a shadow clone to disarm enough for you to escape."
The family quickly left the camp as the smell of blood filled the air.
"Thank you sir. You're a good person and we will never forget this kindness." said the mother.
Kageru created a single shadow clone and ordered it to escort the family to safety.
"Hurry! Before you're spotted!"
The family quickly disappeared into the fog as Kageru continued on with his mission. Kageru met with Jinn in the camp square.
"What happened Kageru? This was supposed to be quiet."
"I apologize, I entered a tent with a family and quickly dispatched the parents before the children, I didn't expect them to scream out."
"It's alright, we still have the element of surprise. The camp is nearly cleaned out, just a few more tents and we're done here."
Kageru and Jinn spread out and continued to kill many Shigekazu kunoichi and shinobi. Within minutes, the camp had been cleared and Jinn had found retribution for his clan. The group met outside the camp gates as the camp was set ablaze upon their exit.
"We have done well tonight, gentlemen. The Hidden Mist is rid of one more traitorous group, and the Kazume clan has been avenged!"
The group raised their fists and cheered.
Jinn pointed to his squad mates, "You guys head back...I must speak with Kageru."
The men seemed grim and full of melancholy as they left the area. Jinn removed his mask to reveal his scruffy face once again to Kageru.
"Kageru," he started, "you have helped a great deal tonight. I am proud to call you friend...But I am afraid I must ask a favor from you."
"Sure Jinn. What is it that you need?"
Jinn stood silent for a moment and then spoke out, "I want you to kill me."
Kageru was overcome with astonishment, hitting him like a brick to his face.
"What? Why Jinn? You've come so far, you faced the object of your vendetta and emerged victorious. Why do you want me to kill you?"
"That's part of why, Kageru. I have come so far to avenge my people...yet I feel nothing. Even seeing their camp being turned into a blazing inferno does nothing to ease my pain. But the task has been done, and I do not wish to stray from my path. Revenge is like a forest: it's never a straight path. And like a forest, it's easy to lose one's way. I refuse to get lost within the forest of my vengeance. Kill me, Kageru, and reunite me with my clan. I wish to die a warrior's death and so I want for you to face me in single combat."
Kageru stood still, taking in what Jinn was saying. Unable to understand why he wanted it.
"I don't know Jinn...I'm not sure I could bring myself to do this."
"Don't think about it, think of it as a serious sparring match."
Kageru looked at the grass for what seemed like hours, as the fires in the camp began to slowly die down. Many thoughts flew through Kageru's mind, finally coming to a decision.
"Alright..I will fight you."
"Thank you Kageru, if there was another way, I would gladly embrace it. I do not wish to put you through this, but i'm afraid you are the only one with enough strength to defeat me. Plus, I have been wanting to experience your strength first hand."
"I can't lie, i've wanted to experience your strength first hand as well." Kageru chuckled.
"Well, let's begin shall we?" Jinn said, drawing his Garian blade.
Kageru drew his gonbai, meeting Jinn's challenge. Kageru took several steps back to allow extra room between him and Jinn. The wind blew across the plains, causing the flames to rise again. Without warning, Jinn ran towards Kageru at full speed, the moonlight glinting off of his blade. Kageru stood still, waiting for Jinn. As Jinn met Kageru, he swung his Garian blade horizontally in an attempt to cut down Kageru. Kageru ducked quickly and swung his gonbai upward, knocking Jinn's Garian blade flying through the air. Kageru launched an upward kick to Jinn's chin, sending him straight upwards. Kageru followed up by throwing two smoke bombs with Jinn, exploding in a cloud of blue smoke.
Kageru jumped into the cloud to meet Jinn and sent him crashing to the ground with a powerful drop kick. Kageru landed gracefully as Jinn slowly crawled back up to his feet.
"That was a powerful kick, Kageru. I'm surprised, you didn't exhibit much taijutsu prowess on our last mission."
"I'm full of surprises Jinn, you need to be careful or learn that the hard way."
Jinn covered his right arm in ice, creating a deadly spear. Jinn leapt into the air to crash down on Kageru, only to have his attack blocked. Kageru kicked Jinn in the stomach, sending him back a few feet.
"Come on Jinn. It's like your not even trying."
Jinn motioned for Kageru to look at his feet. Kageru looked down to see that his feet had been frozen to the ground in a block of ice.
"Ah, well this is bad." Kageru chuckled.
Jinn walked over to his Garian blade which had been stuck into the ground far off to his right and retrieved it. Kageru quickly broke free from his bonds, scattering ice all around him. Kageru launched a bolt of lightning towards Jinn with his left hand. Jinn quickly avoided the bolt as it followed him around the plain. Kageru pointed his gonbai to a location where Jinn had jumped to.
"Lightning style: four pillar trap."
Four stone pillars rose around Jinn and trapped him inside using lightning that traveled from pillar to pillar.
Kageru walked up to Jinn's cage.
"It looks like this is it Jinn...I'm sorry." Kageru put his gonbai on his back and drew the kama that was attached to it via chain.
Jinn shook his head, "Don't be, Kageru...This isn't over yet."
Jinn formed a seal and the pillars were suddenly cut in half, releasing him from the cage and jumped far behind Kageru.
"Ah, I always let my guard down in the end." Kageru complained as he turned to face Jinn once again.
Jinn took his Garian blade and cut his palm. Sheathing his blade, Jinn began to form a flurry of seals and slammed his bloody palm on the ground, creating a circle of runes on the ground.
"Ninja Art Summoning!" A puff of smoke quickly enshrouded Jinn and the area around him. As the smoke slowly cleared, Kageru could see a tall skeleton with glowing red eyes with a hooded cape that flowed in the wind. It wielded a large arcane-looking, ornate scythe that was fashioned to look almost like a pendulum.
"Awakening of the Frost Reaper!" Jinn called out. The reaper's scythe slowly became encased in ice as the air in the plains grew cold.
Kageru quickly became worried as the reaper slammed its scythe into the ground and caused ice spires to rise across the plains.
"It looks like i'm forced to combat this." Kageru said to himself. "Please lord don't let this come back to bite me in the ass."
Kageru pulled out a scroll from his pack and unrolled it across the ground in front of him. After forming several seals, the scroll began to glow a golden color that resembled the sun itself. Kageru quickly bit both of his thumbs at once to draw blood. Kageru spread the blood on both his palms at once using his thumbs and slammed both palms into the ground.
"Ultimate summoning jutsu!"
A large puff of smoke enshrouded Kageru and the area around him as it had with Jinn. When the smoke had cleared, Jinn could see a large green monster with tentacles on its back, it had a long snout almost like an anteater and a multicolored eye with a ripple pattern. As it spread its arms wide, wings grew as its tail swung back and forth. The beast had a large mouth that drooled at the scent of food on its stomach. It glanced across the battlefield and noticed Jinn and Kageru. Almost immediately, it attempted to devour the two by launching tentacles towards them. Kageru quickly slammed his foot onto the scroll in front of him, causing strings of golden runes to emerge and wrap the creature, restricting its movements just as the tentacle had reached Kageru's face.
Kageru sighed deeply, relieved, then focused on Jinn.
"Let's see who's creature is stronger shall we?"
Kageru sent his Chimera shooting towards the Frost Reaper. The two monstrosities clashed, the Reaper had attempted to cut the beast down with its scythe, only to have the wound heal immediately after. Kageru ran to the other side of the reaper and prepared to strike. The Chimera flew back to allow space between it and the Reaper. Kageru then called out.
"Ninja art: Twin strikes of false darkness!" The Chimera's eyes began to glow a light blue as it launched a powerful arc of lightning, in unison with Kageru, towards the Reaper. Jinn was blinded by the light created by the justu, light as bright as 100 suns. All Jinn could make out was the sound of a large explosion as the light began to slowly fade away. The first thing Jinn saw was the Chimera devouring the Frost Reaper by cramming it into the mouth on its stomach using its tentacles. The end of the beast's tail grew a large blade that resembled the Frost Reaper's scythe as the rest of the Chimera's body grew in a skeletal frame on its back. Jinn, unable to believe what he had just seen, fell to his knees.
Kageru formed a seal to dispel the Chimera, but the beast began to resist. The runes that had encased it began to slowly tear and rip apart. With the new power the beast had absorbed, it was able to fight against Kageru's seal.
"This is bad." Kageru though to himself as he leapt over the Chimera and ran over to the scroll he had placed. He knelt down and focused quickly, chakra covering his hands. Kageru placed both hands on the scroll, strengthening the seals, but it wasn't enough, the beast struggled to be free even harder than before. Kageru quickly became covered in chakra as he forced the creature to return from whence it came.
Kageru began to pant heavily as he could barely support his own weight. Jinn stood up and slowly walked over to Kageru.
"So that was the ultimate summoning creature...It was far stronger than I could ever imagine. I had no idea such a thing could even exist in the wildest dreams the most insane man. Whatever you did, it left you weak and drained...it seems I win this one Kageru. Perhaps even you cannot kill me."
Kageru looked up at Jinn, "Is that so?"
As the words left Kageru's lips, four large columns of lightning chakra shot up in the sky in the distance from four different locations.
"What is this?" Jinn asked nervous.
"This is my fail safe that I prepared earlier...A jutsu developed by the Four Kings, the most adept users of lightning style. It took me years to learn of it, and years more to learn to utilize it with shadow clones."
The four pillars converged high in the sky to create a large orb of lightning chakra over the entire plains and much of the area around it. Jinn had become amazed at Kageru's prowess once more.
"How could you do something like this with the amount of chakra you have left?"
Kageru simply chuckled, "This justu takes minimal chakra to execute, it takes a large amount, however, to prep it." Kageru took out a kunai and threw it into the woods far off to his left, triggering a trap. The perimeter of the woods exploded in a fiery blaze, preventing anyone from escaping.
"I'm sorry it's come down to this Jinn. There is no escape now...it seems you will get your wish."
Jinn smiled as the orb in the sky crackled with power, "Kageru...I never thought you could be capable of something like this. You are far stronger than I imagined. I am proud to meet my death by your hands. How will you live through this though?"
Kageru slowly stood up and formed a dragon seal to erect a dome of translucent, blue, hexagons to cover him.
"It's not too late to change your mind Jinn. You can still live to see another day."
Jinn shook his head and handed his Garian blade to Kageru through the barrier, "Take this, bring it to my clan's burial site in the Hidden Mist and place it on my family's burial site, tell the Mizukage what happened here."
Kageru took the blade from Jinn reluctantly.
"Are you ready Jinn?" Kageru asked.
Jinn nodded his head, "Before you strike me down, tell me one thing: what is the name of this jutsu?"
"It's called 'Limelight'. It has the power to wipe out an entire village within seconds. This is the first time i've used it in real combat...It will be quick and painless Jinn."
Jinn nodded as Kageru slowly raised his right hand above his head, with one final look, Kageru could see Jinn's lips moving, but no sound came as Kageru brought his hand down. The entire plain was immediately destroyed within a second. An explosion filled the air with the sound of 1000 sonic booms. The chaos quickly subsided as rubble fell from the sky due to the powerful blast. Kageru looked around the barren wasteland that had once been a serene area, and could find no trace of Jinn's corpse. Nothing had been left standing as Kageru could hear the explosion echoing in the distance.
Kageru dispelled his barrier and looked around more. Kageru sighed deeply. As he looked around, he could see the earth had been smoking from the blast, as if the land were set on fire then put out. Kageru paid some final respects to Jinn's memory, and departed to the Hidden Mist.