This chapter will be about Yume telling Yoji about her deceased sensei, Megami commanded Unmei to kill someone, the battle against Netami and Taidana, and Rika and Pana came to Yume's aid.
Chapter 13: Kunoichi of Team YRP
After Yoji saved Yume from falling from the cliff because of the illusion of her deceased sensei, they kept walking as they were looking for the door to next the stage. While walking, Yoji wondered why Yume said Kai much to his confusion after he saved Yume.
"Kai? Who's Kai?" he thought.
He remembered that Yume once said that name when she embraced him while shedding tears after realizing that she was tricked by the illusion.
"Hey! What's wrong, Yume? Why you're—"
"Kai-sensei..." Yume replied as she hid her face towards his chest while embracing him all the sudden.
He heard that Yume was saying Kai and became confused about what she was talking about.
After remembering what happened back then, he still became confused about why Yume said that name.
On the other hand, Yume became frantic after what happened. She knew that her deceased sensei was an illusion to trick her on falling down from the cliff.
"I can't believe it. I should have known. It was a genjutsu," she thought. "Kai-sensei..."
Yoji saw Yume became frantic and wondered that Yume knew Kai before. Wondering about her and Kai, he began to talk to her.
"Hey, you're okay?"
She heard Yoji was talking to her and lifted her head up. She nodded and answered, "Yeah."
However, she still became frantic after answering his question. The red-haired boy began to realize that she was thinking about Kai.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked, curiously.
The Ally of the Byakugan realized that Yoji wanted to ask her something. She wondered what kind of question Yoji might ask.
"Remember after I saved you from falling down from the cliff? You somehow embraced me all the sudden for no reason and you said something." he explained.
"I did?"
"You just only said the name while you embraced me. Who's Kai?"
Yume became surprised that Yoji asked her who's Kai, her deceased sensei. She knew that she did said his name while embracing Yoji after he saved her from falling down from the cliff.
"He was my sensei." she answered.
"Your sensei?"
She nodded. "Three years ago when I was a Genin, I don't have two comrades with me, but only Kai-sensei. He was a medical-nin and taught me medical ninjutsu. Until..."
She stopped and became hesitated on talking about her sensei's death to Yoji.
"Until what?" he inquired.
"He was killed by an assassin when he had a B-rank mission. Back then, I sought to find the person who killed Kai-sensei three years ago and found the person I was looking for. However, I realized that my former revenge I received after his death gave me pitiful hatred. In the end, I gave up that revenge and hatred."
He didn't knew that Yume's sensei was killed by an assassin three years, leaving her all alone and received her revenge and hatred. He began to wonder who killed her sensei back then before she gave up her revenge that gave her hatred.
"Who killed your sensei back then? Before you gave up your revenge?" he asked, curiously.
She became slightly surprised, but more shocked when Yoji asked her who killed her sensei back, which it was, of course, Kabuto Yakushi. She hesitated about answering his question to him after she knew that Kabuto killed her sensei back then before she first met him. She became complicated as her right arm touched and gripped her left arm slightly. She knew that she can't answer Yoji's question because Kabuto ordered him to protect her during the game.
Yoji realized that Yume didn't answer to him and knew that she don't want to answer who killed her sensei.
"It's okay. You don't have to answer, Yume."
She surprised as she realized when Yoji convinced her that she don't have to answer his question. But after he convinced her, she wondered why Kabuto ordered Yoji to protect her during the game. She knew that she have to find the person who will protect her before she met Yoji.
"Yoji-san... There's something I need to ask you."
"Hm? What is it?" he wondered.
"Why... Why did Kabuto ordered you to protect me?" she asked.
Yoji became extremely surprised when Yume asked him about Kabuto ordered him to protect her during the game. Although Yume knew Kabuto before, he knew that he had no choice, but to answer.
"He ordered me to protect you because it's priority when he gave me that mission," he answered. "If I fail to protect you, the game will end completely. That's what Kabuto said to me. Before I looked for you, I asked him that who is the challenger, but he didn't tell me, leaving me to find out. Right now, I know that why he didn't answer that it was you."
"Yoji-san."
He went towards her and touched her shoulder with his right hand.
"I promise I'll protect you. I have to." promised Yoji.
"But why?" she asked with confusion.
"Because I don't want you to be killed by them. That's why I'll protect you. No matter what happens, I won't make that mistake ever again."
Suddenly, a door appeared before them. They realized that it was another door that it will lead to the next stage.
"Another one?" Yume realized.
"Could it be that we defeated Joyoku and Kuzuri?" he implied.
"I guess so." she answered.
As they entered the door to the next stage, the door closed itself and disappeared completely.
Meanwhile, somewhere in Orochimaru's former hideout, Megami was in the hallway after she talked with Kabuto. She sensed that someone she knew came to save Yume for some reason. She smiled and that the person she knew was really here in the Akumu no Kuni. However, she knew that the person can't interfere Kabuto's plans although he tries to save Yume. She began to prepare her next move.
"Unmei." she called.
Suddenly, he appeared before her when she called him. He has brown hair tied in a ponytail and clad in a black sleeveless shirt, long pants, and black shinobi sandals. He has a mask with a mark of a black dragon on the right side that concealed his face.
"What is it, Megami-sama?" he asked.
"I have a request for you," said Megami. "I want you to kill someone."
"To kill someone?" he inquired.
"Yes. Someone who already appeared in the Akumu no Kuni who tries save the girl who is a challenger of the Seven Stages of Nightmares." she explained. "I don't want him interferes Kabuto-san's plans after all."
"Tell me who I must kill, Megami-sama." implied Unmei.
She smiled slyly, realizing that he wanted to know about the person he must kill. "The shinobi from Inyogakure, Yori Yukisaki. He looks a lot like you."
He became slightly surprised, but confused when Megami told him that Yori looked a lot like him for strange reasons. However, he knew that Yori was the one that he must kill under her orders.
"Yori Yukisaki... Understood. I'll find that person." said Unmei.
"Good. Don't fail on this request, Unmei. I know you can do it," she complied.
"Yes, Megami-sama."
After he received a request from Megami, he disappeared within the dark shadows that were surrounded around him. As he left, Megami became surprised as she realized that Yori came to the Akumu no Kuni. She knew that it's been three years ever since she defected from Inyogakure after she defeated Yori.
"In that case, I should go to the Akumu no Kuni to see Yori-kun again. It's been three years ever since I left Inyo." Megami convinced herself to meet him again.
Later in the Akumu no Kuni, Yume and Yoji came to the third stage after they entered the door. When they came to the third stage, the appearance of the location in the Akumu no Kuni was different to the two stages that they completed. The forest was surrounded by a thick mist unlike the other forests in a reality.
"I never seen a thick mist in this forest before." said Yume, looking the mist surrounded the forest.
"It's different unlike the reality. There's no way that forests were surrounded by thick mists," he explained. "We have to be careful. There may be ambushes somewhere in this forest."
As they came the forest with a thick mist, they began to walk. Somewhere, Netami and Taidana finally found them while hiding in the trees.
"Tsk. I guess Joyoku's right. He is protecting that challenger," Netami realized.
"Come to think of it, it's our first time when that girl from Konoha became a challenger." mentioned Taidana.
"Hey, you're right. All we killed were Orochimaru-sama's test subjects back then. I guess it's our lucky day." she replied.
"So what should we do although we found Ryoji and the challenger?" he asked.
"We just follow them, of course. If they stop, it's our chance to ambush them, thanks to this mist." answered Netami. "Come on, Taidana. We don't lose track on them."
After they found Yume and Yoji, they followed them while hidden in the forests without being spotted by them.
"Hey, Netami. Are you sure it's a good idea to follow them? What if we get caught?" he asked.
"How should I know? All we have to do is not to get noticed by them." she answered.
"Well, when you put it that way."
While Netami and Taidana followed, Yume and Yoji kept walking in the forest with a thick mist that was surrounded them. Suddenly, as they're walking, Yume felt sudden strange feelings within her. She panted, feeling pain.
"What's happening? Why I feel pain?" she confused. She began to realize that it was same just like Kabuto enticed her feelings into emotionless. "Could it be... the same feeling like Kabuto did to me?"
Feeling pain with strange feelings, she somehow began to faint. As she was about to faint, Yoji saw Yume and went towards her. He caught her quickly after realizing that something happened to her. After Yoji caught Yume in his arms, strange feelings that she felt within in her had disappeared.
"Hey! Yume, are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah... I'm alright." she answered. She became confused when she felt emotionless strange feelings. "Those feelings... if it's the same way like Kabuto enticed my feelings, then why did it happened again?"
Suddenly, Yoji sensed something ambushes them and took Yume in his arms, dodging from kunai and shurikens. After he dodged the kunai and shurikens, he put Yume down. Yume realized that someone ambushed them after he took her away from the kunai and shurikens.
"Good job on dodging my ninja tools, Ryoji."
"That voice!" Yoji heard someone.
Netami and Taidana appeared before them. Yoji realized that Netami threw her ninja tool at them after he caught Yume in his arms for strange reasons and dodged away from them.
"Man, I never knew that you're protecting that girl," said Taidana. "No wonder you already defeated Joyoku and Kuzuri."
"Netami, Taidana..." Yoji realized.
"You better tell us why you're protecting her!" demanded Netami.
Yoji became tensed on fighting against Netami and Taidana while protecting Yume. "That's not good."
Yume knew that the two of them knew him although his alias was Ryoji.
"Sorry. I can't tell you why I'm protecting her." he answered.
Netami realized that he can't answer her question about why he's protecting Yume during the nightmare game.
"Why you..." she angered. "If you don't answer me, I'll force it out of you!"
"Go ahead and try." Yoji provoked the ninja tool kunoichi.
Netami displeased when the puppet leader provoked on forcing him to answer. She prepared to summon her ninja tools as she was about to fight against Yume and Yoji.
"Taidana, you go fight Ryoji."
"What? Why me?" he asked, confusing.
"Because I said so. Fighting against him gives me nerves!" she answered. "And what's important is that challenger."
"I guess I have no choice." he realized.
"You better not to interfere my battle!" she warned Taidana.
"Yeah, yeah." he answered. "Man, I can't believe that I'm fighting against him. That's not fair. I really wanted to fight that girl, but Netami don't want to fight against Ryoji."
Yoji prepared himself as he took his chakrams out from his waist. He became worried that he have to fight against Taidana while protecting Yume. He knew that he won't make the same mistake again just like the last battle with Joyoku and Kuzuri.
"Take this!" Netami threw kunai from ninja tool scrolls that she usually kept them with her.
Yume and Yoji dodged Netami's kunai and suddenly Netami attacked Yume with a bo staff. As she attacked her, Yume blocked Netami's bo staff with her katana. Yoji became shocked when Netami attacked Yume.
"Yume!" He ran to help Yume, but he was intervened by Taidana.
"I won't let you interfere Netami's battle." said Taidana.
Yoji became tensed when fighting against Taidana and can't protect Yume while she was fighting against Netami.
"Damn it... What should I do?"
Yume became worried about Yoji fighting against Taidana as she was about to fight against Netami.
"This is my first time fighting against a Konoha kunoichi," thought Netami. "This is going to get interesting."
The Ally of the Byakugan used her katana as she prepared to face Netami. Netami throws kunai and shurikens at Yume, but Yume repel with her katana. Netami became tensed in fighting against a kunoichi from Konohgakure. Yume looked at Yoji fighting against Taidana.
"Yoji-san... Please be careful."
Yoji fought Taidana with his taijutsu while Taidana dodged his kicks and punches. After that, Taidana bit his thumb which he was about to use his summoning technique and slammed his hand on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
He summoned a black panther after he performed his technique. His black panther growled at Yoji with its glare eyes.
"That's right. He's a summoning user," thought Yoji "In that case..."
He used his chakrams to summon his flame demon.
"Honoo Ougi: Kaen Akuma!"
Using his chakrams, the two of them transformed into a flame demon. After a flame demon appeared, Taidana surprised as he didn't knew that Ryoji can summon his flame demon with his chakrams.
"Wow. This is my first time fighting against your flame demon." he commented. "Of course, it's true that I'm a summoning user after all."
"That's because you don't fight your opponents with your taijutsu. You always fight them with your Kuchiyose no Jutsu." Yoji exclaimed.
"I wonder who is better. Your flame techniques or my Kuchiyose no Jutsu?" the young boy asked.
"Go ahead and find out." Yoji answered.
The two began to fight with their animal partners, the flame demon and the black panther after they performed their techniques. On the other side, Yume was still fighting against Netami, a ninja tool kunoichi. Netami threw many ninja tools at her, but Yume blocked her ninja tools with her katana with wind chakra on its blade.
"Kaze no Mai!"
After Yume blocked Netami's ninja tools, she became furious when she can't fight against her.
"Tsk! Enough blocking my ninja tools! It gives me flusterated!" she angered.
"You can't defeat me. If you keep using your ninja tools, I'll block them completely," Yume explained.
Netami became tensed on fighting against a kunoichi from Konoha. She looked at her partner, realizing that Taidana was already defeated by Yoji.
"That idiot... I can't believe he was already defeated," thought Netami. She smirked as she knew that she made a trap for Yume before she began fighting her. "Well, at least she didn't notice the explosive tags from the ground she's standing."
When Taidana was defeated, Yoji's flame demon turned back into his chakrams and he putted them on his waist. Suddenly, Yoji sensed something amiss after he defeated Taidana with his flame demon. He can almost hear the noise somewhere.
"What? Noise?" he wondered.
Listening to the noise, Yoji became shocked as he began to realize as he saw Netami performing a hand seal to activate the explosive tags and noticed that she planted them in the ground where Yume was standing. He went towards Yume in a quick speed and shielded her. When he shielded her, the explosive tags exploded into an big explosion.
Netami smirked with delight as she killed the two in an explosion. "Too easy."
However, the ninja tool kunoichi became shocked as she saw that Yoji and Yume survived from the explosion after the smoke disappeared. Yoji panted while shielding Yume and became unconscious. Yume caught him as he passed out.
"Impossible! How did you survived?" she implied.
Yume realized that Yoji used his flame technique to protect them when the explosive tags were activated. Before Netami realized that Yume and Yoji survived from the explosion, Yume became surprised as Yoji shielded her. While he was shielding her, he used his flame technique to protect them before the explosive tags were activated.
"Honoo Ougi: Kaen Kekkai!"
As he used his flame kekkai, flames appeared around them and the explosion appeared while the flames protected them. After they survived from the explosion, she realized that his technique was very powerful to withstand the explosion.
"That technique he used was very powerful. At first, I didn't knew that the explosive tags were planted in the ground where I was standing," she realized. "It can withstand the explosion. I never knew that Yoji-san was so strong."
She became worried about fighting against Netami and Taidana alone after Yoji passed out. Taidana, who was defeated by Yoji, regained his consciousness realized that Netami can't defeat Yume and began to help to her. She realized that he was helping her right now.
"I thought you're already defeated right now." she exclaimed.
"I can still fight, you know. I hate it when you're fighting against a Konoha kunoichi. That's not fair," explained Taidana.
"It's not like that I'm stealing your spotlight," she replied.
"Well, at least Ryoji was already unconscious." he exclaimed.
"You're right. After all, we still need to kill the challenger right now." Netami realized.
"Then what should do with him after we killed her?" he inquired.
Netami realized that Ryoji was protecting Yume all the time eversince he didn't attend the game. "I don't know, but I guess we could kill him as well." she answered.
She summoned her bo staff once again and Taidana also summoned his black panther as well as they were about to begin fighting against Yume while Yoji was unconscious. Yume hesitated on fighting the two nightmares alone.
Suddenly, kunai with explosive tags ambushed Netami and Taidana as a surprise attack much to their shock. As the explosive tags were activated, Yume took Yoji away from them. The explosive tags exploded, however Netami and Taidana survived from the explosion when they got away from them as well. After they survived, they saw a gray smoke.
"What the..." Netami saw two silhouettes inside the smoke and it disappeared, revealing the two kunoichi from Inyogakure before them. The first kunoichi with Chinese buns wore a red chinese blouse with dark blue shorts and maritial artists shoes. The second one with a tomboyish appearance and grey shoulder-length hair wore a grey Chinese sleeveless shirt with a white tiger on the back with long black pants with black shinobi sandals.
Yume became surprised as she realized that Rika and Pana came to her aid. "Rika, Pana!"
"You okay?" asked Pana.
Yume nodded.
Netami saw their forehead protectors on Pana's right arm and around Rika's forehead and realized that those two were from Inyogakure.
"Inyogakure, huh?" she realized. "What brings you two here?"
"To save our comrade." Rika answered.
"Comrade?" confused Taidana.
"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Netami. "And how did you two found us?"
"Well, that's simple. We just heard an explosion before I threw kunai with explosive tags at you two," she answered.
"When we came, we found Yume and realized that she needs our help." explained Pana.
"So there you have it." Rika replied.
"Man, what should we do, Netami?" Taidana asked.
While Netami decided what they could do, Rika and Pana prepared themselves. Rika used her ninja tool scrolls and Pana used her fists. Netami knew that she had no choice, but to fight the two Inyo kunoichi.
"Guess we have to fight them first." she answered.
"You got to be kidding," he replied.
"I'm not kidding." she exclaimed
"Yume, just leave it to us. You look after him," said Rika.
"Okay, but please be careful." she replied.
"No problem. We got this." Pana explained.
Yume took Yoji to a safe place to make sure not to get in the battle. Netami prepared to summon her bo staff one more time while Taidana summoned his black panther as well once again.
"Get ready!" Rika and Pana prepared to be fight Netami and Taidana.