Chapter Twenty-One: Discovery

Ansei stumbled back, glaring at his eyeless opponent. "Surprised?" the boy asked. Ansei nodded, though he wasn't sure if the other thing before him could see him, though the thought was ludicrous, as the other boy didn't truly exist. "You cannot defeat me, little brother, so why don't we strike up a deal?"

"A… deal?" Ansei asked shakily. He wondered what would happen if he died in this fight. Would he die for real? Could he die?

"Yes, a deal," the boy answered. "You and I… we have always worked with one another together. Why can we not continue this?" Ansei blinked slowly. "You cannot beat the fox into submission alone, and destroying me will only cause you to face the beast one on one. If we fight together, we will stand a greater chance of defeating it."

Ansei studied the other boy for a long moment, then closed his eyes. He made sense. "But, aren't I supposed to win this first?" he asked.

"Why waste the energy? If we are both willing, why should you try to destroy me?"

Ansei thought about it. In truth, destroying the other entity wasn't the point. He was supposed to accept the other boy as a part of himself and to quell the anger inside of them both, but he didn't know that. All he knew was that this other entity had been useful throughout his life in keeping him sane (or driving him insane) and he had never wanted to get rid of the other boy. "You're right," he said. He reached up and took the eyeless boy's hand.

Break

The pick-up was relatively uneventful. Sarada watched their employers disembark the ship while she and Mitsuki waited for them to return. Himawari was waiting back in the ship, scanning the area for traps or shinobi trying to hitch a ride and stop them. "What do you think of our employers?" Mitsuki asked over the wind. It was cold in the Land of Snow, for obvious reasons.

"They seem nice, if not a little weird!" Sarada called to him. Mitsuki shrugged. He seemed entirely unbothered by the freezing wind and Sarada envied that. Even in his light clothes, he didn't show discomfort at the wind. Sarada turned away from her teammate. She was just as worried about Boruto as Himawari was, and while they had the information they needed, they were stuck on this mission for a little while longer. She was itching to go and find Boruto before anything bad happened to him.

Mitsuki closed his eyes and rubbed his arm. "It's a bit chilly up here!" he called to her. Sarada sighed. They were really out of things to talk about it Mitsuki was trying to make small talk about the weather.

"A bit?" Sarada repeated, annoyed. "It's freezing!"

"Yes, well…" Mitsuki trailed off and looked down at his booted feet. Sarada turned to look out as their employers walked towards them, an unconscious girl in the woman's arms. Nikko waved at them to go inside and they complied without question. No one was chasing them, but there was still a sense of urgency. Just as they entered the ship, the door closed. "Good timing," Mitsuki commented to the man and the woman.

"You got that right," Nikko said with a smile. Saimin handed the girl to Sarada. The Uchiha looked down at the girl. She wasn't terribly young, though she couldn't be more than fifteen. "Let's go." The group hurried through the main deck and to the rooms. Saimin took the girl from Sarada and went into their room.

"That went well," Mitsuki muttered with a shrug.

"Yeah. Seems a little odd that they would need us," Sarada said. "But it doesn't matter. We got a lot of money for this, didn't we?"

"Enough for at least a week of food and board," Mitsuki agreed. "Are you heading off to bed?"

"Nah," Sarada said. "We might as well earn our keep. I'll come get you a little after midnight. Tell Himawari good night for me."

Mitsuki smiled softly and went inside the room. Sarada sat outside the door of their employers with a kunai on her lap. People who walked by her eyed the weapon warily. Sarada blinked. Was it odd? In their world, weapons weren't usually a threat. If a shinobi guard had a weapon out, people would look at them with respect. These people, however, looked at her like she was a threat, not a worker. Sarada gripped her weapon nervously. They had only been in that world for a short time, but already she was looking at everyone as if they were an enemy.

No wonder the world falls into chaos so quickly, Sarada observed, distrust and paranoia spreads faster than any illness. She finally understood what her father had told her years ago. The mind was man's greatest enemy.

Sarada rested her head on the door behind her and closed her eyes. Though she would swear she hadn't fallen asleep, when her eyes opened again, the ship was in the air and she it was dark in the halls. "She's waking up, Nikko," the woman inside grumbled. Sarada looked around. No one was there watching her sleep.

"Well, that's not my area of expertise, Sai. You handle it."

Sarada heard Saimin groaned softly. She then heard a softer female voice from the room. The girl they were protecting. Sarada stood slowly, holding her weapon loosely in her hand. She leaned against the wall and sighed. They had told her that the girl would be kept under a genjutsu in order to assure that nothing happened, so Sarada wasn't suspicious. The door opened and Sarada flinched, but showed no other sign of surprise. "Oh?" Nikko asked. "You didn't go to bed?" Sarada shook her head. "Hey, Saimin! The Uchiha is up! Wanna show a real genjutsu master your jutsu?"

"Hm? N-no… That's okay," Sarada started, but she trailed off after a moment. It was obvious that Nikko wasn't going to take no for an answer. Sarada stepped inside. The young girl sat on the bed, holding her head in her hands as if she wasn't fully awake. While they weren't looking, Sarada activated her Sharingan. The girl's chakra had been sealed almost completely. It seemed odd to her that they would go through the trouble of sealing the child only to also put her under a genjutsu, though Sarada supposed it was more to keep the girl calm than anything else.

"Is your jutsu based on eyes?" Sarada asked as she stood behind Saimin. The woman shook her head. "Sound, then?" Sarada asked.

"In a way," Saimin answered. "Activate your Sharingan if you must." Sarada did as she was told. Genjutsu were odd things.

"What does it do?"

"You will see."

The woman sat beside the girl and placed a delicate hand on her shoulder. Sarada observed a small chakra exchange. Saimin hummed softly for a moment and the girl looked at her, confused. Saimin stood from the child and removed what looked like a pipe-flute from her bag. Once she began to play it, Sarada could see the sound waves that were laced with chakra. So, it's similar to Tayuya, Sarada thought, thinking of Shikadia's favorite story with his parents. The girl settled herself onto the bed and fell into the genjutsu moments later. "Interesting," Sarada said with a smile. "I appreciate you showing me this."

"Of course," Saimin said quietly. "Now, you may go on to bed. There's no one following us anymore."

Just as the words finished leaving her mouth, the door swung open, revealing two ninja holding weapons that Sarada had never seen before. "Release her at once!"

Sarada jumped between the two ninja and her employers. The two men looked at the girl and shook their heads. "Move, child," the other one said. "This is not something you should be involved in."

"Sorry, but I got paid to do a job," Sarada snapped. She lunged at the two ninja, only to see that there were more behind them. She swung and pulled a lever. A loud siren blasted through their hallway. Mitsuki and Himawari were there in seconds, attacking the ninja that were in the hall. Sarada performed a scissor kick on the leader, throwing him to the ground.

"Stop!" the man snapped, but Sarada punched him. "You know not who you defend!" Sarada shook her head and hurled the man out of the room. He started running and she took off after him, racing towards him. "The child is in danger!"

"I know she is!" Sarada snapped. She tackled the man and activated her Sharingan.

"Please!" the man cried angrily. "You must listen to me! The child! She is precious to our country! She is a—"He cut off in his sentence as he finally made contact with the eyes. Sarada sighed and leaned back. It was a weak attack that meant nothing. This was simply a ragtag team of rebels it seemed. Sarada stood from the man and dragged his unconscious body back to the room. Mitsuki and Himawari had dispatched the other three men and were talking to a flight attendant who had come to answer the alarm. Sarada waved sheepishly at the angry patrons who had been awakened by the skirmish.

She sighed deeply and leaned against the wall. Mitsuki was taking the loud yelling of the flight attendant with grace. Good thing it's not me, she thought. Mitsuki handles angry people better than I do. Himawari was standing sheepishly. Mitsuki had come to stand protectively between the angry flight attendant and the girl. Sarada sighed again. He was almost as much of an older brother as Boruto was sometimes. He better watch out. I'd hate to be the guy that tried to date that girl. She chuckled softly. Between Boruto and Seventh-sama, the poor guy would be scared out of his wits.

She opened her eyes, but her smile faded suddenly. She caught a glimpse of the room as Saimin was shutting the door. Her stomach dropped. Everything the invader had told her suddenly made sense. Nikko was holding a glass in his hand and as she watched, the crystal frosted over.

Boruto was getting tired of being hurt by Zetsu and his little pet. The chakra blocks on him prevented him from doing anything about his situation. He was there now, alone with the tanned boy. Akuryo had seemed to finally tire himself out. He was sitting in a corner, staring at Boruto with his dark, sightless eyes. "Hurts, doesn't it?"

"I've felt worse," Boruto said with a smile that the other could not see.

"I can make it hurt more if you want. Ever heard of a Cat of Nine-tails?"

"No but I've heard of a two-tailed cat and a nine-tailed fox."

A faint smile played on the corner of Akuryo's mouth at the joke. Boruto's eyes widened. He had actually gotten this little monster to smile! Sort of, Boruto berated himself. It wasn't even a half smile. It was merely a faint grin.

"It's a type of whip," Akuryo continued, having not noticed Boruto's reaction.

Maybe he forgets sometimes that other people aren't blind, Boruto reasoned.

"That has nine heads at the end with glass and nails and wood woven in." Boruto shuddered. "It was a terrible device and I hated it… Feared it…"

Boruto blinked. Even if he is this strange, recluse little demon… he's still just a child, I suppose. Boruto sighed and bowed his head. His father would want him to try and find the good in people, but Boruto was never very good at that. In his world, he didn't have to face people like this child. They were soldiers, sure, but before coming to this world, he didn't know what it was like to put your life on the line. He had lived a soft life. Ansei had even mentioned to him that he wasn't prepared for battle.

"It really shreds your skin," Akuryo continued. "Like a thousand razor blades being ripped through your flesh. I have one, if you want to see it." He said is as if he were offering a friend a chance to look at toy. Boruto shook his head, uttering a soft negative reply as he did. Akuryo shrugged. "It's especially painful when they make you practically curl on your knees and your skin's already tight around your bones. It's like cutting through taut sheets. Every though the blade is thin, the tear gets bigger because the fabric is tight."

Boruto looked at the child and sighed. "I didn't know they had slaves," he admitted.

"It's not legal within the ninja nations," Akuryo muttered softly. "But it is in some island nations outside your jurisdiction."

"Oh." Boruto looked at the ground. He wondered if it was legal anywhere in his world. Surely his father wouldn't allow it. "What… what's it like?" he asked.

Akuryo turned his head to Boruto and eyed him. For a moment, Boruto almost believed that the boy could see him. "You don't want to know…" he muttered.

"Hey, it's not like we have anything better to do. Unless you just want to continue beating me," Boruto suggested. Akuryo turned away. "Fine, if you don't want to talk about it…"

"It's not that it's anything worth talking about," Akuryo admitted. He leaned against the wall and sighed. Boruto studied him for a long moment. His father had always told him that there were no truly evil people in the world.

Akuryo looked up sightlessly at the ceiling. "My masters weren't evil," he started.

Guess I get another life story, Boruto thought.

"Well, not all of them. My family has been owned by that family for generations. I didn't know there was a better life out there. I was born blind and enslaved. Our first master was kind enough, but he died when I was around three and his son took over the family. I was deemed unworthy by him and was sold to a group of traveling mercenaries."

"Sounds…" Boruto didn't know how to finish that sentence. Anything he would say would simply not be appropriate for this child's story.

"They fancied themselves samurai, and they did teach me a lot," Akuryo continued. "But… they also had me for whatever purposes they wanted. It was something I learned to endure, even though I resented them for it. It wasn't until they began beating me when I started fighting back that I realized the gravity of the situation… So I killed them."

Boruto blinked and looked at the boy. The way he said it was so casual, as if it meant nothing. "How old were you?"

"I was eleven. I had been with them for six years at that point."

"How many were there?"

"Twelve."

"And you killed them all?"

"I did." Akuryo nodded slowly. "And, for the first time in my life, I was free. Then, Zetsu found me."

"And then you decided to use your newfound freedom to serve someone else?" Boruto asked. "How is that any different?"

"Zetsu-sama is a god," Akuryo argued.

"He is a monster!"

"So is humanity! I feel like we've already had this conversation. You keep trying to change my mind, Boruto, but it won't happen!"

"Akuryo!" Both boys lifted their heads at the call. It wasn't Zetsu that was calling. It was a far more familiar voice.

"Ansei!" Boruto called, but his voice was cut off as Akuryo grabbed his throat.

It was too late, however. Footsteps echoed through stone hall and Boruto gasped when he saw his friend. Ansei had grown less pale in the time they were apart. He still wore all black, but he seemed more confident and he carried himself with more pride. That would be great if this wasn't what he was proud of… Boruto through.

Ansei gasped and threw the cell door open. "Boruto?! What is the meaning of this, Akuryo?!"

The blind child stared at Ansei. "Zetsu-sama brought him here," he said. He stood and started leaving. "He will hear about this. You aren't supposed to be down here."

"Neither are you, but I followed your rotten chakra."

Akuryo narrowed his eyes. Ansei turned and knelt before Boruto. "Are you okay?" he asked, but he shook his head. "No, of course you aren't! You are lucky you aren't missing a limb with that one!" Ansei took a long look at Boruto and smiled. "You were dead! How are you here?!"

"Well, you know… Death was too good for me."

Ansei hugged the other boy tightly, but not too tightly. "I can't believe you're here!"

Boruto smiled. "I can't believe it either," he said. "How have you been? What is all this?"

"Zetsu-sama is going to help me complete my dream! Children will never have to suffer like I did! Or like Akuryo did! We will create a perfect world, Boruto! It will be fantastic!"

"But is it right?" Boruto asked.

"Of course it is!"

"You're hunting Jinchuuriki!" Boruto snapped.

"It's for the good of the world!" Ansei argued. "It's for you… And people like us."

"Do you really think there's a version of this where you get out alive?" Boruto asked him.

Ansei bowed his head. "I know there's not," he muttered. "But I will at least leave this world a better place that how I found it." He brightened slightly. "Come on, let's get you out of these chains."

"Don't, pet." Both men stiffened. Zetsu stood behind them, watching their interaction.

Ansei stood. "How long has he been down here?"

"Not long," Zetsu assured his puppet. "I did not know he was alive before then."

"And this is how you treat him?!"

"I could not just let you know he was alive," Zetsu argued. "I did not know if you would abandon the mission if he was alive." Ansei didn't answer and that seemed to angry Zetsu. "You aren't abandoning our work… are you?"

Ansei looked away. Zetsu rushed at him and slammed him against the wall. "We have worked far too long for you to start second guessing this!" he growled. Ansei narrowed his eyes. "I will kill him, Ansei, here and now. I will let Akuryo's cursed chakra infect his body and you will stand here and watch as his flesh melts! Do not tempt me, Ansei. If you want your little friend to continue living, then you will not even consider leaving."

Ansei looked at Boruto, who looked back at him. "Don't worry about me." But he knew that was asking too much. Ansei had spent the past six years regretting it… wishing Boruto was alive. He wouldn't let this newfound miracle go to waste.

Ansei turned to Zetsu. "I wouldn't dream of it," he said finally.

"Mitsuki!" Sarada called. She grabbed her teammate away from the group of people.

"What, Sarada?" Mitsuki asked. "Is something wrong?" Something was obviously wrong. He could see it. Sarada was completely distressed. "What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked, suddenly worried. He grabbed her arm.

"That girl… she's a Jinchuuriki…" Sarada whispered.

"What?"

"Those two are the Jinchuuriki hunters!"

Mitsuki blinked. "Are you sure?" he asked quickly, pulling her closer.

Sarada nodded. "The man… he used his chakra to cool his drink!"

"That doesn't automatically mean it's them…"

"He's an ice user!" Sarada gasped. "My dad fought an ice user! There aren't many! And those men we fought were trying to tell me that she was someone precious to their village! We just helped them kidnap a Jinchuuriki!"

Mitsuki stood there for a moment. He went over their options quickly. They could kill them... "No," he said quietly. "They will lead us to Boruto."

Sarada blinked. "What? No! We have to save that girl!"

"I know! But if we blow our cover now, we may never find Boruto! They will move if they know someone is on to them!"

Sarada looked at Mitsuki, shaking slightly. "What about Himawari?"

"We won't tell her." Sarada nodded slowly. "Don't worry, Sarada," he whispered. "We will fix this… I promise…"

Author's note: AH! Finally! I'm sorry this took so long! I've been really busy lately! I do have the rest of this story mapped out, though! We're getting to the end!