Chapter 19: Betrayal and Discovery
Capt. Hisoka walked into the dark throne room, still lit by the single candle that Hinata moved. Takeshi saw Hisoka kneel before him and said, "Hisoka… I have been thinking… maybe we should abandon our campaign against Konoha. Maybe target only small villages and nations instead?" Hisoka stood up abruptly, glared at Takeshi and replied, "NO. I knew that kunoichi must have persuaded you to betray us. I will not allow it. We have come too far just to back out now. I now have command over all of our ninja. I am taking control of this army from you, Takeshi." He drew his dual tanto-like blades. Takeshi stepped off the throne and drew out his large Nodachi sword from a scabbard on his back, gripping it with his metal armored hands. Takeshi activated his Shakugan and Rinnegan and said, "I always knew that this day would come, Hisoka."
Hisoka had changed his weapons so that he could hold them in his hands, making them more deadly. He raced forward, with the intent of cutting Takeshi in two. Takeshi held out the massive sword in front of him and kept Hisoka at bay. Hisoka was not deterred and continued to attack with incredible speed. Takeshi countered with equal agility and the clashing blades left showers of sparks from impact. Takeshi's Nodachi sword suddenly knocks Hisoka's blades from his hands and he falls to his knees. Hisoka has several cuts on his body but no fatal wounds. Beneath the wolf mask, Takeshi asked, "Did you really believe that you could take me down by yourself?" Hisoka had an evil grin and replied, "Who says that I'm alone?"
Takeshi suddenly felt that he was in danger and acted on instinct. He channeled fire chakra using chakra flow into his Nodachi sword and the flames coming off lit the area around him. Takeshi found himself surrounded by hundreds of termites. He activated a special jutsu: Flaming whirlwind and spun his sword over his head at an incredible speed. The movement created a swirling vortex of fire that incinerated all of the insects. Takeshi jumped backward and landed on top of the throne. He said, "Very clever, Hisoka. You distracted me while Masaki's insects surrounded us." Masaki appeared out from the shadows next to Hisoka and said, "Sorry, boss. But Hisoka has promised us more than just our share of the gold in the mines. We want something more…rewarding." As Masaki was talking, Takumi appeared behind Takeshi and grabbed him with his four arms.
Takeshi struggled against him and managed to form the hand sign for Shinra Tensei. The blast was close range and threw Takumi back against the cavern wall. Takeshi plunged the Nodachi sword into his heart and Takumi was dead. Takeshi then used universal pull on Masaki and removed his soul with the rinnegan's mind reading jutsu. Hisoka stands up and says, "I know why you brought that kunoichi here. She reminded you of your Mizuki, didn't she?" Takeshi said in surprise, "I never told you my wife's name… how do you know it?" Hisoka said, "I have something to show you, Takeshi." He activated the Shakugan in his eye and used the Paralyzing Ocular jutsu on Takeshi. Takeshi falls onto the cavern floor with his face looking up at Hisoka.
Hisoka said, "I know what you are thinking: 'how did I acquire the Shakugan?' The truth is that I stole it from you, Takeshi." In an instant, everything clicked inside Takeshi's mind: Mizuki's name, his missing Shakugan… He shouted in anger, "I'll kill you, Hisoka!" Hisoka grinned and replied, "So, you have finally figured it out. After all this time, the man who has served under you all these years is the one who gutted your wife and killed your unborn son. I'm also the same man who killed your parents all those years ago."
Takeshi shouted, "WHY? Why did you kill my loved ones and deceive me all this time?" Hisoka said, "It was all to get you to rebel against Konoha and join me. By leaving the Leaf symbol on your house, I convinced you to defect and come right into my arms. I used the hatred you experienced from the Hyuga and Uchiha clans against you. I needed you to help establish this large mercenary ninja enterprise. After all, you were the one who found the large deposit of gold in the mine. You were the one who tracked down and captured Sasuke Uchiha. You brought that kunoichi to the hideout- she will be very useful to the men."
Takeshi thought the worst and said, "What did you do with Hinata? If any of those thugs touch her, I will follow you wherever you go and make you pay dearly." Hisoka replied, "Don't worry. I injected my green chemical into her. She is under my control and will give my troops a great advantage in battle- as their commander underneath me." Takeshi asked, "What do you plan to do, Hisoka?"
Hisoka said, "I have my own score to settle with Konoha. I am leaving with the army right now. Everything is ready. I have already sent a message ahead to direct them to this very hideout. They will find you and you will take the fall for everything that we have done." Hisoka took the wolf mask off Takeshi's face and smashed it with his foot. Then he walked out of the room with a swirl of his white cloak. Takeshi lay his face on the ground and thought, "How could I have been so blind not to see the truth all this time?" The last thing he heard before blacking out was the thundering footsteps of 700 mercenary ninja. The remaining 200 mercenary ninja would stay behind in the stronghold to make it look convincing for the Leaf that they were still there.
Shikamaru could not believe that he had survived that fall into the chasm. He used Azuma's chakra blades to stab into the cavern wall and reduce the speed of his fall. Shikamaru was about to climb back up to the top when he saw a narrow passageway cutting into a hidden room at the bottom of the chasm. He decided to check it out in order to see what was going on with these mercenary ninja. Shikamaru made his way slowly through the small space and found himself face to face with Sasuke Uchiha. Sasuke was completely in chains trying to break them with lightning chakra. It looked like he had been cutting through them gradually but they were still intact since the chains made from materials found in the mine.
Sasuke finally noticed Shikamaru and said, "You know I can get out anytime that I want." Shikamaru replied, "Drop the act, Sasuke and admit that you need help getting out of there." Begrudgingly, Sasuke admitted that his lightning chakra was not strong enough to break the chains. Shikamaru asked, "How did they capture you?" Sasuke tells him that Takeshi challenged him to a duel and he lost. Sasuke said, "I have never seen such swordsmanship equal or better than my own. Then he knocked me out with that dojutsu of his. Another merc ninja came and took my DNA from me while I was chained here–he said that he would give it to his troops.
Shikamaru says, "I would not lose any sleep if I left you here, considering your villainous deeds in the past. But you did assist the Shinobi Alliance in the Fourth Ninja War and you stated that you wanted to help save Konoha. Like it or not, I need your help to stop these merc ninja." Shikamaru activates Shadow strangle jutsu and uses it to pull Sasuke free from the chains. After brushing himself off, Sasuke says: "When do we start?"