Article 42 - Chapter 38 - Chain of Memories
-Volume 2: Subarticle 7-
┬┴┬┴┤ Chapter 38 ├┬┴┬┴
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Iwazumi Nara POV)
A gaping chasm exposed the cavern burrow to the elements. Fresh outdoor air replaced the stale and damp the nearer we got. Stars twinkled in the night sky, the moon but a sliver of its prime glory.
My escort led the way with a strange beacon of light. At the outer edges of visibility lurked darkness. The darkened night woke instinctive insecurity, an unsteadiness from an active imagination running through the unknowns and filling the gaps.
"You think it might be wasteful to use that like this?" The bald stone-nin inquired to his elated comrade.
Shin the pineapple monk scratched at his head, several flakes of white specks were carried by the breeze while he wiggled around his trusty glowing blade in hand.
'Pineapple monk' was a nickname I came up with but haven't told anyone because I'm not that insensitive. The Absurd is memorable and as unlikely as forgetting him was, I wasn't taking chances.
"What do you mean? Are you saying faith is going to up and dry out?!"
There he went again, struggling to entertain the thought people might have differing views than his.
"I guess Amadeus was pretty slim on the finer details, I just felt like he was letting us conclude that the blessing was finite and limited," Kisuke replied.
"You think the blessing of the singularity that runs off faith is going to vanish while we're around? Not a chance."
The buzz of insect wings hummed overhead forcing me to keep a leery eye to the sky.
Majestic purple and blue-winged moths descended from the shadows. Each leg of the creatures' were slim adult fingers relative in size and shape.
"They are being attracted by the light," Kisuke observed.
They dove down, colliding off Shinji and bouncing off. With a patient backhand, he swatted away the creatures, but as those stupid bugs continued making rounds mesmerized by the light Shin's patients dwindled.
A swarm now encompassed us. Shinji's face flushed red and a knot of blood bulged from his temple. With only the wave of a hand up towards the sky, a white-grey hazy cloud of hissing steam gassed the woodland canopy.
Tons of bugs dropped, their bodies popping and sizzling from cooking in the heat.
It defied logic. Everything fundamental in ninjutsu teaches the various ways to build chakra in different formations and to do that hand signs assisted in localizing the chakra to where it needed to be. That is why nearly all Ninjutsu has at least one hand sign, even mastered.
I watched again and again as Pineapple Shin shat all over that idea launching an assortment of ninjutsu without a word or pretense of a hand sign.
The two stone-nin took their spots on each side shielding me from the abundant danger.
Laughable. It used to be easy to mock characters from stories. Cowardice, avoidance of conflict, inaction… What was a MC without agency? It was easier to bash them back before I began trying. When I could shake it off by saying that if I did have the power it would be easy. Incompetent leads killed any magic of a story, at least for me anyhow.
The start of stories used to be the most boring part to me. They cooked up ways to show off how brave or hopeless a MC was. Hopeless people in real life would rather not take a shot than miss, I was a prime example. How can anyone like that be a hero? How could I relate when the world didn't bend for me the same way it seems to for others? Of course, the immersion broke. Incompetence couldn't be fixed. Victories aren't earned by a lack of functional tools. I remember how inauthentic it all felt. The illusion ripped as soon as I saw me in them. But then I decided to see how far I could take myself. I wanted to see how my talent could bloom if I stopped making excuses and worked. Suddenly it didn't seem so impossible for the weak to change, for the weak to become strong.
'How can I be anything but a failure?' I used to ask myself, but I had no answers. It was only after Watari-Sensei set me straight could I get a glimpse of the possibilities. For once I got this sense that with some ingenuity, I could be something special too. That my contributions didn't have to be continually outweighed by others. That I mattered.
A shift in perspective was all it took to give me hope, but another shift in perspective stripped it away.
Shin and Kisuke gave me a much needed reality check. A reminder that weakness is truly weakness, no sugarcoating.
My dry throat felt like I just swallowed sand. Wet sticky underpants rubbed and chaffed my skin. It started getting itchy. I refrained from reaching back, but instead, I held the waist of my pants waddling awkwardly, trying my damndest to move along with the group.
"I'm telling you, I think one of us stepped in something. I smell crap."
Ashamed, I hung my head. I wouldn't volunteer my neck for the gallows, but I can't just keep pretending I didn't shit myself if they keep digging.
"..."
"You know, I think I smell it too…" Kisuke said.
My cheeks burned, the ones on my face so don't get the wrong idea!
You're not main character material Iwa. Maybe goofy and delusional enough to be a quirky side character, but not a MC.
I always focused on the things that made me different from everyone else, the things that set me apart. As a veteran loner, I never worried about offending others with my authenticity. I found myself alone because people don't enjoy 24/7 authenticity. Not everyone wants to hear the truth, most don't. But by cutting everyone out, I inadvertently made it easier to lie to myself. What made complete sense to me before now suddenly appeared as a massive blunder to anyone arrogant enough to consider themself an aspiring intellectual.
A thunderous howl pierced the air.
"Calm down, they can smell the fear in you," Shin said accompanied with a pat and squeeze to my shoulder. "We'll make sure everything works out, I promise."
My stomach did a flip. That's not fear they smell...
I was nothing but useless and pathetic.
Watari-sensei made it sound so simple. 'The act of believing someone has more talent than you is a trap. Ignore what's out of your control. Go reach your ceiling before comparing yourself to others so that you can be certain.'
I'm a pretender. What could I possibly contribute that these freaks can't?
The blast of an explosion ruptured like a giant cannon. A high pitch whistle shot through the air.
Kisuke's bracers both glowed an azure blue like a cloudless noon sky. Waves of earth sucked from the ground compacted into sturdy walls. It domed us off from the forest. The whistle ended.
Seismic shockwaves drummed against the walls, the dramatic booming explosion behind our cover quaked. Dust sifted down with an occasional pebble throughout the vibrations.
"Aaaaachooo!" I sneezed.
"God bless you," Shin said.
The dome split apart. A forest fire sprung up crawling from tree to tree. Fire leaped from one branch to another with little discrimination.
Baldy hosed down the forest with an unthinkably thick stream in the presence of no surrounding water, the fact neither of them needed hand-signs became an afterthought to how masterful and varied their techniques were.
They were undoubted experts. In my opinion, each were geniuses who outshined Neji, Sasuke, and Mina combined by the few feats I've seen. Something I never expected showing how vast the world really is.
"I don't know how I can help." My pitch climbed higher before I finished.
"Hold on, let us get you to safety first," Kisuke replied.
Sheltered all the way to the end. What contribution?
A chorus of howls rang through the woods. The psychotic hyaenas still stalked us but kept their distance waiting for an opportunity.
"These buggers are persistent."
"I know."
A powerful gust of wind ripped through the forest. Leaves stripped from trees rode on the breeze spiraling past us from behind.
My foot slipped through the dirt careening into a pit. My hand snagged on something yanking my shoulder out of the socket with an audible pop.
"Oww!"
I dangled suspended, no strength in my arm to pull me back up. Dirt peeled away from the nearly vertical sloped wall clawing with my offhand. Large sharpened timber spikes littered the bottom of the pit. Each spike tip was coated in black sludge.
"Watch out for traps kid. Looks like they got some surprises for us." Shinji smiled in earnest holding me by my mangled arm.
I half expected to find a kunai buried in my armpit and jutting through my collar bone, but nothing seemed to pierce the skin.
"Ah-ah-ah. My arm!"
With a firm yank, I flew up. He slung me out of the pit, tossing me to the leaf-covered forest floor tumbling.
I clenched my teeth and rolled out of it. "Hn!"
I laid on my back fighting back a whimper. I sat up not having time to feel sorry for myself or regret.
A shadow dashed from concealment in a blurred mess. An earth clone tore from the ground wrapping the shadow up and locking it in a Taijutsu hold.
The shadow turned out to be an ugly drooling spotted little dog, and with a violent crack, its head twisted around 180 degrees. The light faded from the beast's eyes within seconds. It dropped slack, unmoving.
I cringed, turning away from the brutal violence.
"This… is what a combat zone is like?" I hacked out.
"The ninja life is not for the faint of heart. We were always taught preparation and conviction are the key to a lasting career."
Narrow trenches were channeled throughout the scene. Piles of excavated dirt settled in mounds reinforcing the trenches. Bones of the fallen were scattered this way and that. All the things that kept being forced to the back of my mind were thrown forefront.
I knew combat was brutal, that there were winners and losers, and what losing often meant. So then how did I convince myself it wouldn't happen to me?
I'm in way over my head. Maybe I'll never be ready for this…
It was like a blindfold was lifted. We heard about death all the time, but it was always impersonal. There was a level of dissociation. Death wasn't happening to us, it was happening around us. The lie we were fed was that there will be a tomorrow. Maybe for some of us, but eventually our day will come.
So in that case, does everything really matter? What will matter by the end? Preparation or not our days are numbered so maybe I should act like it. I need to stop wasting my precious time.
"Ama, we're getting close to the entrance," Shin shouted while holding his dagger up to his face.
The tree's buckled over, twisting and ensnaring a multitude of figures of the night restraining them.
"What?!" My mouth fell open in surreal confusion. "Wood style?!"
"Huh?" someone asked. "Oh, naa, that wasn't us. I guess God figured we could use some help. You remember what we said about the holy war? It's not going to be easy."
Signless ninjutsu? God? A holy war? Everything was Unbelievable. Inconceivable… and against all expectation at this moment irrefutable barring neither of these Stone-nin were secretly hiding the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai.
"Hurry!"
Pulled along, my feet desperate to keep up.
Aaaawwwuuuuuu!
"Yeah, this isn't working. Get over here." Kisuke said.
Baldy scooped me into his arms grabbing behind my knees and under my back.
"Wait!" I shouted in horror.
"No time." Momentum pressed me into his chest as space zoomed past in a blur from his shunshin.
The stop was sudden, the acceleration from stopping tinted over my vision with black. I was let go. Contact with the sweet ground again let me breathe a sigh of relief while stumbling around with unsteady footing.
Every second after the stop I started feeling more and more light-headed.
Two 5 meter tall stone doors hung open with intricate etchings engraved out of the rock. Several brown furry critters with long bushy tails wiggled around near the door.
My vision crept into greater focus. The brown critters were squirrels, alongside one white ferret-like thing. The soulless barren eyes of black chilled my fingertips. I twiddled them around fighting to shake off the squirmy creepy vibe those eyes gave me.
"Quickly, inside young Nara." A squirrel beckoned waving me over.
I paused, those eyes made me think twice before finally rushing over.
A brown and green flash whipped through the door. It hit the brakes skidding across the gravel flinging pebbles up and raining down.
Kisuke grabbed one of the stone doors leaning back and pulling. Shinji trotted over grasping a chain rigged to the interior of the door jerking it shut. A squirrel laid their hands on the stone, the etchings shining a brilliant glittering diamond white. The etchings vanished, as well as the carvings and cuts in the rock. Even the chains vanished. It all reverted to one solid slab of raw elements, no longer an entrance or exit.
I drug my hand across the former crack where the doors separated. It was smooth and uniform.
"Wow."
"What the? did…" Kisuke pinched his jacket by the shoulders raising it up to his nose taking a whiff. "...Ewwwgh! You smeared dookie on me! Seriously?!"
A brown farmer's splotch stained the front of Kisuke's flak jacket. His lip parsed in disgust. There was only one question in his eyes, I could feel it down in my very soul calling out.
Why?
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Hiruzen POV)
"You're certain?" I asked.
My gut squeezed tight. Danzo slapped his hand down into the hardwood desk with a clap.
"This doesn't make any sense!"
"Let's give Inoichi-san respect and let him finish. Please continue." I amended.
The blonde patriarch nodded with a solemn countenance.
"Hiashi Hyuga's mental faculties are in ruins. I've never seen anyone so intellectually mangled and have no ideas to improve his condition. He is essentially a vegetable."
A leader of one of the great clans being taken out inside of our own backyard will be a damning stain on the village's reputation, but worse was the implications he was holding back.
"And you're insinuating that the only jutsu you know of that could inflict this kind of damage… is Tsukiyomi?" I asked, my focus fixed and locked in on Ino.
"My reports tell that Itachi was spotted in the Land of Rice Patties and should still be there. Don't confuse this as an alibi, but let's not count out the pup we're protecting either. A young emotional boy spurred to cognitive violence after hearing about some mistreatment of the Kaguya brat. A tale as old as time."
I have seen the strength of his conviction time and time again. His resolve to protect the village never wavered, always focused on a greater picture. His inability to inherit your mantle is an unprecedented tragedy. He's the only Uchiha Master Tobirama would recongize as fit with the right mindset and techniques to carry on the First's will of fire. If only his body could've held up… He would never have fallen into your spineless, weak-willed inaction."
Danzo stood his ground, his narrowed eyes like a serpent's held composure even under scrutiny.
"I'm already bringing in Sasuke-kun alongside the rest of team 9. But let this be clear, I'm not jumping to any premature conclusions."
"Fine! … So what about Hiashi, the brat, and this whole mess? A little mind-surfing?" Danzo asked tucking his hands back into his robe sleeves and cusping them together.
"We will let Inoichi-san handle sorting through our suspicions with hard facts. As far as Mina-kun's condition, She's stable. but an inspection shows similar bruising to the brain, but they don't span over the entire temporal lobe like Hiashi's do. It's spotty, a little over here, a little over there. Hiashi-sama was certainly the main target while Mina-kun was spared despite what looks like damage or doctoring to different memories both short term and long term."
"That Ice release girl you sent over… She's the same as the Hyuga brat, tampered with. What Sharingan user comes to mind who both had access AND motive to tamper with the Ice release user? Tobirama-sama warned us that the abilities of the Mangekyo in siblings are often the same or similar as presented by Madara and Izuna. Isn't it about time for some diligence Hiruzen?"
"Hmm…" I hummed reaching for my beard and giving it a firm yank. "If the assailant wanted to clear themselves of suspicion and stay anonymous then why would they need to mess with older memories?"
My mind wandered off to the last of the Uchiha in the village. "Do you think the older memories were tampered with on purpose?"
"My apologies, my lord. I can't tell from the intel we have on hand."
"Yes, certainly… Inoichi, We need you to explore through the girl's memories. If we can get some context into which memories were altered, we can gain more insight on the matter. I'd also like all members of her team called in and their memories to be used as a reference. With any luck, we'll find some overlap with what's different."
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Raito POV)
Confidence is a fickle thing. You can have more than you need, then suddenly have none instead.
A bump shook the carriage toppling over the half-finished house of cards. It vexingly scattered throughout the cab.
Liquid courage. Alcohol. It can loosen you up to be more sociable, but it can also drag your demons and problems out of you as well.
"Curses! I overdid it and made a terrible showing. First impressions are everything."
The walls of the cab compressed in getting smaller. The air was thin and empty like it wasn't enough. I slammed my fist against the wall shouting to the chauffeur. "Time to park, I wish to take a walk."
Father warned me that life was a collection of habits. That our routines mold us into something new. That our environment and those we surround ourselves with matter more than we realize. It's never been so apparent he was right then after the countless people who've told me they loved me to my face deep inside couldn't stand the idea of me becoming successful, always creating new hurdles for me to overcome.
Faking confidence was never going to cut it with someone like her.
I didn't comprehend the gravity of fake friends for some time. I worried about quantity over quality. I'm always looking over my shoulder to keep tabs on the next backstab. All the yes-men who'd bob their head along like birds hoping for another scrap of bread… I'd leave them behind but without them who would remain?
I pushed the door open. Emotion slipped some chakra into the push. The door swang around by the hinges crashing into the exterior. I stooped down to find a scuff where the paint came off and sighed, wandering off with plenty of more urgent problems on my mind.
A trickle of water gushed, I turned into the park and up to the fountain. I paced around the fountain in circles for some time.
What do I care if the common folk will lick my feet? I don't crave adoration, and I don't crave intimacy. All I want is respect. To not be talked down to by family. To not be treated like a circus side-show for troop morale and propaganda. I brave the battlefield and frontlines to earn respect, but all the opportunities that come along get delegated to another. They dare not risk giving a high noble in the chain of succession a shot to rise past my station dictated by birthright and nothing else.
"Mina is my ticket off the sideline and into the action… Fuck! She hates me!"
Ninja Ace's are entrusted with critical missions and opportunities to strut their stuff.
I picked a cream-colored lily out from a flower arrangement tossed at the foot of the fountain by some gone mourner. I ripped a petal off the plant.
"She'll love me… She'll love me not."
I looked down, counting the remaining four petals, doing the math, and sighing before tossing the flower into the fountain with a stiff lip.
I fetched a 100 Ryo coin from my coin purse, gripping it snug in my palm.
"If I could have one wish… Give me a chance! I can earn respect by myself. I just need a damn shot before it's too late!"
My thumb flicked the coin up, spinning rapidly and humming mid-air before splashing into the water and sinking to the bottom.
I sighed and pinched my forehead. Wishing for something every day doesn't count as dedication.
If I was told seven years ago I'd be miserable because I get to do nothing but engorge on high society delicacies with no responsibilities I'd have looked at you crazy. How could that life be empty? The conquest of untold numbers of sullied and unsullied maidens alike. The adoration of the common folk riding off the prosperity the fire nation experiences taking credit for my uncle's successes, not my own. How could all these things be unfulfilling? I haven't figured it all out yet, but it is.
The longer you are kept away from working towards your aspirations, either by others or yourself, something inside withers and keeps withering until nurturing it.
"I won't give up. There's still something I can do…"
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Iwazumi Nara POV)
Underground in the joint burrow was a cityscape that extended downwards. Boardwalks stretched and intersected over it all with stairwells to reach deeper into the lower levels. Down and down into the depths we went. All buildings were constructed of red clay, mortared brick, or forged metals.
3,5,8,10. Every level we descended brought us further from the surface, but closer to my contract. As much as a contract would be awesome, getting buried alive would be a terrible way to go out. That is why by the time we reached level 20 I toyed with the idea of turning around. I might have tried too if it weren't for how bad I embarrassed myself in front of the stone-nin, but timid steps still progressed me forward I guess.
Sometimes you've gotta find victories in the small stuff to get to the bigger things.
I hopped off the final step to the bottom level. Grand painted murals of squirrels, mongooses, and badgers embroiled in combat. The lowest segment of the grandiose piece housed all the squirrels. They were setting up traps and ambushes all over the place to gain an upper hand over their adversaries.
In the middle section reigned the mongooses. They chased or lured their prey into pitfalls or corners to give them extra security if need be. A hybrid of cunning mixed with the offensive instinct of a predator.
But the last, highest section was barren. Other creatures didn't or couldn't enter the domain of the badgers. They were all alone by themselves in a jarring white backdrop each with a pronounced frown.
A door similar to the one we used to enter this gigantic burrow stretched all the way to the ceiling bridging all three levels into a medium. From behind our escorts scampered ahead to the door. They pulled apart, an alarming amount of white natural-looking light spilled out. A huge crystalline formation jutted down from the ceiling of the room glowing like a star. To each side, a hardwood glossed box housed animals, squirrels to the left, and mongooses to the right. Dead center was three judges' benches raised to equal levels and evenly spaced in a line.
A javelin struck down silencing the murmured whispers. A silky-robed black-furred badger with a lateral white band running down his head snarled while eyeing us visitors.
"We have come to join forces... If you accept the singularity in your heart as the one true God." Shinji announced to the room in a matter-of-fact tone, lacking the tact expected of my understanding of high-stakes political dealings.
"God? No shinobi is a god." The central badger rebutted.
"The singularity is no Shinobi, it's a spirit that controls the cycle of rebirth. We were sent as envoys to join forces against the malefic puppet Izuna and the more important puppeteer Jashin."
A flame of oppression burned in each of the honey badger's eyes after the word 'Izuna.' It was like the lone word tarnished their own pride.
"The only promising disciple, Captain Ryjert of the Bush-tails, was struck down in his infancy. Thinking about the loss of such a promising blooming talent… it displeases me."
"Ryjert-kun was truly one of a kind. The first and only squirrel to earn his way into the inner-sect. A sparkling beacon of hope for his clan and the youth. Someone whose blueprint can be looked to for inspiration of other Bush-tails and even the White-coats alike. Retribution would bring him honor and I'm all for that."
"Good. Our up-and-coming protégé would be a perfect fit as a Bush-tail summoner. This way we can tie a knot for a beneficial relationship."
"Retribution would be splendid, but allying with a powerless spawnling. We would need to set up a preliminary trial to test the metal of this so-called up-and-coming protégé.
"Chukukuku." A squirrel interjected but was silenced by another clap of the gavel.
I have a trial first? I was right from the moment I was summoned here. I'm doomed.
The three badgers looked amongst themselves before all nodding to each other. "Give us a ten-minute recess to discuss options for the future."
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Mina POV)
I woke up with a splintering headache in an unfamiliar place. The room was small with drab gray walls. Piece after piece started coming together, the puzzle laid bare for me to deduce.
I racked my memories for how I got here, but the last thing I could remember was some high-born pervert trying to swoon me with no game.
Did that bitch spite me and have me locked up?!
My teeth ground together, a poor decision in the wake of a headache.
Dread weighed me down on the off chance this turned into another excuse for an interrogation. Another face-to-face with Ibiki only added ammunition for nightmares.
I thought back to my favorite fantasy book series, a highly commercialized story eaten up by the Konohan kids. A hero didn't have chakra, but he had an ability like none other. Return by Death. Whenever he would die, it would bring him back in time to a checkpoint. It was phenomenal in all honestly despite being littered with propaganda. The series calls the main characters fervent self-sacrificial nature to be sure everyone around him survived the 'Will of Fire.' The young are like soft clay, easy to leave an impression on.
A door clunked open, I turned to greet my captive.
Onyx black bangs and eyes met my own.
"Sasuke?"
Before anything, Lee and Gai-sensei also slipped in alongside Inochi-san.
"You're still okay, aren't you?" Lee choked, burying his face in his arm like he was trying to hide..
"Of course, why wouldn't I be?"
The Uchiha searched my eyes as if verifying my words, but Lee
"Well, I was worried! They said you had memory loss and that we were supposed to help you remember what you forgot." Lee finished, ushering to Inochi-san.
"You don't have to be worried, I'm still me… Who else could I be?" I trotted up and threw my arms around him squeezing him in and whispering the last part into his ear. "Thanks for worrying."
For as long as I remembered, looking at Lee always cheered me up. Something about him made me want to root for him. Since I always want to see the best for him, him worrying about me meant all the more.
"You didn't forget me, did you brat?"
My posture stiffened. The heart in my chest picked up its beat.
"You're one loser I'll never forget." I approached wrapping him up unsuccessful in being coy.
His eyes lit up for a moment, his lips betraying his composure and displaying his respite of relief, but then his emotion fizzled out just as fast. He leaned away to slide out of my grasp, so I let go premature.
"Good." Sasuke nodded.
"Soo… What did I forget then?"
The blonde Yamanaka patriarch broke the silence. "You were caught up in an assassination attempt on Hiashi Hyuga's life. The assailant presumably erased the evidence that could be used to trace them back. Your memories, at first glance... not much changed. If it weren't for Hiashi's condition we might've not realized you were compromised at all. It's likely to affect you in the grand scheme of things little, but we want to be certain."
My breath got caught in my lungs choking on the words that I couldn't get out.
…
I cleared my throat, trying once more. "I'm… compromised?"
I racked my brain for potential suspects. but what kind of freak jutsu was capable of this?
Inoichi took calm steps until standing before me, bent down, and put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry. You are surrounded by friends. We'll get to the bottom of it together. You have my word."
Weird vibes hit me like Gai's taijutsu. His earnestness should've been assuring, don't get me wrong. But something underneath it all, reading between the lines, I knew he was selective in what he told me. The Yamanaka were legends when it came to specialize in the inner workings of the mind. Maybe that's why I couldn't shake the suspicion. The idea that the Yamanaka was responsible isn't one I could dismiss. It was THEIR field of expertise after all.
"...Thanks," I said with a shiver. "... so where is Hiashi-sama? He's got some explaining to do."
"His condition is non-life-threatening, but it will still be some time before you can see him."
Wow. Sounds like someone really gave it to him. It's fucked. I half wish the assassin succeeded, at least then some changes would have to come. There'd be no other choice. That bastard would have deserved it too after trying to ship me off after everything I did to make it up.
I bit into my tongue.
The thing that pissed me off the most wasn't that he tried to get rid of me, no. I could understand that part to be honest, it was trying to pawn me away for a fraction of my value.
I'm worth more than that… Aren't I?
I caught Sasuke staring, dragging me out of my daze. The adoption of a smile broke through my self-criticism.
Of course I am.
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Hiruzen POV)
"Hideyori-sama is pushing for an urgent meeting." My attendant informed me.
I froze in my seat. "Did Toyotomi-dono say what he wanted?"
"No no no. His nephew is the one who wants the meeting."
I folded my hands together. I rapped a finger on the desk in thought for some moments before settling on a solution.
"That makes things much simpler. Let him know that we are currently tied up and will get to him at our earliest convenience."
"Yes, M'lord."
I stood up and spread the blinds, staring up to the minimalized moon in the dreary sky. Melancholy was the night swallowing the light. The rampant changing hoots of owls signaled the hunt was on.
We didn't know what we were working with, but this time she's old enough to do real digging. Whatever happens, we won't be flying so blind after tonight.
The web of mystery caught up everything near. Orochimaru, Itachi, Sasuke, Mina, Hiashi, Ayasha, and another Kiri kekkei genkai holder, this one with Yuki-clan lineage.
What events are relevant? Who is involved? What is the purpose?
As time slipped further and further away, the questions only grew, as did the desire for concrete answers to pull away from the conjecture.
"I won't let another noble house fall under my watch." My legacy stained by innumerable failures meant nothing anymore. "But the youths' and the village's futures would be spoiled if I let chaos run unchecked. That would be a failure I couldn't live with."
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Inoichi POV)
As person of interest number one, I surfed through the channels of firing neurons. The verb 'Surf' doesn't do the job justice. Memories aren't as easy as that. Memories are jogged by firing groups of neurons. Each pattern of cluster sequences will trigger an individual or series of related memories. The chain of attachment is relative to the individual, anything they store together had a reason no matter how ambiguous it might be.
The tampered memories would be of the greatest intrigue if able to compare them alongside her other team members and kin, but my first assigned task was to establish a baseline reading of the secretive operator 'Silver-Wing.'
Sandaime-sama was deeply troubled by the idea that our intel regarding her is speculative at best, and with Hiashi's condition as it is, it's hardly surprising I'd be asked to fish out something more concrete. To find the true underlying motive for her seemingly inexplicable actions.
To get to the root, I went back as far as possible. I zipped past a mash of her short life to see which of her first memories held weight and could help explain her development into the Shinobi she is today.
"What really drive's you Mina-kun?"
...
Zzzzzt. Electric current surged striking the new neuronic sequence. The surroundings transformed into a played segments of stored sensory data like a cinematic.
Cheers and applause roared. The familiar graystone arena for public spectacles packed to the brim with an audience replaced the nothingness. The archway passed overhead exiting the hypogeum and entering the coliseum's main floor being bathed in the eyes of the crowd.
The young Neji stepped into the area across from us mirroring our entry. The shouts made it difficult to even think while being bombarded by the constant roar.
"Contestants take your places!" the sound system boomed.
The arena began dying down. People began leaning forward in their seats to enjoy the spectacle.
We walked over to the blue marker on the ground and Neji stood on the red. He flashed her a confident smile while she displayed her own.
Her public defeat to Neji… The memory's vivid details despite the age point's out this has been maintained and re-lived countless times. This is very likely one of the largest contributors to her current persona.
"1! START!"
The skirmish began. The fight escalated little by little as each Shinobi-in-training began unveiling their power and strategy.
"AIR PALM!"
"WHAT?" I blurted in disbelief.
A thick slab of chakra approached rapidly.
Mina's hands fought back the heavy attack deflecting it off course and out of mind.
The ninja's clash then progressed in Mina's favor, the bubbling sensation of pride and confidence in her abilities and preparation reached my core. My sympathy from the knowledge of the conclusion of the match drained all the tension out of reliving it careful to keep a vigilant and discerning eye to not miss crucial details such as the emotional state of Mina and her system of decision making.
"Dog, Boar, Ram. Transform!"
Neji became taller, and instead of 2 arms, he now had 8. Even as his arms approached, every contained Tenketsu displayed itself to me like glowing spheres, unable to hide from the mighty Byakugan.
He paused, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.
Chakra was sucked into the palms of all 8 hands as they faced me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?
8 simultaneous air palms approached layered to cover a wide distance but so that evasive maneuvres would be next to impossible.
Here it is. She must have been crushed beneath the expectations of everyone.
Her spinal cord whipped out lashing one of the oncoming air palms into two.
Unable to react in time to the barreling second Chakra blast, she tanked it outright with no other options.
The pain receptors cried of torment, the foreign chakra shocking the system and caused innumerable malfunctions throughout her chakra network.
Neji is a brilliant fighter. I pushed him to this. He made all of these techniques just to counter me!
That outlook praises Neji's talent, meaning she wants to see the people around her grow stronger. I always assumed she'd be the type to be content with light competition as long as she reigns supreme especially when inspecting her most recent psych profile.
Goosebumps broke over her body symmetric to the worsening position she found herself in. That would be expected, but in this case, I could tell her building frustration was not because she expected to lose, but because he took some of her public shine away. Her internal need for validation.
So, if this is what changed her, it's likely that many of her actions stem from seeking validation. Not a surprising answer, but a nice boring one considering Hiruzen's original worries.
She sprung her last trap for Neji-kun, the thirst for victory rising to an unprecedented new high.
She began reeling him in like a prized catch. But he crushed his restraints without pause freeing himself.
Yes this is it!
Kunai she launched up rained down upon him like hail.
Preoccupied with defending himself from the kunai rainstorm, Neji fought off the storm brilliantly but was negligent in his environmental awareness.
Her trap sprung up from the earth latching around him and snaking up his body.
By the time I can get the spine to the throat he will have lost.
He gathered enough of his restraints to pull against them rooting Mina in place affixing her to the ground.
Energy builtt up in the lad's two hands held overhead
I would need to dislocate the bone from me or go for the neck. A certain dodge or a draw at worse?
The speed of analysis and determination of her win condition stood out to me. If this is the conclusion she came to… How did she end up losing in the first place?
The shouts stopped.
Neji stopped.
The blasts had just been released from his palms and they froze mid-air.
…
That's it? That's the end of the memory?!
I was about to skip to the next memory, but a twitch of Neji's mouth left my mind racing to determine what was happening
Her bones were still frozen wrapped up to the top of his chest with no indication of moving despite feeling the intent Mina sent to continue controlling it.
"How are you enjoying your reincarnation?"
Admiring the thousands of inanimate ninja frozen in time, I lost touch with reality. They were like statues, but how? I couldn't for the life of me even begin to guess.
"BEING-X?! What an unpleasant reunion!" She shrieked.
Being… X?
"It would seem you still hold no faith." The Hyuga boy chastized.
"I'm not so weak I would need to cling to the metaphysical!'"
This is… This is insane. Could it be one of the corrupted memories? No… it seems untainted. Perhaps she began experiencing psychosis at that young of an age. Being unable to distinguish fantasy from reality would make sense… but even in those situations, the memory would appear doctored.
"I was going to keep my interference to a minimum, but It appears I will need to discipline an unruly lamb..." He said.
"DAMN YOU BEING-X! I will not submit. I will not relent."
A dark sadistic smile spread across Neji's face, his eyes now painted black.
Movement. I directed my attention to a new figure that leaped from the stands. It appeared human, but the creature's eyes were dyed a midnight black like a bottomless void.
They both continued with their creepy smile as the other still approached.
Unnatural signals rang throughout her conscious warning of a cosmic unfathomable danger ready to consume her. The being stopped in front, the unnerving eyes only now inches away.
"Is this fight important to you?" It asked in a mocking voice.
Hubris. This cosmic construct appears to see itself above mankind. Pride in their distinction as a grand manipulator with no effort to shield the out spilling malice permeating out of the persona.
The figure walked forward until stopping at the blasts Neji had discharged.
It used its fingertips to move the blast around until dragging them both closer. It kept moving closer and closer until the blasts were straight in front of her.
"YOU'RE JOKING? THIS IS RIDICULOUS?! YOU CAN'T MEAN TO START TIME BACK UP WHILE THESE BLASTS ARE BUT AN INCH FROM MY FACE! I WON'T BE ABLE TO DO ANYTHING LET ALONE BRACE FOR IMPACT!"
"Unruly lambs must be shown their follies."
"THIS IS SHIT! FUCK YOU!"
I watched it practically dance back to the seat in the stands.
It looked so damn happy with itself. I would break it, that damnedable Being-X. I would cut it into pieces and feed it to the most devout believers of his faith. I would slay the god and have them eat it in an artistic recreation of communion! It would be glorious…
…
Unable to fully process that experience, the only thing that could come to mind slipped out of my mouth. "...The fuck?"
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
A/N: Another Chapter or two of "Divine Reckoning" will be published later this week. I knew where I wanted to take the story, but didn't know how I'd take it there. As I clean up the newer Chapters and make sure they flow well, they'll be pushed out to you. Expect more new content to be coming soon!
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