"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 32: The Bloodline Rebellion Part 3
At a Rebel-conquered Outpost in Kiri Territory, around a month after Naruto Joining
"Alright, men, load everything of value. Kunai, scrolls, letters, equipment, money, everything." Ao ordered the rebel shinobi with him.
"Now that was an interesting way to use a shoulder blade, Kimimaro-kun. A+ on creativity." Naruto whistled, impressed.
"Thank you, Naruto-sama. I'm honored to have been brought along for the outpost raid. I've heard much from Haku-san here." The teen replied, as he pulled an axe made from his shoulder blade, out of a dead sentry's skull.
"I gotta admit, I was wrong about how useful seals could be. I can't believe this little piece of paper holds more water than a freakin water tank!" Suigetsu remarked as he formed back from his water state.
Naruto smiled as he looked at the team of teens he had formed to infiltrate the outpost and open up the gates for the main force of rebels. They had a ton of potential. It was scary how skilled they already were. The sensei in him wanted to help them reach their full potential, despite them not being from Konoha.
Haku gently spoke to Naruto from behind. "Umm… Naruto-sama? May I have a word with you in private?"
Naruto wondered what Narumi's friend needed to say to him with privacy. He ordered the two boys on his team to help loot the place. "Sure, Haku-chan. Follow me."
The two headed to a different room that had already been looted, save for the larger furniture, which the rebels didn't need right now.
"So, what's up?" Naruto asked as he sat on the edge of a table.
Haku remained quiet for a few seconds, as she tried to figure out how to phrase what she wanted to ask, before speaking quietly.
"I've been thinking recently, me being unable to fight well in close range has really been holding back what I can do. I'm always left in relative safety to provide support, while others risk their lives to fight. I want to be able to fight alongside my friends, my comrades, and fight alongside Zabuza-sama. I know you're not from Kiri, and you're only here temporarily, but do you think you can train me? Or at least give me some tips or ideas on what I can do? I've asked Zabuza-sama before, but he didn't want me to fight up close, so he didn't help me."
Naruto rubbed his chin as he thought. "Hmmm… close range huh? Let me see what I can think of…" He mumbled to himself as he began to rack his brains for some ideas.
"You're quick, but not very strong. Precision is the name of your game… Maybe a sword? But a katana is way too clunky for you… Nah, forget it. Maybe a tanto? Hmmm… I don't know… you seem to be more of the stabby type, rather than a slasher. It would work well with your precision and knowledge of human anatomy… if we could get some sort of giant stabbing senbo-"
Naruto's eyes suddenly widened. Of course! He had just the thing! He had forgotten about it ever since he picked it up in Amegakure on that mission he went on with Itachi all those years ago.
"I can't believe I forgot about this!" Naruto shouted out in excitement as he pulled his sleeves back and looked over the many storage seals he had on his body, trying to remember which one held the item he was looking for.
"If I recall… it should be… this one." Naruto hummed to himself as he reached a storage seal on his outer bicep.
Haku watched in confusion, as she watched Naruto talk to himself and go through several strange seals which were on his arm.
Naruto channeled a small bit of chakra into the seal, and summoned up a scroll.
He unrolled the scroll on the table he was sitting on, and began to trace through the different sections with his finger.
"Hmmm… jutsu scrolls, extra gear, disguises, furniture from Ame, ugh, ration bars from like, what, 5 years ago? 7? Gotta get rid of that. The new ones are so much tastier. Hmmm… equipment… AH! Here we go!" Naruto perked up when he reached the right scroll.
He finally unsealed the item he had been searching for.
"I think I found just the thing that could help you." Naruto presented the item with a wide smile on his face.
Haku took the long, thin, guard-less rapier-like sword from Naruto's hand.
She observed the sword with curious eyes. It was a long, thin, diamond section sword, that tapered to a needle-like point. At the end of the handle was a bit of revealed ninja-wire with a hook attached. It appeared that the entire handle held a giant spool of retractable ninja wire inside. Haku lifted up the sword by the handle, and gave it a couple swings and stabs in the air. It was lightweight and flexible. It felt perfect in her hands.
"Thank you, Naruto-sama! This is perfect!" She said with a brilliant smile that reminded Naruto of Narumi, who he had been missing.
"But… what is this?" She asked.
Naruto gave her a grin. "Zabuza might be able to give you a better answer to that."
At the Mizukage Tower,
"That's the 6th strategic outpost we lost to the rebels this month! Somebody please explain to me what the hell is going on, or there'll be heads rolling. Literally." The angry Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura, threatened his top officers in the war room.
"They're able to get to places in such a short time, that it's impossible for us to estimate any sort of time of travel for them. They keep popping up unexpectedly, and wreak havoc amongst our men. We currently have no idea how they're managing to pull this off." One officer explained.
"Even worse is the fact that they somehow know our movements before we even make them. Seeing as none of our outposts have reported any missing messages or scrolls, it might mean we have a serious spy problem here, rather than them intercepting our letters." Another one theorized.
"They've been much more coordinated as of late. Until this last month, their lack of communication was their Achilles heel when it came to their strategy of hiding their forces in various locations, but they've been able to turn that around 180, and use their scattered forces to their advantage, using them as remote operation centers where they send out coordinated strikes from multiple areas to hit different locations at the same time."
Yagura listened carefully, as he contemplated what he should be doing.
"I want a full sweep of our men. Find out who these spies are, and kill them secretly, so the other spies don't find out. Also, go to the prisons, and try to find any prisoners who are willing to become informants. Torture them and threaten their families if you have too. We need to figure out how they're managing to get information on us, how they're communicating, and how they're moving so quickly. If we want to make plans, we'll need information."
The officers in the room nodded and saluted the young Mizukage, before the meeting ended, and they left to follow their orders.
"I'll clean this earth of you filthy bloodline freaks, if that's the last thing I do." Yagura growled to himself, alone in the war room. "I'll pay you all back for what you did to me."
At the Rebel HQ
"Our shinobi on Crescent Atoll are requesting supplies in food, kunai, shuriken, and medicine, Mei-sama." Naruto reported to Mei as he walked in after returning from his most recent raid.
"Got it. Ao, make sure we send some extra supplies along with our orders to Crescent Atoll." Mei ordered.
"Hai, Mei-sama!" Ao saluted Mei and left to carry out her orders.
"I gotta say, your shadow clone communication system is turning out to be quite useful, Naruto-kun." Mei purred out to Naruto.
Naruto had taken to sealing in 10 shadow clones inside scrolls, and sending them to different hidden rebel bases, to take advantage of the memory returning aspect of the shadow clones to create a communication system. The remote bases would simply need to unseal a clone, tell the clone what they wanted to say, then dispel the clones. Naruto would then relay the message to Mei.
Naruto's handpicked team, Haku, Kimimaro, and Suigetsu, walked in behind him.
"We're done unloading the cargo, Naruto-sama." Kimimaro reported.
Zabuza eyes almost bulged out of their sockets, and Mei's one visible eye widened when they saw the sword strapped on Haku's waist.
"Haku! Where did you get that sword from!?" Zabuza asked in shock.
Haku unstrapped the sword and handed it to Zabuza. "Naruto-sama gave it to me when I asked him to help me find a solution for close-range fighting."
"Do you have any idea what this is?! What this means to our village?" Zabuza asked Haku.
Haku shook her head. "Should I, Zabuza-sama?"
"This is Nuibari, one of the 3 missing legendary swords of the mist! The last person known to have it was Kushimaru, before he vanished!" Zabuza exclaimed before turning to Naruto.
"How do you have this sword?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes.
"I was on a mission, and I found it in a storehouse in Amegakure. I recognized the sword so I took it, but it didn't really fit my style, so I never got around to using it." Naruto explained.
"Do you know how valuable this sword is? Yagura would have paid a fortune to get his hands on this sword! We would have done the same." Zabuza admitted to Naruto.
"You would just give it to Haku? Why?" Mei asked with a raised eyebrow.
Naruto shrugged. "Eh. Why not? It means more to Kiri than it does to me, and I don't use it. Besides, I like Haku-chan here. So why not?" He replied as he ruffled Haku's hair like he would on Narumi.
"I see. That's quite kind of you, Naruto-kun." Mei responded, after a few seconds of observing Naruto wordlessly.
"Well, since you have that sword now, it would be best if you learned how to wield it properly. Head over to Mangetsu, and ask him to train you. Tell him it's an order." Mei told Haku, who nodded and left the tent.
"If that's all, may I be excused?" Naruto asked Mei.
"Oh. Do you not like being in my presence? And here I was, thinking we were getting along sooo well." Mei growled out the last 2 words in a seductive way with a smile on her face.
"Err… no it's not that. I-I was just gonna work on training with Kimimaro and Suigetsu." Naruto stammered out.
"I see. Have fun with the boys then, Naruto-kun." Mei said as she winked at him.
Naruto left the tent quickly, with a blush on his face.
Kimimaro followed suit with his regular blank face, while Suigetsu walked out sniggering.
"You do that to him every time, and the reaction is always entertaining." Zabuza commented with a grin on his face.
Mei chuckled. "He's an interesting one. He seems to be easy-going, but then is capable of mass murder without remorse. Then the next moment, he just helps people for nothing in return."
"I still can't believe the Nuibari was with him the whole time. And I can't believe he just gave it back to us for free." Zabuza said in response.
"He's quite the mystery. He even gave us the majority of our funds without expecting to be part of our cause. He's been with for over a month now, and we still don't even know what he is truly capable of. He appears to be open with his feelings, but I can't get a read into what he's really feeling or thinking. What's he really up to? What makes him tick?" Mei wondered out loud.
"The only time he's not playing his mysterious game is when you flirt with him. Maybe he has feelings for you?" Zabuza suggested.
"You would think so, but I don't think that's what's going on. At first, I thought so as well, and that explained his behavior, doing outlandish things to get my attention. But I realized he's just dancing to his own rhythm. He doesn't even consider his high-risk operations to be special. It's like that's just normal for him. It's clear he's capable of a lot more, as unbelievable as that is. The little he's shown was enough to shift the balance of the civil war in our favor." Mei responded.
"Just what are you truly capable of? What is your game? Who exactly are you?" Mei whispered to herself.
At the Rebel Base
"Geez, Naruto-sama, what are you, 12? You suck at talking to girls." Suigetsu teased.
"Why don't you can it, rain drop. Don't make me kick your ass." Naruto growled out.
"It does seem like Mei-sama makes you quite uncomfortable. Are you perhaps, scared of her?" Kimimaro asked seriously, not quite getting what made Naruto act so strangely around Mei.
"Nah, he just squirms like that, cuz he's trying his hardest to not let his little man salute Mei-sama." Suigetsu snickered.
"His little man? Do you have a son, Naruto-sama?" Kimimaro asked, oblivious to the innuendo.
"Alright, that's enough. It seems free time just makes you guys talk about nonsense. We'll spar to make productive use of our time. Both of you, come at me. Maybe if you guys spent less time yapping, and more time training, you'd actually be able to touch me this time." Naruto said as he grinned.
Suigetsu scowled. "I'm gonna cut you in half this time! Come on Kimimaro!"
Kimimaro simply nodded nonchalantly as he ripped a sharpened bone out of his shoulder. "We shall try out best to land a hit on you, Naruto-sama."
Naruto yawned. "Well? I'm waiting." He gave them a cheeky smirk.
In Training Ground 7, a Resting Day for Kakashi
"Eh? Really? Kakashi-sensei and Dango-nee?" Narumi questioned as she tilted her head to one side.
"SHHHH! Not so loudly! What if someone hears!" Izumi said as she looked around to make sure no one was watching.
"Well… that's an interesting pair. Right, Hinata-chan?" Narumi asked Hinata.
"I-I think they'd be c-cute." Hinata replied.
"Right? They're perfect for each other! Both are crazy enough to be with each other!" Izumi exclaimed in excitement.
Sasuke began to pale and shiver as he imagined the two. "Wha- what? NOO! Wha-what if Kakashi brings that insane lady to training? Or what if that lazy bum puts her in charge of training?" He began to chew on his nails nervously.
"Oh, stop it, Sasuke-kun. You're being overdramatic. Anko-chan is a little crazy, but she's actually quite sweet. And have more respect for Kakashi, will you? He's one of our strongest ninja." Izumi admonished Sasuke.
"You just don't know, Izumi nee-san. The things she can do… her and her snakes." Sasuke shivered.
Narumi ignored her dramatic friend. "So what should we do? How can we help?"
Izumi smiled. "I knew I could count on you, Narumi-chan! Just convince Kakashi to stop reading that book of his, and to go on a date with a real woman. And try to subtly suggest Anko."
"We'll try but-" Narumi pinched a Sasuke who shaking his head and crossing his arms in an X to show he wouldn't be a part of this. "Like I said, WE, as in all of us, and yes, that includes you too, Sasuke, will try. But it's gonna be hard to get his nose out of that DISGUSTING book."
"Oh, you mean Icha Icha? It's actually not so bad. They have pretty good plots usually. It's just a problem when you start to prefer the books over real people." Izumi explained.
"NO! Not you too!" Narumi gasped.
"You should g-give it another go. Maybe it's not so bad?" Hinata shyly suggested.
"No… NO. NOOO! Don't tell me they got you too!" Narumi screamed as she began to back pedal with a deer-in-the-headlight look, before she ran away.
Izumi and Hinata looked at each other before they turned to look at a Narumi who had her hands over her ears, running around screaming some nonsense about some conspiracy involving corrupting the minds of innocent girls, and asking her nii-chan to come and save her.
"Uhhh… do you know what that's all about, Hinata-chan?" Izumi asked Hinata, who just shook her head.
At the Mizukage Tower
"Sir, our new informants have brought us news that they have a mercenary in their ranks who may be an Uzumaki survivor. He seems to be responsible for the changes in the rebel's method of operation." An officer reported to Yagura.
"Those damn Uzumaki! They're basically bloodline freaks as well! Kill any Uzumaki we might find!" Yagura shouted out as he slammed a fist on the table.
"But sir, how about their knowledge of seals? Wouldn't it be better if we're able to utilize their knowledge?"
"Some powers are better off disappearing so no one can misuse them. Kill them all." Yagura said, putting his foot down on the matter.
"This mercenary seems to be responsible for stealing quite a bit of intel, causing our raids to turn into opportunities for ambushes our men for them. They also seem to have found a weak spot in our chain of command who communicates with the mercenary, telling them places they can exploit and raid." Another officer informed the meeting.
"Using our intel to turn our attacks against us, huh…" Yagura whispered to himself, as he thought.
"We'll use this strategy against them then." Yagura whispered to himself.
"One of our prisoners exposed where their HQ is." The Mizukage announced as he took a look around the room to see if anyone reacted to the news.
"We'll build up our forces in Outpost 12-C, and stockpile weapons and equipment here. We'll clear out the nearby outposts to send their numbers to Outpost 12-C. At least openly. We'll send mostly our weakest and newest recruits here to show off their numbers, while we secretly send 1000 of our most elite to ambush their base when they move out to attack the supposedly empty outposts near Outpost 12-C, and hopefully capture that bitch, Mei. As such, we'll be sending these men to Outpost 5-A instead, near where their HQ is." Yagura explained.
"Feed them false information to lay a trap?" Munashi Jinpachi, the only Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist who sided with the Loyalists, and right-hand man of Yagura, guessed.
Yagura smiled a cruel smile. "Indeed. Now everyone, you're dismissed. Except for you, Nezu. I have something to discuss with you."
All of the officers, except for Nezu and Jinpachi, left.
"What is it, Mizukage-sama?" the officer named Nezu asked.
"The actual outpost closest to their base is Outpost 9-B." Yagura quietly told Nezu.
"I see. But why would you lie to the other officers?" He questioned.
"I believe we have an informant in our midst. Make sure you keep this information to yourself. I know I can trust you, so I'm going to put you in charge of the raid. Jinpachi will send you 1000 men to Outpost 9-B, is that understood?"
Nezu nodded. "Hai, Mizukage-sama. I won't let you down."
"Good. I know you won't. Now go. And make sure you don't tell anyone about this conversation."
Once Nezu left the room, Jinpachi closed the door and approached Yagura.
"Should I send the 1000 elites to Outpost 9-B?"
Yagura shook his head. "Send the deserters, weaklings, and informant suspects."
Jinpachi raised an eyebrow. "You suspect Nezu?"
Yagura once again shook his head. "No. I suspect everyone except you. That's why I'm going to secretly tell each of them a different outpost will be the real base of operations. Whichever place gets hit, I'll know the officer in charge of that place will be the informant. That's why I'll be sending disposable units there."
Jinpachi smiled. "Clever. And you'll promptly execute the informant once they're exposed?"
Yagura smiled back. "Not right away. We'll blame the leak of information on that apparent Uzumaki mercenary. We'll use the informant to leak false information to the rebels, and set a proper trap."
More of Jinpachi's sharp teeth exposed themselves as his smirk widened.
"I see. Quite a devious plan, Mizukage-sama."
"Once we cripple their HQ and capture their slut of a leader, we'll use her to force them to coalesce into one force, so we can wipe them out once and for all." Yagura declared.
In the Rebel HQ
"Mei-sama, we have information from one of our informants in the Mizukage's inner circle." Naruto informed Mei.
"That's good. Let's hear it." Mei motioned for Naruto to continue.
"Apparently, Yagura plans to make a big show of gathering his forces in the outpost near the Smokey Islands, by emptying the other outposts nearby. However, that's a diversion. They're hoping we go and raid these empty outposts, so they can hit our base while our forces are away." Naruto told Mei.
"Crafty. Good thing we managed to sneak in our informant into his council." Mei commented.
"He says the ambush force will be stationed in the outpost near Turtle Rock. If we can secretly plant bombs and collapse the outpost on their heads as they sleep, he says we'll be able to kill 1000 of their elite forces."
"I see. We'll have to play along then. We'll make sure our ships are seen heading to the Smokey Islands by the Loyalist forces, but they'll mostly be empty ships. Meanwhile, you can take your team on a demolition mission to the outpost in Turtle Rock." Mei ordered.
Naruto smiled. "Say less, Mei-sama." He saluted her and left to get his team.
On Turtle Rock, at night
"Are you sure, Nezu-sama? I could do the inspections for tonight."
"No. This might be one of the last times we can look over the place before we attack. I'll do the inspections personally." Nezu told the officer speaking to him.
Nezu then went off to inspect his men, and the overall security and status of the outpost.
"He sure works hard, eh?" An officer told his fellow officer.
"That's why we follow him. He doesn't order us to do anything he won't do himself."
Meanwhile, Nezu went around the outpost checking on all his men.
"Are all of our men accounted for?" Nezu asked one squad leader.
"Hai, Nezu-sama. All the men are inside for the night. Most of our sentries will be watching the seas for Rebel ships. We'll have a couple men stationed outside."
"Good. That way, everyone can sleep soundly, knowing they'll be safe. Get some rest too. We have a big day coming for us." Nezu commanded the man, who saluted him and went inside the sleeping quarters.
Outside the outpost
4 sentries slumped over at the same time, dead.
Naruto spread his senses around, to check if there were any others that were outside.
"That's all of them. Good work, team."
"Damn, I'm never going to be able to eat another barbecued rib ever again." Suigetsu said as he scrunched his nose in disgust, watching Kimimaro pull a sharped rib out of a dead sentry's skull.
Kimimaro ignored him. "You were right, Haku-san. There is less blood if you stab them with a thinner bone."
"See, Suigetsu? You owe me. Stabbing beats slashing." Haku said smugly to Suigetsu, as she pulled her new blade out of a man's eye sockets.
"Yeah, yeah whatever. You just don't know that satisfying feeling of splitting someone open like a ripe watermelon, since you got a weak-ass knitting needle as a sword." Suigetsu spat back. "Why don't you leave the fighting to me and bone boy here, and go knit me a scarf?"
A vein began to show on Haku's forehead. "… Do you need me to freeze you again to remind you that I can beat you any time I want?"
"Alright you two, that's enough. Our informant should be here soon. Act professional for 5 minutes, will you?" Naruto chastised the two teens.
A dark figure came outside, appearing to inspect the security outside. He didn't see the bodies of the dead guards, because Naruto disposed of them.
The informant slipped a small piece of paper into a bush, and headed elsewhere. A few minutes later, Naruto came out of hiding and picked it up.
"Good. Thank you for the information." Naruto whispered to himself.
"Come on team, follow me." Naruto ordered.
Haku, Kimimaro, and Suigetsu followed Naruto, and began to stealthily plant Naruto's powerful explosive tags on key structurally important parts of the outpost and the barracks that was connected, all while avoiding the security details due to the informant's information.
Once all of the explosive tags were planted, they got back to their boat.
They rowed a safe distance away from the outpost, before Naruto formed the hand seal necessary for detonation.
"KAI!"
*BOOOMM!*
The large stone outpost exploded and collapsed on itself, killing the men inside, either from the explosion, or the massive rocks that fell as debris.
"And that, my dear friends, is how you destroy a building." Naruto told his crew, as he took a bow.
"Too bad we couldn't loot the place this time." Suigetsu commented. "Or get much action."
"The mission was a success. We've done as Mei-sama ordered." Kimimaro said stoically.
As they rowed away, Naruto looked back at the smoke rising. He couldn't help but think this mission was way too easy. Were the elites of Kiri this lax in security?
He brushed aside his concerns. 'Maybe I'm just getting too good at doing these missions. Everything seems too easy. A little boring, but oh well.' He thought to himself.
At the Mizukage Tower, A Few Days later
"Mizukage-sama! He's here!" A shinobi informed Yagura.
"Good. Send him in."
A nervous looking Nezu entered. "Sir, I'm sorry. If only I had been more thorough with my security…"
Yagura gave him a benevolent smile. "Don't worry, I don't blame you. My sources have already told me that the Uzumaki mercenary somehow stole the information. We'll need to deal with him soon, but for now, I'm just glad you returned safely."
"Thank you, Mizukage-sama! I'll make that bloodline sympathizer bastard pay!" Nezu growled out angrily.
"I'm sure you will." Yagura told Nezu as he patted him on the shoulder. "While you're here, there's something I'll need your help with. Come follow me."
Nezu was confused, but nodded and followed the Mizukage.
Yagura led him down to the lower levels of the Mizukage tower, while engaging with Nezu in friendly small talk.
"Good to hear your family is doing alright. I'm glad to hear your daughter is recovering from her illness." Yagura told Nezu as they approached the dungeons.
"I need your help with some investigation we're working on, so I need you to wait here." Yagura pulled out a chair for Nezu in the interrogation room.
Nezu sat down, a little confused as he was no interrogation specialist, but he was still compliant. "Of course, Mizukage-sama."
"Jinpachi! Go bring us our guest, will you?" Yagura ordered Jinpachi, who had been waiting in the room for them.
"Of, course. Should I bring out the woman first?" He asked.
"Yes. Now go."
Nezu sat waiting, his thoughts all over the place, trying to figure out what was going on. He glanced over at Yagura, but his peaceful, nonchalant demeanor made it hard for him to guess what was going on in the Mizukage's head.
Yagura soon stood up with a smile on his face. "Ah, here comes our guest! Please, have a seat."
Nezu turned around to face the door to see who the guest was.
His jaw dropped, and his face paled when he saw who it was. What was his wife doing here?!
His gagged wife was similarly spooked, and was trembling in Jinpachi's rough grip, as he led her to her seat. He roughly sat her down.
"Now, now Jinpachi. No need to be so rough with our guest." Yagura chastised Jinpachi in a sarcastic tone.
"What is the meaning of this, Mizukage-sama! Why is my wife here!?" Nezu shouted out.
"Now, now. No need to shout. We're all inside." Yagura said in a calm tone. "Let's also not forget who we're speaking to, Nezu-san." Yagura's calm gaze intensified as his tone grew more threatening.
Nezu sat back down, hoping to avoid the Mizukage's wrath.
"Of course, Mizukage-sama. My apologies. I let my confusion get the better of me."
The Mizukage nodded understandingly, as he sat down next to Nezu's terrified wife, on the other side of the table of Nezu. Jinpachi positioned himself behind Nezu's wife.
"Now. How long have you been passing information to the rebels?" Yagura asked Nezu suddenly, his tone changing from a friendly one into an ominous one in an instant.
It caught Nezu off-guard. "Wha-what?"
"Please, Nezu. Don't make me repeat myself. You know how ANGRY it makes me when I have to repeat myself." Yagura growled out as his tone changed back and forth between friendly and threating, making him sound unhinged, but dangerous.
"Yes, of course, Mizukage-sama. I was just confused. I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about." Nezu stammered out.
Yagura nodded understandingly, and held out his hand to Jinpachi. The swordsman put a hammer and a 15cm nail in Yagura's hand.
"Jinpachi. Hold her hands together." Yagura ordered calmly.
Jinpachi roughly grabbed the poor woman's hands, and forced them onto the table, one on top of another. Nezu's wife looked at Nezu with frightened and widened eyes, her teary eyes begging him to help her.
Yagura positioned the nail on top of her hands, and held the hammer above it.
"How long have you been a spy?" He asked once again.
"PLEASE! I'm not a spy!" Nezu pleaded his innocence.
Yagura nodded wordlessly, before he smashed the nail through the poor woman's hands, and into the table.
Nezu's wife screamed through her gag, and writhed in pain, as tears dripped down her eyes, mirroring the blood dripping down the nail through her hands.
"MIZUKO!" Nezu yelled out in shock. "Mizukage-sama! Please! I swear, I'm not an informant! I don't know anything!"
Yagura sat back down, and stroked Nezu's wife's wet cheeks, as she cried in terror and pain.
"Jinpachi, please bring our other guest, will you?" Yagura asked Jinpachi, who nodded and left to fetch the other guest.
Nezu began to fear who his other guest might be.
A couple seconds later, Jinpachi came in with Nezu's daughter, walking in with her hand in his hand.
"Tou-san? What's going on?" The 6-year-old brunette asked before seeing her trembling mother. "Kaa-chan! What's going on!" She yelled as she ran over to her mother.
Tears began to drip down his eyes. Not his daughter. He and Mizuko had 2 miscarriages previously, and she was finally born after a difficult pregnancy and childbirth. She had been born weak, and had been sick for years, only recently getting better. Nezu could still see the brilliant smile on her face when she was first allowed to go outside to play. She was the apple of his eye. The sun in his sky.
Yagura had Nezu's daughter sit in his lap. He began to stroke her hair.
"Jinpachi, please bring us a map."
When Jinpachi brought the map and spread it out on the table, Yagura began the questioning again.
"So how long have you been handing over information to the rebels? Was it when the Uzumaki arrived?"
Nezu was unable to answer, as tears flowed down his face. He was torn between his duty to his family, and hid duty to the cause.
"I see." Yagura said when Nezu didn't reply. "Jinpachi?"
Jinpachi put a scalpel in Yagura's hands, and took Nezu's daughter, making her stand in front of him, with his hands on her shoulders.
Yagura made a shallow incision on Mizuko's finger, before he began to flay the skin off of her little finger.
Nezu's wife screamed once again, and bucked about, but her hands were nailed to the table. She trembled in pain, as she sweat all over her body.
Yagura peeled the skin of her little finger down to the second segment. Mizuko cried painfully, as her whole body shook.
Nezu's daughter had her eyes wide open as she saw the whole scene. "KAA-CHAN! Tou-san, what are they doing to Kaa-chan? Make them stop!" She cried out as she tried to help her mom, but Jinpachi held her in place firmly.
"I already know you're a spy. The outpost I sent you on? It was a fake mission. I just used it to find out who the spies were. I told each officer that I was secretly sending them to a different outpost, and that their mission was the real one. You know whose outpost was the only one hit?"
"If you already knew, then why do all this? Just kill me! Just please, spare my family!" Nezu sobbed out.
"Kill you? Oh no no no. You're much too valuable to kill." Yagura said in a sing-song voice. "As for why I would do this? It was a demonstration. To let you know I mean business. The real information I want to know, is where their HQ is."
Nezu looked over the map. "But I don't know where their HQ is…" He whispered out.
"Then you better figure out fast. Your wife was just an example." Yagura threatened, as he turned his gaze to Nezu's daughter.
"No! Please! I'll tell you everything I know! Just please, leave my daughter alone!" Nezu pleaded.
"In that case, why don't you take them fingers of yours, and point out where their HQ is?" Yagura told Nezu.
Nezu couldn't take it anymore. With trembling hands, he slowly began to hover over the map. His index finger finally landed on a large, distant island.
"The Gates of Uzushio…" Yagura quietly whispered to himself. "You clever bitch."
"Jinpachi! Bring a doctor and have them reattach Mizuko's skin back to her finger, and treat her hands. Then escort her and her daughter into their cell. Put Nezu in a cell in a separate wing."
Jinpachi nodded, and left with the traumatized girl.
"Should your information turn out to be false, or if you try anything behind my back, I'll cut off your daughter Akiko's eyelids, nose, lips, ears, and limbs. But I'll make sure she stays alive. Then, I'll lock her up in a separate cell facing the cell your wife will be in. She will want to hold your daughter in her arms again, but she'll never get to touch her again, instead only able to watch her waste away in these dungeons, never able to see the sun again. Am I clear?" Yagura threatened Nezu.
Nezu nodded as he sobbed.
"Good. Now continue to pretend everything is fine to the rebels. If you so much as cry in public, I'll send you your daughter's eyelids." Yagura told Nezu before he left.
Nezu was now left alone in the bloody interrogation room. He crumpled to the floor, and began to weep.
"I'm sorry Mizuko… I'm sorry Akiko… I'm sorry Mei-sama…" Nezu sobbed out on the cold floors of the room.
With Yagura
Yagura sat in his chair, as he planned in private. He couldn't let this leak out.
'If I lead the expedition myself, I won't need to tell anyone anything, other than the general direction they need to sail. After I destroy a few of their hideouts that are near Kiri, that Nezu will point out to me, those pesky rebels will begin to be hypersensitive of my ship and my sail.' Yagura thought to himself.
'Once they lose a couple bases, they'll try to prevent the next attack. I'll use their information network against them. I'll pretend to sail towards a base, and have my ship anchor nearby their base. If I'm nearby personally, Mei will have to lead her troops personally to defeat me.'
Yagura looked at a detailed map of some islands near The Gates of Uzushio, where the Rebel HQ was.
'I'll make sure I pay them back for all of their ambushes, with one of my own. It'll be sweet payback.' Yagura thought as he began to smile a mad smile. He would make sure a decisive blow was dealt soon.
*Author's Note*
And that's the latest chapter! How did you guys like it?
After some thinking, I decided to make it so that Yagura was not under Obito's genjutsu. That seemed like a plot hole to me in the first place. A genjutsu so powerful that he can basically control the mind of another powerful shinobi for years? Sounds like Kotoamatsukami to me, which Obito definitely does not have. There are no other genjutsu that's shown to really control someone like that. Genjutsu is usually just shown to make people experience false realities, not control them. So yes, Yagura is a mad, bloodthirsty savage on his own. I hate how Kishimoto just made Madara and Obito and Danzo responsible for everything bad. No, in this story, there will be other villains too, though Yagura will have a back story of his own, which will be revealed in upcoming chapters.
A big confrontation is coming up in the next chapter! Stay tuned for that! Time for Naruto to take off the kiddy gloves!
Also, what did you guys think of Haku getting Nuibari? I feel like it suits her style perfectly. I had this planned ever since the mission back in Ame. Took me forever to get here.
Anyway, let me know what you guys think! I'd love to hear your thoughts. I've been getting less and less reviews every chapter recently. This is pretty much the only feedback I get, so I'd appreciate it if you left me something.
Still, I appreciate all of the support and encouragement you guys give me! I now have over 1,000 people following my story! Thank you!
Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying the Bloodline Rebellion Arc, and this chapter as well.
Stay safe everyone! And I hope you guys all have a great day.
Until next time!