"So, this is Tayuya?" Kagami asked, as he walked into the interrogation chamber where the girl in question was. Tayuya, now that she was not beat up, was quite the beauty with her red hair, her soft features and her perpetual scowl. She had strong chakra, very spiritual and light, sort of the opposite of Naruto's. He liked her already.
"No shit, dumbass." She growled at him.
Danzo turned to him. "She has a proclivity for cursing. Now, girl, listen well. Kagami controls whether or not you survive the day. I would remember that when speaking to him."
Tayuya scoffed, but she looked afraid. It was subtle, barely noticeable but very much present. "I was taught by Orochimaru, I think I can handle you all. Nothing is as scary as that motherfucker."
Kagami sat in front of the girl, smiling. "Then this will be very pleasant, won't it? I don't want to kill you, a powerful Kunoichi, jonin level at fourteen with skill in genjutsu? A rarity. Shikamaru, the piece of trash you fought, his report says you also possess high strength with or without your seal and enough skill to trounce Naruto Uzumaki. The idiot blonde you fought. Now... with those skills, you are much better to me alive. So tell me, will you work for us, or will you join your comrades in obscurity? You already know what I am capable of. I destroyed the barrier you and your friends put up. I am the reason you were captured by the Leaf."
Her eyes widened, her fear doubled, but she only said. "Fuck you!"
"Maybe later, when we are old enough for that to matter. " She went bright red. "Until then, I would advise you join us. Or rather join me. I need a partner, not sexual don't worry, but a real partner for my missions. I am almost a thousand percent sure you are wanting to get away from Orochimaru, who abused you, forced you into combat, and nearly killed you with that seal. I know it has a one-in-ten chance of killing you, but you held on. You have to resent that, I would."
She sneered. "And you can offer me what? More servitude?"
"A chance to not be forced to torture, torment, violate, abuse others. I give you the chance to not be abused yourself. Yes, you will be a prisoner for a time, but when you earn your freedom will you really want to be free? You be able to use your vast skills to do whatever you please, I would know since I am going to be leading this organization in... well, likely ten or so years."
Tayuya barked out. "You, really?"
"Why not, I am stronger than you at twelve, who knows what I will be able to do in ten years? As for you, I can say the same. So much talent, pity to waste it."
:::
Tayuya may not have been the strongest of the Sound Four, but she was the smartest. Kidomaru had been the most tactical, but she was the smartest. She knew that her chances of survival was slim to none if she rejected the offer. Having just nearly died, she had no interest in a repeat...
"What perks do I have, if I work with you?"
The boy smiled. "At first only access to better training and working with the soon to be head honcho. However, if you prove your worth, you get to rise through the ranks and one day be free of the binding seal that will be placed on you regardless of your choices. You get a headstart since you have service and skill under your belt. If you prove yourself enough, you get your own squad, your own say in how things are run and more. You get to matter, can you really say you ever had that under Orochimaru? Hell, I will give you access to training that could put you in par with Orochimaru, give you the means to kill him if you are so afraid. I think you have that kind of potential."
That sort of offer hit home in fifty different ways. Tayuya loved power, it was why she followed Orochimaru outside of her fear of him. Sitting tall, Tayuya gave her answer. "Fine, shithead. I will join you, be your partner and all that shit. I work better in a group anyway..."
"Awesome! Any guesses on your code name?"
"Amuse me."
"Lady Phoenix, your rebirth is fitting isn't it?"
She snorted. "Shithead thinks he has a sense of humor... great... so... what next?"
He snapped his fingers. "You get your binding seal and then we start our training. You are too wounded to fight much, but you need to start on reading up on other things. Like seals, a weapon, taijutsu style and something to expand your genjutsu to more than just sound... you also need elemental jutsu. You will be wheelchair bound for another two weeks, so we will need to work on your mind. No point in wasting any time."
She sighed. "I know some seals, the shushin, the replacement, transformation, clone jutsu, two barrier ninjutsu, and I have a powerful summons, the Daki... which you never mentioned."
He shrugged. "You cannot use them during missions, too easily discovered."
"Shit... but in extreme situations right?"
"Sure, only in the most extreme of cases. Speaking of, I need a summons... any ideas?"
"Each of my team had a summons, but none are available to you... I would recommend reverse summoning yourself, it's how I found my Daki. Orochimaru forced me to do that. Same with Jirobo, the fat one you got killed."
"Ahh,... any ideas on your element, or weapons?"
"Not a clue."
"We will start you on throwing weapons and tanto, but move on to other weapons if you show an affinity for them. With your temperament, I suspect you have Fire, but who knows... my main element is wind. Regardless, you will be learning Earth and Fire, to go with my powers. We will complement each other. When you recover, you will learn a clone jutsu and we will get started on perhaps teaching you poisons too... we will make you outright really, genjutsu or no."
That made her smile. " I hope you mean that, I really do, shithead."
" Oh but I do, very much so I mean it."
:::
Danzo felt his confidence bursting, he now had two powerful Ninja in his repertoire that would guide the Leaf to greater heights. The girl would be an utter terror with the right training, mixed with Kagami and she would be like the Red Death and the Yellow Flash. The world would cower before them!
The Leaf, and therefore his, legacy would be uncontested!
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a blast to write. Any ideas on who learns Medical, Kagami or Tayuya? Any suggestions?
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.