Those Who Are Lost
Chapter 4
The Shinobi Who Became a Legend
Hey guys!
Now I'm going to say right off the bat that I myself am not too impressed with the fight scene and that I will update this chapter at some point in the future just to touch it up where it's needed.
But for now I hope that you all enjoy it and I'm proud nonetheless to present to you the next chapter in this hopefully epic story.
Disclaimer: I do not in any way claim ownership of Naruto or Naruto Shippuden. These are both the rightful property of Kishimoto-sama... and his very scary army of lawyers ;)
Now then enough of my senseless prattling! Onwards to the story!
They moved quickly, dashing towards each other at such speed that they seemed to blur before the eyes of the common people. When they clashed, Sasuke tilted his head to avoid the uppercut and then smashed his own chakra laced fist into Gou's face trying not to grin at the sound.
Gou played it smart and rolled back with the blow in order to reduce the force of the blow and prevent his nose from being pushed back into his own brain. Sasuke didn't let up and rushed forward in an effort to end this duel before it could escalate and involve innocent people in the crossfire.
Unfortunately the Uchiha wasn't able to make it more than a few steps before he noticed it. The trap Gou set as he was rolling backwards. There scattered across the floor were dozens of small sharp spikes glistening in the daylight despite the dust kicked up by their initial clash.
Makabishi spikes. Nasty little contraption designed and forged in Mizukagakure during the First Shinobi World War to trip up Iwa ninja who just so loved running on the ground.
Skidding to a sharp halt he instead fell to his knees scant inches from the closest spike and gathered up the chakra in his lungs, shaping it and infusing it with just the right stuff before exhaling it all in his opponents' direction.
He admitted that he enjoyed the look of shock on Gou's face even as he leapt desperately to the side in order to avoid the giant fireball searing by him. It was at that moment though that Sasuke realised the full gravity of his action.
As the fireball narrowly missed his intended target, it continued on its course propelled by the power of his breath and smacked straight into one of the village buildings. The heat and kinetic force of the fire was such that it practically vaporised a hole through the front and back of the building before finally dissipating.
The simple wooden structure not only groaned from the loss of so many supports but red hot splinters fell to the ground and ignited the floorboards. It was clear that the wood would catch on fire and there was nothing that he could do about that but left unchecked, the flame could spread to other buildings within the settlement.
Damn it!
The Uchiha's frustration was understandable. He hadn't had to be mindful of his surroundings on the battlefield for a long time. At least in the sense of trying to minimize his destruction or prevent casualties from occurring under his watch. When he challenged Gou and his men he unwontedly assumed responsibility for the safety of the villagers and their homes.
Luckily it seemed that the spirits were on his side this day as several men of the village shouted to the others to prepare and fetch buckets of water and began creating a makeshift cordon to contain the spread of the flames which had just ignited.
Guess they're braver than they look. Good to know.
Returning his focus to the duel at hand his senses screamed at him and he obeyed. He tore himself backwards, barely avoiding the kunai that was intended for his throat. Spinning in order to maintain his momentum he reached into his pouch and sent a return volley of shuriken towards his opponent.
I need to finish this fight quickly.
"Earth Style: Rock Wall Jutsu!" Gou yelled, centring and moulding his chakra before expelling it into the ground. A large mound of stone rose up, blocking Sasuke's counter-attack with minimal effort.
Gou decided that he was indeed having a crappy day. The thing was he didn't fully understand why this was happening to him.
He woke up in such a good mood and in the beginning it seemed as though everything was going his way… and then came this stranger to challenge his rule.
Gou was no stranger to shinobi combat. As a Jonin it was something that was almost prerequisite to the rank and he'd taken his fair share of lives in service to the KusoKage, whether they'd be Gennin, Chunnin or Jonin.
But this guy…
This guy was something else entirely. He moved way too fast and if his initial blow had hit full force, then Gou would most likely have been killed. Quickly though he found himself falling back on the fighting techniques of his village, keeping a close eye on his opponent's limbs for any potential attacks and relying on traps to trip up his enemies.
Even so this was a fight that he had expected to finish within seconds; he didn't like the fact that he was dodging attacks desperately to avoid meeting the reaper. Luckily the tools he had on him allowed him some small breathing room and the stranger had already made a mistake.
He had allowed himself to become distracted by something as trivial as setting a building ablaze. Granted he was only unfocused for a few moments but in a shinobi battle such time may as well be an eternity. Gou wasted no time and sent a flurry of kunai at his opponent confident that he had won the day, which is why he found himself slack-jawed when the stranger not only evaded the attacks but returned with one of his own forcing the impromptu warlord to take shelter with one of his strongest defensive techniques.
Snapping himself out of his reverie he listened intently, trying to determine his enemy's next move on sound alone. Unfortunately there was nothing save for this incessant noise.
Like birds chirping or perhaps a kind of high pitched crackle? Wait, crackling…
Gou's eyes widened as he figured it out. The stranger was using some sort of lightning technique and he was getting closer if the shrieking sound was anything to go by.
Hurriedly the Kuso-nin performed a flurry of handsigns before finishing with a bellow: "Fire Style: Searing Stream Jutsu!"
And to the disgust of the villagers, the man began to belch a jet of flame directly onto the earth mound, the flames turning the rock red and licking their way around to cover the whole thing.
Let's see him try to get past that!
Gou frowned as he heard the sound of something akin to a mix of rock both melting and crumbling. Immediately afterwards, his eyes widened in shock as he witnessed something impossible. He only saw it for a split-second but the sight of it made his jaw drop. A hand wreathed in lightning shot through the centre of his earthly defence before the rest of the man appeared. The air around him seemed to shimmer with some kind of invisible force as red hot chunks of earth fell off to the side of whatever magical force protected this…monster.
It's unnatural.
That was the last conscious thought he had to himself before everything went to hell. The stranger became little more than a black and blue blur for one split second before Gou's day officially went to shit.
Sasuke felt the old familiar twinge of satisfaction as he sunk his Chidori straight through his opponents' left shoulder and quietly savoured the man's resulting roar of agony. Desperately Gou's fingers scrabbled at his wrist trying to pull the offending arm from his wound.
Though none of their spectators knew it that was the moment when Gou lost the battle and all because of a simple unknowing and innocent mistake. Through the haze of pain and rage, Gou glanced directly into the eyes of his enemy for the first time since their duel began.
Who could blame him? The Snake Dance, his taijutsu style, was an evasive fighting technique that focused on reacting to the muscle movements within opponents' limbs. Heads were parts of the body that almost never figured into physical confrontations with other shinobi.
And at that moment the signature fighting style of the Hidden Grass was rendered useless given the hand in his shoulder.
All he saw was a flash of red before his vision turned dark…
Shaking his head clear Gou refocused, using his free hand to reach for another kunai from his side pouch. The stranger's eyes widened drastically, black pupils enlarging in terror and the man began reaching for his own kunai in order to defend himself but it was clear that he far too slow. Gou grinned viciously before stabbing the fool into his side, straight through the ribcage and into the soft organs beyond effectively shanking him.
"Pathetic fool! I'll admit that you got me good but it's nothing I can't come back from. You on the other hand…"
Feeling the stranger begin to slack in the awkward embrace they found themselves in and in an oddly strange manner Gou gently laid him down on the ground, the man's mouth opening up to suck in deep gasps of air.
Gou merely nodded as if this were all part of the normal course of events. That was until something strange started happening. The stranger's mouth opened wider than should have been humanly possible and contained nothing but a deep…blackness.
The Nuke-nin frowned deeply. This was all wrong, something was incredibly wrong with all of this. The gaping void only grew as the stranger's mouth just kept on opening wider and wider and Gou couldn't help but to peer into the darkness in morbid fascination.
He suddenly felt so tired and everything around him looked as though it were covered in a thick fog, as though he were standing in a dream.
This was genjutsu for sure but not like any that he had experienced before. Feeling lethargy seeping into his bones, Gou wearily placed his hands together and gathered his chakra; expelling it a moment later into a big bang hoping that such action would dispel the illusion.
Unfortunately nothing changed around him so with a sigh he repeated the act of gathering up his chakra. The body of the stranger in front of him began to writhe and shake as something forced its way out from the chasm of his mouth.
It was a black raven with a midnight coat of feathers and a beak so sharp it almost gleamed with the promise of blood. Gou felt the cold trickle of fear flow down his spine as he gazed into the bird's eyes.
Blood red orbs decorated with a black ring and three spinning tomoe, almost mesmerizing in their cycle.
It was impossible.
That clan died out long ago!
Without warning the genjutsu fell apart, Gou's chakra accidentally expelled due to the shock even as the raven took flight and dived towards him, beak open and intent on feasting on one of his eyes.
He woke up to reality with a start and immediately wished that he hadn't.
Sasuke let out a small sigh even as he removed his hand from the man's shoulder, the lightning disintegrating the blood from off of his hand before dying away entirely. A strange silence fell over the entire town, save for those dealing with the last remnants of the fire that he was responsible for.
He was sure that they were confused as to what happened. Gou merely stood there, a dazed look in his eyes and his mouth opening and closing at irregular intervals as if he were having a wordless conversation with someone.
Sasuke walked around the defenceless man, drawing a kunai with one hand and raising his hand in a gesture of peace to the frightened townsfolk.
"It's alright he won't be able to hurt you anymore I promise." Even as he said this Sasuke turned and slashed Gou's leg tendons, the warlord falling to the ground in silence his legs lost to him now. Returning his attention to the mortified crowd his eyes began searching, scanning the faces for his target.
With a slight narrowing of his eyes he moved forward having found what he was looking for. The crowd quietly parted for him allowing the Uchiha to reach her; the young girl who Gou had claimed to be his bride. She was propped up against the side of one of the market stalls that were scattered throughout the square. A middle-aged man and woman kneeling at her side their arms wrapped around her thin frame as it shook with the force of her sobs.
Despite her emotional state she found herself looking up as Sasuke's shadow fell over her.
"What are you going to do now?" She asked chokingly, her tears continuing to fall onto the ground as she did so.
The grip he held on the blades' handle tightened considerably as he took in her state and the blue-black bruises all over her bare flesh. Clearly Gou wasn't a gentle husband to his brides.
"Get up." He told her quietly. Instead of obeying him, the girl just looked listlessly into his eyes, seeing but not seeing him. Her parents on the other glared weakly at him, too tired and too scared to take a stand against him.
"I'm not going to say it again girl. Get up!" Sasuke growled, showing them just the barest hint of teeth as he did so.
Shakily the girl, Rin, got to her feet, gently shrugging her folks' hands off as she did so. Slowly she shuffled forward to stand in front of the ninja, meekly peeking up at him from beneath her hair.
Sasuke let out a small snort before offering her the handle of the kunai, pressing it gently into her palm as a further indicator that she should take the blade.
Rin's eyes widened almost comically and she looked between him and the blade a dozen or so times.
These people… they're little more than scared rabbits. That needs to change.
Wordlessly Sasuke stood aside allowing the girl a view of her… husband lying prostrate on the ground. Lifting his arm he pointed at the hamstrung man and spoke two simple words that changed everything.
"Kill him."
The girl gaped at him, her eyes darting backwards and forwards as though looking for an escape.
Perhaps she thinks it's another trap.
Reaching into his tool bag he retrieved another brace of kunai and passed them out to several of the closest villagers, including the bride's father.
The man, like his daughter looked between him and the blade but with suspicion in his eyes.
"Why?" The man asked.
Sasuke looked at his fallen foe silently; as though pondering what kind of answer he should give.
"Because monsters can't kill monsters, only human beings can." He murmured more to himself than to the father.
Shaking his head, Sasuke focused back on the man who asked the question. He spoke loudly for all the civilians to hear.
"You've lived in fear of him for far too long. The only way I can help give you your lives back is to allow you to do it yourselves. If I kill him then you'll live in fear of the memory of him but take his life yourselves and his spirit will dwell in fear at the memories of yours!"
He received no reply for but one moment before it seemed his words took effect. The girl screamed, rushing forward with her blade raised high only to sink it straight into Gou's gut.
Gou awoke to the feeling of blood filling his lungs and an intense white-hot agony radiating from his stomach. Opening his eyes he was surprised to see his wife perched on top of him, sobbing even as she kept stabbing her blade into his stomach.
"How dare you, you bitch!? After all I've done for you!? When I'm done I'll be drinking wine from your skull!" He roared, finishing his tirade with a great heaving and bloody cough, slapping Rin hard across the cheek to get her off of him.
Apparently this didn't seem to be the most strategic option as while he did succeed in removing his attacker, he not only found that he couldn't use his legs but his vision flashed white and then red as something hard struck him across his brow. Dully he recognised the red flash as blood seeping into his eyes from the large gash that had just appeared on his brow.
Wiping away the blood he glared outwards into the crowd looking for his latest attacker.
It was that last blow Gou struck against his latest bride that sealed his fate. The people were done being scared and while it only started with a thrown rock it turned into something much more. The town rose up and surged forwards, rocks and fists and kunai readied to dole out their own bloody retribution against the monster that had terrorised them for so long.
"What are you maggots doing?! Stay back! Stay away from me!" The rest was drowned out by the rage of the mob and his cries turned into gurgled screams as the people turned their tyrant into an indistinguishable bloody mess.
None of them noticed as the last Uchiha quietly made his way to his horse and then rode out of town continuing on his journey ever deeper into the Lands Unknown.
That was not to say that he was just forgotten and the story of what had happened spread to all those who came to the town, a story so fantastical that it became a legend, one which spread like wildfire from town to town.
The Legend of the Wandering Ninja.
My oh my what a scene!
Poor poor Gou!
...
Oh well ;)
Hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a review to let me know what you think. Pretty please with cherries on top?
Good news is that the chapter after next will be when our two lovely protagonists meet!
Until next time with
Those Who Are Lost Chapter 5:
The Girl Who Lost Everything.