Article 40 - Chapter 36 - What's In My Head?
-Volume 2: Subarticle 5-
┬┴┬┴┤ Chapter 36 ├┬┴┬┴
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Mina POV)
My lips shivered, fighting to hold the grin to avoid caving to desperation.
I've won…
A bittersweet victory.
When building something up and placing it on a pedestal, then finally after crossing the finish line, what if it didn't exceed or meet expectations?
My eyes hazed over getting hotter. Blinking away the mounting tears before they could overcome me.
I ground my face into the front of my blouse.
Teeth sunk into the fabric in an act of rebellion.
Being-X is still a mystery. Too soon to tell if it's dead or if it'll be back again.
A greater sense of control washed over me.
In a marginally better headspace, I scanned over the brutal and savage scenery.
Mangled and shredded corpses bobbed in a red sea painted across the alleyway like the canvas of a demented artist.
"Have fun cleaning up your mess." A voice replayed in my head.
Even when I'm winning… It feels like I'm losing.
One by one, appendages, clumps of flesh, bones, and everything that had once been part of a body was sucked away into the void. After, what was left behind was only the environment stained crimson.
A coppery pungent corrosive hung in the temperate seabreeze. A scent any seasoned combat veteran would know.
"I better make this quick." I mumbled.
I retrieved a storage seal from my pack.
Running my finger down it and infusing it with chakra, The seal opened. A weak stream of water glubbed out of it in thick clear rounded droplets. Adjusting the opened seal in my hand and pushing my thumb over half the opening, the pressure of the water climbed.
The slothful stream turned into a beam of pressurized white water striking the top of the wall masking trace evidence of my slaughter. The beam moved left and right in a loop, with each cycle it slipped a bit lower.
In 10 minutes the gore was washed over near the storm drain. Some of the material carried inside, the rest clumped up in a puddle near the drain.
My mind constructed the image of the puddle vanishing into the abyss. When I went to check, The puddle was gone. Locked away into my seal with no hope of reaching the light of day again.
That's really the best I could hope for in a scenario like this.
A long canine howl sung out over the afternoon.
Looks like the dogs might've picked up a scent trail. Better bail.
The scene wasn't perfect, but I had to admit it was clean enough that people wouldn't figure out that this was an execution site without some digging, and in the end would probably only end up with more questions than answers.
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
Pressing my toes into the wood encased kitchen island, I balanced the chair on two legs rocking back and forth.
The half-moon loomed over the night. The chirps of insects grew louder.
Each breath of air chilled my lungs. Helping me further myself from the madness of earlier.
A new status quo was in order.
Gai sensei pulled Lee's hands toward him. Lee's torso leaned further forward struggling to stretch further under the watchful gaze of our sensei.
"Uurrrg." Lee grunted.
A thunderous explosion boomed fracturing my focus.
The chair tipped backwards, the ceiling drifting past my eyes. Hitting the ground I threw my legs overhead carrying the momentum of the chair to catch myself on my feet.
"DOWN AT THE BAY-" Sasuke panted.
"-Down at the bay?" Lee questioned, pushing himself upright.
"All Darshaun's families ships are being sunk in the bay."
Sensei stood up, his brows furrowing together letting us witness his serious side.
"We still don't have our back-up from the hidden leaf yet, so now-now! Keep your emotions in check, and follow my instructions carefully my precious little delinquents."
I shuffled over to stand beside my teammates while Gai-sensei scanned us over pausing before a faint grin spread across his face.
"I am going to transform into a land of rivers nin and shake things up. I need all of you to lurk at the outskirts of the pier and supervise. Stay together and don't engage enemies unless it's necessary. Mina-kun, I'll leave you in charge. Keep what we talked about before in mind."
"Yes, Sensei." I saluted my superior officer, my squad reflecting similar behavior.
Gai's hands came together flashing through some hand signs before he was encased in a film of smoke. A moment later the smoke dissipated enough to see standing in sensei's place as the captain of the land of rivers team we encountered before reaching the land of waves.
After Sasuke and I both transformed into wave country citizens we were off bolting into the night.
Gai didn't lead us there, instead taking off like a streak in the air.
We made our way to the outskirts of the pier.
The docks were alive. People shouted back and forth in an attempt to get a grasp of the situation.
"There's another one sinking over here!"
"Bloody hell. Someone's done this shit on purpose!"
With my active byakugan, I spotted two figures in the bay swimming to a new ship.
"I see the saboteurs, they are underwater at the moment."
"What should we do?" Lee asked, tugging on my blouse from the back impatiently.
"Sensei said we had to stick together, to supervise, and to not engage our enemies unless necessary."
"Tch, So we're doing nothing."
"No… We could-" Before I could finish my sentence, Gai sensei dove into the bay in pursuit of the hostiles, his dive as dynamic and acrobatic as his nickname might suggest.
An eerie fog rolled in from the sea crashing to the shore. The mist kept getting thicker and thicker with no end in sight.
My enhanced vision pierced through the mist with zero effort.
A new chakra signature appeared in the water from seemingly nowhere. The strength of this chakra signature was on another level. Easily Jonin level.
"The mist? Hidden mist jutsu?" I worked out aloud realizing now who it was in the water on sensei's tail.
"Hidden mist jutsu?" Lee asked at risk of going cross eyed.
"Ninja?" Sasuke nodded.
A clap like a deer being demolished by a 100 miles per hour moving truck snapped my attention to the shoreline.
A huge torrent of water ruptured into the sky. The water rained down in sheets drenching me and my comrades to the bone. The mist spread past the docks making its way even to us here.
A red glint streamed out, flush with chakra colored as crimson red as blood. "What? I can't see through. It's useless?"
"Hmm?" I hummed glancing back at the uchiha, a frown plastered on his face. His crimson irises and triple tomoe focused past me.
"I can see fine through it. Sensei is tangled up with a Jonin level ninja at the moment," I filled him in.
Dockworker after dockworker were swept off by the crashing tide, swallowed by the water.
The original two figures I spotted abandoned their sabotage of the ships, instead blitzing towards the docks. Chains sprung out ensnaring the bobbing castaways, yanking them beneath the unsettled surface of the sea.
"You will be challenged again and again in the future where you will have to come to a decision. When you arrive there, all I ask is to remember to think it through and walk the path of less regret"
What would Gai-sensei do?
...
One of my greatest fears was realized in this moment; the inability to come to a decisive conclusion. If I spent any more time deliberating we would lose the initiative to save the dockworkers.
" dockworkers are being drowned by a pair of ninja. Do you think our intervention is necessary?"
"You're asking him?!" Sasuke blurted.
I glared back at him. "-Shut the fuck up. I didn't ask you, I asked Lee."
"Of course! How can we not help someone in need? And aren't they technically the new client?"
Lee's deduction was not only one of pure humanitarianism but also composed of sound logic.
Defeated by Lee in both empathy and logic, crippling self-doubt washed over me for a fleeting moment before I murdered it, refocusing on the mission.
We darted out of our camouflage with me spearheading the charge onto the docks.
Chains shot out of the sea constricting around the dock workers who hadn't yet fled, still paralyzed by panic and confusion.
These men were ripped from the docks. Splashes sounded after having been pulled into the thicker fog over the sea.
"[Shadow clone jutsu]," I shouted, a new apparition appeared before diving into the bay. "We're going fishing boys."
A long rod of calcium stretched from my arm exiting out my palm. The tip of bone bent into a curved hook. It continued lengthening as I drove it into the depths of the sea.
Through the Byakugan far below the surface, my clone morphed into a calcified cage imprisoning the duo. My hook swatted at the cage once, missing. Then twice, bonking against the much denser bone and bouncing back. The third time snagged, finally latching on and letting me heave it up.
I heaved the calcified pole back, my sandals slipping and sliding across the soaked deck losing traction despite the chakra I gathered to my toes.
Arms wrapped around me and through our combined effort we heaved backward craning the cage up from the depths.
A strange surge from Lee yanked me back leaving me to tumble and scrape my knee.
The cage drudged out of the water by us clamored as it hit the deck.
The cage shattered, the duo inside smashing it to pieces with a vicious combined strike from both of their metal gauntlets strapped to opposing arms.
The two's eyes fell upon us scanning for data to exploit us with, their matching long brown hair dripping during their survey.
Their hands clapped together, both morphing into a body of water that poured onto the pre-saturated deck.
"Genjutsu?" Lee exclaimed alarm carried in his tone
"No. A transformation technique," Sasuke rebuked.
The pool spread reaching our feet and past us.
"Formation Nine," I announced before a couple of grunts of acknowledgment met my ears.
I leaned back feeling each of a comrades' shoulders against my own. The chakra swirling within the pool tracing where I expected one of the figures to surface.
Two chains fired from the pool nearly simultaneously. They stretched out toward each of my comrades. I could only watch as they successfully deflected both, one by Sasuke's kunai and the other by Lee's.
Tink. Tink.
Lee's chain rebounded off retracting back into the pool. Sasuke's chain was latched onto, yanking the Nin out of the pool into the open.
Electricity surged through the chain zapping the drenched ninja leaving him convulsing.
The still concealed ninja popped into existence counter-attacking Lee, but changed targets darting over to snatch his comrade.
Before reaching his objective, he and Lee froze in place. The ninja's momentum toppled him over impacting the wooden deck with a SMACK.
The three black tomoe spun around the pair of red irises glinting off the surface of the pool catching the enemy and our teammate in his genjutsu.
Two kunai launched out whistling through the sky on route to the duo of enemy combatants.
Turning on my heel, I spun and fired off a volley of bone pellets knocking his airborne Kunai off course, sparing them from Sasuke's wrath.
"Let's capture them. They are worth more alive than dead."
"Hn," Sasuke pouted before giving me a reluctant nod.
He set off pulling out a spool of wire to retrain our newfound captives while I took a knee laying both of my palms on Lee's back sending out a pulse of my chakra disrupting his internal flow.
Lee nodded awake, blinking away his confusion while absorbing his surroundings.
"What's the situation?" He asked.
"Both enemy Nin has been neutralized and captured. Gai-sensei is still engaged with a hostile."
"Mhmm. Alright. Gotcha."
The winds picked up in speed thrashing against the environment. A makeshift hurricane appeared, violent water crashing into the pier flooding the docks underneath non stop 2-3 meter tall crashing waves.
Through the fog I made out a ginormous water dragon thrust out of the sea into the sky, writhing its long body coiling mid-air.
"Take cover!" I commanded.
Our squad scampered ashore, retreating more than 100 meters before leaping onto a warehouse building to camp on top.
The fog parsed allowing my teammates a view of the magnificent, awe-inspiring jutsu smash into A figure bolting out of the sea meeting the jutsu with only his fist.
A mountain of water sprung into the sky, a tidal wave sweeping out from the impact zone outwards. The wave built and built growing ever taller until having reached no less than 10 meters tall by the time it crossed over the pier and shore.
A mist of normal water vacant of chakra rushed past us cooling the area by 10 degrees.
The wave shrank after crawling upland. It stood only 5 meters tall by the time it hit the metal warehouse's wall.
BANG.
A thunderous roar from beneath us paired with massive vibrations shook the foundation of our footing.
With my Chakra gripping the roofing textiles I avoided being knocked over, and with each of my hands clinging to my teammates, they managed to stay upright as well.
"THIS IS TRUE JONIN LEVEL COMBAT?!" Lee sang, his eyes shimmering with respect.
"Might Gai is a freak," Sasuke whispered.
Excitement rushed over me as my voice wavered. "I was wrong, both of them are Kage level. We are witnessing a kage level engagement."
A thick fog poured out from the sea once again charged full of chakra. The heavy mist masking the retreat of the hostile.
After several minutes the mist disappeared, our transformed Sensei alone atop the ever calming water while holding one of his eccentric poses.
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
Hot water cascaded down from the nozzle onto my naked body. My lungs accepted the steamy vapor cleaning the scent of salt and sea-water out of my sinuses.
Reaching out and rotating the shower handle, the stream abruptly ceased. I stepped out of the tub running my fingers through my hair pulling it all behind my head. I toweled off and got dressed before stepping out into the hallway with a slight shiver.
I couldn't make out the murmurs from the other room, and while adjusting the towel on my head I joined them.
"The Ninja I fought has to be him." Gai said, pointing at a page in Sasuke's bingo book the Uchiha held in his grasp.
"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist, a legendary seven swordsman wielding the Executioner's Blade. He is a S classed Anbu member for Kiri. " Sasuke announced.
"Hold on… Zabuza… Zabuza… Why does that name seem so familiar?" Gai let out, stroking his chin in contemplation all the while.
"You still don't know him, Sensei? He's famous!" Sasuke rebuked.
"Wha? No. I remember hearing something about him… Either he was the one who wrote that cookbook I read, or he was the leader behind the failed assassination of the Mizukage. Yup, definitely one of those two." Sensei finished with a nod.
Sasuke gaped at our captain with bewilderment. "How can you confuse those two things?!"
Gai kept stroking his chin in thought while talking to himself. "He was the one behind the assassination attempt right? … Hmm, maybe not. I bet that guy could make a mean roasted duck."
"I've never had roasted duck! Think you can make it for us one day? Pretty please?" Lee pleaded, flashing a cutesy pair of puppy dog eyes at the grown man in spandex.
Sasuke peered over to me throwing his hands up, his mouth hanging open and eyes wide in exasperation as if to say: "You're hearing this, right?! It's not just me?"
"Either way, we need to get some info out of those two new captives. The Sharingan are great for interrogations. Sasuke, can I leave it to you?"
"... ah. Kahmmph. Yes, Gai-sensei." Sasuke replied, a derped out expression still plastered on his face.
"Great. I'll be counting on you then." Sensei said, an idiotic grin flashing out, accompanied by his iconic energetic thumbs-up of approval.
The Uchiha's right eye twitched before the emotions slid off his face, buried in his vault where he bottles everything up.
Hours passed.
I readjusted the pillow, fluffing it and nuzzling into it to cozy up.
I pulled the silky sheets up to my neck in the darkness. My chest rose and fell in deep breaths, our prisoners locked in my mind.
I rolled over, a concept hitting me like a brick cracking apart an illusion.
I strayed from my purpose.
The marbles rolled around my body following the contours of my chakra pathways with laser precision.
Okay! So maybe I am a teeny-tiny bit arrogant. Unlike Being-X or Izuna, maybe I can find another way…
"You will be challenged again and again in the future where you will have to come to a decision. When you arrive there, all I ask is to remember to think it through and walk the path of less regret."
I slapped the foreign mattress of frustration, some of the marbles scattering, jumping and rolling about the floor, my personal collection scattered by my lack of restraint.
I'm better than them! They run on pure exploitation. Ideally fundamental business is mutualistic for the customer and provider. Humanities leg up on the world has been born of our acceptance of weakness, and putting minds together to innovate.
I slid the window open venting some of the heat out of the room.
Okay, so I guess I'll just create my own opportunity and give up on the inner gates. I doubt I'll ever amount to his criteria. Sooooooo, how can things I want… also help other people… Even market principal books of this era I've seen understand money is created from value, and value mostly comes from solving problems.
I went over my options.
Ironically, Zabuza is a tool. Spending any more time on this mission and risking my teammate's lives is a complete waste. If I can't have The Eight Inner Gates, I'm damn sure gonna snatch everything else I can.
I pulled my journal from the seal. It landed in my open hand, a pen spit out from the black abyss and falling atop.
Why settle for opposition and conflict? Zabuza is valuable, Right? So the questions I should be asking myself are 'what benefits can we offer each other?', and 'how can we establish a line of trust?'
The gears of my mind spun. I worked out the precursory architecture to a plot that would further my aspirations.
I can take the lessons of my motherland, the good old United States of America. They are the leaders in their craft, having their hand in everything until it's bad for public image and they clean up the mess with some lead and public relations.
My pen sprung into motion, recording important events and thoughts for the day.
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
I leaned forward pushing the guest bedroom door open. The creaky hinges squealed, the orange candlelight glowed on the beige wallpaper. The pre-teen looked over his shoulder, his crimson eyes meeting my own.
I waved him over with a hand before ducking behind the door to wait for him. Several seconds later he popped out from the doorway, the door clicking shut behind him.
"What?"
"How's it going in there?"
"They are trying to resist providing details about their leader and operation. Progress is meh, but we're getting there."
I folded my hands together cracking my fingers. "Mind if I take a crack at him?"
"You don't even know what information I pulled, I haven't had any time to record my findings. You won't have anything to look over."
"Oh. Well, let me try to soften them up just a little and while I do that you can go write comprehensive notes and think of new questions. The goal here is to leave them psychologically exhausted so they won't have the effort to resist or lie. Deprive them of sleep and recuperation to make them more malleable."
Sasuke shot me a cynical frown, but after sighing he turned around heading down the hall.
"Knock yourself out. I guess I can eat and draw up a report." He looked over his shoulder before finishing with: "How long do you need?"
"Gimme an hour or two and then you can take right back over." I winked.
"Hn. Fine. Suit yourself."
"You're not… mad, are you?"
"Tch. Mad? Maybe I just like shutting the fuck up. Ever think of that?'"
"Come on. Don't be so butthurt. You can't be mad at your shot caller, during a mission, under pressure to make the right decision from Sensei, so I needed to ask someone who thought like Sensei does."
"Yeah? Sensei's opinion is the only right one? Sometimes I forget how much of a suck-up you are."
"..."
"Forget it. I'm tired. I'll be over it with some sleep."
"Oh, Your Cranky Loser Syndrome is just acting up is all?" I pressed at his buttons.
"Hn? Did you say something about being an Egocentric Brat?"
His spreading smirk released a lot of my tension. "Alright, alright. As long as you're not mad. If you have any complaints, just tell me to my face. I'm a big girl and can handle anything you throw at me. The only thing I care about is being real with each other. I don't get to be real with people often."
"Who's fault is that?" Sasuke asked.
"Okay, I kind of deserved that. I'll admit it."
"I'm going to take a nap. Wake me up when you're done."
He casually waved me off before disappearing down the hallway.
Okay… Here we go.
Stepping inside, my eyes rapidly went to work adjusting to the light, a minor inconvenience for seconds.
"I only have to break one of you… Doesn't matter to me which. Want to play rock paper scissors over it? Best two out of three through, if it ended in one that'd be so anti-climatic."
My attention fell in full on the captives, the image of the brown-haired ninjas more boys than men tugged at my heartstrings. I almost considered mercy before recalling the cold hard numbers kept me on the straight and narrow.
"You've seen what our leader can do in a head to head fight. He's a master of assassination. Gaining an edge over anyone and exploiting it to their demise. You think some Kohona runts, especially a girly runt can make my blood run cold? Ha!"
The captive who could hardly hold his posture upright in his restraints held onto hope. A hope born of ignorance and a lack of preparation.
"...Kay?"
Leon recalled from the Abyss, his hallowed weight pressing down on my shoulders.
"Eeek!"
A flash of crimson infected the mouthy one's chakra system.
"Sharingan!" The other brother shouted too slowly.
Genjutsu is truly an art. To forcibly craft a new reality in someone else's brain is something I'm sure seasoned academics would jump at the opportunity for.
Closing my eyes and coming to a focus, I really envisioned Zabuza's face in all its detail, skewed the picture a bit by reducing the resolution into something more native and believable to a non-dojutsu ninja.
"Z-Zabuza-Sama!"
The man with clouded eyes stared into my visage.
"I'm convinced you are a failure. That your brother was always superior to you."
"I've done everything I can to keep up with him, Lord Zabuza."
"SNAP OUT OF IT! DID YOU FORGET OUR VOWS? GENJUTSU-GENJUTSU-GENJU-" He got louder as he carried on, his eyes squeezed shut squirming around.
Sighing, I moved over, taping the captive's mouth shut.
Silence fell, the captive not even bothering to mumble through his restraints, his will breaking before my eyes and he dropped and hung by the chains again.
"You've forgotten how to find me, haven't you? Why else would you be stuck like this?"
"I didn't forget! I've been caught up."
"Your act is as unconvincing as your legs are shaky."
The color drained out of the brother's face, he gulped back his mounting fear able to speak up for himself. "Use the hidden passageway, follow the tunnel, and BAM, you're at Gato's backup mansion. S-See? I didn't forget."
"A hidden passage? That's mighty vague. Did you actually forget where it was located?"
"Never. It's right under the docks lining up with buoy 12 where it's always been."
All tension snapped as I gleefully recorded this information, a journal and pen summoned at my whim.
The difficulty of data mining peers and competitors alike is STUPID EASY with a Mangekyou Sharingan.
For an honest comparison, I think the closest I can think of are regulations sanctioning companies back on earth. The bar of entry was set so ridiculously high that most people could never stand a chance of becoming competition.
The Sharingan is the 'Amazon' of dojutsu. Those Eye-hacks have long since consumed the market share of warfare and espionage for at minimum several centuries.
The Uchiha's unbalanced utility could hardly be outstaged by anything less short of Asura's descendants, the Senju's whose bodies and chakra capacity are directly inherited from the sage of six paths himself, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
My lips pressed together into a victorious grin.
Channeling chakra through the puppet strings, a red glare reflected off both brother's eyeballs.
The fibers of his memories were rewritten with the ultimate legendary strength of the Mangekyou.
The remaining brother clenched his eyes shut with fervor, dead silent, as still as a statue.
"Closing your eyes might work..." I took steps closer to my target, the bottom of my sandal patting across the hardwood. His still body began twitching around violently, his neck jarring in random directions.
I reached out grabbing a fist-full of his greasy hair at the crown of his head. "-might work for a few seconds."
My index finger and thumb landed on his forehead and cheek respectively. They dragged apart pulling the skin tighter, his eyelids struggling to remain closed.
"Mhmmmphh! MMMHM"
I slammed his head into the wall, holding him there. I leaned in and whispered "Your resistance is futile. This is a variance in preparation. You came knowing nothing, and I came ready for anything."
Working my fingers around, a slit opened exposing his vulnerable pupil.
The instant opportunity arrived, it was seized.
The pinwheel formation spun, mirrored in his eyes like ornate black rims set over a crimson backdrop.
And just like that, I was done here.
I bet I could write a book called: How to Circumvent Consequences. I bet it would be a bestseller.
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Surveillance around Gato's residence at night was extensive. A web of grunts and gated roads cleared and checked anything coming inside. Lucky for me gates and fences, no matter how tall they stretch, can't outstretch the sky.
My avenue for infiltration was a simple choice.
My wings beat down in heavy flaps, carrying me higher before transitioning into a dive. The transformation is much more natural than when I'd just learned how to control this body.
The white,black, and contrasted grays formed the bulk of my vision. Chakra tinted objects with pinks, blues, greens, yellows, basically every spectrum of the rainbow.
My talons clanked on the stone roofing textiles of the castle, and I do mean a castle. Gato's residence was effectively a fortress built on the back of very visible economic enslavement and the misguided racketeering of the Wave Countries people.
Transform.
My body morphed, shifting from a bird of prey, this time adopting the form of a bushy tailed brown squirrel shimmying down the face of the building.
My paws carried me around until finding an open window to enter through.
I squeezed inside, taking a new identity.
Transform.
My stature shrank, but the frame widened. I felt my hair recede from the top of my head down into a naked halo touched by the crisp air.
Using the ornate black cane, I waddled around the building, anyone spotting me more worried about avoiding the wrath of the person I impersonated.
Something about it felt right, but also felt wrong.
Energized by the tempered fear and air of control this form lent me, I came to better terms understanding the true allure of Tyranny.
This is just how the wheel of power turns. Those with ambition lie in wait until they can topple the structure or rise to the top.
Every hallway was filled with armor sets, mirrors, art, immaculate furniture, as well as other valuable physical assets.
Zeroing in on the putrid green feeble chakra, I rounded the final corner, stepping in front of the man as his doppelganger.
"W-what kind of JOKE is THIS?" Gato exploded. "I don't pay you so you can frolic in my keep. You're here to service ME."
His cheeks jiggled while thrashing his hands into his squishy chest like a child.
Release.
A cloud of smoke poofed into existence. A recognizable heft bearing down on my shoulders once again.
My heart fluttered in my chest like a swarm of butterflies fighting to break free from their cocoons.
"Is barking and howling all you can manage? You do lead a country, if you can even call it that, like a COMPLETE SIMPLETON."
Like a domino, even the business tycoon would fall to me. I'd Seize him as mine, his loyalty now as unquestionable as my own. I captured a huge piece for controlling the board, and now it was time to flip the board entirely.
The refracted crimson irises shone through Gato's eyes as I encroached on him.
"How will you take all this? Your coffers are mine, same with the industrial framework you've been hiding behind. It's nearly your move. How will you react, Demon of the Hidden Mist?"
I was talking out loud, but to myself at some imaginary depiction of Zabuza.
My lifestyle and profession are not easy on the psyche, not one bit... It makes me wonder if it's possible to thrive in a toxic environment without the decay of mental faculties.
I burst into laughter at the thought of an idea so outlandish I could hardly take it seriously.
What if I spoke to a psychologist?
"Hahahaha-" I held my gut before it twerked, flexing unnaturally. My hysterical laughter petered out as a realization dawned on me.
Wait… Under the influence of genjutsu, especially since I can alter memories, talking to a psychologist might be feasible.
Solemned by the realization, I nodded to myself.
If Being-X was still alive, I've probably leveled the playing field between us, or at least bridged the gap by a large margin. I might have a chance at living life more in the open rather than this lonesome road paved in misery I've been trekking.
A chance at normal, huh? … Who'd want to be 'normal'.
My lips peeled back exposing my clenched teeth.
"Izuna, your opinions mean next to nothing to me, not until you recognize your place. If anyone is going to be the tyrant in our relationship, it's going to be me. Get off your high horse and learn some humility, then we can talk."
You're nothing. You can barely call your contribution worthy of a man, but as a woman I suppose that sounds like high praise. You think you could have made it a SECOND in this world without me?
"I made it just fine before creating you in a moment of weakness. But that's just it, I am the maker, take another step out of line and I will personally unmake you. Remember that."
Ha! You? No, I am the original. Everything that disgusted me about myself, that's now with you. I tore every bit of my weakness, my dependency, and my illogical attachments leaving them with you in preparation for my eventual ascension. That's what you are, but you've proved extremely useful so far. Winning the affection of the Uchiha heir pleases me tremendously. That being said, You are me, and although crippled by the debilitating limitations of humanity, I still see value in you like a jockey might value a premium horse.
Impossible…
Is it?
I stood frozen in place uncertain in my own identity, the chills of fear returning all at once swallowing my heart whole.
My mistake cemented in my brain as I traded my life oppressed by Being-X away, just to be oppressed by a closer lunatic playing god.
I understood now why fragmenting your persona is an ultimate taboo. These fragments take on a life of their own. I don't think either of us can prove if we were the original.
I will rise to be the next god of this realm, so now that you have some perspective of who the king and who the horse is, I'm going to borrow your own words… I am the maker, take another step out of line and I will personally unmake you. Remember that."
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Zabuza POV)
"Somethings not right, Haku, come." My own stern and a gruff voice came out.
The teenage ninja tool bent to its master's whim, my teeth bared to the world gnashing before wrapping my face back up, around and around with rehearsed blitzing speed.
Darting out of Headquarters down a secret passage, we arrived at the entrance of the mansion to flank the enemies from the back.
My nose twitched.
Gato's scent is mucked up with THAT SCENT!
My memory recalled an alleyway I knew was home to a slaughter, and yet not one body recovered.
The question was a brief fleeting thought, erased with prejudice under the suspicion of either party. Something has changed, and a warrior's true ability is to adapt to the environment and demonstrate a domineering mastery over it.
A vaporous fog rolled out from me, spreading out and consuming every inch of the terrain claiming it as mine.
The air thickened, the mist intensifying.
The cool damp air circulating through my lungs awakened the primal instinct inside any ninja worth his weight in salt. The murderous intent to kill.
I know the value in some restraint. Patience is the name of the game to an Assassin, especially the best of my class.
[Perfect Adhesion Control] contained every sound I made, stifling it completely.
My feet slid across the ground, skating in and out to feel out this phantom's sensory perception.
As I encroached on her, her figure morphed into another form, but couldn't make out any specifics because of my own visual impairment from my own jutsu.
I approached sliding in, but she bobbed away darting a new direction.
Curious. She can sense me.
The fire of challenge lit in my heart.
A warrior who lives by the sword, dies by the sword. It's the only death I can accept.
"What are you playing at? An explanation is in order." My voice projected, amplified by the mist, echoing in every direction within my domain.
"I can answer that for you." A dainty voice of a feminine child replied back.
I faintly disbelieved my ears, the stench of death that clung to this phantom. It was unlikely to be a true child, more likely to be another demon in disguise.
I smirked beneath my face wrap. Well, too young for 'todays' standards anyways.
"You work for Gato, who is in a sense your bank and security. You see, You are providing a valued service for money, but are just an attack dog at the end of the day. I put an end to that, All Assets formerly belonging to Gato and Gato Industries have been seized by me."
The grip on my legendary blade faltered, only for a fraction of an instant before composure was maintained.
"Will these 'Assets' line your coffin, or pad my pockets?"
"Neither. You see Zabuza, I see the world differently than most people. What I see is beyond the bullshit that clouds and obscures the truth of our world."
"Bragging about your vision? I'd bet you're from the leaf. The Uchiha and Hyuga are pompous enough to cut it."
"WOW. Good insight… Uhh, that's… we can come back to that in a second." The girl suddenly sounded off her game.
I spiked the mist with chakra while injecting my killing intent.
"I've hidden a small fortune of 5 Billion ryo."
"Billion?!" Spilled out of my mouth.
"That's right. 5 Billion ryo. Zabuza, let me be straight with you. I know you are stockpiling wealth for another chance at a coup d'etat. The only way you'll get your hands on it is by working with me."
I stood in silence, dumbfounded at this creature's sheer audacity.
Think you can come in, hide your identity, and get me to nod at everything like an idiot? The great Zabuza fears nothing, even death.
"-And I know you are a master at your craft and don't belong on a leash from this deviant schemer. I control him entirely. Gato-kun! Tell Zabuza here what you would be willing to do if he accepts my proposal here tonight."
"Yes, certainly! I, the great Gato, who doubles as the humble secret agent Zero, is offering to lick your feet as a show of friendship, Zabuza-sama."
"Heh, heh." I chuckled.
Pulling a shuriken from my toolbelt, and winding up, I unleashed it forward, my arm whipping forward, the chunk of metal ripping apart the air behind the unstoppable force.
Tink.
The shuriken rebounded off, deflected from its true mark.
"Stop it damnit, let me finish... So what I offer you the right to display your dominance to every outside opposition that opposed you before. An alliance forged in two things we can trust."
I found myself grinning knowing that 'she' had a bit of fight in her.
"And what's that?"
"Money, and Human resources."
I thought about it for a while, hoping I could get her to chase her tail like a puppy, but she waited patiently maintaining poise.
Fine, I'll hear her out at least. Might just sate my curiosity.
"...I'm listening."
Subconsciously, I pulled my mist back, reabsorbing the chakra to make sure it wouldn't be squandered for nothing.
"We enter a formal Alliance, I rebrand your entire infrastructure from the ground up. You will be the face of the whole operation. We'll call our private military firm 'Good Samaritan', and we'll establish and share the firm 50/50. All 5 Billion Ryo will be deposited into this joint business venture. You're money, Human resources, and power will rise with my help."
"Know the first thing the academy taught me?" I smirked.
"The mission comes first?"
"No. it's 'Never trust the enemy.'" I said, pacing around the thinning mist. "I'm supposed to believe you're some angelic benefactor? That's not how the world works, kid."
Her face contorted, appearing quite disturbed by my comment.
"I believe in mutualism. This deal doesn't just benefit you, it gives both of us access to resources we wouldn't have. In my case, I get your vassal Haku,"Haku's chakra built up, culminating like a storming blizzard. "-and teams of combatants that I can use at my discretion."
You want MY apprentice?!
"HAH-HAH-HAH!" I cracked up.
"And…" She waited for me to stop before continuing. "I want the Demon of the Hidden Mist to proof new recruits to maintain a quality standard. You are a legend, and rightfully so. You'll be getting more money than you'll know what to do with, more tools to exercise your control, and I'll even share my gameplan of how to overthrow and claim countries for ourselves, all without a public war."
A chill crept down my neck. My mind compared this phantom with my memories of Orochimaru from our stint together 7 years ago.
The comparison fit like a glove, my bloodlust skyrocketing at the very thought.
She continued with "-What I'm proposing is a method of conquering a people, countries, or even the planet without a war or physical battle. They will look you in the eye and thank you as they hand over the keys to their empire. Economic enslavement working for your wallet. Does this interest you?
"Why complicate conquest? If it isn't broken, It doesn't need fixing. That's my motto." I beat my chest, determined to battle against the White Serpent of the Leaf.
"Because history proves to us that there is room for advancements in everything. Animosity will rise if a tyrant condemns expendable Human Resources if exposed to the critical public eye. Backlash from poorly handled public relations is responsible for more empire's demise than battles or sieges. When the public detests you, no matter ironclad the rule, it will inevitably collapse."
The logic behind the building argument almost had me then and there, but then again, it was nothing but a collection of words.
"And how is what you do any different?"
"My type of conquest flies under the radar. The very public that's going to fill your pockets thank you for your generosity and humanitarianism. It's called Debt."
"...debt." I let out unconsciously, fishing for ideas that could lend credence to this temptation
"Yes, debt is the most subtle and effective form of imperialism in human history. More effective than a blade or Jutsu, all while presented as a gorgeous flower of opportunity."
I crossed my arms across my chest, the mist breaking apart enough to spot the girl now.
Medium length dark blue hair grew out from her head. A pair of whitewashed eyes stared me down without a hint of hesitation. She stood right under 5 feet tall with a leaf headband hung around her neck.
"So what would we have to do?"
"First what we do is select a low-income country, This Wave Country is a great starting place, we release Gato's stranglehold, liquidate his company, and sell the city then nation on the necessity behind the need for public engineered dams, power plants, hospitals, schools. This is the trickiest part actually."
"Talking and winning over the bureaucrats is the tough part? Ha! What do you need me for then?"
The little girl grinned a wicked malevolent grin.
"We REALLY have to lure them in. We'll send some bonafide experts to explain how 'Good Samaritan's' projects will increase their projected domestic products and rocket their economy to rival one of the great nations in no time. That part won't even be a lie! That'll get those greedy stupid nobles and merchant class to bite and never let go until it's too late. We'll have secured the contracts, then we just build stuff ourselves or hire construction companies to do the labor under Good Samaritan's' close supervision."
"You sound like a magician. Squeezing people already squeezed dry and still expecting them to shit money? That's magic if I've ever heard it."
She flung her arms out to the side, her voice growing louder.
"That's the beautiful thing! These people aren't a part of the global marketplace. They have no money, so they will jump at the opportunity to jumpstart their economy, right? And that's exactly what we'll do. We will pour our money into projects to raise the people's standard of living and increase living wages. This will blind them to the fact they are buried beneath a line of debt they will slave to pay off while thanking you for your humanitarianism and charity."
I stared at the thing hiding as a child, into her whitewashed eyes confused what direction I'd take in this negotiation now that this plan seemed doable.
"Well… You are quite the twisted creature, aren't you? I'm starting to like you kid."
"The only true important thing is to raise our military strength, which is why I want to partner with you. Not every human is an idiot, some will see through our mask realizing the truth. We will crush opposition swiftly either by pen or by sword, so we have an inexhaustible stream of the debt's interest. Once the governing infrastructure caves under the weight of our debt, we swoop in and play hero, absorbing them into our organization giving us free rein over the rights of their resources. Now by all respects, the people are none the wiser that we are the proud conquerors of a country, and who knows, maybe next will come the world."
I couldn't help but to clap my hands, breaking into real applause.
A slow, empty, tragic clap rang out.
"Heh, You sure can talk kid. Is there a dance that goes with this little song?"
"I have all the leverage in this negotiation. Are you sure it's smart to blow me off so easily?"
I tightened my grip on the sword's steady hilt.
"You see… You've made a lot of assumptions here, one of them being that I give a damn about being rich. I don't care about money, it's all means to an end. Like a tool. What I value is power… and the ability to test that power against the powerful like steel sharpening steel. You're a ninja, ain't you kid? Show me some resolve. You dare speak about robbing my apprentice from me? Fine! Come and challenge this so-called vassal you'd take from me. Haku! Come!"
The room was hemispherical, about a radius of 50 meters from the center of the room to any wall. The ceiling hung 10 meters high, only one entrance and exit in the room.
I covered the exit to the outside, shuffling my feet over to be as sure as I could, Haku stood at the entrance that'd carry you deeper into the mansion.
She is forked.
"You heard her, didn't you? That's right child, she wants to snatch you from me. Wants nothing more but to rob you of your purpose, the reason for existence.
"Master, I will not fail you!" My subordinate responded, her voice laced with blatant disdain.
Haku lunged forward into a body flicker, the aerodynamics of her movement a testament to her innate artful skill.
Senbon launched as she rotated, sailing through the air in perfect trajectories.
The dark-headed Hyuga whipped into a circle like a tornado, repelling the senbon and sending them flying.
From seemingly nowhere, she flung handfuls of smoke bombs bursting as they struck the ground into blackened smoggy clouds.
"Who do you think trained Haku? You think a lack of visibility will make you safe? HA!"
She landed, body flickering off to the side while hands came together weaving signs with zero delay.
Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
Her body bent over forward, her hands striking the ground with focused resolve.
"[Summoning Jutsu!]" The girl chanted.
From a cloud appeared a Snow White eagle. It stood 3 meters tall and 10 meters wide with its wings unfurled and outstretched.
"Hey! I don't always get to be choosy when I'm in a bind… Vacuum Palm!" She finished, her arm stretched toward Haku.
Haku lurched ungracefully from the floor, being ripped from her footing and sucked through the air.
The eagle released a thunderous bolt of lightning ripping through space aimed straight for her.
Haku vanished as the bolt touched down, frying the floor into a singed carbon black.
The eagle screeched to the girl "Inside? You call me Inside?" The beast complained.
Her hands came together into a Tiger seal.
Flames are about the worst option unless you can melt Haku's ice.
In the girl's place spawned four clones, my jaw-dropping as I realized my assumption was off the mark.
Haku doubled her efforts, then went further beyond tripling and quadrupling it. A hail of senbon swarmed down at the weak points of each body. They were aimed to be winning blows rather than killing blows.
My teeth ground together, wishing that Haku could overcome whatever mental block was holding her back from becoming a true assassin.
She's too soft.
Spikes of ice shredded the ground. Pops signifying the destruction of a few clones, more senbon focus-thrown towards the number of depleting bodies.
Tink, Tink, Tink.
Every senbon that slipped through her guard was blocked by a white armor manifesting to encase her.
Hmm? I watched perplexed.
A field of razor wire was laid sometime during the chaos, either by the clones or herself.
Haku stumbled forward, tripping over the wire, the Hyuga springing into action in the moment of her error.
A shard of azure ice appeared from thin air, blocking white rods from ensnaring her into a box trap and giving her the time to body flicker back out.
Something didn't feel right. As much as I believed everything lined up, her combat style was nothing like the Orochimaru of my memories.
Seeing the futility of the Senbon, my subordinate gave them up instantly, changing tactics.
Yes! This is why I know you're a natural, despite being as soft as you are.
One of Haku's hands slid behind his back again, hiding his hand sign, a spike of ice spawning behind the Hyuga lancing toward her back.
A fierce electrical attack shot across the room, a flash of yellow current barely missing Haku.
The Hyuga darted sideways, but not quite quickly enough.
Good choice! You needed to subtract one of them from the picture, and might as well go for the jutsu caster.
The ice ripped the white plating right off her arm, her blood pattering to the floor in weighted drops. While twisting around the spike, she managed to avoid further damage.
But despite being the last physical body, she popped.
Her body morphed back to her natural state.
I gasped, honestly shocked.
Before me stood a similar height girl, probably even younger. Her white long hair stretched the better part of halfway down her back. Her eyes are still the dojutsu of the Hyuga, but what really captured my attention was when my gaze fell on her forehead, those two red dots unmistakably the birthmark of the Kaguya clan.
The heat in the tiled underground cavern sapped away, all energy stolen and crystalized into frozen jagged azure pillars spiking through the tiles, thrusting into the space the Hyuga stood mere milliseconds ago.
"You'd rob me of my purpose!?" Haku screeched.
A smile floated onto my face. A deep satisfaction rose in me at her need to be my tool, and no one else's.
The white-headed child slid backward, her sandals crying out in moans under the intense friction pulling her to a stop.
"Well, this might turn out to be interesting after all. You're quite a unique squirt. Hold on Haku." I spoke out to the combatants, composed and confident that Haku would emerge victorious now that I was certain she was no true monster in disguise. "Tell you what. Leave your village behind and follow me. I will train you to be the best weapon you can be."
The Hyuga child didn't seem to ponder the idea, flat out refusing me with a wave of her hand.
"No thank you. I'm quite competent myself. I don't require a master, what I need are allies."
My blood ran cold, the thrill working me up.
DOUBLE KEKKEI GENKAI JUST LIKE MEI! She is special. Her potential could be higher than Haku's, and her personality is polished enough to get use from her instantly. I want her. I want her.
"Haku. Win at any cost! Hear me?!"
"Yes-sir." She replied back.
Haku's hands spread apart.
Azure blue crystallized ice began materializing from the moisture in the air, condensing together forming one mirror, then two, until there were nine mirrors in all.
I grinned, excited by the activation of Haku's true bloodline trait, no longer relying on those cheap imitation tricks anymore.
I unshackled my greatest creation. A ninja that if she could get some grit would be stronger than even me.
Haku's brilliant reflection shone off the glasslike material of every mirror.
Haku bent and curled around the fingers on each of his hands. A blob of water spawning from nothing peeking out of the face of the mirror.
Haku launched himself out of the mirror, my veteran eyes hardly able to trace his outline.
He's only gated by the speed of light. No typical human has a chance.
The Hyuga's chest was slammed by the orb of water, trapping her in the water prison jutsu.
"I've won Zabuza-sama." Haku announcer cheerfully.
Static buzzed, a flash of yellow bolted toward my subordinate, but she retreated back to her mirror with the imprisoned Mina in hand.
The eagle stared at the mirror, the unmistakable expression of shock carved overtop the animalistic features.
"Well, that's about all I could hope for. Haku might be my equal if her heart wasn't so fragile. KID - YOU READY TO BE MY VASSAL?"
The dumb eagle raked his talons along the exterior of the mirror, not even scratching it.
My smile vanished, the translucent orb of water turned an oily black, shrinking, and then popping.
From out of the bubble emerged the Hyuga, not looking any worse for the wear.
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
(Mina POV)
The water gushed into the black seal, swallowing it into the abyss.
After enough was swallowed, the Water Prison fell apart, freeing me to move inside Haku's own mirror.
The mirror only had two dimensions, lacking any depth as I felt cartoonish.
My hands clapped together, folding into the proper hand-signs.
Lightning poured out, cooking the interior dimension of the mirror, spraying myself with current in the process.
"Araaraaraaraa!" I spasmed.
The figure of the long-haired boy convulsed about, my attack apparently effective.
"WHAT?!" Zabuza gasped.
He vanished from the mirror entirely, but still remained crisp and clear in every other mirror.
I unleashed another jolt.
It found its way from my mirror to his, like every shard is connected in one way or another.
The boy tumbled forward out of his mirror, his clothing smoldering and smoking.
Smiling but plenty worse for the wear myself, I leaned forward, smashing my forehead into the solid ice, unable to permeate it's barrier to my shrill building terror.
I watched as Haku slowly rose to his feet, his chest exposed, the clothing now tattered and in rags.
Two large gashing scars ran across the chest as flat as a board in a mangled 'x' mutilating it.
"She's a true warrior! Willing to undergo anything to gain an advantage. She can take either gender identity without a risky transformation jutsu."
I unleashed a series of strikes to the mirror, unable to crack or scuff it, unable to process what I just heard, only focused on not losing this bet and match.
Hyboren who was frozen in place up till now unable to intervene when we both were inside the mirrors burst into motion, launching at the wounded and immobilized Haku.
Yes! This is my win!
While mid celebration, my familiar cried out.
Feathers scattered.
A red rain, mist, and whistling air followed a vicious overhead slash of the executioner's blade.
Hyboren's beak split apart zooming towards Zabuza to peck his head.
With the twist of his body, Zabuza avoided the beak from swallowing his head, instead his right shoulder was clamped down upon.
A talon swept horizontally landing in his gut.
Zabuza's figure deteriorated, liquidizing, and ending as a puddle on the floor.
Behind Hyboren appeared a shadow, a murderous intent creeping unapologetically, the hostility seeping into your pores producing a drenching cold sweat.
The gray blade cleaved down my trusted mounts length, splitting into two.
His halves each lifelessly tilted over falling to the ground, staining the wood with goopy blood and bile.
"I knew I should have handled this!" Izuna boomed.
"That's right kid. Show me what happens when your plans fall through. Show me what you're made of."
An oppressive weight exerted over my body like everything suddenly was one hundred times heavier. Twitching a finger was in itself a challenge.
NO!
I clamored for control, unwilling to hand it over to that fucking cunt.
I pulled and pulled. Fighting to eject Izuna from the driver's seat.
What are you doing? Let me claim my victory retard.
MINE. GET OUT.
We struggled in a game of internal tug of war, clawing at each other to maintain control and dethrone the other.
A black shade in the shape of a person flung me around, beating me as I gave as hard as i took.
My rage for Being-X being channeled to fight the entity not much different.
After an exhausting and hard-fought battle, I reigned victorious. My head emptied leaving just me, the way it always should have been.
I returned, just to spot Hyboren's corpse lying on the tile.
Unable to look away by averting my gaze, or closing my eyes, I stared at the lifeless husk of a bird, probably my greatest asset from my summoning contract.
He was ripped from us by him.
My Insides burned, a building heat like a smoldering furnace.
He disrespected you. You have the power to punish him, do you not? Why resist?
...Life isn't about throwing a tantrum every time something doesn't go your way Izuna.
Your words and actions seem at odds. Plagued by the duality of your existence?
Maybe. I'm still learning after all, but at this moment, I know what not to do, and that's lose Hyboren without receiving assets in return.
Zabuza dropped to a knee, checking on Haku's condition.
I pressed my palm to the mirror, drilling bone perpendicular to the mirror's surface. The pressure rose and soared, but the ice still didn't give way.
The chakra swirling about this world cycled as a current, and when recognizing it was the same cyan blue as Haku's, I had an idea.
Using the seal, I vacuumed as much chakra out of the prison. The power dwindled until there wasn't enough chakra to sustain the jutsu, and it snapped under its own requirements.
My prison dissolved, ejecting me back to my world.
The demonic ninja stood, turning back to face me, his stature towering over me even as I stood to my feet.
"You are full of surprises."
"Why did you interfere?"
"Well kid, I'd like to say I was pissed you kept hiding behind a Henge, and teach you a lesson… But I was simply looking out for both of our self-interest. Neither of us would be happy with a dead vassal, ain't that right?"
"... I beat your apprentice. You will uphold our agreement." I spat between gritted teeth.
"And what if say I didn't want to, what then?"
My muscles tensed, the gaze of a predator falling down on me.
"That's simple. If we can't work together, I'll instead dedicate myself to sabotaging your future coup, ruining your reputation, wasting all your resources, and allying with your greatest enemies to assure no recovery."
Zabuza burst into laughter, a low hearty chuckle sounding right out of a mental asylum.
"Oh? Big talk for a squirt in over her head! I'd love to see that, I really would, but I think accepting your offer might be more fun. So, Fine. You win this time kid, so you better get to explaining before I change my mind."
┬┴┬┴┤神の起源├┬┴┬┴
A/N: No excuses for the long delay between chapters, shoulda updated sooner. One of my friends set up a subsection of his discord to chat about my fanfic if you want to drop by, meet some new people, and leave feedback or questions about the story, here is the end of the discord invite link for you all ' /2mrCcW '
/2mrCcW
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