Miri's eyes crept open, she couldn't tell fully where she was. A full sheet covered her entire view of the place. But she recoginized it was the sheet that would wrap around a patient's bed at the Leaf village hospital. She pulled on her arms to realize they were strapped down with thick metal bracers to the bed. In reaction, the sheet was pulled open. Sakura was on the other side and was the one to open it. Miri got furious and yanked on her chains and attempted to break free out of the bed.
"You son of a bitch! You turned my brother! You got my sister killed! You made me attempt the Hokage!" Miri screamed and wiggled her arms.
"I know." Sakura's voice was weaker than Miri thought.
"You kow you caused all this but nothing! You can't change anything."
"I changed Lady Tsunade's mind not to kill you or banish you."
Miri relaxed. "I don't need your help, this village holds me to nothing now. I got nobody."
"Your wrong." Sakura pulled the covers from both sides of Miri. Captain Magu was unconsious and a man with solid black hair was on the other side. "These two men are still here for you."
"I don't even know that man." Miri scoffed.
"Before he fully went under, he said he remembered you with Orochimaru back in the day." Sakura twisted his head to show a white streak in his hair that went across to the end of his head. "Does this spark anything?"
"Nothing." Miri dropped her head back and sniffled. "Everything is gone." Tears fully ran her face. "We took this power and abused it. My brother is going to come here and kill everyone in sight to get to Naruto."
"Nobody can infiltrate the village. And Naruto, he's stronger than you think."
"You don't understand he has the Rinnegan."
Sakura's voice broke and she cleared her throat. "I'll be right back."
"You seriously don't recognize me?" the man spoke. His voice was weak but was still audiable to a silent room.
"No clue."
"It's me Hant. You might've not recognized me but my name should be in your mind. I was naked in the tank that fed wind chakra into Sean. Without me the Tozoto might've not been a thing."
"That's all lies, Sean grew the ability and trained it to where it is today."
The man chuckled but coughed almost immediately after. Blood splatted on his bedsheet. "I'm sorry to say, but without me, the eye wouldn't have been even able to register most of its Byakugan heritage."
"Byakugan heritage?"
"Sean's father was of a Byakugan user, that's what was the secret technique to bring it out. Along with the sense he was wind natured it definately helped as well. Ha, didn't think I'd ever escape that tube."
"How do you know all this?"
"It was the same reaon I was captured, I possessed a unqiue wind chakra trait. Anything that is wind chakra enhanced, my smoke can either enhance it even more and take control or degrade it and take control. so I fed his wind chakra Tozoto and enhanced it to radically speed up the developement process. Without me, I think Sean would be thirty before he even unlocked the full ability of the Byakugan side."
"Without our betrayal of Orochimaru, how far was Sean's eye be?"
"At least to the thi-"
"What's this about a Rinnegan?" Tsunade interupted the conversation. She made her way to Miri's bed and wrapped her hands around the edge. "What do you know."
"Just that Sean had full control of the eye with unpresidented control."
"How was he just able to obtain the eye?"
"It was just given to him. Sean said he had to show his power with this eye before he would be given a Sharingan to unlock to his full potential."
"That's impossible, Jiraiya faced all six of Pain and they all possessed the Rinnegan."
"Wait, does 'the real one's not among them' reveal anything to you?"
"If Jiraiya faced all six copies of Pain, whatever that means and they all had this Rinnegan. Maybe there was a seventh Pain that overlooked everything. That one gave the eye to Sean and kept the other focused on everyone with his eye. Including Sean and those six."
"It's a strong thought."
"It does seem possible, he didn't give strong details and there is a possibility that the other girl he fought was a carrier or even another was there but didn't fight." Sakura added.
"That's all for now, everything I stated is still in effect, but with extra security. If that arm comes back, I gave orders to kill on sight."
The door opened up. Hant turned to the door and saw Miri walk in with another girl. Her hair purple and bunched up in the end like a fan. He recognized the new girl but couldn't place a name to the face. Miri closed the door and pulled up a pair of chairs to the end of his bed. The two women sat down before anyone said a word.
"Do you recognize me, A?" Hant asked.
"A? DID you really call me A?" Anko asked back.
"I remember that you had your name start with an A. But that's really about it."
"The name's Anko. And how'd you know my name? I don't remember you at all through Orochinaru's experiments."
Hant lifted up his hand, his pointer and middle finger on his right hand faded away. "Damn, thought I had more time."
Anko leaned forward from her seat. "What the hell is going on here?"
"I understand that I am under watch from the Leaf but if I have you can I walk around?"
"That's a pretty strong demand from a man with unknown power and origin."
"I have knowledge on what's going on with Miri and I'd like to know more about the people here. I want to know of Sean's past here before I go."
"You know what happened to mean during my battle with the Hokage?"
"Of course I do. I am the one that built the old trio before your revolt. Just like how the Rinnegan is part of the original Sage. You are a Sage too Miri. And what you were activating was the Sage mode of your Tozoto. I'd recommend that you continue to travel inside your subconscious. I called it the After Sage as you rely on your ability to take from the afterlife. Your demonic spirit and angelific spirit takes in the nature energy around you. But you need to practice with it. And learning the people of the village and getting to know them on a personal level will help with the angel side you."
"How do you know all that? I bet even Orochimaru didn't even see that." Miri looked at her hand as she spoke.
"Look, you won't be able to just summon it back up like you did before. All the emotion, and chakra opened it up to use it correctly. But without more training, you'll never open it up the same."
"That still doesn't answer the question." Anko added.
Hant could see she reached in her trench coat. "I know this because I seen it all already. I know all of this. Just by seeing me I can change my perception." His face changed to Sean's. "A genjutsu strong enough to change the human eye." He changed it to Orochimaru. "I wouldn't question me if I were you. The time I have right now is short. And Miri needs to know this to unleash m-her summon." He changed it back to Hant's face. "Before Pain attacks she needs to know a few steps. And I can speed up the process."
"This isn't right, we need to tell Lady Hokage." Anko ran for the door.
Hant's arm opened up and sent his fog to grab Anko's hand and pin it to the wall. "Listen to me. If she finds out about this, she has to think this over and decide to believe me or not. By getting the people of the past of the Ezenki bloodline this will go a lot faster. I want to start with you Anko."
"What to you want with me? I have nothing to do with Sean's past except for one match."
"That isn't true and we both know it. Going for Sean and not as a whole shows your connection with him." Hant pulled the sheets from him and got off the bed. "Please, if both of you would face each other on your knees. Or I could force you both. But that'd make the connection take more time."
"Why should we trust you? This could just be a ploy to take us both out and escape." Hant changed to TsunadesTsunade's face. "If I wanted that then I would've. Now I don't have a lot of time."
Anko and Miri both agreed silently and got in position in front of Hant. Hant expanded his wingspan and opened up his wrists. Two thin lines of smoke reach out and poke me their foreheads. Right after a full prison of the smoke surrounded them all.
Miri could suddenly see herself. She looked right over her own shoulder. But she could also see Sean and Anko together. Even though her vision was gray she could see the night was black. They were on top of one of the highest building in the village. Sean just finished a chuckle and sigh. Sean looked out into the village and Anko rested on the roof with her trench coat over her body. Anko soon woke up and lifted the trench coat closer to her neck.
"Sean, what are you doing?" Anko raised her hand close to her and ungrasped to see a bundled up silver chain. "This can't be it. You can't go through with this."
"So my thoughts of deception were true." Sean answered without a look back. The hunt for my antaginzer, convincing Amari, the whole plan you disagreed with."
"Sean, I can't let you leave. Not in this way, too many people will get hurt. Nobosy else will see it the way you do."
"If only Tyuya was alive. She'd join me, sometimes our old master was right you know. People didn't like his ways but he found immortality. He founded a whole nation that was even invited to the chunin exams."
"There you go Sean going back to him." Sean twisted around. Anko didn't hesitate and sent a swarm of snakes to bit down on Sean's neck and shoulder. "He was a monster that destroyed everything and everyone. He attacked the Leaf, killed the third and countless others in his experiments. You and I were apart of it!"
Sean grabbed on the snakes and ripped their heads from their bodies. "I liked you Anko. I wanted you as a best friend so I didn't have to kill her. Your death would've been easier."
"Maybe I can catch up with Jiraya before Pain gets to him. I got everything from you. But him. I need one thing."
A bony hand caressed Miri's cheek. She couldn't react as the bones of penetrated her cheek and brought her down to her knees. The reaper from her dreams got in front of her vision. She didn't know how but his solid bones made a smile. She felt something clamp through her wrist and seal together.
Sean appeared behind the reaper. "Step one, betrayal. This is the one and true time Sean felt someone go behind him. He made her believe it was because she went against his plan. But in reality, she couldn't trust Sean with all his dark dealing."
Miri couldcould barely focus on Sean's words and instead filled her body with pain. It felt as though her arms were about to be shredded from her body and her chakra was the one that slashed at her. Sean squatted to Miri's height.
"You see girl? To unlock your Sage potential, you must go through Sean's pain. To beat Pain, you must go through all of it."
Miri woke her conscious. Anko looked out the window and Hant pulled back the rest of his smoke.
"What the he'll was that?" Miri coughed. "The pain, it felt like years."
"Three days actually. The first stage was more time progressing than I thought." He moved his nub of an arm for Miri to see. "I already list one arm. Not long before I lose everything."
