Chapter 9: The Great Destroyer Part 2
By: DragoonMen
'Human Thinking'
"Human Speaking"
Technique/Jutsu Use
'Bijū/Non-Human Thinking'
"Bijū/Non-Human Talking"
Published: 10/Aug/2020
Pre-Chakra Era Arc
1 Year Before the Chakra Event (BCE)
18 Years after Ōtsutsuki Arrival to Earth
Chapter 9
—Land of the Ancestors—
Unknown Forest
Eighteen Years Ago
Suzaku has been walking with his company of men-at-arms for some time by now.
They have departed ways with the main body of the Land of That's army just an hour ago.
He and his loyal soldiers were looking for the cabin where the Celestial Maiden was hiding in after Lord Tenji has sent her away in the aftermath of one of their crisis talks, talks that didn't end quite well for one side.
'For So no Kuni though' Suzaku couldn't care less about the interests of foreign nations, especially of one so pathetic as the land of the Ancestors.
Suzaku had been raised among a middle-class family. His borough was located in one of the adjacent towns near the Capital of the land of That.
From his childhood to his teenage years he had grown up with the national ideals on his head.
Ideas that revolved that there wasn't anything more important than his nation and as a proud citizen of it, he was obliged to fight for her. No matter what.
It didn't matter who tried to impose on them, nothing would stop their bubbling nation from subjugating all others.
They were the people chosen from Kami himself to populate the continent and bring That's Imperialism to every last corner of the Elemental Nations. At least that was the common idea in Ka and ideas shaped the world.
However, some people did not want to do anything related to his great nation. These people trying to fight against assimilation, against progress. Only delaying the inevitable.
'Fighting against the river current...' The Minister from Ka just shook his head and continued his trek upwards, his retinue following close.
They were going in the direction where supposedly Kaguya was being kept out of danger, safeguarded from all threats and from men like him.
While he continued his march, he began to think on his former thoughts with one of these examples being the land of This. The small nation of This is one of those countries that holds a clear grudge against That but it was one that Suzaku would always bring to the table when one talked about Ka no Kuni supposed expansionism. A partial truth truthfully.
The land of This was once a big country but not anymore though. 'That is what you get for being a selfish prick' The Minister of Ka recalled the history they share with that rancorous nation.
Back to when the Elemental Nations borders were drawn for the first time, the land of This got it good for a headstart.
They have managed to get a good chunk of territory for themselves during the scramble for land in the first days of the Elemental Nations yet what good is to have great portions of land if you are not using it properly.
Centuries later after that, the population of Ko no Kuni scarcely populated their eastern regions.
The citizens of Ko preferred to stay in the south and central region of the country, hardly doing any progress in sending settlers to populate these vast expanses of land. Their own denizens not wanting to get out of their comfort zone.
The land of Ka by that time was small but not tiny anymore since they have begun to slowly expand, but they were relatively small all the same.
The Daimyō of Ka in those years offered to buy a slice of the lands unoccupied by Ko no Kuni in good faith since they were now neighbors and it was not like they were using these lands for anything particular.
'And what did those assholes did?' Suzaku sneered.
Ko no Kuni said 'No freaking way' and rejected the offer from Ka. However, keep in mind that if you aren't going to cooperate the easy way, then expect then to cooperate the hard way.
Now that vast piece of land was on their hands and still on their iron grip to these days.
Suzaku stopped and turned to look on his back at the Capital City of their current enemy.
A city that was supposed to fall at their feet four years ago if a certain meddling nation hadn't interfered.
'Finally at last. Nothing can't hope to stand against us' A determined glint shined on Suzaku's eyes.
The city was alight and Suzaku could only guess as to know why. Suzaku hoped that no enemy survivors would made it out from that.
'They deserved it. Hope the rivers of blood are running deep'
Fire and Blood. That was the motto of the father and predecessor of Lord Oda. The former Lord of Ka had been a warmonger through and through, expanding the borders of his dominions at alarming rates during his reign until his passing in his last campaing to bring the Savage Hordes of the Wetlands under his rule which ended in nothing but a stalemate.
That single phrase symbolized Ka no Kuni war philosophy to its very core. To be merciless and ruthless. To leave no man left alive. To let the fire burn the fields and the blood run deep on the soil.
It was a good thing that Genbu and him had run across the mysterious man that was Ōtsutsuki Jigen.
At first, Suzaku thought that Jigen was a charlatan. Magic wasn't meant to be real after all or —now— used to be. Now, the sorcerer was helping them along, aiding the war effort with his unique set of skills.
'Who would have thought that a man under my command could do all those things?'
Suzaku had learned from Jigen himself that he was once part of his squad in the last conflict and he was very surprised by that fact alone. To think that such a powerful figure was once his subordinate.
Suzaku thinking time ended when his men found a stone road that went off into the mountain skirts, up into the mountain.
Suzaku grinned and waved to his men to follow him as he climbed the steps that probably lead them into their target.
In just a few minutes, they managed to get to the top of the stairs. The sight of the cabin in their field of vision being a welcoming one.
Guards were posted on the entrance and on the sides of the residence, protecting a certain woman from any harm on her way.
'This is where it ends for you' Suzaku could only imagine what he would do to her once he breached the security around her.
His men were already circling the property, bowmen ready to fire at any unsuspecting victim. Suzaku waited some minutes before finally launching his offensive.
KILL THEM!
He charged head-on unto the guards outside the main entrance to the cabin.
The soldiers of So that were tasked by Lord Tenji to defend Kaguya fought valiantly, but they were too outmatched.
For some brief moments the sounds of steel clashing and arrows being fired sounded all around the cabin's boundary.
In the end, the loyal soldiers of So were those on the ground laying motionless, their blood tainting the earth.
Suzaku and his men surrounded the cabin. Kaguya and her handmaidens were probably on the inside. The long-haired man in charge wanted nothing more than to take Kaguya, in a sexual sort of way.
Is not every day when you can have a taste of an otherwordly experience but Suzaku also that knew he couldn't risk this one out just to satisfy his urges.
His lust for the woman would not compromise his duty and Jigen had already warned him of the danger that Kaguya represented to them.
The woman was a wolf in sheep's clothing with more of her than meets her eyes, her pretty white eyes.
So, restraining the animal instincts that screamed at him to enter the cabin and rape the concubine of Lord Tenji for all her worth, he chose not to induct in it. Rather, he wouldn't take any chances with her.
'Just for this time...' He might as well grumble that.
Suzaku waited until his bowmen had lit their arrows, waving his hand to the front and shouting.
Set them alight!
Fire rained on the cabin. At first, looking like it would snuff out but it gradually increased in sized until it completely engulfed the building.
Wood creaked and crumbled with the intense heat that covered the cabin. Suzaku and his men stood before the fire, their weapons ready. Bows aiming at the main door of the building and anyone unlucky to use them.
Suzaku did not know how long he waited but he was starting to think that perhaps the lady from the skies wasn't as strong enough as Jigen said until a sudden sound startle everyone.
THRUSH!
A wall still on fire from the building was demolished. Suzaku and his troops instantly covering their eyes.
Suzaku was the first to recover, running to see the scene where the sound came from.
'It can't be...' The wall was on the ground, little embers littering the earth around it but what caught Suzaku's attention was the print of two pairs of feet that trailed all the way into the forest.
'They are running...' Suzaku raised his sword.
"Follow me. She must be close!" He yelled with his men right on his back.
Suzaku infiltrated into the forest, searching for the sorceress. He didn't have a torch to follow the trail, but he didn't need it. He already knew where Kaguya was going.
'The tree...' Suzaku grinned, seeing the massive tree's form even in the forest ground.
He needed to catch up with her. He just hoped that his men around the tree could stall Kaguya long enough until they could deal the final blow on her.
Suzaku raced against time. The tree's position was visible even from afar and he had to make this count. For the land of Ka's sake.
OoOoOoO
Inner Citadel
It was a terrible sight, to see your own men who you have probably known your entire life, those that supported and back you up in every situation, die.
Men that swore to serve and protect all you have accomplished, dropping like flies.
This was what Lord Tenji was experiencing right now. Grief for his people and loyal troops, the latter mounting a significant but hopeless resistance against the invaders, every single one of them knowing that they would die anyway.
The battle at the gates had transformed into a full free-for-all fight on the streets. The invaders had managed to get through the gates and now his men were fighting a rattenkrieg on the streets of the Capital.
Fighting for every single block and inch of their homes and not to say for their whole lives.
The music inside the Inner City within the walls was a mix of blood, screams, and fire. The invaders from Ka were ruthless and brutal and they did not discriminate on basis of status-quo.
Be it a civilian, women, noble, beggar, or anyone, it didn't matter to them. The steel did not make any exceptions to them. It was a massacre, a genocide.
Lord Tenji was inside his palace. He had eluded the same fate as his warriors when the gates to his dominions were blown off and he has slithered around when the battle began, running from his duty.
'I am a coward'
It couldn't be helped, ever since Tenji had been alive he had always desired for peace, avoiding battles and fights with others in the search for a peaceful utopia. A pipe dream he realized just now.
'What would my father think if he saw me like this' Lord Matsuo would probably be rolling in his grave if he saw how his only son had turned out. But Lord Matsuo was dead and Tenji was his own person, not his father nor anyone else.
He was with his right-handed man. His elder friend that once was his father's advisor and now his stood right by his side.
Lord Tenji thoughts were broken when he heard a loud scream from outside. Curiosity overpowered the monarch and Tenji walked to gaze through the window.
He turned to watch whatever was happening outside from the third floor from his palace and into the city. His burning city.
His eyes watered at the sight he faced when he gazed from afar at the main street. A hand covering his lips to silence a teary gasp that threatened to escape from him.
A woman was being raped on the street by soldiers of the land of That, next to them was a man restrained by two of the enemy soldiers. The male civilian screamed at them to stop this with tears rivuleting down his eyes but they just laughed at both.
The screaming continued and Tenji steeled himself to distance himself away from the window. From reality.
'Probably her husband...'
Some invaders were already committing war crimes against his people and Tenji was unable to do anything other than watch. His city was screaming for his help and he just stood idly, watching the invaders rob his people of everything they have worked for in their entire lives.
His father gave his own life to protect his city and now Tenji was expected to do the same. To die with his city.
'A captain sinks with his own ship' That is what the popular saying says.
All of this would not have happened if it wasn't for that man. The man that Genbu had brought with him was the one who could be attributed to the state of his city. The one that began this onslaught.
'What kind of being is him?' Tenji didn't have a clue to answer the question but if he was sure of something it was that no man was able to do such things.
That was the question that has been lingering on in Tenji's head. 'How can a man do such things? It is impossible'
'Unless he is like Kaguya-hime...' The thought remained on his mind. It was the most believable theory.
Only someone like Kaguya, someone who came from the heavens would be able to perform such things.
'Does that means...'
Suddenly, the gates of his palace were rammed open, slamming into the walls were they were hinged. Tenji froze when he heard the slam coming from the entrance.
'They are here' Tenji gripped his sword.
The invaders were now inside his home, his own roof. He would die first rather than being humiliated by them even more.
The Lord of So armed himself with valor, he and his men had already made their peace and were prepared for what was coming. He would not go down without a fight.
OoOoOoO
Jigen and Genbu were outside the Daimyō Palace, some of their soldiers have already rammed the doors wide open and were inside looking for the man that will soon be the last of the Daimyōs of So.
The soldiers were already ordered to bring back alive Lord Tenji to them but they did not say unharmed.
Sounds of fighting could be heard all around inside the Palace, their troops killing the last defenders of the Daimyō.
Genbu and Jigen waited outside for the meantime, both next to each other. The two of them facing the Daimyō Palace's entrance.
One looking a little tired with sweat running down his spiky hair while the other looked normal, not even his breathing heaving a little.
Jigen had his Bō on both his hands unlike in the beginning. His cape rising slightly with the strong wind of the night.
"You know... after all of this is over. I think you should come with us back to the Capital." Genbu said out of the blue. Jigen turned his head to his side slightly, giving him his attention.
Genbu did the same as him. "I am just saying that we could use your help in the future." He paused to look ahead when a sharp cry reached their position but after nothing happened the Minister resumed. "I am sure Lord Oda would be happy to have someone of your talents in his Council." He finished with a smile.
Jigen contemplated the not so subtle offer of work. "Maybe I will think about it." Genbu nodded his head at him. That was enough for him.
Some moments later, their men exited the royal building.
They were restraining two individuals by their limbs. Two individuals that were resisting with all their might against them, jerking and hitting, looking like a pair of alley cats.
"Release me at once!" Exclaimed the voice of Lord Tenji. He looked beyond furious, uselessly trying to escape the hold the men had on him.
Tenji's noble clothes and armor were ragged and cut in some places. No doubt that it was from the previous fighting.
Lord Tenji constant moving proved to be a nuisance until he was punched in the stomach by one of the soldiers manhandling him.
"Tenji-sama!" His advisor shouted when he saw his Lord get hit on his abdomen. It was unacceptable.
They finally were brought in their presence. The soldiers of That forcing them to their knees since their hands were tied up.
Genbu smiled at the glare that both men were sending him. Jigen face was obscured from light but by his mouth expression, you could tell he was bored.
The noble from That looked at Tenji. "Tenji-sama, you should have surrendered when you had the chance..." He chastised him.
The Daimyō of So glared at him. "This isn't over." Tenji's eyes burned with hatred for the men before him.
"Oh, but it will end soon. Believe me." Genbu answered. Tenji and his advisor had a chill creeping up their backs at those words.
Tenji turned to look at the silent man next to Genbu. "You?!" He spatted like if he had ingested venom. "WHAT ARE YOU?!" He demanded to him.
Jigen complied with Tenji. The man wasn't gonna be around much longer anyway. "You want to know who I am..." He let the air around him be filled with suspense. "I am Ōtsutsuki Jigen. Your father's murderer." He said with an expressionless face.
'As well as yours pretty soon'
Everyone looked at him when he finished. From the soldiers restraining the two noblemen to Genbu, all eyes widening at the statement, some even forgetting to breathe for a second.
Genbu was the first to ask the question. Jigen had just admitted to killing the sire of the current sovereign of the nation and he needed to be sure. "You were the one that killed Lord Matsuo?!" It was more of an accusation than a question.
Jigen just looked at him from his eye sides. "Yes, I did." He asserted the fact and pointed a finger at Tenji.
"Your father died because of his stubbornness..." Jigen snickered. "... just like you. It seems that the saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree rings true, ne."
"Watch your filthy mou..." Tenji's advisor was slapped all across his face by Jigen with his Bō.
Hmph!
Tenji screamed at him. "Leave him alone!" It sounded almost like an order.
Jigen looked at him with disdain. "No one tells me what to do..." He grabbed the elder man and threw him on the ground. Jigen looked at Tenji as he raised his Bō and direct it at the old advisor's head. "... not even you." He brought his Bō down.
Thrud!
The Bō perforated his advisor's cranium. He was dead before his own brain could realize it.
A Bō was made to be a non-lethal weapon, but in Jigen hands that terminology changed.
Tenji's eyes stung, tears moistening his ocular organs, making them look shinier.
His advisor, his old friend was dead, the blood oozing from the hole in his head. The red life liquid spreading over the ground.
Jigen left the corpse of the elder man and stood tall before Lord Tenji. Less than a second later, he raised his leg and kicked him straight in the chest
Umph!
Tenji fell on his back. The limb that kicked him just a second ago placing itself on his neck, forcing one of his cheeks to kiss the ground.
He looked from his position to the eyes of his father's killer. Black eyes staring at darker ones. Eyes belonging to a monster.
Jigen chooses to address the sovereign at that moment. "This is nothing personal, Lord Tenji." He applied more pressure on his neck.
"You are only a means to an end." He explained casually.
Tenji asked with gritted teeth. "What do you mean?" He coughed after, inhaling some earth by being too close to the ground.
"I mean that my vendetta was never against you or your father." Jigen said softly. It was the truth.
"Then, who?" Tenji found it difficult to talk in his current position with his neck feeling like breaking.
Jigen smirked at him. "Your concubine, Kaguya."
Tenji felt fear invade his body and mind. 'Everyone but her'
"Leave her alone. She doesn't have anything to do with this." The Daimyō pleaded.
Either way, Jigen didn't budge. "Believe me Tenji-san when I said that woman has everything to do with this." His eyes softened as he placed his Bō some inches away from his heart.
"But I promise you something Tenji. She will be joining you shortly..." He raised his Bō to repeat the process. Tenji closed his eyes. Jigen recalled a similar scene like this one with Tenji's father four years ago.
KRAKOW!
The earth started to rumble. Everyone started to panicked when a few buildings here and there started to fall. The damage from fires and other factors crumbling buildings down thanks to tremors.
But the earthquake didn't stop and instead it just got more violent with time. Jigen heard someone say in his head.
Isshiki warned him. "She did it..."
He internally replied. "What?!"
"She ate the Fruit. You have to get the hell out of there. Now!" The Ōtsutsuki has never raised his voice against him. This truly must be something bad.
Jigen turned to face the direction of the Shinju. His partner doing the same thing.
Genbu felt fear at seeing the root-like tentacles appear from the earth and probably dealing with the men stationed around the tree. Those that were there to prevent Kaguya from making contact with the tree.
It didn't pass more than some seconds before the roots reached for the Capital.
Tendrils made from silk apparently started to snatch everyone into the roots and enveloped them.
Genbu yelled to his men to run when he saw that image. Also, he being the first to turn tails, scampering to where they came from.
Scram!
Everyone ran to abandon the city. The tendrils from the roots snatching everyone unlucky to fall into their grasp. It didn't matter to the Shinju who they were.
Jigen turned to look at Tenji. He would not let Kaguya get away with this unscathed.
He pierced his Bō down into the Daimyō's heart and blood poured soon after.
A tendril from the Shinju made his way to snatch Jigen but he only grabbed the still living Tenji by his neck and threw him at the moving rope, the tendril enfolding the dying nobleman in his place.
Jigen launched into the air after that, avoiding some of the tendrils that were attracted to him because of his Chakra.
He watched from his position high in the sky a running Genbu be snatched by the Shinju along with a handful of his men.
Jigen then saw a white dot in the distance, a very fast dot closing on him.
'Kaguya'
At this Jigen turned into the opposite direction and dashed off into the distance, like hell he will wait for her to reach him.
Jigen turned tail and ran, he knew he was no match for Kaguya. It was a fact.
The Ōtsutsuki woman has just eaten the Chakra Fruit so it was suicide to confront her face-to-face.
So heeding his self-preservation instincts, he flew away.
'Run and don't look back'
He slowly vanished in the distance, going into the place he had called home for a few years by now. He will have to look for another way to reach his goal.
OoOoOoO
—Land of the Ancestors—
Ōtsutsuki City State Outskirts
Eighteen Years Later
Standing at the top of a hill in the vicinity of the land belonging to the Ōtsutsuki Clan of the Earth was Jigen.
He was watching intently the land below. His eyes had veins protruding around the white lavender sclera, this symptoms signaled the use of the Byakugan, present on his otherwise dark eyes.
Jigen was not interested in the landscape or the boring people that made up the population of the City, he was not that shallow or stupid.
The City looked better without the roots of the Shinju plaguing the roads if you mind his saying but he was looking for a special thing of his interest, or rather two things actually as he looked intently at the former house of the Daimyō.
'Its already noon, they should be training here by then...' Jigen waited for the objects of his attention to make themselves known. He had studied their patterns and schedules for some years now. They were late if he was accurate.
Two figures then stepped from what was once the Daimyō Palace, now, the Ōtsutsuki Clan Compound.
It was two brothers that were some minutes late to their daily combat training.
'Hagoromo and Hamura Ōtsutsuki...'
Jigen smirked at them. He had watched them grow from the distance since they were boys.
Kaguya had been trying to track him down some months after the invasion fiasco, forcing Jigen to stay hidden under the rocks for some months until finally, he did not feel the Ōtsutsuki woman oppressing aura anymore.
He sometime later got a word that Kaguya was pregnant. Safe to say that Jigen was interested, even now he still was.
Jigen watched as the two sons of the Rabbit Goddess trained for two hours straight, until they seem to call it a day and went off into the compound again.
Jigen stood there for some time before calling quits and returning to his hideout.
He wanted to meet the Ōsutsuki Brothers. The reason was something only known to him, something for his gain but he had it hard. The Usagi no Megami did not let them stray too far away from the city.
Jigen knew too that if he decided to pay them a visit he would be annihilated by the Matriarch of the Ōtsutsuki Clan of the Earth so he had to be careful.
Jigen wasn't a person that gives up easily, he would manage as always. He just had to be patient and Jigen had patience in spades to spend.
End of Chapter
AN: There you have it, boys. Another chapter. Jigen wants to meet the Otsutsuki boys. Why?. You should know by now. Jigen is just looking after himself. As always. Nothing wrong with that.
Finally, the Pre Chakra Era arc is coming to an end. But you will have to wait. So be patient like Jigen.
Anyways Fav, Follow if you like my work. I would appreciate it. See you next time.
DragoonMen