Chapter 26 "The Strong and the Weak"

Somewhere in the Land of Sound 7 2E, the Seventh Year of the Reign of the Second Emperor

I opened my eyes to the familiar sight of a dull cement ceiling above. "Subject K, how are you feeling today?" Asked the doctor to my side. I turned and to him and answered, "I'm not sore, I don't feel tired, but I do feel stiff, Doctor." I responded in earnest, having learned the hard way not to lie. The doctor put a hand on my neck, silently ordering me to remain still before he leaned down to examine my pupil movements with a high-speed camera. "Do you feel bloated? Sick? Hungry?" He asked his tone more…enthusiastic.

I raised an eyebrow before taking a moment to think about what he asked. I didn't recall feeling different. The doctor suddenly tensed and began to lift his arm, no doubt wanting to hit me like he normally would, but for some reason, he lowered the offending limb. He also didn't tie me down before starting his examinations. "I do feel a bit bloated and I'm feeling quite hungry. Even though I ate yesterday." I admitted. The doctor grinned, his eyes gaining a wild look. "That's great. We may be able to start the next phase of the project sooner than expected," he said to himself before making a few notes on his tablet.

I was confused; the scientists never discussed their objectives near test subjects. He looked down at me after typing and smiled, "you are doing good, Subject K. You can rest now but later you'll get to eat solid food as a reward." My eyes shine brightly with excitement. I didn't understand what I did right, but I was happy. I wasn't even hit today. I eagerly nodded at the scientist. "Good girl…now rest." He said before injecting more sedative into my IV. My eyes fluttered closed.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

I was slowly pulled out of a dreamless sleep by the sounds of hushed voices. I was disturbed by the feeling of a much softer mattress beneath me and tried to sit up. Only to discover there were leather straps holding my torso in place, "d-doctor?" I asked quietly only to be momentarily blinded by a large white LED light being activated overhead. I blinked, trying to adjust to the brightness before looking around. Scientists were manning medical equipment in every corner of the room. The head scientists were seated behind a large desk in the center of the room. On the desk were a few aged scrolls, files, a desktop computer and a few tablets. The head scientists looked up to me from his desk, a glare washed over his glasses that hid his eyes, "did you rest well, Subject K?" The head scientist asked. I nodded as he rose to his feet. "I decided to let you in on what's going to happen next." He started before slowly walking around his desk to approach my bed, "we were trying to successfully make a hybrid—a creature that was composed of the cells of two different species. Mainly, we wanted to make a superior being from the cells of the great snake summon Manda and humans. A human made with the DNA of superior humans like the First and Seventh Hokage in particular." He explained with a hint of pride in his voice.

I was overwhelmed. Was I…artificial? I knew no test subject had any parents to speak of and it did make sense that we weren't entirely human. I never saw a scientist blink with a secondary set of eyelids or develop scaled flesh after all. But still…

The scientist cleared his throat as a colleague handed him a syringe, "you were the first success. Your human cells didn't reject the snake cells, your organs didn't fail and you didn't have stunted growth—you even managed to go through puberty! You are the only success, Subject K." He said as he injected a needle into my IV. Watching me carefully as he did so. I opened my mouth to speak only for my throat to go numb. I was losing feeling in my body. "Wait…" I muttered.

"Now the next phase can begin. We produce more of your kind. You will be the mother of a new race!" He declared as he had some burly men approached the table and seized my legs. My eyes widened in fright before I began to struggle. He looked at me, elation turning into disappointment. "You will be the mother of the next step of human evolution…you should feel honored!" He yelled before slapping me across the face. I closed my eyes tight, in anger and fear, "no…I won't let you do this!" I hissed before opening my mouth wide—to an inhuman degree. I shed my skin in an instant and slipped out of my old form, naked with claws and fangs bared. "How dare you!" Screamed the head scientist as he brought his hands together to make a handseal.

Before his hands met he suddenly collapsed when a tremor went throughout the entire facility. An emergency light began flashing, bathing the room in a red tint. A static-filled voice appeared as the intercom system roared to life, "We have been notified that Imperials are preparing to strike this facility. All non-essential personnel must stall them as long as possible. We can't let them take the test subjects!" The scientists started to run for the exits and the head scientist hesitated. I threw a hand forward, instinctively taking advantage of his weakness by using a jutsu, "Sen'ei Jashu!" I cried out before snakes sprouted from my forearm and began to gorge on the scientists. The head scientist finally came out of his panicked stupor and ran through a sequence of handseals, "I'll take Subject K with me before we evacuate. Doton: Dosekidake!" He declared before four spikes of earth shot from the ground at high speeds, aiming to impale me from four different angles. I let out a shrill hiss as I leaped to the ceiling to avoid the spikes before I gathered as much natural energy as possible. I started to grow grooved serpentine teeth, scalier skin and my eyes started to grow larger as my body began to contort. The few surviving scientists looked on horror as my jaw cracked and the skin along the sides of my mouth split apart to form a sickening facsimile of a grin. Finally, my humanoid body fell to the ground as my new form emerged.

I was so large now that I had to lower my head to fit in the room. A sinister crackle filled the air as I bared my fangs. The humans trembled in fear before me but the head scientist, that monster laughed in joy, "excellent! You're even greater than I imagined! Why didn't you showcase this power in our tests, Subjec—" Before the head scientist could finish stroking his ego, I rushed him, caught him in my jaws and broke through a nearby door.

"The others…I have to help them. The scientists were cruel but didn't want us to die but Konoha…Konoha will kill us." I thought as I rushed toward the Subject Quarters section of the facility.

Meanwhile

I adjusted my new ANBU mask to wipe away from sweat that gathered above my nose. "I hope Shi-nii was right when he said that this plastic smell goes away with use." I thought, reflecting on the newest piece of my uniform. I had joined the ANBU a week ago and was on my first mission. Jumping from Chunin to ANBU was unheard of so I guess they felt I could handle an S-Rank mission from the get-go.

I looked to my right and left, dozens of ANBU were surrounding what appeared to be an old cabin in the middle of the woods of the Land of Sound. Decades before being captured by Orochimaru, the land was known as the Land of Rice Fields, but the war-torn marshes showed those days of peace had long since past. Intelligence said that beneath that little cabin was large facility ran by former associates of Orochimaru that decided to keep performing inhuman experiments after their leader decided to give the practice up. "Listen up, kids," said the ANBU Captain, while irked, I understood that the squad was seen in a poor light due to us being new recruits. "We focus on killing as many rebels as possible, save for the head scientist, Dr. Tsukikawa." He instructed. I swallowed, a tad nervous, before nodding.

"I wanted the chance to practice using natural energy on missions, but this one may have too many variables for that." I thought. "Sir, what sort of defenses should we expect?" I asked. The ANBU Captain turned to me, "almost all of the scientists are A or B-rank caliber ninja. Also, they may have hostile experiments. Kill any subjects you find as well." He instructed. The other ANBU nodded immediately, but I hesitated. The subjects probably were volunteers, they needed help and could provide information if taken alive. I shook my head clear of my own thoughts and nodded in agreement, "understood, Sir."

"Good, spread out, apprehend Tsukikawa," ordered the Captain before he moved in using a Shunshin. I nodded before activating my Sharingan and following.

Subject Quarters

I found my way to the Subject Quarters quickly enough and managed to shift back into my humanoid form by shedding my skin along the way. Thankfully there was a supply closet in the hallway that led the Subject Quarters as well so I could get dressed in the white uniform the orderlies wore.

The head scientist even stopped squirming after the weakened venom I injected into him took effect, so I could carry him quite easily over my shoulder. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, which was cut so short that I had less than an inch of dark red hair on my head, as I collected myself. So many new things happened so quickly.

I opened the Subject Quarters activity room door, hopeful that I'd find the other subjects scared but unharmed. What I found instead shocked me so much that my arms went limp and I dropped the scientist unceremoniously. All the other subjects were dead. Killed execution-style with gunshots to the head. Most of them younger than me.

I turned around with a growl and grabbed the head scientist by the shirt before flinging him across the room. "You caused this! You sick freak!" I yelled at the scientist…and myself. The scientist hit the wall back-first and caused the cement wall to crack into splinters from the impact. The head scientist was lucky that he was a medical-nin.

Just as the man struggled to rise to his feet, I stomped across the room and slammed my foot into the man's chest, cracking his collarbone. "Answer me! Why did you do this!?" I roared as I reached down and sank my claws into the top of the scientist's head. I then slid my sharpened nails down the bastard's face, drawing blood and cries of agony from him.

But even after that much trauma, the head scientist didn't respond, angering me further. I held out an arm and used Sen'ei Jashu to summon snakes, constrictors, beneath my skin. They then burst out from under my skin and sank their fangs into the scientist's arms before wrapping their muscular bodies around his torso. I then knelt down and seized the scientist by his throat, using my unnatural strength to slowly crush his trachea.

"Was it worth it!? Killing all these children just to fail!" I demanded. "We didn't fail! If you just sat back and reproduced then everything would have gone according to plan…" The scientist muttered, without a hint of regret in his voice. It was like the man couldn't feel pain or terror. I seized him by the throat and crushed it, "lies! I'd sooner eat my children then force them to spend one second around you…" I yelled, terrified and angry, before realizing I had broken the man's neck.

Somehow, I didn't feel any better knowing that the head scientist was dead.

I put a hand on my chest trying to catch my breath and calm down. What the hell am I going to do now? Escape? …why bother? Everyone I knew me was dead. "Um…excuse me, Onee-san," said someone stealthy enough to get the drop on me and the voice a younger boy. I turned to the boy with a sneer, he was wearing a black cloak that concealed all of his body, save for a white fox mask with red accents around the eyes, and that he was quite a few inches shorter than me. I glared at him as I crossed my arms, "what do you want, Imperial?" The boy shifted uncomfortably under my gaze in response before he spoke up, "I was actually looking for that…guy but he's dead now so…could I get I get his body?" He asked quietly—politely even. I looked at him, confused at how he spoke to me like I was his equal. I looked down at my hands just to make sure I wasn't disguised. To confirm I still looked like a freak. "He's mocking me…" I decided as I deployed my retractable fangs.

"Don't you fucking laughing at me!" I threatened before putting my left foot forward and had my right hand pointed at him, ready to grapple and bite him in an instant. He tilted his head, surprised, before placing his ninjatō in its sheath. "I wouldn't do that." He replied softly before entering his own taijutsu stance, "but I will make you hand him over, Onee-san." He finished, flaring his chakra. I could sense how dense and bestial his chakra was and instantly knew he outclassed me.

My eyes started to water as I locked my knees. I had to kill this boy or I'd die. In less than a second, the boy was inches from me, reaching for my throat. My hand was up, claws vying for his throat as well. I was close enough to see the ANBU's eyes behind his mask, they were a dark, yet inviting, blue and one of his irises seemed to have specks of orange around the pupil. They were the kindest eyes I'd ever seen. The scientists and even the other experiments had hardened eyes. They either thought me as being less than human or the bitch who had it easy since I was the best test subject.

"I wish Kiri was still this warm…" I thought as the genjutsu ended and I opened my eyes, seeing the London rooftop one more.

Within Munin's Illusion

I was holding Asuka's body in my arms when Munin appeared once again. She didn't end the illusion this time, though, and the world around us didn't pause. Pacing around me, Munin began to speak, "how does it feel? The…loss?" She asked. I didn't care if her asking was meant to be an insult or a serious question, I was answering for the sake of my own sanity. I had to finally admit it out loud. "I want to die. My chest hurts and I feel like I can't breathe. I…I just want to be with her." I said, my voice breaking as I kneeled with Asuka in my arms for a moment. I sat for at least a full minute before I blinked to clear my eyes of burning tears. My vision finally cleared enough for me to realize where I was.

"O-Oh right…I jumped up a few floors. This is the armory." I muttered as I looked around and saw I was in a room filled with the local militia's rifles, swords, and grenades. In the far corner of the room was an area closed off by iron bars. I walked over to it, intrigued, and discovered the corner contained weapons taken from prisoners. Munin suddenly appeared directly in front of me, "you said you loved her, right? How did that feel?" I lowered my gaze and started to run my hands together, "I can't really put it into words…she could always calm me down and helped me speak up when it mattered. She never tried to hurt me too and…that's a pretty rare thing for me… Losing her still hurts, I would trade anything for her but she is gone. If I'm lucky, I will deal with Shimura quickly and I can join her. " I said, with a bit of hope that made the anxiety in my chest lessen a slight bit.
"Now, shut up so I can deal with this," I said before I raised my chakra-covered hand and plunged it into the locking mechanism of the barred door. Munin suddenly appeared beside me and caught my forearm with hate-filled eyes, "but you have to feel rage as well, don't you? Even if this is an illusion. You lost your love, you lost what's yours but instead of being angry you're just moping! The strong don't need love, sex is a pleasure—a sweet like a candy, so why are you so broken!?" She demanded, slowly crushing my arm.

I looked at her, ready to tear her down before I noticed she looked more confused than angry. I bit my lower lip and furrowed my brow as I tried to think of how to explain my feelings. "I could count the people that cared for me on one hand and with that same hand are the people who suffered because of me. I must see Asuka's dying face to use my Mangekyō, think of the hundreds of humiliating acts my people have done to me to use Kurama's power and my mother made me a mask to hide my disgusting form. Yet, you stand before me and ask if I'm angry?" I said, my voice shaking with self-directed hatred. Munin growled and released my arm, "you can be so powerful but you are crippling yourself with your humanity—your emotions."

I snarled before grabbing Munin by the collar of her dress shirt and lifted her up so she could look me in the eye. "Watch what happens next you miserable bitch and try to call me weak again. I am only alive today because they took her from me and because I loved her!" I hissed as my nails sharpened from my anger and cut into Munin's shirt. Munin tilted her head with a smirk before grabbing my wrists and twisting them inwards—forcing me to release her. Munin floated back to the ground with a giggle. "That's a bit better. I will watch but after that, you better prove just how powerful your rotting love can make you, Kirisuto Uzumaki." She said merrily before past me, stroking the underside of my chin as she crossed my path. I flinched and batted the arm away. "Oh, yes…you'll be a sweet, sweet piece of candy if you fail to become enlightened." She cooed with a Cheshire grin before disappearing.

I stood alone in front of the locker, suppressing the queasiness I felt from the unwarranted physical contact so I could focus. I closed my eyes and concentrated on kneading some chakra before I channeled more wind chakra into my hand and carved away at the cell door's lock. Less than a minute passed before I had gained entrance to the barred room. Besides common criminal's weapons like rusted kunai and katana, I saw pieces of Imperial ANBU armor, katana, kunai, bolt-action rifles and ninjatō. I walked over to the ninjatō placed in neat rows on a table and flared my chakra, my personal sword had seals that allowed it to convert my chakra into a wind chakra, saving me the trouble of molding it myself. My ninjatō responded by emitting a sickly green aura. I smiled before noticing the blade adjacent to my own was a ninjatō with a sky blue braid covering the hilt rather than the standard ANBU black. It was Asuka's ninjatō.

I turned to the armor and changed out of my ruined BDU before slipping on some chest, forearm and shin armor. Next, I strapped some kunai holsters to my thighs, Asuka's sheathed ninjatō to my left hip, my own ninjatō to my right hip, and holstered a revolver horizontally on the back of my belt. Content with my armament, I eyed the walls around me before sighing. "No windows so I have no clue which way is the courtyard. Fuck it." I said with a sigh before I formed the Ram handseal to gather a large helping of charka that I quickly covered my body in before sprinting into the closest wall.

The wall I chose seemed to be the right choice as I saw the prison courtyard was a few stories below me. Unfortunately, the sun was setting so I could barely see the Sunagakure skyline covering the horizon in the background. "At least I only had to go through one wall." I thought before a bright light shined directly at me, forcing me to slam my eyes shut for a moment. I rubbed my eyes to soothe the searing pain before looking down below. Multiple spotlights stationed on the prison walls were illuminating me as I tumbled toward the ground. I didn't care, however, I narrowed my eyes and activated my Sharingan so I could try to see if my target was among those in the courtyard while there was still daylight.

Dozens of soldiers were assembled in the center of the courtyard. "Ready. Aim…" My eyes widened in recognition before I turned to the eastern corner of the prison wall and saw Tanjiro was staring me down with a chakra receiving blade pointed at me. "Fire," he commanded just as the last rays of sunlight dissipated. I put hands together and used every bit of my grief to focus.

Courtyard of the Sunagakure Prison, Standing Amongst Other Separatists

I looked up and saw a fully healed Kirisuto Uzumaki cling to the side of the prison structure and looking surprisingly calm. "Just as planned…I just need to make sure that he doesn't catch on." I thought as I felt my mouth go dry at the sight of Kirisuto channeling an ungodly amount of chakra into his body before disappearing. "He can move faster than I can see?" I thought before ordering the men to search for him. I jumped off the edge of the prison wall and landed behind the bulk of my men before calling out, "Uzumaki…you should take your defeat more gracefully. I was honored to be the one responsible for killing off your little girlfriend," I said before I started amassing artificial Bijū chakra.

"I hope that honor was worth your life," Kirisuto said coldly. I turned toward the source of his voice and saw Kirisuto had jumped even higher in the air before making some shadow clones that were manipulating chakra in one of his hands. My eyes widened in fear, "scatter!" I yelled as I turned to run. "Too late, Fūton: Rasenshuriken!" Kirisuto yelled before throwing a two-meter wide disc of blue-white chakra directly at me. I channeled as much chakra as possible into my feet before using Shunshin to avoid the shuriken. Several men were sliced apart but the loss was minimal. I grinned as I covered my body with a Bijū cloak, "too slow, Uzumaki." I said as I looked up to mock the boy, only to see he didn't seem bothered in the slightest. "Expand." He said with a hollow voice before crossing his arms. The Rasenshuriken instantly lost its distinct shape and became a massive sphere of cutting blades.

I jumped away as quickly as possible but lost feeling in my left foot when it was caught in the Rasenshuriken's path. I wiped my mouth to hide the fact I was catching my breath before looking around, two-thirds of the Separatist forces under my command were destroyed. Kirisuto spoke up, "pathetic, no wonder you snuck up on me." He said in a monotone voice as if he was sleepwalking. The two clones ran through many handseals in less than a second before yelling, "Fūton: Shinkūgyoku!" Then the clones fired multiple spherical bullet-like wind blasts from their mouths. Cries of pain rang out as soldiers started to fall with gaping holes in their bodies. Kirisuto then landed on all fours at the opposite end of the courtyard, having released his clones.

Now more annoyed than scared, I rose to my full height, letting my indignation turn to anger as my blue Bijū cloak reformed and my skin started to turn thick and off-white in color. "What will happen after you win then, Uzumaki? You certainly won't be carting off your little bitch," I spat as I drew chakra receiving blades from my belt and slyly hit a radio signaling button on my belt. Taijutsu specialist Shinobi used Shunshin to appear beside me while ninjutsu masters got into position on the walls around me, giving them a good position to fire on the whole battlefield. I smirked.

"I'll kill you, all of you, as painfully as possible. Then I'll end this little plot, the Akatsuki will fail and fall to the Uzumaki…again." Kirisuto said, once again without emotion. My face grew red in anger, "such arrogance! Kill him." I shouted as I darted to the teen. Uzumaki drew his ninjatō from his belt as four tails of Kyūbi chakra instantly appeared behind him. I leaped into the air, aiming to cleave his tails off at the base but the boy suddenly spun on his heel and brought his tails around under me, toward my swordsmen. The demonic chakra easily carved several Shinobi apart. Kirisuto then delivered a one-handed slash at me with his sword. I brought my blades up to parry only for my weapons to be hit so hard that my blades shattered. My eyes widened as Kirisuto raised his sword, coated it in red chakra and lunged, attempting to slice open my throat. I brought the steel knuckleduster hilts of my blades up and deflected the stab, he was much faster than before. "See…all you need is a little motivation, Uzumaki," I said with a grunt. His eyes narrowed and I saw a bit of anger cross his face.
I grinned in return only for it to disappear completely when I saw the ninjatō's red chakra turn a sickly green and the steel protecting me started to produce sparks as Kirisuto carved through it. "Shit! I need to withdraw, for now, I can't suppress his chakra anymore!" I thought before forcing my hilts upward, shoving Kirisuto's blade up and away from me. I sneered as I took a step backward only to bump into something. I twisted my head around and was shocked to see Kirisuto's hate-filled stare before he seized me by the throat with his free hand.

It felt like my neck muscles suddenly burst apart as the demon lifted me off the ground, frowning. "Why are you so weak now? How did I lose to you damn it…" He demanded before reaching out with two of his tails and enveloping my hands in his toxic chakra. I screamed as the chakra grew hotter and started to bubble before my knuckleduster hilts exploded and the force threw me backward.

My body crashed into the lip of the prison's defensive walls before rocketing into the arms of a few ninjutsu masters. I felt a stinging pain in my face as I struggled to catch my breath. Grunting, I reached up and pulled out a few fragments of my hilts from my cheeks, even touching the debris made my fingertips burn from the heat. "Tanjiro-sama…what should we do!?" Asked one of the panicked ninjutsu masters. Ignoring the fool, I looked down at the Uzumaki and saw he was pulling a ninjatō with a blue tsuba from a sheath on his belt. His eyes were focused on me, even as his four—no five—demonic tails were busy slashing and impaling Shinobi that charged at him with fear-induced bravery. I looked closer and noticed his tails were hardening. I smiled. The boy was losing control.

I took a step toward the edge of the perimeter wall. "A Jinchūriki's Bijū cloak has two forms. The first appears as an aura that goes from an orange mist to a red boiling liquid in appearance as the host becomes angrier and gains more tails. Once said Jinchūriki is unstable enough or gains enough control over their tailed beast, they can enter version 2. Which makes cloak turn into hardened black chakra that's so concentrated that the host's skin disintegrates, causing the host's blood to mix with the chakra to form a red-black appearance. Some even gain bones and muscle of their tailed beast," I explained out loud, feeling the Shinobi nearby tense up in fear.

"Don't be afraid, men. That is how old, barbaric Jinchūriki work." I said mocking before I hopped down to the courtyard before I continued to steadily approach the boy. Kirisuto fell to his knees, dropping his blades to rub his temples as his chakra cloak became darker. A sixth tail developed as he started to drip blood from his eyes sockets. "You lack control, Kirisuto. You must see that." I explained before licking my lips. "Maybe, if you had better control Asuka might have survived," I quipped with a sarcastic tone of voice. Kirisuto stilled. I chuckled as I got on one knee before the boy and reached out, transforming my hand into a monstrously claw capable of ripping the Jinchūriki's heart from his chest. "But, sadly, you are too weak so she died and it was all your fault." I finished.

Kirisuto reached up and grapes my forearm in an iron-hard grip. I tried to pull away but couldn't move an inch. Annoyed, I formed another monstrous fist with my free hand and slammed a fist into his jaw but only I felt pain. His lips parted and he started to bare his teeth as a horrid sound emerged. Laughter. Humorless, unfeeling laughter. I looked on in horror as he reached up and ripped part of his face away to reveal the demonic features of a version 2 cloak beneath it. "You brought me here and you took her from me. You, the Akatsuki, everyone, will suffer for this. You'll suffer like she had to!" He screamed as the rest of his skin and clothing slid from his bloody body and black chakra emanated from his form.

Terrified, I tried to throw a chakra-enhanced strike at the monster but he was faster. Kirisuto pulled me into a punch to the stomach that forced me to cough up blood before he used his tails to pierce my limbs and throw me into the air. The monster then stood upright and spoke with a far deeper and mature voice, "fight me as a Bijū!" He yelled before appearing in the sky above me and slamming me into the ground with all six of his tails and his arms. I hit the prison ground hard enough to form a crater in the cement.

Center of the Prison Courtyard

I took slow, deep breaths as I tried to ignore the pain that filled my whole body. "That fucker is cocky but you're doing good, Kirisuto," Kurama commented as he rotated our shoulders and popped our neck. "Thanks, this still feels weird, though," I said honestly, feeling sick to my stomach. Kurama's eyes softened, I could tell he was worried. Returning his attention to the battle, he let out a chuckle as he focused on the pseudo-jinchūriki. "I haven't fought another Jinchūriki in a long while but I can tell he's going into Bijū mode. Gather as much chakra as you can, Kirisuto," He asked as he brought our hands together. I nodded before I started to gather as much natural energy as I could, though I couldn't enter sage mode while using nine-tails chakra. Kurama told me long ago that he learned how to convert the energy to chakra in the Fourth Shinobi World War

Tanjiro rose from the crater in his massive Bijū form, once again resembling a hairless simian with empty eyes. We took a step forward and stood on our hind legs. With enough chakra, an eight-tailed version 2 cloak was large enough to fight a real Bijū, let alone a half-assed rip-off Bijū. "You are far uglier than any of my kin," Kurama spat before giving a roar of challenge. Unable to speak, Tanjiro just screeched in response.

However, before either of us could move, a large collection of voices yelled, "Doton: Domu!" We looked up and saw that ninjutsu masters along the wall had slammed their hands on the ground and the earth was starting to turn malleable. Kurama moved us back far enough that the ground couldn't snatch us up. But we soon learned the Jutsu was meant to attack, earth crawled up over Tanjiro and hardened, giving him a thick layer of armor.

"Damn it…I don't have any affinity that's good against Doton, Kurama." I commented as we watched Tanjiro shape the earth to covering his beast form's fingers to form claws. "We can overwhelm him with sheer power, he is a nothing but a pretender. Follow my lead, Kirisuto." Kurama instructed before he took control our form and got into a feral fighting stance.

Tanjiro growled, taking the gesture as an insult, before charging, "you damn animal, you will return to Kaguya and bring us peace!" He threatened as he closed in on us. Kurama made sure our snout was obscured before he started to gather positive and negative chakra in our mouth. The chakra quickly formed a Bijūdama, a compressed black ball of chakra capable of destroying mountains. "I'll show you what a tailed beast is truly capable of, human!" Kurama declared before he turned on his heel, pressing his jaws up to the chest of the monster and bit into the Bijūdama. A loud crack sounded as the shell of the jutsu disappeared before Kurama let out a roar that released the compressed chakra in a powerful wave of orange energy.

Tanjiro growled, taking the gesture as an insult, before charging, "you damn animal, you will return to Kaguya and bring us peace!" He threatened as he closed in on us. Kurama made sure our snout was obscured before he started to gather positive and negative chakra in our mouth. The chakra quickly formed a Bijūdama, a compressed black ball of chakra capable of destroying mountains. "I'll show you what a tailed beast is truly capable of, human!" Kurama declared before turning on his heel, pressing his jaws up to the chest of the bastard and bit into the Bijūdama. A loud crack sounded as the shell of the ball was compromised before Kurama let out a roar that released the compressed chakra in a powerful wave of orange energy.

Tanjiro threw a hand up to block the attack but all that did was disperse the blow. In a flash Tanjiro was thrown on his back, missing an arm, covered in burns and lacking his earth armor. Not satisfied, I took control and grabbed his remaining arm by the wrist before slamming an open palm into his elbow with a loud snap. The monster let out a horrid scream before he tried to sweep our legs out from under us. We took a step back to avoid the sweep kick before Kurama brought our eight tails up, wrapped them around Tanjiro's waist and lifted him into the air. Kurama growled, "quit struggling, brat," before he started to charge up another Bijūdama.

Tanjiro tried to counter by parting his jaws and gathering wind chakra for an air bullet. "Now, Kirisuto!" Kurama yelled as he reabsorbed his chakra, causing my Bijū cloak to disappear.

I blinked and found myself a few meters in the air with red, burned skin but still very much alive. I bit into my thumb hard enough to draw blood before I slammed my hand into the air beneath me, a black sealing formula appeared and spread out from my palm as I yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A huge plume of white smoke appeared.

I came to a sudden stop, feeling a jolt of pain in my leg muscles before the smoke dispersed. I now stood upon Katsuye's massive serpentine head. Katsuye dashed toward the artificial Bijū without hesitation, sensing my killing intent. Tanjiro moved to fight but only now did he notice that the muscles in his remaining arm were slashed apart and the elbow was shattered; all the honorable Tanjiro, the Jinchūriki of the Third Artificial Bijū, could do, was watch as I prepared one last jutsu.

"This is for Asuka, Kazakiri!" I shouted as light green wind chakra swirled around my arm, making a sound resembling a Rasengan but far in pitch and speed. Kurama's eyes softened as he eased back into a resting position in my seal. "This won't bring you peace but it's necessary," He insisted. I nodded, "I don't expect to feel any better." I thought to myself before leaping off Katsuye's head when she got close enough.

Tanjiro hurriedly kneaded some fire chakra before yelling, "Katon: Karyū Endan!" A large burst of fire shot from the pseudo-bijū's mouth that soon split off into three dragons made of fire that let out a shrill roar as they locked onto my position. I ran through a number of handseals quickly before I summoned a large column of water upward, "Suiton: Ja no Kuchi." The water then took the form of a snake with its fangs bared. The torrents of liquid were so large in volume that the snake managed to make contact with all three beings of fire. The moment the chakra beasts made contact, my snake turned into a massive wall of water and quickly snuffed out the flames. I kicked off the water to get one last boost before I leaped onto Tanjiro.

I pierced the chest of the artificial Bijū before I ran up his torso and rammed my Kazakiri into his neck, slicing tendons apart, just before he managed to swing his crippled arm at me. I jumped over Tanjiro's shoulders to dodge and clung to his back before slamming my Kazakiri into his back far enough to crack his spine but it still wasn't enough. I slammed my hands into his back and tried to rip his flesh apart so I could eviscerate his heart, only to discover Tanjiro was within the massive beast's body. "TANJIRO!" I screamed before charging forward, slashing him free of the chakra construct, and shoving him through the weakened chest of the pseudo-bijū.

The body started to dissipate the moment Tanjiro was cut from its innards and we landed just before it. "No!" Tanjiro yelled as he went for a kunai in his chest pocket but I grabbed his wrist and chopped his hand off with my Kazakiri before I grabbed him by the throat and summoned a shadow clone. "Kiri," Katsuye said, concerned as my eyes gained a crazed look as the clone went to work shaping the chakra in my hand. "Quiet," I ordered her with a cold tone, not even looking her way. "Tanjiro, I'm sorry but I don't have the time to torture as much as you deserve." I started before I slammed my elbow in his left thigh, snapping his femur. He cried out in pain, "I—I don't give a damn about that. My death will achieve little but I have permanently crippled you, Uzumaki! The Akatsuki will take advantage of your weakness and kill you!"

I tilted my head as my clone finished forming a Rasengan in my free hand. "Pick him up," I ordered before releasing Tanjiro's throat and standing. The clone roughly grabbed the Separatist by his remaining arm and brought him to his feet before putting his hands on his shoulders. "You are right, Tanjiro. I will never recover from this." I said in earnest. The Akatsuki sneered. I narrowed my eyes and activated my Sharingan before I gained a sadistic grin and activated my Mangekyō Sharingan. Tanjiro went pale. "My pain has given me strength, though. I must see the moment I gained these eyes to activate them so every single time I battle, I will see who you took from me and remember this pain I feel now." I explained as I looked down at my Rasengan. Everyone around me went still, Katsuye, Tanjiro, and even the remaining Separatists.

I looked back up to Tanjiro and saw he was terrified, "I will not die until every single one of you feel my pain. I want to hurt you so badly that you ask for death. Then I'm going to bring you back and use you to kill your friends and loved ones. Only then, will you feel a sliver of my loss." Tanjiro started to weep as I got close. I shook my head, disappointed before I put a hand on the back of Tanjiro's neck. "I hope you make a good Edo Tensei, Tanjiro," I said with venom before I shoved my Rasengan into his chest. The man screamed in pain as the chakra started to turn his flesh into mulch. Blood pooled at our feet as his screams grew quieter.

A minute passed before my Rasengan finally ran out of chakra. My fingertips touched what remained of Tanjiro's bloodied spine. I released my clone and stood as Tanjiro fell. I let out a few breaths before looking up to the Separatists lining the walls. They immediately started to use Shunshin to run away, tripping over one another in desperation. I sighed as I felt the adrenaline in my body fade away. Only now did I realize how irritated my newly grown skin felt and the soreness in my muscles. It was too much, I felt a throbbing pain in my temples as a dark haze obscured my vision and my body went limp. Katsuye rushed toward me with a panicked shout as I collapsed.

I blinked and I was once again in a dark place—in Munin's world. She appeared from the darkness and waved her hand. Below us popped up a window into my world, the past to be precise. I saw the aftermath of the battle in Suna. All Akatsuki soldiers ended up dead along with most of my troops. I was in command of one of the largest military disasters in Konoha's history.

There were no civilian deaths caused by the battle but there were enough losses that I was demoted for using Kurama's chakra and killing Tanjiro when I should've captured him. I was demoted to military police and put on probation for a year after. The images suddenly vanished and I looked up to face Munin.

"Do you feel she was worth it now? After all the pain she caused you?" Munin asked, aggravated. I scowled as I crossed my arms, "Shouldn't that be obvious by now? I only hurt because she matters to me." I explained, to Munin…and myself. The "god" narrowed her eyes with distrust.

"Why are you being so emotional? Sure, the orphan gave you that eye power but she was worth little else. You pushed yourself too far because you were irrational." She asserted with a venomous tone. I took a step toward her and felt my body tremble with rage, "I was only able to be that strong because some motherfucker took away someone precious to me. Then I killed him and anyone allied with him. If anything you're a dumb cunt for thinking you could get away with the same thing, Munin." I hissed as I looked the "immortal" in the eye. Munin just chuckled, "so much rage, it is quite…amusing." She said softly before she slowly looked up into the darkness above, "I never had anyone, Kirisuto. I had no Asuka, Katsuye, Shio…nor parents. No one ever stood by me." She said quietly. I looked at her with a hint of pity, she was just like my grandfather. Truly alone.

She took a deep breath before continuing, "I know that caring for others only causes you pain. The weak should die or be controlled by the strong and the powerful should stay with our own kind. We are of two different worlds." She insisted. I raised an eyebrow in surprise, "and what would you have me do? Abandon everything? Hellsing, my family, my village?" I asked accusingly. Munin nodded, not catching my incredulous tone, "Help me Kirisuto and together we can change everything so it works for us."

My eyes softened a bit. I could feel her loneliness. "What about my family? Will we rescue them from the empire?" I asked. Part of me considered her offer, desperate to save the twins and Shio.

"I can help you learn how to control your powers but by the time you can save them you won't care anymore. You will realize they only limited you and will never feel pain again." She said, a crazed excitement filling her voice. I searched her eyes for any hint of deception but, unfortunately, I could tell she truly believed what she was saying.

"I don't care about power. I just want to help my siblings and my frien—Seras. I see why you're so distraught, Munin, and I want to help you but I can't abandon them to help you, Munin." I explained, trying to make her understand. Munin scowled, "Then it seems that I can't understand you, Kirisuto Uzumaki. You are crippled by your heart. But, I will fulfill my end of our agreement. I will give you as much energy as you need before our battle." She muttered, her voice once again cold and emotionless. I nodded, feeling a hint of regret as she started to dispel the illusion and bring us back to Seras' world.

I felt a small smile grow on my face as I looked up at Munin, "I'll fight you but I won't just leave you like this. You must see that power doesn't mean you can abuse the weak. I won't leave you in that hell you've made for yourself." I promised, I saw her eyes widen a bit before she chuckled. I felt her energy start to change, becoming colder and dense as we appeared outside the Hellsing Estate Greenhouse once again.

Munin took a step forward and held a hand up, pointing a finger at me, "Then you better hope you're powerful enough to brainwash me, human. Bala." Torrents of dark red spiritual energy collected in front of fingertip before forming a ball of energy. "It's full of so much chakra. Like a Bijū bomb!" I thought with a hint of fear before the ball suddenly rocketed toward me much faster than any bullet. I instinctively threw my head to the side to dodge the energy bolt, smiling with relief before I felt an immense pain in my ribs. "Your eyes aren't as impressive as you think, Uzumaki." Munin quipped as she twisted her hand as it lay within my ribcage. I grabbed her forearm and scoffed, "you're not as fast as you think either. Bunshin Daibakuha!" All of a sudden the shadow clone I made exploded, surprising Munin enough that she used her black-eye teleportation ability to get some distance. "Hey, sweet stuff!" I yelled. Munin turned and smirked as she saw dozens of my clones holding massive Rasengan in their hands. "Cute," she quipped before raising both her hands.

"Cero de Barrera."

"Senpō: Rasen Chō Tarengan!"

Multiple spheres of dark red spiritual energy formed in front of Munin before they were launched at high speeds. The dozens of shadow clones that formed the Rasengan barrage steeled themselves before slamming their orbs of chakra into the Cero. Munin's attack exploded and as the Rasengan detonated. A massive burst of red and blue energy shot upwards, even higher than Hellsing Manor.

I put my hands together and exhaled slowly as I sat hidden within the limbs of a nearby tree. Curved horns had sprouted from the back of my head, signifying that I was in Sage Mode. "I should've been serious from the start." I thought to myself as I activated my Mangekyō Sharingan as well.

Chapter End