Author's note: I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.
Chapter 26: The Evil Within
Inside a mountain, on the Train Mountains
Having just agreed to a truce, Team Menma and Team Kazue were helping each other getting out of the bowels of the mountain. Even though Takeda and Saburou were against this, they were easily overpowered by Nashiko and Minami, as well as Ochinko and Shunsuke. They had managed to find a way out of the hall with the two large pools, and were now striving to go up a ruined stairway. The stair seemed ancient and some of the steps were even destroyed.
The two teams could see how endless the stairway was, as they could also see that each of the walls were made by rock of the mountain. It had been an hour since those two had left the hall. They felt like taking a brief stop, not preferring to waste up energy on going up the stairway.
"This stairway is endless!" Nashiko exclaimed while panting. "Is there even a way out of this!?" she wondered loudly while watching both sides.
"But this stairway was the only option we had, Nashiko. You saw the other openings. They have been blocked by rocks" Minami pointed out to her.
Ochinko studied a hole in the rocky wall, where he could see a broken vase. This made him interested to know what place this was. "Not only is Shimbala interesting. Even this stairway is" he remarked to his friends while studying the broken vase. "I mean, what kind of people lived inside a mountain?" he wondered with interest.
"Beats me, but whoever those guys were, they sure had some questionable methods of living" Takeda expressed his opinion.
Shunsuke began walking up the stairway before turning around to face his friends. They all got their eyes on him. "I don't know if you guys have noticed it, but the walls of rock seem to have a small amount of light shining upon them. We be must be nearing the end of the stairway!" he exclaimed with a smile as he continued upstairs.
Believing in what the raven-haired boy said, the two teams followed him and proceeded to walk up the stairway. Hopefully, they would stumble upon something interesting once they reached the top.
As the two teams used their strength to go up the stairway faster, they discovered a room filled with snow and ice. Snow covered the ground, while the walls and roof were filled with ice. This especially surprised Team Kazue, as this was similar to the ice cave they had sought shelter in. With careful steps, they decided to explore what was in here.
"Now this is indeed interesting" Saburou remarked while adjusting his sunglasses. "This room is very similar to the one we sought shelter in yesterday" he added while facing his teammates.
Minami expressed a hint of anger when seeing this. "You gotta be kidding me! We walk up this stupid stairway only to find THIS!?" she asked in disbelief.
Takeda sighed in annoyance by seeing his twin sister acting like this. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Minami. We barley know what this place even is!" he pointed out to her.
Minami only ignored him and proceeded to go search for something interesting with the help of Riko. Takeda did the exact same thing with the help of Arata. Nashiko and Shunsuke went to a wall of ice to study it.
"Wow, just look at this, Shunsuke" she exclaimed while seeing her reflection in the ice.
The raven-haired boy smiled while seeing this. "I know. It's incredible how a room like this can exist" he noted while looking around his environment.
"Unfortunately for us, the ice cave we stumbled upon seemed to have an unstable ground, as it was made of ice" Ochinko told them both with a smile.
"But you don't suppose that the ground here has thin ice, do you?" Nashiko asked him.
"From what I see here, this floor seems just fine" the teal-haired boy answered, thus convincing them to put away their doubts.
But out of nowhere, the two teams feel the room shaking and it made them feel worried. As the room was shaking, they wondered whether the ice around them would shatter. But they could see snow falling off the icy walls.
"What the hell just happened?" Takeda asked with a hint of discomfort in his voice.
"This almost sounded like an earthquake" Saburou noted grimly. "But I don't it was one, as it was relatively short" he added with his opinion on the matter.
"Hey guys, look what I found!" Minami called out to them, as she stood beside a wooden ladder lying into the ice wall. The group circled around it to get a better look. "It seems that this shaking cleared off the snow that was covering this ladder. But from what I can see…..it is a pretty long ladder" she told them while lifting her face up to see the top, which was filled with darkness.
Nashiko did the same thing and became curious to what was up there. "I think we should be cautious when climbing up this ladder" she suggested to Minami and she nodded in return. She and Minami then turned around to face the boys, who were confused by this.
"We think you boys should go first. You are gentlemen after all" the blue-haired girl said with a smirk at them.
"Yeah, we deserve to be treated like ladies" Nashiko said while agreeing with Minami. The two girls then faced each other and giggled, much to some of the boys' disapproval.
"Those two are really made for each other, aren't they?" Takeda quizzed while sweatdropping. Arata only barked in agreement to what his partner asked.
Saburou sighed deeply by seeing this and he volunteered to be the first and slowly began climbing up the ladder. He was soon followed by Shunsuke, Ochinko and Takeda. Nashiko offered to be the first of the girls, and Minami happily agreed to it.
In the snowy tops, on the Train Mountains
As the smoke from the attacks of ice and fire cleared away, all the spectators could see that Noburu was still standing, but Inojin was lying on the ground. This shocked the raven-haired boy's teammates and the Mist ninjas, while satisfying Noburu's teammates. But the grey-haired boy with glasses had still some bruises on him and he was panting deeply and surprisingly fell on his knees.
"Damn it…..to think that he was able to…..make me fall on my knees!" Noburu remarked while panting. "I also noticed that he used the Sharingan when doing this jutsu…he intrigues me" he added to his thoughts.
Chouta and Shikaien immediately rushed to their unconscious friend lying on the snow, while facing their adversaries with eyes of determination. They could see that Yuudai had stepped by his comrade's side and had put Rei beside the four-eyed boy, much to his confusion.
"What the…Yuudai?" he asked as he could see Rei being put beside him. She was still awake, but had not the strength to stand up on her own feet.
"Hey Noburu, heal yourself and Rei" the masked boy suddenly ordered him to, making Noburu feel somewhat offended. He then prepared his fighting stance against Chouta and Shikaien. "I'm gonna put these idiots out of their misery, now that their team's strongest member is out of commission" he added while explaining his reasons.
Noburu, who knew better than to argue at this rate, reluctantly began healing his injuries. Yuudai noticed this and nodded his head in satisfaction. "Good, now once you're done with the healing, you're gonna help me take out those brats!" he told him.
Rei, who sat beside her four-eyed teammate mused by seeing Yuudai willing to fight. "So he's finally beginning to take things seriously, huh?" she wondered while seeing this.
"Tch, show-off" Noburu muttered lowly in return while healing his own shoulder.
As Yuudai took a few steps forward to face them, Chouta and Shikaien realised that they had to protect Itachi while he was recovering. Before the chubby girl could come up with an attack, she was stopped by Shikaien's hand, as he smiled at her smugly.
"Shikaien….what are you….." Chouta was out of words.
"You just stay by Inojin's side and make sure he recovers. I bet that attack he pulled took an amount of chakra away from him" the dark blonde-haired boy told her before facing the masked boy. "I'll deal with the gasman before he puts us to sleep or whatever the heck he's got up his sleeves" he assured her while preparing his stance.
Chouta knew that his nice, but punkish teammate spoke the truth and she nodded with a smile directed at him. "Okay…do your best!" she wished him luck before sitting on her knees beside Inojin.
The masked boy chuckled as he saw Shikaien preparing against him. This made Shikaien confused but showed it by only raising an eyebrow lightly. "What's the matter, gasman? Is something tickling inside your mask or what?" he smugly asked him.
Yuudai only shrugged off his jab. "Oh, I'll be sure to wipe that smartass smirk off your face, punk!" he hit back and suddenly did a hand seal while facing him.
Shikaien got cautious when seeing this. "Damn! He sure does that fast!" he noted.
"Ninja Art: Giant Smoke Screen!" he said and smoke was blown out from his mask and it surrounded both him and his opponent. "Heh, how do you like that, huh!?" he taunted as the smoke floated all around them.
The dark blonde-haired kid was feeling stressed and lost as all he could see was pale white. But he could manage to see his hands and feet. It was apparent that his masked opponent had trapped him in chunks of smoke and it made him impossible to spot Yuudai.
"So the gasman is capable of trapping his opponent in smoke as well!?" he thought in his head. "This is such a drag! I can't see a damn thing, only my hands and feet!" he added while sounding distressed.
But the boy with the spikey ponytail could hear laughter through the smoke and it made him realise that this was in fact Yuudai. He watched both sides for any potential dangers, even though he couldn't see a thing.
"Awww, what's the matter, are your eyes not working!?" Yuudai childishly pouted at him and continued laughing, making Shikaien pissed. "Well that's too bad, because I can see you in this smoke and from what I see, you look kind of desperate" he added in a mocking manner.
"You masked freak!" Shikaien said while gritting his teeth. "Come here and fight me like a man!" he tried to taunt him, but to no avail.
But before he could even see it, he felt something pierced him through his left arm and right leg and it hurt. He was sent down to his left knee and soon discovered that kunais and shurriken had been thrown at him in the smoke and he had been unable to catch or dodge them.
Shikaien could hear his opponent laugh again and this time, it was louder. "Ops, where did that come from? Consider this a payback for treating me as a puppet with that lame shadow technique of yours, you little homo!" Yuudai mimicked Shikaien's voice before insulting him due to his ear accessories.
Although he was more focused on trying to take out the kunais and shurriken from his left arm and right leg, Shikaien could still hear his opponent insulting him and it made him angered than ever before. Once the weapons were pulled out, he stood back on his feet, eyeing towards the white unknown with eyes of anger.
"So you think you can imitate me, insult my appearance and ability and get away with it!? Hell no! You crossed the line now, gasman! And now, you're screwed!" the dark blonde-haired boy called out to him, even though Yuudai didn't necessarily take this seriously. "Alright, I will be impossible for me to use my Shadow Possession jutsu as long as I can't see him. I would've had to get rid of this smoke somehow" he thought in his head while briefly closing his eyes.
Yuudai was getting tired of chatting with his opponent, so he decided to give him a farewell present. He did a hand seal while chuckling deeply. "I think it's time for you to get gassed, pal. Ninja Art: Toxic Oxygen!" he said and blew out purple gas that was floating around in the smoke.
Shikaien quickly did a few hands seals when hearing this and he smirked. "It looks like I'll have to use a few tricks of yours, mom. I'll thank you later" he thought while doing the hand seals. "Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!" he shouted before taking a deep breath with his mouth before firing blasts of wind towards his opponent.
Yuudai, who was still focusing on blowing out the gas, widened through his mask by what he could see. "WHAT…HOW IS HE CAPABLE OF DOING SUCH TYPES OF WIND JUTSU!?" he wondered in anger. But he soon noticed that the smoke around them began disappearing, all thanks to the bullets of air. This also included the gas, which was blown away by the bullets filled with chakra. "DAMN IT! MY GAS! WHAT THE…ARRRRGHHHH!" he screamed in pain as the bullets of air managed to pierce him and send him flying away to a pile of snow.
As the smoke was cleared, Chouta could smile with joy by seeing her teammate still standing, while his opponent was lying in the pile of snow with injuries. She cheered for him, as Shikaien only gave him a smirk in return.
"Way to go, Shikaien! I almost thought you were gonna die in that smoke!" the chubby girl exclaimed happily.
"It's good to see you again, Chouta!" he called out to her.
Noburu was healing Rei, but he got furious by seeing Yuudai being beaten by Shikio. But he could see the masked boy getting back on his feet to face Shikaien again. "How the hell could you've been beaten by this brat in your own game!?" the four-eyed boy asked his masked comrade.
"Just shut up, Noburu! This is my fight, so stay out of it!" Yuudai hit back while slowly walking towards Shikaien, who was still prepared for any tricks.
"Quit screwing around, Yuudai! We don't have time standing here fighting those brats! We need to get off this island!" Rei, suddenly called out to him, as she was also angered by seeing Yuudai being so focused on fighting.
In his anger, the masked boy angrily approached his teammates, who were curious to know why he was so determined to fight. "I also wanna have a match while we're here! So do me a favour and shut your mouths before I….." before he could continue verbally attack his comrades, he and his teammates were stunned once they could feel black chakra rising near them.
Chouta and Shikaien felt grim about this chakra and they turned to Inojin and could to their shock, see him rising up to his feet. The black chakra was creating winds in the snow, and it made everyone standing near him feel unable to move or even speak.
"Ino…..Inojin….." Chouta said with shock as she could see him standing with the black chakra covering his body.
Shikaien was stunned by what he saw, as he could notice Inojin taking a few steps towards him. It made him feel uneasy, but he remained cool. "Inojin…..what the hell's happening!?" he asked him with widened eyes. "Is it…oh no…..NOT AGAIN!" he exclaimed with shock.
Surprisingly, he could see that the raven-haired boy was walking with his eyes shut and he completely ignored what the boy with the spikey ponytail just said to him. However, he could see that a frown was forming on his face.
Inojin only walked past Shikaien and stood a few distances away from the Sound trio, who were filled with fear by what they witnessed. Noburu stood beside Yuudai, as he was ready to confront Inojin. But they paused once they could see that his eyes finally opened and it revealed them the Sharingan. But this wasn't any ordinary Sharingan as the irises were formed like that of the letter X.
"What kind of Chakra…is that!?" Noburu wondered while his widened eyes could be seen through his glasses. "And his eyes…they aren't just ordinary Sharingan…they are….." he was out of words.
As he faced the Sound ninjas with his crimson eyes, the raven-haired boy began seeing his hand, as it had a small amount of dark flames in his palm. He can see it thrives on it and it makes him intrigued. "So this is the black flames that that annihilate everything it touches…interesting" he thought while studying it. "It is the curse I've inherited from the mightiest of the Uchihas…including...HIM!" he said while thinking about his father, who was considered to be strongest Uchiha to date.
Kotone and Aoi were also watching the show from a far distance. They could also notice how grim this felt, especially Kotone, who could feel the dark chakra covering Inojin's body. It made her feel uneasy and Aoi could see it.
"What can you feel, Kotone?" the azure-eyed boy asked her lowly. "This isn't one of Orochimaru's cursed seals! It feels like something much worse!" he stated his opinion of this.
"It is" Kotone said while shivering. "This is something that he has inherited via his father…..Sasuke Uchiha" she told him.
This hit Aoi in the head. "Oh that's right. Your dad and his dad used to be partners in crime a long time ago" he noted before facing the ongoing scene with Inojin. "This reminds me of something Aunt Mei told me a few years ago, about the black flames that could eliminate everything" he remarked grimly while thinking about something he was told by his aunt.
Back in the confrontation, Inojin focused his attention on Noburu, who was now preparing hand seals in desperation. He could only muse at this while seeing the four-eyed boy filled with distress. The black chakra kept floating around him.
"That monster's never gonna kill me, I'll see to it" Noburu thought while facing his opponent with anger. "I WILL FINISH YOU OFF, MONSTER! ICE STYLE: TWIN DRAGON BLIZZARD!" he shouted and used his arms to fire two black dragon-like heads of ice towards Inojin. The two dragons began merging into a giant tornado and everyone standing near it knew that they had to get away as quickly as possible.
"INOJIN!" Chouta cried while Shikaien tried to restrain her from going after him.
"DON'T STAY TOO CLOSE TO IT, CHOUTA! IF YOU DO THAT, THE TORNADO WILL SUCK YOU!" he said while grabbing the girl's arm.
"DAMN IT, NOBURU! ALWAYS HAVE TO USE ONE OF HIS MOST DESTRUCTIVE ABILITIES!" Rei cursed while she and Yuudai were taken by the wind.
As they landed on a pile of snow, they could see that Noburu was still standing there, determined to see Inojin dead. "What is that idiot thinking?" Yuudai asked in his head while seeing the mess his teammates had created.
The giant tornado kept creating storms at the snowy tops and Noburu was filled with satisfaction over seeing this. He knew that no one could withstand the Twin Dragon Blizzard. But his eyes were filled with fear, once he could see the tornado disintegrating and being replaced by black flames. And right below it stood Inojin, whose face was filled with bloodlust.
"NO…..HOW….HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?" Noburu asked in anger and fear over seeing Inojin standing there, with minor bruises.
"That's…..that's incredible…." Kotone exclaimed by what she saw.
The raven-haired boy only grinned while seeing his opponent struggle like that, and he let out a sadistic laugh, something which was unusual for someone like Inojin. "I take it you know what these eyes are. These are the cursed eyes I have inherited from the mightiest of the Uchihas. These...are the Mangekyo Sharingan!" he exclaimed as black flame began forming around him. He then took a few steps forward, much to Noburu's fear.
"YOU…STAY AWAY FROM ME, MONSTER!" the grey-haired boy called out to him while backing out.
This made Inojin stop and his crimson eyes widened in surprise. It was apparent that Noburu's words had reminded Inojin of something, something he had experienced since he was a little boy. Both he and his twin brother Shunsuke were treated with disrespect by villagers of the Leaf. Being reminded of this made Inojin grit his teeth in anger.
"WHY THE HELL DOES THOSE DAMNED VILLAGERS STILL TREAT US LIKE MONSTERS!? WHY ARE WE VICTIMS OF OUR FATHER'S ACTIONS!?" he asked in anger over thinking about this. He then faced Noburu with anger and hatred in his eyes. His face reminded him of an older boy with glasses who used to physically bully him and Shunsuke when they were small children.
The black flames grew and Inojin fixed a remorseless look on his face and did a few hand seals. "So this is it. I was born with this ability to use it against my so-called father and everyone else! Perfect! I shall use these to challenge him and make him pay for putting me in this cruel position! And I will start with that weakling over there!" he thought while doing the hand seals.
Noburu realised that he was intent on killing him. "IS HE FOR REAL!? HOW CAN HE HAVE ACHIEVED THE MANGEKYO SHARINGAN AT SUCH YOUNG AGE!?" he wondered in outrage.
Inojin was finished with the hand seals and was facing his opponent with serious eyes. "HELL AWAITS YOU! INFERNO STYLE: BLACK DRAGON FLAME!" he shouted and he shot black flame, which was formed like a serpentine dragon. The dragon headed straight towards Noburu, who felt powerless to do anything. He only stood there in silence, awaiting his death.
But before the black dragon could reach its target, a flame with a dragon's head was shot straight into it, thus making it disintegrate, as the two flames were exploding. Everyone was stunned by this, even Noburu. Who could've actually have saved him.
As Inojin turned to the side, he expressed surprise by seeing his twin brother, Shunsuke standing in between them. But he was not alone. He was accompanied by his teammates and Team Kazue. While they stood there, Inojin's teammates stood by his left side, having just been surprised to see them arrive.
"Inojin…." Nashiko said lowly as her eyes were filled with concern.
"What is that Chakra?" Minami asked while she used her Byakugan. "I can feel hatred and anger inside Inojin's soul…..what has become of him?" she added with to her fears.
And on the snow hill overlooking the whole fight was Team Hideki, who had followed the snake trails to the snowy tops. They stood near the Mist ninjas, who were too focused with Inojin's fight to notice them appearing.
"So this is what's been happening?" Hisoka asked as he got a view of what was going on.
"It's those Sound ninjas" Kimiko said as she could see the trio on the plains if snow. "I wonder how if any of the teams has got a key" she suddenly asked.
Guy put a hand on her shoulder. "I think that is something we should least concern ourselves with, Kimiko. Can't you see it? Inojin carries such power within him!" the boy in jumpsuit said while seeing the scene.
Shunsuke took a few steps towards his brother, who didn't move a muscle. "Shunsuke…" Inojin uttered lowly as his crimson eyes widened at his appearance. But that face soon changed into that of anger. "What's the meaning of this!? Why did you interrupt my attack!?" he demanded to know from him.
"Brother…why are you using these black flames?" he asked while fixing a serious glance on Inojin. "This isn't like you" he added with concern.
This only infuriated the raven-haired boy with the ponytail, as he couldn't believe what his brother was saying. "Shut up! I was the one asking you first! So tell me, why the hell did you prevent me from putting that scumbag out of his misery!?" he demanded to know while pointing his finger towards Noburu, who has become so shocked that he fell on the snow.
Shunsuke stood his ground, facing his twin brother, whom he knew easily overpowered him. But the young boy drew a kunai and faced him with determination. Inojin only grunted by seeing him like this. But their teammates expressed worry when seeing the two brothers ready to clash with one another.
"No…..don't do it…please!" Nashiko pleaded to the Uchiha-twins.
"What do you intend on doing, Shunsuke? Do you plan on stopping me?" Itachi asked him with no remorse as he used the black flames around him to form a sword in his right hand. "Step aside or I will cut you down, along with that weakling sitting there" he warned him while slowly taking a few steps forward.
Shunsuke had his black eyes filled with shock over seeing this and he knew that if he ever touched the flame, he would be dead. But something encouraged him to stand before him. It was determination. He gritted his teeth in frustration and clenched his kunai tightly.
"JUST RETURN TO YOURSELF, YOU IDIOT!" he shouted and his black eyes changed into that of the Sharingan. This made Inojin stop and those around the Uchiha-twins were surprised by what they witnessed. Shunsuke faced his brother angrily with his newly acquired crimson eyes, as he pointed his kunai towards him.
As he witnessed his brother staring at him like that, Inojin could only feel anger and betrayal by seeing his brother not being on his side. It made him feel shattered. "After what we've been through together…why do you …" Inojin uttered out words before expressing his anger. "WHY DO YOU STAND AGAINST ME!?" he shouted in anger and lifted his blade of black flames in the air, as he was about to swing it against Shunsuke.
But he was interrupted by someone standing before him and used her hands to stop his blade. The raven-haired boy expressed surprise by seeing Nashiko, standing before him with eyes of sadness. This made Inojin's hateful eyes widen and his black flames began disintegrating from his body. It was surprising, as Nashiko used her bare hands to make the black flames go away. Her hands did not vanish by them. This surprised everyone, even the raven-haired boy with the ponytail.
"Stop it…Inojin…." Nashiko said lowly while facing him with her green eyes filled with sadness.
"Nashiko…why are you….." Inojin was out of words, and was interrupted as he felt the pinkette embrace him tightly. As she did that everyone standing near them could hear Nashiko sobbing in sadness. She faced Inojin with tears in her eyes.
"Enough of this…DON'T LET HATRED TURN YOU INTO A MONSTER!" she told him while she cried.
Inojin's Mangekyo Sharingan disappeared and they returned to his normal black eyes. But blood began streaming out of the eyes and he could feel that it was both sad and painful. He faced her again, as she was still filled with sadness.
"Seeing you and Shunsuke…..fighting like this…..makes my heart shatter…..because it also makes me not remembering you two anymore!" Nashiko told him while Shunsuke could hear as his Sharingan also began disappearing. Tears began streaming from his eyes as well, as he understood what Nashiko was trying to say.
The raven-haired boy could also spot his teammates, who had now appeared behind Nashiko. They had friendly expressions on their faces and they reminded him of what they said…..that there was someone who actually cared about Iinojin and Shunsuke.
"Chouta….Shikaien…" Inojin said lowly while seeing them. They were more than just teammates. They were also his friends. He refocused his gaze on Nashiko, who had begun to dry her tears. She faced him with a touching smile on her face. "Nashiko…..I…." he was interrupted by the pinkette's voice.
"I know what you're trying to say, but don't even bother" she said. "We are still friends" she added.
Inojin could hear those words in his head as he was filled with happiness. But his didn't have enough energy to stand on his feet, so he fell onto the snow, unconscious. His friends immediately rushed to his side, hoping to see if he was not dead.
"Don't worry. He's not dead" Nashiko said with a smile to her friends.
Shunsuke, who sat beside her, was smiling at the pink-haired girl, who smiled in return at him. "Thank you…..Nashiko. I'm sorry for….." he was interrupted by a pat on his shoulder by Takeda, who fixed a friendly smile on his face.
"Don't be so apologetic, Shunsuke. You know she's a very forgiving person, as a matter of fact" he said to him, making Shunsuke nod his head gladly.
The rave-haired boy was embraced in a tight hug by Nashiko, and he felt surprised by her doing that. His black eyes widened, but he eventually returned the hug to his pink-haired friend. After they were done, Shunsuke faced the pinkette with red cheeks on his face.
"Hey Nashiko…..I don't know how to say this….but I" before he could say anything further, they were interrupted by Chouta's voice, as she was filled with confusion.
"So what do we do know?" Chouta asked lowly while everyone was sitting around Inojin. "I'm at loss of what to do after all this fighting" she said.
"One thing's first: those Sound ninjas are gonna…" before Shikaien could finish his sentence, they were caught in tight ropes, all thanks to that of ANBU-watchers.
A horde of these watchers appeared around the area, capturing the Leaf teams, Sound trio and Mist trio with secured ropes. It was impossible to break loose of these ropes. All the students expressed shock once they witnessed so many watchers in this area.
"What is going on here!?" Minami asked in shock as she and Riko got tied up.
"It's the ANBU-watchers! Why would they be tying us to these ropes?" Saburou wondered as he saw numerous of them appear in the area.
A commanding watcher stood on the snow hill directing orders but he was not alone. Ochinko could actually spot his own father standing there beside him. This made him surprised. "Father, what are you doing here?" he wondered as he caught a glimpse of Sai.
"Apprehend all these genins!" the commander said to his comrades. "Once they've been tied up, they will be taken into custody in Shimbala at Master Naruto's request!" he added to his voice.
Nashiko's eyes widened. Her own father had ordered the watchers to do this? She was at loss of words. And just as she had managed to help Itachi come back to the light. "At my dad's request?" she thought in her head as she didn't have the strength to speak up.
The young genins were given a surprise by what they saw, as it was not just Sai who was present. They could also see Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata, and Lee following him and had different reactions when seeing them.
"Mom, dad?" both Minami and Takeda exclaimed in surprise over seeing them standing on this island. Hinata faced them with great concern, while Kiba only glanced at them normally.
"Hey there, kids. How's it going?" the brown-haired man simply asked them as if everything was normal. His children couldn't believe his behaviour, especially his daughter.
"Is that all you have to say!?" she beamed with anger. "You weren't up to even wish us good luck for the Exams, you drunken jackass!" he continued to verbally attack her father.
Hinata stepped in front of Kiba and faced her twins with eyes of reason. "Minami, be gentle towards your father!" she lightly scolded her and the young girl did as she was told, reluctantly. "I promise you that this isn't what you think it is. Just listen to what the watchers say" she urged them while trying to convince them to not try anything funny.
Guy and his teammates were surprised by seeing his father standing there, seeing them wrapped up in ropes. "Father…..I can explain" Guy tried to convince his father to free him and his teammates.
Lee fixed a grim look on his face. "I can't free you yet, son. Right now, every one of you have to come with us…to Shimbala" he told his son, who was surprised by what he heard. He then faced the Mist ninjas with a similar glance. "I'm afraid both you and the Sound trio need to come with us as well. We have much to discuss" he told them.
The red-haired girl with glasses widened her eyes. "I don't understand" Kotone said lowly. "We haven't done anything wrong!" she called out to protest.
"Just knock it off, Kotone!" Aoi said to him with an irritated look on his face. "All of us wrapped up in ropes are considered as suspects. It's obvious that those Sound ninjas did something wrong here, one way or another" he told her.
They could both notice that Jurou had awoken from his sleep, but his ropes were tightened and it was impossible for him to use his bones to break free. He was outraged by what he saw and faced his teammates.
"What's the meaning of this!?" he asked. "What happened to the Sound ninjas!?" he demanded to know from them.
The four-eyed girl eyed him with dispassion. "Calm down, Jurou! We are all being arrested for something THEY obviously have instigated!" Kotone answered with an angered tone.
As Sasuke was standing near Shunsuke and his friends, he could see Inojin lying on the snow unconscious. His younger twin son noticed this and tried to speak up.
"Dad, Inojin's only unconscious! He fell after he had used too much Chakra!" Shunsuke tried to convince him.
Sasuke was sitting next to Inojin's body, before turning around to face his youngest twin son. "I know. I just wanted to see where he was injured" he answered lowly before refocusing his attention on Inojin's unconscious body.
Shunsuke wanted to tell more, but he felt an urge to just zip his mouth and wait until he felt it was the right moment to talk. All this commotion ongoing had made him feel uneasy and unable to think things through. He wondered if his teammates felt the same way. But he wanted to at least ask his father something.
"Dad, why are we being apprehended?" he asked as if he really wanted to know the answer.
His father glanced at him normally, as if he didn't felt obliged to tell him anything. "You must wait for an answer, Shunsuke. Just stay calm and follow the orders you are given" he simply told him, making Shunsuke sigh deeply in return.
"Now that we have captured all the genins here, we are to escort them back to Shimbala for interrogation!" the commanding watcher revealed to his comrades.
Shikaien and Chouta expressed shock when hearing this. They knew that this was going to be bad, especially for Shikaien, who for the first time, did not look forward to see his father again.
The Sound trio was feeling like prisoners while being tied up like this. Noburu was still struggling to recover from his brief but nightmarish confrontation with Inojin. But he was interrupted when he was spit on his face by Rei.
The four-eyed boy reacted angrily to her behaviour and faced her. "What the hell did you spit in my face for!?" he asked her.
"You know very well why I did! We're tied up in ropes all thanks to you and your stupid plan!" she said lowly, but bitterly.
"Yeah, thanks a lot for dragging us into this mess of yours!" Yuudai said while agreeing with Rei's statement. "I really hope Shinichi-sensei will bust your nerdy ass once we've regrouped with him!" he added with an insult directed at him.
Noburu chose to ignore his comrades as usual, as he had other things to think about. But he did admit that he did not look forward in seeing his sensei again. Especially since he and his comrades had kept this plan of theirs secret from him.
As Sai stood in the middle facing all the genins being apprehended, he was approached by one of his subordinates, who bowed to him with formality. He was accompanied by two other watchers.
"Sir, we have gathered up all the hidden cameras we spread around this area. They should be able to tell us the exact details of what happened here, including the stealing of the Orb of Asura" he explained to him. "I have sent a group of men to bring them back to Shimbala as we speak" he added.
Sai nodded his head in approval by hearing his report. "Excellent, then our work here is done" he said before turning his attention to the other watchers. "We'll leave for Shimbala in a couple of minutes! Make sure you are prepared" he told them and they stood up saluting him in return.
"YES SIR!" the said together before vanishing.
However, instead of joining up with the other watchers, the three shinobis headed straight for the Shrine of Asura in a fast speed. Once they realized that no one was watching them, they took off their masks and wigs, thus revealing their true faces. The three of them had blue eyes, but they had different hairstyles.
The eldest of the boys had spikey white hair and a blue headband attached around it. He fixed a smirk while facing the other two accompanying him. They were revealed to be in a similar age to the Sound trio and Team Hideki. It was obvious that those two were twin boys, as they had the same face and colour of their hairs, but their hairstyles were different as the first one had short messy, grey hair while the other one had long grey hair that stretched to his back.
"So what do you think of it, little brothers?" the white-haired man asked his brothers while facing them. "We did a terrific job blending ourselves in with those negligent watchers, didn't we Inari?" he suddenly asked the boy with the messy hair named Inari.
"I don't get it, Hotei. Why was this necessary?" he asked while addressing his elder brother by his name.
The young adult only shrugged his shoulders in return. "Well that's simple. It's entertainment. Thanks to those cameras we put in the snow, everyone will be curious to know of what show happened on these tops and by the shrine" he answered with a cocky grin on his face.
"But the almighty Hirohito left Mikazuki, Tukiko and Tukyio in charge of reclaiming the Orb of Asura. I bet they will be mad once they find out that we've been interfering with their work" the other young boy said while facing Hotei.
The white-haired man only sighed in annoyance by what he heard. "Tch, Mikazuki can go kiss my ass for all I care! And the almighty Hirohito would actually be proud of us right now, Isora. Especially since we have helped create friction amongst those humans, something our siblings could not accomplish" he told him while assuring him that they weren't in trouble.
The one named Isora smiled by what he heard. "Then in that case, we best head home now. Our family is probably starting to wonder about our whereabouts" he suggested to his brothers.
"Yes, the almighty Hirohito is someone who's not to be taken lightly with" Inari said while agreeing with his twin brother's words.
The three brothers then vanished from their spots, returning to their home, hidden from all humans and beasts alike.
To be continued…
Author's note: The next chapter will give us more details about Inojin's mysterious power, as well as Tsunade's answer. We will also know of the fate of these kids, as they have now been apprehended. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And take good care of yourselves.