Chapter 3

Shinikage

The town was lost. Most buildings burned down. Dead bodies have been impaled around the town as a sign of Death-nins' presence. The smoke was blocking the sun light from shining, though the view was none of the pleasant one. The survivors were trying to hide, yet it was futile. The shinobi dressed in black cat suits under their armor. Those who tried to resist in any way were killed. Every one else were being dragged to the plaza in the centre of the town. Fear was growing with every person accounted for.

Within the crowd, three short individuals, one of which was a silver-haired boy with an eye-patch on his left eye, looked around, rather calmly compared to the rest. This is what they were trained for after all. To never let fear take the better of them. And they wouldn't. While his teammates were wondering how to save all these people, or at least how to inform the Hidden Leaf Village, Kakashi was looking out for sensei. It was quite disturbing to see the Yellow Flash fail to defeat his enemies. The boy still had it before his eyes- his sensei blown away like a leaf by a typhoon. Who was this man who did this? Who was the one strong enough to handle the legendary heroes of the Third Shinobi War with little effort?

That's when the whole crowd turned to find a large group escorting four people. The three of them were dressed in a similar fashion, minus the masks, while the one between them was by far more heavily armored. And for some reason, the closer he got, the more everyone started to tremble. Even the young ninja. Was this armored man releasing his killing intent? No, that wasn't it. It was something different. It was like this man was taking their lives with sheer presence. The boy of the Hatake wanted to attack him, but he was stopped by the village elder, who stepped forward, whether out of duty, courage or ignorance no one could tell.

"Who are you?" she asked. "And by what right do you attack us?"

The leader of the army raised his hand, letting all his followers who were about to attack the old woman know to stand down. He made a few more steps towards the aged lady and eyed her as he stopped. "Who am I you ask?" he asked in a rather mocking tone. "I am the one beyond the mortals' rules of death. The one to rip the great Shinigami of part his power. I am the great Shinikage."

"It doesn't matter who you think you are. You came here and killed our brothers and sisters. And for what. What is it you could offer us for this merciless and foolish…?"

"I am the power beyond this world, woman. I am the man-made-god. And I simply come here to recruit more troops for my cause." The man now known as Shinikage raised his hands. His Death ninja quickly stood behind him and bowed, knowing that he was going to spread his message. "This world is being torn apart by the endless and pointless cycle of war and peace. The only thing unchanged in it is death. But it no longer has to be this way. As no blade can harm me, I offer you all this. Join me. Join me and my army. Once we are in numbers, we can overthrow the Daimoys and kage, unite the countries and bring new, perfect rule- MY rule."

The majority of the town folks gasped at the sound of that. This man wanted to use them to kill the rulers of the elemental countries and destroy the hidden shinobi villages. This man was mad.

But the elder seemed to be unimpressed. "You are as ambitious as you are foolish. What makes you think we will…?" As she wanted to say the end of that sentence, something happened. Something no one has ever seen in this world.

The old woman was pierced by an arm. But it was no ordinary arm. It was a spectral arm, coming out of this Shinikage. As he smiled, the elder before her started to age even more, turning to ashes and finally drifting with the wind. The Shinikage smiled under his mask, while his spectral arm returned to his body. Then he turned his attention to the crowd and gave them the answer their elder would other wise hear.

"Because the mortals won't try to fight the god of death." He chuckled.

While the people were horrified, the young ninja prepared to attack him. They cared little about being out numbered. If they just could reach their leader, they could end this whole campaign. But as they were ready to attack, some one stopped them. They dared not to look who, but they hoped it was their sensei. And they were not disappointed.

"We're in the disadvantage." Minato whispered to them. "We play along for now." He smiled under his hood when he saw his team nodding in agreement. Then their attention returned to the self-proclaimed god.

"You have but one choice." Agony stepped forward, addressing the crowd. "Join our leader… Or join your sister in passing away."

The people were looking at each other with fear. As if afraid to make whatever choice. Minato used that to talk to his young teammates. "The first chance we get, we're getting out of here."

"But, sensei, what about the people of this town?" Rin asked.

"I am sorry, but I can't take them all. We'll take as many as possible, but I don't know if I have enough chakra for even half of them. Even after modifying the Flying Thunder God Jutsu for mass group transportation."

"Then why don't we just take down this 'kage' guy?" Kakashi proposed.

"Too risky. I know of this man and if he really is the Survivor of the Black Mountain Carnage, then we won't be able to touch him as of now."

"What is your choice then?" Shinikage asked, getting everyone's attention. "Will you all defy me and die here like worms by my hand or swear loyalty and die in glory for me?"

It took another few seconds, but the town folks agreed on one thing. They did not wish to die. They all bowed to their new found lord. The Leaf ninja followed the crowd, not wanting to give themselves away. The Death ninja smiled at the sight. Victory was their master's.

"Round them up!" The leader of the death ninja spoke with his dry voice. "I want them prepared for training and possession. Also, I want that report on how many did we lose and how much we gained. And ransack this to…"

Before he managed to finish, the Shinikage and his generals saw two of their shinobi thrown from behind the building, bleeding heavily. This did not escape the crowd's attention. Someone was still resisting the ninja's power. But who was foolish enough to resist the Shinikage.

To their surprise it was a boy. As he threw off his cloak, people could see he was in his late teens or early twenties. His shoulder-long straight black hair, which grew wildly, almost covered his face. As he lifted his face, to better see his enemy, the most noticeable feature of his was his black, feline-like eyes with markings just below them. Another thing, his skin color was much darker. Not as dark as that of the people in the Lightening Country, but still quite dark. And well fitting to his rather athletic build.

Decay walked over to the young man and pointed his tantou at him. "You are brave, young man. And skilled. Bow before the Shinikage, and maybe He'll consider you for his lieutenant."

The youngster eyed Decay's blade, his stance, and then his master. All he did was shrug. "I'm not interested in nobody's offer." The Death ninja were all shocked to hear this. Who did the brat think he was? He was being offered a great honor, yet he spitted on it.

"He is not a nobody." Decay started his explanation. "Lord Shinikage is the man who faced the Shinigami himself and stripped him of some of his powers. He is now a true immortal when compared to us."

"Look, I don't give a damn about who the guy beat when on drugs. I don't even give a damn about what's going on here or what you're going to do to these people." The dark-skinned man said. This got Decay so irritated, that he decided to kill him for his insolence.

Imagine everyone's surprise when he was easily overpowered and disarmed by the cat-like fighter. But for some reason, he released Decay. And turned his attention towards Shinikage.

"Now listen here, 'kage', I'm just looking for a certain guy, who's supposedly hiding within your ranks."

"Is that so?" he folded his arms in curiosity. "And who would that be?"

"A guy you could easily mistake for a girl. Has long green hair, yellow eyes, purple mark under his right eye…"

Shinikage thought for a while. He immediately got the idea of whom was this guy talking about. "Takara!" he called. And the lieutenant-class Death-nin appeared next to his master, kneeling in respect. "This one seems to have a score to settle with you. Deal with it."

"But, milord, why waste our time on one, lousy nobody instead of simply killing him?" the ninja asked. The kage gave him a death-promising glare, unleashing his killer intends.

"YOU DARE QUESTION YOUR MASTER'S ORDER?"

Takara dared to say no more. He simply stood up and faced the opponent. He removed his helmet, to have a better view. Surprisingly, for having a very manly voice, he really could be mistaken for a woman. He took his stance and dashed towards man. He tried to kick him, but failed. Then he tried to use a jutsu, but his hand was stop right on the first hand seal when this hooded guy grabbed his hands in a tight grip. Takara attempted to free himself, but it was futile. Then he got head butted. The force of the hit was just so strong, it knocked the Death shinobi down and the hood of the man fell. Takara's eyes widened when he saw his face. They were filled with fear. But before he could say anything, the man took away his claw-like blades and stabbed them into the green-head's gut. And then into his throat. The man's face was now covered by the shoulder-long, black hair. He removed by shaking his hand, revealing him to be a boy in his late teens early twenties. His eyes were feline-like, with dark markings under them and an almost flat nose.

Before anything, he found himself surrounded by the invaders. He looked around, ready to fight. But they didn't seem to be preparing to attack. No, rather then that, they were making sure he wouldn't go anywhere. He turned his eyes when he realized the man called Shinikage moved towards him.

"That was splendid, boy." He commented. "Never before have I seen had anyone having dealt with a lieutenant-rank soldier of mine with such ease. What is your name?"

The young man eyed the leader of Death ninja without fear in his eyes. He was not intimated by his power or reputation. "My name… is Nekokage Kuromaru." He answered plainly.

"Nekokage?" Agony wondered. "You mean like that clan in the Hidden Cloud Village? I heard some of the clan members defected from the village by the end of the Second Shinobi War and found refuge in the forest near Iron Country."

"I heard they were slaughtered about two years ago. No one survived." Suffering added.

"No one except for one boy. I am that last survivor." Kuromaru said, turning his back to the shinobi.

"How dare you turn your back on Shinikage, you brat?" Suffering growled and jumped at him. Kuromaru managed to dodge the punch, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the general's grip. Suffering pressed him to the nearby wall, lifting him as high as possible. Surprisingly, the boy wasn't showing any sign of pain.

"Well, well… What should we do with you then?" Agony wondered. "Maybe Lord Shinikage will be merciful enough as to let you join our family, boy. Are you interested?"

"I have no interest in you what-so-ever." The cat-like man answered, growling. "I have what I came for. Now I'm leaving."

"Oh, but I'm afraid we can't just let you go." Shinikage spoke. "You see, you happen to be strong enough as to handle my lieutenants. This means you're just too strong to ignore. So, I suggest you join my cause. Join me. We will bring a new order to this broken world. We will unite it under my rule."

"You can kiss your mother's ass for all I care, you rat." Kuromaru answered.

To that response, the leader of Death ninja glared at him. "So be it. You will die then." He didn't raise his hand, but the hand of his soul emerged out of his body, growing in size. He was about to grab the rebel, when he sensed something. He and his two generals jumped away just in time to avoid a few shuriken. They searched the crowd of town folks, spotting a silver-haired boy in a combat-ready stance.

Minato pinched his bridge nose. Kakashi was to stay low. On the other hand, the situation was already too serious to hide. They needed to act.

"Sensei! We must act now." Kakashi said.

"I wish you had picked a better moment then this." The blonde complained.

Agony noticed Minato and her eyes widened under her mask. "Milord! This man… That's The Yellow Flash of the Leaf!" she called to her master. In response, the Shinikage eyed the blonde.

"So that's him?" Shinikage asked. "This is the hero of the Third Shinobi War? The greatest ninja of our generation? Bwa haha ha! I'm a bit disappointed. I was expecting you would be a little, taller, Namikaze Minato."

Minato eyed the Shinikage more carefully. The very presence and sight of this man was alien. Like looking at something that wasn't there anymore, but was still there. Something dead, yet certainly alive. "And I expected you to be more elegant, truth be told."

"Well, weren't we wrong about ourselves? At any rate, since you're here, I might as well see just how much truth is there about your power." Shinikage said. Then he disappeared. Minato's eyes widened, before he got stabbed with the Death-ninja's naginata. Under his mask, Shinikage was disappointed at how fast this fight ended. He was hoping for a challenge.

Then the blonde turned into a log. The black armored man was surprised, but not enough to be ambushed. He turned just in time to block the blonde's roundhouse kick. He tried to hit the Leaf-ninja in the head, but his opponent ducked, delivering a blow to the gut. Then, Minato had to jump away, avoiding the vertical slash. He eyed the warrior before him, thinking of the next move. This was not an easy opponent. Minato threw three kunai at the death ninja and followed, dashing at him. Shinikage ducked under the first kunai, deflecting the other two and charged at the blonde. As he was about to stab him in the face, the Leaf-ninja disappeared in a puff of smoke. The armored man was stunned, by quickly spanned and blocked the punch from behind. The two kept trading blows like this, with neither getting the upper hand. After five minutes, the two stopped.

Then the Shinikage laughed. "I admit you're something else, Namikaze Minato." He spoke. "Since the Black Mountain Carnage, where I died as a mortal, only to be reborn with some of Shinigami's powers, I haven't found a single person worthy of a challenge. But you… you are far more than just that. Yes, I'm going to enjoy killing you."

Then Minato got hit, send flying towards the nearest building. As he came to, he saw Shinikage walking towards him, accompanied by a spectral version of himself, though it was about half the height taller and more demonic in appearance.

"Witness, Namikaze Minato. I, Shinikage, am both physical and spectral. I am aware even why the two are separated. WE ARE SHINIKAGE!" he called, charging at the blonde. Minato use the Flying Thunder God Jutsu to dodge the attack. But as soon as he appeared, he was caught by the spectral opponent and pressed to the ground. As the Physical Shinikage was about to stab him with his naginata, the blonde thought about a red-haired woman waiting for him. He felt bad. He would not get to see her again.

But he seemed lucky. A small black orb, that was leaving a trial of black smoke in its tracks, hit the armored kage, while the mask boy with silver hair managed to make the Ghost Shinikage release his sensei. The small orb landed near the blonde, turning out to be the Nekokage boy, though he looked a little different now. More like a panther. But Minato had no time for question. He could tell the army would attack. So he focused all his chakra and…

*PUFF!*

He feared to open his eyes. But he knew he had to. As he did, he found himself in the forest. He looked around. And he wasn't alone. His team was here as well. Plus this Nekokage kid… and even the villagers. All of them? Wait… what? How could this be?

"You wonder how could you have transported all of these people all the way here, sensei?" Izo caught Minato's attention. The blonde nodded. "Well, before Kakashi revealed us, I managed to place some chakra restoring tags on you. In times like these, they both restored your chakra and enhanced it, giving you enough to take us all." He explained. Minato smiled in appreciation. This kid was a true genius when it comes to chakra.

"So, what's our next move, sensei?" Rin asked. Minato wondered for a while.

"Well, the people of Ranma Town are save." He said. "They can find refuge in the next town. We, on the other hand, need to reach the Hidden Leaf Village and report to the Third. He must know about Shinikage."

"And what about this guy, sensei?" Kakashi asked rudely, pointing at Kuromaru, who didn't seem to care about anything.

"How about…?" Minato proposed.

Ranma Town

The Death ninja were in the middle of ransacking the town. They gathered food, money, animals, clothes, anything of worth. Even tools they could use as weapon. Once the building was ransacked, it was being burned. All that in a black fog that was not coming from the fire, but the shinobi themselves. And it was running into the wheeled statue, which served as the throne to the man known as Shinikage. He was irritated, because the only challenge he could get escaped. He thought of his next move. Where should he strike next?

Then he was approached by his three generals. They all bowed before him.

"Master?" Decay started. "What is your order, milord? Where should we go next?"

Shinikage's eyes opened, shining in their inhuman brilliance. He knew where to strike. He had enough power just for that. And he would also get his fight.

"Have our forces ready to move in 30 minutes!" he ordered. "We're heading towards The Hidden Leaf Village."

To be continued…