Syndication

Nezu had always felt weirdly familial to me. He was like a drunken uncle more than a father, but the wound of his betrayal still hurt as much as the wounds he put on me.

What hurt more though was the headache that I was put under, attempting to reason my way out of the fucked-up scenario I found myself in. Nezu, was an informant and a ninja, which meant not only did Iwa probably know about him and have personal contacts with him, but he would have probably said something to the effect of "If I ever die under suspicious circumstances, kill Takai" to his iwa overlords.

He was thorough after all, and he was dangerous when he put his mind to it. He didn't seem to be the vindictive sort, but it makes a good amount of sense he would kill whoever won against him, even if it only resulted in a draw. Hell, I would do the same.

The result of that, is that Iwa most likely wanting me dead, the spy sent out shows their suspicions already. My head ran, trying to figure out any way I could sneak my way out of this mess. Then, I had a thought. Why would I try to run when that's what they'd expect me to do?

So, bloodied and broken even more than when I left the spy dead, I limped over to Nezu's body, lifted it in my arms, and left to search for 'help'.

"They killed him, the bastards!" A hoarse and furious voice yelled out, the booming lowness and shrill exhaustion cascading across the halls of Nezu's favourite bar, and where all of his higher-ranking men rested and waited for him, as they did every other morning of their loyalty paid employment.

The owner of the voice, holding Nezu's body in his hands, was of course me.

Scanning across the room, many important and (to a civilian) dangerous faces showed themselves. Ken of the Bronze fist, a bare-knuckle brawler who nearly always had bruises on his joints from the twice-weekly brawls he got into, hulked with a massive frame, standing tall next to his much smaller and somehow more vicious brother, Jan the Dwarf, who handled a small knife with his mis-sized limbs. They handled most of Nezu's more violent operations, hell, just last week they had then taken over a café in downtown. The little man crawled around slicing the ankles of most of the heavy hitters in the store whilst his kin went through the front and slammed into their guards like a pale skinned and moustached sledgehammer.
Sitting comfortably, flanked by several mercenaries giving mean looks, the teeth of their open snarls adorned with golden teeth, was Megane, who dealt with money rather than blood. Well, blood money if you wanted to be specific. He was the second son of some piece of shit Fire country capital noble who decided his non-heir would be blessed with nothing and forced to fight for scraps. He decided to delve into the underground instead of getting fucked over by his fat bastard father and made a great success as a criminal accountant. He was decently attractive of course, and inherited a rich man's desire for party, so he was also known as a serial playboy. It would make you wonder where all of Nezu's cash went, but knowing what we shinobi do, if the money manager even thought of pilfering some of what wasn't his, he would have died screaming.

The first man that approached me (and Nezu's dead corpse) wasn't any of them though, but was instead the dead body's real second-hand man, Tanomoshii (nicknamed Tayo). He rushed to me, plain face mantled with a black beard as he placed his hand on Nezu's body, nearly stumbling with the speed at which he rushed to get to his charge.

"Who?" Tayo's voice was ladened with fury, revenge layered in unsaid threats, betrayed with the venom and fire spit by his tongue.

I looked at him, and lied.

"An Iwa ninja, he came in, stabbed me in the stomach, then used some acidic attack to end his life. The bastard made him die screaming, damn them, but we managed to hurt the ninja hard enough for me to come behind him and stab him through the throat."

At my claim the entire establishment was in uproar or fear, like with the more tactful like Megane, who looked more cautious and concerned about the money than he was with iwa.
The more brutish sort took to screaming threats and rage, even the small Jan yelling death to Iwa, while his bigger brother instead simply stood like a sentinel, blank eyes betraying only lost hope.

"What were his final words?"

Here, everyone went silent, a show of respect or maybe still obedience, who knows.

"He spoke to me, that tough bastard, even with his organs showing, he still spoke to me. He told me to take over. Told me I was his successor."

I expected it to grow louder then, but the hall stayed quite, a few murmurs fettered around but it was still calm.

Tayo came to my front.
"Come, we need to discuss things."

He had dark lines on his face, and as he turned to lead me somewhere else, me quickly handing the body to another lacky, the cloak he wore that billowed behind obscured him just a little. We travelled up some rickety steps, to Nezu's former office. Opening the doors to the abode, it smelt slightly musky and sweaty, but miles better than the man's actual house. One desk was covered in papers and such, yet seemed to be confusingly proper. It was disorganised in a neat way, how a ninja, one who wanted to not be seen as one, would put his papers down. The other desk was clean, not a single errant sheet of information telling paper, but was barren. So perfect it didn't even seem like anything ever had been put on it, the only tell it wasn't brand new being the scuff marks on the table itself.

Tayo seated himself in what was obviously his own cleared desk, looking at me expectedly as I lowered myself into the chair across. He seemed to not mind the blood leaking on the floor.

"Well, here is what is going to happen."

And what I find funny, even all this time later, it his assumption that he was in control. It makes sense, I was beaten and bloodied, exhausted, and in no condition to fight. Unfortunately for him, he was a regular man, whilst I was a blood letting mass murderer.

"You are going to say that you lied. That you tried to take over the gang with a falsehood, the last words being in reality, that I was allowed to take over. I am his true second in command, and you don't deserve it. Less than a year? I doubt you lied, Nezu said you were too loyal to lie about him, but the truth remains, if you don't let his last words go, I will kill you myself."

I was still reeling at killing Nezu, so the revelation that even though he didn't trust me, he still lied on my behalf, was hard to confront. Guilt hit me deep like a blade, and nearly distracted me from the man in front.

Yet I regained my focus and looked him right in the eyes.

"You may have made a mistake, because you are talking to me as if you are or ever were my superior. Let me tell you something. Nezu could have killed every man in this building in a minute, because he was a ninja, and a strong one at that, and I killed him. I killed him with my bare fucking hands, and I wanted to do it."

Midway through my speech, Tayo considered me insane, but as my diatribe went on, and he understood my seriousness, his slightly aged features solidified. Hardened.

"Let's say you are right, you aren't insane. How do you think you can take over the gang? They are ruffians, and difficult to control. You need my help really, my information, my control to use them."

He was trying to appeal to me, and honestly, I was impressed by his guile. He switched on a dime (a dime that was apparently the cost of his life) and tried to make himself seem useful and needed. However, he wasn't, and he had just tried to betray me.

"Tell me, Tayo." I said, as I rose out of my seat, towering over him, turning from the scared mourning 18-year-old I was meant to be, and becoming a dangerous demon, who would kill for anything.

"How would you have tried to kill me?"

Eyes wide, and terrified, Tayo unsheathed his sword, swinging horizontally at a decent speed for a mortal man. My body weaved under the blade, then rolled over the table, allowing me to grasp at his throat and grab his blade. His lithe body struggled against my inhumanely strong grip, as I kicked his leg down, bringing his back to the front of me, manipulating the blade to sink into his own neck, and twisting.

Suddenly, the clear office desk was splattered with human blood and viscera, painted red where once it was brown.

He needed to die. A traitor and a coward. Yet he could have been useful if he wasn't so stubborn.

I turned and looked at the window, body now no more covered in blood than before, as I prepared to get a lot more bloody.

If anyone mourned the loss of Tayo they were smart enough to not show me it. Nezu was given a funeral, and nearly all of his contacts invited, me organising the event, but Tayo's bloated corpse was dumped in a gutter by the Rats, mercs hired to dispose of bodies who resided in slums if they were rich enough and sewers if they were less fortunate.

Few contested me coming to leadership, though the bonds of trust weren't there. Tayo was disdained for his betrayal of Nezu, attempting to kill me and failing also showing his weakness. I attempted to appeal to that, but none of the men here would have died for me, they would have died for their boss.

I did manage to scry some respect from a few members though. Expectedly, a number of men decided I was a weak and unfit leader and broke away. I killed them all myself, can't have dissenters. Doing so made the brothers, Jan and Ken, respect me a lot more. Blood was a tool, like any other.

I managed to solidify the gangs bonds a bit. I assumed my position well, and the members listened to me, but it wouldn't last. Iwa would come for me eventually, and this gang wouldn't hold. A lot would need to die, and a lot would need to change.

So, I met with the leaders of each division, some who had been there for Tayo's death, like the Brothers, The Manager, yet others new; the leader of the Rats, thin and tall and cloaked in a black wrath like garb, and who I hoped would take up most of the logistics; and Uma, who before his possible promotion, handled the trading of more legal goods like cigarettes and alcohol. That didn't mean he was soft though, his pudgy portly hands apparently crushing the eyes of a businessman that tried to undersell him.

"You all know that we are at war with Iwa."

The manager spoke up.

"We aren't technically at 'war' yet, we should prepare though. If they attacked our leader it makes sense that they expected us to collapse soon after. That we haven't and are preparing ourselves means they will be ready to his back any time now."

I let him have that one. He was smart enough to understand subtext, and hence understood I had my reasons for wanting to strike against Stone, and he found those reasons. It was better to have it come from him. It meant another agreed with me, and the words didn't come from my mouth, meaning they were less likely to be biased and manipulative. At least to everyone else here.

I cleared my throat and leaned forward onto the table we were sat around, a round gathering of the most important people in this gangdom.

"Agreed, but it stands, we need to rework this gang. We have already lost enough to them, keeping the same structure won't work well. I have always worked best in terms of surveillance and monitoring, and I can handle anything Iwa throws at me, but you guys might be less fortunate. I want none of us to be considered to be part of the same organisation on paper. You will all 'seperate' into your own factions, and do your own section of the gang's business. Jan, Ken, you will become mercs for hire, yet work for a planned discount for Uma and Megane's caravans and meetings. The Rats will remain an organisation by themselves, but smuggle messages between you all, and off course take care of any unwanted bodies as always. Rats they may be, but they are smart, and I would trust a rat to hold my information more than gossiping birds."

Nods repeated throughout the table, though Ken looked apprehensive, as always, but tinged with more worry than usual.

"We will have meetings though. One by one, I will come to you, and give you money, and organize what you are meant to do in general, but I will control, more than anything, information. You need to know anything, you ask me, and you need to tell me anything, tell me. Uma will take care of most of the business of the organisation, whilst I will work to make sure Stone isn't nipping at our heels.
Any questions?"

Silence proliferation for but an almost lifelike moment, then it was strangled as Ken raised his long, big arm.

"Yes?"

"Can I talk to you after everyone has left?"

"Sure. Well, if nobody else has any questions, I suggest you leave now. Me and Ken need a word."

Quickly, everyone left the room, my words apparently having threat enough to make them vacate with haste. Good, I thought, because they feared me. And fear made them easy to control.

Ken's brother resisted leaving for a bit, but he was sent away by his larger counterpart, and so he exited with everyone else.

When we were finally alone, I spoke, voice happy and light.

"Well, what is this about Ken?"

I walked across the chairs set up, making my way around to Ken, though not in an obtrusive way. As if I was wandering, walking for the sake of walking.

"Well, it is just that I have always admired Nezu. He was a good fighter, and I feel sad I couldn't see his final fight myself. He will have died with courage, as befit him. Courage and strength filled his heart. That strength was what inspired me to bring myself and my brother to join him, and I have never looked back. I never could beat him though, no matter how much I fought or trained, and no wonder! You two beat a ninja! That seems almost impossible, yet you did it.

I want to follow you, like I followed him, but you are asking me to leave, to stop following you, and to work alone. Sure, it will be with my brother, but I won't be able to chase that dream."

And if I am being honest, this was a surprise to me that Ken thought this way. It wasn't just his presentation, he seemed like he would have cared for Ken enough. But then I realised, he was in a way atoning for what he had done. He betrayed everyone he ever knew, he said, and that must have made him hate himself in some awful way. If I would liken it to anything, it would be to you, to us. Ninja. We kill, steal, betray. More and more evil, and so we atone for it by telling people we love, and that look up to us, that we love them, that we need them.

Nezu never needed a gang really. He made one because he was lost. He needed people, and that was what inspired loyalty. That and fear.

So looking at Ken, I was struck with both a need to inspire his loyalty, and a curiosity. How far could I push him?

"You can Ken. Even though you won't be following me, we can meet up, I can give you tips on how to fight and how to get stronger, and being a leader will be good for you. It will give you an understanding of the world that, if I'm being honest, you need."

The large man looked down at me, smiled, and gave me a hand.

I shook it.

Just outside, after Ken had left, the Rat leader dropped from the roof to stand in front of me. It was raining, and I couldn't help but think about how his trashy cloak worked well as a raincoat. It would have been handy to have one of those, but Rats don't share clothing, as far as I'm aware.

The Rat king, as he is so lovingly called, never holds a single home and a single throne. He moves from sewers, and houses and anywhere he pleases really, rumours ran in the night that he liked to nap in gutters, pretending to be a corpse himself. Sometimes he would be accompanied by an entourage of fellow Rats, and sometimes he went alone.

Wisps of his grey, old hairs fell from his hood. He had long straight features hidden under grime and weathered skin, enough that I realised he was noble born, and had either been born a bastard or cast out. He had to be near 60, maybe even 70, yet he moved as if he was younger.

"I think we both know you didn't kill a ninja by fighting them as a normal man would. You might be able to fool them, but I know you used chakra, and by all likelihood that means you are a shinobi, just like Nezu was. If my hunch is right, which it usually is, you killed him too."

I had a smile as I walked over to the railing in front, leaning on it and peering into the dark underbelly of the lower districts, rain splattering against my face seemingly ignorant of the futility of its effort, as I simply ignored it.

"You're dangerous. But you live in squalor because you both value freedom and you aren't strong enough to take on Iwa. You couldn't kill me if you tried, but you do know how to use chakra, assumedly without a teacher, which is pretty impressive."

"You didn't answer my question, Takai."

"I would give my name before a question between friends, and I promise you, Rat, you want me to be your friend. It will allow you to keep your head on your shoulders instead of in your lap."

He hesitated for a moment, before his grizzled old voice rang out with what sounded like a emphatic statement of fact.

"Yet you need me."

I laughed, and I was enjoying this a little too much, the gaslighting, the threats, lie and manipulations like alcohol to my tainted tongue, yet so addicting to sip and swallow.

"I don't. You are useful, but I might have to kill you like I killed Tayo if you aren't loyal. You like coin, don't you? And keeping your life. Then you should be mine, and you are old and wizened enough to know my threats aren't empty, but rather painted and stained with blood. I will keep you, as you are useful, and loyal. Know, that as soon as that changes, you die."

He looked at me, thinking. This, he might have realised, was the closest to death he had ever come in his long life.

"Well then, let me deign you, my lord, with this nugget of information. The upper classes are all either Iwa or linked in hands with them. If you want to get rid of the beast itself, for your ninja overlords, you will have to kill all of it, not just the head."

I walked to him, much too fast and much too silent for the boy that formally stood before him, and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"I thank you for this information, my loyal informant. I hope I can rely on your employ in the future."

He looked at my hand, thanked me for the meeting and left quickly.

I followed him home. He was living in a run down abode, rickety walls and rotting wood.

He didn't do anything suspicious, simply went to bed after telling his guard to stand post. Good. Fear creates loyalty, and he was very fucking scared.

I had to move for a while, hidden in houses and apartments and hotels and never visiting the same place for too long. I felt like a lunatic for a while, the dark idea that I was paranoid, running from an enemy of nothing, kept itself for an entire week, but then I set up an explosive note trap with a pilfered item from Nezu's personal collection, and the derelict building collapsing with a body battered and bruised and dead, and carrying a note told me my suspicions were valid. It read something like this.

Find the Leaf ninja.

It was weird. The man was clearly Iwa, but the order was handwritten and informal, not a document or whatever.

I thought back to what the Rat king told me, and pondered that if it was the case, if Iwa was kept here by a line of traitorous upper classmen, whoever was setting up FOBs wasn't a commander or general or jonin, but a noble with an agenda.

So, I needed to be near them to identify them and to threaten them enough to make sure they didn't outright try to kill me. It is likely the upper class peoples don't have much military training, and so I would be able to kill them easily, whilst the Iwa ninja wouldn't be able to do a thing.

Issue was, I can't just rush up to them without a distraction.

I would first need to kill those following me, then I would lure them away with a big fire. And no, not that fire. It had only been a year since leaving.

Yet I was unrecognizable. If the me of then had met the 17 year old me, the younger would have been disgusted. If they met me now, they would have been terrified.

Still, I had gotten stronger, killed so many people it didn't feel wrong. I was getting better as a ninja. I think that was what you wanted, to adapt or die. Or just die, if being a cynic is a virtue.

Anyways, the first thing to do would be killing those in pursuit. That would shake them off my tail long enough for them to lose me.

You might have thought I would use attrition to take them out bit by bit, but I decided that would end poorly. The city is a network of thin roads and thinner alleyways. You could kill someone and their body wouldn't be found for days, not for a lack of trying but because it was so cramped and dark the gutters could be filled with corpses and you wouldn't see it unless you looked down to see what squelched under your toes. I could say this with certainty because Nezu had once taken me to find one of the people who betrayed him. His corpse has been rotting for days.

Those same alleyways would shroud and hide an escape, reinforcements, etcetera, and as such unless I managed to catch them in a web of traps and close quarters combat, they would scurry off and eventually run from the village, or get me killed.

I don't blame you, Minato, but it occurs to me that if I was contacted, or given contacts or a fucking lifeline, maybe I would have been able to tell you, and you would have come over, given me a fatherly pat on the head, and cut through Iwa like a fucking demon. Really though, it isn't completely fair to blame you for that. Nobody could have predicted Iwa being this far into a village this far into Fire, and for as long as it had been going on. But it was weird being essentially kicked out of Leaf yet still being loyal to it, when it wasn't to me.

The killing zone was so:
It was a part of a small section of a small section of the full city. Despite its overpopulation, there were sections completely abandoned, due to the spread of toxins and abundant crime. This was the setting for a large number of crimes and killings, so there was small chance of them being able to get away without losing most of their limbs or killing me.

I set up traps upon traps on the higher levels. The way it was set up was so there was an elongated web of traps set up in a wide rimmed oval. If they were to break in disturbing as few traps as possible, then I would be able to lead them through others set up around the perimeter. I didn't want to cause the civilians to get killed by stray explosives, so the lower levels were bare.

The rest, however, was a test for me. I had trained a lot in the two weeks preparing for that moment, yet I wasn't sure of my strength. Nezu caught me when I was beaten, bloody and bereft of energy, yet I wasn't sure if I would have beaten him then even without the disadvantage. The test was seeing if I could handle whatever was thrown at me. If I could survive this, I would be fine. I hoped.

Of course, when the time came, I was sat at the edge of a rectangular building, legs dangling over whilst I watched the sunset in the distance. The shadows of the city became long and drawn out, and if one was to look at the sun directly, it would blind you for a moment. The sun sat like a bright orange in a sea of silk smooth pink milk, sinking moment by moment, until being inevitably snatched up by the ocean it floated above. There was a rising tension, a great build up running counter to the fall of the sun. It felt like all of the light being drained from the land as brilliant day turned to twinkling night was placed right in my gut. In moments, I would have to fight.

And yet I was smiling, gleeful and excited as fearful as I was. Killing wasn't what I needed, but the thrill of the fight was an addiction I wanted to fuel. I needed to fight, to kill, to survive. It came about as I needed to find someway to continue being a ninja, and enjoying the fights, something to let me soldier on, continue spying and pretending and deceiving even when I wanted, and yes, it was violence, but it was as good a reason as any.

Over time I had gotten taller. I still wasn't at the height I am now, but I had an edge on most people, and on most ninja too. I trained my body, not content to sit still and let time be wasted when I could be bettering myself, muscles pulled into corded steel strands, those same strands thickened and lengthened. My control over it improved too, my chakra spreading through them and allowing me to attack with an untold force.

My fighting idea would be a steel forged as my body, as well as variable. Tight grips and an unbreakable defence for faster opponents, and quick dodges and devastating blows for stronger ones. I aimed to mix genjutsu and ninjutsu with my attacks too, the inevitable mix up provided a lethal trick. The result, I hoped, would be a macabre dance of blood, blows and elemental bullets, real or otherwise.

Genjutsu was easy to train, simply trick random people, slight of hand, pranks and manipulations and actions that would let killing blows go unnoticed. The issue was allowing it to work on higher level opponents. I had tells not even I could see with the use of a shadow clone (a jutsu I learned after finding Nezu's notes), that a better user, or one that had been trained to spot the most common pitfalls, would see right through.

Ninjutsu was harder though. Any detonation, any offensive jutsu would not only alert most of the city, but every ninja in the village too. Training normally was out of the question, so I had to resort to more subdued efforts, flame's flickering from fingertips freshly fed me with knowledge on its use. My affinity, I discovered after some experimentation, was fire. Common, yet not a bad thing. Lightning would have been the better choice, countering earth completely and leaving most defensive Iwa manoeuvres as blood marred death pits, but attempting to pick it up would dampen my development. I might've been able to learn lightning, but I needed to master my own offense, and fire was the only way to do that.

I was snapped out of self-introspective thoughts by the realisation that they were coming. A single explosion was all that was needed. It wasn't near them, but any disarm would trip a single signal note, telling me of their coming. They had come for me, as I had told them. There wasn't any guile needed. They had men, yes, but it would have been idiotic to send all of them after me. The city would figure something out, you would be alerted, and they would be dead quicker than they could shit themselves in realisation. No, they would send a small group, those who had been following me, in fact I predicted they would go themselves after sending a missive back to get advice. That's why the lure was a message left behind where they attempted to follow me, a note telling them where I would be waiting.

Their pace wasn't slow, but it was steady. They kept an eye out for traps and such, but they were already past where my mine mapped out the dangerous areas. That trepidation, whilst needed, was a weakness, one I exploited.

There were 10 of them. All chunin or above. I needed every advantage I could get.

And so I leaned forward of the building, spinning, the wind rushing past my ears as the floor came closer and closer, until I stopped my flip by stretching out my arms, then kicking hard against the parallel wall I had just fell off, Launching like a bullet through the air, repeating kicks again and again, rushing to my opponents with pace and determination.

My body ricochet from building side to building side, pace such that they wouldn't notice me until it was too late. I closed in, step by step, bit by bit, until I was in range. My hands went through signs, but I had to rely on manual manipulation for the last few steps of the jutsu, warm chakra building in my gut, threatening to spill out at any moment, but it was kept close and calm, until just the right moment, and it was released!

A jet of flame bellowed out from my mouth, instantly engulfing the 2 at the front, whilst the rest scaled the walls or hid into alley ways to avoid the fiery storm, the igneous air flushing out like an unfolded fan, the walls keeping it tight and turning the open street into a deadly corridor.

Most escaped but few weren't harmed, the first escapee being an easy kill, a small shard of metal (kunai both weren't for sale and suspicious) stabbing into his left eye, whilst he was still trying to put out the flame after scampering up the side of a dilapidated wall. On the roof across, there were a group of 3, hand signs rushing through what was most likely a counterattack. I vaulted down the wall, into the still raging flame, pushing the heat away from me like how a boat navigates through a river, fetching some fire with me as I leapt up the wall, a fireball impacting the group. The biggest man was dead on the spot, but the two kunoichi surrounding him were intact.

I quickly shot a couple more fireballs from the tendril of red hot orange that flowed behind me, its innumerable wisps mixing in with the sunset's hues and noise of burning cracks and hisses polluting the noise of battle, yet they impacted stone, slabs raised into the air just in time, through the energy dissipated with a massive force, black scorches on both the stone and the floor around it. I charged ahead, mixing the last remnant of fire into a clone, both of us running to the side of the stone and flipping as twin blades came out at us. The woman in front attacked quick slashes and kicks, until I ducked under a blade, used a small illusion to make her kick miss me, grabbed an outstretched leg, and flung her into my clone, who had locked the other in a full nelson. I flexed my fingers into a sign, and my visage exploded, killing one and shooting the other into me, where I kneed into her, taking the knife the iwa spy had gifted me before from my belt and stabbing it into her brain.

I dropped her corpse, my blood covered hand tracing a bare cut she had made on my cheek, nearly too absorbed in the killing of 6 people to notice a middle aged red haired woman launch a fan of kunai and shuriken at me. I picked up the body I had just left, scooping her up with a thick arm and spinning it forward. The kunai and shuriken stabbed into it mid-air, and the hidden attached ninja wire wrapped around her body and ripped it to pieces. Scary. The woman wasn't woe at the loss of her comrade however, as I should really have expected, a sadistic smile of blood red lips telling of her desires.

"Show me a good time!"

She was dangerous, and the other 3 wouldn't be kept away for long. I needed to take her out now or else get bogged down fighting the hardest opponents at once, so I did as she said, rushing at her as she did me.

I slid down as she flipped above, our knives matching each other seemingly as day turned to night, the pitch black of the sky overcasting us turning to face one another once again. Our blades clashed, then she with superior speed slashed at my head twice, forcing me to duck, then make her dodge back with a diagonal swipe. She simply stepped back, as the blade barely missed her, then challenged my next blow by redirecting the downwards slash, to her side, then twisting as she smashed the knife out of my hand. Now weapon less, she saw her opening and thrust at my heart, her assault only stopped barely by my grip stopping her.

The blade still sunk into my flesh, where I realised it didn't really hurt that much. She pulled the blade back, and I let go, blocking her arm from slicing me again with a repeated attack, closing into her guard and jabbing her in the nose. I followed up but she retaliated with a slice to the arm, though it was shifted before the cut was anything more than superficial. This cycle repeated itself, a hit, a slice, a bruised face and body, and blood cuts.

Eventually I grabbed her knife and body, pulled her close to my face, looked right at her eyes, and flipped her over as I body slammed her on the ground behind me. I attempted to scramble over to her arm to break it, but she slashed wildly at me, forcing a retreat. Standing over her, her face bloody and broken, body littered with fractures and breaks, I halted her with an illusion, then kicked her knife away and kicked her stomach so hard she went through the roof and down to the floor below.

I didn't get to admire my work however, as the remaining 3 had looped back around, and 2 of them were probably jonin. Shit. I thought.

So I ran away. Bullets of mud and fragments of rock nearly impaled me as I returned to the flame below, unleashing a storm of flame over the edge above to prevent any pursuit being too close for me to handle. I hoped to lead them into the traps I had set up earlier, yet the stone being manipulated to slam into me made that pretty hard. A pillar erected itself from the building I was bouncing into and smashed me through another building's window. That might sound bad, but it led me into one of the most trapped areas I had prepared, an abandoned apartment block with a sort of overgrown forest in the middle, a perfect place for a nest of traps.

I took my battered body and rushed into the foliage, retreating to better observe the interlopers, to know when they would be most vulnerable.

The two most experienced, a man and woman cut through the traps like a hot knife through butter, but the remainder, a nervous looking boy, followed them, trying to keep and eye out. I grabbed one of the explosive notes I had kept for myself, wrapped it around a shard of glass sharpened for air travel, and threw it in the middle of the woman and the boy. The chunin scrambled away, jumping over the edge of the stairway he had been walking along, falling into a web of more traps, getting wrapped in some ninja wire attached with an explosive note. A chain reaction pulverised him and disrupted the whole place, yet the woman had noticed my position, rage consuming her face, her legs charging with power as she charged at me. Her male partner said something, I don't remember, but I shot a spark of flame at her, forcing her to change course, into a set of traps. I didn't get to admire my work though, because the larger man had reached me, and spartan kicked me across the room.

My body went flying and impacted a wall hard enough to crack it. Then he body flicked in front of me, and drop kicked me through it. I was feeling déjà vu, but I stood back up and shot a bullet of flame at him, which he blocked with an earth wall, then broke using his fists, turning the fragments into a shotgun of fiery magma which slammed into me, smashing me out of the apartment block and onto the street below.

I rolled pathetically in the ground, bouncing like a stone skipped in the water. Grazes scuffed my skin and my ribs ached. I would have stayed there, if not for the blade wielding woman from before, covered in half the wall dust as me, hadn't come to intercept me. She took another kunai from her pouch, and tried to stab me as I stood up. She was much too slow though, the head placed blow seeming to go in slow motion as it came closer and closer. It was almost too easy to move the arm out of the way and spin her body into a nearby concrete pillar, then smash her head into it again and again. The pillar was smeared with blood and nose cartilage, before the man charged at me, firing a burst of rock that I had to block with the woman's now limp body, the thorn like shards slamming into her body and causing it to jerk back and forth.

I abandoned the human shield, as I rushed to the larger bald man, sprinting whilst dodging a shot spray of rock, skittering of the ground whenever it missed. When I got close enough to punch, he moved his hands to grab my throat, yet I swerved out the way, carrying the momentum into a blow to the face, knocking him back. Then I leapt up to his head, fire chakra burning in my mouth and let it all out in one blast, the fire melting parts of his skin of and causing him to recoil in pain. It was just in time too, as the woman from before, covered with cuts and with a shard sticking out of her shoulder flickering towards me, quickening and quickening as she gave a roar, charging me with pure rage.

"Bastard!"

Guess she liked the boy. I nearly didn't notice, but there it was, a sizzle in the ground behind me. I jumped just in time as shockwave swept me away, explosive release sending me closer to her as she reeled her arm back, aiming for my head. In the last moment, my head moved and she hit only air.

I rolled under and it her legs, taking her down with me as I smashed a fist into her face. She dodged the second punch, spitting blood at my face and wrapping my waist with her legs so she could get on top of me, then headbutt me longs strands of blood ladened hair sticking to my face like her blood.

"Damn you!"

Her voice was shrill and hysterical, her fury evident as I flipper her over and started scampering away. She ran after me, tanking a fist to the gut so she could tear into my arm with her nails, then prepared for another attack on my face. I avoided her punch and judo flipped her, slamming her into the ground then preparing to stomp her face into the ground, before I was tackled.

The larger man was there, face half flesh because of the earlier jutsu, yet still alive somehow, he smashed my head once, then recoiled on the second, as it spilled flame from my lips. He realised to late, and I raised up to blow the flame directly on his face, the skin and flesh peeling away layer by layer until he was only a soot skull on a muscled body. My weathered and bloodied body stood up, my skin littered with bleeding cuts, nail imprints and dagger slashes all across making me more red than not. My brown hair was slick with blood, and mud marred my back and clothing, and the smell of dead bodies entered my nostrils.

"You scum!"

It was the woman again.

"You fucking bastard! Why won't you die?"

Her words washed over me like rain. It was raining too I realised. That was good. That meant the fire wouldn't engulf the whole district. Hopefully.

"Stop ignoring me!"

I wasn't aware that I was. I stepped over to her defiant, bloodied face, and the state of us both. But I had something she didn't. I didn't recognize her, but I recognized her badge, part of a noble Iwa family, blessed with a bloodline limit and rule of the village. She lead the squad, probably fucked that boy using her power if I'm guessing anything, and now she had nothing. Nobody to save her, no village to house her. All her life she had something, and now she had nothing. I however, had already lost everything, and I kept at it with perseverance and grit alone. I had my will, and she had nothing.

I was standing tall and strong, and she was slouched over, yet she had fought less, killed less that I had.

"Do you know why they are all dead and I am still alive?"

She had a face of pure hate and rage, yet her eyes betrayed her curiosity.

"Because I fought for it more, harder. Where they gave up, I chose to fight."

She rushed at me then, hatred filling her, and she should have been able to kill me. I was running out of stamina, didn't have enough time to use a jutsu, and would have been killed easily by her explosive release, but she ran at me, and into the genjutsu cloaked knife I had taken from the man.

She looked shocked, and a knife to the heart does that to you, you can feel your life draining as you stand there, dying. I grabbed her shoulder and shoved it in deeper.

I don't know why really, but as she died I looked in her eyes. As her head lowered I gripped it to make her look into my eyes, as the soul gradually left hers. They looked so big, so shocked. So sad.

Then she died.

I was fucking tired. I counted in my head. 2 fire, 1 kunai, 1 fire, 2 exploded, so 6. Then the boy, 7, and the last 3. 10

All of them dead. Good.

I limped to safety.

My tail was gone, good. The next step wouldn't even need input. I had already scheduled it. Jan and Ken were to attack a series of stores, richer ones like blacksmiths and jewellers, under the pretence of a heist for money alone. The idea was for Iwa to panic, send some men that way believing it to be a counter attack or their scouts getting killed, and leave themselves open, so I could move in closer.

In fact, though my body was bloodied and weakened, and I had wrapped myself in bandages and new clothing to shroud the damages that had been dealt to me, the plan was already going ahead. Meanwhile, I was confidently strolling to the upper districts, even if my walk was a little stiff, new clothing rubbing against new-born cuts. I had a briefcase full of money, and the idea was to go up to the Kurokawas, a less fortunate family down on their luck, offer them the money, and buy up their entire house with it. That would get me invited to some of the house parties, and honestly, give me a place to rest.

And so I was walking, perhaps a little too dazed and a little too tired, because I must have not recognized someone I knew, their hand gripping me by the shoulder. Streetlights flashed in my eyes as I looked at black sky and black body, and then a familiar dulcet tone spoke my voice.

At first I was too dazed to respond, but by the second, followed by a shake, my mouth turned into a smile as I uttered her name.

"Aka?"

It was much too blurry for me to see her face fully, so I simply spotted her head bobbing up and down, nodding. Good.

"I want to buy a house, I have the money, I want to buy the Kurokawa's property."

"You're tired, and hurt, come back to my house. Please."

She was pleading, I knew it, and yet I didn't want to go, to many plans and too many ideas running around. So whilst my head was silent, my heart spoke.

"What will your parents think?"

"Well, they won't think much if you propose."

That snapped me out of my daze. I thought it was a dream for a moment, but the dull pain and throb told me the woman in front of me wasn't.

"Yes. Will you marry me?"

It was a weak proposal and honestly the consent given was dubious, but I saw her eyes light up even in the darkness and I knew then that it was the right choice.

"I accept."

Then I fell unconscious.

When I awoke, it was with a beautiful fiancée at my side, naked body wrapped in bandages.

I knew, as I know now, I do not, nor ever will regret proposing to her.

And as such, I was now in the upper class of the village. I have described it before, but being on the inside of it was much different. The light didn't pierce the house's curtains as much as it glowed against it. The outside wouldn't be able to see inside, yet the light permeating every but of the street in front was clear to see, even to my bedridden self.

For the next few days, aka brought me food and water, and changed my bandages. She comforted me too.

I asked her one day why she decided I should propose to her.

"So we can live together, of course." She said in a polite and educated tone, like those words could unlock the meaning of the world itself, yet she hid the lock behind unsaid statements.

"Yes, but wouldn't your parents be upset you'd be engaged to someone like me."

"Maybe, but I do not care what they think. Mainly because they are dead. Only my uncle will have anything to say, and he left long ago to take refuge in Fire's capital."

I chuckled a bit, though my body tugged against my bandages and throbbed with a dull pain.

"I didn't even know your parents were dead. How can you want to marry me if we don't even really know each other?"

"Simple, is it not? I love you, and you love me."

She looked at me with a perfect smile, and I smiled back, and she leaned over and kissed me and for a moment I wasn't a ninja, I wasn't in pain. I was completely fine.

A/N: Another chapter done. This one came out quickly because I had a sudden spurt of motivation. This chapter was pretty complex because it had a lot of shit happening, the aftermath of Nezu's death, the subsequent changing of his gang and Takai's takeover, and the ambush of Iwa. I wanted to have more power progression stuff happen this chapter. Takai got fucked up in the last one so having him walk away having completely destroyed the Iwa contingent shows the personal development he had, and the steps he would have had to take to get to Minato's level, though he is still a year away from the present, and Minato is still a ways away power wise. I wanted to show Takai's character development, and having him take charge of an entire gang showed that perfectly.