Captain Blues: Once again, thank you all so much for the warm reception back. As promised, here is the next chapter of Ansatsuken. Also, if everyone wants more, I have my first NarutoXElden Ring Crossover in Shinobi of the Dark Moon. Please give it a look and enjoy that and this chapter!
Ansatsuken
Chapter Twenty: The Scroll of Hakkyokuseiken
Note: This takes place during the events of Chapters Fourteen through Nineteen*
[Theme of Otogakure no Sato:
Imperial Capital Kazas from Legend of the Dragoon]
"You're dismissed!"
Four members of the Sound Five bowed at the booming voice of Orochimaru as he dismissed them from his office after a mission debriefing. Now that it was over, the only female member of the five quickly walked off with a deep scowl on her face, not wanting to deal with hearing another word from her leader's mouth.
The mission she had just returned from had pissed her off to no end. Three of those idiots she called "Teammates" only made things worse after teasing her about her role in that...that...horrid affair and because her friend and fellow Sound Five member Kidōmaru was down and out due to sickness, she had to deal with it alone.
She wanted to hurt them.
She wanted to kill them.
And she wanted to kill Orochimaru for sending her out on that mission, but she knew that she couldn't.
Orochimaru would beat her into submission and then use her as one of his sick experiments.
True, she had become an experiment when she received the cursed seal, but she would never become those sick things that were kept locked up in the underground chambers. She was horrified at the unhealthy things she saw him do to his other experiments, especially the failed ones.
She never wanted to become one of those.
Tayuya walked out of the village and deep into the forest, where she came across a small waterfall with tons of fish jumping from out of it.
Since she found this spot a year ago, it had become her secret place to unwind and practice playing her flute, but when she got close enough, she noticed something stuck between two rocks in the slow-moving river.
Tilting her head in confusion, she walked towards the object, and once she got close enough, she saw that it was a scroll of some sort.
"Huh, what the hell is this?" she wondered out loud before shrugging and reaching into the water and picking it up. She unfurled the scroll and read, "Hakkyokuseiken (Eight Extremes Holy Fist)? Is this a Taijutsu Scroll?"
Tayuya glanced at the information written on the scroll and narrowed her eyes in thought. The moves in the scroll were pretty detailed and admittedly, Tayuya was often chastised for focusing on her Jutsu more than her Taijutsu. Maybe this could get Kabuto and Orochimaru off of her back.
Tayuya pocketed the scroll and muttered, "I should get home and actually look this shit over."
[Theme of Home:
Hokes Village from Legend of the Dragoon]
Tayuya kicked open her apartment door and shouted, "I'm home!"
"Stop kicking the damn door open!" Kin's voice shouted from a room.
Tayuya snorted and shouted, "I'll stop kicking the door in when you start locking it!"
The apartment was a modest-sized one, with chrome grey colored walls, a medium-sized kitchen, a smaller living, one bathroom, and two bedrooms.
Tayuya sat her bags of groceries down on the kitchen counter before she made her way down the hall to a bedroom door, and when she opened it, she saw Kin currently tending to Kidōmaru, who looked miserable as all hell.
"How are you feeling, Spider-boy?" Tayuya asked as she leaned against the doorframe.
"Like old ass on a hot summer day," Kidōmaru croaked out. "But the company I have is currently making it better."
Tayuya rolled her eyes as a blush appeared on Kin's face. Recently, Kidōmaru and Kin had a crush on one another, and both were terrified to make a move for fear of ruining their friendship.
Which was dumb as fuck but whatever, it wasn't like she had a crush on anyone, so she had no room to judge them at all. "Well, I got the groceries and whatnot so you can put them up, Kin," Tayuya said.
"What?! Why do I have to do it?!" Kin yelled.
"Because I got them!" Tayuya yelled back. "Besides, who else is going to do it? Karin? She's back in Kusa and Kidōmaru is sick. That leaves you, Needles."
Kin rolled her eyes and gingerly flipped the towel around on Kidōmaru's forehead. "Fine," Kin grumbled, clearly displeased.
"But before that, I want to show you guys something," Tayuya said as she walked towards the bed and pulled out the scroll. "I found this bad boy in my secret spot."
"Is she holding two scrolls or one?" Kidōmaru asked Kin.
"Just one, Kidō," Kin answered. "What's in it?"
"A Taijutsu style I've never heard of," Tayuya answered. "Hakkyokuseiken."
"Too long," Kidōmaru groaned. "But, this should get you off of Kabuto's back, considering he's been vying with Orochimaru to get you kicked off the Sound Five before we all get the cursed seal."
Tayuya narrowed her eyes in annoyance. "Ugh, he can choke on all of my dick," Tayuya grumbled.
"Gotta have one to get someone to choke on it," Kin remarked.
"Blow me," Tayuya swiftly replied.
"Again, gotta have one to blow," Kin said.
"Don't you have groceries to put away?" Tayuya questioned.
Kin grinned and walked out of the room, leaving Tayuya and Kidōmaru alone. "So, where did you find it?" Kidōmaru asked, referring to the scroll.
"In my spot outside the village," Tayuya answered as she stared at the scroll. "It wasn't there long, thankfully, but it must have washed away from somewhere. But what village is close enough to us that this could have come from?"
"The only one close to us is Faiāgāden. That's right on the edge of Hi no Kuni and Haru no Kuni," Kidōmaru explained. "Does it have any sort of seal that said what village it came from?"
Tayuya looked at the scroll for any village identifier but when she didn't find any, she shrugged. "No dice, Spidey," Tayuya answered. "Welp, since I found it, it's mine."
"Ah, the great "finders keepers" ruling," Kidōmaru remarked with a dry tone.
"Hey, it's a rule for me," Tayuya grinned.
"Anyway, are you really going to learn from it?" Kidōmaru asked.
"Might as well. This way, if Kabuto decides to break my balls again, I can beat his ass and make him kiss them as an apology once I bust out these moves," Tayuya smirked as she held up the scroll.
Kidōmaru snorted and said, "I can't wait to see how they work out for you. Now you gone get from here. I need to rest this off."
"Yeah, yeah," Tayuya brushed off as she walked out of the room.
[Theme of Tayuya:
Twilight of the Rose from Legend of the Dragoon]
"The style of Hakkyokuseiken is based on the principle of nature. Practitioners are expected to cooperate with nature, not look to control it. To learn the style of Hakkyokuseiken, the practitioner is expected to not only be powerful and skilled in physical prowess but of strong mind, positive discipline and also good-natured, not controlled by any negative emotions," Tayuya read. "Well, I'm the best you got. So let's see what else this thing has…."
"Within this scroll are the lessons from two out of the three Hakkyokuseiken scrolls. The first part of the scroll contains the fighting techniques of Hakkyokuseiken, such as energy channeling and combat arts. New practitioners must learn from this scroll first. The Second part of this scroll is to do with recuperation, which heals the fighter and also makes them physically stronger. There is also a part of the overall Hakkyokuseiken scroll which when combined with the other two parts of the scroll, contains the secrets to immortality! Holy shit!" Tayuya commented. "I wonder where that third part is…."
Tayuya shrugged.
None of her business.
"Many of the styles recorded in the first part of the scroll have been lost to history, all but the Ken no Garou Densetsu (Fist of the Legendary Hungry Wolf) which is written within this scroll," Tayuya read. "The first step to the Hakkyokuseiken style is to clear the mind of all emotion and desire and allow the energy of mother earth to flow through them. Clear my mind. Ha! I can do that in my sleep!" Tayuya scoffed and eyed the parchment.
"Now, how does the scroll want me to do this shit?" Tayuya muttered to herself as she eyed the drawings. It looked simple on paper. All she had to do was stand and spread her arms out at her sides. "Tch, if this is all there is to it, consider the first step of this mine!"
Tayuya punched her fists together as she stood off the ground and spread her arms open. "Clear my mind of all emotion and desire," Tayuya recited as she closed her eyes. When it came to this step, it was easy for Tayuya. To perform Genjutsu, she had to have a clear mind to sculpt the illusion needed to take down her opponent.
Most would compare it to painting in that way.
'Clear my mind,' Tayuya recited as she stood on the rooftop of her home, beneath the starry night and the full moon.
The trees rustled from the forest nearby as Tayuya's breathing evened out. She then felt it. A strange energy began to float in and around her as if it were moving in tandem with the wind that flowed around her.
It reminded her of how chakra felt, but there was a pureness to it that chakra didn't have. It wa—
"W-Why?"
Tayuya gasped as she lost concentration, sending her to one knee, feeling strangely exhausted all of a sudden. She had it! She fucking had it! But then his voice cut through her, like a sword piercing through a body.
[Theme of Sadness:
Sorrow from Legend of the Dragoon]
"Damn it…." Tayuya swore with a shaky breath, struggling to keep her emotions at bay. Why couldn't she just forget about him? She had killed so many times before in Orochimaru's name so why was this the one that haunted her so much?
Tayuya shook her head and rose on shaky legs. "It's no good. I'll have to try again tomorrow…." Tayuya told herself. But had she been paying attention, she would have noticed someone watching her with a bemused look in their eyes.
[Theme of Otogakure no Sato:
Imperial Capital Kazas from Legend of the Dragoon]
"The Sound Five are here, Orochimaru-sama!" All of the Sound Five members said with a bow towards their leader, who smirked at his loyal soldiers.
"Good, my pets. I have a new mission for you all. Thanks to an old war hawk and his little dolls, I was supposed to be delivered a scroll of great power. Unfortunately, one of my more…. overzealous shinobi killed the deliverer of the scroll, leaving it missing," Orochimaru hissed with a neutral expression.
While Tayuya didn't show anything on the outside, on the inside, she was panicking in the worse way. The scroll she had in her sash was meant for Orochimaru?
Maybe she should give it to him and tell him that she found it just last night. But as soon as Tayuya had the thought, she felt a sickly energy flowing from his body. It almost made her sick.
No…
Something in her soul was telling her that giving him the scroll would be a big mistake. But she wondered why it would be a mistake. He was her leader. Surely it would show her loyalty. But the more she bowed before him, the more that sickly energy bothered her.
"It is believed that the scroll was lost around within the village of Faiāgāden. To make matters worse, a group of Konoha shinobi were spotted near the village. While we don't know exactly where the scroll was, it is of huge importance to locate it…And if those Konoha shinobi have it, then eliminate them. They must not find that scroll and discover the untold powers within it. That is your mission. Find the scroll and take care of the pests before the scroll is located. I will not tolerate failure. Is that clear?" Orochimaru questioned
With a salute, all five members of the Sound Five yelled, "Yes Orochimaru-sama!"
Once the Sound Five were out of his office, Orochimaru allowed a few seconds to pass before he turned his head to Kabuto and said, "I am impressed that she didn't reveal that she had it."
"She must know of its secret then," Orochimaru replied. "The secret to immortality relies on retrieving that scroll. Have Yūrei take care of our little traitor after they dispose of the Konoha shinobi."
"Understood, Orochimaru-sama…" Kabuto said with a bow.
Kabuto walked down the long steps to the laboratory beneath his master's office and once he made it to the main chamber, he saw her.
[Theme of Unknown Shinobi: Sorrow from Legend of the Dragoon]
Sitting in an all-white room on a single steel chair, there was a woman with slender, but feminine build, fair skin sitting within it, her arms, legs, and torso strapped onto the seat.
Her blazing red hair cascaded around her shoulders and down to the middle of her back, causing a good contrast against the light gray and white high-neck straitjacket she wore with the sleeves shredded below her arms and several white belts all over the upper body with white and gray straps to cover the upper arms.
She also wore white and red pants with several white belts and a sash which hang loose on each side with a gray belt along with a matching cross belt on her waist, and white leg guards.
She also wore different pair of short boots and black demonic-like gauntlets with a long chain on her neck which was hanging loose on her jacket but it was her eyes that would startle anyone that knew her.
Her eyes weren't the expressive, violet eyes that swayed many men and women to her side.
Her eyes were empty.
Dull...Lifeless.
Behind her was a female scientist with green hair sliding a needle into the woman's neck but the woman gave no reaction to the needle. All she did was silently sit there, awaiting her next orders. "Shana-chan," Kabuto greeted. "Orochimaru requires her. Prepare her for her mission."
The green-haired shinobi turned her attention to Kabuto and bowed.
"Understood. I shall have Yūrei ready for her assignment," Shana replied.
Kabuto chuckled and said, "Good. I cannot wait to see her in action…."
Captain Blues: And that is that. See you all in Two weeks!