archiveofourown org works 45730315 chapters 121284880?view_adult=true (link to the archive page just add decimle before org and slashes in other spaces


My head felt like it was trapped inside of a vice, which admittedly is no different than normal. My mistake was small but expensive. Over a dozen bandits came rushing out of the tree line at us, Sasuke and Sakura moving forward to deal with them non-lethally as they're expected to. I decided to stay with Tazuna and keep a Kunai ready to throw if needed.

Things started to take a turn for the worse when I heard Naruto draw his sword, I turned my head a bit to try and keep an ear on him but I've trained him enough that he should be able to stand his ground.

"My brother! I'll kill you!" I was moving faster than Tazuna could breathe as I took in the sight. Two missing nin in raggedy clothes and ruined fishnet armor. Either they're more focused on scaring their targets or they're out of funds to buy equipment with. Big fancy gauntlets that connect together via a spike chain, and have custom headbands one with two horns and the other with a single horn.

Naruto was on the ground, unseeing eyes wide as his face was covered with blood. One of the brother's claws was coated in it as the other was on the ground bleeding out from getting his neck torn out. Naruto's katana planted firmly in his shoulder.

A careful move forward as I break both of his wrists and trap him in a headlock, threatening to snap his neck if he moves too much.

"I'm sorry about that, Uzumaki. I hadn't realized you had Shinobi back here." He drops his arms where they were guarding his face as his eyes roll back in his skull going limp. He's taking his first kill worse than I expected. I should've been better.

A quick glance back up to the other two showed them mopping up the last of the bandits, Sasuke tying them up via rope from his pack. Better than wasting ninja wire, I'll have to commend him on that. That's when those green eyes of hers found me, first widening in shock and then narrowing in anger. Though usually it's much more intimidating when she's being flanked by Naruto, she has some nice Killing Intent of her own.

"Taicho, what happened?" My free hand rubs my temples a bit trying in vain to get the pressure to fade.

"Shinobi came up the rear, Haruno take command whilst I question him." She's visibly unhappy but nods, placing a boot on the corpse's chest as she pulls the katana out. I half carry half drag the missing nin to the tree line, the last sight of my team I catch is Haruno taking over the prisoners whilst Uchiha checks over Naruto and performs first aid.

My free hand has the Bingo book open in my hand, flicking through to Water, and then C-Rank.

'Meizu and Gozu, known as the Demon twins and are incredibly capable when fighting as a pair. Known for being staunch supporters of Zabuza Momochi and joining in his attempted rebellion'

Right, this is the opposite of good. I drop him at the base of a tree, a flick of my wrist sending wire around to tie him to the trunk. He squirms a bit, more so testing how tight it is than trying to escape. He half glares up at me, the two horns on his slashed headband are scuffed and dull. The metal worn to the point that it's starting to rust.

"Right, listen. I've got three Genin, one of which now needs my attention. So tell me what I want to know." He tries to spit at me, forgetting the rebreather on his face. A simple kick results in 2 broken ribs, I'm crouched down in front of him. His eyes are wide and blood is leaking out from the bottom of the rebreather.

"I-i won't tell you… won't say shit." I grab him by the hair, forcing him to look me in the eye. He's defiant, but already broken. There's nothing I could do to him that losing his brother hasn't done. With a sharp snapping sound I twist his neck to the side and begin to search him for anything useful. The gauntlet of course, a few vials of unimpressive but useful nonetheless poisons, and about 10 meters of spiked chains.

With a headband in my grip I return to my team. Uzumaki is propped up against a tree awake, he's shaking violently and is whispering to Haruno. Uchiha is crouched in the tree above them, fiddling with the gauntlet from the dead Chunin and trying to get it to stay on his wrist. Tazuna is fretting nervously near the base of the tree. Trying to not quite look at Uzumaki he fiddles with the bottle of sake he's been trying to trick us with the entire trip. He actually approaches me, his footsteps rushed.

"Hatake-San, is he.. is he ok? He got up and just started freaking out." I run a free hand through my hair.

"He'll be fine in time, everyone takes their first kill hard. I'd like to know what Shinobi are doing here though." He falters, the bottle dropping from his hands and just kind of thudding into the soft grass.

"W-what? Shinobi!" His eyes are wide underneath the onion style hat as he seems to hunch in on himself, crouching down as he grabs the bottle once more. His calloused hands grip onto the neck of his bottle tightly.

"Tazuna-San, I cannot offer proper protection if you lie to me further here." He's wringing the neck of the bottle now. Lifting his head up enough that the onion hat falls back and hangs from the cord now around his neck. I can feel those green eyes boring into my side as she continues to comfort Uzumaki. His words are a hushed whisper, more a word vomit than actually talking.

"Wave is in terrible condition, a merchant came in by the name of Gato a few years ago. Started buying up all of the small self ran shipping groups." He's pacing now a bit, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair. "Began hiring bandits to keep people's boats from leaving if we haven't paid his ludicrous taxes. I'm an architect, so I started building a bridge so we could begin to escape his strangle hold but I needed someone to keep his goons off of me!" He turns to me, his eyes wild, full of hope I'll believe the words he's saying. I nod a bit, recognizing the desperation in his tone.

"While all of that is understandable, it doesn't tell me what I need to know. What is Wave's Daimyo doing during all of this? When did Gato start hiring Shinobi?" Tazuna's answers are lackluster as I'm about to discover.

"I couldn't tell you. The Daimyo hasn't really been heard from since Gato came in, and besides his goons killing the occasional person Gato has been careful to not draw too much attention. Shinobi is a new step I swear!" He's sweating now, his eyes darting between me and the Genin.

Haruno has changed from glaring at me over to Tazuna, clearly having been listening in. He flinches back at her venomous look. Uchiha is watching both the prisoners and the tree line to make sure we don't get jumped again. Uzumaki is shaking still, not nearly as hard as when I first came back, as he grips his katana with a white knuckled hold.

I have options in front of me that I don't much care for, and a bottle of painkillers in my first aid kit that I find myself craving. My doctor has been telling me I need to cut back on them, and I have been. This'll be my first one today, the snap of the lid and a sip of water from my canteen.

I could take my students back to the village, this is a mission outside of our depth and one then has already had to make a choice too early in their career. They won't go for it though, I can see it in Haruno's eyes. She's got something driving her like the jaws of hell nipping at her heels. The two boys will follow her practically anywhere currently.

I could continue the mission which carries its own risks. A side option of requesting back up from the village does present itself. Wave would have to pay a fair bit more, and that's on top of them already having to pay the difference between a C and B rank mission.

Of course, that's if anyone is willing to help me. My reputation of being far too cold precedes me, and there's not many that would willingly come to my aid. Guy probably would, the man has always adored me for whatever reason.

"Right, ok. Tazuna-San" his head perks up like one of the desert gophers I've seen in Suna. "I have two options here. Either I can make this a B-rank mission and request additional support from the village. All of which will cost you quite the sum of money." He nods slowly turning a bit green as I get into the numbers. I catch Haruno approaching us before she ever starts speaking.

"What's the other option Taicho?" I give a hum, sparing just a moment to look over her critically. Perhaps I misjudged her and she would be willing to fall back. Wouldn't result in a black mark on her record after all, would just make the boys in intelligence look bad.

"We leave Tazuna-San here as this mission is well above and beyond what we were expecting. If he wishes, we can escort him back to the Village and he can re-enter negotiations for a new mission." No, I hadn't misjudged her in the slightest. If looks could kill, which in some cases they can, Tazuna would be struck dead on the ground at my feet for very clearly considering my second option. With a surprising lack of a quaver in his voice I received my answer.

"I'd like to continue on, I'm willing to pay the fees and everything assuming that Konohagakure will allow me a payment plan of sorts." His eyes are firm, and his will strong. Even despite his shaking body. I nod a bit, scratching my head a bit as I give a sigh. With a nick to my thumb I summon Pakkun. The pug sits there calmly despite the billowing smoke surrounding him, and I can detect just a smidge too much pride at the shock of the viewers.

"Pakkun, I need a message delivered back to Konoha." He nods a bit as I write out my report and request for Guy's assistance. I can feel my students' eyes boring holes into my old companion, but they rather wisely choose not to ask. Turning back to them Uchiha has finally managed to get the gauntlet to fit his arm and is testing the claws. If he comes to like it I'll have to get him retractable ones to better suit his fighting style. I toss the second one too him which, with a small nod, begins to fit onto the other arm immediately.

"Right, Uchiha. You did well in combat, your use of rope was good as it saved wire which is an invaluable tool. Haruno, you did well in combat but your stamina is lacking a bit. Something to work on is all." I move forward, kneeling in front of Uzumaki. He's still shaking but not nearly as hard, those crimson red eyes of his are wide and bloodshot. The pupils dilated as though he were on some kind of substance. "You did very well fighting two Chunin, and I'm sorry I didn't realize what was going on sooner."

He shakes his head a bit, his unseeing eyes never leaving my face in that way they do. "Y-yer alright Sensei." Normally I'd get on him for the wrong title, but with what he just had to do a little leniency will go a long way.

"We camp here for the night. Haruno offer the prisoners water and half rations. Uchiha get a fire ready whilst I construct tents. Uzumaki, can you cook a hot meal tonight?" He nods as the other two are already moving to their tasks like a well oiled machine. Tazuna is watching from underneath his onion hat as he sits on a tree root.

"So uh, Shinobi-San…. Just how much is this going to cost me in all… with the extra Shinobi, and the change in mission rank?" I roll my shoulder a bit, my hand rubbing at my temple as I put up the tent with practice.

"I'm not 100 percent sure myself, but it'll be more than double what you paid for the C rank." He turns a bit of a green color, but nods as he mutters to himself before beginning to gather small sticks for kindling. The bandits can be heard complaining as Haruno gives them their food and water, our tents go up with a practiced ease that I could do in my sleep. The fire is lit quickly as Uzumaki pulls out a kitchen knife and skillet from his pack. Not proper equipment but clearly didn't weigh him down enough to matter. Uchiha is sent off to scavenge for fauna that we can eat to save on supplies.

He returns with a half dozen squirrels, their heads all cleanly pierced by Kunai. A few wild onions, and a set of Maitake mushrooms. Uzumaki skins them mutley before dicing up the meat, mushrooms, and onions. Throwing in salt, pepper, and a small handful of other spices that he's pulling small packets of out from his pack. Soon enough the smell begins to waft through the camp as Haruno sits down beside the fire and Uchiha keeps an eye on the prisoners.

I need to decide what to do with them, I can't leave them here obviously as they'd just starve to death. I'd rather not just slaughter them, but taking them to a bounty office would take us a few days out of our way. Letting them go is an entertaining option, could make more work for the village in the future. Or perhaps the people have learned their mistakes, unlikely.

I move past the pair of them at the campfire, S̶a̶k̶u̶r̶a̶, Haruno sitting and kind of staring at Uzumaki as he cooks still with a minimal set of emotions on his face. Uchiha has finished fitting the gauntlets to his arms, now messing with the setting to coat them in liquid though the gauntlet's reserves are empty.

"Taicho" he nods his head a bit as he turn* to see who was approaching. "How's Naruto?" I repress the urge to sigh with practiced ease.

"It'll take time of course for him to fully come to terms with things. Best we can do is be there for him." He nods a bit, looking over the dozen or so men and women all tied to trees. Some glaring at us, one having gotten her nose bandaged as it had very clearly been broken.

"And them?" I nod a bit, a hand rifling in my Kunai pouch for a moment before coming out with a small battered orange book. I could see his look of confusion as I move forward while half reading it.

"Go head over with the others, I'll decide on what I need to do." He nods a bit, still eyeing the book before he just kind of shrugs and trudges over to wait for the food to be done. The people are now focused fully on me as my mind runs wild, yet suitably calmed by the smut in my hand.

"So wut you gunna do with us?" I glance over, it's the woman with a broken nose. Her head is tilted up ever so slightly to help with bleeding.

"That is the question. Reasonably I should just kill you all, remove a bandit problem." They shuffle, nervously straining against their ropes. "But, I find myself disliking that option. My students don't need to see that at the moment. So, I propose I simply let you all go." They all just silently stare at me, the woman with the broken nose leaning forward a bit.

"Really? Just like that?" I nod a bit, my free hand a blur as Kunai hit the ropes thus freeing them.

"Don't harass me and my students on the road again." They scramble quickly, not even bothering to grab the weapon that had been stripped from them as they run into the forests. The woman stares at me in shock, before her legs finally start working and she books it as though the shinigami is on her heels. Always nice to do a good deed. My students get to see me as generous, I don't have another dozen people in my nightmares, and bandits are free to wander the land of fire thus eventually causing problems and making another job for the village.

I regather the rope and supplement the damaged pieces with rope from my own pack before heading back over to the campsite. Food is being served now, on the simple tin plates we carry for our rations. All in all it looks good, and as I take a bite tastes even better.

Watches went quietly that night, and we slowly found our rhythm over the next few days. Uzumaki was kept right next to Tazuna and I took up the rear position. Haruno walked out in front of the group by a good 6 meters. Uchiha once more found himself a floater, drifting around the 3 of us and investigating whatever he thought interesting or important.

We finally arrived in a small, and mostly abandoned, fishing village. Tazuna unveiled what I can only call a canoe, as it appears to be a simple fishing boat carved out of a single log. A bit of a cramped seating arrangement with me and Tazuna on one side and my three students all squished against one another like kittens in a pile. As we kicked off the shore and across the water to the island micronation that was Wave I could feel chakra brushing the edge of my senses.

My hand dipped into the water, and it felt like I was holding radio static. Someone is waiting for us, my head dips up to say something to my students but I find I don't really need to. N̶a̶r̶u̶t̶o̶, Uzumaki's head is twisted a good portion of the way around a hand on the hilt of his katana as he stares blindly at the island we're approaching. Haruno has a Kunai ready, testing the straps on her gloves and the boys Kunai stashes. Uchiha has his eyes closed, his mouth hardly moving. I didn't take him to be the kind to pray before a fight, but I refuse to hold it against him.

Tazuna either doesn't notice how tense we are or is choosing to be ignorant to keep himself from panicking as he rows us across the choppy water. We hit a bank of reeds where he quickly buried the canoe under a net with reeds and cattails weaved into it.

"My home isn't far from here, we can work things out from there… right?" I merely nod in answer, my book put firmly into a vest pocket over my heart I had custom made. It's proven its use before, as I'd much rather get a new book than have taken those senbons to the heart.

"Taicho," I half turn to Uzumaki, "there's no animals." I pause for a moment before cocking my head. Sure enough he's right, no bird songs despite it being close to evening. No rustles of critters in the trees or undergrowths. The only sound I can catch on the very edge of my hearing-

"DOWN" the word hardly left my mouth, Uzumaki was tackling Tazuna down as the other two dropped like sacks of bricks. I knelt on a knee subconsciously filling my fingers with throwing stars.

The massive sword whirls overheard making a sound not too distant from that of a buzzsaw as it plants itself into a tree having only shaved off a few strands of my hair. Appearing on the hilt is just the man I was expecting.

Shirtless except for a bandolier of smoke bombs and Kunai. Cow print pants that almost seem to look like ass less chaps on him, and the lower half of his face coated in bandages. Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the hidden mist. From the look of vague concern in his eyes he recognizes me, perhaps I can bully him away from reputation alone. He squats down, sitting on the balls on his feet balanced perfectly on the hilt of the blade.

"Well I must admit, I wasn't expecting the Copy-Nin to show up. Don't suppose I could just have the old man?" I shift up, taking my time to debate my options. Giving him Tazuna just isn't an option so I discard it.

"Sorry but no, hired to protect him and all." I can more feel than hear the little click of his tongue. His eyes are roaming the field, and out of my peripherals I can see a dense mist creeping off the water and onto the wooded shore.

"Well that's a shame, I don't really want to fight you… nor a group of snot nosed brats. Duty calls though, nothing personal?" I give a little laugh, of all the missing-nin I wasn't expecting the traditional Jonin banter from him.

"Nothing personal." My throwing stars have left my hands before my words leave my mouth but he's already moving. The sword carving its way down and through the tree using the shrapnel of the wood to make them useless. A smoke cloud forming on his position and mixing with the mist that's almost made it to me. My team is a proper triangle formation around Tazuna but are still too close to the water.

I don't have the chance to say anything though as he's on me, a sword cleaving silently through the mist that I nimbly move past and up under his guard delivering a kunai to the throat. Water spills out from the wound revealing it to be nothing more than a clone that quickly loses form. Elemental clones are known for being cheap, disposable, and deadly if used right.

My headband is shifted up, my tanto being summoned from its storage place. Even with the Sharingan it's difficult to make out the half a dozen or so forms of Zabuza amongst the murky must, especially as he's using the smoke grenades liberally to make it even harder for me.

"Move further away from the water, go for the tree line" having them get away from the water is more important than subtly about their location, and I'm confident enough in my ability to chase him down if he tries to gun for them. Two water clones at once this time, one from behind and one ahead trying to cut at my head and feet in tandem. I tag their blades with exploding seals and perform the splits as kicks to their chests. While kicking them and dodging their swords I'm twisted upside down so a handstand with one hand is needed and the other hand forms the seal blowing them up midair and making windows in the mist for a brief moment all whilst holding my tanto in my teeth.

I catch a brief glimpse of, S̶a̶s̶u̶k̶e̶, Uchiha looking shocked at me but still hustling along with the rest of his team. Uzumaki is saying something but I can't make it out over the screaming of a water clone as it tried to distract me from the real Zabuza, abandoning stealth for speed as he tries to spear me with the tip of the blade.

A simple backflip to allow me to land on the back end of his blade, but I wasn't expecting it to be sharpened. I abandoned that plan as quickly as I felt my sandals turn to kindling instead using my barefoot to kick him in the jaw, sending both of us sprawling in different directions.

I tuck and roll in-between the legs of the still screaming water clone, a simple grab and break of the wrist and I bisect him with his own sword. Using my Sharingan I copy the chakra makeup and fuel the copy of the blade with my own chakra, combine with a henge to look exactly like him and he's lost me in the mist. I however have also lost track of which one is real.

Counting myself, there are now 5 Zabuzas' moving around in the mist. Which means that he and I both have a 25% chance if we're blind guessing. Sadly for me statistics are not in my favor, as while my Sharingan can copy the chakra makeup of how his clones are built it can't change the feel of my chakra nature, so if he can feel my lightning nature he can spot me right away.

I dismiss one as a clone right away, lingering on the edge near the water, likely sacrificing itself slowly to keep the mist up so he doesn't have to concentrate on it. Removing it would be a boon but not worth giving up my disguise.

Two Zabuza are creeping in a wide arc from my last position to my students but I feel confident in…. Where are my students?

My eyes go wide as I realize I can't track them through the mist, in fact the two Zabuza aren't moving for them, they're looking for them. Performing a wide sweeping circle along the far edges of the mist inside of the treeline.

I can't worry about that now though, because that leaves the Zabuza standing in the center of the mist. The sword is now on his back as he's started doing hand seals. The Sharingan pulls from my memory running through a dozen different sequences of the hand signs he's making before getting me ahead of him on making a water dragon. A quick substitution to replace a puddle right in front of him with myself. All of a sudden the ground cracked and broke, a sword cleaving out of it like a shark's fin as the water clone that was making hand signs dissolves.

I'm forced onto the back foot trying desperately to move around the blade but he moves out of the ground performing a sideways sweep. I don't have the momentum I need, the water clone sword won't stand up to that hit. Combine it with the tanto I have and I might still be moving.

Time seems to move at a crawl, the way the Sharingan makes me process it. Zabuza's look of glee, my hands drifting into position to block. I got sloppy there, wanting to gloat while finishing his Jutsu ahead of him. A bad habit of mine I got during the last war.

I heard the shout of one my students, the mist thinning almost instantly. They'd gone on the offensive and taken out the clone supplying the mist. Uchiha standing there with his new claws wet with water. Haruno is out of sight, and Uzumaki is sprinting right for me. What the hell is he doing, he can't make it in time to get a stance and block.

The blood spray hits me and Zabuza as all three of us are frozen in shock. Uzumaki didn't try to block, instead jumping forward and taking the hit to his chest as his arms wrap around and grab the still sharp blade. The ground buckling underneath the force of his chakra as he digs his heels in.

"W-what the fuck?" Zabuza is trying to wrench his weapon free but, N̶a̶r̶u̶t̶o̶, Uzumaki is holding tight. Like a dog in a fight pit. I drop the disguise and water clone sword instead going for pure speed that comes with the tanto. The ground shattering underneath Uzumaki as the chakra hooks he's digging into the ground are now acting as a plow as Zabuza drags him trying desperately to back up. The tanto is driven into his shoulder biting through skin and muscle with minimal resistance.

He keeps one hand on the sword, the other letting go to try and deck me, but that proves to be his mistake as Uzumaki begins to buck and yank trying with a desperate effort to pull the sword from his grip. I take the half hearted clip to the jaw as I continue using the tanto to try and disable that arm.

I wasn't expecting to have to twist and take senbon to the back lest Uzumaki take them to the face. A masked individual dashing out from the trees, a gout of fire on their heels from Uchiha.

"Zabuza-San, we must-" the masked figure didn't get to finish, Zabuza already interrupting as he grabbed the hilt with both hands and with a surge of chakra heaved Uzumaki up and off the ground slamming my student into me like a club sending both of us stumbling away.

"I KNOW" the two leapt away, Uchiha landing next to us. The three of us watching as they tree leap away, Zabuza cutting down the occasional tree and sending water clones behind him to slow any pursuit. I dismiss it as a lost cause, drawing my headband down to cover the Sharingan. My chakra reserves are only at about 3/4ths, which honestly isn't bad for that kind of fight.

A turn of my head to see Uchiha bandaging up the wounds that aren't sealing instantly and forcing Uzumaki to take a blood pill.

"First off, what you did was incredibly dangerous. Secondly assuming you didn't abandon Tazuna I am incredibly proud of all three of you…. Third, Uzumaki try to avoid such tactics." He nods a bit, showing the most emotion I've seen in a while as sheepishly grins and scratches the back of his head.

Within moments Haruno and Tazuna are poking their heads out of tree root hollow she had covered with a minor Genjutsu, a tarp, and Uchiha had littered with actual branches and fauna.

"Taicho, the masked individual, made use of several techniques I'd never seen before as well as a weapon I'm not familiar with." Uchiha offers up what's clearly a senbon made of what I can only assume to be ice. Already seeming to be melting in my hand.

"Let's get to Tazuna's home before dark and set up traps and a watch on the perimeter." All three nod, quickly making formation as we move double time. The only remnants of battle being the now 12 meter ditch in the ground and a few discarded Kunai and throwing stars.

The rest of the evening is honestly a blur of motion and planning. Arriving at Tazuna's home Uzumaki is set in a chair and told to finish regenerating. The other three of us begin setting up the average traps. Snares, a few tripwires with exploding seals or Kunai launchers, and a few more unique ones that I've stolen over the years. Such as a delayed Jutsu trap, waiting for the right conditions to trigger before it'll go off.

Uchiha is willing to take the first watch, perched on top of the second floor of the house inside of a divot where we won't be easily seen and have good sightlines of 80% of the way up to the house.

I laid down, my eyes closing as I hear Uzumaki mumble to himself in his sleep. I found myself lulling into a comfortable sleep, a half sitting position as I'm propped up against the wall. My summons acting as an additional layer of defense on top of my students and the traps. As it does every few months, I found myself drifting below the comfortable but light sleeping patterns and instead into a deep sleep where I have dreams I can't never remember.

It took many years to recall these dreams, hence why I'm only sharing them now.
_

Numerous figures other than myself stand in a dark room in a loose circle. Our faces covered by hoods, yet even in the shadows of this cavern I can make out the pitch black of our cloaks only offset by the vibrant red clouds that seem to drift along them.

One man steps forward into the center of the group, a light seeming to shine upon his form. He's the only unhooded individual, though that's more due to his physical inability to do so. A large Venus flytrap seems to surround his head, his body a stark pitch black and chalk white divided perfectly in half.

"G̴r̸e̷e̶t̷i̶n̶g̸s̶ ̷t̶o̵ ̸a̶l̴l̸ ̴t̷h̸o̸s̶e̴ ̸g̷a̵t̷h̶e̴r̴e̵d̶ ̸t̵o̴d̴a̷y̵" His voice naturally sounded wrong, as though it's meant to be a foreign language I can understand perfectly.

A figure I can't get a proper look at from my angle in the corner of the room looking at the circle of cloaked individuals stands.

"Speak Zetsu, why have you called this meeting to order?" the plant man, Zetsu nods, almost bowing.

"Ȏ̷̥f̵̣̀ ̷̲̕c̷͔͗o̷̠̍u̷̺̎r̷̹̾s̶̥͠e̷̫͛,̸̘̕ ̸̡͆o̸̤͝f̷͚̈́ ̸̖͒c̵̫̐o̶̝͆ǘ̶͈r̴̳͛s̸̙̉e̷̩̔.̷́ͅ ̶̹̊I̴̺̾ ̵̝͒a̴̺̋m̴̜̅ ̷̮̑h̴̫͒e̸͇͌r̶̗͝ë̷̹ ̵̱̍t̵̑͜ö̶̲́ ̵̣͗s̵̭̿ṗ̸̰ĕ̸͓a̷̜̋k̴̫̓ ̸̪̽o̸̖̐n̸̩̒ ̸͙̚t̴͇̑h̷̳̔ȅ̸͕ ̵̤̍m̷͚̌a̵͈͐t̴̬̕t̷̩̐ē̵ͅȑ̵͕ ̴̯̑o̷̝͂f̸͕͂ ̷̧̾ṭ̸͝h̷͙̆e̷͍͠ ̴̠̎t̴͓̓á̷̟i̵̳͘l̵̆ͅe̵̝͂d̴̼͑ ̵̹͘b̵̙̈́e̸̼͐a̸̜͆s̵̮̆t̵̬̃s̸̻͗.̶̾͜.̶̠̕.̸̦̎.̸̤̽" his grin is vicious, and I swear as though I can see a bit of blood leaking out of his mouth. The clamor of the circle is as viscous and heavy as drowning in honey.

It's all silenced by the figure raising a hand.

"You don't carry good news. Why." It wasn't a question, rather a demand. Zetsu quickly knelt on the ground, bowing in the direction of the hidden figure appearing as small as possible.

"Ỉ̸̘t̸̃͠ͅ'̶̨͚͆s̵̡͛͝ ̵͕̍͛ḅ̴̀e̴̳͠ċ̵̹ả̴͔ǘ̴̫̩s̷̟͌̅ě̸̖ ̴̳͉̿ǫ̸͋f̴̩̏ ̸͖̌t̷̬̑h̶͚̣̆̕e̵̩̠͗ ̸̢̎͘ǹ̶̟i̸̝̬͗͛n̴̟͙̔͂e̴̹̐̀ ̵̳͙̈́̈́t̷̗̩͊̈́ā̷̭̹͒i̷̲͐̔l̴͉̏̋s̷̨̻͐́!̴͈̓̎ ̶̱̗̑̾S̴̳̓̚ő̸͕̜ ̷̙̩̃m̶͙̫̍̇u̶̹͋c̵͈͊h̶̖͆ ̸͉̞̈́̓B̸̙̯͌͝į̷͋̂j̵̪̝̾̒ű̸͉ ̵̥̇̓c̸͇͊h̸͇̪̏a̷͙̤̔̽k̵̬̚r̴̤̯͋̑ą̷̤̈́̈ ̷͕͈̋̓s̵̛̗̅c̷̻̑͒a̴̅͜͝t̶̨̽t̴̠͘̚e̴̩̬̎͗ŗ̶̲̅̍ė̵̮̜͋d̴̥̔̚ ̶̤̰͝ọ̷̔v̸̦̊͝ȅ̸̟͜r̶͈̄ͅ ̸͇̪͒ẗ̵͓̍h̴̹̍e̶̼̎ ̴̧̽̕ẃ̶̘̐ȍ̸̩͈r̶͉̆̀ļ̴́͑d̷̖͌͑ͅ ̸̨̳̄ỉ̵̛̱̱s̴̞̭̆̉ ̸̖̀̃m̷͎̽a̵̪̮͝ķ̸̬̀ȋ̶̳n̴̳̺̓̒g̷̝͑̓ ̴̥̻̒͋i̴̊̃͜t̸̀͜ ̸̬͍̏ä̶̲́l̷͎̿m̴̢̬͝o̶̟̓s̶͚̘̓̾t̸̗̐ ̶̩͘i̸̯̋̽m̷̘͛p̶̹̐ô̶͔s̴̡̮̽s̸̖̖̓͘i̴̗̯̽͝b̸̬̰̓l̵͙̈́̔e̷͎͎̐ ̷̨̫͐t̴̛̹̙̎o̶̭͠͝ ̷̤͍̌f̶̭̖͠i̷̧̘͊̓ǹ̷̖d̴̤̘̽̀ ̷͉̈́ť̸̫̳h̶̢̃̉e̶̺͌m̴͍̩̓.̸̬̞̎.̶̯̍͌.̶̗͆͠ ̴͚̈́͝Ŝ̴̠͔i̶̺͝r̷̘̎͆.̷̯͗͂" I can hear the weary sigh seem to echo through the chamber.

"Meeting adjourned, whilst I discover what the full problem." Zetsu sinks into the floor and the other figures begin to fade out of existence. My dream fades to black, not be remembered for years to come.

Notes:

I'm actually posting this a few days late as I'd wanted to do it on Litha (the summer solstice, which was June 21st). To note we did hit my goal of 1K hits by Litha though so I'm super happy.