Crossroads of Destiny

by The Vaudevillain Veteran

Shisui Uchiha gave his last remaining eye to Itachi Uchiha, and leapt off a cliff to end his life...only he instead found himself in Purgatory and informed by an Angel that the Chief God needed his skills to defeat the Demon Lord.

17. 17: Acquaintance from Long Ago

A/N: Hi guys The Vaudevillain Veteran here. I just wanted to say thank you to those who continue to read my story and also another thanks to those who review. The name of this chapter is a reference to my favourite song from Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. I hope you all love the chapter! Thank you and happy reading!

"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto croaked out.

"That I can give you whatever you desire. Power...wealth...anything you want my boy. So long as you vow to pledge allegiance to me I promise to fulfill all of your desires." Jashin happily answered Naruto.

"My...desires...?" Naruto asked again.

"Yes my boy. I have powers far greater than you can imagine my boy. Powers that can only become greater if you help me reclaim my throne..." Jashin monologued.

"Here...allow me to show you my power. Follow me outside." Jashin told Naruto to do. The son of the Fourth Hokage did as told and followed Jashin outside to the balcony of the Mizukage building.

Jashin smirked as he did various handsigns in quick succession and slammed his right hand onto the ground.

"Summoning! Impure World Resurrection!"

A wooden coffin rose up from the ground. The lid to said coffin immediately fell to the ground with a loud thump to reveal a woman with long red hair inside.

"N-naruto..." The woman uttered out upon her eyes darting towards the young blonde.

"M-mom...it's really you. Y-you're b-back." Naruto stammered out as he hugged the Edo Tensei of his mother.

"Naruto...my son...I'm sorry I couldn't...get to see you grow up..." Kushina muttered as she returned the hug. Kushina felt an overwhelming sense of joy at being reunited with the son she never got to meet. Her joy at seeing her son immediately turned into dread and suspicion when he sensed that something was off, namely her surroundings.

Why was she in the Village Hidden in the Mist? And more concerning why was Naruto here as well? Something was off, very off Kushina thought.

Then she sensed it, a chakra source so vile and corrupt that it made her stomach turn. The chakra source emitted from the white haired man standing behind her.

"Naruto! Go! You need to-"

Kushina's warning was interrupted by her turning into dust and disappearing into the wind.

"I'm sorry about that Naruto. That jutsu is not perfected yet so I cannot use it for very long." Jashin lied with a smile on his face.

"D'awww. I wish I could have gotten to know mom more." Naruto said sadly as he sat down, looking down upon the Hidden Mist village.

"Hehe. Don't worry Naruto. Once you join my side and help me defeat the Chief God and current Demon Lord I'll promise to find a way to bring your mother back permanently." Jashin told Naruto as he rubbed his head.

"R-really? You can do that?" Naruto asked the former Demon Lord in amazement.

"Of course I can. So long as you help me I can definitely do that my boy." Jashin confidently answered the boy.

"Lord Jashin." Nullus' voice spoke up.

"What is it Nullus." Jashin asked the masked man.

"Lord Pain has requested to speak with you in the Mizukage's office." Nullus formally answered.

"Hmm. I have to go now Naruto. Nullus, please escort Naruto to his sleeping chambers." Jashin ordered.

Jashin exited the balcony, making his way toward the Mizukage office. Arriving there he gently knocked on the door.

Going inside Jashin saw Pain and the Kaguya clan leader Yoshanai waiting for him.

"Lord Jashin." Yoshanai greeted Jashin with a respectful bow.

"Jashin. We need to talk." Pain went straight to the point, completely ignoring an introduction.

"Hmm. What is the matter Pain?" Jashin curiously asked the Akatsuki leader.

"I know that there is far more about this Chief God and Lilith that you are not telling me about and before we can further commence with our plans I want to know the full story of your world, why it is the way it is and most importantly how you ended up here." Pain explained to Jashin.

Jashin smirked. He had to admit he did admire Nagato's straightforwardness.

"Alright then, please sit down and allow me to explain everything to you in full." Jashin instructed.

Once the Akatsuki leader was seated Jashin sat down on the chair opposite him and began to explain everything that he knew.

"I already told you about how I was the former Demon Lord of my world, how the Chief God was secretly the one giving me and my kind instructions to kill humans and how a certain succubus and her human lover exiled me to this world yes?" Jashin asked Pain.

"Yes you did." Pain answered.

"Good. What I did not tell you was how a certain human, or should I say sage also helped Lilith overthrow me." Jashin said, piquing Pain's interest.

"And who might this individual be?" Pain asked.

"It was only a certain Hagoromo Otsutsuki, better known in your world as the Sage of Six Paths." Jashin revealed.

"Unbelievable. Are you saying the Sage of Six Paths helped this Lilith overthrow you? If so then why did he not help humanity find these 'mamono' if they truly loved humanity and only desired peace?" Pain asked again.

"It's simple really. Hagoromo never trusted humanity one bit to live peacefully amongst Lilith's whores. Despite helping that whore Lilith overthrow me because of her newfound love for humanity Hagoromo exiled himself to this world along with me to ensure that I never returned, hence why he destroyed any previous links between our worlds. Honestly I find it ironic that the Sage of Six Paths himself despite preaching peace and love deliberately barred the humans of this world from ever reaching my world since even he knew of man's innate cruel nature." Jashin monologued.

Pain's facial expression remained as emotionless as ever, Deep inside his mind though he was currently soaking in what Jashin had explained to him.

"I suppose I should not be surprised at the Sage distrusting humanity. Look at all the ruin the Five Great Shinobi nations have caused all around the world. This further supports my belief that eliminating the Chief God is for the greater good." Pain stated.

"Indeed. Once the Chief God is eliminated only Lilith will be left standing in our way." Jashin muttered in agreement with Pain.

(Meanwhile with Indra and Orochimaru...)

Orochimaru currently shifted through various files. While he was intrigued by the abilities the humans of these world had amused him he was disappointed that none of these human were anywhere near as special as an Uchiha.

Sighting softly he placed down his paperwork on his desk.

Orochimaru's mind: (Another failure it seems. The humans of this world are so pathetically weak even a team of Chunin could overthrow one of their cities with ease.)

The door creaked open behind Orochimaru. Looking behind he saw it was none other than Indra who had just entered.

"it's been a while Indra. What brings you here today?" Orochimaru asked.

"I've been scouring around Lescatie these last few days. That idiot king of theirs invited me to dinner last night and told me that today afternoon there shall be a parade followed by a "Heroes Ball." Indra explained.

"Hmmm? And what does this Heroes Ball have to do with us?" Orochimaru asked.

"Shisui will be there." Indra said, immediately piquing Orochimaru's attention.

"Go on." He ordered.

"He will be there at the parade this afternoon. I had contacted Nullus about an hour ago and informed him that his help will be needed. You and Nullus will first abduct and kill a random knight and the captain respectively and take on their disguise. You will notice that they will have these exploding sticks that if I remember correctly were called 'rifles'. I recommend asking Nullus how they work as I am not familiar with such a weapon. Once Nullus shows you how this rifle works you are both to impersonate the knight and captain you had both just killed. Merse will then order you to fire you rifle into the air three times. On the third time she instructs you to do so you will instead aim your rifle at any one of the three daughters of the King who will be in attendance and will be within shooting range. I will take care of the other daughter and the Queen while Nullus had personally requested to be the one to kill the King himself. In the ensuing chaos I can take down and kill Shisui and any of his annoying friends that try to interfere." Indra informed Orochimaru.

Orochimaru snickered then began chuckling like the madman he was.

"Oh Indra. This is such an ingenious plan." Orochimaru complemented Indra.

"Of course it is. Only the rightful heir to Ninshu could think of such a brilliant plan." Indra gloated.

"Lescatie has been tremendously weakened by the Demon Lord's forces converting Lescatie's forces to her side.. If we kill the Royal Family it's heroes and Shisui in broad daylight not only will it cause that decrepit city to crumble even further the three of us could even conquer it if everything goes exceptionally well." Indra stated.

"However...we should only do that once we've killed the Royal Family and Shisui. We first need to take out their strongest warriors first before we even think about taking over the city." Indra advised.

"Kukukuku. Indeed. If I may ask when will Nullus be here?" Orochimaru asked up.

"He will be here soon. In the meantime we shall wait."

And waited they did, for nearly an hour had passed before Nullus had finally arrived.

"What took you so long? We almost an hour for you." Indra angrily asked Nullus.

"Pain forced me to attend another one of his meetings. He told me that the entire Akatsuki will launch an invasion of Heaven to finally kill the Chief God once and for all." Nullus answered Indra.

"Ahhh. So he's finally going to kill that God now?" Indra asked in an amused tone.

"You are most correct. Now, what is it about this plan of yours that you need me for?" Nullus asked Indra.

Indra smirked and for the next hour explained his elaborate plan to assassinate Lescatie's royal family and Shisui in broad daylight. Once he was done explaining Nullus was completely livid at the prospect at crippling one of the Order's last strongholds.

"This afternoon then, when the parade starts we will strike. In the meantime I need to head back to the Mist village, but before I do there is something I need to ask you Orochimaru." Nullus said.

"Hmmm? What is it?" The sannin asked.

"Is Vermut still alive?" Nullus asked him.

"The blonde woman? Oh yes she certainly is, albeit barely. I have to admit that I never expected her to last as long as she did. She sure is a tough one." Orochimaru stated.

"Good. Because on my way here I just realised that she still more useful to us alive than dead." Nullus answered.

"How so?" Indra now asked.

"I know a wealthy sultan living in the Desert region who rules over a city state named Shaharraq. He has a lot of bad blood with the Order, especially Lescatie since he went to war with them and lost and thus was forced to pay a hefty tribute to them. If we present to him Vermut we can sell her to him as a slave for a very good price and earn his allegiance in return." Nullus explained.

Indra looked intrigued at Nullus' proposal while Orochimaru was beaming from ear to ear.

"That sounds like a good plan Nullus." Orochimaru stated.

"I agree with Orochimaru. Selling her as a slave can also help build up our wealth and also..." Indra drifted off as he unsheathed his sword.

"It's a fate befitting of those lowlife fools." He finished.

Orochimaru escorted Nullus and Indra to the back of his lab where he conducted his "experiments". The stench of dead bodies caught Indra by surprise, making him cough at the terrible smell. Nullus was unfazed due to wearing his mask.

"Here she is. Still as alive as ever." Orochimaru stated as he opened the cage where a weakened and bloodied Vermut lay. She tried to attack Orochimaru to no avail as the legendary sannin swiftly caught her hand placed it behind her back.

"Heretics! All of you! You may take my life today but the Chief God will bring down swift justice upon you all!" Vermut bellowed out.

Nullus and Indra simply stared at her as if she were a madwoman, with the former caressing her cheek.

"You're the only one so far to survive Orochimaru's experiments Vermut. But I've decided that as miserable as your existence is there is still a purpose for you in this world." Nullus calmly stated as he stared at Vermut.

"What do you mean I still have a purpose?" Vermut asked with authority in her voice.

"We have decided that we will sell you to the Sultan of Shaharraq as a sex slave." Nullus announced with glee in his voice.

Vermut's eyes widened. To be sold as a sex slave to the Sultan who hated Lescatie almost as much as this masked man chilled her to the core. She would rather accept death by the hands of these men than to live a half life as a wealthy Sultans object of sexual desire.

"What's wrong? You look nervous Vermut. Surely being amongst your fellow humans is much better than living amongst the mamono right?" Nullus sarcastically asked.

"Not with those non-believers who reject the Chief God! They are just as barbaric and uncivlised as those monsters! The ruler of that godforsaken city is corrupt to the core, treats women as second class citizens and has been responsible for kidnapping many of our merchants and diplomats who crossed the desert he rules over!" Verumut stated.

"And tell me Vermut. How is Lescatie any better when they are just as corrupt? The Order and Lescatie are just as violent and barbaric as Shaharraq when you and your fellow Orderites mercilessly killed innocent mamono and sometimes even tortured them to gain information from them?" Nullus quipped back.

Vermut twitched her bruised eye before speaking eye.

"The monsters only want to drive humanity to extinction! Most of the soldiers in the Order are honest men and women! Yes while there are some bad apples in the bunch that doesn't mean that we are all the same! We only want to live peaceful lives undisturbed but the monsters all want to turn us into their own kind against our will! The Order is only doing what is must to ensure that our family and species remain safe and away from harm! Those monsters only want to rule over us and make us their objects! They don't care about humanity's future and they are also rapists of-"

Nullus now grabbed Vermut by the neck and even through his mask Vermut could sense the hate behind them.

"Humanity? Humanity can burn in hell for all I care!" Nullus screamed as he punched Vermut in the stomach.

"Humans are nothing but self serving pieces of trash that deserve to die!" Nullus spat out as he punched Vermut in the mouth with such force that he knocked out one of her teeth, causing her to bleed profusely from her mouth.

With a third powerful strike to the head Nullus sent Vermut falling to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Indra and Orochimaru watched on amusement and awe.

"(Cough) W-why d-do you hate h-humans so much when you are one yourself? Remember when you were one of us? Sasha's mother took you in and cared for you when you were an orphan living on the streets, she fed you and treated you right. How could you ignore that, Da-"

A hard kick to the head by Nullus caused Vermut to immediately go into a frantic seizure. Indra looked on in sheer indifference while Orochimaru looked on in surprise.

"She'll come to. Once she does heal her up. After all, we can't bring damaged goods to the sultan right gentlemen?" Nullus said to the two men.

(Some time later...)

Nullus, Indra and Orochimaru traversed through the scorching desert, named the Scorched basin by it's native inhabitants. Nullus thought that the name was rather mediocre and lazy. Knowing the terrain rather well due to previous endeavors here Nullus advised the two to ride on Camels. Not surprisingly both men looked at him in bewilderment at what he was talking about until he pointed out how useful camels are in traversing the desert. Vermut meanwhile was tied up on the Camel Nullus rode on and, to ensure she did not die of heatstroke or thirst before they reached Shaharraq placed a canopy over his camel to provide shade for Vermut and carried with him plenty of water.

"How much longer until we reach the city?" Indra asked impatiently.

"We're almost there." Nullus answered.

"Hmmm. This desert reminds me a lot of the Land of Wind. And these headpieces, I believe they are called keffiyehs? They are very similar to what the Sand shinobi used to wear." Orochimaru commented.

Finally after another 10 minutes of silence the trio could see in the distance majestic towers encircled by a large wall.

"There is Shaharraq." Nullus announced.

"It looks rather impressive I must say." Indra commented.

Arriving at the city's gates two guards wearing loose dark green robes unsheathed their curved swords and began shouting at the trio in a language neither Indra nor Orochimaru understood.

"Ma hu eamaluk huna!" One of the guards yelled.

"Masa' alkhayri. Nahn huna linajlib sahib alsumui almalakii alsultan Tahir wahidatan min 'arqaa almahziaat min 'ard alnizam." Nullus replied back in this foreign language.

One of the guards looked at the unconscious Vermut that rested upon the back of Nullus' camel, after inspecting it he replied back to Nullus and gave him a thumbs up.

Once the trio were cleared to enter the city Indra was amazed at the architecture of Shaharraq.

"Amazing. I have never seen such architecture like this back in my world." Indra lamented.

"The city is rather impressive from the outside. But do not be fooled, it is just as rotten to the core as Lescatie." Nullus warned the two.

Indra and Orochimaru nodded in agreement as they made their way towards the grand palace that lay in the centre of Shaharraq. Of course they were accompanied by guards, some of whom looked at Orochimaru with nothing but contempt.

(Inside the palace...)

The trio were escorted to the Sultan's champers by the guards. Indra as usual was expressionless and Orochimaru was like a child in the candy store. Orochimaru noticed that unlike the guards who watched over Shaharraq's outer walls the guards that protected the palace wore a black mesh armour and adorned a black rectangular hat on their heads. Not to mention they too wore masks and carried rifles on their person.

Two of these black clothed guards opened the door that Nullus assumed was the entrance to the Sultan's chamber.

His assumption was correct as beyond the great oaken doors was the Sultan of Shaharraq currently laughing and talking with his many concubines,

"As-salamu malaikum sultan Shaharraq aleazim." Nullus formally greeted the sultan.

"Tahiaati ghuribi. 'Illaa madha 'udin bisharaf ziaratik li fi ghurati alyawm." The sultan confidently answered Nullus.

"Ladaya wahidat min 'afdal alnisa' min Leskati 'urid 'an 'ubieak lak kawahidat min 'afdal mahziaatik." Nullus told the sultan as he presented Vermut to the sultan.

The sultan smiled as he analysed Vermut. Her clothes were a bit ragged and possessed dried blood stains, but other than that she was in perfect condition.

Vermut attempted to headbutt the sultan to no avail, as he simply dodged it.

"My my. You are certainly a woman with a very strong spirit." The sultan said in a thick Arabic accent as he caressed Vermut's face.

"Don't you dare touch me you filthy moon worshipping infidel!" Vermut spat out.

The Sultan was unfazed by Vermut's insults and merely continued to smile.

"But I already am. I know who you are Vermut of Lescatie. Such a proud warrior who diligently followed the teaching of her God. I know you were instrumental in Shaharraq's defeat to Lescatie and I lost many good soldiers to your sword." The Sultan commented as his eyes met Vermut's hateful glare.

"Oh don't think that I forgot what you and your Order brethren did to my Janissaries in Akreo. Impaling their bodies on spikes on the outside of the city to intimidate us. I could and have every reason to kill you where you stand but..." the Sultan trailed off as he groped Vermut's breasts.

"I think it would be more satisfying to defile one the Chief God's warriors myself! As my personal concubine!" The sultan happily exclaimed.

"Your majesty, with all due respect does that mean we have a deal?" Nullus asked the Sultan.

"Yes we do. I will give you 25,000 Gold Dinars for Vermut." The Sultan cheerfully answered.

"Excellent. Are there any other women of Lescatie you would desire your highness?" Nullus asked the Sultan again.

"If you can bring me Wilmarina or any of Lescatie's princesses, I will increase my price to 50,000 Gold Dinars for them each." The Sultan replied back.

"And what about heroes such as Sasha Fullmoon, Merse Descaros and Mimil Miltie?" Indra now spoke up.

"Hmm. I will give you 40,000 Gold Dinars if you can bring me either Sasha or Merse. But I will not give you any Gold Dinars for Mimil for even though I myself hate the Order for the suffering they have brought upon the people of my city I will not stoop so low as to molest a child." The Sultan sternly answered Indra.

Indra for a moment looked shocked at the sultan's answer before regaining his usual stoic disposition. He silently admitted to himself that he did gain a little bit of respect for the sultan for not stooping to such a horrendous low such as pedophilia.

"You are an honourable man for not allowing yourself to steep to such lows your majesty. I truly must applaud you for that." Indra complemented the Sultan.

"Why thank you young man. Your name is-"

"Indra Otsutsuki." Indra introduced himself.

"Indra. A pleasure to meet you. Judging by your physical appearance you do look like you come from the land of the Order but yet your name sounds like one from Zipangu. How is that so if I may ask?" The Sultan curiously asked Indra.

"You see your majesty my father was a native Zipanguese man and my mother was from Dunia, the lands of the Order. My father exiled me from the house because he favoured my younger brother over me. I stowed myself away on a ship headed to the lands of the Order and I was discovered by a sailor. I displayed my magical abilities to the sailor as a means to defend myself and the sailor was so impressed that he took me to Polove when it was still under the control of the Order and I was immediately made to become a hero there." Indra lied.

"I see. I see. I will say it was smart of you to betray that rotting corpse for me my boy. If you stay with me I promise that good times are ahead of you." The Sultan boasted.

Indra half smiled.

"Thank you, your majesty." Indra muttered out.

"It is my pleasure. Now then, you are all dismissed." The sultan stated.

(With Nullus...)

Nullus breathed in the fresh spring air. The forests surrounding Lescatie were always a sight to behold.

Teleporting a good distance away Nullus arrived at the edge of a cliff that held a majestic view of the forest below and also of Lescatie. Nullus heard soft sobbing nearby. Looking forward he saw that it came from a certain green haired elf girl currently sat on the cliffside and had not even noticed Nullus' presence.

"Hello Primera." Nullus calmly introduced himself as he sat next to the Half Elf girl.

"Y-you! What are you doing here?" Primera barked out, standing up to create as much distance between herself and Nullus as possible.

"Please calm down. I have no intention of harming you." Nullus calmly answered.

He didn't notice it at first, but Nullus could see that three black comma marks were on Primera's neck.

Nullus' mind: (No doubt that's Orochimaru's work. I have to find a way to remove that mark off her.)

"I know what you did to those people that day murderer! You murdered all of those innocents simply for being human! Are you here to kill me as well because I'm half human?" Primera accusingly asked Nullus.

"No. I do not intend to do that to you Primera since your Elven blood keeps you innocent and untainted from human evil. You may not believe me but I saw how those villagers treated you like garbage for something that was out of your control." Nullus told Primera.

"What do you mean? Have you been watching me this whole time? How long? Tell me!" Primera ordered.

"For a long time Primera. You may have known me many years ago as someone different...someone whom I have since rejected. In my twenty four years of life I have learnt first hand just how cruel, two faced, arrogant and barbaric humans are." Nullus said.

"And what is your point masked man? That I abandon the Order and join the monsters?" Primera asked him.

"Yes. The monsters do not judge you like humans do, and they will accept you with open arms. Go to them, I promise they will treat you right and help rid you of that curse mark. My only remaining advice I can give you is to not let the hatred consume you how it did to me." Nullus said woefully.

Primera stared at Nullus whilst he spoke and even after he finished. Something about him didn't make sense. Whoever he was he was hellbent on ensuring the Order's destruction and humanity's extinction? Just what had happened to him that had made him so hateful of humanity? Even despite her own negative experiences with most humans in Lescatie Primera knew that there were still good humans such as Elt and Sasha who treated her as an equal and never judged her for her Elven heritage. This man however did not see that, and it was a question she deeply desired to be answered.

"I will not join those perverted fiends. I've already made up my mind that I...I will make my way to Akreo." Primera stated.

"Akreo? Why that city? It is a place only filled with misery and ruins." Nullus asked Primera.

"Because I would rather live in a city that is still watched over by the Chief God then ever live with those monsters. Even if it was recently retaken from that hedonistic Sultan of Shaharraq and still lay mostly in ruins. I know there the priests will help cleanse me of this evil mark given to me by that white snake." Primera stubbornly answered.

Nullus sighed. Primera's stubbornness was certainly a handful.

"But before you ask me any more questions, I want to ask you one. Are you...human?" Primera muttered out.

"Unfortunately I am." Nullus answered.

"If you are human, then why do you loathe your own species so much?" Primera curiously asked him.

"Because like I said earlier I have seen the true nature of man first hand. Once upon a time I used to be a dutiful but foolish soldier of the Order who naively believed in the so called "good" of man and the Chief God and that monsters were unquestionably evil. Then little by little I saw the cracks in the wall. Humans judging one another because of their societal status and the colour of their skin. Priests preaching love peace and humility while embezzling public funds to build their own mansions while the poor starved. Human women deluding themselves into being the victim of oppression and objectification by their male counterparts where if the roles were reversed they would be no different. Humans have perfected the ability to be hypocritical pieces of shit and still believe themselves to be the victim when they are rightfully called out for how inherently violent and shallow their species are." Nullus monologued.

Nullus breathed in deep again to regain his composure before speaking again.

"I think you're wrong about humans. Yes there are some bad ones there but there also good humans who can do real good for others without anything in return." Primera answered.

"Hmmm? And who might those humans be?" Nullus asked Primera.

"Not that you care for them, but their names are Elt and Sasha." Primera replied.

"And if you even think about touching even a hair on them I will hunt you down and kill you myself masked man." Primera added.

"Elt, Sasha. Those are names I know all too well." Nullus said.

"What do you mean?" Primera asked him.

"Let's just say I was an acquaintance from long ago. But that's not important anymore." Nullus replied back.

Looking at his right hand he saw that his Akatsuki ring was glowing again, signaling that Pain was summoning him for yet another meeting.

"That is all Primera. Before I go want you to please head my advice before it's too late." Nullus warned the Half Elf, teleporting away shortly after.

(Back the Hidden Mist Village, Several Hours later...)

A large troop of Hidden Leaf shinobi accompanied by some Mist ninja who survived the Kaguya Clan's takeover of the Mist, now dubbed the "Massacre of the Mist." Standing there on top of the Mizukage building were Jashin and Yoshanai looking down below on various soldiers who currently standing there.

"The Fourth Hokage has arrived and has brought with him some unlikely allies Lord Jashin." Yoshanai commented.

"Indeed he has Lord Mizukage. Let us ask him what personally brings him here shall we?" Jashin smugly said to Yoshanai.

"Minato Namikaze. The Fourth Hokage of the Village Hidden of the Leaves. What if I may ask brings you here?" Jashin sarcastically asked Minato.

"You know exactly why I'm here! Give me back my son!" Minato angrily yelled from below.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Minato Minato Minato. Have you sunken so low that you've requested assistance from the likes of Zabuza Momochi and the Demon Brothers? I honestly expected better of you than to ally yourself with such lowlifes." Jashin taunted.

"You dare talk as though this is your village! I'll cut you up into pieces you piece of trash!" Zabuza declared.

"The likes of you don't deserve to stand on the Mizukage building and continue to drag this great village's name through the mud!" The younger twin Meizu passionately stated.

"I don't know who you are or what your intentions are. But if you so much as even think about touching a hair on my son's head I'll kill you where you stand!" Minato declared taking out his signature three pointed kunai.

"(Chuckle) If you want your son that badly why don't you back up your threats and challenge me to a duel Minato?" Jashin said.

"Gladly." Minato uttered out as true to his name, he disappeared in a yellow flash of light.

"Yoshanai. You will keep Zabuza and his little entourage distracted. I want to deal with Minato personally." Jashin stated.

"Yeeees! Anything for you Lord Jashin!" Yoshanai replied back in a almost psychotic tone as he descended from the balcony of the Mizukage tower to face Zabuza and the Demon Brothers.

"Those who dare defy the Kaguya Clan and Lord Jashin shall pay the price with their lives!." Yoshanai fanatically declared to Zabuza and the Demon Brothers.

"A savage like you doesn't deserve to wear the Mizukage hat!" Zabuza snapped back.

"You think so, Demon of the Mist? I remember how you along with that pathetic Yagura persecuted us Kaguya. How rich that Yagura, the one who implemented the death match graduation exams called us savages when he along with the rest of you and your precious little swordsmen were no better than us!" Yoshanai retorted.

"Gozu! Meizu! You know what to do!" Zabuza instructed his two subordinates.

"Yes Zabuza-sama!" The Demon brothers replied in unison as they outstretched their connected chain, running toward Yoshanai to ensnare and tear him apart with their chains.

The chain of the Demon Brothers was almost at arm's length from Yoshanai's face when time around them seemed to slow down. The Demon Brothers looked to see Yoshanai smiling in a psychotic matter whilst holding his breath in.

"Wind Style! Vacuum Blast Barrage!"

The resulting shockwave sent both the Demon Brothers flying into a nearby building, leaving only Zabuza to face the leader of the Kaguya clan alone.

Meanwhile on the rooftop of the Mizukage building Minato and Jashin were currently engaged in an intense class of blades.

"You've got a lot of nerve challenging a Demon Lord Minato." Jashin commented.

"I am quite confident I can take you down." Minato replied.

"Hmmm? And what makes you so confident you can do that?" Jashin asked Minato.

"With this." Minato quipped back as he teleported above Jashin.

"Flying Raijin: Level 2!"

Minato beelined down on Jashin, hitting him directly with his Rasengan.

Jashin laid on the floor for approximately five seconds, before getting up again and dusting off his clothes.

"That is a rather neat trick of yours Minato, but now it is my turn." Jashin commented.

Minato's eyes widened as he saw the former Demon Lord morphed his right arm into a gun. From his arm gun Jashin fired a beam of energy at Minato. Much to Jashin's chargin Minato dodged the attack in the knick of time.

"I must say you do not disappoint Yellow Flash of the Leaf." Jashin congratulated.

"But..." Jashin added, as he grabbed Minato's arm.

"That little trick of yours cannot work on me twice." Jashin finished as he outstretched his other arm to absorb Minato's Rasengan.

"Impossible! How did you do that!?" Minato asked in disbelief.

"Through the Preta Path which allows me to absorb all Ninjutsu." Jashin explained.

Jashin then grabbed Minato by the throat and hoisted him up into the air. Jashin and Minato's gaze met one another with both equally seething for hatred of one another.

The more he looked into his eyes the more Jashin was reminded of him. His whole demeanor, appearance and personality, everything about Minato reminded Jashin of Lilith's human husband. One of the three people who were responsible for him losing his throne and being exiled to this godforsaken world.

"I failed to kill you then...now I won't make the same mistake. I'll make sure to take my time killing you." Jashin said to Minato as he tightened his grip around Minato's neck.

Punching Minato square in the stomach, Jashin chuckled sadistically as the Fourth Hokage coughed up a little blood from his strike.

Jashin then threw Minato into the side of a nearby building and began pummeling him mercilessly to the point where Minato's body became lodged on the side of the building.

Five minutes of consecutive punches to the stomach Jashin stepped back to look at his handiwork. The Fourth Hokage lay against the wall battered and bleeding from his mouth.

"Is that all the mighty Yellow Flash of the Leaf has to offer? I must say I'm rather disappointed." Jashin asked Minato.

"N-no!" Minato cried out as a gush of wind erupted from his body, surprising the former Demon Lord.

Minato's eyes were now a pale yellow and had a straight black horizontal line on his irises.

"The legendary Sage Mode. Now this will be a good fight." Jashin happily commented.

Minato did not reply to Jashin's comment and merely threw six kunai that seemed to almost encircle Jashin.

As expected Jashin dodged the kunai with ease.

"You're going to have to try harder than that Fourth Hokage." Jashin taunted Minato.

"Flying Raijin: Level 3!"

Multiple overlapping voices of Minato said in unison as they all encircled Jashin, all with a giant Rasengan in hand.

Jashin's mind: (Damn that Minato! He never intended to hit me with his kunai! They were all decoys!)

"Almighty Push!" Jashin cried out as true to the jutsu's name, a large shockwave pushed away all of the Minato clones and Minato himself.

Minato looked on in surprise as his clones all poofed away simultaneously. He was now asking himself just who the hell was this man. With one jutsu he completely stopped his Flying Raijin: Level 3.

Minato's mind: (I need to end this fight quickly.)

"I've had enough of toying around with you Minato. Universal Pull!" Jashin cried out as Minato's body beelined towards Jashin's outstretched hand.

Jashin again hoisted the Fourth Hokage up in the air, smug about his victory over the legendary Yellow Flash of Konoha.

"I was thinking just now Minato, how about we propose a deal? If you ally Konoha with me and my forces I will return your son safe and sound. Do we have a deal?" Jashin asked Minato.

"I know what you are thinking. It's pointless. I've removed the mark you placed on Naruto. The only way you can get to him is fighting your past all of my men guarding a secure location where I placed him." Jashin arrogantly told Minato.

Minato groaned, his airways blocked by Jashin's hand gripping his throat. He stopped and look down at Jashin, smiling.

"Why are you smiling Minato? Are you so happy to accept death?" Jashin asked him in an irritated tone.

"No it's not that. Let's just say I finally have what I am looking for." Minato smugly answered Jashin.

"Huh? What do you-"

Jashin never got to finish his sentence as Minato disappeared in a flash of yellow.

"Where did he...Nooooooooo!"

(With Minato...)

Minato teleported to a location on the other side of the Hidden Mist. Currently he was in a back alley next to the Demon Brothers whom he had put teleportation formulas on.

"Gozu! Meizu! Do you have Naruto?" Minato asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes we do Lord Hokage." Gozu answered.

Both Demon Brothers stepped aside to reveal a confused and scared Naruto looking around.

"D-dad!" Naruto squealed in joy as he ran towards his father, hugging him tightly.

"And where is Zabuza?" Minato asked the twins.

"He managed to successfully escape earlier Lord Fourth." Gozu answered Minato

"Good (sigh). Thank you, the both of you. I promise that once the mission is complete you will be rewarded handsomely for this." Minato said to the Demon Brothers.

In the corner of his eyes Minato noticed that standing behind the Demon Brothers was a masked man. More specifically the same one he saw on the night the Uchiha clan departed Konoha.

"You! What business do you have here?" Minato asked Nullus.

"He's the one who helped us take down all of those men Lord Fourth." Gozu explained.

"What? How? And why?" Minato asked with suspicion evident in his voice.

"Let's just say that it better suits my plans that Jashin does not indoctrinate your boy into his cult Minato." Nullus casually explained.

"What do you mean? Explain yourself!" Minato demanded as he held a kunai to the Masked Man's throat.

"I'd love to Minato. But unfortunately a certain Jashin is on his way right now to kill you if you don't leave. Until next time." Nullus excused himself in a sarcastic tone as he teleported away from the back alley.

Minato looked above to see that indeed that same white haired man he had fought earlier had spotted him. And to say he was furious was an understatement. Minato gulped, he hadn't felt fear like this in a very long time.

"Naruto! Gozu! Meizu! Grab a hold of me!" Acting on his quick instincts, Minato ordered Naruto and the Demon Brothers to grab a hold of his body.

Jashin's hand was inches from Minato's face before Minato, Naruto and the Demon Brothers disappeared right before he could reach them.

Jashin landed on the spot where Minato had just been less than a second ago. His anger was such that even the Kaguya clan member accompanying him back away out of fear.

"Damn you to hell Minato!" Jashin screamed out aloud for all in the Land of Water to hear him.

Turning his gaze at the terrified Kaguya clan member Jashin grabbed him by his collar.

"How could you allow him to reach the brat!? I blessed you all with my gift and yet you couldn't stop him!?" Jashin bellowed out.

"I don't know what happened Lord Jashin! I swear we had the boy secured we-"

Jashin's hand began to glow as the Kaguya clan's member's tongue was elongated to supernaturally long lengths. Behind Jashin the King of Hell emerged to drain the clan member's life force.

Those who were unfortunate enough to witness in the event were frozen in fear at what they had just witnessed.

"Just as worthless as Kimimaro. All of you. The warp gate is almost ready. You are all to inform Pain that he is to be here tomorrow at the latest and if my orders are not followed or one of you comes with an excuse I will kill you on the spot. Am I understood?" Jashin instructed/warned his followers.

"Understood Lord Jashin!"

(With Shisui...)

"Hey sleepyhead...it's time to wake up...I brought you breakfast..."

Shisui's eyes hazily fluttered open to see none other than Ghilanna standing by his bedside smiling and with a tray of food in her hands.

"Morning Ghilanna." Shisui greeted the Elf woman.

"Good Morning Shisui. How did you sleep?" Ghilanna warmly asked him.

"Good. (Yawn) Man I gotta admit this bed has gotta be the most comfortable one I've ever slept on!" Shisui jovially said.

"Here. Why not try the breakfast I made you? It's pancakes with a special honey Lady Maylin purchased from one of the neighbouring Bee Hives." Ghilanna jovially stated.

Once he was done eating Ghilanna told Shisui that Maylin, Itachi, Izumi and his parents were currently waiting for him in Maylin's guest room.

15 mintues later Shisui had finally arrived with Ghilanna to the guest room to see that they were indeed waiting for him.

"Good moring everyone." Shisui greeted.

"Good morning to you as well Shisui. I am sorry for having Ghilanna waking you up earlier than usual." Maylin apologised.

"It's no biggie. After all she did tell me it was matter concerning Itachi." Shisui stated.

"Hmmm. You really do care about Itachi a lot huh Shisui?" Maylin playfully asked Shisui.

"Of course I do! He's like a little brother to me, so I have to look out for him." Shisui happily said as he flashed a grin.

Fugaku coughed to gain everyone's attention.

"Lady Maylin. I mean no impoliteness whatsoever but I would greatly appreciate that you told Shisui the true reason he was summoned here." Fugaku sternly said.

Shisui's mind: (Lord Fugaku always as serious as ever. I guess some things never change.)

"Ah yes. I have discovered that Itachi has a terminal illness that if left untreated will slowly kill him. However earlier this morning Itachi's parents agreed to allow me to turn him into an Incubus to cure his illness. He was initially nervous to do the procedure alone so he had requested that you all be with him.." Maylin happily said.

Shisui smiled as he placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder.

"Don't worry Itachi. We're all here for you no matter what." Shisui reassured his best friend.

"Thank you Shisui." Itachi muttered back.

"Itachi. Are you ready to begin?" Maylin asked him.

"Yes I am." Itachi answered confidently.

"Good. Now just close your eyes Itachi...and this will be over soon." Maylin instructed Itachi to do.

Following her orders, Itachi closed his eyes. At first he felt a sensation similar to warm water being poured down his back. The sensation at first felt relaxing then nearly a minute later he felt as though his energy levels had doubled. To the others though they could see a purplish red energy emmitting from Maylin's hands and into Itachi's body.

The entire ordeal lasted less than five minutes with Maylin's energy finally ceasing to flow into Itachi's body. When Itachi opened his eyes again and looked around the first thing Shisui noticed was-

"Itachi! The lines on your face! They're gone!" Shisui exclaimed in amazement.

"Shisui is right Itachi! Your stress lines are no longer on your face!" Izumi said as she hugged Itachi.

"Amazing. I did not know that incubisation would do that to me. Even my eyes, they feel better even Izumi." Itachi said.

"Hmmm. If my theory is correct then upon incubisation Itachi's Sharingan should be far more powerful now. Itachi, would you please activate your Sharingan?" Maylin kindly asked Itachi.

Itachi activated his Sharingan per Maylin's request. Shisui and Izumi gaped in amazement to see that instead of the usual three tomoe Sharingan Itachi's Sharingan now possessed four tomoe.

"Amazing..." Shisui muttered in disbelief.

"It's just like I had theorised. The Chief God had been deliberately holding back your full potential. And with incubisation all restrictions have been lifted, hence why your now have a four tomoe Sharingan Itachi." Maylin commented.

"It seems you are most correct Lady Maylin. If Itachi now has a four tomoe Sharingan does that mean he will never go blind from using his Mangekyo Sharingan?" Fugaku asked.

"He will not Lord Fugaku. The light in Itachi's eyes will never fade from this moment forward." Maylin assured the leader of the Uchiha clan.

"Good. Thank you for curing my son of his illness Lady Maylin, and of course for offering my clan a new home." Fugaku thanked Maylin which he accompanied with a low respectful bow.

"It is my pleasure Lord Fugaku." Maylin answered him.

Shisui meanwhile watched the entire exchange in complete silence. He had even believed that everyone had forgotten about him until Ghilanna called to him. As what had become normal to the young Uchiha now, Ghilanna held both her arms around his neck. Itachi, Izumi and Itachi's parents excused themselves, albeit not without Itachi saying goodbye to Shisui.

"So Shisui. If incubisation could make Itachi's Sharingan more powerful that would do the same to yours right? And that ability of your Mangekyo Sharingan, Kotoamastukami, would you be able to use whenever you desire to?" Ghilanna asked Shisui.

"I suppose so. I don't see why it couldn't." Shisui honestly answered.

"So then why not just become an incubus now?" Ghilanna asked Shisui.

"It's because if I become an incubus now I will effectively be barred from ever entering Lescatie as long as it remains in the hands of the Order. If I were to become and incubus and the knights of the Order learnt that I am also allied with the mamono they will try and harm anyone close to me." Shisui doefully answered.

"I see... I know how close you are with Sasha and her orphans, so you don't want to endanger their lives." Ghilanna muttered out.

"Exactly. I made a vow to myself I would protect everyone close to me with my life." Shisui confidently stated.

"It's been almost two days since you were last in Lescatie. Don't you think you should go back there? After all I'm sure Sasha and the orphans will be excited to see you again." Ghilanna suggested.

"You're right. I suppose I should. You don't mind if I go do you?" Shisui politely asked Ghilanna.

"Of course I don't silly!" Ghilanna cheerfully replied.

"Alright. I'll make sure I send my best regards to you Ghilanna." SHisui answered.

"And to you as well Maylin." He added, earning a small smile from the Elf Queen.

Grabbing the artefact Maylin gifted him, Shisui used it to teleport back to his house in Lescatie.

Arriving back in Lescatie Shisui was glad to see his house was still in the same condition he left it in two days prior.

Walking downstairs and exiting his house Shisui brushed past the busy crowds of Lescatie. It had only taken him 15 minutes to reach Sasha's orphanage.

Shisui did not even need to knock on the door, for when he was less than 5 metres away he noticed various children peering outside the orphanage's windows.

The door was hastily swung upon by the children who all gathered around Shisui, eager to meet him again.

"Hey everyone." Shisui greeted the children.

"And no, I didn't forget about you Jennifer." Shisui said as he playfully rubbed said girl's head.

"My my. You children surely do know how to leave a ruckus in your wake." Sasha stated, making her away outside last.

"Shisui. What brings you here today?" Sasha warmly asked the young Uchiha.

"Morning Sasha." Shisui greeted the nun.

"Good morning Shisui, how are you today?" Sasha greeted him back.

"A little stuck here but alright." Shisui commented as the children still continued to gather around him.

"Ah, I can see. The chilren surely adore you Shisui." Sasha said.

"They do. They-"

"Look everyone! It's an angel of Eros!" One of the children yelled as he pointed toward a woman with dark skin and pink hair firing bows at people.

"Interesting. I never knew Lady Eros would send her angels for the Heroes Ball today." Sasha commented.

"The heroes ball is today?" Shisui asked.

"Yes it is. Don't tell me you forgot Shisui." Sasha accusingly asked Shisui.

"I uh...actually did forget, sorry." Shisui said sheepishly.

Sasha merely nodded her head in amusement. Shisui's antics were truly hilarious sometimes.

"I wish we could talk some more Shisui but I have paperwork to compele before the ball this afternoon." Sasha regrettably told Shisui.

"That's alright. I'll see you until then Sasha." Shisui replied.

"I'm sorry kids but I have a few errands I need to run." Shisui apologised to the children as he released their grip on him.

Curious Shisui decided to walk up to the servant of Eros since he had never seen one before.

"So why are you shooting those people with arrows?" Shisui asked the angel.

"I am a Cupid. My duty is to bring out the inner love of a man and a woman so that they may forever be joined together." The Cupid answered.

"I have two types of arrows that I use. My golden arrows have the power to make those who are shot to swell up with love and my black arrows that cause those who are hit with it to be overcome with a deep sense of loss and will inevitable begin to desire love from another." The Cupid explained to Shisui.

"I myself can sense if one holds a deep love for another and you..." The Cupid trailed off as she analysed Shisui with a worried look.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Shisui asked the cupid.

"I sense a deep love within you. There is a woman you love with all your heart but she loves another man." The Cupid sadly admitted.

"Loves another man?" Shisui said confused.

"You will understand soon enough. I'm sorry Shisui." The Cupid muttered out as she fired a black arrow at Shisui.

The black arrow hit Shisui in the shoulder. It did not hurt at all but the emotions that flooded him did. True to the Cupid's words he felt sad for some reason.

"It's effect is not permanent. Once you have accepted she will never love you then you can move on." The Cupid advised Shisui as she flied toward another part of Lescatie.

(A few hours later...)

Nullus and Orochimaru stood around two unconscious guards. Currently they were in an abandoned building in Lescatie's poor district.

"Kukuku...these rifles never fail to impress me." Orochimaru happily commented as he picked up a rifle.

"Just keep to the plan Orochimaru. Do not act suspicious and do everything I do. We only have one shot at this and we cannot screw this up lest we want to both fail our mission and be in the gallows awaiting our deaths." Nullus told Orochimaru.

"I am a veteran shinobi, this is like a walk in the park to me." Orochimaru arrogantly stated.

"Good. You are familiar with how to use that right?" Nullus asked Orochimaru as he finished putting on the guard's clothes.

"I am." Orochimaru said.

"Good. Now we will just need to meet up with Indra so he can cast his genjutsu to keep Shisui distracted." Nullus answered.

"Shisui was renowned as one of the strongest genjutsu users of his time. Do you really think Indra's genjutsu will fool him?" Orochimaru asked Nullus.

"It will for unlike Shisui Indra is descended from a celestial. Now let's get going, and let's not forget to dump their bodies in the lake first." Nullus ordered.

(Some time later...)

Shisui along with all of the heroes of Lescatie were currently gathered in the upper class district of Lescatie. As is tradition in Lescatie there is a parade where the entire royal family greets everyone in Lescatie.

The king waved to the populace from his carriage and so did the Queen. Arriving in front of the cathedral of Lescatie they were escorted out of their carriages by some of the armed guards where Indra, in his "Lars Ravenwillow" persona cheerily greeted them as they walked towards him.

"Good people of Lescatie! I know that the war against the monsters has left us all on edge, especially as of late with recent terrorists such as the masked man attempting to intimidate us to surrender. This ball shall continue as it always has as a sign that we has a nation are not afraid! Long live Lescatie!" King Castor passionately declared.

"Long live Lescatie!" Everyone else yelled in unison.

"Now, for the three volley saulte for our fallen comrades. Lady Merse if you may." King Castor stated.

Six armed soldiers neatly line up 5 metres away from the royal family with Merse standing in front of them.

"One! Two! Three!" Merse shouted as the armed guards shot into the air.

"One! Two! Three!" Merse shouted again as the guards shot in the air for the second time.

"One! Two! Three!"

Two of the riflemen aimed their rifles at the Queen and third princess of Lescaite and shot them in the head, killing them instantly.

Time seemed to have slowed down for all in Lescatie. Everyone tried to scream but it was as if they had lost the ability to use their voices. Surely this must have been some terrible terrible accident and that the princess and Queen would be fine?

Right?

Indra slit the throat of the last remaining princess before she could even properly react, leaving only the King left. Finally after what felt like an eternity the crowd finally began to scream in terror as various civilians ran away as the Heroes attempted to stop the assassins.

Discarding his rifle Nullus lunged at the man whom he believed responsible for the deaths of innocent mamono at the hands of the Order.

Unsheathing a blade Nullus stabbed Castor in the heart. The king looked at the blade then at Nullus in pure disbelief. Seeing him still not dead Nullus continued to stab the king while he lay on the floor.

"Die! Die you piece of shit! I hope you rot in hell with the rest of your kind!" Nullus screamed at the top of his lungs as he continued to stab the king with his blade.

Castor's eyes looked at Nullus' ones one last time as he breathed in his last breath before passing away.

Nullus' breath were heavy. His blade and and clothes were dyed red in the king's blood.

Nullus' mind: (I finally did it...I finally killed him but for some reason I don't feel content yet...)

"Indra! Take care of Shisui! Orochimaru! You take care of the pink haired brat!" Nullus instructed the two.

The two men followed Nullus's orders without haste as soon they were both engaged in combat, leaving Nullus to deal with the rest.

"If you say so." Indra said nonchalantly as he and Orochimaru left without another word.

"Who the hell are you?" Shisui asked Indra as he drew his sword.

"Indra Otsutsuki." Indra arrogantly answered.

"Indra huh? How did you manage to cast a genjutsu I couldn't detect?" Shisui asked Indra.

"Simple, because I am the father of genjutsu and ninjutsu." Indra arrogantly stated.

"Father of ninjutsu and genjutsu? What do you mean?" Shisui asked Indra again.

"A lowlife such as yourself does not deserve to know that." Indra answered.

"In that case I'll just beat the answer out of you!" Shisui exclaimed as he charged at Indra.

"Well in that case bring it on Shisui!" Indra egged Shisui on as to his delight the young Uchiha charged at him sword in hand.

Back with Nullus he looked behind himself to see Sasha, Merse, Luciana and Wilmarina all staring at him swords in hands.

"You! Why did you kill the King and his entire family? Was murdering countless innocents not enough for you?" Luciana angrily asked Nullus.

"This...this was something long overdue...something I have been craving to do for years. But now I've finally done it. I've finally cut off the head of the snake. Now I just need to put down the flailing body and this decrepit city will be no more." Nullus declared in an almost manical voice.

"You murderer! We will put you down like the dog you are for what you did today!" Merse declared.

"No Merse...I will be the one killing all of you today." Nullus stated.

In what looked like a flash of lightning Nullus' blade had pierced through Luciana's abdomen.

"Luciana!" Wilmarina and the voices of everyone else cried out.

"Lady...Wilmarina..." Luciana croaked out in her dying breaths. Nullus pulled the sword out of her body, causing it to land on the ground with a loud thud.

"Just who are you?" Sasha asked.

"I am no one, and I don't want to be anyone." Nullus calmly answered Sasha.

"So you're avoiding accountability for your actions by not naming yourself? That's ludicrous if you ask me!" Wilmarina answered as she aimed her sword at Nullus, only for the masked man to counter it with his own.

"No...I have simply discarded all ties I used to have with humanity. Hence why I am no-one. If you want to find out so badly how I look like under my mask then you will have to tear it from my face." Nullus answered Wilmarina.

"In that case I'll gladly do that you bastard!" Merse angrily said as she charged at Nullus with her halberd.

"You're too predictable Merse." Nullus insulted the captain as he dodged her attack with little effort.

Sasha's sword swung dangerous close to Nullus' face, which he had barely just dodged.

Nullus fought in a three against one handicap fight, single handedly dodging the swords of Sasha, Merse and Wilmarina.

Dodging Wilmarina's strike with a backflip, Nullus carefully analysed how he was going to defeat the trio. He smirked beneath his mask once he knew what to do.

"Tendril Barrage Devastator!"

A swarm of black tendrils erupted from Nullus' back that snaked out in all directions.

Sasha and Wilmarina managed to avoid all of the tendrils by cutting through those that came dangerously close from penetrating them.

Merse on the other hand was not as lucky as a tendril slashed a part of her left arm.

"Lady Wilmarina! Lady Sasha! Don't worry about me! Do not lose your focus on the masked man!" Merse warned the two heroines as she held her bleeding arm.

Sasha and Wilmarina looked on in shock as Nullus stabbed himself with his own blade and despite the tremendous amounts of blood and his own groans of pain, he still stood. Dipping his foot in his own blood, Nullus dragged his foot around himself to make a bloodied circle and finally a bloodied triangle inside of it.

"By God...what is he doing Lady Sasha?" Wilmarina asked Sasha.

"Oh...no. That is dark magic of the Demon Lord himself." Sasha muttered out in fear.

"W-what do you mean Lady Sasha? Please elaborate!" Wilmarina asked again in a shaky voice.

"It is an ancient ritual where followers of the Demon Lord, after selling their souls to him draw their own blood and proceed to make the symbol on the ground you see before you. The one performing the ritual will are granted immortality by the Demon Lord so they will not die. By taking advantage of that the performer of the ritual will then stab you with a bladed weapon that they have, so as to 'link' each others blood and will stab themselves multiple times until the other one dies." Sasha explained to Wilmarina.

"So how do we defeat an enemy who cannot die?" Wilmarina asked.

"Simple. We use blessed weapons on him, that is the only thing that can bring him down. First you will act as a decoy and use various powerful strikes against him so his attention is focused solely on you. In the meantime I will silently add some more holy water on my sword and pray to the Chief Goddess so that she may bless me so that I may bring down this unholy foe. Now he's going to attack any minute now so I need to know...are you ready?" Sasha whispered to Wilmarina.

"I am ready." Wilmarina whispered back.

"Good. Here he comes." Sasha advised as, just as she had predicted Nullus lunged at the two with sword in hand.

Wilmarina grasped her sword in determination, unfazed not one bit by Nullus.

"Shining Sword Slash!" Wilmarina cried out as she unleashed a quick succession of powerful sword strikes that Nullus was forced to parry..

"Impressive! Not bad for the-"

A searing pain erupted from Nullus' abdomen as he noticed a glowing blue sword stabbing him. Said sword belonged to Sasha Fullmoon.

"Do not even try to move. This sword is blessed and I had also doused it with holy water." Sasha told the masked man.

"Aaarrrrggh! Damn you Sasha!" Nullus spat out.

The pain in his abdomen felt almost like fire now. Nullus had a last resort plan to draw upon more of Jashin's power to give him the edge, but that had been taken away from him by Sasha. Unlike the mamono Jashin was a being from the old era before Lilith, meaning that the Chief God's blessings, while ineffective against mamono were extremely effective against those who received his immortality.

"Now...let us see who is under the mask." Sasha stated as she pushed back Nullus' hood and took off his mask with her free hand.

Behind the mask was a young man with long blonde hair and two blackened and sunken eyes. Everybody was in compete disbelief.

"You...everyone said you died years ago...how are you still alive?" Wilmarina asked.

"It can't be...Damian...is that you?" Sasha asked.

"Yes it is. Are you finally happy to see it was none other than me under the mask." Damian bitterly answered.

"I don't understand. Why? Why all of this? When did you become this? You had such a bright future." Sasha sadly asked.

"Why! Do you want to know why! It's because I saw first hand how you Orderites mercilessly killed all those mamono! Their bloods are are on all of your hands and yet you don't feel even the slightest remorse! It was then that I realised I was fighting for the wrong cause. It was on that fateful day I learnt that it was not mamono who were the problem, but humans!" Damian explained.

"Every single one of you fucks deserved death! It's only a shame I won't be the one to destroy this decrepit hell hole!" Damian spat out.

"It's a shame what happened to you Damian but you are wrong about humans. While there are some bad people there are perhaps ten times as many good people. I remember once upon a time you used to be an aspiring hero who only wanted to do good. And now...to see you like this, it breaks my heart. You allowed hatred to fester within and darken your once bright heart." Sasha sadly said to Damian.

"You! You dare speak to me as if you were a mamono! How many innocent mamono women and children did you murder in cold blood Sasha!? How many did you mercilessly kill despite them begging for their lives!? Tell me!" Damian cried out in fury.

Sasha could not formulate a reply since she did not have one. She also could not reply and tell Damian that she learnt the truth about mamono or else also risking her orphanage being taken from her and being imprisoned along with him.

"As I would expect! You have nothing to say! Why!? Because you know I'm right." Damian spat out.

"You words mean nothing Damian. For on top of murdering countless innocents for you own deluded quest you know also have to answer for the murder of the Royal Family and my father." Wilmarina calmly stated, completely ignoring what Damian had said.

"Let us go Lady Sasha. Do not allow this traitorous madman's words to get to you. Tomorrow he shall be presented to the public before his hanged like the traitor he is." Wilmarina added.

The trio handcuffed Nullus and practically dragged him to the dungeons of Lescatie.

"Lady Wilmarina, you may go on. I will stay behind to help Shisui defeat the assassin." Sasha announced as she walked back to where Shisui was.

Meanwhile Shisui and Indra were engaged in a fierce battle. Shisui was panting heavily and Indra looked as if he had barely broken a sweat.

"Is that all you've got? For a descendant of mine your weakness is insulting!" Indra taunted Shisui.

"Then again, that's the price one pays for believing in father and Ashura's stupid and naive ideology of love through peace." Indra added.

Shisui merely snickered in response at Indra's statement, earning the attention of the self proclaimed inheritor of ninshu.

"Don't underestimate me just yet Indra." Shisui warned Indra.

Indra's eyes widened as a second later his entire world had become red all around. Indra looked around frantically to spot Shisui standing atop a mountain with his Mangekyo Sharingan reflecting brightly behind him.

"What Genjutsu is this!? Answer me!" Indra barked out.

"It's a genjutsu called Kotoamatsukami. From here on forth all your actions and words that come out of your mouth will be subtly influenced by me." Shisui explained.

"No! I will not allow that to happen! No man will ever control me!" Indra declared as he reactivated his Mangekyo Sharingan that resembled a spiral.

The genjutsu world slowly began to rumble as though it were experiencing an earthquake before a blinding light began to blind Shisui.

Back in the real world Shisui rested on one arm completely exhausted and Indra, while out of breath still had enough energy to stand.

"You parasite...you almost got me, but now I will kill you...You hear that Ashura!? I will kill this man before me to prove your ideology will never work!" Indra screamed at the sky, immediately afterwards breaking into a fit of hysterical laughter.

Shisui was beyond confused at whom Indra was referring to. Who was this "Ashura" he spoke of? He had never heard of the name before but judging from how Indra spoke of him he must have been an old rival to Indra.

Indra continued to cackle like a madman, so much so that he did not notice a certain blue haired nun stealthily approach him from behind and stab him through the shoulder with his sword.

"What...? Impossible? How...what sorcery is this?" Indra croaked out as blood poured from his wound and his mouth.

"In your own arrogance you had underestimated your foe. This blade is blessed, which means that it's properties exterminate any evil it's steel comes into contact with." Sasha explained.

"You...swine. I'll kill you and everybody you..."

Indra passed out before he could finish his threat and collapsed onto the ground.

Sasha then rushed towards Shisui to see if he had not suffered any severe injuries during his battle with Indra.

"Shisui. Are you alright?" Sasha asked the young Uchiha.

"I am. Just took a bit of beating but that's all." Shisui answered Sasha in an exasperated voice as said nun assisted him to his feet once again.

"What are we going to do about him?" Shisui asked Sasha.

"Take him to the Royal Makai for interrogation. I know from the bottom of my heart that man has much information he is not letting us on." Sasha answered Shisui in a whispered tone so as no one could hear what she was discussing about.

"I agree. We just need to figure out how are we going to take him to the Royal Makai without anyone noticing." Shisui whispered.

"Shisui. Did you forget about the kunoichi?" Sasha playfully asked Shisui.

Shisui facepalmed, chuckling even at how he could forget about the kunoichi who were masters of stealth and admittedly, even better than him at it.

Poof

Sasha and Shisui heard a noise and looked back to where Indra's unconscious body had once laid there was now a log in it's place.

"Dammit! He used a substitution juts- arrrrghhh!" Shisui cried out as the pain in his shoulder shot up.

"We need to take you to the hospital." Sasha stated.

"But...Indra. We need to find him! He's still out there!" Shisui argued back through his pain.

"We can find him another time. We've already captured one of them and your health is more important." Shisui replied back in a no-nonsense voice.

A good distance away an exhausted Indra met with Orochimaru.

"The pink haired brat was an annoying pest to fight. Thankfully she is completely cluelsess on how to handle genjutsu so I slipped away without her noticing. It also appears our initial goal of assassinating the royal family went as planned, but-"

"That idiot Nullus got captured!" Indra barked out.

"That he did. Do you want to launch a mission to rescue him?" Orochimaru asked Indra.

"No. That idiot only has himself to blame for getting captured. We will move forwards with our plans without him!" Indra exclaimed.

"Very well then. Let us head back to the hideout Indra." Orochimaru stated.

"Please do. I'm tired of looking at that eyesore of a city." Indra replied.

Grabbing Indra by the shoulder, Orochimaru teleported back to their hideout where they could discuss further plans

(Some time later...)

"So Sasha. Who was the Masked man?" Shisui asked.

"I will explain but first I advise you sit down, for this will be a very long story." Sasha told Shisui.

Sitting down on a nearby chair, Shisui was ready to hear Sasha's explanation.

"It was an old friend I used to know, a former orphan who resided in this very same orphanage by the name of Damian Mars. Damian originally hailed from the impoverished port city of Akreo and came here to Lescatie after the Sharharraqi forces conquered that city. My mother brought him in after seeing him trying to steal from a fruit vendor. Damian was always a silent boy and usually preferred reading books instead of socialising with others. From the brief conversations I had with Damian his father was a merchant and he had an older brother and two older sisters. His father would often critisise him for not wanting to join in the merchant trade and instead become a philospoher. The odd thing is that even though Damian told me his entire family were killed in the fall of Akreo he was completely indifferent towards them dying." Sasha explained.

"What do you mean by that Sasha?" Shisui asked, unable to understand how this Damian could not feel even the slightest hint of sorrow at his family's passing.

"He simply did not miss his family. And when I tried to ask more about his life Damian would often shush me away. But what I did notice however was his complete disdain for the upper class and those he perceived as coming from 'privileged' backgrounds." Sasha added.

"I see. So coming from a poor background he naturally held a disdain for the rich. But that doesn't explain how he became the way he did." Shisui commented.

"I think I may have an explanation for how he became the masked man, but you will have to take with a grain of salt." Sasha said.

"I'm listening. Any explanation is better than none." Shisui replied.

"When he was younger Damian always had a strong sense of justice. He often made up for his poor social skills with his altrustic actions such as assisting the elderly, taking care of injured animals and even sharing his food with me and the other orphans." Sasha said.

"So how was Damian initially viewed amongst the other orphans?" Shisui asked.

"Most of the other orphans viewed him as a peculiar individual but aside from that he was rather popular amongst the orphans. I recall that some of the female orphans and especially a girl he used to play with called Carla used to have crushes on Damian. But despite how these girls often used to talk to him in an extra sweet tone he often ignored them. Then the day came when he discovered his magical abilities and a day later representatives of the king knocked on the door announcing that due to Damian's magical ability they had been ordered to retrieve him and take him to the upper district where he would commence his training." Sasha continued to explain.

"And how skilled do you think Damian was. Was he a prodigy?" Shisui asked again.

"Oh he was very much a prodigy. I would say he was even more skilled than Mimil at magic, at least three times as skilled as her. He was very much doted upon by the priests of the Order and Wilmarina's father. And yet when I too was called up a year later at the age of 8 Damian was still as cold as ever, possibly even more so from when he first arrived at the orphanage." Sasha answered.

Shisui rubbed his chin. Right now he was currently soaking in the information Sasha was giving him and yet he just couldn't quite put the puzzle together yet.

"When we used to meet in private Damian always used to tell me how much he despised how 'fake' and 'two-faced' the upper class of Lescatie were, even adding that despite Wilmarina only being a toddler at the time he knew without a doubt she would simply become a clone like her father; two faced, conniving, narcissistic and self serving." Sasha said.

"But he's wrong! Wilmarina is nothing like her father! If anything she's actually the complete opposite of him! Wilmarina is kind, compassionate and genuinely cares for the people of Lescaite." Shisui passionately stated.

"I know Shisui but you must remember Damian is not like you. You can see the best in people where as Damian well...he used to have a bad habit of generalising entire groups of people based on the actions of a few." Sasha answered.

"That still doesn't give him an excuse to act like that." Shisui replied passionately.

"I know I know it's just that there are very few people like you Shisui how can still be the better person despite their rough upbringings and personal loss. (Sigh) Even with what I mad mentioned I still cannot understand why Damian would become to hateful towards humanity that he would want us extinct." Sasha commented.

"Wait I think I may know..." Shisui muttered out as he thought back to his second encounter with Nullus in the Hidden Leaf Forest.

"For all those mamono I killed when I was a part of the Order I am trash."

"Sasha! I think I may know the answer!" Shisui happily exclaimed.

"Really? What is it?" Sasha eagerly asked him.

"When I was helping to escort my clan to the safety of this world I encountered Damian in the forest outside of the Hidden Leaf Village. Damian tried to prevent me and my clan from leaving. While we were engaged in combat I asked him if he too was trash since he was human. He told me that he was for all the innocent mamono he killed." Shisui told Sasha.

"Hmmmmm. It all makes much more sense as to why Damian became the way he did with what you have told me. He must've been on a monster hunting mission and something must have happened to make him realise the mamono were not evil. While I am relieved Damian learnt that the mamono were not evil wanting the extinction of all of humanity simply because of the actions of a few is not the write answer." Sasha commented.

"Exactly." Shisui answered.

"Anyway, we will find out later. I have to inform Lady Druella of what has transpired today. I fear that there are bigger factors at play here and if we do not act now, it will be the end of us." Sasha stated

"I want to come with." Shisui said.

Sasha looked as though we she wanted to object but decided against it.

"Alright. We will leave at dusk, I will be waiting for you." Sasha told Shisui.

(A few hours later...)

Sasha and Shisui currently sat at a large table in the palace of the Royal Makai. All of the major leaders of the mamono realms were summoned by none other than Lilith herself.

Shisui scanned his eyes around the table and to his displeasure he did not recognise most of the mamono present except for Queen Deonora of Dragonia, who looked rather impatient at the moment.

"Ahem! Are we all in attendance?" A commanding voice asked everyone. Shisui looked to his right to see that said voice originated from a white haired succubus who looked like the Lilims.

"Yes." Deonora and the various other voices responded.

"Sasha, is that her?" Shisui whispered to Sasha.

"Yes. That is the Demon Lord herself." Sasha whispered back.

"Good. I am sorry for summoning you all on such short notice but it is a matter of grave concern. While on a diplomatic mission to a neutral human city my daughter Ilassa stumbled upon two men who were attempting to murder a group of 'ninja' from a village called the Village Hidden in the Clouds. One of the men got away but the other one was captured. After extensive interrogation we learnt that his name was Kimimaro Kaguya and that he was a follower of Jashin." Lilith announced.

Everyone present gasped in horror at what Lilith had just said.

"Jashin? But that's impossible! How is he still here! You killed him Lady Lilith? And why would a human ever willingly join Jashin?" Deonora asked in disbelief.

"I merely sent him to another world. And to answer your other question Ilassa told me that the human said that I had abandoned him in his moment of need, and that Jashin was the only one who had given him purpose of life." Lilith answered.

"That poor boy. He doesn't even know he's being used." The tall blue haired Titania commented.

"So what do we do Lady Lilith?" Deonora asked up.

"We stay vigilant. It seems Jashin is moving faster than I had anticipated. Still...I will admit he's a sneaky bastard for lying to the humans he meets that I had abandoned them. I know I was reluctant to move forward with the idea but know we have no choice. Druella, you now have my full blessing to invade Lescatie tomorrow evening. We need to protect the humans from Jashin any way we can." Lilith announced.

"Thank you mother, I promise I will protect the humans no matter what." Druella confidently declared.

"Good. Now I almost forgot...you there! Are you Shisui Uchiha?" Lilith asked Shisui as she pointed towards the young Uchiha.

"Y-yes. I am Shisui Uchiha ma'am. It's a pleasure to meet you." Shisui introduced himself as he bowed respectfully in front of Lilith.

"Thank you dear. While I appreciate your humility there is no need to bow before me." Lilith warmly answered.

"W-what? Oh. My apologies then your highness." Shisui apologised, smiling all the while.

"Do not apologise my child. Please come here before me." Lilith instructed of Shisui to do, which he did.

Once he was face to face with the Demon Lord herself Shisui could not help but admit that she was a very beautful woman.

"Druella speaks very highly of you Shisui. I can see why, you are a very handsome man." Lilith playfully said, causing the young Uchiha to blush from embarrassment.

"Mother!" Druella cried out.

"How about this Shisui. How would you like to marry one of my daughters?" Lilith asked Shisui as she smiled ear to ear.

"Your majesty! That's rather sudden don't you think?" Shisui asked Lilith while still blushing.

"Ahhh but you're blushing, which means that deep down you like the idea. It's settled then. you shall wed my daughter Ilassa then." Lilith happily declared.

The entire room cheered in celebration, and said Ilassa flew from her seat to hug Shisui tightly.

Shisui knew that the way Ilassa hugged him that she was deliberately trying to get him excited since she heavily pressed her cleavage against his face.

"My new husband! I shall pamper you every day and night, make a meal whenever you desire, care for you whenever you are sick and sire your children as a testament to our love." Ilassa dreamily said.

"Thank you Ilassa but..." Shisui trailer off as his eyes met Sasha's.

"There is another woman who has already captured my heart." Shisui said regrettably as she gently pushed Ilassa away

"Oh...I...didn't know that. I'm sorry..." Ilassa apologised as she flew back to hear seat.

Even Lilith was dumbfounded. Never before has a suitor ever rejected her daughter, it was almost unthinkable and yet that is just what had happened.

Recomposing herself she prepared to speak again.

"Very well then. That is all I have to say ladies and gentlemen, you are excused." Lilith announced as the entire assembly of mamono and their husbands dispersed.

(Back at Sasha's orphanage...)

"Shisui, may I ask a question?" Sasha spoke up as she and Shisui sat in her office.

"Go ahead." Shisui answered.

"Who was the woman you said captured your heart?" Sasha curiously asked.

Shisui flinched, not anticipating such a question.

"It's someone...not important right now." Shisui muttered out sadly.

"Who? Please you are free to tell me Shisui, I will not tell you." Sasha tried to reassure the young Uchiha to no avail.

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you right now who it is." Shisui answered.

"Good night Sasha."

"Shisui wait-"

To the blue haired nun's sorrow, Shisui had teleported away without answering her question.

"Is everything ok in here Sasha?" Elt's voice asked from behind Sasha.

"Oh, it's you Elt. Everything is fine, I'm just-"

Elt gave Sasha a reassuring hug, causing her to secretly blush.

"Hey I understand. You're stressed about Primera being missing. But please don't worry yourself too much Sasha, I promise everything will get better and I will always be by your side." Elt reassured Sasha.

"Thank you...Elt." Sasha muttered out as she hugged the red haired boy even tighter.

Meanwhile in a treetop not far from the orphanage Shisui watched the interaction unfold. He looked on in longing and sorrow.

Sighing to himself softly he closed his eyes. A tear freely flowed from his eye and his heart felt as if it were being stabbed over and over again the more he looked at Sasha and Elt embracing one another.

"I guess...everything happens for a reason, and Elt was there for you far longer than I, hence why you love him instead." Shisui softly commented.

Not wanting to look at the scene before him Shisui teleported home for the night.

A/N: The city of Akreo is inspired by the real life city of Acre in Northern Israel. While initially Janissaries only existed in the Ottoman Empire I have decided to incorporate them as the personal guard of the Sultan of Shaharraq simple because I think they look cool and also because this is a fantasy setting after all, so why not have some fun.