Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or High School DxD.

Chapter 10

Glorious Purpose

Xiao slowly walked through the ancient halls of Shaolin, her heart thumping with excitement.

She had received the final instructions from Grandmaster Yuu for the mission. And once she had completed it, she could finally contact her mother after a year of silence. That was her only motivation.

She knew the reason for the secrecy. The stakes were too high to risk any leaks. But the isolation had broken her. She craved to hear her mother's voice again. She had to end this mission as soon as possible.

But before she left, she had one last task to do. She had to give Xian his training plan and tell him what to do in her absence.

She had sent a student to call Xian to the courtyard where they had fought the previous day. But she didn't have to wait long. Xian was already running toward her from the other end of the hall.

"Big sister~" Xian shouted happily.

Xiao's face brightened with a faint smile, a rare sight for her in the past year when she heard his cheerful voice.

"You asked for me, big sister," Xian said, stopping a few feet from Xiao.

"Good. You're here." Xiao walked past Xian and motioned for him to follow her. "Come. Let's go to the training yard. We have something to talk about."

They walked in silence toward the library. They reached the courtyard in five minutes. There, hundreds of students practiced martial arts under the watch of five or six masters.

Xiao scanned the courtyard until she found an empty spot. She took Xian there and faced him.

"Listen, Xian. I have some important work that I have to do. I want you to -"

But she couldn't finish her sentence.

"Important work? What important work?" Xian asked, tilting his head in confusion.

Xiao sighed in frustration. "That's not your concern. You're here to -"

"It's a mission, right?" Xian cut her off again. "It has to be a mission. I talked to the other students and they said that masters often go on missions. I want to go with you, big sister!"

"Xian," Xiao said with a sigh, "This is not your business. You're a student."

"But I'm strong!" Xian argued. "You saw what I can do. I can beat any thug with ease."

Xiao gave him a flat look. "These missions are not about thugs."

"Then what are they about?" Xian pressed.

"That's classified. Only the Grandmaster and the assigned master know the details."

Xian suddenly sat on the ground, crossing his legs in the Indian style. He folded his arms and pouted like a child. "I want to go with you on the mission."

Xiao let out a frustrated sigh. "Xian... You're not a child. Grow up."

That only made Xian pout harder.

Xiao was about to scold him for his childishness, but someone else interrupted her.

"What's going on here?"

Xiao turned around. Xian's face changed from pouty to curious.

Grandmaster Yuu was standing behind Xiao, looking at them with interest.

Xiao bowed respectfully. "Good morning, Grandmaster Yuu."

"Good morning, Xiao." Grandmaster Yuu said warmly. "I was curious about what was happening here."

"I want to go on the mission with big sister Xiao," Xian blurted out without any hesitation.

Grandmaster Yuu raised an eyebrow at Xiao.

Xiao shook her head and hands frantically. "NO! NO! I didn't tell him anything. He just guessed it right."

Grandmaster Yuu lowered his eyebrow and turned to the boy. He stroked his long and thin mustache. "Hm. Young Xian, do you realize that we have rules and regulations for these things?"

Xian squinted his eyes and looked at Grandmaster Yuu like a puzzled fox. "What do you mean?"

"These missions are classified for a reason," Grandmaster Yuu said sagely.

Xian pouted again. "So what? I can do it. I have done worse things before."

Grandmaster Yuu twisted his mustache in thought. "Hmm~ Let me see." The old Grandmaster walked toward the weapon shelf near them, scanning the weapons until his eyes settled on a specific one.

This weapon was unique, with a thin, cylindrical shape made of sandalwood, emitting a fresh fragrance. Intricate patterns were carved on the wood, and upon closer inspection, various Mandarin inscriptions became visible.

The old Grandmaster picked up the weapon and returned to where Xian was sitting. Resting his walking cane against his right thigh, he held the two ends of the cylindrical weapon with his hands and pulled them apart. The cylindrical tube split in the middle, creating a gap of thirty centimeters filled by strands of orange energy that sparkled.

Grandmaster Yuu suddenly wielded it as a nunchuck, swinging it over his shoulder, spinning it rapidly in a circle, and then, in a flash, hurling the other end of the weapon at a nearby tree. The strange orange threads stretched without resistance, and the instant the other end of the weapon hit the tree's trunk, a chunk of the tree detonated, creating a gaping hole in the side.

Yanking his end of the weapon, Grandmaster Yuu made the end that had struck the tree fly back to him, seamlessly reattaching itself to the other end.

Extending his hand and the weapon to Xian, Grandmaster Yuu said softly, "This weapon is called the Viper's Fang."

Xian eyed the weapon curiously. "What is this? Some kind of nunchucks?"

Grandmaster Yuu nodded wisely. "Exactly," he said, "This enchanted weapon is powered by the divine energy of the Gods, allowing ordinary humans to wield a fraction of the god's power. Why don't you give it a try?"

Xian shrugged before standing up. He held the weapon in a similar way to the Grandmaster, using both of his hands before pulling them apart. The two ends of the weapon split from each other, and the orange energy threads appeared between them. But something weird happened a second later.

Instead of being stable, the orange threads of energy started flickering. The flickering increased with each passing second, eventually sending sparks flying in random directions.

Xian's eyes widened in confusion. He did not understand what was going on. He had not expected such a violent reaction from the weapon.

Xiao, who had been quietly standing on the side until now, tried to intervene and take the weapon out of Xian's hands, but Grandmaster Yuu grabbed her by her hand and shook his head at her.

"Guys! Is this supposed to happen?" Xian asked in confusion. But before the poor trainee could do anything, the energy sparks exploded in his face.

Xian's hands released the weapon, which flew a couple of feet away. Recoiling from the sudden blast that impacted his face, Xian held his nose, which took the brunt of the explosion.

"What the fuck!" Xian yelled disorientedly. "What the fuck was that!?"

Grandmaster Yuu let out a hearty chuckle. "That, my dear, is what happens when you try to handle something beyond your expertise."

"Uh… What do you mean by that?" Xian asked painfully, trying to contain the blood with his hands as his nose bled.

"The Viper's Fang is considered one of the most difficult weapons to master. To achieve this, you not only need to perfectly align your brain with the vibration of the weapon's energy, but you also need to sync the energy flow to your own energy flow. This can only be achieved after training in mystic arts and tuning your body to your needs."

"Uh…" Xian moaned in pain. "You could have explained that without the weapon."

Grandmaster Yuu smiled knowingly and said, "I have dealt with hotheaded students like you before. Now, I think you should get the nose treated and return to your training, Xian."

"Alright…" Xian said in a disheartened tone and walked away.

Grandmaster Yuu looked back at Xiao, who stared at Xian's retreating form in concern. "Don't worry about him. You should go. You have to prepare Xian's training schedule while you're gone and your mission plan before you leave."

Xiao hesitantly bowed and left the training yard, leaving Grandmaster Yuu alone.

The old Grandmaster stood in his place and observed the other trainees train under the observant eyes of the masters. Seeing young prospects train hard and achieve great things always brings a sense of reward.

That was when another master walked beside him. The master leaned his mouth closer to Grandmaster Yuu's ear and said, "Grandmaster, the man from earlier has arrived to meet you."

Grandmaster Yuu's face changed into a stern visage. "Tell him I am coming."

The newcomer bowed and left. A minute later, the old Grandmaster turned around and started walking toward his office. He had something important to discuss with his guest.

"We are here." A male voice reached Xiao's ears.

She stood up and jumped out of the back of the truck she was in. Swinging her duffle bag over her shoulder, she walked up to the driver's door and smiled at the driver. "Thank you for the lift," she said gratefully.

The driver smiled happily at her. "Don't worry. It is always nice helping Shaolin monks." The youngest Shaolin master waved her hand after bidding him a safe journey as the driver drove away.

The smile dropped from her face as she turned around and faced the snow-capped mountains yet dry plains of Tibet. Tibet was scenic and captivating, but transportation in this region is challenging. The easiest way to transport here is to use buses, but even their numbers are less. So, many people use the vehicles of local people to travel around Tibet.

Xiao started walking up the hill until she reached the middle and then started walking to the right on that level. She walked for a few more minutes until she reached a road that only people who had traveled that area would notice. Taking the small and dusty mountain road, she adjusted her duffle bag a little on her shoulder.

The moonlight illuminated the road ahead, decorating the Himalayan mountains beautifully. The night breeze glazed her skin and sent pleasurable shivers down her spine. There was something entirely different when it came to this place. Sometimes, it felt that the gods had used their magic to enhance this place's beauty. Describing this place's beauty in words was difficult. To know it, one has to experience it.

Xiao took a deep breath. She had traversed these roads before but never felt this excited. Never had she felt this mesmerized by this place. Maybe it had something to do with the mission ending soon. Or it could be her excitement to meet her mother after a year. Xiao continued walking the lonely path. The path curved left and right, and in some places, it was steep.

Almost an hour later, the path led Xiao into a snowy part of the mountain. Another half an hour's walk through the snowy path led her to the front of a cave. The entrance of the cave, however, was sealed off by gigantic metallic doors.

Two people were standing on either side of the cave's entrance, wearing bulletproof vests, military-grade helmets that covered their heads, gloves, and combat boots. They were carrying QBZ-11 rifles. The person standing on Xiao's left raised their left hand, gesturing for the Shaolin master to stop. Xiao agreed and stopped.

The guard walked toward her and put his hand forward. Xiao understood the gesture. Putting her hand in her pocket, she fished out her identification card and handed it to the guard.

The guard took it carefully and ran his eyes over it. Finding everything in order, he returned the card to Xiao. Walking back to his position, the guard grabbed the transponder attached to his shoulder and said something unintelligible.

Suddenly, the sound of metal detaching echoed through the area as the sealed metallic door started to split from the middle. The door opened enough for a single human to pass. Xiao did not wait for any order and simply walked through the open gap. Passing through the gate, she was once again introduced to the familiar dark corridor of this place.

This place was apparently a lab where various weapons and military resources were manufactured. The overseer of this place sympathized with the Rebel forces and supplied them with ammunition for the long war that was coming.

A war that was going to change the future of the country.

Xiao stopped suddenly as she passed through various pathways in the corridor. Her head whipped to the left, where another corridor led to an unknown destination. This place was huge and had various chambers where R&D took place. She had explored a few of them in her earlier visits. But she could not remember ever visiting this corridor before.

Xiao stared at the corridor with narrowed eyes. She thought she had seen a shadow there. It could be her imagination. After all, the place was dark, but for some reason, she felt uneasy. She turned to the left and was about to walk into the corridor when -

"My, my! If it isn't dear Xiao."

The voice stopped Xiao in her tracks, and she turned in the previous direction to meet a human.

The person was carrying a torch light, which illuminated the corridor and the person. The person was clearly a man with long dark hair, a typical Asian face, freckles on his cheek, and glasses over his eyes.

"You almost gave me a heart attack, dear," the man said in a relieved tone.

Xiao blinked a little unsteadily. She had not expected to meet the director of the R&D department here. She bowed respectfully and greeted, "Good evening, Dr. Quanhi. I am here for the mission."

"I see. I see," the newly introduced Dr. Quanhi said. "But before we continue on our way, do you mind checking that corridor."

Xiao looked at the doctor concernedly. "Why? Is something going on here?"

"I will explain everything. But for the sake of my sanity, do you mind helping this old man here?"

"Sure," Xiao said with a shrug.

Xiao turned toward the corridor again and walked into it. She clapped her palms together before her right hand curled into a fist against her left palm. Suddenly, orange energy flickered between her fingers. And when she separated her hands, an orange flame emerged from between them, which floated in the air. The flame flew a meter away from her, brightening the corridor.

Xiao walked down the corridor with the magically conjured flame lighting the path for her. The deeper she went, the more she felt that the shadow from earlier was her imagination until she noticed some movement.

Moving into action in a split second, Xiao ran toward the source, the flame following her. She saw a right turn ahead, where she skidded to a halt. There was another path in that direction, but she did not go there. Because the source of the movement was standing right below her.

Xiao's eyes traveled downward, and she noticed a dark-furred cat staring at her cutely.

"~Meow~"

Xiao looked at the cat in confusion. "A cat?" she asked herself.

The cat meowed cutely again and circled her. The cat then pressed itself against the shin of her left leg and rubbed her affectionately.

"What is a cat doing here?" she asked, seemingly to no one.

She bent down to pick up the cat, but the cat ran away into the corridor.

Xiao stood straighter and looked at the cat. The cat stopped a few feet away from her and meowed again before running into the corridor.

Frowning slightly, Xiao was about to step into the corridor, but the voice of Dr. Quanhi stopped her.

"Xiao! Did you find anything?" Dr. Quanhi's voice echoed through the corridor.

Reluctantly, Xiao turned around and walked back to where the doctor was. She appeared before him while the flames disappeared. "Except for a cat, there was nothing else to worry about."

Dr. Quanhi frowned in confusion. "A cat? Damn those pesky bastards," the doctor cursed, "They always get in the labs somehow."

"Do you need me to get it out?" Xiao asked.

The doctor sighed in defeat. "Don't worry for now. Some of the guards will address the problem. For now, let's head to the chambers, shall we?" The doctor turned around and walked deeper into the cave.

Xiao nodded and followed the doctor. The deeper they walked, Xiao noticed that the guards had increased. At one point, the doctor stopped before one of the guards and told the guard to find the cat.

"I noticed that the guards have increased since the last time I came here," Xiao said, "Is something going on?"

The doctor turned his face sideways and smiled reassuringly at her. "Well, last week, someone infiltrated our labs and destroyed a large portion of those serums that we created to fight the demons. We suspect some of our rivals got news of our success and decided to spoil our fortunes."

Xiao's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Do you want me to find those bastards?"

The doctor threw his head back and laughed heartily. "Thank you for the offer, Xiao. But it won't be necessary. While the intruder destroyed a large part of our serum, we still have enough samples to replicate it a million times over."

"I see… That's good."

"Isn't it? The world will be much safer with these inventions." The doctor laughed before he stopped and smiled. "But before that, we need to test a few more things on those monsters."

Soon, the two entered a large room. It was built from thick layers of unknown metals. A gigantic glass panel showed a deep chamber. Numerous tubes and pipes connected this room to the chamber. Many scientists, dressed in white or blue PPE kits, worked on computers and collected data.

"We are in our final stages." The doctor said in a happy tone. "The demons that we captured have given us very important data and your patient involvement has helped us shape our data so well. For that, you will always have our thanks, Xiao."

Xiao gave no outward reaction. She would be lying if she said she was even interested in these experiments. The only reason she was even involved was because the Grandmaster had assigned her this mission, and that's all.

"What do you need me to do today?" Xiao asked, looking at the doctor.

"Come." The doctor said as he walked into the lab.

Xiao followed him to a table with a container on top. The container was made of reinforced glass. Inside the container, Xiao could see five vials containing some green-colored liquid.

The doctor pressed a button on the side of the container, and the front glass opened from the middle. He took a vial from the bundle and brought it out. He then held it before Xiao's face.

"This vial is the culmination of the many experiments that we have been doing for the last decade. But thanks to you and your blood donations, we finally stabilized this formula. The answer to the problem that we have."

Xiao looked at the doctor in confusion. "My blood donations? But when did I donate blood?"

The doctor smiled, but Xiao no longer felt any kindness from him. Her posture stiffened as she realized something was extremely wrong.

"You… don't remember, right?" The doctor said. "Of course, you don't girl!" He suddenly yelled. "You were never supposed to remember!" He broke out into maniac laughter.

Xiao's eyes widened. Her eyes glanced around. She could see that everyone had stopped their work to look at them. The guards stationed around the lab pointed their guns at her. She knew she was at a disadvantage here, especially with the guns pointing at her.

"What is going on?" She asked with gritted teeth. "What did you do?"

The doctor tilted his head in mock curiosity. "What did I do to you?" He smiled menacingly at her. "I think the better question should be what Yuu did to you."

Xiao's eyes widened in shock. "Grandmaster… Yuu…?"

"Unbelievable, isn't it?" The doctor asked as he paced around her slowly. "The ever-so-loving, benevolent, Grandmaster Yuu, planning something so sinister. To think he did this to you and your father."

"W-What? What did he do!?"

"Don't worry, you will get all the answers. You deserve to know," the doctor said.

Xiao steeled herself and was about to leap into action when her eyes caught the doctor's lips. She saw the doctor say something, but the words never reached her ears.

"[][][][]"

Xiao suddenly felt dizzy. Her eyelids, hands, and legs became heavy. It was as if she had not slept for months. She fell on her knees, panting heavily. Everything was shaking. She could not focus on anything. With sheer willpower, she raised her eyes to see the doctor approaching her with a sick smile on his face.

But alas, she could not even worry about herself as she lost consciousness the very next second.

Xiao groggily opened her eyes, immediately greeted by a blast of light. The intensity caused her eyes to water, and although she attempted to wipe away the tears with her hand, she found herself unable to move. Her hands were restricted by something.

Blinking to stabilize her vision, the young Shaolin master successfully cleared her eyes of most tears. As her senses returned, she realized thick ropes bound her hands behind her back, and similar bonds restrained her legs. A cloth tied around her mouth impaired her speech.

Struggling against the ropes, Xiao attempted to free herself, but they stubbornly resisted. Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, she acknowledged that to escape, she needed to break the bonds around her wrists.

Closing her eyes, Xiao focused on her hands, feeling the increased blood circulation and strengthening muscles. Another deep breath, and she pulled her hands apart, attempting to tear the rope. Yet, once again, the rope showed no sign of yielding.

A voice echoed in the room, saying, "Does not work, does it?"

Xiao's head snapped toward the upper right corner, where she saw the insane doctor standing by a long glass panel, looking down on her.

Frowning, Xiao surveyed the room, realizing she was inside the deep chamber she had visited during previous lab visits. "I hope you remember this beautiful chamber," the doctor said, his voice echoing. "The beautiful memories that you made here."

"What are you trying to do, Quanhi?" Xiao yelled.

The doctor let out an evil laugh. "First, let's free you, shall we?" Suddenly, the ropes binding Xiao's hands and legs loosened, freeing her. Without hesitation, she jumped to her feet, rubbing her left wrist to ensure everything was alright.

"What is going on, Quanhi? Why am I here?" Xiao demanded fiercely.

"To see the final culmination of our experiment, of course," the doctor answered in a sickly-sweet tone.

"What?"

The doctor chuckled. "It is all thanks to your precious contribution that we even came this far, Xiao. Without you, we would have manufactured the serum but never stabilized it or made it so powerful."

"My contribution…?"

"It is really sad that you don't remember. But remember all those vials of blood that you used to bring here from Shaolin."

"Yeah. What about them? They were for blood tests of the Shaolin students and masters."

The doctor burst into laughter. "What!? Is that what you believe they were? Poor Xiao. They weren't the blood of Shaolin masters or students. They were your blood samples!"

Xiao's eyes widened in disbelief, and apprehension set in. "W-Wh… What?"

The doctor smiled cruelly. "Say Xiao, do you remember what happened moments before you fell unconscious?"

Xiao's eyebrows knitted in a confused frown as she tried to remember those moments. But she could not. She felt like there was a blank space in her memory. Like she was missing something. But what?

"You can't, can you?" The doctor said, his voice containing a hint of sympathy. "I don't blame you, really."

"Stop going in circles, you bastard! And tell me already!"

"The Grandmaster. Has he told you about your lineage?" The doctor asked with a smile.

A frown marred Xiao's face. "Yeah. That I am the descendant of Lü Bu. What of it?"

The doctor tilted his head and smiled further. "He did not say anything else?"

"Alright! I know that Lü Bu was a Hero! Is that what you want to hear?"

"Now we have reached the important point. Good~"

"What does me being a descendent of a Hero even matter for?"

"Oh but it really matters. After all, the blood flowing in your veins is far more powerful than your father's."

Xiao gritted her teeth in irritation. "Are you going to tell me or not?"

"Alright, alright. No need to get your panties in a twist. I will tell you." The doctor raised both his arms to his shoulder level and shrugged. "You see, the serum that we were creating was missing something. The molecules of the serum just did not hold together and started to form bonds with other molecules. It caused the serum to get corrupted. Which led to some deformed monsters that would attack anyone blindly. We found out that the corrupted serum affected the brain of the monsters and caused them to lose sight of the goal. It was hectic. We tried our level best. Decades spent on researching and experimenting, but nothing worked.

At the same time, one of my interns was really interested in the blood of Hero descendants. Back then, he was working with your father, trying to learn more about the precious bloodline. A boring but worthy experiment.

One night, when he was experimenting with your father's blood, he had an idea. He wanted to see what the serum would do if it came in contact with the blood of a Hero's descendant. So, he dropped a drop of blood on the serum.

And Voila!

The corruption in the serum started reducing. The fused molecules started going back to their previous state, albeit low in numbers. But it was still something.

I had to kill the poor bastard. But his death was necessary.

Then I started experimenting with your father's blood. And much to my happiness, it seemed that your father's blood managed to keep the molecules of the serum intact.

But then, your father had to start snooping in and he found out about our inhuman experiments. Well, he had to die. So, Yuu went after your father himself.

Poor man. If only he could keep his curiosity to himself. They say it after all, curiosity killed the cat."

The doctor then smiled and continued. "But thankfully, he had produced an offspring before he died. It was you, Xiao. The girl with a glorious purpose to uplift humanity.

And by some miracle, your mother decided to send you to Shaolin. The Grandmaster did not want to involve you in these experiments as soon as you entered the temple. So, he waited till you were sixteen. A little late but we got the time to study your father's blood a little more to decode the genetics a little further.

Since you became sixteen, the Grandmaster would acquire your blood and send it in here. And just when you would think the old fart isn't twisted enough, he sends your own blood with your own hands to the lab.

Your blood differed slightly from your father's—much more potent and powerful, as we mentioned. So, we had to rework a lot of details. But we had an idea of where we had to go. And that has finally led to this day—the day when decades of experimentations and research finally yield results."

Xiao's fists clenched tightly as she listened to the doctor's irritating voice. She could not understand one thing. "How did the Grandmaster manage to acquire my blood without me knowing?"

"That's a different story altogether."

"I am all ears."

"Well, the stories go like this: During a time of religious warfare and uprising, humans were starting to lose. They were the weakest of all beings that lived in this universe—demons, devils, gods, and dragons. Humans were facing challenges from all sides. Back then, the land now known as China had no Pantheon protecting it. It was only years later that Gautam Buddha would lay the foundations of Buddhism in China and unite all the Gods that were worshipped in the land.

Anyways, at that time, the land of China was greatly threatened by these non-human beings. So, in order to save the humans, various deities that were worshipped in these lands would send blessed humans to these accursed lands to protect the much weaker humans.

These gifted individuals would later be given a specific name: Heroes. But since these gods were divided and the number of people worshipping them low, the quality of the gifted individuals was not as great as compared to Heroes produced in, say, Greek, Egyptian, or Norse Pantheons. But they did their jobs. Their battles against these demons were always secretive—a reason why you would find very few pieces of evidence of these battles. And even then, if someone encounters stories of the Heroes fighting against demons, people these days tend to believe them as fictional and nothing else.

But do you really think gods who are so pathetic, so insecure, would ever send gifted individuals down to earth just like that? HAH! Bullshit! No! They feared an uprising from these Heroes. They feared that they may one day band together and plot to destroy them, so they decided to keep a failsafe. A Code Phrase when uttered would make the body of those carrying the blood of the Heroes dysfunctional. A decision I wholeheartedly thank for."

Xiao was quietly gritting her teeth. What else could she do? She had just learned that her closest thing to a grandfather was plotting something sinister and was using her without her consent. And then all the information about Heroes was dumped on her.

"And what are you guys plotting!?" Xiao asked, yelling loudly. "To take over the world! To destroy humanity! What is it!?"

The doctor shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I don't know what the Grandmaster or that monkey are plotting. And to tell you the truth, I don't care either. Because after today, all that would matter is my wish and my plan. And you're right. All that matters to me is taking control of the world." The doctor finished with a creepy laughter.

Xiao's lips quirked upwards in a smirk. "Quite the generic villain plot, huh? Could not find anything else as your goal?"

"Think whatever you want, but tell me one person who has come close to conquering this world like me." The doctor's voice was haughty. He held the serum vial in front of him. "This vial contains the most powerful substance right now. This little vial is enough to produce gas that can fill that whole chamber and create enough monsters to destroy half of the Chinese Military's arsenal in a few days." He let out a chuckle. "Quite fascinating, isn't it? Through our experiments we found out that these creatures can withstand blasts two times the size of Hiroshima."

"And you think no one will stand in your path of destruction? You think the gods will just stand by and do nothing? You must be more naïve than I thought you were."

"Heh~" The doctor tilted his head to the right and said in a sweet tone, "But Xiao, I am not doing anything 'illegal' according to the gods. All I am doing is using human knowledge regarding Chemistry and Biology. Nothing else. Don't you find it hilarious that when the Germans were killing the Jews in concentration camps, none of the gods in the world interfered? Don't you find it laughable that when millions and millions of people were dying in pandemics, none of the gods decided to provide a solution? Here's the thing, Xiao…"

The doctor's face and voice turned ominous as the next sentence sent chills down Xiao's spine.

"The gods have abandoned us."

If looks could burn someone, Xiao's glare would have burned the doctor a million times over. She could find no counter for his statements. As much as she tried to defend the gods, what arguments could she give?

"Anyways, I think we have talked long enough. Now it's time to test the serum," the doctor said, his voice turning giddy like a child.

Suddenly, the sound of a heavy metallic objects being lifted reached Xiao's ears. She turned around to see behind her, and her brows furrowed in confusion. The metallic doors in the chamber started opening. They moved up slowly, and the sound they made sent nervous shivers down Xiao's spine.

But what came next caused Xiao's eyes to widen in surprise. Horror was starting to crawl up her skin. A crowd of normal humans poured into the room—men, women, and children in equal numbers. Xiao could see the confusion in the men's eyes, the nervousness in the women's, and the fright in the children's.

"Welcome, my test subjects." The doctor's voice echoed in the chamber. His voice made him sound amused yet cold at the same time.

"H-Hey! What's going on?" A man from the crowd asked Xiao.

"Y-Yeah! What are we doing here?" This time it was a woman.

"Is it because of the Rebellion against the government?" Another man asked.

"Listen, the women and children have nothing to do about it. Let them go, alright. They are innocent." Another man pleaded.

If Xiao's spirit wasn't close to breaking, her eyes were drawn to a little boy no older than seven years old tugging at his mother's clothes.

"Mama. What is going on?" The child asked his mother. The mother bent down and hugged the child trying to comfort him.

By now, the metallic doors had closed up once again. Xiao spun around to face the doctor. Her eyes set in a desperate glare. "What are you doing!? Let them go, you bastard!"

"Tell me, Xiao, did you enjoy the sessions you spent down there trying out your new martial arts moves on the demons?" The doctor asked creepily.

Xiao was starting to feel strength leave her body. "What are you saying?" She whispered.

"Maybe you should try some new moves again," the doctor said, chuckling in a sadistic tone. "Don't worry, the chemical won't affect you, unfortunately. It needs to be injected into the blood of a Hero descendant for it to work. So, make sure to enjoy yourself, Xiao~"

Xiao jumped in surprise when green-colored gas suddenly started pouring in from all around the room. Xiao snapped her head left and right. Everywhere she looked, it was already engulfed in the gas.

Her eyes widened in absolute horror when the agonizing and inhuman screams of torture reached her ears. Her body started shaking as she looked at a scene straight out of a horror movie. Gone were the humans from before, replaced by monsters she had encountered in these chambers before—long scaly arms, deformed heads, and bodies.

"W-What… What is this?" Xiao asked in desperation. "P-Please tell me this is a bad dream."

Memories started flashing through her eyes—memories of the time she had spent in this chamber killing similar-looking monsters. Horror fully set in as she realized that all this time, she was not killing demons but humans that had been transfigured into monsters using her own blood.

So lost in her anguish, she never saw a demon pounce on her and clamp its jaws into her left torso, causing her to scream in pain. The Shaolin master looked down and saw a smaller-sized monster with its jaws biting her side. She was about to stab it with the knife attached to her thighs, but suddenly, the monster was replaced by the image of the boy child from earlier, and she faltered in her action.

This minor mistake gave room for another monster to attack as it drove its giant hand through her right side, sending her flying into the other side of the room. The poor girl crashed against the walls of the chamber hard enough to kill a normal human on the spot. She pushed herself to her feet with great effort and leaned against the wall, holding her injured side with her left hand. Somewhere down the line, the smaller monster must have let her go.

Separating her hand a little from her wound, she glanced at it, her eyes narrowing slightly seeing the blood that now covered her hand. She raised her hand and found that she was completely swarmed by the monsters. 'Tsk! I have to find a way to escape. I can't fight like this,' she thought to herself.

Xiao looked up, and hope returned to her eyes. There right above her was a platform. Maybe she could use it to find a way out. Just then, her eyes were drawn downwards. A monster had pounced on her again. She pushed herself to the left, dodging the monster whose hand got embedded and stuck to the already broken part of the wall.

Without wasting a second further, she jumped on the monster's stuck hand. Using it as a platform, she pushed herself upwards. She spun herself around and gracefully landed on the railing surrounding the platform.

She glanced around the room trying to find an exit when her eyes went towards one of the vents right at the center of the ceiling. 'Must have built that to filter the gaseous serum out. Might just be my way out. But… How do I reach it?'

Xiao looked down and saw her hand clenched around the railing. How could someone be so cruel? How could anyone do something like this? She shook her head. There was no point in thinking like this anymore. The first thing she needed to do was survive. She could always find the doctor later and torture him to her heart's content.

She started taking deep breaths, a technique many masters used to control their blood flow. It was tough, but using this, she could direct less blood towards her open wound and focus more blood to her legs. Suddenly, a group of monsters started banging their hands against the wall trying to disbalance her. Did these monsters have a brain to think?

'There is no time. I need to get out, now.'

And with that one thought, the Shaolin monk jumped to the ground into an open area. Landing gracefully, she started running toward the center at full speed, weaving through gaps left by the horde of monsters.

Just as she reached the center, a monster managed to block her way. It swung its lean hand down as if trying to crush her, but Xiao was too agile to be hit by a thin hand. She jumped in the air, dodging the hand successfully. Spinning herself three-sixty degrees, she landed on the monster's shoulder. Then using its head as a leverage, and pushing all her strength to her legs…

Xiao jumped!

A small, hopeful smile lit up her face as she extended her free hand forward. She was confident that she could reach the register vent.

But luck was not on her side.

A monster caught her, and she glanced down to see one of the tallest monsters in the horde holding her with its hands.

Then, it started to squeeze.

The air in her lungs left her as Xiao felt herself being squeezed. She clawed against the large hand, attempting to free herself, but to no avail. With each passing second, the monster increased the pressure. She squeezed her eyes closed in pain.

'No… Not like this… I can't die here… I still… I still have to meet my mom! I can't! I won't!' "I WILL NOT DIE HERE!"

Out of nowhere, threads of orange energy sprouted from her body, traveled down the monster's arm, and in the next second, destroyed it completely. Xiao found herself free from the monster's grasp, free-falling. She landed on the ground with grace, pushed herself into a standing position, and took a stance, ready to fight the monsters.

When she opened her eyes, they were filled with sparkling orange energy. The same energy sparkled around her hands and body. Two thin blood streams rolled down her left hand, causing blood to drop on the floor from her knuckles.

It is said that the individual who carries the blood of a Hero is special. When the individual faces death, the strength in their blood is truly realized. It is only a few who have ever achieved this state.

At this point, Xiao had fully realized her strength.

"I am sorry," Xiao said, tears rolling down from her eyes as she pounced on the monsters.

Chaos engulfed the room.

A Hero had been fully realized.

A dark square appeared in mid-air in one of the corridors inside the cave. Following multiple dark squares appeared forming a dark doorway of sorts.

A hand covered in a dark glove came out of the portal, followed by a dark clothed leg. A second later, a whole figure covered in a dark hooded attire appeared through it. Just as the figure stepped out of the portal, it closed in a second.

"~Meow~"

"Oh. So, this is where you were," the figure said in a relieved tone. "I thought I left you somewhere else."

"~Meow~" The cat suddenly started running deeper into the cave.

"H-Hey! Wait!" The figure whispered and ran behind the cat.

As the cat ran deeper, the figure noticed that they were heading towards a room he had never visited during his previous visits. A sense of dread started dawning on the person as it followed the feline creature into the room.

To the figure's slight surprise, the cat headed over to the glass panel and started clawing at the glass. The figure walked up to the glass panel and looked through it.

It looked like a carnage had happened inside the chamber. Blood and pieces of organs lay everywhere on the floor. The figure punched the glass causing it to break into a million pieces.

The cat jumped down into the chamber followed by the figure. They both managed to land in an area that was not covered in gore.

The cat pawed the figure's dark pants and started weaving through the gory floor, managing to keep itself out of the blood. The figure watched as the cat ran toward the center of the chamber and followed behind it.

When he was couple of feet away, the figure's eyes widened in shock.

A dark-haired woman lying covered in blood.

The figure was immediately by her side. Putting two fingers on her neck, it realized that the woman was still alive. There was massive gaping would on her left side, something that needed treatment.

The figure held his right hand over the wound and it started glowing green.

"Damn. What did you do Xiao?" The figure asked.

As the figure healed the woman, he looked around the room. There had to be atleast a hundred of those monsters here. Yet, Xiao had fought through all of them.

It truly was impressive.

A groan escaped Xiao's lips as consciousness returned to her. Her body ached, especially the left side of her stomach. Xiao attempted to push herself into a sitting position, but her aching body made it extremely difficult. Nonetheless, she managed to sit.

Looking down at herself, she realized she was still wearing her shaolin clothes, but bandages were wrapped around her torso. Blood had seeped into the left side of the bandages, coloring them red. Releasing a deep breath, she tried to remember where she was. The last thing in her memory was fighting a horde of transfigured humans, a memory that caused her to retch in disgust. She dry heaved and clutched her hair painfully.

How could she have allowed something like that to happen? How could she ever live knowing that hundreds of lives had been destroyed because she had chosen to blindly trust someone? Tears started falling from her eyes as she pulled at her hair, trying to uproot them. She wanted to punish herself, to jump off a cliff and die. The doctor had used her blood to perfect the Serum, and Grandmaster Yuu had played her like a fiddle. She had trusted Yuu, and this was the result—transfigured humans.

She still had difficulty believing that Grandmaster Yuu had done something like that to her. The Grandmaster always seemed wise, kind, and compassionate. She had admired him and had wanted to be just like him. But what did it bring her? Nothing but guilt and the burden of having her hands red with the blood of thousands of innocents.

The image of the boy from earlier appeared in her mind, causing her to shake even more violently. Why? Why did it have to be like this? The boy did not deserve this. None of them deserved this. Yet, they died. Their souls were tortured. She stared at her palms, and immediately the color red flashed on them, horrifying her even further. She squeezed her eyes tightly, trying to rid her mind of the images. But it failed. The moment she opened her eyes and glanced at her palms, they were once again painted red but this time with bits and pieces of human flesh on them.

This time, her stomach gave out, and she vomited in her hands. All of her stomach content seemed to pour out through her mouth without a break. A minute later, she started dry heaving heavily. Her eyes were constantly shedding tears, and snot ran down her nose freely. She wasn't prepared for this. No amount of training and mental exercises could have prepared her for the atrocities she had seen and dished out in that chamber.

"Oh! You are awake!"

The familiar voice suddenly made her jerk her head upwards, and her eyes widened when she saw Xian standing before her, looking relieved. Weirdly enough, with a black cat snuggled around his neck. Looking closely, she wondered if this was the same cat she had seen earlier that day near the entrance of the cave. But she threw that thought away, denoting it as a coincidence.

"And it seems you have vomited as well," he said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"X-Xian! What are you doing here?" Xiao asked, but she started coughing violently.

Xian appeared right beside her, carrying a glass of water in his hands. He held it out for her.

Xiao took the glass of water and chugged it down in one go. Sighing in relief, she handed the glass to Xian. Seeing Xian hesitate a little, she glanced down and blushed in embarrassment when she noticed that the glass was covered in her vomit.

"Meow~"

Xiao's eyes traveled to the cat. The cat seemed disturbed by the vomit. It jumped down from Xian's shoulder and strutted out of the room. It was only then that she noticed the cat actually had two tails instead of one.

"You can keep that on the table," Xian said, pointing at something with his finger.

Xiao followed his finger and noticed a bedside table. She put the glass down there.

"Are you all right, Xiao?" Xian asked.

Now that Xiao had regained her bearings a little, she realized that his voice sounded different. The childish and cheerful voice was replaced by a more mature and rough tone.

"What… What are you doing here, Xian?" Xiao asked again.

"Well…" Xian rubbed the back of his neck. "A few things happened."

"It doesn't matter," Xiao said as she climbed to her feet. "I have to go."

"Wait!" Xian tried to stop her. "Get a bath first!"

But Xiao no longer cared. She checked herself, if she had all the gear or not. Finding that she was missing some pieces, she ran her eyes around the room and saw that her equipment was lying on the only table in the room.

"Xiao! Do you even know where you are?" Xian asked, his eyes following Xiao around the room.

Xiao did not reply. She walked briskly toward the table and grabbed her equipment. Tying it around her waist, she prepared to leave.

Unfortunately, Xian had different plans. The boy grabbed Xiao by her hands, stopping her in her tracks.

Xiao released a frustrated breath and turned her head toward Xian. "What are you doing?" she asked as she narrowed her eyes dangerously.

Xian blinked incredulously. "What do you think?" he exclaimed in frustration. "I am trying to stop you from doing something stupid."

"Stupid…" Xiao whispered, her voice carrying a dangerous tone. She slowly approached Xian until her face was mere inches away from him. "My hands are already red with the blood of innocents. What can be worse than that?"

Xian felt his heart ache for the girl. Her pupils were shaking, no doubt from the horror she had been forced to live. Her sleep would forever be filled with the faces of the people she had been forced to kill. He truly felt sorry for her. No one should go through something like that.

"Xiao," Xian began slowly. "I can understand what you are going through." Xian tried to console the distraught girl. "You need to calm down."

Suddenly, Xiao bared her teeth as she glared harshly at Xian. "Understand…? What the fuck will a child understand what I am going through?"

Xian raised his free hand in a placating manner. "Because... I am not who you think I am."

Xiao's blinked, confusion invading her already troubled mind. She stared at the younger boy, trying to find if he was lying or not but she could not find anything. "What… What do you…mean?" She asked slowly.

What the hell was going on?

Somewhere on the outskirts of Tibet…

Doctor Quanhi could not have been happier.

His lifetime dream had finally come true, the culmination of all his hard work, countless hours in the labs, and sleepless nights. It was all paying off. He had achieved what no one else had achieved before. With this success, he could easily conquer the world, and no god would be able to intervene.

He had outsmarted the very gods.

Their pact not to intervene in human actions was going to backfire. He planned to conquer China, then Taiwan, then Japan, and finally India and Pakistan. Slowly and steadily, he would conquer the world. No nuclear force would stop his army of transfigured humans. No UN, no NATO, no superpower would stand before him.

Once he conquered China, he would have the might of the Chinese military. With a population of 1.4 billion people, to use his serum on. A mere ten thousand transfigured humans were enough to conquer a military superpower like the USA and Russia in a week. He didn't even need one percent of China's population to overpower a military superpower. Every other country would be like taking a walk in the park.

Dr. Quanhi sighed contentedly as he leaned back against the front passenger seat of his car. He increased the volume of the music system playing a melodious classical song. He closed his eyes to relax.

He was heading toward the next Rebel camp where the formation of his first Battalion would take place. There were ten more such Rebel camps with thousands of Rebels for him to use.

He laughed in his mind.

This was going to be so easy, all thanks to the idiot Grandmaster and his naïve protégé. He would also have to thank the Buddhist Gods for being lazy and not interfering with the human world.

Oh, and there was a very particular God he needed to thank for convincing the Grandmaster of his stupid plan to end the world. If that hadn't happened, he wouldn't have reached this far.

Oh well, their stupidity was his gain. He couldn't do anything if they let themselves be played like this. People like them were only needed to be used by intellectual beings like him.

It was, after all…

Their Glorious Purpose.

Suddenly, he felt the driver honking. He frowned, realizing that the driver was honking urgently. He cracked his eyes open only to see a familiar figure meters away from them, standing in the car's path.

"Wha – " The doctor gasped out. His head snapped toward the driver. "Stop the car!" He yelled in desperation.

"I CAN'T!" The driver yelled back, his foot hitting the brakes continuously.

Dr. Quanhi's head turned towards the man, standing still in the car's path. Suddenly, the man raised his right arm, and a pinkish glow appeared in his hand. The glow extended towards the sky and started changing shape. A second later, the glow had formed a pink-colored battle axe.

The driver tried to stop the car by any means. He tried hitting the brakes, but it did not work. By the time his mind remembered the handbrake, it was already too late.

"Yuu–" Unfortunately, the greedy doctor never got to finish his sentence.

Just as the car was inches away from the man, the man brought the battle axe down with full force. The car was sliced into two halves. The two halves' trajectory was separated in a V-like shape, one part going left and the other right, due to the previous momentum of the car. Due to this, the two halves crashed into two trees on either side of the road.

The man straightened himself as the battle axe disappeared. He turned around and looked toward his right. The half that contained the driver had been completely squashed due to the collision. The scene pretty much told the man that the driver was dead.

He slowly walked toward the half where Dr. Quanhi was sitting. Thankfully, this half had not been squashed instantly. But it did look pretty bad.

The man went and stood beside the open side of the car half. The doctor had survived but not for long. His body had been completely squashed between the tree and the backside of the car. Whatever life he had left was thanks to the airbag.

Dr. Quanhi glanced at the man through the corner of his eyes. "W-Why…?" The doctor wheezed painfully.

The man chuckled heartily. "Come now, doctor. Haven't you realized yet?"

The doctor did not reply, causing the man to chuckle even more. He ran his left hand through the doctor's hair soothingly before he dragged it down through the doctor's face to the doctor's right breast pocket. He rummaged through it before smiling and fishing out what he was looking for.

When the man pulled out his hand, he was carrying the same vial containing the greenish liquid from the lab. The man held it in front of the doctor's eyes and said, "This was your glorious purpose."

Chuckling heartily, the man patted the doctor's head like a dog and walked away from the car. The doctor was howling obscenities at him, but all of that was quietened when the doctor's half of the car exploded.

The man continued walking through the road as he glanced at the vial. "Any update on Naruto Uzumaki's location?" He said, before pocketing the vial.

"No," the woman replied. "It is as if he disappeared from the face of the planet."

The man's lips pursed into a thin line, and his eyebrows knitted in a frown. "This does not bode well for the plan."

"What are we going to do now?" the woman asked. One could easily hear the worry in her voice.

The man stopped in his tracks. It was a difficult situation. They were supposed to keep Naruto under their radar.

For the first month, they were tracking him without any problems. But then, after they caused the incident in Golmud, the bastard had just disappeared without any trace. His best guess was that Naruto was still investigating the disappearances and the transfigured humans. He could only hope that the Uzumaki had not found out about them already.

Suddenly, the duo was startled by the ringing of a phone. Realizing that someone was calling him, the dark-haired man fished in his pockets for his phone. When he saw the caller, he felt a nervous twitch in his face.

"Shit!" the man cursed audibly.

"Who is it?" the woman asked apprehensively.

"The big man," the dark-haired man said, picking up the call. "Hey, boss. How you doing?" He tried to speak cheerfully.

"Cut the crap, Yuushi," the person from the other end of the phone answered in an angry voice. "You had one fucking job! Fucking ONE! And you went and messed it the FUCK UP!"

The caller was yelling so loudly that Yuushi had to distance his phone from his ears. "B-Boss! I think you're overreacting. L-Let's calm down and meet and discuss the situation."

"Overreacting. Are you listening to yourself, Yuushi! All you had to do was find out more about the Uzumaki! But you! You had to go and release a horde of transfigured humans at his exact location."

"I-I thought it was a good way of finding the Uzumaki's powers. Which were quite impressive, mind you."

"FUCK THAT! Are you insane, you fucking shit! We are talking about Naruto! NARUTO UZUMAKI! Have you fucking forgotten what the Prophecy said!"

"N-No, sir. I-I remember."

Yuushi heard a sigh from the other end of the call. "All right, tell me where exactly he is," the caller asked sternly.

"Uh… Um… About that…" Yuushi was sweating buckets. What the hell was he going to say now?

"About that what?"

"Uh… I… I um… It's just…"

"Are you going to tell me or not?"

Yuushi took a deep breath. "Welosthim."

"What! What are you saying? Say it clearly, you dipshit."

Yuushi released a defeated sigh. He was going to die, wasn't he? "We lost him, sir."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"I think I heard you wrong. What did you say, Yuushi?" the caller asked, his voice grave.

"We lost his track."

"YOU DID WHAT!"

Yuushi cringed heavily. He was sure this was his last day in this world.

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME! ARE YOU! YOU ARE TELLING ME YOU LOST UZUMAKI! THE NARUTO UZUMAKI! HAVE YOU GONE INSANE, YUUSHI!"

Yuushi winced at the loud voice. "I-I had him on my radar for a month, s-sir. B-But t-then he just disappeared!"

"Let me guess. Right after the foolishness that you pulled off, right?"

"Yes," Yuushi said in a low voice.

"Well done! Well fucking done! I should have never trusted you, bastard! What the hell are you gonna do if he finds out about us! He was a fucking Ninja for fuck's sake! Of course, he was going to be difficult to track down. And yet you lost him! How incompetent can you get!"

"I-I don't k-know how Ninjas operate."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"WHAT THE FUCK KIND OF EXCUSE IS THAT! You could have watched a movie or something, you disgusting pile of dogshit! Do you want me to kill you!?"

"I-I… I am sorry, s-sir."

"And what are we gonna do if he visits Shaolin? Huh? What happens when that bastard kills the old fart there and learns about us."

"Don't worry, sir. I believe in Yuu. He isn't going to tell Uzumaki about us." Yuushi proclaimed proudly. Yuu was too devoted to the plan to give them away so easily.

"THE UZUMAKI CAN READ MINDS, YOU IDIOT! All that bastard needs to do is touch the other person with his chakra, and he can read their memories. WE ARE DOOMED!"

Suddenly, Yuushi started chuckling, which turned into full-blown laughter.

"What are you laughing about?"

"Boss, I guess I have one good news."

"And what is that?" The Boss's voice seemed skeptical.

"I altered Yuu's memories. I always do. You know about my unique ability, right? My ability to alter memories with my eyes."

"You really did huh? Why would you do that? Or are you lying to me to save yourself again?"

Yuushi let out joyous laughter. "Come now, Boss. You know I don't trust humans. They are fickle beings."

"…"

"Boss?"

"Whatever. Even then, go underground for some time. In case your memory alteration fails, and Uzumaki learns about us. I will be safe. I don't know about you though."

"Don't worry boss. He isn't going to catch –" Yuushi never got to finish his sentence as the caller cut off from the other end. Yuushi looked at his phone and sighed in relief before pocketing it.

"He was angry, wasn't he?"

He looked at his female companion. In his eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. She had brown hair tied in a high bun and was wearing a purple dress that went down to her upper-thighs, just past her nether region. The dress had a diamond-shaped cut from the neck to the waist in the front and from the waist to her mid-thighs in the back. The front cut exposed a massive amount of cleavage, and one could even see a hint of her areolas. The cut on the back exposed her buttocks to the world and also the fact that she wasn't wearing any panties. But fortunately, her womanhood was covered by the end of her dress which had a thick piece of cloth encircling her pelvis and thigh region to her.

"He was," Yuushi said with a sigh. "I managed to save my head this time. I messed up big, and it was only because of one failsafe. Glad I have been doing it for so long that it has become a habit."

"Let's go. I will contact Rizevim and ask him to arrange us a shelter in the Old Satan Headquarters. Hopefully, Uzumaki won't find us there," the woman said with a frown.

"I knew I can trust you, Katerea. You really are the best partner I could ask for."

Katerea scoffed, turning her nose up. "No need to butter me up. We can't let you die. You are our ticket to winning the next war against those bastards pretending to be the Satans."

"Aww~ I know you care about me."

"Shut up!" Katerea hissed as she started walking away. Yuushi caught up to her and fell by her side. "So. You altered that pathetic human's memories. Who did you replace yourself with?"

Yuushi smiled at her. "Well… It is a secret."

"And here I was thinking of giving you a rimjob. Guess you don't want that."

Yuushi laughed heartily. "Now, that's what I like to hear. In that case, the person I replaced myself with is –"

" Lord Sun Wukong," Grandmaster Yuu greeted with a bow.

"You sure took your sweet time," the Monkey King said in a sweet voice.

"I am extremely sorry. What can I do for you?"

"It's understandable," the Monkey King said, waving his hand dismissively. "You have a school to manage and students to teach."

"Is there any update regarding him?"

"No, unfortunately not," the Monkey king shook his head.

"So, no news about Naruto Uzumaki, huh? What a troublesome child!"

"No. But I bring graver news."

"What can be graver than the missing Uzumaki?"

"It seems the Doctor has decided to betray us."

Grandmaster Yuu's eyes widened in surprise. "He did? But why?"

"It would seem he had his own plans all this time. Plans that he was hiding from us."

"I see…"

"You know what that means, right Yuu?"

"Xiao Li has been compromised."

"Not yet… But yes."

"Can't you…prevent it? Kill the doctor before he reveals everything to her?"

"I will try. But still, prepare yourself for the worst. You will be able to, right?"

"I killed her dad for the plan. The man I saw as a son. I can probably paint my hands red with the blood of another," Yuu said with a heavy heart.

"For the Greater Good."

"For the Greater Good."

"When we finally fulfill the plan, I will make sure to resurrect you first with Xiao and her father. You guys can live peacefully after that."

"That is all I ask for, my lord."

"I wish you luck, Yuu."

Grandmaster Yuu knelt in front of a statue of Gautam Buddha, his palms joined and his eyes closed in prayer.

Lord Wukong had contacted him earlier in the day and informed him of his failure and Xiao's discovery of his involvement in all this.

It meant her time had come. Something he had never wished for. If only the foolish doctor had followed the plan and done his job.

But now that she had learned of the plan, she had to die. It would be unfortunate, like her father, but it was for the greater good. When everything would be reforged, she would live a happy life again.

His heart ached and he wanted to spare her from this fate, but he knew it was futile. She was a Hero's descendant and he knew the Code Phrase would only temporarily deactivate her bodily functions. The Code Phrase would only buy him some time, but she could escape in the future.

He could not allow that. If she somehow informed the other Gods in the Buddhist Pantheon, especially Lord Buddha, then they would be doomed. And he did not even want to think about Lord Buddha's reaction if he learned of Lord Wukong's involvement in all this.

Lord Buddha would wage war and hunt down all their allies until none of them remained alive.

That was the last thing the Grandmaster wanted. Xiao's father had almost informed Lord Buddha about their plan. No one could understand how he had managed to contact the god. Even today, Yuu thanked his luck that he had killed Xiao's father in time.

The old Grandmaster sighed tiredly. He felt his age and the burdens on his shoulder with each passing day. Hopefully, he could rest in peace after today.

The old Grandmaster was startled when someone banged on his office door. "It's time," he muttered to himself. He picked up his walking cane lying before him and pushed himself to a standing position. He turned around slowly. He held the cane with both hands and leaned on it to support his weight.

Another loud bang and the office door flew past him, embedding itself deep into the Gautam Buddha's statue's hand.

His apprentice, Xiao Li, stood in the doorway, looking incredibly pissed. She stalked through the doorway like a predator and stopped a few feet away from the old man. Her long hair shadowed her eyes.

Grandmaster Yuu's eyes moved to the bandages around Xiao's torso and he felt a deep sadness. 'Oh, poor child. What did you have to go through?' He thought to himself.

"Why?"

Xiao spoke one word, but Grandmaster Yuu sensed the heaviness in it. It broke his heart even more. No one should go through something like this, but here they were. "I am sorry," he said in a sorrowful tone.

"Did you kill my father?" Xiao asked. Her voice was barely a whisper.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It had to be done."

"So you could kill thousands of people."

"..."

"When were you going to tell me my mother was dead?" Xiao asked through gritted teeth.

"I was going to...after this mission," Grandmaster Yuu said, his heart aching more with each passing second. "I am sorry."

"Your sorry does no good," Xiao spat, aggressively. "It won't bring back the people you killed."

"It was for the greater good, little one."

"Greater Good," Xiao's voice spewed venom. "What greater good comes from killing children? Have you gone senile in your old age?"

"..."

"What? Can't you justify your actions, you old fart?"

"Tell me Xiao, who do you think is the true enemy of humans?"

"Huh?" A confused look appeared on Xiao's face. "You have really gone senile, haven't you?"

Grandmaster Yuu shook his head sorrowfully. "You don't see the bigger picture like I do."

"If by bigger picture you mean being so delusional that you kill children, then I am infinitely grateful that I am blind," Xiao said heatedly.

"I am sorry Xiao. You forced my hand."

"Oh. So you are going to kill me like my father, huh? No remorse. No nothing. You know, I had this little hope that you would regret what you did, but I realize now that I was wrong."

"I am sorry," Grandmaster Yuu said again. He took his hands off the cane. He slid a finger through the handle and the top skin came off, revealing a black switch. "I am sorry," he said again and pressed the button.

The Grandmaster waited for a few seconds, but nothing happened. He pressed the button again, but it yielded no result. He pressed it continuously, but to no avail.

"So he was right," Xiao said, loud enough for the Grandmaster to hear.

"Huh?" The Grandmaster raised a confused eyebrow at her.

"He said that someone had planted devices to release the gaseous serum into every room of the Shaolin. Thankfully, he managed to destroy them. But he couldn't find who was responsible for it. To think it would be you who would go so far as to turn your own students into monsters for your own gain."

The Grandmaster huffed and threw the cane away. "I don't know who you are talking about and I don't care," he said, cracking his neck and stretching his arms. "You are foolish to think that you can defeat me, Xiao. You need four hundred more years to compete with me on the same level."

However, the Grandmaster did not expect Xiao to shrug at his statement. "Yeah, I know," she said nonchalantly before chuckling. "But he can," she said, pointing her thumb behind her at the doorway.

Grandmaster Yuu raised a curious eyebrow when Xian walked in through the door and stood beside Xiao. The sight of the fifteen or something year old boy made the old Grandmaster laugh even harder, causing tears to appear in his eyes. "Are you really betting on him, Xiao? Even you have a better chance than him."

"Yeah, about that," Xian said, with his hand behind his neck and him looking at Buddha's statue. The Grandmaster was surprised that his voice was no longer childish. Instead it sounded more mature. "I am not the person you think I am," Xian said.

"Oh." Grandmaster Yuu narrowed his eyes dangerously. "Then why don't you tell me your identity, child."

"Of course," Xian said with a smile and suddenly he burst into a cloud of smoke.

As the smoke cleared little by little, a new figure emerged from it.

Grandmaster Yuu squinted his eyes to see who it was. The first thing he noticed was that a taller figure had replaced Xian. The next thing he noticed was the V-shaped and ripped torso of the figure. The next thing that was revealed was the muscular arms.

The old man's eyes widened when the cloud of smoke near the face cleared. First it revealed a pair of bright cerulean eyes, then six whisker marks on his cheeks and finally, spiky blonde hair.

"You – " The Grandmaster lost all his breath.

And why wouldn't he?

After all, the bane of all their plans, the most unpredictable enemy, the worst enemy one could ask for was standing right in front of him.

"Wha – " Grandmaster Yuu tried to say but he couldn't. His mouth failed him.

Putting a hand behind his neck, the blonde raised his head a little to look down on the old man. "I am not Xian Li," the blonde said and smirked –

"I am Naruto Uzumaki! Nice to meet you, old man."

- Chapter End -

Naruto appears on the scene.

Why did the Grandmaster do what he did?

What is going to be Naruto's response?

Find out in the next chapter.

Author's Comment for this chapter:

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Especially considering the fact that I have semester exams next month but it really managed to reduce some anxiety I had.

I was supposed to publish two chapters but then I was like – Meh, I can just join two chapters together and publish them together.

I would also like to apologize to those who did not come here to read about OCs. Frankly even I was not planning on writing OCs. But I wanted to write a bigger world in this story and especially explore Pantheons I like. So, expect a fair bit of OC involvement in the future.

Also I find out that Bing AI is a nice alternative for grammar checker. Used it to edit this chapter and it turned out nice.

Unfortunately, no new chapter next month. Expect a new chapter in January… hopefully.

Bye, bye.

Additional Information:

1) The connection between Vishnu and Gautam Buddha

It is kind of controversial and opinions on this topic vary greatly. Some people in Hinduism believe that Gautam Buddha is the nineth avatar of Vishnu. While many Buddhists and Vaishnavites, disagree. There is no concrete proof that Buddha was the reincarnation of Vishnu in anyway.

2) The connection between Jade Emperor and Gautam Buddha

While researching about the Buddhist religion, I found that Jade Emperor is sometimes identified with Śakra, the ruler of the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven in Buddhist cosmology. Gautam Buddha is also considered an incarnation of Śakra.

- For the sake of the story, I am going to treat all deities as separate identities. Their mythological connections are not taken into consideration in this story.

- Also, it would be good to note that the descendants of Lü Bu I talked about in this chapter, that's just a fictional part of the story that I created. Though he did have a daughter Lü Lingqi.