Warnings! This chapter contains bad words, mentions of sexual violence, and graphic violence. Proceed at your own risk.

"Holy shit". The dwarf thinks, spilling his plate of hot food when his dear cousin enters with the subtlety of an Oliphant.

"Düin, you lucky bastard! You will not believe it! I found Saruman's idiots, and they were talking about the Red Eyes! They finally gave more descriptions! And it's in your face the whole time!"

"You're going to clean this up first, you little shit. And I would know if I saw someone with red eyes, I'm not so old that I'm already blind, damn."

The other ignored him, a wide smile that didn't fade even in the face of his scowl.

"The reward has increased! Even now the leader of the Dunland mercenary is on his way with our gold, Düin! We will be filthy rich!"

"What the hell, Nór, who's on their way to what, you stupid bastard, I don't know where the Red Eyes are..."

"The children, Düin! The brat you took as an apprentice, the humans who cover their faces! They are the Red-eyes!"

"What the hell?" The dwarf thinks, a bubble of confusion and panic coursing through him. He pays no attention to Nór's excited babble, all he can think about is...

"No."

Nór calms down, looking at him confusedly.

"But, Düin..."

"No. I will not give them away."

His cousin stares at him, apprehensive and then angry.

"Well then. I will."

"What the hell, Nór! If you..."

"If I don't come back with a location for those mercenaries, they'll kill me. And then, they'll find the Red Eyes and they'll keep the gold anyway."

"And who's to say that's not exactly what they're going to do, even if you give the location?"

"Contract bound by magic. The White's seal and all."– Nór smiles triumphantly.

The dwarf sits in the chair, spilled food forgotten, thoughts and emotions spiraling.

"Don't be naive, cousin." - Nór said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. - "Let's get the reward. We will no longer have to go through hardships. You can finally go back to Auderiana and give her the life she deserves. Don't you miss it? Our home? Our family is going through so much humiliation just to survive. We can't even spend money on a good brothel, damn it! Our clothes are shit, food is only the cheapest, besides the grandma's treatment too, the medicines are getting more and more expensive... our money just isn't enough! But with that gold..."

Düin sighs, closing his eyes.

"Isn't that what you wanted, Düin? The gold is right in front of you, just make the choice! Besides, Nór wouldn't survive if he failed the mercenaries..."

Denying the location was like asking Nor to die. And Nór was family.

Man, that was a shitty day. She sighs, shivering in the cold from the wind and water falling on her, thinking about how Katsuo's first week using the Mangekyou had been an absolute disaster. From the training they had done over these nearly two years, the boy had already mastered the basic techniques and was at the level of an advanced genin, perhaps an inexperienced chunin if she was being generous. The Sharingan had certainly helped, but now that they've moved on to testing with the Mangekyou Sharingan? He had an outbreak every time he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. Every. Damn. Time. How was she supposed to train him to use his Mangekyou if he couldn't even breathe properly when he activated it?

"At this rate, we'll be back home in a decade."

The teenager frowns, soaked clothes clinging to her body, torrential rain pouring down on her.

"At least wash the blood off those orcs." -She mumbles, absolutely annoyed by the fact that she is being hunted, along with her children, by this Sauron. She had been quiet, but really, this had been pissing her off for a while.

"Speaking of annoying things… Today is one of the days the dwarf hangs out with Riki… uh. In this weather, I don't think he minds if I go early and warm up there... Why did I have to invent my training so far? Oh. Yes. I wished at least a few minutes to be alone and think about things..."

Kana pauses, the muddy ground sinking a little under her weight, her eyes narrowing in suspicion as she saw the building.

"Riki." She thinks worried as she definitely wasn't feeling his chakra. When she opens the wooden door and unceremoniously enters, the place is almost deserted, save for a few blacksmiths who look up briefly and ignore her. She takes a few steps towards the work area where the dwarf usually stands and looks around. Turning abruptly to the nearest man, she asks:

"Where are they?"

The man shrugs, effectively ignoring her, and, well, maybe she deserved it after blatantly ignoring them in the first place, every time she came over. She sighed and gave in:

"I deserved it. I wasn't very polite, not now and neither the other times I came by. It wasn't right of me. Let me rephrase: could you tell me where they are, please? I'm worried about my brother." – Kana says, honestly and the man looks at her quite surprised before hesitatingly answering:

"The dwarf left early today. Looks like he got sick earlier. I think Orion offered to come and treat him at his house, but I'm not sure. It's all I know."

Kana nods and stiffly thanks him before rushing out of the room. She passes through the alley and into the edge of the woods where she built their house, taking advantage of the rain and moving at a speed that makes her a mere flash. Despite the rain, she notices that there are signs that several people have used this path recently, and she held the katana tightly. Her instincts were telling her that the dwarf was involved, somehow, and her mind starts to create scenarios and possibilities one worse than the other.

When she arrives at the hut and hears screams, laughter, and many unknown voices inside, she feels a chill down her spine. Cautiously, she approaches, trying to calculate the number of enemies and identify the situation. Casting a genjutsu on herself for camouflage, she made her way around the house, verifying that the back entrance was unguarded. The kitchen was intact. She walks across the wooden floor without making a single sound, stopping at the threshold of the wall that separates the kitchen from the dining room integrated into the living room, listening to some familiar voices and some unrecognizable voices talking to each other. From the glimpse, she had some chairs and other furniture scattered and broken, windows were broken and some small bloodstains were on the floor. She peers, seeing the invaders in the room, a total of seven men, all sharing the same sort of attire that was slightly similar to the ones she had seen Düin wear; besides the men, she recognized the two dwarves in the room, seeming to be negotiating something with what appeared to be the leader of the men. Two men and the two dwarves were arguing, sitting at the table that had several wooden boxes and some open bags, giving her the sight of gold and precious stones. One man was looking out the window, two other men were next to the door, the sixth was kicking Raijin (she clenches her jaw, eyes gleaming dangerously at the conditions of the hybrid warg) and the last of the men was watching over the children.

On the couch, Riki, Katsuo, and Eiko were bound and gagged. She clenched her fists, analyzing everything and listening carefully, but with a hint of confusion and disappointment – she was sure Katsuo and Riki could have handled them. They had already fought in more extreme situations and done well.

"… and they're not worth that much."

"You can't change the reward. The value in the contract is the price that has been agreed upon." - Nór replies, something of anger in his eyes. She sees the other man picks up one of the bags of jewelry, joking, and an unpleasant smile on his face.

"If they are the brats that de istari wants. Saruman wants four children, and they should be powerful and I don't see anything powerful in these ones. The youngest has been paralyzed with fear ever since he realized that his dear master had betrayed him and that one even wet herself. The only one with potential is a coward who can't kill anyone." – He casually points to where the children were. Eiko is terrified and Riki seems lost in his own world, trembling. Katsuo hardens his gaze, muttering softly to the three-year-old.

"Oh. That explains a lot. Katsuo and Riki have never killed anything but the creatures that attack us. Katsuo must have hesitated. Maybe it's for the best, for Eiko's sake, if nothing else. Three years is still too young to watch the first kill." Kana thinks, holding back a sigh and feeling sorry for Riki's first betrayal. She should have warned more about this possibility.

"I wonder if they're the real thing. You wouldn't have fooled us, right, dwarf? Because if this is all a lie…" – The leader didn't finish his sentence, an intimidating look on his face as he slammed a dagger into the table with force. Kana saw Nór go pale and then hurried to answer, a little desperate.

"They are! One of Mirkwood's former inhabitants told me about the children, the descriptions match!"

"We will see. One is still missing, isn't it? If she doesn't have those infamous red eyes that the White talked about so much, it won't be good for anyone."

Kana smiled, a little amused, and decided it was time to get a little theatrical. Taking off her mask and lowering her hood, leaving her face unobstructed - after all, she would be the last thing they would see, so at least she would give them that consideration - she moved quickly, a mere flash of movement, within seconds pressing the pressure points and causing five of the seven men to pass out. The sound of bodies falling to the floor, unconscious, alarmed the two men at the table, and the dwarves. Holding the katana pointed at the back of the man's neck who had goaded the leader into breaking the deal, she smiled at the four of them.

"Well, what a surprise. I don't normally like guests, but since you guys seem so comfortable, I guess I'll let someone else explain. And by someone, I mean you, Düin, son of Drasuil."

The leader tries to react, but Kana gives them an icy look and unleashes her killer intent, leaving them trembling in terror.

"Kana! W-why the hell did you take so long?" – She hears Katsuo exclaim in relief and rolls her eyes fondly.

"Kaachan! Kaachan!" - Eiko screams in sheer need, running clumsily when Katsuo breaks free of the bonds, and the little girl grabs her leg. Despite Kana wanting nothing more than to take her in her arms, all she does is pat the top of Eiko's head with one hand. She smiled at Eiko, who wasn't the least bit bothered by Kana's killer intent. The same couldn't be said about her enemies.

"Katsuo, take Eiko and Riki for a walk. I'll finish things in an hour or two."

Katsuo nodded, swallowing hard and looking uncertainly between Kana and the men.

"Now." – Kana says pointedly.

"No! Kaachan! Kaachan!" - Eiko screams when the teenager takes her away from Kana. The Uchiha watches as the three begin to leave and sees Riki stop and stare intently at his supposed master. For Riki's sake, Kana lowered the intensity of the killing intent, allowing him to speak with Düin, who was breathing erratically.

"Düin." – Riki calls and the dwarf stares at him. Kana wants to hug the boy, seeing his betrayed face, the pure hurt, in his gaze. – "Why?"

The dwarf looks away, lowering his head and she thinks he won't answer.

"For the gold."

Riki turns away, but Kana sees a piece of him die at the answer. It's horrible. The children leave the house.

She takes a seat at the table, cutting off the man's head in one fluid, clean motion. The sound of the body and head falling doesn't bother her, nor does the blood stain the wooden floor.

"Now that the children are gone, we can talk civilly, I suppose.

She no longer needs killing intent to keep them quiet.

They are a fair distance away when they start to hear the screams, despite the rain and winds. Katsuo hugs Eiko, who keeps sobbing into his torso, and his clothing is a mixture of water, vomit, urine, and phlegm.

"I-I don't think she's going to kill Düin, at least." – Katsuo tells Riki that he's been very quiet since they left the hut.

He made an animalistic sound, almost a growl, and when he looked at Katsuo, it wasn't black eyes he found, but a vibrant red with a tomoe.

"I hope she kills him."

Katsuo shuddered, not doubting that the younger boy was serious.

Lightning illuminates the cabin. Kana looks disinterestedly at the corpse on the chair, which was in the worst condition, along with the one she had cut off the head. This was the leader and therefore she didn't give a quick kill like the others, instead, she used some... persuasion to get information about the istari and Sauron. Once she's finished with them, she turns to the dwarves, who tremble.

"I already have all the information I need. Normally, I wouldn't leave survivors, but I take no pleasure in killing anyone. Don't look at me like that, I'm serious, I only killed them because if they survived it would become a problem later anyway since they're part of this army the Saruman is gathering, and for whatever damn reason he decided he wanted me and to my brothers. You, however? Your people have not committed to this Saruman, and for all your greed, I don't think either of you is stupid."

"Y-you…are you going to let us live?" – Nór asked, a spark of hope. Düin was more skeptical.

She nodded, humming thoughtfully and tapping a finger over her lips.

"But I can't just let this betrayal go without punishment, can I?"

"What... are you going to do with us?" – Düin asks, fear seeping through his voice, and, at the same time, resignation. He shudders, almost wondering if death wouldn't be preferable to whatever she was planning. He had never seen anyone tortured before and now that he had, he realized he preferred a quick death.

There's a contemplative silence and then an almost tired sigh. Düin looks at the girl – for that is what she is, at least in appearance – and she has a contemplative and curious look in her eyes.

"Did you know what would happen if they succeeded in capturing us?"

The dwarves look at each other, and Düin is the only one to reply:

"You would be kept as slaves. The boys would be in charge with the heaviest work and you and Eiko... we... we're not sure... "- He says. She laughs, a little bitterly.

"Not sure, huh? Well then, let me put it in clearer words: we would be raped. But, no, it wouldn't be just me or Eiko. Riki and Katsuo - you know him as Orion and Minastir, by the way - would also be subject to that. With the looks of the boys, do you really think we'd be the ones to get fucked over?"

Düin feels like shit. He doesn't know if Nór is as ashamed as he is, because they were about to deliver them all to a horrible fate, and deep down, he still had a conscience. A bit.

Her face is neutral and unreadable as she shakes her head.

"Maybe, if we were not Uchihas, that was our fate right away, but you're lucky we are Uchihas. You see, we are specifically sought after for these eyes: the Sharingan. Our eyes are very, very precious. With those eyes, I can do things the two of you can't even imagine. It's the most important part of an Uchiha, what makes us proud. An Uchiha without a Sharingan is often seen as a failure, something absolutely worthless in the eyes of our clan. So our enemies often try to gouge out these eyes of ours, hoping to have them for themselves. I'm sure the mage would do the same."

Düin swallows, not looking at that demonic red eyes, knowing that if he did he would probably piss himself. She snaps her finger, and declares, in an almost gleeful tone:

"Well, that's it then, I'm going to take from you the thing which gives you the most pride among your own. After all, you can't forge without your hands, can you?"

She barely gave them time to understand what she was saying before cutting with near-surgical precision the two dwarves' hands, at the same time cauterizing the cut as her lightning-natured chakra had heated up the metal at the time of the cut. Nór is on the floor, curling up in a fetal position and Düin is sitting on the floor, agonizing and trying to somehow hold his arms. She ignores their cries of pain, watching her work with satisfaction - it was a very clean amputation if you asked her, although some blood splattered on the gold and table. She takes one of the bags and throws it at Düin's feet.

Coins and jewelry clink through the wood and Kana looks at him coldly.

"I hope that gold was worth it."

She finds them after an hour, bringing with her their belongings and a badly injured hybrid warg, though she has done her best to heal Raijin. The wolf was sleeping in her clone's arms.

Kana expected some questions, strangely nervous and expectant, but apart from a nod from Katsuo and a slightly longer look from Riki, they didn't question what had happened. Eiko was also sleeping. She feels quite relieved that she doesn't have to talk about what she's just done, and because apparently none of them are acting scared of her, nor like she's a monster.

"And now?" – Riki asks after all.

"Now…" Kana begins, slowly, a predatory smile on her pale face.

"Let's hunt who is hunting us."