Disclaimer: I, the author of this story, do not own 'Naruto', in any of its forms, nor do I own it's characters, places, general plot or illustrations. Any character presented here not found in the original Manga or Anime of 'Naruto', was created by this writer and was in no way borrowed or stolen from another person's creation or work. Any similarities with both real people and/or existent fictional characters is purely coincidental, and unintentional.
Author's Note: I thank you all for the patience you've had waiting for this chapter. I went through a rough patch in real life ever since I was writing the last part of Chapter 7; and it dragged for the month later.
But no worry! This story still remains a priority, won't be rushed, and will be seen to its end. I believe it won't take me as long to publish Chapter 9; but if it does I just ask for your patience. Here you go!

From Rain To Rust

Chapter Eight

Day Three: 'The Splash I Will Create'

Naruto's life had never been easy, pretty far from it actually. Being an antagonizing presence somehow was a constant all throughout his life—one he learned to live with—thing is; you can make amends with being born with a target on your back from something you never had a say in the first place; you can learn sooner or later that whatever it is that people hate you for isn't actually your fault—admittedly it doesn't make the pain or the solitude any easier to bear—but even when you have no idea of why you are being ostracized you know deep down that it is them who are wrong, not you...

This time it was different.

Because this time Naruto was being hated for something he decided to do, for something he wanted to do, for something he was being lauded for even to this day; that was a hard thing to come to terms with.
Being a Ninja was awfully hard on you if you were one of the few who deep down have a pure and gentle heart—and Naruto has that—killing is part of the way of life, taking a life is something you're taught to do since the moment you can hold a Kunai; and Naruto never ran away from that knowledge or from the responsibilities that came with it all, he always had a dream to become the greatest Hokage the world had ever seen; and in order to do so he needed to become and do anything that was necessary for him to reach that point.

For better or for worse that meant murdering.

And one of those Naruto murdered was named Nagato (or Pain, as his people knew him). Everything related to that particular situation was beyond complicated for Naruto himself, Nagato had been the man that murdered his own menthor in cold blood! The man that raised him and saved him from the horrors of war and abuse, Jiraiya; the man that had entrusted Nagato in his heart to be the child of the prophecy…

Naruto himself had been close to the Pervy Sage himself… Too close… The more he grew as a person, the more people started to fill the holes in the family that Naruto never had; there was an assortment of parental figures in his life: Iruka-Sensei, Kakashi-Sensei, to an extent even Teuchi-san...!

But 'The Pervy Sage' was special… he filled a void in Naruto's life that to this day he can't successfully put into words. And the moment Naruto heard about his death the demon inside him wanted vengeance the same way any mourning Ninja would… The difference is that Naruto knew how to grow past that, past the hatred and the anger.
Many would either happily put Nagato's death on Nagato's own shoulders after his sacrifice; or they'd saunter around parading themselves as the hero who murdered Pain…

Naruto was neither.

He took the responsibility that came with beating Nagato, Naruto did put the death of Nagato on his own shoulders; but he never waved the deed as proof of his goodness, rather it was more one of the many necessary evils he had to cope with along the way.

But now he was being hated for that same deed; he was being pointed at and singled out for killing a person that not only threatened to destroy his home place from existence, that had already killed persons dear to him and injured many others, but also threatened to kill him, kill every single person alive that meant something to him and literally keep this vile chain of mass murdering for as long as widespread as his particular goals deemed necessary!

"Is it true, Kakashi Sensei?" Naruto asked softly from his chair across the Hokage's desk. "Is it true that people keep dying in Amegakure ever since Nagato's death?"

Kakashi had been warned by Shikamaru that akin to this particular 'meeting' would occur sooner or later; that Naruto wasn't able to completely shake off what had happened just before the beginning of the First Test… And how could he?

"Would you believe me if I told you otherwise?" The Rokudaime Hokage asked the young man before him.

Naruto didn't respond.

"Things like these happen in war, Naruto. They happen before, during, and after war." Kakashi continued. "They happen particularly with places like Ame, places that were built and erected from conflict itself; places that have constantly struggled since their inception."

"We know now about the secrets Amegakure hid, there was a reason and a sense to make out of their decision to be veiled by secrecy all along; even during their most apparent prosperity, Amegakure constructed the better of it as a front to keep other villages from trying to seize the control; we know now that Hanzo was only able to ensure the safety over the village before he started taking the extreme measures he took to ensure its and his own security." Kakashi laid out the facts they had at hand to Naruto.

"Pain attacked and seized the Village to himself not only because he was beyond capable of it; but because he knew that the fall of Ame was to come anyway..."

"But if we knew their fall was coming why didn't we do anything?" Naruto asked, though he knew the answer to his question already.

Kakashi sighed softly, a show of endearment and reflection in the same breath. "Because if anything; Amegakure's demise worked in favor of the interests of the Daimyo, the Hokage, and the Hidden Leaf Village..." The Hokage purposely put it as flatly and 'professionally' as it was possible, but the message more than got across.

Naruto didn't feel any better after the conversation; if anything it only served to further confirm the answers that Shikamaru had already told him, to know that the Village stood behind the decision to let hundreds—if not thousands—of innocent people die sickened him to the core.
To think about all those orphans like himself that maybe didn't have the luck to control chakra and therefore instead of a life of duty, mentorship, and opportunities got sentenced to search for scraps on a dumpster; made him want to throw up.
To think about the innumerable crimes that young women, kids, and elders endured right before their lives were taken from them made Naruto want to shed a tear…

At least until his former Sensei, one of the men he looked up to as a figure to follow laid out a truth for him that froze his blood.

"And soon enough, Naruto." Kakashi's voice raised a single level to better get the attention of the war hero. "It will be you who will have the responsibility to take such decisions for the betterment of the Village…"

For once in his life Naruto didn't look forward to becoming a Hokage.

"Make sure you look out for any trace of foes before settling in."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Understood."

Leadership was completely new for Chōjūrō; it went without saying how capable the swordsman was in all endeavors of the ninja life, whether it was diplomacy, execution, planification, strategy, or counseling—even teaching—Chōjūrō had it all.
But even if one traced his illustrious trayectory all the way back to his early Academy days he was never the leader—yes, every now and then people looked to him in search of support as anyone ever did to prodigies like himself—but he was never the figure, especially when it came to the costumes and traditions of Kirigakure and its ninjas; the legacy of the 'Bloody Mist' left little to no good, Chōjūrō knew just by looking at the Ninjas that were above him throughout his career; the exceptions were minimal, but outside of those, the older Chūnin and Jōnin from Kiri were ruthless, asympathetic, cold-hearted and blood-lusted… Even if you were a prodigy like himself—and for better or for worse Chōjūrō never recognized himself as one, all the contrary—you weren't to be trusted any sort of responsibility or leadership position until there was absolutely no doubt by those above you that you deserved it.

The Godaime Mizukage was a different story.

Lady Terumī might very well be the mightiest of the Mizukages... Correction: Lady Terumī is the mightiest and the strongest of the Mizukages, she may even be the strongest out of her generation of the Five Kages.

But one thing that separated her from most of the other Kages of her generation was the fact that she was actively looking for a change, she was aware of the infamy that came with the mention of Kirigakure, of the savagery that breeded all those who grew up to become the most well-known Shinobi from Kiri. And to this day she is searching for herself and her village to detach themselves from the horrors and crimes of her past…

That was the reason Chōjūrō was handpicked by Mei Terumī to be her retainer and right hand, because the moment she'd laid eyes on the lanky boy who showed every possible sign of submission forcefully drilled into his skull she knew there was untapped potential yet to be reckoned. She saw what could one day grow up to be Kirigakure's next savior…

But now it was up to him; nothing was ever given in Kirigakure, not now and sure as hell not back in the Bloody Mist, Chōjūrō had to prove himself, to bring down every barrier in front of him, to drag the weight of the world forward, Chōjūrō had to lead, to guide, to win.

So far so good.

Team Mist encountered a couple of teams right at the beginning of the Exams, 'decimation' would be a cruel world to describe what happened back then (though not an inaccurate one); and Chōjūrō looked and performed like an absolute powerhouse. It was surreal to see what he'd done to entire teams on his own; and his teammates were noticing just that.

"Captain." Team Mist's medical ninja Kiri called. "I believe we're all settled so far, the idea to move at night and keep the rest for the morning has proven solid."

"Hai!" Chōjūrō was still having troubles having to acostume to even being called 'Captain', but the unfamiliarity was just internal. So far he'd proven to be an exemplary captain. "We'll take rounds just like we've done the past couple of nights; Kiri will sleep first so he can be in top shape in case any of us needs medical attention, meaning Ruka and I will take first guard, having the second biggest stamina out of the three of us you should be able to engage in fight with little sleep if needed;" their leader looked over to the Kunoichi "then Ruka will sleep and Kiri and I will take the second guard—" Their Captain consciously paid them their due. "—and I'll take the last spot so we can keep moving once I awake. Any questions?"

"None, Captain." Ruka shook her head and replied with her back straight and head up, considering her captain's performance it was easy to get upstaged; but Ruka herself was proving uncanny control and power for someone using a single Chakra Nature, and getting the slightest compliment from her Captain edge her on to continue the same way.

"We'll follow your lead, Chōjūrō-San." Kiri nodded with a subtle smile before redirecting the same expression to Ruka. Kiri might be the oldest and most experienced, but realization was hitting him that the next litter of Shinobi had power beyond anyone had seen for generations; they might not be Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju; but if they kept improving and advancing the way Kiri was witnessing then older Ninjas like himself would have no use anymore.

Chōjūrō locked eyes with his team and sent them on their duties.

Konoha spared no expense when it came to this event; the modernization and globalization proved monetarily rewarding for a big and productive country like the Fire Country; they had insurmountable amounts of natural resources—whether it was minerals, flora and fauna destined for consumption, or even energy and transport—to export to other territories, the peace treaty signed among the nations allowed for immigration to take part in the new world order, and more than enough people were interested in taking place in Konoha; and Konoha was happy to take them on, it only meant more productivity, more services, more economic development… Everything was thriving for Konoha.

And since this was a huge event in the eyes of pretty much everyone who had eyes; Konoha built an edifice specifically designed to house the dignitaries and special guests from the Five Great Nations, there were four wings specially and specifically decorated and designed to fit the costumes and living accommodations of each Village and Country, a single massive dining area with cuisine from every part of the continent available at hand's reach, a meeting and briefing area for the delivery of any information relevant to the Exams or the Shinobi Union; and there were of course more down-to-earth simple areas, like a common room for anyone to sit down and either enjoy a good chat with a fellow—or in the Sandaime Tsuchikage's case—rest his old bones down… Of course the Kages themselves had a whole floor to themselves with installations to accompany them and just them, god forbid they socialized with any of the lower Shinobi.

Ōnoki was not only looking for physical rest and relief… The stress of diplomacy and politics took a toll even on the youngest and healthiest of men; and Ōnoki was truthfully well past his prime, being a man of literally another time came with the disadvantages of having to accommodate to the constant flow of the world, even this facility in its entirety proved overwhelming for the Tsuchikage, be it by accident or not, a show of economic power like the design and creation of this palace was too on the nose for every other Village.

"Oh—" Mei Terumī stood just by the entrance of the common room. "—Tsuchikage-Sama, it wasn't my intention to interrupt your rest." The Mizukage nodded to the man across the room. "I'll take my leave."

Ōnoki smiled and even chuckled aloud for a second. "Please, Lady Terumī—" Ōnoki extended his hand over to the space around them. "—join me, leave the resting for the elders and the ill."

The Mizukage huffed a short laugh before walking over where her fellow Kage sat; she took a seat on a couch adjacent to the armchair Ōnoki rested on.

"I presume you are finding our lodgings as accommodating as I have, Lady Terumī." Ōnoki lightly joked with a grin.

The Mizukage let out a deep breath of amusement and laughed with it. "I am sure our hosts had the best intentions in mind, Tsuchikage-Sama." Mei replied honestly; though having a Village on her back that was working on self-rehabilitation and rebuilding even before the Shinobi World War commenced did manage to make the legendary kunoichi roll her eyes at the 'unnecessary' opulence.

Ōnoki shared a laugh with the Mizukage, really it was all in good nature, and the Mizukage was right, they couldn't blame one of their fellow allies for thriving, and it wasn't like Konoha was the only one thriving in this new world; once the unnecessary competition between the nations was erased and treaties and accords flew left and right, every Village was thriving; some more than others, that was true. But no one in the Shinobi Union was having a hard time, they all were relishing in the breath of fresh air that fortunately aided them.

"I'm sure you're right, Mizukage-Sama." Ōnoki uttered, taking a couple of seconds of silenced before reinitiating the conversation. "How are you finding the participants' abilities in the first test?" Ōnoki asked, somehow hiding the amusement he had from being actually able to watch the participants with his own eyes… Technology had its perks.

Mei Terumī had to admit she didn't expect a man like Ōnoki to bother with new tech enough to watch the transmissions… but she wouldn't say so out loud.

"I must say I haven't checked in the last few hours—" She stated as she pondered the question for a second. "—up to where I've watched I'd say I'm not too impressed."

That particular statement completely caught the Tsuchikage's attention, he knew the Mizukage sent a team that was handpicked by herself, and he also knew there were Shinobi more than mighty that were partaking in the exams, Shinobi that were widely showcased in the public transmissions.

"What do you mean you're not impressed, Mizukage-Sama?" Ōnoki asked non-threatenly "Do you find the participants underwhelming? Or the test as a whole? Or…"

"It's not any of that." Mei replied off-handedly. "I've seen the abilities of lots of the Chūnin in the Exams first hand, I saw them fight in the war in real life-or-death situations; they did impress me back then, they far surpassed any expectations I had of them."

"And they don't impress you anymore, Lady Terumī?"

"Oh, but they do!" The Mizukage laughed lightly. Seeing her point wasn't getting across. "I merely think that the results so far are 'unsurprising' for me; we all knew the first couple of days most of the teams would fail; we spent months of planning making sure of that."

Ōnoki found himself focusing more on the words of the Kage beside him, finding himself being somewhat played by the discourse of the younger woman.

"And those results are, Terumī-Sama?"

"We are watching the next great group of leaders and warriors, Ōnoki-Sama. These right here are those that will be entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the Shinobi World from the evils that will become them." The Godaime Mizukage spoke with her chin resting on both her joined hands, staring right ahead in deep thought as her Iwagakure counterpart listened patiently and respectfully. "There is no longer any room for error, no room for shortcomings or underachievers; the world can no longer be trusted to hold its own weight above their heads, the only thing that the Great War showcased was that there are beings out there that far surpass any and every expectation of power itself as we'd ever imagined it. We saw that those long thought dead who we called myths, legends, gods even; can simply come back to life if one Shinobi capable enough has enough hate and determination inside their heart to bring them back in a whim." Mei Terumī turned her gaze over to Ōnoki. "I ask you, Tsuchikage-Sama:"

Ōnoki's features were hardened by the discourse of Mei Terumī… Because she was right; because even as the majority of the people out there saw this era as the one for elation and celebration, for relief; there were some that—like the Mizukage—never lost their footing, that never lost sight of just the sheer overwhelming reality of what had happened a mere couple of years ago; of the idea that life itself as they all knew it was a miracle apart from forever being lost. "I'm listening, Lady Terumī."

"After all this that I've told you:" Mei took a second to let her words sink in. "Do the contestants 'impress' you? Would you say any of them might last half a minute in a fight with those legends, and gods, and myths? Would Kurotsuchi? Would you right now entrust her with single-handedly safekeeping the future of Iwagakure for the next age? Has she 'impressed' you?" The Mizukage new that those were questions that on any other time and age would be enough to start an armed conflict between the two nations, that in the best case scenario her words would be received as cutting and daring.

Ōnoki's features didn't shift in the least throughout her questioning, his face as hard as the stones he and his people used as weapons of mass destruction. He was in deep thought.
'Would he?' was the question to answer… and he had no answer that was sufficient or comforting, it was one thing to look at this Exams as what they were, a Rank testing; but if one saw this as the battleground for the next group of legendary Shinobi that'd themselves be known as the stuff of legend, of myth, to be regarded as Gods on earth come to save their people? Then the bar was raised at insurmountable heights.

Ōnoki knew that himself, and Mei Terumī, and the Fourth Raikage A, and Gaara, and Tsunade of the Legendary Senin had failed to reach that bar. That even when the Mizukage herself didn't say so out loud their failure was the fact that kept her from seeing all of this as nothing but the Test of the Fittest. Ōnoki could do nothing but lock his eyes with those of the Mizukage.

"How many future Kages are watching right here, Lord Ōnoki?" Mei Terumī questioned once again. "One? Two? The Five?"

"Are we sure they'd not only beat ourselves, but what we fought back in the war as well? Or will places like Kirigakure and Iwagakure keep relying on being saved by two Genins from Konoha?"

Ōnoki held the Mizukage's gaze even as her head turned back again to that particular spot on the wall that had sparked all of this reasoning from her.

"So 'no' would be my answer, Tsuchikage-Sama. I am not yet impressed by the contestants of the First Test."

Her sensory skills were one of the best in all of her Village; they may even be the best out of the whole ANBU; which in an environment like this one made her by far the Apex Predator amongst her peers.

And considering she held the lead of most teams taken down on her own; one could safely assume her reputation and 'Apex' title wasn't unearned.
She made quick work, she didn't waste time trying to look good, didn't try to be flashy, there was nothing to prove to anyone who was or wasn't watching her; she'd been assigned a mission and she'd take it as seriously as any mission should be taken.
This wasn't a vacation nor a playground; recent events showed that if you came here expecting young pushovers to play around with; then you'd end up with a broken skull or immolated and trapped in a hole on the ground.

Yūgao Uzuki intended to be neither.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu" Yūgao's voice could barely be heard amongst the rustling forest, though she remained hidden in the shadows, there was still enough daylight to account for shadows under the trees.

"Hey, Ruka did you hear-" Team Mist's captain was about to ask his teammate before a creature came exploding right out of the ground, snatching the sleeping Kiri by the middle with its foot long claws, Kiri's first instinct was to use the length of his body across the hole to pose some resistance; but the moment the creature really tugged him, Kiri's bones cracked as his body was forced to fit the hole the summoned creature had pulled him under.

"Kiri-!" Chōjūrō cried out as he took hold of his Hiramekarei leaping over to stand back to back with Ruka, he needed to keep control of the situation even when one of his partners got taken down.

"Ruka, flood the hole-!" Chōjūrō ordered the Kunoichi who was already going through the hand seals.

"On it!" Ruka called. "Water Style: Torrent Bullet!" Ruka shouted before instantly summoning a massive stream of water and jetting it through the hole.

"Dance of the Crescent Moon!" Yūgao shouted as she sprinted out of the shadows to slash Ruka's midsection.

Chōjūrō's movements were flash-quick as he handled the Hiramekarei; swatting Yūgao's Katana upwards and pivoting over to swing diagonally across Yūgao's shoulder.

As soon as the blade made contact Yūgao's figure disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Yūgao reappeared behind Chōjūrō and stabbed forward with her Katana right at Chōjūrō's spine. Chōjūrō pressed his own sword to the ground to use it as propulsion to somersault backwards and above Yūgao.

"Water Style: Whirlpool Funeral!" Chōjūrō called as he went through his handseals before he saw Yūgao's sword not stopping its path.

"Roundmoon!" Yūgao shouted as she shifted her stabbing motion into a full circling slash; the edge of the Katana cutting right through the right side of Ruka's torso.

As always it all happened in slow motion for the attacked Ruka, she felt the sting of the cut and her tight muscles snapping like butter under the edge of the blade, she turned around as quickly as she could, but once Yūgao's circling motion came to an end the blade's path came downwards to the side of Rukas right knee.

'Dammit!' Chōjūrō's mind reeled in mid-air as he saw Ruka kneel down from the impact, her face still fierce and looking for a defence as Yūgao's Moon Dance retreated back to the ANBU agent to re-initiate her motions.

"Water Style Whirlpool Funeral!" Chōjūrō's handseals finished as a violent torrent of water shot out of the Hiramekarei in Yūgao's direction. She tried to avoid it with a wide side-step but the sheer power of the splash the flying whirlpool caused at impact on the ground was enough to send the ANBU flying backwards 20 feet.

"Don't worry, Captain!" Ruka shouted from her spot on the ground; drenched from the splashes of water from Chōjūrōs jutsu, and still with one knee on the ground from the cut-off tendons of her knee. She needed to get up and keep going; the jet stream she'd sent inside the whole Kiri had gone into did little to no good to find the source.
She couldn't go down just because of an ambush, a simple cut shouldn't keep her out of combat… Even if that 'simple' cut was accompanied by the profuse bleeding of her right side and the blurring of her vision.

"Hang on, Ruka!" Chōjūrō rushed over to her as soon as his feet hit the ground.

"I'm okay, Captain!" Ruka stood up with all the strength remaining on her legs. She saw the worried features of their leader incoming and knew she couldn't be the disappointment of the squad; she'd fight and beat whomever had the guts to attack them like that and she'd go and find Kirir before anything happened to him! "Don't worry about me!" Ruka grounded herself once again and shot a small reassuring smile towards Chōjūrō.

Chōjūrō responded to Ruka's smile with one of his own.
They were good; they'd lost one comrade but they'd find him ASAP, Ruka and himself would be more than enough to overpower this ANBU hunter; they were fine, his team was fine, Kiri would be fine, they'd find him and it would be fine. They were smashing these Exams! They were going to-

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" Yūgao screamed as quickly as she possibly could just as she rushed to stand up and grab her Katana once again.

Chōjūrō looked back at Yūgao and knew she'd be right with them in a second. But he was already a step away from Ruka, they needed to regroup and attack; he turned back to Ruka and jumped forward to cut the distance, Ruka herself extending her hand forward and wincing at the pain it caused on her right side.

'Just one inch!' Chōjūrō mentally screamed as hi index, middle, and ring finger hooked firmly with Ruka's; they both shared a brief smile as Chōjūrō tugged her to him…

Only for them to have the same 7 foot badger from before dig his foot long claws right on the flesh of each of Ruka's hips, Ruka screamed from the pain his body felt once the sharp-digging claws reached the bare bone of her hips.

Chōjūrō's eyes steeled and tugged at Ruka's hand as hard as he could… but his grip wasn't good enough, he felt the muscles of his arm strain with effort as the beast shot down below at insurmountable speed and strength with Ruka firmly in its grasp.

The last thing Chōjūrō saw as his fingers and Ruka's disjointed from each other was the sheer realization in his partner's face… the realization that she'd failed.

Sai groaned hoarsely as his eyes fluttered open, but he almost wished his eyes hadn't opened when the white lights of one the med-bay's room hit him right in the head…

His brain immediately complained from the forced stimulus and let Sai know with a blinding headache, he could almost hear his ears ring all over again…

'Again…?'

Sai opened his eyes again and fought through the migraine. He looked around the room, he was in a hospital bed, he was hooked to a couple of monitors and an IV, though none of it seem serious enough to warrant being called 'life support' or even 'intensive care'.

He had to remember…

"The team from Amegakure…" Sai muttered, the memories suddenly coming back to him as his head kept filing complaints for him to ease the workload down. He used his left hand to massage his temple and brow for a second… it was somewhat hazy, but he remembered everything well enough.

Sai's head whipped around to see if there was someone on the bed beside him, he even sat up over to lean and get a better look past the curtain… but there was no one. "Where's my partner…?"

"Dead." The voice of Temari replied over the door as she and Darui entered the room.

Sai must have been really out of it to get sneaked around so easily. "Temari? Am I in the control tower?"

"Yes." Temari answered once again as she closed the door behind them. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh… I…" Sai was trying to gather himself. "My partner? You said he died?"

"Yes, he-"

"He got murdered." Darui interrupted Temari on purpose. He noticed Temari's resolve waver just a little bit as the sight of a close friend like Sai came into view.

"Murdered?" Sai questioned as he sat up straighter. It couldn't be… "Was it the Chūnin Team? The team from Amegakure?"

"It was." Darui replied briefly.

Temari glared at Darui for less than a second… it was noticeable that their difference of opinion when it came to this particular matter remained.

Sai knew more than anyone else how easy was to get killed when you were a Special Hunter, he should've gotten all the answers he needed the moment he heard Temari's first word.
But he couldn't; Sai was the leader of the duo, the man under him died under his command, and he was an elite ninja just like him, maybe just as capable, a brother in arms; if he got murdered then his death was squarely on Sai's shoulders.

"But he was on his own feet when I got knocked out, he was gaining ground on the swordsman just before I went out." Sai argued.

"Swordswoman, actually." Darui deadpanned just before Temari shot him a piercing glare… "Sorry…" Darui conceded as he looked over at Sai.

Sai didn't seem fazed by Darui's interejection, instead he looked at Temari for answers.

"We've been checking the film from the cameras ever since." Temari explained. "It was a ruse, the girl played him from the moment he summoned the mist. The one he was fighting was only a clone. He got trapped in a Headhunter Jutsu and then… That's why we came to talk with you."

"Why?"

"Because he got executed." Temari deadpanned.

"Once he got trapped the girl you were fighting with—the one in the Kimono—she seemed to lose it. This didn't seem premeditated, her partners seemed to be ready to leave once they trapped him; they seemed to fight her about it, maybe they tried to stop her we don't know, the audio isn't very good on that one." Darui explained. "But she immolated him, we've never seen a technique work like that, the flames themselves seemed different the color, the way they behaved-"

"They were." Sai nodded. "They are." Sai corrected himself. "And not only her and her flames." Sai reasoned. "That whole team seems different."

"Different how?" Temari questioned him with scrunched eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, friend, I don't know if I can put it in words…" The Jōnin replied. "They seem more skilled than they let on—but even if they are—they fight 'different'; they're not orthodox, they don't seem to attain to the same instincts most Shinobi do. I'm not even sure the one to worry most about is the girl that murdered the Kiri Hunter."

Both Temari and Darui were glad that Sai was joining their train of thought; it went unsaid, but all this circus wouldn't have happened had the team that'd done it were from one of the Shino Union's Nations; because it wouldn't pose something uncertain, it wouldn't be a subject of concern because the team and its members would be already known enough to realize why and how this all had happened.

But whenever a group of three skilled Ninja let themselves be known in a battlefield of any kind for the first time then they rarely posed anything other than trouble.

"Then who would you say is?" Darui chimed in.

"Neither and all of them." Sai replied as best as he could. "I personally can tell you that my level of effort and skill kept rising through the fight; I didn't see them as immediate threats from the beginning—" He confessed his error. "—but the more we fought the more serious I took it all, after the Magnet Release user hurt my knee I started to take it like a serious fight."

"How serious?" Temari asked, knowing Sai wasn't even close to a pushover, as much as she hated to admit it, he might even be a step above her when it came to skill and power.

Sai looked over to both of them and smiled on of his signature expressions. "Life or death."

"Nice work, Mujina!" Yūgao called from under her mask even when her Badger partner went unseen once again. She smirked under the mask that bore the same three red markings that were present on the fur of her summoned creature.

Chōjūrō was on the ground, breathing heavily as he stared right down at the hole where the last of his partners disappeared, no sight of Ruka that deep into Mujina's tunnel.

And just like that Chōjūrō had failed at his first moment as a leader; from his stupid decision of resting in the day, leaving his teammate vulnerable to the attack, to his unpreparedness to act once they were attacked, to his lack of strenght, speed and resolve to save Ruka when he had her within arm's reach… Chōjūrō now knew why he'd never been entrusted with anything his whole life. Because he wasn't fit to lead.

Only he was.

And not because of him. Not because of Ruka or Kiri who had entrusted their lives to him with complete faith. But because of Mei Terumī; because it was she who saw someone in him ever since they met, because it's her that's the best Mizukage to have ever donned the robes, because she's his MIzukage, his leader, his teacher, his idol.

Because she's been let down over and over by the people she breaks her back over and over to save, because he's not gonna let his Mizukage down anymore. Not now, not ever!

Chōjūrō clenched his fist and clenched his jaw; he stood up and gripped the Hiramekarei so tight the handle complained with the sound friction; he set his eyes on Yūgao and let the bandaging around the twinblades fall apart, holding one of each of the twins in each hand.

Yūgao jumped right ahead to end this, one more mark to her record, one more victory.

"Hazy Moon Night!" Yūgao growled, swinging her sword at an unbelievable speed, enough for the after images of the blade to form around her body as she swung frontwards; she'd never lost a fight after using this technique, she'd beaten Shinobis far above her level with this move. And this time would be no different.

Chōjūrō deflected the dozens of swings that Yūgao was delivering each second, he was walking backwards as she gained ground; his twin blades making quick work of deflecting her attacks.
Chōjūrō waited till she lost her stamina and speed... and once she did:

"My turn." Chōjūrō sneered as cold as ice; counter attacking with twice, then thrice, then four, then five times more attacks per second than Yūgao, the strength of his swings making her feet back down with each contact, denting her cold rolled blade over and over again; Yūgao counter attacked with slash of her sword only to have it be single-handedly broken by Chōjūrō's left blade as if it was mere glass, then swinging the one on the righ hand over her face to cut her mask in half and slice her features right across the face.

Yūgao ended on the ground with the last blow—Chōjūrō's moves lacked any effort, he'd blasted her sword with a swing of his wrist, not even shifting his footing; he'd slashed her face as if it was a feather he held, and not a longblade—he left her face bare and bleeding, her weapon of choice long forgotten, his figure towering over her, and her companion... "Mujina! Headhunter Jutsu!" Yūgao called feebly, using her last resort.

Chōjūrō stared Yūgao down, calmly joining the twin swords up above his head and waiting till the ground under his feet rumbled with movement; waiting only a second before he swung his weapon down...

"Hiramekarei: Unleash."

End of Day Three

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To be continued...

Note: Thank you for reading; a special 'thank you' to those who reviewed and/or sent Private Messages, you all keep this going.