ϟ—Chapter Twenty-five — Cage of Elation—ϟ
Machia wasn't going to rely on the summoning jutsu, for herself, at least. Already, she was just outside of the Yamanaka-made sensory barrier. The chakra churned… it circulated, like blood through the body. Slowly, she tilted her head.
Her Ketsuryugan studied it, the chakra.
It wouldn't take too long for her to disable it. However, that'd be noticed by those working it. Too many alarms, too much of a disturbance. It wasn't what she was there for, anyway. Machia's eyes let her see every beating heart in Konoha.
She walked around.
A sign of a Dojutsu user was increased blood flow and chakra in the eyes. At the moment, there was only one Clan in Konoha that was capable of using Dojutsu. On top of that, to differentiate a Hyuuga from any other Dojutsu user was easier than most for a Ketsuryugan.
The building veins, the pure blood flow almost rivaled the Chinoike's. Finding the compound was easy because of that. With her Byakugan immune seal… then she'd be fine. It was developed by the Main Branch and stolen by Orochimaru.
Now, it was in her hands.
The Hyuuga compound was on the far east corner, away from the four stone faces. Right outside of the gates, Machia sat. She weaved a single hand seal. Her blood started to churn.
With this Jutsu, the moment the signal was given… she'd blow a hole right through the wall.
Then she and the rest of her Chinoike would strike.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
What Yowui did to Cirru was the most hilarious thing Sami had seen in forever. Her stomach still hurt from laughing so hard. Though, Cirru's reaction to it did piss her off a bit, but… she couldn't care. He finally got what was coming to him, so that was fun.
She could see the triumphant smirk on his face, and that made Sami smile too. It almost made her forget that she was going to be involved in a village-wide invasion… Her smile dropped a bit. Sami didn't particularly know how to feel.
Objectively, destroying a whole village was pretty bad.
But… orders were orders. That was what the ANBU back at home always told her. So, she couldn't really complain or be sad about it. That was just… how Shinobi operated. Sami didn't have a reason to care otherwise.
As long as her void didn't get involved, Sami knew she could get through it.
It didn't take much longer for Genma to enter the stands. "Alright, Sami of Kumogakure and Shino Aburame. Come with."
"I forfeit," Sami said without missing a beat.
Shino side-eyed her from behind his shades.
Genma narrowed his eyes on her. Sami made eye contact.
He knew.
She knew that he knew.
Neither of them wavered.
"Fuu of Takigakure… and Neji Hyuuga, come with me." He turned his back.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
This is… probably going to be boring, thought Fuu as she followed Genma and Neji down into the open arena. According to Ka'rai, he beat Neji while barely using any Nibi chakra. Maybe she could try to make it fun? Fighting was fun, yeah. But only when the fight was kinda even.
How about you make it a challenge for yourself? Use only a small amount of my chakra.
Fuu shrugged. Alright, I hope that'll work.
Genma cleared his throat before announcing, "The fourth match! Neji Hyuuga vs Fuu of Takigakure!"
The crowd roared, but Fuu found herself ticked off. From Takigakure? No, hell no. The only way she'd be associated with that village any longer was as the one responsible for its destruction. "No…" muttered Fuu, looking directly at Genma. "Fuu of Kumogakure. I fucking hate that village."
"Is… that right…" Genma noted, narrowing his eyes. He cleared his throat. "Okay! Correction! Fuu of Kumogakure will be facing Neji Hyuuga!"
Finally, Fuu spared a glance at her opponent. He was staring pale lavender daggers at her. Why is he so pissed with me?! The fuck did I do? It… it didn't matter. Maybe it did a little? If he was mad, then he would fight harder.
He crouched into his battle stance. Fuu continued to stand up straight.
Genma brought up his hand.
Neji's eyes bulged with veins… the Byakugan, it was called, apparently.
Genma sliced his hand through the air. "Now!"
Let me try to make this enjoyable… Fuu erupted with the Nanabi's sunset colored chakra. Neji tried to strike her, but the explosion of chakra blew him back and he tumbled across the ground. "Y'know, Ka'rai told me that fighting can be fun. But, the thing is that you're weak. So, I'll have to try a bit harder to make it fun…"
The white of Fuu's eyes disappeared—glowing like the sun. Her tanned skin hardened into an exoskeleton. A single insectile tail grew from her lower back and slammed onto the ground.
"So I'll limit myself to just this form…" Overlapping voices like the buzz of a swarm echoed out from her voice. "Make this fun for me, Neji Hyuuga."
I still think that might be too much chakra.
Eh, we'll see.
Neji glared at her with his Byakugan. "Don't you dare write me off!" he yelled. With a deep breath, he weaved hand seals. "Silver Eyes Technique."
Chakra danced the color of moonlight. The pale lavender of his Byakugan shimmered like the midnight sun.
Wow, that's kind of pretty, she noted, tilting her head. Fuu could feel the pressure of air churning around his chakra was much more intense than before. She was almost a bit excited to see it. It was like Neji was channeling the power of the moon itself.
It's not. What it's doing doesn't even begin to match the majesty of the moon.
I know! But, it still kinda looks like it…
Barely.
Ugh, I guess. Fuu shook her head, looking back at Neji. "You're white now. Does this mean you're stronger? I can sense the air around your chakra being a lot more constricted than before…"
Neji's Byakugan pulsed with silver chakra. "Come and find out."
An excited grin split Fuu's face.
Without hand seals, she conjured the special winds of Kyoku. Invisible heatwaves of solid air, fueled by Yang Chakra. Where Ka'rai had Jinsei Flame, her Kyoku Winds existed to match it. Fuu clenched her fists and dozens of fists of Kyoku Winds encased Neji in a dome.
He didn't see what hit him—but he did?! Before she could send the fists to attack him, he rotated in a silver dome, blocking the fists.
How he did it didn't matter to her. Even if he could see what came for him, it didn't matter if all he saw was his own demise. Fuu cackled and yelled, "Kyoku Wind Style! Fists From Hell!"
Each fist clobbered against Neji's rotation. It only took ten hits for that sphere of chakra to shatter. Fuu blew him across the ground in a gust of wind. Dust and blood kicked up from all of his wounds. She felt the air going in and out of his lungs turn ragged.
Damn, already? Oh well! Fuu grinned again, summoning storm clouds around Neji with an insectile giggle. The surrounding wind rotated again; he was using that chakra dome again.
"Rotating Sixty-four Palms!" he yelled through her lightning storm.
"What?" she asked herself. Suddenly, the thunder and voltage of her jutsu turned into nothing. Her eyes widened with confusion. How? Oh well.
Neji bolted out of where he was and toward her. He must've thought he was fast. All it took was another wind blast to knock him back on his ass, skidding across the dirt. "This is supposed to be fun!" groaned Fuu.
Neji growled, weaving more hand seals. "Lightning Style: Thunderclap Arrow!" From his palms a shock of silver lightning bolted toward Fuu. Boredom slammed into her gut like a hammer. Staying entirely still, she caught his bolt of lightning.
"Really?" she asked rhetorically. With a sigh, she poured her own chakra into it. It erupted, over a hundred times stronger than it was before. Fuu formed the jutsu into the shape of a stinger, a wasp's stinger. She hurled it at Neji. He barely dodged it. The buzzing explosion sent Neji flying onto the arena wall.
He trembled in pain across the way from her. Fuu just groaned. Any ideas on how to make this funner?!
Hyuuga are supposed to be excellent close-range fighters. So fight it hand-to-hand!
Gotcha…
Fuu whirled Kyoku Wind around her fist and blurred forward. She slammed it into Neji's gut and his eyes went vacant from the impact. "You Hyuuga like to fight up close, eh? So I think I should cater to that, to make this more fun—"
Neji screamed. Silver chakra spiked out of every point in Neji's arm to boost his strike. It hit her chest. It did nothing. Angrily and furiously, Neji struck her over and over and over. At least she knew her armor was quite effective—she knew that already.
He leapt back, crouching into a stance. Fuu let it happen, pleading for it to do something. "Eight Trigrams! One-hundred and Twenty-Eight Moonlit Palms!"
He hit her One-hundred and Twenty-Eight times. It didn't do anything. As a matter of fact, he broke all of his fingers because her armor was just that good.
This… this is too much chakra, isn't it?
I told you.
Fuu let out a sigh, staring at him. It was like… he was trapped by his own weakness. There really was nothing he could do against her. She felt… bad. It reminded her of how weak she was… back in Taki.
Part of her wanted to just give him the win, walk away. His village was about to be wrecked to all fucking hell, so why not give him something? Eh, it didn't feel right. She just shook her head. "You're…" Fuu sighed. "This is really fucking sad, y'know?"
He didn't respond to her. His Byakugan's chakra blew back air as he analyzed her. Fuu still held out hope that he could do something. With a roar, he charged forward.
"Ingoken!"
Fuu hadn't felt more hurt in her life. Her arm… she didn't feel it. Where was her arm? With horror, she looked to her left. Her arm was on the floor. What was left at the stump oozed with blood. She felt so much—OW! Fuu screamed from the utter searing pain she was enveloped in.
With one arm of his own, Neji attacked her. Her control on Nanabi's chakra slipped. There was so much pain. Her mind went cloudy at the thought of it all—more hurt. More pain. More agony.
He was ripping her armor—her skin off of her—everything that held her body together was FALLING APART! Fuu attacked the limp arm at his side. She turned it into a bag of melted flesh dangling helplessly to his side.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!" she screamed. With all that she could muster, Kyoku Winds clobbered him and sent him careening across the arena.
She attempted to take a deep breath; it hurt too much.
This is exactly what you asked for. You can't complain.
SHUT UP!
Fuu summoned as much of Nanabi's chakra as she could muster. Winds sprouted, her armor pieced itself back together. A gray exoskeleton the shrouded color of a storm encompassed her still attached arm, and where her left arm used to be. Slowly, inside the cocoon, her arm grew itself back.
Gritting her teeth, she flew over to where she threw Neji. He was barely conscious. Part of her wanted to finish him off and piss on his corpse. But she didn't… he did exactly what she was pushing him to do.
Nanabi was right. She couldn't complain… she couldn't be angry. She still was.
Fuu didn't have the slightest idea of what to do with him.
Well, his eyes were closing. He was done. She won—
"NEJI!" screamed out a voice. It was a boy, very nasally—it sounded exhausting to speak. Fuu looked toward it; it was Rock Lee.
"YOU BETTER NOT GIVE IN!" he screamed. The cracking of sobs accompanied his shouts. "YOU BETTER NOT END UP LIKE I DID! DO NOT FAIL NEJI! DO NOT BREAK YOUR PROMISE TO TENTEN! DO NOT DO WHAT I DID!
"YOU WILL SUCCEED! YOU WILL FIGHT AND WIN THIS MATCH! BECAUSE YOU ARE NOT A FAILURE NEJI! YOU ARE A GENIUS! NOW GET UP AND ACT LIKE ONE!"
Fuu tilted her head. It was… touching? She didn't know. Slowly, she looked back at Neji as she heard him chuckling. "Damn you, Lee."
He's seriously going to keep fighting? Fuu shrugged. She wasn't going to complain. With a blur, she clenched her armored fists and punched down at Neji. He rolled out of the way—how? Still, the draft from her attack sent Neji flying.
He landed on his feet. Even with his fingers broken, he weaved a half seal. "Silver Eyes Technique…" he barely managed. The silver glow returned to his Byakugan. Blood dripped from his mouth, through his teeth.
Confusion and shock scrunched her face. "How the hell did you get up?!" questioned Fuu, clenching both of her armored fists as she floated in the air.
Neji chuckled, shaking his head. His headband fell off of his forehead. Behind it… was a green seal with an X on it. What… what's that?
"Because it's my fate." A shaky, bloodied, broken finger pointed at Fuu. "It is yours to lose. It's that simple."
"How the fuck can you say that—?!" Fuu clenched her fists. The fucking nerve! A heatwave of Kyoku Wind battered his gut. Most of his bones had to have been broken. He should've been finished.
He stood back up.
He stepped forward.
What the hell—?! Nanabi? What's up with him?!
You think I know? Maybe it's just delusional.
The air around him made Fuu uneasy. She had no idea how to react to him or whatever the hell he was planning. Could he be planning something?! Fuu watched him as he marched toward her.
"Because I am Neji Hyuuga." Another step forward. "I am the Genius of the Hyuuga Clan." Another step. "I am fighting for the destiny of my teammate." Neji crouched into a one-handed Juken stance. "And you… you're just a demon, fighting for nothing."
Fuu snarled—Nanabi's chakra soared. "What did you just call me?!" Cutting waves of wind sliced Neji to ribbons. She kept him alive to make him suffer. An armored fist clenched around his neck. He went up into the sky—she hurled him down.
Die bitch.
Instead of dying, he swirled into that rotation and took no damage as he hit the ground. Fuu growled, buzzing in front of him and ripping the shattered ribs from his chest. She stuck her hand back into the wound and coursed lightning into his body.
His skin burned black. His eyes glazed over with nothing as he spasmed. Fuu took all of the enjoyment she could out of seeing him suffer. "Don't you dare call me a fucking demon again!" she screamed, not that he was conscious enough to hear her. She blasted him back with a final eruption of voltage.
He still moved—he still got back up. The air around him constricted. Neji chuckled more, shaking his head. "When will you understand how futile it is to fight against your own destiny? You're just a caged animal, scared. You'll never be free from the demon inside. Even in death, the memories of your life will trap you forever."
Fuu stopped in her tracks, seething, breaths hitched. What the hell is he saying—what—how?!
Neji stepped forward. "Your destiny. I see it. The Byakugan sees ALL, and your fate is no different." The seal on his forehead burned. Tears dropped from his eyes. Even still, nothing stopped his march toward her.
His air—his aura—it was terrifying. How could someone on death's door be so fucking scary—? The chakra fueling his Byakugan erupted. Veins on his forehead, between his eyes, they bulged evermore.
He blurred forward—Fuu's heart skipped a beat.
He struck her.
Like so many times before, it did nothing.
Fuu blinked.
It did… nothing.
Of course it didn't.
All of a sudden, the air around him seemed a lot less scary.
Even still, he smirked. He looked at her with pupil-less black eyes. White dots scattered like stars… when Neji glared, the three stars in his eyes aligned like three deities ready for war.
They were pretty, his new eyes… whatever they were.
"Fuu of Takigakure," Neji began. Fuu grit her teeth at the title. "You'll never know the taste of freedom for as long as you live. Do well to remember that."
Her rage overtook her and she slapped him away. She felt his skull shatter beneath the armor of her hand. Whirling through the air, he landed in a thump. The air around him went still, he was barely able to breathe.
Fuu let out a ragged sigh.
"NEJI!" a girl screamed out. It was from the stands; it was that other Hyuuga girl, Kusari, his sister. With all the bullshit her brother said, she couldn't bring herself to care.
Genma flickered by her. "By way of knockout, Fuu of Kumogakure is the winner of the match!"
After that, she flew into the arena, ignoring the crowd's cheers.
You're really letting some fleshling rile you up like that? It played you quite well. It's almost depressing—
Shut it! yelled Fuu, shivering as she landed in the stands. Nanabi's extremities fell off of her and onto the floor. What he said was bullshit, what he said was bullshit—
"You dare do that to my brother?!" Kusari screamed, charging toward her. A suffocating pressure made the air stand still. It came from Kusari, it was something—Nanabi didn't seem to like it either.
Shivua…
What?! Against Fuu's will, Nanabi's chakra spewed out of her to match Kusari's chakra. Fuu rode the anger that both her and Nanabi were feeling. "Yeah! I did! The fuck else were you expecting?!"
Kusari bared her teeth, her hair stood. "Fate wills it so. I will kill you—"
Fate—Fate—Fate—"Don't say that fucking word!" Fuu threw a punch, Kusari's palm thrusted forward with a strike.
Ka'rai had Fuu's fist restrained in his grip. "Calm the fuck down, Fuu."
"HEY!" Shinrai yelled, holding back Kusari's arm. "You two will have the opportunity to rip each other to shreds soon enough," assured Shinrai, "just not right now—"
Fuu groaned and shook herself from Ka'rai's grip, stomping away from everyone. "ALL OF YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELVES!"
Ka'rai didn't follow her—good. She was tired of seeing people. She was tired of everything and everyone.
Fuck fate.
Fuck cages.
Fuu was free from all of it—no the hell she wasn't.
She… could not wait until the invasion. There was plenty of steam she needed to let off. With her wind, she blew a hole through the stadium and buzzed into the sky, into her peace.
It was there where she would wait until it was time to strike.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
A mass summoning jutsu. It was her… that was in charge of it. From the Land of Grass, there was an entirely new language of seals that Arasei had to learn. With much time and effort, she accomplished it.
Now, she was in front of Konoha's gates. She sensed Ka'rai; he was there… and his chakra was as loud as ever. Hane was there. All of them were alive and their chakras were burning. It… it definitely brought her a peace of mind. They were okay…
…for now.
With a miniature war on the horizon, it wouldn't last long at all.
The main thing that would save them was all on her, too. She felt her bloodline curse kick in. At least that made constructing the massive seal much easier. Bee, he'd been training for this for months, since the plan was set in motion.
Such a powerful chakra needed an equally powerful seal in order to be summoned. As the best seal master in Kumo, the responsibility fell to her. She was a ways away from Konoha itself, embedded in the forest.
Hopefully, she wouldn't be caught.
With Bee there, then she, Ka'rai, and Hane would all be safe.
He was the Strongest Man Alive, after all. Nobody could dream of challenging him. His strength was limitless.
Killer Bee was safety, he was strength… everything Arasei wished she had.
The least she could do was make sure he could use it for the sake of Kumo.
With a sigh, she drew the first mark on the dirt.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
"The Fifth Match! Ka'rai Uzumaki vs Shinrai Uzumaki!"
Usually, Hane would be excited to see Ka'rai fight. It was always a cobalt blue spectacle that she'd never get tired of. Not today. All it did today was fill her up with dread. Today was going to be the worst day of her life… she knew it. It seemed impossible for things to get any worse than what she knew they were going to be.
She was high up in the bleachers. Ka'rai and Shinrai were staring each other down in silence; she felt bad for him, Shinrai. He knew what was coming and yet he'd be powerless to stop it. Just like she was. She could barely understand why Kumo would do something so horrid…
To eradicate a people's way of life for selfish gain.
It made her so fucking mad.
All of the death and destruction made her so sad.
She just hated it all…
The only thing she hated more than the depressing state of the world was how powerless she was to change it. Her spiraling thoughts nearly brought her to tears. Hane could barely stomach being associated with a village that would commit such an atrocity.
At the same time, because of Ka'rai… more of Kumo would be at risk. Her home was more at risk. The same home that made such loss of life possible in the first place.
Everyone was bad.
Everything was bad.
Just… why?
"The match begins now!"
With her bloodshot eyes, she could barely see the match. Ka'rai went into his one tail. Shinrai bolted forward. She heard laughing from Ka'rai… it was kind of unsettling. All she had to do was hope that…
What could she even hope?
If Ka'rai didn't go through with this then he'd be killed. She was a Shinobi… she knew enough to know that Ka'rai's life was much more important than all the people he was going to kill today. With the loss of his life, there'd be the loss of all the good he could do.
He couldn't die.
As much as it broke her heart, it'd be everyone else that had to die.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Only one tail. That was all Ka'rai could muster. Shinrai and he had one quick exchange… it didn't amount to much. Shinrai wasn't going to stop him. He was too weak. Shinrai couldn't even spit out a jutsu before Ka'rai—
"Whirling Jet Helix!"
A rotating beam of water spewed itself toward Ka'rai. It didn't even begin to pierce his cloak. Slowly, he blinked at it. There was really nothing stopping him from blowing the fucking arena to bits. Nothing. Actually nothing.
Shinrai was nothing.
Hane's words were nothing.
Ka'rai and his power was the only something.
Hane was right… in a world like this, it was only power that mattered. Well, he had tons of it.
Instinct drove his movements; he barely paid attention to Shinrai. He didn't need to. His puny water jutsu turned into gas under the heat of Nibi's fire. The rock under it seared molten. It scorched and screamed over to Shinrai but the fire… went into nothing? His white blade was glowing.
Ka'rai barely blinked and Shinrai was in front of him, a strike prepared to maybe do something to him. Muscles twitched and he held Shinrai by throat, keeping him still, holding him off the ground. At least he's… kinda fast.
Nibi's cloak of chakra was burning the skin on his neck black. Ka'rai could even smell the smoke. He hoped that Shinrai didn't notice his trembling.
Why was this all so terrible—?
"Dumbass."
Ka'rai looked confused at Shinrai. Before he could respond, his enhanced hearing picked up on whirling chakra. Ka'rai looked down—it was a blue spiraling ball of chakra, the size of Shinrai's head.
"Rasengan!" Shinrai bellowed. The chakra tore through Ka'rai's cloak and into his chest. Bones snapped, skin tore, Ka'rai's own blood vaporized under his cloak's heat. His grip on Shinrai's neck slipped and utter pain ached and burned throughout his being.
What the fuck was that jutsu—?! He couldn't speak as his lungs were fucking destroyed. All that came out of his mouth was a heap of blood. Barely, he stumbled back and Jinsei roared within his wounds. It started to repair; finally, Ka'rai again could breathe.
Now that he finally processed the world, he kicked Shinrai as hard as he could—he went flying across the arena. Ka'rai wheezed with bloody gasps. Nibi's second tail burned from his cloak to accelerate his healing.
Two dozen pops of smoke boomed around Shinrai. The scarlet of his Sharingan eyes blurred with the flickering of his afterimages. He's fast, noted Ka'rai, his mismatched eyes tracking his every movement.
That was way more damage than Ka'rai expected to take during the battle. It was just one jutsu. What if Shinrai was even stronger—what if there was MORE?! Ka'rai almost smirked. Shinrai's afterimages whirled around him.
His arm whirled with Nibi flame—it was pulled off of him, beyond his well. It gave Ka'rai pause. What—? His focus diverted. A water-coated blade pierced his cloak. Shinrai's sword embedded into the wound from his Rasengan.
Jinsei pulled into the blade, Ka'rai almost fell to his knees. In a flash, Ka'rai clawed down on Shinrai. He wasn't fast enough—Ka'rai's lips curled as his attack was going to hit home—
—Water from all directions flooded both Ka'rai and Shinrai. Churning waves and swirling helixes knocked both of them off of their feet. I forgot about the clones… muttered Ka'rai. Pops rang like dozens of balloons going off as the clones dispersed.
Ka'rai stood with his bloodied teeth bared, spitting an intense look at Shinrai. Warmth mended his wounds as Jinsei was summoned—it was pulled from his chest and into Shinrai's blade. With a smirk, Shinrai said, "You're fucked, buddy."
"Is… that… right?" asked Ka'rai… slowly. The air chilled as he contemplated, looked into the sky. Nibi… what did he do?
A seal on his blade. He made one to specifically absorb both my fire and Jinsei flame. For the duration of this battle, you won't have access to them.
I see…
He caught you off guard. You have nobody but yourself to blame if you lose this battle.
I… got that much.
It was his fault. It totally was. It so entirely was. He was letting all the bullshit get in the way of his battle. If he fought Shinrai like he fought Gaara, then, well, the invasion would've already been underway.
Kindness… morality… it mattered, it did. But not as much as keeping that kindness alive. He was fighting like a fucking bitch. That was how Shinrai hit him with that Rasengan. That was why he couldn't use Nibi Flame or Jinsei.
How could he keep Hane safe if he fought like this? How could he keep Yowui safe? How could he keep a high standing in Kumo? How could he earn Yugito's forgiveness?
Nah… not like this. Not like how he was now.
He needed to be who he was on Yakedo.
When he fought Neji.
When he fought Gaara.
When he thought he had to fight Ryujin.
That was the Ka'rai Uzumaki that the world needed right now.
With a deep breath, his cloak simmered. The temperature rose in heat, but death chilled the air.
Ka'rai chuckled, slowly, like the chime of the ever-ticking clock.
Shinrai blurred at him with his white blade—Ka'rai defended with his Jigoku Katana. Mismatched eyes glared with morbid entertainment. Ka'rai laughed. The grip of death smothered his breath—his chakra exploded. Only for a second Shinrai managed to make Ka'rai's Katana move—Ka'rai slashed in kind and Shinrai was on his back.
Not enough.
Ka'rai's Katana ripped Shinrai's jacket off of him as he ran. A cobalt blue blur and Ka'rai cut onto Shinrai's headband. Even through the impact, Ka'rai smelled his blood. A grin and a kick—Ka'rai turned Shinrai's guts inside out.
Pops and a blur. Afterimages. Water.
It was all futile.
If Ka'rai was going to have to fight Shinrai, then he'd at least make it as fun as possible. The smirks from the small triumphs, the taunting. Shinrai wanted to win. He enjoyed the fight… but he wasn't fighting like he was now. He was fighting like how he was before. Like a fucking bitch.
Ka'rai would burn Shinrai alive with the ecstasy of battle.
It would only be a matter of time.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Ka'rai… what are you doing? Hane trembled as she asked herself that. Crescent beams of Hell's very essence burned brimstone across the dirt. Shinrai was running for his life. Was Ka'rai going to kill him?! Shinrai was bleeding, burned, broken. Had he not been an Uzumaki like Ka'rai, then he would've been out of the fight long ago. It was just so—no…
She only ever witnessed Ka'rai fight so furiously against Gaara—what did Shinrai do?! What was Ka'rai doing?! Even from the bleachers and through the roar of the crowd, she could hear his cackles.
He was enjoying every bit of it. He was immersed in his sadistic urges. It reminded her of the sick grin Gaara had when he was going to kill her and Yowui. So much Hell. So much heat. So much laughter.
Ka'rai was ripping his clansmate apart and laughing…
Cackling, laughing, jeering. Ka'rai summoned Hell to Earth, just like what he told her about Hidan. Smaller scale, but the same thing.
Lava spewed.
Brimstone burned.
Firestorms blazed.
What… what has…
Hane couldn't even….
Ka'rai…?
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT?!" questioned Ka'rai through his laughter. "I thought you were STRONG!"
"Go fucking fuck yourself—" Shinrai muttered under his breath. Desperately, he sprinted away from the Demon of Death.
Ka'rai chased after him, burning and blurring. He'd never let up. Shinrai barely brought his blade up to cut Ka'rai's hand in half.
All Ka'rai did was laugh harder. "I HEARD YOU BY THE WAY!" He took that same cut in half hand and broke Shinrai's nose with it. Shinrai went flying headfirst into the arena wall. A fiery blue fist of chakra broke Shinrai's ribs.
Ka'rai unballed his fist and clawed. Blood poured. Shinrai barely held back a scream.
With death's eyes, Ka'rai had a disappointed—sadistic grin on his face. "Don't tell me you're so fucking weak."
"I thought…" Shinrai coughed up blood. "You DIDN'T want to do this?!"
"But I need to. I don't have a fucking choice. If I keep being sad, if I keep feeling like a bitch and CRY about everything bad that happens—then I won't be able to do anything about them in the future!" Ka'rai picked Shinrai up by the hair and snarled. Blood and saliva spat onto Shinrai's face.
"You're doing the same fucking thing. You're feeling it all… just stop. I saw it for a bit… you want to enjoy this… so do it. "
Shinrai stared at him with hollow Sharingan eyes. He couldn't say a thing—he couldn't muster the strength to even SPEAK! Fury erupted and Ka'rai slammed Shinrai's head into the arena wall before throwing him back to the center of Hell.
With a predatory leap, Ka'rai came down on him. Shinrai attempted to grab the blade of Hell that was still stuck in the ground. His hand was almost turned entirely to ash. Ka'rai picked it up next. Walls of brimstone and fire rose above them.
It was an arena where Ka'rai would pull the fight out of Shinrai like his life depended on it.
"You have that other blade! Why are you trying to take mine?!" Ka'rai asked with a cackle.
Shinrai barely gave an answer.
Ka'rai looked at the second blade Shinrai had. The black one. The one he hadn't touched at all. The one with the soul in it…
"Touch her and I'll fucking kill you," Shinrai threatened with both a glare and a smile. The weight in his glare held not an ounce of a lie.
A smirk cut across Ka'rai's bloodied face. "What's wrong… you scared I might take her from you?"
Shinrai's hand leapt to the blade's hilt. "Don't you FUCKING DARE!"
A fiery chakra erupted in Shinrai—Ka'rai's eyes widened at what it was. With all of the time he spent with Naruto, he recognized it immediately.
Nibi… is that?
Indeed… it's barely a sliver of Kyuubi's chakra. He won't even be able to manifest a version zero level transformation.
Ka'rai scoffed. Better than nothing.
After his scoff, he smirked. Fear drew Shinrai to draw both of his blades. They barely defended against Ka'rai's Jigoku Katana strike. Of course, Ka'rai overpowered Shinrai. A blitz and Ka'rai grabbed the soul blade. Almost just as fast, Shinrai reached for it—
—Ka'rai's tail swatted Shinrai to the ground.
Ka'rai cackled as he held it in his grasp. The Nibi's eyes met Shinrai's.
Release the soul.
For a second, Ka'rai pondered.
The utter despair and desperation whirled in Shinrai's eyes, around the three tomoe of his Sharingan.
Ka'rai dropped the blade to the ground.
Ka'rai… snarled Nibi.
Sorry… was all he spared her as a response. He put on a grin and said, "Pick it up."
Shinrai was too frozen in shock to move.
Ka'rai's sick grin grew, but his tone grew much more horrifying. "Pick. It. Up."
Shinrai roared and grabbed her off the ground. "YORA!" belted Shinrai. The metal blade whirled into scarlet and cut through Ka'rai's chest—blood spilled out. With his soulless blade, Shinrai slashed up. With his Sharingan, Shinrai flickered back.
Ka'rai took a second to bask in the pain. He dashed forward—Shinrai planted a seal at the same time. "Stolen Blood. Murder Storm!"
Ka'rai's beastly blue form dashed in front of him. From the seal, an eruption of Clowui's blood speared Ka'rai with spikes dozens of times over. Ka'rai screamed, then cackled. The blood was only solid for a second; it all poured and boiled on the brimstone below after a few seconds.
Shinrai's twin blades danced in tandem. Ka'rai's brutish and blunt strikes blew both of them back. Was Shinrai actually standing a chance?! On top of that, he saw a twitch of a smile curl his lips. Ka'rai grinned—FINALLY!
Ka'rai's laughs echoed alongside the clanging metal. Shinrai leapt, planting his feet onto the brimstone walls and launching. The brimstone cracked at the same time he flickered—In a flash he cut out Ka'rai's knee.
Just as Ka'rai went to claw Shinrai's eyes out, the Konoha headband over his forehead loosened and shattered at the impact of Ka'rai's claws. Another scarlet flicker and Shinrai was across the hellish arena again. "You… you're really trying to kill me, aren't you?"
"I don't even know!" Ka'rai yelled. "I'm just… fighting."
"Same!"
"No, you're not. You're still thinking about it too much! You're being still so fucking weak. You're stronger… but not strong enough. Just let it happen!"
"Let what happen?! You destroy this village?!"
"Why do you even care about Konoha?!" questioned Ka'rai, shaking his head. "This village has treated you like shit your whole life. Naruto told me all about it. He said that you were angrier than he was about being hated. It was all because they were hurting him! Right?!"
"What do you fucking know?! Everyone I care about is in this village! Ms. Miya, Naruto, Kusari, Ryu! And everyone they care about lives here too! Of course I'll put my life on the line!" Shinrai yelled back, clenching his fists over his blades.
"Yeah… everyone I care about is going to be here, too. My mama, my girlfriend, my friends…" Ka'rai shook his head. "I know Hane hates what I'm doing right now… but I'm doing it for her, in a way. If I'm sad, If I'm worrying, then I'll fuck up. If I fuck up, then they die." Ka'rai spread his arms. "But… if I'm like this… then everyone that wants to kill them is going to die instead."
Ka'rai cackled, bleeding all over and taking every joy in it. "I'd much rather they die instead of those I care about… I'm sure you understand that, eh?"
"You're… a fucking idiot, aren't you…" Shinrai… laughed.
Ka'rai beamed.
The tensity of Shinrai's body loosened as the laughter overtook him.
Shinrai cackled.
Elation erupted with Ka'rai's chakra. He laughed too.
"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!" yelled Shinrai, tears mixing with the blood on his face.
Ka'rai grinned. "NOT IF I MURDERIZE YOU FIRST!"
They flashed forward, their blades clashed. When Ka'rai pushed, Shinrai pushed back. His scarlet blade flashed with water. "WATER STYLE! WHIRLPOOL DEVASTATION!"
Water whipped around his blades and cut Ka'rai's armor off, bleeding into his already tortured skin. A scarlet flicker and the black blade danced at the call of her name. It ripped across Ka'rai's hell blade—the Jinchurki kicked Shinrai. His pelvis cracked.
It made Shinrai grin. Another Whirlpool Devastation eroded and boiled against the brimstone and Shinrai blitzed forward—so did Ka'rai. Hellflame erupted from Ka'rai's Katana and evaporated the water.
Clones popped, afterimages flashed. Ka'rai burned them all to hell. Careening waves of Hell's essence made the Earth quake. Ka'rai's body was falling apart without Jinsei putting it back together but he didn't give a fucking damn.
"I CAN WIN!" bellowed Shinrai before cutting Ka'rai's shoulder. His strikes were surgical—like he knew exactly where to hit to disable his body. A scarlet flicker cut the tendon in Ka'rai's elbow. He went limp on his primary arm. Both flaming tails behind him slashed across Shinrai's chest. A smoldering X made his mesh armor drop to the floor. His bleeding, burning, and bare torso pulsed with blood and chakra.
Again they both blitzed. Blades flashed. Hell's energy erupted. Lava spewed. Both boys cackled through it all.
"YOU'RE STRONG SHINRAI!" complimented Ka'rai, slicing Shinrai's bicep.
Shinrai grinned at the agonizing blood that poured. "I FUCKING KNOW!" A giddy giggle accompanied his flash toward Ka'rai—Shinrai screamed, mixing it with a cackle as the Jigoku Katana impaled him through the stomach.
"But I have a mission to complete." With a roar, Ka'rai tossed Shinrai over the hellflame and brimstone.
Ka'rai took a deep breath. A giddy chill shimmered in his spine as he stuck the Jigoku Blade into the brimstone. He put all of Nibi's chakra into the blade as he ROARED. Hell spewed with brimstone and lava all throughout the arena.
All Ka'rai could do was hope that Shinrai was good enough to survive this.
A single tail's worth of Nibi's chakra coated his Jigoku Katana. Every muscle in Ka'rai's body flexed—even the ones that didn't work. He connected his personal Hell to Nibi's chakra in its entirety.
One last deep breath—it fell apart. Ka'rai couldn't stop his cackles—the boom was going to be so BIG!
The stadium trembled. The Earth quaked. Hell cracked.
"INFERNAL BAKUGAMI!"
A white flash enveloped all. A monstrous boom. So many screams. So much death. In but a second he felt the conditions for Nibi's domain. Fifty dead bodies? There were much more than that.
Jinsei's instinct enveloped him.
That meant… Shinrai—Ka'rai shook his head. He laughed and laughed. Ash, smoke, lava, and churning burns made all that was Ka'rai's cataclysm.
Ash choked the air. Fires that weren't even Ka'rai's burned white from the heat.
Everything was so fucking destroyed.
It was all his fault.
Hane…
It was for her.
All for her…
A tear fell from his eye.
He looked toward the sky.
There was just fire—fire and ash and smoke and death.
His domain.
Where he belonged…
Everything hurt, even with Jinsei.
That didn't matter.
Ka'rai needed to enjoy every bit…
How would he make the world happy if he wasn't happy himself?
Well, if that was right, then the world would be so fucking happy. All because of him.
If Ka'rai could feel like this alive, then why would he ever want to die?
A second tear fell down Ka'rai's face. A third. A fourth. So many more. "Ha… Ha…" Ka'rai shook his head—"HA! HA! HA!"
"HAHA!"
"HAHA!"
"HAHA!"
"HAHA!" "HAHA!" "HAHA!"
"HAHA!" "HAHA!"
"HAHA!"
"AHAHAHA!"
"HAHAHAHAA!" "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "HAAHAHAAAA!"
"HAHAHAHAHAA!" "HA!" "HAHAAHAAA!""
"HA!"
"AHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!" "AHA!" "AHAHAHAHAHAH!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ