"For my name to be known all the way down to a kid like you...Is an honor."
Sasori
The Wind country was the second most populated area in the region, and one would have to consider it surprising that it wasn't the first most populated area, but there were obvious reasons why it wasn't. The first would be the damiyo was more than high handed and had a streak of arrogance that didn't go unnoticed by anyone. The second would be because he could be a tyrant and raise taxes among other things instead of doing the opposite and lowering them-better yet abolishing the entire thing. But, he did the opposite drunk on power that had been handed down to him and he didn't even need to fight or earn it.
It was nestled perfectly within a rock formation-almost a valley and there was only one way in and one way out. There was no short cut or anything of the sort. If there was a rodent scurrying through the area someone would definitely see it, if not from the rock wedge surrounding them then from sort of vantage point. Not much would escape the guards that patrolled the entrance and near it on the hourly basis, and even his fellow Shimura would have a hard time getting through without being spotted immediately.
Luckily they didn't need to sneak around.
Danzo knew this all too well, and it was one of the primary reasons any direct attack was eventually repelled besides the timely action of his fellow kinsmen. It was also why he couldn't stand being within this noble's presence.
The Earth damiyo knew this as well, perhaps even better than himself.
He wasn't at all impressed with the noble. The Earth damiyo was of short stature with a very strong jaw, slender eyes, and a round nose. He wore white and gold linen over his extravagant robe which was pure white and stitched in were little emeralds. If he had to say he looked more like a clown than anything even if he had ten thousand ryo worth of emeralds just on his sleeves, how anyone could take this man serious, let alone take him serious as a damiyo was well beyond his comprehension. He was eight years old, but he knew well enough that nobody within their right mind would ever listen to such a toad unless they had to.
He wouldn't listen to him even if he had to.
In this case people had to since damiyos were completely hereditary and only those with 'royal' blood could ever rise to take the post.
However, there was another reason people listened to him-there was this...Thing in a dark tunic right next to him. He was always a good sensor and excelled in the art-it came down to being able to sense meant he could spot his foes, which meant he wouldn't die. That's how he looked at it anyway. It was just a little daunting he couldn't get an actual read on thing's chakra, it was dark and felt disgusting, but that's as far as it went.
It wasn't vibrant, vivid, powerful, potent, brassy, oppressive, or anything else.
The sound of a low sigh, the feeling of frustration giving way to anger, and those anger filled green eyes. He couldn't hide the smirk that crossed his face as he slowly leaned his back against the wall closest to him, observing the whole scene silently. Daishiro, Ajo, the general of the Wind's Imperial army and the Earth damiyo himself were all sitting just a few feet away from him. The quiet grunts and hard looks were more than enough to get the point across.
"I knew the Sand country would resist the most..." The Wind damiyo peered down at a stack of papers coldly. There was resistance from all sides, not including the Sarutobi and Hageshii, however he knew the most resistance was coming from the heart of the region. "With the Uchiha and Domou maintaining everything under a tight lock none of the conquests in that direction have proven a success...Even if the Desert country is now no more."
"Couldn't expect anything less." Daishiro mused, crossing his arms over his chest. Mikito made her point very clear. She wasn't going to back down or step aside so the Wind damiyo could take control of the Sand country, she would remain there for as long as this continued. Basically, it was going to come down to a direct conflict between them once again.
Ajo crossed his arms over his chest, letting out an agitated breath. Mikito really got his nerves...But, now she just infuriated him. After months of constant battle she still had no intention of surrendering despite the clear picture that was being painted-that had been painted. Maybe it was that misled sense of honor pushing her to not surrender. "It's clear that the Sand country will be the last to fall, since that is the case we will wipe out the rest of our opposition."
"Should we not focus on the Sand country first?"
Ajo glared at the Wind damiyo, his ambition was going to get him killed. "No, we will take care of everyone else and send them on their way. Once those are taken care of we will focus all of our strength onto the Sand country."
"I agree." The Earth damiyo said with a quiet sigh. He rested his clasped hands in his lap, and stared directly into Ajo's eyes before flicking them onto the Wind damiyo. Not everyone was motivated with such a course of action, it wasn't always the best because it seemed like they were afraid, but it was just the opposite in fact. The Uchiha and Domou were not to be underestimated, and they mowed down anything that came their way.
"It wouldn't make a difference..." The Wind damiyo refused to lose any of his dignity and glared at Ajo before turning her eyes onto the Earth damiyo. Nothing would change other than the fact they wiped out the Sand country first, instead of just delaying it until a later time, and while it could have boosted his morale slightly...It didn't change the grim nature of the situation.
"But, it would... You see we take out the pests and go after the bigger fish." The Earth damiyo declared with a light malice sneer. "I bet we wouldn't even get started and they'd be shouting at us...Begging us to stop...However, first the smaller pests must be taken care of." He smirked seeing fire burn in those irises, and with brutal force he let a smirk slide across his face. "Unfortunately, we don't have that sort of leverage. But, say if we were to march onto that territory with the full strength of our combined Imperial armies, I think they would reconsider."
Daishiro watched the Wind and Earth damiyo stare the other down. They never did like each other, both of them were stupid in his opinion and were more concerned about saving face and pride instead of focusing on reality. They were haughty and infuriating, believing themselves to be better than everyone else and putting themselves up on pedestals. Ajo took it to an extreme and would brutally killed numerous damiyos and lords that he came across-one particular incident he left a local lord with a slit throat and gouged eyes.
"I think we should squash the Sand's rebellion first!" The Wind damiyo snapped. All the anger he felt up to this point paled compared to this pulse of burning rage. Taking quick breaths, he struggled to rein in his growing anger.
"If we push anymore we will be defeated before we get the chance." Daishiro said carefully. His dark eyes looking the Wind damiyo over.
"Daishiro is correct, and if you include the smaller pests in that equation it'll become nothing short of attrition and we'll be down more than half." The Earth damiyo added, remaining firm on his first plan.
Ajo grinned darkly, it was only a matter of time before they swayed the pompous noble. There was a quiet grunt of anger, nothing like when he snapped just a few moments prior. He already sent the monks out with those giant monsters, what he called equalizers, and it showed just how infuriated he was becoming. How hubris he was. It wouldn't be far off to say Mikito was baiting the noble using his pride against him. "The Sarutobi are persistent, and their leader and second in command are extremely powerful. There is the Hyuga and Hageshii clans as well and both are fearsome in their own right. When we attack they will certainly attack us soon after."
The Wind damiyo could barely manage a glare.
"I can't agree to this."
Daishiro turned his gaze partly to the door in an attempt to fight off his annoyance and bite down the urge to snap this idiot's neck. He had half a mind to just strangle him, and focus chakra into his hand, and then squeeze until he could hear the pinpoint cracks.
The linen clad Wind damiyo looked at his stacks of paper once again. "Why are you so dead set on this? Logic dictates that the Sand country is our first target, it is the heart of this entire region." He asked brusquely.
"I am going to assist you in this effort to unify all under your banner. In accordance with that I will be sending my Imperial army out, which outnumbers even your own. We will have close to one million soldiers in all, and regardless of whatever these fools may do they will not be able to stop us. If a few thousand of the soldiers are killed than they will be replaced with another eight thousand, no matter how hard they fight they will not win. If it gets to that point I will simply unleash my monsters that I have at my disposal, they have served the damiyos' will of the Earth country for centuries. This is the leader of that army."
Danzo narrowed his eyes as he gestured to the tunic clad thing.
Monsters... Daishiro's eyes narrowed to slits as he observed the short thing. It wasn't a monster, no, but it wasn't human. "Do you care to explain?
"Just as he has his own trump cards I have my own, in addition to my army I have numerous monsters, you can call them demons if you like-they're not as massive as his, but the point still remains. Also, the portion of the army that will be attacking the Sand country will be just like this sergeant, I have two armies and one of them is considered near infinite. The only way to kill them is by cutting off their heads, but they will never get that far. When they see just how much they're outnumbered they will surrender without question. That goes for everyone across the board."
Ajo narrowed his eyes. He wasn't paranoid, but he would send this noble's head flying-there was that subtle threat.
Daishiro nodded with narrowed eyes, choosing not to make a comment. The Earth damiyo was a real arrogant fucker in addition to being completely paranoid especially when it came to shinobi. If he thought Sasuke was going to pull back just because his armies came stomping through he was beyond mistaken, Sasuke would charge right into the army and start burning them with storms of fireballs and it went double for Mikito and Madara.. She wasn't going to surrender or even consider it. Daiki may cut his losses but not before reducing thousands to just piles of flesh, and Hajime would lead them all into a trap before it ever got started. The Akimichi would crush them.
Under normal circumstances nearly a million strong would make even the most hardened warriors back down, but they were shinobi. Whether they faced off against one or one million didn't matter, and it never mattered. The only thing that mattered was seeing it through, surviving, and continuing to serve the clan. Continue to protect the clan.
"When you put it like that it's palatable.." The Wind damiyo sighed in resignation. Perhaps it was better to take out the small fries and go after the heart last, though the heart always was the first target anyone went after. One hit and it's over, the person, or whatever it is begins to bleed out. The Sand country had been his first priority, but up to this point all of his attacks, like many others, were quelled by the Uchiha and Domou without as much as a glance. Stepping foot on that territory there'd be five units of both Uchiha and Domou swarming in a heartbeat.
"The remainder of these villages still resisting will soon surrender." The Earth damiyo said pointedly. "As for the Sarutobi, Hatake, Hageshii. Akimichi, and any other clan that has taken territory will be put in route.
"They will need some motivation...Daishiro-san, will you be able to capture a cyclops that have been rampaging around recently?"" The Wind damiyo asked,turning his gaze onto the muscular man.
Danzo felt himself stiffen at the mere mention of the name. He seen the abominations in action, and they were nothing short of savage. They smashed people to bits with their clubs, ate them when given the chance, and they could even bash through several Akimichi before being put down-which was saying something considering once the Akimichi use their Expansion and Super Expansion jutsus they were nearly impossible to beat.
One too many times had he been chased by one, it's massive club just missing him.
"It shouldn't be too complicated. I could capture more than one, but what I think you mean to say is control or restrain." Daishiro mused.
If he could use an earth jutsu and bind them by the neck, arms, and legs he'd be able to restrain them. Controlling them wasn't a possibility he even wanted to consider, he hated the damn things and killed them every single chance he got, but he couldn't deny if they had packs of cyclops in addition to near one million soldiers it would seal the deal for a vast majority. Even Daiki would turn tail and run before even considering to go against a pack of those abominations.
Controlling those Bijuu, even capturing them was a fool's gamble and downright suicidal, there was no way to control those monsters of chakra. But, having a Bijuu as well would seal the deal, completely
Hopefully the damiyo wasn't so far gone he considered this next.
The Earth damiyo stared at the Wind damiyo with an impassive glare before flicking his eyes onto Daishiro. "Your monks won't be able to do a thing, their chants would be all but useless with those things. The only way those abominations would be restrained is through Daishiro himself and nothing less than that, I doubt even a hundred Shimura shinobi could keep one restrained."
"It is a mistake to underestimate the Shimura, many have in the past and they don't live to speak about it." Ajo said darkly.
"Forgive me for being so forward, but even Shimura shinobi have fallen prey to those things. Nothing is safe when they are around and those Akimichi get leveled three at a time before they even manage to kill one, they even combat the Bijuu and give them a hard time. I know better than to underestimate my foes, or anyone for that matter, but I've witnessed what those things are capable of and nobody except for Daishiro and perhaps you would be capable of restraining them." The Earth damiyo said calmly, looking over Ajo for a moment before upturning his chin.
Ajo barely held back a snarl. This noble was being glib with him.
"Unless you've went up against them yourself, you have not truly witnessed what they are capable of." Daishiro said gruffly, locking eyes with the Earth damiyo and didn't turn away even the slightest. It was easy for this noble to speak such a big game when he wasn't directly confronting the abominations and seeing that people were being devoured before splitting the damn thing's skull with a lightning jutsu-while he may have seen it happen from afar, he never truly experienced what it was like. He wasn't up close.
Pompous and round bellied.
And, we're supposed to really make a pact with these pompous nobles...What is that Senju thinking? He shifted in his seat, rolling his neck to the side until it cracked. He wasn't sure where Hashirama's thought process was going, but making a pact with these clowns who only seen them as expendable was nothing short of folly in his eyes. This was all the proof he needed to know that whatever Hashirama wanted to found was nothing but a failed experiment. Like a child learning to ride a bike, except the child would succeed, while Hashirama would fail ultimately.
They were already dogs of the damiyo and they were all supposed to keep going on with the same thing excepted being united within a village. It was nothing short of lunacy in his eyes, nothing would change, and the damiyo maintaining power was the last thing he wanted. The damiyo needed to be booted out of that power, and better yet shoved right out by the shinobi. Then and only then would all conflict with shinobi cease because they wouldn't be selling their services anymore. They wouldn't have any need to anymore.
But, he already knew that few would resist Hashirama once the village was founded and they'd flock it like flies on cow shit. He wouldn't be flocking along with the rest of the mindless morons. And, he was not alone in that view point. Mikito and Syrus both made it clear they wanted nothing to do with the village or village system, and many clans while not verbally saying it were making their own point in showing they wanted nothing to do with it.
He also knew that Hashirama would try to join hands with Sasuke and the Sarutobi.
Daishiro pushed the thought aside while focusing on the other, the former had no merit now, but it was still fact nonetheless.
He flicked his eyes onto the Earth damiyo letting them burn fiercely until the noble looked away. "I will restrain some without much complication, I'll leave the controlling to your respective armies since there are thousands of you, but if you make the mistake of slighting the Shimura clan again...It will be the last thing you ever do."
Daishiro let his darkness leak out, dark eyes narrowing even further until they were glinting madly. The Earth damiyo tried to stare him down, of course, but even the round bellied noble could feel the temperature drop in the room, and there's no way he was going to state him eye to eye longer than a few seconds. And, just as he expected the noble turned away after about ten seconds of staring, unable to withstand the glinting darkness in his eyes. That Uzumaki woman made the same mistake, and he could see fear in her little eyes when his darkness penetrated through her facade.
"I will keep that in mind." The Earth damiyo mused. "I've never been around shinobi, as you can see I don't have much use for them." He gestured to the thing wearing the tunic. "Those within my inner circle handle those affairs since shinobi can't be trusted."
"Moving forward we're all on the same page." Ajo interjected mildly, looking at Daishiro who was completely frozen and then to the Earth damiyo who was looking at anything but the leader of the Shimura.
"Indeed and then our mission will be complete." Ajo said gruffly, glaring at the Earth damiyo as well.
"Which reminds me..." Daishiro locked eyes with the damiyo. "We will need all emergency powers."
"You have my blessing."
Daishiro and Ajo traded glances, ghost of a smirk crossing their respective faces.
"Danzo, we're going to prepare." Ajo headed for the door, quickly opening it and stepping out. Now we make our move.
"Yes, Ajo-sama."
"No more than three days. On the third day we will move onto the Sand country and take it." The Wind damiyo declared.
In just two you will be dead... Daishiro excused himself, hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Yuko was having quite the day. It was pretty strange because she was wearing a new uniform and a forehead protector. She was never one to get all giddy about clothes like most women, but she was used to what she was wearing before. In the end she decided to go with a light blue haori, and opted to wear her new set of trousers instead of hakama.
It was pretty mild overall, it wasn't mandatory to wear it, but she would embrace the unity that they had.
She had been told to heal all of those wounded she couldn't exactly refuse, though she did question it. As a medic she had to heal them, it was her duty, they were all her patients and she'd do everything in her power to ensure they were healed. And, Madara ordered her to do so she couldn't exactly refuse, but it made her nervous considering she had to fully heal wounds rather than letting the body handle the rest.
Of course, she wasn't alone in this task, the Domou medics assisted her. Perhaps this was a reason healing wasn't as much practiced as ninjutsu. In order to put aside your own personal feelings and treat the person who could have killed your family, your lover, anything along those lines...It wasn't suited for everyone.
Patrols had decreased overall, but were still frequent. As soon as she was done healing the wounded and got cleaned up she went out to tend to her routes. She would be in the village. Bunji, Hayami , Hikaku and Mitsuki would be accompanying her. Misaka, Aito, Hiro, and Chiasa were on the other side of the village. There were more units of Uchiha and Domou that weren't in the castle around the village in disguise, keeping their eyes and ears open at all times. Milling about as ordinary citizens or playing the part of sleeping bums. Nobody would even guess they were highly trained killers.
She liked to keep herself busy. Whether that was healing the wounded, going on patrol, or something as mundane as reading through scrolls for an answer she always tried to remain busy. Perhaps it was her father's method of teaching. He would always say time is better used than wasted, and whether you use that time training or studying is more than acceptable. Which basically meant she couldn't do anything fun, not like that was even possible living in the Uchiha compound. The only thing they cared about was war and death.
There was even this thing about not showing true emotions, which was just a load of garbage in her eyes. They were still human and had emotions, they couldn't completely suppress their emotions-it's what gave the Uchiha their notoriety other than the Sharingan. Their ruthless and cold exteriors that many made the mistake, rightfully so, in assuming that the Uchiha were nothing but vengeful and bloodthirsty demons that desired nothing more than power.
Izuna was at the Domou compound with Ahiko. While the Domou weren't a hateful or vengeful clan, they didn't allow people onto their territory. They were killed on sight and there was no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She was the only one other than her Kizoku brethren to ever be able to step foot onto their land with their blessing, everyone else was six feet under. It had to be nothing short of chaos there.
There were roughly two thousand some Uchiha there and while the Domou were austere there was no way they'd be able to go about their usual business with two thousand Uchiha who they didn't know from a hole in the ground now in their compound. Even if the Uchiha were there to get the help they badly needed, it was still going to throw the Domou off and the elders in particular weren't going to be happy about it. In turn that meant Ahiko wasn't going to be happy because they'd try to interfere with the treatments, and she knew for certain at that point Ahiko would start busting heads.
She wasn't even sure what to say about the whole thing considering she had been unconscious or still on her mission that went south when this happened. The Uchiha in the old compound couldn't be the least bit happy about it and were probably bitter. They more than likely felt betrayed, how could Uchiha leave and live with the Domou who were outsiders?! Yes, it was so crazy. She could already see them going on the Domou just want the Sharingan rant, as if the Domou actually needed or wanted the Sharingan. They didn't.
To even consider the Domou outsiders at this point was nothing short of folly on the Uchiha's part.
Imagining Ahiko going through all of that distrust and hate really made her furious. Ahiko was nothing but loving and patient, she doubted the girl could hurt a fly. The only reason she killed is because she had to, because if she didn't then that person facing off against her would run their blade right through her. Ahiko would never try to pluck out the Sharingan from an Uchiha's eyes or even consider the thought of doing so-for an Uchiha the Sharingan was everything and Ahiko was aware of that and if she wasn't she was now after hearing the rant about it in the compound.
She really wondered how it all went. If Ahiko lost her temper and patience and decided to go down the same route her sister and brother do. Go on a rampage.
It was a quiet few days since she had awoken. There were no battles or any signs of them for that matter. Everything was too quiet, too still, and she'd dare say far too tranquil. Sasuke and Genzo weren't unleashing storms of fireballs, Atsushi and Hiroshi weren't stomping across the terrain with their giant bodies, and Daiki wasn't going out of his way to prove just how superior the Hyuga were to everyone else. To make matters worse or better, Hajime and Tunoichi were nearly silent, and Koichi wasn't sending spears of lightning out like it was just another day in the park.
"Yuko."
She startled hearing her name uttered from Souji's brusque tone.
"Souji-sama, what can I do for you?" She asked, turning towards him with the brightest smile she could muster-which was pretty bright considering just how anxious she was. This much quiet time was extremely rare and never happened, it only lead to the possibility somebody was prepping to attack them at the drop of a hat.
"Is everyone healed and up to speed?"
"Yes." She wrung the sleeve of her light blue haori. It had been a trying task and took a little hamper on her chakra, but she along with the rest of the Domou medics mended every injury. Whether it was a small cut, long gash, broken bone, or even a minor sprain it was all healed completely. Ahiko always stressed that the body should be allowed to heal itself, to heal just enough so it wasn't severe and let nature take its course the rest of the time. It was to ensure that the shinobi didn't become accustomed to healing, nor their bodies becoming accustomed to it.
If their bodies became accustomed to it they'd find no reason to heal on their own and rely on that.
"I'm glad to hear that, you've done very well." Souji said bluntly, eyeing the room she shared with her sister for this entire length of time. The two spent the majority of their time together and were nearly inseparable, he would dare say they were even as close as sisters if not closer. Ahiko welcomed her to the Domou compound with open arms while startling her in the process. "I need you to come with me."
Yuko perked up at that, but not in the most positive of ways. Souji had that look in his eyes that promised something big was about to happen or be discussed, and considering that everyone was healed and ready to fight it was extremely big. So, she followed after him silently, not daring to ask the thousands of questions that were filtering through her mind at this very moment. Souji was as blunt as one could get, but she noticed the subtle forward hunch of his shoulders, the way his fingers lightly clenched against the hilt of his sword, and the way he kept his eyes pointed forward avoiding everything else.
It had to be something grim because Souji often didn't not tell her anything that he wanted her to do. He's the one that gave her the map and the mission to find out the truth that she so badly wanted, and finally got. Contrary to how he acted he was a kind man, perhaps too kind, and he wouldn't hide something from those near him or about to go on a mission with him. In Souji's eyes if everyone was informed that was best, that way there were no casualties and everyone could get on the same page.
They both stopped in front of a door with a knob and Souji wasted no time in opening it swiftly.
Yuko's eyes widened as she took a seat in one of the open spots, next to Hina-seated and standing before her was every Uchiha and Domou ready and able to fight along with Mikito and Madara who sat at the helm of the massive group.
Seeing that the remaining two were now present Madara took this time to stand up from his cushion, leveling a hard gaze with everyone for several seconds. "Now that everyone is gathered here we will discuss the reason for this."
"It's pretty stuffy in here." Mitsuki complained, while the room wasn't small by any means she didn't like being crammed with so many people.
Madara ignored her complaint. "Almost every village and country has been forced under the banner of the Wind damiyo, just a few hours ago both the Dune and Dunes were taken out in one single move. Though Tunoichi and the Shainingu have staked out a piece of land and continue to fight."
"How?" Bunji asked the obvious. It wasn't like a damiyo, anyone for that matter would just give up.
"The Earth damiyo has allied himself with the Wind damiyo and is using his vast military power in addition to the Wind's to quell threats." Mikito replied, closing her eyes as a bout of anxiousness nestled itself in the pit of her stomach. For being as pompous as they were, damiyos were often very cautious and didn't expend too much energy or lives into conflicts, it's why they contacted shinobi clans. If the Earth damiyo and Wind damiyo were being so brazen, they must have had something going for them.
"In addition to those two countries surrendering the Sarutobi clan as well as the Hageshii and Hatake have been fighting day and night-they're showing signs of cutting their losses, but it's too early to say." Madara added tersely, arms folding over his chest before he even realized he was doing it in the first place. It was an extremely grim chain of events-Sasuke didn't know when to give up, Hajime would continue to try and turn things into his favor, and Koichi was nothing short of a blitz of lightning. Few things would be able to make them react in such a way, very few things. "The Akimichi and Hageshii are being attacked at this moment...With all of them out of the occupied that only leads to us being the next target."
"However, those clans dealt and are dealing crucial blows taking off a good few to hundred thousand." Souji added.
There were numerous reactions, but none were positive by any stretch despite the last bit of news..
Mikito struggled to block out the noise and quell her anxiousness. She couldn't think of anything that would daunt Sasuke. The man was brazen, bold, and hot blooded. Quite simply put there was nothing he wouldn't run from, nothing he wouldn't try to bash with his bare hands or incinerate with his powerful fire jutsus. He had a very powerful will and from start to finish, whenever they fought he was going full speed. But, if there is one thing that could daunt even the hot blooded leader of the Sarutobi it would be just this.
She knew the odds weren't in their favor, but for it to be this steep...This extreme...Even she didn't anticipate it.
The Imperial army for the Sand country was down to roughly one hundred and seventy thousand, and even with that there'd be no way to even it out exactly.
She shouldn't be surprised, but it angered her. Combined, just the Uchiha and Domou all gathered was roughly thirteen hundred, maybe less.
Now, they'd be going up against nearly if not 1 million or more not including the Shimura,
She didn't fight losing battles, She always seen it through to the very end, she put her all into what she did-she consummated it. There was no middle., She was sticking with what she said before. She wouldn't allow the Wind or Earth damiyo to have their way and subjugate the people of the Sand.
"This will be our last battle and then we will be taking our leave." Mikito said reticently, looking at everyone gathered. She tolerated all that she could with this damiyo, with this whole conflict in general. It was time to put an end to it.c"I'm not sure if you know, but it is questionable if we will be receiving any help from Ryouma, in regards to that we will be stop the combined Imperial Force of the Wind and Earth damiyos-they easily number in the high hundreds of thousands and they even say there's more than one million."
"With all these other clans fighting them, we can take advantage of that."
"Not to state the obvious, but there's only about eighteen hundred of us total. Even with the damiyo's army we wouldn't even it out." Aito said, gauging if Mikito was actually serious about this. He wasn't surprised that she was dead serious about repelling this ridiculous invasion force. And, while he wasn't one to give up, this entire situation was looking grimmer and grimmer.
"You're serious?"
"Very serious, Aito-san."
Mikito nodded, in no way objecting his statement. It'd be nothing short of folly on her part if she even thought of trying. They were outnumbered, laughably and terribly so, and at first glance there seemed to be no option open for them other than surrender. To become a part of the Wind and be subjugated. However, she didn't surrender, and she had no intention of surrendering especially to the likes of a pompous noble. There was only one option in her mind and that was to fight with everything they had, and repel the invasion. Looks like I'll need to summon my companions.
"That will be all for now, get into formation." Madara said decisively, nodding to all those gathered.
They exited save for Madara, Mikito, and Souji.
"We shouldn't expect any help from the damiyo." Madara broke the silence.
"I wasn't from the beginning, his Imperial army is about half of what it used to be, and he's simply afraid." Souji said bluntly, shrugging when Madara turned to him with a somewhat serious gaze. Perhaps Madara had been expecting the damiyo to lend at least some of his force over to help, but that thought was nothing short of absurd in his opinion. The damiyo seen them as expendable, it's as simple as that. If they all died he'd end up surrendering, but if they live the country won't be subjugated.
Simple as it got.
"It seems like I'll need help from my companions."
"Companions?" Madara turned towards Mikito with a questionable expression. That's the first time he heard her use that word.
"Do the Uchiha not use Summonings in combat?"
"No, we're taught to depend on our own strength. We don't have any or need companions. Our eyes are our power and are hands are their guide." Madara replied.
Souji barely suppressed a sigh and turned his focus outside to keep it from escaping. These Uchiha...What a hubris and troublesome clan.
Mikito shook her head, it was so unfortunate. The Uchiha were powerful, but they relied on their eyes far too much in her opinion, at least it seemed that way. Would they sooner use their Sharingan instead of their sensory perception? Did some even focus on that skill in the first place when they could just see chakra with their Sharingan? Probably not, and that was nothing short of absurd. "That's unfortunate to hear, I guess you'll have to sit back, watch, and learn. The Domou use Summonings in combat, and I have a lot of companions."
"Do you think that will make a difference?"
Souji chuckled softly. "It'll make more of a difference than the Sharingan."
Madara glared at Souji.
Mikito smiled. "You haven't faced off against Syrus or the Subatsu when they summon their Wolves-they cut entire armies down to size, literally."
Madara looked a bit skeptical, crossing his arms over his chest and fixing his with a stern expression. They were going up against close to a million people, a few Summonings wouldn't be able to turn the tables in their favor the slightest. They were still outnumbered. If more Uchiha besides him, Izuna, and Yuko had the Mangekyo things would definitely spin in their favor-there wasn't much one could do against Amaterasu. Even less against a giant Susano'o.
Though, he did know there had been several times when Syrus and the Subatsu summoned their Wolf companions, mowed through the Hageshii, mowed through the Sarutobi, mowed through Shainingu, mowed through Hyuga, and even forced Hajime to retreat.
But, he really couldn't put stock into Summonings since he didn't use them, but he knew well enough it was dangerous to underestimate Mikito and the Domou as a whole.
"You're just going to do it?"
"Nope, all of the Domou will, including Souji. We're going to go wild." Mikito said with a deadly smirk, furthering her point by slamming her hand down on the ground clouding the room with smoke.
One large paw hit the floor, dissipating the smoke swiftly.
Madara narrowed his eyes a bit as he looked at the beasts.
It was definitely a lion-to be more precise it was a lioness since they had no sort of mane; manes are what distinguished the males from the females. There were two of them.
They had to be six, six and a half feet to the shoulder and at least five feet wide. Nothing short of literal tanks. Their fur was a light brown with small brown stripes here and there. Muscles streamlined their bodies forcing the light brown fur to blend with them as it covered every part of them, save for their noses. Their eyes were a brilliant amber, and their mouths were slightly parted as they panted showing off their four long canines. They were a hell of a lot bigger than what he expected, even some Ninken from the Inuzuka didn't get anywhere near this big.
"Mikito...Souji..." The first lioness peered at her with wild eyes, slowly turning her head to add effect. "You have need for us?"
Souji simply nodded.
"Okemi, Hide I-"
"You've summoned us in front of an Uchiha, you know I detest them!" The second lioness wasn't nowhere near as calm as the first and cut off Mikito before she could fully explain.
Madara glared at the lioness that snarled at him, locking his crimson eyes with her own. He didn't let anyone speak ill of the Uchiha, and while she didn't do that directly-she still made the declaration that she detested them. Why would be anyone's guess, the Uchiha weren't very popular or well liked by a vast majority, and Summonings wouldn't be any different naturally. "What?"
"Arrogant little shit. It'll take me a second to crush your skull. You Uchiha and your pride, boasting about your Sharingan! You all make me sick." Hide snarled, legs coiling like springs as she crouched down, adjusting her hind paws a few inches at a time.
She was about to pounce.
"Sister that is enough." Okemi-the first lioness reproached Hide, swatting her across the head for good measure. "He is Mikito's husband, deal with him for the time being."
Hide let out a vicious growl, letting her face wrinkle and contort as she bared her fangs. "I'd crush your skull with a playful bite, little Uchiha." She turned her eyes onto Mikito who immediately started scratching the back of her head sheepishly doing everything to avoid her fierce lioness gaze. "What do you need us for?"
"I need to cut an army down to size." Mikito said bluntly.
"You know the drill, four hundred pounds of meat-"
"Hide!" Okemi swatted her again, this time drawing an annoyed growl out of her sibling. "You're going to summon the others, too?"
"I need all your help. Including the males."
"You've placed more burdens on yourself than necessary again, didn't you, foolish girl." Hide shook her head as she reproached Mikito as gently as she could, which wasn't very much considering she still growled. "You know the males are bullheaded, especially the juveniles and that's not even including the alpha of our pride-who hates sand need I remind you."
"We're going against close to a million soldiers. The Wind and Earth damiyos have combined their armies. The Sand damiyo has no intention of lending us a part of his force..." Mikito said softly, clenching her hakama tightly with one hand as she frowned at Hide's reproach.
"We'll help you with this task." Okemi concluded before her sister could catch her stride and even consider saying no, not that she would say no to Mikito. She'd just hassle the poor girl about her quote on quote poor decision making, a trying task she was going to save Mikito from.
"But, there are Uchiha-"
"Hide, Karei-dono took care of us as did Mikito and Souji when we were younger." Okemi said, growling the last bit until her sibling pointedly turned away. "We will assist them and the Domou, not the Uchiha. Got it?"
The two lionesses growled and glared at each other.
"I am the alpha female of this pride, and you will do as I say, unless you want to go a few rounds." Okemi said, not backing down from her sister's vicious glare.
"Just keep the Uchiha away from me. If one even comes near me I promise you I will bite them in two." Hide said sternly, glowering at Madara before flicking her eyes onto Mikito and allowed them soften just a little. "You silly girl, I hope you can explain this as fluently as you have to us to the others, the males in particular when this is over with. They will be waiting not so patiently."
Mikito suppressed a sigh, struggling not to pout. She wasn't going to catch a break and they weren't going to let her off so easily. Four hundred pounds of meat wouldn't be enough to quell them this time around, and that was a piece. Great. "I got it."
"Let's get this started, in any case. It's going to take ages to get this stupid sand out of my fur." Hide grumbled.
Daishiro watched halfheartedly as the battles continued to rage without any reprieve. It was in its final stage and it was just a matter of timing before he killed the Wind damiyo. The man would be replaced with someone else, less brazen. The Sand would retain its autonomy and territory, he wasn't going to lose any more Shimura. But, for now he had to keep his focus on the battle. Mikito, Souji and the Domou were using their Summonings tearing through the ranks, Madara was leading the Uchiha who bathed entire lines of soldiers in ferocious flames.
In short they were decimating the combined force, and even the five cyclops he had under his control-there were more, were dealt with in short order-two thanks to Sasuke.
He anticipated this from the very beginning. He knew full well that Mikito wouldn't stop until they backed off, and with the Wind damiyo's dogmatic mentality that time would never come anytime soon. If he had to be honest the conflict was tedious, and while the pay they were getting was good, it wasn't worth it anymore at this point. The Wind damiyo would sooner sacrifice them, and the Earth damiyo was no doubt in his mind plotting how to eradicate the Shimura.
War would continue as long as people believed they had something to fight for. In this case it'd be fighting for their autonomy, and when they cut their losses they didn't lose their fight-they just weren't willing to take anymore risks. They weren't willing to sacrifice any more than what they have. The Sand had always been the strongest resistance against this entire movement, and he had set his sights on it first just for that reason.
However, as he expected Mikito was refusing to give up an inch and Madara was extremely fierce. He could always deal with the Uchiha-Madara and Izuna were powerful, but they were still little brats in his opinion and he was more than accustomed to fighting their hateful and vindictive father. Tajima, so prideful and always boasting about the Uchiha and the Sharingan, but whenever he seen the Earth Tyrant he turned tail and ran as fast as he could, along with the Uchiha who were accompanying him.
So much for the Sharingan!
"Daishiro-sama, Mikito has broken through our left flank!"
"What!?" Daishiro barked at the Imperial soldier.
"There's lions everywhere! They're tearing through our ranks and are even tearing apart those demons and monsters! At this rate-"
"Have your men pull back and focus on the right flank and curve around the left. Avoid those lions no matter what you do!" If she's going this far...Well, it's only natural I suppose.
Daishiro wasted no time in hunting downn the chakra. He cut down dozens of monsters as he shot across the ground, splitting them down vertically like a sheet of paper before they caught their strides and attacked without reprieve. It took less than ten minutes for him to come across Mikito and he wasted little time in colliding with her and starting to exchange blows and strokes.
He slid across the ground, barely stopping himself as he set his sights on her companions. "So, you've actually summoned them?"
"Shimura!" Hide spat, canines glistening against the faint moonlight.
Daishiro narrowly missed getting his face ripped off by those claws, watching sternly as the same lioness went right into a horde of Imperial soldiers along with the rest of her brethren.
Mikito's and all of the Domou's chakra continued erupting without any restraint as they sped alongside the massive lions as they went on the attack... Several cyclops, demons, monsters, and thousands of Imperial soldiers fell to them. red depths splattering all over the the earth before having a sword run through them or skull crushed by one powerful bite.
"I've told you already. The Sand won't be subjugated." She said coldly, eyes locking onto Daishiro as she slid to a stop, outfit and form spotted with blood.
Daishiro slammed his way forward, smashing and batting through anything that got in his way, slamming his blade against her own and quickly broke the stalemate, unleashing lethal strokes aiming for her eyes and sides. He sidestepped a timely stab, tip of his sword trained on the its targets as it battered through a nearby earth wall puncturing it completely, not by just a few inches.
Mikito surged forward a few inches, spinning and twisting, heaving aside seven men with one arm. Blade on blade, stabbing one and kicking away one, she felled the next, quickly changing her grasp and swiping across the right, splitting through the soft skin at the front of the neck, the next eight attacked with vigor screaming in fury, teeth grit and feet digging into the floor.
Mikito sent them flying off to the side.
"Raaaahhh!" Daishiro shouted, slamming his blade against her own with trembling force, their eyes met as their blades cried out. He grunted pushing up, slamming his foot into the ground and twisted off to the side pressing forward. His shoulder collided against against her chest, unforgiving and unyielding like a tree trunk.
Mikito pushed forward thrusting in rapid succession and swiping across the gap with her steel saya. Blood splattered against her as her blade flashed, tearing through two men's neck before they could react and severing another man's hand before his sword could cleave through her neck. She slammed a foot into the ground, blurring into a shadow as she deflected Daishiro's timely stab.
She ducked the follow up slash poised for her neck and swayed away the next stab ,hastily stepping back batting aside the next stab. Block. She turned against Daishiro swiping for his hand, he dodged as he expected, and she grunted, twisting hard to the side and grabbing his wrist tossing him into a horde of soldiers sending them crashing back with loud thuds.
Just how many are there?! I feel like I'm not making any progress, they just keep on coming and coming! With a shout, another attacker launched himself towards her, she easily sidestepped the attack, smashing her saya off the man's skull and crossed it with her katana just blocking Daishiro's vicious two hand slash.
"Why don't you give up?"
"I'm fighting for their freedom and autonomy, I won't stop until the Sand is free and clear!"
Their collision leveled the ground, sputtering and throwing everything else into a heap of breaking rock, wood, and stone.
Daishiro narrowed his eyes. The stab poised for his right eye socket was dodged nimbly, and his sword cleaved forward just narrowly deflecting Mikito's saya sending it shredding into the ground behind him as he took the chance to leap towards the younger woma.
Mikito blocked the overhead swing, dashing in Daishiro's guard as two of his men closed in, nicking him on his right arm, splitting the sleeve of his shirt, forcing him back once more.
She took advantage of the brief pause, and dashed to the side, swiping against the first attacker with a deft one hand slash, and swung downward cleaving into the second's face sending him sprawling onto the sand. Keen senses alerted her as Daishiro slammed forward, fist rattling against her armor, sending her flying back.
Daishiro snarled, jumping right towards her, but halted himself, spotting a sudden blur of movement from the side and send another barrage of stabs skewing towards er persistent and overbearing. His men flooded in front of him, Mikito turned sharply, dashing away from the horde as they gave chase, batting their blades away with some effort their bodies thudding and colliding with the ground and earthen walls as she followed through with her movements.
Their battle continued at a fever pitch!
Daishiro crouched, putting on another numbing burst of speed that took Mikito by surprise as he pressed the her back step by step. Slash by slash. Stab by stab. Each of their attacks shaking their bones and jarring their joints into action. Finally, after a punch and kick connecting respectively, they dispersed from each other, sliding harshly against the war torn terrain. The bodies of those who came too close spotting around them.
Mikito shifted one way narrowly avoiding a cut to her neck, the deafening screech of her blade against Daishiro's pounded against her ears. She easily blocked his follow up series of slashes all of them aimed for her neck, face, and eyes, dancing around them with graceful footwork when they came too close or Daishiro tried to step into his guard to press the attack.
Daishiro swiveled away from a measured stab, shifting his footing and springing forward his right hand surging forward. Angry that he missed the first slash he twisted ramming his sword against Mkito's sword narrowly blocking another slash. He pushed up, teeth grounding against each other, his wrist absorbed all of the impact driving his feet into the sand around him. He launched a quick punch forward just grazing Mikito's jaw as she leaned back, bridging her entire body and executed a perfect back distancing herself.
I forgot she can twist and bend at odd angles... Daishiro mused.
They collided once more in a series of spins, stabs, and slashes. Dashiro's fury growing by the second as he skewed just a few inches away from her trachea every time, rapidly twisting away from and blocking her quick and concise sweeping slashes, keeping his eyes on the steel saya as it skewed just behind her blade.
Daishiro shifted on a dime, pivoting to his left just as Mikito made to slice through his neck, he spun sharply completing his turn and slashed forward, only for Mikito to ram her steel saya against his blade, halting his attack.
"Grraaghh..." Daishiro hissed in anger.. One. Two. Three. He pressed forward, his strokes becoming more erratic and precise before he shifted to the side, blocking her counter and forced himself to a screeching halt kicking up sand in the process. Slowly, forcibly he righted himself hissing. I can't get around her strength or reflexes, however...
He's as strong as ever... Mikito noted mentally shifting her footing and clasping the hilt of her sword tightly with one hand, her other hand clasping the saya twice as tight.
Mikito attacked, launching herself forward with a powerful flourish of her legs/. She swiped upwards adding momentum to the swing and sharply swung down. Daishiro shifted around the stroke lashing out with a quick stab which Mikito dodged promptly lashing out with another slash, Daishiro swung from his side deflecting the first slash and stepped forward blocking the second.
"Hgggnnhhh." His teeth ground against each other as he shoved forwards ignoring the hot pain of the lactic acid engorging itself.,
He spotted the attack, one leg slid back and to the side away from him shifting into the sand as the other braced against the ground supporting his weight. There was an ear screaming screech as the blade tore into a part of his chest plate-not too deep to cut him severely, but it was enough to leave a minor wound. Mikito flicked his wrist sharply, swiping to the side watching a storm of sparks fly as their blades fought for supremacy, and gasped feeling Daishiro's foot connect solidly with her gut indenting her armor.
They slid away from each other, arms shaking with fatigue, chests heaving with exertion as they fought for oxygen. It was always the same when it came down it between them in life and death battles. One could never land the finishing blow it was either blocked, deflected, or dodged. There was always minor wounds dished out, a small cut, a small pattern of bruises, and a few devastating strikes, but the killing blow would never connect.
He respected Mikito grudgingly.
"Daishiro-san stand aside!" The Wind damiyo bellowed as a row of monks marched towards the duo.
"What do you think you're doing!?" Daishiro snarled. "I'm in the middle of something!"
"Taking out one of my main enemies, this witch!"
Mikito tensed, not out of fear, but readiness as one beast and demon turned their eyes onto her and let out savage growls before stomping their way over. The ground shook, and the damn things left it huge footprints in the terrain itself. It had to weight two thousand pounds, if not more! And, though the smaller one was smaller than the other, it too left its foot prints in the ground.
She met the beasts head on, sword and saya flying, bashing against the giant steel axes the brutes used. She danced and glided around the body severing swings, but she wouldn't try to match them with brute strength-every single hit felt bone breaking, literally, and it took all she had just to hang onto her weapons. She shifted away from one vicious swing, tearing the tip of her blade through the top of the beast's skull and sent it thudding into the ground.
Every cut other than a direct head shot seemed to have no effect, even cutting the across the temple did nothing.
The beasts three lashed out three times, bellowing as their strokes collided. The area where they stood quaked as the monsters pressed their attack, Her muscles were burning horribly filled to the brim with lactic acid, and her bones continued jarring as she pushed against the beasts with all she had for total dominance.
There was no holding back, only a furious collision, her will and beasts' strength. Neither were willing to give an inch.
"RAAAHHHH!" The ground exploded under her, legs bracing against the force, her strong core and powerful hips keeping her torso from slamming into the sand.
She jumped back lunging forward with a new burst of speed, cleaving two beasts right down the middle, and charged for the third, her blade squelching through its chest, but it grabbed her by the ankle and swung her around into a falling earth pillar.
The beasts were so damn tall and strong, that their total lack of technique and finesse didn't have any effect on their capability to fight. If anything it made them even more deadly and fearsome.
Mikito shifted to the side, before shifting and darting in for its neck using the element of surprise, and swiped across his line of vision. She did expect it to dodge at the last second and she surged forward with even greater speed tearing clean through its collarbone all the way to its gut before smashing her steel saya off of its cranium watching as heaps of blood and gore splattered onto the ground.
More of them roared.
These things don't have intelligence, but they seem a bit smart... Mikito narrowed his eyes, that would make this all the more complicated since they could team up against her, like they have been. Damn these demons...Only direct blows to the head or removing of it will do any good.
The beasts charged manically, swinging forward with all of their might, several meaty hands relinquished their grips, sending the axes forward like screaming death. The collision of the weapons leveled just about everything behind her, and for those unlucky enough, severed them without any issue. It left nothing but destruction and bodies in its wake, finally stopping several meters away.
Mikito dashed forward, one foot slamming into the ground before she flashed out of sight. Blade squelched into its flesh, cutting clean through two heads and bridging halfway into the third before she power through. Blood splattered onto the ground, almost pitch black in color, but the beasts didn't even seem fazed at the deaths as one grabbed her by the throat and heaved her up smashing her right into the ground.
Blood flew out from her mouth, slobbering against the back of her throat.
"RAAAGGGGGHHHHHHH!" Saliva flew into her face along with disgusting drool as she held the monster at boy, annoyed with her persistence, the simple thing could only roar in rage and bare its teeth. She realized with slight horror that while she could overpower this thing, it'd cause her a great injury in the process,
She stabbed its arm and side hundreds of times with a kunai until she was drenched in the putrid black blood but it did no good, and to follow up she jammed it right into its temple hearing the sickly wet sound of flesh being protruded.
Clearly this thing wasn't human.
"ROOOUAAGHHHH!"
Its hand gripped even tighter.
"Ngghhh..." She clenched the massive wrist of the monster, before twisting to the side and focusing chakra into her hands, eyes darting up to its free arm as it raised a chunk of debris. The rock was dull under the lucid sunlight, glaring down at him with nothing short of hostility
Another one stomped near her head, ax already in motion.
Several more charged in.
"I don't think so!" Souji snarled swiping off the beast's head with one blinding swing, eyes glowing with fury as he cut the rest of its body into segments.
However, their lion companions simply clawed and mauled them until there was nothing but scraps left behind as they swarmed the battlefields killing everything and everyone in sight.
Isamu and Isami stabbed through the second's, third's, and fourth's skulls before it could connect with Mikito, sickly twisting their blades out.
Mitsuki, and Masa tore through two's skulls in the same gruesome fashion, not settling for just two and cleaved through another three.
Chiasa, Hayami, and Hiro skipped over this and split four of them right down the middle.
Bunji avoided any direct contact and simply showered two in flames.
"Thanks for that." Mikito said, slowly rising up to her feet with the help of Chiasa and swiped her sword clean.
Chiasa just offered a soft smile before turning her focus back onto their foes.
"Damn things are hard to kill, are they immortal..." Bunji hissed, any of his usual arrogance completely gone, Sharingan warily watching his massive foes. "This is ridiculous, we have both of these things to contend with not counting the Imperial armies and whatever clans are fighting."
"Focus on their heads. Nothing is immortal." Hayami said with finality, shifting her footing as some of the beasts got ready to charge, a few clenching their axes even tighter. She could see their massive muscles bulge from their forearms. "We need to take off their heads, anything less won't even faze them."
"We should split them up, they'll be easier to handle." Isami said.
"There's a lot of these things. I thought we took out a majority before, guess I was wrong." Souji growled, swiping his sword clean before sheathing it swiftly and taking a firm hold of it. His dark eyes flinty, focusing on the beasts rampaging around, and a few set their sights onto him bellowing in fury seeing one of their own without a head and dead at his feet. "Isamu, Isami, Masa, Hayami, Bunji, Mitsuki, Chiasa; we're going to and lead them towards Aito, Misaka, and Hikaku, take out as many as you can. Their fire and Misaka's earth jutsus will take down the ones you're unable to. Mine and my kinsmen's companions will handle the rest!"
"Brother..." Mikito said, keeping her tone neutral as possible as she watched them charge right towards the rampaging beasts with zero fear before forcing them to disperse from their packs and hunt them down. Do your best to handle things on your end, I'll take care of this.
"Those things have horrendous physical strength..." Daishiro said, looking at her with an impassive glare as he smoothly yanked his blade free from one's skull, and wasted no time in tearing through the monks leaving their bodies to fall in segments. "Guess it's a good thing you've summoned those lions. But, why didn't you summon your tiger?"
He flicked the blood from his blade.
"They are my companions!" Mikito said firmly, eyes narrowing. Not to mention they can't get along if their lives depended on it. It's enough dealing with these guys.
"Kill her already!" The Wind damiyo bellowed, standing just a few meters from Daishiro, having seen the whole thing himself and wasn't the least bit pleased. Mikito mowed through those beasts with some effort on her part, and just when they were going to cut her into pieces the others had to show up, and not to mention Daishiro helped himself and killed a good dozen or more.
"I didn't contact you Shimura for nothing! Who's side are you on!? Clearly it's mine since I'm paying you a bundle to handle this for me and what do you and your clan go and do-"
Daishiro cut the man off swiftly, running his sword right through his torso and watching with pleasure as the noble's face contorted with shock and pain. He could feel his body tremble as his life blood poured down into the sand, he was losing strength, and eventually he'd die. But, for now he'd suffer and wither.
"D-Daishiro!?" Mikito's eyes widened as he barked in shock and outrage, staring at the blood steadily flowing towards her and every other possible direction. The blade protruding from the Wind damiyo's back. She took four very rapid steps, eyes glowing with fury. "What are you doing!?"
"You...Scoundrel." The Wind damiyo hissed, clenching the torn garb with vehemence as he glowered at Daishiro, refusing to turn away from his dark and glinting eyes.
"...How dare you do this to me...You filthy Shimura, just a shinobi beneath me! You're all expendable!"
"I have all emergency powers, it was your blessing." Daishiro said coldly, digging his sword even deeper until it was more then halfway through the noble's torso. "I have never been beneath you and have been playing you since I arrived here, you're just a pompous damiyo...No different than the rest. Nobody slights the Shimura and lives to speak about it...This is finally over."
"Uaagghhh!" The Wind damiyo cried out in pain, hoarsely he began to sputter up ridiculous amounts of blood as the blade was removed from his torso. Flesh squelched and blood gushed like a geyser from his torso, leaving him to fall spine first and roll across the sand before he finally stopped some feet away. Blood dotted the entire path of his trajectory.
"Why!?" Mikito thundered, stomping towards the older man until she was just a few feet away. "Why did you kill him?"
"What will you do now, Mikito? Perpetuate this conflict further or end it like you desire?"
Mikito narrowed her eyes, grip tightening on her weapons as she faced off against him.
Why would Daishiro do such a thing...
"I was given all emergency powers, a new damiyo will take the place of that brazen fat bastard. I have all rights to slay him if I see fit, he's done this to himself. He was far too brazen and arrogant, it was time he met his end by me running my sword through him. He set himself up for it."
"Daishiro..." Mikito grated out.
"You've yet to answer my question. What are you going to do now, Mikito?"