"Women like to useless things don't they...Even connected to blood ties as we are, I won't feel a thing if my grandma dies here. My heart...Is just like my body..."
Sasori
The streets were not lined with people this time of year.
It was too cold.
There weren't any merchants were showing off their stock, nor were people were buying just their stock, there wasn't a sense of excitement in the air nor anything remotely close to jovial. The ground was frosted and freezing, hard as the ice itself. It didn't mean things weren't lively, though. In every store, shop, bar, brothel, and any other place with anything having to do with indoors, was bustling with business. Some places were so full that there were people standing, and other places people were leaning against the walls.
For them the prospect of money was far too enticing. They didn't care or know the danger that they were in. Deep within the cluster of people and noise, Mito watched a group of people dancing in a packed bar-it was sun down, and not even five minutes after the sun went down, people were getting crazy.
This was reflected in the strange and crazy lights that owners of these establishments would use, a strange mix of bright red, blue, green, and yellow. In the seedier districts, a thick cloud of smoke hung just above the rooftops. Amidst that cloud was the dull light of purple and indigo, just barely wafting through. Certainly whoever was remotely in that area was high-either from contact or direct usage.
Some people braved the frigid air, exiting brothels and bars, and restaurants and shops, just to go to another. Their ignorance of the situation was more than understandable, since they all just lived here, and really just wanted to live in peace. They didn't know nor care that Sasuke and six hundred odd Sarutobi, or more, were plotting to attack this place and leave it ruin.
If they did there'd be an outcry, and certainly it'd throw things into more of a frenzy, than what they'd be. Sasuke would just pounce on that to unleash a series of fireballs, all the size of mountains.
The bar they were in was also a gambling hall. There was a raucous atmosphere within this particular place. People were especially rowdy and animate. When someone lost a high stakes gambling match they were either thrown out, or the fight would go for a few minutes, and they'd be thrown out. They'd fight outside, before the security would come and rough them up.
In short, they spent a lot of time wasn't sure why they all decided to get crazy now. Judging from most of the bedraggled and haggard demeanors and appearances, she'd guess most of these people were in the bar since the early morning. They could have passed out on the floor and woke up again, just to drink themselves silly once more.
She scowled at thought. Her clan could get crazy when it came to parties, something Hashirama experienced first hand, but they just didn't wake up and start drinking right after a heavy night of drinking.
Hashirama decided to be brave and order some food, and despite the wait time, he had been very polite to the server. She picked up on the earthy musk that began to waft through the entire place. It tinged with the stale of odor of drunkards and the alcohol coming from their pores. It mixed with the heavy scent of opium and the fragrance of wine.
"You want a bite?"
"Cuttlefish?" Mito looked rather blankly.
It was common in her homeland, as they ate from the land so to speak. They ate squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. No red meat, though. But, those dishes were heavy on the stomach, and she was never one to eat herself sick or to the point of discomfort. Hashirama also ordered three of them-he must have a rather fast metabolism.
She raised one hand and eyebrow gesturing it away.
"You can enjoy yourself. Cuttlefish sits heavy on the stomach."
"I have a fast metabolism and I haven't had anything to eat for like eight hours..." Hashirama made sure to be done chewing, and everything before he spoke, but showed no hesitation tearing back into his meal. "Those ration bars Tobirama makes are gross. Even animals won't touch them, some bugs won't either."
"You were in dire straights."
Hashirama coughed softly. "Real food is good."
"Yes."
Hashirama looked at Mito for a long moment. "Are you messing with me?"
Mito watched him. "Am I?"
"I don't know what you mean...?" Hashirama asked, rather than trailing off.
"You remind me of someone." Mito mused.
Hashirama wondered how the subject went from...He wasn't even sure what was happening. This is what his mother meant when she said that women sustained and maintained. The men may handle business, but the women held everything together.
Mito was probably messing with him.
"Can we talk serious for a second?" Hashirama ventured, looking at Mito for confirmation. If she didn't wish to, he would try not to push the subject.
Mito took a sip of her tea, giving the bar a once over. "Sure."
"Truthfully, I'd prefer to stop the Sarutobi from going through with this, but it seems I can't do that. Right now Shisuke is pacified. But, if I interfere he may not be so inclined to go with my idea. However...I also know that Syrus won't allow Sasuke to have his way...That'll lead to a long battle, and truth be told..."
"I agree. But, it seems that diplomacy is impossible. Sasuke is just looking for a battle, if we do nothing-he'll follow through, if we do something, he will. Conflict seems to be the problem solver." Mito sighed, weary and wary all at once-a horrible combination.
"If Sasuke would have just listened to reason...But, my brother certainly didn't help things with his comments."
If Tobirama didn't make the statements that he did, the chances of smoothing this over with diplomacy while low, was very probable. It'd just be a matter of convincing Sasuke, and while that'd be challenging...Very challenging, Hashirama believed it could be done. The Senju and Sarutobi were similar, in ways, considering their willpower and line of thought.
That's why polygamy was a norm in the Sarutobi clan. While many viewed it as fornication...The Sarutobi believed that every single member of their clan was a family member, and the head of that family was the leader of the Sarutobi. Regardless if the siblings were half, quarter, or distantly related-there was no real separation there. It was actually really deep, but because a man had more than three wives, well...
It was in human nature to judge.
Hashirama bit his lips, heaving a sigh while pinching the bridge of his nose.
Tobirama shouldn't have made that comment...
"We both know what the Subatsu are capable of. I've heard that they've become good allies with the Mō clan and many of their kin have married. Okita and Kimie married from the beginning. They also go back and forth from the Snow country to the West. If they've both gotten on the same page, it will be a ghastly sight to see. Todou, Nao, and Kimie were already notorious for how they finish their foes..."
Mito shivered. The thought of seeing a Sarutobi getting a sword run through his mouth, while another twelve blades pierce every and any other part of his body, or face, just to be pulled back out and thrust through again...
"This can't happen again..."
"I'm really worried that Sasuke will be killed...I know his actions are wrong, but we are shinobi, and none of our actions have ever been just...He's a prominent and renown shinobi of the Fire country. We need him as a part of Konoha, we need the Sarutobi as a part of Konoha. If the Senju and Sarutobi become allies..." Hashirama moved his head from left to right, sighing once his neck cracked.
"I understand that Hashirama, but you have to understand the whole point of this." Mito said, sternly, begrudgingly. She wasn't just blindly supporting him, she knew full well the implications of what Konoha's inception can, and could possibly lead to.
"Konoha...No, Kumogakure is a symbol. A shinobi village...It's a symbol of stability. Of revolution. Of security. Shinobi clans coming together to found a village. It represents stability, it represents an advantage, and it represents something significant with the shinobi. With the Elemental Nations. With the world at large. No longer do they fight blood for blood, but fight for a village. Shisuke sees Konoha as his chess piece-when there is a threat, Konoha is too take care of it. Whether it is internal or external. It is good that you are holding onto your ideals, and soon, perhaps the Fire damiyos can adopt a similar stance, but as it is...You and Shisuke are thinking differently."
Hashirama remained silent, eating the rest of his cuttlefish.
"It's not about the Sarutobi being a pillar for the village. Shisuke is merely thinking of the stability and peace of the entire Fire country. If the Capital is in ruin, what will the rest of the country be like?" Mito posed the question with poise and grace. She didn't directly meet Hashirama's gaze, yet she didn't avoid his features as her eyes danced about her surroundings.
She was keeping track of certain people, amusing herself as some of those people were shoving their way through hordes of people. Many of the people complained, and naturally more than a few fights broke out. They were quick and sporadic, ending when someone was usually stabbed or head got bounced off a table. There was also the three security guards doing damage.
"We can't afford to have that happen, at all. The Water damiyo would just storm the mainland if that were to happen, and he may just come here first. There'd be no way to mount an offensive or defensive, we'd lose the war before it even began..."
"It's more than likely. Though there will be clans present to repel the invasion force, there are literally millions of warships. The Water damiyo's navy is almost endless, and it's why they've had the reigns that they have. If we're even a little off from full strength, we will lose this war that is coming. We will be swept up in this storm's tides. But, still...I wish this whole thing could have been negated with the Sarutobi..."
"I don't misjudge or begrudge the Subatsu." Hashirama said softly. "They put being together above everything else. Even the Senju don't follow that line of thought."
"There will be thirty Subatsu running through eight Sarutobi. They'll pin them against the ground and split them open. You know what the Domou and Uchiha are capable of-the Subatsu can do ten times that all on their own. Perhaps this has to happen though. Sasuke has been a loose cannon for decades now, and he's never even tried to consider peace or even talking. I just don't wish for this bloodshed to happen." Mito stressed.
Let our enemies fight, and when they are at their weakest, we will kill them both. Let the Subatsu and their allies the Mō raid Machi-Inn and slew through the Sarutobi. It'd allow Konoha to be founded and keep the entire country stable.
Hashirama shook his head at the thoughts-they just came.
Like programming. His father's very words starting it out, the elders and older Senju following with him; something that stuck with him-whenever the man spoke it was strictly to do with war. He couldn't stop Sasuke from doing this even if he wanted to, and trying to help the man was just a death sentence, on so many levels. Once this happened Sasuke wouldn't be so quick to fly off the handle, hopefully.
He may be more apt about joining Konoha.
Perhaps this had to happen.
However...
He knew that he'd also be quick to go and help Sasuke escape.
He didn't want this to happen...
When the Subatsu got here and the battle starts-it's going to be nothing short of a slaughter. A bloodbath. The Sarutobi will come at them with the same persistence, but they will be whacked down. They'd be split open like turnips.
He knew how the Subatsu did things. He could recall in one particular battle about ten of them ran down three Uchiha. Forty had run down thirty Akimichi and sixty Chibana. Another twenty ran down thirty Hatake. They had all punched, kicked, elbowed, kneed, clawed, bit, pinched, smashed, wrenched, stabbed their swords or spears at their foes, and whether it was a toe, or part of the torso, they didn't stop stabbing, and more Subatsu came.
They didn't stop attacking. By the end there had been pools of blood left behind. The bodies were just too torn up and skewered to be recognizable. They'd chase after their foes, spread them thin over miles, and then just close in like a swarm. It had been extremely effective with the Senju's bashing and battering style of fighting. It's why little had been stopping them, when they were allies. It was probably the reason he was able to even get this far-being allies with the Subatsu certainly accelerated things.
"Maybe you're right, Mito. But, this whole situation just doesn't sit well with me...Three times now a shinobi clan has tried to set fire to a village. I'm worried..."
"Shisuke trusts Konoha to be a valuable asset. You won't fail in your mission, Hashirama."
"You don't seem worried about this.
Mito's eyes pinched. "I'm worried that Syrus and Sadao are on the same page. Sadao is a man unlike my father...He is cunning and elusive, and he can read the times well. He's always worked more internally..." Mito trailed off, frowning more and more.
"My father always did say Sadao gave him a migraine." Hashirama noted.
There were few that would trade with his father relentlessly, and Sadao had been one of those few.
Mito shook her head.
There was a lot of force behind the action. It was filled with emotion. She normally composed herself, but her wariness was something born out of knowing. Sadao had never been a small thinker. This thought brought another, and she was almost surprised that she hadn't seen it sooner. Why she didn't was probably because she was focused on Konoha, but it all added up.
"They're going to ally...Unify, with the clans they have ententes with. The Furea, Mitibu, Yasei, Mugen, and several others. I don't know why I didn't see it sooner."
Hashirama arched his brow. "What are you talking about?"
Mito smiled ruefully, almost in morbid amusement. "They are shinobi clans, known as monsters, cannibals, and demons in human skin. They are famous as well as infamous for their killing. They kill anyone who dares to intrude on their land, and they show no mercy. Their strength is frightening."
Hashirama nodded, carefully mulling it all over. "I know. I've heard stories and rumors about them all. My father fought a few of them, but called the battles off after not too long. He said it wasn't worth the money or casual count. How do they factor into this, though?"
"Because, the Uzumaki do." Mito said grimly. "We have an entente with the Domou, and thus we have an entente with everyone else involved."
Hashirama's expression turned serious. "Can you run through this for me?"
He knew little of the Domou and Subatsu, but knew more after being with them face to face and battling them. He knew even less about their politics, if they even had any. Haji often spoke about ententes and one in particular which was fragile. He more or less spoke on the value of ententes more than anything, due to their informal nature-it wasn't a whole bunch of show and no substance, or merit, so to speak.
He knew less of the clans they were in ententes with. They were all reclusive and elusive, preferring to be left alone. Preferring peace and harmony over war.
"The Furea clan, Toppi clan, Dasai clan, Sukiru clan, Taiyō clan, Sakata clan, Naidesu clan, Mitibu clan, Musei clan, Wairudo clan, Mugen clan, Tenpi clan, Yasei clan, Tsuya clan, Hagoromo clan, Uzumaki clan, Domou clan, Subatsu clan, Nara clan, Yamanaka clan, the last two more recently, all share an entente, or ententes. The first one I mentioned, up to the Subatsu, including my own clan have shared this mutual peace for centuries. It is for the longevity of our clans, that we never spill each other's blood."
"But, the Domou and Subatsu battle..."
Mito nodded, resisting the urge to raise her hand.
"The other clans don't worry too much about it. The conflicts don't reach them. It is also long standing, and they won't interfere-when Gentatsu fell in battle, everyone was wounded. Mikito and Syrus both seemed to have suffered the worst, though, and are still suffering. However, if one person in that entente takes an aggressive stance, and decides to go to war...It drags everyone else into it, and I can tell you from meeting with just the Naidesu clan leader-you don't want to cross them. They are ferocious, and they will not hesitate to rip off someone's head with their bare hands, and I mean that."
Her father had questioned the Naidesu clan leader...Reasoning that nothing wrong or evil would come from the wanderers. The Naidesu clan leader looked at her father with his sharp and narrow eyes.
"The Naidesu clan leader once visited my homeland to discuss things with my father. Some ronin and rogue shinobi had gotten near one of the islands, and the Naidesu clan leader cut them all down in one swing. There were eighteen of them in total, but he just cleaved through them as if they were straw. It was with one swing."
The man had waist length, pitch black, wild and unkempt hair. His bangs were like spiky swaths, secluding both of his eyes. His eyes were as sharp as a kunai, glinting with murderous intent whenever the man was even the least bit angry. When calm, they still held a sharp look to them. He was built like a stone house, easily six foot, and had to have three percent or lower body fat.
Why did you kill these men?
Her father has asked the simple question.
Why? Did I do something bad or wrong?
The Naidesu clan leader posed the question in response, one that had sent a shiver down her spine. Hisao had even grimaced upon hearing the question asked so simply. Killing was wrong, and whether the person was good or bad, whether they were shinobi or not, killing was wrong. That's what the Uzumaki taught-they knew it was necessary, but they didn't condone it.
Killing children was something that'd draw the full, untamed ire of the Uzumaki.
There was no need to kill them. If you let them go, nothing bad would have happened to the Uzumaki or Naidesu.
Mito narrowed her eyes, lips pursing as the memory played itself out. She could see how the Naidesu clan leader's eyes just darkened-there had been something ghastly, frightening about how one little thing could just shift the atmosphere.
Um...That's...I don't think you're right.
What?
Mito recalled how the man just tilted his head, observing Hisao with steady, unflinching eyes.
More people will flock here once they hear of those men being able to come to and fro. The children, they'll be targeted. You'll lose Uzumaki and I will lose Naidesu...Are you crazy, Hisao-dono?
What do you mean?
The Naidesu and Uzumaki clans are stable...But...This whole world is crazy. Everybody is killing each other in this world, and it isn't just the shinobi. It's just not contained in the Elemental Nations-billions of people are killing each other. The shinobi kill each other's children and send their children to war. This era is crazy, filled with the scent of blood. It is dark and twisted. Few live beyond the age of thirty. So what you say is nonsense. Those who intrude on the land shall be killed. They were nefarious and evil men. I slayed them.
You understand that, and yet you still kill...
Yes, I kill. Of course I will. I will slay those who are evil. Gladly. That is the kind of world that we live in, kill or be killed. That is how it will always be, especially for the shinobi. If people like them didn't exist in the first place, if clans like the Senju, Sarutobi, and Hoshigaki didn't exist in the first place...Half of these conflicts and wars wouldn't be started in the first place. Slaying people like them protects the Uzumaki women from being nothing more than show pieces. It protects the children...Nothing is more important than the children and infants, those still in the womb...Do well to remember that, Hisao-dono.
Mito shook her head, bringing herself back to reality. She tried not to dwell on the memory too much. The memory of watching eighteen people be split and sliced in two like vegetables, with no effort, not even the least bit, was just nerve rattling. There had been no hesitation or mercy shown on the Naidesu clan leader's part-it was swift and decisive. His blade had been drawn so swiftly, and with so much power-the only sign he attacked had been the blood splatter.
The men didn't even get a chance to scream.
There was no question that those eighteen men would die.
It had been a very tense, stiff, and rigid atmosphere when her father verbally sparred with that man. However, upon hearing the answers just come out with the greatest bluntness. With the greatest simplicity. Her father had only been capable of asking what, for the most part. But, when he heard the Naidesu clan leader speak of children and those still in the womb-which didn't pertain to just humans, was most important. The animals. The birds and bees, the frogs and toads, the land itself. The animals that inhabited the land, and the humans that dwelled among them.
Harmony and tranquility. Serenity. Things most essential for young.
Though his actions were brutal, the Naidesu clan leader was thinking about every living thing and person that inhabited the Uzumaki's islands, and the surrounding waters...
"That was some years ago. I understand why he did what he did."
Hashirama grimaced at the image the words brought. To see one person cutting through eighteen people was just beyond belief-even he wasn't quite capable of such a feat, not that he tried to outright butcher people anyways. The strength, speed, and precision of technique that required, it was almost beyond comprehension, and this man did it with ease. He hadn't even struggled.
He hadn't hesitated the slightest.
His eyes grew wider, and his fists met the table.
"Only Shuji Hagoromo would be so bold to make such a move, but then..."
"Syrus or Mikito would have prevented that from happening. Though, it'd more likely be Syrus since his clan shares an entente with the Hagoromo. War can't break out between their clans. Everyone else would be dragged in, and well...They'd all be extinct in the end, not even the children would survive..."
"The Domou and Subatsu are going to form a truce. Shuji relocated with the Subatsu...They're allies." Hashirama breathed out, almost like he'd been punched in the gut.
The Subatsu and Mō were enough, but the Hagoromo thrown into the mix...The Domou and Uchiha with them, coming together. Madara and Syrus being on the same page...Mikito and Souji...Haji.
Hashirama gripped the table, struggling to keep himself composed. If those three clans came here-if the Subatsu and Hagoromo were really allies and on the same page...
If...The Uzumaki...
"We'd better head back to the Senju compound...I need to speak with my Council." Hashirama said, tone low, barely perceptible.
The Sarutobi just didn't...He had to think of Konoha, and the Fire country...
Of the coming war.
Sasuke was just too hot blooded. Too foul tempered.
Hashirama grit his teeth, turning his eyes to Mito.
Why didn't Sasuke listen?
Why didn't Sasuke prioritize longevity over war?
"Meet me at the Capital's gates, I'll handle Tobirama. I'm also going to leave a few clones behind."
"We're leaving?" Mito asked, eyebrow arched.
Hashirama nodded, taking a breath and deep gulp. "I must do it, Konoha is in the balance..."
"Will Tobirama wish to leave?"
Hashirama's gaze hardened. "He will."
He turned away from Mito, walking with brisk strides, his heart racing.
Hashirama didn't want to think about the possibility of the Uzumaki getting on the same page with the Domou, and all of those clans. Their fuinjutsu would go from peerless to beyond comprehension. Their longevity and powerful life force, their vibrant chakra-it'd be passed onto their descendants. Those descendants mixed with Subatsu or Uchiha, or Domou, or Hagoromo, or a dozen other clans.
And those descendants would be mixed with more and more, to the point carrying a surname would be pointless. There'd be no distinction from one person or the other, they'd all be mixed.
He felt nothing short of pure terror-a dread welling up deep within him. As cold as ice, and it spread to his finger tips and toes. It tingled, and made him shiver. Mikito was thinking so far ahead-so far ahead of his village idea, that would have clans in their own settlements so to speak. Years from now there'd be a Hatake, but just a Hatake. He or she wouldn't be mixed with anything else.
She was thinking on a global scale, perhaps even outside of the Elemental Nations.
If she had her way...
Hashirama bit his lips...It wasn't bad, but...Those descendants would be powerful...Too powerful.
Their power and might would be too great.
Now it made sense why Mito was here, and was willing to marry him. She may have some feelings for him, and he did save her life, but that still didn't mean she had to go as far as marrying him out of being indebted. It made sense why Hisao, and Ashina both were saying and doing what they had been. It made perfect sense. It fit together like puzzle pieces, perfect and without blemish. It all made too much sense.
Hisao and Ashina were reaching an impasse, or were at one...
Perhaps.
He wasn't sure...
Hashirama took a breath, clearing his mind of all doubts and trivial things-he focused on Konoha.
Konoha.
He would endure for the Senju, but he'd refuse to yield for Konoha.
He wouldn't be able to many any more moves or do anything else, for at least a fortnight. Perhaps two. Once this battle is over, the Sarutobi will either seclude themselves and recover, or they will grow worse. If the second happens, they'd start targeting certain clans and areas within the Fire country-in short becoming an even bigger problem than they are now.
There was also the Akimichi, that he had to remain wary of.
There was the Senju council as well to deal with...
Things were starting to brew, and about to come to an explosion-he could feel it.
This Sarutobi battle was just the tip of the iceberg...
Something big was going to happen...
This coming battle...
Or...
Night held the Capital.
Snow fell.
Within one of the estate's many chambers, thin yellow light spilled in stretching rays through the paper windows, reflecting upward into the night, and also onto the faces of everyone within the room.
The room echoed with Shisuke's light breathing, his chest expanding and contracting with no trouble.
It had been a few hours now since he sent word to the Subatsu-their response and arrival was more than timely.
"What is the status of the situation?" Haji asked, expression impassive..
"The Sarutobi have yet to move, but according to spies, they are starting to get rowdy."
"Seems those bastards are serious..." Tsugi muttered.
Shisuke paced away from them. keeping his gaze pointed outside on the capital, and the Fire country at large. He set his jaw, taking a steady breath. Maybe Hashirama was right. Maybe it was a mistake to vanquish Sasuke and the Sarutobi, but he wouldn't allow anyone or anything-including Konoha, to disrupt the peace and stability of the Fire country.
Action had to be taken.
Sasuke wouldn't be getting his way.
"It seems to be that way, I'm surprised though..." Shisuke paused. "They are so bold and brazen, that they came here to reveal their plot. Hashirama wanted to settle things with talking, but Sasuke has made it clear that only battle is on his mind."
"Since they came here before, their location hasn't changed. Sasuke and Genzo are both at the Machi-Inn. They have a lot of men with them. They made their intentions clear..." Danzo trailed off.
"I just fear what will happen to the Capital."
Ignoring Danzo's statement, Todou pushed forward.
"Could you show us to a meeting room?"
"Of course, of course." Shsiuke nodded vigorously.
"Nao. Take two units with you and scout around the area. Report anything that you see." Todou said, tapping her arm to get her attention as he did so. The first thing they'd need to do is search the entire Capital, then they'd move onto the singular area where Sasuke and the other Sarutobi were.
"I got it. Come on, Nobu." Nao said, casting a gaze at Nobu who nodded in return.
Haji turned his focus onto Shisuke. He tried to avoid the never ending amount of stair sets and hallways-Shisuke was walking around in coordinated patterns, that only he and the highest ranking of soldiers knew.
"I'd feel better if Syrus were here." Shisuke said, eyes hard as he watched Haji-his eyes flicked onto Usagi. The flame jumped, bringing out her jade irises "But, having the infamous Usagi here gives me confidence."
"He is still recovering from our battle with the Hyuga. There are two thousand of us." Haji stated calmly.
"More than enough to handle some monkeys." Shuji finished, stern faced.
Clouds had swept in with the night, heavy, and more snow began to fall.
"I never thought your clans would come to a truce, let alone become allies." Shisuke remarked.
"The time are strange." Haji noted.
"Indeed. My men will direct the defenses here and within the village, once the battle begins we'll cut off certain areas."
"And what of Hashirama?" Haji asked.
"What of him?"
"I know he was here."
"He's left. Came here to pay taxes." Shisuke said turning to meet the impassive stare of Haji, eyes sharpening against the squinting light of the flame.
Haji withdrew his hand from his sleeve, setting it to his right-on the hilt of his sword.
"He has done his duty. That's all he is good for." Danzo cut in smoothly.
"We will finish this and ensure nothing happens to the Capital." Haji muttered. Did they place a seal somewhere to suppress their chakra levels? It's one of the few things that makes any sense.
Haji stared at Danzo for a long moment.
"We'll overwhelm them. Excuse us." Haji stated.
Haji, Shuji, Usagi, and Tsugi left. The meeting hall was quite spacious. It was barely decorated and had clean matted flooring. Haji and Shuji took a seat on the mats at the head of the room once they arrived-Tsugi and Asuko sitting next to them. Everyone else took their seats, many opted to sit around and behind them on the other mats provided. It gave them a better view and they could hear all the same.
It's clear that Sasuke and the Sarutobi are using a suppression or concealing seal." Haji turned towards Shuji.
"It should work both ways. We can't get a good sense of them, but they are closed inside of the Machi-Inn, so they probably don't know we're here. Once we enter the Inn, however, things will be different. They'll be able to sense us, but we won't be able to sense them due to whatever seal or technique they are using."
Haji nodded.
"So we need some people to prioritize searching for this." Asuko stated, looking on with a blank expression.
"We can confirm that Sasuke and Genzo are both present. Forty men were flanking them, that's not considering The six hundred men that came with them. Perhaps they've taken over the Machi-Inn. They are located more east, they could plan on steamrolling the Capital if that is the case." Daisuke said with furrowed brows, arms crossed over his chest.
Sasuke and Genzo had forty men flanking them-each, on both sides.
Just how many were here in the village at this very moment.
Two thousand?
"How many men do you estimate he has backing him?" Haji asked, cutting right to the point.
"I want to say 640..." Daisuke said, letting the thought linger for a moment. "But, it could be two thousand or more."
"If they're in the east, that means they're located in that maze of streets..." Nao narrowed her eyes, turning them back onto the map. "The Hange and Muki bridge run parallel, with a river running beneath them in that area. We can lead them there."
"Fighting in the Machi-Inn, which is like a maze, could prove to be a disadvantage." Okita agreed.
"We should consider that Sasuke and Genzo are controlling all of the inns and taverns along the Hange and Muki bridges. If we're going up against up so many people, we won't split, there is strength in numbers. It will basically be a battlefield, and we can't allow a single one of them to form any hand seals." Daisuke said, stern faced.
"A few people can go through the front, another few can go through the back. Two more units will be stationed along the sides. One block away. Two blocks away. And three blocks away. In every direction." Usagi spoke up with a bit of urgency, eyes focused outside for a few seconds before she flicked them back to her current spot.
She could feel the tense energy.
"Machi-Inn is our target, but we can't underestimate the Sarutobi. Sasuke and Genzo may have that entire part of the city under their grasp at this moment." Kimie said a bit bluntly.
"Shisuke is handling things on that end. The Sarutobi will run, but they'll find they won't be able to escape. While we will cover close quarters, they'll cover the long distance. We'll be able to pinch them. I'll handle Sasuke and Genzo. Shuji, Daisuke, Usagi. You are coming with me." Haji said.
"Nao and Nobu will wait in the back, Todou...You'll flank them with a unit. Yamaguchi, Itsume, and Rukuro will handle the sides, and perform a pinch when the times calls for it. We can't let a single one of them escape our detection. Do not overlook anyone. Anyone who isn't wearing our uniforms when this battle begins is an enemy."
The damiyo's estate wasn't directly in the center of the Capital as one would expect, but rather it was situated about two miles outside. Two miles wasn't anything.
They cleared the distance entering the city with a purpose.
The first thing everyone took note of was just how busy it was.
There were people everywhere. Even though they weren't outside, there were some passerby's that paid them complete mind, but were smart enough to get out of their way. They had weapons, their expressions were hard and one would say frightening.
This was bolstered by the fact Shuji had a polearm-five feet in length, and hexagonal in shape, slung on his back. Four swords were secured under Haji's obi, five under Usagi's, Asuko and Nao both had seven-five secured on their waist, two on their back. Okita, Kimie, and Todou had four-two secured under their obis, and two more on their backs. Tsugi and Ryoku both had two under their own obis. Everyone else had at least four swords on their person, others carried spears, yaris and naginatas.
Shisuke said it would be crowded, but this was a little ridiculous. People were lining and packing around the side of the streets as the pressed ahead. Some followed them, wondering where they could be going, while some just kept their distance. Upon reaching Machi-Inn a crowd was already starting to gather. There was a crowd around Machi-Inn pointing and gasping at the dead bodies around it-judging from the garb either samurai, rogue, or ronin.
The two crowds quickly began to mutter as Sasuke and Genzo both exited the Machi-Inn.
Both had bottles of sake in hand, and Sasuke already had his sword drawn. Blood was clear on it for all to see.
Haji waved his arm and everyone dispersed around the Inn, some a few blocks away.
Others didn't move from their spots and stared down the Sarutobi.
There were more Sarutobi following behind Sasuke, some stood right outside of the Machi-Inn with hostile glares, others hovered on the balcony on the sixth floor, others were on the roof, and others were jumping out of the windows, quickly gathering in formation.
The crowd of onlookers at this point began to back away and tremble-the Sarutobi looked crazed, like they were going to go into a frenzy. Haji took center point as Shuji, Usagi, Daisuke, and Okita spread out around him, hanging to his left, Tsugi and Ryoku hung back, Itsume and Rukuro both went off to the right. Daisuke stayed a few steps ahead of Haji, staring a hole through every Sarutobi present.
"Sasuke..." Haji said, tone even as he stopped in his stride.
"Heh, it makes sense you'd ally yourself with the Hagoromo. You've actually come instead of Hashirama, what do you intend to do?"
Haji gripped the hilt of his sword, feeling the atmosphere swell. Some Sarutobi were getting jumpy, and even some people on his side were getting boiled in their anticipation. "Don't do this...There's no point. You are a shinobi of the Fire country. Why bring ruin to your own Capital."
"It's not my compound so I don't give two shits!" Sasuke thundered. "That fool Hashirama has gotten in my way for the last time, and I will make sure his village is never founded!"
"We're done talking." Genzo said, swiftly, slowly, drawing his sword from its sheath.
"Let's see who wins!" Sasuke roared.
"This is madness Sasuke." Usagi snarled.
"It is what it is."
Sasuke moved.
In turn the Sarutobi moved.
One would argue one side threw the first blow-but someone drew first blood.
The Sarutobi came screaming forward all at once, foregoing any strategy and just wanting nothing more than to wreak havoc. Usagi dashed with kimie at her side, scything her blade through her attacker's-facial hair and blood mixed flying all over the place. The man felt no pain, dying upon contact with the blade. "You're tenacious.
Usagi was already on the move before anyone could even think. She clenched his teeth, growling as she was met with momentary resistance. She strained for just a moment, elbowing her foe right in the jaw, kicking him in the groin and ran through him before he could even come to terms with his situation. He spotted two shadows dispersing from the wreckage dashing straight for the door and barreling it open leaving it to slam horribly.
She halted her stride and turned quickly. She began rattling off sequences with her blade, coming in from odd and unpredictable angles. Her first four foes couldn't withstand her assault, but twenty more surrounded her and charged at once, forcing her to run and dart about.
Sasuke and Genzo both fled back to Machi-Inn, firing kunai and shuriken, even as more of men flooded out and began to fill the streets. Fifty were easily at the head and had their swords drawn, another ten had kunai out, and another thirty had shuriken.
Okita and Todou charged, followed by Itsume and Junko. Brandishing their blades in a whirlwind. They cut through the first wave, leaving room as Asuna and Asuko came lunging forward, driving back two flanks of Sarutobi. The area erupted with noise. With irate screams. With explosions of wood. Of clangs of blades. With the footsteps of the charging Subatsu, Hagoromo and Mō. The footsteps of the stampeding Sarutobi.
There were the terrified screams of civilians. Those who were indoors, but able to see the conflict jumped away from their wooden windows-frightful that a sword or projectile will tear through it.
Sasuke and Genzo both left holes in the inn itself, and its wooden screens as they fired swords, kunais, daggers, shurikens, and strikes as they just unleashed.
The battles quickly spilled out in the alleyways and other narrow walkways. Some used the walls and entrances of nearby stores to try and pin down their does. Daisuke pressed ahead, forced from the entrance of Machi-Inn towards a dirt path just two feet away. He raised his sword, deflecting two blows at once, before wrenching aside one that came too close. With a flourish he swiped aside one wave of attackers-four screamed before staggering backwards, blood squelching from their torsos.
He flicked his blade to the side before sheathing, already flying into another series of attacks.
Five Sarutobi fell, but three escaped with cuts on their arms, bleeding heavily, but still able to fight. He didn't care nor want to finish them off, he knew where he had to be. Without a second thought he sprinted right for the entrance. It was here that he collided with three Sarutobi-he blocked their attacks in tandem, driving them back as far as he could. They didn't relent, and it forced Daisuke to backhand one, while he shoved the other two away with a sharp shoulder block.
Nao came barreling out from the right, with Yamaguchi hot on her heels, she fending off three Sarutobi while Yamaguchi fought off more than ten-she took advantage of a pause, and swiped across one's side, Asuko who was beside her. turned on a dime, tearing through just not one man's shoulder, but three, and continued through with her movement, stabbing through the fourth man's sternum. Itsume and Junko were just inches away from her slewing through lunging Sarutobi.
More Sarutobi sprinted away, getting as far as ten blocks before the damiyo's forces surrounded them and began to stab and hack away. But, they didn't have shinobi training, and for every Sarutobi that was cut down, they cut down ten more men. It led to Sarutobi grabbing them, just to be run through, and several men dragging Sarutobi through with their spears and swords.
The Sarutobi leapt to the roofs, but quickly found themselves met with opposition. Tsugi and Ryoku ran down four Sarutobi-they felled the first two with a simple, vertical slash down the back-ripping right through the spine itself. The last two were run down, both legs taken off, before being stabbed in the neck and side. Their bodies carelessly rolled off the roof, just like their limbs.
Soon enough the battles began to spill downwards, someone tripping or losing an ankle. The screams were only silenced by the bashing of roofs and wooden pillars, the grating splatter of debris skittering through the air.
Okita removed his blade from his foe's chest, blood splattering from the wound. He quickly pressed ahead, taking five steps before his sword flashed in three arcs, nearly instantaneously. The blade cut across one Sarutobi's neck-he could only stagger back and try to fight before he fell down through a hole, hitting the ground. It cut across another Sarutobi's shoulder-splitting through it until it reached the joints, and cleaved through that.
He slammed a kick into his foe's torso, ending the pain before it could begin. He took another step, swiping, swiping, left and right.
Shit! Just how many are there!?
He kept cutting and cutting. Anyone who stood in his way he whacked down, he dashed throughout the inn leading them on the chase, spreading them out over just a couple of feet, one by one, two at a time, his sword connected and tore into flesh slicing and cleaving through it.
The numbers weren't in his favor at times he was taking thirty to fifty men at a time, even with Haji, Usagi, Junko, and Asuko fighting in tandem with him. Okita pressed on his foe, shoving the blade to the side and down towards the man's hips in a bind. Without a second thought he rammed the side of his fist right across the man's jawline, arm cracking off like a whip.
The man's head snapped to the side with a sickly pop.
"Daisuke! I'm going to leave this side to you!"
"Okay!
Okita darted towards the first flight of stairs, and was immediately met with resistance from four Sarutobi. He grunted, jaw clenched, his blade slammed into the at once. Using his momentum, he surged ahead, rather than use brute strength and fatigue himself-his attackers could only snarl and yell as they watched their heels head for the ceiling and back down again.
Twenty of his comrades were already hurrying towards them-two Hagoromo jabbing their blades through one Sarutobi before the rest swarmed around.
Usagi stepped down the stairs as fast as she could, not bothering to swipe her sword to the side to rid it off blood, nor wipe the sweat building up on her forehead. Her feet slammed into the floor the moment she was done descending, her blade arcing so fast it was almost invisible. A few Sarutobi hastily swung their blades, just narrowly deflecting her killing edge.
She tore free of the stalemate nailing one attacker with a kick to the leg snapping it at the ankle joint, she spun around his strike, kicking through his knee joint. Her for could only hobble back to avoid a slash, but he wasn't quick enough, and too wounded to avoid her stroke that came a second afterwards-her whole body exerting power as she soared.
There was just no end to this.
The Sarutobi seemed to multiply times four.
The battle was fierce and vicious.
But now it was miles beyond both of those things
Cries and clangs blended in with thunderous booms and pounding of bodies thudding and flying.
They flew through walls and wooden pillars, through tatami mats and shoji doors, through entire stairways and balconies. The roofs outside were overrun with falling bodies of everyone in battle. Either wounded, dead, or trying to get an advantage in the battle, they were dropping like flies. Daisuke was in the middle of the hailstorm or projectiles and blades-none of them ever getting close enough to do any harm.
Others inns and shops were swept up into the melee, and the panicked civilians did the only thing they could-run or cower and scream. The damiyo's soldiers were starting to become visible, just seven blocks away in some places, and steadily pushing forward. Some tried to foolishly ascend to the rooftops to battle the Sarutobi, but found themselves tumbling to their deaths. Nao, Nobu, Itsume, and Rukuro stuck together, driving the Sarutobi to alleys and smaller streets where Yamaguchi and the Subatsu wielding yaris were prime for attack.
Asuko and Asuna were in and out of the Machi-Inn, alongside Okita and Usagi, they were all over the place. They were battling on the rooftops, through the inns, in midair, and used Machi-Inn as a sort of epicenter. Haji's battle with Sasuke and Shuji's battle with Genzo began to rumble and send reverberations through the entire village-the deathly clangs of their weapons colliding piercing the frigid air.
Ryoku and Tsugi smashed and battered any and all foes they came across. They never forgot the priority, which was driving the Sarutobi to the river. It was hard to force them into evasion when they were jumping to the rooftops and running up buildings. For this reason they swept through their ranks with brutal strength, Ryoku using his hands to smash Sarutobi. Tsugi was more swift in his approach, arcing and flashing his blade.
It was a chaotic rhythm that wished to go on forever.
Itsume deflected a flashing arc-coming in high, diagonal, aimed to slice into her shoulder and exit through her ribs. She barely had time to evade the next, but did, ducking under a hairline swipe that had been aimed for her nose. She shifted her footing with a quick jerk of her hips, drawing her waikizashi in the same motion, and ran it through the seven Sarutobi swarming her-getting two more as she followed through.
She heaved a breath, springing off of her left foot, closing their gap between herself and two Sarutobi. She stabbed through the first one's chest, taking advantage of his reckless charge, and swiveled behind the second as he struck out with a kunai. The point of impact-the wall behind her-split in two from the point of contact, splitting apart like a melon.
Itsume, still in transition, cleaved one cut across his back, jabbing the tip of her blade through his left side.
"You bitch!"
Itsume's blade arced four times-two diagonal, one vertical, and the next coming back up and down.
Blood sprayed around her as no Sarutobi could escape her circle of death.
"Itsume!"
Rukuro appeared like a shadow, ramming the Sarutobi that had been primed to take her head through a wall and into a wooden pillar before sending both down to the next floor.
"Rukuro..." Itsume breathed.
"Don't worry about it."
Rukuro's body whipped around-fast, almost too fast to see, and his shin met its mark, slamming into the Sarutobi's ribs. He tried to compensate for the force, but it was too sudden, and way too much, and he could only jerk his chakra and try to recover as he through two walls, and a third, without losing any momentum
"I think they're in the storage room!"
Rukuro focused for a second, eyes hardening. "We'll take care of them."
"Yes."
Nao snapped her fist out.
Her first three knuckles collided against her attacker's chin, and before the next two could connect, he extended her arm just a little more-snapping her attacker's head through a nearby wooden screen. She kicked him aside as hard as she could, teeth gritting as she pressed forward cutting through another Sarutobi at the waist before he could grab her-leaving her comrades to finish him off.
She swiveled to her right, blade already moving in its arc.
Her eyes widened.
The tip of his sword was cut off!
The man smirked grabbing her by the neck, he surged chakra through his body, and speared forward-driving her through a wall-head first.
"I'll squeeze you until your heads pops off!"
Kimie flashed behind the man, cutting in deep through his back. Forty Subatsu and fifty Hagoromo ran through him, and the next wave that was coming for her.
Okita pressed forward towards Machi-Inn once more, his attire stained with blood, his sword sending it flying more and more with each swing. He spun his blade, deflecting two kunai, and with the gathered momentum deflected the third back to its owner-lunging on the roof as it made contact with the man's neck-piercing through by several inches, and split him down from the head with one swing.
He turned his eyes forward, waiting for the Sarutobi to come to him before slamming into them. He withheld the assault, sending waves of foes crashing down to the ground. More than thirty Hagoromo bounded their way up on the rooftops, clashing with the Sarutobi. There was nothing swift or artistic about their fighting-the Hagoromo pushed and shoved, cleaving their blades through flesh and bone once they got close enough.
It was a stark contrast to the Sarutobi's offensive blitz.
It began to take effect.
"Start the jutsu!"
"Haji!"
The scream could hardly be heard, rather, instead of the scream catching the man's attention...It was Asuna encircled by a sphere of blades, the sphere stopped for a second as she cracked a wooden plank off of one Sarutobi's head-taking the advantage to stab two.
She fell another one, before he seen why she alerted him.
More than eighty Sarutobi swarmed around, throwing everything into a frenzy.
A collision occurred.
Civilians screamed.
"Don't let them form any seals!" Haji thundered.
Shuji wasted no time, just near the entrance of Machi-Inn, he raised his pole arm with ease, and it came down nearly invisible. The only sign it ever moved was the scream of the Sarutobi and crackle of their bones before their body made impact with wooden pillar or anything solid close by.
"I'm going to push Genzo!" Shuji yelled from somewhere inside Machi-inn.
Haji already had the thrust scouted, and with a swift parry and turn, he cut through the man's torso. He had grown accustomed to the Sarutobi's farless offensive barrages-the fact they were always overestimating their offense
Flash!
Flash!
Flash!
"Kill the son of a bitch!" Genzo all but snarled, visible through the battered entrance of the inn with Sasuke. He swung his sword with nothing short of brutality, saliva flew from his mouth, and he was taking pieces of the entrance and front away with each swing. His men all but joined him, using what pieces they carved as weapons the best they could.
Sasuke threw kunai and shuriken by the boat load, leaving nothing but a hailstorm of glinting steel.
Daisuke marched through torn walls and destroyed rooms, he stood in the center of the chaos, his sword flashing all around him until it appeared to be a corkscrew of a thousand blades. He turned, thrusting, and was meant with little resistance. He flew forward scything his sword up and through a man's torso at the ribs with a diagonal slash, and finished with a sharp kick that left the severed body to thud across the floor.
He had been expecting a fight, but this was something else. You'd always have those who lacked pluck and resolve. For him it was disgusting to witness, running away like cowards instead of staying to fight. But, the Sarutobi knew no such thing as retreat, and they continued to press and press-vicious and scathing like fire.
His blade tore through bone as he pressed his assault once kicking the now one arm man Sarutobi aside. He pressed off of his back foot, lunging up the wooden platform and smacked aside one blade, he twisted and turned deflecting another, another, and then another. He had enough slamming his blade forward-forcing the Sarutobi to either block of evade.
They decided to block.
Daisuke grunted turning with five men going for his head, and pushed off at the same time, snapping the tip of his blade forward in one wide arc. Two of the Sarutobi leapt back, but he closed the gap, scything through one wrist pushing his foe aside, and taking an arm before swiping off a head not even a second later. He forced the last through a wall-the adjacent room completely flooded.
Asuna and Todou both sprinted passed him.
"Where are the others?!"
"Sarutobi forced them to change course, the damiyo's soldiers are getting closer."
Asuna parried, ducked, and stepped back. She transitioned into attack, her sword straight and pointed, stabbing into her foe's neck and shifted sharply splintering bone. With her teeth clenched and eyes narrowed she sprung from the floor evading a stab from a spear and took the opening slashing off his head before she hit the floor.
She landed shifting and running.
Todou sped down the hall only glancing behind him long enough to count his pursuers every few seconds. It started with twenty, but it was growing as the seconds passed.
He banked sharply flying through a devastated room the twenty men still chasing after him, gaining, gaining, gaining...
Todou turned, sword coming in high, felling one Sarutobi. He pressed on, thrusting his arm forward, cleaving through his next attacker's neck. Todou wasted no time, there was no wasted motion, every parry and block was executed with only swift viciousness. His blade whirled about him, forcing some Sarutobi to hesitate in the attacks.
"Asuna!" He snapped, noting how fast she was running.
He clenched his teeth spotting the Sarutobi behind her.
He shot right towards them.
"Where are those explosive tags!?"
"We have the numbers advantage."
"Now let the fun begin!"
"Revenge!"
"You were given a chance, Sasuke." Haji's voice thundered over everything.
Shadows dripped and oozed color, weaving and coiling up walls slipping over dead bodies, spreading along the floor.
"I like to do things the hard way." Now standing just behind many of his men, bruised and battered, Sasuke flashed a wild smirk, the perfect image of a cocky, overconfident man.
He turned to his men.
"Attack!"
Two Sarutobi frowned and cocked their heads.
Their blades dipped.
A smearing flash.
Their heads bounced when they hit the floor.
The headless corpses, still standing, twisted as the knees buckled.
"Damn you..."
"Wolves..."
Several more Sarutobi swayed.
Their blades dipped, dropped, and swayed.
The hilts tumbled from their opening, useless fingers.
"... Revenge..."
They pitched forward onto their faces, and lay still. Haji took three more steps into the room, sword held in front of him-his eyes glinting.
In the blank second that followed, while the Sarutobi could do no more than angle their blades to guard, Haji swiftly stepped forward, gripped his blade with both hands, and drove it in a swift, surgically precise slash that split through three Sarutobi at once.
Haji let his blade follow its course, exiting through the side of the man's top ribs, and turned, lifting his weapon, power gathered around him, and with the same swiftness as before he cleaved through the next attacking Sarutobi-two, their kunais raised high to gouge into his skull. He glanced away from Sasuke for a moment, searching for Shuji-the man was engaged in combat, keeping Genzo at bay with clubbing blows.
"If you only knew..." Sasuke said stepping forward with a wild smirk on his face. He easily knocked Haji through a wall, though the man halted his trajectory with authority.
"How long I have been waiting for this moment...I wanted Syrus, but I can kill his brother and sister instead. That may even be better."
"You've always been too cocky for your own good." Haji said, tone dropping. "You may survive, but none of your men will, and Genzo will fall. If I can help it you'll be falling as well."
Haji fought for his life. More than his life, technically. Each stroke of his blade and crackle of chakra was a strike in defense of the Fire country, of its peace and stability, of the citizens who live here, wishing only for peace.
He'd faced off against a notoriously dangerous predator native to his land-a giant insect that attacks its prey with whipping strikes of its legs. Most have at least nine. It is not uncommon for them to have as many as twenty. The largest ever killed had over one hundred legs. With this creature, no one never knew how many tentacles it had until it was dead: they moved too fast to count.
Too fast to see.
So did his blade.
His attack style was as aggressive and powerful as the creature he faced many times.
He allowed himself to enjoy the battle, he gave himself over to the thrill of battle.
He found peace in the chaos.
A clarity in the madness.
He whirled on Sasuke, uncaring of anyone else.
Sasuke blinked, narrowing his eyes to sharpen his gaze again. Haji seemed to be fading in and out of existence itself, swallowed by a thickening black haze in which danced a glinting blade. Sasuke pushed back the darkness with a relentless straight-ahead march; his own blade, that had been the final sight of so many shinobi, nobles, and other people in the Elemental Nations, made its own fire.
A sphere of red fire that seemed to be flying with hundreds of swords slashing in all directions at once.
This shadow he fought, this blur of speed, this monstrous power, and this overwhelming presence...
Could that be Haji?
Their blades flared and flashed, crashing together with bursts of sparks, or scorching fire, weaving nets and mazes in exchanges so fast that neither of their attacks could not truly see them-But, they could feel them with chakra. With instinct. With knowing and grit. With experience. Chakra itself roiled and burst and crashed around them, boiling with ferocious power.
The power began to darken.
Haji could feel how chakra fed upon Sasuke's murderous exhilaration; Sasuke could feel fury spray, the shadow growing more erratic.
There was no restraint here.
There was no sealing and suppression of emotions.
Haji and Sasuke collided once more.
They were both deep in it now, beyond chin deep, swallowed by it, they no longer truly existed as independent beings. This was a battle of wills, of light and dark, of grit and resolve. Shinobi were the darkness, and they let the darkness flow through them, and that darkness flowed both ways in battle. Sasuke accepted the furious speed of Haji, the relentless attack, and drew from his rage and forced that power into his inmost center.
He let it erupt.
Sasuke reflected the mad fury within him upon its source as a katana cuts through bamboo.
There was a time when Haji had feared the dark; there was a time when he had feared the darkness in himself. The killer instinct. But the wars had given him an understanding: on the battlefields, he had faced his darkness and had learned that the power of darkness is not to be feared. He had learned that it is fear that gives the darkness power.
He was not afraid.
The darkness had no power over him.
But...
Neither did he have power over it.
He found a serene calm, slowly starting to make himself an open channel, half of a loop completed by the ferocious flames. They slowly become a wave of battle that expanded into every cubic centimeter of the Machi-Inn, and anyone unfortunate enough to get too close was cut down or wounded.
There was no wooden screen, no tatami mats, no carpet, no table, stair, wooden pillar, no shred of chair that might not disintegrate in flares of black and red, of purple and black; pillars and railings became hindrances, sliced into segments that whirled and cut through the air at super speeds; shoji doors became terrain to be climbed, jumped, kicked, and anything done for advantage to simply pin someone down to stab them mercilessly. The Sarutobi began to pop through the floors with spears and shurikens-the chaos began to take on a fever pitch.
But, there was a cycle of power, and endless loop, that had no real beginning and no real end, a void or an enternity...No wound taken from Sasuke or Haji, not even the possibility of fatigue ever clouded these men.
Impasse.
This could go on forever, but Haji knew he'd have to end it soon.
He couldn't kill Sasuke in one clean blow, less the man is severely wounded and can't move. He'd use a transportation, substitution, replacement, or clone jutsu to evade anything while he was still mobile.
The fighting was effortless for Haji now. His blade spun and crackled, his feet slid and his weight shifted and his shoulders turned in precise curves of their own direction, his mind slid along the circuit of power, tracing it back to its limitless source.
The burning, ferocious will of Sasuke Sarutobi.
He found a knot of fault lines in the fire's oppressive heat; he chose the largest rift and followed it back to its source. Astonishingly, a man was standing frozen in the slashed-open doorway.
Haji had no need to look.
The man's chakra presence was something like a windy day with evergreens and was as uplifting as sunlight.
Hashirama was here.
No...
A clone...
Haji didn't disengage from the fire's sweltering heat, and swept its tail aside the window. He slashed away at the wall-aiming for a small gap in the fire, with a single flourish. Sasuke's moment distraction cost him. A blast of force lifted him up and right through two walls. Only an irate scream saved him from being bounced off next wall.
He hit the floor, eyes darting for the nearest window.
Haji swung around, cracking like a whip, his blade ripped clean through Hashirama's armored torso.
Sasuke took the moment he cut through the wood clone to lunge off to the side.
Damn that Senju... Haji snapped, teeth grit as he gave chase.
He couldn't let Sasuke meet up with Genzo!
Just as Sasuke reached Genzo.
Just as the Sarutobi were forced to the river outside.
Haji's blade glinted.
A whole different fight began...
Pure mayhem.
That's what it became.
Windows spat lightning projectiles, bodies, and body parts, it erupted with screams and exploded with glints of steel. Blood smeared the snow, even as more fell. Blood painted the wooden walls, and continued to splatter. One Sarutobi was cut down-his blood flying over a roof. The lightning projectiles clanged and clinged as they protruded into wood or ricocheted off each other—this lightning was the color of flashing kunai and in shuriken being whipped. The damiyo's soldiers had every part of the village cut off, and were even climbing onto roofs.
The corpses of fallen Sarutobi were hanging off of roofs and clattered along the ground. The pools of blood steady and consistent, even though it was freezing-the heat kept the frost at bay. There were wounded Subatsu, Mō, and...Hagoromo holding their wounds, or struggling to heal themselves. Others continued fighting as the frenzied Sartuboi grew even more vicious.
Hashirama cursed
He was too late.
The glints faded and winked out; now the flashes were of black and red, of white and purple. His legs burned as he sped forward, leaping into the Machi-Inn through a hold its side, he skidded through the first hall before he was met with resistance.
He was in the middle of the chaos.
A blast of pure power rocked the inn, and its impact continued outwards, bursting into the walls and sending a loud boom for at least five miles. Hashirama only blinked furiously, slapping at his eyes in frustration, and rubbing his ears. The colorless glare inside his eyes faded slowly, the blaring ringing in his fears slowly dissipated, bringing into focus a jumble of bodies on the floor of Machi-Inn.
On the floor lay the heads of many Sarutobi. Their fingers, didgits of their fingers, ankles and toes, and wrist and pieces of their faces were all scattered about the floor. Kento Sarutobi, face up, hair unbound. His vacant eyes stared partly, blindly at the ceiling, remaining closed for the most part. Hashirama could remember him on the battlefields, effortlessly carving his way through wave after wave of foes. On his lips he always wore a cocky smile as though the horrific battles were only some friendly jest.
His severed head wore that same smile.
Maybe he thought death was funny, too.
Hashirama's own blade sang purple as it slashed through the nearest wall, revealing a web of conflict and chaos. He dived through the gap, quickly sprinting into the next room-barely avoiding getting run through the feet with a spear.
He was caught in the web.
He rolled to his feet among a wall of bodies, one Subatsu and two Hagoromo unmoving from wounds a few meters away, their comrades close by, fighting off anyone who tried to take their heads.
He sprinted through a broken door, along the battered, and continuing to get battered hallways and stairways. He barely avoided the kunai and shuriken flying about like angry hornets. He barely avoided the blades of swords, of tantos and wakizashis flying through the air, or kodachis and nodachis tearing through walls and bodies alike with ease.
Hashirama skidded to a stop. Within the room on the third floor, Usagi, solely, was carving her way through anyone that attacked her. Hashirama blinked widely, rubbing his eyes-for the blood splatter and to see if he was seeing this right. Usagi looked to be surrounded by glinting steel, that almost faded in and out of existence, and just beyond that wall of a million blades, was a swivel of blood that began to paint the very walls.
There were several shadows beside her, hungrily quenching their thirst against flames, until the flames couldn't withstand the darkness anymore. One blurred across the wall, leaving it painted in red, one mangled body was the only sign someone ever moved in the first place-the torso flying through the wall, and breaking off a pillar just outside.
"Force them towards the river!"
Hashirama cursed, speeding up.
Upon seeing him, Usagi swiped through the last Sarutobi in the room. The shadows grew fierce around her, and quickly began to snuff the flames out, pushing them out and into the next room over or down a flight of stairs. A simple twisting pivot felled Usagi's last attacker. She brought down her blade through his shoulder, letting it exit beyond his hip.
She shifted her footing, barely able to avoid the blood spatter, swiping her sword down to clear it of blood. "Your wood clones are impressive, but you can't pull the wool over my eyes."
"How do you know that I am a clone?"
Usagi lunged-spearing through the air like a dart, her blade arced in a dizzying arc-seeming to come from ten directions all at once.
He heaved, teeth grit-the tip of her blade skewed into the first layer of skin, leaving a blood trail across half of his face.
"The real Hashirama wouldn't have tried to dodge my attack, more less he couldn't. He'd use one of his Moktuon jutsus.
Hashirama merely watched her walk up to him, felling any Sarutobi that dared to attack. There were many, but they all met the same fate. Only when she sheathed her blade did the ones fall, that didn't yet.
"I couldn't allow this to happen. I couldn't let Sasuke and Genzo die senselessly. My mission is complete."
"It's happening and Sasuke will run away like the snake he is. But, he will have scars from this battle. Genzo will not escape and Sasuke won't escape if I can help it. My brothers will kill you, and I will kill Tobirama. You've been warned. Don't interfere again."
She drew her sword, violently, taking it in both hands, and bringing down through his skull, letting it takes it course, exiting right out from the center of the man's groin, leaving the body to stagger into two before forming back into wood.
Usagi cursed as the whole inn shook for the eighth time now.
Genzo and Sasuke were back together.
"Damn it!"
"Still haven't changed."
Usagi turned her sharp, piercing jade eyes onto the owner of the voice, eyes becoming even tighter than before. "Tobirama...You stayed behind."
"Two of my brother's clones remain. You'd cut through them like straw, so I've come to keep you busy."
Usagi almost giggled, but instead, tapped her toes on the ground a few times, working the kinks out of her body. She shifted, swiping her sword to the side, and took a narrow stance.
"I've been waiting for this moment for so long. I've cleared out the Sarutobi in this room...So it is just you and I."
Tobirama slowly drew his sword, eyes never leaving Usagi's. He gripped the hilt of his sword with crushing strength, feeling the callouses on his fingers give a little.
"I know."