ϟ—Chapter Thirty-five — Torture—ϟ

The Land of Hot Springs was beautiful, but much hotter than Kay expected. No wonder business was so lucrative here. With a more reasonable temperature, the hot springs must've been heavenly. It only made Kay question what caused it all the more.

Haku didn't seem affected by the temperature, while Yugito seemed blatantly comfortable. Yowui always loved hot weather. When Kay told Yugito that she'd be going on a mission, she pleaded to come help. Kay didn't see any harm in it; plus, Yugito needed the experience of being on the field once again.

"Cessitsu," called Haku, with Kay looking at him.

"Yes?"

"I have one request, that we do not use more lethality than absolutely necessary." His tone was smooth, respectful, but that didn't make his question any less baffling.

She raised her brow at him. "If any target causes a disruption, then we must kill them."

"I see…" said Haku, staring off into the steamy rocks on the horizon behind his mask.

Yugito gave Kay a questioning look—one that Yowui gave too many times. "You're part of the Cessitsu family?"

"You've heard of them?" asked Kay in return, looking Yugito in the eyes.

Yugito let out a breath. "Yes, I have. I wasn't aware they had a Shinobi among them, let alone one as talented as you."

"What have you heard about the Cessitsu?" asked Kay, hiding the interrogative nature of her question behind a curious tone.

Yugito's eyes narrowed. "That they're greedy, but also driven."

"I see," was all Kay said in response. That isn't entirely positive. I'll have to watch her.

"Many others have families like you do, Cessitsu, dreams, destinies, and goals. All of them, they're valuable in their own right. It'd be best to preserve them, don't you think?" Haku looked Kay in the eyes through the mask.

He was starting to remind her of Hane… it was leaving a bad taste in her mouth. "They do; but what if their goals go against yours? What will you do then?"

"I'll have them surrender before resorting to lethality. As long as my goal continues… there will be no reason for me to leave a trail of bloodshed in my path," answered Haku. There was an unrelenting strength behind his calm voice.

Kay narrowed her eyes on Haku. "My family hired you to help me. I am in command here; under my command you will kill as many people as I need you to. Do you understand?"

"I do understand, but I would like to ask who taught you that?" Haku seemed adamant about keeping this conversation going.

Kay, on the other hand, was not. "I have no reason to tell you."

"I'm sure your family meant well, training you as they did."

"What are you talking about?" interjected Yugito. "Every Shinobi worth their rank knows that it's kill or be killed. Kumo's teachings shine through her."

"I'm sure, but with a family as influential as the Cessitsu… I wouldn't be surprised if there was more going on." Haku's gaze didn't leave Kay and Yugito's simple gaze turned sharp.

It felt like the roof over her head was stripped from over her, with all the elements pouring in. Only years of training allowed Kay to hide her displeasure.

"Kay," began Yugito with a deadly suspicious tone. "Who do you put first? Kumo… or your family?"

"Kumo." The lie slipped out of her mouth just like air. There was no hesitation as she told the most blatant lie she'd ever told.

It needed to sound real to get Yugito off of her case.

Yugito was a threat… Kay was starting to regret training her. Before the conversation could continue, however, they came across somebody. By what he was doing, he was obviously a Shinobi. He was planting a sort of Sealing Matrix on the steamy, gray rocks around the hot springs. From what Kay could see, it went on for miles.

He looked up at them and smiled. His hair was unrestrained in dark waves that went down to his shoulders. He wore nothing but rings. A dress of strung together golden rings that got thinner the closer they got to his chest covered his torso; they stopped right at his armpits. Golden rings collared his neck and were attached to sleeves of golden rings that covered his arms.

Most notably, however, was the thin, golden necklace he wore over his half-bare chest. It had a pendant of a red symbol. A circle with a triangle inside of it. The symbol that Hidan wore. The symbol of Jashin. Immediately, Kay grabbed her mace and whispered, "On guard," to her squad mates.

They complied as he stood to his full height, a warm smile crossing his face and he folded his fair-skinned hands together. "Hello there!" he greeted with no heat in his voice. "I don't believe I've seen you three here before."

"We're just passing through…" Kay narrowed her eyes. If Hidan is involved… then this simple disturbance is much more than what I'm capable of dealing with.

"Is that right?" he asked, still radiating friendliness and acceptance as he nodded his head. "My name is Itan, and do you have time to talk about our Lord and Savior, Jashin?"

"We don't," Kay answered quickly, standing her ground. Haku and Yugito remained silent and on guard.

Itan looked off, shaking his head and sucking his teeth. "That's a shame!" He let out an exasperated breath, stepping forward with his bare feet. "Y'know, Jashin hates those who aren't loyal to his cause, those who don't follow him. Those who don't follow him burn in Hell when they die.

"Those who do, well… they rule over it."

"That's not true," interjected Haku. Kay sensed a defensive aura of icy steel exude from him. "Those who die rest in the Pure Lands."

"Is that what you think?" Itan tilted his head. "Who told you that?"

"Everybody knows that," pushed Yugito, gripping her kunai. "You're the one that's wrong."

"Is that so? Have you… spoken to the dead?" Itan wasn't at all phased by them—not threatened in the slightest.

This isn't good… Kay felt a bead of sweat drop off her chin. The silence granted by the three allowed for Itan to continue speaking.

"Lord Hidan, he spoke to Jashin: The King of Hell. This is what he was told! My source seems more reliable than your… common sense." Itan smiled as he outstretched his hand. "Please, follow in the ways of the truth if you don't wish to suffer when you die."

"We have no intention to," Kay answered sternly. "We're going to go about our business, and you with yours."

Haku and Yugito's silence supported Kay's answer.

Itan let out an exasperated breath. "Ah… shame." His hands morphed into a sign. "Well, I guess you three will do fine as sacrifices, then."

Immediately Kay leapt back, but before the three of them could react, Itan was in front of them all. Rings of fire that burned with screaming punishment hurled themselves at the three. A shield of ice allowed Haku time to leap back as Yugito was forced to dodge.

Ice shattered into senbon—they shot toward Itan and shattered on impact with his golden sleeve. Lightning followed Yugito as she flickered, kicking him from the opposite side. A simple block allowed him to weave a half seal. Fire erupted from below him like a volcano as Kay bit her finger. "Summoning Jutsu—"

A detonation of the fire blew the three back and Kay's summon was already being blown back the moment she was summoned. "We need to retreat!" ordered Kay, as she used her mace to break her momentum. Suberi did the same with her claws as she looked at Kay with wild eyes.

The more the fire burned, the more Kay recognized it. This wasn't regular fire. It burned hotter. The flames curled like claws and it didn't roar; it screamed. Flashes of Ka'rai using his Jigoku Katana blasted through her mind and Kay realized. Hellflame!

Frost filled the air, and the surrounding hot springs turned cold. "Ice Style: Ice Dragon Jutsu!" Waves splashed before they froze in less than a second. Two hot springs erupted into two glacial serpents with eyes the red of frozen blood. The twin beasts zipped toward Itan—but hellflame blocked it. All that reached him was steam.

It was enough of a distraction for them to retreat. All of them flickered away as fast as they could, with Kay riding on Suberi's back. On their tenth step, they noticed Itan infiltrate their formation. "You won't get away so easily."

More rings of hellflame encompassed them, and Kay sucked her teeth. Suberi churned the gray earth into shards to attack Itan, aiming for his bare chest. All he did was block with his arms—he wasn't phased as his back was ripped. The earth beneath him collapsed and Haku used Water Style to cover him with the boiling hot springs.

They kept moving. With all his injuries intact, Itan kept up, barely phased by his injuries. Is he immortal as well?! Haku finally grabbed the Executioner's Blade at his back. Drawing his weapon as frosty air came from the eyes in his mask. He met Itan directly as ice covered his golden rings. "We need to weaken him before retreating!" Haku yelled.

There wasn't any other option. Kay needed to act. She leapt off of Suberi with lighting sparking off of her mace. The cry of thunder was heard as Yugito targeted the opposite flank that Kay did. Suberi weaved hand seals and the earth beneath Itan collapsed. Under the pressure of the three, his face was kept straight.

No smile.

No scowl.

No frown.

Just focus.

He wasn't even straining.

Kay's mace slammed into his side, sparking and finally denting the rings that covered his hip.

"Stormbreaker Point!" yelled Yugito as she drove the lightning-enhanced kunai into his shoulder.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu: Art of the Silent Killing."

Haku disappeared in a frosty mist as Itan met Kay and Yugito in combat. His fire whirled in rings—shape was added as they shredded and burned the both of them with sharp edges. They were forced back and a notable lack of mobility the arm that Yugito stabbed pained him. "You lot are making this much more difficult than it has to be—"

The massive Executioner's Blade tried to slash between the rings on his neck. With his eyes wide, sparks flew as Haku attempted to part the miniscule space between the rings. Before he was successful… Itan weaved another hand seal. It was one Kay hadn't seen before, just one that she recognized from legends.

Enma Ten'in, the Hand Sign of Hell. A smile crossed his face as he uttered two words. "Hell's Kitchen." Suberi's Earth Style was rendered useless as gray rock hardened into brimstone. It, alongside an eruption of hellflame, rose into the air and blasted Haku away. Nine circles of brimstone and hellflame screamed above with punishment's true desire to cook them alive.

"Y'know, Jashin likes his food cooked." Itan gained an almost excited grin as the circles fell, expanding to encompass all of them. "Well done, too." Hellflame soared, and it took everything for Kay to hold in her scream. Her clothes and hair were smoking. Red burns already scorched her skin and they were getting worse. She was already flaking. Suberi let out a cry as hellflame targeted her and she popped into smoke.

Yugito or Haku must not have been fairing much—

"Shadow Clone Jutsu."

A pop of smoke sounded through the stove they were being cooked in. Haku's arms grabbed Kay and all of a sudden she went from sweltering heat to overbearing cold. Next, she blitzed at speeds faster than she could react to.

All of a sudden, they were in a forest. It was still hot, but the heat was manageable. A smooth breeze made leaves fall around them. Breathing hard, Kay looked around, seeing that she was with Haku and Yugito, with the smoke of a dispersed clone around Yugito. Barely processing what happened, Kay looked to Haku, demanding an explanation with her glare.

"My clan's Jutsu, the Demonic Crystal Ice Mirrors, allows me to temporarily travel faster than lightning. I used it to rescue you two and escape," explained Haku, his mask half-cracked and scorched. A single brown eye started down at them both.

Yugito let out a sigh, growling as her burns would barely let her move. "Thank you," she said with a nod, clenching her fist. To think her second chance at life was almost ended. Haku responded with a nod of his own, probably smiling under that mask.

Kay almost had to watch Yowui die again, in a way. As she grit her teeth, Kay gave Haku her own thanks as she sat up, not daring to let go of her mace. There wasn't any time to deal with the agonizing pain of her burns. "Where are we?" asked Kay.

Haku pondered for a second. "I moved… east. We should be in the northern part of the Land of Fire."

"Dammit," cursed Kay, narrowing her eyes. Yugito shared her own negative sentiment with a scowl. "Enemy territory."

"We must travel through a neutral country," stated Yugito, with Kay wincing as she forced herself to think.

Haku remained silent, knowing that he wasn't knowledgeable on Kumo's current allies and enemies. Obviously, returning to the Land of Hot Springs was a no-go. The Land of Rice held Otogakure, their current enemies. However, right to the east of the Land of Rice…

"The Land of Claws," said Yugito. "The most neutral of countries… we shouldn't have any problems simply traveling through."

"Agreed," said Kay, letting out a haggard sigh. "If we're lucky, we might find somebody willing to tend to our injuries."

Stiffly, agonizingly, the three set out north…

To the Land of Claws.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

It had been a week training under Kodaru, and he kicked her out. Fuu wasn't 'improving fast enough' and just told her to fuck off until she found something herself. As she walked through the streets, Fuu clenched her fists. What progress was he expecting her to make in a week with shit training like that?! The only reason why Ka'rai was making breakthrough after breakthrough was because he didn't know shit in the first place.

Kodaru was cool, but he was an asshole. Even after a week, Fuu couldn't get the way he just… erased that island off the map out of her head. He could just do that whenever he wanted. Nobody could stop him. He was… free. That was everything Fuu wanted. Freedom like that, Fuu didn't think it was real until she saw it.

She was going to become as strong as Kodaru was and just leave because nobody would be able to stop her. By herself, rouge, living life on her own terms… that was it. That was Fuu's dream. Fuck villages, fuck loyalty… just herself. She'd build her home on the tallest mountain she could find so nobody besides her could bother her there. What would she do when she was bored?

Who knew!

All Fuu knew was that she was going to have fun.

But, right now, Fuu couldn't even fly anymore. It hadn't been too long since she learned how to fly with Nanabi's help. How long had it been? A bit more than a month? But it felt so good that it felt like she'd been doing it forever. Being back to where she was before, spending most of her time in a cave, not seeing the sky, not being able to fly, not having Nanabi in her head… it just felt like shit.

At least the people here didn't treat her like shit. They were nice… all of them! It almost made her think that maybe Dokutsu wasn't so bad. The Gem and Kodaru were just assholes. At least Kodaru was a cool asshole.

Fuu's stomach rumbled and she sighed. She scanned all of the gray stone-brick buildings, the only dashes of color were the signs on shops and stuff. A striking red brought her eyes to a Dango Stand with a fan for a logo. Maybe something sweet would get her brain working better. She needed to show something to Kodaru in order to keep training with him.

Yeah, his training sucked. But, he was the only one that could free Nanabi again. If Nanabi was free, then Fuu could fly. If Fuu could fly, then she was free. Fuu let out a sigh… she still didn't know what to do about that Bijuu. But, oh well, that was for future Fuu to worry about.

She walked toward the Dango Stand and let out a sigh, taking a seat. Hane had money from doing favors and D-Ranks around Dokutsu; it wasn't a lot of money, but it wasn't a little bit either. Hopefully, Hane wouldn't notice about a thousand ryo missing. Plus, Hane owed her for the whole life-saving thing.

It didn't take long for the shop owner to meet her. He was a young guy, but the two stress lines on his face made him look really old. His coal-black eyes were hurt and friendly at the same time, and he had a looong ponytail of black hair at his back. "Hello, what would you like?"

Fuu squinted at the menu. "Uhh… regular flavor. I never had dango before, actually…"

"Oh? That's a shame." The man's smile grew. "Okay, how about this? I'll give you deluxe dango for the price of the regular dango, since this is your first time. Good deal?"

"Yeah! For sure!" agreed Fuu, gaining a smile. This guy was really nice. "What's your name?"

"Karasu," said the man as he turned back to prepare the dango. "What about you?"

"Fuu!" she answered.

Karasu nodded as he washed his hands. "You seemed troubled as you came in; what's the matter?"

"I just got a lot on my mind, I guess," Fuu admitted with a sigh. "I was training with someone… and they told me to fuck off because I wasn't improving fast enough." She let her head fall to the table with a thump. "Asshole…"

"Oh, that's indeed not very kind of them," said Karasu with a frown, gloving his hands after he dried them. "Do you plan on returning?"

"Yeah! I kind of need the training; I don't really have a choice. I just need something new that I didn't have before that'll impress him," Fuu spattered.

Karasu hummed, picking up a wooden skewer and placing three rice balls onto it, in order of green, pink, then white. "Well, I guess the catch will have to be discovering something you and only you can do." He grabbed another skewer and finished the second stick of dango. "It's not going to be easy, but you'll have to find inspiration in places where you'll never think you'll find them." He finished the final stick of dango and handed it to Fuu. "So, keep your eyes peeled, okay?"

"Alright…" Fuu slowly took the dessert and couldn't help the smile that curled her lips. "Thanks!"

"No problem."

Just as he said that, a second customer arrived. She was fast. Fuu looked to her right and immediately noticed the fast ticking clock of her golden eyes. "Hello, Karasu sir!" She saluted the stand-owner and giggled.

An endearing smile crossed his face as he looked at her. "Hello, Hibana. The usual?"

"Yep! Please!" This Hibana slid Karasu the payment and he got right back to work. Her eyes then set themselves on Fuu and she grinned. "Hi there."

"Hey…" Fuu greeted, more reserved than she should have been. Hibana had skin a bit darker than hers and was probably around the same age as her as well. Maybe she was a bit younger, or maybe she seemed that way because she was so happy. Her head of hair was full, fluffy, and white with the slightest bit of a pink hue, kind of like how pale clouds looked during sunrise.

Of course, there was Hibana's smile that was as wide as the horizon and her teeth were white like clouds. Hibana was definitely pretty. The longer Fuu stared at her in silence, the more the other girl giggled. "Are you gonna eat?!"

Blinking, Fuu looked back at her dango. Without much more preamble, she took a bite of the dango. It had a pleasant, subdued sweetness to it. Pretty much just sweet rice. Fuu swallowed and smiled before declaring, "I like it!"

"What? You've never had dango before?" asked Hibana, leaning her elbow on the table and pushing her full hair all over the place with her hand. Her clockwork eyes wouldn't stop ticking.

Fuu looked away and huffed. "No! But it's good!"

"I'm happy you're enjoying it," said Karasu with a smile as he handed Hibana six sticks of dango.

Excitedly, Hibana took the dango and thanked the shopkeeper. "Man, what type of life have you lived to have never had dango before?"

"One that fucking sucks," responded Fuu, deadpanned.

Hibana giggled, covering her mouth as she chewed—Fuu hadn't even seen her take a bite—"Obviously! Dango is the best!" She said after she swallowed.

Fuu kept looking at this girl. Why was it so hard to… approach her? Not even Ka'rai was this happy when they first met. Was she doing something with those eyes? "It's good…" Fuu muttered. "I haven't had a lot of different types of food, so I don't know how good it is compared to everything else."

"Well, let me tell you that it's better than anything you're ever going to have for the rest of your life!" Hibana cheered, already done with an entire stick.

Fuu pondered her statement. "Hm… that sounds good, but also not? Dango is good! But my gut isn't telling me that it's the best thing ever."

"Aw! Well—" Hibana took one of her sticks and made flying sounds. "Try one of mine!" Waving the stick through the air, Hibana tried to hand feed her—? It was that same icky shit that Ka'rai and Hane did.

Fuu flicked the dango away the moment it got too close to her face. "Ew! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

As Fuu blinked, Hibana had already caught it, and was looking at her aghast. It was the first time she wasn't smiling. "What's wrong with you?! You almost wasted totally good dango!"

"I'm not gonna eat from your hand you fucking weirdo!" yelled Fuu in response.

Hibana huffed, shaking her head. "You're just no fun then."

"No! I'm plenty of fun! You're just weird!"

"Oh! You're fun, huh?!" Hibana leapt out of her seat. "Then come show me!"

Fuu blinked and Hibana was gone.

Karasu was just chuckling as Fuu was left slack jawed and exasperated.

Gritting her teeth and refusing to be outdone, Fuu said her goodbyes to Karasu before flickering on top of a nearby roof, dango still in hand. Now where did that bitch go…? From behind her, she heard giggles and Fuu whipped behind her.

There was nothing there.

Hands tapped her shoulder and she looked to her left only to see golden sparkles. Another tap to her right and Fuu only saw sparkles on that side. Finally, she looked ahead and clockwork eyes were speeding as Hibana yelled, "BOO!"

Fuu yelped—stepping back as Hibana laughed, covering her mouth as creases at the edge of her eyes showed themselves. With a scowl, Fuu yelled, "Go fuck yourself!"

"Aw! You mad you can't keep up?!" Hibana just—disappeared in golden sparkles. Just barely, at the edge of her line of sight, Fuu spied a little silhouette waving at her. Fuu took a bite of her dango, finishing her first stick of three.

Dammit! If I had Nanabi this would be nothing—! Fuu clenched her fists in frustration… then Karasu's words echoed in her head.

'…you'll have to find inspiration in places where you'll never think you'll find them.'

Fuu's scowl turned into a smirk as she started her second stick of dango. I'm gonna catch you, Hibana! Fuu flickered over buildings as fast as she could. Building over building, it caught the attention of plenty of people, but that only served to invigorate her. In a few seconds, Fuu caught up with Hibana.

All she got was a grin before running into golden sparkles once again. HOW THE FUCK DO I CATCH HER?! Fuu let out a whine. THIS WOULD'VE BEEN SO EASY WITH NANABI! Fuu whipped around, looking for sparkles, a silhouette—anything! Passing by, what looked like a golden flash blurred past her.

There! Fuu could barely track the golden flash, but did her best to follow, anyway. All she could see was the golden flash getting farther and farther away—Fuu felt herself losing her fUCKING MIND. All she heard were Hibana's giggles becoming more and more distant.

Finally! She stopped moving. Atop another damned building, Hibana was sitting down, covering her mouth as nigh uncontrollable laughter collapsed out of her. Fuu just looked down at her, hands on her hips. "Is that Gem guy your dad or something?!"

"N-no!" she could barely speak through the giggles. "I—" Hibana let out a cackle and wiped a tear from her eye.

This happy little girl was starting to get on her nerves. "WHAT'S SO FUCKING FUNNY?!"

Hibana, somehow, laughed even harder.

It took her two minutes to be calm enough to get a sentence out. "Okay… okay… the funniest part was how mad you were getting."

That just served to tick Fuu off even more. "You're a bitch."

Hibana managed to stop herself from suffering another giggle-seizure. "Lord Gem isn't my dad! We're part of the same clan, though!"

"So… your surname is Senko?"

"Yep! Hibana Senko!" She stood and her height barely made it to Fuu's nose. "What's your name?"

"Fuu."

"No surname?"

"Nope."

"Dang! That really sucks."

With a roll of her eyes, Fuu finally decided to take another bite of her dango. "How are you so fast?"

"Tokeigan!" Hibana pointed to the fast-ticking clock of her eyes. "Duh!"

"I have never heard of that in my life."

"Wow—" Hibana just looked baffled. "You're not from around here, then?"

"Nope."

"Where are you from?"

"A place that I'm going to fucking destroy one day."

"Oh…!" Hibana cleared her throat. "And y'know what, I'm sure they deserve it."

"For sure," said Fuu with a roll of her eyes, finishing her second stick of dango. "So yeah, how does your Tokeigan make you fast?"

"Oh!" An excited glimmer made her eyes tick even faster. "Okay, so, everybody's Tokeigan interacts with either space or time in a different way. An advanced user can interact with both as they please, but that's rare, only Lord Gem can do that, usually. But, I have one that interacts with time, and I can basically just fast-forward time on myself to move way faster than I actually am."

"That's cheating!" spattered Fuu, shaking her head in outrage.

Hibana wagged her finger. "Nuh uh! There's no such thing as cheating as a Shinobi!"

"Bullshit," grumbled Fuu. "I could beat you if I could use Nanabi's chakra."

"Nanabi…?" questioned Hibana. "Like, the Bijuu?!"

"Yeah?! What the fuck else would I be talking about?!"

"You're a Jinchuriki?!" asked Hibana with a gasp.

Fuu blinked, damning the dread that made her heart beat faster. "Yeah…"

"Cool!" Hibana commented. "I thought we only had one of those! Wait… WERE YOU THE THING THAT FELL FROM THE SKY?!"

"Yeah! That was me!" confirmed Fuu, gaining a prideful smirk.

Hibana gasped again and hopped on her toes. "That's so freaking cool!" She clapped and giggled. "Show me!"

"I can't right now… I don't have access to Nanabi's power," grumbled Fuu, the gears turning in her head.

Hibana frowned. "Dang, that sucks."

"It really does!" agreed Fuu, stomping her foot and starting her last stick of dango. She swallowed and looked Hibana in the eyes. "And, y'know… I think I could really use some help getting her power back."

"Uh huh, uh huh!" Judging by the excitement on Hibana's face, it definitely looked like she knew where this was going.

Fuu munched on the dango again. "Basically, the asshole that's training me, the other Jinchuriki here, kicked me out because I didn't have anything cool to show. You have something cool, so I need you to help me get something cool for myself! Sounds good?!"

"Heck yeah it does!" agreed Hibana with a bubbly smile. "Don't you worry, with my help… you'll be the coolest person ever! Nobody's going to ever not train you again!"

"Yeah! It better be that way!"

With that, Fuu and Hibana set off to… who knew where, to get up to who knew what.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Ka'rai shuddered as he faced down Hane. Nikuya's antagonistic laughter had never been louder—more grating. Kodaru's silhouette faced the setting sun as the waves crashed over his back. Hane's horrified breaths were torture to Ka'rai as she loosely held his Jigoku Katana in her grasp.

Slowly, Kodaru brought his hands up and clapped. "Alright, you two… are going to fight. If one of you, for even a moment holds back on each other… I'll kill her."

Torrid fury pierced Ka'rai's heart as his teeth grit. How could he not hold back—? With his Special Chakra, just one punch could blow her to bits. If he didn't hold back, he'd kill her. The terror that made Hane's eyes tremble in their sockets was clear. Rage and sorrow and everything that felt like shit made Ka'rai's entire body want to puke.

All of a sudden, the visage of Nikuya loomed over Hane—a bloody, serrated butcher's knife was in his hand. Gritting his teeth, Ka'rai fought against the Genjutsu as clusters of pain went off like bombs in his head.

Why?

Why was EVERYTHING LIKE THIS?!

"Begin," ordered Kodaru with a distant laugh.

The Genjutsu hadn't been broken yet—Hane forced herself to move first. Ka'rai used his arm to block a sword slash. Blood spewed from the wound at the same time a detonation knocked the hellish blade off of him.

His eyes locked with Hane's.

"It's okay, I'll be okay," she assured, her voice quaking with trepidation.

Ka'rai grit his teeth, balling a fist. A punch hurled itself toward Hane as he put all of his will into keeping the chakra from detonating. With a glint of fear in her eyes, she blocked it with the Katana and a minor explosion rattled the blade. Hane stumbled back and Ka'rai was forced to capitalize.

If he didn't hold back, then she'd die—Ka'rai stomped with the full force of his Special Chakra. Hane was blown back as the ground boomed and Ka'rai darted forward. Hellflame erupted from the Katana and Hane slashed. There was no Nibi Chakra; the fire was a threat. He hopped back—Hane flickered forward and kicked him in the neck. The hit was meant to knock him unconscious, but it did little more than stagger him.

Nikuya cackled, and an illusion of Hane's screams made Ka'rai cry out himself. His arm hooked into her gut—don't blow, don't blow. The hit rattled Hane's entire body and she bit her lip to not scream. Ka'rai's heart ripped in two as he shut his eyes. Closing his eyes was a mistake—burning cut into his shoulder and Ka'rai let out another cry.

He grabbed her by the wrist and flung her to the side. The punishing agony of hellflame shredded the cutting wound on his shoulder. There was no blood—at least his chakra didn't blow. Control his chakra. That was the point. That was the point. Control. Control. Control. Ka'rai blurred forward—crumbling brimstone tripped him up and Hane kicked him in the chin. His brain rattled in his skull and it took him everything in his power not to vomit.

Nikuya wasn't helping. Another Genjutsu overtook him and suddenly there were a dozen Hanes filling the cave. Ka'rai stood and snarled and weaved the Ram Seal—"Releas—" Before he could finish, he had to dodge a sword slash. Hane didn't leave any room for him to counter as she leapt over his kick. All of the Hanes in the cavern jumped all over him—before fading to nothing as a detonation of Ka'rai's chakra ceased the Genjutsu.

Ka'rai pulled a kunai in a poor attempt to defend against Hane's hellish assault. She had him on the back foot. Hane had always been better with a sword than he was. On top of that, she had barely touched the Jigoku Katana and the abilities were coming easy to her. Fire scorched Ka'rai, brimstone tripped him up… she was already as good as he was with months of training.

Even still, that didn't matter as he spied the tears welling in her eyes. She hated hurting him. Ka'rai, snarling, forced himself to grab the flaming blade and look her in the eyes. "I'm okay, don't worry about hurting me…" he breathed. It wasn't true—hearing him say that looked like it hurt her more. Shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth, Ka'rai prepared another punch. Don't blow, don't blow. It didn't as it rammed into Hane's ribs. She took the blow with a pained grunt that shattered Ka'rai's heart. Barely, Ka'rai avoided the stab to his shoulder—and he took the chance to punch her ribs again. No blow. He was getting—

"Boring," grumbled Kodaru. "You guys are doing the same shit over and over…" He weaved a single hand seal and grinned. The waves from the ocean poured into the cave, filling it up as Ka'rai struggled to stand atop the water with his Special Chakra. Constantly moving, fluctuating, and he had to control his chakra enough to not kill Hane.

Ka'rai growled, barely keeping himself up on the rough waves as he watched Hane weave hand signs. "Water Style: Whirling Rapids." The water spewed from below her and toward Ka'rai in an overbearing whirlpool.

Gritting his teeth, he made his own series of hand seals for the first time in years. "Fire Style: Breath of a Thousand Suns." Even with Nibi sealed so deep within him, the scars she made on his chakra were clear. The moment the cobalt fire exited his mouth, it detonated. Hane's water jutsu was just erased into steam and Ka'rai himself was flung back. The dip in the water forced waves and foaming water to churn inside the entirety of the cave.

Ka'rai made the Ram Seal to focus his chakra. Stay afloat, don't blow, stay afloat, don't blow. The water boiled and parted thanks to the Jigoku Katana's hellflame. There was a clear path between Hane and Ka'rai—she sprinted toward him, coating the Katana with boiling water. A hitch of his breath made Ka'rai guard his upper body—his knees were lashed. Ka'rai buckled and the water below him detonated into hazardous liquid shards.

They pierced Hane and blood dropped where she was hit. The hot, violent water washed over Ka'rai—a single gasp for air was flooded with almost boiling water. The searing, salty liquid burned his lungs from the inside out and Ka'rai couldn't even scream. As much as he knew Hane wanted to help him, she had to make it worse for him. She took a fist full of his hair and pulled him out from under the waves, throwing him across the cavern.

Hacking coughs made Ka'rai's throat burn. The lack of oxygen made his excruciating headache worse. He was still fighting Hane and that was making his heart ache like little else. Even still, he weaved the Ram Seal and could land on the waves without a detonation. Rage, frustration, and sorrow blazed within him. A deadly, exhausted-yet-invigorated glare from Ka'rai shot toward Kodaru. "I'm going to make you pay for all of this."

In response, the bastard just laughed. "I can't wait for the day you try."

Ka'rai turned back to Hane and rushed forward. With each step over the water, every part of his will demanded for his chakra to stay undetonated. Hane brandished the Jigoku Katana with pain in her eyes as Ka'rai charged.

Again, he weaved hand signs. "Fire Style: Breath of a Thousand Suns!" Don't blow. Don't blow. The blue fire plumed from his mouth and it lasted. Contained energy blasted toward Hane and she made the signs for a wall of water to stall the jutsu as it barreled toward her. Once Hane moved, Ka'rai allowed the jutsu to blow. The detonation of his previous ninjutsu was nothing compared to this one. All of the water evaporated and even Kodaru had to guard.

Hane was flung to the wall and she stabbed the Jigoku Katana into the cave ceiling to hang. Breathing was agonizing and pain shattered the anger in his eyes as he saw her blood dripping from above. Forcing his will, Ka'rai flung shuriken at her. Hane dropped down, evading the shuriken and stabbing the ground as she landed. Brimstone shattered the rock below them and hellflame erupted in plumes—it was eerily similar to what he did to Konoha's Stadium. All Ka'rai could do was fortify his body with chakra and hope for the best.

The attack blew over him—Ka'rai took advantage of his Special Chakra and anything that hit him detonated around him. A shield of pure destructive power protected him from the worst of the blast. It seemed that Hane anticipated that. The Jigoku Katana pierced the center of his chest, impaling him. "You're done, we're done, I win." Hane was almost hyperventilating as Ka'rai let out a silent scream of pain. Despite the fact that he was impaled… it didn't seem like anything too vital was hit. She must've aimed there on purpose.

Kodaru walked over, hands in pockets. The sun was nearly set in its entirety. "Man, she really beat you, nephew." Kodaru snorted. "I don't know whether to call you pathetic or call her impressive."

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

This fucking bastard crossed every damned line. Hane was sick of him—she just couldn't understand! Hane's grip on the Jigoku Katana tightened as she glared up at Kodaru. "Why?! Just… why?!"

"My nephew's going to be a God, you're part of that process, that's why," Kodaru sneered. He didn't want to entertain this conversation, but Hane didn't give a fuck about that.

Letting go of the Jigoku Katana was too hard—its very essence was clinging to her. But she did. She stood to her full height and looked Kodaru right in his sadistic eyes. "That's not what I'm asking." She was speaking too fast, her tone was too intense. "Why are you the way that you are?! It's… mind bending how despicable you are!

"You're torturing your family! You destroyed an entire island of people for no fucking reason! You're a monster! What… just… why?! What makes you act like this?!" Hane kept screaming—speaking so fast that she could barely understand herself. That didn't matter… as long as he understood.

So she could understand. Maybe, if she did… she could make him stop.

"Why should I answer you?" spat Kodaru, meeting her gaze with more intensity than she could muster herself.

That didn't make Hane back down. It didn't matter. She was going to rip an answer out of this bastard. "Because I want you to," she declared.

Kodaru snorted. "You have more nerve than I gave you credit for…" He rolled his eyes and Hane kept glaring. "Well… I act like I do… because I want to. I want to destroy, so I destroy. I put Ka'rai through hell so he can end up like me. Seeing the evidence of my power in destruction brings my soul peace after my life gave me anything but.

"I'm a God of Destruction. I wasn't born one. I made myself one. To waste that effort and do nothing with it is pointless… I can't wait for the day Dokutsu gets into another war." An excited smirk curled his lips and it made Hane sick. "I'll be able to destroy much more than some islands that nobody cares about."

"You're disgusting," Hane growled. "You are the scum of the fucking earth!"

"Aw, is that what you think?" Kodaru turned his back and started to walk off. "By the way." He looked back at her with a sharp grin and a gleam in his eyes. "You should keep that sword… it fits you."

His words crawled over her like maggots. What Hane hated the most was…

…a part of her agreed. Through all the agony of being forced to hurt Ka'rai, she couldn't deny one fact. Being powerful felt good. Being able to assert her own will without any middle-men like Ka'rai was nice. The words that Seiki told her echoed through her head.

"Then become strong enough."

Hane's fists clenched before she took Ka'rai to the hospital. It was the seventh time that week.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Ka'rai had ended up drifting off into sleep. But of course, that didn't mean he could rest. Since before Konoha Crush, Ka'rai hadn't gotten anything close to rest. His eyes opened to the bloody mindscape that Nikuya conquered. The only difference was that Ka'rai managed to take back just a little bit over the past week. A small area of dulled gold shone through at the very peak of the gory void.

Cracking his knuckles, Nikuya waited for him, a sick smirk crossing his face. With a snarl, Ka'rai bolted toward him. Inch by inch, Ka'rai was taking his mind back. A golden Katana made purely from the will of Ka'rai's mind formed in his hand. He slashed at Nikuya who blocked with his serrated, bloody butcher's knife. A kick to the liver didn't bring Ka'rai to his knees. With a roar, he attacked and blue fire encased the fist that detonated on contact with Nikuya. A chunk of his torso was blown off and Ka'rai roared. He pushed Nikuya to the ground only for the bastard to cackle.

He whirled up onto his own two feet, bones and guys reforming. With grinning, bloody teeth, Nikuya forced his knuckles to be pierced by his own bone. The fist collided with Ka'rai's face and skin was scraped off of his skull. Apparently, some Chinoike could unlock a special ability with their Ketsuryugan. Nikuya could control his muscles and bones like he did his blood. It wasn't any stronger than it would be usually… so Ka'rai just broke them like he did everyone else's.

Ka'rai didn't spare a fucking thing. For all the shit he said about Hane, Mama—for taking away his mind! Each of Ka'rai's furious punches were bombs that went off on impact. In here, he could focus purely on fighting and fighting alone. No control was needed. Ka'rai roared and his golden Katana slashed Nikuya's arm off. He cackled in return and turned Ka'rai's blood against him.

The sickening feeling overtook him and the punch that Nikuya followed up with resulted in his hand being blown off his body. Will. It was will—and refinement of the mind. Ka'rai's will had to overpower his—he needed to refine his mind to make it unbreakable. Even as those disgusting blood-shot eyes glowed, Ka'rai could move even just that little bit. It wasn't enough. Regenerating his limbs from scratch, Nikuya used a bony butcher's knife to cut Ka'rai to ribbons. More and more of his blood was turned against him.

Nikuya had turned Ka'rai's bloodstream into knives that ripped him apart from the inside. With an agonizing scream, Ka'rai headbutt Nikuya and a detonation blew pieces of the bastard's skull off. Blood poured down his face, but he just grinned. All of the spilled blood from Nikuya formed into a gigantic, serrated butcher's knife that cleaved into Ka'rai's shoulder.

Ka'rai let out a scream as Nikuya slowly yanked the knife back and forth, back and fourth, ripping through his flesh and disabling him. At this point, Ka'rai couldn't even fight back anymore. Nikuya kicked him to the ground and stomped a bony extension into his gut. His skull reformed in its entirety and Nikuya finally fucking spoke. "When Nibi's freed… what do you plan to do?"

Ka'rai glared and used a bomb-punch to pound his leg off. It worked and Nikuya collapsed—Ka'rai pounced on him and a golden shine pierced through blood to reconquer more of his mind. Ka'rai pounded a kick into his hip and more bone and guts blew off. Nikuya gleamed and pierced Ka'rai with bloody tendrils. With a glare, Ka'rai formed another Katana to slice Nikuya's belly open. The bastard's guts spilled out of him and he needed to use blood to keep his body together.

"Answer my question!" yelled Nikuya with a grin. "Once you have control over your mind once again, once Nibi is free! What are you going to do once you're free again?!"

Ka'rai snarled at him, baring his bloody teeth—a bit of confusion whirled in his brain. "The hell?! You're saying that like you plan to give me my mind back!"

"Yeah! Once you take it back," answered Nikuya like it was obvious. "I know you're going to, one day, Ka'rai! This is just training! I'm just curious to know what you're going to do once you're done with it!"

Training.

Fucking training.

It actually made Ka'rai laugh. He shook his head as chuckles rattled his aching mind. "This is so… fucking… absurd. What I'm gonna do? You want to know what I'm gonna do?!"

Nikuya just grinned to goad an answer out of him.

"I'm gonna fucking slaughter Hidan," growled Ka'rai. "I'm gonna love on Hane since you never let me." Ka'rai let out a breath. "I'm gonna become the greatest Jinchuriki that this world has ever fucking seen…" Ka'rai clenched his fists. "But I'm going to beat the shit out of you to get there."

An excitedly evil cackle leapt from Nikuya's throat as he made himself bleed all over the bloody mindscape. "THEN COME AND DO IT!"

Ka'rai and Nikuya fought until morning came. Neither of them truly won.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

His nephew was definitely progressing… It made Kodaru proud. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that Ka'rai was going to become a God of Destruction on par with him soon enough. After all… Ka'rai's Special Chakra might have been the only one more destructive than his. Anyway, Kodaru was hungry, he needed some fucking food. So, he took a walk around Dokutsu, looking for something. He wasn't going to eat his favorite food, no, he saved that for special occasions. But, on his way, he felt water on somebody's face, coming from their eyes. Somebody was crying.

Judging by the amount of blood they had in their body, it was a child. Kodaru curled his lip. Then, he made a little detour. Five minutes of walking later and on a bench, alone, a little boy was crying his eyes out. Whistling casually, Kodaru walked up to him and sat beside the boy. "What's up with you, little man?"

"They…" He sobbed as he tried to talk. "They… won't… play with me!"

"Who won't?"

"My friends!"

"Well, if they won't play with you, then I don't think that they're your friends…" suggested Kodaru.

The boy cried harder. "But I don't have anybody else!"

"No, you do have somebody."

The boy finally looked up at Kodaru, looking questioning. "Who?"

Slowly, Kodaru took a finger and pointed at the boy's chest. "Yourself."

"Huh?!"

"Little man, no matter what happens in life, the only thing that's guaranteed is that you'll be yourself. You'll lose friends, you'll lose family, none of them are worth trusting completely because they aren't you.

"You thought those other kids were your friends, right?"

The boy nodded.

"But, they're not, since they left you behind. They don't deserve your attention, not in the slightest, kid. But guess who you still have, even after they left you?"

"Me…"

"Exactly!" Kodaru smiled and slapped the kid on the back. "You don't need anyone else because you have yourself. Now, go play by yourself, do whatever you want, be the best version of yourself—be somebody so great that all those other kids are going to regret leaving you behind."

"Yeah!" agreed the boy, wiping the tears from his face. "I'm gonna be the greatest boy that the playground has ever seen!"

"Atta boy!" Kodaru laughed, feeling a swell of pride in his chest.

The kid ran off, waving at Kodaru as he did. "Thank you, mister!"

"No problem, little man!" Kodaru sat and watched the kid run off back toward the playground. For a minute, he just sat on that bench, thinking…

It was a shame that he still had to live in a world where people abandoned each other. It was fucking pathetic. Arasei would've been one of those stupid brats on the playground, for sure. At least that little man was going to show them what's up. Kodaru knew that as long as there were people like him… the world was going to set itself straight.

The rumble of his stomach reminded him of how hungry he was. So, he set off to get something to eat.

By himself.

Because he needed nobody else.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

It had taken too long for him to get to a non-injured state… Over a week of Kabuto's healing was what made him able to walk without assistance. Orochimaru had no access to his Chakra, let alone his arsenal of Jutsu thanks to Ryujin and Sarutobi-sensei and even Shinrai.

In front of him, the candlelight illuminated Kabuto's classes, hiding his eyes as he clasped his hands. "What do you plan to do now, Lord Orochimaru?"

"I need to get my Jutsu back," Orochimaru clenched his fists and hissed from the pain. "The Reaper Death Seal sealed away the part of my soul in my arms. That Rasenova that Ryujin used… it completely destroyed my Chakra network. Only something that can heal the soul will be able to reverse the damage to my arms."

"Will you try to capture the Nibi again?" asked Kabuto.

Orochimaru shook his head. "No. Since Hidan took the Jinchuriki we had for himself, we're in no state to start a conflict with Kumo. Even without Killer Bee, Kumo still matched Konoha's military might blow for blow. The damage to my Chakra Network, however… can still be healed."

"By whom? Karin's dead or a deserter, and even then… just her raw talent wouldn't be enough to repair damage that extensive," Kabuto reasoned.

A slithering grin crossed Orochimaru's face. "My old teammate Tsunade."

"I'm afraid that isn't possible…" informed Kabuto, shaking his head. "She's returning to Konoha, and Yosei is by her side."

Orochimaru slammed his fist on the chair he sat in. "Dammit!"

"Are you going to take Baiko's body then?"

"No, it's much too soon. He hasn't developed in the slightest. There's much more he needs to awaken before I take his body for myself…" Suddenly Orochimaru froze. An idea crossed his mind, or rather, he was reminded of something that was on his radar.

Slowly, Orochimaru grinned.

"Lord Orochimaru?" asked Kabuto, mildly concerned.

Orochimaru stood from his chair. "It's painful that I must use this body for now… but there is a suitable replacement, with a body perfectly suited for me."

Kabuto's eyes went wide. "You mean—?"

"Yes. Uwabami no Daija… of the Yokai."

"You do remember why we left him to his own devices for so long, right?" Kabuto muttered, uneasiness slithered over him like a pit of snakes. "He is not to be taken lightly. Especially when you have no Jutsu and barely any chakra to speak of!"

"Now… if I was in a different body… that would be much more of an issue." Orochimaru snarled. "As pathetic as the concept of Might Gai is… his body is quite possibly the best possible one I could be in for now. One capable of withstanding the full power of the Eight Inner Gates Formation."

Admitting that tore Orochimaru from the inside out with the burning claws of fury. Everything had been infuriating—losing to Sarutobi, losing his Jutsu, losing his Chakra, losing the Jinchuriki, losing to Shinrai, losing his dignity.

"I'm done losing…" Orochimaru declared venomously. "Against Uwabami no Daija… I will win."

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

That morning, Ka'rai, Hane, and Fuu were called to Lord Gem's office. For some reason, Fuu was in a really good mood. Honestly, honestly, Ka'rai was happy for her. At least somebody was able to find some joy out of this situation. If it would be anybody, of course it'd be Fuu. Neither he nor Hane were having much fun, especially after yesterday. The spot where she stabbed him was still sore. They couldn't even stand next to each other. Nikuya was going to do too much. Fuu separated them and Ka'rai kept his gaze at his feet as they walked to Lord Gem's office.

When they entered the office, Ka'rai looked up. The first thing he noticed was the tall, pale man that stood beside his desk. He didn't wear a shirt, just baggy pants that were one half a white gi. The guy was ridiculously muscular as well… he put Ka'rai to shame. Most notably to Ka'rai were the twin red dots that were on his forehead like a second pair of eyes. Combined with that white hair… he looked just like those brothers that kidnapped him back during Yakedo. The main difference was that he was much older.

Lord Gem greeted them with a smile and Ka'rai felt Hane's demeanor calm. "Hello, you three."

They all bowed their heads in respect, even if Hane had to force Fuu to.

"Well, I suppose I'll just cut to the chase." He cleared his throat and folded his hands atop each other. "I have a mission for you. Recently, a Kumo squad was seen traveling through our land. We want you to either, A. Have them join Dokutsu; or B. kill them. I understand that it's harsh, but with two of you being Jinchuriki, I need additional assurance that you are fully loyal to Dokutsu."

Fuu just pouted. "This better be a quick mission… I just made a new friend."

"Well… I've already taken Kumo lives." Ka'rai clenched his fists, the shame beating him from the inside out. "I'll do it."

Hane just looked heartbroken—that only made Ka'rai feel worse. "I'll get them to join us," she said with a determined gaze in her eyes.

Lord Gem nodded, then pointed to the pale man. "This is Shin Kaguya. He will be accompanying you. Aside from Kodaru and myself, he is the most powerful Shinobi in this village. Should you show that you're unloyal to Dokutsu, he has orders to execute you and fulfill the mission himself."

Shin remained silent, keeping his eyes narrowed on the three. His stoic, unbreakable, unwavering gaze was already keeping them in line.

"Understood," Hane said with a nod. Both Ka'rai and Fuu followed suit.

Lord Gem gave them a curt smile. "Good luck."

With that, Shin walked forward, leading them out. As they walked out, he finally spoke. "My sons were traitors to this village. Should you follow their example, I'll be merciless when I kill you." His deep voice spoke of promise.

Ka'rai cleared his throat. "Yes, sir…"

Validly unsettled, Fuu and Hane gave the same response. Without any more time wasted, Shin led them out of Dokutsu into the greater Land of Claws.

All Ka'rai could do was hope that it was nobody he knew that he had to kill.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Misty, Misty, Misty. Kirigakure lived up to the name. It was also quite tropical, which was nice! Or rather, subtropical, that was the proper name. Though he wouldn't be pleased about a stray cyclone blowing his home into the sea… meh, it'd be fine! He wasn't here for the weather, as nice as it was despite the mist blocking out the sun.

Zero had a date with a Kage.

Walking through the mist like a ghost, nobody noticed him. He did, however, take his sweet time admiring the architecture. Gray cobblestone was grown over by vines, everything was damp to the touch, and the Mizukage's office was at its center, much smaller compared to other Kage offices that he'd seen. It wasn't any less official, though.

Regardless of its appearance or how secure it was, Zero made his way in. No resistance, he wasn't even noticed! That was until he was in Mei Terumi's office. Now he wanted to be noticed. "Yo! Mei! How are you doing?"

"...What do you want, Zero?" She gave him a bored look as she looked up from her desk; the blue tattoo of the Kanji for three curled as a slight frown crossed her face. For once, she wasn't doing paperwork. Well, it still regarded paper, but it seems she was drawing up—Mei covered the paper with her arm. "Stop being nosey."

"Awww," pouted Zero, crossing his arms like an infant. "You don't think I get as much information as I do by not being nosey?"

"You won't be nosey here," stated Mei, her patience thinning.

Zero put his hands up and chuckled. "Gotcha! Well… uh… you still single?"

"Cut the shit, Zero!" Mei gave him an unamused glare. "Tell me what you need, then leave."

"Bah! You're no fun," huffed Zero. "I know where six almost-rouge Bijuu are!"

"...What." The Mizukage stopped what she was doing entirely and gave Zero her full attention.

The masked man smiled and nodded. "Yep! One of them is your missing Sanbi!"

"Where are they?" Mei demanded, standing from her seat. Zero didn't know why; she was nowhere near as tall as he was.

But he pondered her question regardless. "Hm… I don't think I'll tell you… not right now!"

"You are a pain!" growled Mei as it looked like lava smoldered in her eyes.

Zero gave a theatrical bow. "Thank you, thank you, I try my best." He twirled and stretched. "Don't worry, you'll know when it also benefits me for you to know! Should be sometime soon, so you should prepare…"

"Prepare for what?"

"Prepare for war."

With a snap of his fingers, Zero disappeared like the ghost he was.

⁑ —ϟ— ⁑

Clouds covered the sky. It was supposed to be day, but it was as dark as evening. This part of the Land of Claws was barren, isolated. Just rocky growths that made Ka'rai understand why the Land of Claws was named what it was. At least just… traveling like this was more soothing than being tortured by Kodaru in a new way every day.

Ka'rai had never bothered to take back the Jigoku Katana from Hane. Opposed to what he thought, Hane didn't give it back to him. She just… kept it. Well, it wasn't like he'd be able to use it with how shit his chakra control still was. It was probably better for her to have it for now.

"There," Shin stated, pointing. In the distance, Ka'rai spotted three figures. That must have been the Kumo squad. Clenching his fists, Ka'rai prepared himself. Hane let out a shuddering sigh. Fuu let out a "Finally" under her breath as they all flickered toward the squad.

As they got closer and closer, he could make them out more and more. Ka'rai's heart dropped further and further into his stomach. Ka'rai didn't recognize the masked ANBU, but he did the other two. A blonde girl who held a mace. A dark-skinned boy with shaggy, almost white blonde hair.

Of all fucking people.

Shin weaved a hand sign and a growth of bone stopped the Kumo squad in their tracks. They turned around in tandem, and Ka'rai's worst fears were confirmed. Kay and Yugito stared back at him.

"You—!" snarled Yugito as she drew a kunai.

Kay's fury was seen only in her glaring green eyes.

The masked ANBU had a single brown eye staring at him, neutral.

Hane let out a curse under her breath as she grit her teeth. "Please! Join Dokutsugakure!"

Ka'rai's heart broke as she tried to plead with them.

"If you join us, we won't have to kill you!" Hane yelled, grabbing the Jigoku Katana.

Fuu rolled her eyes. "They're not going to listen to you, dumbfuck."

"Shut up," spat Hane in response.

Yugito glared and marched Yowui's body toward them. "You fool." Her fists clenched. "I have loyalty, unlike you. In life, I served Kumo. In death, I served Kumo. Now, in my second chance at life, I serve Kumo." Hearing Yowui's voice spout all of this bullshit brought otherworldly anger to Ka'rai.

The kunai she brandished sparked with lightning as she pointed it at Ka'rai. "I'll drag the Nibi back to Kumo's rightful possession."

As Ka'rai growled, Kay put a hand on her shoulder, holding it tight. "You know we can't fight them—they're Jinchuriki."

"No, not right now," stated Yugito, keeping her glare on Ka'rai. "I can sense it… there's no presence of a Bijuu coming off of them. Whatever happened… their abilities as Jinchuriki have been stripped from them."

Kay's eyes went wide. "I see… I see." At that revelation, she brandished her mace. "Haku, do not kill the one with the face paint or the girl without a sword. We need those two alive."

"Alright," said the ANBU, pulling out senbon.

Ka'rai, Hane, and Fuu stood there, with the former-two trembling.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Shin, his authoritative voice looming behind them. "Kill them."

Ka'rai grit his teeth.

Hane clenched the blade she held.

Fuu narrowed her eyes.

Without any further adieu, they charged.

ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ