Author Note: Hi everyone. Thanks for all the reviews. I meant to post yesterday but my internet was out. Regardless, I hope you enjoy!
Chapter 18
"Ah! Empress, please!"
High pitched screams filled the corridors of the compound. A chorus of footsteps echoed through the hells as a troop of Samarui guards ran towards the disturbance.
A dozen soldiers froze when they saw the shocking image in front of them.
Hinata walked towards them with a hellish expression on her face. Behind her she dragged Princess Mizu by her hair. The princess slid on her back, flailing helplessly.
"Help me please!"
"Princess!"
The samurai were only able to take a single step before a gigantic burst of energy engulfed them all. They spat out blood from their mouths and fell to their knees, clutching their chests, where their hearts were supposed to be.
Hinata lowered her palm and kept moving, walking past the pile of dead bodies with a cold expression.
The shogun rushed into the throne room with around 50 guards at his back. They all looked down a dark hall where the screams were coming from. The shoguns eyes widened when he saw Hinata's hellish visage.
"Empress?"
The shogun was stunned. Hinata walked forward until she was standing a few feet away from him. Princess Mizu was shaking.
"Keys."
The shogun was taken aback by Hinata's seething tone.
"What?"
"You're torture room. I know you have one below. Give me the keys."
Hinata held out her hand expectantly. Princess Mizu rolled over on her belly and looked at her father with tears streaming down her face.
"Father, please help me."
"Orders sir."
One of the guards gripped the hilt of his sword tightly. The shogun glanced at his men, then Hinata, his daughter, then the corridor behind Hinata. He could see the bodies that littered the hall.
"How many of my men has she already killed?"
"If my daughter offended you in any way-"
"Keys, now!"
The shogun sighed and turned to one of his guards and nodded. The guard took a key out of his kimono and walked forward, kneeling in from of Hinata and presenting them.
"Please take these as a small gesture of apology. I leave my daughter to your fair justice."
Mizu looked at the scene in shock. Even when Hinata grabbed the keys and began to walk again, dragging Misu by her hair, Misu maintained a disbelieving look. She stared at her father desperately.
"Daddy?"
The shogun refused to look at her.
"You've disappointed me."
"No daddy. I'm sorry. Please, daddy!"
As Hinata and Mizu disappeared down the dark corridor, one of the guards stepped forward next to the shogun.
"Are we really going to stand by and do nothing while they violate our princess?"
The shogun looked at the guard with a sneer.
"What other choice do we have?"
"What other choice indeed."
Everyone's attention was brought to the image of Naruto, standing in the shadows. He leaned back against a wall with his arms crossed. The shogun and the rest of the guards bowed at the knee when Naruto began to walk towards them.
"Emperor Naruto. I hope you will accept my deepest apology for the behavior of my daughter."
Naruto kept walking until his shadow cast over the shogun.
"An apology is natural, especially since she was following your orders."
The shogun froze when he heard Naruto's accusation. He looked up with a hesitate gaze.
"How did he know? Is he bluffing? Maybe he is just guessing and trying to bait a confession."
The shogun's mind raced. He knew how important his response would be. He couldn't think of a good response so he stayed silent.
"Do you deny it?"
The shogun dropped his forehead to the floor.
"I was only acting in the best interest of the empire, your majesty."
Naruto squated down to look at the man with a predatory gaze.
"What do you know about what is best for my empire?"
The shogun kept his head to the ground.
"I truly believe that the Nazareen people would be a pestilance to the empire. I may have used extreme methods, but it was all for the greater good."
Naruto grabbed the shogun by the throat and lifted him off his feet. Each of the guards reached for their swords.
"Shogun!"
"No, wait!"
The shogun did his best to warn his guards but Naruto beheaded them all with a single swipe of his clawed hand. A red slash tore a gash in the wall behind the shogun.
"What choice do you have? You've had many. First, you could have chosen to broker peace with the rebels. If you'd read my doctrine in full you would know that their philosophy would fit perfectly into my empire. Yet you choose to hold onto old grudges."
"Emperor, please-"
Naruto's hand tightened around the shogun's throat.
"I wasn't done speaking."
The shogun could only gasp for air.
"Second, you choose to involve your daughter in an attempt to come between me and my empress. That alone would be enough to condemn you."
The shogun was slowly losing conciousness. Naruto released him, allowing the man to fall to his knees and cough violently.
"Despite all that, your third choice is the most dispicable. You abandoned your only child, tossing her to the wolves to save your own skin. A real father would have offered himself in her place. No, a real father wouldn't have even gotten her in that situation in the first place."
The shogun looked up in horror to see Naruto shrouded in a hellish, red aura. He grew teeth that seemed too big for his mouth. He spoke with a rumbling, demonic echo.
"There is only one use for such a man in my empire. To serve as an exampe to others."
"No!"
…
"Ha, ha, ha!"
Hinata let out shouts of primal rage while cracking a whip. The sound of leather smacking against flesh filled the area.
Princess Mizu's naked body recoiled from the strike. She let out weak cries of pain, her head hung low.
Mizu's arms were suspeneded over her head by a chain, metal wristcuffs dug into her flesh. Blood trailed down her arms, stemming from her fingers where her nails had been violently removed.
Her once perfect body was riddled with large, bloody gashes, telling of the treatment she had been recieving for hours.
"Empress, please, no more."
Mizu didn't have the strength to lift her head, but despite that, her tears were evident. The woman's pleading fell on deaf ears.
Hinata gave the woman one last whip before slowly walking towards the bound woman. She grabbed the woman's chin and lifted her head, staring hatefully into the Mizu's tear-filled eyes.
"Do you think this is even close to enough?"
Hinata seethed, hissing that question.
"I'll do anything for you to stop, Mistress. Anything, please."
Hinata stared at the girl for a while before letting go of Mizu's chin. She scoffed and took the dungeon keys out of her kimono. She unlocked Mizu's shackles, causing the woman to fall to the ground unceremoniously.
Hinata turned around and headed to the gate where a guard held a metal box. Mizu laid down in the spot where she was dropped, too weak to rise.
The sound of metal clanking near her drew Mizu's attention. A wrench slid in front of Mizu's face.
"You said you'll do anything for me?"
Hinata kneeled down in front of Mizu.
"Yes, Mistress. Anything."
"Give me one of your teeth."
Mizu's eyes widened in shock. She looked at Hinata in disbelief. When seeing Hinata's serious expression, Mizu reached a shaky hand towards the wrench. She grabbed the tool and immediately began to cry again.
"Please…not that."
"So you lied?"
Mizu shook her head and raised the wrench. She opened her mouth wide and shakily moved the tool to her teeth. As soon as it touched her back tooth Mizu lowered her hand and shook her head.
"I can't, Mistress. Please, I'm sorry for everything I did. For approaching the emperor in that way. I know my place now. I'll do anything. Please just stop hurting me!"
Mizu looked at Hinata desperately, only to be met with a harsh smack to her face which made her collapse to the ground.
"Why would I listen to anything you say when you can't even keep your word. I should just pull out all your teeth instead."
Hinata began to reach towards the wrench but, in a panic, Mizu grabbed it instead.
Mizu quickly clamped the prongs around her back molar and tugged with all her strength. A muffled scream filled the air as pain shot through her body. She collapsed and dropped the wrench. Blood poured from her mouth. Her bloody tooth bounced on the ground a few feet away.
Hinata looked down at Mizu heartlessly.
"Two more teeth."
Mizu glanced out the corner of her eye towards Hinata.
"You dared to make three requests of my husband. One tooth for each."
A dull gaze grew in Mizu's eyes. She stared off into the distance, unmoving. Hinata grabbed the woman's hair, forcing her to sit up. She then grabbed the wrench.
"I'll just take them all."
Mizu didn't respond. Hinata recognized the look in her eyes. She was broken. Despite that, Hinata continued, placing the wrench against mizu's front tooth.
"Empress, Emperor Naruto requests your presence."
Hinata looked back to see Haku bowing respectfully. Hinata grittered her teeth and dropped the wrench. She rose to her feet and turned her back on Mizu, walking away.
"Mistress."
Hinata stopped to look back at Mizu. Mizu's voice was barely a whisper. She lay across the ground in a broken, bloody heap, a single tear trickling down her eyes.
"Thank you…for showing mercy to me."
Hinata scoffed and continued walking forward. She stopped next to Haku.
"Make sure she doesn't sleep tonight."
Haku bowed respectfully.
"As you wish, Empress."
Hinata stormed out of the dungeon soon after. When Hinata was gone, Haku walked into the cell. Haku grabbed a pale of water from the corner and dragged it over to Mizu. Mizu stared blankly into the distance.
Haku grabbed a cloth from the bucket and began to wipe at Mizu's many wounds, making the woman tremble.
"Please forgive my Empress. She is full of passion. Endure well and this may be over soon."
Mizu's eyes began to flutter shut from the warm treatment, but a painfilled shriek was forced out of her lips soon after.
Haku let go of a thin needle, keeping it lodged in Mizu's shoulder.
"I said it may be over soon, but not now."
Haku maintained a gentle smile while taking out another needle.
That's the end of the chapter. Thanks for reading. Please Review.