Chapter XXXVII - Grinding Sand
Gyatsō let a sigh escape his lips as he rose his arm, shielding his eye from the sand flying around him. He and his subordinates were in the outskirts of the Hidden Sand Village. They were currently in a sandstorm, which was actually normal in this vast desert landscape. As they neared the village, Hikari began to express his slight hesitation to advance to the Sand, especially after their attack on the Leaf.
"Lord Gyatsō," he started, also using an arm to cover his eyes. Gyatsō looked back at him with a blank facial expression.
"I'm sure you know that it's a possibility the Sand knows of our presence. The Leaf and the Sand areallies, after all," he said. Orochimaru rolled his eyes, lightly smirking to himself as if he resented that statement. Gyatsō turned his head away from Hikari after a few moments.
"It doesn't matter if they know we're coming, Hikari. Even if they did, their forces wouldn't nearly be enough to keep us away from the village," Gyatsō replied.
Hikari nodded before looking forward, spotting a figure through the heavy sand that was now quickly surrounding them. Hide began to chuckle, his glowing eyes fixed on the cube of sand they were now trapped inside.
"Well, they know we're here," he said.
Gyatsō frowned as he slowly walked forward, placing a palm on one of the walls of sand. Dark chakra would soon shoot through the sand with a fierce rip, before shooting towards the shinobi. The chakra was materialising as it approached him.
"What the hell?!" the shinobi gasped, raising his arms quickly. A block of sand covered his body as a shield by the time Gyatsō's chakra made impact.
The white-haired male appeared in front of the shinobi, throwing a fist though the sand to grab his neck. Placing his other hand on the shinobi's chest, Gyatsō's sharp chakra shot out of his palm, impaling him at point-blank range.
After a very brief stare down, Gyatsō let go of the shinobi, letting him crash onto the sand-covered ground. His Sunagakure headband slipped off his neck on impact. Gyatsō eyed it for a moment before turning his head to see the cube of sand, once surrounding his subordinates, crash onto the ground as well. Gyatsō redirected his attention to the dying shinobi.
"So you have the ability to freely manipulate sand, just like the previous Kazekage. However, just like your village, your end has come," the white-haired male said as he picked up the headband. He smiled gently as it was soon engulfed in his black and red Catastrophic Hell Flames.
Zuko walked forward, his jet black hair swaying in the heavy wind as he performed a single hand seal.
"Hm... two o'clock. The outside of the Sand's entrance is protected by an army of their ninja. It's only ANBU and Jonin, but I'm sure their Kazekage will arrive soon," he said. He activated his Shaolin, which emitted a bright, crimson glare through the loosely flying sand.
"It'd be faster for us to just let me wipe them out. The rest of you, infiltrate the village and control it from the inside," said Gyatsō as he continued to walk forward.
Hikari would perform multiple hand seals before slapping his palm on the ground, raising it just before a white substance began to pour out of the sand. The substance would soon morph into a large clay bird, sprouting out winds and gliding into the air.
Once everyone other than Gyatsō was on the bird, it cawed loudly and flew away, quickly disappearing in the heavy sandstorm.
Another sigh escaped Gyatsō's lips as he opened his eye, now standing before a small army of shinobi wearing headbands of the Hidden Sand. He was now just metres away from entering the village, but he just stood there wordlessly, waiting to see if they were going to attack him first.
"If you take a step forward," a shinobi in the front of the army yelled, "We'll decimate you until there's nothing left!"
"Why is he alone? Intel said there's supposed to be five of them," another shinobi yelled.
"Find the others!" another yelled.
Gyatsō lost his slight smile as he looked at the army. The sandstorm around the village suddenly intensified, sending heavy gusts of wind and sand in all directions.
The thick sand flying around the Osore leader provided some cover for him. When he seemed to disappear due to how thick the sand became, he dashed forward.
Screams could be heard as multiple shinobi were sent flying back. A purple glare emitted from Gyatsō's eye as he effortlessly dodged the swords now flying towards his body. With a single hand, he grabbed onto a random shinobi and used him as a shield for the barrage of shuriken aiming at him.
With a wide smirk on his face, he ran forward with the wounded shinobi, nearing the village's entrance.
"Is this the best the Sand picked to battle me?! What an absolute joke," he chuckled out.
When he was a single footstep from being inside the village, he suddenly gasped, gritting his teeth as an exceptionally strong gust of wind blew him back several metres. When he landed on the ground, he looked forward, eyeing the woman with a frown. Standing in front of the shinobi was the current Kazekage, Temari.
"So, the strongest wind user in the entire world wishes to challenge her God?" he asked, dusting himself off. Temari responded by throwing off her Kazekage robe, giving him an angry glare. Her giant, three-mooned fan rested underneath her arm.
"You're going to regret coming here, you scum of the earth!" Temari spat out. Her shinobi cheered as to root for their leader. A few of them stepped back in preparation for the battle that was about to unfold.
Gyatsō took a step forward.
"Your brother, the former Kazekage, is lying unconscious in a Hidden Leaf hospital. When he awakes, he'll be imprisoned or more preferably, killed. As for you, his weaker elder sister, you'll die here today. The Five Kage will cease to exist in the world I'm creating before all of you," he said.
The white-haired male then crossed his arms and walked forward, not intimidated by Temari's threats in the slightest. The shorter, blonde woman widened her eyes as the mention of Gaara angered her. The thought of losing her only brother left forced her to run forward with a roar, dragging her large fan against the ground.
"What did you do to Gaara?!" she demanded. Gyatsō began to chuckle as he held his hand out in front of him. His eye focused on the livid woman nearing him.
"You can ask him yourself in the afterlife, Sixth Kazekage. ALMIGHTY PUSH!"
Meanwhile, the rest of Gyatsō's entourage were flying above the village. A sudden powerful shockwave caused everything in the vicinity of the Hidden Sand to rumble. Hikari looked behind him, a smile forming on his lips as he immediately realised what caused such a shockwave.
"It seems Lord Gyatsō is enjoying himself down there," he said. Sebbech scoffed, eyeing the Kazekage residence to find out nobody was inside.
"The Kazekage's probably down there too," he said, snickering to himself.
"If she is, the poor woman will certainly die," Orochimaru sighed out. The clay bird began to descend, with the Osore jumping off of it before it landed. Immediately upon their arrival in the village, numerous masked shinobi surrounded them within a blink of an eye.
"You're not going anywhere," a feminine voice said as she unsheathed her long katana.
"These guys are their ANBU, yes? I hope they're better than the pathetic ANBU from the Leaf," said Sebbech as he began to slowly perform hand seals.
"Ah, Sebbech, if you'd like to take them all on, go ahead. Hikari, you, Hide, and Orochimaru are with me," said Zuko. Sebbech shrugged his shoulders as a response.
When Zuko turned around to leave, the female ANBU member appeared at his side, aiming her katana for his stomach. Before the reinforced blade came into contact with him, Zuko quickly brought his palm to her neck, breaking it. She fell to the ground swiftly, now motionless.
"Your only opponent is Sebbech. If you Sand lot want to die as well, come. If not, we're leaving," said the black-haired young man.
Back at the village entrance, bodies laid atop each other as Gyatsō lightly panted, clutching his face. Temari laid down in front of him, digging her fingernails into the ground as she struggled to stand up.
"What on earth.. was that?!" she asked herself, using her fan as a hold to slowly pull herself up. Gyatsō stared at her, interested in the only person who wasn't wiped out by his devastating Almighty Push. Since he had to wait several minutes before he could use his Rinnegan powers again, he simply switched to the first level of his Shaolin.
Temari swiftly flung her arms up, using her fan to send a gust of wind towards Gyatsō. Moving his body to appear behind her, the white-haired male placed a hand on the Kazekage's back.
"Armageddon Chains."
A moment later, Temari gasped, a line of blood now slowly making its way down her lip. Several chains had pierced her through her back, and when they were forced out the other side, they wrapped around her body, constricting her.
"You were made the Kage of this Nation only because Gaara's brother was dead when he stepped down from his position as the Fifth Kazekage. With nobody else of Fourth Kazekage Rasa's bloodline, they appointed you, a weak woman, the inferior sister, to be their leader. That alone is enough to ostracize the Sand and tear it apart," said Gyatsō, whispering into Temari's ear.
The woman would grit her teeth as she growled at him, to which Gyatsō responded by punching her to the ground. When she slowly turned her head, their eyes met.
"Even if you kill me... the Sand will destroy the evil you people spread like a wildfire," she spat out, eventually closing her eyes as if she came to terms with her fate.
"You're mistaken. We are not the ones who spread evil. You, Kazekage, feed the evil you're speaking of in this flawed shinobi system. When I was a child, I decided that such a system would be better off if I forced it into submission. Now that I'm nearing global rule, my dream is no longer in fruition... but has become a reality!" Gyatsō boomed proudly, smiling widely afterwards. He truly felt as if he was doing the world a favour, but his opponent thought otherwise.
"You're a damn psychopath," scoffed Temari. Gyatsō would slowly lose his smile as he glared down at the woman.
"Then for the sake of a peaceful world, I will be as such."
Clenching his fist, the chains around her heart vibrated before clamping tightly around the beating, vital organ.
Temari's eyes grew blank as she felt a tearing inside her chest, and before long, she was lying dead on the ground. Gyatsō had crushed the woman's heart by tightening his Armageddon Chains, which strained his own body a bit. Staring at Temari's corpse, he coughed out some blood as he began dragging it against the ground, entering the village.
By the time he quickly tracked down the Osore's position, Sebbech had already made quick work of the ANBU who confronted them. The green haired man looked at Temari's body before looking up at Gyatsō, bowing his head.
"So, the Kazekage's dead. Have you already decided who's becoming the Sand's new leader?" asked Sebbech, using a hand to brush his hair to the side. Gyatsō nodded and pointed to the Kazekage residence.
"Yes, I've already informed Orochimaru that he would stay in the village. The Sand can already be considered captured, as without their Kage, none of them stands a chance of resisting. Orochimaru's shinobi are coming here as well very soon, so we're leaving," said Gyatsō.
"Lord Gyatsō, I'm grateful for being at your side. Use me as you see fit, my lord."
"That's correct, Sebbech. Although, I would never settle for anything less."
Orochimaru cackled to himself as he sat at Temari's desk within the Kazekage residence. Averting his attention to outside the window, he eyed Hikari, Hide and Zuko meeting up with Gyatsō and Sebbech.
"That boy..."
He looked at Gyatsō, who immediately glared at him back. Orochimaru's laughter grew louder as a result.
"That boy from the Grass, Gyatsō Mataba.. heheh.. heheheheh... so interesting, that boy!" he cackled out.
Gyatsō scoffed before turning around to walk out of the village. His subordinates followed him as they all walked past the incoming Sound reinforcements.
"We're off to the Stone. Their village isn't as weak as the Sand, but even when that is the case," Gyatsō started, closing his eye for a few moments.
"I will still take control of the Stone."