Chapter XLV - Final Countdown

"Yo, Ken, are these documents legit, or are you just pulling my leg again?" asked a tall, dark skinned male. He had a fairly muscular build for someone who appeared to be a veteran shinobi. A tattoo of the kanji for "iron" was on his right shoulder, and a tattoo of a bull's horn was on his left cheek. The Raikage's hat laid on the table in front of him.

The shorter, bald shinobi standing in front of him bowed his head respectfully. He was still looking at the papers within the Raikage's hands. He then rose his head to answer him.

"I assure you, Lord Raikage. These reports were given to me by one of the most notable of our sources. This information is credible," Ken replied. He accompanied his words with a smile, albeit faint.

The Raikage adjusted his sunglasses before looking down at the numerous papers once again. Letting out a soft grunt, he shuffled through them, occasionally looking up at Ken in regards to them.

"Gyatsō... Mataba," he said with a confused tone. Ken looked over the Raikage's hands to catch a glimpse of Gyatsō's bingo book picture. Multiple annotations that dubbed the shinobi as an international criminal and SSS-rank criminal were written across the entire page.

"He's the one behind all of the chaos spreading around, my lord. He's an extremely powerful shinobi, managing to take down the Hidden Leaf's Hokage, the Hidden Sand's Kazekage, and the Hidden Stone's Tsuchikage," Ken told him. A bit of sweat began to run down the young man's head. He was unsure of the future for his own village.

"Don't go worrying about anything, fool, ya fool!" the Raikage told him with a wide smirk. He understood the threat that was Gyatsō, but he himself was overconfident in his own abilities. Ken wiped away his sweat with his arm-guard before nodding again.

"Yes, sir. My sincerest apologies."

The Raikage then closed his eyes. When he eventually opened them, he was in a completely different environment. A massive, ushi-oni beast with four horns atop its head was now sitting in front of him. They were both surrounded by darkness, but they didn't seem to care for it.

The large beast was the Eight Tails, one of the strongest of the Tailed Beasts. It was still sealed within its longtime companion and Jinchuriki, Killer Bee.

Bee looked up to the Tailed Beast with a smile, to which it nodded down at him.

"Yo, Eight-o, this Gyatsō fellow seems to be quite the issue, no? Is he just doing this for show?" he asked him.

"...I thought I told you ages ago to stop calling me that, just call me Gyuki. Even after becoming the Sixth Raikage, you're still so informal," Gyuki told him with a rude tone. Regardless, when Bee rose his fist as a friendly gesture, he accepted and gave him a fist bump.

"Plus, your rapping is still god awful. Some things just aren't meant to change," Gyuki added. Bee laughed a little at the comment and jumped on top of the beast's nose.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't be like that. We really gotta deal with this crazy rat," Bee said with a loud sigh.

"This Gyatsō guy has the Shaolin, but I'm not seeing how that's even possible. The Taisega clan of the Hidden Valleys died out a long time ago," Gyuki said. Bee crossed his arms for a few seconds before scratching his head with a soft laugh.

"Shaolin, huh? You know, those reports said that it's an ocular jutsu. Reminds me of that Sharingan boy who tried to jump me like a shrew, yo," he said. Gyuki chuckled a bit as he looked up to his Jinchuriki.

"That doesn't matter at all, genjutsu won't work on you. I'll think of how to handle this guy, you need to get back out there and address the villagers. We don't want them to buy into Gyatsō's nonsense and start a revolt before he even comes here."

"The Hidden Cloud is stronger than that. By the time he tries to come here, we'll already be prepared to wipe him out," Bee responded with a serious tone.

"No rhyming or anything this time? I rarely see you like this," Gyuki chuckled out.

Bee turned away from the Tailed Beast before closing his eyes once more, ignoring his companion's subtle joking.

"Lord Sebbech, if you don't mind my asking, I'd like to know what exactly happened after my mother was kidnapped."

Back in the Hidden Mist Village, Mya and the Osore were sitting at a round table located in the Mizukage's residence. The female Mizukage had her arms crossed as she awaited the green-haired shinobi's response.

"Answer her, Sebbech. I'm sure we'd all like to know, including me," Gyatsō told him.

Sebbech nodded at his superior before looking at Mya with a blank facial expression. He thought that she already knew, considering she was present when he was telling Chojuro what happened between them.

"Your mother was kept in one of our hideouts. Zuko rendered her immobile with his genjutsu. I took control of the village as a sole authoritarian power, killing my opposition with my own hands," he replied.

Mya dug her fingers into her arms as she listened to the man's words. Gyatsō glared at her wordlessly to warn her not to let her emotions get the better of her. After a few moments, she nodded slowly.

"I see. How did your reign as this... pseudo Mizukage, I suppose I can call it... how did it come to an end?" she asked.

"My son orchestrated a coup d'état with the help of a rebel army to strip me of all my power. After that, I fled the village with Seiko before we were approached by Lord Gyatsō and invited into the Hidden Dark Nation. The rest is obvious," he answered softly. He then looked over to Gyatsō and gave him a slight nod.

"Your son, you say? He must have been quite the humble man, letting Mei Terumi become the Mizukage when it could've been him instead," Zuko told him.

"Humble my ass! He's a traitor to the Hidden Mist and a dishonour to my family," Sebbech shot back at the younger male. Mya turned her head to look over at Gyatsō, who was starting to become visibly annoyed.

"Forgive me for going off track there, Gyatsō. It won't happen again," she told him. The Osore leader flicked his hand a little as if he was brushing her comment aside.

"Now, onto more pressing matters," Hikari said as he looked over to the woman. Mya gave him a smile as she nodded, not wanting to upset any of her guests. One wrong move and it'd be her head. This constant fear had her heart racing during the meeting.

"Ah, y-yes. I want to make it clear that I fully consent to stepping down as Mizukage, as well as disbanding the Hidden Mist Village. The village will instead become a province of your Hidden Dark Nation, and all opposition will be dealt with as you see fit," she explained.

Gyatsō crossed his arms and looked into the woman's eyes. This silent exchange caused her to become even more anxious, as she received it as another warning. She shifted in her seat as a result.

This woman, thought Zuko, she's a wreck right now. It'd be better for us to just kill her and not waste time negotiating when we can just force the Mist into submission.

"Mya Terumi, whom or what was it that brought you to reach this sudden decision?" Gyatsō asked her. He suspected that some sort of influence altered her motives, even though he himself wasn't entirely sure.

"Would you like me to be honest?" the Mizukage asked back.

"Why would you ask me that, woman? Of course I do."

"The only thing that influenced me to do this is my own experience as the Sixth Mizukage. The Hidden Mist is pathetic compared to what we've been in the past," the blue-haired woman replied.

She then looked over to Sebbech, who rose an eyebrow at her in response.

"Lord Sebbech, you served directly under Fourth Mizukage Yagura. As the Blood Mist Village, we were an unstoppable force that caused even the Hidden Leaf to tremble at our reputation," she said. Sebbech crossed his arms as he shook his head, misunderstanding her point.

"That's undeniable, Lady Mizukage. But does that even have anything to do with your current ideology regarding the village?" he shot back at her.

"At first... I thought that reverting back to the Blood Mist would fix everything, but now I've decided that erasing the past is the future for the village."

Gyatsō smirked a little to himself before chuckling lightly. He then stood up and walked towards Mya, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. This prompted her to become uneasy again.

The woman remained still for a few seconds before slowly looking up to peer into the male's radiant pair of Shaolin. She felt her body become numb, almost as if it was already preparing to be attacked, but looked absolutely dumbfounded at his words.

"I see all of the Five Great Nations in the exact same way, Terumi. For that sole similarity between us, you will live. As of now, the Hidden Mist is no more," he told her.

"The same goes for your title as Mizukage," Zuko added in.

Mya suddenly lowered her head to avoid having them look at the tears that were now stinging her eyes. She was shaking, but she felt relieved, even with Chojuro's earlier remark about her yearning for survival ringing through her head over and over.

"I understand, sir," she said quietly.

Gyatsō then walked towards the door and motioned for his subordinates to also leave. He then looked back at the silent Mizukage.

"Orochimaru's militia will soon arrive here to detain any further nuisances. One more thing. Sebbech will become the new leader of this area for the time being," the Osore leader said.

Sebbech crossed his arms as he stopped walking and looked back at Mya. After failing to see her give Gyatsō a verbal response, he instead bowed his head at the white-haired shinobi.

"Thank you, my liege. I will ensure that control will be maintained, no matter the means," he told him. Gyatsō nodded at him before turning around.

"The final countdown begins. Only when I destroy that arrogant Raikage and his village will my dream of uniting this bloodstained shinobi world come closer to becoming a reality. All wars, all suffering, all malignancies... they will cease to exist!"

He then left the room with a thunderous cackle. His subordinates followed after him, leaving Sebbech and Mya behind.

Gyatsō kept his smirk on his face as he quickly sprinted down the hall. After a few seconds, he directed his attention to the large window that was next to him. Widening his eyes, he immediately noticed dark electricity was quickly approaching him.

Within a blink of an eye, he moved his body to narrowly evaded the electricity, which had just crashed through the window and building. Debris and glass flew in all directions. He then jumped outside to get out of the smoke that filled the hall.

"Lord Gyatsō! Five o'clock!" yelled Zuko, who had just landed at his leader's side. Gyatsō activated the first level Shaolin and turned around to glare at a large group of shinobi wearing Hidden Cloud headbands.

The Osore leader used a hand to wipe away some loose strands of hair, remaining silent. Hikari landed behind the two shinobi. He was already performing Supido hand seals.

"Looks like the Hidden Cloud took the initiative," he said while gritting his teeth in anger. Zuko looked at him blankly before smirking widely, which caught the yellow-haired male by surprise.

"That works for me... these guys are all worthless little vermin!" Zuko told him with a wide smirk.

The Taisega clan member slowly lowered his head and hindered his breaths. Some parts of his hair turned white, which immediately prompted Hikari to move away from him a little.

He's planning on killing them all in cold blood, the long-haired Osore member thought.

When Zuko rose his head again, black markings were revealed to have spread over half his face. His right Shaolin eye had also evolved into the Mūgetsu, which was dead set on his enemies. With a nightmarish roar, he charged towards the group of Hidden Cloud ninjas, a minor shock-wave hitting the earth with every step he took.

"Wheeee!"

Gyatsō widened his eyes as he quickly looked over to Zuko's position. Suddenly, the black-haired male was harshly sent flying back, crashing into the Mizukage's residence with a loud thud.

Killer Bee was now standing in front of the Hidden Cloud shinobi with his arm extended, insinuating he had used the Lariat to intercept Zuko. His body was coated in a chakra coat, which would indefinitely increase his striking power.

The Raikage then formed his hand into his signature bull horn pose and rose it high into the air, looking over to Gyatsō's entourage.

"You guys ain't surviving this slaughter, in fact, you oughta give up before I blow you out of the water!" he rapped. Multiple shinobi winced at their leader's rapping, but they were all nonetheless relieved he arrived so soon.

The white-haired Osore leader began to walk forward. Bee's rapping caused him to laugh softly, but he lost his smile as soon as the older shinobi walked towards him, too. After a few seconds, they were standing in front of each other. Neither of them flinched.

"I still can't grasp how an unorthodox idiot such as yourself became the Raikage. No matter, however. Your title, along with your village, will be erased from history after I'm done with you," Gyatsō told him with a smirk.

"You better address me with some respect, and get that ego of yours checked," Bee responded.

Gyatsō crossed his arms before taking a few steps back to create distance from them. The chakra coat surrounding Bee intensified into its Version 2 form. The chakra turned into a much darker shade of red and became more defined. Eight tails were also now swinging wildly behind him.

The white-haired male quickly put his arms in front of him as an act of defence. Bee had dashed at him with intense speed, catching everybody off guard. Hikari noted that Gyatsō's Shaolin was in its second level, meaning he intends on taking the fight seriously.

Lord Gyatsō, your entire life's work will be put to the test here. It's almost as if there's some sort of defined timer running out. Either the beginning or the end of our project will come when that timer reaches zero.