Chapter XLVII - Undying Loyalty

"You'll regret ever challenging Lord Gyatsō, I can assure you that."

Hikari's piercing blue eyes were staring into the Raikage's dark shades. The younger shinobi was able to see his own reflection in the small lenses. Bee slowly extended his pinky to form his signature bullhorns gesture once more. Rather than the taunt itself, Hikari's now concerned expression was due to the fact that red chakra was bubbling from the Raikage's fingertips.

"As much as I hate to admit it, you certainly are a remarkable one. Even after unleashing a Tailed Beast Bomb, being struck by the Light Style, and defeating Zuko, you still have enough stamina to come at me at full strength," Hikari told him. By now, a chakra coat had engulfed Bee's body like a fire. Although Hikari couldn't tell, the Raikage was actually meditating where he stood. Gyuki was supplying his companion with his own chakra as the two of them conversed within the Jinchuriki's consciousness.

"Yo, Eight-o. I'm not here for any aggression. If you couldn't tell from my expression, I'm sorry for this sudden session. But I got an important question," Bee told the Tailed Beast. Gyuki sighed a little as he directed his attention to the rapping shinobi.

"You could be killed at any moment, and yet, your attitude still doesn't change... what is it, Bee?"

"Okaaay! Those other two guys have those crazy Shaolin eyes, but now that I'm trying this blonde one on for size, I'm starting to realise-"

"Damnit, Bee! Please just cut the terrible rapping!" Gyuki yelled. His pleas were accompanied with another long and annoyed sigh. Bee readjusted his shades and pouted at the Tailed Beast.

"Why are you so damn moody today, man?" the dark skinned shinobi asked.

"Bee, if you die, I'll die with you. The last thing I'd want to have in my head is sitting here and listening to that horrible rapping of yours. Take this seriously."

Bee crossed his arms in defiance, but he knew that Gyuki was right. If Gyatsō and Zuko were to heal before he could kill Hikari, it'd be significantly more difficult to keep the village unscathed. He'd have to fully transform into his Tailed Beast State, and even then, given the Osore's strength, victory still wouldn't be guaranteed. The Raikage pondered hard on what course of action to take. He looked back at Gyuki.

"I just don't have any idea on what this guy can do yet," he said, frustrated. Gyuki remained silent for a few moments before eventually looking down at his host.

"Do you remember when you shot that pointblank Tailed Beast Bomb at Gyatsō? This Hikari guy was the reason the both of them escaped. With that kind of speed, I'd say his attacks probably revolve around space-time ninjutsu," he said. Bee's face lit up like a Christmas tree when he heard that.

"Oh, so that's the case! Know what? That reminds me of our fight against the Fourth Hokage so long ago," Bee said while chuckling a bit. With this information, he was itching to go against Hikari now. Gyuki immediately noticed the intensity in his host's chakra and caught himself to be laughing, too. Neither one of them forgot what it was like to do battle with that tenacious Minato.

"Hikari isn't anything you haven't fought before. But still,just be cautious. Anyone handpicked by Gyatsō himself has to be a highly exceptional shinobi," Gyuki warned. Bee smirked at the large beast's words.

"I almost decapitated Gyatsō with that Lariat. His lackeys don't got nothing on me."

"...How long do you plan on just standing there?" Hikari asked. Bee slowly opened his eyes to study his opponent thoroughly. He then looked over to a large rock that was in the distance.

The chakra Eight-o gave me is more than enough to boost my speed. Now, let's add this...

A single bolt of electricity emitted from the Raikage's body. With just a few focused breaths, it quickly transformed into a thunderous eruption, in which powerful currents of electricity were sent in all directions.

Hikari slightly flinched as he took a step back, the sudden burst of energy causing his hair to sway furiously. The blonde male watched the Raikage's movements closely.

"You don lighting armour on top of that chakra coat. I'm flattered that you find this necessary against me, but it will avail you nothing!" the Osore member yelled. For a moment, he watched Bee crack a few muscles in his neck. Then, suddenly, the Raikage was out of sight.

A devastating thunderbolt struck the boulder Bee looked over to just prior. An endless stream of electricity passed through the flying pieces of rock, making the area appear as if the worst thunderstorm was taking place. In actuality, it was Bee, who was now crashing onto the ground.

What kind of teleportation was that?!

Hikari stood over Bee with his arms crossed, his face void of worry. The entirety of his cloak was now torn into lifeless shreds on the ground, and both of his forearms were now bleeding. Regardless of the damage he sustained, he still saw the Raikage as the inferior shinobi. He saw him as a child needing to be disciplined thoroughly, even though Bee was far older than him. The longer he stared at the older man, the angrier his face would grow.

"I assumed you'd blitz me with your increase of speed and power, but you ended up trying to create distance between us instead? What could you have possibly accomplished by doing that?" Hikari scoffed. A clear tone of disgust was mixed with his words, feeling it was justified to insult the Kage's thinking process.

Bee gritted his teeth as he quickly stood up. His heart was racing with adrenaline, but it was pure shock that held onto his wrinkled face. Minato Namikaze's proficiency and speed with his Flying Thunder God technique was extremely difficult to even think about countering, but Hikari's space-time ninjutsu appeared to be even faster.

"Even though I wounded myself striking you through that lightning armour, I proved that you still aren't faster than me. There's nothing you can do," Hikari continued, a conceited grin now spreading on his lips. He then performed a hand seal and walked towards the Raikage without a care in the world. To him, this battle was already over.

"Perhaps you'll transform again? Or maybe you'll add another layer for that armour of yours? No matter what you do, I'll always react faster than you," Hikari added. Bee chuckled at the arrogant comments being thrown at him by the younger shinobi. Hikari may have been faster, but there was an even bigger specific gap between them.

Experience.

"If you think you can beat me, why don't you just stop talking and do it? Aren't you worried that Mataba's gonna bleed out?" Bee mocked. Hikari gritted his teeth in anger at the disrespectful remark and performed his hand seals at a faster rate.

"Stop talking? That's hilarious, coming from you. And don't worry, I'll grant you the death you so desire."

"Don't do it! That's not the Raikage's real body!" a familiar voice yelled in the distance. Hikari quickly turned around to look into Zuko's bloodshot eyes. The dark-haired male was still on the ground, but Hikari could tell that he was still unable to move.

"Are you saying he's some sort of clone? I've been watching him this entire time, there was no opportunity for him to substitute one in for himself," Hikari told his comrade back.

"Just listen to me!" Zuko yelled at the top of his lungs. In his mind, Hikari's evolving arrogance could prove detrimental to Gyatsō. If he wasn't paralysed, he was sure he would've attacked his friend. The pain that was attacking his every muscle prevented him from saying another word. With the little energy he had left, he activated the first level of his Shaolin and looked into Hikari's eyes.

"Just be quiet, Zuko. The Raikage defeated you while you were in your Curse Mark, you have no right giving me advice," Hikari mumbled to himself. He then turned around to focus his attention on his opponent once more. Bee smirked a little as he motioned for the male to come over.

"Well?"

That set the Osore member off. He teleported behind the Raikage within a second. The dark skinned shinobi suddenly fell to his knees before his limp head slammed against the ground. One of Hikari's needles was sticking out of his neck.

"I'll let Lord Gyatsō kill you once he's healed," the blonde man said to himself. After carefully watching Bee's unmoving body for a while, he turned his head to look over to Zuko. He then began to walk towards him.

"Your Shaolin is compatible with Lord Gyatsō's, since his eyes were originally yours. With your level two Shaolin's healing ability, replacing his weakened eyes with yours should heal him."

Hikari kneeled over Zuko and grabbed his arm, placing it over the back of his neck. He helped his friend up with relative ease, considering Zuko was unable to move anyway. In another instant, they were in front of the injured Gyatsō.

"Don't worry, my lord. The Raikage is unconscious now. After you've regained your full visual prowess, you can do whatever you want to him," Hikari told his superior.

Zuko let out a pained grunt as Hikari quickly reached into his eye sockets to remove both of his eyes. He did the same to Gyatsō, then carefully implanted Zuko's eyes. After a few seconds, he watched Gyatsō slowly roll his eyes into place.

All of our dreams are going to come true on this day, Hikari thought. The Hidden Dark Nation has been utterly unstoppable with you as its leader.

The numerous cuts on Gyatsō's body began to close slowly. Visible green mists hovered over the wound that was on his neck. In a few moments, it also began to heal. Hikari let out a quick sigh of relief upon seeing that his plan worked.

"...You will... be rewarded greatly... for your actions, Hikari," Gyatsō quietly told him.

"My undying loyalty for you and your mission to better our shinobi world will never falter," Hikari replied.

What is... this feeling?

The blonde male gritted his teeth as he looked down to his hand. After a few moments, he realised that he was beginning to lose the ability to move it as time passed on.

"Is there something wrong, Hikari?" Gyatsō asked him, now standing up. Hikari's eyes darted from his immobile hand to his legs, which he also greatly struggled to move.

"I don't... something's wrong with my body," he replied. After failing to hear a response from Gyatsō nor Zuko, he looked up in confusion.

"Lord Gyatsō?"

Instead of seeing his superior and friend, Hikari was staring at dark chakra tightly enclosed around his body. Before he could realise what was happening, he felt a massive amount of force slam against him. As his shielded body flew back with intense speed, he heard another explosion not far away.

When his body smashed against the ground, the solidified chakra around him cracked and shattered like glass. Now that he was able to see, he peered up to notice that another mass of red chakra was approaching him.

After performing a single hand seal, Hikari was now next to Zuko. Half of the boy's hair was now white. Hikari's hand was touching a mark on Zuko's neck, indicating he used Supido to teleport as he did before with Gyatsō. A large sphere of Zuko's dark chakra surrounded them.

"Hikari! Why didn't you listen to me?!" Zuko demanded. He was still laying on the ground, but his shaky arm was extending away from his body. The dark chakra surrounding them was connected to the middle of his palm.

"What the hell is happening? I thought I defeated the Raikage! I used your eyes to heal Lord G-"

"That was all just an illusion! When you refused to listen to me, I put you under genjutsu so I could protect you and Lord Gyatsō!" Zuko replied.

When Hikari opened his mouth to respond, another explosion went off against the protective chakra barrier around the two shinobi.

"I still don't know why you intervened like this," Hikari told him.

"If you were in control of your body, you would've ignored my warning that the real Raikage entered Tailed Beast State and was launching a counterattack on us. I forced you into genjutsu to protect you as fast as possible."

"...I forgot that the Shaolin could distinguish between different chakra natures," Hikari admitted. Now he felt foolish for both brushing aside crucial information and insulting his friend.

"Your arrogance almost got you killed, Hikari. But I'm of no use to you like this, not without my full Shao-"

A more powerful explosion engulfed the barrier and pushed the sphere a few yards back. Zuko noticed that the top of his barrier was now cracked. It wouldn't make it through another direct Tailed Beast Bomb.

"Quick! Take me to Lord Gyatsō, he's just ahead," Zuko said. The Taisega clan member was already reaching into one of his eyes.

"But I'll die if I get hit by one of his attacks," Hikari responded. Zuko winced as he pulled the soft organ from its socket and looked up at him, panting lightly.

"Can't you just use that Insutantoshīru jutsu to teleport to him?" he asked. Hikari shook his head.

"No, I can't. The Insutantoshīru can only be used on a person once per seal. I already used my seal on him earlier," the blonde shinobi replied.

"Then you're just going to have to use your regular space-time ninjutsu. Leave me here, the Raikage should target you so long as you approach Lord Gyatsō," said Zuko. He then quickly pulled out his remaining eye and handed both of them to his comrade.

Hikari wrapped a piece of his torn cloak around the eyes and placed them inside his pouch. Now that he was looking at his damaged arms, he noticed how much blood he lost by now.

Shit, my body's getting numb. I should've placed a seal on the Raikage. Now I'll have to first get him to shoot at me to get an idea on his general location.

He knew that he would be risking death by doing so, but after everything that happened up until to this point, including seeing comrades like Konan die in front of him, what exactly was stressful to him?

After turning his back to the weakened Zuko, Hikari jumped forwards. He broke through the dark chakra barrier and dashed towards another barrier that was some distance ahead.

Almost immediately after revealing himself, another Tailed Beast Bomb was sent his way from his right. As Hikari performed the tiger hand sign, he noticed that Zuko was replacing his damaged barrier with denser chakra.

This will probably be the only attack you'll have to tank for me. Sorry, Zuko.

Just before Bee's attack reached Hikari, the blonde Osore member disappeared from sight before reappearing farther away from the blast. Still sprinting, he clutched unto his right arm while groaning in pain. Even though he successfully evaded the Tailed Beast Bomb, he was still too close to it. Parts of his right arm, stomach, and leg were burned significantly.

So, he's shooting these somewhere on my right. At least the Body Flicker isn't useless right now.

He then turned his head to look at the state of Zuko's new barrier. Through the large amount of smoke generated by the blast, he could see that it was damaged, but still intact. With a weak smile forming on his lips, he performed a few more hand signs. The pain in his right arm almost forced him to discontinue, but he managed to slap his palms together.

Supido: Unubore.

After a few moments, a faint blue aura emitted from the male's body. Now he was even closer to Gyatsō. With his smile widening, he reached a hand out towards the barrier.

"Lord Gyatsō!" he yelled out.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him. Hikari reacted quickly by jumping backwards, but he didn't have enough strength to follow up with a defencive measure, nor a counterattack. He felt a heavy knee crash into his chest that sent him flying further away from Gyatsō.

When he landed on the ground, he immediately looked up to see his reflection in Bee's shades once more.