Third-Person POV
"Our next mission is to enjoy ourselves at the beach!!"
That day, Team 4 convened with Kosetsu and before Kazue knew it, he found himself in nought-but swim trunks, carrying a cooler of refreshments while standing on the sandy shores of a holiday resort.
"The hell?"
The waves crashed and frothed against each other, aided by the efforts of Tensho and Jin as they splashed around in the water, playing with a beach ball and splashing each other. At that time, Kazue could not keep his eyes off Tensho. It was one thing that she was wearing a very flattering swimsuit, but ever since their conversation, he felt things were now different between them. Still, he couldn't tell if that was something he was happy about, frustrated by, or if it was completely one-sided on his part.
At length, he tore his gaze off the girls and glared at his sensei. "Alright, spill it. I know this ain't no damn vacation, so what's really going on?"
"Relax, Kazue," she said with a chipper smile. "I promise you this is a vacation. We've been working too hard, and we all deserve a respite."
"Yeah, I believe that for like 2 seconds," he scoffed.
Kosetsu sighed. "That being said... there is a secret side-job to it--"
"A-HA!! I knew it!!"
She shushed him. "Keep your voice down!"
"Why?" he pressed on. "What are you refusing to say out in the open?"
"...We received a distress call from the staff working at this resort about the possibility of a rogue ninja being in the area."
Kazue growled, "If this is the same as the first mission you gave us, which didn't go anywhere, by the way--"
"It's not," she spoke with sincerity. "This time it's personal. The rogue ninja in question, a man by the name of Gensui, was thought to have been incarcerated in Blood Prison after he was reported to the shinobi by the staff here at this resort when he was laying low. He's seemingly returned and made it a point he'll be attacking them any day now. What's more, he said he'd kill any innocents in the area if they involved shinobi."
"So we're here undercover, is that it?" Kazue reasoned.
"Exactly."
"Do the girls know?"
"Yeah, they have for a while now."
A big vein mark appeared on Kazue's forehead. "Then why am I the LAST TO KNOW ABOUT IT?!!"
"Because I knew you'd lose your cool too early into the mission," she replied, having plugged her ears just then.
"What are you on about?! OF COURSE, I CAN KEEP A COOL HEAD!!" He exclaimed, his sabre teeth extending.
She raised her eyebrows at him. Kazue realised he was only proving her point. He took a deep breath, in and out, and slumped his shoulders. His sabre teeth shrank.
"Did you know about it?" he asked her. "I'm talking about the incident at the muster point."
"Tensho told me all about it," said Kostetsu.
Figures... Kazue thought.
"But it was months ago, and I'm not holding it against you (anymore). Tensho told me how you two had made up before arriving to take this mission. Have you apologised to Asami Senju yet?"
"I'll get around to it," he waved it off. Then he got serious again. "I've decided I'm gonna go my own way," he said, "away from it all. I'm going to become my own kind of shinobi."
Kosetsu fully understood what he meant by 'his own way'. "You'll have to show me to believe it," she said.
"Hey, Kaz!!"
Suddenly, a wave of water came splashing over Kazue, completely drenching him. Kosetsu was shocked and snorted, trying not to laugh. Kazue brushed his hair out of his eyes to see Tensho standing in the direction of where the splash came from.
"You just gonna stand there all day," she said, grinning from ear to ear, "or are you gonna unwind a little?"
Jin had completely failed and burst out laughing. Because her voice was so high-pitched it sounded like she was squeaking. Kazue dropped the cooler.
"I'll show you how to unwind!!" He ran straight for the water and performed a cannonball, submerging the girls in the water.
For the rest of the day, the team had fun and engaged in all sorts of activities. From playing in the water to volleyball on shore. Then they switched to swimming in the water and frisbee on land. They would also do their own separate activities, such as Jin collecting seashells, Kosetsu reading on a mat, beneath an umbrella, and Kazue and Tensho having a fierce sandcastle competition (they built fortresses). The last thing they did was share a seafood lunch, conversing and enjoying each other's company.
When the day drew to a close, Kosetsu and Jin decided to head back to the hotel resort while Tensho stayed back.
"I'll grab the cooler and leftover food and meet you guys inside," she said.
Kazue had stayed back as well. He had been watching the Hyuga girl intently for a while. At length, he approached her.
"Oi, give me something to carry," he demanded.
Tensho was surprised. "This is a first! You actually offering to help!" she exclaimed.
He took the cooler from her and as he did so, he closed the distance between them and whispered in her ear, "I know you've been using the Byakugan this whole time-- way too damn much. The rate you're going, you're gonna run yourself ragged so just say the word and I'll take over from ya."
Tensho eyed him curiously and Kazue returned the gaze, both lost in the other's eyes. Then she laughed.
"Yeah, this new persona is not a good look for you!"
"Ha?!"
She patted him on the chest. "You don't need to worry about me," she said sincerely. "After all... I've got you guys here with me."
Carrying the leftover dishes, she took her leave. Kazue followed soon after, making a Tch sound to himself.
The hotel resort was like Kazue's house in that it blended traditional architecture with modern and state-of-the-art features. It had an expansive deck that overlooked the sea, complete with a grill and a jacuzzi. Its tatami-styled room featured couches, a TV and paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling. The sliding doors from there opened to four bedrooms and bathrooms with more paper lanterns, paintings of cedar trees, single-sized futons, and shoji windows that exposed the beautiful outside world.
They also had a personal bar where guests could brew drinks and serve others. Kosetsu currently sat there, making a cocktail for herself while she stewed over the target.
Both the employees and the last update of the Bingo Book say he should be locked up in Blood Prison right now, but if he's here that means he was either released or he escaped. But... she pulled out her tablet to look at the Bingo Book, there's been no update of his release, and how likely is it anyone can escape from that hellish place? .............. Did something happen at Blood Prison?
A moment later, she finally noticed Tensho sitting next to her. The Hyuga girl had been staring at her drink the entire time.
"What's up, Tensho?"
"Sensei, is that a cocktail?" she asked.
"Yes...?"
"Can I try some? I've always wanted to know what it tastes like (among other drinks)."
Kosetsu sighed. The truth was she wasn't surprised at all by her student's curiosity, she'd just hoped she would never have to deal with it, especially on a mission. "I appreciate the fact that you've taken an interest in this, however not only are you keeping watch right now but you're underage--"
"I know, I know!" she cut her short, having expected such a response. "But the Byakugan still works if someone's under the influence. I learned that from my dad-- not that I want to get drunk!"
Kosetsu was not at all convinced.
"It's just a sip," she pleaded. "No one has to know. Pretty please?"
"How about I make you a non-alcoholic one instead?"
Tensho blinked. "Yeah, sure!"
Meanwhile, Kazue stepped into the living room after showering only to find Jin sitting there by herself.
He looked around and then asked her, "Where the hell is Sensei and Red?"
"I don't know. There was no one else when I got here."
Just then, Tensho whipped the sliding door open, almost throwing it off its hinges with a stack of board games in hand.
"WHOOOOOO'S READY TO GET THEIR A$$ KICKED IN UNO?!"
"Tensho?" Jin was alarmed.
"What the hell is wrong with you right now?" Kazue asked, equally bewildered.
"Absolutely nothing, Kat-boy!!" she exclaimed while setting up the game. Her face looked incredibly flushed, Kazue observed. "I mean, I may or may not have sipped some of Kosetsu-sensei's drink, but that's okay because I feel GREAT!! Totally worth it!!"
Kazue was stunned. He shifted his attention to a guilt-ridden Kosetsu as she walked into the room.
"You let her get drunk?! What kind of a teacher are you?!!"
"I'm sorry, she went behind my back and took a sip of my drink before I could stop her. What's worse, it seems she has virtually zero tolerance so one sip was all it took anyway."
"Excuses, excuses!" said Kazue. "I oughta report this."
Kosetsu bowed. "If you do, I'll be removed as your sensei, but either way, I'm completely at your mercy."
"Kazue," Jin tugged at the sleeve of his shirt. "You wouldn't actually...?"
He gritted his teeth in annoyance. "Don't give me that. It's not as if I want t--"
"EVERYONE, SHUT UP AND SIT DOWN!" Tensho bellowed, dealing out the cards (Kazue's were being flicked right into his face). "THE GAME STARTS NOW!!"
Despite being drunk, Tensho was remarkably levelheaded and managed to maintain an impressive poker face throughout all the matches of the game. There were several heated rounds and all players gave it their absolute all, but ultimately it would come down to Tensho and Jin in the final round of the final match.
Interestingly, despite being insanely competitive, when Kazue lost, he bowed out of the game without a word and went to lie on the couch with his back turned to the world. Kosetsu, who had lost before him, was impressed to see this, but now her attention was back on the game.
It was close. Both girls were down to three cards since Jin had just played. It was Tensho's turn. She swiftly played a Skip Card which passed over Jin's turn and came back to her then threw down a Yellow 3, calling out, "Uno!"
Tensho grinned maniacally. Having a Wild Card for her last card, there was nothing Jin could play that she wouldn't be able to match and therefore win the game. In every other match, Jin had won. The girl had skill, Tensho would give her that, but it was over for sure this time.
Then Jin played a Skip Card the same colour as the Yellow 3, stunning Tensho. Now the quiet girl had two cards left in her hand and it was her turn again, but Tensho remained undeterred. She still had the high ground--
A Yellow Draw 2 appeared on the deck. Tensho froze. Huh? No way, she had that in her hand the entire time?!
"Uno..." Jin said meekly.
S#$t, and I forgot to call out Uno before her!! Tensho seethed. Ahhhhhhh, screw it, it's all or nothing now!!
Kazue turned his head to sneak a peek while Kosetsu was still watching with rising interest. Tensho picked up two cards from the pile and then played the Yellow Reverse she acquired. Since it was just two players left, it functioned the same way as a Skip making it her turn again. Then she played the Wild Card she had saved up, declaring both "Uno!!" and that the colour scheme to follow was now blue.
This way I can play my last card on my turn and end this! She held up her card, prepared to slam it on the deck and hit a victory pose.
Jin looked pleasantly surprised when Tensho changed the colour to blue, relieved even. She played her last card, a Blue 4, winning the game.
Eh?
Tensho was drained of colour. She stared at the deck for several seconds, then craned her head back and let out a loud and mournful groan. "Noooooooooooooooo...!" She fell on her back and rolled around. That was the 4th time she had lost, after having come in second the last three times. It was understandable, Kosetsu thought.
"I had no idea you were so good at these kinds of games, Jin," she commented, while Tensho continued with her tantrum.
"Thank you, sensei, but it's nothing, really. It was just something my parents and I used to do in our spare time especially when we had nothing else to do."
"Man, you really are in a league of your own, Jin," said Tensho. "You're so freaking amazing......" Her words turned into mumbles. Everyone thought she was slurring her words because of the state she was in, but then they heard sniffing and saw tears running down her face.
Kazue got up, alarmed. "You cryin' because you lost?"
"No!" she retorted, wiping her tears. "I'm crying because I hate that I never believed in your strength, Jin! During the Chunin Exams, before the Elimination Rounds, I asked Kaz to go easy on you because I didn't think you could hold your own. I'm sorry for having looked down on you this whole time!"
She was about to break down, but Jin hugged her tightly. "It's okay," she said with her sweet and demure voice. "To tell you the truth I didn't believe in myself either, but I'm doing better now. I know you were only looking out for me so there's no need to beat yourself up. It's okay." She pulled away from her and looked into her eyes. "Let's all get stronger together, Tensho!"
Now Tensho was crying even more. "JIIIIIIIIIIN!!! YOU'RE WAY TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD!!!"
Kosetsu was happy for them, positively beaming. Kazue was frowning as usual, but it did not tell of what his heart truly felt. He was still reconciling his feelings towards them, so hearing what they said struck a chord with him.
Then Tensho puked.
"That's it, I'm going to bed," he said.
After that, Jin rushed Tensho to the guest bathroom where she proceeded to empty the rest of the contents in her stomach into the toilet.
"There, there," Jin said, patting her back while she hurled continuously.
After she was finished, she asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Awful."
"Your system ended up expelling the toxins much faster than what might be considered normal. Not to mention you got drunk easily from just a sip. I think you might be alcohol intolerant."
Tensho could feel the build-up to another one coming but this time it stayed down. "That's good to know for future reference," she said. "Sorry you had to see that and for getting some on you."
"You don't have anything to be sorry for. It's just clothes." Then Jin started twirling a strand of her hair and blurted out nervously, "Um, you probably don't want to hear this but I think you should go to bed."
Tensho looked at her not with alarm but with dazed eyes, but because Jin was already prepared to avert her gaze from the slightest reaction she did so anyway. "I-I-I'm just worried you might not be able to perform lookout as well."
"Yeah, you're probably right," said Tensho. "Kaz was telling me the same thing earlier, and here I thought getting a little tipsy would help me fight the fatigue but it just made everything worse. I'm the worst."
Jin was somewhat surprised by how easily she had complied, but it only made her smile and respect her even more. Both she and Kazue had grown so much, and she had too. She hugged her knees and looked at the Hyuga with glistening eyes. "I think you're pretty amazing..." she said quietly.
Tensho smiled weakly. "Yeah? Well, I'm not really amazing right now, am I?"
"No, I still think you are," said Jin, "and I always will. You and Kazue, I'll never not keep admiring you and how hard you work. You're my pillars."
Tensho was amazed to hear this from her. She knew she admired Kazue on some level, made evident when she proclaimed so during her match with him, but to learn that she felt the same about her. She had no idea what to say. "Jin...."
They heard a knock on the door. "Girls?" Kosetsu called. "Everything okay in there?"
Jin scrambled to her feet, helping Tensho to do the same. "Y-Yeah, we were just coming out," she said.
She opened the door, and Kosetsu saw how much of a bad state Tensho was in, which made her look worried.
"Goodness, Tensho, are you sure you're all right?"
"I'll be fine. Turns out I might be alcohol intolerant."
"Is that so? Well, we've had quite the day, so we should all head to bed now."
"Don't need to tell me thrice. Oh, and sensei, I'm sorry I drank the cocktail behind your back."
Kosetsu gave a smile of appreciation, patting her head even though she was close to the same height as her now (and would most likely be taller than her). To her, she would always be that sprightly little kid she had met close to a year ago. "It's all right. Just make sure you get a good night's rest. Same to you, Jin."
And so they returned to their respective rooms to retire for the night. Tensho dragged herself to her futon and then fell face-first into it.
Yeah, forget it, she thought. If the target hasn't shown up by now he probably won't anytime soon.
Hm... I wonder what Fumi-chan's up to right now....
She woke up in the middle of the night to discover she was parched and her throat was dry. She got out of her futon with a grumble and staggered left and right to the kitchen for a glass of water, passing by Jin's room and only paying it a passive glance.
Once her thirst was quenched, she made her way back. As she passed Jin's room again, she noticed something she had not thought was there before. Through the sliding door, she saw the silhouette of a long and lanky figure, just looming.
Tensho was creeped out, but: It's probably just an object that looks scary in the dark, she convinced herself.
She meant to move on, but then she saw a shape protrude from the silhouette. Now she was even more peeved out.
I know it's nothing... but just to be safe... She activated her Byakugan and peered through the doors.
And what she saw was NOT an object. It was a person, standing over Jin and holding up what looked like a femur shaped like a blade, about to bring it down on her.
Tensho screamed, "JIN!!!!"
She awoke just in time to see the tall, lanky figure bring the femur down. She dodged the first strike as it pierced through the ground, then the next swing, shrieking the entire time. The man looked at her with pure white eyes with no iris or pupils.
In addition to those features, he had white hair cut down to the scalp, a peculiar zigzag hair parting on top, and two red dots on his forehead. He was bleeding profusely with gaping wounds everywhere. Some of those were covered up with bandages but those that weren't were brought about as a result of the numerous bones protruding through his skin grotesquely. In short, he was horrible to look at and Jin had almost passed out right there.
In came Tensho, bursting through the sliding doors, and hurled a Gentle Fist at the man which he dodged. However, she did not let up and released an Eight Trigrams: 16 Palms on him. The man was thrown back into the living room but he had successfully blocked it with the femur and remained unharmed.
What is that ability? Tensho thought.
Suddenly, a door on the man's right slid open and Kazue came somersaulting out, delivering a Burning Rush right to the man's face. He let out an inhumane screech from the pain but almost as soon as it had happened he appeared fine, though he cradled his face in his large hands.
Kazue landed opposite of him. "You Gensui?" he grinned albeit with a sweat drop. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this." But in his head, he was thinking, Why the hell didn't that do any damage to him? Hold up...
From the other sliding doors, Kosetsu appeared with her golden double-bladed spear at the ready. "Everyone proceed carefully!" she said.
They waited, refusing to make the next move. Gensui removed his hands from his face, revealing his flayed and flappy skin, and stood at his full height. He creaked his neck, making an unnatural bone-snapping sound, made a few croaking noises from his throat, and then broke through the wall to run off into the distance.
"OH NO, YOU DON'T!!" Kazue immediately gave chase. "YOU AIN'T GETTIN' AWAY FROM ME!!"
"Wait, Kaz, you dummy!" Tensho followed right after.
Kosetsu moved to follow them but looked back to see Jin still frozen, clearly dazed from what had just transpired.
"Jin."
She was still distracted.
"Jin!"
Finally, she snapped back to reality.
"Are you able to do this?" Kosetsu asked with gravity.
Jin inhaled then exhaled deeply. Once her trembling stopped she answered with a resounding, "Yes."
"Then let's go."
Meanwhile, Kazue continued to chase Gensui, who was incredibly fast. Soon after, Tensho caught up to him.
"So, do you have a plan?" she asked.
"Yeah," Kazue smiled. "Beat his a$$!!"
He reached into his pouch and let rip one of the Katsumi clan's custom-made kunai in Gensui's direction. It flew past the rogue ninja and sunk into the ground before him. As Gensui came upon it, Kazue shouted to Tensho, "Stay back!", and then fired a lightning bolt at the string attached to the kunai.
Then, he propelled himself in the air with a blast and performed the hand seals Bird, Rat, and Serpent, creating his Flame Serpent jutsu. He then straightened it out with Shape Transformation so it resembled a snake-shaped sword.
I saw it, he thought while in midair. Whether or not it's part of his Kekkei Genkai, he's got a freakishly fast healing factor as part of his skeleton, so one-time attacks ain't gonna cut it. If I wanna outpace his healing and subdue him, I've gotta kill him. I'll pile on each other several attacks. The explosive tags, Stream for extra power, and Flame Serpent at full output to top it off!
The explosive tag detonated. Gensui saw this, but he could not pry his attention away from Kazue as he swung the Flame Serpent down.
"COMBUSTION STYLE: ZERO POINT!!!"
A mini-nuke went off.
There was a massive blinding light followed by destructive flames, a shockwave and a thunderous boom which echoed across the resort. Tensho was blown off her feet by the shockwave and huge trees were uprooted.
Amid the explosion, Kazue could hear Gensui screaming in pain but decided it was not enough so he added even more chakra to increase the power of the explosion and atomize the rogue ninja.
By the end of it, there was smoke everywhere and a huge crater in the ground had been formed. Kazue got to his feet, looked at the destruction and smiled at the fruits of his training.
"That did 'im in for sure," he said.
"KAZ!"
Shortly after the explosion had died down, Tensho activated her Byakugan to look through the smoke and confirm if Kazue's assumption was true. Instead, she found herself running to his position and deflecting a protruding bone blade with Gentle Fist.
From the centre of the crate, a burst of bones spread everywhere. Kazue and Tensho got their skin and clothes pierced just by their sheer force. For a moment, all they could see was the bloodied white of the bones.
Then they retracted somewhat back to the centre of the crate.
Tensho gasped for breath. "You... okay?" she huffed.
"What the hell is he?" Kazue asked, pissed off.
"I think I might know," said Jin, arriving with Kosetsu as she was being carried underarm. "I passively came upon this Kekkei Genkai in one of the textbooks commissioned for the Ninja Course. It's called Shikotsumyaku and it belonged to an extinct group called the Kaguya clan. Gensui's likely their last member."
"Huh? No way! I thought THE last member died back when Naruto was a brat," said Kazue. "So, where's this guy been all this time?"
Then the smoke cleared.
"No..."
When they saw Gensui, his entire torso, from his shoulders to his abdomen, was split open by the myriad of bones piercing his flesh and soaked in his blood, not to mention most of his skin was gone now thanks to Kazue's attack so he looked like a walking corpse with his organs exposed.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
"...no, no, no, no, no, no..."
His hands were cradling his face again as he spoke in a hoarse voice. Then he began to act frantic, clawing at what remained of his skin and digging his fingers so hard into his flesh it tore. He threw his head left and right erratically, convulsing and whining:
"...no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
"Oh, hell nah," said Kazue.
Gensui lunged at Kazue immediately, putting the bone sword to his face. He did not have enough time to react, still seeing Gensui's afterimage in the distance. The blade was inches from his eye, but Kosetsu blocked it with her spear, struck it into the ground, then supported herself on the spear and kicked him away.
Gensui skidded across but stood his ground, ripping out another bone to use from his torso. Kosetsu moved to engage him in combat, parrying and trading blows with him. As she did so, Kosetsu noticed his movements were reminiscent of dancing in some way.
Despite clearly suffering from some kind of psychosis it doesn't seem to extend to his skill in combat, she realized, narrowly blocking a strike to her head. He moves like it's second nature to him.
At length, her wrist markings began to glow and, mid-attack, her spear deconstructed and rebuilt itself into a curved, golden sword.
"Extreme Bukijutsu + Summoning Seal: Vajra Sword."
With the sword, she cut through Gensui's bone sword with such ease it was like water. She went even further and struck him in the ribcage with enough strength to cut a grown man in half-- but it only caused a dent.
It's really not enough to subdue him with brute force, huh?
Gensui looked mildly annoyed. He shoved her sword out of his ribcage, took out another bone sword from that same region, and began to move faster, forcing Kosetsu to change tempo. But despite that, she could keep up just fine, cutting through every bone-shaped weapon he manifested, no matter the shape or size. Kazue, Tensho, and Jin watched in awe as their sensei gave Gensui a hard time.
But after she had ploughed through enough of his weapons, Gensui did the unexpected by suddenly morphing his body and entering into the bone sword he held. Kosetsu was shocked. She had no idea where he was, darting her head around like a lost animal.
Things would not have ended well had Tensho not activated her Byakugan.
"On your eight!!" she cried.
Kosetsu turned in the direction she called and received Gensui as he emerged from a bone spear and deflected his attack, albeit still getting cut in the shoulder. Gensui was surprised to see it. He tried it again, merging into another bone, and appearing somewhere else when Kosetsu least expected it but Tensho called him out again and he would get hard-countered.
The next time he did it again, he appeared before Tensho instead. He moved without a sound but the Hyuga girl had been expecting him. The moment he thrust the bone sword, she turned around and clasped her hands on them, injuring herself but holding him in his place.
"TENSHO!" Kosetsu dashed to them.
"I got you-- WOAH!" Though Gensui was initially surprised by her strength, he overcame her moments later and pulled back on his bone sword with more force. However, Jin was there to use her Binding Cloth to tie it down and pull with all her might to hold him down further. Not only that, but the cloth seemed to do something else to the bone sword which surprised Gensui.
Kazue came swerving into view right after. "Keep holdin' 'im!!" he shouted, swinging a Burning Rush at Gensui. However, he failed to notice the bone needle protruding from Gensui's side which pierced the area of skin just above his liver.
Time slowed down. Kosetsu's wrist markings glowed once again and this time her eyes followed suit, becoming a bright yellow.
"Awakening - Soldier Mode."
Her sword transformed into a spear again. She flexed her right arm, a rippling tide of pure muscle, then threw her spear with such strength it broke the sound barrier. Before it was gone, she grabbed onto its end and it propelled her to her students and Gensui then, within an instant, she wielded it and sliced the bone needle before it could reach Kazue's liver. She threw a smoke bomb and with that, the team retreated to the nearby woods.
Gensui waved the smoke out of his eyes so he could see in front of him. But instead of going after the team, the rogue ninja lumbered towards the resort.
In the woods, Kazue winced out loud as Jin focused on closing up the gaping wound in his abdominal region using medical ninjutsu.
"Sorry, I'm just wrapping up!" she squeaked.
"Thank you, Jin, you came through once again," said Kosetsu, her shoulder having been healed.
Tensho's hands now had a scab on their palm. "What would we do without you?" she beamed.
Jin slumped against the base of a tree, completely spent of energy. "I'm just glad you're all okay..."
"Tch!" Kazue looked away from his team, seething shamefully. "How the hell did I manage to screw up three times in a row, needing to be saved every single time? Dammitall..."
Kosetsu sympathized. "It's not your fault," she said. "I made an oversight by not trusting you and sharing Gensui's information with you sooner. All three of you went into that fight not knowing what to expect. I've failed you as a sensei on that front, and for that, I'm sorry."
Kazue remained silent. He could've rubbed salt into the wound and made her feel even worse but he knew there was no need.
"However," she went on, "one thing was made evident just now which could only have been realized by direct experience, and it's that subduing him isn't something that can be done alone. We need to formulate a plan that involves all four of us."
Tensho raised her hand as if she was in class. "On that note, I wanted to bring up your Binding Cloth, Jin. Was it just me, or did they nullify the rogue-nin's jutsu (I don't remember its name)?"
"It wasn't just you," she replied, holding up the cloth. "That is its primary purpose, bar its absorption ability. They can and will nullify any form of ninjutsu so long as chakra was used to create it."
"Nice!" Tensho smiled. "It's good to know it works on physical things, too, and not just energy-manifested stuff like lightning and fire. What do you make of that, sensei?"
Kosetsu closed her eyes as she went into deep thought.
"Yes, okay, that'll work," she said to herself a moment later, then addressed the team. "I have a plan, however, a core part of it involves you directly engaging Gensui, Kazue."
The hotheaded ninja looked up.
"I know what's on your mind. You want a chance to prove you can hold your own? Here it is. But please-- and I can't emphasize this enough, please promise me you'll protect yourself because we won't be able to rescue you this time. Promise me."
Kazue grinned, flashing his fangs. He pulled his forehead protector out of his pouch and wore it on his neck, gripping it tightly.
"Just who do you think you're talking to? I'm Kazue Katsumi, the best of his class and future greatest ninja!! I won't just survive, I'll win."
Back at the resort, Gensui came skulking onto the property like a restless ghost. When the staff saw him on the horizon, they signalled the alarm and everyone, staff and guests alike, fled.
From his lungs, Gensui shouted in a loud, monotonous voice, then it rose even higher to a bellow of pain and anguish. "I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!!!"
Fear seized the masses. Babies were crying.
They attempted to put some distance between themselves and the rogue ninja but none of that mattered when he broke into run.
An unassuming and innocent man ran for his life and was bodied by Gensui seconds later. He was a regular person with zero ninja training so the force he was hit with was enough to put him out of commission. He could neither breathe nor get up.
Gensui couldn't care less. He picked him up by the leg so he was dangling upside down and looked him in the eyes.
"Please..." the man choked. "I have a wife and child..."
The manager, the one who had reported Gensui a long time ago and called Konoha now, saw this and cried out, "NO! STOP!!"
It fell on deaf ears. He drew his bone sword and then reared his arm back to drive it straight through the innocent man.
"HEY, YOU CALCIUM-INFUSED JACKWIPE!!"
Gensui looked in the direction of the voice, and there was Kazue, standing proudly with two custom-made kunai in hand.
"You really are a pathetic sight, picking on the weak like that. Why don't you pick on someone your own size, eh? Or are you that much of a loser?"
Gensui dropped the man, then rushed Kazue at a nigh untraceable speed. Kazue held up his kunai to successfully block the strike at his chest but the force of the attack was so great it took them out of the resort and to the nearby town
If I hadn't guessed his line of attack..., Kazue gritted his teeth, beads of sweat running down his face. I've gotta lock in!"
He broke out of Gensui's force with an explosion and stood his ground among the felled debris they had crashed through. The minute he had a chance to breathe he ignited his kunai with chakra flow and twirled them in his hands so the blades faced downward. Then he manifested several Will o'Wisps in the air to cover his blindspots. From the smoke emerged Gensui, who came out and swinging, and he and he and Kazue were locked in a battle of blades.
Don't guess, predict it! See it!!
Even in that split-second back and forth, as soon as he focused his vision, Kazue was able to see the movement of Gensui's hand, the way the wrists turned, his elbows bent, and the movement of the tip of his bone swords.
He was able to read his movements.
But he wasn't sure how long he'd be able to last. Gensui drove him across the entire abandoned town, not giving him an instant to rest. They went blade-for-blade, swing-for-swing, Kazue's brain going overdrive to keep himself alive. It got even more insane as Gensui started using his merging technique and threw objects in the environment at him.
But Kazue held on, willing his body to move even faster, expending even more chakra. He created more Will o'Wisps to keep him away from his blindspots, practically lit up the streets with extreme outputs of Burning Rush, and even used Great Sun to temporarily blind him so he could get in as many good hits as he could manage.
Go! Keep going! Don't stop!! DON'T LET ALL THOSE YEARS BE FOR NOTHING!!!
As he thought those words, an image of his father came to mind. His back was turned to him, his flame-wreathed cape blowing in the wind. And he looked back at him with those seething red eyes.
But then he saw Naruto Uzumaki and another boy standing there as well. The boy in question had smooth blond hair and although Kazue couldn't see his face, his head turned just far enough for him to recognize the mole on his right cheek.
His heart went aflame, blowing up everything in the near vicinity. Gensui countered it with an attack Kazue had never seen before. The rogue ninja slammed his hand on the ground, and at once, a sea-- no, a forest of bones erupted, destroying everything in sight.
"Not yet!!"
If Kazue didn't avoid that he would be impaled a hundred times over. He mustered enough lightning-natured chakra at the base of his hands and sparked a big enough explosion to propel him in the air. Down below, Gensui was moving in between and quite literally through the bones like a snake in the grass.
"NOT YET!!"
With the Will o'Wisps he had left remaining, Kazue unleashed a new technique.
"Combustion Style: Falling Stars!!!"
The glowing orbs suddenly spasmed and imploded on themselves, raining cinders and explosive sparks of electricity, having turned themselves into mini-comets. He held up one of his kunai and as soon as it caught ablaze just from being in proximity of the jutsu, he brought it down and flung it at Gensui with all his might, the jutsu raining like volcanic bombs.
Gensui weaved through it all with terrifying agility, tanking the ones he couldn't dodge (his skin being vaporized in the process) and sprung up on Kazue.
"NOT Y--"
He got stabbed, right through the stomach.
Everything came to a standstill while the two of them were in mid-air. Kazue retched.
Dammitall...
I wanted to go further with it...
But, f#$% it, this'll have to do!
He smiled. "Got 'em."
Gensui moved to stab him again with his other hand, then Kazue gripped the arm he had stabbed him with and put him in a triangle choke, much to the rogue ninja's confusion.
Out of nowhere a white cloth came zipping through the air and wrapped itself around Gensui's free arm with enough strength to cut off his blood flow. He moved to undo the fabric but Kazue held him back with what strength he had left.
Tensho and Kosetsu came parkouring through the building blocks on either end of Gensui and Kazue with handfuls of the Binding Cloth, tossing bundles between each other to tie Gensui up to numerous abandoned buildings.
Tensho Hyuga was always different from the other kids her age regarding her physical prowess. This was made known to her in toddlerhood when she first began her Hyuga training and now that she was older, it was what she was best known for. Mimicking Jin's movement with the Binding Cloth, at maximum outburst she was able to move just as fast as Kosetsu across the concrete jungle, exchanging cloth with her sensei all the while.
Gensui could feel his movements restricted as they tied the cloth to the structures with freakish tightness. He tried to strike them with the bones he had left lying around but it fell short as the cloth nullified his techniques. He screeched inhumanely again, and Kazue shouted back, "SHUT UP!"
He caught the two of them in an explosive ball of fire, reinforced and augmented by the Binding Cloth. Gensui was shrieking but his voice was drowned out by the flames and Kazue's screaming.
Eventually, his strength had expired. He closed his pupilless eyes and bobbed his head. He looked like a charred and bloodied skeleton, caught in a spider's web.
When his body went limp, Kazue released his grip on him and dropped to the ground. Looking up at Gensui, he pulled up his shirt and revealed he had covered his entire torso in Jin's some of Jin's Binding Cloth, meaning he was practically unharmed from when he had been stabbed.
"Checkmate," he said. "We win, a$$hole."
Tensho, Jin, and Koestsu arrived later.
"Excellent, work, Kazue," said Kosetsu. "You've truly outdone yourself and then some."
"Tch, as if there was any doubt," he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. He glanced at Tensho, and as soon as their eyes met he looked away, earning a look of confusion from her. "You guys did a good job, too, I guess."
Her face twisted into a smug grin. "Ehhhhh? A compliment from the Kazue Katsumi without having to force it out of him? Now, this is unprecedented."
"Shut up and leave me alone," he deadpanned, then looked at Jin. "Hey, you sure your cloth can hold 'im? Last I checked, I was eventually able to destroy it."
Jin smiled. "Don't worry, these are much stronger than the last ones, I've made sure of it."
"That so?" he replied, unwinding the cloth around his torso. "Guess it's a good thing you had this spare amount handy."
"You're welcome!" she beamed.
"Well, if all's been said and done," said Tensho, walking up to Gensui and knocking on his head to ensure he was out cold, "let's take him in and bring this mission to a close."
Kosetsu stood by, unmoving. She looked concerned, like she was trying to make sense of something but couldn't piece it together no matter how hard she tried. Just as Kazue, Tensho, and Jin moved to bring Gensui down, she called out, "Not yet."
Tensho looked at her. "Sensei?"
"There's something that's been bothering me this whole while," she said. "It's clear Gensui got out of Blood Prison, but there's been no update in the Bingo Book. Blood Prison never even sent a notice that one of its inmates was free, so we don't know why or how he's here. The lack of transparency worries me. I can't help but shake this feeling that something's happened. So, I'm afraid I must ask for your help, Tensho."
"Me?"
"This violates Gensui's privacy, but I need you to use the Mind Transfer Jutsu to peer into his memories and see what happened."
Kazue was stunned. "Wait, you know the Mind Transfer Jutsu now?"
"You two haven't spoken to each other for a while, have you?" said Kosetsu.
He looked at Jin. She didn't look surprised at all, so it seemed it was just him who had been in the dark about this, not that he didn't have it coming.
So she's finally learning her mom's clan's techniques, he thought.
Suddenly, Tensho shrank back, rubbing her arm in an unconfident manner. "I appreciate how much you believe in me, sensei, I do, but I don't think I'm proficient enough with the technique to do this."
Kosetsu put her hands on her shoulders. "That's only because you don't believe in yourself. You think you're not proficient enough, but I've been tracking your progress and I say you are. You just have to believe in yourself."
"I... I can't, I'm sorry--"
"Red," Kazue approached her. "Don't deny what I'm about to say: I know you've been trying to prove yourself."
"Wha-?"
"Probably ever since your match with Goldilocks, right?"
"What are you getting at?" she asked defensively.
He smiled, looking at Gensui. "I don't even know myself. Maybe you're just pissing me off with how you're acting 'cos there's no need for it. You've been pushing yourself way over your limit and taking unnecessary extremes throughout the day, and for what? Because you took a few L's?"
"No, you're wrong," she said. "That's not what it is..."
"Oh?" Kosetsu raised her brow. "Then what is it?"
"I'm not trying to prove myself to you guys..." Her lips trembled and she gripped her arm tighter as she struggled to get the words out. "I'm trying to prove myself to myself. "
Kazue lowered his gaze. The whole team fell silent.
"I know you guys will always have my back no matter how many times I stumble, but I've still got expectations to meet, expectations I set for myself. If I'm going to be the head of the Hyuga branch house, I can't afford to mess up if it screws others over. I made a promise to Fumi-chan and our match during the Chunin Exams showed me what I have to work on, so, to that end, I have to prove to myself that I have what it takes to be a clan leader."
"So why not start now?" said Kosetsu.
"Huh?"
"Tensho, perfection is impossible. You're going to mess up in this life. I know I have more times than I care to count. But messing up is what builds us. You can't know what not to do if you don't do it, otherwise you'll never learn. That's where wisdom comes from. If you don't get this right, that's perfectly fine. It doesn't mean I'm never going to rely on you again. Please, be kinder to yourself. Don't run away from failure."
Her turquoise eyes glimmered. She held Jin's gaze and the girl smiled in agreement.
"I really don't want to mess this up," she said.
"Then strive not to," Kazue said earnestly. "Like sensei said, if you only focus on your flaws you won't be able to see your strengths."
"Well said, Kazue," Kosetsu gave him a thumbs-up.
Tensho walked towards Gensui. When she was close enough, she could hear him mumbling to himself, despite clearly being unconscious. Kosetsu stood beside her, laying a hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be okay. I'll be right here with you the whole way."
"Thanks." She took her stance and held her hands out to Gensui's head in the hand seal of the Mind Transfer. "Here goes! Ninja Art: Mind Transfer Jutsu!!"
________________________________________________________________________________
The world around Tensho melted away as her consciousness exited her body. For a while, she drifted about in the void, darkness all around her. Then she saw a light appear, and it began to grow in size until she could hear the sound of crying, at which point she realised it wasn't a light but a memory...
...and now, she was in a house.
Okay, I made it in.
However, she observed that it looked less like a horse and more like a rundown shack. The crying she heard earlier was coming from a newborn baby. A man and a woman sat by a poorly lit fire. The woman looked out of breath, pale, and barely conscious, having presumably just given birth, while the father cradled the baby in his hands with trembling fingers. Was he trembling with joy? Or, no...
"How is it, dear? Is it normal?" the woman asked weakly.
The man was quivering. "His hair... it's white..."
The woman sat up in panic. "Oh, no. No... This can't be... My baby...!"
Tensho looked on with remorse. I'd better move on. Depending on how old this guy is, I've got a lot of years to cover.
She opened the front door of the shack and stepped into another memory. Some ten years had passed because now she could see he was a preteen.
She could also see he was in a cage with a chained collar around his neck, which alarmed her. A moment later, two very strange-looking men appeared before Gensui. They were dressed in white robes, with two red markings on their foreheads and zigzag hair parting like Gensui's.
The Kaguya clan?
"Rise and shine, boy," they said, holding a key ring. "It's time for work. Tell you what, you do a good job today, we'll give you two riceballs."
The scenery transitioned to a small, but fortified village that looked on the brink of ruin.
What the...?
Bodies were piled everywhere in the streets and there was blood stained on the walls of the houses. The corpses seemed to multiply the further she went down the street until she came upon the village centre where there was a massive pile of dead bodies. And at the top was the young Gensui. Tensho looked away right as he ripped out a shinobi's oesophagus with his bones shaped like claws.
"Excellent work, boy!" came the members of the Kaguya clan with bloodlust in their eyes, and blood-stained weapons. "TONIGHT, WE CELEBRATE!!"
Moving on.
She advanced another ten years or so; in this memory, she witnessed Gensui, now a young adult, getting betrayed by the Kaguya clan. He had been sold out to another ninja village for a hefty price.
After that, Tensho had to endure two years' worth of memories of him being tortured, as they interrogated him for information about the Kaguya clan's weak points. However, to her amazement, he would not cough it up. He was still fiercely loyal to them, and she realised it was because he did not know he had been sold out by them.
Flesh tearing, guttural screams, abusing his Kekkei Genkai so they could continue the process over and over again. Tensho tucked herself away in a corner, covering her ears and closing her eyes, wanting to move forward but was unable to because she sensed she was approaching the present time.
No more. No more.
Is this what made him go insane? Poor Gensui...
One day, the interrogator said to him, "You know, it was your clan that sold you out in the first place."
Gensui slumped over in his chair, jolted up, eyes wide. Tensho looked at the interrogator in disbelief. This whole time he knew Gensui wasn't aware.
"No, you're lying." said Gensui "THAT'S A FILTHY LIE!!"
The interrogator held up a bill of sale, stamped with the official Kaguya clan seal and signed by the patriarch on the day of Gensui's incarceration.
"And if you think we had this forged, the signature here was signed in your patriarch's blood which we can verify is his."
Gensui's world was falling apart-- quite literally. Because Tensho was in his head, she observed the walls of the interrogation room break down and crumble.
"Imagine that, you spent two whole years here, protecting your clan's secrets, while they had betrayed you in the first place. Did you never wonder why they never came to your rescue? It's alright, though." He gave a devilish smile. "Tell us what we want to know and we will help you exact revenge."
So, this is how the Kaguya clan got wiped.
Tensho watched in horror as the enemy clan infiltrated the Kaguya clan's base at night with the help of Gensui, and by morning they had been completely decimated. Gensui came in time to see the patriarch being stabbed by the rival clan leader.
"Gensui..." he reached out a hand to him. "How dare you? I curse the rest of your days... May you never know peace again..."
Gensui got the last hit, throwing a spike into the centre of his forehead, killing him instantly. The rival clan leader held up his spear, declaring victory, and the rest of his clan cheered. Tensho grimaced at the scenery.
"An eye for an eye, kid. You got your revenge," said the clan leader. "You're free now. Go where you will and put all this behind you."
He walked past Gensui, but when his back was turned to him, he found to his surprise a femur impaling him from the back. Gensui jerked it with his hand and the clan leader was torn apart.
"Why..." the leader uttered with his dying breath.
"No," Gensui said solemnly, then his voice rose, as he took to killing the rest of the rival clan's members, his mind deteriorating further and further. "No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
He started spiralling, killing everything that moved. Before he knew it, not a single living soul was left in that area. That area would be called the Land of Red unofficially because it was where two clans had met their most brutal and gratuitous ends ever recorded in history. That is, until the Uchiha clan.
As far as memory serves, the next few days were a blur to both Gensui and Tensho. As the resort manager had testified, he took shelter there for many days, the staff blissfully unaware of his presence. Until one day, he was caught, and at once, the manager decided to report him to the shinobi.
Given the evidence against him, he was ruled guilty in his trial and shipped off to Blood Prison. Tensho watched him suffer as he got into fights with the other inmates, was left in the isolation chamber for weeks on end, and tried to end it all more than once, but failed on account of the guards finding him just before.
How could someone's life go so wrong so far? she thought. His odds were stacked against him right from birth. But, I guess in a world like this, we've all got odds stacked against us.
Then the memory came.
Suddenly, Tensho was standing beside Gensui in a crowd. She looked at him. He looked the same as he did now, but having seen him in the past, the amount of change he had been through in such a short time was stark.
But what's with this crowd? What are they all standing here for?
She phased through the inmates, as a ghost would, trying to get to the front of the mob. Doing so, she could hear a loud and zealous voice ahead and followed it until it brought her before two men addressing the crowd of prisoners.
One was well over 6 feet tall and dressed in white garb, with brown hair styled in a perm, several scars across his muscular body, and one missing eye. The other was shorter but still above average height. He had salmon-pink hair held together in a white and red headband and wore a brown-to-black coat with a pair of earrings that depicted a black sun. There were other people behind them, standing on a platform, but Tensho's attention was on the two men, especially the man wearing a headband. She was entranced by his pitch-black eyes that seemed to go on forever into a void of nothingness but was contrasted by his charming smile.
Tensho could now hear what they were saying clearly.
"Indeed, if you choose to come with us," said the man wearing the headband, "you will face the prospect of losing even more than you already have. But let me ask you this: When has that ever NOT been the case with any endeavour since the dawn of humanity? Yes, there was loss, but there was also gain! Are you telling me you're afraid to grasp that opportunity just because we suffered defeat once before? If, in your lifetime, you had the chance to do something different and be able to say you were the cause of such, why wouldn't you jump at it?"
What is this? Some kind of an uprising? Where're the guards?! Wait... she realised something with sickening dread. Were they taken out ... by these guys? Who are they, anyway?
"Don'y you get it? No one wants to fight for a lost cause, man," someone from the crowd called out. "The only hide worth lookin' out for is our own. Why the hell should we care about being the change we wanna see in the world if it don't put food on the table?"
"So, you want a 100% guarantee of success, is that right?" said the one-eyed man, suddenly beside the other guy as if he had teleported. "Well, that doesn't exist, so you can go on home because this offer isn't for the likes of you. We told you you're free to go, and we meant it. Nothing about that was a lie in the slightest. But remember there's no place for you in our current society anymore. If you're here, it means you were rejected, and your fate is to run away every day, slave about for morsels, and then die in obscurity. You would only have ever been known as a statistic, a figure. So long as you're fine with that, I will teleport you away from here right now. But, if you come with us, that gives you more than a 0% chance at making something of yourself in this life. Not anyone else, just you. How do those odds sound to you?"
What the hell? Tensho backed away, feeling more and more apprehensive. These guys sound like extremists!! Kosetsu-sensei needs to know about this, now!
The man wearing the headband smiled and said, "The choice is yours, folks! Eternal damnation or a chance at salvation," he said, looking right at the cantankerous inmate. "Either continue to struggle endlessly in a system whose very foundation is built against you, or help us dismantle and rebuild that system, thereby giving you and anyone else you care about a CHANCE! It's a cruel world, and those are your only options. Pick a side."
The two men walked to one side to stand and face the crowd but just as the man wearing the headband walked towards Tensho, his black eyes fluttered across the landscape and landed on her.
At first, she thought he was looking past her, but no one was behind her. As he got closer, his gaze did not waver. He was looking right at her and smiling. She panicked, thinking he would rupture the jutsu so she dispelled it before he could reach her.
________________________________________________________________________________
Tensho woke up in her body, flustered and shaken.
"It's alright, it's alright!" said Kosetsu, propping her up so she stood on her feet. "I'm here, Tensho. I'm here."
The Hyuga girl got her breathing under control.
"Welcome back," said Kazue. He was going to make a snarky comment but stopped when he saw just how distraught she looked.
"That must have been a lot to see," said Kosetsu grimly. "I'm sorry."
Tensho said nothing. A teardrop fell down her face. Kosetsu hugged her tightly. "We'll give you a minute. Just take it easy, alright? You did well."
"No," she wiped her eyes and broke away from her sensei. "This can't wait. I know. I saw what happened. There was a prison break."
Kosetsu, Kazue, and Jin raised their brows in concern.
"In Blood Prison? That's impossible," said Kosetsu.
"I know what I saw. The prisoners-- all of them, including Gensui-- they were aided by this group of people. I- I think they were some kind of syndicate and they were talking about starting something with those who would join them, something BIG."
"Was there a leader among this group of people? Did you see what they looked like?"
Tensho nodded. "There were two of them, I think. One was a tall guy with a missing eye and scars all over his body and the other..." she shuddered as she thought about him. "He had these empty and soulless eyes like there was nothing inside him but he was still smiling and stuff."
"Empty and soulless eyes," Kosetsu repeated.
Tensho remembered another detail. "Actually, you wouldn't believe it, sensei, but he had earrings just like yours, except the sun on his was black."
Kosetsu froze. Her arms which were comforting Tensho suddenly went limp, and her head was bowed. The students noticed the 180 in her demeanour immediately.
"Kosetsu-sensei?"
She was shaking uncontrollably, gripping her wrists with so much force they went white.
"Was he....... was he wearing a headband?" she asked hoarsely. "A red and white one?"
Tensho's eyes widened. "Yeah. He was."
Kazue asserted himself in their discussion. "Hey, you know who this guy is, don't you?" he demanded.
She did not answer.
"SENSEI!!"
"Yusuke."
"Huh?"
She looked at her students with an expression that made them jump. Whether it was blind, hysterical rage or immense, crippling misery, it was hard to tell. Either way, if looks could kill, this was it.
"His name is Yusuke Honoo."
🌾🌾🌾🌾🌾 BACK TO IROKO🍃🍃🍃🍃🍃
"🌸Blossom Style: Whirling Spring!!🌸"
"⚡Lightning Style: Flash!!⚡"
Iroko swerved across the landscape in a blaze of lightning as he dodged Fumino's flurry of cherry blossoms. His goal was to get in her blind spot and use the refined Blackout he had been working on but it was proving to be much harder than he had anticipated. Fumino was a formidable sparring partner.
He formed the Shadow Clone jutsu and spawned a dozen clones to hide the real him. They flung themselves at her and she responded by using chakra control to change the form of her jutsu.
"Blossom Style: Edged Stream!" The petals became as razor-sharp as a blade's end. She wielded them along her right forearm while equipping a kunai in her left hand and sliced through the clones, employing her Shorinji fighting style to use their strength against them.
One clone got the better of her but before it could run in with hands at the ready, she whipped her kunai in its direction, destroying it, kicked another square in its temple, then blitzed through a series of hand seals and manifested a helix storm of petals, consuming all the remaining clones. "Helix Swarm!!"
If I know anything about the purpose of Shadow Clones it's that they're used either to overwhelm their opponent or distract them.
She spun around to see one speeding towards her with the Chidori in hand. She created a veil of petals between them and hurled them in his direction. The clone dodged every single one of them, moving at a speed almost unperceivable to the human eye, but Fumino was prepared.
She formed a shield and armed herself with Edged Stream. They came to a head. She swung before he was right in front of her, anticipating his last-minute burst of speed, but she had underestimated just how much speed he would use. Iroko had disappeared, leaving behind an afterimage, but she still felt the insane amount of force behind his attack and it threw her off balance. However, she had drawn blood as well.
That was the real him?! He just straight-up charged at me?!! she realized. Crap, I need to recompose myself!!
Iroko had built up so much inertia that when he reappeared behind Fumino he didn't even bother trying to slow down. The second both of his feet touched the ground he somersaulted so he was facing Fumino upside down. He held his right hand out. Fumino jerked her head back in panic and moved the petals to shield her back.
Lightning chakra emanated from his hand. There was a cracking sound from the volts of electricity swelling up in his hand--
--but then they fizzled out and disappeared. They gave each other a blank stare as he flew right into a tree. He slid down the bark and hit the ground with his head and a pile of leaves fell on him.
"There, all done," said Fumino after healing him.
"Thanks, Fumino, I appreciate it!"
She karate-chopped him on the head. "Ow!"
"Don't take my medical ninjutsu for granted, though," she said. "I can still choose not to heal you."
"Fair enough," he smirked while opening his water bottle to drink from it.
She sat beside him. "So, what happened back there?"
"I went and messed up the Shape Transformation process," he said, sounding disappointed. "It's hard to... visualize how I want the technique to look then apply it in real-time."
"Well, you are trying to change the shape of a large-scale technique instead of starting small (and I know it can't be helped)," said Fumino. "Have you tried practising with an object that resembles the shape you want to mould Blackout into?"
"How do you mean?"
"It's a method my dad showed me, although I never had to use it. You use the shape of the physical object to guide the flow of chakra between your hands until you can mould it to that shape without the help of the object. I'm sure there's more to it than that, but we'd have to either ask my dad about it or go to the library and find a book on it, and he's off on a mission so..."
"Then I guess we'd better go to the library!" Iroko jumped to his feet. "It's a good time to call it a day anyway."
"I agree!" Fumino stood up and followed after him, smiling chipperly.
They were back in the Hidden Leaf in the afternoon, walking towards the Academy.
"Thanks again for doing this, prez," said Iroko. "You really didn't have to."
"I know that," she replied, "but to be honest, I'm getting something out of this already."
"What's that?"
"Being able to help a classmate in need. It's worth it just to see them smile! I want to create and live in a world where everyone has a reason to smile, and I'll do whatever it takes to reach that goal, one person at a time."
Iroko was surprised at first, then laughed.
Fumino was confused. "What? Was it something I said?"
"No, nuthin', I just remembered that's how you've always been. A world where everyone has a reason to smile, huh? That sounds ultimate! I hope you achieve it, I really do."
Fumino looked at him with awe. "Thanks, that means a lot to me," she looked away, brushing a lock of her golden hair behind her ear. "And, you know... I wouldn't mind the help if you were interested--"
Her words trailed off when they turned around a corner to enter the Academy and ran into Asami. She stood in front of the two of them, staring flatly.
"Oh, hey, what's up?" said Iroko.
"Hi, Asami!" Fumino waved.
"Come with me," Asami reached behind Iroko's neck, grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and dragged him away through the school gate.
"What the-- Oi, Asami, what gives?!! Let go-- damn, you've got a monstrous grip! Uh, well, I guess we'll go to the library some other time. See ya, prez!"
"O-Oh, yeah, see you later...!" She stood awkwardly, watching her drag him into the building and wondering what that was all about.
"So, you going to tell me what this is all about?" Iroko asked in a huff. He crossed his arms while still being dragged through the hallways. "I was in the middle of something, you know."
Suddenly, Asami stopped and let go of him when he least expected, causing him to fall on his butt.
"Lord Sixth has summoned Team 12 to his office to discuss our next mission," she said. "I was sent to bring you there."
He got up, dusting off his bottom. "Oh. Well, you could have just led with that."
She said nothing else in response and walked on. However, something seemed off. Her expression was phlegmatic as usual, but how she said it seemed off to Iroko.
Is she worried about something?
They arrived at the office. Asami knocked on the door.
Kakashi answered, "Come in."
The duo walked in. "I've brought him," said Asami.
"Ah, good timing, Asami."
Iroko bowed to Kakashi, first thing. He was met with a surprising but familiar face when he looked up.
"Lady Hotaru?!" She stood beside Sasuke Uchiha on Kakashi's left, dressed in costly garments that befit her status as a princess. She waved at him and gave a closed-eye smile.
"It's been a long time, Iroko," she said. "You look well (and a lot bigger now)."
"Thanks, you look great yourself! Good to see you, too, Sasuke-sensei." I don't understand. What is she doing here? Not that I'm unhappy to see her--
"Iroko," Yuura called.
He turned to see Yuura and Hisao standing together on Kakashi's right. He was frowning as if dejected about something. Hisao was not smiling either.
"What is it...?" It was only just now that he was able to read the room. There was a heavy vibe in the air and the curtains were closed despite being bright outside. He looked at Asami, asking her what was going on with his eyes, but she could not give him an answer. Something's off, he thought.
"Thanks for coming on such short notice, Iroko," said Kakashi. "We're here to discuss the details of your next mission..."
As he spoke, Iroko noted a sour and melancholy tone. What's more, he had bags around his darker-than-usual eyes. Something's off.
"The nature of this mission," Kakashi went on, "being an organized search for and apprehension of the rogue ninja responsible for the Chunin Exams scandal."