III
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Arc III Chapter 3
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Asami watched the retreating Kiri-nin. The boy wasn’t the worst runner she had ever seen. Nothing surprising after the little show she had put on for him. He ran for his life.
Wouldn't her actions ignite their desire for revenge, or would they listen to reason and give up? She didn't know. Not that it mattered. If intimidation didn’t work, if they ignored her warnings, she would persuade them with steel.
Asami sheathed her blade and retrieved her kunai. They were still stuck into the oak. Afterwards, she waited, and waited, and waited.
Her eyes swept across the battlefield, admiring her handiwork of death, blood and gore. Corpses littered the snowy ground. The sight filled her with pride. Her performance had improved since her fateful encounter with Itachi.
That day, he and his companion made her a gift. That day her sharingan changed, transformed. Her eyes evolved, further augmenting her style. The sharingan was a truly potent weapon, a weapon that was hers and hers alone. The legendary mangekyou sharingan was now in her possession, yet her eyes remained a weapon of last resort, only to be used wisely.
Her mangekyou allowed her to exert a degree of control over her chakra never experienced before. They granted her a mastery of chakra down to the most elemental level, down to the very fabric, the very essence of chakra. Close or far, her eyes allowed her to manipulate, to command, to shape, to rule chakra with near perfection. Form, density, cohesion, her chakra obeyed her. Her chakra was the extension of her will, the manifestation of her desires, the weapon of her hopes and dreams. She was her chakra. Her chakra was her. Her control was absolute. Her new powers exhilarating.
Asami giggled with a certain sense of satisfaction. It took time and effort to understand the true extent of her powers, not to mention master them. Despite her modest progress, much remained still unknown, shrouded in mystery.
The mangekyou sharingan proved to be illusive in nature. Information was hard to come by, with its existence being hardly known outside informed circles. The village archives didn't yield much information about the Uchiha clan and the secrets of the sharingan. Documents and scrolls existed, but the vast majority had been classified following the day of the Uchiha clan massacre. A drastic measure, taken by the village council. Her ANBU background allowed her to access some of the less confidential material, but even her access was for some reason limited. There was something fishy about the Uchiha clan and their sudden disappearance, and she wasn't the only one to believed so.
Asami crossed her arms, watching the falling snow. The blizzard intensified. Nobody arrived. Fifteen had apparently successfully delivered her message. And apparently, the enemy heeded her warning. Eliminating their vanguard achieved the desired result, the Kiri ANBU ceased their pursuit and regrouped.
The temperatures fell and night was approaching. It was time for her to leave and move to the assembly point.
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Asami reached the assembly point, an abandoned village near the border. The wars devastated the entire region. The villages pillaged, plundered, murdered, razed, cleansed. The border regions were hit hardest. They never truly recovered, even after all these years.
ANBU patrolled the area, guarding their camp against undesired intruders. Asami entered the village. Judging by the numbers, the other three ANBU squads had returned, but their ranks were also depleted. The missions they carried out were dangerous, risky. Failure was nothing extraordinary, and yet the severity of their losses surprised her. Their missions led them deep into Kirigakure, deep into enemy territory without additional support.
They had suffered heavy casualties. Losses were highs. The green glow of her medical ninjutsu illuminated the air. The stench of blood filled the air. Their missions took a toll on them. They probably encountered heavy resistance just like them. Fortunately, most of her fellow ANBU comrades suffered only minor injuries, which was good. The dead were cheap. They required nothing. Wounded ninja, however, were troublesome. They were a burden.
Asami continued her stroll through the village, the falling snow accompanying her. She eventually met Konosuke and the rest of her squad. They were exhausted, their fatigue written all across their faces.
Konosuke was discussing something with the other squad leaders. It was something important. Yet he was the first to notice her. His eyes widened in shock. “Asami ... you are ... alive.”
“Surprised, aren't we?” Asami smirked. His stare amused her.
“...” Konosuke regained his composure. “To be honest, I thought you already dead, but it seems ... I was wrong.”
Asami crossed her arms. “You disappoint me, Konosuke. Why do you place so little faith in my abilities? Did you really think that a few harmless Kiri-nin could even scratch me?”
Konosuke mustered a weak laugh. “Aren't we a bit overconfident here, Asami?”
“Possibly”, Asami conceded.
“Anyway, tell me, how did you make it back?” Konosuke studied her coat. A conspicuous crimson touch coloured her fur coat red.
Asami flashed an innocent smile.“Isn't that obvious? I eliminated their vanguard. Fifteen in total. I killed them all. That scared away the rest of the Kiri ANBU.”
Konosuke blinked in disbelief. “You did what? Fifteen? You killed fifteen Kiri ANBU?”
“Fifteen? You are kidding me, aren't you?” Akahito, the captain of the second squad, didn't believe her a single word. “Two, maybe three, but fifteen of these fuckers? No way. You must be lying.”
“You don’t believe me?” Asami responded with a glare.
Akahito clicked his tongue. “Not in a thousand years. What do you think, Ino?” Captain Akahito turned to Ino. She was the captain of the fourth squad.
Ino gazed at her. “Based on my information, Asami is quite talented. Unless I am wrong, she scored top of her ANBU class despite her age, but who knows? The youngsters these days are strong.”
“And what's your opinion, Koichi, Konosuke?” Akahito searched for support.
“...” Koichi didn't answer. His eyes focused on her and the enigma. He was a veteran of many wars. “I don't think she is lying, but who can tell?”
“...” Konosuke meanwhile just scratched his head.
Asami merely rolled her eyes, only mildly annoyed. “Anyway, I think that we have much more important matters to discuss. Is it just my imagination, or have our ranks thinned?”
“So you noticed too?” Konosuke gritted his teeth.
Asami retorted, “Noticed, you say? That is quite an understatement. Barely half of us have returned ...”
“Not even half of us.” Koichi sighed in resignation. “All squads suffered heavy losses. We lost ten killed in action. Seven went missing. Five are heavily wounded. Our situation is ... dire.”
“What happened?” Asami asked. This entire operation was an unmitigated disaster.
Ino voiced her opinion, “I have no idea, I suspect that our missions were compromised. The enemy expected us. My squad got ambushed. We were lucky to escape. Otherwise, we would have been wiped out. The same happened to Akahito and Koichi.”
Akahito agreed, “They were just waiting for us ...”
An ANBU appeared, kneeling on the ground. He addressed Koichi, “Captain.”
Koichi crossed his arms. “What's the matter, Norinaga?”
Norinaga raised his head. “The enemy has sent a messenger. He wants to discuss our surrender. He claims that three companies of Kiri-nin have surrounded our position. They want us to surrender to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Otherwise, they will be forced to annihilate us.”
...
... ...
... ... ...
“...” Konosuke, Ino, Akahito, and even Koichi, they all fell silent. Seconds turned into minutes. A feeling of hopelessness and despair infected their minds as realisation struck. They were done for ...
Three whole companies ... 600 men in total ... This was not a force they could ever hope to fight.
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