Kapitel 195: Horror
Deep within the Land of Hot Springs, the moon cast an eerie glow over the landscape, illuminating the thin mist.
There, in the heart of an open forest, a man and a woman abruptly woke. They felt a sudden haze of confusion.
The man, his features rugged but kind, squinted through the darkness. He turned towards his wife, who was terrified at what they were doing there.
"Relax, honey," he said, but his own voice trembled slightly, betraying his unease.
"Where are we?!" she asked, quaking with fear. "I can't move!"
The man tried to shift his body but found it immobilized, bound by some unseen force. Panic threatened as he attempted to piece together the situation.
Looking around, he noticed strange black circular patterns etched into the ground surrounding them. They looked oddly unnatural.
The woman's breath quickened, and as the fear suffocated her, her heart began to race. She looked as if she was about to have a heart attack.
"What's happening?!" she cried out. "Someone, please help us!"
Before the man could say anything, a jolt of excruciating pain gripped his body like a vice. He screamed into the night, the woman's eyes widening in horror as she watched him convulse, his form shrouded in swirling dust.
After a moment, the dust settled, revealing not her husband but a boy—young, with disheveled black hair, his skin marred with cracks akin to shattered porcelain, and his face devoid of eyes.
The sight twisted her gut, and the terror intensified within her.
"Honey!" she screamed.
Before she could fully process the horror, her own body was seized with the same agonizing pain. It ripped through her, and she screeched as the world around her went completely black.
When things subsided, the dust settled again, and she was transformed. Now, her body lay motionless, resembling that of a girl with a blonde ponytail, similarly cracked and lifeless.
Suddenly, from the shadows, a figure emerged, stepping into the moonlight. Arthur stood before them.
He casually drew out two kunai adorned with charms on their ends. He then approached the two corpses and inserted the kunai into each of their skulls.
As for who took the place of the man and woman? None other than Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka.
Performing a single hand sign sent chills through the night. With that, he completed the reanimation ritual, causing their bodies to shake slightly before a subtle glow permeated their eyes.
Disbelief passed through their expressions as they looked from one to another.
"Where am I?" the disembodied voice of Shikamaru wondered.
The real question to have asked was where and when did Arthur get their cells. Of course, these two wouldn't have known. Arthur had grave-robed and desecrated their remains the same night he had done the same to Rin Nohara.
Shikamaru hesitated to stand, confusion clouding his thoughts.
"Ino?" he wondered, looking at her now completely foreign features. "Is that you?"
"Yes, it's me," she panicked, recognizing his tone and face. "But where are we?"
They locked eyes, unsure of what was happening.
Before they could contemplate their fate, the ground quaked, and they felt something stir beneath their feet. The ground tore up, forcing three coffins to erupt from the soil with a crash.
Shikamaru felt dread rising in his chest as he asked in horror, "What's happening?"
The lids of the coffins began to creak open one by one. Ino quivered, glancing at the emerging figures.
The first was a tall man, seemingly a samurai. The second was a stranger with pale hair and shark-like teeth. Finally, the third figure emerged—a tall, masked man with dark hair.
Ino swallowed hard. "Shikamaru," she breathed. "Do you notice something… strange about our bodies?"
"Yeah," he gravely replied, glancing down at himself—the cracked skin, the empty, soulless eyes, the lack of breath or fluid in their system. "I think we're dead…?"
The two finally arose from their positions. Ino stepped back but found herself immobilized, unable to move once more.
"Shikamaru?" she cried, fear tightening her chest. "What's happening?"
"I don't know!" he shouted, feeling the grip of the unknown around them.
Arthur, unfazed by the turmoil around him, drew a small amount of his own blood.
'Summoning jutsu…'
In the dispersing fog, the body of a small, monkey-like girl emerged. She looked around with wide, joyful eyes, her bright spirit a contrast to the somber events transpiring.
"I missed you so much, daddy!" she cried, bounding toward Arthur before exuberantly wrapping her arms around him.
As Ino and Shikamaru stared in disbelief, the girl turned and pointed to three men, curiously asking, "Who are they?"
Arthur remained expressionless, saying, "Their names are Tatewaki, Mangetsu, and Zabuza."
Ino felt so confused that it almost burned. She simply couldn't comprehend what was going on.
"They look like they want to eat me!" she pressed, hiding behind his shoulders.
Ironic to say since they were both lifeless and hadn't shown any emotions.
"Tatewaki," he began, indicating the samurai, "is skilled with the sword." He shifted to Mangetsu. "Mangetsu, a member of the Hōzuki clan, possesses rare abilities over water." Finally, he turned to Zabuza. "And Zabuza, well, let's just say he made a name for himself as the Devil of the Mist Village."
The mention of these names made Shikamaru feel beyond anxious. Then, as Arthur finally turned around for him to get a clear picture, he knew who he was.
"You… You're Arthur Bennett from the Leaf!" he announced. Then his voice became urgent. "How did you summon us back from the dead? No… Why did you summon us?! What do you intend to do?!"
Arthur had a straight face, answering, "The world as you knew it changed after you died… And you two were chosen to be a part of that change."
"But why?" Ino protested. "What did we ever do to deserve this?"
Arthur found this scene a tad adorable, choosing not to regard them. They clearly didn't know he was the one who had slain them.
They, after all, were nothing more than shadows of the past, remnants caught in his web.
"Just open your eyes and see," his voice echoed. "This is your new reality…"
If they could feel, the chill would have settled deep in the depths of their hearts.
Shikamaru, being able to move, turned to his former comrade with a very concerned expression as he asked, "Ino, what's the last thing you remember before waking up here?"
The blonde girl furrowed her brow in fear, trying to piece together the fragmented memories.
"It's a little hazy, but…" She hesitated, wrestling with the flood of emotion. "I remember being in the Chūnin Exams, fighting someone. Then... everything went black."
As he confirmed the memories, Shikamaru finally understood. The figure before them was the perpetrator!
"You…" he stammered. "You were one back in the Forest of Death; you were the one who killed us!"
Ino's eyes widened in realization as she repeated Shikamaru's sentiment.
"Arthur!" she cried out in disbelief. "Why did you do it?! I thought we were all friends from the same village!"
The man, who had once been seen as an ally, now stood as the architect of their demise. And what troubled them more was that he remained unresponsive, sending a chill down Shikamaru's spine.
The three summoned corpses stepped out of their respective coffins, moving toward Ino and Shikamaru. They formed a line next to them as Arthur stepped to the center of this macabre assembly. Koko rested playfully on his shoulder.
"No!" Ino tried again. "I need answers! What have you—"
Arthur raised a single finger, effectively silencing her. Shikamaru's mind raced, trying to comprehend the terrifying situation they were in.
It was glaringly obvious—the three shinobi were being controlled, and Arthur was at the helm.
"You're right," Arthur said, as though he had read Shikamaru's thoughts. His expression held none of the guilt or regret one might expect. "The two of you have been summoned by a jutsu—the reanimation jutsu, a forbidden technique developed by the second Hokage."
Ino's dead heart plummeted. How could this be happening? Her once solid world was now a perverse illusion.
As she glanced at Shikamaru, the gravity of their situation bore down on them. They were dead, just as they had figured, and there seemed to be no way of escape.
"Just like them," Arthur continued, gesturing toward the reanimated shinobi, "you're dead."
Ino, finally allowed to speak, asked in despair, "Just answer me this, Arthur…" She was truly struggling with everything. "Are you really the one that killed us back in the Forest, and if so, why?!"
There it was: the anger of knowing their own deaths were in vain. Arthur's eyes, however, were devoid of any empathy.
"If you must know," he coolly said, "I didn't kill you; I completely slew you from existence…"
The revelation hit them like a sudden gale, sweeping away their last vestiges of courage. Shikamaru's face became one of disbelief, confusion, and rising rage.
"Why?" he protested. "Why would you betray the Leaf and kill your own comrades?"
If he had real blood, it would have been rushing right now.
Arthur's gaze settled on Shikamaru. He couldn't tell whether he should be amused or disgusted by their authentic responses and surreal emotions.
"Isn't it ironic?" he mused. "Even after dying, you, an intellectual, are just a stupid creature who spouts nonsense without truly understanding a thing…"
Ino wanted to cry, but no liquid would fall. She was not alive, and all that was left was an empty void where her heart should be. She wanted to scream, to lash out, but her body lay still, consumed by the idea of death.
"The two of you," Arthur continued as smooth as ever, "come to terms with your premature deaths quickly, for you still serve a purpose while I am still in this world."
Shikamaru clenched his fists in anger as he demanded, "What purpose? What possible reason do you have for bringing us back as corpses?"
Arthur merely cracked his neck to hint at his idea.
"Isn't it obvious?" he replied before turning slightly to where Koko had been circling his legs. "I'm sick of speaking…"
The small monkey-like girl looked up at Arthur with innocent eyes, knowing that he had grown bored of explaining himself. So she chimed in, saying, "You guys are gonna make daddy fall asleep! He needs you to help him get stronger!"
Ino pressed, "Help him? Why us?"
Koko innocently shrugged, total oblivion. Then, with a childlike eagerness, she admitted, "I don't really know. Tehe."
Arthur took a step forward and said, "You two are only a little valuable, especially you, Ino. You're a Yamanaka, possessing abilities similar to those of Alice, which will help me grow."
If Ino had a heart, it would have sunk to the depths by now. She had known Alice and had long understood that her supposed clanmate was powerful enough to invade thoughts while using her techniques very well.
"As for you," Arthur resumed, his attention shifting to Shikamaru. "You're regarded as a tactical genius… That means you'll help in devising strategies during this session…"
"Session," Shikamaru spat, loathing Arthur. "What kind of messed-up game is this?"
It was clear that they didn't want to help him with anything. Not after all he'd done to them.
But who were they to go against his will?
Arthur's eyes glowed red as he said, "Game? You misunderstood. Your part in all of this ended back at that forest; your only purpose now is to help me shape my ambitions…"
Ino had heard enough. So she screamed, "You're crazy! No, you're borderline insane! We refuse to be your… your pawns!"
"Such idiocy," Arthur calmly responded.
He then felt Koko pull on his pant legs. With a playful smile lighting up her small face, she asked, "Can we play now, daddy?!"
Arthur's expression didn't soften one bit as he scratched her small head. Ino and Shikamaru exchanged glances, disturbed at what they were witnessing.
Was this really what was left of them? What fate had in store?
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein