章 34: Last Wish (1)
Even in war, Shinobi fight battles using deception and intelligence over the other party and NOT an open ground while firing off Jutsus upon Jutsus— who would have thought?!
But this made Hizashi's presence much more critical as he claimed that his Byakugan had the perception close to the range of 5 kilometers if he focuses on it seriously and he can see through pretty much everything... lucky dog!
But this did give him an idea that he wanted to pursue later.
"There are 7 of them. Two Jonins and 5 Chunins based on their chakra reserves." The veins around Hizashi's eyes were bulging due to the increased blood flow into his eyes as his usually pupil-less eyes showed a cluster of concentrated irises that gave the likeness of pupils in his eyes. This is what an activated byakugan looks like.
"And what are they doing?" Orochimaru questioned.
"More than killing..." Hizashi's expression grew dark.
"Ah, this is why you ONLY kill. Remember everyone. There are professionals called whores and personal amusement known as mates to try these activities on. Move out. Jonin Yusuke, Log, and Utsu will form an encirclement around the villages to cut off any paths of retreat for Iwa-nins and civilians. Hizashi, incapacitate one of the chunins. Kai-kun, I'll evaluate your skills against a Jonin for future commands so you will follow me. Tsunade and Jiraiya, the two of you will take out the other Jonin."
With that, the group set out and it was quite a sight the village was in under Iwa's shinobi and it was clear the same thing could have happened in their group if Orochimaru didn't promptly execute the two men to set an example. The total number of shinobi that attacked the seven iwa-nins was exactly thrice in quantity!
The Jonins reacted quick enough as one of them evaded two snakes tearing from the ground in an effort to constrict him yet Kai cut off the path of retreat by jumping down on the main while stabbing forward with a kunai.
As the Iwa-Nin scoffed, dodging the Kunai midair by leaning away, he punched at Kai's head which promptly exploded in a gush of water while the kunai Transformed into the real Kai as he had only needed a single seal to form a C-rank Jutsu— Water Bullets.
A magazine of pressurized bullets struck the man who was again, quicker than most Kai had ever seen and crossed his arms in front of his chest and face to block the blow as it caused his arms to bleed... but not fracture as he shot into the ground where Orochimaru waited and he sliced the man in half with the sword on his back.
Quick and precise with not wanting their enemy to have enough time to turn the tables.
The seven Iwa Nins were taken care of with one burly youth, still naked and paralyzed captured by Hizashi who then killed the unfortunate and bleeding lass.
"Hmm, good job," Orochimaru smiled, "Jiraiya, contact Sensei and tell him that Chunin Kito and Jonin Utsu are going to be bringing a prisoner for information."
"Sure," Jiraiya sighed sullenly.
While Orochimaru questioned his mortality, Jiraiya was forced to choose between his loyalty and morals and until now, Loyalty kept winning.
"And it seems that we can make a perfect scouting party using Kai-kun and Hizashi-kun," Orochimaru directed everyone's attention as he commanded with a smile, "Until we receive the next batch of intel, you will act as our eyes. I want you to locate villages being occupied by shinobi. I assure you that for reasons related to war, not all shinobi would destroy the villages and would use the villagers in a more... lasting manner. It will be our job to liberate the villages but NOT kill them."
It was clear to Orochimaru that Hanzo would go bat shit crazy if they destroy the country without any regard so he didn't intend to demolish everything. Instead, he wanted to get a good measure of Amegakure— the second part of their mission. Gather enough intelligence and if possible, remove the threat known as Hanzo once and for all. That way, Amegakure would be up for grabs and that could divert the nature of war from devouring Konoha to get a piece of Ame. After all, the Land of Rain had no political umbrella known as the Daimyo and only had one Hanzo. His death would lead to a power vacuum and attract power-hungry flies.
The Iwa prisoner was soon taken away with Jiraiya sending the report to the Hokage with strange means of his own that amazed Kai.
---
Three more months have passed since Kai left the village. After the first month of skirmish and setting an outpost, it was just the act of finding their enemies sooner than they found them. The Land of Rain was only so big and it was becoming increasingly aware to Iwagakure-nins that their advance to the Konoha was being blocked by a rather advanced quality of shinobi and it was true, in some regards.
Well, those who survived the skirmishes aside from the three leaders numbered upto 14 with four more deaths during one siege against the Explosion Corp of Iwagakure. Many, including Kai, were injured in that battle, requiring them three days to heal themselves completely but that wasn't all. Jiraiya was forced to take the delivery mission of supplies to reinvigorate him. There was not a shred of doubt in Orochimaru's or Tsunade's mind about what kind of recovery method he would have but they only hoped the man would return quickly enough.
*Clang*
Kai kept a casual smile as his kunai was parried by a middle-aged man who was shocked by his appearance. They weren't in a village but close to one of the central outposts of Iwa as the man suddenly heard a snake's hiss around him and the next second, a giant snake tore through the tree behind him and constricted around him. A hint of panic flashed in the man's eyes but the world promptly shifted and he barely dodged Kai's kunai after being free of the genjutsu, his skin only scratched by the tip of the kunai, thankfully.
"It's a good day to not have any rain, right?" Kai smiled. Even with dark clouds hanging over Ame constantly, there wasn't any rain and the shinobi frowned at his words. Scoffing, his hands hurriedly weaved a few seals before coming to a stop as his body remained paralyzed and the next second Kai's kunai passed through the man's head.
"Phew..." Smilingly, Kai flickered away as three Iwa shinobi arrived at the location seven minutes later with a deep scowl.
"It's the fifth time already!" One of them balled their fists while the other sighed, "Retreat. We need to ask for immediate reinforcements."
"That's not possible, Ame-nins are beginning to act up now... we have to entirely retreat."
---
"I can't believe this!" Kai groaned out loud but others, including Hizashi, only smiled when they heard his energetic words, "Iwagakure was stocking on genin fodders right? We barely fought any! No kekkei genkais, too. And here I was thinking that there'd be a huge battle where my name would spread in the village as the youngest war hero! The youngest jonin!" Kai continued to play his part as he sensed everyone's mood-brightening.
Oh, all of them were now aware something was fundamentally screwed up about the boy but they accepted their comrade in his given condition because they felt if he wasn't here to liven others up, many would be executed to try and NOT kill someone. Not everyone was like Jiraiya, who was allowed to leave for three days and return refreshed!
"It's not a tale, Kai-kun," Orochimaru smirked as Tsunade huffed, "And you better get that attitude in check. Still, I didn't think Hanzo would close his borders this quickly."
"It's all to earn more. By closing the Iwa-Konoha front until one of the villages is ready to invade Ame in full force, the man is practically controlling the flow of war as Konoha can now focus on Suna and Kumo alone. The two villages would need to spend a fortune to make Hanzo open his borders once again," Jiraiya sighed while Kai felt quite amazed at this.
War really IS a profitable business.
Still, he was awaiting the rewards of his first war quest.
[War Quest: Amegakure Front
Summary: Follow the directive of the war council and accomplish the objectives laid by the platoon's commander to facilitate the success of one of the many skirmishes in war.
Rewards: 14 SP, New Title
Failure: Demotion]
Kai smirked, feeling quite happy with his efforts. Even when the grind was paused, his growth was stellar these three months.
---
Kushina's eyes darted around as she lay on the cold metallic table with the edge of her top pulled up as Mito stoically drew seals on Kushina's stomach while the nervous tomato could feel stares from every corner of the room in the form of masked men and women guarding the dim room with the only source of light being a lantern not far away from Kushina.
"Dear, do you remember everything I told you beforehand?" Mito inquired as Kushina steeled her nerves and nodded with a look of determination. As sad as she was... at the moment, she was even more scared. The seal on her navel began with a swirl reminiscent of the Uzumaki Clan's insignia with many scribbles placed tightly together in the form of a spider's web.
Mito smiled and sat beside Kushina as she pulled her clothes away without a hint of shame as her body was fully covered by seal marks. While she wore undergarments of the highest quality despite her aging figure, there was a big gaping wound in her stomach in the form of a perfect circle that led to nothingness.
Under the masked Anbu's nervous gaze, thick crimson chakra bubbled out from the wound in Mito's body and she sat down beside Kushina's legs and placed her hands on the girl's stomach. As if attracted to something, the chakra instantly coated Mito's body and began entering the seal mark on Kushina's stomach before her vision spun and she found herself in a world of golden glow.
There was no particular footing but she felt the 'ground' and looked in horror as a mass of chakra congealed before her violet pupils as a pair of menacing red eyes with vertical pupils locked onto her.
"I'LL TEAR YOU!!" The titanic dark-orange-furred fox lunged towards Kushina as her body froze yet before the claw nail dozens of times larger than her entire frame could crush her, an equally gigantic chain with a soft yellow glow shot through the beast's claw and pierced in from under the fox's neck before coiling around its face and yanking it down as if a rag doll. Kushina blinked into awakening and felt the thick chain's presence familiar to Mito's. Yet, despite its presence, it was waning.
Biting her lower lip, Kushina glared at the struggling fox as dozens of similar chains grew out from nowhere. They were barely 1/10th the size of the chain conjured by Mito on her last leg yet Kushina waved her hand and the chains shot forward instantly. The spear-tipped chains stabbed into all the nine giant fox tails of the beast before coiling around him as the beast's struggle intensified but Kushina roused the chakra in her palm and slapped her stomach before tugging on the seals of her stomach and moving them in the opposite direction of the swirl.
The seal marks around her body began to gradually close up as a form of large rock was conjured in what Kushina was sure happened to be mind space and it silently had the chains of her kekkei genkai linked into it.
"WAIT!" the fox roared the moment the thickest chain disappeared and realizing what it meant, Kushina wanted nothing to do with the fox as it continued, "THAT BITCH IS—"
A chain instantly tore out from behind the fox named Kyubi and coiled around his muzzle, shutting him before Kushina willed herself out of the mental space quickly and sat up with a gasp.
Yet, her expression froze as tears began to spill again while Mito lay over her lap with a peaceful smile on her face.
Mito Uzumaki passed away.
***
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章 35: Last Wish (2)
Kai sat there in a daze like usual, not even being able to pay Kushina any attention as she was curled up on the other side of the familiar bed. He had rushed here straight after returning to the village to have his chances of meeting Mito again get a bit higher...
He grimaced slightly as his hand reached out to where a familiar set of feet would be waiting for him to massage. Heaving a forceful breath, Kai closed his eyes and then snapped them open. He wasn't a kid and he was prepared for it in the first place. Mito... had a special place in his heart but he has seen death in his previous life and even more in this one. He didn't have tears for Mito but a promise. A promise he intended to keep not to repay any favors.
You can't repay the favors to a dead. Just that he'd made a promise and he didn't have Gamer Mind breathing down his neck like last time to have him break all those promises. But again, he could feel Kushina's sadness. She was heartbroken. But when he dug deeper, he felt that maelstrom of everything that is raging and vindictive within her. Yet... Kai was a little surprised when that presence was somewhat weaker.
He still cannot even hope to fathom the strength of the Bijuu within Kushina but he was sure the beast was weak for some reason.
"Kai... I miss her..." Kushina whispered, feeling even worse now. Kai had returned safe and sound but she couldn't muster a shred of joy or relief at the moment as the thought of Mito lifelessly laying on her legs back then flashed in front of her eyes.
"Yeah, I miss her, too," Kai whispered and changed the subject, "What about you? And..."
"It's a damn fox... dattebane..." Kushina growled before weakly ending it off and explaining softly while slowly shuffling and sitting up before hugging her knees with a despondent expression, "Everyone who knows about Kyubi never told me how dangerous it was. Kai... it was so big... if it wasn't for Grandma Mito, I would have been devoured. But she... she left me with not only the fox but everything."
She looked at him, both of their gazes flashing in sadness again but they were interrupted by one of the servants, "Kushina-sama, Tsunade-sama is here—"
A body flickered into their room. It was Tsunade who pulled a chair for herself and spoke softly, "Sensei just told me after I gave the complete report..."
"Oh..." was the only response Kai could muster while Kushina crawled over to him and buried her head in his lap, silently hugging his waist while he stroked her hair. Even before they became genins, it was apparent to Kushina that Kai was more mature than her and that had led her to tease him often about many things but now she thanked her lucky stars that there was someone for her, or she didn't know what she would have done...
Tsunade merely shared the silence with them. Not offering anything because she had nothing to offer. What should she share? Her own sadness? The only reason she could hold it better than Kushina was her added experience but her clenched fists still quivered.
Realizing something, Kai looked at Tsunade, "Did we miss the funeral?"
"About that..." Tsunade frowned and exhaled a gloomy sigh, "The Hokage has sent a summon for you but you may be excused this time for not making it on time."
Although still a boy and a quirky one at that, Tsunade felt after what the boy had achieved these past few months, treating him like a child, a pitiful one at that would be a recipe for disastrous disrespect. Still, he was a boy and she knew how much Mito doted on him. More than Nawaki and Kushina, too, Tsunade knew. Her hands just fell on his head and as he silently stroked Kushina's head, her hand stroked the top of his head and gently ruffled through his hair.
---
Mikoto looked at the masked shinobi waiting for her in front of the entrance of their compound and nodded. With Tsunade and Kai entering the war front and leaving them behind, Mikoto found her time occupied by missions. Escort missions, delivery missions, and whatnot. Most of it had turned into simpler C-rank missions but Kushina wasn't allowed to take any and that made Mikoto drift from one team to another. What came from this was the fact that she became more well-known.
Not that she was given any chance to care for it. Not having Kushina in missions didn't change a thing as they would train with Nono in the Senju Compound whenever possible to push themselves forward but recent events made Mikoto confused.
Sharingan has three stages, each marked with an addition of a black tomoe mark in their pupils. The base Sharingan has one tomoe, when further developed, it will have two tomoe marks and then finally three. Each development brings an initial strain to the body and a need for recalibration of how the body should move to keep up with the enhanced dynamic vision... but Mikoto was surprised by what caused this development.
Wheel of Love, her father claimed Sharingan to be in a fit of humor than the Circle of Hatred. She felt helpless, a little too much. The thought of not being there for the boy and the consequence of that being his death, or worse circumstances, just pulled something out of her. It tugged on her again but not hard enough when she found Kushina once the death of Mistress Mito was announced.
These past few months truly have been wearier ever with many beginning to realize what the Diplomatic Missions really were. News of such kind cannot really be hidden.
Yet the moment she entered the Hokage office, finding three weary figures with bleak expressions alongside the Hokage behind his desk and the three elders on the seats in front of the table, Mikoto felt a little unnerved. She hadn't known that Kai and Sensei had returned but the Hokage seemed more intent to pursue another aim for this meeting and inhaled deeply from his pipe before speaking with the usual warmth in his tone, "Ah, Mikoto-kun, you will have time to share your experience with Kai-kun and Tsunade later. I do apologize for asking you on such short notice when you returned just a few hours ago yourself."
Making it clear, Hiruzen seemed to be focusing on Kai and let his lips tug into a sad smile, "I'm sorry for your loss, Kai-kun, Mito-san was an inspiration to all of us."
Kai wanted to cut short that he needed nothing of this. Inspiration? What a joke! She was pure menace restrained only by her wrinkles. The kind of grandma who'd either force cookies or a violent thrashing! She was no inspiration but a figure to fear and love... and aspire to become.
But it wouldn't do to blow his fuse until he could beat the man's ugly mug... damn he was irritated!
"Before leaving Kushina-chan with everything as her successor, Mito-san wishes for her body to be delivered to the Uzumaki Clan. Her last wish dictated that this mission should be given to Team Tsunade and none other. For that reason, we waited and preserved Mito-san's body in the hospital. She's been fully sealed and aside from that, Mito-san also wishes a sealed object to be delivered to Uzushiogakure."
The room was in heavy silence as Team Tsunade processed the information before Tsunade grunted with an annoyed scowl, "There's a but, isn't it? Would've thought you'd save our time from your theatrics and just be on with it."
Hiruzen sighed and nodded, "But in this sensitive moment, Konohagakure cannot allow Kushina to leave. This mission, if chosen to be accepted as Mito-san kept it optional for you, must be undertaken with Team Tsunade excluding Kushina Uzumaki."
The redhead bit her lower lip with obvious indignance while Tsunade narrowed her eyes, "And why are the three elders still present?"
Not letting Hiruzen speak for him, Danzo spoke up, "Because it is in Konoha's interest that such a decisively strong team doesn't leave the village or you may get targeted by the enemies. For that reason, we're here to persuade you."
"No!" Kushina snapped with a shocked expression, "At least let Grandma get her last wish dattebane!"
"Kushina-chan, the war is quite dangerous—"
"But after so much Grandma has done!" Kushina interjected with a less than moderate growl as she was burnt off of tears and she did NOT take the news kindly with her hair swaying gently due to the outrageous outburst of chakra in her words.
"Kushina!" Tsunade glared at the girl sternly while Mikoto had a deep frown. Not at Kushina's well-founded outburst but Danzo's following words as he spoke patiently, "A shinobi must become a tool and toss away their emotions."
'Your fucking mom is the village's tool, dumb bitch,' Kai scoffed internally and stated after a moment of another heavy silence as Tsunade didn't know which direction to take.
"Chunin Kai advises Team Leader Tsunade to accept the mission with the village's condition," Kai shrugged as if he wasn't despondent just a few seconds ago.
Danzo and the other elders frowned but having had enough of this farce, Tsunade hummed, "Suggestion noted. We will take this mission, Sensei."
"Understood," Hiruzen leaned back with a soft sigh and nodded, "Everyone except the elders and Kushina should return to the office tomorrow at 4 am for the mission's briefing."
---
"There, there... why the hell are you guys so intent on hugging me? Don't get me wrong, it feels good now that you finally started growing—" Interrupting his monologue that tainted the heartwarming hug Mikoto intended for it to be by shoving him away with a snort, the girl held Kushina's hand as Nono seemed to have forgotten her usual airheadedness and sat not far away from them.
"We will recover," Tsunade looked at the kids in front of her, "In my experience, Time is the definition of best iryo nin. It heals all wounds. What we're feeling now may never pass but we WILL live to adapt to it. Remember, our life and missions work alongside the possibility of death. Besides, even if I didn't see it, I am willing to bet everything that Grandma died with a smile."
Kushina flinched but then heaved a deep breath and nodded, "She did."
"Hmm," Tsunade nodded and cast a brief glance in Kai's direction who recovered his blank expression and nodded inwardly. Hurting or not, it was Kai who suggested that they took the mission and it wouldn't do if the boy was breaking apart.
Changing the topic, Tsunade looked at Kushina and sighed softly, "Kushina... Jinchurikis are restricted but I'm sure the clan in Uzushiogakure would have at least told you what was expected of you even if not speaking anything about Bijuu, right?"
Kushina nodded with a disgruntled huff while Nono pointed her obliviousness to the word, "Bijuu?"
"Right, it wouldn't do if ignorance on the matter and a few rumors caused misunderstanding within ourselves."
And with that, Tsunade explained once and for all to the group about Bijuu, Mito being a Jinchuriki of the strongest Bijuu, the Nine-tailed fox Kyubi, and how only individuals with astonishingly large chakra reserves can only hope to seal the chakra beast and suppress it under their own.
Nono nodded, accepting the information with a hint of healthy eagerness while Mikoto's hand squeezed Kushina's palm a little tighter.
"What about Uzushiogakure?" Kai questioned, being war buddied with the likes of Jiraiya and Orochimaru had its perks and Kai knew how the Uzumaki clan fiercely protected their neutrality, going as far as sealing themselves within their village. Tsunade's gaze flashed for a moment. She still remembered how Mito deduced that Senju and Uzumaki are being threatened...
The former turned out to be true but preparations and staying on top of things made sure to increase the clan shinobi's survival rate.
And about the latter...
Tsunade grew a bit more cautious.
"Alright! You have five more minutes. Make peace with everything. After that, I want to seriously assess your growth," She looked at Mikoto and Kushina with a brashness evident in her tone, "If Grandma knew we're wasting time sulking instead of preparing for her mission, she'd come down and give you the bamboo."
***
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