How are you doing? I'm pretty tired while editing this chapter so if I made a mistake or if something doesn't make sense comment and I'll explain or take care of it. The next chapter is going to be awesome in my opinion, but I'm pretty nervous about it. You'll know why when you read it next week, but basically, you'll find out the gimmick of the story. Anyway, enjoy the chapter.
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"That's... Fine, if you want a guarantee, take this. It has one of the last photos of my wife. But make no mistake, Haru, I'll be back for it once you calm down." Akemi said with a serious tone as he removed a necklace from his neck before tossing it to Haru.
"I'll give it back to you after I move all the weapons from here," Haru replied as he caught the neckless. "Now, what about you, Akira?" Haru questioned the spear-wielding guard. "Take this, It's the last gift my father gave me," Akira replied as he tossed his spear to Haru.
"Alright, this is acceptable. As I said, Ryu and I will move all of the equipment and weapons to a different location now, so it'll take a little while, but you'll get your things back," Haru said. "How much time would it take you?" Akemi questioned. "About a week or two, I'd guess. Moving the weapons is easy, we can even finish it today, but the equipment is the problem." Haru responded.
"Anyway, you can go now," Haru said to the two guards. The two turned and started to walk towards the exit when their instincts suddenly flared up. "Get down!" Akemi yelled as he and Akira hit the ground just in time. Not a split second later a spear shot above their heads and impaled itself into the wall. "Haru! What are you doing?!" Akemi exclaimed. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you leave here alive, even with what you provided," Haru said as he grabbed another weapon off the wall. "So you allowed us to leave just to lower our guard?! Give me my wife's photo back you son of a bitch!" Akemi yelled in anger as he grabbed a masterfully crafted Katana off the wall.
"Ryu! Akira is escaping, kill him!" Haru yelled as he deflected a blow from Akemi. "..." Ryu, who was still shocked by the whole situation, woke up from his father's order. "What?!" Ryu exclaimed in surprise. "Kill... *Ugh*... Him!" Haru yelled as he got hit by one of Akemi's slashes, resulting in a nasty wound on his left leg.
With a quick, adrenaline-filled breath, Ryu began to channel Chakra into Silver Eagle
Meanwhile, Akira's heart pounded with fear as he heard Haru's desperate shout. He knew he had to get away, and fast. Driven by sheer adrenaline, he attempted to pick up his pace, hoping to outrun the fate that was rapidly closing in on him. However, as he tried to sprint, he felt a searing pain in his leg as the blade hidden in his sandal buried itself in his foot. The pain was so intense that he lost his footing and, with a gasp, found himself sprawling on the ground.
As he lay there, desperately trying to regain his balance, the stolen blade slid out of his sandal, glinting in the cave's light.
"He stole a blade! Kill him, Ryu! You can't let him show it to anyone else!" Haru yelled. Ryu clenched his fist hard, so much so that he broke the skin and blood trickled out. Even so, he shot the sword forward toward the escaping Akira, who was just about to arrive at the staircase to the surface. Ryu wasn't opposed to killing, it was a very natural part of their reality in his eyes, but he wasn't prepared for the feeling he got as the sword flew at Akira's head.
As Ryu prepared to release the charged Silver Eagle towards Akira, time seemed to slow to a crawl. He could feel his heart hammering in his chest. His breathing grew shallow, each breath a whisper, as if to prolong the moment and delay the inevitable. As the adrenaline hit of the situation finally began to wear off, he realized what he was about to do.
Ryu's thoughts drifted to the man he was about to kill. Akira, a man in his late twenties, with a life and dream of his own. He had a mother and two siblings, and from their conversations, Ryu knew he was dating a kind and caring girl. The thought of the devastation his actions would cause tore at Ryu's heart.
As he stood there, frozen in time, beads of sweat formed on Ryu's brow. His grip on Silver Eagle tightened, his knuckles turning white with the effort, yet his arm quivered with uncertainty. He swallowed hard, trying to suppress the lump that had formed in his throat, and blinked rapidly as his eyes grew moist with unshed tears.
How could he face Akira's family after what he was about to do? They wouldn't know the truth, but that would only make the burden of his secret even heavier. Yet, deep down, Ryu knew he had no other option. The safety of his own family was at stake. The weight of his responsibility anchored him to the present, reminding him of the grim decision he had made.
With a trembling heart, Ryu closed his eyes briefly, as if to shield himself from the reality of his actions. His entire body tensed, every muscle coiled like a spring, and he let out a shaky breath, steeling himself for what was to come. There was no turning back now.
As time resumed its normal pace, Ryu opened his eyes, a steely determination glinting within them. He released his grip on Silver Eagle, allowing the sword to take flight. The weapon flew through the air like a harbinger of death, and Ryu's heart ached with the knowledge that he had crossed a point of no return.
At the very last moment, mere inches from Akira's head, Akira suddenly turned around and raised the dagger in front of his face, causing the sword to clash with it. Although Silver Eagle was of much higher quality compared to the stolen dagger, both of them were pieces that a master smith made. In their clash, although the dagger was destroyed beyond repair, it did manage to deflect the incoming sword, allowing Akira to continue his escape.
"Ah!" Haru's scream caught Ryu's attention, distracting him from the escaping Akira. As he turned around to look at his father, even though the battle lasted only a couple of minutes, Haru had several slashes across his body, most of them were shallow, but there were a couple of serious ones.
Haru was very powerful, but that was only with the strength of his creations, of which he had none on him. He stood no chance against a trained close combat expert in a one-on-one fight.
Thinking quickly, Ryu made Silver Eagle fly towards Akemi at blinding speeds, piercing cleanly through his right thigh and only stopping once the hilt made contact with the leg.
Akemi collapsed to the ground with an agonizing scream of pain. "Thanks, Ryu. Now, Akira should still be on the staircase. With Silver Eagle I-" Just as Haru ripped Silver Eagle out from Akemi's leg, earning a scream of pain, a loud sound was heard from the top of the staircase. The sound of crumbling earth. "*Sigh*, I guess it's too late now. At least he doesn't have the dagger, so that'll buy us some precious time," Haru sighed. But just as Ryu thought it was over, Haru continued to speak, this time with a more serious tone.
"That said, we have a problem to take care of," Haru said as he looked at Akemi who was tying a torn piece of his shirt around his leg, trying to stop the bleeding. "I never wanted you to fight, Ryu. I didn't want you to end up like me and your mother. I thought you'd be able to survive easily with your skills as a blacksmith, but I was wrong. Unfortunately, it seems that my vision won't come to pass. Although I can't teach you how to fight, I can teach you something else. I can teach you how to kill." Haru said as he looked at Akemi with cold eyes.
Without waiting for Ryu's reaction, Haru continued. "Listen to me, Ryu. When you kill someone, you need to justify it to yourself. It doesn't make it objectively okay, far from it, but it'll help resolve your moral issues. For example, let's take Akemi. First, and most importantly, he's basically dead. When you stabbed him with Silver Eagle, the blade went cleanly through the bone, and when I ripped it out I made sure it got everything else. He'll die an agonizing death, slowly bleeding out over the next few minutes. Making this a mercy kill. Is this enough for you to kill him?"
Seeing the hesitation on Ryu's face Haru continued: "Secondly if we let him go he'll try to kill us again and take the pendant he gave me. Even if I give it to him now, he'd still come back in the name of revenge, so you're eliminating a threat to our lives. Is this enough to justify killing him?" Haru questioned. Getting a small nod from Ryu. "Great. Now, take Silver Eagle and cut his head off. That'll be the fastest way to kill him. And don't use the flying function, do it with your hands."
Ryu took Silver Eagle from Haru before standing over Akemi. The latter was as pale as paper, with a giant pool of blood near his leg. Ryu saw that he was in agony, and thinking over his father's words, he took a deep breath before bringing the blade down on Akemi's head.
"I'm proud of you, Ryu. Unfortunately, I don't have more time to congratulate you. You need to go, the Shinobi will be here shortly," Haru cunt straight to the point. 'I can't let Ryu stay here! The Shinobi will kill me for what I did in the past, but they will certainly try to use Ryu. I need an excuse to make him escape,' Haru thought.
"What about you?" Ryu asked. "I'll be forced to make weapons for them, most likely," Haru answered his son with a sad smile. "Wait, then why do I need to run? Won't they treat us pretty well? We can wait and escape secretly when an opportunity comes, maybe even sabotage them from within," Ryu was confused.
"Probably, but you have a bigger role to play. The mist has come this far with only seven unique swords, if I make them anymore, the balance of power will collapse so we don't have time to wait for an opportunity to escape. And it's not like they don't have worthy Shinobi to use those swords, the moment I make one it'll enter the battlefield. This is where you come in, go to Konoha, and become their blacksmith. They'll accept you the moment they see your Sharingan," Haru explained.
Left with no choice, Ryu scrambled to pack his things. Luckily for Ryu, he didn't have many things of his own. He couldn't bring his blacksmithing tools, so he was only left with his books. Ryu read the dozens of books he had several times over, so he knew exactly what each one was about.
Ryu packed the most important books in his opinion, those being medical and survival books. Then came the most problematic issue, that being Silver Eagle. The sword was majestic, and it only took a slight glance to recognize the masterful craftsmanship, even for an untrained eye. Unfortunately, this was an issue since Ryu wanted to keep a low profile... Of course, he couldn't just leave the sword, so he could only cover it thoroughly with a cloth and hope for the best.
Around an hour later, Haru returned with a small bag containing quite a bit of money, then Ryu went aboard a carriage and left the village. Haru had a sad smile on his face as he watched his son go and after Ryu went far enough that he couldn't see him, Haru returned to the smithy where threw all the weapons into the lit forge and hammered them into a steel mesh.
About an hour later, just as Haru finished destroying the last of his creations, a squad of Shinobi burst into the underground forge.
"Hey Haru, long time no see," The leader of the Shinobi said cheerfully. "Huh, I didn't expect so many Jonins to be sent, do you think it's that hard to kill me, Riku?" Haru asked casually while he turned around to face the ninjas.
"After what happened five years ago, we wouldn't dare to be careless." Hearing that, Haru's calm expression faltered for a split second. "But I'm impressed. We thought we left no stone unturned looking for you, yet you managed to evade us while living so close. Akane would be proud," Riku said with a smirk.
Without blinking Haru's hand shot forward, and the hammer that was in it flew toward Riku's face. In a blink of an eye, Riku pulled out a Kuni and used it to deflect the hammer. "𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐫," Haru snarled.
"Oh, I'm so scared. Anyway, let's cut to the chase. You've gotta die, that's not going to change, but a little bird whispered to me that you have a son, congratulations by the way. Care to tell us where the little smith is? We'll kill you painlessly if you do," Riku asked Haru.
"Are you seriously me that? You should know that even the most brutal of torture won't get me to reveal a single piece of information," Haru laughed at the ridiculous question. "Eh, it was worth a try. Farewell, Ruler of Steel. It's a shame you chose this fate," Riku said with genuine regret creeping into his voice as he threw the Kuni in his hand at Haru's neck, killing him.
"Captain Riku, we must decide our course of action regarding the child. We cannot return to the village empty-handed," one of the Jonins inquired. The air in the room was heavy with the tension and weight of their mission.
"Send our best tracker; the boy couldn't have gone far. Once we have him, the higher-ups will be appeased," Riku commanded as he walked towards Haru's body and ripped out the bloody Kunai that was stuck in his throat, his gaze fixed upon the blood that dripped from it. "Understood, sir!" The ninja acknowledged the order and vanished in a swift, flickering motion.
A solemn silence enveloped the room, the remaining Jonins feeling the gravity of their actions. One of them approached Riku, patting him on the back. "You should be proud, Captain. You've just eliminated a member of the S-ranked duo 'Thousand Swords'. I can only imagine the recognition and rewards awaiting you."
Riku smirked, his eyes reflecting a mix of pride and sorrow. "Ha, don't get your hopes up. You're not getting any of those rewards... Sigh, I can't believe I killed him so easily. I would have loved to witness his legendary craftsmanship once more, but to think he managed to destroy all evidence of it... It's a tremendous loss."
"It is indeed," the other ninja concurred, a hint of regret in his voice. "He could have been a valuable asset to the Mist. Nevertheless, we can still secure his son."
Riku nodded in agreement. "Yes, I have faith that our tracker will locate him swiftly. However, we must ensure that any information regarding the boy remains confidential. If word were to reach another village, it could ignite a conflict we are ill-prepared to face. The stakes are higher than ever, and we cannot afford another war."
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'Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHITTTTT! Who the hell is this?!' Ryu thought as he watched a Shinobi appear in front of the carriage he was riding. The Shinobi in question held his hand forward with his palm open, signaling the driver to stop.
"I'm looking for a kid, black hair and eyes, you have someone like that here?" The Ninja asked roughly. "U-uh, I-I don't think so, s-sir," the frightened driver said. "Tch, useless. Everyone out and in a line, I'll look for myself," The tracker ordered.
Everyone got out and lined up as the Jonin said, and among the travelers, one stood out. How could he not, with him being around a meter and a half tall. He had a hood on his head, covering it from the back, and he was squirming nervously.
Smirking, the Shinobi walked towards the figure before violently tearing the hood of his head, only to reveal a blond-haired and blue-eyed child. "D-do you need anything, Mister?" The kid asked in a shaky voice. "...No," The shinobi grunted after thinking for a bit and continuing to examine the line.
"Ha..." The man behind the child let out a muffled sigh of relief. 'That was close,' Ryu thought to himself. Ryu managed to transform while there was a little chaos when everyone got out to form the line, and while he was scared that the covered Silver Eagle would give him away, it appears that the fact that he transformed into an adult was enough to elude the tracker.
As for the smoke puff, after mastering the Transformation Jutsu to a certain extent it was easy to disregard it. Wasn't the Jutsu's original use meant to be for stealth? Why attract attention with a smoke cloud in the first place?
Suddenly, however, a shiver ran down his spine as he saw the Jonin pull out a Kuni. "Wh-what are you doing?!" A frightened civilian asked.
"Well, here's the thing. I know that the one I'm looking for is here, there's no question about that, but he's transformed himself and I can't tell who he is. My orders were to bring him alive or kill him at all costs, so I'm just going to kill you all," The Jonin had a sickly smile as he vanished before repeating near the man and cutting his head off with a single motion.
Chaos erupted around Ryu as the people around him, overcome with terror, began to scatter in all directions. Ryu's heart raced in his chest, the fear contagious and suffocating. He was only a blacksmith, a craftsman who had dedicated his life to forging weapons, not wielding them in battle. The thought of fighting the attacker didn't even cross his mind for a second.
As Ryu darted through the pandemonium, his pulse pounding in his ears, he couldn't help but be acutely aware of the Jonin's deadly presence. The man was a specter of death, appearing and disappearing like a shadow, leaving a trail of blood and devastation in his wake.
The sheer power and precision with which he slaughtered the people around him was a chilling reminder of what awaited Ryu should he be unable to evade his grasp.
Despite his best efforts, Ryu's luck eventually ran out. After flickering around the area and slaughtering the rest of the people, the tracker finally made his way to Ryu. The Ninja appeared before him, his face containing a maniacal, sadistic, smile.
In his hand, a bloody Kuni glistened menacingly, its sharp edge stained with the lifeblood of his previous victims. Ryu's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in horror as the Jonin raised the weapon, preparing to deliver the fatal blow.
In one swift motion, the Jonin thrust the Kuni toward Ryu's heart, the blade slicing through the air with deadly intent. As the weapon closed in, time seemed to slow to a crawl.
Ryu could feel the icy tendrils of fear wrapping around his heart, threatening to consume him completely. But just when it seemed as if all hope was lost, something extraordinary occurred.
The moment the Kuni was about to pierce Ryu's flesh, the torso area around his heart suddenly transformed into water. The blade passed through the liquid harmlessly, leaving Ryu unharmed.
The Jonin, caught off-guard by Ryu's miraculous escape, hesitated for a moment, his eyes narrowing with curiosity and frustration.
'Yes, it worked!' Ryu thought happily as his plan succeeded. By using the Transformation Jutsu, Ryu managed to transform a select part of his body into water the same way Haru did when he grew more arms. Taking advantage of the Jonin's confusion, Ryu unwrapped Silver Eagle and slashed the Shinobi across the chest, leaving a nasty mark. "Ah!" The surprised Ninja exclaimed in pain. "Ha! Eat shit, Asshole!" Ryu yelled as he continued to run away.
"That's an interesting technique you got there... Let's see how long you can pull it off!" The Shinobi said as he started performing hand seals, ignoring Ryu's provocation, before shooting a large water ball toward Ryu.
Once again, Ryu transformed himself just before the Jutsu hit him. It looked as if he vanished into thin air as he transformed himself into, well, air, only to reappear after the water ball crashed against the ground behind him. But when he reappeared, the Shinobi was already waiting near him with his Kuni only a couple of centimeters from Ryu's throat. Using the water ball as a cover, he silently flickered to where Ryu was.
However, once again, the Kuni passed right through Ryu as his neck turned into fire, burning the Shinobi's hand. But just as the Kuni passed through him, Ryu felt a strong pain in his stomach before flying back and crashing against a tree. Looking at the Ninja, his vision still blurred from the force of the hit, Ryu saw his knee was raised upwards at a diagonal angle.
"So it isn't Automatic, you need to activate it manually, that's good to know." The Shinobi said as he landed on the ground, his hand a little red from burns, but he didn't seem to care. "Still, it's very impressive you can react to my attacks. Even if I am playing with you, to think I'd need to create a blind spot before landing an attack. Though I guess a blacksmith is supposed to be good at analyzing things," the Shinobi said.
*Cough*, Ryu coughed up blood as he slowly got up. Luckily for him, an extremely sturdy body was an inevitable result of practicing blacksmithing. If Ryu's body was any weaker, he wouldn't have been able to endure the Jonin's hit. However, that wasn't to say he wasn't in poor condition, he felt the air violently escaping his lungs, leaving him gasping in an attempt to recover.
Ryu didn't want to use Silver Eagle, he didn't want it snatched from him by accident, but he didn't have an option.
Ryu threw Silver Eagle into the air after infusing some Chakra into it, and the sword shot into action.
The Shinobi's eyes widened in surprise as the sword bore down on him, its silvery blade glinting menacingly. In a heartbeat, it was already mere inches from his face, threatening to gouge out his eyes. Relying on his sharp instincts, the Ninja dodged to the side at the last possible moment, his movements swift and precise. The blade whistled past his ear, narrowly missing its mark.
But Silver Eagle was relentless. Under Ryu's guidance, the sword pursued the Shinobi with unyielding determination, leaving him no choice but to move from tree to tree, desperately trying to shake the weapon.
As the chase continued, Ryu's brow furrowed in concern. The Jonin's movements were gradually becoming more fluid and controlled, the initial shock of the flying sword wearing off. He was adapting, learning to anticipate Silver Eagle's movements and countering them with increasing ease.
Determined not to let his opponent gain the upper hand, Ryu attempted to alter the sword's trajectory and speed. Yet, his inexperience with Silver Eagle proved to be his downfall, as the Jonin found it even easier to dodge the now erratic blade.
The Jonin began to incorporate intricate acrobatic maneuvers into his evasive tactics. He swung from low-hanging branches, using the momentum to propel himself into corkscrews and flips. He leaped from tree to tree, his body twisting and contorting in mid-air, each movement deliberately designed to confuse the flying sword and throw it off course, and mock Ryu's abilities.
As the Jonin grew more confident, he seamlessly integrated offense into his movements. With each dodge, he hurled a flurry of kunai at Ryu, forcing him to transform his body, and allowing the deadly blades to pass harmlessly through him. His focus now split between constantly transforming and guiding Silver Eagle, Ryu struggled to keep his eyes on the Jonin as he danced through the forest.
Ryu could bearly keep it together, the amount of concentration needed for continuous and precise transformations non-stop and to control Silver Eagle at the same time was enormous. And let's not even mention the Chakra consumption rate of using Jutsus without hand signs.
Time was running out; he needed a way to escape, and he needed it now. Dodging the Jonin's relentless attacks could only carry him so far. He needed another way to attack, another Silver Eagle. The thought of using his own body was tempting but far too risky. Desperate, Ryu's eyes darted about, searching for anything that could serve as a viable alternative.
A tiny glint caught his attention. A small, seemingly insignificant pebble lying close to his leg. But the Transformation Jutsu was designed to work only on one's own body, not on external objects. Ryu's situation, however, left him no room for doubt or hesitation.
If he was to survive this ordeal, he needed to break free from the limits imposed by the Jutsu's traditional use. It was time to take the Jutsu to the next level.
Gritting his teeth, Ryu picked up the pebble, feeling its weight in his hand. With his other hand, he formed a one-handed seal. Chakra surged through his body like a raging river, pooling at his fingertips as he prepared to activate the Jutsu. Memories of his father crafting the Silver Eagle flooded his mind, and the Sharingan enabled him to recall even the most minute details with astonishing clarity.
With his heart racing, Ryu channeled his desperate resolve into the Transformation Jutsu. He envisioned the pebble as a conduit, merging his profound knowledge of the Silver Eagle with the Jutsu's intricate workings. And as Ryu activated the Jutsu, the transformation occurred.
Ryu's eyes widened with amazement as he marveled at the success of his improvised technique. Without wasting a moment, he infused the newly-formed sword with Chakra and sent it hurtling toward the Jonin. Now faced with two formidable blades, the Jonin struggled to keep up, and the barrage of Kuni previously aimed at Ryu ceased.
A sudden wave of drowsiness washed over Ryu, momentarily breaking his concentration. The swords wavered in their assault, giving the Jonin a sense of hope before Ryu regained his cool.
He shook off the weariness and continued his relentless attack on the Jonin, all the while making a mental note of the heightened level of concentration required for his new technique. It was new and unrefined, and Ryu knew it had its limitations. overusing the Jutsu in the heat of battle would be unwise for the time being.
However, Ryu couldn't contain his curiosity and determination to explore the extent of his newfound power. This battle provided the perfect opportunity to test his limits. He steeled himself and created another copy of Silver Eagle, followed by another, and then another.
With the minimal Chakra consumption of the Transformation Jutsu, Ryu continued to generate the swords at a staggering pace. He only stopped when it became clear that he could no longer control them simultaneously, yet he had produced over 20 functional copies.
The Shinobi, now facing the overwhelming swarm of flying swords, fought to maintain his composure as fear began to creep into his heart. His sadistic smile was wiped off long ago.
Each blade glinted menacingly in the dim light, a lethal dance orchestrated by Ryu's newfound power. The Shinobi knew he had to act fast, relying on every trick and maneuver he had ever learned to evade the relentless onslaught. With agility born of desperation, the Shinobi leaped into the air, flipping and twisting as he narrowly avoided the first wave of swords.
He swung himself through the densely packed trees, using his exceptional maneuverability to temporarily outpace the pursuing blades. His eyes darted from side to side, searching for an opening or a path that might offer an escape from the relentless pursuit.
As the Shinobi leaped from branch to branch, he could feel the cold steel of the swords slicing through the air, mere inches from his skin. The once confident Jonin was now consumed by an overwhelming sense of helplessness, realizing that he was fighting a losing battle.
His once graceful movements grew sluggish with fatigue, and his breathing became labored, his body screaming in protest from the exertion. Despite his tenacity, it was clear that the Jonin's efforts were ultimately futile. The inexorable storm of swords closed in around him, cutting off all avenues of escape. With a final, desperate lunge, he attempted to clear a gap in the deadly whirlwind, but his luck had finally run out.
The swarm of blades converged on him, cutting through the air with a chilling sound, like the whispering of death itself. The Shinobi's body convulsed as the swords found their mark, puncturing his flesh and impaling him from all angles. He didn't even have time to realize where he was struck from as his soul left his body.
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So, yeah, the Transformation Jutsu is highly underused in my opinion... I hope you liked the chapter, if you have any feedback please don't be afraid to leave it in the comments since I always do my best to reply and it's a lot of fun. The next chapters won't be so long though...
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