Earning My Stripes (Mizuki-SI)

[Bakkughan]

STEP 0.1​

​

---

I still vividly remember the most profound thought I had after I had woken up in this new life.

The question wasn't what to steal.

The question was what to steal first.

Now, that wasn't my first thought when I woke up. No, that had been a mixture of 'why the hell does everything hurt so damned much?' and 'who the hell turned off the lights?'.

Yeah, as it turns out, it's not fun waking up in prison. Much less so in ninja-prison. Even less so when you haven't really done anything to warrant waking up in said ninja-prison. Like I said, I literally just woke up there; I hadn't even had a chance to actually do anything at all yet, much less do something illegal that was actually worthy of being thrown in prison over.

Unfortunately for me, I woke up in the body of a guy who did deserve it twice over, and discovering that little fact was yet another shock to the system.

The surroundings, the pain, all of the confusion had come to a head when I stumbled through the darkened room and came across a bucket (painfully, as I found it with my little toe) which had what I dearly hoped was water in it. The silver-haired reflection looking back at me had been unrecognizable. The explanation had come from a gruff voice sounding out from beyond the thick bars to what I later realized was my prison cell.

"Mizuki. Get up, you're part of the next work detail, traitor."

"… wha-?"

That had been enough to knock me right back to blissful sleep again as my mind shut down and I drifted out of consciousness.

Not that my captors had been willing to grant me my much deserved freak-out. They came in my cell when I didn't respond, kicked my already bruised ribs a couple times and when that wasn't enough to wake me up, they held some smelling salts underneath my nose. Unfortunately, that only led to more pain as my head shot up in shock, smashing right into the nose of my jailor, who (after some well-placed curses) generously paid me back in kind.

From there, it was just a long string of confusion as they dragged me from my cell while I tried to figure out where I was and what the hell I was doing there in the first place. The first one didn't take long to become apparent: Konoha jail. More specifically, the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, which apparently was some sort of ninja supermax prison.

The surroundings being made of boiling lava with only one drawbridge serving as a connection to the outside world was a big clue.

Even so, those surroundings, this building, these people, it should've all been impossible, considering Konoha didn't exist.

Except the heat was real. The grip on my shoulders was real. And by god, the thrumming pain coming from bruises that seemed to cover every single part of my body were definitely real, to say nothing of the splitting headache.

'Maybe I got a visit from Truck-kun? That's why my body hurts so much. Though it sucks that I apparently got sent to Hell… I mean, sure I wasn't a saint, but I'm fairly sure the most illegal things I've done are speeding and torrenting movies and I paid those speeding tickets anyways!'

But that was ridiculous. Surely, God (whichever one was in charge) didn't care enough about illegally streaming movies to condemn me to Hell, right?

I was drawn from my musings on the unfairness of the afterlife as I was dragged up several floors of what seemed to be a large castle placed centrally in an triangular island that rose up from the middle of the active caldera, giving me my first good look at this new world I suddenly found myself in.

We passed a window that allowed me to look out over the elongated tip of the triangular island, a central rocky field surrounded by a large chain link fence, which was in turn surrounded by a brick wall that had a large guard tower at the far end of the triangle shaped jail.

Right as I looked outside, a massive geyser of lava exploded outwards from the surrounding caldera, its spray of molten rock reaching several dozens of meter high and raining down ash and sulfur on the prisoners below, bathing the hallway in a dull, oppressive orange light.

'Never mind, apparently God hates online piracy and has clearly sent me to Hell. Dammit, I really should've shelled out for Disney…' I thought, oddly enough having the lucidity to wonder whether or not I'd gone insane before my musings were interrupted as the guard forcibly dragged me away from the window, still stemming his bruised nose.

To my surprise, given the… enthusiasm they'd shown when they'd woken me up, my captors weren't taking me to one of the backrooms for some creative punishments. Instead I was pushed rather unceremoniously in what seemed to be the med bay of the facility.

It was stark, but seemed clean (or cleaner than my cell and the darkened hallways had been at least) with just a couple of beds, bare walls and just the one desk. No dividers, I noticed, which was to be expected I suppose. No privacy in prison after all. Most of the nearly two dozen beds were empty. Only a few had occupants, and of them only one seemed to have any serious injuries, most of the right side of his body bandaged and currently being looked over by a nurse.

The others mostly seemed to have cuts and scrapes over their bare feet and lower arms, clad as they were in a short-sleeved grey uniform, one that my new body was wearing as well. The head nurse or doctor, a severe looking middle aged woman, looked up from the desk she was seated behind, shooting the burly guard at my side an annoyed look, clearly disturbed in going through a stack of paperwork.

"Don't tell me someone else managed to hit a vein and got hit by a lava spray too?" she sounded exasperated and even in my dazed and confused state, I couldn't help but blanch a bit at how bored she sounded.

'Just how often do people here get hit with lava for it to be a fucking chore?' I slightly panicked (on top of all the regular panicking I was already doing) and despite the swell of heat pushing into the room from the open windows, I found myself shivering in the guards' grip.

"Nothing like that. Seems like our friend here pretty much cracked. Doesn't even seem to be aware of what's going on." The guard on my left explained, hoisting me up with just one hand with worrying ease, as if I didn't weigh anything at all despite the fact I was a bit taller than he was.

"They all do, eventually. This was fast though, much faster than usual. Still, what do you want me to do about it? I'm a doctor, not a shrink. They break their foot, you bring 'em to me. They break their minds… well, tough luck getting psychiatric help in here." The doctor dismissed easily, her voice weary.

"Look, I'm not asking you to glue his soul back together or whatever. Just… give him something for the shakes or something, make it so he doesn't keep passing out and looking around at the world as if he's a newborn toddler." The guard rebutted.

'Well, I mean… I sort of am.' I thought, surprised by the care the man showed me, going against the medical staff as he was-

"Bastard is a traitor to the Leaf. He still has many years of his sentence left to go. I don't intend to let him duck even a single one of 'em by transferring him to a comfortable retirement home just 'cause he pleads insanity." The guard growled out and his grip on my shoulder tightened painfully.

'Ah… dammit.'

The man unceremoniously threw me against one of the nearby beds, its thin legs scraping loudly against the floor as it shifted underneath my sudden weight and I let out a chocked cough as the railing suddenly impacted my stomach.

None of the nurses seemed to even react to the sudden violence, and neither did the prisoners. In fact, they turned their heads away from me, gaze distant and not quite here. The only one who even seemed to notice was the head doctor and that seemed to be more out of annoyance at the disturbance in her domain rather than out of any care for her patients.

For a moment, she and my guards exchanged glances, before she snorted in clear disgust.

"Fine. I'll keep him docile for now. Give it a day or two, he should've calmed down enough he'll rejoin the work detail without much issue." She eventually conceded.

The guard that had pushed for my 'help' gave a firm nod, before sharply turning on his heel and striding from the room. The other, who had stayed silent so far, instead crossed his arms over his familiar green flak jacket as he leaned against the doorframe, eyes flitting from me to the other prisoners and back to me again. Ignoring the added security, the head doctor rose from behind her desk, stepping over to a nearby cabinet and pulling a bottle filled with pills from it. She idly shook out two on the palm of her hand, before glancing over at my trembling, sweating form and shaking out two more with a frown on her face.

Storing the bottle, she came up around her desk as she approached me with quick, measured steps.

"Lie down on the bed." She ordered, but all I could do was blink blearily up at her.

The frown on her face deepened.

"Look, I have absolutely no intention of picking up your limp body from the floor, so it's up to you where you'll spend the next few hours. Left there on the floor, or here in the bed." She stated firmly and I swallowed as I followed her instructions.

"W-wait… please…?" I managed to rasp out as she approached me, one hand feebly raised.

From over the shoulder of the woman, I saw the guard tense at my movement, but the doctor merely blinked, apparently somewhat taken aback by the sheer desperation in my voice.

"W-what's going on? W-where am I?" I managed and the guard rolled his eyes.

"Damn, Mizuki, really playing it up here, huh?" the man scoffed.

"… but my name isn't Mizuki…" I trailed off, before looking towards the woman, hopelessly lost.

"Yes. It is. Your name is Oniyuri Mizuki. You are currently in the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, formerly Ninja Prison for Capital Offenses and Felonies."

I blinked at the waterfall of words and the woman shrugged.

"We downsized." She explained curtly, before continuing.

"You are here, Mizuki, to serve out your three consecutive life sentences as decreed by the Third Hokage for crimes against Konoha."

Ice filled my veins.

'Konoha? Hokage?'

"W-what… a life sentence? Why?" I choked out instead.

"Being a traitor tends to rack up quite the punishment." The guard answered with a dark chuckle.

"Traitor? What-"

"Each act of betrayal constitutes a life sentence. Your attempted theft of the Scroll of Sealing, which falls under selling state secrets of the Village to outsiders. A quite ridiculously large number of them at that. Attempted murder of chūnin Umino Iruka, noted to be extra heinous considering you were comrades, and of genin Uzumaki Naruto. And revealing Uzumaki's status as a jinchūriki, which constitutes breaking an S-Rank secret. By the way, that last one is also punishable by death, so in a manner of speaking, you got lucky getting a life sentence instead." The woman stated, though by now a deep frown was marring her face and she mostly seemed to be talking on auto-pilot.

Most of her focus seemed to be on my expression as she fished a slim flashlight from the pocket of her white coat, shining the light in my eyes, checking my pupils.

Meanwhile, I couldn't help but let out a strangled cough.

"L-lucky?!"

"In a manner of speaking." The woman simply repeated, still frowning deeply as her slim fingers came up and begin very delicately touching and prodding my head, mostly my temples and the base of my skull.

"You arrived yesterday, mostly a collection of cuts and bruises rather than an actual person, still quite out of it. Apparently, the Uzumaki brat and your comrade positively pounded you into the ground, stopping your betrayal." The woman muttered, voice lower now as she began seriously examining me.

"Heh. Serves the damned bastard right."

'Well, fuck you too asshole.'

"I'm not sure…" the doctor said, drawing surprised looks from both me and the guard as she straightened, returning the flashlight to her pocket, before she glanced at the pills in her hand, shaking her head with a scoff.

As she walked back towards the cabinet besides her desk, the guard pushed off the door frame, his stance confrontational.

"Wait, what? This bastard nearly severs his comrade's spine and you're not sure-?"

"I'm do doubt the illegality his actions, or disagree with the severity of the punishment." The doctor cut him off, returning the pills to their bottle, before retrieving a worryingly large needle instead.

"Then what the hell-"

Again the woman ignored him as she returned to my bedside, her eyes scarily intent and focused solely on my own.

"You… you really have no memory of your crimes, do you? No memory of arriving here?"

Slowly, I shook my head, a churning feeling in my gut worming its way up to set my lungs on fire and constrict my throat. Not trusting my words, I simply settled for shrugging helplessly, trying to ignore how tears were forming in my eyes, hot and heavy.

"Please… I don't know what's going on… N-nothing you've said, it… it doesn't make any sense. I just want to go home…"

"Damn. You don't think he's faking?" the guard interrupted, questioning the doctor who seemed to chew the question over for a moment.

"Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't. But considering the state of him… to say nothing of the shape he was found in, amnesia is definitely a distinct possibility. The damage to his body would be sufficient and he's displaying all the classic symptoms."

"He could be faking those too!"

"Maybe he is. Maybe he isn't." the woman simply stated again with a shrug.

Then she lightly pushed on my chest and I couldn't suppress a wince as my entire ribcage flared with pain, crying out in protest. Still, it was all for naught, the slim hand pushing me down with deceptive ease. With sure movements borne from experience, she lines the syringe up with a vein in my forearm, which I only now realized was covered in a massive tattoo.

"Like I said, I'm no psychiatrist. I can only state that his skull got rattled enough, brain damage is a distinct possibility. You want to dig any deeper than that, get a Yamanaka in here."

"… alright, so what then? Just 'cause he can't remember it doesn't mean he didn't pull that shit in the first place."

"I don't know. I'll make a report, kick it up the chain. Considering who is involved in all of this, it might even be worthy enough to land on the Hokage's desk. In any case, we need to inform his fiancée."

'What the-?!'

My eyes, slowly being dragged shut by whatever drug the woman had just injected me with, flew wide open and despite the protestations of my body, I flew half upright in the rickety bed, startling the guard enough he whipped a kunai from his equipment pouch.

"I have a fiancée?!" I spluttered, voice cracking and both of them looked at me with surprised blinks.

"… alright, fair enough, so maybe he's not faking it." The guard conceded sheepily.

---

My hospital visit had been two days ago. Not that I would've known if the staff hadn't informed me of the fact, considering it was hard to tell the time in here. The large central area, containing the various halls filled with cells, was wide and low and shockingly large, but also located underground and thus always concealed in a dark gloom, reddened by the volcanic glow coming from outside. The walls and floor were slick with condense and whenever a door two floors up opened and closed, we could tell even all the way down here just by the terrible draft that seemed to steal away the warmth on your skin, sometimes even cutting through your flesh to bite into your bones.

Still, we were grateful for it, considering the ever-present sweltering heat of the volcano below and around us, its heaviness enough to make it an almost physical weight resting on every single inch of your body, making the air difficult to drag into your lungs. Down here, it was tough, but outside in the work yard, it could be downright painful as the heat burnt its way down your throat, parching and drying you with every breath.

I wasn't surprised at how callous the doctor had been at the prospect of another prisoner losing his mind: in conditions like this, I wouldn't even be surprised if it happened to the occasional guard as well.

I had heard no further updates on what had happened to the report she'd sent back to Konoha. At the very least, I had been given medical leave from the work detail in the yard until my injuries had healed somewhat, especially the ones to my skull. Still, despite my injuries, said leave only extended for a week.

Apparently, ninja heal faster than normal (and it wasn't like they actually cared whether or not I was fully healed after all), though I still struggled wrapping my head around the fact that I was one now.

And not just some rando, unnamed one either, which at this point would've been preferable. But no, I had woken up in one of the worst possible named characters in the series to become, save the ones that served as cannon fodder for more important characters' backstories.

Oniyuri Mizuki, the first villain in one of the most popular anime series of all time. A one note character mostly there to set the plot in motion and then tossed in jail and left to rot as the protagonist went off to better and bigger things (and better and bigger villains too).

I remember Mizuki got taken off the shelf and dusted off in a filler arc in the anime when he (or I, I suppose) escaped prison and ended up turning into his tiger-fursona… somehow. However, due to it having happened in a filler arc, I hadn't watched it.

'… I haven't watched the episodes in which I escape! God dammit!'

I would've slammed my head into the wall of my cell if it weren't for the doctor's orders expressly forbidding me from doing so.

All I knew was that I would end up escaping by enlisting the help of The Legendary Stupid Brothers (whoever those guys might be), get into a couple of fights, use a flawed protype powerup I had apparently gotten from Orochimaru sometime in the past and then I'd get my ass kicked and be sent right back to prison, this time for good.

'Yeah… that is absolutely unacceptable.'

Waking up in this place was enough to last me for a lifetime (or two, technically). I didn't belong here and I'd be damned if they'd send me back in here for the remainder of my three consecutive life-sentences.

So, I had to plan, find a way to Shawshank my way out of this mess. What means did I have to get out of this place and then, what means did I have to stay out of this place?

Like I said, I had heard nothing about the report on my amnesia that had been sent back to Konoha, so I couldn't rely on that. First they'd have to actually believe that I had amnesia in the first place, or alternatively that I couldn't deal with the shame of my betrayal and had gone schizoid, disassociating myself from Mizuki and creating an entirely new personality, both of which were only partially true and the actual truth somehow seemed even more unbelievable. Then secondly, based on that they'd have to decide to renew the investigation and then lastly they'd have to decide that, since it technically wasn't me (or the same mind, at least) that had committed the crimes, I shouldn't be put in jail for them and then set me free.

Yeah, somehow I can't quite see a ninja village going through so many hoops, even if it was reputed to be the nicest one.

So just being allowed to walk out of here was a pipe dream. What did I have instead? I may not have watched the actual episodes, but I did have a rough idea of how Mizuki had escaped originally. It had taken him a while, since I remember that Sasuke had already left the Village, so it was after the Konoha Crush. So, it would've taken me about a year?

Yeah, that felt right, considering Mizuki had had enough time to follow in Uncle Iroh's footsteps and had gotten prison jacked.

So, in a year, Mizuki had found enough intel and means in this place to manipulate the Legendary Stupid Brothers in aiding in his escape. Even if I didn't know exactly how yet, that wasn't truly important at the moment, considering I apparently had roughly a year to figure it out.

No, the important thing was that it served as a reminder and a motivator; escape was possible. It was a canon event (or filler event, same difference). Not that I had ever attempted to escape prison before, but I had watched Shawshank Redemption enough times to know that motivation was half the battle in these sorts of things.

Ok, so that was what the original Mizuki had had to work with. What did I bring to the table? A lot of knowledge about the outside world, future events even, but until I actually escaped to the outside world, its usefulness was diminished for now. However, perhaps more importantly than my outside knowledge, was my own personality. Yes, I now occupied Mizuki's body and thus had his skillset and powers, but I didn't share his goals or have his toxic personality.

I wasn't driven by revenge against Iruka and Naruto, or even Konoha as a whole, despite the fact the Village was responsible for throwing me in this hellhole. It wasn't like you could really plan for transmigrators mistakenly waking up in your criminals' bodies, after all.

No, the moment I got out of here I'd cut my losses and run instead of picking a losing fight. But other than that, since I didn't share Mizuki's hatred, I also didn't share his hang-ups.

In short, I ain't too proud to beg.

Apparently, I had a fiancée waiting for me (which still weirded me out, I really wish I had actually bothered with that filler arc) which could mean either two things:

One, she was in on Mizuki being an evil son of a bitch and thus would be willing to spring me from this joint.

Two, she had been enamored with the carefully maintained front he had put up, the same one that had fooled Iruka and Naruto themselves for so long.

I was leaning towards the latter, since I couldn't remember the fiancée actively breaking him out of prison or going against Konoha, but I could work with that. It'd actually work to my advantage, considering I doubt I could pull off being a manipulative evil bastard in front of my potentially manipulative evil fiancée. I just had to win back the confidence of the woman that Mizuki had managed to fool, and then see if I could convince her to smuggle me supplies or such.

… which actually was very manipulative of me, but confined as I was to my jail cell, I tried to convince myself that at least it was for a worthier cause that the real Mizuki had been.

In addition to the woman, I had my relationship with my victims-slash-assaulters as well. Iruka and Naruto were both good guys and Naruto especially was quick to forgive. I mean, he called the guy who murdered his parents and plunged the world into war 'the coolest guy', what's a little shuriken-throwing and emotional damage compared to that, right? Right?

Like I said, I ain't too proud to beg. I don't care how often I have to ask, cry and plead for an audience with the kid, but I bet that if I had a heart to heart with the hero of this world, if I truly apologized (and why wouldn't I, considering Mizuki had been a right asshole to him for no apparent reason) then the kid would put in a good word for me with his grandfather figure.

Incidentally, said grandfather was the man that sentenced me to this place in the first place and also the man with the power to set me free, so hey, win-win all around!

Nodding, I went over my list, drawn with mud on one of the slick walls of my cell, barely illuminated by the light spilling in from the open double doors that led to the large set of stairs placed centrally in the large prison hall. The appearance of the list was both comforting as well as disconcerting, considering it was written in kanji, which I definitely didn't know how to read or write in my previous life.

That was a good indication that I could safely rely on the strong muscle memory and habits that this body had ingrained over the course of Mizuki's life, instead of needing to build everything from the ground up. Imagine trying to learn each individual handseal and how they affected chakra from the midst of a darkened cell, or just how to hold a kunai or throw a punch?

'Ok, so what means do I currently have? 1. The Legendary Stupid Brothers and whatever else Mizuki scrounged together for his original escape plan. 2. Mizuki's fiancée who's hopefully willing to help me out. 3. Begging for the chance to apologize to Iruka and Naruto and have their goodwill with the Hokage potentially reduce or lighten my sentence.'

A meager list, but that last part was an important one. It's difficult to escape a place that's on an isolated island in the middle of an active volcano with only one bridge leading to the outside world. Hell, just ask Fiona considering it worked on her and I don't think I can wait around for my very own Shrek to come and rescue me.

However, a prisoner transfer, on its way through the thick forest of Fire Country all by its lonesome?

Yeah, I liked those odds much better.

Despite how depressingly short the list was, realistically I couldn't really add anything to it until I figured out more about how Mizuki had escaped originally and whether or not his fiancée had been a victim or an accomplice of his.

So, instead I smeared some more mud on my hands and began a second list. Because while my outside knowledge was a great motivator to let me know escape was indeed possible, I also knew that freedom wasn't guaranteed. All of my preparations would be for nothing if Naruto would just bow his head, clench his fist, mutter something about friendship and loneliness (bonus points for a flashback involving a swing) and then out of nowhere kick my ass with a Rasengan, no matter how badly I had been beating him beforehand.

Plot doesn't care about a battle, it just cares about the win and it most definitely wasn't on my side.

Which meant, first order of business, right at the top of my list in all caps and bold:

1. DO NOT FUCKING FIGHT NARUTO

Like I said, I didn't care about getting revenge on the kid like Mizuki had. No use in getting even with teenagers when it was my freedom on the line here. No, if I had to escape this place, I'd dip first chance I got. Run far, far away from here.

That, of course, led to the logical question of where I'd be running off to.

One of the other major villages? I'd still come in as a traitor and I didn't have much to offer. That one guy that defected to Ame and let Ibiki's little brother take the blame had to bring the Second Hokage's lightsaber with him as a bargaining chip to be made jonin there. If Mizuki had actually succeeded in stealing the Scroll, I might have more of an inroad with the other Villages, but then again, if he had succeeded, I wouldn't be stuck in this cell.

On the other hand, he'd have gone running straight to Orochimaru with it instead, and to be honest, I think I prefer the active volcano to that creepy snake guy.

Besides, being a part of an enemy Village, especially Sound or Sand, had a high chance of contradicting rule one, by bringing me into conflict with Konoha and thus, potentially, with one Uzumaki Naruto.

Becoming part of an allied Village, like Taki, or one of the numerous small ones that briefly showed up in various filler arcs? No confrontation, but also no guarantee they wouldn't just hand my ass wrapped on a silver platter back to Konoha, so that was out too.

No, Mizuki might have had all the wrong reasons, but he hadn't had the wrong idea, not per se.

I needed power.

Screw trading scrolls, secrets or ancient weapons. The bargaining chip that would make a Village see me as an asset worthy enough to keep out of Konoha's clutches, would have to be myself. And thus, in the darkness of my prison cell, mud coating the palms of my hands, my profound insight came to me: it's not a question of what to steal, just a matter of what to steal first.

As far as moments of enlightement go, it doesn't compare to sitting underneath a nice tree in a sunny glade somewhere and achieving Nirvana, but the end result would probably be somewhat similar. If I actually managed to get my hands on useful power-ups that is, ones that won't end up crippling me like Orochimaru's prototype seal would.

Here, my outside knowledge was more useful, if still purely theoretical.

'Now then… considering I'm the main character of a filler arc, that means it's safe to assume the others exist in this world as well. Most of them take place in minor countries that are never mentioned again afterwards… mostly because there's assassinated daimyo's and princess in distress…'

Actually, come to think of it, considering how often Naruto ends up saving a princess in those arcs and in the movies, being a noble is a ridiculously dangerous profession in a world where there's a hero with something to prove.

Still, that left a bunch of secrets, weapons and hidden places of power lying around the continent, if you knew where to look.

'Hmmm… let's see, nah that guy would kick my ass if I showed my face in the same village… that source of power was sealed… that guy might work, but he's literally from another continent and won't show up for at least a year… genuinely have no clue where to even go looking for that one to be honest…'

Plotpoint after plotpoint, arc after arc, villain after villain was examined in as much detail as I could remember, before either being rejected outright, or placed in a timeline as best as I could piece together.

Some overlapped, some strengthened each other and some made others obsolete, so I kept shifting and working on the list until I had something that seemed like a logical series of steps, based on location, timeline and compatibility.

Considering how early in the series it still was, it was extremely tempting to go get the weapon of the villain that had succeeded Mizuki as the second villain Naruto faced. Zabuza's sword was just sitting there, completely unguarded and it was a small miracle (and a testament to just how insignificant Wave was as a country in the wider scheme of things) that it had remained there for several years in canon, especially since the Hidden Mist Village had been looking for it.

Unfortunately for me, Wave was off the east coast of Fire Country and between the ruins of Whirlpool and Water Country. Which was in the complete opposite direction of where I wanted to get most of my power-ups, which were located in the Land of Rivers to the west.

There was a surprisingly large amount of powerful stuff currently available in the medium-sized country, especially considering how small its ninja population and overall plot importance was, which had done a lot to sway my list. Unfortunately I had to deal with the sometimes funky timeline of Naruto (especially its fillers), but if it worked as a hide-out for so many other powerful ninja to remain unnoticed by the Great Nations, then it could shelter me for a while as well while I bided my time.

First order of business: travel to Takumi no Sato, the Village of Artisans. Not that I knew exactly where in the Land of Rivers the small village of weapon forgers was located, but I figured that I could travel roughly in its direction and once I crossed the border, I'd try and get my hands on a proper map.

Why that particular village first? Because there were a couple of semi-religious, self-sacrificial nutjobs over there (though considering the state of this world, the same could be said for most Villages I reckon) who sought to resurrect the founder of their Village in order to take revenge on all the ninja who bought their weapons, only to use them against them.

Which, fair enough, they did get screwed, but I wasn't really interested in their resurrection scheme, only in how they intended to complete it. The Four Celestial Symbols Men (which ironically had one woman on its roster) used a variety of weapons that had special abilities and could be combined into a more powerful form.

Three of them were swords and they were cool enough in their own right and if I'm able to get them without too much risk, I'm definitely going for it, but I was mostly interested in the Infinite Armor, a chestplate with a tiger motif that had the ability to absorb chakra.

Considering chakra was the number one go-to method of murdering in this world, having protection that nullifies two of the three main ninja schools seems like a safe bet.

It wasn't the only armor with such abilities, the armor from the Land of Snow villains was more advanced and sophisticated, but that was on the other side of the Land of Fire and past the Land of Hot Water. Besides, the Infinite Armor, while less durable than the Snow Chakra Armor, had one major benefit compared to its more modern counterpart: it could absorb chakra to heal the injuries and strengthen the body of the wearer.

Which played exceptionally well with the two other items at the top of my list, the first being the Stone of Gelel.

Now this one would be a bit trickier to track down, for several reasons. The first was: it wasn't here yet. Sure, the main source of the miracle stone was, but that was hidden away and even if I could convince the one person on this continent who knew its secret location to take me there, access to the power itself was still locked away by royal blood, which I obviously did not have.

Which meant I had to wait until the descendants of that royal line would return to this continent, which would only happen after Sasuke had already left the Village which would only be in a year or so.

Not a total disaster, if I can keep my head down for that time, as it would give me the opportunity to get used to the Infinite Armor and hone my skills (especially with any of the other Takumi-forged weaponry should I be able to grab them as well).

The arrival of Temujin and his people from that mysterious other continent at least gave me a clue on where to start looking for the source of the Gelel stone, as they first attacked a Suna beach, one in an area close enough that Shikamaru, Sakura and Naruto were nearby on their own mission. And it just so happened that the Land of Rivers sat right between the two powerful nations and shared a border where the Land of Wind met the sea.

So I had a little under a year to go over the area with a fine tooth comb, wait out the arrival of Temujin and the gaslighting, grooming bastard Haido, who killed his parents and then took him under his wing by brainwashing him into seeing him as a worthy parental figure (… which actually happens disturbingly often, come to think of it) when they launch their opening attack on Suna.

Temujin, being of the royal blood, had implanted the Stone in his body, and I'd really rather not tear it out of his chest like Haido had done. The fat bastard himself however wore his stone in a glove, which seemed to work well enough for him. Coming from a continent where chakra was completely unknown, I was counting on the fact that Haido and his crew were completely unused to battling shinobi and especially ill-equipped to deal with Genjutsu.

It shouldn't be too hard to liberate the glove from the man's hand (or liberate the hand from man instead if need be) without them being any the wiser. Implant the Stone in the Infinite Armor and that's practical immortality right there baby.

Or at the very least one hell of a healing factor. The Stone would work better if it could absorb more life energy straight from the source of the vein, but that also risked blowing up half the continent, so that was only an option if I had completely dismantled Haido's operation and un-fucked Temujin's brainwashing.

Still, an immortal body didn't make you invincible, it just meant other could beat you up longer. It was good, but not yet on the level of sheer hax that this world's most powerful people possessed, power that I would need if I wanted to live a life on my own terms, without interference from the Villages or blonde plot devices.

That led to step three, which saw me moving westwards out of the Land of Rivers. Well, maybe not immediately, since the former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist Raiga Kurosuki was currently there as well, terrorizing a gold mine and burying people alive. Ironically, he himself was a goldmine for me, considering he wielded the Kiba, which were rumored to be the sharpest swords ever made that could practically turn you into a living storm. Even more valuable than that was his tiny companion, Ranmaru.

I didn't exactly know what kind of dōjutsu the kid had, maybe a Hyuuga got too frisky with an Uchiha sometime in the past, but the kid's red eyes were a sort of ultimate anti-Byakugan. Same visual prowess but with the added ability of casting impenetrable Genjutsu, even to other dōjutsu wielders.

… though if I wanted that power for myself (and with the Stone of Gelel and the Infinite Armor, the chakra cost and medical procedure wouldn't be too taxing) that would mean I'd have to rip the eyes straight out of a six years old's skull.

… I might just stick to claiming the Kiba, to be honest.

'Bleh, this is making my brain throw up. Back to Step Three.' I shook myself, somewhat gratified at least that, while I had apparently inherited Mizuki's handwriting, I thankfully haven't seem to have inherited his ruthlessness as well.

Right, moving away from the Land of Rivers and into the Land of Wind proper, to the ruins of Rōran. Hidden underneath the crumbling spires and sealed by one of the Fourth Hokage's famous Flying Thunder God kunai, lies the source of the Ryūmyaku, the Dragon Veins that grant users literal infinite amounts of chakra. Still sealed and accessed by a royal bloodline like the Gelel vein, but easier to use as it was available to all once it was opened. Remember the Infinite Armor and the Stone of Gelel? Starting to see where I'm going with this?

Accessing that source would make me as close to a god as it was possible to be without being an alien Chakra Fruit eating goddess.

It wouldn't make me utterly invincible, I would have to remain close to the source, at least at first and I had no defenses against it or myself being sealed by fuinjutsu for instance, but with infinite chakra reserves I'd have an infinitely lasting body, plenty powerful enough to start picking up the study of almighty scribbles in my spare time.

There were other places of powers that could be absorbed, weapons that could be found or stolen, but none that were as close together and as compatible with each other, so these three would be my immediate goal.

'First, immortality, then omnipotence, then… the bitches…' I thought to myself with a wry smile, recalling a quote from TeamFourStar's Vegeta when he had a similar planning in mind.

Sudden steps coming down the large central stairs tore me from my musings and with hurried, panicked movements I scrubbed and smudged the messy muddy lines from the wall, destroying any evidence of my list in the low lighting of the prison.

To my surprise, that darkness was chased away by a torch moving closer to the bars of my cell and after I had blinked the spots from my vision at the sudden brightness, I saw two silhouettes waiting by the door.

One of them I recognized as one of the guards, who to my surprise took a key chain off his belt and began unlocking my door.

"Mizuki. You have a visitor."

'What? Me? Don't tell me the Hokage already came down here to set me free…' I thought against all hope, before my shoulders slumped somewhat as the second figure stepped into my cell.

Silhouetted as they were by the flickering light of the torch, I could see this was a woman of average build with bangs along the side of her face, not a wrinkly old man, sadly enough.

'… never thought I'd be disappointed by that…'

"Hello… Mizuki…"

The voice was soft, hesitant to the point of almost sounding like a question and I blinked in confusion at the woman.

"Uhm… hello? Who are you?"

To my surprise, the figure took a shocked step back at that and I could see the guard's face frown in the light of the torch he held. The woman took a shuddering breath, her voice even more subdued now.

"They… they told me… I wasn't sure what to think of it, but it's really true, isn't it? You have no memory at all, do you?"

A suspicion began to raise it's head, but I decided to err on the side of honesty for this one. It'd be hard to keep playing up the amnesia angle considering how impossibly vast my knowledge of this world was given Mizuki's background. It would also mean that I would have no information to trade, which meant that in the eyes of the Villages I'd have nothing of worth to offer, and thus be nothing of worth myself.

So I shrugged, my voice hesitant, questioning.

"Only bits and pieces, whatever I've managed to piece together these past few days. Mostly just basic things about the world, but nothing really about Mizuki. Or myself, I guess I should say."

"I see…" the woman whispered, staying silent for a long time, to the point it became somewhat uncomfortable and I began shuffling my feet.

I was just about to open my mouth when the woman looked up and to my surprise tears were brimming in her eyes.

"Mizuki. It's me, Tsubaki."

Seeing absolutely no flash of recognition in my eyes clearly hurt the woman and she took a shuddering breath before forging onwards.

"I am your fiancée."

---

Fun Fact: the last name that I came up with for Mizuki, Oniyuri literally translates to 'Demon Flower', though in English it's called Tiger Lily. In traditional folklore, it represents transformation, growth, and rebirth. It may indicate that a person is going through a period of personal growth or is about to embark on a new chapter in life. Additionally, in hanakotoba, the Japanese language of flowers, an Orange Lily is the color of hatred and revenge. All in all, I think a fitting name for Mizuki based on how he ended up in canon and where I intend to take him in this fic.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on my Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 0.2​

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---

What do you say when someone you don't know comes up to you and tells you that they're your fiancée? That you've built a life together, shared hopes and dreams and a home together? For them, you're an intrinsic part of their life. To you, they're nothing more really than a random passerby on the street.

Oh, and all of this is happening in your underground jail cell that's located in a prison that's built on an island in the middle of an active volcano.

'Damn… no Adam Sandler movie has ever prepared me for this.' I thought to myself, as I blinked at the woman, Tsubaki.

A weird thought, I'll admit, but then again it was a very weird situation. I basically had to reverse 50 First Dates myself with this woman. Wait, no, in that one Drew Barrymore was the one with amnesia. Was it one with Rob Schneider then? … what the hell am I talking about, all of them have Rob Schneider in them.

'You're stalling.' I chastised myself when I saw Tsubaki take a half step forwards at my silence, eyes watery now, lip trembling. Even the guard, still standing by my cell door, still holding his torch, had a conflicted look on his face, eyes suspiciously shiny.

"M-mizuki? Say something… please."

"I am sorry, Tsubaki-san. They did tell me that I had a fiancée back in Konoha. But, I'm very sorry to tell you I… I don't remember you. You don't look familiar to me at all." I said, my voice as gentle as I can make it while dropping the bombshell.

It was even the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, your Honor, considering I hadn't watched the filler arc in which she was introduced. I couldn't even recall her picture coming up on Mizuki's wiki page either and if it had (it might have, I dunno, it's been several decades since that arc had aired after all) her picture had been somewhat overshadowed by the sight of my future Tiger Form.

And the coked-out mess that I'd be reduced to if I tried using it as I was now.

So, no, I genuinely saw this woman for the first time in my life and it must have shown in my tone of voice and expression. Tsubaki let out something between a choke and a sob, hand coming up to cover her mouth.

"Nothing?"

The question is pleading, desperate but it comes from a stranger. Of course I feel bad for the woman, but no more than you would be if you saw some tragedy on the news. A sort of distant "oh no, how sad" before you'd switch from the news to Netflix and zone out. All I could do at her pained look is give a helpless shrug, ruefully shaking my head.

"Again, I am sorry. I cannot image what this must feel like to you. But I do understand that this must be incredibly difficult for you. I wish I could help you, I do. I wish I could remember. Remember my past with you." I said, sincerely even.

While I had no past history with this woman, and while my immediate concerns for the future were somewhat more grand in scale than worrying about the domestic life, I couldn't help but feel bad for the woman standing shocked in front of me, her face, framed by long black bangs, an open book, tears slowly rolling down her fair cheeks.

"It must feel like losing a loved one all over again, even though their face is right in front of you…" I said softly, more a realization than any true attempt at communication.

I think back to my list, a bit guilty. For me, this random woman from an anime-only filler arc I had never watched in another life, another world, had just been a means to an end. An addendum on a step for my survival, someone I had intended to manipulate and use for my own ends.

But to her, her entire life had just been upended. She didn't know she was just a character from an anime-only filler arc, after all, that had been her life.

"… I thought I lost you once before already. T-then they told me that you lost your memory after they'd thrown you in here and I just… I hoped to see whether the man I fell in love with was still there somehow. That I finally got that man back again."

I frowned at that, confused.

"Wait, you lost me once before…?" I asked hesitantly, and behind Tsubaki I could see the guard swiftly dry his own wet eyes, guiltily hiding the handkerchief he'd taken out at some point during our reunion as he leans forwards intently.

Despite being just an NPC from a filler arc, Tsubaki is still a chūnin and notices as well, glancing back over her shoulder, showing off her thick braid that reaches down to just underneath her shoulder blades.

"Uhm… excuse me, Guard-san? But, this is rather… personal. Would you mind giving us some privacy?" she tried, but the man immediately shook his head.

"Sorry, but it's Konoha policy. One guard remains to observe all prisoner interactions with the outside world. Especially family and loved ones. They're usually compromised, you wouldn't believe what some of them have attempted to smuggle to the inmates on the inside."

'Actually, I can imagine quite a bit, considering that was my plan for Tsubaki in the first place…' I thought, somewhat annoyed, though I'm careful to let none of that appear on my face.

Tsubaki simply nodded her understanding instead.

"I see. It cannot be helped I suppose… Mizuki, I-" she started off, hesitantly, walking over to the cot in my cell and sitting down, her halting speech cut off by the ridiculously loud groaning of rusted springs and she gives the bed a somewhat incredulous look.

I glanced in the guard's direction with a raised brow and the man rubbed his neck, somewhat embarrassed.

"Ah… well, I suppose there's nothing in Konoha's policy that dictates visits have to take place within the prisoner's cell… Come on up, we probably have a free room somewhere upstairs, get you some proper chairs at least." He conceded and Tsubaki gratefully rose from the ratty bedsheets.

She easily stepped out of my cell, but before I could follow, the guard fished a set of cuffs from his flak jacket.

"Sorry, it's just-"

"Let me guess: Konoha policy?" I interrupted, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Exactly what do they think I got planned anyways? Do they really think I'm that desperate that I'd make an attempt on his equipment pouch, steal a kunai off him, incapacitate both him and Tsubaki somehow and then fight my way to freedom past all the guards with just a knife in hand?

'… I mean, nevermind that that was literally my first plan, I've got a better one now anyways! Besides, I'm not that desperate… yet.'

Shrugging, I easily offered my hands to the man so he could chain me, though I catch the way that Tsubaki's eyes lock in on the large tattoo on my right forearm, a sort of abstract, almost cyberpunk-like skull motif. It's a surprisingly pained look, frustration and sadness visible in equal measure and I can tell there's a story there.

'It's such a strange thought, but she's probably more familiar with the history of this body than I am. She's known it for years, after all, seen every scar and every mark. I've only been wearing it for two days. I mean, I still don't even recognize my reflection whenever I see it.'

The steel of the cuffs snapped me from my musings as it they clicked shut around my wrists and the guard took me by the shoulder as we stepped outside of the cell, taking point as Tsubaki trailed silently behind us.

"Just this way please, ma'am. And you, don't get any funny ideas now." The guard warned, his grip on my shoulder briefly tightening.

"Trust me, I don't really have that kind of humor." I couldn't help but snark back, which probably wasn't the smartest move, considering the man's grip tightened even further.

He made to physically drag me up the two flights to the large double doors leading to the rest of the castle, but Tsubaki's soft voice halts him (and thus, me as well) in his tracks.

"Please, there's no need to act so rough with him. Please. He is… he was a very kind man, once. With his memory gone… he is not the monster you think he is. At least, I dearly hope so…" She pleaded and while the guard has to hide his sniffles once more (damn, are all Konoha guards this susceptible to telenovela-levels of drama?) I once again notice how Tsubaki seems to reference a more kind, gentle Mizuki than the one we got to see in the show.

'Which begs the question: which Mizuki was the act and which one was the real one? Or, perhaps more importantly, who is putting on an act in the first place, Mizuki or Tsubaki?'

Questions without answers for now and so I kept quiet and allowed the guard to escort us up the stairs and into the lower levels of the castle. Less delirious and wracked with pain now than during my impromptu hospital visit two days ago, I have more time to focus on my surroundings, trying to mentally build a map of how all the corridors connect and keeping track of all the various rooms, closets and common areas.

As we ascended a few levels, the air became noticeable hotter. It wasn't a gradual change either, but something that slapped you right in the face, like when you're standing too close to take something out of a steaming hot oven, every time we opened a door to a higher level. Coming up from the main prison hall, we had to go up a smaller set of stairs set around a corner, sealed with a heavy steel door at the top. To my surprise, the guard once again fished a large keychain from his flak jacket.

I'd have expected a prison facility of a major Hidden Village like Konoha to have mostly seal-based security systems. Sort of like the ninja version of a fingerprint or eyeball scanner, but even better in a sense. To fool a fingerprint scanner, all you really need is… well, the appropriate finger. Whether the rest of the body is still attached to said finger is a bit of a moot point. Not so with seals, as far as I understood it, considering you need to first mold physical and mental energy to produce chakra in the first place (which is impossible to do if unconscious… or, you know, dead) and then actively push it into the array to activate it.

Meaning that if you were to slap a seal on the front door and key it to the chakra of the guards, it was practically impossible for any prisoner to ever escape without the aid of the guards themselves. Forget trying to lift secret passcodes or stealing keys, even simply overpowering them wouldn't be enough in such a case.

Hell, this was the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, this housed the worst scum that Konoha hadn't bothered just straight up executing in the field, I'd have expected massive seal arrays to line every inch of the building, from wall to ceiling.

Perhaps I had read too much fanfiction, skewing my perception of what fuinjutsu could actually do in this world. Sealing was a highly revered art after all, with very few true masters of it. Perhaps the type of seals I'd been thinking of were far too complex and expensive to implement on such a large scale, hell, they might even be downright impossible in the first place.

I probably just overestimated the prison, come to think of it. This facility couldn't have been too well secured, given that even someone like Mizuki had managed to engineer a mass break-out in just a year after Naruto had kicked his ass at the beginning of the series. Even with the year of progress he, an adult man, had made in order to escape, Naruto had ended up handily defeating him in the end anyways.

Rasengan to the gut, the usual way for side villains to go. Mizuki hadn't even been worth a special edition version of it either, one that combined with the flavor of whatever setting the current filler arc was set in.

Wasn't there even an Aurora Borealis one? At this time of year, at this time of day, entirely localized within the Rasengan?

Apparently, all things are possible through the power of plot.

Still, main character energy or no, given how early in the series Mizuki had been introduced and how one-note he had been, it was just a fact that he scaled abysmally low in terms of power in this world (which, unfortunately, meant the same was true for me as well), which meant this prison couldn't have been that good in the first place if it failed to contain even the rather pathetic original version of me.

But even then, I'd have expected some more modern safeguards, more akin to what I knew existed back in my own world, considering that the Naruto world (at times) had access to equally advanced computers and machinery. Just not for their premier prison facility, apparently, as things were fairly crude and medieval all around.

Like the keychain. The guard had the right one swiftly enough, ninja dexterity for the win, but my eyes were trained on him like a hawk, making a note of which pouch he returned the keys to.

This was repeated twice more, and every time the heavy metal door swung open, harsh, sweltering, heavy air slammed into us, as if it was a guard in itself, trying to push us back down the stairs. Even underground, the heat of the caldera was inescapable, but to my surprise, so was its noise, a continuous, shifting, rumbling sound. Combined with the continuous oppressive warm air, it almost seemed as if the prison was a living, breathing giant of stone and mortar.

The halls the guard led us through were narrow, with low ceilings, making it near impossible to go through with a large group at once, done intentionally no doubt to deter a mass prison riot. The walls were slick with condensation that didn't evaporate but sat stubbornly on the stone, like the prison itself refused to sweat. They were lined with aged ventilation grates that hissed occasionally—not with air, but with steam from the magma chambers below.

Every so often, we passed a wooden or steel door, recessed into the wall. Not cells, not this high up, but various rooms. Some were unmarked, some had their function burnt into their front in harsh kanji.

The one that simply said "Attitude Recalibration" made me swallow, considering the acrid scent of blood mixed with urine and sheer fear that seemed to ooze out from underneath it like a stretching shadow. Conversely, another door had the far more ominous title of "Memory Deconstruction" but at first I thought it was simply a dilapidated part of the prison, the only sound coming from behind the iron slab the dripping of water. It was only once we passed it that I realized that the drops weren't just random, but that they had a rhythm, a strange harmonic undertone. They were constant… eerily constant and persistent and the further away we moved from the room, the louder the drops seemed to echo in my mind. I quickly went back to cataloguing our route, trying to burn that into my brain instead.

I didn't look too closely at the other doors after that.

Soon the heat increased further while the dankness and the creepiness receded, slinking and lurking down below us, hungrily waiting for my inevitable return to its depths. If my mental map could be trusted, I figured we weren't just at ground level anymore, probably one or two floors up in one of the Japanese style castle towers facing West. The paint here wasn't even chipped, the floor and corners cleaned.

"In here." The guard said gruffly, this time not even bothering with the keys as the room wasn't locked, holding the door open and allowing Tsubaki and I through.

I blinked a few times at the sudden influx of light, before quickly scanning the room. Tiled floor. Lime-green paint on the walls. A few filing cabinets. Four long, low-slung tables, rickety chairs besides them. Even starker than the hospital wing had been, a rec room of sorts apparently, though it smelled as if it hadn't been used in a while.

"Thank you. May we choose our seat?" Tsubaki asked demurely and the guard just shrugged, scratching his chin.

"What? Yeah, sure, just pick wherever. Keep your hands above the table though and Mizuki? No tricks." The man warned and I just raised my bound hands, allowing the short sleeves of my prison outfit to fall back a bit, further exposing the large tattoo on my arm.

"No worries. Got nothing up my sleeves, see?" I said, my tone friendly, but the guard just scowled.

'Alright then mister grumpypants. Did you already have no sense of humor before you got assigned to this shithole, or did you have to leave it back at customs at the front gate?'

Opting to just ignore the guard instead as he took up position nearby, leaning back against the wall, I followed Tsubaki as she took a seat at the table near the window. Briefly I glanced at it before dismissing it out of hand. Even if I trusted Mizuki's previous skills enough to think I could make it to the window before the guard could, my hands were still bound. Jumping through a second story window might be a non-issue for most ninja, but with both hands bound, right above a pool of lava and asshole ninja guards lining the walls as they watch you swan-dive gracefully headfirst to a burning death?

… alright, for some elite ninja like Kakashi or the Sannin, that would still be a cakewalk, but Mizuki had only been a chūnin dammit, one that got reduced to a pulp by a Naruto (and a couple hundred more of him as well) that couldn't even Tree Walk!

It was the Raditz problem all over again really: you get introduced too early into a series and power creep is just gonna make you look bad in retrospect.

So no, I ignored the window as a possible means of escape and took my place across from Tsubaki, raising my hands and placing them on top of the table in front of me with a roll of my eyes at the warning grunt the guard let out as I sat down.

Conversation started up roughly between the two of us, with long pauses as the both of us struggled to find topics to discuss. It mostly consisted of me asking innocent questions about the general state of the world and more personal questions in order to get to know here better. For her part, her questions about my current circumstances tended to be cut short, as despite my best efforts to keep the conversation going, there simply wasn't much for me to tell, as the answer was nearly always the same.

"You're still injured? How do you feel?"

"Like shit."

"How is your cell?"

"Shit."

"How's the food?"

"Shit."

"How's the work?"

I'll let you figure that one out by yourself.

Point is, conversation proved to be painful and halting and it didn't take too long for it to peter out completely, the both of us at a loss for something to discuss. For a moment, the two of us just looked at each other, before I decided to just bite the bullet (or shuriken, as the case may be) and cleared my throat.

"Tsubaki-san. I truly appreciate that you've come to visit me and as I've mentioned before, I'm sorry I can't remember our past together. However, if there's anything I can do to aid you, please, don't hesitate to mention it."

I chuckled self-consciously, trying to rub at the back of my head, though my bound wrists made it look a bit awkward.

"Though, obviously, my aid is limited given… my current position." I lightly joked, but Tsubaki just kept staring at me with her dark eyes, intently studying my face.

'Crap, am I acting too different from the original Mizuki? Wait, shouldn't that be a good thing though? Really act up the amnesia-angle? Man, I'd be so shit at being a professional ninja, I'm nowhere near sociopathic enough to lie properly as one! If only I'd been a politician in my past life!'

"Tsubaki-san?" I prodded, and the woman blinked a few times, a slight blush on her cheeks as she realized how she had been staring.

"I-I'm sorry. It's just… it's been so long since I've seen you act like this. It's not exactly the same, but the kindness… the gentleness… for so long, I was afraid you'd lost that forever. That I'd lost you forever."

I frowned at her confession and leaned a bit more forwards in my chair.

"Tsubaki-san, if you don't mind my asking, this is the second time now you've implied that you 'lost' Mizuki- ah, sorry, 'lost' me before the… incident with Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto. I was wondering what you meant by that? Did I… change somehow?" I questioned, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Mister Grumpypants shift a bit forwards as well, still leaning against the wall as he was.

Tsubaki remained silent for a moment, before giving a shaky nod.

"We first met in the Academy. I'm not sure you were even aware of who I was at the time though. Then we ended up in different genin teams and drifted even further apart, only meeting occasionally. But then you, Umino-san and I all made chūnin roughly at the same time. We started doing more and more missions together. I still hadn't really gotten over my childish crush from before and I was so happy when it seemed like you were finally starting to notice."

'Oh, so we're going all the way to the beginning then? Ok, might as well, I need to know my own backstory after all.'

Tsubaki's smile was wistful as she continued, so caught up in her memories she didn't even spot how Mister Grumpypants had taken out his handkerchief again, stemming the flow of tears from his eyes as he quietly sniffles, still in his spot against the wall.

'Get yourself together man! No wonder I managed to escape in the future if this is what counts for professionalism around here! Have some pride in your work!'

"It wasn't long after that we started going on dates. I thought I couldn't be happier, but then one day, you took me beyond the walls, to a nearby hill overlooking our village. You had secretly built a small homestead for us, complete with gardens and a wonderful view of our home. You asked me to marry me there, to build a life together in our own little corner of the world."

'He built a house for her outside the Village walls? Hmm, more like he built it to cover his ass and serve as an easy escape route. Which makes him a dick for lying about it like that, but for now, it's something that works to my advantage at least… guess that makes both of us Mizukis a dick, huh?'

"I built a home for you? Wow. You must've made quite the impression on me." I said with a lopsided smile and Tsubaki let out a teary little laugh, before going quiet.

Slowly, her expression turned sadder and she began fiddling her thumbs.

"We were happy there. For a little while at least. But then… then you came back from an awful mission… You had lost a teammate to a terrible injury on your way back from retrieving important documents."

'Wait, I think I remember reading about that! Didn't I-… oh, right, the guy got stabbed in the leg or something and Mizuki straight up strangled him. Damn.'

Not seeing the way my face suddenly blanched, Tsubaki continued, tears in her eyes now.

"At first I thought the loss of a comrade was bad enough for you to deal with. But then it started an investigation and your promotion to Academy instructor was frozen. You became so… so cold, and angry. At everyone, at Konoha, even me, but especially at Umino Iruka, who had been promoted before you. It was around that time that you suddenly got… got that." Tsubaki finished, her voice surprisingly strong as she looked at the tattoo on my arm with a deep scowl.

"This?" I questioned, lifting my arm and taking a closer look at the various ducts and slots that were placed strategically within the skull-motif.

"I mean… I guess I dealt with my emotional turmoil by getting a tattoo?" I questioned hesitantly.

I mean, people definitely had gotten worse designs for worse reasons after all, but Tsubaki just shook her head, her expression grim, and I catch the way her dark eyes flit over towards the intrigued looking guard.

"It's not a tattoo, Mizuki. It's a seal."

'A seal? Right, then this must be what gave him- I mean, me my Tiger form in the future. But then-'

"It's a seal placed on you by Orochimaru." She said and the guard practically slid down the wall in shock as I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wait, what?"

"Wait, WHAT?!" the guard exclaimed as he worked his way back to his feet, but Tsubaki remained oddly, eerily calm.

"I came to visit you, Mizuki, to see what kind of man remained, now that your memories are gone. The gentle man that built a home for us? Or the man who ran to Orochimaru for power, for revenge? Because that was who you stole the Scroll of Stealing for. Because of a man like that, because of the promises he made you, you are now here in prison."

"… and you knew?"

"Yes. You told me that night. Tried to convince me to leave with you, accompany you to Orochimaru's hide-out. I refused you, begged and begged you to see the error of your ways. To abandon this dark path you had set yourself on. But I loved you too much, was too afraid of what Konoha would do to you, to alert the authorities. So I kept quiet as you packed your bags, hoping you'd come to your senses. I kept quiet when you didn't come home after work and kept quiet when the alarm was sounded later in the night. I even remained quiet when ANBU came to question me after you'd been captured and thrown in here. You were already sentenced for the crimes Konoha knew about, and despite everything, I couldn't bring myself to add onto that. Which incidentally brings me to the second reason for my visit."

With that, she pushed back her chair, stood up and boldly approached the still baffled looking guard, his mouth gaping wide open and she calmly extended both wrists to him.

"Guard-san. I hereby wish to turn myself in for withholding vital information from my superiors in addition to sheltering an enemy of the state."

Both the guard and I remained frozen in our spots as we stared at the woman who I could only assume has gone utterly mad with grief.

"I, uhh… I need to get someone higher-up involved with this. J-just, uhh, stay here. Please?" The guard muttered haltingly, fishing out a second pair of cuffs and slipping them over Tsubaki's slim wrists before scratching his head, moving out of the room in a slight daze.

"Man, my paycheck definitely isn't large enough to deal with this shit." He said to himself under his breath.

Tsubaki turned to glance back at me again, chin held high. Meanwhile, I couldn't help but stare at the woman, eyes wide and mouth left gaping.

'If this is your idea of helping…' I eventually thought as the woman moved back to her seat, mirroring me now as she too rested her chained hands on the tabletop.

"I know what you're thinking." The woman began and it was only my shock that managed to keep me from scoffing out loud.

'I very sincerely doubt that, considering you were one of the most integral parts of my escape plan!'

"I must confess, I'm not sure what to think, Tsubaki-san. I'm as horrified as anyone to learn that, at my lowest point, I went so far as to go to Orochimaru of all people. In a weird way, I'm actually glad I was defeated by this Iruka and Naruto, so I couldn't give him a source of power like the Scroll of Sealing. Still, I'm struggling to think how revealing such information now could improve my already precarious situation." I said, only barely managing to keep my voice from sounding angry or icy.

Still Tsubaki flinched, her eyes flitting down to our chained hands before taking a deep breath and looking me straight in the eye.

"I understand. This must almost feel like betrayal to you, especially since you can't even remember it. Why mention it then? But that's the thing, I do remember. I remember your plans for that night. What you intended to do with the Scroll. You don't, but I do."

I blinked at that, a suspicion wiggling at my brain.

"Wait, don't tell me-"

Tsubaki interrupted me, taking a steadying breath.

"I don't know what happened on that mission to change you so much Mizuki. Trauma changes all of us in different ways, I suppose. But now that I've seen you, spoken with you, I see that with your amnesia, that trauma has gone as well. That kind, sweet man I've had a crush on since we were both still kids, that man that had been buried underneath the pain and anger and the poison of Orochimaru, that man is all that remains now. That is who you are, Mizuki, the fact that you naturally reverted to this state after losing your memory is proof of that. That is the man I love, even if he doesn't know me. And such a man does not deserve to rot away here for crimes he has memory of even committing. That burden shouldn't be placed on you."

"Tsubaki… you…"

"As I am currently the only person alive with full knowledge of your crimes of that night, not you, I intend to trade my life for yours. I will stay here, allowing you to go free. I hope."

---

Fun Fact: Mizuki's birthday is on October 21st

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

Step 0.3​

​

---

I had absolutely no idea if Tsubaki's plan would work (I was inclined to think it wouldn't, considering you know, we live in a ninja village after all, and generally speaking ninja aren't exactly… nice) or what the long term repercussions would be, for her or me.

The more immediate repercussions though, those quickly became apparent when the sappy guard returned not long after, flanked by three of his comrades and-

'Ah… crap.'

Three people in a black uniform, shoulders bared to show off their unique flame-like tattoo, with a tell-tale gray flak jacket and the iconic white porcelain masks, each adorned with a vibrant animal motif. Somewhat ironically, considering who I was now, the one in front looked to represent a stylized tiger.

"You two. Take Tsubaki-san and get her to a holding cell. Boar, you're with them. Mild interrogation, simply treat her as an accomplice for now. You two, you stay with Hawk and I. What's the closest interrogation room?" Tiger commanded, questioning the nearest guard.

He wasn't barking out orders per se, in fact I was surprised at how calm he sounded, as if all of this was just a routine inspection or something, or a man out doing his groceries. And yet, the other ANBU reacted immediately to his orders with sharp nods and salutes. The guards, just a tad slower, practically jumped into action, their expression a mixture of awe and trepidation, which was understanable.

It's a common misconception that ANBU stand above jonin in terms of power in the same way that jonin stand above chūnin and chūnin over genin in turn. This wasn't necessarily true. Hell, some ANBU weren't even jonin in the first place. All being in ANBU meant were that these were black ops compared to usual soldiers and mercenaries.

A ninja would just be hired muscle for someone else, for whatever reason that someone wanted. Catching cats, babysitting, construction and yes, even assassination. That's just the job.

These guys were spec force though. They worked for the Village, or more practically, directly for the Hokage. They did missions alright, but not because a client wants to outsource some menial physical labor. They did missions that directly safeguarded the power of Konoha over its rivals, the shit that needs to be off the books because it would look bad if the village's ledgers ran red. The type of shit that the Hokage would needed cleaned up while also being 'unaware' of, just in case someone else starts pointing fingers and thinking of open war.

Their identities are secret even to other residents of Konoha (though in some more famous cases like Kakashi, the secrecy is more a polite fiction than anything) and not even the Military Police (now run by the Fūma clan after the destruction of the Uchiha) can't arrest them, as they answer directly to the Hokage, whose authority is absolute and not to be questioned.

Plenty of reason for the guards to be awed then and I saw Tsubaki freeze in her seat with good reason.

Me, though?

'Oh god, shit, shitty shitty fuckity fuck! Fuck me right in the ass with a Chidori-!'

Yeah, kinda like that. It went on for some time too.

Because if ANBU are spec force soldiers, then the people who are a secret even to ANBU themselves, hidden and embedded within their very own ranks, are like Konoha's KGB or Gestapo. Whichever dictator you feel aligns more closely with Danzo, take your pick.

And I had absolutely no way of knowing if these guys belonged to the ROOT organization. Hell, if only one of them was, then even the other two wouldn't be aware of it.

'Calm down, calm down. If one of them was ROOT, then they likely would've sent the others away for some "alone time" with me… unless they are all ROOT- no, don't, don't go there, just. Fucking. Calm. Down.'

"W-what's going on? Where are you taking her?" I said, wide-eyed and playing up my concern as I looked past the Tiger-faced ANBU to the door the Boar-faced ANBU had just led Tsubaki through.

I had no illusion about hiding my initial knee-jerk reaction from pros like ANBU, but I could throw them off the scent, make them think it wasn't because I recognized them (and thus the level of shit I was now in) which would difficult to explain what with the whole amnesia-angle, but because of concern for the woman who had called them down on my head in the first place.

"Not your concern." Tiger simply rebutted.

He didn't even snap at me and yet I found myself slamming my mouth shut with an audible 'click!' as I fell back in my seat. For a moment, those dark eye holes in his mask seemed to bore through me, before he snapped his fingers (nearly startling the prison guards right out of their flak jackets).

"Well? Nearest interrogation room?"

"Right! Uhh… medium or, you know… severe?" the sappy guard from before hesitantly asked and Tiger's voice was glacial, his porcelain mask still fixated on my slumped form.

"Medium. For now."

"Right. Just this way please." The guard responded, gesturing to the door.

His buddy stepped towards me in order to walk me to it and like a seamless shadow, Hawk pretty much appeared at my other shoulder, easily falling into step with us as we trooped out of the room, despite somewhat surprisingly being near a full foot shorter than me.

'Aren't you a little short to be an ANBU? Nah, nobody would get the reference. Besides, it isn't even accurate, considering chibi-Itachi ANBU captain was a thing.'

We didn't walk long, thankfully, just down this corridor and two lefts (which I added to my mental map of the place), the sappy guard throwing open a door that thankfully just read 'Room 4' in kanji on its surface, instead of the more ominous names the pervious rooms on the lower floors had sported.

Even the room itself was rather mundane, if noticeably more cramped. Less "break room" where we had just been, and more like one of those interrogation rooms with a mirrored glass wall you see in pretty much every detective show. It had a window though, which would've been nice if it weren't for the fact the view was a molten hellscape of flowing lava and the opening let in all of that warmth full force like you've shoved your head into an oven.

If the ANBU were at all uncomfortable because of the heat, they did a great job of not showing in, instead smoothly following the guards and I into the interrogation room, looking on silently as the sappy guard sat me in one of the chairs at the table opposite the door, open window to my back.

Which was pretty much soaked immediately by the way.

'Well, at least if I start sweating uncontrollably in fear at some point, they'll chalk it up to the literal volcano behind me instead.'

"Hawk. Begin calibration." Tiger called out almost the moment my butt met uncomfortably warm steel, its surface clinging unpleasantly to my rough prison suit.

'Well, that sure doesn't sound ominous at all…' I thought darkly to myself as the other spec force agent took a seat across from me.

The prison guards, clearly feeling a bit out of their depth, settled for taking up perimeter positions around me, one by the door and one by the window, cutting off any means off escape, clearly not realizing that the biggest deterrent to freedom was casually strolling towards the long end of the table, folding his arms over his grey flak jacket and his Tiger masked absolutely still as it remained trained on Hawk and I. Without preamble the other ANBU stuck their right hand out towards me, holding it palm up.

"Place your left hand in mine." Came the dry command and I was somewhat surprised to hear it was a woman's voice.

I did what I was told when Hawk shifted her grip suddenly, hand snapping further up so her index and middle fingers were pressing tightly, almost painfully, in the underside of my wrist and I couldn't suppress a flinch.

"Right hand. Palm up."

Somewhat wary now, I again followed her orders. This time I was a bit more prepared for her strong grip, her left hand over my right so that her thumb was held tightly over my upturned wrist. For an oddly long second we just sat there, hand in hand, before Hawk spoke again, voice soft but surprisingly clear coming from behind the porcelain.

"State your name, age and shinobi registration number."

"… what?"

"Answer the question." Came the immediate, almost whip-like response and I flinched hard when her grip briefly turned to steel, digging sharply into my skin.

My eyes flitted over towards Tiger, but the tall ANBU remained as still as a statue, eyeholes of his mask still laser-focused on me, as if ready to pounce within the blink of an eye.

"State your name, age and shinobi registration number." Came the command again and I swallowed, throat dry.

"My name is Oniyuri Mizuki. I… I don't know exactly how old I am. Late twenties, I'm guessing? Shinobi registration number… absolutely no clue." I said, trying to keep my expression neutral and voice serious, doing everything in my power to not come across as flippant.

Something tells me ANBU don't exactly have 'flippant' in their dictionary, unless it's listed as a synonym for 'flaying alive'.

If the ANBU are taken off guard by my response to the simple question, they show no signs of it (those expressionless masks help a ton, no doubt), Tiger's voice sounding out cool, calm and collected.

"Oniyuri Mizuki. Age: 27. Ninja registration number: 011141."

I blink at the sudden information, before the pressure on my wrists again sharpens for a second and my eyes are forcefully dragged back to Hawk's mask.

"State your name, age and shinobi registration number."

"W-wha-?"

This time I didn't even get the chance to finish the question, the grip around my wrists tightens, hard, far more painful than before, though it leaves as abruptly as it arrives, no more than half a second.

No more than half a second and I still need a moment to catch my breath, the sudden pain taking me off guard and crumbling what little composure I have, probably intentionally.

'What the hell woman! You already heard the man, or does that mask cover your ears too?!'

"State your name, age and shinobi registration number." Came the command again and I can already tell this little sentence is gonna keep rattling around my brain for the nights to come, like a mantra.

Thankfully for my wrists, I'm a quick learner.

"Oniyuri Mizuki. I'm 27. My registration number is 011141." I say, and I find myself automatically focusing on enunciating clearly.

Don't want the scary ANBU lady missing one of my answers and abusing my poor wrists again. Somewhat to my surprise, the pain doesn't come this time, instead Hawk remains absolutely still for several seconds.

It's Tiger that's the first to move between the three of us, his mask shifting ever so slightly towards his fellow ANBU.

"Well?"

"Truth." Hawk immediately responds and I blink.

'Right, so she's a living lie detector of sorts. Is she just reading my biometrics or is this ninjutsu? Perhaps even genjutsu? Because if she is using biometrics, well I know those can be fooled at least.' I thought to myself, before my own mind immediately pointed out the flaw in my thinking.

'Sure they can, but do you know how to fool them? More importantly, do you think you can fool her?'

'… crap.'

"Continue calibration." Tiger ordered, his mask again turning in my direction.

Hawk didn't even so much as nod, instead launching directly into her next question.

"Name of parents?"

"… I don't know?"

Behind me I could hear the guard standing by the window facepalm and I saw Tiger shift minutely.

"Hawk. Situational questions only."

This time, the response from Hawk took a second longer and she bowed her head in acknowledgement.

"What is this facility called?"

"… a jail?"

Another bone-crushing grip on my wrists, another facepalm, this time from the sappy guard by the door.

"Name of facility." Hawk pressed, the first slip of emotion in her voice this time, exasperation.

"R-right. Konoha Strict Correctional Facility, formerly Ninja Prison for Capital Offenses and Felonies. They, uhh, they downsized."

"… Truth."

This went on for a surprisingly exhaustive time. The questions were incredibly mundane to the point I almost felt like I was being treated as a toddler instead of a traitor. Questions like 'what did you have for breakfast today?' and 'are you currently wearing a short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirt?', one fired off almost immediately after I had just finished answering the previous one and despite their simplicity, I quick began to feel wrung out.

Either establishing a baseline took longer than I thought, or they were just waiting for me to weaken psychologically, because once I got to that point, feeling tired and oddly empty with the beginnings of a headache blooming behind my eyes, the questions began to shift in intensity, and not subtly either.

"What colour is your hair?"

"A sort of silvery-grey."

"Do you intend to destroy Konoha?"

"What?"

Pain. Again. God dammit woman, leave my wrists alone! I feel like my hands are gonna fall off at this point!

"Do you intend to destroy Konoha?"

"No, of course not!"

I could see that Hawk wanted to immediately continue with the next question, but surprisingly Tiger moved from his position for the first time since the interrogation started, taking a seat next to his fellow ANBU.

"Well?" was all he said, Hawk giving a small bow of her head.

"Truth."

Over their shoulders, I could see the sappy guard from before blink in clear surprise. If Tiger shared his disbelief, he didn't show it, his body language revealing as little as his porcelain mask did. All he did was lean slightly forwards in his seat.

"Elaborate."

"Elaborate? I mean… why would I want to?" I blinked in genuine confusion.

I was even being honest. As I had already realized back in my cell, I didn't have Mizuki's personality or hang-ups. Yes, my current circumstances sucked more ass than a Kamui at an OnlyFans convention, but that was hardly Konoha's fault, was it? It's not like they intended to throw me in here after all, for all they knew they had locked up a dangerous traitor. I don't blame them for not preparing for some bullshit isekai-scenario.

Not that the ANBU knew that that's what they're dealing with right now of course, so I could understand their scepticism.

"It threw you in jail." Tiger simply responded and I tried to shrug, though my arms were still held firmly by Hawk.

"They threw in Mizuki, not me. I just woke up here, after all. If anything, I blame that guy for landing me in this spot."

Tiger's face slightly tilted to his side and Hawk's silence was a heavy thing.

"Truth." It came after a pregnant pause.

Tiger remained quiet for a moment, clearly looking for the right question to ask.

"If you're not Mizuki, then who are you?"

"I'm… huh. I guess what remains of Mizuki, if you remove all memories from him? So, uhh, his instincts, maybe? His base self?" I hazarded, and this time both Tiger and I glanced at Hawk, curious.

This time the silence was significantly longer than before, almost as if Hawk was reluctant to call it out.

"Inconclusive." She eventually settled on and Tiger leaned back in his seat as I blinked.

"Elaborate."

"He does thinks it might be true, but he doesn't fully believe it himself. He likely has an alternative theory."

Seeing Tiger's face mask wordlessly turn to me, I gave a half-shrug.

"I have several, actually."

"Truth." Hawk's response came, surer this time and Tiger gave a considering nod at that.

"Have you ever been in contact with the traitor Orochimaru of the Sannin?"

"I've been told that I have. Apparently, this tattoo is evidence of it, but I've no idea how I got it or when he gave it to me."

"Truth." Came the immediate response.

'Hell yeah, not watching filler for the win!'

"He's very pleased about something."

'Damn woman, you scary!'

"I'm glad it's confirmed I don't have any conscious recollection of meeting Orochimaru. Considering Tsubaki-san mentioned my meeting with him as the catalyst for the ill-advised actions of Mizuki earlier this week, I hope that the fact I have no memory of the man will aid in my exoneration." I hurriedly explained at Tiger's piercing look.

"Truth."

"Do you have any plans to seek him out?"

"I think if I do that, I'll end up on a slab myself."

"Truth."

Tiger kept silent for a long moment and briefly I wondered whether he'd caught that, technically, I hadn't answered the question.

"Do you have any plans to escape this facility?"

"…"

Despite the caldera at my back, its heat pressing down on my exposed neck with a hot and heavy breath, I found myself sitting in a sudden cold sweat, the room temperature abruptly feeling like sub-zero instead. The painful hold on my wrists sharpened with a vengeance, but I barely even felt it as my gaze seems almost trapped by the dark eye-holes of Tiger's mask, their shallowed depths growing and growing until they're larger than the room and I feel like I'm falling down a deep hole, sucked away.

"Oniyuri Mizuki. Answer the question." Tiger said softly, voice almost a whisper and yet each single word thunders through my skull.

'What are you doing?! Say NO!'

A vice-like grip around my wrists, ANBU across from me, prison guards to my front and back… no use.

"… yes."

The whisper is near-silent, yet the reaction is immediate, cold steel suddenly at my neck as the prison guard has moved away from the window and placed a kunai at my jugular within the blink of an eye. Hawk's grip on my wrist is like iron, and yet all of my focus is trapped by Tiger's eyeless gaze.

"Does this plan involve the murder of Konoha personnel?"

"Not if I can help it."

"Truth."

"Does this plan involve the destruction or partial destruction of this facility?"

"If I'm truly desperate, but I have no idea how I'd do it."

"Truth."

"Is your plan of escape feasible on a close timeframe? Say, accomplishable within the next month?"

"No."

"Truth."

"Half a year?"

"No."

"Truth."

"A year?"

"Probably."

"Half-truth. He seems convinced."

"How are you so sure that it'll take you about a year?"

"I should be strong enough within that time frame to escape."

"Truth."

"Where would you get that strength from?"

"Trying to increase my chakra control and capacity. Weight training. Trying to see if I can make friends with the prisoners here. Anything that would build off the meagre skills that Mizuki had before I woke up."

"You have none of his memories, but you do have his skills? His jutsu, his control? Reserves?"

"Seems like it."

"How do you figure?"

"Trained a little bit during the nights. Not much. Didn't want to alert anyone. Also was afraid there was some sort of sealing, on my body or my cell, that would incinerate me if I tried moulding chakra."

For the first time since his rapid-fire questions, Tiger pauses for a moment, almost as if my answer took him off guard. Nobody in the room moves, least of all me. Hell, I barely dare to even so much as breathe at this point. Just giving answers has agitated the tip of the kunai pressed into my flesh enough, a thin rivulet of blood is steadily flowing down my throat.

"… does this year-long plan of yours include outside aid of any kind?"

"No."

Tiger's head snapped towards Hawk, the most expressive I'd seen him so far. As if feeling the pressure, the woman didn't respond for a moment, hands firmly gripping mine, mask locked on my face.

"Truth."

'Of course it is, considering my original "outside help" is currently being interrogated two rooms down!'

Tiger remained silent at that, thrumming his fingers on the metal tabletop for a moment.

"You've said you wish no harm against Konoha. Say you escape from this facility, what would your next course of action be?"

My brows furrowed as I wondered where this line of questioning was going, but I promptly answered nonetheless, the kunai at my neck a great motivator.

"Get as far away from here, lie low to the best of my abilities and pray to whatever god is listening and doesn't require human sacrifices that you guys don't find me and drag me back and throw me in this hellhole again." I answered truthfully.

After all, that would be step one. All the other steps in my plan would only come afterwards, but technically he hadn't asked about those yet.

"Why not flee to another Village?"

"Don't trust 'em."

"… truth." Hawk revealed, sounding somewhat surprised.

Tiger leaned back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his grey flack jacket. He seemed to mull my answers over for a bit, before to my shock he waved away the guard holding a kunai to my throat. I resist the urge to reach up and rob the spot where sharpened steel had lain against the skin, considering the ANBU agent still firmly attached to both my wrists. Instead, I held Tiger's searching gaze as best as I could, trying to suppress the trembling of my body.

"So, you hold no ill will towards Konoha, you are not in contact with outside forces and instead only intend to train yourself for the coming year and upon escape you'd just go to ground instead of providing aid to Konoha's enemies, least of all Orochimaru who set Mizuki on the path to steal the Scroll of Seals in the first place." Tiger summarized and since it wasn't worded as a question, I played it safe and didn't answer, keeping silent instead.

Again the room fell quiet, the only sound the ever-present rumbling of the shifting caldera underneath us and the occasional sprays of lava outside the window. When Tiger next spoke, I almost expected his next words. Or word, rather.

"Elaborate."

I felt like there was a lot that I could say here, should say really. It would be crucial for the way Konoha viewed me, some much needed damage control after that forced confession. I needed to take away all suspicion, make myself look meek and harmless and just a good boy who had done nothing wrong, ever, in his life, honestly sir!

… heat pressing in on all sides, the painful grip of ANBU around my wrists, steel at my neck, blood slick and sticky on my skin…

'I'm so… tired. Empty.'

I felt like I should give a speech. All I could do was bow my head.

"Please."

The word was a whisper and yet Tiger's chair creaked slightly as the large man leaned forwards in his chair.

"Please. I don't want to be here. I don't think I deserve to be here. I want to be out there. Be free. Not trapped underground in some tiny, dank cell, constantly feeling the heat of the lava all around me, above me, constantly hearing its rumble. I haven't slept properly in days and I'm thirsty all the time. I hate to even think about next week, when my medical leave is up and I actually have to go out into the yard. I don't hate Konoha for it, I don't hate anyone really, but please. Please don't make me stay here any longer, I…"

At some point, tears had begun to flow down my face, joining the blood lining my throat.

"I just want to go home…" I managed in a choked sigh.

"… truth." Hawk's voice came softly, almost hesitantly.

I looked up in surprise at the woman, my surprise turning to shock as she finally let go of my arms, sharp thin bruises already forming on my wrists. Both ANBU shared a glance before they rose as one.

"I'll make a report of this interrogation. I'll request an operative skilled with the Regressive Hypnosis Technique, hopefully the genjutsu will allow you to access Mizuki's memories, give us intel on his dealings with Orochimaru. It's usually not an intensive technique, but considering we seem to dealing with a disassociation of personality on top of the amnesia, best to get in an expert." Tiger declared simply as I blinked up at him, needing a moment to catch up to the sudden shift in the way my interrogation had been going.

'Translation: your mind is so fucked I'm not gonna risk rooting around in there myself.' I thought somewhat cynically as the ANBU made to leave the room.

I should've left it at that. I really, really should've. But as the guard from before hurried to open the door for the spec force agents (very badly disguising an absolutely soaked handkerchief, come on man!) something in me made me spring up from my chair, its legs scraping loudly over the ground.

The guard twitched, so did Hawk but less obviously, but Tiger remained the very picture of calm, his mask turned slightly, one eye-hole staring back at me over a broad shoulder.

"Please… what's going to happen to Tsubaki-san?"

"As she herself mentioned when she turned herself in, she withheld vital information from her superiors while sheltering an enemy of the state. That makes her a traitor."

"She only did it out of love!"

"Cool motive. Still treason."

"Please, she was only trying to help me. Even her turning herself in, she did that to help me. Threw here entire life away just… just to help someone who doesn't even know her…" I trail off, the realization only now truly sinking in.

Yes, I had absolutely zero faith in Tsubaki's plan, none whatsoever. Zilch, nada, nix. In fact, when she blindsided me with it, I was actually annoyed with her, if too shocked at the time to be outright angry, considering she was much more useful to me on the outside. But even then, I couldn't ignore the significance of the gesture itself.

'Mizuki… you may be a bastard, but you sure know how to pick 'em.'

"… Boar will have finished with his interrogation by now. I'll add his report to my own. We will meet again, Oniyuri Mizuki. Soon." Tiger gave his non-answer and turned to leave, but right as he set foot on the threshold, he paused, glancing to the guard standing by the door.

"Get yourself together man." He commanded, before striding down the hallway, Hawk right on his feet, while the guard from before hurriedly stuffed his soaked handkerchief down his flak jacket.

Feeling the flat stares of both his fellow guard and myself on him, the guard's blush increased in intensity.

"What?! You have any idea how monotonous things get around here after a couple years?! This is some good drama!"

---

Fun Fact: Mizuki's bloodtype is AB.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 0.4​

​

---

Apparently, compiling a report and requesting a specialist Yamanaka to root around in my brain took a bit over a day or two. I was extremely interested to know what had been discussed as a result of the report Tiger had made following my interrogation, but apparently it had been kicked high enough up the chain not even the guards (who I was steadily getting on more friendly terms with) had heard a peep about it since the visit from the ANBU. If even the staff responsible with detaining me in the first place were being kept in the dark about what was to be done with me, then I was realistic enough despite my curiosity to accept I wouldn't be catching even a hint of what the top brass was currently saying about me.

In the end, all I could do was wait and see what came of it.

Wait and see… and prepare for the worst.

Which is exactly what I did the moment the ANBU had left and my guards had escorted me back to my cell. I hadn't seen Tsubaki in that time, but me buttering up the guards (who seemed to have developed a soft spot for me, with exception of the guard whose nose I had broken when I first woke up) granted me enough intel to know that she wasn't being confined in one of the lower levels with us for now.

Seems that, since she turned herself in, she was considered a non-flight risk. Ironically pretty much the opposite of me actually. I was pretty much a confirmed flight certainty, I just wasn't considered a threat.

Despite the woman ruining the first step of my already meagre plan, I still felt relieved to hear she hadn't been thrown down this hellhole to rot just because she wanted to help me.

When I wasn't badgering and entertaining the guard (which was surprisingly easy to do, considering how bored out of their minds they were and Mizuki having been a natural charmer), I stepped up my training in secret. Considering the guards only came to our cells to give the prisoners their food and collect them for various tasks and work details, that meant I spent the vast majority of the days it took the ANBU to get a specialist to genjutsu my memories working my ass off, for hours at a time. That much time each day meant I could fully immerse myself in the ancient way of Getting Prison Jacked, with the added spice that was chakra.

So there was the traditional calisthenics and body weight training, stuff I still remembered from my old life as well as habits ingrained into Mizuki's body, repeated often enough and diligently enough to the point it would even pass Gai's standards.

No really, that was how I kept motivating myself (in addition to the motivation my current surroundings and future threats provided). Whenever I got tired of a set, or my stamina dipped to the point I had spots in my vision and a burning in my lungs I thought of Gai, imagined him cheering me on, inspiring me with his 'youth'.

More than that, I imagined Gai, body burning red while a godlike Madara laughed in glee and declared him strongest of all.

Both aspects of that imagery, the potential gains and the potential threat, usually served to give me the needed strength to add more reps or get started on another exercise. He was of course completely unaware of it, but inadvertently Gai's determination and strength served to put me on my first steps to greater power than Mizuki had ever been capable of even imagining.

'I should buy the man a drink, once I get out of here. Just not Lee though.'

Hours upon hours of exercise until I was standing in a small pool of my own sweat, spent on nothing but push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, seated dips, overhead crunches, and whatever else I could think of that targeted a muscle group that wasn't burning yet, all of them made ridiculously easy with ninja balance.

Hell, at one point I wanted to bench-press my bed, but of course didn't have an actual bench for that full range of motion. So instead, I just let myself drop back into a picture perfect copy of a Neo bullet-time dodge and substituted the bench with the powers of chakra enhanced hamstrings.

Man, shinobi should open yoga schools, we were an absolute beast at flexibility and body control.

Those were all (muscle) memory, but then came the real secret sauce to take my puny body to Shippuden appropriate levels, get ahead of the power creep curve: chakra control exercises. And I do mean exercise in both senses of the word. For now, Tiger's reaction to my fear of incineration made me believe there was no immediate threat to me moulding chakra inside my cell, though I wouldn't go so far as to cast any techniques yet, didn't want to draw the wrong kind of attention.

However, controlling and refining my chakra should be doable and inconspicuous enough to keep at it for the majority of my waking hours. Additionally, combining physical training with chakra refinement would increase the maximum amount of chakra I could produce. Chakra is moulded from stamina and spiritual energy, so the harder I trained, the more stamina I got, the longer I could create chakra for my jutsu. However, eventually I'd be bottlenecked by my spiritual energy falling behind and being used up sooner, hence the focus on refining my chakra control, as studying and learning and new experiences increased your spiritual energy.

Most ninja preferred training the physical half of their chakra more though: even if you ran out of fireballs, you could still throw a decent punch, which was much more effective than throwing a research paper at your enemy.

"Tremble at my footnotes! Stand in awe of my bibliography! Please ignore my frail, unexercised body!"

It might have worked in academic circles back home, but in a military focused setting like this, punching your way to victory was the preferred method, hence why most shinobi could be considered the ultimate gym-rats, to say nothing of actual freaks like Gai and Lee, even if it meant letting their spiritual energy fall behind.

Though getting into fights and practicing your jutsu tended to work well enough to pump those numbers up to usable levels. Trauma and determination worked even better, a literal mind-over-body type deal.

If I wanted to increase both sides of my chakra capacity and control, then efficiency was the key here. Which meant Chakra Control exercises, or in my case, exercising through chakra. The most famous Shape Manipulation excercise was of course Wall-Walking as displayed by Naruto and Sasuke during the wave arc. Sticking yourself to a vertical surface while simultaneously reinforcing your body to not flex under the sudden shift in gravity. Forget that step and you'd be dangling upside-down off the side of a tree with your ankles bent at 90 degrees. Too little electro-static pressure then, and it was a steep drop. Too much and you'd blast yourself away like a human exploding tag.

Equal and opposing forces, but the tree was being much more stubborn than you.

Even in magic ninja-land, Newton was not to be fucked with. Which is why I started only gently experimenting with my nebulous ideas of making a taijutsu style based on intentionally doing Wall Walking wrong. Even Naruto and Sasuke (though with respectable reserves for their age) were able to strip bark from tree unintentionally during their training in Wave. Imagine striking at an opponent, but when he goes to block, you transition into a grip on his bare arm instead and overload the spider-man coating on your hand…

'Ouch… or just tear away your hand and their skin comes with it. Though their own chakra running underneath their skin probably prevents something like that, I can't really recall people sticking to each other mid-combat like that. Besides, the only surface I have here to place my hands against are the walls and the blow-back will probably shatter my wrists before it cracks the stone.'

As said before: even ninja dare not fuck with Newton. Even when I gently placed my palm flat against one of the flagstones and intentionally overcharged the field just enough to push my palm back, as if we were opposing magnets, it left a noticeable strain on my wrist. Sadly, until I strengthened my body or figured out a way to direct the backlash away from me, I wouldn't be slapping holes in solid stone anytime soon.

'There's my bed of course, that's a lot more forgiving but, well, I still need to sleep on it and that goes marginally better if it isn't full of holes… well, more holes.'

Back to the fundamentals of Wall Walking it was, considering I didn't have the proper surroundings to progress with more advanced excercises. The next step for control was of course water-walking. No more solid surface, instead of making your body rigid, you needed to send enough chakra into the water to make it stick together, artificially enhancing existing surface tension to create a 'solid' platform you could then stand on, constantly adjusting said platform to account for the flow and shifting of the water itself.

Which made me question if there was an even more advanced version of this control exercise, one where you gathered enough air atoms underneath your feet to stand tall in the sky? Was that how the shinobi from Sky Country did their tricks? Gai was able to kick off literally nothing but air pressure, but then again that was only in the Eight Gate.

Still, the potential for, if not outright flight, then at least some Wuxia wire-type flowy shit…

'The chakra cost would be horrendous though.' I thought somewhat dissappointed, shaking myself from my Crouching Moron, Hidden Tiger fantasies.

Even water-walking, especially for extended times, would eat up chakra at such a constant rate, some ninja could legitimately pass out from exhaustion, both their body's stamina and spiritual energy depleted. Which is why it was considered a key skill in separating genin from chūnin.

While Mizuki had been a chūnin (a mediocre one in the grand scheme of things, but still chūnin) and thus was pretty decent at Water-Walking. But he had never increased his level of skill with it, hadn't sought true mastery of it, hadn't tried to push himself even further simply because he had reached what was usually deemed as 'sufficient'. For all that he bitched and moaned about not having the power he felt he deserved, he hadn't actually bothered a whole lot in mastering the power he already had.

Lazy asshole.

Me though? Fuck sufficient. Fuck being mediocre. Being just average wouldn't guarantee my freedom. I needed to be exceptional. I would become exceptional.

'… Just as soon as I can draw out my chakra and refine it. Now… how the hell do I do that?'

I had felt the energy within me before of course, it was hard not to, something between a comforting warmth and an electric buzz (as if I just had a large filling stew made of Red Bull) underneath my skin sinking down into my very bones. Actively guiding its flow and drawing it out so that it settled in a sheen over my skin? Unless you counted faint whisps of power, sadly no.

However, now that I didn't need to fear incineration-by-seal (… probably) I could go further with it and I already had an idea in mind to connect with my mystical ninja-wizard bullshit energy: mediation. Meditation worked great to calm the mind and relax the body and hey, guess what, those are the two key components in chakra!

Not that I had ever attempted meditation in my previous life, but hey, I was stuck in a ninja's body with nothing but time on my hands.

'Worth a shot at least.'

And so I spent the rest of that morning on the floor of my cell, legs folded, back straight, palms face down on my knees as I tried to focus on my controlled breathing. At first, I got way too distracted by my surroundings to really fall into anything remotely resembling a proper state of mind. Meditation isn't easy when the world is just you, iron and stone. You hear everything. The dripping of the steam pipes. The scuffle of sandals. The coughs from Block D down the corridor. Not to mention the constant shifting and rumbling of the caldera.

After several hours though, without even consciously being aware of it, those various noises became singular distractions. Instead, they began to flow together. Repeats became rhythms, dissonance turning into harmony, every noise, no matter how sudden or distant, became part of a larger, overlapping tapestry of just… sound. No more, no less than just a presence of sound.

Which is when I realized the energy within me had shifted. My stamina and focus had dipped slightly, but in return I could feel a churning, growing presence behind my navel, a well of power that was just begging to be guided, to be used.

I called upon it, not really with muscles but with more than simply the mind, not forcing it in any particular direction, simply calling it to the surface of my skin, feeling it twist and coil and flow through unseen pathways within my body.

I (slowly, gently) raised a hand in front of my face and there, in flickers of mist and heatless flame, a pale-blue bordering on white, chakra danced over the surface of my skin. I didn't laugh out loud, didn't dare to, but my grin split my face, teeth visible in the dim light of my cell.

'Right… now to actually train it!'

Mizuki, for all his faults and weaknesses, was still a chūnin and thus already capable of producing the electro-static field for Wall and Water-Walking. A single leaf wouldn't do much to refine his control further.

So I didn't stick to just one leaf. Everything that wasn't screwed down (and in those cases, only if I couldn't unscrew them), heavier than a leaf and multiple at a time, forks and tin cans and even tightly rolled up bedsheets, I stuck to my body (all over my body, not just the forehead) while I did lunges and jumping jacks. Not regular excercises either, as there was a way to further tax my body and chakra. As mentioned before, an often overlooked but crucial step is the reinforcement of the body to ignore gravity's pull as you did your Spider-man impression.

So I did my set of sit-ups, flat against the wall, two feet off the ground. While upside down.

I did my push-ups, but against the ceiling, constantly adhering myself only by the very tips of my fingers and toes.

The increased weight meant I needed to expel and maintain more chakra, and the increase in items meant I had to keep this up several times simultaneously, all the while moving under extreme fatigue. Constantly I was expelling just the right amount of chakra, going off from what felt right, instinctive even, Mizuki's own experience telling my body what it had been trained to already know. Moulding the chakra felt like a weird core exercise that spread a warmth from my belly all the way through my body, even noticeably bundling up in certain places that I quickly guessed were the Eight Gates. Despite the internal warmth, it felt both slick and static when it actually left my tenketsu and settled over my skin, like a heatless flame wrapped taut around me. I could feel it pull against me and the surface of my cell, smushing us together like a plastic sheet that sticks to your skin after you've gotten static electricity all over you.

Having advanced to Water-Walking, Mizuki's control and reserves were enough to tackle any one of these problems with relative ease. All of them at once though? For the entirety of the first day, all the items I stuck to myself inevitably fell to the floor, sometimes with annoyingly loud clangs that made me freeze up and wonder if I caught the attention of the guard.

Even without trying actual techniques, just the act of moulding chakra, guiding it through my body and then expending it through so many points of contact in such large quantities began to drain my reserves. I could feel myself eating into my supply of stamina, causing me to become out of breath, a muscle soreness that seemed to seep down into my body, all the way to my bones and organs. Like that crash I once had after downing six Red Bulls right after another trying to make the deadline for my Master Thesis, the body just looking at your lifestyle choices and going 'nope! I'm out!'.

What somewhat surprised me was the mental tax as well though. Like that numbing feeling you get after a full work day, or yet another hour long meeting that should've been an e-mail, or an all-night study session because you have test, four hours of sleep and a dream, your brain fried and logic going out the window, instead being replaced with a not-quite sleepy feeling.

The mental tax was doubly annoying because the drowsiness began to mess up my control, forcing me to either exert even more chakra, or focus on my refinement, which took my attention away from my exercises leaving me with bad form.

When I fell onto my knees after my latest set of overhead crunches (fully putting into perspective to me just how far even average shinobi stood above baseline humans, as I had cracked the triple digits an hour ago) I called it a day and went to bed.

Despite the creakiness of the rusty springs groaning whenever I so much as twitched, I slept like a rock, only being woken when a guard physically slapped my cheeks because otherwise I'd miss breakfast.

I thanked the guard profusely (which clearly weirded her out), practically inhaled the bowl of plain white rice… and went right back to training the moment she had turned a corner, still shaking her head. With my stamina and focus back to normal (no matter how much my sore body protested), I was determined to make full use of my chakra again and so the exercises continued.

As the hours slipped past and the number of excercises and repetitions kept climbing, it became more and more difficult to maintain the constant static film, forcing me to focus more and more on moulding the different energies (both rapidly depleting from my continued chakra use and physical exercise) and draw them out more efficiently. Let less chakra escape my skin, but make the chakra that did escape stronger, denser, do it's job better even though there was now less to work with.

The idea of making my chakra 'tighter' or 'denser' somehow led me to consider an alternative form of Shape Transformation, arguably one as famous back in my old world as the Rasengan had been. It came to me when I was done with my set of push-ups against the ceiling (285, an ungodly high number back in my old world), cutting off the chakra at my feet and letting them swing down, but still clinging to the stony roof by the tips of my fingers, like Andrew Garfield's Spider-man in that scene where the cast first meets the alternate Spider-men in No Way Home.

I was watching the tips of my fingers, hanging as I was suspended a few feet off the ground, feeling myself slowly being dragged down by gravity, allowing the statically charged field of chakra lengthen and stretch before inevitably the electrostatic forces became to weak to overpower gravity and my bare feet slapped against the cold floor.

Still, the drop hadn't been a few feet, a little over a foot at most.

'Chakra Strings. Of course. They're basically the next step in expelling chakra through tenketsu and sticking it to another object, just over a vaster distance and much more refined.'

It took it even a step further by then allowing you to manipulate whatever thing you'd 'grabbed' with your chakra, somewhat similar to tactile telekinesis. From that realization onwards, whenever my body was literally too tired to even move, I'd lie down on my cot and hold my pointer finger in front of my nose.

Tenketsu were too small to be seen with the naked eye (unless said eye was a Byakugan), but if I recall Naruto's fight against Neji in the Chunin Exams correctly, then there should be two big ones on the underside of the wrists. They very well could be, but I (or Mizuki's body) wasn't adept enough at chakra sensing to really feel any noticeable difference there. So, for simplicity's sake, I focused on the tip of my index finger instead, calling on what little chakra remained after my exercises.

Pushing it out of the tip of my finger, it resembled a tiny flame like a candle or something. Extended past my skin, sure, but far from an actual Chakra Thread. Those could be meters long at the least and were just a fraction of the thickness, probably only as wide as the tenketsu themselves were.

Without a proper teacher, I resorted to trying to push the chakra further away from my skin without calling on more chakra to feed the small flicker in order to stretch it out. The next step was to strengthen the string itself. Chakra layered on the tip of a finger could be used to inscribe words into solid stone (or a toad's back if that was more readily available), so chakra, even without Nature Transformation such as the Hell Stab or the Chidori, was cable of cutting and carving, so I should be able to do the same with the tip of my Chakra String.

All I managed was a barely visible scratch against the stone next to my pillow on my first attempt. I also almost broke the top two joints of my index finger when the chakra cut out unexpectedly and I smashed it head-on against the rock.

'Right, back to the drawing board. Extend it from the finger… push it further, stretch it, don't feed it, keep it thin… now feed it chakra, but don't led it expand, make it tight, make it dense…'

It was… a slow process to say the least and somewhat surprisingly, the next day when I woke up I found not just the usual muscle aches across the entirety of my body, but that I had managed to overexert the finger as well, leaving it cramped for the rest of the day.

While Chakra Strings would be a valuable addition to my toolset, essentially being pseudo-telekinesis, I was unlikely to make any great strides with it unless I got my hands on an instructional scroll or picked up some tips from other shinobi.

Maybe I was lucky and they threw a Hyuuga in here? Some poor sap who hadn't bowed deeply enough when one of his more important cousins passed by in the hallway or some bullshit like that? Those guys were quite literally the clan in Konoha when it came to controlling and extending your chakra beyond your fingertips and sticking it to something else. They even went a step further and were actually able to make their chakra dense enough they could insert 'plugs' of it into another being that would persist even when they stopped supplying it with power.

'Nah, unlikely. Not only would no self-respecting Hyuuga share that secret with an outsider, much less a traitor, but I doubt the Clan would even bother with a jail like this. They'd just flex those creepy eyes, shout something dramatic like "you dare?!", just one handseal later and boom. Brains leaking outta your earholes. No need for prison then.' I thought dourly to myself and went back to trying to thin and lengthen the flicker of chakra extruding from my fingertip, no matter how slow progress was.

For now, it served as a capstone at the end of my training session (alternating fingers of course), when I had used up so much of my stamina and chakra I couldn't continue with my insane work-outs that would've given even Richard Simmons pause (mostly because I've taken to doing most of them upside down against the ceiling).

You think losing a teammate is bad? Watching a loved one die? Bitch please, you haven't known true pain unless you've planked for an hour while suspended against the ceiling, your raggedy blanket rolled up and hanging around your middle, suspending your prison cot underneath you. Despite the self-inflicted torture, I kept at the excercises. They'd increase my chakra reserves, eventually increasing the amount of techniques I could cast while needing less energy for each one, pushing the amount of spammable jutsu even further.

'Man, why doesn't every shinobi do this every day? The increase in control and reserves could be a game changer. Oh, right, because my everything hurts like a sonuvabitch right now. Ow. Ow. Owowowow…' I thought to myself, lying spread-eagled on the floor in a pool of my own sweat, panting like I'd just ran a marathon to Earth Country and back.

This rate of exhaustion would be unsustainable for any ninja that needed to remain mission-ready, but well, I didn't exactly have to worry myself with that, did I? The main question I had to worry about was: was any of this actually having the effect that I was hoping for?

Back in my previous life, I had been the type to check his belly in the mirror after eating a salad, annoyed I wasn't seeing an effect yet. Even when I started weightlifting, it took every ounce of maturity I had to accept that the benefits would only show themselves after a couple of months at the earliest and once they did, I got annoyed all over again because building up from those initial rookie gainz took even longer.

That was in my old life though, in my old, regular human body. Mizuki's body though? As said, ninja seem to have a much higher metabolism, making them naturally heal faster, to say nothing of the way chakra seemed to be able to grow and evolve in explosive bursts, owing to its spiritual aspect no doubt.

I had been at it with an absolutely gruelling pace during pretty much the entirety of my waking hours for the better part of three days now, and the changes were already noticeable. Not drastic. Not great enough for me to feel completely confident or safe yet, not by a long shot.

But noticeable. On that third day, I could tell I needed to mould less chakra in order to stick myself to the walls and ceiling than it had taken that first day. Not much less, but still, noticeably so.

Strangely, while it gave me a boost of determination to keep up the pace for as long as I could, it also made me angrier at the canon Mizuki than I already was at the bastard for landing me in jail in the first place.

'You damned, whiny slacker! If this is what your body is capable of after just days, then how were you still so weak after having had a full year!?'

Sure, he beat Iruka, meaning he had actually gotten stronger, but he still lost to the same twelve year old that had kicked his ass in the first place. Meaning that in the overall scheme of things, his power had progressed… by zero.

I would've punched the bastard in the face if it weren't for the fact that I was currently wearing it.

Still, though I had renewed determination to throw myself back into my self-inflicted torture session, my training that day was abruptly cut short by an early visit from the guards, two of them this time.

Over these past few days, I've found the guards are creatures of habit. The same ones rotate shifts in Lower Block B, four in total, never more, never less. Two per shift, two per each block spread across the lower levels. For my cellblock, there's Kenta and Ryoma on nights, and during the day there's Genda and Okabe. Genda's a wiry, sharp-eyed man with a crooked grin and a voice that always sounds like it's mocking you, even when he's not. A classic case of someone who thinks he's funny, only because he's never been on the receiving end of his 'jokes'. Anyone else just calls it bullying: smirking quips about escape attempts, limp threats wrapped in humour. Never enough to provoke, just enough to remind you who's holding the keys. Though he tends to go a bit further with me than with the other inmates.

Part of that is because I'm new. Part of it (most of it, I'm guessing) is because he was the guard whose nose I broke when I first woke up here. It was him and Okabe that dragged me to the med bay that first day and since then he takes every opportunity he can to loudly complain how I don't deserve to have my "rightful punishment for breaking his nose reduced just 'cause I'd gone schizoid".

His words, not mine. He won't shut up about it either.

Okabe doesn't talk at all. He does, however, chew sunflower seeds obsessively, always spitting the shells into a pouch on his belt.

From the anime and wiki, I know that Kotetsu and Izumi (though I always forget which one is which) occasionally help out at the prison as well. Most fanfics I've read had them as eternal gate keepers of Konoha, but considering their appearance in the prison and later at Ibiki's side during the Chunin Exams, they seem more attached to T instead, until Tsunade essentially makes them her errand boys.

Either they're back at Konoha or working another cell block, since it's Genda's sharp grin that greets me through the bars, thin-lipped and crooked, like he knows something I don't and enjoys watching me guess. He leans in just close enough for the sour-sweet scent of amazake on his breath to reach me, his eyes glinting with that familiar, mean-spirited amusement. The grin doesn't fade as he speaks. If anything, it stretches wider, like my discomfort is the punchline to a joke only he finds funny.

Genda taps the bars with his knuckles, the metal ringing sharp in the silence.

"Well, well," he drawls, that crooked grin already in place, "looks like your fan club's finally shown up. ANBU, no less. Must be your lucky day."

Seeing that I remain silent in the face of his taunting, Genda shrugs as he straightens, jingling the keys from his belt like wind chimes. He's lazy in finding the correct one, enjoying seeing me stew behind bars, even if only for a moment.

Jokes on him, even in the low light of the low-slung ceiling, Mizuki's eyes are adapted to the darkness well enough and I commit the number and shape of the teeth of the key that Genda eventually selects.

He unlocks the cell with a flourish, stepping back with an exaggerated bow.

"After you, honoured guest. Wouldn't want to keep the executioners—pardon, interrogators—waiting."

I keep my head up, back straight as I walk out of the cell, extending my wrists and allowing Okabe to shackle them with heavy chains, chewing on his sunflower seeds as always. I've quickly learned to give up hope on him trying to reign in his colleague. It's not that Okabe dislikes me as Genda does (the majority of the guards don't), it's more than he just doesn't like me enough to bother coming between us.

"Try not to wet yourself—those masks don't hide judgment nearly as well as you think." Genda can't help but remark as he and Okabe take position at my sides, hand firmly on my shoulder.

"Thanks for the tip. You're right, I can only imagine how the mask would interfere should they pull up their nose at me." I respond cheekily, the reminder of our first meeting not sitting well with the miserly man.

The grip on my shoulder tightens, painfully, but already these past few days of conditioning make it noticeably (if minutely) easier to bear than when he had first literally dragged me up the stairs and down the corridors.

'If this is the effect of just three days… imagine what three months can do- Oof!'

Clearly, Genda didn't appreciate my call-back, his usual smirk replaced by a deep scowl as he roughly shoves me forwards with each aggressive step, causing Okabe to nearly inhale one of his pits as he suddenly needs to hurry to keep up.

"Upstairs. Now." Genda growls and I decide to bite my tongue metaphorically, before I have an 'accident' on the stairs and am forced to do so literally.

The trip, hurried as it is by Genda's frustration, is blissfully short and to my surprise it doesn't take long before I'm standing before a familiar door leading to the same interrogation room where Hawk and Tiger had grilled me. The door is still closed and next to it, leaning casually against the wall like he's a part of it (even though his gaze is alert and focused once it lands on me) stands the sappy guard from before, Jūrō I recently discovered.

Though I'm probably the only inmate (or guard, for that matter) whose first thought upon seeing him involves the word 'sappy' in any way, shape or form, since he sure doesn't look it. Where Genda is wiry and Okabe is lithe, Jūrō is the stereotypical tough guy prison guard, broad-shouldered, thick-necked, and built like a battering ram. His face is all hard lines: a heavy brow, a crooked nose that's been broken more than once, and a scowl that looks carved in by an apprentice sculptor that only had a potato, a rough idea of human anatomy and an unsteady grip to work with.

Even so, despite the way he puts up an air of indifference, I immediately notice how that craggy face of his lights up when he sees me approach, before he badly hides his excitement.

"ANBU are here for ya, Mizuki."

"Thanks Jūrō. You gonna stay and watch again?"

"You know it!"

For once, Genda and I are united as we flatly stare at the broad man, who coughs sheepishly before shrugging and scowling fiercely again. Even Okabe's eternal chewing sounds judgemental.

"J-just for security reasons. Of course."

"Of course." I drawl.

Grunting, Jūrō leans over, giving a sharp rap on the steel door before opening it slightly.

"ANBU-san? The prisoner is here as requested."

"Good, send him in."

I was surprised at how relieved I was when I heard it was Tiger's voice, the man's stylized mask turning to silently observe me as I crossed the threshold, considering he was responsible for uncovering my escape plan in the first place.

'Probably the fact he kept a cool enough head to not immediately claim mine for Konoha once he did.' I think somewhat morbidly, my attention shifting to land on the other ANBU standing at Tiger's side.

Somewhat surprisingly, Hawk isn't there. While Tiger is clad in the grey combat fatigues of the ANBU, this new one is wearing a long cloak, wearing a mask with several coloured accents, but all I really get from it is cat mixed with racoon. The platinum blonde hair is a far better indicator anyways, and also a relief for a worry I hadn't even dared to think about.

'A Yamanaka. And not Danzo's pet one either, thankfully.'

"Sit." Tiger's command snaps me from my observation and knowing the drill by now, I swiftly take a seat, making sure to keep my hands above the tabletop, palms flat.

Tiger also takes up a position at the head of the table as he had done during my previous interrogation and Jūrō similarly takes his old spot by the door at my back (probably so I won't see him reach for a handkerchief, the big softy). Okabe silently takes up position in the far corner, self-consciously returning a sunflower seed to his pouch as he shrinks a bit under Tiger's forbidding gaze, even hidden as it is behind his mask.

To his credit, Genda seems less impressed with the ANBU, still strolling with his familiar swagger as he leans next to the small window overlooking the caldera outside.

The Yamanaka ANBU takes a seat across from me, movements unhurried, calm but precise, measured, the cloak not even rustling as it shifts around his tall form.

"Frog. Begin." Tiger orders in his usual brusque tone and I can feel myself and the guards do a simultaneous double-take.

'That's supposed to be a frog? Since when do frogs have whiskers?! … I mean, considering this place has giant rhinos and pink ostriches, they might have actually…'

"Mizuki-san. None of your memories of your life have returned to you, specifically those pertaining to your past dealings with the traitor Orochimaru, either due to your physical or mental trauma. As such, we shall place you under a genjutsu induced hypnosis which shall allow you to access them instead through your subconscious recollection. For the technique to reach it's maximum intended effect, a calm state of mind is required. Please, clear yourself of all thought." The Yamanaka starts, voice soft but certain, immediately snapping me from my musings.

"Tch, that shouldn't take long." Genda scoffs, still leaning against the windowsill, though he visibly shudders as Tiger's masks icily turns into his direction, the entire room falling deathly silent, even the lava sprays outside seemingly not daring to make a noise.

The ANBU doesn't even need to say a word, yet Genda ducks his head, shrinking a bit and I can't quite suppress a vindictive smile at that.

"Mizuki-san." The Yamanaka reminds me.

It's not a question and I sit up straighter. Right, calm mind, focus now, laugh at Genda later.

'I wonder… will this reveal more memories of my past life, or will I get a glimpse of Mizuki's?' I wonder, before going still, both body and mind.

Frog must've spotted it somehow, because he suddenly flips through a set of handsigns. Thanks to me repeating them over and over again the past few nights just out of the sheer satisfaction of pulling them off at speed (I still remember that time when I was seven or eight and me and a buddy of mine tried following Kakashi on the tv until I somehow managed to almost dislocate my ringfinger) I was actually able to follow them this time.

Dog, Snake, Ox, Bird and landing (ironically) on Tiger. Interlaced knuckles, index and middle finger pressed together and extended, thumbs up. The Yamanaka ANBU rests on the seal for a moment, before raising it slowly until its on eye-height between us.

"Regressive Hypnosis!"

A barely perceptible shimmer extends briefly from around his interlocked hands. I barely even know what's happening until I feel my eyelids almost forcefully being pulled down, arms lying slack on the tabletop, yet somehow I can't bring myself to try to resist, or even be alarmed by it at all.

There's… not even peace, just… nothing. An almost suffocating calm. From far, far away, impossibly distant yet sounding out from right next to my ear comes the soothing voice of the Yamanaka.

"Listen to my voice… listen to the sound of your heartbeat thrumming in your ears… right now, you are travelling forwards down a path that leads only backwards, backwards through your memories… keep going back into the past… back a day… back three days… back to almost a week ago… the night of your betrayal. Where are you?"

'Wha- where's Mizuki during the betrayal? Waiting in the forest of course. Mizuki had just tricked Naruto with some bullshit about giving him an alternative graduation exam if he stole the Scroll for him. Which, actually, raises so many plotholes. Why did Mizuki think someone who flunked the Academy was even capable of stealing the Scroll in the first place? Hell, why did it work? Seriously, how bad was security in this place! Where were the biometrically locked flash-frying seals?! How could people just keep walking in and out of wherever they damned well pleased! How many times did the enemies of Konoha enter past the gate in some of the most ridiculous budget-cosplay disguises you've ever seen, wasn't there supposed to be a fuinjutsu barrier around the place or something-!'

The calm voice of Frog cuts through my rambling, though he sounds a bit… off?

"The night of your betrayal. You wished to posses the Scroll of Sealing. In your statement made shortly after your arrest, you declared you wanted to learn its secrets to become unstoppable."

'Mizuki? Unstoppable? Hell, half the stuff in there would probably kill him on the spot, the rest of it… maybe? Kage Bunshin would be nice to know, but he doesn't have the reserves to utilize it properly. Same as with the other stuff that might be in there. He just lacks the basic fundamentals to actually use a power-up like that properly. Typical one-note villain who thinks he has the one unbeatable trump card, until he gets outplayed and is left with empty hands instead. Lazy slacker son of a-'

"If not for your own purposes, why did Miz-… why did you seek the scroll then?"

'Hmm, bartering it to Orochimaru most likely. Little weasel doesn't have any connections with any of the other villages and the Snake Bastard is always on the lookout for Konoha morons lured by pretty promises of power… wonder when they first met? Man, the timeline's so wonky… definitely before he started working at the Academy, must've been on the mission he strangled his own teammate. Still, where the fuck was Orochimaru that he actually saw that? Does he just lurk around in bushes spying on missions that pass by? … actually, knowing him he probably does, doesn't he? Also, how did he approach Mizuki in the first place? "Hey, nice job being a teammate-killing murdering bastard, wanna join the club? We have cookies." Yeah, right. Mizuki was too dumb to even realize he didn't get a proper seal like Anko, just some instructions for a potion… which I don't know how to make. Dammit. Didn't he steal from the Nara? Yeah right, hell to the fuck no on that front-'

"Did Mizuki receive any further instructions from Orochimaru? Any orders to meet at a hidden location? Any other agents he should report to?"

'Further instructions? Hell, I'm betting that for Orochimaru, Mizuki was the equivalent of a pump and dump. If I were to seek out the bastard now, I doubt he'd even remember me. Maybe the potion he gave Mizuki, but he'd probably just see it as a failed experiment and turn my skin inside out as an experiment or something… blegh. Other agents? I mean, sure, there are some inside Konoha-'

"Which ones?! Can you identify them!?"

'Whoa, Frog is agitated all of a sudden. Wonder why they named him that. I was so sure that those were whiskers-'

The sensation of a deep, calming breath. Strange, I'm already calm?

"Mizuki-san. Please, focus on my voice. Turn your attention to my words. Think back. Walk backwards through your subconscious memories of your past. Did you ever learn of any identities of Orochimaru's agents embedded in Konoha?"

'Orochimaru agents embedded in Konoha? I mean, the obvious one is Kabuto. Though does he go by that name already? Or is he pretending to be a ROOT agent at this point? No wait, he worked at the hospital, didn't he? Son of a doctor there or something? Which makes no sense, considering his mother figure was that one ROOT lady that led an orphanage or something. Wait, so is he Danzo's man or Orochimaru's? Man, no wonder the dude's cracked under an identity crisis, when I'm already getting confused about his loyalties…'

A long silence this time, somehow the drowsiness, that oppressive stillness pulling away just enough I can question it, before the blanket of calm smothers my worries again.

"Any other spies?" the voice says, though even in my drowsy state, I can tell the calm is definitely faked this time.

'Well, Kabuto's teammates for the Chunin Exams, obviously, since they defected not long after. Uhm, any others? Can't remember any. Well, there's the Suna nin that are allowed in once the Exams start, though I wonder if Orochimaru already killed the Kazekage at that point? Baki does bring out his report to Kabuto, so they're willingly working with Sound… Nah, I doubt they'd still work together once they find out their biggest star got murked, off-screen no less. Outside of Konoha… well, he's certainly not friends with the rest of Akatsuki, that's for sure, though Kabuto does work for Sasori. Or pretends to, at least… man, that guy has commitment issues…'

"Anything further to add?" the voice is strained now, the calm from before agitated and churning and I can feel myself 'waking up', a bit more aware of what's going on around me.

'Let's see, outside of Konoha… wait, there's that Hiruko guy, with the Chimera Technique! He was a childhood friend of the Sannin, right? Probably got on like a house on fire with Orochimaru, considering how closely related their Forbidden Techniques are. Orochimaru melding people to natural energy, Hiruko melding genetics together… they probably exchanged research and experiments, allowing Orochimaru to perfect his Curse Seal. And Hiruko does do a lot of animal crossing… Maybe he gave the beast-transformation potion to Orochimaru to use as a jumping off point for his research into natural energy? Intending Mizuki as a first test run of sorts? If so, then maybe Hiruko can help me improve the potion so it doesn't end up killing me? His Chimera Technique would also work well with Step 2 of my plan…'

The calm recedes, a blanket being pulled off my brain and I find myself blinking a couple of times before the room comes back into focus. The first thing that strikes me is the silence, even the rumbling of the caldera seeming distant. Glancing around, I can see Tiger leaning on both fists as he stands at the edge of the table, head bowed. Frog sits slumped back in his chair, for some reason seemingly exhausted, weird mask tilted back as he's staring at the ceiling.

The other guards are more expressive however, Okabe having a small pile of spent sunflower seeds at his feet, eyes and mouth wide open as he's in the midst of biting down on another. Genda's still at the window, but looks like he might try jumping through at any moment now, hands fisted deep into the pockets of his pants, face ashen-white, his expression stuck somewhere between shock, rage and… fear?

Craning my neck, I glance back over my shoulder towards Jūrō, the large man this time not with a handkerchief, but a… note pad?

"Man, this is some good stuff." He giggles to himself as he keeps scribbling, reminding me of a certain white-haired Super Pervert.

Glancing back towards the stressed looking ANBU, I manage to piece things together, leaning back into my chair and crossing my arms over my chest, the chains around my wrists clinking loudly in the silent room.

"I want to negotiate a deal. And I want my ninja lawyer." I state firmly.

Tiger's resulting glare is a Fire Jutsu all on its own.

---

Fun Fact: Depending on the kanji used, Genda can be read as "gen" and "da", meaning "field of origin". However, as "da" can also be read as "rice paddy", you could read Genda as "originating from rice paddies"…

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on my Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 0.5​

​

---

Sadly, I was not immediately given access to a ninja lawyer, partially because even the as the 'nice' ninja Village, Konoha didn't exactly bother with Miranda Rights and providing you with your one phone call, but mostly because it didn't really seem to be a thing in the first place.

"That seems like a glaring oversight. How can you have a ninja Police Force to catch criminals, have a ninja jail to throw those criminals in, but not a ninja justice system in place to actually determine whether or not those guys are even criminals in the first place? Hell, there's not even someone who provides their defense after they get arrested!" I ranted, lying on my cot and throwing up my arms in frustration.

Jūrō merely chuckled, leaning against the bars of my cell, having returned me to my current residence after the ANBU beat a distinctly hurried retreat across the single drawbridge over the active caldera, racing back towards Konoha.

From observing the guard's routine, I knew Genda and Okabe were supposed to hand over their shifts to Kenta and Ryoma for the night patrols soon, but Genda had muttered something about not feeling well and Jūrō had volunteered to escort me back instead.

Okabe, as always, had said nothing, seemingly content to keep munching away on his sunflower seeds.

"That's because, as you said yourself, they're criminals. The Hokage said so, after all. Or ANBU did. Same thing."

"But what is there to prevent an abuse of power?!"

"Simple. We don't elect a Hokage who would do that. Duh."

"… Jūrō, you know I love and appreciate you man, but you really need to try out critical thinking one of these days."

"Why would I? I'm not the one behind bars here."

"Ouch."

Jūrō just chuckled, though thankfully, once I pressed him a bit, he was willing to elaborate on what he understood of how the justice system usually worked in Konoha, though he admitted that he didn't know if similar systems existed in the other nations.

Normally, if the Police Force suspected you of being up to no good, they'd investigate you, arrest you, charge you and then hand you over to the ANBU, who being the physical extension of the Hokage, would then pass judgement on you. If you got lucky, or had the appropriate backing, like a Clan, then you could contest the charges, get witnesses involved, provide counter arguments for the ANBU to either accept or dismiss (or even go over the ANBU's heads and raise a fuss directly with the Hokage himself), but this being a ninja village, you were pretty much expected to set all this up yourself.

"You on the other hand, were literally caught red-handed committing high treason and the only person who would've argued in your defense with the ANBU is currently in a cell like you. Sorry buddy, but ain't nobody on the outside left willing to stick their necks out for ya."

"I wish Tsubaki hadn't done that." I wistfully say at that, but Jūrō, being Jūrō, interprets it wrongly of course.

"Love man, it's a powerful motivator. Nice to see you wish your fiancée was free, but it's because she wished the same for you that she's in here right now too."

'Not what I mean, but sure. Sucks for her.' I made sure to not roll my eyes with the burly guard's gaze on me, letting out a forlorn sigh instead that saw him grabbing for his handkerchief again.

"Seriously? Man, we gotta get you some cable TV in here."

"Meh, we tried that, but can't get that stuff to work in here, at least not for extended periods. Thermal interference from the caldera or something. One of the eggheads tried explaining it to me once, but I stopped listening after he told me we won't be able to watch Kokoro no Hana Saku. Hell, can't even get a proper signal back to HQ, not even radio."

'Interesting. Explains why Mizuki's original escape took so long to get a response from Konoha- wait, what?'

"… 'Blossoms of the Heart'? What-"

"You ever mention that show to any of the guards and I'll throw you off the island straight into the lava."

"Jeez, alright-"

"They'll never find your body."

"I said alright."

Jūrō glares at me from between the bars, pointing to me, to his eyes and back at me again, his craggy face set in a deep scowl, enhanced by the shifting shadows cast by the flickering torches.

"Nobody must ever know."

"Jūrō, relax, I get it."

Seemingly satisfied, for now at least, Jūrō turns on his heel before he stills, glancing back at me over his shoulder.

"… I'll see about getting you and Tsubaki some work, get you outta that cell at least, stretch the legs. Not the prison yard. Know how you feel 'bout that. Laundry duty or something, sweeping the hallways. Light stuff. No promises on putting you on the same shift, at least not for now."

I blink in surprise, finding myself genuinely touched at the small gesture. I've only felt the heat of the caldera indirectly through the windows and I'd honestly been dreading hacking away at volcanic rock out in the prison yard. This was a welcome peace offering and I nodded my head at the burly guard.

"Thank you, Jūrō. Appreciate it man."

"Don't mention it. No, really, don't. Not sure if I'm even allowed to do this much, but also the rest of the inmates probably won't take kindly to you getting any signs of favouritism. They know we give those out as part of an incentive program for snitches and well…"

He shrugs at that, before moving away, throwing a lazy salute over his shoulder.

"Just sit tight Mizuki. The Hokage is a great and learned man; he'll know what to do with you and your little lady."

"Just sit tight, huh? Not like I got much of a choice.' I groused, lying back onto my cot, fingers interlaced behind my head, silver hair splayed out around my face.

That was a good point Jūrō had inadvertently made. Canon Mizuki had broken out by instigating a mass riot, seemingly being the leader of the other inmates, though he only bothered taking the Legendary Stupid Brothers with him. Either he considered the rest too weak, or the reverse was true and he wasn't seen as powerful enough to strong-arm the others in sticking with him, choosing to scatter instead.

However, my initial plan had been to get chummy with the guards and by extension Konoha authorities instead. Still something I considered worthwhile, but if what Jūrō had said was true, it might actually compromise my safety for as long as I was forced to remain on the inside. And I still had no idea how long that might be or what Hiruzen would decide to do with the truth bombs I'd thrown in his lap.

Orochimaru and Danzo might be the most acute dangers to Konoha's safety with the exception of Pain himself coming in to turn the Village into a crater and both happened to be massive, personal and emotional blind spots for the aged Hokage. It wasn't as if I had concrete proof of the intel I'd provided either, between the amnesia and the dissociation, they could just decide it was all the ramblings of a madman.

'But my information is almost too specific. Too many details to ignore outright. Hiruzen survived Three World Wars and who knows how many assassination attempts. He won't just let this slide without at least putting out feelers. But Orochimaru and Danzo are so dangerous precisely because they can look over his shoulder and peep into his playbook. How long until they know what he knows? How long until they decide that I'm a loose end that's better being trimmed off?'

Ironically, despite having set things in motion that could potentially gain me my freedom, I began to feel more trapped than ever on this island. Sure, the outside world was kept away by a ring of lava, but the inside of prison was a dangerous enough environment on its own that could easily be taken advantage of by potential enemies. All it would take is to pressure the right guard, or entice the corrupt ones, or even just provide a shiv and an excuse to one of the other inmates and I would be found bled dry in my cell the following morning.

'If they don't just deal with the body in the first place, that is…', Jūrō's threat, no matter how joking, rang in my ear.

I couldn't wait on Hiruzen and the ANBU deciding what to do with me, especially since that decision didn't necessarily need to be in my (or Tsubaki's) favour, now that I had confessed to the murder of Mizuki's teammate that he already had been investigated for in the past.

'Well, the night's still young.'

I rose from my bed, the rusted springs loudly protesting at my every movement, and approached the large lock set firmly in the door of my cell as I recalled how Genda had leisurely flipped through the keys on his chain, as he almost always did when he had to open it for whatever reason throughout the day.

It had been just after noon when Genda and Okabe had retrieved me for the ANBU, and despite it passing in a blur, Frog's genjutsu had apparently put me under for several hours at the very least. Then there had been the aftermath which had consisted of Okabe and Genda quietly and unobtrusively sweating in a corner, Tiger and Frog holding a very intense whispered debate that was only interrupted by trying to glare holes through my skull and me loudly complaining about the lack of legal representation in this Village.

Jūrō had spent that time just scribbling away in his notebook like an artiste possessed.

It had lasted all throughout dinner, and it wouldn't be long until the day shift clocked out and the night shift started their first rounds of the evening.

'One and a half hours, give or take. That should be enough to make some progress at least.'

Kneeling by the door, I once again raised up my index finger in front of my face as I had done these past few days after each of my gruelling training sessions. Slowly, very, very slowly, I extended chakra through the tenketsu right on the edge of my finger, letting wispy thin blue chakra leak and flicker out from just above the skin. It wasn't a Chakra Thread, not yet, but slowly I began to refine it, making it thinner, while also making it firmer, stronger. Over half an hour of my one and half hour window was spent solely on thinning and condensing the chakra until it was at least somewhat thread-like. Still quite not what the Puppet Corps of Suna was renowned for (and until I managed to get my hands on one of them or their training scrolls, it likely never would be) and quite frankly utterly useless for any sort of combat scenario, but for this, it'd be good enough.

The chakra had reduced in size, but thickened in colour and outline, going from flickering and translucent to something stable and distinctly visible, more like a shine glinting off wire. Still not thin enough for my tastes, but it was thin enough to fit in a keyhole. Slowly, gently, mind focused wholly on the subtle string of chakra to keep it from falling apart, I pressed the tip of my finger against the keyhole, snaking my chakra inside.

Feeling it remain stable and firm, even in the cramped confines of the mechanism, I let out a silent breath, before leaning further forward, resting my ear against the lock. There was a very odd sense of tactile sensation, a distant feedback that felt more like someone tugging on your sleeve rather than anything resembling touch coming from the thread inside of the lock.

'Right, so according to the teeth on the key that Genda used, then the first tumbler is further in… nothing on one… nothing on two, three is binding… nice click, can feel a little movement in the core… nothing on four and five, click on six… alright, back to the beginning… nothing on one, two is binding…'

Progress was further slowed by needing to be extra careful of how far I pushed the thread. Even in its unshaped form, when I had first started experimenting with it, it had been firm and sharp enough, almost needle-like, to leave scratches in the hardened stone of my cell. While it was stronger now after literal days of near non-stop training, I still didn't think it would be powerful enough to pierce through the hardened metal of the locking mechanism, but it probably was powerful enough wear down the tumblers if I wasn't careful and messed up too often. Not enough to make it fall apart, but probably enough to make it jam the next time a guard tried to insert a key.

Best case scenario was they'd let me stew in my firmly locked cell until they managed to get a ninja-locksmith out here, but more likely they'll connect it to my flight-risk status and make good on Jūrō's promise to throw me right into the caldera instead.

Still, working at it steadily, going tumbler by tumbler and going for accuracy and care over speed, meant that after under half an hour later, the lock gave a very satisfying (if loud) click! as I cut off the chakra I fed into the thread, allowing it to dissipate.

'Man, Konoha security really is shit. Why has nobody else thought of this? … then again, most of the guys in here are Konoha born and bred, shinobi from other villages either get killed in the field, interrogated until nothing of their mind is left, or if they get lucky are ransomed back to their own Village. Could be most of the guys in here don't even know what Chakra Threads are, let alone how to shape even the basic knock-off version I came up with.'

Putting the thought out of my mind, I straighten and gently turn the handle on the cell door. It moves an inch, before the metal starts groaning in protest, its rust grinding away and I still completely.

'How much time until Kenta and Ryoma make their way down here? I must've been at it for an hour now or so… dammit, first order of business once I'm on Jūrō's work detail is try and get my hands on a watch. Either steal one or barter for one.'

With no reliable way to tell the time and thus know my window of opportunity, I forced myself to do the most difficult thing I've ever had to do since I woke up in this place: I pulled the door shut. The sound of the door falling in place seemed oddly loud and echoing to my mind, but I pushed through, kneeling by the lock again, and once again reshaping my Chakra Thread.

Inserting it and giving it the same adhesive properties that I've become very familiar with during my many training sessions, I recalled the order that I used to open it, and went past each tumbler in reverse, grabbing them and pulling them back into place. I'm down to two more when I hear footsteps echoing off the wall, coming down the hallway towards me.

'Shit!'

"Man, why does day shift always get the exciting stuff? You hear the buzz today? ANBU, again. What's that, second time this week?"

"Meh, heard some rumours. Apparently one of the traitors lost his damned mind."

"And Konoha sends freakin' ANBU to fix it? Don't tell me you actually believe that?"

"What's there to believe? You don't question ANBU."

"Fair, but you also don't go to them for therapy. They're the ones that make you need therapy."

"Could be something in that mind that they find valuable enough they don't want it broken too?"

"So, like an informant? Ohh, or maybe a spy!?"

"Keep your voice down! Whatever the case, it's got Spec Force interested, which means I'm not. Got it?"

"Fine, fine. We know who the guy is?"

"Ryoma-"

"Look, all I'm saying is, we don't wanna 'damage the goods' if ANBU got their eyes on him, you know what I mean?"

"… tch, fair enough. It's the new blood, Mizuki. Apparently his girlfriend or wife or whatever turned herself in not long after. She's on a higher floor though. Not even sure she's officially booked yet, what with ANBU crawling all over this case."

"Damn, can't decide if that's the most romantic or stupidest thing I've heard all day. What do you think?"

"Yes."

"Jeez, fine. So, this Mizuki bastard, he's on our block?"

"Right here, actually. Hey! Mizuki! Wake up you traitorous son of a bitch!"

A fist impacts the frame of my cell and I startle on my cot, blearily looking around in confusion, the bed silent underneath me.

"W-wha-?"

"That's the guy that got ANBU interested? He don't look like much." One of the guards scoffs and as my eyes adjust to the low light, I see it's the younger of the two, Ryoma, who talked, a lean and wiry young man, early twenties at most who always carries his hitai-ate just a bit crooked, like he's too distracted to notice or too carefree to be bothered.

His patrol buddy is a much taller, well-built man, middle aged with a shaven head and a face that seems to be set in a permanent scowl. Kenta's brow furrows even further than usual as he glares through the bars at my still confused looking form lying on the cot.

"Don't underestimate guys like that Ryoma. Guy's in here not just for theft, but for the attempted murder on a fellow Konoha shinobi. File says they were friends even and this guy still almost severed his comrade's spine."

"Oh man…" Ryoma says, now looking at me wide eyed as I look back in confusion.

"I'm sorry, but I don't-"

"Don't remember, yeah, so I've heard. Doesn't fix your buddy's spine though, now does it." Kenta rebuffs me and I shrink back on my cot.

"Makes you wonder what ANBU would want with a bastard like that, huh?"

"Ryoma-" Kenta sighs as he turns away from me, his younger colleague looking up at him with excitement.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you aren't even a little interested! Betrayal like that, but he just gets thrown in here instead of executed and then not only has his girlfriend show up here, but ANBU as well? Twice even! He could be an amnesiac spy Kenta, imagine what-"

"Exactly, he could be a spy, which means I'm very firmly not interested. Why are you so hung up on him being some super-secret agent anyways? Don't you realize that it just makes things more hectic around here, kid?"

"We could use some excitement around here, night shift is so boring though…" the younger guard, still a kid really, trails off with a sigh, before Kenta smacks him around the head.

"Idiot. We're prison guards. Things being boring around here means we're doing our job properly. C'mon, we're falling behind on our route."

"Fine, fine!"

The two make to move away before a hand suddenly clamps down on their shoulders, hard, the grip felt even through their uniforms, a breath hot and heavy in their necks, an ominous chuckle filling the hallway. It seems made impossibly large by their oppressive surroundings, the large shadows stretching and flickering as if mocking them and suddenly both guards feel very alone… and yet not alone enough.

"Most spies 'don't look like much'. That's rather the point, actually. And you'd be surprised what you can learn once you're on the other side of the fence… or bars, as the case may be. Experience the weaknesses firsthand, spot the… 'irregularities'. Of course, that's no use if you can't report it back to your side… and such reports are much more difficult to make if people stick their noses where it really, really does not belong… you know how much ANBU like their little secrets after all, don't you?" the voice is deep and growling and wholly unfamiliar.

It breathes low, as if letting them in a joke they aren't meant to hear and both guards hurriedly nod.

"You know what? It's late. The heat of the lava gets to everyone. In dark places like this, who knows who heard what? I think we can all agree this conversation never took place, right boys."

It's not really framed as a suggestion and again both guards nod, Ryoma swallowing.

"Of course, uh, sir."

"Thank you boys. On your way now. And remember… we never spoke…" the voice retreats as the grip on their shoulders is lifted and both guards instinctively take a hurried step forwards, before simultaneously turning on a dime.

A torch nearby sparks and sputters, throwing some more light into the prison cell…

"What? Why are you guys looking at me like that?"

… where I'm still lying on my cot, my ratty blanket underneath me as I innocently blink back at the guards. Ryoma's mouth is wide open, while in contrast Kenta's is reduced to a microscopically thin line. He stares from the bars back to me, before he draws himself up to his full height.

"Go back to sleep, prisoner. It's lights out soon. Ryoma, come." He states brusquely, before resolutely turning on his heel and stalking away, even reaching out to grab the kid by the back of the collar when his colleague still stands looking wide-eyed at my cell.

The younger guard is almost dragged out of view completely, pausing just long enough to throw one last look over his shoulder, eyes widening when he sees me leaning against the bars, arms crossed over my chest.

I give the kid a conspiratory wink which causes his eyes to go wide, before Kenta physically drags him around the corner and I slump over, breathing heavy. I glance back over my shoulder at the Illusionary Clone still lying on my bed, allowing the technique to dispel. While the basic clone was incapable of producing sound, ninja were able to throw their voice. It worked to my benefit that the darkness of the subterranean levels obscured my cell enough the guards hadn't been able to spot the usual imperfections that usually gave clones like that away.

Even better that humans in this world (save elite ninja, which these guards were not) also had a very bad habit of not instinctively checking ceilings to spot prisoners who stuck themselves flat against it, hiding in the shadows.

Though casting the clone, jumping to the ceiling, throwing my voice, then dropping back down once their backs were turned, then jumping back up again when they turned around, then dropping back down again to mess a bit more with Ryoma had all been tiring, it actually wasn't as bad as the sheer nerves I had to fight from showing in my voice or the whole act was up.

'Man, what a gamble. For a second there I thought I misjudged Kenta, he looked like he was two seconds away from busting into my cell to beat the crap outta me!' I think, doubled over with both hands on my knees.

Thankfully, overhearing their conversation had allowed me to read the tall guard correctly as someone who preferred to keep his head down and his nose out of other people's business. Imagination spurred on by the excitable Ryoma and it was clear Kenta bought my suggestion and in the future would look at everyone but me should there be anymore… 'excitement' around here. Ryoma would be the opposite, but the kid was also clearly a bit naïve and easily impressed. Both approaches could work to my advantage, giving me more wiggle room, especially when combined with Jūrō's lighter work detail.

And as the saying goes, in the land of the locked-up, the one allowed to walk around was king.

I glance back down at the lock in my cell. It was getting late and after all of the excitement of today, I didn't feel much for more of my brutal work-out sessions. I'd pick those up first thing in the morning. But that didn't mean I couldn't train. I kneeled by the lock and once again began forming my knock-off Chakra Thread, trying to shape it faster than before. Placing it against the lock, I recalled the sequence.

'Right… let's go faster this time. Nothing on one… nothing on two, three is binding…'

---

"Mizuki? Is something wrong, dear-… ah, I mean, what I meant was-"

"It's alright Tsubaki-san. And I wouldn't say something was definitely wrong per se, more really, really annoying."

"Oh, what is it?"

"I'm pretty sure someone in here is trying to have me killed."

"… what."

I just hum as I lean on my broom, Tsubaki some meters behind me as we're sweeping one of the hallways on the second floor, the highest we're allowed to come. The upper floors are off-limits, even to prisoners with our special status, as that's where the guard quarters are, along with administration and communication offices. My hope is that in one of those offices are the controls for the security systems of the prison, few and outdated as they are, but the chances of me being allowed there are slim to none, even with Jūrō and Ryoma in my corner and Kenta pretending I'm not even here.

It's been a little under a week since my little bit of theatre with the night shift guards and I've been steadily dropping small hints here and there to keep 'em guessing. Pretty sure Ryoma thinks I'm practically this world's version of Jason Bourne, while Kenta seems to be convinced that I'm some sort of prison inspector or security consultant, given how strict and appropriate he acts around me.

Somewhat ironically, that actually worked to my advantage as Kenta was all too eager to point out security systems to me in order to assure me they were all working as intended.

Whatever they thought I was, I started seeing the effect it had on the other guards. I caught more than a couple staring at me before quickly glancing away when they felt my attention on them. Small nods in the hallway, little signs of respect they'd never give a prisoner, slipping me larger portions of food when I humbly requested it (I needed the fuel for my training after all), that sort of thing. Jūrō had come through for Tsubaki and I as well and despite my medical leave having officially run out, neither one of us had been forced to work out in the yard yet. So far it had mostly been laundry duty and various odd jobs and cleaning tasks. While it was annoying that these tasks ate into my insane training schedule, I was grateful for the increased freedom nonetheless, steadily working further on my mental map of the place and squirreling away the odd bits and pieces that I felt could be useful. Anything that could be fashioned into weapons, screwdrivers, oils for the rust on my cell door, etc, further supplemented by what I could find on my nightly outings.

We were even allowed a set of simple clothes instead of the standard prisoner uniform, which only reinforced Ryoma's and Kenta's theories about me.

However, Jūrō's warning had rung true. Turns out, most prisoners don't appreciate someone else getting preferential treatment. The first time I was allowed to eat in the mess hall with the other prisoners in gen pop instead of having it delivered to my cell like the rest of supermax, I was hit by a wave of hostile gazes and not because I was the new blood.

It was only two days later when I was down in the laundry room that two other inmates entered and I was starkly reminded of Morgan Freeman's speech in Shawshank. One of them had a shiv, the other just had his fists and both had seemed enthusiastic to use them on me. They lost that enthusiasm when I threw a bucket full of boiling water at them. Their fault for jumping me right as I was in the middle of loading up the soaking vats.

I had expected that to at least dissuade the other prisoners, especially as it didn't take long for ANBU to show up after the incident, though sadly I didn't get a chance to speak with them. However, the very next night, I got an unexpected visitor when a prisoner stalked silently through the hallway, approaching my cell.

To my surprise, he fished out a key to carefully unlock my door and move over to my cot, shiv in hand.

To his surprise, the me asleep on the bed disappeared in a puff of smoke as he stabbed it in the heart.

To his even greater surprise, the real me dropped down from the ceiling, knees in his back and slamming his head through my bed into the ground. And then a couple of times against the flagstones for good measure.

Ryoma was left gaping when they found me during their next patrol, leaning against the railing overlooking the central hallway, my would-be assassin still out cold and slumped against the bars of my cell next to its opened door.

Kenta had simply scowled before nodding at me.

That had seen ANBU visiting again and apparently there was a bit of a fuss within prison command considering they had been thoroughly chewed out after the Special Forces units came to the same conclusion I had: these were not separate incidents, someone had ordered and facilitated these assassination attempts. The fact the second guy got his hands on a key meant that that someone wasn't just another inmate.

"But… then who?" Tsubaki asked as I explained my reasoning.

I turned to the woman, broom resting over my shoulders as I gave a shrug.

"Mizuki's old enemies? My own new ones? Could be one of the guards, could be someone on the outside who has enough pull with the guards. Ultimately though, that doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter-? Mizuki, you were almost killed! Twice! You're not safe here, we need to alert the guards-"

"Who are almost definitely in on the scheme to kill me, remember? No, I need another safety guarantee."

"How? Mizuki, if you plan to run away-"

"Why shouldn't I?" I snapped, before catching myself.

Even though I tried to put up an easy-going front, the stress of my imprisonment was getting to me, especially as the assassination attempts weighed heavily on me. I had never had to fear for my life before…

"I'm sorry, Tsubaki. I didn't mean to shout." I apologized, but the woman just shook her head sadly.

"It's alright, Mizuki. I understand. But please, reconsider. Have faith in the Hokage."

'Have faith in the guy who has let every traitor and mad scientist slip through his fingers, the guy who promised to take care of Naruto and then left him to a life of loneliness? Yeah, sorry, but no.'

I didn't say anything at all. Instead, I gave Tsubaki a small smile and a nod and went back to sweeping. But in my mind I was already making plans.

'I need to get assigned to kitchen duty. I need allies.'

And I had just the two candidates in mind.

---

Fujin and Raijin, also known as the Legendary Stupid Brothers, were easy to manipulate, if risky to interact with. Solely motivated by food to the point that they even killed their own comrades over a dinner spat, I knew I had to pick my words carefully, or they'd pick their teeth with my bones.

Which is why, the evening after my talk with Tsubaki on one of my nightly explorations, I didn't just unlock their cell door and invite myself in. I led with throwing in two bean paste buns instead, leaning against the railing of the hallway outside their door, their cell on the edge of the same block as my own.

Both brothers, hulking, almost boulder-like shapes in the darkness, the numbers 12 and 13 on their backs, descended on the snacks after a brief scuffle, practically inhaling the buns that looked comically tiny in hands that were large enough they looked like they could envelop my entire head with ease.

Beady little eyes glinting with hunger, the brothers searched their cell and after finding no more magically appearing bean buns, they turned their attention outwards instead, their gazes landing on me.

"Hey Big Bro, look! There's a guy out there and it ain't one of the guards!"

"I see that Little Bro. Maybe he threw in the food?"

"Let's ask him! Hey, you! Little man! Did you throw in that food?"

Their voices were booming and I cringed at the volume, putting a finger to my lips as I tried to shush them.

Raijin, the taller of the two, hair in a high ponytail, just blinked at that, tilting his head.

"Hey Big Bro, what's the little man doing?"

"Foolish Little Bro! He's letting out all the air in his body of course! That's why he's so small." Fujin, shorter but stockier and sporting a goatee, explained proudly.

"Ah, Big Bro, you're so smart!"

"Please be quiet!" I hissed at them and Fujin narrowed his eyes at me.

"Or what?" he rumbled lowly, his voice more dangerous now.

"Or, I won't be giving you anymore food. That one was a gift. Free, from me to you. But if you want more, you need to do some things for me in return. You do want more food, right?" I try to entice and for a moment, both brothers are silent.

"Yes, we do. And we want it now." Fujin growls, before he grabs the bars of their cell and to my shock, begins forcing them apart as if they're made of wet pasta.

It's the work of seconds and I'm taken off-guard by his sheer speed when an arm as thick as a tree trunk shoots out in a blur, grabbing the front of my chest and hoisting me easily off the ground.

'No wonder Mizuki wanted these guys on his side if they can do that!' I thought panicked as I swung from the elder brother's grip.

"Where are you hiding the food, little man?" Fujin said and I had to swallow as I rapidly thought of the right answer.

'How did Tsunade deal with them in the anime? Dammit, this would be so much easier if I had bothered with the filler episodes!'

Calm. Strict, but calm. These were essentially giant toddlers. Giant, murderous toddlers that could crush my skull like a grape, but still. So, I crossed my arms over my chest as I dangled from Fujin's grip, glaring down at the large man like a parent disciplining their child.

"Put me down, right now, or you I won't get you your food."

"Get us food, or we kill ya." Fujin made his counter 'offer', but I just upped my glare.

"If I'm dead, then I can't get you any food. At all, ever. You'll starve."

"Starve?! Uhm… Big Bro, I don't wanna starve…" Raijin pipes up, leaning over and brushing aside a bent steel bar as if parting a curtain to get a better look at me and Fujin's heavy brow is furrowed in deep thought.

"You're right, Little Bro. I don't wanna starve either."

And with that, I'm released from his grip, landing on my feet as I kept up a calm façade, brushing the front of my crumpled shirt with an even expression.

"There. Did what ya wanted, let ya go. Now, the food." Fujin states, his earlier murderous aura gone as he looks at me with an expectant smile.

"There is no food now. I'll have to prepare more for you. It has to be secret, or else the mean guards will see that I'm making more food for you, and they'll take it all away, leave you with nothing."

"Damn. They can't have our food." Fujin says, rubbing his bearded chin with one of his massive hands.

"Right! Go on, little man. Be sneaky now. Don't let 'em see you. Then you come back tomorrow with our food, all secret-like!" Raijin says, as if letting me in on a secret plan, turning me around and giving me a gentle push in the back as he sends me on his way.

"Fix your cell! They'll see something's wrong with it, it needs to be secret-like!" I whisper back and the brothers nod before grabbing the bars and forcing them back into proper shape again.

… while they're standing outside of it, both of them looking at me with big smiles on their large faces.

"Just… just stand back please, I'll let you in." I say with a sigh, preparing a Chakra Thread from my finger.

As I lean down by the lock, I can hear the two giant brothers attempt to talk in whispers far above my head.

"Hey, Big Bro?"

"Yeah, Little Bro?"

"Is it Tomorrow yet?"

"Of course not Little Bro. You need to wait a bit before Today turns into Tomorrow."

"Why do we need to wait?"

"To give the sun the chance to disappear of course. It gets tired, hanging up in the sky all day, so it goes to bed. When it comes back, then that Today is the Tomorrow."

"Ohhh… hey Big Bro?"

"Yeah, Little Bro?"

"Where does the sun go then, when it goes to bed?"

"It goes down in the west. In the Land of Stone, actually, near Iwagakure."

"Ohh, Big Bro, you're so smart!"

I just sighed as I kept working on the lock.

---

"You know, apparently I built Tsubaki and I a house? It's supposed to be a simple thing, but the location is gorgeous, right outside Konoha walls even-"

A simple conversation during lunch.

"You know, you gotta wonder sometimes how many people they put on guard duty. Sometimes it feels like several hours between rounds in Block C-"

Idle talk during menial labour.

"Was watching the weather lately, looks like we'll be getting a storm later tonight, thunder's gonna make it so you can't hear anything, much less hear yourself think-"

Passing remarks as I'm on my way.

"Here ya go boys, extra ration of bacon for the both of you."

"Thanks Boss!"

And of course my nightly supply run to the Legendary Stupid Brother's cell.

It'd be tonight, I had decided. The weather conditions were right. Okabe was currently doing rounds solo, Genda having called in sick again, Kenta and Ryoma would likely cut their own patrols short if the weather got too bad, since the lava flows shift when the storm is bad enough. Shifting magma also means generators have a chance of failure. And all of the day shift guards should be checking in right about now at an overcrowded infirmary with severe cases of bowel issues and Natsuki (the head doctor who had treated me on my first day) would find to her surprise that her pills cabinet was suddenly understocked.

'Jūrō, you're a dear, but you really shouldn't have given me access to the kitchens. Or the second floor. Or any part of this facility outside of my cell, really, but I'm glad that you did.'

Each factor on its own was an opportunity if you knew how to take it and I left enough breadcrumbs amongst the other inmates to put the idea of escape in their heads. They weren't co-conspirators, not exactly. In fact, once they got recaptured (and the lucky ones who didn't resist too much inevitably would be) none of them would be pointing fingers at me, thinking they all came up with it on their own.

The board was set, but it still needed players and a starting signal. Part of that would be covered by the Legendary Stupid Brothers, but thanks to Kenta, I knew I still required one more member on my team for my escape to work.

I had questioned Kenta on the lack of seal-based security, something that he had surprisingly expected. It seemed my rants at Frog about Konoha's idiotic lack of safety measures had leaked to the rest of the guards, something which had only reinforced his opinion of me, which is why he pointed out that the seals that I had expected were impractical to keep running constantly on such a large scale.

However, that did not mean that large scale Barrier Ninjutsu couldn't be set in place, to be activated with seals if necessary. The clue was in the shape of the island, he revealed, the three points of the kunai forming a triangle, not only the strongest shape in geometry, but also a fundamental sealing array. Not that Kenta was a sealing master by any stretch of the imagination, but he was taught that adding more points to an array would make it more powerful, but also exponentially more complex, especially on this scale.

With a seal in each corner of the island, a similar barrier to the one Deidara and Sasori used when they extracted the One Tails from Gaara could be erected, but instead of keeping people out, it would keep people in. It would form a dome that was inescapable unless the tags were removed, truly cutting the prison off to the outside world.

That, or the person whose chakra powered the tags, in this case the prison warden, was killed. Guess that explains his fate in canon when Mizuki and the rest of the prisoners escaped.

While Raijin, Fujin and I made three, I didn't trust the brothers to work independently from one another, which meant I needed someone else. Which is why, when the ventilation pipes on the third lower level suddenly ruptured to the alarm of the guards, I immediately made my move towards the minimal security holding cells two floors above me.

The pipes didn't burst on accident, though an after-action report might chalk it up to the violent storm raging outside and its effect on the roiling sea of lava churning around the island putting too much pressure on the overworked and outdated system. The real reason they burst was because I cracked the pressure valves three days ago when I had gone with a small maintenance crew to fix a faulty generator. I hadn't done it right there, but I had marked a ventilation shaft that snaked its way through the facility, with one of its access points ending down further in my hallway. So over the past three nights, I'd sneak out, climb the wall until I got to the vent, undid the screws with a screwdriver I fashioned from a spoon and crawled my way back into the utility room and began messing with the facilities like a demented wrench-monkey.

Not enough to cause another investigation, but enough that faults became to accumulate, with the storm as the final tipping point. I dashed out of my cell, picking the lock old hat at this point and dashed down the hallway towards the immense stairs leading to the upper floors. Hallway lights flickered not by chance, but because I stripped the insulation with a fork wrapped in strips of fabric taken during laundry duty and rewired the breakers behind the boiler room wall. My steps were sure, no hesitation at crossroads or forks in the upper hallways, not bothering with checking the names of the doors, relying on my mental map of the place.

The door at the top of each staircase, barring access to the level above, was circumvented with a copy of a key I had made by stealing a key chain off a rack when I snuck into one of the guard's supply rooms, pressing the key in a bar of soap I had stolen from the laundry room, and then painstakingly filing the profile of the key into the dulled blade of a knife I stole from the kitchens by coating my finger in chakra after I returned the original keys to their rightful place, none the wiser.

The door unlocked, wet heat slapped me in the face and I was off. Meanwhile, more and more alarms began blaring as electrical and ventilation systems began to fail in a cascade. Underneath the alarms though, came the swelling noise of shouting. Seems like the Stupid Brothers at least stuck to their assignment, having broken out of their own cell with frightening ease and making a beeline towards the Western corner of the island, ramming straight through walls and other cells if need be.

Enough destruction and commotion for other prisoners to start breaking free. To their surprise, they found their escape made easier by unlocked doors, a distinct lack of opposition, scorched fuse lines and circuitry in those rare instances I had found some, and none suspected it was because of me. I knew the guards, already at half strength due to the day crew collectively shitting their pants in Natsuki's med bay (soon to be followed by the night crew should they come across the raging Stupid Brothers) would descend the levels from the guard tower at that Western point, thus missing me on my own mad dash up along the Eastern corridors and stairwells, until I found myself in front of a nondescript door, leading to an equally nondescript room if it weren't for its occupant.

Tsubaki was already awake when I kicked her door down, clearly alerted by the alarms and the steadily increasing noise of shouting and combat coming from below. It wasn't a proper cell, so even though I was no Raijin or Fujin, this was doable enough.

"Mizuki?! What's going on?"

"Tsubaki, I can't answer that right now. But I need you."

"O-oh… I mean, is this the time…? N-not that I m-mind, n-not necessarily…" the woman suddenly blushed, the chaos of the moment seemingly forgotten as she pressed the tips of her fingers together and I blinked a few times before I understood what she meant.

'Oh. OHH. Damn woman, you got it bad. Mizuki, where did you even find her? And how fucking stupid were you that you threw it away for that snake-themed paedophile!'

"Ah, Tsubaki, I'm uhh, flattered, truly, but that's not what I meant. I need you to help me."

Tsubaki blinks at that, disappointment on her face.

"So, this was your doing then? You're still trying to escape?"

"We've had this discussion before, Tsubaki. I'm not safe here and Mizuki, for all that you knew him before, for all that you see of that man in me now, was a very bad person for a long time. My presence does not erase those crimes. Or their punishment."

"I… I just wished better for you." The woman says softly, head downcast and I step closer to her, my hand coming up to grab her own.

"I understand, Tsubaki. It's very noble of you and I truly appreciate your faith in me, and admire your faith in Konoha. But I'm afraid I cannot trust them as you do, after all I barely know them and what I do know of them, I've learned from behind bars. I'm trying to gain my freedom, Tsubaki. And if you really, truly want what's best for me, you'll help me. Because I literally cannot do this without you. And if I fail…"

I leave the rest unspoken, letting her own imagination fill the blanks. I know I've convinced her even before she nods her head.

"Alright. Alright, I understand. What do I need to do?"

Hurriedly, I explain her part of the plan, before stepping into her shaking hug. She tilts her head up at me, eyes tearful and slowly we move closer, our lips brushing together, her flowery smell in my nose and the salty taste of her tears on my lips. Then she shakes herself loose and hurries through the door, leaving me to stare at her retreating back, her thick braid swaying wildly behind her.

'Damn… I'm just as much of a fucking bastard as he was, huh?'

My mouth feels like ash and there's an odd aching feeling in my gut, yet I push through. With Tsubaki and the Brothers off to take care of their tags at the base of the island, that leaves the one at the tip for me. The furthest away, the riskiest and thus the one that I entrusted only to myself. This time I don't bother with the hallways. I retrace my steps from days ago, when I was taken to a nearby rec room to meet Tsubaki for the first time, nearly throwing the door completely of its hinges as I barrel inside, sprinting in a beeline towards the window in the far wall. I leap through, flipping in the air, slapping my hand against the outer wall and abseil down towards the curtain wall that lines the triangular island.

From there, it's a dead sprint towards the squat guard tower at the far end of the island and I'm more grateful than ever to Jūrō looking out for me, because even without the added strain of intense physical labour, just running past the roiling sea of agitated lava is enough to instantly soak me from head to toe. The heat is something you need to physically push through, the wavering air scorching as its dragged into your lungs, as if you're constantly taking a drag on the wrong side of a cigarette. The only blessing is the relentless rain cooling me down somewhat, but it caused thick clouds of steam to rise from around the island, lit up with an angry dull red glow.

Still, I'm moving at decent chūnin speeds, slightly above even thanks to a sense of urgency and my brutal training this past half month and in a thankfully short time I arrive at the door leading from the curtain wall to the guard tower.

Kenta hadn't told me exactly where the seals for the creatively named Three-Seals Barrier would be, just their general locations, but I figured they'd either be somewhere deep below or up high. Somewhere the inmates would be unlikely to come and stumble across them. Tsubaki and the Brothers would likewise have to scour the guard towers on their corners of the island.

'Let's go high. I know nothing about sealing, but Kenta kept mentioning the difficulty in covering such a large area, which to me means the seals have a hard time staying connected if they're too far apart. Probably don't want them covered by meters of rock in that case. …probably.'

I dash up three sets of stairs, running fast enough that I end up using Wall Walking to round the corners instead of smacking into the walls, bursting out onto the square area at the top of the tower, overlooking the yard below. To my surprise, the tag is right there, a square piece of unusually thick paper, larger than my torso, the kanji for 'forbidden' writ large in glaring red ink. It's placed against the wooden back wall of the overlook platform.

Yet looking at it, I'm filled with a sense of foreboding and it's only my recent experience with assassination attempts that I throw myself flat to the ground. A whistling sound pierces close to my ear and a black blur takes a few errant silver hairs with it. A dull, heavy 'thunk!' sounds out as a kunai buries itself in the far wall, just inches away from the sealing tag.

"You know, for a guy without his memory, you sure are predictable, Mizuki." The sound of Genda's slick voice comes from above, barely rising above the sound of the surrounding storm and the swelling lava and I turn to see him drop down from the overhanging pagoda-like roof onto the balustrade lining the platform.

'That's what I get for giving other people flak over not looking up enough.' I grouse a I rise to my feet, settling in a combat stance.

"And for such a slacker, I didn't figure you'd show up for work after calling in sick. What's the matter, the thought of never seeing me again too much for you?!" I call back as Genda just laughs, leisurely straightening from his crouch, one arm coming up to lean on the overhang.

Lightning flashes overhead, the pale blue light making him look sinister as it contrasted the burning orange glow coming from below.

"On the contrary! The thought of ridding myself of you forever was worth it to come in, completely free of charge! Nobody else knows I'm here after all and soon…" he trailed off with a shrug.

"Well, soon nobody will know you were ever here at all." He trails off in a low growl and things fall into place.

"It was you. You set up those assassination attempts." I realize, another flash of lightning throwing his face in sharp relief, clearly showing off the sheer hatred in his wide eyes.

"Fools! All of them! But I couldn't do it myself, too many eyes, on you, on all of us. 'Security concerns', bah! Fucking ANBU, the fuck do they know, thinking they can stick their nose in everything. The few times I managed to ditch that munching fool Okabe, there you were, chatting it up with that simpleton oaf, Jūrō! But, now you're finally alone…" Genda chuckled, his earlier anger replaced with his signature sadistic glee.

I square my stance, falling into what feels comfortable and natural to Mizuki's body.

"As are you." I point out, but Genda goes from simply chuckling to letting out a full, deep laugh.

Another flash of lightning mirrored in his sharp grin as he straightens.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that."

My stomach drops as two more silhouettes descend from the overhang, landing in crouches at Genda's side. The two idiots who tried to Shawshank me back in the laundry room, the burns on their arms and faces still not fully healed as they glare hatefully at me.

"Well… that does complicate things."

"Not for me. Get him boys."

The two prisoners let out growls as they brandish their weapons, proper kunai instead of makeshift shivs this time, supplied by Genda no doubt as they lower themselves from the balustrade. Slowly they circle wide around me as I keep stepping back, trying to keep them and Genda in view, until I'm standing with my back against the sealing tag. Despite their superior weapons and numbers, the two are wary, our previous encounter giving them pause and I take the opportunity to try and talk them down.

"Look fellas, I get there's some bad blood between us, but just look around. Three of us and just one guard? Let me take this tag off and you've got your freedom back! Isn't that worth more than whatever Genda promised you?!"

"Maybe the first time around. That was just business. This? Oh, this is all pleasure…" the larger one grunts, twirling his kunai before holding it in a reverse grip.

"Just lie down and die, Mizuki. Cheap shots won't work this time. You're all alone…" the smaller one leers.

Which is when all three of us are taken off guard when a limp body, head covered in thick bandages, smacks straight into the small one, carrying him into the balustrade behind him, the wood shattering as he falls over the edge.

For a second, nobody says anything, before a gruff voice comes from the other side of the platform.

"He's not alone."

"Jūrō!" I sigh in relief, seeing the familiar shape of my favourite guard silhouetted by the surrounding storm and the surging lava like he's straight out of a Batman comic, the large man staring daggers at Genda who just glares back.

"I see you ran into the guy I sent to off his bitch. Tch, they sure throw in some of the lousiest assassins in this place, huh?" the lithe guard growls as the crony that got smacked with said lousy assassin shakily climbs his way back up the platform through the hole in the balustrade.

"You wanted to kill Tsubaki? Why?! She did nothing to you!" I find myself shouting, taking a step forwards, the still standing prisoner taking a simultaneous step back, keeping his distance as he glances from me to Jūrō and back.

"But she's everything to you! It's only appropriate I take it from you, after you were about to take everything from me!"

"What-?"

"How long until those nosy ANBU decided to investigate me, huh?! There were already talks of screening all the guards for corruption after you survived that first attempt! What were you thinking, exposing Orochimaru-sama's agents like that, you fool!?"

"Wait… you too…" I trail off, seeing the man in a new light.

"You were a failure to our master, Mizuki. Failures are to be discarded, you were lucky you were considered so utterly useless you were allowed to keep your life instead, so long as I kept an eye on you. Made sure you didn't spill, which I figured was the easiest job in the world, babysitting an amnesiac. Turns out that, even without your memories, you still chose to betray our master instead. Failures can be discarded. Traitors, however… traitors need to be culled."

Shifting his gaze from me to his two cronies, he nodded in Jūrō's direction.

"Take care of fatso over there. I'll join you once I claim Mizuki's head."

"Genda you coward! Face me!" Jūrō roared as he leapt forwards, but the larger inmate intercepted him mid-air, kunai clashing against kunai and then he had to disengage as the smaller inmate came at him from the side.

Giving Genda the room he needed, falling forwards so he was resting flat against the side of the balustrade, bending his legs and pushing off with enough force to crack the wooden beams, a blur moving towards me, a black arrow of death, the steel tip of his kunai cutting through the air on a straight shot towards my chest and I just couldn't move, fuck, why can't I move-?!

"Mizuki! Catch!"

Another black blur passes right in front of me and purely on instinct my hand shoots out, closing around a wrapped handle, just barely in time for the clang of steel impacting steel to ring out, a blow shaking the bones in my arms, travelling through my shoulders and spine as I'm slammed into the wall.

The flat of Jūrō's kunai scrapes against the tip of Genda's knife, forcing it aside as I shift my body to the right, Genda's attack slamming into the wooden wall, his kunai sinking deep as the man looks at me with wide eyes, our bodies close, his pinning mine to the wall.

So I headbutt him.

He jerks back with a curse, so I bring up my knee into his side, before swiping my kunai forwards. Even disoriented as he is though, Genda falls away from me, simply leaving his kunai embedded in the wall and fishing a fresh one out of his equipment pouch, blocking my strikes with wide swipes of his own.

Sparks flare, the sound of the storm seems to pick up in intensity as the lava churns away at the base of the tower and behind me I can hear the sounds of combat as Jūrō fends off his own attackers.

Something ugly and sadistic shines in Genda's eyes and despite how he's clearly pressed by Mizuki's body running on auto-pilot and sheer adrenaline (with me mostly just along for the ride) he lets out a large grin that immediately sets me on edge.

Ducking to the left, he fishes out another kunai, before whipping it forwards suddenly, letting the black steel fly to the right. At first, I think the combat is getting to him, since I followed his dodge and am thus nowhere near where he aimed-

"Jūrō!"

-it wasn't aimed at me, it's a straight shot towards the guard's unprotected back. I don't even make a conscious decision, I just leap backwards, pouring every ounce of speed I have as I race to get ahead of the kunai, Jūrō looking over his shoulder at my shout, seeing the danger, but unable to react in time.

He doesn't need to as I force Mizuki's body to its limits, almost performing a Body Flicker, but it's enough as I strike at the kunai sending it of course.

"Mizuki!"

Not without paying for it, Genda having stuck right on my heels. As I turn and swipe the kunai meant for Jūrō out of the air, Genda unleashes with a brace of shuriken. My arm still wide, I can't dodge or block and three of them sink into my chest, two more in my left arm. Not deeply, but agonizingly painful and Genda uses it to close in on me in a flying tackle, kunai leading the way once more.

Half on instinct, half on accident, I fall backwards, impacting the wooden floorboards hard enough to smack the air out of my lungs, but still I push through, pulling in my legs and in a picture perfect Simba imitation, I catch Genda in the stomach, lifting and throwing him over me and sending him smacking right into the balustrade and straight through it.

The wounds in my chest are aggravated as I roll over my shoulder, and I need a moment to push through the pain, blinking stars from my vision. It's only for a moment, but it's enough to see Genda slapped a hand on the edge of the outer stone wall, pulling himself back over the edge with a murderous glare on his face.

Which is replaced by a shocked look when I tear out one of the shuriken on my lower arm, sending it spinning towards his dangling form. With a curse, he jumps up to catch the edge of the pagoda roof, swinging himself over it, the throwing star nicking his leg instead of burying itself in his face.

In a blur I follow him, smoothly jumping off the remains of the balustrade, uninjured arm stretched out, catching the underside of the tiled roof, sticking myself there with chakra at the very tips of my fingers and using it as an anchor point, swinging my body up and around with my sheer momentum, leading into a kick that impacts Genda straight in the chest, who as I expected had been waiting to gank my ass.

He's sent flying but comes up in a smooth roll, deflecting my opening strikes, the sparks of our clashing kunai offset by the flashing of the sky above us as we try to keep our footing on the tiles made slick by the heavy rainfall, howling wind ripping at both of our clothes and hair. Furious exchanges of steel are supplemented by kicks and punches wherever we see an opening, even trying to transition clashes into grabs and grapples as we shift across the slickened tiles.

For all that I keep deriding the canon Mizuki, he was still a decently powerful chūnin and it shows in the battle against Genda. I've been training my ass off, while he's gotten complacent in bullying people who were powerless to fight back. There is however one crucial difference between us.

I have the body of a hardened shinobi, yes, but not the mind of one.

Below us there's a roar and then a splintering of wood as the roof lurches underneath us and despite the furious combat, I can't stop myself from glancing away from my opponent, catching the form of the larger prisoner as he's launched straight through one of the pillars keeping up the roof.

The moment costs me as Genda strikes my kunai hard enough to wrench it from my grip. He turns back in again, aiming a two-handed strike to my midriff, but both my hands trap his, staying the blade, keeping it hovering mere centimetres from my soaked shirt. We stand there struggling, thin rivulets of blood flowing from my chest and arm, while similarly crimson trails leak from his nose, covering his lips and teeth, visible in the sharp grin that only grows wider as he manages to force me to a knee.

Seeing death inch its way closer and closer to me, I do something insane. I begin gathering chakra right underneath where one of the shuriken is embedded in my left pectoral. I have no Byakugan, no way of knowing where each individual tenketsu is, but I can very clearly feel the exact point where the steel is piercing my skin, so I gather my chakra right there.

It takes a lot of my focus and I'm forced further down as Genda takes advantage of my distraction, bloodied grin growing wider and wider as he pushes in closer to me.

"Imagine the favours I'll get, Mizuki! From Konoha! From Orochimaru! All for the sheer pleasure of killing you! Hahahaha, I would've even done it for free!"

I've gathered enough chakra into a singular point, feeling the electrostatic forces buzzing just under my skin, right along the contact point between my flesh and the steel, attraction and repulsion in a careful balance.

"What's the matter Mizuki?! Where's all that cleverness now?! Those clever little quips of yours?! You're about to die, and got nothing to say?!"

"Fucking… f-fuck… you! You f-fucking…. FUCK!"

I break that balance, shoving out all of the gathered chakra, letting out a scream as my skin tears further at the explosive release, a large jet of blood shooting out. But my scream is drowned by Genda's as the shuriken flew from my chest, right into his eye. He rears back, kunai in his hand forgotten for just a moment and ruthlessly I grab the inside of his forearms, throwing them wide, dislodging the kunai from his grip. It tumbles slowly as it falls to the floor, but I don't let it. From my prone position on the roof, my foot shoots out, sticking the kunai to the sole of my sandal, the sharp tip extending past my toes.

And I ram it upwards, right between Genda's legs, his scream chocked off as he gurgles his own blood, remaining eye wide, the iris a tiny pinprick as he sinks to his knees. Gasping for air, I climb to my feet as Genda lets out a low groan of pain.

I stand tall over him, lightning flashing at my back and slowly, twitching in agony, Genda's eye raises to meet my gaze.

"Sucks to be an introductory villain, right? Trust me, I'd know…" I pant, seeing the man's eye struggling to make sense of my words through the world of pain he's in.

"Unfortunately for you… I have absolutely no intention of battling filler villains in the future. Goodbye, Genda."

And with that, I spartan kick him hard enough he goes flying off the roof, his roar of rage and pain swallowed by the surrounding storm as he sails past the guard tower, smacking in the roiling sea of lava at its base.

The wind whips at my soaked clothing, throwing strands of silver hair in my face as I come down from the adrenaline, aches both dull and sharp lining my arm and chest, especially around the wound I expelled the shuriken from.

Then a crash from below reminds me of the other battle and I quickly pick up the kunai Genda had struck out of my hand, before vaulting over the edge of the roof, landing on the platform below. Thankfully, the crash was apparently caused by the body of the smaller prisoner turned would-be assassin forming a crater in the wooden planks, Jūrō standing bloodied but tall.

Like me, he's panting heavily and for a moment our gazes lock, neither of us staying a word, both of us covered in wounds, both of us holding a kunai in hand.

"Well… what happens now?" I ask after a moment and Jūrō's eyes seem almost hidden in the craggy shadows his pronounced brow casts.

He glances from the prisoner at his feet to the side where I had thrown down Genda, before glancing back at me.

"Now? Now I go to find a superior and tell them the truth." He says, before to my surprise he turns his back to me, approaching the tag on the far wall, extracting Genda's deeply lodged kunai from the wood with a grunt.

"And what is the truth, Jūrō?"

"That I gave it my all in stopping a traitor to the Leaf of course." The guard responds, shooting a significant look to the side of the tower where the disgusting scent of burnt flesh and hair is wafting up to us, carried by the screaming winds.

With that, he raises both kunai, before slashing them straight through the middle of the tag. My eyes widen, before I glance back to the other side of the island. On the Eastern one, I can see a small figure with a thick braid stand on top of the roof, waving a bit of white fabric at me that I can only assume is Tsubaki with her tag. The Western tower… is doing a convincing impression of the leaning tower of Pisa, much of it reduced to rubble already.

Judging from the commotion I can see moving towards the main guard structure at the base of the island, connected to the single drawbridge, I can only assume the Legendary Stupid Brothers held up their part of the plan. Well, that and the fact there's no barrier bubble locking down the place tight.

I turn to look at Jūrō, who sinks back against the wooden wall with a grimace on his rough-hewn face as he lets out a deep sigh.

"… thank you. Truly."

"Don't thank me. You got any idea how rich I'm gonna be off writing books about you? Screw being stuck in here, watching reruns of Kokoro no Hanu Saku from dingy tapes, I'm gonna be a superstar myself, like Jiraiya-sama." He says with a tired chuckle and I crack a smile.

"Let me know when you're ready to publish, I'll drop by and sign a limited edition copy. Make it a collector's item."

"Heh, I'll hold you to that. Now go, I need to get my story straight."

With the next flash of lightning, I'm gone. The sprint back over the curtain wall takes longer this time, wounded and tired as I am, but I'm met by Tsubaki at the base of her guard tower, who thankfully seems unharmed. Seems like the Brothers did a good job of drawing the security forces to their side of the prison, the mass break-out and riot spreading from there.

"Mizuki?! What happened?!" she immediately starts fussing over me, but I gently push her away, grabbing her hand as we move towards the drawbridge instead.

"Later. I told you I wasn't safe here. We need to escape. With all the recent scrutiny, I can't imagine ANBU will take long closing in on all this commotion."

I can tell Tsubaki isn't satisfied with the answer, but thankfully she picks up the pace, even draping my injured arm over her shoulder as she lets me rest my weight on her. While the pain from my physical wounds is somewhat lifted, that guilty churning feeling in my gut intensifies.

"Boss! Hurry up, they're raising the gate!"

The deep voice from Raijin pulls me from my thought and I can see both brothers straining, holding down the edge of the drawbridge that's raised to chest height, trembling in their ridiculously strong grip.

"On it!" I call back, Tsubaki and I leaping over their heads, not onto the bridge itself, but the large chains to its side.

We scale it at speed, ninja balance and Wall Walking making easy work of the acrobatic feat and it doesn't take long before we close in on the top of one of the twin towers at the other side of the moat. We're practically free already. We could just jump past, make it to the woods, leave this prison behind…

"Mizuki?" Tsubaki whispered and I glance back at the prison, where I can see the Brothers still struggling, and even further, to the tower where presumably Jūrō is nursing his wounds.

"Let's give them a hand." I whisper back and we flit through the open window into the top floor of the tower.

Two shinobi are straining against a massive wheel around which the chain is wound tight, faces red and sweating as their entire form trembles. Hey, I found Kotetsu and Izumo!

… still don't know which is which.

"W-what the hell… is jamming the chain!?" Kotetsu (or Izumo) called out, eyes wrenched shut in effort.

"D-don't… know… keep… going!" Izumo (or Kotetsu) called back.

"Have you oiled it recently?"

"Of course we oiled it, who asks such… a stupid… question?" one of them gradually trails off, looking up to see me staring down at him with a smile.

"Kotetsu, watch out-!"

Ah, so that's Izumo. He doesn't get much further than that though as I smash the rounded handle of a kunai into the base of his skull, knocking him out cold. Immediately I move around the large pulley-system.

"Izumo!"

"I apologize, fellow Konoha shinobi-san, but it's necessary for our safety. Please forgive us." I hear Tsubaki's voice sound out, seemingly calm and I round the corner just in time to see her deliver a beautiful roundhouse kick that sends Kotetsu flying headfirst into a nearby stack of crates, knocking out the other part of the famous duo.

Immediately the wheel flies madly, the bridge falling down and Tsubaki and I leap out of a window, sliding down the side of the rough stone as from across the far end of the bridge, the Legendary Stupid Brothers come barrelling towards us like a herd of rhinos. Despite their enormous size and rotund appearance, they're frighteningly fast and catch up to us in moments.

In fact, clearly they think our own speed is insufficient as without a word, Fujin throws me over his shoulder like I'm a sack of shuriken-riddle potatoes (completely ignoring my whimpers of pain, rude!) while Raijin takes Tsubaki and bridal carries her, the woman looking wide-eyed as the two brothers' legs keep hammering against the ground, pushing us forwards with speed.

From my position slung over Fujin's shoulder, I throw one last look at the prison that had confined and defined my world ever since I woke up in this new life… and then the tree canopy closed around us, hiding it from view.

We were free.

I was finally free.

---

Fun Fact: Frank Abignale Jr., the con-artist on who the film Catch me if you can with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks is based off, once managed to convince the guards of the new prison he was transferred to that he was a prison inspector with ties to the FBI. They gave him civilian clothes instead of a uniform and he was free to roam the grounds, not confined to his cell. After his girlfriend called the prison, claiming to be from the FBI and that Frank had important, secret information to share and needed immediate extraction, the guards collected Frank and walked him out the gate and to his girlfriend's car.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

INTERLUDE 1​

​

---

"Have you checked the supplies of bandages again?"

"Yes, Natsuki-san. Thrice today."

"And all the beds have clean sheets?"

"Had them washed this morning."

"And the medicine cabinet is locked down tight? Oh, and also make sure to request more painkillers and burn salves-"

"You locked that cabinet yourself five minutes ago, the supply request was sent out yesterday. Natsuki-san…"

"Hmm, yes?"

"You're stalling."

Natsuki let out an explosive sigh as she shot her assistant an annoyed glare, all the more irritated because she couldn't deny the truth.

"I'd like to see you not dragging your feet a little when you have to meet the Hokage after he requests a meeting out of the blue."

"To be honest, if I did get summoned by the Hokage I'd be running fast enough people would mistake me for Sishui of the Body Flicker born again." Her assistant rebutted and shot her a significant look.

"Fine. Fine, I'm off!" Natsuki gave up as she picked up her bag filled with some basic medical supplies, several standard incident reports and what she suspected she had been really summoned over, the medical files of one Oniyuri Mizuki.

'I should've just ignored it. I really should've just ignored it. What do I care about one more prisoner losing his mind? He's just another traitor after all…' she thought to herself as she sprinted across the drawbridge, the caldera churning away underneath her.

Unbidden, almost accusing, those confused eyes, that hurt look crossed her mind's eye again and Natsuki shook her head, shooting a glance over her shoulder at the massive prison island now at her back. She had long since, if not accepted, then at least tolerated her assigned position at the facility, her station at times making her feel as much of a prisoner as the inmates confined there.

But she could never forget her first months there, the ever-shifting groaning and growling of the lava like the breathing of some large unseen monster, the ever-present heat its hot breath weighing down on her skin. The bag with Mizuki's medical files suddenly felt far heavier than it had any right to and Natsuki raised her chin a little as she picked up speed.

Yes, perhaps it had been a dumb decision, to stick her head out like that for a traitor… but it wasn't a decision she'd regret.

'Well… depending on how angry Lord Hokage is…'

The trip back to Konoha itself thankfully wasn't too long. It wasn't exactly next door (hard to find an active volcano in the midst of Konoha's vibrant forests after all), but it was at least kept close by enough to remain practical. With long-distance communication made difficult if not outright impossible due to thermal interference (though they were careful not to let the prisoners know that), it was easier the prison at least be reachable should Konoha decide it had need of its prisoners or staff, for whatever reason.

To her hidden disappointment, Izumo and Kotetsu weren't on guard duty today, just a pair of chūnin she didn't recognize. Thankfully, they didn't seem to recognize her either when she handed them her ID-badge (she always hated how dead her eyes looked in the small picture). One of them checked it against a list, before handing it back to her with a nod.

"The Hokage is expecting you. Please head there straight away."

Not quite an order, but more than a suggestion, she knew. She simply accepted her card with a small bow and a muttered thanks, picked up her bag and set a straight course towards the Hokage tower, the tall cylindrical building visible from nearly every point in Konoha.

She made good time, but as she expected, wasn't waved through immediately. Instead she was told to take a seat in the hallway outside the Third's office, where she allowed herself to be distracted by the rhythmic sounds of the Hokage's secretary working away at her desk nearby. It was only once she lost all track of time that the door opened and a wizened old voice came out.

"Natsuki-san. Please, enter."

The voice was calm, made thinner and smokier by age and a bad tobacco habit, and yet, for a split second, it was enough to nail her feet to the floor, before she forced her body to move and enter the relatively small office.

Somewhat to her surprise, the Hokage wasn't alone, a young well-built man stood next to his desk, clearly still fuming and clearly trying (and failing) to not let that show. A large scar ran over the bridge of his nose and Natsuki realized that this must be the colleague that Mizuki had attempted to murder in his pursuit of the Forbidden Scroll. The man was staring straight ahead, so likewise Natsuki didn't spare him more than a passing glance, her attention dragged back by an invisible weight to the most powerful man in the room (and indeed, the entire country).

Sarutobi Hiruzen stamped a stack of documents before setting the papers to one side as she saluted sharply at his desk. For a moment, he let her stand there holding the crisp salute as he calmly fished out his pipe and tobacco pouch. With movements born from experience, he smoothly filled the pipe before lighting a small flame from his thumb without the need of words or even a single handsign, taking a long drag and letting the smoke curl up around the wide brim of his iconic hat.

In all that time, Natsuki dared not move a muscle.

"Yesterday I got a most disconcerting call from the prison director. I assume you know what Toji-kun had to relay, yes?" Lord Third began in an easy conversational tone, as if discussing an old friend he ran into at the store.

Natsuki tried her hardest to suppress a scoff at hearing the 82-year-old prison warden being addressed with 'kun', giving a sharp nod instead.

"Yes, my Lord. The director told me he'd likely contact you once I'd made my report concerning prisoner 99's apparent amnesia." She answered crisply.

Hiruzen's hat tilted slightly backwards, allowing her a glimpse of his eyes shining in the shadows.

"Apparent? So, you do not believe his claim then?"

For a moment, Natsuki's breath hitched, unsure yet painfully aware of Iruka's glare boring into the side of her head, before burying her emotions, trying to retreat into protocol.

"It's not my duty to 'believe', Hokage-sama, merely make assessments."

"And what is your assessment?"

"The physical damage makes his claim possible. That is not accounting for the psychological damage he likely suffered following his defeat."

"Psychological damage!? You must be joking! If not, then surely he must be lying!" Iruka, patience apparently at an end, exploded, before visibly forcing his jaw shut with an audible 'click!', settling back into a painfully straight parade stance.

Natsuki remained unmoved, her own gaze firmly fixed on a distant point about a foot and a half above the Hokage's head.

"Possibly. As far as the psychological trauma is concerned, at least. I couldn't say, I'm not that kind of doctor and we haven't had a Yamanaka on staff since we downsized. But, physically speaking, you can't fake bruises, or a skull that's cracked in three places." She responded, her voice calm and clinical, but her motions were filled with fire as she dug into her bag and withdrew Mizuki's medical files, setting them down on the busy desk with an accusatory 'slap!' of paper meeting wood.

For just a moment, the room was silent and Natsuki worried she had overstepped her bounds, but Iruka's eyebrows just rose in surprise as the Hokage tilted his hat slightly forwards, shadowing his eyes, letting the smoke from his pipe trail up in thin wispy fingers. Hesitantly, Iruka took the files off the desk, leafing through the manilla folder after an encouraging nod from his aged leader.

"Hmm… 'possible'… a word laden with ambiguity, that could mean anything from 'likely' to 'improbable'. If there's even the slightest chance that Mizuki is indeed lying, as young Iruka suspects, then it would mean failing Konoha, failing the comrades that he has hurt so deeply, if we were to set him free now. He has shown to be adept at deception after all." The old leader hummed, clearly thinking aloud instead of really asking for Natsuki's input, so she didn't offer any.

At first.

"The hatred he displayed that night, it's not a spur of the moment thing. This was a darkness that had been allowed to grow and fester for years at least, kept hidden and then savagely unleashed. He didn't just try to kill me: he enjoyed the attempt. Since that night, I've been going over every interaction we've ever had since we were kids. How many smiles did he show to my face, while secretly delighting in the idea that he'd sink a kunai in my back? How many times before would've he acted on it, if given the chance? It never did sit right with me, how the investigation into that disastrous mission was suddenly dropped…"

As the Hokage seemed to mull Iruka's pain-filled words over, she couldn't help but remember the sheer shock and confusion in Mizuki's eyes. The way he seemed hesitant to respond to anything, his surroundings, her instructions, even the guard's goading, as if he was afraid the world would shatter if he dared touch anything. Then there was his reaction to the news of his fiancée…

"My Lord…" the words were out before she had a chance to bite them back and the Hokage stilled, a slight tilt of his hat the only sign giving her permission to speak.

She almost wished he didn't grant it.

"If he's not lying… then any second spent in that prison would be failing Konoha as well. That man there hasn't hurt a fly and Konoha claims it does not throw innocents in jail." She said, surprising herself with her quiet vehemence, clenching her hands behind her back, forcing herself to back down.

"Innocent-?!" Iruka chocked out, but this time he was cut off by the Hokage.

The old man didn't even have to raise his voice, he was simply thinking out loud, yet the teacher's teeth clicked shut so fast Natsuki briefly worried the man took 'biting your tongue' a bit too literal.

"Well now, that is an interesting question, isn't it? If a man has no memory of committing a crime, is he still guilty of one? The damage remains done regardless, though thankfully it's far less than it could've been. The Scroll remains safely in the Village and Umino Iruka here is projected to make a full recovery in time. Just this morning, he introduced his students to their prospective jonin in fact. But will the scars of that night ever fade? Of the betrayal, both physical and emotional? It's for this reason that I've only invited Iruka-kun here, to speak of that night, of the pain that Mizuki has caused. Naruto-kun is too young, too… emotional. He will learn of this only when the time is right, once we ourselves have an answer for this situation."

"Mizuki has no memory of ever dealing those wounds. I understand Konoha's position in this, and Iruka-san is fully within his right to hold a grudge. But his grudge is with a man who, for all intents and purposes, does not exist anymore." Natuski rebutted, firmly, as respectfully as she could force her voice to be and she saw Iruka blink in surprise.

"But he could again, one day. The betrayal is in the past, but the motives for it? The current Mizuki may no longer be shaped by the same experiences, but what if he has the same drive as the Mizuki from the past? Instead or releasing an innocent, are we setting free a traitor-to-be, perhaps?"

Natsuki opened her mouth, but found she had nothing left to say. Even Iruka was now silent, face contemplative, as if not sure how to process this new angle himself. He wasn't out for revenge, per se, he was more worried what it'd mean for Naruto if Mizuki got out, considering the words the traitor had used on the young child had cut far deeper than the shuriken he had launched in Iruka's own back. Those wounds were healing and the scars would fade in time. But wounds of the heart? How long until Naruto overcame those?

For his sake (mostly) Iruka felt it his duty to ensure the dangerous traitor remained locked up, far away from where he might try to harm Naruto. But if that traitor no longer existed, if this new Mizuki didn't wish harm on Naruto, hell, didn't even know who Naruto was…

"All I can say, Hokage-sama, is that Mizuki right now is a blank slate. You said that the Mizuki of the past was shaped by his experiences, which the current Mizuki no longer shares. How do you think he's being shaped by us right now, locked away with the worst villains that Konoha hasn't seen fit to execute, for no reason that he can understand?" Natsuki firmly rebutted.

With that, she fell silent, gaze explicitly not focused on either man in the small office, instead looking out over the village through the windows at the Hokage's back. Faced with her silence Hiruzen merely sighed, expelling a large gust of smoke.

"You make fair points, the both of you." He admitted and Natsuki couldn't help but raise her eyebrows in surprise, causing the old man to let out a rasping chuckle.

"I did not summon you all the way over here just to try and 'outsmart' you, Natsuki-san. In truth, I had hoped your insights could provide me with an answer I have not yet seen. There is no precedent for such a case and the question of Mizuki's possible innocence weighs heavily on me. I have tried to imagine how my senseis would've acted in my stead, but it doesn't help that Lord First and Lord Second could not be more opposed on such an issue." The Hokage groused.

The casual reference to such legendary figures made Natsuki feel very small and young all of a sudden, realizing she stood across a man who wasn't just part of history, but had actively shaped it, for better or worse. For a moment, neither she nor Iruka dared say a word as the Third Hokage thrummed his fingers against the top of his desk. Ultimately though, he shook his head and Natsuki could feel her heart sink.

"We just know too little. There's no precedent, and currently there's doubt whether the amnesia is physical or psychologically based, or even if it's true at all. Until we have more insights into Mizuki's current state of mind, he shall remain confined for the safety of Konoha. Should he prove to remain his former self, we will have risked nothing. Should he indeed be seen as an entirely new persona, then he shall be released and be compensated." The judgement came, surprisingly swift in the end considering how meandering the old man's thought process had been and both she and Iruka bowed at their Hokage's words.

'Well, Mizuki… at least I tried. That's more than anyone would've done for the old you…'

Wait, but that wasn't true was it?

"Ah, Hokage, one more thing, please…"

"Natsuki-san, my decision is final."

She didn't need to straighten from her bow to hear the disapproval (and the warning) in the old man's voice and a shiver ran like lightning down her spine. Still, she found herself pressing on.

"It's not that, my Lord. But I was just reminded that Mizuki has a fiancée in the Village. Regardless of the truth of his amnesia, she should be informed. While admittedly, psychological trauma and treatment aren't my specialty, hence why I'm unable to offer further insight into the truth of Mizuki's words, I do know that being confronted with such a significant figure from his past could spark some form of recognition. By contrast, any lack of reaction or stimulus would give additional weight to his claims." Natsuki spoke hurriedly, pausing briefly before daring to glance slightly up.

Bowed as she stood, she was on eye-level with the Hokage, the man's glinting eyes hard as steel as he stared her down and she briefly swallowed.

"You said yourself that we don't have enough insight into his mental state, my Lord." She dared to point out and Hiruzen merely grunted at her words, before waving her away with a sigh.

"A fair point. And yes, barring all else, Tsubaki-san should be informed. I leave this task to you. Visitation hours shall be arranged. I will contact ANBU, they will be along shortly for their own interrogation. It shouldn't take long for our combined efforts to get to the bottom of this." The aged man eventually decided and Natsuki gratefully rose from her bow, thankful even if she was laden with yet another task.

"Thank you, my Lord. I shall depart at once."

"I'll join you." Iruka spoke up to her surprise.

"Ah, that won't be necessary-" she tried, but he just shot her a look, one brow arched.

"Do you know the location of the house Mizuki built?" he challenged and Natsuki internally cursed.

It must've been mentioned somewhere on his file, but all that she remembered was the titbit that it was located outside the village walls, which was only noteworthy when taken the man's status as a traitor into account. It would make it more difficult to find however.

"Very well. Thank you." She acquiesced and with a final bow, she and Iruka departed the Hokage's office, leaving the old man with more worries than answers.

---

Some time later

'Another day, another stack of paperwork. Sometimes I wonder which I prefer, the battlefield or this cursed desk…' Hiruzen thought to himself as his secretary walked in with a pile of papers taller than her torso.

But no, a Kage on the battlefield means a nation at war, and after all that Konoha had lost, all that Hiruzen had sacrificed for peace, he'd gladly allow himself to be buried by an avalanche of paperwork if it kept the horrors of war at bay.

Though he reserved the right to complain loudly the entire time.

Just as he steeled himself to tackle this new stack of administrative red tape, a presence made itself known on the edge of his senses and the aged Hokage leaned back in his seat.

'Hmm… what would he- ah, right, the Mizuki case.'

"Tiger, report." He spoke aloud to seemingly empty air.

A shadow inside the empty office shifted and as if parting a curtain of air, the silhouette of a tall man in a porcelain mask revealed itself. The ANBU captain approached the desk and took a knee.

"Hokage-sama, I have returned. Mission… successful, but not yet complete."

Hiruzen blinked at the hesitation in the stoic man's words.

"Well, that does sound a bit contradictory, doesn't it?"

"Our mission was to interrogate Oniyuri Mizuki to determine the truth of the night of the theft and attempted murder of Umino Iruka and Uzumaki Naruto and assess his current state of mind. In this, we were successful. Prisoner 99 proved cooperative."

"Then why is the mission not complete?"

"Because Hokage-sama… Mizuki's amnesia appears to be genuine."

'Ah… crap.'

"So he himself does not know the motives behind his betrayal?"

"No, Hokage-sama. Related to this, it seems that prisoner 99 has dissociated himself from Mizuki, viewing him as another person entirely. Whether this is due to the amnesia, or the reverse, we are unable to assess. Therefore the mission is not complete: I wish to request a Yamanaka to place Mizuki under hypnosis, both to see whether those memories remain somewhere in there, even if buried, and to ascertain how the current Mizuki will react to his former persona."

Hiruzen's eyes widened as he stroked his goatee.

"Dissociation? That complicates matters even further. If this new Mizuki could be considered a new person altogether, is it morally just to keep him in what's effectively someone else's cell? By contrast, if he truly is a new person, mentally speaking at least, then would giving him back Mizuki's memories make him guilty again, now that he re-remembers committing the crime?" the Hokage mused aloud, not truly knowing the answer himself.

Clearly, neither did his ANBU Captain, who simply remained in his bowed position.

"I can see why you don't consider the matter settled yet, Tiger. Very well, I approve your request for a Yamanaka. I give you leave to call on any one of them that's currently on active duty, though naturally I request you only search within the ranks of ANBU. Best to keep all this confidential for the time being."

"It shall be done, Hokage-sama!" Tiger said firmly, finally rising from his bow.

"Well, that settles the first part of your mission at least. We'll see what comes of it. As for the second part? What of Mizuki's current state of mind? Do we need to worry about possibly creating our own villain by keeping him locked in there for now?" Hiruzen asked with a light sigh.

'This part should be simpler at least.' He thought to himself as he leaned further back into his chair.

He immediately straightened again when Tiger remained absolutely still, which considering his usual blunt and direct manner meant he might as well be twiddling his thumbs.

"Tiger?" Hiruzen pressed.

"Initial assessment is that Mizuki currently does not pose any significant threat to the people of Konoha, or the Village at large, due to a lack of skill and motivation."

'Ah, that's good-'

"He is however a massive flight risk."

'… what.'

"How do you figure?"

"He told me."

'… what.'

Slowly, Hiruzen pinched the bridge of his nose. This case was becoming more and more of a headache. Amnesia, dissociative personality disorder, flight risks and threat assessments, not to mention needing to inform his fiancée of all this-'

'Oh, right.'

"Tiger, what of Mizuki's fiancée? Did Tsubaki-san offer any insight at all into Mizuki's mental state?"

"Not particularly, though their interactions can support both the amnesia and the dissociative personality disorder. She could possibly be a reason as to why Mizuki exposed himself as a flight risk."

"Ah, even without his memories, he longs to be free and escape to her welcoming embrace huh?" Hiruzen said with a rasping chuckle, eyes closing as he allowed a small smile to set on his face.

'It's almost something straight out of one of Jiraiya-kun's books!'

"Not exactly, Hokage-sama. More to break her out instead, I think."

Hiruzen's smile turned very brittle.

"What?"

"She turned herself in as well. Claims it's only fair, since she knew about the theft but the current Mizuki doesn't anymore."

'… what.'

---

Some time later

"Ah, Tiger, how did the interrogation with Frog go?"

A stack of papers were firmly set down on Hiruzen's desk and the aged Hokage blinked a few times between the documents and his unusually flustered looking ANBU Captain.

"Tiger? What's this?"

"A collection of concerns and complaints that Mizuki has raised about Konoha's security."

'… what.'

"Security concerns… from the flight risk prisoner 99, Oniyuri Mizuki. That Mizuki?"

"Indeed, sir. I took the liberty of sharing parts of this list with some trusted comrades in both the Konohagakure Intelligence Division and the Barrier Team. They were intrigued by the possibility of incorporating chakra signatures as locking mechanisms for seals, something the Fourth Hokage was rumored to have perfected. However, Morino Ibiki especially was particularly interested in the fuinjutsu that Mizuki mentioned which incorporated lethal lightning jutsu within the seals."

"Of course he would be." Hiruzen groaned as he furrowed his brow, eyes squeezed shut.

The sound of a second stack of papers being deposited on his desk came uncomfortably loud to the old man and Hiruzen barely dared to crack open an eye to look at it. It was smaller than the previous stack, but not by much and for some reason it seemed far more… ominous?

"And what list is that?" he asked in a low voice.

"A list of current Konoha traitors, both inside and outside the Village."

"Of course it is."

"Orochimaru is the main one."

"Naturally."

"The original Mizuki apparently was loyal to him after the Sannin covered up the murder of Mizuki's teammate at his own hands. Which we finally have a confession for, by the way."

"I see."

"Added to Orochimaru's file are several of his agents, a number of them currently inside Konoha."

"Indeed."

"The one with the massive stack of other papers stapled to it and covered in post-its is the file of one Yakushi Kabuto. Because he isn't just Orochimaru's man, apparently. Or really any man's, for that matter."

"How fascinating."

"Among others, he was trained within Danzo's ROOT. Which according to what Mizuki saw while working for Orochimaru, is still in operation and actively working with traitors of the Leaf."

"Truly."

"It seems that, in order to establish his own Hidden Village, Orochimaru has been reaching out to our underworld contacts, which brought him in communications with Danzo. Additionally, he has been further trying to undermine us by seeking out our allies as well, most notably Sand."

"Intriguing."

"Mizuki apparently trusts Orochimaru so little he suspects him of seeking to betray the Kazekage however, killing him and even supplanting him. It fits with the psych-profile you yourself created of the man following his defection, Hokage-sama, as the position of Kage is a sore point for Orochimaru and one of his greatest ambitions. Worryingly enough, Mizuki does trust Orochimaru's strength based on their few interactions to the point he believes he can actually pull it off too."

"…"

"…"

"… Hokage-sama?"

"Just a moment, Tiger. I am currently in the biggest moral dilemma of my long life."

"Uhmm… sir?"

"The question of whether or not I should incinerate these fools sequentially or in parallel."

"… if I may say so, my Lord, you are taking this remarkably well."

"Give it a few seconds, Tiger, the rage is so encompassing, it hasn't had a chance to settle in fully yet. Like a dog turning and turning in a too small bed."

"An apt analogy, Hokage-sama."

"Ahh, there it is. Tiger?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Duck."

---

Elsewhere

Danzo was not a man who was prone to idle walks. In fact, he was not a man prone to idle anything. So it was with purpose that he strode down a well-beaten path from one of the forested areas inside the walls of Konoha towards the Hokage building. He cared nothing for the sun shining down brightly from above, beams of light flitting through the shifting canopy, dappling the undergrowth below. He cared nothing for the gentle breeze picking up leaves and sending them hurtling in a playful little dance around his heavy cloak as it tugged mischievously at his spiky hair. He cared nothing for the sound of the children playing in a field nearby.

For all this, all that thrived under the sun was only made possible through the work secretly done in the dark. Yes, that was the sort of man he was, calm, collected, a master of subterfuge and the shadow so that-

In the distance, the top floors of the Hokage tower were nearly blown clean off the rest of the building, a roar shaking the air in a way not matched since the Kyuubi itself attacked the village.

"DANZO!"

The old war hawk stilled in his stride, briefly weighing his options, before turning on his heel and purposefully returning the way he came. The shadows sounded particularly alluring right about now.

---

Some time later

"Hokage-sama! I have returned."

"Ah, Tiger, so good to see you. I could really do with some good news right now. Even after being placed under house arrest, Danzo is still pretending he's suddenly gone deaf with old age and Yakushi Kabuto is nowhere to be found. I sent a messenger to Suna to warn them of Orochimaru's intentions, but it will be some time before he arrives. Even then, the chances of Rasa-kun just believing him outright are as slim as finding snow in the Sand Village. So, I could really use something good right now."

"…"

"Oh, that's just great."

"Apologies Hokage-sama. It concerns prisoner 99."

"What has Mizuki done this time? Made true on his flight risk status?"

"No, sir."

"Good. Right now he's our primary source of intel to respond to these sudden enemy agents and considering how compromised our security is at the moment, it won't be long until they figure that out as well. Better for his safety to remain within the prison for the time being, where he can properly be protected-"

"There was an assassination attempt."

"…"

"Two, in fact."

"…"

"There's clear evidence that at least part of the prison detail were in on the attempts."

"…"

This time, Tiger didn't need his leader's warning, already throwing himself to the floor just before the Hokage's desk was sent flying straight through a door, two walls and straight out the building entirely.

---

Some more time later

"Tiger? Tiger stand up man, I'm not going to throw a desk this time around. I promised my secretary after I clipped her inkpot the last time. Apparently it's been in her family for four generations at this point."

"I'll hold you to that, Hokage-sama."

"It should be fine, this time I'm the one informing you of something. Something that I couldn't be happier with, the solution for the constant migraines that have been plaguing me lately." Hiruzen said with a small smile that in polite company could've been considered a cackle.

"Sir?"

"Mizuki has been invaluable in the intel he has provided, as well as his comments on our security systems, yet we've failed to keep him safe in return, despite him being locked away in one of our most secure facilities. So, why not make his aid official while simultaneously getting him out of there? It would make it all seem part of the plan, don't you see? He was never truly traitor, just… very, very deep undercover. It was more top-secret than ANBU, than the damned ROOT even, no paperwork, no official pay-out, nothing to suggest to anyone, even to us, that he was furthering Konoha's interests all along."

"By… siding with the enemy?"

"He got better, didn't he?"

"He got such severe brain damage it gave him amnesia."

"See? Better."

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"So, with this file, I approve the release of prisoner 99, one Oniyuri Mizuki and then he'll stop being such a nuisance-, I mean, be once again a valued addition to this Village's forces, a prisoner no longer-"

Hiruzen was interrupted in lifting up the stamp that would make Mizuki a free man once more when the (new) door to his office was suddenly thrown open with such force it nearly swung off its hinges completely. A young man, still a kid really, barged inside, clad in the uniform of a prison guard, ninja headband crooked on his head, his face wild and panicked.

"Hokage-sama, the prison-!"

He barely got two steps before he was thrown to the ground, an ANBU keeping each limb pinned in place, two short tanto rammed into the wooden floorboards just beside his neck and crossing underneath his chin, forming a glinting 'x' that forced his head up. In all honestly, it looked like a very dangerous session of Twister gone wrong, less a targeted take-down and more a tangle of limbs.

"… yes, guard-kun?" the Hokage asked, a pit forming in his stomach.

"Ah, Ryoma, Hokage-sama! I'm part of the night crew at the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility!"

Briefly, Hiruzen looked from the prone, sweating youth to the view of the Village outside before turning back with a raised eyebrow.

"It's day out." He felt he needed to point out.

"Agreed, Hokage-sama! But, ah, the day crew of the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility is currently indisposed. Food poisoning, Hokage-sama!"

"Another attack?" Hiruzen immediately pressed, that pit growing ever wider inside his stomach.

"No, my Lord! A break-out!"

Hiruzen's eyes slowly tracked from the pinned down youth to the still unstamped form in his hands.

"… no…"

"It's a mass break-out sir! We've already sent out the Interception Division and even ANBU! Turns out most of the inmates were easy to track though, they all gravitated to a single location."

"No, no…"

"The cabin Mizuki built for him and his fiancée outside the village walls, they all showed up there and then immediately started fighting each other. Apparently they all wanted to stock up on supplies and then move on, but for some reason all of them had that very same idea at once."

"No, no, no…"

"Made them easy to round up. The smarter ones took other paths, but we'll get them. But, uhh, one is definitely beyond our reach. Mizuki-san made true on his flight-risk status. There's no trace of him or Tsubaki-san. Even the Legendary Stupid Brothers aren't to be found anywhere and we already checked the surrounding restaurants and inns! Don't worry though sir! The guards and I all made sure to reveal nothing of this to the other prisoners, not even that Mizuki killed his original target, the Orochimaru loyalist Genda, all to save one of our own! Can't let the secret mission be exposed after all!"

Hiruzen could only stare blankly as the youth, still pinned down by no less than half a dozen ANBU, gave a wide grin and a conspiratory wink, which was somewhat ruined by his headband sliding down in front of his eyes.

"Hokage-sama?"

All Tiger got in response was the dull 'thump!' of a forehead impacting a wooden desk, the still unsigned release form for one Oniyuri Mizuki trapped in-between, stamp forgotten to the side.

---

Fun Fact: Masashi Kishimoto stated that Konohagakure was modelled after his own hometown.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 1.0​

​

---

Getting away from Konoha proper was remarkably easier than escaping from the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. Sure, one was a prison and the other a village, so on the surface that might make sense, but we're talking a village of ninja here. Konoha was the largest Hidden Village on the continent and while Kumo might field more active duty shinobi, that still left Mizuki's former home with a rather large contingent of capable ninja just roaming throughout the surrounding woodlands, with a not insignificant number of those ninja gunning specifically for me.

What helped us in avoiding recapture after only a few hours of sweet freedom (which is what I imagine has happened to the majority of my fellow inmates by now) was the prison's somewhat remote location away from the ninja capital of the Land of Fire.

Exactly where in said Land of Fire it was located I had no clue and predictably neither did the Legendary Stupid Brothers. Tsubaki was a godsend when I questioned her on it however, proving her worth once again.

"The prison is located north of Konohagakure, which itself is located almost dead center in the Land of Fire, which is surrounded by all the other Great Shinobi Countries. Even further north is the border between the Land of Fire, the Land of Grass and the Land of Waterfalls. Beyond them lies the mountainous region of the Land of Stone." The woman explained as she drew a crude map in the dirt of our little clearing in the woods with a kunai.

"Wait, I thought they were called the Elemental Nations?" I interrupted and Tsubaki blinked at me in surprise.

"No? Why would they? The Moon is not an element. Neither are Hotsprings or Waterfalls." She pointed out and I rubbed the base of my neck with an embarrassed chuckle.

"Right. Makes sense." I said, outwardly calm.

Internally, however…

'Damn you fanon! Damn you straight to heeeelll!'

It was more than frustrating to realize my outsider knowledge of this world couldnt always be trusted. I mean, I knew my recollection wasn't complete in the first place, but now I was probably going to second-guess every bit of trivia I thought I did remember, even when it concerned the fundamentals of this world.

This was probably basic kid stuff to Tsubaki, but I never was a kid in this world and the Legendary Stupid Brothers, for all their ridiculous strength, were barely better than children themselves. Sadly, the hidden locations of future villains was apparently more advanced material and Tsubaki had no idea what I meant when I asked her if she knew the location of Mount Shumisen, the base of operations for Hiruko of the Chimera Technique.

I suppose it made sense the Konoha chūnin hadn't heard of it; what with it being a secret base I doubt Hiruko gets that many visitors. Those that do wander too close would swiftly be turned away by his subordinates at the four gates leading up to the castle. And by 'turned away' I actually mean 'turned into corpses'. Same difference where guys like Hiruko are concerned.

They really take their 'no soliciting' very seriously around here.

So why risk going there, especially considering that hadn't originally been the first step in my plan to rise above canon Mizuki's status as filler fodder? Because I had realized several things when Frog had placed me underneath his hypnosis. Their intent had been to let me recall Mizuki's memories, but it had allowed me clearer access to those of my previous life instead. Which is when I recalled Hiruko and his kekkei genkai-stealing pasty ass.

Kekkei genkai were objectively cool and I totally understood wanting to collect them like they were Pokémon (though literally crucifying your 'donors' went just a tad too far for my tastes). Hell, Hiruko wasn't even the only one with that particular grind mindset, it was part of the reason why he and Orochimaru were buddies in the past.

Not that I thought I'd be able to wrestle the secrets of his most prized technique from him, so implanting multiple bloodlines was a pipe dream for now. But Hiruko could offer me multiple other things, intel first and foremost. I didn't know just how close he and Orochimaru had been, but I was hoping he was at least passingly familiar with his fellow scientist's various projects, especially those that overlapped with his own interests. Hopefully he could point me in the direction of the research station that had developed the animal hybrid power-up that was tattooed on my forearm.

In canon Mizuki knew the secret of unlocking the formula inscribed in my skin and had then stolen the required ingredients from a Nara compound. I however had no idea how to read the strange skull-like tattoo and I definitely didn't fancy breaking into a secure facility run by the smartest clan in Konoha. Hiruko likely did know how to unlock the formula though and I was betting chances were good that he had access to the ingredients himself, or at the very least point me in the direction of people who did.

Hopefully. I remember there being some type of Creature from the Black Lagoon scientist on an island down south somewhere that had perfected his own hybrid animal form, but I had no clue which island or even what the scientist was called.

Having access to my tiger form without having it turn me into a sun-dried mummy was incentive enough to visit Hiruko's castle, considering it could be a powerful trump card in defeating the current wearer of the Infinite Armor, as its chakra-absorbing qualities meant that sheer brute force would be key in his defeat.

However, there was another reason to seek out Hiruko and his special technique. Sure, it became well-known for its ability to absorb kekkai genkai, but on a more base level it was also capable of incorporating foreign DNA material. It was what gave Hiruko an increased base level of speed and strength, even without the special bloodlines. Such minor alterations were much more stable as well, and don't seem to have a hard cap like the kekkei genkai do.

Since both the Vein of Gelel and the Dragon Veins are genetically locked, that meant seeking out Hiruko at the start of my plan could yield incredible benefits in some of the later steps down the line.

The biggest risk in approaching him so early was that I still lacked those power-ups, so I was incredibly weak, though the same could be said for Hiruko as he currently lacked much of the powers he'd absorb later in the show. Not that I was really looking for a fight with the bloodline-obsessed man. I was counting on my own status as one of Orochimaru's agents to, if not get his trust, at least grant me an audience with the man. Should things go south, I'd have the Legendary Stupid Brothers use their extraordinary strength to get Tsubaki and I the hell off that mountaintop and hustle our asses down south to the Land of Rivers.

First order of business though was actually finding said mountain in the first place.

Still, even if we didn't know the exact location of the mystical mountain, we had a heading and that was good enough for now. Better to pick a direction and run rather than sit around and risk recapture. Besides, I remember that the mountain was located on the border between the Land of Stone and the Land of Grass, placing it pretty much dead center in the middle of the continent, a parallel to my own world's mythology apparently. Considering its sheer size (and Grass' relatively small one) that hopefully meant we'd be able to spot the mountain from miles away.

That did leave me with an important question though.

"So, which way do we keep running? Further north to the Land of Waterfalls until we hid the border of Stone, or do we go straight through Grass instead?"

Mizuki's fiancée tapped the tip of the kunai against her lips in thought, quickly catching on to my own considerations.

"Taki is an ally of Konoha. So it should be safe to cross. Or relatively safe, at least. We have no conflicts with Grass, but without an official mission slip, they likely won't look kindly on us taking a shortcut through their country."

"Counterpoint, the same could be said of Taki nin. Konoha's allied with them after all, they might already be aware of our status as fugitives." I point out darkly, startling Tsubaki.

"Oh… right, I hadn't considered that yet." She says in a small voice, eyes distant, clearly needing some time to adjust to her new status as an outlaw.

A twinge of guilt pulls at my heartstrings and I clear my throat, trying to come up with something uplifting to say.

"Well, at least the top brass seemed to be coming around, slowly. Could be that they put an 'Alive Only' bounty on our heads. Meaning we'll just get recaptured instead of… you know… immediately executed. So… that's comforting, at least." I trail off, Tsubaki's eyes wide.

"R-right. Comforting." She says somewhat hollowly.

Conversation that night didn't really pick up again after that. Thankfully, it wasn't if we had much time for conversation anyways. After catching some much needed shut-eye of just a few hours at most, we picked up camp (which was easy to do, considering we didn't really have any supplies and hadn't even dared to light a fire) and we were off again.

I hadn't yet fully settled on whether to cut through Grass or Waterfall yet, but for now both nations were to the north of us, so that's where we shot off to, using the sun to keep our course as we flitted from branch to branch (or pushing off from tree trunk to tree trunk in the case of our two large companions).

Two reasons spurred me to such haste: the idea of either ANBU or the Interception Division being hot on my trail, Izumo and Kotetsu especially considering how Tsubaki and I had swiftly taken them out, injuring both their heads and (more importantly) their pride. Tiger too had seemed scarily competent, though how that translated to tracking skills I had no idea.

I know on a meta level ANBU had taken the role of fodder to establish the real threats in the setting, but not for a second would I allow myself to forget I was nowhere near any of those threats either, which meant just about any ANBU could totally stomp my ass without breaking a sweat behind their porcelain masks.

The second threat might seem less serious, but was definitely more immediate.

"Hey, Boss. When are we going to eat? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, me too!"

The bellies of the Legendary Stupid Brothers made themselves known with deep, rumbling growls, which was only matched by the thunderous expressions on their rotund faces.

'Right… these guys literally killed their own comrades over a dinner dispute. If they get too hungry… I mean, I haven't found any definitive proof that they are cannibals… but at the same time, I also haven't found any definitive proof that they aren't… who knows what they'll resort to once starvation truly sets in?'

I mean, even regular humans in my home world had resorted to such drastic measures when the need became too high. Seeing the barely contained malevolence in those beady little eyes set in too-large faces made me think that it wouldn't take a crash in the frozen peaks of the Andes for them to resort to similar measures.

Sure, their banter with each other was amusing, but I couldn't let myself forget that these were hardened mass murderers and locked up on a volcanic island with good reason.

"We're heading to where the food is right now, Fujin, Raijin. It'll just take us a bit to get there, but that's a good thing!"

The elder brother, Fujin scrunched his monobrow.

"Waiting for food is a good thing?"

"Yes! The longer you wait, the tastier it becomes!"

"But… all food is tasty?" the younger brother, Raijin piped up, equally confused.

"True. And now it will be even tastier!"

"Wow… food that's even tastier than food… how long will we have to wait until it becomes even tastier?" Fujin asked.

"Uhm… it differs from person to person-"

"How long for our persons?" Raijin interrupted.

"Until your- I mean, until my belly is growling. You guys already know I know food, it's why I arranged your bonus meals back at the prison. So better to listen to my belly instead of your own right?"

For a second, the two giant brothers glanced at each other, to their enormous guts and back to each other again. Then Fujin shrugged his massive shoulders and shot me a smile that displayed far too many teeth for my liking.

"Sure, Boss. We'll trust your belly. Hope it starts rumbling soon."

"Right. I'll let you know when it does."

"Be sure that you do." Fujin shot back, tone darker, smile still in place but far more sinister now.

"R-right… will do."

Seeing my predicament, Tsubaki came through once again, hopping over to a branch closer to me as we shot through the trees in sync.

"I don't know of any large towns in the immediate area off the top of my head, but there should be some major roads not far from here, connecting Konohagakure to the other countries. Waterfall especially."

"Could be trouble. Roads mean traffic and traffic means we could get spotted." I caution, Tsubaki nodding.

"Yes, but moving closer should also allow us to pick up signs of civilization. There should be at least several homesteads or small villages around, hamlets that are too small to have official names or be included in any map. We might even come across a temple." She argued back and I weighed the options in my mind.

However, it wasn't my mind that eventually called the shot, but two large stomachs following close behind, letting out another thunderous rumbling.

"Right, heading to civilization ASAP." I confirmed.

I found the threat of discovery paled in comparison to the threat of dismemberment.

---

"So that's Iwakura Toji, with an 'i'… yes, that's right. Yes, head south down this road and you'll end up at the gates of Konohagakure in, about three days travel or so. Perhaps a bit more, considering you're travelling at slower speeds than ninja. Don't worry about getting stopped at the gate, just wave this letter at the guards, if one of them has an emo haircut and a beanie and the other has spiky hair and a bandage over his nose, then that's just Izumo and Kotetsu. They'll take this letter and IOU and Toji-san will pay you back in full, no problem. Konoha shinobi's honor." I said with a large beaming smile to the somewhat despondent looking village leader.

A rather understandable expression, considering the large storehouse in his small hamlet now only contained several sad empty burlap sacks and smashed crates, their entire winter provisions gone inside the bottomless bellies of my two bodyguards, who were stretched lazily at the ramshackle building's side with pleased grins and drowsy eyes.

"Hey, Big Bro! The Boss was right, this was super tasty! I couldn't get enough!"

"Yeah Big Bro, waiting does make food tastier. We should listen to the Boss' belly more often!"

While I felt for the village, I valued the loyalty of the Legendary Brothers more, so I just clasped my hands and performed a polite bow before signaling my team to head out once again. We came across the outlying fields of this little farming village not long after my discussion with Tsubaki, our strange group heading off to where the woods seemed thinner in the hopes of coming across a road.

What we came across instead was a very startled sheep farmer, who at the intimidating glares of Fujin and Raijin took us to the small village that sat on the edge of the large forest, nestled in the crook of a nearby winding river.

Besides feeding the brothers unending appetite (for now, at least), the little hamlet was also a valuable source of intel.

"Other villages? I mean, there's several families livin' beyond that there yonder hill, but other than that, we don't get much folk 'round these parts, save for the Daimyo's tax collector. He don't like comin' out this way tho, has to leave the main road leading to Taki about, oh, twenty, thirty miles back? Complains 'bout dust on his robes. Crazy fellers, them Imperial folk, complainin' 'bout dust. The hell he thinks roads are made of anyways?" the village elder had explained when he came out to meet my little party, whistling through the one remaining tooth that was hanging on for dear life.

Don't know why he sounded like your stereotypical Texan rancher, must be Mizuki's ears being accustomed to 'city folk' speech I guess.

The old geezer looked suspiciously from the letter in his hand to me and then to his wrecked barn.

"And this Toji fella, he's gonna pay back all the stuff your boys gobbled up? Just like that?" he glanced back at the paper as some of the village people came out of their own little huts and homes, glancing at the Legendary Brothers in a mixture of disgusted awe.

Thankfully they didn't raise much of a fuss when we rolled up to the small hamlet. My own innate charisma combined with the Brother's innate scariness probably accounted for some of that, but I think Tsubaki's gentle demeanor went a long way in setting the little farmer's community at ease.

While no combat medic, Tsubaki was at least somewhat knowledgeable in medicine, which, it being ninja medicine, was worlds ahead of what these poor civilians had access to. Cuts and scrapes were ever present in farming communities and were easily handled by a gently smiling Tsubaki, even without access to a proper med kit. Apparently, this small act of kindness was enough for the villagers to have her meet one of the young women of their little community who was getting further along in her pregnancy. Not that there had been any compilations, but births were always risky out here in remote places such as this, so having a second opinion from a mercenary wizard probably did a lot to put their minds at ease.

Even when the Brothers began putting a serious dent in their food stores, we weren't run out of the village, so to thank the elder I had written him an IOU in my former warden's name. Not that the old man seemed to fully grasp the concept of trading paper for goods yet.

"But this is just some scribbles…"

"Scribbles that say you are entitled to compensation."

"Why should he listen to what scribbles tell him?"

"Because… uhm, it's kinda like money? In that there's an amount written on a piece of paper and then a store or a bank is obligated to hand you the amount that's worth."

"… you fellers have money that's made outta paper?"

We beat a hurried retreat not long after, considering I didn't fully trust myself to explain ninja economics (especially since I barely grasped regular economics as it was) and based on the elder's comments the next leg of our journey was set.

Again, Tsubaki and I flit through tree tops in parallel, the satisfied Brothers slightly behind and further below. Glancing at Mizuki's fiancée, I voiced my decision.

"We go further north, skirt around Grass through Waterfall until we hit the northern border with Stone. Then we fall back a bit and cut westward through Grass, avoiding the border with Stone just in case either side is patrolling it, until we hit the foothills of Mount Shumisen. It will add a few days of travel to our journey, but this route keeps us in friendly territory the longest and according to the village elder, this area is sparsely populated to the point I'm not too worried about running into either Konoha or Taki nin on our trek to the border."

Tsubaki nods, but judging from her expression isn't yet fully convinced.

"What if we do run into Konoha nin? Or Taki nin? We're fugitives, but they're not our enemy. Right, Mizuki?"

For a moment, a thick silence falls between us as we shoot from tree to tree.

"I'll be as reasonable as I can be in such a situation, Tsubaki-san. Hopefully if we meet a Taki nin, I'll be able to bluff my way out. It's only been a day and a half since we escaped and I doubt any of the other prisoners came out this way as well, so there's not much reason for Konoha to alert the Waterfall border patrols. Hell, they might even choose to keep the entire breakout a secret in order to save face, so there's a good chance that Taki is completely unaware of our escape. We'll just be allies taking a short-cut through their land on a mission to Stone or something."

"And if we meet a fellow Konoha shinobi? Your… betrayal quickly became infamous, most of our comrades will know something's up." Tsubaki pressed.

"We'll just Henge into a pair of unknown civilians and pray they don't have a Hyuuga on their roster." I reply simply.

"I don't think Fujin and Raijin know the Henge, Mizuki." Tsubaki pointed out and I glanced back over my shoulder at where the Legendary Stupid Brothers were barreling through the woods without a care in the world.

"Hey Big Bro! Why doesn't chicken have a "meat name", like cattle have beef and pigs have pork?"

"Foolish Little Bro! Chicken can be called poultry. It comes from the word "polt," which is similar to "pelt," but for feathers instead of fur. You see, chickens used to be hunted for their polts, until we domesticated them. After that, we hunted ducks, geese, and fowl for their polts, and we stopped calling chicken poultry."

"Oh Big Bro, you're so smart!"

"Hahaha! Of course I am!"

"Yeah… something tells me those two aren't experts in ninjutsu… or even capable…" I concede, turning back to face Tsubaki with a small shrug.

"We could put a henge on ourselves, make us appear like prison guards escorting two dangerous prisoners?"

"Escorting them away from prison?"

"Eh, we could make it work, I think. We'll just claim that we extradited them to an outside prison. Somewhere in the Land of Stone, make our problems theirs. That would please any Konoha nin's sensibilities."

"A prison in the Land of Stone? Why would they fall for that?"

"Tell me, Tsubaki. Have you ever been in an Iwa prison?"

"… what?"

---

And so we kept dashing through the woodlands that covered the northern part of the Land of Fire in a thick blanket of green. Somewhat ironically, considering its name, though as Tsubaki told it, it used to be much more inhospitable way back in ancient times, truly earning the name before the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju covered in luscious green in order to create a home for his new people.

Apparently the active caldera that housed my former prison was something of a relic of those bygone days before the First Hokage's little landscaping project. Occasionally the woods thinned out to give way to vast fields and the occasional quilted look of connected farmlands, but with the speeds we were travelling at, I decided not to harass any further villagers. I wanted to hit the border with Waterfall as soon as possible, where I hoped we'd be able to live off the land, at least long enough to satisfy the Brothers' needs for a bit.

To both my relief and surprise, we actually made it to Waterfall without any further issues, seeing neither hide nor hair of any pursuing Konoha shinobi, hitting the dense treeline a couple dozen miles to the east of where the Land of Fire bordered the Land of Grass.

Of course, it was almost immediately afterwards that my earlier words were put to the test.

A twinge of danger, like a spark of electricity dancing across the nape of my neck, had me snap out an arm in front of Tsubaki, halting her in her steps while below the Brothers skidded to a messy stop, reflexes faster than their size would suggest. Not even a second later, a brace of shuriken embedded themselves in the branch that Tsubaki and I would've leapt to. Instead we split up, alighting on a higher branch as we scan our surroundings.

"Ho! Who goes there in such a hurry!" the call came a bit later, the voice echoing oddly somewhere in front of us, clearly being projected.

Tusbaki shot me a concerned look as I slowly straightened from my crouch, eyes scanning the surrounding tree tops.

"Ho there! Who goes there throwing shuriken at random passerby's?" I called back instead.

That got me a laugh that rang out beyond the tree trunks.

"Trust me, I don't make it a habit of attacking random passerby's at all! But then again, you hardly qualify, don't you?" The voice trails off and this time my danger senses kick in a fraction too late, a kunai thunking dully into the bark behind me, burying itself all the way up to its hilt.

A trickle of warmth seeping from my cheek shows I tilted my head just a tad too late. Or just in time, considering that'd split my skull like an overripe watermelon with ease.

"Main road's about twenty miles west of here. So I ask again, who are you and what is your business in the Land of Waterfalls? I see no headbands. Thieves then, or outlaws perhaps?" the unseen voice pressed.

"We have no business in the Land of Waterfalls, our business lies beyond your borders!"

"Then why travel here?"

"We hail from Konoha, we hoped to find hospitable passage through your lands!"

"Konoha, eh? Can't say that really works in your favour, stranger. I hold no love for those tree huggers." The voice responded with a dark chuckle.

'Well, that's rich coming from a guy literally hiding in the leaves right now. Konoha should sue your ass for copyright infringement.'

"Are you no ally to them then?" I try carefully, startled when a figure suddenly appears mere meters away from me, crouched low on an extended tree branch.

Even hunched over it's clear he's tall and lean, with a good deal of muscle on him. A goatee covers his chin and his eyes are darkly outlined. His most striking feature however is his long spikey hair that's held back by a tan-yellow bandana.

'Wait, why do you look familiar?'

"You could say something like that. Your name, cagey stranger. I'd know just who I'm dealing with before I bury them underneath the tree roots of my rightful home. It's a manner of professional pride, you see." The man said, sinister smile still on his face as he locked dark eyes with me.

"Of course. Mizuki. Oniyuri Mizuki. Might I have your name as well, stranger? Considering we're exchanging professional pleasantries anyway?" I try to stall, back flat against the tree behind me, Tsubaki likewise utterly still in her own tree, the sheer threatening aura of the man in front of us giving us pause.

Despite being outnumbered, I know, absolutely, definitely know that the man in front of us will kill us both without even breaking a sweat. Still, for now my little comment has bought us some time at least as the large Taki nin lets out a barking laugh, straightening from his crouch, posture at ease.

"You know what, just for laughs, sure."

Then he juts out a thumb at his chest, grin widening, eyes glittering with the promise of violence.

"Name's Suien. Former tutor to Takigakure's Village Head. Future ruler of Takigakure itself. Soon-to-be killer of one Oniyuri Mizuki." He trails off with a dark chuckle.

"That about settles your curiosity?" he mockingly asks and all I can do is sweatdrop as the other filler villain reveals his identity.

'Ah… crap.'

---

Fun Fact: Literally translated, the prison warden's name Iwakura Toji can mean Rock Storehouse Administrator. However, depending on how you interpret the kanji, it can also mean lavatory. It seemed fitting for a prison warden. The Rock Storehouse bit, not the lavatory bit. Though I guess the inmates might disagree.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 1.1​

​

---

Whatever gods exist in this strange world (and judging by how the most powerful Uchiha techniques are all named after the immediate family of the freaking sun, there's a good chance there's more than a few) I'm pretty sure they're all laughing at me right now.

Here's a filler villain trying to break the mold, so of course his first real challenge in the free world… is facing another filler villain.

I could already tell this fight with Suien would be a completely different beast from my furious exchange with Genda back on the prison watchtower. Genda and I (or Mizuki rather) were both chūnin, meaning seasoned ninja that could give any (non-plot relevant) genin team a run for their money.

But what genin were to us, we were to jōnin. The first real villains that Naruto faced (if you discounted myself and perhaps Tora the cat) were the Demon Brothers from Kirigakure. Even though they were both capable chūnin, renowned enough to be recognized on sight, Kakashi had still been able to take both of them out in a literal blink of an eye.

Alright, fair enough, their combat IQ (or even regular IQ) couldn't have been too high considering how easily they fell for the Replacement Technique, but still, I figure even the brothers would be a tough fight for me, let alone someone who could've taken them out in seconds.

And Suien by all accounts was on Kakashi's level even before the took the Hero Water. Taki was renowned, not just for being the only Minor Village with a Tailed Beast or because of their Hero Water, but also for producing rare but notably more powerful jōnin. Quality over quantity, with pre-undead Kakazu standing as their most infamous pinnacle.

The Legendary Stupid Brothers were an equalizer, sure, considering they had been strong enough to defeat both Asuma and Kurenai (no idea how though, since the filler arc hadn't shown the fight, just as it hadn't really shown anything about how I originally escaped), but did I trust them enough when our opponent had the home field advantage?

Not to mention I remember Suien having his own back-up, though I can't really recall how many or what they looked like, or even if he'd already gathered them by this point in the timeline. Considering how he was hiding out in the most remote end of the Land of Waterfalls, I wasn't counting on it, but I also wasn't brave enough to bet against it.

No, fighting wasn't an option-

"Mizuki!"

'God dammit man, I just said fighting isn't an option! Get with the program!'

Tsubaki's shout kept me from being gored before the fight had even properly started, Suien going from relaxed to suddenly exploding into motion so fast, it cracked the bark underneath him. It felt like the world was on pause for just a second and then he was just… there, right in my face, kunai in hand. I didn't even have time to properly draw my own kunai from the pouch at my side, only able to bring it up halfway to my stomach to catch the tip of Suien's own knife.

The impact was horrendous, the screeching of metal on metal even more so, but I managed to use the sudden force to my advantage, allowing it to push me back and carry me further, twisting to roll with the blow and allowing the tall Taki ninja to blur past me. He pivoted even as he passed me, landing with both feet on the trunk at my back, pushing off to immediately chase me again.

His face was expressionless, save a small smirk as amusement danced in his dark eyes. Clearly, he was simply enjoying himself. I obviously wasn't.

Seeing as I couldn't match him in speed and my back-up was still several meters below, I didn't try to move away from the approaching jōnin. Instead I allowed myself to fall backwards, the chakra at the soles of my feet almost slipping as gravity pulled me down, swinging me around until I stood upside down on the tree branch, Suien's leading kick cutting through empty air just a millisecond after.

It wouldn't buy me much time, so taking a page from the Taki nin's own book, I pulled in my legs and immediately shot off, pulsing the chakra at my feet to rocket me forwards, stripping the bark as I vaulted downwards, towards the Brothers who I could see were trying to close in on us with great bounding leaps.

"We don't have to do this!" I shouted as I fell towards the forest floor.

"You should've thought of that before you entered my lands!"

"Why even bother with patrol duty for the Village you left?! You're a missing nin yourself, these aren't your lands anymore!"

"They were once! They shall be again!"

The shout came from my left, but on instinct I twisted to my right instead, catching Suien's next strike on the flat of my kunai. I couldn't keep this up: not only was my hand getting strained from maintaining a death grip on the handle, I could see metal sheering away from the sparking impact point. A few more hits like that and I wouldn't have much of a kunai left.

Even blocked (barely at that), Suien's impact was enough to change my trajectory from downwards to sideways, taking us away from the leaping Brothers and slamming my back into a nearby tree trunk. Air was forcefully expelled from my lungs in a painful gasp. There were no branches to stand on, so Suien stood horizontally over me, feet planted flat on the tree besides my shoulders, pushing 'downwards' as he forced our kunai closer and closer to my chest.

"More to the point, I can't have everyone just wandering through my neck of the woods can I? I like this place deserted and I won't have you weaklings report my position back to those weak-willed tree huggers." Suien explained with a grin as below the Brothers landed heavily on the forest floor.

Weather he meant Konoha or Taki by that I didn't know and didn't care.

'No wonder that old geezer told us this place hardly sees any people, this psychopath must scare off any who come knocking.'

"We're not with them!" I manage to hiss out through gritted teeth, trying to push the kunai away from me.

"That still leaves you with knowledge of my hide-out." Suien refuted.

'Moron, we haven't seen anything of your hide-out, it's nothing but fucking trees in every direction!'

"We won't tell anyone!"

"Oh, I'm quite certain of that." Suien chuckled, upping the pressure.

'Crap… I can't… hold it…' sweat poured down my face as the interlocked knives inched more and more downwards.

"Watch out Boss!"

Alerted by the shout, Suien leaps away from me, backflipping in mid-air and alighting on a higher branch. The second he moves away from me, I spot what prompted his escape, an entire small tree (roots and all) shooting towards me like an overgrown javelin.

'Holy shit, I'm traveling with a murderous version of Obelix. Two of 'em!'

Before I can move from my prone spot up against the tree trunk, a slim hand grabs my shoulder in a firm grip and yanks me away in a blurred tunnel of motion, the world briefly being overtaken by stretching lines of green and brown, before with a sudden displacement of air, I'm standing on another branch a dozen meters away, Tsubaki panting at my side.

Below, the airborne tree slams into its taller brother with an explosion of wooden splinters and a thunderous cracking noise that rings throughout the forest.

Across from Tsubaki and I, Suien looks down at the large brothers below with an appraising look, clearly re-evaluating how much effort this little bit of fun will cost him.

"You ok, Boss? Did we squish ya?!" Fujin calls up to us.

"I'm fine, Fujin, Raijin! However, I think a lot of people heard that crash." I call out, deliberately locking eyes with Suien as I mention that last bit and I can see him scowl.

"Oh right. Does that mean we should stop throwing trees Boss?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. Depends."

"Uhhh… depends on what, Boss?"

Instead of answering, I simply tilt my chin at Suien.

"I told you already, we won't tell anyone you're here. But if you're willing, we can talk. Work something out."

Slowly, Suien looks from me, to the shattered tree, to the brothers down below, working his jaw in thought before he glances back at me, as if seeing me in a new light.

"What's there to talk about? What, a bunch of weakling missing-nin like yourselves, you're looking to become my crew or something?"

'With the way he phrased that, it confirms my suspicion that he hasn't yet gotten his gang together. I think I got it!'

My voice remains steady even as a plan begins to take shape.

"Crew. Partnership. Whichever you find more appealing. In any case, an exchange of services. Something that benefits us both."

Suien leans back against the trunk of his tree as I talk, scoffing out loud.

"Benefits us both? Impossible. In this world, for someone to gain something, someone else must lose something." He refutes, clearly not really warming up to the idea of working alongside someone, but still listening at least, so I'm counting it as a win.

"Never said someone else couldn't lose, as long as we win." I shoot back.

Suien stills at that, not yet convinced but at least intrigued.

"Keep talking."

"I can give you something that's as strong as the Hero Water, but that doesn't come with a cost to your lifespan."

Suien's eyes widen as he pushes off from his tree trunk.

"… I'm listening."

'Ha! Gottem.'

Returning my battered kunai to my pouch, I raise both my arms, before pulling up the sleeve covering my right arm, prominently displaying the skull-themed tattoo.

"This is advanced seal-work, containing a special formula, both of them crafted by Orochimaru of the Sannin."

That sends a jolt down Suien's spine, the tall Taki ninja straightening as he appraises our little group.

"Orochimaru, eh? I can see I am not dealing with just any ordinary Konoha traitor scum." He says, sounding slightly impressed before he scowls.

"If this is some sort of recruitment drive, then run back to your master and tell him I'm not interested. He can build up his Village over in Rice Fields all he wants, I will claim Taki for myself as my rightful prize."

'For a filler villain, you sure got some balls on you to insult a man like Orochimaru like that. I mean, sure the offer is fake, but still. Also, do you really think Orochimaru would send out an entire team out to the ass-end of the Land of Waterfalls just to recruit one guy? He's the type of mad scientist that considers razing an entire village to the ground as nothing more than a single data point.'

Still, Suien's overinflated ego could work to my advantage here, as long as I don't forget that (compared to me at least) he's got the power and the skills to back up that ego.

"We weren't heading towards Sound, we were on our way to meet an esteemed colleague of Orochimaru-sama. In order to reach him, we had to pass through Waterfall, and as we are no ally to Konoha or Taki, we thought it best to make our way along deserted paths. Of course we were aware of the former tutor to Taki's leader having called these parts his own and we are of no mind to challenge that claim. In fact, we may be able to provide aid in accomplishing that goal." I lie smoothly and Suien scowls at me.

"For what purpose? What does Orochimaru care for who rules Taki? Or does he wish to have me throw open the gates, only for him to stab me in the back perhaps? There's a lot a man like Orochimaru could accomplish with the Hero Water, not to mention having a Tailed Beast at his side."

'Interesting admission. And omission. So Fū is there, but he didn't mention anything about the Jiongu. It was mentioned that Kakuzu stole the secret techniques of his village, and considering they never again produced another ninja like him in almost a century…'

"I cannot say what Orochimaru's plans are. Very few, if any, are privy to the thoughts of a Sannin. But I can tell you that my master's hatred of the Leaf runs deep, as deep as your own grievances with your former Village, I imagine. To deprive them of an ally, and indeed the power of a Jinchūriki, would be a great boon to him indeed. Enough to provide aid to those would utilize it best."

In other words, Orochimaru doesn't care who wins here, just that Konoha ends up losing. Though Suien was probably right, Orochimaru would just end up betraying him after everything's said and done.

If Orochimaru was even remotely aware of the conversation we were having, that is.

"You're still biding your time to attack the Village, aren't you? The Jinchūriki is still there. No matter how she's treated, she will still rise to protect her village. If not them, then her leader at least. Once she's out of the picture, participating in the next Chūnin Exams perhaps? Then your rise to leader of Taki is unopposed. You know the current leader of the village is no threat. Too cowardly to put his life on the line and take the Hero Water for himself. Even if he were to do so, the increase to his chakra capacity means nothing without the skills to back it up, skills which you already possess in a far greater degree. You taught him, after all." I keep talking, targeting Suien's ego and pride as Naruto's wonky timeline starts to make a little bit more sense.

"Hmm… what a clever little traitor you are, Oniyuri Mizuki. But so far, I've only heard you describe obstacles, obstacles which I am already aware of. All you've shown so far is that seal on your arm. Is that your offer to me? Do you want me to take your arm? In thanks, I'll make sure the cut is clean." Suien 'offers' with a drawl as he slowly fishes out a fresh kunai from his equipment pouch.

"The seal simply contains a formula for an elixir that, if perfected, grants power equal to the increase provided by the Hero Water. You'll be stronger, faster and have increased chakra, without physical drawbacks. If! Only if it's perfected." I hurriedly explain, warily eyeing the knife in the other man's hand.

"… I take it now comes the reason you haven unsealed the formula yet and made the elixir for yourself."

"Indeed. This is the part where I require your aid, Suien. The elixir this formula creates is unfinished. As it stands now, consuming it would give you all of the benefits of the Hero Water, but it will burn you up as well, likely to an even worse degree. I lack the medical and scientific knowledge needed to further advance the formula, nor do I have access to the ingredients required to craft it, all of which is documented within the seal work. However, Orochimaru's colleague does possess these means. It's him I wish to reach. When he unlocks the secrets of this seal and perfects this elixir, I will share it freely with you. With that increase in power, and our combined aid, not even the Jinchūriki would stand between you and the Hero Water. With both, all of Taki, their Tailed Beast included, would have no choice but to bow down before you." I promise and I can feel Tsubaki stiffen at my side, her hand slipping into my own and giving a slight squeeze.

Suien is still considering my words, glancing at his surroundings as if to take in what used to be his homelands. Still the image I planted in his head, of him standing tall over a kneeling Taki, is too tantalizing to pass up. Besides, it's not as if he has any better alternatives right now. In canon, he was likely waiting for Fū to leave the Village before making his own coup attempt. It would've been successful too, considering how much more powerful he was compared to the rest of the villagers. He just had the shit luck of being a filler villain who had the misfortune of running into both the protagonist and the antagonist of our world at the same time.

Poor guy never stood a chance.

"So, I help you unlock that seal on your arm, I get a boost to my power and back-up? What's the catch? What does this 'colleague' of the Sannin get?"

"Like I said: as long as we benefit, who cares if someone else loses?" I reply easily, getting a dark chuckle from the tall Taki ninja.

"My, my, aren't you the little snake?" he challenges, but I can tell his stance is more relaxed now.

Apparently, despite his filler status and overinflated ego, Suien's still genre savvy enough to realize that team-ups between villains inevitably end in betrayal. Now that I've shown my hand early, the threat of me betraying him have gone down.

Or so he thinks, at least.

The silence stretches on as Suien is weighing his options, before his dark eyes lock with mine.

"This… colleague of Orochimaru's. You say you can find him?"

"I have a… rough idea, yes."

"In that case, lead the way."

---

I was somewhat surprised that Suien didn't need to return to his base for supplies, but the Taki traitor merely shrugged at my question as we continued flitting from tree to tree.

"A jōnin of my caliber can survive off the land for as long as needed. Whether the same can be said of you and your little… underlings, well, quite frankly that's not my problem." He said dismissively, casting a glance towards the Legendary Stupid Brothers who were trundling along several meters below us, sticking to the thicker branches and tree trunks.

Despite their unwieldy gait and Suien's dismissive attitude towards them, both Fujin and Raijin were easily keeping pace with us.

'Perhaps. But I'm betting when those two become too hungry, it very quickly will become your problem…' I think darkly, though taking care to not let it show on my face.

With Suien's guidance, our trip towards where the Land of Stone presses down on the Land of Waterfalls from the north is a matter of mere days. Before hitting the actual border though, we turn east, crossing into the Land of Grass instead. Suien shows his knowledge of the lay of the land as well as his greater experience in being a missing nin, as he pulls back far further from the border than I had initially intended, considering I'd need the landmarks to orient myself.

"Iwa likes to swing out their patrols wide. Not enough to provoke, just enough to prod. They have some annoyingly good sensor nin as well. Some of their Earth jutsu have developed specifically to feel for vibrations in the trees." Suien explains with a scowl as we stick to the heartland of the country that he knows so well.

While the Land of Waterfalls resembles the massive forests and woodlands surrounding Konoha, the Land of Grass definitely feels more… otherworldly. Strangely, despite waking up on a prison island in the middle of an active caldera, it's the wide steppes of Grass with its strange forests that truly drives home that I'm on a different world entirely. The stretched out bamboo forests feel suitably eastern, interspersed as it is by deep ravines and winding, slow-running rivers.

So far, it's the perfect setting for a wuxia fic or something.

But nothing prepared me for the mushrooms. Some of them grew to ridiculous sizes in thick clumps that blotted out the sun. They even gave Tsubaki pause when Suien first led us from a bamboo thicket through the towering stalks, though if the Taki nin was phased at all, he didn't show it, not a pause in his stride.

The Legendary Brothers did come to a halt, though for a different reason than Tsubaki and I.

"Brother, look!"

"I see it, Brother!"

"Food!""Food!"

After quickly checking with Suien on whether or not the ginormous mushrooms were of the poisonous variety ("They aren't, though I doubt that would stop them. Part of me doubts it'd actually be able to even kill them.") I decided to call for a small stop to render and sauté some of the man-sized stalks to keep the Brothers' hunger at bay, for now at least.

Suien seemed to want to press on, but when their stomachs rumbled loudly enough it scared off some nearby birds from their perches, he sighed and gave the signal to make camp.

He didn't actually lift a finger to chop down one of the mushrooms though, simply napping away as we did all the work.

Prick.

Thankfully, with the way the Brothers could practically inhale food, the stop didn't take too long and before the powerful jōnin could become restless, we were on our way again, keeping the border to Iwa to our far right. As wide open fields and bamboo groves gave way to thicker forests and deepened ravines, I hoped it wouldn't take long before we came across the foothills of Mount Shumisen, the terrain definitely feeling more and more… 'Iwa'-like as we crossed the many miles.

It was after two days travel (where thankfully, we started to notice a distinct, if far off, bump in the horizon, as we were following an ever deepening ravine, that we came across a sight that made me freeze in my tracks, though this time all of my companions gave me strange looks.

"What's the matter Mizuki? It's just some rubble. The bridge must've been destroyed during the last war."

"It's just that… I never thought I'd see this bridge in person. So much happened here…" I say softly and it's Tsubaki that catches on.

"Wait, is this Kannabi Bridge? Where the supply lines for Iwa were finally crippled by the Fourth Hokage, taking them out of the war!"

"So what, the Yellow Flash fought here once? What does it matter now, the war is over and your Hokage is dead. Let's get a move on, we ain't all the way out in the ass-end of Grass just to go sight-see some ruins." Suien dismisses and I shoot him a disbelieving look.

'Right, I'm the only one here who realizes the significance of Obito's supposed death… I wonder if the cave Madara took him is nearby? No use looking for it though, Obito's probably fucking shit up for everyone over in Wave right now, meaning Madara himself is nothing but dusty bones for now. And who knows what kind of traps or surveillance systems Zetsu put in place there… better to not risk it. Still, need to remember this place for the future, just in case.'

I cast one last troubled look on the broken edges of the bridge, torn and buckled as they lean over the massive blocks of concrete and debris in the ravine below, a testament to one of the most damaging events this world has seen in the past century, even if nobody knew it. Knowledge like that is a heavy weight to carry by just yourself, so I shake my head and take to the trees, hot in pursuit of Suien's already diminishing form.

I got bigger worries right now. Especially about what the hell I'm going to say to Hiruko's doorman. One of three actually. Without alerting Suien to the fact that I lied directly to his face, and intend to offer him up on a silver platter to Hiruko if it's even mildly convenient for me because I have no connection to Orochimaru whatsoever, without alerting Hiruko to that little factoid as well.

'This is getting complicated. Maybe I should've just stuck to my cell and tried to get out on good behavior?' I think morosely to myself as somewhat behind and below me, I catch snippets of yet another 'discussion' between the Legendary Stupid Brothers.

"Hey Big Bro?"

"Yeah, Little Bro?"

"How do the people in black and white movies drive if they don't know if the lights are red or green?"

"Ha! Foolish Little Bro! It's a movie so there is a director off camera who waves at them when it's safe to go."

"Oh, that makes sense. You're so smart, Big Bro!"

"Haha, of course I am!"

'You know, considering the fact that I'm the supposed leader of this group, I can't help but feel slightly… kidnapped?'

---

If the gigantic mushrooms were otherworldly, then the towering stone stacks that gradually pushed out the surrounding forests were truly as if I had stepped onto an alien planet. They gradually rose in height, from taller than a man, to taller than a tree and then finally towering to hundreds of meters high like primordial skyscrapers.

But dwarfing them all was the massive pillar that was Mount Shumisen. No more just a blot on the horizon, once we entered what Suien identified as the Konrin Range between Grass and Stone we could clearly see the immense structure dominating its surroundings. It was as if you took Mount Everest, but only its absolute tallest part, roughly chopping away all surrounding ridges and peaks and mountain ranges until only a gargantuan monolith was left. Its true height was impossible to tell, with the way it led up straight into the mountains, as if even the sky itself was merely part of its foothills.

Even from a distance away, it was somewhat dizzying to look at.

"Mount Shumisen. Never would've taken it for a hide-out, much less for one of Orochimaru's allies, given how nobody's really interested in controlling this area. It's immediate surroundings are bare, some say even twisted and with the difficulty in making it through the surrounding stone pillars, nobody bothered moving armies through here during the last war, especially with the bridges that are available in much of Grass elsewhere. Well, until your Fourth took care of that little logistical opportunity, heh." Suien explained as we got our first good look at the mind-boggling mountain.

'If nobody had any interest in this place, then that would make it the perfect hide-out, you moron. Hell, that was your own reasoning in hiding out in the ass-end of Waterfall!' I glance from the towering mountain to the traitorous jōnin at my side, before remembering that the rarest kekkai genkai of all in this world seems to be plain common sense.

Such as the common sense to not say any of that out loud, instead merely offering a respectful nod at the Taki nin's words.

Just smile and wave, boys, smile and wave.

Somewhat surprisingly, as we drew nearer to the immense base of the tall mountain, the screen of towering stone pillars seemed to give way to a twisting forest behind them, with even the tree trunks winding and twisting as much as their branches, to the point simply running from tree to tree didn't cut it anymore, and we had to swing and duck through the gaps left between the grasping arms.

Or, in the case of the Brothers, simply crash straight through, reducing ancient trees to kindling and splinters.

Thick trees split off into winding branches which ended up in such a closely knit canopy, sunlight only made it through in dappled streaks, covering all of us in a dusky gloom, though as usual, Suien's only expression was a slightly condescending smirk on his face as he took in our surroundings.

Though said smirk was eventually replaced by a look of surprise as the claustrophobic forest abruptly opened up onto a large clearing. At the back of the clearing, the trees grew tight once again, closer than before in fact, to the point some of the tree trunks almost seemed to meld together, their large branches reaching out over their edge of the clearing as if sheltering…

"A gate? Here?" Suien asked aloud as we came to a stop on our side of the empty field, all of us (even the Brothers) not stepping out into the open out of instinct.

Beneath the boughs of the trees across from us stood a wide, black gate with golden decorations, all done up in a traditional style that made it look like the entrance to a historic temple or palace. The gate itself was massive and loomed before us like the mouth of some ancient beast, its towering double doors a deep, weathered gold that caught the dim light and seemed to swallow it whole. Two massive statues crouched at its base—stone guardians frozen mid-snarl, their claws poised as if ready to strike the moment I drew too near. The pillars rising on either side twisted upward in dark, coiling patterns, and beyond them, grim-faced warriors were carved into the walls, their eyes seeming to follow every step. Above, the roof stretched out with curling golden designs like storm clouds caught mid‑swirl, casting long shadows that made the entire entrance feel less like a doorway and more like a judgment.

"Gates usually mean guardians. So where-"

Before I can finish my sentence, a voice best described as 'oily' rings out across the clearing.

"You can come out know, you know! I don't mind razing the entirety of this forest to the ground with you in it, but it's such a hassle to be honest."

Three blurs descend in front of the three wooden double-doors, landing at the steps leading up to the large gate. Though when they straighten, the response of my group is rather… mixed.

"Hey, just a quick question… this Sannin master of yours, does he also require… BDSM gears as uniforms?" Suien haltingly asks me, expression torn between disgusted and morbidly intrigued.

"I want to say no…"

"But?"

"… well, the Sannin are known for their varied tastes…"

"Oh for fucks sake."

Below us, I could hear Raijin whisper to Fujin, though due to their size, they were still clearly heard by all.

"Hey Big Bro… I've never seen a person seen wear that many belts at the same time…"

"Probably because they're so skinny. Belts are thing only worn by thin people after all, and these guys look really thin."

"Even the girl? She doesn't look skinny. …she doesn't look very skinny at all."

"… ask me when your older than me."

Indeed, the choice of outfit for Hiruko's three henchmen was… striking to say the least, consisting of a pair of twins and a woman, all clad in an assortment of belts and suspiciously shiny leather. Even the woman.

"For shame." Tsubaki hissed in an affronted tone besides me, staring at the enemy kunoichi with a scandalous look, tinged with self-conscious envy.

"Well Mizuki, time to come through on all those honeyed words of yours. Let's see you convince them to unlock the power of that tattoo of yours."

Suddenly I feel a tight grip on the back of my shirt.

"Wait-!"

"C'mon, you can do it! I believe in you! Or well, supposedly someone does…"

And suddenly the world is a blur and the grass of the clearing is coming very close now…

"Oof!"

The following silence is almost as loud as my crash was as both parties simply stare at where I'm lying face-down in the grass, a small cloud of dust rising up from my impact crater. Slowly, I raise my dirt-stained head, glancing up at the surprised look of Ichi, Ni and San.

'Greetings, have you heard about our Lord and Savior, the Child of Prophecy?'

"Ahem… Is Hiruko at home? I have something of a business proposal…"

---

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

Fun Fact: The translation for the henchmen's name simply translates to One, Two and Three.

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 1.2
​

---

It probably wasn't every day that the henchmen of Hiruko were faced with visitors, given the remote location of Mount Shumisen, let alone a bunch of them at once.

Especially when one of said visitors suddenly gets thrown face first at their feet.

'Fuck you Suien, I'm definitely gonna recommend you as a test subject to Hiruko now! I mean, I was already planning on betraying you, but now I'm definitely gonna betray you!'

I spat some dirt from my mouth as I rose from my crater as the Ichi and San brothers shared a confused look.

'Hey, don't act like I'm the weirdo here, just take a look at yourselves!'

Standing between them, Ni (perhaps another sibling? Perhaps a prostitute they picked up somewhere?) gives me an appraising look, before haughtily dismissing me with a chuckle.

"Oh please, what could someone like you possibly have to offer to our great Hiruko-sama?"

"More to the point, how are you aware of Hiruko-sama's name and hide-out?" Ichi chimed in.

"Well, I'm an agent of Orochimaru… and I'm an agent of Orochimaru."

Their reaction is rather similar to Suien's, a clear jerk going down their back (which in the case of Ni, does… interesting things to her front) just at the mention of the infamous name. Clearly, the Snake Sannin has built quite the reputation for himself.

… which probably means he won't be happy should he learn I've been using it to open doors for myself.

Oh well, it was partially his fault I woke up behind locked doors in the first place, this is just him paying off his debt to me, even if he doesn't know it.

"It has been… some time, since Hiruko-sama has heard any word from Orochimaru of the Sannin. Apparently his little state-building project over in the Land of Rice Fields has cut into his research time. A shame, Hiruko-sama was eager to learn how Orochimaru-sama managed to mimic the Chimera Technique for his own Casualty Puppet Technique." Ichi spoke up, likely the henchman with the closest connection to my former boss, considering his own snake motif.

'I wouldn't exactly call establishing an entire Hidden Village based on human sacrifice and mad experimentation with the sole goal of razing your former home to the ground a 'little project', but I guess that's just the chūnin in me talking.'

Again, I made grateful use of my own rare kekkai genkai, Common Sense no Jutsu, and decided not to voice my thoughts aloud. Instead, I merely politely bowed at the three weirdly clad henchmen. Fashion-sense (or lack thereof) aside, I did remember how these three were supposed to have significantly high chakra reserves, with some, quite frankly, ridiculous transformations and techniques hidden up their sleeves.

… where applicable, of course.

Sure, they got taken out by the combined efforts of the Rookie Twelve, so one might think that they could hardly be considered true jōnin-level material if they couldn't even handle a couple of snotty chūnin brats. But these were named chūnin brats, with access to the Plot Relevance no Jutsu, and no mere filler henchman could ever hope to survive against such an unbeatable technique.

At least not in the third act. You're fine in the first two acts as you take 'em by surprise… right up until Naruto bows his head and clenches his fist, then you know you're cooked.

You see a flashback swing? Run.

Since I didn't have access to said fabled technique, I had no other option than to swallow my pride as I appealed to their ego. Which was actually a pretty easy thing to do, considering it was practically non-existent where my survival was involved, so my pride went down easy.

Zero calories too.

"Indeed, guardians of Shumisen! I bring news of Orochimaru to your revered master, Hiruko-sama of the Chimera Technique!"

"What news necessitates sending some weak errand boy halfway across the continent to deliver it in person?" Ni scoffs, though San leers at me with creepy, unblinking eyes.

'Dude… snakes are supposed to be your brother's animal motif. You bulge your eyes out any further and I sorta expect you to extend a slimy tongue to lick them like a gecko. Ugh, I did not want that image in my head, this is worse than genjutsu!'

"Perhaps… the person is the news? Has Orochimaru sent you as a… subject for Hiruko-sama's own experiments? A peace offering, of sorts?"

"Uhm… almost, revered guardian. It's not so much my person as what has been inscribed on my person that might be of interest to Hiruko-sama." I quickly backpedal, lifting up my sleeve to show the dark tattoo on my underarm.

Ichi scratches his weirdly long face, glancing from the tattoo to me and then to his fellow henchmen.

"If that's the case, why not just take the arm and send it by ninja mail?"

"We could just cut off the arm now and take it up the mountain with us?"

"Ha! See, Mizuki, offering to cut off your arm when we first met totally was a perfectly normal response!"

"Nothing about what you just said is even remotely normal!"

Turning my back on my comrades(?) still hidden in the tree line, I cough before glancing at the surprised looking leather-clad cronies of Hiruko, my face once again a mask of professionalism.

"Ah, you see, I have reason to believe that it is integral to the seal work that I remain alive for it to function properly." I rush to explain, barely keeping a nervous twang from my voice.

'Damn these stupid strong jōnin and their stupid jōnin "logic"!'

"Yes, I imagine you would have reason to believe that." Ni smirks, but at least the bloodlust coming off the henchmen diminishes somewhat, allowing me to breathe properly again.

"We know seals can have… disastrous effects when tampered with, especially the works of one as skilled as a Sannin. We'll let you keep your arm and your life for now, subject of Orochimaru-sama, as a grace from our master to yours. We grant you passage through the gates of Mount Shumisen." Ichi intoned gravely, his twin seamlessly continuing.

"Pass through the gates, we shall announce you to Hiruko-sama. Whether or not he's willing to listen to you, or decides to smite you where you stand, that is his decision and his right."

"Right. Of course." I reply, trying not to be weirded out by the strange, lanky twins (and only partially succeeding).

Turning around towards the ancient trees at my back, I give a signal and immediately Tsubaki appears at my side, glaring kunai towards the smug looking Ni. The Brothers follow more slowly and clumsily, clearly not entirely sure about what's going on and equally unsure whether or not they even cared.

Then there's a gathering of chakra close to my right, which suddenly wells up in a spray of bright, icy cold water, Suien suddenly appearing at my side, having used some Water version of the Body Flicker Technique.

Which incidentally has soaked me to the bone, as if he were Truck-kun happily barreling down a flooded road and me an innocent pedestrian caught in the crossfire.

'Gonna betray you, so, so hard…'

Thankfully, my anger keeps me warm and dry, on the inside at least.

With the guardians of the gates now on our side (or at least not an immediate threat anymore) we pass through the first gate of Mount Shumisen…

"What the-?"

Only to discover that the rest of the surrounding landscape is as weird and nonsensical as the immense mountain itself. Glancing over my shoulder, I just catch a glimpse of the dense, ancient-feeling woodlands at our backs, before the black doors of the first gate slam shut behind us.

In front of us however, is a massive cliff face, marred by jutting rocks and deep gorges, the landscape almost going entirely vertical with little warning. It spreads out to the sides and outwards, like a massive curtain of rough-hewn stone and the path directly in front of us (little more than a goat's trail through the mountains), goes pretty much straight up. The cliff face is tall enough it should've easily been visible even behind the thick canopy of the ancient forest we had just passed through, and yet, nothing.

"This place is beginning to creep me out man." Suien grumbled as our group took in our sudden new surroundings.

"Why, thank you." Ni says with a beaming smile (which gets her a glower from Tsubaki, causing the grin to just grow wider).

We had to alight the path by ninja hopping from jutting boulder to boulder, making our way up at a decent pace. Despite our ninja agility (which the Brothers substituted by taking turns yeeting each other up the mountain side in a move that by their standards was practically sheer genius), it took a surprising amount of time before we suddenly came across a flat, tiled expanse. A courtyard stretching itself out before yet another gate, this one consisting of only two doors wedged between the walls of a narrowing mountain passage, though the doors themselves were immensely tall and richly decorated, as were the walls to either side.
The gate was enormous, made from weathered dark-green metal and dominated by a faded golden chrysanthemum at its centre. Pale clouds and blue waves decorated the frame, while carved bamboo and animal heads jutted from the reddish stone on either side.

Above it all, a great stone dragon coiled across the top of the gate, glaring down over a spread-winged peacock carved beneath it. The whole thing looked ancient, far older than anything I'd seen since my escape from Konoha. Which was kinda crazy to think about, considering it wasn't that long ago that Hiruko made this mountain his base. I think. I would assume, considering I doubted he came up with his ascension ritual that necessitated this particular mountaintop straight out of the gate when he was chased out of Konoha some twenty years ago or so.

Then again, this is the Naruto world. Chronology (and villain motivations) don't really feel like they need to make a whole lot of sense most of the time.

The narrow ravine makes for a perfect choke point and thus also makes most of my group uncomfortable (with the exception of the Legendary Stupid Brothers, of course, as Raijin simply tries to pet a carved stone horse head) as the large gate opens up to a winding mountain path that hugs the side of the ever rising Mount Shumisen. We're surrounded not so much by foothills, but an ever increasing expanse of towering stone spires, thin and spindly like a bed of needles surrounding a central pillar.

Moving up the mountain path is steady going, as we don't have to scale a sheer cliff face like before, though we all do a double-take when the sides of the path are swiftly overrun with giant twisting cacti. Even the brothers take note now, though mostly because one of them tried to take a bite out of one and spent the next twenty minutes muttering and whining as he and his brother carefully extracted the massive needles from his mouth and lips.

Ichi's gate was different again, built more like a small pagoda with three curved roofs stacked above the entrance. Gold lined their edges and curled into dragons at the corners, with a flame-shaped crest rising from the top. The entrance beneath was framed in pale stone carved to resemble fire, surrounding a pair of heavy black doors. Another golden emblem sat at their centre, this one showing a downward-facing peacock surrounded by swirling flames.

More and more I doubted that Hiruko had built this entire ornate set-up himself, especially given how little henchmen he employed, suspicions which were confirmed when Ichi led us through the sparsely decorate gatehouse to the truly alien-like landscape beyond.

Even though we had been steadily moving upwards for the better part of the morning and well into midday, the road ahead still sloped upwards as we passed through an ever thinning cloud layer, which settled in like a big blanket of fog draped over the shoulders of the immense mountain. Even so, we could see the very top of Mount Shumisen as it finally stopped rising ever upwards above us, a darkened shadow in the far distance, the mountaintop oddly broad and expansive. It was as if a hill had been put on top of a mountain for good measure.

The land itself was strange though, as if torn apart in curved, almost molten shelves. Their undersides were filled with stalactites, though it looked more like slag that had dripped down and solidified, as if the entire mountain had been turned upside down like a candlestick and dipped into a pool of lava for just a moment.

Hell, with all the jutsu in this world, that might even be true.

Signs that, whatever had shaped this drastically altered landscape hadn't been natural could be spotted in the distance off to the side of the path that we were on, which led straight to the final gate at the base of the utmost tip of the mountain.

"Are those… villages?" Tsubaki wondered aloud, pointing towards a distant set of structures, almost looking like flats and apartment buildings.

If they had been taken straight from a Godzilla set-piece, that is.

"Hmm, they were. Once. A peaceful people by all accounts, focusing on meditation and enlightenment, choosing to live far above the foils and follies of the mortal world. It's why they chose this mountain, for its potent role in certain rituals, more ancient than any jutsu formula since the age of the Sage of the Six Paths." Ichi, the calmer of the twins, explained, following Tsubaki's look.

"What happened to them?" she hesitantly asked, though I think we all suspected the answer, which came from Ichi's brother, San.

"Well, Hiruko-sama had quite the same idea for Mount Shumisen's potential. The community here disagreed. Briefly." He explained, smile stretching oddly wide over his pallid, long face.

"That's… that's horrible." Tsubaki couldn't help but react, which caused an eye roll from Suien and grumblings from the leather-clad henchmen (the Brothers were still occupied with picking needles from Fujin's tongue).

"Yes! Yes it is, just horrible that these people so selfishly denied Hiruko-sama a proper workspace. Who did they think they were, that they laid claim to an entire mountaintop, when they could've easily stepped aside so that Hiruko-sama could advance his great work!" I quickly intervene, stepping between a somewhat frightened looking Tsubaki and a (literally) hissing San.

The lanky man still didn't look pleased, but Ichi pulled him back as he kept walking.

"Come. Hiruko-sama awaits. You may yet lay eyes on his great work yourselves."

Ni and San followed their leader with some grumbling and narrowed-eyed looks over their shoulders, while Suien just shrugged and fell in with ease, followed by the Brothers, though Tsubaki clung close to me, grabbing me by the elbow.

"Mizuki…"

"I understand, Tsubaki. But we need that man if I'm to unlock the secrets of the formula on my arm without it killing me. Even if we didn't care about the potential of the formula, and given our missing-nin status, I don't think we can afford to, this Hiruko might be able to remove the tattoo completely, making him one of the very few people who actually can. Considering one of said people is Orochimaru himself, and you can see how that limits our options. I really don't want to walk around with a jutsu formula from the Snake Sannin himself tattooed on my body, do you? And since we can't exactly ask the man himself to undo his work for us…"

"… I see. Just… be safe."

"I'll try."

I pat the distraught woman on the arm as we fall in with the group, walking towards the final gate towards Hiruko's hide-out, scaling the oddly sloping earth ridges and dodging underneath half-molten outcroppings as we keep scaling the final part of the mountain, passing ruined buildings and crumbling walls along the path, these ones looking even more ancient than the gates we passed through.

'Forget being older than Hiruko, or even being older than Konoha itself; this place feels like a civilization that predated the Warring Clan Era itself. I'm kinda feeling like Indiana Jones right now! … Indy whenever he gets captured by Nazis, unfortunately…'

The reaching peaks looked especially foreboding in the low light, despite it being the middle of the day, the sun blocked out by darkened clouds above and with the surrounding cloud layer acting like a cold mist wrapping itself around every nook and cranny of our surroundings, hiding much of it from view and making the world feel oddly small despite how high up we were.

The final gate looked older and less ornate than the previous ones, mostly made up out of a blue metal, the doors covered in wave-patterns and circled by water dragons, though it was quickly forgotten when Ichi opened it, revealing a steep pathway that opened up into a grand if aged and damaged staircase leading up towards his master's base of operations.

Though that was selling it short. Medieval middle-eastern Kremlin palace would be more accurate.

The fortress rose out of the fog like a phantom, its pale stone gleaming even in our dim surroundings. A vast dome stood tall as its centrepiece, capped with a golden crest that caught what little light pierced the sky. Smaller domes flanked it on either side, each one shrouded in the same heavy mist, their shapes barely visible yet their size making them appear oddly solid. Along the outer walls off the massive palace complex, dragons of stone and gold arched and curled, locked in a still dance.

The approach was cold, silent, and ruined. Cracks ran along the walls like old scars, part of them carved by time, part of them by… whatever the fuck it was that Hiruko had pulled out of his bandaged ass to decimate the original population. At we silently ascended the ancient walkway, we saw that at the top of it yawned an archway like a dark mouth carved into the stone, outlined by rays of light etched into the walls above it, a sunburst frozen in time. The faint shimmer of gold traced the design, though much of it had faded with age, leaving behind the impression of a temple beaten down by time and tragedy.

Beyond the arch, doors taller than any man loomed, large enough to make even the Brothers look like mere children, their surface carved with curling golden patterns that spiralled and tangled like living flame. We came to a halt, the ancient doors sealed firmly shut as Ichi walked in front of us, sweeping out the lanky arm not covered by his half-poncho.

"Behold! The ancient abode and mighty stronghold of Hiruko-sama, Lord of the Chimera Technique! Soon to be the epicentre of his ascension towards being the ultimate, perfect being!"

Silently, my group looks from the lanky man towards the sprawling complex rising up high above us.

"… remind me again, how many people does Hiruko-sama employ?" Suien is the one to ask.

"While Hiruko can always find a use for many test subjects, we three are the only aides that he requires." San shoots back with arrogance.

"… kinda big for just the four of you, no?" the Taki nin replies in a lazy tone, smirk firmly in place.

"… Hiruko-sama values his personal space … a lot…" Ni shrugs, folding her arms underneath her chest, which would probably be enough by itself to send the likes of Jiraiya sailing straight off the mountain top towards the earth below, propelled by a rocketing nosebleed.

'… I hate that I'm actually contemplating the combat merits of Naruto's Sexy No Jutsu… what's worse is that it probably is a really effective jutsu, considering the logic this world runs on…'

"Clearly." Is all Suien responds, glancing from Ni to the lanky twins at her side (and somewhat to his credit, not oogling the definitely not-lanky twins on her chest).

The three henchmen bristle at Suien's tone, but before I can try to deescalate the situation, the gargantuan marble doors of the ancient temple slowly shift open, the sound of tonnes of rocks being moved unseen feeling oddly silent in the thick cloud cover.

"Ichi… Ni… San… I see that you have brought me… guests."

The voice is strange, wrong somehow, simultaneously sounding young and childish and rough and decrepit and it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on edge. It has quite the opposite effect on the henchmen however, who immediately prostrate themselves.

"Oh great Hiruko-sama! News from your old friend, Orochimaru of the Sannin!"

The doors widen slightly further, showing nothing but inky blackness infinitely stretching further back into the building. Slowly, a white-clad shape become more and more visible as it moves out of the shadows.

"Orochimaru? Now there's a name I haven't heard in a long time…"

It takes a surprisingly large amount of willpower for me to fight down the urge to tell him we aren't the underlings he's looking for. The threat of dismemberment on the spot helps of course. Though I also realize the reference would be completely lost on them as well.

But it's mostly the threat of dismemberment.

Hiruko fully steps into what little sun manages to pierce the thick veil of clouds above us, bandage-clad feet slapping against the dust-covered shattered tiles of the ruins he has claimed for his own dark purpose. He was white-haired with red eyes dressed in an over-sized, high-collared coat wrapped with three leather straps, mirroring the strange belt-obsessed theme of his henchmen. One at least went around his waist as normal, but the second went around his chest just under his armpits while the last wend around his neck, supporting the thick collar. Even with the strange cloak on, it was clear to see that most of his body was covered in bandages, including his mouth and arms, revealing only the upper half of his face and hair. The puffy jacket concealed it somewhat, but from his bony hands and feet it was clear to see he was emaciated.

Despite his goofy look, a chill went down my spine, a more visceral reaction of immediate dread even when I first faced Suien in the woods of Taki. It didn't even appear as if Hiruko was trying particularly hard to come across of menacing like Suien had been. This was just his natural aura pressing down on us. I felt like a mixture between prey just being spotted by a predator, or perhaps a bug being studied underneath a lens by a scientist.

Clinical and… hungry.

I couldn't tell you what felt worse.

"Tell me, what news of Orochimaru?" Hiruko's oddly young voice rasps out over the shattered flagstones.

"He has sent one of his underlings, a mere pathetic weakling." San hisses out gleefully, shooting me a smug look over his shoulder, but his bait isn't as effective as he hoped, considering compared to Hiruko's sheer power, I am indeed a weakling.

Besides, considering the Snake Sannin's reputation, it was probably a good thing to establish right off the bat that he hadn't sent me here as some powerful assassin, looking to kill Hiruko and steal all of his knowledge for Oto.

After all, I had sent myself here so I could steal all of Hiruko's knowledge for myself and anything to remove any suspicion around that fact from the mad scientist's mind was all good in my book.

"Oh? What use have I for a mere pawn?" Hiruko muses aloud, but I get the feeling it isn't really a question meant for me, so I remain quiet instead, allowing the henchmen to take the lead.

"He claims to have information from the Snake Sannin, my Lord, in the form of seal work embedded in his arm." Ichi, the calmer of the twins, explains clearly.

For a long, drawn out moment, silence presses down on the large courtyard, no sound penetrating the thick cloud clover as the mist swirls around us, clinging to us with wispy spindly fingers.

Hiruko slightly tilts his head to the side, his sheer white bangs shifting around his pallid face, his red pupilless eyes focused intently on me, pinning me to the floor. Due to the collar and bandages, I can't see the lower part of his face, so he takes me by surprise when he suddenly starts to speak-

"A seal on his arm? Then why did you not simply cut off the arm?"

"Ha! I fuckin' called it!"

"For fuck's sake Suien…"

---

Fun Fact: canonically speaking, Boruto is the first time a conversation between Sasuke and Hinata has been shown on-screen.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

​

STEP 1-3​

​

---

"I would hesitate to call anything crafted by one of the Sannin 'mediocre', save perhaps that… 'literature' Jiraiya has been peddling. However, the seal work in you tattoo, it is…"

"Garbage?" I offer, though Hiruko's unusual eyes glare out at me over the rim of his high collar, pinning me in place.

Even so, I'm mostly just grateful it's just his gaze pressing down on me, and not actual restraints like I've seen attached to many of the beds and surgical gurneys in this wing of the massive palace.

It has been several days since we first arrived at Hiruko's (ridiculously large) base of operations and signs of forceful capture and experimentation could be found lingering all over the massive complex, some more gruesome than others. This clinical feeling room was hardly the worst of it, even with its penetrating scent of antiseptic and embalming fluids somehow both overpowering and simultaneously incapable of masking the sheer quantity of blood that had seeped into the stone itself. The worst one had been the central room that Hiruko was preparing his ultimate ritual in, though of course my little ragtag group was barely afforded a peek at the desecrated sanctum, completely stripped bare save for the torture crosses surrounding its center.

Not all of the crosses had been empty…

Thankfully, after some time spent (tensely) waiting, I was eventually led to this wing of the palace where Hiruko seemed to prefer his less invasive experiments and just told to sit down in what almost looked like a medieval version of a dentist's chair as the chimera-man went over my outstretched arm with a critical eye.

"… not yet at the zenith of its potential." He flatly corrected me and I blinked at his choice of words.

'I guess that would make sense for a guy obsessed with stages of the moon to the point he trekked to the literal tallest point on the fucking continent just to look at it better…'

"What makes you say that?" I ask, genuinely curious.

Of course I knew from my past memories that the elixir that the original Mizuki managed to craft ended up literally burning his body until he resembled fried shrimp, but I sorely lacked the knowledge to understand how it was so damaging, when there are other mutations out there with greater power-ups and less severe drawbacks.

Well, most of those do come with a serious dose of mental instability (looking at you, Juugo), but then the original Mizuki had hardly needed to turn into his fursona for that little drawback to shine through, having managed just fine in that department all on his own.

"Because of the indirect application. This is more a recipe than a technique that alters the very flesh. Even from a glance, I can tell that the resultant concoction will alter your physicality, depending on potency, but it lacks the required components to sink that change into your very being. Something that is merely applied to you, instead of coming from within. Like donning a new set of clothes." Hiruko says dismissively.

'Not sure I count turning into an eight foot tall bipedal tiger as just swapping to a different shirt, but I get the picture.'

"As it stands, enforcing this change on your person will grant you an increase in strength, if only because your current flesh is so pathetically weak. However, as the change comes from a foreign stimulant, your body will be ill-equipped to handle the sudden additional strain and burn itself out. This concoction will kill you. Considering my friend's expertise with seal work, I am inclined to believe that such a rudimentary power-up was intentionally crippled. Something more fit for a mere underling. A disposable one." Hiruko trails off, his scratchy voice carrying the unmistakable edge of steel as he slowly glances my way through half-lidded eyes.

Despite his relaxed stance, I'm suddenly starkly reminded of the iron grip his spider-like fingers have on my arm. I didn't doubt for a moment that, if he wanted to, he could rip it straight out of the socket. I can't help but feel sweat bead on my forehead under the crazed chimera's cool gaze.

'Gotta stop him from poking anymore holes in my story, before he gets annoyed enough to start poking holes in me instead! Go forth, Bullshit no Jutsu!'

"To a man like Orochimaru-sama, one so close to achieving perfect immortality, all of us serve him with our very lives, as we are but mere mortals. I can find no fault with his thinking that I am ultimately disposable, as this is true for us all, for none can hope to stand as close to immortality as he does." I hurry to say, drawing on what I remember from the stitched man in front of me and his obsession with both his own immorality and the Sannin who had come closest to achieving it.

"Hmm…" Hiruko seems to consider my words for a moment, before letting my arm fall to my side.

"Soon, he shall have a challenger to that title. Very soon, indeed." He says arrogantly, and I quickly nod.

"Indeed, Hiruko-sama. Two immortals marching through the passing of the world itself. Both perfect beings. I can only guess, for I have seen the great Snake Sannin only from afar, but I can only imagine that he would be pleased with the thought of a perfect companion to face eternity with." I lay it on thick, but the strange man in front of me gobbles it up, as expected.

Thinking back to the movie, and the shown flashbacks, I had the very strong suspicion that Hiruko had never actually been friends with the Three Sannin. Acquainted enough for Tsunade and Jiraiya to remember him, sure, but at no point do they seem to regard him as a fallen friend, just an enemy that has come to trouble them once again. None of the flashbacks show any true familiarity as well, just a delirious and dying Hiruko imagining the Sannin smiling at him.

Hell, the only time they actually physically share the screen in a flashback, is where they come across his experiments and they look pretty horrified and ready to kill him on the spot.

… to be fair, that was Orochimaru's standard go-to solution pretty much at all time, as three war-torn orphans can attest to.

Something to file away for later use, but for now I'd play on that connection between Hiruko and Orochimaru for as much as it was worth. Hopefully, some of that goodwill would then reflect on me as well.

"So what are the effects of the potion that cause such stress on the body? More importantly, do you know of a way to circumvent these drawbacks? Must I simply condition my body to deal with the increased musculature, or is it more of a chakra thing? Similar to how one conditions their body for use of the Eight Gates?" I hurry to ask, not sure how much time Hiruko is willing to entertain my questions before he gets bored of me.

The man blinks at my waterfall of words, raising a snow white eyebrow.

"You know of the Eight Gates technique? Did Hiruzen not deem them a kinjutsu?"

"Forbidden to train with or train others in, without express permission of the Hokage, yes. However, the existence of the technique is hardly a secret, given the fame of its wielders." I easily explain and Hiruko is silent for a long moment.

"So, you're merely aware of existence, not of it workings then. Or it's cost. Would you like for me to educate you?"

I'm taken aback by the unexpected offer, but before I can say anything, Hiruko's sleeved arm shoots out like a snake, his bandaged hand resting suddenly over my head, just above my left eye, two fingers extended like kunai and my entire body freezes up on the bed.

"The first gate, Kaimon, the Gate of Opening. The first limit your mind imposes on your body. To open it is to unshackle thought from restraint. Located in the left hemisphere of the brain, it removes ones mental inhibitions." He says coldly, a glint of amusement in his pink eyes as his bandaged fingers hover incredibly close right over my forehead.

I lie absolutely still as he slowly moves his hand towards my other temple, now hovering over the right side of my head.

"The second gate, Kyūmon, the Gate of Healing. Located in the right hemisphere, it increases ones physical strength. Not to the extreme of the other gates perhaps, but noticeably nonetheless."

Hiruko reaches further, hand dipping to where the base of my neck rests uncomfortably against the ice cold metal of the gurney, the man clearly enjoying my discomfort as he stays just shy of physical contact.

"The third gate, Seimon, the Gate of Life. When opened, the body burns itself to keep moving. The skin reddens, the veins bulge, pupils contract so tightly they seem to disappear entirely, all to let one fight beyond where they should've rightfully perished." He continues, hand coming away from the base of my neck, instead tracing the outline of my torso as he moves lower.

"Further down along the spine we find the fourth gate, Shōmon, the Gate of Pain, capable of increasing ones speed, though moving like that will tear your muscles with every hastened step." He chuckles.

I try to steady my breathing, but his rhythm controls the room. Every new word comes with a pause, a deliberate silence where I could hear the faint hum of some machine hidden beyond the shadows.

His hand comes up to hover over my torso, just below my solar plexus.

"The fifth gate, Tomon, the Gate of Limit. To release this is to surpass not your own limits, but the limits of nature, of what your body was ever intended to be capable of. A massive increase to strength that makes opening the Second Gate seem like taking a mere soldier pill by comparison. Your muscles become so strong, they crush the bone they are attached to."

His hand lowers until it's hovering above my belly button, two fingers still extended like bandaged spears.

"Within the stomach we find the Gate of View, Keimon. Releasing it will increase all of the wielders abilities, both strength and speed, both mind and body. This is where the body becomes so fast, so alive, that it burns the air itself. Flames born of motion alone. Which is why the body begins to unravel at this state. Most fools who push to this point tend to destroy themselves before they ever manage to land a blow on their opponent."

I swallow hard, my pulse hammering in my ears as Hiruko pauses just a tad longer than before, when he starts dragging his hand even further down my body, his fingers just barely hovering over my now damp shirt. Thankfully, he stops somewhere below my stomach, though it's still uncomfortably close to my personal twin rasengan, ifyouknowwhatimean.

Not that it seems to bother Hirko at all, who is clearly enjoying my squirming on the gurney, pasty bastard.

"Below, the seventh gate, Kyōmon, the Gate of Wonder. The final step before the final breath. You sweat so much, the concentration of it turns it blue, which immediately evaporates, cladding you in an aura of sheer strength, similar to a chakra cloak. You intrude upon a level of power not meant for mortals, and must pay the cost for daring to do so. Your body literally tears itself to shreds, muscle fibres tearing with every single movement."

Hiruko's tone, until now clinical and darkly amused, suddenly becomes a cold whisper, his hand shooting up to abruptly hover above my heart.

"And finally, the eight gate. Shimon, the Gate of Death, located in the heart itself. Unlike the previous gates, this one cannot be opened by sheer willpower and training alone. One must puncture their chest with their fingers and insert chakra directly into the heart."

His hand comes down, slowly, almost gently if not for the dangerous gleam in his strange eyes and even though the touch of his bandaged fingers is feather-light, the sudden contact is enough to make me jerk in place, knuckles white with how tightly I'm clenching my fists, feeling as if an impossible weight is pushing me back into the gurney.

"A declaration, an acceptance of the inevitable end and the cost that one has incurred. Your heart pumps at maximum speed, granting you power a hundred times greater than any Kage. Boiling blood rages throughout your body, forcing itself up through your skin, covering you in a blood rest mist. The sheer friction caused by your heartbeat, as well as the heat coming off the metabolic processes of the body, begin heating it up. With every movement, with every breath, with every heartbeat, you raise the temperature of your body until you're literally cooking yourself in your own blood. The heat keeps rising until the body burns up completely, until nothing but ash remains."

'Huh, that sounds like eerily similar to what ended up happening to the original Mizuki before Tsunade managed to stabilize him.'

For a moment, neither one of us speaks or moves, before Hiruko's eyes slowly glance towards me, trapping me with his gaze, even though the tips of his fingers are still resting idly against the skin above my heart.

"Tell me, Oniyuri Mizuki… do you still wish to unlock the powers, and the dangers, of the Eight Gates?"

"… well, perhaps not all Eight at once." I hazard, and I can see genuine surprise flicker over Hiruko's face.

"Even knowing the dangers, you would challenge the impossible?" he trails off, his voice still as scratchy as before, but now lacking the oppressive danger from before, and I take a deep breath before I plough on.

"Look, I don't have any special powers, no special ancestry or clan or back up or anything. Which is why I am so grateful to Orochimaru-sama, of course, because he gave me a means to surpass the mediocrity I was always cursed with from birth. What use is training my bones until they break, exhaust my chakra until I lose consciousness, if a genius can just awaken some special bloodline and surpass me in power without any effort whatsoever? How is that fair? How is one to persist, to grow, in the face of such inequality? The gods have not made all men equal, but Orochimaru-sama's gift can change that! I must make use of it! If my body is currently incapable of sustaining the gift, then the answer is clear: it must be either trained or altered so that it can take in this new influx of power and stand on equal footing with those that fate has favored from birth!"

Part of it is a careful lie, tailored to the mania I know has possessed Hiruko from the day he met the Sannin, but part of it is truth. This world is bullshit.

Clan backing? Bullshit.

Secret jutsu reserved only for the named characters? Bullshit.

Special bloodlines that are essentially just one big 'fuck you, I win' card? Bullshit.

Getting your ass kicked, only to automatically win when you're defending 'precious people', or bowing your head and remembering a school swing set and suddenly your rasengan does tear a hole through the bad guy, even though it didn't the 99 times before that? Bullshit.

Hashirama cells? Bull. Shit.

Fucking Uchiha eyes? Uber hax bullshit.

What did I have? What did the original Mizuki have? In episode 1, just two big shuriken, whoop di fucking doo. Even in the filler arc centered about him, even with the greatest powerup of all, the Timeskip no Jutsu, Mizuki got his fucking ass kicked by pre-Shippuden Naruto to the point that his comeback didn't even qualify for the canon timeline, being relegated to mere filler instead.

And I'd rather actually follow Orochimaru for real, before I'd let myself become one of the endless fodders this world killed off as a cheap pay off for a mediocre story beat.

'I am the captain of my own plot. I am a master of my own story arcs.' I thought to myself, though I was quickly shaken from my musings by Hiruko's sudden reaction to my words.

The man was… crying?

"Y-you… you understand." He says almost reverently, before he coughs into his oversized sleeve and turns his head from me.

For a moment, we fall silent again, though rather than the cold, clinical danger from before, this time it's filled by awkwardness instead.

"… I will look over your bloodwork. Whipping up the potion itself will hardly be a bother, but it can be further refined to be more compatible with the properties of your body. This shall be further supported with certain medications, which you will take as instructed. As for training your body to deal with the strain, going up to the Second Gate and acclimating to it should go some way into preparing your body at least. Or it might compound the stresses of the transformation instead, I suspect only Orochimaru himself could tell at this point. I cannot tell you how to unlock the first two Gates, however. While I looked into the technique when I was younger, my body…"

Hiruko trails off and I can see him raise a bandaged hand in front of his face, before clenching his fist and bowing his head, his scratchy voice heavy with emotion.

"I quickly was forced to realize that such a way to power was not meant for one such as me. As such, I have no scrolls on how to learn the technique, though I suppose physical and medical conditioning will form the fundamentals. You might also want to spend some effort in familiarizing yourself with your own chakra network, feel out where your body has placed its limitations upon itself."

"T-thank you, Hiruko-sama." I say, taken off guard, and Hiruko glances back at me over his shoulder.

"It is so frustrating isn't? Seeing the weakness of your flesh. Being disgusted with its limitations, with yourself and knowing that you are forever trapped within yourself. I am getting ever closer to shattering those bonds, casting off the bondage of my flesh and ascending towards true immortality, cresting the divide between mortal and god. This formula… it will not raise you to such heights, but it is the first step in casting off the shackles of your humanity. It will be interesting to see how much higher you can rise, Oniyuri Mizuki…"

With that, he turns away from me, steadily stalking into the surrounding shadows, throwing idle parting words over his shoulder.

"There is a man, a medical doctor, whose knowledge of healing the body impressed even my friend Orochimaru, who used much of that knowledge in crafting his own Regenerative Techniques. Last I heard, that man is still a doctor in Konoha, wasting his skills on those underserving of his knowledge. He goes by Shinnō, look to him if you wish to find a way to overcome the cost of the Gates' demands of your flesh. Similarly, look towards the south, for a fellow minion of Orochimaru's, one who I trained personally before gifting him to my old friend, by the name of Amachi. The properties of the formula have all the tells of his earlier work and I know that he intended to perfect the hybrid form under Orochimaru's wing. I know not where his secret base is, only that it lies hidden somewhere in the island chain in the Land of the Sea. Both can help you tackle your own enhancement from different directions. Whether or not they shall, depends only upon yourself. I shall aid you no further in this than I have already done."

And with that he was gone, swallowed by the shadows as I couldn't hear his footsteps anymore, the only sound the silent humming of hidden machines in the surrounding darkness.

'Good to have confirmation on the existence of the weird fish guy down south. Might even use the Hiruko-connection to gain his trust, which explains why Orochimaru never thought highly of him or his experiments. He probably considered it more a weird gift by some stalker and he's not even that wrong. Shinnō though, I hadn't really thought about the Land of Sky ninja. Sure, their flying city would make a dope ass base, but I'm nowhere near powerful enough to make a play there. 'Sides, if my Stone of Gelel plan works out, I won't need to worry about regeneration and recovery, at least not from the damage of the Eight Gates. He'd make a good back-up though, considering he managed a similar level of fortitude just using his own techniques and the Dark Chakra.'

I glance down at my sweat soaked body, lifting my hands up in front of my face.

'From what I can remember, the biggest flaw of Mizuki's tiger form… well, the biggest one was that it ended up killing him, but the second biggest flaw was that for all of its strength increase, his speed tanked to the point that strength wasn't even that effective. To paraphrase the great Goku himself: all the strength in the world won't matter if you can't actually hit your opponent. Which means that I might actually need to invest in the Eight Gates technique, at least up to the Fourth Gate. The Gate of Pain… ouch.'

One the one hand, I wasn't looking forwards to the kind of training regime that Might Guy might consider a light warm-up. On the other hand, the pay off was undeniable. Then again, I seriously doubt just running around Konoha on your hands would lead to awesome, godlike power. There was probably a secret or technique that put you on the path to open the chakra pathways and I couldn't even say "well, Lee did it at 15, how hard can it be?" since even a genius like Kakashi noted that for Lee to even open the first gate at his age was a unique case and clear evidence that the strange boy, for all his work ethic, had an unmatched taijutsu affinity. There was nothing to suggest that I would be picking it up any faster than he had and he had spent training it every waking moment for several years.

Though considering the similarities between different power-up techniques, which all revolved around increasing chakra capacity or bodily functions in some way, I doubted that the Eight Gates were the only way to increase the strength of my body so it could accept the tiger elixir better, something that Hiruko later confirmed when he mentioned the Pressure Points of Harm and Death, two tenketsu that, when unblocked sacrifice pure life force for increased chakra.

Apparently, it was something that he had looked into when he had still been a frail boy back in Konoha as a derivative of the Eight Gates. Though he had abandoned it in favor of the Chimera Technique, it was yet something else that he had shared with Orochimaru before the Snake Sannin's own defection some years later, which explained where Guren had picked up the dangerous technique.

Letting that slip further cemented me as a valued henchmen of Orochimaru's in Hiruko's eyes, considering how obsessed both he and the Snake were with kekkai genkai. Guren's was an undisputed powerhouse and as such one that Orochimaru kept closer to his vest than most underlings.

According to him, the fact that I knew so much about the workings of the Crystal Release could only mean that I had been more trusted by Orochimaru than I had originally thought.

I saw no reason to correct him.

Questioning Tsubaki and the Legendary Stupid Brothers didn't really reveal much I didn't already know and Suien got so annoyed with my question he threw me through a wall, before threatening that the next time, he'd throw me clear off the mountain top. Surprisingly, it was Ichi who turned out to be rather helpful, the snake-themed man probably on more friendly terms with me due to my presumed Orochimaru connection.

Besides, the fact that his master hadn't dissected me and put my various organs in different jam jars filled with embalming fluid probably went a long way in proving my trustworthiness as far as the henchmen were concerned.

"I'm not familiar with the Eight Gates beyond what the legends tell of their users, but my siblings and I hail from the outskirts of the Land of Wind. Supposedly, there was a clan or family there that specialized in taijutsu as well. No idea how their technique actually works though, but there were rumors that it had to do with breathing of all things." The thin man revealed when I stumbled across him in what I hoped was the mess hall (but also might've been an abbatoir).

Ichi was still chuckling as he left the room, muttering to himself.

"Ha! Who in their right minds thinks breathing is a genuine power-up?"

'Well, I know of at least one demon-slaying franchise that would like a word…' I thought to myself, Ichi's words triggering something in my memory (which I had noticed was way better at remembering Naruto stuff than it had to be, probably a side-effect of Frog's hypnosis back in the jail).

I'm pretty sure there was a rival from Suna for both Neji and Lee during one of the filler Chūnin Exams, who replicated Lee's speed and strength with a breathing technique. Well, taking Hiruko's advice about familiarizing myself with my own chakra network to heart, I foresaw quite a lot of meditation in my future, so focusing on my breathing nicely slotted into that bit of training.

It also reminded me that the Sand guy had also been capable of targeting the pressure points even without a Byakugan, even though he used that to inflict more damage, rather than blocking the tenketsu themselves. Something that led me back to Hiruko's part of the palace complex where I humbly begged for a schematic overview of human anatomy. Strangely, Hiruko seemed to take my request as a confirmation that he and I were alike somehow.

Not only did he give me several books on the human body, he actually dragged me into lectures as he synthesized the formula while simultaneously going over my bloodwork and the alterations that he would make to it.

To be honest, just the idea that this madman would be getting his grubby little hands all up in my biochemistry rose the hairs on my neck, but there was no denying Hiruko's expertise in altering the human body.

Admittedly, I had (somewhat arrogantly) believed that, even though I had no background in biology past what I could remember from high school and various YouTube videos, the fact that I came from a more advanced world would mean that I could easily keep up with the scientific and medical knowledge of even the greatest med nins.

I was proven wrong when I lost what Hiruko was even talking about by the time he started going on about 'somatic gene therapy, enacted through genetic chimeric vectors, to be preceded by epigenetic reprogramming and proteome remodeling' to enact the desired changes in my body, which would apparently then be guided through the transformation process by 'inducing controlled apoptosis suppression alongside angiogenesis induction in order to facilitate the myocyte hypertrophy caused by the serum', though of course none of this was viable before I had finished taking my medicine regiment, meant for 'immunoprivilege cloaking'.

Hiruko had paused in his waterfall of words then to glance at me expectantly, several books and scrolls opened haphazardly on the table in front of us, covering almost the entire surface, along with several beakers and tubes filled with iridescent liquids I couldn't even guess the composition of.

And a dead rat. For… some reason, I guess.

Taken off guard by the chimera's sudden pause and piercing eyes, I could only stammer the first thing that popped in my head, the bio-chemical techno-babble still ringing loudly and incomprehensibly in my ears as I looked to the man beside me.

"O-of course! After all… t-the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell?" my voice becoming softer and softer as I spoke, Hiruko tilting his head at me.

There was a long pause and despite my fears I could feel my eyes being dragged towards the dead rat lying belly up on the table, as if it were an omen. Then, to my surprise, Hiruko's bandaged hand came to rest on my shoulder, though weirdly, it didn't even feel that threatening.

"Not… incorrect, though I see there are several gaps in your education that must be rectified. Now then, pay attention, I will say this only once…"

And so I spent the next few days (I think, it was hard to tell with the sun always being hidden behind a permanent cloud cover and us not really being allowed outside the ancient palace) being enrolled against my will in university levels of biochemistry of the Naruto world. Some of the words were… almost recognizable, whereas others didn't seem to make any context even when taking tenketsu and chakra pathways into account.

It had been years since I had done so much note taking in either life, but I made sure to not complain even once, for two reasons. The first being that Hiruko would like kill me on the spot if I did and the second being that sharing knowledge like this was incredibly rare amongst ninja and I recognized the unique opportunity I was presented with.

The hidden third reason was that I was using Hiruko's goodwill and my access to his knowledge and labs to dig up anything and everything that I could find about the chimera technique. Not the whole thing, mind you, but just enough so that I could incorporate another's blood. It would make accessing both the Gelel Ore and the Dragon Vein much, much easier.

Though Hiruko's goodwill only went so far of course and kept his prized technique close to his chest and I wasn't willing to risk a confrontation just yet.

And so I fell into an oddly soothing rhythm of waking up to do my morning calisthenics like I had done in my jail cell, now supplemented with long meditation sessions, during which I spent extra effort in expanding my lung capacity and circulating chakra throughout my network and notes, eventually managing to locate all the eight gates, though I had no clue how to breach them. This usually left me completely exhausted and as hungry as the two Brothers, so I took a quick shower and lunch after, followed by lectures from Hiruko for however long the man felt interested enough to teach me, before seeking out Suien for our daily spar, which was apparently the highlight of his day, the Taki jōnin bored out of his mind whenever he wasn't hounding Ni's steps, since he had no interest in medical ninjutsu and (apparently) the Legendary Stupid Brothers didn't make for good sparring partners.

Apparently he had challenged the twin brothers to a 2v1 match once. The mountain top had shaken that day and Suien had declined sparring against me for several days afterwards, walking with a noticeable limp and smelling faintly of smoke.

He had simply spit on the ground (shaping the spit into a water needle for effect, show-off) and told me I "should see the other guys" when I had asked him about it, which was a bit difficult to do considering I hadn't seen Ichi and San since.

I don't think that Suien killed them, since Hiruko would (probably) destroy us all if he had, but it was pretty telling that I didn't dismiss the possibility completely, making his complaint about the Stupid Brothers playing too rough to be proper sparring partners somewhat ironic.

In my personal opinion, he probably made for a worse sparring partner, since Suien apparently didn't know the concept of 'going easy', often beating me into the ground (or putting me through a wall… again) with an undeniably gleeful bloodlust. It wasn't unusual for me to seek out Tsubaki afterwards for medical attention.

After healing me for the umpteenth time, the normally gentle woman had exploded at me, near tears.

"Why do you keep doing this to yourself Mizuki?! First the medicines and potions that… that man keeps feeding you! Who even knows what it's doing to your body?! And then these endless fights! Why keep challenging Suien when he's so much stronger!?"

I was lying on the bare cot in her sparsely furnished room in what was either the guest or the prisoner wing of the palace. I wasn't entirely sure that Hiruko even knew the difference between the two. Shakily, I raised one finger (the one that wasn't currently bent at an awkward angle), parting my split and bloodied lips and wheezing out a single word.

"Chakra." I said as explanation.

It was something that Hiruko and I had had several discussions about these past few days.

Being made up of both physical and mental energies, merely training your body would result in better physical attributes such as strength and speed, sure, but there were other factors at play in becoming truly powerful in this world. Experience counted for a lot as well. Getting into life or death battles, experiencing combat and experiencing your body pushing towards its limits and failing could lead to an increase in chakra as well. It wasn't exactly the same as a zenkai boost, but it was a possible explanation for why some people grew to become the legends and nightmares of this world.

At least, I really hope so. What frustrated Hiruko and me in equal measure was that this made so-called geniuses even more of an anomaly than they already were. Itachi finished the Academy in literal months to become an ANBU at eleven. While barely out of the Academy, Minato was capable of taking out a full Kumo squad capable of evading the entirety of Konoha's forces and make it look laughably easy.

Still, even if Hiruko's theory turned out to be a bunch of hopeful pseudo-science, there was another reason why I kept volunteering to get my face kicked in day after day, not that I could tell Tsubaki that.

Because, honestly, getting kicked down over and over again, only to keep rising up and ask for more? Is there even a more shonen protagonist way of training?

It even seemed to be paying off, in my opinion. Either Tsubaki was a better med nin than I had originally thought (she was reading some of Hiruko's library at her own pace whenever she wasn't getting extra practice in healing me after Suien was done with me) or Hiruko's medicine was more effective than he had let on, but day after day, no matter how broken I went to bed, the next day I was ready for another bout of sparring, layering fresh cuts on rapidly fading bruises.

With such a high intensity routine, I began to notice subtle changes in the way my fights with the Taki nin would go.

I lasted (ever so slightly) longer these past few days then when I had first challenged him and a big part of that was a development that on the surface sounded incredibly simple: I could see him move now.

Though I took great pains (literally at that) to not let Suien notice that, pretending that he was still easily capable of catching me off guard. While I kept ramping up my speed and combat awareness, Suien still underestimated me just like had done when we first crossed into Taki.

If anything, him kicking me around the training hall all week long ensured that he thought even less of me than before.

By my best guestimate, it was almost two weeks since we had first climbed Mount Shumisen that we were summoned to the same medical wing where Hiruko had 'explained' the Eight Gates to me. To my surprise, all of us were assembled, both my motley crew and Hiruko's henchmen, which led to a bit of tension as Suien alternated between leering at Ni and glaring at Ichi and San, who glared back with equal amounts of poison in their gaze.

Fujin and Raijin were oblivious to the byplay, happily munching away on several large pieces of the weird gargantuan cacti that grew on the upper layers of the mountain. Apparently, Tsubaki spent most of her day babysitting the two giants and had taken to harvesting the cacti for the brothers so they didn't need to keep digging out needles the size of kunai from their tongues and cheeks.

Which apparently led to the two trailing Mizuki's fiancé like two overgrown mastiffs, even going so far as to call her "Little Miss Boss".

The mountain tension between Suien and Hiruko's henchmen was abruptly cut short when the man himself entered the room, carrying a large vial of bright purple liquid in his bandaged hands.

I had only been present during some of the steps of preparing the potion, but I recognized it immediately. Hiruko, seeing my gaze snap to the vial, gave a confirming nod.

"The first part of the elixir." He explained, setting the large vial (an Erlenmeyer I remember thanks to my 'lessons' with the chimera) on a nearby instrument cart.

He reached into one of his oversized sleeves, producing a thick wad of paper with an intricate seal script on the front.

"The second part will complete the full transformation, though as we discussed previously, it would require your body to be conditioned or preferably altered enough to deal with the increase in power. I will leave it to your discretion to find out when you've reached that point." He says gravely, placing the heavy paper stack next to the vial.

"As for the first part, due to the changes the medications have already made to your body, alongside my own superior skills in chemistry, you will find that not only is this intermediate potion of much higher potency than you would've been capable of producing on your own, your body will respond much better to it. Though it will likely fix your body in a permanently altered state until you finish the transformation properly. At that point, in theory, you should be able to switch forms at will. As I advised you before, Amachi in the Land of the Sea should be capable of aiding you in completing that step." Hiruko explains, motioning towards the gurney.

"Take of your shirt please. With the projected growth of your musculature, you're likely to rip it anyways and without it I'll be able to better monitor you." He instructed clinically.

Taking my place with some hesitation as I followed his instruction, I glance to the ominously large vial with some trepidation.

'Well, depending on how altered I become, I can always use the Henge to change my appearance back to normal. If it's good enough for a Sannin, it's good enough for me. Besides, this first part of the potion should only give me a couple of stripes.'

"So, what do I do?" I question as Hiruko hands me the purple potion.

"You drink it of course."

"… that's it?"

"I would suggest making sure to swallow properly. It wouldn't do to come this far and then choke in your first powerup." Hiruko responds idly, and his rough scratchy voice makes it impossible to tell if he's being serious or not.

"Well then… bottoms up." I mutter, before closing my eyes and placing the vial to my lips.

I had expected it to taste foul and hurt worse. I've never hated being right more before in my life. I can only imagine this is what drinking antifreeze would be like and Hiruko's suggestion, light-hearted as it had sounded at first, became a genuine challenge as every single fibre in my body, my soul even, screamed at me to spit it out. Screwing my eyes shut and ignoring the reflexive heaving of my body was genuinely one of the hardest things I had to do in this new life, which is saying something considering that life began with needing to escape a ninja prison on an island in the middle of an active volcano.

I forced myself to keep the vial at my lips, gulping it down and suppressing the urge to cough and sputter and rinse out my mouth down to the back of my throat with water and soap. On and on I chocked the vile concoction down, each draught an almost physical punch that I could feel forcing its way down my oesophagus and slamming into my stomach.

My mouth was on fire, my lungs were burning, my throat felt as if I had swallowed glass and my stomach felt as if it was seconds away of making it all for nothing by ending it back up the wrong way again. At last the vial was empty and thoroughly exhausted now and trembling, I let it fall from my shaking hand as it smashed to pieces against the floor.

I just lied there on the gurney, dry heaving and doubled over, clutching at my stomach, my throat, wiping desperately at my mouth. Sweat pooled on my face as ragged breaths tore out my throat and I could almost swear I saw toxic fumes escape my lips with every laboured breath.

'The aftertaste… is somehow worse… AND WHY DOES IT NOT GO AWAY?! Fuck me, this is like eating a can of Surtromming stuffed with Carolina Reapers…'

I'll be honest, it wasn't just sweat pouring down my face, but a fair amount of tears too.

"W-what… h-happens… n-next…?" I barely managed to force past my clenched teeth, looking up to see Hiruko's pink eyes startlingly close, his gaze eerily intent.

"Now… you change." The hissed whisper echoed throughout the large empty chamber and I didn't realize much else after that.

It seemed almost laughable to complain about drinking the potion now. That had just been utterly vile and mildly painful and only located in my throat and stomach. This?

Everywhere.

My skin right down to the bone and every muscle in between. Every nerve was on fire, it felt like every blood vessel was about to pop. I began to trash on the gurney, in too much pain to even notice how bandages whipped out from Hiruko's sleeves to tie me down and secure my flailing and contracting limbs.

Vaguely I could hear Tsubaki shout in the distance, but there was some sort of scuffle as the Legendary Brothers easily restrained her. Not that I could notice much more, eyes screwed shut and stars exploding in my vision.

For that matter, it felt like the rest of me was exploding as well.

Time loses all meaning in such a state. It could've been minutes, it could've been hours. It certainly felt like an eternity. Only slowly, very, very slowly, did the burning, searing sensation from my muscles and joints fall from unbearable to merely extremely painful. It felt like I had injured literally every single part of my body in a training accident or something. It reminded me of those videos where bodybuilders literally tear off their pecs from their tendons during a overly ambitious bench press, the muscle and meat visibly moving underneath the skin, except everywhere.

Eventually even that faded into a deep-seated burning, exhausted feeling, as if I had done several triathlons back to back to back with a full-grown Akimichi wrapped around each leg and both Legendary Brothers perched on my back.

Blinking the sweat (and yet more tears) from my eyes, I finally managed to look through fluttering eyelids at the group now standing cautiously around my gurney. Glancing down, I could see that the odd chair had been twisted and mangled as if a giant picked it up, crushed it and threw it into an equally giant blender.

"Did… did I do that?" I asked hoarsely, surprised to hear a deeper, gruffer voice coming from Mizuki's mouth, probably at least in part due to having my vocal chords several times over I suspect.

Tsubaki nods, wide-eyed, mouth agape and next to her Suien wordlessly goes through a few handseals before there's a small pulse of chakra and a thin sheet of water appears in mid-air in front of me, allowing me to see my reflection for the first time in a long while.

I had been well on my way in turning Mizuki's body into the prison-jacked version of himself, but this blew that entire process straight out of the water. With a physique like this, I felt I could stand next to the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno and, if not win, at least have a good shot at being ranked in the top 3. Wide shoulders, a deep chest and powerful muscles that smoothly moved with clear hidden power.

'Sleek' was the word that first came to mind when I saw my build, though the other changes became more apparent once my shock wore off a bit.

Mizuki's silver hair had lengthened, to the point where it now fell just past my shoulders in a shaggy style that wouldn't look out of place on an Inuzuka. His face shape had also become somewhat broader and from behind my parted lips I could spot lengthened canines. My gaze moving up, I was surprised to look myself in the eyes and find slitted pupils looking back at me. Glancing briefly away from the mirror, I looked towards the rest of the cavern and to my surprise I could finally see beyond the surrounding darkness held only at bay by the medical lamp next to my ruined gurney. I could even see the far walls of the massive room now!

Glancing back towards the mirror, my eyes trailed over the most obvious changes however.

The stripes.

Three thick black horizontal ones, going down from my delts to over my upper arms, with two smaller ones going horizontally over my forearms. One stripe went over each trap, tapering to a point somewhere on my mid-pec and twisting my torso around a bit, I could see they ended just underneath my rear delts. It also allowed me to see yet another four horizontal stripes going over my spine to the small of my back.

The most striking ones perhaps, even if they weren't the largest ones, were the one on my face. One went down my forehead to the bridge of my nose, its sides ragged, almost furry looking. Ironically, considering the original Mizuki's hatred of him, I now also sported stripes over my cheeks much like a certain famous loudmouthed blonde. I had only the two though, pointed and thick, looking more like his whiskers when he turns up the Kyuubi chakra.

"Congratulations, Boss! It worked, you're all stripey now!"

"Yeah, that's a good thing! … right?"

Ignoring the Legendary Brothers for now, Tsubaki approaches me hesitantly, reaching out to gently run a hand over the stripes on my upper arm. They aren't made out of fur or anything, somewhat to my surprise considering I know what the second tier of this transformation is supposed to look like. They just feels like slightly raised areas of toughened skin, pretty much almost exactly like how a regular tattoo would feel.

'Though I am fairly certain that the original Mizuki hadn't been as altered as me when he took the potion… then again, he's probably a lot worse at esoteric biochemistry and faux-cursed seal implementation that Hiruko…' I think to myself, though I'm shaken from my thoughts at Tsubaki's questioning voice.

"Mizuki? How do you feel?" she asks, clearly worried.

I raise one striped arm in front of my face, spotting the curved nails my fingers are now tipped with, before slowly clenching my hand into a fist, seeing my muscles raise underneath my skin, feeling the sheer strength lying dormant underneath.

My slitted eyes slowly flit over to meet Tsubaki's worried ones and my grin becomes wide enough to show off my gleaming canines.

"Good. I feel… very good."

Which is, of course, when Hiruko's palace was suddenly attacked.

---

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

Fun Fact: The etymology for the word Chakra (चक्र) translates as "Wheel", "Circle"; this also pertains as to how chakra is produced within one's body: physical energy and spiritual energy are effectively "spun" into functional chakra. The direction of this spinning (clockwise or counter-clockwise) can be determined by checking how one's hair grows, as it influenced such spinning.

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 1.4​

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The first sign of an attack was the high-pitched wailing of alarms that I could hear ring out from an adjacent section of the palace, cutting abruptly through the heavy silence that had hung over the medical wing following my transformation. Each ring carried through the vast, empty corridors, a clear warning signal that something had breached Hiruko's perimeter. The chimera's head snapped towards his henchmen, eyes narrowed in fury.

"Ichi! Ni! San! To your gates!"

To their credit, the three henchmen didn't hesitate for a moment, immediately springing into action at their master's call. As one, they bit their thumbs hard enough to draw blood and slammed their open palms against the tiled floor.

"Reverse Summoning!" three voices cried out and in a sudden burst of smoke, they were gone.

The sudden disappearance of Hiruko's henchmen left a silence even heavier than before, broken only by the distant wailing of the alarms as the skin around the man's eyes tightened, his focus distant.

"Who would dare…?" he growled in his whispery voice.

Seeing his distraction, I glance towards Suien from the corner of my eye. I hadn't included him in much of my planning these past two weeks, not as I had done with Tsubaki, but this part should be easy enough to set up, given his past animosity with the creepy twins. Feeling my eyes on him, the Taki jōnin glances equally subtly my way, one eyebrow slightly raised underneath his yellow bandana.

There's no hand signal, no mouthing or complicated charades. All it takes is me flicking my eyes towards the exit of the medical wing and keeping Suien's gaze, heavy with meaning. It's a credit to his experience (or just his bloodlust) that the dangerous missing nin immediately catches on, his grin wide and predatory.

Without being included in Hiruko's sealing matrix that he had keyed to his henchmen and their respective gates, Suien can't use the Summoning Technique to instantly follow Ichi, Ni and San, so he simply claps his hands together in the Tiger seal, before vanishing from sight in a Body Flicker, leaving only a smattering of droplets suspended in the air for a moment.

His disappearance catches Hiruko's attention, the man's lithe body going taut with suspicion, so I hurry to explain, my somewhat lowered, more growly voice catching me off guard a bit.

"We don't know the strength of the enemy my Lord, but it must be significant if they found this Mountain and intend to challenge its guardians."

For a moment, Hiruko's narrowed eyes remain fixed on where Suien had stood, a slightly damp spot all that remains, before he shifts his gaze over to me, pinning me in place with his red eyes peering over the edge of his large collar.

"Their strength might also be pitiful. After all, you found this mountain as well." The bandaged man snipes, his mood clearly worsened by paranoia, though I easily ignore the dig.

After all, I was weak. That fact was the entire point why I climbed this damned mountain in the first place. And while my new form went a significant way in fixing that, I still hadn't gotten all I'd come here for. So instead of countering Hiruko's words, I instead bow my head towards the man, my voice urgent and imploring.

"Understood, my Lord. Still, there's nothing lost with sending Suien out there, even if his aid turns out to be unneeded. It also gives us the chance to secure your research without prying eyes." I lie easily and Hiruko's eyes flicker toward me, sceptical, but the urgency of the alarms tugged at his focus.

He glances from me towards Tsubaki, the Legendary Stupid Brothers at her sides, all three looking somewhat lost, before he discards them with a scoff. His searching gaze aimed towards me shows that, while he doesn't consider them 'prying eyes', he's not so convinced about me as I slowly rise from the twisted remains of my medical chair.

To my surprise, as I stretch to my full length, I find that the floor is a bit further away than I'm used to. Hiruko's altered body wasn't exactly tall in the first place, but now he actually has to crane his head a bit to look me in the eyes. Despite my tall form and broad shoulders however, I'm still dwarfed in that aspect by Rajin and Fujin.

Though perhaps now they'll finally stop insisting on calling me 'Little' Boss.

"Secure the research? You truly think it necessary?" Hiruko whispers with a scoff, his crimson eyes narrowed, but he doesn't dismiss me outright, a sliver of doubt creeping into his gaze.

"Better to be safe than sorry." I press, moving over towards the small table at my side, lifting up the thick paper with a sealing formula on the front, the second part of my serum contained inside.

With Hiruko's expertise, it had been melded seamlessly to altered tiger DNA, which on the surface sounds insane (and to be fair, it absolutely was), but back on my world, tigers were absolute apex predators of their environment, a threat even to humans. On this world, rich with natural energy and chakra? Tigers could become absolute monsters and Hiruko had samples of several prime specimens, all a credit to their species (because of course he did, the maniac had samples of pretty much every single animal on the continent, save dinosaurs).

Becoming part tiger might not sound very impressive in the grand scheme of things, but with the base work the first part of the serum had already done (alongside the work I'd have to do to get it to the level the second part wouldn't outright kill me), the jump in power would be significant. Probably not to rocket me to S-Rank outright, but I figured that, physically at least, I should be able to give most Jōnin a run for their money.

Take that and start factoring in powerups and artefacts such as the Stone of Gelel and the Infinite Armor and suddenly that S-Rank becomes much, much closer. However, in order for met to get to that point, I needed even more than what Hiruko had already provided thus far.

The Chimera Technique itself. Though I doubted I'd be able to get the whole thing off of him (or even understand it even if I did), I didn't really need the whole thing. Sure, the idea of multiple kekkai genkai would be enough to make the likes of Orochimaru salivate (… and myself a little as well, if I'm completely honest) and Hiruko had a pretty solid idea in the combination that he had put together, but the cost of it was simply too high for me.

But incorporating someone's blood, or at the very least their DNA signature… blood is a potent ingredient in this world and some of the most powerful artefacts and locations in this world are only reserved to those who are of the proper bloodline.

With what I intended to steal from Hiruko, I'd be from every bloodline.

Glancing towards the man in question, I shuffle the thick stack of papers containing the next step of my evolution into my pockets, trying not to let my eagerness show. I'm not sure I'm fully successful hiding my emotions from a ninja of Hiruko's experience and strength, but the sudden switch from my transformation abruptly being cut off by incessant alarms has put him on the backfoot slightly.

Besides, these past two weeks have only confirmed my earlier suspicion: Hiruko wasn't a true friend of the Sannin, that was him simply projecting in his flashbacks. Which explains why Jiraiya and Tsunade didn't seem gutted so much as annoyed by his betrayal and why Orochimaru had sent the gifted fish-scientist off to an island somewhere before cutting off his funding. Deep down, Hiruko was a touch-starved, contact-deprived fanboy desperate for friends and respect, something that in canon he had only been willing to admit to Kakashi after the silver-haired shinobi had pointed this out to him while standing over his dying body.

After two weeks of me constantly trying to play that angle (rather successfully at that, considering Mizuki's proven experience with manipulating people), Hiruko was more hesitant in dismissing me than he rightfully should've been. Besides, his research is precious to him, more than even his henchmen, so when he snaps his fingers, finally silencing the alarms, and we pick up the faintest echoes of combat coming from far, far down the mountain, he moves without questioning me further.

"Come then. Some of the experiments I have running are delicate and should not be allowed to be interrupted by foolish interlopers. Should it come to that point, I shall have… words with Ichi, Ni and San." Hiruko breathed heavily, his raspy voice dangerous as he turned on his heel, his long cloak whirling around his emaciated form.

As he moves further into the darkness (less effective now as I can feel my slitted pupils widening, the rest of the room coming into focus despite the dim light) I glance towards Tsubaki, giving her a nod, one which she returns after a moment of hesitation. Both Legendary Stupid Brothers are… not at all interested in what's going on right now, apparently, staring somewhat blankly ahead.

'Right. They'll do what they're told at least. I hope.'

Shaking my head, I fall into step with Hiruko, Tsubaki and the Brothers at my back. The palace is immense and even at the pace our host is setting, it takes a little while before we close in on Hiruko's personal wing of the palace, where he keeps most of his research and experiments requiring his personal attention. It's also where he keeps his most prized possessions and secrets, though naturally that part of the wing I hadn't been invited to these past two weeks or so.

Trust, even when expertly manipulated, only goes so far among villains after all.

Still, I was familiar enough with the rest of the palace quarter that I immediately recognized the metallic tang of blood and the biting scent of conservatives lingering heavy in the air that was barely masked by the smell of paper and ink as we approached Hiruko's inner sanctum. Despite having spent a significant amount of time there these past two weeks whenever Hiruko saw fit to bestow me with another lecture on microbiology (or whatever else he was randomly interested in at the time) I was still somewhat taken aback every time I entered the large hall.

Hiruko's inner sanctum was a study in controlled chaos, a space where intellect and obsession collided. The main chamber stretched wide, its vaulted ceiling disappearing far above us, the large structure held up by several massive pillars spread out over the wide floor. Spread haphazardly over the foundations of the ancient architecture were distinctly modern additions in a classic 80s sci-fi style, as if Dr. Goro had decided to set up shop in the Japanese doppelganger of the Saint Basilius cathedral. Overhead, iron beams crisscrossed the ceiling, strung with coils of electrical conduits that pulsed faintly with residual energy. The walls, smooth in some sections but scarred in others, bore hundreds of diagrams, scrolls, and schematics, detailing forbidden jutsu, kekkei genkai integrations, and bio-modification experiments. Workbenches cluttered with glass vials, scalpels, and strange mechanical implements formed narrow corridors between the tables, evidence of a half dozen experiments started and discarded at a whim.

Scattered throughout were clues to Hiruko's obsession. Maps pinned to the walls were marked with symbols denoting kekkei genkai users, some annotated with coloured threads connecting them to specific elemental nations. Hand-drawn sketches of animals—wolves, birds, serpents—were annotated with chakra readings and movement patterns, suggesting he was tracking them across the Great Nations, marking the locations where they displayed unique growth or attributes.

A large pin was placed firmly smack dab in the middle of the Forest of Death.

Hiruko didn't spare us any attention however, simply glancing around the large hall before giving us our order with a dismissive gesture.

"Get this place cleaned up and sorted. Even if my men turn away the attackers, I refuse to have my workshop be in such a sorry state. What a mess, this is unacceptable!" his raspy voice rang out sharply and I had to suppress a roll of my eyes.

'You're the one who made this mess in the first place!' I pointed out inside my mind, but on the outside, I merely gave a nod and a small bow, gesturing towards Tsubaki and the Brothers as we spread out over the room, going from workbench to workbench, fanning out in such a way that we always kept Hiruko at the centre, cleaning up desks as we went.

Each table was a chaotic blend of eras typical of the strange progress of technology in the Naruto world: hand-forged scalpels, ink-stained scrolls, and glass vials lined up beside old tape recorders, cathode-ray displays, and crude sensors wired into the walls. The air was thick with the sharp tang of chemicals and I found myself involuntarily licking my lips, trying to get the oily air off my tongue.

It was after clearing up a couple of tables that I made a startling discovery.

As I walked over towards a nearby low-slung table, I picked up a sheaf of papers, idly leafing through it, my brows furrowed as I slowly went over the contents in more depth. I had always known that merely enhancing my body and wearing super special armour wouldn't be enough to keep up with the monsters that lurked hidden in this world, ones who would turn up during the endgame of Shippuden, blowing away every villain that had come before them. For that, I would need access to a whole new sort of power.

Bijū chakra.

The ultimate trump card (unless going up against Akatsuki off screen and your name wasn't Naruto Uzumaki of course). Without it, the whole series would've ended in the Wave arc right then and there. The Kyuubi had functioned as the blonde's get out of jail card multiple times over, overwhelming whatever villain Naruto was facing at the time, allowing the hero to pull the impossible out of his ass.

Now I only had vague ideas about how to gain access to Bijū chakra, my mind mostly going to the Three-Tails, but that didn't mean there were other sources out there. Apparently, before he had fully committed to Frankenstein-ing himself, Hiruko's own thoughts had gone along pretty similar lines sometime in the past, according to the stack of papers I had picked up.

It was a series of reports, some bought from informants, some made by Hiruko's own henchmen, tracing a series of rumors focused on one specific boy. A boy that apparently had been taken in by a temple somewhere in the Land of Fire. From the old, yellowed pages, a faded picture looked back at me, the glare of the boy in the picture surprisingly intense even coming from a stack of papers.

'Of course… Sora…' I blink in surprise, my mind going over the information in the documents and slotting it into the plan I had made way back in my prison cell.

Yes, there were dangers and complications to becoming a Jinchūriki, but there was no rule saying you had to become a full one to a whole Bijū straight out of the gate.

'This can work.' I muse to myself, but unfortunately I can't dive any deeper in what Hiruko has managed to dig up on pseudo-Jinchūriki over the years as I can spot him moving towards the far back wall from the corner of my eye.

Instead of being cluttered with workbenches and lockers, a significant portion of the room was dedicated entirely to celestial and terrestrial patterns. Scrolls and charts detailed lunar phases and their effects on chakra, interlaced with crude graphs and models of earth ley lines spanning the nations, preparation for Hiruko's ultimate ritual that was slowly but steadily taking shape in the palace's central chamber.

Hiruko approached a section of the wall that to my eyes looked no different to any other part of the wall, though I noticed an impossible small seam as the bandaged man ran a thin hand over it, impossible to see unless you already knew it was there. The sound of various heavy latches and locking mechanisms could be heard through the wall and slowly the whole section of the wall began to pivot open, yawning wide like a massive vault door.

I could barely see the chamber beyond, not that it really mattered now. Hiruko made to move through the new opening in the wall and I knew he'd close it immediately behind him, as nobody save him was allowed to know the contents of that secret vault, much less enter it.

That, of course, didn't work for my plans, so I made the riskiest move I had ever been forced to make in this new life (and, just to reiterate, said life started with escaping a ninja supermax prison built inside an active caldera and only got worse from there).

I gave Raijin and Fujin a nod.

Thankfully, the Legendary Stupid Brothers had their part of the plan drilled into their massively thick skulls by both Tsubaki and I for the past couple of days, so without hesitation both made a grab into the wide shirts that hung tightly over their massive frames. Clutched in fists the size of boulders were thick bundles of the massive cactus needles Tsubaki had been removing and saving for them.

Between the strength and size of the needles, they more resembled senbon than plantlife, not that the Brothers were actually accurate with senbon. Or even really capable for that matter. The funny thing about accuracy though is that, with enough quantity, quality becomes obsolete.

And considering how many of those immense needles each brother could clench in each meaty fists, there was a lot of quantity to throw around. Literally. With loud yells, Raijin and Fujin whipped their arms forwards, powerful muscles moving thick limbs with a surprising (and honestly, somewhat frightening) amount of ease, the needles blurring through the air.

Some tumbled, some fell short, some more went way too high, but even so, an absolute hailfire of sharp pointy sticks hurled towards the entrance to Hiruko's secret lab and the man himself, closing in on his back.

"You dare!?"

I had taken care to not do something stupid as announcing my attack by shouting "now!" at the brothers and to their credit, they had only grunted in exertion as they threw, not before. Despite all that, despite the Brother's complete lack of hesitation over attacking their host in the back (which made me slightly concerned to be honest, as I had grown so used to their dopey presence, I had somewhat forgotten about their proven utter disregard for human life), despite the sheer speed with which the needles suddenly cut through the air aimed straight at his back (or rather, roughly in his general direction) without warning, Hiruko's instincts had alerted him in time.

His form blurred and had we attempted this just this morning, I knew dead certain that I would've lost sight of him right then and there. To my immense gratification, my slitted eyes tracked Hiruko as he jumped away from the vault-like door, twisting in mid-air to land horizontally against the nearest pillar, though he hadn't come away completely unscathed fortunately. There were some rips in the bottom hem of his large overcoat and I could spot several holes in the bandages that began to unfurl from his thin forearms, like snakes being awakened from their slumber.

Even so, while my eyes had managed to track him, if only barely, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep up with that speed physically.

'Well, if you don't succeed, try, try again.' I think to myself, my mind feeling oddly light as I felt the eyes of the villain pin me in place, a villain that even Kakashi had figured could only be defeated by a desperate suicide gamble.

But that was three to four years in the future. Hiruko was weaker than in his filler arc, while I was steadily outstripping what Mizuki had been capable of in his. Though I knew it'd be some time yet before I managed to outstrip someone of Hiruko's caliber as well.

"YOU! I shall-!"

"Stand still little bandage man!"

Which is why I immediately signaled both Brothers to throw the needles they held in their other hand. After all, quantity had a quality all of its own and the appetite of the Brothers had seen them chew through a lot of cacti these past weeks.

Hiruko's red eyes widened for a moment before he disappeared once again, the needles thrown by the brothers slamming into the pillar with such force that it shook the whole structure, dust falling down to the floor below.

I wasn't on Hiruko's level yet, I knew that, but my eyes, pupils no longer slits in the dim lighting of the large room, still managed to spot something significant as the albino man dodged two more volleys from the Brothers, who seemed to think it was a sort of demented game of tag as they shredded what must be years of careful research in a matter of moments under a sustained barrage of cactus artillery, the whole room looking like a warzone.

I had expected a shinobi of Hiruko's caliber to be fast. But the Brothers were strong and their weapons flew with tremendous speed. Hell, Fujin had even managed to chase off Suien for a bit by chucking a whole tree at him fast enough to force the jōnin to dodge (leaving me in the line of fire as well, unfortunately). Compared to that, the needles were incredibly light despite their size and absolutely blitzed through the air, thundering into whatever surface Hiruko had just been standing on moments before.

'Swift Release. I had really hoped that he hadn't already stolen that one. It's probably the most annoying to deal with right after the chakra absorbing Dark Release.'

I didn't fully remember all the details of Swift Release, though that could also be because there weren't very many details to remember in the first place. Hiruko was the only prominent on-screen user of the kekkai genkai as far as I could recall, but I knew that it functioned somewhat similarly to the Lightning Chakra Armor. Not so much the lightning aspect, just that it boosted a user's speed to the extreme limits that one usually could only achieve during a Body Flicker, without that technique's drawback of turning your body into an unguided projectile, leaving yourself blind to the world as you launched yourself through it. While the speeds ninja were capable of during a Body Flicker were indeed impressive, the technique was also utterly useless in combat, considering you'd just have to hope you'd hit your opponent before you slammed into the surrounding scenery like a coyote tracking down a roadrunner with an artistic gift for cliff-face paintings.

Unless your name was Shishui Uchiha of course, but considering how he ended up, I'd take that trade-off.

'Man, I feel like that meme of Brock explaining that "Extreme Speed" is a move that allows a Pokémon's speed to go to the extreme…' the idle thought shoots through my mind before being ruthlessly suppressed by my battle-induced adrenaline.

Knowing that speed had been a weakpoint of Mizuki's that had been exploited and eventually led to his defeat, I conceded that I wouldn't be able to follow in Hiruko's footsteps, especially since those footsteps were being doggedly tracked by literal handfuls of cactus needles larger than my hand.

'But I don't need to catch up, I need to cut him off.'

So instead of trying to keep track of the blitzing bandaged man, my eyes shoot towards the two brothers instead, noting where they were looking at, taking in their forms, their footwork, the way their ridiculously large muscles bunched as they hurled senbon after senbon, always chasing Hiruko as he easily moved before the needles struck where he had just stood.

Another salvo, another blur from Hiruko, the needles slammed ineffectively into a generator of some kind, sending sparks flying as the metal buckled and hoses and cabling were torn to shreds. In a matter of seconds, Hiruko alighted easily on top of a nearby workbench, and I could see that he was juking his way closer towards the brothers, murder in his red eyes even as he dodged their (now slightly thinning) barrage.

Another heave from the Brothers, a switch in their stance as they moved towards Hiruko's new location, just as determined as before to turn him into a senbon-pinata, the spread of their projectiles wide and cutting off most of Hiruko's escape path. And considering his clear goal, judging by that rictus of sheer rage on his face, I felt my own body coiling in response.

With another grunt, Fujin and Raijin hurled another massive fist of projectiles forward and with contemptuous ease, Hiruko once again blurred out of sight. But this time, I moved too. It wasn't a Body Flicker, but the massive muscles in my newly improved legs made it a near thing, the ancient tiles of the workroom exploding into gravel and dust as I rocketed from my place angled to the side of where the Brothers had made their stand.

Hiruko alighted easily on a nearby chair, nimble feet resting on the thin back of the furniture with deadly grace, eyes focused intently on Fujin and Raijin as their projectiles soared past his form, bandages unfurling from his emaciated wrists, hunger in his gaze as he mentally calculated the shrinking distance between him and his prey-

Instincts honed from a lifetime spent as a missing nin screamed along every nerve in his body, his eyes snapping to the side, just as I slammed into his side knee-first, tearing up the furniture behind me in my mad dash towards the chimera. Desks splintered, glass shattered, the remains of experiments and furniture sent hurling through the air as I tore a straight path through the workshop, thankfully having timed my strike just right.

I could feel Hiruko's body, lithe yet oddly dense like steel cables, go taut around my knee as it caught him right in the side, the impact and my momentum sending him flying into a nearby pillar, hard. Dust and shards of ancient stone exploded from the impact, though I doubted a single hit would be enough to put someone like Hiruko down.

I was proven correct when suddenly two thin snakes of fabric shot out from the cloud of dust, whipping through the air and latching onto my arms faster than I could blink. They tightened painfully against my increased musculature, dragging me forwards and down. I resisted their heavy pull, feeling as if I was in a tug-of-war contest with a giant, planting my feet and cracking the tiles underneath my sandals, digging two grooves through the floor as Hiruko revealed himself.

The impact had shredded the thick coat he wore along the side where I'd hit him and the amount of tears in it had increased, making him look even more mummy-like with all those bandages covering him. His eyes were mad, almost glowing in the dim lighting of the research wing. The side of his torso that was exposed was a shiny black, like the dark steel that kunai were made of.

"Mizuki, you fool… did you truly think that conventional weaponry or freakish strength would be enough to kill one such as I? Did you truly believe that I wouldn't have contemplated my intake of kekkai genkai to perfection, studied every minutiae, accounting for every possibility?! The Chimera Technique will turn me into the ultimate ninja, Mizuki, immune to all! Taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, useless before my perfection! I shall be immune even to Death itself! Of course the very first thing I did was safeguard my physical body! Swift and Steel release make both bukijutsu and taijutsu useless!" he ranted, mouth opening wide enough that it pulled at the stiches in a way that made my stomach do flips.

"I'm sure that all sounds very impressive, though I imagine it'll sound a bit more foolish once we're done killing you." I shoot back, deliberately trying to get under his skin.

Now, is pissing off a massively powerful, and also absolutely insane, ninja a good idea? Well, no, not if you say it like that. But, angry people make mistakes, and mistakes create openings and against a man with a (literally) ironclad defense, I needed every opening I could get.

Flexing my new and improved muscles, I let out a roar as I grasp the bandages holding my arms, my shoulders and back swelling as I heaved on the weaponized cloth, giving it my all. The spike in strength surprises Hiruko mid-rant as I yank him from his perch on the cratered pillar, sending him into the floor instead. Tethered as he is to me, Swift Release won't help him much here and this time I can see the exposed skin of his legs and feet harden and dull into a metallic grey, before deepening into shiny black steel.

Thanks to his new durability and weight, he slams into the tiles, creating another crater as he sinks in deep into the floor, fully negating his speed advantage. I grin, but Hiruko does too and it's scary enough it immediately wipes mine of my face.

"You fool! You cannot harm me, you're not strong enough, that power, that power that you've turned against me, I made it! I MADE YOU!" his scream is like nails on chalkboard thanks to his scratchy, whispery voice and I wince.

"While perfecting my defensive powers was the correct choice, it's nonetheless a shame I am still in the process of gathering my offensive kekkai genkai. Dark Charka users are beyond rare, and illusive to boot, while wielders of the Storm Release are guarded heavily by Kumo, their Kage a dragon paranoid about every jewel in his hoard."

Hiruko chuckles dragon and if possible it's an even more haunting sound than his deranged shouting from before.

"But even a dragon cannot account for every gemstone and there are plenty of Lightning style users that have proven… fruitful."

There are no handsigns, there is no warning. Just the sense of sudden danger, immediately followed by burning, stabbing, white-hot pain slamming into my arms and shooting down my torso into my feet all the way to my toes. My back arches against my will and I let out a howl of pain that rattles the remaining glassware on the nearby tables. A lightning jutsu and in a calmer moment I might have recognized it as a modified version of the Electromagnetic Murder jutsu or something similar.

In the moment, however? All that consumed my mind was the sudden and inescapable pain. As well as a storm of curse words.

'T-that creepy motherfucker-! He fucking tased me?!'

I grit my teeth, feeling my muscles spasm and where the bandaged were wrapped around my arms I could feel small burns forming. I could even smell it, smoke coming off my form mixed with the scent of ozone in the air, copper overwhelming on my tongue.

"Boss!" Raijin roars, being closest to me and even through my pain I can feel the thunderous impact of his feet slamming into the tiled floors as he rushes to my side.

Not that Hiruko lets him, as I can see him rip himself free from the crater I had slammed into, using that same movement to lift a decently sized chunk of rock up and kick it straight towards the rushing Raijin. In a complete opposite to the Brothers' own attempts, Hiruko's aim is dead on, the large piece of rubble slamming into the side of Raijin's head with tremendous force, enough to make the giant veer of course, his thick tree-sized legs stumbling as he crashes face-first into a nearby pillar, his weight and impact enough to almost dislodge the massive structure completely, the entire room rumbling.

"Little Bro!" Fujin roars, his normally massive grin gone as he rushes towards the prone giant.

And of course, because he just had to be that much better than me, Hiruko managed all this while continuing to run lightning through his bandages, unrelenting in his attack on me as I kept roaring in pain.

It felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of moments before he finally cut off his chakra flow. Because I was pretty sure that if Hiruko had gone on for as long as it felt like he had, I would've turned into crispy barbeque. With the sudden absence of lighting coursing through my veins, my muscles turn to jelly even as they give random jerking twitches and I collapse to my knees.

"What a shame, Mizuki. You could've grown underneath my wings. There would've been a place for you in the new world I shall create following my ascension. Alas, now the only place fit for you in this world… is buried underneath it." Hiruko snarls, though even as my smoking body spams occasionally, I realize that he's breathing slightly heavy and by the looks of him, thanks to the conductive bandages connecting the two of us, he hadn't been entirely immune to the blowback of his own technique.

'… my teeth itch…'

"Farewell, Oniyuri Mizuki. As a courtesy to my old friend, I shall endeavor to deliver your corpse to Orochimaru. Perhaps that your body can be useful to some of his own research at least. And if not… well, there are fates worse than death, as I'm sure he's eager to educate your pathetic soul on." Hiruko continues darkly with a tone of finality, rising to his feet.

With barely any change of expression on his mummy-like face, he reaches towards his left arm where one needle had managed to score a clean hit (a single one out of what must have been hundreds and hundreds) going in on one side and emerging through the other. His eyes never leave mine as he pulls it steadily from his flesh, holding it idly between thumb and forefinger.

He takes aim as I force my twitching body upright again, the residual foreign lightning chakra slowly disappearing in sudden bursts. Before he can let loose with his own senbon however, a woman's voice rings out over the din of battle.

"Shouldn't you be more worried about your own research?!" Tsubaki shouts from the door opening to Hiruko's secret sanctum, making his head snap immediately towards her.

His red eyes widen when he sees that her hands are clasped, the beginnings of a fire jutsu clearly prepped and ready to turn his precious record keeping into a priceless collection of ash. Hiruko unleashes something between a strangled scream and wrathful hiss as he immediately goes for the kill, his focus shifting from me to Tsubaki as he angles the senbon in his hand, his gaunt torso twisting as he puts all of his power in the throw, Tsubaki's eyes widening in fear as she lets go of the seal, scrambling to pull out a kunai instead.

I can see it clear as day. She'll be too late. Hiruko sees it to, a sadistic gleam in those murderous eyes, his emaciated arm inching forwards and forwards-

"NO!"

The animalistic roar is my own I belatedly realize, but by then I'm already moving. My clawed hands, fingers still spasming, grab onto the bandages that are still connecting Hiruko to me as I explode upwards, giving a massive heave on the fabric. Chakra shoots out from the soles of my feet, sloppy and sputtering but good enough to glue me to the floor as I twist my torso.

Hiruko's eyes widen and to his credit immediately untangles the bandages wrapped around my arms, but my grip on the cloth is unyielding as I literally tear him from his spot, hurling him in a wide arc through the room, slamming him through tables and file cabinets in a blur of movement, the floor cracking underneath me.

Even taken off guard Hiruko tries to finish his throw, but it goes wide, catching only errant hairs from Tsubaki's long plaited braid, the long cactus needle suddenly resembling a classic hair ornament rather than a deadly weapon. Still, I continue my throw and Hiruko rapidly switches into his metallic form, both to protect himself from the various impacts and to use his weight against me.

Unfortunately for him, he has spent the past two weeks on making me stronger than I've ever been before and gritting my teeth I lean back, torso hovering just inches above the floor as I increase the spin, Hiruko's arc through the room even speeding up as he crashes straight through the furniture, heavy and durable enough that he doesn't even bleed off any momentum, flying through the air.

My attack, born of desperation, is utterly negated by his own unique kekkai genkai and in a briefly lucid moment, our eyes connect and I can see that same realization in his gaze, the metallic skin shifting into a deadly grin.

Before it's suddenly dented in as Fujin's massive forearm slams into his nose in a brutal clothesline, the giant suddenly stepping into Hiruko's wide arc. The metal man's entire body is whipped forwards and if it weren't for its unique properties, I was fairly certain that my throw combined with Fujin's incredible strength would've made Hiruko's head pop clean off his shoulders.

As it is, for just a brief moment he hangs motionless in the air, before with a grunt Fujin slams his arm downwards, sending Hiruko crashing into the floor, the heaviness of his Steel Release causing the tiles to cave in around him in an oddly form-fitting crater. He doesn't rise immediately, likely disoriented by the massive tree trunk masquerading as an arm that had appeared out of nowhere right in his face.

"I… I shall b-be… perfect… I am… p-perfect…" his voice comes from his crater as despite everything, he begins to scramble to his feet, the words somewhat garbled since the front of his face is legitimately dented inwards, slurring his speech and likely forcing him to stay in his Steel Release form.

With a grunt, Fujin shakes out his arm, a massive red imprint on his forearm already blooming into a massive purple bruise as he moves behind the gaunt chimera. With startling swiftness, he catches Hiruko in a rear-naked choke, his massive form lifting the emaciated man up in the air, Hiruko's feet dangling over the crater his steel body had formed.

Despite the dangerous position, the chimera's deformed face stretches into something approaching a grin, his voice seemingly not hindered by the massive arm encircling his neck.

"You fool! You think a mere hadaka jime would take me out! In this form, I have no lungs, no arteries! I told you already, taijutsu is useless against me-!"

He doesn't get to say much more, because the Legendary Stupid Brothers don't really care about taijutsu per se. With the same strength that had casually molded thick prison bars like they were wet noodles, Fujin shifts his grip a little, before with a horrible screeching metallic shriek, tears Hiruko's steel head straight of his shoulders. Even beheaded, Hiruko's eyes widen, before with a slow, stuttering shimmer, the transformation is released. The moment steel is turned back into flesh, the gaping wound starts gushing blood and I can see Hiruko's stitched mouth open and close wordlessly below his shattered nose and cheekbones.

Of course, since his throat is no longer attached to his lungs, he can't actually speak and judging from my limited lip-reading ability, that's probably for the best. Some of those things he said about my mother weren't just hurtful, but downright anatomically not possible. Not even in this world.

Fujin just grunts at the spray of blood that covers the front of his shirt before he glances my way.

"Here ya go Boss." He says before tossing the white-haired head through the air.

I watch it spin head over… well… head before a chakra thread snaps out from my index finger. It flickers and is much less subtle than I know I can make them, but at least the lightning chakra has left my body enough that my own control isn't completely shot anymore.

Good to know, considering the unknown battles still occurring outside the palace.

The thread shoots out like a snake, uncomfortably reminding me of the bandages Hiruko had used so effectively, snapping up one of the literal hundreds of cactus needles scattered across the shattered tiles. Picking it up, I whip the thread forwards at just the right moment. It shoots through the air, slamming straight into Hiruko's forehead, making his eyes widen and jaw go slack. The head sails through the air, slamming face-first into one of the few remaining desk, pinning itself to its surface with the part of the senbon sticking out from his forehead.

With a wet splat, his body fell to the ground several meters away, the gush of blood slowing now that the heart had truly stopped beating. Already forgetting about the battle, Fujin went over to his brother, who finally managed to extract his head from the stone pillar he had smashed into. The giant's younger brother fussed over him while Raijin winced as he tenderly poked the massive bump on his forehead that was tall enough to rise above his plume of hair, monobrow furrowed in pain and confusion. Further behind them Tsubaki sunk against the hidden doorframe with a sigh of relief, before holding up her braid, looking at the needle stuck in her hair with wide eyes.

My own eyes linger on Hiruko's decapitated head for several long moments, expecting a trap of some kind, a hidden trump card or perhaps worse, a deadman's switch. And yet… nothing.

Hiruko of the Chimera Technique was well and truly dead.

Slowly, my gaze moves from the pinned head to Tsubaki and the hidden room at her back.

More importantly, at the loot that awaited me.

---

Fun Fact: Fujin's prison number was 12

AN: Chekov's Cactus. A Chaktus, if you will. You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 1.5​

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"Fujin, Raijin. Take these sealing scrolls. Steal everything that isn't torn to shreds and isn't nailed down. If it is nailed down, tear it loose and take the nails too." My order cuts through the settling silence as the Legendary Idiot Brothers stop fussing over the comically large bump on Raijin's forehead, snatching the scrolls out of the air as I toss them over.

Sealing scrolls aren't exactly common and can be a bit of an investment, but they aren't really rare either (at least, depending on what's contained in the seal). Simple scrolls like these that only store inanimate objects are easy enough to come by and Hiruko (or perhaps the small civilization that had been here in ages past before he razed them to the ground) had enough of a stockpile that me taking a handful hadn't even caused the chimera to bat an eye.

The handful he knew about, at least. Days were long here on the mountaintop after all and the palace vast. Between Tsubaki and I exploring the palace whenever we weren't being watched by Hiruko or his henchmen, we found plenty of hiding places where we could squirrel away everything we managed to get our sticky fingers on. I'm pretty sure that Suien had been doing the exact same thing and probably has pocketed more than the two of us combined, though of course he denied it when I tried to question him about it and had brusquely told me that the only benefit he saw to sharing our hiding places, was so that he could lie about the location of his while he raided mine.

Paranoid prick.

Still, the stolen and borrowed sealing scrolls came in clutch now, as it contained both standard ninja gear we'd need for the road ahead (filched weaponry, bandages, some extra clothes, your standard camping supplies really) and it allowed both Idiot Brothers to quickly move through the room, gathering whatever papers weren't torn to shreds or covered in spilled embalming fluids, tearing the maps that were still legible off the walls, even picking up some of the machinery and equipment that had miraculously survived.

As they moved quickly through the room, using their vast strength to clear debris and gather everything within reach, I joined Tsubaki near the entrance of Hiruko's hidden chamber. She's holding her long braid, the thin cactus needle that the chimera had thrown still embedded near its end, her eyes wide. She startles as I place a hand on her shoulder, gaze flitting to me before her expression softens in recognition as my other hand comes up and gently extracts the large senbon from her hair.

"Tsubaki, are you all right?"

"I… I am. I am now, though for a moment there…" she trails off weakly, and I can only nod, understanding what she lacks the words to say out loud.

She was 'just' a chūnin, and judging from what she had shared about her and Mizuki's past, a rather sheltered one at that. She had likely never had to face an opponent of Hiruko's level, had never faced such killing intent before or come so close to dying. I glance back over my shoulder, spotting the smashed pillars, the trail of destruction his metal body had carved through the room, the crater he had made, his emaciated, bandage-wrapped body lying nearby while his decapitated head, stitched mouth gaping wide open, was pinned a distance away.

'The majority of ninja have likely never faced something like Hiruko.' I think grimly, knowing that in reality, this strange world was actually filled with such monsters, some of whom could put Hiruko's power (and weirdness) to shame.

"What about you? Your wounds they-" Tsubaki's voice breaks through my musings and I can see the woman's eyes glued to the crisscrossing lines of electrical burns that cover my forearms and slash through my new tiger stripes.

"Hurt like a bitch, but I'll be fine. Pain is good; means I'm still alive." I say, trying to smile, but probably only managing a brittle grimace.

Exhaustion is pulling at my mind, seeping down into my bones, a cloak draped over my shoulders feeling so heavy it drags me down to the ground. My recent transformation had been horribly disgusting at first and unbelievably painful afterwards and pretty much immediately afterwards I had gotten into the dangerous fight of my life during which I got electrocuted.

'I am so fucking done with today.' I groused.

If my next fight came in a year from now, it'd be too soon. Still, that reminded me of the fight going on outside, a three way brawl between Suien, Hiruko's henchmen and whoever the hell was attacking us. We needed to finish up here before that battle ended one way or the other.

"Let's move." I nodded towards Tsubaki and we both stepped into Hiruko's secret stash.

All in all, the room is surprisingly small, a far cry from the large hall where the Brothers are still doing their clean-up. The air is thick with the scent of paper and antiseptic. Large cabinets are pushed against the walls, alternated by deep alcoves, most of them filled with glass tubes containing specimens of half-formed animals and abandoned experiments. My steps falter when one of them contains just a single detached arm, before I shake my head and push on as I step carefully, boots barely making a sound, scanning the room in beats. Shelves sag under the weight of jars filled with organs, preserved animals, and vials of darkly tinged fluid. Some are labelled in Hiruko's spidery handwriting, others covered in seals that I study from afar with a wary look.

I've spent enough time under Hiruko's tutelage to know better than to touch anything without thinking, but my curiosity hums like a live wire. Tsubaki hovers nearby, eyes wide, hand resting on the hilt of a kunai. She flinches as I pick up a thick book from a nearby workbench and begin leafing through it.

"Careful," she whispers. "This place…"

"I know. Still, it must be somewhere here, maybe even disguised." I respond, taking out another scroll, unfurling it and placing the book, along with two smaller scrolls and a map, onto one of the sealing matrixes, before going through the hand signs for the Sealing Technique.

"Lets keep looking. The technique itself is mainly seal-based, but it's deeply tied to combining elemental natures and hybridizing different organisms, so look for anything on that as well." I instruct Tsubaki, who gives me a nod as we move further into the small room.

I work methodically, scanning each scroll, each parchment, each vial. Notes on combining elemental chakra with bodily modifications, experiments with hybrid abilities, blood signatures required for partial absorption — everything Hiruko considered valuable. Most of it is nonsensical without context, but my eyes jump, picking out the patterns. I cross-reference mental notes I've made over the past two weeks. Every step, every detail, every step in Hiruko's experiments is catalogued.

Yet after all that, after carefully checking every scroll and skimming through every book and emptying every shelf while trying to keep an eye out for any traps or failsafes…

"Nothing." My tone is bitter and worry begins to coil in my gut.

Did I make a miscalculation? Hiruko had all the vibes of a mad scientist and as such I had expected heavy note-taking. Chaotic, non-sensical, likely blood-covered note-taking, but some form of record keeping nonetheless. After all, in the wise words of Adam Savage, "the only difference between messing around and science, is writing it down." But perhaps being a mad scientist meant something different in this world?

'Don't tell me… that the bastard never actually wrote his technique down?!'

Worry steadily begins to bloom into panic as I desperately try to ignore the growing possibility that the dangers of the past two weeks had been for nothing. Well, perhaps not nothing considering my incomplete Tiger form, but still, the Chimera Technique had been the key that would unlock several (very important) doors down the line. Without it, I could face massive set-backs or even complete failure in some cases.

"Anything?" I desperately ask Tsubaki, but the woman glances over her shoulder as she closes another ledger, ruefully shaking her head.

"I've seen more anatomical drawings than I ever did during all of our years during the Academy, in enough detail that I'll probably skip eating meat for the foreseeable future. But nothing like the sealwork you described." She explains and I can't stop myself from letting out a frustrated sigh, my back to the wall as I sink down to the floor, palms of my hands pressing tightly against my eyes as I rest my chin on my knees.

I can feel Tsubaki move through the tight space, hovering at my side in indecision for a moment before she takes a knee next to me, slim hand resting on my (now impressively muscled) arm, her voice trying to sound optimistic.

"I'm sorry Mizuki. If you want we can keep looking? Or perhaps his henchmen know more? From what you've told me, and from his rants that I managed to overhear, it doesn't sound like his transformation was finished yet. Considering how important it was to him, I don't think that he'd try to just go off memory alone, so the technique must be written down… somewhere." She reasons and to my surprise it does a lot to quell my rising worry.

I pull my hands away from my face, glancing towards Tsubaki, a tired smile playing across my lips.

"You know, that's actually a really good… point…"

My voice trails off and my eyes widen as from the corner of my eye, I spot something just behind her. Tsubaki blinks in surprise, then lets out a startled yelp as I scramble from my seated position, hurrying to the opposite side of the small room on hands and knees, scattering some loose papers. A writing desk, wide and heavy, its ancient scarred top covered in notes, a pair of vials covered in greasy residue and yet another dissected rat (perhaps the same one from Hiruko's first 'lecture'?). However, what had caught my eye wasn't on the table.

It was underneath it, a darker shade against its shadowed belly. I crane my head, a wide grin showing off my new enlarged canines as I spot what had caught the corner of my eye.

"Hiruko, you sly bastard." I chuckle, my clawed hand trailing softly against the wood underneath the desk, tracing the outlines of a barely visible matrix of scripts. Despite my limited knowledge of fuinjutsu, the seal was instantly recognizable. After all, it looked almost identical to the ones I had kept seeing on all those sealing scrolls I had been using so far.

I'm eager, but I'm also not stupid. The claws of my fingers scrape softly over the wood, the ink of the seal penetrating the timber, but very faintly humming to my senses, likely the traces of chakra contained within the pigment. But I'm looking for something more and following the grooves of the wood, expanding my tentative touch ever so carefully, I finally come across it. No ink this time, the pattern is scorched, the seal burnt into the wood itself, much rougher, much more solid to my touch and I catch the distinct smell of blood.

It's not much, in fact the amount was so small that I hadn't caught it from the other side of the room, considering the stench of conservatives and smoke wafting in from the main hall. Not to mention the amount of blood that already lingered in the air from past experiments. However, now that I was so close, face inches away from the wood, the scent was unmistakeable, especially since large amounts of it were steadily seeping in from the main hall as well.

Hiruko's own blood.

I remembered my security complaints to the Frog-masked ANBU when he had put me under his hypnosis, on the outdated security systems in their supermax prison and the baffling lack of seal, blood and chakra based safety measures. While the prison personnel had led slip that most of my suggestions/complaints had been brought to the desk of one very intrigued Morino Ibiki, it had also been clear that the kind of security measures I was thinking off were impractical to implement in such a large and public space.

However, that didn't mean they were impossible to create and in fact, they were perfect for securing a missing nin's most prized technique and from what I knew of the man after these past two weeks, I knew that Hiruko trusted blood more than locks. I didn't know what would've happened if I'd tried to unseal the larger seal without first deactivating this one, but I wasn't keen to find out. Knowing Hiruko, it probably would've fused my hand to the table or something. Or turned me into an iguana. Or just killed me.

"Fujin, Raijin, toss me that corpse, will you?" I call out, hearing a 'coming!' from one of the brothers, before something suddenly lands right next to the desk with a disgustingly crunchy wet 'slap!'

Tsubaki lets out a startled shriek, which I'm somewhat thankful for as it hides the sound of the back of my head slamming into the underside of the desk. What? I'd like to see you stay cool as a cucumber when you're dealing with a missing nin's blood-based sealing matrix and a fucking corpse gets tossed over like a soggy wet blanket.

Rubbing the back of my head with a wince, I glance at the decapitated body at my side.

"Thanks guys!"

"Sure thing Boss!"

Glancing from the corpse to the table, I grab one of Hiruko's thin hands, the emaciated flesh practically swallowed inside my meaty fist. Now, judging by the way this world operated, the likely way that Hiruko deactivated the blood seal was to bite his thumb and press it in the middle of the lines of scripts, something that he had done so often that I could even feel the barest hint of an indentation there.

'Fuck that, I'm not biting a dead dude's fucking thumb.'

Instead, I pulled up the corpse into a half-seated position, taking the arm I'd grabbed and dabbing the stiffening dead fingers into the exposed trachea (which makes my stomach do flips and gets an audible 'hurk!' from Tsubaki as she looks away). Gritting my teeth, I power through the strange sensation and even more disturbing sounds. Once the fingers are good and bloody, I press Hiruko's thumb into the middle of the blood seal. Briefly, the script sparks with chakra, light racing over the scorch marks in the seal, before there's a poof of smoke in the other matrix and my hand shoots out to catch what it releases before it can clatter to the floor.

Letting Hiruko's body drop to the floor, I rise to my full height, eyes glued to the object clenched tightly in my hand. A single black scroll bound in faded crimson thread, the kanji for "融合" — Fusion — burned into its lacquered surface. No ornate casing, no title, yet I recognize for what it truly is: power.

I check it over for additional seals or locks, but there's nothing. Not too surprising, considering Hiruko's base rarely even got visitors in the first place, much less visitors that would've made it to this room and then figure out the blood-bound safety measure. Slowly, I open the rolled-up paper, eyes flitting over the page, tracing the various schematics, the expertly drawn sketches and figures, the rolling brushwork of sealing scripts and symbols.

"This… this…"

'… I can't fucking read any of this shit!'

With a bone-tired sigh, I roll up the scroll, before tucking it inside my shirt, next to the stack of papers containing the ingredients for the second part of the Tiger potion. I really need to figure out a safer way of storing such important documents. Shame that I can't just check them into a bank or something.

"This is gonna take a lot of homework." I finish morosely.

The studies under Hiruko had helped somewhat at least, and as it stood I was fairly certain that with a bit of practice, I'd at the very least be able to incorporate another's DNA signature, at least to the point that I could fool blood based security like the seals on the Vein of Gelel and the Dragon Vein. But incorporating kekkai genkai outright? That'd take a more dedicated understanding, not just of basic biology, but also sealing as a whole and the inner workings of kekkai genkai in particular. As far as I understood it, judging from what I understood of the scroll and Hiruko's own rants, he had tried to answer where kekkai genkai actually came from.

Not as in, what is their history or ancestry, but on a more biomechanical level. Where in the body were the alterations located that meant the difference between just being good at Water and Wind jutsu, and being able to make Demonic Ice mirrors? Why was it that dojutsu could be swapped like fucking lightbulbs, but giving someone an unique nature transformation seemed downright impossible? Orochimaru had access to a batch of one hundred babies and Hashirama cells, but only Tenzo survived with a far inferior version of the Shodaime's unique abilities.

What was different in the body of a kekkai genkai user? What organs functioned differently? How was chakra guided through their body when they transformed it in an element that another ninja going through the exact same handseals simply could not replicate?

Hiruko had made some advancement in this at least, considering he'd managed to incorporate both the Swift and the Steel Release, but he hadn't exactly spelled it out in layman's terms in the scroll. It was hardly an instruction manual after all, the Chimera Technique wasn't something that Hiruko was willing to teach to someone in the first place. It was more the scattered, manic note-keeping of a mad scientist who barely understood his own success enough and who sought to replicate and push it further.

'I'll get it eventually. I'm not planning on running into any particular kekkai any time soon after all. As long as I get it to the point I incorporate antoher's blood by the time of Temujin's invasion, I'm golden, and that only happens after the Chunin Exams, which are… whoever the fuck knows many months away.'

I blink in surprise, glancing over towards Tsubaki.

"Hey, what's the date?"

"Uhm, somewhere early in March, I think. The 8th or 9th? I lost count cooped up in the palace. Why? Is it to do with those lunar cycles Hiruko's obsessed with?" the woman answers in surprise as I mull her answer over.

"No, nothing like that, just… planning." I muse.

Right, the Chuunin Exams are, what, somewhere between a couple of months to half a year away? Naruto became a ninja the same night he kicked the original Mizuki's ass, meaning that while he was subjected to the Thousand Years of Death, I was being interrogated by ANBU.

Not sure which one of us got off worse to be honest.

It had taken almost a month to escape the prison and then a little under a week to get to Mount Shumisen, where we've been roughly two weeks. So either Naruto was still discovering the joy of weed-pulling on his D-Ranks, or had just set out on the series' first (and honestly, still one of the best) arcs, wholly unprepared and unawares.

Plenty of time for me to become at least semi-proficient with the Chimera Technique. I hope.

"C'mon, let's get out of here. If at all possible, I want to skirt past the battles outside. I can still feel my hair stand on end from that lightning attack and I'm pretty sure Raijin lost one of the few braincells he still had left smashing into the pillar like that." I order, swiftly moving out of the room, signalling the Brothers to wrap things up.

I almost walked past the workbench with Hiruko's head pinned to it, before pausing in my steps. I didn't have the special scrolls that hunter nin use to seal away their prey and I didn't know what would happen if I tried to force a corpse like Hiruko's into a seal that wasn't made for living (or, well, once alive) matter.

'Still though… this might be useful.'

Feeling somewhat macabre, I reach out and grasp Hiruko's long white hairs, before pulling him off the embedded senbon, before looking around. Finding a piece of trap lying nearby that wasn't too filled with holes, I wrapped the head inside like a knapsack, before leading my strange little group towards the entrance hall of the massive palace. Flitting through the massive white-marbled doors we came to the top of the ancient cracked stairs we had climbed when we first came here. Below us spread the molten, twisted remains of what had once been the surrounding city quarters, now buried underneath long cooled slabs of molten stone. Further down below stood the blue dragon gate, though it was opened to show of the cracked, blackened expanse beyond.

I had expected to fighting to have reached here by now, or at the very least see San here, perhaps locked in a battle with Suien, but the massive field lay empty. The sounds of combat were coming from beyond the edge of this upper plateau, further down the winding road to the third gate, past the paths lined with the massive cacti the Idiot Brothers had become so fond of.

Not that I was really happy about moving towards the sound of battle, but brief attempts at scouting during our stay these past two weeks had revealed that the path towards the third gate was the safest and easiest exit from the palace grounds, short of just jumping straight off the top of the mountain towards the world below.

The Brothers could maybe survive it. With my new enhancement, I could potentially. Still though, that was quite a drop…

And so despite my concerns, we moved swiftly down the winding path, quickly coming across the ruined remains that had once been the third gatehouse. Deep slashes crisscrossed the outer façade of the structure, clearly made by a large scale cutting technique, Suien's work no doubt. Much of the ancient gold and stone decorations that had given the building such a distinguished, almost melancholy look had been torn apart in what had apparently been a sudden and fierce battle.

As I could personally attest to, Suien did not fight fair and liked to ambush his foes. However, he also had a chip on his shoulder where the lanky twins were concerned and I didn't put it past him to have gloated before launching his attack on San, who thanks to his bird-like summon had unparalleled air superiority and the ability to rain down explosive artillery with abandon.

Probably why entire parts of the building weren't just cut or destroyed, but outright gone.

I spare a brief thought to the ancient civilization that had suffered so much already at the hands of Hiruko and his people before we've shot past the ruined gatehouse, nothing more than an empty ruin now, a reminder only of tragedy.

Our flight down the mountain is hurried and soon the walls begin closing in, bringing us closer to the ravine where the gate of Ni was nestled tightly into the cliff walls. Not that much of the gate still stood. Not even the walls of the ravines were so close together anymore, the gap between the two widened by the tell-tale afterglow of massive explosions and heavy impacts, even an Earth jutsu or two.

The source of the large scale destruction was clear when a series of bright fireballs erupted in front of us, forcing us to shield our faces from the light and heat for a moment, before the resulting cloud of dust was slowly tugged away by the winds that perpetually surrounded the mountain this high up. With the obstructing dust gone, we could properly see the battlefield for the first time.

Only to see Ni, her (distinctive) torso sticking out of a massive lion-dog, which was attacking both Suien and a squad of ANBU led by a familiar Tiger mask while far above, San was similarly sticking out of an eagle-owl of some kind, raining down explosive feathers with incoherent screams of rage and grief, make-up running down his face in messy streaks.

"The fuck?" I can't help but ask as the Idiot Brothers rumbled to a halt at my side.

"Doggy!" Raijin exclaimed happily upon seeing Ni's giant monster.

It let out a roar that visibly shook the air, before it's massive jaw seemingly unhinged, sending out a massive torrent of fire that violently tore apart the already ruined landscape that forced the ANBU squad to dodge out of the way, only to be hemmed in by the explosions raining down from above.

For a moment our group just looks on at the destruction as Suien launches a water dragon at the doglike monster, apparently shouting something taunting that caused San to hurl down curses with even louder screams.

"Bad doggy." Fujin concludes, his monobrow furrowed heavily.

"Mizuki, what do we do? They're in trouble." Tsubaki presses, looking worried.

She was right. The tight ravine made the larger numbers of the ANBU squad moot in front of the wide-spread attacks that San's and Ni's summons were capable of. I didn't see Ichi or his snakes anywhere and judging by the grief-stricken San and the grin on Suien's face, I had a pretty good idea what happened to the other half of the set of twins. Similarly, I could only see Ni's massive lion-turtle-dog, not the two smaller cyborg wolves she was capable of summoning.

However, both Suien and the ANBU were still at a clear disadvantage.

"San is the biggest problem. Up there in the sky, nobody can touch him while that freaky bird of his doesn't seem to be running out of ammo any time soon. Ni's turtle-dog is huge and strong, but slow. They can keep it on its toes, keep dancing around it. I just hope they got something in their arsenal that will manage to pierce its defenses." I conclude swiftly, my eyes flitting over the battle, trying to figure out to best way to make our entrance count.

My gaze is drawn to Suien, who dodges another exploding feather with a curse, before disappearing in a watery Body Flicker, appearing again higher up the walls of the ravine already in the classic Naruto run as he speeds straight up, trying to close the gap between him and San's bird. Even mad with grief though, San sees the approaching Taki nin and his bird, fused with his lower half, reacts instantly to an unseen command, barreling away and leaving glowing feathers in its wake, like a screen of flares.

Suien flies through handseals at immense speeds and unleashes a wave of water, allowing the force of it to push him back as he cuts the chakra to his feet, allowing gravity to pull him down. The wave of water falls short of San's bird, but at least washes away some of the dangerous feathers, dousing them before they can explode. He didn't manage to catch all of them though, and like a series of fireworks, the remaining glowing quills explode in bright fireballs, their shockwaves buffeting Suien as he tumbles down again.

Good to know that Water jutsu were effective against the feathers at least, but the range of most Water techniques was clearly insufficient to catch up to the speeding bird.

'Man, what I wouldn't give for a gun right about now…' I thought, before my eyes slid past the recovering form of Suien and towards the massive creature further back, the lion-turtle making a clumsy swipe at a couple of ANBU.

The special operatives managed to dodge the slow blow, but it was still powerful enough that it tore up the ground into great chunks with ease. However, I wasn't focused on the beast, but rather the woman sticking up out of its neck.

"Come on, just die already!" Ni roared at her opponents, seemingly completely unafraid of facing a full combat squad of ANBU gunning for her head, as she cracked a meters-long whip forwards in wide, sweeping arcs.

Which gives me an idea.

"Fujin, Raijin, I need you to keep the big doggy busy, alright? Make sure it can't eat me, please." I ask the giant brothers, looking from the massive bruise smattered across Fujin's forearm and the equally purple one covering Raijin's forehead.

They're not at 100% and are out of ranged option after going through our cactus needle supply, but Ni isn't exactly fresh either. The giants exchange a look before shrugging.

"Sure thing Boss."

And with that, they break out in a lumbering run, picking up a surprising amount of speed as they barrel down the rocky path towards the chaotic battlefield, with me close on their heels, obscured by their towering forms. The massive turtle-dog is still chasing the illusive ANBU, seemingly completely unbothered by the kunai and shuriken that ping harmlessly off its armored hide, but the stomps of the Legendary Idiot Brothers still catch Ni's attention, who looks over her shoulder in surprise.

"Ah, Mizuki! C'mon, take these Leaf bastards out, in our masters' names!" she calls out with a grin, turning her back on me as she directs her beast to move away from a Wind Bullet that had been on a direct course with her head.

A costly mistake.

Her beast goes to pounce on an ANBU that had to dodge out of the way of an exploding feather, but now finds herself within reach of the massive beast, Ni's whip already arcing around to smash down on her opponent with devastating force.

The lion-dog never manages to take off, a legendary brother slamming into each knee, effectively hamstringing the great monster as its hind leg collapse underneath itself. The impact shakes the earth but I keep moving, powerful legs pumping away as I use Fujin's shoulder as a springboard. I soar over the creature's back, sprinting over its ridged back towards where Ni's body is molded to her summons. She half-turns in shock, rage beginning to twist her features as she tries to bring the whip back around again.

"You dare?!" her screech is piercing and loud, but before she can finish her awkward movement, I've sped up even further, moving just shy of a full Body Flicker.

In less than a heartbeat, I'm standing over her, my arm shooting out, slamming into the back of her elbow, halting her own strike dead in its tracks. My clawed hand tightens painfully and I can feel bones grind together underneath her flesh and skin.

"Sorry, I'm borrowing this." I say glibly, before my muscles bulge and with a grunt of effort, I tear her arm clean off.

Her scream is even louder this time and to my surprise, the lion-turtle roars in kind, clearly some sensory feedback. It struggles mightily to kick the brothers off its legs, but they just clamp their thick arms even tighter as they grunt in exertion. Even disarmed, Ni still tries to kill me, mentally ordering her great beast to try and turn around, ineffectively trying to snap its jaws at me, but it can't turn its head that far. Within the blink of an eye, Ni has a kunai in her remaining hand, the gooey black flesh surrounding her lower body warping and pulling away as she moves up, trying to ram the cold steel through my eye.

My hand shoots up, snatching her wrist, halting the attack dead in its tracks. She's surprisingly strong in this fused state, but since my new upgrade, I'm still stronger. Wide-eyed and with a crazed snarl on her face, Ni keeps struggling against me, mimicking the desperate moves of the monster underneath me. For a moment I worry I'll lose my footing, until the shadow of an ANBU suddenly materializes behind the crazed woman, a truly expertly timed Body Flicker denoting the user's skill with the technique. Not that I'm really surprised when I spot the familiar tiger-themed mask.

There's no pause, no halting moment to stabilize or reorient. The figure moves immediately, smoothly stepping into the flow of battle as one hand shoots out, grabbing a fistful of Ni's hair, harshly yanking her head back with a brutal gesture. In that same movement, his other arm moves like a blurry shadow across her throat, knife parting flesh with ease.

Ni's eyes widen and she stays conscious for a surprisingly long moment considering the gruesome wounds, likely a result of the chimera technique, her body surviving off of the beast it's fused to. Clearly thinking along similar lines, the ANBU flips through several handseals and I can feel the distinct heat of a Fire technique building up. Not that I stick around. I extract the whip from Ni's detached hand and then look to Suien who's still trying to close the distance to San's bird.

"Suien! Left wall! Left wall!" I roar as I Body Flicker towards the right side of the ravine, feet gluing me horizontally to the sheer surface, while behind me I can hear a gruff voice exclaim "Katon: Great Fireball" with a sense of finality.

I try to block out the resultant garbled scream and the scent of cooked meat, focusing instead on the jōnin that just managed to ward off another assault of exploding feathers.

The Taki nin's eyes flit towards me, annoyance clear in his eyes before his gaze snaps to the long whip held in my fists and I can see understanding bloom across his face. He gives me a tight nod, before blasting off a series of small balls of water from his mouth, forcing San to wheel his bird out of the way. As the lanky twin screams obscenities at Suien, the man flips through several handseals, before disappearing in a Body Flicker, just as San's bird flaps its massive wings, a veritable curtain of glowing plumage slamming into the ground where Suien had just stood.

It goes up in a veritable haze of heat and pressure, but Suien is already on the left side of the ravine, running higher and higher as San maneuvers his bird around. I had hoped that San's rage would've caused him to make a mistake, maybe order his bird on a collision course with the killer of his twin, but annoyingly, the thin man seemed satisfied with doing his best Deidara impression.

Seeing the cliff face that Suien had landed on partially collapsing in on itself under a renewed barrage from San's exploding chicken, I had to concede it was a hell of a likeness.

Suien kept running upwards, even using a Body Flicker mid-stride to scale the massive ravine wall, firing off several lower ranked water-techniques, likely to conserve chakra. He aimed them deliberately high and San ducked his bird lower. He wasn't blinded by grief to the point that he'd make a foolish mistake like giving up his ranged advantage, but that didn't mean he was thinking rationally either. He didn't consider even for a moment that Suien was throwing his shots wide on purpose, hemming him in.

The only moment that he knew something was going on was when a thick cord of leather wrapped itself around his neck. San's eyes widened and instinctively he urged his mount to speed up, to get him out of the range of the danger and I gritted my teeth, holding onto Ni's whip for dear life. The impact of San's bird suddenly accelerating was enough to send a tremor through my shoulders and arms, but here was where my prison training came in clutch. At this point I was an absolute master at sticking myself to surfaces, so I glued my feet against the cliff face, my whole body straining as I kept San in place, feeling like a certain Mr. Unchained during his work-outs.

The lanky man's arms flailed before his hand dipped into his pouch, clearly going for a kunai to cut the rope as his bird kept pouring on more speed, to the point that spiderwebs were beginning to shoot out from underneath the soles of my feet, my chakra tearing the wall apart. But then suddenly Suien appeared on top of the bird, a sword made of water stabbing forwards, spearing San clear through the heart. The man stiffened but just as with Ni, I knew that even such a mortal wound wouldn't be immediately fatal as long as his body was connected to his summons. I wanted to shout my discovery to Suien, but San was still urging the owl-eagle forwards and every muscle in my body was straining to keep myself from being drawn and quartered as I anchored myself to the rock wall.

Thankfully, Suien had once been one of Taki's most prized jōnin and he quickly came to the same conclusion I did. Summoning another sword of water, he swung both in a low arc, catching San right above the hips. The man's eyes widened, but with his throat being crushed and with a massive hole in his heart, he wasn't exactly in the best position to defend himself and the watery swords parted flesh with ease. With a disgusting squelching side, San's torso tore itself free from the back of his summons, the eagle-owl, now suddenly no longer held back, exploding forwards in a burst of speed, slamming itself straight into the opposite cliff face, going up in the largest fireball yet.

This explosion was large enough to actually collapse part of the mountain itself, and for a moment I thought Suien had been caught in the explosion, but then the man reappeared next to me in a Body Flicker, breathing hard.

And he splashed me with the residual water of his technique. Bastard. Not that I had the time to deal with the man's pettiness as I coiled the whip upwards, San's barely alive body still clutched in its coils. With a sudden pull of my arm, I tore the whip downwards, the leather following suit, speeding up in a sharp arc before the tip slammed heavily into the cliff face, rocks exploding outwards, the sound of shattering bones unmistakable. The whip uncoiled and San's now limb body tumbled helplessly to the ruined battlefield below.

The battle there seemed to be rounding up as well. Ni's large beast was being driven to the edge of the large square in front of her now shattered gate, a charred corpse showing what had happened to its wielder. In a pincer movement, the ANBU unleashed several elemental jutsu that target both the beasts head and tail, forcing it to turn as it tried to take lumbering swipes at its attackers. This left its side exposed as it stood over the steep drop towards the first gate far down below at the base of the mountain. An instinctive move, but a mistake that both Legendary Brothers exploited, ramming their shoulders into its ribs and sending it flying over the edge. It tried to scrabble at the shattered tiles of the arena, but its own weight was its downfall as its massive claws found no purchase and with a deep, trembling roar it hurtled downwards, out of sight.

It actually took several long seconds before an earth-shaking impact rattled the base of the mountain, sending up a plume of dust that even crested the edge of the ravine.

The battle against Hiruko's henchmen was finished. Looking from the missing nin besides me to the gathering ANBU below, I reckoned that the war wasn't yet won. Just to be on the safe side I quickly layer a Henge over myself, returning my altered appearance to that of the canon Mizuki.

"C'mon, let's say hello." I say idly towards the panting Suien.

The man had pulled off multiple elemental jutsu, some of a quite high level too, not to mention the multiple body flickers mid-combat. Not that the Body Flicker is an especially draining technique by itself, but moving at that speed still puts a noticeable strain on the body, especially when you're not just moving in a straight line, but actively trying not to run face-first into your opponent's kunai.

Suien glares at my suggestion, clearly thinking me mad or soft, but his own exhaustion is working against him. He doesn't fancy his chances on taking on a whole ANBU squad as he is right now.

"You think you can weasel your way out of this? Aren't you a wanted Konoha missing nin yourself?" he growls, glancing at the ANBU with some slight apprehension.

"True, but as long as we're talking, they're not trying to kill us." I point out, and the Taki jōnin scoffs dismissively.

"Sure. They'll just try to arrest us so they can kill us later." He grunts and all I can do is shrug.

"It buys us time." I counter and that seems to be enough to convince Suien as he gives me a reluctant nod.

We cut the chakra to our feet, easily abseiling down the sheer rocky surface, before landing roughly on the shattered ground below, the ruined remains of the second gate at our back as we cautiously approach the cluster of ANBU operatives standing in the middle of the white-tailed square.

Tsubaki moves to our side and the Legendary Idiot Brothers jog over as well, completely unbothered with the presence of the ANBU as they push through the crowd with their heavy bulk. I can see several of the special agents shoot each other incredulous looks through their masks even as they close ranks, but my focus is on the man in front, a familiar mask glaring back at me.

"Hello Tiger. Fancy meeting you here." I say as my group comes to a halt a little distance away from the tense ANBU captain.

"Oniyuri Mizuki." The man's voice as cold and unyielding as stone, revealing nothing of his emotions or motivations.

'Ouch. Tough crowd.' I wince a bit at the reaction, trying to keep things moving along.

"How come you picked up our trail so fast? It's not even been a month since I esc-… left your care." I ask, genuinely curious.

My entire party tenses when Tiger doesn't say a word, simply reaching into his grey flack vest, though I'm surprised when all he pulls out is a single wad of paper. He unfolds it with sharp, almost frustrated movements, before positively shoving it underneath my nose.

"Care to tell me why the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility suddenly got an invoice on its desk for half a million ryo from some little hamlet the warden had never even heard of before?" he snaps and my eyes widen as I recognize my own writing and with a start I'm looking at the same IOU I had written for the poor village elder whose foods stores we had plundered before running into Suien.

"Hehe, call it travel expenses? Done in service of the greater good for Konoha? Surely you're familiar with living off the land during your own missions, right?" I try with an awkward smile and Tiger is completely silent and motionless for a long moment as he just stares at me.

"That may be true for Konoha nin on officially sanctioned missions for the village. Not for escaped inmates on the run." His tone comes out short and clipped as I desperately try to find a loophole in his words.

"Ah, look at it as a civilian initiative then, an act of goodwill for the betterment of Konoha as a whole! It might not have been an official mission sanctioned by the Hokage himself, but I saw it as my solemn duty, if not as a Konoha shinobi, then at the very least as a Konoha civilian, to target potential allies of that traitor Orochimaru!" I quickly elaborate and I can feel Suien stiffen at my side.

Even as tired as he is, even when faced with a full ANBU combat squad (minus a couple of casualties I can't help but notice), the jōnin immediately clocks that this is not the same story I told him when we first met.

"Your… 'solemn duty'?" a bear-masked ANBU at Tiger's side asks incredulously.

"Yep!" I say brightly, as I hold up the burlap sack that I had tied to my waistband, letting it unfurl.

A ripple of unease spreads through the assembled ANBU as Hiruko's head flops out, falling towards the shattered white tiles below with a wet slap. I bend down, grab the head by the hear and toss it towards Tiger who snatches it out of the air with the distinct look of a man not willing to glance down in order to desperately preserve some semblance of blessed ignorance as to what he had just stepped in.

"Hiruko of the Chimera Technique. Exiled from Konoha by order of Sarutobi Hiruzen himself, staunch ally to the other arch traitor Orochimaru of the Sannin." I explain easily and I see Suien relax somewhat as he lets out an impressed whistle.

"You actually got the fucker? Damn Mizuki, didn't think you had it in you." He says in surprise and I can see how Tiger's eyes snap towards the other missing nin.

"And who is this then, Mizuki?"

"Yet another civilian initiative! You see, Taki are Konoha's allies, but Suien here has been very naughty, planning a coup and thus trying to undermine our Village power by proxy. To go against our ancient alliance like that is especially dangerous in these uncertain times, considering how Taki forms a significant buffer alongside our Northern border against unchecked Iwa aggression." I explain with a flourish, as I clasp Suien's shoulder in a friendly gesture.

It takes only half a heartbeat for the words to fully register with the treacherous Taki ninja.

"Mizuki, you double-crossing fuck-!"

Already Suien's chakra is spiking as he tries to wrench himself from my grip, but three things work against him. He's exhausted, he has consistently underestimated the old me for the entire time I've known him and now, he's facing the new me. My clawed hand clenches tightly, digging into his shoulder as I keep him in place, my leg shooting out and catching him hard in the back of the knee. Suien's leg collapses underneath him as he falls to a knee, but despite my sudden (but inevitable) betrayal, his arms are already coming up to form handseals.

Not that I let him, my other hand coming up in a brutal short movement, my knuckles slamming right into the soft part of his temple with tremendous force and Suien's whole body goes slack, only held upright by my iron grip on his shoulder.

The sudden violence startles even the ANBU and as I look up, I can see that several have moved back several paces, several of them having unsheathed kunai and tanto. Tiger is absolutely motionless however, those dark eyeholes in his mask focused unerringly on my face and I feel just as nervous underneath his inscrutable gaze as when he had first interrogated me.

Lifting the unconscious Suien up by his shoulder, I extend him towards the ANBU captain, grin large on my face.

"But thanks to me, we can now offer Taki a great gift by returning their missing nin to them, thus further the bond of alliance between our villages! Now tell me Tiger, between these two presents, which I obtained entirely on my own merits and initiative for the betterment of Konoha, I will remind you, doesn't that erase my debt to society?" I try, hopefully not letting my desperation leak through my voice as I hold up my gamble.

For a very long moment, nobody speaks, nobody even dares to move, not even Fujin and Raijin as Tiger just keeps staring at me. I don't even realize I'm holding my breath until my chest begins to hurt, but then finally the man moves.

By pinching his mask over the bridge of his nose, ruefully shaking his head.

"Goddammit, Oniyuri…" he grumbles in a defeated tone and I can't help but let hope bloom in my chest.

Thinking back to my interrogation, I can almost anticipate the captain's next words as he looks back up at me again, voice once again clipped and cold.

"Elaborate."

---

Fun Fact: 'Tsubaki' is the name of the Japanese camilia.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

INTERLUDE 2​

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"Sir? Sir, we're ready to move on your command."

The clipped voice pulled Kenji- no, he was on duty now, pulled Tiger from his thoughts as he silently stood in a massive circular room, concentric patterns across the floor mirroring the frescoes and skylights against the ceiling. Around him stood five torture crosses, with two of them occupied by long-dead corpses.

Bear's voice made him realize he had been staring at those corpses for some time now, his form ramrod straight.

These weren't the only corpses they had found in Hiruko's palace. Hell, several torture/prison/medical wings in the palace were practically filled with dead humans and animals (and occasionally something that seemed to almost be a fusion of the two). However, this central… altar, it seemed, nevertheless was the one room in the massive structure that filled Tiger with the most unease.

'I don't know what Hiruko was planning here… but I get the distinct feeling that the results would've been nothing short of world-ending…'

Not that they had much to go on to determine just what exactly Hiruko had needed all these bodies and experiments for. The complex was massive, to the point that Tiger had already been forced to assign two men on a temporary mission to stay behind and secure the palace for Konoha until a more long-term team could be assigned to it. The sheer size of the palace, not to mention the traces of a previous civilization spread across the massive mountain top, meant that they had inevitably overlooked some key piece of evidence to finally start making some sense of this whole mess.

'Though going by Mizuki's words, that might be a fool's errand, considering Hiruko was insane. Nothing that man did would 'make sense' to us…' Tiger turned away from the corpses still fastened to the crosses, giving a nod to Bear as the ANBU operative fell into step at his shoulder.

Even at a glance they had been able to tell that not even combing through the massive structure top to bottom would yield all of Hiruko's many twisted secrets. Partly because of the clear signs of damage that had destroyed much of the man's research from when Mizuki's party had finally confronted the madman, partly because even with the battledamage, Tiger could still instantly recognize a tampered crime scene when he saw one.

Someone had stolen much of Hiruko's research.

Stepping onto the large stairs leading to the marble-white doors at the entrance of the palace, Tiger's eyes fell onto the motley group surrounded at the bottom of the staircase.

'And I have a good idea as to who squirreled it away…' Tiger's eyes narrowed as inmate 99, Oniyuri Mizuki, lay reclined on the lower steps, cool as can be and by his gestures apparently trying to regale his ANBU escort with a comedy routine.

"… and so I said, 'I barely know her!'… hehe… get it? Because…" Mizuki's voice petered out and his shoulder slumped as he was faced with a wall of silent blank-faced porcelain masks and one heavily sedated Taki missing nin slung over the shoulder of what was clearly a blatantly disguised Akimichi.

"Tough crowd." He said sullenly, Tsubaki seated at his side gently patting him on the back with a consoling look on her face.

The two giant men at their side who managed to dwarf even the Akimichi ANBU with their bulk (a rare feat indeed), prisoners 12 and 13, glanced at each other with confused faces, before simultaneously shrugging.

"Captain? What do we do about… well, him?" Bear pressed, voice low and for a long moment Tiger didn't react, his mind still partially on those two men chained to the crosses in the large altar room.

"Sir, he's an escaped convict." His second in command continued, some heat slipping into his voice.

"So what would you have me do? Accept the boons that he has delivered Konoha and clasp him in irons in thanks?" Tiger finally responded, though there wasn't any heat in his voice, his question almost sounding genuine.

Truly, he was struggling with what to do much the same as Bear was.

His response gave the other man a moment's pause.

"I will acknowledge the good taking down Hiruko and especially Suien has done Konoha as a whole. But a good deed does not erase a bad one!"

"What bad deed, Bear? Grasping freedom, just as the Hokage was ready to hand it to him?"

"Mizuki didn't know that! He unlawfully escaped the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility without proper clearance!"

"Yet by the Hokage's own word, the acts that had landed the original Mizuki in there aren't enough to keep the current Mizuki confined as well. The man's amnesia was confirmed, Bear, in my own presence I'll remind you."

"Even so, you cannot tell me that you actually believe he acted in Konoha's interests! You saw the ransacked files and maps as well as I did, I know it. Clearly Mizuki sought out this Hiruko to study under him for his own gains!"

"Then why kill the man, less than a month in? Wouldn't it have made more sense for him to remain here and quietly grow stronger under Hiruko's tutelage? I don't doubt our abilities, Bear, but you know as well as I do, that if it weren't for that village leader alerting us that Mizuki had moved through their hamlet towards the Land of Waterfalls, it would've taken us much longer to pick up his trail all the way to this far-off mountain. And it was that same village leader that alerted us to the fact that those parts of Waterfall had become unsafe these past few months, for Konoha traders as well."

"You're not seriously suggesting that Mizuki left a deliberate trail of breadcrumbs for us to follow as he traveled from one missing nin to the next?"

"I'm not suggesting anything, not yet. Merely speculating. Too many unknowns, and what little we do know seems to contradict itself. Why betray Suien like that when the man was instrumental in taking down Hiruko? Why not take him out sooner if the original goal was strengthening our alliance with Taki?"

Bear was silent for a long moment as both ANBU looked at the silver-haired man below them.

"Mizuki's just a chūnin. Both Hiruko and Suien were at the top end of jōnin. And those summons of Hiruko's henchmen were no joke. Mizuki was aware that he needed outside aid if he wanted to claim Hiruko's power for himself." Bear stated confidently after a moment and Tiger hummed in consideration.

"Could be. Could be that what we're really looking at is one long con, a theft, and Suien is just Mizuki's fall guy. But I'm not convinced. Not entirely. It doesn't… fit."

"Well, why not?" Bear pressed, sounding lightly annoyed now, though taking care to not lash out at his superior officer.

'Why not? A damn good question. Why bother coming to the defense of someone who has been nothing but a headache, and who, barring all else, did in fact escape during a prison riot?'

"During his first interrogation, I questioned him on why he wished no harm against Konoha or its people. He said he didn't blame us for his current position. He remained cooperative, even when we failed to guarantee his safety within the prison. You're my second, I know you read the report on the prison riot as well as I did. Multiple confirmations that Mizuki was targeted by another of Orochimaru's men, slipped within the guard detail, and that the man was forced to fight for his life. And yet, despite this, when we track him down we find he's taken out not one, but two threats to Konoha on his own. There's still a bounty on Hiruko, old but still valid, and a more recent one for Suien. Enough money and influence to take a man far. Instead, he handed both of them over without any fuss, willingly giving up the benefits of his victory for Konoha. If he had been one of my men, if he had been any Konoha shinobi, I would've taken that as a sign of extraordinary loyalty to the Village."

"That's certainly one way of looking at it. … permission to speak freely, Captain?"

Tiger's eyebrow raised at the question and he glanced over his shoulder at the tense man at his side. Thinking it over for a moment, Tiger inclined his head, though his posture clearly indicated Bear should take care not to speak too freely.

"With all due respect, sir, but I think your view of prisoner 99 has been compromised by your past interactions with him. Please understand that I do recognize your position. You met the man at his lowest, at his most vulnerable, which was only compounded by the dangers that have befallen him afterwards. But don't you think you're giving him too much credit? Projecting too much goodwill onto his deeds?"

Tiger thought on the words for a moment, Bear tense besides him as he awaited his reaction.

"Perhaps you're not wrong, Bear. Perhaps I think too kindly of the man. I look at Mizuki and I see more than just his actions, confusing as they may be sometimes. I look at him and I can't help but see the things that he has suffered, while Konoha has gained. Genda's attack on him at the prison, wounding him, threatening his life even, but exposing another agent of Orochimaru's to us. And now, delivering us Hiruko and Suien at a cost that I can only guess at." Tiger said darkly and he could feel Bear's confusion at his words.

"Sir?"

"Look at Mizuki, Bear. Truly look. You must have noticed it too, right?"

Bear remained quiet for a long moment, but when he spoke, his voice was certain.

"… Henge. Though I do not understand the purpose of it. He looks like himself. You did not confront him on it, so I instructed the men to do the same." The man concluded and Tiger inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"We may not have brought an Inuzuka with us, but I trust your skills as much as I trust my own, Bear. We both know the limits of the Henge."

"… it's purely visual. It cannot alter smell."

"So you did notice."

"Mizuki… he's injured. I could smell cooked flesh."

"Electrical burns, I reckon. I recognized the distinct hint of ozone typical of lightning jutsu. And Mizuki's scent lingered most strongly on that shattered medical gurney we found, before the tracks follow Hiruko to the area where they battled and killed him." Tiger said with a considering hum, before tearing his eyes away from the lounging Mizuki, gaze heavy as it rested on the now quiet Bear.

"They tore the man's head off, Bear. That's not the way a chūnin makes a kill. That's a sign of desperate rage. Between the burns, the destroyed medical bed, the brutal murder…"

"What did Hiruko do to the man?" Bear questioned softly, looking at the silver-haired man with new eyes.

Tiger shook his head as he slowly began descending the staircase.

"I don't know, though I can guess, though I'd rather not. It's not a pretty picture. Whatever the reason for it, be it an ingrained sense of loyalty to Konoha, be it self-interest, the man has suffered while the Village has gained. For now, at least, I am content with letting the scales balance themselves while we keep him under guard. Some stolen scrolls hardly make up for doing more for the village in a few months than the original Mizuki managed to do during his entire career. And who knows? Whatever knowledge Mizuki managed to pry from Hiruko's cold dead hands, I have the feeling that it too might benefit Konoha in the end." Tiger said with a tone of finality.

"So we wait and see?" Bear concluded, not really pushing against his captain's words, recognizing that the debate had been settled, at least for now, and Tiger nodded.

"We wait and see." Tiger confirmed, before both men fell silent as they closed in on Mizuki's group and the remaining ANBU.

The operatives all snapped at attention (the Akimichi jostling a groaning Suien with the sharp movement) and Tsubaki at least scrambled to her feet, giving the typical Konoha salute as well. The Legendary Idiot Brothers seemed more interested in taking turns poking each other's bruises and giggling like children. Mizuki was slower to his feet and from behind his mask, Tiger's eyes roved over the silver-haired man's form, expertly cataloguing every twitch and tremble, every grimace that the chūnin tried (and failed) to hide.

"Oniyuri Mizuki." Tiger's voice came out clipped on the muted square, sound being absorbed by the thick cloud layer clinging to the top of the mountain.

"Captain Tiger, sir!" Mizuki easily responded, sloppily copying Tsubaki's crisp salute, staring dead ahead, his expression, altered by the Henge as it was, barely showing a tremble underneath his left eye.

A sign of suppressed pain? Or hidden nerves? Or an expert manipulation included in the Henge itself to show them only what he wanted them to think they saw?

'We should put this guy in T with how much of a headache he causes unintentionally causes people.' Tiger briefly groused, before allowing a cool professional mask to slip over his face.

Underneath the actual porcelain mask, that is.

"You shall accompany us to Taki. Once there, you shall elaborate on the capture of Suien. You will not mention the death of Hiruko, or Mount Shumisen or the civilization that apparently existed here. Your story is that you were gathering intel in the outlying fields and farming communities alongside the main road leading north from the Land of Fire into the Land of Waterfalls. You found actionable intel and moved to investigate, while calling in back-up. You came across Suien, or rather, he managed to ambush you instead. You managed to hold out and retreat until we arrived to secure the missing nin."

Tiger stepped closer to Mizuki, his presence unyielding and demanding and the former inmate instinctively straightened his posture even further.

"That is all that you will do. I shall negotiate with Taki's council over the pay-out of Suien's bounty to Konoha, which may then be leveraged for a strengthening of the existing alliance between our villages." Tiger said coolly, hidden eyes intently studying Mizuki's expression.

The man frowned, but only briefly, seemingly not that bothered with implicitly being denied his rewards as Konoha claimed it for itself, something that would be easy for Tiger to push for, considering Mizuki wasn't an active duty shinobi when he took down Suien. Independent contractors and unaffiliated bounty hunters did exist, but those mostly did their dirty dealings with bounty stations instead of villages directly.

Mostly because many of them were missing nin themselves and in their line of work, the line between getting paid and being the payment was unhealthily thin. After all, it was easier for a Village to cash in rather than pay out.

Tiger was only somewhat surprised that Mizuki didn't push back against the idea of losing out on a fat paycheck, not in the least because he was currently surrounded by a large combat-ready group ANBU, and again he had to wonder where the man's loyalties truly lied.

"Permission to speak, sir?" Mizuki asked instead and Tiger tilted his head, briefly amused as he saw Bear tense at his side, a fleeting sense of déjà vu overcoming him.

"Granted, though speak carefully." Tiger allowed and Mizuki swallowed at the subtle warning.

"What happens after your negotiations with Taki? Sir?" the former prisoner 99 asked and Tiger was silent for a long moment.

'That… is an annoyingly good question.'

"That depends in part on the results of those negotiations. For now, it is no concern of yours." Tiger easily lied and he could see Mizuki bristle at the words, even if he tried to suppress his reaction.

His hearing didn't miss the oddly resonant growl rumbling somewhere (surprisingly) deep in Mizuki's chest, nor did his eyes miss how it came to a halt as Tsubaki's slim hand slipped into Mizuki's larger one, his skin flickering briefly as the shell of the Henge was lightly disturbed.

'Were those… claws?'

"While I disagree, sir, I understand. Does that mean that I am your prisoner then?" Mizuki pressed in clipped tones and Tiger allowed his head to slowly tilt from the silver-haired man in front of him to the unconscious Taki nin still slung over Panda's broad shoulder.

"Do you feel like a prisoner?" Tiger challenged, his tone light and Mizuki merely pressed his lips together.

Having decided he had prodded the man for a reaction enough (for now at least), Tiger backed off, stepping away from Mizuki, his voice considering.

"For now, you can consider us… traveling companions. Traveling companions going in the exact same direction, along the exact same route, following an exact same resting schedule. What a coincidence." He said flatly, though he caught some of the ANBU snickering at Mizuki's downcast expression.

"I'm shocked." The man said unamused and Tiger stilled completely.

He hadn't missed how Mizuki's gaze had lingered on him from the corner of the man's eye as he said that.

"Move out." He said sharply instead, eyes never leaving Mizuki's back as the man easily fell in line next to Tsubaki with the Brothers following in his footsteps, the squad of ANBU forming a loose formation around the group, effortlessly moving in sync.

Save for Bear, who came up besides Tiger, likewise having caught Mizuki's parting shot. Tiger didn't outwardly acknowledge him, simply staring at the retreating group in silence for a long moment.

"Spread the word. Always a minimum of three sets of eyes on Mizuki. Perimeter seals around our campsite. Make sure that there's a tracking seal on every item of his clothing as well. I suspect we won't be able to slip one on his person without him knowing. We do not lose sight of him. Not until we're in front of the Taki council and have handed Suien off for his execution."

"Seems… somewhat excessive, no? After all, he's just a chūnin-" Bear asked, not really disagreeing, merely surprised, but Tiger cut him off, his tone firm.

"No. The original Mizuki was a chūnin, a fairly mediocre one by all accounts."

Tiger turned to face Bear fully, pinning the man in place.

"That Mizuki would've taken a year to escape from the Konoha Strict Correctional Facility. This Mizuki? He managed it in under one month."

The silence was thick between them for a heavy moment, before Bear dipped his head in acknowledgement.

"I'll make sure to triple the guard."

And in a blur, the man was gone, leaving one very contemplative ANBU captain on the bottom of the stairs to an ancient palace that had seen far too much horror for such a serene location. But Tiger's thoughts weren't on his hauntingly beautiful surroundings, but one man who seemed to be far more adept in covering himself in mysteries than a mere Henge.

'Oniyuri Mizuki… you are hiding something and mark my words, before we leave Taki… I will figure out what it is.'

With a whisper of displaced air, the ANBU captain was gone in a flicker of motion, leaving the mists to coil over the broken palace as if the world itself wished to bury the tragic remains in a deathly shroud.

Hidden far away deep within the Land of Waterfalls, for better or for ill, Takigakure no Sato awaited them.

---

Fun Fact: There are multiple countries in the Naruto world that have redundant naming conventions. The Land where Taki is located in isn't actually named in canon, but I've seen it mentioned as the Land of Waterfalls so often (while Takigakure no Sato means 'Village Hidden by a Waterfall) that I just copied it without thinking and I don't think it's worth it to go back and change it to something else. However, you also have the Land of Frost, hosting the Hidden Frost Village, the Land of Snow similarly housing the Hidden Snow Village and the Land of Sound hosting the Hidden Sound Village (though to be fair the Land used to be called the Land of Rice-paddies)

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 2.0​

​

---

The trip back to Taki was maddeningly uneventful, which may sound like a paradox only if you aren't properly paranoid. The battles on Mount Shumisen hadn't exactly been quiet or stealthy after all, and our group was much larger than when I first snuck through the outer edges of Grass, close to the border with the Land of Earth. Despite this, despite my constant paranoia, we didn't run into any patrols or roaming ninja or even another living human being for that matter. Which was honestly frying my nerves, though to be fair, most of my suspicions weren't actually aimed at our surroundings.

No, in my mind, the true threat was closer to home, so to speak.

It's pretty hard to relax when you're under constant watch by masked black ops specialists after all. Especially considering the type of fucked up wetwork these guys have to be trained in when you consider that the 'usual' black ops stuff like assassinations is just standard fare for your average shinobi village. The stuff that even they don't want showing up in their ledgers is the truly heinous shit that I only knew from watching the show back in my old life.

I had absolutely zero intention of experiencing that shit first hand in this new world.

Tsubaki was a godsend during the week of travel it took us to sneak through Grass without straying too far into Earth while dodging border patrols from both. The Henge is not an demanding technique by itself, other than the increasing skill cap required the further you tried to (convincingly) alter your appearance. It does however, still require a constant upkeep of chakra, which becomes tougher to maintain the more you push your body. Fortunately, thanks to my new and improved constitution (which was ironically being hid underneath said Henge), that wasn't as much as a concern to me as it would've been to the original Mizuki.

However, the constant upkeep does mean that it can't be sustained while I'm sleeping.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for my ANBU surveillance.

As both the first nightfall and my mounting worry began creeping in, it was Tsubaki who pulled a tent from our storage scrolls, a casual little gesture that I hoped would be convincing enough for the always watching ANBU. I knew they weren't stupid; they'd probably pieced together that Hiruko's hideout had been picked clean. I just hoped this little show made them think we'd only stolen creature comforts, not classified nightmares.

Then in no uncertain terms she had loudly announced she was going to attend to my wounds and that she would be grateful to the privacy our fellow Konoha shinobi would of course provide, before assertively pulling me inside the tent. With the Brothers guarding the entrance (which actually meant they just plopped their massive bulk down in front of the entry flap where they promptly fell asleep with earth-rumbling snores), I felt safe enough to share the watch with Tsubaki, throwing on the Henge whenever she needed to sleep and trusting her to keep lookout when it was my turn for some much needed shut-eye.

The ANBU either didn't want to test us, or they managed to sneak in anyway while I was sleeping without Tsubaki noticing, but to my surprise my altered appearance wasn't brought up even once during the rest of our travels to Taki. Whether they truly didn't know, or were just waiting to confront me about it later for some reason, I couldn't even begin to guess. Since playing mind games with ANBU sounded like a losing game, I decided to simply stick to preparing as much as I could and worry about potential fall-out later.

Despite travelling with a larger company, we made good time and soon we passed familiar landmarks in reverse order, from the mushroom forests of Grass to the destroyed Kannabi bridge. Somewhat to my surprise, the ANBU paused for a brief moment of silence, bowing their masked heads to the ruins sunken far below, before we pressed on. It was unlikely that they knew the details of the pivotal tragedy that had occurred here, but even so this battle had been the one that had cemented Minato's name in legend.

And had been the battle that had lost him one of his students.

The mood was sombre for a while as we continued to travel, only really lifting again once we began to hit the massive woodlands that covered so much of the Land of Fire and Taki. The familiar surroundings and Taki's status as our ally put my ANBU escort enough at ease that we even stopped flitting through the trees and skulking through the shadows, instead simply walking across one of the well-worn dirt paths that criss-crossed the country.

I was near the front of the group, Tiger several paces ahead of me when I saw the captain's mask focused intently on the woodlands alongside our flank. Likely feeling my gaze on his back, Tiger turned to look over his shoulder, studying me for a long moment before jutting his chin to the left.

"See that ridge over there, in the distance?"

Following his direction, I narrowed my eyes, trying to peer past the many tree trunks and branches, somewhat surprised to find almost what looked like a massive wall of rock jutting straight up some distance away. It gave me flashbacks to the base of Mount Shumisen and I quickly refocused on Tiger, who I could see was waiting for an answer.

As I nod, he remains silent for a moment and I can't help the feeling of… perhaps not being judged, more… evaluated?

"We follow that ridgeline until its highest point. High enough that most genin and even some chūnin would struggle with scaling it straight up to the top. Part of the reason why Taki was never successfully invaded. It's at that point we'll come across the waterfall it's famous for. We'll sign for communication, then sit tight and wait for an escort. Even most ANBU don't know the precise location of their Village's entrance." Tiger said, voice still carefully neutral and I blink a bit at the offered knowledge.

Seeing as he was in a good (and surprisingly sharing) mood, I try to pry for more intel.

"I get that a naturally defensive formation like this can help in keeping a Village safe and hidden from enemies, but their location is literally in their name, right? Once we come across a suitable waterfall, then it's just a matter of water-walking to peek behind the curtain, no?" I question and again Tiger remains silent for a long moment.

"You wouldn't be the first one to think that. You won't be the last one to be wrong. The very fact that we're allied with Taki is the reason we even know which waterfall to look for in the first place. There's multiple ridges like this one spread throughout their country, and while we're heading for the biggest waterfall in the area, there's plenty more alongside this cliff face alone. Even then, exactly where the true entrance itself is located, behind or underneath the waterfall, is merely speculation at this point."

Here Tiger pauses and suddenly his gaze feels a lot sharper than before. His tone barely changes and yet the implied warning could not be clearer.

"As a matter of professional courtesy, we don't pry further into our allies' secrets." He says firmly and I can almost hear the 'capisce?' at the end of that sentence, so I quickly nod.

Tiger's eyes (or rather, the empty holes in his mask) remain fixed on me for a moment longer, before he gives a slight nod, looking ahead again as I release a light breath of relief. Seeing that the captain was done with his sharing mood, we kept travelling in silence for a couple of more hours, before I could detect just the faintest hint of a telltale rumbling sound.

The sound of rushing water.

The noise grew steadily stronger and stronger until it became a near constant light thrum in the earth underneath our feet and we could detect a sharp increase of cooling moisture in the air.

'No wonder their jōnin like Suien are such competent Water users when they can pull of massive techniques straight out of thin air, almost like Temu-Tobiramas.' I think as I feel the miniscule droplets settle over my skin.

Next to me, Tsubaki was fussing over her massive braid as she tried to stop her hair from becoming curly, which was somewhat surprising to me. I suppose with everything else about her, from her looks to her skills, being fairly average, she took extra care for her one defining feature.

Eventually the rumble became a constant rushing sound and when the trees finally parted before us, I saw a sight that, perhaps not as grand in terms of sheer magnitude as Mount Shumisen had been, was still awe-inspiring to see in the flesh. The anime hadn't been able to do justice to the sheer size, the massive weight of the waterfall. It reminded me of some of the largest waterfalls back in my old world, but this single one managed to put them all to shame. A massive pillar of rushing water, taller than most skyscrapers and wide enough that it almost seemed like a vertical lake, thundering into a massive basin below, sending up a spray of misty water that towered over the surrounding woodlands. And the sheer noise of it, an angry roaring that I could feel thrum all the way down in my lungs.

"It's beautiful." Tsubaki whispered at my side, but it was Tiger who answered in a wry tone.

"It's also practically impenetrable to a large-scale assault." He noted and looking at the sheer strength with which the massive volume slammed into the lake below, I couldn't help but agree with his assessment.

Your average rank and file shinobi would struggle to scale the sheer cliffside, especially if it had defenders at the top specialized in long-range techniques (or even just mid-range, considering most techniques still work just fine if they get tossed over the edge of a cliff and let gravity take care of the rest). Genin and even chūnin would probably not be able to Water Walk on a volatile surface like the waterfall and even if you managed to push through the thick curtain of water, you likely faced a maze of cave networks and tunnels which made for ideal ambush spots and murder holes for determined Taki nin.

"Tch. Give me a dozen good men and I'll have this Village on its knees within the week. Their defences have holes if you know where to look and the defenders aren't worth shit without their little trump card." Suien spat darkly from further back in the group, before he was silenced by a kick to the back of his legs, forcing him to fall to his knees with an angry snarl.

"Oh? Care to enlighten us to these defensive weak spots, mister missing nin?" Tiger asks, voice cool as he half-turns to face the traitorous Taki nin from the corner of his eye, but Suien just smirks.

"Make me Kage of Taki first and then we'll talk." He retorted and to my surprise that actually got a dismissive scoff out of Tiger, which I'm guessing might as well have been a full-body laugh from the normally stoic captain.

"Offer denied. We'll just stay on good terms with their current leader then. Or, even better terms, I should say, once we've brought you to justice." Tiger said coolly.

Suien snarled at that, but quieted down as the Akimichi ANBU (who had unfortunately been saddled with carrying the missing nin like a sack of angry potatoes all the way through Grass) stepped closer, thick arm raised in a threatening back-hand.

Seeing the missing nin cowed, for now at least, Tiger shrugged as he stepped closer to the lakes' edge, stepping onto its rippling surface as if pulling off a Jesus-impression was the most normal thing in the world for him.

"Besides, natural defences and the famed Hero Water aside, that still does not account for their own Jinchūriki."

As Tsubaki had explained to me during our travels, Taki being the only minor village with a Tailed Beast (and a pretty powerful one at that) was a point of pride for Konoha, a sign of our close bond established by Hashirama Senju himself, a constant reminder that it had been our founder who had determined the balance of power over the whole continent.

Hell, even our other ally, Suna, hadn't received even a single Tailed Beast from the God of Shinobi, even though they were a proper Great Nation ninja village, unlike Taki. Then again, that was mostly their own fault. They might've felt confident enough in the might of the Ichibi at first, having already captured him way back during the Warring Clans Era, to merely ask Hashirama for an increase in more fertile territory instead, adding a much needed breadbasket to their otherwise barren lands. Still, I can only imagine how foolish the First Kazekage must've felt when instead of orchards or fields of grain, other Villages ended up getting several living nukes from the Shodaime, even a small backwater like Taki. Not much point in demanding an increase in land if one Bijudama from a tiny village's jinchuuriki can turn said land into a barren crater. No wonder they've been giving Konoha the stink eye these past couple of world wars. Though that didn't explain why Taki had sent Kakuzu to kill Hashirama for his generosity.

'Maybe they needed an excuse to get rid of Kakuzu instead? Maybe they never expected or even intended for the man to survive a fight against the strongest shinobi to have ever lived, so when he managed to somehow make it back anyways, they resorted to bullying him instead. Perhaps try and pull of a Sakumo Hatake, drive the man to suicide, save them the trouble. Except that backfired… horribly.' I thought darkly, noting that both Suien and Tiger had failed to mention the Jiongu in Taki's arsenal.

That dimmed my prospects for Taki somewhat, but then again I didn't know just how keen I was turning myself into a shinobi's version of a stuffed haunted doll. Though perhaps a lesser version could pair will with the lesser version of Hiruko's Chimera Technique I would (hopefully) decipher soon? Something to keep an eye out for, as in the meantime the majority of my focus would be on what Suien and Tiger had mentioned as Taki's strengths: the Hero Water and their Jinchūriki, Fū.

The Hero Water would only become useful once I have further increased my body's vitality, and until I don the Infinite Armor (or suddenly become massively better with seals), getting access to Chomei's chakra through Fū was a pipedream as well.

Still, it was good to lay the groundwork, especially since I still didn't know if I'd be staying in Taki as a guest or as a prisoner.

Out on the lake, near the foot of the waterfall (and once again showing his superb chakra control as he was barely affected by the shuddering waves), Tiger calmly crouched down, one finger resting lightly on the water's surface. Even from this distance I could feel the distinctive pulses of chakra that rippled out over the massive lake. The pattern repeated itself several times before the ANBU captain straightened and calmly made his way back over to shore.

"An agreed upon signal, the pattern includes our numbers and the fact we have a prisoner." Tiger mentioned casually, though I didn't miss the way he said prisoner, singular.

"There's a code for that?" Tsubaki lets slip out as I find myself once again over-analyzing the captain's words, arguing with myself on whether or not it was an intentional slip of the tongue to get my guard down, before I realize I'm thinking in circles and focus on Tiger's answer with an annoyed huff.

The ANBU just gives her a look as the woman shrinks back slightly.

"There's a code for everything." Is the flat answer, though this catches the attention of the two Brothers who have ambled over, catching the end of Tiger's sentence.

"Really? Even-" asks Fujin.

"Everything."

"Even-" asks Raijin.

"Yes."

"And-"

"Yes."

"But-"

"That too."

"What about-"

"No."

"Really?"

"No."

As Tiger continues his verbal spar with the Brothers, Tsubaki's eyes are left spinning somewhat and I pat the woman on the shoulder in sympathy. Leaving the ANBU captain to his little game, I glance instead towards his second, the Bear mask trained unerringly on me this whole time.

"So now that the captain has sent the signal, what do we do now?"

"Simple. We wait." Was the flat response.

Hearing the Brothers continuing to try to and needle the impressively stoic Tiger, I can't help but sigh.

"Then I guess in the meantime, I'll take first watch against the greatest shinobi killer of all." I said morosely and I can feel Tsubaki grabbing my hand, eyes wide.

"Wait what, who?"

"Boredom."

---

Annoyingly, it took well over an hour before one of the ANBU on watch duty alerted us to movement coming from behind the waterfall as our group stirred. For a brief moment all I could see was shifting shadows behind the thick curtain of rushing water, before three blurs punched through the waterfall itself, landing lightly on the surface of the lake.

They were a motley group and the only thing they had in common was their Taki headband instead of a standard uniform, probably because they didn't even have enough people to make having one a necessity. The difference between a Great Ninja Village and a lesser one was truly vast when it came to numbers. Konoha, Kumo and Iwa had been able to field actual armies during the last war (though by my own world's standards, even those had been fairly small skirmishing groups), with Kiri and even Suna not that far behind.

By contrast, even a relatively stable, long established minor village like Taki could probably only field a couple dozen combat-ready ninja at any given time. It was actually worse in Taki's case, considering they relied on a few particularly strong jōnin being capable of holding their natural choke points, especially when enhanced with the Hero Water, rather than relying on numbers.

Though since that same Hero Water had ended up killing most of their strongest ninja in the last war, that left them in a pretty vulnerable spot these days. Suien had been the only ninja of his level in the village for several years by now and while he wasn't weak by any means, in the grand scheme of things he was decidedly mediocre, a typical filler villain. Hell, he got beat by a rasengan-less Naruto after all.

'Then again… so was I… and for Mizuki, Naruto hadn't even needed to pull out his bullshit Biju chakra…' I mope as I try to evaluate the three Taki nin approaching us, measuring them against Suien and thus myself.

They certainly didn't look impressive, being of fairly average build and I couldn't feel any sense of hidden danger from them like I did from Suien when I first met him, or like I can constantly feel expertly contained by Tiger even now. The most interesting thing about them was that the guy in front was bald with a goatee and an expression like someone had stuffed a lemon in his mouth.

And one up the other end for the sake of symmetry.

"Ho there, Konoha nin! Identify yourself!" the leader of the Taki nin barked out sternly and to his credit he didn't falter when faced with a dozen blank ANBU masks.

The call was mostly a formality, considering that information would've been included in Tiger's signal, but still the captain nodded his head at the newcomers, stepping to the front of our group.

"Greetings, Taki nin! ANBU field squad under Tiger, reporting! We have come on a mission from Konoha in an attempt to further the bonds between our two villages." Tiger answered, voice calm despite his little white lie.

"Oh? Taki never commissioned a Konoha team for such a thing, and we were not aware of Konoha issuing something like that either." The man countered, though his tone was more polite now.

It's probably good diplomatic policy to not directly call out ANBU on bullshit as they're feeding it to you. Still, Tiger played along, once again bowing his head.

"I understand. This mission was first issued by Konoha itself to protect our own interests alongside our shared border. Some of our people there had been going missing and we got complaints from our merchants that travel through those parts of our lands had become more unsafe as of late. Our investigation has been concluded successfully, however, the decision has been made to share our spoils with Taki. As such, this would be the first you've heard of it." Tiger smoothly explained and if it weren't for the fact that I had been involved from the start, I actually would've believed him too.

'You're one sly bastard, Tiger. They should've given you a fox mask instead… though after the Kyuubi attack, I can see how that might've been in poor taste…' I think, shooting the man a considering look.

The three Taki nin are surprised, sharing confused looks, before their bald leader turns back towards Tiger, eyes narrowed.

"… yes, we were aware of… recent unrest in those regions, though we've not yet had the chance to commit an investigation of our own into the matter. Naturally, we are most grateful for Konoha's timely response in this. However, what 'spoils' result from a mission like that, that you feel so strongly must be shared with my people?" the bald man said, still wary but unable to keep his curiosity from leaking into his voice, probably thinking this was all sounding too good to be true.

Konoha cleaning up the mess in their own backyard, and rewarding them for it too? Hell, I'd not trust us either, and he was right not to. From Konoha's perspective, they had collected trash, and were now simply returning it to sender: such a service would hardly be free after all, even for an ally.

In answer to the Taki nin's suspicions, Tiger stepped aside, sweeping out his arm as Suien's guards dragged him forwards, throwing him unceremoniously to the ground at the lake's edge.

"We considered you would be most interested in assisting us in delivering justice, no?" Tiger continued calmly.

"Suien!"

Seeing their missing nin suddenly appear at their feet was enough of a shock for the Taki nin, one actually briefly lost his footing as his chakra concentration slipped for a moment, dunking him up to his ankles in the lake. The bald leader's mouth dropped open, eyes almost bulging out of his head as the still bound and kneeling Suien glared up at him, spitting out muffled obscenities past the gag in his mouth.

"This is… this.." the Taki nin stammered for a moment, looking from the missing nin to the ANBU and back to Suien again, at a loss for words.

Apparently, what he eventually settled on in his mind was something along the lines of 'this is way above my paycheck', which meant he wanted to take Suien with him back to Taki proper where the village leader and his counselors would decide the missing nin's fate. Not that Tiger allowed that to happen without a Konoha presence there to remind everyone just who it had been that cleaned up the village's mess. Somewhat understandably, the Taki nin weren't keen on guiding a dozen or so ANBU through the top secret entrance to their village either, so it was eventually agreed upon that only Tiger and the Akimichi ANBU, as well as Tsubaki and I would be taken along.

Bear would stay behind to command the remainder of the ANBU squad who would function as a babysitting crew for the Legendary Brothers. No doubt Tiger split me up from my main heavy hitters on purpose, but there wasn't really any way for me to call the captain out on it in front of his men, so I just gave Raijin and Fujin the orders to stick close to the waterfall instead (perhaps busy themselves with trying to fish).

The three Taki nin guided us close to the bottom of the waterfall, before splitting up. Their leader grabbed Suien by the shoulder, before jumping through the curtain of water with him. One went with the ANBU and another went with Tsubaki and I, the jump itself briefly shocking when we had to pass through the raging current, the sheer mass of water almost like a punch landing across the whole of your shoulders and back.

Which, for just a moment, meant that a rushing mass of water slammed into the thin shell of chakra layered in an illusion over my body. It didn't shatter it outright thankfully, but the destabilization was still visible as a ripple through my form, only accentuated further by the fact that I was slighlly, if still noticeably taller than Mizuki had originally been, meaning that for a brief moment, the waterfall actually impacted me several inches above where it should've.

As I landed on slick, condense-coated rocks, my hands immediately flew up to strengthen the chakra shell, though the tension in my body sky-rocketed even further when our Taki guard had clearly spotted something from the corner of his eye, as he was already beginning to turn back to me, eyes drawn in suspicion as-

"Ah!"

Tsubaki fumbled her landing, half-crashing into, half-catching herself on the Taki guard, her sandaled feet slipping away on the slick rocks.

"Take care Miss! These caverns can be treacherous." the Taki shinobi called out in concern as he steadied her on her feet, and Tsubaki gratefully leaned against him, embarassed smile on her face.

"Oh, it's nothing, sir. The waterfall simply surprised me, I misjudged my jump. How embarassingly clumsy of me, my apologies." she explained demurely and the Taki nin let out a proud chuckle at that.

"Ha, don't you worry nothing! Most outsiders underestimate the power of Takitsuhime, it's actually a part of our defenses! During the first world war, an Iwa nin tried to follow one of our retreating heroes and jumped straight through the fall, only to get dragged down by her fury mid-flight! His body smashed itself apart of a nasty outcropping just below the cavern we're standing in, and-"

"Daigo! Quit stalling. We do not share our secrets, nor the history of our past battles with outsiders lightly!" the bald leader called back from further in the cave, his face strict and the now-named Daigo rubbed the back of his head in embarassement as he hurriedly let go of Tsubaki's arm.

"R-right, fath-, I mean... yes, Saburo-san, sir!"

Daigo's father merely grunted before abruptly turning on his heel, his fellow Taki shinobi falling in line, the Akimichi ANBU dragging along Suien as well with Tiger following shortly behind. Tsubaki waited on me for only a moment as I emerged from behind her, hidden in the shadows of the cavern, looking like the ordinary Mizuki once again with none the wiser.

'Though then again, the way that Tiger looked back over his shoulder, could be suspicious... could also be nothing, just to check what the hold up was... or maybe it was in my imagination all along... gah! Figuring out how that guy ticks is a nightmare!'

As I step up next to Tsubaki, my hand finds hers in the gloom of the cave, and I give it a slight squeeze, whispering from the corner of my mouth as we both keep facing ahead.

"Nice show."

Tsubaki doesn't answer beyond squeezing back, but even her small smile is easily visible in the surrounding darkness. Minor crisis averted (for now at least, I still don't like the way Tiger's look lingered for just a second to long) I finally focus on our surroundings as we follow the group up ahead. To my surprise, we landed in a massive cave system, the air damp and chilly and the raging sound of the waterfall both oddly echoing and muted at the same time.

The massive cavern extended further back into the cliff face, though it was difficult to make out any details in the low lighting, even though it was still midday outside. Still, the three Taki nin at the front moved without pause and we quickly fell into step behind them as they walked deeper into the cave. Somewhat past the midway point their leader made a sudden sharp turn to the right and seemed to disappear into the walls of the cavern itself, though as we followed I quickly realized that what had first appeared as a shadow between two outcroppings was instead the hidden mouth of a large tunnel reaching further down and into the mountain range. Stalactites and stalagmites lined the walls as moss slick with damp covered the stone surface of the cave system, but to my surprise the tunnel itself was smooth and roomy.

'This cave system is less defensive than I had first thought. You can march an army through here, one jōnin squad at a time. Do they have other defenses perhaps?' I wondered, though before I could voice my question, I was taken aback by a weak, greenish light coming up from ahead, barely enough to alleviate the cloying darkness that seemed to fill the cave with an almost physical weight.

After a little bit more walking, we came across yet another large cavern, this one with stalagmites and stalactites so large they connected to form thin, warped pillars, like the ribcage of an ancient giant. The biggest surprise however was that the light came from fluorescent pools, at least a dozen arrayed at different heights across the floor of the cavern like plateaus. The light seemed to come from algae and luminescent lichen that clung stubbornly to cold rock as the water remained deathly still, almost like shining mirrors.

The leader of the Taki nin glanced over his shoulder, his voice grave as he warned us.

"Many of these are dangerous. Some are a dead-end, tightening and tightening until your limbs are trapped against your body and there is no turning back. Some loop back on themselves, or connect to others in a maze without an exit, and even a shinobi needs to come up for air at some point. There is but one pool that grants access to our Village and within that pool there is but one route past it twists and turns that will grant safe passage. Follow our every move and do not divulge them to another under any circumstance. Even your Hokage is not exempt from this: when the great Hashirama Senju came here, he did so on invitation of our elders only." Saburo warned and I tried not to scoff at his words.

Not the warning, that part I took dead serious. I had seen enough cave diving memes and videos back in my old life to have a healthy respect for the deep dark places of the world that offered only slow, agonized deaths in forgotten hollows and underneath constricting rock.

Consequently, I also held a healthy amount of ridicule for people who made a hobby out of some of the most completely avoidable deaths in human history. You know what's so great about caves? They can't chase you, they don't run. They're just there, and you, a bipedal creature, don't have to be! Every single day, hundreds, even thousands of people don't die horribly, simply by choosing not to step inside the gaping maw of the earth and so far, that seems to work out great!

No, what I found more amusing was the man's comment about Hashirama Senju.

'As if the God of Shinobi needs an invitation to go anywhere. 'Sides, Tsubaki told me that when he first came across Taki, he just leaped up the waterfall in a single bound. Which might've been propaganda if I didn't know for a fact the dude's made of complete bullshit. Even his cells are complete bullshit, and he was made out of 100% Hashirama cells!'

"Of course, Taki's secrets shall remain it's own." Tiger said diplomatically, even if everyone here knew he'd be reporting everything back to his village.

It was merely what was expected of a ninja, the rest was just a polite fiction. The bald Taki nin frowned, but as he glanced back at the fuming Suien, he realized he didn't have much choice, nodding at the ANBU captain's words before turning on his heel and without a further word, Saburo and his companions dove into one of the nearby pools.

Tiger and the Akimichi (still carrying Suien) quickly followed suit and after exchanging a quick glance with Tsubaki, we did the same.

This underwater tunnel quickly became much, much tighter than the cavernous one we had been travelling through so far, the water cold though thankfully without a strong current. Still, visibility was distressingly low and at several sharp bends and turns in the tunnel, jutting rocks and outcroppings meant that we had to physically squeeze through at some points, even as the constant exertion meant that I could feel my supply of air rapidly lowering.

At one point the tunnel curved sideways and up sharply (I think so, at least, since by then my sense of direction had been so thoroughly scrambled, we might as well have been upside down for all I knew) and we came up for a brief air-pocket before submerging again.

All I could do during the second stretch of our cave dive (now distinctly moving upwards at least) was repeat the same mantra over and over.

'Don't think about The Cave video. Don't think about The Cave video…. Don't-'

Yeah, I might as well have tried telling myself not to think of pink elephants at that point. Thankfully, the fluorescent algae and lichen in the cave system meant that I could stick close to the large bulk of the Akimichi in front of me and to my massive relief, eventually the pale, almost sickly light began to give way to warm, actual sunlight. The mouth of the tunnel opened up to the wide open basin of a lake and the last stretch to the surface of the water was a blessed mad scramble.

Though after I had breached the surface and finally got some fresh air into my lungs again, I was left speechless as I finally took in my surroundings.

"Woah…"

Towering up in front of us, over us, across from us was the largest thing I'd ever seen since Mount Shumisen. A tree that seemed to replace the sky itself. It's gargantuan trunk was so wide it resembled a mountain range and even the furthest, highest branches were larger than some of the biggest trees I saw in the forest outside. The massive tree rose up from an island in the middle of the lake and though the gargantuan shrubbery on top of it made it seem small, a temple on the nearby shore made me realize it was probably roughly the same size as the volcanic island that housed my former prison. Despite the surrounding lake's massive size, the tree still managed to reach the distant shores, letting through a few lightshafts past its reaching canopy, casting the entire glade in a dappled shade.

As we came ashore and quickly dried ourselves off, my gaze followed a long, thin bridge extending from the island at the base of the gargantuan tree back to the other shore, where I could see a village that could be best described as 'cute'. It looked more like a five-star getaway rather than a ninja village, with houses done up in warm wood with red-tiled roofs in a traditional eastern style sitting peacefully on the beach of the lake, surrounded by a lush forest.

'This basically looks like Konoha Lakeside Resort or something. No wonder the Shodaime liked it here.' I think dryly as we follow the three Taki nin standing at the beginning of the bridge to the village.

Like me, Tsubaki is looking around with blatant awe and though their masks hide it well, even I can pick up on the ANBU's body language that they're impressed. The only one that wasn't looking up at the sky full of mega-flora above and around us was Suien, but then again he had seen this sight his entire life.

He probably would've preferred it if the entire thing burnt down to kindling, Sylvanas style.

Seeing our awe, Daigo can't help but wear a proud grin on his face despite the seriousness of the situation, sweeping his arm out wide towards the bridge at his back and the picturesque village further behind it.

"Welcome… to Takigakure no Sato!"

---

Fun Fact: Kakuzu's birthday corresponds with the astrological sign Leo, who rules the heart, the organ Kakuzu collected from defeated enemies.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 2.1​

​

---

The massive tree that stood above Taki (which Daigo introduced to us as Kusunoki Oboku) really messed with my sense of scale as we began to leave the island at the center of the lake. When compared to the tree itself, the underlying lake seemed more like a pond and the simple wooden bridge that crossed it was almost twiglike in comparison to Oboku's massive branches.

And yet, crossing said 'little' bridge took us almost ten minutes, the circumference of the lake large enough it almost made me wonder if you could fit the entirety of Konoha on its surface without it ever touching the shores.

'Gai would probably have a field day running laps around this thing… on his hands no less.' I think wryly as I spot a gathering of people on the far side of the bridge.

As we get closer, I can make out that most of them seem to be simple craftsmen, judging by their rough, old-fashioned clothing. It's not like they're destitute, most of their clothes and equipment seems to be in relatively good shape, rather than threadbare, but even from afar it's clear to see these people aren't exactly rolling in wealth.

Though perhaps that's both mine and the original Mizuki's bias for Konoha's oddly technologically advanced state skewing our perception of what was considered the norm in this world. The Hidden Leaf Village seemed fairly modern for a world of myths and monsters. From its architecture to its facilities, the shinobi Village distinctly reminded me of a post-industrial revolution Japan, with some specific institutions like hospitals having moved well into the digital age.

Here though, it seemed as if these people had never even heard of the industrial revolution. I guess the closest things they ever saw to a proper steam-engine was when they accidentally left the kettle on for too long.

Somewhat better equipped (and more richly dressed) is a small group in front of the larger gathering, close to a dozen men, over half of them in robes signifying their status and flanked by what seem to be the remainder of Taki's current ninja roster.

Seeing how most of the robed men seem to be bent underneath the weight of their wrinkles, I gather these are Taki's village elders, though I don't see the young man that's supposed to be their current leader, Shibuki. As we close in, many of the gathered people start muttering in shock as they spot Suien's signature yellow bandana in the middle of our group. Some are intrigued, but a surprisingly large number looks rather fearful.

I'm guessing Suien didn't part with his ancestral home on exactly good terms.

The jostling and muttering is swiftly silenced by the elder standing at the front of the group with a raspy 'enough!' and a glare that causes many of them to look at their feet with sheepish expressions.

"Hail, Saburo-san! We welcome you back underneath Kusunoki Oboku's guarding embrace! What news from beyond Takitsuhime's borders?" the main elder, a particularly old specimen with long flowing white hair took a step forwards, eyes nearly hidden under a pair of bushy show-white eyebrows.

Stepping off the bridge onto the shore, Saburo saluted sharply, quickly followed by the other two Taki nin who had escorted us, backs straight and facing straight ahead.

"Hail, Senji-dono. We return from our investigation of the Konoha signal detected earlier today. The matter was deemed of too grave importance for the village at large for us to deal with immediately and as such we have returned to seek counsel from the village elders and our leader Shibuki-sama." Saburo answered crisply with a polite bow.

"Yes, I can see why you'd come to that conclusion." Elder Senji muttered, glancing past the Taki escort towards the grinning Suien, craggy face darkening as he stared the missing nin down.

Seeing that Suien remained uncowed underneath his glare, the elder scoffed, before his gaze slowly moved towards the rest of us.

"However, this is quite a large number of outsiders you have brought with you, Saburo-san. Even if they hail from Konoha."

The simple statement was nonetheless framed as both a question and a demand for an explanation, and once again Saburo bowed his head.

"I understand your concerns, Senji-dono. However, they all played a vital role in the apprehension of the traitor Suien as he was harassing their lands and the people under their protection. As such, they reserve the right to be present for his interrogation and sentencing, to ensure justice is meted out for their people as well." Saburo explained, though it was clear by his tone, no matter how polite and formal, he was equally as unhappy about the whole situation as the Elder was.

Not that this world's notions of honor gave them much choice here without both losing face and potentially insulting their most important ally. Suien was their mess after all, but the damage suffered and the work done had all been on Konoha's part, leaving Taki with an uncomfortable debt to us.

Elder Senji rubbed his stumpy chin for a long moment as he conferred with his fellow grandpas with meaningful looks and whispered mutters, before focusing back on our group, locking eyes with Tiger.

"I see. Then by all means, be welcome to Takigakure no Sato. May you find respite beneath Kusunoki Oboku's sheltering boughs. Be at peace! You are amongst friends here. Allow us to honor our ancient pact of alliance with Konohagakure no Sato, forged so long ago by the great Hashirama Senju, who favored us over all other Villages amongst the Great Nations." The elder called out, raspy voice surprisingly strong as he put on a bit of theater for the still growing crowd at his back, the reference to our Shodaime more for their sake than ours.

If Tiger was at all rankled by the subtle grandstanding, he didn't let anything show, instead inclining his head towards the wary looking elders.

"Of course. Many thanks for your hospitality. It will be good to finally see justice delivered for both our peoples." Was his simple response.

Senji turned towards one of the shinobi at his side, gesturing dismissively towards the now bored looking Suien.

"Take him to the holding cells."

The Taki nin gives a sharp salute, but as he and two others move in on Suien, Tiger idly turns his head towards the large Akimichi at his side.

"Give them a hand, will you?"

The Taki nin stiffen, but the ANBU simply nods, one meaty hand taking a firm hold of Suien's shoulder, the missing nin gritting his teeth slightly as the iron grip digs deep into his skin. The oversize ANBU turns his blank mask towards the other shinobi, outwardly completely relaxed.

"Lead the way." He simply rumbles, tough despite the casual tone, the message is clear: Konoha isn't planning on letting Suien out of their sight.

It's not just doubt in Taki's capabilities to keep someone like Suien restrained (he was considered one of, if not the strongest amongst their members after all), but without a Yamanaka or a seal master in the group, Tiger didn't really have any safeguards in place to keep the treacherous jōnin from contradicting the cover story the ANBU captain came up with. With at least one of them on him at all times, they could steer the interrogation in such a way Taki wouldn't poke too many holes into whatever Suien would end up spilling before they took his head.

Elder Senji's wrinkles multiply for a moment as he purses his lips, before he gives a confirming nod towards the Taki nin that now stood somewhat awkwardly as they glanced from the old man to the large ANBU and back.

"Our ally's help in this is much appreciated of course. The safety of our people is paramount, after all. Show them to the holding cells." He ordered.

The Taki nin move at his words, forming up in a lose formation around Suien and his ANBU guard, before all of them disappear in a blur of motion. That just leaves Tiger, Tsubaki and I standing slightly behind our escort as Saburo still stands crisply at attention, awaiting additional orders.

"Saburo-san, your village has further need of you. You and your team shall remain attached to our… guests, to serve as their guide. Be sure to show them to their lodgings. Please, rest up. We'd love to have you over for dinner." Elder Senji continued as he turned to address us directly, before with a final half-bow to Tiger, he and the rest of the elders began to move back towards the collection of large houses at the beachfront.

No doubt they had a lot of scheming- ahem, planning to get to.

The rest of the Taki villagers slowly began to spread out as well, now that most of the excitement had passed, cautious gossiping steadily being replaced by idle chatter. Somewhat to my surprise, as the Elders moved further away, I spotted a young man who had been hidden behind their wide robes, standing at the center of the remaining villagers, who all seemed oddly deferential to him, despite the fact that it had been Senji doing all of the talking. Saburo glanced at where Suien and his escort had disappeared to, before he turned towards the young man, offering a significantly deeper bow than he had shown the elders so far.

"By your leave, Shibuki-sama?" he asked the much younger man and my interest piqued as I observed the youth standing awkwardly in front of me.

He hadn't spoken a word since we got here and Saburo's words seemed to startle him as he'd been looking in the direction Suien had been carried off to with a troubled expression on his face. His face was youthful and fairly handsome in that boyband type of way, with hair handing down to the nape of his neck, bangs falling over his Taki headband which was long enough to fall down his back in twin tails. His status in the village showed in the excellent make of his turquoise haori, with a shoulderpad belted over his left shoulder.

'And apparently he's just as much of a coward as I remember him being in the OVA.' I think somewhat wryly as the boy nearly jumps at Saburo's question, eyes flitting about wildly before they settle on the still bowing man.

The death of his father is probably still fairly recent considering how early in the timeline I am, though I know he won't really grow past it until Naruto uses his signature Talk no Jutsu on the guy, showcasing a surprisingly capable leader hidden beneath all that anxiety. There must be some hidden strength to the boy after all, considering consuming the Hero Water hadn't outright killed or even crippled him as it had done with so many of Taki's greatest in the past. As it stands right now though, the young Shibuki is clearly hesitant and uncomfortable as Saburo addresses him directly, looking over his shoulder at the retreating back of Senji and the other Elders with a somewhat lost look on his youthful face.

"Ah… ah, yes of course, Saburo-san. Please, as you were." He manages to stammer out.

Before Saburo can straighten and thank him, the boy practically legs it, moving further down the beach towards a larger, three-tiered building with watchtowers guarding its perimeter nestled further back along the treeline on a small hill, clearly the village head's personal dwelling.

'Useful to keep in mind.' I think to myself as I glance from the mansion back towards Saburo and his team, the older ninja looking at the retreating back of his village leader with a somewhat downcast expression.

Though he quickly notices the looks my group is giving him, visibly shaking himself from whatever reminiscing he was doing as he schools his features into a careful mask of stern neutrality. Can't show any emotion in front of the foreign shinobi after all.

'Though I'm guessing he's the type of guy to not show emotion in front of anyone…' I think as I glance from Saburo to his son Daigo, who's a bit slower to hide his own melancholy over their leader's blatant cowardness, the easy-going youngster visibly struggling a bit to emulate his old man's cold mask of practiced indifference.

"Please, follow me. I shall come to collect you for dinner at Senji-dono's house later today. Until then, you are free to explore all that is sheltered by the leaves of Kusunoki Oboku, though we do ask that you do not pass back through the borders of Takitsuhime." Saburo says stiffly, if polite, though the request is a bit of a moot point.

'Considering how lost I got on the way here, I doubt I could find my way back outside without an escort, even if I found the entrance to the cave system again in the first place… which probably means it's a good thing we didn't bring the Legendary Stupid Brothers along, to be fair. I doubt they'd even fit down some of those passages…' I think somewhat sourly, glancing back over my shoulder to the island that supports the gargantuan tree blotting out the sky.

Considering the sheer size of the thing, Saburo's words meant there was plenty to explore on the surface here anyways.

"Lead the way." Tiger responded simply.

In short order, we were led through the quaint village to one of the larger buildings that sat empty. It was well-cared for, though obviously hadn't seen use in some time.

'Guess they don't get many guests up here.' I think idly as I drag a finger through the thick layer of dust covering one of the windowsills.

"Mizuki? What do we do now?" Tsubaki's question stirs me from my musings as I turn to face the woman.

"We follow our host's suggestion of course. This is place is lovely, after all. We can tour the village, have a look around." I say with an easy smile.

'And see if we can't scout this little lakeside resort for inconspicuous hiding places. I don't think the OVA ever explicitly showed where Shibuki disappeared to when he went to retrieve the Hero Water, but I do distinctly remember him diving down below the roots of the tree.'

Which unfortunately wasn't that helpful considering the sheer size of said tree. It must have a root system that extends literal miles underneath the surface of the lake so finding the one passage that led to the hidden chamber was like searching for a needle in a village-sized haystack… with said village being underwater. Still, touring the Village might give me a clue or something on where in the giant lake to start looking at least.

'We might as well take some time to scope out Shibuki's mansion while we're at it. He's probably living all alone up there right now, though I can see Senji and the other Elders making use of it for whatever village business he passes onto them. Who knows, maybe I'm lucky and while wandering around, we'll bump into a certain green-haired girl with a massive demon stuck in her gut…'

I move to take Tsubaki's hand so we can go out for an enthusiastic walk, but before I can take a step, Tiger's cold voice suddenly calls out and freezes me in place.

"Before you go off on your little outing, Mizuki…"

A shadow moves over my shoulder and I turn to come face-to-mask with a stylized porcelain tiger, empty eyeholes pinning me in place, the ANBU somehow having appeared at my back without so much as a whisper, the dust around us completely still and undisturbed.

"… we need to have a talk."

'Ah… crap.'

---

We're seated in the large living room of the guest house Senji had ordered Saburo to stash us for the foreseeable future, Tiger on one couch, Tsubaki and I on the other one across from him. The Akamichi ANBU was still at the prison keeping an eye on things to make sure the booking of Suien went without any issues. He was set to join us at the Elders' dinner party later tonight, so for now that left me alone with just the Captain, Tsubaki at our side.

Despite the fact that we had double his number, I wasn't comfortable with the prospect of fighting the man at all, even less than facing Hiruko. The mad Chimera might've had more overall power than the ANBU across from me, but he also had well-known weaknesses and a pretty large blindspot where I was considered, while I had the two Legendary Brothers in my corner.

Tiger though was a complete unknown, other than the fact he was strong enough to command a large team of ANBU field-operatives with unquestioned authority.

'Defuse and if that fails, confuse.' I think as I force myself to stop shifting uncomfortably on the couch, feeling like a kid that got called into the principal's office, except the principal is a trained killer and punishment is not expulsion, but execution.

However, right as I'm about to do something outlandish, like offering the ANBU Captain tea and cookies, Tiger cuts me off, voice clipped and unyielding.

"I know you're hiding something from me."

The words freeze me in place and Tsubaki grabs my hand as we both stare at the man with wide eyes.

"Actually, correction. I know you're likely hiding several things from me. After these past few weeks, I've learned that when it comes to you it's safer to simply assume you're always up to something. So you hiding something up your sleeve isn't something I'm overly concerned about. That being said however, there is one thing in particular that I must be informed of, Mizuki, as it deals with our current situation. If not addressed, it might negatively impact the outcome of our mission in Taki, and I will not allow this." Tiger said, putting emphasis on that last part as he leaned slightly forwards, pinning us in place with those ominous black holes in his porcelain white mask.

"I see… and what would that be, Captain?" I ask, forcing my voice to remain calm as Tiger stares me down for a long moment, before he leans back into the couch again.

"The experiments that Hiruko has performed on you. They have… altered you in some way, did they not? You've been hiding it so far with a Henge, which is something that I approve of, and something that you will make sure to keep up whenever we are around others here in Taki. I do not need them getting curious about Mount Shumisen and start looking into Suien's confession more than necessary. However, you will reveal those alterations to me." He ordered and I'm not even that surprised that we hadn't been able to completely fool a complete squad of ANBU, though I am surprised that they resisted the urge to peek behind the curtain, so to speak.

"Sir, if this is about stopping Suien from leaking too much intel to Taki that deviates from our own story, then shouldn't we be focusing on stopping him from telling them what he knows-?" I try, but Tiger isn't having any of it.

"Suien will either stick to the story, or find himself… encouraged to keep his mouth shut. Our methods shall have to be cruder than if we had access to a Yamanaka, or more advanced seal work, but this doesn't mean they are any less effective. Additionally, as a missing nin his words shall weigh less than our own claim regardless and it's not as if we'll allow the Elders to interrogate him without us present there at all times. Should they begin to put too much stock in the words of a traitor, we'll be there to remind them who their true friends are. It is because of these factors that I decided against executing him in the field and merely delivering Taki his head. This way we can get more out of him, which means executing him now will undo that benefit and only damage our talks here." Tiger explains coldly, once again being in a surprisingly sharing mood before he leans forward again, placing his elbows on his knees.

"Now… take off the Henge, Oniyuri Mizuki. That's an order."

The mask hides it, but I can somehow still feel how the man narrows his eyes at me and my breath hitches for a moment as I slowly rise from the couch.

'Man, he might as well told me to strip. Is it weird how… exposed I feel?'

Seeing no other choice, my hands come up in a handseal and with a poof of wispy white smoke, my Henge is dispelled, showing my true form, stripes and all. I supress the urge to spread my arms and say 'tada!' so I simply remain standing at parade rest as Tiger freezes up on the couch for a long moment.

Eventually he rises to his feet as well and begins slowly stalking around me, studying my form with a critical eye and that feeling of being exposed returns again tenfold. It takes a surprising amount of willpower to keep my from trying to cover myself with my hands underneath the ANBU's clinical scrutiny.

After completing two full circles in complete silence, Tiger comes to a halt before me, having to crane his head a bit to look me in the eye. For a long moment, he doesn't say anything at all, simply observing me and it's impossible to tell what he's thinking.

"Good gods man… what did he do to you?" Tiger asks and despite his cold professionalism, he can't quite keep a slight tone of horror from slipping into his voice, which takes me off guard for a moment.

I don't mind the way I look (after all, I was actively looking to turn myself into a bipedal half-tiger, half-man, all-murder monster) but apparently by this world's standards Hiruko might as well have been Frankenstein and me his monster.

I quickly capitalize on Tiger's brief body horror and shrug my striped shoulders.

"If you were to ask him? He made me better. More." I say with a grin that shows off my sharpened canines.

Tiger leans a bit away from me at that, giving me another quick once-over.

"From what we gathered from Hiruko's research, he was obsessed in fusing creatures together to form a new, stronger specimen…" he says, his words not quite a question but I answer anyways.

"Essence of Tiger." I say somewhat cheekily as he visibly tenses up.

"Yeah, the irony isn't lost on me. Well, a bit of Tiger DNA and a whole bucket worth of pills and 'medicine' before he strapped me down on that table, but what ended up triggering the transformation was the genetic material of a tiger. Likely a chakra-enhanced specimen at that. Which means I probably don't fully qualify as fully human anymore, come to think of it." I trail off and I can feel the other man raise an eyebrow at that.

"And you only thought of that now?"

"To be honest, I've been trying not to think too deeply about any of this." I say with a pained grumble.

A complete lie, but then again I hadn't expected sympathy from an ANBU of all people (and to be fair it's more horror than pity that the man is likely feeling, but hey, I'll take it), so best to play it up as much as possible while I got the opportunity.

"No wonder you kept up that Henge so desperately. You look hideous."

"… well, tell me how you really feel, why don't you?" I say as I can't help but pout a little at the man's words.

'So much for sympathy, I guess…'

I know the people of this world have different standards than I do and I know my new appearance just screams 'manmade horrors within my comprehension', but all things considered I thought I looked pretty badass, what with the new massive muscles.

Tsubaki certainly seemed to think so as well. Though considering she was the original Mizuki's fiancée, she might not be the best judge of character come to think of it.

"The difference between your natural look and… this, merely startled me." Tiger says coolly and by ANBU standards, that's probably the closest I'll ever get to an apology from the man, so I shrug it off.

"… is it… stable? Reversible perhaps?"

"Reversible definitely not. I was altered down at the genetic level, which expressed itself in the changes you now see before you. They're just symptoms of what was really done to me. As for stable?" I hold up a clawed hand and wiggle it in a 'so-so' gesture.

"Hiruko kept mentioning that it was incomplete somehow. Apparently my body was not strong enough to withstand a full transformation, so he took what I had and 'improved' on it. Clearly he had plans to change me further, but I made sure he never got a chance to." I finish darkly and Tiger nods at that.

"What does that mean for your current form? Will you remain stuck half-way through your transformation forever?"

"That's the best-case scenario, yes." I say flatly and Tiger picks up on my tone, hesitating only for a moment.

"And worst-case scenario?"

"I decompose while alive. My human and tiger DNA ultimately prove incompatible and begin to unravel. From there, my organs will follow suite, with my body either falling to pieces or, you know, melt into a puddle of biological goo." I explain darkly, though I'm surprised by a chocked-off sob coming from the couch behind me and both Tiger and I turn to look at the wide-eyed Tsubaki, hand clasped over her mouth, eyes wide and horrified.

'Crap, I might've hammed it up a bit too much…'

"Mizuki! You never told me you were dying!" she says in a horrified whisper and I quickly take a seat besides her, taking one of her small hands into my own large paws.

"Again, that's the worst-case scenario. I might not even die at all, at least not from this."

"But you can't be sure!"

"No, I'm not. Quite frankly, whatever Hiruko did to me goes so far over my head, most days I can't even be sure if I'm feeling better or worse than before the… procedure." I say, mindful of the ANBU still observing everything from across of us.

"Better or worse-? Mizuki, you just said you might literally unravel on a cellular level! You might turn into a puddle of flesh!" Tsubaki says surprisingly vehemently and I blink at her.

"… possibly."

"Without any clue as to when?!"

"… well it's not like the potion he fed me came with a 'best by' date sticker on it." I say somewhat defensively now.

"Is this why you needed that research? The part that held the second half of the formula?" Tsubaki says and I freeze in place as Tiger takes a step closer.

"What research?" he presses, but before I can try to defuse the situation, Tsubaki turns to the man, tears now in her eyes.

"When Hiruko forced the potion on Mizuki that caused him to change like this, he was carrying a thick stack of formula and seals. He said that it contained the second part of the transformation, but that Mizuki still wasn't strong enough to survive it. With that second part of the formula, your change would be complete, and you'd be stable, right?" Tsubaki addresses me, squeezing my hands, eyes pleading.

"Is that true?" Tiger asks simply and slowly I manage to tear away my gaze from Tsubaki and address the ANBU Captain.

"From what little I understand, I think so yes. Either I stay stuck like this, not knowing when my body might literally fall apart on me at any moment, or I submit myself to the second procedure and change myself even further, just like Hiruko always intended. It should stabilize my situation. Perhaps, if the transformation is completed, I might be able to switch between forms at will. I might be able to look like myself again…" I trail off and both Tsubaki and I remain silent for a long moment underneath Tiger's considering gaze.

"This research… it hasn't given you the means the finish the changes by yourself. If that were the case, you would've pushed harder to leave my team, to secure the ingredients and tools necessary. But it has given you a clue." Tiger concludes and I give a hesitant nod, that list of goals that I wrote with mud back in my cell so long ago now shifting around and falling into place.

"Yes, sir. Hiruko made mention of a scientist that he had personally trained that specialized in the formula he had used on me. Considering his own Chimera Technique leaned more and more towards seal based techniques, he found he had less use for the scientist and so he sent him to Orochimaru. As far as both he and I are aware of, Orochimaru has since set up the man in a specialized lab somewhere in the Land of Seas, though we don't know which island. He likely has the means to complete my transformation."

"Orochimaru again…" Tiger hummed in a considering tone and I wondered if I perhaps had pushed things too far, strained credulity just a bit too much.

"If you're worried that I might seek out Orochimaru-" I hurry, but Tiger cuts me off with a single raised hand.

"Remember, I was there for your interrogations. I know the chances of you returning the man are notably low, considering the value you place on self-preservation. Which raises the question as to how you intend to secure the scientist's cooperation." Tiger asks.

"Well… I intended to present myself as an ally to both Orochimaru and Hiruko to gain his trust, secure his means and research and then kill him." I answer honestly.

The best lies are the ones built using the truth after all. It was pretty much the same plan I had used on Hiruko and that had (mostly) worked out as a treat.

"You have no compulsion with taking this man's life?" Tiger presses and once again I feel oddly… evaluated.

"He's a traitor to Konoha, sir. Or at least a key accomplice to the greatest traitor Konoha has ever seen since Uchiha Madara himself. Sir." I say with a shrug, genuinely confused as to why an ANBU Captain of all people is hung up about the morality of deception and assassination.

That's literally how he earns his pay checks after all.

The feeling of being judged persists for a moment longer, before Tiger's intense focus lightens somewhat and I release a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. He glances from me to the still tear-streaked Tsubaki for a long silent moment, before his posture relaxes slightly.

"I see. This answers several questions I had. Once we've dealt with Suien, I'll make sure the Hokage learns of this as well. Removing Orochimaru's bases of operation has been one of his long-time interests after all." Tiger says neutrally, before moving away from us and I blink at what was basically the man's tacit approval for the murder of a scientist on the other side of the continent.

"Sir, what now? Are we confined to quarters?" I ask before the man can step outside the building, Tiger glancing back at me over his shoulder.

"I am very tempted to say yes. Even to you Tsubaki-san. You've already proven the lengths you're willing to go to in order to aid your fiancée. Snooping around another village, especially an allied one, pales in comparison. That being said, I'm not convinced keeping you two cooped up in here is going to yield positive results. Wouldn't want you to feel trapped and make true on your reputation as Flight Risk Mizuki after all. Feel free to explore the village. Do not cause any trouble. That means putting your Henge back on. I'll see you for dinner."

I blink a bit at the news that I even have a reputation, so it's Tsubaki that asks a final question of the ANBU Captain.

"Sir? What will you be doing in the meantime then?"

"Same as you. Not snooping around." Tiger idly responds and with a sudden swirl of leaves the man is gone.

"Did… did he just make a joke?" I ask aloud, before turning to face Tsubaki.

To my surprise she's wiping away her tear marks, smiling up at me as if nothing at all has happened.

"Joke or no, it's a good suggestion. This village looks lovely, let's go out on a walk. It can be like a date." She says with a shy smile, the panicked, teary look from before completely gone and my jaw goes a bit slack as I re-evaluate the woman's acting chops.

As her slim hand slips into my rough one and she leads me outside the guest house, my eyes remain fixed on her back, her thick braid swaying, a single thought crosses my mind.

'… clever girl…'

---

Fun Fact: The first kanji in Kakuzu's name (角) stands for kakugyō, the bishop in shōgi. While similarly, the kanji in his partner Hidan's name means "rook", another shōgi piece.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 2.3​

​

---

How to deal with a walking weapon of mass destruction who you inadvertently just tried to bifurcate with a sneak attack as you're standing on the roof of a foreign village leader's mansion?

'Pretty sure they never went over this scenario back in the Academy…' I think as I try and find the proper words.

Honestly, it's a bit of a miracle that I'm even capable of forming thoughts right now, not (only) because of the terror that has seemingly turned my lungs into blocks of ice, but because usually attacking a Jinchūriki like I accidentally had would mean that my head would've already been turned into a bloody mist instead.

Quite literally at that if I ever had the misfortune of pissing off the Five Tails' Jinchūriki, Han of the Steam Release.

Thankfully though, for whatever reason it didn't seem like Fu intended to go kaiju-mode on my ass and turn my insides into my outsides. Instead, the young girl seemed more abashed than anything as she scuffed her sandals against the torn-up roof tiles, unable to look me in the eye.

"Are you not allowed to be here?" I find myself asking the mint-haired girl and the Jinchūriki stiffens at that, a pout on her face.

"Yes, I am! I am totally invited to the party, Shibuki-sama told me so!" is her sharp response and I immediately backpedal, holding up my hands.

"Alright, alright. What I meant was, are you allowed to sneak around up here, on his rooftop, specifically?" I can't help but point out and the girl falters for a moment.

"I-… I wasn't sneaking! I was… on patrol? Yeah, I was on the look-out for bad guys! Trying to catch spies and assassins! They're the ones that do the sneaking on rooftops! So of course if I want to catch them, I have to be on the rooftops as well!" Fū nods at her iron-clad logic and I can almost literally see the lightbulb switch on behind those vibrant orange eyes.

"Hey, then why are you up on the roof?! Are you sneaking around? Does that mean I get to beat you up?!" she challenges and she begins to get a worriedly excited grin on her sharp, almost elfin face that sends every primal instinct screaming in the back of my mind.

It's not Killing Intent, but even so I can feel her eagerness for battle leaking through. Pushing down my mounting panic, I school my features into a blank mask as I shoot her an unimpressed look instead.

"I saw someone hiding on the roof and of course I logically assumed they were spies or assassins, so I came up to stop them." I point out sarcastically, turning her own logic against her and the girl deflates a bit at that.

"Heh heh… yeah I guess that makes sense." She chuckles a bit abashed, poking her cheeks.

'If this is a ploy to make me let down my guard, then hell, just give her the ninja-Oscar for Best Actress already, because dammit, it's actually working.' I couldn't help but think at the gesture, somewhat annoyed with myself.

It's hard to stay terrified of a little girl who looks like she's desperately trying to get out of getting grounded. Though I firmly keep the reminder of what a Bijūdama can do to an entire village (much less a single unfortunate shinobi like yours truly) in the back of mind, I nonetheless find myself approaching the lithe girl, my expression softer now.

"I think we can both agree we've done our duty then: no spies or assassins on this rooftop, no sir." I say dryly, which makes Fū relax a little as she chuckles in relief.

"So, any particular reason you felt the need to… patrol the rooftop, if you've been invited by Shibuki personally?"

The beginnings of a new plan begin to form in my mind as I continue talking, my tone carefully nonchalant.

"I mean, if it were me that got a personal invite from the village leader, I'd be right there next to him at the head of the table, stuffing my face with the best duck and boar and fish Taki has to offer. As it is, he's been kept so busy by the Elders, I haven't even had a chance to say hello, much less sample any of the more expensive-looking dishes." I complain loudly and airily, but from the corner of my eye I keep a careful watch of Fu's expression and I'm not surprised to see a burst of anger flash across her face when I mention the Elders, before it's carefully hidden by a mask of indifference.

"Tch! Me and Shibuki-sama eat together plenty of times!" she refutes and the unspoken 'no matter what anyone has to say about it' is clearly understood.

"Oh? Well in that case I can see how the novelty of it would wear off, especially in a room that busy and stuffy. The air up here is much cooler. Fresher too. Less old-people smell." I easily agree, getting a giggle out of the girl as I turn to face the lake underneath the gargantuan tree, reflecting the glowing white moon hanging silently overhead.

"Y-yeah, that's it! It's much nicer up here anyways!" Fū eagerly agrees, thankful for the excuse, and for a moment we're standing up there in silence as we overlook the village below.

What I said wasn't even that much of a lie to be honest. The massive crowd made for a roaring conversation even with the Elders' stubborn silence, the heat quickly rising to the point I could feel my cheeks glowing from the warmth as dish after dish was carried in from the bustling kitchens. The already oppressive warmth was only added to by the roaring fires that were blazing in several hearths, which was completely nonsensical to me considering we were still only in March. The din in the room was enough to almost drown out the small band playing traditional music in one of the corners of the massive dining hall and all things considered, the rooftop was in fact a nice reprieve of the madness below us.

'This is actually the best of both worlds: the peace and quiet from our spectacular view combined with the music coming from below. I'm pretty sure we've also moved closer to where the kitchens are, since I can smell several dishes being prepared as-'

My thoughts were brutally interrupted by a loud growl from beside me and for a split-second I freeze in fear as I think Fū actually did go all Demon Container on my ass out of nowhere. Slowly I glance at the girl besides me and to my surprise all I can see is a mop of mint-green hair as Fū bows her head, hands clamped tightly over her exposed belly.

Even from here I can see the sheer redness creeping into her face as she awkwardly rubs the back of her head.

"H-heh heh, I uhh… might've forgotten to grab something to eat first, before going on patrol…" the young Jinchūriki chuckled self-consciously and slowly I release the breath I'd been holding at the sudden jump-scare.

"Well, let's go fix that then, shall we?" I offer as Fu's eyes go wide at my suggestion.

Best not to have a hangry Jinchūriki around, that can't be good for anyone's health.

---

All in all, while my original goal for attending the feast (getting close to Shibuki to somehow weasel the location of the Hero Water out of him), the unexpected boon of befriending Fū that night turned out to far outweigh my initial disappointment.

The extroverted girl had taken it on herself to pay me back for covering for her that night, as well as distracting the main cook so she could raid the kitchens (she even saved me a massive boar straight out of an Asterix and Obelix comic that I ended up sealing away as a treat for my own oafish mountains of muscle still waiting outside the waterfall) by practically glueing herself to me at the hip, enthusiastically guiding me throughout the village.

Saburo had seemed annoyed at the girl butting into his business before he seemed to remember he didn't even like said business that had been forced on him in the first place and seemed pretty hands off about the whole thing, merely shadowing us from a distance.

His son Daigo was more than happy with the mint-haired girl demanding all of my time however, as it gave him the opportunity to stick closer to Tsubaki instead like your typical love-struck teenager in over his head. Tsubaki seemed more amused by his antics than anything, smiling politely as he alternatively tripped over both his words and his feet.

However, what I was really pleased with, was that my new guide was much less restrained than our original, Elder-appointed one. Fū simply had no filter or concept of secrecy, and while I was mindful with my questions, aware of Saburo's distant but ever-present gaze on my back, I already managed to get a ton more information out of Fū on a simple morning walk than an entire day with the Taki shinobi.

"And over there is the home of Sakuzō, one of the fishermen. He once threw a harpoon at me, but missed and almost speared his own wife in the butt!"

Not that all of that information was particularly useful, mind you.

"Do I want to know why he tried to harpoon you?"

"Probably 'cause I slapped him in the face with one of his own fish. A real big, juicy one too!"

"… Naturally."

I wisely decided against digging any deeper. However, stories like these did paint me a better picture of the life the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki had in Takigakure and the parallels between her and Naruto just kept mounting. Like Naruto she was very close to her village leader, though with Taki being a much smaller village than Konoha, Fū was definitely more accepted by her people than Naruto had been. The elfin looking girl was hardly ever abused (save the occasional hot-headed retaliation like from the fisherman), but was nonetheless kept at arm's length by most. However, where Naruto was shunned and acted out through pranks (which just served to isolate him further), most of the villagers seemed to be somewhat put off by just the sheer exuberance that Fū had.

Her idea about friendship was pretty much solely based around her interactions with Shibuki, which meant she was determined to gather more friends without really knowing how. Which ended up with her right in people's faces with unbridled enthusiasm, like an unguided missile of joy. However, since those people were all too aware of her strength and destructive potential (like, say, an actual missile), that just caused them to pull away instead.

Most people do seem to have a bit of difficulty wrapping their heads around the concept of a friendly nuke after all, and though they'll make sure to play nice and put on big smiles, it was more out of politeness than affection. It all made for a lonely girl desperate for human connection with whoever was willing to be her friend.

Which apparently, turned out to be me.

'Man, the parallels between her and Naruto just keep mounting, huh?' I think somewhat bemused.

It's when we've moved a bit further down Taki's expansive beachline that I get some information actually related to my overall goal in this minor village as Fū stops for a moment to take in the sights.

As everywhere else in the village, the view is dominated by the gigantic tree in the middle of the lake, the roaring waterfall further behind it crashing below and sending up a towering cloud of mist, almost like pulling a glittering curtain across the background of the scenery.

"Hey, do you know the story of Kusunoki Oboku?" Fū suddenly asks out of nowhere, taking me a bit off guard.

"Your guardian tree, right? Not much, other than it was his protection somehow that allowed your people to first settle here." I admit.

Like I said, so far Saburo hadn't exactly been a forthcoming guide and Daigo was much to preoccupied with handling his first ever proper crush to delve into history lessons much.

"Oh, oh, I'll tell you! Shibuki-sama was the one who told me, so it's the best story in the world!"

I blink a moment at that particular piece of logic as Fū scrunches up her face, slowly and carefully choosing her words as she tries to tell the story from memory.

"Long before the first shinobi carved names into the earth, in the time before the Sage discovered the secrets of chakra, it is said that two ancient spirits stood watch over a peaceful valley that never knew war. The forest kami, Kusunoki Oboku, whose roots reached into the underworld and whose crown touched the stars, and the river kami Tsukihime, who flowed at his roots and gave life to the land. She wasn't a waterfall back then you know." Fū said as she glanced at me, as if to check that I was still paying attention, briefly dropping out of her dramatic storytelling voice.

"Alright, so what happened to Tsukihime so she flowed vertically?" I say, amused at how serious the girl took her story.

"Right, so… uhm, yeah, so together they kept the land in balance, her waters feeding his roots, his shade guarding her streams. But then everything changed when war broke out in the heavens. Evil spirits wanted Tsukihime's life-giving power for themselves. Kusunoki Oboku tried to defend her, but they set fire to his forests, trapping Tsukihime here in the lake. All seemed lost, until Kusunoki Oboku bent his mighty form and gripped the land. He heaved it upwards, creating a massive cliff right at the edge of the lake, allowing the river to keep flowing down, forming the first waterfall. Tsukihime laughed in joy as she escaped from the lake and by throwing herself over the edge of the cliff, her laughter turned into a roar that scared away the evil spirits. So she in turn saved Kusunoki Oboku's forests."

"It's a pretty story." I admit as Fū turns to look at me expectantly.

'I recognize bits and pieces from Hagomoro's and Kaguya's legends. Sounds almost like this tree is somewhat like a miniature god-tree or something. Maybe that explains the power from the Hero Water?'

Fū's resulting grin is nearly blinding as she places her hands on her hips, clearly pleased with herself.

"Though it doesn't really explain why your people settled here of all places?" I carefully prod and it takes quite some effort to keep my glee from my face as I see Fū hesitate for a moment, looking past me towards the far-off Saburo (who's more preoccupied scolding an embarrassed looking Daigo while Tsubaki looks on with an amused smile).

Fu's expression turns conspiratory and I have to suppress a chuckle as she motions me closer with narrowed eyes.

"Don't tell anyone… but since then, in thanks for saving her, Tsukihime sends some of her waters back up the waterfall to feed Kusunoki Oboku's roots and restore his strength. It takes a lot of effort for water to travel up though, so over time, like, a really long time, this makes him produce a sap that we call the Hero Water." She hisses as I crouch down to her level and lean in.

'There it is.'

"The Hero Water? I've hear the villagers talk about it at the feast. Didn't it kill Shibuki-sama's father? Sounds dangerous." I say innocently.

Fū nods sadly at my words, before her expression turns to one of admiration instead.

"Yeah, the more you take, the faster you burn up. You're taking the strength of the gods after all. It's not really meant for power, it symbolizes the harmony and balance in nature. Which is why only Taki's greatest heroes, like Shibuki-sama's dad and Shibuki-sama himself, are allowed to drink it and only to defend our great village, just like the tree defended the waterfall! That's what makes them heroes!" the girl says excitedly and it's not hard to hear the village propaganda shine through her words.

"That's sounds amazing, Fū. You're right, that was a good story and it really shows what kind of a hero Shibuki-sama is to this village. I would love to see it someday." I say admiringly and Fū nods at my words before looking a bit troubled.

"Sorry, Mizuki, but outsiders aren't allowed to know the location of our Hero Water, it's a secret after all! Not even everyone from the village knows where it is! Technically, I'm not supposed to know either, but Shibuki-sama told me, 'cause that's how much he trusts me! And that's why I promised to never tell anyone else where it is, no matter what!" Fū says proudly.

"Ah, I understand, Fū. Shibuki-sama is lucky to have a friend like you." I say warmly as I ruffle her mint-green hair.

'Not unexpected, but not a problem. She's already given me enough to work with.' I think as I glance in the same direction that Fū had accidentally looked at when she discussed the location of the Hero Water.

Thinking of the myth she told me, the location is somewhat obvious in hindsight. She had glanced straight at the roots of the tree that directly faced the edge of the waterfall. Considering the sheer size of said tree and its roots, that still left a stupidly large area to search, but at least now I knew where to start looking, especially since there was only a single temple on that side of the island. It wasn't large, but it was very old, yet well-kept despite that. If it weren't for my outside knowledge, I likely would've looked there first, but at best it was a simple distraction, at worst it was booby-trapped and what with the story of ancient spirits and such, I didn't feel like risking checking it out.

No, somewhere nearby, but hidden underneath the roots below, was my next power-up.

And I think I just stumbled across the exact way I was gonna get it without anyone being the wiser too.

"Man, you're a good story-teller, Fun. I wish I could listen to more of them, but I'm afraid Tsubaki and I will have to leave soon. Suien's interrogation will start in a couple of hours and as part of the Konoha delegation, we're supposed to be present." I say with a sigh as I stand back up to my full height again, slyly observing Fū from the corner of my eye.

I can see that she's conflicted, but not yet convinced so I decide to give her a little push.

"Besides, Saburo doesn't like people sharing Taki's history with outsiders, he'll probably stop you from telling me any more if he hears us talking like this." I pout dejectedly.

I can see Fū worry her lips for a moment, before a gleam of determination enters her orange eyes as she balls her hands into tiny fists at her side. Again she mentions me to lean in closer and again I crouch down with an amused expression on my face.

"Hey, Mizuki, I got this super special secret jutsu that lets me talk into people's brains…" she starts in a hushed whisper, nervously keeping an eye on the still distracted Saburo and completely missing the wolfish grin that briefly flashes across my face.

'And that's a bingo.'

---

The Wave Transmission Technique took a bit getting used to. It was somewhat similar to daydreaming, except the voice in your thoughts belonged to someone else. The only real 'sound' that you picked up on the other end was a sort of whistling of a hidden wind. I had no idea how it worked, but then again it seemed like Fū herself didn't fully understand what she was doing other than sending out her chakra like a pulse.

In her words, "it just works!".

There was definitely something more going on though, since the pulse was incredibly faint, with nobody in Taki's (rather small) jail picking up on the fact I had a Tailed-Beast container excitedly chattering away in my ear, even though she was off somewhere in the wilds, goofing off and calling it training.

'Hey! I heard that you know! Chasing squirrels is a totally valid training method! Shibuki-sama said so himself when he caught me!'

Also, with Fū being a chatterbox, the technique was being used almost constantly.

'Apologies, Fū. It's just… the atmosphere in here is a little tense at the moment. I do not want to sound mean, but you're accidentally being quite distracting right now, and it's really important for both our villages that I pay proper attention to everything.' I think back gently.

Without much experience in friendships (or just normal social interaction at that) Fū was a bit unclear on the rules of social interactions and I had quickly figured out that a kind, guiding hand was the best way to get her to back off a bit and tone down that hyperactive exuberance of hers. It probably reminded her of the way that Shibuki often dealt with her.

'Oh, right. Sorry Mizuki.' Fū thinks back and I make sure to make my thoughts feel 'warm' as I quickly respond.

'It's alright, Fū, I'm not mad or anything. Still, I do need to focus…'

'Oh! Don't worry, I'll turn off the link! I'll see you guys later!'

And with that, the faint whistling in my ears, almost like tinnitus, finally fades away and I let out a slight sigh of relief. I wasn't even lying to Fū (well, not this time at least), as the atmosphere in the jail was in fact rather charged. Not to mention that it was surprisingly uncomfortable to step back inside a prison after I had spent the first month of my life desperately trying to escape one in the first place.

Hearing my small sigh, Tsubaki slips her hand in mine as we're standing at the edge of a small crowd. There's barely half a dozen people in the interrogation room, but it's enough to make it feel crowded nonetheless. There's Suien himself of course, on his knees in the middle of the room dressed in rags and with what I recognize from my days as a history teacher as something similar to the Chinese jia, more commonly known as a cangue or simply as a pillory. A large wooden board that closed tightly around Suien's neck and sat heavily on his shoulders as his arms were stretched out behind it, fastened to the floor with heavy chains.

Two long strips of paper adorned the board, filled with the characters for "treason" and "imprisonment" and the like, with further swirls and additions typical of Fūinjutsu in this world.

Despite the crowd and the undoubtedly uncomfortable position, Suien kept his head bowed and his eyes closed, his hair, now without his signature yellow bandana, falling past his face in greasy threads.

Standing imperiously in front of him were the main Elder Senji and Shibuki, though the young village leader was shaking as a leaf as he stared at the traitorous jōnin with wide eyes. At their side stood Tiger, still and tall as always. On one side of Suien stood the Akimichi ANBU, while on the other stood Saburo. Spread throughout the rest of the room were some more Elders, a few additional Taki shinobi and Tsubaki and I.

Suien's interrogation had started a little while ago, though to no great effect. He didn't react when Senji began reading out a (surprisingly long) list of charges and he didn't even bother with answering any of the Elder's follow-up questions.

Eventually, Senji's patience was stretched too thin.

"By the gods man! Have you absolutely nothing to say?! Nothing to save your miserable skin?! I did not expect an apology from the likes of you, but to not even have the dignity to look those you betrayed in the eyes, what cowardice!"

Nothing. Suien didn't even look up.

"Answer me!"

The slap rang out loudly through the packed room as Suien's head whipped to the side and Senji visibly restrained himself with a deep breath as Shibuki looked on with wide, shocked eyes, likely never having seen the Elder in such a state. At least the slap got the first reaction out of Suien since the start of the interrogation. He looked up at Senji, worked his jaw for a moment… and then spat a thick wad of blood at the man's feet, grinning up at the elder with a blood-stained grin.

"You… how could you have ever sunk so low, Suien? You, who was the pride of this village…" Senji breathed heavily.

"Pride? What does a backwater like this know of pride?" Suien finally responded, his voice hateful.

"Suien… why? Why betray the Village? You were seen as the best of us…" Shibuki softly began, startling everyone, perhaps himself most of all as he spoke up for the first time.

"Tch, the best of mediocrity is still pathetic. All of you are such disgusting weaklings, what use is there in standing tall above you who scrape in the dirt. A bunch of cowards, only fit to run away and hide in my shadow, relying only on others to save them with the Hero Water… pathetic!"

"Please Suien, this can't be true. You trained me, told me to grow, to be better-" Shibuki tried, but the angered traitor wasn't having any of it.

"Training? Training?! Baby-sitting duty, watching over a brat too scared of his own shadow! A potential crippled from birth because of the coddling and hero worship of commoners who wouldn't know a kunai from a shovel if you hit them over the head with it! Training you was no honour! It was a punishment!"

Shibuki reeled back as if physically struck, eyes wide and watering.

"B-but… we took you into our home… my dad said you were his closest friend… his brother… I called you 'Uncle' when I was younger…" Shibuki managed to whisper through his tears, but Suien just threw back his head with a cold laugh.

"Brother?! Uncle?! Pathetic! Did you really think that the likes of you could ever hold such a place in my heart?! You and your weakling, idiotic father! How truly naïve must one be to smile in the face of the man holding a kunai at your back! He never even saw it coming, the fool!"

Shibuki's eyes widened at that, and I could feel myself (and everyone else in the room for that matter) lean in closer in anticipation.

"W-what-?" the young man whispered in disbelief.

"Suien! Enough of this-!" Senji tried to intervene, but to everyone's surprise, Shibuki stepped in, physically holding the Elder back as he moved to strike a madly grinning Suien again.

"No. No, I have to hear this. I must." Shibuki said with more conviction than I ever even through him capable of and it surprised Senji enough, the Elder allowed himself to be pushed back by the young man.

"What do you mean?" Shibuki continued and Suien's bloodied grin stretched even wider at that.

"Of course it never occurred to you idiots to question why such a large group of enemies was gathered and how they found the location to the village. None of you ever even bothered with the most important question of all: who told them where to look? Who convinced them to come looking for mystic treasures in this ass-end of the woods?"

"You orchestrated the invasion?" Shibuki asks in horror and Senji frowns at the words.

"Impossible! You were right there at my side on the front lines! I saw you cut them down one after the other until Lord Hisen arrived, having drunk the Hero Water himself to drive back the invaders!"

At Senji's words, Suien's expression turns ugly and hateful, a gleam in his eye as he spits pent-up venom with a bloodied sneer.

"That annoying fool! His 'noble' sacrifice doomed my whole plan! For what?! He ended up dead, he left his spineless, worthless son in charge of a position he was unfit for and I was left with a katana rammed through my thigh! For nothing! He was never supposed to drink the stuff himself!"

The admission causes the rest of the Elders and Taki nin to hurl obscenities at the man, as Shibuki stands wide-eyed and ramrod straight, staring at the traitorous jōnin with naked horror. For a moment, I think we're about to see a lynching instead of an execution, though Suien's life is saved (for now, at least) by an unexpected source. Even though emotions are running high, a calm voice cuts through it with an almost comfortably familiar coldness, hard and to the point.

"Elaborate." Tiger demands and the room quiets at his commanding voice.

"The invasion… a bunch of failed genin and chūnin, runaways from their villages turned missing nin, smacking around a bunch of hungry farmers playing at bandits. A worthless force, not a true threat even to this pathetic little village, but large enough numbers to send you cowards running at least. The goal was to have them make a lot of noise at the entrance, show them where they could best break through, then implore Hisen that he needed to take the Hero Water to protect his people. I would follow him close by, and at the last moment, steal it for myself."

"You… have you no shame, no sense of loyalty!? All this scheming, even turning on those you recruited yourself, just to stab our beloved leader in the back…" Senji asked, his mask as a stern Elder falling away to show true horror at the man in front of him, but Suien just kept laughing, bloody spittle flying from his wide grin.

"It was a foolproof plan, until said fool ran towards the frontlines instead! I had to stay close to him, or else the location of the Hero Water would be lost to me. And of course you were there standing right next to him, his battle-brother ever since you were children, and I had no choice to cut down the attackers before they identified me and revealed the whole plan to you. But then Hisen got cold feet anyways as expected and ran away from the battle. At first I thought the coward had gone to hide, but I couldn't follow, not with your distrusting eyes always on me Senji. When he came back, covered in that chakra cloak…"

Suien trailed off with a dark chuckle, shaking his head, his expression pained and frustrated.

"It's a good thing the Hero Water burned him up from the inside, or I would've taken his life myself." He spat, though he was immediately cut off by the young village leader

Another smack rings out through the room and this one is enough to make Suien lose more than just some bloody spit as one of his teeth clatters over the dark tiles of the room. It's Tiger who's first to react and drags away a red-faced, shaking Shibuki and it takes quite a while of quiet assurance from both the ANBU Captain and the village Elders before the distraught man is calmed down enough to the point he doesn't try to kill Suien on the spot.

Eventually he moves up to stand in front of Suien, the jōnin's vitriol apparently having run out as he simply hangs his head again, eyes closed as his leader delivers his judgement through labored breaths, tears flowing freely over his face.

"Suien. Takigakure no Sato herby condemns you. It strips you from every merit you have ever received. It strikes any achievement you've ever had from our records. Any rights or privileges you might have once held, have hereby been nullified, including your right to legal counsel. The spirits of our great tree and river, the spirits of our home, have forsaken you. You stand accused of treason against the village, its people and its founding principles and are hereby ordered to death by decapitation. This will occur tomorrow at midday. Out of respect for my beloved father's memory, I would've offered to wield the blade myself, but as you've spat on the generosity he offered you, thus revealing that bond of brotherhood to be nothing more than a cruel lie, this task shall fall to the Konoha ANBU instead. May you ask the kami for mercy, for you shall find none here." Shibuki managed to get out in a surprisingly strong voice and for a moment it's difficult to see that nervous youth I first saw when we first arrived in Taki.

But then his expression falls and his voice becomes a hoarse whisper. Gone is Shibuki the stern village leader, all that remains is just a young boy who is struggling to come to grips with the cruelty of the world.

"Suien… was it really all a lie… has there never been a moment… not a single time where we… that you-"

"Don't ask questions if you're not ready for the answers." Suien cuts him off, head still bowed, eyes still closed, blood covering his chin and that's that.

Elder Senji guides the grief-stricken Shibuki from the room, exchanging a nod with Tiger, before glancing over his shoulder at a stormy looking Saburo, who's eyeing the traitors exposed neck with a worrying expression and a white-knuckled grip on his short sword.

"Saburo! Clear the room! Nobody stays here except for the Konoha guard. I will not have an overeager shinobi break our leader's word and prove him a liar before men and gods by taking the traitor's head before the allotted time." Senji said in a voice that barely masked his own rage and grief and Saburo nodded tightly at the man's command, clearly forcing himself to obey his elder instead of his own instincts.

In short order, Suien's cell was cleared out save us Konoha nin, but in all of the hustle and bustle of the fuming Taki nin, nobody noticed the way my eyes lingered on the back of the shaking Shibuki, or how they slowly tracked over towards the still kneeling Suien, a sly smile quickly suppressed as the rest of my plan began to take shape.

'Time for part two.'

---

Fun Fact: There was a reference to Phineas and Ferb in the previous chapter, did you catch it?

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 2.4​

​

---

"I don't know Mizuki, are you sure that this will work? Everyone seems pretty… intense after that interrogation…"

"It'll be alright Tsubaki, it only has to fool them for a moment. How much chakra were you able to infuse into it?"

"I've been steadily pouring in a bit of my chakra since this morning. It's… pretty tiring, but it beats dumping everything into it at once. I should be almost back to my normal reserves after I've had a good night's rest."

"Good to know, but I wouldn't count on getting any. Not tonight at least." I answer grimly, taking a glass gourd from Tsubaki, filled with chakra-infused water, to the point I that when I took it into my hands, I could feel the mystical energy straight through the container.

'It's oddly warm…'

Taking out one of the many sealing scrolls we had stolen from Hiruko's palace, I seal the glass gourd inside and tuck the scroll away inside my vest. Tsubaki and I share a nod and then I'm out through a window and hopping over tiled rooftops in a shadowy blur, my movements masked by the dead of night.

Well, 4:33 AM to be more precise. Planning a heist or escape right at midnight might sound cool in the movies, but a surprisingly large number of people are still awake or barely asleep at that point, especially in a shinobi world. Four in the morning however is just before the early birds start rising and towards the end of the night shift, meaning that those few people who are awake are dead tired.

As is the case with the large Akimichi ANBU standing guard outside Suien's cell inside Taki's prison. As with most prisons, getting in is significantly easier than getting out, especially after Elder Senji's ordered most Taki nin to vacate the building to prevent any trigger-happy shinobi from avenging their beloved leader, which left the prison practically empty. Since we Konoha nin were a neutral party, and thus one of the few entrusted with keeping Suien alive until it was his time to die, the remaining guards outside the largely abandoned prison pretty much waved me through without much issue. As expected however, the lone ANBU guard was not so lax.

Yes it was getting towards the end of his night shift and yes he was tired, but he was still one of Konoha's elite soldiers. If needed, ANBU would operate for days at a time without rest if it meant completing the mission. Not that this was exactly healthy, but then again the same could be said for pretty much 90% of their job description.

"Good evening ANBU-san! Or good morning, depending on how you look at it, I suppose. Were you made aware of the new orders from Tiger?" I ask in my best innocent sounding voice as I approach the towering shinobi in front of the thick cell door.

Even with mine and Mizuki's acting skills combined, it's not enough to fool the large Akimichi and despite the non-descript mask, I can tell he's narrowing his eyes at me.

"Standing orders are to guard Suien's cell until he is retrieved by either Great Elder Senji, Village Leader Shibuki, or Captain Tiger. Anyone else is to be turned away. Violently if deemed necessary." The ANBU rumbles in a deep voice, before leaning slightly towards me as I come to a halt in front of him, voice lowering even further.

"You are none of the aforementioned people."

"How can you tell? I could be under a Henge?" I shoot back with a small smile, trying to defuse the rising tension.

"Mizuki…" the Akimichi simply rumbles in response and I raise my hands in surrender.

'Sheesh, I'm even telling the truth! … technically, at least.'

"Alright, alright. No, I'm not secretly Captain Tiger under a Henge. However, I am here on his orders." I explain and the Akimichi straightens to his full height as he shoots me a considering glance.

"… what new orders?" he finally bites.

"Tiger wants one final interrogation done before Taki takes Suien away to lop his head off. The information inside said head could be beneficial to Konoha's interests, especially if we plan on expanding our current operations on Mount Shumisen. Suien was there for as long as I was after all, and Tiger doesn't want to throw it all away just to calm Shibuki's tempter."

"Why you? Why now?" the ANBU demands as he crosses his arms in front of a chest broader than most doors.

"Well, considering our glaring lack of a Yamanaka at the moment, who else but me? Given my past with Suien and our trip to Hiruko's labs, I know what questions to ask and what buttons to press, meaning I'll get more out of him than you would."

"He hates you." He refutes but I just shrug, unbothered.

"Just means that he'll be more emotional and emotional people make mistakes."

The very fact I haven't already been bodily thrown out of the prison shows that the ANBU isn't at least dismissing me outright, doubt creeping into his stance, but even so he's still not entirely convinced.

"The captain can handle the interrogation as well as you can. Better, even." He points out and I nod, conceding the point.

"True, but he's got eyes on him that make a late night, last-minute interrogation session a bit more complicated. There's a reason why I'm coming to you at this ungodly hour after all." I grouse, my voice sleepy and annoyed.

I throw in a yawn I don't even really need to fake for good measure (4 AM really is disgustingly early after all, no matter if you planned for it) and by the tensing of his broad shoulders, I can tell the ANBU is trying to suppress his own in response.

Contagious reflexes are a hell of a thing.

"Captain Tiger wants this done subtly, on the downlow. Since we're the one that captured him and turned him over to Taki, naturally we should get first dibs on any intel Suien has, but after the attempted interrogation yesterday… yeesh. Better we don't upset Taki further by openly rooting around in the brain of one of their most valued jōnin, disgraced or not. You've seen firsthand how tightly they clutch to their secrets, even when it comes to their allies." I finish with a helpless shrug and the Akimichi drums a thick finger against his forearm.

"Make it fast." He finally relents as he turns around and finishes a set of keys from his pocket.

Due to his large size, he has to lean down a bit to get the key (comically tiny in his meaty fists) into the key hole and his voice gains a warning tone as he addresses me as I move up behind him, waiting for the tell-tale 'click' of the heavy locking mechanism.

"And Mizuki, if you dare-"

I'm not sure what he's trying to warn me about (it probably involves bodily harm of some kind, ANBU are predictable like that), because at that exact moment, I explode in a burst of movement. A hand, larger and tipped with claws underneath the Henge, engulfs the back of the Akimichi's head and slams it forward, straight into the thick steel of the cell door.

The blow is hard enough it shatters his mask and embeds his skull a few inches into the dented steel, but even blindsided like this, the large shinobi is still ANBU. Even taken off-guard and unbalanced, he doesn't go down immediately and instead tries to rise to his full height, already half-turning as a large hand goes for the weapon pouch at his hip without a moment's hesitation, while the other whips around like falling tree-trunk, aiming to take my head straight off my shoulders.

Not that I let him. I'm already moving as the large shinobi is unsteadily whirling around, ducking underneath the meaty arm and feeling the displaced air ruffle my silver locks, getting inside his guard in the blink of an eye. Mid-turn, the Akimichi eats a brutal kick straight to his now unmasked face, the few added inches from my transformation making sure I'm just high enough to hit the stumbling giant right in the bridge of his nose. The blow is strong enough it carries the hefty ANBU straight off his feet, sending him crashing into the wall.

Even with a small waterfall of blood pouring down his face and his eyes already swelling shut, his head probably ringing as if it were a gong during prayer time, the Akimichi proves why he was handpicked by Tiger himself as he falls to his knees, breaths labored as he tries to stay upright, still not knocked out.

'Damn, Akimichi really are built different.'

He even manages to get one foot underneath him, arms spread wide as if preparing a sumo charge, voice coming out in a pained, dangerous growl.

"Mizuki…!"

Despite his injuries, he still throws himself in a tackle, which I answer by grasping the edge of the heavy cell door and throwing the thick slab of hardened steel open wide with all of my considerable strength. The impact further deepens the previous dent to the point I can almost make out the Akimichi's face through the other side and after a tense few seconds I cautiously peek around the edge of the door.

Finally the large ANBU is knocked out flat on the floor and I kneel beside him, heaving with some effort to roll him on his side so he doesn't choke in his own blood or something. Patting the Akimichi on his head (which now more resembles several pounds of raw ground beef) I let out a relieved breath.

"I do not envy you the headache you will have when you wake. But for now, rest well and dream of large women."

With that I rise up, pick up his key ring and hurriedly slip inside the now opened cell. Yes, the prison was hardly staffed and those few who were unlucky enough to have been assigned the night shift were about as inattentive right now as they were likely to get, but still. This brief scuffle hadn't been exactly quiet and I'd rather be gone before someone comes looking into all that racket at this time of day.

Suien's still where we left him since yesterday, the deep bags underneath his eyes showing that his constrained position meant he likely hadn't been allowed to fall asleep, but the gleam in his eye shows that he's alert nonetheless.

"Mizuki?" he says, surprised and distrustful.

"Questions can wait, our window is brief. We need to move and we need to move now." I say as I approach him, flipping through keys as I test them on his manacles.

It takes a couple of tries before I get to the correct ones and during all that time I can feel Suien's stare bore into my skull, though the traitorous ninja doesn't say a word. It's only when I help him remove the heavy wooden board from around his neck that he springs into a blur of movement. He tears the key ring from my hand and in that same movement, fast enough I can't even see how he did it, he has the longest one extended like a thick needle, pressing it into the soft flesh underneath my jaw, right over the carotid artery.

Even though it's just a blunt key, I can feel the pressure of the length of steel against the hammering of my pulse and I freeze completely, eyes wide as I lock gazes with the equally motionless Suien.

I try to speak, but need to swallow first, the key moving uncomfortably harsh against my throat at the motion.

"Is this how you usually reward people saving you from the gallows?"

Suien's eyes narrow at my lighthearted question and the pressure from the key increases further.

"No. I usually reserve this for people who betray me to the gallows instead." He growls and I try to shrug without jamming the key further into my throat.

"Then it's a good thing that was never my intent."

"It sure seemed like that when you knocked me unconscious in front of a full ANBU squad."

"To save your life."

Suien actually lets out a bark of laughter at that, voice cold and eyes manic.

"Giving me a concussion, handing me over to those Leaf dogs, was all for my own benefit was it?"

"You're alive right now, aren't you?" I shoot back immediately, my voice firmer as I meet his wild gaze.

"Only because Senji wishes to see me lose my head tomorrow, rather than today." Suien refutes.

"And if I hadn't acted fast, you would've already lost your head a week ago!" I implore, even forcing the jōnin back a step as I move forwards, trying my best to ignore the slim length of steel digging into the soft flesh of my throat.

"Who do you think it was that convinced an entire ANBU squad to keep you alive as their prisoner, instead of executing you on the spot? Who kept telling them you were worth more alive than dead, when really, they wouldn't have given two shits either way? Who went even beyond that, used their newly given trust, to convince them to go as far as to take you with us and return you to your home village, rather than throw you into the same Konoha jail cell I escaped from? It was me who secretly arranged your transport to your home village, Suien, me who delivered you right to the heart of your ambition!" I hiss and Suien's takes another half-step back, doubt creeping into his wide eyes.

"You need to see the bigger picture here Suien, or all my bullshitting for this past week will have been for nothing, and we'll both lose our heads. You always wanted to return to Takigakure and conquer it, didn't you? Now's your chance!" I press on and finally Suien relents, taking the key off my throat.

For a moment we just stare at each other, Suien clearly weighing his options before he sets his jaw and shoots me a warning look.

"I'll be keeping my eye on you." He threatens, but I just shrug.

"Good, you watch my back and I'll watch yours. Now, can we finally get a move on or are we just gonna stand around here threatening each other until all they need to do is throw that door shut again?"

Suien grunts in acknowledgement and as we quickly move out of his cell, the jōnin's eyes widen as he spots the downed Akimichi. It probably goes a long way to dispel any further doubts about my 'true' allegiance and I can feel how the jōnin relaxes slightly.

"A moment." He commands and I can't help but bounce on the balls of my feet as he quickly pats down the ANBU's vest, pilfering the unconscious shinobi's weaponry.

"Hurry it up, before-!"

"Halt!"

"… before that happens." I finish with a sigh, spotting a familiar face at the end of the short hallway.

Saburo is standing there in a ready combat stance, short sword already unsheathed, murder in his eyes as he looks from me to Suien who is still bent over the prone form of the Akimichi ANBU. His expression darkens even further when he sees the unmoving Konoha ninja and I raise my hands in a placating gesture.

'Damn, I got lazy. I thought he had mostly backed off when Fū took over his guide duties. Guess he really took Senji's orders to heart; he probably never took his eyes off me.' I think, annoyed with myself.

"Alright, I know this looks bad, but he's not dead-!"

"No, but you soon shall be." Saburo hisses, before shooting forwards in a Body Flicker.

Body Flickers aren't usually used in combat (unless you had fancy hax-powered eyeballs like a certain Uchiha) given the lack of control during the high speed movement, but in a narrow corridor like this, that's not much of a factor. Thankfully, it also makes the linear movement predictable, so the moment Saburo even began to lean forwards, I already threw myself to the side.

"Shit!"

Not that it saved me completely, a white-hot pain suddenly lancing out across my bicep, Saburo's sword having tagged me as he flashed past me. Still, the Taki nin pays the price for his reckless movement as the Body Flicker carries him too far and his sword embeds itself deeply into the wall behind me. Saburo is experienced enough though to not even attempt to wrench it loose after a quick tug doesn't dislodge it. Instead, he lets go of it and immediately goes for his equipment pouch as he turns towards me, but he's halted in his tracks as he gets a good look at me, eyes wide.

It takes a trickle of blood running down my arm to realize that the Henge has failed.

"What-?"

That's as far as he gets as I feel movement behind me. More than that, however, I feel intent and my heart feels like it just got encased in a block of ice.

"Suien, don't-!" I try to warn but by then it's already too late.

The traitorous jōnin moves from behind me like a shadow, circling around Saburo and me in a blur of movement, suddenly standing shoulder to shoulder with his fellow Taki nin. Suien delivers a brutal low kick, stomping down on the hollow of Saburo's knee, making the older shinobi's legs collapse underneath him. The dirty kick is immediately followed by a scything roundhouse as Suien whirls around on his other heel, whipping his leg around and hitting Saburo in the chest.

It's a strong blow against an already destabilized opponent and it sends Saburo flying back… neck first in the still embedded blade of his sword. His eyes widen and his mouth opens in a silent scream, his body jerking uncontrollably. Suien slowly stalks around his downed opponent with a dangerous gleam in his eyes as Saburo looks up in desperation, fear and anger.

"S-Suien… y-you…-"

"What an ironic reversal of fortune, wouldn't you agree, my 'executioner'?" Suien mocks, before delivering a brutal backhand.

The blow is strong enough it pushes Saburo's head further back into his own blade and with a disgusting wet tearing sound, he is decapitated, body and head toppling to the floor.

"What the hell did you do?!" I can't help but explode, cold sweat drenching my back and I realize that, despite the fights I've been in, the death I've seen up to this point and even the death I've caused, this is the first time I've seen an innocent person die.

Saburo wasn't my enemy, he wasn't a villain. Just a ninja doing his job who was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Suien's cold voice drags my horrified look from the beheaded corpse to the tall jōnin as he looks at me with a vindictive smirk.

"What have I done? I've tied my fate to yours. Taki will want blood for blood. Now you're an accomplice not just to a prison break, but to murder. No way to weasel your way out of that one. The only way you can prevent Taki from sending out hunter nin and bounty hunters after your head for the rest of your natural life, is to ensure that it is I who leads Takigakure. Make me Village Leader and I will let you leave this place in peace. Fail and… well, just get used to sleeping with one eye open." Suien explains with a cold smile.

My mouth opens and closes a few times, yet no sound escapes me as I look at the ruthless jōnin across from me.

"Now then, I assume you have a plan that sees me assume control of this pitiful backwater? Merely running away won't cut it, not after Saburo's… untimely end."

"… the Hero Water. I have an idea where it is and how to get it. You get your hands on that, defeat Shibuki, Senji and the other elders and assume control."

"I'm not even sure at this point whether or not I should be surprised that you managed to uncover my village's most closely guarded secret. However, even the Hero Water pales in comparison to the might of the Seven-Tails Jinchūriki and she will not take kindly to me killing her treasured Shibuki." Suien points out.

"So don't kill him. Defeat him in battle, take control of the village and then use that position to keep him hostage. The Jinchūriki won't dare attack you if Shibuki's life is at stake."

"That would mean obtaining the Hero Water and defeating the Village Leader and those Elders loyal to him before the beast can interfere."

"That's where I come in."

Suien's smile widens further and he motions towards the other end of the hallway.

"Lead the way then."

---

My flight from the prison to Shibuki's mansion was harried, but thankfully brief due to Taki's small size. Besides, it wasn't as if the large building overlooking the smaller hamlets below from the top of its hill was difficult to spot, even in the dark.

I had followed on the heels of Suien as he barreled past the guards stationed at the prison's entrance, only now slowly being roused from all the commotion of their missing nin's breakout. To my hidden relief, their slow response likely saved their life as they failed to jump into the fleeing Suien's path.

They're still scrambling for their weapons when I burst out the large gate as well, hand clutching my injured arm, incorporating the wound in my reapplied Henge, shouting back at them over my shoulder as I moved towards Shibuki's mansion.

"Suien escaped! Raise the alarm, now! Saburo is dead!"

The guards, who had jumped at my call and were already beginning to move, froze when I revealed the fate of their comrade, but I was already gone, a blur in the darkness.

I arrived at Shibuki's mansion not long after in a cloud of dust, making sure to look half out of breath and bleeding enough to make the guards take me seriously, barking at them to raise the alarm before they could start asking stupid questions.

"Suien escaped," I snapped, voice carrying across the courtyard. "Sound the fucking alarm. Now!"

That at least got their attention.

The gate guards stiffened immediately, hands drifting toward weapons, though hesitation still lingered in the way only bureaucratic security could manage. They looked less like shinobi and more like men trying to decide whether they were allowed to panic without permission from someone higher up the ladder.

"I need to speak to Shibuki," I continued, clutching my arm tightly enough to keep fresh blood from dripping onto the stone. "Right now. I know where Suien is headed, but we don't have time to waste."

They exchanged looks.

One of them opened his mouth to object when another figure came sprinting up the path behind me, one of the prison guards, sweating and pale, having followed in my tracks.

"He's telling the truth," the man gasped with hurried breaths. "Prison breach. Suien escaped. I saw him leave."

That finally broke the paralysis, the guards moving with uncertain urgency.

One peeled off toward the inner compound while another gestured sharply for me to follow, suspicion still written all over his face, though it did little to mask his mounting panic, something echoed by the other guards and servants as we moved deeper through the palace.

Soft lanternlight reflected across polished wooden floors as I was hurried deeper inside, past servants flattening themselves against the walls and armed retainers beginning to mobilize. Even through the growing tension, the place still carried that same suffocating refinement from dinner earlier and I found myself breathing a bit harder, trying to prepare myself for the sheer amount of bullshitting I was about to do.

'At least it adds to my harried look, so hey, small blessings I guess.' I thought wryly to myself.

I was lead to a large room, different from the dinner hall the night before, though spacious enough to comfortably house the collection of hurriedly roused Elders, one deadly silent ANBU captain and one nervous wreck of a village leader already waiting for me. Shibuki sat near the centre of the assembled group, posture rigid but eyes tired in a way that made him look younger than he probably wanted to appear. Despite the ungodly hour, most of the Elders looked surprisingly put together, with only a few bravely trying to suppress yawns and blinking the sleep from their eyes. Elder Senji stood tall and rigid however, crisply clad in the robes of his station and gaze fully alert and narrowed in suspicion, as if he had come from the feast straight here without even so much as looking at his bed.

Tiger of course looked the same as always, completely unreadable to the outside world save for the tension in his arms as he folded them over his chest and the way his mask snapped towards me the moment I stepped into the room.

The tension in the room shifted the moment they saw the blood.

I didn't wait for permission.

"Prison's compromised. Suien escaped. Thought you ought to know." I said immediately.

Immediately the Elders erupt in a jumbled mass of rising panic and half-formed accusations, threats and suggestions, though both Senji and Tiger's gazes remain locked on me. Shibuki's eyes widen, but before he can stammer out a question, I decided to drop the bomb.

Hesitating visibly, I hang my head.

"Saburo… Saburo, he tried to stop Suien… he-"

"Spit it out man!" Senji finally calls out, but I can tell he already knows the rest.

"… Saburo's dead. Suien decapitated him with his own sword."

The room falls completely silent, none of the Elders daring so much as speak as Shibuki slowly sinks to his knees. Senji merely closes his eyes- in grief, head slightly bowed, but despite the shocking revelation, I can feel Tiger's stare still boring a hole in the side of my head.

Surprisingly, it's not him or Elder Senji who asks the question that's on everyone's mind, but Shibuki, the young man collapsed, sitting in a disheveled heap in the middle of his advisors, but with hollow eyes fixed on the polished floorboards.

"How… h-how did it happen?"

"Indeed. How could Suien escape? His restraints held fast, the suppression seals were drawn correctly. I checked them myself. He was to remain under constant guard." Tiger follows up, and there's something in his tone, a hidden promise of violence, that's enough to keep the Elders from jumping in as well.

He's still standing at the other side of the grand reception hall, arms still folded over his chest, and yet it's as if I can feel his breath on my neck and this time I don't have to act as I gulp, looking from the village leader to the silent ANBU captain.

"I… uhh, I sort of… attacked the guard?"

Before Shibuki's eyes can widen, before the Elders can erupt in outrage, before I can say anything else, Tiger is just… there. Right there in front of me, close enough I can see the smooth glossy texture of his porcelain mask, kunai held dead still at my throat. I thought I had gotten faster, thought I had gotten the measure of jōnin like Suien and the ANBU. I had gone toe to toe with them after all.

But it's only the fact that I know with absolute, wiki-backed knowledge that Tiger doesn't possess a Space-Time ninjutsu that keeps me from thinking the man just… straight up teleported across the room.

'I didn't even see him move!'

It was frustrating, but sadly not entirely unexpected. Yes, the Naruto world roughly categorized shinobi in either genin, chūnin or jōnin, but that didn't mean there weren't differences between ninja of the same rank that eclipsed the differences in categories entirely.

There were jōnin, and then there were jōnin and as far as Tiger stood above the rest of his squad, to me it only highlighted how much further the true monsters of this world stood. In the grand scheme of things, Tiger was barely more than the original Mizuki had been: filler fodder.

The whole situation, in combination with the stress from Suien's escape, makes me feel oddly… detached from it all. To the surprise of everyone in the room, including myself, I just let out a bitter laugh, opening a small cut on my throat as my skin presses against the razor tip of Tiger's kunai.

"Something amusing, Mizuki?" the ANBU captain asks, his voice cold enough it probably qualifies as an Ice jutsu.

"Just… if I had a ryo for each time someone tried to shiv me through the throat tonight, I'd have two ryo. Which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice."'

I can feel Tiger blink in surprise and taking a chance I turn my head towards him, showing him the other side of my throat and the massive purple bruise that's blooming there.

"Courtesy of Suien himself." I explain dryly and there's a second that seems to last a full minute as Tiger remains motionless.

When he speaks, he doesn't move away, doesn't even lift the steel from my throat, but the pressure (both from his chakra and the kunai) are lifted, if only slightly.

"Elaborate."

I take care not to nod, mindful of the kunai still placed against my skin, looking past Tiger to the expectant Elders.

"Before I begin, let me first state I still don't have the full picture myself. Most of tonight is a haze. I remember leaving the party, going to the guest house and then… a sort of dreamlike state. I remember… being frantic? Impressions that I only later realized were from combat. I only woke up when I felt a sharp pain in my arm."

I lifted the wounded limb for emphasis.

"It was only then that I even realized I was in the prison, in front of Suien's opened cell door in fact. The ANBU guard was lying nearby, unconscious. I… I must've attacked him, though I don't remember why or even how. All I know that Saburo was shaking my shoulders, sword embedded in the wall behind him. I was still out of it though, a fog over my mind and a sluggishness in my chakra network, so I didn't even notice when Suien came up behind Saburo and attacked him."

I fall silent, my gaze settling on the despondent looking Shibuki.

"Suien attacked him from behind, and used Saburo's own sword against him. He beheaded him."

The Elders gasp and murmur in shock, but Tiger's gaze is unwavering.

"What is your role in all this? Why did you attack the ANBU guard, why was Saburo there, why did Suien merely threaten you?"

"My best guess is that I was under a sleeper agent type of genjutsu. It may not even have been planted there by Suien himself, it's something that Orochimaru likely engineered. Which would mean Hiruko would probably have known as well, and he might have told Suien, who used it as… insurance against me. It would seem I never truly managed to deceive him into trusting me, not fully. The conditions for the genjutsu likely only triggered tonight, which caused me to attack the ANBU. It was probably only due to my subconscious Will of Fire that I didn't kill him outright." I try and Tiger doesn't scoff, not quite, but it's a close thing.

"Saburo snapped me out of the genjutsu by landing a hit on my arm. He was simply doing his duty as a shinobi of Takigakure, since he had been assigned as my guide and shadow. He likely realized at some point that my behavior had changed from his earlier observations, maybe he thought he had a better chance at stopping Suien if we teamed up. Sadly, Suien took advantage of his brief distraction…" I finish and the morose tone in my voice isn't faked.

I truly hadn't meant for Saburo to die and even know I was struggling with guilt trying to well up inside me. I pushed it down however: giving in to emotion at this point would only make me falter, right when I needed all my wits about me, or everything would've been for naught. I'd reflect on my role in Saburo's death later, when I didn't have ANBU captains and Taki Elders breathing down my neck.

Speaking of said neck, Tiger inclines his head towards the aggressively purple bruise that covered a good part of it, courtesy of Suien's key-turned-impromptu-shiv.

"If you broke out of the 'sleeper agent' genjutsu, why did Suien not simply take your life as well?"

"I wondered the same thing, even managed to ask him once he was more interested in boasting rather than jamming a piece of metal in my throat. Told me that, even though it fitted his plans perfectly, I still betrayed him and handed his ass over to you. For that, I'm to be 'rewarded' with a much more drawn-out death, one slow enough he didn't chance it while still inside the prison." I say with a grimace, my tone flat.

Finally, finally Tiger sheathes his kunai and moves away from me, turning towards the Elders instead.

"I must check on my comrade. Once he's been transported to your medical facilities, I'll try and signal my forces outside the waterfall, hopefully we can establish a perimeter before Suien slips away." He says, not even pretending to defer to the still-kneeling Shibuki.

Elder Senji merely nods, face hard.

"Go, make your preparations, Konoha-nin. We'll rouse our forces and scour every inch sheltered by the branches of our great tree."

Tiger gives a sharp salute and is about to disappear in a Body Flicker, but my voice halts him in his tracks.

"Wait, what about me?!"

"What about you?" Tiger's voice whips out, sharp and cold enough I take a step back.

"Well, Suien was one of Taki's strongest shinobi. Even if they have the number advantage, the amount of damage he could do is immense. I can aid in the search-"

"No. At this point, your connection to Suien is still suspect. Considering your reputation, I won't have you run off into the night in the middle of all this chaos."

"Alright, but they'll need all the help they can get in facing someone of Suien's caliber. If you don't want me out there, then you should be. Leave the Akimichi guard to me, I'll get him-"

"You're not getting anywhere near Chōbei!" Tiger shouts, actually shouts out loud and the sheer emotion the normally stoic captain shows is enough to completely halt the entire chamber in its tracks.

My back is ramrod straight as Tiger whirls around to face me, the heat in his gaze unmistakable, though part of that is aimed at himself for his slip up.

"This concerns the health of one of my comrades. As such, I shall handle it personally. You will remain here. That is an order, Oniyuri Mizuki. Stay. Put."

Not even waiting for my response, Tiger Body Flickers out of the room and Elder Senji starts directing the other Elders and guardsmen, shouting out formation and patrol routes. Slowly, with a feverish urgency, the room begins to empty as people run to their tasks. Eventually, its only me and Shibuki left, the both of still rooted to the spot.

'Perfect'

Shibuki's vacant eyes blink and refocus as my shadow falls over him, my face set in an understanding smile.

"Let's hope that Suien is caught quickly, before he can do too much damage." I say idly, the young village leader's eyes widening.

"D-damage?"

"Well, missing nin, freshly escaped from prison, having just decapitated a beloved shinobi of his home village? Suien's gonna go on the warpath, not caring who or what gets caught in the crossfire." I say with a shrug and a sigh as I drop down next to him.

"N-no… no, Elder Senji is strong. He knows the village well, he'll find Suien and stop him. He has the strength of the village behind him."

I wiggle my hand in a so-so gesture.

"Not denying that Senji will put up a hell of a fight, but Suien will turn that number advantage into a liability real fast. Senji is strong sure, but what about the others? How many of them are on Saburo's level? How many fall short? Suien managed to decapitate Saburo with his own sword while fresh out of his bonds, you think most of your villagers will fare any better? Senji is forced to move around in a search pattern, coordinating his forces, both going on the offensive while maintaining a defensive screen around the villagers. Suien has nothing holding him back, nothing to lose, no line he'll not cross. He'll use any terror tactic, hostages, setting fires, murdering villagers just to spread Senji's attention and forces, the works and Senji knows it."

Shibuki's eyes keep widening, hands clutching at his nightgown until the knuckles turn white.

"Captain Tiger-"

"Is stronger than even Elder Senji, surely stronger than Suien, yes. But, also at the moment preoccupied with caring for his comatose comrade. Not to mention that his priority afterwards will be to contact our forces outside Who knows when he'll be able to join the search?" I shoot down idly, lifting my hands in a 'what can you do?' gesture.

Shibuki remains silent for longer this time, eyes no longer empty, but instead drawn inwards.

"There is… another-" he begins hesitantly, more to himself than to me, but I interrupt nonetheless.

"If you're talking about Fū, forget it." I say dismissively, and Shibuki shows some life for the first time as he whips around to face me.

"You know?!"

"I suspected. Now, thanks to your reaction, I do indeed know." I say with a slightly smug smile, though it becomes somewhat wry as I rub at the back of my head.

"Though to be fair, it wasn't that hard to figure out. Sadly, I recognized all the hallmarks of an ostracized youth immediately. I thought one, you know? Back in Konoha, I mean." I continue, my voice softer this time and Shibuki studies me for a long moment before the tension seems to drain out of him.

"If you know, then you must realize that Suien doesn't stand a chance against her." He says, more confident now, but my response is immediate.

"Against her fully unleashed power? Yeah, no shit. Nobody stands a chance against that. However…" I trail off as I lean in closer, Shibuki stilling as I pin him with a heavy gaze.

"… against Fū? The little, enthusiastic, socially-awkward girl with no real combat experience, let alone in combating terror acts against her home? Suien will run circles around her, isolate her, distract her and then move in for the kill before the first chakra trail starts bubbling out her back. As I said, I've taught one of their kind before. Your kindness commends you, Shibuki, but even you have fallen into the old trap, failing to separate the Beast from its container. What Fū has sealed inside her is unstoppable, but despite her own strength, she's still an inexperienced little girl. The only way she can drive Suien into a corner is by unleashing the Beast right here in Takigakure itself and if you give that order, your whole village will condemn you for setting such a terror loose in their midst. No, Shibuki, Fū cannot help us here."

Shibuki's eyes are filled with helpless desperation and I once again lean back on my palms, looking up at the dark panelled ceiling, letting out a deep, despondent sigh that sounds too loud in the empty chamber.

"If only you guys had some kind of force multiplier. Get more of your people on Suien's level, turn them into a barrier instead of a liability. If a bunch of you got stronger, or if just one of you got a lot stronger, we'd be able to press in on Suien from multiple sides, push him out of the village and keep the people safe…" I trail off, my voice wistful, before shaking my head.

"Bah, useless speculation. Such steep power increases always demand a cost. Besides, even if we accepted the risk, I know of no technique that would give someone enough strength all of a sudden to bridge the gap to Suien's level." I say, disgruntled, but from the corner of my eye, I can practically see the lightbulb switch on above Shibuki's head.

"Perhaps… but I do…" the young leader whispers softly under his breath and I raise my eyebrows as I glance towards him.

"Hmm? What was that?"

"Oh! Oh, uhh, nothing. I mean… I must… go and lead the people. Talk to Elder Senji about… stuff…" the young man blabbers as he almost jumps to his feet, practically vibrating in place as he looks down at me.

In a surprising moment of sincerity, he gives me a bow, far deeper than needed considering I'm squatting in his palace, a determined set to his jaw that would probably shock his people if they saw it.

"Thank you, Mizuki-san, for this talk. I wish you and your comrades the very best. But I'm afraid I must go: my people need me."

And with that, he turns on his heel and legs it out off the massive room, his lithe form disappearing down one of the connecting hallways fast enough he almost bowls over a servant carrying a basket of fresh linen.

As the completely baffled girl slowly begins picking up the sheets from the floor with a stunned expression on her face, I leisurely rise to my feet, moving towards that same hallway, unable to keep a grin from spreading on my face.

'Hook. Line. Sinker. I can see why Naruto is such a fan of the Talking no Jutsu, if it's this easy every time!'

Time to betray Suien, the ANBU and Takigakure… and be hailed as a hero by all for doing it.

Except for Suien of course. Can't praise me if I rip your head off your shoulders after all.

With a flash I'm gone, disappearing in the shadows cast by the vast tree of Taki rising in the night sky.

---

Fun Fact: Kakuzu is the oldest shinobi whose age is known.

AN: So, weird coincidence, but in this chapter Mizuki mentions 4:30 as an ideal time for break-ins, which I got from data that I found online. As I wrote this chapter however, the car of my parents was broken into (the thief stole the side mirrors, of all things…). My parents have a camera system, so they were able to watch the robber arrive… at 5:03 in the morning. So… write what you know, I guess?

You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 2.5​

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Shibuki didn't take the main roads.

That was the first thing I noticed once we were far enough from the mansion that the noise of the search parties started to bleed into the distance. He kept to the narrower paths, the ones that wound between houses and along the edges of the lake, moving with a kind of quiet urgency that didn't fit the image he usually projected.

Careful too, almost excessively so. Then again, if one of the patrols caught him right now, they'd drag him straight back to the mansion and post guards at every door. Young leader or not, nobody was going to let him wander off into the dark while a missing-nin like Suien was on the loose.

Every time voices carried a little too close, he slowed, adjusted, cut around. Once or twice he even doubled back a few steps before slipping down a side path I wouldn't easily have noticed on my own.

Apparently, even though he came across as a sheltered youth (because honestly, he was) the young village leader had spent quite a lot of time familiarizing himself with the village he was supposed to be leading.

I kept my distance, staying far enough back that I wouldn't get caught in the same lanternlight when he crossed open stretches, close enough that I didn't lose him when the paths narrowed. The lake stretched out to our left, black and glassy under the night sky, the massive silhouette of the great tree rising from its centre, looming over the entire village like it owned the place.

Which, in a way, it did.

Somewhat to my surprise, we made it to the long narrow bridge connecting the island to the mainland, the same one we crossed when we first arrived in Taki, without incident. The structure stretched long and narrow across the water, old wood reinforced over time but still creaking faintly under Shibuki's lithe weight. It was the most exposed part of the route, no real cover, nothing but open space and reflections dancing across the surface of the lake. If any patrols were circling back this way, this was where they'd spot him, though with how fast he was moving, all they'd likely catch was a shadowed blur, with me not far behind.

Paranoia saw my eyes sweeping the shoreline out of habit. Nothing moved. Either we'd slipped through the gaps in their net, or they hadn't managed to tighten it yet.

Either way, we were through.

Despite all of the commotion occurring on the other shore, the tight sense of rising panic an almost palpable buzzing in the air, the island underneath Kusunoki Ōboku's gargantuan trunk was oddly serene and deathly silent, the sheer presence of the massive tree pushing all other sounds away.

The roots of Ōboku sprawled outward in every direction, thick as pillars in some places, splitting the earth and stone as they reached toward the water. Only some disjointed patches of ground were flat, either worn smooth by the ages or deliberately cleared around a few old and dilapidated shrines, but the majority of the island was massively uneven, shaped by centuries of slow, relentless growth.

Once again, Shibuki showed his familiarity with his home turf as he navigated it without hesitation, even in the pitch black of the night. He knew where to step, knew which paths would hold, which roots to use as footing, where the gaps were, and I dutifully followed in his footsteps without even a whisper of a sound.

We circled toward the far side of the island, the side that faced the waterfall. Even from here I could hear it, the constant, distant roar of water crashing down into the ravine below. The air felt heavier, mist clinging to everything, turning the exposed roots slick underfoot.

That's when I saw the shrine again, the one I'd noticed yesterday when Fū had told me the mythical origins of her village, god trees and water spirits and all, and the way her eyes instinctively flickered to this part of the island when she mentioned the sacred Hero Water.

Old, half-collapsed, tucked away between the roots, the shrine looked like the oldest structure in all of Takigakure, and if I didn't have my wiki-knowledge to fall back on, I likely would've given good odds on the relic being sequestered somewhere deep inside, hidden by traps and sanctified protections.

I knew better though, and clearly so did Shibuki, the youth ignoring the empty (but likely still boobytrapped) temple completely, instead carefully picking his way over and under the roots extending towards the shoreline, before they disappeared below the mirrorlike sheen of the vast lake, the man's eyes intently trained on the surface of the water. He made his way down toward the shoreline where the roots thinned out just enough to reveal a narrow strip of dark sand. The water here was deeper than it looked, black and still, reflecting almost nothing.

Shibuki slowed at the edge of the root-covered shore, scanning the dark surface of the lake one last time, before he stepped forward and slipped into the water without a splash, vanishing beneath the surface in a single clean motion, barely even leaving a ripple. I didn't follow, not yet, remaining hidden behind a particularly gnarled and thick root. My eyes, more adapted to the dark thanks to my tiger-spliced DNA, cut through the gloom without issue, slitted pupils opened wide.

'There! He took the bait.' I grin as I catch a dark shadow cutting underneath the still surface of the lake, hot on Shibuki's trail yet barely leaving a wake in the water.

I gave it another second or two before I too jumped into the lake, though with a bit more of a splash than the completely silent Waterfall ninjas. The cold hit immediately as the lake closed over my head. The world above disappeared in an instant, replaced by pressure and darkness and the faint distortion of movement ahead. I didn't bother trying to catch up, deliberately hanging back a bit and letting Shibuki take the lead.

'All roads lead to the Hero Water, after all.' I muse as I cut through the dark with deliberate motions as we descended further and further down into the depths of the lake, the roots of the tree above us like vast pillars twisting around us in a gargantuan labyrinth, the moon nothing but a shimmering pinprick of light far above us.

Despite the immense size of the lake, the trip to the cave that hid the Hero Water ended up surprisingly short. The entrance wasn't obvious until you were almost on top of it. A narrow opening between the roots, hidden just deep enough to avoid casual notice, sloping down into black water that swallowed what little light filtered through from above. Shibuki had already disappeared into it, Suien right behind him. For a moment I paused at the edge of the cave system, trying my best to pick up any vibrations in the water or a hint of chakra being expelled.

But my sensing skills weren't developed enough to pick something up over such distances and despite my new ninja constitution, I could feel a burning pressure clamp down on my lungs as I began to run out of air, so I vaulted into the dark tunnel after the two Taki shinobi.

The tunnel was wide and surprisingly straight, a sign it was at least partially man-made perhaps. Thankfully for my burning lungs, it wasn't that long either and in short order the oppressive gloom of the dark waters was broken by the flickering orange glow of torches being placed inside the cave itself. Slowing my ascent, the top of my head gently broke the surface of the water and I could see that the tunnel ended up as a lake on the edge of the cave which extended further back, sloping slightly upwards. An ancient shrine, a more well-kept mirror to the dilapidated one above, stood tall and imposing at the far wall at the back of the cave.

However, my attention was immediately caught by the two figures standing in the midst of the cave, Shibuki halfway towards the shrine, fear warring with righteous anger on his face. His eyes kept flitting from the Hero Water's hiding place to the man who had halted him in his steps.

Suien's back was turned towards me but even from my hiding spot in the lake I could see the smugness radiate off of him.

"-the same. That same weakness as your father! You lack the strength to defend what's precious to you, defend the very people that trust and rely on you, so all you can do is cheat! Run away and throw your life away for nothing!" the traitorous jōnin spat as he slowly advanced on the scared youth.

Meanwhile, I'm watching the exchange with narrowed eyes, mentally tugging on a part of my mind that has become very active since yesterday.

'Fū.'

'Mizuki?! Where the hell are you? What's going on?!'

'I know everything must be confusing and scary right now Fū, but you need to listen to me. I need your help. More than that, Shibuki needs your help, he's in danger!'

'What?! Where is he? I'll be right there, just sit tight!'

'He tried to get to the Hero Water, but Suien followed him. I'll try and stall him, but we could really use your help!'

'The Hero Water? But then- ah crap, hang on! I'm on my way! Whatever you do, just… don't die!'

The static buzz leaves the back of my skull as I blink my eyes at the 'advice'.

'Right, let me get right on that.' I think ruefully to myself, before my attention is snapped back to the confrontation happening near the shrine.

Looks like the traitor's patience had run out. Suien's hands came up slowly, almost leisurely, flipping through a worryingly long chain of handseals.

"Do your village a favour, Shibuki, and just give up already. You're much more useful to them, and to me, if I don't have to turn you into a pathetic smear on the wall. Now-"

That's as far as he got before my scything kick catches him in the side hard enough, the tall jōnin folds in half around my leg. In that brief, suspended moment of time, the world itself seemingly holding its breath, Suien's mouth torn open in a silent scream, I simply cannot help myself.

"DYNAMIC… ENTRY!"

Far away, in the Village Hidden in the Leaf, a certain man in green spandex and orange legwarmers, currently walking around on his hands, experienced a sudden inexplicable urge to start shouting about 'Youth!'.

I push through the spin with all of my enhanced strength and Suien is taken clear off his feet and launched across the subterranean cavern, roughly rag dolling over the slick ground before he slams two swords made of thick roiling high-pressure water into the rocky floor, carving deep furrows as he rights himself.

His expression is murderous, but he's somewhat wobbly as he rises to his feet, hacking out a glob of blood, clearly favouring his side.

"M-Mizuki… damn you… t-traitor…" he gasps out through gritted teeth, but I just shrug as I move beside the stunned looking Shibuki.

"Can't betray what you never believed in." I shoot back coldly.

"You… you followed me?" Shibuki asks in a small voice and I give him a sly wink.

"You really are an open book, you know that? It wasn't hard to figure out what you had set your mind on after our talk. Tiger forbade me from joining the search for the traitor, but he said nothing about volunteering for bodyguard duty. Just my luck Suien clearly had the same idea." I say with a smirk, before my expression falls, my voice sombre.

"Consider it payback, for… for Saburo." I say and from the other side of the cavern, Suien lets out a hacking laugh, blood spilling in thin rivulets down his chin.

"Mizuki, you lying fuck!"

He launched himself at us, high-pressure swords whirling around him. Considering how effortlessly those blades had carved through solid bedrock earlier, I didn't particularly like our chances of trying to block them, even with kunai. Shibuki and I threw ourselves backward just in time, Suien's strikes tearing through the stone where we'd stood moments earlier. Fortunately, the strain of his imprisonment combined with my earlier sneak attack was finally starting to catch up to him, slowing the jōnin down just enough to give us some breathing room.

If only just…

"Careful Mizuki! Suien is our most skilled user of the Takigakure Style: Watercutting Sword. It'll strip flesh from bone with even a glancing hit!" Shibuki warns, before surprising me when he shoots through several handseals himself, their speed showcasing he must've had thorough training in the past.

Water coalesces around his hands before solidifying in two similar streams to the ones Suien is wielding and Shibuki lets out a nervous little smile as he settles into a combat stance.

"Good thing that Suien taught me everything he knew about the technique before he betrayed the village."

"Wrong."

And then Shibuki has to rapidly backpedal, swords flashing around in a defensive pattern as Suien unleashes a furious barrage of heavy handed strikes. A brutal overhand blow is immediately followed by a sinuous series of slashes aimed at the youth's legs, forcing him to give ground, as Suien steps into the opening, dragging one of his water swords through the ground in an upward sweep, showering Shibuki in gravel and bullet-like droplets. The young village leader flinches back, only for a moment, but it's enough as Suien stabs forwards with one of his swords, impacting one of Shibuki's swords square on its unstable tip with a horribly loud grinding noise. Shibuki's sword groans and roils underneath the sudden strike, before violently dispelling itself, almost taking his hand with it. Not letting up, Suien spartan kicks him in the chest, Shibuki rolling harshly over the floor, gasping as he looks up at the traitor with wide panic-filled eyes.

"I taught you everything you know."

He raises his sword for a killing blow, only to whirl around as he cuts a brace of shuriken out of the air. His eyes widen briefly when he's not faced with one Mizuki, but close to twenty instead. Then his gaze sharpens and he scoffs.

"Simple Illusionary Clones? These won't fool me Mizuki. I've seen how you move, know how you think. You cannot hide from me!" he roars as he charges through a bunch of Mizukis that tried to close in on him, completely ignoring them as their ghostly limbs move through him with no effect.

"I have you now!" he shouts, raising both swords for a devastating blow as he moves recklessly through the clones still closing in on him.

"Die you- urghk!"

Only for one of those clones to pierce him in the side with a very solid kunai. The response is immediate as that Mizuki is cut down, while Suien's other sword arcs out in a wide swing. It passes harmlessly through three more clones, but catches the fourth, which together with the one at his side, bursts into a puddle of water.

"I see… you mixed in Water Clones with the Regular ones… even layered them in a henge to make them appear less real… no doubt you've done the same in reverse with some of your Illusionary Clones, to muddle the waters even further…" Suien immediately catches on, his eyes wary as he keeps a cautious distance from the clones circling around him, before he shakes his head with a rueful chuckle.

"You're such an annoying bastard to fight, Mizuki."

"You're one to talk." One of the clones shoots back, and Suien throws himself in the fray again with a snarl.

He's breathing hard now, but those pressurized water swords still make him as deadly as ever. Which is probably why Shibuki is scrambling to reach the shrine, before a strong grip on his shoulder halts him in his tracks. As he whirls around, he's faced with me, the real one this time.

"Shibuki, don't."

"The Hero Power, we-"

"Don't need it."

My voice is so calm despite the chaos of the moment, it's enough to take Shibuki off guard as he falls silent, eyes wide as he stares up at me.

"But… but Suien said…"

"I know what Suien said. And guess what. He was right." I say as I lean down closer to the young man, his mouth open in shock.

"You take that power-up, you'll throw your life away. You'll disappoint every person in this village who trusts you, who relies on you, who needs you to make it out of here alive and lead them towards a new tomorrow." I implore in a somewhat hurried tone, distinctly aware how Suien is absolutely tearing through the few Water Clones I managed to slip in with the regular ones, though caution mixed with his previous injuries make him slower than he could've been.

I need to get Shibuki's head in the game and fast.

"You drink that stuff and you're gambling your life on ending this quickly. If you fail, Taki loses both its leader and its strongest reserve in one shot."

That at least got through to him.

"You don't save your village by dying for it," I said, keeping my tone firm but measured. "You save it by surviving long enough to lead it afterwards."

'There, that's something Naruto, or someone shonen-protagonist adjacent, would say, right?'

Apparently it was, as Shibuki shoots the shrine one final look, before turning back to me, a determined set to his jaw as he gives me a confident nod. Which is immediately followed by a look of panic as I can feel the air at my back change.

"Mizuki, look out-!" he tries to warn me, even as my hands fly up to form a simple series of a few handseals, desperation lending me speed.

Just as my hands fall into the Snake seal, a sword made of pure pressurized water bursts straight out of my chest as if it's auditioning for a part in the Alien franchise. A spray of blood hits Shibuki in the face as the youth scrambles back in shock.

"I have you now, you slippery bastard…" Suien growls low as he leans over to whisper in my ear.

The only response he got was when my clothes suddenly collapsed into a splash of water, the 'me' he'd impaled dissolving into a puddle at his feet. Under normal circumstances, a jōnin probably would've noticed immediately that the liquid bursting from my chest lacked the metallic scent of blood, but by this point Suien himself was bleeding badly enough that he likely never even noticed the difference.

"Die!" my voice rings through the cavern from right behind him and to his credit, despite his injuries and fatigue piling on, Suien still turns on a dime, sword brutally cutting me in half mid-air.

"Wait, Mizuki doesn't shout his attacks-" the traitorous jōnin is a bit faster on the uptake this time, even as he's splashed with more water from my destroyed clone, but the distraction served its purpose.

Hands shoot out from just below him, taking hold of his ankles and pinning him in place. Restricting Suien's mobility takes away the only real advantage he had left over me, that being his greater speed, but it also sacrificed my strongest play so far, namely subterfuge. After all, a Water Clone would be physically too weak to constrain him, while a normal Clone wouldn't even be able to hold on to him in the first place. Which meant-

"Found you now!" Suien crows as he raises his water sword, aiming to stab down at me.

If I was more proficient with the Hiding Like a Mole Technique I could've transitioned into the Double Suicide Decapitation Technique and pulled Suien right down into the bedrock, fully restraining him and potentially ending the battle right then and there. Alas, I was no Hatake Kakashi and the limited training I had done in prison and under Hiruko had been focused more on physical conditioning than expanding my jutsu repertoire.

This left me as a sitting duck, rather than a mole, but thankfully, I was a duck with allies.

"Water Release!"

Suien freezes as his eyes flit to the now standing Shibuki, who's rapidly flying through a set of handseals.

"Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

"Impossible!" Suien roars, dispelling his swords and quickly flying through his own set of seals.

'Wait, wasn't Shibuki only capable of using that after taking the Hero Water? He needs the massive chakra overdose to compensate for not using all forty-four handseals… dangit, don't tell me my Talk no Jutsu was not very effective!?'

However, both Suien and I are taken off guard when Shibuki completes a relatively short chain of handseals and spits out a torrent of water from his mouth. It's a powerful rapid, but no dragon. Still, it comes out suddenly enough it still catches Suien right in the stomach, his own technique only half-formed, with enough power behind it to tear him from my grasp and send him ass over teakettle.

I burst from the ground as Shibuki lands beside me, breathing somewhat heavily after using two demanding nature transformation jutsu back to back like that. The only reason I'm not gasping for air after having made half a dozen Water Clones is because the partial Chimera Technique gave me a greater chakra pool in addition to greater endurance. Not unexpected, since chakra itself is partly made up out of physical energy and stamina.

Despite Shibuki having landed a clean blow with his water jutsu, Suien still climbs back to his feet, a little more ragged but surprisingly intact for a man who just got pressure washed. My eyes narrow as I notice the water splashed across his body from the destroyed Water Clones behaving strangely, clinging to him in uneven patches that almost look solid for a moment before the chakra destabilizes and the liquid finally sloughs off onto the stone floor.

"Heh, if that really had been the true Water Dragon Bullet Technique, my impromptu Water Armour wouldn't have saved me from being torn to ribbons. What a clever little trick, calling out the dragon jutsu, but using the regular Water Bullet instead, even forcing me to abandon my attack in favour of defence." Suien chuckled darkly, before cracking his neck.

"But such deception is a double-edged sword, my former student. Now that I've survived your little sneak attack, what do you plan to do next, I wonder?" the jōnin says menacingly, but surprisingly, this time Shibuki remains uncowed.

"I'll attack you again. And again, and again, until you finally fall and the village is saved, no matter how long it takes! The village gives me strength! It gives me the strength to beat you, Suien, not because I want to, but because I must!" the young leader roars, fire in his eyes as he summons a new set of water swords.

'Good speech. Very moving, very shonen of you. You've played your part very well: unfortunately for you, a new player is about to enter the scene, which for you means exit stage left.'

Right as Shibuki coils his body to spring into action, my hand delivers a brutal chop to the back of his neck, instantly knocking him out cold as his swords destabilize before disintegrating completely. For a moment, the cave is filled with a pressing silence as Suien gives me an odd stare, completely disregarding the village leader almost comically flopping over flat on his face, butt in the air.

"Mizuki… honestly, on which side are you even on at this point?" the traitor asks, sounding genuinely exhausted for a moment, too tired to even be angry anymore.

"The side I've always been on, the only side that matters."

And then I'm in his face with far greater speed than I've shown thus far, Suien's eyes widening as he barely manages to lean back, turning a brutal haymaker into a glancing blow. As the traitor backpedals, summoning his own set of swords, I drop my Henge, showing my new altered appearance, stripes and all as I give him a toothy grin.

"My own."

Suien just snarls before leaping at my tall form, swords leading the way in a deadly dance. What follows is a high speed exchange of brutal blows and narrow dodges. I catch him with a knee in the side, targeting his broken ribs, he manages to score a thin, wide line across my chest as I lean backwards in my best Neo-dodge impression. The fight continues like this for a few intense moments, but I can see Suien's eyes narrow in suspicion, even as he begins racking up hits against me.

None of them are fatal, most of them aren't even that deep despite the dangerous properties of his high pressure swords and as we briefly disengage, him battered and bruised, me bleeding profusely but standing tall, I can see the realization click in his mind.

"You're letting yourself be cut?" Suien asks, once again baffled.

"Why? What angle are you aiming at? What fucking game are you playing this fucking time Mizuki!" Suien shouts, almost desperate now, his voice echoing through the cavern, his eyes wild, irises narrowed to manic pin pricks.

"Truth is, Suien…" my eyes flit towards the lake at the edge of the cave, where I can sense a presence rapidly hurl through the water, to the point the surface of the lake is already trembling.

"… the game was rigged from the start." I say with a grin, before my expression turns into one of agony as I jump backwards so I'm standing in a defensive position over Shibuki's prone body.

Before Suien can react, the surface of the small lake almost evaporates as something explodes from its depths, hovering above the wildly quacking surface on fast beating wings. As Suien is shocked still from Fū's sudden entrance, I make sure to pitch my voice loud.

"You'll never take him Suien! I'll protect Shibuki with my life!"

Fū's distinct orange eyes shoot from Suien to me, before widening as they fall on Shibuki's still form. Something… deep and primal bursts into the petite girl's face as she whirls around on Suien.

"YOU!"

A voice that deep and loud and… beastly has no business coming out of a body that small and it roots Suien to the spot, the traitorous jōnin reduced to a soaked and battered man rooted to the spot with wide eyes. When Fū explodes into motion, I can barely track it. Suien stands no chance at all against the enraged Jinchūriki.

The girl turns into a streak of color and movement, slamming into Suien and carrying the tall man towards the far wall… and into it. He bursts much like my Water Clones had done, except there was no doubt this was the real flesh and blood Suien. It was… disquieting and I found myself averting my gaze as the tremors shaking the cave finally subsided.

I sunk to my knees at Shibuki's side, my fatigue only partly faked (my gambit, though it had worked to get Fū into insta-kill mode, meant I had lost quite a lot of blood), checking him over as small, hesitant (unsettlingly wet) footsteps padded over. A blood-smeared Fū knelt on the opposite side of Shibuki, her wings and the thick, oppressive chakra that had choked the chamber now disappeared. She remained silent for a moment while I checked Shibuki over, falling back on the basic medical techniques I'd picked up from watching Tsubaki treat me over the past weeks as I slowly dragged him back to consciousness.

Shibuki groaned softly as consciousness (and with it, pain) finally returned to him, one hand weakly pressing against the side of his neck before his eyes slowly opened. For a second he just stared upward at the torchlit ceiling of the cavern, disoriented and unfocused, until his gaze shifted and landed on Fū kneeling over him.

She looked a mess.

Blood covered the front of her clothes, streaked across her arms and cheek, even spattered through parts of her hair where it was already to beginning to dry up, her normally mint-green locks now dark and sticky. Judging by the way her eyes kept carefully avoiding the far side of the chamber, where what remained of Suien still covered the wall like a Jackson Pollock painting, she clearly didn't want to think too hard about whose blood it actually was.

"Shibuki!" she blurted out the second she realized he was awake, relief flooding her voice so quickly it almost cracked. "Are you okay? You got hit really hard and then you weren't moving and I thought-"

"I'm fine," he said quickly, still sounding dazed as he pushed himself up slightly.

"I'm okay." He continued, voice gaining strength as he held onto her slim wrist.

"What about you? Are you hurt? Are you alright?"

Fū blinked.

Then, almost sheepishly, glanced down at all the blood covering her before hurriedly shaking her head.

"No! I mean, uhm… No, this… this isn't mine."

Her voice dropped slightly near the end of the sentence and I could see Shibuki's eyes flit to the new crater embedded in the far side of the cavern.

"R-right. I see. Mizuki, what happen-" Shibuki tries to change the subject as he turns to me, though both he and Fū fall silent at the sight of me.

'Fair enough. Not everyday you see a half Tiger-man covered in his own blood sitting with you in an underground cavern…' I think wryly as I can see the two Taki ninja drink in my broader form and new tiger stripes crossing my arms and arcing over my shoulders.

"Woah. What happened to you?" Fū asked as she tilted her head slightly.

It would've looked adorable if she wasn't covered in more blood than me.

I glanced down at myself before shrugging tiredly.

"Dug a little deeper than usual," I said. "Turns out Orochimaru left me more surprises than just sleeper agent problems."

That immediately got Shibuki's attention.

"It's a power-up," I continued before either of them could start asking inconvenient questions. "A hidden one. Strong, but…" I let out a quiet breath. "Not exactly free."

I deliberately let my gaze drift toward the shrine.

The implication landed instantly.

Just like the Hero Water.

Shibuki's expression shifted slightly as that thought connected in his head, and he looked back toward the shrine himself, the earlier panic suddenly returning.

"The water…-"

He got to his feet too quickly, nearly stumbling before steadying himself against the wall and making his way over to the shrine entrance. Fū instinctively moved to help him, though he waved her off after a second, more embarrassed than anything else.

Together, the three of us stood at the foot of a short set of ancient steps leading up to the shrine, its stones worn smooth with age.

'It's smaller from up close.' I realized.

It was really just a glorified closet, barely worth the name of shrine, or even building. Shibuki disappeared into its recesses briefly before reemerging a few moments later with visible relief written across his face.

"It's still here," he said.

In his hands rested the old ceremonial gourd, faint chakra practically radiating from the liquid inside. Even from where I stood, I could feel the energy within the water despite my limited sensing abilities.

Good thing nobody here knew what it originally felt like.

Shibuki carefully returned it to its place inside the shrine before sealing the compartment back up, far more cautiously now than when he'd first come here. By the time he finished, the adrenaline had started wearing off for all three of us, leaving behind exhaustion, pain and the slow realization of just how close the entire situation had come to collapsing into a disaster.

"We should get back. People definitely felt all that chakra." I said eventually, glancing at Fuu from the corner of my eye.

The short Jinchūriki ducked her head at that and I placed a large, clawed hand on her narrow shoulder.

"It's not an admonishment, Fū. You did what you had to do, in order to protect the people precious to you. Your actions today saved the village. But they won't know that, they'll just know what they felt, even from way down here." I explain, my voice gentle, and Shibuki sighs as he lays his own hand on Fū other shoulder.

"Mizuki is right, I'm afraid. We best go back to the surface and put any unease to rest. Make no mistake, Fū: you did the right thing. Like Mizuki said, you saved the village. I'll make sure everyone knows that." He says, his earlier nervousness all but gone.

Again Fū ducks her head. For a moment, she lifts a hand to rub at her suspiciously shiny eyes, before she gives the limb a second look and decides against it.

Fū stayed close to Shibuki as we made our way back toward the underground pool, though I could feel her eyes keep drifting toward me every now and then, lingering briefly on the markings still visible across my skin before quickly darting away again. Curious. Concerned too, probably.

The swim back up felt longer this time.

By the time we finally emerged from beneath the roots and climbed back onto the shore, the island was already swarming with movement. Lanternlight flickered through the darkness as shinobi and villagers alike rushed toward us from the bridge, voices carrying across the lake, shouted orders and nervous villagers pressing in behind the shinobi cordon. The moment people realized it was Shibuki and Fū climbing out of the water alive (with me deliberately hanging back a bit), the entire crowd surged forward at once.

"Village Leader!"

"Are you hurt?!"

"Where's Suien?!"

"What happened down there?!"

The questions came from every direction at once, layered over each other into meaningless noise. Several Taki shinobi immediately moved toward us, some helping steady Shibuki while others looked toward the island itself with poorly hidden unease. They'd all felt the burst of bijuu chakra earlier.

And judging by the whispers starting to ripple through the crowd, so had the civilians.

"I felt the Beast-"

"Did it lose control?"

"What if it damages the tree?"

"Could the island collapse?"

"Quiet."

Shibuki's voice wasn't loud, but it cut cleanly through the chaos anyway.

The effect was almost immediate, not because of the volume, but because for the first time since arriving in Taki, I heard actual authority in his tone.

The crowd fell silent.

Even the elders looked faintly caught off guard.

Shibuki stepped forward slowly, still looking pale and exhausted from the fight, but standing straighter than I'd ever seen him before. Fū hovered near his side, arms folded tightly around herself, very deliberately not looking at the blood still covering parts of her clothes.

"Suien is dead," Shibuki announced, and a ripple spread through the gathered villagers immediately.

Shibuki raised a hand before the noise could build again.

"When Mizuki arrived at the mansion earlier tonight to warn us about Suien's escape, I…" He hesitated briefly before continuing more firmly. "I made a mistake."

The admission visibly surprised several people.

"In my fear for the village, I decided to seek out the Hero Water."

That caused outright murmuring as the villagers and even shinobi exchanged glances, a mixture of awe and worry.

"I believed that if I used its power, I could protect Taki myself. But Suien anticipated exactly that. He followed me beneath the very roots of Kusunoki Ōboku and attempted to force me into repeating the same tragedy that claimed my father."

One of the elders frowned sharply.

"How could he possibly have known you would go there?"

Before Shibuki could answer, Elder Senji spoke instead.

"Because it was the same tactic he attempted years ago," the old man said grimly. "During the attack that killed Lord Shibuki's father, Suien intended to follow him to the Hero Water as well. It seems he merely attempted to repeat history."

That quieted the remaining objections quickly.

Shibuki nodded once.

"If not for Mizuki, I likely would have." He continued, his gaze briefly shifting toward me.

"He convinced me not to use the Hero Water. Instead, he reminded me that strength doesn't only come from forbidden power."

The villagers listened intently now.

"That my father's mistake wasn't believing himself to be too weak, but believing he had to shoulder everything alone."

Shibuki took a slow breath.

"True strength, our strength… it lies in each other! In trusting our comrades and fighting at their side, with everything that we have! So I took up my swords and I fought at Mizuki's side against the traitor Suien, with my own strength! My own skills!"

The villagers were getting swept up in his story now, though the mood abruptly shifted as a little bit of the old Shibuki crept back into his posture.

"I gave it everything I had, but unfortunately, 'everything I had' appeared to be merely half of what Suien had taught me. He anticipated my moves and to my shame I must confess that during the fight, I was knocked unconscious. It now all fell to Mizuki."

He swept out his arm, beckoning me to step forwards, into the mass of lantern- and torchlight, the crowd rippling as they got their first good look at my altered appearance. Standing off to the side, I noticed Tiger's fists tightening at his side as I completely disregarded his earlier order to keep my power-up hidden from Taki.

"He survived only by drawing upon a dangerous power of his own," Shibuki said, his gaze briefly flicking toward the markings still visible across parts of my body.

"One that nearly destroyed him in the process, showing once again the dangers, the price of trusting in powers that are not our own."

"But even then, the battle would have been lost without Fū. It was her who saved Mizuki from the traitor and the cost of his own powers. It was her who dealt the final blow to Suien. The honor of the kill goes to her."

That immediately shifted the atmosphere again.

Fū visibly stiffened beside him as the crowd's attention swung toward her. Some looked grateful. Others looked uneasy. A few outright fearful.

One villager near the back spoke before anyone else could stop him.

"But the Beast—"

Shibuki rounded on him instantly.

"Fū is not a Beast."

The sheer force behind the response stunned the crowd silent again.

"She is my comrade," he continued sharply.

"A shinobi of Takigakure who risked her life protecting this village tonight."

Fū stared at him in surprise as a low murmuring slowly but steadily began gaining momentum. In the dark of the night, within the shifting of the crowd and the flickering of the lantern light, even I couldn't tell who shouted next.

"She ain't a Taki nin! She ain't even got a headband!"

Shibuki narrowed his eyes at the crowd, some agreeing, some pushing back, most clearly caught in the middle and unsure (or unwilling) to pick a side.

"Good point!" he called out and it was so unexpected, it shocked the crowd into silence as Fū bowed her head with a hurt look.

Though it shot up again when Shibuki stood in front of her with a beaming smile as he took off his own forehead protector. The lithe girl remained rooted on the spot as he tied his own headband around her, uncaring of the matted dark spots in her mint-green hair, as if she couldn't even believe it herself.

"Fū. In recognition of your deeds tonight in service of the safety and survival of Takigakure no Sato, I, Shibuki, son of the honorable Hisen, name you a Genin of the village, with all of the privileges, responsibilities and stipend that that entails. Wear your headband with honor. Wear it with pride!"

Somewhat surprisingly, there were more than a few cheers going up from the crowd at that as Fū couldn't contain herself any longer and launched herself at Shibuki, hugging him tightly, her bloody attire completely forgotten, not that the village leader seemed to mind much. He patted her on the shoulder before taking a step back.

"Yes, yes, well done. But we're not done with handing out rewards tonight!" he said, an infectious good mood in his tone now as the crowd seemed to lean forwards in anticipation.

Shibuki turned back toward me then.

"Mizuki."

I straightened slightly.

"Tonight, you saved both my life and this village." His voice carried clearly across the shoreline now. "From this moment onward, you are an honored friend of Takigakure. Know that my door is always open to you."

That caused another wave of staggered cheers.

"You may ask a boon of me," he continued. "Anything within my power."

Every pair of eyes immediately shifted toward me, though I could only feel the two burning a hole in the side of my head, staring out from twin dark holes in an expressionless porcelain mask. No pressure then.

I coughed slightly in my fist before clearing my throat.

"There is… one thing."

Tiger's stare sharpened immediately.

"I'd like permission to travel to the Great Fire Temple to the south of here, before returning to Konoha."

That clearly wasn't the answer anybody expected.

Even Tiger blinked.

"The Fire Temple?" Shibuki responded, taken off guard.

I nodded.

"This power I used tonight," I said, gesturing vaguely toward the markings still visible across my skin, "it doesn't just strain the body."

"I can feel it affecting me spiritually as well. Honestly?" I forced a tired laugh. "Feels like my soul got dragged across broken glass."

Several people looked deeply uncomfortable hearing that.

Good.

"I was hoping the monks there might be able to help." I finished, making sure to look somewhat abashed at that.

Shibuki exchanged a glance with Elder Senji, who slowly nodded, his expression unreadable.

"I still maintain correspondence with one of the senior monks there," the elder admitted after a moment. "I can send word ahead."

"Then it's settled," Shibuki declared immediately.

Tiger's jaw visibly tightened at that, but he stayed silent.

Calling me out publicly now would mean undermining the entire narrative Taki itself had just built around the night's events, not to mention embarrassing Konoha in front of an allied village after one of their shinobi had supposedly saved the village leader's life.

Politically speaking, he was trapped.

Which I was enjoying immensely.

Still, Shibuki didn't seem finished.

"That request is too modest," he said suddenly.

'…What?'

"You have earned more than safe passage."

Several elders immediately looked alarmed, catching on quicker than me.

"Lord Shibuki—"

"I will provide you with access to our remaining records on the Earth Grudge Fear Technique."

That got an actual reaction out of me, not a carefully acted mask and tailored body language, but actual genuine surprise.

"You have that?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

Shibuki gave a small nod, seemingly not that surprised or bothered I knew about (yet another) Taki secret. Then again, the tale of famously failed assassination attempt on our first Hokage was hardly unknown. Hell, I have memories of the original Mizuki reading it to his Academy classes at the end of the day during story time.

"Fragments of it," Shibuki admitted. "Kakuzu took much of the original knowledge with him when he abandoned the village, and every attempt to recreate the technique ended disastrously."

The elders looked progressively more horrified the longer he spoke.

"Taki is too small to waste shinobi on dangerous experiments," Shibuki continued. "But…" his eyes flicked briefly toward the markings on my body, "I suspect you may already be more suited to such things than most."

The outrage from the elders came immediately after that.

"Lord Shibuki!"

"That technique is forbidden!"

"We cannot simply hand it to an outsider!"

Shibuki turned toward them, and for the first time since arriving in Taki, the young village leader genuinely looked like their leader, like he stood above them on an untouchable pedestal, worthy of the same reverence they had thus far only displayed when mentioning his father.

"Taki will not survive by clinging fearfully to every scrap of power while expecting others to bleed for us," he said firmly.

Silence, the Elders too stunned or cowed to speak.

"We need to trust our allies. More importantly, we need to trust ourselves. Not forbidden techniques. Not suicidal power. Nor burdens forced onto children."

For a while, nobody dared say anything, before Elder Senji placed himself between his village leader and the other Elders, his ancient gaze especially fixed on the man that had first lashed out and even now stood silently fuming. His words were directed to Shibuki, but clearly meant for his peers.

"Well spoken, my Lord. Though perhaps it would be best if we gave our allies copies of our records, scattered as they are. Uplifting our allies should not come at the cost of diminishing ourselves, of course." He said smoothly and Shibuki lost a bit of his bravado as he let out a sheepish chuckle.

"Of course, Elder Senji, that was what I meant. Make sure copies are made and delivered to our friends as soon as possible!" he called out to one of his shinobi, who bowed surprisingly deeply before disappearing along with several others in a Body Flicker.

"Shibuki, I… thank you, for this. It may be just what I need to survive." I say, surprising myself with how thick my voice was with genuine gratitude.

The young village leader is all smiles as he reaches up and claps my shoulder with a friendly grin.

"If it saves your life as you have saved mine, then it will be a price I'm more than willing to pay to settle the score between us."

'Forget saving princesses: saving village leaders and military dictators is clearly where it's at!'

Then the good mood was shattered when someone near the back stubbornly muttered, "What about the Beast?"

Fū flinched as Shibuki whirled around, looking furious.

"Enough," he snapped.

But before things could spiral again, I stepped closer towards newly minted Genin.

"Fū."

She looked over.

"If things are tense here for a while…" I scratched lightly at one ear. "You want to accompany me to the Fire Temple for a bit?"

Her eyes widened instantly.

"Really?!"

"Sure. Could be good training."

That enthusiasm spread across her face so quickly it almost gave me whiplash.

Shibuki watched the exchange quietly for a moment before something seemed to click into place behind his eyes.

"Fū. As you are now officially a shinobi of Takigakure no Sato, I am assigning you a C-Rank mission."

That snapped the young girl upright so fast you'd think she'd just been hit with a lightning jutsu.

"Escort Mizuki safely to the Fire Temple and ensure no harm comes to our honored ally during his recovery." Shibuki continued, the faintest hint of amusement creeping into his voice now as he took in the girl's awed reaction.

Still, I caught the real meaning behind the assignment immediately.

This wasn't just Shibuki rewarding Fū or thanking me.

It was an escape hatch.

A way to get her out of the village before the fear and rumors surrounding tonight had the chance to grow out of control. Time for people to cool their heads. Time for Fū herself to process the fact that she'd just turned a man into red paste against a cavern wall. And, likely influenced by what I told him back at the palace, time for somebody to finally teach her how to fight like an actual shinobi instead of relying on her bijuu to bulldoze every problem in front of her.

The crowd slowly began dispersing after that, the tension finally bleeding out of the shoreline now that Shibuki had managed to get ahead of the panic before it could properly take root. Villagers were already talking amongst themselves again, shinobi helping organize patrols and escort people back across the bridge, while the elders clustered around Shibuki with expressions ranging from relieved to deeply exhausted.

Fū, meanwhile, apparently decided the appropriate response to all of this was to slam into me at full speed.

I barely had time to brace before her arms wrapped around me in a crushing hug hard enough to make several of my injuries immediately flare up again like a fire jutsu.

Unfortunately, she was also still absolutely drenched in Suien's blood.

"Uh," I managed as something warm and sticky smeared across the front of my already ruined shirt.

Fū froze, then slowly looked down.

"Oh no-sorry! Sorry!" she yelped, instantly springing backward again with wide eyes.

"I forgot about the… the uhmm… blood…" she trailed off somewhat awkwardly.

Honestly, considering the night she'd had, the fact that that was what horrified her was almost endearing.

Before I could calm her worries by pointing out that I was also covered in blood (unfortunately my own for the most part) another figure stepped into front of me.

Tiger.

The ANBU captain stood there silently for several long seconds, arms folded behind his back as he studied me with the sort of expression usually reserved for particularly complicated bomb disposal.

Even Fū picked up on the sudden tension, nervously digging her heel in the sand.

"I'll… I'll just go pack then?"

"Sure thing Fū. I'll meet you at the top of the waterfall first thing in the morning, alright?" I respond with a smile, even deliberately leaning around Tiger's monolithic form and shooting her a reassuring nod, a small powerplay on my part.

He couldn't touch me, not here, not now and we both knew that. Additionally, he didn't know that, even as the mint-haired girl shot away for a well-earned (and much-needed) bath, she kept in contact with me.

'If this guy gives you trouble, just say the word and I'll give him a good smack!'

'It won't come to that Fū. I hope, at least. Go get some rest, I'll see you in the morning.' I thought back and with the knowledge that I had a whole ass seven-tailed Jinchūriki in my back pocket, I stared back into the porcelain ANBU mask, completely carefree.

Eventually, Tiger spoke.

"The Akimichi regained consciousness."

There it was.

"He provided his statement," Tiger continued evenly, his voice perfectly flat in that way ANBU always seemed to cultivate.

"Officially, his account fully supports your version of events."

'Officially? Interesting choice of words.'

"Meaning," he went on, "that both Konoha and Taki records will reflect that your… actions tonight were the result of implanted conditioning likely tied to Orochimaru."

I nodded slowly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the implication.

Tiger's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at that.

"I'm leaving two operatives behind with the injured guard," he continued. "Another pair will return to Konoha immediately to report the situation. I will escort you to the Fire Temple personally alongside my remaining ANBU, considering they'll likely be expecting us. Considering their ties to the Twelve Guardian Ninja and the very origins of ninjutsu itself, it's likely for the best not to keep them waiting."

Not 'protect' or 'guide'. Escort.

A very diplomatic way of saying escort under supervision.

"And after that?" I asked neutrally.

Tiger held my gaze for another moment.

"Then you return to Konoha."

He didn't elaborate further. Didn't need to.

Whether that return ended in debriefing, imprisonment or Danzo deciding I'd become too inconvenient to keep around was apparently a problem for future Mizuki.

'Dang, sucks to be him. Would hate to be that guy.'

Tiger stepped aside without another word, clearly deciding that continuing this conversation in public carried more risks than benefits, disappearing into the night, likely to debrief the rest of the ANBU still stationed at the bottom of the waterfall.

A moment later, Tsubaki reached me.

Unlike Fū, she hugged me carefully, one arm sliding around my side while the other settled briefly against the inside of my flak jacket. Subtle enough that nobody looking our way would notice anything strange about the movement.

"You look terrible," she muttered quietly against my shoulder.

"Feel worse."

That earned a faint laugh from her, though she couldn't quite disguise the genuine concern in her voice. When we pulled apart again, nobody paid attention to the slight extra weight now hidden inside her flak jacket.

Just a small sealing scroll.

Containing one very real gourd of Hero Water.

Water Clones may be looked down upon in combat scenarios for only having 1/10th of the original caster's strength, but that was still plenty to carry a small sealing scroll up the steps of the shrine while Suien was distracted and Shibuki was unconscious, containing the dummy that Tsubaki had been charging for the better part of a day and swap them out before Fū exploded into the room like a human missile.

'Step two: success.'

---

Fun Fact: "Suien" (水煙) refers to the mist which stays over a body of water.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

INTERLUDE 3
​

---

Kenta watched Mizuki from the back of their small convoy, his expression hidden behind the smooth porcelain of his Tiger mask while the rest of the group made their way through the dense wilderness surrounding Takigakure. The pace wasn't particularly fast. Between Mizuki's still healing injuries, Fū's complete lack of restraint whenever she spotted something even mildly interesting and the simple fact that nobody particularly wanted to risk straining the newly strengthened relations with Taki by accidentally dropping their newly proclaimed village hero off a cliff, the journey had settled into an awkward middle ground between military escort and diplomatic procession.

Still, the Fire Temple wasn't particularly far away and lay more or less along the route back toward Konoha anyway, meaning they'd likely reach the monks in a little under two days at their current pace.

Just another reason why Tiger had found it difficult to shoot down Mizuki's unexpected request, especially with Taki's newly emboldened village leader publicly backing it. He might've tried to strongarm Mizuki in returning to Konoha immediately once they were out of sight of the roaring waterfall anyways, which was likely the exact reason why the silver-haired shinobi had arranged for Taki's Jinchūriki to accompany them. Given how close she was to Shibuki, any move against Mizuki within earshot of the mint-haired girl would likely be reported straight to the Taki leader's ears, and that would raise a bunch of uncomfortable questions Tiger wasn't particularly willing to entertain.

As had become the (rather worrying) norm when it came to their prison escapee, simply following along with his schemes appeared to be the most straightforward way for Konoha to benefit. Kenta wasn't even sure whether or not Mizuki had meticulously planned for, was simply blissfully unaware of, or merely didn't care about the problem he'd made himself for the leaders of the Village Hidden in the Leaf.

He couldn't say which option troubled him the most.

Ahead of him, the striped shinobi in question was currently whispering in soft tones with his fiancée, while further up ahead the Jinchūriki was having a loud debate (well, shouting match, really) with one of the Legendary Stupid Brothers about the benefits of steamed versus broiled fish.

"Steamed fish is objectively the superior preparation method," Fū declared with the absolute confidence of someone who had never once considered the possibility of being wrong. "It cooks quickly, keeps the meat moist and preserves the flavor."

One of the Legendary Stupid Brothers stared at her for a moment. "That just sounds like unfinished grilled fish."

Fū looked personally insulted. "No, it sounds like you people burn everything until it stops being recognizable."

"That's how you know it's cooked."

"That's how you know you failed."

Of course Tiger and his remaining two operatives, his lieutenant Bear and a particularly quiet ANBU (even by their standards) that wore one of the standard featureless masks, had been shamelessly listening in on the hushed conversation, while trying to ignore the (much) louder one at the front of their group.

Privacy? What's that?

So far, they hadn't gleaned much that was worth noting, though Kenta didn't for a second dismiss the possibility that the pseudo-missing nin was fully aware of his eavesdroppers and only said what he wanted them to pick up. When it came to Mizuki, they had all learned that it paid to be twice as paranoid as usual and then maybe they'd catch on to about half his schemes.

'Look underneath the underneath, huh, Kakashi-senpai? But what if it's just underneaths all the way down?' Kenta thought somewhat frustrated and more than a bit mentally strained from having to double, triple and quadruple check every interaction he had with the silver-haired man.

The hushed conversation had mostly consisted of Tsubaki hovering around Mizuki, repeatedly checking bandages that frankly didn't need checking anymore and quietly scolding him whenever he moved too abruptly or put strain on injuries that should still have been giving him considerably more trouble than they apparently were.

Kenta's attention sharpened slightly when Tsubaki abruptly grabbed Mizuki's wrist after he reopened a shallow cut across his upper arm when he strained himself a bit too much leaping over a small rapid.

"…That should not have closed already." she quietly muttered.

Tsubaki frowned down at Mizuki's arm, thumb pressing lightly against skin that already looked more like a day-old injury than something freshly split open. The angry redness around the edges had faded almost completely and fresh skin had already begun knitting together beneath the torn scab. It wasn't dramatic regeneration by any means. No instant flesh knitting itself back together like Kenta knew some Jinchūriki were rumored to be capable of. Nothing like the legends surrounding the Shodaime's monstrous healing factor claimed, but even so it was still far beyond what he would've expected from someone who'd nearly been beaten to death in an underground cave less than a day earlier. Fast enough for an experienced medic to immediately notice something wasn't normal.

Mizuki himself only glanced at the cut before shrugging.

"Huh. Neat."

Tsubaki looked deeply unimpressed by his answer.

Tiger, meanwhile, quietly filed the observation away, yet another addition to the mental record he was keeping of former Inmate 99. The map was getting rather worryingly thick, already outstripping the ones he kept on several B- and even A-Rank missing nin. The irritating part was that most of those criminals, while more dangerous in direct combat, were significantly easier to deal with.

A shinobi betrays the village. ANBU tracks them down. Tiger cuts their head off in some remote forest or abandoned mountain top. Sometimes the missing nin will have a good head on his shoulders and intend to keep it there, surrendering once they've been properly beaten into the dirt and Tiger drags what's left of them back to T&I. End of problem.

Messy, perhaps, but straightforward.

Mizuki, meanwhile, seemed determined to turn every single situation into a tangled knot of competing political interests, half-truths and outcomes that somehow kept benefiting Konoha just enough to make immediate elimination feel inconveniently… premature.

'I miss the days where traitors just defected instead of turning themselves into political problems nobody's allowed to solve. At least back then, missing-nin had the decency to either betray the village or not. They didn't save allied village leaders in-between felony counts.' Kenta thought to himself somewhat petulantly.

He had been willing to be far more lenient with Mizuki before, when they had come across the man when he was still smelling of ozone and burnt flesh, having survived whatever hellish experiments Hiruko had put the man's body through to the point it came out looking like… that. But things had changed now.

The Akimichi had regained consciousness shortly before their departure from Taki, and while the man's injuries remained severe, his recollection of events had been perfectly coherent. Mizuki had attacked him. Brutally. There had been no hesitation or confusion in the assault either according to the injured operative, only sudden violence followed by equally sudden unconsciousness.

Chōbei had seemed uncharacteristically embarrassed when he mentioned that last part, clearly unwilling to elaborate in further detail and considering the man's injuries, Kenta had allowed him that small reprieve at least.

Besides, it wasn't as if he couldn't put two and two together once he went to check on the prison personally and saw his own operative's face embossed in the thick cell door…

'So much for his anonymity… then again, with how many bandages they wrapped around his head, it's probably safer now than behind an ANBU mask…' Kenta thought to himself, expertly hiding a somewhat embarrassed wince at how he had practically shouted his operative's name in front of the fully assembled ruling counsel of a neighbouring village.

Not his proudest moment, but then again it wasn't often one of his had been attacked by the very same (supposedly friendly) suspect he was meant to be guarding.

Under normal circumstances, that alone would've been enough to justify immediate detention, if not outright decapitation. The problem was that Mizuki's explanation still fit. Orochimaru had used sleeper agents before, though they were still trying to figure out where he had perfected his insidious jutsu. Konoha intelligence had entire classified archives detailing conditioned operatives unknowingly carrying out commands months or even years after implantation. Hiruko's involvement only complicated matters further. The missing-nin had exchanged knowledge and techniques with Orochimaru for years and possessed enough medical knowledge to not just shape Mizuki's body like that, but alter his mind in deeply distubing ways as well, changes that would take longer to become apparent. If Mizuki truly had been carrying dormant conditioning since Shūmisen, or even before, it was entirely plausible that Suien had somehow triggered it.

'Could that have been the real reason why he insisted on visiting the monks first? An attempt at dealing with the scars in his mind while circumventing having to submit himself to yet another ANBU interrogation? Back in the prison, Frog had been as accommodating as possible when dealing with such techniques, but still, it wouldn't surprise me if it left him with some sort of trauma when it comes to having ANBU root around in his brain…' Kenta mused, his eyes never leaving Mizuki's broad back.

The question was, should he allow the man to seek help and improve himself as he saw fit?

It was an uncomfortable question that didn't have a good answer.

How far would Tiger allow Mizuki to keep gallivanting around the country, getting what he felt he needed to heal and improve himself, all the while refusing to truly submit himself to Konoha's authority, all because the village as a whole kept benefitting?

The prison break led to them identifying security breaches, from corruption amongst the guard to outdated safety features. Even now the whole prison was undergoing such an overhaul (based on Mizuki's own recommendations and seal ideas no less) that it was unlikely there'd be another break-out in a century at least.

Then there was Hiruko, a long-standing if distant thorn in Konoha's side. From what they had managed to reconstruct from the scattered research at his hidden base, the missing-nin had been well on his way to completing some sort of doomsday jutsu. Even if it lacked the power to wipe Konoha off the map outright, it could still weaken the village badly enough for the other Great Villages to gladly finish the job themselves.

And now Taki. An ally whose leader had not only been strengthened, but also made indebted to Konoha, to the point of sharing their most secret and powerful technique, one which had made their most infamous missing nin an international S-Rank threat even a century later. Taki might not have the means (or the willingness) to offer up the manpower needed to bring the technique back to its full height again, but Konoha was just sitting on a newly improved and fully stocked prison complex. Human experimentation might have left a bad taste in their mouths following Orochimaru's crimes, but for a boon like the Earth Grudge Fear?

There were plenty of factions in Konoha who'd have little trouble swallowing that bad taste if it meant strengthening the village. Hell, just in his own squad Tiger was confident he could call on half of them to volunteer if need be and he fully counted himself among that number.

All of them were willing to die for Konoha, all of them were willing to live for Konoha as well, even as a monster.

Which meant that Kenta, no, Tiger saw it as his duty to either get the scattered jutsu scrolls off Mizuki's person, or ensure the man's loyalty to Konoha when the striped shinobi inevitably managed to incorporate the technique into his own powerset.

The obvious answer was of course the first one, either through violence or subterfuge, but despite his confidence in his own pickpocketing skills, Tiger was still unwilling to take such a gamble when dealing with a man who had 'Flight Risk Mizuki' as his moniker after what was effectively only a few months of active duty.

As for outright violence…

"Lemme at 'em! They take that back! They're so food-focused, Imma make them eat their own words till they choke on it! You hungry fellas? How 'bout a knuckle sandwich!?"

Kenta looked up, somewhat startled to realized he had been lost in his musing. Up ahead, a somewhat exasperated and amused Mizuki was holding the mint-haired Jinchūriki off the floor by the back of her top, her short limbs flailing like windmills, while a little bit away stood the two mountainous Brothers, who looked equal parts defiant and chastised as Tsubaki scolded them, hands on her hips.

One of them was holding a small uprooted tree over his boulder-like shoulder like a club, while the other was holding an actual boulder like a football. Yet despite the decidedly odd sight, Kenta's money would still be on the tiny little girl that barely came up to their big bellies, currently going through a thesaurus worth of insults with a kind of creativity that made the parent in him want to raise a disapproving eyebrow.

He had seen enough of Suien's remains (what little was left anyways) during his investigation to not underestimate the power of a Tailed Beast, no matter how puny its vessel may seem. No, just snatching the scrolls for the Earth Grudge Fear out of Mizuki's clawed hands was simply not a viable option, not through subterfuge and definitely not through force.

As the normally unflappable ANBU looked upon the scene with a sort of quiet accepted desperation, his lieutenant casually leaned in, voice carefully neutral.

"The food 'debate' continued for a while until one of the Brothers mentioned that living off the land naturally involves bugs, as there are several in these woods that are apparently "good ettin'" if not very filling. The container took umbrage at that, citing bugs are friends, not food. Then the other Brother responded that bugs are only good for killing and all a man can choose in life is whether or not he eats them after."

"How… profound." Tiger managed.

No, if Konoha wanted to keep benefitting of Mizuki's mad schemes, then all there was to it was making sure to be there to put their enemies in the former inmate's path and be ready to deal with the fall out. Maybe if he took out enough of their problems, he'd see the benefit of becoming Konoha's ally instead if only to take some off the workload off his shoulders. Maybe even earn back a proper headband again, become a true comrade in the shinobi forces…

'Gods… why does that sound worse?!'

Tiger resisted the urge to slam his forehead into the nearest tree.

It was moments like this that reminded him porcelain masks were one of ANBU's greatest inventions. Not for intimidation, anonymity or psychological warfare (though those counted for something as well of course).

But because they did an excellent job at hiding the stress-induced eye twitch he could rapidly feel developing as he stared at Mizuki's back, the semi-missing nin apparently having decided to end the "debate" by simply tucking the lithe Jinchūriki under his arm like a mint-colored sausage roll and keep on walking.

The small girl didn't even seem to realize and was now listing off various insults apparently local to the hardened fisherfolk of Taki, including a particularly creative comparison involving a constipated salamander and a badly folded futon that Tiger sincerely hoped he'd misheard.

Despite his long years of service and pride in his skills as a veteran shinobi, Kenta couldn't stop a deeply irritating thought from worming its way into his head.

'… Are we there yet?'

---

Meanwhile, outside the Hokage's office

It had been some time since Danzo had last walked these halls. He used to move throughout the village as if he already owned it, confident in his stride despite the cane. Others bowed their heads and moved out of his way, whispering in quiet awe behind his back.

Some of that was the same. He still projected the familiar image of old, unbowed strength, enveloping himself in the moniker the rest of the world had given him. Others would look upon him and see the War Hawk on an endless mission, as always moving to secure the future of their home.

But these last few months, something had changed.

People still whispered, but the awe was gone. Danzo was used to suspicion, it was his life-blood, but he wasn't used to it being displayed so openly against him.

'Tch, these younger generations have become soft. They lack proper respect for those who came before, those who secured what they may now enjoy.' He thought darkly as he felt Hiruzen's secretary's eyes bore into his back.

He knew why of course. Mizuki's mad ramblings, and he had made sure that the proper circles had dismissed them as such. Annoyingly, the amnesiac inmate had been dead right on multiple counts, which flared up Hiruzen's paranoia to… cumbersome levels.

While the claims were all true, their suspect provenance had given Danzo enough wiggle room to somewhat muzzle the Hokage's efforts to oust him from power. Danzo was the root that fed the great tree above and his tendrils had burrowed deep and far indeed. All of it done safely from within the confines of his ROOT headquarters, naturally. It wasn't cowardice, of course, just sound tactics.

Hiruzen's temper could be… volatile, especially whenever he got these bothersome suspicions of Danzo, like the first time he had tried to assassinate the old Sarutobi. It obviously hadn't worked, so what had the old man been so worked up about anyways?

No, he had been in damage control ever since that damnable Mizuki had been questioned, and while he had needed to burn more time and effort than he had wanted to, it was time to confront Hiruzen and once more cement his place at the Hokage's side.

"Sir? Sir! Sir, you cannot enter, the Lord Hokage is in a meeting with his ANBU right now-!" the foolish girl tried to halt him in his steps, but three world wars had never slowed Danzo down, he would not be waylaid by mere bureaucracy now.

"Oh? Even more the reason for me to see my old friend Hiruzen. He will need my council in order to judge their reports accurately, the last ones have been… lacking in quality." Danzo shot back, hand already coming up to the handle, head bowed and eye closed, the very picture of iron will and unshakeable conviction-

"HE DID WHAT?!"

Danzo looked at the rattling doorknob, felt the tremors up through the soles of his sandals, heard the secretary squeak as she dove for an inkpot that had been rattled off her desk… and promptly turned his back on the Hokage's office.

Their business could be concluded some other day. Meanwhile, he had to tend to the shadows. Yes the shadows in his own headquarters, placed far underground and thus far away from the Hokage building, those sounded particularly nice.

Again, it wasn't cowardice, of course, just… sound tactics.

---

Meanwhile, in a dark, hidden cave

The cave was quiet apart from the slow crackle of the fire pit near the center of the chamber, a pair of sweet potatoes on a stick roasting above the flames, its light spilling unevenly across the stone walls and catching intermittently on the pale scar stretching across Kazuma's face.

Kazuma, Furido to those he was forced to occasionally interact with, sat near the flames with one knee raised, eyes distant as they gazed into the flickering flame. The years had changed him enough that even former comrades (well… those that he hadn't killed yet at least) would struggle to recognize the man he used to be. The white hair helped with that. So did the scar. People saw damage and age before they bothered looking deeper.

Footsteps approached from the tunnel entrance, though he remained relaxed in his languid position, eyes never leaving the fire. Fuen stepped into the chamber, brushing a loose strand of dark hair back behind her ear as she glanced toward him.

"Fudō's still outside," she said. "He's doing another perimeter sweep."

Kazuma hummed in acknowledgment.

"And Fūka disappeared an hour ago after spotting what she called a 'much better body than the last one.'"

That earned a low chuckle from him.

"Honestly," Fuen continued dryly, "I'm beginning to think she enjoys the hunt more than the actual mission."

"The greatest protection this group has," Kazuma replied lazily, "is my presence in it, not Fudō stomping around outside pretending he's subtle."

Fuen snorted softly.

"As for Fūka," he went on, "she can entertain herself however she likes so long as she doesn't attract too much attention. Replacing bodies occasionally is useful for her. It keeps the habit sharp."

"She says things like that too, which somehow makes it worse."

Kazuma laughed quietly at that.

Fuen moved closer to the fire, expression souring slightly as she looked toward the cave entrance again. "I'm getting tired of hiding in holes like this."

"You'll survive."

"That isn't an encouragement."

"It wasn't meant to be."

She shot him a flat look while he continued staring into the flames.

"Our position still isn't stable enough to move openly," he elaborated after a moment, her intense, studying glare not letting up. "The clash with the loyalists happened too recently and Asuma came far too close to killing me for my liking. Half the Guardian Twelve are dead, the other half scattered, and now he's crawled back to Konoha where I can't conveniently reach him."

There was no irritation in his voice while saying it. If anything, he sounded faintly amused by the inconvenience.

"I'd prefer removing Chiriku next," he continued, "but the ninja-turned-monk is still on edge after Sora's little outburst. It hasn't been long enough since the sealing of the demon chakra for the monks' attention to wane. He's watching the boy too carefully right now."

Fuen tilted her head slightly. "And until then?"

Kazuma smiled faintly.

"Until then, we wait for the asset to mature."

Fuen gave him a long look, then exhaled through her nose. "You really do overcomplicate everything."

For the first time since their talk, Kazuma shifted, tearing his eyes away from the flames to raise a challenging eyebrow at the tall woman.

"The plan is elegant." He insisted.

"The plan is insane," she corrected. "You plan on becoming the boy's mentor, spend years feeding him stories about the people who 'killed' his father, and then eventually reveal you were his father the entire time? There's like… six different ways to get the same end results with half the steps."

Kazuma's shoulders shook slightly with restrained laughter.

"Come on, the father-reveal? It's an absolute classic. I'm even thinking of adding a fake beard to my disguise."

"It's a cliché."

"A classic," he repeated firmly.

Fuen folded her arms. "You're lucky you're strong enough to make people tolerate this nonsense."

For a moment, Kazuma just kept his mild smile on his face, but when he next spoke Fuen stilled completely, knowing not to push her leader further on this.

"It's not nonsense. This plan of mine… my goal, for peace in this country, this world… there is no path more sensible. All of it, the sacrifices needed, all of it is necessary. All of us have our part to play in this grand design."

Kazuma's eyes had returned to the fire, but to Fuen's unease, the glow in them seemed to be even brighter than the flames, the white-haired man's voice turning to a reed-thin whisper, almost manic.

"This world… shall know peace."

---

Meanwhile, in an even darker, more secret cave

The funeral had been finished earlier today, hours ago now in fact, though he hadn't bothered counting them. Hours since the priest had said his final, carefully curated words and the last well-wishers had tried to pass on their measured condolences.

Daigo had remained at the grave the entire time.

His father had been a well-respected man in Taki. That much was obvious from the turnout alone. People came throughout the day to pay their respects to a great protector of their village, one who gave his life in the line of duty. Some came in groups, some alone, all of them carrying the same well-meaning (but ultimately meaningless) expressions of grief and obligation. They spoke in the way people did when silence felt inappropriate: acknowledgements of service, reminders of his contributions, the usual phrases that were meant to acknowledge loss without becoming too personal about it.

None of it reached Daigo in any meaningful way. He didn't react to their words, didn't even move when those hesitant few awkwardly patted him on the shoulder. Comrades of his father perhaps, maybe even Shibuki himself, though Daigo couldn't remember. Didn't care to.

All that time, he stood silent, eyes fixed unwaveringly on the blade sticking proudly out of the freshly dug soil.

It was meant as a marker of pride, once it became clear that Daigo refused to inherit the bloodied blade, no matter how many hours his family had spent cleaning and polishing it. Now it stood tall, waving slightly in the winds flowing past the grave markers and all Daigo could think was that it was an insult. How could anyone ever expect him to see it as anything else? It was no heirloom.

It was a murder weapon.

At some point the pattern of visitors changed. The steady flow slowed, then broke apart entirely. People stopped approaching him directly. The condolences became shorter, more hesitant at the edges, and eventually they shifted away from him altogether, directed instead toward each other or left unspoken as they passed.

By the time darkness had settled properly over the grounds, he was the only one left.

It was just him, a haunted blade… and a crumpled piece of paper held tightly all this time in his clenched fist. He had found it shoved underneath his door this morning, its hastily scribbled lines detailing an old, overgrown path to this place, a cave hidden below the mountain ridge that rose tall behind the thick overgrown forests that surrounded the lake and their great tree.

Had he been younger, more innocent, he'd probably feel a sense of unease at their remote location. It wasn't often he had strayed beyond the protective embrace of Kusunoki Oboku.

But then again, he was no longer innocent and the towering branches of their tree had shown they were no protector. If Kusunoki Oboku truly did have that sheltering power they spoke of in those stories he'd heard since he was a child, then his innocence wouldn't have to be buried alongside his father.

The note, different to all the meaningless prattle from his family and the visitors at the graveyard, had seemed to understand that. Had spoken in a way that showed they shared his loss, his pain.

But more than that, they shared something that too few people at the funeral had displayed, something that he felt they lacked for their words to ever matter to him. The note shared his anger. His sheer rage.

Daigo wasn't sure what he'd do yet with all the fire building up inside his chest as he descended the cave. Wasn't sure what he could do. Direct instruction from his strict father, no matter how he'd tried to weasel his way out of it at times, meant he was better than your average Taki nin, but as the outsiders had shown, that accounted to little in the grand scheme of things.

For all that it felt like it would consume him whole if he let it, the young man was still sober enough to realize it was hardly the inferno that it seemed. More like a flickering candle, if he were being honest.

But when he finally finished his downwards descent and came into a larger room, lit by torches and surprisingly filled with people he vaguely recognized, that candle was steadily gaining in strength. Many of the people here were shinobi, though the odd civilian (usually from the richer side, he realized) was spread throughout the small crowd. They were all whispering anxiously amongst each other, eying their dark surroundings with the same unease that Daigo felt, but in many of their faces he spotted what he felt he had missed back at the funeral.

All of them had that same spark of anger that he had. Perhaps not the pain, not the sheer overwhelming sense of being swallowed whole by rage and grief, but there was enough there they had followed the note's instructions and slipped away to hide from the towering gaze of Kusunoki Oboku.

At the front of the crowd and talking in hushed whispers amongst themselves, were many of the Elders of Taki, which did much to settle the frayed nerves of the crowd. What they were doing wasn't technically illegal (… yet) and with the backing of so many Elders daring to openly show their faces, it was unlikely they'd be punished for coming to this secret meeting.

Daigo didn't have to wait long until said meeting actually began. A few stragglers came in after he did, boots scraping against damp stone as they found places along the edges of the cavern. Above them, the mountain ridge held steady, the weight of it pressing down in a way that made voices feel smaller than they should have been.

When the last of the movement settled, the Elders decided it was enough.

One of them stepped forward from the cluster of white robes, spindly arms spread wide and high and the crowd fell into a heavy, expectant silence.

"The situation in Taki cannot continue as it is," he said, his voice resonant in the darkness of the cavern.

Another Elder followed immediately, voice tighter. "Shibuki is giving too much weight to outsiders. Leaf shinobi are not partners in our most secret affairs. They are guests. Temporary ones."

A murmur ran through the crowd, a low, uneven agreement. The alliance between Taki and Konoha was old and not easily broken. Then again, it had hardly ever been an equal partnership, with the majority of Leaf shinobi never having been granted access to the pathways behind Tsukihime's veil and most Taki nin having never left the shadows of Kusunoki Oboku's vast canopy. The excitement of the past few days, and Konoha's role in it, had made many uneasy.

"Guests don't decide how a village defends itself," someone added from the back.

"They also don't get to decide what we do with our own weapons," another voice said, sharper. "The Earth Grudge Fear is not something we hand over or share based on convenience. Nor is the jinchūriki a matter to be treated casually in the presence of foreign shinobi."

More murmurs, agreements and disagreements raised in equal measure as Daigo watched it all silently from the back of the crowd.

"The jinchūriki shouldn't be left in situations where outsiders can reach her," someone said.

"She already is," another voice replied. "That's the problem."

"Shibuki gives away our power too freely, at the cost of our own!" the Elder who opened the meeting said loudly, hoping to get the people riled up, though it was a difficult sell.

The Taki Village Leader, for all his faults and cowardice, was much beloved by his people, even those who had other grudges to settle tonight.

"The Leaf shinobi have already been too close to our affairs," one Elder said, voice tightening. "We must not allow that proximity to become undue influence."

"He listens too much to them," another Elder pressed on. "Since his father's passing, he has forgotten where authority in this village actually sits."

Another voice, from the crowd this time, words cold and dissatisfied, chimed in. "He has not forgotten. He is choosing to ignore it."

This led to more grumbling and Daigo saw the Elders exchange grim glances. The crowd wasn't unified, not really. It never was in gatherings like this. Some of them were worried, about what it meant for Taki if the Earth Grudge Fear was ever to make a return to the world stage, but in the hands of an outsider this time. Others were openly unsettled by the Jinchūriki, Fū, and what she represented, what she contained, especially now that she was granted so much leeway by their leader. Power that is not controlled has a habit of making powerless people feel threatened, even if said power is there for their defence.

But there were others too. People who didn't speak about policy at all. They latched on to the Elders' comments about Shibuki, their own dissatisfaction with their lot in life, their place in Taki, being manipulated by the Elders' own dissatisfaction with their waning power. Long, low-simmering resentment was being fed plenty of fuel by eager hands and sinister tongues.

"He thinks he can lead because people like him," one man muttered near the edge of the chamber. "That's not the same as understanding what holds this village together."

A woman beside him snorted softly. "He left most of it to the Elders anyway. Now he wants to take it back piece by piece."

"That's not leadership," someone else said. "That's a powerplay."

The first Elder allowed the disgruntled murmuring to build for a moment before speaking again.

"Shibuki has been given room to grow into his role," he said evenly. "Clearly, our efforts in this matter have paid off. But room to maneuver does not mean freedom from guidance."

Another Elder, slightly further back, added: "Or correction."

The crowd quieted at the icy words, some still unsure about the direction the conversation was turning, but the sense of anger, of resentment, or whatever else it was that had convinced them to make the trek to this underground cave, was steadily being fueled. The momentum in the room was changing, shifting forwards, a growing feeling that something had to be done… even if they couldn't all agree yet on what that something actually should be.

But the Elder who had first spoken, a truly ancient specimen, was an experienced hand at reading crowds and continued his speech.

"Whatever concerns you carry," he said, slowly turning to include the gathered crowd, "whatever doubts or misgivings may have brought you here… understand this."

A pause, deliberate enough that even the quieter movements in the room stopped.

"Every person in this chamber is a patriot of Taki."

Some of the tension eased, feelings of guilt and apprehension subdued by affirmation from a side who had been their effective rulers for close to a decade, a familiar power in their daily lives. If this became something done for Taki, then it wasn't something done against Shibuki; it was in his best interests even if he himself could not see it that way yet. If the Elders said they were actually doing the right thing, then none of this could be that bad, right? Right?

"No matter what others may say," the Elder continued, "you are here because you wish to preserve this village. And more than that… to strengthen it."

A few heads nodded, some even clapped each other on the shoulder. Daigo remained silent, standing ramrod straight with darkened eyes.

"Then why meet in secret?" someone from the crowd, a veteran shinobi less swept up than the others, called out.

"If it's for the good of the village, then why are we all the way out here instead? We've even left the embrace of our tree!"

That resonated with many villagers and if it weren't for the fire pressing against his ribs smothering any sense of unease, Daigo would likely feel the same apprehension about turning their backs on their ancient guardian spirit. Not even the Elders remained unaffected by the question.

The first Elder paused only briefly, the first signs of uncertainty creeping into his weathered face before answering, voice carefully controlled.

"This meeting, this place, was requested. By someone who has supported Taki in the past. Someone whose current position does not allow open presence in the Village proper now that our leader has so naively thrown open wide its doors to the shinobi from the Leaf."

"You brought in another outsider?" someone asked and the Elder visibly set his jaw.

"Needs must. Konoha has gained much from their stay here, but even before their numbers dwarfed ours, not to mention the legends that hail from that village that can dwarf even the strongest among our number. And theirs don't have to give up their lives for such monstrous strength. If Taki is to remain strong, stand tall next to Konoha, stand proud in this world!? Then we'll need help in getting stronger! Wasn't it Shibuki himself who said we can only gain by standing with our allies?" the Elder finished in a mocking tone.

"Then who is he, this mysterious ally who will make us stronger?" someone called out and again the Elders hesitated, some of them outright nervous this time and it didn't take long for the rest of the crowd to realize why.

The darkness of the cavern, held at bay by flickering torches, seemed to stretch and grow colder, the air thicker and more difficult to breathe, as if a tight iron band was strapped close around their ribs, tightened ever so slightly. Many found themselves sweating, hair in their necks on edge, a clammy feeling on their palms as eyes flitted from shadow to shadow.

Their 'ally' was already here.

In the yawning darkness behind the elders, shadows seemed to shift into something that went beyond darkness, not merely an absence of light but the antithesis to it, something… evil.

Two golden slitted eyes opened in the dark, and the crowd stilled, transfixed. None dared speak. None dared even move. Breathing seemed a risk, nobody there wanting those golden eyes to fixate on them as they roamed over the subdued cavern.

None moved… save one.

Daigo knew he should be cowering in fear. Had this happened three days ago, he likely would've, his body recognizing the threat those eyes posed as if it was an immutable fact of the natural world.

But even as the fear clamped down on his shoulders, on his spine, the fire in his chest kept expanding, kept the air from being pressed from his lungs. He didn't see the golden eyes. He saw a shining steel sword, swaying slightly in the wind as it stood tall over a freshly dug grave.

"Help is never free. Whatever aid you give us, whatever power you grant us, you'll want something in return. You'll want more in return, more than most people would be comfortable with."

In the dead silence, Daigo's voice, young as it was, rang out with absolute certainty. The eyes in the dark didn't respond, didn't blink or even narrow, but their entire, chilling attention was wholly fixated on the youth.

"I tell you now… I'll tell all of you now!" Daigo shouted at the cowering crowd, before turning back towards that terrible gaze with clenched teeth and trembling fists.

"You give me the power to make the Leaf pay for the death of my father… you give me the power to make Oniyuri Mizuki bleed… and I guarantee that there's no price I won't pay."

Going after Suien wasn't possible anymore, nothing to soothe that aching fire in his chest. That chance, that opportunity had been ripped away from him by a beast hiding behind a girl's face. And the one person in this world who Daigo had wanted to rely on, the woman who he thought had a chance at making him no longer feel so… empty, was whisked away by the same man that had let his father's murderer out of his cell in the first place.

Daigo didn't care anymore. Didn't care about the explanations that were given, mind control jutsu, last minute saves, desperate final stands. Daigo didn't care about any of it. All he cared about was that the man at the heart of it all, would be buried just as deep as Daigo's own father.

"What say you?!" he shouted into that leering darkness and the golden eyes stared at him unblinkingly.

For a long moment, the echo of his shout was the only sound in the cavern, even its natural noises subdued as if the world itself was holding its breath waiting for the stranger's answer.

Then, starting softly but steadily building, came a low, sinister, darkly amused chuckle.

"Kukukukuku…"

---

Fun Fact: Kazuma's favourite food seem to be roasted sweet potatoes, which he is seen to be eating often.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

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STEP 3.0​

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The first thing that struck me about the Fire Temple when we finally broke away from Taki's sprawling forests and saw it looming up ahead in the distance, was the sheer size of it.

Situated at the edge of the great forests of Fire Country, the sprawling complex occupied a low rise overlooking a broad grassy plain, a curving mountain chain at its back and flanks. Unlike Konoha's dense urban sprawl or Takigakure's layered construction around its lake and waterfall, the temple seemed almost deliberately isolated. Buildings of dark wood and stone spread across several acres, connected by covered walkways and winding paths lined with carefully maintained gardens. Massive bronze bells hung from timber frames large enough they could've doubled as siege weaponry. Prayer flags fluttered lazily in the wind. Somewhere in the distance, monks were chanting.

The entire complex was situated at the edge of one of Fire Country's older roads, a broad, well-beaten route that cut through the surrounding countryside before eventually disappearing into the forests beyond. Judging by the ruts carved into the packed earth and the occasional weathered milestone beside the road, people had been travelling this route for generations.

As we drew closer to the temple, traffic steadily increased.

Farmers worked the outer fields surrounding the complex, several stopping briefly to watch our group pass before returning to their labour. Ox-drawn carts creaked their way along the road carrying vegetables, lumber and supplies destined for the temple kitchens. Travelling merchants passed in the opposite direction, while monks and priests moved between the temple and nearby settlements with the easy familiarity of people walking routes they'd followed a thousand times before.

None of them seemed particularly concerned by the presence of armed shinobi.

Which, honestly, was refreshing.

Somewhere further inside the complex, a massive bronze bell rang, the sound rolling across the grounds like distant thunder. I felt it more than heard it.

Beside me, Fū practically vibrated with excitement.

"Woah."

That was the fifth time she'd said that in the past minute. Behind us, Fūjin and Raijin had arrived at a somewhat different conclusion.

"Big."

"Very big."

"Think they have food?"

"Big places usually have food."

The pair exchanged a look of complete understanding.

"Good."

It said something about our collective journey that neither Tsubaki nor I even bothered responding anymore. The brothers had operated on a fairly straightforward worldview ever since I'd met them in prison. Large settlements contained food. Food was good. Therefore large settlements were also good.

It was difficult to argue with the logic.

Mostly because I wasn't entirely sure there was enough logic present to argue with.

Ignoring the Brothers' more mundane concerns, Fū immediately darted ahead before Tiger could object, stopping to stare at one of the massive bronze bells hanging from a timber frame.

"Do you think they'd let me ring it?"

"No." I said flatly as we moved past her, placing one clawed hand on her mint-green hair and steering her along, though it did nothing to stop her waterfall of questions.

"What if I asked politely?"

"Still no."

"What if I asked politely twice?"

"I don't think haggling will convince monks of all people."

Fū looked unconvinced.

"What if I told them it was for village diplomacy?"

"That's not what diplomacy is."

"It's how I do diplomacy."

Tsubaki smiled faintly as she watched the girl hurry from one new discovery to the next. Even the ANBU accompanying us seemed slightly less tense than usual, though that might've simply been because they hadn't had to draw a weapon in over forty-eight hours.

Tiger, meanwhile, somehow looked even more uncomfortable than normal and it took me a few moments to figure out why. The first clue had been how many people seemed to recognize him.

Not ANBU recognition either. Nobody was tensing up. Nobody was giving him the wary look civilians tended to reserve for heavily armed government operatives.

These people knew him.

Or at the very least thought they did.

Tiger handled this with all the grace of a cat being introduced to a bathtub.

A monk carrying two buckets suspended from a shoulder pole passed us and greeted him and the ANBU captain froze ever so slightly, before offering an awkward nod. He quickly continued walking as though desperately hoping the interaction would end before anybody attempted small talk.

I gradually found myself drifting towards the tense ANBU Captain as we followed the winding stone path drawing steadily closer towards the sprawling Temple complex. Not because I particularly enjoyed the man's company, but because he'd been acting increasingly strange ever since we'd come within sight of the Fire Temple and that immediately made him more interesting.

"You know this place."

Tiger didn't even glance in my direction.

"It's the oldest and largest temple in all of Fire Country, it predates Konoha by centuries. Everyone knows this place."

"You know what I mean."

The ANBU captain's silence suggested he did indeed know exactly what I meant and was choosing not to answer out of spite.

Encouraging.

A few paces behind us, Fū was still bouncing between every vaguely interesting thing she spotted like an over-caffeinated squirrel. At the moment she appeared to be trying to determine whether one of the decorative stone lanterns was hollow. By having Fujin lift the entire structure, foundation and all, straight out of the ground.

"So what's the connection?" I asked, heroically choosing to ignore the situation for now (Tsubaki had it handled… I hope).

"There is no connection."

"Uh huh."

"I have never met these people in my life."

As if the universe itself set out to prove him wrong, just then another monk passed us, this one considerably older than the others. His pace slowed slightly as he drew level with Tiger, his eyes lingering on the ANBU captain's mask for a second before his expression visibly brightened.

"Good to see you again." He said in a warm tone, offering a small bow before continuing on at a leisurely pace, completely unaware of the hole he had just detonated in the ANBU's defences.

Tiger froze for the briefest of moments, a tiny hitch in his stride that would've escaped most people entirely. Unfortunately for him, I'd spent the better part of two weeks closely watching the man look annoyed at me.

My eyes narrowed.

"Oh, you've definitely got history here."

"I do not."

That answer came a little too quickly, carrying all the conviction of a man insisting he wasn't hungry while actively chewing food.

Apparently, even Fū noticed, which was saying something considering she had been preoccupied trying to count all the koi fish the Temple kept in their various ponds spread across their outer grounds (the final count was around 55… well 54 now since Raijin had stuffed one in his mouth before Tsubaki could stop him) because she immediately appeared beside us.

"You totally do."

"I do not."

"That's exactly what somebody with history here would say."

Tiger's eye twitched ever so slightly, a tiny crack in the ANBU captain's composure, barely even noticeable.

Still counted.

"There. That. You twitched." I grinned as I pointed at him.

"I did not."

"You twitched twice."

"I did not."

"You just did it again."

Tiger made the sort of noise normally associated with people developing migraines.

I decided to help.

"Let me guess. You trained here."

"No."

"A relative?"

"No."

"You were a monk."

"No."

"A priest?"

"No."

"Acolyte?"

"No."

"Temple janitor?"

Tiger didn't even dignify that one with a response.

"You got kicked out."

"No."

"...You got kicked out, didn't you?"

Tiger stopped walking and slowly turned his masked face toward me.

I couldn't see his expression beneath the porcelain, but I could feel the weight of several years of accumulated professional frustration settling squarely onto my shoulders.

"Why," he asked with remarkable restraint, "would that be your conclusion?"

"Professional intuition."

"You are not a professional."

"Fair. Personal intuition, then."

For a second I genuinely thought he might strangle me, before he sharply turned on his heel and very deliberately resumed walking.

Notably, he still hadn't denied it.

"Oh my god, you did get kicked out."

"I did not."

"That wasn't a denial."

"It literally was."

"But it lacked conviction."

Tiger increased his pace.

Naturally, I matched it.

Beside us, Fū gasped dramatically.

"You were secretly a monk!"

"I was not."

"A runaway monk!"

"No."

"Yes! You had to run away because of your forbidden love!"

Tiger actually almost missed a step at that (though to be fair, I did too as I shot the teenaged girl an incredulous look, briefly wondering what they let children read these days) as Fū pointed triumphantly.

"Aha!"

"There was no aha."

"There was definitely an aha," even Tsubaki chimed in with a smile.

The betrayed look Tiger sent her would've been significantly more effective if he wasn't wearing a mask.

Unfortunately for him, I'd already smelled blood in the water. Whatever connection he had to the Fire Temple, it clearly existed, and I was absolutely going to find out just what it was.

… Eventually.

Preferably before he figured out how to make my death look like an accident.

The main temple complex continued to grow larger as we followed the road uphill, details gradually emerging from the sprawling mass of rooftops and stone walls. Dark timber buildings rose behind high walls, their tiled roofs curving elegantly toward the sky. Age showed everywhere, though not in the neglected sense. Everything was maintained meticulously, but nothing felt new. The wood had weathered. The stone had worn smooth beneath countless feet. Moss clung to corners and foundations.

The place felt more than just lived in, it felt ancient, older even than the forgotten civilization on Mount Shumisen had been. The sort of location that existed before nations started drawing borders and would probably still be standing long after most of them disappeared.

Several monks were already waiting for us at the main gate when we finally climbed to the top of the large staircase leading up to the temple grounds, though simply calling it a gate felt slightly dishonest.

The structure towered over us, built from massive dark timbers reinforced with iron bands thick enough to survive a siege. Age had blackened much of the wood, while countless seasons of wind and rain had smoothed away any sharp edges, leaving behind something that felt less constructed and more grown from the very land itself.

Looming on either side stood a pair of enormous stone statues depicting dangerous looking Tengu, the mythological teachers of ninjutsu to early human hermits.

Their long noses and stern expressions had been carved with remarkable detail, weather and age doing little to diminish the sense that they were judging everyone who passed beneath the gate. At their feet stood smaller carvings of yamabushi ascetics carrying staffs and scrolls, the stone polished smooth in places by generations of passing hands.

Fū, meanwhile, had immediately become distracted by the tengu statues that towered above us.

"Do you think they come alive at night?" she whispered from the corner of her mouth.

"No."

"You answered that awfully quickly."

"Because if giant stone tengu came alive every night, somebody would've mentioned it by now."

Fū considered that.

"Or maybe everyone who found out got eaten."

I opened my mouth, thought it through for a second, then closed it again.

Honestly, I'd spent enough time around ninja villages to admit that wasn't the dumbest theory I'd ever heard. Tengu did have mystical significance in the origins of ninjutsu after all, and the monks here did have a unique type of energy that they called the Gift of the Hermit Group that was capable of calling upon chakra constructs resembling mythical spirits straight out of Buddhism…

Best not to tempt fate.

Between the two (possibly sentient) statues, the characters for 'Fire Temple' were painted above a set of thick wooden doors inlaid with golden decorations, large and strong enough it would (literally) take an S-Rank ninja to breach with sheer force. The symbols formed a barrier around the temple grounds, embedded in the very walls themselves, placed there by Asuma's former comrade Chiruku. Normally you needed the specially attuned chakra the monks cultivated here to unlock the seal and open the gate, but now the wooden doors were swung wide already, a handful of monks patiently waiting on its doorstep.

News had clearly travelled ahead of us, Shibuki having kept true to his word. The monks greeted us politely enough.

Not warmly, though.

More than a few eyes lingered on the dark stripes visible on my muscled arms and above my collar. Nobody openly stared, but I caught several monks looking before quickly averting their gaze, while others watched me with the sort of measured caution usually reserved for unfamiliar weapons or wounded animals.

Not that I was particularly bothered by the looks. Considering their history with Sora's own physical mutations, their caution was understandable. Besides, I'd gotten fairly used to people staring by now. The pointed ears, elongated canines and dark markings spreading across parts of my body weren't exactly subtle, especially once someone got a proper look at me. Most people either tried very hard not to notice or became entirely too interested.

The monks landed somewhere in the middle.

They were polite, respectful, even. But there was a deliberate distance there too.

One of the younger acolytes lingered on my elongated claws a little too long before an older monk quietly placed a hand on his shoulder. The boy immediately looked away, chastised. He seemed oddly familiar, though I couldn't stop to study him properly.

The head monk, meanwhile, standing at the front of the welcoming party, continued observing me for another moment before stepping forward and offering a small bow towards our group, his shaved head revealing a network of age spots and old scars while his beige robes hung loosely from a frame that looked frail right up until one noticed the forearms corded with taut muscle hidden beneath the sleeves.

"Welcome to the Fire Temple."

The older monk's gaze lingered on me for another moment before shifting towards Tiger.

"Lord Shibuki's message was received several days ago. Accommodations have already been prepared."

Tiger inclined his head.

"Our thanks."

The monk returned the gesture before his eyes drifted back towards me.

There was no hostility there, but neither was there the easy warmth I'd seen the monks on the road show some of the other travellers. He looked at me like I was the sort of problem he'd rather let his bosses solve. Frankly, that was probably the most reasonable response anyone had had to me in months.

"You are Mizuki?"

"That's what I've been told."

One corner of the monk's mouth twitched.

"An unusual answer."

"I've had an unusual year."

That actually earned me a thin smile from the man, though the caution never entirely left his eyes.

"So I've heard."

Well, now I was left wondering just what exactly Shibuki had Elder Senji write his old pen pal. Beside me, Fū suddenly bounced forward before anyone could stop her.

"Hi! I'm Fū!"

The older monk blinked, taken slightly aback by the sheer exuberance suddenly shoved in his face.

"… I am aware."

"Oh."

She seemed oddly disappointed by the lukewarm response and the monk's voice turned gentler as he addressed the teenager.

"Lord Shibuki's letter was very thorough." He explained and the mint-haired girl immediately perked up at that.

"Did it mention I helped save the village?"

"Several times."

Fū beamed.

"Good. Shibuki-sama really is the best!"

The monk's expression softened slightly, the reaction noticeably warmer than anything I'd received so far. Then again, Fū had the social advantage of not looking like she'd recently escaped from a forbidden experimentation laboratory.

The monk gestured towards the gates.

"Come. The abbot has agreed to receive you once you have had time to settle in."

His eyes briefly found me again.

"Particularly you."

There was something in the way he said it that immediately put me on guard, though the man offered no explanation.

With that, the monks turned and led us through the gates and into the sprawling temple complex beyond, the chanting growing louder with every step as the Fire Temple slowly swallowed us whole. The scent hit me almost immediately as we passed through the gates. Incense, naturally, though not nearly as overpowering as I'd expected. It lingered in the air alongside the smell of old wood, freshly cut grass and cooking rice drifting from somewhere deeper within the compound.

Monks moved about their daily routines all around us. Some carried buckets suspended from shoulder poles, others swept the stone paths or tended to the gardens lining the walkways, while a few sat beneath shaded verandas quietly reading scrolls. What struck me most wasn't what they were doing so much as how they were doing it. Nobody seemed hurried, or stressed. Nobody appeared particularly concerned about anything at all.

I was beginning to suspect these people had discovered some secret meditation technique that allowed them to simply opt out of reality whenever it became inconvenient.

That or they had put some of the Devil's Lettuce in those incense sticks of theirs. Actually, what was the drug trade like in the Naruto world? I bet ninja scientists came up with all sorts of freaky chakra-enhanced psychedelics. Hell, some of the research from Hiruko's labs I had been steadily reading through mentioned several drugs as well, though those were mostly medicinal, paralytic or straight up poison.

Still, I did have some vague ideas of taking over Gato's smuggling ring once I made my way further south towards the Land of the Sea… Actually, it's probably best not to contemplate becoming this world's version of Pablo Escobar while standing in the spiritual heart of my home country.

The monk led us steadily deeper into the temple grounds before eventually stopping in a large central courtyard. Training fields occupied one side where groups of monks moved through synchronized forms with a precision that would've made a Hyūga proud, while meticulously maintained gardens serenely dominated the other edge, while a broad hall dominated the far end of the space, its entrance framed by massive wooden pillars darkened by centuries of weather and use.

"Guest quarters have been prepared."

That immediately got Fū's attention.

"We get our own rooms?"

The monk blinked.

"Yes."

"Like... separate rooms? With beds?"

"… Yes?"

Fū looked genuinely delighted by this development. Meanwhile I just shot the young jinchūriki a sideways glance as I couldn't help but wonder about her home life. The monk smiled encouragingly, thoughts clearly having gone down a similar path.

Tiger mostly just looked concerned at the idea of leaving me and/or Fū unsupervised, even to sleep.

To be fair, I was feeling roughly the same way about the Legendary Stupid Brothers, watching the two giants from the corner of my eye just as Tsubaki smacked Rajin on the arm with a disapproving huff when the younger brother was eyeing a nearby koi pond with a little too much interest.

Once again bravely deciding to ignore the giants' antics I clapped my hands together as I shot my group a winning smile.

"Let's get settled in, yeah? I have a meeting with the abbot to prepare for-"

"We have a meeting with the abbot." Tiger interrupted and I just shrugged at the interruption.

"Hey, I understand. It's only proper to pay respects to your former Master after all."

Yeah, judging by the glare burning from those eyeholes, I was going to have to sleep with a kunai underneath my pillow from now on. Just to be safe.

I quickly discovered that the Fire Temple's definition of guest quarters differed somewhat from my own.

When the monk had said accommodations had been prepared, I'd been picturing something roughly equivalent to an inn. A few spare rooms. Some beds. Maybe a communal bath if the temple was feeling particularly generous.

Instead, we'd been handed an entire guest house.

Not a mansion by any means, but a sizeable wooden building situated near the edge of the temple grounds overlooking one of the many gardens scattered throughout the complex. Sliding paper doors opened onto a broad veranda, while several private rooms branched off from a central common area large enough to comfortably fit our entire group.

Fū immediately disappeared inside.

"This place is huge!"

A door slid open somewhere down the hallway.

"And it has its own bath!"

Another pause.

"And actual mattresses!"

Tsubaki smiled as she stepped inside.

"Takigakure has mattresses too."

"Yeah, but these aren't my mattresses."

I blinked.

"That's the selling point?"

"Absolutely."

Fū appeared in the doorway carrying what looked suspiciously like an entire closet worth of extra blankets she'd already claimed for herself.

"Nobody can tell me to stop jumping on these." She explained smugly.

"That's because nobody expects you to start."

"Their mistake."

'And guess what? As of now, also their problem.' I thought as Tsubaki and I moved deeper into the guest house.

The ANBU quietly but efficiently claimed the rooms on the top floor and the Brothers had quickly installed themselves near the building's small kitchen. After a bit of awkwardness, Tsubaki and I took the master bedroom for ourselves. We've shared tents and even bedrolls during our journeys from the prison to Hiruko to Taki to here, and yet somehow that felt different to sharing a proper bed together for the first time.

More… domestic.

Not that either of us commented on it.

Tsubaki busied herself unpacking what little we actually owned, while I found myself standing near the open window looking out over the temple grounds

From here, the complex seemed even larger than it had from the road. Monks moved between buildings along winding stone paths, while a steady stream of visitors filtered through the outer courtyards. Pilgrims, merchants, travellers and the occasional local farmer all mixed together in a slow but constant flow that made the temple feel less like a secluded monastery and more like a small (if overly devout) town.

It was the first place I'd been in that truly felt connected to a larger outside world. Despite the business of the place, it all felt structured, purposeful. All of it radiating a content feeling of… peace.

It was an odd feeling (and wasn't that a depressing indicator of how my life had gone in this new world?).

Ever since waking up in Mizuki's cell, I'd spent most of my time either running from someone, fighting someone or manipulating someone. Usually several someones simultaneously. The fact that nobody currently seemed interested in stabbing me felt almost unnatural.

I was still trying to decide whether that counted as personal growth or if I'd simply become far too comfortable with attempted murder when a polite knock sounded at the door. Three sharp taps, measured and deliberate in a way that somehow managed to feel distinctly monastic.

Tsubaki glanced up from where she was unpacking the contents of her pack.

"Come in."

The door slid open to reveal one of the younger monks from the welcoming party. He couldn't have been much older than thirteen, his robes still lacking the worn familiarity most of the older monks seemed to carry so effortlessly. The moment he realized he had both of our attention, he bowed politely, if perhaps a bit too deep by this world's standards.

"Mizuki-sama. The abbot will receive you now."

That was still going to take some getting used to as I blinked at the deferential tone. Having spent the majority of my time in this world as either a prisoner, a test subject or the henchman of a missing-nin had left me distinctly unaccustomed to being treated like a respected guest. Tsubaki smiled faintly as she caught my expression.

"Try not to antagonize any religious authorities."

"That sounds dangerously close to a challenge."

"It was a warning."

"Ah. No promises."

I grabbed my flak jacket and stepped outside, gesturing for the kid to lead on, before I glanced up to find Tiger already standing on the veranda.

Of course he was.

The ANBU captain stood at the railing overlooking the gardens, looking as though he'd been waiting there for several minutes, arms folded and posture perfectly straight. Either he'd anticipated the summons or he'd simply never relaxed enough to leave. Probably both.

The young monk bowed again.

"This way, please."

Neither of us spoke as he led us away from the guest house and deeper into the Fire Temple.

The route took us through parts of the complex we'd yet to see. The public spaces gradually fell away behind us, along with the pilgrims and travellers moving through the outer grounds. The further inward we travelled, the quieter things became. Monks still moved about their daily routines, but there were fewer of them now and those we did pass tended to be older, their robes somehow feeling more stately despite the fact all ninja monks wore the same simple outfit. It was a stark difference to how the Elders of Taki had differentiated themselves with elaborately decorated robes from the common fishermen and tradesmen.

Eventually we crossed a small stone bridge spanning a narrow stream before arriving at a modest building overlooking one of the temple's inner gardens.

Compared to some of the larger halls we'd passed, the structure was almost disappointingly ordinary.

The young monk, a child really, stopped outside the entrance and slid the door open.

"The abbot will see you now."

As the highest-ranking shinobi in our group (technically speaking, at least, considering only Tiger and his ANBU were officially Konoha ninja while the rest of us were here on Taki's behalf), he stepped inside first, leaving me little choice but to follow in his footsteps.

The room itself was surprisingly modest. Tatami mats covered the floor while dark wooden beams supported the ceiling overhead. A single scroll hung within a small alcove at the far end of the chamber, its calligraphy rendered in bold black brushstrokes I couldn't quite make out from where I sat. One side of the room stood open to a carefully maintained garden beyond, allowing sunlight and the faint scent of incense and old tatami to drift inside alongside the distant sound of running water. For the spiritual heart of one of Fire Country's oldest institutions, it felt remarkably unpretentious.

The room was spacious but sparsely furnished, dominated by a low table positioned before an open view of the garden outside. Waiting there were two men, though they differed vastly in appearance.

One of them I was pretty sure I recognized, even if my memories of his filler arc were hazy at best and I had been more focused on Kakuzu when the bounty hunter delivered the man's corpse. But if I was not mistaken, the tall man with the severe face and glaring at me like I had tracked mud all over his sacred grounds (I surreptitiously checked my sandals just to make sure indeed I hadn't) was Chiriku.

Former member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja, master of the Fire Temple's unique chakra and sealing techniques and, from everything I remembered from my past life, the strongest monk currently residing within the complex. The fact that someone barely older than Asuma occupied what was effectively the second highest position within the Fire Temple stood as a testament to his extraordinary skills. This was a man who had (however briefly) singlehandedly stalled two practically immortal S-Rank missing nin.

I wonder what he did that pissed someone off enough to place a 30 million ryō bounty on a monk of all people?

Then again, he'd worked security for the Fire Daimyo for years. The list of possibilities ranged from "thwarted an assassination" to "threw a nobleman's son through a wall."

Yet despite the tantalizing question, my attention was soon dragged towards the second (considerably older) man.

Not merely elderly, but properly ancient. Deep wrinkles creased every inch of Chūkaku's face, while a thin white beard hung from his chin and the passing of many years had reduced him to a wiry frame that looked like a strong gust of wind might carry him off if he wasn't careful.

And yet, for all that, the old monk seemed entirely at peace.

He sat cross-legged beside Chiriku with his back straight and a string of prayer beads loosely wrapped around one hand. At first glance, there wasn't anything particularly imposing about the diminutive abbot of the great Fire Temple. That, more than anything else, was what made him stand out.

The Naruto world had a habit of announcing powerful people. They were the ones with impossible physiques, impossible chakra reserves or impossible reputations. They filled rooms merely by entering them. Chūkaku looked more like somebody's elderly doting (and slightly senile) grandfather than the spiritual leader of one of Fire Country's oldest institutions.

Chūkaku's eyes settled on me and for a brief moment I had the uncomfortable feeling that he'd somehow caught the direction of my thoughts.

The old monk smiled knowingly.

"Greetings, Tiger-san, Mizuki-san. The great Fire Temple bids welcome to you both." He said kindly in a croaking voice that nonetheless conveyed a greater strength than I would've assumed from a living fossil.

Besides me, Tiger bowed and I hurriedly (if somewhat clumsily) followed suit.

"Thank you for having us. We are in your care." Tiger spoke formally.

"Please," Chūkaku said, gesturing towards the cushions opposite him and Chiriku, "Sit."

Tiger settled onto the cushion opposite Chiriku with the ease of someone who had spent entirely too much time sitting cross-legged in formal meetings. I followed a moment later, doing my best to imitate the movement and only partially succeeding. Years of Academy instruction and one extremely unfortunate stint in prison had done little to prepare me for the finer points of dignified sitting.

Tea had already been prepared for us, perhaps by that strikingly familiar boy from before, though I couldn't spot him now. I had a feeling I knew who the curious child might be, but right now wasn't the time to make inquiries, not with the head of the monastic order and an ANBU captain right beside me. It'd make my true purpose for coming here far too obvious. Instead, I focused on the monks on the other side of the low-slung table. A small ceramic pot rested between them alongside four cups, steam lazily curling upwards into the afternoon air.

Chūkaku poured tea for each of us personally despite Chiriku's obvious willingness to do it for him, showing us both great favour, which only served to make me nervous instead. The old monk's hands remained perfectly steady throughout, the years showing themselves in his appearance far more than in his movements. After murmuring our quiet thanks, Tiger and I politely picked up our cups, though I was curious to see how the ANBU captain would drink his tea with his porcelain mask in the way.

I was distracted however, when Chiriku set his cup down with quiet care before turning his attention to Tiger.

"Lord Shibuki's letter reached us several days ago," Chiriku said.

Tiger inclined his head.

"Then you are already aware of the circumstances."

"Some of them."

The younger monk glanced out towards the garden for a moment before returning his attention to the ANBU captain.

"Shibuki-dono's account was... enthusiastic. Perhaps overly so."

That sounded about right.

"Elder Senji's was considerably less so."

That sounded even more right.

Chiriku's expression softened slightly.

"The two letters described many of the same events, yet somehow managed to leave very different impressions."

Tiger was silent for a moment.

"That does not surprise me."

"No," Chiriku agreed. "I suppose it wouldn't."

The monk folded his hands inside his sleeves.

"Lord Shibuki appeared convinced that Takigakure owes Mizuki-san a debt it may never fully repay. Elder Senji seemed determined to reveal as little as possible while still remaining polite."

I didn't particularly blame Senji for remaining vague in his correspondence. If I were an elder of a hidden village, I probably wouldn't put details involving Hero Water, forbidden techniques and existential threats to national security into a letter either.

"A reasonable position," Tiger agreed.

Chiriku's gaze shifted towards me for the first time.

"Indeed. Yet one that leaves several questions unanswered. Questions I would now pose to you directly. How does a former Academy instructor escape prison, survive experimentation by the mad missing nin Hiruko and finally leave Takigakure carrying enough influence that the village leadership itself writes glowing recommendation letters on his behalf?"

Well, if you put things like that…

I opened my mouth.

"Forgive me, Chiriku."

Chūkaku hadn't raised his voice. Hadn't even looked away from his tea. Yet somehow the interruption felt neither rude nor abrupt, yet also impossible to ignore.

The old monk slowly set down his cup.

"The answer is undoubtedly fascinating."

A faint smile touched his face.

"And I suspect considerably longer than this afternoon allows."

That was probably true.

"However, I find myself curious about something else."

For the first time since entering the room, Chūkaku's full attention settled on me.

It was oddly uncomfortable I realized as the man slowly turned his prayer beads in one hand, while ponderously running the other through his thin beard.

"The events that brought you to the Fire Temple are certainly important, Mizuki-san," he said. "But they are not the true reason you are here."

The statement hung heavily in the air as I could feel Tiger's silent stare bore into the side of my head. The old monk continued.

"I'm not particularly interested in who you used to be, or even in everything that's happened to you."

His eyes remained on mine.

"What really interests me, is who is truly sitting here now."

I found myself staring at him, caught off guard by how easily he had cut through everything else.

The question sounded simple on the surface. Almost disappointingly so after all the discussion about prisons, experiments, missing-nin, and village politics. Yet the longer I sat with it, the more uncomfortable it became. Every answer that immediately came to mind felt incomplete somehow, insufficient before that patient gaze that I was beginning to realize saw so much more than I had thought at first.

It wasn't a simple question at all, I realized, not with how Chūkaku had phrased it.

"If this is in regards to Mizuki's amnesia, let me assure you, oh revered elder, that his condition was confirmed by my own ANBU-" Tiger started to my surprise, though whether he was defending me or the skills of his operatives I couldn't say.

Chūkaku nodded politely at the interruption and yet the tiny gesture of the frail old man carried enough weight to instantly silence the captain's words.

"One does not need to look to their past, in order to proclaim who they are today, nor who they choose to become tomorrow. So, I ask again, young Mizuki. Who are you?" the elder pressed slightly, though his demeanour remained utterly calm.

"I'm… me. With all of the gaps and all that has been added, I'm just… me. Or I hope so, at least." I eventually answered, surprising myself with my honesty as the ancient elder pinned me with a heavy gaze before he tugged on his thin beard, wrinkly face stretched in a comforting smile.

"For many of us, being ourselves is the best that we can hope to be. However, you or your idea of you, has been compromised, has it not?"

'Damn this guy is scary…' I gulped down the rest of my tea in a hurry as I tried to regain control of both myself and the conversation.

"Hiruko changed me." I said after taking a steadying breath.

Neither monk interrupted.

"The physical changes are obvious enough." I said with some self-deprecation as I lifted one hand slightly, exposing some of the dark markings visible beneath my sleeve.

"Hiruko spent decades modifying himself. Altering his body. Incorporating parts of others into himself until there wasn't much left of the original man."

The old monk nodded.

"And you fear the same fate."

"Something like that."

Which wasn't entirely a lie. It just wasn't the complete truth.

"I know what Hiruko became." I continued, remembering the man's obsession. The cold certainty with which he'd reduced every person around him into a tool, a component or an obstacle.

"The body is one thing," I continued. "The spirit is another."

The room remained quiet.

"Hiruko's modifications changed more than his appearance. Somewhere along the way he stopped being a man and became..." I searched briefly for an appropriate word. "Something else. Something wrong."

That earned a thoughtful nod from the elder monk.

"If the body changes enough, does the person eventually change with it?" he mused aloud, looking into his tea as if the steaming liquid held the answer.

I for sure didn't, so I just settled awkwardly on my cushion as I tried to ignore Tiger and Chiriku's stares. Chūkaku didn't look up as he continued thinking aloud, though this time I felt the raspy words were aimed at me.

"A man may lose an arm or an eye and remain the same man. He may scar, age, weaken or grow strong and remain the same man. Perhaps, if time allows, a better man than he had been before."

Then the monk glanced up, vast wisdom in his steely eyes as he studied me from across the table.

"And another may wake each morning in the same body he possessed the day before, yet become someone entirely different. Men rarely walk into darkness all at once. They do it one reasonable decision at a time."

It felt like a warning somehow and my claws tightened around the clay cup in my hands. After a moment however, the great elder smiled, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening into laugh lines, taking me off guard.

"Hiruko did not become Hiruko because he altered his body," he said comfortingly, "He altered his body because he had already begun becoming Hiruko."

'That… somehow made sense, I guess?'

"You claim you fear corruption, of the mind and spirit. I do not think that is entirely true. I think you fear becoming powerless. Fear governs you, Oniyuri Mizuki, disguising itself as determination, as it so often does. You act as if frightened by that which is yet to come. It is for this reason that you seek strength, to overcome the holes left in your shattered past."

Now the elder monk's tone became sterner and I found myself sitting straighter.

"Fear has a way of convincing us that every compromise is temporary. Each step further is one taken to preserve yourself. Yet I ask you: at what point do these steps mean you begin losing yourself instead? What lines will you keep redrawing in the sands until one day you look up to see you've been drowning in the depths all along?"

A chill ran up my spine at the warning and I found myself working my jaw several times, trying to refute the man's words.

"You're asking me to let go of my fear. My fear is what has kept me alive. It has kept innocents alive! If it weren't for me, Shibuki-!"

The old monk wasn't having any of it.

"I say it to you now, Oniyuri Mizuki and take heed of these words: do not fear the death of the body, for that is not true death, merely the passing from this world into the next. Fear the true death, the death of self, for that is a slow death, an inconspicuous killer pretending to be your greatest ally, yet one that can deal you a blow like no other, leave you wretched and broken for all of time until the return of the Sage of the Six Paths and the end of all chakra."

Chūkaku didn't shout his words, hadn't even raised his voice. He hadn't needed to. The entire building was steeped in his essence as he examined me with a gaze that had seen everything under the sun, and all things that tried to hide in the dark as well. For some reason, in that moment, he reminded me of an angry Gandalf standing over a terrified and stubborn Bilbo.

Then the sensation of his presence diminished until all that was left was an elderly man stooped on his cushion, gazing into his tea with a forlorn gaze.

"… I was quite foolish in my youth, you know. Perhaps I still am, though none of the monks here would dare think such a thing of me. Perhaps foolishness is simply the human condition. But, in my experience, fools make for the greatest teachers and mistakes make for the best lessons. Take my words to heart, young Mizuki. Whatever path you have set yourself on, do not look towards its horizon; instead, look beside you, to those willing to walk it with you, for they are your true strength and it is in them that you may find your truest self."

This… this was not how I had envisioned this conversation going. Seeing Tiger and Chiriku bow in deference towards the old man, I couldn't help but follow, my forehead touching the tatami mats.

"… I thank you for your words, honoured Elder, I am grateful-"

"No you're not." Chūkaku interrupted me with a loud snort as he slurped his tea, leaving me sweatdropping at his blasé attitude.

Nonetheless, I forged ahead.

"I shall meditate upon them. I hope I prove wise enough to learn from their wisdom."

"Now that, I believe and I hope you shall." The elder grinned mischievously, before he let out a deep sigh.

"Please, excuse me, I'm afraid I must retire now. I tire easily these days. Any further business you have at the Temple, you may discuss with Chiriku. He basically runs the place already. Good practice too, once I finally kick the bucket one of these days." Chūkaku said as he slowly worked his way to his feet with a tired grunt.

Chiriku was immediately at his side, helping the ancient man up with a slightly annoyed expression that was expertly tailored into one of professional neutrality.

"Please, honoured master, you should not say such things. You shall guide us for many moons to come-"

"You don't believe that either." Chūkaku chuckled, patting the younger monk on his arm as Chiriku was left speechless.

As the ancient monk turned away from us, I found myself surging to my feet, desperate to at least salvage something out of this strange conversation.

"Oh honoured Elder, one final question if I may!"

"Sit your ass down, Oniyuri, didn't the Elder just say we tired him enough already-!" Tiger was of course right there in my face the moment I sprung up, but Chūkaku's voice halted him in his tracks.

"Of course, but make it snappy. I want my nap." The old man said with a yawn, his previous stately manner all but gone, leaving me a bit flatfooted.

"Ah, well… I was wondering… is it alright if I attended the ninja monks' training sessions during our stay here?"

"Absolutely not-!" Chiriku began.

"Sure." Chūkaku finished.

"Master?!"

"I will say this however, Mizuki. The Gift of the Hermit Group is not something studied and gained over the course of a few training sessions. The special chakra we cultivate here, a sort of non-elemental affinity, is something that we gain over our lifetime. It is something that is as closely connected to our way of life as it is to our martial arts forms. You can copy the movements, but until you understand the meaning, the intent and heart behind them, it will remain nothing more than mere mimicry." The old man warned, though the gentle smile that followed took most of the sting out of it.

"Still, I would encourage you, and those in your party, to participate nonetheless. The movements themselves have been designed and refined over the course of generations to calm the mind and purify the body. It is no cure, but I hope it still may prove of some aid to you."

This time I didn't need Tiger's prompting as I offered the ancient ninja monk a polite bow.

"I thank you for your kindness, honoured elder."

"Don't thank me yet! Sessions start at 6 AM on the dot and Chiriku here leads the monks through their forms. He can be a… demanding taskmaster." Chūkaku chuckled as he patted the tall man on his arm, the former Ninja Guardian suddenly gaining a worryingly enthusiastic glimmer in his eye.

As the ancient master hobbled away, Asuma's former comrade even went so far as to crack his knuckles as he shot me an appraising look.

"You know, I stand corrected. This may prove a very… interesting learning experience. For the both of us."

'… I might have made a mistake…'

Tiger's clear sense of smugness radiating off him didn't help matters. Wait…

"How the hell did you finish your tea?! I didn't even see you move your mask?!"

---

Fun Fact: all of the characters in Naruto have different colours of chakra. This is accurate to chakra in Buddhism. That's why the Rasengan is canonically yellow, it's just that most of the manga is black and white and the anime turned everyone's chakra blue.

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on Patreon

 

[Bakkughan]

STEP 3.1​

​

---

Tsubaki woke me with a hand on my shoulder and the unwelcome news that I had to get up. For a moment I stared at the dark window, trying to remember why, before yesterday's conversation with the abbot came back to me.

'Right. Monk training, at… six in the fuckin' morning. What joy. Past-Mizuki, you're such a bastard…'

I groaned and rubbed at my face, careful of the claws. Beside me, Tsubaki shifted onto her elbow, her loose hair falling over one shoulder as she looked towards the window as well. There was just enough light coming through the shutters to make out her face.

"Did you sleep well at least?" she asked softly.

"Sure. Until a certain someone woke me up." I muttered petulantly.

"The old monk did specifically tell you six. I'd hate for you to be late for your first day."

"I just... assumed there would be some flexibility." I whined.

Tsubaki raised an amused eyebrow at that.

"You assumed monks would be flexible about their morning routine?"

When she put it like that, I could see there might have been a flaw somewhere in my reasoning. She smiled at my small tantrum, though her hand stayed on my shoulder, her thumb moving gently over one of the dark stripes (which wasn't exactly helping in convincing me to get out of bed at this ungodly hour just to get beaten up by a bunch of monks).

"I can come with you, if you'd like," she offered as I finally sat up.

I glanced back at her. She was trying to stifle a yawn, with considerably less success than she seemed to think.

"Go back to sleep. No reason for both of us to suffer."

"Mizuki…" Her fingers caught my wrist before I could stand. "You will be careful, won't you? You're still recovering."

"I know. It's just training, Tsubaki." I said reassuringly, though the words became somewhat harder to say when I remembered Chiriku cracking his knuckles at me.

That earned me another small smile and she let go, settling back beneath the blanket while I got dressed. My shirt had ended up on the chair beside the window, folded neatly over the back. So had my trousers and I was fairly sure it hadn't been secret ninja monk maids who snuck into the room at night just to tidy up.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, holding up the shirt when she looked over.

"You're welcome. Come find me afterwards? We can have breakfast together."

I nodded, then hesitated by the bed before leaning down to plant a chaste kiss on her cheek. It caught her by surprise, her eyes widening slightly before she reached up to touch my face. By the time I straightened, she looked considerably more awake than before.

'Well… that's one way to make getting up worthwhile.'

Outside, the Temple was already bustling and awake despite the early hour. Monks carried buckets between the buildings, swept the paths and opened the shutters on halls that were still dark inside. Somewhere further down the slope, a cart rattled along the road towards the kitchens.

I followed the sound of feet moving across stone until I reached the training yard, where several rows of monks were waiting diligently beneath Chiriku's watchful eye. He had changed out of the heavier robes I had seen him wearing yesterday, leaving his arms bare beneath a sleeveless training garment. Seeing him properly now did very little to improve my confidence. The former Guardian Ninja wasn't enormous by shinobi standards, but there was a compactness to him that made his build more impressive up close, every movement controlled without any wasted effort.

Tiger stood under the covered walkway, his arms folded. Of course he was awake too. The man probably slept standing up, just so he could look disapproving at a moment's notice if needed.

"You're participating too?" I asked hopefully.

"No. I'm here to supervise you."

I glanced at the dark sky, then back at him. "You got up before sunrise just to watch me suffer?"

"Yes," Tiger said, sounding far too pleased with himself.

I opened my mouth to complain, but just then Chiriku clapped his hands.

"Mizuki-san," the former Ninja Guardian greeted me. "Join the back row. Leave enough space around you to extend your arms."

No threat, no remark about my arrival, yet somehow that only made me more wary. Still, I took the indicated place and copied the other monks as they bowed, keeping an eye on the man at the front while he led us through the opening stretches.

The first part went well enough. Whatever else Hiruko had done to me, he'd left me remarkably flexible for a man my size, and I had little difficulty following the movements. The increase in strength helped compensate for positions that would've otherwise put uncomfortable strain on my joints. The breathing took more attention though. Chiriku expected every breath to stay perfectly in time with the movements.

Which became rather more of an issue once we started on the actual forms.

Every movement flowed into another without pause. Blocks became strikes, strikes dropped smoothly into low stances before rising into sweeping kicks or open-palmed blows. I could remember most of the sequence after watching it a few times, but quickly learned that performing it properly was another matter entirely. The entire sequence was performed at a steady pace, slow enough that there was nowhere to hide sloppy technique.

Every time Chiriku passed behind me he found something to correct. My knee was too far forward, my shoulders were too high, I was turning my hips before I'd finished moving my weight onto the other foot. All things I could usually compensate for by being stronger and tougher than whoever I was fighting, but apparently that wasn't an acceptable tactic here.

Chiriku corrected me as we went, occasionally with a word, though he seemed to prefer using his staff.

"Lower."

I bent my knees further, only to feel the wood tap against the back of my thigh, sharp enough to sting, not hard enough to truly hurt.

"Lower."

I sank another few inches, my thighs beginning to ache. "How much lower do you want me?" I grunted through gritted teeth.

"Until you stop asking."

A muffled snort came from Tiger's direction. I would've turned to glare at him, but I suspected that would've just earned me another rap from Chiriku's staff.

He moved my elbow closer to my body and had me repeat the earlier move. This time, when he pushed, I could feel the pressure carry down through my legs instead of pulling me over. It was a small difference, but an annoyingly obvious one once he'd shown me.

I'd spent a good portion of my life in this world relying on memories of training I hadn't actually done myself, followed by a crash course under Hiruko that had mostly consisted of trying very hard not to die. The improvements to my body had carried me through the rest. Apparently there were a few gaps in that education.

'At least I've come to the right man to learn…'

Chiriku left me to practise and continued down the row. I kept at it, paying rather closer attention now, though from the way my thighs began to ache I suspected I'd be regretting that later. Already, the combination of constant tension and unfamiliar angles left me feeling like somebody had spent two hours carefully tightening every screw in my body one turn too far.

By the time he called a halt, sunlight had reached the far side of the courtyard. The monks bowed and I copied them a fraction too late before I straightened with a grateful sigh and rolled my shoulders, watching the other monks break formation. Some headed towards the washbasins while others remained to practise in pairs. A familiar brown-haired boy lingered near one of the pillars, looking in my direction until he noticed me looking back.

Sora. I'd suspected as much yesterday, but seeing him properly made it difficult to mistake him for anyone else. He was younger than I remembered from the anime, his robes a little too large for him and one arm held close beneath the loose sleeve.

Before I could think of a reason to approach him, Chiriku stepped into my path.

"Well then, Oniyuri Mizuki? How do you find the monks of Fire Temple's morning routine?" the former Ninja Guardian said with an expression that betrayed nothing, if not for the amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I'm starting to understand why monks are always talking about suffering." I said with a wince as I rubbed one of the spots along my poor thigh that had felt the sting of his staff.

Chiriku looked annoyingly pleased with himself, though before he continued, he quickly turned to call out orders and encouragement to some of the others before I could complain further. I turned towards Tiger instead, who hadn't moved from his spot beneath the walkway all morning.

"You could've at least pretended to be bored."

"I was supervising you."

"You were laughing at me."

"In my defence: you did fall over three times, Mizuki."

"Twice, actually. The third time was tactical."

Despite the mask covering his face, I knew Tiger well enough by now that I could tell he was raising a disbelieving eyebrow at me.

"Kissing the floor was... tactical?"

"It was looking at me suspiciously is all I'm saying." I said glibly, buffing my claws on my shirt.

A quiet snort came from one of the ANBU nearby. Tiger turned towards him, and the unfortunate operative immediately became fascinated by a nearby wall. Before I could further needle the ANBU, Chiriku had focused his attention back on me again and it seemed my body keenly remembered the man's staff as I found myself automatically standing straighter under his searching gaze.

"Have you recovered enough to continue?"

"That depends on what you have in mind."

"A short spar. I would like to see how you apply what you already know."

His gaze briefly travelled over my hands. I curled the claws against my palms, considering the offer. The man had been correcting me for the better part of the morning, and I was curious to see how much of that he could carry over into a fight. More importantly, this was an opportunity to fight somebody strong without having to worry about them actually killing me.

Probably. Tiger was still here, at least, though his willingness to intervene might depend on how entertaining he found it.

"Taijutsu only?" I asked.

Chiriku nodded. "Controlled contact. Stop when I call it."

I agreed and followed him towards an open section of the yard while a few monks paused to watch, Sora among them. I shook out my hands before raising them, keeping the claws tucked away as Chiriku settled into his stance opposite me.

He let me come to him.

My first punch met an open palm that guided it past his shoulder. I followed with the other hand, stepping in to keep him from moving out of reach, but he turned with me and drove his own palm against my ribs. The blow was restrained enough to sting without doing any real damage, though the placement made me grunt. I brought my elbow down to protect the spot and tried to catch him with a low kick, forcing him to step back.

He was fast, though I could follow him well enough. The difficulty was in actually catching him. Every time I committed to a strike, he moved just far enough to make me adjust, and by the time I'd done so he was already hitting me somewhere else. I managed to get a forearm in his way twice before he changed his approach, catching my wrist and turning beneath it.

I recognised the throw a moment before my feet left the ground.

Twisting, I slapped a hand down and using my enhanced strength, pushed myself clear off the ground, landing a few paces away in an undignified crouch. One of the watching monks made an appreciative noise. I would've enjoyed that more if Chiriku hadn't been standing exactly where I'd left him, looking entirely untroubled.

'Alright. Less chasing, more patience.'

This time I waited until he approached, giving ground when he struck instead of trying to block everything. His hand brushed my cheek as I leaned back, close enough that I felt the air move, and I caught his forearm before he could withdraw it. He immediately stepped in, taking away the space I needed to pull him down, but I had enough of a grip to keep him there while I drove my shoulder into his chest.

For the first time, he had to brace properly. I felt his weight shift against mine and pressed the advantage, using my greater size and strength to brute-force him back several steps before he turned sharply and brought his leg across my path. I widened my stance to stop the trip, only for his free hand to land against my jaw, hard.

"Stop." He immediately called.

We both went still. I had his sleeve bunched in one fist, the stitching beginning to strain beneath my fingers. His palm rested against the side of my face, his other arm trapped between us.

Chiriku withdrew his hand and I let go of the robe.

"You're quite strong," he said, looking down at the tears in his fabric my claws had left before calmly smoothing his dishevelled robes out. "But you stop defending yourself when you think you have an advantage."

"I was a little busy trying to keep hold of you."

"I noticed. Try again. This time, try to remember I have another hand."

There was enough amusement in his voice that I shot him a look, though I raised my guard without arguing. We went through several more exchanges, and while Chiriku remained the better fighter, I was beginning to get a feel for him.

Eventually I caught his wrist and pulled him in. Chiriku stepped closer rather than fight the grip, bringing us almost chest to chest as I crowded him, one forearm wedged between us while his other hand caught my wrist. I hooked my foot behind his ankle, but he shifted before I could sweep it and twisted my arm hard enough that I had to turn with him.

For a few seconds we stayed locked together, neither of us able to get enough leverage to do much about the other.

Then I opened my mouth and snapped my sharpened teeth at his face.

Despite all his discipline, Chiriku couldn't quite suppress a flinch at the sudden feint as he jerked away from me and I used the brief window in his stance to kick his supporting leg out from under him.

He hit the ground with me following him down, and before he could recover I planted a knee against his chest and caught one of his wrists against the dirt.

I grinned down at him, displaying the same teeth that had gotten me the win. "Got you."

Rather than looking particularly concerned about being pinned, Chiriku glanced pointedly towards my side. I followed his gaze and found two fingers from his free hand pressed against my back, just above my kidney, chakra humming underneath his skin.

"...Ah."

"If this were a real fight, you would have a considerably larger problem than sore ribs."

I looked at his fingers before fixing the monk with a cheeky grin. "But the use of chakra would violate our agreement to a taijutsu-only spar, whereas my teeth still count. Which means that by killing me, you would name me the victor!"

Silence smothered the courtyard as he just stared at me for a long moment before a smile finally broke through his composure at my flawless logic.

"That is true. If only in the technical sense."

"The most important of senses!"

That almost got an actual chuckle out of him. He tapped my side twice and I moved my knee away, offering him a hand. Chiriku took it and let me pull him upright while around us, the monks who had stopped to watch began talking amongst themselves. I was left breathing hard while his monk robes looked like he had gotten into a fight with a stray alley cat (and lost). Still, despite the speed and intensity of the fight (and my… less than conventional winning move), it had been a good spar, so I bowed, then winced as I straightened. My ribs had accumulated quite a collection of sore spots.

"Same time tomorrow?" I asked.

"If you intend to learn."

"I do."

He studied me for a moment, his expression turning, not exactly kind, but approving, before he returned the bow. "Then I will see you here."

Tiger fell into step beside me as I left the yard. I waited for the inevitable comment, but he seemed content to walk in silence, which somehow annoyed me more.

"Well?" I eventually asked.

"Well what?"

"You've been standing there all morning, amusing yourself at my expense. Surely you have something to say?"

"Your guard drops when you grab someone."

"Yes, thank you, I gathered that." I hissed as my fingers brushed lightly against one of my poor abused ribs.

He glanced at me, then towards the path leading to the guest house.

"Then perhaps try remembering it next time."

---

Tsubaki was waiting on the veranda with breakfast, her hair braided and a second cup set beside her own while Fū sat on the steps. The jinchūriki had somehow acquired an enormous bowl of rice, grilled fish, pickled vegetables and enough miso soup to supply a small family. A bowl balanced on her knees, and she waved so enthusiastically when she spotted us that several grains of rice escaped onto the path.

"Mizuki! Was it good? Did they teach you how to do the big spirit thing?"

"Mostly they taught me how to breathe and where to put my feet."

"Oh." She considered that for a moment. "I already know that."

"So did I. Or at least, so I thought. Apparently it was not up to the monks' standard." I groused, rubbing my thigh where Chiriku's staff had 'corrected' my form.

Tsubaki moved aside to make room for me and passed me the tea. Her eyes travelled over my face, pausing at my jaw before she reached up to turn it towards the light.

"Chiriku?" she asked as I saw her dark eyes flit ever so briefly towards where Tiger was leaning casually against a nearby pillar.

I nodded, taking a grateful sip while she examined the tender spot. "Nothing serious. It was a friendly spar and he wanted to see what I could do."

"And?"

"He ended up spending most of it showing me what I couldn't." I pouted.

Her mouth curved slightly, though she waited until I'd set the cup down before touching my jaw again. Her fingers were cool against the skin.

"Does it hurt to move?"

"Only my pride."

"Well, I don't have any medical ninjutsu for that I'm afraid." She brushed her thumb along the edge of the bruise, then let her hand fall. "Eat something. You'll feel better."

She'd kept a plate aside for me, which was fortunate considering the Brothers were already working their way through what remained in the kitchen and had to be prevented from stealing food off three separate plates. Raijin somehow managed to eat an entire boiled egg with the shell still attached.

I wasn't sure whether he had failed to notice or simply didn't care.

Between mouthfuls, I told them about the training and the spar, Fū listening with increasing interest once I reached the part where Chiriku had thrown me, immediately launching into a thousand questions. Tiger left before we finished, casually explaining that he had matters to discuss with Chiriku, once again betraying his familiarity with the ancient abbot. Whatever his connection to the Fire Temple was, he wasn't hiding it particularly well. For now, though, I had enough to occupy me.

Sora appeared while I was finishing the last of my rice, carrying a basket of clean towels. He slowed when he saw us all sitting outside, then approached Tsubaki to explain where the used ones should be left. His eyes kept moving towards me while he spoke.

"Thank you," she said, taking the basket from him. "You're Sora, aren't you?"

He nodded warily.

"One of the monks said you'd be looking after the guest house. I'm Tsubaki. Please let me know if we've left anything where it shouldn't be."

"The bowls go back to the kitchen," he said after a moment, indicating the dishes beside us.

"Of course. We'll bring them along when we're finished."

That seemed to leave him without much else to say. He glanced at my hands again, before catching himself and snapping his gaze away so obviously that he might as well have been trying to observe my claws with a telescope. Awkwardly, he shifted his weight as if he was about to leave and I scrambled for something to say.

'No don't go yet, my young science experiment- I mean, my uhh, young apprentice!'

"You watched the training, didn't you?" I asked.

His shoulders tightened. "I wasn't doing anything."

"I didn't say you were. I was just wondering if you practised with the others too. I was hoping for a sparring partner a bit more my speed than the head monk and a former Ninja Guardian, but I didn't see you out in the yard is all." I tried to calm the kid, though he just clammed up even further.

"I do train with the monks. Sometimes."

He didn't sound particularly happy about it either. I glanced towards the training yard, where several of the younger monks were still visible through the gaps between the buildings.

"Well, if you've done it more than once, you're ahead of me at least." I tried to lighten the mood.

"You kept standing up too early," he said, the observation coming out quickly enough that he almost seemed surprised by it himself. "When you turned. You're supposed to stay low until the end."

"That would explain why he kept telling me to get back down." I nodded.

Sora looked at me for a moment, trying to decide whether I was making fun of him. I finished my tea while he considered it, setting the cup beside the rest of the dishes before getting to my feet.

"Would you mind showing me where these go? I've been following my nose so far, but there are enough kitchens around here to make that less useful than you'd think."

"I'll come!" Fū announced, scrambling up from the steps. "I haven't seen that part yet."

She'd barely finished speaking when a shout came from the garden behind the house, followed by an enormous splash. Tsubaki closed her eyes for a moment before handing me the basket of towels again.

"Take these inside, would you? I'll see what they've done."

A second splash followed, accompanied by Raijin loudly insisting that it wasn't his fault. Tsubaki hurried around the corner and I looked down at Sora, who was staring after her.

"… How attached are the monks to those fish?"

He gave me a disbelieving look.

"Right. Thought so."

By the time I'd put the towels away, Tsubaki had persuaded the Brothers to climb out of the pond and a senior monk had arrived to inspect the damage. I decided she had that well in hand and collected the breakfast dishes, following Sora down the path with Fū at my side.

She asked him about everything we passed. Most of his answers were short, though he did stop her from taking a shortcut through a small enclosed garden, explaining that the monks used it for private meditation (which of course immediately prompted what made meditation 'private' if it all took place inside of your own head anyways).

I listened quietly while they talked. We'd come here for Sora as much as anything else, and yet I still knew very little about his current circumstances. I knew what had been done to him. The problem was finding out what he knew without explaining how a stranger from Konoha knew more about his arm than he did.

When we finally arrived at the kitchens, an elderly monk directed me towards a stack of trays and thanked Sora for bringing us. His expression changed when Fū stepped past the boy, her shoulder brushing his sleeve. The monk's eyes dropped to Sora's covered arm, then quickly returned to her face.

"Mind you don't get underfoot, young lady. The kitchens are busy."

It was a perfectly ordinary warning, but the way Sora stepped away from her as if burned was less so. He tucked his arm closer to his side and waited by the door while Fū asked the cook what was for lunch.

I set down the dishes and followed him outside.

"Anywhere around here I can practise without getting in someone's way?" I asked. "I'd rather remember some of this morning before Chiriku has to teach it to me all over again."

Sora indicated a smaller yard further along the path. "They use that one for staff practice. Nobody's there now."

"Would you be willing to show me?"

He hesitated, then led the way. Fū caught up a moment later with the news that lunch was in two hours and that the cook had promised to keep something aside for the Brothers if we kept them out of his kitchen until then.

'Probably the most sensible precaution anyone's taken since we arrived.'

The smaller training yard was empty when we reached it, a rack of wooden weapons standing beneath an awning along one wall. I moved out onto the packed earth and tried to remember the opening stance from that morning, while Fū wandered over to inspect the staffs. Sora remained near the entrance, watching me with the same hesitant interest he'd shown since breakfast.

I'd barely made it through the first turn when he spoke.

"You tried to bite Chiriku-sama."

I glanced over at him. "In my defense, I was trying to feint Chiriku. I wasn't going to actually... y'know, do it."

"But he didn't know that."

"Which is exactly the point of a feint," I winked, straightening. "I wasn't getting out from under him otherwise."

Sora looked down at my hands again, his gaze lingering on the claws. I let him look, waiting while he seemed to argue with himself about whether he wanted to say something else.

"You could do more with that. The claws, I mean."

I spread my fingers, examining them. They'd certainly been useful so far, though I was still getting used to having weapons attached to the ends of my hands. Remembering not to scratch an itch too enthusiastically remained an occasional hazard.

"I'm open to suggestions."

He glanced up at that, then towards Fū, who'd abandoned the weapon rack to listen.

"With chakra," he said. "You could make them reach further."

That got my attention.

"You mean running chakra through them? To make them sharper?"

Sora shook his head, lifting his left hand as if he was about to demonstrate before apparently thinking better of it.

"Past them. If you can keep it together, you don't have to get close enough to touch someone."

For a moment, I simply stared at him as an image of Asuma's trench knives sprang to mind, the short blades extending into lengths of cutting chakra far beyond their actual edges.

'Well, shit. That would work, wouldn't it? ... well, as long as I don't turn my sausage fingers into spaghetti at least...'

Sora took my silence badly.

"It was just an idea," he muttered, his hand dropping again.

"No, it's a good idea. I'm trying to work out why I didn't think of it myself." I lifted my own hand, turning it to study the claws from the side. "There's gotta be a trick to it, or else every single ninja out there would be trying to scratch everyone's eyes out like they're catty old grandmas."

"Well... if you just run chakra through them and then attempt pure shape-manipulation you, uhm..." the kid trailed off awkwardly, but between Mizuki's past training and my own outside-context memories, I could piece the theory together well enough.

"Let me guess; you suddenly end up doubling the amount of digits you've got?"

"... gross, but yeah. Only if you mess it up though."

"Which, given the difficulty of pure shape manipulation, is less of an 'if' and more of a 'when'." I countered, frowning down at my hand.

Of course I had attempted the Rasengan myself when I thought I could get away with it (which wasn't often, considering ever since I left my cell, I had been almost constantly surrounded by both friends and foes and I hadn't dared practice inside said cell for fear of getting my head exploded by security seals). However, Naruto truly was some kind of jutsu prodigy, even if he only ever used three during his career. Even though the Rasengan was one of the few jutsu the audience had gotten the full training regimen for, shape-manipulation was hard (not to mention, it was a bit difficult to get my hands on a box of rubber balls out in the wilderness).

If everyone could master shape-manipulation in a week with just a box of balloons, then the Rasengan would've hardly qualified as the Yondaime's signature technique after all, much less considering his other famous technique was straight up literal teleportation. Of course the Rasengan had to match in impressiveness, which unfortunately also meant it matched in terms of difficulty.

It might be the absolute pinnacle of pure shape-transformation, that didn't make the lower levels of the craft a cake-walk. In fact, I was already well on my way mastering those lower levels considering my many unrelenting hours perfecting my Chakra Threads, but they were hardly suited for combat.

No, I wasn't pulling Susanoo or Buddha-chakra constructs out off my ass just yet. Still, Sora had managed something like this, hadn't he? And Asuma had shown Naruto how to do something similar.

"I'm assuming here that elemental shaped chakra works best. Wind chakra?" I mused, before shooting the boy a glance.

He nodded, looking a little less certain now that he had my full attention.

"Have you tried it?"

His expression closed almost immediately. The arm beneath his sleeve shifted closer to his body.

"… A bit."

"How though?"

"I... just have."

The sharpness of the answer made Fū glance at him, but I raised my free hand before she could push him for answers.

"Alright. You don't have to tell me." I said reassuringly.

I had a fairly good idea anyway. I remembered the ninja claw he used, and the damage his transformed arm could do. Apparently he'd been experimenting earlier than I'd realised, though considering how little I actually remembered of his part of the anime, that wasn't saying much.

What mattered was that he'd found something useful, and I had ten very good reasons to learn it.

"Would you mind showing me how to start?"

Sora blinked.

"You want me to... teach you?" he asked hesitantly, as if not even daring to hope.

"If you're willing."

"But you already beat Chiriku-sama. ... technically."

"By pretending to bite him while were basically hugging super hard. I'd like a few more options."

That got a short laugh out of Fū. Sora's mouth twitched as well, though he looked down before it could become much of a smile.

"I'm not that good at it."

"Neither am I. You're going to have to explain it to me anyway."

He rubbed his thumb against his fingers for a moment, then stepped further into the yard.

"Can you use Wind Release?"

---

AN: You can read up to 5 chapters ahead over on my Pa Treon

 

[Thiccc Shaedy]

Ehen. Good. You should just bring all your stories over and stop wasting your precious time and energy on a useless place like FFN.


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