Some say that the original sin was disobedience and betrayal. Adam and Eve betrayed God by disobeying his command and eating an apple that he really, really didn't want them to eat.
Zheus called bullshit on that. He always had. Even the first time he heard of the story, sitting bored out of his mind while the local priest babbled about curses and devils.
The old man of faith explained the Adam and Eve story with such conviction, such passion, that it almost seemed as he was there when it all went down.
- And we can all understand the moral of this story, can't we children?
Zheus remembered how the old man launched an inquisitive look at the whole room, his eyes calm and watery. Many little faces docked down, nervous.
Only a few dared to meet the priest's eyes head on. They probably thought to know the answer. The old man chuckled. He was almost going to ask one of those children who were trying the harder they could to disappear behind the backs of their classmates to give the answer when his eyes met those of Zheus.
His little eyes weren't asking to be chosen, brimming with a light of pure confidence as the other children that did know the answer.
No, in his eyes there was the blaze of defiance.
Seemingly ignoring the provocation in the little boy's eyes, the priest smiled gently addressing him.
- Oh, Zheus... do you have the answer?
The young boy looked annoyed at first. Then a slick smile appeared on his lips, he straightened himself up and then started to talk with absolute certainty.
- Yes. Adam and Eve are trash and God is a moron.
Gasps welcomed his tranquil and clear voice, while the eyes of the old priest widened incredulously.
Zheus, took the reaction as an encouragement and continued without any fear.
- There are two morals to the story: the first is that weakness is a sin, the second is that overconfidence can lead to a loss even if you're a god.
...
[Italy, Belluna]
The eerie night was illuminated only by the feeble cold light of the stars. The air was stained with the metallic smell of blood.
The only sound at first was that of heavy painting, that suddenly was overshadowed by a disturbing laugh. It started as a slow but soon the whole plaza began to echo with the overbearing sound.
On the floor, laying on top of red soaked cobblestone, Zheus looked vaguely at the sky shrouded in darkness and stars, laughing while his mind tried to regain focus.
After a while the pain he was feeling made him stop laughing, but he conserved a creepy smile on his bloodied lips.
Four bullets. His body wasn't able to even move now. He couldn't even turn his neck down to examine the state of his injuries.
- I'm stained by Original Sin? ...Yeah, you're kinda right... Overconfidence and stupidity.
The quantity of blood inside his mouth made his speech almost incomprehensible for the agent that was before him, gun pointed right at his body.
- Try with betrayal! You betrayed the Police Corp and this whole country when you started to help the Mafia! Where are your principles?! You did k....
Under a large police uniform, a young woman screamed while pointing her gun at Zheu's head. Her whole body seemed to tremble with more righteous rage each second it passed.
Zheus managed to understand only a little part of her monologue as his hearing was starting to become more and more confused.
Even his sight was rapidly worsening: the outlines of things were already so muddle that he could only see a blue shape with a golden head where before he could make out the figure of the woman who shot him.
Zheus chuckled, now he was almost numb to the pain he was feeling. That wasn't a good sign. Most probably his destiny was already sealed.
He never thought that he would end up dying is such a squalid place, lacking the force to even listen to the victory monologue of the woman who defeated him.
While the policewoman continued to scream, the already dim light in Zheus' eyes completely died down.
[Wind Desert]
Cries and screams cut the air with anguish while thundering clashes of metal resounded all around.
Tenuri moved silently from a carriage to another, scanning with his mind's eye each new area he entered.
The ninja could clearly feel some small living life forms between the rubbles of the destroyed carriages, probably insects, and also the camels that were nervously waiting for their owners.
However, he didn't sense any human chakra at all.
This meant that the merchants were wise enough to evacuate the zone when it became the battleground for a battle between magic users.
Tenuri suddenly stopped and his left hand's fingers bent in the tiger seal.
- I'm almost finishing recon, I still didn't find anyone who meets the criteria...
The mouth of the red-haired ninja didn't move, as he sent his message directly to the minds of his companions.
He received no response, but he already expected that: he was the only one in the group able to use medium jutsus. The other three members were obviously specialized in other fields.
His eyes fixed themselves on three far away figures that were fighting furiously against a single masked warrior and a bizarre large winged crocodile.
A cold glint surfaced in his eyes, as he thought how much he would berate the idiots of the Sand Palace that gave him and his team this hellish mission.
Rank C? Recuperating stolen jewelry? What a fucking joke.
When they closed on the Caravan, they were immediately attacked by a Silent Mask, a Jonin ranked one on plus!
Even more infuriating was that this slave warrior was noble-blooded and he knew how to use his natural ability to its fullest.
The beast that was flying around the slave guard, that green scaled crocodile with black scleras and large red wings, was called Anima.
The Eastern Flower's nobles described Animas as the divine manifestation of their superior bloodlines. Something that all the masses should venerate and worship.
However, in the Central Continent, ninjas saw them just as obscure Kekkei Genkai. While Innate Abilities were rare, they weren't the sign of the divine. Quite the opposite instead.
- Hmph!
Tenuri moved begrudgingly his eyes from the battle, bringing his attention over to the last carriages. Face somber, he started moving carefully that way.
He wasn't worried about his comrades at all.
His team, n°14, was the strongest Chunin group in the whole Village of Suna. They were all de facto Jonin, just waiting for the triennial Jonin Qualifications to get the title.
No, the slave wasn't the problem at all. The problem was the owner.
Silent Masks were the personal slave guards that nobles and rich people from the Eastern Flower Empire of the Southern Continent used to defend themselves. Stronger the warrior, the higher was the social status of the owner.
Someone so rich and powerful to own another noble? A Kekkei Genkai noble-blooded Jonin?
The identity of such a person was something that even his father, the genius Clan Head of the Nashakata Clan, couldn't possibly handle.
They had obviously sent a message to Suna, asking for help. While the Wind was already in conflict with the Eastern Flower Empire, this could lead to war if not handled properly.
The Chunins had tried to convince the Silent Mask to engage them in a civil discourse, but as it turned out the name that it was given to them wasn't casual.
The only choice remaining was to find the master of the slave and try to convince him to call back his warrior. Obviously, the arduous task felt on the Medium of the team.
Temuri, was speeding versus the last part of the caravan when he saw something with the corner of his eyes. Immediately, his mind's eye scanned the zone but found nothing.
Just to be sure, while moving he gave a fast look towards the back.
- ??
The Shinobi stopped his run, his hand moving rapidly to his side and unsheathing a short ice-blue blade.
A young man with bronze skin and pale short hair was looking at him from a couple of dozen of meters away. He was wearing a bloody grey robe but didn't seem injured in any way.
Temuri's mind's eye kept telling him that there wasn't anything where his normal vision saw the grim-faced young man.
Brow furrowed, the ninja of the Sand called out slowly.
- Medium...
Only another medium could temper with someone's else mind's eye.
The man seemed to notice the headband that Temuri kept around his left arm. His mouth twitched for a few moments, while a look of contempt flashed in his eyes for a second.
He then smiled and said something in a strange language, starting to move towards the Chunin.