This was going to be a trap. A big one at that.
It was morning, and my nervousness was shared by the three other bodyguards, a Kunoichi and two Shinobi, that were mustered for the unusual occasion. I couldn't blame them for looking this unsettled by the situation we were getting ourselves in. I felt my throat burning, the many regrets of not pushing the leader of Uzushio to not accept the visit now manifesting like a solid tapping from the back of my head. The Uzukage looked less uneasy than the rest of the group. I wasn't sure if it was confidence in the quality of the ninjas employed to guard him. I was sure we could have handled most of the ninjas from Kiri but…
The moment we entered that village, I could feel everyone was looking at us with malicious intent. I wasn't sure if this was willed by the Mizukage, or if this was just a normal attitude towards foreigners or even just the Uzumaki clan. But it definitely weighed a lot in my mind as it added to the already spooky appearance of the village, it all looked so desolate and… horror-like. Holding back a gulp, I looked around, noticing how many citizens, ninjas and not, stopped in their activities to just look at us. It was important for them to keep up this terrorizing campaign and leave us subjected to this kind of unpleasant glaring. Yes, this was actually working from a psychological standpoint. The fact I wasn't really that confident of delving deeper into the beast's lair was further reinforced by that crescendo of negativity.
"U-Uzukage-sama. We should retreat," One of the bodyguard shinobi remarked. "T-This might be beyond what we can try to protect you from."
"...The alternative is war, there isn't much of a choice."
"With all due respect, I think they will enact war as soon as we cross the door to the Mizukage's office," I hummed nervously. "It's not even a joke. They- I can tell they prepared for the seals to get back home."
"Kiri doesn't have Fuuinjutsu masters," The Uzukage argued and I grimaced.
"That doesn't mean they can't hire from other countries. Iwa had some people, same for Kumo."
There was some silence after that counterpoint, but I could tell that, at this point, there was no turning back. For the first time ever, I wanted to facepalm at the notion I was being set up to enter deep into numerous layers of possible enemy lines. I could feel a sense of unpleasant itching working its way up my throat. I knew, I could see on the spot, that this was going to turn ugly really soon. My unease just kept on growing, with my need to pick up a kunai and start murdering my way out of the village getting worse by each step we took towards Kiri's heart. Eventually, we arrived at the Mizukage's palace and I could tell that this is where shit was going to hit the fan. Just as we crossed the entrance and walked up to where the leader's office was, we were prevented from outright entering by the ninjas standing outside the room.
"Only the Uzukage can enter inside. Mizukage-sama requested for this to be a one-on-one discussion between leaders, without the need of guards."
This is bad. Really bad.
Before anyone could have protested this decision, the Uzukage nodded. "As guests to Kirigakure, we shall accept this humble request."
No, this is bad. But… this could also be good.
Just as we were escorted to a 'nice' place to wait for the meeting to be over, I started to think about the possibility that this could actually end up giving us the edge for any trap. As we entered the small room with a bench, two chairs and a lone window, I waited for the guard to close the door and… give us the chance to look for any seals that could turn this place into a dangerous setting to stay by. Nothing of such was detected, giving us the opportunity to actually plot around this development.
"Can you three use Shadow Clones without fainting after forming one each?"
There was a hint of confusion as I said it, but they nodded and formed a clone just as soon as I did.
"We will use the clones as decoys, going through the window and… checking if the Mizukage is as honorable as he said to be with this request."
This time, there was no hesitation. As the clones took care of behaving like us sparing a serious conversation about the matter, the real four jumped out of the window and slowly made our way towards the Mizukage's office, walking on the wall to reach some openings by the rooftop. From there, we had a clear sight and understanding of the situation inside and… it was as bad, if not worse, as what we had expected. The Uzukage was alone as he stood before the Mizukage and… most of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I could count six members, the Samehada user missing from sight, and, truth be told, I knew close to nothing about the first users of the legendary blades. I knew they weren't the strongest generation, but that didn't mean they were anywhere weaker than a mid-tier Jounin. This wasn't going to be fun.
"Konoha and Uzushio, I can tell they are plotting to hog all the power in the world for themselves, Uzukage-sama," The Mizukage, an old man with long white hair, a beard and crazy eyes, pointed out in annoyance. "It was shown in the war, your little group of friends, always loving each other and giving Kiri the least possible out of the possible chances."
"We gave your village ports to use. Economic advantages-"
"But it wasn't the same as the territorial gains that Hashirama-kun got! And I can tell we could have squeezed harder at Kumo. More ports, more people to exploit- and yet you picked the most lenient of the choice. Of course you were doing so to piss on our losses."
"That's not the case. Kumo took this treaty because it was the one they could accept. If not, the war would have continued-"
"And wouldn't that have been great!" The leader of Kiri interjected again, his annoyance growing by the minute at the efforts to justify how things ended back then. "We had the advantage, but you had to bleed your hearts over some foes that deserved our wrath. Our people, those we lost, forsaken for a piece of paper that didn't dignify their passing. Shame on Uzushio and Konoha for staining their memories, your reward shall be… our wrath!"
Just as he said these last words, one of the Swordsmen moved forward. I blinked, realizing that this one was using Kabutowari, Giant Axe and Hammer that could break through all kinds of defenses... and giving me an idea on how to handle the guy. The Uzukage, unaware of the purpose of the weapon, mustered numerous Chakra chains and rushed those towards the approaching swordsman. Surprise turned to horror as the chains were easily cut by the blade, allowing the swordsman to rush towards him without any true obstacle… except me.
I jumped into the fray just in time to push away the Uzukage, allowing the last strike to reach for him, but also giving myself the edge needed to push it back to the user through the momentum of the attack. One thing that made Kabutowari a hazard to its user was the fact that it was cumbersome and… had a simple issue. The rear section of the axe was dull, and it could be kicked back to the owner of the weapon. One moment, that's how long it took me to 'greet' the swordsman and then slam his own blade right to his throat, severing most of the head off from his body and killing him instantly. His body held up for a few moments, but fell down as a fountain of blood erupted from the cut I had created. There was silence as the other bodyguards reached inside, forming a defensive pattern around the Uzukage.
"Are you alright, Uzukage-sama?" I asked with a serious tone and the man… sighed.
"I'm fine. But… what's the plan?"
"Dying?" The Mizukage suggested, glaring right at me. "And you- you are the brat that vouched for the peace we got. Your death will be-"
"What about your commanders?" My voice sharply cut him off, the old man staring at me in confusion.
"What?"
"The commanders, those that had brazenly caused most of the losses in 'daring' attacks that saw us expending resources and troops to make sure our fronts were as spread as thinly as possible," I explained angrily. "Those that enacted the invasion hours earlier and forced our force on the land to rush to make sure they didn't get slaughtered on the beaches because they decided that 'a few losses on some forts' wasn't that bad. They are those that heightened the losses to that dramatic level, that's why I can tell that most of the ninjas are so upset with how things turned out to be."
"Lies will not save your country from-"
"I was there, I bled there, my friends almost died there- I know more than anything you can believe in, you crazy old man."
His eyes narrowed, but he didn't reply instantly as stunned by the poisonous tone I was using.
"Beware of the words you use, brat."
"Were you there to see? To see what was killing your people, Mizukage-sama?"
"...No. But-"
"Were you there to hear their grievances? I was there when part of our supply lines were redirected to sustain their issues because your commanders were bickering on who was taking the 'boring' task of dealing with that issue," I interrupted furiously. "I will also assume this move was something suggested by the same commanders because of a possible dissent in your troops. Have you spoken with your soldiers beyond your commanders, Mizukage-sama."
"I-I have nothing to say to a child of all people," The old man rebuked. "That revolt happened because of some peace-loving traitorous fools and-"
"What if you had been lied to, Mizukage-sama?"
"..." The man kept quiet, his irritation still the same as before, but I managed to achieve what I planned through that discussion. Put doubt into his mind. Sadly, it was just for a moment as I could tell from his expression, knowing already that this guy wasn't sane and that his paranoia was on the next level compared to other Kages of this time period. "And you are saying that you just 'assumed' that there was a revolt, boy?"
"Yes."
"And how should I trust you being unaware of this?"
I huffed. "I can tell that something big has to have happened for you to take these steps. Else, you wouldn't have planned this surprise attack to try and get a big win shortly after by capturing a headless Uzushio."
"But Mito-"
"Would have been a hostage to use against Hokage-sama," I argued back to the Uzukage. "That's why they decided to strike now."
"You sure are accustomed to tactics despite your age."
"I was the one that helped your troops while your commanders were busy boasting about their greatness once this was all over."
"Nonsense. And I demand you cease with these slanderous words."
"Or what? Will you send more Swordsmen to an early grave, Mizukage-sama?"
Two more swordsmen rushed forward, clearly upset by my taunt. They were wielding Kiba and Nuibari respectively. This time, I didn't have much of an advantage through physical means, but I had something that could handle this kind of 'lightweight' sword at once. I released the scroll containing Silver Chariot and swiftly took over its moves, rushing the puppet towards them, stunning them with its speed and using the shock as an advance to strike at the Kiba-wielding shinobi. His armor was torn under the momentum and the sharpness of the puppet's blade, a massive gash forming horizontally by their belly's area, spilling some of his guts out. The horrible yells woke the large needle-user from his surprise-driven pause, with the kunoichi growling as she tried to envelop the puppet in a combined assault from both Nuibari's frame and the thread it was weaving. But Silver Chariot was way faster than any effort used, moving through the attempts to capture it within the reach of the thin sword before going for the kill. The user of Nuibari gasped, a large injury forming by her throat and depriving her of the means to breathe, killing her shortly after. Silence reigned supreme before the massacre I just perpetrated, both sides plain shaken by the deadly precision I had just displayed.
"I would like to remind, Mizukage-sama, that I was in the war, and I had killed a large amount of foes to reach this level. At the same time, I didn't exactly cease my training, and so, in my humble opinion, I believe that any attempts to keep this infuriating display going will just piss me off at best and really push me to personally engage Kirigakure in a war."
The old man blinked, half-tempted to call my bluff on the spot, but reluctant as his paranoia held him back from the rational move. What if I was lying by telling the truth? What if I was really ready to wage a conflict on this village on my own? How many puppets did I have? How strong I was and… how great was my potential if I was Madara's apprentice?
"...You made your point clear."
I resealed the puppet and gave a long look to the elder leader. "I believe this situation about piracy will not be over. It wouldn't be bad to reopen trade with Kiri, after all, it has the potential to expand its village by improving it with better infrastructure."
The old man frowned at this. "You… consider improving Kiri?"
"Why not? The war is over, why do we need to fight over everything now? Expansion isn't exactly the only way to reach new heights for the people."
"...I see. But for now, you are all dismissed."
I was half-tempted to shoot something back at him, but the Uzukage grasped my shoulders and silently gazed at me to 'keep quiet'. We had done it, well, I kind of did, but right now it was best to use this opportunity to get out of there before any surprises happened during our hasty departure. We got what we came for, and we weren't in the position to push more than we did. It was lucky enough for me that the 'shock' had paralyzed the plans of the Mizukage, but it was best to not get too bold with this matter.
As the situation was dealt with, the objective was to get back to the docks without getting ambushed or followed. Good news is that we succeeded in that effort. I sighed in relief, pleased by the fact we managed to get through and away from this in complete peace. Of course, my expectations were soon to be dashed away during a conversation with the Uzukage and an ambush I could have foreseen. One that changed everything.
Forever.
"Danzou. I would like to speak with you about what happened with the Mizukage. And how you… you spoke of the war."
I tensed up at that comment, knowing that this was one of the 'are you alright' kind of conversation. Bracing myself, I slowly nodded. "What about?"
I know that the conflict was grim with Iwa and Kumo but, if it isn't too much to answer this, are you sure you have recovered from it?"
"Yes," I replied without hesitation, maybe a bit too forcefully since I wasn't happy with the topic. "It's just that I find it aggravating when someone lies about what happened there. It's not fair on those that died."
"Do you really believe Kiri experienced a revolt due to this?"
"Many of their soldiers were sick and tired of their commanders' incompetence, and there were voices of mutinous groups already before the peace was reached," I explained, shifting my attention on the water as the boat quietly shook as we ventured the trip back to Uzushiogakure. "Kiri tried to hide it away but… there was a sense of kinship between soldiers and those from Kiri were known to be desirous of having a leadership similar to Hashirama's. The Mizukage today proved their points to me by merely speaking and acting to minor slights."
"That we can agree to. Which is why, I have a small request in case… something bad happens in those days. The other guards shall bear this knowledge as an utmost information to relay to the elders of Uzushio."
I frowned at the unexpected shift of topic. "What?"
"It's possible that… this might not be the last attempt from the Mizukage, and I doubt next time you will be around Danzou-kun. I need you to promise me that you will work to preserve Uzushio, to help Shiko-chan through the pain if… I don't come back home one of those days."
That sounded like a death flag. Why the fuck am I hearing a death flag out of nowhere? Sure, it made some sense that the Mizukage wasn't going to take the defeat and lie down, but I couldn't see it becoming so dangerous for the Uzukage's life to be put in danger. But there was something I could say for sure, the Uzumaki clan had a fair sense of grasp when their demise was around the corner and… I hoped I was wrong in assuming something bad was soon to happen to the man.
"...You will come back all the time. I can assure you this much," I argued, causing him to sigh mirthfully at my guarantee, knowing that I was saying that just for… not making this so depressing and stupidly pessimistic.
"If only that would be the case for everything, Danzou-kun."
Before I could add more to that view, I froze when the boat suddenly trembled and water erupted from our sides as frigging sharks emerged and suddenly ate two of the three bodyguards within the boat. My eyes widened in shock, but I didn't hesitate to jump out of the boat, the Uzukage doing the same and barely so as something- no, someone came soaring from behind and cleaved the remaining guard with their sword. A chuckle, and I stared down at the mad-looking young man with long white hair and shark-like fangs. He was wearing a red half-sleeved shirt and short baggy gray pants under a layer of light armor. In his hold, currently resting by his left shoulder, was a bandaged sword that wriggled in excitement. Samehada.
"Oh my, aren't you truly fast, Shimura Danzou-chan~?"
I don't like where this is going.
"Who are you and why are you attacking us?" The Uzukage pressed, uncaring of the demented look on our current issue's face. "The Mizukage-"
"Said to let you be free, but… I'm bored, Uzukage-sama! I need some exercises and playdates from time to time and… the same goes for my sister. She will be here soon," The attacker interjected jovially. "I'm Hozuki Hachiro and today I shall be your opponent."
"You are picking the wrong fight, Hozuki-san," I warned and the man's smile widened, his attention focusing mostly on me.
"You're the one that slayed half of my siblings, aren't ya~?" The young man hummed mirthfully, holding back a degree of… curiosity. There was no anger, only thirst to try me out. He quickly rushed for me, trying to get me with Samehada and… I frowned as I noticed how intense the sword was even as I stopped it with Star Platinum. Knowing my current luck, it would have been foolish to rely on a speed-based puppet such as Silver Chariot, and Star Platinum's body had enough layers of armor to not be destroyed by Samehada's growing nail-like shards as those cut through the bandages.
"Woah! You have another puppet! What does this one d-" Truth be told, I wasn't exactly worried by this guy. His sword was the real threat if it managed to get too close to me and tap into my reserves as I could already feel its drain trying to get to my chakra strings. Sadly for Samehada, its user wasn't prepared for the punch slamming on the side of his head, the crunch soundly deadly, but only sparking more amusement as the Hozuki, now facing a concussion, was put in a worse situation. Just as I advanced and tried to put an end to this ambush, I perceived something coming from the side. I jumped up, dodging just barely a shark that had sneaked on my left and had tried to eat my arm from the trajectory it moved in.
Hachiro grinned ferociously, rushing forward once again to capitalize on the fact I was distracted with that summon to slam Star Platinum away and get towards me. Before I could intercept the insane bastard, I paused as I saw numerous chains emerging from… the Uzukage.
"I'm still here for the count, fool."
"You are!" The foe hummed. "But not for long?"
I was confused at first by that banter, but I saw something familiar soar over his head from his hand and towards the Uzukage. A smoke bomb. The experienced shinobi threw a shuriken towards the sphere, but the detonation still released enough smoke to cover his sight. I rushed forward to deal with him for good, knowing that there was something bigger than just a distraction to get released. I hastened a quick Fireball Jutsu, trying to finish him off now that he was paused but… something jumped between the approaching attack and the grinning Hozuki. I blinked as the Shark summon tanked the flame and died due to it and… that's where I remembered.
Blood erupted from the dead monster, but it only made things worse as the shark lurking underneath was suddenly driven by a blood-craze. The Uzukage didn't know of this, the swarm of carnivorous predators swimming fast towards him and attacking him. Hachiro tried to say something, but I didn't bother as I slammed him away and rushed towards the source of the yells of pain as the sharks started to maul at the Uzumaki leader. Armed with kunais, anger and pressure as I knew that the second attacker was bound to arrive anytime soon now, I cut and slashed as hard as I could to kill the sharks without letting them rip the man apart.
Good news was that I got through it. Bad news was that the injuries weren't going to get any better. This entire mess had to end for good. I jumped and attacked with as much vehemence as possible, easily overwhelming my opponent once again with my puppet but… something strange happened. Something bit my leg. I looked down and realized that this shark was much smaller, but still having sharp enough teeth to hurt with that bite. I used my left hand to throw a kunai to stab it, the effort successful as I was freed by that hold but-
"Oh, she is here!"
She? The sister? I couldn't perceive anyone on the spot, and I got a clear understanding that all summons were now dead. A bluff? I was about to call it when… I felt it. The water trembled, just briefly, and I heard a loud splash as soon as I turned around to try and dodge the second attacker. As my right eye started to look behind, I… I saw it. It was too late. A pointy and sharp edge owned by the leftmost section of a trident's upper end. The whole attack on the Uzukage? The small shark keeping my focus on the immediate situation and not to my outward surroundings? All a bunch of distractions meant for… me.
The older sibling had stalled for this 'dynamic' entry, to allow his sister to pick up speed through the water and be able to launch a sudden attack at a neck-breaking speed. I tilted back, pushing my entire weight into that move to get out of the way. I was in an exposed spot, my expectations of surviving without an injury were pretty small and I moved for the sake of not being utterly killed by that surprise attack and… I didn't. But I still got damaged by it. My sight, the bit that came from my right eye, went red. I couldn't see from it as blood splashed out of the attack, tearing into it, pulling it out of my head and soon I was left half-blind in the process. The pain was excruciating and I almost lost focus as I felt my wobbly legs faltering in keeping the steady chakra flow to keep on walking on the water.
"Danzou-" The Uzukage tried to intervene, weakly so but was stopped by the mad Samehada user as he swung his sword to falter his approach.
"No, no~! You can't interrupt my sister's playing. After all, she is the most bored of the two."
Gnawing my teeth, I finally got a proper look of the 'sister' and I was a bit surprised by the fact that she looked fairly younger than me. Around Yoshiko's age. She had white hair like Hachiro, but hers had some of the locks with red edges. Red eyes playfully and crazily aimed at me as she prepared her blood-stained red trident for more. She wore a knee-long black-and-white shark-themed dress with big sleeves as a shark-like tail wagged from behind. Yep, this one didn't seem much, but she still did something many of my foes would have been delighted to see happening. Delivering a dangerous injury on me as I doubted my eye was recoverable. My best shot now was getting a transplant for a new one and hope it actually worked as good as the original one.
"That's a scary look on your face, Dan-kun~!" She said cheekily. "I'm Hozuki Gura, let's be the bestest of friends!"
She suddenly rushed towards me, brandishing her trident tightly as she tried to get any free shots out of me. Sadly, without the element of surprise she wasn't much of a threat, her speed was manageable and her moves were lacking in terms of effective experience. She was… just lucky she got that nasty hit on me, because it really made it a bit difficult to see attacks coming from my dominant side. I was upset, I lost my eye, but I had to keep my mind clear and my resolve aimed right on this battle if I didn't want to get anything worse than that.
"Wha- why are you this fast!?" Gura lamented, upset that I wasn't just staying still and allowing her to get a free shot on me. Instead of giving her an answer, I just rushed forward and cut on her wrist, lessening her hold on the trident before forcing her to drop him by kicking her on the chin and away from me. Gura stammered at this, jumping back in the water to retrieve her weapon and leaving me to regain some confidence in the situation. It was easy to deal with something like this.
"Is this all you got?" As I said that, I saw Hachiro jumping at me, Samehada unleashed as he pressed me onto a more defensive approach. I took my short sword out of the scroll where I stored it, knowing I didn't have the time to release Star Platinum again and use it to block the assault. My Kenjutsu wasn't the best, but I knew how to use my sword and it to steer the sentient blade away as I knew better than letting it get too close. And I didn't need to lose more chakra than needed. I was already running at half-power, bleeding profusely from my head, and I really didn't want a harder challenge for myself.
"Now, that's not nice!" The older Hozuki snarled angrily. "My little sister was just trying to make a friend. And here you are, hurting my little angel."
"Kindly fuck off," I replied, forming a Rasengan on my right hand as my left one held the blade pushing back Samehada, giving me the chance to slam the sphere of chakra onto the guy's side and sending him flying away. I took this chance to look at the Uzukage and felt panic rising on me as I saw the man clutching his left side, a large piece of his flesh missing as it had been torn by the ferocious blade. Adding that to the previous damage, I knew this battle wasn't worth continuing. I could win it, but he wouldn't live through it. I rushed up to him, helping him out of the water as he had slowly started to sink because his chakra wasn't working as intended.
It took me a moment to summon Kiara, she realized quickly the situation was pretty bad and took off with us as soon as I got the wounded Uzukage on her left claw, carefully gripping him as to not worsen the injury. The Hozuki siblings tried to stop us, but the Phoenix soared quickly out of the way and we managed to escape trouble. I felt slightly relieved, I felt like we really avoided a losing battle because I was running out of chakra and because they had an advantage being in the water with many sharks swimming around. Now we could retreat, plan a counterattack and be done with this. The Uzukage was going to be fine as Kiara's tears were already healing his damaged body and-
"D-Danzou-"
I blinked, surprised at how fragile the man's voice was.
"Don't speak, you're still in critical conditions and-"
"T-Thank you. My daughter… she needed someone to… to believe in," The redhead muttered, his strength fading at a worrying pace. I was confused, the wounds were healing, he should have been fine and all but- "Please… keep her safe."
"No, don't you dare die here! I said-!" Before I could have gone through with it, I stopped, my jaw dropping as I felt his hold finally relaxing, his pulse growing cold. He was- He was no longer there. I was baffled. How did it happen? I knew Kiara's tears were repairing his body and… then I realized the issue.
His body was recovering, his chakra not. Samehada had devoured part of his core, probably damaging it and, even as it was being fixed, it happened too slowly to prevent his whole body from collapsing at the lack of chakra coursing within him. He was limp, his glassy eyes aimed at the ocean below and… And I knew at that point, that bitter taste in my mouth, that strange taste that mixed with the blood-
It was the taste of the worst kind of defeat.