"Let's show them the power of the Kaguya clan!"
"Yeah!"
"Aaargh!"
They charged toward Ryuu, yelling out their battle cries.
Whoosh! Ryuu runs towards them with no weapon at all.
Ryuu moves swiftly through their attacks, dodges, and counters all attacks.
They throw kunai with explosive tags on it, but Ryuu catches it and seals it away.
Ryuu threw multiple Kunai toward them, and teleported to them, he broke their bones with powerful kicks and punches.
The members of the Kaguya clan didn't give up, they relentlessly attack him, even after being hit. This gave the rogue shinobis a few seconds or a minute to think of an attack or their next action.
"Where is Zabuza?" One of the rogue shinobi asked, he sounded shaky, he was terrified of what he saw ahead of him.
Bodies were falling in mere seconds, while Ryuu couldn't even be seen.
"Whatever you do, don't blink!"
An older man stated.
He seemed experienced, that's why he was leading them.
"In the war, they advised us to never blink when fighting a user of the Sharingan, but never look directly in their eyes, that's what makes fighting them dangerous because…"
He stopped moving.
"Captain!" They look back, only to find him out cold on the ground.
"What?! I didn't even see him!"
"Stay close, keep a tight formation, and cover each other's backs!" One other shouted.
"Pathetic." Ryuu's voice sounded far, they looked for him, trembling in fear and shock.
They couldn't even hold their katanas properly.
"So weak…" his voice echoes in the trees. He moves from one place to another, making him nearly impossible to find.
"Hahaha!" Ryuu chuckles while moving around, confusing them.
"Show yourself, you coward!"
Ryuu stopped running around and simply stood above them on a tree.
"You ambushed my friend, he was alone without a team, only with his weapons, and I'm the coward?"
Ryuu charges up his hand with lightning release.
"Be grateful the Mizukage wants you all alive because I wouldn't have wasted so much of my time for you ungrateful bastards!"
"Why you-"
His eyes nearly pop out of his head.
He feels an intense glare from behind, and a cold sharp kunai on his neck.
"Never think about doing this again, am I clear?" He looks down and sees two giant snakes wrapped around his legs.
Fear alone froze the other two.
They couldn't find the strength to fight back or even move, even their breathing became faltered.
"I asked, is that clear?"
They slowly nodded.
"Good." Ryuu's snakes left his sleeves, and she'd their skin, leaving a deadly purple gas.
After the battle, not one drop of sweat trickled his face.
None of this phased him, this was why he was called the Shinobi Scourge.
"Nobu, connect me to the Mizukage."
"Alright."
"Yagura, they're in the forest just beyond the Hōzuki compounds, I've left a cure for the bodies of those who need one.
Mangetsu is being treated as we speak."
"Thank you, Ryuu.
I won't forget this."
"No problem."
Ryuu flickers away.
He's walking around the forest, looking for Mangetsu's swords.
He collects them one by one and spends thirty minutes.
After finding them, Ryuu walks to the Kaguya clan compounds.
He looks above him, and sees a boy, sitting on a tree, watching the Kirigakure shinobi collect the bodies of his clan members.
He had pale skin, vivid green eyes, angular facial features, two scarlet dots on his forehead which all the members of his clan possessed, and shoulder-length white hair, in a loose ponytail near the middle of his back.
He eagerly looks at Ryuu and asked,
"You defeated my entire clan, including some shinobi, without showing a glimpse of exhaustion.
Are you a god?"
"A god? No, I'm just really good at fighting, what about you?"
He smiles and said,
"My father says I'm the best in my clan because of my… abilities, but I don't enjoy fighting.
I find it… pointless."
He drops from the tree and offers Ryuu a flower.
"My name is Kimimaro."
"I'm Ryuu, thanks," Ryuu says and takes the flower.
"My clan had a strong desire to fight. They locked me up, but they released me after you arrived. I only arrived too late.
I was watching you fight, you were holding back, weren't you?"
"Yes, I had to, under the orders of Yagura."
"The Mizukage."
"Yeah…"
"May I ask a question?" Ryuu nods.
"Why do you continue doing it?" He asks curiously, but his question is too vague.
"Doing what?"
"Living." Ryuu's eyes widen, but then he composes himself.
'The way he asks that…
Is he serious? I better answer his question properly.'
"Because I have a dream.
A dream to create a peaceful world where something like this never happens."
"A peaceful world?"
"Yes, I want to stop all the wars, all the fighting, too.
I want peace for everyone, I'll do anything to get it.
That's why I continue living and fighting.
Because if I give up now, it'll be a betrayal to my friends and family who died for it."
"I see…
So maybe you are a god.
A god sent here to bring peace, even if he has to use violence to get it."
"I'm not a god, if I was, I would've already made this dream a reality."
Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, seeing the flaw in what he said.
But he still had more questions.
"Will you kill me for this dream?"
Ryuu looked back at Kimimaro.
That question shocked him, he felt his heart skip a beat.
"No…
You also have a purpose."
"A purpose? Do I get to choose this purpose?"
"Sometimes it's the purpose which chooses you."
"I see…
Then my purpose is…
My purpose is to serve you, anything you want I will do.
I like your dream, you can use me however you want to achieve that dream. I'll be your sword, master."
"No, I refuse.
I won't use you for anything, no one should be used!
…
That said, I suppose it would be hypocrisy if I lectured you about a purpose in life just to decide one for you."
Ryuu held his hand out for Kimimaro.
"I'll give you a choice instead.
You can choose to continue following me, only as a student.
Or you can choose to follow your path and I won't stop you as long as it's not in my way."
Kimimaro doesn't hesitate and takes Ryuu's hand.
'He's warm…'
Kimimaro thinks as he holds Ryuu's hand.
They teleport into Ryuu's dimension and find Mangetsu sitting down on a chair while Suigetsu sits near him.
Mangetsu has bandages wrapped around his body.
Ryuu frowned, seeing his friend wounded like that.
"I don't know…
I've seen you in a worse condition after a night out."
A smile breaks on Mangetsu's face.
"Here, you dropped these." Ryuu gives Mangetsu his swords back.
"Sorry I couldn't find the executioner's blade, I know it's your favorite."
Mangetsu smiles and replies,
"Thanks for everything, Ryuu."
Ryuu unseals two bowls of ramen and asks,
"What happened to you? It's difficult breaking through that transformation move, how did the Kaguya clan and the others do this to you?"
Mangetsu takes his ramen and tells Ryuu what had happened.
"Well, I was hired for a mission recently.
Mizukage-sama told me about his suspicion of the Kaguya clan was growing.
Other people were feeling hostility around the Kaguya compounds, too.
I knew it was a dangerous mission, so I told Suigetsu I would be back soon and If I wasn't back, he should contact you first.
I investigated there for nearly a day, but just when I was onto something; I got trapped in some cage that used electricity to keep me there, that's when I realized it wasn't just the Kaguya clan that wanted the coup d'état.
They weren't smart enough to do that, they would've used brute force and ferocity to capture and contain me.
While they trapped me, I overheard some plans to take over the village using the coup d'état.
For two days and nights, I was struggling to get free from that trap, but I broke free when I used that kunai you gave me.
After I got out, I ran back to the village to warn the Mizukage, but a group of shinobi from the Kaguya clan stopped me.
I easily fought them off, but they just kept coming, they were persistent, and even when I hit them, they'd hit back quickly.
I realized I wasn't going to pass through, but that's when you came in.
You saved my life, Ryuu, and you saved my village from civil war and my brother from doing something stupid, even when you didn't have to."
He adds and pushes Suigetsu's head.
"Oh, well… it's nothing, you know," Ryuu said while scratching the back of his head.
"I'm forever indebted to you.
Whenever you want my help, just say the word, and I'll be there."
Ryuu smiles.
"You don't have to be indebted to me.
You're my friend, Mangetsu."
Ryuu holds his fist out and gives him a fist bump.
"Anyway, what's the kid doing with you? Isn't he from the Kaguya clan? I can tell because of the two red dots on his head."
"Yes, that's Kimimaro, he's my student now.
He's also the only member from the Kaguya clan to not want to fight."
"I see…
I heard the Kaguya clan has some sort of prodigy. That must be him."
"Yes, he is a prodigy indeed."
Kimimaro explored Ryuu's dimension.
"I need to buy you a drink," Mangetsu suggests.
"That'll have to wait, I still have something to do."
In an instant, their surroundings change and they appear in the Hōzuki compounds.
"Next time I see you all drinks are on me, as a sign of my gratitude," Mangetsu says.
"Thank you, Mangetsu."
"Come on, Mangetsu! Let's go already!" Suigetsu was impatiently waiting for his brother.
"Suigetsu, you and your brother should stay out of trouble for a while.
Keep an eye on him, will ya?"
Suigetsu nods.
"Well, we should get going now.
See you two later, Mangetsu."
Ryuu and Kimimaro waved them off before teleporting again.