Voices, screams, sobs, moans of agony and the laughter of a child can be heard.
Everything is darkness in that place where blood covers the ground as if it were an ocean of endless suffering. Right there he was, Toru, looking at the horizon of this place...
There was someone there, someone else besides Toru. A shadow smiling disturbingly from a far distance, so far away that his silhouette could barely be made out. It was just a dark stain in the blood with a gloomy smile.
Wake up...
A voice says and Toru instantly opens his eyes, but he immediately realizes that everything is still dark. Although he opened his eyes, the light did not return.
He quickly got out of bed and looked for the eye drops in his clothes. He found them almost instantly and without waiting, he applied them to his pupils, letting the cold liquid flow into his eyes.
A few seconds later, the light slowly returned. Toru sighed in relief.
'It's been ten days already, huh... The blindness is progressing fast. Although I've avoided using the Shigan, my vision is still deteriorating.'
Although he tried, Toru was unable to develop a medicine that is able to cure the blindness. Moreover, it seemed that this was not a simple blindness, it was something more dangerous, but he has no way of knowing what kind of blindness this is, so, possibly, Toru will not be able to get a cure and in the future his vision will be lost forever.
"Uh?"
Confused by the sudden appearance of a paper butterfly, Toru looks at the door. There is Konan, who came to inform Toru about the next Akatsuki meeting. After that, she left without another word.
'Haa~ I'll avoid thinking about blindness for the time being. I have work to do.'
***
Putting on his cloak, scarf and hat, Toru walks out of the main building giving a big halt from the observer until he reached the big metal statue, which was very close, place where Pain was sitting watching the scenery of the village together with Konan.
They both saw Toru arrive.
"You took long" Pain said, making Toru sigh tiredly. The latter himself responded right away.
"I'm sorry. I had some inconveniences that I don't think you care to hear about."
Pain smiles slightly. It was as if Toru already knew Pain well enough to talk to him that way. So, not making a big deal out of it, Pain clasps his hands together and Konan does the same.
Toru reacts quickly, sits on one of the statue's hands, also clasps his hands together and closes his eyes. Chakra flows peacefully through his brain, swirls through his body and reaches his hands. A small shiver runs down his spine and then....
-Somewhere unknown-
The wooden statue was displayed before everyone. One on each finger of each hand of the statue, the members of Akatsuki stood there.
Toru looked at everyone. Their bodies looked translucent, as if they were just multicolored holograms. This jutsu to communicate over a long distance is very useful. Toru thought it would be interesting to learn a jutsu like this, but the one responsible for this was Pain, who has never revealed any of his hidden tricks except for Shinra Tensei.
"You damned bastard, how dare you wake me up so early? And I had managed to sleep like a baby!"
"Shut up, Hidan. I'll kill you."
"Well, I want to see you try, you son of a bitch."
As usual, the meeting starts with Hidan and Kakuzu fighting over very strange things. Even if, despite the shouting of these two, Pain was calm. He opened his arms and began to speak.
"Only those who know true pain are able to move forward."
Remembering where he had come from, Pain looks at the Akatsuki members, but frowns slightly due to Hidan interrupting his speech.
"Really, then I'll make you feel the real pain!"
"Hidan, keep quiet..."
Toru and Konan say in unison. Everyone looks at them for a second and then silence takes over. Pain nods his head and then continues talking.
This whole meeting is because Pain wants to know if everyone already managed to find their respective Bijū to start the hunt. At the moment, they already had two Bijū in their possession, only seven are missing.
One tail, two tails, three tails, six tails, seven tails, eight tails and nine tails. These are the missing Bijū.
Hearing this, Deidara smiles and speaks causally while looking at Toru with superiority.
"We already managed to locate the Jinchūriki of the one-tailed beast, mh. It's Gaara from Suna. Apparently he has become the Kage of his own village, hm."
Sasori continues.
"It will take a few weeks to reach Sunagakure. We already have a plan and infiltrators who will support us in capturing the Bijū. However, Konoha and Sunagakure are planning the next chūnin examinations. I'm guessing it's a trap, so we'll remain cautious for a while until everything calms down and we can proceed with the capture. Although, since I don't like to wait, I'll try to speed up the process as much as possible."
Toru's gaze turns sharp upon hearing this. He already knows that Gaara is the Jinchūriki of the one-tailed beast [Ichibi] the tanuki, so at some point they had to capture him and, now, that time has come. Though he was also surprised that Tsunade is able to set such an obvious trap. Also, if the next chūnin examinations are being prepared, surely they?
'They will possibly be present at those exams... Haa~ I'd rather not meet them.'
Toru closes his eyes, sighs and then looks at Pain, who at the same time looked at Konan.
Konan, like Sasori, had also deployed spies in Suna, so this was convenient in a way.
After that, Hidan and Kakuzu also spoke. They said that they already have located the Jinchūriki of the Two-tailed Bijū [Nibi] the Nekomata. They will leave today to search for him, and that they have the necessary information, although Hidan forgot half of it. Still, there is Kakuzu there to remind them what they have to do, but this will take quite some time, because Kakuzu has a lot of people to kill and sell.
Following this, Pain asks Itachi and Kisame if there is any news regarding the Kyūbi. Itachi says that the capture has been complicated by the fact that the Kyūbi's Jinchūriki [Naruto], is being protected by one of The Legendary Three Sannin. Attacking now will only cause problems. The most sensible thing to do would be to wait until Naruto is back under Konoha's protection and, once the Jinchūriki thinks of going out on a mission, the time will be right.
Pain nods his head, as he already knows who is the one protecting Naruto, so he understood Itachi's cautious behavior. Kisame also said that it would be interesting to attack one of The Legendary Three Sannin, but doing something like that would only lead to his own death. So he'd better follow Itachi's plan and wait.
On the other hand, Toru shook his head. Now that he knew more about him past, he understood that this is just Itachi's attempt to protect Naruto, though he still doesn't know the reason. As for Zetsu, he just stood quietly observing in silence. He didn't report anything, as it seems he wants to talk privately with Pain.
'Hm... everyone already has a Bijū to capture. That's nine in total, we already have two, or so Pain says, after all I haven't seen the first Bijū captured '
Sasori and Deidara: Ichibi [Gaara].
Hidan and Kakuzu: Nibi [Nii Yugito].
Itachi and Kisame: Kyūbi [Naruto]
These are the Bijū in the process of being captured. With the four more that are in the process, that would leave four Bijūs only.
Pain, after hearing the report from all the Akatsuki members, speaks again.
"Because we have a new member in Akatsuki, I have decided to assign a Bijū to him as well. Toru, you will capture the Jinchūriki of the Nanabi [Seven Tails]. You will start today."
"Understood..."
After this, the meeting ends. All the holograms of the Akatsuki members begin to disappear.
Itachi looks at Toru before disappearing. Toru does the same and closes his eyes, only to open them while back in Amegakure.
***
Pain looks at the horizon. The meeting ended a few seconds ago.
Konan looks at him and then looks at Toru, who is, like Pain, looking at the village buildings.
"Toru..." Pain says. Toru quickly responds by looking at him. The latter continues with what he is going to say.
"Two months ago I said you will have a teammate. You will go with that partner to capture the Nanabi. Failure is not an option. To change this world, you will have to give a part of your soul to your god."
Toru watches silently. Pain mentioned that companion, but Toru still doesn't know who that person is. He is curious about this, so he waits patiently for Pain to name the person he will have to capture the Nanabi with.
At the same time, Pain wastes no time. He already had Toru's partner in mind from the day he was admitted into Akatsuki. That person he almost killed the first day they met.
"As for your partner. Konan... it will be you."
Konan looks at Pain as a face full of confusion, but then she takes a relaxing breath and her face becomes calm and expressionless again. She nods her head and looks at Toru.
"You two already know what you have to do. To fulfill our ideals and to dominate the world... we must cause pain. The world does not yet know pain, only with pain will they be able to learn... they will be able to advance and become real people. The world will feel real pain..."
Pain stands up from where he was sitting and the wind makes his cape dance to the rhythm of the wind. He looks at the big metal buildings, at the people in the rain, at every tiny little living thing in this place and the strange feeling that surrounds them. He opens his arms and looks at the sky. This was god watching his faithful followers.
Toru looks at this and his vision goes out of focus. He then turns his attention to Konan, who was looking at Pain with that expressionless face he almost always wears.
'My partner, uh..."
***
The two had remained silent after Pain has left. Toru continues to sit on the statue's hand, waiting for Konan to say or do something, but Konan, just like him, remained silent, completely ignoring Toru's existence.
Somehow, Toru senses that Konan hates him, but he doesn't know the reason. Still, he comes up with something to make Konan pay attention to him.
"Now that we are a team, we should test our skills. If we're going to be together for the next few days, we should get to know each other better. Plus I'll be able to know how to act in case we go into battle. I'll be able to help you, and you'll be able to do the same. If we collaborate, we'll have a better chance of-"
Toru stops talking and looks at Konan, who took a leap, landing softly on the water. This left him confused, but then he understood that Konan accepted his proposal, so this was beneficial for Toru.
Following Konan, Toru disappeared and reappeared in front of her, a few meters away from her.
"So you agree to my training and demonstration proposal, huh. I thank you for that."
Toru tries to be cautious with his words. Although he knows Pain's personality a bit and understands him to some extent, Konan is different. She is a quiet, expressionless woman who rarely speaks in front of him. Basically, she is a closed book, there is no way to guess what she is thinking and this increased the curiosity in Toru.
'Will you be able to show another face in front of me, Tenshi-san?'
Toru raises his arms, putting them in front of his face in an X-shape. The position of his fingers resemble the claws of a canine and his eyes flash slightly. The wind makes his cape dance before starting this.
At the same time, paper began to float around Konan. This woman's gaze became sharp, cold and emotionless. Rain begins to soak her face and clothes, as Pain brought rain to Amegakure as usual.
"Are you ready?" says Konan. Toru nods in response.
"Then..." Toru smiles and then continues speaking. "Round one... fight."
Instantly, Toru disappears in the rain. This makes Konan quickly turn around, since, the last time she fought Toru, Toru always attacked from behind, so this time she wasn't going to let this guy hit her, though.
"You lose."
The moment Konan turned around, Toru appeared behind her and spoke hatefully to her. Quickly, this boy punched her in the face, sending her flying, bouncing multiple times against the water as if she was a rock that was thrown into a small lake.
With luck and, with strength in her arms and legs, Konan was able to slow down before crashing into one of the metal buildings.
"You turned your face into paper before you took the impact. That was very clever, it shows you know how to think fast. I'm surprised."
When Konan looked up, Toru could see how half of this woman's face had turned into paper. This helped Konan reduce the damage greatly, which is obviously good for her. Toru also felt surprised by this, but he didn't take it as much importance considering that he could attack with more speed and strength.
"Well, enough talk. Let's continue."
Toru is once again using his new fighting stance, which he learned thanks to Okaminaru and Okamitsuki a year ago. Also, because of this, he was forced to change his fighting style. Toru now possesses two styles of taijutsu. One focused entirely on mass murder [Dansu Gyakusatsu - Dancing Massacre] and the second, focused on increased damage and destruction, applying power in attacks with fists and legs [Ōkami no hon'nō - Wolf Instinct]. In fact, this new taijutsu goes hand in hand with a new ninjutsu that Toru also learned from Okamitsuki.
At the same time that Toru prepares to continue the fight, the paper floats around Konan again, sticking to her back, thus turning into two huge paper wings, which resemble the wings of an angel.
Toru watches this in amazement as Konan begins to soar high into the air.
'She is a flying ninja. She uses paper to fly, so using Shakuton will end the fight in seconds. Hum... it's also raining, so the paper can get wet and become heavier, so her movements will be slower.'
The gears in Toru's mind began to turn, analyzing the situation quickly. This time, Toru is going to increase the power in his punches, so he hopes Konan can do something to counterattack or defend himself.
"Round two... fight"
Hearing Toru speak with a smile, Konan lifts the paper and starts to throw it like a heavy rain in a row.
Toru saw this from below, but he didn't care, as his smile widened and he vanished again like a ghost.
***
Meanwhile, the villagers of Amegakure watched as large amounts of paper rose into the sky mixing with the rain and falling at great speeds against a common target.
They all watched as Konan strained to hit something that didn't seem to be there, but quickly realized that there really was something.
Something is moving violently through the water, moving at such a speed that it is impossible to see it, but there it is.
What the villagers saw was a wild animal moving on its two legs. Each movement caused a small wave of air that exploded like an invisible impact.
They were all amazed at this, as they saw how the Angel of God had an expression of annoyance on her face.
The sheets of paper continue to be fired at the target, but it is impossible, it does not even manage to make a scratch on the wild animal that runs like a deadly shadow, with eyes that shine through the mist of the rain. It was as if an angel was facing a demon, however, the angel should be able to defeat the demon, so this time... it was another angel that Konan is fighting.
The feeling of danger that this evil angel provoked makes all the villagers tremble. That angel whose presence resembles that of death.
"Wait... that guy is..."
"I can see it, that's the one..."
"The cape that Pain-sama's Angel wears."
"Yes..."
"That means that one is also a member of Akatsuki."
The villagers began to theorize. They quickly realized that it was Pain's new assistant who appeared three months ago. But this was strange to them, as in the presence of this person, they only felt death and fear. Death moving at a terrifying speed. When you least expect it, it is already behind you, just as death would do.
Everyone could see how the shadow of death moves all over the place. The shadow caused no noise at all other than its silent footsteps in the water. Also, its cloak fluttered because of the speed at which it moves, also needless to say, this causes them a strange feeling of fear and visual pleasure, as the movements of this shadow, even if they were so fast and wild, you can feel some elegance in those murderous movements.
Also, Konan looked annoyed by the presence of this person, as, after a few seconds, she was still trying to hit the shadow of death, but it was still impossible.
***
'She continues to throw the sharp blades of paper. Although she has failed to hit me, she is always close to hitting me, and that shows how determined she is to defeat me. But I think I should stop this fun, after all, it's like trying to mix water with oil, the result is obvious'.
Still moving at extreme speeds, Toru disappeared and different large shockwaves began to appear in the air. One by one, each shockwave approached Konan at an extraordinary speed and then disappeared.
Konan is left processing this for a moment and then, sensing Toru's bloodlust, she raises a large paper wall behind her, but that's not going to be enough.
"You lose."
For a second, their gaze met. The glowing eyes of death and the beautiful amber eyes of an angel looked at each other and then....
BOOM!
Konan shot downward, crashing into the cold water to finally sink into it. Toru watched this from the air as he slowly falls. In the end, he touches the water gently with his toes and looks at the spot where Konan fell.
She came out of the water, breathing heavily and her clothes were soaked. Toru's gaze lingered on Konan's breasts for a second, but then he looked at her face as he saw that she was breathing heavily.
'I overdid it...'
He realized that he used too much force when he hit Konan in the shoulder with a strong kick, but it's too late to regret it now. She is watching the water with a blank stare. It seems that she was trying to stay conscious, as the blow Toru gave her was too strong that it left her whole body stunned.
"That ends our demonstration of power and training. I hope we can get along well... Konan-san."
Toru holds out his hand to Konan, but she looks at him with narrowed eyes and gently slaps Toru's hand. She refused to be helped by Toru....
***
The villagers watched as Toru defeated Konan with one blow. They are terrified and feel fear, for a moment they thought Konan would die, because it was death who approached her.
Death, the smile of death about to claim a soul.
They didn't know which person Pain brought to Amegakure, but without a doubt, for them Toru is....
"He is a Shi no Tenshi [Angel of Death]." Said one of the villagers watching as Toru held out his hand to Konan.
***
'I don't think we're going to get along...'
Toru sighed again and looked at the building where Pain is. He could see it from so far away, as Pain watches from up there.
"Konan-sama."
A mysterious ninja appears in front of Toru and Konan. He wears the Amegakure bandana and appears to be a Jounin. As he arrives, he kneels down in front of Konan and bows his head.
"There is a ninja from Konoha who insists on speaking to the Kage of our village. Even though we asked him to leave the message, he continues to insist. No matter what we do, he refuses to leave the message and go away."
"I see..." Konan nods his head regaining her composure and then looks at Toru. "You..."
Toru is confused by the sudden show of attention Konan gave him, however, he feels that this is somehow going to be stressful.
________
Well, I have revived. I will post the next chapter when I reach 150 power stones.