Chapter 33
Utakata didn't understand what he felt as he faced Harusame. It couldn't be fear. As strong as Harusame was, he was still a retired old man. Utakata has killed two members of the Seven Swordsmen. There was no chance that Harusame could defeat him if Utakata gave his all. Nothing could stop him now. So, why did he feel so uncertain?
"Utakata," Harusame's voice was calm. It was even reassuring. "You have come far."
"Shut up," It was a lie; everything about him was a lie. "I am leaving. There is nothing you can do to stop me. So, if you don't want to die, you will stand down."
How did he know? Did his plans have long been discovered? No, it couldn't be. If that were true, Utakata would have been stopped before he left the village. Did Harusame put some kind of tracking seal on him? That couldn't be true either. Utakata would have noticed it. The only explanation was that Harusame had studied him well enough to know how he was thinking. Harusame had Utakata under his thumb all this time.
"Is that really what you want?" Harusame asked and stepped forward, making Utakata jump back out of fear. "Are you going to give up everything you have worked for?"
"Stand back!" Utakata yelled, his voice breaking. "There is no path behind me. I can only struggle forward. You, nor anyone else, can stop me. I will kill you."
"Will you?" Harusame didn't take Utakata's words seriously. "Is that all there is left to you? A murderer that would dispose of everyone and everything that stands in his path? You are better than that, Utakata. There is always a way out. Always a choice. Don't abandon yourself."
"You think I wanted this?" Utakata couldn't understand why he feared Harusame so much. He was nothing compared to him. "You made me like this. The village and this world made me like this. A monster that kills because he was told to. How many nameless and faceless people do you think I have killed? And for what? So, the village would receive its reward? So it could boast to the world how ruthless it is?"
"I know that we have failed you, Utakata," Harusame's reassuring words scared Utakata even more. "We made you do things that no boy should have to. We made you what you are because we couldn't do it ourselves. We forced you and countless other children to do horrible things and then left them to die. I know that the village and even this world have failed you. But you are no failure, Utakata. You can be much more if you try. Don't let it all consume you."
Utakata didn't even need to fight Harusame. He was fast. He could bypass him and leave this land. It might be difficult to cross the sea with the chakra he had, but not impossible. And if he was lucky enough, he might find a lone island to rest at or a boat on the way. Utakata couldn't sense anyone behind him. There was nothing that could stop him. So, why did he hesitate at this moment?
"I am what I am," Utakata replied, raising his sword.
"You are not a thing!" Utakata buckled under Harusame's yell. "You are a boy, a young man with a whole life before you. You are brimming with talent, and I know you are a good person. Otherwise, everything you did wouldn't weigh so much on you. So, begging you, don't let that hatred towards yourself consume you."
"Hahahaha," Utakata could only laugh to shake that uneasiness facing Harusame. "I don't hate myself. I hate you. I hate this village, and I hate this world. Because I know it can't ever offer me anything good; all it brings is pain. I know I can't destroy it, no matter how much power I have. But I can at least reject it. I reject this village and this world; they no longer bind me to their rules. I am taking my freedom."
"Then why are you hesitating?" Harusame asked, not taking a step but forcing Utakata to back off. "I know you. You don't want to kill but were forced to. You don't want to fight but were made to do it. You know it is the wrong path, but you can't see any other way. The world is closing on you, and behind you is only darkness and pain. But you need to realize that all of it is a lie. There is always another way, another path you can take."
"You are a lie," Utakata knew Harusame was only buying time. "Everything you did. Everything you said. All of it was a lie. You only care for what I am. You are nothing but a watchdog to make sure I don't step out of the bounds. Well, too bad. I did step out of the bounds, and now your only choice is to stop me. So, don't give me bullshit, for I know everything there is to know about you."
"I know you don't believe it," Harusame replied like he knew Utakata better than Utakata knew himself.
"Bullshit! What do you know?" Utakata forced his body to move forward; his lies wouldn't stop him. He won't be manipulated and used ever again. Utakata had enough of it. "You know nothing. You stand before me because the village can't let me go. You are everything I hate about the village. You are the hope dangling before my eyes, promising everything I ever wanted. But I know better; you are only a lie, and I shall destroy it once and for all."
The wall stopping him had to be destroyed if it could not be moved. It was time to leave this place, so he couldn't stop now. He was strong. He had the power to dictate his life as he wished. Harusame won't stop him, no matter what. Raising his sword and holding it tightly with his two hands, Utakata moved. Step by step, he closed on Harusame, who looked at him with saddened eyes.
"You are too stiff," Harusame said as he deflected Utakata's thrust before gripping his clothing and flipping Utakata over himself, slamming him into the ground.
"Ahhh!" Utakata rolled away in frustration as he joined his hands. "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave."
Utakata didn't spare any chakra as he pushed as much as he could into this jutsu. Spitting out a massive amount of water, covering an entire area with crushing waves directed at Harusame. Utakata watched as Harusame was crushed under the wave. But as the water settled, Harusame was fine as he split the wave before himself using Water Wall jutsu.
"I have taught you that precision is the most important thing for a shinobi," Harusame said, angering Utakata even more.
"I will give you precision!" Utakata responded with a yell. "Water Style: Water Severing Wave"
After kneading the chakra in the stomach and converting it into water, Utakata spews it out a high-pressure stream that was powerful enough to cut even steel. Utakata moved his head, cutting everything that was in his sight. There was no blocking this attack, so Harusame jumped over it. Not able to sustain the jutsu, Utakata dispelled it.
"Have you forgotten everything I have taught you?" Harusame asked.
"Shut up," Utakata could feel his chakra plummeting down fast. He had already fought two hard battles today but couldn't let Harusame have the best of him. "Water Style. Water Whip."
As the water around him wrapped around his arm, Utakata swung it. The water extended as much as Utakata wanted, striking Harusame in the chest. But it was only revealed to be a water clone. Utakata couldn't believe himself. He should have sensed it was a clone, and the real one was behind him. Yet, he was all messed up and couldn't think properly. Harusame has messed with his mind.
"You are only a human, Utakata," Harusame said from behind Utakata. "There is only so much you can take on alone. Yet, we still forced more and more upon your shoulders. You have all the right to hate us. But you need to realize that it isn't your fault. Nothing is your fault."
"Shut up," Utakata replied through his teeth as anger boiled inside him. "I will end this now!"
Red chakra covered Utakata from head to toe. Tail after tail appeared behind Utakata as his body started to break under the pressure. But then he reached his fifth tail, the peak he has ever achieved. Yet, he couldn't be satisfied with it now. He needed more. He needed everything to destroy Harusame and free himself from this village.
"Give it to me!" Utakata yelled out.
"You can't handle it," A voice inside him replied.
Utakata stared at the Six-tails. Utakata's body was completely submerged in water as he fell deeper and deeper within his mind. The waterfall was no more as everything was under the water already. Six tails stared at Utakata with the same sad eyes as did Harusame. Utakata hated those eyes, this gaze full of pity. He was strong. He was powerful. He won't be looked down again.
"Give it to me," Utakata said as he stared at the Six-tails. "Everything. I want everything."
"So be it."
…
The shocked wave pushed Harusame back, almost sending him flying. He looked at the beast before him. The reason for all of it. If only he had stopped the Third Mizukage from using the boy as the next Jinchuriki, then maybe it wouldn't have come to this. The beast before him wasn't Utakata. Harusame couldn't recognize the hard-working boy he grew to care about.
Like spears, the six tails flew at him. Harusame moved carefully to avoid them one by one. Harusame could feel the acidic properties Utakata's body now had. A simply touched melted his clothing. Getting hit by them wasn't a choice. Before he died, he had to do what he should have done long ago. Even if he can't reverse the damage, Harusame could at least try to lessen Utakata's burden.
As the tailed beast's tails struck the ground, Harusame summoned water chains to hold them in place as he moved towards Utakata. Not able to move, Utakata spat out a glop of acidic water. Using the Water Wall, Harusame tried to block it. But the acid pierced through his water wall. Knowing that he had no other choice, Harusame used his left arm to take the attack, letting the acid melt his skin and flesh as he continued moving towards Utakata.
He knew that he alone couldn't extract the Six-tails from Utakata. But at least he could do was seal the tailed beast's chakra again. At least that way would make it harder for the others to sense the tailed beast chakra inside Utakata. And the tailed beast wouldn't be able to take control of Utakata, giving him at least a bit of a peaceful life he deserved to have. As Harusame's hand touched Utakata's body, he felt pain in his back. Harusame knew that it was the end of him, but he didn't regret it.
…
Utakata woke up as blood washed over him. He looked down as Harusame's hand touched his chest. Looking up, he saw his master smiling weakly at him as his tails pierced Harusame's back and left through his front. Blood ran down Harusame's body quickly. Yet, Utakata couldn't move; the tailed beast's chakra moved back inside his body as another seal appeared on his chest.
Once the tails disappeared, Harusame's body fell on the ground, covered by his own blood. Without realizing Utakata moved and caught Harusame's head before it hit the ground. Utakata watched as his master bled out in his hands with a weak smile. There was no sadness or pity in his master's eyes. They were happy. Happy to see that Utakata was fine.
"Why?" Utakata had to accept it. He couldn't deny it any longer. "Why did you care about me?"
"You were my everything," Harusame replied, each word more silent than the previous. "You were a son I had never had. A boy that I believed would be able to change my village one day. I saw greatness in you, talent suppressed by brutality. How could I not care about you? You were everything that I ever wanted."
"Why?" Utakata couldn't understand; he was a monster that had killed too many. He was a murderer that has innocent blood on his hands. He didn't deserve to be loved. To be cared for.
"Live," Harusame raised his hand to clean Utakata's tears with his final strength. "Go and live the life you always wanted."
Utakata could only stare as Harusame's hand fell limp. Harusame's eyes lost light, and his body lost its heat. He would have stayed in this position forever if the bubble pipe gifted by Harusame hadn't fallen from his neck. He caught it and looked at it. Then, like a machine, Utakata put down his master's head on the ground and stood up.
He walked through the abandoned village until he reached the dock. There awaited him: a boat with a change of clothes, a bag of money, and a lunchbox. Utakata fell into the boat and used a bit of his chakra to manipulate the water around him to push the boat out of the dock into the sea. Utakata looked at the sky as it got darker and darker.
A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.