Chapter 43
Hidan looked satisfied with himself as the princess fell to the ground once he pulled his scythe back. It annoyed him that some brat managed to defeat him so easily. Too bad, for the kid, he didn't seem to have a weapon to cut his head off from the start. And Doto used that fact to free Hidan from his binds. And now it was time for round two.
The shithead was so shocked that he didn't even move anymore. Staring at space like a fool. Still, he will be a good offering for Lord Jashin. This time, Hidan won't let his guard down. He will make him bleed and experience the most painful death he could ever dream of. Before the boy regained his senses, Hidan planned to cut him and use his blood to do the ritual, so he swung his scythe at him.
Hidan expected the boy to snap out of it and at least try to dodge, but the fool was too far gone. Hidan's scythe was so close to piercing his chest that Hidan could already smell the blood. But it was his blood that was spilled as tails made of red chakra pierced his body in five different parts. The boy slowly turned to face Hidan.
"Fuck," Hidan barely managed to curse before a hand grabbed his face and slowly pulled his head from the rest of his body.
…
Utakata wasn't surprised to be drowning. The water surrounding him was so warm and comforting that he had no will even to try to pull himself out of it. And it didn't seem to end, making Utakata content to fall for the rest of eternity. After all, what did he expect to achieve? Did he really think that he could atone for all he had done?
No. From the very beginning, there was only one ending for him. So, he should let all of it go and embrace that ending. He should just enjoy this and forget the painful memories. Maybe he will wake up and realize that all of it was only a dream. A twisted nightmare that should have ended long ago. And then he will finally be free.
"It is not the time for this, Utakata," A hand pushed Utakata's back as he heard a voice. "There is much you have yet to do. Snap out of it and fight. Struggle. Live."
Memories of Master Harusame come back to Utakata: his concerned and kind smile, his frustrated sigh as Utakata refused to listen to him, and most importantly, the proud look he showed him as he would master a new jutsu. Then Ringo and her stubborn but endearing insistence on sparing came to his mind. Then, the stupid twins who made Utakata drunk for the first time. And finally, Tsunade and Shizune.
"Keep going," Harusame's voice came from behind Utakata. "Don't look back. Look forward. There is still so much you have to do. You don't have time to mellow in here; you have to save her, don't you?"
Only now, as Utakata tried to get out of the water, did he realize he was in a pool of blood. He wanted to look back and maybe see his master for reassurance, but he didn't. His master was right. It was long overdue. He might never forget his past, but it was time to stop living in it. It was about time he truly started to move forward with his life.
Pulling himself out of a pool of blood, Utakata looked at all the red that surrounded him. This wasn't how it should be. He willed it, and little by little, the red blood waters were replaced by blue, clear waters. Then, from the red emerged the six tails. He looked worse than Utakata remembered. Weary and tired.
"I waited for far too long, brat." The beast's voice was hoarser than Utakata remembered.
"It is time you go back," Utakata said as the water fell from above, trapping the beast and blocking him from Utakata. "Master. I am sorry for being such a lousy student. And thank you for everything you have done for me."
Utakata didn't know if his master had heard it, but he believed he did. It was the words he had wanted to say for the longest time. So as not to repeat the same mistake with Tsunade, Utakata needed to wake up. He needed to heal the princess and beat the crap out of Doto, and feed Hidan to the wolves. Taking one last look around, he closed his eyes.
…
When Utakata opened his eyes again, he stood in a pool of blood. If not for body parts all around him, he might still have thought that he was still in his mental plane. Taking a quick look around, Utakata saw that everyone was pressed to the wall as far away as possible from him, looking at Utakata with eyes full of fear.
"What are you?" A talking head asked on a different side of the throne room.
"A monster," Utakata replied before rushing to the bleeding-out princess. "Summoning jutsu."
"Master Utakata," Katsuyu appeared in front of Utakata. "I have awaited your summon."
"There's no time for that," Utakata said, putting Katsuyu on top of the princess's body.
"I am sorry," The summoned slug said. "But most of her organs are damaged beyond repair. Even Lady Tsunade would find it difficult to heal her. All I can do is lessen her pain."
"Utakata?" Koyuki looked at Utakata with misty eyes, finding out his real name from Katsuyu for the first time.
"Save your strength," Utakata replied with a smile, putting his hands on the wounds. "Stabilize her organs, Katsuyu. I do the rest."
Using Mystic Palm jutsu, Utakata quickly closed her wounds, stopping the worst of the bleeding. At the same time, Katsuyu concentrated her healing abilities to stabilize her damaged organs and stop the internal bleeding. He didn't have much time to heal her before her body can't handle the stress and shut down. But he knew he could save her.
"Utakata of Blood Waters," Doto walked to them with a satisfied smile. "I should have known. She was a fool to believe you. And now her efforts will come to nothing. Guards! Kill him!"
Utakata didn't have time or any wish to deal with him, so he took a pebble from the ground and threw it into Doto's head, knocking him out. His chakra suit or whatever was already out of juice; he was just a defenseless old man spouting nonsense. The guards, like the rest of the people, were too scared even to move and just stared at Utakata.
"Katsuyu, I will push some of my chakra into her," Utakata told the slug summon. "The chakra will be violent and, at first, probably damage her body. So, I need you to protect her organs for a bit before I manage to control that chakra."
"Understood."
It was risky but possible. The tailed beast's chakra was unpredictable, but its healing abilities Utakata have experienced first hand. Combined with his Mystic Palm jutsu and Katsuyu's help, it should be able to heal the damaged organs. Especially since her heart and brain weren't damaged a bit. It was the only way.
"Good," Utakata grimaced as he tried his best to limit the red chakra coming into Koyuki's body. "We can't rush it. As the chakra heals the damage, you need to be ready to stabilize her condition and inform me immediately if it is too much."
"But, Master Utakata, if you abruptly stop the flow of your chakra, it will damage you," Katsuyu looked at Utakata with worry as she knew it would wreck his body.
"I will be fine."
Utakata knew that, too. Using his regular chakra on Mystic Palm jutsu and infusing his tailed beast chakra into Koyuki at the same time left Utakata defenseless. He would have to stop using his tailed beast chakra the moment Koyuki's body couldn't handle it anymore. Doing so would damage his internals, but Utakata knew he would be able to heal all the damage in time.
"Master Utakata, now!"
With Katsuyu's warning, Utakata pulled the red chakra back. He caught up blood as the chakra abruptly returned to his body, probably hitting his heart and other organs as it wasn't dispersed. But Utakata didn't care. He bit down his lip to concentrate on his Mystic Palm jutsu. Now was the most critical moment. He had to help Koyuki get used to the new chakra that entered her body.
"It worked, Master Utakata," Katsuyu said happily as they healed the damage and stopped the bleeding, leaving only scars on her stomach.
"What are you staring at?" Utakata slowly stood up from Princess Koyuki and looked at the people around them. "Clean up the mess and bring your Daimyo to a safe place to rest."
As if they woke up from a dream, the people started moving. Guards quickly apprehended Doto and took Koyuki away. When they came to a body ripped into pieces, Utakata stopped them. Utakata took the head that looked at him with fear and put it into a bag. Then he gathered the arms, legs, and torso and put them in separate bags. Utakata had a different plan for him.
…
Once she got a blood transfusion, Koyuki's condition quickly got better. All she needed was for a few days of rest and she will be fine. Still, Utakata felt sorrowful for the scars he got her. The one in her neck was already too much, and now there were three more in her stomach. But Utakata also knew that she would be fine since she was strong enough to handle it.
"You awake," Utakata noticed Koyuki's eyes moving. "Don't try to push yourself. Your people are waiting for good news. They are already celebrating the new Daimyo of the Land of Frost's ascendence to power. It wouldn't be good if she pushed herself too much and had to be hospitalized for more time."
"What about other nobles? They surely wouldn't accept me so readily."
"They did," Utakata replied. "Well, they did after I visited them. One by one."
Quite a few were genuinely happy to see Doto fall. But those who didn't want to accept it were quickly convinced otherwise after Utakata talked to them. They could do nothing since everything happened so fast that they didn't even realize what was going on. And since most of the power was centralized around Doto, the nobles didn't really have much power to change things now. They were surely going to try something, but politics wasn't a subject Utakata was familiar with.
"I remembered," Koyuki suddenly said, looking at Utakata's eyes. "I tried to forget those pale golden eyes but never could. They were always in my nightmares."
"So, you knew?" Utakata asked.
"From the moment I saw your eyes," Koyuki replied. "I didn't know your name, but I knew your eyes. I couldn't understand why you were helping me. I thought you were playing with me like a beast would play with its prey. But now, I can see. I can see that your eyes were full of pain and regret. That is why you helped me, why you helped this country. Isn't it?"
"I was looking for forgiveness," Utakata said, averting his eyes from her. "I know it was selfish. And all that happened was partially my fault. Still, I will continue to seek your and your father's forgiveness. I am sorry for what I did. I know it isn't something that can be forgiven, but I hope you can accept my sincere apology."
"My father was a kind man," Koyuki responded, taking Utakata's hand into hers. "He was a loving man who took care of his country and family. I never understood how such a man could have been murdered. What kind of horrible people would want him dead? I always thought that the people who killed them were monsters."
"You weren't wrong," Utakata told her.
"I don't see a monster in you," Koyuki replied, squeezing Utakata's hand. "Now I realize those eyes didn't belong to a monster but a scared child who didn't have any other choice."
"There is always another choice."
"Would you shut up and accept my forgiveness?" Utakata was surprised by her tone and more by her words. "You came back. You asked for forgiveness and saved me and this country. I don't know about my father. But I forgive you for what you have done."
She said it like it was so easy, yet Utakata couldn't detect any lies in her words no matter how much he looked. She was sincere. And it hurt so badly. He couldn't understand what he was feeling as his chest tightened and his vision blurred. It felt unreal. But her warm hands made sure Utakata wasn't dreaming. Utakata didn't even realize that tears were falling from his eyes as he looked at Koyuki.
"I have to go," Utakata finally managed to speak. "People will come looking for me. Tell them that I went to the Land of Water."
"What kind of people? And where are you really going?"
"People whom I hurt," Utakata answered. "They want to take revenge against me for what I did, and they won't stop easily. And I am going to the Land of Water. There is no need for you to lie to them. They will be able to find my tracks. It will only cause more trouble for you if you try to lie. I promise that if I hear that you need help, I will come back—no matter what, no matter how many times."
Utakata didn't have many things with him, so he didn't give Koyuki a chance to ask more questions before he slipped away into the night with only one bag on his shoulder. Before he unsummed her, Utakata told Katsuyu that she should not say his real name anymore. But it was too late now, the Cloud will hear it and will try to find him. So, it was better to leave before he could cause more trouble for this country.
…
The mountains had remained the same since he had passed through them. They were vast and cold, and most importantly, they didn't have a single human living in them. Only wildlife ruled this area, which made it a perfect place to scatter Hidan's remains. Nobody should be able to find him here. With his body parts scattered along the mountain, only his head was left.
"Hey, hey, no need to be so drastic. How about we make a deal?"
"No," Utakata replied as he took nails and hammers from his pockets. "The wild animals will find your body parts and take them with them. But if, by some miracle, you still manage to get them back and put your body back into one piece, pray that you won't meet me again. Because next time, I will chop you to pieces and throw them into the sea."
Before Hidan could say anything more, Utakata hammered long nails through his eyes into a thick tree. He also ran a few nails through his mouth, especially through his tongue, so he wouldn't be able to say anything while he was there. But Utakata left him with the ability to hear. He shall hear as wild animals try to get to him and birds eat his face off.