"Eww, This place is Nasty," Yagura exclaimed, his face contorting in disgust as he used his club to crush a two-headed snake's entire body. The sickening crunch echoed through the eerie silence of the forest, punctuating the grotesque atmosphere that surrounded them.
"Yeah," Gaara agreed, his voice barely above a whisper, his eyes wide with a mixture of fascination and horror as he followed Yagura's lead through the nightmarish terrain.
It had been a couple of days since they had separated from Enkai, their enigmatic leader, and they had been constantly traveling ever since, their journey leading them deeper into this surreal wilderness.
The forest they found themselves in was a nightmarish dreamscape, where reality seemed to twist and contort into monstrous shapes. Bizarre creatures lurked, their forms defying logic and reason.
Two-headed snakes slithered through the underbrush, their serpentine bodies a macabre testament to the forest's unnatural influence. Earthworms, unlike any encountered in the realm of the familiar, shot spiderwebs from their segmented bodies, weaving intricate and unsettling patterns that hung like grotesque tapestries in the air.
Their destination, the Land of Sky, loomed like a distant dream. Specifically, they aimed for an unnamed village, a mere dot on the map, but harboring secrets that held the fate of the sky shinobis. Deep within the village lay ruins, concealing the secret headquarters of the sky shinobis—a flying temple, a marvel of ancient shinobi engineering.
"The route is so bad," Yagura exclaimed, frustration etched on his face as he fended off the onslaught of weird, wild animals. His club struck with precision, dispatching the grotesque creatures that dared to cross their path.
"I think this is because we aren't taking the usual Travel routes," Gaara replied, his voice calm amidst the chaos. His eyes, once cold and distant, scanned their surroundings with newfound curiosity. "By avoiding the usual route and travelling this way we are much harder to spot."
"Yeah, Yeah," Yagura sighed, his exasperation evident as he acknowledged Gaara's words.
He understood the logic behind Gaara's decisions, but the annoyance still festered within him. In his mind, he firmly believed that if they had ridden Garuda to arrive here, their journey wouldn't have been marred by this abomination filled forest.
"Anyways, Gaara, have you decided what you're going to do?" Yagura's question cut through the tense air, his eyes searching Gaara's for an answer. "You have been traveling with me for the past two days, and I have tried to answer most of your questions about us with the best of my abilities."
With a weighted pause, Yagura looked intently at Gaara, his expression reflective of the gravity of their situation. "Will you join us, or will you return to Sunagakure?" His words hung in the air, the forest seemingly holding its breath, awaiting Gaara's decision in the face of their mysterious and unsettling journey.
"Am I even allowed to return to Suna?" Gaara's voice held a hint of skepticism, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. He understood the gravity of his situation, the delicate balance between loyalty and survival.
"Yes, you don't need to worry, he won't do anything to you even if you chose to leave," Yagura reassured, his words laced with a sense of finality. "At best, he will place a seal on you so you can't leak our secrets and then leave you."
"But wouldn't killing me be more efficient?" Gaara's question hung in the air, a chilling reminder of the stakes involved. His head tilted slightly, his eyes unwavering as he continued, "After all, I am someone who knows about you guys."
"Yeah, but you're a jinchuriki, and Enkai believes that sooner or later you will join him," Yagura stated matter-of-factly, the truth of their leader's intentions laid bare.
"Is that so," Gaara murmured, his expression inscrutable.
"So what's your decision?" Yagura's question, poised amidst the eerie silence of the forest, demanded an answer, pressing upon Gaara like the weight of their unknown future.
"Before I say that, tell me something," Gaara interjected, his tone measured, his eyes probing for deeper understanding. "How did you end up joining him?"
Yagura's contemplative silence spoke volumes, the memories of his past decisions flickering in his eyes. "Mhhh," he pondered, his voice a whisper amidst the rustling leaves, "At first it was entirely circumstantial." Yagura's words carried the weight of history, as if he were revisiting the pivotal moments of his life.
"Unlike you, I didn't have much of a choice when Enkai offered me to join him," Yagura continued, his voice tinged with a mix of resignation and acceptance. "It was either my death or a scheme where I pretended to be dead and joined him." A fleeting smile curved his lips, as if he had found an unexpected silver lining amidst the shadows. "But the more time I spent with him, the more I realized that sticking with him probably wouldn't be a bad idea."
"What do you mean?" Gaara probed further, his curiosity piqued by Yagura's insights into Enkai's character.
"How should I put it," Yagura began, his voice carrying a mix of admiration and bewilderment, "He seems way more knowledgeable than someone his age. He almost always has the most unrelated, obscure yet accurate pieces of information, and it's always like he sees the world differently than we do."
Yagura's gaze dropped momentarily before he continued, his words revealing a deeper truth. "Above all else, regardless of everything he does, no matter how cruel or ruthless he is to others, I feel the most secure I have ever been beside him," he confessed. "And free! When I was a Mizukage, everything was stiff about my life. But here, nothing is stiff. I am free, and even though Enkai insults me a lot for... err, a few things I do, he never really stops me from enjoying myself, and genuinely takes care of me as a subordinate."
In Yagura's words, Gaara detected a complex mix of loyalty, admiration, and perhaps even a hint of vulnerability. The revelation painted a more nuanced picture of their enigmatic leader, leaving Gaara with a deeper understanding of the dynamics at play within their unconventional alliance.
"You're happy here, huh," Gaara remarked, a genuine smile playing on his lips. "Then Yagura-san, please don't mind sharing that happiness with me."
Yagura's laughter resonated through the eerie silence of the forest, a sound as genuine as the bond they were forming. "HahaHa! Sharing happiness doesn't spend it, it instead increases it!" Yagura's words, filled with mirth, carried the wisdom of someone who had found a semblance of contentment amidst the chaos of their world.
The echoes of Yagura's laughter mingled with the rustling leaves, a sound of camaraderie amidst the eerie forest. Their conversation, filled with revelations and shared understanding, seemed to carry them forward, guiding their steps until they finally arrived at the borders of the village hiding the flying temple—Ancor Vantian.
As they emerged from the forest, Enkai, their enigmatic leader, greeted them casually, leaning nonchalantly against a tree trunk.
"See Gaara! This is exactly what I was talking about when I said we should have rode Garuda!" Yagura exclaimed, his frustration evident as he gestured accusatorily towards Enkai. "I bet this guy flew here while we were struggling to cross the forest!" Yagura's tone was a mix of irritation and fraustration as he confronted their leader.
"How long have you been there?" Yagura's inquiry cut through the tension, his suspicion palpable in the air. Gaara, though taken aback, observed the interaction with keen interest, his own thoughts cloaked behind a composed facade.
"Not long, it's just that my detour ended faster than I thought," Enkai chuckled lightly, his response veiled in mystery.
"I flew here because I was confident in my silent flight. Garuda, despite being fast, makes a lot of noise, so you two would have been caught by the sky ninjas had you ridden him," Enkai explained, his words painting a vivid picture of the dangers they had narrowly avoided.
Enkai's gaze fixed on Gaara, his eyes assessing the determination in the young ninja's eyes. "Anyways, Gaara, I think two days are enough time for you to decide whether you want to join me or not," Enkai stated, his tone firm, his expectations clear. "So, what do you want to do?"
"I will join you," Gaara declared, his voice unwavering, his decision made. "For I have nothing to lose by joining you and I have nothing to gain by staying in Sunagakure."
Enkai's nod acknowledged Gaara's choice, his approval evident in his demeanor. "Good choice," he said, his confidence in Gaara's decision apparent.
Taking a step back, Enkai addressed both Yagura and Gaara with a sense of purpose. "Gaara, I welcome you to our first mission—Operation Secure the world's best Base."
Under the dense canopy of the forest, Enkai outlined their next steps. "Tomorrow, we gather information about the ruins from the villagers," he stated with a commanding tone, his eyes flickering with a predatory gleam. "But first, we establish our base of operation here."
As he mentioned the base being inside the forest, both Yagura and Gaara winced in disgust. Yagura couldn't help but voice his disdain. "Ugh, do we really have to stay in this godforsaken forest?" he whined, his face contorting with displeasure.
Ignoring their reactions, Enkai proceeded, undeterred. Together, they began crafting a small, camouflaged base amidst the twisted trees and shadows, their hands swiftly working to create a sanctuary within the eerie wilderness.
Then the Dawn rose and the first light of the day pierced through the morning haze of the village, and as time passed three outsiders blended themselves in among the villagers without anyone noticing.
In the narrow confines of the alleyway, Enkai's Sharingan blazed to life, its crimson glow reflecting on the eyes of a unsuspecting sky chūnin.
Yagura and Gaara stood beside Enkai, thier senses heightened as they looked to any changes in the surroundings. Then a second passed, followed by a minute, as time seemed to stretch as Enkai Extracted Information straight from the chūnins mind.
When Enkai finally released the ninja, the man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
"I have extracted the location of the ruins," Enkai declared, his voice cold and calculating.
"Get ready, boys. The massacre is about to begin." he announced, his voice cutting through the morning silence. Enkai's words hung in the air, a chilling proclamation of the darkness that loomed ahead.