"Are you ready, Ren?" I asked while slicking my hair back. The massacre was about to end; almost every member of the Kaguya clan was on the verge of being killed.
.
After their deaths, they were tossed to the side one after another, creating a hill of corpses.
"Yes, Lady Hinata, everything is ready," he respectfully said. We had set many paper bombs, poisonous gas, and traps along the way without anyone noticing them.
.
The boy in the cage observed how his people were being killed one by one in cold blood through a small hole.
He had placed his hand over his mouth to stifle any unnecessary sounds that could reveal his location.
All of his hopes were shattering minute by minute, and the fear of being killed was slowly creeping into his heart.
"If an Uchiha saw his people being killed like this, he surely would have awakened his Mangekyo," I said with a chuckle.
.
"Let's go," I said, disappearing from the hill.
Every last member of the clan was killed, and the Kiri ninjas were digging a large pit to bury them.
I stealthily appeared in the cage, without anyone noticing, thanks to the night and the distance between the cage and the Kiri ninjas. It was very hard to notice.
A small chakra string started to extend from the Tenketsu of my toe and slowly crawled towards the nearby ninja.
I chose him because he was weak.
.
The string wrapped around his ankle, and with a slight push, I tucked him. He immediately turned his head towards the cage, "WHO's there?" he shouted, alerting the nearby ninjas.
"It must be some thief who wants to steal the remnants of the dead clan."
"You three, go and catch him," one of the high-ranking ninjas quickly ordered his men.
Three ninjas at the Chunin level rushed toward me with their weapons in their hands.
.
"Boy… do you want to live or die?" I asked.
"live…" the answer came instantly.
"Good…then don't scream," I said and put my hand on the cage. Many chakra strings wrapped around him, binding him to the cage in a way that even if he was thrown, he wouldn't sustain any injuries due to the elasticity of the strings.
*puff*
A smoke bomb exploded around me, engulfing me and the cage completely. With a swift jump, I landed on a tree trunk.
With a grabbing motion, I seized all the chakra strings connected to the cage.
*swsh*
I pulled the cage out of the smoke with all of my strength, creating a swishing sound.
The cage was propelled with astonishing speed. These strings could lift very heavy objects with little effort.
The cage was about to hit the ground, away from me by at least 100 meters, but Ren swiftly caught it.
.
This sequence happened in less than three seconds.
.
Placing my hand on the tree trunk and then disappearing from there, reappearing on another tree and pressing my palm against it.
thud With a swift jump, I landed on the ground. The three ninjas were about to reach me, but suddenly, their movements halted.
"What?" the three of them exclaimed.
.
To normal eyes, it seemed like they were suspended in mid-air.
However, my Byakugan was active behind my mask, and I could perfectly see the web of chakra strings between two trees. If I had sharpened the strings a bit more, with their speed, they would have been cut into pieces.
'Maybe I should do it later,' I thought.
.
Quickly pulling out three senbon needles, I aimed for their vital points.
swish Three sharp needles hit their legs, rendering them incapable of running. They didn't feel any pain, but when they tried to move their left legs, it didn't budge.
As for why more Kiri ninja didn't come to help, the reason was simple: I was just a common thief, and how much trouble could I cause for three Chunin?
With the use of body flickers, I appeared more than 50 meters away from them.
Not even 30 seconds had passed completely.
.
"There is nothing in that box; it's just food, so you should give up," I lied through my teeth, but they didn't need to know that.
Opening a scroll, with a puff of smoke, at least 10 more smoke bombs appeared in my hand.
Throwing them in all directions, I disappeared again, and it took only 4 more seconds.
When my web dispersed, the three ninjas yelled, "Help, the enemy is stronger!"
.
In less than 10 seconds, many ninjas appeared in front of them.
"Did you find what they stole?" one of them asked.
"He said it's just food."
"All of you scatter all around and catch that thief," a Jonin ninja commanded and then they all dispersed in different directions.
"You fools, you make it easier after splitting," I observed their movements from afar.
---
'Hehe… look how determined he is,' I looked down at a Chunin ninja who was searching for me with all his passion.
This island is relatively very big from where Haku lived, and certainly, the forest is also very large, so it was a perfect playground.
Activating my Byakugan, I looked at Ren, who had successfully avoided the ninja and reached the location where I told him.
.
It's only been ten minutes, and this is my third target.
I raised my hand and performed a hand seal. From the nearby pond, a water clone was formed. This was my first time using the water clone, and it was very easy to use it in an atmosphere like this.
My water clone quietly approached him, but at the last moment, it made a cracking sound. The Kiri ninja quickly spun on his heels and swung his kunai in an arc.
*splash*
The water splashed on the ground, and with a surprised look, he spoke, "Water clone."
At this moment, he knew he fucked up.
.
"Surprise, bitch..." I whispered in his ear, and spinning a needle between my fingers, I stabbed it behind his neck. All of his body below the neck lost strength, and he fell to the ground with a thud.
This trick had worked every time. "Am I this strong, or are these people weak?"
I didn't kill any of them; they would wake up in one or two days, and they would have the same story to tell. I used the assassination techniques and water clone for one reason: if they searched for the culprit, they would only look for it in Kiri.
I didn't want something to come back to me and bite me.
"Let's see how the boy is doing."
---
Using the secret route Ren and Ritsu had created in the past 20 days, I soon reached my location. It was a dense forest, and the sound of waves crashing could be heard. Ren was waiting for me to appear.
"Lady Hinata, you are here," he said with relief.
I nodded to him and looked at the cage.
.
With steady steps, I approached the cage. A smile started to grace my lips when I looked at the broken boy in the cage. He had lost all hope, not knowing who had saved him or what they would do to him.
*click*
With a clicking sound, the door of the small cage opened, revealing the pale-skinned, white-haired boy with two red dots on his forehead, malnourished and frail.
"Come out, boy," I said with a stern voice.
He slowly crawled out of the cage, and when he was free, he stood up at a height 5 inches shorter than me. He looked at me warily, uncertain about what awaited him.
"What is your name?" my voice remained stern.
"Kimimaro Kaguya," he said in a weak voice.
.
"It's a good name," I replied, turning away from him and walking towards Ren, leaving him alone.
"You are free now," I added without looking at him.
.
He wore a surprised look on his face, having expected to be sold or enslaved by them. In his wildest dreams, he hadn't thought that he would be freed.
Now, he was free — free to do whatever he wanted and go wherever he pleased. His rescuers hadn't asked him for anything. However, now that he was free, he had nothing — nowhere to go, no family, no friends. He was completely alone.
"WAIT!" he exclaimed.
'The fish had taken the bait.'
.
Chuckling inwardly, I turned and looked at the boy. This time, I didn't want to approach him. I wanted him to walk towards me on his own and offer his freedom willingly.
"Is there something you want to say?" I asked in a displeased tone.
"Y-Yes," he spoke.
"I don't have much time, so speak in one sentence."
"Please take me with you," he asked with a bow and hope.
.
"Ohh... and why should I do that?" I asked as if I were truly curious, slightly giving him some hope.
"I-I have nowhere to go," he said in a shaky voice.
"You know there are thousands of children like you. If I'm taking everyone with me, my home will become an orphanage," I said.
"But…" he wanted to say something, his voice almost begging me.
.
"What is so special about you, and what can you give me in return?" I asked him.
He quickly approached me, raised his hand, and a blade-like bone came out of his palm. He looked at me with expectation.
"Is that all?" I asked him, not so impressed by his ability. He slightly panicked when I stepped back and was about to leave.
"There are many people with kekkei genkai; in fact, my whole clan possesses a kekkei genkai," I said, removing my mask and activating my Byakugan to show him that he is not so special.
'Am I taking things too far?'
.
"I have nothing else," he said in a sad tone.
"Is that so? Well, too bad for you. I have nothing to do with you," I said in disappointment, subtly indicating that if he had something, I might have considered taking him with me.
Leaving him alone, I walked away, and my figure began to disappear from his vision. He stood there, watching me leave.
"WAIT!" he yelled from afar and ran towards me.
'Ohh… boy… you finally understand what I want.'
.
"I will do anything for you; I will always be loyal to you," he pleaded.
"Ohh… do you know what we are talking about, boy?" I raised an eyebrow in interest.
"I know," he nodded.
"You are asking to be my slave," I bluntly stated.
"Yes, I know."
"Are you willing to do anything if I ask something?" I asked with a slight smirk.
"Yes."
"If I say you will not speak, you won't. If I say to kill someone, you will do it. If I say sacrifice your life for me, you will do it," I asked him.
"I will do…" he said with determination.
'How desperate can you be'
.
"I am not a good person. Many people will hate me and try to kill me. I am the most heinous person in the world. You can consider me the reincarnation of evil itself. If I tell you that I saved you for my own benefits… Now you know my true face. Will you still stand by your words?" I stared at him with a malicious grin and a dark chuckle.
He took a step back when he felt my intense gaze, but I could see the same determination in his eyes.
"You are a good person, at least to me. It doesn't matter to me whether you are good or bad; you saved my life even if it benefits you. In the end, when nobody saved me, you did, and I will do anything to repay it," he said sincerely.
"Subarashii."
.
I ruffled his hair. Raising my left hand, countless silk-like chakra threads wove together, forming a mask for him. I put the mask on his face, hiding his red dots and making his eyes just like mine.
"From now on, you are one of us."
Hearing my words, his eyes lit up. I have to dye his hair brown and change his hairstyle a bit, and then he will be considered a full-fledged member of the Hyuga clan.
.
"Welcome to the group, boy. We will reach the apex of this world, or we will die together," I said, indicating for him to follow.
.
.
.
--
End of the chapter. how do you like it? tell me your thoughts in the comments...
and add the book to your library...