Chapter 69
MATATABI-The Two Tails
To Matatabi, humans were detestable. They were primitive beings filled with greed and malice, each hungry for power and influence. There was a time when she, and the rest of her brethren thought themselves as guardians of the humans, burdened with protecting by their father.
And yet, as the years went by and human depravity grew and grew, they became recluses, fearing that the humans may seek them and their power for their own personal gain. They were powerful, each of them carrying within itself enormous chakra and special abilities, and yet the years of war had honed human capabilities as well, and in their thirst for power, many a human had developed ways through which they could control her and her brethren.
Many had retaliated. Kyubi, with her pride, had sought to protect them and had massacred humans by the thousands in her thirst for revenge, and so had Shukaku. While others had simply chosen to go into seclusion, choosing to forego the duty set onto them by their father.
And in their solitude on only the lingering hope of the prophecy remained, one speaking of a boy that would bring them together and change the world.
They had thought that the time would come when word of a shinobi capturing them all had come, and yet that was not true. Hashirama Senju had not come to make peace. No, the man was much like the rest of the humans, drunk on his power with no concern over what he was doing to them.
He used them as bargaining chips, bartering and selling them for his cheap vision. So their lives of solitude became lives of imprisonment as they were sealed from one jinchuriki into another and with no hope in sight of this gruesome cycle coming to an end, a miracle had happened.
Yugito's death had made her sad, she had watched the Kumo nin grow up from infancy infront of her own eyes, and though the kid was her jailor, she was not blind to the tragedy that the blonde's life had been. And so when the attack on that parlay had failed, and Yugito's body began to give up she sighed and accepted that she would either die or be transferred to a new host.
A host that would change everything.
Unlike Yugito, her new host was not so young, and neither was he a ninja. He was a daimyo, a noble of the highest class, one that ruled over a whole province, carrying even more power than a kage. His life force was nothing but embers barely holding on to the thread of life, and yet the seal used to constrain her to his body was nothing like the one she had experienced before.
It was weak and accommodating, one she felt she could easily break if she wished to, and yet she knew of the skill of Konoha's seal master, knew that he could employ a seal much harsher and more powerful than this one, and yet he had not.
And then he had appeared, walking into the mindscape. He looked at her with pity and awe as he sat down in front of her. Unperturbed by the chilly killing intent, she focused on him and spoke of words she had not heard till that day.
"I am sorry for putting you through this, Matatabi." And he took her name, the one given to her by her father. And with that apology a friendship had blossomed, one that sought to end the tragedy of jinchuriki and bijuu alike.
"You were not being honest with everyone," she spoke to him as she rested in his mindscape. Akihito sat there, sitting cross-legged, honing his control over chakra and natural energy, as he nodded.
"You are afraid of that man, of just what might happen during this grand council," she added, and he opened his eyes and gave her a tired smile.
"Only a fool would not fear Madara Uchiha," he replied, and the mention of that name made her teeth grind. That had man's atrocities against her own brethren were simply too much, his ambition for them and how he wished to use them threatening the end of the world.
"Even with nearly five of my brethren and the strongest shinobi of the time," she asked, and he nodded.
"Even then, I would dare say that we are at a disadvantage," he elaborated.
"Then why have you not called for the rest of my brethren? Perhaps with all nine of us, we could even the odds," she asked, and he smirked.
"I made an offer to all of them, and I cannot force them to come. Not after I have promised them autonomy, and this is good in some ways. For if we do fail, at least the world may have a chance at survival," he said and that had been the promise.
Freedom is not just for herself but for all her brothers and sisters. He was the one, the boy her father had spoken of. The one who would unite them all and change the world.
After becoming her jinchuriki, he spoke of the connection they all shared. She was surprised to learn how he learned of it. But in the end, he managed to convince her to use it to make contact with the other jinchuriki.
And so, in two years, he had managed to turn them all to his side, convincing them to loosen their seals and make peace with the bijuu sealed inside them and share their pain. It was hard to trust humans after so much time and baggage, but following Kurama's example, a dialogue had begun.
And for those unconvinced, his next promise would make the biggest difference.
"This shall be the last time a bijuu is sealed in a human. I am to become a Shogun soon enough, and when I do, it is my pledge that those of you who seek freedom shall be freed of your jailors and left to live freely as long as you do no harm to the humans," it was a bold offer. One which only he could enact, given his authority as a Shogun.
And to show his sincerity, he would make a show. Isobu, the three tails, would be offered sanctuary by the Kirigakure rather than being sealed, and now their brother swan was free. So did Son Goku, who wished to escape the war, and much like his own jinchuriki, he would be offered sanctuary in Amegakure.
So, all of them had begun to understand that he was the boy their father spoke of, the one who was set to change the world.
"The Seal is complete, you know," he began, smiling at her. She frowned as she lay there, amused by his voice.
"I know," the seal that would allow for the safe removal of a bijuu from a jinchuriki. It had taken Konoha's premiere seal master over a year to design the thing, and the project was completed only a few days ago.
"Though I plan to make an announcement during the Grand Council, I would not begrudge you if you wished to leave me now," he offered, and it was a gesture unlike any other.
"And have you die," she scoffed, remembering just how he had clung to life when she had been first sealed into him.
"No, I will stay with you until I see you keep your promise," she said haughtily as he smiled at her.
"Thank you for everything, Matatabi," he said, and she nodded as she wrapped her tail around him. She took in the senjutsu chakra he had gathered and began to store it for the times that lay ahead.
"I shall thank you when you keep your promise."
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OROCHIMARU-The Snake Sanin
Both shame and pride filled him as he stared at the person standing infront of him and felt the sheer power emanating out of him. Recreating Madara Uchiha's body had been an astronomical task, one that had taken nearly everything out of him.
It was a task done with reluctance and fear. The more he became aware of the man's plans, the more he regretted ever joining hands with him.
And as he told him about all the changes that had transpired in the two years since he had vanished from the world he saw the man nod, a smile on his lips.
"A Shogun, it has been quite some time since I have heard that title," the man finished, and just by simply standing there, one felt the power emanating out of him. Orochimaru of the Sanin was a weak shinobi, he would consider himself amongst the elite of his time, and yet even someone like him was nothing in comparison to the powers of the man sitting infront of him.
"I made the same proposal to Hashirama when we first joined hands, to put our backs behind the first fire daimyo to make him a shogun. And yet Hashirama would refuse to believe in his nonsense till the end," the man reiterated, and the way he spoke of Hashirama was in reverence, and despite their battles and contrasts, there was a certain element of respect whenever he spoke of it.
"To think that a mere noble would be able to do this. These are indeed interesting times," he finished as he looked straight at him.
"Alas, he is too late. If only he had been born a hundred years ago," he finished as he began to stretch his hands.
"You spoke of a Grand Council, one where all the nobles and the kages are set to gather," the penultimate Uchiha asked, and he nodded.
"Indeed, it is set to take place in a month's time. The location is being kept a secret, but I have received word that it is set to take place in the Land of Iron," he reported, knowing that he had no choice but to.
"Good, that shall give me just enough time to get used to this new body of mine," he said as his eyes turned from their scarlet to the penultimate purple of the Rinnegan.
"Are the other preparations finished?" came the question.
"They are."
"Then summon them. Let me test the power of that white-haired bastard's creation."
And so, he did, and so an hour later, when Orochimaru found himself alone in his lab, he looked at himself in the mirror and found only half a face staring at him, the other covered by a grotesque dark creature, one he was made to believe was Madara's will.
But if his own conjecture was true, then it was anything but. And though he was caged at the moment by this abhorrent creature, a snake was anything but slippery, and so as he wrote down a simple report, far, far away, a white-haired shinobi would open his eyes, startled at the signal he was receiving.
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