In a small farming village, two young boys were arguing aggressively while helping the farmers harvest rice.
They were, of course, Getsuya and Kiyoshi. The two were just a day away from the border of the Land of Noodles, which is why they were at that very moment harvesting rice.
"Getsuya, maybe we should see if there's any work we can do. That way, when we reach the Land of Noodles, we can pay for a cabin on any boat headed to Nagi Island," Kiyoshi said one day while they ate some birds they had hunted earlier.
Getsuya looked around as if searching for something. He glanced at the small camp they had set up earlier, at the trees, then at the fields in the distance. He looked back at Kiyoshi, raising an eyebrow.
"Are you sure about that?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I be? It's a necessity! We need money to get to Nagi."
Getsuya took a big bite of the bird thigh he had roasted, letting the fat run down his hands as he chewed, and with his mouth full, he said, "You know, this whole time we've been together, I thought you were just a spoiled brat who had never seen the world. But now, you've earned my respect! I'll let you call me big brother!"
"First, I'm fourteen, and you're not even eight. Second, who's the spoiled brat?!"
Arguments were exchanged, insults were thrown, and they even used the daily sparring they'd been having since Kiyoshi started teaching Getsuya. It was a bloody sparring session, with Getsuya ending up with half his body paralyzed due to the Hyuuga techniques, while Kiyoshi walked away with a black eye.
The argument continued late into the night, and eventually, Getsuya fell asleep suddenly, leaving Kiyoshi alone with his thoughts. Despite being annoyed by the night's arguments, he felt strangely at ease.
He didn't need to act with nobility, didn't need to have conversations with other clan representatives, didn't need to be a perfect soldier and a prodigious son. Here, in the middle of the wilderness where no one knew him, he wasn't a Hyuuga; he was simply Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi, fourteen, camping with his friend.
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"WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME THAT THE ONLY JOB AROUND HERE WOULD BE HARVESTING RICE?"
Kiyoshi yelled, his feet sinking in the rice paddy as he, despite his anger, continued to work diligently.
Sure, he liked not living up to his clan's expectations, but that didn't mean he wanted to become a farmer, harvesting rice, planting, praying to the heavens for rain and good crops.
Getsuya, a little further ahead, looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Did you even pay attention to our surroundings during our journey? There are only rice fields for miles! What the hell did you think we'd be doing here, fighting underworld beasts? And I thought you weren't a spoiled brat… maybe I was hasty."
Kiyoshi glared at Getsuya, his clothes muddy and speckled with dirt. "How the hell was I supposed to know?! And who's the spoiled brat? Say that one more time if you dare!"
Before they could start another argument, however, the farmer shouted from afar, "If you don't finish this field today, you won't be paid!"
They both fell silent and returned to their work, but they hadn't forgotten to throw looks at each other. Getsuya had a condescending expression, while Kiyoshi seemed to wish he could kill the younger boy with his gaze.
After an exhausting day's work, Getsuya and Kiyoshi headed to a small, thatched hut in the corner of the small farming village. There were two straw beds. They were uncomfortable, dirty, full of bugs, and an insult to any civilized human being. No one should have to sleep on something like this. But it was the only bed he could use. That stinking, uncomfortable bed was a thousand times better than sleeping on the hard floor of a damp cave.
If this bed, this hut, had been offered to Kiyoshi two months ago, he wouldn't have thought twice before beating up whoever made the offer. But now? Kiyoshi could only feel grateful not to be sleeping on the hard ground.
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BOOM
A deafening explosion disturbed the peaceful night. Kiyoshi opened his eyes with his Byakugan already activated, a habit he'd acquired after so many ambushes. In his mind, he saw everything without needing to look directly in all directions.
His vision expanded into a monochromatic world. He could see the hut, Getsuya with his mouth wide open, as a sea of flames roared from his mouth at a stealthy ninja who had tried to kill him in his sleep.
There were four more ninjas in the hut, with several more outside. Two of these ninjas stood beside him, kunai in hand, ready to slit his throat. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The flames, the kunai. But Kiyoshi's mind was a sea of scattered thoughts, while his body reacted instinctively.
'How did they find us? We avoided cities and mostly traveled through forests. I always cover my face, hiding my eyes! Why are they still following me? Maybe I know who wants to kill me? Can't they leave me alone? We covered our tracks! How did they find us?!'
Of course, it didn't cross Kiyoshi's mind that, despite being a prodigy of a renowned clan, these ninjas were experienced and could track Kiyoshi and Getsuya all across the Land of Fire. Prodigy or not, Kiyoshi was only fourteen, far too young, far too inexperienced.
With a well-placed kick, Kiyoshi successfully diverted one of the kunai, using both hands to block the other. He leaped up, getting into a fighting stance, ready to kill every enemy.
"I'M GOING TO SLAUGHTER YOU ALL! HOW DARE YOU INTERRUPT MY SLEEP? DYING IS TOO LITTLE; I'M GOING TO TORTURE YOU!"
Getsuya's roar reminded Kiyoshi that he wasn't alone, his friend was with him. Despite the unfavorable situation, Kiyoshi felt much of the tension leave his body.
The hut was ablaze, villagers screaming in terror, but behind the Byakugan, Kiyoshi could see they were only scared. They hadn't been attacked, which was a small relief for Kiyoshi. These were good people, and in the past week they had been there, they had welcomed Getsuya and Kiyoshi without question or prejudice.
"Getsuya! They're trained ninjas! Be careful; any slip-up means death!" Kiyoshi tried to warn, but it was no use; Getsuya was already launching himself at the enemy, jets of flame bursting from his fists with every punch, tongues of fire flowing from his feet with every kick. Getsuya's hair was a vibrant red.
Kiyoshi knew what that meant. Having been with Getsuya for so long, he had finally come to understand some of his friend's peculiarities. His hair usually had a very dark shade of blue, or a very deep shade of red. But when he was angry, his hair changed, his heterochromatic eyes shone, and his body produced chakra wildly, visible to the naked eye.
"Stay back, Kiyoshi! I'm going to kill these bastards!" Getsuya shouted while fighting a shinobi who was clearly desperate, silently begging his companions for help. The two shinobi surrounding Kiyoshi hesitated, unsure whether to try to kill Kiyoshi or neutralize the bigger threat.
Kiyoshi opened his mouth to tell him this was serious, to stop acting childish, but then he saw it. A large amount of chakra was generated by Getsuya's body, and with quick hand movements, Kiyoshi made the necessary hand seals and sank into the ground, running as far away as possible.
Emerging in the distance, Kiyoshi saw the shinobi outside the hut trying to run in his direction. A grave mistake.
BOOM
An explosion of blinding flames, with indescribable fury, turned the hut to ashes. The flames were visible even miles away, the heat almost unbearable.
Kiyoshi was completely silent, unsure how to react.
Getsuya looked like a wounded beast. He ran, dodging shurikens with his upper body while kicking with one foot, flames responding to his rage. A sadistic grin was on his face.
The shinobi were using Suiton jutsus, trying to weaken Getsuya's momentum, but he seemed offended by it.
Where flames once surged around him, he spat a large amount of water, pushing away everyone around him. Kiyoshi was already at a distance but had to move even further away.
There was no way he could fight this battle. It was too much for him. His mind was still struggling to process what was happening before his eyes.
Was this the same Getsuya who talked about food all day? The troublemaker who took days to memorize the names of the hand seals? The same Getsuya who seemed like a petulant child, complaining about the heat and the cold, the day and the night?
How did he have so much power? Was the entire Engetsu clan like this before their extermination? Had he been blessed with chakra?
While Kiyoshi pondered, the waters created by Getsuya seemed to come to life, forming an undefined creature, an impressive five meters tall. The creature struck with its watery arms, pushing back the shinobi who tried to surround Getsuya. Getsuya himself was drenched and panting heavily, but still wore a wild grin.
His body was covered in numerous small cuts, but he seemed oblivious to them. Then, Kiyoshi noticed three chakra signatures in the corner of his vision. They were well hidden—experienced ninjas, observing all the destruction.
Summoning chakra throughout his body, Kiyoshi ran toward them. They were concealed in the rice fields, camouflaged in the mud.
As soon as the hidden shinobi realized they'd been spotted, they hurled dozens of shurikens at Kiyoshi in rapid succession. Kiyoshi dodged to the right, then the left, and when he saw one of the three shinobi emerging from the ground beneath him, he simply jumped, enveloped his hand with chakra, and slammed it into the ground.
Blood splattered on his face, and his eyes reflexively closed, but this didn't stop his vision. It never would. Tilting his head in fluid movements, a kunai missed his cheek by mere millimeters.
A shockwave ran through his body. Another explosion from Getsuya. As if it were a signal, three people moved in unison.
The two surviving ninjas glared at him, their eyes red with barely disguised fury. Holding a kunai in each hand, they approached with the clear intent to maim—to cut every part of Kiyoshi's body.
Kiyoshi dodged, parried, and countered. His movements were smooth, almost gentle. A slight elbow movement knocked the kunai off its original path. A low kick unbalanced the female shinobi, even though her clothes were loose and black.
As she fell, another kick struck toward her face. The woman's eyes widened in shock and horror, already knowing what was about to happen to her.
The wet sound of something breaking was heard, and it seemed like the entire battlefield could hear it, even with the flames roaring and Getsuya's sadistic laughter echoing.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" shouted the last shinobi of the three who had been hiding. He seemed to have gone completely mad, his eyes red with rage. Kiyoshi's eyes widened. He finally knew who they were facing.
The Shinro Clan—a famous clan of tracking shinobi, one of the best in the Land of Fire. But they were known for something else.
"GETSUYA! Don't let them hit you! They use poison!"
Kiyoshi barely had time to say anything more. The shinobi's skin turned purple, his eyes bursting like soap bubbles. Kiyoshi knew what this was. A kinjutsu. In exchange for the user's life, a powerful deadly poison jutsu would be released over a wide area.
Kiyoshi was afraid but far angrier. Time and again, he'd been hunted without knowing why. He hadn't done anything to anyone. He fought battles his clan was hired to fight, but he'd never taken pleasure in taking a life. Time and again, they tried to kill him.
He'd lost cousins, friends, and didn't know if his clan was safe. He tried to be patient. He tried to be logical, thinking this was all a great learning experience. He tried to be calm, knowing that anyone who captured him might want his eyes or force him to breed children with his dojutsu.
But he was done. He was out of patience. His mind was consumed only by hatred. If he survived, he would kill every last member of the Shinro Clan. He would kill them all, from the youngest to the oldest, and anyone who had ordered his capture.
Kiyoshi felt as if he could see the world in slow motion. A moonless night. The village's residents were already far away, running as fast as they could.
But where was Getsuya? Where were the shinobi that Getsuya had been fighting?
Kiyoshi then saw a bubbling mass of chakra coming toward him. Getsuya's eyes were blurred, his body covered in small cuts, his clothes completely destroyed, but he still wore that ferocious grin. He wanted blood. He wanted to kill someone else.
Getsuya landed beside Kiyoshi, his flaming red hair flowing like liquid fire behind him.
Kiyoshi opened his mouth to try to tell Getsuya to run, but couldn't.
Getsuya opened his mouth wide, and like a dragon from legends, white flames, almost like liquid fire, poured from his throat toward the shinobi who was trying to explode in a cloud of poison. Kiyoshi had to deactivate his Byakugan and close his eyes.
The light was unbearable. When he opened his eyes, there was a ten-meter-long, scorched path in front of Getsuya. This took time to describe, but only seconds had passed since the kinjutsu's activation.
"Getsuya… what… what was that?"
Getsuya didn't answer. He panted heavily, the blood vessels in his eyes burst, he gasped as if he couldn't breathe, his hair reverted to a dark blue hue, and he collapsed.
Kiyoshi rushed to his friend's side to help him. This would be a long night.
A shinobi dressed in black and wearing a mask like the Shinro Clan shinobi who had attacked Getsuya leaned against a tree. He was drenched in sweat, trembling, and breathless.
He was a sensor. He had sensed everything that had happened from more than ten miles away. That wasn't a human. Not even the Uchiha took pleasure in killing.
But that monster… that demon enjoyed what he did, prolonging the death of all his opponents so they could feel their bodies burn.
"I… I have to warn the patriarch. The demon must die!"
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Author's Note: I know this translation is bad. I worked hard on this chapter, but it's what it is. If anyone can help proofread it or spot illegible parts, please let me know.