Red Riot - Chapter 66 - Red flight (Patreon)

Matsu Uzumaki:- Elite Jonin. Chief Medical Officer of the Kiri. Commander of the Northwestern Front for Kiri

Teito:- Civilian chunin of Kirigakure. Has ideas. Sometimes they’re good.

Juzo Biwa:- One of the Seven Swordsmen and wielder of the Kubikiribocho blade.

Himeko Kaguya:- Tokubetsu Jonin of Kirigakure with her skills as a taijutsu specialist bolstered by her bloodline.

Kimikaku Kaguya:- Clan head of the Kaguya clan.

Nami:- Girl Orca calf that is part of the Orca summons

Minoru:- Boy Orca calf that is part of the Orca summons

Shinno: Doctor and former leader of the Land of Sky nin. He has signed on with Matsu for a place within Octocity.

________________________

My chakra raced through my coils at a leisurely pace. 

To another sensor, it would appear frantic and fast, but to me, it was like an orca in a river system. Orcas could move at truly impressive speed without looking like they were exerting any effort at all.

They could spin, twist, and divert their giant masses easily.

Orcas were powerful, predatory animals.

Animals that I’d got perhaps a little too comfortable around. 

Without opening my eyes, I stopped floating and tucked in around the surging nose of Nami, who was trying to bump me.

Just due to the inertia, a bump from her would see me launched out of the water, so instead I danced through the water past her.

“Tch!” she growled into the air at my dodge, only to hold herself upright out of the water like a dolphin might at a performance. “Ohhhh! Someone’s here!”

“An intruder?” gasped Minoru the orca as he joined his sister in watching the stairs, their clicks filling the cave.

“Yes! Finally! An Intruder!” Nami crowed. “Can I kill them, please?”

I bobbed up next to them, having known who was coming for a few minutes now. “No, that’s my fiancée.”

“What’s a fi-fiancée?” asked Minoru.

I sighed. For all that, they were giant murder beasts of the ocean. They were still just children. “She’s going to be my mate, like—”

“Oh! Like Mama and Papa!” cried Minoru as he instantly understood. “They’re trying for another calf, you know! Cause we’re over here so often!” 

“They’re fucking all day!” agreed Nami. ‘It’s much nicer being over here!”

“... that’s nice,” I replied, not really wanting to think about orcas mating, like ever.

From the stairs, a clack sounded out along with a pulse of chakra, causing both calves to stop goofing around and stare.

“That was… like our clicks,” murmured Minoru as he caught on to what Himeko had just done.

“Hello Himeko,” I said as I bobbed up and began to tread water idly.

Himeko peered at me from the open spiral staircase, her eyes darting around the giant hidden grotto that I’d formed.

“So I was right; it was your summons that were shadowing us.” She inspected Nami and Minoru. “These are only little ones, aren’t they?”

“Come closer and say that!” growled Nami as she smiled wide, showing off her mouth full of teeth that were at least as large as a kunai.

“N-nami, don’t fight her!” whined Minoru, ever trying and flying to be the peacemaker for his sister.

“Hmmm, I like this one,” Himeko replied with a grin of her own. “You mind Matsu?”

Nudging Minoru to get him out of the way, I propelled myself away from what was about to happen.

Nami took the initiative by launching bullets of water at Himeko only for Himeko to counter with spears of bone that cut through the water and caused them to spray outwards.

When the bones hit the water out of curiosity, I caught one with a water tentacle and drew it close.

Huh, she’d hollowed out the bones but included small spiral grooves through them while having bleed points.

This would result in water hitting the bones and spraying outwards, creating an umbrella of water that would hide her for a few moments.

“Sister! Lookout she’s—”

Oh, right, Himeko was fighting Nami right now. I looked away from the bone spear and watched as Himeko raced across the water, only for Nami to counter with a wave with a sweep of her tail. 

Nami then tucked and dove only to come from beneath the water straight at Himeko.

Himeko didn’t flinch. Instead of leaping away, she dove straight into the maw of Nami, her bones expanding into large stakes that locked Nami’s jaw wide open.

“Ah! Don’t eat her!” cried out Minoru only for his sister to gag and convulse.

“Welp, she had to learn not to try and eat all of her prey before it was dead eventually,” I murmured as Nami failed to close her jaw despite thrashing about.

Nami began to throw herself, only to go still. The sort of still that meant someone else was forcing it to happen.

“That’s more fucking like it you overgrown fish!” snarled Himeko from between Nami’s jaw. “If I wanted to, I could fillet you and serve you with some rice!”

“Guah!” cried Nami, unable to respond to the provocation, only to fall silent.

“Oh no! Don’t hurt her!” cried Minoru. “She’s just excessively violent sometimes! She would have felt a little bad if she had actually eaten you!”

I sighed. What Minoru was saying wasn’t wrong, but it certainly didn’t cast his sister in the best light. Not that Himeko was listening. Her gaze was locked on Nami, or rather, the back of her throat.

“Alright, I’m going to swim out, and if I have to activate the bone skewer, I will kill you brat, so don’t try anything cute,” she warned before hopping out of Nami’s mouth and onto the water.

She then withdrew the bone locking mechanism she’d used to trap Nami’s mouth open.

Nami retreated, eyeing Himeko carefully. She clicked a few times before shuddering.

“Alright, you won this time,” she muttered. “You’re lucky I have to leave right now to patrol, or else I’d show you I was just messing around!” She clicked her tongue and dove to escape the grotto through underwater caverns.

Himeko watched her go, aware that the calf might double back on her.

Minoru bobbed over. “I think she liked you! Please be her friend!” he asked before nodding and chasing after his sister.

Himeko snorted and flicked her body to send any water that had soaked into her to rush off her. “Cute kids and cute little cave. How come you’re down here?”

“I was meditating,” I replied, giving her a cursory look. I didn’t think she’d ever approve of anything ‘cute’. If I hadn’t just watched her brawl with an orca calf the size of her, I’d be challenging her identity.

“Eh, lame. You could have been doing something to get stronger,” she pointed out.

“I was.” 

“Oh, that chakra thing you do?” Himeko extended claws through the back of her hands only to clash them together and send off a light ringing sound that echoed throughout the grotto. 

“You didn’t mind how it gave you better control and more chakra to work with when I performed it on you,” I pointed out.

"Yeeeeeah, but it was super lame lying there for ages!” she said, repeating the action of striking her claws.

“You mean you don’t want me to do it again for you?” I asked, putting a hand on the water and pulling myself out. Unlike Himeko, I didn’t need to shake; I merely twitched my chakra, and the water slid off me as I exited.

Himeko gave me an annoyed look. “I didn’t say that.” 

That got a smirk from me. 

She tapped her claws again and nodded. “Huh, neat trick with the clicking. Was that what you were leading me towards that time you discussed the bones in the ear?” she asked.

Smiling, I nodded. “It was part of it. Just being able to better sense your surroundings will make a big difference in fights.”

“Tch! I had to spend the last few months retraining for fights. I was too sensitive for a while there,” she growled as she rolled her shoulders. When she settled into her seat, she stared at me for a long moment. 

“So, care to tell me why we’re actually targeting this giant turtle?” she asked.

“Because it offers Kiri a lot of—”

“Yeah, I know that, but this still is going to piss Kumo off – something fierce!” snapped Himeko. “For a guy that has literally turtled up of late, you’re taking a pretty decisive action.”

“I’ve had to swallow everything that I’ve bitten off of late,” I replied tersely. “Moving too quickly is good when you remain lean, but when building something, you occasionally have to stop and adapt, process everything, and develop structure. This invites enemy action,” I stated.

“The infiltrators?”

“Them and the saboteurs, assassins, informants and more,” I stated. “I’ve had to weigh up which targets would work best for us going forward.  Kumo… Kumo is a good target for us, as they aren’t going to sit by and we do need to assist the Village in the Land of Moon,” I said.

“Yup, got that. But come on, what’s the play?” she asked.

For a long moment I considered leaving her hanging only to consider her. She would need to know some of the moves, and if I was going to marry her she’d need to be read in on my goals.

“I want Fumikage to join us on the northern front, and I suspect that the giant turtle is more than just a mobile island for Kumo,” I said. “Having the three tails Jinchuriki would be highly beneficial.”

“Yeah, that’s true, but there’s no way Gengetsu just returns Fumikage to you. You have way too much influence on him.”

“So I don’t give him a chance,” I replied firmly. “If I need to, I can force him to give me what I want. Gengetsu can sometimes be reasoned with, but I do have an edge on him these days.”

And wasn’t that a strange thing that I felt confident that I was capable of going toe-to-toe with an old monster like Gengetsu?

“So why haven’t you?” Himeko demanded, tilting her head. “Just walk into his office and lop his head off.”

“... that is a terrible way to establish a regime change for one and sets a horrible precedent,” I stated. “I would much prefer he hands the position over to me.”

“Yeah, once he’s dead, maybe,” Himeko snorted out. “He’s not going to hand it to you.”

“Thus I make it his only option,” I stated calmly.

“But you’re still waiting.”

I nodded, knowing what needed to be said but already feeling like a villain for having to say it.

“The war serves many purposes,” I said. It perhaps bothered me more that saying such things didn’t inspire a taste of ash on my tongue or a sickness in my stomach.

Making a name and weakening the other villages, eh?” Himeko said with a nod. “So, what are you working on here? More chakra, or just a control exercise?”

“I’m considering the next step,” I replied calmly. 

Himeko hummed. “Right, well, don’t tell me about it cause I can already tell that the technical details will bore me.”

That got a chuckle from me, and I walked up to sit next to her, ignoring the spikes that dug into my side. I was tough enough not to bleed from sitting next to her, not unless she wanted me to.

“It’s hardly boring to me,” I said.

“Hmmmmmm, I just prefer action to words, I suppose,” she said, lifting her chin challengingly.

I suspect she was eyeing me off for a spar, but instead I leant in and pecked her on the cheek.

She blinked.

Then she blinked again, and I had to hold back my laughter. Heh. She hadn’t been expecting that. How cute.

“That… wasn't what I wanted,” she muttered with a slight blush.

“At least it wasn’t what you knew you wanted until just now,” I pointed out. “Do you want another?” I offered.

That caused her to pause again, and I could practically see her mind going to war with itself as her desire to fight me clashed with her desire to kiss.

She smirked a moment later, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

“Let’s spar, and the loser has to kiss the winner!” she declared.

“Hmmmm, there’s the clever girl that I like to see,” I replied, earning another pleased blush from Himeko.

I nodded. “Alright then, ready?”

“Anytime!” she declared.

“Alright, go,” I replied, not moving from my seated position.

She blinked again, then exploded into action, launching a punch only for me to spike my chakra and hip-check her off the seat and into a wall.

Standing I rolled my shoulders, knowing that wouldn’t be enough to put her down.

She exploded out of the dust a moment later, proving me right, and I exchanged a flurry of strikes with her as we danced back and forth on the water’s surface.

Her face stretched into a fierce grin that made her look more dangerous and more beautiful, if anything, as she attempted to drive a spike through my thigh only for me to flow around it and backhand her.

She barely caught the strike with a fragile plate of bone upon her ribs that shattered, absorbing most of the blow while still pushing her back and knocking the air out of her.

She skipped backwards to give herself a moment of space as I moved to keep the pressure on.

“You adopted the shatter plate idea I proposed to your clan?” I asked as I fired off a barrage of punches while weaving through small javelins of bone being launched at my head.

“Feh! People know you’re a smart guy, and it didn’t take much to have some Jonin go at it with your ideas. They liked what they found, and it’s been adopted by a lot of the clan!” she growled as she lunged.

I didn’t take the bait with the lunge and instead slipped under the water to reappear to her side with a flying kick.

“Asshole!” she howled as she flew through the air.

“Get used to three-dimensional fighting!” I replied as I rolled my shoulders and walked through a storm of bone bullets and bone kunai that she launched in retaliation.

Deciding to fight at range, I unsealed my staff and slingshot attachment before casually firing a metal ball that she frantically dodged. By using the water like I had.

I stomped on the water and ejected her a moment later before raising another ball. “And that’s match,” I declared as I held my shot at full draw with her locked in thanks to my watery grip on her.

“Bastard, I was wondering why you weren’t using genjutsu or ninjutsu”, she spat. “Should have known you were setting something up.”

“Eh, it didn’t take too long,” I replied. “People like Orochimaru and Jiraiya have a lot of tricks up their sleeves, so be careful in a clash with them.” I made an annoyed face as I continued, “I suspect they’ll be more likely to fight like Sakumo did, targeting my task force going forward.”

“Hmmm, so I’ll need to be able to handle myself, yeah?” she replied, as she rolled her shoulders and kicked her legs as she eyed me up and down. “Same payout as last time?” she demanded.

“You haven’t paid out from last time,” I stated.

She blew me a kiss and grinned. “Wanna double it?” she taunted, no doubt feeling proud of slipping by with a technicality.

I chuckled and fought her again, knowing that until I tired her out she wasn’t going to settle down.

By the end of the fifth fight, Himeko had learnt a thing or two but had exhausted herself as I subjected her to a bullet-hell-style fight where she had no choice but to dodge as I unleashed kunai, water bullets, and the occasional wind ninjutsu to keep her mobile.

“So how close was—” she took a huge lungful of air before continuing, "—that to fighting Orochimaru? I asked around before coming, and a bunch of people say you and him were trading jutsu around and destroying the forest between you both.”

“Hmmmm, similar,” I said calmly as I began healing the ankle I’d broken to end the fight.

She grunted as the bone settled back into place. “So you want those kisses I owe you?” she asked, and I chuckled before tapping the side of my face.

She smirked and grabbed my cheeks before planting five quick pecks on my lips. She stepped back with a blush and a victorious expression before giving another.

“I only beat you five times?” I asked.

“That was for not holding back,” she replied.

Knowing that I was shooting myself in the foot, I shook my head. “I didn’t activate the gates.”

“Yeah, I suppose there’s that, but I’m not irresponsible,” Himeko said, only for a section of the cave to give up and collapse into the water from what it had been subjected to during our spar.

I raised an eyebrow, but Himeko just raised her chin with a challenging look. “So was it a good kiss?” she demanded.

Smirking, I nodded. “I shall cherish it.”

“Good! Now, is there anyone else I need to watch out for?”

“Plenty of people,” I replied. “Let me tell you about a man named Might Dai—” I said, beginning to fill her in on some names I’d been watching for from both Konoha and Kumo —and that it was best Himeko didn't underestimate.

“Huh, I dunno, I think I kinda wanna fight that Might Dai guy now if I get the chance. I just need to outlast him and his gates' usage,” Himeko said with a look that didn’t inspire any confidence.

“Maybe you say that again when you actually force me to activate my gates for a spar,” I said. “Then you might have a better idea of how much of a boost it is. If he goes as deep as I suspect he’s capable of, I don’t think there’s anyone but me or the Jinchuriki who might be able to survive him.”

That drew Himeko up short. "Huh… alright then, I’ll keep an eye out for a weird guy in green spandex.” 

She bobbed her head from side to side. “As for that other weirdo… well, the rapping and music makes for a good cover if he’s as smart as you think he might be.”

I just grunted and nodded, knowing of all the people in Kumo, Killer Bee was perhaps one of the most deadly.

He might act the fool, but I could never forget that despite the ridiculous advantages Team Hawk had over him with numbers and abilities, Bee had folded Sasuke like clean laundry only to later escape their attempt at capture, leading to him being the only other jinchuriki in the series bar Naruto to defeat Akatsuki's attempt.

“How come you’re not legitimising this with a BINGO book entry detailing their skills?” asked Himeko.

"Because as soon as I do that, Konoha and Kumo will know that we’re watching for those two shinobi. There are already dozens of false reports of Jiraiya, Sakumo, Orochimaru, and even one featuring an appearance from their Hokage floating around. Lots of shinobi know the transformation jutsu, and so they muddy the waters on where these shinobi actually are right now.”

“We’re doing the same, aren’t we?”

“To a lesser extent. Everyone knows I’m squatting in Octocity right now, while the Seven Swordsmen are the ones that we’re obfuscating with transformations and apprentices occasionally pretending to be others.”

“Huh, guess I’m gonna need to do something amazing if I want the same level of respect,” Himeko said.

“I will be assigning you and the Kaguya to the Land of Moon relief force. We’re going to leave them for a while before letting it slip that we’re assaulting the giant turtle. Anyone that peels off will be for you to kill in the water.”

That drew a fanged grin from Himeko, and I just chuckled. “We set out as soon as we know where the turtle is.”

________________________

A week passed before we found the turtle.

“You were able to secure pictures,” I murmured as I shifted the grainy pictures about, eying the spikey landmass that just barely revealed the turtle underneath.

“My men were very receptive of the new upgrades and wanted to make sure this mission succeeded,” Shinno replied as he laid out several more photos that detailed a camp.

“This is the land of Moon?” I asked carefully.

“Specifically Kumo’s encampment outside the Village Hidden in the Moon." Another set of images revealed themselves. “From what we can tell they have bunkered down rather effectively, but the walls and other parts of the city are being worn down. It should only take a few weeks until Kumo can properly stage an assault through the walls.”

“That or they’ll bring forth something stronger,” remarked Sayuri.

“Do we care?” grunted Kimikaku, the head of the Kaguya clan, as the other Jonin from his clan stood behind him.

With shinobi cycling out from the front line, the meeting room had seen a drastic shift in mood as people that had been cowed in the first rotation and willing to listen were replaced by a new group of people unfamiliar with how things ran within the city.

Shinno raised his gaze from the images to me while the Chinnoike clan leader, Choumei, shifted from foot to foot, his eyes darting about the room.

“The Moon shinobi are our allies and thus will receive our support. It is not just words on a paper. We must relieve them,” I stated.

“That being said, there is a significant opportunity at hand,” I stated, tapping the images of the turtle island. “We are going to assault the island and assess what we can achieve with it. If it can be steered into the Land of Water, all the better, but if not, then we will take what we can from the facilities located on the turtle’s back before exfiltrating.”

“How does that help the Moon shinobi?” asked Choumei Chinoike nervously, even as he relaxed slightly.

“We are going to leak that we’re assaulting the turtle,” I announced. “This will see at least a detachment, if not more, of nin being deployed to stop our theft of the turtle. When the Kumo nin reaches open water…” I made a clutching gesture, and around the table men and women began to smile.

“Kiri nin are best on the sea,” murmured an elderly nin from the back.

“Precisely so. I shall be awarding the Kaguya clan the honour of destroying this relief force. From there, depending on the size of what is deployed against us, we will either perform shadow play exercises against the Kumo camp or stage an outright assault upon them.”

That made Kimikaku lean forward. “Is there a way to draw them out more?”

I tapped the table in thought.

What did I want from this situation? 

What did I need?

It was too early to make any moves to take Shinno out of play; he was the leader that all of the Sky nin answered to. He was a smart man; Sayuri had been doubly sure to point that out to me.

The Chinoike weren’t a threat. They were too reliant upon whatever I could give them.

The Kaguya wanted a good fight, but I had to make sure to temper them. I wanted to keep as many of them alive as possible.

Ganbu?

I wanted the island if I could manage it but I had no idea if I could command the turtle to do anything.

In truth I merely wanted access to the Falls of Truth.

Upon review of my 'cultivation', I had concluded that I had completed the initial stage, or perhaps I had only completed the pre-stage for cultivation. I had opened my nodes, or meridians, as cultivation novels would call them, but I had yet to perform any condensation exercises.

My foundation was well established with a huge chakra pool and strengthened chakra coils, but to take it further, I needed to increase the density of my chakra. To improve the quality.

That was proving a good deal more tricky.

The falls might help, however, by allowing me to unload anything that might be holding me back.

Which… if I had to be honest, there was probably going to be a ton of shit I needed to deal with.

I had been raised in Kiri after all.

It somewhat helped that I already had the answer to whatever the Truth Falls showed me, but then again I wasn’t going to count my chickens too quickly.

“I suspect there will be a sizable force of shinobi present on the island, but otherwise expect the main issue to be any native fauna that have developed within this landscape. I suspect that in many ways this is Kumo’s equivalent of Konoha’s Forest of Death.”

That got a few murmurs, with some of the Kaguya giving the photos of the turtle some considering looks.

“I shall outline the priority targets to be aware of; otherwise, I shall set out the task force as follows. Shinno, you are to continue running aerial reconnaissance. If you’re feeling up to it I want you to start preparing for bombardment runs on the Kumo base if they instead double down on the Village Hidden in the Moon.”

“My men will be ready!” he declared with the air of a loyal man.

Yeah, I didn’t believe that for a moment.

Your days are so numbered; ‘just give me an excuse,' I thought to myself.

Turning from him, I continued to detail the plan. When I reached the Chinnoike, relief flickered across Choumei’s face as I ordered them to hold down the fort alongside some other trustworthy shinobi.

Right, deception was another skill they were going to have to learn. Their isolation really had created several holes they needed to patch.

Thank goodness I’d already been able to get five of their kids sent off to the academy. Within a few years, there might be an actual Jonin worth their name in the Chinnoike clan. Until then, they were going to have to run through a lot of remedial lessons.

Once that was handled, I sat back and surveyed the room.

I’d lost access to Juzo and the few Yuki Clan members with the rotation, along with several of my civilian nin, but I had gained the Kaguya Clan reinforcements, some more Yuki nin, a detachment of ANBU to patrol the city and begin establishing tighter controls, along with several Karatachi clan shinobi. 

“What about Konoha?” asked Kimikaku.

“Never mind them,” I replied. “I have arranged something that will keep them well and truly busy.”

That got a few raised eyebrows, with some elders scoffing. Others murmured about hubris.

I just smiled knowingly. Shinno, annoyingly, matched my look with one of his own, causing a few people to glance his way speculatively.

Clever bastard certainly knew how to play the room.

It somewhat made it worse that he was one of the few in the room that did have an idea what I’d planned.

In standard shinobi warfare, slipping saboteurs and strike teams behind enemy lines typically had to be something you arranged prior to the battle lines going up, as otherwise you faced a hefty attrition rate when it came time to send them out.

Thankfully, I had more options than anyone else these days.

It was time to introduce the concept of paratroopers to the Elemental Nations.

________________________

Shinno made sure to double-check the straps that connected him to the flight harness.

It had grown bulkier since joining with Kiri a few months ago, but the increase in weight was negligible when compared to the improvements in capabilities.

Increased speed, carrying capacity, flight time, and agility.

It was rather vexing to have your entire life’s work summarised in a small book that highlighted the various ways that flight was possible. That Matsu had included possible improvements into the margins of each page of text would almost be insulting.

All that stopped Shinno from ordering the girl’s death when she’d arrived had been the confidence she’d had. Like she knew that anything they might have done would see a reprisal.

Shinno had kept somewhat abreast of the world around him, and the name Matsu Uzumaki had begun to appear more and more of late.

He’d first learned of it through contacts that he had in the medical communities.

Someone had been hiring up anyone with a lick of knowledge around treatments, health and healing. It had been obfuscated well.

Shinno had believed it to be a nobleman’s idle fantasy.

Right up until he’d gone on a reconnaissance mission of the Land of Wolf and witnessed a local healer create a tincture from what had appeared to be useless herbs. He then went on to set bones perfectly and treat various ailments.

At first, Shinno had assumed the man was a spy or a disguised shinobi. Only prolonged observation revealed he was merely a civilian when he’d attempted to meditate.

The session itself had drawn Shinno’s attention, as the man had opened a scroll and consulted it before attempting to cycle his chakra for an hour.

He’d not got anything to move properly, but there had been twitches, and when the man had finished, he’d gone to sleep with a pleased smile.

Shinno had stolen the scroll.

Within it, he found ‘basic’ chakra control exercises.

There was nothing revolutionary written down.

Most of the exercises were known to him. The few that he hadn’t known weren’t anything special.

What had been impressive was the manner in which the information was conveyed.

Precise, easy to understand, and with written examples for each exercise with small commentary on what other people had felt in the past, while reminding the reader to personalise the experience. 

There had even been small diagrams.

Someone was investing money into very quietly raising the skills of doctors and healers, and they were spending considerable effort on them.

He’d wanted to dismiss it, but the scroll was too well thought out. When he searched the belongings of another doctor, a pattern began to emerge.

It took him years of careful enquiry, through his persona as a doctor, to learn that an ‘academy’ for doctors was paying well within the Land of Honey. Further enquiry had his hackles raised.

The academy had the fingerprints of being shinobi-backed despite the wondrous claims that most who attended it had for the place. The few malcontents he’d heard of were prideful nobles and those too proud for their own good.

He’d started keeping an eye out for other forms of literature only to discover the ‘idiot’s guide to’ series that detailed a wonderful assortment of different subjects ranging from farming, fishing, business, networking and making friends, psychology and more.

What caught Shinno’s attention more than anything else was the style of writing. It matched, in tone, if not in content, perfectly well with that of the medical scrolls.

When Sayuri had blurted out her question and recognised the series, so much had fallen into place for Shinno.

Now he had a name for the mastermind that had been slotting things into place for a grand system.

Matsu Uzumaki.

“So you’re to be my carrier for this mission then?” said the red-haired commander as he eyed Shinno up and down.

“Indeed, I must admit that the thought of tweaking Kumo’s nose with the loss of their turtle would bring me great joy,” he admitted freely. That it would also allow him to continue ingratiating himself with Matsu went unspoken.

They both knew about the unspoken aspect of Shinno accompanying Matsu on this mission.

Before anything more could be said, another called out. “Oi Matsu!” called a white-haired kunoichi who stalked up to Matsu.

“Hmmm?” Matsu replied lazily as the girl stood before him.

“... good luck,” she muttered before leaning in and kissing him on the cheek.

“You too,” he replied, returning the gesture.

Shinno chuckled at the demonstration of affection.

Clever. He had positioned himself to marry one of the rising stars of the Kaguya clan of Kiri, a pillar clan of Kirigakure. People could already see that he was establishing himself. Within a few years there would be an heir apparent even.

In Shinno’s humble opinion, it was a perfect political play.

Hmmmm, he would also need to consider his own marriage, Shinno mused as the two traded words and final well wishes.

The Terumi and the Hozuki were out right now, but the word around Octocity was that the Yuki clan had fallen in line with Matsu, and the Karatachi were already aligned with him.

Three clans to choose from.

Perhaps one of them would suit his needs?

When it was time to depart, Matsu turned, his harness in place along with a safety parachute. “Let’s go,” he commanded, and with a flex of his chakra, the wings behind Shinno’s back unfurled, and Matsu attached himself before they leapt off the side of the tower.

There was a second of gut-wrenching descent, only for the wind to take hold and their fall to stop. They levelled out and began taking off as others followed.

When a full wing of flyers was in the air with their ‘cargo’ Shinno adjusted the flow of chakra to assume a flying V pattern that, at a glance, would make them seem like birds flying through the air.

Beneath them, ships were already underway to the ambush point north of the Land of Moon.

Magnificent. 

Others had already taken off to the west to cause issues for Konoha, while Octocity further tightened its security measures.

“Ready for a long flight?” Matsu called from slightly beneath his chest. “The resupply and rest ships should be in position, but it will still be three days in the air.”

“Indeed,” replied Shinno. “And while we were here, I thought I might raise some… ideas that I have been considering.” It was the perfect setup to get access to the Commander of the Front Line and future Mizukage for days to build a relationship and strengthen their alliance.

With this, Matsu would see they were alike, and from there, Sky nin would rise once more! 

And Konoha and Kumo would fall!

________________________

I was half considering detaching myself from Shinno’s flying harness after the third hour of flight.

If he hadn’t had some good ideas around the formation of government and organisations within Octocity I might have. Instead, I was forced to listen and debate with him while keeping an eye out for any sudden betrayals.

After the fourth hour I began monitoring how he controlled the flight suit out of interest. If I’d had more time, I might have trained to use the flight suit myself. It was an idea for later, as expanding our flight-capable shinobi would only benefit us.

By the fifth hour we reached the first stopping point.

One of the items that I hadn’t shared with the greater shinobi force was that there were several ships that I’d tasked with holding position on open water weeks ago. These ships weren’t for trade or for troop transport but merely to extend the operational range of any flying shinobi.

Instead of flying until they crashed, I had made sure to create several points for flying shinobi to land and rest before being launched from the decks of the ships after enough rest to resume their flight.

To reach the Land of Moon it took three such pit stops, but in one day we’d covered more land than any ship could possibly do without bringing through our men’s capabilities.

If it wasn’t for the dangers of having fixed airbases being targeted, I might have built upon the islands. Thankfully, I had the right types of ships to get away with a carrier type strategy.

With the northern Kaizoku Sea being reached, we made sure to stop for the night and resupply the vessels with what we could with storage scrolls.

The shinobi on board were glad for the reprieve from staring at open water, and I made sure to walk across the various ships and commend them for their work.

It wasn’t glamorous, but it was vital to allow operations like what we were about to embark on to be possible.

Throughout it all, Shinno followed like a second shadow. When I sat down for the night to review my plans, he lingered. “I had a question; would you indulge me?” 

“I promise nothing, but go ahead and ask,” I replied easily, looking at the maps as I measured the distances involved once more.

“Why did you leave behind the suna ANBU?”

“They do not need to know the full capabilities of our flight suits, nor do they need to know how we are extending their range. Suna, above anyone else, has the capability to copy our methods. It’s why I have kept you separate,” I answered easily. It helped that it was even mostly true.

When he made to open his mouth and, no doubt, press for another question, I flicked my eyes to the door. “Rest well, Shinno; tomorrow is another long flight.”

That got a flicker of irritation from him before he inclined his head. “Yes, you are correct, we can talk more then.”

I frowned at his back, annoyed that he was correct.

The next day, rather than letting him ask questions and lead anything, I instead dictated thoughts of medical methods to him, deciding to play to his vanity and ask for how he would treat various obscure illnesses.

It was actually rather engaging, and when we landed upon the carrier group holding off of the Land of Sky in the Hokubu Ocean, I found myself more relaxed.

It didn’t stop me from gathering up the task force I’d assembled to discuss the upcoming fight.

“Make no mistake, Kumo will have this island guarded by their best!” I announced as I rolled out a map. “We have covered a vast distance and are within striking range of Turtle Island. I propose that we rest an extra hour tomorrow and set off so that our arrival should see us coming in just as the light is fading.”

“That will run the risk of us missing our target,” pointed out Shinno.

“It will also allow us a stealthy infiltration. Which for our task force might mean the world,” I countered.

Tapping the island that Ganbu had been spotted holding off on I rolled my shoulders. “All non-essential equipment will be dropped or sealed for tomorrow’s flight so we should be slightly faster, but the limits on speed will be raised. 

“This should give us plenty of time to reach the island. At the same time, the ‘intel’ about our raid will be leaked, resulting in the siege being interrupted.”

“What if they possess a method of relaying the intel? A summons, perhaps?” Shinno suggested.

“Then it is best we have knowledge of this now and not later in the war,” I stated. “We have the capacity to withdraw easily. The ocean is not such a limiting factor as it would be to Kumo shinobi.”

Tapping my finger on the table, I gave everyone a look. “While the highest objective is to steal the turtle, merely getting in and out with intel is the first priority. Merely tuning up here, a position that Kumo considered safe, will allow us a great deal more freedom going forwards.”

From there, the meeting ran its course, and we settled in for a night’s rest.

The next day as the sun rose, we continued to rest and it was not until the day started to heat up that we took off.

“Huh, did you account for the weather?” Shinno asked as he glanced up at the storm clouds.

“Not as such, no,” I replied. “If you start to feel any static, twist upright, and I will deal with any lightning that comes our way!” I ordered.

That made Shinno snap his head to look at me. “What?” he demanded.

“It’s a trick that they are aware of with some metal ships; static starts to build up well before a lightning strike. We’ll have less warning due to our position in the air, but a good wind ninjutsu should deal with it!” I called back.

“You’re mad!” Shinno replied with a laugh.

“Good, that means what we’re about to do has more chance of working!” 

We flew on, ignoring the building storm that rumbled overhead. A flash of lighting lit up the sky for a moment and let me spot a distant island along with a much smaller shape.

“There it is!” I called, grinning despite myself.

Another bolt of lightning flashed out, striking the top spires of Turtle Island.

Ah. Damn, a complication.

Eh, it’s not insurmountable.

“Continue forward, but take up an overwatch position,” I ordered.

“E-eh?” Shinno baulked. "Sir, we should pull—”

“Forward, into the storm,” I commanded firmly. “Take up overwatch.”

Shinno continued flying normally for a few seconds before shifting so that we hung above the others.

I watched the wings and pushed my senses as far as they would go.

We closed on the island, and just as we got within a kilometre, I felt the static build up.

“Roll over now!” I shouted as I channelled my chakra into my hand; Shinno rolled, a gasp of relief escaping him as I suddenly found myself pointed skyward.

I thrust my hand up and out, sending forth a small whirling orb that crackled and sparked.

The lightning rasengan wasn’t a complete jutsu. I hadn’t had the time to properly adjust to it like the earth, water, or wind variants, but I was able to keep it stabilised for a few seconds.

It soared away from me for a long moment, and I sucked in a breath of air that felt hot.

I shut my eyes and turned my head away, knowing what was coming.

Despite looking away, I still found my eyes burning as the sky was filled with white light, followed by a boom that caused the air around us to buckle and roil like a wave.

My eyes didn’t work, and my ears went deaf under the sudden thunderclap that we’d been next to.

Shinno flailed, which was somewhat understandable, but sadly it was the last thing we needed in this instance.

We plummeted together, and I just knew that down below a furious ocean awaited with no chance of picking when or how we entered it.

“Shinno!” I roared. “Get it together!”

It took another moment for me to recall that shouting would do nothing, as I could barely hear myself, and that was thanks to my regeneration abilities.

Instead of flooding my chakra into Shinno and freaking him out further, I extended chakra strings and blindly forced myself to take control of the wings, angling them in such a way that our dive levelled out.

Or at least it felt that way. It took another moment to reference our position against that of the others and realise I had pointed us in the wrong direction.

I adjusted again and turned us in their direction as Shinno shuddered and twitched.

Only once we’d levelled out did I begin to heal Shinno’s ears and eyes.

He shook again, then with a raspy voice he asked, “You… took control of the flight suit while I was panicking…”

“Yeah, didn’t want to crash. I might have a method to survive, but if you were caught in a tail spin while blind and deaf, you might not have made it,” I said, only to pause.

Shit.

That had been an almost perfect opportunity.

Well, apart from it being far too early yet. Sky hadn’t yet integrated as fully as I’d like.

…

I really was far too comfortable with planning the deaths of my allies.

He looked down at me. “Thank you,” he murmured, and to my surprise, it was a heartfelt thanks.

Hmmmm? Perhaps I didn’t have to be too guarded around him?

I’d have to wait and see.

We slotted back into position above the others, and I kept an eye out for any more static, but the rasengan that I’d thrown out was still there, causing lightning bolt after lightning bolt to slam into it.

Huh, that was an interesting feature. How had that happened?

I tracked the hovering ball with my chakra sense, feeling it slowly petering out only for another lightning bolt to give it more life.

It continued to light up the sky and cause a rolling rumble to chase us as we closed upon the island.

Flash after flash of lighting illuminated the sky as we slipped through the gigantic spikes of hard rock. 

As we drew close, the winds shifted and grew turbulent, causing us to start flying backwards for one moment only to hover the next and plunge a moment later.

Shit. We needed to get out of the air before we were slammed into the rocks and dashed like bugs.

“Deploy!” I shouted, knowing that our weight on the flight suits wasn’t going to help. Around me, five other shinobi detached from their carriers and stuck themselves to the spires.

The flyers matched us a moment later. And with our group making landfall, we took a moment to gather our bearings.

“No nearby patrols or shinobi detected,” I informed the group as I swept my surroundings. “There is a group of eight shinobi patrolling the spires further out, but as yet no signs of our insertion being discovered.”

Water streamed over our forms as the rain of the storm continued, and our surroundings lit up every few seconds.

Teito licked his lips and turned to the lightning flashing about the sky. “So, is anyone going to say it?”

People shifted, but no one spoke.

Teito shook his head. “Guess I will then. Matsu, that was freaking crazy! Since when can you trap a storm like that?”

He waved his hand towards the distant lightning.

I tilted my head. “Hmmmmmm, oh, since about two or three minutes ago," I teased.

Shinno stiffened. “You… you didn’t know if that would work?”

“Theoretically I did,” I replied. “Now, focus!” I barked, snapping my hands and signalling the way we would be moving to take on the Kumo forces.

We raced through the spires and down to the ground, where I began to sense more and more chakra signatures for beings that were much larger than humans.

“Giant animals!” I hissed in warning. “Take them down quietly!” 

Three of our men drew out paralytics that had been prepared especially for this mission.

As we ran through the spikes we found small trees and grasslands between the gigantic spikes, in which there lived an ecosystem worth of animals.

None of them noticed our passage until we drew close to the compound that had the most Kumo nin.

We slowed as we approached and found a giant ape patrolling the compound and looking out with a fierce snarl.

Its nostrils twitched, and its head slowly turned towards us.

“Take it,” I ordered, and a moment later a barrage of senbon slammed into the mighty ape.

It reeled back in shock, roaring in pain only to start charging towards us.

It got halfway before collapsing into a heap.

“Move!” I barked, speeding past the guard ape of all things to reach the compound. Damn animals, their sensory systems were too different to properly mimic with illusions.

I reached one of the openings in time to hear a conversation.

“—gonna have to go see what’s got old King in such a hissy fit. I hope it’s not that giant penguin again. That thing is always annoying to deal with.”

“Better you than me!” Caled, another voice from behind, just as a Kumo nin stepped out into the rain.

“Urgh, rain is gonna make this—” the Kumo nin said only to take a senbon in the throat as he stepped out.

I grabbed him and dragged him to the side, clamping a hand on his mouth to stifle any noise.

I waited for a count of three, listening for anyone else coming out or any alarms being raised.

Nothing.

I gave another signal and deposited the first prisoner to be secured.

Then I led a small group into the compound.

We entered a brightly lit room only to find it empty but for a fire, a warm meal, and a distracted shinobi reading a book.

“Back already? Did you forget your rain—” Another senbon struck out, this time hitting in the back of the neck. I caught the man as he fell, absently putting a bookmark in his book as I laid him down.

A familiar cover made me pause as I put the book down.

Huh, they were selling those in the Land of Lightning now? Neat.

We moved towards another cluster of chakra signatures.

When I peeked my head around the corner, I found myself looking into a large circular room with five men and women peering at what looked like a large fuinjutsu array.

People were leaning over the array

“—fucking storm keeps hitting the barrier when it’s active. We need to lower it during the storm or adjust the whole array!”

“There haven't been any lightning strikes for the last few minutes. I say raise the barrier and get things back the way the Raikage likes!” argued what looked like a senior-looking shinobi with grey in his hair.

A younger man rubbed a hand across his face. “And I’m telling you that if we take more hits, all we’re doing is degrading the barrier.” 

“It can take it!” snapped the senior nin.

I raised an eyebrow. Oh shit, I hadn’t considered that there might be an issue with a barrier being around Genbu.

Huh, it would seem that coming during the storm wasn’t bad luck at all. Then again, if the sky entrance had failed, I would have been able to just come up from the ocean.

Or had they considered that as well?

If they had a barrier, then surely they had also considered the aquatic approach. The question would just be if it was any threat to a Kiri nin.

Hmmm, I couldn’t target the nin channelling chakra into the array, as that might cause a backlash that could result in… problems for me. I also wouldn't mind having a copy of their barrier script to copy and send off to Rei.

As if hearing my thoughts and deciding to make life easier on me, the trio of kneeling nin rose from their kneeling positions; the array’s glow slowly faded as they began to stretch stiff limbs. "Alright, the barrier is going up. It will take an hour to—” the fuinjutsu expert began to say.

I gave the signal, and my team flowed into the room, senbon flying practically before they had cleared the doorway.

Two of the five nin were struck cleanly, while the other three rolled or reacted in time to block, dodge or take a hit in the wrong spot.

“K-Kiri nin!” shouted the young fuinjutsu expert as he skipped back, a senbon in his shoulder.

He tried to grab for a sword at his belt only for his hand to drop it a moment later. He stared at his hand in shock, which left him vulnerable to another trio of Senbon.

The elder stepped in front of them, swatting them out of the air. “Get your head on! He’s hit you with poisons!” he wrenched the senbon out of the younger nin’s shoulder. “Sound the alarm!” he roared at the final kunoichi, who began to pulse her chakra

I stepped around the corner, knowing this was where I’d need to step in now that they weren’t accessing the fuinjutsu array.

My chakra slipped into their coils only for the older nin to instantly force his coils to spasm and break the jutsu. “Gonna have to do better than—” he started to say, only for me to adjust and begin matching the movements of his chakra, making him see the room as a distorted version of itself.

A senbon struck him in the neck right as he stiffened with another hitting the younger man behind him. 

I was already moving on to the final threat, who was now weakly pulsing her chakra as a smile appeared.

I put a hand to her forehead. “Sleep,” I ordered, making her body shut down and for the pulses to fade away.

Then I took stock of the room. My gaze lingered on the arrays before turning towards the downed senior nin. “Keep a watch on him… actually, keep two watches, one overt, while the others stays hidden. I don’t trust that they don’t have methods of flushing our poisons or an outright resistance.”

“How are we going to process them for intel?” asked Shinno as he stepped into the room.

“Illusions will help with that,” I replied darkly as I knelt to inspect the script, picking up small segments of the vast array.

Hmmmm, this kind of felt like looking at a book in a different language. I knew enough to pick out a few phrases, but I had none of the context, and if there was one thing I’d learned in fuinjutsu, context was king.

“Let’s sweep the rest of the island. Report any interesting finds, storage caches, or hidden rooms before entering them. If they have, or rather had, a barrier, then there is every chance they have traps in place as well. I shall sweep the compound after we deal with the last patrol group.”

“Let’s get moving; we’re going to assume Kumo knows that we’re here and is sending reinforcements. I want as much intel as I can gather on this facility, any secrets, and to be possibly underway before they arrive,” I ordered.

Teito shifted. “That’s… a lot for us to handle with only ten of us Matsu.”

I smirked and flexed my chakra. “Numbers for us are quite flexible things,” I echoed as a dozen clones matched my words to create a stereo effect.

Teito grinned at this before nodding as I personally began sweeping the facility for any fuinjutsu traps. I found a few in a room that had to be the leader of this facility, which I left alone for the moment. If I could, I’d attempt to break them open. 

I’d need to see how susceptible they were, but I had an idea.

I kept sweeping the facility only to pause when I opened a large room and found myself looking out at a waterfall that was actually one of my primary objectives.

Huh. The Falls of Truth.

And there at the base of the falls, surrounded by a pool of near tranquil water, was a platform. 

It was well worn, indicating the dozens, if not hundreds, of people had sat there in the past, wearing it down to a smooth finish.

For half a second I considered it before shaking my head, knowing I would have to wait until everything was squared away and I had people ready to watch my back.

Blessedly, that didn’t turn out to take too long, as the patrol subjugation group returned, having slain one of the nin when they fled while the others joined the downed Kumo nin in a prolonged nap.

I had also found a bunch of reports detailing the progress of Genbu’s defences.

Whoops! I had been calling it Ganbu! That might have caused some issues with the upcoming interrogations.

When I returned to the main facility, my shinobi were processing the prisoners for anything else we might learn.

“Watch them,” I ordered Shinno. “If any of them stir, I want to know.” I made sure to assign five clones that were henged into different appearances. I had a few hours spare as the paralytics continued their work.

Again my gaze turned towards the falls only to shake my head. “Let’s see if we can find anything about communing or controlling the turtle to get it swimming where we want it to.”

Sadly, we didn’t find anything, and I sighed.

“Alright, it looks like we’re going to have to interrogate our prisoners,” I announced.

Thankfully, I had a plan.

________________________

Rakan, Jonin of Kumo and shinobi for over fifty years, shook his head and blinked as he found himself shackled to a table with a chain that rattled and bit into his wrist slightly. The room was clean.

The sort of clean that came from being scrubbed often and harshly to get rid of anything too obvious.

“Are you functional, Jonin?" echoed a chilling voice, and Rakan looked up to find himself staring into a masked figure that sported Kumo’s ANBU armour and mask.

On the shoulder a jagged lightning bolt stood out.

Rakan blinked. “What… what happened? Last I knew I was…” His breath hitched as he recalled precisely what had occurred.

His hand jerked as he tried to break the chains while spiking his chakra. “Don’t try to trick me, Kiri nin!” he roared, sending a jolt of lightning from his fingers only for a tiny spark to jump from his finger.

The ‘ANBU’ agent flicked a finger and deflected the small jolt. “Do not do that again,” echoed the voice. 

Rakan blinked dumbly. Why hadn’t his chakra answered properly? Why did it feel like his head was swimming?

The ANBU on the other side of the table tapped the table once and drew Rakan’s attention to him.

“And yes, we are aware of your period of care with Kiri’s strike force. This interview is to determine if you had anything to do with it. Why was the barrier down? Were you plotting the theft of Genbu?”

More and more questions rolled from the echoing voice as the mask continued to stare. 

It was all Rakan could do to answer them even as he felt a sickening realisation take hold. They thought he was a traitor?

He gave them as much information as he could.

Slowly they shifted in tone and intent with Rakan revealing things close to secrets that he had to talk around.

His mind slowly grew less muddled, and he found himself confused as to what they were asking of him. 

He continued to give more questions while turning this odd thought over in his mind.

Why did it bother him so much?

The more he thought about it, the more he found himself frowning until silence was the only answer the masked ANBU agent received to any of his questions.

“You’re not from ANBU…” Rakan said slowly as a new horror took hold.

Across from him, the masked man inclined his head. “You are correct.”

Rakan felt a wave of shame flush through him as he realised he’d been tricked. “How? Poison?”

"Among other things,” remarked the Kiri nin across from him. “What caused you to realise this was a trick?”

Rakan almost spoke, only to clamp his mouth shut. “You won’t get anything else from me!” he spat.

Rather than reply, the nin stared at him for a long moment. “That… is where you are precisely wrong.” He snapped his fingers, and a door appeared behind him that opened to reveal another nin who bought in a cage with rats in it.

They chittered and squeaked as they scraped about the cage.

“We had to look for quite a while to find normal-sized vermin on the turtle, but they do exist. Tell me, do you know how fast a rat can gnaw through meat?” asked the nin with a dead tone that Rakan found himself fearing more than the echoing tone of command that he’d used initially.

“What are you going to do with that—” A bucket was produced, and Rakan found himself suddenly stretched into a spreadeagled pose with a bucket of rats pressed against his stomach.

Rakan felt his heart begin to thunder, and his breath came in short, sharp bursts.

He felt them then, the fur brushing against skin while thin, worm-like tails flicked him as the rats continued to settle and move about.

Occasionally a claw dug into his skin, promising pain.

He would have to bite his own tongue or— 

“I want you to know that we won’t let you die,” remarked the lead interrogator as his hand glowed green. “So don’t try anything that will extend this longer than it has to.”

With that said, the man created a small flame on the tip of his finger that he pressed to the bucket, causing it to begin heating up.

Rakan’s eyes locked on the bucket as he realised what was about to happen as the rats grew frenzied and began to claw and gnaw at his stomach.

An illusion! This had to be an illusion!

He spiked and smashed his chakra about, but for all that he raged against any possible intrusion or foreign influence, he found nothing shifting or changing as the rats grew more frenzied.

“I will repeat myself in case you didn’t hear me. How do you control Genbu?”

Rakan shook his head. He wouldn’t break.

He wouldn’t!

________________________

Teito sat watching Matsu and the Kumo Jonin, who was tied tightly to a chair. 

Matsu had his hand to the man’s head, and every now and then the man would shudder and twitch.

A tear occasionally rolled down his face.

When Matsu finally paused, the man collapsed. 

“Teito opened his mouth to say something only for Matsu to glance in his direction.

Matsu’s eyes were dead and soulless things that caused Teito to swallow down anything he might have been about to say. 

His eyes drifted towards the shivering Kumo Jonin before going back to Matsu, who was flexing his hand and frowning lightly.

There were times when you could forget that Matsu was taught by Gengetsu.

And then… then there were moments like this.

“There is a set of chakra rods we need to take up to Genbu’s head that will point him in the direction we wish for him to go,” Matsu announced, still flexing his hand.

Behind Matsu the Kumo Jonin began to sob as tears dripped down his face.

Teito nodded slowly, focusing on Matsu. “What… what do we do with the prisoner?” he asked.

Matsu considered the weeping man for a long moment. Then he put a hand back on his head, and the sobbing stopped, which Teito was ashamed to admit relieved him greatly.

“Put him in a holding room until we reach Kiri,” Matsu replied. “Put an explosive tag on him in case we need to flee, though.”

Teito nodded, unsure if death would be a kindness at this point.

________________________

I didn’t approach the Falls of Truth until almost a day after I’d pointed Genbu out to sea.

There was still every risk that Kumo would unleash a strike force to take the turtle back, so I planned to make the most of the time I had.

I’d known I wasn’t going to like what I had to see, but it was still extremely disconcerting to sit down and feel a shift as my awareness collapsed within myself.

From the waterfall a darkened version of myself stepped out.

They didn’t say anything, and for a moment I wondered why.

Then they raised their hands and slowly began to clap.

The mocking sound echoed around me, feeling more and more condemning with each clap.

“Behold Matsu Uzumaki!” the inner me proclaimed.

"Tell me, was torture what you set out to do? What about the war you’ve caused? Weren’t you going to try and stop it? When did you give up on peace? You’re both arrogant enough to think you alone can change the world while also being pussy enough to give up—”

I rocketed from my seated position and tried to punch myself in the face.

Annoyingly, the mental representation of my inner truth caught it with an all-too-familiar smirk.

Sayuri was right. It was a punchable look.

“I was going to just accept you, but why give up a perfect opportunity to de-stress as a Kaguya would? Why not learn how I fight? Why not try and see if I can overcome myself and grow?” I growled.

My inner self just snorted. “Or you could just admit you’re too weak to do what needs to be done.”

I didn’t reply verbally. 

Instead, I decided it was time to throw hands with myself.

________________________

A.N. Thanks go to my patreons for your continued support!

It also goes to Twmmy for proofreading this chapter! 

Time for some good old shounen beat yourself up and overcome yourself to grow stronger, style storytelling!