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Chapter Text

Chapter 1 - 阵雨 (Downpour)

"I can't believe it! We're here! At the Sydney Opera House!" A young woman shouted excitedly, her eyes glued to the magnificent architectural milestone across the water. In many ways - her body language, the foreign words, the fanny pack - she encaptured the image of a 'tourist' perfectly.

The sound of bells drew closer, but the woman was too absorbed in the scenery to notice the bike breezing past the street. She remained at the edge of the sidewalk, the bulky bag on her back swung into the road when she turned her body.

"Watch the road!" The biker yelled angrily just as a hand pulled the woman away from the sidewalk at the last moment, avoiding an unpleasant crash.

"Um, um …" The woman searched for the correct English word and called out, "Sorry!" She wasn't quite sure what the biker said, but an apology was definitely warranted.

"Su Qi, pay attention! That goes for everyone, especially those with portable instruments!" The director shouted at the front, leaving Su Qi's face red with embarrassment at being called out in front of the symphony. Still, her hands moved on instinct, checking to make sure that her Pipa stayed safe within the padded bag.

"Thanks, Mu Sheng. It would have ended in a disaster if not for you." Su Qi let out a sigh of relief as she turned to another woman beside her - the one that managed to pull her out of the way.

"Don't mention it," Mu Sheng said, giving Su Qi a reassuring smile as she rearranged the Pipa case slung over her back.

"But whoa, you've got quite a grip," Su Qi muttered as a passing thought. Her shoulder was still throbbing a little from where Mu Sheng grabbed her. Upon hearing her whisper, Mu Sheng merely shrugged in response.

"Alright, everyone, we're checking into the hotel first. Make sure the instruments are safe, then it's free time until the rehearsal at four. But if you want to go out, make sure you're with someone and be careful in a foreign country." The Director sent Su Qi a - in her opinion, totally unnecessary - glare full of warning when he handed out the key cards.

Yeah, Su Qi was not as irresponsible and empty-headed as many would like to believe, so, being the responsible and friendly bandmate she was, she asked Mu Sheng after they settled down in their room, "So umm, are you planning to rest here or maybe, I don't know, check out the streets of Sydney? I'd go with you, 'cause you know, the Director said we should pair up, just in case."

Mu Sheng raised an eyebrow at Su Qi, making the latter's face heat up a little in embarrassment. Okay, she was the one that wanted to explore the streets. It was her first time in a foreign country and it was really exciting and scary and confusing.

Mu Sheng was raised overseas so her English was supposedly really good and let's be honest, she was a much-needed help if Su Qi wanted to make it back without stressing the director's receding hairline.

A quiet laughter tickled Su Qi's ears and she saw Mu Sheng shaking her head while slinging a satchel over her shoulder. "I could use a coffee, shall we?" As always, she knew just the right words to say.

When Su Qi made her way to follow Mu Sheng, she glanced at the Pipa case sitting on the tabletop and Mu Sheng's jade charms were hanging by the zipper. For a moment, her mind went back to a distant memory about her bandmate, accompanied by an ancient melody that has never appeared again since.

It was a year back, when she was just a recent graduate from the Academy, still on probational term with the symphony. Su Qi wasn't a musical prodigy - wasn't a one-in-a-thousand that was destined to be heard. She was just a Pipa player with skills that managed to pass the bar but could hardly be called irreplaceable. Unfortunately, that part only became painfully obvious after she made it into the National Academy.

That evening, she went back to the practice rooms to pick up some sheet music that was forgotten, all the while feeling a sense of dread and confusion about what she wanted to do and what she wanted to become in the future. She remembered the nagging of her parents, trying to convince her to find a desk job, something more stable and less uncertain.

You don't have the talent to stand out. her mother told her. We're only saying this because we love you; because we want you to live a secure life.

In her field, only the soloist gets remembered, while the ensemble was always the first to get cut. Su Qi had heard the same words from her classmates, from her teacher, from her parents so many times that she could even hear it in her head, rambling, crying, screaming …

That was until a harmony seeped out of the door that was left ajar, washing over Su Qi's unsettled mind like a river that flowed down from the sky. The melody turned and danced with each pluck of the note, but it might as well be plucking on Su Qi's heartstring.

That was the only time Su Qi heard Mu Sheng playing like that - like she was painting a story as old as time like she was etching a stroke of ink every time her finger plucked the string. She remembered leaving as quietly as she came, hoping that nothing was interrupted by her intrusion.

She didn't get her sheet music, but what she picked up was the courage to call her parents, to tell them that she would be trying her best with the symphony, trying her best to continue her dream, all because she was just reminded how mesmerizing her passion could be.

The next day, the day after, and every day until now, Mu Sheng remained an ensemble member like Su Qi. Her playing was still intricate and skillful, as expected of a musician from a prestigious symphony, but it never seemed to tell the same story as that time.

Su Qi peeled her gaze from the pipa, only to see Mu Sheng waiting by the door, raising an eyebrow at the way she spaced out.

Suddenly, Su Qi had the urge to ask Mu Sheng why she stayed as an ensemble member when she had something that could be so much more. But like many times before, Su Qi closed her mouth and pushed that thought down.

It was just an intuition, but Su Qi couldn't help but feel that some things just shouldn't be touched, for fear that the painting would be torn too easily. Despite how reliable Mu Sheng had been, Su Qi had always felt an air of inexplicable transience around her.

Muttering a sorry, she caught up with her travelling roommate, ducking out of the door before the latter let it close with a click.

-o-o-o-

"The most recent excavation campaign in Yunnan, China has uncovered a series of ancient artifacts. Experts suggest that they might point to an era that was scarcely studied due to the lack of archaeological remains. A rudimentary analysis shows that the numerous artifacts uncovered might display mythical creatures as its subject, possibly used in rituals of worship …"

Mu Sheng paused the video when the barista set her orders on the counter. Putting her phone back into her pocket, she picked up the drinks and made her way to a table by the window.

"Oh, thank you!" Su Qi said before she took the drink from Mu Sheng, sounding as jittery and excited as when they first stepped out of the airport. To no one's surprise, she took a sip too fast and burned her tongue with a hiss.

"So, uh, you stayed overseas for some years, right? Where did you grow up?" Su Qi asked, her curiosity stirred up by the influx of all things new today.

"Canada," Mu Sheng answered, "A small city called Windsor." Su Qi nodded in understanding, even though she had no idea where Windsor was, perhaps never even heard of the name.

Su Qi was the kind to grow restless from the awkward pauses, so her eyes travelled to the menu screen over the cashier, eventually landing at the wide variety of desserts with sparks of interest.

"Do you want me to order it for you?" Mu Sheng asked, but before Su Qi could answer, Mu Sheng's breath froze in her lungs when she saw the figure strolling into the cafe, arriving next to their table.

"Cousin, it's been a while," the man said, his business suit as pristine as the smile on his face as Mu Sheng tightened her fingers around the paper cup.

"I didn't expect to see you here, cousin." It took every ounce of her will to push those words out of her mouth without crushing the cup and spilling the coffee.

"Oh, you're …" Su Qi looked very confused as she glanced between Mu Sheng and the stranger. Knowing that every movement he made would be grating on Mu Sheng's nerves, the stranger flashed her a look of amusement before turning to Su Qi and extending his hand.

"Mu Yun, I'm Mu Sheng's cousin. I'm in the area for a business trip, so when I heard of Sheng's performance, I just had to come here," the stranger introduced as Su Qi shook his hand.

"Su Qi, do you want to get some snacks?" Mu Sheng interrupted before the man who called himself Mu Yun could get another word in. "I'll come with you to help you order."

"Oh, I can totally do that myself. I'll just … point with my hand." Su Qi waved frantically as she stood up from her seat, clearly noticing the tension that was brewing in the booth. Mu Sheng always figured that Su Qi was like a small animal, excellent with her intuition when it mattered the most.

"You two should catch up, sounds like it's difficult for you to meet up." Su Qi left the sentence before she moved toward the counter. Oh, you have no idea.

"So, Windsor. Why not the one in England?" Mu Yun slipped into the booth with ease, acting as if the unnatural tension between them didn't exist.

"I didn't prepare for the right accent," Mu Sheng answered, taking a sip of the coffee, deciding to answer Mu Yun's nonchalance with some semblance of calmness. "Why are you here?"

"To see how my kin is doing, of course," Mu Yun said as if Mu Sheng was asking for the obvious.

"Don't act as if you don't understand. Why did you come to me after …" Suddenly, Mu Sheng struggled to finish the simple words, as if it would spell something that could shatter the veil over this mundane reality.

"After thousands of years, you mean?" But Mu Yun didn't care for that, not when he had never lowered himself into this world of humanity. He scoffed at Mu Sheng's silence. "Mu Sheng, is that the name you've chosen for yourself this time? A human name won't remain with time, only our names will."

Mu Yun made a light sound, uttering an ancient language that seemed to encompass the sound of mountains and seas. It was a short syllable, calling out a name that Mu Sheng had buried in her memory, only allowing it to resurface on rare occasions, just to check that she hadn't forgotten it.

"I'm no longer of any use to our race, Heaven* forbade, remember?" Mu Sheng didn't get caught up in Mu Yun's diversion. She tried to use sarcasm to hide her unease, but a tone of mockery never did come to her as easily as it did her 'cousin'.

"Heaven is dying, unable to fulfill its duty. This world is turning into humans' playground and they have no respect for nature nor for Heaven." In contrast to the spiteful words, all Mu Yun did was reach out to Mu Sheng's stirring rod, blending the cream that had yet to dissolve into the black coffee. "Just like Heaven, we're forgotten by humanity."

"Maybe Heaven hasn't acted because it's not the time yet." Mu Sheng pushed Mu Yun's hand away from her coffee. "You're not Heaven, who are you to decide how it should act?"

"Out of everyone, I never thought you to be the one that would speak for Heaven." Mu Yun looked amused, but Mu Sheng could read the annoyance and impatience that was brewing underneath.

Everyone … Of course, he wouldn't be speaking about such blasphemous words if he didn't manage to convince the rest of their kin to follow him - by force, by persuasion, Mu Sheng didn't want to think, not that she could do anything about it.

As if seeing through her thoughts, Mu Yun gave her a smile while he took her rigid hand and pinned it onto the table with unbreakable force. "You've seen it for thousands of years, how humans repeat the same mistakes. The Cataclysm taught them nothing. They still act as if they own the world despite only bringing destruction to the land. The other creatures are suffering, yet Heaven has always favoured humans, even over its own 'children'."

Mu Yun gave her a meaningful look and Mu Sheng tried to pull out her hand. Yet, in her current state, Mu Yun's strength was overwhelming. Mu Yun acted as if he hadn't felt Mu Sheng's struggle and continued, "it's the goal of everyone in our race, we need you to bring us the key to overtake Heaven. It's your chance to turn the Heavenly punishment that bound you into a rebellion against Heaven itself."

"By pulling out my own spine," Mu Sheng replied, her voice flat and hollow. Mu Yun needed her because of the Heavenly bindings being placed on her, intertwined with her spine to deny and seal everything that made her who she was. But Heaven must have never thought that its judgment would be exploited as an anchor of its power, a manifestation of its drifting presence when it hadn't graced the world for centuries.

"Yes, by pulling out your spine, you might finally perish, but you'll perish for your kin, and you'll perish to break the Heavenly Decree." Mu Yun was unbothered. He was convinced that Mu Sheng was desperate enough for any meaning that graced her life.

She supposed that in some aspect, he was right.

"That does sound like a good deal. I'll do it," Mu Sheng said, she had long stopped struggling to break out of Mu Yun's clutch. However, before Mu Yun could reply, she added, "After the performance tonight. The symphony worked too hard for it to be ruined by the disappearance of a Pipa player."

"Fine, music is one of the few things that humanity didn't mess up completely, after all." Mu Yun finally loosened his grip, allowing Mu Sheng to pull her hand out. Noticing how Su Qi had returned from the counter, he spoke up a little louder, "I can't wait to hear your performance tonight, cousin."

"How exciting is that, Mu Sheng, to have your family in the audience in a foreign country!" Su Qi exclaimed after Mu Yun finally excused himself and left the cafe.

"Yeah, definitely a surprise." An unwelcoming surprise. Mu Sheng took another sip of the lukewarm coffee, feeling the bitterness that touched her tongue. "Do you mind if we drink the rest in the hotel?"

It was as natural as Mu Sheng could make it when she spilled her coffee on Su Qi's T-shirt just when they entered the hotel room. Su Qi didn't mind it a bit, attributing it to Mu Sheng's nerves after knowing that her family would be at the opera house.

Su Qi even gave her an encouraging smile before she escaped into the shower. That was when Mu Sheng got to work.

Within minutes, Mu Sheng changed out of her semi-professional attire and into cargo pants and a sports jacket. She pulled out a folded backpack in her suitcase and filled it with just enough money to survive for a few days and a new set of IDs.

Putting on a cap that covered her face, she walked to her Pipa sitting on the table. Running her finger over the curves of the instrument, just faintly traceable with the case, she pulled the jade charms - three jade disks tied together by a red string - off the zipper and tucked it into her jacket.

Before she slipped out of the backdoor of the hotel, she managed to sneak into the kitchen and found the door to the garbage incinerator. With a light throw, the passport and driver's license belonging to 'Mu Sheng' fell down into the shute, soon to be turned into ashes.

-o-o-o-

The air in the bus felt stale and suffocating. She rested her head on the window, letting the chilling cold from the glass permeate into her skin.

Mu Sheng, wait, not 'Mu Sheng' anymore. Her passport had another name that she should remember. She reached into her pocket and found the string of jade discs. The stony surface was smooth and uncharacteristically warm under her touch. If she closed her eyes and felt, it might even be pulsing a little.

The bus slowed to a stop at the red light, and the suitcases clattered all around her, reminding her how lightly packed she was compared to the normal passengers heading for the airport.

At 3 pm, the afternoon glow of the sun was still bright and blinding, but with an added sleeping spell on everything it cast down, forcing the world below to enter a state of lull before the buzzing street would pick up again before dinner.

Because it was bright, she could see it clearly, the man standing in the distance as the bus passed a quiet park. His eyes followed her, glowing the colour of amber in a warning. He too had discarded the name 'Mu Yun' the moment she had done the same.

At the perfect time, the bus stopped at an intermediate station. The door opened, waiting silently for the sparse few who wanted to exit. She rubbed the jade discs one last time, then she stood up and made her way to the door.

She didn't think she could run for long, but to think she couldn't even make it out of the country. That was a little disheartening.

"Is this how you repay my trust?" The man said, his voice barely restrained by the thought of dignity, but she could see the pulsing veins crawling on his neck, reminding her how much power was hidden under the fake skin. "I thought you had enough pride left to not be scared of death."

She didn't remember him being this easily enraged back in the day, but then again, that was thousands of years ago. Time could shave away the strong emotions as well as it could unmask the unsightly feelings, the kind that accumulated like erosions until they could topple a mountain.

"It's not about my death." Perhaps it was futile to argue, but she tried anyway. "I simply don't agree with what you're planning to do."

The explosion of energy that came after shaved off the trees in a five-meter range. Web-like marks flashed across the man's skin, tracing the outlines of some sort of scales on his arm. The wind swirled around them, wailing under the gray sky, sucking in the branches, the leaves, and even some plastic bags that got littered in the park.

A book even got pulled in as collateral damage as it sailed past her head, hitting the tree trunk behind, before falling to her feet. For a second, she wondered if the owner of that lost book - it was a picture book, wasn't it? - expected to find it again, because she doubted that it would survive in one piece.

Her breath got caught in her throat - more as a visceral response rather than a reflection of mental states - when the man appeared in front of her with an outstretched hand, only for it to be stopped by an invisible barrier less than a metre away.

It was as if his hands were made of gilded bronze with the way his fingertips grazed against the barrier with harshness. There was only a moment of surprise as the man caught the jade discs littered around her. Then. his expression returned to that of irritation and anger.

"You're banished by Heaven, so you no longer feel the connection, but we do! We're born to be adored by nature, yet all we can do is feel its pain and suffering at the hands of humans because Heaven forbids us to interfere." The barrier started cracking under his palm and she closed her eyes, unable to deny his words.

He was right, she couldn't understand their sorrow and pain, not when it had been so long since she had heard the joy and lament of nature, long enough that she couldn't even remember what they sounded like.

"If Heaven will not judge them, then we will," the man declared, the ember in his eyes glowing even brighter. Three hundred years' worth of scavenged energy was put into those jade discs, just an insignificant amount that leaked out despite the Heavenly bindings, and it wouldn't last ten seconds under the claw of her kin.

But ten seconds was enough for one last deed. She was kind of hoping that it didn't have to be so close to the populace, but it would have to do.

"Regardless if Heaven deserves to judge the world, I don't believe that we have that right either," she replied as ink marks resembling chains sprouted from her spine and crawled all over her skin. It was starting to hurt a lot, rebelling against the Heavenly bindings in the hope that they would finally annihilate the rule breaker, thereby dissipating Heaven's anchor on Earth.

Heaven was .. cold and confusing; humans were …flawed and contradicting. As a whole, humanity seemed unsalvageable, but she had walked among them and saw them as individuals without the '-ity' at the end. Some of those humans made her linger; they made her realize that she didn't want them to be punished in another Cataclysm that her cousin would surely bring about.

"I'm not about to change your mind, Cousin, but you're going to have to do it without my help." She had no control over Heaven's decrees, nor could she do anything against her kin's determination, driven by agony and spite. In that case, she simply refused to do something that she didn't believe in.

The jade discs cracked into pieces and her cousin's hand reached in, desperate to stop her self-destruction. The book by her feet flipped furiously, some pages even got shredded into paper dust. The execution of Heaven clawed around her spine, breaking through the threshold of pain to snap the bones of those that refused to yield to its punishments.

The clash of energy made her vision turn white. If she just had a little more attention to spare, then she might have seen the twist and folds of the space, where the fabric of this world was somehow pried open.

A one-way passage was created, linking this world to another that originated from no other than the half-torn book on the ground. The pages were frozen at the depiction of a boy and girl, standing under the cover of sorrowful rain.

The man cursed and screamed as he swiped his hands forward, but he reached nothing except for the remnants of shredded paper. The fabric of the space smoothed itself faster than anyone could blink, with no sign of the person that was just here a moment ago. With a growl of frustration, he punched the ground and the earth cracked under his knuckle.

But the world was cruel like that, never pausing for anyone or anything. It moved on undisturbed, and what was gone was forgotten and erased.

-o-o-o-

Rin was ready to die.

She was ready to die for the village she loved, to protect the people she loved, and by the hand of the boy she loved. The first two clauses, she wouldn't regret, but the last one … she wished she didn't have to subject Kakashi to that fate.

"Run! Rin, just run!" Kakashi shouted as he blocked all of Kiri-nin's pursuit and opened a path for Rin to escape, not knowing - or perhaps, despite knowing - that it was exactly what Kiri had wanted.

Chidori flashed in the mist, emitting a light that couldn't be extinguished even by the downpour of rain. Kakashi was fighting for her survival, for his hope, and Rin was about to crush that. All she needed to do was one more body flicker, to place herself on his path, knowing all too well that he would never expect it.

Kakashi, live on, Rin repeated in her heart, both to solidify her own determination and as a wish that she hoped would be remembered by the universe. Chakra gathered in her limbs, and she had to push down the roar of the ocean in her mind, coming from a creature that had been stuffed within her.

The world seemed to pause a little when Rin landed in front of Kakashi. She took in the look of horror that was forming on his face as the space between them stretched and twisted like a bad dream … wait, is the space actually twisting?

Rin was unable to make a sound when Chidori chipped away the bones and pierced a heart - but it wasn't hers. Blood splashed all over Rin's face as she heard the broken breaths coming out of the body in front of her. Then, the body slipped down Kakashi's hand, hitting the ground with a loud thud, revealing the intruder as a young woman that Rin had never seen before.

Her signs of life slipped away as quickly and abruptly as she appeared.

Kakashi let out a shaky breath as he stumbled forward. Rin's confusion could wait, really, as she reached forward just as Kakashi fell down in exhaustion. He grabbed her arm, trying to hold himself up so he could continue fighting, but his body and his consciousness were already breaking down.

Blood drenched Rin's fingers as she pressed down the slash wound on Kakashi's back. What can I do, how can I save you? She wanted to scream. Every time she used her chakra, the roar of Three-Tail would grow louder and she was terribly afraid of losing the meagre control she had. Yet, there were still plenty of Kiri-nin left, waiting to destroy Kakashi so Rin could destroy her own village.

The sound of air being sliced through forced Rin to turn, just in time to see a Kiri-nin slashing his blade down, aiming at Kakashi. All Rin could do was rotate their bodies, trying to shield her teammate using her own body.

Of course, the Kiri-nin hesitated, but it would only take a moment for the rest of the Kiri-nin to join in, all in an attempt to force the sinister scheme back in motion. Just then, Rin watched in shock as a thick branch drilled through Kiri-nin's chest.

A mesh of tree branches clogged Rin's vision as screams sounded all around her. She forced her vision to focus in spite of the ringing headache, to see past the blurry rain and the bloodied jungle. Eventually, she found the figure standing in the distance, covered by a spiralling shell made of pale white wood.

The figure reached forward with its hand, evoking a sense of familiarity that Rin couldn't place. The spiralling branches that cloaked the figure seemed to twist tighter and somehow, Rin felt as if the person underneath was thrashing and screaming.

It only took a few seconds for the jungle of death around Rin to recede, and along with it, the figure disappeared without a trace. It was at that point that Rin clutched her head. The roars of the ocean in her mind were at its breaking point. Her body was torn between wanting to keep Kakashi safe and pushing him away, for fear that she would transform into something that could only bring destruction.

Rin was running out of hope until hope appeared in a flash of yellow.

"Sensei …" Rin gagged on her own words - or maybe it was her tears - when Minato-sensei cradled an unconscious Kakashi and held tight on her shoulder. Relief flooded into her, helping her clutch onto her sanity as she pleaded, "Something terrible is inside me, you have to seal it."

Seriousness filled Minato-sensei's eyes, mixing together with worry. Still, Rin felt the world around her blanking out for a moment before she could breathe again.

"Don't worry, Sensei is here." Those were the last words she heard before the ocean waves overwhelmed her.

-o-o-o-

The world painted by blood was awfully quiet in the absence of rain.

There was no sound of any strained breaths, meaning that there was no one alive that could see the shimmers of gold that materialized out of the air, pouring into a chest cavity that had been carved open just minutes ago.

Bones were being restructured, vessels were being reshaped, and skins were being repainted. Eventually, life was drawn again when she drew a breath. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing a shimmer of amber before it faded from the dark pupils.

"Seriously?" There was an old saying, that sometimes one had to walk towards death, to see the chance of life. But this was taking the phrase way too literally.

She pushed her torso up from the ground, only to realize that the mud sliding off of her arms was not naturally red, but red because it was dyed in blood, hence the metallic scents that lingered in the air.

In that instance, ink markings crawled all over her skin in the form of chains, the same as the times she woke up from an untimely trauma enough to kill a normal human. A reminder from Heaven that this blessing of immortality given to her race was only retained because her punishment had yet to end.

But this time, she saw a link of the chain, latched by her wrist, fracturing a little bit. There was a point of breakage, not even enough to loosen the chain, easily overlooked if she hadn't imprinted the unchanging nature of her bindings in her memory. However, before she could figure out what was going on, the ink markings faded into her flesh.

Her other hand touched something cold buried in the ground. When she pulled the metal out of the mud, she recognized, with a little bit of disbelief, shuriken?

Is this Sengoku Japan? She wondered. She had no doubt that she ended up on a battlefield - even got killed in an ongoing skirmish - and based on the weapons littered around, this was a battle fought by shinobi.

But the shinobi in her memory didn't wear these modernized flak jackets, nor did they engage in large-scale confrontations in groups. She didn't recognize the symbols on the foreheads of these corpses as belonging to any factions that she remembered. Actually, the fact that these shinobi had any identifying features linking them to a common group was baffling.

History lessons could wait. After a battle, there was always a clean-up. Corpses had to be disposed of to prevent the likelihood of plaques, weapons had to be retrieved to restock the supplies, and memories needed to be brought back to comfort the families of the dead.

She needed to run, to erase her existence before anyone noticed the survivor and started questioning who she was and how she survived.

Just as she had done for thousands of years, the first order of business was always to blend in. She brought her hands to her chest. The hole in her flesh was long gone, only leaving behind a thick layer of blood, but the hole in her ripped clothes remained, making her frown.

Thanks to that person - a teenage boy with silver hair, the image flashed in her mind - who somehow blasted a hole in her chest cavity, blending in just became a lot more difficult.

This moment, as some would come to realize later, was a turning point for many.

Chapter Text

Chapter 2 - 暗潮 (Hidden Tides)

Time was, no doubt, one of the most powerful things in existence.

Ironically, or perhaps she should say, unironically, it was time - an ample amount of time that taught her that.

Time brought information without any regard, pushed everything to continue moving, and forced one to never stop thinking. Given a little more time, what remained a fog of confusion in her brain started to be cleared as overlooked pieces began to resurface.

This world was either very wrong or very different. Either way, it seems like she was in very deep trouble.

The weather looked to be in the middle of an early Spring. The coldness of the water seeped into her bones as if it could freeze her veins. Despite that, she swiped up a handful of water and doused her head in the chilling cold. Carefully, she scrubbed away the dried blood that was plastered on her face.

… Scarlet. Crimson. Red. The vivid colour graced her eyes as she dropped her gaze and saw the hand that pulled out of her chest, accompanied by the splash of blood like a shake of the paintbrush …

Meanwhile, her glance rested on the jacket that she hung on the branch, waiting to be dried. She let out a sigh. The blood stains were easy enough to wash off, but the giant holes in her clothes - both the damp T-shirt she was wearing and the jacket she just washed, completed with blackened rims characteristic of scorch marks - were not so easily mended.

… Silver. Ice blue. White. Streams of electricity bounced in the air, sizzling around the blood-drenched arm, connecting the retracting fist with the bloodied cave in her ribcage …

It wasn't just a problem with prudence - but god knows the rules that this place has towards public indecency - but also the fact that anyone with half a brain cell would realize that she had gone through something violent. Then, the question inevitably arrived at why she had not suffered any damage.

… Shocked. Surprised. Stunned. The last thing she saw when she struggled to look up - devoid of the strength to speak, and soon would be devoid of the strength to see, to move, to breathe - was the equally disbelieving expression on the face of her murderer …

Giving the jacket a harsh wring, she wrapped it around her torso and tied it like a scarf, hiding the exposed skin with another layer of wrinkly fabric. She would still look weird, but it was already the best she could do.

Beyond the thick crowns of trees, barely peeking out in between the clusters of leaves that layered upon each other, were wisps of smoke that floated toward the sky.

She was lucky, it seemed, to have picked a direction that led to human inhabitation.

Human … Her steps picked up again, making her way towards the settlement in the distance, but her mind was once again occupied by the boy with lightning on his fist.

See, that was the problem. In her world, humans did not produce lightning from their bodies that could impale flesh and crush bones. In fact, no living creature could harvest energy to that extent, not after the Cataclysm two thousand years ago. No creature, other than her race.

That was also a decree by Heaven.

Other than the supernatural power that was the cause of her temporary demise, there were also the little anachronistic details lying around on the battlefield, making it difficult - if not impossible - for her to place herself in a known period of time.

Where was she? Who were they? Were there more of them that had broken the restriction of Heaven like that boy? If so, then what happened to Heaven's presence? …

And where would she - a creature shaped, blessed, and condemned by Heaven - fall?

The fallen branch cracked under her feet as she stood on top of the small hill, observing the village underneath. The streams of smoke had become much more visible, enough for her to see that it wasn't the kitchen that was the source of fumes, but rather, the bodies that lay at the village gate.

One, maybe two. Not enough to be visually traumatic. The bitter, pungent scents of herbs being burned at the sides made the smell of burned flesh much less prominent. She saw a man who was sobbing quietly, his shoulders rising and dropping with his breaths. Another man tapped him on the back before the former threw another bundle of dried-up leaves into the fire.

There was a moment where she hesitated, wondering if it was the best idea to intrude upon this human territory, one that seemed tightly knitted and had just been graced by death. Warring states also made people wary of strangers, for the right reasons, of course.

To be honest, the modern clothes she was wearing resembled more of the dead fighters on the battlefield than the villagers. Thus, she figured that the first order of business was to procure a set of clothes that was more appropriate and less defining. After that, she could get farther from the recent battlefield, perhaps even finding a new habitation - a larger town where the existence of travellers and strangers was more common - to learn about this world.

There was no euphemism for what she was about to do. It was morally questionable, but she was going to steal some garments.

She waited until the funerary fire was quenched before she made her way down the hill and approached the village from the back. The night had already fallen, leaving behind a veil of darkness that shrouded the small village.

Nobody noticed the figure that flipped over the village wall. The herbal scent that was being burnt earlier in the day still lingered in the air, and it even grew stronger as she stepped into the backyard of a particular house.

Loose fabrics hung from the clothesline, swaying lightly to the night breeze. It wasn't until she had reached out to the yukata and felt the crude texture of the fabric that she realized why the herbal scent was more pungent here.

It was coming from the fabric. Someone had soaked the clothes in the water boiled with herbs - a time-consuming process - and cleansed the fabric with care. And this scent … It was Asian mugwort, a herb traditionally used to prevent and treat infections, or more commonly known in the past as miasma and impurities.

She felt the guilt swelling in her chest as she grabbed the clothes. Whoever washed it had no doubt put much effort and care into the treatment of the garment, doing everything they could to ensure protection for the wearer against the spreading sickness that was prevalent in the era of conflict.

A sudden noise broke her out of her thoughts. A door was swung open, tipping over the basket of mugwort leaves. In a moment of panic, she took a step back and dragged the clothes with her, pulling them off of the clothesline while wooden clips popped open and hit the ground.

The yukata spread out with the motion and fell around her body, covering her left shoulder and half of her torso. For a second, all she could hear was the sound of rushed breathing, not hers, but from the woman that had stepped into the backyard, with a long stick in her hands, pointing towards the thief.

The moonlight cast just enough glows to outline the figures in the scene, allowing the woman to examine the thief below the clothesline.

The thief, on the other hand, halted her breaths and tensed her body, ready to bolt at any moment - with the stolen garment. Actually, now that she thought about it, she should have turned around and run before the staring contest even began. It was a slow reaction on her part.

"Are you … alright?" The thief already had her toes dug into the dirt ground as a premonition of her escape, but the quiet words from the woman made her pause.

Sure, she most definitely looked like crap right now, but that was not what she expected to hear when she was caught red-handed with burglary while looking every bit suspicious. Time and time again, humans managed to remind her of their unpredictability, when she least expected it.

Slowly, she answered with a nod. It probably wasn't very convincing.

The woman stared at the thief for a second longer, taking in her reserved silence, her messy appearance, and the garment clutched in her hand, which she still hadn't and wasn't planning to let go of.

Something flashed in the woman's eyes when she moved her gaze from the clothes and back to the thief. Just as the woman pressed her lips together, seemingly conflicted, the thief finally moved, taking a step back in preparation to run.

But before she could, the woman moved forward and called out, "If you have nowhere else to go, you can stay here for now." That halted everything. Even the woman looked like she was surprised by herself. Nevertheless, she stood by the backdoor, waiting for an answer.

As for the thief, she thought that it was a terrible idea, for both the woman and her. Mixing with humanity wasn't the plan - not now and certainly not in this way. She didn't feel prepared; she hadn't seen enough examples and hadn't studied enough materials.

Yet, it was because the invitation was surprising that it drew her attention. After all, derailments from prediction and deviations from rationality were often the most memorable parts of her endless wandering.

She wondered if it would be the same in this new world that she was displaced in.

The thief opened her mouth for the first time. She replied, with a voice that felt foreign from the lack of use, "I'm indebted to you."

-o-o-o-

Kakashi felt like he had been dreaming for a long, long time.

He thought he was getting used to it, how unforgiving the Sharingan was when it came to recording the past with realism. But the surrealism that came when the mind was weak in consciousness was a whole different kind of suffocating.

If dreaming turned memory fluid, then he was drowning in the waves.

"Rin!"

Kakashi gasped in frantic breaths, hearing his voice being overtaken by the agitating drum beats thundering out of his chest. The beige-coloured ceiling, the blue curtains, the soft bed sheet that became humid from sweat … every sensation was rushing into Kakashi's brain.

The surroundings felt familiar, but Kakashi was too hazy to discern exactly where he was. Even then, Kakashi's body moved on its own, motivated only by one thought - to make sure that Rin was safe, after what happened, after …

Kakashi's leg buckled under the weight the moment he scrambled off of the bed. The soreness of his muscles and the stings of his bones all came back to him. Unsurprisingly, he crashed into the nightstand with a loud bang.

"Kakashi-kun!" Someone yelled in concern and the next second, vibrant red hair filled his vision and Kakashi was hoisted up from under the arm like a child. He wanted to stand up again, but Kushina-san pushed on his shoulder and forced him to sit and behave.

"Now hang on for a moment there, Kakashi-kun, where are you rushing to when you can barely walk?" Kushina-san asked while raising an eyebrow at him, half joking, half in disapproval.

"Kushina-san, where is Rin? Is she okay? Those Kiri-nin, did Minato-sensei …" A hand was placed on Kakashi's head, sending out warmth and reassurance, calming his train of thoughts that were running wild.

"Slow down and take a breath," Kushina-san encouraged and Kakashi followed suit with a deep inhale. "Rin-chan is alive and she's not in danger, but her situation is … complicated. Actually, Minato should be here soon, why don't I let him explain."

Just like that, Kakashi caught the sealing paper pasted on the bedpost. The ink pattern was covered by a brownish haze, indicating that it had just combusted not long ago. That means … A bout of wind brushed past Kakashi's face as Minato-sensei teleported next to Kushina-san, a pile of reports was still in his arm.

"Oops." Minato-sensei reached out and caught the sparse pages that were about to fall out because of the sudden translocation, before placing the entire bundle onto the nightstand.

"Kakashi, I hope you didn't do anything rash just yet, because you just had the worst case of chakra exhaustion that I have seen in a while, and that's after two broken ribs and severe blood loss, among other things," Minato-sensei reprimanded, but his tone was no doubt filled with worry.

Ah, chakra exhaustion, that explained why Kakashi's muscles felt like mush. He nudged his ribcage lightly, but the pain wasn't as profound as he thought it would be, so he must have already received healing.

But then again, Kakashi's injury mattered not to him - a terrible mindset that Minato-sensei was always trying to break. In fact, it weighed very little in his heart when compared to the well-being of his teammates.

"Minato-sensei, is Rin okay?" Kakashi asked. Bloody rain, icy lightning. The cry of a thousand birds, the gagged sound that was forever silenced. Everything the sharingan recorded was coming back in detail, but that didn't make it any less confusing, especially when Kakashi's memory was cut off by his black-out.

Unconsciously, his hands tightened into a fist in nervousness when Minato-sensei let out a sigh. That … doesn't bode well.

"I'll heat up some porridge for Kakashi-kun," Kushina-san said with a comforting smile. Then, she went out and closed the door, leaving the room for just the two of them, setting the backdrop of a serious conversation that was meant for private ears.

There was a pulsing buzz in the air signifying the activation of a privacy seal as Minato-sensei started his explanation. "Kirigakure turned Rin into the Jinchuuriki of Three-Tail, using a temporary and unstable seal, presumably as a weapon to be unleashed when she was rescued and brought back to Konoha."

Kakashi wasn't as shocked as he thought he would be. He saw the signs, really. Rin had told him that there was something wrong with her - inside of her. The Kiri-nin that pursued them also felt off, as if they were more interested in herding sheep than hunting them back.

The signs were there, but Kakashi wouldn't take no for an answer, refusing to consider the implication when Rin begged him to listen, so much so that Rin had to jump in front of Kakashi's Chidori to make him understand.

He shuddered to think what would happen if there was nothing that separated his lightning and Rin.

"She was on the verge of a rampage when I made it to your side. But I managed to replace the seal on her with a stronger one, forcing the Three-Tail to retreat." Gently, Minato-sensei pried open the hands that Kakashi used to cover his face in guilt. "You did well, Kakashi. You fought for your comrade's life until the last second, never giving up hope despite the desperate situation. Be proud of yourself."

Kakashi felt like crying - both in self-shame and in relief - but he made it a mission not to shed tears easily. So, instead, he blinked a few times, forcing the wetness to rescind as he nodded at Minato-sensei's words.

"Then Rin is … a Jinchuuriki now?" Kakashi asked. Minato-sensei nodded, but once again, he had the face that said, 'yes, but it's complicated'.

"Being a Jinchuuriki is not for everyone. Every village has its way of selecting their Tailed-Beast host, but they all tend to fall into a trend: to select a host that is compatible with the Tailed-Beast's chakra and strong enough to endure, both mentally and physically." Minato-sensei said, his brows furrowed tighter with every word.

"Ever since I reinforced the seal on Rin, she has yet to wake. Physically, she's healthy, but it could have been due to the incompatibility with Tailed-Beast chakra, or even from a mindset that made her scared of losing control again. I … don't know."

His teacher's voice was calm - someone had to be when Kakashi was clearly a mess. But deep down, Kakashi thought that Minato-sensei was surely blaming himself as well, for having to subject his student to a fate that she did not choose.

"Rin is strong, Sensei," Kakashi said after a long pause. "She'll find the strength and courage to wake up soon." Just like how she found the strength to protect the village even when the Tailed-Beasts corroded her sanity. He had no other option than to believe.

"Exactly." Minato-sensei stretched his lips into a smile - the kind that always made things seem alright. "I know you're dying to ask, so I'll take you to see her. Just … be calm."

In hindsight, Kakashi should have waited for his balance to settle before he jumped out of the bed in eagerness. Nausea that came with the Hiraishin was amplified due to Kakashi's already spinning headache. He had to fight hard not to throw up when his feet touched the ground again.

Nevertheless, Kakashi saw the girl sleeping soundly on the other side of the window as if she was merely drifting off in her dreams. The medical machines on the side of the bed indicated that all her vitals were normal, but he couldn't help but inch closer, even pressing his hand on the glass that refused to budge.

It was then that he realized that the glass was actually enhanced with layers and layers of seals. Suddenly, Kakashi was acutely aware of how the Anbu stationed near them tensed up in alarm.

Chakra-suppressing seals, barriers to withstand enormous impact … those were only what Kakashi could identify. However, the most unnerving fact was that they were all directed toward the inside of the room.

This was a prison meant to contain the worst of the worst threat.

"Is this really necessary, Sensei?" Kakashi asked, his hand clenched into a fist. Now the warning before they teleported made sense. Minato-sensei opened his mouth, clearly unsettled by the situation as well. But someone interrupted him before he could say anything.

"Of course it is, Hatake-kun. As a Jonin and a student of the Yellow Flash, I'm sure you understand the damage that an uncontrolled Jinchuuriki can cause to a village." Kakashi whipped his head around and saw the elderly man walking towards them, his cane tapping an ominous rhythm in the hallway.

Elder Shimura glanced at Minato-sensei before turning to Kakashi, judgment clear in his eye that was not covered by the bandages. "After all, Nohara Rin was originally made into a Jinchuuriki with the intention of becoming a weapon for Kiri."

How could you talk as if Rin is an object?

Kakashi felt a firm hand latching onto his shoulder, holding him in place before he could manifest his thoughts into actual snarls. Screaming matches will not get us anywhere, his teacher seemed to convey through his touch.

"As I've made the case many times, Elder Shimura, I've placed the strongest, safest seal I have on Rin and I'm willing to give my life to ensure that she's not consumed by the Tailed-Beast's rampage," Minato-sensei replied as he stood in front of Kakashi.

"Konoha does not want you to give up your life on something … unworthy and avoidable as this, Namikaze-kun." Elder Shimura chided with a tone just short of patronizing. "Hiruzen has high hopes for you as a candidate for the Hokage; you should know better."

Without giving Minato-sensei a chance to speak back, the elder nodded at the barrier and said, "Rest assured, your student is receiving the best care within the precautionary limits. It's an opportunity for Konoha that Kiri's plan has backfired. If we can harvest the power of another Jinchuuriki, we'll surely come victorious in this war. That's what a Hokage should prioritize - the wellbeing of the village."

The logic was flawless, even Kakashi had to admit to that. In the era of war and conflict - especially one that had lasted for years, yearning to be ended - they were all to some extent, pieces to their village, working towards the common good.

But Kakashi disliked the cold gaze in the elder's eyes, annoyed by the condescending tone he was using towards Minato-sensei, and was furious with the way he attributed values to Rin as if she only had the fate of being used or being discarded.

This felt wrong, and Kakashi was sure that Obito would agree.

"Rin is a kunoichi of Konoha. She cares about the well-being of our village as much as anyone else, Jinchuuriki or not. And that's not because anyone deemed it her worth, but because it's her faith," Kakashi shouted, making Elder Shimura turn his attention to him.

The man was about to say something to him - no doubt to call out his naivety in some sort of demeaning way - but before that, Kakashi felt Minato-sensei leaning down a little, whispering but not really, "Well said."

Elder Shimura observed the scene in front of him with a narrowed eye. There was a moment of silence as Kakashi saw absolutely nothing on the Elder's blank poker face, then, Elder Shimura said, "if only Konoha's war can be won with pretty words."

He didn't dwell on the matter with Rin. He didn't need to. Kakashi should have realized that given Minato-sensei's influence both in the village and in front of the Hokage, the decision of Rin's placement would have been the result of deliberation with Sandiame itself, who had chosen to proceed with Elder Shimura's suggestions.

"Hatake-kun, now that I see you're well enough to be shouting, I'd like a detailed report on your mission to rescue Nohara Rin." The change of topic was sudden, but not outside of reason.

Still, Kakashi really, really didn't want to be talking to Elder Shimura any more than necessary, especially when it felt like the Anbu in the hallways were eyeing him like an interrogation, ready to pick apart any minuscule details in his body language, on his facial expressions, even the pauses in his voice.

But Kakashi earned his mettle. With calm and succinct words, he summarized his journey, from uncovering Rin's trace and retrieving her from the enemies to his attempt to hold off the enemies for Rin to escape. And finally, Rin's virtuous attempt at self-sacrifice, before it was thwarted by the sudden appearance of another person - presumably a Kiri-nin that didn't want their ultimate weapon to be rendered useless - blocked Kakashi's Chidori for her.

"End of the report," Kakashi finished the last sentence, not a single fault to be picked. Elder Shimura might have shown an ounce of interest at the mention of Kakashi's last victim - perhaps it was the sudden teleportation, could Kiri have developed a seal or trained shinobi that could mimic the Hiraishin? - but it was very brief, likely due to the fact that the woman was dead.

"Has Nohara Rin mentioned anything other than the Tailed-Beast being put inside her," Elder Shimura asked, "anything that Kiri could use to exert control over her?"

"No. I don't recall any," Kakashi answered without a pause. It was the truth and they could search Kakashi's memory all they wanted and it would still be the same. However, by the look of it, Elder Shimura was certainly thinking of a Yamanaka mind probe.

"Elder Shimura, Kakashi is still recovering from harsh injuries." It was Minato-sensei that put an end to it. "He'll submit a detailed report to Hokage-sama as soon as possible." He pulled the Hokage card and that forced Elder Shimura to relent.

"Of course," Elder Shimura said, tapping his cane with a tempo that matched his words as he headed for the exit. "Oh, Namikaze-kun, your Hiraishin certainly is a formidable force for our enemies, but in the sensitive areas within the village, please refrain from using it unless the situation is urgent."

Minato-sensei nodded, still with that calm expression void of any confrontation. The next second, they were out of the underground containment and back to his teacher's apartment in a flash.

Kakashi couldn't help but look at his sensei in amazement. "What, my student's comfort is urgent for me," Minato-sensei said with a shrug. Kakashi pushed down his nausea and decided that it was worth the price at the prospect of annoying Elder Shimura.

"So that's the situation." Minato-sensei paced around the room, rubbing the base of his hair as a sign of his annoyance. "Even if Elder Shimura's beliefs appear extreme to me, one cannot fault him for being cautious during such critical times of war. Hokage-sama has agreed to his method in the face of such uncertainty."

Kakashi let out a snort. He wasn't good-natured enough to be respectful to someone who made speeches like that. "Sensei, are you sure that Elder Shimura is only thinking on the grounds of Konoha? He's always pulling out his Elder status, suggesting that you're too young and inexperienced for the Hokage role, as if he'd be chosen instead."

"Kakashi!" Minato-sensei scolded, but it was more exasperation than a reprimand. Kakashi was young, brash, and better at using his weapon than his words, but he wasn't blind to the political undercurrents in Konoha, not when his teacher was pulled knee-deep in it simply on the fact that Minato-sensei was the favoured Hokage candidate.

Consequently, Kushina-san, Kakashi, and Rin would always be considered part of Minato-sensei's faction. Their values, status and achievements all contributed to Minato-sensei's image. Even if his teacher never saw it that way, it would always be seen as such from the outside. Having not one, but two Junchuuriki on Minato-sensei's side would certainly not be beneficial to Elder Shimura's own pursuit of Hokageship.

"I know your concern and anger, Kakashi. But no one's motivation is completely innocent and free of self-interest. That in itself is an unrealistic expectation to have of anyone, not even me." Minato-sensei said, taking a seat on the bed, next to the sulking Kakashi.

"Clearly, Elder Shimura has strong opinions about me and I, too, don't agree with some of his methods. But so far, he's protecting Konoha's interests according to his belief. So some words need to be said with caution."

Kakashi nodded, allowing Minato-sensei to pat his back in encouragement. He always knew that Minato-sensei was the bigger person, not willing to condemn a person just because they saw things differently from him.

"That being said, I don't completely trust Shimura's motivation either. They masked it well, but some guards in the hallway had been changed to those belonging to Root factions rather than the normal Anbu. I doubt that Rin's safety will be compromised when she's Konoha's Jinchuuriki, but Root's manipulation worries me." Minato-sensei shook his head, his eyes hardened with seriousness.

"The war front with Kumogakure is at a critical point, and Kiri's reaction towards the loss of Three-Tail will be hard to predict. Elder Shimura knew that I won't be staying off the front line for long, but I'll suggest somehow to the Hokage to transfer the responsibility of Rin's surveillance to Shibi's Anbu unit," Minato-sensei said after a moment of thinking.

Kakashi remembered the Aburame Clan Head, who was also Minato-sensei's Anbu teammate when he still served in it. No doubt, Aburama-san would also be lumped in to be on Minato-sensei's side from Shimura's perspective, along with the Aburame clan.

"I'll try reasoning with the Hokage again, Kakashi. Rin won't always be treated like a threat." There was a pause before Minato-sensei let out a small laugh, "Well, once she wakes up, she might not even need my help to convince everyone that she's strong enough to take on the beast inside."

The positivity infected Kakashi and he couldn't help but nod his head. Rin was never the kind to bow down to hardship.

"Other than Rin, I also worry about you, Kakashi." Once again, Minato-sensei let out a sigh. "I fear that Elder Shimura also won't be leaving you alone simply due to your association with me. And let's be honest, you don't exactly fare well against his provocation."

Kakashi barely held down the urge to roll his eyes. The Elder had a talent for grating on people's nerves, that was for certain. Still, he muttered, "I'd rather be taking missions nonstop than giving him the time of my day."

Kakashi thought that he would explode, if Elder Shimura came strolling to me, suggesting that Rin was to be judged either as a threat or a weapon, knowing full well that Kakashi didn't have the power or influence to do anything - not even qualified to be her guards. That certainly would cause trouble for Minato-sensei.

Noticing the irritation growing on Kakashi's face, Minato-sensei ruffled his hair in amusement. Before Kakashi could complain, his teacher held out a mission scroll to him, letting it drop to Kakashi's outstretched hands despite his confusion.

"Thought you'd say that. Hokage-sama issued this mission to your Chunin classmates. They needed a leader, I recommended you," Minato-sensei explained while Kakashi opened the mission scroll.

The Hokage wished for them to pay the few Fire Country villages facing the Fire-Water border a visit, and to convince them to relocate - the few that were still there anyway, despite the ravaging war in the area. Should they finally decide to leave, they were allowed to provide reasonable help.

Shinobi warfare tended to stay away from civilian villages whenever they could. But stray fires were unavoidable, and so were the aftermath of conflicts, both in the form of economic impacts, diseases, unrestrained bandits and missing-nin.

Many villages had already cleared out of the war zone at the beginning of the war, the rest either couldn't or were too stubborn to leave their roots. Hokage-sama must be hoping that the latter could be convinced to change their minds.

After Kiri recovered from the losses of Three-Tail, they might surrender or they might throw everything at Konoha in desperation. It could really go either way. It would be safer for the civilians and also easier for Konoha to manage the area if they were not near the conflict.

Kakashi and his Chunin teammates would be responsible for visiting two of the villages. It was at most a scouting job. More likely than not, they would be dealing with bandits that took advantage of the conflicts and harsh words from civilians that did not welcome them a single bit.

Kakashi furrowed his brows, his reservation was obvious. He dealt with matters using blades, not conversations. Kakashi's personality wasn't all that popular with shinobi - even his peers - he couldn't even imagine how he would fare against civilians. He would be much more useful to Konoha's war effort - to Minato-sensei - on the battlefields.

"You're still recovering, Kakashi, it's this or nothing." Minato-sensei shook his head, seeing through Kakashi's thoughts effortlessly. "Helping civilians, dealing with people not with the intention of killing them. When the war eventually ends, that'll also be a shinobi's job. And hopefully, their main job."

That sounds … nice, Kakashi thought, even if he was having some trouble imagining how he'd fit in that vision.

Of course, Kakashi accepted that mission. Minato-sensei chose it for him out of careful deliberations. It should be more than manageable for him even if he was not back to full health yet. Moreover, it also gave him a reason to stay away from Elder Shimura, who had just crossed the line from being 'obnoxious' to 'suspicious' in his teacher's eyes.

There was a knock on the door before Kushina said behind the door. "Minato, Kakashi-kun, food is ready!"

"Ooh, let's go. Kushina makes the best porridge and I certainly don't mind tasting it again," Minato-sensei said, his eyes gleaming in fondness.

Just before Kakashi forgot, he grabbed onto his teacher's sleeve, making him halt in his steps. "Sensei, I didn't mention it before, but the woman that appeared in front of Rin, the one that I pierced in the chest with Chidori, didn't dress like Kiri-nin. There was no Kirigakure's insignia anywhere on her body and she looked … surprised and confused to be there."

The details were coming back to him the moment Kakashi regained consciousness. The scenes reconstructed in his mind, showing him the jagged pieces that seemed out of place, starting with the person that seemed to arrive out of nowhere - almost as if she wasn't supposed to exist.

"That's strange. We combed through the bodies at the scenes afterwards, only an hour after I teleported you and Rin away. They suffered a lot of puncture and piercing wounds, but all of them were in standard Kirigakure attire." Minato-sensei told him and the feeling that something was out of place grew even stronger.

There were plenty of speculations about her identity - a Kiri-nin in disguise that was meant for stealth observation, a third-party intruder with unknown agenda … There were also many explanations for why her body seemingly disappeared - perhaps her comrades retrieved her remains. Hell, it might even be a wild beast looking for a meal.

For now, it might remain a mystery that bothered Kakashi like a mismatching puzzle, but to be honest, it would most likely be buried by other priorities - living, breathing priorities that Kakashi recognized and cared for.

After all, Death more or less closed the case.

Chapter Text

Chapter 3 - 青山 (Verdant Mountain)

"You don't remember your name?"

The thief shook her head at the host's question. There was a pause, then she picked up the ragged T-shirt shed on the floor and used it to soak away the residual moisture in her hair.

For once, she was wearing clean, dry clothes. She'd hate to get it damp as well.

"Your age?" The woman asked again from the opposite side of the room. She threw a piece of firewood into the furnace. The noises made by crackling sparks grew louder for a moment before they died down to murmurs in the background.

Another shook of the head, but unlike the name, age was more discernible from appearance - using human standards, of course. The thief figured that the woman already had a guess - usually from 17 to 22, but up to 25 was also passable, given past experience.

"And you have no recollection of where you're from, what you do, and why you end up here?" Finally, the woman moved her eyes from the fireplace back to her strange guest, skepticism growing by the second.

"No, they're all blank." Amnesia was hardly the most convincing excuse, but it was one that could explain her state of foreignness the best. Elaborate lies required knowledge and facts at their foundation. Too bad that she had none.

Besides, the thief doubted that the woman took her in because she was naive enough to find her trustworthy. It was something more irrational, more personal … something riskier.

Putting down the torn T-shirt, the thief spoke up again. "So, may I ask you to elaborate on where I am and the state of the world around us?" She decided that getting more information was the top priority and considering how things were already off the rail, this was as good a time as any.

The host stayed silent for a moment, evaluating the absurdity of the thief's request and the absurdity of her own actions. But eventually, she answered, "We're in Fire Country, the Southeastern side, to be specific, close to the border of Water Country."

Fun, countries named using elements. Sounds like something you'd find in fantasy stories. For a second, the thief wasn't sure if the woman was just making up random stuff. Nevertheless, she showed a flash of curiosity on her face, telling the woman that she really did not retain much in terms of memories.

"To make things short, there's a war happening right now near this border."

Somehow, that explained so much and so little at the same time.

"A war … between Fire Country and Water Country?" The thief asked and surprisingly, the woman looked a little uncertain about what she thought to be a simple question of clarification.

"The war is being fought by shinobi villages. It's been happening for years, conflicts between shinobi villages all around the world. In this region, it's between Konohagakure and Kirigakure, the shinobi under the patronage of His Excellency, the Fire Daimyo, and the Water Daimyo, respectively." The sentences felt foreign to the woman as if she never had to explain them to anyone, and thus, never had to think too deeply about them.

In the end, the woman never did answer the thief's answer clearly. Perhaps she couldn't be quite sure of the involvement of her Daimyo and her country apart from the shinobi villages. Speaking of which …

"Shinobi?" The moment she asked that question, the woman couldn't help but widen her eyes in disbelief, even more so than when the thief didn't recognize Fire and Water Countries. This was enough to tell the thief that in this world, 'Shinobi' was a concept that was deeply entrenched in people's daily lives, something that even a child would know.

Nevertheless, the woman explained, "Shinobi are those that can use ninjutsu. They can perform … fantastical feats - raising walls of earth, spitting fire, and summoning streams of water - that are akin to miracles to us. They live in their own villages, accepting commissions like mercenaries."

With each passing phrase, the thief thought back to the boy with silver hair and lightning on his fist. She also thought back to the field of corpses, some limbs still clutched onto weapons, with a common insignia etched on their attire. She was more and more certain that those are what this world called 'Shinobi'.

The host lowered her eyes and glanced at the floor. A moment later, she commented, "In fact, the clothes you were wearing resembled the shinobi more than us civilians."

The thief only thought about it for a second, before she made the decision. She grabbed her old clothes and rose from the ground. The host tensed up for a moment when the thief approached her, only for the thief to ask, "Do you mind?"

It took the woman a second to realize that the other girl was pointing toward the fireplace. Feeling somewhat speechless, the host replied, "No, but didn't you lose your memories?"

"My memories, not my judgment." The thief threw the pile of clothes into the fire without mercy and let the flame consume them. "I don't know who I am before this, but I'd rather not be associated with shinobi if they are in the heat of a war."

"A little late for that, don't you think?" The woman muttered, reminding the thief that at least one pair of eyes had seen the suspicious state she was in.

But the thief merely answered, "yet, you let me stay," despite knowing the warring states and having seen the marks of violence on her torn clothes.

"What's the worst thing you can take from me, my life?" Surprisingly, the woman looked the most relaxed she had been since meeting the intruder in her backyard. She waved around the cottage, showing the thief nothing but old tools and baskets of muddy plants. "I don't have anything else that's worthy of being robbed or stolen."

There was a hint of amusement in the woman's voice when her gaze landed back on the thief. "Maybe except for the clothes," she added.

A stretch of silence filled the room as the amusement in the woman's tone faded while her eyes remained glued on the yukata that she had allowed the thief to wear. The thief said nothing, giving the woman all the time in the world to revisit her memories and impulses.

Eventually, the woman pulled herself out of the swirls of dreams and asked, "What do you want to be called?"

"What do you want to call me?" The thief suggested instead and it made the woman's breath halt.

"I had a younger sister. Actually, those are her clothes that you're wearing. Her name was Aki," the woman said slowly as if each word required a great deal of courage. "Can I call you Aki?"

"It sounds nice," 'Aki' replied. Very lightly, the woman nodded in agreement.

-o-o-o-

The woman's name was Haru. Other than a sister named Aki, she also had a husband - Hiroshi - who no longer breathed in this world.

None of those things were told by Haru, nor did 'Aki' ever plan to ask. But it wasn't hard to deduce the basics from the chatter of the villagers, who had no idea that another soul was listening behind the fences - again, Haru wasn't planning to tell and 'Aki' wasn't planning to invite questions and trouble.

Besides, the signs were all there. Amongst the clothes that Haru would wash - soaked in water that boiled mugwort and hung with care - there were clearly garments for men.

Hiroshi was supposed to be the only healer in the village, with rudimentary herbal training handed down from his family. But it seemed that he had passed away before the skills could be passed on.

The widow, Haru, did the best she could to prescribe herbal treatments, using whatever knowledge she had observed from her husband. But with the war around contributing to a plethora of problems - lack of supplies, deficient nutrients, spreading ailments, fearful environments - the recovery rate from illness was practically nonexistent, and so the air of death shrouded the village.

"Haru-san, I'm leaving the village. The feudal lords are always looking for workers. I plan to find a job there, in a village closer to the capital." The conversation inevitably travelled into the backyard. 'Aki' didn't even pause in her task, spreading the washed herbs onto a large carpet made of straws, allowing them to dry.

By the sound of it, it was the same man who held the funerary service for his mother a few days ago, when 'Aki' first arrived here. He already made a visit to Haru yesterday, thanking her for providing the herbs to be burned at the funeral. So, clearly, this visit was for something else.

"I see, Toshi-san. I wish you well in the future." Haru's voice sounded next, and then, there was a stretch of silence. She could almost imagine the way Haru stood by her door, waiting patiently for Toshi to reveal his real intention.

"After my mother passed, there's nothing in this village that makes me stay other than your well-being." The man rushed the words out, the nerves clear in his voice. "Come with me, Haru-san. I can never hope to match up to Hiroshi-san, but I promise to treat you well."

That was when 'Aki' paused, her hand stopped in mid-motion while her body leaned forward a little. While she waited for Haru's response, her loose braid slipped by her shoulder and fell forward like a ribbon. The tip of the braid brushed against the herbs, making them misalign.

It would be a convenient outcome for Haru - for both of them, 'Aki' thought as she flicked the braid to the back and realigned the plants. She wasn't planning to stay forever. She was thinking of leaving for a busier town anyway, where new sources of information could be found,

Haru was kind enough to tell her the basic orders of this world, but it was clear that she knew very little of affairs that involved shinobi and their war - for example, the causes and initiators of the war, who had the advantage, and how close it was to an end.

'Aki' decided that compared to finding a way back to her old world, surviving in this new one might be an easier task. For that, she had a lot of catching up to do.

"I'm grateful for your kind words, Toshi-kun, but I don't plan to leave this village," finally, Haru answered. To make her point clearer, she added, "I plan to stay here until either the village or my life meets its end."

'Aki' had senses slightly more superior than normal humans, so she could hear the sigh that escaped Toshi's mouth. "You're still a young woman, Haru-san. There can still be much in life for you. I'm sure both Aki-san and Hiroshi-san would agree."

He probably shouldn't have said that.

"If that'll be all, Toshi-san, I have some chores to do. I wish you a safe journey." The door was shut with a light clink after that. 'Aki' could somewhat imagine the way Haru lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together, the same expression she would make when she was dissatisfied with the qualities of herbs.

Once again, the braid slipped past her shoulder unnoticed. But this time, 'Aki' caught it before it could disturb the herbs and pushed it back. Just then, footsteps sounded behind her while the door to the backyard creaked open.

It all seemed to happen so naturally, as Haru knelt down behind her and took her braid into her hand. With gentle touches, she twisted the braid into a bun just above the girl's neck, not too tight, not too loose.

Haru searched around with her spare hand until she found a small branch lying on the ground. Carefully, she pushed the wooden piece into the braid and pinned the hair in place, like she had done for someone else countless times.

Haru's hand lingered on her hair for a moment longer before she stood up and said, "Sorry. I shouldn't have done that without asking." A little lighter, she added, "You are your own person, after all."

From the moment Haru decided to give her Aki's name, she was trapped again by nostalgia. Rationality told Haru that nothing good would come from pulling the threads of the past. She was so close to cutting the strings - so so close - but a moment of weakness was all it took for her to give in to that small spark of desire. And now, it smouldered.

'Aki' shook her head, telling Haru that there was no need to apologize, not for anything. Instead, she asked in a quiet tone, "Do you really plan to stay here until the village's demise?"

"You heard all that, huh," Haru muttered, not at all surprised. "Those that are still left in this village are either those that are not fit to leave or their caretakers. My healing knowledge is not much, but I can't just leave them."

There were maybe about two dozen left in this village - mostly the sick and the elderly. Haru told her that from a few years back when the conflict first started, shinobi from Konohagakure did arrive periodically with warnings, advising them to move while they still could. Very few followed their advice in the beginning, but as the war dragged on, those that still could leave made the wiser decision.

"But none of that applies to you," Haru said all of a sudden as she turned around and headed for the small basket of yam placed near the door - that would be this week's food. "Are you … thinking of leaving?"

"Bigger villages have more information. News travels faster there and people spread them more carelessly," 'Aki' answered with honesty, watching Haru's movement slow down even if she tried to hide her attention by focusing on washing the vegetables. "I can't avoid what I don't know, nor can I defend against what I don't understand."

Haru couldn't help but let out a chuckle when she heard the girl's reasoning. "You're so logical and collected, even though you have no memory of who you are. Your calm personality must have persevered."

"Who I used to be," 'Aki' emphasized, telling Haru that she had no intention of searching for who she was. She might have lied about losing her memories, but her old world had no doubt been cut and left behind in the past.

Whether that was Heaven's idea of a solution or simply an unforeseen mishap of fate, it seemed to solve a lot of things if she never returned.

"When do you plan to leave then?" Haru asked in a whisper as if she was hesitant to hear an answer.

"Not now, unless I'm causing too much trouble." 'Aki' answered as she picked herself up from the ground along with the axe resting near a stomp. They needed more firewood both for cooking and for keeping the house warm.

"Nothing more than the trouble you've already caused," Haru replied, but 'Aki' still heard the sigh of relief from Haru, perhaps even without her awareness. With a swing of the axe, the blade cut into the wood and split it in half like butter.

-o-o-o-

'Aki' heard the noise of harsh wind tilting over the basket in the backyard, making the weighing stones inside roll out in a clatter. A second later, the door was pushed open as Haru hurried inside.

"You're … awake." Even in a rushed state, Haru couldn't help but slow down when she saw 'Aki' already tied the last knot in the tasuki, gathering the sleeves of yukata like they would when doing chores.

'Aki' didn't know why she was surprised. It wasn't like the knock that came in the middle of the night was subtle in the first place.

"I'm so sorry for disturbing you, Haru-san, but Matsue has developed a fever and it's not coming down." 'Aki' had heard a raspy male voice sounding behind the door as Haru listened from the inside.

Without a delay, Haru headed out to examine the patient.

'Aki' might have pretended to be asleep, if she didn't hear the sound of footsteps approaching mixed with heaving breaths. Only one set of footsteps could be heard, so Haru wasn't being chased. Then, it was probably because she needed something from her cottage. That, she could help with.

But Haru didn't go for the stash of herbs nor the blackened pot used to brew concoctions. Instead, she searched for an empty basket by the wall, before grabbing the chipped dagger and the small shovel, and throwing them in.

"Matsue-san's fever is worsening, but I don't have any shirayuki grass left for relieving the fever," Haru explained when she finally couldn't take the staring that bore into the back of her head. "You don't need to come. The forest at night is difficult to traverse for those unfamiliar with it."

"All the more reason that I should." Unfortunately, when Haru turned around, 'Aki' was already standing by the door, holding the long stick that Haru used to swat away dense branches - also the same one that Haru pointed at 'Aki' when they first met.

"Shirayuki grass has white markings along the veins of its leaves, hence the name," Haru explained, crouching to get through a thick crown of leaves while 'Aki' followed. "It's not very visible at night, unfortunately, much like everything - roots, holes, stones that you can trip over."

Haru wasn't very subtle with the way she bit her syllables, telling 'Aki' that she really, really wished that the other girl would listen and head back.

"White markings, got it." 'Aki' pretended she didn't hear, while pushing apart a thick brush with the wooden rod. "Are they supposed to be in season?"

Haru paused in her step and her expression soured. Ah, I see. There was a reason why she didn't have the herb in stock. Nevertheless, Haru tried, "... they're easier to find when the weather is less humid, but it's not impossible. Just got to pray for some luck."

'Aki' hummed in understanding and they moved their attention back to the thick woods and continued their search.

The forest at night could be just as lively as during the day. When the sun set and the cold moonlight took over, different breeds of creatures woke, filling the woods with the sound of their motions, eerie to those who trespassed, but comforting to the ones that knew their symphony.

'Aki' wasn't bothered by the fist-size centipede that crawled out of the tree and climbed down the trunk. The insect inched closer to the hand that she kept on the tree to keep her balance. Swash, 'Aki' swiped the long stick sharply, clearing the thick bush to reveal the plants hidden underneath. Startled by the sudden event, the centipede only grazed Aki's finger for a moment before it scurried off into a hole in the trunk.

Haru, on the other hand, didn't have a heart as big. She tried to minimize the distraction around her, but she couldn't help but be cautious of every foreign movement from the forest, not just around her, but around 'Aki' too.

With every patch of the forest they searched that came out empty, Haru's agitation built a little more. Fever, rather than an ailment itself, was a manifestation of many potential ailments. Haru didn't know what caused the fever, but she did know that for Matsue-san, whose body was past its prime due to age and common sickness, the damage from an unquenched fever was already a concern.

"We might need to travel further out." Haru decided after some thought. How many minutes had passed since they left the village? She couldn't be sure. 'Aki' gave the area one more scan before she nodded as if confirming that there indeed was no shirayuki grass in the area.

The forest was poorly lit, only spared by moonlight. Haru could hardly distinguish any pattern without bending down and getting closer. Yet, 'Aki' focused her gaze on the broader landscape as if she could see much more than Haru's imagination.

Yet, for all that confidence, if only the girl could care more - fear more - of her surroundings.

The first thing that startled 'Aki' this evening wasn't any of the animals that were shifting constantly in the forest. In fact, she heard the rustling sound that was encroaching near her feet. Sleek, smooth, and barely audible; it was the sound of a snake.

Was it threatened by the sudden intrusions around its nest? Was it attracted by the warm blood, wanting to take a bite at her ankle? 'Aki' glanced down for a second, seeing the snake coiling up its body, baring its fangs open. Probably the latter.

"Watch out!" Haru screamed just before 'Aki' planned to move her feet. As if cued by the sound, the snake pounced forward, only to miss its prey because 'Aki' took a step back at the last second.

'Aki' heard the rush of movements from Haru's side, frightful and full of panic. To her horror, she saw the older woman grabbing the shovel out of her basket, ready to swing it with all her might despite having shaky grips and shaky steps.

That won't do, 'Aki' thought. With the cluttered spaces around them, Haru was more likely to hurt herself before she could ward off the snake.

So, before that could happen, the long stick was swung in a tight circle. With a nimble motion, 'Aki' smacked the tip of the rod into the snake before it could react and fished it up, easily avoiding all the obstacles on the path. A twist of the wrist and the snake was flung into the distance, and the flight definitely wouldn't be gentle.

"What the …" A whisper from the side, followed by a thud as Haru dropped the shovel. A second later, her knees seemed to give out as well as she grabbed onto a tree branch in shock. 'Aki' rushed forward and helped her steady herself.

The woman was still shaking ever so slightly, permeating a smell of fear that 'Aki' wasn't sure was normal. Still, Haru didn't allow herself to remain traumatized for long. Shaking her head a little to clear her thoughts, Haru muttered thanks to 'Aki' before gently letting go of her shoulder, adamant about standing on her own.

"Are we still hunting for shirayuki grass?" 'Aki' opted to ask that instead of something else. Nevertheless, Haru looked like she got words stuck in her mouth - questions and explanations alike - but a second later, she merely nodded.

'Aki' never asked about Haru's life. Haru never talked about it. That was how it worked; a mutual and silent agreement. Yet, tonight, one party of that agreement decided to break it.

"I really didn't want you to come," Haru said all of a sudden. She half-knelt by the bush, reaching into the dark shades with her hand. "The forest and the land have been gracious, but it can also swallow one up."

"One day, Aki and I went into the forest to collect herbs. Before either of us noticed, she got bitten by a snake. A violent fever followed and she stopped breathing by midnight." Haru continued, but under the cover of leaves, 'Aki' could see the way her nails dug into the dirt when she thought nobody could see.

"I'm sorry to hear that." 'Aki' wasn't sure what to reply other than formal condolences. But it seemed like Haru was determined to go all or nothing because she wasn't done yet.

"There are concoctions to treat snake venom sold in big villages. They don't always work and they're very expensive, yet Hiroshi-kun always tried to trade for them whenever he could." There it was, the second scar on Haru's wound.

"But the war between Kiri and Konoha has been ongoing for a year. The merchant caravans that used to drop by every few months stopped coming. Accidents of bandits ambushing travellers spread fear amongst the people, including me. So when we ran out of concoctions, I begged Hiroshi to stay put, maybe, maybe just until the war is nearing its end." It was all coming together, the chain of events sending ripples to one another until they turned into a festering lesion that stung constantly.

"Hiroshi-kun left for a bigger village that day. Even if the chance was slim, we hoped that the gods would have mercy on us and let Aki last until his return." Haru barely managed to finish that sentence, bitterness and sorrow choked in her throat. As she said earlier, Aki never did last until Hiroshi's return, but that wasn't all.

"He never returned, did he?" 'Aki' whispered in a quiet voice. A dreadful silence ensued and Haru nodded.

"A week had passed, and I still hadn't heard from him. The village was kind to Aki, they gave Hiroshi all the money we had to buy concoctions, it was reasonable that Hiroshi owed them an answer. After another week, a few men had to go find him. Yet, all they found were his tattered belongings. The bandits - or maybe the missing-nin from the shinobi village - had gotten to him." Haru shook her head as if trying to shake off the terrible memories that resurfaced.

She took a deep breath to regain her composure, before raising herself from the ground. "So, please be careful in the forest, regardless of what you may be able to do." Lightly, she dusted off the chunks of dirt between her fingers and moved on to the next bush.

"So, is my presence here a poison or a medicine?" 'Aki' couldn't help but ask. She wanted to know if she was causing more harm by staying here longer. After all, she could make her presence quite flexible

Haru had to take a moment to process the question that came out of nowhere. But eventually, she replied with a curt laugh, "Poison and medicine can often be the same thing, depending on the dose. Who knows, maybe I found you to be both."

"Anesthesia, then," 'Aki' added, making Haru chuckle in agreement. 'Aki' nodded towards the direction to their right and suggested, "We should check over there. We haven't gone to that area yet."

Despite still having some bushes to go through, Haru decided to trust 'Aki' on this one. She followed the other girl as she waded through the dense branches. The visibility was still abysmal. A white rabbit could have hopped in front of them and Haru might not even recognize what it was.

"Well, is that it?" 'Aki's voice brought Haru's thought back to the present, only to find the girl kneeling down to brush the thick bush apart. A small patch of delicate grass sat in the shadow of larger plants, and white markings lined the veins on their leaves.

"Yes, that's it; that's shirayuki grass." Haru didn't waste any more time as she knelt down before the precious plants and started harvesting. They only needed the leaves, so she was careful with the blade, cutting only what she needed without damaging the plant beyond recovery.

Finally, when Haru collected enough for one batch of concoction, her anxious heart had been somewhat placated. Haru thought back to the words exchanged between her and her freeloader and realized why she asked the question.

"I'll admit, you're quite helpful," Haru told 'Aki'. You're really helpful, she thought. Even though I don't know who you used to be, or what you have done, neither do I find you free of suspicion, but by being here, you're really helpful to me.

It was true that Haru first wavered when she saw her, standing under the moonlight, covered in Aki's yukata, looking like a ghost that had finally returned home. Haru gave her the name 'Aki' to satiate the wave of longing that assaulted her soon after.

But she wasn't Aki, never was and never would be, so different that Haru could clearly distinguish them with ease. Yet, her brief yet temporary companionship was indeed relaxing. Hell, Haru wished she had her freeloader's temperament - oh, how easily the girl made peace with the part of her past that she had forgotten and started anew.

'Anesthesia' was correct. She wasn't a medicine that was meant to heal, but nevertheless something soothing to the pain.

'Aki' flashed her a small smile and replied. "If that's the case, you should keep me here. Maybe until I find a name for myself."

'Aki' decided that she didn't mind staying with Haru, for however long Haru wanted. A few months, a few years, until the village's demise, until Haru's demise … Even after all those time, like the verdant mountain that never loses its colour, 'Aki' would remain the same.

"Sure, take your time. Find something beautiful to call yourself," Haru said before they headed back toward the village.

Just a few hundred meters until Haru could return to her cottage and process the shirayuki grass. It was then that 'Aki' clasped onto her arm and halted her step with force. With confusion, Haru looked back, only to find the girl with furrowed brows and pursed lips.

"Mugwort smoke," 'Aki' whispered and Haru followed her gaze. She was looking at the patch of sky above the crowns of the trees.

The night sky looked like it was swaying slightly as if a thin veil of smoke had risen up, but it was too dark for Haru to be sure. Still, a faint whiff spread through the air and it was only because of the sheer familiarity that Haru recognized the scent of burned mugwort.

Haru had used mugworts on many different occasions, but when it was burned in such a harsh, raw manner, it was usually to hide the scent of the burnt flesh and dispel the miasma of the corpse. In that sense, the mugwort smoke was not really the smoke of mugwort, but the smoke of death.

"Matsue-san … No way, it's too soon." Haru tried to reason with herself. The fever shouldn't have caused death so quickly. Even if it did - Haru swallowed at the thought - the villagers wouldn't have burnt the deceased so quickly.

Then, is it someone else? What happened? When … Before Haru could find an acceptable answer, a hand wrapped around her wrist and she was pulled back and forced to catch up.

"Aki, wait!" Haru tried not to shout, but 'Aki' refused to give her any time to rest. The grip on her wrist was as strong as iron and 'Aki' was pulling her away from the village with such vindictiveness.

"It's too strong, the scent of the mugwort. Much more herbs are being burned than what the village usually uses for one, even two bodies." 'Aki' finally explained. Haru's breathing got faster, and she wasn't sure if it was because of how fast she was forced to run, or the dawning implication. "There's something very wrong, and I'm not letting you take that chance."

Haru wanted to shout back, but the village is all I ever know - it was Aki's and Hiroshi's village. Where would we even go if not go back?

Something pierced through the air, slicing open the night with a whistling sound. 'Aki' pulled on Haru violently, and both of them fell forward and tumbled into the forest floor. Haru felt something jagged knocking into her waist and tears swelled in her eyes due to the pain.

Again, with a strong force, 'Aki' pulled Haru up from the ground and stood in front of her. In such a disoriented state, Haru could barely make sense of the surroundings, but she still caught a glimpse of the metallic shine on a tree trunk nearby.

Was that a shinobi's kunai?

"So there are two that got away," someone - an intruder - said as the figure came out of the shadow. His green jacket blended in with the background, His shoes barely making a sound on the ground. On the man's forehead, a symbol that resembled a leaf was carved on the metallic plate.

Shinobi shouldn't be killing civilians. Konohagakure shouldn't be hunting the citizens of Fire Country.

Fear, confusion, desperation … so many things melted together in Haru's brain, making her legs go weak if not for the hand that held onto her arm. My voice, Haru gagged. Pleading, praying, screaming, any sound would do, if only she could get some sort of answer about her fate. But it didn't look like the shinobi deemed them worthy of any explanations.

"I'll make it painless." The shinobi cracked his knuckle, his hand moving towards the weapon holder on his leg. It was then that Haru felt the support on her arm disappear, along with a whisper, "Run." The next second, 'Aki' dashed out, running towards the shinobi with only a wooden stick in hand.

The shinobi was only shocked for a second before he shook his head. All he needed to do was raise his fist and push. With the force of one strike, 'Aki' was flung to the side. She crashed onto a tree, making a sound that awfully resembled bones knocking against a hard surface. Then, she rolled onto the ground and stopped moving.

Finally, the invisible hand on Haru's windpipe loosened and she let out a scream.

The shinobi clicked his tongue, clearly finding the whole ordeal disruptive and inconvenient. But that was it, the two villagers in front of him were just that, an inconvenience.

At that moment, anger and hatred exploded in Haru, somehow overriding the fear that permeated every inch of her body, giving her some strength to move. Haru scrambled towards the fallen girl, despite how futile that action would be - any action would be.

Legends had it that shinobi could move faster than the swiftest wind. In the blink of an eye, the man appeared in front of Haru, blocking her path to 'Aki', another blade already in his hand. Haru's pupils constricted when she saw the metallic shine raised above her head, ready to strike down at any moment.

Crack. It sounded like a branch being snapped.

Almost on instinct, the shinobi paused what he was doing and turned towards the sound that seemed to come from behind.

Haru thought she had heard the sigh of the wind when something sailed - no, sliced - in front of the shinobi. It was as if someone had taken a giant brush and painted a crescent arc, but not with the obsidian ink, but with vermillion red.

Blood splashed out from the shinobi's neck while his body fell to the side. By the time he hit the ground, his entire upper torso was painted in that obnoxious colour of red while his face was frozen in a permanent state of shock.

Slowly, Haru moved her eyes past the corpse and towards the direction of that crescent moon. 'Aki' stood silently, her chest heaving up and down in a calm and steady rhythm, as she held what looked like a spear in her hand.

Spear? It was only then that Haru noticed the fact that a small strip of fabric tied the blade - the same blade she used to collect leaves - to the end of the wooden stick - the one she used to open a path in the forest. Haru had no idea when 'Aki' even took the blade from her basket, let alone when she connected the makeshift parts together.

As if to finish the last stroke of the painting, 'Aki' flicked her arm and the thin coat of blood that stained the spear's tip was cast off into the shadow.

She said, "we have to run."

Chapter Text

Chapter 4 - 激流 (Rapids)

"What a slavedriver."

Kakashi cast a glance in the direction of that whisper. He wasn't planning to dwell on it - he had heard much worse - but the person who made the comment seemed to gag up at being caught. The young chunin's face turned red and then white, looking as if Kakashi had done an unimaginable terror on him with just a glare.

Now, the air around them turned stale.

"We haven't rested for an entire day," the chunin said, a little louder, finding courage in releasing what had been bottled up. "Not all of us are perfect machines like you that feel no fatigue. Some of our teammates are still recovering from injuries."

Just then, Kakashi raised his hand to signal a pause in their journey and halted his movement. He turned around to face his team fully and sure enough, the chunin that voiced his dissent averted his gaze - the courage finally ran out, it seemed - but nevertheless, extended a hand to help another shinobi steady himself.

Sukuzu, was it? Despite being the same age as Kakashi - and therefore likely to have gone to the Academy with him - he had no recollection of who he was aside from the mission summary.

Back then, Kakashi had no sharingan that forced every detail of his life down his throat. He was prideful and really only remembered those that had traits worthy of being remembered.

Gai was exceptional at Taijutsu. Asuma was ambidextrous and above average with weapons. Kurenai's genjutsu could put shinobi twice her age to the test. Obito was … loud, stubborn, and a sticky piece of tape that Kakashi couldn't get rid of.

Those that Kakashi didn't remember, then, were those that didn't stand out to him back in the days - those that were unremarkable in Kakashi's narrow field of vision.

"Are you injured?" Kakashi asked all of a sudden.

"N-no," Sukuzu stuttered. Kakashi thought that this was getting annoying.

"Then those that are recovering from injuries can speak for themselves," Kakashi said with a flat voice. Then, he looked around and asked, "anyone?"

Nobody said a word.

The other chunin, who was clearly Suzuku's friend, tugged on his arm and shook his head, telling him to let go. Not with Hatake Kakashi, his face seemed to say, it's useless.

"Make camps. We'll rest until sunrise, then we'll head towards the second village." Kakashi issued his order and immediately, he saw a flash of relief on quite a few of his teammates' faces.

Half a year ago, inexperienced chunin - like Sukuzu - and those that were recovering from minor injuries - like Kakashi and some of those assigned here - would be on the battlefield, fighting for their lives while battles stretched for days.

But four months ago, Iwa had agreed to a truce in defeat. They had been faltering in strength ever since the fall of Kannabi Bridge. Suna retreated from the international conflict as soon as their feud with Iwa had settled - Konoha was never its direct enemy anyway. Kiri was on its last leg, even more so now that their crazy plan had ended not in the destruction of Konoha, but the loss of their Tailed-Beast. Only Kumo still had the strength and pride left to fuel the flame at the Fire-Thunder war front.

Konoha no longer needed to ward off enemies from all directions, so it could afford to send some of its battle-capable forces - defined by the fact that one could hold a kunai and stab, really - on missions less suicidal.

So now, they had the luxury to stroll through Fire Country's forest, resting whenever they wanted, and complaining about strict leadership when they only had to deal with bandits. What a progress.

"I'm patrolling ahead," Kakashi said, catching the attention of everyone settling down while he clearly had no intention of doing so. "Well then, those that are not recovering from injuries, pull your weight and guard the camp."

Suzuku gave out a tiny shudder. Really, this was getting old.

"Wait up, Kakashi. Let me come with you." Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when he heard Asuma calling at him, waving his hand that had two broken fingers in a cast. "Wouldn't it be more logical for more than one shinobi to handle scouting?"

Unable to find a point to reject, Kakashi nodded and let Asuma follow him out of the camp. Five minutes later, he was thinking that it might have been a mistake.

Kakashi drew blood on his thumb and slapped his hand into the ground, and two puppies, one with orange furs and another with a gray pelt appeared in front of him.

"Shiba, Guruko, please keep vigilance around the camp and notify me if anything happens," Kakashi asked and the pups shook their tails in response. Guruko, the youngest of his pack, looked at him expectedly. Kakashi gave in and rubbed his hand over the pup's head.

"Oh, if only our teammates can see what I'm seeing." Asuma let out a chuckle and Kakashi rolled his eyes. "I know you don't have to, but if you just explain a little more, maybe they'll figure out that you were planning to set up a resting point all along."

"Why do I care?" Kakashi landed on a branch, surveying his surroundings with his sharingan, letting the smell of the forest and everything in it fill his nose. "It's not like I planned it for their sake. I doubt the villagers would appreciate shinobi that arrived at the dead of the night."

"I doubt they'll appreciate our presence even when the sun is bright." Asuma let out a sigh and Kakashi wanted to do the same.

The first village they went to were fearful of them. Suspicion filled their eyes until it was replaced by tired, festering anger. When Kakashi repeated, according to his mission objective, that they really should consider relocating, one of the older villagers snapped back and asked them, "Do you think we'll still be here if we can help it?"

While Kakashi knew that this anger would have been directed at anyone that came, even if it wasn't him, he seriously doubted that his cold and impersonal demeanour helped much. For a second, he lowered his gaze and couldn't help but think that if Rin or Obito were here - hell, even Gai and his overly cheerful eyebrows - they would have done a much better job than he ever could.

But they weren't here and Kakashi would help Minato-sensei by completing whatever was assigned to him. Not a fault should ever be picked of his teacher, not at this critical time.

"You said the journey is difficult because of the danger on the road." There were many things that had stopped the villagers from leaving - whether for reallocation or just the trade for essentials and livelihood - so Kakashi picked out the one that they could help as a shinobi. "We'll make sure they're not a bother anymore, to the best of our abilities."

That led to a hunt around the region that lasted sixteen hours as they slowly moved towards the second village on their list of visits.

"So you must have been knocked real good if even you are slotted to this type of mission," Asuma commented, keeping up with Kakashi's speed as they breezed through the forest, trying to caution against any signs of life - equivalent to trouble in their book.

Kakashi wanted to disagree with that. While the chakra exhaustion still made him feel like his circuit was over-fried, preventing him from using large-scale ninjutsu, he was doing fine, well enough to make quick works of rampant bandits in the area, and certainly well enough to return to the actual battlefields.

"Rather than worrying about me, why don't you make sure that you can do more than maiming petty bandits with only one good hand," Kakashi retorted back, making Asuma bring his fist up - the good one - as if he wanted to punch him.

"You can be real haughty with your mouth, you know that?" Asuma said with a click of his tongue.

Kakashi did know that, he just never felt the need to address that - not before, and not ever. That made those who were still willing to interact with him - Rin, Gai, and to some extent, Asuma and Kurenai - quite a rare and strange species amongst his peers.

Asuma would have continued giving him a piece of his mind, but he knew that Kakashi would just turn his body away, ignoring him with no shame.

However, this time, Kakashi didn't turn to face the other way just to irk Asuma. He tugged at the fabric covering his lower face. Instinct made him want to pull it higher, but the logical shinobi in him forced him to loosen it instead, so he could better catch the faint, obnoxious scent in the forest.

Kakashi knew that burning mugwort leaves was a common practice among civilians living in this region. So despite their versatile usage, mugwort was often called the leaves of passing. Kakashi had no opinions of their superstition, but he did find their smell to be disgustingly pungent for his sensitive nose.

He wasn't sure if it was because dried leaves were only burnt along with corpses, but so many unpleasant stenches were mixed with their bitter smell. The decay of the rotten flesh, the sting of scorching fire and …

Is that the smell of blood?

"There are people burning corpses using mugwort leaves not far away," Kakashi commented. Asuma was surprised for only a moment before he shrugged it off.

"We're close to the second village, aren't we? They must be burning their deceased." Asuma looked somewhat worried, but only because death would make a village agitated and certainly less receptive to their mission.

"There's also the scent of blood floating in the forest," Kakashi added. His nose was very good - a blessing given by both his Hatake heritage and his contract with the ninkens - but not without limitations. For him to catch that whiff of metallic scent despite seeing nothing in sight, a good amount would have to be spilled.

"Oh crap, did that village get attacked by bandits?" Asuma rubbed his hair in panic. That seemed like the most obvious guess, Kakashi agreed. So immediately, he pressed his thumb into the ground and let the summoning array expand.

With a small poof, Pakkun stared at Kakashi with his droopy eyes that made the bulldog look like he was about to fall asleep anytime. "Pakkun, can you return to the camp and tell them to head for the village - scout first and don't do anything stupid. Just follow the origin of the mugwort smoke."

Pakkun took a sniff, marking the scent in his brain. Then, with a nod, he ran back in the direction they came from. Rest time was over. Kakashi seriously hoped that his teammates - however whiny they were - knew their priority and wouldn't question his order just because a dog delivered it.

"Let's go." Kakashi bolted into the distance while Asuma followed not far behind. The two of them, despite the glitchy chakra system and two broken fingers, should be more than enough to deal with a group of bandits.

Soon enough, things started to feel off.

The scent of the blood was diverging from that of the mugwort smoke. At first, it was just a small misalignment, but now it was at the point where Kakashi had to pick one to pursue in favour of the other. He chose the trail of blood, wondering what he would find - survivors, or their attackers.

"Duck." Kakashi's sharingan flashed red before he flickered down from the branch. Immediately, a wave of senbon sailed above the branch, almost taking off a patch of Asuma's hair had he not heeded Kakashi's warning.

"What was that?" Asuma pushed the words out of his teeth, but Kakashi had already seen everything he could.

Two enemies, coming at them from the same direction. Their jackets were the shades of green that would blend well in Fire Country's forest, and their headbands blatantly displayed the Konoha insignia.

Kakashi's breath halted for that moment, rather than feeling relieved at the sight of comrades, his muscle grew tenser under the strange sight.

"Hey, watch before you attack someone from the same village," Asuma said, trying to fake that tone of relief despite gripping the trench knife behind his back.

The shinobi glanced at them - at their naive and subpar performance - and the next thing that graced Kakashi's vision was a vortex of water.

They were imposters and not the origin of the bloody smell.

Kakashi escaped the pressurized waves by jumping onto a branch. His toes touched the surface for a moment before he flickered again. Barely a second later, the tree broke under the force of the water.

Catch the runaways, Kakashi managed to read the lips of one of the shinobi. Sure enough, his teammate made a sharp turn, wanting to get ahead of the point of conflict. Without wasting a beat, Kakashi brought his hand to his mouth as he sucked in a breath.

A series of wind bullets rushed out of Kakashi's mouth with a bang. Some of them aimed for the shinobi trying to get away, while others scattered all around him. With a quick reflex, the shinobi maneuvered out of the way, escaping direct hits with no more than a shallow laceration on her shoulder. Still, Kakashi's wind bullet broke apart the earth and snapped the trees on the shinobi's path, delaying her ever so slightly.

But before Kakashi could catch up, he felt the puddle beneath his sandal stir. Instinct took over and Kakashi stepped to the side, barely avoiding the tendrils of water that reached out for his ankle.

A heavy crash sounded to the side and Kakashi caught Asuma hitting the tree trunk. At least his teammate was well enough to let out a curse. The enemy shinobi also had a scorch mark near his collar, speaking of Asuma's brave - but clearly unsuccessful - attempt of using fire jutsu against an expert of Water Release.

Kakashi flickered to the shinobi's back in the blink of an eye. A kunai slid out of his arm guard as he stabbed it forward, aiming straight for the back of the shinobi's head. Clink. Metals clashed together when his enemy caught the attack with his own kunai at the last second.

Kakashi wasn't fazed. Quiet as a snake, he reached forward with his other arm, locking onto the shinobi's elbow. With a twist of his hand, the enemy's balance faltered just a bit, giving Kakashi an opening to send his knee straight toward the shinobi's stomach.

The shinobi stumbled backward, but not before he sent the kunai forward with a flick of his wrist, creating distance between them. Kakashi let the kunai fly past his face, refusing to move his gaze away from his target despite how close the blade was to his eyes.

Lightning crackled on Kakashi's kunai, wrapping the cold metal in streams of surging electricity. The flash from the lightning lit up their faces in the dark. Without staring into Kakashi's sharingan, the shinobi stomped the forest floor.

A wall of earth sprung up from the ground, raising an immovable blockade around the shinobi. But Kakashi was always bold - sometimes to the point of obstinate - with his lightning and he charged forward without a second of pause.

The blade made of lightning dug into the thick wall. Kakashi's hand gripped the hilt of the kunai tighter when his attack was met with resistance. He poured his strength in, ignoring the way his chakra system complained, and with a crack, the lightning slashed through the earth wall.

Kakashi only had the time to narrow his eyes before water burst through the crumbling stones. Layers of water reached out towards Kakashi with hunger and through the sharingan, he could see that the liquid was brimming with chakra. The waves curved around him and the tendrils latched onto each other, clearly trying to cage him in a water prison.

Out of nowhere, a pair of shuriken sliced through the air, buzzing with the noise of the wind currents clashing with each other. Wind chakra wrapped around the pair of shuriken, shredding into the water prison with deadly precision, breaking down its integrity before it could fully form. Kakashi had to duck a little to avoid a shuriken that had gone off course, but otherwise, the timing was as perfect as anyone could ask.

"Stupid aim," Asuma muttered, but that was to be expected when he was two fingers short of a proper grip. Asuma was only distracted for a second to escape the residual electricity leaking into the splashing water, and to his horror - or amazement - Kakashi was nowhere to be seen when he focused his eyes again.

Oh well, it wasn't so much Asuma's problem as it was their enemy's.

Inhale, ex— Before a breath was fully drawn, Kakashi rose from under the ground. Like a panther pouncing on its prey, Kakashi struck his kunai forward, slicing through the shinobi's right shoulder and down his back.

Blood sprayed all over Kakashi's mask as he kicked the shinobi in the knee and forced him down on the ground. The tip of his kunai pricked into the skin behind the shinobi's neck. A layer of water submerged his enemy's face as well as Kakashi's ankle. The residual electricity numbed his sensations ever so lightly, but it was tolerable.

"Who are you and what are you here for?" Kakashi tried his best, even leaving the shinobi enough breath to finish a sentence, all against his instinct. Asuma jumped down from the branch just as the shinobi drew a raspy breath.

At that second, Kakashi saw it, the cold, ruthless gaze in their opponent's eyes, as well as the glint of something shiny in the shinobi's mouth. Danger unlatched the leash Kakashi had on his instinct. He struck the shinobi's face as a senbon shot out, missing Asuma's neck by a few inches. Simultaneously, Kakashi dug his kunai deeper into the shinobi's neck.

"... What was that?" Once again, Asuma repeated what he had asked at the beginning of the fight. Unfortunately, Kakashi didn't have a better answer than before and he had just killed the person who had.

But … Kakashi whipped his head around. There was another shinobi that ran away to chase someone.

"We need to hurry." Kakashi started running, knowing that Asuma would follow not far behind. "He had a comrade that went ahead to chase the 'runaways', and that's the direction where the smell of blood is getting stronger."

-o-o-o-

'Aki' was certain that if another one of those so-called 'shinobi' came for them again, the same trick wouldn't work a second time.

First of all, only one shinobi had caught them. If there were two, they'd be as good as dead. More importantly, the shinobi underestimated how unnatural 'Aki' was, both in the mind and the body.

Lastly, it just so happened that she got all she needed to mimic a spear. There was an old saying, 'an inch longer is an inch stronger'. In the old era, spears were also called the weapon of war, not because of how many victories they guaranteed, but because of their ease of use even to untrained commoners. Its lengthy reach closed the disadvantage created by physical attributes, but only when it was within reasonable bounds.

Many coincidences needed to culminate for that 'one moment' to occur. With the way things were now, it couldn't be replicated.

The blood that was once warm and flowing now turned cold and solid as it caked on her clothes and stuck to her skin. Despite that, 'Aki' tightened her hold, hoping to grasp the only thing that mattered within her blood-stained fingers.

It was somewhat ironic, then, when Haru's hand slipped out of her palm - made clammy by all the blood that rolled down from her arm.

"Can you still run?" 'Aki' asked, turning around for the first time since she took Haru and ran - since Haru followed silently. It was only then that she saw the small patch of crimson that blended into Haru's obi. "You're injured."

Haru looked like she wanted to throw up. Sweats gathered on her forehead and her legs were shivering. Still, she placed a hand over her mouth to force nausea down and shook her head. She whispered, "let's keep going."

With a nod, 'Aki' took Haru's hand once again and pulled her along their grand escape.

"Do we even have a chance to outrun them?" This time, however, Haru didn't want to stay silent.

'Aki' didn't have a definitive answer for that, but in all likelihood, not even in their dreams. She didn't even need to say that, because immediately, they heard the explosive clashes in the distance - an effect that could only be produced by the shinobi's ninjutsu.

"We're heading towards a ravine … a cliff that drops into the river." Haru clenched her teeth to steady her shaky voice. It wasn't very successful.

A cliff … 'Aki' slowed down for a moment, before she picked up her speed again, directly towards the ravine.

"Wait, that's the cliff …" Haru opened her mouth, but 'Aki' merely squeezed her hand - slippery, wet, and disgustingly bloody - and it seemed to reassure Haru's mind as well as her body.

What 'Aki' wanted was to throw them into a grand gamble. When death seemed inevitable, that was the only path where she saw a flickering chance. Soon, 'Aki' could hear the sound of torrents splashing against rocks, getting louder and louder by the second.

It didn't look like Gods were on Haru's side, and Heaven would not have cared. 'Aki' saw the figure of a single pursuer that rushed out of the forest just when they arrived at the cliff. At least, luck had given them a small smile, and she had won the first gamble of many to come.

The kunoichi stayed still for a moment, judging the two women in front of her, eventually resting her gaze on the makeshift spear that one of them held. Clearly, she found the body of her comrade and was trying to decide what to make of 'Aki'.

The silent judgment only lasted for a second before the kunoichi flicked her hand. 'Aki' saw a fleeting shimmer and immediately, she twirled the spear like a fan. A series of light, cacophonous noises followed. In the span of a breath, the trees around them had stray needles sticking out of their bark.

Oh, and the kunoichi zoomed toward them.

'Aki' pushed Haru to the side and dug the end of her spear into the ground. With a forceful swing, the spear broke through the earth and sent a screen of debris straight at the kunoichi that reappeared in front of her.

Both the surprise factor and the visual obstruction made the kunoichi pause in her advance. Not intending to let her recover, 'Aki' turned the direction of the spear with a twist of the wrist and thrust it out again with a pivot of the body. The tip of the spear accelerated towards the kunoichi's torso like a dragon weaving through the clouds, pressuring the kunoichi to take another step back.

Another swing of the spear followed in a fraction of a second, slicing up diagonally in one smooth sweep, but this time, the kunoichi caught it with the kunai in her hand and struck it back without mercy.

'Aki' tightened the grip, her nails almost digging into the wooden shaft as she forcibly kept the spear in a defensive stance instead of letting it be swatted to the side. By now, the kunoichi had finally gotten over her surprise and started to realize that despite the skills that 'Aki' had with spears, it wasn't enough to close the gap between their raw strength and speed.

There it was again, a speed that 'Aki' couldn't fully catch with her vision. Like a lithe leopard, the kunoichi jumped up with a turn and kicked down with her leg. By sheer reflex, 'Aki' blocked the kick using the shaft of the spear, just barely.

Without stopping, the shinobi hooked her shin around the spear and brought it down with a stomp. 'Aki' could almost hear the fragility of her makeshift weapon when she pulled it against the kunoichi's hold and brought it to her chest. Then, it really wasn't a surprise when the kunai broke the shaft in half, leaving nothing between 'Aki' and the kunoichi's bloodlust.

It's all or nothing, 'Aki' thought as she dropped the broken spear and instead, thrust her palms forward. Her hands connected with the kunoichi's upper and lower arms as she pushed in the opposite direction. At the last second, 'Aki' was able to bend the shinobi's arm from the elbow, making the kunai narrowly miss her heart.

The blade dug into her lower lung, sentencing 'Aki' to a slower and more agonizing death instead of a quick release.

'Aki' was about to lunge forward while kunoichi was still debating whether she should add another strike. But suddenly, the kunoichi jolted back, releasing her weapon without any hesitation. In the blink of an eye, a flash of lightning pierced through where the kunoichi's head would be and hit the tree trunk with a sizzling crack.

Electricity flickered around the stray kunai while 'Aki' stole a glance in the direction of the intruders. Even with her senses, the visibility in the forest was pushing it. Nevertheless, she saw a mob of silver hair that popped up in the distance.

It definitely brought back unpleasant memories.

The kunoichi thought the same too, apparently. Quickly, she glanced at the fatal wound she just inflicted on 'Aki'. Then, her eyes moved to search for her second target - Haru, who was hiding near the cliff, but nevertheless, rooted in place.

The situation was changing too quickly for 'Aki' to fully understand what was going on, but at least she knew that whoever was crashing the party was not the kunoichi's ally. She didn't know if Haru's chance of survival was higher with the newcomers, but she was certain that it was zero with the kunoichi in front of them.

With a single thought, the kunoichi could catch Haru and place her at blade point. It didn't matter if she wanted to kill Haru or take her hostage, the intruders wouldn't be fast enough to stop her. At the very least, 'Aki' couldn't risk it.

The gaping hole in her lung was starting to make breathing heavy labour, but somehow, 'Aki' felt light on her feet. In the path that the kunoichi took to reach Haru, 'Aki' reached out and locked the kunoichi's arm in her grip.

The jagged rocks cracked from the edges of the cliff and the splashing water echoed louder, but none of that buried the deafening cry that sounded from above when 'Aki' jumped down from the cliff, taking the kunoichi with her.

-o-o-o-

Kakashi's hand moved without thinking when he threw the lightning-filled kunai toward the enemy shinobi.

He had his sharingan open, so he could see the contrast of chakra circuits in the scene in front of him. Compared to the bright and vigorous chakra circuit of the kunoichi that lit up like a torch in the dark, her 'preys' were dim and impoverished, close to nonexistent.

Those were the civilian villagers, the ones that got away. At least, that was Kakashi's conclusion before he took a second look.

The sharingan remembered everything, and the night when Kakashi's hand had almost carved into Rin's chest was forever etched in his memory. Like a ghost, Kakashi was haunted once more when he saw the woman's face. The blood that soaked through her chest only added to the deja vu.

"Aki!" The scream was quite a contrast to Kakashi and Asuma's silent shock when they saw one of the women pulling the kunoichi down the ravine with her.

Kakashi and Asuma glanced at each other before they flickered toward the cliff as fast as they could. Asuma grabbed the woman that was left above the cliff, making sure that she wouldn't slip down the ravine. Kakashi leaned over the edge, trying to catch any signs of life that had yet to be swept away and drowned out by the raging waves.

He saw nothing but the turbulent river. But before he had the sharingan, he had his nose.

"Asuma, watch the victim and get her to the rest of the team," Kakashi ordered, ignoring the way Asuma opened his eyes wide in disbelief, all the while signalling to the woman that was borderline hysteria. "I'll be back."

Kakashi needed answers, both for why the hell were enemy shinobi doing near a civilian village in Fire Country and for that day under the rain, where a tragedy was somehow derailed by an unexpected stroke of fate. Even if all he found were smashed-up remains, he needed to see for himself.

In truth, the unknown consequence of that mercy scared Kakashi.

-o-o-o-

'... Unnatural …'

'... Foreign to us …'

'... Intrusion ... Does not belong here …'

'Aki' gasped and immediately choked on a mouthful of water.

Slowly, she pushed herself up from the shallow water bank. Strength and warmth were starting to return to her, and along with that, a reminder. The marking of black chains also rippled into existence on her skin. This time, she was certain that a few more cracks appeared on the chain links. For the first time in eons, the Heavenly bindings around her left arm looked … shaky.

'Aki' raised a hand to her head, wanting to massage her skull but fished out nothing but clots of blood stuck to her hair. Yeah, she probably died by a smashed skull this time, when the current slapped them into the jagged rocks.

Ouch, she wondered if that was why she was hearing things - whispers that didn't sound like whispers, messages that didn't make sense.

'Aki' stood up from the chilly water, wondering where she was going this time. Now that she thought about it, she would soon have to discard the name 'Aki' as well.

"I'm sorry," she whispered an apology to Haru, who wasn't here and whom she didn't plan to meet again. If there was any other way, she hoped that the last memory she had left the woman wasn't the one where she jumped off a cliff.

But more than that, she hoped Haru would have a chance at living a full life, to see the end of the war and find a new beginning. Haru hadn't given up yet when fate took everything away from her. That strength was in her blood.

A gaze latched into 'Aki' and she whipped her body around in alert. The branch fluttered up and down when the boy dropped onto the forest floor. The symbol of tomoe swirled in his left eye that glowed like the red moon.

The boy was panting slightly, clearly the result of having to chase against the rapids. The moment the boy laid his eyes on her, 'Aki' knew that he remembered.

"Shit."

Chapter Text

Chapter 5 - 墨绘 (Ink Painting)

"How … did you survive?"

'Aki' wondered which event was the boy asking about, the one that occurred on the battlefield drenched in rain, or the one that he was witnessing in front of his eyes. She wasn't dumb enough to ignore the former, but neither was she bold enough to admit to it.

"The river isn't as harsh as one would think," 'Aki' answered against the boy's searing gaze. Despite the mask that covered half of his face, she didn't miss his expression that said he'd be a fool to believe that.

The boy merely shifted his gaze in a direction to her right. 'Aki' followed his gaze and found the body that got washed up onto the opposite river bank. The kunoichi's back was bent in an unnatural shape and a bloody hole remained where her right shoulder should be.

'Aki' sucked in a breath and returned her attention to the boy. "Usually, people would call that karma," she said without any shame, "the Gods must have smiled upon me."

The boy stayed speechless for a moment when he heard that. Perhaps he found the excuse to be too crappy - no, she was certain that it was crappy - but 'Aki' could see the way his hand tensed behind his back and—-

The boy bolted towards her, the cold steel in his hand looked like a black hole as it drilled towards her neck.

'Aki' shifted half a step back, tension built in her legs as she bent her knees. Her hands were already in the motion of travelling up so that the heel of her palms would connect with the boy's wrist. All she needed was that burst of power, at the right angle it could very well snap a body part as vulnerable as the wrist, then …

I can catch up to his speed. That realization ruined everything. Her movement paused for a fleeting moment and the blade arrived before her hands did.

She could feel the chilling cold radiating off of the metal, but that was it; it never ventured farther than that, not even drawing a faint red line on her skin. The boy stopped his attack at the last moment and the killing intent faded. It was then that 'Aki' realized that this was a test - a very convincing one.

By the looks of it, the boy saw something that surprised him.

With another beat of the heart and the boy retreated like an agile wolf. 'Aki' exhaled, letting her hands relax from the defensive stance, all the while the boy observed.

"I don't see it," the boy muttered, the pattern in his red eye spun in a slow circle. "You defended like a shinobi, but I don't see any flares in your chakra; I don't see any chakra in you at all."

"Who are you?" Finally, the boy asked the overarching question. 'Aki' could see the caution in his eyes, stemming from the fear of the unknown. His fingers gripped tightly on the kunai, telling her that the moment this perceived risk of the unknown tipped over his nerve, he would put those blades to use and not as a test either.

She supposed that the real question he wanted to ask was "What are you?"

'Aki' had been wondering what these so-called 'shinobi' were like in this world. She wondered what became of this group of people that could wield supernatural powers but still yielded under the Feudal Lords with political influence and wealth.

Now that she had seen some examples, she couldn't say that she was surprised.

"I don't remember, but of course, you're not going to believe me," 'Aki' answered and the boy narrowed his eyes dangerously before she even finished her sentence. The unfortunate truth was that no matter what she said, it wasn't going to placate the young shinobi in front of her.

So, 'Aki' asked a question of her own. "What did I ever do to you, or your allegiance, whatever, to deserve this?" Endless compromise on one end did not make good grounds for negotiation, after all.

It was a rare moment indeed when the threats seemed stuck on the young shinobi's tongue.

"From my perspective, the village I was staying at got attacked by the shinobi that were supposed to protect them, so I fought back using what I have," 'Aki' continued, pointing at the battered corpse of the kunoichi in the distance. "The two of you have the same symbol on your headbands. Do you belong to the same allegiance?"

"Of course not. Konoha would never attack the citizens of Fire Country. They're merely imposters." The young boy gritted his teeth as mild anger leaked out of his voice.

"Enemies then," 'Aki' concluded before the boy could get another word in. "So, I failed to see what harm I have caused you or Konoha."

See, 'Aki' doubted that she would be able to convince the young boy to let her go on her merry ways. He was barely a teenager but was already a determined warrior with fierce loyalty. But at least he talked before moving to cut her down, even getting a little flustered when she questioned the morality of his actions.

The boy could still question the basis of his actions, not just a mindless machine that cut down everything that was frightening. So perhaps, he could be reasoned with, no matter how limited that leeway seemed to be.

The boy remained silent as he contemplated her words and debated his next action. Very lightly, 'Aki' stretched her hands, closing them into a fist before opening them again. Was it her imagination … no, something had truly returned. If it was what she suspected it to be, then maybe what she needed to do was to bid her time.

So, she raised her eyes again and repeated, "I might be different, but have I caused you any harm that would equate my difference to danger?"

Perhaps she was reaching when the world she landed in was already too jaded by turmoils. But just when she thought that nothing would happen, the boy lowered his kunai and placed it back in his weapon holder.

His hand still glossed over the hilt of the kunai; his body remained in a battle stance, vigilant of any changes around him. But finally, 'Aki' felt like she was being seen as something more sentient than an 'inexplicable threat'.

-o-o-o-

"What did I ever do to you, or your allegiance, whatever, to deserve this?" The woman had asked Kakashi when he was trying to understand everything that he had seen - the facts that refused to align with reality no matter how hard he tried to make sense of them.

Kakashi was certain that he had once driven a Chidori through her chest, while his Sharingan watched. Illusions were supposed to dissolve away under the Sharingan, so what kind of genjutsu was this - what kind of horror story was this - to see the ghost standing in front of him, back to life from not just from Chidori, but also a suicidal fall?

So, naturally, Kakashi's first thought was that the woman had some ninjutsu that was beyond his imagination. That was fine, as long as he could see it - to be sure of its existence - and he would work from there to figure out a counter.

Kakashi thought about letting his blade continue on its course when he saw the woman moving to defend herself. He could see the trajectory well - she was aiming for his wrist as an experienced fighter would. So much for a cover as a civilian, he supposed.

But then, he saw the deadness in her supposed chakra circuit, like a stagnant pond with no ripple. It told Kakashi that the woman was not using her chakra to match against a shinobi's chakra-enhanced speed. She was like a shape covered by a layer of black ink and Kakashi couldn't discern any light that passed through.

Kakashi stopped his blade, wondering for a very brief second, what the hell was he doing and what was it that he drew a blade against - a shinobi … a civilian … an unknown?

"... have I caused you any harm that would equate my difference to danger?" Kakashi heard the question again.

Not yet, but you might in the future.

The moment that those words surfaced in Kakashi's mind, he realized the fallacy. He wasn't making a judgment based on reason or logic, but rather, on a sense of fear towards something he couldn't understand.

Apply the rule of precaution like what a shinobi is taught to do. Cut it down and kill that uncertainty, be it 99% or 1%. That would be an easy way to do things; a way that didn't require Kakashi to think so hard on his decisions; a way to guard against failures.

Alas, Kakashi found himself to be thinking a lot more after Obito's death, for better or worse.

"Return to Konoha with us for questioning. If you do so without causing any trouble, no harm will come to you on the way," Kakashi said, feeling the weight of the kunai not in his hand, but in the weapon holder hanging on his thigh. "If you truly mean no ill-intention towards Konoha, we won't treat you as an enemy either."

She wasn't an enemy, not yet. As she said, she had not caused any harm to Konoha or Kakashi and neither did she show any intention, not yet. If anything, her unexplained ruse had prevented Rin's death.

There weren't enough facts for Kakashi to judge her future, and certainly not enough reason for Kakashi to turn to his fear for an answer.

"What about the other survivor from the village? What will become of her?" The woman asked as she considered his words. Kakashi thought back to the scene above the cliff and he remembered the other prey that the kunoichi was hunting - the one with an impoverished, but normal chakra circuit.

"If she's just a civilian, no harm will come to her either. After what happened, it's safer for her to come with us to Konoha." Kakashi couldn't help but let out a small frown when he was reminded of the more immediate threat at hand.

Kakashi didn't forget that he also came to look for clues about the imposters. They dressed up as Konoha shinobi, but instead of trying to wreak havoc in Konoha's defence, they chose to attack a civilian village. For what? To plunder a village battered by war? Would that make them more likely to be a band of missing-nin rather than a force from a major shinobi village?

Unfortunately, by the looks of it, he would only get another dead body that couldn't talk.

The woman was about to open her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted when they heard the rattling noise behind the treeline. Pakkun jumped out of the bushes and stopped at Kakashi's feet.

"You need to go see the village, Kakashi. When we arrived, there was no sign of any attackers," Pakkun told him in a stern voice. Even as he turned to examine the woman standing in front of them, he didn't stop in his report. "The only thing left is burnt corpses."

"As you wish, I'll come with you to Konoha," the woman said. It was hard for Kakashi to tell what she was thinking about when she heard the news.

So, Kakashi just nodded. "We'll have to make a stop at the village first." He was still so uncertain and he couldn't help but add a threat at the end of the sentence. "If you try anything funny, I'll make sure that you stay dead, no matter what tricks you have."

"Fair enough," the woman replied, picking up her steps to follow Pakkun as he led the way back to the village. "I trust that you'll judge my innocence - or guilt, if you prefer that connotation - with care, shinobi-san."

Kakashi didn't feel any trust from that tone. Then again, it wasn't like he needed any.

-o-o-o-

'Aki' heard the painful cries before anything came into view.

Whimpers travelled across the forest, the volume was muffled by the distance, but the emotions carried through the space, relaying the heartbreak and rage with clarity.

"What did we do to deserve this? What did we do wrong to deserve all of this?" Haru screamed, presumably at the shinobi who could offer no answer. "You shinobi just come in, bringing your conflict with you. If our lives are already so insignificant to you, then why are they taken away for the sake of your war?"

"We would never think your lives to be insignificant, that's not … I'm sorry for all of this," another boy replied, sounding flustered, anxious, and just generally unsure of what to do.

For a second, 'Aki' just paused. She, too, was uncertain of how Haru would react if she returned - alive, unharmed, and breaking all facades of normalcy. The boy with silver hair tilted his head a little, observing 'Aki' with his sharp gaze. There was a silent judgment in his eyes, asking if 'Aki' would break her promise.

Without another moment wasted, 'Aki' pushed past the bushes and headed for the open.

'Aki' had spent so many years - decades, centuries even - blending in unnoticed that she was mildly startled when multiple pairs of eyes landed on her. But really, only one of those pairs mattered for the time being.

The boiling emotions in Haru seemed to die down for a moment as she looked at 'Aki' with disbelief. A step forward, and then two. 'Aki' felt the weight on her bones when Haru locked her in an embrace. Fingers glossed over the wet fabric on her back before Haru pulled her even tighter.

It took 'Aki' a moment to realize that Haru wouldn't let go until she got some kind of indication that 'Aki' was real.

"I survived," 'Aki' said. No blessing from the Gods, no smile of luck. She said none of that.

'Aki' felt Haru nodding against her shoulder. "That's all I need to know," the woman muttered in a whisper, releasing 'Aki' from her hold.

"Kakashi, there's no trace of anyone left when we got here. We have to put out the funeral pyre, but that's … all we can salvage." 'Aki' saw the young shinobi walking towards the village gate while his teammate - the one with spikey black hair - debriefed him.

Lightly, 'Aki' rubbed Haru's wrist as a sign of comfort, before she let go and headed for the village gate as well.

"Wait, it's not a pretty sight, you shouldn't …'' One of the shinobi called out from the side when he finally registered where 'Aki' was heading, but it was already too late. 'Aki' saw the burnt corpses piling up in the village gate, charred, disfigured, and unrecognizable.

Do any of those corpses belong to Matsue-san? And her husband who sought out Haru just hours earlier? Even 'Aki' could help but avert her eyes for a moment. When she did, she saw the supply of mugwort leaves left behind by the firewood, making her more aware of the smoke that seemed to veil the village.

"Asuma, what's the state inside the houses?" The young shinobi named Kakashi asked as he knelt down and examined the bodies. His brows were furrowed as if he was pissed off at the lack of clues that could be picked up by his eyes.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. There are no marks of blood or any signs of conflict," the other shinobi - Asuma - answered. He eyed 'Aki' with uncertainty but decided not to mention it when his leader - supposedly - didn't care.

"The villagers are incapacitated and killed with efficiency. The corpses were then being disposed of in a meticulous manner befitting of the local custom so as to not arouse any suspicion," Kakashi analyzed, standing up and placing his hand on his mask. "This is a planned assault, and by a group that's highly organized."

"For what? What do they have to gain by making this village disappear?" Asuma looked confused as if he couldn't fandom why so much effort had gone into killing a civilian village when it was neither a critical ally of the shinobi force nor a strategic point for border defence.

'Aki' turned her head back a little, eyeing Haru's direction, who had stayed outside of the village walls, unable to take another look at the massacre. With a light inhale, she spoke up, "We have nothing that's worthy of being taken. We had no money, harboured no shinobi, and held no resources that could help in your war."

Now, she certainly had all the attention of the two shinobi in front of her. "All we have are our lives and our identity as civilian citizens of Fire Country."

The night turned eerie at her words, but not as eerie as when 'Aki' realized that if they just forget the Konoha shinobi and then buried the bodies out of sight, when the mist from the mugwort smoke thinned with the morning breeze, the village would look as it had been the day before.

It was as if time had paused for a few seconds before things started to move in motion.

"Asuma, call your hawk. We're facing a scheme of infiltration and Konoha needs to get notified as soon as possible," the silver-haired shinobi ordered, pulling out a paper scroll from his pack.

The other boy whistled with a piercing noise, then he asked, "are you sure, Kakashi? To impersonate a whole village of civilians and advance in Fire Country, that requires every one of that platoon to be an expert in disguise and espionage. That's a hefty number of spies for a shinobi village to gather in one place when there aren't many, to begin with."

"I'm not sure, but as things stand, that's the most reasonable speculation and one that can have devastating consequences if left unprepared," Kakashi answered as the screech of a hawk closed in from the background. The boy extended his arm and the hawk landed on his arm with a flap of its wings.

"Imagine if we didn't catch this; imagine if another day had passed and the team of shinobi - consisting of inexperienced chunin and those suffering from injuries and fatigue - found the village and its inhabitants with nothing out of ordinary. They'll be able to relocate to towns closer to the Capital and closer to Konoha, with proper identities vouched for by our own shinobi."

"Ughh," Asuma scratched his head, sounding beyond stressed and frustrated. "They're not playing by the rules. Shinobi warfare should have stayed away from civilians."

"I can think of at least one shinobi village that's desperate enough to try anything," Kakashi said while securing the scroll onto the hawk's leg. "The major villages can't even uphold signed treaties, what do you expect when the 'rules' are just implicit agreements?"

This one was bold and ruthless in his thinking, 'Aki' thought. Thinking outside the box and exploring the unimaginable were common traits belonging to all genius tacticians. When such a person was on the defending side, they would be a fortress more impenetrable than a hundred layers of bricks. But when they were on the side of invasion … They had the potential to spread the flame of war as wide and chaotic as they wanted, only limited by their morals.

"I can't find any scent trails to track. Their scents are faint, to begin with, and the mugwort smoke clouded the rest." 'Aki' noticed the way the boy tugged at his mask and scrunched his nose. He must have had the nose of a hound. No wonder he caught up to her when the rapids were splitting off left and right.

"What now? What becomes of our mission? And what about them?" Asuma asked, tilting his head toward the direction of 'Aki'. Upon hearing that, the other boy's frown deepened. 'Aki' could read the signs of agitation, even just through the single eye that he had left exposed.

"As much as I want to go catch those spies, we have no direction and the fighters we have aren't exactly fit for confrontation." The boy might have rolled his eyes at the mention of his teammates. "We'll return to Konoha as soon as possible, and the survivors …"

'Aki' understood that travelling with two civilians in tow would slow the band of shinobi down. The boy named Asuma had cast around his fingers and 'Aki' could only speculate that the others would likely be the same - young, injured, more likely to die if shoved onto the battlefield.

But the silver-haired boy had the goal of returning to Konoha burnt into his eyes the moment he deduced the meaning behind this massacre. He could guess why the enemy shinobi had acted so desperately. In turn, he was worried about something left in his village.

Would it be too much to wish for if he just … left 'Aki' and Haru behind to discard the burdens? Probably, but 'Aki' could dream. What if she demanded that they had to bury the bodies of the deceased? Would that be enough hassle for him to move on? Or would 'Aki' just be killing his patience?

"We have to take them back to the village. It's not safe for the survivors." Kakashi made up his mind.

"Stand back." It took 'Aki' a moment to realize that the order was directed toward both her and the other shinobi. Following Asuma's example, 'Aki' retreated further to the village gate, clearing a large radius around Kakashi and the pile of burnt remains.

The earth rumbled without any premonition. For the second time since 'Aki' arrived here - the first time being the lightning that pierced her chest - she saw the power of ninjutsu, the miracles that could bypass imagination and uproot nature.

The ground caved in below the pile of corpses before the earth stirred like waves and covered the deceased like a blanket. The ground smoothed over itself afterwards, leaving nothing in the clearing except a boy out of breath.

"Do you have to be this brash, Kakashi!" Asuma chided, rubbing his forehead with exasperation while teams of shinobi filed into the villages due to the commotion, with Haru not far away. "You could always let your teammates help, you know?"

"With their coordination and control, we'll never be able to get out of here." The boy wiped at his forehead and took a deep breath to steady himself. A few of the shinobi that were scattered on the edge of the village, however, looked like they couldn't decide if they wanted to bury their face in embracement or shout in objection.

Ah, he must really want to get back home, 'Aki' thought. There went her excuse, but …

"There's a horse in the village. It's not meant for riding, but it'll be faster," 'Aki' suggested before she made her way toward the lone stable in the village, all the while Kakashi scrutinized her actions.

"You know how to ride a horse?" Kakashi asked.

"We shall see about that. Maybe I'll remember," 'Aki' said without pausing her steps despite the gaze that bore into her back.

There was one horse for the entire village, used for ploughing the fields and transporting goods - back when the roads were still safe to travel. If things were just a little different, where the real Konoha-nin arrived before the tragedy and convinced the villagers to relocate despite their fear. Maybe, the villagers would have been on the roads with the horse pulling the cargo.

But now, the horse slammed its body into the wooden walls when 'Aki' took a step closer. The bloody smell on her was probably agitating the animal if it hadn't already been driven insane by the scent of one-sided slaughter.

"I don't think this will work. Even if we can get it to behave by force, it'll be dangerous if you can't control it during the trip." 'Aki' heard the boy - Asuma - next to her say. He looked at 'Aki', and then at Haru, before eyeing the horse with a hint of worry.

To that, 'Aki' said nothing as she walked to the wooden gate. The horse let out a high-pitched snarl when 'Aki' untied the lead rope from the post. It banged its body onto the gate like a heavy tide rushing out of the dam.

Maybe it was the pain, or maybe it was the leash, but the horse took a step back violently and 'Aki' was pulled to the gate. She felt the horse digging its forelegs into the ground in preparation for a rearing kick. The young boy called Asuma was already waiting to intervene, but his leader merely watched on.

Just as the horse was about to rise onto his hind legs, 'Aki' pulled on the rope with monstrous strength. With a scream, the horse crashed back toward the ground against the force. 'Aki' extended her hand and caught the side of its neck.

A glow of ember lit up in her eyes, like a flicker of candle flame under the dim night, extinguished before it could be recognized.

The shinobi around her watched in shock as the horse suddenly cowered despite being so rageful just a moment ago. It lowered its head and the guttural snarl turned into a soft whine. 'Aki' ran her hand down the horse's pelt a few times, both in appreciation and in comfort.

Carefully, she unlatched the wooden gate and led the horse out of the stable. Asuma took the reins from 'Aki', barely registering the events. Meanwhile, she pulled out the old set of riding supplies tucked near the stable.

Kakashi said nothing as he observed 'Aki' securing all the leathers. Some trials and errors were involved, but she figured it out in no time. After one last check, she hooked her foot into the stirrup and flipped her body over the horse's back.

'Aki' extended a hand to Haru as she steered the horse forward. Still somewhat stunned and amazed, Haru took her hand, a little rigid in her motion, and allowed 'Aki' to help her get up on the horse and sit on the saddle.

Kakashi took one last look at the arrangement before he called out, "We're heading back to Konoha. Adjust your speed to match that of the horse and watch the civilians closely."

'Aki' adjusted the length of the rope in her hand while the shinobi moved all around them, some flanked the sides and others jumped onto the branches. "Hold tight," 'Aki' let out a warning and waited for the arms to tighten around her waist. Then, she squeezed her thighs and the horse galloped forward with a neigh.

"Maybe she's from those Samurai clans in the East. I heard that they train their people in the art of weapons even if they can't use chakra." "Oh, maybe she's a widow or a lady from a fallen household."

'Aki' could hear the light gossips that travelled along with the murmurs of leaves. While the shinobi thought that civilians wouldn't be able to hear, 'Aki' could catch their words with ease. She welcomed the stream of information, to be quite honest. What else did she resemble in this foreign world; what else could she be that would explain her abnormalities?

"Are you in trouble?" That sound was closer and was said with much more clarity than those whispers up in the branches. Haru clarified a moment later, in a smaller voice, "With Konoha's shinobi, I mean."

'Aki' thought about it and answered, "that depends on how I behave, I suppose," and on the boy who witnessed the impossible. How much of the tales he told his village and how he told them would determine how far she would be alienated from the definition of 'human' and into the realm of 'monster'.

"You'll always be my sister; you can be 'Aki' as long as you want," Haru said all of a sudden. 'Aki' remembered that Haru once told her that she had nothing left that was worthy of being taken. All that was left was her life and by extension, her identity as a Fire Country Civilian.

Haru didn't know the extent of trouble that 'Aki' got herself in, nor did she know that her vouch wouldn't have worked anyway because 'Aki' had exposed too much. Yet, Haru still promised to help 'Aki' with the only thing she had left.

Lightly, 'Aki' shook her head. "I'm not your sister, just a random person you found in your backyard. All you need to do is tell them the truth, Haru. I might have to leave you once we get to Konoha, but I'll be fine, and so will you."

"I see," Haru whispered before putting her forehead against her companion's back. 'Aki' could feel the exhaustion in her body washing out with those words. It was already a strength to be admired that Haru had stood through this ordeal on her feet.

"Have you thought of a name then, something to be called your own?" Haru asked a second later. For a moment, 'Aki' merely closed her eyes, letting the wind rush past her skin, bringing in the smell of the fertile forest.

"Onyx, it's just like the colour of your scales … too shiny? You're right, then maybe Ebony … What do you mean it's the wrong shade? Well pardon me if our human language is not as sophisticated as yours … fine, let me think … Ah, I think I know the perfect name … that reminds me, when I saw you through the clouds, I thought that the ink had come alive from the canvas …"

The memories ended and she opened her eyes. "Sumie*, I think I'd like to be called Sumie."

"Su-mi-e," Haru articulated each syllable with care. It took her a second to piece together the meanings, but when she did, she let out a small laugh. "It sounds very beautiful. It fits you too, Sumie."

As much as the shinobi boy wanted to race back to his village like there was no tomorrow, it simply was not feasible. The horse would have exhausted itself to death if it didn't take periodic rest and Haru too, wouldn't be able to stand riding the horse for too long. In fact, Sumie would say that most of the shinobi travelling with them were also in need of rest.

From Sumie's perspective, they all looked to be children, no older than teenagers. She could see the exhaustion weighing on their bodies as they set up camps on the forest floor. As soon as their leader organized the guard shifts, those who were not assigned to be awake fell asleep the moment their eyes closed.

"I know you're not asleep." Sumie opened her eyes when she heard that. The young shinobi, as always, was quite unrelenting.

Letting out a sigh barely audible, Sumie turned her head towards the source of the critical gaze, careful not to disturb Haru who had fallen asleep by the tree trunk. She eyed the other shinobi who was supposed to keep vigilance on the other side of the camp, but by all means, had dozed off to dreamland.

"What will become of me, once I go to Konoha?" Sumie asked Kakashi before he could wake his teammate up with a rock. "If they learned of my … immortality, will I be imprisoned and experimented on like a beast?"

The boy widened his eye, stunned by how blunt she was with her words. The objection of 'no' was hot on his tongue, but one second had passed, and then two, three … he never pushed out a word as convincing as that.

"Not all shinobi are like that." Kakashi settled for that instead. "Not all shinobi let fear dictate our actions; not all of us want meaningless death and torture, even if we're knee-deep in a war."

Sumie didn't claim to be infallible, but she had eons of practice in guessing a human's character and reading their nature. At that moment, she read the boy's nature - he didn't want to be one of those shinobi, one that turned a blind eye to meaningless death just because he was taught to deal with it.

"If you truly are no harm to Konoha, there are people … like my teacher who won't stand for that kind of treatment." The boy seemed to gain some confidence as he continued, "The war doesn't excuse everything, that's what he would say."

Now that made Sumie curious, the teacher who taught the boy to have quite the ideals. After all, for a war to end, there needed to be someone who knew when to stop even in the highs of victory.

So, she said with honesty, "not going to lie, your village is starting to sound a little better." The boy might have given her a stink eye.

"What, you can't expect me to have a good impression of Konoha when the first thing I remember of clarity is being killed by a Konoha-nin," Sumie said with nonchalance and as expected, a breath was caught in the boy's throat.

It was quite unfair of her to evoke guilt in the boy when she knew from the beginning that her death was temporary, but she needed all the advantage she could get, for Haru's sake, and for her own sake.

"You know that Haru should have never been involved in this, right?" Sumie changed the topic. She felt the warmth on her arm - Haru had fallen asleep while latching onto her - as she stared at the boy right in the eyes. "She doesn't belong in your conflict, nor does she belong in any trouble brought by whatever it is that I am."

Sumie thought of running away when she was first caught by the boy near the river. She considered dropping herself back into the river and she might have shaken the boy off her trail.

She also considered fighting her way out. When she tamed the horse, she realized that it wasn't just her imagination when she caught up with the shinobi's speed and matched his power. Heaven's binding was disappearing, little by little, and came with it, her powers were returning.

She wasn't sure if it was because of the time she spent in this world, the injuries she had gotten, or the drastic measures like death and resurrection. After all, if Heaven's presence truly did not reach here, then the energy that healed her and reconstructed her body could only have come from this land.

Still, after much debate, she decided to wait. She wasn't sure if she could outrun the shinobi in her current state, now that an instance of death was not enough to fool him. Moreover, she wasn't sure what would happen to Haru if the shinobi had classified Sumie as a monster.

However, it seemed that she might not need to worry so much about Haru when there were shinobi like the one in front of her in Konoha.

"You don't have to remind me," Kakashi rolled his eyes, clearly finding the lecture annoying, especially when it was from a suspicious individual. "We're not stopping more than necessary just because you're not resting when you should."

That was a cue to shut up and go to sleep. Sumie listened, turning her head to the other side and shifting her weight back onto the tree trunk. A few seconds later, she could hear Kakashi flicking a stone at his teammate who was supposed to be awake.

For Sumie, things were changing for the first time in eons. In fact, it started to change the moment she arrived in this land with shinobi, ninjutsu, and no Heaven in sight. It was her own fault for not realizing it sooner, so she had no one else to blame when she found herself in a bind such as this one.

But it wasn't just the world, she was changing as well. She was gaining back things that she thought she had forgotten, and it was frightening and … novel at the same time. What would she become when Heaven's marking was no longer etched into her very existence, but instead replaced by something of this world?

And the humans of this world, she had already seen someone like Haru, and there were those shinobi too. In Konoha, there was a shinobi that the silver-haired boy revered, and there were also those that made the boy hold his tongue against her accusation.

Sumie should really stop doing that - this interest in humans. After all, it was the start of why she received her punishment from Heaven.

The flow of energy streamed through her veins, arriving at her left hand that connected with the forest floor, unnoticed by the shinobi all around her. If her power really was returning, then those whispers she heard at the river bank, were those from Nature, the one that encompassed this world?"

Finally, she heard them again. Starting with an indecipherable murmur, like the rustling of leaves, the shifting of sand, and the flow of rivers all mixed into one, the sound started to grow until Sumie could understand the broken thoughts being repeated over and over again.

"... Intruder … does not belong here …"

Even if it was incomplete, that did not sound like a very nice message. Truly, if Sumie was a thousand years younger, she might have felt heartbroken.

-o-o-o-

Rin felt like she was submerged in waves, drifting, drifting, and eventually, maybe she would be washed ashore.

A sharp noise sounded in the distance as if it was coming from across the sea. It started to grow louder, harsher, and more piercing. Rin's head was hurting, much like everywhere else on her body. The waves were slapping her around too violently for her bones to bear. She was like a broken ship on the ocean with no sail, left at the mercy of the storm until a tide slammed her into the shallow beach …

Rin inhaled sharply.

Her mind wasn't completely conscious, but she found her hand clawing onto something. It looked like another hand, and it was glowing a shade of green that was making her vision foggy.

The cacophonous noises suddenly came into a sharper focus, resonating throughout the room in a rhythmic beat.

With a rising feeling of panic, Rin realized that something was bursting inside of her, a flow more vigorous than she had ever experienced, turning her into something that she was not and never wanted to become.

"Relax." The voice was calming and Rin could barely register the magpie mask just out of her focus. "You poor thing, being devoured by this power that's too great for you to bear."

It felt miraculous when the waves that rammed through her veins seemed to turn sluggish like it was being frozen by icicles. It still somewhat hurt, like she was trapped by an iceberg, But it was helping, Rin swore.

The soft green glow intensified and Rin heeded the words and relaxed. She released her grip on Magpie's wrist, noticing that the Anbu had barely flinched despite the bruises on her wrist.

How many times … why does it feel so familiar?

"But worry not, we'll help calm it down." Her words sounded hypnotizing and Rin's focus was already disintegrating under the warmth of the medical chakra. Before Rin's consciousness was swept under again, she saw Magpie’s pupils through the mask - calming, peaceful, but … so very static.

"Only Root can help you." Those words made a ripple in the water and were once again, swept away by the current.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6 - 求道 (Path to Enlightenment)

Kakashi was never the one to feel homesick after a mission. To him, there were only two outcomes - he either lived to return to Konoha or he didn't. In both cases, the longing for a home - filled with warmth, liveliness, and family that the older shinobi spoke of often - seemed redundant and foreign.

But something crept up on Kakashi when he approached Konoha's gate. It stirred up his calm heartbeats and stung his muscles with both an ache and a sense of urgency.

Kakashi could smell a familiar scent just on the other side of the village gate, merely a wall away. It brought a lot of questions and pushed him to walk faster, all to seek the answer that promised to quench his worry.

Thankfully, what his nose couldn't answer was completed by his eyes.

Rin perked up when she noticed Kakashi through the observation window. She gave him a wave to catch his attention before disappearing behind the walls. The gates opened slowly, revealing the girl that waited eagerly at the edge of the village boundary.

Rin raised her feet, but something made her pause before she retracted her step. Kakashi couldn't help but let out a frown, but Rin merely yelled from the distance, "Kakashi, welcome back to Konoha!"

It was a little embarrassing for Kakashi to admit that for a moment, he almost forgot about the team of shinobi and the two questionable civilians he brought along with him and ignored the Aburame Clan Head that stood vigilant near Rin.

All he thought about was that perhaps, he had a home to feel homesick towards that wasn't just an empty house with no warmth, no lively chatters, and no family.

But the tapping of horse hooves against the ground and the stern look on the Anbu Captain's face pulled him out of that state of complacency. Kakashi looked back and saw the one who called herself Sumie dismounting from the horse with a movement that spoke of experience, before helping the other civilian down as well.

Perhaps the speculations his fellow shinobi gossiped on the way back were not unfound. Kakashi thought she might have been a shinobi of a hidden heritage, but shinobi had no need for horses as a form of transportation when they could travel much faster in stealth. In that sense, a heritage in the Land of Samurai seemed plausible.

But only on the surface, if Kakashi could forget about the resurrection from fatal wounds.

Everything after meeting that woman felt like a dream to Kakashi, so much so that he didn't know exactly how he should have acted when the guards at the gate approached the two civilians for screening.

So Kakashi pressed his mouth together and left it at that. Compared to the rudimentary examination by the Sharingan, Konoha had a much more precise protocol for making sure that a suspicious civilian aiming to enter the village was truly a civilian and not just a shinobi in disguise. Perhaps they'd be able to enlighten Kakashi.

"Rin, are you okay?" Kakashi asked as he flickered to his teammate waiting inside the village. "Did they return your freedom? Did they give you any trouble?"

Kakashi's gaze must have been piercing as he examined Rin down to every detail, making sure that there were no atrocious things like chakra-restricting devices cladded on her. To that, Rin merely returned a comforting smile as she replied, "I'm fine, Kakashi."

"I only woke up yesterday, but Minato-sense vouched for the strength of his seal and my control in front of the Hokage and his Council," Rin explained with a pause. "I was released just earlier today, although, I'm not allowed to leave the village perimeter."

Kakashi turned his head towards Aburame Shibi and the Anbu confirmed with a nod. "Her chakra fluctuated a few times during the coma, but there was no sign of an outburst, so that convinced the Hokage of the success of the sealing. Unfortunately, Nohara-kun won't be allowed to leave the village, let alone go on missions as a shinobi, until she learns to protect herself as a Jinchuuriki."

There was a certain amount of calmness in the way Aburame-san disclosed all of this, and this calmness was reflected in Rin's acceptance of something that completely changed her life. This told Kakashi that this wasn't the first time such realization sunk in for Rin, but it was the first time that it was spelt so clearly for Kakashi.

After a slight pause, Aburame-san added with a lower voice, "Elder Shimura didn't raise any arguments this time, but having Root agents act as surveillance was one thing he won't budge."

To translate, there were Root agents hiding in the shadow, their eyes trained on Rin like they would for an object of danger. Just the thought of that made Kakashi's body tense up in discomfort.

"How? It doesn't make any sense …" "... just try it again." The sudden commotion outside of the village gate drew all their attention. Kakashi turned and saw the sensor stationed at the gate - a Hyūga - shaking his head in disbelief while the veins bulged under his Byakugan,

The other guard gripped Sumie tighter on the shoulder in caution, but she didn't resist when he injected another syringe of chakra-stimulating drug - or liquid soldier pills, as some called them - into her arm.

Once again, the Hyūga sensor widened his pearly eyes in disbelief and immediately, Kakashi could relate. A vial of chakra-stimulating drug was a temporary boost to the chakra system. It could help a shinobi in clutch time, but it could also mess up any effort in chakra suppression when injected at such concentration.

For a normal civilian, their chakra system would temporarily flux brighter before receding back to the dim, impoverished state, causing nothing more than a few moments of discomfort. But to a shinobi attempting to hide their chakra signature, their developed chakra system would flare up like a lighthouse, destroying any effort of deception.

But the Hyūga, like Kakashi, must have seen the impossible, where there was no change in Sumie's chakra signature. It was a lifeless void from the beginning and it remained one even after the stimulation.

It was almost as if she had no chakra at all.

The guards looked at each other, uncertain of what to make of the anomaly. This woman in front of them wasn't a shinobi, but she also wasn't a civilian either. There was no protocol that could account for this.

"Watch her, I need to report this to the Hokage," the Hyūga concluded, his Byakugan was still activated in an attempt to dispel any illusions that might have screwed with his reality. His teammate nodded, but before the shinobi could head out, a few shadows flickered in front of him and blocked his path.

"We'll take the case from here," one of the figures said from behind his blank mask. His words were directed towards the guards, but his attention was no doubt on Sumie. "The guards shouldn't abandon their assignments."

The guards didn't hesitate to concede Sumie's custody to the Root agents - the ones that were made to watch Rin, as Kakashi later realized. Anbu and Roots were ranked higher than the normal shinobi force because they were supposed to work directly for the Hokage.

Now, sometimes Kakashi wondered if that was entirely true.

"Jonin Hatake, you brought her back from the mission. Do you have anything to add?" the Root agent asked as his sharp gaze landed on Kakashi.

"It's as I wrote in the mission debrief I sent back with my summon, I found her as one of the survivors in the civilian village being attacked. I assess her to have no chakra, not even the level of a civilian, but she exhibited superior physique that's … difficult to comprehend without chakra enhancement."

Kakashi paused there, feeling his fingernails digging into the softer flesh of his palm as he arrived at the crossroad. Those were information already reported back to Konoha, but not the part on the resurrection. Kakashi could have written more in the scroll that Pakkun carried back, detailing her appearance in the bloody skirmish that made Rin a Jinchuuriki as well as her unbelievable return from the dead.

But he didn't. So now, that secret remained with him.

Sumie was looking at him as well. Her gaze was calm and such a contrast to the pressure emitted by the Root Agent. Kakashi didn't want to think about it, but nevertheless, their short little conversation during the trip back to Konoha resurfaced in my mind.

Kakashi realized that what he revealed to the wrong audience would change a person's life forever. He had always known that rights were a fickle thing in a shinobi village, but it was never more apparent when he saw Rin again.

People fear what they couldn't understand and what they couldn't control. So those entities were classified into the realm of weapons or threats, even if they were a sentient human. That was a part of the rules. But now more so than ever, Kakashi found that to be not good enough.

"That's all I can conclude. As for the rest, I'm as confused as you are." Kakashi pushed the final words out of his mouth. The Root agent stared at him for a moment, before he nodded in courtesy and took hold of the woman.

The other villager, Haru, looked worried. Even to an outsider, Root looked much more menacing and foreboding than the normal shinobi. But Haru stayed silent and didn't cause any trouble, having already been warned by Sumie that the questions were inevitable and were something that she must handle by herself.

"Kakashi?" Rin's voice pulled Kakashi's attention back and he retracted his gaze from the direction where the Root agents left with Sumie.

"You look troubled," Rin whispered just within Kakashi's earshot. Really? I thought I'm pretty composed. Kakashi hoped that it wasn't that obvious to the Root agents. Aburame-san had left already, clearly just here to warn Kakashi as a favour to Minato-sensei. He couldn't stick around when he wasn't assigned to Rin's surveillance.

Kakashi was troubled. What if his decision - one that clearly deviated from the rules - lead to something irreparable to Konoha, to those that he cared about?

… What if it ends up like Father's choice?

Kakashi shook his head, both as a response to Rin and an attempt to shake off the fear associated with that memory. Between subpar rules and regretful decisions, Kakashi wanted neither - he wanted something better. As Obito had reminded him, rules were dead, but humans acting on them - making them - were not. If he could, he didn't want to settle for rules that weren't good enough.

"Rin, is Minato-sensei in the village?" Kakashi asked instead and Rin nodded.

"Sensei is at the Hokage Tower the last I saw him." Rin paused for a moment, already caught on to the fact that Kakashi had things to say to Minato-sensei that were not for the outsider's ears. "You should go visit Sensei and Kushina-san after a long mission. Come on, let's go to their house."

That was what Kakashi wanted to suggest as well. Minato-sensei's house was warded with a large variety of seals. Root wouldn't be able to do anything other than waiting outside of the property.

In fact, when Kushina-san opened the door and ushered them in with a smile, she might have glared into the distance, clearly finding the Root surveillance to be disagreeable as well.

"Kakashi-kun, Rin-chan, you came at the right time," Kushina-san said as she pointed at the boiling pot on the stove. "I made too much of the stew, so I'm counting on your stomach to help me finish it."

Rin let out a giggle at that. "Knowing how good your cooking is, I'm sure Minato-sensei can finish it all by himself." That made Kushina-san laugh as she patted Rin's back fondly.

Kakashi thought that he'd have to wait a bit longer before Minato-sensei came home. Perhaps it really was the power of Kushina-san's cooking - but more likely, Sensei probably sensed the location of his Hiraishin kunai aggregating in his house - in the span of a breeze, the Yellow Flash appeared next to the kitchen counter. Kushina-san wasn't even surprised.

"Oh, that smell is heavenly. Thank you so much for making the dinner," Minato-sensei exclaimed as he hugged Kushina-san with affection. Kakashi felt bad, really, because what he was about to tell his teacher was so outlandish and disconcerting that it might ruin his appetite - all of their appetites.

"Kakashi, you saw Rin already? That's great. How's your mission … and why do you look like you have some bad news to tell me?" Minato-sensei's voice took a turn at the prolonged 'and', switching from a lighthearted tone to one that showed his concern.

"Sensei." Kakashi had to take a deep breath before he could continue. "It's going to sound crazy, but I witnessed something impossible."

-o-o-o-

It was hard to say who was more confused, Sumie or the shinobi who placed a hand on her forehead, clearly in an attempt to do something, if the way he closed his eyes in concentration was any indication.

But Sumie felt nothing. If there was a point in his action, she was not seeing it.

The blonde-haired shinobi opened his eyes in a frown before he met Sumie's gaze. The confusion in her eyes might have insulted him or creeped him out. Either way, he retracted his hand as if her skin seared him.

Just then, the door creaked open as an older man walked in with his cane. "Still no luck, Jonin Yamanaka?" he asked the shinobi and the latter shook his head. A quiet pause, before the old man asked again, "Perhaps we should try the Amplifying Orb."

That seemed to make the blonde-haired shinobi shake his head even more. "With all due respect, Elder Shimura, it's not my skill that's the issue. The Mind-body technique requires one to connect with the chakra network of another mind, but there's simply no chakra here to be the target."

The shinobi even cast another glance at Sumie. Disbelief was evident in his eyes, but he still stood by his conclusion. "Whoever she is, it seems I can be no help. In that case, I should get back to my assignment."

Despite the apparent hierarchy between the Elder and the Jonin, Sumie sensed hidden animosity. More obvious from the Jonin's side, if she was to be specific. The blonde shinobi left soon after that and the door clicked close behind him.

Now, Sumie figured, was where the real deal began.

"Young lady, have you heard of genjutsu?" The Elder asked out of nowhere as he moved into the chair facing Sumie - the one that didn't have the shackles built into the armrest. There was no table between them, meaning that every twitch in Sumie's muscle would be exposed to scrutiny.

Sumie shook her head with no more than a frown of confusion. 'Genjutsu' could spell a few different things depending on the time period. But in this world, consider her clueless.

"It's a type of ninjutsu that relies on the infiltration of the chakra networks in the brain. It creates illusions, makes the victim see an alternative reality," the man explained as he rested his hands on top of his cane. "It's a common tactic used in interrogation, along with what Jonin Yamanaka had tried earlier."

"If you're smart, you've probably realized that my subordinate's genjutsu also did not work on you. There's no chakra circuit - no target - to be interfered with." The Elder paused a little to let the words sink in before he finished his speech. "You, my girl, are immune to the likes of genjutsu because your chakra network cannot be detected. I cannot ensure that you're telling the truth in an interrogation, at least by the means of ninjutsu."

Not by the means of ninjutsu, you say? Now it made sense. What the blond shinobi had tried earlier with her was likely something similar to a mind probe. But now that method of doing the interrogation had failed, Sumie wondered if they would move on to the harsher, less humane methods.

Sumie could deal with the torture - nothing could hurt quite like the rage of Heavan - but it was the possibility of exposing her regenerative ability that made the warning alarm in her brain go off.

"What will you do to me then?" Sumie said the first words since the initial stage of questioning. There was a healthy amount of fear and uncertainty that leaked out of her voice. Right now, she was not trying to be an ancient creature that had seen the rise and fall of civilizations; she was trying to be someone that had lost her memory all the while feeling suffocated by the stress of being abnormal.

It was very fleeting, but Sumie did notice that how small and helpless she felt in this interrogation pleased the Elder.

"If you're an enemy, I'd order your execution immediately. An enemy that can't be made to confess the truth and be detected by our sensors cannot be left alive in the village." The pressure in the Elder's voice increased, making Sumie feel the grasp of imminent death.

However, death did not come. What was offered instead was a spider thread. "But if that talent belongs to Konoha, that's a different story."

See, the rules for soldiers and the rules for leaders were different. The soldiers were taught to focus on the threat in order to minimize any mistakes. But for the leaders, particularly those that schemed to win in a conflict, they must be adept at finding weapons out of dangerous opportunities.

The Elder didn't leave time for Sumie to express her opinion, not that she planned to. Even if she declared her loyalty now, it would be met with suspicions.

"It's rare, but those that appeared to have no chakra network had been observed in history. Although, they're usually civilians with feeble bodies. Even if they're recruited as spies to infiltrate the enemy stronghold, their subpar physique dictated that they couldn't get far. They are invisible to sensors, but not invisible in the physical realm."

Elder Shimura was a good speaker. He spoke with logic and drew one in with his words, forcing one to think along the path that he had dictated. As he explained the usage of Sumie's abnormality, he was, no doubt, also observing Sumie, trying to catch any signs of a slip-up to suggest that this was not the first time she had learned of these facts - from her true allegiance, for example.

"Our shinobi identified the bodies of three attackers near your village. One was eliminated by the boy that brought you back, so care to enlighten me on the other two?" Elder Shimura prompted and Sumie knew that her decision - what she decided to tell and how that spoke of her - was being grilled on fire.

"I pulled one of them down the ravine when she was distracted by your shinobi. I was lucky to survive when I got washed up to the bank and she wasn't," Sumie answered. There were plenty of ways to check for the truth in her words, whether from the Konoha shinobi or from Haru, so she couldn't lie in gross details.

But the finer ones - for example, the part where she got stabbed first - were something she had to take a gamble with. Haru couldn't have seen it clearly because she was behind Sumie. As for the shinobi, she was counting on the fact that the night was too dim to mark out the details when she was already soaked in blood to start with.

The Elder merely looked at her, waiting for her to continue, so she did. "The first shinobi that we encountered, he attacked us first. But he let his guard down, so when he wasn't looking, I snuck up behind him and … killed him."

Upon hearing that, Elder Shimura let out a nod - an approval, a reassurance, a reward. Although, it was unclear if he was pleased by her honesty or her act of violence.

"Even if the shinobi is distracted, to be able to sneak up on one is no small feat. That's talent." Really, that almost sounded like a compliment, "Konoha and I believe in those potentials. I look at your future, not your past. Swear your loyalty to me, and no matter who you are before you lose your memory - the result of human experimentation, an outcast from a hidden clan, even a fugitive - you can be reborn under my guidance."

It was tempting to say yes, not because of how convincing Elder Shimura's speech was, but because Sumie had no other option. She mustn't give him any reason to resort to the methods of torture or even execution. So the next best thing would be to bid her time and wait for her power to return. Maybe eventually, she'd be able to run away and never come back.

But for how long? And what would she have to do in the meantime? After all, she wasn't being recruited as a prisoner, but as a weapon to be trained and used in wars.

Thousands of years ago, she had inked a boundary in her heart, to never allow her power to be used for things she didn't believe in; to never let her power touch those that she didn't find to be deserving. The consequences of breaking such boundaries were devastating.

To put it cruelly, Sumie didn't care for these shinobi wars. They could slaughter each other for all they wanted, that was the natural progression occurring in this world. She didn't believe in one side of the conflict - be it Konoha or their enemies - over the other, so she refused to fight for one side against the other.

"I am no shinobi, Elder … Shimura." Sumie hesitated a little as if she was uncertain of what she heard in the passing. "I don't know if I can achieve your expectations."

"I merely see the talent, but you're correct that the realization of any potential is a gamble. Except …" Elder Shimura paused a little in suspense as the suffocating pressure returned in his voice, "I'm gambling with my investment, and you, with your life."

That was an ultimatum. If Sumie was smart - she should be, if she were to have any use for Elder Shimura - she'd realize that there was only one way she could walk, bar the option of death.

It seemed that Sumie was just teleported from one path of doom to another that was equally treacherous. But at least, she comforted herself, it was walkable.

If the door to the interrogation room had opened a second too late, then Sumie might have already agreed to Elder Shimura's solicitation. But just as the syllable was starting to form in her larynx, the door was pried open with an unstoppable force.

"Parden me, Elder Shimura, but before you finalize any decisions, I'd like to discuss the custody of the person that Kakashi brought back to the village." Sumie turned her head to see the origin of that voice and she saw the man with bright blonde hair and a polite smile. "I believe it's a little brash to put her on the track to Root, given how sensitive the things they have to deal with. Don't you agree?"

In her peripheral vision, Sumie could see the familiar mob of silver hair that followed behind the intruder. As for the focus of her vision, she was no doubt staring quite rudely.

A stream of energy flowed in her body like a river being awakened from the winter, unbeknownst to everyone else in this room. She needed to check something and the pull from the energy indeed confirmed for her.

The shinobi in this world could gather the energy known as chakra to perform feats skin to miracles, but Sumie realized that they were using a different system of energy than her, and consequently, different than the system in her old world. So rather than something familiar, they were more like foreign introductions.

But this man in front of Sumie was truly a call back to her memory. In fact, he had a trait that should have been erased by Heaven a long time ago - a trait where one had been touched by the essence floating between Heaven and Earth.

He was an Enlightened One*.

-o-o-o-

Minato wondered if the poisonous ink from the Eight-Tail might cause the slow-acting effects of delusion. He remembered how Killer B blew out a stream of pitch-black ink at him as the active battle came to a halt. Rather than an effective assault, it was more like the Jinchuuriki throwing a temper tantrum at having been bested.

Any score would have to be settled when the next bout of the battle started, but maybe Minato was being sabotaged in the meantime. Otherwise, it was hard to explain why he was hearing the most outlandish story from his most logical student - one where a supposedly dead corpse came back as a living being, right here in Konoha.

But Minato dealt with Fuinjutsu, where imagination was a key part of any creation. The suspension of beliefs came a little easier for him than most.

So, when he got over the shock and decided to take Kakashi's words at face value, he was quite glad to hear his student conclude, "Sensei, I want to protect Konoha and the people in it, but not like this."

As soon as Kakashi finished his request, he was about to lower himself to his knees, to apologize for both his impulsive desires and what he was asking Minato to risk. But Minato was a step faster. He caught his student by the arm and pulled him up with indisputable force.

"There's no need for that. You've come to me with a request, supported by a belief that you hold strongly. Moreover, to believe in a certain path means to take responsibility for the consequences of your actions." Minato paused just as Kakashi lowered his head in shame. Then, Minato let out a chuckle and rubbed the mod of silver hair at his chest height. "But you don't have to take that responsibility alone, Kakashi, for I do, share what you believe."

Minato, too, thought that there were many things - norms, rules, traditions - in the shinobi world that were not good enough. They were shaped by the unfavourable circumstances of wars around them, taught to children who had little time to understand their own ideologies.

Exceptional soldiers might win the war, but it was those who knew what they believed in that would mend the aftermath from its wounds and build something better.

"What would you like to do, Kakashi-kun? What outcome do you want?" Kushina asked with a softer voice. By this point, both Rin and Kushina had finally gotten over the initial disbelief. It was time to move on from the facts to the plan.

"I … I think that woman should be watched, especially if she had to stay in Konoha for the time being. In future observations, her lies and intentions might be revealed, or we will gain confidence that she spoke the truth." There was a slight pause as Kakashi glanced at Rin, then he continued.

"If it's the latter, then those that don't belong in the shinobi conflict shouldn't be brought into it. No one should be executed or imprisoned just because they have an unusual power."

Rin's breath halted a little when she heard that. Lightly, she bit into her lips and nodded in agreement. Rin was a gentle and kind kunoichi, one who would accept her sacrifice to protect those she loved, be it her teammates or her village.

Rin wouldn't complain, and that was why Minato thought that the rules were not good enough.

"Well, if you only reported on the abnormality of her chakra and her physique, then what Root wanted with her was probably not execution," Minato said while his students listened with attention. "Knowing how Elder Shimura thinks, he'll first try to weaponize her abilities. You can't fear what you can control and Root is completely within his grasp. Only when that fails, be it a lack of loyalty or a lack of value, will he move to eliminate the threat."

"But if Elder Shimura learns of her regeneration and resurrection, then that changes things." Minato thought that the woman's fear - Sumie, her name was, according to Kakashi - was not unfound. While human experimentation was strictly forbidden in Konoha, the definition of human blurred when too many things deviated from what was comprehensible.

Regeneration and resurrection from death, that was beyond even the realm of a Jinchuuriki. To put it simply, Sumie leaned closer to what the shinobi knew of a Tailed-Beast.

Therefore, Minato concluded, "it seems that time is of the essence. If she ever were to have a chance to be freed from the shinobi conflict, then she cannot be under the control of Root."

"So we have to snatch away what Danzō had set his eyes on. That old man does not let go easily," Kushina commented, not at all hiding her less-than-positive opinion of Elder Shimura. She never liked him much before with the outdated opinion that Elder Shimura had of the Jinchuuriki. And with Rin's recent treatment, she was even more pissed at the Elder.

"No, he'll make his case very convincing for the Hokage, after he had done the deed." In fact, Minato thought they'd only have a chance at uprooting Danzō's control if they do it before the deed was settled. "So, we'll take Elder Shimura's idea and make it even more convincing."

It seemed that they had made it on time when Danzō widened his eyes in shock at Minato's entrance.

"Namikaze-kun, no matter how popular you are with Hiruzen, it's unacceptable for you to barge into my interrogation." The Elder was fuming. His voice reverberated in the cell, held back from shouting by a sheer sense of dignity.

"It's urgent, Elder Shimura," Minato replied, his polite smile fading as he glanced at the person who was the cause of Kakashi's trouble. The young woman had moved her eyes away, but Minato had definitely felt her staring.

Things felt … calmer than what Minato had expected. If it weren't for the chair that was designed to restrain the subject of interrogation, he'd almost mistake the atmosphere for a simple chat.

"What do you want?" Elder Shimura composed himself, but the way he clenched his cane said that his anger was far from doused.

"Sumie-san, if I got the name correct, is brought back by Kakashi. Therefore, I think it's fair for her to be Kakashi's responsibility until her … unusual circumstances can be sorted out," Minato said and the Elder let out a laugh with mockery.

"Her circumstances are not just unusual, it's suspicious. And you think your little prodigy boy should be put in charge of controlling her when he's the one that brought her back despite the potential for a threat?" Danzō leaned back a little. The underlying implication was that Kakashi should have eliminated her on the spot.

"Then why is she still alive, Elder Shimura? If you fear so much for a person that has not acted against Konoha's favour?" Minato shot back.

"I thought a Jonin like you would know that we should extract information whenever we can," Danzō replied. "Rest assured, Namikaze-kun, Root is handling it appropriately."

"Oh, I don't doubt that Root is a highly capable - and selective - unit, born out of gruelling training." Minato didn't want to waste more time with insults, so he cut through the facade and went straight for what the Elder didn't want to admit.

"I'm not disagreeing with you on your goal of making her a weapon that can be used by Konoha, Elder Shimura. But there are other placements that might serve that goal better, both for Konoha and for the full utility of ... an asset."

Minato didn't want to say those words, at least not in front of the woman. But to make a case more convincing than Danzō, an appeal to morality and human rights wasn't going to work well at this stage.

"Ah, it seems that Hokage-sama has just answered," Minato said as he felt the shadow clone he sent to the Hokage office returning.

"You—" The look in Danzō's eyes was a mixture of disbelief and fury. It seemed that Minato was just getting in his way more and more these days. It was not intentional, but Minato sort of figured that a clash of ideologies this big was bound to crack further as time passed.

"Hokage-sama agreed with me, Elder Shimura. Recruiting someone of Sumie-san's circumstances into Root is way too radical." Minato passed to Danzō what the Hokage commented. "I will put a seal on her that will enact punishment should she act in harm to Konoha. Both Kakashi and I will be responsible for evaluating how trustworthy she might be and how to best utilize her abilities."

Just for the sake of it, Minato extended a step for Danzō to come down, even if it might contribute to the opposite. "If she is best utilized in Root, then that shall be where she belongs."

Although, Minato's definition of the 'best placement' likely weighed a lot more on the component of individual consent than that of Danzō.

Elder Shimura let out a slow breath as he adjusted the grip on his cane. He set his exposed eye on Minato, asking, "First, you vouch your life on the sanity of that Nohara girl, and now, for a suspicious stranger. I certainly hope you have enough lives to spare around, metaphorically speaking."

Minato heard Kakashi letting a hiss in anger as the boy stepped forward in response to the words laced with ill will. But the boy caught himself before he could lash out, remembering that they were so close to their goal. So, he calmed his rage by digging his fingernails into his palm.

Knowing that he couldn't go against the Hokage's decision, Danzō switched his attention from Minato to the woman sitting on the interrogation chair, listening to their arguments in silence.

"Sumie, I see your potential and I meant what I said. We'll meet again." The Elder told the young woman as he motioned his agent towards her. "Release her and see them out."

With two clicking of the keys, the woman stood up from her seat and rubbed the markings left on her forearms. Things were slightly awkward when she followed Minato and Kakashi out into the hallways, making no attempt to say anything.

Minato wondered if he would cause any panic attacks if he just grabbed everyone and teleported them out. But no matter what, he figured that a warning was warranted.

"Danzō, I heard that you found someone with no detectable chakra system who isn't sickly like a twig." Minato's warning never made it out of his mouth because it was interrupted by a third party that joined the chaos.

"Orochimaru-san," Minato greeted as the pale-skinned man approached them from across the hall. The Sannin gave him a coy smile, but his eyes were already glued to Sumie, dissecting her with his gaze in order to delineate the rare parts.

"Well, aren't you an unusual thing?" Orochimaru commented just as Danzō walked out of the interrogation room to deal with yet another uninvited guest. "Danzō, were you planning to hide her away in Root so selfishly?"

"I only act for the well-being of Konoha. Besides, she is no longer my problem." The Elder left it at that as he walked away in the opposite direction.

Orochimaru wasn't bothered by the unwelcoming attitude. He merely returned his attention to Sumie and said, "If you ever want to learn more about your unusual composition, I'll gladly help for the chance to learn more about the unknown."

Okay, that's enough before things start to get out of hand.

"Participation in research is voluntary, just saying." Minato made sure to point that out first, before he warned the woman, "I'm going to teleport us out of here. It might feel a little uncomfortable."

There was the hint of a nod telling Minato that she was more than fine with being whooshed out of the interrogation unit. So Minato grabbed onto the two shoulders next to him and in the blink of an eye, the dark hallways were replaced by his dining room.

The landing always took some time to get used to. Sumie pressed her fingers on her temple as she steadied herself in the new environment.

"Is that a ninjutsu … actually, that's not important." Just like that, Minato opened and closed his mouth without saying a word. Sumie looked at Kakashi, then at Kushina and Rin that were sitting next to the dining table, before her attention landed on Minato again. "You must be the teacher."

"Oh, Kakashi mentioned me?" Minato asked and the woman answered with a nod. He waited for her to offer more information or ask any more questions. She didn't, and the awkwardness grew exponentially more overbearing.

"You must be feeling confused. You've only just arrived at Konoha, but you're a person that is already sought after by many," Minato joked in an attempt to break the ice. It probably wasn't a good idea.

"Hmm, a person, or an object?" The woman asked. There was none of the animosity in her voice, but the calm acceptance seemed to make the sarcasm more apparent.

"Hey, Sensei is trying to help you, even though he has no reason to. If you stayed with Elder Shimura, then that's the life of an object," Kakashi interjected while rolling his eyes. Knowing the boy, he was ready to fight another battle defending Minato's honour when he couldn't do so in front of Danzō. Fortunately, the woman wasn't planning to give him a battle.

"I am thankful." The easy admittance by Sumie made Kakashi unsure of what to argue against next. "And I supposed that I should thank you too for being selective about my secret."

Upon hearing that, Kakashi let out a snort of annoyance. But he nevertheless turned his face to the side while he said, only a bit louder than a whisper, "Your immortality means nothing to me so long as you're not Konoha's enemy. Don't think too hard about it, it's detrimental to Konoha if the rumours of your regeneration get out to the other villages."

That's not the reason which you told me before. The dishonesty that stemmed from pride and embarrassment in his student made Minato want to laugh and sigh at the same time.

"I apologize for saying that you're an asset to be used. It's the safest way to move you under my custody. Unfortunately, I would have to make what I proposed true, including the security seal," Minato told Sumie. He wasn't about to sugarcoat his words or the future reality.

"Please understand that I also don't trust you completely simply because I don't know who you are. But if you have no ill intention as you've said to Kakashi, then we'll find a way to return your life and freedom to you." Minato wasn't a saint. The duality of being a shinobi trained to protect Konoha - using violence - and being a dreamer existed within him.

There was a moment of silence as Sumie processed his words. Then, out of nowhere, she asked, "Were you the one who taught the boy that the war doesn't excuse everything?"

Minato thought she'd care more about her immediate future, so he was a little taken aback. But yes, he did recall repeating that phrase to his students. "Yes, I've said that before." The conversation died right there, but Minato was sure that the woman was judging, evaluating, even if the weight of her gaze was as light as a feather and had none of the pressure.

"Don't try anything funny," Kakashi eyed Sumie with suspicion when the extended silence had gotten too uncomfortable.

"What makes you say that?" Sumie turned to the young boy and asked with a hint of amusement, "Because I stared at your teacher?"

Sumie's directness exposed Kakashi's inexperience in dealing with people. With disbelief towards how thick-skinned someone could be, Kakashi could think of nothing better to shoot back other than, "He's married!"

"I can see that," Sumie replied, nodding toward the photo of Minato and Kushina hanging on the wall. But it seemed that she was done making Kakashi explode as her attention went back to Minato.

"No offense, Namikaze-san, is it?" Minato nodded and the woman continued. "To me, you felt different, from him," she nodded at Kakashi, "from them," then at Kushina and Rin, "and from all the other shinobi in that interrogation room."

"As I've gathered so far, I cannot feel chakra just as I'm invisible to your chakra detection. But you have something different from their chakra, it's an energy that I can sense. As you may know, I'm a little lost as to who and what I am. I was hoping you might enlighten me." She laughed a little when she said that, but Minato could feel the frustration in her voice.

"That's a little vague to pinpoint." Minato would like to help out - would like to learn more to assess her - but as he said, nothing really came to mind when she put it so vaguely like that.

Sumie nodded, finding that to be reasonable. She thought about it and added a moment later, "I imagined that something other than chakra is powering my regeneration, so would you try identifying it for me while this mysterious form of energy is theoretically in action?"

It was a plausible plan, so long as Sumie didn't mind inflicting harm to herself, which by the looks of it, she didn't. Minato handed her a kunai while he prepared himself to act in case the woman tried anything with the weapon.

It took Sumie three tries to find the appropriate grip on the kunai, suggesting to Minato that she was either a very good actor or she had indeed never used a kunai before. With little to no hesitation, Sumie pressed the sharp edge against the skin on her forearm and sliced down.

A bloody gush opened as red seeped out of the wound like watercolour. But Minato's breath hitched not because of the fact that the wound was already trying to close, but because he had indeed felt the convergence of something towards the site of regeneration. The answer came to him shortly after.

"Unbelievable. It's Natural Energy. Pure Natural Energy," Minato exclaimed. Now it made sense why Kakashi couldn't identify the source of Sumie's power with his Sharingan even if there was clearly something at work.

"Natural … energy," Sumie repeated with a frown. Her unfamiliarity with the concept was evident.

"It's very rare for humans to be able to feel, let alone use Natural Energy. Even for my lineage of practitioners, we can only use Natural Energy by blending it with our chakra in a certain ratio, therefore producing what we called Senjutsu," Minato explained as Sumie listened. "For a normal human to absorb Natural Energy in that purity without the chakra component, they would turn to stone. Return to Nature, as my teacher called it."

Surprisingly, to a highly trained Jonin like Minato, he wasn't able to read Sumie all that easily. But at that moment, he could see the thoughts that flashed through her face as she closed her eyes, something along the lines of 'Perfect, something that removed me further from the realm of humans.'

But that revelation actually brought an unexplainable peace of mind to Minato. Jiraiya-sensei and the Sage Toads at Mt. Myōboku always reminded Minato that the Natural Energy was only lent to humans as a blessing; it never belonged to humans.

Perhaps it was Minato's instinct telling him that humans cannot control Nature, making it less likely that Sumie was a product of scheming by any human faction. But then again, that was subjective and hardly the basis for unconditional trust.

"I appreciate the information; would appreciate it more if you'd keep that piece of news to yourself," Sumie said after a period of dead silence. She didn't wait for any answer or solicit any promise from them before she continued. "Back to what you said earlier, it's reasonable, so I don't have any objection."

It seemed like a rollercoaster ride, to recover from that impossible revelation and think back to what they were discussing before - Sumie's immediate future in Konoha. Minato turned to Kushina, the request left unspoken in his eyes. Kushina gave him a sign that said 'ok' before she grabbed the satchel of sealing supplies on the counter.

"Great, it'll just be a moment, Sumie-san, please follow me." Kushina waved Sumie along as they walked towards the bathroom. Just before Kushina closed the door, she left him a sentence. "Heat up the stew in the meantime, will you, Minato?"

So, two hours past dinner time, Minato moved the pot from the oven to the stove and turned the heat on. He had some ideas as to what to do with Sumie, starting with finding out when Jiraiya-sensei will be back in the village. But he figured that everyone could use some food right now.

He opened the lid and let the steam rise to the ceiling, before turning to see his students - Rin had sat through the entire conversation with confusion while Kakashi looked exhausted by all the suspension of beliefs he had to do.

With a comforting smile, Minato asked, "Alright, it's been an absolutely wild day. Who wants some stew?"

-o-o-o-

Stupid kids these days have so much energy.

The concept of fatigue should never apply to Black Zetsu, but dealing with Uchiha Obito nevertheless was very tiring.

The young Uchiha boy had finally given in to exhaustion after resisting Black Zetsu's control for two days. Even then, it had no doubt that the moment it tried to do something with the boy's body, the boy's mind would reawaken again to fight back.

Using White Zetsu's words, if it had heard the screams of 'Rin' and 'Kakashi' one more time, Black Zetsu would barf even if it was physically impossible for it to do so. Unfortunately, it was exactly those names that fueled the boy's relentless determination.

A head morphed out of the wall, revealing the curious gaze of a white Zetsu - the one who had named himself Tobi - as it stared at the boy half covered in a sheet of corrupting darkness.

"What did you find out?" Black Zetsu's cold voice broke the white creature out of its trance. The spiral on its face twisted, as if disappointed by the fact that it wasn't the goofy boy. Honestly, what did Black Zetsu expect of the trash spat out by the God Tree?

"She survived! Can you believe that, after a stab to the heart? I thought humans can't do that!" Tobi shouted and Black Zetsu winced at how loud it was as if Madara couldn't be awakened fast enough from his slumber. But as stupid as the white creature was, it was right about one thing - humans couldn't do that.

Humans were predictable in the eyes of Black Zetsu. Their hopes, their wishful thinking, their desires … Black Zetsu had observed plenty of them in the eons of its existence. Humans were fragile in their bodies and even more so in their minds,

Madara's plan - Black Zetsu's plan - should have been perfect. He laid the foundation with his Rinnegan and Uchiha Obito would come to carry the wills and keep the plan going. Everything on the stage was set up perfectly, an act waiting to be performed. But it was all ruined at the last moment by an uninvited actor.

"And? It's been more than a week, but I don't see her with you, dead or alive." Black Zetsu said just as a second White Zetsu appeared through the walls as well.

"We want to, but it's scary!" White Zetsu complained as Tobi nodded in agreement. "The aura around her feels really strange. We want to get closer to her too, but my intuition - hah, poop boy there taught me the word - tells me that if I get any closer, I might go poof!"

Black Zetsu let out a hiss of annoyance. As usual, White Zetsu's intelligence and hence its reports left much to be desired for. But it sounded like that woman was both appetizing and poisonous to White Zetsu, like fire to a moth.

It was too bad that Black Zetsu couldn't go out and investigate in White Zetsu's stead. It wasn't done with Uchiha Obito, and it had to continue to act as the manifestation of Madara's will, meaning that there was a limit to how much autonomy it could exhibit.

"Where is she now?" Black Zetsu asked.

"The last time I checked, Poop boy's teammate, Bakashi, took her with him in Konoha's direction," Tobi answered.

"Then go observe Konoha, as per Madara's order," Black Zetsu concluded and the two White Zetsu melted back into the walls with visible disappointment on their faces.

It took Black Zetsu hundreds of years to find someone as ambitious and dauntless as Uchiha Madara. Black Zetsu wasn't about to let the plan die along with Madara's failing lifespan, so it could either find a way to extend Madara's life or it must make Obito its successor.

That woman with unusual regeneration and vitality might offer some insight into the former - Black Zetsu wouldn't count on it when Madara was already stretched to its limit by the God Tree - but it was Konoha that could help Black Zetsu achieve the latter.

The Uchiha, like their ancestor Indra, were emotional, stubborn, but so easily stained. Uchiha Obito, in particular, was as spotless as a sheet of white paper. Even without the stage set up by Kirigakure, all it would take was a trauma - a cruel demonstration by fate - to make the boy realize that he was not the hero in his dreams, but a sinner who shattered his own dreams.

Those names that gave Uchiha Obito strength would soon drag him into the abyss. Black Zetsu just needed to bid his time for the next act - one that would inevitably come so long as Konoha continued to fight, whether against outside enemies or amongst themselves.

Chapter Text

Chapter 7 - 百味 (Flavours of Life)

"if the seal is activated for punishment, it'll send electricity throughout the wearer's body, enough to cause immediate paralysis and critical injuries. The same applies if the seal is damaged."

Sumie nodded, probably a little more absent-minded than she should be in the circumstances.

Upon seeing that, the red-haired woman - Kushina - added in reassurance, "But nothing will happen when it's dormant. Other than the little sting at the moment of application, you won't even feel it."

"I see," Sumie answered just to give Kushina peace of mind. The plate of ink was set on the shelf as Kushina dipped her brush in the liquid to check for consistency. The paint was ready, all that was left was the canvas.

Even without being prompted, Sumie loosened the yukata and watched the garment fall below her shoulder in the mirror above the sink. "I'm ready," she told Kushina and the woman nodded in response.

Sumie could see the concentration in Kushina's eyes reflecting in the mirror. The care in her steady strokes spoke of the respect she had towards her work and towards the recipient of her sealing, regardless of the seal's nature.

At first, the touch of ink was cold as the brush dragged over the skin between her shoulder blades. But maybe the air had warmed the ink - or perhaps it was Sumie's skin that was being cooled - the sensation lightened until it was no more than the tickling of a feather.

That was why when the sting came as Kushina had warned, Sumie - or rather, her body - wasn't prepared.

When the last stroke was painted, a wave of current washed out of the seal above her spine, spreading to her limbs and numbing her muscles. It was like a chain reaction when her body responded instinctively by cranking up the flow of Natural Energy, which in turn, alerted what remained of Heaven's enforcement.

The sting from the seal sank into the pain caused by Heaven's discontentment. Sumie had to clench onto the rim of the sink to prevent herself from cursing out at Heaven.

Let go, Heaven. You're not here anymore to guide or reprimand me, are you? So let me go.

Kushina had long dropped her sealing tools when the black chains sprouted from Sumie's spine so unexpectedly. Immediately, she placed her fingers on the seal she had just completed, examining it to make sure that everything she painted was correct. It was, so she moved on to the jet-black chains. But before Kushina could get a better look, the thick lines faded into Sumie's skin, as if it was all an illusion.

"Sorry. It's always been with me, some sort of limiter, I think," Sumie explained. Whether Kushina believed her or not, that wasn't something Sumie could control. It wasn't like there was a lack of unexplainable things about her already.

It took Kushina a moment to accept the situation. "No need to apologize. The seal should be set." She lifted the yukata back onto Sumie's shoulder. "Sealing ink is made especially to dry faster, you know. It's also water-proof and fading-resistant."

Sumie was not blind to Kushina's gentleness, which was why it was even more awkward when she let go of the sink rim only to find a vague handprint left on the deformed metal.

Kushina looked stunned. She reached out and touched the sink as if making sure that it was indeed made of metal and not clay. The answer was affirmative, making the red-haired kunoichi turn to Sumie with astonishment.

Sumie expected many questions, all of which she couldn't give an answer to other than 'I don't know.' But to her surprise, Kushina merely shook her head, as if telling her not to worry about the damaged property.

"I have somewhat of an abnormal strength myself; you should see the face of some shinobi when I broke a tree in half," Kushina said, even raising her arm to show her - very healthy if Sumie were to say - muscles. "So you're not alone in causing accidental property damage."

Sumie couldn't help but let out a light chuckle when she heard that and that seemed to satisfy Kushina. What an interesting household, Sumie thought.

When she followed Kushina out of the bathroom and back to the dining room, she thought back to the emotion that was slowly building up the moment she stepped into Konoha. No doubt, she was … irritated.

It wasn't so much as the seal. If Sumie wanted, there were plenty of methods to destroy her current body and regenerate a new one. She doubted that a superficial seal would carry over. Rather, it was the act of being sealed again - being restrained again - that brought about the irritation.

But … chatters could already be heard from down the hall as well as the aroma of hot food. They all remind Sumie that there certainly could be worse people that tried to control her with worse methods.

To be fair, being an Enlightened One did not make Namikaze Minato more trustworthy or noble in Sumie's eyes. That title was nothing more than an attempt by some mortals - the blessed ones that were able to use the essence of Nature - to elevate themselves from the rest.

They claimed to have connected with the power of Nature and professed to follow the Path of Heaven, but their so-called 'enlightenment' did not wash out the flaws in their human nature. Those who envied others before still looked at those better than them with hatred. Those who were greedy continued to covet what didn't belong to them. And those who fed on a sense of superiority were even more relentless in stroking their pride using others' misery.

So no, having been graced by the essence of Nature provided no reference value. But it was everything else that Sumie had seen, heard, and learned about Namikaze Minato that made her curious about if and how he planned to make his words true.

"You must be hungry," Minato said as Kushina led Sumie to the dining table. Before Sumie knew it, a bowl of stew was pushed in his direction. "It tastes better when it's still hot."

Sumie had no need for human meals, but she got used to mimicking a human's routines to the point that it felt natural to her. Also … the aroma from the strew was more alluring than Sumie would admit.

Like a protest to Sumie's hesitation, the young boy gulped down the last bit of food in his bowl and set it on the table. Kakashi looked at the bowl of stew that was still steaming as if telling her that if she wouldn't eat it, he'd gladly take the second serving.

Really, Sumie thought that this little puppy-like loyalty would be cute if it wasn't so damn annoying. So, she muttered a 'thank you' and started digging in.

"While we'd like you to stay here, we have a … situation going on that makes the space here a little tight. But Kakashi has offered to let you stay in his living room." Sumie raised her head when she heard Minato saying that. Maybe it was the reflex, but she was already prepared to hear what other sharp words the boy had for her.

To her surprise, Kakashi merely nodded. There were no snarky comments, no unwilling grunts, and no glares meant to intimidate. That was when Sumie realized that the decision about how she would be watched and who would watch her was already determined, perhaps even before she made it out of the interrogation room.

Sumie wasn't sure what to expect of the young boy's house, but the cleanliness and meticulous nature of everything inside was still a surprise - especially when it was contrasted with how desolate the place was. Compared to the well-lit dining room in the Namikaze Household, this house here was left to the mercy of midnight. Even when the lone floor lamp was turned on, the dim light looked like it was struggling to make a place amidst the shadows

The boy disappeared for a moment before he dropped a bundle of rolled-up comforters in front of Sumie. The expectation was all in the silence, so Sumie rolled the beddings out and laid them down as she was told.

When Sumie looked up again, she saw Kakashi leaning on the couch that was too small for a teenager to sleep on. The boy furrowed his brows at the discomfort, the air of fatigue oozing out of his body. But clearly, he was determined to camp out here for the sake of his surveillance task. Unfortunately, Sumie might have taken his last set of beddings.

"You should just take the bed in your room. If you curl up your spine like that when you're still growing, you might stay short forever," Sumie said, her quiet voice echoing in the empty room. As usual, she didn't expect any appreciative replies.

"Just because you've got a few more years on me doesn't make you the wiser one," Kakashi snapped back and here it was, the glares of intimidation.

"Well, seeing that I won't die from fatal wounds and I'm immune from Natural Energy overdose, who knows, maybe I'm a yōkai that's been alive for a hundred years," Sumie remarked despite the look of daggers she kept on getting. In that sense, maybe she had it coming.

"Those hundred years must be shitty, if you've forgotten them so easily like they're dust."

That reply was a little too pointed than what Sumie had dealt with. It was so very quiet in the living room, so she could hear her own throat tighten up as the air got stranded in her windpipe. That was when the boy noticed too. His brows tightened into a frown as he looked the other way.

"Maybe you're right. It might not be a bad thing to cut off the past memories." Sumie finally let out a reply light-hearted enough to sweep things under the rug. She didn't exactly lose her memories, but those thousands of years of history that she experienced - along with the origin of her race and the purpose they were bestowed with - might as well not exist here.

"Really, go sleep on an actual bed," Sumie tried again. "With the seal on me, I won't dare to do anything I shouldn't."

The boy's teacher didn't expand on how exactly the seal could be activated, nor did Sumie know who could activate it. It was a smart and reasonable decision, preventing the target from countering the effects of the seal by going after the trigger.

Sumie thought that her words would once again be wasted, but just as she lowered herself onto the floor, the boy stood up from the couch and left for the inner room. He killed the lamp on his way out. Click, the light was gone.

The next morning, Sumie woke up and saw a giant dog wearing a shinobi's headband squatting in the corner.

Just to make sure, she blinked once. The dog didn't go away. In fact, now that she was a little more conscious, she realized that there were actually two dogs - a smaller pug was nested between the ears of the other canine.

"Good morning?" Sumie greeted, a little uncertain.

"Yo," the smaller pug greeted back and the bigger dog under him followed up with a cheerful bark. Oh, the deep voice reminded Sumie that it was the canine creature that reported to Kakashi by the riverbank.

"Kakashi went to the hospital, so he left us here to watch you." The pug went straight to the point, something that Sumie very much appreciated. There was a pause, as the pug took a sniff in the air. Then he added, "but it looks like Kakashi has a guest."

The pug jumped off of the other dog and walked to the door. Sumie watched with amazement as the pug unlocked the door with his paws and let the visitor in.

A brown-haired girl stood by the door, the bag of groceries next to her feet as she bent down and rubbed the pug's back with affection.

"Sorry to intrude," the girl said as she entered. The purple markings on her cheek seemed to curve gently when she gave Sumie a smile. "You might not remember me from yesterday, Sumie-san. I'm Rin."

-o-o-o-

"I don't think this is necessary," Kakashi objected with a grunt. "My ninkens got eyes on her. Or an even better solution is that I just don't go to the hospital."

Rin couldn't help but let out a snicker at that. She pushed Kakashi forward encouragingly, telling him, "No, you definitely should go to the hospital. As you said, Pakkun and Bull are there. They'll protect me, along with the Root that followed me in every shadow."

There was a pause before Rin reminded Kakashi of what they discussed yesterday. "You, Sensei, and Kushina-san won't always be staying in the village to watch her. I can help, and Sensei agreed. Besides, if Sumie-san is after a Jinchuuriki like me, then we might as well test her when all of you are in the village to respond."

Kakashi could be called to the battlefield at any moment along with Minato-sensei. Even Kushina-san, who was a Jinchuuriki, was deemed an indispensable force and was thus deployed to the frontline as needed.

Their presence on the battlefield could save the lives of Konoha-nin. In contrast, Rin wasn't a proper Jinchuuriki that could be trusted, not in the village, and certainly not on the battlefields.

In fact, Rin couldn't even consider herself a proper shinobi anymore, with the sorry state she was in. Kakashi didn't know this and Rin couldn't tell him, but whenever she tried to use chakra, it was as if a voice was speaking in her head, telling her that it was a power that she couldn't control.

Rin wanted to be a medical-nin that could heal wounds, knowing that Kakashi was always the kind to get injured and brushed it off. Yet, whenever she gathered up her chakra, wishing to heal, fear washed over her, telling her that all she could bring was destruction.

But for now, Rin pushed all those terrible thoughts down and gave Kakashi a smile. "Go. When you come back, we can eat lunch together."

Kakashi didn't look happy, but Rin's reassurance convinced him to give it a try. With a nod, her silver-haired teammate flickered in the direction of the hospital, faster than Rin could follow with her eyes.

Now that Rin was alone, the knowledge that a dozen Root agents hid nearby loomed over her. One would think that Root would pop out and stop her when she approached the house containing a suspicious stranger who had zero background, inexplicable abilities, and unclear motivations. But alas, as Minato-sensei deduced, this was one case that Elder Shimura would be happy to see.

Root wanted information on Sumie, so it really was two birds with one stone when they had two targets at the same place. Moreover, if Sumie had acted against Rin, then that was even better for Elder Shimura, who was just waiting for Minato-sensei to have a slip-up.

Sacrifices needed to be made for results, that might as well be Root's motto.

Rin took a deep breath, but before she could knock, the door already popped open by none other than the small ninken.

"You might not remember me from yesterday, Sumie-san. I'm Rin." Rin started with an introduction. She held up the bag of the grocery she got from the market and added, "I, um, brought some groceries for Kakashi-kun."

It wasn't Rin's intention, but she did feel a little bit of heat creeping up on her ears. No fair, she practiced that excuse many times on her way here, but when she actually uttered it in front of another, her heart fluttered for a beat against her will.

Rin felt a little shameless at making it sound like she did this often for Kakashi when in fact that was not the case. But at the same time, she was a little hopeful that perhaps one day, Kakashi-kun would accept more of her affections, even if it was just between friends.

The worst part? Rin felt like Sumie might have noticed her stupid feeling that seemed to have a life of its own. Regardless, the woman returned a smile to her and helped her bring the groceries inside.

As Rin organized the greens from the proteins in Kakashi's empty fridge, she watched Sumie as discreetly as possible while the latter tried to heat up some water under Pakkun's instruction.

It was hard to tell yesterday because Sumie definitely looked like she had gone through some unpleasant stuff. But now that she cleaned herself up with running water and changed into Kushina-san's borrowed clothes, Rin realized that Sumie looked a little younger than she had expected.

The woman rolled up her sleeves to wash the kettle, exposing her left arm without a single scratch on her skin. But the blood Rin saw yesterday was real, and so was the fact that she saw Sumie die in front of her under Kakashi's Chidori.

See, that was somewhat of a problem, because deep down, despite knowing barely anything about Sumie, Rin was already indebted to her.

It was because that Sumie appeared at the wrong place and wrong time that Rin was still alive. It was because of Sumie's death that Rin didn't create another memory for Kakashi that would bring him unimaginable pain and misery.

In hindsight, she should have known, because she too, experienced it when Obito laid down his life for them.

"Is it heating up?" Sumie whispered to Pakkun when the water remained silent after a few minutes. A little worried, she lifted the pot and hovered her hand over the stove. Based on her frown, she wasn't feeling any heat. "Will you little master believe me, if I tell him that I didn't break anything intentionally?"

"The appliances in this house are old. Give it a few more moments." Pakkun was a little less concerned as he slouched on the counter. Sumie heeded his words and thankfully, the water started bubbling after another five minutes, making the woman let out a sigh of relief.

"Sumie-san," Rin called out before she could stop herself. That caught the attention of both Sumie and Pakkun. "Minato-sensei wants to trust you," and so do I.

Otherwise, Minato-sensei wouldn't have allowed Rin to approach Sumie. The Root might be there as surveillance for Three-Tail, but ultimately, they had their own agenda that might not exactly align with preventing harm from coming to Rin.

"For a shinobi village, trust for the outsider is rarely spared. Countless chances had to be given to prove that the outsider isn't an enemy, but only one betrayal is needed to prove that they are. So, not many are willing to give those chances, knowing that every one of them is a decision that can be held against them." Surprisingly, Rin felt calmer as she went, knowing exactly what words she wanted to say next.

It wasn't a complicated idea. Rin knew that it was unfair to Sumie if she was dragged into this mess that she didn't invite upon herself. However, Rin just wanted to let the woman know that Minato-sensei was doing more than what most shinobi would do - would dare to do - in case she didn't know how a shinobi village worked, which she likely did not.

"Sensei hopes that you'll pass them, he really does. So if it truly is your freedom that you seek, then Minato-sensei will try to give you as many chances as it takes to prove that." Rin finished her sentence with nothing less than a crack in her voice. She covered her mouth in a moment of embarrassment, and a cup of hot water was placed in her direction.

"Be careful, it's hot," Sumie said. Rin placed her hand around the cup and indeed, the heat seeped out of the porcelain, rather helpful against the morning cold in this changing season.

"I understand," the woman continued. "I can tell your teacher is in a difficult place, with both wars on the outside and vultures hovering nearby. So rest assured, I'll do my best to regain my freedom."

For a quick second, Rin just had to make sure that the privacy seal was on in this place, because did Sumie-san just call Elder Shimura a vulture? Certainly, she didn't know that Roots were keeping guard outside, but even then, that was bold … and somehow satisfying.

"Also, I'm not ungrateful to kindness. So if your teacher ever needs my help, I'm willing to return that kindness as long as it's not against my beliefs," Sumie said as she poured herself a cup of hot water as well. "But be warned, I don't believe in your shinobi conflicts, so I doubt he'd find a situation to cash in."

Rin knew that it was just word of the mouth. Maybe her perception of Sumie was making her biased, but she couldn't help feeling like those light words were settling into something more concrete - like a contract.

Sumie paused a little as she let out a quiet laugh. "I would return the favour to … your Kakashi-kun as well, seeing that it's because of his decision that I'm not on a dissecting table. But he did blast a hole in my chest and then dragged me back to his not-so-friendly village a few days later. So I think that sort of evens it out."

Rin would admit that she barely got the second half of that speech because her face was heating up like a lightbulb before the first sentence even ended.

"He's not my … I mean, he is my teammate and friend, but …" Rin was stuttering, so to save herself from further mortification, she just stopped talking.

It was difficult for Rin to explain, not just because of her embarrassment, but because she too was trying to figure out where exactly her childhood infatuation was heading. After all, love was broader than Rin had known.

Rin loathed her own weakness in the face of Three-Tail because she realized that before anything else, she just wanted to be Kakashi's comrade in battle, a friend that he could truly rely on. That was what Obito wanted to do, she figured, and what Kakashi - what both of her teammates - deserved.

Thankfully, Sumie didn't tease her further. If anything, Rin found the surveillance mission to be more … comfortable than she'd imagined. Rather than awkward silence, Sumie asked about Konoha, all just trivial things, like the weather, the history, and even the location of the market.

Rin was careful with what she said, but Sumie never crossed the line in the first place, always keeping the topic within an acceptable boundary. Her attentiveness made Rin feel like she was actually curious, and in turn, time passed by with Rin barely feeling the boredom typical of a surveillance job.

Kakashi returned when Rin and Sumie had just finished making lunch. He gave Rin a look of inquiry when Sumie wasn't looking, and Rin nodded, unable to think of any reason that Sumie did not pass. Really, the ninken could also confirm.

The lunch was eaten in silence, ending with a message that Kakashi brought for Sumie. "We're leaving. Minato-sensei wants you to meet someone."

-o-o-o-

"That's a tavern," Sumie commented as a matter of fact. The smell of booze floating out of the entrance was quite a tell-tale sign.

"Yeah, that's the place," Kakashi confirmed in a bland voice. But Sumie caught the little twitch of his eye as if he also found the instructions to be slightly beyond reason. That only lasted for a moment before the boy let out a shrug, realizing that it wasn't really his problem.

"Just head in. You'll know who to meet." That was all Sumie heard before the young boy turned and left without another glance. Shaking her head, Sumie lifted the curtain and went in.

At first, Sumie wasn't sure what she should be looking for and nobody in the tavern gave a damn about the aimless newcomer. With no better option, Sumie walked deeper into the building, past the loud chatters and boisterous laughter, past the busy workers who tried to balance three bottles in one hand, and past the bored bartender slipping himself a cup of sake.

Finally, she felt the sign.

Sumie turned the corner and headed into a small room tucked away from the public. The bamboo door was left ajar - an invitation to those who were called. Without any hesitation, Sumie pushed open the door and let it close behind her in an unhurried motion.

"Welcome," a white-haired man said in a spirited voice, the cup of sake swirling with his hand, looking dangerously close to spilling out. "I just had to see it for myself, your connection with Natural Energy."

"The name's Jiraiya. You can say that Minato is my dear student." The man introduced himself after he gulped down the drink. Sumie didn't doubt his word, for she felt it clearly, Jiraiya was another Enlightened One who had been touched by the essence of Natural.

Or actually, Sumie should probably get used to calling them by what they were in this world, seeing that the title 'Enlightened One' was neither accurate nor did it have a positive connotation to her. Jiraiya, like Minato, was a Sage.

"Well, don't just stand there, Ojou-chan. Feel free to have a taste, it's Fire Country's famous sake. A local specialty, you can say." Jiraiya waved his hands at Sumie and then at the sake bottles piled up on the table.

Ojou-chan, hmm. Sumie wondered for a second, what would Jiraiya think, if she told him that she was probably older than fifty of him added together. Nevertheless, she wasn't about to get shy now. So she followed Jiraiya's direction and sat down on the opposite chair.

"Sumie-chan, if you don't mind me asking, what does Natural Energy feel like to you?" Jiraiya asked with nonchalance, but there was definitely a hint of curiosity mixed in.

"It's just like breathing," Sumie replied. Both the straightforwardness and the audacity in those words made the man pause in surprise. "Like how breathing is natural to all of us - an instinct that cannot be overridden - the existence of Natural Energy, both around me and inside me, also feels like instinct."

"That's frankly quite amazing. A miracle of Nature, I'd say," Jiraiya exclaimed. No doubt, the man was intrigued, but there was very little invasiveness or greed that Sumie felt from him. He was content with the pieces he heard. The rest of the knowledge, if it came, would be received all in due time.

"Then how does it work for your lineage of practitioners?" Sumie asked a question of her own. The man framed the atmosphere like a conversation - filled with booze and flimsy language, but okay - and he indeed kept the promise of reciprocity.

"I'm sure Minato explained the basics, including why you should be a stone statue by this point, so I'll get to the fun part." By Jiraiya's cheerful tone, he sounded quite happy with this topic. "Minato and I learned the existence of Natural Energy from the Sage Toads, living in their own realm called Mt. Myōboku."

"See, Sage Toads are the true masters of Senjutsu. They have lived longer than we humans can even imagine and they know Natural Energy better than anyone else," Jiraiya went on, popping open another bottle of alcohol. "There are also other Sage animals that know how to use Natural Energy, but all of us are only borrowers of something greater."

The white-haired man did not drink the sake straight away, so for once, he sounded sober. "To all those that practice Senjutsu, animals or humans, Natural Energy is sacred. So we must treat this blessing with care so as to not lose ourselves." Both physically and mentally.

"Oh geez, I made it sound so serious." The Sage took a big sip of liquid happiness and just like that, the sobriety was no more. "I'm not trying to lecture your attitudes or anything. I doubt that I'm in the place to do so when you're clearly in a different relationship with Natural Energy."

"Let's see, hmm … how about I make you an offer?" Jiraiya nodded at Sumie as he swiped an unopened bottle from the side and placed it in front of Sumie. "If you beat me in drinking, I'll take you to see the Sage Toads at Mt. Myōboku."

Sumie looked at the bottle in front of her and she truly wondered, was this a test of her physical limits, or tolerance to absurdity? It was unfortunate that she was tempted by the suggestion, but just to make sure …

"Who's paying for all the alcohol?" Sumie asked, making Jiraiya burst into laughter.

"Feeling confident, are we?" Jiraiya said amidst his laughter. "Worry not, I'll pay for all the sake, however many we drink. But just one more rule, I suppose."

The man held up a finger and Sumie waited for him to elaborate. "Something as heavenly as sake should be enjoyed in the company of fun. So let's keep the conversations flowing, shall we? I promise I'm fun to talk to."

Sumie raised an eyebrow, expressing her doubt, but before Jiraiya could protest, she opened the bottle and downed it in one go. She set the bottle down and the clear sound it made confirmed that there was no liquid left.

"You don't joke around, Ojou-chan." It only took Jiraiya a moment to recover from his falling jaw. Then, he followed up with a bottle of his own.

"But I mean it," Jiraiya said as he decided to take a pause before finishing the other half of the bottle. "I'm somewhat of a novelist. There's not a single soul in this village that's more fun to talk to than me."

"I thought you're a shinobi," Sumie replied. The second bottle was already in her hand, pressuring Jiraiya to finish his share so the game could continue.

"I am Konoha's shinobi. Always was, and always will be. Just as Minato and those kids are fighting in the current war, I fought in the previous one," Jiraiya admitted with ease. "But as of now, I'm retired from active duty. My allegiance will always be with Konoha, but that doesn't interfere with my wish to tell stories."

Jiraiya slapped another empty bottle onto the table and it toppled over and rolled to the side. The neck of the bottle pointed at Sumie as if prompting the next player.

"Consider me curious, so what kind of stories?" Sumie peeled open another bottle - the third one, the fourth one? It didn't matter as long as she kept up until the end. The aroma of the sake was starting to blend with the surroundings and lose its uniqueness.

"Oh, all sorts of them. The stories that I've seen during my travels, the stories that I've heard, and also …" Jiraiya swirled the bottle between his fingers as a glint of enthusiasm melted in his eyes. "... the stories that I believe in."

It was around the sixth bottle that Jiraiya was finally hit by the flood known as sake.

Sumie told him about the times she spent in Haru's village, as requested by the man. Jiraiya listened quietly even if Sumie only had trivial things to tell, like the ample amount of mugworts that they collected daily because that herb always seemed to run out.

Another bottle was poured down Sumie's throat and she didn't even flinch. Jiraiya, on the other hand, fumbled with his fingers as he tried to pull something out of his saddle. The alcohol clearly drowned some of his dexterity, but Sumie waited in patience until the man pulled out a pocket-size paperback and pushed it in her direction.

"Didn't you ask me what kind of stories I write?" Yes, but that was two bottles ago. "Let me give you a copy of my greatest work yet, signed by the author himself!" Jiraiya was going to look for a pen, but Sumie highly doubted that he'd be able to find one in a short time.

Instead, Sumie stopped his endeavour by pushing a new bottle in his direction. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, criticizing her impatience. Sumie merely shrugged and Jiraiya started the bottle with a chuckle.

Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi, Sumie read on the front cover. Sounds like a hero movie, she thought. "What's the premise?"

"Oh, as its name suggests, it's the adventure of a young shinobi who dreamed of being a hero," Jiraiya answered, a certain fondness leaked out of his breath along with the pungent smell of alcohol.

"He trains as he grows up, wins against the enemies, but also learns the weight of fighting. So, his dream changes, from becoming a hero in the shinobi world, to breaking its curse - one made of conflicts, hatreds, and revenge that run in cycles - so that the shinobi world never needs a hero again."

At that point, Sumie couldn't help but let out a laugh. "I asked for the premise. You just told me the whole plot."

"Haha, sorry about that, hope it didn't kill your interest. I guess I'm quite invested in my work." Jiraiya laughed at the volume of thunder. His voice grew a little softer as he added, "It's inspired by a kind boy that I've met before."

The man was looking at her expectantly, clearly waiting for some kind of commentary. Sumie tried to avoid it by drinking another bottle, but the white-haired man was quite hard to ignore. So with a sigh, she relented. "To be honest, it sounds a little cliché, and …"

"Unrealistic?" Jiraiya supplied the word that Sumie was thinking. "Ojou-chan, if even you - someone who only learned about the shinobi wars a few days ago - thought so, then it must sound like a wild dream to most shinobi."

With lightheartedness, Jiraiya told her, "It's indeed quite realistic and one can say, naive, given what our shinobi knew of the world. Probably why the novel kind of flopped. Hey, no shame in admitting the shortcomings in my composition."

Jiraiya swallowed the last mouthful of sake and pushed the bottle to the side. "But as I said, I want to write about the stories I believe in. They say the start of making a dream come true is to realize that it's possible. Books and stories, as I've gathered, are best for spreading the word."

Sumie rubbed the book cover with her thumb and ran her fingers through the pages inside. It was far from a pristine, new copy, full of scratches that spoke of its rough handling. Sumie figured that it was probably a copy that Jiraiya bought for himself, perhaps as a keepsake, or maybe as a desperate attempt to save the sales.

But either way, Sumie tucked it into her pocket. She would read it sometimes. It wasn't like she had better things to do while she was stuck in Konoha under indefinite probation.

"Any plans for future work, Jiraiya-san?" Sumie asked and it was like she opened a dam that she didn't mean to.

"Oh, I'm thinking of a change of scenery with something a little more mainstream … What, an author's gotta pay for his drinks. Recently, Romance really speaks to me. People really don't give enough credit to the subtlety of love … hmm, maybe it needs a little spice, you know …" Sumie pretended that she was too busy drinking to engage in any brainstorming that ventured too far from the PG rating.

By the fifteenth bottle, Jiraiya was probably seeing doubles of everything.

"Shhh, slow down," Jiraiya complained. His words slurred as he tried to convince Sumie to put her newest bottle down. "You're not savouring the taste as you should. What a waste of fine sake!" Letting out a sigh, Sumie switched to small sips and Jiraiya nodded in satisfaction.

With shaky hands, Jiraiya opened another bottle with some difficulty. "Say, Sumie-chan, what will you do after you're free from Konoha; free from the shinobi conflicts as you've wished?"

What will I do? Sumie didn't think it was the alcohol, but she nevertheless had trouble thinking of an answer.

Right now, Sumie couldn't possibly think of a way where she would be able to fit into this world - not just amongst the humans, but in this world as a whole. For a creature that relied on the energy of Nature, it was clear that she was an accident that happened outside of its natural cycle. Where would she go? How should she act, to make sure that this Nature was not perturbed by her intrusive existence?

Unfortunately, Jiraiya's intuition remained sharp even if he was as drunk as a pile of mush. He caught the pause as well as the lingering uncertainty that spoke of her aimless future.

"I think …" Jiraiya started and with the way he struggled to come up with his words, it was not very convincing. "I think … You'll like stories. Just like savouring the taste of sake, perhaps you'd enjoy savouring the stories you've heard, the sight you've seen."

To Sumie's surprise, Jiraiya threw his hand out all of a sudden and asked, "Do you hear them?"

With their room quieting down, a different mixture of sounds was starting to become audible through the walls. Sumie heard the rowdy arguments between two men, flaunting how lovely their newborn babies were, each one trying to one-up the other.

There was another one that was sobbing. He was pouring his gut out to the bartender about how he just met the love of his life while he travelled with his merchant caravan. The love lasted for a day before he had to leave with his master without ever talking to the girl.

Sumie could also hear the shy chatters between the servers. The boy was asking the girl if she'd like to go to lunch with him the next time they were off from work. There was a few seconds of silence before the girl accepted the invitation with timidness in her voice …

"See, sake has … stories, a different favour for a different cup, and this is … this is only one tavern out of all the, umm, taverns in the world." Jiraiya was very adamant about finishing his words despite the slurring that kept interrupting him. Sumie wasn't really sure how sake got involved in all of this, but she did understand his point. Kind of.

By the eighteenth bottle, Sumie was the last one standing.

Quietly, she finished the last bit of the liquid lingering at the bottom, wondering if Jiraiya would remember his promise to take her to the Sage Toads, or even the promise to pay for the mountain of sake bottles here, for that matter.

It was then that she noticed a tiny noise coming from the bottom of the desk. Sumie bent down and found, to her confusion, a small toad, giving off an air of awkwardness at being caught. Sumie raised an eyebrow as the toad squealed rather weakly.

"Jiraiya's toad?" She asked and the small toad nodded. Perfect, then it must know Namikaze. "Do me a favour and get Namikaze-san here, won't you?"

Minato arrived about ten minutes later and was immediately rendered speechless by the trophy of empty bottles stacked on the table.

"Your teacher said he'll pay," Sumie nodded at the white-haired Sage who lay unconscious by the table. "But I don't think he'll be able to do that now."

"Ah, yes, I'll pay for all of the drinks," Minato reassured her, before sliding his wasted teacher onto his shoulder. "Do you remember your way back? Should I get Kakashi to lead the way?"

Sumie nodded once, then shook her head. Somehow, Minato deciphered the meaning and bid her goodbye while carrying Jiraiya out of the door. Sumie was surprised that he allowed her to walk around the village unwatched, but as the toad reminded her, maybe she wasn't as unsupervised as she thought.

The boy who was assigned to clean up after them was shaken by the sight in front of him. His jaw fell open when he made sense of the thirty-some sake bottles, all empty and finished. Then, his pupils trembled when he saw Sumie still standing, barely feeling any effect.

Savouring the stories, is that right? If Sumie couldn't quite figure out where she'd fit in this world where she had no history, then maybe being an observer would chase away the boredom in the meantime.

It was kind of a spur of the moment when Sumie passed by the main hall and saw the commotion. "Come on, Chizuru-chan, just have a drink with me." She heard a customer saying to a waitress who was unfortunate enough to be nearby.

The girl looked flustered as she stuttered to refuse. Sadly, it was always hard to reason with the drunk. In that sense, Jiraiya was above average.

The bartender - also the bar owner, as Jiraiya let it slip during their chat - rolled his eyes in annoyance. He threw his wiping cloth onto the counter, ready to storm out, but Sumie was a little faster.

"Watch out, Mister, it's about to fall." Sumie swiped the porcelain cup that was hanging dangerously by the edge of the table and pushed it in the customer's direction. Already disoriented by the sudden topic change, he took the cup from Sumie under her encouraging smile.

"Looks like your bottle is empty, why don't you let …" Sumie paused a little as she remembered the girl's name "... Chizuru put in another order for you?" The man was too confused and too occupied with his drink to reply with anything but a hum. Sumie took that as a yes and led the young girl away.

The girl gave her a deep bow in gratitude before she disappeared into the back room. Sumie, on the other hand, walked towards the bar. Perhaps the copious amount of alcohol enough to drown a person was not without its effect on Sumie.

"Are you hiring helpers?" She asked the bar owner, who looked amused at her audacity.

"Not usually, but …" The man did a double take on Sumie before he added, "when can you start?"

-o-o-o-

"Now, Jiraiya-sensei, where exactly are you staying in the village?" Minato muttered to himself, not really expecting an answer given how drunk his teacher was. So, it really felt like a ghost story, when he heard a response. "Just off to the left, three streets away. The inn has an onsen."

"Sensei, you're not wasted," Minato commented as he let go of Jiraiya. With the nimble way his teacher landed on the rooftop, albeit with a slight fumble, he was definitely not as wasted as he acted to be.

"Ha, your old man still got a few tricks up his sleeves. It looks like Sumie-chan doesn't know that alcohol can be purged with chakra." Jiraiya-sensei looked quite proud of his skill in acting like a drunkard. "Shall we take it back to the inn?"

"Sensei, what do you think?" Minato asked as soon as Jiraiya turned on the privacy seal. The signs of intoxication were already gone from Jiraiya's face and the sobriety always made him look a little more serious.

"If it's as Sumie-chan said, that using Natural Energy is like breathing to her, then she really shouldn't be involved in our shinobi war, for her sake, and for ours," Jiraiya answered while letting out a sigh.

"Nobody can be sure of how powerful Natural Energy can be when it's not limited by constraints that come with its usage. Introducing a weapon like that in our wars will only spur new ones revolving around it."

Minato nodded in agreement. He had the same idea and it was being solidified with every passing second as they knew more about this mysterious woman.

"I think it's sound, your idea of putting her in my spy network first to fade out her connection with Konoha, before letting her go," Jiraiya said after some thought.

Minato didn't just ask Jiraiya-sensei to return to assess Sumie's connection with Natural Energy. As long as she passed the safety check, Minato considered putting her under Jiraiya's wings as one of his informants that was being spread around the countries.

Other than the one hit-wonder outside of Sumie's old village, nobody knew of Sumie's skill in combat against skilled shinobi - maybe except Minato's poor sink, one could argue - so it was reasonable to put her in a non-combat role that could capitalize on her undetectable chakra signature.

Furthermore, Jiraiya's informants reported to him, before he consolidated the information and passed it back to Konoha. This anonymity meant that no one could question if Sumie was still performing her job under Jiraiya's control when there were no credits given.

"As long as you're sure of her intention, then we can get that started." Jiraiya-sensei paused a little before he let out a chuckle. "She sounded like the kind that likes stories; maybe she'll enjoy travelling the world - wherever the wind blows - as I did."

Now that part was settled, they moved on to more shinobi-specific problems.

"Kushina and I will return to the Konoha-Kuno battlefront soon, likely Kakashi too. Given the recent war decision, we need all the combat power we have," Minato said and his teacher nodded, not at all surprised.

To them, the outcome at that particular Konoha-Kumo battlefield was quite clear. If Konoha let things stall as they had been, they were unlikely to win against Kumo.

Kumo had the advantage in a battle of persistence. Overall, they had more supplies and more healthy soldiers, having been through fewer losses when the war first started between Iwa, Suna, and Konoha.

At its core, the war between shinobi villages was to fight for no other than mundane reasons such as resources, economy, and influence. Things like revenge, retribution, and hatred were the byproducts that eventually grew into a life of their own.

The region fought over by the Konoha-Kumo battlefront was a land rich in ores and buzzing with trading routes. If Konoha lost the stronghold there, then Kumo would more or less win the prize that this war revolved around. It also subjected Konoha to the risk of being invaded further, for it would have struggled to reform another battlefront should Kumo decide to march deeper.

So, Konoha decided to crank up the strength of their assault before Kumo could drag out the battle. Basically, to defend by attacking with all they got, in the hope of breaking Kumo's foothold there once and for all.

Whatever happened at this Konoha-Kumo battlefront could spell the end of the war, but it was the victor that would get the say.

"Will you stay in the village in our absence, Jiraiya-sensei, to watch over Rin and Sumie?" Minato asked and the Sannin nodded without any hesitation.

"Of course, that's why I came back," Jiraiya replied as he tapped his finger on the table. A frown appeared on his face soon after, as he reminded Minato, "I've been trying to gather information on the mysterious group of shinobi that attacked the civilian village. Unfortunately, my network found nothing. As your boy suggested, they are very good and highly secretive."

"Not even any hints from Kiri?" Minato asked. Given everything, Kiri was the most likely culprit. But Jiraiya merely shook his head.

"I snuck in to check for myself, but I heard nothing of sorts. If Kiri is behind this, then it must be a plan only known to their highest power." Jiraiya's hand went for the sake bottle always hanging on his belt, before he realized that the bottle was already gone in the tavern.

He clicked his tongue in displeasure but nevertheless continued. "Although, Kiri is under a lot of turmoil recently. There was dissatisfaction towards the Sandaime Mizukage, from both the Water Daimyō and their shinobi. It was the Mizukage's plan to use the Three-Tail to avert the fate of losing to Konoha, but its failure damaged the trust of his people greatly."

Sandaime Mizukage, Suigen, was the kind that always had a mixture of boldness and vindictiveness in him. He was the kind that wanted to take someone down with him even as he died. In his younger years, that worked quite well for him to rise to the Kage seat. But in the situation of a war, that did not bode well for both his people and his enemy.

"I'll be vigilant, Sensei," Minato promised. If those shinobi were indeed sent by the Mizukage, then they were unlikely to return empty-handed. Any silence in activity was merely the calm before a storm could be stirred up.

"And I'll watch out for Rin-chan at this end," Jiraiya followed up quickly, finishing the last bit of their discussion.

The morning after, Minato, Kushina, Kakashi, and much of Konoha's battle-capable force were deployed to the Fire-Thunder border. Unlike the defensive stance from before, their order this time was to push through the frontline and destroy Kumo's stronghold before they destroyed Konoha's.

Merely a day after the battle commenced, one of Konoha's supply routes to the Fire-Thunder border - a major one, at that - was attacked by a group of shinobi highly suspected to be Kiri-nin using guerilla warfare.

That tipped the scales of the active battle, but not in favour of Konoha.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8 - 流金 (Liquid Gold)

"Namikaze! You dare to stay still for longer than a blink and I'll blast you to pieces!"

A ball of ink was thrown into the air and blasted open like fireworks before Minato could respond to Killer B's taunting. But then again, he wasn't sure there was anything he could say to make the situation better, even if he wanted to.

In this war between Kumo and Konoha, the battle between Killer B and Minato was probably the most dangerous and yet the most stable part of the warfare, simply because of how difficult it was for one of them to kill the other.

The corrosive ink splashed all around the battleground, chewing through the grass, the leaves, the barks, and inevitably, a number of Hiraishin seals that Minato had managed to set up in the vicinity. That move was to be expected. After all those fights they had, Kumo's Eight-Tail Jinchuuriki knew by habit that he needed to do everything he could to destroy Minato's Hiraishin.

Despite the rain of corrosive ink, Minato activated Hiraishin without a moment of uncertainty. He teleported to a seal that was stuck on a branch. His feet barely touched the hard surface before he flickered away, barely escaping the sludge of ink that burnt through the leaves above.

Killer B turned around sharply as Minato ambushed him from behind. A thick tentacle barged its way between the Jinchuuriki and Minato, interjecting the ball of swirling chakra in his hand before the Rasengan could grow any bigger.

The clashing force still shredded into the tentacle, but it was a small price to pay when the alternative was to be hit by the full force of the Rasengan in point-blank range. Killer B didn't hesitate in discarding the piece of damaged flesh. He never planned to keep it on him anyway, not when there was a chance that Minato had touched it and placed the Hiraishin seal.

"Ah, having the ability to discard a part of your body sure is nice," Minato commented. There were already quite a few broken tentacles littered on the battlefield, not stale enough to have dissipated into chakra yet, merely adding more obstacles to his movements. "But I won't make that a habit if I were you."

Nature's principle dictated that the one who produced the venom was rarely harmed by it. Therefore, Killer B himself was immune to the corrosive damage from his own ink and that extended to Eight-Tail's body parts.

Those Hiraishin that Minato placed on the cut-off tentacles survived in the earlier splash of ink because they were protected by the flesh that came from the venom's origin.

Minato teleported behind a discarded tentacle and with a rush of wind chakra to his feet, he kicked the slab of tentacle towards its old owner in an explosion of air.

Killer B barely got the time to let out an indignant curse as streams of lightning gathered on the two blades in his hand. The Kumo-nin sliced down his blades and the lightning bit into the slab of tentacle with the ferocity of sea monsters.

Minato made it before the Hiraishin seal could be destroyed along with the piece of tentacle that it was stuck to. The sound of lightning shredding the flesh served as background noises to the flash of yellow that breached his enemy's defence, a ball of swirling chakra already growing in his hand.

Rasengan imploded the moment it dug into Killer B's body. Minato teleported away from the violent currents before they could wrap him in as well. Killer B, on the other hand, was thrown back by the force and cleared a path in the forest with his body.

Despite his opponent being buried by debris, Minato did not relax at the apparent victory. He knew that Killer B expanded Eight-Tail's characteristics over his torso at the last moment so that the thick, elastic nature of the creature's skin could help negate some of the damage.

Silence seemed to condense in the ominous atmosphere. But it wasn't Killer B nor Minato who broke the thick tension, but the explosions in the distance, where the main forces of Kumo and Konoha were fighting to drive the other side back.

Minato's expression hardened when he saw the blue flames rising in the distance. A growl sounded in the distance and in response, he could see the glistening metal chains that sparkled under the sunlight.

Minato activated the Hiraishin in a heartbeat, tugging at that familiar mark held by a precious person. The first thing he saw was Kushina's vibrant red hair, dancing around her as she whipped the adamantine chains forward.

The second thing was the horde of flaming blue fireballs - were those rodents? - that rained down from the sky.

Minato threw out a handful of kunai with the Hiraishin seals attached. Before the seals fully stuck their landings, he was already moving. A series of teleportations combined with body flickers allowed him to maximize his speed and agility. He grabbed his fellow Konoha-nin that didn't have enough time or strength to escape the hellish assault, as many as he could, and moved them out of the path of destruction.

As Minato pulled yet another injured shinobi out of the crossfire and headed back to Kushina, he was just in time to see the cause of that earlier catastrophe jumping to escape the Adamantine sealing chains.

It was a young kunoichi, no older than Kakashi and Rin, covered in a thick layer of chakra; it moved around her like liquid flames as black patterns swirled into the blue pelt.

Ah, that must be the rumoured next generation of Two-tailed Jinchuuriki. To think that Kumo allowed her to join the battle this late in the war, Konoha did not see that coming, which meant that it was bad news.

The chakra claws extended out of the girl's fingertips as she crouched down with a growl. Her eyes narrowed like a cat's slitted pupil when the blue aura around her flared up violently. Another attack was coming to wreak havoc on Konoha's battlefront.

"Oh hell no, you don't!" Kushina said with gritted teeth as she forced the Adamantine chains to whip around, determined to restrain the Jinchuuriki before she could unleash another attack.

Adamantine chains drilled down from all directions, punching into the ground and chasing the young Kumo-nin into running. In the blink of an eye, a metallic chain snaked up from the ground in the girl's blind spot and pierced one of her flaming tails. The young kunoichi was pulled back by the sudden momentum, and she growled in anger.

The kunai was already ready in Minato's hand. But before he could blitz in and put the Two-Tail Jinchuuriki out of commission in her moment of weakness, another storm was brewing in the distance and it came in the form of a Tailed-Beast Bomb that was growing in the jaws of a giant bull-headed octopus.

"Minato, we'll hold the line here and push through!" Ah, that was from … Uchiha Fugaku. Even in this battlefield filled with dust and smoke, it was easy to pick out the pairs of sharingan that glowed red, regrouped from the earlier assault with their clan head at the front.

On cue with Fugaku's words, a barrage of fireballs and fire dragons sailed towards the Two-Tail Jinchuuriki - who had just cut off her own tail to escape the sealing chains - and the troupe of Kumo-nin that tried to break through.

The appearance of Two-Tail certainly caught Konoha by surprise, but Konoha's battalion was far from depleted. Not yet.

"Go, I'll keep the newcomer company," Kushina yelled at Minato, adding the last bit of reassurance with the fiery determination in her eyes. With that, Minato wasted no time moving to intercept whatever god-forsaken stuff Killer B was cooking up.

The Tailed-Beast Bomb was fired before Minato could reach the transformed Jinchuuriki, but his kunai made it to the path that the bomb would inevitably travel. The branch under Minato's feet shook once and Minato already reappeared in the sky.

In one smooth motion, he grabbed the Hiraishin kunai in midair and swiped out a different seal with his other hand, all the while the menacing purple sphere was about to zoom past him in a size that could swallow him whole.

Yet, Minato was fearless as he threw the Hiraishin kunai down and pushed the other seal forward. The two kanji - '止 (still)' and '斬 (slice)' - cradled by complicated ink patterns glowed in vigour as Minato pushed his chakra in.

For a fraction of a second, the roaring energy in that ball of destruction turned stagnant like a river being frozen by the cold, harsh winter. Then, it was as if a thin metallic wire lashed out from the seal, slicing through the statue made brittle by the ice.

The integrity of the jutsu shattered. The harmony that existed within the different chakras supporting the construct turned unstable. The result of that was a deafening explosion in the air that seemed to crack the sky itself, but nevertheless, was too far to affect the battlefield in the distant ground.

Minato escaped through Hiraishin. The next time he popped up near one of Killer B's severed tentacles, a rope of ink was already prepared for him. Immediately, the ambush was torn apart by the streams of wind chakra from his fist.

Killer B already shrunk back to his human size; blood dripped down the man's forehead and dyed his abdomen an ugly crimson. He had dealt with Minato enough times to know that the bigger and clunkier his size was, the more disadvantages he had against Minato.

"Even if my brother's not here, you ain't going anywhere." Killer B spat out a mouthful of blood that clogged his throat. Konoha's intelligence placed A, the Yondaime Raikage who succeeded after his father in the midst of war, at the Iwa-Kumo border, trying to gain control over a region that used to belong to Kumo, then got taken by Iwa some decades ago.

Despite having retreated from their conflict with Konoha and Suna in self-preservation, Iwa's defence proved to be a hard rock to chew through. Neither side was about to give up the fertile region that was rightfully theirs - or so they both claimed.

The combination of A and B used to be undefeatable on their paths, claiming many victories for Kumo. Konoha's situation against Kumo only improved after Minato was able to hold the duo at bay with his Hiraishin, just barely.

The rough situation at the Iwa-Kumo border separated the Raikage from his brother and lessened the pressure on Minato and Konoha greatly. Even then, the destructive nature of the Eight-Tail Jinchuuriki prevented Minato from storming through Kumo's normal shinobi battalion. The moment Minato took his eyes off Killer B, one of those Tailed-Beast bombs would be fired toward Konoba's forces.

"Victory belongs to Kumo, Yellow Flash. How long can your shinobi last when your supply has been smouldered? How many will have to die from injuries before you surrender?" Killer B mocked. Minato remain unaffected, but deep down, he knew that the man spoke the truth.

This was the third day since the guerilla attacks cut off their supply line. Minato didn't think that Kirigakure would be wasting its own fighters just to ensure Kumo's victory over Konoha; he also wasn't convinced that it was all there was.

Regardless, injuries and exhaustion were building up like slow-acting poison and they were running out of supplies to relieve the symptoms. With the surprise addition of Two-Tail joining the battle, the fast-paced strategy that Konoha was relying on was starting to disintegrate into the worst outcome - a stalemate.

Despite all of that, Minato shook his head and replied, "You know me, Killer B. I always stand by that speed is of the essence."

Killer B let out a snort at those stubborn words, as if saying that it didn't matter if Minato was the fastest shinobi in this world, he wouldn't be fast enough to mend all the cracks in Konoha's battlefront and logistics.

That, Minato would have to agree. But it wasn't just his speed that he was counting on, but that of every Konoha-nin fighting with him, at places both within and outside of his sight. At this point, all he really could do was hold onto his trust and speed through whatever and whoever it was that stood in front of him.

Once again, Minato flicked his kunai and jumped through space.

-o-o-o-

Kakashi's father had once told him about the Hatake Clan. We were a clan of hunters, the best on the continent, I was taught, his father told him as they lay on the training ground, ending their training sessions with moments filled with the summer breeze.

Our noses are the best gift in the world, isn't that right, Kakashi? His father laughed while rustling Kakashi's unruly hair. No prey will ever escape from you and … just take a whiff and you'll always find your way home.

Well, that stopped working so well from beyond the grave.

Marking, tracking, hunting; Kakashi repeated the process many times. Sometimes he succeeded, adding another layer of blood onto his blade; other times, he failed, alerting his target before he could close the jaws on them. On a few occasions, the prey bites back with more danger than Kakashi was to them.

Kakashi swooped down from the branch, cutting through the thick mist with both his body and his blade. Perhaps it was intuition, or perhaps it was the sound that the metal made when it travelled through the air, the enemy shinobi forced his body to the side and Kakashi's sword left no more than a slash on his shoulder.

Without wasting a moment, Kakashi landed with a roll and flicked his sword up in defence. A whiff of frozen air spread out from in front of him and Kakashi saw the shinobi dragging his finger across his shoulder. A trail of thin ice covered his wound, stopping the bleeding and preventing the smell of his blood from leaking into the air.

That was the Ice Release of the Yuki Clan. Like all those Kirigakure assassins that got sent here, erasing his trace was second nature. Konoha, on the other hand, could not afford to let them get away. As long as a single one remained uncaught, it posed an unbearable danger to their supply route and would continue to divert their forces from the Konoha-Kumo battlefront.

The Kiri-nin swiped his hand forward and Kakashi was rushing to dodge the ice arrows flung his way. The ice arrows shattered on the terrain, leaving behind shaved dust that sparkled in the fog. Kakashi's sharingan swirled slowly, allowing him to catch the light ripples in the puddles gathered on the forest floor.

The ripples were not from the stirred water, but the flow of chakra.

Kakashi stabbed his sword into the ground and drove lightning chakra into the metal. The wild electricity did not stop there as it spread out around Kakashi, forming a jagged web of lightning that entrapped all of the water puddles nearby.

There was a struggle between chakra as Kakashi's lightning quickly overwhelmed the threads of water. Eventually, the streams of lightning jumped up and bared their fangs at the Kiri-nin. In response, two mirrors made of ice rose up in front of the enemy, deflecting Kakashi's attacks like they were nothing more than a sizzle.

Kakashi was already readying his next attack when the Kiri-nin clasped his fingers together in a hand seal. Before he could react, one of the mirrors got pushed forward.

Kakashi's reflection grew bigger as the ice surface crashed forward. The mirror flashed unnaturally and a sense of danger forced Kakashi to swallow down the boiling fire chakra gathered in his throat. His heel already dug into the ground, but before he could flicker onto the branch, something melted out of the mirror with a shocking speed.

Kakashi was locked on by a gaze as cold as a frozen lake. Ice shards started to grow from the Kiri-nin's kunai, lengthening its reach straight into Kakashi's chest despite his best effort to evade the weapon.

In the nick of time, black tendrils stretched under both of them and latched onto their shadows like strings. Immediately, the Kiri-nin took a step back, looking like he got yanked away by an invisible force. Kakashi's body moved on its own as well, lengthening the distance between the two of them.

"Kid, don't just run off like a lone wolf rabid for blood!" The scold came from a distance as Nara Shikaku held onto the Shadow Imitation technique. Beside him, the Akimichi Clan Head took a big gulp of oil from his gourd and used it all to fuel the stream of fire aiming for the Kiri-nin's head.

The shadows controlling Kakashi snapped as the fire rushed to engulf the Kiri-nin. This time, Kakashi flipped away onto the branches without any hesitation.

"Tsk, how troublesome." The Nara Clan Head clicked his tongue in annoyance just as a figure ran out of the flames, covered by melting water that soon would be turned into vapours. Ugly burns were already appearing on Kiri-nin's body, but that didn't stop him from speeding away in a grand escape.

Kakashi was in hunting mode again when a message from Yamanaka-san arrived in his mind. Team 4 is wiped out with one injured enemy escaping. Hatake, track him and Team 2 will follow. This meant that Team 1, including Nara-san and Akimichi-san, would be dealing with the Yuki Clan shinobi.

Like a machine perfectly attuned to input orders, Kakashi switched his target and started to search for the runaway. As expected, the Kiri-nin had already gained quite a distance. But the bloody scent he was giving off was like a beacon in Kakashi's radar.

Kakashi cut through the forest as he sped past the crowns of leaves. Despite the mist and the dense vegetation, he could see the bloody aftermath from not too long ago. Lifeless bodies of enemies and comrades alike sprawled on the forest floor. Kakashi could even hear the wheezes from those heavily injured but had yet to cross death's door.

Clenching his teeth, Kakashi pushed down the urge to slow down, not even allowing himself to be distracted by another look. For a shinobi, duty and sacrifice were two halves of the same picture; the former was taken up by oneself and the latter was entrusted by others.

At the right dose, they kept one focused on the goal.

A barrage of water bullets shot out from behind the mist, decimating the branches that Kakashi was travelling through in an attempt to shake him off. Kakashi dropped down onto the ground and of course, a scythe made of wind chakra was already flying towards his chest.

Kakashi ducked at the last second, pushing himself to slide across the muddy ground without losing speed. He couldn't stop running; a moment of hesitation meant dozens of metres being gained by his target. Kakashi refused to lose this chase.

The moment his target was within his range, the first thing Kakashi did, of course, was to return the favour. Kakashi slapped his palms together for the hand seals before he punched the ground. The earth shook in response and the vibration travelled from Kakashi's feet to the runaway Kiri-nin, eventually bursting out from the ground half a dozen stone pikes.

A veil of water swirled around the Kiri-nin, shattering the earth spikes that got too close. The shinobi tensed up in alarm when he noticed that Kakashi had disappeared from the path. In a heartbeat, the ground sizzled with icy blue electricity as a wolf painted by lightning burst forth from underneath the rocks.

The water shield broke down the moment lightning charged through its current. The Kiri-nin pushed his feet against the ground and flickered to the right, dodging the lightning wolf that clawed forward. Not wasting a second, the shinobi rubbed his hands together and sliced forward, releasing half a dozen wind blades toward the lightning attack.

As the wind muffled the lightning and cut the construct apart, the shinobi panted heavily, compounded by the injuries that he had already sustained. The Kiri-nin inhaled and ex— a breath was caught in his throat as a kunai struck his back from behind.

Sharpened by the wind currents surrounding it, the blade tore through his muscle and fractured his bones, until it sliced straight into the lungs.

Kakashi watched with his sharingan as the shinobi fell down as another corpse. He was also breathing heavily. Exhaustion started to wash over his body, having to use so many chakra-consuming jutsu while having to sustain the sharingan - the most chakra hungry one of them all.

That was always a problem. It was just that Kakashi could usually get rid of his enemies before he fell unconscious, making it less of a problem. When he couldn't, however …

The bush rustled behind Kakashi, forcing him to swallow his nausea and turn around in a defensive stance. His mind made sense of the scent a moment later - it was one of his fellow Konoha-nin from Team 2.

Kakashi's muscles relaxed consciously until he could see the full picture, including the bloody branch that pierced through his comrade's chest cavity.

'Hatake … status on Team 2… I'm losing … connection with them.' Yamanaka-san's voice reached Kakashi's mind like it had been filtered through the statics. But Kakashi had to take a moment longer to process the body slipping off of the withered branch.

The body fell down with a thud as another person stepped out from behind. The newcomer was barely visible in the shadow and Kakashi could only see the white branches twisting around the person's head - or was it even a person? - like a wrapping of withered barks.

"They're attacked by … a new enemy," Kakashi wasn't sure if he whispered the words, but he hoped that it reached across in the Mind-Body transmission. He didn't have time to dwell on it, because the next second, wooden branches sprouted from the ground all around him, closing in on him with tips that had been drenched in blood.

Kakashi slashed his sword in a wide circle, barely cutting out an opening for him to jump through and escape. He locked his sharingan onto the mysterious figure, hoping to gain some insight, anything would do.

What he got was an intense pulsation from his left eye that almost drove his heart into arrhythmia. Pain, anguish, screams, Kakashi was hit by a wave of foreign sensations, along with an ominous familiarity that made him want to claw his brains out.

Branches closed in on Kakashi again and he barely moved in time to dodge. Pain erupted on his thigh as a branch pierced through his muscle ruthlessly. Kakashi sliced a kunai down to cut the branch, fully expecting the next one to cleave his head off.

It didn't.

The branches seemed to shrivel and shake and there they were again, the feelings of anguish and this time, rising anger. Out of nowhere, the branches slapped towards Kakashi, flinging him backwards, away from his attacker, before retreating back.

Kakashi coughed, desperately holding onto his consciousness despite the growing pain in his ribs, all to catch sight of his attacker once more. In the distance, the mysterious figure looked like they were fighting with their instinct while fleeing into the forest.

Rationality left Kakashi for a second before he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Wait! Who are you? Answer me!"

Nothing answered him. The forest returned to the way it should, quiet, dreadful, and filled with more dead bodies than Kakashi could count.

'Hatake, report on Team 2 and the new enemy …' Yamanaka-san's voice continued to sound in his head, but not a single coherent thought was forming in his mind, except for one thing - the replay of the fleeting moment before his sharingan pulsed fervently.

It was in resonance with another glint of red, hidden behind the slit of white branches and shrouded in black shadows.

Kakashi rolled off of his back; his forehead inevitably bumped into the cold, muddy ground in his attempt to push himself up. Breaths escaped his throat in broken whispers, "Wait …" Are you … are you?

-o-o-o-

Rin stared at the brand new pair of shinobi footwear in her hand, her thoughts slowly drifting to somewhere else.

Sumie-san could use a pair of shoes … right? Rin remembered seeing the sad state of the straw shoes that she was wearing, barely held together by the strings, looking like they would break apart at any moment.

Then again, maybe Rin should tell Sumie-san the direction of a civilian shoe shop instead. Shinobi shoes were designed for mobility and durability, allowing them to travel long distances and fight battles at all kinds of terrains, and thus not as comfortable as civilian footwear.

Yet, Rin somehow had a feeling that Sumie would prefer the ones made for shinobi. Rather than being grounded by paved roads, Sumie … seemed like the kind that would want to roam the unpredictable mountains instead.

"Rin-chan, have you picked out your size?" A question from the side woke Rin out of the scenes in her head. Hurriedly, Rin checked the pair of shoes one more time before nodding at the shop owner, trying to hide the fact that her thoughts were wandering in strange directions.

"Just one pair this time?" The shop owner, Hyōdō-san, asked with a hint of surprise.

Rin had a habit of coming to the shoe shop once a month, always buying at least three pairs of shoes at the same time so they would last for a month's worth of wear and tear. But this month, Rin had spent the better part being unconscious, unable to fulfill her training and duty as a shinobi and probably wouldn't be able to do so for the foreseeable future.

"Yes, Hyōdō-san, just one pair this time," Rin answered, giving the shop owner an apologetic smile.

"Not a problem, Rin-chan. I just hope you're not injured." Hyōdō-san waved his hand as he placed the pair of shoes in a paper bag. His eyes wrinkled a little in worry as he told Rin, "I know that a shinobi's life is unpredictable, but whenever a customer didn't come to my shop when they usually would, I get worried, especially when it's young children like you."

The concern was touching, so Rin reassured him, with her best lies, "My injury is very mild, Hyōdō-san. Just a few more days of rest and I'll be able to grace your business as usual."

The shop owner let out a laugh as he handed Rin's purchase to her. With a light bow, Rin bid Hyōdō-san goodbye before she slipped out of the alley and headed for the path that would lead to the village periphery.

Taking the path that would decrease her encounter with crowds had become a new habit for Rin, but she wasn't unfamiliar with this part of the town.

Obito had long found out that Kakashi liked to hide among the thick forestry at the edge of the Konoha, training in isolation. Therefore, it wasn't long before the entire Team Minato migrated to these unpopular training grounds at Obito's insistence, much to Kakashi's initial annoyance.

Rin stood at the edge of the unkept training ground covered in debris. In front of her, the clearing stretched into the dense forest that spilled over the village walls. Behind her, a fair amount of distance separated this space from the lively parts of Konoha.

Then, Rin took a deep breath.

She imagined that those Root agents on her surveillance would be holding their breaths too with tension in their bodies when they realized her intention and sensed the small stream of chakra rippling in her body.

Slowly, steadily, with a sense of control. Rin wasn't ready to say goodbye to her career as a kunoichi yet, not when there were still those that she wanted to help.

Minato-sensei's seals were not that weak; Rin's own control was not that weak. She just needed a little chakra, just enough to be pulled into a silk ribbon that flowed into her palm, spun into a soft glove of medical chakra …

A branch cracked from behind, startling Rin and shoving her attempt into a back corner.

"Rin-chan! You forgot something at the shop." Despite Hyōdō-san's loud shouts, Rin had to take a moment to hear the sentence over her frantic heartbeats.

I did? Rin honestly couldn't recall anything when Hyōdō-san raised his hand to show her the grocery bag left behind. She was too busy debating with her fear to think of much else.

"Oh, sorry. You had to come so far, Hyōdō-san," Rin apologized as the man approached her with her forgotten groceries.

"Don't worry about it. But it's quite a desolate path you've taken, I had to ask around and take a guess as to where you went." The shop owner shook his head to dispel Rin's embarrassment, but that just made Rin feel worse for making him go through all the trouble.

"Here you go, don't forget it a second time." Hyōdō-san stretched his arm forward and handed Rin the paper bag. Her fingers touched the bag and nothing prepared her for what came after.

A hand clawed onto her wrist along with a sharp, painful sting. Rin's instinct took over despite her mind lagging a beat behind. She twisted her wrist and punched the attacker's wrist to free herself from the iron clutch.

Something fell onto the ground with a clatter - it was a syringe - and broke into pieces. There was barely any liquid that flowed out, telling Rin that whatever was in that syringe had already been injected into her body.

Rin didn't need to wait long to find out the content of that syringe, because her heartbeat was already rising along with surging chakra that started to spill into her body.

"I've lived decades in a lie, all for one moment of purpose." That was all Hyōdō-san offered before Root descended as swift shadows, half of them moved to restrain the man - the spy, the enemy, whatever he was at this point - and the other half towards Rin.

"Quickly, to the forest and suppress her chakra," someone with the blank mask ordered and another latched onto Rin with their arms and pulled her back. Rin had no chance to get a word out before the Root agents restrained Hyōdō-san, dislocating his limbs as well as his jaw to prevent any attempt of suicide.

The man choked on his painful groans, but his eyes remained on Rin. Gone were all the smiles from the shop owner she thought she knew well, replaced by the dispassionate gaze that spoke both of his acceptance and determination.

Like how Konoha was founded by two warring clans of shinobi, Kirigakure was first rallied by clans of shinobi assassins that lost their masters. Rin had heard of the myths of the spies that were planted since they were young, trained not to be shinobi, but to be completely different people.

They were supposed to stay undercover for months, years even, not delivering any messages, not providing help for their allegiance, until their last action could topple the foundation of their enemy's stronghold.

Rin had wondered if Konoha had those. Would anyone really give up their entire life for one moment of truth that may or may not be actualized?

It's my fate, those eyes seemed to say, this was the purpose of my life.

As chakra tumbled in Rin's stomach, threatening to stir up a giant beast that was tied down inside of her, she felt the Root agent slapping a piece of sealing paper onto her back, moving with a ruthless efficiency that was somehow reassuring. At least someone could think rationally here.

That was until something vile had travelled straight from the seal pasted on her back into the pit of her stomach. Poisonous energy started to corrode the chains that kept Rin separate from Three-Tail, doing the opposite of what Rin thought should be happening.

It wasn't the right seal. This one was not meant to reinforce the seal, but to crack it open with brute force. Because of the dose of chakra-stimulating drugs that were injected into Rin's system, a simple crack was all Three-Tail needed to start fighting back.

Rin used everything she had to pry open the arm that restrained her. She knocked her elbow onto the Root agent's face and dashed to the side until she crashed into a tree on the way.

Is that Root agent another one of those Kirigakure moles? How did he even get into Root? Then did Root plan this from the beginning? That can't be, not when they know exactly how devastating the consequence can be if Rin can't be contained … right?

Rin didn't know what to believe anymore when two blades stabbed into the Root agent that went rogue. Blood flowed out of the rogue agent's neck and down his chest. Unlike Hyōdō-san, this one received no mercy.

But it was still too late. Like patching up a broken dam when a flood was already underway, the transformation was already starting.

Ocean tides slapped around Rin's consciousness; The roars of Three-Tail sent shockwaves to her eardrums. In comparison, Rin's own voice was so small and insignificant.

Red started to overwhelm her vision as liquid rage enveloped and suffocated her body. She couldn't fight it; couldn't push the gate shut with everything she had. A power too great for me to bear … for a second, those words flashed in her mind and she wondered how could she ever think that she had a chance, to begin with.

Rin's will felt insignificant in the face of a path that had been laid out for her. Any attempt to stray from that was a mistake in the beginning.

Three-Tail roared in the body of a young girl as its blood-red tails flailed around and shaved the trees into splinters. The burst of chakra sent everyone that tried to close in on the creature flying backwards - be it the summoning toad that struggled to keep up with all the confusion, or the remaining Root agents that struggled to keep up with all the emergencies.

With the light drizzle that veiled the sky, the mist of terror was rising.

-o-o-o-

The rain that fell down was softer than the murmurs.

Sumie folded the advertisement board at the tavern entrance. It had barely been a few minutes, but the ink was already smudging under the drizzle.

'Silk rain', it was called. The droplets that landed on Sumie's face were lighter than the softest silk, but the fine threads nevertheless seeped through everything it touched - the ground, the clothes, the skin - with a chilling cold that only grew stronger with time.

Sumie wiped away the wetness on her face and turned back inside.

"I'll take that," the tavern owner - Asano-san - called out as he took the wooden board from Sumie. Her new boss nodded in the direction of a table and added, "Table six wants three bottles of sake, home brand, special grade."

Sumie nodded before heading towards the cupboard.

"Sumie-chan, how's the tavern treating you?" Sumie smiled at the customers as she poured them their first cup of sake. They were regulars here, so the appearance of a new worker was a curious novelty that didn't go unnoticed.

"It's a fine place, I feel right at home," Sumie answered, her voice pleasant to the ears. The last drop of sake rolled into the cup with a melodious bounce and the intoxicating aroma was already overflowing. "I'll leave you gentlemen to enjoy the sake. Let me know if you need anything else."

"I'll admit, I have my reservations about hiring you, but as you said, you fit right in," Asano-san said with a laugh as he recorded the bottles taken out of the inventory. "Besides, a pleasant voice and a pretty smile sell more sake."

"That's kind of you, Asano-san. I hope it's reflected in my pay." Sumie joked as she stacked the used cups and placed them inside the basket. These were heading for the pot of boiling water in the back kitchen to be sanitized.

"Quit daydreaming and get on with the work." Asano-san rolled his eyes, but the humour in his tone was hard to miss. With a light smile, Sumie lifted the basket of porcelain and left for the kitchen.

When Sumie returned to the bar, however, she was greeted by a surprise

"Haru," Sumie recognized, a little unexpected. The woman looked in her direction and Sumie could see the flood of relief flowing out of her eyes.

"A— Sumie." Haru couldn't help but say the name that she was more familiar with, but she quickly corrected herself. "I hope I'm not interrupting your work. It's just … when I heard you're working here, my heart won't calm down until I check for myself."

"No, you're not interrupting," Sumie assured her. The weather was unkind today, and the busy hours didn't usually start until later in the day. "I'm always happy to see you, Haru."

Perhaps it was just as Haru said, her speeding heartbeat calmed at the sound of Sumie's words, falling into a steady, but vibrant pace full of contentment.

"I'd like to order a drink then if I'm taking your time and attention." Haru let out a laugh as she sat down at the bar. Sumie complied, pouring a cup of sake for her.

Haru's time spent at Konoha was rather uneventful compared to Sumie's. In fact, because of her skills with wild herbs, she found a temporary job caring for the herbal gardens belonging to one of the shinobi clans - the Nara Clan, Haru told her.

Temporary, Haru emphasized. As soon as she earned enough money, Haru wanted to travel to a civilian town closer to the capital and see what she could do. It seemed that the horror she had seen before did not make her cower, for Haru was not scared of building a life somewhere new. It just wouldn't be in a shinobi village like Konoha.

Perhaps that was why Haru was happy at being able to see Sumie again, to know how she was doing. Who knew if she'd get the chance before she left for her new destination; who knew if they would ever meet again?

"Who told you that I'm working here?" Sumie asked as a passing remark as she prepared the trays for another table.

"Oh, it's a shinobi that came to the Nara garden one day. I've never seen him before, but it's not like I know a lot of shinobi in the first place and they all dress the same," Haru replied, making Sumie's fingers pause. But that only lasted for a second before Sumie placed the last cup.

Haru stayed for the duration of a bottle. Before she left, she couldn't help but lean over and give Sumie a hug. It was like finishing a wish. The woman raised a hand over her head to ward off the veil of rain as she waved Sumie goodbye. Sumie did the same and that seemed to give Haru the last bit of assurance that she needed to turn around and walk away.

Haru was saying goodbye to her past. It was time to start something new.

Sumie's smile faded when she returned to the tavern, and the newcomer that took Haru's old seat was not making it better.

"Ouch, Sumie-chan, that's not a face suitable for customer service." Jiraiya clicked his tongue, a bottle of sake was already in hand. Sumie wasn't sure what kind of arrangement the man had with Asano-san that allowed him to use the back door and act so spontaneously, but Sumie did not get paid enough to care.

"So, what got you in a foul mood?" Of course, Jiraiya wasn't the kind that would take a hint - or perhaps he saw the hints too well.

"Did you or Namikaze-san send shinobi to the Nara Clan's garden?" Sumie ignored Jiraiya's tease and asked out of nowhere.

"No?" The white-haired man looked genuinely confused, but the hint of curiosity was growing by the second. "I don't know about Minato, but he's stuck in the frontline for days, so I doubt it. Besides, why would we care about the Nara Clan's garden?"

"Then never mind." Sumie doubted that she could deter Jiraiya from finding out what exactly in the Nara garden made her ask the question, but by the sound of it, that was hardly the problem.

"When are you going to make true to your promise and take me to see the Sage Toads." Sumie changed the topic before Jiraiya could ask anything else. She hadn't seen Jiraiya since they had that little drinking contest a few days ago, but now that she was aware of the possibilities, those little animals couldn't hide from her senses.

"Relax, Sumie-chan. I'll take you to Mt Myōboku as soon as Minato is back," Jiraiya answered, tapping his chest to show that he was a man of his word. "I can't be in two places at the same time, so until Minato is back, I can't leave Konoha unattended, but what kind of guide would I be if I left you in the Sage Realm unaccompanied?"

Jiraiya didn't bother to hide the implication under his words - the fact that he didn't know Sumie enough to leave her unwatched. However, Sumie didn't feel offended in the slightest and Jiraiya knew that too.

"Well then, alcohol is hardly good for attention," Sumie said, eyeing the bottle of sake that Jiraiya picked for himself - it was the strongest kind in the tavern. "And your track record is not working in your favour."

"Oh come on, I don't know what you're made of, but after eighteen bottles, most would be gravely ill. The fact that I only got wasted is something to be proud of." Jiraiya replied without an ounce of shame and Sumie couldn't help but laugh with him.

She had to give it to him. In terms of being an alcoholic, Jiraiya was perhaps one of the strongest ones she had ever met, with tolerance all the way up there with those ancient poets who created masterpieces under moments of bliss.

"Speaking of which, Sumie-chan. Sometimes, I get the feeling that you can do a lot more than you let on," Jiraiya said all of a sudden. The sound of his finger tapping the ceramic bottle was like a countdown of Sumie's heartbeat. "Those who don't know their limits don't usually down their eighteenth bottle of sake without any hesitation."

"..." In the end, Sumie closed her mouth. It was too taxing to come up with an adequate excuse when she knew that Jiraiya would pick it apart.

Perhaps Sumie and this species called 'shinobi' were like water and oil - they shouldn't mix. Sumie accidentally let go an inch and Jiraiya came digging up a whole foot. Seeing that Jiraiya had enough attention to notice details like that after his fifteenth bottle, maybe he wasn't as intoxicated as he pretended to be.

Nevertheless, it was Sumie's own carelessness at fault. Maybe the return of her powers made her greedy, but those lacklustre performances of hers might be intentional. They already know so much, she thought, so how much more of her would they be able to accept?

"So, about the favour that you mentioned to Rin-chan, care to consider—" Jiraiya took Sumie's silence as an opening for persuasion, but before he could start, he was interrupted by a puff of smoke that materialized on the counter.

"Jiraiya, it's Rin." That's a … toad speaking? Right, Sumie already saw a talking dog with the voice of bass, this was nothing special. But the words obviously meant something grave for Jiraiya, for he tossed his flimsy demeanour aside and let seriousness settle in his body.

"Please take me to her," Jiraiya requested immediately. The toad jumped down and landed by the man's leg and a pattern of ink sprouted from underneath.

Jiraiya looked at Sumie very briefly, something unreadable in his eyes. But in the end, he said nothing. With another poof of smoke, the white-haired shinobi disappeared in front of Sumie, leaving behind only his unfinished bottle.

Sumie stared at the empty seat in front of her in silence. She bit her lower lip in contemplation before letting out a frustrated sigh. Quickly, she left for the back door, taking off her work uniform and throwing it on a chair.

"Chizuru-chan, can you cover the shift for me? I have an emergency," Sumie asked as she passed by the young girl dozing off in the resting area.

"Ehh?" Chizuru was shocked awake by the sudden noise of the back door opening. "Wait, Sumie-san?" By the time she looked out the door, Sumie had already disappeared from the alleyway.

Jiraiya said that he couldn't leave Konoha unattended. Now, Sumie figured that it wasn't Konoha per se that he was watching over, but a particular girl inside of it. Based on the fact that Sumie could no longer feel any gaze of observation around her, that girl was in a much more precarious situation that would make Jiraiya recall the sentinels on Sumie.

Sumie happened to like the girl named Rin and she did have a debt to repay. Yeah, that must be it; all of it.

The rain seemed to carry the pressure from afar and the wind brought whispers that tickled Sumie's ears. Sumie picked up her steps as she heard the shouting in the distance.

"Do you even know what you're interfering with, Jiraiya?" That was … Elder Shimura, Sumie recognized despite the sound that almost melted into the air.

"Oh, I know exactly what I'm doing, Danzō, and so do you," Jiraiya responded, the hint of anger travelling with the wind along with his words. "I'd love to hear you explain how you let a spy hide among the Root that you're so proud of."

"Mistakes happen, and I'm fixing them." The Elder didn't sound so repentant. "You, on the other hand, are risking Konoha's safety on your temperamental whim."

Sumie could hear - and see - the shinobi population in the village stirring towards the site of commotion, but those special shinobi covered in black uniforms and blank masks were already warding the area off.

"Root is handling an emergency right now. Any unauthorized shinobi should back away and wait for further orders." One of them repeated, sounding like a broadcasting machine with his emotionless tone.

Off to the side of the blockade, a Root agent had just made some shinobi turn back with his stern look. Just then, the tree rustled to his side, making him turn around in alert. A quacking bird flew out of the crown, sending the leaves falling with its wake.

The Root agent expanded his senses, but there was no chakra signature to be found other than the shinobi that were retreating from the scene. He returned to his duty with no more than a frown, not knowing that Sumie had already breached the blockade.

A layer of Natural energy cushioned Sumie's feet above the carpet of leaves, making her movement soundless as she slipped between the forest like a gust of wind. At this point, she could finally see the commotion on site and it was as confusing as she imagined.

At the innermost position, was a humanoid creature covered in what could only be described as liquid malice. Sumie couldn't sense this thing called 'chakra', but she could feel the response of Natural Energy that existed as one with this world. They told her that hell was being raised.

The creature growled in anger as its tail-like appendages slammed onto some sort of barrier around it … or her. Despite its thick bloodlust and the obviously very dead and very disfigured body by its feet, Sumie still caught the scent of Rin mixed in with it.

Jiraiya stood by the barrier as Root agents fanned out in front of him, with Elder Shimura as their leader. The cloak of Natural Energy around Sumie melted her presence into nature itself - at least, to those untouched by its essence - making her a silent, but clearly uninvited observer.

"My whim is trying to solve this without any bloodshed," Jiraiya shouted back as he scanned the Root agents in front of him. "I made those seals you're holding as a last resort. Once activated, the users cannot move until the Tailed-beast is suppressed. Your agents won't be able to fight back or protect themselves, all the while sustaining the backlash that can permanently injure or even kill them. Their bodies will only add to the pile as more take their place."

"Then that's their fate as Konoha's shinobi," Elder Shimura replied with an iron-like resolution as if he couldn't fathom why Jiraiya was so hung up on the details.

"Damn right that they are Konoha's shinobi." Jiraiya let out a snort and before anyone could react, he slapped his hands onto the ground. The earth trembled as eight frog statues rose from the ground. At the same time, the toads that followed Jiraiya's bidding slapped pieces of paper onto the frog statues, each drawn with intricate sealing patterns.

One of the toads - an older one who informed Jiraiya about Rin - turned to Sumie sharply when she slipped in like a ghost. The toad's wrinkled face twitched at her boldness, but she allowed her to pass without any acknowledgement or deterrence.

"Get in and stop him." Even without the order from their leader, the Root agents were already rushing inwards. But before any of them could, the octogram barrier suddenly materialized and repelled them back without mercy.

Jiraiya's final words floated out as the barrier turned opaque like a sheet of glass being sprayed with paint. "You may think of them as necessary sacrifices, Danzō, but they are still lives of Konoha's shinobi; they are still lives that might be saved. So, until I fail, consider their fate halted."

That was the last thing Elder Shimura heard before the barrier enclosed and separated everything inside - the sight, the sound, and the chakra - in a veil of white.

Jiraiya's anger calmed once the barrier closed. He breathed out a solemn breath as he eyed the cracking barrier that would break soon under the creature's attack.

"See what I mean? Those who join the fray despite knowing nothing about it are either very stupid or very self-aware." Jiraiya commented when he saw Sumie within the barrier. He didn't question how she made it past the blockade of Root agents, instead, he said, "the gist of it is that we're in a terrible situation."

"That's … Rin?" Sumie asked with uncertainty. Another crack ran down the barrier as the creature roared at Sumie.

"Something sealed within the girl has broken out. I'm trying to get the creature to rescind by reinforcing the seal, hopefully before it can devour Rin and start a rampage." Jiraiya pointed at the scroll fastened on his belt. "But first, we have to hold down the destructive force."

"We?" Sumie would have laughed if the situation sounded any less dire.

Jiraiya did in fact let out a curt laugh. "You see, if there's no one around, I can duel with Three-Tail by myself. Unfortunately, now that I had to hold down the barrier to keep Three-Tail's damage contained and those idiots from jumping towards a suicidal mission, my success rate dropped to somewhere around fifty-fifty."

"But now that you're here, I figured that the probability can only go up." Sumie didn't know where Jiraiya found the confidence to trust Sumie and her abilities, but, she reasoned with herself, if Jiraiya died, his promise of taking Sumie to see the Sage Toads would die with him.

The inner barrier shattered at that moment. The creature, stained in dark red, screamed as its tails dragged across the ground, breaking apart the earth and heading straight toward Sumie and Jiraiya.

"Watch out, the coating is corrosive!" Jiraiya shouted as his hair hardened and expanded in front of them. The tail whipped against the surface made of thick needles and bounced back after some resistance. Even then, smoke was already rising from the point of impact.

The second tail slashed from the side, scraping off a chunk of Jiraiya's hardened hair, leaving them exposed. If Sumie heard and counted correctly earlier, the creature had three tails and the last one was piercing straight at them.

Gold shimmered on Sumie's skin and flowed down her arms like veins. The markings seemed to trace a glove made of metallic scales around Sumie's hands - a gilded armour, painted with liquid gold, fitting perfectly onto her skin.

It looked thin and light, but Jiraiya could sense the concentration of Natural Energy that gathered around Sumie, richer and denser than anything he had felt in Mt. Myōboku.

It was as if time had stopped for a moment when Sumie caught the last blood-red tail by hand just before it could cut her in half. The gilded edges on her skin had settled into a darker shade of bronze, but the impact made the lines ripple as if the scales were alive and breathing,

The power behind the tail forced her heels into the ground, but with a grunt, Sumie pushed it back the way it came from. Signs of corrosion were spreading from Sumie's palms. Despite that, Sumie acted as if she felt no pain and the regeneration was already working on the rest.

"If I help you raise that probability, you're going to erase my involvement here and do me a favour in return," Sumie said. Jiraiya halted his breath when he saw what could only be described as molten amber flowing in her eyes. "I want you to help me protect someone."

They didn't have time to settle the details, for Three-Tail let out another roar and crouched low using Rin's body. Shell-like structures were growing on its face as it opened its mouth wide.

Sumie sucked in a breath just as an ocean fell onto them.

Chapter Text

Chapter 9 - 天命 (Fate)

"Just out of curiosity, Sumie-chan. Has the thought of fleeing Konoha during this mess ever crossed your mind?" Jiraiya asked Sumie while his thick hair tightened onto the rampaging creature like ropes. It sounded like a casual question to be asked in the tavern, but the strains in his voice betrayed him.

"Perhaps." Sumie jumped in front of Jiraiya just in time before the corrosive tail slammed down at the man. She grabbed - no, almost clawed - onto the tail with her hands and shoved it into the ground following the momentum. The floor cracked and the creature hissed in anger. "Are you going to hold it against me?"

Not pausing a beat, she stepped onto the first tail and drove it further into the cracked earth, freeing up her hands to catch the second tail that whipped down from the side. The crimson coating corroded her only pair of shoes - but they were already falling apart anyway - and searing wounds bloomed on her legs.

"Quite the contrary. It tells me that you've thought it through," Jiraiya had the nerve to sound satisfied. Still, he waited patiently for the third tail to strike down, not at him, but at Sumie who had just severely pissed off the creature.

Sumie dodged at the last moment before the third tail could break her spine, diligently playing her part as the distraction. Something was building up in Jiraiya's lungs as he stretched open a scroll in front of him. A dozen paper seals appeared out of nowhere, just in time for the blobs of oil shooting out from Jiraiya's throat to catch them mid-trajectory and fly toward the creature.

Small explosions were ignited at point-blank range, knocking the Three-Tail around in shock. The oil filled the flames immediately, burning a blanket of fire that seemed to smoulder the creature's strength and will to resist.

Jiraiya explained that they needed to catch the creature in a moment of vulnerability, both in strength and in attention, long enough to hold it down and apply the seal. Sumie didn't get the chance to ask how much damage the creature could take when you know, it was technically Rin's body. But after this, maybe a lot more than she imagined.

"So, any reason that made you stay, other than the one you want to protect in the Nara Garden? For example, the company of my touching sense of humour?" Sumie applauded Jiraiya's ability to hold a conversation when his body was focusing entirely on something else. His hands rushed through the hand seals in a blur before he clapped the ground.

Most of the water from the creature's first wave of attack was absorbed by the barrier around them. Damage negation, Jiraiya had claimed proudly, to a limit. So, the ground turned muddy with quite a few puddles that remained. But here, the damp terrain worked to his advantage as a layer of mud mixed with lines drawn in ink crawled onto the creature in distress.

Was that it? Sumie thought it would take longer with how adamant Elder Shimura sounded with the prospect of throwing in his subordinates' lives. The somewhat smooth progression of events gave her a breather to rewind her thoughts that were stirred by Jiraiya's forced conversations.

There were probably many factors that made Sumie decide to tread the muddy water known as Shinobi affairs. Haru was one of them, her debt with Namikaze - and by extensions, his associates - was another.

But maybe, she also considered the company she received from the young girl named Rin in the past few days, even when she was clearly dealing with her worries, and to a less - much less - extent, the angry but firm words Jiraiya had shouted at Elder Shimura.

"Absolutely not." Regardless, Sumie refused to share her thought processes just to humour the man's flimsy curiosity.

Just then, reality proved that Sumie had seen nothing yet. The muddy encasement didn't even settle before the crimson coat around the creature expanded in the burst, devouring the restraints like it was made of paper.

Jiraiya clicked his tongue in exasperation, but otherwise, he did not seem surprised in the slightest and the two toads that were sitting on his shoulders since the beginning continue to be as still as statues. Not enough, Sumie could read from his expressions, that moment of weakness was too fleeting and not even close to being impactful enough.

Briefly, the creature levelled its face with Sumie and Jiraiya. When its vision focused on the white-haired shinobi, the intensity of hate and anger that burned in its growing figure just shot up into the sky.

The water puddle near Sumie's feet stirred. Before she could even take a breath, jagged corals grew from the shimmering water, shaving across her skin with no mercy. Soon, a wall made of coral reefs was erected and separated Jiraiya and Sumie from the Three Tail.

Immediately, the barrier around them shook. At this point, it didn't take a genius to figure out that the Three-Tail had put plummeting the two of them on hold in favour of breaking through the barrier.

Sumie punched the coral reef and the scales on her arms shimmered in tune with the impact. The wall fractured under the power, but smaller corals were already growing at the cracks. Her answer to that was to force more Natural energy into her arms and punch harder.

Maybe Jiraiya's habit was infecting Sumie as well because she found herself able to ask without pausing whatever her body was doing. "Am I allowed to know why that creature came to be sealed - or rather, imprisoned - in Rin?"

Sumie would be lying if she didn't notice that Three-Tail was intelligent and sentient, even if it seemed to be clouded by an overwhelming rage and hatred. Moreover, there was a priority to its anger and hatred - shinobi first, then whatever was in its way - just like there was a priority to its instinctual desires - number one being freedom, then revenge.

She had a feeling that she wouldn't like the answer no matter what Jiraiya responded.

As Sumie cracked a hole in the coral reefs big enough for her to get through, Jiraiya pasted two seals onto the ash-gray wall in front of him. The first seal unleashed a cut that sliced deep into the coral structure, and the second one set out an explosion before the coral reef could mend itself.

"It's a long-lived practice for shinobi villages to seal these Tailed-Beasts into human hosts and use their powers as weapons. In turn, Tailed-beasts resent shinobi and would seek retribution whenever they can - for example, when their human hosts fail to contain them," Jiraiya explained when Sumie thought that he would brush it over.

Another set of hand seals and another clap to the ground. This time, the earth rose again, not as a muddy blanket, but as slabs of stones that both defended the barrier and pushed the creature away.

For a moment, Sumie was inclined to say that these shinobi totally deserved it, but anything that lasted generations could rarely be captured in a phrase as simple as 'karma's a bitch'.

"But Rin is made involuntarily into a host by Konoha's enemy. They planned for her to lose control and devastate Konoha from within. She is a tool - a sacrifice - created by war, and I don't want her to wake up with the realization that she had the blood of those she wants to protect in her hands," Jiraiya said as his hair expanded in size, shedding a wave of senbon towards Three-Tail, hoping to annoy the creature enough that it would shift its attention away from the barrier and deal with the pestilence first.

"Now that you know the story behind it, are you still going to stay?" Sumie hadn't moved an inch since Jiraiya started explaining. Another second passed after Jiraiya asked the question - giving her a choice - and finally, she started moving again.

She jumped towards the barrier like she had every intention of leaving. There was a loud thud when she landed on the screen of white before she pushed herself toward Three-Tail using the hard surface.

Sumie flipped in the air and slammed her feet down on what should be the back of Three-Tail's neck. The creature stumbled forward with a growl, but the force behind Sumie's kick forced its head into the ground.

The retaliation was quick. Blood-red tails sped towards Sumie as she rolled down from Three-tail's body. She dug her fingers into the ground to steady herself and force her body out of the way. The claw marks that got imprinted onto the ground were soon obliterated when the tails struck down and made a crater.

In the beginning, Three-Tail took the body shape of Rin. But throughout the fight, it was expanding both in size and animalistic characters. As of now, the creature was twice Jiraiya's size with shell-like structures over its face and hunched back. Still, it looked humanoid in shape and thus, some human anatomy still applied.

Sumie dodged a tail strike with a sharp pivot of the body and closed the distance between her and Three-Tail. Before the creature could whack her to the side, she struck her palm on the creature's jaw. Corrosion spread through the skin on her hand in an instant, but Three-Tail was nevertheless knocked back with a crunch of the bones.

Sadly, sturdiness was not a trait that belonged only to Sumie. The creature reeled its body back and swiped its claws at the subject of its irritation. Sumie had no choice but to block it with her arms.

Three-Tail's guttural breaths sounded near Sumie's head. The scaly lines on her arms deepened in colour until it looked like she was bleeding ink, but it wasn't enough to stop the corrosive burns from eating through her palms and crawling onto her wrist.

Despite the stinging pain, Sumie finally caught a moment to tell Jiraiya, "Just this time, I'm on Rin's side." Not Konoha's, not shinobi's, just hers.

Sumie looked at the creature's face, meeting its blackened eyes with the glow of amber in hers. Three-Tail widened its jaw, and another storm of water was already ramping up in its mouth. Jiraiya's hair arrived in time to wrap around the creature's head, pulling it to the side so that Sumie's head was not blasted open by the jet stream.

Sumie took that time to break the arm-wrestling and slide herself out of Three-Tail's deadly force. However, it soon became clear that the Three-Tail was never really caught up in the distraction. Its tails slammed toward one of the stone statues at the corners of the octagram before either of them could react.

A set of inner barriers protected the cornerstones of the larger barriers, so the tails couldn't break the statues. Nevertheless, scorch marks were already forming on the seal stuck to the stone statues, counting down its expiration.

"I need to reinforce the barrier!" Jiraiya yelled from behind and Sumie wasted no time locking onto one of its tails and trying to pull it away.

Sumie couldn't help but think that she was beyond stupid for brawling with a mystical beast that was corrosive wherever it could be touched. That sentiment was reinforced when corals started to grow on Three-Tail's back and tails.

The corals almost looked like gray crystals as they scratched against Sumie's arm, trying to dig through the armour of scales that covered her skin. More and more natural energy was feeding into her body, coursing through the vein-like pattern on her skin until the threshold was inevitably reached.

It took less than a minute for Sumie to feel the breaking point. At least Jiraiya managed to replace the damaged barrier seals, hopefully enough to last a few more rounds.

"Please, try to look alive when I wake up again." That was the last thing Sumie had the energy to say before the pain erupted from her spine and quickly overwhelmed her entire body. The armour of scales on her body was confiscated as the imprint of black chains crawled over her body, reaching just below her elbows.

Even with its discontinued presence, what remained of Heaven was still determined to make Sumie repent. Fair enough.

Without the protection of Natural Energy and frozen by the pain, Sumie didn't last a single second under Three-Tail's next attack.

-o-o-o-

Jiraiya had seen many kinds of deaths from many kinds of people. Like the ink strokes that he wrote down in his novels, every death left a mark on his pages of life, without exception.

He hadn't been desensitized to death, and for that, he was grateful.

But hypothetically speaking, would death still hold the same impact when Jiraiya knew that it wasn't necessarily the end of life?

Well, no need for the hypotheticals now, he supposed.

The flesh that had just withstood the onslaught of Three-Tail's assault was pierced through and through the next second. Jiraiya didn't even catch the moment of transition, let alone understand how it came to be.

It's kind of like chakra exhaustion, Jiraiya had once tried to put Sumie's special brand of 'death' into perspective. Something vital was lost, but it was only temporary. Like chakra to a shinobi, sooner or later, 'Life' would once again replenish Sumie's body.

Yet, no matter how many times he tried to equate that in his mind, it still didn't make it less impactful when Three-Tail whipped its tails back, throwing the skewered body to the side like a ragdoll rolling in the dirt.

I definitely own Sumie-chan a few bottles of sake, the most expensive kind, however many she can drink. But first, Jiraiya had to make sure that they all came out of this barrier in one piece, with both Rin's psyche preserved and Sumie's secrets intact.

"Right on the clock," Jiraiya muttered as senjutsu chakra permeated his body with the Toad Elders as the conduits. It took some time, but finally, toad-like features appeared on his nose and red markings painted his face.

Sumie was a wild card. When Jiraiya decided to erect the barrier and face the Tailed-Beast breaking loose by himself, she wasn't in the equation. So obviously, Jiraiya had something that gave him confidence and it was Sage Mode.

Thanks to the young lady full of mystery, he got through the riskiest period of the plan - the preparation - unscathed.

Having finally gotten rid of its wrestling partner, Three-Tail let out a coarse roar and shifted its gaze toward Jiraiya. He swore that he heard the sound of Three-Tail grinding its jaw in preparation to bite him in half.

There was a moment of stillness, then Three-Tail bolted toward Jiraiya. At the same time, Jiraiya locked his fingers together for the last hand seal, before he stomped on the ground with all his might.

"Sage Art: Sinking World."

The moment Three-Tail landed, its claws sunk into the earth that rippled like a lake. The beast stretched its body in an attempt to pull itself out of the sinking marshland, but the struggle only made it sink faster.

At the very least, replacing the seal on Rin required a minute of stillness for Jiraiya to gain access to her stomach without dying. So, he must find a way to restrain and weaken Three-Tail without killing the girl.

A giant tail crusted with ash-gray corals slammed down at Jiraiya, forcing him to roll to the side. With a loud bang, a crater was formed where he once stood. Three-Tail was still sinking at a steady speed, twisting and turning its body in an attempt to escape the heavy marsh, but its tails remained an expression of its anger and chased Jiraiya with a vendetta.

Jiraiya raised his right hand just as a tail swatted down. With the gloves of Natural Energy that came with Frog Kata, Jiraiya took a page out of Sumie's method and pushed the tail to the side before the corrosive chakra could chew through his hand.

Finally, there was a moment to catch his breath and Jiraiya used it literally to do that.

A stream of oil blew out of his mouth, stronger, more viscous, and more pressuring with the senjutsu infusion. The oil seeped into the marsh of the deep, melting into the liquifying land. Jiraiya pressed his palms together and the sinking marshland started rippling again.

The liquid earth and viscous oil twisted together and latched onto the thrashing beast like the tongues of a toad army. One of the red tails drilled towards Jiraiya, but it was stopped by the bindings a foot short, leaving the crystallized coral shaking dangerously in front of his forehead.

"Go to sleep and return the girl to me," Jiraiya said with a firm voice as he forced the bindings to pull the beast's tail back to the sinking marsh. His chakra continued to be drained at a dangerous rate. The Toad Elders might have solved the issue of gathering Natural Energy, but without an adequate chakra level to match, Jiraiya couldn't stay in Sage Mode for long against the risk of turning into a toad statue.

For a few seconds, the world inside of the barrier quieted down as the struggling beast seemed to lose steam against the suffocating wetland. But in Sage Mode, Jiraiya didn't feel a dampening of chakra. Instead, something was rumbling even louder.

Immediately, Jiraiya forced bindings to rise from the marsh in an attempt to pull the beast's head down. But before the bindings reached, Three-Tail already stretched its jaw wide open. A vortex of water covered his entire vision, accompanied by a burst of waves that shook his bones.

The Tsunami slapped Jiraiya back against the barrier. For a second, he felt as if his insides were being rearranged. Moreover, there was a constant pounding reverberation that spread from his shoulder, where the master seal connected the stability of the barrier to himself.

The barrier used Jiraiya as an anchor; it drew on his chakra and vitality - whichever one was left - to maintain its function. The shockwave wasn't directed just at Jiraiya, but at every corner of the barrier around them and this sudden increase in burden was reflected back to Jiraiya.

Jiraiya sucked in a breath to caution against the follow-up attack. However, the water that got spat out seemed to withdraw back to the Three-Tail. It took him a moment to realize that Three-Tail called back its water not to preserve chakra, but to feed it into the sinking marsh that Jiraiya used to trap him.

The idea was simple: Everything had a limit, so Three-Tail broke free using sheer quantities.

When the swamp moulded by Sage Art was neutralized, Jiraiya couldn't help but let out a frown. It wasn't necessarily because Three-Tail was able to break free, but how intense the beast's chakra output was and it might not even be its limit.

Tailed-Beasts were massive reservoirs of chakra, but when they were sealed within Jinchuuriki, the human hosts acted as the gate to the dam; the conduit of their power. So long as the seal connected the two, the will and motivation of the host should still exert some effects, including limiting the chakra output, even if they had no control over what it would be used for.

Jiraiya was certain that Rin did not want to let Three-Tail out, not even a little. Yet, given the steep increase in Three-Tail's chakra output over this relatively short fight, Jiraiya couldn't feel the presence of Rin's will, not even once.

Skeletal structures made of corals caged around Three-Tail's head and torso - another stage of evolution. Pushing down his rising unease, Jiraiya was forced to restart the process of tying down the beast to prepare for the sealing.

Jiraiya lowered his body as he pounded his left foot into the ground. A giant claw swooped above his head and continued toward the ground. Instead of leaving a crater, Three-Tail's foreleg sunk into the earth and the creature faltered

Catching that moment of opening, Jiraiya aimed an uppercut right at Three-Tail's jaw. The beast whipped its head back, but the frog kata still managed to bash its head to the side. Sumie had the right idea with the close-quarter combat. Three-Tail's animalistic nature made it easy to predict what it could use to attack - tails, claws, and jaw.

However, Jiraiya wouldn't recommend this method to anyone who didn't have a durable body, as reminded by the bloody cut on his shoulder and the patches of burns on his arms.

Another kick to the ribs made the giant beast stumble to the side. The earth turned to a swamp at the moment's notice, as if waiting for the prey to walk in. This time, the patch of earth swallowed the creature's limbs in the blink of an eye.

The beast's tails moved erratically, but Jiraiya was prepared for the counterattack. He twisted his fingers in another hand seal and the mixture of mud and oil rose again as flexible bindings. Warts were starting to appear on his hands, telling Jiraiya that his chakra level was dangerously low for the maintenance of Sage Mode.

Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in concentration and let Natural Energy condense around his fist. Without hesitation, he slid in from the side and punched Three-Tail in the stomach, where a layer of coral fused to form a shell-like armour.

Even after the frog kata made contact with the target, Jiraiya didn't retreat. Instead, he pushed even harder, capitalizing on the momentum to flip Three-Tail onto the ground.

The silent and suffocating swamp stirred the moment Three-tail's back touched the ground. Once again, the mixture of mud and oil crawled up the creature's body like a blanket, but this time, stronger and heavier, due to the senjutsu enhancement.

Decisively, Jiraiya slapped the sealing scroll over what would have been Rin's stomach and forced the seal to activate. Immediately, he felt as if he was pumping his chakra into a black hole, to fuel the Sage Mode, the barrier, and the seal that battled against the defiant beast.

"Come on, Rin-chan, work with me here." Jiraiya prayed that the girl was still there because the chakra output of the creature underneath had just cranked up again. "You have no idea how much your will means; how much it can do."

Sage Mode tuned up Jiraiya's senses, so he was aware of many things that happened in the minute that he focused on the seal.

One, a signature lit up again at the rim of the barrier, not of chakra, but of Natural Energy.

Two, the creature's tails had broken free of the restraints and would soon stab into his back if he didn't put up some sort of defence.

Unfortunately, Jiraiya had no time for that. He was so close, just a few more seconds for the seal to settle; just a bit more chakra and—

The red markings disappeared from Jiraiya's face. Sage Mode was terminated by the Toad Elders to prevent him from turning into stone.

"Jiraiya!" Elder Shima shouted in reprimands as she and Elder Fukasaku jumped off of Jiraiya's shoulder and knocked the tail away. A slash still appeared across Jiraiya's back but at least he was saved from the fate of being skewered.

The seal didn't make it. When the rest of the tails followed suit in the attacks, Jiraiya had no choice but to escape and watch the sealing scroll being eroded.

The good news, he certainly had more than one sealing scroll prepared. The bad part, now, they had to start all over again from square one when the Tailed-Beast had clearly moved past that stage.

"Elders, I'd appreciate it if you could take over supplying the barrier for me," Jiraiya requested as the toad elders landed next to him. Jiraiya needed time to recover his chakra and he certainly couldn't get into Sage Mode in his current state. So, there was no point for the Elders to remain immobile for his sake.

"Are you certain?" Elder Fukusaku asked with a frown, but Jiraiya nodded with confidence. In terms of holding down the Tailed-beasts, there was someone that had done quite a fantastic job earlier. Without another word, the toad elders ran to the statues that anchored the barrier.

"Fifty-fifty? Really?" Jiraiya could hear the skepticism in Sumie's voice, but her eyes were already on the target.

Something was different, Jiraiya noticed. The pattern of chains that used to stretch to Sumie's elbow - was it a seal, from who, for what? - had started to break, one link at a time, until it receded under the sleeves at her shoulders.

It was reminiscent of Three-Tail's increase in chakra output, but with Natural Energy that couldn't be felt by normal shinobi. At that moment, Jiraiya couldn't help but think that Sumie was indeed more similar to the Tailed-Beast than human.

"The odds just happen to land on the wrong side of the coin, but give it one more chance and surely this is the one," Jiraiya reassured in a very unreassuring way if Sumie's snort was any indication.

"That's what all gamblers say," Sumie replied with a sigh. Lightly, she leaned down and her sigh turned into a breath. Three-Tail roared in the background, recognizing not one, but two of the pests that kept on getting in its way. It had already pushed its hind legs into the ground in preparation for a leap.

Then, Sumie clasped her hands together and twisted her palms. The earth moulded itself into a pair of stone hands and clapped onto Three-Tail before it could pounce forward. Like plucking a bird down from the sky, the stone hands pressed the creature back to the ground.

Jiraiya could sense the vigorous Natural Energy that flowed in the stone hands. It was as if Sumie had breathed life into the inanimate earth.

"Let's start again," Sumie whispered. Once again, she charged in towards the roaring beast.

-o-o-o-

"You have no idea how much your will means; how much it can do."

Sumie had already woken up when Jiraiya pleaded with Rin - or at least, whatever was left of the girl, from what she could gather.

To be fair, this entire experience felt as if she had missed a chapter of development - some kind of important revelation, at that - when she had already skipped the entire prequel.

Something was gathering in Three-Tail's throat, but before it could be released, Sumie punched the creature in the jaw and forced its head away from her. A stream of pressurized water was shot out right past Sumie, blowing a crater on the ground where she was standing as well as shattering the earthly constructs that Sumie had breathed life into.

Sumie didn't retreat, instead, she snaked her hand upwards and clawed onto the back of the creature's neck. Three-Tail growled in anger as Sumie's fingers dug into its red coating. Claws swooped towards Sumie, but when it arrived, she had already propelled herself into the air using her opponent as leverage.

Her body turned in the air to build up momentum until the force was released when she crashed her knees on its spine. The bone-like corals that caged around the Three-Tail's torso cracked under the impact and the creature was forced into the ground.

"Hold it there!" Sumie caught Jiraiya's shouts over the feral struggles of the creature. She made a swiping motion with one of her hands and elements of earth converged together, rising like snakes and biting into the Tailed-Beast's limbs and tails.

It would have been easier if there were natural sources of water nearby. But the closest river - Naka River, as Rin had introduced to her - ran far from the barrier and the underground water source was hundreds of metres below.

Thankfully, where the stones lacked flexibility in their bindings, the mud and oil bindings supplied by Jiraiya made up for it. Sumie pressed harder into Three-Tail's body despite the constant sears on her skin. Without wasting a moment, Jiraiya was sprinting towards Three-Tail with another scroll in hand.

That was when a burst of energy shook everything under the sky, with the Tailed-Beast as its epicentre. Again, Sumie couldn't sense chakra but she could see the aftermath just fine.

Jiraiya was thrown back by the shock and barely caught his footing by digging his hands into the ground. The barrier flashed with instability, made even worse by the observation that six out of eight anchoring seals were half-burnt. Crystallized corals expanded from the creature's skeleton armour before exploding into cutting shards. Sumie had to jump off of Three-Tail and shield herself from the explosions.

"Is this normal?" Sumie yelled at Jiraiya. A shard of coral pierced into her arm despite her best effort to strengthen her scales. The coral looked alive as it grew from her wounds, but Sumie didn't hesitate to rip it out with her hands, even if she had to sacrifice a chuck of her flesh.

"No!" At least Jiraiya was alive enough to reply. "The Tailed-Beast's power is ramping up faster than I expected. It either means that the old seal is losing all of its effects, which is very unlikely, or that …" His voice sounded pained, but Sumie just wanted him to finish his goddamn sentence for once.

"Or that Rin, as the only person connected to Three-Tail, has lost the ability or will to fight back."

Sumie raised her head and the darkened pupils of Three-Tail stared back at her. At the beginning of this confusing ordeal, perhaps she could remind herself to see Rin underneath that mass of destruction. But as the brawling continued, it was true that Sumie had not felt a shred of familiarity from Rin.

"Are you still here?" Sumie couldn't help but ask. As expected, the giant creature in front of her showed no reaction other than to crash its body weight at her.

A series of wind bullets imploded near Three-tail's legs, courtesy of Jiraiya, but it ended in no more than light harassment. Nevertheless, the quick distraction allowed Sumie to slide herself out of the way before she was smashed into the crater.

Sumie brushed her hand against the ground, rejuvenating the earth with another touch of Natural Energy. Immediately, three stone hands rose from the ground and pinned down the destruction tails at their base.

Keeping her body low, Sumie aimed a swinging kick to Three-Tail's hindleg, making it falter in balance. Once again, Sumie grasped the opening to strike a heavy blow at the centre of its chest. The armour of coral shattered under the force but Sumie knew from experience that the punch wouldn't do anything other than make the creature pause a little.

She was standing so close to the giant creature that she could imagine the corrosive coat licking her face. Rin's scent - the indication that first allowed Sumie to link the girl to this maddening creature - was still there somewhere. Faint, silent, completely buried by the overwhelming ocean waves that raged in the forefront.

Again, Sumie had missed an entire prequel on 'Tailed-Beast, shinobi, and human host' and then skipped a few chapters because of, you know, death. But even as disconnected and confusing as this story had become, Sumie found herself being able to invest in the story.

In this imagery of the vast ocean and the tiny leaf that was caught in the current, Sumie had been on both sides of the scale. She was once a force of nature that couldn't be disputed and overcome. She also understood what it was like to be the ant that looked up and saw the sky being shadowed by the giant elephant.

Sometimes it wasn't just the elephant, but the desperate clutch of this thing called 'Fate'.

The stone palms melted and twisted under Sumie's wish, turning amorphous in shape to better restrict the Tailed-Beast's movement. The crimson claw grazed against Sumie's arm and scratched into the inked scales. Something was once again brewing in the creature's mouth and Sumie had no intention of finding out what it was.

She punched forward, but Three-Tail finally learned from experience. A mass of corals expanded from its ribcage and intercepted her fist. Swallowing down a curse, Sumie swung her head forward and headbutted Three-Tail right on the jaw.

The entire web of scales that stretched over Sumie's body shimmered under the impact. Immediately, a searing pain spread over her face and she shuddered to imagine what she looked like right now with a patch of her face burnt off.

Still, Sumie used a rush of Natural Energy to break free of the corals that crystallized over her fist and dug her fingers into the crook of Three-Tail's - no, Rin's - neck.

"I might be wrong, but in the case that you're indeed struck by this terrible sensation known as 'Fate', please hear me out." It can't hurt, Sumie thought. Her arms were shaking from having to hold the giant creature in place, but her voice was projecting steadily.

"'Fate' is just like the dead water in the depths of the ocean. You can fall into it and cease to struggle. The weight that is pushed down on your skin might feel numb after a while and the pain might even lessen. There are already so many bones buried in the dead water, so no one will blame you if you do the same."

Three-Tail struggled harder and inevitably, more of Sumie's skin was touched by the corrosion in this scene of fake embrace. Furthermore, crystallized corals started to grow again, stabbing into her stomach in a slow and excruciating manner. The pain was making her voice shaky, but she wasn't done yet.

"Once you do start struggling, you will feel every ounce of pressure exerted on you with double the force. You can try to swim up, but there's no guarantee that you'll ever reach the surface. Yet, it's the only way to not sink deeper into the dead water." Sumie paused a bit as she focused on Rin's scent - the tiny, but unerasable mark that she left on Nature.

"So, if you don't want to sink in silence, then start kicking."

Sumie waited, one second, two seconds … until her bones felt like they would break under the raw power. Then, the pressure lessened for a tiny moment and the thick crimson aura seemed to shrink in intensity.

Sumie didn't hesitate, for opportunities that couldn't be caught were only wasted moments. With a twist of her wrist, she broke free from the giant claw and pulled her hand back.

At that moment, she pushed the Natural Energy running through her body into her palm. It was as if ink started to bleed out from the edges of her scales and pooled into the shape of a spear. The spear flowed like a fluid but pierced like the strongest metal when Sumie stabbed it towards Three-Tail, below the chest and above the stomach.

The creature let out a deafening yell when the black spear shattered the skeletal armour and stabbed through the flesh. The force from the strike flipped Three-Tail onto its back and Sumie pushed the spear deeper into the ground before jumping off of its giant body.

At the exact moment when Three-Tail was pinned to the ground, Jiraiya had already arrived with the sealing scroll opened. The fabric was spread over its stomach and black lines ran off the canvas and enveloped the creature.

Of course, Three-Tail struggled relentlessly, but Sumie was quick to touch the ground and soon, stone serpents curled around the creature's limbs and dove back to earth again. This time, there was no burst of chakra that shattered everything.

It felt like a miraculous moment, when the black seals tightened around the humanoid creature, forcing the bloated body covered in red to rescind in size. Sumie kept her arm around the creature's neck, keeping it down with a firm force despite the coating melting into her flesh.

Slowly, Jiraiya exhaled a breath full of relief, but the caution didn't fade until the figure in front of them had shrunk back to Rin's size. When Rin's feature was finally identifiable underneath the coat of red, Jiraiya nodded at her. Sumie reached over and grabbed the black spear and immediately, the ink started to unravel and dissipate into black dust.

"Will she be fine now?" Sumie asked in a soft voice as she retracted her hand from the girl's shoulder. She didn't expect to see marks of corrosion covering half of Rin's skin, confirming once again that the girl was a victim of a power tied to her, in many aspects.

For a moment, Jiraiya was unable to give Sumie an answer. Eventually, he said, "The damage to her body should heal naturally, as for the rest, I'll take care of it."

Then, he looked at Sumie, specifically, at the hole in her stomach, wondering if she'd survive that injury. Sumie could feel the healing taking place as Natural Energy coalesced at her wounds. So she shook her head and Jiraiya let out his second sigh of relief.

"Sorry for the wait, Sumie-chan." Jiraiya's flimsy tone certainly brought a sense of familiarity to Sumie. It also warned her that whatever was to come was likely to make her frown. "It's a little sudden, but how do you feel about a trip to Mt Myōboku?"

Sumie didn't really get a chance to express her opinion.

It was as if Jiraiya had foreseen the cracks that ran down the barrier, counting down the last seconds of its existence. In the blink of an eye, the duo of toads that used to stand on Jiraiya's shoulder jumped to Sumie's side.

Three heartbeats later, the barrier broke down into shimmering dust. The encirclement of Root agents closed in under the anxious gaze of their leader, but only Jiraiya and Rin were left in this landscape of ruin.

-o-o-o-

A white snake slithered out from under a broken branch without any sound. Dust fell off its body as it raised its head in vigilance. A piece of bloodied flesh was stuck between its fangs, but the snake had no intention of swallowing it.

When the white snake sensed no danger, it lowered its body back down onto the soft forest floor and slithered away in the shadow. The snake had a mission - an order - given by its master, to deliver what it was asked to collect.

As the snake moved, it was inevitable that the blood on the flesh touched its mouth and got dissolved in its venomous saliva. The taste of the blood was almost irresistible to the snake's instinct, but even that was suppressed by the loyalty hardwired into its mind.

At least it got a taste.

That thought was the last thing frozen in the snake's brain as its body started to petrify. Its porcelain white scales were encased in a shade of gray and its winding body turned rigid like a statue.

The thick bush rustled as a hand reached down and picked up the lifeless - yet, very life-like - figurine. Cracks started to appear on the stone remains of the snake, but its master gave no mercy to its fragility.

Orochimaru narrowed his eyes at the piece of flesh that was still stuck between the snake's mouth. It was starting to dissolve as well, first as a wave of fine dust, and then nothing was left.

"Hell of a surprise that you're hiding, Jiraiya." The stone figurine finally broke apart in Orochimaru's hand and hit the ground as another pile of rocks.

-o-o-o-

"Ugh, some guide you are." Despite her best effort, Sumie couldn't help but complain about Jiraiya. The world shifted when the talking toads latched onto her shoulder, but it sure didn't feel like the only things shifting - namely, all of her inner organs.

Sumie let out a deep breath as she crouched on the ground, trying to lessen the pain that was made a lot worse by the sudden and unwarned teleportation.

A few seconds of silence had passed, and then Sumie heard the noises of splashing water. When she raised her head, she finally took in the marvellous sight in full view.

Strips of clear water cradled the lush green land; thick vegetation rose high to reach the clouds as sunlight reflected off the glistening leaves. The sky was kept in the tranquil hours of early morning, painting this otherworldly realm in a warm, comforting hue.

One by one, toads started to appear from the swamp, from behind rocks, and from below the draping leaves. The little animals stared at Sumie with glints of curiosity in their round eyes, like children gathered up to see the novelty, but too timid to step any closer.

"Back to your meditations, youngsters! Let our guests recuperate in peace." One of the toad elders - Elder Shima, if she recalled correctly - chided and the crowd of young toads scattered with sounds of disappointment.

It was an unexpectedly light-hearted scene, especially after the exhausting brawl, so much so that it made Sumie let out a quiet laugh.

"You can rest more, my girl. The pond is also there for you to brush up." Elder Shima returned her attention to Sumie and her voice softened considerably. "Fukusaku went ahead to inform the Great Toad Sage, but we have time, so there's no need to rush."

"I'm feeling better now, Elder Shima," Sumie replied as she dipped her hand into the pond nearby. The water was warm like it had been bathed in the sun. Sumie scrubbed away the layer of blood and dirt that caked on her arms and her face, revealing the skin underneath that had regenerated anew. "I would appreciate it if you could take me to see the Great Sage."

"Very well. Follow me." Elder Shime compiled without more arguments. She merely hopped ahead and waited for Sumie to follow. They walked past many vegetations, some empty fields and even a class of young toads being lectured, until finally, they reached a dwelling made of stone monuments.

A giant toad sprawled on the seat made of simple slabs of stones, his eyes closed under the heavy eyelid and marks of age could clearly be made. Sumie might have heard some snoring when she first walked in, but it was as if the Sage Toad had sensed her entry, his eyes opened slowly, just enough to make her feel seen.

Sumie had expected to feel some pressure from his gaze, but the Great Toad Sage had eyes that remain as warm as the morning sky. In fact, she could even pick up some traces of curiosity and … fondness.

"Ah, I have not felt the presence of Natural Energy as strong and pure as what you radiate, Sumie-san. Not even those that I had thought to be blessed by Nature could compare to this Nature's adoration for you," the Toad Sage drawls, his eyes curved a little as he examined Sumie.

"I am Gamamaru, the oldest Sage Toad of Mt Myōboku. The boy, Jiraiya, has mentioned that you would like a conversation." The giant toad shifted a little in his stone seat, bringing his relaxed body forward. "I, too, am curious about this meeting, but be warned, as old as I am, I don't have the answer to everything."

Sumie wondered how old Gamamaru the Toad Sage was, for him to call Jiraiya a boy. When Jiraiya offered this opportunity to Sumie, she had doubts about what could come out of it. It was nothing more than a shot in the dark for Sumie, in an attempt to understand - get closer - to the Nature of this world; an attempt that stemmed from natural instincts.

Still, Sumie struggled a little to ask the question, "... am I truly being blessed by Nature?" Your Nature? Even when Sumie had barged into this world, bringing in a new source of disturbance to its balance? Even though Sumie was constantly taking and using its natural energy for her benefit?

"Unfortunately, I do not have an answer to that." Gamamaru shook his head and Sumie couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. "I am merely a speck of sand that baths in the flow of Nature. I'm not elusive to its thoughts, not any more than you are … or perhaps, even less than you are."

There was a brief moment where Sumie was surprised by the Toad Sage's perceptiveness, but the light-hearted cackle that rang beneath his words made it seem like a fluke. Regardless, Gamamaru continued after a pause, "I'm no help to your confusion, it seems, but I can entertain you with a story of the old time - a time when chakra has not spread through the land."

A time before chakra? Sumie's attention was pulled immediately. The existence of this chakra energy was so prevalent in this world that it had become the overarching norm - a norm that Sumie could never get into. "May I hear your story?" Sumie asked and Gamamaru nodded.

"You see, I was just a young toad back then, so my memories might be fuzzy. Natural energy has always been here in my recollection, but there was an era when chakra has not arrived in this world. When it arrived, it did not come kindly." Gamamaru's pupils turned glassy as if he was drawing on blurry scenes in his mind.

"At one point, a creature - or maybe a mechanism, you can say - has descended onto our world. I do not know where it came from, or why it did so, but I can feel how it drains the Natural Energy, devouring the energy of the land to make something else."

Like an engaging storyteller, the Toad Sage gave a long breath of pause for its audience to come up with the guesses. "Chakra. It fed on Natural Energy and produced chakra," Sumie whispered.

"Indeed, that's the birth of chakra. Not directly, though. Some interventions were involved and that story has been passed on as an antique myth. But eventually, chakra is embedded in the bodies of many people and even animals like us." At that point of the story, Gamamaru's voice had dimmed like he was losing steam in his speech.

"Whether it's unused or extensively developed; whether it has no impact on a person's life or makes up the basis of their livelihood, chakra is intertwined with the creatures of this land, while the existence of natural energy has remained elusive since the beginning …" Gamamaru's curved eyelids half-closed and the Elder seemed to doze off.

Only for a few seconds, then the Toad Sage was awakened again by the breezing wind. "Right, where was I again? You must forgive my age."

"About how Natural Energy coexists peacefully with chakra as the latter took root and flourished." Sumie reminded the Great Sage, but she sort of already figured out the reason - or one of the reasons - why Gamamaru would share this story with her.

"Exactly. I do not know the view of Nature, but Natural Energy has accepted those like Jiraiya and Minato, allowing them to balance their chakra and Natural Energy to create senjutsu." The Nature that Gamamaru had come to familiarize was full of acceptance. Sumie was not the first intruder that came here. The one before had bear fruits that couldn't be severed from this land, in the form of chakra.

But you see, unlike Gamamaru, Sumie could sense the thoughts of Nature and knew that it was aware of an intrusion. However, it was also true that the thoughts that Sumie sensed were fragmented and severely lacking in context.

In the end, Sumie did not know this Nature at all. It was rather judgmental of her to decipher the messages so brashly when Nature had shown her nothing but its aid. Besides …

"Do you still feel the burning desire to pursue that question of yours? Would the answer - or a lack thereof - drive you mad?" Gamamaru asked, his tone void of any judgment that would make the questions sound rhetorical.

"To be honest, I can't help but desire an answer. But in the end, regardless of the answer, I will still be here and continue to exist under Nature's care." Sumie let out a shrug as a sense of relief rose in her chest. It seemed that Sumie would just have to be a little shameless here if she wanted to stick around. But really, she had no ill-willed intentions to be ashamed of.

Nature wasn't her equal - it was much more than that - but it wasn't her everything either.

"Thank you for the counsel, Gamamaru-sama." Sumie lowered her head to thank the Toad Sage, who merely widened his smile. "If I may ask about your story, you said that chakra has been integrated into the world and its creature, but what about the original being that started it - the one that devoured energy from the land?"

The Elder was surprised by the sudden change of topic. Unlike the relaxed attitudes he had before, he frowned a little at the mention of that creature. Still, his brows relaxed soon after and he replied, "In truth, I do not know or remember much about it. Its first appearance and its eventual fate remain mysterious, but as you can feel the abundance of Natural Energy in the land, it has been stopped at one point."

There was a long stretch of silence as the Toad Sage looked into the distance, past the horizon where the sun had risen. There was nothing to see, but the Sage was no doubt seeing something.

"Sometimes, Nature blesses me with rare moments of prophecies. They're vague and often without context, but it has mentioned turmoils of this world that have yet come to pass. As for its relation to events of the far past, I do not know," Gamamaru said as he refocused his gaze on Sumie.

No doubt, the Toad Sage could already sense the importance - even reverence - that Sumie had placed on Nature. Therefore, a hint of curiosity grew in his eyes as he asked, "What will you do with this knowledge?"

"Right now, not a clue," Sumie answered, not at all embarrassed. "But we'll see."

After a heartbeat, Gamamaru burst into a wave of laughter, his voice rumbling against Sumie's eardrums. "That's the best way to go about it, isn't it?"

-o-o-o-

In the world's beginning, the order was made under Heaven's will.

With Heaven's vision, landscapes were formed, creatures were born, and balances were reached - growth and withering, formation and erosion, birth and death. Everything was encompassed within this flow of energy - in all kinds of forms and shapes - that became Nature.

But soon, Heaven realized a problem - the world that it created, like a pendulum with too heavy of a weight, could not stabilize itself.

Nothing could be perfectly still forever. Imbalances were bound to appear, where the scale tilts to one side and the flow of energy - of hunger, of desires, of losses, and of everything that's prone to build up - becomes uncontrollable and insatiable.

These were Devastations*, and each one of them threatened to devour the balance and order that Heaven had instilled, had it not intervened forcibly.

This problem should not have existed in Heaven's vision. Imbalances were inevitable, but the world should have resolved them as part of its natural course. Yet, the world that Heaven created lacked the ability to fix itself.

So, Heaven came up with a trial solution - an intervention that should end all interventions.

Using the essence of Nature, Heaven shaped a species of creatures based on what this world had already produced - the antlers of a deer, the head of a crocodile, the body of a serpent, the belly of a tortoise, the palms of a tiger, the claws of an eagle, and the scales of a carp.

Finally, Heaven imprinted a piece of its own will on this species of its creation, granting them a purpose along with the ability to use Nature's essence as their aid.

This species would be Heaven's solution to this fragile world. They would resolve the Devastations that arose and preserve Nature's balance, until eventually, this world could do so without them.

When and if that day would come, not even Heaven knew.

In turn, this species designed by Heaven gained many names and had many legends throughout history. At one point, they were known as the dragons*.

Chapter Text

Chapter 10 - 入世 (Earthly Descent)

Five hundred years before the Cataclysm

A touch of sunlight broke through the horizon, painting the dim sky in the colour of cream. From a distance, it looked as if a white carp had turned its belly in the murky water.

But a shadow was brewing underneath, cutting through the tranquillity with its writhing figure. The shadow slugged through the forest, seemingly shifting its shape with every movement it made.

One second, the black smoke gathered to form a tiger's head, growling in anguish. A second later, it spread apart like a horde of birds. Now, the shadowy wisp stretched forward, resembling that of a human arm grasping in desperation.

The shadow was running from something on instinct. Yet, it did not know how to hide its tracks, leaving behind a trail of lifeless remains in the forest that was trying to regrow from a landslide. To feed, to take, and to devour - that was also its instinct and it did so without any restraints.

A moment later, the cloud parted as two dragons dove down from the sky. Their speed made them look like ink strokes that cut through the pale canvas.

"The Devastation returned, how unprecedented," the black dragon exclaimed, encompassing the sound of waves and the melody of raindrops within each syllable.

"No, it's not the same. This one is newly formed," the other dragon - the one with scales the colour of steel - corrected. The Devastation that they cleansed five days ago was born out of the aspect of erosion and decay that stemmed from the natural phenomenon of landslide. It certainly did not look like this mess; like this aggregation of creatures in agony.

"Regardless, we must cleanse it before it devours more of Nature." As the steel dragon uttered the last syllable, the two of them broke off. One descended further to catch the Devastation roaming the land, and the other lifted its head and ascended higher in the sky.

The steel dragon zoomed toward the mass of shadow, catching up to it in an instant. Whirling winds cradled his body, crushing the brittle remains of what used to be a forest when it got too close to the ground.

For a moment, the Devastation shrivelled up as if it was overtaken by fear. But it had no such emotions, so this was merely a reflex before it lashed out with an even stronger force. Black shadows rushed out towards the steel dragon, continuing to devour what was left in its path. That was until it hit a block that it couldn't chew through.

The black mass scraped against the steel-coloured scales that glowed under the impact until claws slammed into its supposedly formless existence. It tried to slip through the talons but had no success. Formless energy surrounded its body like a dense layer of glue, drowning its existence little by little.

Immediately, the Devastation ditched a part of itself to be smouldered under the dragon's claws, while the majority of it escaped in a hurry.

It was then that the black dragon reappeared from the clouds, bringing along a blanket of water around its winding body. She let out a roaring breath, sounding like the sighs of ocean waves, and the water heeded her commands and rained down like pearl beads.

The droplets doused the black shadow no matter how erratic it tried to move and where it tried to escape. The water looked clear and harmless under the sun, but it might as well be poison to the writhing Devastation.

More water converged towards the Devastation, pressuring the runaway wisps back together with no mercy. As if on cue, the two dragons circled the Devastation and rushed in from opposite directions.

The steel dragon bit into the Devastation with his sharp teeth and the black dragon dragged her claws through the pulsing mass. The black shadow was torn apart in a second and the water swallowed up the dusty remains until the Devastation was fully vanquished.

As the steel-coloured dragon circled into the sky, observing for any remnants that needed to be dealt with, the black dragon landed on the withering earth with a soft thud. The rain that she had called upon was already soaking into the fragile soil, trying to rejuvenate the deadland.

Still, the Devastation - not one, but two in such a short period - had taken so much energy from this area that the rain made no visible improvement. Shaking her head, the black dragon leant down and sent out a breath filled with the essence of Nature into the lifeless land. It would take time and they'd have to return often, but at least the Devastation had yet to turn the land into a crumbling void.

"Nothing else here is worthy of our attention," the steel dragon concluded as it also descended onto the earth. His face twitched, making what looked like a frown, as he added, "The new Devastation must be the agglomeration of untimely deaths in the area."

The black dragon thought back to the shifting shapes that the Devastation had recreated unconsciously. True, lots of creatures in the area would have been buried by the sudden landslide. "That's still a very short time for the imbalance to fester and the Devastation to form."

At first, the steel dragon didn't answer. He merely looked in the direction of the East and when the black dragon followed suit, she understood his point.

"The warring humans near the area must be feeding into it." There was no doubt a trace of contempt in the steel dragon's voice. His companion, while not showing much of an opinion, also didn't find the human deaths that got swallowed up to be sympathetic.

The humans in this era waged wars often with each other. The black dragon couldn't fathom the purpose of fighting against their own species, especially since the reasonings behind the aggression - the ones that she eavesdropped through Nature, anyway - were so insignificant compared to the noble cause given to her species.

The steel-coloured dragon said nothing else, already turning its body upwards for the return journey, only to be stopped by his companion who had hooked her tail onto his.

"Wait, you promised," the black dragon demanded, making the other one hiss in annoyance, but she was insistent. "You promised to take me to the human settlement near here as soon as I'm adequate with their language."

"And are you?" the steel dragon snorted and the black dragon nodded with confidence. Well, she was adequate, or as adequate as she could be from the snippets that the wind would bring from the human villages - when the elders taught their young ones; when parents corrected their children.

"You go there often, so what's the issue? Unless … you're doing something you shouldn't in the human villages," the black dragon dared as she nudged her body closer.

"Don't sprout nonsense." The steel dragon turned around and nudged his companion to the side. "Fine, if you so wish." Now, the black dragon looked satisfied.

"When did you even collect these?" The black dragon, now in the shape of a human, asked as she secured the outermost layer of her clothes. As expected, the human speech sounded raw and unnatural in the rhythm, but at least she knew the words.

"Close enough to the current era, when you're busy fooling around with those foxes of the Verdant Valley." The steel dragon replied as he examined his companion carefully, making sure that there was nothing outlandish with her disguise. When he found everything acceptable, he let out a satisfied hmph.

"Now, don't talk to anyone with that unfamiliar tone of yours, don't attract any attention and just … don't interact with any human," the steel dragon warned, but the black dragon found it to be counterintuitive - how could one avoid the humans in a human village? - yet, she went along with it to prevent annoying her kin even more.

The steel dragon split off from his kin and left her to her own device as soon as they entered the village. She had always known that the steel dragon collected trinkets of human creations - whether it was physical items or immaterial performances. She didn't quite understand what use he had for them, just like how she couldn't explain the curiosity she had for the human society that had taken a firm root in Nature.

Everything about them seemed to change so fast even though their lifespan was abysmally short. They were still considered a species born out of Nature, but they had created so many things that seemed foreign to Nature before their time.

It was a different experience, to be hearing the whispers of human lives through her ears instead of through the whispers of the wind. The sudden influx of human noises - so close and so loud - was unexpectedly overwhelming, making her pause at every other step.

"The best meat buns in the village!" A man yelled, his beard trembling from the sheer volume of his breath. The woman across the street, however, wasn't having any of it.

"Bullshit, mine's better!" The woman shouted back as she tapped the giant steamer with the wooden utensil. The fight over the title continued into a stalemate and the crowd laughed at the commotion. That seemed to attract the attention of even more people, some even stopped to grace the stalls.

"You, girl!" The black dragon was startled by the sudden gaze of the woman who ran the meat bun stall. "You look like you want a meat bun - the best ones in the area," the woman emphasized, her face stuck in a mixture of disgust for her competitor and happiness for the influx of customers.

The young dragon shook her head and before the woman could continue her persuasion, she lifted the hood over her head and ran the other way. Still, the novelty didn't stop there.

"It's the wool from the Northern plains, guaranteed to hold over the winter," a merchant whispered in an alley, holding out a sack for the other party to examine.

"How did you get them with the wars being waged?" the buyer exclaimed in a hushed tone and the merchant's expression soured at the mention of conflicts near the region.

"It's very difficult. I have to put my life on the line, so I'm sure you understand why I want worthy compensation." In a few words, the merchant framed the narrative in his favour. She didn't stay for the endless haggle that came later.

"Sir! Stay for the night," sweet voices seduced as a group of women latched onto the soldiers passing by. They ran their hands over the soldiers' leather armour, unravelling their desires with dreamy eyes. The building behind them had the most lavish decorations and music was pouring out of windows, along with other noises that were carried by the wind.

The black dragon learned this time, making sure that she never stared for too long. So, before her presence could be intruding, she took a turn and exited the busy street. However, Nature seemed to have its own plan.

A group of soldiers walked past her, dressed in the bare minimum of armour and surrounded by the thick scent of alcohol. One of them eyed her with a lazy gaze and immediately, his brain was overtaken by a rash impulse.

"Hey, wait up, miss," the soldier called out as he took a step to the side, blocking her path. "It's dangerous for a young lady to be wandering alone, why don't we escort you home?"

"Come on, tell us where to go, we promise your safety." Another one knocked his chest plate cheekily, but the glances he threw in the direction of the pleasure house betrayed his words.

Desire, lust, and greed. Their eyes spelt their intentions loud and clear. Yet, the black dragon hardly felt threatened by the farce of those humans. Their strength was so small, and those emotions were so insignificant compared to the Devastation that grew to hundreds, even thousands of times that intensity.

So, the black dragon kept her silence and waited for the soldiers to realize the futility of their actions and leave. That seemed to both confuse and unsettle them.

"Does she even understand? Are you sure she's from a pleasure house? Could she be a foreigner from the Northern Plains?" Another one whispered at the back, but the soldier who started this shut him down to defend his pride.

"Only a girl from the pleasure houses has a face as dolled up as this! Even if she's a foreigner, she must be sold here," the soldier insisted. The silent girl in front of him was grating on his patience and pride. Irritated, he walked forward and was ready to drag the girl along.

Ah, I didn't see that coming. The black dragon blinked, trying to understand how these humans could be so foolishly brave and think of a way to get out of this without attracting attention. It would prove to be a hard task.

Just then, a hand grabbed onto the soldier and pulled him back. The force continued to throw the man back until he was slammed into the alley wall, even creating a gust of wind that blew the hood off of her head.

The soldier was ready to curse his gut out, but a look at the intruder made him weak in his knees and sober in the head. Immediately, the group of soldiers knelt down - minus the one that was already on the floor - and shouted, "General!"

"I don't remember condoning my soldiers to treat the civilians with disrespect and violence." The General narrowed his eyes, making his soldiers bury their heads even lower. "I don't give a damn if you spend your off-duty night in the tavern or the pleasure houses, but not this."

"Yes, General." "Understood, General." A chorus of words sounded one by one, including from the soldier that tried to grab the black dragon. Still, the soldier raised his head and looked at her as if she was to blame.

"Forgive me, General, I was just worried that she might be a spy from the Northern Plains," the soldier said, his words stirred a wave of uncertainty and suspicion from his fellow soldiers who had witnessed the girl's unresponsiveness.

"Did you find evidence of her passing information to the enemy army? Or did you base it on the fact that she ignored your offensive comments?" The General mocked, pushing the soldier's attempt to sabotage back to himself. "Even if she is a foreigner from the Northern Plains, she's just a civilian in this town until proven otherwise."

When the soldier seemed to have nothing else to say, the General concluded, "Go receive your disciplinary punishment from your supervisor. I'm sure you've had your fill of rest already." Red with shame, the group of soldiers scurried off without raising their heads.

Only when the exchange was finished that the black dragon realized that the smart thing to do was to slip away when their attention was occupied. Nevertheless, she found herself distracted by the conversation that unfolded in front of her. Before she knew it, the General focused his attention on her and the chance was lost.

"Are you alright?" The man asked. The heavy and regal armour on his body made his shadow look much bigger than his soldiers. When the girl didn't answer, he asked again, "Are you lost?"

Again, no answer. But instead of becoming impatient, the General merely furrowed his brows and said something else. The black dragon blinked, having no idea what the man was trying to say. Still, the unfamiliar syllables stirred some memories in her head, reminding her of the tongue used by the people in the North - the other part of the human species that the soldiers here fought against - that she had heard through the wind.

The General tried a few times, tweaking his tones slightly each time, as if he wasn't certain if his pronunciation was correct. Eventually, he had to admit defeat with that approach and went back to his mother tongue.

"Are you able to get home safely?" the General asked. Finally, the black dragon was starting to realize that perhaps not responding was not the correct way to go at it despite the warning from her kin. "I mean it in the most respectful way, but do you know the direction of your home?"

It was strange. She was so confident in her attempt at human language before, but now, she hesitated to make a sound that could expose her abnormality in this part of the world. Hang on, she couldn't avoid interacting with the humans, but maybe she could do so without her half-assed words.

The black dragon raised her hand and pointed in the direction behind the General and above the horizon. Immediately, with a sigh of both relief and contentment, the General turned around and eyed the direction marked by her finger.

"Is that the direction of your home …" His voice died from the confusion when he saw the clouds at the end of his sight. The General turned around, asking, "Are you certain?"

There was no one else left in the alley.

"You followed my words, didn't you?" The steel dragon questioned as he dropped the garments into a hole in the tree, tiny in the claws of his gigantic body. "You didn't raise any attention or run into any trouble, right?"

The black dragon thought back to the exchange in the alleyway - to the General that she had answered. She replied with a firm shake of her head, "Of course not."

Quickly, she glanced at the collection of trinkets that her kin had hidden in the forest, including a new novel that he had brought back this time, and changed the topic. "Are you sure you want to keep your collection in the forest? It can get swallowed up by natural disasters and even growing Devastations in an instant."

"If they get destroyed or lost, I'll simply collect new ones." He gave her a strange look as he waved his tail at the tree, commanding it to close the secret cave inside and hide it with thick leaves. However, before they took off into the sky, the steel dragon paused and met the gaze of his companion with seriousness.

"These are merely distractions to chase off the boredom, and the same applies to their creators," the steel dragon said, his eyes hardened and examined for any signs of disagreement. "Human settlements thrive and decay every hundreds of years. Their dynasties rise and fall even shorter than that. Their affairs - their desires, their ideologies, and especially their wars - are insignificant compared to our mission given by Heaven."

"So, do not linger."

Against the heavy warning, the black dragon replied light-heartedly, "That goes without saying." She cast a glance towards the direction of the village and added in reassurance, "As with you, my visit is just pastime. Nothing more."

-o-o-o-

Sumie squinted her eyes when the sunlight brightened. She raised a hand to shield her face from the searing heat, hoping for the clouds to cover up the burning sun. Rin did mention that the summer in Konoha - and a large part of Fire Country - came fast and flashy.

The clouds didn't take pity on her. So instead of staying by the window and continuing to torture herself, Sumie closed the window and pulled the curtain, dulling the sound of celebration from the outside.

The war between the shinobi villages had finally ended. At least, that was the simplified and optimistic version.

It wasn't long before the faux sense of tranquillity was broken by the click of a key. The door was pulled open, entering its rightful owner along with a rush of baked air. Young Kakashi-kun saw Sumie the moment he stepped in. For a second, he looked surprised and caught off guard, as if forgetting that another soul was staying in his house.

Quickly, the boy pulled his composure back up and gave her a nod - perhaps to acknowledge the fact that she hadn't wrecked his living space, caused any trouble, and might even be helpful during his absence - then he went straight to the bedroom without looking back.

Very slightly, Sumie frowned. The apparent lack of puppy hostility and the fact that the boy didn't pay attention to her scent meant a lack of concentration. The boy was distressed.

"Sumie-chan! I come bearing gifts." Sumie turned her attention back to the entrance and saw Jiraiya dangling a few bottles of sake all so cheerfully. A mob of golden hair peeked out behind the man, belonging to none other than the talk of the town, Namikaze Minato.

"You know that I can't get drunk." Sumie wasn't impressed with the choice of gift, but she nevertheless cleared the table to make space for Jiraiya and Minato, which the former took in strides.

"No, but the taste of sake can still be enjoyed, am I right?" Jiraiya replied, completely forgetting the fact that he was not the owner of this house with how comfortable he acted. Sumie wasn't sure if the actual owner agreed with that assertion.

"Sorry about Kakashi. He's been through a lot these past few days," Minato said when he noticed Sumie's attention lingering in the direction that the boy disappeared. "I want to thank you for helping Jiraiya-sensei and Rin-chan. Truly, I can't be grateful enough."

"There's no need. I asked for something in return." Sumie shook her head, not finding herself to be worthy of the gratitude. Her motivation was never that pure, to begin with.

"Right, speaking of which. Haru-san already made it out of Konoha undetected. My informants confirmed that she has arrived at the intermediary location and it's completely up to her where she wants to go next," Jiraiya said, already popping a sake bottle and pushing another one in front of Sumie. "As for those shinobi that you're worried about, their influence won't stretch that far outside of Konoha, especially when they're busy cleaning after themselves."

Sumie accepted the bottle of sake, just like she accepted Jiraiya's repayment. She never made it explicit that the ones that made her wary were the faction belonging to Elder Shimura. But as she said, Jiraiya's ability to read beneath the lines was almost too reliable.

"Elder Shimura's faction got in trouble for what happened with Rin?" Sumie asked all of a sudden. At the same time, she wondered where she stood with this 'Namikaze faction' after what happened with Rin.

Thankfully, Jiraiya nodded easily, showing no sign that Sumie had overstepped her boundaries. That gave Sumie the audacity to continue asking, "Then would his situation be improved if it was his faction that sealed the Tailed-Beast instead of you, even if there would be considerable casualties?"

"The short answer is yes." It was Minato that answered Sumie. "Shinobi culture values results, making failures and success both important in the equation. The faults of Elder Shimura and Root lay in their mishaps with the spy that infiltrated their ranks, but it's also true that they were able to bait out the sleeper agents - which could have remained undercover for many more years - and acted swiftly. Spies are not uncommon, rather, it's about how we deal with them."

"You think Elder Shimura knew about the spy in Root and deliberately let them contact Rin, just to bait out the accomplices," Sumie concluded. The blonde-haired man didn't disagree, but Jiraiya couldn't help but click his tongue in frustration as he gulped down a mouthful of sake.

"It can't be proven, so only he knows what he did," Jiraiya said. There was no point hiding the divide between Elder Shimura and Minato, not when Sumie had clear benefits by associating with one side.

"Rin's seal being tampered with by our enemies spoke against Minato's ability as well. If it were Root that sealed the Tailed-Beast, then it would be another credit to erase their failures and another point to suggest that Three-Tail cannot be contained safely as Minato suggested."

Right, Shinobi culture valued results. If Jiraiya wasn't even given a chance to seal Three-Tail, there would also be no results for him to provide. No one would ever know if the rampage could be stopped with no casualty unless the same situation happened again - which, even Sumie knew that Konoha would never allow, even if it was at the price of a girl's rights and freedom.

"But that did not happen!" Jiraiya raised his voice suddenly as he smacked the empty sake bottle onto the table - Kakashi's table. "The Tailed-Beast was suppressed with the help of Rin's willpower. The victory at the Konoha-Kumo battlefront ensured that Minato would have results that couldn't be overridden. Root is being reprimanded and they'd have to work hard to provide other forms of success - digging up more spies or retrieving more intels - to regain their status."

And with that, the power balance between the two politically opposing factions has tilted to one side, no matter how temporary it is.

"Right, congratulations, by the way," Sumie said as she raised a bottle of sake at Minato. This man had been the talk of the town, being the elevated war hero who was declared the next Hokage. Asano-san even gave all the workers a day off on the day of the inauguration so that everyone could enjoy the festivities and the celebration.

"Thank you. It seems that you're catching on to Konoha's customs quite fast." Minato accepted Sumie's congratulations and returned a light smile. There was an air of calming composure surrounding the man - an aura that would make the people gazing upon him feel reassured by his leadership.

But deep in his eyes, Sumie saw the glint of ambition and determination, telling her that he knew what he wanted to do with the title and power that were about to be granted to him. This is a man of belief, Sumie thought. It would be a curious sight to see what he would achieve in the coming future.

"Rin-chan has been accommodating during my stay here. She's a very good guide." Unlike a certain somebody, Sumie might have given a pointed look to Jiraiya, making him choke a little in the midst of drinking his second bottle.

"Now that Elder Shimura won't have the attention to waste on your case, we're thinking of placing you under Jiraiya as part of his spy network - that's the official cover, anyway. Unofficially, you'll be able to disappear into the background in this network of anonymity. Of course, the seal on your back would be erased," Minato said as he finally joined the drinking club and sipped on his bottle of sake. "Is that acceptable for you, or rather, what's your plan from now on?"

Sumie stayed silent for a moment, letting the taste of sake savour in her mouth like she was savouring her experiences in Konoha. "I'm going to leave Konoha soon, so I appreciate the thoughtfulness of your plan."

She nodded at Jiraiya and continued, "As you've suggested, I'd like to see more stories. A different flavour in every tavern, was it?" Jiraiya cackled at her words, but he looked happy that Sumie had taken his drunken speech to heart.

"Also, after my conversation with the Great Toad Sage and thinking back on my own … experiences, I have some questions about Nature that I'd like to pursue," Sumie added after a second thought. It wouldn't be nearly as relevant or relatable to Jiraiya and Minato, but if it would put their mind at ease, then why not.

"If you don't mind me asking, is it possible that you've regained some memory?" Jiraiya asked. A fair question, given that Sumie literally showed some sort of evolution during Three-Tail's suppression.

"No, not really." Unfortunately, Sumie still had no plan of sharing her past with anyone. "What I can do is probably a mixture of intuition and muscle memory." So, it would have to be one lie after the other, occasionally with some omission and partial truth sprinkled in, all to maintain her narrative.

"Not that I think you're stupid or anything, but there would be a lot of people obsessed with your regeneration, immortality, and what you can do with Natural Energy, even more so outside of Konoha." What you have done while fighting Three-Tail can't work again. Jiraiya warned with the best intention in mind. It wasn't just about Sumie, but also the cover that the Namikaze faction had worked hard to set up for her.

"I understand. Believe it or not, I don't like regenerating from critical injuries nor coming back from the dead, even if doing so would help unlock my powers faster." Sumie didn't miss the subtle glances Jiraiya kept on stealing in her arms, trying to catch the mysterious black seals that he had seen.

"Even if it would give you unrivalled power?" Minato confirmed again. They were side-tracking for sure, venturing closer to the discussion of Sumie's ideology. Evaluation and understanding who one could work with went both directions.

"Call it intuition, but my ability to regenerate from the dead does not feel like the definition of 'everlasting'. What would happen when all of the seals were lost? Who would I become? Would I lose anything I don't want to? Do you know? Do I know?" Sumie shook her head without giving the other party any chance to speak.

At least this part wasn't a lie. The binding came from Heaven - the last bit of Heaven's presence that remained, actually. Once it was gone, it was gone, and Sumie wasn't sure what else it would take when a part of her will - and who knew what else - was literally shaped by Heaven.

Of course, just breathing and staying in this new world eroded her bindings, even if it was slow. So, an ending in the uncharted territory was inevitable. Sumie wasn't going to evade it, but she also wasn't going to run toward it.

"People fear death because it's an end to known existence and an entry into the realm of the unknown, is it not?" Sumie muttered as she looked at the sake inside the narrow-necked bottle. The surface of the liquid was glistening like stars reflected in a deep well. "Well, I have my own definition of that and I'm fine with living my 'life' to its natural expiration date."

She raised her head and downed a third of the bottle. "Besides, you already know what I can do. That's more than enough for most non-shinobi things."

"Indeed, I sure do," Jiraiya laughed, raising his bottle as well. Just Sumie's use of Natural Energy for stealth was enough to evade most detections, especially when the connection to senjutsu was a rare occurrence in this world.

"Need help preparing for your journey or finding a direction?" Jiraiya asked in a light-hearted tone. "I have some recommendations for the best sake of the continent if you're out of ideas."

Sumie let out a laugh. She shouldn't have expected Jiraiya's seriousness to last more than a few minutes. But with those words, it was a sign that she'd have his best blessings for wherever she'd like to go. Besides, she really didn't have a direction—

Sumie snapped her head towards the direction of the backyards. She ignored the obvious confusion at the table and tried to catch the fleeting whispers of the depth.

"... Intrusion … Unnatural …"

This time, it was accompanied by a specific presence hiding in the distance, blending in with the natural canopy. Without wasting any time, Sumie pulled open the door and stepped into the grassy ground, all to get closer to Nature's embrace.

"Please, keep it there for me," Sumie whispered as she pressed her hand onto the ground and let Natural Energy flood into the earth. Like a slumbering beast waking up in the deep current, the inorganic earth came alive below the surface.

"I might have a lead and you have something weird near your village border." Sumie spared a sentence for Minato and Jiraiya. Not nearly enough to explain her strange actions, but enough for them to make quick decisions.

Minato threw a three-pronged kunai - handle first - with seals wrapped around its handle and Sumie caught it. The earth could only hold the intruder for so long; Sumie already felt its violent struggle pulsing through the ground. So, she started running.

Kakashi's house was already near the edge of Konoha. It was only a few hundred metres from the dense strip of forest that enshroud the village border, merely a few seconds for a breeze of wind to reach across.

It was like clockwork that the moment Sumie stopped moving, Minato teleported over with both Jiraiya and Kakashi in tow. She supposed that the commotion either piqued the young boy's curiosity or that it made him more irritated than he already was.

Scale-like tattoos emerged from her forearms, expanding and contracting in tune with her muscle movement. Sumie slammed her hand into the ground and it went into the cold, hard soil like butter. After a split second of searching, she yanked her hand out of the earth, along with something else in her grasp.

It had a humanoid shape, but it didn't look or feel human. Its skin was covered by the colour of parched white bark and its face contorted under Sumie's clutch. Before she could say anything, the creature rolled its eyes at her ominously.

Sumie had a bad feeling when the humanoid creature flinched its limbs. In front of her eyes, ash-white branches sprouted from its limbs and flew towards her in all different directions. Sumie pushed her foot into the ground and the earth rose as a shield just in time, swallowing the branches that didn't break upon the impact.

At the same time, a series of kunai and shuriken took care of the stray branches that curved around her. As a reflex, Sumie tightened her hand on the creature's neck and strengthened her hold using Natural Energy.

It was meant as a prison, but to her shock, the white creature expanded uncontrollably. Its body started to lengthen and harden until the texture resembled actual wood. Layers and layers of greeneries started to sprout from all over the surface. Sumie didn't need to ask the earth to pull the intruder down, because it was already digging into the soil like actual tree roots.

Sumie had no choice but to let go of her hand. Still, the transformation was irreversible. In the span of a few seconds, the white humanoid creature was replaced by a large tree that rooted itself deep into the ground. The ash-white shade of the barks painted an eerie image amidst the silent forest.

Silent, because Sumie no longer faced any resistance. Silent, because Nature stopped whispering to her.

"What the hell was that? I didn't sense its signature until it started attacking!" Jiraiya was stunned, even more so after he examined the transformed tree cautiously.

"Konoha would have to examine this … abnormal vegetation more carefully, but right now, it just feels like a tree," Minato concluded. He waited for Sumie to offer any input from the perspective of Natural Energy. She didn't object, making her silence an agreement.

The sensation she had felt when Natural Energy washed over the creature was a strange one. It was as if the creature was reconstructed under the touch of Nature. Rather than a transformation, it felt more like … catalysis, one that pushed the process toward its rightful state.

Regardless, Sumie raised her eyes from the tree to a direction that stretched into the dense canopy. "It was escaping towards the West. That's where I'm heading next."

-o-o-o-

"Okay, I can sense your arrival so there's no jumpscare, but you've got to stop doing that." Minato let out a sigh at the face hanging down from his window, staring at him with a single uncovered eye. "My door is always open to you. Not sure how I feel about the window."

Of course, Kakashi just continued to stare at him with no remorse, until Minato took a step back and opened the window for him to sneak in.

"Oh, Kakashi-kun, have you eaten yet? Minato made braised beef today," Kushina yelled from the other side of the living room.

"Not yet, but …" Kakashi answered and before he could even finish the sentence, Kushina was already heating the stove. She always felt like she wasn't feeding the kids enough.

Still, Minato heard the hesitation in the boy's voice and it had nothing to do with the food. When he entered the house, he was already struggling to speak up about the reason that made him climb Minato's window in the evening.

But it was okay. Today, he had time to wait.

Minato filled a bowl of braised beef along with a serving of miso soup. He handed the late dinner to Kakashi and watched him devour the food with big bites.

"Slow down. We have more, you know," Minato said with a laugh, just before Kakashi fished out the last piece of carrot and stuffed it down his mouth. Quietly, Kakashi put the chopsticks down. He was finally ready to move on to his objective.

"Sensei," Kakashi started and like all the times he thought he was bringing trouble and disappointment to Minato, he lowered his eyes and hoped that it would be hidden under his hitai-ate. "The white thing that infiltrated the village today, I've seen the attacks before. The same withered branches, with the same ash-white colouring."

"Was it … no, it was the unaccounted enemy that you faced during the hunt for Kiri-nin." Minato changed the question halfway because he was certain of the answer.

Kakashi's report was full of unclear details and gaps in knowledge. It was understandable given the injuries he had sustained and the suddenness of the situation. It didn't help that he was the only one that came out alive after facing the unknown enemy.

Now, with what Minato had just witnessed in the forest, Kakashi's vague descriptions about the enemy's ability finally came alive and took shape.

"That's not all, Sensei. There was something that I've been speculating about, but I have no reason or evidence to support that theory." That's why, I don't know how to tell anyone about it. Kakashi cut his sentence short, swallowing the excuses and leaving only the facts.

"When I fought the unknown attacker, I felt the gaze of another sharingan. Not just any sharingan, but one that made my sharingan feel a sense of familiarity." Suddenly, Minato understood why Kakashi said that he had no reason to support the theory.

The boy sounded pained when he admitted, "Maybe there was a chance that Obito survived the fall of Kannabi Bridge. Maybe it was him that I saw that day on the supply route."

Just like Kakashi, Minato wished that Obito's death was merely a mistake. It would be a miracle that he was still alive. However, its nature changed when said the revival was accompanied by the acts of murder committed by his hand, testifiable by a witness.

"Have you told anyone else of your speculation?" Minato asked, but the answer was quite obvious.

"No," Kakashi answered. "I didn't want to. I know how Konoha works. I didn't want Obito to be labelled a missing-nin to be hunted when it's based on unreliable speculations."

If Minato was being honest, those words were bordering on insubordination and clearly against the inflexible teachings given to Konoha's shinobi. But Minato had long realized that Kakashi always got that rebellious bone in him. Obito's death merely broke the last piece of the cast that the boy placed himself in.

"Not even Rin?" Minato asked again.

"Not yet," Kakashi answered with a pause. "But she deserves to hear it, even if it would break her heart. Especially given what I'm about to request."

"I'm not going to like it, am I?" Minato muttered and Kakashi gave him a tiny nod. "Alright, let's hear it. What are you going to do with this information that you've kept from the village?"

"Let me investigate it first, Minato-sensei, before Konoha declared him a missing-nin and prioritize elimination over asking questions," Kakashi said. The clarity of his plea showed that it was practiced many times over. "And if that person was indeed a danger to Konoha, I will dedicate my life to eliminate them, no matter who they are."

Must you always be like this? Minato couldn't help but feel a little sad at how easily Kakashi bartered with his life - not as an inherent risk of being a shinobi, but as a punishment associated with having human emotions and biases.

"Other than the fact that you sensed Obito's sharingan, what makes you think there is more to the story than what's shown on the surface? What makes you believe that it's not just someone who pillaged his remaining eye?" Minato needed to know that he wouldn't be letting his student gamble his life - both literally and his future in Konoha - on a bet where everything was against him.

"There was a moment where they could have killed me with a stab through the heart. I would have died right there and it would take less than a second. Yet, they bashed me in the chest and threw me into the distance," Kakashi said, somehow sounding calmer than before.

He placed a hand on his chest, where layers of bandages were hidden by the fabric. "I broke three ribs, but I kept my life."

The logic wasn't the best, but it was enough to offer a sliver of hope for them to pursue. Furthermore, given what happened earlier today, Minato figured that there was something else that solidified Kakashi's idea.

"You plan to follow Sumie-san while she pursues 'anomalies' like that white creature." With that, Kakashi knew that he had gotten Minato's support. Sumie sensed that creature when none of them did. So if it was related to their mysterious attacker, then her pursuit might offer them a lead.

Kakashi nodded. "I can follow her without her knowing." It was nothing against Kakashi's ability, but Minato was a little skeptical of how viable that would be.

"Or you can ask for her help in providing a direction," Minato suggested instead and now it was Kakashi who was skeptical, knowing that Sumie didn't want to be involved in shinobi affairs anymore.

Still, Minato thought that there were leeways. "Let's think about our options. Sumie-san plans to stay until the inauguration and you're not going anywhere until your injury is fully healed." Only after the inauguration, would Minato be able to issue an order to Kakashi using the Hokage's authority, thereby shifting the responsibility to himself.

Kakashi pressed his lips together when he nodded. A 'thank you' seemed unnecessary and distant in this circumstance. So, Minato smiled and asked, "Do you want more braised beef? I definitely cooked too much."

A few minutes later, two more bowls of food were placed on the table.

"Sensei, you only cook braised beef when it's a special occasion," Kakashi said all of a sudden while Minato was chewing the brisket. It was true. Cooking braised beef was tedious and time-consuming. The meat needed to be marinated for three hours and then braised on low heat for three more.

"Ah, Kushina said that she wanted to eat braised beef," Minato answered, his gaze moving towards the direction where Kushina had retreated to at the beginning of their conversation. She must have sensed Kakashi's unease and figured that the simpler the setting the easier it was for the boy to let everything out.

That kind-hearted perception was just one of many things that he loved about her. So, it was with great joy and pride that he declared, "I'm going to be a father soon."

Clack. Kakashi's mouth hung open and one of his chopsticks fell on the table. The chair leg screeched when the boy shot up from his seat. "Con—congratulations!" It was only after Kakashi shouted the words that he realized he was overreacting. Embarrassment crept up on the boy's ears as he sat down and pulled the chair back.

Minato burst into laughter. "In around six months, you're going to be an older brother, Kakashi." He reached over and ruffled Kakashi's hair. "So remember to come back and see him for yourself, okay?"

After Kakashi left, Minato started cleaning up the kitchen just as Kushina returned. She wrapped her arms over Minato's shoulders and commented, "You're thinking about a lot more things than you told Kakashi-kun."

"Of course," Minato admitted with ease. While he agreed to Kakashi's proposal, there were a lot more things on his mind. Some were about how to rationalize Kakashi's secret mission so that Elder Shimura couldn't easily exploit it. After all, Rin's treatment, Kakashi's wish, and perhaps even Obito's fate relied on Minato being their support.

Moreover, there's also … "Should I expect Rin to be less stubborn after she hears about Kakashi's plan?" Minato asked and he could hear Kushina's laughter as she shook her head.

"Don't be stupid. Also, I wouldn't want her to be," Kushina said. They would pick up Rin from the hospital tomorrow after a few days of recovery and observation. "She was using chakra today. That's a good sign."

Indeed it was. After Rin had first woken up as a Jinchuuriki, Minato had noticed her reluctance to use chakra, even with the seal securing her control over Three-Tail. He worried that her trauma would worsen after what happened, but surprisingly, it seemed to be the opposite.

"You're right. Their stubbornness makes me feel hopeful." Minato agreed. He turned around to face Kushina and said, "In five days, I will be the Hokage. On that day, I'm going to make some controversial decisions."

"But I hope they won't stay controversial forever." Gently, Minato placed a hand over Kushina's belly, where a new life was created amid war but hopefully would flourish in the era of peace. A new era where people might accept that a shinobi had more than one way to be loyal, brave, and worthy; where there was more than one way for a shinobi to live than following the rules written by someone else.

Kushina placed her hand on top of his, as if catching both her husband and her child in an embrace. She whispered, "Wish us good luck, little Naruto."

-o-o-o-

Sumie left Konoha on the afternoon of the inauguration.

She stayed in the morning, watching the inauguration of the Yondaime Hokage from the edge of the village square. The cheering of the crowd carried a revitalizing but heavy emotion, spreading like wildfire under the searing sun. It was called faith.

Being a leader in a warring state was much more difficult than in a peaceful time. But what was harder than that was probably to be leading right after a turmoil. Best of luck to Namikaze Minato.

Sumie pulled back the reins and forced the galloping horse to slow down to a trot. The horse let out a strained neigh as its hooves hit the rocky ground. Gently, Sumie patted the horse on the neck and muttered, "Sorry, I'll return you to things that you're more familiar with."

Sumie rode out of the village on the same horse that she rode in with. However, it was clear that this horse was not used to galloping, having been trained to have steady but slow footings for towing the fields and carrying cargo. She'd have to sell it to someone more suitable and buy another horse trained for riding.

Just a few more steps and the full view of the town - a small one close to Konoha - occupied her entire view. Sumie stopped the horse and jumped down in one smooth motion. There were already some people at the gate who turned their attention to her, no doubt, forming an impression of who she was, where she was from, and what she wanted.

Fortunately, a shinobi would not be the first thing that they think of, thanks to the fact that shinobi saw horses as an inferior form of transportation.

It wasn't difficult to find someone needing a horse to carry additional cargo because the wind had sought it out for her. The merchant was complaining about how the horses here were so expensive. After all, he didn't need them to be able to travel fast or gallop for hours, as long as they could pull things on a path.

Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised and rightfully suspicious when Sumie found him and proposed the sale. Sumie didn't haggle much, which might be a mistake on her part because all it did was make the merchant warier of fraud.

Sumie waited patiently until the merchant had examined every last detail that he could think of and determined that the horse was in good health. Finally, the deal was finished when the man placed a bag of money in her hand and led the horse away.

Two seconds had passed since the merchant turned the corner, and not a soul could be seen in the quiet alleyway.

Some distance away, the boy with a mask tightened his eyebrows in a frown, only to be startled by a voice that came from behind. "Are you looking for me?"

Kakashi turned around sharply, only to find Sumie sitting on the eaves of the roof, hidden in the shadow, away from the sun. For a brief second, the boy looked thrown off as he scrunched his nose behind the mask.

"Ah yes, your exceptional sense of smell, but you'll need air to carry the scent. Too bad nature is not on your side," Sumie said, explaining to Kakashi why her scent trail no longer registered on his radar. "Aren't you underestimating me too much, thinking that you can follow me unnoticed like that?"

"Well, I tried," Kakashi said with a shrug. Sumie's curiosity was piqued when the boy pulled out a seal with a flip of his wrist. The boy bent his fingers into a hand seal and immediately, the paper started to burn.

Ah, that must be the signal, Sumie realized belatedly when a group of people teleported to Kakashi's side. All familiar faces as well. "Whoa, we have a whole party here," she commented as she ran her eyes through Minato, Jiraiya, and most surprisingly, Rin.

"Forgive us, Sumie-san. I have a favour to ask," Minato said while giving her an apologetic look. "Quite a big one, actually."

Sumie thought that Minato was supposed to be doing whatever the newly inaugurated Kage was supposed to do, which probably wouldn't involve this. But she supposed that having the ability to teleport gave a lot of leeways.

Sumie didn't sense any signs of nervousness or guilt associated with betrayals, nor did she feel their intention to resort to violence. So, she replied as she jumped down from the eaves, "Let's hear it, then, your request."

"Sumie-san, the kind of creatures that you're tracking might hold the clue to an enemy of Konoha." Minato paused a little as he looked at Kakashi and Rin. "It might also be the only clue to the fate of a boy that's important to us."

"If you're going to search for anything related to that creature - anything at all - let me follow you." This time, it was Kakashi that rushed the sentence out of his mouth. Belatedly, he added, "Please."

"Just you?" Sumie asked before answering. Her eyes landed on the young girl named Rin, whom she didn't meet after the incident to avoid any forms of suspicion. Sumie didn't know a lot about Jinchuuriki, but enough to know they were too important for shinobi villages to let go of, in more than one way.

"You can say that it's a plan to conceal Rin's location from threats both outside of the village and inside. The official statement is that she would be kept in the secret facilities established by Konoha Anbu, moving between different locations as necessary," Minato explained and Sumie immediately saw the ingenuity of that setup. It would not only allow flexible explanations for Rin's disappearance but also smoke out the enemy spies that weren't careful with their snooping.

"Please, Sumie-san. I want to know about the fate of our friend as much as Kakashi," Rin pleaded as she took a step forward to stand beside her teammate. "I can't stand not being able to do anything, not again."

If Rin was coming, then Jiraiya would also tag along for her safety and most likely act as the emergency teleportation into the Sage realm. As expected, the white-haired man gave her a shameless wave when she looked at him to confirm her speculation.

" … This is deviating really far from what I had in mind." Truly, Sumie had no other words for how the situation had come to this.

"No, but it'll be better," Jiraiya chimed in, with confidence from god knows where.

"I can't guarantee anything. For example, I haven't felt another suspicious presence since that day," Sumie warned in one last effort, but Minato merely shook his head.

"You have more leads than the entirety of Konoha. All we're looking for is a chance, that's all," Minato said. He placed his hands on his students' backs and gently pushed them forward. "I owe you a debt for this, Sumie-san. As you've said before, I'm willing to repay the favour as long as it's not against my belief."

There was no explicit agreement from Sumie, but it was clear that she accepted the request when she didn't walk away. There was also no grand farewell between the teacher and the students before the Hokage returned to his village, so Sumie knew that they already had plenty of time to set the plan in motion.

Perhaps Sumie should be angrier at being kept in the dark until it was sprung on her. But from the moment that she realized that she wasn't opposed to the troublesome request, her time in that shinobi village hidden in leaves was no longer a fleeting pastime.

This was what happened when one lingered for too long.

"Don't mind me, I have to go buy a horse, just as I planned to do before I got interrupted by a drastic change of plan." Sumie waved her hand as she started walking towards the stable.

"Why do you even need a horse when you can travel much faster?" Kakashi asked. Sumie thought that this was a good time to set some ground rules straight.

"Look, you're relying on me for direction, so we're doing this my way, including travelling like civilians," Sumie said, watching Kakashi swallow his protest for the sake of not pissing off their guiding compass. Somehow, Sumie felt a lot more satisfied, so much so that she teased, "You should learn horse riding. Because we'll be doing a lot of that in the foreseeable future."

Before Sumie even finished that sentence, the boy disappeared from the alleyway in a flicker of shadow, choosing to hide his head in the sand when fighting back was no longer an option. Jiraiya's chuckles sounded in the background while Rin fumbled with words, trying to cover for Kakashi's attitude for fear that Sumie would throw them back to their teacher.

Really, Sumie wouldn't do that. Not yet, anyway.

Chapter Text

Chapter 11 - 天机 (Divine Secret)

"I can't tell which is more troublesome, the decision you made five days ago or the one you're making right now." Minato shook his head at the complaints directed at him. He finished the correction on the document before the ink ran dry, a much more productive action than arguing with Nara Shikaku.

"It's always nice to hear your advice, Shikaku," Minato said and was met immediately with a sigh full of annoyance. Before his Jonin commander's patience could run out, Minato slid the last stack of documents into the drawers and stood up.

"Don't frown, Shikaku. There's a stop we need to make before the debriefing," Minato said. That only served to make Shikaku frown even harder.

The Nara Clan Head rubbed his temple, trying to ease his headache as well as his furrowed eyebrows, knowing full well that a poker face was what would be getting them - Minato and his troublesome decisions - through this situation.

However, just before they left the safety of a sealed space, Shikaku commented, "Definitely the decision you made five days ago. If that didn't happen, we wouldn't be dealing with this." Unfortunately, Minato could do nothing but smile apologetically.

When the door to Orochimaru's laboratory opened, Minato was immediately assaulted with the smell of disinfectant. The distinct scent belonging to ink was also layered underneath, vaguely reminding him of Jiraiya-sensei's workspace, except that the latter was usually more chaotic.

"To what do I owe your visit, Yondaime-sama?" Orochimaru asked with his back turned to the door. He held a test tube up in front of his face, trying to observe the sizzling reaction of something in it.

Minato waited with patience. When the content was no longer interesting, the famous shinobi - one of the legendary Sannin - finally turned around and looked at Minato. He gestured at the examination bench in the centre of the room. "Let me guess, it's about that."

White branches were laid out on the bench, fragmented into different sizes, taken from different parts of the tree - the same tree that appeared in Konoha's outer perimeter as an eerie anomaly.

"Indeed, Orochimaru-san. I would like to see if you have anything else for me regarding this mysterious phenomenon, before the debriefing," Minato answered. It was impossible to hide such a drastic anomaly from the village. Therefore, the existence of this white tree was brought to the attention of Konoha's decision-making ranks by Minato himself.

"Nothing that the Council doesn't know already," Orochimaru replied with a snort. Minato couldn't tell if he was mocking Konoha's - and Minato's - impatience, or their delusion that this dead case would turn out differently if they just asked enough times.

Still, the man reiterated his conclusion. "It doesn't absorb, emit, or react to chakra, other than being destroyed like any other vegetation. Its durability, flexibility, and medicinal values were nothing exceptional. In any sense, it's just a tree, albeit a tree that doesn't match any of the species known to Fire Country."

"Not a species known to Fire Country? What about other parts of the continent?" Minato asked, no doubt grasping for straws here.

"It doesn't match any species to my knowledge, but it's not like I know every single tree on this continent." Orochimaru might have rolled his eyes at Minato's ridiculous expectation if he wasn't the Hokage. However, there was a pause as the man tapped the table a few times, clearly thinking of something.

"I can't confirm the validity of this information, but records from the old time described a species of tree that no longer exists in the modern Fire Country, with venation and bark markings that match what we have here," Orochimaru mentioned as he picked up the dried leaf sitting by the test tube. "Even then, the white coloration does not exist in any records."

A species from the old time. Minato mulled over those words. Sumie had described the feeling of transforming the creature into a tree as 'catalyzing a process towards its rightful state'. It made sense given the tendency of Natural Energy to return things to nature. So, if the 'rightful state' of that humanoid creature was a tree that longer existed in modern times, then how old was its origin?

"It seems that you find my passing remarks useful," Orochimaru commented with rising interest. "If I recall, you mentioned that the intruder grew into this tree upon being touched by Senjutsu, is that right, Yondaime-sama?" Minato nodded.

"Jiraiya's Senjutsu?" Orochimaru followed up. Minato nodded again, careful not to let any hesitation show to hide the existence of another. "That womanizer must have improved his Senjutsu if he used it in such a short encounter against a new threat."

There was a certain tone used by Orochimaru that always gave Minato mixed feelings. Like he was mocking or suggesting something, or both. But that was always the case with Orochimaru. So, Minato only smiled along.

"It's time for the debrief, Yondaime-sama," Shikaku reminded them while standing by the door, having listened to - and judged - the conversation like a silent statue.

"Shall we, Orochimaru-san?" Minato asked.

"After you, Yondaime." Letting out a grin, Orochimaru dumped the test tube - now left with a murky brown hue - in the waste bin and followed him out into the hall.

"Minato, I hope that this is a sign that you've come to your senses." That was the first thing Elder Mitokado had said when he saw Minato walking into the room. The patronizing tone was hard to miss as if Minato would forever be an upstart youngster in his seasoned eyes.

Elder Mitokado, along with Elder Utatane and Elder Shimura had been a part of Konoha's advisory council since the beginning of Sandaime's reign which had lasted decades, making their influence prominent in the village. Even now, after Minato took the title, they made no indication of wanting to step down from their seats despite it being a natural progression as the leadership changed.

Minato couldn't deny the contributions they had made to the village, all the way from the time of Nidaime Hokage, Senju Tobirama. But surely, all of them must have realized the clashing ideology between the elders and Minato.

Neither side was perfect and neither was without its merits. Minato didn't claim that his views were infallible, but he had faith in the feasibility of his vision. To lead Konoha in that direction was his job and his responsibility. He was ready to face challenges and accept the mistakes that came with that path. But having two different forces tugging the village in different directions was, in his opinion, the last thing Konoha needed after ending a war.

Unfortunately, based on the hints that Minato was gathering, it would take some time before Minato could fully rewrite the government in Konoha. That is, if he wanted to do it in a discreet manner that wouldn't let the power struggle disturb the stability of the village - something that Konoha did need right now.

"Homura, surely, Yondaime has his considerations," Sandaime said to his peer. "Have patience and let us hear his words first." Minato appreciated the backing, of course, but he also shouldn't rely on it because as Sandaime had expressed, he'd like to retire in peace.

Minato waited for all the attention to return to him - he wasn't in a hurry, they were - and let his signature smile appear. Then, he said the words that would no doubt raise Elder Mitokado's blood pressure. "After thinking about it, I stand by my decision. Konoha won't be sending more shinobi to investigate the anomaly appearing at the outer perimeter."

"That … enemy is clearly related to the attacks on our supply route, you said so yourself!" This time, Elder Utatane exploded for her fellow council mate. "To place such an important investigation in the hands of two shinobi, one of them still young and inexperienced, how could Konoha answer to those that lost their lives in those attacks?"

"The number of shinobi we place on a mission should not be the only indication of the mission's priority and importance," Minato rebutted, refusing to go with the Elder's twisted logic. "We have very little information and direction on this threat. It would be unwise to deploy the number of shinobi that you're suggesting when many other aspects of Konoha need their help."

Reconstruction after a war was not easy, nobody could disagree with that. They had already lost many shinobi in the war, making those that were still left a precious resource that must be allocated carefully, if they wanted to bring Konoha back on its feet, on par, if not faster than the other major villages.

"Then why those two, in particular, Yondaime." A voice sounded from the corner of the room. Minato looked in that direction and saw Shimura Danzō sitting at the edge of the table, his visible eye staring at Minato, void of any emotions.

It was a valid question, one that Minato must find a flawless explanation for, to solve this debate once and for all. What made Jiraiya and Kakashi indispensable on this mission with no clues? What made them enough to handle this mission with unknown threats?

Most importantly, what made them a better choice than Root, led by Danzō, which was traditionally made for these types of low-reward, high-risk missions?

"First of all, they are the first-hand witnesses who saw the anomaly in action, if not the only witnesses." Minato laid out the point that was easiest to understand. But just by itself, that wasn't enough of a reason.

"Furthermore, Jiraiya-sensei first identified the intrusion using Senjutsu, making him our best lead in terms of searching for their existence." When Minato first agreed to the unpublicized mission involving Sumie's abilities, he was prepared to attribute any Natural Energy-related discoveries to Jiraiya. "This is only a mission for information gathering. Sometimes, less is more."

Most of the Clan Heads and Division Directors nodded in agreement. Even the Elders, albeit with some unwillingness, must agree that Jiraiya's reputation as a spymaster was well deserved. As Minato said, Jiraiya had his own workflow. His aloofness in that sense helped make his infiltration into different territories inconspicuous.

In a post-war era, Konoha didn't want to give other nations any reasons to reignite the flames of conflicts.

Finding this discussion close to the end, Minato turned to Elder Utatane again and said, "While Kakashi is young, he is far from inexperienced. I value his tracking skills as much as his combat skills. Jiraiya-sensei asked for the boy to help with the investigation. They are the most suitable choices that Konoha could spare, and I ask everyone present here to have faith in them."

"Will the progress of the investigation be shared? So that Root can be of help when updated information does turn up," Elder Shimura said, not planning to argue any further on the matter of personnel choices.

"I will leave that to Jiraiya-sensei's discretion," Minato replied, shutting down any unsolicited help in the nicest way possible. After all, they couldn't have Root poking around the investigation when their mission party had two more travellers than reported.

"Thank you, Yondaime, for entertaining our questions." Unexpectedly, it was Orochimaru who pushed for the meeting's conclusion. Again, the way he said the word 'entertaining' made it feel like he was mocking someone. Because it was so unclear, it ended up sounding like he was mocking everyone. "Do let me know what else Jiraiya finds out about the mysterious creature. I'm always happy to research new things."

"If that's all, then let's end this debriefing," Minato announced, giving those that came a light bow before he exited the room. Only when he was back in the privacy seals of his office, did he let out a long and laboured sigh.

Refusing to spare Minato any pity, Shikaku clicked his tongue and reminded him, "It won't end well for your reputation if those Elders find out what's omitted in this mission."

"Which part?" Minato asked jokingly, but Shikaku clearly did not find it funny.

"Everything." Shikaku pushed the word out of his teeth. The information about the threat's potential identity, the Jinchuuriki that Minato had sent into hiding in plain sight, and the unauthorized help with a mysterious - and unexplainable - background.

Minato couldn't hide these things from Shikaku if he wanted his help, which he did, because navigating a government was definitely not for one person. Unfortunately, Minato had to inform Shikaku about Sumie, but he only told him that she had a connection to Natural Energy, keeping her immortality and the true nature of her power a secret, as per her request.

"We know nothing of that woman. That's a fact whether she doesn't remember or she doesn't want to tell," Shikaku said, settling on the part that worried him the most. "Minato, must you really take that risk?"

"Risk goes both ways, Shikaku, and so does trust," Minato muttered. It was easy for them to look from Konoha's perspective, to focus on all the possibilities of harm that Sumie could bring. But if they bothered to look from her perspective, they'd see the risk that Sumie had undertaken to expose herself and her abilities in front of Jiraiya, just to help a girl who was her guide.

"Even without the complication brought about by Obito's survival, this creature unsettles me." An enemy lurking behind the larger scene of the shinobi conflict, unknown and undetectable. "If there's a chance that its sights are on Konoha, then I'd rather know as much as possible than settle for anything less."

-o-o-o-

The wolf bared her fangs at Sumie, forcing out a guttural growl deep from her throat. Tension continued to build in the wolf's hind legs as she crouched lower, to the point where the messy fur on her stomach was grazing on the cargo she was trying to claim - the same cargo that Sumie was asked to retrieve.

"Come on, you're making me look like the bad guy," Sumie muttered, not that the wolf would understand. In fact, the she-wolf dug her forepaws into the carpet of leaves, fully prepared for both fight or flight, with the former option more likely than the latter.

Against the wolf's warning, Sumie closed the distance. Her footsteps barely made a sound on the forest floor as the glow of amber brightened from her eyes. Rather than pouncing at Sumie, the wolf scratched her claws against the ground in agitation, trying to hold her ground in the presence of a creature that brought fear and reverence like Nature itself.

Under the pressure exerted by Sumie, the wolf finally backed off, revealing the cargo underneath. The layers of fabric wrapped around the cargo had already been ripped open, spilling out the traveller's belongings onto the forest floor. Thankfully, Sumie only took the job to retrieve whatever she could, so no need to worry about anything that was missing.

Just as Sumie knelt to check on the cargo, the whimpering noises caught her attention. She looked up and saw the little balls of furs that peeked out from behind the bushes. Wolflings, Sumie realized the moment that those messy grey pelts started to shiver.

The she-wolf's dying aggression reignited again as she jumped in front of the cave entrance, blocking the path between Sumie and her pups. She glared at Sumie with her yellow eyes despite the involuntary shivering in her legs.

Now, Sumie understood why the wolf stood her ground for so long when most other animals would scurry away in an instant. With a sigh, Sumie tried her best to comfort the wolves, "Sorry, I didn't mean to cause such a scare."

Sumie withdrew the aura of Nature and the glowing amber dimmed in her eyes. The she-wolf opened her jaws as if she could finally release her breath. Carefully, Sumie went through the cargo, packing back the things that were spilled, but also taking out the portion of dried meat stored in the bags.

If those wolf pups were too young to run away without their mother's help, then the she-wolf probably had trouble hunting for food because she couldn't venture out too far. Sumie left the traveller's food on the ground and slung the rest of the cargo over her shoulder. It was unfortunate for her client, but she had already scavenged what she could find after the wild animals got to it first.

It wasn't until Sumie had left the vicinity and suppressed her scent for a good minute, that the wolf tip-toed closer to the pile of meat jerky. When no other threats appeared, the she-wolf quickly snatched up the food with her jaws and disappeared inside the cave with her pups, or so the wind told Sumie.

The cargo lost by the traveller was half her height and almost as heavy as her weight, but Sumie barely felt a thing. Although, she would have to start faking some signs of exertion once she was at the edge of the forest.

See, Sumie was known as some sort of scavenger in the civilian town that they temporarily stopped. It only took a day for Jiraiya to be on good terms with the Mistress managing the local inn, and from there, she was happy to introduce all kinds of requests to Sumie, somewhat of a bodyguard that the travelling writer had picked up along the way.

Sumie scavenged the forest to retrieve things that travellers and merchants lost on the way, or to gather nature's boons based on what the townspeople needed. This town used to be bigger and hosted much more traffic, according to Kaoru-san, the inn owner. However, the shinobi war caused much of the traffic to halt and the paths to be abandoned.

Both the thick vegetation and the wild animals in it run even more rampant in the absence of human interference. It wasn't uncommon for travellers and merchants to lose their cargo on the deteriorating roads, but they were too afraid to search deeper due to the danger in the forest. That was where Sumie came in.

Sumie was a go-between service for those that didn't have the means, didn't have the time, or simply didn't think their request was serious enough to commission a shinobi. She made it clear from the beginning that she was only a human with a better-than-normal physique and adequate skills in self-defence. So, expect the possibility of Sumie returning with nothing.

Nevertheless, her 'job' gave her an excuse to stay in the forest that no normal travellers would step foot in. All so that she could complete her real objective without suspicion.

Sumie took a moment to count the directions she had checked already, using this town as its origin. The endless forest in the Fire Country would quickly make her search disorganized and confusing if she didn't use the villages and towns on the way as anchors.

It had been a week and two towns since she left Konoha. Yet, she had found nothing regarding the 'anomaly' that intruded upon Nature. If it were up to her, she might not have cared for the lack of progress - hell, she might not even try to be organized in her search. But for the two teenagers tagged along with them, it certainly wasn't encouraging news.

Once again, Sumie picked a direction that she hadn't searched yet and moved away from the town. After an hour of travel, she stopped in the middle of the forest and placed the client's lost cargo near a tree.

However, instead of bending down to touch the earth as she usually did, Sumie whipped her body around and caught the attacker that threw itself at her in an attempt that might be called suicidal.

The snake writhed violently in Sumie's clutch, but she held it right below its neck, digging her finger into its throat, effectively rendering its venomous bite a useless decoration.

Sumie glanced around her, seeing the horde of snakes that seemingly crawled out of every hidden crevice in the forest, closing in on her from all directions. Ninjutsu or summons, Sumie didn't care to distinguish the exact method. The only thing that mattered to her right now was that a shinobi was nearby and she was the target.

The wind seemed to blow harsher as the leaves susurrated in wailing whispers. The entire forest felt as if it was under a heavy veil as Sumie expanded her senses through the Natural Energy coursing the environment.

Sumie pinpointed the intruder at the exact time when the intruder revealed himself. It took her a moment to remember where she had seen that face before.

"It's been a while since we last met, so let me introduce myself again," the familiar face said, his skin looked paler compared to the last time that Sumie had seen him under the artificial lighting "I'm Orochimaru, a shinobi and advisor to Konoha, to put it broadly."

The snake continued to struggle in Sumie's hand, emitting a sense of blood lust that didn't quench despite the aura surrounding Sumie. At that moment, several options flashed in her mind, from simply running away to a more extreme plan of attacking first and then running away.

"I'm merely a shadow clone, by the way." Well, there goes the option of attacking. Sumie had only learned of this ninjutsu a few days ago, but she knew enough of its effect to realize that information about this encounter - and whatever else she decided to expose - would be transmitted to the real Orochimaru no matter how quickly she eliminated the other.

How much has he seen? How much does he know? With the way she put the snake in a chokehold, Sumie didn't think she could get away with the 'just-a-civilian' card, but it wasn't anything too outrageous - not yet. However, if she planned to run away from the aggressive swarm of snakes, she'd certainly have to do something much harder to explain.

"What business do you have with me?" Sumie asked after much debate. If there was no point in running, then she might as well try to have a civil conversation.

Orochimaru raised the corner of his mouth as if finding the flow of events favourable. He waved his hand, and the sea of snakes that surrounded Sumie quieted down. Still, hundreds of cold-blooded eyes continued to stare at Sumie.

"Two weeks ago, Three-Tail went into a rampage near the village border. My snake found a piece of flesh in the aftermath, belonging to neither Jiraiya nor Nohara Rin." Orochimaru explained, speaking too slowly for Sumie's liking. "That poor snake ingested a bit of the flesh and turned into a stone statue in mere seconds."

Sumie's fingers twitched as Orochimaru continued with a smile, "Sumie-san, Jiraiya and Minato are not the only shinobi in Konoha that are familiar with Senjutsu and Natural Energy."

"I'm not a shinobi, Orochimaru-san. I have no clue about this Senjutsu that you're talking about." Sumie tried her best, really, but it was already sounding like a lost cause.

"Indeed, you're not a shinobi, nor do you have chakra, but that's exactly what makes your case so interesting." In tune with Orochimary's words, the snakes started to act up and Sumie was again knee-deep in a pool of blood-lust and crazed fanaticism.

"You're able to absorb Natural Energy into your flesh without the balance of chakra, so what else can you do with this undiluted essence of Nature?"

On the last syllable, the horde of serpents attacked with the ferocity of starved beasts. Immediately, the earth under Sumie's feet became alive. The solid earth twisted and turned like liquid, shielding Sumie's body while spiralling upward. However, jagged protrusions on its surface remained rock-hard, impaling the first wave of snakes that dared to come close.

To avoid getting injured and revealing her inhuman regeneration, Sumie willingly gave up a piece of her secret to satiate the man's curiosity.

"Not a construct of chakra, but actually animating the inorganic earth. It's truly amazing." Orochimaru waved at the carcasses of snakes that splattered around her. In the blink of an eye, the dead snakes melted into mud puddles, their existence evaporating now that the chakra supporting their shape started to dissipate.

"It seems like you're familiar with this technique," Sumie commented, noting the recognition in the man's snake-like pupils. Despite what Orochimaru claimed, she didn't feel the touch of Nature in him, unlike Jiraiya or Minato.

It was her first mistake, it seemed, to assume that only those who had been enlightened by Senjutsu were familiar with Natural Energy.

"Once upon a time, I sought tutelage under another branch of Sage animals, hoping to learn Senjutsu," Orochimaru admitted with ease. "Inorganic Reincarnation is their leader's favourite Sage Art."

Past tense, Sumie noted, so he did not attain what he was looking for. Suddenly, it was starting to make sense and it made Sumie want to let out a snort. "So you seek to attain Senjutsu once again through me, is that it?"

"Certainly, if it can be done." Orochimaru didn't quite deny Sumie's accusation. Still, he did bother to clarify, "But if not, I'm quite happy with simply gaining more knowledge about this mysterious energy, if you're willing to cooperate."

She didn't bother asking what kind of plans Orochimaru had for her, because any experiment would expose more than she was willing to show. Sumie couldn't remember the last time she was angry to the point that she wanted to laugh. It was probably some time ago, and definitely predated her time in this world.

"Does your experience with Natural Energy not speak about the danger of greed?" Sumie said with coldness in her eyes. Once upon a time, some humans had also tried to use her and her kin to extend their privilege with Nature. To say that it did not end well was an understatement. "Natural Energy is not something that can be manipulated with shortcuts."

"Shortcuts?" Orochimaru repeated and his demeanour settled into something more serious and less irritating. "I am a man of science, Sumie-san. What I'm pursuing is the opposite of shortcuts in this world dominated by chakra, ninjutsu, and talents."

"I'm denied Senjutsu because of the incompatibility of my physical body. I don't blame anyone for that, but should I just accept the limitations without lifting a finger?" There was a sense of pride and defiance that flickered in Orochimaru's eyes as he raised his head and declared.

"What I seek is knowledge. The knowledge that's denied to those who aren't brave enough to search; the knowledge that brings both hope and disappointment; the knowledge that allows one to break free of the restraints of talent and mediocracy."

Sumie stayed silent for a moment. She admitted that she was inherently attracted to the aspect of humans that spoke of defiance against fate. However, she had seen many examples of what unrestrained ambition looked like. Balance didn't have to be achieved through the unchanging structure, but it also didn't do well when one had placed too much weight on themselves.

"Without restraints, you may become an outcast," and a disaster for others, Sumie left it at that. Where did Orochimaru stand, she wondered, on the verge of that line, or had he already crossed it? "How will your Hokage react, if he learns of your meeting with me?"

"Your concern is touching," Orochimaru replied and Sumie wasn't sure which sentence he was referring to. "As for Jiraiya and Minato, I wouldn't let them know if I were you. After all, if I get questioned about my interest in you, then I'd have no choice but to let Konoha know that their Hokage is hiding - and letting go of - a source of unknown power."

"Konoha is far from a unified place, I'm sure you've noticed that." Sumie did notice. "So, for all of our sakes - yours, mine, and the Hokage that helped you escape - let's keep this discussion between us."

How bold, Sumie exclaimed in her head. In a worst-case scenario, they could all be heading down a path of mutual destruction. Therefore, she couldn't help but ask, "Is the pursuit of forbidden knowledge truly worth it?"

Upon hearing her question, Orochimaru laughed. "For me, it's what makes life worth living."

"Again, my apologies for the suddenness of this meeting." The man bowed his head, just a little, as an apology. "So please take some time to think it over. I shall find you again." Sumie didn't flinch when Orochimaru stabbed a kunai right into his neck. The shadow clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Suddenly, the forest felt void of life, driven away by the pressure of Natural Energy leaking out of Sumie's body. The snake in her hand was still struggling weakly, its desire fixated on trying to attack Sumie. It was the only creature sent by Orochimaru that wasn't constructed by ninjutsu.

Droplets of venom dripped down its fangs and landed on Sumie's hand. The touch of liquid broke her out of her contemplation. She didn't bother to wipe away the lethal poison. Instead, Sumie changed her grip on the snake and pushed her thumb into its oral cavity, right against its fang.

Crack. The fang broke off against her nail and fell to the ground.

-o-o-o-

After months of being kept in the dark cave, Obito's right eye had gotten used to the darkness, almost as if he had lived all his life without the sunlight.

The underground cave had gotten unbearably quiet at one point. If Obito had to be specific, he would pinpoint it as when the elderly Uchiha resting a wall away no longer breathed. Madara's body was kept from rotting by White Zetsu's abilities, but the air of death lingered in the air, stained the walls, and gathered on Obito's hands.

That was right. Obito was awake and conscious when endless branches pierced forward, following the movement of his hand. Obito watched in silence when those branches stabbed through the chest cavities of Konoha-nin and threw them aside like toys. The red glow in his eye reminded him of the horror he had felt when the same fate was about to befall Kakashi.

Konoha. Kakashi. Rin. Sensei. Konoha, Kakashi. Rin. Sensei. Konoha, Kakashi—

"Stop!" Obito screamed in a hoarse voice as he clutched onto his head. Immediately, a bout of cackles echoed in the empty cave, originating from no other than Obito's own body.

"I can't control your mind, Obito. Really, wouldn't I like that? But no, so this is all you," the creature known as Madara's will whispered with a tone of mockery. "See, you already know, that you won't ever be accepted back to Konoha, not after what you have done."

"It's not me!" Obito rejected Black Zetsu. "It's you. You forced my body to do those things. I would never … I never wanted …" Even now, he struggled to speak about what had transpired.

"You really think Konoha will make that distinction? Even if it did, can its shinobi forgive what you have allowed to happen through your body?" Black Zetsu laughed, its voice gritted against Obito's ears. "You're a liability, if not a murderer. And Konoha has condemned their own for far less."

No, Konoha wouldn't do that, Obito wanted to scream back, except, he remembered the tale of the White Fang - of Kakashi's father - that Minato-sensei had once told him. At that time, Obito was so sure that Hatake Sakumo didn't deserve to be condemned. He already did the best he could under the circumstances. His values might not be what the village valued, but it was what Obito valued.

But now, as Obito stood in the place of a potential outcast, he realized that it wasn't just Hatake Sakumo's values that were condemned by Konoha, but also his failure. Competence was a shinobi's mantle and also their protection. In those voices that condemned the White Fang, surely, some of them whispered, if you want to be a hero so much, then why can't you ensure that the mission never went wrong in the first place?

"Why did you choose me? Why are you making me do this?" Obito asked, but the vulnerabilities in his voice only fueled Black Zetsu's mockery.

"Madara saved you from death, Obito. This is the price you pay for clinging on to your life." The echoing voice answered Obito while an unbreakable force moved Obito's head until he was looking in the direction of Madara's last resting place.

"But if you truly want something to blame, then ask yourself why you were crushed under the boulders and breathing through your broken lungs in the first place." Black Zetsu forced Obito to look down - to look at the stitchwork of transplanted flesh that ran across his body. "It's the conflict, the war, the inherent flaw of humanity. They cannot be trusted with reality, only those who see through it can. Madara did, and now, he wished for you to see it too."

The inhuman nature of his body sent Obito into a daze. But soon, Black Zetsu's puppetry over his limbs reminded Obito to fight for control of his body. "I won't let you do as you please. I'll expose you to Konoha, even if it's the last thing I do!"

For once, Obito severed the strings over his body so easily. Black Zetsu returned control to him without a struggle. It wasn't mercy, but condescendence.

"The next time they send their shinobi after you, it might just be your teammate Kakashi. You are going to kill him as you did with those Konoha-nin."No, that's not true. I won't … it won't … it was so unfair that Obito couldn't make Black Zetsu shut up as it had done to him so many times.

"White Zetsu said that your teacher became the Hokage. Are you going to walk back, let your sin taint his future, and make him agonize over your existence? Surely, not when he is already treading on thin ice with Rin being made into a Jinchuuriki—"

The cave shook when withered branches burst out of Obito's left shoulder and struck the stone walls. The world was plunged into silence by the violent outburst, until it was slowly filled again by Obito's heavy breathing and Black Zetsu's growing cackles.

"Madara does not wish for you to be ruined, Obito. He chose you so that you can change all of this," Black Zetsu tempted, its voice uncharacteristically patient while the branches surrounding Obito retracted shakily.

"Madara's plan - Infinite Tsukuyomi - is the only way to rid this world of its wrongs, its misfortunes, and its sorrow. Wars will no longer happen. Tailed-beasts will no longer cause strife. Everything that plagued Kakashi and Rin will no longer exist, and you can live peacefully with them again."

Just like that, the tension in Obito's body unravelled, The burning resistance in him quenched like dying embers. The shadow that enveloped half of his body smiled in delight, but only Obito knew the thoughts that kept being replayed in his head.

Kakashi, you won't be taking it lying down, will you? You, Rin, and Minato-sensei … you're not so broken that you have to rely on the will of someone else to be saved. Obito remembered Kakashi's fierce gaze in the jungle, latching onto him until the last moment.

Obito believed that Kakashi had seen him, connected by the pulsing red in their shared eyes. So now, Obito must learn that not all battles can be fought by attacking and defending head-on.

Black Zetsu stretched across Obito's skin, examining its handiwork with suspicion. But before it could come to a conclusion, a blob of white melted through the walls of the cave. White Zetsu grew out of the rocks as he shouted, "She sensed us, impossible! Not only that, she turned one of us into a tree!"

"Who are you talking about?" Black Zetsu questioned in irritation before the realization finally dawned on him. "Elaborate, now."

"That woman can use Natural Energy! But how can she sense us when not even the Hokage has realized?" White Zetsu explained in a panic, its words growing more incoherent by the second. "Is she going to hunt me too? Will I be turned into a tree? I don't want to be a tree!"

"Shut up," Black Zetsu growled, cutting off the rumbling noise. "There must be a limit to her sensing, Otherwise, you won't be here, screaming useless words."

White Zetsu whimpered, inching closer to Obito while sinking into the ground. To say that Obito was confused was an understatement, but from Black Zetsu's anger, he at least understood that something was going out of its control.

"We must leave before she catches your trace again," Black Zetsu concluded after a moment of thinking. "Make sure to stay away from her. We can't have her - or Konoha - follow us into the next step of our plan."

"Where are we going?" White Zetsu asked the question that Obito wanted to ask as well.

Perhaps it was because Black Zetsu had deemed Obito too weak to fight back, or maybe it didn't matter if Obito knew or not, not when it was his body that would have to make the journey. Black Zetsu answered, "We're going to Amegakure. It's time to collect what Madara had lent out decades ago."

Amegakure, the shinobi village shrouded in endless rain. Obito recalled in his mind, as well as the insignia that Ame-nin engraved on their hitai-ate, a simple design with four vertical lines.

"Speaking of Madara, what about his body? What about this cave?" White Zetsu asked, turning its head to face the giant Gedo Statue half-buried in the ground.

"Transport Madara's body away and bury him. As for the statue, we'll leave it here. It's too big to be moved." Black Zetsu decided. "Even if that woman arrived here, the Gedo Statue is indestructible to even Natural Energy. The white zetsu kept inside will also be protected. This will only be a dead trail."

White Zetsu nodded, following the orders without any thoughts of its own. It was at that moment that Obito thrust his arm forward. His fingers clashed against the hard ground so violently that his finger pads bled. Obito paid it no attention and he grabbed the jagged piece of rock that was closest to him.

Obito remembered closing his eyes as he stabbed the rock toward his neck. Yet, the pain and suffocation never arrived, as expected. The blanket made of darkness throbbed around his skin, stopping his movement at the last moment.

"I thought you're beyond such weakness, Uchiha Obito," the chilling voice said as its owner took away the last bit of Obito's bodily control. The rock fell from his grasp, hit the ground with a thud, and rolled to a corner covered in shadows.

"Death will not absolve your mistakes and sin," Black Zetsu said as it controlled Obito to stand up. A clone of white zetsu wrapped around them obediently, pushing him through the solid ground until he was once again breathing the fresh forest air. "If you want to find salvation for this world and yourself. Infinite Tsukuyomi is the only way."

Obito said nothing as if his last bout of energy - his rebellion - had been used up in that failed attempt of making amends. Black Zetsu snorted, finding his desperation rather pathetic.

But Obito left behind a prayer in that cave - a rock with four bloody marks freshly scratched on. It would lie in wait for days, weeks, even months until Obito's blood disintegrated into nothing.

Obito had no idea if anyone would find it. But if by chance, that woman who could sense White Zetsu had indeed made her way here, she might find a clue to continue her search and to share with Konoha.

I haven't given up yet. Don't give up on me either,

-o-o-o-

"Kakashi! Don't leave me! Find me—"

Kakashi let out a grunt when he rolled onto the cold, hard floor. His right shoulder blade was stinging from the sudden impact, but instead of dealing with it, he let his weight sink into the ground and let out a deep breath.

The image of Obito - in blood, under stone boulders, amongst white withering trees, whatever Kakashi's mind conjured up in his most vulnerable moments - faded in his vision. I'll find you, Obito, so long as you still walk this earth.

It took Kakashi way too long to raise his body from the floor. The first thing he saw past the bed was Jiraiya raising an eyebrow at him while sitting by the table, apparently finding Kakashi's display ridiculous.

"Keep your voice down. You'll wake up the young lady," Jiraiya-sama said in a hushed tone as he laid out another blank sheet on the table. Rin was sleeping soundly on the other bed. A scroll of medical ninjutsu was still clutched in her hands.

Kakashi looked out the window, finding that the sky was dyed a brilliant mix of orange and purple, signifying that the twilight hours were fast approaching. It was still afternoon when he was practising chakra conservation. So, he slept for two, maybe three hours and missed the inn's dinner time perfectly.

"The dinner time is over, by the way," Jiraiya mentioned, almost as if he could read minds. He winked at Kakashi and added, rather proudly, "But I asked Kaoru-chan to save some leftovers for the three of you. Remember to be sweet in your words when you go ask."

Kakashi frowned at many things in those sentences, but he did pick out the most important one. "Sumie has not returned yet?"

"No honorifics, huh? Didn't know you guys are already that comfortable with each other," Jiraiya teased, knowing full well that Kakashi's lack of formality was not due to the closeness of their relationship but instead, born from a distrust and caution that Kakashi had stubbornly held on to.

Kakashi had tried to justify it, despite everything Sumie had done for them - was doing for them. Right, it was totally because she was lying about her persistent amnesia, not because she had injured Kakashi's pride, in more than one instance.

"But no, Sumie-chan is not back from the forest yet. We'll see if she finds anything today." Jiraiya finished the sentence, voice light and carefree, such a contrast to the gut-wrenching feeling Kakashi felt whenever he heard the conclusion of 'nothing'.

"Then I should recheck the perimeter. If there's nothing to find here, I can scout ahead." Kakashi said, patting his forearms to make sure that the storage seal was secured in place. However, with one look at him, Jiraiya saw the flames of restlessness that were burning incessantly in his brain.

"Calm down, boy. You've done plenty of information gathering, my network certainly appreciates it. But too much restlessness does not mean more productivity." The white-haired Sage commented, then his gaze was back to the words being written on the page.

"Shinobi come and go constantly, you never know when there's one that might pick up your presence for the wrong reason." And we have so much at stake here. Obito, Rin. Sumie.

Kakashi was many things - stubborn, unfriendly, distrustful - but he wasn't, by shinobi standards, stupid. He recognized the logic in Jiraiya's words, even before he had to spell it out for him. It was just that the feeling of being unable to do anything gnawed at every inch of his nerves.

In the beginning, Kakashi pushed down his need to make things more efficient because Sumie - their only guide - could threaten him with her cooperation. But it didn't take him long to be aware of the fact that what he demanded to be sacrificed was the beginning of Sumie's new life.

For shinobi like them, it was just a mission. Regardless of whether they found anything, one day, they would return to Konoha without any attachment. But for Sumie, there was no detaching oneself from the mission environment. This was her life; her world to be experienced.

No matter how much self-loathing Kakashi had felt towards his uselessness, or how much Kakashi wanted to cover that feeling by focusing on nothing but mission progress, he had no right to go fuck up Sumie's new life. Well, more than what they had already done by barging into what was supposed to be her shinobi-free era.

"Why don't you check out my new work in the meantime? Give it some new perspectives." Jiraiya tapped the table, giving Kakashi a source of much-needed distraction. Still, in hindsight, Kakashi thought that he must not be fully awake. Otherwise, why would he go pick up the pages when their author was smirking with mischief?

Slap. Kakashi slammed the pages upside down on the table, trying to erase what he had just read from his memory, as well as the heat that was rising on his face. Jiraiya let out a quiet cackle and Kakashi glanced in Rin's direction, hoping that the ugly noise did not wake her up.

Unfortunately, it did. Rin let out a yawn as the scroll fell from her hands to the floor. Now, she was certainly awake. Rin examined the scene around her as she reached down and picked up what she had dropped. Her brows furrowed in confusion as to why Jiraiya-sama was laughing nonstop and why her teammate looked like he wanted to burn every sheet of paper on the table.

"Another retrieved cargo? I'm gathering quite a reliable reputation thanks to you, Fuyu-san." The muffled sound from downstairs came at a good time for Kakashi. That was the inn's owner, Kaoru-san, manning the front desk. Fuyu was the name that Sumie went by, at which Kakashi almost snorted at the lack of effort. Haru, Aki, Fuyu. What's she going to use next, Natsu?

Kakashi opened the door with a muted click and left it ajar, just enough for the occupants of this room to peek at the ones conversing downstairs.

"The wild animals got to the preserved food first, unfortunately. Please get the client to check over and pay me accordingly," Sumie said, quite out of breath, as she handed over the baggage.

"No problem. Oh, he'll be happy with whatever he can retrieve." Kaoru-san laughed lightheartedly. After all, whatever commission Sumie completed, she would get a cut out of it as the middle woman. Usually, the job would end there, but this time, Sumie had extra to show as she placed a woven basket on the counter.

"Oh my, what's in that basket?" the inn owner asked with curiosity. Just then, the basket shook slightly, making Kaoru step back in surprise.

"Snake." Sumie didn't extend the suspense. She lifted the cover, showing Kaoru the snake that had curled up weakly. "Don't worry, I defanged it, so it won't be venomous for a while."

"Oh, that's a shame. The venom would have been sold for a good price. Did you happen to collect some before defanging it?" Kaoru-san composed herself quickly, having seen her fair share while running the inn. Sumie shook her head, but Kaoru just waved her hand. "Don't mind it then. At least you kept it alive. The gallbladder also has a good market."

"Want me to deal with it? The standard cut applies, though." Kaoru winked at Sumie, who replied with a smile, "That would be helpful, thank you."

Kaoru fastened the cover on the basket and pushed it to the side. "Wait here. Jirō-san has asked me to save some leftovers." With that, Kaoru-san went to the back kitchen and came out with a food box used for delivery. Jirō was Jiraiya's cover.

"Jirō-san is quite a thoughtful man, isn't he? Slightly a womanizer, but still," Kaoru-san said in a hushed voice to Sumie as she leaned over the counter. Kakashi should have realized that this signified the start of gossip. Jiraiya-sama, though, looked rather pleased with himself.

"You can't be a womanizer without the ability to make others think you're thoughtful," Sumie replied, making Kaoru giggle in agreement. Speculations about Sumie and Jiraiya's relationship started the first day they arrived here, introducing themselves as a wandering writer - responsible for his orphaned niece and nephew - and the hired muscle he met on the way.

Some had speculated Sumie to be from a fallen house of Samurai. Some had even thought that she and Jiraiya had eloped together. Neither of them made a big deal out of correcting the truth. Using Jiraiya's logic, it was better to let people's impression about them being filled with juicy gossip than any other aspects of their unconventional party.

"I mean well, really, Fuyu-san. But being a travelling writer is not a stable profession, less so that he's bringing the children along, men like that seldom deserve your youth," Kaoru-san said in a more serious tone. Jiraiya let out a sigh behind Kakashi like he was somewhat offended.

"Of course not, but I do like to travel and the arrangement is favourable to me," Sumie replied, skirting over her concerns. "Still, I'll keep that in mind, Kaoru-san."

Against Sumie's calm demeanour, Kaoru said nothing else, understanding that it wasn't really her business in the first place. With a smile, the inn owner sent Sumie up the stairs along with the leftovers.

Kakashi closed the door at that moment, but it hardly mattered because the first thing Sumie said when she entered the room was directed toward Jiraiya. "Having fun eavesdropping on Kaoru's opinions of you?"

"Yours too, Sumie-chan. You wounded me," Jiraiya complained as he feigned his sadness. Sumie shook her head, placing the food box on the table that Jiraiya had just cleaned up. The dramatism died fast as the Jiraiya asked, "So, anything new?"

Sumie paused a little as she focused her attention on taking out the plates without spilling. Then, she answered, "No. I can't find anything."

Neither Rin nor Kakashi showed any sign of disappointment. It had been the same answer for the last week, enough for them to build a long-lasting immunity. Still, Kakashi wanted to propose - merely asking, not demanding - if they should move on from this town to the next. Before he could, Sumie spoke up again.

"I think they already knew that I'm chasing them - or at least, I can sense them - so they are staying out of my radar," Sumie said, picking up a pair of chopsticks for herself while handing the rest to Kakashi and Rin. The use of 'them' was vague in every sense, but no one here was confused.

"What do you propose then? Should we try other directions, in case they're using counter-tracking measures?" Jiraiya asked, his brows furrowed at the bleak prospect.

"Which direction? There are too many options, if we abandon the only direction we know." Sumie asked before shaking her head. "It's even worse if they set up decoys and led us astray."

She had a point. The creature fled toward the West when it was caught off guard. As outdated and limited as that was, it was the most genuine reaction they could get from their target.

The room fell into silence then, filled only with the sound of chopsticks hitting the tableware. Kakashi gulped down the rice in a few big mouthfuls. He placed the bowl back onto the table before finally speaking up. "Can you expand the range of your sensing?"

Sumie paused in her dinner and thought about it. Then she outlined the exact reason why Kakashi did not want to bring it up in the first place. "Well, the easiest way would be for me to die again. The restrictions should loosen quite a bit after I come back to life."

"Nevermind," Kakashi replied immediately. He was there, listening from another room when Sumie had expressed adamantly that she did not wish to go through another death-life cycle. However, Sumie looked at him with amusement and said, "I'm touched, but not so fast in discarding that idea."

"We don't want you to go through something that can be traumatic and damaging for our sake, Sumie-chan. You don't have any duty to Konoha, or to us," Jiraiya said, but Sumie merely shook her head.

"No, I'm not talking about dying again." Now, that got their attention and Sumie continued her explanation. "The seal on my body activates when my usage of Natural Energy reaches a certain level. Therefore, I try to steer clear of that region near the threshold. Theoretically, I'm not using the maximum of what I can use before the seal activates."

Jiraiya-sama let out a sound of understanding and Kakashi, too, got what she was trying to say. "I will try pushing my usage of Natural Energy to the limit - again, I don't know if that's enough to make a difference - but when the seal activates, it will be … unpleasant."

"Will you be okay?" That was the first thing Rin had asked after hearing Sumie's words. It was clear that she meant more than the physical aspect.

"Any expansion in sensing will help. Even if nothing turns up, it'll help make the overall search faster," Jiraiya added, confirming with Sumie once more, "But only if you want to do it."

Sumie nodded again, a confirmation to both Rin and Jiraiya, so Kakashi took it further and asked directly, "What do you need us to help with?"

"I need a bodyguard. I will be defenceless for a few minutes when the seal activates." Sumie answered, pausing a bit before adding, "Nobody can see my abnormality either."

"Bring Kakashi-kun with you." "I can do it." Both Jiraiya and Kakashi said at the same time. That settled it.

Sumie meant it when she said that she had no second thoughts. They went out to the forest right after dinner. Kakashi couldn't help but notice that Sumie had chosen to walk along the river instead of venturing deeper into the woods as she had always done.

Kakashi must be frowning in confusion because when Sumie stopped and turned around, she let out a quiet laugh at Kakashi and placed a finger to her lips. "I'll let you know a little secret. Compared to the solid Earth, my affinity with water is much better."

She knelt down by the river and dipped her fingers in the running water. "Unfortunately, Earth is far more continuous in this part of Nature and I'm less likely to miss things." Sumie might have glanced up into the sky before she finished her sentence. "But when rivers reach far into the distance, so can my Natural Energy. I might as well try something different."

Kakashi nodded, not that she needed to explain. Really, Sumie could have done anything with Natural Energy and Kakashi wouldn't be able to question a thing. But rather, it made it clear that no one was taking the excuse of amnesia seriously, not even Sumie herself.

Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama did not accept Sumie's explanation of amnesia because they believed it to be the truth - at least, not to the extent she claimed. No, they accepted it to imply their respect for her boundary, to only hear what was willingly spoken. Sumie was aware of that from the start.

"I'm ready." That was the only warning Kakashi got before Sumie placed her hand in the river and lowered her eyes. The forest remained asleep for a few more seconds before Kakashi felt everything and nothing all at once.

Kakashi did not know about Natural Energy other than the description of his teacher. Yet, he was aware that something much larger than chakra was at work, turning the slumbering forest around him into a beast that could swallow him whole.

The earth did not shake, but Kakashi couldn't help but feel like he was standing on something alive, like a dragon swimming underneath the surface. The stream did not splash up violently, but it felt like the water was dancing in invigorating joy.

Golden lines materialized on Sumie's arms, tracing the shape of scales over her skin. The colour settled deeper into bronze, and eventually, obsidian, but still pulsed with the glint of gold with every breath of air. It's ethereal, Kakashi must admit, for a lack of better word.

Yet, a minute into which Kakashi's eyes were glued to the One Favoured by Nature, the symphony of harmony around them snapped to an ugly halt.

-o-o-o-

Sumie was one with the river. Every droplet of water danced and Sumie - her consciousness, her feelings, her sensations - danced with them.

For a second, Sumie felt as if she was never freer, travelling with the waves, crossing thousands of miles in a passing thought.

The water flew down a steep step, tumbling in the air before crashing down again. The wave turned the corner and splashed onto the rock. The water droplets flew out and rolled into the soil. It sank deeper, passed by the plant roots, and finally seeped into a stony surface.

Finally, a droplet of water dripped down the ceiling of the cave and hit the ground. Sumie came face to face with a mass of disturbance - a black hole, really - that sent Nature awry.

Then, everything shifted. The water was no longer Sumie's companion; it suffocated her throat and crushed her lungs. The waves no longer carried her afloat; they pushed her deeper into the ocean until every piece of her bones was crushed by the increasing pressure.

For every life you wrongly took with the waves and the rain, you shall feel their vulnerabilities. Heaven had decreed long ago while Sumie lowered her head and accepted her punishment. The Heavenly Bindings engraved in her spine were to make sure that she never forgot her sin, even after her sentence in the depth of the ocean had long ended.

Sometimes, when emotions built up - like that time in the Namikaze household - Sumie couldn't help but feel a pang of irritation towards the endless punishment she was given. But most of the time, Sumie recognized that the punishment was deserving.

Sumie had no say over when it should end because the ones that had the right could no longer say anything. Perhaps, that was another reason why Sumie wasn't keen on rushing to her death - multiple deaths - just to get rid of the Heavenly Punishment.

"… Sumie … alive?"

When Sumie regained consciousness, she realized that her sleeves were drenched in water, but she was nowhere near the stream.

"Are you still alive?" The silver-haired boy asked with a mixture of worry, panic, and exasperation on his face. His sleeves were also wet, telling Sumie that the boy must have pulled her out of the water before she fully sank into it.

Kakashi scrunched his brows together and tried again. "I mean, are you continuing to be alive? No, that doesn't make sense … whatever, are you okay?"

"More or less," Sumie whispered, having a hard time getting her lungs to work again after the intense agony. She pushed herself up from the ground and looked down at her arms. Good, the black seals had already faded.

"Sorry for the scare, but I did warn that it's not very pleasant," Sumie said as she stretched her limbs, chasing away the last bit of lingering pain. Upon seeing that, the young boy let out a sigh of relief that was barely noticeable.

A pause, before Kakashi inquired, "Did you find anything?" It was straight to the point and easy to understand, Sumie kind of liked that about the boy. Unlike the many times before when Sumie could only crush his hope, she had good news this time.

"Yes. Farther West and curving towards North lies something disturbing to Nature. We should check it out."

-o-o-o-

Records of the Divine ( 天机录 )

A grave sin against Heaven was committed by the Dragon of Obsidian Scales, the one who commanded the waves and the rain, a child of Heaven.

With her selfish desires and negligence, tens of thousands of lives perished under her power, one that was meant to be used against Devastation.

For those lives wrongly taken and the act against Heaven, she shall be sealed in the ocean's depth for five hundred years, repenting in unending agony. The blessing of Nature that was given to her by Heaven shall be stripped forever, leaving only immortality to continue the punishment, until Heaven deems otherwise.

May this be a grave warning; a betrayal never to occur again.