- At the same time, in the village hidden in the sand. -
"Lord Kazekage! The squad you sent to search for the missing shinobi have been wiped out, only Ichiro managed to escape!" A Sand Anbu burst into the Kazekage's office with the news.
The Kazekage's eyes shot open wide. "Are you certain it's him? If so, have him report back to me immediately." He said, his voice stern and cold.
A few moments later, Ichiro entered the Kazekage's office with a few medical shinobi helping him.
"Ichiro… What happened to Kai? What happened to your squad? Explain the situation." The Kazekage spoke, his voice still cold.
Ichiro stammered for a moment, the fear that Hikaru had instilled in him still remained. "H-he is a monster…" he managed.
"That kid… the one who had wiped out all of those squads is a kid… a kid named Hikaru Otstutsuki, his hair is red and he has green eyes. He was wearing a turban and a blindfold, he was about five foot four inches tall, he was wearing clothes too big for him and he was also wearing a Ninjatō on his back." Ichiro said, stammering here and there, but describing Hikaru's appearance very well.
The Kazekage hummed for a moment. "And this Hikaru is the one that wiped out your squad? What are his abilities?" The Kazekage said, his voice sharper and more furious now. Probably got his ego bruised from the fact multiple of his shinobi were wiped out by a child.
"Y-yes he did… I don't think we saw all of his abilities but he displayed an uncanny power to copy our techniques and use them against us without any hand signs. He is extremely well versed with that Ninjatō, and probably specialises in Earth release, not to mention the kid is ridiculously fast." He managed to say, just barely holding onto his sanity.
The Kazekage sighed. "A Jōnin level threat has set his sights on us… what to do? Why did he attack you?" He said.
Ichiro's expression lit up. "It was because we were prepared to attack him. B-but there was a good reason!" He stammered.
"That being?" The Kazekage raised a brow.
"H-heh… the kid is from an undocumented village to the east of here. There is a creature in that village that they worship." He started laughing, knowing this information alone would give him a far higher standing.
He continued. "That creature has the ability to heal any injury. Hikaru displayed one of the creature's feathers and gifted it to Kai Sensei so that he could regenerate his arm… and it worked. Seeing this, we were prepared to attack in order to steal the feathers that the kid possessed."
The Kazekage's gaze suddenly lit up with a greedy glint. "Is that right?" He said, thinking about their plan to raid Konoha in a few months and how useful an ability to heal any injury in an instant could be.
Ichiro nodded immediately. "Y-yes Lord Kazekage… I'm sure… if we raid that village and steal the creature they worship, we can reclaim our former glory!" He started chuckling with his eyes wide, a sign of psychosis.
The Kazekage grinned suddenly. "Ichiro… I always knew you were special."
…
…
"Huff… huff…" Yukio panted, dripping in sweat while holding his Ninjato.
Right now, he was training with all of his might, while his father and sensei were having a nice chat.
Yukio wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hair was getting longer and starting to get in the way. 'I need to get stronger. I need to!' He said as he immediately got back to work.
He had managed to perform eight of the movements in perfect order before either fumbling or losing his balance.
The stress of losing his best friend was weighing down heavily on him, but he needed to think positively.
He knew Sora, he knew that Sora was most likely getting stronger out there and he could not afford to fall behind.
He continued to work day in, day out. Constantly practicing the techniques that Takeo had taught him and making sure to maintain his chakra circulation at all times so that his reserves will increase and his precision will get better.
Not only had his hair grown longer but he was starting to suspect he had started puberty.
He had noticed that he had gotten taller. A few months ago he was barely four foot eight, now he is exactly five feet tall.
Not only this, but his muscles got firmer and he had started to experience mood swings, though this could also be due to the loss of a friend.
Even at night, he couldn't fall asleep. He was starting to fall behind in school because his life pretty much revolved around waking up at 5 AM to train, leaving at 9 AM to go to school and then returning at 3 PM to go back to training until 6 PM. Even after this he continued to train.
His schedule was packed.
Groaning, Yukio got back to work and started doing pushups in his room instead of trying to fall asleep.
…
…
The next morning, at five in the morning at Takeo's dojo.
Instead of Yukio walking right in, Takeo was waiting outside for him with a gentle smile.
"Hey!" He waved, Yukio's head tilting slightly in confusion.
Takeo walked over to meet him. "Let's go on a walk, I figured it's about time I tell you a little about our ancestors." He said.
Yukio's tired expression shifted into that of interest. "Wait, what do you mean?" He asked.
"Well… I only know a little bit about him, but I figured you also deserve to know since you're in the family." He said with a smile.
"Our ancestor… was he significant?" Yukio asked.
Takeo burst out laughing. "Of course he was! He was probably the most vital instrument of building The Great Shuen Village."
They continued walking through the dark street, the morning breeze making Yukio shiver a little. "How so?" The boy asked.
"From what I know… our ancestor was named Kensei Natsuki. He was saved by Lord Shuen a very long time ago and has sworn loyalty to The Lord ever since." Takeo began.
"I only really know his name, but this sword at my waist was his and then it was my brother's." He said, his voice a little somber.
Yukio nodded.
"As a matter of fact, my little brother was named after this sword." He unsheathed the sword slightly, showing Yukio the words engraved on the blade. It read 'Shima.'
Yukio's eyes gleamed for a moment, he felt a strange connection to this sword but shook his head.
"I believe that my younger brother was the incarnation of Kensei, hence why he was so much better than I was. I believe that my brother inherited Kensei's incredible work ethic and maybe you… I believe you have inherited his talent." Takeo said, a playful smile on his face, but his tone suggested that he was not joking.
Yukio's eyes widened as he pointed at himself in confusion. "M-me?"
The old man nodded in return. "And I believe that when you enter the 'flow state', it is really just Kensei's will guiding you. Perhaps, you are also the incarnation of Kensei, just like my brother." He said.
Yukio shook his head immediately. "Absolutely not, that can't be possible." He insisted.
Takeo looked at Yukio firmly. "I have been dwelling on the possibilities my entire life and now that I know you are of my bloodline, I am certain I am correct."
Yukio made an awkward expression.
"Ha! I actually believe that Kensei is the God of Swordsmanship that has died and been reborn in the body of man! Perhaps that is why he has the authority to constantly reincarnate. Perhaps this authority is a sign that the God of Swordsmanship has chosen you as a vessel. Perhaps this 'flow state' is just you realising all of your memories of previous incarnations and using their power." Takeo started ranting about possibilities.
Yukio just sighed. "Right…" he said, not even listening to the old man's ramblings anymore.
…
…
After Yukio left, Takeo stayed behind at his dojo for a while longer.
He sighed and looked at his sword. "I vowed to stay by Lord Shuen's side until I die. I vowed to never use those cursed eyes again. I vowed to never use my sword to kill again. I vowed to never unleash the monster inside of the sword." He recited the many vows he had made throughout his life, to this day staying true to his word.
He sheathed his blade and stood up. "Right, I need to go and check up on their movements." He said, a small smile appearing on his face.
The moment he walked out of the door, his expression hardened.
The scent of blood was in the air, that metallic smell of blood invaded his nose. "Hm, what could've happened here?" He said.
Not wasting any time, he ran to Shuen's temple. Thankfully, the entrance wasn't smashed open and there was no scent of blood. So where did it come from?
At that moment, his eyes flashed as he saw a figure sprint through an alley. "Oh hello." He muttered beneath his breath before running after the figure.
The moment he entered the alley, his eyes opened wide as a golden arc of what seemed to be lightning flashed into his vision.
Takeo suddenly blocked the attack with his Ninjato and his expression hardened. "Who are you?" He said, the alley giving no reply.
He continued further into the dark alleyway with his Ninjato unsheathed.
Once he had left the enclosed space, Takeo found himself standing outside of a large, seemingly abandoned building with a cloaked figure outside.
"You shouldn't have come here…" a familiar voice came from beneath the cloak as another arc of golden lightning struck from out of nowhere.
Takeo easily dodged the attack as his expression softened. "So it's you? I figured as much. Never thought you'd be man enough to actually follow through, though." He said as his chakra flared.
'I can't sense any chakra from these attacks, are they not made of chakra?' He thought to himself as he analysed the residue left from the lightning.
The cloaked figure chuckled before four more golden lightning strikes flew toward Takeo, all easily dodged.
He sighed. "So… The Eyes of The Lord? You seriously went and activated them despite everything?" Takeo shook his head in disappointment. "Though I'm surprised you're able to create lightning out of the strange golden energy. I was only able to create sharp slashes similar to wind, maybe you're more of a lightning guy…" he said, as if he was talking to a friend.
The cloaked man sighed one more time before his hood fell, revealing the wrinkled face that Takeo had essentially grown up with.
"Come on Takumi, I can't believe you, of all people, would go and betray The Lord." Takeo said sarcastically as he shook his head in mock disbelief.
The Voice of The Lord started laughing manically. "You can't do anything, Takeo… our plan is already in motion." He grinned, flashing his dirty yellow teeth and freakish expression.
Takeo clicked his tongue in disgust. "Hell, you even look twenty years younger! You've gotta tell me your secrets, Takumi." He said sarcastically, actually quite repulsed by the old man's appearance in reality.