Book 2: Chapter 3: The End of the Celestials Part V

Book 2: Land of Sand

Chapter 3: The End of the Celestials Part V

Standing outside the crater with the sun behind him, Kasai stood cloaked in its shadow. His red and white eyes stared down at us without a trace of emotion as he simply tossed Hōki. A large gaping hole took up his chest. I didn’t even get to hear his final words. I was sure he didn’t even have the chance to say them. And for some reason, that pissed me off.

On one hand, why did I care about a bunch of ninja I had just met, not to mention ones that tried to kill me. Was it because they were used as pawns in Danzō’s scheme? Or maybe after seeing what killing did to a person, I wanted to avoid it at all costs? Did that make me a pacifist who enjoyed playing ninja? A hypocrite with double standards? I didn’t have answers. I was too young to have them. But either way, I didn’t like how Kasai stared at us like we were beneath him.

“Well, there goes the keeping them all alive plan. Now what?” Tayuya muttered while I simply bit my tongue.

“We patch up the rest and wait for them to wake up to find out about Hiruzen—”

My voice was drowned out by a bang that went off in the crater. As the smoke cleared, standing where Ryugan’s body was supposed to be was Kurai. He had a lollipop in his mouth, dusting off his hands with a sigh.

“Why am I always on clean-up duty?” Kurai said so nonchalantly that it barely registered to me had even killed someone. That he had let them leave the world without so much as a body to bury. Even his precious Garian Sword was gone. Ground to dust.

Kasai wiped the blood off his hands. “Because, while I hate to admit it, you’re faster than me. So hurry up before Kai comes with the Third.”

“Fine, fine.” Kurai tossed a kunai towards Suiko’s body and appeared in a blur of red. In his right hand, a Rasengan formed, growing to be much larger than his palm. “Hey Sui, could you step aside? Danzō’s orders. Can’t leave a trace of the Celestials. What a drag, to be honest. I’ll have to find a different set of craftsmen to make my kunai.”

Sui turned off her lightning cloak, and she covered her Sharingan eye before hopping towards us. She didn’t even look at me as she grabbed us by the collars. Though I did hear her whisper. A voice that just earlier held so much confidence now riddled with defeat made even me accept it as she said:

“I’m sorry.”

There, another bang went off, leaving nothing but a crater where Suiko used to be.

“Don’t be. Keeping them alive was nothing but a dream. It’s about time Yuki saw the real world.” Tayuya spat as Sui dragged us away from Kurai.

I wished I had a comeback for that, but I didn’t. She was right. We were ninja, and yet here I am, letting the enemy live. Hell, it was even used against me. Almost cost me the lives of my team. If Sui didn’t step in, we’d be dead because of my wish. God damn it! Didn’t I make fun of Kiba for this same kind of stupidity! What changed?

I felt the ground rumble once more, and I assumed the job was done until I heard a scream.

“Wait, please!” Kujaku's eyes were wide with horror. It didn’t take long for the realization to kick in that she was already dead. It was funny how the spit on her cheek didn’t even ruin the pretty image of her face. “We both take orders from Danzō. Can’t we work something out?”

Kurai scratched his head, careful not to hit himself with his own Rasengan. “And here comes the begging. Sorry, but orders are orders. I can’t leave a trace. Besides, you failed your mission, and a tool that can’t do its job is worthless.”

Kill them!

“Now I remember.” I appeared between Kurai and Kujaku. The world was slow, and I no longer had Hiruzen’s scroll on my back. I didn’t need that on my conscious, especially as her voice grew louder. Thankfully I still saw things as they were, even though the world was drenched in a filter of bloody red. It was enough for me to notice Kurai bite into his lollipop, giving me the chance to strike through him with a kunai coated in lightning. Lightning Blade. “Killing makes my body go numb.”

“Yuki!”

“Don’t worry, it’s a clone,” I said, reassuring Sui as Kurai poofed into smoke.

“W-why did you….” Kujaku stared up at me, and it was weird standing in front of an enemy to protect them from a friend. Then again, I did that for Tayuya. And honestly, should I even consider Kai, Kurai, and Kasai to be my friends? Man, did I really have no friends outside of my team?

“Why did you save me?” Kujaku asked again, bringing me back from the depths.

“It’s because I hate Danzō more than I want to see you die,” I said, turning my back on her to face someone who could have been my friend. “So if I were you, I’d get the hell out of here. And just thank me later, ok.”

“Finally. I can kill you without an excuse.” Kasai jumped into the crater weaving hand signs as he fired off multiple fireball Jutsus. I countered with my own set of hand signs, then placed my hand on the ground letting thick walls of earth rise to block the blasts. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched as Kujaku regained some of her bearings and blasted off into the sky. At least one got away—

“I would suggest you focus,” Kasai said as he broke through my earth wall in a single burst of lightning, appearing in front of me with a kunai in hand. That time I met him in kind with my own kunai seeing his face up close in the deadlock. Both his Byakugan and Sharingan were active. Yet he seemed about as calm as I was, and that sent chills down my spine. He was taking me seriously, but I wasn’t going to kill him, nor would I let him kill me. I just needed to stall for time.

“Is killing weakened opponents really your thing?” I said, throwing three wired wind kunai at him with my free hand.

Kasai turned to his side, letting the kunai hit the ground before slicing the wires with his free hand. “Why do you think I let Kurai do it?”

With a quick step back, I placed my hands together, forming a couple of hand signs. “Thank you for admitting I’m strong. Water Style: Water Bullet Jutsu!”

I spat out a barrage of water bullets forcing Kasai to jump out of the way to avoid them, but funny enough, I was never aiming for him as ice spikes exploded from the ground. I didn’t think it would kill him. Slowing him down was the goal. Sadly, it did neither. Instead, the ice simply shattered as it came into contact with a white spinning barrier of chakra that took Kasai’s place. Soon after, Kasai landed on the ground without a scratch, a half-smile cutting through his mask.

“There are exceptions,” Kasai said with a smirk. “And before you ask, that’s called Air Rotation.”

I clicked my tongue and threw out three fire-tagged kunai, then did a couple more hand signs before blowing out a blast of wind. Improvised Style: Scorch Styled Evaporation Blast!

Kasai made no effort to dodge my attack, merely weaving hand signs as the wind merged with the fire to create an explosion that wiped away the ice and created a layer of mist. For a moment, I was shocked, not because Kasai had avoided the attack but because he countered the Jutsu with a wall of water. Not only did he know multiple styles, but he also knew how to counter Kekkei Genkai. What the hell did Danzō put him through?

“You know, seeing your techniques. Watching your eyes. It makes me wonder just how much of a loser you are.” Kasai laughed. “You’re even gifted with the Sharingan’s true form, and yet you’re still losing to fodder.”

“I wouldn’t call this a gift. More like a curse.” I said, shaking my head as things were becoming increasingly more distant. Like I was drifting away.

Kasai’s eyes widened. “Wow. He calls it a curse. The history-defining eyes are a curse to you? Man, I can’t believe my sister dated you.”

“Dated?”

Kasai appeared in front of me in his gentle fist stance. “Did I stutter?”

He threw a palm strike, only for it to be blocked by my forearm. I returned his smirk as I was also in the gentle fist stance.

“You know there’s no point in copying a Jutsu you can’t use, right?” Kasai said, shaking his head as we went blow for blow. It felt the same as fighting Sui, where every strike he landed wore me down, while every strike I landed left him unbothered.

Though barely did he know the longer I fought, the louder her voice grew, and the less I felt. I didn’t know how long we fought for. It honestly didn’t really matter because the pain from his strikes began to subside as my mind fell deeper. To the point where I didn’t hear Sui’s plea to stop, nor did I feel Kasai’s strike to my chest. I spat up blood, yet I used that chance to grab his arm and slam him into the ground. My breathing ragged, I stumbled backward as my chest tightened. Kasai started to lose form as he stood back up. My eyes saw him as a white flame. I had run out of time, and unfortunately, it wasn’t Sui who brought me back. Rather, it was Kurai as he said:

“Mission accomplished.” And in his hands, he held two swords.