VI

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

Arc VI Chapter 9

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

Asami glanced sidewards in search for her new Suna friends, they were nowhere to be found.

The invasion had begun and they left. They didn’t even say goodbye despite their time spent together. How impolite.

Asami shook her head in disappointment.

She didn’t need to wear velvet gloves anymore. No constraints, no limitations, no rules bound her. The Uchiha in her approved.

Asami set her eyes on her newest prey, the three infamous sand siblings and their sensei.

They gathered down in the arena, a jinchuuriki directly within her reach.

Sadly, killing Gaara was a risky affair. Bijuu were tricky, and she never dealt with such a beast before. History called them bringers of death and destruction. Creatures driven by madness and insanity.

The bijuu was sealed inside Gaara, and the seal held firm despite his dubious mental stability. Eliminating him would shatter the seal and unleash the bijuu in full force.

As long as Gaara lived, the One-Tail was kept under control. Asami didn't need a rampaging Biju in the middle of Konoha. She didn't need a disastrous repetition of the Kyubi incident.

“Gaara, the plan…”, Baki tried to reach Gaara, but he didn’t show any reaction. Gaara remained unconscious. His wounds were far more serious than expected.

Temari grabbed Gaara by his shoulder. ”He is still suffering from the side effects of the transformation. He can't fight in this state.”

Baki gritted his teeth. “Fool, he transformed before the signal.”

Kankuro sweated. “What are we supposed to do without Gaara? He is the central piece of this entire operation.”

Baki clicked his tongue. ”Retreat. Abort the mission.“

“Take Gaara and retreat ...”

Asami acted first. Her ingrained instincts made her body move. As usual, her judgement was excellent.

The attacking Oto-nin were slow, painfully slow. They paid dearly for their impudence.

Her hand grabbed an attacker and bashed his head against the iron railing. Not once, not twice, but thrice, until a familiar cracking resounded. His cranium splintered.

Asami drew her sword and counterattacked. Her friend wasn’t her only visitor.

A second Oto-nin attacked from behind and her reaction was prompt.

Asami struck his chest. Her blade nailing her victim to the nearest wall.

The man was still breathing much to Asami's disappointment. Her skills deteriorated. They grew sloppy.

Lightning coursed through her sword and the high voltage ended his life. The sweet scent of burned flesh permeated the air. The smell of victory.

His comrades used the opening and flanked her in an feeble attempt on her life. Their manoeuvre failed. Too little, too late.

Asami vanished and the two Oto-nin hit the empty air.

Asami reappeared above them and brought her steel down. Nobody escaped her iron judgement. Their end was sealed the moment they crossed her path.

Her sword pierced them and pinned their bodies to the ground. Her full weight drove her blade through their shoulder until their cries ceased to bother her.

The attack ended and nobody else dared to challenge her dominance.

Asami dusted off her kimono and rearranged her collar. The Oto-nin ruining her attire for no reason. This was the true face of evil

Asami searched for the Sand siblings, but Gaara was nowhere to be found. The same was true for Temari, Kamkuro, and Sasuke.

They disappeared and stopped being her problem. They didn't fall under her area of competence anymore.

Asami marched off. Fumihiko required her assistance.

...

...

...

Shino observed from the sidelines. He was used to being ignored, to being overlooked.

He lived in the shadows, and sometimes it hurt, but such didn’t matter.

Shino remembered Asami. He remembered the little princess, but this degree of violence surprised even him.

No hesitation, no remorse, no doubt, no mercy. The Oto-nin were massacred. Their bodies stained the floor vivid iron red.

Shino adjusted his dark glasses. The red lake expanded. More blood was demanded

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━