VII

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Arc VII Chapter 4

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Being the first one to run wasn’t an honourable act for a member of the Sarutobi clan, but honour didn’t buy you anything. Life wasn’t fair and fate struck cruelly. They were doomed.

A purple armoured behemoth crashed through the buildings and flattened everything in its way with brute force. Plated in heavy armour and menacing purple chakra, the behemoth ripped the entire block apart in primal fury. Steel, concrete, wood, stone, nothing resisted her rage. Nothing stopped the raging beast.

Naritomo felt small. This was true power, a power mere mortals and humans could never hope to compete with. This was the power of the gods. The behemoth massacred the fleeing shinobi, smashing them like the tiny ants. They didn’t stand a chance, and their blood adorned its purple armour.

Few survived. Few escaped her wrath, but that wasn’t enough to save them. The beast gave no mercy. Purple spheres surrounded the armoured monstrosity. Her chakra nurtured them.

“...” Naritomo sweated. The strike was imminent. The girl had gone completely insane. She was going to kill them and blast Konoha to kingdom come.

“TAKE COVER!!!” Naritomo closed his eyes and his world turned bright. The shock wave passed him together with a tsunami of rubble, bricks, dust, earth, stone, dirt. The buildings yielded. The impact shredded them like cardboard, and a rain of debris fragments showered their position. Her destructive methods proved effective once again.

Yet survived, but the same couldn't be said about his battalion. The inexperienced genin didn't share his luck. Smashed, slaughtered, murdered, their corpses littered the battlefield. Few miraculously survived the ordeal unscathed.

“Hehehehe ...” Naritomo laughed. He laughed and laughed. His whole battalion was gone just like this. A single strike and they met their demise. This wasn’t a fight. This was a massacre.

His eyes glared at the purple armoured behemoth. Covered in fire and flames, the monster lived on. Unmoved, unfazed by all the carnage, the amour approached them.

Naritomo unholstered his kunai in a last desperate act of defiance. They were done, but he would fight to his last breath.

“...” He closed his eyes and awaited his end, but death made him wait.

The armour dissipated, and an innocent girl welcomed them. Her black kimono was drenched in red, but Asami wore her colours with pride.

The girl strolled across the ruins and greeted her new friends with a saccharine grin. “Sorry for the inconvenience, but are you friend, or foe? It's hard to tell these days. My comrades deceived me, and my supposed allies betrayed me. The ANBU and Konoha's loyal ninja, they all hunt me.”

...

...

...

“... ... ...” Silence followed, and Naritomo gulped. Her words strangled him. He feared her wrath.

Asami shook her head and sighed. “I am disappointed. You hurt me. I dedicated my entire life to Konoha. I gave everything. My hands killed, murdered, slaughtered in Konoha’s name, but Konoha’s brave ninja don’t even have the courage to answer a simple question.”

Asami looked up. Her purple eyes petrified Naritomo. The girl was ... The girl was ...

Her hand wandered towards her sword. “Answer me, are you with me, or are you against me? Were you also ordered to attack me like the rest of your friends?”

“...” Naritomo paled. The girl knew. The current situation was delicate.

His voice trembled. “With you. We are with you.”

He was visibly nervous. Her eyes. They terrified him. He gazed into their soulless abyss and never returned.

Her hand left the hilt and Asami smiled, satisfied. “Wonderful, I am glad we were able to solve this misunderstanding. And now, if you excuse me, I still have a few Suna and Oto-nin to deal with ...”

“Why did you kill her?” A voice interrupted her. It was a boy, a genin.

Asami halted. “Kill whom?” A genin glared at her, questioning her.

“You killed Kyoko.” The boy glared at her. His arms hugged her bloodied corpse.

Asami raised her eyebrow. “Apparently. A tragic accident, but accidents happen. The battlefield is a cruel place.”

“An accident?” The boy narrowed his eyes.

Asami tilted her head and smiled. “Yes, an accident. Your loss saddens me.”

The boy clenched his fist. “Why did you kill her?”

Asami dismissed his presence. “Listen, boy, I have killed so many today, I stopped counting. Her death was admittedly a mistake on my part, but mistakes tend to happen.”

“I overlooked you ...”

“Aargh!!!” The boy grabbed his kunai and charged, but Asami quick drew. Her steel pierced his heart.

Asami shook her head. “Disappointing performance.” Her hand extracted her blad, and the boy hit the ground. His life had ended, and all ninja stared at her now in shock. In their eyes, she was a monster. They were scared, but they were prepared to fight, they were even prepared to die. The ninja made their decision and prepared their kunai.

“...” Asami was surrounded. The enemy blocked her path. They opposed her, as did Konoha.

Her gaze swept through their ranks. It didn't need to end like this, but it did. “An unfortunate turn of events. I thought Konoha stood at my side, but I was wrong. In the end, I am but alone.”

Asami summoned her purple chakra and created a sphere. “Sayonara, this is where we part.”

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