"May you be one with the shadows? May the shadows be one with you? You know nothing of the shadows. The shadows are not your ally. The shadows are not your friend. You disgrace the shadows."
...
"How do you know those words?" A speck of fear starts to manifest in the Leader. Their sacred words were only spoken outside the castle in the dead of night under a slight downpour. There is no way the King could know them. It's impossible.
"It does not matter. I will not reveal my skills so easily even if you are all dead men." The King dismisses the question with a relaxed wave that only the highest of nobles are capable of doing. "Are you stalling? Are you waiting until your reinforcements arrive to assault me with overwhelming numbers?"
"No." The Leader confidently says. Yet deep down in his gut he knows that something is wrong. This is not how their target should be acting. He should be begging for his life on his knees, not lavishly sitting on his throne while bossing them around. The speck of fear grows a little larger. "We don't need them."
"Good, I was hoping you would say that since your backup will not be coming." An evil grin splits the King's face, the likes of which they have only seen one person equal. Their Kage, Orochimaru himself. "You're other two groups have already been defeated."
"What!" The Leader balks at the absurd notion. "Bullshit!"
"You will not use such foul language in my house!" The King leaps to his feet. "Do you understand me, peon?"
"Yes." The Leader forces out for the sake of his shinobi. He needs to know what happened to them. "I apologize, it will not happen again."
"Good!" The King merrily sits back down. "You want to know where your shinobi are?"
"Yes I do." The Leader replies in a controlled calm. That little speck of fear is not so little anymore.
The King doesn't vocally reply. Instead he smiles a vindictive smile and points upwards towards the ceiling.
"N-no way." The Leader's confidence waivers for the first time in years. "It can't be."
"It is." The King is greatly amused by the now fretting shinobi. It's not just the Leader, every single one is gawking at the ceiling. "The other livestock have already been defeated."
Up on the ceiling is a terrifying mass of webs so massive that it spans the entire length and width of the Royal Court. It's a truly impressive sight, impressive and scary. To make such a large structure is not an easy feat for anyone, man or beast alike. This goes doubly since the webs were not here last week when they cased the castle.
But it is not the impressive structure that truly captivates the eight shinobi. It's what's in the web. A spider so massive that she could rival prized stallions in sheer size. She's staring down at the eight shinobi in hunger, she views them as nothing more than livestock to be caught then swiftly devoured. She's not alone in the web, countless other spiders are swarming across it. They range in size from a small dog to the normal sized spiders everyone is used to. They move independently of each other, scuttling back and forth endlessly. They're going about their own tasks, but each spider has something in common. They're looking at the shinobi like they're prey.
It's at this moment, when each shinobi are watching the smaller spiders move about, they notice exactly where their teammates are.
There's a mass of pure white webs on one part of the massive web. It took a moment to recognize it because the endlessly moving small spiders are constantly crawling over it. They're adding to the cocoon, making sure the captive has no chance – not the faintest glimmer of hope – to escape. But the cocoon is not covering their entire body, the spiders that spun these bindings are cruel and malicious. The unfortunate soul who is inside has their eyes exposed. They can see what's going on, and they're angled to look down at the rest of their free teammates. They have a front row seat to watch as their friends join their fate.
That is just one of sixteen similar cocoons. They're all arranged evenly in a circle around the stallion sized spider. It's the exact amount of shinobi the other two teams were made of.
"L-livestock?" The Leader stutters out. His resolve has broken. The once small speck of fear has grown into terror. "That's all we are to you?"
"Yes." The King grins in madness. "I have many mouths that need feeding."
"I don't think there's much meat on their bones, My Liege." A regal voice says from behind the throne and its owner steps into the light. "Perhaps we just kill them?"
"Butler, Arachne needs food. Yes this batch of livestock is not fit for human consumption but spiders are not that picky."
"Yes, you have an excellent point as always." The Butler bows slightly to the King. "Also, they were after a specific book. One called The Great Outdoors. It has already been moved to a secure location."
"As exceptional as ever!" The King praises his Butler. "But it would not matter if they had it in their possession. No one leaves this room tonight."
"Shall I dispose of them for you?" The Butler asks as his eyes burn like coals.
"No." The King rises from his throne. "This requires a more personal touch. They barged into my home. They attempt to steal from me. They attempt to destroy what's mine. They need to be punished." The King unclasps his magnificent robe and lets the fortune fall to the floor.
"My Liege? They're far beneath someone of your station! Surely I will suffice!" The Butler insists.
"I will not allow hooligans to run freely in my castle!" The King doesn't bother to pull his elegant silk shirt over his head. He rips it off of himself. "They shall know fear! They shall know fury! They shall know pain!"
Each shinobi is openly staring at the crazy King. He's covered in scars. Not just any scars, these scars are not marks of numerous accidents. They're not the result of torture. These scars have been earned through sweat and blood. They are battle scars. The scars of a survivor.
The scars of a shinobi.
They were misinformed, hugely misinformed. Their target is a fighter. Their target is dangerous. Their target is a shinobi who has lived through countless battles pure confidence he's oozing can only mean one thing, he's won almost all of them.
As an insurmountable killing intent surges over every shinobi present they all draw another impossible conclusion. This King, this shinobi, this monster, is worlds apart from them. They have no hope of matching him.
The King smoothly slides into an advanced combat stance. "I will be the one to teach them their lessons. Now who is first?"
How did this happen? They are one of Orochimaru's elite teams. They are one of the strongest forces at his command. They have proven themselves to their Kage time and time again. They haven't tasted bitter defeat in years.
Yet tonight they have been defeated. They've lost before the first punch was even thrown. No, they lost the moment they showed up. The King knew their every move from the second they laid eyes on his castle. They've disappointed their Kage.
"We forfeit." The Leader says. "You win."
"OH COME ON! I WAS HAVING SO MUCH FUN YOU ASSHOLES!" Alvarcus roars at the shinobi before him, dropping the inspiring act of a King.
"Finally!" Sasuke sags in relief. "Do you have any idea how uncomfortable these damn suits are? They're just terrible! And this is the second time you forced me into one! No more!"
"Oh shut up! At least you got to beat some of them!"
SCREEEECH
A loud sound of microphone feedback resonates through the entire castle.
"Alvarcus and Sasuke have won their first War Game! Congratulations!"
"Yay for us." Alvarcus groans out.
"I want to be on his team next time." One of the shinobi mumbles to himself.
...
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