[aizenDuchiha0 said @Ch100: Killer Bee listened without interrupting, already moving. He pulled out a scroll and began writing furiously, his brush flying across the paper with unnatural speed. He recorded every critical detail about Reanimated enemy at Land of Hot water. Chinoike clan allegiance secured. Yugito Nii's being bought back by En Oyashiro, the Leader of Chinoike clan. Little one being in danger. Immediate threat level marked extreme. When he finished, he snapped the scroll shut.]
[aizenDuchiha0 said @Ch100:"Tch… flying ain't my style yet," Bee muttered.
He adjusted quickly. With another seal, the ink reshaped itself into a massive bird construct. He shoved the sealed scroll into its core and slapped its side.
"Fly this back home," Bee ordered. The Ink bird screeched and shot into the sky, zigzagging wildly before stabilizing and racing North-East.]
~~
Aya lay across the leather couch, as her mind racing and her eyes were fixed on the ceiling, tracing the patterns of the wood grain distract herself from thinking about her son but failed.
"It's been almost three days since Kaien left," she murmured, her voice breaking the silence. She turned her head toward the massive desk where her brother, Ay... the young man destined to one day inherit the mantle of Raikage... sat reviewing new Kekkei Genkai clans joined in Kumo. "I wonder how he is? Is he causing trouble for Renga? Is he eating? Renga is far too strict; he probably has my boy surviving on military rations."
young Ay opened his mouth to offer a reassuring word, but Aya didn't give him the chance. She rolled onto her side, answering her own anxiety. "No, I don't think so. Kaien was never the type to trouble others."
She sat up abruptly, her hair a wild halo around her face. Her hands gripped the edge of the cushions until her knuckles turned white. "Do you think the Chinoike clan betrayed us, Ay? Is that why we haven't heard anything? Do they bare hatred for Kumo after what Daimyo did to them? Why would they bow to Kumo so easily? What if it's a trap? What if Kaien is caught in some... some accident?"
young Ay let out a long, weary sigh, setting his brush down. He looked at his younger sister with a mixture of pity at her exasperated affection. "Aya, please. It has been only three days since Team Crow departed. At their sustained travel speed, it takes at least one and a half days just to reach the border of the Land of Hot Water and meet the Chinoike clan. You are calculating the return time before they've even reached the destination. You need to wait at least three more days before they start."
Aya didn't seem to hear him. She stood up, her sandals clicking sharply against the polished floor as she began to pace the empty space in front of the window. The vast mountain range of the Land of Lightning stretched out behind the glass, but she saw none of it.
"By the way," she said, trying her best to distract herself, "is it safe for that spy from Konoha to be with Yugito? A Leaf ninja near our jinchuriki... it feels like inviting a wolf to guard the sheep."
Again, young Ay was about to speak, but Aya cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. "It should be okay. Bee-chan has already sealed her chakra. And Yugito is a sharp girl; she wouldn't let a Leaf rat pull the wool over her eyes."
young Ay rubbed his temples. This had been the rhythm of his life for past seventy-two hours since his nephew left for the mission. Aya would pose a catastrophic theory, debunk it herself, and then move on to a new fear. It was a cycle of neurosis.
He stood up, his massive frame casting a shadow that swallowed the desk. He walked over to her, placing his massive hand on her shoulder. The sheer weight of it forced her to stop pacing and she finally looked at his brother.
"Listen to me," young Ay said. "Even if the Chinoike clan harbored thoughts of betrayal, we have an entire company of shinobi stationed at the chakra ore mine near the border. I have already dispatched a messenger bird to the vanguard to remain at high alert. Our foundations are solid, Aya. Kaien is safe."
As if the fate took personal offense at his confidence, a streak of black bird blurred across the sky.
It wasn't a bird of flesh and blood. It was a shimmering, ink-constructed raptor, trailing droplets of charcoal fluid as it shrieked through the air at a terrific speed. Both Ay and Aya froze, their eyes narrowing as they tracked the unnatural projectile.
The ink bird didn't slow down. It slammed into the reinforced glass of the Raikage's window. The ink splashed across the glass pane, but the scroll at the bird's core acted as a physical prow. The glass shattered, and the scroll skidded across the floor, carving a shallow trench into the wood before coming to a rest at young Ay's feet.
The siblings shared a look of grim realization. As they have never seen as a method of delivery messenger.
young Ay stepped forward, he snatched the scroll, unfurling it with a snap. As his eyes darted across the kanji, his tan complexion seemed to pale.
"What...?" he whispered, his voice failing him.
"Ay? What is it?" Aya lunged forward, snatching the scroll from his trembling grip.
The scroll read
"Danger Level: Extreme
Konoha has used Forbidden Reanimation and of them has been sighted in the Land of Hot Water. Chinoike Clan head engaged the threat. Renga relocated the enemy to me for sealing, but the jutsu caster likely intervened as a coffin emerged from the earth and pulled the reanimated enemy into the coffin. However, I managed to seal the opponent along with the coffin.
Chinoike allegiance to Kumo is confirmed. The Chinoike clan head, En Oyashiro, is escorting Yugito Nii and Pakura back to the village. BUT THE LITTLE ONE IS IN DANGER. I am moving to intercept the threat and retrieve Kaien immediately."
Aya's breath hitched. Her eyes hovered over the words "Little one is in danger" until they blurred. The paper fluttered in her hands. The very nightmare she had been talking herself out of for three days had turned out to be true.
"Kaien..." she choked out as tears spilled down her cheeks. The strength left her knees, and she began to collapse.
young Ay caught her instantly, his powerful arms looping under her waist. "Aya! Stay with me!" He cursed under his breath, his mind racing.
Bee was likely moving to intercept there should not be any immediate danger but is this a ploy to capture Bee? Unlikely... Bee has gotten stronger than me. There should not be a problem. But is the border being attacked by the reanimated shinobi from Konoha. Even Bee should not know this information as he should be at Land of frost and this information is at least 3 hours old. What is happening now? I should inform mother. If Renga was here, he could have sent me and Aya to directly to the border. But now is not the time for lamenting.
young Ay didn't know the full truth... that Bee had already been cornered into a desperate gamble, proposing to trade Kaien for the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. He didn't know that his nephew was, at this very moment, staring down the prospect of a torture chamber.
"I have to inform Mother," young Ay said firmly.
He bit his thumb, the scent of blood filled his nostrils. His hands moved in a blur of motion, weaving signs he had practiced until they were muscle memory: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
~~
A/N: I almost forgot about Bee sending the ink bird to Kumo and thought it would be a prefect cliffhanger to leave Kaien's focus and come here as I can write interesting things.
young Ay is now able to use Summoning Jutsu, what would he summon? There is still a second ink bird Bee sent about Kaien's capture and Renga's injuries.
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