Part 5 : The Revenge of Ame
Soldiers were lunging at me, enraged. I saw multiple blades slashing towards me and jutsu being unleashed. The new Amekage was staring at me with a triumphant look.
I turned around. I saw my students. Jiraiya and Tsunade were panicking, terrified by the situation, whilst Orochimaru seemed to be methodically analysing the scene, intrigued.
— Run!» I shouted at them «I'll hold them off! Alert as many chunin and jonin as possible! I'm going to need reinforcements!»
Despite their usual stubbornness, I think they understood what was at stake. They nodded and then ran off, leaping from tree to tree to gain speed.
They had to hurry... I wasn't going to be able to hold off the enemy for much longer. They seemed far more numerous than my opponents last time, and not just that. They were much more experienced. Clearly, this Hanzô had rallied all of Ame's elite forces.
I ran toward my opponents, who were already closing in on me. Blood oozed out. Metal shards flew all around the clearing. Waves of flames and lightning engulfed the battlefield.
I never wanted it to come to this. But I had no choice. I had to do it... for my village. They wouldn't survive without me.
If there was one lesson I'd learned from my master, it was just how much a village could be weakened by the loss of its leader. I didn't want to inflict that on Konoha a third time.
Unfortunately, even though I was easily outclassing most of my opponents, I was clearly no match for them. There were far too many of them, and they were far too powerful.
I had to come up with a strategy to hold out long enough until reinforcements arrived without wasting too much energy or needlessly risking my life.
Create a gigantic wall of earth? Pointless. There were so many of them that they could easily destroy it with their techniques. I was stuck. There wasn't a single way out in sight.
Then, as if in answer to my plea, a flash of lightning erupted behind me. A blade lunged toward my chest, and I narrowly dodged it.
— You're very quick on your feet... Hiruzen Sarutobi. And such powers... That's not human. So it seems we have something in common.» that's what the man named Hanzô said, now standing face-to-face with me.
— Don't compare yourself to me.» I retorted «You're too confident. It'll be your downfall...»
It wasn't an exaggeration—or even arrogant—to say that, today, no one was capable of defeating me. I was the most powerful ninja in the world. The only ones who could ever stop me were my masters, who are now dead.
Maybe that was why Master Tobirama had chosen me... Simply... for my power. I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind. Under no circumstances could I allow myself to lose focus.
So, Hanzô took a step back. Then he spread his arms wide and shouted:
«Katon! Flames of Hell!»
Flames shot out of the palms of both his hands at breakneck speed. They danced as they closed in on me like lightning.
Despite my speed, I wasn't going to be able to dodge that easily. So I reacted immediately by unleashing another technique:
«Suiton! Breaking Waves!»
Tilting my head back and puffing out my cheeks, I unleashed a massive water wave from my mouth, which surged toward his flames, striking them head-on.
I had bet on Suiton's superiority over Katon in hopes of winning, even though Katon was originally my primary element.
Flames and waves erupted from all sides, striking several nearby ninjas as they passed.
The upside was that this surging barrier created by our attacks would temporarily deter my other opponents from charging at me. I had to take full advantage of the situation to take out the leader of Ame.
— Hmm... You're clever, Hiruzen Sarutobi. But I think you're underestimating me.» Hanzô muttered.
Suddenly, he performed a few mudras. Then, a massive pillar of earth shot out from his right hand.
«Doton! Pillar!»
The earth shot up into the sky at lightning speed. I looked up at the sky, stunned. And just as I was ready to counter any attack, the pillar bent and charged straight toward me.
I jumped to try to dodge it, but Hanzô had anticipated my move.
«Doton! Rock Vines!»
Vines made of stone wrapped around my feet, immobilizing me instantly. I looked up. The pillar was bearing down on me. I wasn't going to be able to dodge it.
BRAAAM!
The pillar hit me head-on. It hurled me to the far end of the clearing, tearing away the vines that were holding me to the ground as it passed. I flew through the flames and water, and landed on the ground with a deafening crash.
BAKAM!
My body was covered in scrapes, and I could see a few cuts here and there. A searing pain shot through my body. A pain so intense that... No. It couldn't have been my fall that caused this.
— What have you done to me?!» I shouted at my opponent.
Hanzô emerged from the cloud of smoke created by our battle. Around him, his warriors were also advancing toward me. He gave a slight smirk.
— I gave you a poison.» he said «A poison... that's deadly. You've lost, Hokage.»
Poison... He must have injected it into me when he wrapped his vines around my feet. Indeed, the pain was much worse in the lower half of my body. That coward...
— The poison is clearly already taking effect. Based on my past experience, you should be dead within a few minutes. Are you relieved?»
A few minutes... It wasn't good. Not good at all. If I die... What will become of the village?
I slowly got back to my feet. Then I looked him up and down. He seemed surprised just to see me move.
— I'm not going to waste time asking you about your true intentions. Because I suspect the ones you've given me are nothing but pathetic excuses. We'll talk once you've given me an antidote.»
— Oh? Because you think I'm going to give you an antidote?» he sneered «You're dreaming... You're a dead man, Hiruzen Sarutobi.»
— I don't think so. Because you're going to give me the antidote.»
He didn't have time to answer before I sent him crashing to the ground with a swift kick to the chin. Then I followed up by raining punches down on him. He didn't have time to move before I'd almost already defeated him.
«Doton! Earth Seals!»
Vines of earth wrapped around all his limbs, immobilizing him. I had neutralized him with his own technique.
With a quick movement, I drew a kunai and held it to his throat. His ninjas rushed toward me, ready to attack. With my other hand, I immediately signaled them to stop.
— Move, and I'll kill him.» I ordered them sternly.
Hanzô looked at me coldly.
— Don't get your hopes up… Hokage. None of these ninjas will let you get away with this. I may well die… They'll destroy you. I don't care.»
I looked at him for a moment. No, that wasn't the look of a confident man. He wasn't sincere in what he said.
— Very well.» I replied «Then order them to kill me. If I die, my village will be in trouble. But so will yours. Especially since you're on our territory. We have the advantage. You're simply going to doom your own village—what a shame.»
He frowned and glared at me. I'd upset him… And with good reason.
— My ninjas will be here any minute. Do you really want us to destroy all of you that badly?»
He didn't answer me. His eyes, however, continued to shoot daggers at me. I then looked up, and my gaze fell on Ame's army of ninjas gathering around us.
— I can kill your leader. And my men will rush in to kill you. It will be over very quickly. The choice is yours.»
Then I turned back to Hanzô.
— Otherwise, you give me the antidote. And you can all leave.»
He kept staring at me for a long time.
— If you keep waiting, I'll kill you. Don't wait for the poison to consume me—that's cowardly and unworthy of a village chief.»
He furrowed his brow so hard his veins stood out. I'd really pissed him off.
— I'm going to count to three. You've been warned. One, two...»
— All right! All right!» he shouted «I'll give you the antidote...»
— That's much better.»
— Open my mask. My antidotes are inside.»
— That's strange… How do you expect me to believe you?»
— Where else would you expect them to be?»
— Do you even have any on you?»
— I can swear to you on my honor and my country.»
— Very well...»
I then took his mask in one hand and gently pried it open.
— How naive you are...» Hanzô snapped at me.
I realized the deception too late. A toxin escaped from the mouth of the leader of Ame, immediately striking my face. A powerful poison coursed through my body. Far worse than the previous one.
I began to cough up blood. I felt my veins swelling. My eyes rolled back, my vision blurred. I stumbled, trembling. I was no longer in control of my body... I was... frozen.
— Coward...» I managed to gasp one last time.
I heard Hanzô's laughter burst out as I collapsed to the ground, lifeless. Then, everything went black. Jet black. Nothing, nothing at all.
I sank into the darkness.
📖To be Continued...📖