The Zero Tails Jinchuriki #28

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Land of Fire

–Kenta Senju–

Nightfall had arrived, and with it, an increased risk of being ambushed and killed by Kumo forces for the Konoha shinobi. He could see it in their body language. Every single shinobi from Konoha was tense, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop.  

Ironically, just waiting for the other shoe to drop meant that they were exhausting themselves at a far higher rate than if they were relaxed and doing their job. That just made it easier for their enemies to pick out Konoha shinobi one by one.

So far, there were no signs of any enemy shinobi, neither from Kumo or from Orochimaru. By now, he had already categorised all the Konoha shinobi on the border. Even with a deep scan, he could tell that the strongest one here was barely an Elite Jounin. Shinobi of that calibre were someone Orochimaru could fight and kill en masse. He still struggled to understand how someone who was just a Jounin could spot Orochimaru and was not a Hyuga.

That led him to a theory that Orochimaru allowed himself to be seen, to draw some sort of response from Konoha, likely to better understand what had happened in the village, and to see if he could take advantage of that momentary weakness. Even Orochimaru would be surprised if he found out that both Jiraiya and Tsunade were in the village.

Sarutobi had actually ordered Jiraiya to remain in the village and perform visible, flashy missions for at least a couple of months, as a show of force. It was sorely needed, as the ANBU worked through their backlog of finishing off any and all high ranked missions with extreme prejudice, creating a brutal reputation of their forces so that the smaller villages remained in their places.

It was all a game, a very dangerous game but a game nonetheless, with power being projected, fake mixed in with real for some very serious gambles, just so that they could deter any would be enemy from even trying to get their armies to the borders, because that happening might just spell the end for Konoha.

And Konoha was his best chance at actually making a change in this godforsaken cycle.

And ironically, today, he was going to do the same thing everyone does in the cycle, inflict pain and suffering, begetting more of that in the future, if not for him then for his village.

He could try something unorthodox, like letting them go, after thoroughly defeating them but that would just have them labelled weak. It would just invite more and more attacks, with Kumo thinking them weaklings for not finishing them off.

Mercy was not really the answer here, it was doubly as disadvantageous for them now.

It was a dilemma for him now but it was something that he did just as easily as breathing during his younger days, when he was but a Jounin, someone strong if he looked around himself but nowhere near as important as the truly necessary people.

So, he waited. He waited until the patrol units left, knowing that their replacement squads should already be on their way, not knowing that he had ordered for everyone to remain at the outpost. 

Tonight? Tonight, he was going to become a nightmare for anyone who dared come here. He could feel the Zero Tails stirring inside of him and despite knowing that it was not sentient, not after all the years he had spent attacking it, he could feel the desire of that mass of energy to be used in its most primal form.

To be used to kill.

Sighing, he reigned in his chakra before continuing his patrol, occasionally stilling and scanning his surroundings with Sage Mode, expanding his range so drastically that were it not for years of practice getting used to this disorienting sensation, he might have lost his footing and fell flat on his face, like a rookie Genin.

So far so good, no abnormal chakra signatures, and while he did expect Kumo shinobi to have chakra suppression techniques, even some Fuinjutsu-based ones that they pilfered from Uzu during their raid, he should still be able to sense any disturbance all around him with his Sage Mode.

___xx___

It was right around midnight, he was sitting atop a tree branch, fairly high up, looking at the mountain range separating them from Kumo, acting as a natural barrier against any incursions, when he felt it. 

He was not in Sage Mode, and yet, he felt the sheer malevolence, the disturbance in nature as Nature Chakra was warped and molded beyond its wishes. Instinctively, he shifted to Sage Mode, his body taut, and then grimaced as he felt it, right at the edge of his sensing rage.

Two chakra signatures. Warped beyond recognition. 

Using a bastardised version of Sage Mode, having forcibly molded the Nature Chakra. He was on his feet and moving at his highest speed before he could even think about it. 

Their chakra was strong, not beyond him, but easily at the level of Elite Jounins. One of them was Earth flavoured but it was very hard to tell anything else beyond the glut of Nature Chakra.

The other one felt acidic somehow? He had never felt that before. Both of them, whoever they were, were a threat, and the Nature Chakra within him almost compelled him to destroy them. He had never felt this sort of compulsion before but the sheer revulsion he could feel from their chakra meant they were utilising some sort of Forbidden Technique to emulate the effects of Sage Mode without doing it the right way.

The Nature Chakra had to accept you, before you could be allowed to wield it for your benefit. Nature Chakra was not something that could be wrangled into submission. Though in their case, they had succeeded in doing so, but clearly not for long, because that same Nature Chakra that was empowering them now was also poisoning them from the inside out.

Knowing their time was limited, it motivated him further to find them and figure out what they had done to abuse the Nature Chakra around them. He had never felt this intense urge to destroy anything in years. As a result of that, he could feel the Zero Tails chakra stirring inside of him, begging to be used in the most destructive ways.

Soon enough, both the Chakra signatures shifted, as if realising that he was onto them. Despite that, they stayed in place, as if waiting for him. Almost against his will, a smile found its way on his face. He was afraid they might try and run, and as someone with this high level Forbidden technique, they might have some other means of fleeing that he would not be able to counteract.

He was almost certain that these were members of Orochimaru’s team because he had heard rumours about the man dabbling in Forbidden techniques as if they were normal techniques. He was also well versed in all the basic ninjutsu arts, and had a certain obsession with immortality and self-modification.

Sage Mode would be his best bet if he wanted to live longer. Not immortality but a long life would certainly interest him, since that would give him the extra time he might need to figure out his so-called immortality.

Which was a fool’s dream, in his opinion?

He was already tired of this world and slightly tired of his lifestyle, only about 5 decades in. Who would want to live in this world forever? Especially since all your loved ones would age out and leave you behind anyway. For now, he did not have any of the loved ones anymore but if he did find one and they happened to die before him? Well, that would just break him.

He knew that much.

His eyes narrowed as he felt the chakra signature of the Earth Nature user warp with malice, and glee as they sensed him. The other acidic signature leapt away, in the other direction. 

Abandoning their comrade? Or calling for reinforcements?

Either way, he had to get there fast and finish it, because fighting Orochimaru would require the entirety of his attention, and the less distractions around him the better.

So, while he was mid leap, he stilled, drew in Nature Chakra, entering Sage Mode as he came crashing down in the clearing where the Earth chakra user was, his eyes narrowing as his fist collided with a person wearing an unknown forehead protector, with red markings across his face and body.

The result was clear, the large shinobi with spiky orange hair tumbled through the clearing, toppling a couple of trees. He distinctly heard the sickening crunch of a bone breaking and yet..

Yet, his senses told him of that glee and malice only increasing, as he could finally get a much clearer image through his Sage Mode senses.

Those markings? They shone bright red as the shinobi came roaring back, not particularly fast, with his fist pulled back.

Wanting to get this over with, he blitzed the shinobi, grabbing him by the throat and just as he was in the motion of burying him three feet into the ground, he flinched as if stuck by something and jumped back immediately, using the shinobi’s body as a platform, feeling one or two ribs break on impact as he landed back in the clearing, looking at the blasted shinobi with wide, surprised eyes.

Looking down, he touched the area where he felt it.

Where he felt the shinobi’s hand touch him, as he felt his chakra being absorbed.