Hello again. Yes, it has been quite a while since I released a chap. Been QUITE busy with school and such. Anyways, here's another installment of this FF after a 5 week break. Don't know when I'll be able to release the next but it could be soon since I've already gotten started on it. Enjoy! =D Special thanks to Chakra Wizard for editing 
Itachi took roughly ten minutes to get ready, putting on the same standard uniform the rest of his teammates were wearing before heading out. Having lost the precious string given to him by Mitsuki, he couldn’t tie his hair into a ponytail as he usually did and was forced to let it fall freely down his back, partially covering the red spiral symbol on the back of his flak jacket. After strapping on his backpack, he stepped in front of the mirror to check the alignment of his forehead protector and make sure the locks of hair dangling over it weren't his eyes, then he quietly exited the room, locking it behind him before joining his teammates in the downstairs lobby.
The reception area was completely full, much to Itachi’s surprise, and the air buzzed with murmurs and low whispers as members of the crowd struggled against one another all throughout the small lobby. He also noticed that every one of them had their attention fixed in one direction, from which he could hear Shiko’s voice.
“…beast was extremely difficult to conquer. It was one of the toughest battles of my life—of all our lives—but in the end, we managed to claim victory.”
The team captain paused at that point to allow the crowd time to let out a glorious cheer, mixed in with hearty applause. Itachi now understood what was happening; the Aoran citizens must have heard about Akakuma’s defeat and had now come to hear exactly how it happened from the ninja themselves. In all truthfulness, he wasn’t very surprised that Shiko was happy to oblige them. In fact, Itachi strongly suspected that this was merely part of Shiko’s plan—to give a full report of the battle and alleviate the fear of the town’s residents, as well as restore their confidence in the power of Konoha ninja, a motive Shiko had acted on just the previous day when he requested they all train in the center of town.
“Konoha ninja can always be called up to eliminate any threat whatsoever within the borders of the Fire Country. For the past sixty years, we have been the military strength of this nation and our might has only grown stronger since the time of the village’s inception. The Will of Fire…”
Shiko went on speaking as Itachi tried to maneuver his way through the crowd; gliding past the chubby old woman with the green kimono; squeezing between two slender young women who gave small squeals of surprise and delight upon seeing his shinobi uniform before proceeding to whisper among themselves; just barely escaping the notice of the little girl named Naho from the flower shop, standing near her grandfather, who was still frowning and leaning on his old walking stick as he muttered something under his breath. Itachi had a suspicion that he was still pouring curses on his head for being ‘disrespectful’ during their interview.
Finally, Itachi made it to the front of the pack, where Shiko was on his feet, smiling warmly as he spoke to the crowd. Behind him, the rest of the team was seated on one of the lobby’s long sofas, which was pushed up against a wall. Shiko noticed Itachi’s arrival immediately, acknowledging his presence with only a quick glance as the boy glided past him and seated himself with the rest of the squad.
“…will make sure an incident like this never repeats itself again. So go home, dear friends, and rest easy. The streets of Aoran are now safe once again. It has been our pleasure and privilege to put our lives on the line in service of this great country and particularly this wonderful town. Farewell to you all!”
The applause was generous and received with benevolent smiles and nods from Shiko. It was strange for Itachi and the rest of the team to see him so amiable and less despondent. This new Shiko went on to politely shake hands and return the hugs of nearly everyone present as he and the others squeezed their way into the front yard. They had just made it out the front door and into the garden when Mikasa suddenly burst through the threshold, setting her eagle eyes on Shiko and sweeping him into one of her great hugs.
“My hero!” she hailed and proceeded to kiss him on both cheeks roughly six times apiece, joyous tears glistening in her eyes. The disconcerted Shiko did his best to smile, but his uneasiness still shone through his expression. He wasn’t the only one trying desperately to hide his reaction, though; Hoji was having a very difficult time holding his lips shut to prevent him from giggling. After buffeting the team captain with her gratitude and affection, she turned to his subordinates, pouncing first on Himura , then Tenzo, Sato (who she quickly released, due to his his cold and gruff reaction to her advances), Hoji, and finally Itachi. The latter maintained his polite persona, despite the fact that he abhorred the way she patted him on the head like an infant as she thanked him, Sato’s chuckling only serving to stir the boy’s annoyance along further.
At length, they all broke free from her clutches and sprinted past the iron gates of the inn, heading off towards the entrance of the town with Shiko out in front. It was with relief and happiness that they left Aoran, in sharp contrast to the gloom and anxiety which weighed heavy on them when they first arrived, and even the town itself had undergone a massive transformation; from the dark, accursed, ghost town it was before into a sunny, bustling settlement. The clouds of fear had rolled away, the galling stench of death that seemed to taint both the town and the people living in it was replaced with a warm atmosphere brimming with vitality and bliss, and the sun beamed down happily on it all.
Just before they set off from it, though, Shiko took a moment to whisper something into Tenzo’s ear. Their teammates surrounding them were more than curious upon seeing the look of surprise on the latter’s face as he replied to their leader, also in a hushed voice. For a short while, both shinobi seemed to be arguing in these low tones until Tenzo heaved a sigh of defeat and clapped his hands into a seal.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” the Mokuton user griped in a clear audible voice, as a large wooden column sprouted from the side of the main road, right next to Kato’s hut which they had passed as they entered the village. The column had a pointed tip and stood about four meters high.
Shiko smiled as he extracted a scroll and began to unroll it. In a puff of white smoke, the hulking frame of Akakuma appeared, lying flat on his back, his terrifying head about two feet away from his gigantic body. His yellow eyes were dull and listless in their sockets, looking upwards with no real target in mind. His jaw was lowered in what seemed like the ghost of his last roar and his hair fell messily over his lifeless face, a face that would certainly give even grown men nightmares. His body, though long deceased, was still as imposing as ever, his chest swelling up to the same height as the knees of his ANBU slayers as he lay there, legs spread. There was a small cloth wrapped around his waist, most likely placed there by Shiko—the tattered loincloth which once resided there was torn off when he transformed into a giant—and between his shoulders was a grotesque, dark-red stump where his head was previously connected.
Itachi had not seen Akakuma’s dead body since he collapsed after using his Mangekyō Sharingan on the devilish fiend, the sight of it causing him to gape his mouth, his eyes glimmering with curiosity and minor disbelief. For some reason, he still had his guard up, half expecting the monster to abruptly leap to his feet and take them all by surprise, as was the beast’s signature tactic. But the Red Devil simply laid still, little more than an empty shell of what was once one of the most dangerous creatures to ever live. Itachi almost chuckled at the fact that it was he—a mere twelve year old boy—who finally brought him down. His hand unconsciously rose to cover his left eye as he recalled the powerful illusion that he used to cripple his enemy, both in mind and body, and the incredible agony which resulted as a backlash from using the technique. Indeed, it was true what they said; the stronger the technique, the greater the cost. There was a reason why the Mangekyō Sharingan was considered a cursed eye, and that was the impending and unavoidable fate that it brought to its user. Blindness.
Shiko formed a hand sign and stretched his right hand out towards the giant corpse as his sleeve began to elongate and wrap around the corpse, encasing him in a cocoon of fabric and lifting him into the air, carrying it to the top of the wooden column which Tenzo had previously evoked. The cloth then began wrapping around the pointed structure, as well, fixing the body to it at a position high enough for everyone to see for at least two streets. He did the same thing with the head, setting it on the tip of the wooden column like a pike.
This done, the team captain turned his attention to all the passersby, already frozen in their tracks as they watched the shinobi carry out this gruesome task. The wheels of carts grinded to a stop, a delivery boy tucked his precious package under his arm and stood still, a cobbler’s tools fell from his hands as his head turned away from the shoe he had been constructing, a blacksmith abandoned his instruments beside his fiery furnace and stepped out of his dark and stifling workshop, all of them staring blankly at the revolting spectacle, some of them shielding their children’s eyes from the horrific sight.
“Behold,” declared Shiko with outstretched arms, ”Akakuma defeated!”
It took a little while for the onlookers to regain themselves from the shock of seeing Akakuma so openly and suddenly displayed, but when they finally did, it was cheers and shouts of approval and praise that greeted Shiko’s announcement. The team captain, quite pleased with the reaction, turned to Himura with a proud smile and said, “Burn it.”
The Angel of Death smiled, as well, nodding and weaving a few hand signs of his own. In the next moment, a massive fireball poured from his lips and engulfed the carcass of their fallen enemy. The din of the crowd’s cheering increased as they watched the beast slowly decaying beneath the shroud of flames, and in a remarkable showcase of his mastery over the Sarutobi clan’s elemental affinity, Himura manipulated the flames in such a way that only Akakuma’s body was burned, not even a splinter from the wooden column receiving damage. Shiko looked on with satisfaction gleaming in his gray eyes, but he wasn’t the only one; it brought no small joy to the whole team as they watched the incineration of their once terrible adversary. Himura continued to exhale flame upon flame at the wicked beast until finally, all that remained was a blackened skeleton with folds of flesh barely dangling from its smoldering bones. His hair was still mostly intact, the tresses far too tenacious to be completely destroyed, even by fire. It was that black bundle of thorns which allowed Akakuma to continuously survive and counter their attacks during their battles and now, the dark mane was draped over the burnt remains of the Red Devil, as if still trying to offer him some protection well after his expiration. As time passed, though, even this thorny rug was consumed and nothing but large bones blackened by soot and charcoal were left, a pillar of smoke rising up from them.
“Destroy it, Hoji.” Shiko commanded.
The medical-nin’s lips curled into a smile as his hands joined to form a seal, calling forth two giant earthen arms—the arms of the Titan—one on each side of Akakuma’s suspended skeleton. The two stone limbs balled their hands into massive fists and in a thunderous crash, collided with Akakuma’s bony frame, destroying both it and the wooden pillar from which it was suspended before returning to the ground from whence they came. The long dead monster’s bones now laid scattered at the feet of shinobi and civilian alike, the excitement of the latter having rose to an even higher note in light of this destructive spectacle.
Shiko hurriedly returned Akakuma’s remains to the scroll from which he had extracted him, and while the air still vibrated with the cheers of Aoran’s denizens, the ANBU team took their leave and returned to Konoha, having accomplished their mission at long last. Akakuma was vanquished, his victims avenged, his threat averted, and though the Aoran forest—his habitation—was now left desolate, his prisoners—all the people of Aoran village—were finally set free from his murderous tyranny.
To Be Continued
Itachi took roughly ten minutes to get ready, putting on the same standard uniform the rest of his teammates were wearing before heading out. Having lost the precious string given to him by Mitsuki, he couldn’t tie his hair into a ponytail as he usually did and was forced to let it fall freely down his back, partially covering the red spiral symbol on the back of his flak jacket. After strapping on his backpack, he stepped in front of the mirror to check the alignment of his forehead protector and make sure the locks of hair dangling over it weren't his eyes, then he quietly exited the room, locking it behind him before joining his teammates in the downstairs lobby.
The reception area was completely full, much to Itachi’s surprise, and the air buzzed with murmurs and low whispers as members of the crowd struggled against one another all throughout the small lobby. He also noticed that every one of them had their attention fixed in one direction, from which he could hear Shiko’s voice.
“…beast was extremely difficult to conquer. It was one of the toughest battles of my life—of all our lives—but in the end, we managed to claim victory.”
The team captain paused at that point to allow the crowd time to let out a glorious cheer, mixed in with hearty applause. Itachi now understood what was happening; the Aoran citizens must have heard about Akakuma’s defeat and had now come to hear exactly how it happened from the ninja themselves. In all truthfulness, he wasn’t very surprised that Shiko was happy to oblige them. In fact, Itachi strongly suspected that this was merely part of Shiko’s plan—to give a full report of the battle and alleviate the fear of the town’s residents, as well as restore their confidence in the power of Konoha ninja, a motive Shiko had acted on just the previous day when he requested they all train in the center of town.
“Konoha ninja can always be called up to eliminate any threat whatsoever within the borders of the Fire Country. For the past sixty years, we have been the military strength of this nation and our might has only grown stronger since the time of the village’s inception. The Will of Fire…”
Shiko went on speaking as Itachi tried to maneuver his way through the crowd; gliding past the chubby old woman with the green kimono; squeezing between two slender young women who gave small squeals of surprise and delight upon seeing his shinobi uniform before proceeding to whisper among themselves; just barely escaping the notice of the little girl named Naho from the flower shop, standing near her grandfather, who was still frowning and leaning on his old walking stick as he muttered something under his breath. Itachi had a suspicion that he was still pouring curses on his head for being ‘disrespectful’ during their interview.
Finally, Itachi made it to the front of the pack, where Shiko was on his feet, smiling warmly as he spoke to the crowd. Behind him, the rest of the team was seated on one of the lobby’s long sofas, which was pushed up against a wall. Shiko noticed Itachi’s arrival immediately, acknowledging his presence with only a quick glance as the boy glided past him and seated himself with the rest of the squad.
“…will make sure an incident like this never repeats itself again. So go home, dear friends, and rest easy. The streets of Aoran are now safe once again. It has been our pleasure and privilege to put our lives on the line in service of this great country and particularly this wonderful town. Farewell to you all!”
The applause was generous and received with benevolent smiles and nods from Shiko. It was strange for Itachi and the rest of the team to see him so amiable and less despondent. This new Shiko went on to politely shake hands and return the hugs of nearly everyone present as he and the others squeezed their way into the front yard. They had just made it out the front door and into the garden when Mikasa suddenly burst through the threshold, setting her eagle eyes on Shiko and sweeping him into one of her great hugs.
“My hero!” she hailed and proceeded to kiss him on both cheeks roughly six times apiece, joyous tears glistening in her eyes. The disconcerted Shiko did his best to smile, but his uneasiness still shone through his expression. He wasn’t the only one trying desperately to hide his reaction, though; Hoji was having a very difficult time holding his lips shut to prevent him from giggling. After buffeting the team captain with her gratitude and affection, she turned to his subordinates, pouncing first on Himura , then Tenzo, Sato (who she quickly released, due to his his cold and gruff reaction to her advances), Hoji, and finally Itachi. The latter maintained his polite persona, despite the fact that he abhorred the way she patted him on the head like an infant as she thanked him, Sato’s chuckling only serving to stir the boy’s annoyance along further.
At length, they all broke free from her clutches and sprinted past the iron gates of the inn, heading off towards the entrance of the town with Shiko out in front. It was with relief and happiness that they left Aoran, in sharp contrast to the gloom and anxiety which weighed heavy on them when they first arrived, and even the town itself had undergone a massive transformation; from the dark, accursed, ghost town it was before into a sunny, bustling settlement. The clouds of fear had rolled away, the galling stench of death that seemed to taint both the town and the people living in it was replaced with a warm atmosphere brimming with vitality and bliss, and the sun beamed down happily on it all.
Just before they set off from it, though, Shiko took a moment to whisper something into Tenzo’s ear. Their teammates surrounding them were more than curious upon seeing the look of surprise on the latter’s face as he replied to their leader, also in a hushed voice. For a short while, both shinobi seemed to be arguing in these low tones until Tenzo heaved a sigh of defeat and clapped his hands into a seal.
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” the Mokuton user griped in a clear audible voice, as a large wooden column sprouted from the side of the main road, right next to Kato’s hut which they had passed as they entered the village. The column had a pointed tip and stood about four meters high.
Shiko smiled as he extracted a scroll and began to unroll it. In a puff of white smoke, the hulking frame of Akakuma appeared, lying flat on his back, his terrifying head about two feet away from his gigantic body. His yellow eyes were dull and listless in their sockets, looking upwards with no real target in mind. His jaw was lowered in what seemed like the ghost of his last roar and his hair fell messily over his lifeless face, a face that would certainly give even grown men nightmares. His body, though long deceased, was still as imposing as ever, his chest swelling up to the same height as the knees of his ANBU slayers as he lay there, legs spread. There was a small cloth wrapped around his waist, most likely placed there by Shiko—the tattered loincloth which once resided there was torn off when he transformed into a giant—and between his shoulders was a grotesque, dark-red stump where his head was previously connected.
Itachi had not seen Akakuma’s dead body since he collapsed after using his Mangekyō Sharingan on the devilish fiend, the sight of it causing him to gape his mouth, his eyes glimmering with curiosity and minor disbelief. For some reason, he still had his guard up, half expecting the monster to abruptly leap to his feet and take them all by surprise, as was the beast’s signature tactic. But the Red Devil simply laid still, little more than an empty shell of what was once one of the most dangerous creatures to ever live. Itachi almost chuckled at the fact that it was he—a mere twelve year old boy—who finally brought him down. His hand unconsciously rose to cover his left eye as he recalled the powerful illusion that he used to cripple his enemy, both in mind and body, and the incredible agony which resulted as a backlash from using the technique. Indeed, it was true what they said; the stronger the technique, the greater the cost. There was a reason why the Mangekyō Sharingan was considered a cursed eye, and that was the impending and unavoidable fate that it brought to its user. Blindness.
Shiko formed a hand sign and stretched his right hand out towards the giant corpse as his sleeve began to elongate and wrap around the corpse, encasing him in a cocoon of fabric and lifting him into the air, carrying it to the top of the wooden column which Tenzo had previously evoked. The cloth then began wrapping around the pointed structure, as well, fixing the body to it at a position high enough for everyone to see for at least two streets. He did the same thing with the head, setting it on the tip of the wooden column like a pike.
This done, the team captain turned his attention to all the passersby, already frozen in their tracks as they watched the shinobi carry out this gruesome task. The wheels of carts grinded to a stop, a delivery boy tucked his precious package under his arm and stood still, a cobbler’s tools fell from his hands as his head turned away from the shoe he had been constructing, a blacksmith abandoned his instruments beside his fiery furnace and stepped out of his dark and stifling workshop, all of them staring blankly at the revolting spectacle, some of them shielding their children’s eyes from the horrific sight.
“Behold,” declared Shiko with outstretched arms, ”Akakuma defeated!”
It took a little while for the onlookers to regain themselves from the shock of seeing Akakuma so openly and suddenly displayed, but when they finally did, it was cheers and shouts of approval and praise that greeted Shiko’s announcement. The team captain, quite pleased with the reaction, turned to Himura with a proud smile and said, “Burn it.”
The Angel of Death smiled, as well, nodding and weaving a few hand signs of his own. In the next moment, a massive fireball poured from his lips and engulfed the carcass of their fallen enemy. The din of the crowd’s cheering increased as they watched the beast slowly decaying beneath the shroud of flames, and in a remarkable showcase of his mastery over the Sarutobi clan’s elemental affinity, Himura manipulated the flames in such a way that only Akakuma’s body was burned, not even a splinter from the wooden column receiving damage. Shiko looked on with satisfaction gleaming in his gray eyes, but he wasn’t the only one; it brought no small joy to the whole team as they watched the incineration of their once terrible adversary. Himura continued to exhale flame upon flame at the wicked beast until finally, all that remained was a blackened skeleton with folds of flesh barely dangling from its smoldering bones. His hair was still mostly intact, the tresses far too tenacious to be completely destroyed, even by fire. It was that black bundle of thorns which allowed Akakuma to continuously survive and counter their attacks during their battles and now, the dark mane was draped over the burnt remains of the Red Devil, as if still trying to offer him some protection well after his expiration. As time passed, though, even this thorny rug was consumed and nothing but large bones blackened by soot and charcoal were left, a pillar of smoke rising up from them.
“Destroy it, Hoji.” Shiko commanded.
The medical-nin’s lips curled into a smile as his hands joined to form a seal, calling forth two giant earthen arms—the arms of the Titan—one on each side of Akakuma’s suspended skeleton. The two stone limbs balled their hands into massive fists and in a thunderous crash, collided with Akakuma’s bony frame, destroying both it and the wooden pillar from which it was suspended before returning to the ground from whence they came. The long dead monster’s bones now laid scattered at the feet of shinobi and civilian alike, the excitement of the latter having rose to an even higher note in light of this destructive spectacle.
Shiko hurriedly returned Akakuma’s remains to the scroll from which he had extracted him, and while the air still vibrated with the cheers of Aoran’s denizens, the ANBU team took their leave and returned to Konoha, having accomplished their mission at long last. Akakuma was vanquished, his victims avenged, his threat averted, and though the Aoran forest—his habitation—was now left desolate, his prisoners—all the people of Aoran village—were finally set free from his murderous tyranny.
To Be Continued
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