kinghadouken
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Chapter 6: The Demon’s Mask
A few days passed after Hibiki and Hitomi were taken into Konohagakure. They came at a bad time, as the villagers were still in the process of rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, and much to Hitomi’s dismay, even the hot springs were still being fixed. While Hitomi frowned upon the lack of service in the village, Hibiki just looked at the stone faces carved on the mountain, where he noticed a fifth stone figure, who he met from the previous interrogations.
“It’s been a while, eh, Sensei?” Hibiki muttered under his breath while watching his partner whine about having no hot springs and comfy beds. “Ever since that night of your death, I’ve always wanted to surpass your limits and strengths. It seems that this village suffered a lot after your death, huh.”
“Oy, Hibiki!” Hitomi yelled, jerking the former back to his senses. “Let’s go to Ichiraku Ramen! I’m starving!”
“Ehhhh?!” Hibiki seemed surprised. “We’ve been eating at that place almost every time! You’re using MY money, damn it! I wouldn’t care less if it was YOUR money you’re spending, you pig.”
Hitomi’s cheeks puffed at Hibiki’s retort. She resorted to pulling a moaning Hibiki towards the said restaurant.
As they sat down inside Ichiraku, Hibiki sensed another man, one seat away from them, wrapped under a dusty grey hooded cloak adorned with green sash and two clear gems, and two linen-wrapped objects slung on his back, already eating tonkotsu ramen silently. Teuchi, the restaurant’s owner, noticed Hibiki’s desire to know the stranger.
“Ah, Miss Sora! What would you like today?” Teuchi asked cheerfully, recognizing his recent patron and conversed with Hitomi. “Would it be the usual, yes?
“Ah, very well then! Ayame, make Miss Sora’s usual miso!” Teuchi shouted at the back of the bar. He then asked Hibiki. “Young man, what would you like today?”
“Uh, I’d have whatever Hitomi ordered,” Hibiki was surprised at the sudden question. As the owner ordered to Ayami another ramen bowl, Hibiki caught the attention of Teuchi.
“Uh, old man, do you know that guy?” Hibiki whispered. “Is he from this village?”
“No, he’s not, but I doubt that he’s here to make chaos or anything,” Teuchi replied in a hushed tone. “I can’t shove him out as he’s a regular customer. Though, he does give large tips for some reason.”
“Oh, so he’s a rich man,” Hibiki pondered on with this new information. “But that cloak looks so familiar. Even the linen-wrapped things seem so familiar.”
His train of thought was broken when Teuchi served them their orders. Hitomi was oblivious to Hibiki’s serious mood, only paying attention to her growling stomach. After many more servings, Hitomi bid farewell to Teuchi at Ayame, while telling Hibiki to take care of the bill, leaving the latter mumbling sorrowfully about his wallet getting thinner by the minute.
Hibiki was observing the odd man’s posture. He sensed no danger, no streak of violence whatsoever yet he knew deep inside that something dreadful will most likely happen.
Teuchi snapped him out of it, as the owner noticed that he hasn’t touched his bowl for a while now. Hibiki muttered an apology and started to eat the warm noodles, still trying to feel the danger that slowly crept on his nerves.
The strange man stood up at last, having finished his meal and reaching for money in his pocket underneath the cloak. He paid the bill, with Teuchi watching his movements carefully. The owner thought that he was going to leave, yet the man groped for something else in his other pocket. Having found that item, he called the owner’s attention and showed a picture of a grinning yellow-haired boy with whiskers and wearing an orange and black-colored jacket. Teuchi understood the man’s motive, looking at Hibiki for support.
“Oh, isn’t that Uzumaki Naruto?” the owner said, trying not to let the man sense his fear, whereas Hibiki stirred upon hearing Teuchi’s voice. “I’ve heard that he’s been sent on a mission to a place far from Konoha, if you’re looking for him.”
Without letting Teuchi reveal further, the man put more bills on the counter and left immediately. Hibiki, observing the man’s sudden evil intent, decided to follow suit after paying for his and Hitomi’s food. Teuchi and Ayame bid him farewell, with the former warning him not to pursue the strange man.
Nevertheless, Hibiki tailed the cloaked man, following him through the winding streets and houses. He noticed that the cloaked man intended to flee from him, as the latter suddenly jumped high to the roofs and made a break for it. But Hibiki’s persistence didn’t let the man free from the pursuit. Eventually, they found themselves heading for the Hokage’s headquarters, as Hibiki remembered having set foot on the very same grounds during the time of the Third and Fourth Hokage’s leadership. The man rendered the guards and even the ANBU patrolling the area unconscious with a sweep of one of the things on his back.
With the man’s actions becoming clearer as they reached the Hokage’s office, Hibiki sensed a killing intent from the man as the latter bust down the door, only to find out that the room was empty, the desk filled with scrolls and floors littered with books. Hibiki blocked the door in time with the man turning his back on the desk.
“Who are you,” Hibiki began, trying to give the situation a neutral analysis. “And why are you in this room? Is it the Hokage you’re looking for?”
But the man merely stood his ground in silence, as if trying to listen to the surroundings. Footsteps. The man assumed a battle posture, alarming Hibiki as he heard the footsteps becoming louder with each passing moment. The tension heightened as Hibiki’s sweat started to ride down his forehead and cheeks, anticipating the man to attack him any moment.
The Hokage, Tsunade, with her assistant Shizune following her stride, came into view of the doorframe. It happened so fast, with the cloaked man throwing shuriken at Hibiki, then dashing towards the door, his right hand clutching a kunai and aiming at Tsunade, who wasn’t paying attention. Shizune let go of their pet pig, Tonton, and parried the blade with her senbon, just as Hibiki caught the shuriken with his fingers penetrating the holes in one hand and the other brandishing the naginata, with the end of the edge pointed at the man’s neck. The attacker seemed to enjoy the stress, as he managed to smirk as he broke away from the two, landing near the desk after a backflip. Tsunade regained composure as she surveyed the situation.
“Who are you,” Hibiki repeated, this time his mind set on killing the man should the latter try to do anything reckless. “And why did you just attack Lady Tsunade?”
“I needed to know,” the man finally replied, his voice hoarse and deep like a bellow. “The new Hokage seems unfit for the title, with a simple direct attack already making her piss her panties, eh?”
Tsunade, with her temples throbbing and cheeks suddenly blushing, glared at the man with menace, while Shizune seemed to shiver at the sight of her master’s temper rising. Hibiki continued to interrogate the man.
“So you’re simply testing the current Hokage,” Hibiki went on, while trying to assess the man’s next move. “That’s too shallow for an assassination attempt, isn’t it? You haven’t even told us your name, you bastard.”
“I commend you for your courage and abilities, kid,” the man complimented, oblivious to the tension building up between him and the opposition. “For a boy wearing a blindfold, you did great earlier, as well as ‘that’ time. A Sharingan user, yet not of Uchiha descent, eh? Fascinating.”
This time, Tsunade and Shizune’s eyes averted towards Hibiki, with the latter sensing their questioning gaze, yet he tried to stall more time, hoping that Hitomi would come in this situation.
“I saw you in the restaurant asking for the whereabouts of a boy,” Hibiki ignored the compliment, trying to dodge a possible interrogation from the Hokage. “What are you planning?”
The man suddenly laughed at the question, the pitch making Hibiki’s hairs on end stand. He stared at Hibiki’s naginata, then at Shizune’s senbon, and finally at Tsunade’s clenched fists starting to glow with blue chakra.
“A Sharingan user and two medical ninja,” he started, while reaching for the picture of the boy he was searching for earlier. “Not bad. But I don’t give a shit about you, for now. I just need to know where this kid is now, and I know that the big-breasted Hokage should have that information.”
He then stared at Tsunade, his shades gleaming with malice. “Now then, speak of your knowledge regarding this Uzumaki Naruto’s mission!”
“Like hell I’ll tell you where I sent him!” Tsunade dashed forward, with her fists flaring with chakra, as Hibiki and Shizune followed her lead. “Begone, you bastard!”
Her fists collided with the enemy and produced puffs of smoke. Tsunade jumped out of the smoke as Hibiki swung his blade at the man’s general position, while Shizune, standing on the ceiling, aimed her poison needles at the ground. The naginata and needles met the man with a clanging sound. The windows suddenly were blasted by a powerful gust of wind that the man seemed to unleash, thus clearing the smoke in the room. Hibiki sensed the familiar chakra pattern, and was swallowed with fear.
“Shit, was that Swift Release just now?” Hibiki thought, as he started to unravel his scroll in mid-air. He yelled at Tsunade and Shizune to leave the man to him and run. Seeing the two scoop up Tonton and leave the office, he weaved seals that summoned weapons from his scroll.
“Summoning Technique: Ninja Tool Barrage!”
The office was bombarded by thousands and thousands of ninja tools. But the attack had no effect on the man whatsoever. Hibiki noticed that the man’s chakra nodes have coated the man’s skin with pure chakra.
“Steel Release: Impervious Armour,” the cloaked man muttered as he weaved similar hand seals that Hibiki used. “Kid, your guts exceed my expectation, though you’ve ruined my plans. But I shall kill you some other time. Swift Release: Shadowless Flight!”
“Not so fast!” Hibiki retorted, as he used his Swift Release as well in pursuit of the man, who just escaped the office through the windows. Both landed on the ground with soft thuds and, ignoring the nearby villagers’ screams, started to run towards the forest outside the village gates, with the man tracking down Tsunade and Shizune using his Byaringan eyes that triggered a memory within Hibiki.
“You!” Hibiki yelled, after remembering the gleaming eyes and the cloak. The memory of the man he and Hitomi fought, the man they saw in the wanted posters. It was him. “Momura Rouzuke!”
The man merely grinned as he continued to follow his agenda. It wasn’t long until they reached the center of the forest, with both Tsunade and Shizune ready to fend off their stalker. Hibiki unsheathed his naginata in one hand and his scroll in the other, ready to attack him as well. The man seemed to be amused.
“Ah, we are outside the village,” the man declared, his glowing eyes surveying the field. “I can now go all out against you guys. But before blood can be shed, I will give you a chance, Lady Hokage.”
Tsunade stirred as she heard her title being mentioned, her temples still throbbing with anger at the mocking smile of the man.
“I am Momura Rouzuke,” the man finally revealed, still joyous at the glares of his opponents. “I am a weaponsmith. I travel through many countries in search of the perfect place to make my next masterpiece. But enough with the introductions already, as I only wish to know Uzumaki Naruto’s location.
“Big-breasted Hokage, tell me his whereabouts and I shall immediately spare your meager lives and leave the premises peacefully,” Rouzuke continued, yet he understood Tsunade’s disproving stare. “However, should you decline my offer, I’d have to say that your village will have to look for a Seventh Hokage.”
Hibiki started as he heard the name again. Tsunade flinched, having remembered her successor’s demise at the hands of an Uchiha. Reinforcements have arrived, with the ANBU members, chunin and jounin ninja surrounding the infiltrator, whose smile appeared to have lengthened up to his ears in amusement.
“So, will you divulge the information now,” Rouzuke said with menace. “Or should I start killing off your shinobi to prove my point?”
To be continued...
A few days passed after Hibiki and Hitomi were taken into Konohagakure. They came at a bad time, as the villagers were still in the process of rebuilding destroyed infrastructure, and much to Hitomi’s dismay, even the hot springs were still being fixed. While Hitomi frowned upon the lack of service in the village, Hibiki just looked at the stone faces carved on the mountain, where he noticed a fifth stone figure, who he met from the previous interrogations.
“It’s been a while, eh, Sensei?” Hibiki muttered under his breath while watching his partner whine about having no hot springs and comfy beds. “Ever since that night of your death, I’ve always wanted to surpass your limits and strengths. It seems that this village suffered a lot after your death, huh.”
“Oy, Hibiki!” Hitomi yelled, jerking the former back to his senses. “Let’s go to Ichiraku Ramen! I’m starving!”
“Ehhhh?!” Hibiki seemed surprised. “We’ve been eating at that place almost every time! You’re using MY money, damn it! I wouldn’t care less if it was YOUR money you’re spending, you pig.”
Hitomi’s cheeks puffed at Hibiki’s retort. She resorted to pulling a moaning Hibiki towards the said restaurant.
As they sat down inside Ichiraku, Hibiki sensed another man, one seat away from them, wrapped under a dusty grey hooded cloak adorned with green sash and two clear gems, and two linen-wrapped objects slung on his back, already eating tonkotsu ramen silently. Teuchi, the restaurant’s owner, noticed Hibiki’s desire to know the stranger.
“Ah, Miss Sora! What would you like today?” Teuchi asked cheerfully, recognizing his recent patron and conversed with Hitomi. “Would it be the usual, yes?
“Ah, very well then! Ayame, make Miss Sora’s usual miso!” Teuchi shouted at the back of the bar. He then asked Hibiki. “Young man, what would you like today?”
“Uh, I’d have whatever Hitomi ordered,” Hibiki was surprised at the sudden question. As the owner ordered to Ayami another ramen bowl, Hibiki caught the attention of Teuchi.
“Uh, old man, do you know that guy?” Hibiki whispered. “Is he from this village?”
“No, he’s not, but I doubt that he’s here to make chaos or anything,” Teuchi replied in a hushed tone. “I can’t shove him out as he’s a regular customer. Though, he does give large tips for some reason.”
“Oh, so he’s a rich man,” Hibiki pondered on with this new information. “But that cloak looks so familiar. Even the linen-wrapped things seem so familiar.”
His train of thought was broken when Teuchi served them their orders. Hitomi was oblivious to Hibiki’s serious mood, only paying attention to her growling stomach. After many more servings, Hitomi bid farewell to Teuchi at Ayame, while telling Hibiki to take care of the bill, leaving the latter mumbling sorrowfully about his wallet getting thinner by the minute.
Hibiki was observing the odd man’s posture. He sensed no danger, no streak of violence whatsoever yet he knew deep inside that something dreadful will most likely happen.
Teuchi snapped him out of it, as the owner noticed that he hasn’t touched his bowl for a while now. Hibiki muttered an apology and started to eat the warm noodles, still trying to feel the danger that slowly crept on his nerves.
The strange man stood up at last, having finished his meal and reaching for money in his pocket underneath the cloak. He paid the bill, with Teuchi watching his movements carefully. The owner thought that he was going to leave, yet the man groped for something else in his other pocket. Having found that item, he called the owner’s attention and showed a picture of a grinning yellow-haired boy with whiskers and wearing an orange and black-colored jacket. Teuchi understood the man’s motive, looking at Hibiki for support.
“Oh, isn’t that Uzumaki Naruto?” the owner said, trying not to let the man sense his fear, whereas Hibiki stirred upon hearing Teuchi’s voice. “I’ve heard that he’s been sent on a mission to a place far from Konoha, if you’re looking for him.”
Without letting Teuchi reveal further, the man put more bills on the counter and left immediately. Hibiki, observing the man’s sudden evil intent, decided to follow suit after paying for his and Hitomi’s food. Teuchi and Ayame bid him farewell, with the former warning him not to pursue the strange man.
Nevertheless, Hibiki tailed the cloaked man, following him through the winding streets and houses. He noticed that the cloaked man intended to flee from him, as the latter suddenly jumped high to the roofs and made a break for it. But Hibiki’s persistence didn’t let the man free from the pursuit. Eventually, they found themselves heading for the Hokage’s headquarters, as Hibiki remembered having set foot on the very same grounds during the time of the Third and Fourth Hokage’s leadership. The man rendered the guards and even the ANBU patrolling the area unconscious with a sweep of one of the things on his back.
With the man’s actions becoming clearer as they reached the Hokage’s office, Hibiki sensed a killing intent from the man as the latter bust down the door, only to find out that the room was empty, the desk filled with scrolls and floors littered with books. Hibiki blocked the door in time with the man turning his back on the desk.
“Who are you,” Hibiki began, trying to give the situation a neutral analysis. “And why are you in this room? Is it the Hokage you’re looking for?”
But the man merely stood his ground in silence, as if trying to listen to the surroundings. Footsteps. The man assumed a battle posture, alarming Hibiki as he heard the footsteps becoming louder with each passing moment. The tension heightened as Hibiki’s sweat started to ride down his forehead and cheeks, anticipating the man to attack him any moment.
The Hokage, Tsunade, with her assistant Shizune following her stride, came into view of the doorframe. It happened so fast, with the cloaked man throwing shuriken at Hibiki, then dashing towards the door, his right hand clutching a kunai and aiming at Tsunade, who wasn’t paying attention. Shizune let go of their pet pig, Tonton, and parried the blade with her senbon, just as Hibiki caught the shuriken with his fingers penetrating the holes in one hand and the other brandishing the naginata, with the end of the edge pointed at the man’s neck. The attacker seemed to enjoy the stress, as he managed to smirk as he broke away from the two, landing near the desk after a backflip. Tsunade regained composure as she surveyed the situation.
“Who are you,” Hibiki repeated, this time his mind set on killing the man should the latter try to do anything reckless. “And why did you just attack Lady Tsunade?”
“I needed to know,” the man finally replied, his voice hoarse and deep like a bellow. “The new Hokage seems unfit for the title, with a simple direct attack already making her piss her panties, eh?”
Tsunade, with her temples throbbing and cheeks suddenly blushing, glared at the man with menace, while Shizune seemed to shiver at the sight of her master’s temper rising. Hibiki continued to interrogate the man.
“So you’re simply testing the current Hokage,” Hibiki went on, while trying to assess the man’s next move. “That’s too shallow for an assassination attempt, isn’t it? You haven’t even told us your name, you bastard.”
“I commend you for your courage and abilities, kid,” the man complimented, oblivious to the tension building up between him and the opposition. “For a boy wearing a blindfold, you did great earlier, as well as ‘that’ time. A Sharingan user, yet not of Uchiha descent, eh? Fascinating.”
This time, Tsunade and Shizune’s eyes averted towards Hibiki, with the latter sensing their questioning gaze, yet he tried to stall more time, hoping that Hitomi would come in this situation.
“I saw you in the restaurant asking for the whereabouts of a boy,” Hibiki ignored the compliment, trying to dodge a possible interrogation from the Hokage. “What are you planning?”
The man suddenly laughed at the question, the pitch making Hibiki’s hairs on end stand. He stared at Hibiki’s naginata, then at Shizune’s senbon, and finally at Tsunade’s clenched fists starting to glow with blue chakra.
“A Sharingan user and two medical ninja,” he started, while reaching for the picture of the boy he was searching for earlier. “Not bad. But I don’t give a shit about you, for now. I just need to know where this kid is now, and I know that the big-breasted Hokage should have that information.”
He then stared at Tsunade, his shades gleaming with malice. “Now then, speak of your knowledge regarding this Uzumaki Naruto’s mission!”
“Like hell I’ll tell you where I sent him!” Tsunade dashed forward, with her fists flaring with chakra, as Hibiki and Shizune followed her lead. “Begone, you bastard!”
Her fists collided with the enemy and produced puffs of smoke. Tsunade jumped out of the smoke as Hibiki swung his blade at the man’s general position, while Shizune, standing on the ceiling, aimed her poison needles at the ground. The naginata and needles met the man with a clanging sound. The windows suddenly were blasted by a powerful gust of wind that the man seemed to unleash, thus clearing the smoke in the room. Hibiki sensed the familiar chakra pattern, and was swallowed with fear.
“Shit, was that Swift Release just now?” Hibiki thought, as he started to unravel his scroll in mid-air. He yelled at Tsunade and Shizune to leave the man to him and run. Seeing the two scoop up Tonton and leave the office, he weaved seals that summoned weapons from his scroll.
“Summoning Technique: Ninja Tool Barrage!”
The office was bombarded by thousands and thousands of ninja tools. But the attack had no effect on the man whatsoever. Hibiki noticed that the man’s chakra nodes have coated the man’s skin with pure chakra.
“Steel Release: Impervious Armour,” the cloaked man muttered as he weaved similar hand seals that Hibiki used. “Kid, your guts exceed my expectation, though you’ve ruined my plans. But I shall kill you some other time. Swift Release: Shadowless Flight!”
“Not so fast!” Hibiki retorted, as he used his Swift Release as well in pursuit of the man, who just escaped the office through the windows. Both landed on the ground with soft thuds and, ignoring the nearby villagers’ screams, started to run towards the forest outside the village gates, with the man tracking down Tsunade and Shizune using his Byaringan eyes that triggered a memory within Hibiki.
“You!” Hibiki yelled, after remembering the gleaming eyes and the cloak. The memory of the man he and Hitomi fought, the man they saw in the wanted posters. It was him. “Momura Rouzuke!”
The man merely grinned as he continued to follow his agenda. It wasn’t long until they reached the center of the forest, with both Tsunade and Shizune ready to fend off their stalker. Hibiki unsheathed his naginata in one hand and his scroll in the other, ready to attack him as well. The man seemed to be amused.
“Ah, we are outside the village,” the man declared, his glowing eyes surveying the field. “I can now go all out against you guys. But before blood can be shed, I will give you a chance, Lady Hokage.”
Tsunade stirred as she heard her title being mentioned, her temples still throbbing with anger at the mocking smile of the man.
“I am Momura Rouzuke,” the man finally revealed, still joyous at the glares of his opponents. “I am a weaponsmith. I travel through many countries in search of the perfect place to make my next masterpiece. But enough with the introductions already, as I only wish to know Uzumaki Naruto’s location.
“Big-breasted Hokage, tell me his whereabouts and I shall immediately spare your meager lives and leave the premises peacefully,” Rouzuke continued, yet he understood Tsunade’s disproving stare. “However, should you decline my offer, I’d have to say that your village will have to look for a Seventh Hokage.”
Hibiki started as he heard the name again. Tsunade flinched, having remembered her successor’s demise at the hands of an Uchiha. Reinforcements have arrived, with the ANBU members, chunin and jounin ninja surrounding the infiltrator, whose smile appeared to have lengthened up to his ears in amusement.
“So, will you divulge the information now,” Rouzuke said with menace. “Or should I start killing off your shinobi to prove my point?”
To be continued...
