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It was about mid-day. The sun beat down upon the men as they looked about themselves. Their ship had crashed sometime in the night as they were attempted to navigate the tight straight between two land masses. Looking around, the soldiers quickly realized that Shen Long's ship was no where to be found. Even though he had several battalions with him, the men were not so much worried for Shen Long's safety, but for how they would ever find the king. The soil was dry, rocky, and barren. It was as if the island they had found themselves stranded was nothing but a deserted piece of rock, abandoned by all life. But then there was a sound.
"Oi, who goes there?" Walking out towards the group of people was a man, and in the background, quite a ways off, there appeared to be some sort of structure. But to think that there were actually people populating this part of the world... Did they actually arrive at the island they were told about?
"Makato, wait." There was a woman, too. Dressed lightly for the heat, the red-haired woman jogged quickly to catch up to the man, daggers bouncing against her leg. We're supposed to go together, remember?"
"Know what, how about you just shut up and let me handle things?"
The woman rolled her eyes. Alright, Kazuya - don't bite my head off.
"Excuse me," one of the men called out, but he was cut off by the man with the slicked back hair. There was a bandana around his forehead, and now that they noticed it, the men also saw the same headband around the woman's neck.
"We'll be asking the questions here, boy." What in the world!? The woman was suddenly behind the man who had attempted to talk to them, her knives drawn and a look like death in her eyes.
"Katarina, don't kill them right away..."
"I don't even know who you are right now."
"Gentlemen... Might I ask why you have come to the Land of Earth?"
"O-our ship crashed." The man, shaking in his boots, feared for his life with every passing second. The woman could get behind him in the blink of an eye, he worried that he could be dead just as fast.
"That doesn't explain what you were doing in the waters near our shore."
"These men don't have headbands, Minoru."
"Are you just guessing at this point?"
"Am I wrong?"
The man with the slicked hair was silent before addressing Shen Long's men once more.
"Where are you men from?"
"We are from Wan Qu, a land beyond this island."
"A land beyond this one?"
"They're lying - they're clearly spies."
"Spies, huh?" With a simple twist, the man who had been speaking to the two people was beheaded, the woman's hair drifting to one side as she stopped her spin. Standing back up to full height, she looked about the group of men around her. "They're lame, we shouldn't even waste our time with 'em."
With an unimpressed look on his face, the man simply turned his back and began to walk away, the woman slowly leaving her position as well. Enraged at the fact that his comrade had been killed so mercilessly, and then the rest of them left alone as if they were worthless, An Cheng drew his dagger from the inside of his coat, and threw it in a fit of rage. As the blade flew through the air then man appeared to reach into his back pocket and throw a knife back, intercepting the first and diverting it from Katarina's head. But after the interception, a large gale of wind was created from the point of impact.
The wind pushed against the two shinobi, blowing dust towards them while the soldiers of Wan Qu stood dumbfounded. No one knew what An Cheng had done, not even him, but the large amount of wind created was enough to push the two people away, and cause them to turn back around.
" 'Lame', were they?"
In the Hokage's office, Galen Marek sighed as he went through various papers, signing and initialing as he came to extended blank areas. It was tedious being in a position such as his... He was in charge of such a large group of people, yet everyone always wanted more. Not only that, but the meeting at the Kage's Summit only proved that his authority was not taken seriously - at least not by the other leaders. But it didn't matter. The enemy was soon upon them, and then they would listen. Then they would be able to set aside their petty differences and work together. Or, at least, they would perish in their inability to.
"Hokage-san?"
Galen looked up as a young man appeared at his doorway.
"Yes?"
"I was told you had a mission for a single shinobi to accomplish."
"Ah, someone finally responded. About time. Here." Reaching under his desk, Galen retrieved a scroll and held it out of the man to take. "Take this to Sunagakure. Now I can finally get on with my meeting."
"You're going somewhere?"
"I would have been gone a long time ago if you had gotten here sooner." Leaving the man with the scroll, Galen got up and began to walk towards the door of his office, donning a simple black cloak as he walked.
"Where are you going?"
"To see a friend." Without turning around, Galen walked out of the office, making his way out of Konohagkure and through the forests surrounding the village.
Back at the borderlands of the Land of Earth, outside of the Village Hidden in Stone, the army of men stood in awe of what was before them. Walls of earth were scattered about the battlefield as though hair on the back of a frightened cat - standing up at odd angles and placements. Everywhere around was scared with destruction, yet they had somehow managed to survive the onslaught of power these two people were able to generate. Were they people? Surely humans were not capable of such feats.
On the other side of the battle, Katarina and the shinobi called Shinobu were also in amazement. Not only could these men withstand their onslaught, but the men themselves appeared to have no idea how they were doing it.
"One more time, Jooji!"
"I told you that we'll drain ourselves of chakra if we continue fruitless attacks."
"Just once more!" Leaping forward, Katarina placed her twin daggers into her belt as she held out both of her empty hands. Within each of her palms, the red-headed shinobi formed a blue sphere of spinning chakra - her Rasengan. "DIE!"
Getting near one of the soldiers, the woman extended her left arm to collide the sphere of condense chakra into him. However, before she could do so, the man took a step back, the earth before him rising in a wall to intercept the sphere of chakra. With the wall destroyed by the sheer force of the Rasengan, Katarina jumped into the air and leapt off of a falling piece of debris, falling down over top of another soldier. However, as he extended a halberd to impale the woman as she would land on him, to which Katarina would have been able to react, she was instead thrown backwards by a powerful wind, causing her to back-flip several times and land next to Shinobu once more, without a scratch.
"I told you."
"Then how do you propose we fight!?"
Grinning, Shinobi strode forwards with a confident stride. He didn't dash in for an attack, but simply walked forwards as though he were about to make a deal. Opening his arms as an invitation, he called out to the small army before him.
"Gentlemen! If I may, why are you fighting us? You don't even know what's going on, do you? But, I can see by your equipment that you are men of close-combat. So I issue a challenge of old to you! Send your strongest warrior to fight me, and we shall enter close-quarter-combat..."
"And what will the winner receive?" An Cheng, general of this specific battalion, appeared to be the only one of the men who even remotely understood how the earth and air changed with their movements. Stepping to the front of the men, he waited for Shinobu's response.
"Always out for yourself - a true warrior! If I win, I want you all to leave. If you win, you can do as you please. You don't have a plan anyhow."
Gripping the pole-arm of his halberd in his left hand tightly, An Cheng ran at Shinobu of Iwagakure, brandishing his symmetrical, double-edged curved blade in his right hand.
"How dare you mock the armies of Shen Long!?"
Leaping against the ground, An Cheng pushed himself into the air with the power of the wind, launching him up into the air so he could strike the shinobi quickly as he descended upon him.
It was a dark room. A drop of grog dripped out of a barrel and onto the floor as a door in the back creaked as it swayed on its hinges. Looking about herself, the young red-head who owned the place wondered how she never saw it for how it actually was. Perhaps when the tavern was booming with people it was easier to ignore the barely-sanitary conditions. Whatever the case, it was not more than a cover for her true intentions.
As the woman admired her reflection in the jewel of the ring placed over her right thumb, the front door opened. Glancing up for a moment, she noticed two men walk in. They moved closer, one sitting down with one standing near him. They both wore cloaks, but judging by their stature, the way they moved, and their choice in fashion, neither member of this party was a woman. Looking back at her reflection in the ring, the woman smacked her ruby-red lips and smiled.
"You brought a friend."
"Drastic times..."
"We were supposed to meet alone."
"You're telling me? Who's that guy?"
With the seated man's comment, the one standing glanced over at a man in the corner of the tavern, drinking from a white porcelain mug. He was clearly not drinking grog or other beverages normally served in the tavern, as steam was rising from the cup.
"He's not hurting anybody. Now, your friend?"
The woman looked up at the man, whose face was hidden beneath a hood, then back at Galen.
"What do you look at me for? He's a grown man; he can introduce himself."
The man who remained standing pulled the hood of his black cloak down, revealing his long back hair held up with a red bandana.
"My name is Vincent Valentine, of the Valentine Family."
"Ooh, I know who you are... You made Amegakure a known village."
"That I did."
"So why did you leave your post? I assumed the position would only pass on if something happened to the current holder of the title. And why are you here with Galen?"
"Liliana, if I may... A short while ago, I had called a meeting of the Rokukage, the results of which are essentially non-existent.
"Thanks for the invite, by the way."
"You are not the leader of an acknowledged village."
"Doesn't mean I don't like to crash a party... And pull your hood down - you look so much more handsome when I can see your face."
The lady smiled like the devil as her dark eyes stared through the shadows cast by the Hokage's hood and into his soul. Reaching up slowly, the man pulled down his hood.
"Better? Now, despite the Sandaime Amekage refusing my proposal, Vincent has agreed to work alongside me... At a cost."
"And this cost is?"
"To be frank, the Hidden Leaf is filled with children, gennin, and shinobi of sub-par skill... If there is a threat which Galen believes takes the combined power of the villages to face, we must attack it with as much power as we have."
"You know, it's interesting to listen to you talk. I can't decide if you're being condescending or trusting."
"I hold to that it's a mix of both."
"Regardless, the deal made was that I would work with him if he agreed to forgo his village in the stead of a smaller, more powerful group of people."
"You're abandoning the Leaf, Scorpseh?" Liliana always had little pet names for the people she kept in contact with. She hadn't expected the man to bring a friend, and thus had no fun way to taunt the other man.
"No no. The Leaf will fight independently, allied with Sunagakure, while I myself fight alongside Vincent and our group of allies."
"And let me guess..." Lili looked back and forth between the two men a few times. "You've come to enlist me."
"Not just you-"
"-the entire Akatsuki is filled with dangerous people, each holding immense power of their own.
"I'm afraid the Akatsuki isn't all what it used to be..."
"But you are still strong - stronger than them."
"You still haven't told me what you need our power for yet."
Leaning forward over the table, Galen Marek looked lady Liliana in the eyes as he almost whispered his visions.
"I have foreseen a great power - something strange that we cannot even begin to comprehend - arriving in this land... This power will come, and it will threaten our very existence. It has the potential to enslave shinobi, control our land, and grant sovereignty to their leader. Without you and the Akatsuki, I fear this threat cannot be stopped."
Lilian stared back into Galen's eyes for a moment, admiring herself in the reflection of his pupils as he spoke. Towards the end of his statement, she began to smirk. As he finished, and began to lean back into his chair, Lili began to chuckle. Her laughter grew, until she had to stand to keep herself from falling out of her chair.
"What is so funny!?" Vincent was angry, clearly taking the time he took to come with Galen very seriously and enraged that this woman was wasting it. "Tell me why you're laughing!"
"Because, my sweet Valentine... The threat is already here." Liliana smiled a large, toothy smile, her eyes morphing from black to red as her Sharingan activated. "You two said it yourselves - the Akatsuki is filled with dangerous people."
"Liliana, are you saying...?"
"Of course! Now, I'll have to ask you to leave - I have things to plan."
Galen sighed, rising from his seat.
"Are you being serious? First she wastes your time, and then claims to be planning an attack on the world! We should strike her down where she stands!"
"Be my guest, but when you discover that the woman before you is nothing more than an illusion, I will be on my way back to Konohagakure."
Liliana sighed, tutting her tongue at Galen.
"Why do you have to be such a party-pooper, Scorpseh? Let him have some fun. But I do have to apologize - I had to leave fairly early in our meeting to see another man."
Grinning, Galen looked back over his shoulder at the illusion of Liliana. The expression wasn't often seen by the shinobi of Konohagakure, nor was it seen by many others. But Lili had been a friend of his for quite some time, and Galen had grown comfortable with joking around with the woman.
"Are you cheating on me?"
"Cheating! On my Scorpseh? Of course not - he's just an underling of mine, someone who caught my eye while I was a shinobi of Kirigakure."
"Must be quite the shinobi to catch an eye like yours..."
Liliana grinned at Galen, turning her head purposefully so she could scowl at Vincent.
"Well, you two better be off. Toodles!"
The mirage of the Uchiha woman vanished with her last word, and the tavern was eerily quite and empty, save for the sipping of coffee off in the corner.
"You knew when she left."
"I also knew she would decline."
"Then why take me here?"
"Because..."
Galen looked at the man, his stern expression returned and fighting with the murderous look in the Valentine's eyes.
"This will not be the last time I speak with her. But next time, the threat will be known."
"If you insist..."
The two men then walked out of the dark, dank tavern, and towards their respective villages.
The sun had moved quite a bit across the sky since the shipwrecked warrior, several hours having passed by since Shinobi and An Cheng began fighting. Panting, the warrior leaned against the lengthy shaft of his halberd, forcing himself to remain standing as he looked over at the man he had been fighting. The man, now shirtless to expose his bandage-wrapped torso, was checking his fingernails, the black curl of hair hanging down from his slicked-back style perfectly in tact, as though fighting for so long didn't put a strain on him.
"Are we done?" he called out. "Do you surrender?"
"Why should I surrender? I am An Cheng - general of Lord Shen Long's Iron Division!"
"Listen, sir, I've heard this speech before... Like, at least fifteen times. Either attack me, or back down."
The man moved. He ran at Shinobu, swinging his halberd from the furthest point on the handle so as to strike the unimpressed man from as far away as possible. But as the man continued to check the fingernails on his right hand, there was a blur of motion and the halberd was pushed up and over the man's body, his attention solely focused on picking dust out of his fingernails.
"Listen, Makato, you need to finish this soon - it's getting late."
"Honestly I was waiting for this man to step down so his life could be spared."
"Well it's taking too long!"
"Step down? Why should I step down? I am An Cheng - general of-"
"That's it!" Shinobu ran forward, closing the distance between himself and the general in a matter of seconds, and extended an arm to punch the soldier in the solar plexus. With his training in close-combat, however, An Cheng was able to catch the fist, though he still felt the impact of a punch in his gut. "I'm sick and tired of hearing that over and over! I don't care how proud you are, it's gotta stop!!"
"I... blocked your punch."
"Yeah, you did block one of my punches."
"One...?" His right eye twitching from the unexpected pain, An Cheng looked over and noticed Shinobu's other hand still held back, ready for a second - or third? - punch.
"Yeah, don't you know?" There was another voice, similar to the first man's yet distinct in its own right. Then a head turned around over Shinobu's shoulder, as though a second person was leaning in close behind him, but no other person was present. "That's our ability."
"Brother, why must you be like this?"
"Because even I was bored - just kill him already!"
An Cheng nearly retreated in fear as he watched the man he had been fighting with for hours argue with a second head which had materialized out of nowhere. But he was a warrior - a general of Shen Long's army! Reaching into his plated armor, An Cheng unsheathed a small dagger and extended it to sever the head of the man he had been fighting. But then his wrist was caught.
Looking down an arm had extended out of Shinobu's chest and caught An Cheng's wrist. Then both the heads looked over at the man, ending their internal argument.
"Excuse me."
"Did we give you permission to interrupt?"
Then, from just below the arm, a leg also shot out of the man's chest, kicking An Cheng in the gut at full force and knocking him back several feet. At astonishment from the battalion, Shinobu shrugged.
"I guess we have to show 'em."
"S'pose so."
Then, before everyone's eyes, a second man appearing identical to Shinobu climbed out of his body. Now there were two men, each as powerful as the other, glaring at An Cheng as he regained his balance.
"Everyone, this is my brother, Black Angel."
"When we were born, I was too weak to survive on my own."
"So he was sealed within my body until such a moment in time when he could survive on his own."
"But we never lost the ability to merge our cells, allowing us to use a technique known as-"
"-Attack of the Twin Demons."
There was silence across the battlefield. Bored, Katarina raised her hand and began to speak loudly.
"Shinobu, if you got this, I'm gunna head home."
"Yeah, yeah - go ahead. This fight won't take too long."
"T- twin demons?"
"Oh, right - general of the Iron Division is still here... Shinbu's brother, known only as Black Angel, glared at An Cheng as he opened his arms wide as an invitation. "Why don't you come at us, gramps?"
The sun was setting, and Shen Long was still lost with only two of the three battalion's he brought. He looked down at the object he held, gripping it tightly in the fading rays of daylight. Then one of his men came up to him.
"Sir, we are lost in a strange land, missing a third of our battle power, and it is late. Might we set up camp and protect your highness as we wait for the light of morning?"
Pursing his lips and tracing the object's form with his fingers, Shen Long nodded.
"Have camp set up in a half hour with at least three guards on duty at all times. These are strange lands."
"Of course, sir!" Just before the soldier left the king, he stopped and looked back. "Sir, you haven't let that thing out of your possession ever since it was given to you. Might I ask what it is?"
"Father?" Shen Long had just left his grandfather in his throne room. Within his father's quarters, everything was decorated extravagantly, and kept clean by two servants who rotated through, each eating and sleeping while the other worked. Stepping over the cleaning lady, Shen Long made his way over to his father's bed, where a genius of medicine sat examining charts.
"How is father?" Shen had asked the doctor.
"I'm afraid his condition isn't good... It could be a lot worse, but it hasn't gotten better since the disease."
"You have to cure him, Manchu Feng!"
"Do you think I'm poisoning him, brat!?"
Manchu Feng, previous known as Yaozu before the armies of Wan Qu destroyed his tribe, was the only person in the entire kingdom to ever speak as though he were superior to Shen Long, aside from his father and grandfather. The medic carried the abilities of his tribe, which scared the Wan Qu kingdom. They were not understood well, or at all, and as such were a threat. Now Yaozu, personal doctor to the sick king of Wan Qu, was the only survivor.
"Please..." The old king attempted to sit up, falling back down on his bed quickly. "Do not fight..."
"I am sorry, father."
"My apologies, good king Jin Long."
Shen Long leaned closer to Yaozu.
"You've never once called me 'good king'."
"Maye if you were a good king I would."
"Son... What is your request?"
"The Living Island - Land of Eternal Power." There was a click, and then the soft thuds of footsteps as Long Tei walked into the room. "His men have found it, Huojin."
"Yeye!"
"Why do you scold a father for calling his son by name?"
"There are two people of non-royal blood present."
"You worry far too much, sun. They are both direct servants of royal blood."
"But that does not give them the right to-"
"Pardon me, Shen..." Shen Long's father coughed. "Allow me to speak with my father. You said The Living Island?"
"Your son's soldiers found it, and lost a great many of their squadron to prove it is the true one!"
The bed-ridden king smiled, his grip on the sheets relaxing.
"I wish to send him there, to extend his rule."
"Extend his rule!? That land is dangerous, father!"
"Worry not, Huojin... I have a feeling that the secrets of their land can be explained by a man in this very room..." Long Tie smiled up at Yaozu before continuing. "And I also believe that he can utilize his Inheritance to aide him in this journey. If you would grant it to him."
"I keep hearing about this "Inheritance", but I am already king! What else is there for me to inherit?"
"Yaozu, could you bring me the trinket?"
"The one the ladies are not allowed to clean or even touch?"
"Yes."
The doctor went over to a glass case, carefully opening it and retrieving a golden item. It was strange - appearing like an hourglass with no sand in its contents, or glass on the inside, for that matter. The top and bottom were golden rings, while they were connected to each other with a triangular prism, the points of which touching in the center. Carefully, the doctor carried the item over to the sick king Jin Long.
"This, son, is your Kekkei Keisho..."
"It is my Bloodline Inheritance. Now hurry and set up camp."
"Yes sir! Sorry for taking your time."
Shen long continued to look at the golden item in the fading light, admiring it. It wasn't explained very much when it was given to him, but that didn't matter. His father trusted he would be able to figure it out, and Shen Long was determined to prove him right.
"Oi, who goes there?" Walking out towards the group of people was a man, and in the background, quite a ways off, there appeared to be some sort of structure. But to think that there were actually people populating this part of the world... Did they actually arrive at the island they were told about?
"Makato, wait." There was a woman, too. Dressed lightly for the heat, the red-haired woman jogged quickly to catch up to the man, daggers bouncing against her leg. We're supposed to go together, remember?"
"Know what, how about you just shut up and let me handle things?"
The woman rolled her eyes. Alright, Kazuya - don't bite my head off.
"Excuse me," one of the men called out, but he was cut off by the man with the slicked back hair. There was a bandana around his forehead, and now that they noticed it, the men also saw the same headband around the woman's neck.
"We'll be asking the questions here, boy." What in the world!? The woman was suddenly behind the man who had attempted to talk to them, her knives drawn and a look like death in her eyes.
"Katarina, don't kill them right away..."
"I don't even know who you are right now."
"Gentlemen... Might I ask why you have come to the Land of Earth?"
"O-our ship crashed." The man, shaking in his boots, feared for his life with every passing second. The woman could get behind him in the blink of an eye, he worried that he could be dead just as fast.
"That doesn't explain what you were doing in the waters near our shore."
"These men don't have headbands, Minoru."
"Are you just guessing at this point?"
"Am I wrong?"
The man with the slicked hair was silent before addressing Shen Long's men once more.
"Where are you men from?"
"We are from Wan Qu, a land beyond this island."
"A land beyond this one?"
"They're lying - they're clearly spies."
"Spies, huh?" With a simple twist, the man who had been speaking to the two people was beheaded, the woman's hair drifting to one side as she stopped her spin. Standing back up to full height, she looked about the group of men around her. "They're lame, we shouldn't even waste our time with 'em."
With an unimpressed look on his face, the man simply turned his back and began to walk away, the woman slowly leaving her position as well. Enraged at the fact that his comrade had been killed so mercilessly, and then the rest of them left alone as if they were worthless, An Cheng drew his dagger from the inside of his coat, and threw it in a fit of rage. As the blade flew through the air then man appeared to reach into his back pocket and throw a knife back, intercepting the first and diverting it from Katarina's head. But after the interception, a large gale of wind was created from the point of impact.
The wind pushed against the two shinobi, blowing dust towards them while the soldiers of Wan Qu stood dumbfounded. No one knew what An Cheng had done, not even him, but the large amount of wind created was enough to push the two people away, and cause them to turn back around.
" 'Lame', were they?"
In the Hokage's office, Galen Marek sighed as he went through various papers, signing and initialing as he came to extended blank areas. It was tedious being in a position such as his... He was in charge of such a large group of people, yet everyone always wanted more. Not only that, but the meeting at the Kage's Summit only proved that his authority was not taken seriously - at least not by the other leaders. But it didn't matter. The enemy was soon upon them, and then they would listen. Then they would be able to set aside their petty differences and work together. Or, at least, they would perish in their inability to.
"Hokage-san?"
Galen looked up as a young man appeared at his doorway.
"Yes?"
"I was told you had a mission for a single shinobi to accomplish."
"Ah, someone finally responded. About time. Here." Reaching under his desk, Galen retrieved a scroll and held it out of the man to take. "Take this to Sunagakure. Now I can finally get on with my meeting."
"You're going somewhere?"
"I would have been gone a long time ago if you had gotten here sooner." Leaving the man with the scroll, Galen got up and began to walk towards the door of his office, donning a simple black cloak as he walked.
"Where are you going?"
"To see a friend." Without turning around, Galen walked out of the office, making his way out of Konohagkure and through the forests surrounding the village.
Back at the borderlands of the Land of Earth, outside of the Village Hidden in Stone, the army of men stood in awe of what was before them. Walls of earth were scattered about the battlefield as though hair on the back of a frightened cat - standing up at odd angles and placements. Everywhere around was scared with destruction, yet they had somehow managed to survive the onslaught of power these two people were able to generate. Were they people? Surely humans were not capable of such feats.
On the other side of the battle, Katarina and the shinobi called Shinobu were also in amazement. Not only could these men withstand their onslaught, but the men themselves appeared to have no idea how they were doing it.
"One more time, Jooji!"
"I told you that we'll drain ourselves of chakra if we continue fruitless attacks."
"Just once more!" Leaping forward, Katarina placed her twin daggers into her belt as she held out both of her empty hands. Within each of her palms, the red-headed shinobi formed a blue sphere of spinning chakra - her Rasengan. "DIE!"
Getting near one of the soldiers, the woman extended her left arm to collide the sphere of condense chakra into him. However, before she could do so, the man took a step back, the earth before him rising in a wall to intercept the sphere of chakra. With the wall destroyed by the sheer force of the Rasengan, Katarina jumped into the air and leapt off of a falling piece of debris, falling down over top of another soldier. However, as he extended a halberd to impale the woman as she would land on him, to which Katarina would have been able to react, she was instead thrown backwards by a powerful wind, causing her to back-flip several times and land next to Shinobu once more, without a scratch.
"I told you."
"Then how do you propose we fight!?"
Grinning, Shinobi strode forwards with a confident stride. He didn't dash in for an attack, but simply walked forwards as though he were about to make a deal. Opening his arms as an invitation, he called out to the small army before him.
"Gentlemen! If I may, why are you fighting us? You don't even know what's going on, do you? But, I can see by your equipment that you are men of close-combat. So I issue a challenge of old to you! Send your strongest warrior to fight me, and we shall enter close-quarter-combat..."
"And what will the winner receive?" An Cheng, general of this specific battalion, appeared to be the only one of the men who even remotely understood how the earth and air changed with their movements. Stepping to the front of the men, he waited for Shinobu's response.
"Always out for yourself - a true warrior! If I win, I want you all to leave. If you win, you can do as you please. You don't have a plan anyhow."
Gripping the pole-arm of his halberd in his left hand tightly, An Cheng ran at Shinobu of Iwagakure, brandishing his symmetrical, double-edged curved blade in his right hand.
"How dare you mock the armies of Shen Long!?"
Leaping against the ground, An Cheng pushed himself into the air with the power of the wind, launching him up into the air so he could strike the shinobi quickly as he descended upon him.
It was a dark room. A drop of grog dripped out of a barrel and onto the floor as a door in the back creaked as it swayed on its hinges. Looking about herself, the young red-head who owned the place wondered how she never saw it for how it actually was. Perhaps when the tavern was booming with people it was easier to ignore the barely-sanitary conditions. Whatever the case, it was not more than a cover for her true intentions.
As the woman admired her reflection in the jewel of the ring placed over her right thumb, the front door opened. Glancing up for a moment, she noticed two men walk in. They moved closer, one sitting down with one standing near him. They both wore cloaks, but judging by their stature, the way they moved, and their choice in fashion, neither member of this party was a woman. Looking back at her reflection in the ring, the woman smacked her ruby-red lips and smiled.
"You brought a friend."
"Drastic times..."
"We were supposed to meet alone."
"You're telling me? Who's that guy?"
With the seated man's comment, the one standing glanced over at a man in the corner of the tavern, drinking from a white porcelain mug. He was clearly not drinking grog or other beverages normally served in the tavern, as steam was rising from the cup.
"He's not hurting anybody. Now, your friend?"
The woman looked up at the man, whose face was hidden beneath a hood, then back at Galen.
"What do you look at me for? He's a grown man; he can introduce himself."
The man who remained standing pulled the hood of his black cloak down, revealing his long back hair held up with a red bandana.
"My name is Vincent Valentine, of the Valentine Family."
"Ooh, I know who you are... You made Amegakure a known village."
"That I did."
"So why did you leave your post? I assumed the position would only pass on if something happened to the current holder of the title. And why are you here with Galen?"
"Liliana, if I may... A short while ago, I had called a meeting of the Rokukage, the results of which are essentially non-existent.
"Thanks for the invite, by the way."
"You are not the leader of an acknowledged village."
"Doesn't mean I don't like to crash a party... And pull your hood down - you look so much more handsome when I can see your face."
The lady smiled like the devil as her dark eyes stared through the shadows cast by the Hokage's hood and into his soul. Reaching up slowly, the man pulled down his hood.
"Better? Now, despite the Sandaime Amekage refusing my proposal, Vincent has agreed to work alongside me... At a cost."
"And this cost is?"
"To be frank, the Hidden Leaf is filled with children, gennin, and shinobi of sub-par skill... If there is a threat which Galen believes takes the combined power of the villages to face, we must attack it with as much power as we have."
"You know, it's interesting to listen to you talk. I can't decide if you're being condescending or trusting."
"I hold to that it's a mix of both."
"Regardless, the deal made was that I would work with him if he agreed to forgo his village in the stead of a smaller, more powerful group of people."
"You're abandoning the Leaf, Scorpseh?" Liliana always had little pet names for the people she kept in contact with. She hadn't expected the man to bring a friend, and thus had no fun way to taunt the other man.
"No no. The Leaf will fight independently, allied with Sunagakure, while I myself fight alongside Vincent and our group of allies."
"And let me guess..." Lili looked back and forth between the two men a few times. "You've come to enlist me."
"Not just you-"
"-the entire Akatsuki is filled with dangerous people, each holding immense power of their own.
"I'm afraid the Akatsuki isn't all what it used to be..."
"But you are still strong - stronger than them."
"You still haven't told me what you need our power for yet."
Leaning forward over the table, Galen Marek looked lady Liliana in the eyes as he almost whispered his visions.
"I have foreseen a great power - something strange that we cannot even begin to comprehend - arriving in this land... This power will come, and it will threaten our very existence. It has the potential to enslave shinobi, control our land, and grant sovereignty to their leader. Without you and the Akatsuki, I fear this threat cannot be stopped."
Lilian stared back into Galen's eyes for a moment, admiring herself in the reflection of his pupils as he spoke. Towards the end of his statement, she began to smirk. As he finished, and began to lean back into his chair, Lili began to chuckle. Her laughter grew, until she had to stand to keep herself from falling out of her chair.
"What is so funny!?" Vincent was angry, clearly taking the time he took to come with Galen very seriously and enraged that this woman was wasting it. "Tell me why you're laughing!"
"Because, my sweet Valentine... The threat is already here." Liliana smiled a large, toothy smile, her eyes morphing from black to red as her Sharingan activated. "You two said it yourselves - the Akatsuki is filled with dangerous people."
"Liliana, are you saying...?"
"Of course! Now, I'll have to ask you to leave - I have things to plan."
Galen sighed, rising from his seat.
"Are you being serious? First she wastes your time, and then claims to be planning an attack on the world! We should strike her down where she stands!"
"Be my guest, but when you discover that the woman before you is nothing more than an illusion, I will be on my way back to Konohagakure."
Liliana sighed, tutting her tongue at Galen.
"Why do you have to be such a party-pooper, Scorpseh? Let him have some fun. But I do have to apologize - I had to leave fairly early in our meeting to see another man."
Grinning, Galen looked back over his shoulder at the illusion of Liliana. The expression wasn't often seen by the shinobi of Konohagakure, nor was it seen by many others. But Lili had been a friend of his for quite some time, and Galen had grown comfortable with joking around with the woman.
"Are you cheating on me?"
"Cheating! On my Scorpseh? Of course not - he's just an underling of mine, someone who caught my eye while I was a shinobi of Kirigakure."
"Must be quite the shinobi to catch an eye like yours..."
Liliana grinned at Galen, turning her head purposefully so she could scowl at Vincent.
"Well, you two better be off. Toodles!"
The mirage of the Uchiha woman vanished with her last word, and the tavern was eerily quite and empty, save for the sipping of coffee off in the corner.
"You knew when she left."
"I also knew she would decline."
"Then why take me here?"
"Because..."
Galen looked at the man, his stern expression returned and fighting with the murderous look in the Valentine's eyes.
"This will not be the last time I speak with her. But next time, the threat will be known."
"If you insist..."
The two men then walked out of the dark, dank tavern, and towards their respective villages.
The sun had moved quite a bit across the sky since the shipwrecked warrior, several hours having passed by since Shinobi and An Cheng began fighting. Panting, the warrior leaned against the lengthy shaft of his halberd, forcing himself to remain standing as he looked over at the man he had been fighting. The man, now shirtless to expose his bandage-wrapped torso, was checking his fingernails, the black curl of hair hanging down from his slicked-back style perfectly in tact, as though fighting for so long didn't put a strain on him.
"Are we done?" he called out. "Do you surrender?"
"Why should I surrender? I am An Cheng - general of Lord Shen Long's Iron Division!"
"Listen, sir, I've heard this speech before... Like, at least fifteen times. Either attack me, or back down."
The man moved. He ran at Shinobu, swinging his halberd from the furthest point on the handle so as to strike the unimpressed man from as far away as possible. But as the man continued to check the fingernails on his right hand, there was a blur of motion and the halberd was pushed up and over the man's body, his attention solely focused on picking dust out of his fingernails.
"Listen, Makato, you need to finish this soon - it's getting late."
"Honestly I was waiting for this man to step down so his life could be spared."
"Well it's taking too long!"
"Step down? Why should I step down? I am An Cheng - general of-"
"That's it!" Shinobu ran forward, closing the distance between himself and the general in a matter of seconds, and extended an arm to punch the soldier in the solar plexus. With his training in close-combat, however, An Cheng was able to catch the fist, though he still felt the impact of a punch in his gut. "I'm sick and tired of hearing that over and over! I don't care how proud you are, it's gotta stop!!"
"I... blocked your punch."
"Yeah, you did block one of my punches."
"One...?" His right eye twitching from the unexpected pain, An Cheng looked over and noticed Shinobu's other hand still held back, ready for a second - or third? - punch.
"Yeah, don't you know?" There was another voice, similar to the first man's yet distinct in its own right. Then a head turned around over Shinobu's shoulder, as though a second person was leaning in close behind him, but no other person was present. "That's our ability."
"Brother, why must you be like this?"
"Because even I was bored - just kill him already!"
An Cheng nearly retreated in fear as he watched the man he had been fighting with for hours argue with a second head which had materialized out of nowhere. But he was a warrior - a general of Shen Long's army! Reaching into his plated armor, An Cheng unsheathed a small dagger and extended it to sever the head of the man he had been fighting. But then his wrist was caught.
Looking down an arm had extended out of Shinobu's chest and caught An Cheng's wrist. Then both the heads looked over at the man, ending their internal argument.
"Excuse me."
"Did we give you permission to interrupt?"
Then, from just below the arm, a leg also shot out of the man's chest, kicking An Cheng in the gut at full force and knocking him back several feet. At astonishment from the battalion, Shinobu shrugged.
"I guess we have to show 'em."
"S'pose so."
Then, before everyone's eyes, a second man appearing identical to Shinobu climbed out of his body. Now there were two men, each as powerful as the other, glaring at An Cheng as he regained his balance.
"Everyone, this is my brother, Black Angel."
"When we were born, I was too weak to survive on my own."
"So he was sealed within my body until such a moment in time when he could survive on his own."
"But we never lost the ability to merge our cells, allowing us to use a technique known as-"
"-Attack of the Twin Demons."
There was silence across the battlefield. Bored, Katarina raised her hand and began to speak loudly.
"Shinobu, if you got this, I'm gunna head home."
"Yeah, yeah - go ahead. This fight won't take too long."
"T- twin demons?"
"Oh, right - general of the Iron Division is still here... Shinbu's brother, known only as Black Angel, glared at An Cheng as he opened his arms wide as an invitation. "Why don't you come at us, gramps?"
The sun was setting, and Shen Long was still lost with only two of the three battalion's he brought. He looked down at the object he held, gripping it tightly in the fading rays of daylight. Then one of his men came up to him.
"Sir, we are lost in a strange land, missing a third of our battle power, and it is late. Might we set up camp and protect your highness as we wait for the light of morning?"
Pursing his lips and tracing the object's form with his fingers, Shen Long nodded.
"Have camp set up in a half hour with at least three guards on duty at all times. These are strange lands."
"Of course, sir!" Just before the soldier left the king, he stopped and looked back. "Sir, you haven't let that thing out of your possession ever since it was given to you. Might I ask what it is?"
***
"Father?" Shen Long had just left his grandfather in his throne room. Within his father's quarters, everything was decorated extravagantly, and kept clean by two servants who rotated through, each eating and sleeping while the other worked. Stepping over the cleaning lady, Shen Long made his way over to his father's bed, where a genius of medicine sat examining charts.
"How is father?" Shen had asked the doctor.
"I'm afraid his condition isn't good... It could be a lot worse, but it hasn't gotten better since the disease."
"You have to cure him, Manchu Feng!"
"Do you think I'm poisoning him, brat!?"
Manchu Feng, previous known as Yaozu before the armies of Wan Qu destroyed his tribe, was the only person in the entire kingdom to ever speak as though he were superior to Shen Long, aside from his father and grandfather. The medic carried the abilities of his tribe, which scared the Wan Qu kingdom. They were not understood well, or at all, and as such were a threat. Now Yaozu, personal doctor to the sick king of Wan Qu, was the only survivor.
"Please..." The old king attempted to sit up, falling back down on his bed quickly. "Do not fight..."
"I am sorry, father."
"My apologies, good king Jin Long."
Shen Long leaned closer to Yaozu.
"You've never once called me 'good king'."
"Maye if you were a good king I would."
"Son... What is your request?"
"The Living Island - Land of Eternal Power." There was a click, and then the soft thuds of footsteps as Long Tei walked into the room. "His men have found it, Huojin."
"Yeye!"
"Why do you scold a father for calling his son by name?"
"There are two people of non-royal blood present."
"You worry far too much, sun. They are both direct servants of royal blood."
"But that does not give them the right to-"
"Pardon me, Shen..." Shen Long's father coughed. "Allow me to speak with my father. You said The Living Island?"
"Your son's soldiers found it, and lost a great many of their squadron to prove it is the true one!"
The bed-ridden king smiled, his grip on the sheets relaxing.
"I wish to send him there, to extend his rule."
"Extend his rule!? That land is dangerous, father!"
"Worry not, Huojin... I have a feeling that the secrets of their land can be explained by a man in this very room..." Long Tie smiled up at Yaozu before continuing. "And I also believe that he can utilize his Inheritance to aide him in this journey. If you would grant it to him."
"I keep hearing about this "Inheritance", but I am already king! What else is there for me to inherit?"
"Yaozu, could you bring me the trinket?"
"The one the ladies are not allowed to clean or even touch?"
"Yes."
The doctor went over to a glass case, carefully opening it and retrieving a golden item. It was strange - appearing like an hourglass with no sand in its contents, or glass on the inside, for that matter. The top and bottom were golden rings, while they were connected to each other with a triangular prism, the points of which touching in the center. Carefully, the doctor carried the item over to the sick king Jin Long.
"This, son, is your Kekkei Keisho..."
***
"It is my Bloodline Inheritance. Now hurry and set up camp."
"Yes sir! Sorry for taking your time."
Shen long continued to look at the golden item in the fading light, admiring it. It wasn't explained very much when it was given to him, but that didn't matter. His father trusted he would be able to figure it out, and Shen Long was determined to prove him right.
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