Chapter 53

I'm currently on chapter 60, things are going well but with the 'war' winding down there's a lack of action.

It's a major dampener on my writing speed.

'Fight scenes' and Interludes are easy to do and come out well, but with no conflict interludes are coming less easily.

I'll figure it out though.

...

Someone told me that they wanted more words per chapter.

That was three months ago...

Anyways I upped the words by about 1000 per chapter and started releasing chapters two at a time.

Does it flow better?

Is it more satisfying to read two chapters at a time?

Let me know...

...

Props to those who get the reference at the end.

...

...

...

I woke up in the middle of the night and quickly got dressed and left the house I had occupied with thoughts of explosions dancing in my head.

I had a surplus of explosive notes and would love to blow up some camps...

But if I had to use the Shikotsumyaku Kiri would know I was here, if they didn't already know...

The element of surprise usually worked well...

I wouldn't want to lose it...

So, I wouldn't...

I made my way to a huge tree that was surrounded by fields and stopped just under it.

I dropped a few stacks of custom explosive notes, perched myself on the tree, and made a hand-sign.

A few Shadow Clones appeared and sped off into the distance after grabbing the stacks.

The clone's hair changed to black as they left my sight...

Henge for the win...

Hopefully, I'd regen the missing half of my chakra before we had to fight...

If not, I could just pop some soldier pills...

I sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree.

I guess I'll see.

...

A burst of memories hit me and I had to cover my face with both hands to contain myself.

Sadly, covering my face didn't work and I burst into insane laughter.

Canon was fucked...

One of my experiments was running around with a big ass sword...

The Kubikiribōchō...

Fuck...

The wielder before Zabuza would have been an Akatsuki member...

Fuuuuuuck...

He was a nobody so it shouldn't matter too much...

But having someone with a permanently open First Gate wielding the Kubikiribōchō was big...

My laughter slowly died out and I was left feeling a little tired.

I didn't think anything would come from that experiment...

I guess it's possible to overcome the challenges a permanently open Gate brings...

Fuck this was a big change...

If one of them was doing this well, then what about the others...

Mystery woman and the other two Genin...

I sighed heavily...

I was feeling slightly emotional and couldn't wait to see my experiment in battle...

Would he be a one pump chump like I had thought...?

Or did he somehow overcome the stamina drain from the gate...?

I was looking forward to it...

...

Over the next three hours, I was hit with twenty different bursts of memories.

Kiri had 35 small camps and a large camp on the shore containing around four-hundred or so ninja.

If I had to guess I'd say there were around two-thousand Kiri-nin occupying Noodles...

Which was about what Fugaku had...

I sighed and looked at the rising sun...

Noodles was extremely close to Kiri as well, so it wouldn't be too much trouble for them to get reinforcements...

And I had only spotted one other Swordsman...

So, it's likely that the rest of them were messing with Kumo or were running missions elsewhere...

It made me feel a bit better about our chance of success, if only slightly...

We only had to deal with two big swords...

...

"Yo!"

After a quick nap, I sought out Fugaku so I could get whatever briefing I needed to get.

"You missed the briefing." Fugaku gave me a look that screamed disapproval.

It seems I wouldn't be getting a briefing...

"I was scouting their camps, they have two of the Swordsmen here." I spoke quickly hoping to avoid a reprimand.

Fugaku gave me a narrow-eyed stare.

"Look at the map here and see if anything is missing..." He gestured towards 'the map'.

I eyed it with a raised eyebrow.

"Who made this garbage...?" I ran my thumb over a tea stain while looking at the nearly blank map.

I sighed loudly and grabbed Fugaku's expensive-looking brush and ink set with my chakra strings.

I saw him start to speak and I shushed him. "Shhhhhh..." His mouth closed with a snap and I took my sweet time marking down the spots I could roughly remember.

I saw that they at least saw their biggest camp and gave a slight nod.

"At least whoever made this wasn't completely incompetent..." I trailed off as I added four more missed bases...

I started adding symbols beside each camp to differentiate which ones were underground and which were aboveground.

"I made the map..." Fugaku stared at me dully.

My stare was equally as dull.

"As I said, not completely incompetent..." I trailed off again as I marked the camps where I saw the two Swordsmen...

I wrote the names of the swords beside the camp for those that didn't understand what the drawing of a sword was for...

"The Hiramekarei and the Kubikiribōchō..." Fugaku trailed off and looked pensive...

I hummed and nodded while still filling out missed camps.

After a few quiet minutes, I finished with the camps and started writing the kanji for explosion in the camps the clones had plastered with explosive tags.

"And done..." After one last kanji, I dropped the brush and cracked my knuckles...

I took a moment to admire my work and bask in Fugaku's disbelieving expression...

"I think we'll need a second debriefing..." Fugaku said while staring at the map.

I held back my groan...

I'd likely be doing the presenting...

Fuck...

Should I have just left it as it was...?

...

Luckily, I didn't have to do much during the debriefing...

I only had to clarify some of my symbols and I got to sit back and watch as everyone argued over the plan.

After about an hour of amusing bickering Fugaku put his foot down and the plan was decided.

Fugaku and I would team up, eliminate Kubikiribōchō's wielder, and then Fugaku and I would split and target individual camps while our soldiers would be split into groups and target other individual camps.

Fugaku was supposed to deal with the second Swordsmen by himself...

Meaning that they thought I was weak and couldn't handle the Swordsman by himself...

I wasn't too bothered...

Really...

Even if I flooded the room with my chakra...

I sighed...

Now I got to sit around and wait for preparations to be made...

What fun I was having...

...

Fugaku and I stood side by side watching over the preparations.

Well...

Fugaku was watching over the preparations...

I was just standing around and feeling out of place...

We watched a Genin trying to sharpen his kunai and fumble about.

He cut his palm and was dragged off by his sensei likely to receive some medical attention...

"..."

We both met eyes silently.

This army was hopeless...

I sighed and looked into the distance not focusing on anything in particular.

Hopefully, this was not a total shitshow...

But that clumsy Genin was foreshadowing if I've ever seen it...

Fuck...

...

I activated my Byakugan and followed Fugaku as he passed the different groups that had been deployed.

Fugaku's speed kept increasing the further we got from the camp, eventually, we reached a comfortable pace and continued towards our target.

After a while we arrived, the camp was in sight and my experiment was having a jolly time training.

Fugaku stopped and I took a moment to watch my experiment swing his sword.

After a moment of looking I stopped focusing on him as I didn't see anything notable.

I made an effort to turn my head to Fugaku so he could tell he had my attention.

He didn't speak so I turned my head back towards the camp and started forming my mask and Dermal Armor.

"I'll take care of Kubikiribōchō's wielder..." Fugaku spoke quietly and started making his way toward the camp.

I stared at his back feeling slightly annoyed...

Did he want the credit or did he think I was weak?

Annoying...

My opinion of Fugaku continued lowering the closer he got to the camp.

My mask finished forming and sighed while running my hand over its smooth surface.

...

Fugaku had gotten pretty close to the camp so I decided it was time to rumble...

I made a hand-seal and the camp exploded in a fiery blaze.

I heard some distant explosions but paid them no mind.

Fugaku gave me a look over his shoulder before he sprinted into the camp with his Sharingan active.

I shrugged to myself, slowed my perception, and Shunshined to the camp.

I stood at the edge of the camp watching as the Kiri-nin effectively put out any fires created by my explosive tags.

It wasn't something I wanted.

Long thin Bone swords burst from my knees, the handles hit my palms with a slap and I grasped them.

With a tug, they came free from my flesh and I was holding two twin swords.

I sighed as the ninja around me ignored me, instead opting to put out the fires.

Whatever...

It was my gain...

I enhanced my entire body with the Shunshin and sped towards the closet ninja, decapitating him with a flick of my wrist.

Without dropping my Shunshin I sped toward two more ninjas and decapitated them as well.

I Shunshined towards a group of Genin and killed them with a single swing, cutting them all in half.

I continued the slaughter and killed five more Kiri-nin before I was even spotted...

"He's there, get him!" I eyed the one who spoke, he was currently making hand-signs while approaching me.

His water bullet splashed against my chest and I watched idly as the Kiri-nin covered the area in a mist before surrounding me.

"How did that feel monster!" I eyed the silly Chunin for a moment before deciding on a plan of action.

I coated my swords in lightning and jumped into the mist cutting down the chatty ninja with a swing.

Two more approached me from behind attempting to stab me in the back.

Two Bone Spears erupted from my back and pierced the approaching ninja's throats.

I twisted my body, the bone crumbled, and I took the time to admire the circle of ninja that was forming around me.

I'd killed half of the camps ninja with the explosion and my subsequent killing spree.

So, I only had about twenty more to go...

And most of them were kind enough to gather around and save me the chase...

I swung my sword behind me and cut a courageous ninja in half.

The mist Kiri often employed was working against them...

They couldn't see what I was doing and thus were unprepared...

I launched myself forward and cut an additional three ninja down, a quick sidestep and I smacked a kunai with an explosive tag on it into the largest group.

Boom*

I buried my sword into the ground and killed someone attempting to grab me by the ankles.

Someone had used the opportunity to jump onto my back and ended up speared for their troubles.

I shook the body off of me, let the lightning on my swords disperse, and Shunshined towards the one maintaining the mist.

He dodged my first strike but the second one deprived him of his head.

I stuck both of my swords into the earth and started launching Bone Spears from my palms, killing the final few ninjas left.

One had tried to sneak away but was caught by Fugaku who had already finished with his opponent.

"Sigh..." My sigh was muffled from my mask.

I deactivated my Byakugan, my mask receded, and I made my way over to my ex-experiment.

His fight with Fugaku was lackluster, after a few swings of his sword, he was near-instantly put under a Genjutsu and had his throat slit after he swung and overextended.

It was a sad sight...

I couldn't imagine the luck involved in his acquisition of the Kubikiribōchō if he was this unskilled...

I arrived at his body and flicked the Kubikiribōchō off of him with my foot.

I placed my hands on him and ran the diagnostic jutsu ignoring Fugaku who had approached as well.

The Gate had been seemingly healed...

Interesting...

He might have been able to open and close the gate...

That's the only way I could see him getting the Kubikiribōchō...

Especially at such a young age...

I stood up and walked over to the big fucking sword.

"Well, I'll be taking this." Fugaku nodded and remained silent.

I took that as an ok and picked up the sword.

It wasn't as heavy as I thought it would be...

Or maybe I was just stronger then I thought...

"Alright, I'll see you when I finish up with my bases."

Fugaku nodded while staring at the trails of smoke in the distance.

My explosions seem to have been effective...

I sighed and waved at Fugaku as I Shunshined away.

...

Four more camps and four more slaughters, the last camp was the quickest as it was underground.

A quick One For All enhanced stomp and my enemies were buried in a tomb of their own design.

I sighed as I arrived at my next target, there was double the amount of people then there should be.

It was likely that had caught on to our plan and were now retreating towards the bases further in Noodles.

It wouldn't save them from me, but it would likely slow the army's advance.

I took a deep breath and rubbed at my masked forehead.

The original plan was to attack them relentlessly over the next month and try to push them further into noodles...

So, if it took a few days to do the same who would complain...?

The current plan was to drown them in bodies while they were split-up and ripe for the taking.

And it was working well for the most part.

I eyed a man with erratic chakra as he approached the man with the largest reserves in camp.

It was like a switch suddenly flipped, his chakra turned erratic as well.

I raised an eyebrow when the one with large reserves launched a flair into the sky.

It seems the other one was a competent sensor...

I shrugged and moved the Kubikiribōchō to my other shoulder.

I guess I should get to it...

I Shunshined straight towards the camp no longer bothering to hide my chakra.

I created a huge Lightning Rasengan in my free hand and launched it towards the biggest consecration of people.

It drilled through one person and killed four in its subsequent expansion.

Seeing that it was working well, I launched two more before speeding towards the one I figured was in charge.

I maneuvered the blade so his head was in the hole and pulled, decapitating someone with the blade's holes for the first time.

Two nearby ninjas yelled as charged at me, they were cut in half with a single long swipe.

I kicked their four halves into a pile and planted the blade in the middle.

I watched as the blade absorbed the blood and ignored the ninja who was slashing at me with his sword.

What a cool looking ability...

A spike burst from my back and impaled my attacker.

I aimed my palm over my shoulder and shot a Bone Spear through a tent and into the ninja I deemed a sensor.

I grabbed the Kubikiribōchō and marveled at the speed in which it repaired itself.

What a cool blade...

I swung and chopped an attacker in half, while some shuriken bounced off my Dermal Armor.

A water whip curled around my waist and pulled me towards its user.

When I got close enough, I ran some electricity down the whip with my free hand and chopped it's user in half when his body seized.

I turned my face towards the sky while paying minor attention to my surroundings...

Today was a good day...

As if to spite me a dragon made of water opened it's mouth in a silent roar and sped towards me.

'Today is still a good day' I thought as the water dragon collided with my back.

...

I sighed and planted the Kubikiribōchō into the pool of blood that had formed under my feet.

As cool as swinging this thing around was, it was tiring as all hell.

I leaned on the handle of the blade taking this quiet moment to rest my aching arms.

After a moment of thought, I realized I haven't been this tired in years...

The last time was when I was four...

I could barely remember the days when I couldn't do more than a few push-ups.

It felt like it was so long ago...

But it's only been eight or so years...

I saw some movement and my focus drifted towards the source.

A man was bandaging the stumps where his legs used to be.

I sighed, pulled the Kubikiribōchō from the earth, and started making my way towards the man who was hiding behind a building.

Had he belonged to any other village I would have spared him...

But in Kiri he would be killed, he was just a burden to them...

If he was going do die, I'd let him die by my hand...

It was better than dying by the hands of the ones you once called comrades...

I silently arrived behind him and kicked his sword which he had leaned against the wall away from him.

That caught his attention and he looked up and stared into my eyes.

"Sp-spare Me!" He pleaded with clasped palms while staring into my eyes.

I blew a breath from my nose and raised my sword.

"If it's any consolation, you were lovely entertainment." I hummed as I spoke.

I brought my sword down with a lazy swing, ending his life.

What a world this was...

I saw a wave of ninja approaching the now destroyed camp from the edge of my range.

I think I'll circle around and flank them...

I tucked my hair behind my ears and Shunshined away...

...