The end of a Wannabe Dictator
A large map of Wave was laid out across the floor with several points marked down on it where groups of people would be stationed during tomorrow's fight.
"Gatō?" Kazuo asked while glancing at Hikari from across the table. They were seated inside one of their many hideouts scattered throughout Wave, this one was particularly deep within the forest near the outskirts of town.
"Yeah, apparently he is hiring mercenaries." Hikari replied absentmindedly while scanning through some reports she gathered about Gatō's activities lately.
"When do they arrive?" Kazuo leaned forward slightly over the wooden surface separating them both, his eyes narrowed sharply as he stared intently at her papers.
"In five days." She answered simply before looking back up towards him. "Well, according to my sources."
Kazuo grumbled something under his breath before leaning back and visibly relaxing himself once more. "Good timing."
"Yes, we can strike tomorrow morning without worry," Kenji added cheerfully before continuing further. "There is one issue though..."
"Is it about the missing-nin?" Haruka asked curiously. Kenji nodded solemnly in response.
"Yeah... One of the new followers that recently joined us lives pretty close to Gatō's compound, he saw two men wearing masks and headbands enter into his compound yesterday."
Everyone frowned at hearing this news, they couldn't afford any complications when trying to overthrow Gatō, they were already pretty underprepared, if their target ended up being protected by Shinobi, then everything will go wrong.
"The Great Crow promised Zabuza would be no problem..." Kenji said hopefully. "So maybe we don't need to worry?"
"It doesn't matter, even if we call it off now, everyone is already committed." Kazuo argued back firmly before continuing further. "We need to remove Gatō and his influence from Wave completely so we can actually build a future here."
"You're right, also we shouldn't doubt The Watcher, if these unknown Missing-Nin show up, I'm sure our divine patron has made arrangements." Haruka nodded resolutely.
With that decided, they turned back towards the map with renewed determination as they began finalizing everything for tomorrow's attack.
300 people would be marching on Gatō's compound, armed with 80 crossbows and bows, the rest had mostly spears and other improvised weapons such as maces or wooden shields. Only 80 of them were equipped with some form of armor, although it was mostly leather pads rather than actual metal plating.
Hikari had managed to find some servants that worked at Gatō's compound and convinced them to slip some medicine made by Kazuo into his thugs' food. So when morning comes around, they should be barely able to stand.
Haruka had organized several smaller groups throughout the city to keep things in order and make sure there wasn't too much unrest or looting. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly enough that no one gets hurt during all this mess.
Kenji was going to lead the main assault, alongside Kazuo, the latter will focus on healing the wounded while Kenji directed everyone else forwards towards their target.
They talked long into the night, their blessing making sure their minds remained sharp. They worked out every detail they could think of, preparing themselves as best as possible for what might happen tomorrow morning.
In a day, The Cult of The Watcher would rid Wave of Gatō once and for all.
***
Kazuma considered himself a fairly straightforward person, he didn't care about complicated plans or big ideas. As long as there was someone who needed killing, he was happy doing it.
That's why he was pretty happy with how things turned out lately, he and his brother got hired by this rich fucker named Gatō for a simple job, protect the compound from anyone trying funny shit.
Although now he was starting to regret taking the mission, not because it was hard or anything like that. No, it was simply so fucking boring!
Especially since half the fucking idiots that were supposed to be protecting this place were sick now, he knew some of them wanted to go beat up the butcher for giving them spoiled meat or something along those lines, he was on board with that plan.
"Kazuma?" His brother asked quietly beside him, pulling him away from his thoughts. "Do you see that?"
He looked towards where he was pointing and blinked in surprise. There was a single man running down the street in their direction, he seemed panicked about something, waving one arm wildly while the other hung limply at his side.
"Isn't that... Mitsuo?" He mumbled curiously before focusing his gaze further ahead. What was that idiot doing? He didn't even have any weapons on him...
"Help! Help!" The man yelled frantically as he ran closer towards them. "They're attacking us!"
Oh? Kazuma felt his blood rush in anticipation, finally, something interesting was happening around here!
"What's going on!? Who is attacking!?" He shouted loudly over the noise coming from within Gatō's compound.
"All of them! We need- AAARGH!" A crossbow bolt suddenly buried itself in the man's back, sending him tumbling to the ground with a sickening crunch.
Kazuma immediately ducked down low behind one of the walls surrounding Gatō's compound while reaching for the weapon attached on his hip. He glanced over towards his brother, who was already armed with a spear and shield in each hand respectively.
He peeked out again only to quickly jerk backwards as another bolt slammed into where his head used to be.
He could hear footsteps rapidly approaching from outside now, along with more screams of alarm ringing out throughout the compound's grounds. There were at least two dozen people coming this way if not even more than that!
He risked looking outside once more, just in time to see a horde of people charging straight towards them.
What the actual fuck? Where did these guys come from!?
Some held bows while others wielded crossbows or spears, all were dressed differently too, none wore anything resembling proper armor either.
"Bar the gates!" He yelled as loudly as he could. "Don't get on the walls, they have ranged weapons!"
What shit timing for this fucking uprising. Kazuma had been looking forward to getting drunk off his ass tonight...
***
Kenji was having the time of his life.
He was feeling nervous earlier, but after catching a group of thugs unprepared and killing them all, well... it was like an addiction now! He wanted to do it again!
The lingering fear of Gatō's men nested deep within every Wave citizen made itself known, many of Kenji's brothers and sisters in faith hesitated on the march towards their target, but as soon as one fell dead without even managing to get close... well, something snapped.
They charged forwards eagerly now, some more enthusiastic than others. The moment some thugs were spotted, arrows and bolts started flying. Kenji was certain they hadn't missed a single shot yet. Truly amazing work from his fellow believers!
"Bring the Ram!" Kazuo shouted behind him. A massive log strapped to several wheels rolled up next to their position soon after that, the front of it carved into a crude crow head.
Now one final push, maybe around 100 thugs remained inside the compound. They would die before the day ends, The Watcher demanded it!
The ram was pulled back by a dozen people, each one the strongest they could find, and with a battle cry, they pushed it forwards as hard as they could.
The sound of the wood slamming into the gate echoed loudly throughout the air, shaking the entire structure violently.
"Again!" Kenji roared excitedly while pumping his fist high into the sky above him. "Bring it down! No mercy!"
Another loud boom followed shortly afterward, quickly followed by another, and another...
"Kenji! This is going to take a while!" Kazuo shouted at him again from somewhere nearby. "They are barricading the gate with everything they have!"
That wasn't good... it gave them time to prepare and ready themselves for what would happen next.
But if all else fails...
"Everyone! Pray with me!" He called out towards everyone around him. "Our patron is watching!"
"O' Watcher! You who observe beyond the stars!" Kenji began loudly, everyone repeating after him.
"We pray to thee!"
"So that our enemies may fall beneath your gaze!"
"And their sins be witnessed by none other than you!"
Kenji didn't need to turn around to know everyone present was praying alongside him, he could feel The Watcher's attention on them.
The ram continued its assault on the gate in rhythm with their prayer, each slam shaking the ground beneath their feet.
Then suddenly, it stopped moving altogether mid-swing. Kenji felt something wet drip on his shoulder before glancing at where it fell from.
Above, directly over the wall, was a massive, black, rift-like portal. Black liquid leaked out of it into the ground below.
Before anyone could react, dozens of streaks of light shot out from within the portal. They struck at the walls of the compound like arrows fired from heaven itself, penetrating deep into the wood before exploding outward violently in all directions.
Not a single piece of shrapnel touched any of The Watcher's followers, though, and when the dust settled... there was no longer a gate to speak of, or walls for that matter.
"FORWARD!" Kenji shouted triumphantly as he ran through the new entrance alongside everyone else around him.
***
Zabuza was watching everything from afar, hidden on the roof of the highest building nearby. He watched silently as this makeshift army broke into Gatō's compound with ease, using some kind of strange power to bring down its outer defenses.
"Master Zabuza..." Haku spoke up softly beside him. "Should we leave?"
Zabuza narrowed his eyes thoughtfully before shaking his head slightly. "No, I want to see how this plays out."
While he knew an attack was coming, he didn't expect a literal army would show, and that power they used to bring down the walls... It felt similar to what he experienced in that void.
He was thinking of helping if anything, at the very best, the thing he met and this small meteor shower was a trick played on him by another powerful Shinobi. At worst... well...
"Prepare yourself." Zabuza commanded firmly, not taking his gaze off the scene unfolding below them.
"If you see an opening, strike," He instructed sternly while slowly drawing his massive blade from behind him.
Haku nodded resolutely next to him, silently preparing several needles between his fingers.
"Please don't." A familiar voice called out from behind them.
Zabuza spun around instantly, Kubikiribōchō swinging in a wide arc towards where it came from. Only to stop abruptly as he saw what was standing there.
That damned crow again.
He couldn't help but tense up slightly at the sight of it, memories from almost a week ago flashing through his mind briefly. "You..."
The bird merely stared back unblinkingly at him. "My patron wishes for you not to interfere unless absolutely necessary."
"Why?" He asked curiously, lowering his weapon carefully until it rested against the roof beneath them once more.
"Gatō and his forces have been casting a shadow over them for a long time, my patron believes they will be happier if they dealt with it themselves." The crow answered, without breaking eye contact with him.
"And I assume they wouldn't like me taking Gatō's head either, then?" Zabuza guessed calmly, already knowing the answer.
"Yes." The bird agreed. "Gatō will die by the hands of those he hurt."
"Do not worry, though. Your attempt at improving my patron's opinion of you is noted and appreciated, regardless of our request." It finished, before shifting its attention back towards the compound in front of them.
Zabuza couldn't help but feel annoyed at those words, he was totally going to help to get into that thing's good side, but it was impolite to say it out loud like that.
Whatever, he would get into the thing's good graces without moving a muscle, that wasn't so bad.
***
Kazuo could safely say he was not having fun right now, this whole thing brought back unpleasant memories of the war, thankfully with less of his allies and friends dying around him, but it still felt uncomfortably familiar.
To a suspicious degree to be frank, while people have gotten wounded so far, none of them were life-threatening injuries. They had lost exactly zero people on their side so far, meanwhile, they had killed dozens upon dozens of Gatō's thugs.
It seemed a bit too convenient, almost like they were being protected by a higher power.
"Praise The Watcher..." He muttered softly under his breath as he bandaged another follower's leg.
"PRAISE THE WATCHER!" Kazuo jumped as everyone around him echoed his words loudly and excitedly, even wounded they all pumped their fists into the air at those words.
Kazuo couldn't help but shake his head in exasperation at their enthusiasm before continuing onward.
Right, where was Kenji? He was supposed to keep him updated on what was happening... Oh, there he is.
"KAZUO! Good news!" Kenji walked towards him while covered in blood, yet clearly unharmed. "We have Gatō cornered!"
Kazuo was worried about this boy, out of everyone in his group, he didn't expect him to take violence so... enthusiastically. But that wasn't what was important right now.
"What? Already?" He asked quickly as he stood up from beside his patient's body. "Where?"
"Inside the main building!" Kenji pointed towards the large structure situated directly ahead of them both. "He barricaded himself inside, we are getting ready to bring it down."
This was going faster than Kazuo expected, while he expected everything to go well thanks to The Watcher's blessing, he thought it would take a few days of fighting for Gatō's men to finally give up.
Not just a few hours...
Before he could continue that train of thought, Kenji interrupted him by grabbing hold of his wrist tightly before dragging him forward excitedly.
"Come on! I want you to be there when we get our revenge!" He shouted loudly over all the noise surrounding them as they made their way through the compound.
Kazuo merely sighed deeply while letting himself be dragged along like some kind of ragdoll by Kenji's surprisingly strong grip.
***
"We found some explosives in Gatō's armory, Your Holiness." One of Haruka's followers informed her politely as soon as she arrived at their location. "We believe it's enough to blow open the door."
Haruka nodded solemnly before turning around and addressing everyone present, all of them here to participate in this final battle against their oppressor.
"Make sure everyone is behind cover! Once we blow down these doors, we will end this nightmare once and for all!"
Several loud cheers answered her call as dozens upon dozens of people moved to obey her orders without hesitation or question.
Soon after that, several men placed several blocks of clay-like material around the hinges of the reinforced steel doors, all of them connected via a single thin wire leading into one of the nearby buildings.
"Everyone clear!?" The man holding the wire shouted inside the doorway.
"Clear!" Haruka replied loudly once everyone was accounted for. "Do it!"
The man nodded once and went back inside, taking cover behind several layers of walls.
A few seconds later, a spark travelled down the wire and caused all the explosives to go off simultaneously, creating a loud booming noise followed immediately by the sound of debris hitting every surface in sight.
"FORWARD!" Haruka commanded loudly as soon as she saw smoke billowing out from within the building.
She didn't need to say anything else because almost even before she spoke, dozens of people were already charging into the crumbling remains of what used to be Gatō's personal office. She heard the twang of bows and crossbows firing from inside shortly after that.
She followed closely behind alongside her personal guards, entering just in time to see three more bolts bury themselves into their target.
Gatō himself was currently cowering behind his desk, four of his men already dead around him. He was bleeding heavily from his forehead and covered in dust and dirt, probably due to the explosion.
Haruka wasted no time walking up towards him, taking note of how he flinched violently at each step she took closer.
She kneeled down in front of him so they could look each other straight in the eye, Gatō trembled noticeably under her cold gaze as if trying desperately to avoid looking directly into her eyes but failing miserably.
"Please... please don't kill me." He begged weakly, tears streaming down his face freely now. "I'll do anything you want me to! Just let me live!"
Haruka ignored his pleas entirely, turning to her followers instead. "Go get some firewood, oil and a big enough stake."
Gatō's face turned pale white at those words, realizing what she had planned for him.
"NO!" He cried out loudly as he tried scrambling backward, only to be stopped by one of Haruka's guards slamming a foot on his chest and keeping him pinned.
"PLEASE!" He continued begging, tears still running down his cheeks. "I'LL GIVE YOU MONEY! I HAVE PLENTY OF IT! NAME YOUR PRICE!"
"Daigo, Jirō, break his limbs." She ordered hatefully while standing back up.
She watched dispassionately as her guards obeyed her command without hesitation, finally, the wretched man got what was coming to him.
She turned around and made her way outside, leaving behind Gatō's pained screams.
"Sorry, Ayumu. I know you didn't want revenge..." She thought sadly as she looked up towards the sky above them all. "But... This is for me."
She might have imagined it, but she felt like someone acknowledged those words. Feeling just a bit better, she went to inform everyone about their victory.