"I have to get out of there quickly!How did they manage to defeat augmented humans with this ancient technology? The blood on the floor is fresh, they were buchered recently.But still, why their flesh is rotten while their blood is fresh? Makes me suspicious...and confused."Hayato said to himself.
Then suddenly, a murmur sounded behind him, a murmur that made his blood freeze. It came from one of those mutilated bodies!He carefully tried to approach it and examine it.
He took a better look at it's horribly deformed body, while the corpse's gender couldn't be distinguished. It's left side of it's torso was missing, leaking the corpse's organs and mechanical components. Half of it's face was ripped, revealing it's metallic skull.He also noticed the Konohagakure headband on their skull.
The body turned its head and gazed at him.Cracking sounds were generated by it as it turned it's head.
"Ma... Ma." it mumbled.
It shocked Hayato, making him to take a step back.
"Look... I'm a ninja... Now."the body continued as it slowly raised it's skeletal hand and pointed at it's headband.
Hayato stared at it while panting heavily from fear. Even though the body posed no threat to him, his instincts screamed one thing. RUN!
He had seen a lot of crap in his life, but this thing probably takes one of the first places.
" Yes, I ain't staying any longer."he said to himself,trying to contain his fear and ran towards the door. He prepared to punch the door with all of his might, but this would generate a lot of sound and could alert the soldiers.
"Ma...Ma" the body spoke again. There were tears flowing from the corpse's white eye.
"One... Eye... Horns... Rain."it growled and finally stopped.
Hayato stared at the body even more terrified, with his eyes widened.
" What is even this supposed to mean?"he thought uneasily.
Hayato then tried to calm himself and thought of an escape plan.He sat down, took a big breath and thought for a minute while checking if the body will say anything or move.
A tiny metallic rod came out of his index finger and with that he lockpicked the door.It seems that he couldn't pass though the lock, using the Transformation jutsu.
As he lockpicked it, he glanced back at the corpse. Thankfully it neither moved nor spoke.
The door opened and he started running through the unending dark corridors of this dungeon.Nothing from the outside world could be heard in this place.The complete silence of that dungeon could make anyone go insane!He was thinking to himself while running whether the corpses were real or an illusion.
Hayato finally reached the door and heard the guard speaking to someone.
"The guard is still outside... Dammit!"He waited until the guard stopped talking and then clapped his metallic hands together, generating a clinging sound. He knew he was taking a big risk.
"What's this sound?" questioned the naive guard.
He opened the door just for him to get grabbed by Hayato and get jabbed to the neck. The guard passed out.
Hayato then got out of the dungeon and fled the fortress disguised as the guard, using the handy Trasformation jutsu. He answered to anyone who asked him why he left his post that his shift was over. None of them ordered him to go back at his duties. The guard was probably a high ranking officer.
___________
He was running through the woods in his original appearance, with the foolish thought that no one was watching him. In fact, not one but three people were carefully observing Hayato, standing quietly on a tree branch. These men, with their mysterious ability to hide their chakra presence analyzed every one of our hero's characteristic.
"Ohohoho! Hell fucking nah! Don't tell me!Is that him? " asked the one on the right.
"Exactly."answered the one in the middle.
" So boss, who exactly is he?"the one on the right asked again.
" Jeez Takeminashiki!How many times will I say it again!"sighed the middle one, kinda frustrated.
"But since you don't seem sober I will say it again. He is the ancestor of those who killed our fellow clansmen who paved the way for us to settle in this planet."he explained thoroughly to his comrade.
The man on the right was absolutely terrified after hearing this. He was staring at his comrade with his mouth hanging from shock.
"Ayooo you are kidding! T-then his bloodline should possess a high level threat to us.We should obliterate him right now! "he proposed after logically thinking . However, this man was definitely not sober.
" I second that."agreed the one on the left with a relaxed manner.
" No, we must not! You should know that his bloodline's prowess doesn't concern me at all. Apparently, Momoshiki has already taken care of this issue. But that doesn't mean we should underestimate him. He also bares a Karma so be extra careful." answered again the one in the middle in a calm tone.
"Do we know who's vessel is he?" asked curiously the one on the left.
"No. Stuff like that were not written in the Scroll of Earth.Though, I will conduct a research on that. That's why we will not attack him now. I want a bit more info on him." the middle one answered.
"Omoikane,this man should be more burden for us since we have to deal with another asshole who oppose us!" stated the drunken one, named Takeminashiki
"No, no he won't.At least for now."assured the mysterious man named Omoikane and smirked.
And then the three of them disappeared.Judging from their names, those men were anything but human.
_____________________________
"WHA-"Hayato abruptly turned his head.
"Was that a chakra signal?Not one,but three!"he remained skeptical about investigating those 3 signals that instantly vanished into oblivion.He thought that it wasn't a good idea,as these signals could mean more trouble that he couldn't handle in his current condition.And so,he kept strolling towards the city.
___________________
He finally reached the city's main gate once again. The soldiers guarding it instantly let him to enter, because he transformed once again to that high ranking officer.
He took a better look at the city's architecture. It truly resembled an average Warring States Era city.It was like he traveled back in time!The architecture wasn't anything special, yet it Hayato found it quite fascinating.
There was a big pedestrian street in front of him as soon as he entered the city. There were stores of all kind of goods, but very few of them were opened since it was very early in the morning, around 5 am.So he decided to hide somewhere and wait until morning. He also didn't had the mood to search for the general.
______
In the morning,hundreds of people flooded the main street. People living their every day lives. It was like the Otsutsuki invasion never happened. Hayato kept wondering what happened all those thousand years. But finding the general had priority. He had to ask for information about the current situation of the world, and if possible, about the Otsutsuki.
Luckily, general's signal finally appeared on his sensory's ability range.But there was also signal with him,a lot smaller and probably around the level of an Academy student .
Both of them were swiftly heading towards the center the city. Hayato waited until he could see them so he can tail and trap them.
He also noticed many soldiers on the pedestrian road around into fuss, asking the citizens questions.He heard one of the soldiers shouting:
"The devil has escaped!".
He was probably referring to Hayato. They noticed his escape!Well... not that Hayato cared much actually.
_____
Finally, the general and the other chakra signal appeared. It was a woman, on her early 20's wearing a crimson kimono with emeralds and other types of gemstones on it.She was armed with a beautifully decorated sword with 9 magatamas on it's scabbard.
Yet, her apparel was almost unseen on Hayato's eyes and her characteristic that intrigued him was her hair's color,red. Another strange thing on the woman was her sword's scabbard with the 9 magatamas.
They were not escorted by any troops, an error that made tailing them easier.
As they walked through the main street, the woman warned the general:
"Hattori, the intruder is following us. Please stay near me. Yet I don't think he will attack us now."
The general, named Hattori, did not respond and grabbed his sword's grip, preparing for a possible attack.His eyes looked up, then down, and right and left. He was ready for every possible attack.
The two of them reached a large wooden, palace-like building and there were two soldiers guarded the entrance. Both of them entered in a hurry.
Hayato obviously knew he couldn't enter normally the building so he transformed into a bird and landed on the building's yard,which was in the center of it. He used his sensory abilities to locate them, since the building had many different doors. Entering in the wrong one would be a menace.
The room that those two were was guarded by soldiers. Hayato though easily slipped through them, by transforming into a fly. He then went through the door's lock and entered the room.
"Go back! Go back! You are like a pig entering the slaughter house" whispered a voice in his head.
______
Hayato landed on the tatami and found both of them sitting on the it and discussing about his escape from the fortress.
It was just a plain, simple room,yet it bore no decorations,no personal touches.This fact made his heart race,something g felt off.
Then suddenly, the woman got up and gazed at the transformed Hayato with a murderous glance.
"What do you seek in the city of Satsuma, devil?"said the woman with a serious tone in her voice as she grabbed her sword and held it's guard tightly. She then instantly sprung up and entered and battle pose
.
" Uhm... Aki? Why are you talking to a fly?"asked Hattori utterly confused.He thought that she had gone crazy.
" This fly ain't a fly! It's a human, a transformed human! "he replied intensely.Hattori then, not being able to believe this nonsense, he raised his eyebrow and slightly chuckled.
Hayato wasn't surprised by this reaction.He knew that something was wrong with this woman since she knew-no-she sensed that Hayato was following them.
"No, I should probably not call you devil. You are something worse. You are a filthy shinobi!"said the woman as she pointed at him and slowly unsheating her sword.
" W-wait!"said Hayato after transforming back to his original form.
"I swear,I SWEAR-!"he lifted his arms. "I am not looking for trouble,by any means!"
As it was clear that Hayato didn't seem threatening, the woman relaxed and let her sword.
"All right,tin-man!State yer…I mean….your business!"
"Look,I am unarmed and If I wanted I would've already harmed you.And most importantly... Do you know who I am?" asked Hayato confused and scared. He felt that every attempt to descale the situation was futile.
"Unarmed?Are you sure,mr. Shinobi?How do I know that you won't start throwing those hand signs at me and blow a fireball at my face?"she sarcastically responded,yet Hayato's blood froze at that moment.There was no way a human during this era should know how a shinobi fought.This woman had dark secrets to unveil.Hayato at that point started questioning her humanity.
" Oi sister! What do you mean by that?You surely do sound like you know this…bizarre fella."asked the general surprised. The whole situation was truly bizarre to him.
"So,mr.Shinobi,tell me.Or maybe should I call ya…Hayato Uchiha."
It was at this moment that Hayato's heart started pounding like a war drum.He simply stared at her with eyes widened in terror,yet he uttered no word.His breath was now audible,testifying his fear.
Not only did this woman knew his name and his profession,she also knew about his last name.
"Why are you staring me like that,mr.Uchiha?Are you going to throw a jutsu at me?Like this?"-
The woman launched herself towards him and thrusted her arm near his chest,with her hand being a few centimeters away from piercing his flesh.
"BAM!CHIDORI"she screamed and chuckled in sarcasm.
"Oh wait I forgot!"she brought herself near Hayato's earpiece and whispered…
"You won't get any money for spilling my blood so I guess I'm safe from you ,right mr. Uchiha?"
"Get the FUCK away from me!"Hayato shoved her away with all of his might,slamming her against the wooden wall.He panted in fury,instead of fear.
The woman,unfazed by this response,smirked and stretched her back.Clearly,any normal human getting shoved with this force against a wall wouldn't be able to stand at their feet right away.
"M'Kay then,tell me.What are yer…I mean…your motives?"
"Information!"Hayato stated firmly and boldly.
"You give it to me,I leave,I never bother you again!"
" Only information?RUBBISH! Hattori and his whole garrison said that y'attacked them and y' also killed two of them!"she shouted as her gaze intensified.As if the situation wasn't bad enough already,her sudden swift in attitude tightened Hayato's position.
" Bastard! He probably convinced her that I was the bad guy.This general even lied to her.This general might seem dumb but it appears he is cunning!" Hayato thought,as he glanced in anger towards the general who had taken an idiotic look on his face.
"You don't understand!It was this man and his men that wrapped me in chains threw me into a dungeon!"
" Your words are meaningless now shinobi. Im going to crush you and make you throw up all the information I want.You have fallen right into my trap!Not very shinobi-like of yours! "she shouted, as a smirk of success formed.
Her chakra signal then gradually became stronger. It instantly surpassed the chakra level of a genin…then a chunin…now a jonin and even reached the level of a Kage, just in a matter of seconds. Hayato hoped that the signal's strength would stay there and wouldn't rise anymore
But no,his unluck truly hit red.The signal became as strong as a full-blooded Otsutsuki! The change between the Kage and the Otsutsuki level signal was so swift that Hayato's head starting aching terribly.
" And what intrigues me the most Uchiha Hayato... "
Aki's body started emitting a strong light.
"... is your Karma seal on your right shoulder! "
The light then became even stronger enough to almost blind both Hattori and Hayato. Then a shockwave came out of her body, launching Hattori and Hayato and slamming them against the wall.
Aki's body finally stopped emitting light. Hayato opened his eyes and saw her new appearance which completely shocked and terrified him.
"O-Otsutsuki?" he stuttered, so much that his jaw almost dislocated.He bumped into an Otsutsuki literally the worst possible time and battling one of them at his current condition meant certain defeat. Yet, his spirit wasn't shaken.This possibility was always present at the back of his head.
"Let me introduce myself properly now. My name is Akira, Aki for short,and I'm the head of Satsuma city.I will not allow you to harm neither this sacred city nor her loyal people.My last name? It's pretty much obvious from my appearance.And you?... "
She then paused and unseathed her sword, pointing it at Hayato.
"... Well,you won't be you in a few minutes!" she sarcastically warned him in a failed attempt to sound cool, yet she had a determined expression on her.
TO BE CONTINUED