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Sealkeeper: He Who Binds Chapter 101-B
🕑 Added 2019-10-08 18:52:54 +0000 UTCSpecialty
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“The fuck is this shit?”
Naruto didn't look up from the tea he was pouring for Hanabi. “It's not shit, you worked very hard on it.”
“I know what it is, why is it there?”
“Because you worked very hard on it.” Naruto glanced over his shoulder to meet her eyes. “And I'm proud of your work.”
Tayuya's cheeks quickly found themselves matching her hair. “Y-yeah. Okay.” She glanced between the picture on the fridge and Naruto once more. “T-thanks.”
Naruto gave her a smile. “No problem. Tea?”
“S-sure.”
She took a seat across from Hanabi as he poured another cup, doing her best to ignore the knowing grin the young Hyūga wore.
“Say, what was that other picture, the one where you have two wives?”
“Gaara sent that to me.” The filled cup was slid over to her. “And I don't have two wives in it, he has two mothers.”
Hanabi gave him a strange look. “Whats' the difference?”
“I'm not married.”
“Huh.” Hanabi blinked. “I suppose that's fair.”
“Don't worry Denka-sama, I'll marry you.” Offered Tayuya with a sultry smirk. “I can already imagine the honeymoon....”
Naruto rose an amused brow as he took hos own seat between the two of them. “You know, the wife of a Daimyo would be expected to be the pinnacle of grace and dignity. I believe that might place a serious damper on your rather...colorful...vocabulary.”
Tayuya shot a quick glare at a giggling Hanabi. “I call bullshit on that one, Anko certainly doesn't watch her mouth none and you two seem pretty serious.”
“What on earth makes you think Anko is the marrying type?” Naruto shook his head. “That woman would never allow herself to be tied down like that.”
“Won't be tied down?” Tayuya's head tilted to the side. “You mean she's not with you? I thought you and her had a thing going there...”
“We have a healthy sexual relationship, yes.” Naruto nodded without shame. It was, in fact, very hard to feel ashamed about having sex with her. She was Anko, after all, and there wasn't a Shinobi in Konoha above Chūnin who hadn't had fantasies about her. “But that is a far cry from marriage.”
“Yeah, but I thought you two were dating or...something.”
“We've gone out a few times.”
“Like, exclusively.”
He rose his brow again. “Exclusive? My sexual activities are well known, I would think. We are most definitely not exclusive.”
“Okay,” She nodded. “So maybe not you. But maybe she accepted that as part of having a relationship with you and doesn't mind you being with others. Is she exclusive?”
Naruto paused in thought for a moment. “I...don't know.” He admitted with a shrug. “I've never asked. It's not really any of my business anyway.”
Tayuya gave him a disbelieving stare while one of Hanabi's brows rose. “You have a very open relationship, don't you?”
“I think it's best described as friends with benefits, though 'lovers' might be more appropriate.”
“So if I was older would you sleep with me?” Tayuya's disbelieving stare traveled from Naruto to Hanabi.
“If that's what you wanted.”
Hanabi paused, thinking, before a splash of red colored her cheeks. “How much older?”
“The youngest person I've been with is sixteen, so then.”
Tayuya's stare became horrified. “Is that why you haven't slept with me yet?” She asked. “Are you really going to make me wait?”
Naruto shot her a questioning look. “You're not sixteen?”
“Uh, no, no, I am.” Tayuya assured him in a less than convincing manner. “Definitely.”
“...Right.”
Tayuya did her best to look innocent, it really didn't work for her. Attempting to remove the attention from herself she turned to Hanabi. “So what lead to that question?”
“I, uh, was curious after Kin told me about Jiraiya's newest book.”
“You read Jiraiya's Icha-Icha?” Naruto's brow rose too. “Maybe I should send Sakura your way, she seems to enjoy them.”
Tayuya narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the former Hyūga heir. “Why, exactly, did Jiraiya's latest book make you think of Naruto?”
“Naruto is, um,” Somehow her red managed to exceed anything her sister had ever worn.
“Naruto is the main character.”
The two redheads shared a look before simultaneously turning to Hanabi. “Come again?”
“Y-you're the main character.” Hanabi managed. “It's about you and Kin.”
Naruto blinked in surprise. How on earth had he not heard of this until now?
“Oh, come on!” Tayuya slammed her head into the table, nearly spilling her tea. Her eye cracked open to give Naruto an accusing glare. “Even Kin's managed to get with you! When's my turn?”
“When you can convince Mai to allow it.”
“That's never going to happen,” Tayuya groaned. “Why can't we just sneak off into your room?”
“Because Mai's currently sleeping in my bed.”
“We could go to my room,” Tayuya offered. “I can promise you she's not there.”
“She will be when she comes looking for me.”
Tayuya gave another defeated groan. “I'm going to go find a copy of Jiraiya's book and fantasize about fucking you senseless. I'll be in my room when you need me.”
With a slump Tayuya vacated the table and disappeared down the halls.
“Does she really need Mai's approval?” Hanabi asked. “I thought you two were pretty open with your relationship too.”
“We are.” Naruto nodded. “But I figure this way they might make nice. Well, Tayuya might stop antagonizing Mai, at least.”
Hanabi gave him a look between horror and admiration. “You're a cruel man, Naruto. Brilliant but cruel.”
“I figure it's worth a shot.” He drained the last of his tea and stood up to put away his cup. “But I fully expect her to just crawl into my bed naked within the month. She's not exactly the patient type.”
“Then what's the point of making her wait if you're just going to give it to her anyway?”
“Because shes' absolutely adorable when she's frustrated.”
For some reason Hanabi actually wasn't that surprised by his answer. She really had ended up with a strange group of people.
At least it was fun.
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“And so reports say this Tsukuyomi and most of his Wolves went out hunting for us,” Mei smirked as she brushed aside various papers covering the full-table map beneath. “He started from the west gate and for a second I thought he might actually have a chance of finding us.”
“And they don't?” Zabuza was in his favorite spot leaning right next to the door, Kubikiribōchō doing the same beside him.
“Not at all.” She declared confidently. “Reports say they've started going north so there's no chance they'll actually manage to find us. All they're doing is wasting their time and lessening the forces available to defend Kiri.”
“They might not find any of our agents to the north,” Ao countered. “But they can still stumble on one of our bases. Once they know what to look for we can be in some serious trouble and some of the bases in that area are being prepped for our rotation.”
“Yagura's scoured the entirety of Mizu no Kuni for years and had never found them, there's no chance a foreigner will.”
“For all we know it was a foreigner to make them, it's entirely possible that this Tsukuyomi might be be able to see something we didn't know to look for when we tried to hide them.” Pointed out Ao. “We also don't know how many people may have discovered them before us or how long they've been around. That's why we keep rotating between them, we can't trust our security to the hope that they might remain unknown to our enemies.”
“Even so, he can search those empty bases for as long as he likes. Yagura's resources will be back to what they were before but we still have aid from Konoha.”
“They only gave us a squad,” Zabuza grunted. “That's not going to be a huge advantage”
“But it's an edge. If we can remove some of the higher ranking Shinobi under Yagura's command we'll give ourselves a significant opportunity.”
“That's...fair.” Zabuza frowned behind his bandages. “But Kirigakure's hard enough to infiltrate by itself, those Wolves still there are going to complicate things.”
“It goes double for sending ANBU. They aren't as familiar with Kirigakure's operations but any Wolves in Kirigakure will likely be familiar with theirs.” Still, if they managed to pull it off Ao could definitely see the benefits.
“We'll have to use some of our spies to get them in, but it inevitable that such a move will blow their cover. We're going to loose more information than I would like for a while but we won't be completely blind and we'll have an advantage of organization over Yagura.”
“It could work,” Zabuza conceded. “But if they find some of the north bases the might be able to find the others. If nothing else we need to be keeping an eye on them so they don't pop into one of our occupied bases when we have our pants down.”
“They won't have a chance, we'll have this wrapped up before they can get that far.” Mei assured them. “They still haven't found any of the bases and by the time they do the ANBU should be within Kirigakure getting things ready for us to finish.”
“We don't know that they haven't found any, they could be going from base to base as we speak.” Ao shook his head. “It's too risky to ignore.”
“And it's too costly to try keeping an eye on them.” She countered. “We need all the manpower we can scrounge up to prepare for finishing this war.” Frowning she brought up another point. “Having people watching them also brings with it the risk of them learning that we're aware of their activities. If they're currently operating under the belief that we have no idea what they're trying then there's no telling how they might change their operation. We cant' risk loosing this opportunity to finally end this.”
“I understand.” Ao's head lowered in a brief bow. “If we won't be sending anyone then there are things that require my attention.” He and Zabuza shared a look as Mei's attention remained on the map. The swordsman gave him a nod, agreeing completely with his plan, and Ao returned it confident that Zabuza would do his best to cover for him.
Ao had a pack to hunt.
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Danzō took a seat before him, easing his weight into the dark wood and placing his cane carefully against Naruto's' desk. Naruto glanced up from his work and rose a brow for a moment before returning his attention back to his papers.
There was silence for a minute or two, broken only by shuffling papers and scratching pens, before the Yami no Shinobi chose to speak.
“I took the liberty of finding rooms for my agents to reside in for the time being as you were...otherwise occupied.” Danzō gave him an expectant look. “I hope that wasn't too presumptuous of me.”
“No, not at all.” Naruto waved him off without looking up. “I wasn't sure what they would be most comfortable in anyway.”
“Of course.” Silence fell again for a few moments. “I'll just cut to the chase, then. Was that Uchiha Mikoto in your bed?”
Naruto paused and gave Danzō a curious stare. “When were you peeking into by bedroom?”
“That's not really important.”
“I think that if I'm naked with people in my bed it might be a little important.”
“The three of you were asleep, if it helps.”
It did, actually, which Naruto thought was sort of strange. The thought of people seeing him naked didn't bother him anywhere near as much as the thought that someone watched as he and Mai were intimate. He knew Mai sometimes liked to let some of the female Wolves watch- which was also strange because he hadn't thought anything of them watching- so maybe some of her exhibitionist tendencies had rubbed off on him.
He wasn't sure how to feel about that, actually, but he had a feeling Anko and Tayuya would approve.
Naruto shook his head. “Just don't do it again.”
The two of them were again silent for a few precious moments.
“So?”
“So what?”
“So was that Uchiha Mikoto in your bed?”
“There is a distinct possibility, yes.”
Danzō stared at Naruto for a long minute.
“You had Uchiha Mikoto in your bed.”
“Yes, we've established that.”
“Naked.”
“She was wearing panties.”
“Mostly naked.”
“Yes.”
“Dare I ask why?”
“Honestly?” Naruto shrugged. “I haven't the faintest idea. I woke up and she was there.”
Based on his expression Danzō didn't exactly believe him.
“Really? You have no idea how a mostly naked Mikoto go t into your bed?”
“Well I can imagine how she got into bed, it's a rather pleasant image.”
“...Fair.” Nodded Danzō. “But you have no idea why she was in your bed?”
“Because she wanted to be, I have to assume. Again, I was asleep.”
Danzō gave him an inquisitive stare. “Are you being intentionally difficult with your answers or are you still distracted by the thoughts of Mikoto crawling into your bed?”
“Yes.”
Danzō's stare went flat. “I suppose I won't be getting any complicated explanations unless I'm a bit more specific in my questions. Is there a reason Uchiha Mikoto might have decided to join you or otherwise felt comfortable in such a situation?”
One of Naruto's brows rose in amusement. “You're really curious about this, aren't you?”
“The Uchiha clan were supposed to have been wiped out years ago and yet you somehow have their matriarch sleeping with you. Yes, I'm quite curious. Stop avoiding the question.”
“She likes to call herself my mother.”
At a complete loss of words, Danzō stared at the young Daimyo for a few minutes. With the passing of each, Naruto grew more and more amused.
“.....She's your mother....?” Danzō did his damnedest to wrap his head around the idea.
“She thinks so, yes.”
“....And she's sharing a bed with you naked.....?”
“I was naked, she wasn't.”
“I-” Danzō stopped, took a deep breath, and shook his head of the majority of questions running through it. “That line of questioning is likely to bring more questions than answers, I think. How do you know her?”
“She came to me during the massacre. I took her in for the night and gave her what supplies I could so she could make her escape.”
“....Normally I would tell someone claiming something so strange that they were being ridiculous but coming from you I have the worst feeling that it's not even the half of it.”
Naruto's smirk was not comforting in the slightest.
“You'd be right about that, she's been in Akatsuki as a spy ever since.” Naruto's smirk became a grin when Danzō's only eye widened significantly. “Well, she had been. She left recently after assassinating Uchiha Itachi and she's currently seeing to some other projects of mine.”
They both knew that meant Mizu no Kuni- either directly or in some plot related to it- but neither brought that up. Danzō wasn't concerned about that, however, he was concerned with something much more important.
“She killed Itachi?!”
“Oh, yes. She was very pleased about it too.” Naruto gave a thoughtful frown. “Hmm, that may be why she decided to crawl into bed with me, actually.”
Two weathered fingers reached up to massage Danzō's brow as he released a large sigh. “Well, I suppose that tells me where our spy went. We were beginning to worry when we didn't receive his usual report, it seems we were right to.”
“Oh, was he a spy too?” Naruto couldn't help but enjoy the irony of a Uchiha spy reporting back to someone in Konoha killing an Uchiha spy reporting to Konoha. “What are the chances they would both be Uchiha after such a catastrophe nearly wiped them from existence?”
“You killed our spy.” Was Danzō's accusations. Naruto was quick to deny.
“I did no such thing, Mikoto did.”
“And you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with it?”
Naruto's brow rose condescendingly. “You think she wouldn't want to kill the person who slaughtered her entire family?”
“He was her son.”
“No, I'm her son. He was a mistake she needed to set right.”
Danzō didn't respond for a bit, just staring at the Shinobi across from him. “You didn't have a hand in that thinking, did you?” He eventually asked.
“Not at all.” He assured him. “She decided that all on her own, I simply haven't tried changing it.”
Collapsing back against his chair a tired sigh left Danzō's lips. “There's no point worrying about it now, is there?” He asked no one in particular. “It cant' really be helped at this point, though I will have to let Hiruzen know.”
Naruto shrugged “That's fine, he won't be as surprised about Mikoto.”
Danzō made careful note of that. It looked like he was going to have some questions for Hiruzen too.
“Does Asuma know?” Asked the Daimyo.
“Not that I'm aware.”
“Good.” Naruto gave a satisfied nod. “I would prefer it stay that way. He can learn that Itachi's been taken care of but I'd rather not give him further reason to oppose me.”
“Understandable.” Agreed Danzō. “I won't tell him but I can't guarantee Hiruzen won't.”
“Fair enough.”
“By any chance did Mikoto bring any current information back with her? Judging by the timing, she seems to have caught him right before his usual reports so it's been a while since we've had any new intel.”
“Nothing major. Akatsuki's' started making moves but they're going slow.” Naruto shook his head in disappointment,. “Apparently they plan on going after the Jinchuriki one at a time starting with the Ichibi so I don't suspect they'll get anywhere anytime soon.”
“You seem awfully unconcerned about a group of S-ranked Shinobi going after your son.” Danzō frowned. Naruto was too protective of those around him, he was missing something here.
“Haven't I told you?” Naruto asked with a smirk that had the old Shimura on edge. Naruto was most certainly up to something. “The Akatsuki aren't going to be a threat to Gaara because he doesn't have the Ichibi.” Naruto's grin grew dark.
“I do.”
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He had to admit, the Wolves were starting to get a bit more creative. He supposed it was inevitable with the number of bunkers they were clearing out but he still hadn't expected them to try mixing it up a bit to keep from growing bored.
At least, not in the ways they were.
The screams of rebels reached his ears over the crackling flames that poured from the otherwise empty bunker, the smell of their charring flesh reaching his nose and no doubt making some of his Wolves very hungry. Apparently they had grown bored of slaying the rebels first and then setting the bunkers alight and decided to simply combine the two.
Of course they were also careful to make sure none of them were able to escape the fate they had devised for them. It really depended on the Wolves who had done it but everything from broken bones to removed limbs had been employed to ensure they wouldn't be able to move.
It probably helped that only one entrance to the bunker had been left in tact and the Wolves currently stood before it watching for anyone who managed to crawl through the flames despite their recent handicaps.
Tsukuyomi hadn't told any of the Wolves, but if one of the rebels did somehow manage it he wouldn't be letting his children kill them. Such dedication and will to live was worthy of reward and, if he could manage it, recruitment.
The pack could always use strong blood.
To be perfectly honest, Tsukuyomi was pretty proud of his Wolves. They had been going from bunker to bunker for nearly a week now and they had managed to resist the desire to maim and torture captured rebels until now.
They had eaten them, of course, but at least those deaths had been quick.
Well, the death itself had been quick. Tsukuyomi still recalled quite vividly staying to watch one of his Carnivores' feast and how they took great pleasure in killing and eating their captives one at a time so that the others could watch as their friends and comrades were devoured by the Wolves.
If nothing else Tsukuyomi appreciated the fantastic symbolism and display of power. Admittedly it would have been made better by survivors to flee in terror and spread word of the horrors that followed behind the House of Wolves but his children were happy enough with his indulgence and his plans weren't set in motion early by someone managing to escape.
He really couldn't complain about that.
Removing his head from thoughts of his Wolves and their newfound appetite he withdrew a small map from one of his pouches and marked off the bunker they had just filled with fire and those damned to perish by it.
That finished off the majority of the eastern bases and as they moved further south- and eventually south-west – they would start to encounter the active bases of the Rebels. He idly wondered if they had managed to keep their activities- or at least their successes thus far- hidden but dismissed the thought as fantasy.
Even the Rebels couldn't be so incompetent as to not realize they had lost communication with all of the bases they were preparing for future use.
He was very curious to know just what they were thinking.
Maybe when they hit one of the active bases he'd spare someone long enough to ask.
Gods was he enjoying the opportunity for fieldwork, but was it weird that he was missing quiet evenings in his office completing paperwork too?
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Zabuza gave Ao a nod as he quietly slipped into the room. It was returned but Ao's grim face- more so than usual, at least- indicated that any news he might bear was unlikely to be fortuitous for the rebellion.
He had expected that, really.
They both turned their attention to the other end of the room where Mei stood at the war table speaking to the Konoha ANBU she wanted to sneak into Kirigakure.
“We only have one chance at this, so as soon as you're in position eliminate your target and get out before they have a chance to discover you. If we can keep them from knowing of our involvement there's a good chance that they might put the blame on the Wolves and that will only help us more.”
Oh, that was her plan. Zabuza gave an appreciative nod to no one in particular. Before her idea seemed to have as much risk as benefit but there was a lot to be gained from pulling this off.
Zabuza just hoped it was enough to offset whatever news Ao had brought back with him.
Probably not.
“We understand, Mei-dono.” The leader of the ANBU was the only one who ever spoke, the others just stared at you silently. None of them liked to admit it, but it was damned creepy. Konoha really was a scary place when you thought about it, the strength and influence they wielded combined with the sort of Shinobi they produced- and at such numbers- was enough to give anyone nightmares. “I assure you we should have little trouble carrying out this task.”
Mei nodded to him. “I have faith in you and your team.”
Zabuza tried to hold back his snort, he really did, but it still escaped him.
Not because he doubted them, not at all. Simply because it was painfully obvious that the ANBU were superior to the majority of the rebel forces. It was a forgone conclusion that she would have faith in them over her own Shinobi.
She shot him a melting glare- something that actually could become very literal with her Bloodline Ability- but otherwise ignored him. The ANBU, likewise, remained the picture of professionalism.
Only one of them flipped Zabuza off behind his back, earning another amused snort from the wielder of Kubikiribōchō.
“Did you have something to add, Zabuza?”
Oh, he was going to be in trouble later. Not that he wasn't now. He was in trouble now, he would be in a hell of a lot more later when there weren't witnesses.
“No,” With a perfect distraction readily available Zabuza did the brave thing- he shoved Ao before him as a shield. “But Ao brings important news.”
That was an assumption, but Zabuza was rather confident that it was correct. Ao gave him a glare with his Byakugan – he knew because he could feel it- but otherwise remained, like the ANBU, completely professional.
“Please tell me it's good.” Mei requested, earning a grimace from her second in command.
“I'm afraid not, Mei-sama. I have come to learn that Tsukuyomi and his hounds have indeed found our bases. From what we've managed to gather hes' hit each and every bunker in Mizu no Kuni to the west, north, and east moving in a clockwise pattern. The speed at which he's done so indicates he probably knows exactly where the bunkers are.”
“Are you saying what I think you are?”
“I am.” Ao gave a solemn nod. “Tsukuyomi knows exactly where we are at the moment and has been intentionally avoiding our active bases.”
“And what purpose would that serve, what is he up to?”
“While I do not understand how they think and cannot say for sure, I suspect he's trying to eliminate possible retreats. That is to say, he's working to force a final confrontation.”
Zabuza gave a long whistle from his position near the door. “Hes' a crafty bastard, I'll give him that.”
The Konoha ANBU all turned to him in disbelief, staring at him as if they couldn't understand what they were seeing. They spun back to Mei and a resigned realization settled over their faces when she didn't have any notable reaction to Zabuza's comment.
“While Konohagakure no Sato sympathizes with your cause, we were not sent here to aid you for that reason alone. We were sent here as a direct counter to Tsukuyomi's arrangement with Yagura.” The ANBU's look was desperate. “Please tell me you have not been thinking little of him this whole time.”
Mei didn't have an answer for them and he gave a pained groan. “Tsukuyomi is not a joke or someone to take lightly, through his actions he has conquered a country and been granted a position on the Imperial Fire Court. He aided Konoha during the attempted Suna Invasion even though he shouldn't have known it was happening and has managed to operate within Konoha with only a select few outsiders knowing his identity.” The ANBU shook his head. “For fuck's sake, most of the Wolves under his command are probably as strong as we are. There's a reason they follow him.”
“His..actions...did not seem to reflect that at first,” Mei admitted. “But I see now that they served a rather important purpose in his plans.”
The room was quiet for a minute as the ANBU tried to wrap their heads around underestimating someone their Kage was actively opposing because they were dangerous and unpredictable and the Rebels- those other than Zabuza- realized that considering Tsukuyomi another one of Yagura's commanders- even if it was a high-ranking one- had been a mistake.
“So, is this going to change anything?” Asked Zabuza.
“No.” Mei shook her head. “We're still attacking Kirigakure and we still need to do it soon. If he's almost here then we don't have much time to get out. He can do as he likes to the bunkers as we take back Kirigakure, the lack of support from the Wolves will hopefully be enough of an edge to make this work, especially with our friends here disrupting Kiri's chain of command.”
“We really don't have many other options,” Ao agreed. “But I would like to remind you that we still have two more to chose from; we can simply run and relocate entirely-” Judging by the look on Mei's face the suggestion was not appreciated in the slightest. “or we can lay an ambush for their inevitable arrival here. We have our full forces in the area, there's definitely an opportunity to remove the Wolves from the equation entirely. It's a lot better than risking them joining the fight for Kiri from our flank, anyway.”
“It's tempting,” Mei frowned. “But if he does indeed know where all the bunkers are he might know things about them which we don't. If that's the case it would be unbelievably foolish for us to make a stand within them. Taking Kiri is still our best option.”
Ao and the ANBU nodded in agreement while Zabuza just shrugged. He wasn't in charge, he just went were he was told and killed who he was told to. Usually. It generally worked pretty well too.
“Well, I think with the news Ao brought us we're done here.” Mei announced. “You know what needs to be done, be ready by 2200 tonight so we can get you into the city.”
Almost as if to prove her wrong a series of screams reached the warroom, followed quickly by the sounds of running feet and Shinobi scrambling to arm themselves.
“Did he reach us already?!” The thought was absurd if Ao had only just brought them the information but a lot of things tended to go wrong for Mei so while she tried to stay positive and convince everyone that things were going to work out she knew very well that the universe just loved to disagree with her.
More screams tore through the air- those of shock and panic rather then pain- followed by a laugh that Zabuza recognized instantly. Opening the door with his left hand he stuck his head out into the hall. “Stand down, shut up, and get the fuck out of the way!” He yelled at the rebel Shinobi. “Gods above, you're like a bunch of children panicking over a dead dog. It's dead, either bury it, eat it, or sell it to someone else!”
He slammed the door shut again and shook his head at the floor. “There's a goddamn reason we haven't managed to end this war yet.” He mumbled.
Before anyone had a chance to ask him what was going on the door was thrown open and a rather unmistakable figure let himself into the room.
“So, I hear you're planning on killing a Daimyo.” Grinned Kisame. “That happens to be a specialty of mine.”
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