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Blood waters (Chapter 22)
🕑 Added 2023-09-13 11:28:37 +0000 UTCChapter 22
It has been a while since he felt this way. Ever since he was born into this world, it seemed that his fate was predestined to struggle in this world until he perished. As an orphan, he struggled to find food to fill himself. He struggled to survive brutal training as a student, and as a shinobi, he survived various missions. Yet, at this moment, he was being promoted to a chunin.
To Utakata, the shinobi rank in the Mist meant little to nothing. It wouldn’t change whether he was a genin or a chunin. Maybe because the war warped his perception of their ranks, he never even thought of shinobi ranks. There were the Mist leaders, commanders he followed in battles, and people like him who listened to what they told him to do. Shinobi ranks never played any part in that.
But Utakata could understand why the village started to promote shinobi, who participated in the war. They were losing. So, they needed to bolster the village and maintain their numbers. It was an artificial number. It would only show that the village still has higher-level shinobi despite experiencing many losses. It would help in the future when a peace treaty will be signed.
“Yo, Utakata.”
“Gozu, Meizu,” Utakata turned to the twins who called him out. “I thought you both would be dead by now.”
“What?” Meizu asked. “We are the fearsome demon brothers. There is no way we would die so quickly.”
“With our combined tactics, there isn’t a shinobi who could stand against us,” Gozu added.
“I can think of a few,” Utakata replied.
“Yeah, it is nice to see you well, too,” Meizu said, patting Utakata’s shoulder. “When I heard that the Land of the Lightning battle was lost, we were worried for you.”
“You should worry about yourselves.”
“Don’t say it like that,” Gozu said.
“Yes, haven’t you heard? We are now famous,” Meizu added.
“We are B-rank danger shinobi, Demon brothers,” Both provided Utakata their page in Bingo book.
“Alone, they are nothing to be worried about. Their individual power would barely amount to C-rank danger,” Utakata read the first line of the page.
“Well, let’s not worry about details,” Gozu quickly hid away the books. “What matters is that we are now feared in elemental nations. Our name will spread far and wide.”
“Good for you,” Utakata said. “But I would worry about bounty hunters if I was you. Two million ryos isn’t a small amount.”
“Ha, you one you to talk, mister twenty million bounty,” Gozu replied.
“Yeah, mister Utakata of Blood Waters, A-rank danger,” Meizu added.
“What are you talking about,” Utakata was now interested.
“Don’t pretend you haven’t seen it,” Gozu said.
“Yeah, don’t try to act cool before us,” Meizu added.
“Just tell me.”
“Like hell, we fall into your trap,” Gozu told me, and just as Meizu was about to add something, Utakata hit them both in the head, knocking them to the ground.
“Fine, we tell you,” Meizu said as he saw Utakata raise his leg to stomp on them. “You were put on the latest edition of Bingo book. The Cloud will pay twenty million for your head and considers you an A-rank danger.”
Utakata took the book from Meizu’s hands and found a page he was on. Inside, he found quite an accurate drawing of his face and a detailed description. A warning was put on the page to be extremely careful of him. He wasn’t only a jinchuriki and a prodigy shinobi and should not be underestimated because of his youthful appearance.
Twenty million was a high number for Utakata’s Head, considering that on Yagura’s page, he is written to be worth thirty million. Utakata could never think himself to be any near as strong as Yagura. Utakata only hoped that no shinobi would be willing to risk their life to collect his bounty, as he would have to be already careful of Akatsuki in the future. He also didn’t want to worry about bounty hunters coming for his head.
“I guess we are famous now,” Utakata commented before returning the book to Meizu.
“Let’s celebrate!” Gozu shouted. “Who knows when we have another chance? And it has been too long since we met.”
“Fine,” Utakata agreed. “I was getting hungry anyway. We can get some ramen.”
“Ramen?” The twins looked at each other before smirking. “We have something way better than some ramen.”
The brother quickly gripped Utakata’s shoulders before dragging him away. From their smirking, Utakata could tell nothing good would come from coming with them, but he didn’t have the heart to refuse. Utakata has missed the brothers, too. Even though they worked together for only one deployment, they fought back to back for their lives.
…
Utakata was a weapon for the village to use. He was an instrument of murder and destruction. Utakata was having his first hangover. He never considered buying alcohol, even when he had money. He always thought it to be a waste of money. Yet here he was, lying on the ground in the twins' small apartment. It felt like his head was splitting apart.
Utakata has already forgotten how the twins have convinced him to drink sake with them. One moment, he listened to the twins' ordeals in the Land of Fire. The other moment, they gave him a drink. Now, he is lying on the ground while the twins are sleeping soundly. He can’t remember anything that happened between the first drink and now.
Getting up, Utakata found the bathroom. At least it had a shower, so he quickly washed himself under cold water. It helped him somehow, but his head still hurt like it was hit with an axe. At least his stomach was used to queasy feeling after sailing so many times. Seeing that it was still night outside, Utakata rested on the floor.
Utakata didn’t want to return and let Harusame see him like this, so he just rested, waiting for his headache to be gone. At least he learned a lesson: never to drink ever again. No training can prepare one for the hangover. The twins rose from their slumber with the sun. Utakata didn’t want to cover the window curtain and let the sunlight irritate the twins as they groaned in pain.
“You’re awake,” Utakata said as the twins rolled off their bed.
“Not so loud,” Gozu groaned while Meizu ran to the bathroom.
“Clean yourself,” Utakata said. “And let’s get some breakfast. I am starving.”
Gozu nodded as he pushed himself into the bathroom just as Meizu left. It was the first time since Utakata felt so relaxed and unworried. There was nothing on his mind apart from the place he wanted to go to eat. Once the twins cleaned up, they left to get something oily to eat. Utakata smiled at the agony the twins experienced as they walked through the village streets.
…
“Do you think the war will end soon?” Gozu asked as they sat on a bench after having a heavy breakfast.
“Probably,” Utakata replied. “At most, it will be a year until the villages start proposing peace treaties.”
“It would be nice,” Meizu said. “I am quite tired of seeing my comrades dying.”
Utakata didn’t see many people as his comrades, so he didn’t understand the twins' feelings. But he still could sympathize with them and would be more than furious if they died. From what Utakata knew, the war should be on its last legs. The Mist lost any advantage it had against the other villages, but they still held the borders secured.
Utakata sighed when he felt a shinobi approaching them quickly. It seems his rest is over, and it is time to return to his life as a weapon. The shinobi soon found them and informed Utakata that he was to return to master Harusame. Saying goodbye, Utakata left the twins. There was no way Utakata could be late if Harusame was looking for him.
…
Harusame was waiting for Utakata with a severe expression. It didn’t seem Harusame was angry at Utakata, but something happened for him to have such an expression. Taking a seat before him, Utakata waited for Harusame to address him. The silence made Utakata a bit tense. He even smelled himself to see if there was any lingering smell of alcohol before Harusame broke the silence.
“The Third Mizukage is dead,” Well, it explained the severe expression of Harusame. “He was killed in battle with the Leaf shinobi.”
“What does that mean for the village?”
“It means disgrace for the village’s strength. Not only did we lose half of the Seven Swordsmen, but now even our Kage. The spirit of our shinobi is crushed, so the next Mizukage has a lot of work to do if we want to save even a bit of face in the eyes of the other villages.”
“The next Mizukage will be Yagura,” Utakata said, and Harusame nodded.
“He is the strongest shinobi we have and has the most following behind him. But even with all of that, it won't be possible to change the tide of the war. The Leaf has destroyed the Kannabi bridge, stopping the advance of the Stone. The Cloud refuses to invade the Land of the Fire and is satisfied defending their borders. The shinobi of the Mist have already accepted their defeat. The Leaf will have its whole force to defend against us.”
“But not the leaders?” Utakata asked.
“No, the leaders can’t accept it so easily. Plans are already underway to counter the Leaf. But it doesn’t involve you, so you don’t need to worry about it.”
“Then what should I worry about?”
“Once Yagura is chosen to be the next Mizukage, his next move will be to fill the empty positions of the Seven Swordsmen. I have called some favors for you to be nominated for one of the positions.”
Utakata didn’t need to say anything. He knew he had no place to refuse the offer. It was an honor to be one of the Seven Swordsmen. It didn’t matter if he didn’t want it. Being one of the Seven Swordsmen and a jinchuriki will put the whole world’s eyes on him. He already had a ridiculous bounty on his head, and now, with this, he couldn’t even imagine what the rest of the villages would think of him.
“What do I need to do?”
“Your training will be twice as intense as before,” Harusame said. “We don’t know how much time we have, but many will watch your actions. You will be given a profile mission and have to succeed.”
It was given. The village needed to show off its power. With eyes on Utakata, he will have to show the rest of the villages that messing with the Mist would be a mistake. And, of course, rather than targeting the next Mizukage, it would be a lot easier to target a prodigy that has emerged from the Mist. Many will want to rip off the bud before he has grown.
“When do I start?”
“Now,” Harusame answered. “I have prepared jutsu that will help you in the future. You will learn them first before we work on mastering all the ninjutsu you have under your belt.”
Utakata nodded in agreement. He had fun for one day. That was enough. To be one of the Seven Swordsmen, he needed to grow stronger and do it fast. Being one of the Seven Swordsmen would give him a prestige many would envy and try to take it for themselves. Utakata needed to prepare to defend against the other villages and the shinobi in the Mist.
