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Blood waters (Chapter 14)
🕑 Added 2023-07-18 15:19:53 +0000 UTCChapter 14
It was dark. Only a few candles lit the room where Utakata was. He was lying on a cold stone slab looking at the ceiling. The room was surrounded by various seals that Utakata didn’t know. Next to him was an old woman lying on a similar cold stone slab. His hands and feet were bound by a strong rope connected to the corners of the stone slab.
“You are younger than I thought,” The old woman said.
Utakata was silent but did turn to the lady. She was old, sixty, maybe seventy, or even older. It was hard to tell as her skin was still relatively smooth, but Utakata could see her worn-out face and grey hair, indicating that she was older than she looked. Utakata could tell that the lady didn’t care about his age. She was making small talk to pass the time.
“You are going to die,” Utakata replied after some time. “Are you not scared?”
“I am an old lady, as you might notice,” The lady laughed at Utakata’s question. “Everyone dies. You will die soon enough too. But at least I will be free.”
“Free?” Utakata asked, not understanding what she meant.
“Yes, I will be free from being the hated weapon of the Mist,” The lady said. “But you, your fight will not begin. You will be the new weapon for the village to use and then disregard once they are done with you.”
“But at least I will live,” Utakata said.
“No, you won’t,” The lady replied. “You will survive, day after day. You never will be able to live once the seal is done. All you will do is made it through one day to another. Wishing for it to end, but it will never end. To put it simply, you are fucked, kid.”
“You not very nice,” Utakata stated.
“I was a weapon for the village for over forty years,” The lady replied. “I was young and talented. I even gained respect from the First Mizukage. Yet soon, I was forgotten, and the village only cared for what I carried inside me. Nobody remembers my name anymore, for I am a weapon that will be disregarded now. So, if I am a bit grumpy, my apologies. But the same will happen to you too.”
“I will live,” Utakata said. “Someday, somehow.”
Even Utakata had difficulty believing his words but still clung to them. He understood very well what would happen to him. But it didn’t change much; at least he would become an important person who wouldn’t be thrown away so easily. And the village wouldn’t be able to kill him as they wished. So, Utakata only saw advantages in this situation.
“Everything is prepared,” Harusame came into the room soon enough to break the silence. “Take your positions, and we shall begin.”
Utakata noticed a group of men surrounding them. There were twelve of them. All of them had severe expressions and gave off powerful chakra. Utakata closed his eyes as he prepared himself for what was to come. Utakata felt four hands fall on his stomach. They were cold, but Utakata didn’t want to keep attention on them. Soon enough, he heard Harusame chanting.
Nobody had told him what to expect, and probably no know knew what to expect, but the pain that followed soon was too much for Utakata. Next to him, the old lady screamed in pain as Utakata heard something being ripped away from her. Soon enough, his scream drowned out hers. He could feel the foreign chakra entering him.
At one moment, he opened his eyes and wished he hadn’t. He saw his skin peeling off as the foreign chakra entered him. The pain kept him up whenever he felt like he would pass out. The ropes tying his limbs tensed as Utakata tried to free himself. He wanted to end it. It was too much for him. He thought it would be better to rip his limbs if he couldn’t break the ropes.
“Six Spheres Sealing Technique: Infinite Secret Art”
Suddenly he felt a hand holding him as Harusame words washed over Utakata. The foreign chakra disappeared, but the pain lingered. Utakata felt his skin regrew as his body heated up to an unbearable degree. He felt like he was on fire. Every part of his body felt uncomfortable. But he endured it, even if he thought it was going on forever.
“The sealing of the Six Tails was successful, master Harusame,” Utakata heard a voice beside him report.
“What is the status of the new Jinchuriki?” Harusame asked.
“Tired but stable.”
Utakata wouldn’t describe himself like that. Tired? He was in constant pain. Stable? He would have killed himself if he weren’t tied down to free himself from this pain. Yet, he felt relieved as he felt his body cool down. He looked at the silent old lady beside him when he found strength. She was dead, with her skin turning snow-white and cracked. It was the last thing he saw before he embraced the darkness.
…
When Utakata woke up, he was still lying on the stone slab in the dark room. The old lady was gone, but he felt Harusame standing next to him. The ropes still tied him to the stone slab, and he couldn’t move. He felt Harusame touch his stomach before hearing him writing something. Soon enough, Utakata felt Harusame looked at his eyes.
“You are awake,” Harusame stated. “How do you feel?”
“Fine, I guess,” Utakata didn’t feel anything wrong with himself.
“The seal seems to be working fine. There don’t seem to be any anomalies,” Harusame replied. “Congratulations, Utakata, you are now the new jinchuriki of the Six Tails.”
Utakata could hear a somewhat disappointed tone from Harusame but didn’t ask about it. He looked at his naked torso and saw on his stomach a seal surrounded by six spheres. It soon disappeared, but he could still feel it. Otherwise, Utakata didn’t feel any different, apart from being a bit tired. But after the painful sealing, he wasn’t surprised about it.
“What now?” Utakata asked.
“Now you rest,” Harusame replied. “It was the first time we sealed Six Tails from another person. You are the second Jinchuriki of Six Tails, so it is hard to tell what side effects you might experience, if any. I will observe you for at least a couple of days.”
“I didn’t know you were seal master,” Utakata said.
“I picked a few things from there and here,” Harusame replied. “I don’t have any powerful bloodline, nor am I very skilled in ninjutsu or taijutsu, so I had picked many helpful things to survive. At some point, I become the best seal user in the village. It doesn’t say much, as few learn it further than the basics.”
What Utakata heard was that Harusame was his jailor. Harusame will watch Utakata so he doesn’t do anything that would go against the village. From the very beginning, Harusame observed him for this reason. But why did Harusame look at Utakata with pity in his eyes? He couldn’t understand if Harusame cared about him or if he just pretended to.
“Why was I chosen?” Utakata asked. “Was it because of my accomplishments?”
“Partly,” Harusame answered. “After several successful missions and your leaders compliment the village, recognize your talent, and give you more attention. But it was primarily because of your affinity with water. You were the most compatible with the Six Tails.”
Utakata didn’t know how to feel about it but accepted the explanation. He couldn’t dwell on why for long, as he had to be prepared to take his new identity. Even if Harusame said he would be observed for a few days, Utakata knew the village would use him soon after. The war was still raging, and he was a weapon the village would have to use.
…
Harusame looked over at Utakata with a concerned look as the boy was circulating his chakra. The boy was struggling as the seal restricted not only the Six Tails chakra but his own. It shouldn’t be an issue once he gets used to it. But still, Harusame was concerned for the boy. The burden the village put on the boy’s shoulders was too much.
Utakata reminded him of his younger days. He, too, had to survive alone in this cruel world. He had nothing, no home, no family, no name. But unlike Utakata, First Mizukage was still alive in his time, and the Second Mizukage took after him. They were great, progressive-thinking leaders who cared about their residents.
Harusame couldn’t say the same for the Third Mizukage. The Third only cared about his power and how to get more of it. He was strong but shortsighted. He brought the village to this bloody era after the Second Mizukage died in the second shinobi world war. Harusame believed he used his ideology to get power to the village founder clans and lower everyone else’s influence.
Times have changed. Where the First and the Second Mizukage respected everyone’s strength and wanted everyone in the village to prosper, the Third only cared about a select few. He didn’t care about everyone else who had to suffer because of it. And one who had to suffer most was before him. In his long life, Harusame has seen many kinds of shinobi, but Utakata still surprised him.
No kid should think about himself like a weapon to be used by others. The kid thought too much of himself but couldn’t call Utakata arrogant. The kid just took what was given to him and concluded what he had to do. Harusame knew it was the work of Yagura. Yagura has been increasingly more ambitious since that mission in the Land of the Frost.
There was no secret of what Yagura wanted. And he has already gathered a fanatic following of non-clan shinobi. Harusame could tell that Yagura had implanted his ideology into Utakata, and the Third Mizukage has kept an eye on the kid ever since. Harusame didn’t like this. He knew that the Third Mizukage and Yagura would now try to use Utakata to further their power.
“My control is weaker, but I feel I have more strength than before,” Utakata’s voice interrupted Harusame thoughts.
“Then we focus on your chakra control,” Harusame replied.
“It feels like it will be hard to start from water walking,” Utakata said. “I guess I will begin with tree climbing.”
“No, these methods are perfect exercises, but I know what method will help you more,” Harusame replied.
“What is it?”
Harusame went to his cabinet instead of answering. He rummaged through trinkets and other things before taking out a wooden box. Harusame looked at the box longingly. It was a gift from the Second Mizukage. Harusame treasured it but couldn’t utilize it as the Second Mizukage wished. But Harusame believed Utakata could.
“This is a bubble pipe, one of a kind,” Harusame said, taking a pipe from the box. “Using this pipe, one can perform Soap Bubble Ninjutsu. The Second Mizukage created it, but he didn’t live long to utilize it.”
“Soap Bubble Ninjutsu?” Utakata asked.
“I know what you are thinking,” Harusame smiled. “It sounds like ninjutsu that would be taught to children. But make no mistake; the Second Mizukage created this technique, which is unique. It is complicated and versatile ninjutsu. Mastering it will present you with a challenge and force to master your chakra control to the point you have never imagined.”
It was the least I could do for the kid. He, at least, will have something of his own that others can exploit. Like Utakata, people will not expect Soap Bubble Jutsu to be powerful enough for them to care. But I have seen the Second Mizukage demonstrate its power. The things this ninjutsu did were beyond impressive. I dedicated years to practicing it but had no talent for it. Utakata, on the other hand, should be able to master it.
