III

---

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

---

Arc III Chapter 2

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

Asami raced across the forest, navigating her way through the trees. Nothing had changed. In the end, she had to do everything by herself if she wanted things to be done properly. Captain Konosuke sent Masaaki and Yusuke, but their sacrifice proved to be of little value. The enemy dispatched them easily.

 

She offered Konosuke to intercept the Kiri-nin, but he declined. He didn't want to risk her life. He refused to send her because she was the youngest ANBU in the group. Because she was apparently Konoha's future, a part of the next generation. Although his reasons were understandable, what Konosuke didn't grasp was the true extent of her powers. 

 

 

If ordered, she would have slaughtered the Kri-nin with ease. Unfortunately, however, nothing was ever easy with Konosuke. His lack of flexibility annoyed her. He was one of those Nara according to the plan types. Hadn’t implemented one of his overcomplicated plans, then they wouldn’t be in this precarious situation to begin with.

 

Their mission was a simple assassination. Their target, an influential noble with a respectable number of guards. A detachment of Kiri-nin protected him. Konosuke chose to dispatch an infiltration party. His plan's plan fell apart like a house of cards. Everything went south. The infiltration party got detected. Two platoons of Kiri ANBU ambushed them after they had walked right into their trap. Outnumbered, Konosuke was forced to order an immediate retreat. They escaped, but the infiltration party got hit hard. They were nearly wiped out. Three dead. Two heavily wounded.

 

Asami gripped her sword before arriving at an open clearing, leaving the forest behind. A lonely oak watched over the plain since ancient times. The snowfall intensified, and the winds grew stronger. The snowstorm turned into a blizzard.

 

Her eyes scanned the area, waiting for the Kiri-nin to arrive. They didn't disappoint her. Fifteen Kiri ANBU entered the stage, fifteen unlucky men who had the misfortune to cross paths with her.

 

Asami grinned, her blade readied. Concealed behind her mask, her eyes shimmered vivid purpe in delight.

 

A man stepped forwards, flanked by two ANBU. He was the leader of their little group. His voice mocked her openly, “Konoha seems to be really desperate these days. They now send little girls to stop ...”

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

A pulsating purple blade impaled Yakumo. Her sword skewered Yakumo's heart. His life ended in the blink of an eye. 

 

The giggled with a glint of joy after retracting her sword from his torso. “My friend, not only do you vastly overestimate your capabilities, but you also underestimate mine.” 

 

Her sword sliced Yakumo in half, claiming Nobuyori and Tatsukichi next. The gripped her sword, spinning sidewards in a torrent of steel. Their flesh offered little resistance. Yakumo, Nobuyori, Tatsucki, they all died. Their lifeless bodies fell, hitting the cold snow covered ground.

 

“One, two, three.” The girl smirked behind her mask. “Who comes next?”

 

They didn’t hesitate. They were Kiri ANBU. They knew what had to be done. They would kill the little bitch even if it cost them their lives. They attacked. Their war cries filled the icy plains. They charged, driven by rage.

 

The girl flashed a smile, amused by their foolishness. She simply disappeared from their sight. The snowstorm covered her movements. Like a ghost, like a grim reaper, she swept across the battlefield, claiming one victim after another, picking them off one by one. The girl hunted her prey without relent, without mercy.

 

“Four.” A horizontal slash.

 

“Five.” Decapitated.

“Six.” Pierced through his chest.

 

Their squad disintegrated. Their retreat turned into a complete rout, but there was no escape, no mercy.

 

“Seven.” The girl struck from behind.

 

“Eight.” He tried to flee. He didn't get far.

 

“Nine.” He confronted her boldly. He didn't last long.

 

“Ten.” A pair of kunai nailed his corpse to the oak.

 

“Eleven.  Twelve.” They counterattacked. A purple shield deflected their feeble attacks. They didn't even scratch her. A sea of flames burned them alive.

 

“Thirteen. Fourteen.” They reached the tree line. They thought they were safe. They thought they had escaped their fate. They were wrong. Hope was nothing but a mere illusion. A massive explosion ripped them apart, reducing them to nothingness. A nightmarish fireball incinerated everything in their vicinity.

 

“...” Hisashi's eyes widened in horror, his throat gulping. This wasn't possible. They were decimated. They never stood a chance against the personification of death herself.

 

Hidden behind her porcelain mask, the white demon approached him. Her white fur coat had turned red, stained by the blood of his fallen comrades. Gone was any pretence of childish innocence.

 

“...” Hisashi trembled. He was now alone, utterly alone. He was the last survivor of this carnage.

 

“Fifteen” The demon's eyes glowed dark luminous red with a strong shade of purple. Hisashi held his breath. Her eyes weren’t normal, they weren’t human. What was she?

 

“What's your name?” The girl tilted her head. 

 

“...” Hisashi clenched his fists in rage. He didn’t need her damned fake politeness. The girl was a demon in white, a demon in human skin. “You fucking bitch, I don’t need to answer you.”

 

He mustered all of his courage. His hands gripped a kunai. He clashed against her shield, his kunai deflected. Her barrier didn’t budge in the slightest. Her chakra protected its mistress.

 

Retribution followed swiftly. The white demon punched him straight in his abdomen. He collapsed. Her punch was powerful considering her frail stature. The girl hit hard and Hisashi had a hard time breathing. 

 

The girl shook her head in disappointment. “Ninja these days, always so stubborn. They never know when to give up. You try to be nice, and how do they repay your friendliness? They spit in your face. Anyway, I have a little task for you, Fifteen.” 

 

Hisashi gritted his teeth. “Who do you think you are...”

 

“Aarghhhhhhhhhhh!” Hisashi cried out in pain. Her sword impaled his right hand, pinning him to the ground.

 

The girl made her displeasure known, “You misunderstand your position, Fifteen. I am not known for my patience. Your lack of cooperation is starting to irritate me. ”

 

“Aarghhhhhhhh!” Immense pain shot through his body. The girl twisted her sword around.

 

“Do you understand, Fifteen?” The girl narrowed her eyes.

 

“Aarghhhhhhhhh, yeeeesssss”, Hisashi bit his lips. He endured the pain.

 

“Excellent.” The girl smirked. “As said, I have a little task for you. Inform the rest of your friends that they should stay out of my way if they desire to live. We don’t want them to die, do we? And now run before I decide to change my mind” 

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---