20 The Youngest Recruit

Chapter 20: The Youngest Recruit

The war drums that have beat rhythmically for centuries have halted almost entirely in virtually every corner of the ninja world. New tyrants have now begun to usher in their new systems, and they must deal with those that will rebel against them.

Rebellion is an inevitable occurrence that will occur within any system, no matter the circumstance.

So how does a tyrant not only quell the rebels but also discourage future opposition rising?

Most tyrants meet those that oppose their rule with overwhelming brutality. Obedience isn't rewarded but expected. Their goal is to break the bodies of the rebels. Creating an endless cycle of martyrs, that continually rise to new generations of insurrectionists.

These tyrants end up fighting tooth and nail to keep power, but one small slip is all it takes for them to be swallowed up mercilessly by their endless enemies.

Then there are some tyrants that change their systems to punish going against it and reward those that follow it. Their goal is to wither away the wills of rebels, chip away at their minds that think differently from the rest of the sheep.

But as soon as a better system is introduced everyone will turncoat. Even those that were previously obedient won't bat an eyelash when there's the slightest prospect to get rewarded even more.

Last and most rare, are the tyrants that not only take a violent approach toward rebels but also shift their systems to reward obedience.

This method is often not associated with tyrants usually because of the negative connotation. No, in fact, the tyrants that successfully enact this method are often revered as benevolent beings because no one is willing to say anything bad about them. People usually call these diabolical individuals that bring about immense lasting change, harbingers.

A mortal man/woman that has put their beliefs, whims and burdens on the shoulders of thousands, and even sometimes millions of people.

Whether it was for the greater good of the people or simply their selfish desire, one individual dragging their fellow humans into a new age is an act of unparalleled will.

And once the dust has settled, it will be a movement felt for decades if not centuries after the fact.

Shogo POV

The very second, we made landfall on the island directly west of Nakajima, the hair on the back of my neck rose. The intense hostility in the air is pervasive and hard to miss. Apparently, this island had no name and has never been populated with people, but we definitely aren't alone here right now.

Gengetsu continues walking along the shore without a care for the unnaturally thick mist that surrounds us. The mist had been relatively thin when we were crossing the sea to get on the west island, but it has since thickened to the degree I can barely see my feet below me.

My level of visibility is rapidly decreasing with every step, I quickly begin using Gengetsu's oily blonde hair as a beacon.

Suddenly, Gengetsu fully disappears into the mist altogether and I can no longer see my hands in front of my face. My steps become slower and more cautious as I continue forward along the shore.

Cold sweat runs down along my back and under my armpits. I gently place my right hand on the hilt of the huge sword wrapped tightly in medical bandages sloppily hanging diagonally along my back.

Initially the new addition to my limited arsenal was cumbersome due to its large size even though it weighs barely more than that of an average katana. After a few adjustments on our short journey to this mystery island, I no longer felt any discomfort with the sword's position on my back.

Slowly the moisture from the mist starts to hang in the air so thickly, I can't keep my eyes open. I shut my eyes completely and continue to go forward without missing a beat confident in my ironclad hearing.

A couple of moments later, the mist has progressed to the point I feel very slight resistance on my skin as I walk. It feels like I am walking through a shallow pond.

Before I knew it, breathing has begun to get more and more difficult for me. I try to suck in oxygen with shallow breaths only to find little to none coming into my lungs.

My mind is racing as I have no idea what is happening besides the fact that I am now slowly dying from asphyxiation. I feel my clothes to find that they weren't at all damp, so I have not been tricked into walking into a body of water. Also, I can hear the waves against the shore to my left and there wasn't nearly enough resistance for me to have been made to walk into the ocean.

I am beginning to get lightheaded, and my chest starts to get tight. Each step I make forward becomes more and more labored but stopping absolutely isn't an option.

Stopping right now definitely meant death would follow soon after and I absolutely refuse to croak before I can finally behead that fucking blonde menace.

The next moments go by in a blur as I begin to fade in and out of consciousness. My forward pace has slowed to a literal crawl as I trudge through the sand on my hands and knees, one fistful at a time.

I lick blood from my dry lips as before I knew it the mist seems to have begun sapping the moisture from my skin. It has become painstakingly clear that the more I push forward the worse conditions of the mist are going to become for my wellbeing.

'Fuck it!'

I snatch the wrapped sword off my back and stab it into the sand before leaning on it to shakily stand on my feet. I begin to make big slow steps forward with the aid of my large weapon.

My legs tremble with each step and my lungs feels close to exploding but I press on. The thought of that jackass leading into this death trap knowingly fuels me with all the rage I need to ignore the excruciating burning of my lungs.

Right on cue as I start getting used to the pain in my lungs, my skin starts to feel as though I am currently walking through an intense flame. I bite into my lips to keep from screaming and losing the little bit of oxygen I have left.

"I can't stop now; I won't stop now! They'll have to cut off all my damn limbs and I'll still try to find a way, goddess damn it!"

With desperation and determination at an all-time high, I sprint forward as hard and fast as I can with my sword dragging in the sand behind me. Adrenaline surges through every cell in my body and I feel the wind at my back pushing me forward. All the prior pain became nonexistent, the only thing I feel is ALIVE.

*Twack! *

A punch from my left collides with my temple causing my mind to swim and I collapse feebly onto the ground. My sword slips out of my grasp, but I don't hear it hit the sand. Before I can even open my eyes, my limbs and head are roughly pressed into the beach with cold steel hugging the back of my neck. The metallic smell of the sword is disturbingly close to blood, overpowering even the scent of the earthy sand my nose is currently in close contact with.

"Ah…. look who has finally joined us!"

The deep surly voice comes from a way in front of my downed position. I can't even crane my neck to look up at him as my entire body is currently locked in place on the sand.

"You're a bit late, but I'll let you off only this once. Release him! We only get together like this every three month so every second counts! This is the last phase of the unification process, and our effort can't afford any more delays!"

*clap*

*clap*

Just like the pressure on my person vanishes as if it was never there but the feeling of the cold steel on my neck remains and I dare not budge an inch till it is gone.

"This is a nice sword you got here… Wonder if you know how to use it..."

Another voice comes from directly above me. The cold sensation is finally gone, and I look up to see a fully armored relatively tan black haired man squatting down in front me, examining my sand sword in his left hand. The man looks to be hostility incarnate as every feature on his face seems to be sharpened to a point whether it is his exceedingly large eyebrows or his square like face.

He stabs my sword into the sand about an inch from the left of my face, but I continue to stare unflinchingly at the metallic behemoth that lays along both of the man's shoulders, behind his head. Never have I seen a weapon so huge and imposing.

It has two large holes in the blade, one at the top of the blade and a half circle near the hilt. The blade itself looked to be far longer than I am tall as well as thrice my width.

The very thought that this iron monstrosity was caressing the back of my neck a few seconds ago, chills my very bones but I continue to hold the man's gaze with a glare of my own.

"Heh..heh…heh... I like this one, Byakuren! He has eyes like a starved alley dog!"

The man stands to his full height and boisterously laughs, showing off the two rows of sharp teeth that lined his mouth.

"Enough playing Kikuchiyo, fall into formation before I lose what little patience, I have left..."

The severity in the thinly veiled threat gets the man named Kikuchiyo to straighten up before he vanishes from my line of sight. I use this moment to get up from the sand using my sword to balance myself, not wanting Byakuren's attitude to sour towards me as well.

I quickly take stock of the situation around me and my grip unconsciously tightens on my sword as I notice all the hostile stares coming from the tens of shinobi and kunoichi standing still in four lines along the beach facing the shore or specifically one man, Byakuren. Byakuren's lone gray eye is trained on my struggling form before he points at the ground next to Gengetsu, who is standing lackadaisically behind him, in a line with Kikuchiyo and some serious looking bald dude with another stupidly large sword strapped to his back.

This sword is weirdly shaped almost like a diamond shaped shield but the hilt at the top of the bandages tell it is indeed a weapon.

Hurrying to the spot Byakuren has designated for me, I barely ignore all the stares burning into the side of my face as I stumble over to it. I quickly glare at Gengetsu, but he continues to completely ignore my existence although I can see the ghost of a grin on his smug face. Suddenly his face becomes serious and his head snaps to Byakuren.

And my eyes dart to Byakuren's back and I can't look away from his person. His overall presence had increased a thousand times. No longer did a short old man stand in front of me, in his place is a battle-hardened god of war.

"THE MEETING OF THE FIRST SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF KIRIGAKURE IS NOW IN SESSION! KAMBEI YOU WILL START US OFF!"

Byakuren's voice reverberates from all around us as if he is making an announcement to all the Elemental Nations. His commanding tone left no room for debate or insubordination.

"Hai!"

The bald man named Kambei standing next to Kikuchiyo steps out of line and to kneel in front of Byakuren,

"My unit has been able to successfully integrate 18 of the 21 major clans of the Water country into Kirigakure. The only three that remain are the rebellious Terumi clan, the reclusive Yuki clan and the migratory Kaguya clan."

Shock rips through my body at that revelation,

'They really managed to subdue all those clans in just six months! There is no way that all those clans just gave up without a fight. The bloodshed must've been immense…'

Kambei continues,

"The Kaguya clan hasn't been seen in the last five to six years, but I have managed to pinpoint their current location to be somewhere between the Land of Honey and O'uzu Island. Likely near their ancestral grounds."

Byakuren nods,

"We will worry about them last then. I doubt they have enough manpower to truly put up a resistance should we catch them after they lost that bloody battle with the Hyuga clan in the land of Tea thirty years ago…"

Kambei nods in response before speaking again,

"Understood. As for the Yuki clan, they remain trapped inside their clan walls. The embargo is still in effect and no supplies are allowed on Kitajima. The citizens on the island have begun to turn against the clan and it won't be long before they offer the Yukis to us on a silver platter if they don't negotiate with us before then."

Byakuren cracks a smile at that bit of news,

"Good. Put more pressure on the island by stationing ninja in the town. Make sure to aid the villagers in bringing down the compound walls to avoid the needless deaths of our future civilians. Show no mercy to the Yuki ninja though. They have tried my patience for too long! Make sure only SOME the main branch and bloodline users survive. Now what of the Terumi clan do they still rebuff our efforts with their lava and steam techniques?"

I see Kambei jaw shift slightly before he answers,

"The lava spitters…"

'Wow...you can really hear the animosity in those words.'

"...continue to give us trouble on the southern front. We have pushed their entire clan into the main branch's manor at the bottom of the volcano. However,..."

His jaw tightens once more, masterfully concealing immense rage for whatever event occurred,

"Some of the ninja in my unit decided to launch a disorganized attack on the manor in the night without my knowledge, and ultimately got caught in a trap laid by the Terumi clan which led to mass casualties on both sides. The remaining Terumi have fled deep into the volcano's caverns, and I am reluctant to follow in after them…"

Byakuren stiffens into a frown before he turns to face Kikuchiyo whose face immediately turns a few shades lighter. Obviously given his reaction to Byakuren's gaze, Kikuchiyo must be the culprit that led those ninjas into a trap. It seems Kambei's pointed omission of the sneak attack's leader has not fooled the sharp old fossil.

Kambei stands and goes to grab Byakuren's left shoulder, but the grizzled old shark holds his left hand up, stopping the bald warrior in his tracks.

Still Kambei tries to quietly plead with Byakuren as it becomes apparent to me that he is indeed contemplating cutting down Kikuchiyo right then and there.

"Have some mercy, Byakuren-sama. Kikuchiyo-san is one of our most promising young warriors, but he is still mentally weak. His mistake should be on me as his general! I should be punis-"

Byakuren slowly put his raised hand back to his side, the disturbingly long fingernails on each digit glistening in the dim lighting as if to confirm their sharpness. Kambei goes stark silent and looks down with a drawn-out sigh.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!"

A scream cuts through the tense silence and my eyes land on Kikuchiyo's crumpled form as he cradles the right side of his head with blood profusely pouring down his fingers.

Looking back at Byakuren, he now pinches an ear, no doubt the one that used to belong to Kikuchiyo, between his index finger and his thumb. The sight shakes me to my core as I didn't even see the geezer move from his current spot.

Byakuren nonchalantly examines the detached ear then casually flicks it towards the ocean through the mist. His mouth turns upward into a monstrous grin as he gauges Kikuchiyo's pitiful state, flashing his yellow sharp teeth through a waterfall of gray facial hair. Byakuren then turns back to the maimed man and scrutinizes the faces of each ninja lined up in front of him.

"Maybe now you'll learn to listen to your betters more closely! Every man and woman that join under the Kirigakure movement are precious commodities whose lives are to be treated with a certain level of respect."

The short geezer begins to pace in front of the lines with his voice booming out from all around us,

"But let it be known! No one is above the foundation that I am trying to build for the good of our country! Not even myself!"

Byakuren stops pacing and stands in his original spot in the center of everyone. There is no doubt in my mind that every eye is currently on him.

Just then I realize that the mist I nearly lost my life in, surrounds the entire group in a circle blocking off the rest of the world. I'm sure if he really wanted to, Byakuren could slaughter us all in here and no one outside would know a thing.

"Kambei!"

The sudden shout startles me as I jolt upward slightly. Kambei kneels in front of Byakuren once again,

"Hai!"

"You and the rest of the seven will focus entirely on making the Yuki clan submit with MINIMAL casualties. I will take the Terumi clan matter into my own hands. For now, withdraw our forces completely from that island!"

Kambei quickly nods then quickly rushes to tend to the struggling Kikuchiyo.

"Gengetsu!"

"Hai~ hai~"

Gengetsu loosely replies and slowly walks to take Kambei's former position in front of Byakuren, but, in stark contrast with the bald swordsman, Gengetsu forgoes kneeling instead continues standing with his arms folded.

"What is your latest report on the search and destruction of all potential threats that surround the Kanashii Ocean?"

Gengetsu unfolds his arms and stands up straighter,

"I recently confirmed that the Hyuga clan have now completely abandoned Tea country and are migrating deeper into the Land of Fire."

Everybody seems to be thrown for a loop for that as eyes widen all around for a second. Gengetsu then continues,

"There are no other points of interest in the western part of the Kanashii as the Hyuga made sure to clean everything out before they left. However, the eastern part is rich with supplies and no substantial opposition to barr our pursuit of them."

Both Gengetsu and Byakuren grin at this,

"With about eight ships, fifty sailors, and ten capable ninja to defend their transport; I'll be able to bleed every island dry and have it back to the port within less than three months' time."

At the blonde's pitch, Byakuren strokes his long beard with his right hand.

"You will have to make do with only five ninja and five ships. Most of our manpower needs to be put toward establishing ourselves here in water country. The sailors are of no consequence and can be supplied a plenty."

*Tsk! *

Gengetsu sucks his teeth loudly but says nothing in response, though he is visibly annoyed by the change in personnel.

Byakuren pushes forward undeterred by Gengetsu's apparent attitude,

"Gather as many supplies as you can in three months then bring them to the port of the village site."

His eyes then narrow as he stares Gengetsu directly in his beady eyes,

"Only take enough precious materials and supplies to fill the ships that I have given you once. Take a great amount of time deciding what will be of use for the village. DO NOT leave every islander destitute as they would be left too vulnerable and become easy future targets for our enemies to take advantage of! Am I clear?"

The resulting silence hangs in the air with tension that makes it hard for me to swallow as I look at the two juggernauts square off.

Finally, Gengetsu grunts and nods before he dissolves into a puddle. I guess he must've switched out with a clone at some point on our journey here. I am very certain that it was him I met at the docks this morning.

Byakuren exhales a drawn-out sigh, clenching and unclenching his left hand. Gengetsu's blatant disrespect toward him is visibly wearing on his patience more than it did the last time I saw them interact.

'Man, do I not want to be in the crossfire of when that situation blows up…'

"SHOGO ISOBE!"