Chapter 22

Kisame's body collided with the ground with a thud. Then, his skin suddenly changed its color, particles of it rising into the air. Barely a few seconds later, a completely different body appeared before him.

"So that's what was restricting him." Blake scratched his chin, fascinated by the peculiar skills of this world. Well, it's not like his abilities weren't strange. "If he was that strong when using some technique, then what about that real one?"

Blake noted to himself to never come across this guy ever again.

Activating his [Authority of Karma], Blake stared at the body below. The light was still sipping out of this person, though it was clearly not Kisame's soul. Still, perhaps Blake could get some valuable information from this person as well.

Glancing sideways, Blake saw Guy still standing on the water, helping his students who have just gotten out of that water prison. They still haven't moved in this direction, meaning that Blake still had some time.

He didn't hesitate at all, grabbing onto that light. Unfamiliar scenes entered his mind, as Blake braced his head for the impact. He saw how the real Kisame attacked this man, accompanied by another even more dangerous figure.

Itachi was that man's name, and he had some creepy-looking red eyes. Once turned into a clone, the man's soul remained and he could see everything that Kisame did. He met up with another two figures, who were also wearing those creepy coats.

Their names were Deidara and Sasori, and they have just captured Gaara to extract something out of his body. The remaining memories were a bit blurry, but Blake still saw a few important things. For instance, Kisame created his clone in order to stall time, so they could extract that energy from Gaara without any hindrances.

The next moment, Blake's eyes opened, clear as the water. He saw another screen popping out within his vision, and he read through it immediately. It was the third quest he had gained since his transportation to this world.

-

[Quest: Save Gaara from the approaching death]

[Description: Gaara has never felt the warmth of having true friends, thus he would never believe anyone would try saving him. Break this mindset. Become the one and save him from Akatsuki]

[Reward: Authority Treasure]

-

Blake was startled. It was definitely a hard quest, for he would have to face not only one Akatsuki member but two at the same time. And they wouldn't be fake ones like Kisame. That was not easy, but it wasn't like Blake had any choice. The reward itself was quite interesting and could be quite promising.

An Authority Treasure was perhaps somehow connected to increasing the rank of the authorities. It was just what he needed, as he felt stuck on how to progress them any further. Glancing to the side, he saw that Guy and his team had already calmed down, and were walking in his direction with cautiousness.

A plan started to formulate in his head, as he knew that they were also trying to save Gaara. If he could use other people to ease his mission, then why wouldn't he? Not everyone had to be enemies.

Blake fell to his knees, seeing the rapidly approaching group. Remembering his childhood, his primary experience in the army, and his dead mother, anger flooded his mind. Guy arrived a moment later, rising his eyebrow when he saw a different figure lying on the ground.

"Thank you very much for helping us," Guy said first, nodding slightly. However, there was no response from Blake, so Guy continued to talk. "So, that guy wasn't even the real deal, yet was that strong."

"The real deal is much stronger," Blake answered, placing his hand against the ground, as anger could practically be felt excluding from his body. "Much more frightening, much crueler."

"Are you alright?" Guy asked, a serious expression on his face. Neji and others were standing behind, confused at how the conversation was proceeding. However, they all suddenly took a step back, as even Guy almost instinctively did so.

Blake suddenly flared with extremely dense killing intent. It was so thick, so menacing that it made some wonder how many people had he killed. Guy prepared himself for another battle, thinking that Blake would attack them right this instant.

However, Guy had been wrong. Instead of attacking, Blake put his head against the ground, as tears fell from the holes in his mask.

"Akatsuki, those fucking bastards." Blake punched the ground, creating a little crater in the ground. Even then, Guy's group didn't move, as their eyes beamed with understanding. "I will kill all of you, rip your bodies apart."

For the next few seconds, Blake kept cursing and crying, while adding a few punches to the ground. Guy's and others' eyes softened, meanwhile Neji kept staring at Blake as if evaluating him.

"I am sorry for that." Blake eventually calmed down, settling against the tree with his back. "And I am even sorry for hindering your mission. I didn't know they would find me so soon."

"What do you mean?" Neji asked from the back.

"I have been searching for Akatsuki for a while now due to... personal reasons. After they captured the current Kazukage, I utilized some of my abilities and found out their hidden base. However, they also noticed me..." Blake continued to talk, as he took a deep breath. "One of their members stopped my path and he was too strong for me to handle. Fortunately, I managed to survive by jumping into the river and you have found me then."

"I see," Guy scratched the back of his head, thinking of something. He made eye contact with Neji in the back, and Neji mouthed something. Nodding, Guy turned back around to face Blake. "I don't think that man had come to stop you, it was probably for us. Our current mission is actually to save the kidnapped Kazukage."

Blake raised his head a bit, pretending to be quite surprised. "So, I wasn't the only one who found them. That's quite relieving that there are more people trying to eradicate that group. They are truly evil."

As he said so, Blake rose back to his feet. He glanced back at the headless figure on the ground before adding. "Well, I am not planning on stunting your mission any further. Thanks for the bandages."

"Wait, what are you going to do now?" Guy asked, taking a step forward.

"I am going to attack them obviously," Blake answered, not hesitating. He started walking away from the group that instant, but Neji blocked his path.

"I am sorry but we can't let you go. We already understand that you can travel much faster than us with the use of your strange powers, but that also makes you a liability to your mission." Neji stated. "If they run away again, we might lose track of them."

Instead of answering, Blake grabbed his axe, staring at Neji with killing intent. "So what do you want me to do then? Every day for the last few months, I have been craving to just kill them, and you just want me to lose such a golden opportunity?"

"No, we understand," Guy answered, forcing Blake to glance back. "You already have been defeated by Akatsuki once, so you should understand that what you are doing is just suicide. So... how about you just join us?"

"Join you?" Blake visibly loosened his grip on his weapon as he pretended to think deeply about it for a few seconds. He also glanced at everyone from the group as if evaluating them, until eventually sighing. "I am not too keen on working in a group, but what you said isn't wrong. I... will join you for now."

Guy nodded, taking a deep breath. Neji was still clearly dissatisfied, while those two others didn't seem to mind Blake's addition to the group. Well, whatever, Blake didn't care since the scenario played out according to his wishes.

"Come back," Blake said, causing a few confused looks between the group. A figure rose from Tenten's shadow as she stumbled against the ground, looking at it from below. Everyone widened their eyes. "Sorry for that. It was just a precaution if you suddenly attacked me."

Of course, Blake could have just made it disappear without revealing it, but he had to give them a scare, so they wouldn't try anything funny. Also, it wouldn't have normally worked, it was just that Tenten's senses were quite underdeveloped for a proper ninja.

"It's alright..." Guy mumbled, quite pleased that they hadn't tried anything. Even Neji looked a bit relieved. "So, how should we address you?"

Blake thought for a moment, not finding any reason for him to say a fake name. "You can just call me Blake." He said, not a trace of previous anger or sadness in his ebony eyes.