Chapter 3

This time, waking up wasn't as comfortable as before, as Blake felt himself colliding with the cold ground. He lingered for a few seconds, reorganizing his thoughts and glancing over the area.

Cisco stood next to him, looking at him from above with a hateful gaze. With a click of his tongue, he retreated from the area. Blake followed him with his eyes, relaxing his clenched fist.

"I need to sober up." Blake rose to his feet with a grunt, his vision turning black for a moment. Too much loss of blood. Struggling to stay conscious, Blake looked around, noting that the surroundings were demolished.

There were cracks all over the ground, walls of mud, signs of diminished fire, and even water. This looked like a battlefield straight out of a fairytale. There was a little glass window where he could see a few figures standing, including Ogami, in the middle of them.

'Is this the arena that he mentioned?' Blake thought before hearing the door opening once again. He immediately distanced himself from the sound as he saw Cisco pushing yet another man inside the arena.

With a shut of the door, Blake was left alone with the man, and everything clicked in his mind. This place was used for prisoners to fight each other, while those supervising from above were probably present for evaluating their usefulness.

'Just how the hell did I appear in this kind of place? I don't think this is something created by the government.' Blake thought, locking gazes with the man before him.

He was buff, with muscles ripping from his beneath his shirt, which draw even more attention due to his short haircut. However, his eyes were full of fury, probably because of emotional instability, which was a huge weakness in Blake's eyes.

Furthermore, the man was limping. There was a deep cut going across his thigh.

Blake didn't need to say anything, nor did the man. They both understood their circumstances and were ready to go for it if it ensured their survival. Especially Blake, who didn't even want to imagine dying in this shithole, while not knowing where the hell has he appeared.

'I should try circling him. It will be difficult for him to move at high speed.' Blake thought, grabbing a sharper piece of rock from the ground as he made his way forward.

Yet, something peculiar happened. The man actually started doing hand signs, sweat dripping from his forehead, as it appeared to require a lot of his already depleted energy.

Blake remained confused for a few moments before he felt intense danger coming from the ground. Three earth spikes rose from below at an unimaginable speed, aiming for his head.

Normally, he would have been able to dodge, but injuries took a stroll on him and his ear got cut. It was surprisingly sharp. The shock didn't stop and more spikes attacked him, to which he responded with a retreat.

'A man controlling earth?' Blake thought with a frown, though keeping his mind stable. Even though the man before him had some strange abilities, it was clear as day that the magic he pulled out had drained a lot of energy.

The man's face was even paler than before. He probably didn't expect that Blake could dodge his attack. No one ever did. Still, Blake thought over his intentions once again, aware of the peculiar things that the man could pull out.

Maybe this man's ability was something similar to his gift.

Bracing his mind, Blake rushed forward again, this time trying to go at the highest speed possible, which was quite miserable due to his injuries. The man did some weird shit again and spikes rose from below.

However, Blake was prepared and swiftly dodged each attack, not even glancing down. He proceeded at a prompt speed, finally enticing a reaction from the man.

He seemed both confused and irritated, but also prepared. Grabbing a kunai from beneath his clothes, the man rushed toward Blake with an overhead strike.

Blake smiled underneath his mask. Close combat was his forte.

Suddenly coming to an abrupt spot, Blake felt the kunai pass just a few centimeters from his body. Having calculated everything beforehand, Blake had the man's neck exposed before him.

He didn't waste even a second as he slammed the sharp piece of rock upon his neck, trying to inflict as much damage as possible. With a roar, the man pushed Blake away, packing immense force within his hand.

Were all prisoners here superhumans?

'I need to finish this.' Blake quickly got back to his feet, seeing blood spreading out of his wound. It was deep, but not deep enough. The man could still fight, but didn't appear to be willing to do so.

The fury in his eyes had diminished to fear instead.

Suddenly, an earth globe formed around him, completely isolating him from the world. Blake sneaked a peak towards the glass above, noting that most of of the men there were frowning. They probably didn't approve of the man's decision.

Blake thought for a moment before simply taking a seat on the ground.

"Smart." Ogami, who was overlooking the battle from above, nodded in understanding. "The wound was not life-threatening, but it was deep enough to result in deep bloss. The longer he sits inside that globe, the more likely is he to die."

"I don't think there is any point in watching this battle any longer. I believe we have seen enough." Ogami added, scratching his chin. "The man hidden inside that globe is probably going to die anyway, but finish him if he survives. There is no point in conducting experiments on him."

"As for this guy, I think he is suitable for nurturing." Ogami continued, drawing a few surprised glances from the surrounding people.

"I mean no disrespect, but he has shown no chakra control at all, not a single jutsu. He would much better suit the experimentation department." One man said.

"I have come to this conclusion, you don't have any say in this." Ogami retorted, his eyes gleaming with light, forcing the man to put his head down immediately. "His chakra flow has probably been damaged, but it is something easily healable."

This time, there was no resistance to his decision, and Ogami left the room. Soon, he appeared in the arena, his speed startling and forcing Blake to rise back to his feet.

"Calm down. You passed." Ogami said. "You have been chosen to be nurtured, so there is nothing for you to fear for now. Once Orochimaru-sama arrives a few weeks later, you will leave with him to the main base."

'Orochimaru?' Blake thought, not appealed by the prospect of meeting this ominous figure. Perhaps he was even stronger than Ogami. That would be hell. Still, he was happy with the conclusion. He had at least a week to escape.

So, Blake nodded, too tired to say anything.

"You will be healed and sent back to your cell. Recuperate and prepare yourself." Ogami passed Blake, approaching the dome of earth where the other man was hiding. "Being nurtured may sound nice, but it is an even worse fate than becoming an experimental object."

Then, Ogami kicked at the earth dome as it shattered into pieces, revealing a pale man lying on the ground in the center of it. He wasn't breathing any longer. It seemed that he decided to meet his fate in solitude.

At that moment, a strange translucent screen materialized in the corner of his vision. However, before he could even comprehend what was that, he felt danger approaching.

Shifting his neck slightly to the slide, Blake suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck. However, the attack that should have knocked him out only resulted in pain.

Ogami probably wasn't too keen on letting Blake see anything within the facility, so he tried to knock him out in order to transport him back to the cell. Fortunately, Blake reacted in time.

"Heal him and put him back inside," Ogami said as two figures rushed from the door, one of them being Cisco. "Also, bring the other batch to the arena once you are finished."

"Yes, sir"

Pretending that he was unconscious, Blake concentrated on the sound, as he understood that he was left alone with two figures. One of them put his hands directly on the wounds on his chest, and Blake felt peculiar energy enter his body.

His injuries were closing up at a rapid pace, and he was already feeling less light-headed. Blake has been faced with yet another peculiarity. A person with the ability to heal others.

'Appeared out of nowhere...it seems like I will get my answers only once I am out of here.' Blake thought, concentrating on recuperating. He just accepted the fact that there were people with supernatural abilities for now.

Getting healed was the main priority right now, so he just discarded all the useless thoughts. He had been on the brink of death for a few days already, and he had his limits as well.

"Hmm. Strange." The man healing Blake mumbled, seeing little metal bullets escaping from his body. "I had never seen something like this. Some kind of new weapon?"

"No idea. It doesn't matter. Just heal him faster." Cisco answered.

Soon, the man stopped surging chakra, and Blake felt better than ever. There were still some minor injuries remaining, but the most threatening ones were dealt with.

Barely a moment later, Blake felt Cisco putting him over his shoulder, and the rhythmic sound of steps echoed out of the arena.