93 93. Sound Ninjas

As everyone was asleep, Monari brought Shiroken to the location where she had tied all the Sound 4... actually 5, ninjas. These were the ones who had come to help Orochimaru in his schemes.

"Were you able to get anything out of them?" He asked.

"Well, four of them did speak. They told me everything. But, one of them is still silent, though I think he will speak after seeing you." She said.

Shiroken asked in confusion, "Why would he speak after seeing me? I don't think I've ever been to their village."

"You will understand when you see him. Anyway, these ninjas basically used to be Orochimaru's prisoners at some point. They were forced to fight other prisoners to death in battle royales. By surviving their respective matches, they proved themselves to be the strongest of Orochimaru's prisoners and as such were made his bodyguards.

"Their names are Sakon and Ukon, Jirobo, Kidomaru, Tayuya and Kimimaro. Oh, we have arrived." She interjected and opened the door.

They were currently under the Uchiha compound. There were various large storehouses here secretly hidden. Originally nobody knew about them but Monari sensed it with her eyes. And thankfully, these storehouses still had the precious items of the Uchiha Clan. There were some scrolls, artworks, weapons and most importantly, money.

Seeing all the money, Shiroken had an idea. Monari chuckled when she saw his face, "What evil plan is my little brother brewing now?"

Shiroken acted hurt, "My dear sister, you pain me with such words. I'm not evil. I'm a good boy. I was just thinking of maybe helping this poor Konoha village."

Monari immediately understood his underlying meaning. "And how would you do that? By giving them the money."

Shiroken scoffed, "Huh, I said help, not do charity. We shall provide this money as a loan to all those who lost houses and buildings in the disaster not long ago. The interest will be very low and the time period will also be doable. On top of that, it will be our Dama Country's company that will take contracts here at a low price. So, not only will the money be coming to our country but we will make it double."

Monari excitedly added another point, "And for doing this they will worship you."

He chuckled, "Exactly. We may not be taking over the village directly, but as soon as I have the Daimyo under my control, I will be the de-facto ruler of this village. So when in the future I fire the Hokage, they won't riot."

"Remind me to never doubt your money management skills. God, you should be the Dama Country's treasurer." Monari mumbled and went ahead to lead him to the room where the prisoners were kept.

When Shiroken entered and saw Kimimaro, he realised what Monari meant earlier. Kimimaro looked somewhat like him. White hair, abnormally pale skin. The only difference was on the face. He had two scarlet dots on his forehead.

"Which clan are you from, boy?" Shiroken asked him. Kimimaro was sitting alone in the corner of the room. [A/N: According to the canon, Kimimaro was not supposed to be here because he was sick. But here, he decided to stick with them because he wanted to be useful. His resolve was further strengthened when he remembered how Shiroken took Haku back to Kirigakure. He was also there and saw everything. He was envious and then finally he was found by Orochimaru. Although he was being used, to him this was a purpose for his aimless life.]

*COUGH* Kimimaro coughed blood from his mouth.

Shiroken retracted his hand. "Hmm, are you sick? Hey, kid, you come here." He ordered the one named Jirobo. He was a chubby boy with a balding head. Or maybe that was his style, Shiroken didn't ask.

Jirobo came sacredly to him. After seeing how he floored Orochimaru, their fear was understandable. Shiroken asked him about Kimimaro, "What's his medical condition?"

"Umm... I don't know. Lord Orochimaru and Kabuto were not able to diagnose or heal him. They said they needed his family's medical history to cure him. He coughs blood, feels tired, and has shortness of breath." Jirobo honestly answered.

"Why doesn't he have family records? What happened to them?" Shiroken asked him.

"Umm... they died, all of them. The Kaguya clan was wiped out when they attacked Kirigakure, seemingly for no reason other than the desire to kill and show off their ferocity. Having underestimated their opponents' defences, they were slaughtered. He's the only survivor." Jirobo told all he knew.

Shiroken turned back to Kimimaro, "Hmm, boy, you'll probably die in a few days."

Not a very good thing to say at the first meeting, but honesty was the best policy, at least when talking to a patient. Because it's bad if you tell someone they are fine but they die the next day. They'd probably die while cursing you, and people don't like to be cursed like that.

However, Kimimaro didn't seem a tiny bit surprised, he just nodded and whispered some words. "I know that already. I should have died and saved Lord Orochimaru."

"Brainwashed, aren't you? So... tell me, what if I were to heal you and give you a new purpose in life? Something that does not involve killing people?" Shiroken asked.

He only knew the name of the Kaguya clan and that the clan was noted for being very savage and battle-hungry, having no tactics when entering battle that they initiated simply to show off their ferocity. Even when surrounded and completely outmatched, they refused to back down, preferring to fight to the death simply to entertain their own bloodlust to the last.

But he had no idea if Kimimaro was also the same crazy type. Though from the face the boy looked kind. But looks can be deceiving.

"Lord Orochimaru and Kabuto have the best medical knowledge out there. If even they could not heal me then how would you?" Kimimaro asked him.

"Like this." Shiroken just put his hand on Kimimaro's chest and used his powers of Yin-Yang. With them, he diagnosed him first. "Hmm, why are your heart and lungs inflated? You don't look like someone who exercises a lot."

"Oh, this one can throw bones out of his body," Monari told him.

Everything made sense to Shiroken then. "Then... it must be a Kekkei Genkai, right? Ummm... Shikotsumyaku was its name. It gives its wielder the ability to manipulate their own bones. Boy, you must have overused this power and your body was working in overdrive. Do you know how much calcium it takes to grow our bones? Every Kekkei Genkai has a drawback if used too much."

"I will heal them now. But do not overuse your abilities anymore. At least not before you get used to them. How old are you? You do not look older than 15. A kid your age should be training or studying, doing work. Not walking with people like Orochimaru who know nothing but to selfishly kill people." He lectured them while healing him. Shiroken didn't know, but Kimimaro was a very good boy originally.

He didn't have a particular interest in fighting or killing and saw his abilities only as a means to be of use to others. He was a calm and quiet individual who would dedicate himself to whatever mission was at hand. As a child, he was more gentle despite his natural talent for combat and unique abilities which made him the strongest of his clan. He never wanted to hurt people he was not involved with, and he was interested in flowers.

Orochimaru just used the lonely boy for his personal gains. But now Orochimaru was left to his mercy. And Shiroken was not going to be easy on him.

"Hmm, do you want a job?" Shiroken asked him.

"What job?" Kimimaro inquired in hope.

"Well, what do you want to do? Do you want to become a city guard? Or maybe a port guard in Dama City, the most economically developed city in the world?" Shiroken asked him.

Kimimaro silently nodded to him. Just then the other four prisoners voiced, "We want to work too."

Shiroken agreed, "Sure, but first, you all will have to go through training at the Dama Country Police Academy. After 1 year of training, you will be assigned offices where you will work."

What he did not say was that they all would be given a psychological evaluation and then counselling to heal their minds. After all, all these 13-14-year-old kids were turned into these killers by Orochimaru.

"Done, you are now healed, Kimimaro. Cherish this life and live like a law-abiding citizen, protecting those who are weak and helpless, fight the evil when you see it because that is what a true Shinobi does. Got it?"

All five of them nodded sternly and gave a clumsy salute. Shiroken chuckled, "Monari, send them some good tasty food, maybe order from Ichiraku Ramen."

Monari nodded and sent a clone of herself, "You know, I'm afraid by the time we leave this village Teuchi would become the richest person in the village."

"Hahaha... he might. I wonder if he's interested in opening franchises. The Dama Country and the Noodle Country would love to eat his creations. I guess I will talk to him later." He muttered and said goodbye to the 5 ex-sound village shinobi. They would remain underground until Shiroken leaves the village.

_________________

[You can see Sound Ninja and Kimimaro on my Discord - https://discord.gg/DgHkrAn OR see them on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mister_immortal_novel]

SHOW ME YOUR LOVE!

__________________

(Advised you don't join right now as there are only 25 chapters. I Will be uploading more soon.) You can read 30 Advanced chapters at -patreon.com/misterimmortal.

Special thanks to *Douglas Flower* *Umar Latif* *Julian Rocamora* *Darrien Steely* *Franklin Walley*

Thank you for your support!