72 Debriefing

Well, before my meeting with Mifune in about an hour, it's time to revisit a plethora of jutsu that I've had to sideline because they had health costs. I am, of course, talking about Time Release. When I created it, I had just fused the elements together long enough to get the element unlocked. When I tried to freeze time, it acted like a damage over time effect and nearly killed me before I ended the jutsu.

But now I've got infinite health and chakra so who cares?

Pause.

Alrighty, nothing's changed.

Except for the fact that I had stopped breathing.

I was in my office where everything was sitting still anyway, standing in front of my desk. On my desk was a mug with the words 'omnipotence is overrated' written across it. I tried to bring my hand down to smack it, but found that I couldn't move.

Not because the jutsu itself would freeze me. At least, it's not supposed too, but because the air around me was frozen in time and wouldn't move by my infinite power.

…okay then.

At least it's also stopped my metabolism? I didn't need to breathe.

Which is good, because the air is frozen in my lungs.

So, freezing time. Good if I need to take a moment to think, process, think of a strategy, etc. Terrible if I actually want to get anything done.

Next?

I flew through a series of hand seals.

Rewind.

I watched in fascination as my hands flew through each of those hand seals in reverse, then it stopped. Time had resumed its natural flow.

Alrighty, final test.

Time travel to the past.

Where was I an hour ago?

That's right, eating breakfast. Made myself some actual pancakes. Hadn't had those in over a decade. Maple Syrup tasted a bit different then I remembered, but I can't decide if that's because I made it wrong, or if my memory is wigging out on me again.

Whatever. It was a taste of heaven either way.

And it was ideal for a test.

88 Miles Per Hour – In Reverse.

The jutsu activated. I could tell there were some level of paradox protections put in place just by the nature of the Time Release. It'll be interesting how things wind up going, though. I didn't remember me bounding down the stairs from my office into the diner while I was eating.

So, I did just that, and came upon me. My skin looked healthy, my brown hair looked rich and well groomed. My armor had been changed out for a white lab coat over a blue jumpsuit. I was clearly… enjoying my meal. Sure, there wasn't anyone around but table manners didn't have to be sacrificed for the first pancakes I've had in about thirteen years.

…well, maybe they could be. Just this once though.

Curious my past self hasn't noticed me at all, though.

I brought up my finger and poked him in the forehead.

No response. The skin on his forehead didn't even bend beneath my finger. I tried hitting his pancakes, past me, and the syrup might as well have been solid.

Well.

That sucks.

I can travel back in time, but I can't do anything besides observe what's going on.

That would be the paradox protections in place by the nature of Time Release as an element. The only way to really go backwards through time is to rewind and do it all over again.

…huh, I had the ability to start my whole life over again.

But I am not doing all of that over again. I have no idea what consequences would result from me not having 9 and then 10 luck right from the get go, even if it means having a base and acceptable charisma. Even if I could go back to being an infant and just grind jutsu until level 30 before I hit the academy (and I could, I've done the math many times since Naruto and I had our talk), I have no desire to do all of that over again.

My life is the way it is, and the cost of going rewinding and going backwards is way too much for me to even think about.

No.

My life is as it is.

When I returned home, my plan was to travel forwards or backwards through time as needed until I got right to the moment where I crashed my car, fix it, dispose of my body and go on my life. Kind of. I'd need to completely rewrite the mechanics of time release if I wanted to go back home at the exact moment when I had originally died so I can pretend that nothing happened…while still having the power of a god.

I'm not returning from this insanity empty handed.

But how to do that…

Intelligence Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Ninjutsu Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Fuinjutsu Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Perception Check Failure: Success Not Possible.

Oh, so it's just like how it, supposedly, is impossible for me to return home. Whatever, game. I'll find a way.

Alright, now let's issue a Wait command and see what happens when I catch up to the present.

And just like that, I found myself yanked to the position I was in when I had first traveled backwards in time, standing in front of my desk in my office. Alright, interesting, landing in the present pulls me to the present. No doppelgangers.

Time release is a very…safe element, for all the possible quantum snarls that it could cause. It's a…good thing, I guess, but it's maddening. Well, in that case, I think I'll save further testing for later. I need to prepare to present my book to Mifune and try to address all his comments and concerns.

The main hurdle he has is, throughout his whole life, he was taught that Jutsu was evil. You can't just buck that. Even if he's cautiously hearing out my proposal to fix up Iron's infrastructure, it's only because I saved his life. Therefore, I need to carefully expose him to the neutral, unbiased information of what Jutsu was without triggering his 'Jutsu bad' reaction.

It might be fun, though.

"Hisako-senpai!" Naruto called down the training yard. "I was wondering if I'd find you here!"

He ran down to the Chunin, waving in enthusiastic greeting.

Hisako, her black hair tied in it's usual pony-tail, two locks of hair falling around either side of her face to frame it, were slicked with sweat. Her forehead was dripping with sweat and her red coat was thrown in a heap to the side, her white t-shirt coated in sweat. She was standing next to a stone wall that had been built as a target ranged, nursing knuckles that had been scraped nearly raw, and were bleeding.

She looked at Naruto with tired and weary eyes. "Hey, Naruto-kouhai."

"I haven't seen you in weeks," Naruto said with a grin. He hadn't seen her since she woke up after Daisuke's thrashing, actually. Then he noticed her bloody knuckles and his smile morphed into a frown. "Wait, are you okay? That looks really bad."

"I'm fine," Hisako replied monotonously. "I'm just training."

"Training what?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hisako didn't answer immediately, bringing her fist up again and running chakra through it.

"Senpai?"

Hisako hushed him. "In a second."

She threw a punch at the wall and winced horribly, bringing her fist up to her lips to suck on.

"What exactly are you training?" Naruto asked, his voice full of concern.

Hisako took a deep breath. "Daisuke taught me how to blow people up with Taijutsu and I'm trying to get the technique down."

"So, what's the problem?" Naruto asked with a frown.

"My chakra control isn't good enough," Hisako answered darkly. "Just like everything else."

Naruto's head tilted in confused. "What makes you say that? You're an awesome kunoichi."

"Because," Hisako said, throwing another punch at the wall. Her whole frame shuddered at the impact and she withdrew the fist with a whimper. A tear rolled down from the side of her face.

"Okay, that's enough," Naruto said with an overly friendly, wide smile, putting his arm around Hisako's waist, given that she was taller than he was, and guided her away from the wall. "Why don't you take a break while you talk to me and stop breaking your hands."

"Fine," Hisako shrugged dismissively. "I was going to take a break anyway."

"Good," Naruto said, patting her arm in encouragement. "Good, this is a something you can take a break from. A long break. A break that lasts until you've got enough chakra control to actually Taijutsu explosions."

Hisako just sighed. "So, never again?"

"I didn't say that," Naruto said. "So, what were you saying?"

"Forget it." Hisako looked to the side with a frown.

"Aw, Hisako-senpai, don't be like that," Naruto replied with a frown. "Seriously, what's wrong?"

"Naruto, I said to let it go," Hisako growled.

"But if I do that, you'll go back to breaking your hands on a brick wall," Naruto rebutted with a whine. "So, you can forget me leaving and we're going to talk."

"Why do you care anyway?" Hisako barked. "It's not like anyone else does."

"Because you're my friend and I care about my friends," Naruto replied brightly. "So, seriously, what's wrong?"

The two sat down on the stumps placed near the entrance of the training ground.

Hisako took a deep breath. "I'm the reason Daisuke left."

Naruto looked perplexed. "No, he left because the old man made some mistakes in the past and they've had a lot of friction recently."

"Naruto, I'm what made the pot boil over," Hisako insisted.

"How?" Naruto asked.

"When we were in the Chunin exams, we encountered an S-class missing nin," Hisako started quietly. "Orochimaru. You remember Daisuke talking about him?"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "What about it?"

"Well, I didn't know who it was," Hisako said. "But Daisuke did know. I would've asked him, but he looked tired and anxious. Like he needed to get away from everything, so I left him alone and reported what I saw to Kakashi-sensei and ask him if he knew who it was."

Hisako shook her head. "Apparently, it got to the Hokage and the Hokage wasn't happy. Looking back, I can see why, but-but…"

She moaned in self-loathing. "He got mad at Daisuke. You know how Daisuke responded?"

"He went after Orochimaru?" Naruto asked with a slight, wistful chuckle.

"The very next day," Hisako shook her head. "He found and killed a member of the Sannin and his five personal body guards single-handedly, proving that he didn't need any of us. He said it too. He told the Hokage, to his face, that he didn't need the village and that being a missing nin had to have been better than dealing with the Hokage breathing down his neck."

Naruto leaned back, absorbing this new information. "Okay. Wow, alright, I didn't know that."

"The Hokage made him a deal, and we headed back to Suna and I…I was mad," Hisako continued, letting out a depressed sigh. "I was angry. At him. How dare he threaten to leave the village? So, what if he didn't need us? After all the time we spent together that it didn't mean anything to him?"

Naruto simply crossed his legs beneath him and leaned forward, listening.

"That I didn't mean anything to him?" Hisako whispered, tears dripping down her face.

This…attachment is really, really unhealthy, Naruto nodded to himself.

"I mean, it's not like it's hard to not be a good ninja," Hisako growled in anger. "Just work with your team, coordinate with them, train with them, all things he couldn't do, so I guess but I was just...I was mad. That he couldn't do these simple, basic things and mad that he kept getting in trouble over it. But for the first time, really? He got mad back. Shouted at me. I kind of deserved it, I guess. But all the Jounin in the room surrounded him because he scared them and…that was the final straw. He left to take care of his charisma problem."

"Wow," Naruto said. "I didn't realize that it turned into this…thing. But he came back."

"Yeah," Hisako replied wistfully. "He did. On the day of the third phase. Didn't really say anything. He just fought his matches…until the end."

"What happened at the end?" Naruto asked.

"It was a special match. It was supposed to end in a three-way between three of the villages," Hisako informed him. "Daisuke and I were two of the opponents against a Suna Genin. So, Daisuke got a fight set up with the villages Jinchūriki."

"Wait, they have a demon container over there too?" Naruto asked in surprised.

"I was surprised to learn that we had one," Hisako pointed out wryly.

"Hey, so was I," Naruto shrugged with a grin.

"I'll bet you were," Hisako chuckled softly.

"But what happened?"

"So, this Jinchūriki could control sand," Hisako continued. "And we were in the desert. So, he caused a sand-storm to try to take out Daisuke. But the thing is? It didn't even touch him."

"He dodged a sand-storm?" Naruto asked, blinking owlishly.

"No. He put a jutsu in place that left the sandstorm unable to touch him," Hisako replied. "The sand seemed to twist and warp unnaturally just to avoid him and, well, it hurt my eyes to watch."

"…I wonder if Sakura-chan would know what he was doing there," Naruto mused.

"Well, whatever it was, it allowed him to slowly walk up to him like it was nothing," Hisako replied, sounding wistful again. "There wasn't anything he could do about it. And when Daisuke got to him?"

"Boom?" Naruto asked.

"No," Hisako shook his head. "He fixed the seal."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"I talked to him about it after," Hisako replied. "Apparently, the seal used to put the demon inside him was really poor quality, so he just fixed it up. Made it so he could actually sleep without getting nightmares and some other stuff."

"So. he just walked up to a guy who he didn't know, saw a problem and just fixed it on the spot?" Naruto asked in awe. Then he cheered. "I knew it! I knew he was still good!"

"Afterwards, we talked. He offered to resign because he was unfit for duty," Hisako chuckled and shook her head. "Which was better than out and out leaving. Much better. He seemed…ashamed of himself. Not just his actions, but with himself as a person."

"Which would mean he would overcorrect in trying to be a better person now," Naruto replied. He was nodding in satisfaction, like things were starting to click with him in his brain. "That makes total sense."

"And it wouldn't have happened if I had just kept my mouth shut," Hisako shook her head. "He wouldn't have felt the need to tell two S-class secrets, get himself declared a missing nin and smash the Hokage and an entire contingent of ANBU."

"Hey, don't blame yourself for it," Naruto pointed at her sternly. "Senpai, Daisuke's actions are entirely his own decision. He didn't have to tell me via secret message telling me to come to a garden shed, but he did. He didn't have to destroy the Hokage for calling him a child, but he did. He didn't have to leave. But he did."

"But aren't I to blame?" Hisako asked softly. "If I had just kept my mouth shut in either of those cases, if I had just not said anything at all, Daisuke wouldn't have left us."

"You couldn't have known that this would've happened," Naruto chided. "Yes, you made mistakes, but life is moving on. So. you need to move on. Forgive yourself, learn from them and then become a better person. Alright?"

Hisako sighed, and looked off into the forest. "Alright."

"Great!" Naruto grinned.

Hisako was quiet for a minute. "I still love him, you know? I was going to tell him when we got back from Suna. But…I couldn't bring myself to say it. Not after I blew up at him."

"Well," Naruto said. "Maybe he'll give you a chance once we bring him back."

Hisako scoffed. "As if. I'm not good enough for him, and I've accepted that I never will be."

"Come on," Naruto replied. "Sakura gave me a chance and I was super persistent just like you. Maybe you both just needed to grow up a bit before he was ready for a relationship. But, uh…have you thought about dating other guys while he's not here?"

"No one else even comes close to what he was," Hisako sighed in depression. "So, no."

"Well, I don't know, give one of them a chance," Naruto urged. "They might surprise you."

Hisako hummed. "Maybe, but you really think we can bring Daisuke back to the village?"

"Totally," Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "It can happen, believe it."

"What's your plan?" Hisako asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Train really hard until he has to take me seriously," Naruto said happily. "Then fight him until I can beat some sense into him and he comes back to Konoha voluntarily."

Hisako's eyebrow raised higher. "Okay. What are you going to do about the Hokage when he wants his chakra cut off and his limbs severed?"

"That's easy," Naruto waved off. "By the time I'm strong enough for Daisuke to take me seriously, I'll already be Hokage. So, I'll just pardon him."

Hisako started laughing. She doubled over, clutching her stomach.

"You know it would totally work," Naruto frowned, folding his arms.

"I," Hisako began, starting to recover. But she was still chuckling. "You know what I think? I think you're right."

"I know it'll work," Naruto said with a toothy grin. "Because if there's one thing Daisuke can't turn down, it's the promise of a good fight and while we're fighting, we can talk."

"You know, you're right," Hisako nodded. "Count me in."

"Huh?"

"I want to help," Hisako stated resolutely. "If it brings the boy I love back to Konoha, then I'll do anything."

"Well, alright," Naruto nodded. "But, if you want my advice? You should try dating other guys."

Hisako glared angrily at the blonde. "No."

"It'll give you experience and help you not be so needy," Naruto pointed out. "Seriously, the needy and desperate thing was a turn-off for him."

Hisako groaned in irritation. "Look, I'll think about it. Can we just start training now?"

"How about tomorrow?" Naruto suggested. "After you get those knuckles of yours looked at."

Hisako looked at her bleeding knuckles and sighed. "Fine."

Ino was hunched over her desk, looking at the drawing that she had made in deep concentration.

It was from the point of view of a person, sitting in front of some kind of wheel at a desk, with a road stretching out in front of them. On the road, some kind of…wagon, as best as she could describe it, had pulled in front of the desk. There was a cabin in the front, as if it were a carriage, with an open wagon behind it.

She had no idea what to make of it. It was such a bizarre sight that she had trouble processing it when she first saw it.

Which is why she had called for help.

"Ino!" Her mother called from downstairs. "Shikamaru and Chouji are here!"

"Can they come upstairs?" Ino called down.

"Ino, you're a girl and they're boys," was the incredulous reply. "That would be inappropriate!"

Ino huffed. "Alright, I'll be down in a second."

She rolled up and folded the picture she had drawn and stood up. The trip down the stairs was careful and even, to avoid giving too much desperation away. If she made it clear that she really wanted to see them, her mother would get curious and it would make its way to her father.

This wasn't something for either of their ears. At least not yet. That's why the folded picture was in her pocket.

"Shikamaru, Chouji," Ino greeted them with a wave. "Thanks for coming!"

"Hey Ino," Chouji said, plopping a chip into his mouth. Then, while he was still chewing, he continued speaking. "What's up?"

"Oh, I was going to get some ramen and wanted to bring you both with me," Ino replied brightly. When life gives you shrimp, make shrimp ramen. Ayame might be able to help with this too…

"Uh," Shikamaru blinked once. "Alright. If you're buying."

"I am," Ino said with a smile.

"Cool!" Chouji said with a grin.

"Well," Ino looked up at her mother. She could tell something was off about Ino's sudden outburst of generosity, but there was no reason for her to say no. "Have fun. But be back before sundown, alright?"

"Okay mom," Ino waved as she stepped out the door.

The door shut behind her and Ino kept a careful eye on the window to her home. When they passed out of eyesight, she breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, I think the coast is clear."

"So, what's this actually about?" Shikamaru asked.

"I pulled a memory from Daisuke," Ino explained. "You know, when I had taken him over? But I can't make sense of it. So, I wanted you both to help me out."

"We're not actually getting any ramen, are we?" Chouji asked in disappointment.

"Yes, you are," Ino sighed. "I needed to do with away from Mom and Dad and there's someone at the Ramen stand that we can talk too about this as well."

"You wanted to talk about it in your room, but your Mom made that impossible, so now you're changing plans," Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome."

"Had to be done," Ino stated. "Now, do you mind keeping an eye out for potential spies?"

Shikamaru thought that was a waste of time. But he just shrugged and said, "Alright."

Ichiraku Ramen stand was a sight familiar to all of them. When Daisuke was actually around, each of their parents had them try to socialize with their Statuesque Savior and this was one of his most frequent spots to hang out, because this is where Naruto would spend a lot of his time.

Of course, Ino herself came here on a semi-regular basis without Naruto or Daisuke there, because one of her favorite people worked there.

"Ayame-sensei," Ino called as they crawled in under the flaps. "Are you there?"

"Ino-chan," Ichiraku Ayame looked up from the pot of ramen she was simmering. "Nara-san, Akimichi-san. Welcome. What can I get you?"

Shikamaru just shrugged and took a seat. "Just a bowl of the special."

"Same," Chouji replied. "It's Duck, right?"

"Yes, it is," Ayame said cheerfully. "Ino-chan, what would you like?"

"Miso-pork," Ino replied, placing her scroll on the counter as she sat down. "And some help."

Ayame looked at the folded scroll that Ino unfolding and then looked both ways. "Alright. Let me serve you up and I'll see what I can do."

She quickly and precisely served up each bowl and laid them before the trio. "Alright, let me know how it tastes."

Chouji took one sip and gave a thumbs up. "Perfect as always."

"Thank you, Akimichi-san," Ayame said brightly.

"It's good," Shikamaru complimented lazy.

"I love pork," Ino said, taking a sip.

"Now what is that you got there?" Ayame asked, leaning back and turning one of the burners under the counter up.

"Well," Ino slowly began. "As you might know, Daisuke…left the village. Permanently."

Ayame's expression shifted slightly, looking sad. "Oh. That's what happened. Classified?"

"Yeah," Shikamaru answered.

Ayame hummed. "Alright."

"But I wound up…inside him, with my clan's jutsu," Ino explained, slowly unrolling her drawing on the counter. "And I got a few memories while I was in there. Some made sense immediately, some I had to think about but this? It defies explanation."

Ino finished unrolling it.

Shikamaru's eyes went wide as he analyzed the drawing. "What am I looking at?"

"Yeah, what even is this?" Chouji asked with a frown. "Is this from Daisuke's point of view?"

"Well, yeah," Ino replied. "It's his memory. It's old too."

"How old?" Ayame asked with a frown.

"Uh…" Ino stopped to think about it. "It's really, really old. I don't really know how many years, exactly."

"So how is this not some kind of weird dream?" Shikamaru asked. "I mean, you have a wheel, a desk…and a wagon in front of us?"

"Because of the emotions that came with it," Ino replied quietly.

"What are those?" Chouji asked.

Ino didn't answer immediately, just sitting there frowning. "Anger, no, Rage. Sadness. Loss. And pain. Lots and lots of pain."

Ayame hummed. "Alright, explain the memory to us."

"Alright," Ino replied, nodding, before bringing a finger to the drawing to point things out. "So, we're here, behind this wheel. I think we're in a wagon ourselves? I think. It's nighttime. And we're going really, really fast down this road, here. Then this other wagon pulls out in front of us and the memory ends, just a black pit of nothingness."

"And this isn't just some dream?" Ayame asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No way," Ino shook her head. "But whatever this is, it's causing Daisuke a lot of pain. I also think that this memory has something to do with how Daisuke never came to see Konoha as his home."

Ayame hummed and nodded. "I hadn't made that connection, but I think it makes sense."

"Have you talked to Naruto about this?" Chouji asked with a frown.

"No," Ino shook her head.

"You need too," Shikamaru pointed out. "He knows Daisuke better than anyone, he might be able to help you."

"But he doesn't trust me," Ino pointed out in turn.

"He'll work with you," Shikamaru replied. "Trust me, he will. He really will."

"I vouch for that," Ayame replied. "Naruto considers Daisuke a brother in all but blood. If you have something that might help Naruto bring him back, he'll drop you in his good graces immediately."

Ino got a steely look in her eyes. "Alright. Between Naruto and I, Daisuke won't know what hit him."

"So, here's the book," I said, placing it on Mifune's desk carefully. "Everything in here is factual, neutral data. As we discussed, allowing your adult subjects to see the information objectively and decide what to do with it themselves is key here."

"Before I allow anyone here to see this book," Mifune took it carefully, leafing through the first few pages while stroking his Fu Manchu. "I will need to look at it myself."

That's fine. The fact that I haven't triggered his 'Jutsu Bad' reaction with this book is very promising. It will take a lot of time for this information to soak in, bypass his dislike of jutsu and then become something he has no issue or problem sharing.

We're talking at least six months, factoring in that he's doing this because I saved his life.

"I would expect nothing less," I answered. "You are the first and last line of defense against evil ideas, right?"

That line made me feel like I needed to wash my mouth out. The best way to defend against bad ideas is to let it be examined by the public at large, both conceptually and in execution and let them decide to drop those bad ideas like hot potatoes. The good ones get accepted at a frightening rate with these same standards.

"Indeed," Mifune replied carefully. He closed the book and set it on his desk. "Daisuke, if I may ask, how did your meeting with your friend go?"

"Well, I told him," I said with a nod. "But Konoha has now declared me a missing nin."

"And you're confident that they don't know you're working with me now?" Mifune asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I didn't mention it, and I've been at my personal hideout the past few weeks," I answered reassuringly. "They have no clue I've even been up this far north."

"You sound convincing, actually," Mifune said, sighing. "Well, in that case, have you considered finding another home?"

"No," I shook my head. "My hideout services my needs just fine."

"I was going to say that if you were, perhaps, to join us," Mifune slowly began. "It might go a long way to easing some tensions among the Samurai about what you are trying to show us."

If I say yes, he'll be cautiously happy. Happy because he's grown somewhat fond of me over the few visits that I've made. Cautious, because I'm still a ninja and he would be right to be cautious. However, I plan on going home and joining myself to another faction would go against that. No, better to be aloof.

"If I were to join you, those same doubters might suspect that you were placed under a Genjutsu," I answered. "And I just cut ties with Konoha. I think it would be better if I remained autonomous for right now."

"A shame," Mifune replied. "My daughter was interested in meeting you."

Well if he's got a daughter – no. Shut up, hormones.

"I suppose she'll have to wait," I said. "Now, are you going to read that by yourself first, or did you want a few copies to present to your advisors?"

"I'll read it by myself," Mifune answered. "They can have some extra copies when I've finished."

Alright. He wants to make sure none of his not-particularly trustworthy court get something they can blindside him with and take his spot. Makes sense.

Then the ground shook.

Mifune's desk was violently thrown forward at me and Mifune was nearly sent to the ground. Behind me, the guards did tumble to the ground. The sunlight pouring in through the window went dark as something large moved in front of it and in the distance, a roar came echoing into the office, causing the air to rush in the windows like the wind had picked up speed.

Whatever made that noise?

It was big.

Quest Added - The Kaiju.

-Kill the Kaiju.

Wait, no dungeon?

No army of lesser monsters before I get to the big guy? The boss just appearing is a worth a quest just by itself?

Normally, I'd be ecstatic but given how yesterday I achieved godhood, it's probably not going to be anything other than a waste of my time.

So…yay. Big boss-fight incoming that I need to one-shot to prevent unnecessary civilian casualties. Blegh.

I moved to Mifune and offered my hand. "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine," He replied, standing up without taking my hand. "What was that?"

The door flew open, and three samurai in full armor rushed through and bowed. "Shogun! There is some giant beast that appeared off in the distance! It is coming toward village!"

"Man the walls and prepare the village's defense," Mifune ordered. "Evacuate all non-combatants to the escape tunnels."

I raised my finger. "I'm helping."

Mifune looked at me for a good minute. "Very well. Accompany me to the walls."

I could've sworn that the Samurai in armor wanted to contest the Shogun on this, but didn't argue. Orders were orders.

With that, I followed the Shogun's downright manic pace to the walls. He was running as fast as he could, and we got to the walls.

…and oh boy.

I saw the thing off in the distance, standing in a valley away from the mountain range. Like…far off. The snow contrasted perfectly with the black silhouette it cast upon the village, the afternoon sun falling behind its massive head.

Wait.

Hold on.

Judging from the distance of the valley in the distance, something so far away it actually partially disappeared behind the curvature of the earth and the height of the sun, I almost want to say…

Yeah.

This thing is literally a mile tall.

1.73 kilometers tall.

It leaned its massive head back and roared out a massive plume of purple fire that engulfed the sky.