Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Looking back, Utakata could see where it all went to shit. He didn't take the Shinobi World seriously when he decided to get into it. So, the world chewed him up and spat him down. He was left with nothing but regret. The regret of the life he has chosen. Utakata didn't have any right even to complain. It was his choices that let him here. As always, surrounded by a thin evening mist.

Looking back, he fucked up with his choice. It was hard to believe now that he thought he could get strong and live as he wanted back then. His knowledge only clouded his mind. Did he really think it would be so easy? It was hard for Utakata even to remember what he was thinking. It has been a long time since he made his decision.

Now, here he was. A monster that followed every order of the village. Where was his freedom? He never had it. Status of being Jinchuriki or one of the Seven Swordsmen? It meant nothing. There wasn't a moment where his opinion mattered. Not a moment where his voice could reach anyone. It was just a lie. He was fed lies his whole life, and before he realized it, he started lying to himself, too.

Utakata had promised himself he wouldn't become a weapon anyone could use as they pleased. He broke that promise like he broke countless other promises he made to himself. He was left with no choice but to accept that he was a loser who didn't achieve anything he wanted. But today, everything will end one way or another.

He either dies, or he shall prove himself to be strong enough to leave this accursed village. It already had broken him and remolded in their vision, so if he didn't take this leap it would be only easier for them to use him. Utakata was tired of it. Killing and then regretting his actions. It never stopped. Whenever he thought he could leave it behind him, he was again pushed into this cycle.

It was now or never. He can no longer justify the senseless murder. His hands were drenched in too much blood. And it only started. The unrest of the Land of the Water. The civilians rising against the Daimyo. The clans with bloodlines rising against the Mizukage. There was always someone to kill or someone trying to kill him. How many devasted towns and families will he have to leave behind before it ends?

"It has already been five years, huh?" Utakata slowly turned to Jinin as he heard his voice. "But I was surprised when you called me out."

"I am ending this today," Utakata replied, drawing his weapon out. "This pathetic life."

"Pathetic, huh?" Jinin asked as he looked at his wrinkling face in the reflection of his axe. "I guess you are right. Well, today is a good day as any. So, if you are confident, let's see what the new hero of the Mist is capable of."

"No," Utakata said, surprising Jinin by the coldness of his tone. "There won't be any new heroes born today. You shall remain the hero of the Mist. A hero that died trying to stop its jinchuriki from escaping."

"That's not what I wanted."

"I don't care," Utakata's eyes were as cold as his voice as he looked at Jinin. "I am done being used. By you, by the village, by my master, or even Mizukage. I am leaving, so stop me if you can."

"Don't be foolish," Utakata could tell that Jinin still harbored a love for the Mist and didn't want Utakata to leave as he was very important to the village. "You are not only our jinchuriki but also one of the Seven Swordsmen. If other villages find out you abandoned the village, it will be a disaster for us."

"Then stop me," Utakata smirked as he pointed his sword at Jinin.

"I will, even if I have to break your legs and cut off your arms," Jinin replied with one hand holding his axe and with the other his hammer.

There was no need for any more words between them. Even though he despised what the village had become, Jinin wanted to be remembered as a hero. He still believes in it, or at least he wants to believe in it. Utakata now realized why Jinin wanted to die. He didn't want to hate his village. He feared of what the village would become, and he would have to witness it.

There was no point in trying to block Jinin's axe. His weapons destroyed everything in his path. Even with his tailed beast chakra, Utakata didn't think he could take a hit from Jinin and survive. That is how dangerous his weapons were. But Utakata wielded an equally dangerous weapon. With steps they had taken since the fight began, Utakata already spread thin wires around them.

"Your mastery of the Sewing Needle is commendable," Jinin said as he was forced to stop charging at Utakata unless he wanted to get entangled in the wires and lose a limb or two. "But I know how every weapon of the Seven Swordsmen worked. It isn't enough to stop me, boy."

Jinin split the ground below them with one swing of his axe, and when he brought down his hammer on the axe, he created an earthquake. Utakata lost his balance as the ground under his feet started to break. The wires attached to the ground were quickly destroyed, leaving him defenseless as Jinin jumped and brought his axe. As the axe fell on Utakata, he smiled as Jinin was stopped in the air.

"The wires you saw were the bait," Utakata explained as Jinin tried to move but couldn't. "They were thicker and easier to see. I knew you wouldn't come at me if you didn't destroy them first, so I hid the thinner wire behind the thicker ones."

"But where did you attach them?" Jinin asked as he struggled to free himself. "With the ground destroyed, nothing shouldn't be holding them."

"It easy to dismiss the mist surrounding this land as natural," Utakata replied as he pulled his sword back, making the wires dig deeper into Jinin's skin. "We see it every day. Too bad you are not a sensor. Otherwise, you would have noticed that this mist was created by chakra."

Even though Utakata kept a calm façade, he struggled to hold Jinin with his wires. Utakata didn't sense Jinin molding his chakra, even when he split the ground and created an earthquake. It was only his pure physical strength and the ability of his weapon. And even now, Utakata couldn't cut deeper into Jinin's flesh as his body was as solid as a rock.

"It is my fault," Jinin didn't seem distressed as he smiled back at Utakata. "Let's do it properly."

It was too late to react when Utakata sensed Jinin's chakra getting stronger. Before he realized it, Utakata lost control of his wires. The only thing he could do was jump back to avoid Jinin's strike. It didn't look like it would be that easy to win. But Utakata was prepared for it. After all, if he wanted to survive in this world, he at least had to do this much.

"Water style, Great Waterfall," To make some distance, Utakata utilized a jutsu that created a massive large volume of water before directing it into the air above Jinin.

"Water style, Severing Wave," Jinin countered with his jutsu.

As Utakata's massive volume of water fell on Jinin, creating a waterfall, a thin, high-pressure stream cut it in half. The water fell at Jinin's sides but didn't touch him. Utakata wasn't done, though. Using the water now surrounding Jinin, Utakata slammed his hands into the ground. His control over water elements has grown exponentially in past years. Now, using water jutsu become as easy as breathing. He only needed one hand sign to use a jutsu, at most two.

"Water style, Exploding Wave."

"Water style, Rising Water Slicer."

Utakata pushed the water surrounding them into a wave that descended upon Jinin. At the same time, Jinin countered it by using a linear wave of water that traveled at high speed to once again slice Utakata's attack in half. It was clear that Jinin was experienced and knew how to counter most of Utakata's attacks without extending much of his chakra.

Utakata shouldn't be surprised. Jinin was an elite shinobi who served the Mist for more time than he was alive as a fellow member of the Seven Swordsmen; his mastery of water jutsu was equal to or higher than Utakata's. There was no weakness in Jinin that Utakata could exploit. But Utakata was confident in his skill, too.

"Water style, Water Prison," Jinin expected one sphere of water to trap him, so when he destroyed it with his axe, he wasn't prepared for three more to come upon him. "You probably are surprised I can use this jutsu from a distance without touching it."

"No ordinary shinobi should be able to do so," Jinin replied as he tried to escape. "But you are no ordinary shinobi, are you, Utakata of Blood Waters."

"No, I am not," Utakata replied, keeping one hand on the water below him while he extracted bombs from his pouch with the other hand. "My control over water element surpasses everyone else in the Mist. I can control three spheres, put them on each other, and still hold them by connecting them with my chakra through the water. No matter the distance."

Utakata had enough chakra to push through the water where he stood to the water prison, trapping Jinin. This is what it meant to master jutsu. But he knew it wasn't enough to defeat Jinin, so Utakata threw his bombs below Jinin. As bombs exploded, Jinin emerged from the smoke. He wasn't unscathed, as he couldn't dodge the explosion while trapped.

He was bleeding from his arms, as he used them to block most of the explosion. But it only confirmed how physically strong Jinin was to block the explosion from under him and only have minimal injuries. Jinin's muscles must have been solid enough not to lose his arms. Yet, it wouldn't change much as a thick mist obscured Jinin's vision.

Utakata moved quickly around Jinin, stabbing him with his sword as Jinin tried to catch up with him. Every time Jinin wanted to counter the Hidden Mist jutsu with his jutsu, Utakata would appear to stab his hands and interrupt him. Utakata knew he couldn't let Jinin take the initiative, and though his attacks weren't fatal, the more Utakata injured Jinin, the weaker he became.

But in the end, Utakata couldn't manage to stop Jinin from using his hammer to smash the ground, making it unstable for Utakata to move. Then Jinin split the ground with his axe again, but this time, he took out a massive chunk of earth and flipped it in Utakata's direction. The chunk of earth was quickly cut into pieces by Utakata's wires, but it distracted Utakata long enough for Jinin to escape from the mist.

As the mist disappeared, ending its usefulness, Utakata looked at Jinin, who was bleeding from various stab wounds on his body. But none were too deep, and Jinin wasn't too disturbed by the wounds. Seeing that he needed to do more damage, Utakata weaved his hand into a sign, but before he could create a jutsu, he was forced to drop to the ground to dodge the axe flying at him.

Utakata was surprised at the speed the axe flew at him and even more surprised to see that Jinin was not only not slowed down by his wounds, but he was even faster than before. Jinin was above him mere moments after he threw his axe. Barely managing to roll out of the way of the hammer descending on him, Utakata was ready to counterattack, but the shockwave from the hammer hitting the ground knocked him back.

Just as Utakata regained his balance, Jinin's hand was already coming for Utakata's neck. This time, managing to react quickly, Utakata used Mist Blade to cut Jinin's fingers before they reached his neck. Yet, Jinin still managed to headbutt him, making Utakata crash on the ground. Then Jinin planted his feet on Utakata's chest, keeping him on the ground.

"I am bringing you back, boy," Jinin said through heavy breathing.

"No, you are not," Utakata looked impassively at Jinin's eyes as wire wrapped around his neck.

As Utakata pulled his hands back, the wire dug deeper into Jinin's neck. Jinin, not giving up, pushed his feet deeper into Utakata's chest. Too bad for Jinin, Utakata was used to the pain caused by crushed bones, so he was able to endure as his ribs broke. But Jinin could not ignore his head being cut off. Utakata let out a deep sigh once Jinin's body dropped beside him.

A.N. As always, If you want more, up to seven advanced chapters, you can support me on pa treon. com \ ironwolf852. And if you have any requests for stories, I will only take them on my pa treon.