Chapter 102: Toru-sama

Walking down the corridor, making his footsteps echo like the hooves of a strange animal, he looked at the exit of the place. The rain falls without stopping, each drop hitting the ground causing a small sound to join the chorus of this torrential rain.

'I see... so Hatake Kakashi is the messenger of Konoha.'

The man looked at the door where Kakashi stands.

Kakashi is waiting. He wears a white hooded cloak with two red lines at the end of it. Because of the rain, the cloak is soaked, but apparently Kakashi for some reason stays dry.

The man sighs and goes out to greet his guest.

On his way out, Kakashi sees him and bows slightly. A second later, the guards standing nearby escorted Kakashi inside the building. The man continued to walk in front of Kakashi while the guards protect him.

***

"Thank you for coming, Hatake Kakashi. You can leave the message there."

Kakashi looked at a small aluminum tray. He took out the scroll and placed it on the tray. Thereupon, the man took the scroll and approached one of more paper doors nearby.

The door opens. A hand with bandages comes out and takes the scroll. The man, better known as Hanzo of the Salamander, goes back to where he was sitting in this small room with the tatami floor and paper walls. He looks at Kakashi and smiles disturbingly under his respirator attached to his helmet.

Hanzo is actually dead. The one who has now taken Hanzo's appearance is Toru, who was forced to act this way. Konan ordered him to become Hanzo and sent him to receive the guest.

-A few minutes ago-

After the Jounin messenger disappeared, Konan looked at Toru and with some sheets of paper, grabbed him by the scarf and dragged him somewhere.

After a few seconds, the two were back in the main building of the village.

Konan hands a book to Toru. Toru takes it and reads it. He frowns and realizes what Konan is planning and, although the possibility of refusal exists, Toru remembers that he just beat the crap out of this woman. So, even though it's a complete nuisance and an abuse of authority, Toru agrees to whatever Konan is planning.

"Transform into Hanzo and talk to Hatake Kakashi. It looks like this has to do with the chūnin examinations that Konohagakure and Sunagakure are planning. Just do that, there are no hidden tricks."

"Ha~ you make it sound like you're seriously hiding something" Toru touches his head painfully, for he knows Konan is making him do this as a small revenge for being defeated so easily by with 14 year old brat. 'Although it's the first time he's talked more than usual in front of me. Maybe he doesn't hate me that much'

Accepting this torment, Toru clasps his hands together and takes a leap, falling from the top of the building. At that same instant, a cloud of smoke completely covers Toru's body and then....

'I'll end this quickly'

Toru has changed his appearance. He now looks like a man with strange helmet and a respirator attached to it. His hair grew and changed color, now being a pale blond color.

As he falls, he gives a sigh and shakes his head. 'Kakashi, uh... The last time I saw him was after Sasuke almost killed Naruto.'

***

This brings us back to the present.

Toru remains calm while maintaining the jutsu that turned him into Hanzo. Kakashi, at the same time, talks about the state of Amegakure. He makes a small observation regarding the weather, which always remains rainy and cloudy. Toru, looking like Hanzo, sighs and nods his head.

"There's a reason this village is called Amegakure (Hidden Village of Rain)."

Kakashi smiles under the mask covering his mouth. He tries to analyze the surroundings, but finds nothing. Toru notices this, but decides to let Kakashi investigate some more. This is less stressful than Toru imagined. In fact, seeing Kakashi brought back some good memories of the chūnin exams.

'It looks like he hasn't changed at all. I guess it's the same in Konoha, nothing must have changed after that day. Ha~ I remembered that old bastard's face, now I'm angry. I think that's enough for today, I want to go now.'

Toru stands up and looks at Kakashi.

"If you don't have anything else to talk about, go back to your village. I'll make sure to respond to the invitation properly. The guards will escort you back to the exit."

"Oh, I understand. Thank you for your attention, Hanzo-sama."

Kakashi gives a slight bow and, together with the guards who were outside the room, exits the building.

Toru looks for the last time at the long dark corridor illuminated only by some small candles and, walking somewhere, smoke starts to surround his body. His body returned to normal after that.

"I already did what I had to do, let's leave the rest to the original Toru."

With a slight glint in his left eye, Toru disappeared enveloped in a cloud of smoke.

The guards around saw this, but did nothing, after all, this is only an order from Konan, the Angel of God.

-Amegakure's main building-

Toru opened his eyes. The information gathered by the clone has reached his brain.

'Hm... so that's it, huh.'

Looking up, Toru approached Pain and Konan, who are, as usual, admiring the scenery of the village. For a few seconds he accompanied them, looking at the cloudy sky and the buildings draining water from the roofs. He saw people walking with umbrellas in their hands to protect themselves from the rain. Toru saw children, men, women, elderly and above all, families walking holding hands.

"Thank you for bringing him."

A clone of Toru appeared and handed him the scroll. After that, the clone disappeared.

"It's an invitation to the chūnin exams. It seems that the first stage will be held in Konoha. This is obviously a trap for us, but I think that, if we can make good use of the opportunity, we can find out important information about the villages and the Jinchūriki. What do you think about this, Pain?"

Toru is right, Pain confirms with a faint smile.

"We'll have to send some genin so they won't be suspicious. Previously, Hanzo also sent a large group of genin to the exams. I guess we'll do the same. Konan..."

"Yes, I'll take care of that."

This is good for everyone. If one of the Jinchūriki are found to be among the participants of the chūnin exams, it could be the perfect opportunity to kidnap them and shake the ninja world. Toru knows this, which caused a small proud smile to form on his mouth.

"Well, I guess I'll send my genin team as well. They are strong, so I'm interested in sending them. I'll also be able to get valuable information that will help me with my personal matters, do you agree?"

Toru looks at Pain and Konan.

Pain nods and then Toru disappears, leaving these two watching a small ray of light come out through the clouds.

"It amazes me more and more every day what that boy can do."

A strange spiral appears behind Pain and Konan, from which a hooded man emerges.

"He's certainly a valuable pawn. Which is why we'll have to keep him from getting out of hand. That's why you put Konan as his partner, isn't it, Nagato?"

"That's right... Konan, take care of keeping an eye on him. We mustn't let the same thing happen as with Orochimaru."

Hearing this, Konan nods his head.

Nagato (Pain) knows that Toru has a similar mentality to Orochimaru, so it's no wonder that this boy will come to betray them sooner or later. Still, Pain trusted that Toru would gain some attachment to Amegakure, so he decided to give him a team of rookie genin as assistants. This way, he would have this boy dancing in the palm of his hand.

"Well, I'll soon enter the scene. It's best to resume capturing the Bijū. Until then, I hope for the best results."

"About that you needn't worry. I know what I do and how I do it..." Pain said.

"I see. So, I'll see you later..."

The man vanish again wrapped in that strange spiral that seemed to break reality. At the same time, watching the man disappear, Konan frowned a little. She tried to watch every move that person made, after all he is too suspicious.

-Somewhere in Amegakure-

In the sky, high above the buildings, small shockwaves began to appear. The villagers watched this, but they already knew who it was.

A few seconds later, the shockwaves stopped somewhere.

'If I have to move that fast, it's easier with the air platforms. The only flaw is that they produce a lot of noise. I'm sure everyone in the village knows where I'm going. Not that I mind either, now I just want to do one thing.'

Toru has stopped somewhere where the roofs of the buildings allowed the rain not to reach him. Being in a rather high place, Toru saw some people walking around the place. Nearby, there are three girls with the distinctive Amegakure bandana, proving that they are village ninja.

Before going next to them, Toru makes the typical entrance that he always does when looking for these girls in person.

While they seemed to be talking to each other, a great current of wind appeared. Everyone was astonished because someone descended from the sky as if he was an angel. Through his hat, death's eyes shine with an emotionless facial expression like that of a dead man.

"Toru-sama!"

The girls approached Toru and bowed slightly. Toru nods his head and smiles slightly. "Hi. It's been a few days since I last saw you girls, have you improved in the jutsu and taijutsu you were taught?"

The girls look at each other and with serious expressions nod, confirming that they have improved since they last saw this boy.

One of them steps forward and looks into Toru's bright eyes under the hat. This girl is Ajisai, a young girl, the same age as Toru. She has purple hair tied in an onion-shaped bun on the top of her head. Her eyes are light yellow pain and she has slightly pale skin. Her attire consists of a gray turtleneck shirt with purple accents, the generic pants most ninjas wear, and traditional ninja sandals.

Alongside her are her teammates, Suiren and Fuyo.

Suiren is the same age as Ajisai. Her eyes are light-colored, her hair is long green which reaches about to her chest and comes out on the sides of her black Amegakure Ninja Band so that it covers her entire head. Her clothing, unlike Ajisai's clothing, consists of a gray cloak and a mask that covers his mouth.

On the other hand, Fuyo has long black hair that covers the entire left side of her face. Her eyes are purple which are half open. In addition, she wears a kind of yellow ribbon around her neck. Her clothing consists of a gray suit, with a gray cape tied on the right side of her body. She also wears dark pants and the typical shinobi sandals.

"Although it is difficult for us, we try our best to meet your expectations, Toru-sama. As you told us, we tried to modify the style of taijutsu you taught us, adapting it to our body. Fighting has become easier thanks to you" Ajisai appreciated all that Toru had taught them in just one week.

Suiren also felt grateful to Toru, for, like Ajisai, she has learned so much in such a short time. Although Fuyo, without a doubt, looked a little nervous to be in front of Toru, since a few minutes ago they saw him fight against "Tenshi-sama". They saw the result of the fight and were able to witness some of Toru's power.

"We have improved a lot. Ajisai already said it, but I would like to say it too. Thank you, Toru-sama."

"I say the same..."

Ajisai looked at Suiren and Fuyo, who made a reference before their "sensei". Though they see him more as a higher existence, just like how they see Konan or Pain. To them, Toru is an angel who descended from heaven to give them his help.

"They always do the same thing. No need to thank for something so trivial" Toru's eyes stopped sparkling as he lets out a sigh "Well, I'd like to focus on what I have planned for you three. The chūnin exams are being organized by Konoha and Suna, so I would like you guys to participate in these exams."

Ajisai is surprised by this. The same goes for Suiren and Fuyo. They didn't consider themselves fit enough to enter the chūnin exams, but Toru recommending them in this way is certainly progress for them. That is, they are strong and Toru considers this strength useful, this makes these three girls happy.

"Based on the skills they showed me during training, plus everything I taught them, I'm sure they won't have difficulties, but... Ajisai-san."

As if their hearts were in sync, Ajisai quickly replied. "You need us to gather information, don't you?"

Toru smirks under his hat. This girl is always very perceptive, answering questions instantly and seriously. She takes her position as a ninja seriously and does not hesitate to do something. But Ajisai is still young, so, like Toru, it is normal to make mistakes.

"You are correct" Ajisai smiles slightly at Toru's statement. He continues to speak. "What I want you to do is simple. I want the three of you to search for Jinchūriki for me. In the process you can gather information about the other villages, any little detail is useful to me."

Ajisai, Suiren and Fuyo nod their heads without saying a word, for they, when it comes to talking to Toru, words are always left over. It is not necessary to talk too much to understand each other and this is something that Toru is very interested in.

'Okay, let's start with this...'

-Hyūga clan, Konohagakure-

The blows, one after another echoed. Waves of chakra spread as palms clashed.

Both Byakugan users stare at each other with veins swelling around their eyes. Both are breathing heavily and sweat can be seen running down their foreheads.

"Haa!"

Again the palms collide and release small amounts of chakra until....

"Uhg!"

Neji falls to the ground exhausted and hurt from the extreme training he has had these days together with Hinata.

"I'm sorry, are you okay, Neji-onii-sama?

Hinata tries to help Neji, but he just smiles while looking up at the sky. "Yes, I'm fine. You should know how to hold back a little more, Hinata-sama."

"Well, I..."

"Don't worry. I'm not hurt, I'm just tired. We've been training for eight hours straight without a break. It's best to leave the training here. Just for today, because tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us and it's better to rest before the chūnin exams" As he says this, Neji gets up from the ground and limps away.

Hinata is left alone and looks at the ground with narrowed eyes.

A faint thought passes through her mind.

'Where will he be... What will he be doing right now?'

She looked up at the sky and remembered the past. And then, a nostalgic and sad expression formed on her face. She clenched her fists tightly and the veins around her eyes swelled again.

"I will not rest. I must go on, I must become stronger..."

______

Hello my beautiful readers. I have come back to life to bring you a chapter. I will post the next one when I reach 100 power stones.

Oh, before I forget. I posted a new fanfic, if you like you can go read it.