Crown-less Princess

After the next day dawned, several hundred foot soldiers and samurai came to capture the pirates and lead them to Satsuma, where they'd be judged for their actions. Their attitude against the pirates was anything but kind.

Some of the foot soldiers disrespectfully spat them to their faces, others horribly beat them till they fainted, samurais ordered the pirates to strip themselves and hand over everything valuable they possessed. They even forced some of them to eat sand and whoever refused was stomped on the soil by them.

The innocent folk that were captives to the pirates were definitely relieved that their lifes were saved, yet they felt somewhat afraid of them getting the same treatment with the pirates. Since most of the captives lived in the war-stricken land, it was clear to them that the Phoenix country didn't recruit the most morally good people.

Hayato, though disgusted by the "professional" army's actions against them, knew that they surely had a reason to behave like this.The war crimes that the pirates committed against civilian population were not forgotten neither by him nor by the army.

He was sitting a bit further with the woman laid down by his side, who was just waking up.

______

She didn't know whether she was dead or alive. She knew that she was laid down.Her body wouldn't listen to my will and stood still,yet the woman could open and close her eyes, but barely .Hayato's falling kick gave a huge shock to her body, yet it was truly admirable of her that she was still alive.

Gradually regaining her senses, she could feel the a cold breeze on her neck and could also smell the saltiness in the air . She opened my eyes fully and gazed at the the sea. It is truly beautiful early in the morning.As the pirate mistress enjoyed the serenity of the environment, a voice was heard from behind her. She didn't recognize at first because her hearing hadn't recovered yet.

"So you are finally awake..."

She managed to get up and turned around. It seems that the voice came from this dumbass, metallic son of a bitch that she fought, or however the woman viewed Hayato.

However, he didn't have all those metallic parts in him like when shefirst saw him in the ship. He was sitting on a log and there was a fading campfire between us.

"I'd advise you to sit down. The wound on your head is not something to take lightly. You might get dizzy and faint again. " he spoke calmly.

Tch! Irritating!The woman hadn't even stretched herself and he already started talking! Hayato had already started getting on her nerves.

"Seriously? You pounded the shit out of me and now you are worried about my head. Pff, get lost bumass!" the woman replied frustrated but, her sight started to blur again and then she sat down on the sand as he advised her . Hayato then slightly chuckled, irritating the pirate mistress more.

"May I ask a question or two?" he asked and she nodded.

"Firstly, what's your name? Mine's is Hayato."

"T-Tomoko..."she answered reluctantly getting more open to him, as she understood that Hayao didn't have the intention to hurt her anymore ... probably.

" Nice to meet you then, Tomoko."he said and he offered me his hand . She didn't gave mine of course. He gathered his hand awkwardly.

"Anyway, let's not lose any time and head to the next question?" he asked and grabbed a fairly big stone tablet, placed it on his left thigh and balanced it with his hand.

Questions? The last thing that Tomoko would want to listen to know was questions. She didn't have any other choice though. She didn't have the power to oppose Hayato and her chakra had almost depleted.

Hayato then weaved the ram seal with his right hand and placed his palm on the tablet's smooth surface. Mysteriously then, a symbol was carved by itself, the symbol of the Rinnesharingan.

"You recognize this symbol, don't you?" he asked and pointed at the symbol.

"Pff, yeah?" she scoffed "Like, this thing is everywhere! It's the Ajna."

The word that drew Hayato's interest was the word "everywhere". And in fact, Tomoko's statement wasn't untrue, since he witnessed a lot of statues bearing the Rinnesharingan... or Ajna.

"Ajna?" Hayato asked with curiosity "What do you know about it?"

Tomoko couldn't help it but laughed mockingly.

"Seriously? You don't know what the Ajna is? Well, given by your previous appearance, it's probably no secret that you sprouted from somewhere, right?" she spoke with disdain for Hayato's appearance.

"Don't make me repeat my question." Hayato retorted calmly.

"Ok, as you wish. Religious stuff say that the Ajna appears between the eyes, in the forehead. It's an ancient heavenly power that gives the person another perception of our world, a perception that can't be seen with the eyes, but can be only grasped with the mind." she exclaimed, while her speech was infused with some irony against those religious beliefs.

Hayato recorded her statements with the HUD in his eyes, so he could be helped later in his further research.

" Good"Hayato said monotonously and placed his hand on the tablet once again. The symbols of the 5 Elemental Nation's Hidden Villages appeared on the stone.

" Do you recognize any of those symbols? "Hayato asked once again.

" N-no excep-"she exclaimed with a stutter and her final word didn't manage to exit her lips. It seemed that she attempted to correct herself.

" No, no I don't know any of those."Tomoko now shrugged confidently.

Hayato however, could see behind her cheap lie. When she corrected herself, when the word "except" desperately tried to make its way out of her, Tomoko's gaze fell on the Sunagakure symbol.

"Suspicious" Hayato thought and his iconic, eyebrow-lifting expression formed in his face.

"Understandable" he breathed out, pretending nothing happened.

"Then? What about those symbols" Hayato asked once more, to the point that a vein popped on Tomoko's forehead from frustration. The final symbols that appeared were the crests of different clans.

"THERE" Tomoko shouted, loud enough to make her wounded body ache and make the soldiers' head turn at their direction. She pointed at the Otsutsuki clan symbol, the symbol that Aki previously said that the alien punks use on Earth.

"As to be expected" Hayato thought, as excitement pumped through his body. He couldn't await to hear her answer.

"I've seen a handful of people bearing that symbol, either as a tatoo or stitched on their clothes.From soldiers, to farmers, to noble-"

"Do those people had otherworldly characteristics, like horns, pupiless or colorful eyes, pale skin and hair color?" he interrupted her and gave out another question.

Upon hearing this description, Tomoko's eyes widened.

"N-n-no" she replied in one word, stuttering. Awkward silence followed for a few seconds,as Hayato wasn't satisfied with her answer. Not because he expected to hear more, but for another reason.

"This expression... none would make that expression if they truly didn't know a thing about the Otsutsuki. Perhaps they'd stare at me with an eyebrow raised,as those stuff would seem like crap to them. But this woman... she's lying!Not to mention her excitement when she saw the symbol."

Hayato thought suspiciously as his eyes narrowed.

" Ok then, let's head to the next question."he continued, pretending he was pleased with her a answer. However, Hayato's straightforwardness and consecutive questions caused Tomoko to feel very uncomfortable.

" How did you know that you have the ability to mould and change the nature of chakra? "he asked once more. The question whose reply couldn't wait to hear.

" Hm, if I remember correctly, my powers started to manifestate when I only 9 years old. I remember me running from a someone in the woods. I reached the sea and kept running from something. I realized that I was subconsciously running on water. Crazy right? So yeah, I managed to escape from that guy. I think he was a shopkeeper from whom I stole an apple if I remember correctly. "

"I tried to keep my powers hidden since I didn't want to someone weaponize me against anyone. I did succeed hiding my powers almost perfectly. Almost..." she paused, cleared her throat and restarted speaking.

"Weaponize?" Hayato asked, abrupting her thoughts.

"Yeah, the situation back at my home country was terrible. A civil war was imminent, as the country's Daimyo, my father, was about to clash with the people, who were enraged by my old man's economic politics and authoritarian tactics." Tomoko explained thoroughly.

" Oh, so we have royal blood right here!" Hayato spoke and grinned sarcastically.

" Don't call me like this!"Tomoko shouted back irritated. This characterization really hit a nerve on her.

Hayato felt that they were distancing from the subject, so he immediately returned to his previous question.It seemed nevertheless that Tomoko purposely tried to change the subject so she wouldn't have to expand on her answer, something that felt really suspicious.

"Interesting. Now tell me, how did you go from walking on water to unleashing gigantic water monsters, having such physical strength and speed and being capable of genius timing?" Hayato shifted the interrogation back to it's original subject. Tomoko was surprised by how pryingly he changed it.

" You must have had a mentor, right?"

She didn't answer though, she didn't even open her mouth to talk.No,her mouth didn't want to open itself to speak,like it was sealed by something. She just stood there, unmannerly staring at him.

"Listen, I can understand by your way of speech and your expressions that you are not willing to share the truth. You know, nothing will come out of it. Even if you manage to hide the truth away from me, I'll still find it, sooner or later." Hayato said, with a serious, and kinda threatening, tone in his voice. Tomoko retained her silence after those words.

"But, there is a chance that I will learn the truth right here, right now."he continued and pointed downwards.

" And, given the unfavorable circumstances, I'm willing to absolutely grab that chance.You are the only one that can help me with this task, whether you like it or not!"he finished and the fire between them mysteriously extinguished.

Hayato then got up, kicked away the carbonized logs that were previously burning and approached her. He squatted down to her height and intensified his gaze that bore a peculiar anomaly, which pierced through her.

" His eyes. What's that pattern?" Tomoko thought as she panicked, commenting on what appeared to be the much despised by Hayato,Sharingan.

He was never proud when activating this cursed eye and used only in particular situations. However, it's glowing red color and the 3 tomoe spinning around his pupil struck terror on his enemies and applied tremendous psychological pressure to them,making it the perfect interrogation tool.

"Now, whether we are going the hard or easy way is up to you." Hayato finally exclaimed as his toned calmed.

The previous calm way of his speech forced Tomoko to fall under the delusion that he would be more resilient and more tolerant against her.It appeared that he was completely the opposite. Hayato was determined to extract as much info as he could from her, even if he had to force the info out of her.

"Okay, okay, OKAY!" she said and slightly shoved Hayato away.

"J-just sit down, I'll tell you."

Hayato sat down on the log as she asked,leaned in front andplaced his elbows on his thighs. He then brought his hands to his mouth,covering it.A pose that indicated his concentration and determination.

"Go on then. Im all ears." he demanded in stiff tone.

Tomoko, knowing that there was no way to dodge his questions, had to browse through several memories, through killings, raids, lootings and massacres. Specifically, she went back 9 years ago, when a life-changing event took place.

And, without hesitation, she narrated the story to him

_______

In that day she that she remembers , late in the night as Tomoko was sleeping, whilst a loud noise woke her up. She ignored it at first but, after hearing footsteps, she hid herself unter the blanket. As the footsteps' sound grew stronger, she felt a hand touching my head,radiating a "warmth" she had never felt before...

She remembered someone speaking to me with a soothing voice and asking her to come out of her blanket..

Little Tomoko, terrified by the sound, hid herself under the blanket and held her breath. She felt a hand touching her head, radiating a warmth that she had never felt before, neither by her father nor by her mother.

"Come out little princess. There is nothing to be afraid of." a soothing male voice spoke.

Tomoko then, cautiously raised her blanket in order to see his appearance. She was striked by his attire!

He wore a hooded, sleeveless white coat and a purple robe underneath, decorated with golden magatamas and stripes. He also wore purple pants, white greaves and a weird type of shoe,which were upturned at the toes,while he decorated his neck with 6 rings worn around it.

Finally his face was covered by a metallic mask, a mask that had a lifeless, uncanny expression that caused discomfort to whoever they looked at it.Three small horns sprouted from his forehead, pale in color.It was clear that this man was anything but human.

"You know, people with royal blood are primary targets for the rebels. You are not safe here." the man warned her.

He then extended his arm and opened his pale palm, which was wrapped with a golden thread. Suddenly, blue fire was lit on his palm.

"You recognize this fire don't you? This is chakra, the life force that exists in every human.You can do amazing things with this power.However,humans behaved greedily in the past and were stripped away by the ability to control chakra." he said and closed his palm, extinguishing the fire.

Tomoko of course recognized this peculiar fire. It is the same flame that her feet emitted when walking on water.

" It appears that you are different. It appears that you were grunted the ability to shape and transform chakra however you please.I've been watching you from an early age and I've been also been amazed by your talent. Even though you've never been taught by anyone, you walk on water like it's a solid object. "the man said.

" But similarly to every skill, you need training in order to utilize this power to it's fullest potential.They say that those who can shape chakra can shape the world as well."he paused a bit and kneeled to the height of her bed.

" So what do you say?Will you come with me to learn the ways of chakra? "he offered.

"This man! He is definitely my guardian angel!" thought Tomoko, full of enthusiasm. She then nodded in full agreement, without the tiniest sign of hesitation .Even with royal blood, it's the only time she felt a bit special.

" Good."he exclaimed.

" Know that while you will be training with me, a horrible civil war will strike this island. The so called 'senate' doesn't want democracy, they just fulfill the interests of an other country that is interested in the island's ores."

"Even if the civil war somewhen ends, this country's army will march through the scorched land and take over it.I'm afraid to say that there is no 'good' or 'bad' guy in this situation. There is nothing that you can do. "he warned her once again.

"With the power that you are going to achieve you will be able to rebuild from scratch the island."the man continued,with an assuring tone.

Tomoko's excitement slowly faded, knowing that she is currently powerless to change this island's fate.However she would work to the fullest though in order to master the ways chakra and rebuild what will be lost.

"Shall we go?" he asked and she nodded for a second time.A peculiar phenomenon then occurred around them, as the spacetime around them started bending and altering their surroundings. Tomoko was terrified by this unknown to her event, so she grasped his arm tightly and stuck to the left side oh his body.

Mysteriously, they teleported to an other world, another dimension.It was night there and seven moons decorated the sky. There was almost nothing around them but dried and dead trees,giving the atmosphere an ominous vibe. Not a single sign of civilization could be seen.

"What you experienced right now was a fraction of what you can do with chakra" he explained.

Tomoko, kinda terrified, understood that they were not on Earth right now. She looked around her with her eyes widened in shock.

"Th-This is not paradise!" she conceived.

She then found the courage to ask him something.

"Uhm mister? What is your name?"Tomoko asked hesitantly.

He chuckled a bit at first, noticing her shyness,but he eventually answered.

"My name is Omoikane. Nice to meet you, little Tomoko."

_____

"... and yeah, that's how things pretty much were." Tomoko finally finished explaining.

It seems what Hayato feared, yet expecting it, the fact that this woman was undoubtedly trained by an Otsutsuki! That explains her exceptionally great talent in ninjutsu and kenjutsu. She could even keep up with one of his clones! However, it was clear to him that Tomoko lacked experience.Hayato thought that he should ask a question or two about this man.

He admired her memory as well, being able to remember so many things that occurred several years before. Omoikane was her mentor's name. Hayato memorized this name.

"This guy,Omoikane.Tell me something about him. Anything you know." he asked. as he prepared a few dozen more of questions.

Tomoko's didn't respond immediately and thought for a bit.

"Hmmm look. I ain't playing with you but except from the fact that he was hella strong, I know nothing about him. He was the biggest introvert I've ever seen!" she finally replied.

Hayato obviously didn't fall for this and he understood that Tomoko was probably hiding something. Nonetheless, he wouldn't abandon his try to get information about this Omoikane. Hayato thought that maybe Aki knew something about him.

"Tell me, were there other people in that world that bore similar characteristics to that Omoikane guy?" Hayato threw at her another question.

"No" she replied to a monotonous, unconvincing manner.

"Ah! Alright then."he sighed and got up, as it seems that she wasn't willing to answer any questions. Well, he was fine with it, since that long inquiry tired her.

Hayato then glanced at the rescued civilians, who still had an expression of shock in their faces.

" Come, get up. Soon you will be led to an other interrogation, more important than mine's" he exclaimed in a serious way, while his gaze was nailed on those captives,a gaze that was proof of pity compassion.Nonetheless, learning about Tomoko's atrocities against those people was not a priority.

Then, as he turned his head back at Tomoko, the cloth with the shattered metal around his neck untied itself and fell on the sand . He gasped, instantly kneeled down to pick it up and blew away the sand that were stuck on the metal's engravings and cracks.

Hayato's care for that barely-valuable object, made Tomoko question.

"That... cloth with a shattered metallic piece on it... around your neck. What is it?" she asked curiously.

Surprised by her question, Hayato didn't reply for a bit.

"Oh! Heh! That you say?The headband? " he said awkwardly.

"Well... I guess every person has something precious to cherish. Even this shattered headband."

"But... It's broken! What value has a shattered piece of metal?" Tomoko asked.

Hayato scratched his head and started thinking of something.

"Well... I guess it's not the material that makes the headband valuable. It's the essence and the ideals of it!" Hayato answered with a smile.

"W-what kind of ideals does a piece of metal has?" Tomoko once again asked bewildered.

"The ideals of this 'piece of metal' differ from person to person that bear this headband basi-"

"What's YOUR ideal then?" she rudely cut him off, as she couldn't believe that a devil like him could have ideals.

Hayato was short of surprised by her question. However, the serious expression on his face changed into a more wistful one. It was like he was disturbed by something.

"MY ideal eh?" Hayato muttered.

"Ah,this ideal of mine. I've found that this ideal resided in me the worst way possible. Y'know, I really come from a very prestigious family, a family that unfortunately bore a cursed past and legacy. Ashamed as I was after learning about that past and awaking that legacy, I... really felt jointly responsible for what my family did during the course of history. And thus I initiated a crusade of repentance. "

"Well, during that crusade,as I fought against corruption and terror, I followed my heart blindly, completely forgetting about rational thinking Because of this simple mistake, everything was lost, everyone suffered. And even you, Tomoko." he said and let off a huge sigh, whereas his facial expression relaxed more.

Tomoko, on the other hand, couldn't comprehend anything of what he just said. So she remained silent for a bit.Yet something appeared strange on him.

" Hah! This motherfucker truly is human. He actually has feelings!"she thought and smirked , as the change of Hayato's expression appeared kinda... unnatural.

Suddenly then a samurai approached, breaking apart the awkward silence. Be reminded Hayato, who shifted his expression back to his frowning and serious one, that they should had left by now. The man in armor ordered Tomoko to get up and so did she.

"Don't do any weird shit."Hayato warned her as the samurai handcuffed her. He observed something odd in these handcuffs. There were seals on them!

"Hey who gave you those handcuffs?" Hayato asked the armored man curiously.

"Akira-san from Satsuma sir!" he responded immediately.

Those seals soon affected Tomoko heavily.

"My chakra! I... I can't control it." she thought panicked.

Hayato activated his Sharingan for a fraction of a second and noted the effects of the jutsu-altered handcuffs in Tomoko's chakra pathway system.

"Why didn't Aki give me cool shit like that!Well, it doesn't matter cause I got cooler shit than those handcuffs!" Hayato thought kinda irritated .

All of the soldiers and samurais had already went into formation and were ready to march to Satsuma. Hayato, since he was very excited about the information that were about to get shared with him, decides that they shouldn't waste any time and join the rest of the troops and head back.

Tomoko on the other hand obviously didn't share the same excitement with Hayato, for she was about to be judged by her actions. One thing was sure, that her death was a few days away.