Chapter 133: What you really feel

In that high observatory, Toru just watched the rain in silence. The wind was coming in through the large opening in the building, making this boy feel a little cold even though he was wearing Akatsuki's robe.

Sighing softly, he took off his hat and put it on the ground, leaving it at his side, right where he is sitting, in this big and empty place. Toru felt that this, somehow, was quite quiet and lonely. It reminded him a lot of his childhood in this world, as he was also alone for a long time, just like in his past life.

"They... are dead..."

His face expressionless, Toru placed both hands on the ground and sighed. He had a brief recollection of what happened a few hours ago when he returned to Amegakure.

-More than 10 hours ago-

Toru walked next to Zetsu, the only member of Akatsuki with whom Toru has interacted very few times, with the exception of Tobi, who is new to the organization.

Zetsu couldn't help but feel amused at this situation. Toru just saw Hidan and Kakuzu die, so someone like him, so "young and innocent" should feel at least a little sad about it, but that didn't seem to be the case. Toru remained expressionless and calm. Even his heartbeat was quite relaxed, as if nothing strange was going on.

Taking advantage of this, Zetsu decided to talk more with Toru, as it was well known that Toru gets along well with most Akatsuki members, plus he usually joins the teams to help them on missions when he has nothing to do.

"Those two... I think they got overconfident. You know, well Hidan I can expect him to be impulsive and stuff, but I never thought Kakuzu-well he would die like that. You're lucky I got you out of there."

Toru didn't speak for a few seconds, as he himself thought that if Zetsu hadn't arrived, by now everyone would be dead except for Naruto, but it was Zetsu himself who interrupted the impending fight.

"Luck is based on probabilities. We can consider a lucky event as good luck, just as we can consider an unlucky event bad luck. In any case, your having arrived was not good luck for me, but quite the opposite."

"I see. You say interesting things, so do you think you would have been able to take on the same guys who killed Hidan and Kakuzu?"

Toru narrowed his eyes. "It's not something I believe, it's something I can easily do."

"Hm... I understand. If you're so confident in your power, then so be it. We're almost to Amegakure. Pain-sama is a bit upset that you disobeyed him, so he asked me to bring you back as quickly as possible after he let you play with your friends for a while."

'Friends...?' Hearing that simple word, Toru kept his face expressionless and walked faster. Standing a few meters in front of Zetsu, he looked at him before speaking. "I... I don't need friends. I don't need any of that..."

In response to this, Zetsu just shook his head keeping a small smile on his face.

After that, Toru returned to Amegakure along with Zetsu. He was scolded by Nagato, who kept talking about pain and stuff. Konan didn't seem bothered, as she didn't say anything about it.

***

That was how it all happened. That was how Toru returned to Amegakure and stayed thinking all night, watching the rain in silence. Remembering that word that Zetsu said.

Friends...

A year has passed since Toru joined Akatsuki. In a single year quite a lot happened for him. He got to know all the members of Akatsuki and constantly helped them on side missions aside from hunting the Jinchūriki.

He knew them quite well after living with those people this past year.

Sasori, Deidara, Hidan, Kakuzu, Konan, Pain, Itachi and Kisame.

But now, three of them have died. Akatsuki starts to become empty for Toru.

At this moment why do I remember all these things? That was what Toru thought as he stretched out his hand, looking at the scars that could be seen a little through his robe.

Hidan was very impulsive and got angry very easily when someone insulted his religion, but in the end Toru managed to get along with him. Kakuzu on the other hand, was quite calm when the situation didn't get annoying, so Toru managed to empathize with him easily.

As for the late Sasori... Toru respected him a bit for the way he saw the world. With the destructive power of his puppet art.

"I wonder... What would happen if Konan dies too?"

Toru doesn't think of himself as sentimental. He never has, but... at the thought of that possibility, he touched his chest with a twinge of pain.

That feeling, it was the same as that day, when he was about to turn 7 years old. The day his mother died.

'This annoying feeling... again... the same thing...' Toru got up from the ground and walked to the outskirts of the observer. Once there, he looked at the emptiness and sighed then lifted his gaze and looked up at the rainy clouds.

His face had no expression other than that zombie face he always has. He just stood there for a few seconds while breathing heavily, as if he couldn't speak or say anything coherent. He took a step forward after that and jumped into the abyss.

Boom! Splash!

Toru fell into the water, causing an explosive ripple in the water that eventually disappeared.

...

In the middle of the water, Toru was floating without taking his eyes off the rainy clouds.

He brought his own hand to his mouth and bit his finger.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu" He slapped his hand against the water and a circle of black ink was painted there.

Puff! An explosion with a cloud of smoke exploded next to Toru and a canine-like being appeared. At that same instant, Toru stood in the water and looked at the being that appeared in front of him.

"Good evening, Toru-dono! What do you need from me-!" Okaminaru appeared with enough energy to help his master, but when he saw the expression this boy had on his face a quick memory came to his mind.

It was the same... as when Toru woke up after being forced to flee from his home village.

"Hey... Okaminaru" Part of his hair was covering his face. He had slightly long hair because he hadn't cut it lately. "It's been a long time since we trained together..." Toru held out his hand and one of his eyes glowed with the light of the Kodō Shigan. "Do you want to have a duel with me?"

Okaminaru sighed hearing this. This situation had come up before in the past. That's why Okaminaru already understood the situation and decided to accept the duel.

"If that's what Toru-dono wishes, then I have no problem with it. Besides, it's in the contract. All the wolves of the Ōkami clan that you summon will have to obey your orders."

...

Toru held his silence for a second before answering. He looked up and both eyes glowed with a black X swirling inside his pupils in blue and red monochromatic glow. "I'm not forcing you to do anything. Just ask if you want to have a duel with me" He said still keeping his face expressionless.

In response to this, Okaminaru smiled. Then, he jumped backwards and stretched his front paws. "I already said I accept your duel proposal, Toru-dono. I've waited for this for a long time."

"I see..."

With somewhat awkward movements, Toru stepped back and looked down at the ground. He raised his hand and then disappeared from Okaminaru's sight.

Quickly, Okaminaru sharpened her gaze and felt the energy of nature flow through her body. Her white fur with black bristled and then.

Boom!

Toru charged a powerful punch at Okaminaru, but he put his head to parry the blow.

If Okaminaru had to describe that moment, well he would say something like this. 'Ahhhh! It hurts!' But he just didn't say it openly knowing that this situation was quite serious.

So, to hit back, Okaminaru opened his mouth to bite Toru, but quickly remembered that doing that was an immediate death sentence. The bad thing is that he thought of it right after biting Toru's arm, who took advantage of this to punch Okaminaru in the snout.

He let go of Toru's arm right away and shot off into the water after that. He thought that wouldn't be all, as Toru usually attacked right away without leaving any chance to his enemy, but that didn't happen.

"Uh?"

But after hitting Okaminaru, Toru was left standing on the water while looking down.

He didn't move, he just stood there.

Okaminaru understood this, for when Toru recovered from his fight against Kimimaro and subsequent fight against Yamato, he challenged Okaminaru to a duel. That night, Toru had no expression on his face other than the same dead face as always, but there was something different that day.

It was that feeling... of loneliness that surrounded him.

And at this moment, Okaminaru was seeing that lonely human again.

Even with the rain covering his body, it looked like Toru was crying. Still, Okaminaru didn't get carried away by this. It's a duel, something between life partners. If Toru can get rid of that feeling by fighting, then Okaminaru is here for that.

'What is it that you're feeling right now, Toru-dono? What is it that's making you act this way?' Okaminaru lunged forward.

Still, Toru stayed in the same place without moving and, when Okaminaru appeared to hit him with one of her claws, he moved to the right easily dodging it.

At that moment, an exchange of blows began. While Okaminaru struck with his claws as fast as he could, Toru made smooth and relaxed movements to dodge those blows as if it was nothing.

His scarf moved like cherry petals in the wind as he dodged Okaminaru's murderous intentions. However, Okaminaru did not give up and continued to force senjutsu to absorb more chakra from the world, causing his strength and speed to multiply even more. This also increased the number of hits per second he can deliver, making it harder for Toru to dodge the blows.

"Your Senjutsu is always perfect, Okaminaru. It's quite similar to Okamitsuki's" With his hair covering his eyes, Toru grabbed Okaminaru's front paws and collided his head with the wolf's.

Okaminaru was confused by this, but managed to recover quickly and look at Toru as his fur bristled even more. His eyes glowed dangerously, like a crimson bloody moon.

Toru, at this moment, while his mind was filled with thoughts causing him such a heartbreaking feeling, activated the Sennin Mōdo, increasing its strength to the maximum.

'Toru-dono starts to go enserió' Okaminaru dug his claws into the water. 'I can still force the Senjutsu further, but my body will get pretty tired by the time this is over. Still...'

He knew. Okaminaru knew that his Senjutsu is better than Toru's, because as Okamitsuki said, 'That boy has some sort of curse. The world refuses to lend him chakra and that is why his Senjutsu is still completely imperfect. Moreover, he will never manage to perfect it, because there is something wrong with him" Those were his mother's words. Something that left Okaminaru thinking hard.

Toru was extremely strong with his flawed Senjutsu. Also, if the world refuses to give him chakra, that means that by using Senjutsu, Toru is literally stealing chakra from the world. That explains a lot, but it also leaves even more questions than at the beginning of it all.

"Okaminaru... get ready..."

"I'm always ready to fight for real, Toru-dono. But I'm not sure if you'll be able to handle this" Okaminaru smiled defiantly. He had an advantage over Toru after all.

Both of their eyes had the crimson color of the Ōkami clan, however, unlike Okaminaru, Toru had a mark appear on his face, plus his fangs grew slightly.

Boom!

The water beneath both of them exploded and together they appeared in front of each other. Okaminaru slammed his head against Toru's, then raised his paw to use his claws, but Toru pulled out one of his daggers and repelled it at once. Then, Toru put the dagger away and kneed Okaminaru in the chin, lifting him in the air and then kicking him and sending him against one of the buildings that barely managed not to collapse.

'For an imperfect Senjutsu to be able to give so much power to the user is... too... Ha... Ha...' Okaminaru shuffled a bit to then stand up. 'No doubt Toru-dono is someone special, but I have an advantage that I'm willing to use' Adopting his combat stance, Okaminaru looked at Toru, who had stood idly as he glared back at him. "I'm a man! If I give up now, then I won't be able to become stronger! I won't be able to protect my family and that's something I don't want!"

Increasing his control over the chakra in his body, electricity began to flow through his body in the form of small bolts of lightning. His fur lifted from the static and his eyes lit up as the rain poured down.

Toru was surprised by this, but he couldn't think much about it as his mind was filled with so many things. Still, he braced himself for what was coming. He raised his arms putting them in front of himself in an X shape.

"With this, I hope to at least reach my mother's level."

Okaminaru clenched his fangs tightly and sharpened his gaze. When he realized it, he was running towards Toru as his body began to flicker over and over again, as if he was constantly disappearing and appearing. At the same time, Toru also rushed forward, however, Okaminaru disappeared before his eyes.

He used chakra perception to be able to find him, but when he realized it, Okaminaru was in front of him.

"Raiton: Borutekkā! (Lightning style: Volt Tackle)"

Broooom!

A gigantic electric blast shook Amegakure. Immediately after, Toru shot through buildings due to Okaminaru's powerful onslaught.

About 20 buildings were damaged by Toru and Okaminaru.

"Did I make it...did I defeat Toru-dono?" Okaminaru stood expectantly at the situation. But... "No, that's impossible..." but seeing Toru emerge from the damaged buildings without a scratch, he realized the difference between the two.

But, there was something that, no matter how much Okaminaru thought, he couldn't find an explanation for it. And that is, why wasn't Toru paralyzed when he received that lightning element jutsu? It was just stupid, it didn't make sense. He should at least move slower, but nothing like that. The lightning element didn't affect Toru with his paralysis, and that is, without a doubt, the strangest thing Okaminaru has ever seen in his life. He had hoped that he could have an advantage over Toru with this, but it didn't work.

...

...

"Fufufu..."

"Uh?" Okaminaru heard Toru's voice.

"Hahaha..."

He looked at the buildings, where Toru was standing. He was standing, looking at the ground, as a small laugh started to come out of his lips.

"Hahaha..."

He slowly looked up at the sky and his laughter began to get louder. Okaminaru didn't understand this, it was the first time he saw Toru act like that after so long.

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Toru was holding his chest as he laughed. His hair covered his eyes and the rain didn't help to see his expression.

Okaminaru just watched this boy laughing nonstop as the rain poured down.

'Did I forget for a second...?' Okaminaru sighed.

Even if Toru was laughing so hard as the rain hit his face. From the angle Okaminaru was looking at him, it looked like that boy was actually... crying.

***

And at the same time at Pain's statue, Konan watched this silently. There was something she didn't understand about this boy, no... it wasn't just something. She... she couldn't understand him even though Pain said that Toru is just like him.

'Maybe it's a waste of time, but...'

Konan shook her head and went back to the building where she was a few hours ago.

To be continued...