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It had been almost two weeks since Kuno had left the village with his new gennin. They wouldn't be back any time soon. Shinken sat in his office going over the paperwork on his desk. There were piles and piles of folders containing information on all the different ninja in the village. He picked one up off of the left most pile and began to browse through it. It was a folder on the newest genin in the village and their capabilities. There were 6 files in total and Shinken began to read over them.

The first was a young Hyuuga boy by the name of Momochi. His early years in the academy were impressive. He was more often than not top of his class by a large margin. He had awakened the Byakugan and had already started to master some of it’s techniques. As he looked over the academy instructor’s appraisal of the boy’s current abilities Shinken found himself pleasantly surprised. Momochi’s Taijutsu skills were far above the average. In fact his instructor had rated them as exceptional. Of course that was intended to be taken with the context that the boy was still a gennin, but he had potential. His ninjutsu was slightly above average, and he was competent enough in genjutsu. Overall he was an impressive genin.

Shinken stopped for a moment to think back to his days as a Genin. The day he graduated seemed to have been so long ago. That had been the first time he had seen Michio. Back then Michio had been savage and wild. Shisara had been worried that Michio was going to kill him in their first sparring match. That match had been quick, but Shinken had grown a lot from it. He had found out how much Michio loved his cigarettes that day too. Filthy habit that. He’d torn into Sayomi that day too. He’d been cruel that day. A young ninja too full of himself to realize when he had gone too far. He was surprised that Sayomi ever approached him again after what he did to her. His genjutsu had put her through a horrible torture. He knew now that sort of thing should be reserved for your enemies, but back then he had been too eager to show his strength. The Kazekage had punished him for that. Though it had been a light punishment all things considered. A simple D rank mission without pay. Maybe it had been because he was so willing to throw himself to the wolves to save his family, and Michio. That was an odd thought considering what had happened.

Things had changed so much. Michio was his friend once. They had been willing to lay down their lives for each other. Or at least he had thought so at the time. So much time had passed since then. They had gone on countless missions and grown together side by side. In the end it had come to a final battle. The fight had not been an easy one but Shinken was the one who came out on top. He had killed the man who was once his best friend. Part of him felt sorrow over what he had done. Not because he had killed the traitor, but because he missed the man he had known as his friend.

Shinken sighed and got up from his desk. He walked over to the window and stared out over the village. He had been the outcast once. Because of his brother. His family had suffered endlessly. In the end he had left and become a rogue ninja. His family had been punished because of it. Because of him they were no longer among the living. He had gotten revenge for that. Or had it been justice? Either way he had killed the Kazekage and taken over the village. There was still some resistance here and there, but for the most part fear kept everyone in check. Fear of the monstrous Shinken Katsuna Kage of the hidden sand…Katsuna...It didn’t sound right. He didn’t have that family anymore. Infact he had gotten them killed. No, it was time to change his name. He had the sharingan. He would go by the name of his clan. Shinken Uchiha, that was his name now. He was no longer that young wide eyed boy. He was a hardened ninja now. A Kage. It was fitting he should leave behind the last vestiges of who he was.

With that he sat back down and began to go through the rest of the Gennin. There was an Inuzuka who barely passed the exams, a clanless ninja who favored ninjutsu, a young puppet master to be, a clanless weapon specialist, an aburame who seemed to focus on medical jutsu, and lastly a Kaguya. Upon reading the clan name on the last file Shinken dropped the folder back onto his desk. He let out a long sigh. It would seem he just couldn’t get away from his past today. Still he was Kage and there was work to be done. He had been letting it build up over the past few days. His time had been spent on other matters. Mostly dealing with the last stragglers that would oppose his position as Kage. He took a moment for himself before sitting back down with the paperwork.

Several requests for missions had come in. They were mostly low rank. Nothing higher than a B rank which wasn’t surprising. The really high rank missions didn’t come along very often. Shinken assigned who he thought was best to each mission and sent out scrolls to notify the teams of their new assignments. That task took him long into the night but eventually his desk was finally clear.

Shinken shook his head and pushed his chair away from the desk. It took some effort to rise as he was stiff from sitting for hours, so he was slow to rise to his feet, but finally he could stand tall knowing he had the village in at least some semblance of order… for the moment.

He pulled on his Kage robe and walked out of his office. The night air of the desert was cold and bracing and a wind had begun to pick up. Shinken was exhausted and simply wanted a place to sleep. He once again found himself walking back to his old home. The place he had once had a family. It was an unpleasant reminder of what all of this had cost him. When he had come back he hadn’t bothered to clean it so there was dust and cobwebs everywhere. The air inside smelled old and stale. As he walked through the entrance he winced as he always did. The wall was covered in a dark brown stain. Splattered as though a large spray of fluid had hit the wall. He couldn’t know for sure, but he had a feeling that was blood. His family’s blood in fact. He had to look away. The thought of what had happened here twisted his stomach into knots. He quickened his pace and made his way to his old room. It was much as he had left it that fateful night. The night he went after Michio. He wondered how long the previous Kage had waited before he slaughtered Shinken’s family. Those kind people who wanted nothing but to be proud villagers of the hidden sand.

He slammed his hand into the wall in anger. There was nothing he could do about it now. All he could do was try and craft a better village. One where people didn’t have to die. That was why he had come back after all. If he had wanted to, he could have stayed in the leaf forever, but he couldn’t in good conscience let Jin continue his rule. The people may have followed him, but he was too harsh. One might even say he was bloodthirsty. Shinken would be a better Kage. He had to be. It all had to mean something. It all had to be worth something.

Exhausted and worn down by the day’s long work hours and all of the thoughts of the past the Kazekage collapsed into his dusty bed and quickly fell asleep. His dreams however were not pleasant.

(Dream Sequence)

He came to his senses in the village. Only something wasn’t right. There were no villagers. Where was everyone? It was mid day. The village should have been bustling by now. Yet there wasn’t a single soul in the streets. Not only that but Shinken had a creeping suspicion he was being watched. It felt like a dark heavy presence. Almost like a demon. Even as he wandered the streets he felt it growing closer and closer. The air became heavier and harder to breath. The temperature seemed to drop degree by degree. Desperately Shinken scanned the area around him but to no avail. Whatever was following him was keeping well hidden.

He activated his sharingan to see if he had missed something. That was when he saw it. A humanoid figure looming in the distance. It was pitch black and slowly walking towards him. It radiated an imposing and ominous presence. One that caused Shinken’s heart to race and his palms to sweat. He wanted to move but he seemed to be rooted in place. The shadow figure drew ever closer and closer until it threw back it’s hood. Shinken stared into the eyes of a burnt and deformed Michio.

“You did this to me. You will pay for what you’ve done!” It growled in Michio’s voice. Shinken swallowed hard and was finally able to take a step back. When he did the figure raised it’s hand and a tendril of black blood shot out like a spear. Shinken was able to narrowly step to the side, but it managed to make a shallow incision on his left arm. White hot pain flared out from the point of impact. It was almost enough to bring him to his knees. Still he stood tall.

“You can’t be here...I killed you! You were my friend...and you betrayed me. You were a traitor all along…” Shinken said through gritted teeth.

“You will suffer what you have done.” Michio said creepily as he again advanced. Shinken’s arm was starting to go numb. He could feel something in the veins of his arm burning hot, and it was spreading. He knew he was in trouble and the only thing he could think to do was activate his mangekyou. When he did the twisted apparition of michio seemed to become even more fearsome. Several tendrils of black blood burst from his back and quickly shaped themselves into blades. It was all Shinken could do to twist and dodge away from the attacks.

He had to go on the offensive or Michio would slaughter him. How the hell did he get so strong? No, the better question was how the hell did he survive? Shinken had seen the back of his skull explode. That wasn’t something you could just come back from. His thoughts got the better of him as he lost focus and was struck again in the leg. Thanks to his sharingan it was only a shallow cut, but again he felt the radiating waves of pain spreading away from the cut. Now his leg was starting to go numb too. He was quickly losing this fight.

“I don’t care how strong you are. I’m putting you down. This time for good!” Shinken shouted as he brought up his good arm and formed a hand seal. He channeled his chakra into his eyes and pushed it across the distance between him and Michio. As they locked eyes it enveloped his old friend. He did it. He was on the offensive now. Micho had always been weak to Shinken’s genjutsu… but something wasn’t right. Michio was smiling. As much as that twisted scarred face could smile. Then suddenly all of Shinken’s chakra vanished from around him as if scattered away by a gust of wind.

“What?!” Shinken exclaimed as he jumped back just in time to avoid having his head taken clean off his shoulders by two converging blood blades. The pain his arm had spread from the cut on his forearm up to his shoulder, and down through his fingers now. Looking down he could see his veins were popping out and they were pitch black. What the hell kind of technique was this?

“Your tricks won’t work on me this time Shinken. Now it’s my turn. You’re going to suffer. You’ll bleed, and burn, and scream. Until nothing is left but ash.” Michio laughed.

“No! I’m the Kazekage now! The people of the village need me!” Shinken protested.

“What? The people of the village? They need a murderous Tyrant? One who couldn’t even save his own family? What good are you to them? What good are you to anyone? No, I’m doing them all a favor. Once you’re out of the way a real leader can take your place.” Michio growled as he licked his teeth, which had now sharpened into fangs.

“I won’t let you!” Shinken shouted as he channeled his chakra. Again he attempted to use his genjutsu. He watched as his chakra washed like water over michio and again it was scattered to the wind. Shinken was starting to get scared now. He couldn’t hold up against Michio if none of his techniques worked. There had to be something he could do.

“You’re absolutely helpless now Shinken. Nothing you can do will save you. I’m going to rip you apart piece by piece.”

“No! I can’t lose!” Shinken cried out futilely. It was then that his arm went completely numb and dropped to his side. Michio’s bladed tendrils multiplied again and he began his assault in earnest. Shinken managed to duck under the first strike and roll back away from the second. The third and fourth strikes caught him off balance and he was forced to bring his arm guards up to block them. The blades cut deep and he felt the searing pain in his right arm now. Still he couldn’t give up. He had to win. What would happen to the people of the village if Michio went unchecked? He seemed completely unhinged now. There was no telling what he was capable of, or what he might do next.

Shinken grabbed the Atium sword at his hip and brought it up to deflect yet another flurry of strikes from the tendrils. Either he was slowing down or Michio was getting faster. Neither one was good news.

“Enough!” Shinken roared as he brought the blade down on one of the tendrils and severed it. The black blood spilled to the ground, soaking the sand and clotting immediately into an almost cancerous mess.


“See! You’re not invincible!” Shinken exclaimed as he jumped back and away from a piercing blow aimed for his heart. Having a small victory under his belt Shinken felt his confidence returning. Sure he was down, but he wasn’t out yet. And if he could hurt the tendrils he could hurt Michio.

Shinken watched the tendrils carefully with his Sharingan, predicting their movements as best as he could. When they came at him this time he was ready. Two came in from the left and he timed his jump to sail clear over them. As he did so he brought the blade down in a heavy strike. This severed another of the tendrils and again as soon as the blood hit the sand it coagulated into a horrific looking mess. What he wasn’t prepared for was the strike from above and below simultaneously. A tendril burst out of the ground and one swung down like a guillotine. It was only by a fraction of a hair that Shinken managed to twist to the side flattening his body so that the attacks missed.

When he landed Shinken shot toward Michio. That turned out to be a mistake as a spear of black blood shot forward out of Michio’s chest. Shinken brought up his blade and managed to knock it off course, but he was sent stumbling back in the process. Now he was on his back and Michio wasn’t going to waste the opportunity. More jets of black blood shot from his arms and his chest until Shinken’s arms and legs were completely restrained. His Atium sword dropped into the sand with a dull thud and pain wracked the limbs he could still feel as his bones cracked and snapped under the pressure of Michio’s grip.

Shinken screamed then. A sound of pure anguish. He didn’t realize where the sound was coming from for a moment. Then it dawned on it. That was his voice. He was the one screaming. Slowly Michio’s black blood worked its way into Shinkens veins, bringing with it an entirely new kind of agony. Time seemed to slow to a crawl and though he could barely think he was left to wonder, was this what it had been like for Michio and Jin? This agony that seemed to go on forever?

“Now you’re finished, Shinken. Now you get to know what it feels like. You get to atone for all your sins. Soon you’ll just be a bad memory. No one will mourn you. No one will miss you. They’ll be glad you’re gone. Just sit back and enjoy the agony.” Michio laughed.

As much as he didn’t want to admit it Michio was right. With his bones broken there was nothing Shinken could do to stop him.

“Oh and I think I’ll be taking those eyes of yours. After all you did get them from me right?” Michio said creepily. That was when the black blood tendrils slowly started to consume Shinken’s limbs, and then his torso. As he felt the black blood creeping up his neck it was all he could do to struggle in vain. Then he saw three tendrils in front of each eye, and felt excruciating pain as they pushed themselves into his eye socket and severed the optic nerves. The next thing he felt was his eyes being ripped from their sockets. That was when he woke up.

(Dream sequence end)

Shinken woke up screaming and covered in a cold sweat. His heart was racing and he couldn’t seem to catch his breath. When he finally calmed down enough to realize it was just a dream he took a deep breath and sat up in his bed. Daylight was just starting to break through the clouds overhead and the window had a beautiful view of the multicolored sunrise. It was an odd and jarring, but not unwelcome sight considering what he had just been through. Maybe sleeping in his old house wasn’t the greatest idea. It probably had something to do with the nightmare he’d just had. He had a fair amount of funds as Kazekage. He’d just have to buy a new house. In another district. Far away from here.

Whether or not he got a good night’s sleep it was time to start being the Kage again. He was reminded of an old saying he’d heard somewhere before. No rest for the wicked. It seemed apt given the situation. He swung himself out of bed and went to the bathroom sink to splash some cold water on his face before quickly leaving the house for what he swore would be the last time. He’d have this place boarded up and no one would ever set foot in that cursed house again.

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As they entered the village proper Shinken headed toward his office. He didn’t want to waste any time in searching through Jin’s scrolls for information on this rogue ninja. Kazumi followed after him closely and after several moments he stopped and turned to her.

“You should go home and get some rest. I’ll let you know if I’ve found anything in the morning.” Shinken advised. She shook her head in refusal.

“No I’m coming with you. I can help you search. It will go faster with two people.” She insisted. Shinken had to admit she had a point, but he didn’t know what other information could be waiting inside the scrolls Jin had hoarded. He thought about it as they continued to walk towards the Kazekage’s office and when they arrived he came to a decision. He placed his hand on Kazumi’s shoulder to stop her from entering the building.

“If you’re going to be coming with me on this mission and looking through classified information, You’re not just going to be a regular Chunnin anymore Kazumi. I need an assistant, and I’m giving that title to you if you’ll accept it.” Shinken said somberly. Kazumi seemed to be caught off guard by this but after a few moments she nodded.

“I will. We’ll take this guy down...together.” Her words were full of determination and fire. That was all Shinken needed to feel satisfied in his decision. Besides she was probably the only ninja that would actually want the position anyway.

The two of them entered the building and headed into the basement where Shinken had moved Jin’s scrolls. They were in for a long night, and that was if they were lucky. It could take days to find the information they were looking for, and that was if it was even here at all.

“You take that pile over there, and I’ll start with this one here. Hopefully we can at least get through those tonight.” Shinken instructed. Kazumi wasted no time in grabbing the first scroll off the top of the pile and getting to work. Shinken followed her lead and started working on his own pile.

The first scroll he opened was about events that had transpired almost two years ago. He was pretty sure that wasn’t going to be helpful so he didn’t bother reading it in detail. Instead he quickly glazed over the scrolls contents to get a general idea of what it was about. He was correct in assuming that it wasn’t anything useful. As soon as he was finished he rolled it up and placed it in an empty space on one of the tables.

“Put scrolls you’ve already read with that one there. It will be a new pile.” Shinken said as he grabbed another scroll from his pile. This one was even older and again he quickly glazed over it. It didn’t contain anything helpful either. At this rate the search was going to take weeks. That was unacceptable. There had to be a way to do this faster, but Shinken hadn’t been careful to keep the order of the scrolls when he had moved them. They had all gotten mixed together. The one he was looking for could be anywhere in this room. There was no way to narrow it down.

Kazumi set down her first scroll in the pile next to the first one Shinken had read. He quickly added his second scroll to that pile and grabbed a third. This was like trying to find a needle in a haystack! The scroll he had picked up didn’t even contain information on recent events, or long past events either for that matter. It seemed to be an instructional scroll on medical jutsu. In particular it spoke of forbidden techniques that allowed someone to steal Kekkei Genkai from another person. That caught his interest but he was torn between studying the techniques and continuing his search for the information on the Rogue ninja. In the end he chose to pocket the scroll and continue searching.

The two ninja searched the scrolls until the first light of dawn but didn’t find what they were looking for. At this point Shinken was exhausted and Kazumi wasn’t doing well either.

“I think it’s time to call it a night. We need at least a few hours of rest.” Shinken said. Kazumi didn’t seem to like the idea of stopping the search but she eventually sighed and put down the scroll she was reading.

“You’re right. If we do this while we’re exhausted we might make a mistake and miss something important. The scrolls aren’t going anywhere.” She admitted. Shinken put his scroll down as well and the two of them left the room and headed back up to the main floor of the building.

It was then Shinken realized he still didn’t have a place to spend the night. He refused to head back to his old home after the horrible nightmares he’d had, and the place was full of painful memories anyway. He sighed and resigned himself to sleeping on the floor in his office. It would be difficult because the sunlight would shine brightly through the windows, but it was all he had at the moment. When Shinken didn’t leave the office with Kazumi she stopped and turned around to look at him quizzically.

“Aren’t you going to go home?” She asked.

“I...I- Uh… Don’t exactly have a place to stay. I was going to sleep in the office.” Shinken admitted.

“The hell you will!” She scolded

“Come on I have a spare room you can sleep in. Jeez...you’d think the Kazekage would have his own house…” She complained as she started walking toward her home. Shinken thought about refusing for a while but when Kazumi turned and looked at him expectantly he decided he’d be better off well rested.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming.” He sighed. The two of them headed to the other side of the sand village to Kazumi’s small but comfortable home. She welcomed him inside and showed him to the guest room.

“I’d say there was food in the fridge but I knew I’d be gone for a while so I cleaned it out.” She said sheepishly.

“That’s fine. We’ll go get breakfast before we get back to work on the scrolls.” Shinken replied as he headed into the guest room.

“Goodnight Kazumi.” He said as he closed the door.

“Goodnight Shinken.” He heard through the door as he collapsed into the bed. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep, and thankfully he wasn’t plagued with nightmares this time.

The two ninja headed through the sand village as darkness fell. The sky was starless as the clouds blotted out all light. The only reason they could see where they were going was the light from the houses and businesses they passed. Shinken led them into the main culinary district and the smell of fresh food made his stomach growl.

“So what do you feel like eating?” Shinken asked as they passed the first food stall. Kazumi silently pondered over her choices for a while as they walked.

“How about Stir fry?” She suggested.

“Sure that sounds fine to me.” Shinken replied. The two of them searched through the food stands until they found one that served teriyaki beef stir fry over rice. Shinken handed the vendor enough Ryo for two servings and they were each given a bowl of rice. The Stir fry was heaped on top of the rice to allow the sauce to drip down through the grains giving them the same flavor as the meat and vegetables.

Shinken gestured to a nearby seating area and the two ninja made their way over and sat down. The meal was a quiet one as they both contemplated what would come next. It wasn’t like they had a solid lead to go on. Gathering the information they were looking for could take weeks or even months, and Kaji could be well fortified by then. Shinken knew that if the man dug himself in somewhere he’d be nearly impossible to get to.

Was there something else he could do? Maybe he could reach out to the contact they had been supposed to meet in the lightning village? Of course they had been ambushed and that meant someone knew about the meeting. Whoever had tipped off Kaji about the meeting might have tipped him off about the informant too. That meant he might very well be dead. Of course there was also the chance that the informant had been the one who tipped Kaji off. Then something occurred to Shinken. Kaji might have even heard Jin was looking for him and coordinated the entire thing himself to send him a message. That message being a very clear “Stop Looking into my business.” No matter what was happening Shinken knew he had to be careful moving forward. He’d have to look at each lead closely and approach the situation as if it were a lethal one.

When they had finished eating they tossed the bowls into the trash and got up to leave.

“So what’s the plan tomorrow?” Kazumi asked.

“Well… I suppose we put out a bounty for information related to this man.” Shinken replied. There was an awkward silence that followed as they walked back to Kazumi’s house. When they stepped inside Shinken hung up everything but the bag containing the medical jutsu scrolls.

“You go get some rest. I have to think for a while. I don’t want to make any mistakes.” Shinken instructed. Kazumi looked as if she wanted to protest but she held her tongue and just sighed lightly before turning to head into her bedroom.

Shinken did think about what was going to come next for a while. His mind went over the different ways he could try to fight someone like Kaji Uchiha. If he did indeed have the Mangekyou he would probably be able to copy any technique they used on him. Not to mention he might have access to powerful techniques like Susano’o. That would be incredibly hard to deal with. Shinken had made a point of avoiding the use of his Mangekyou as much as possible. He knew that the more you used it the more strain it put on your body. Not to mention that overuse quickly led to permanent blindness as well. He’d even avoided using the technique in his fight against Jin. That could mean that Kaji’s vision might be his weakness. Depending on how much he had actually used the Mangekyou, he might even be almost blind.
After thinking through all of the courses of action he could come up with an hour had passed. Shinken could hear Kazumi snoring from across the house and he knew he was safe to pull the scrolls from his bag. Having already read the first he began to study the second scroll. It detailed a jutsu that required precise chakra control, great endurance, and a very, very high pain threshold. Still if he prepared for it properly he was pretty sure he could perform the technique. The third scroll contained a jutsu that could alter body parts to accommodate the unique chakra required to activate different kekkei genkai, as well as being able to alter the body to make room for new additions. Shinken was pretty sure that with some study this jutsu too would fall into his repertoire.

It was the last scroll that truly peaked his interest however. As he read over the various bloodlines and their abilities two stood out in particular. His own bloodline was the first. He already knew Sharingan could be transplanted into a new host, but what he was unaware of was that if you had the Mangekyou sharingan and you took the eyes of another Uchiha who had also awakened their Mangekyou you could replace your eyes and obtain what the book called the Eternal mangekyou. Apparently it was a form of the technique that didn’t cause the same kind of strain on the body, and better yet didn’t cause blindness in the user. That was something to keep in mind fighting this Kaji Uchiha. If he did have the Mangekyou, Shinken could take his eyes and finally actually use the true power of his Sharingan. Not only that but if Kaji had somehow managed to unlock the eternal mangekyou himself he’d be able to use its power without consequence. That would be a very big problem.

The other clan that caught his eye went by the name Orasakai. They apparently hailed from the village hidden in the mist originally. The telltale traits of the clan included silver-grey hair, and clear blue eyes. The trait that truly marked them as Orasakai however was a circular discoloration found somewhere on their torso. Apparently this discoloration was actually a new kind of Organ. A chakra organ to be specific. It produced chakra not unlike shinken’s unique regeneration ability, but it went much further than that. The organ could store excess chakra in it like a bank, allowing the user to greatly enhance their longevity in battle. Not only that but the organ could be trained to filter chakra, greatly increasing it’s rate of production. There was even a hypothesis that one could use chakra from the organ to greatly increase the capabilities of one’s physical body. However there was a drawback. The members of the clan seemed to be more susceptible to internal damage.

Shinken spent the better part of an hour studying this new clan and the instances of their abilities. By the looks of it they were rare to find outside of the hidden mist. How had Jin gotten a hold of such detailed data on them? Perhaps the man had darker dealings than even Shinken had thought. Whatever the case was, Shinken counted himself lucky he hadn’t run into one of their number. Then it hit him. He had run into an Orasakai, twice in fact. Once during the mission to Aren, and once during the Chunnin exams. A man who called himself Sai. A man who he had been told was incredibly dangerous. In the past year Shinken hadn’t heard or seen any sign of the man, but that didn’t mean he had just disappeared. Just another thing he had to worry about.

Shinken looked over the rest of the scroll in the next few hours. It seemed it didn’t contain information on every clan, only those that were very powerful, or very prevalent. In the end the scroll contained a list of ten clans and the abilities they wielded. It was a very helpful read if nothing else. Knowing just what these clans were capable of would better equip him if he ever came into conflict with them.

Looking up at the clock the Uchiha realized it had passed late into the night. It was nearly three AM now. He sighed and sealed the scrolls he had spread out on the table, before placing them back in his bag. He would keep these scrolls a secret. He didn’t need someone finding out how to rip out his sharingan while he slept, and the information on his clan’s capabilities was something he’d rather keep to himself anyway.

After downing a glass of water Shinken headed to the guest bedroom and laid down on the mattress. It didn’t take him long to drift into a state of unconsciousness. In his dreams he saw a man with the sharingan, but no matter how fast he ran, he could never catch him. He chased the man through forests and over deserts. He ran until he felt as if his lungs would explode, but the man was always just one step out of reach. Finally the man turned to face Shinken and the two of them locked eyes. There was a malice, and a hate in those eyes that seemed all too familiar to Shinken. He’d harbored those same feelings in the past. Let that darkness consume him and fuel his power. The man grinned and Shinken saw sharp pointed teeth like that of a shark before the man lunged at him. His jaw unhinged like a snake and his sharp teeth sunk into Shinken’s shoulder. Hot blood spurted into the air as the man tore a chunk from Shinken’s shoulder.

That was when Shinken woke up in a cold sweat. All of this stress wasn’t making his nightmares any better. Of course stress came with the title of Kazekage. There would always be something out there that was a threat to the village. Still he’d like to get a full night’s sleep without waking up in terror one of these days.

After he got dressed Shinken made his way out into the main room of the house and found Kazumi waiting there. She gave him a slight nod as he entered.

“You sleep ok? It sounded like you were having some pretty intense dreams. You yelled more than a few times. Woke me up actually.” She said as she offered him a glass of water. Shinken nodded in thanks and acknowledgement.

“Yeah..I don’t seem to be sleeping very well these days.” He admitted. Not wanting to press any further Kazumi dropped the subject.

“So I guess we should get started on posting those bounties?” She asked.

“Yeah. The longer we wait the more time we give him.” Shinken agreed. The two of them headed out the door and into the sand village. Shinken picked up some fresh mochi for the two of them on their way to the office. It wasn’t the healthiest thing in the world, but it was food in their bellies and it was quick.

When they arrived in his office there was a singular scroll sitting on his desk. It had a sealing jutsu placed on it, and wasn’t there when they left the night before. It sat in the exact center of the desk as if presenting itself to Shinken.

“That wasn’t here yesterday.” Shinken said cautiously.

“No it wasn’t” Kazumi agreed. Shinken slowly approached the scroll and examined it. The sealing jutsu wasn’t terribly complex but it was advanced enough that it would take some time to unweave. It made Shinken feel terribly uneasy.

“I don’t know if this is a trap, or where it came from, but we should probably find out, and the only way to do that is to open it.” He said as he activated his sharingan. He was able to see the chakra of the jutsu holding the scroll shut, and after about five minutes he had figured out how to undo the seal. That was just the first half of what he had to do though. The scroll could have been booby trapped and there was no way to know if it was safe to open.

“I think I can open it from over here.” Kazumi said as she stepped back using the doorway as cover. Shinken quickly followed her lead and she began to weave hand signs. When she was finished she extended her arm and several snakes shot out of her sleeve. The snakes then struck the scroll in a way that caused it to unroll. Shinken braced himself for an explosion or some other kind of trap, but nothing happened. After making sure that it was safe he walked back into the room and picked up the scroll.

“If you want to know more about the man you’re looking for, meet me at Kohaku’s Pyramids two days from now at noon. I’ll know when you open this.” Shinken read aloud. That sure wasn’t a lot to go off of, and it was definitely suspicious. Someone in the village knew more than they were letting on, and somehow they had been spying on Shinken and Kazumi. None of this sat well with him.

“I don’t like this...It sounds like a trap to me.” Shinken said bluntly.

“I agree, but we don’t have any other leads right? Besides you said the more time we give him the harder this will be. Even if it is a trap, as long as we know that we can use it to our advantage right? Maybe gather some real info.” Kazumi agreed.

“I guess we don’t really have much of a choice. I’ll put out the bounty on information relating to Kaji Uchiha and then we wait. If we don’t hear anything else we’ll go and see if who ever left this really wants to help, or if they just want us dead.” Shinken said as he set the scroll back down on the desk.

The journey back to the hidden sand was a taxing one. Kazumi was still bleeding quite heavily and Shinken could feel her getting weaker and weaker. In the end he had to pick her up and carry her. Carrying two bodies was a difficult balancing act, but Shinken managed until they could meet up with the medical ninja. They performed a healing jutsu on Kazumi’s leg to stop the bleeding and took her to the infirmary. Shinken on the other hand was left to carry his unconscious attacker the rest of the way to the hidden Sand.

When he arrived he threw the man in a cell and tied his hands behind his back so he couldn’t make hand seals. Now it was a waiting game. Thankfully Shinken was a genjutsu specialist. It wouldn’t be too hard to get information out of the man once he woke up. For now though he would simply rest. These two had pushed him hard enough that he’d had to use his sharingan. That had surprised him. Kaji seemed to have a knack for attracting powerful people. Shinken was going to have to be more careful about how he approached this. Kaji by himself was a serious threat, but if these two had been with him it would have been impossible to beat him, even with the mangekyou.

Shinken hadn’t really developed his Mangekyou, because to do so he would have had to sacrifice his vision, and that wasn’t something he was willing to do unless the circumstances were absolutely dire. Because of this the many jutsu locked within his eyes remained a mystery to him. He knew that they were powerful techniques, but they came with an even greater cost than the mangekyou itself. When he fought Kaji, He’d have to rely on his skills as a ninja, rather than using the Mangekyou as a weapon in and of itself.

It was a few hours before the man in the cell regained consciousness. When he did he struggled against his bonds. The sound alerted Shinken, and the Uchiha quickly made his way into the cells. Upon hearing Shinken enter the man looked up and spat at him.

“You might have beat me, but you can’t stop him. He’ll kill you, and I’ll be laughing when he does.” The man taunted. Shinken gave the man a strained grin.

“You should be careful what you say. Kaji isn’t here to save you, and I’m all that stands between you and execution.” Shinken said. His voice carried with it threatening undertones. The man hid it well, but those words shook him up.

“You won’t get anything out of me.” He said defiantly. Shinken simply shook his head in response. This man didn’t know who he was dealing with. Shinken could make him suffer for days on end to get the information he needed, all without killing him.

“You say that now, but you will talk. The only question is how much pain you’re willing to go through before you open your mouth.” Shinken corrected. It was subtle but Shinken saw the man swallow hard.

“We’ll start with your name.” Shinken said leaning closer to the bars. The man slowly shuffled back about a foot and shook his head.

“I told you. I’m not saying a damned thing! You can go to hell!” He spat. Shinken’s lips widened into an intimidating smile.

“You first…” He whispered. His voice carried with it his chakra and the man would soon find himself in a hellscape with flames licking at his legs. He would feel slight pain as the flames singed his flesh. The agonizing cries of the damned could be heard in the distance as the bars of the cell disappeared. Shinken stepped closer with a sadistic chuckle.

“So...how would you like to be roasted? Medium well?” The uchiha asked as the flames became more intense. Pain shot through the man and he gritted his teeth to prevent himself from crying out.

“Of course I could always find other ways to get the information I want. I find dislocating joints to be particularly effective…” Shinken said with a twisted smile. The man tried to back away from Shinken but his feet seemed to be rooted in place by the flames as if they were as solid as shackles made of stone. Shinken could see it on the man's face clearly now. He had begun to panic.

“Release!” The man yelled in a vain attempt to dispel the genjutsu. He failed and his look of panic became one of terror. Shinken took another step toward him and formed a hand seal. Chains erupted from the ground and latched themselves onto the man’s arms.

“Wait! WAIT!” The man screamed. Shinken could almost hear the man’s heart racing now.

“Oh?” Shinken said almost tauntingly. The man took the brief pause in the Uchiha’s advance as an opportunity to speak. It must have been difficult to speak through the pain but the man did it anyway.

“I...My...My name is...Kuru.” He panted through a grimace of pain. Shinken let the flames recede from his legs.

“Alright Kuru...Where is Kaji Uchiha?” Shinken demanded. The man shook his head in response.

“I don’t know!” He cried. He was a stubborn one, that was for sure, but was he telling the truth? Shinken wasn’t sure so he decided to apply more pressure. The chains tightened around the man’s limbs until the sound of his bones cracking resonated through his body. With the sound came immense pain blocking out almost all other sensations. The man couldn’t bite back the scream of agony that ripped from his throat.

“Really? You don’t know? Are you sure about that?” Shinken asked as the chains twisted, winding their way around Kuru’s ribs.

“There are 206 bones in your body. I will break all of them if I don’t get what I want.” Shinken threatened. The pressure eased off of the already broken bones just enough to give the man a chance to speak.

“I swear! I don’t know!” He cried again.

“Well that’s too bad for you then isn’t it?” Shinken taunted as he forced the chains in the illusion to tighten around Kuru’s ribcage. One by one his ribs would snap under the pressure, squeezing the breath out of the rogue ninja. Shinken watched as the man tried to scream. It was a vain attempt. He had nothing left in his lungs. It was only after Shinken had snapped Kuru’s last rib that he gave the man a reprieve.

Kuru struggled to draw in breath. It was clearly very painful for him. Shinken had intended it to be. Everyone had their breaking point, and Kuru was no different. Eventually he would succumb to the interrogation and give Shinken the information he desired, or he would die, repeatedly.

“Well...What do you have to say now?” Shinken asked as he used the chains to force Kuru to meet his gaze. Kuru coughed up blood in the illusion, and drew in another ragged breath.

“I..Can’t…” He started to answer, but Shinken tightened the chains again when he heard the word can’t. White hot pain flooded Kuru’s body and mind. The kind of pain that blocks everything else out, and leaves you only conscious of your own screaming inside your head. Shinken let him simmer in that agony for several seconds until he loosened the chains again.

“You Can’t? Why? Because you’re afraid of him? I assure you, I’m the one you should be scared of right now.” Shinken growled. The man looked as if he were about to pass out. Shinken had pushed him to the edge of his limits. If he didn’t get an answer now he’d have to wait until the man regained consciousness to try again.

“You don’t understand...Kaji...You can’t...You can’t beat him…” The man said as he struggled to keep his eyes open. With every breath he grimaced in pain as he dangled limply from the chains.

“I don’t care what you think. Tell me where he is!” Shinken growled as he raised his voice and took a step closer to Kuru. The Chains retracted back to his arms and began to pull. As each second passed the strength of their pull increased, and with it so did Kuru’s agony.

“I CAN’T!” He screamed. Shinken grabbed him by the throat, and where his hands touched the flesh began to burn away. Kuru struggled in vain trying to get away, but only succeeded in causing himself more pain. With all of his strength spent Kuro attempted one last time to pull away. When he did Shinken released the chains and let him fall to the ground. Kuru slowly attempted to crawl away from Shinken, but the Uchiha matched his retreat with an advance.

“Tell me what I want to know...Or I’m going to find far more inventive ways to get the information I want!” He threatened. Kuru flinched away and tried to curl up in a ball to protect himself.

“Now!” Shinken shouted. Finally it seemed as through Kuru had broken as Shinken saw tears running down his cheek.

“Ok! Ok! Kaji is somewhere in fire country! He’s supposed to be looking for new recruits!” Kuru sobbed. Shinken had a feeling that the man was still holding something back so he walked over and picked the man up by the throat.

“What else?!” He demanded. Kuru was shaking now, even though Shinken had cut down the intensity of the pain the man was in. It was a world of the Uchiha’s creation after all.

“I...I...Please! No more!” Kuru begged. Shinken tightened his grip on the man’s throat and slowly began to set his nerve endings ablaze with pain. Kuru cried out and kicked futilely at Shinken’s chest before going completely limp. He was still conscious, but only barely.

“Last chance...Tell me what I want to know.” Shinken threatened. Kuru barely seemed to be able to lift his eyes to meet Shinken’s gaze, but he did.

“Kaji...Is...Building...an army…” Kuru coughed. Shinken was going to demand to know for what purpose but he’d already pushed Kuru to his limits and the man quickly fell unconscious. So much for getting any information out of him. He’d probably be out for days, and even if he recovered he’d probably never be the same. Still the man had brought it on himself. If he’d just answered Shinken’s questions he’d be perfectly fine. Now he might never wake up. Shinken almost felt bad, but the man had been an enemy and would have shown him no mercy if the situations had been reversed.

Shinken released the genjutsu and sighed deeply. If Kaji was building an army there was no time to waste. A ninja of Kaji’s level was bad enough, but an army of ninja was another ball game entirely. Even if they were only average ninja, Shinken wouldn’t be able to fight them all at once, and he’d lose the battle as they slowly wore him down. Even if he somehow got through all of them He’d still have to fight Kaji, and if he wasn’t at full strength that was a battle he was certain to lose.

There was nothing else to be done, but to prepare for the Journey to the Land of fire. However he didn’t want to make the trip alone. If Kazumi was capable of making the trip he would rather have her company, and though she hadn’t won her battle, she had been useful in holding off his second opponent. He only hoped her recovery had progressed far enough to allow her to travel with him.

He left the cell and headed to the infirmary at a quick pace. He wasted no time, taking the most direct route. When he arrived the woman in reception looked slightly startled.

“Lord Kazekage… Why are you here?” She asked.

“There was a kunoichi brought here earlier today. Her name was Kazumi. I’d like to see her please.” He replied.

“Oh...Um let me have a look.” She said as she began flipping through medical charts. She flipped through four pages before she stopped.

“Ah yes. Here she is. She’s in room 3A.” The receptionist stated without looking up from the paper.

“Thank you. I’ll be on my way.” Shinken replied. The nurse looked as if she wanted to say something but she bit her tongue. Normally He would have asked her to speak her mind, but right now he was in a hurry. He made his way up the stairs and into Room 3A where he found Kazumi laying in bed. She seemed alright but she was asleep. Shinken walked over and gently shook her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and slowly came into focus.

“Shinken?” She asked.

“Yes Kazumi, it’s me. How are you feeling?” He asked.

“Better than I was, but I’m not one hundred percent yet.” She admitted.

“How was the treatment?” Shinken inquired hoping at least some of her strength had returned.

“They gave me some pills that are supposed to make me produce more blood, and they sealed up the wound. I think I’m just really tired now…” She replied. Shinken smiled a little at the good news, but he was going to have to tell her where he was going, and she was sure to want to come along no matter how exhausted she was. On one hand she might slow him down. On the other hand he might need the help if Kaji had any allies lurking about.

“So. I found out more. I’m headed to Fire Country.” Shinken said. He paused long enough for her to consider her choices before he continued.

“If you feel up to it I’d like to have you come with me.” He finished. She seemed to think for another moment before she nodded affirmatively.

“I’m coming with you.” She said firmly. Kazumi swung her legs over the side of the bed and got to her feet. It wasn’t until she looked down that she realized she was still wearing her hospital clothing.

“I uh...I need to get changed…” She said quietly. Shinken tensed a little and gave her a nod.

“Of course. I’ll be waiting outside.” He replied and quickly stepped out of the door. It didn’t take her long to get changed and soon the two were headed to the passage out of the sand village once again.