Chapter 280

Ten Minutes Later

“Holy crap it’s Naruto!” Kiba shouts the second he steps into the office, he’s the last of the Rookie Nine and team Gai to enter. “Is that why we’re all here?”

“No.” Tsunade growls out. The ten minute interlude didn’t lessen her anger at all. “Now be quiet.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Kiba instantly rolls over for the alpha, he knows when to remain silent.

“Are we in trouble?” Choji asks as he pockets the rest of his bag of chips. Now is not the time for snacking.

“Not those of you that just joined us.” Tsunade narrows her eyes at the team that just came back and the three youngest flinch under her gaze. The older two force themselves to not react. “You’re all here because you’re the most likely to ignore the capture or kill order we have out on Alvarcus.”

“Alvarcus? Did they run into him on their mission?” Neji asks with a forced straight face to not betray how he feels about his missing friend. He’s not even sure how he feels about the runaway himself.

“Enough with the questions!” Tsunade yells at the gathered shinobi. “You all will remain quiet and listen! You are not here for a pleasant conversation you are here because you’re all liabilities!”

The room falls deathly silent, the late comers finally grasp the seriousness of the situation.

“Alvarcus Mar is currently listed as an A-rank bounty.” Tsunade very clearly starts speaking, she will make sure everyone understands this. She will not stand for blatant disregard of her orders again. “You all know how he earned this, by going to Orochimaru. What you all don’t know is the latest thing he’s done to solidify his place as a threat to Konoha and her interests.”

“Just under two weeks ago one of our allies bases was destroyed.” Tsunade starts to pace before the group, making sure to look at each face to further sink in her message. “This base belonged to Kusa who we have allied with to keep Orochimaru in Oto. That specific base was the first of many that would help keep Orochimaru limited and confined. It was going to be a grand plan of two countries working together in ways that has rarely happened before. We were going to have half Kusa and half Konoha shinobi man each base. It was the beginning of a truly prosperous unification of the two countries.”

“But it will never happen. The base wasn’t just destroyed. It was obliterated. Not even a single building was left standing, they were pulverized to dust. Out of the thirty Kusa shinobi there only three managed to survive due to luck. The wounded were left to suffer in agony, the dead were left for the vultures to feast on. Because of this base’s utter annihilation Kusa has withdrawn to fortify herself for an assault from Oto. What once was going to be a union of two countries has now vanished forever. It is also the base you told me about in your report Shikamaru, the five of you know first hand what I am talking about.”

“This was not the work of Orochimaru. I have no doubt that he ordered it but he did not get his own hands dirty. Nor was this accomplished by a team of his highly trained shinobi. This was done by one individual.”

Tsunade takes this moment to make eye contact with each person present. Some individuals meet her gaze confidently, others display sympathy for the unfortunate Kusa shinobi, some are confused as to why Tsunade is telling them this, a few remain stoic and apathetic, only one person has tears of regretful acceptance in her eyes.

Ino has finally decided how she feels about him.

“Alvarcus did it.”

…

That Night, Otogakure

“Are you here to finish the job?” A burned husk of what once was a proud shinobi wheezes out under great duress. He’s confined to his hospital bed and is almost completely wrapped in bandages. He smells rank, not because he’s dirty but because of the liters of healing balm that are on him. “I always knew you’d come back. A monster never lets its prey survive, they only live until the monster is done playing.”

“No. I am not here to kill you.” I hang my head in shame. “I am here to apologize. I know that those words sound hollow, that they are meaningless. In reality they are, words mean nothing. But I can’t heal you. I can’t turn back time to save you from me. I can’t do anything for you. Those words may be hollow, but they are the only thing I can offer you. I am sorry, so very sorry. If there is anything I can do to make it up to you I will do it. I know that they are very unequal, what I did to you can never be undone. I can never truly redeem myself from those horrible actions. So I am offering whatever I can, I am not expecting you to accept my apology. I just want you to know that I truly regret what happened.”

He doesn’t instantly respond. He’s laying in the bed looking at me. Weighing what his reply will be.

I patiently wait for him. As much as I do not want to be here this is something that has to be done.

“There is one thing you can do.” The burned man speaks, breaking the silence. “Finish the job.”

“You wish for your own death?” I calmly ask him. “I will do it but I want to make sure you’ve thought it through. Speak with the doctors, find out when you will -“

“I won’t get better.” He cuts me off. “You burned more than just flesh. You melted muscle and bone, seared nearly all of my nerves and charred a fair portion of my organs. The only reason I am alive is because Orochimaru transplanted organs into me, ironically from the two shinobi you two tore apart. He didn’t do it to save me, he did it to see if he could. My life is over, I’m just waiting to go onto the next. If there is a next, I hope all that hooplah about paradise is real. Maybe I’m destined for fire and brimstone. Perhaps it’s just emptiness. I don’t know, but I am ready to take that leap.”

“Okay.” My surprisingly steady hand reaches into my coat and pulls out a kunai.

“Wait.” The burned man stops me. “I am a shinobi. I want to die on my feet with a blade in my hand, not on my back.”

“Of course.” I flip the kunai 180 degrees and gently place the handle in his hand. His fingers twitch slightly but they’re incapable of gripping the weapon.

“Ha.” He darkly snorts out. “You really did a number on me, so much for that last wish. Just do it.”

“Just a moment.” A pool of black threads slowly creeps out of the back of my shirt along with a white mask. The monster doesn’t take its usual humanoid form, instead it remains in a bundle and moves over to the burned shinobi.

It gently wraps itself around him, securing a hold on each limb, mimicking all of his joints. Then the shinobi does what he thought was impossible: he grips the kunai.

It’s acting as an exoskeleton for him.

“You’re a fucking asshole, you know that right?” The shinobi seemingly pushes himself up off the bed and raises himself up to his full height.

“I know.” I solemnly tell him as I bury another kunai in his chest.

“I do not forgive you. I will never forgive you.” The burned man coughs up blood onto me, staining my clothes and splattering against my face.

“I know. It doesn’t matter, even if you did forgive me.” I pull the kunai out and he slumps into me in a crimson hug. “I will never forgive myself. Today you get the release of death. I must live on with what I have done. My actions will haunt me for the rest of my life, maybe even longer.”

“Good.” The light leaves the shinobi’s eyes, he’s dead.