Hey Guys.
This chapter is about an Hour Late. I planned to post double Chapters, then I had an idea at the Final moments of Chapter 12.
Suddenly, Chapter 12 needed changing and Chapter 11 details had to be changed to match as well. Couldn't do everything in the short Timespan, so I can only post this one.
Hope you Enjoy it.
New Week, New Chapter. Powerstones Please.
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**NINJA WORLD - LAND OF DEMONS**
It was late in the afternoon. The blazing sun hung high in the skies, fueling the perpetually blistering heat. Underneath it, a vast landscape covered in trees, vegetation and ruined building structures.
This was the Land of Demons.
Territory outside the region of the Shinobi world and the Five Great Ninja Villages. Home not to assassins and warring villages but to a spiritual community with multiple beliefs and religions.
Far east in this same Territory, space rippled as an uninvited guest made her injured appearance.
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Damp earth greeted her cheek, and the scent of moss and blood filled her nostrils.
Branches rustled overhead. Birds chirped distantly. A breeze tugged at her hair.
The world came back to Yugito Nii in fragments.
Her eyes fluttered open to reveal a canopy of twisted branches overhead, filtering pale sunlight through leaves that had seen better seasons. Ancient stone structures jutted from the forest floor around her—weathered pillars, crumbling walls, the skeletal remains of what might once have been a great village.
'Where... am I?'
She thought, finding her back resting against the wall of a ruined building.
The Jinchūriki tried to move and immediately regretted it. Her body screamed in protest, a thousand needles of pain radiating from limbs that felt both frozen and aflame. The black receivers used to restrain her were still embedded in her arms, legs, and torso—dark metal rods that pulsed with foreign chakra, disrupting her own energy flow.
'You're awake,' came a familiar voice from within her mind, carrying both relief and concern. 'I was beginning to worry.'
"Matatabi," she whispered, her voice barely audible in the forest silence. "What happened? Where are we?"
'Somewhere far from that accursed place,' the Two-Tails replied, its dual-toned voice echoing in the space of their shared consciousness.
"We're still..."
'Alive.' The Tailed Beast finished. 'His Transcript Technique in the Sealing Jutsu took effect. Now, we're no longer in the underground caverns.'
"I..." Yugito paused. Quiet for a moment. "...I see." Her voice was labored, strained. Yet there was something else in it—bewilderment, perhaps.
The silence that followed seemed to stretch for an eternity.
Then she raised a trembling hand, reaching for the first black rod embedded in her shoulder.
'So, it's finally over?'
She pulled. Pain struck like lightning. The foreign chakra inside her writhed.
"Ugh." A sharp groan escaped her lips.
'Easy. Those rods are agitating your chakra network. Pull too hard, and you could cause permanent damage.'
Yugito nodded and began to pull. The receiver came free with a wet, sucking sound, followed by a fresh flow of blood. She bit her lip to keep from crying out, tasting copper as she moved to the next one.
Her mind drifted, unbidden, to the moment everything changed—the day her hell began.
**The Hidden Cloud, months ago…**
The sewers beneath the outskirts of the village stank of stagnant water and rot. Cold condensation dripped from stone walls.
Yugito stood knee-deep in the murky runoff, eyes fixed on the two intruders standing across the tunnel.
Akatsuki.
Kakuzu stood tall, his stitched-up body cloaked in the signature red clouds. Beside him, Hidan tapped his scythe against the stone floor, eyes wild with bloodlust.
"It's you, Kakuzu."
The damp sewers echoed with her voice. Heard clearly by the two members of the terrorist group across the body of water.
Kakuzu's eyes gleamed faintly beneath the shadow of his hood. "Well, well. If it isn't the blonde mistress," he said dryly.
"Never thought I'd see you again," he added. "It's been a while."
'Is he familiar...?' Matatabi inside her asked.
'Yeah, you bet he is. That's the rebel-nin Kakuzu. I saw him personally once. He was "His" Financial Manager, remember?'
Yugito's eyes narrowed. "Kakuzu. I could say the same. Makes me wonder why you're here in the Hidden Cloud, targeting a jinchūriki..."
Examining them long enough, her face let out a slightly amused smirk.
"What's the matter? Did someone get lonely and sent you to drag me back?"
She looked over, only to see Kakuzu rolling his eyes. His face scrunched as if he had just thought of something unpleasant.
'That struck a nerve.'
"This is certainly no way to go about it. Tell him no lady is courted that way these days."
Listening to their discussions, Hidan scratched his head, and squinted his eyes. "Huh? Am I missing something?"
They ignored him.
"From what I heard, it worked on you."
Kakuzu, who had been silent let out a single sentence. The smirk on her face dropped instantly.
"And don't overthink it. This has nothing to do with him," Kakuzu said flatly reaching into his pocket "My current actions are for the Akatsuki alone."
Yugito didn't flinch. "He's still your employer, is he not?"
"So?"
"Then your actions reflect him. After what he did to A-Sama, this is no different from declaring war on Kumogakure."
Kakuzu scoffed. "War? Hard when he's not even here to declare it. Hasn't been since The Incident. Even if he was, Guy's as open-minded and generous as they come. My kind of person."
A scroll puffed into existence in his hand. He unfurled it with casual indifference.
"Still... you raise a good point. This development could cause me problems."
"Hey, what are you talking about Kakuzu?" Hidan yelled, irritation mounting. 'That's right. Something weird is definitely going on here that I don't know about.'
"Nothing that concerns you, idiot." Kakuzu's reply however immediately ticked him off.
"Why you—!"
"Now be quiet while I think."
"Wait, you know her, don't you?" Hidan pointed his scythe at Yugito. "You do!" His words more of a statement than a question.
"Yeah. The woman of my employer. What of it?"
"The scary boss has a woman?" Hidan's eyes widened, scandalized. The image of their orange haired boss with piercings on his nose and mouth, talking about Pain every moment of the day, actually keeping a woman outside emerged in his mind and took root uncontrollably.
"Not that boss. Another one—one who pays much better."
"Wait—you're working for two people How—?! That doesn't make any sense!"
"No surprise there. Your understanding of economics is beneath primitive."
"Hey!!"
"Shut up Hidan!!"
Yugito eyed the pair, unimpressed. The absurdity of their banter was almost amusing—if it weren't so infuriating.
"Whatever. Come on, let's get her already." Breaking away from the argument, Hidan says, focusing on The Jinchuriki.
"Lord Jashin will be..."
"Not yet you idiot."
"Huh!" Hidan, stunned again turned to Kakuzu. "Why?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"You haven't—?! What do you mean you haven't decided?!" Hidan's jaw dropped. "We have a job here!"
"So do I." Kakuzu uttered indifferently. "My job pays even more than this. Worth over a hundred million ryo a year. One major screw-up, and I'm out. And unlike you, I take my jobs very seriously."
"Hey! Is that why you didn't wanna take this gig earlier?" Hidan pointed accusingly.
"Yeah, that's it, isn't it. I thought it was weird you wanted to go for the soft gigs that pay less."
"Keep pointing at me, and I'll kill you."
"You!!"
"Hehe, You know your little back and forth is pretty funny right?"
Both stopped.
"So what?" Yugito asked. "You gonna turn around and leave?"
Kakuzu was silent for a moment.
"No." He uttered, his voice deep and gruff, dropped lower than usual. "If this were just a regular bounty, I might let it slide. Unfortunately, it's a Jinchuriki. Too much's on the line to look the other way for."
The man said, tendrils emerging from the stitches of his raised arm.
"I've finished the assessment."
"It'll cause me trouble, sure. But it'll be fine as long as I'm not the one ending your life." Her eyes narrowed even more.
Kaguku continued. "After all, after that Incident, he's more practical than sentimental. After so much time passing by without even so much as a shadow, I doubt he'll do more than temporarily deduct my pay for a former love interest. Nor would he be willing to compensate the trouble for going against the Akatsuki by sparing your life."
The silence that followed was almost deafening. Until.
"Hmph. Men. Always such arrogant idiots. You think you have me trapped, don't you." She said coldly.
Both men looked into the eyes of the female Jinchuriki. A cunning smile adorned her features as she clasped her hands together. "Well you haven't. In fact, I'm the one who's trapped you."
Following which, she activates the paper bombs.
Explosions follow.
"Huh?"
"What the?"
Both Akatsuki Shinobi look behind them to see the roofs of the tunnels caving in. The sewer trembled as stone collapsed, sealing the exits behind and around them. Water splashed as the explosion echoed.
"Well. Seems we've walked right into a trap Kakuzu." Hidan utters jokingly. "Now you've made her mad. Remember what they say about a woman's ire."
"What nonsense are you spouting now?"
"Now that I know that you're Akatsuki. I can't let you leave alive" She says, seriously. "I don't need the mercy of terrorists, Kakuzu. Don't think I'm letting you off the hook. You and your employer are enemies of Kumo. Orders or not, I'm not his anything. Once I'm done with you two, he'll have to answer to the Hidden Cloud."
"For the convenience of the dumb one, In case you don't already know, I'm Yugito Nii of the Hidden Cloud, and you're dead."
Crouching on all fours, the water she stood on turned into a spinning whirlpool as her Chakra turned violent.
Hidan's playful smile dropped "Who are you calling dumb?"
"I see." Kakuzu however, was focused on something else. "That makes things easier for me."
Her hairband loosened, her eyes turned white. Blue chakra condensed around her as she released her tailed beast.
'It's just Two idiots.' Yugito thought. 'I can Take them.'
The Memory faded at that point, bringing her back to reality.
SQUELCH.
Another black rod slid free from her arm. She winced.
"Ugh."
'Still think you could've taken them?' Inside the sealed space, Matatabi spoke. Her voice carrying a note of dark amusement.
Yugito didn't respond. That was three months ago. The memory of that battle was too fresh, too humiliating. For all her confidence, she had underestimated both Akatsuki members. Hidan's immortality and Kakuzu's multiple hearts had proven too much, especially in the confined space of the sewers.
After her capture, the extraction attempts that followed had been worse. Day after day, week after week, three months of relentless attempts to extract the tailed beast from her.
SQUELCH!
Each extraction attempt failed. And always for the same reason.
Her hand drifted slowly down her body, stopping just below her chest. There, a small sealing mark that was now non-existent.
"It's gone," Matatabi said quietly, stating the obvious. She didn't need to. Yugito could feel it herself.
The foreign energy—the Cursed Energy, as he had called it—that had always lingered dormant in that spot was no longer there.
That strange energy once powered a special sealing technique. It had kept her alive by blocking any attempt to extract the Two Tails, even against the terrifying suction of that monstrous wooden summon—the one controlled by the Akatsuki's so-called leader.
The one they called Pain.
It was also what allowed her escape. After three months in captivity, it had triggered a teleportation seal, ripping her away from the Akatsuki base and depositing her... wherever this place was.
Now the seal was gone. So was the energy.
'I would have died without that seal. But then there's Kakuzu. What exactly are you playing at?'
One by one, she extracted the foreign objects from her body. Each removal was agony, but with every black rod that hit the forest floor, she could feel her chakra beginning to flow more freely. By the time she pulled the last one from her right leg, she was gasping and covered in sweat, but the oppressive weight on her energy had lifted considerably.
"Now what?" she asked, slumping back against a fallen pillar.
'We need to determine our exact location and find a way to contact Kumogakure,' Matatabi replied practically. 'The Akatsuki will be looking for us, and staying in one place for too long is asking for trouble.'
Yugito nodded, forcing herself to her feet despite the protest from every muscle in her body. The movement sent fresh pain shooting through her wounds, but she managed to remain upright.
Following which, she took a look around properly. The ruins appeared ancient, pre-dating any of the hidden villages. Massive stone blocks lay scattered among the trees, covered in moss and carved with symbols she didn't recognize. The architecture was unlike anything from the Five Great Nations.
'Where are we?' Matatabi wondered.
"Somewhere far from home," Yugito replied, struggling to her feet. Her legs shook with the effort, but she managed to stay upright. 'We need to figure out our location and find somewhere safe to heal. But this place...'
Matatabi paused, its voice taking on a thoughtful tone. 'There's something familiar about it. I can't remember from where though.'
Before Yugito could ask what the Two-Tails meant, she felt it—a massive chakra signature approaching fast through the forest. Her blood went cold.
This wasn't multiple people like she'd first thought. It was a single individual with incredibly dense chakra.
"Akatsuki?" Instantly, Yugito felt her blood run cold. Such Massive Chakra ...
'Unknown. But whoever it is, they're powerful. Very powerful.' Matatabi replied urgently.
Yugito looked around desperately for somewhere to hide, but the ruins offered little cover. The approaching signature was getting closer, and in her current state, running wasn't an option.
As if knowing what she was thinking, the two tails hurriedly advised.
'Don't, if you enter Version Two mode, you'll—'
"I know the risks," she cut off the Two-Tails. "But what choice do we have?"
Her words were interrupted when a figure materialized in front of her at high speed. A young woman with long red hair, red eyes and glasses, wearing dark clothing that looked both practical and well-maintained.
She moved with the fluid grace of someone highly trained in combat.
'Wait. Red hair... Could she be...?'
The newcomer's crimson locks swayed as she tilted her head, examining Yugito with sharp, analytical eyes. The blonde could see the traces of joy in her eyes vanishing rapidly as she looked beyond her.
Next, it was followed by a slight sigh.
There was something distinctly familiar about her chakra signature—not threatening in the way the Akatsuki's had been, but powerful nonetheless.
"An outsider," the red-haired woman said, her voice carrying a note of curiosity rather than hostility. "And injured. How troublesome."
Nevertheless, Yugito wasn't going to take the risk.
Immediately, she began to draw on Matatabi's chakra, feeling the familiar burn as the bijuu's power flowed through her system. Blue flames began to dance around her body as the Two-Tails' cloak formed, but almost immediately, she could tell something was wrong.
The chakra flow was erratic, disrupted by her injuries and the lingering effects of the black receivers. Instead of the smooth transformation she was accustomed to, the process felt like trying to force water through a damaged pipe.
'Stop!' Matatabi commanded urgently. 'Your chakra pathways are too damaged! You'll cripple yourself!'
The two tails didn't need to warm.
The pain that followed at the end of her words was immediate and overwhelming. It felt like liquid fire was being poured through her veins, and she could taste blood in her mouth as something inside her body tore. But the cloak solidified around her, blue flames crackling with unstable energy.
"A Jinchuriki," the red-haired woman observed with interest. "Here of all places?"
"I'm Yugito Nii of the Hidden Cloud. I don't know where I am, but—"
Before she could finish her sentence, golden chains erupted from the ground around her. They moved with impossible speed and precision, wrapping around her limbs and torso before she could react. The chakra suppression was immediate and overwhelming.
"Adamantine Sealing Chains," The redhead said simply, as if that explained everything. "You're in no condition to fight, and frankly, you're making a mess of your chakra network. Stop struggling before you cause permanent damage."
Yugito's partially formed cloak flickered like a dying flame as her overtaxed body finally gave out. The chains weren't painful, but they completely cut off her access to Matatabi's chakra. She collapsed to her knees, then forward onto her hands, coughing up blood onto the ancient stones.
'This girl... she's an Uzumaki,' Matatabi realized. 'Those chains are the real deal.'
Through her blurred vision, Yugito could see her approaching, her expression shifting from analytical interest to something resembling concern.
"You're the one who caused that cursed energy fluctuation, aren't you?" Karin asked, crouching down to examine her. "I thought he had returned, but it's just you. How disappointing."
"Who... what are you? ..." Yugito managed to gasp.
"You don't need to talk," Karin replied, lifting Yugito with surprising gentleness despite the chains. "What you need is medical attention. Mother's going to want to examine that seal work on you anyway."
Then darkness claimed Yugito completely, leaving only the sound of wind through the ruins as Karin carried the unconscious Jinchuriki deeper into the forest, toward whatever home awaited in this strange land.
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