"Is anything wrong?"
The next morning, as Takuma was putting on his shoes at the entrance, Maruboshi called out.
"Not at all. Why do you ask?" Takuma said, smiling.
"You're armed to the teeth and you're wearing those clothes instead of your uniform." Maruboshi pointed at his unusual choice of attire.
He wore a grey outfit with black and purple highlights made from a breathable and sturdy material, and an assortment of strategically placed pockets and inserts.
Half a year ago, Takuma had put down a custom order at the local tailor for a few sets of "casual clothes" that could also function as combat gear. The base layer didn't look that much different from casual street wear, but additions like pockets and compartments to hold slot-in weapon packs and pouches, and inserts to attach utility belts and straps, along with a back attachment to hold his sword, had been added for combat functionality.
However, after wearing the set for one day each during training, they hadn't seen the light outside the closet. Takuma wore his standard Lead uniform to work, and he had to wear his ANBU gear when he was doing field work. And the rest of his wardrobe was more comfortable for daily use.
"I'm meeting an old acquaintance who once kicked down my door," Takuma said, casually, but it still worried Maruboshi. "Don't worry, even though he likes to use intimidation tactics, he's the type who prefers to talk. I'm overdressing to intimidate him back."
"Do you want me to come with you? Or perhaps take a friend with you?" Maruboshi suggested.
"Thank you, but it's fine. I'll be back in time for dinner. See you then," Takuma said.
He didn't want to bother Maruboshi, who had once warned him to stay away from the seedy underworld of the city. Nor did he have any friends he could take without truly explaining the extent of his dealings with Enomoto.
Takuma wasn't worried about the meeting with Enomoto. Both of them held dirt against each other, and both had tons to lose. Takuma risked losing his job at ANBU, while Enomoto would lose the grip over all he had managed to grow over the past few years. Even if ANBU found out about his past, they could possibly overlook it because of his performance—but he didn't want things to come to that because it would taint his reputation.
He was more interested in how Enomoto found out about his job. If ANBU discovered this and he couldn't provide a satisfactory explanation for how it happened, his competence would be called into question. He wanted to take care of it all without getting ANBU involved. He was at a sensitive junction at his job and didn't want anything jeopardising it.
He was also curious what Enomoto would like to get out of him. It was clearly blackmail and why Enomoto thought he would do anything for him.
Shady Guy wanted to meet at a training field he had booked especially for the conversation. It gave them privacy because they would be alone. Takuma would've chosen a random rooftop or alley, an abandoned building, or any public place, but clearly the upstart drug lord had money to spare.
Takuma looked around the grassy portion of the training field to spot Enomoto. "This is massive," he muttered to himself. He hadn't been to this specific training field before. It was one of those fields used for group training exercises. He remembered the training field he used during the Genin Corp Basic Training—that was among the biggest facilities he had seen.
"Am I early?"
He took out a watch when a yellow shimmer travelled up into the air, covering half of the field around him, before disappearing. It was a barrier. He didn't know what function it served, but it couldn't be a coincidence that it went up upon his arrival.
Three figures appeared before him. Two of them were identical to each other—build, height, skin, hair style and colour, down to the distance between their feet as they stood. They were dressed in ROOT gear with fish motif masks; the only difference was the colour of the fish scale design.
One was red, the other was blue.
The third figure—Takuma would've recognised him even if his eyes were gouged out. Just like last time, he was the only one who wasn't wearing a mask, as though confident that it didn't matter if his face was seen because no one was going to escape alive to spread it.
"...Kon."
The leather of his gloves stretched as Takuma clenched his fists. He wanted nothing more than to run forward and slice the bastard's head off his neck and punch a hole through his chest. He would pay anything to watch the life drain out of Kon's eyes. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and it took everything in his power to stop him from acting on it.
Kon smirked. "Takuma, or do you like to go by Ratel these days?"
ROOT not only knew that he was ANBU, but they also knew his codename, which meant it was safe to assume that they knew about Ironwood Protection Company, and in turn, about everyone who worked there. The entire unit was compromised. ANBU's secret identities were to protect the agents because if their enemies discovered the identities, they could target them through their friends and families.
Enomoto was neither a friend nor family, but they still managed to use him to lure Takuma here. They accurately found someone who wouldn't hesitate to sell him out at a moment's notice.
"Is he dead?" he asked.
"Who? Oh, your friend? That's rude. Please, we treat our guests well. He was quite helpful; we kept him very comfortable," Kon said sarcastically.
"Kill him. You have to kill him."
Takuma glanced to the side to see Grey standing beside him, staring at Kon. There was anger in his eyes, but his face was stiff in nervousness, and he hugged his body with one arm.
Grey was scared.
Despite being able to communicate with the original entity taking refuge inside his mind, Takuma didn't know much about Grey. The remnant kept everything about him locked behind the wall. Even in conversations, he never gave anything away. The only memories Takuma knew were from the visions he had seen while fighting in the mansion at Yu. Grey's memories of being part of an experiment in which Kon was involved.
"I want to ask him some questions," Takuma mentally replied. He was going to kill Kon with his own hands, but not before enjoying torturing him. The bastard would not have the privilege of meeting a Yamanaka. He was going to do it the old-fashioned way.
"You can't take that risk. Kill him and be done with it!" Grey all but yelled at him, his voice teetering on the verge of spiralling out of control from extreme emotional turmoil.
"It's okay, I can handle him. Not to mention, I can tap him for information about ROOT. He'll die eventually, I'll make sure of it." Takuma said mentally while simultaneously speaking to Kon not to seem suspicious.
"Who are the two goons?" he asked, looking at the identical twins.
"You can't be sure of that. Once he enters ANBU's custody, he becomes an asset. They might torture him, but they won't let him die. Do you want that?" Grey said through gritted teeth. His tone went from slightly panicked at Takuma's refusal to a storming rage trying to leak through his words. "I don't like eventually
."Takuma felt the fringes of his vision darken. Grey's emotions were influencing the genjutsu he was using to appear to him.
However, he couldn't deny those words. The moment he brought Kon, or any ROOT agent, into ANBU, they would be protected. Takuma was confident that he could kill Kon during an interrogation, but he had to consider his reputation. The moment he killed a subject during an interrogation, he would be barred from conducting them for an extended period.
"I want him to feel pain," Takuma told Grey. A simple death was a mercy for a guy like Kon, who revelled in others' misery. He wanted to break him down. Then present him a glimmer of hope, have him cling to it, and then crush that hope at the moment which would cause the greatest despair.
Losing the privilege to interrogate and a hit to his reputation was a cheap price to pay.
"...If you kill him now, I'll invite you to the other side... I'll show you some of my memories," Grey said, his face torn in conflict. He didn't like the decision, but was willing to negotiate to get what he wanted.
"Don't go back on your word later," Takuma said after a moment of thought.
"I won't."
The darkness framing Takuma's vision vanished along with Grey.
"They are your own personal grim reapers," Kon said with a cruel smile. "You should be honoured. Lord Danzo personally selected them for you. They'll give you a swift death, putting you down for good."
"Well, consider me honoured then." Takuma's smile grew wider. "I mistakenly thought they were your caretakers. It must be difficult without both hands." Kon's face twitched violently. "Like helping you take a shit. Must be difficult to wipe your ass, so after you're done dumping, they spread a cheek each while you use your good hand to wipe."
Takuma made exaggerated hand motions to mimic what he was speaking.
Kon's face turned red. "Y-You—"
Takuma interrupted him. "Hey, you know what this means, right. That bitchface oldfuck Danzo didn't trust you with the job, so he sent someone else to do it for you. You must really hate me for ruining your life." He was sure that Kon hadn't been living well because his original smart appearance had devolved into disarray. "But you will never be able to take your revenge. Even if I die here today, it won't be because of you. You are utterly useless."
Kon's face was flushed red, his nostrils were flaring, and his veins were throbbing. At that moment, Kon wasn't focusing on anything but the sound of his voice.
"It's not good to be so emotional," Takuma whispered.
———
.
Kon was seething. He felt his blood boil hotter with each word from the bastard's face. That damned smile rubbed it in his face that he was enjoying every moment of it. How could he claim to know Lord Danzo's esteemed thoughts when they had never met? He was just a little, annoying ant that needed to be crushed under a boot.
"Take care of him," Kon said to the two beside him while taking out a kunai. He was going to participate in the fight. Even though he had lost his life, he wasn't enough to be pushed around like a punk like him.
He was going to kill the bastard and get rewarded by Lord Danzo and use it to get back what was stolen from him.
His hand, position, respect, and authority.
But as the two agents stepped forward, a smooth but cold wind flowed through them. The two identical agents stopped and uncharacteristically stopped like statues.
"Why did you stop?" he asked.
The next moment, the face of the agent on the left was dissected horizontally at eye level. The top part of his head slid off the lower half and fell to the ground. The cross-section of the human head, with eyes, nose, brain, and spinal cord, all became visible as blood bubbled from the orifices. On the right, the other agent was bisected vertically from head to crotch. The two portions fell to the sides. One half hit the ground and bounced right onto Kon's feet.
Kon flinched. His heart began to beat faster as an inordinate amount of blood began to pour out from the dissected corpses in droves—more than a human body could ever—and began to seep into the ground that absorbed it like a sponge. The green grass around the corpse began to turn blood-red and spread out, turning the green field red.
Kon looked up and saw Takuma raise his hand to his face, and began tearing his skin and hair off while screaming in pleasure until he was only a head of flesh and muscle. He laughed louder and louder until the sound coming out of his mouth wasn't human.
The laughter suddenly stopped, and an eerie silence settled in the field. The bloodstained eyes stared at him with a death rattle coming from his open mouth, two rows of exposed teeth, until a demonic voice echoed next to his ear.
"You're going to die here, Kon. Die!"
DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!DIE!
"Aaaaaaaaah!"
Kon felt a pat on his shoulder. He swung his kunai blindly in utter fear, only to have his arm grasped by the agent who had been dissected in half, who was now standing there unharmed. He closed his mouth while realising that he had been screaming until now without knowing.
"Genjutsu," the agent said, emotionlessly.
Kon's heart was beating so fast that it hurt along with his arm stump. All of his clothes were completely drenched in cold sweat. He felt a mix of cold and hot, and he was out of breath. He whipped his head to the other agent and then at the grass, which was green, and finally to Takuma, who stood there with his skin and hair intact.
Their eyes met. Takuma smiled as though he knew a secret that only two of them shared and spoke in an utterly normal voice,
"You're going to die here, Kon... Die."
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