III

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Arc III Chapter 8

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Asami and her little group approached Shimabara's gates. Kumo ANBU manned the walls. They watched their every step. Naritomo accompanied Asami on an involuntary basis. He didn't volunteer for this assignment.

Kumo ANBU surrounded?them. They stood everywhere and their?numbers?kept increasing. Naritomo gulped. ”I don’t want to question your decision, but I don't think it was a good idea to come here.”

“Do you? Why do you think so, Narimoto?” Asami strolled ahead. They approached the ?leader of the Kumo ANBU.

“I doubt this meeting will achieve anything.” And?their safety concerned him.

Naritomo gulped again. The?Kumo ANBU outnumbered them?by a significant?margin.

Asami chcukled. “To be honest, I don’t expect any results either.”

“Why are we even here?then?”?Naritomo didn't understand.

Asami sighed. ”Naritomo, you still have a lot to learn. Diplomacy?rarely has the intention to produce actual results. Diplomacy is all about?appearance and gentle smiles.”

”If we destroy Shimabara?without a valid reason, the?world?will condemn us. They will call us murderers,?butchers.“

“Therefore, we need a pretext. If we give them?the chance to capitulate, we have done everything to avoid needless bloodshed. They?doomed?themselves if they reject our most gracious offer.?They forfeited their lives.” Asami?grinned diabolically, her eyes icy, cold, calculating. They abandoned the last vestiges of humanity.

Naritomo shivered. The girl?was scary, wasn't she?

The Kumo captain greeted them. Two guards flanked him. ”The Black Princess?herself,?I didn't expect you to come.“

“I thought?my men were?joking when?they?told me Konoha's grim reaper offered me an audience. I didn't expect?you to prefer talking?over?fighting.?You don't have a reputation for shying away from violence, quite the contrary.”

Asami chuckled.?”Don’t be disappointed,?I?merely?know when to?choose my?battles. You don’t need?to fight every single battle. We can come to an agreement that suits both?our interests.?No need for senseless bloodshed. We are reasonable human beings.“

The Kumo captain grew suspicious. Her Highness was up to something. ”Enough of the pleasantries. What do you want?”

“I would like to?make you an offer, or rather to give you an ultimatum. Either Kumogakure will withdraw all?regular as well as irregular?forces?from Shimabara?and persuade your rebel friends to surrender until tomorrow, or you will face complete destruction.“

“We will raze Shimabara to the ground. We will show no mercy.”

The Kumo captain broke out in laughter, amused by Asami's naivety.?“Do I look stupid, girl? Tell me, why should we make it easy for you? Why should we give up Shimabara?”

Asami stepped closer. His two guards drew their swords?to protect their captain. Their steel?glimmered?in the dark moonlight.

”I think you misunderstand, my friend. This isn’t a matter of making things easy. This is your last chance. This is my last warning.?From hereon, only ..”?Asami stopped.

“Only what??Why are you suddenly lost for words? Are you scared, or what?“ The Kumo captain?taunted her, but Asami ignored him.

Asami stared at his?guards. She recognised the grain pattern. They were the same. Even after all these years,?she remembered the fateful blade.

Hatred, rage, insanity gripped?her heart, an?insatiable thirst for revenge. Their?attire, their posture, their swords?were the same.

Asami suppressed her boiling emotions, her oscillating chakra. "Naritomo, ready our forces.?We will attack in the morning.”

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All available Konoha shinobi were put on standby. Her?men hid among the trees, their morale restored.?They were determined to attack,?to take vengeance?for their fallen comrades.

Asami led them together?with the rest of?her?ANBU. "Fu, is everyone ready?"

Fu nodded. "We are ready. We?only wait for your signal."

The darkness of the night retreated and morning dawned.

Asami breathed?in, breathed out. She reached a?point of no return. From hereon,?she couldn’t go back anymore.

The jutsu required all?her concentration, all her skill,?put a significant strain on her mangekyou.

She intended?to carpet bomb Shimabara?and provide fire support, but her plans had changed.

Asami clenched her fist. A single event had changed everything. Nothing was the same anymore. Her heart thirsted for blood.

They took position?a few miles away from the designated ground zero.?Asami didn't want to?get?caught up in the blast.

Asami observed Shimabara, a city shrouded in ignorance, unaware of its?impending doom

Asami focused her eyes?on the horizon. A sphere appeared?in the distance. Her?ominous purple?eyes shimmered in the dark. Divine judgement loomed over the city.

Asami hadn't forgotten. Asami hadn't forgiven, and she wouldn't forgive.

Asami?remembered.?She remembered the night. Her undying hatred, her rage, her ire?fuelled her jutsu,?the final shining legacy of her?love for okaa-san.?Asami loved Kurano. Her loss haunted her to this day. The grief, the sadness, the pain never subsided.

Asami channelled her chakra. The instrument of her retribution grew in size. Her sphere expanded, and expanded, and expanded with no apparent limit.

The sphere collapsed and the core compressed.

A tear of blood ran down her face, but Asami smiled. Her work was done and her raging chakra only waited for her command to set the world aflame.

Asami closed her eyes.?Silence?followed, absolute?silence.?Seconds turned to hours as history changed.

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A flash, an enormous flash?illuminated the sky. Radiant glory ignited the atmosphere and the light of the sun graced the earth.

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The shock wave reached Asami. A?white line raced?across the ground and the trees. The lingering?heat of the detonation tickled her?skin.

Her men had their eyes?fixed on a gigantic column of dust. The infernal column rose?into the sky higher than any?mountain. The cloud formed a glowing mushroom of fire and ash.

Blood trickled down her cheek. Asami chose her path. This was vengeance. This was justice.

Kumogakure would pay for their actions. They would pay dearly, and they would pay their price in blood. Asami would bring judgement on them all.

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No. 012420 to Danzo

Classification: Top Secret “Root”

Urgency: “Root”

Report: Shimabara Rebellion and subject No. 011567

- Shimabara - rebellion suppressed - Minami Asami?-?No. 011567 - unknown Jutsu?used?- no?hand seals required- powerful?technique - power level not determinable - temporary classification S-rank upwards -

- explosion - bright flash - immense blast - mushroom cloud - height circa at least 6 km - total destruction of Shimabara - wiped out - entire area flattened - no building standing anymore - barren desert of rubble -

- ground zero - ground covered by?glassy substance - molten sand -

- no survivors?near ground zero - masses of charred corpses - all life exterminated indiscriminately - shadows burned into the ground across?the city - few survivors on the outskirts - severe third degree burns - survival chances minimal?-

estimated civilian casualties ?- 40,000 - military casualties unknown - conclusion?- subject No. 011567 dangerous - elimination recommendable?-

- complete report submitted when more information available -

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