Game of Shadows - 132 (Patreon)

Disclaimer: I don’t own Naruto nor The Gamer. I own nothing, really.

Cover Art: Kissuli.

Chapter 132

[Nagato]

It wasn’t the first time someone tried to betray Nagato. Nor was it the first time a new recruit decided it was a better idea to attack them. It was the kind of thing one expected when dealing with S ranked missing nin, really. He certainly wasn’t shocked when Tobi had chosen to do what he had.

What had surprised him was that the evident Uchiha could, maybe, get to accomplish what he set out to do.

Maybe it was arrogant of him, but Nagato hadn’t often found people that could fight him and actually stand a chance. However, he wasn’t as taken off guard by Tobi as he probably should have been. He could thank that to the Weaver, since he’d beaten the Uchiha to the punch on that front. Regardless, it wasn’t like being better prepared for that helped Nagato overly much.

Konan and him had barely managed to get away from Tobi, depressing as that was. Once a person feared by many, there he was, the leader of Akatsuki, running away with his tail between his legs. If it had been just him, he’d have stayed and fought, even if his chances weren’t good. He wouldn’t do that to Konan though, his only remaining friend. No, he’d do what he needed to for her to live. He wouldn’t be losing anyone else, if he could help it.

Thus, they’d run away while buying themselves time.

It took liberal use of Konan’s paper and some desperate uses of Nagato’s powers to keep the man away. His debilitated state didn’t help matters, but they’d managed. Things were getting out of hand though, mainly because they just couldn’t beat Tobi no matter what. How did you fight someone you couldn’t even really touch? Nagato’s push seemed to work to some extent, but any other type of attack was ignored like it wasn’t even there. Even worse, the man seemed to always manage to find them, no matter where they hid.

So, the two of them had made a desperate call.

Nagato had already been considering the idea that maybe, just maybe, his method wasn’t the only way to get peace. Eiji Satou seemed to have worked out another one, similar, but not quite the same. Furthermore, The Weaver seemed to have succeeded. Nagato still thought that was likely due to circumstances though, like how it depended on a bigger threat for Nations to unite, but it seemed to have worked anyway. Who was he to criticize the means one used to achieve their ends?

Maybe that wouldn’t have been enough for him and Konan to call for him to help them, at least in other people’s minds. However, what were they to do? It wasn’t like they had anymore allies around. There was Jiraiya, who would undoubtedly be very disappointed and disgusted with them, but even if they might have preferred to call for him, the pair didn’t even know where the Sannin was at the moment. Thus…

Desperate measures were taken.

From what Konan said, it had worked surprisingly well. Too well, one could say. Nagato was half sure that it had nothing to do with the two of them asking for help and more to do with who they were asking for help against. He rather doubted that Satou was coming to their aid as much as he was coming to take care of Tobi. There was next to no reason for him to actually offer any assistance to people that had attacked him and endangered someone he cared for. Even they hadn’t thought it would work, after all.

Yes, Nagato had added plenty of text to the first letter explaining his thoughts on peace and what he thought of what Satou had accomplished. However, he didn’t have all that much faith in managing to sway the man in any way. No, especially considering what Konan reported from her paper creations gathered intelligence. There was more going on here than Eiji Satou possibly accepting their change of mind.

‘I don’t know what you’ve done to bring this on yourself, Tobi,’ Nagato thought, fighting to keep the Uchiha away. ‘But someone worse than me is coming your way. I sure hope you aren’t ready for it.’

Nagato only wished he could be there to watch when that happened and that he didn’t fall beforehand. It certainly would feel like a waste to miss that after having had to run and hide for so long. Thus, Nagato gave it his all to push Tobi away, buying as much time as he could. His new Preta Path, which was the only Path he’d managed to recover before Tobi happened, acting as the last line of defense as he channeled the Deva Path through his own body.

“You are delaying the inevitable, Nagato,” Tobi said, making him snarl. How did the Uchiha even know about him? He’d always hidden behind the Pain persona through his paths. Sadly, it wasn’t the time to ponder on those questions, much as he’d have liked an answer.

“It’s you that’s fighting a losing battle, Tobi,” Nagato replied, pushing the man away when he appeared behind him. Once more, the Rinnegan user was thankful for his Path’s shared vision. Without it, the Uchiha would have gotten them long ago by just appearing out of his line of sight.

“If you’d have been paying attention,” Tobi said, standing far away now, on top of a rock. “You’d have noticed that the only thing you’ve been able to do since this cat and mouse game started is buy some time. Time that you won’t use for anything.”

“That’s what you think,” Nagato replied, happy to reply and keep the conversation going. Every second that Tobi spoke was a second he wasn’t attacking and a second that things could change. Konan and him had known that it was a question of time before their pursuer got to them, but it didn’t make it any better when the moment happened. So, there he was, doing his best to keep the Uchiha away.

“And what, pray tell, will you do?”

“Me? Nothing,” Nagato answered with the slightest of shrugs.

“So, you expect your paper girlfriend to save you? Because that-” He was interrupted by a sword that came flying his way from the side before he dodged. “Back up has arrived in a rather unexpected manner, it seems.”

“It’d have been too much to ask that you die that easily, I guess,” the new arrival said.

[}-o-{]

[Eiji Satou]

His eyes all but bore a hole into the enemy in front of him. The final boss, in a way, besides Zetsu and whatever the plant man’s role on the shitshow at the end of the series was supposed to be. That was Obito’s role in Eiji’s mind. He was the one that had ultimately brought the horrors of Madara and Kaguya onto the world once more.

‘And I can’t let that happen,’ Eiji thought to himself, pulling Nuibari back to himself as he and his opponent eyed each other. After all, he had no delusions that he could stand a semblance of a chance against either of those. He’d gotten far through his life, but he wasn’t there yet. He needed to stop Obito before any of that happened.

“Go away, Pain,” he said, Flickering to stand between the Rinnegan user and the Sharingan one. “He wants you, and we don’t want him to get what he wants.”

“I can he-”

“You can go away. You being here only makes things harder for me,” Eiji told him, even as he kept his full focus on Obito. On top of that, Kage was already keeping Senjutsu up, so even if his eyes were fooled, he’d be fine. “If you don’t go away, I’ll kill the both of you.”

“Rather bold, aren’t you? To think that I’ll die that easily, that is,” Obito told him, his voice muffled by the spiraling mask.

“Never said it’d be easy, just that I could,” Eiji replied with a tilt of his head. “Maybe you aren’t as smart as I thought you would be.”

That seemed to be enough bantering for the Uchiha, because he disappeared from sight immediately after. ‘Kamui, of course, fuck that and fuck the broken as hell Sharingan,’ Eiji cursed to himself, his lips pulling into a snarl.

“What are you still doing here, Pain, go the fuck away,” he hissed, only getting a long, silent stare from the man. Then, mercifully, the Rinnegan user moved away. Eiji remained where he was, but he knew-

Flickering, he blocked Obito’s kunai with Nuibari before he could reach Nagato. Not that it really mattered, because the Akatsuki leader had already been about to intervene. Eiji needed him to keep going though, which is why he’d bring all of Obito’s attention on himself.

“You are gonna make a nuisance of yourself, aren’t you?” the man asked. Before Eiji could answer though, the kunai and the rest of Obito phased through his body, which made him groan. ‘That’s more annoying than it’ll be useful for you, dumbass,’ Eiji grumbled to himself as he twisted his body around and blocked once more, this time with Obito’s arm and half his chest having moved through his own body. “Yes, yes you are,” the Uchiha groaned, this time sounding as frustrated as Eiji himself felt.

‘Good,’ he thought to himself as Obito jumped away.

“Good that we are understanding one another,” Eiji said, twirling Nuibari in his hand as he regarded his opponent. Nagato, meanwhile, continued moving away with his Path in tow, which made Eiji very grateful. He wouldn’t have minded killing him too, but through the letters they’d shared the boy had gotten an impression of something that he wouldn’t mind testing. If it failed… Well, he’d get to that later. There was something more pressing to consider and that was to stop Obito.

If Eiji failed, then at least the Rinnegan would be out of the Uchiha’s hands for a bit longer.

“You don’t understand anything,” Obito growled. “You don’t understand what you’ve getting yourself into, what I want to do, or who I am?”

“You’d be surprised,” Eiji commented with a grin. ‘Gonna have to buy some time, won’t I?’

“If you want Nagato to get away, yes, you will,” Hachi said.

‘That’s not what I wanted to hear,’ Eiji replied with a sigh before Flickering.

“Not gonna work,” Obito told him as Nuibari phased through the Uchiha’s body. “That either,” he added as lightning bird shot from Eiji and moved through him too. “Or that.” This time, it was the boy’s foot that went harmlessly all the way through the Uchiha.

“Man, you are annoying,” Eji mumbled, blocking a kunai with his sword.

“You are one to talk,” Obito said. “You have any idea how many of my plans you’ve ruined?” he asked, almost conversationally as they continued trading blows. Well, more of him phasing through Eiji’s and the latter blocking his. “Everything was going smoothly and then you had to come in and mess everything up.”

“I tend to do that with stupid people, I’ve found,” Eiji commented with a grin. “You know what I mean? People that want war and shit. That’s just no fun…” he added, keeping the conversation going while also checking on Nagato. He was the only one that remained in his range. ‘Come on, move faster… I shouldn’t have tried to let him get away. Should have just killed them both.’

“You don’t know this world like I do. It’ll take everything you love and leave you an empty husk, just like me,” Obito told him and Eiji felt sick just hearing him speak. The man really believed that he’d just change his mind to agree with him. “That’s why I exist, to bring about a better one. A new, better world.”

“Yeah, how about no?” Eiji shot back. “I mean, yeah, the world kinda sucks, but it has its good sides. It’s not its fault that you are too edgy to notice.”

“So you feel like you can mock me on top of getting on my way?”

“I mean, when you make it so easy...”

“You might be channeling Tayuya too much, Eiji,” Hachi commented, although she sounded more amused than chastising.

‘Let me have my fun, woman.’

[}-o-{]

[Kabuto Yakushi]

He watched their target, the half white half black man plant, being sent against a rock by Temari’s fan. Jirobo and Fu immediately placed themselves on either side of Konan, the Akatsuki woman, if slightly more ahead, eyes firmly on Zetsu. He positioned his puppet hands to provide cover while Tayuya prepared herself next to him, already playing her deadly music. As for Yugito… Well, she was their ace up the sleeve, so she remained hidden for the moment.

‘Really hoping Eiji didn’t make a mistake with her,’ he mused. Maybe it was hypocritical of him, but he didn’t appreciate the spy being given a second chance. In his defense, Kabuto had never done anything against the Squad. He might have thought about it at the very start, but those doubts had been quickly dashed.

And there was the woman, coming back like nothing had happened. The only reassurance he had in regards to that was the fact that Eiji had expressly told Temari and him to keep an eye on her, even though the team leader was doing that himself. Thus, Kabuto had done his absolute best and used all the spying tricks he’d learned through his life to do so to the best of his ability.

He almost wished that the woman had done something, if he was honest.

Alas, nothing of the sort had happened and there they were. In a crucial moment of their lives, and she was there, perfectly able to screw everything up. Kabuto took comfort in the fact that if Yugito were to do something of the sort, the remainder of her life would be very short, courtesy of Eiji.

Thus, he decided that, maybe, it was better to focus on what was happening at the moment. Especially considering the words Eiji had used in regards to their target. They had been concerning, to say the least, and they’d left the team on edge. Kabuto supposed that was the goal there, but the point stood.

“All I know is that the thing has techniques involving plants and its own body. So let’s go with the idea that you are fighting Hashirama Senju. I’d prefer it if you overestimate instead of underestimating him,” Eiji had told him, completely serious and making them all pale. “He’s also likely to be a tricky piece of shit, so don’t let your guards down, no matter what… From there, you know the plan.”

Indeed they did.

“I knew the so called Suicide Squad would be close by,” Zetsu said, pulling himself to a standing position in a rather unnatural motion. Like a rubber object snapping back to its original shape in slow motion. “But I thought you’d go for my partner instead of me.”

“Fearless Leader can do that by himself,” Fu commented with a grin, looking to the world like a perfectly cheerful girl that was having fun. It almost fooled the rest of the team. Almost, but not quite.

“Well, I know when I’m at a disadvantage, so let me just-” the man started, and Kabuto could see him starting to bury into the ground. No one moved though, because there was no need for any movement, or so it was supposed to go.

Sure enough…

Flames covered the ground in but the blink of an eye, making the plant man hiss and jump. Kabuto was pretty sure that he’d have shrugged off normal fire, but unfortunately for him, this was anything but. Two Tails powered flames were nothing to scoff at, that was for sure.

Immediately, the team medic and second in command out of combat situations – yes, it was a long position title – heard the song being played by the redhead to his side shift. No longer was that soothing sound he’d almost gotten used to. Instead, it was something more aggressive, more hostile. Kabuto could honestly say he didn’t want to know what horrors she was unleashing on Zetsu. He’d been placed under one hellish genjutsu too many in his life already, there was no need to add more to that without reason.

He didn’t know if their target dispelled the technique, but he certainly did something. When the flytrap-like things protruding from his shoulders opened further, nobody needed to know that something was about to go on. Temari wasted no time from where she was up in the air flying via her fan and started sending wind currents down. Mixing up with Yugito’s fire, it created the effect of Eiji’s Conflagration. Idly, Kabuto wondered how their leader’s technique would work against that combination. They’d worked on it, but never quite tested it like that. Something to do in the future, Kabuto decided.

“Argh, you, vermin,” Zetsu growled at them through the fire and they all saw how the shade cast by his body from within the flames split apart. That made Kabuto’s eyes narrow, since Eiji had said something about that too.

“If it comes to it, focus on the Black One. That’s the one that you should concern yourself with the most. That’s the real target,” their leader had said. Kabuto had noted that the boy didn’t sound very sure, and Eiji had admitted that he was working mostly with guesses. Educated as the boy thought they were, they were still assumptions.

Still, Kabuto would be hard pressed not to trust his leader, even regarding such instances. He hadn’t steered them wrong so far and he wouldn’t start doubting him at that very moment. Kabuto would take his words with a grain of salt, but until proven wrong, he’d work with that information as best he could. After all, it wasn’t the first time Kabuto took a leap of faith with Eiji and that hadn’t failed him yet.

With this new development, Kabuto’s puppets and the rest of the team shifted into a new formation, splitting their attention between the two Zetsus after they finished separating. There was no doubt on the second in command that they were all keeping an eye and a half on the darker one though. If he was going to trust their leader, then there was no doubt that the rest of them would do so twice as much. The only one that made him doubt was Yugito but-

‘Not the time for that,’ he thought to himself. They couldn’t afford to get distracted. Eiji trusted Yugito, that was all he needed to know. There were enough reasons at the moment for the woman to work with them instead of backstabbing them again.

The woman in question dashed towards the Black Zetsu, covered in flames. The other one, for his – if it could even be called a him. Kabuto wasn’t so sure that was actually a person – part, was quickly enveloped on Fu’s webbing, powered by the Seven Tails themselves. With a smack of Jirobo’s hand, a pillar rose from the ground, skewering the silk ball before the man moved to grab it, holding the White Zetsu up in the air. If the man wanted to get out of there, he’d have to either go through the webs or through the pillar. Either way, they’d know.

As for the other, it was currently struggling to fight his way out of Yugito’s fiery grasp. Efforts that weren’t at all helped by the wind currents that Temari used to empower the flames, making them burn brighter and further. The man was burning like a match in the middle of a bonfire, but Kabuto wasn’t happy with that.

“You know the plan,” Eiji had said, and sure enough, they knew what they had to do.

And this wasn’t it.

“Fu, can you get it in position?” Temari said, falling to the ground but still fanning the flames without stopping, eyes fixed on the struggling duo. Kabuto didn’t need to be told what his part was on that. Quickly, he pulled out the Storage Seal that their leader had given him and took out what was inside. Fu wasted no time in taking the object and dashing towards the Black Zetsu and Yugito, her chitin armor shielding her from the flames.

“In position!” The girl called, slamming the object on the ground as close as she could to the wrestling as she could without getting in the way. “Bring him over, Yugito!”

If anything, that made the plant man struggle more desperately, if not more effectively. Tayuya’s song shifted again, from aggressive to something more… ominous. Again, Kabuto didn’t want to know, but his bet was that she was hiding the actual location of the object they were going to use against Zetsu from him.

This was proven the right assumption when the Two Tails jinchuriki started having an easier time moving their target towards the artifact.

“Jirobo!” Temari called, but there was something going on in that front too. Kabuto swiftly moved two of his hand puppets towards the Earth Release user, since it looked like he needed assistance. Those two particular ones were the ones he expected to use the most when informed of who their target was and what his capabilities were.

Activating the mechanism in the arms of the puppets, the palms suddenly shot out fire.

“The White Zetsu is struggling!” Kabuto called, and his fire was immediately backed up by Temari’s wind as she started splitting her attention between the two Zetsus. Jirobo used the momentary distraction of the White one to throw him, pillar and all, towards where the struggle with the Black one was going on.

Just in that moment, Yugito finished pushing him inside the artifact. It was a simple thing, for sure, but it was effective for its purpose. It was a cauldron, basically, a metallic one big enough to put someone inside. They’d looked at Eiji funny when he presented the thing to them, but he’d explained things to them and if that wasn’t enough, the utmost seriousness with which their leader had treated matters was enough for them.

Fu wasted no time in covering the opening of the cauldron with webbing while the rest of the team focused on the White Zetsu. ‘Not a fighter indeed,’ Kabuto thought to himself as he looked at the team work to push the plant man inside the artifact with the other one. Eiji had already told them that the target wasn’t precisely one for battles, but he’d also told them to be very careful. Maybe it was warranted, maybe not, but the fact stood that it was almost easy to finish the job.

With the two Zetsu’s inside and unable to escape with the Yugito’s flames getting even stronger outside of the thing, Kabuto passed Fu another Storage Seal. This time, she took out a metal cover for the cauldron and placed it with more force than she probably needed to. That was fine, better to go overboard than fail because they took it easy. Nobody wanted to see what would happen if they did.

Now, it was Kabuto’s turn for real. All his puppet hands swarmed the cauldron, placing all around it the seal tags that Eiji had provided him with. Their leader had also instructed him where to place all of them, in which order to activate them and much more. It was a good thing that he had a great memory, since it was all so specific. Or, maybe it was for that very reason that Eiji had entrusted him with that task.

Regardless of all that, soon enough, Kabuto finished activating the last seal.

“Will we be having a problem?” he heard Yugito ask and he turned to see what the answer would be.

Konan, the woman that had been under attack by their target, looked at all of them. Kabuto had to admit a certain amount of smugness at the horrified look she was giving them. Yes, their leader was a monster…

But he’d turned them all into monsters too.

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How’s it going?

Remember those times Eiji was working on seals? Well, those were for this, for Zetsu. This was all he worked on regarding seals. The one thing he wanted to make with them. Since he didn’t remember much about Zetsu and he’s aware that he has the plant body thing going on, he thought it safer to seal him instead of trying to kill him.

I’m sure people will call this bullshit ex-machina but… Well, it’s what it is. It’s not like I’m likely to change their minds anyway.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Discord Link: discord.gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: Any of you read in Fiction live (or even know of it)?

See you.