1 A Religious Man

Dohoshi Akassai considered himself a very religious man. Being someone who believed in a higher power, it wasn't a surprise that he had prayed before being called to the battlefield. He gritted his teeth even thinking about it, the Third-Shinobi War had ended and Dohoshi had returned to find his wife proposing for marriage, like many other couples. He gladly accepted, and thinking that the world would finally enter a temporary peace after the war ended, he ended up having a lovely daughter with her. The family named her Enowa Akassai.

But tragedy struck, while Konoha and his home nation, Kumogakure, had still been fighting even after the end of the war, it had simmered down to merely a few low-profile skirmishes. Nothing like a full-blown war, and it was one fateful day the world took a turn for the worse. It was the day that would later become known as the Hyuga Affair, but it was also the spark to a ticking time bomb. When a couple of infiltrators from his village had been caught attempting to steal the eyes of the youngest heir to the Hyuga Clan during the signing of a peace treaty, they were not immediately killed on sight and were instead interrogated and had their minds examined, showing plain evidence to the world that Kumogakure was indeed not done fighting.

And so sparked the conflict which led to escalating tension in all the villages, no one wanted to fight, especially considering that the Third-Shinobi War had just ended, but the tension exploded when Kumogakure officially declared war, and till this day Dohoshi still didn't know why. There had been rumors that it had been due to the weakened Jinchuriki of Konoha, or how they were struggling after the Night of the Demon-Fox, but no matter what it was, it sparked the Fourth-Shinobi War, one which had raged on and only seemed to get more intense. But there was thing Dohoshi knew, and it was the main reason for the war, was that Kumogakure wanted to steal the Nine-tails. Kumogakure had long desired the Nine-Tails, being the strongest Jinchuriki it could allow Kumogakure to easily become the strongest village combined with the Eight-Tails and Two-Tails they already owned. It had been three years now, Dohoshi realized, three years since he was deployed to the frontline. And every day he prayed, prayed to go home and for this war to end. But his prayers were never answered, and he was once again being deployed.

Dohoshi was a Jonin, he had quickly climbed the ranks in the previous war, is known for his excellent Taijutsu, and inventing the Thunder Strike Taijutsu style, which involved using lightning chakra to enhance ones body speed to move so fast that your opponent would get hit before they could hear the swishing of the air as the sharp kicks and punches pierced through it, almost like how one would always see lightning before hearing the thunder. Dohoshi had planned to ride out his rank, maybe be a Genin teacher and then retire and raise his daughter, but he never even had the chance before he was once again thrust into the bloody battlefields of war.

Dohoshi was currently transversing the steep slopes of the Land of Lightning, known for its rocky terrain and rugged mountains. He was meeting up with a large group of other Kumo Ninja near the border of Lightning Country and Frost Country. The Frost Country had been abandoned quite soon after the announcement of the Fourth Shinobi-War, being a weak country that would not be able to stand with it being bordered to the country which had started the war against Konoha.

Kumogakure was allied to Iwagakure, the village seemed to despise Konohagakure, especially after what the Yellow Flash had done to their army. While Konoha had allied with the Wind Country. Kirigakure had stayed out of the war, though, struggling under the newly appointed dictator, a young boy named Yagura who abused his power as a Jinchuriki and easily took control of the Country, and then proceeded to announce a decree which would cause the country to fragment and cause a civil war which was currently occupying most of its occupants.

Dohoshi grits his teeth at that, 'The world is truly in hell right now,' he thought. Coming to a halt at his destination, Dohoshi walked into the plain town of Shinsato. The town was once a large economic trading site in the land of Frost, but when it was abandoned Kumogakure had quickly taken control of it and made the town into one of their main strategic control points. As the war was mainly fought inside the territory of the Hot Water Country, the town of Shinsato was a point that the village of Kumo could not lose, being one of their main meeting places and resupplying bases.

Arriving in the town, Dohoshi looked around at the countless other Kumo Shinobi that occupied the town, all of them looking just as worried. Dohoshi and the rest of the Kumo Shinobi were called here because they had intercepted a messenger hawk of a Leaf Shinobi headed towards their allies in the Sand. It had talked about reinforcements and how they had planned to encircle the town of Shinsato and take it, giving Konoha the ability to push towards the Kumo Ninja's homeland, something that would let them finally take the upper hand.

The town of Shinsato, though in the Frost Country, had the terrain of the Lightning Country because it was built very close to the border. This has been due to its nature as an economic center for trading, and it had been built on a large flat plate of land, with the original builders planning to expand it before they evacuated it. But this proved to both bolster and weaken Kumogakures defense of the area, as one couldn't sneak up on an army while in a large flat plate of land, but it also took away from any stealth and guerilla tactics, making any battle fought there have some of the highest casualties in the war.

This wasn't the first time Konoha had tried to capture Shinsato, though, and that was what led to most of the nervousness. Dohoshi had participated in one of the defenses, and he still had nightmares. Blood was everywhere, and bodies were laid in piles and buried in mass graves because burying that amount of bodies one by one would be too time-consuming. Dohoshi grimaced even remembering the battle.

But he was here once again, biding his time with the rest of his comrades as they all sat, a feeling akin to being a helpless duck waiting for the enemies to start pouring over the mountains that hung over the plateau and encircling them in a pincer formation. For hours, Dohoshi stood stock still, Kunai in hand as he stood in line with most of the other Kumo Ninja near the front gate of the town, sweat dripped down his brow as he constantly muttered prayers to once again make it through another battle.

As the hours passed, all the Ninja seemed to unravel, their shoulders slowly relaxing as their faces showed expressions of relief. It seemed the message had been a false alarm. And Dohoshi thanked God for that, his prayers answered as another unfortunate mass loss of life had seemed to be evaded. But just as they prepared to go back to their village and report the situation, the ninjas all sensed a Chakra Signature on the Horizon.

'What is a single person doing out here?' Dohoshi thought as he looked towards where he sensed the signature, and as all the Ninja turned their head towards the spot, they all saw the silhouette of a person standing there.

As the person got closer, the Ninja became able to discern the stranger's figure. It appeared to be a young girl, seemingly six or seven. The child had dark red hair, like a sea of flames that ran down from her scalp. Their facial features looked to belong to that of a noble family. The child wore what appeared to be a plain white t-shirt and shorts, along with no shoes, something that greatly foiled with her regal features. And yet it was the child's eyes that everyone was immediately drawn to, an endless pool of blue, like a whirlpool. The eyes seemed to only have a sliver of life in them, and that was the only reason Dohoshi could truly say they belonged to a human and not a mindless beast. But the child's eyes also gave off an aura of power, like she was an untouchable being merely looking down upon mortals, and that was probably why the words spilled out of Dohoshi's lips.

"An angel?" He murmured. And his sentence passed through the Ninja who seemed to agree with him. They all stood there, entranced by the Child's eyes as her slow footsteps carried her closer to the encampment. And even though it seemed impossible, each padding of her foot seemed to be like that of a clock. Slowly ticking away at something, and this ticking led to a heavy feeling of dread permitting the air of the Shinobi group. The group was hundreds of Jonin and Chunin strong, and yet something deep within Dohoshi screamed to run.

"That's no angel," A voice rang out in the clearing, it was obvious that they were holding back terror from lacing their voice. Turning his head, Dohoshi saw a fellow Kumo-Nin, their face a chalk white. "Jinchuriki." The man whispered, and even though it was a mere mumble, the words seemed to echo through the clearing, causing a ringing in everyone's ear. And now it made sense, why the girl's footsteps seemed to be alluding towards something, and that was because her gait led to their demise. And each step closer was just one more tick until their end.

Turning back towards the girl, every ninja noticed how much closer she now seemed. Her slow but steady footsteps not having changed at all. But it seemed that her once blank face now held a twisted grin, one filled with mockery and endless hatred. Her eyes had switched from the two glowing blue orbs resembling a whirlpool of power, to two endless holes filled to the brim with madness. But as Dohoshi blinked, this illusion disappeared, revealing that the girl still held her emotionless stare.

"Charge!" Dohoshi wasn't sure who said it, even he could have been the one who said it, but it didn't matter. His time was ticking away and there was only one way out of this alive, ending the enemy. Throwing away any morality, he didn't view the child in front of him as a child anymore, but the beast she truly was.

While Jinchuriki outside of wartime were treated harshly, most often being the scapegoat of their village. There was no term more terrifying than that when there was a war. Because any Jinchuriki that was even slightly trained turned into a walking army-crusher, a being that even the devil would not want to face. Something that slaughtered their enemies ruthlessly and would kill an ally too if it meant the completion of a mission.

But as the Ninja drew closer towards the girl, they could all feel their clock ticking faster, like they were just approaching death more quickly.

Time seemed to stop, Dohoshi didn't know why, until his instincts as a human suddenly screamed out to him, and it was this timely reaction that let him dive to the ground as a massive claw of boiling, malicious red chakra flew over his head. Dohoshi watched aghast, trying not to throw up, as the arm of chakra seemed to cleave most of the Chunin Ninja, and even some of the Weaker Jonin in half. The chakra instantly killed them as their torsos were ripped from their hips, and their body scorched beyond recognition as the poisonous chakra ate away at the flesh.

Dohoshi wanted to puke as the charred torso of the man that had warned them about the girl being a Jinchuriki earlier landed next to him. His face still held his emotional expression as they charged towards the girl. Showing that he had died so fast he didn't even get to react.

Killing intent permeated the air, along with the stench of malevolent chakra. Glancing up, Dohoshi witnessed the little girl from earlier now covered in blood-red chakra, that seemed to boil and squirm all over her body. Her cold emotionless eyes scanned over the pile of bodies before her like their lives meant nothing, there was no remorse in those cold blue eyes.

Dohoshi watched as some of the courageous Jonin jumped at the girl, attempting to kill her and avenge their comrades. Yet no one even got close as the coat of chakra quickly reacted, launching itself as claws at the offenders, quickly disposing of them.

Dohoshi lay down among the pile of dead bodies, remembering all the prayers he had sent, he thought about his wife, and most importantly, his daughter. And as her small, childish face appeared in his head, it overlayed with the burning village of Kumo, and that child, no, the monster in front of him laughing maniacally at it all. Dohoshi's mind snapped at this, as he launched himself towards the girl, in a fit of strength even he didn't know he had, he blew through the squirming red chakra, and as he channeled all of his chakras into his fist, he felt it connect as he watched in satisfaction as he rendered the enemies right arm useless.

But his satisfaction didn't last, as he watched in horror as the girl's crushed arm seemed to bulge before it twisted itself in a gruesome manner and snapped back into place like nothing happened, the girl's expression not changing even once. And as he looked up in horror, he felt himself be impaled through the stomach, looking down to see a blood-red tail piercing straight through him. Coughing up blood, Dohoshi laughed pathetically. And as he saw the girl's emotionless eyes stare straight into his own, he only had one scathing comment for her. "Demon." He spat out. Not in anger, but merely as a truth of the world. Because no other creature besides a Jinchuriki could bring out the weakness in humans. Shinobi were trained to be cold, emotionless, and yet none of this mattered in the face of a true demon. And if this comment affected the girl whatsoever, it didn't show on her face, as she merely controlled the bubbling chakra to throw Dohoshi aside, like a ragdoll.

And as Dohoshi lay broken on the floor, his life bleeding out of him as the demonic chakra poisoned him and his blood ran dry, he merely watched as the girl kept her steady pace onwards, and yet with each of her steps, Dohoshi kept hearing the ticking get fainter, and fainter before he could no longer hear it. And as his daughter and wife's face appeared in his head, Dohoshi finally died, a smile on his face.