Emptiness

Slicing Null

Chapter 1 - Emptiness

By theMadLad

Mifune felt anxious, it was only through the familiar grip of the handle belonging to his sheathed katana that he was able to glean a sense of comfort. However, none of it was visible on his stoic face, which only seemed to gain a semblance of emotion when greeting those he passed by.

While the anxiousness was well hidden from all those around him, the same could not be said for his pride. A pride not pertained to himself—but instead toward those around him, as the heavy emotion seemed to light up the edges of his eyes whenever he glimpsed at the familiar surroundings of the nation which he called his own.

The Land of Iron, a nation which was fiercely protected by the last remaining visages of the ancient Samurai, a dying breed of warriors slowly being forced into the annals of history through the dominance of Shinobi, who pervaded every other corner of the world, and although his people's spirit burned brighter than ever… he could still feel the embers slowly dying out.

His vaunted culture and history would likely not last a couple more generations… and it pained him greatly.

Unlike the warmongering Shinobi who only further escalated the scales of war and conflict amongst themselves—even after finally exiting generations upon generations of warring clans in their transition into warring nations, the Samurai wanted no part in it.

But Mifune could feel that this sentiment would not last forever… as one day war would come, and his aging body would be powerless to stop it.

3 World Wars.

In the span of less than seventy years, the Shinobi had managed to have 3 World Wars, all of which laid bordering countries full of countless innocent civilians homeless, dead, or orphaned.

He felt his grip over his famed katana, Kurosawa, tighten.

He never liked Shinobi, as unlike the Samurai who viewed Chakra as a spiritual pursuit as much as a physical one, they viewed it merely as a means to an end.

A tool, one which was meant for only a single purpose.

—to kill.

They had no ideals, no pride, and no honor.

They were not cut from the same cloth as the Samurai, who followed Bushido, the way of the warrior—No, the very philosophical code, and lifestyle that all Samurai individually strived for and abided by… was meaningless to Shinobi.

Mifune's greatest fear was that one day soon, their ninjutsu would be directed at his homeland… and he did not doubt the possibility. While he was partially comforted by the non-interference pact he held with the Five Great Ninja Villages, he knew that it was only a piece of paper, one that would be torn without hesitation with enough interest.

It was no secret that Shinobi lacked honor and integrity, it was in the very nature of their profession, and something which they had proven time and time again.

As someone whose blade was wielded for a single ideal, a unique Bushido which he had dedicated his life to in pursuit of—Mifune knew that things would soon reach a boiling point, one which had no return.

Because Harmony had been broken long ago.

His nation was almost entirely reliant on himself, as the Land of Iron's leader and general, Mufune was their spiritual backbone—their cultural icon. His eventual death would be the final push needed to teeter things over the edge.

Then his nation would be doomed.

His aged bones felt weary at the thought.

While he held immense pride for his Samurai, as their general, he knew that they would no doubt lose a conflict against one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. But it was through no fault of their own, as while he knew his army would not lose out to any of the villages… the same could not be said for their leaders.

Each of the Five Great Ninja Villages had a Kage at their head, an S-Rank Ninja that could hold back an army on their lonesome. They also likely had other S-Rank ninjas waiting for deployment… not to mention the daunted Tailed Beasts.

But in the Land of Iron—they only had him, Mifune, and even then… he would only rank amongst the lowest rungs of S-Rank.

He could still feel the phantom ache under the bandages wrapping his head, a scarred surface where he had once been struck by the deadly salamander poison of the Ninja Demi-God Hanzo.

…He could even remember the sheer powerlessness he felt as his blade was effortlessly split in two by that daunting figure in the Land of Rain.

It was only through his greatest character trait that he had earned enough respect for Hanzo to spare his life that day, and it was due to that trait, which was not his bravery, nor his stubbornness—but his conviction, that he continued to move forward in a world that wanted to deny his existence.

He would never allow himself to falter until he found what he was looking for—for what his people were looking for… something that seemed to appear in Konoha in droves.

A Genius.

Even with his acclaimed status that sent every one of his land's geniuses and talents to his doorstep—he still couldn't find the one.

A genuine genius, one who he could take under his wing and mold into a warrior that would force the world to think twice about their actions with just his sheer presence. But unfortunately, all of his disciples simply didn't have the sheer talent or conviction to do so.

Which was why every year he waited and hoped for the heavens to bless him with such a character, only to be disappointed time and time again.

He couldn't help but let a sigh escape his lips.

"—shi still out there?" He suddenly heard a feminine voice interrupt him from his heavy thoughts.

Mifune turned his head to see an older woman in heavy clothing attempting to do laundry while asking a question to an older boy at her side. It was only then did Mifune realized how heavily he had deviated from his patrol due to his thoughts, as no longer was he at the main street but rather in the outskirts of the city.

It had even begun to snow.

"I don't know, does it matter? It isn't like you're his mother." The teen scoffed with a tone that even made Mifune frown. "Who cares, if he wants to let himself get killed out there, then let him do it."

The woman gaped at his tone before angrily retorting at him, "Takeo, I did not raise you in such a way! You know how cold it is out there, the boy could freeze to death for goodness sake!"

The woman's wrath was not one to be trifled with as she quickly took off her wooden sandal before bearing it at the man like a weapon.

"O-ok ok, mom calm down! I didn't mean it!" He yelled in fright as his mother smacked him with the sandal.

"Then go find him, and if the boy isn't back in one piece so help me—!" She screamed at him in anger.

It was at this point that Mifune decided to interject, he had already deviated from his path, so he might as well continue, especially if it was to help a boy that was possibly in danger, "…Excuse me miss, perhaps I could be of some assistance?"

They both gaped as they got a look at him, with the mother even blushing in embarrassment as she quickly put down the sandal in her hand.

"L-Lord Mifune!" They both spoke in unison before quickly bowing, Mifune gave a slight smile as he felt the admiration they directed towards him.

It brought him great joy to see his and his samurai's effort being acknowledged, it was one of the reasons he was able to move forward even with all the weight he carried on his old bones.

Because even so, he wouldn't allow himself to fail them, because they relied on him.

His stoic face softened as he spoke, "You said a boy might be missing? Allow me to find him then."

Takeo spoke excitedly, cutting off his mother as he answered his idol, "W-we would be honored!"

The mother pulled back her son as she spoke to Mifune with worry, "He probably wandered off as usual, but I worry that the snow may put him in danger." She bowed as she finished, "Although the boy may have no family in this world, his parents grew up with me and I still worry for him. Please help find him, Lord Mifune."

An orphan?

Mifune attempted to ask a few details about the boy, but Takeo excitedly pulled him along while saying that he would explain along the way.

A few minutes later they had wandered some way into the snow, and Takeo had long begun to explain about the missing boy, "That kid always goes out alone to play samurai with his swords out in the woods. He lives by himself in one of the houses nearby after his father passed away. My mother seems to have pitied him and often worries about him."

Mifune kept his face stoic, but he did garner some interest from Takeo's words, because even if the missing boy may simply play pretend, such dedication was still admirable.

But on another note, the path they were taking started to concern him. They were headed towards the Three Wolves mountain, and he could feel the snow begin to pick up.

Any tracks would likely soon disappear.

"Takeo." Mifune spoke, causing the boy to stand straighter after hearing his name spoken through the mouth of his idol.

"Y-yes!" He yelled in response.

"Head back to your mother, a snow storm will likely arrive soon and it will be too dangerous for you to continue. Inform her to rest assured, I will bring the boy back—this I swear on my honor." Mifune commanded.

The boy gulped as he heard Mifune's serious tone, "I-I understand." He replied hastily, a bit disheartened but still mustering the courage to speak once more with no small insecurity. "D-do you think I could be a samurai?"

Mifune smiled as he reassured the boy, "Go, protect your mother and continue to train, one day I would be honored to have you fight by my side."

Takeo gave a bright smile that seemed to glow on his childish face as he bowed deeply, "Thank you Lord Mifune… I won't disappoint you!"

Mifune smiled as he watched the boy run off, only for his face to harden moments later as he picked up his pace and followed the tracks that were quickly disappearing within the snow.

His mind recalled rumors that he heard as he ran, stories about men disappearing along the trails up Three Wolves Mountain. He had even been recently informed about sightings of a pale woman roaming the snowy mountains.

He had initially planned to deploy some samurai along with him to investigate, but it had been delayed after he had an inkling of what exactly roamed the mountains, forcing him to wait for the talismans from the Land of Demons to arrive.

Feeling a sense of urgency, Mifune cycled chakra throughout his body, both warming himself up in the sudden blizzard and enhancing his physical prowess and movement.

—Then he heard it.

A chill-inducing scream piercing the veil of heavy snow, one that faintly resembled the hoarse cries of a woman, but twisted in such a way, that it brought a slight palpitation in his heart from its inhuman nature.

The moment he heard it, he knew his conjecture had been right. It was just as he feared, a Yokai.

Mifune felt his legs sore as he unhesitatingly performed a reduced earth technique towards the direction of the scream, and soon enough, he heard the clash of metal and the shrieks of evil ring in his ears as he arrived.

Then his eyes widened in disbelief.

Like he had believed, the scream belonged to a Youkai that seemed to have taken root in the area. His eyes could clearly see the unnaturally pale white woman with long dark black hair command snow and ice with ease as her inhuman eyes glared menacingly at her opponent with unrestrained malice.

Mifune watched as the jaw on her beautiful face unlatched and splayed rows of wicked sharp teeth as another scream was ripped from her throat, sputtering harsh cold breaths of ice from her unnaturally long tongue that were visible even in the low temperature of the forest.

—Youkai, apparitions and monsters apparently made from the congregation of malice in the world through an unknown phenomenon. They were rather uncommon, but extremely dangerous whenever they sparsely appeared.

He truly regretted not having any Talismans on hand to seal or exorcize the demon with.

This particular one seemed to be a Yuki-Onna, ghostly women who appear in the snow along roads and trails to hunt and kill those who get lost on the mountains.

They were even said to sometimes disguise as humans and live among them as an imposter hidden in plain sight; it was even rumored that the Yuki Clan was descended from one who had fooled and married a man.

But the appearance of one wasn't even what surprised him. No, it was the Yuki-Onna's opponent instead.

A boy, the one he presumed that he was looking for.

He seemed to be around 12 years old and wore a charcoal black kimono under a darker black shawl. His face was obscured by a scarf, but Mifune could still see the dull eerie purple glow radiating from his eyes.

But more importantly, he held two rusted swords that seemed in awful condition, Mifune recognized one of them as a standard Katana and the other as a shorter wakizashi.

Then he felt as if his breath was stolen away.

Mifune's body shook in excitement as he watched the boy combat the Yuki-Onna with flawless form, blending his two dual wielded blades with skill that was as much art as it was martial prowess.

It was as if the two blades worked as one to form a perfect offense and defense.

The boy's sword style seemed to be counter intuitive to his own, which was based on gripping the katana with both hands and using quickdraws to subdue his opponent with overwhelming speed and power. Instead, the boy focused on efficient movement and strength, with technique that was as highly sophisticated as it was refined.

It was one of versatility instead of speed.

Mifune watched in a daze as the small boy leaped over a pillar of ice aimed to freeze him in a coffin of frozen water, before he slashed at the Yuki-Onna with his katana while simultaneously blocking a lethal blow from behind with his wakizashi.

There were no flashy, excessive or unwanted movements in his form that were all too familiar to Mifune whenever a young 'genius' would want to impress him. Instead the boy's form seemed focused on developing subtle timing through gathering distance to remove himself from immediate danger all the while creating an opening to strike the opponent from.

Mifune could even see the panic form on the Yuki-Onna's face as it realized that its options and maneuvers in battle seemed to steadily reduce, eliminated by the boy's relentless pursuit to cut her in two.

In desperation, the Youkai was forced to unleash a gust of powerful snow not to dissimilar from a powerful A-Rank ninjutsu towards the boy. Mifune felt his hand prepare to quickdraw his katana as he got into a stance to perform Yōjinbō, a technique that would slash the opponent using the momentum of instantaneous movement.

But then his jaw dropped as he watched the boy perfectly channel chakra down his blade before firing out a crescent of chakra with his wakizashi that tore the billow of snow asunder. Then with one smooth stroke, he beheaded the Yuki-Onna using the longer reach of his remaining katana.

Mifune stood in awe, feeling as if his heart was going to beat out of his chest as he realized everything he just witnessed. The heavens had not abandoned him yet!

A genius, he had finally found a true genius!

He took heavy breaths as he began to approach the boy, carefully stepping over the corpse of the Yuki-Onna which seemed to dissolve into flakes of snow.

The black haired boy frowned as his wakizashi shattered in his hands, unable to handle the channeling of his chakra with its poor material and maintenance, then he turned his head and flicked off the faint blood remaining on his rusty katana before slowly sheathing it.

Mifune couldn't hold his excitement as he pointed at the boy with a trembling finger and asked a question, "Young man… would you grant me the honor of knowing the name of your sword form."

The boy turned to him with recognition and faint respect, but his gaze seemed to lack the excitement and idolization he was familiar with.

The boy then nodded before he spoke, "Niten Ichi-ryū."

Mifune laughed with joy as he heard it, "Great name! The school of two heavens as one!" Before he followed with a voice of respect and acknowledgement, one that did not contain the tone of a senior to a junior, but as two equals following the way of the sword, "Tell me, for what reason do you wield your blade? For me I do so for my ideal, my path—Harmony. I swing my sword against those who wish to disrupt it, while pursuing the art of attaining it with my blade, to become one in harmony with my sword!"

Mifune spoke passionately, in a tone that so readily contrasted his usual stoicism that it would leave his subordinates in disbelief. But he couldn't help himself, this boy was what he was searching for day and night, year after year.

But to his surprise, the boy simply shook his head, "I wish to attain a state higher than 'one.' I wish to grasp the seat of that which is 'zero.' The highest attainment in swordsmanship, the realm where one is nothing, thus one is invincible."

Mifune was baffled, was this a genius!?

"I wish to—no, I will attain that of Emptiness." The boy spoke with conviction, one which was so clear on his face that Mifune couldn't help but respect it.

Then he realized that neither Takeo nor his mother had ever told him the boy's name, "…What is your name?" He asked with a face tinged red with excitement.

"Musashi, Bennosuke Musashi." The boy replied with a calm tone.

"T-Then, Bennosuke Musashi, would you do me the honor of becoming my, Toshiro Mifune, the General of the Land of Iron's disciple?" Mifune asked with a shaking breath, confident that the boy would accept due to his value as a teacher and experience as a Samurai.

He could already see the future possibilities, one where the title of Samurai would once more be honored and enamored throughout the world.

All he needed to do was take the boy under his wing and turn him into the greatest warrior the Land of Iron would ever see…

"I refuse."

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The next chapter will be out soon, however, if you want to read it right now, then it is already available over on Pátreon, which you can find over at Pátreon.com/theMadLad

Author's Notes

Hey everyone, here is a new story that I am releasing starting today. My writer's block with Child of Shadow is just killing me, so hopefully writing this can help my muse. The first chapter of this story has already been featured on my snippets thread so I am sure some of you have already read a more rough version of this chapter.

This is a pretty AU but not in a way you would expect, nothing is really changed about canon so it is less of a Naruto AU and more of a Naruto+ featuring more prominent parts of Japanese Folklore such as Yokai integrated into the setting. Has some Jujutsu Kaisen and Fate Inspiration.

MC follows in the steps of Musashi Miyamoto in the Narutoverse and attempts to 'Slice Null.'

Hope you liked it, leave a like and tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Join the discord at, https://discord.gg/AMyqBN2

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