Ryuna's life (part 5)
Assassin.
Monster.
Nukenin.
Ghost.
Shinigami.
Flowing black robes and a mask adorned with animal bones and fangs left an image that lingered in people’s minds long after she had passed. They said she was a vengeful spirit.
Well, vengeful spirits don’t take the money from the people they kill. But it would’ve been a waste to leave it all behind when the Original could make good use of an extra (secret) fund.
Her targets were mostly rapists, abusers, drug or human traffickers, warmongers, or corrupt officials who left people destitute. That sort of thing. Just the usual.
If most of those targets happened to be nobles or high-ranking officials from other Hidden Villages, well, that was purely coincidental.
Shinigami wandered across all the Elemental Nations, hunting her next target. And the next. And the next.
The rumors that she was a vengeful soul almost had her convinced.
What added to the mystery of who she was—besides her androgynous, ethereal appearance—was that she was never seen eating, speaking (even if she did, her mask was inscribed with numerous seals, some of which distorted her voice, filtered out toxins from the air, and enhanced her senses), relieving herself, or even sleeping. Other than her appearance, nothing about her seemed human.
Shinigami was the name they gave her in the Bingo Books after witnessing swords and jutsu pass straight through her body. It wasn’t as if there was no resistance upon impact, but the attacks didn’t cause any real damage to her.
Her body was made of chakra, more akin to a Tailed Beast than a human. Chakra doesn’t bleed, doesn’t have a physical form and, therefore, can’t be cut, doesn’t hunger, and doesn’t sleep. She was sustained by natural energy, and the one time someone was foolish enough to try absorbing her chakra in battle, they had the misfortune of discovering what happens when you absorb natural energy without proper training or a filter like her seals. They turned to stone.
While hunting a slaver in Kiri, Shinigami quickly spotted Jiraiya’s telltale white hair near a bathhouse.
That night, she sent a butterfly to the Original.
The first step was complete.
***
A fire at the Kazekage’s house caused a brief stir before it was extinguished, and people were already blaming the troublesome Jinchuuriki for losing control again. Most were even relieved to hear that the charred remains of a baby and an adult had been found.
The Jinchuuriki and his caretaker.
A shame about the caretaker.
Unfortunately for her, Suna didn’t have many shinobi to spare investigating an accident caused by the Tanuki (it was obvious what had happened). No, most were too busy escorting nobles who were terrified of the new noble-slaying assassin: Shinigami.
That nukenin crisis was proving unexpectedly profitable for them. Without a crazed Jinchuuriki destroying the village every few days, they might even thrive in the coming years before the Beast reformed and their shinobi captured it to bring it back to the Village.
Let’s just say no one noticed when, a month later, two children were adopted into the Uzo clan in Konoha. One with red hair, the other with sand-colored hair.
Garu (formerly Gaara) and Shukako.
The second step was complete.
Ryuna:
The civilian school and hospital were completed in record time with the help of teams sent directly by the Daimyo. This meant they no longer had to hold classes outdoors (even though it was great for chakra practice) or cram into a makeshift classroom.
On the other hand, the construction of her complex was taking longer because Ryuna refused to accept any help. It got to the point where she assigned one of her Blood Clones to work there full-time.
Danzo was clearly trying to sabotage Ryu by piling on more and more work to make her slip up and lose credibility with the Council. It was infuriating, and she found herself creating more Blood Clones just to handle everything without neglecting the kids.
Shortly before Garu and Shukako’s arrival, Ryuna was assigned as the jonin-sensei for a team of genin. The sabotage was so blatant it hurt to think a ninja came up with it. Why not just put up a sign saying, “We want you to fail,” with an arrow pointing at her and Danzo’s signature in the bottom right corner? It would’ve been more subtle.
Umino Iruka. Uzuki Yugao. Gekkou Hayate.
They were her age.
Surprisingly, Iruka was the calmest of the three, probably because he already knew Ryu and trusted he could learn from her. But the other two? They despised her. Zero respect for their superior.
She understood that they felt insulted by having someone their age as their teacher, but to be fair, Ryuna was one of the strongest jonin in Konoha (not that such a thing could be easily decided through some test or sparring match). There were people out there (cough Itachi cough) who would jump at the chance to learn from the best Sealing Master in the village—maybe in all the Elemental Nations, considering it was a dying art.
Ryu sighed, already exhausted at the thought of dealing with her annoying genin.
For now, she’d send the dynamic idiot duo to train with Grandpa since they were interested in swordsmanship. Who better than an old samurai to teach them how to wield a real katana? If they behaved, Grandpa might even take them on as apprentices and teach them some genuinely cool stuff.
Ryuna couldn’t wait to finish building the complex so she could use her new forge (she planned to have it set apart from the main house but still within the property) to craft her own katana and imbue it with custom seals. It was going to be amazing!
In any case, the genin would have to wait for real training until she settled things with Danzo. For now, they’d get strength, stamina, balance, and chakra control drills. That would build a solid foundation and keep certain people from whining about her neglecting her duties.
She’d deal with them when she had time.
Mikoto:
Naruto, Karin, Isobu, Kurama, Garu, and Shukako were playing with Sasuke and other kids in the park’s sandbox under the watchful eyes of Uchiha Mikoto and other mothers who’d brought their own children. None of the other moms had as many kids to keep an eye on, but none of them had the Sharingan either, which helped keep things under control.
Ryuna had to go on a C-rank mission with her new students, and Mikoto couldn’t help but wonder what the Hokage was thinking, assigning a genin team to Ryu when she was still so young. Skills aside, none of those kids would respect their sensei when she was their age. If she remembered how Obito was at that age with Kakashi, Ryu’s superior position could very well make things worse and spark some rivalry.
Mikoto was lost in thought when she caught movement in her peripheral vision.
An unidentified shinobi was heading for the sandbox.
Sasuke…
Naruto…
There were more shinobi, and they were all targeting the children. She couldn’t… her son…
Mikoto felt her eyes blaze red, gaining a focus she hadn’t felt in years of domestic life. A tear slid down her cheek as she bolted forward.
Her son her son her son.
That bastard wasn’t laying a finger on her child!
The nearest one to the kids burst into black flames just in time for Mikoto to see a black blur dash past the ninja and place itself between the intruder and the babies. She recognized one of Ryuna’s leopards, which must have been watching the kids from the trees (she should’ve known they were there).
Meanwhile, the other leopard charged straight at the remaining invaders without hesitation, leaping for the throat of one. Having a feline the size of a small horse pounce on your face wasn’t an experience she needed.
Snapped out of her stupor, Mikoto attacked.
She wasn’t armed, but Uchihas didn’t need a blade to kill. Her clan was blessed by Amaterasu herself, and fire was their birthright. Even children could manage a Great Fireball Technique.
She was rusty, and Mikoto silently vowed to train herself to exhaustion once she got home. She would grow strong and protect her children, her family. She wouldn’t sit idle while her boys faced danger alone.
The three enemy shinobi fell within seconds, and Mikoto turned to see the massive leopards (one jet-black, the other yellow with black spots) gently licking the kids’ faces and nudging them with their noses to calm their tears. It was an unexpectedly sweet sight.
It was only then that the other civilian mothers emerged from their hiding spots or rose from where they’d thrown themselves over their own kids to shield them.
How had those bastards gotten into her village?
Ryuna:
Ryuna knew full well she was poking a hornet’s nest. She wasn’t stupid, no matter what some people might think.
That’s why she had her brother place spy listening seals on the Hokage’s desk. Not on top of the desk—that would’ve been idiotic—but on one of its legs, where it touched the floor. They’d have to flip over the desk handcrafted by the First Hokage himself (a sacrilege) to discover the tampering.
Thanks to this, she was privy to the private conversations between the Hokage and his so-called childhood friends. She knew how those three vultures were manipulating him.
Hiruzen often sounded confused, as though he couldn’t recall certain events. During such moments, one of the Elders (usually Danzō) would conveniently “clarify” things—never an unbiased version of events—and then guide his decisions in an all-too-obvious direction. Ryuna didn’t know whether this was the result of genjutsu, poison, or something else.
In the end, it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that she knew exactly why she’d been summoned for a private meeting with the Hokage and his advisors.
Hiruzen was there, along with Danzō, Homura, and Koharu. Shikako stood off to the side, busying himself with paperwork and avoiding her gaze, clearly uncomfortable.
Shikako was a smart man, but he wasn’t proactive or brave. He avoided risk, especially when his family was at stake. Ryuna couldn’t entirely blame him. He knew the shadows better than most and had decided he wouldn’t win, nor was he willing to sacrifice his family for the greater good—or even for the good of his clan.
Maybe Ryuna would’ve been the same if her children weren’t targets.
Konoha wasn’t safe for her family, so she would make it safe.
“Ryuna-chan,” Hiruzen greeted her, and Ryuna had to bite her tongue to stop herself from reprimanding him for the informal tone in an official meeting. It was deeply disrespectful. “You’ve been quite busy, haven’t you?”
“I only do what Hokage-sama assigns to me,” she replied with a diplomatic smile.
“Well, following the recent attack on Naruto, I’d like to revisit my earlier decision to allow you to retain custody of him,” Hiruzen said after a moment of hesitation. “When I permitted you to care for him, I didn’t expect you to take on guardianship of other children as well—especially given how young you are. I’m concerned that your attention is spread too thin to properly care for him.”
He dared.
She had anticipated this conversation, but it still enraged her beyond words. They worked her to exhaustion and then had the audacity to claim she wasn’t spending enough time with the kids?
Ryuna had changed diapers, given baths, made bottles, treated scrapes, and comforted them through tears. She read them bedtime stories, witnessed their first steps and first words.
Blood or not, they were her children. Every single one of them. She had raised them.
Even Garu and Shukaku, the most recent additions, had already cost her sleepless nights. They smiled when she came home, eager to play.
He could try prying her kids from her cold, dead hands.
She wasn’t about to let them be turned into weapons. That’s exactly what would happen once people found out who Isobu, Kurama, and Shukaku really were.
She’d burn Konoha to the ground before she let anyone harm her children.
“Anyone listening might think you weren’t neglecting the care of 543 orphaned children left to rot in crumbling orphanages outside the village, far from any help if they were attacked,” she said, her tone dripping with sarcasm, any pretense of decorum gone. This bastard thought he could take one of her kids and walk away unscathed? “Maybe, Hokage-sama, you should focus on doing your job before trying to tell me how to do mine.”
“Now, see here—” Hiruzen snapped, his voice rising. For a moment, Ryuna caught a glimpse of the Hokage people had once feared and respected. “You forget who you’re speaking to—”
Ryuna ignored him and instead pulled out stack after stack of files from one of her storage seals. She dumped them on the table without care—they were only copies.
Records upon records of children. All missing.
Clan orphans.
Civilian kids who never made it home.
Orphanage children who vanished without a trace.
She’d been conducting medical checkups on every child entering Konoha’s orphanages long before Minato-nii died. That’s how they uncovered Danzō’s schemes with the orphanages and the disappearing kids.
Three years’ worth of missing child reports.
Over 53 children stolen right under the village’s nose, and that didn’t even include those declared KIA. The real number was likely much higher, but this was enough to make her point.
“Fifty-three missing children. The police investigated and sent their reports and requests to extend the search beyond the village walls to your office. You rejected every single one,” she said coldly. Hiruzen stared at the papers, baffled. “I have evidence of your office’s corruption, Hokage-sama, as well as that of your friends—or should I say, your advisors. Danzō himself is personally involved in some of the filthiest deeds. How about we address that before you talk nonsense about how I’m raising my kids?”
“Your… kids?” The Hokage blinked, clearly thrown off.
Ryuna stood and walked to the door, pausing to throw one last warning over her shoulder.
“Oh, and before I forget, I’ve summoned a Council meeting with all the clan heads in an hour,” she said with a smirk, locking eyes with Danzō. “Don’t be late—it’s going to be killer.”
She just hoped he wouldn’t manage to kill her in the next hour.
The third step was ready.
***
After her encounter with the Hokage and his esteemed, idiotic Elders, Ryuna went to meet Orochimaru, who had been organizing and cataloging the evidence for the Council.
Surprisingly, no assassination attempts had occurred on her way there.
Prior to this, Orochimaru had infiltrated the Shimura estate and planted incriminating documents in key locations. He was skilled enough to make it seem authentic, ensuring it wouldn’t look suspicious to the investigative team that would raid the place after the meeting.
As much as she trusted Oro-sensei, Ryuna wasn’t foolish enough to give him access to all the dirt on Danzō. What he had was enough to condemn the man, but she kept a few more cards up her sleeve, just in case.
“When do you think Root agents will try to kill me?” Ryu asked, unnerved by the eerie calm.
Orochimaru chuckled, amused.
“They won’t.”
“Huh?”
“You didn’t think Kaito would let that fool issue an execution order on you, did you?” Orochimaru raised a skeptical eyebrow.
“Is he going to blow his cover?” That wasn’t part of their plan.
“His cover won’t matter after today’s meeting, you foolish child,” Oro-sensei chided.
“Fair point... but hasn’t Danzō already tried to have me killed before?” she asked, still confused.
“Before, he wanted you dead because you were annoying,” Orochimaru clarified. “Now, he wants you dead because you’re a threat to his life.”
Ryuna shrugged.
“Fine. Let’s use the extra time to prepare.”
Yuichi:
“I want that witch dead!” Danzo roared the moment they left the main street. “Send every agent in Konoha after her!”
The masked Root agents trailing obediently behind Danzo bowed their heads in silent compliance. Among them were a Nara he had “recruited” near the end of the Second War and that clone of the First Hokage, crafted by Orochimaru during his tenure under the elder.
When a third Root agent descended from a rooftop, the ground erupted with trees while shadows stretched across the street. It was instantaneous.
The shadows restrained Danzo, while tree trunks coiled around his limbs, and the third agent slapped a seal onto his body, rendering him unconscious on the spot. Killing the man would’ve been complicated—no doubt he’d layered himself with safeguards against death.
But capture? He was too arrogant to believe he could ever be taken alive. Not with his ever-present Root escort shadowing him.
Naïve.
“How disappointing. I expected a fight,” Kaito remarked, his voice distorted through his mask.
“A fight would’ve drawn too much attention,” Tenzou murmured softly. Nara Yuichi nodded in agreement. That would’ve been… troublesome.
“Well, gentlemen, I’ve got a special cell prepped and waiting for this fine elder,” Kaito said with a tone that practically oozed sadistic glee. “Who’s in to help me escort our dear guest to his new accommodations?”
“How do you want to do this?” Yuichi asked, curious.
“Use your shadow to make Danzo run out of Konoha,” Kaito suggested, clearly relishing the plan. “Tenzou and I will ‘escort’ you. Oh, and conveniently, this will all happen just before evidence of his treachery comes to light. Suspicious, right? Almost like he’s… fleeing.”
Yuichi grinned beneath his mask, though he noticed Tenzou shifting uncomfortably, battling a lifetime of conditioning. Yuichi, on the other hand, wasn’t so young when he was captured during a mission and declared KIA. His loyalty had never belonged to Danzo. But escape hadn’t been an option, so he played the part, biding his time.
Kaito provided that opportunity, slowly earning the trust of Root agents by dropping “accidental” truths during training sessions. Being one of Danzo’s favorites had granted him a position of influence.
Danzo’s mistake was letting a Takeshi—a clan renowned for their skills as educators—train his agents. No one could manipulate minds better than a teacher. (After all, Academy instructors had conditioned every child in the village to view dying for Konoha as heroic.) Luckily for everyone, Kaito didn’t enjoy playing those games—or he’d have been terrifying.
Though word of Danzo’s alleged betrayal wasn’t public yet, several witnesses saw him being “escorted” out of the village in haste.
In thirty minutes, Shimura Danzo would officially be declared a nukenin.
The fifth step was complete.
Ryuna:
The presentation of the documents linking Danzo to crimes of abduction, bloodline theft, inciting war, mission sabotage, conspiracy, forgery of official records, corruption, and leaking classified information went better than Ryuna had initially anticipated. Of course, Danzo’s disappearance made things easier.
With the elder’s supposed flight, even his supporters hesitated to defend him openly—not when it would put them on the blacklist of every clan in Konoha that had suffered under Danzo’s schemes.
Ryuna thought an all-out war might erupt when the list of children “recruited” by Danzo surfaced, alongside detailed records of the village’s kekkei genkai. She leaned back, content to watch the chaos unfold.
These people had ignored Danzo’s actions because dealing with him was “problematic.” Well, now they could deal with it. Idiots.
There was nothing tying the other elders to Danzo’s crimes, save for their consistent votes in his favor—but that wasn’t illegal.
It wasn’t the outcome Ryuna wanted, but it wasn’t unexpected either. She’d have to find another way to handle the remaining elders before they got any bright ideas.
Surprisingly, the clan leaders unanimously agreed that Hiruzen should step down as Hokage once a replacement was chosen. This decision gained traction when medical exams revealed the Sandaime had a degenerative mental condition affecting his memory. He had relied on his old teammates (the only ones aware of his condition) for guidance.
The Daimyo was summoned to oversee the appointment of the next Hokage, a decision to be made in the coming days after thorough evaluation. In the meantime, Nara Shikako would serve as Acting Hokage.
Danzo was officially branded a nukenin, and the villagers were informed of his treachery, including his role in the abduction of numerous children. His reputation was dragged through the mud, and Hiruzen’s once-sterling image was tarnished.
The sixth step was done.
Orochimaru:
The underground prison Ryuna had constructed using a doton jutsu and a series of seals, before sealing the entrance and concealing everything beneath the forest vegetation within the property, was now the home of the once-esteemed elder Shimura Danzō. He was (un)comfortably bound to a hard chair, multiple chakra-suppression seals ensuring he couldn’t use any techniques.
Blood streaked his body, a barbed wire gag cutting into his face, nearly slicing through his cheeks to the bone. Without the bandages covering him, the many stolen Sharingans were exposed, each marked with its own seal to prevent activation.
And people thought Kaito wasn’t the vengeful type, Orochimaru mused with amusement.
Danzō was awake when Ryuna and Orochimaru entered the private prison. His eyes were glazed from pain and blood loss.
“How pathetic,” Orochimaru remarked.
To think he once feared this man as a child.
“Nothing new,” Ryuna sneered as she stepped closer, prying the elder’s mouth open to check for hidden seals.
There weren’t any.
The seal was anchored in his left arm—the one without the eyes. Her student continued to study the matrix, indifferent to the old man’s weak attempts to speak and stop her from analyzing his work.
“Why bother struggling? Root is finished, you’re officially a nukenin, a traitor to Konoha, and your head has a price in every Elemental Nation,” Orochimaru taunted, watching with perverse satisfaction as reality finally dawned on him. Out of sheer curiosity, Orochimaru removed the barbed gag to allow the elder to speak.
“You’re a fool, Orochimaru. I expected more from you,” Danzō rasped, somehow managing to sound disappointed. What an idiot. “You know as well as I do that Hiruzen lacks the courage to do what’s necessary. I do the dirty work to protect Konoha, the work no one else will. The village needs me! Now release me so I can fix the mess you’ve made!”
Ryuna scoffed, not even glancing up from her notebook, where she was sketching the seal matrix for later study.
“You love Konoha the way an abusive husband loves his wife—beating her every day and proclaiming his love every night,” she mocked. “Konoha doesn’t need that kind of love.”
It was an image he’d never associated with the village he had always fought to protect. His home.
Fragile.
Never had he connected that word to Konoha.
Yet so many fought to protect it, and still, it could crumble from within. Konoha was fragile. Young (there were still those alive who had witnessed its founding, among the first clans).
Like all youth in uncertain times, Konoha bore a bloody history and a body full of scars.
Orochimaru replaced the gag before Danzō could say another word. He was dull and predictable.
Which was why Ryuna fascinated him: she was an idealist who wanted to protect everyone, yet when the situation demanded it, she’d be the first to slit throats. She refused to accept children on the battlefield, despite being living proof that children could thrive under adversity. She preached honesty and teamwork, yet when faced with a challenge, she planned and fought alone.
At least, that’s what he thought—until she shattered that too.
She forbade them from killing Danzō and insisted he be taken alive. She wanted to gather as many Root agents as she could and rehabilitate them back into society. She was already training her adopted kids in ninja arts, teaching them to blend in through games of hide-and-seek and how to move silently, though they were slow to grasp the lessons. She had even asked for his and Kaito’s help.
Just when Orochimaru thought he’d figured her out, she did something that completely contradicted his conclusions. It was entertaining.
“What are you doing, exactly?” Orochimaru asked.
“If Danzō could control the Root seals, that means they’re all anchored to him,” she explained. “Which, in turn, means I have a chakra network connecting all the sealed Root agents, and I can use that to locate each one of them.”
Orochimaru froze. Even Danzō held his breath.
She just…
He laughed, utterly fascinated.
“Doesn’t that mean you could kill them remotely too?”
“Yes, but I’m not doing that.”
“Could you use the same technique on the Hyūga seal?”
At this, Ryuna paused, looking up to meet Orochimaru’s eyes. She held his gaze for a full minute, her face unreadable. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, she broke into a wide grin.
“Oro-sensei, you’ve just given me a brilliant idea!” she exclaimed, finishing the last strokes of her seal before hopping up, closing her notebook, and practically skipping out like a damn gazelle.
What the hell?
Sometimes he thought she was crazy for trusting him, but then Orochimaru remembered that Takeshi clan library and why he liked these people so much. Those books were ancient, filled with lost knowledge no one else had access to.
Lost technologies.
Forgotten wisdom.
And Orochimaru had access to it all.
He was just a little bit in love with that library.
The seventh step… was underway.
Hiashi:
“What do you want here?”
“Ah, Hiashi-sama, I’m glad you could meet me,” Ryuna greeted him with a saccharine smile, so sweet it could be poisonous. “We have an urgent matter to resolve before the next Council meeting.”
“And what might that be?”
“The Root seal.”
Hiashi frowned, not understanding what it had to do with him.
“The seal Danzō used to control the kidnapped agents.”
“Yes, that one.”
“What about it?”
“Well, considering it’s a bastardized version of the Caged Bird Seal, others might see the Hyūga as complicit in maintaining such a practice—one that ended up being used to enslave members of several Konoha clans,” she explained, her smile never faltering. “If that comes to light, the Hyūga could face ostracism and be forced to abolish the seal.”
Hiashi blinked, feeling his breath catch. This… This was a disaster.
“Are you threatening me?” Hiashi narrowed his eyes.
“Do you need to be threatened?” she raised an eyebrow. “I’m merely doing what no one else wants to. Technically, this should be the Hokage’s job, but I doubt it will be a priority for whoever dons the hat, so I’m taking the initiative.”
Ah, the power vacuums left behind when leadership figures disappeared. So useful in moments like these.
“The Hokage doesn’t interfere in clan affairs.”
“Well, the Hokage’s job is to protect all Konoha citizens,” she replied, placing a finger on her lips, the picture of innocence—like a cute puppy gnawing on its owner’s corpse. “Last I checked, the Branch members of the Hyūga clan are Konoha citizens. It was the incompetence of previous Hokages that allowed a portion of their own population to be enslaved under their watch. That stops now, Hiashi-sama. You have two options: dismantle the seal yourself, or I’ll do it by force. Fair warning—if I have to do it, your authority as clan leader will be nearly nonexistent, and Konoha will see you as complicit with Danzō, no matter how much you claim innocence. The better option would be for you to end it yourself; that way, you improve the Hyūga’s image, gain the Branch’s support, and the Main House members will fall in line once they understand the cost of maintaining the seal.”
Ryuna clapped softly as she finished, her eerie smile still in place.
She’d just issued an ultimatum to Hiashi without raising her voice or using any killing intent. It was blackmail, sure, but it was one he couldn’t escape.
At least Hizashi would be pleased to know his son wouldn’t have to bear the seal in a year.
The eighth step (newly added to the list) was complete. Almost. She’d know by tomorrow.