❁𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐌𝐈'𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘- 𝘈 𝘕𝘌𝘞 𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘚𝘚𝘖𝘔 𝘖𝘍 𝘏𝘖𝘗𝘌 ✔︎

Chapter 3, Part 4

Ayame clenched her fists tightly.

Anger radiated off of her as Kuro kneeled before her, nervous.

He awaited Ayame's reaction to the situation in the building involving Itachi and Izumi. Then she punched the wall next to her.

This shocked Kuro. The wall collapsed in front of them, demonstrating Ayame's strength—who knows how much more she has yet to unleash.

"I thought you had them handled, Kuro!" Ayame yelled in fury. She turned to face him, her Hoshigan activated.

He gulped. Fear flooded his body. Kuro, trembling in front of her, tried to explain why he had not killed the enemies.

She turned around and walked to the outskirts of their hideout. "Kuro, you have failed me. If you cannot catch a couple of low-life leaf ninjas, I will gather a group of people I know who can!" Ayame replied coldly.

Kuro stood up and dashed to her with a pleading expression.

Falling in front of her, he placed his head on the floor and begged, "Please, Lady Ayame! Please, give me one more chance! I promise to kill those ninjas for you and turn them into sacrifices!" Kuro exclaimed.

Ayame remained silent as she mulled it over. However, no matter how cold she was, her decision would have been the same. A grin appeared on her face though. Perhaps, another chance could redeem him.

"I guess another chance is in order. I will put the group I was going to send out on your watch. Lead them. And, Kuro. If you, or they, fail me..." Ayame gave Kuro the coldest look he would ever seen.

"I will kill you." She stated.

Kuro did not meet her gaze, but could sense the coldness and power in her eyes from above.

They were so powerful that he believed their mere presence could kill him on the spot.

"O-of course, Lady Ayame! I will not fail you!" Kuro exclaimed, raising his head to meet her evil stare.

Ayame grabbed Kuro's face and pulled it close to her own.

A wicked grin spread across her face. "Do not fail me, Kuro." That was all Ayame said before leaping into her portal.

Kuro stood up from his seat as soon as it closed, sensing the group's presence.

He turned around to find himself with four shinobi. Kuro's eyes were like daggers at them, "What are your names?" Kuro asked bluntly.

"Kan," a silver-haired ninja replied. He had onyx eyes and a flawless jawline. His senses appeared sharp, and he did not seem to get along well with many people—aside from his group.

A green-haired girl raised her hand, blushing. "Yukine, but you can call me Yuki for short!" she exclaimed. Her eyes were dark emerald, and her face was round and freckled.

"She's annoying," Kuro thought to himself as he turned to face the last two remaining members.

The brown-haired girl raised her head, meeting Kuro's gaze. She appeared cold and dead. However, she could also be energetic—just shy. "My name is Naomi, and this is Kazuki, my twin brother," she whispered.

Kuro raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Brother, yeah... Interesting. Based on your appearance, you two appear to be quite similar. So, starting now, I will be leading you all. Follow my orders and eliminate the two leaf shinobi. Also, I believe one of them is a woman. Bring her to me. Alive..." Kuro stated coldly, his eyes narrowed.

Kazuki glared at him, but Kuro chose to ignore it. "I am aware of your abilities. They appear impressive from the description, but I do not want them to disappoint me. Now scatter!" Kuro exclaimed.

They all left the hideout and went looking for the enemies. Kuro remained in the hideout after they left, staring outside. Anger was rising within him, but he chose to ignore how much it bothered him.

"A couple of low-life ninjas... they should not be causing me so much trouble! Can't believe that it has come down to this..." Kuro thought to himself.

His brow furrowed as he watched the group leap from building to building in search of the intruders. "If they disappoint me, I will just have to go in myself and call those bastards!"

—

Izumi and Itachi investigated the new building they discovered regarding the strange substances.

There were smaller and larger containers full of it rather than tubes. However, none led to the cellars with the women and children.

"Perhaps those tubes were the cellars, and we were simply too late!" Izumi exclaimed, devastated.

She did not like the thought of failing to save all those people. She wanted to rescue them and make sure they were alive somewhere she could get them out of!

Itachi turned to her and quickly assured her, "Izumi, I am sure they are still alive somewhere. I know they will not kill them so quickly. Once we find them, we will transport them to safety."

She turned to him with concern in her eyes. Then he smiled at her. Her eyes widened as he said, "Izumi, you are so brave. You will save them, do not worry. I have always known you could do it," Itachi stated.

Her cheeks flushed, and she looked away shyly. "I—Itachi, I do not know—" Before she could finish her sentence, the ceiling collapsed, and she felt herself being dragged away from Itachi.

Dust filled the room, making it difficult for her to see everything. But one kick, and she felt herself fall from the enemy's arms. As soon as the dust cleared, she felt herself fall. She turned to see her body above a large tube of green liquid.

Her eyes widened at the sight, and she grabbed her kunai, which had a wire attached, and threw it at a wall to escape. She landed safely at the top, but one second longer and she would have been transformed into god knows what!

"Oh, she is beautiful!" A squeaky voice came from above.

Izumi looked up with narrowed eyes and saw two adversaries. A man with silver hair and dark eyes, and a woman with green hair.

She gulped, "Who are you two?!" Izumi asked loudly, her gaze fixed on the enemy's chakra.

They had plenty of it, especially Kan—the silver-haired man.

Izumi chuckled lightly at the two enemies in front of her. Yuki narrowed her eyes at Izumi, attempting to figure out the joke.

"What is so funny? I don't believe none of us said anything!" Yuki exclaimed in frustration, not knowing what was going on.

"Oh! Nothing! It is just that your compliment was very sweet!" Izumi stated with a laugh.

Without thinking, Kan jumped to Izumi and attempted to strike her with his blade. Izumi avoided the attack and kicked Kan into a wall.

Yuki then approached from behind and attempted to kick her into the green liquid below. She was pushed away quickly, but Izumi was still kicked against a wall.

Dust filled the air. Izumi was panting as blood dripped from her head. "Haha! Look who is laughing now. Do not underestimate us," Yuki said, walking slowly towards Izumi.

Izumi looked up to meet her gaze, and a smirk spread across her face. "Well, I promise I won't!"

Now, it was time for a real battle to commence.