Tenten panicked. She didn't know what to do.
The situation couldn't be worse. The architect unconscious underwater, two of Kisame's water clones nearby where Tazuna fell. Neji trapped, unable to escape without help. If the kunoichi attacked the clone holding Hyuga, the other two would jump her. If she went for those on the water "guarding" the client, the first could drop the technique and strike from behind. Or maybe she couldn't handle those two anyway. No guarantee she could take out even one.
The copies grinned smugly, relishing the girl's confusion. The kunoichi clenched her jaws in helpless rage. She was furious first at herself, her weakness and helplessness. If only Lee were in her place—he'd handle the clones no problem.
"Damn, Neji... What do I do?"
"Time's up, girl," Kisame drawled. "You'll die with your friend and the old architect."
Both water-standing copies vanished from view. Suddenly, Tenten took a powerful blow to the back. The massive sword attack hurled her downward, and she dropped her fuinjutsu scroll. But before she hit the water, a Kisame silhouette appeared, meeting her with a gut punch.
Tenten flew a dozen meters, hearing a distinct crack in her ribs and feeling sharp pain in her side. She plunged into the water. Before she could recover, a strong Kisame hand grabbed her, yanked her out, and hoisted her up.
"Kkh..."
The mercenary's hand clamped her throat like a vise.
Kisame let out a short chuckle and rasped:
"Or maybe you won't die. Not right away, anyway. Might be more fun to beat you in front of your friend first. Then trap you in the same prison. Wonder how long you two can hold out without air? Heh-heh-heh..."
Suddenly, a whoosh sounded. Something approaching. Kisame frowned. Trying to figure it out, he loosened his grip slightly.
Tenten instantly drew a kunai from her sleeve holster and stabbed—the mercenary predictably burst into water droplets.
"One down," the girl croaked, coughing. "Two left."
"Not so fast, kiddo," a side kick sent the kunoichi flying again. She cried out—the attack hit her broken rib. Landing, she managed to stand on the surface using chakra instead of sinking.
The whoosh grew louder. Moments later, it stopped, plunging the area into silence... Then the tree trunk where the clone holding the water prison stood exploded, splintering into large wood chunks. The Kisame copy lost focus, the jutsu dissipated, freeing Hyuga. The guy fell, coughing and gulping air.
Kisame, drawing his sword, lunged at Neji. But the genin was ready:
"Rotation Technique!"
The chakra vortex dispersed the water sword copy and flung the clone back. Unfortunately, it didn't dispel him.
A water column erupted from the pond right before the mercenary copy facing Tenten, instantly destroying the second one.
"What the..." Kisame's words, as he turned to the noise, were cut off by a slap that dispersed the last clone into mist.
"Well, looks like I made it in time," said an unfamiliar bald man.
Landing on a thick floating branch near the "explosion," the guy looked around.
Neji and Tenten froze. They hadn't fully grasped what happened. But now a bald shinobi from their village stood before them, architect on his shoulder.
The stranger looked very odd; his shinobi status might even be questionable without the Konoha forehead protector tied around his neck. Actually, only dark jonin pants and hitai-ate marked him as ninja. A garish but patched Hawaiian shirt clashed with the typical shinobi look. All his clothes were soaked, understandably. Yet the bald guy's expression remained utterly impassive.
But his face was the standout feature—stupid and indifferent at once. At least it seemed so. Combined with his sun-glinting bald pate, he inspired little trust. Nevertheless, he'd saved the kids.
The bald man eyed the genin for a bit, then glanced at the water receding and the long log he stood on sinking gently.
"Weird," he scratched his cheek. "Not that hot now, but the water's evaporating fast."
"It's chakra-based," Hyuga replied on autopilot. "Without direct control and support from the user, water from elemental chakra dissipates quickly into the environment."
"Aah... got it," the bald stranger drawled, though his look showed he didn't.
"Thanks, shinobi-san," Tenten nodded lightly, hand on her broken rib. "You're from Konoha? How'd you end up here?"
"Oh yeah, got some kinda mission," he waved. "My partner's coming soon, and we need to help some Night Gay and his team."
The genin stared at the bald shinobi in bewilderment, then exchanged glances.
"Uh... Maybe Might Guy?" Hyuga ventured.
"Maybe," the man didn't argue. "And who's this old guy?" He shook the bulk on his shoulder.
"Damn! The architect!" Tenten exclaimed, rushing to Tazuna. Stress had made her forget him.
The bald guy dumped the old man on the wet ground—the Kisame jutsu water nearly gone, leaving shallow puddles. The kunoichi immediately checked the client, forgetting her injuries.
The architect's heart still beat. Faintly, though. Tenten started CPR and was about to give mouth-to-mouth when the bald guy unceremoniously grabbed the architect by the scruff, draped him belly-down over his knee, and patted his back lightly.
"Kkh-kkh..." came from the architect at once. Lung-filling liquid poured out and vanished before their eyes.
"Just swallowed some water," the bald shinobi said calmly. "No big deal."
Tenten sighed in relief. Their client was alive. And conscious, despite poisoning and near-drowning. The genin got lucky too. Death had breathed down their necks today; they'd never been on so dangerous a mission. Yet they'd survived the clash with S-rank mercenary clones—and saved the architect's life. Thanks to the unknown Leaf ninja whose name they still didn't know.
"Saitama!" a woman's shout rang out. "There you are."
Saitama turned.
"Finally you showed up, Anko. You missed everything."
As soon as the bald hero arrived, he oriented instantly. The water didn't hinder spotting the drowning architect and saving the old man. Then he effortlessly dispersed the clones tormenting the kids...
"I get it," Anko grumbled, brushing her bangs back to reveal her Konoha forehead protector. "You kids okay?" Mitarashi asked the genin. "Where's your teacher? What happened?"
The genin stayed silent a moment—deciding whether to speak—but her demanding gaze made them recount events haltingly.
As it turned out, the situation was dire. Team Guy had endured two attacks today alone. They'd handled the first mercenary "wave" with minimal issues and no losses. But the next shinobi in black cloaks with crimson clouds forced Guy and his prized student to hold them off, buying time for the two kids and client to retreat. They were lucky Saitama arrived when he did. Otherwise, all three would be dead, mission failed. S-rank shinobi clones weren't something genin could handle easily—especially after their already tense prior fight.
"...So sensei might need help now," the girl named Tenten said. "Those mercenaries are very strong. We've never seen sensei so serious. And our teammate—Lee..."
The young kunoichi hesitated for a moment.
"He's... uh... not exactly in a stable state," Tenten finished.
"Anyway, we're moving out. That's what I got, right?" Saitama drawled, picking at his ear.
The guy seemed either not to have heard what the genin had told him or just didn't want to. During the story, he kept yawning, letting most of the info go in one ear and out the other. His bored expression showed just how little he cared about everything going on around him.
"Saitama, I'm begging you," Anko began, "at least on this mission, get serious."
"What're you even talking about?" the bald guy didn't get it. "I'm always serious. Especially when I'm hungry."
To back up the jonin's words, a long wail from his stomach echoed through the surroundings—it had been craving food since last night.
Mitarashi rubbed her face with her hand. Though she really wanted to rub Saitama's face instead.
This must be the bald guy's shtick. And maybe he really was always serious, just pretending to be a dimwit with the habits of a mercantile hedonist. His indifference might be feigned. In reality, he was always vigilant. If that was really the case, then Saitama, besides being a mighty Kage-level shinobi, was also a pretty talented actor.
Brushing aside extraneous thoughts, Mitarashi, as the ranking senior, gave orders to the kids to hide in the forest with the architect and not stick their necks out. If all went well, they'd meet back here in half an hour and escort Tazuna home, full team. In the meantime, Anko could help Tenten treat both the architect and the others. From Hyuga, she needed periodic scans of the area for enemy shinobi.
"Alright, Saitama," Mitarashi leaped up, switching to the upper branches. "We're moving out. But remember, don't rush in headfirst. We're up against some very strong ninja."
"Uh-huh," the bald guy nodded and charged ahead eastward, toward the clash of powerful shinobi. Anko cursed and bolted after him along the upper paths.
If someone needed Saitama's help, they'd get it soon enough. And strong enemies? That was good. Maybe this time they wouldn't drop from a single hit...
Gai found himself in a strange place. Above him, a blood-red sky with dark clouds. All around, a wasteland. And Might Gai himself was strapped to a massive cross driven vertically into the ground.
He tried to rip his arms free from the bindings, but to no avail. The jonin lowered his gaze to the sole shinobi standing before him.
"You're in Tsukuyomi, Gai-san," Itachi began. A katana materialized in his hands. "This is an illusion of the Mangekyo Sharingan. In it, I control everything: time, space, sensations. I can even see your thoughts here. The moment you looked into my eyes, you lost..."
"It's just genjutsu," Gai replied calmly.
Uchiha shook his head.
"This isn't mere genjutsu, and you'll soon experience all the consequences of Tsukuyomi firsthand. I didn't want it to come to this. But you chose this path," Itachi lunged sharply with his sword.
The blade plunged into Might's gut, but Gai merely frowned.
"The pain's pretty real," Might said. "This illusion's made for torture? Or mental breakdown and driving the enemy insane? Doesn't matter. It won't work anyway, kid. My will is strong—you won't break it."
Uchiha shifted his gaze from the Green Beast to the blade in his hand. Then back to the Beast. Yanking out the katana, he plunged it in again, this time into the jonin's shoulder.
But a predatory smirk formed on Gai's face. Itachi showed no change in emotion. With the same indifferent expression, he stabbed the sword into various pain points on his victim's body. True, the victim just grinned back. Occasionally, a predatory growl rumbled from the beast's chest. But no groans, screams, or anything like that. Gai's will was indeed strong. Especially considering that all pain sensations here were three times more intense than in reality...
Soon the wasteland was filled with countless copies of Itachi with katanas. The copies lunged at Might from all sides. They hit pain points, left countless cuts, chopped off the jonin's fingers, flayed Gai's skin, gouged out eyes, pierced the heart. All damage regenerated after mere hours, and Uchiha started over. In the real world, such injuries would kill a man. But not here. Not in Tsukuyomi, where everything bent to Uchiha's will. It seemed these torments had no end. Who knows how many days or weeks passed before Itachi grew bored.
Now Gai no longer reacted to the pain at all. The rogue ninja made a final thrust into his victim's forehead, pinning Might's head to the cross, and the surrounding illusion seemed to begin dissipating...
Gai opened his eyes, seeing a grim Itachi before him. Behind him stood Kisame. The Konoha jonin was stunned for a couple moments, trying to figure out where he was, but once realization hit, he lunged at Uchiha, swinging his nunchaku. Considering his previous experience, Might now kept his eyes down, on his opponents' feet.
The rogue ninja dispersed into a flock of crows, which regrouped away from Gai. Samehada was already charging at him from the front, which he blocked with his nunchaku. He shouldn't have.
The Mist ninja's thrust was powerful, and the chain nearly snapped from the strain. Might's arms trembled. Though he showed no sign, Tsukuyomi had taken its toll, and now he felt pretty worn out.
Kicking the Beast away, Kisame began preparing some technique.
"Suiton: Explosive Wave."
An unbelievable amount of water burst from Hoshigaki's mouth, turning the surroundings into a massive lake with treetops protruding. Gai leaped onto one such treetop. But fangs of water erupted from below, nearly impaling the jonin through.
Escaping with a replacement, Gai ended up a dozen meters from Uchiha. Standing on the water's surface, he knew he'd likely have to use the Eight Gates. Tucking his nunchaku into his belt, he crossed his arms in front of his head, preparing to open the Gates.
Uchiha leaped from the water before him, and Gai averted his gaze to avoid Itachi's eyes. Two more Uchiha copies appeared behind with kunai in hand.
"Eight Gates!" Gai growled. "The First Ga..."
Ignoring the enemies, Might took a few not-too-painful jabs to the chest. Uchiha's chakra-charged finger could pierce wood, but to Gai's trained body, they felt like tickles.
With one sideways blow, he dispersed the clones and pushed off the surface, recrossing his arms to evade Itachi.
"Fifth Gate! Gate of Limit! Open!" Gai shouted...
In midair, Samehada's blow caught him, devouring some chakra and tearing his clothes, revealing a bloody shoulder.
"What?" Gai exclaimed, flying aside.
"Samehada absorbs chakra, beast," Kisame drawled, grinning predatorily.
But that wasn't what surprised Might. Retreating a couple dozen meters, he was shocked to find the Gates wouldn't open. The Beast tried the First, Second, Third... no dice.
"No need to try, Gai-san," Itachi stated indifferently, approaching Kisame. "I've temporarily sealed your tenketsu. You can't use the Eight Gates now."
Gai frowned. Without opening the Gates, he wasn't sure he could take these enemies. Might drew his nunchaku from his belt.
"Well then, if fate's testing me, I'll beat you both without the Gates. In the name of the Power of Youth!"
The jonin charged the mercenaries. He darted between them like lightning, unleashing a flurry of blows. But the opponents kept turning out to be water or crow clones. Once, an Itachi copy exploded right under him. Kisame attacked from underwater with shark bombs and other water jutsu, inflicting minor damage. Occasionally Samehada tagged the jonin, draining chakra, while Kisame seemed to grow stronger.
"Surrender, Gai-san," Uchiha stated firmly.
"I won't surrender! In the name of the Power of Y..."
The words stuck in his throat. What he saw made Might nauseous.
"Heh-heh-heh, beast," from the direction Team Gai had come from today, Kisame appeared. "Your students put up a good fight. Then hid. But I found them anyway. We had fun, and they weren't hopeless."
"It can't be..." Gai whispered.
One of Kisame's clones appeared before him. In his hands, by the hair, he held the severed heads of the genin, blood still dripping from them.
"Pity the Byakugan self-destructed. Those eyes could've been useful," the mercenary continued, shaking Hyuga's head. "The kids entertained me. Even dispersed three clones. And the old man's head's finally in the bag... mission accomplished."
"It's over, Gai-san," Uchiha said in a detached voice.
A moment later, another Kisame clone slowly rose from the water. But the clone wasn't alone. Beside him, suspended in a massive water orb, was Rock Lee, unable to escape the water prison.
"Lee!" Gai shouted. He couldn't believe it. Two from Team Three were dead. Their mission failed. And Lee taken hostage! "Lee, hold on! Fifth Gate! Open!"
But nothing changed. Gai still couldn't use the Eight Gates. He clenched his teeth in pain.
"Too bad you refused a peaceful resolution," Itachi shook his head. "But no choice now. We'll have to kill you."
A sword appeared in the rogue's hand and instantly pierced Kisame's water orb.
"Nooo!" Gai screamed, dropping to his knees.
The katana impaled his student right in the heart. The water prison collapsed. A thin stream of blood trickled from the genin's mouth. The boy glanced at his sensei. Tears welled in his eyes, but with a final act of will, he raised a thumbs-up and forced a smile, winking at his teacher.
The next instant, Itachi yanked the sword from the chest and decapitated Lee with one precise blow. A crimson fountain erupted from the genin's neck, and the head spun through the air into the water.
A red haze clouded Gai's vision. Lee's final seconds replayed before him over and over. He watched his beloved student's death in slow motion.
Might growled. The nunchaku fell from his hands. Clenching his fists, he roared and charged the enemies, but to his surprise, the distance between them didn't shrink—it grew, until the mercenaries vanished. The next moment, Gai realized the body of water he stood on had turned crimson. The sun vanished. And corpses began rising from the water right before him. His students' corpses.
"Neji," Might rasped.
The long-haired genin stared at him with empty sockets, blood trickling in thin streams. Beside Hyuga rose Tenten. Her body shredded to rags along with her clothes. She raised a hand as if to speak, but only an inarticulate gurgle erupted from her mouth...
"Gai-sensei, why?" a quiet voice came from behind Gai. The jonin whipped around to see Lee. A gaping wound in the student's chest. "Why, sensei? Why didn't you save us? Why let us die?"
A long gash formed on the genin's neck, blood gushing out. Then Lee's head fell from his shoulders.
Gai closed his eyes, tears streaming... He clutched his head.
"No. This isn't real," he whispered. "I'm still in the illusion. Bijuu Uchiha..."
Tsukuyomi was quite chakra-intensive. But Itachi needed to take the Konoha jonin out fast—if Might managed to open the Gates, Kisame and Uchiha might not retreat, and using Amaterasu or Susanoo before their main target arrived would be wasteful. So he activated Mangekyo in his left eye.
In the real world, only a second passed.
Dispelling the jutsu and deactivating Mangekyo, Itachi exhaled heavily. He rarely used Tsukuyomi, but he was confident in it. Until today.
The issue was that regular torture via illusory pain hadn't worked on Gai. So after sixty hours of "vivisection," thoroughly analyzing the situation, he realized he needed to get creative and shift Gai to the illusion's "second level." In other words, Uchiha crafted genjutsu targeting the psyche and tapping into hidden fears. Thus, the last twelve hours, Might had witnessed his students' deaths and related illusions, unable to dispel the technique.
Once the genjutsu cleared, Gai slowly opened his eyes. A powerful killing intent crashed over the surroundings. The Green Beast swept a grim gaze around, growling and coiling for a leap, but suddenly, as if remembering something, he backed off.
"Beast chickened out?" Kisame rasped.
"Retreat!" Uchiha ordered. "Now."
"What?" Hoshigaki asked, stunned. "We can shred him right n..."
A roar from the Konoha jonin cut him off:
"I won't let them die. I'll protect them even at the cost of my life. Seventh Gate: Gate of Shock! Open!"
A blue aura enveloped Gai. His skin turned red. Veins bulged. A crater formed around him from the released energy. Cracks spiderwebbed outward. Now the jonin resembled some demon.
Uchiha tensed, ready to substitute with a crow clone. But against expectations, the jonin didn't charge them. He rushed to his student, vanishing with him from the battlefield the next second.
"What a coward?" Kisame sneered, relaxing. "Used such a powerful technique just to run. And you told me to retreat?"
"No," Itachi shook his head. "Too late for that now, unfortunately."
"What're you talking about?" the swordsman didn't get it. "He just r..."
A blow interrupted him, sending Kisame flying. Samehada flew from his hands, and the mercenary's body smashed through a dozen trees before chakra anchored him to the ground. Hoshigaki vomited blood, collapsing to his knees.
Uchiha, realizing escape was impossible, formed a seal. A crow appeared beside him, only to disperse into black smoke the next instant. Itachi called for backup. He and Kisame needed to hold this monster for half a minute, maybe a bit more.
With Sharingan, Itachi noted Gai had removed his student from the battlefield to fight unrestrained. Though the drunk genin tried dodging and countering with Drunken Fist style, Gai's aura knocked out the thick-browed kid, inflicting numerous serious but non-lethal wounds. Might had acted harshly. But now his favorite student was safe.
Gai appeared before Itachi, ten meters away.
"I heard the last Uchiha wants revenge on you," Gai growled.
Uchiha, seeing a chance to stall, engaged. The more they talked, the better. Backup would arrive, maybe forcing Gai to retreat.
"My brother is the only one with a shot at killing me," Uchiha said detachedly. "With all due respect, Gai-san, even with all the Gates open, you can't do it."
"Sorry to disappoint your brother..." Might continued, still emitting his rampant blue aura. "But he won't get his clan revenge. Because I'll kill you myself..."
Might roared and charged Uchiha. Itachi was ready to substitute with a crow clone. Just a couple meters left, and Uchiha began forming a seal-less jutsu.
Suddenly, a bald scalp flashed before him. Before Itachi could activate the technique, he saw the flying Green Beast smashing through dozens of trees like a fiery meteor. Might flew from one lazy slap by the bald guy who appeared out of nowhere before Uchiha.
Itachi blinked once, then again. He tried processing the Sharingan-fed info and matching it to what he knew...
"Hey, you okay, kid?" the bald guy asked, turning to Uchiha.
"Uh... yes," the mask of indifference nearly cracked, but Itachi composed himself and asked: "And you are Saitama?"
"Yup," the guy scratched his bald head. "I'm Saitama. Hero of B-cla... uh, I mean Konoha jonin. Well, since I just saved you from that creepy monster-lookin' dude, maybe treat me to somethin'? I'm starving..."
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan