There is an ancient text that Kirinji stubbled across decades ago that identified mental factors that inhibited progress in meditation and in daily lives, and in turn, would serve as obstacles to tranquility. It was known as
Goshōsetsu and the inhibitors were
kāmacchanda,
vyāpāda,
thīna-
middha,
uddhacca-
kukkucca, and
vicikiccha. The first was sensory desire and it was the process of seeking pleasure through the five senses. The next was the feeling of hostility, resentment, and bitterness. Thīna-middha was identified as half-hearted actions. Uddhacca-kukkucca was the inability to focus one’s energy. And lastly, vicikiccha, lack of conviction. Kirinji took it one step further because the way he interpreted it was that it not only served as an obstacle to tranquility but in almost every scenario. This also translated to combat. No doubt, effortless movement, reacting instead of thinking—it all resulted in swifter movements and a lot more.
So when he turned his left shoulder over and turned his head to the spider, you could see the focus within the coldness. The relic observed a pair of hands slip out of the spider’s mouth before prying it open. Out came their true opponent, a half-nude woman smiling devilishly at them. The imagery was disturbing, but the blue-haired man did not react nor did he even think about the disgustingness of the visual. Any other time, he would’ve, but in this instance, he was focused on only the objective. The ones caught in the web began screaming and the theory that she was using them for strength was the first thought that came to mind. Although, she wasn’t feeding on them which was natural. Now that he thought about it, they were all alive. Any regular creature that lacked sophistication would’ve consumed them entirely. But she—she was “
feeding” on them differently. How? He had no idea. The immediate area dimmed momentarily before lighting up like stars in the night sky. Chakra orbs emerged all throughout the network and his curiosity was only short-kept as he witnessed a chakra beam cutting a centipede in half. Hopefully, that was all it could do but he was not naive.
The Uchiha was not surprised by the woman’s response at all. Well, outside for one thing she had said about that someone particular had it out for them. And that the rest of these, they were merely collateral damage for her until she found us. Was it the Burning Dawn? Were the intelligent creatures involved in this war? Clearly so as it had transcended human bounds from this interaction. He wanted to believe it was them, but nothing was ever black and white here in Naraka. Kirinji responded to the woman in a dry, sad tone
“That’s unfortunate to hear..” as she looked upon Ko, he felt a rather nostalgic chakra burn brighter than he had ever felt from the man himself. Kirinji had encountered the Vermillion Chakra before and at the time the host was Shi’Chi’Rou. Ko had many more metamorphoses to occur, he knew that. The boy was special. So was the girl that bore Mikaboshi’s Rinnegan. At that moment, Kirinji saw the distraction within her eyes.
“Now?!” he thought to himself as his left hand reached across him gripping the tsuka tightly. He was just about to unsheathe and he witnessed her reading herself, but they were both momentarily distracted. She was distracted by the bush and he was distracted by her distraction becoming deeper. It was one of those odd moments, but he swiftly recollected himself he saw the flash bomb whirl through the air. His golden optics reverted back onto her while her eyes focussed on the bomb.
It was as if he saw everything in slow-motion. The reason the Uchiha had not been activating his Sharingan lately was so that he could increase his visual perception normally. Naraka was special in many ways, but one of the most important was here they were of different levels. He had to strengthen himself at his base, master himself before he can add Narakan tools. Clearly, it had done him well as he witnessed the sequence occur before him with incredible clarity. The timing was impeccable, and perhaps it was a touch of luck, but just as the flash bomb exploded causing a blinding light Kirinji exhaled deeply and his eyes closed. Using the Goshō to will him through. His body already lowered as he gripped the handle of the blade and without any more hesitation, he ripped out the blade from the sheathing.
Schlink! —
Schlink! Like a bullet being released from the gun. The movement was so rapid and fluid that, without supernatural perception, one would have not even seen the blade being unsheathed and sheathed again, even the ones immediately near him. All they would hear was the subtle sound, but they would witness something and that something was what was released from the sound, and the odd sound that came with it.
A sudden outburst of wind originated from the blue-haired man, occupying the immediate area causing the clothing of everyone to flutter violently. It was so powerful that even the trees would begin to lean side-to-side and it might even push his teammates away from him. A vibrant blue hue slash released from the blade and hurled itself toward the torso of the momentarily blinded spider at a skyrocketing speed. The light would illuminate the forest and the sky itself. And as it traveled toward the creature, it’d seem as the slash was distorting reality itself. The edging around the slash would bend inwards causing the surroundings to blur. The more one stared at it, the more it’d burn their eyes as if they were staring at a tv screen two inches away from their eyes. The lightning-like
sound echoed throughout the forest, like a raging storm harassing the clouds and the reverberation agonizing everyone and everything in the area. The true horrors were if this were to land.
If the vibrant blue energy would connect with the creature, the most recognizable feature would be the sheer size of the slash itself. It was deceiving as it traveled toward the creature within an eye-blink, but it would almost completely cover the entire body of the woman and spider. In the same moment of connection, it’d spread out consuming the entire body of the creature and causing agonizing pain and it would begin to fade away into dust. It did not matter the structural integrity of the defense the creature had, nor what it was made out of, cause this space-time disruption would send the molecular structure of the creature into a frenzy causing complete eradication. The successful capture of the creature would cause a
distorting sound effect and an even more powerful outburst of air that would cause the clouds in the sky to part. The sky would remain an unnatural vibrant blue with shines of white like a star sparkling before it was slowly washed away.
Immediately after the blue-haired man was scooped up without consent, and much to his surprise, caused him to lose balance and stumble a bit. He fell to his knee momentarily as he glanced around staring at Kasami having fallen onto Ko and the bewilderment in all their faces, including his own, spoke volume.
What the fuck? was the only thought that echoed through his mind as he made a grimacing face. Clearly, still, a lot to learn from the Goshōsetsu. Just like Kasami, Kirinji had noticed the fast-approaching gate as well. This was where they wanted to go this whole time and it was there where they were dropped. Upon landing on the dirt, it took him a moment to realign his balance and to remove the nauseating feeling of being bounced around. As he looked around, an off-setting feeling dug itself into his stomach and occupied the space there.
Where is everyone? He thought to himself, his eyes glanced over at Ko to see if he was wondering the same thing and to verify he was not insane. The village gates were saturated with moss and unkempt, there was an odd tree that was hollowed out inside. There were no Senpu Monks in sight, only a batch of Kappa. This place was abandoned.
The man thought back to what Kiyoshi had told the group. There was supposed to be a dead drop set up for them with a map of the village and interior, alongside vouches, and particular tools that would aid them in dealing with the wildlife. Set-up by the
Senpu Monks was what he had taught. His eyes scanned the abandoned area. Were they too late? He glanced at the moss once again. Was the information not up to date? Had Izanagi believed that there were still present here, but it was outdated? Or was this a cover-up and a safety measure, hiding their location from the enemy? Eventually, his eyes came across the abandoned shack. Kiyoshi had said that was where the dead drop would be set.
“Excuse me,” Kirinji said politely as he vanished from the checkpoint and moved his way toward the abandoned shack. He was at the door as he reached out pushing the door open. Kirinji made sure to remain alert and check visually, and any chakra sensory, before cautiously entering the shack.
