[Hebikaze Arena, Oto no Kami]
The cavern hummed with blue, eerie lights. Green crystal on the ceiling also illuminated the Hebikaze Arena.
Tansen was uneasy. Two legendary figures, hosting terrifying monsters, had isolated him from the rest of the village. Almost instinctively, his hands reached to his back, a small vial of elixir hidden. Drinking two gulps at once, his hair turned from a radiant black to white. Each gulp of Hero Water doubled his chakra reserves momentarily, at the cost of half his lifespan. Almost immediately, the effects of aging showed.
The Hero Water was not just Takigakure's treasure. It was a secret well-guarded that kept enemies from invading their lands.
"Two gulps?", Danzo clapped, "You are wise, Takikage. However, we are only here to talk, not kill you. I am afraid you just wasted your lifespan for nothing"
Tansen's eyes did not falter. Danzo's reputation was unbelievably high in the continent.
"I would be a fool to underestimate the Otokage, a man who rose from a failed candidate at the Hokage seat to the man who brought the major hidden villages to their knees", Tansen spoke, "but are you really as strong as the legends say? Iwagakure lost its platoon after you sacrificed Konohagakure's army to reap the glory, Kumogakure was outskilled by your clans' techniques...As for Hanzo, you ambushed him when he was at his lowest. You are strong, but you are an even stronger strategist. Disregarding your strongest asset doesn't make you stronger. It makes you a fool who underestimates a fellow kage"
Danzo frowned. Tansen was attacking his ego.
Harumi looked at her husband, slightly worried. She knew Danzo better than anyone. His qualities and defects.
Tansen continued: "You sacrifice those around you. Look at your wife! You did not even spare her a seal to prevent any leak. Takigakure possess a net of information that is much sharper than you would expect. Otogakure was built to satisfy your ambition, but you always want more. Dangerous? You are without a doubt. But look at yourself, every action is calculated. Are you not tired, Otokage? Tired at looking at everyone around you as if they were pawns to sacrifice?"
'Looking at everyone as if they are pawns...What a sharp analysis', Harumi closed her eyes and clunched her fist.
Danzo was more than a decent husband by this world's standards. He had provided Harumi's clan a home, power, and stability. People would kill for that. He had even shown her affection, and provided her three sons. Healthy, well-fed, full of potential. He had raised her strength too, training her till exhaustion on a weekly basis, providing pointers on ninjutsu and developing new technologies during the night.
Yet, Danzo did not seem human at times. He viewed others, including her, as a fictional character, a mere asset. His actions showed acknowledgement. But love? Harumi loved her husband, and the more time passed, the more she felt fulfilled by her marrital vows. Yet, the more time passed, the more she felt hurt. Danzo cared more for Otogakure than he cared for her feelings. When she was tired and failed to match his expectations, he would look at her with disappointment.
[Seems like a pure stranger managed to attack you with the most powerful mind attacks of all: the truth! BWAHAHAHA], the four-tails Son Goku laughed to its heart's extents, [Get angrier...Your wife is on the verge of crying...]
Tansen did not wait for Danzo to lower his guard. As a kage-level figure who defeated the legendary Hanzo, Danzo possessed enormous fighting spirit. As such, Tansen did the most damage he could and charged forward, unleashing his most powerful jutsu, attempting to kill his opponent at his weakest.
Suiton – Heavenly Tide Crusher [S]
The cavern flooded. A tidal wave taller than the cave's ceiling roared toward the duo, studded with razor-sharp water kunai. It was a trump card that had once killed one hundred shinobi in one attack. One of Takigakure's secret techniques.
However, Harumi's hands blurred. As a jinchuriki, her chakra pool was not inferior to that of Tansen's increased chakra pool
Katon: Matatabi's Blue Inferno [S]—
A wall of cerulean fire met the tsunami. Steam exploded, scalding the air. Yet, despite the tremendous fire's temperature, suiton was superior to katon, causing Harumi to lose in this battle of ninjutsu.
Unfortunately, Tansen was alone, against two kage-level figures.
Danzo lunged through the mist, katana carving a vacuum blade that split the remaining wave.
"Hero Water doesn't just amplify chakra—it evolves it!"
His hands slammed together. The steam coalesced into a hundred liquid clones, each wielding water whips crackling with lightning.
Two-Tails Mantle [A+]
Blue flames cloaked Harumi, twin tails lashing. She became a blur, incinerating clones in bursts of steam.
"Cute trick. But clones can't bleed"
A clone lashed her arm—she let it sever, the flame-limb regenerating instantly.
Danzo's eyes closed as he focused. Opening them, he charged towards the one true clone. Tansen gasped, but met the charge with a defensive stance.
What Tensen did not expect, however, was Danzo's weapon. Unlike the high-quality Shimura Heirloom depicted in the reports, Danzo was wielding an artefact that belonged to a foreign force, Kirigakure.
Hiramekarei [S]
A sword that could store chakra and with the command of Hiramekarei's release, emmit tremendous chakra through its holes, increasing the blade's speed by a factor proportional to the chakra used. For jinchuriki, this was an extraordinary blade.
Shimura Art – Gale Severing Dance [A+]
The Shimura Kenjutsu Art, known for its equilibrium and strength, was now a formidable art that had reached the peak of the A-rank. With Hiramekarei, one of the seven legendary swords of Kirigakure, the power unleashed by Danzo far exceeded any form of kenjutsu Tansen witnessed in his lifetime.
Taken by surprise by the sheer force wielded, Tensen's guard broke, his whip unable to withstand the blow. Danzo did not stop here, and doubled down, tapping into the four-tails reserves, turning the blue waves of chakra into a molten dark red colour.
*BOOOOOOOOM*
The obsidian floor collapsed, the mountains roared, as the Tenzen absorbed the shock desperately with water barriers. However, dozens of barriers failed to block the impact.
Tensen's severed arm flew in the air, his torso exposing a massive injury bleeding profusely.
Danzo was not affected by the Takikage's words. His mind had been focused from start to finish on the battle. Danzo might have his defects, but ultimately, had grown to become a shinobi in his core. What mattered was the mission, the task at play.
Hebikaze Bloodline Release: Snake Jab [A]
Tensen retreated backwards, but Harumi's arm was thrown at formidable speed, extending under the form of a large snake. The snake pierced through Tensen's escaping thigh, and bit his neck, causing black spots to spread through his veins.
Moments later, Tensen was on the ground, his words drowning in his own blood, his eyes losing consciousness as he cursed: "Your...ambition...will...drown you...Danzo"
Harumi took the vial of Hero water that was half consumed: "So this is hero water, huh?"
Danzo nodded: "A valuable ressource. Inform Takeshi, the bounty dies with Tensen"
"Suiton: Blood Absorption Matrix"
Danzo stored the blood of the now-dead Takikage in a scroll.
"I wonder if chakra supplement injections from a kage-level figure will be enough to break past my resistance and help me grow my chakra reserves...", he wondered.
Just like that Tensen, known as the formidable Lord of the Hidden village of Waterfalls, had been ambushed, captured, and killed without a trace, his family, guards and shinobi not even hearing of a commotion.
News spread like fire.
The duo vanished, leaving a smoldering cave. Takigakure would blame rogue ninja, their economy collapsing further. Otogakure's shadow would only grow longer.