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Night fell, but the mansion of the Third Raikage blazed with light.
A long dining table groaned under the weight of rare delicacies.
Hegeshu raised an eyebrow. He glanced at Yugito beside him, then across the table at the Third Raikage, his son, and the ever-enthusiastic Killer Bee, whose eyes practically sparkled at the feast.
Definitely a banquet set with an ulterior motive, Hegeshu concluded.
"Princess, ahem…"
The rough-hewn Third Raikage cleared his throat awkwardly, gathering his words. A rare sight.
Ā, watching his father fumble, couldn't take it anymore. He leaned forward, cutting straight to the chase. "Princess. We've lost too many shinobi on the battlefield. We need someone with healing capabilities. We want you to join us."
The Third Raikage stared at his son, stunned by the sheer audacity.
"If you refuse…" Ā continued, his gaze fixed on Hegeshu, "…then I'll have to take you by force. I'll apologize afterwards!"
His tone was dead serious.
"…"
The Third Raikage looked like he wanted to punch his son through the nearest wall. He shot Ā a glare that could curdle milk before turning back to Hegeshu.
"My son… lacks a certain subtlety. Please forgive him." The Raikage sighed, the weight of leadership heavy on his shoulders. "As the leader of this village, I earnestly beseech you. Help us reduce our casualties."
His voice grew thick. He bowed his head toward Hegeshu.
Hegeshu paused. This was all part of the plan, of course. But a little hesitation now would pay dividends in goodwill later.
"I…" Hegeshu began, his eyes filling with a sorrowful light. "I detest war. I don't want to heal someone only for them to go out and kill others…"
He lowered his gaze, feigning deep conflict.
The Third Raikage had prepared for many refusals. This reason hadn't crossed his mind.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Third Raikage +30!]
[Ding! Affection from Target: Killer Bee +60!]
"But if we don't kill them, they'll kill us!" Ā roared, slamming a fist on the table. The plates rattled. "Are we just supposed to lie down and die?"
His voice rose, passion burning in his eyes.
"Ā!" the Third Raikage barked, a warning in his tone.
Ā scowled, turning his head away.
"I will help you," Hegeshu said softly, raising his eyes as if making a painful decision. "But on one condition. I will only heal those on the brink of death."
"Agreed." The Third Raikage's reply was instant.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Third Raikage +40!]
[Ding! Affection from Target: Ā +20!]
Hegeshu looked at his own pale, clean hands and said nothing. The full extent of his Reverse Cursed Technique's power was his secret. How much he chose to heal these Cloud shinobi… that was entirely up to him.
…
The next day, the Third Raikage departed in a flash for the front against the Stone.
Killer Bee led a contingent back to the stalemated border with the Mist—who were showing signs of retreat, but who knew what tricks they had left?
Hegeshu, alongside Yugito, followed Ā's main force heading for the conflict with Konoha.
Back to square one.
Hegeshu resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Konoha's shinobi are vicious, Princess. You must be careful," Yugito warned, sticking close to Hegeshu's side like a shadow. Then she smiled, her amber eyes softening. "But don't worry. I'm here. No one will touch you."
She said it with absolute conviction.
Hegeshu met her gaze for a moment, then quietly looked away.
A bit awkward, really. He was the very "vicious" Konoha shinobi she was warning about.
The Cloud camp was… rustic. Their tents were slapdash compared to Konoha's orderly rows. It fit the image of a village full of rugged men.
Hegeshu was ushered into a large medical tent.
The stench hit him immediately—coppery blood, stale sweat, and the sickly-sweet smell of infection.
Yugito wrinkled her nose, worried the "princess" might faint.
Hegeshu's face paled convincingly. He walked to the cot of a shinobi whose eyes had rolled back in his head. A flicker of genuine pity crossed his face. A soft glow—his Reverse Cursed Technique—enveloped the man.
Under the watchful eyes of one or two Cloud medics, the ghastly wounds began to knit together.
Minutes later, Hegeshu stopped. "Your wounds are closed," he said gently to the dazed man. "But no strenuous activity. Or you'll die."
The shinobi blinked, as if waking from a nightmare. He nodded, disbelief written all over his face.
Hegeshu wiped imaginary sweat from his brow and moved to the next patient without pause.
Yugito watched his profile, utterly focused on his work, and for a moment, she forgot to breathe.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Yugito +85!]
Huh?
Hegeshu was genuinely startled. This was the first time since… well, since a certain orange-masked lunatic… that a Target had been so straightforwardly receptive.
"Yugito! Stop gawking! Strategy meeting, now!"
Ā yanked the tent flap open, finding Yugito staring at the princess with a besotted look.
"Ah! Right!" Yugito jumped, a flush of embarrassment coloring her cheeks as she hurried out.
Ā frowned, utterly baffled.
By noon, the "princess's" reputation had spread through the Cloud ranks like wildfire.
"Princess, try my lunch! My girlfriend made it specially before I left!"
"Princess, don't listen to him! This is a specialty from Kumo!"
"Princess…"
"Princess…"
Hegeshu found himself surrounded by a wall of muscle-bound gratitude. It was getting hard to breathe.
He adjusted his expression to its softest setting. "Please, don't worry about me. You all have a battle to fight. You need your strength more than I do."
With that, he gracefully slipped through a gap in the human wall.
"Ah, the princess is so thoughtful…"
"I wish she were our princess…"
"…"
Ā stood nearby, listening to the murmurs. His gaze followed the princess's retreating figure.
I should apologize to her later, he thought. My attitude was… excessive.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Ā +40!]
A sharp, urgent horn blast shattered the moment.
"Konoha… Konoha…" A panting scout stumbled into the clearing, face red.
"Spit it out!" Ā growled, patience thin.
"Konoha is attacking!"
Ā's brow furrowed. "How many?"
"All… all of them!"
Ā stiffened. "What did you say?"
The scout swallowed hard, eyes wide with shock. "Their entire camp. They're all coming."
Every Konoha shinobi from their encampment was on the move.
Ā clenched his fists. "All units! Prepare to engage! This is it!"
The commotion reached Hegeshu too. He stood from the rock he'd been sitting on, watching the Cloud shinobi scramble into formation.
"You! With me!" Ā barked, scanning the area. He'd sent Yugito on reconnaissance; she was probably already skirmishing with the Konoha vanguard. No one else here was trustworthy enough to guard the princess.
Before Hegeshu could react, Ā scooped him up and tucked him under one massive arm like a sack of rice. "Don't worry, Princess. I'll get you home safe!"
Staying with him was the safest option. Obviously.
"…"
Suspended in mid-air, Hegeshu stared blankly ahead.
His native language at this moment was pure, unadulterated speechlessness.
He could walk, damn it! What was this caveman carrying him for?
Thus, Hegeshu was unceremoniously hauled onto the battlefield.
Ā finally set him down. Hegeshu sighed in relief, his eyes scanning the Konoha lines now arrayed opposite them.
Minato Namikaze. Orochimaru. Kakashi Hatake. Hizashi Hyuga. Shisui Uchiha. And Juri…
Well, well. The whole gang was here.
"You two, guard the princess. Everyone else, with me!" Ā commanded, pointing two Cloud shinobi with Kekkei Genkai toward Hegeshu.
He stepped forward, leaping onto a thick tree branch, a formidable silhouette against the sky as he faced the Konoha forces.
Minato's gaze swept over Hegeshu—and immediately away. Showing any recognition now would be a death sentence for him.
To the watching Konoha shinobi, however, the sight of Hegeshu being so closely "protected" by Cloud ninjas could only mean one thing: a hostage.
[Ding! Affection from Target: Minato Namikaze +85!]
[Ding! Affection from Target: Kakashi Hatake +75!]
Not bad. Hegeshu almost smiled. This feeling of affection points rolling in without lifting a finger… it was addictive.
"Yellow Flash of Konoha," Ā's voice boomed, locked onto Minato. "I've heard much about you."
Minato didn't respond, his attention laser-focused on Ā, tense with the unspoken fear for Hegeshu's safety.
Orochimaru's golden eyes slid to Hegeshu. Understanding dawned, followed by a vicious, curling smile.
"The son of the Third Raikage," Orochimaru drawled, his voice cutting through the tension. "Your reputation precedes you as well. I thought you a man of honor. I didn't expect you to resort to using one of our shinobi as a bargaining chip."
Ā blinked, confused.
"!"
Hegeshu stared at Orochimaru, horrified.
That's too much.
That is so, so far over the line, you snake!
Minato and the others shot equally shocked looks at Orochimaru. Did he just say that out loud?
Ā's confusion morphed. His face went through a spectrum of colors—red, purple, a sickly green—before settling into an eerily calm mask. He turned his head, slowly, mechanically, to look at Hegeshu.
His eyes were pools of unsettling stillness.
"…"
Hegeshu blinked back at him.
An angry man shouting was scary. A hot-tempered man gone quiet was terrifying.
Every Cloud shinobi's eyes were now fixed on Hegeshu.
For a moment, he truly understood the meaning of being the center of attention.
"If I said this was all a big misunderstanding…" Hegeshu raised a hand tentatively. "…would you believe me?"
The answer was a barrage of kunai.
"…"
Hegeshu vanished from the spot, reappearing on a branch several meters away. He looked down at the Cloud shinobi. Their expressions were a tangled mess of betrayal, anger, and confusion.
"You're a Konoha spy," Ā stated, his voice flat. A fact, not a question.
Hegeshu shrugged. "Spy is such a loaded word. We're all just fighting for our villages."
"So you are a Konoha spy." Ā repeated, stubborn as a rock.
Brother, if you've already figured it out, why make me say it?
Hegeshu stayed silent. Silence was confirmation enough.
"Then I'll kill you first." Ā's gaze was unwavering. Strangely, even now, his affection level didn't drop.
He stepped forward. His muscles coiled. A terrifying, palpable aura of lightning-charged chakra erupted from him, making the air crackle.
"He's strong," several Konoha shinobi muttered, their focus shifting to the impending threat.
A cool wind swept through the forest. Despite the blazing sun, a killing chill settled over the battlefield.
"Wait!"
A woman's voice cut through the silence. Yugito landed on a nearby branch. Her face was an emotionless mask, but her eyes, fixed on Hegeshu, burned with a stubborn fire.
"Leave him to me."
Hegeshu quickly checked his panel. Yugito's affection level was holding steady too.
He sighed inwardly.
"Fine." Ā nodded. Yugito was the Two-Tails' Jinchūriki. This Konoha spy stood no chance.
"Your opponent is me," Minato said, his voice calm as he drew a kunai, deliberately pulling Ā's attention.
War erupted.
Yugito's fingers elongated into steel-like claws. She became a blur, a streak of lethal intent aimed straight for Hegeshu's throat.
Her attack was the spark. The entire battlefield exploded into chaos.
Konoha's elite clashed with Cloud's finest. The air filled with the sounds of steel, explosions, and shouted techniques.
No other Cloud shinobi approached Hegeshu. This was Yugito's fight.
CLANG!
A clear, sharp ring echoed as Hegeshu's Zanpakutō, Sōkyoku, materialized to block the claws. A beam of light shot from its tip, piercing clean through a thick tree trunk.
But Yugito was already gone, having leaped back with feline grace.
"I knew you weren't simple," she hissed, her eyes locked on him. More than anger, it was the sting of betrayal that fueled her now.
Hegeshu didn't answer. Chakra surged within him, cold and vast. Countless icicles formed in the air, weaving a deadly net that shot toward Yugito from all directions.
With the power of Mugen, his chakra reserves felt bottomless. He could afford to be extravagant.
In seconds, the space around Yugito transformed into a frozen hellscape.
Her speed was phenomenal, but not perfect. Thin lines of blood appeared on her arms and legs where icy edges grazed her.
She stopped talking. Her gaze sharpened, pure focus.
"Fire Rat Jade!"
Blue flames erupted from her mouth, multiplying, surging from every direction to block every escape route.
And within that inferno, Yugito leaped high. Her claws, hidden behind the curtain of fire, waited for the inevitable moment Hegeshu would break through… and die.
Just as she predicted, Hegeshu's Sōkyoku pierced a ball of blue flame, revealing his position.
Her eyes flashed. She struck—a killing blow aimed for his neck.
Her claws met… nothing.
Shock registered in her amber eyes a split-second before a devastating impact hammered into her side.
THUD!
Yugito was thrown back like a ragdoll, smashing into a tree trunk with enough force to crack the bark. Blood blossomed on her waist.
"Cough…" She pushed herself up, ragged.
Hegeshu gave her no time. The next attack was already there.
A pillar of concentrated lightning filled her vision, growing larger, closer. She could feel the heat singeing her skin.
Yet, she showed no fear. She didn't move.
Her amber pupils were suddenly swallowed by a fierce, glowing cyan. A mantle of blue-black chakra, thick with malevolent power, exploded around her, forming the partial shroud of the Two-Tails.
A deafening roar shook the battlefield. The sound was so overwhelming that every fighter froze for a split second.
"Lady Yugito!"
"She's using the Tailed Beast's power!"
"He forced Lady Yugito to transform!"
The Thunder Roar Cannon crashed into the chakra shroud. Yugito was shoved back a step. Then, with feral aggression, she stomped forward. The minor damage to her tailed beast coat instantly repaired itself.
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