Death of a History

[Ace Trainer]

Outside the office, Kesu could hear the rumblings of the Taishou inside. He stood, diligent and silent, a small stack of papers in his hands that he quietly reviewed. In truth, Kesu could hardly read the papers, his mind instead focused on his master inside the office, concerned about him. Deeply, Kesu had began to worry about Shio’s wealth and sanity for the past few months. the anger that had always been inside the Taishou’s heart had become deeper, more violent, harder to quell. The realities of his title perhaps? The pressure of the country he had claimed as his inheritance? Or was it something deeper, more insidious? It was hard to know. But something, Kesu knew, was wrong. And while he would never say it to Shio, truly the young blonde angelic boy was worried about what was next.

Inside the office, Shio pitched the desk against the wall, a loud slam echoing as it shattered from the brute of his strength. The general that had been sitting opposite of him remained plain faced, doing his best to keep his composure as the Taishou raged at the news he’d been given. ”Your people and predecessors have been tasked with guarding a village for a millennia. I add ONE village to it and you can’t somehow manage to replicate it for another millennia? The village exists for two years and shinobi begin to go missing? Bandits encamp in the lands around it? What happened to IRon Country being the greatest force on the planet? Are you nothing without your Taishou to do it all for you??”, he seethed. Shio saw nothing but red, the anger in him unable to be quelled as he stood over the general who knelt before him without response. This anger was unlike anything Shio had felt before. The rage felt no ability to be contained, his entire body hot, his muscles tense and needing to be released.

And then.

The general opened his mouth to speak and instead found no words as Shio’s hand lurched forward, gripping his face and lifting the generals body into the air. Shio’s own body beginning to transform as he took the form of the Taishou. Growing in size the general’s body went from kneeling to hovering off the ground as Shio took his larger form, the chakra-like armor forming around him. ”You’ve failed. You all have.”, was all Shio could say. The force of his grip would begin to collapse around the mans face and soon enough it caved in, his skull crushed under Shio’s hand, the body falling limp and being dropped to the ground. The rage felt unaddressed, unaffected by the death of the man now behind him as Shio walked forward. He pushed open the office door, his eyes scanning the hall and landing on Kesu. Kesu would stare back at the Taishou, assessing the room that had just opened in his periphery, immediately recognizing the mangled body Shio had left behind. ”I believe Iron Country has reached it’s terminus.”, was all Shio would say. And then suddenly he would vanish forward, practically teleporting out the side of the giant mountain as the swarm of locusts called to him.

Kesu would follow, floating silently out into the snowy skies of Iron Country and overlooking the mountain Sanrou with his master. Shio stood on a platform of locusts for only a moment before spreading his hands wide and thrusting them forward, thousands of locusts coming from nowhere and surging into the mountain. Then Shio would lurch forward back into Sanrou. To do what Kesu was all too familiar with. Indeed, when Kesu first met Shio, the young shinobi at the time had massacred his own village, Kesu being the sole survivor. Then, Kesu’s village had perhaps only a hundred or a hundred and fifty residents. Now, Shio’s strength had grown that he was going to replicate it with hundreds of thousands.

Indeed, what happened next was the same. For three days Kesu floated in the tundra, his own internal heat keeping him from freezing as he watched the mountain Sanrou slowly collapse. Inside, he knew what Shio was doing. Killing every man, woman and child, erasing every library, destroying every text. Without even talking to his master Kesu knew what was happening, the history of Iron Country was being erased. Before his very eyes, Kesu was watching a country die. And then, as a dutiful student, Kesu did what he knew his master would want. He would float over to Kemurigakure and give order to Io. The Taishou had ordered all residents of Kemurigakure to return to Sanrou immediately. Kesu would guide them back, like lambs to a slaughter, and as they arrived to Sanrou they would witnessed the Three-Headed Wolf collapse on the third day of Shio’s assault. And out in the elements, Shio would turn the snow of Iron Country red as he slaughtered and killed every body as they arrived. There would be no running, no fleeing, no escaping. Shio’s massacre would be complete, nothing left to show. Just blood, bones, and broken spirits. All except one. In the sky where Kesu returned to watch his master do this, Kesu now floated with a child. Of 7 years old. No different than he had been when Shio freed him those years ago. Indeed, Kesu was very much aware Shio would want a survivor, and Kesu had chosen it for him.

Another day would pass before the end of Kemurigakure came. Not a single soul would remain. Shio would release a genjutsu, beckoning survivors to come to him only to have their bodies destroyed when they revealed themselves. And then, he stood on the ground and stared up at the sky at Kesu and the boy. ”Come.”, Kesu would say quietly, floating down to his master. It had been a day, and the child’s tears and fear had bled away to a numb nothingness as he was deposited down in front of his now former Taishou. ”Where to now, Lord Taishou.”, Kesu would asked.

Shio would look at Kesu dispassionately, his eyes empty and hollow. Whatever had remained of him had been lost in the rage. Whoever this boy was, he was no longer Shio. He would simply turn his gaze to the child, and place a hand on his shoulder. ”The power of the Taishou is yours.”, a surge of white chakra would move from Shio’s arm and strike the boy who would fall backwards into the snow. Shio would look to Kesu and nod, his body slowly turning to dust as the millennia year old energy of the Taishou left him, claiming his body as part of it. Kesu would look down to the boy, his new Taishou. He did not understand what had happened to Shio, perhaps no one ever would understand. He had been on a long, complex journey where so much had happened to him, yet so little was in his control. But, Kesu knew one things now. He had chosen this boy. So Kesu would look at him, give a soft smile, and nod.

”Very well. Where to now, Lord Taishou?”