Before the battle.Before Konoha had attacked Iwagakure...
Before even the mission with Minato.
Kyojiro had sat down and thought to himself, 'Rengoku... he was a man of principle — he imbibed selflessness.'He threw rocks at the still pond in front of him, occasionally swiping his hair off his forehead, 'I have seen his memories.'The way the man killed demons without remorse — he was optimistic in a world where evil reigned.
But Kyojiro couldn't help but take a deep breath, 'I don't live in such a black and white world.'
He chucked another stone at the pond, the impact causing ripples against the liquid, 'I know ninjas aren't evil... some are, yes — but all? No.'
Kyojiro knew, just like him, many fought only to protect their homeland.
Just like the people he grew up with, their dead teammates... it was all about patriotic duty, not true evil.
They weren't demons to begin with... and the memories of the demon exterminator didn't help in this regard.
Kyojiro thought for hours about the rightness of killing, 'Rengoku wouldn't have killed a human.' The thought stuck in his head like a ball in cement.
He understood where the true fault lay — the higher-ups who fought for petty reasons like resources... the cycle of hatred that carried on in this world.
He shook his head, standing up, overlooking the pond, 'When the war comes... which it will — I will have to kill.' His eyes shone with some unknown light, 'They could be cruel murderers... or end up being loving fathers.'
He clenched his hand, his jaw tightening, 'However, if I have to live... I will have to kill.'Kyojiro knew one thing — only the truly strong had the right to have mercy.If he didn't attack back, his dead body would be the only thing left in this world.
He steeled his will, 'Despite never truly meeting you... you have guided me, Rengoku. I know I will have to kill — I live in such a world, after all.' He took a deep breath in, his lungs filling with air, 'However... someday when I am truly strong, I will fix the real issues in this world.'
'There are no demons here... only humans.'.
.
.
.
Kyojiro didn't know why, but his body moved with immense strength. He reached the kunai before the blade could enter the ninja's body.
TING
The enemy ninja widened his eyes. His weapon slipped from his hands, and he couldn't help but take two steps back.
The battle didn't pause — the enemy threw multiple shurikens at Kyojiro. However, the true intent wasn't to kill, but to create time.
His hands blurred through the signs needed for his jutsu, 'Earth Style — Earth Grenade.' A cruel smirk appeared on his face.
While the new ninja with the Sharingan was a danger, he was pleased to be able to kill them both together.
He immediately spat out the earth ball — a C-rank jutsu meant to detonate in a small explosion.
However, unlike how he predicted...the man with fiery hair didn't leave his comrade to die, neither did he try to make any hand signs.
'Huh?' his eyes widened, 'What?'.
.
.
.
Kyojiro slashed through the shurikens thrown at him. Sweat dripped down his forehead; his Sharingan saw through everything happening in the field around him.
He knew exactly what the man planned — to create time using shuriken while launching a jutsu.
Kyojiro could have just evaded, 'But then this guy would have become a porcupine.'
TING
TING
The bladed weapons fell off like toys, yet it wasn't enough. By the time he was done, the man was ready.
His mouth opened only to spit something like a ball of earth.
However, Kyojiro could tell its danger. Hair rose on his arms as he connected the dots, *'It's not the same, but...' * He could sense the orange lines running through the earth ball — it was pulsing.
Kyojiro had faced an explosion jutsu before, and he knew this one was the same despite its small size.
Shivers ran down his back. Time slowed for him as he looked at the ball of earth making its way toward him, 'If I don't move — I will die.'
His feet stayed stuck to the ground, his jaw tightening, 'But if I do... the man behind me will.'
The decision was made in a second. His eyes sharpened, taking in a huge chunk of air — vitality filled his every muscle.'It's for moments like these Flame Breathing exists.' His katana placed itself in a high guard.
'In times of danger, set your heart ablaze.'
'Flame Breathing, Fifth Form — Flame Tiger!'
His sword moved in a circular arc, chakra covering the blade with a reddish hue.
The earth ball was immediately slashed ten times in a single moment, the jutsu breaking apart into smaller segments.
It moved past Kyojiro, falling to the ground and igniting in small pops of explosion.
Kyojiro immediately took stance — his legs widened, his sword set around his sheath.
'Flame Breathing — First Form: Unknowing Fire.'
His legs pushed off the ground, the earth cracking beneath him.His hair swung wildly as he reached the shocked chunin in a second.
The man tried to raise his shuriken, yet the katana cut through the blade and the neck all at once.
The chunin couldn't even form his last words before he died.
THUD.
.
.
.
The Konoha ninja who was just about to die two minutes before now sat in shock.
His mouth hung open as he witnessed the battle — the same chunin who had given him so much trouble was easily dealt with.
The entire match, despite his lack of ability to move, he looked... observed.Every time when the answer was death, the unexpected happened.
A literal jutsu was cut into multiple pieces.
'What... immense swordsmanship.' The last attack was a blur in his eyes — the speed befitting of a Jonin.
As the body of the enemy fell to the floor, he couldn't help but look at the silhouette of Kyojiro.
His hair flayed wildly in the wind like a fiery hope given human form.For the first time in his life, the chunin felt something new.
Protected... like a saviour had just come.
........
Bonus chap coming in