Friend, Foe, or Both?

Within the depths of darkness, inside the vast emptiness of another dimension, stood a boy whose crimson eyes winced in pain. The motionless body which was still sprawled out on the floor before him appeared to be blurry for a few moments before the boy’s eyes shifted back to a lesser version, taking on the state of the 3 tomoe sharingan once more. Ita was beginning to feel the effects of using the mangekyou sharingan. Ita figured it was natural that such power would have its drawbacks, but he was beginning to wonder what prolonged use of the mangekyou might do to him.

 

Ita now began to study the limbless male before him once more. His most noticeable features being the contents of his body and his white hair. Ita could feel the anger swell inside him as he remembered the destruction that this shinobi caused before Ita transported him into his dimension.  Although the nameless enemy was knocked out, his eye’s remained opened slightly and the boy could still see the crimson in his iris peak out. “Sharingan”, Ita thought to himself. With his own sharingan, Ita could tell the man was still alive, but his time on Earth was going to expire soon without treatment.

 

Before Ita could make his next decision, a puff of smoke appeared within the dimension and a familiar sound filled the boy’s ears, bringing him to his senses. Toru had summoned himself which was typically meant he had bad news. Ita motioned his attention to the bird, “What is it Toru?” Ita demanded in a calm, but assertive manner. The bird disregarded the body on the ground and went on with business, “The invasion is over, Konoha has fallen.” The words rolled off the tongue of the bird and tumbled onto the young Uchiha’s shoulders like boulders. “What do you mean by that!” Ita demanded in disbelief. “Relax boy”, the bird squawked. “There haven’t been too many casualties, I don’t think that is, but the entire village has been taken over. What are you going to do?!” the bird squawked once more. There was a moment of silence as the bird seemed to be leaning closer, excited to hear what the boy would say. “I’m going back to figure out what is going on.” Ita said affirmatively, his emotions clearly high, but he was trying his best to suppress them. “What if they try any kill you?! You should get out of Konoha while you have the chance!” The bird advised. “No Toru!” Ita said. “I will not leave my friends behind, they are all I have left!” Ita had made up his mind and the bird had now gotten his answer. There was another puff of smoke and the bird returned to the world of the living to observe how the following events would play out.

 

With the man in his view, the boys body would begin to swirl, his sharingan being the center of the animation and then he was gone. A swirling animation would commence once more and a boy with black hair standing at 5’8” would emerge unseen, just as fast as he had disappeared. Ita was wearing a black shirt with his shinobi vest over it as well as black pants and shinobi shoes. All of this was hidden underneath a gray cloak. The boy also had his multi-weave mask pulled up so that it would shield his identity. At first glance, the coast was clear, and nothing seemed to be out of place, which meant the village haden’t been destroyed.  Ita moved swiftly into the building and straight towards the office without drawing any attention. Pushing the door open, no one was there. Ita would enter the room silently and as soon as he entered and shut the door, a swirling animation would begin once more from his right eye and a body would be produced. Yazu’s body would be transferred from the realm of Kamui, back to reality, his limbless body laying on the floor. Ita approached the man and sat his back up against the desk of the kage and then leaned up against the wall on the other side of the room. Now it was a waiting game. Ita was sure someone would show up soon to provide the answers he was looking for or provide care to the dying shinobi before him who’s chakra signature grows weaker every passing moment.

There were a number of reasons for Ita to ignore the presence of someone else in the room: His adrenaline was overwhelming, the panic he felt for his friends, maybe even fright he felt from the potential consequences of being caught. Yet, unfortunately for him, when he opened the door to the Hokage office he would not be greeted with an empty chamber as he had imagined. The sun still stood valiantly over the defeated village, burning the ground with warmth and perhaps even scorn. The village that was the most revered.. defeated. Their ancestors would find such a loss abhorrent, and Xyxer himself would share the same thought if he didn't think so highly of his own village. Yet, as the boy's pattering footsteps moved down the hallway, he found that he could only turn around form his position at the windows to look at the front door he was coming in from; the only entrance unless someone intended to teleport in or bust straight through the wall. He'd read someone actually do that in one of the files, and the kicker? They hadn't been executed for criminal damage. Strange village.

As Ita opened the door to the Hokage office he'd likely see Xyxer in the opposite corner of the room as he made no effort to hide himself from view, a hilt with a skull pommel peering over his shoulder with the girth of a meaty, bandaged weapon tied to his back. Despite his aesthetic, he made no hostile move towards the boy as he had no desire to kill someone at this point in time, especially one who wasn't acting suspiciously at all by creeping through the Hokage office with nobody relaying the information. If he decided to pause or completely avoid giving the body of Yazu back, Xyxer would continue on without that knowledge as he spoke, "You've been declared a Missing Ninja, Ita Uchiha." The beast spoke, identifying him within moments when he saw his face peer through the door. 

The declaration had merely been a test of his character at this point, to see whether he'd act aggressively or subdue himself to the will of his village's captor, because if truth be told.. Xyxer was fine as long as the missing shinobi miraculously found their way back into their village, even if ruthless violence was the meaning of them being gently coerced back. The man before him was liekly thinking about Kirigakure's reputation, hence his trepidatious nature at the moment. Xyxer would walk beside the desk, maintaining a 1 meter distance between himself and Ita should he come any closer, otherwise he stayed at the distance they'd be at. "Have you come to apologise for your absence, and wish to rejoin the ranks of your brothers?" Xyxer asked, his right hand reaching out to pat the desk next to him, almost as if it was anchoring him.

[It feels as if you're trying to timeline this to be during or immediately after the war, which can't fly since I had a topic with Kotsuzui afterwards declaring your MN status bro]

With his adrenaline pumping, Ita arrived at the door of the Hokage’s office. After waiting a moment to hear if there was anyone inside or not, the young shinobi would then proceed to open the door and to his surprise, he would notice a tall-figure, adorned with a rather large and bandaged weapon on his back, would be positioned in the corner of the room. The light that was shining through the windows of the office would cast an almost sinister shadow around the conqueror who was currently facing him. Ita had never seen this man before, but had a pretty good idea of who it might be: the Mizukage. There was no point in prolonging what was about to occur any longer, therefor the boy would slip through the door way in a calm manner coming into the light before him. As he did so, words would flow from the man’s mouth, “You’ve been decalred a Missing Ninja, Ita Uchiha.” The words echoing in Ita’s head, as the man had informed Ita that he had been labeled a traitor. 

Ita’s crimson eyes payed close attention to the demeanor of the man before him. If it was true that Ita had been labeled a traitor, there was a chance that the man before him was still his enemy. Ita could not afford to let his guard down, especially in the presence of the kage who had just brought one of the most revered villages, to its knees. Before Ita, the man with the large sword would walk towards the table and begin to speak once more, asking Ita if he had come to apologize for his absence and rejoin the ranks of his brothers.

 

Truth be told, Ita was unsure of the current state of the village after the merger, however he was not about to confront the Mizukage about the result of the war either. In fact, by asking if Ita had returned to rejoin his ranks, that must mean that the village was somewhat still intact.  Ita would now answer the question, “My name is Ita Uchiha and I assume that you are the Mizukage. Since you are standing here that must mean that Konoha has lost the war.” There was a moment of silence as Ita would motion a few steps forward putting 2 meters of distance between Ita and the desk that Xyxer had his hand placed on. “It is true that I have come here to apologize for my absence today, although I wasn’t completely sure to who I would be apologizing to. However, I may have something that may be of interest to you.” Ita said.

 

Raising his right hand to his corresponding eye, Ita would speak simultaneously as he planned to produce the shinobi that Ita had been keeping within his dimension. “He is still alive, but if he doesn’t receive attention soon, he’ll die.” Just as Ita completed his sentence, a swirling animation would begin with his right eye being the center of it, producing a limbless, but not life-less body onto the floor before the Mizukage. Ita was unsure as to why he did not just kill the man. Was it because he possessed a set of stolen sharingan? Or was it because that Ita knew deep down that the war was one sided from the beginning and he needed a bargaining chip. Either way, Ita was no use to his village if he was dead.

Now that everything was out in the open, Ita would say as the Mizukage would most likely be realizing the identity of the man that Ita had produced. “If I had not stopped him, the village would have been burned to the ground and there would have been nothing left for you to rule over.” Ita would pause, before continuing, “I’ve returned because life within these walls is all I’ve ever known. When I was young and alone, this village fostered me. That is why I became a shinobi in the first place, to protect this village and those close to me. But I couldn’t even do that…I am unsure of my place in this world now. Is this all that we are good for as shinobi? To be used as disposable weapons and conquer each other. For what reason? Only to be conquered again by an even stronger enemy?” The boy would be going on a tangent, asking questions he fully well knew the answers too, but helped release the emotion that he had bottled up inside. Ita didn’t know it, but the events that had unfolded before him: war and the death of close friends. All of the events leading up to this moment had been shaping him- forcing him to live the grim truth: which is the life of a shinobi. 

The most distinct feature of the male before him were his eyes, the revered blood rubies that nestled within his hollow eye sockets.. which in itself was strange. Most people hid the fact that they were a Uchiha these days, ever since the persecution they faced and the knives that were pointed their way just so their doujutsu could be harvested. He may not be a smart man, yet Ita did appear to be a brave one, but first impressions were fleeting and the man had many chances to form a different impression on the Mizukage. Hell, perhaps he'd even try to put the man under a genjutsu, which would certainly serve to change his view, although the notion of such an act amused both the beast and the bijuu in equal measure.

Ita deduced that Konoha had fell before the onslaught of Kirigakure which was an easy conclusion given the situation they found themselves in before continuing to explain that he did intend to apologize. Xyxer was about to state that it was his village which deserved the apology before he revealed something that served more importance to him than petty words. The torso and head of a Tau that Xyxer knew well, the creature that went by the name of Yazu. In fact, Xyxer was ever curious as to how Ita had managed to defeat the male despite their rank difference. His head nodded for a few moments as his eyes spied the faint breathing of the man built from threads, yet made no movement to retrieve help for him just yet. Perhaps the pain would serve to wake him up from his slumber, or maybe it would be the end of him before aid was sought, either way his future as a harbinger for Kirigakure would be determined.

Ita went on to explain that Yazu had developed a desire to raze the entirety of the village.. which was believable. He did recall seeing the man shooting fire from atop his beasts as he entered the village, and now he knew what had became of the arsonist after he left Xyxer's vision. "You handled one of the invaders which is more than most of your peers can claim, as for your purpose as a shinobi?" Xyxer's grey eyes left the body of Yazu and shifted towards the face of Ita once more before continuing, "That's up to you to determine. We pledge our lives to our villages and swear to only do things that enhance its interests, however veiled they may be. Eventually you're forced to decide whether you're serving the daimyos, the people, or the village itself. Some even lose their way and start to solely serve their own interests.. such as the ranks you almost joined of the Missing Shinobi. Rest assured, they will all be killed as is befitting of cowards and knaves." He finished, shrugging his shoulders as there was little point in imparting his beliefs of shinobi on a man he barely knew, let alone someone from what had been an opposing village not too long ago. Hell, Ita was even from the clan he despised the most, yet.. there was a matter that had been skipped, "Your peers collectively mutilated a body of one of your own, yet you weren't around for that.. How can you prove to us that you truly get what's happened here? How can you prove that you get it?" He requested, seemingly ignoring the threaded cripple on the floor before him. To be able to defeat your enemies was a valuable asset, yet how would Ita react when the head of the snake poised a test of loyalty to the new way of life?

Ita watched carefully as the Mizukage motioned his attention towards the shinobi that had been presented to him. The Uchiha was interested in how he might react; however, the Kage didn’t react at all. He simply continued with what he had to say, ignoring the man completely and returning his attention back to Ita. The harsh reality of the situation was now setting in for the boy as Xyxers words washed over him, guiding him back home. Out of everything he said, Ita’s main take away was the fact that it was ultimately up to Ita to decide which facet of the village he wished to serve and what extents would he go to, to do so. Ita did not care for the daimyos nor did he have many meaningful relationships with the people of the village. What was important to him was the village itself. Preserving the village is what had truly mattered most to the boy, not the politics that governed it. The village itself was the foundation of the daimyo and people alike, as well as it stood as a beacon of hope for all of those who resided from within, just as it had once done for Ita. Xyxer did not know it, but he had helped Ita resolve an issue that he had been battling within himself for some time now, and now that Ita knew what he must do; he vowed to preserve the village at all costs.

 

The mood of the room would become a bit more serious as Ita’s voice would seem to shift from that of a frightened and naive Chuunin to that of a Jounin. Understanding now what he had to do to make good on his promise, the young Uchiha would take a right knee before the conqueror of villages. Continuing to make eye contact, Ita would speak “I would have done the same to my comrade if that ensured the future of my village. As for my absence, let me prove my loyalty to you and the village by taking care of the defected Konoha shinobi. It would not be lucrative to allow the villages secretes… and Kekkei Genaki to be wandering vulnerably towards the enemy.” Ita would say, the light shining through the window catching the threaded man’s stolen sharingan in such a way, that it would illuminate brightly before them. “Regardless if that meant bringing them back, alive…or dead.” Ita hoped that they were now on the same page or maybe there was something else that the Mizukage required of him?

Ita wished to serve his village via the capturing of its missing shinobi, yet he seemed to misunderstand the creature that stood before him. A light smile formed upon his narrow lips and the rays of the light that pierced through the windows seemed to dance malevolently off his icy eyes before his head shook, "No. To hunt down traitors is a privilege, not a lesson. Not a demonstration of defeat nor of being subdued. I implore you to think of something better, Ita, lest you're forced to have me devise a situation for you." Xyxer suggested. As Ita had returned the living body of one of Kirigakure's soldiers he was being given the opportunity to show his capability to understand the situation, yet this could only extend so far before Xyxer's patience wore thin. To him, asking to hunt criminals as a punishment was akin to asking for gold with the lousy excuse of it weighing you down.

Watching the male as he coated his hand in electrical chakra, filling the room with the noise of a thousand chirping birds, yet thankfully he didn't fill it with static as that'd have been quite the pain. Yet there was still that natural reaction when something foreign presented itself, his hand lifting up towards the hilt of Samehada instantaneously, ready to swing should the situation call for it such as if lightning crawled out towards him. You could never be too careful in a foreign village. The next thing Xyxer knew, the boy was driving his hand down into the other to remove the hand. His own hand. Self-mutilation was a foreign concept to most people in Konoha, even when it garnered survival, yet Ita seemed to understand things from a different perspective. Perhaps one that could be considered.. valuable. Given that the jutsu had ended and his words wouldn't be drowned out with chirps, Xyxer would speak in response to the action, "You've decided your punishment, and so it shall be. If that hand is reformed or replaced in any shape or form, I will kill either you or the culprit for doing so. From now on, Ita, you only have one hand until I say otherwise, on the penalty of death." Xyxer stated, waiting in case Ita had anything further to add, yet Xyxer was satisfied with his display to rejoin the village.

Ita’s chidori moved through his corresponding hand like butter, removing it cleanly. Ita winced slightly as the realization that he had removed his own hand was setting it. His senses were heightened due to the adrenalin his body was pumping. The boys crimson eyes followed the hand as it hit the floor as if it were in slow motion. Ita could no longer feel the sensation of using his left hand which was odd. In fact, Ita couldn’t feel much pain at all. His chidori had proved to be a sort of anesthetic, numbing the pain. However, Ita knew that once the numbing sensation wore off, he would be in a world of pain as the open wound would slowly morph into a healed over nub, serving Ita as a constant reminder of the events that took place a week or so ago.
 
Despite having to cut his own hand off to show his loyalty to the new way of life, Ita did not feel hate towards the beast in front of him, who had motioned towards the hilt of his large, bandaged sword because of Ita cutting his own hand off. However, once the deed was done he seemed to be more relaxed and satisfied with the result. In this moment, Ita felt numb. Just as numb as his wound which was still leaking blood onto the floor, turning the Hokage’s chamber into a mess. The pain Ita knew would come was pale in comparison to the resolve within the boy. The passing of his dear friend Jace by the likes of a bijuu was what truly left an impression. Again, Ita found himself alone in the world with nothing left, other than the eye’s that he was forced to encompass. Eyes that were no longer that of a naive child. Cold eyes that barred the burden of his ancestors, his captured village, and his dead friend. Ita’s cold eyes motioned from his wound, to the motionless body before him, and then finally to Xyxer. The Mizukage concluded that Ita had decided his own punishment and it was enough to make up for his absence, however if Ita attempted to replace his hand in any form, then the penalty would be death.
 
“I understand.” The boy would say. Considering the situation, what else was there for him to say? The loss of his hand was essential if Ita wished to rejoin his village and hold onto whatever life this currently was. Ita would cast off todays events as a necessary measure, and hopefully only a temporary one. Luckily for Ita, Xyxer was unaware of Ita’s potential; and the loss of his hand wouldn’t prove to be too unfortunate, however it would provide a learning curve for him to overcome. For the time being, Konoha was under the control of Kiri and If Ita wished to one day liberate his village, he must first play his role from within.
 
Motioning his attention towards the body, “What shall you do with him?” Ita would listen if the Mizukage felt inclined to informing him. If he didn’t, then Ita wouldn’t pursue it any further. Before ending their meeting, Ita would pursue one more concern. “Maybe I could be of use to you, Lord Mizukage.” Ita took a deep breath, “My time as a Jounin within this village has been spent, well, underutilized. I seek the opportunity to work directly underneath someone of power, such as yourself, not to continue to spend my time chaperoning Genin and Chuunin around the forest.” Pausing for a moment to give Xy an idea of what he could possibly use him for, Ita would continue “I am best at infiltration and intelligence gathering, however I can hold my own in battle if I must.” Until now, Ita had kept his abilities mostly a secret within the village. Posing as an everyday shinobi whose duties typically revolved around leading teams of Genin on low ranked missions or assisting them in training. The only time he had gotten to truly show off his power was during the Jonin exams, however his time spent there was overshadowed by the abilities of his departed friend. Throughout the course of this meeting, Ita had presented himself to be the perfect subordinate; now it was time to find out if he had played his role correctly. Regardless of how shitty the situation was, Ita figured there was something to be gained by it; even if it meant working directly for the enemy.

The pool of blood forming beneath the body of the mutilated and the mutilator caused some amusement to the monster. Boy, that was going to be a pain to rub out of the floor, hopefully the janitors here were top notch. It was the capital of the world, after all. Ita showed an acceptance for what Xyxer desired and that was good enough for him. Perhaps in time the boy would prove himself to be a vital asset to either the village or Xyxer, perhaps even both if fate wove its threads in such a way that allowed such an.. extraordinary happening. Yet he decided to spoil it almost immediately as he asked about the unconscious Tau on the ground, addressing the elephant in the room.

He looked up towards Ita for a few seconds, wondering whether he truly asked that question before determining the bloodloss had simply made him woozy, a normal side effect, "Know your place, Ita Uchiha." He answered definitively, his hand now removing itself from the hilt of his blade and folding over his torso once more as the boy spoke about his inpressive resume. Xyxer's shoulders lifted for a moment before dropping, a puzzled look on his face, "You can say you're good at infiltration and subterfuge as much as you desire, but you're not showing, nor telling me why or how. For all I know your infiltration consists of transforming into a loaf of bread and hiding in Little Red Riding Hood's basket. Please, do go on." Xyxer encouraged after the quip, deciding to see what the male had to offer since he desired to leave the village so badly.