How should one put it...
Some things simply cannot unfold as expected. It can't be helped. A person's destiny is often set the moment they are born… Of this, Shuying was certain.
The instant she opened her eyes to the world, Shuying understood what she had to do, what was required of her. It was a fate that had long been decided.
Now, she was merely walking the path that had been laid out for her at birth.
"So… I don't want to kill you, but you must die here today…" Shuying said, her tone flat as she looked down upon the masked man wielding the chakra blade.
Hayate Gekko had thought he was moments away from seeing Yugao again, but fate had played a cruel joke on him. His journey to the afterlife was interrupted by a girl in a kimono and a fox mask.
"An intruder…" the masked man growled, tightening his grip on his chakra blade, his eyes wary as he watched the girl.
"Mm, you could see it that way," a placid voice drifted from beneath the girl's mask. "Tell me, do you have any last wishes? Consider it my atonement to you."
"Last wishes…" The masked man faltered for a moment, then, without another word, raised his blade and charged with the force of a thunderbolt. The sword came down in a high arc, poised to cleave the girl in two.
"Sigh…" The girl seemed to let out a helpless sigh. It was followed by the sound of tearing flesh and a muffled grunt.
The masked man retreated in a flash, half his body already stained crimson. The arm that held the longsword was gone, leaving behind a gaping, gushing wound at his shoulder.
"Those from Root are said to be emotionless killing machines." A longsword had appeared in Shuying's hand—the very same one the masked man had just been wielding.
With a casual flourish, Shuying continued in her even tone, "But in the end, humans are not truly weapons. If you have a last wish, I will do my best to fulfill it."
"I…" The masked man's eyes showed no trace of fear, only emptiness. "Complete the mission."
"I see." Shuying was silent for a moment. "I will complete it for you. Now… you can die."
With that, Shuying's figure vanished. The masked man's pupils dilated as blood began to spurt from his neck. Finally, unable to withstand the pressure, his head flew into the air.
Thump. The headless body collapsed to the ground. Behind him, Shuying stood, blood dripping from the blade in her hand.
Hayate stared blankly. The girl had just killed a ninja who was easily his equal, and she had done it with an air of casual indifference. That kind of composure could only come from an overwhelming difference in power. The man had been a Jonin-level expert, at the very least.
He… was not in her league at all.
Shuying tossed the sword aside and turned to face Hayate, who was still staring at her in a daze. When her gaze met his, he flinched, then slumped against a tree with a look of resignation. "Go on, I'm ready. I have no last wishes."
"What are your plans now?" Shuying asked with a shrug, her voice faint.
"Hm?" Hayate was taken aback. "You're not going to kill me?" he asked hesitantly.
"Why would I kill you?" Shuying asked, as if the question was odd.
"But you, just now…" Hayate stammered.
"I was lying to him," Shuying interrupted.
"Then, why did you still ask… ask him…" Hayate's mind couldn't keep up.
"To let him die with some peace of mind. And to make myself feel a little better," Shuying said, unconcerned.
"…" Hayate was speechless. A self-deprecating smile touched his lips. "I've never heard of anyone like you in the village. You really are an intruder. Go on, what do you want to know? I'll tell you everything."
Since the village had already abandoned him, he no longer felt the need to offer it his loyalty.
"Your actions would be a betrayal of the village. Are you sure you want to do this?" Shuying asked, her pace unhurried.
"Betrayal… Tsk…" Hayate spat at her words, his voice full of contempt. "It was the village that betrayed me. I have no reason to keep its secrets any longer."
"The village did not betray you," Shuying said earnestly.
"It didn't?" Hayate stared, then burst into wild laughter. "If it didn't betray me, then what was tonight's assassination attempt? If it didn't betray me, why was Yugao's… her very existence erased? Yes, I was too naive before. We shinobi are nothing but pawns the village can discard at any time. When we are no longer needed, even the traces of our existence are wiped away without a shadow of a doubt. How laughable… heh…"
Shuying watched the unhinged Hayate in silence. A crazed look appeared on his face as he continued to scream, "Go on, say it! The Third Hokage, the Fifth Hokage, they'll sacrifice anyone for the good of the village! Lord Hizashi, yes! My senior, Sakumo, yes! And Sakura Haruno, the one who caused this whole mess, yes! And now, it's finally the turn of a small fry like me…"
"Hah… hah…" Hayate covered half his face, panting heavily. His voice turned to a hateful whisper. "Sakura Haruno… just because her master is the Fifth Hokage, even after being branded a rogue ninja, she's still allowed to return to the village… Heh… heheh, this is the village. A village where a select few can do as they please… People like us are nothing but pieces in their game…"
"That's right…" Hayate staggered to his feet, a crazed, sinister look in his eyes. "I understand now. So that's how it is. Hahahahahaha… To cover up the crimes Sakura Haruno committed, they have to silence everyone who participated in that mission… Hahahahaha… So that's it. Hahahaha… No wonder… It's not just Yugao's file. The files of all the ninja she killed that day are gone… Ha… hahaha…"
Hayate collapsed to the ground again, his face in his hands, tears streaming through his fingers.
"Yugao… I… I… I miss you… I'm… I'm coming to find you… to leave this dark world…" Hayate's trembling hand pulled out a kunai and aimed it at his own heart.
He looked up at the pure, white moon one last time, then plunged the kunai into his chest without hesitation. Blood soaked his clothes. Lying on his back, his breathing grew fainter and fainter. His lips were still moving, as if calling the name of his beloved.
Shuying simply stood by and watched, making no move to stop him. Hayate's reaction had been beyond her expectations, but she could understand how he felt. It was the despair of shattered faith, a hellish despair. She, too, had once known such a feeling.
It was an extreme terror, the despair of being alive in body but with a soul trapped in hell, the helplessness of being targeted by the malice of the entire world.
Shuying slowly walked over to the dying Hayate. She did not try to heal him. When a person's faith is shattered, living is no different from being dead. At least now, he was dying with hope—the hope of reuniting with the one he loved… welcoming death…
"Do you have any last wishes?" Shuying leaned down and asked in the gentlest voice she could manage.
Hayate didn't seem to hear her. He paid her no mind. Shuying was silent for a moment before adding, "This time, I'm not lying."
Hayate's unfocused eyes suddenly sharpened, but the focus quickly turned to hatred. He struggled to turn his head, his gaze fixed on Shuying. His lips moved, and with great difficulty, he forced out two words.
"Re… venge…"