Naruto : Venom

He dies now. Bloodily. Messily. Painfully. And I’m going to rip anyone who gets in my way to shreds. Preferably literally, today no one walks away. Today I will live up to my title. Today they feel the wrath of the Heart Thief.

~Yes! Show me your resolve!~

...

My earth heart explodes out of my back, tearing right through all of my layers of clothing and stands protectively next to Sasuke. I lunge at Tayuya’s killer with cold calculated fury in my eyes.

He merely stands there awaiting my approach. His teammates don’t, they break off and start running towards me, they’re going to try to intercept me.

SQUELCH

Another tanto finds its way into my chest, but unlike the last time I’m stabbed from the front. My right arm shoots out with my fingers splayed like claws. I slam my hand into the chest of the shinobi who was stupid enough to try and stop me and dig my fingers into his soft flesh. The Jiongu surges out of my fingers and spears through his muscles and rib cage and wraps around his heart.

I tear the still beating organ out of his chest.

~Earth.~

With my left hand I rip the tanto that is still in me out, along with it comes my destroyed water heart. In the still open wound I shove the earth heart into me as the shinobi I got it from hits the ground with a dull thud.

The Root shinobi aren’t phased by my brutal tactics, soon there’s another attacking me. This one lunges in close and swings their tanto at my neck in hopes of decapitating me. Probably to slow me down so they can have a chance at getting more of my hearts. Unfortunately for him, I’m still holding onto a tanto. Our two blades clash and my Jiongu enhanced strength overwhelms the Root shinobi. Their blade goes flying off towards the trees.

Again I slam my hand into their chest and will the Jiongu to wrap around their heart. With cold merciless eyes I look at him in disappointment as I rip out one of his most vital organs.

~Fire.~

The Jiongu takes the new heart and places it in its new home, my back.

SHINK SHINK SQUELCH

This time I’m attacked by three different shinobi all at once. Two of them removed my arms and the third stabbed me in my chest. I just lost my recently acquired earth heart. That’s alright, there are replacements right next to me.

The shinobi who stabbed my heart is the only smart one, he was quick to leap away from me once his task was completed. The other two weren’t.

The Jiongu surges out of where my arms were severed and wraps around the two shinobi on my sides. They start squirming and wriggling trying to escape but their efforts are in vain. There is no escape, not from my wrath.

The Jiongu does exactly what I want it to, it rips their chest apart. Their entrails plop out of their bodies and smack into the ground with a wet splat. The Jiongu carelessly tosses the bodies away and in the bloody aftermath scoops up their hearts.

~Water and Fire.~

”I want the best hearts with all affinities. Replace them as needed.” I demand. Something wet comes out of my back and rolls down my leg to the ground. Soon two new hearts are in my back, the Jiongu replaced the fire heart with the newly acquired one.

Menacing black threads reach out from my severed limbs and my stumps and connect together. They reel in my arms and sow them back on with painful efficiency.

The shinobi who most recently destroyed one of my hearts engages again. This time once he’s in range he swings at my neck, he’s going for a beheading.

CLANG

SHINK

Sasuke shunshined between us and with two quick strokes of his own sword intercepted the tanto and decapitated the Root shinobi. ”You don’t get to have all the fun.”

”About time you came around.” My gravely voice reverberates throughout the slaughter ground. I let the Jiongu out of my left hand and it burrows its way into the recently decapitated shinobi. ”Slaughter is always more fun with friends.”

~Earth.~

I reel the heart into my hand with the sound of flesh smacking flesh. I carelessly throw it over my shoulder to my hulking earth monster and it rapidly switches out hearts.

”Slaughter?” Sasuke eagerly says as he flicks his sword clean of blood. ”I can always go for a good slaughter.”

Only seven Root shinobi remain. I have to give them some credit, they’re not phased by me at all. They’re all in a protective formation with the one who killed Tayuya at the most secure spot. I’ll have to go through all of them if I want to get him. Good, that was my plan anyways.

My wind and fire hearts extend out of my back on a mass of thick black threads. They hover menacingly above my head. ”Burn.”

Out of each mask surges their respective element, and they blend into one giant attack. Fire hotter than the deepest bowels of hell itself furiously surges towards the remaining shinobi.

Three of the remaining seven shinobi quickly remove a small piece of paper from their forearms, then in unison they fly through hand signs and chat ”Earth Release: Indomitable Wall!”

~Host I can sense those three now. The seals they have are restricting their chakra, that’s the only way I can think of to hide from me.~

A wall of hardened stone easily three meters thick explodes upwards from the ground and intercepts my hellfire. Their defense succeeds in stopping my attack, but it’s close. The wall is little more than smoldering slag at this point, one gentle kick could knock it over.

I’m going to use that. My earth monster stomps on the ground and numerous pillars of earth form at a forty five degree angle and slam into the heaping mound of molten slag. The sudden force pushes it over backwards and I’m rewarded with the screams of two voices. They’re burning alive with no hope of escape.

”Water Release: Water Wave!” A new voice calls out as a wave of water rushes over the slag, cooling it off to tolerable levels.

~I can sense another.~

Two of the remaining five shinobi break off and sprint at Sasuke and I. One is coming from our left, the other our right. Except something is off, they’re not heading at us, they’re heading straight at my earth monster.

I watch in mild confusion and a great deal of amusement as they each swing their blades at what would be my neck height, but against my monster it’s more like waist height on it. Both blades connect and tear through it, but the monster quickly pulls itself together. Then it grabs each of the shinobi in a massive hand by the throat and squeezes.

Two sharp cracks echo through the air and the bodies are dropped unceremoniously to the ground.

”Genjutsu. I made them think it was you.” Sasuke comments from my side.

”I approve.” This time the remaining three shinobi flinch slightly at my voice. Good, they’re finally scared.

A massive hand made of black threads holds out one red lump to me. My earth monster collected the heart for me, how nice of it.

~Wind, the other had an inferior fire.~

The black tentacle with my wind mask leans over and switches out hearts then I pull both it and the fire mask back into me. I take the old wind heart and throw it at the Root shinobi. It bounces wetly twice then rolls to a stop before the remaining shinobi.

Two more shinobi approach us, this time they’re doing so slowly. They’re taking their time, looking for an opening. One goes towards Sasuke and the other me.

Going in slow is a mistake. It gives me plenty of time to let my ten chakra strings slither across the ground towards the soon to be dead nin. Once all of them have looped around him a few times, I make five elemental changes and pull.

He’s reduced to a thick reddish brown paste, there’s no way to identify that it was even a human.

THUD

Sasuke’s target’s body slides off his sword and hits the ground dully. He made short work of his own opponent by stabbing him through the spine.

We both make eye contact then slowly turn towards the last Root shinobi standing.

Said shinobi hesitantly takes a step backwards in fear. Good.

My earth monster stomps the ground again, this time two small jaws of earth clamp down on each of the murderers feet, both crushing them and trapping him so he can’t get away.

He falls to his hands and knees in pain, no longer capable of standing.

I slowly walk towards him, I can take my time now. He’s not going anywhere. Once I’m next to him, I squat down so we’re closer in height. I tenderly grab is forearm and twist it around until I see a piece of paper stuck to it.

”I’ll be taking this.” I gently peel it off, careful to keep it intact. I want to know what this seal does and how to counter it if possible. I will not be caught of guard again.

~He has lightning, it is better than ours. Shall we take it for ourselves?~

The downed shinobi gets his second wind, he tightens his grip on his tanto and swings it at my face, he’s not even aiming for my neck at this point. All he’s trying to do is get me away from him.

CLANG

”You could have dodged that.” Sasuke says idly as he holds the tanto at bay. ”You have enough scars the way it is, one on your face isn’t necessary.”

I reach out and grab the wrist of the arm that’s holding the tanto. I don’t crush it, no, I don’t even squeeze that hard. I just need a point of contact and this way I’ll be sure he won’t swing at me again. I let the Jiongu exit through my palm and into the wrist of the Root shinobi.

”This will hurt, it will be the most unbelievable pain you have ever experienced. If it is any consolation, I’ll be taking your heart. That means only most of you will be annihilated.” I push the Jiongu deeper into him. It’s tearing up his arm slowly, I can see the tendrils bulging out through his skin.

~Beautiful. This is what I am made for, this is my purpose. To be wielded by a host that has no qualms using me, to be wielded by a host that will use me in new ways, to be wielded by a host that I find worthy! Alvarcus Mar, you are the most worthy host I have ever had! Let me have free reign to do as I please! Turn me loose and the pain he will feel will be unrivaled for all time!~

”Granted.” The Jiongu shivers in pure joy, it’s one of the most pleasant things I’ve ever felt.

~Magnificent!~

With a quick flash of steel the Root shinobi’s head falls to the ground.

~NO! He robbed me of my toy!~

I stare at his body uncomprehendingly. I didn’t do that. The Jiongu didn’t do that. He should have hours more of suffering before he dies.

”Since when do we torture people?” Sasuke’s cold voice says from beside me. His sword is red with the blood of Tayuya’s killer. ”It should be enough that they die.”

”He killed someone I consider a friend.” I don’t look away from the body as it slumps to the ground, finally succumbing to gravity. ”He killed someone precious to me.”

”Alvarcus Mar you are better than him! Don’t lower yourself to his level. You got your vengeance, let that be enough.” A gentle hand falls onto my shoulder. ”It’s what makes you human, it’s what makes you a good person. Even if someone does one of the most unforgivable things to you, you don’t lower yourself to their level. You stand above them.”

He pulls me up to my feet.

”Do you think I want to torture Itachi for what he did to me?” Sasuke forces me to look at him. ”No, I simply want him out of this world. I have every right to want him to be tortured to death with the most despicable and horrifying tactics known to man, but I don’t wish that on him. I only want him dead. I will not corrupt myself for some sick sense of satisfaction. And you won’t either.”

”But I already have. I ripped all of these shinobi to pieces in an anger fueled rage.” And I felt good about it. I wore a sick twisted snake like smile the entire time.

”So? You were quick about it, you didn’t prolong their suffering. I’ll admit that some of the things you did were beyond brutal and will not be leaving my head for years, but you didn’t torture them.”

”I’ve tortured before. The Suna nin that killed my family.”

”Quit trying to argue this!” Sasuke yells at me. ”He killed your family right in front of you, of course you were going to react like that! When Itachi killed my family, that night I had every intention of skinning him alive brother be damned. Your emotions were wild, you weren’t yourself. You didn’t have anyone to look out for you, to keep you in check. But right now, right here, I’m here. I’m here to watch out for you when shit hits the fan, just like how you do it for me.”

We stare at each other for a long time, minutes pass in silence.

”Sasuke, you’re one hell of a friend.” I finally break the ever growing silence. ”Thank you.”

”You’d do the same for me.” He gives me a friendly pat on the back. ”Now, let’s get this cleaned up. Can’t have all these bodies lying about for anyone to stumble across.”

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