“You haven't been acting up at all, Daimyo!” Karin commended as she gazed down into the eyes of the head she cradled in her right arm, having leaned against a wall facing where the eastern gate used to be before Sasuke obliterated it. “I'm surprised; I was sure you'd try to put up more resistance... Men that don't try are no fun.”
“Karin, look up! It's Sasuke!” Sakura exclaimed as she pointed to the eastern gate from where she was standing: between the pit in the centre of the floor and the northern hallway, so she could monitor the thirteen knocked out Frost ninja and look for Sasuke's return simultaneously. Karin did as instructed as immediately noticed Garuda flying through the opening on the east end with Sasuke atop his back holding a scroll. A few moments later, Garuda landed a few feet away from the pit, and Sasuke disembarked from his battle summon, cancelling him as soon as he reached the floor.
“Sakura, Karin, I have the...” Sasuke stopped himself as he noticed the Frost Daimyo's head in Karin's arms, freezing him stiff.
“What's the matter, Sasuke?” Karin asked as she walked up to him. “It's not like you to be squeamish seeing a severed head!”
“Where's the rest of him?” Sasuke asked in response.
“Down that hole in the floor.” Sakura interjected as she approached the others. “The Frost Daimyo attacked you even after Karin sealed his temples...”
“So you cut off as many Tenketsu as you could all at once.” Sasuke inferred.
“That's not all!” Sakura said as shook her head, then turned to face the unconscious Frost ninja. “He called reinforcements, and I took all thirteen of them out at once. All of them are alive though!”
“Good... We might be able to make it through this without any casualties.” Sasuke replied, looking at the Frost Daimyo's head intently. “Sakura, heal this head so he can talk. Karin, tie all the others up so they don't interfere in our interrogation.”
“Got it!” Karin affirmed as she tossed the Frost Daimyo's head to Sakura, who caught it with both hands. Karin then proceeded to run to the northern hall.
“You sure about this, Sasuke?” Sakura wondered as she placed the Frost Daimyo's head gently on the floor, preparing to heal it. “He might not react any differently than Hidan did...”
“How he reacts is his decision, not ours.” Sasuke objected as he knelt down next to Sakura, his eyes focused on the Daimyo. “And he has a right to know the truth either way.”
“You're right. Sorry.” Sakura apologized, putting all her concentration on healing the Daimyo's head.
***
“... help me, Lord Jashin! Please he-” the Frost Daimyo stopped his chants as he noticed he was able to speak once more.
“At this point I'm sure Jashin isn't going to come to your rescue.” Sasuke remarked as he stared down at the talking head, holding the scroll addressed to the Lightning Daimyo out so the Frost Daimyo was looking squarely at it. “And this message is never reaching its destination.” At that moment, the Frost Daimyo began laughing.
“So that plan was foiled... Ha ha ha... it doesn't matter!” the Frost Daimyo espoused. “Lord Jashin the Second's prophecy is iron-clad! The time it becomes reality just hasn't happened yet!”
“You won't be saying that after you've learned what we did about your 'god'.” Karin interjected as she calmly walked back to the others' position with her arms crossed, having restrained all the Hidden Frost Ninja in Adamantine Sealing Chains, taking extra precautions for the six with Curse Energy. “By the way, Sasuke... one of the Frost ninja over there had the same chakra as that guy that was around our prison cell in the Hidden Cloud.”
“That confirms my suspicions. Thank you, Karin.” Sasuke smirked. “This Daimyo had a mole in the Hidden Cloud Village, and they were eavesdropping on us.” Sakura and Karin gasped in unison at the revelation.
“That's why I didn't sense anyone with Curse Energy when we flew past here on our way to the Hidden Sand Village!” Karin figured, her jaw dropping. “You knew I was coming and hid underground to avoid detection!”
“And here I was going to have that man receive Fuzai's body... What delicious irony that would have been.” the Frost Daimyo chuckled, before promptly stopping. “Wait a minute; you were going to tell me some sort of truth, yet I'm the one revealing secrets! I demand to know this truth at once!”
“Then let's dispel all the illusions you've been under since we came here, one at a time.” Sasuke announced. “Starting with that genjutsu I put you in; I recall you saying you were unsure why you were placed in it.”
“Yes, I did say something to that effect...” the Frost Daimyo recollected. “Tell me why, now!”
“You believed those four Frost ninja that came in with us exploded like in the genjutsu, because their bodies disappeared and we were covered in blood.” Sakura explained. “But that in itself was an illusion; you were caught in the genjutsu before you triggered the explosion, so it never went off in reality. While you were in the genjutsu, we knocked out the four Frost ninja with us and took their bodies outside the palace, where Karin tied them up. Then we came back here and splashed ourselves with the blood on the floor to make it look like the explosion still occurred, knowing you wouldn't be able to use it to kill us if Karin's Jashin impersonation failed.”
“I ended that genjutsu within seconds!” the Frost Daimyo protested. “You would not have had the time to accomplish that magic trick!”
“That's just how you perceived things.” Sasuke added. “The genjutsu you were placed in was no ordinary one; it was a Tsukiyomi.”
“Tsukiyomi?!” The Frost Daimyo regurgitated in panic. “You mean, like Infinite Tsukiyomi?!”
“It's nowhere near that powerful, but there are similarities.” Sasuke continued. “In particular, Tsukiyomi allows one to alter a target's perception of time. My brother used it to inflict three days of torture on his opponents in a matter of seconds. I did the opposite; what seemed like seconds to you was actually minutes in reality. That's the extent of my own Tsukiyomi's time altering capability, nothing compared to Itachi's... but it gave us enough time to pull of our stunt.”
“Why go to such lengths?” the Frost Daimyo implored. “You wasted energy to avoid the elimination of your enemies... It would have been easier just to let me destroy them before you...”
“But then they would have become a sacrifice.” Karin rebutted. “Nothing hurts more than learning that someone you trusted and devoted your life to didn't even care when you poured your heart to them... that they wouldn't hesitate to get rid of you the moment you became the slightest burden to them... I've experienced that first-hand... It's fucking unbearable is what it is! It's such a terrible feeling that I wouldn't wish that pain on anyone. Not that team of Frost ninja, and not you either! That's why we saved that team!”
“Not me either?” the Frost Daimyo asked, perplexed. “What do you mean? I'm no one's sacrifice!”
“That's where you're wrong.” Sasuke rebuked. “Allow me to dispel the next illusion... When I told you that Jashin was dead, I lied. I was trying to demoralize you, make you slip up during the upcoming fight, psychological warfare and nothing more, though it seemed to have the opposite effect than intended... The truth, for you anyway, is much worse than that.”
“Worse... Something could be worse than Lord Jashin's demise? Don't fool yourselves.” the Frost Daimyo scolded. “Nothing could delight more than seeing Lord Jashin face to face for the first time ever! That My Lord is still alive is only good news!”
“First time ever... that's another illusion.” Sakura pointed out, making the Frost Daimyo raise an eyebrow. Sasuke and Karin nodded to confirm her words. “By the time you met Jashin the Second, Jashin himself used the Jashin Succession Technique to steal his son's body... You, and the whole cult for that matter, thought you were talking with Jashin Uzumaki the Second, when it was Jashin Uzumaki the First the whole time.”
“Then what does that make Lord Jashin the Second's Prophecy?!” the Frost Daimyo asked fervently, overwhelmed with disbelief. “If Lord Jashin was in control of His Son's body when he told it to me, then...”
“Exactly... that prophecy wasn't a prophecy in the first place.” Sasuke stated, the weight of his words falling on the Frost Daimyo completely and utterly, the severed head's eyes going blank as he foamed at the mouth in terror. “Jashin's son wasn't receiving divine messages about the future from his ascended father or anything like that... Jashin's son was actually Jashin himself, and made up a 'prophecy' as a means to manipulate you and the rest of his would-be followers into doing his bidding. Jashin may have promised you that you would take over the world, but from the very beginning, you were nothing more than a tool to him, no more valuable than anyone else he'd casually destroy without a second thought. He used you, and now that you've stopped being useful to him, he's thrown you away.”
“You don't know that!” the Frost Daimyo desperately denied. “Lord Jashin may be coming to save me right this second!”
“Actually... I do know that.” Sasuke remarked grimly. “I got my proof when I learned it was you that tried to keep me from leaving this castle earlier.”
“You mean Lord Jashin... is already here?!” the Frost Daimyo inferred frantically.
“No shit, old man!” Karin responded as she stomped her feet next to the Daimyo's head. “When Sasuke said he defeated Jashin in the Shinigami's dimension, he was telling the truth! The only part he lied about was Jashin dying; he survived the battle and was freed from the Shinigami along with everyone else! And where the fuck do you suppose his soul went, if not into your body or Hidan's?!”
“His Holy Grail...” the Daimyo realized. Sasuke, Karin, and Sakura all solemnly nodded in confirmation. “Then Lord Jashin could have communicated with me any time I drank from His Holy Grail today... He could have warned me... could have assisted me... could have saved me... Yet he did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!” At that moment, the Frost Daimyo began crying bloody tears, consumed entirely by despair.
“That's how much you're worth to Jashin right now.” Sasuke concluded. “Now that you know... what will you do with that information?”
“What will I do, you ask?” the Frost Daimyo, amidst his tears, began to grin. “If the prophecy I came to believe in was a smokescreen fabricated to use me, then I shall have my revenge the only way fitting... I will make that prophecy REAL! I will work to erase all traces of Lord Jashin's mortal existence! But as I am a mere talking head, my options are limited... I have no choice but to ask for your co-operation! If you kill Lord Jashin once and for all on my behalf, I'll recant those scrolls in your possession and free everyone upstairs with no hassle!”
“Only if you publicly confess to all your crimes.” Sasuke responded. “Karin and I are prepared to revoke our pardons, whether or not you're willing to pretend we didn't intercept your letters. It's only fitting you come clean too... after all, you'd be violating the Fifth Commandment of Jashin if you didn't.”
“The Fifth Commandment... Thou Shalt Take Credit For All Thine Massacres...” the Frost Daimyo recalled. “I was going to go public with every crime I ever committed once I became The One and Only King and thus had enough power to ensure I would never get punished for them, as the Fifth Commandment does not say when to take credit, only that you do... But now I cannot afford to be so lax. To fulfil my revenge, I must follow the spirit of the Ten Commandments of Jashin along with the letter! I will even assist you in your endeavour!”
“Assist us how?” Sakura wondered.
“I shall recount to you everything that transpired here since before dawn, beginning with that Jugo fellow bumping his head on a tree after losing control of his flight!” the Frost Daimyo exclaimed. That must have been when Gyuki died... So he reacted like Kurama did... Sasuke thought.
“Make sure you tell us exactly when everyone drank blood from the Holy Grail when you do!” Karin admonished. “That way, if Jashin's taken someone else's body already, we might have an idea whose it is!”
“Very well... I'll do just tha- AGGHHH!!!!” Suddenly, the Frost Daimyo cut himself off, and he started to loudly cough up blood.
“Lord Daimyo!” Sakura shouted as she looked down at the elderly head's coughing fit.
“Get back!” Karin screamed as she unfolded her arms and shot a chain at the Frost Daimyo's tongue from where she stood. “He's gonna blow!”
“What?!” Sakura cried in disbelief. Instinctively, Sasuke grabbed Sakura and jumped out of the way, giving Karin space to disarm the Frost Daimyo. The next moment, the chain hit its mark, seemingly stopping the impending destruction.
“What is right... Trying to explode right after promising to help us? The fuck was going on in ol' Daimyo's head?!” Karin asked in frustration as she retracted her chain and began pacing. “Is it possible? He did have to lie about his loyalties and identity for over a century...” she whispered to herself. Her thoughts were distracted, however, after a few dozen steps, when she sensed something peculiar.
Peculiar and horrifying.
“Oh god!” Karin screamed once more as she faced the Frost Daimyo's severed head and tried to throw out more chains, but mere moments before she reached the Daimyo, his entire head exploded in a fountain of his own blood. On reflex, Karin did a back flip to distance herself from the blast. Opposite to her, Sasuke got between the Frost Daimyo and Sakura and stretched out his hand, absorbing the very edge of the explosion. When the explosion cleared, he noticed a black wisp with white skeltal markings in the centre. The moment he saw it, he knew exactly what it was.
“The Frost Daimyo's soul... It's been forcibly ejected from his body!” Sasuke announced to the women, his Rinnegan being the only eye capable of seeing it.
“Then he can't talk to us!” Sakura pointed out anxiously.
“Can you... still use the Human Path to read his mind?” Karin asked as she slowly walked over to Sasuke and Sakura.
“No... the Rinnegan only lets me see disembodied spirits, not touch them.” Sasuke shook his head. “I'd need Six Paths Sage Mode to use the Human Path on a mind with no body... Or the Shinigami providing a substitute for physical energy in the target... So that's what happened!” Sasuke smacked his own forehead as he began sweating at the revelation. “Jashin... Jashin detonated the Frost Daimyo's head before he could leak anything valuable to us in any way! He payed attention when I took the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror Shield off Big Brother's hands! He didn't have his sight by then, but his other senses must have tipped him off to how the Human Path works... Jashin really did take his defeat to heart! Karin, did you sense anyone's chakra acting up in the higher floors?!”
“Sorry, Sasuke...” Karin bowed her head in shame, letting her arms fall to her sides. “I was caught off-guard by the Frost Daimyo's head exploding after I already sealed off his tongue... I wasn't paying attention to the chakra upstairs! I don't know where the Daimyo's head was being detonated from!... Dammit...” Karin then started crying, looking at the ceiling in discontent with herself. “I could have learned who Jashin's taken over and I fucking blew it!”
“It's not your fault.” Sakura interjected, stepping past Sasuke and embracing Karin in her arms. Karin felt Sakura's hug and relaxed herself in Sakura's hold, but kept her gaze skyward, focusing her Mind's Eye of the Kagura on the seven people she sensed on the floor above. “Jashin sacrificed the Frost Daimyo to avoid exposing himself, and did so in a way to specifically let down your guard...”
“That's what stings about it...” Karin tried to explain. “I told the Frost Daimyo I didn't want any more sacrifices... and one was made right in front of my eyes. And I could have prevented it if I was just a bit more observant...”
“There's still something you can do.” Sasuke spoke up as he approached the women before him. “We can't undo the past, but at least we can make sure the Frost Daimyo didn't die as only a sacrifice... There's something you can do to make sure his will still lives on beyond what Jashin forced on him.”
“There is?” Karin thought aloud, a glimmer of hope returning to her eyes.
“Yes... this is something only you can do. Come on... let's clean up outside while we discuss what I have in mind.”
***
“What the hell's going on down there?!” Tenten shouted in protest from her seat at the dinner table. “The Daimyo and the Frost ninja haven't come back up and it's been half an hour!”
“People are coming to our rescue, most likely.” C explained. “Down on the ground floor, I sensed the chakra of Sasuke Uchiha, Karin Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno... and I sensed the Frost Daimyo's chakra disappear about ten minutes after they arrived.”
“Then Sasuke's team won.” Jugo smiled.
“We don't know that for sure.” A objected. “For one thing, if the Frost Daimyo's chakra really did disappear... then WHY ARE WE STILL BOUND TO OUR SEATS BY BLOOD?!”
“This turned out so dull...” Darui looked at his food in shame. “My first mission as Raikage was a total failure... Sorry, everybody...”
“Don't beat yourself up over it so much...” Fuzai consoled. “You just failed to notice the Frost Daimyo tricked us all. Compared to my mistakes, that's nothing...”
“We all failed, Fuzai...” Nodan sombrely stated. “Hidan... if I had been a more supportive father, what would be doing now?...”
“It's Sasuke Uchiha and the others!” C exclaimed, his eyes widening. “They're coming up here!” At once, everyone turned their eyes towards the door that the Frost Daimyo exited from in exhilaration at the prospect that they could be saved. In due time, just as C sensed, Sasuke entered the room, followed by Karin, with Sakura at the rear. In spite of C's expectations, however, the first thing the three of them did was not free him and the six others from their bindings; instead, they stood opposite them and surveyed the room, not addressing the captives immediately.
“Uchiha! What are you doing here?!” A demanded.
“We're here to save you, of course.” Sasuke answered as he focused his attention on the goblet in a far corner of the room next to a large gourd, a silver serrated sword, and a golden rope. “And as for that question you screamed earlier... well, let me answer that as straightforwardly as I can. Since the Frost Daimyo was killed a little while ago, Jashin's been controlling the blood binding you all.”
“JASHIN?!” everyone seated yelled in bewilderment.
“But didn't you defeat Jashin and save Karin?” Jugo objected.
“Jashin was defeated, but he wasn't destroyed.” Sakura explained, facing everyone. “When Sasuke defeated Jashin and freed everyone from the Shinigami's dimension, Jashin's soul escaped... into the Holy Grail.”
“Then...” Nodan's eyes went blank with shock at the implications.
“Yes... Jashin might have taken over any one of you.” Sasuke continued. “He could have also taken over no one, or he could have taken over all of you. The only thing we know for sure is that Jashin's soul is somewhere in this room, and inside a body; I didn't see his soul anywhere with my Rinnegan on the way up, so his soul must be somewhere my Rinnegan can't see it.” He paused to glance over at Jugo. “That also means that right now, I can't trust anything any of you say. Not even you, Jugo... The seven of you may have prepared a cover story and repeated it enough times to bypass the one ability I can trust right now. I assume it needs no introduction to any of you.” He finished as he turned to look at Karin, who was standing between himself and Sakura.
“Hi everybody!” Karin gleefully greeted as she waved to the crowd restrained by blood.
“So you're going to have Karin detect all of our lies... on your terms.” Jugo inferred. “But isn't there a problem with that strategy?” We learned from Orochimaru that Fuzai's immune to Karin's lie detector... he thought.
“Of course there is, Jugo... it's this right here.” Sasuke stated as he walked over to the Holy Grail and pointed at it, everyone's eyes trailing him. “There's a possibility Jashin hasn't left the Holy Grail yet. I'm going to deal with that right now.” Immediately following Sasuke's boast, he covered himself in a suit of purple chakra armour, complete with a shield at his back and a purple sword overlaying his normal one. He's avoiding the real issue... That must mean he doesn't want Jashin to find out about it... Jugo thought.
“Those are the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror Shield, aren't they?!” Tenten squealed, her face turning red. “Where did you get those weapons?! Please... Please tell me!”
“If Jashin wants to stop me from sealing the Holy Grail in another dimension, he can tell you himself.” Sasuke refused as he drew the spiritual sword with his right hand and pointed it at the Holy Grail.
“Isn't this a little extreme?” Darui wondered. “Why don't we just put it in Two Lights Valley instead?”
“Two Lights Valley isn't a safe place anymore.” Sasuke explained. “The living proof of that is sitting right next to you.” he said as he gave Fuzai a cold stare.
“Sasuke's right about that, Darui.” Fuzai agreed. “Lord Orochimaru and I were able to meet there in secret for a dozen years with no one from the village getting a clue.”
“Now, let's see if all your bonds are released.” As Sasuke declared this, he swung the Totsuka Blade at the Holy Grail, the golden goblet and the blood inside it spiralling into the gourd at the hilt. Once the entire gourd was secure within the Totsuka Blade, Sasuke dispelled the miniature Susano'o and diverted his focus to the table.
“Still confined... So Jashin's soul is inside one of you after all.” Sasuke confirmed as he walked back to Karin's side.
“There were six others that were fed Jashin's blood, aside from us and the Frost Daimyo.” Fuzai pointed out. “Couldn't Jashin have taken over one of them?”
“That's impossible!” Karin shook her head. “It was Jashin that killed the Frost Daimyo, and at that time, the six Frost ninja were tied up by my Adamantine Sealing Chains, and I made sure to mess up their chakra flow as much as I could! If Jashin had taken over one of their bodies, he wouldn't have been able to make the Daimyo's head go boom!”
“So it has to be one of you seven, as much as I hate to admit it...” Sakura concluded.
“Then it can't be Fuzai either!” Darui exclaimed. “His chakra control isn't good enough. You made sure of that yourself with the Five-Pronged Seal, Sasuke...”
“Good point.” Sasuke stroked his chin. “But just in case, we'll start with him first... I've fought Jashin enough times to know not to take any chances with him.”
“Start what, Uchiha?” A asked, irritated.
“The part where I come in!” Karin declared. “I'm going to ask each of you a simple yes or no question, you answer with a full sentence, and I'm going to try to detect for a lie. That way we can be sure who Jashin is no matter how they respond!”
“So what question would that be?” Fuzai implored, shivering in anxiety.
“This is my question:” Karin began, starting at Fuzai intently. “Yes or no: are you the man known as Jashin?” Everyone went quiet, partially out of anticipation for Fuzai's answer, and partially befuddled at how direct the question was. After a few moments of deliberation, Fuzai gave an answer.
“Yes... Yes, I am the man known as Jashin.” All the others sitting at the table gasped, Darui the loudest of all, who could barely hold back his dsbelief.
“So what's you're reading, Karin?” Sasuke prompted. No... what are you thinking, Sasuke? Fuzai... Jugo was pondering, when suddenly Karin shot several Adamantine Sealing Chains out of her right arm, confining Fuzai in layers upon layers of them, so completely that the Blood Prison binding him to the chair was no longer visible.
“Imagine that.” Karin remarked, smug. “Fuzai's lying!” Sasuke nodded upon the announcement and vanished before everyone's eyes, reappearing on top of Fuzai's dinner plate with his whole hand placed firmly on Fuzai's forehead.
“But if Fuzai's lying, then he can't be Jashin!” Darui protested, overwhelmed with panic.
“No, it means just the opposite.” Jugo stated. “It means that Fuzai is Jashin without a doubt.”
And here we have the Frost Daimyo’s sudden end, sacrificed by Jashin to keep him from talking moments before he gave any valuable info away. Despite this, Sasuke, Karin, and Sakura managed to identify where Jashin’s soul was hidden and in doing so, made sure the Frost Daimyo didn’t die for nothing.
How did they figure out Jashin was in Fuzai’s body? And what will happen to Jashin now that he’s been discovered? Find out next time!
