A man with a large scar across his nose stepped forward, gripping the hilt of a heavy sword.
"What the hell did you do to Ryū? Don't think you can act however you want just because you have a flashy nickname."
Fuko clasped her hands behind her back and rocked gently on her heels. "Hmm… it is a pretty cool nickname, right?"
"You killed Ryū!" Another man yelled.
"Yup! Weren't you all going to teach me a lesson? I figured that was a means to fight back, no?"
The man with the scar on his nose spat on the floor with a distasteful look on his face. "Fine then. Saves us the trouble of feeling bad, though I doubt anyone did anyway. You've been a privileged little bitch since the day you joined us."
Every single member of the cohort pulled out weapons.
From swords and axes to unique ones like chains, these weren't amateurs.
They spread out instinctively, forming a loose circle around her as they advanced. "Hey… you've got a pretty high bounty too, right, Princess?" Scar nose asked mockingly.
Fuko looked around, taking note of all thirty of the men.
Her smile widened a little. "Good." She whispered quietly.
Her hand moved, no hand signs, just a casual swipe through the air.
Ten men died instantly.
In the dark, no one could see well, so all they could comprehend was an invisible slash that crossed the entire circle in a straight line, slicing through bodies like paper. Torsos separated. Arms fell. Heads spun away into the sand as the clean cut passed through them.
For a moment, all of the survivors stared in confusion.
They couldn't understand what had happened, they couldn't see well enough to see the attack, no idea what had killed ten of them.
Then someone screamed.
"What the hell—?!"
Fuko swiped her fingers downward, faint white claws appearing on each of them as three more men split vertically from shoulder to hip.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
Now everyone else moved.
Bounty hunters charged from every direction, many of them glancing at Fuko's hands, where they could see what looked like faint ghostly claws.
Then, Fuko clapped her hands together one time.
Before anyone could even take note of her movement…
*BOOM!*
A large golden explosion tore five men apart instantly, sending bodies flying across the camp. The shockwave knocked two others off their feet before they could attack.
Fuko laughed. "Oh wow."
Her clawed warm swept sideways again, another invisible blade cut through the air.
A man sprinting toward her was cut in half at the waist, his upper body continuing forward for two more steps before dropping into the sand.
One of the hunters reached her from behind, axe raised high.
But Fuko ducked lazily, turned around and slapped the man across the face once.
The left side of the man's face suddenly lit up with faint golden sparks before…
*BOOM!*
The man's head exploded into a cloud of bloody mist.
Fuko straightened and brushed ash off her sleeve.
"Oh come on," she said. "You guys are supposed to be the best of the best."
Three hunters attacked together, but Fuko stepped into their range.
Her claws carved a gentle arc through the air.
Three invisible lines crossed them at different angles.
When she finished the motion, they were already falling apart.
One collapsed into two pieces, one lost both of his legs, one of them simply dropped to the floor as his torso slid off his hips.
The camp was a lot more chaotic now, with people running away screaming, trying to escape the seemingly invisible blades that were slicing them to shreds in the darkness.
Fuko walked forward calmly.
"First, you all wanted to kill my thirteen year old brother… then you talk down on him… then you try to assault me? God knows why I let you live this long."
As she walked, each casual gesture of her hands carved through another group.
A swipe upward, two heads lifted clean off their necks.
A small flick of her wrist, an invisible crescent traveled thirty meters and removed a man's entire arm and half of his chest.
A clap of her hands, a brutal explosion erupted inside a group trying to flee between the tents, turning three bodies into burning fragments.
She giggled. "I sure am glad there were more than five, this is quite fun."
One bounty hunter managed to throw a spear.
Fuko looked at it as it flew straight into her.
And shattered.
The spear stopped just inches away from her body and folded into itself as if it was thrown into a wall.
She then snapped her fingers with a grin.
A large explosion hit the man square in the chest, separating his body into multiple pieces before he could comprehend what had happened.
Another tried to shoot her with a crossbow.
The moment the bolt left the string, another snap caused a bright golden explosion to eviscerate the man's head, leaving a burning torso collapsing into the sand.
Now there were only five bounty hunters left.
They stood frozen near the edge of the camp, it looked like these were the five that were approaching her first.
None of them dared to move.
One of them whispered hoarsely with a lisp, "Princess of Catastrophe…"
Fuko tilted her head. "Hmm? What's up?"
Her clawed fingers twitched, a sharp razor line crossed the group.
Four bodies fell apart, the one with a lisp being the only person standing.
The scrawny man dropped to his knees instantly. "W-wait!"
Fuko paused.
He looked up at her, shaking violently. "Please… I'm sorry. We didn't know… we didn't know you were—"
Fuko snapped her fingers.
*BANG!*
The man screamed as his left arm was blasted off.
"Didn't know I was what?" She asked, dropping down.
The man stared at her in horror, all he could see was the lower half of her face, not daring to look her in the eye.
"We… didn't know you were—"
She snapped her finger once more, eviscerating the man's other arm.
He screamed again.
Fuko waved her hand one more time, removing the man's head mid scream.
Silence returned to the camp, the fires crackling very faintly.
Bodies lay everywhere, tents burned from the various explosions.
Fuko stood near the center of it all, not breathing any heavier than normal as she looked around.
Thirty bounty hunters, gone in less than a minute.
She stretched her arms lazily. "Ahh," she sighed.
Then she smiled to herself. "That was quite refreshing, I wish they were stronger though. I miss fighting against those lions… I miss Shishio and Seijshi!" She groaned.
Walking back to her tent to gather all of her things, she muttered. "Hey, at least I know that old sage wasn't lying. These claws are awesome! Mix it with a little bit of Hino magic and boom, heads will roll! Picking the Lion was definitely the right choice, fits the wind affinity best despite fire being my favourite." She started talking to herself.
That's when she froze. "Shit! How am I supposed to find Sora now?!"
…
…
"Let's take this outside, don't wanna cause a ruckus in here… right?" Hikaru smiled.
The wind dragged the sand across the desert floor as he left, trailed by seven other men.
He allowed them to circle him.
Hikaru Ōtsutsuki stood calmly in the center of the circle.
This identity was a lot calmer, more composed than Sora's usual one. He had changed his outfit while transforming, one of his hands was on his sword while his cloak shifted slightly in the wind.
He glanced up at the two in front of him, one had curved swords while the other was the sand shinobi with the large blade. Another one had a spear, three others had short blades.
And then one little weirdo had a crossbow.
Sora sighed. "All weapon users… I wanted to fight against some Ninjutsu…" he muttered beneath his breath.
The largest man, the Sunagakure Ninja with the large sword spat into the sand. "Hikaru Ōtsutuki. I knew it was you."
Hikaru didn't answer, his green eyes simply scanned his opponents.
One of them laughed. "Hey, I'm only here for that bounty. An official one from the sand too, eh? What did you get yourself into, kid?"
Hikaru sighed. "I'm just looking for someone to train me."
The crossbow snapped, the bolt launching toward his chest.
Hikaru flickered.
The projectile passed through empty air as he used the body flicker jutsu without hand signs.
"Where—?!"
A blur appeared behind the crossbowman.
Hikaru's palm struck the man's throat with enough force to crush his windpipe. Before the body even hit the ground, Hikaru flickered again, appearing between the sand ninja and the swordsman as they turned in shock.
His hand moved to grab his Ninjato.
"Page One, Flower Reflection."
His stance shifted off center, body angled just enough that both of the swordsmen passed harmlessly by him as they swung at the same thing.
Hikaru's arm slipped forward in a small motion.
The first swordsman collapsed as Hikaru rammed the hilt of his sword into the man's ribcage.
The sand shinobi barely had time to widen his eyes before Hikaru's elbow drove into his jaw and snapped his neck.
Three bodies hit the sand.
The remaining four rushed him at once.
A spear lunged toward his chest, but Hikaru's feet moved lightly across the ground as he sheathed his Ninjato.
"Page Two, Still Water Mirror, Taijutsu Style."
For a moment, his movements matched the spear user perfectly, mirroring every adjustment of grip and footwork until the rhythm became unpredictable.
The spear thrust forward…
…and Hikaru stepped inside the arc.
His fist drove into the man's stomach, folding him instantly before a knee strike finished him off.
His body fell, then two more men came from his left.
Hikaru's fingers formed a quick seal. "Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Two identical figures burst into existence beside him, causing the hunters to hesitate for a split second.
It was enough, one of the clones blurred forward with a body flicker, intercepting the first attacker while the real Hikaru stepped toward the second.
"Page Three, Mist Draw, Taijutsu Style."
His body turned smoothly.
The motion was subtle, almost invisible, but the attacker suddenly found Hikaru behind him. A short, precise strike to the back of the neck dropped him immediately.
Hikaru looked at the last guy and moved his foot on the ground.
"Earth Style: Rising Stone."
A column of rock erupted beneath the man's feet, launching him into the air. Hikaru launched himself forward to meet him midair.
He grabbed the man's collar, twisting in the air and hurling him back down into the pillar of stone.
The man crashed into the pillar and smashed it, knocking the breath out of his lungs and shattering his spine.
Hikaru landed lightly beside him and brushed his shoulders.
He glanced up toward the doorway of the bar and saw multiple people observing him.
With that, he walked back into the bar and sat back down at the counter. "Hey, were any of those guys worth anything?" He suddenly asked the bartender.
The man wasn't exactly phased by what had just happened, it was pretty common to have fights break out.
"Unfortunately not." He replied with a smile.
Hikaru clicked his tongue. "Is there any way to get rid of my bounty?" He asked.
The bartender thought for a moment before replying. "I suppose you could go and make up for the trouble you caused?"
"Forget it." Hikaru replied, turning invisible and leaving the bar.