Slick…

The Kaguya clan leader licks his tongue and looked at Mei like a predatory wolf. ​​

Snap… snap… crack…

He twisted his left arm at a weird angle. The bones of the arm snapped and cracked detaching from the shoulder.

Pop… snap

He pulls the bone from the hinge of his shoulder and waves it to straighten the bone.

Clank… clank…

He blocked all of Mei's kunai and shurikens.

Clank…

Mei engages the Kaguya clan leader in close combat.

"Let me see how long will you be able to handle my attacks. Kuku…"

He launches one heavy attack after another.

Chip… chip...

Mei's kunai continues to chip away from the attacks.

'My kunai isn't as durable as his bone... and the force of his attack is pushing me back. In terms of Taijutsu, I am not his match.'

Mei continues to stall time to recover chakra. She monitors the remaining members of the Kaguya clan.

'They have twenty people remaining on their side and we have seven. Things aren't looking good for us. I have enough chakra for one or two jutsu.'

Mei looks at the Kaguya clan leader.

'I guess, he doesn't have enough chakra either. I have to kill him to lower their morale and make them lose their will to fight.'

Swish… swish…

Mei throws two more shurikens at the leader and jumps back.

She makes some hand signs and opens her mouth.

"Water Release: Hidden Mist Jutsu"

Mei releases a pearly dense mist around her and the Kaguya clan leader. The mist fogs the leader's vision, who continues to swing the bone sword around.

"Using this technique again,... you Kiri weaklings won't be able to escape death by such means. Haha…"

The Kaguya clan leader makes some hand signs and slams his palm on the ground.

"Dance of the Seedling Fern"

He summons multiple bone swords from the ground.

Stab…

The bones pierce through Mei's body.

"Huff… huff… Kiri shinobis are mere weaklings. They feared our abilities and isolated us from the village.

Now we will have our revenge."

The leader falls on knees. He has a smirk on his face as he looks at Mei's body.

Burble… burble…

The body turns into water and disappears.

Swish… Stab…

A kunai pierces the Kaguya clan leader's throat as Mei appears behind him.

Keuk…

The leader looks at Mei with wide-eyes before dropping on the ground. His body lifelessly falls on the ground as blood splatters on Mei's clothes.

Whoosh… whoosh…

The mist clears away to reveal the scene of the Kaguya clan leader's death.

"LEADER… LEADER… DIED…"

The excitement of the Kaguya clan leader dies down as fear encroaches their heart.

"How… how can the invincible clan leader fall in battle?..."

The Kaguya clan members drop their bone weapons as they silently look at their leader's corpse.

"We… we lost. Our LEADER… he just died in battle… No… no… I don't want to die too. No… don't kill me."

One of the Kaguya clan members comes to his senses.

"No… no... I don't want to die here."

He immediately turns around and dashs away from the battlefield.

The rest of the Kaguya clan members sobers up and follows his lead. All of them flee from the battle.

---------------------

At a nearby cliff,

Slick…

Orochimaru licks his lips as he stares at the slaughter happening below him.

"Kaguya Clan… A bunch of fools who can only find their path of life by fighting…"

Flick… flick…

Orochimaru tosses a test tube in his hand as he continues to monitor the Kaguya clan.

"They live through their instinct of fighting. Blood craving is infused deep down in their genes… with a body like that…"

Flick… Flick…

"They make the perfect test subject for my new research. With such an unstable mind... it is quite easy to manipulate them through a simple genjutsu."

Hissss….

A small white snake wraps around his arm and slithers near his right ear.

Hisss….

The snake hisses near his ear, relaying a message.

"So, it seems like the rat has fallen into the trap. Then I need to quickly finish this matter off."

Hiss…

The snake slithers and wraps around his arms. Orochimaru gently strokes the snake's head, as he watches the massacre.

"Oh! Interesting."

He stares curiously at Mei, who uses Lava Release and Boil Release to repel the Kaguya clan members.

"She is almost a perfect candidate for my new body with two Kekkei Genkai. But unfortunately, I can't lay a hand on her."

He notices the 'Terumi Clan' insignia on Mei's clothes.

Slash… slash…

One by one all the Kaguya clan members fall in battle as Orochimaru rests against a tree. The fire of slaughter and massacre burning in his eyes.

Slash…

"Oh! It seems like the death of their clan leader affected them to a great extent. It dispelled my genjutsu and now they are fleeing away from the fight. Kuku…"

Orochimaru chuckles and makes a hand seal.

"I can't allow my precious lab rats to flee from their experiments, can I?"

"Release"

A small curse marking appears in Orochimaru's palm.

Ba-dump… ba-dump…

The curse marks infuse some chakra and turn orange and spread over his hand before turning into black markings.

Similar marking appears around Kaguya clan member's necks who are fleeing from the battlefield.

Kimimaro who is running with his clan members feels a suffocating sensation at his neck as something tries to choke him.

Cough… Cough…

He coughs violently and infuses chakra in the bones around his neck.

Snap… snap… crack… fwoosh…

The bones around his neck absorb the orange chakra and turn black.

Cough… Cough…

Kimimaro coughs again and continues to run away from the battlefield.

"Oh! Interesting. This kid has an affinity for Nature energy. He could be a candidate for my new body. Slick…"

Orochimaru licks his lips as his eyes follow Kimimaro's trails.

----------------------

At Kiri borders,

Mei and the remaining Kiri shinobi look at Kaguya clan members in surprise.

"This... they are fleeing from the battlefield. Their clan leader is dead and now there is no one to command them." One of the Kiri ninjas looks towards Kaguya members as he speaks.

"What should we do... Captain Mei?" He turns towards Mei for her orders.

"I won't spare them. They killed my brother. Aahh…"

One of the remaining Kiri ninjas chases after the fleeing Kaguya clan members.

"Stop it, Taro! It's dangerous to leave the formation and chase after them." One of the older shinobi tries to talk sense to Taro.

Taro ignores him and continues to chase after them.

Sigh…

The older shinobi sighs and turns towards Mei.

"Captain… Taro grew up with his brother. His parents died early in the Third Shinobi war, orphaning him. His elder brother fostered and raised him. He was a father figure to Taro. Taro is unable to handle the loss of his big brother. I will bring him back."

Mei nods her head in understanding.

"It's ok. All of you bring him back. I am fine by myself." Mei rests against a tree.

"Yes, Captain"

They yell and chases after Kaguya clan members. Mei looks at their back.

Sigh…

She looks at her hands drenched in blood.

"I have shed more blood than tears in my life. Sometimes the blood is of my enemies and sometimes my own."

Keuk…

Mei spits out some blood. She wipes her lips and stares at the moon.

Flutter…

A gentle breeze flutters her hair.

'I wonder if someday true peace will exist in this world. A time when there is no bloodshed, no cruel training, a world where children could live and grow peacefully.'

Clench…

Mei clenches her fist tightly.

'I might not have the power to change the world. But I will definitely wash the infamy of 'Bloody Mist' from Kirigakure.

----------------------

The squad of four Kiri shinobi chases after Taro to bring him back. One of them clenches his fist in anger.

"No matter what! I can't forgive these bastards. If I get the opportunity, I will kill them."

"Yes, they killed our friends and family. I can't forgive them." Another ninja agrees with him.

Sigh…

The older ninja sighs at them.

'Ah! Youth. Reckless as always.'

They spot the back of Taro who is standing motionlessly at a place.

Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…

They quickly flicker towards him and one of them pats Taro's back.

Taro turns around and notices them.

"What's the matter, Taro? Why are you spacing out like that?" The ninja frowns and questions him.

Taro silently points at a direction. All of them towards the pointed direction and notices Kaguya clan members falling one after another.

"This is… what's happening?" The ninja frowns and turns towards the older shinobi.

"Do you have any idea, Ji-san?"

"No… I have never seen such a thing. Maybe it is an aftereffect of their jutsu or some sort of Forbidden Technique." Ji-san frowns and inspects the body of Kaguya clan members.

"Look! Over there. Someone survived this jutsu." The ninja points at the back of Kimimaro.

"He is… wait… he is that kid who killed my brother. I won't spare him. I will kill him. Argh…"

Taro chases after Kimimaro. The rest of the Kiri ninja follows after him.

-------------Flashback Ends--------------