A New Beginning {Sequel to Mysterious}

Chapter 22: Iri's Death

Nue's POV

I gazed down at the crystal as I walked on the dirt path. Where do I go from here? How do I tell Pein that we failed and Hidan and Kakuzu are gone? I lowered my head a little, unsure what to do. I felt someone grabbed my ankle, so quickly I took out a kunai knife and looked down to see who had hold of my ankle.

It was a man completely bruised up. "What the hell?" I muttered. "Please... Please help me..." The wounded man pleaded in a weak voice. I frowned at him before kneeling down to his side.  "Who did this to you?" I demanded as I held him in my arms.

He coughed a bit and wheezed like he was trying to say something. I leaned my ear near his mouth to make it easier for him. But instead, he pointed at something behind me. I turned my head and spotted what looked like a huge battle just went down.

Trees were knocked down and there were craters in the ground as if World War III just happened. "What happened here?" I asked, looking back at the wounded man. He continued to wheeze until his eyes rolled to the back of his head. 

I pressed two fingers near his neck, checking his pulse. "He's dead." I mumbled. I gently placed the dead man on the ground, then walked near the destruction. "Hmm..." I hummed to myself as I traced my fingers along the scars that were on a tree. 

"Yep, a lot went down in this area." A man in a farmer's hat said as he rode a cart with some hay in it while a horse was pulling the cart. I can only guess he's a farmer. "What can you tell me about what went on here?" I asked as I stood to my feet.

"Well, I can't tell you much, missy. But what I do know one thing for sure is that a beast destroyed this area." The farmer said. "A beast?" I repeated. "Yep. Never seen anything like it."

"What did it look like?"

"Hard to explain. I didn't get a good look at it. But I do remember those dark, piercing, bloody red eyes."

"Red eyes, huh?"

'Could be any monster' I thought, resting a hand on my chin. I looked back at the destruction and narrowed my eyes slightly. "I'm actually heading into town. You wanna catch a ride?" He asked. "Yes, that would be great." I answered.

"Hop in." He said, motioning his head to the haystack. I climbed aboard and lied down on the haystack. I heard the farmer snap the reins and the horse moved forward. I put a hand behind my head as my legs were crossed while I stared at the crystal in my hand.

 "If you don't mind me asking, Miss, how'd you get those things on your back?" The farmer asked. "I was born with them." I answered, emotionlessly. "Well, If you don't mind me saying this, but I think you look absolutely beautiful with them." He said.

I glanced at him, then back at the crystal in my hand. "You're not a horrible human, old man." I mumbled under my breath. I tucked the crystal in my cloak pocket and gazed at the sky. "Hey, old man, where are we going?" I asked. 

"Just to the Hidden Sound Village. Is that okay?" He answered. "Yeah..." I replied After a while, we made it to the Sound Village. Once we were there, I hopped off the cart. "Thanks for the ride." I said to the farmer. "Anytime, Miss." He smiled before riding off.

I waved to him, then looked towards the village. I narrowed my eyes before walking forward. "I'm telling you, man. That beast killed all those people in that house in a single night." I heard a villager say.

What kind of "beast" is this? And why would it kill? Just for sport? A snake caught my eye as I spotted it from afar. I frowned, noticing it was one of Orochimaru's snake. "Follow me, child." The snake hissed. I didn't waste any time as I ran forward, following the snake.