Caught in the Darkness

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE: The Imminent Threat to the Leaf

"The sixth and last was Doku, the oldest of us all. Doku is a mute poison expert, thanks to his clan's Kekkei Genkai. The six of us worked together for Orochimaru, doing his dirty work. We killed, we tortured and destroyed entire villages. We were worse than any mercenary organization or criminal band could ever be. We were feared cross-countries. For some reason, they feared me the most. I was the leader, with demon red eyes that resembled deadly flowers. That's where my nickname comes from: Shi no Hana, the Flower of Death.

"At the same time we did all those horrible things, I discovered a little more of myself. I learned how to use Essence, while becoming partially blind in the process. And I also found out about my second Kekkei Genkai."

During the whole monologue, Hyori and the twins had remained silent. But at the mention of a new ability they all jumped and looked at Hanako with wide eyes. "Second Kekkei Genkai?!" asked the Senju, wondering if she had heard right. Hanako looked at her seriously, standing up from the couch.

"Yes," she said, walking towards the window. "The result of combining wind style with fire style, my two natural affinities. My second Kekkei Genkai is the Shakuton, scorch style." Hanako looked through the glass and smiled when a tree across the road suddenly burst into flames. Every person walking by looked at it in awe and fear. Hyori was stunned as she approached the window.

"You did that..." she muttered and Hanako nodded. She pulled away from the window and looked back at her brothers with a smile. They were looking at her with silent awe.

"Sugoi, Nee-chan!" Hayato exclaimed with shining eyes. He looked at the burning tree amazed.

"Poor tree, what did he do for you to scorch him, Hanako-nee?" Ryusuke asked with puffy cheeks, which made Hanako laugh.

"He didn't do anything, Ryu. I was just making my point." Hanako pointed the tree and it stopped burning. The flames slowly died down, leaving black burnt marks behind. "It'll be alright, don't worry."

"How does it work?" Hyori asked. Hanako straightened her palm and a small sphere formed over it and floated, guided by Hanako's will.

"These small spheres are made entirely of scorch style chakra. They move at my will, and any object that comes in contact with them dries out of any kind of liquid and then bursts into flames. The temperature of these balls can compare to that of the sun's surface, which means they can even melt any metal they come across."

"That small thing has so much power in it?" Hyori looked at the sphere in disbelief.

"I can grow them too," Hanako said as the sphere grew to cover her entire palm. The Senju and the twins started to fan themselves with their hands at the sudden increase of the temperature. The sphere had a yellow color. "I can make it hotter," the sphere turned blue and they all collapsed on the ground due to the heat, "colder," the sphere became a dark red color while they all experienced a decrease in temperature. Hyori and the twins somehow managed to stand again. Hanako wasn't affected at all by it. "I can also make it explode, but I won't do that." The sphere in Hanako's hand suddenly disintegrated.

"Interesting," Hyori sighed. "And here I thought I would ever catch up to you."

Hayato laughed. "Don't underestimate Hanako-neechan's abilities. Mom said once that even the Uchiha leader acknowledged her strength."

"That was a long time ago," Hanako smiled at them before looking back at Hyori. "What are you going to do now? It's almost midnight."

"I'm going home, can they both stay with you here for a while?" Hyori looked at her with wide grin. Both twins looked at their sister with glittery eyes.