Kugutsu no Shinigami

| 16 | The Bridge

An advance of about five people sprints towards the nearest seaport, kicking up a storm of dust in their wake and trampling over wildlife in the process. They all were heavily adorned in armour befitting of their stature of Iwagakure's elite unit, the GOLEM Program.

"Naruto Uzumaki? We're coming for you..."

~~~

I sit down within a ring of candles, lost in thought. I reflect on my actions. Why have I been antagonising Konoha so much when the reason I left was to kill Orochimaru? To find my family? To avenge my family?

Is it possible that I have been straying from my chosen path?

In doing so, have I failed the old man? Is he truly dead?

No... I mustn't think like this. He could still be alive...

Yes... I will find him, and I will discover his fate.

And then, I kill Orochimaru. I end this, once and for all.

My eyes snap open, my understanding resolute. I summon a puppet, making it go escort Sasori back to Yamigakure.

I step outside, activating Sage Mode for the flicker of a second, and I see it. No, I sense it.

My body reverts back to normal. GOLEM Shinobi, the Iwagakure equivalent to my very own GHOST, except more numerous and a full-blown program, like Konoha's ANBU.

How many attackers will invade my abode? How many will distract me from my cause?

My resolve heightens, frustration fueling its growth. I will tear them down. In fact, I'm going to show them what a true golem, a true beast looks like...

They stand no chance against the Glutton.

~~~

GOLEM Squad POV:

We swarm onto the island. Finally, free of the unpredictable and treacherous sea, with the one around this island being a prime example of this.

Now, we were confident, back home in our territory and ready for combat. We're the GOLEM, after all, nothing stands in the way, lest they are dominated by us. We are Iwa's hand.

Purple lightning flashes, illuminating us for a brief moment. I feel a presence, just watching us, but as soon as I felt it, it vanished. Looking around, I see that my squad had felt the same, odd sensation.

We trek on, persevering through the hot climate. We were sweating at this point, and we see that we have to hike up a mountain to get to our location.

It is at this moment in time that we realised that we had been discovered.

How?

There, standing in front of us on the cliff, was a man in a regal black cloak with fine golden sequins, it billowing in a non-existent wind, a foreboding, slow motion that symbolised rocky goings in the future.

At his side was an absolute monstrosity. A hulking figure, scarred and lacerated belly exposed with a metallic helmet, a single eye of molten lava visible. A black torii gate was placed on his back, for purposes unknown, and a lengthy chain attached to a hook was in his hand.

"GOLEM..." he hisses, smiling a terrifyingly savage, sadistic grin. "Prepare to meet your demise... at the hands of the Glutton..."

~~~

I watch them from afar, using the purple lightning strikes to track their location. The tertiary function of the lightning was that they sent reflections of the people to a specialised database within a computer server.