NRaO Chapter 52

I made my way towards the hidden stone battlefield. As much as I was told not to go to any battlefield, why the fuck would I listen to an out-of-touch old man. He lost my respect stopping me from finishing the fight, I knew we wouldn’t see the end of the village hidden in the mist because of him. I just hoped the cost of his kindness didn’t hurt any of my family or we’d need to find a new Hokage.

Even if I was seen by members on either side, I doubted that old fogey would do anything, he was too kind-hearted for his own good or the good of the village for that matter. The main reason I was heading over here was the find Raphtalia. Some of my women went to different battlefields after we defeated the hidden mist and she was one of them.

She hadn’t spent more than twelve days altogether at our home since we came home from the war, too busy doing missions and searching for something(from what I could tell as I spied on her) that was almost her sole focus. I killed a group of hidden stone ninjas and headed deeper in. It was going to be extremely difficult following her trail but if anyone could do it, it would be me with my sensor snakes.

It was two weeks before I heard reports verifying she was in the country, another week of following that lead before I got an actual trail to follow, and a few days after that before I finally caught up to her. She was injured, which was fair, she was far into enemy territory and had to fight for every mile she trekked against multiple ninjas.

Her trail was easy enough to follow because of the wake of dead bodies she left behind. She looked up at me and as our eyes met I could see an almost lifeless indifference at my appearance to her. She didn’t say anything just looking at me as if the meaning of her life was gone. I tossed a medical kit at her as I coldly spoke. “Clean yourself up. We’re going home.”

Once again she didn’t say anything, and I didn’t bother to ask. Right now, finding out the entire story would be a mistake. For one, I didn’t really care that much. The ninja world was full of tragedy, if she had trusted me sooner it could have possibly been avoided but she chose to go at her problem alone and failed to stop a bad outcome from happening.

The second reason, it probably dealt with her past, which I didn’t care much for. If she’d told me a year ago I might have cared but by not telling me then I didn’t care now. She was broken, most likely hearing information that she didn’t like. I had to carry her, she was so defeated she couldn’t even walk. After a few hours of traveling, I finally got curious.

“So… What did you find out that put you in such a devastated state?” She kept her silence for a few minutes before finally responding. “Do you even care?” I responded almost instantly. “Not really. I was just a bit curious and maybe telling someone else will let you calm your feelings and put your thoughts in place.” Another few minutes before she responded again.

“I… Was already a slave before I was put up for auction. My master treated me very well but when the Tsuchikage found out I was a pseudo jinchuriki he separated us. My master didn’t want that and actively fought back getting very injured. I was trying to find out what happened to him after we were separated but no one knew, my situation happens every single day in the hidden stone. We’re treated more as products than people.”

I couldn’t help but start laughing. Kukukuku This made her extremely mad as she asked. “Why are you laughing?” I couldn’t stop myself. Kukukuku “Because. You were given a second chance at life. You were given all this leeway, I gave you an entire year to find out what you wanted to do and you go and try to find your most certainly dead previous owner. Do you even want to be free? You still think like a slave does.”

Kukuku “I just didn’t think you’d still be so childish, to assume the person who owned you would actually care for you is ridiculous, and even if he did that relationship would be tainted because he did own you.” She almost snarled a reply. “But you still have this slave seal on me! You could have gotten it removed.” We walked in silence for a few seconds before I answered her.

“The reason you’re a slave is dramatically different between the two of us. He needed you so made it so you couldn’t disobey him. With me, you need it to keep you safe in the village and so you don’t do anything stupid that could harm my family. That’s the only restriction I put on my slaves and only until they have my first child and become my concubines. That’s why I gave you so much time to come to terms with how free you actually are… And you squandered your freedom looking for the previous leash around your neck.”

Still with her on my back, I kept walking towards Konoha as she began crying. She cried almost the entire day I was making my way towards Konoha and even when we laid down to sleep she kept sniffling. I left her to really think about her situation but it was already hours of her crying and I couldn’t help myself. “You know how lucky you are to get two good slave owners? What do you think the chances of that are?”

She looked at me questioningly with contempt in her eyes as I continued. “Do you not remember how we met? I freed you from another slaver. Do you think that man would have waited for you to be ready to sleep with him? You’d have been put underneath that fat man in days of moving to your new location and then put in a coup attempt against their current Tsuchikage. You’d have died because their plan was practically nonexistent.” 

I tossed her a waterskin and she took a swallow from it before realizing it was wine. I kept talking trying to get her to see how lucky she was. “That was your fate. To lose your kind master and lose your virginity to a fat man before dying a dog's death in a coup attempt that had zero chance at succeeding.” With a smirk on her face, she retorted. “I’m not a virgin.”

I couldn’t help but laugh again. Hahaha “You thought I would get mad that you’re not a virgin? Many of my wives and concubines aren’t and that explains your terrible thought process. Love… Makes us do things we normally wouldn’t… Like risking your life for something that will never happen. Even if he was still alive your love would never work out. He was your master, he would never give up the power he had over you and you’re delusional if you think he would.”

At this point, I wasn’t sure I even wanted her around anymore. If she kept this attitude I’d rather just sell her off or consume her to see what I’d gain from absorbing a pseudo jinchuriki. Life was hard and I was only willing to pull people out of hell if they were willing to submit to me. I was a saint to my family and a demon to everyone else. Her life was already over in my opinion if I didn’t intervene. I could hear her teeth grind as she looked at me with hatred over what I said before an evil smile crossed her face as she spoke.

“Fine! Prove it then. Prove how much more of a man you are than my previous master. Show me how much better you are than him.” I looked around before making a few shadow clones to watch the area and keep us safe. We were still in enemy territory, which somehow made the situation all the more tantalizing to go through with. I wondered how many hidden stone ninjas would follow the sounds she made to their deaths.