Sunagakure was no more, the land of wind was no more. There was only chaos, only disorder and despair. A nation had fallen and the world did not care, time did not stop. However, as time moved on, so did seemingly the people, for a new power had risen.

From out of nowhere, people had crossed the desert, without a word, without a single declaration, those people started working, building and creating. Those who lived in the ruined remains of sunagakure no sato could simply watch and wait or join the growing horde of working people. As time passed on, half of the village had already started joining this insurmountable workforce, yet still no one knew what they were building, what the intention was and who was funding this entire project.

Sand was dug up, glass and crystal hacked away and melted, foundations were buing poured to dry, and craftsmen and women were starting to create something the land of wind had never seen or had before.

Near the remains of Sunagakure, where the slums had managed to become the last vestige of a once great and prosperous society, rose a single statue. A glass reminder of the terror which had swept through not only the very village of the sand, but the nation in a whole. A statue representing the huge snake which had wreaked havoc in the village alongside the three strangers that seemed hellbent on the villages destruction.

Seemingly as a gesture of good will and good faith from the person who was providing for the unseemingly large workforce, the names of all who had passed on, all who had fallen during the tragedy of the land of wind, the dessecration of the village hidden in the sand, were engraved onto this glass statue, turning it into a monument, a memento for those who had fallen.

Soon, the first block of glass, the first proverbial brick or stone of the new society was placed. A grand ceremony with food and drinks was given to all the workers who came from the remnants of sunagakure, those that came from the very land of wind and had seen it rise and fall. There were feasts and games, but more importantly, there was hope, a hope that had seemed lost in the waning days of the former country.

As the ceremony had passed, the people worked even harder, homes were built, new buildings arose from the ground and the glass which had symbolized the burning of sunagakure no sato, had now been turned into a useful commodity, a means to rebuild and regrow, but unbeknownst to those who worked on this seemingly gargantuan project, the one who was responsible for this glimmering beacon of hope, was pulling the strings of the creation of a new, strong nation, a nation that would fall under her absolute command and would withstand the test of time as long as she'd be able to rule it.

Yet, while the workers toiled and sweat in the dry sand of the desert and the burning sun, the mysterious benefactor was dozens of miles away, visiting the broken and battered court of the missing daimyo of the land of wind.

It is here that the true tale of the new nation's ascension begins, where a single snake would turn the nation into an empire, a force to be reckoned with, but not yet, not yet...

609

The court of the land of wind, a once proud and powerful nation, displayed the signs of all nations nearing their end: decadence alongside decay. Where once there was serious business and courtly bureaucracy, there was now naricistic insanity and decadent madness. The wife of the missing daimyo had assumed control of the court, but was herself but a puppet to the late council of sunagakure and with all but one of them slain, it almost seemed as if that last member was able to obtain full control over the nation. Alas, without the village hidden in the sand, there was also no stability.

Bandits and splinter factions roamed the desert, the court was riddled with native and foreign spies, on the verge of internal collapse under the weight of its own broken policy and desperate lunacy to remain in place. Never had the central power looked so weak and Sabaku Noyabun knew very well that he had to do everything in his power to simply retain his own power, let alone rule and govern the entire nation. He had send out envoys to the neighbouring countries with a plea for help and aid, but none of the dispatched men had returned, not a single person had heralded any news of success or any answer to his call and every day he could feel control slipping through his hands, with the daimyo's wife trying to become a figure head of her own government, he had spies tail her and eliminate her if he so desired, but time was running out, his wealth was drying up and he knew he had to do something very drastic if he ever wished to remain in power.

It was to that end that this lone, old man was very happy to hear news that someone was finally willing to have an audience with him, A stranger who called herself Shirohebi was willing to meet him and that was exactly what he needed, someone who waswilling to cooperate and perhaps even act as his voice. Yes, he did not care about who or what was helping him, as long as he got what he wanted, nothing even mattered anymore.

He only had to wait for a day, when one of his servants announced the presence of Shirohebi. This news elated Noyabun immensely, to know that the person who had answered his call had finally arrived in order to be of service to him.

With a smile on his face and plans of conquest and control over the land of wind in his mind, the old man walked through the corridors of the court towards the room in which this strange person was waiting for them to meet in person. Oh, how glorious it would be if this person was truly capable of fulfilling his wish, his wish to see a grand, unified nation with power to rival all other great nations once again.

This was truly the time to be glad, to be relieved that the many set backs which had occured could still be turned into a success. Yes, Noyabun was pleased and ready to exact his own plans once again, now that his colleagues of the council were gone and only the daimyo's foolish wife and infant child were left, there was nothing to stand in his way, certainly not after having dealt with the issues at hand.

He opened the door to the room and peered inside, noticing a woman sitting at the table at the center of the room, yet her face was covered by a lacquered black helmet and a golden rebreather...

604

The old man greeted the woman, not really caring about the fact that her face was hidden or the fact that her outfit was both rather seductive and intimidating at the same time, all he cared for was to know wether or not she could deliver him the results he desired. "Let's cut to the chase, no need for any formalities here," The man's voice was shallow, his breathing seemed laboured and as stress and frustration had taken their toll on the man's physique, his age obviously became apparent. Sabaku Noyabun was already passed his sixties and a life of scheming and plotting had not exactly made him physically strong, but his mind was sharp and his spirit still full of vigor. "The suna assault was a tragedy, but not exactly a problem. I heard some generous person has already assembled a workforce and has begun building up a new village or even a city, but that does not matter. All that matters is getting the daimyo's wife and infant out of the way and cleaning up this mess of a court."

The masked woman let out a chuckle and seemed to nod in understanding of the man's words. "Will you be able to restore order to this court and weed out all those who are unnecessary for the land of wind, if you can...you will be greatly rewarded," Noyabun smiled and made a gesture with his hand, signifying the fact that he was most obviously willing to pay her immensely if her service would prove to be adequate to his desires. However, at the very sight of this gesture, the masked woman simply chuckled, annoying Noyabun greatly in the process. "Why are you laughing, what's so funny?"

"You are, Sabaku Noyabun, you are just plain amusing," An unnaturally deep and hollow voice resonated in the room, the woman's mask distorting her voice beyond recognition. "You spread the rumor that there were two main aggressors in the assault on Sunagakure. Now of course I can't blame you for having rather pathetic spies, but to honestly believe this...Syekren Uchiha was the one controlling the Yamata no Orochi, how ridiculous."

The old man seemed to be slightly dumbfounded by this revelation, yet waved his hand and seemingly just brushed off the woman's comments. "To insult my spies is fair game, they've shown to be rather incompetent many times, I am even too tired to react to that insolent comment of yours about my person, though I am intrigued to what you are implying. If it wasn't this rogue ANBU captain that controlled that beast, than who did?" Noyabun rubbed his temples and let out a deep sigh. "This really is giving me a headache, if there was someone else besides those two, it was most likely but a servant to either of them, minor players do not interest me."

This very comment didn't seem to go well with the masked person, as the woman let out a hiss and stood up very fast and very firm, planting her gloved hands onto the table and the blankness of the helmet reflected Noyabun's own face, making it look as if he watched himself looking towards him with an expression of doubt and ignorance. "How is it that you'd be so dumb to think only Sarutobi Mitsuo and Uchiha Syekren were involved. Neither of them destroyed the administration building and neither of them has any known history regarding snakes...perhaps you need to look deeper into your memory, perhaps a name could pop up that DOES have something to do with snakes."

Noyabun backed away, his memory had indeed been triggered, but the name that came to mind was that of a man, not a woman. The man he had in mind was none other than Orochi Enaka, an ANBU who long ago had foiled many of Noyabun's plans, but had also worked with him on other occassions. "Wait a minute...Shirohebi...that means White Snake, but that one's supposed to be dead and her child...didn't her child vanish or something?" The old man thought about it, he did hear about a certain prison break in Konoha almost a year ago, maybe even longer, but that could not be the child, now could it? "You can't be...no, you can't be that weak little child of which Enaka spoke, she was supposed to be imprisoned."

"Supposed to be, yes," The woman reached for the back of the helmet and pushed a button, after which a hiss of air escaped the black lacquered helmet. As the helmet and the golden rebreather were removed; a pair of golden, snake-like eyes became visible, looking straight at Noyabun. Her face was nearly pearl white, though her hair was jet black, like the feathers of a raven. "But I am not, as you can see...now, I guess since you so kindly asked, I can indeed weed out every spec of decay and decadence from this wretched court, sadly for you, that means old councilmembers of Sunagakure are included on that list."

908

The kunoichi stood up, letting go of any restraints she had put upon her near insurmountable amount of chakra, which as it got loose from her hold upon it, spread out its dark and menacing tendrils all across the room, nearly suffocating Sabaku Noyabun in the process. The old man could feel not just his own old and decrepit bones, but also the chair and table upon and at which he sat buckle underneath the massive pressure which now drenched the room in its terrifying presence. "You...you can't kill me, I am supposed to rule...I am supposed to be daimyo..." The old man was tenacious at the very least, even when forced to the ground, humiliatingly bent into a kneeling position, he still managed to lift his head up and glare at the woman who looked down upon him with her own menacing golden eyes. "You were only destined to die, old man, destined to be trampled beneath the heal of my boot," Lamya's harsh words rang through the room, as if spoken by a being transcendant compared to the ordinary human bowing down in despair in front of her. "Now be a man of honor and dignity and accept your fate with grace, you shrivelled old prune."

"No...NO...I was supposed to rule, I was supposed to be KING, I was...supposed...to...win," Without warning, without any sound made, the rogue shinobi's boot stomped down upon the old man's head, crushing Sabaku Noyabun's skull and anything contained within it underneath the stiletto heel which adorned said boot. A blot of flesh, bone and skin had stained the floor, blood splattered far and wide due to the amount of force used to perform this feat and in silence Lamya watched as the last tremors of life fleeted through the headless body of the last of the Suna Council. "All you were supposed to do is clean up the mess in this court before I arrived and even that task was apparently to great for such a feeble insect such as yourself. Pity, I could've used a snivelling weasel such as yourself, if only you weren't so prepostrously greedy," Pulling a piece of cloth from her vest, the snakelike woman attempted to clean off most of the bloodspatters adorning her boots, before opening the door to exit the room and begin with her selfgiven mission to cleanse the entirety of the court to better suit her own wishes and future status. "I will build my own country, on the ashes of this nation...I will build an empire, one that will allow me to swallow this world's sun and extinguish its light. I will drench the shinobi world in blood and drown it in despair and nothing will stop me."

In silence, the woman left the room, not looking back at the scene of death and carnage she left behind and only looking ahead, for the lifting of the restraints on her chakra had warned the guards that had remained at the court, no doubt running to go and protect the late daimyo's wife and child. However, Lamya did not care if they were a dozen or even a hundred, at her full strength and with her complete and immense power at her beck and call, only few could ever hope or dream to stand a chance against her, this would not be the case for a few mere jonin without any significance or any power worth noting. "As the Ryujin rise, the land of wind falls."

599

The sound of easily a dozen pair of boots, clammoring armor and unsheathing weapons could be heard all over the palace, the entire guard being mobilized after the discovery of the headless corpse of the former councilmember of sunagakure; Sabaku Noyabun. Yet all these noises drowned out the sound of a single woman walking through the corridors of the palace, calmly putting on her black lacquered helmet and golden rebreather, granting her an almost demonic visage, the appearance of the impending doom and death that came for the daimyo's last vestiges in the Land of Wind.

"Pitiful fools," The rogue shinobi known under the moniker of Lamya sighed while walking casually through one of the palace's west wing corridors. Her gloved fingers silently trailed across the wooden walls, her eyes beholding the craftsmanship and age of the place, feeling only a bit of sadness for the fact that this magnificent place had been subject to such ill-rule and degrading decadence. "No matter the place, no matter the age, those who rule will always be meet by a lineage ending adversity, but rejoice, for from adversity comes evolution and I am its embodiment." She could hear the sound of people closing in, alerting her that it would not take long before at least someone would see her and most likely spread the word of her presence if she did not take care of them. However, despite her ruthless nature, despite her bloodlust, she actually did not care for killing anyone not part of the guard or the noble household itself. After all, there was no value in slaying those who would die out without their leadership anyway.

At long last, as the corridor seemed to bend towards the central part of the palace, did Lamya finally see a few people, who at the very sight of her, ran away screaming, carrying a child with them and being dressed in rather plain looking outfits. They were most likely just common workfolk, not really worth the trouble. Their fear and panic would only help the rogue shinobi spread terror, weaken the minds of those who she was about to hunt down and eventually end. "I do so enjoy a good hunt,"

It didn't take the rogue shinobi much longer to finally reach the central courtyard of the palace, feeling the eyes of at least a dozen trained men and women staring at her from all sides of the empty open space in the middle of the palace.

She stood at the center of the courtyard, her eyes glancing at the flowers and the single fountain, the tranquility belying the tension which had been brewing. Slowly, her hands moved upwards, her eyes registering the number of foes or rather the number of victims. There were about fourteen that she managed to count; three in front of her, six at the left, five at the right and two had thought it best to sneak behind her position while she was remaining quiet and still to count the lot of them. It was at the very least highly amusing that these inferior warriors thought that a few extra bodies would actually make their chances grow. "And here I thought palace guards were the elite of the elite," The rogue shinobi chuckled, deciding that it was yet again time to truly sow terror and cause them to fall into despair, simply by displaying her raw power in the form of her massive chakra reserves. As soon as the air got thick and heavy because of her aura, the kunoichi placed her hands together and made a soft nod with her head. "Half a minute for the lot of you, that's all I'll need."

622

After that sneering comment made by the rogue shinobi, a few of the palace guard that had been attempting to ambush her, could no longer refrain from showing their anger, their hatred for this person who had made her intentions of whiping out the remainders of the Land of Wind's feudal court very clear. After letting out a loud battle cry, the first one to run at her with their spear held high, was one of the men who had been sneaking up behind her. "I guess the clock starts...now," Lamya laughed, when noticing the man run up towards her, with his spear held high. The tip of the weapon sprang forward towards Lamya, as the palace guard seemed to be pretty sure he could take her out with a single thrust of his long weapon, only to be dumbstruck in complete surprise and utter despair, when the woman simply stopped the speartip in its path with a single finger. "How cute... I believe this is yours?"

Placing a second finger on the tip of the spear, the woman gripped the weapon tight and with a flick of her wrist, she snapped off the steel tip, casually twirling it around between her fingers, while grinning towards the palace guard who simply couldn't handle the reality of what had happened. The difference between them was simply so overwhelming that he finally realized that the mysterious shinobi had not been lying when she stated she'd only need about thirty seconds to deal with the lot of them. The difference between them was simply the difference between a tiger and a newborn kitten of a domestic cat, between a king cobra and a measely earthworm. "I reckon you want this back?" The man looked at Lamya when hearing those words, only to feel something bury itself into his skull. With a single droplet of blood rolling across his face, the palace guard slumped to the ground, the tip of his own weapon burried deep within his own forehead. "Well, he'll be silent for the time being. So, anyone else would try to face me on their own or have you all finally come to your senses and have you accepted that you are but insects waiting to be trampled beneath my boots?"

A murmur went through the courtyard, the palace guards seemed to be contemplating what to do, surprised that the rogue shinobi seemingly made no attempt to attack them and seemed rather content in checking out wether or not they had the gall and the guts to confront her. It was both infuriating and just completely mindboggling for the palace guards. "Will you let us live if we let you pass undisturbed?" The man who seemed to be the oldest and possibly acted as the leader of this particular group of palace guards jumped down from the balcony at the left of Lamya, perhaps hoping that he could spare the lives of his comrades by negotiating. Alas, the rogue shinobi simply chuckled, turning her head towards the palace guard who approached her. The mask reflecting his own expression into it like a mirror. "Tell me, does a snake spare the mouse because it prays for mercy?"

539

When looking at the palace guard who had dared to approach her so callously, the rogue shinobi wondered what drove people to make such a heel turn. She wasn't sure if it simply was because they recognized their own worthless selves or perhaps simply because they wanted to find a way to avoid being killed. The answer truly did elude her, for she herself had not once begged for mercy. After all, she had been taught that mercy was not a blessing, but a curse. Mercy was nothing but a curse with which one had to live forever, knowing that no matter how much one might hate or loath the person who had granted them mercy, they'd always have to carry the knowledge that their fate, their entire destiny had been in the palm of another person, compared to that knowledge, death was but a sweet solace.

"I...I," The man stuttered, stumbling over his own words, while trying to take a few steps back, all the while keeping his attention to the strange woman standing at the center of the courtyard. However, she did not move, nor did she utter any word after she had made that rather cruel statement earlier. The palace guard was confused, finally breaking away his gaze from the mask the woman wore, looking at his comrades for help, for advice, for anything really, but all he could see were their horrified faces. Why was this, why were they looking at him in terror, with such horror in their eyes that he could almost taste it. It's then that he knew, he fully understood their reasons, they were terrified. He was after all the only one of the real palace guard, while they were just the newest batch of soldiers quickly assembled to safeguard a practically doomed court, they were never prepared to face situations like these.

"Can you see the horror in their eyes, dear captain?" Finally the strange woman spoke again, drawing the captain's attention again with her distorted, cold voice. A tone more akin to that of a slithering snake than that of a human came to his ears and all the captain could do, was to be captivated by this voice. Strangely he didn't feel fear, but some twisted form of comfort. "You come here, bravely closing the distance and putting yourself in harm's way to save your comrades' lives and to make sure that they can tell the tale, but when you look at them for anything...guidance, advice, a sign of what to do...what do you see in their eyes, what does their soul look like to you?" A chuckle escaped the woman's lips, the sound turning into something otherworldly due to the helmet she was wearing, but nonetheless it did send a shiver through the captain's spine. He wondered if she was right, had he been trying to save a worthless bunch of black souls, people that in despair would rather see him die if it could save their lives. However, no matter the confusion or doubt almost besetting him, the captain straightened himself and held his lance firmly pointed towards the strange woman. "I will not yield to your trickery. If you do not wish to accept my request, I guess I have no other option than to fight you to set an example to these young children."

And so the captain let out a loud and ferocious roar, rushing towards the helmet-wearing shinobi, thrusting his lance towards her chest...

593

As soon as the spear came close enough to the woman's chest, her eyes seemed to show a glimmer of amusement, interest and absolute cruelty, her lips curling into a rather devilish grin. With a snap of her fingers, some sort of invisible wall appeared in front of her, holding back the captain and his spear, the momentum of the palace guard's attack causing the spear to snap and bounce out of the man's hands. However, it did seem that he was indeed a more experienced guard, instantly drawing a sword with which he cleaved through the air towards Lamya in a swift and precise motion. Alas, despite the skill he had with the blade and the experience he would no doubt be able to rely on, no paace guard since the olden days had ever had to contend with shinobi of this strange rogue shinobi's caliber.

By merely leaning to the side, the woman managed to evade the captain's swing with that sword of his, the metal weapon simply cleaving nothing but air and possibly the poor palace guard's own self esteem in twain. "Not bad, not bad at all," The woman chuckled, moving faster than he could react towards him. Her eyes were locked into his, he could see it all from up close: her perfect skin, her silky smooth hair, her surprisingly luscious lips and even better, he could feel those lips, soft as the skin of a peach, pressing against his. Yet, as he was risking it all, losing himself in what could not be described to be anything different than the most passionate and most enticing kiss he had ever had, the palace guards' captain could feel himself grow colder. "But I am affraid, it's entirely not good enough."

Without any of the other guards having noticed it, her hand had coated itself with her malicious and cold chakra, a blade striking through the palace guard's chest. No blood flowed, no red, warm liquid spilled to the ground and soiled the palace's floor. With the precision of a surgeon, the ruthless demeanor of an assassin and the striking force of a snake, the woman had used one of her staple techniques known as the chakra scalpel to cut his main artery, the aorta from the inside, making the palace guard bleed to death on the inside. "If this is what should represent the best you palace guard mongrels have to offer, I don't even see why I should go through the trouble of wasting my time on you," Retracting her hand from the palace guard captain's chest, Lamya took a step back and watched the man fall to the ground lifeless and with an expression etched on his face for eternity which would haunt the remaining palace guards for the remainder of their lives: an expression of both bliss and absolute despair. It was such an incomprehensible mix of emotions shown on his face that it contorted and distored his face into a grotesque endresult. "I won't be killing you guys after all..."

The palace guards dropped their spears and let out a sigh of relief when they heard those words, only to be greeted with a diabolical smile on the rogue shinobi's face, her eyes glowing with a feverish intent to kill, a desire for blood and a cold and calculated design for the poor guards' unfortunate end. "But THEY will." Raising her left hand above her head, the woman snapped her fingers yet again, after which a dozen figures appeared seemingly out of nowhere, wearing black helmets and an entirely black outfit. In a matter of mere moments, these figures slit and cut the throats of all those who had been deemed as a target with scalpels and curved daggers, their metal weapons not even getting stained by a single drop of blood in the process. "Now let's go see the daimyo's wife, shall we?"

She walked on ahead, crossing the central courtyard, with her final goal being the throneroom that awaited her behind the heavy wooden doors which seperated the central courtyard from the main building. And as she pushed open those heavy wooden double doors with a single push of a simple hand, the woman started laughing loudly, having come to the realization that in the end there was nothing left to stand in her way. The hidden village of Sunagakure was hers, the land of wind was hers...she would have it all.

758

A woman dressed in the finest silks and adorned with many an expensive assortment of jewelry, beladen with gold, silver and jade sat upon a throne of gold and bright saphire. This show of splendor and immeasurable wealth was meant to force anyone entering the throneroom of the feudal lord to understandable awe and immense respect, yet now, this did not seem to work. For the person who now entered this throne room knew how dire the situation was and how little of value those fake jewels and old silk robes truly possessed. The daimyo of the land of wind was gone, his wife had tried to take his place, but was relegated to a place as a puppet in the hands of the Sunagakure council of elders. Her son would share the same fate in due time...at least, if the council was still alive.

"You are in the presence of her majesty, Lady Amara of the Sands," One of those typical overzealous nobles looked with disdain at the woman who had entered the throne room, seemingly evaluating Lamya by her appearance. Truly, the rogue shinobi was perhaps not dressed for the occassion of being a visitor to a royal court, nor did her outfit betray any particular wealth, except perhaps the silver chains on her armour and the golden rebreather which now hung comfortably around her neck, the rest of the helmet hanging on her back in similar fashion to a hood. "How dare you to refrain from showing the respect one of lower birth should have when standing in front of her majesty?"

The woman on the throne looked down at Lamya, her face showed the tell tale signs of lack of sleep, with bags under her eyes, wrinkles on her forehead and even the make up used to try and cover up her restless face and terrible expression could not fully cover up reality. That woman was but a hollow shell of what she perhaps once was. She might've been beautiful, a rare sight to behold, but now she was just like any other middle aged woman, desperately clinging to a past that should've been long forgotten. "Why should I show respect to a woman who had been nothing more than a sacrificial pawn in a game created by a bunch of old, decripit fools?" A rather rude, yet perfectly logical question escaped the missing nin's luscious lips, the tip of her tongue visibly sticking out of them and wetting them for just a moment, before vanishing back into her mouth. "Let's rephrase that...Why would I need to bow or pay my respects to someone who is more dead than alive already?"

Slowly, the snake sage's lips curled into a diabolical grin, her golden snakelike eyes turning towards the infant seated near the woman on the throne and as expected from a mother, that very look in Lamya's eyes made the woman stand up from her throne with a ferocity only a mother could display when defending her young. "You dare insult me, you dare threaten the peace of this nation and you dare eye my child like a hungry snake?" The woman lashed out with a venomous tone of voice, her eyes burning with intense fury while gazing upon Lamya from her high seat on the throne. "If the council is gone, than all there is to it, is that I am again the rightful ruler of this land until my son comes of age...you will not be threatening this place any longer...Lamya; White Snake of Konoha...or rather Orochi Risu, disgraced head of the Ouroboros clan."

611

Most foolish mortals tend to believe that power is a tool, a means to an end. However, this is a false assumption, a false idea. Power is power, it is not a tool, it is not a means to an end. Power is the beginning and the end, power is nothing and power is all. Power is both a blessing and a curse, for those who crave it will go above and beyond to find it, while those who have it will go above and beyond not to lose it. As long as power is divided among the masses, it'll remain in this perpetual stalemate...So I don't just seek power, I don't just crave power...I want it ALL."

Hearing the venomous words coming from the missing daimyo's wife, the rogue shinobi simply had her lips curling into a soft, yet diabolical smile, snapping her fingers only once to summon the shinobi she had under her command. Clad in their black armor, adorned with black masks and no sign or crest of any village emblazoned on their attire, they flooded into the throneroom, surrounding the nobles and the so-called feudal lady. "Such bravery, such foolishness, such futility," The former ouroboros clanhead chuckled, her eyes locked at the former daimyo's wife, an unusual intensity visible in her golden, snakelike eyes. "Is this the resistance of a beast facing a god? Is this how an insect would face those standing far above them in the pecking order of life? It is a pointless struggle, a worthless effort. Your poison won't affect me, your rules and laws will not bind me and your fangs will not sink into my heart and soul. In the eyes of one such as myself, you are after all...only human, just a human and nothing more."

As soon as those words were uttered, one of the nobles tried to retaliate verbally, grumbling loudly and ready to open his mouth, no doubt to let loose a tirade of arrogance and decrepit visions. Alas he was silenced before even a single word could escape his lips. In a flash of metal and a spray of blood, a head was flung through the throneroom, trashed upon the ground and sliding until it stopped right in front of the former daimyo's infant son. The shinobi responsible for this act, calmly resheathed his sword and bowed gently towards Lamya, who proceeded to nod with a smile at this well-intended act of her subordinate.

Unavoidable ofcourse, the child started to cry in fear, the nobles only mumbled and trembled in fear, when the headless body of the disgruntled noble hit the floor.

Clearing her throat, the rogue shinobi who had invaded the palace, who had killed the last remaining councilmember and who now stood at the precipe of her ascension, raised her hands as if she were accepting the adoration of her subjects and smiled cruely at the so-called queen before her. "If you and any of these nobles wish to keep your head, it is all very simple," Step by step, she came closer to the fallen lady, slowly raising the output of her chakra until it burst out in such a manner that it cracked the floor, nearly blew away the nobles and forced anyone not able to withstand the pressure to hit the ground with their face down. "Your husband required you to be faithful,
the council required you to be loyal...I ask nothing from you, all you have to do is come down from that throne...and kneel."

601

The wife of the feudal lord seemed to only get more red at her cheeks and more furious by Lamya's comment and request, finding this intruder of the feudal lord's palace to be overbearingly arrogant and severely dillusional, yet somehow her feet placed in the most magnificent of silken slippers started moving according to the will of the serpentine woman. Slowly, the soles of the highborn woman started sliding forward over the mahogany steps that lead towards the throne upon which she had been sitting earlier, no matter how furious she was, no matter how denigrating it felt; it seemed that the life of the nobles and the life of her only, infant son hung in the balance of her actions and that was something she could not risk, not now, not ever. "You will rue the day you dare hurt me or my son," The Lady spoke vehemently and defiantly, diminishing those words by still walking down the aforementioned steps with an indescribable elegance and poise befitting a queen. However, despite the fact that her words and threats sounded less intimidating due to her unwilling compliance to the invader's demands, her fury did not subside and her scorn only grew more intense. "I promise that your desires will become like poison, choking you and destroying you when you least expect it."

Lamya simply grinned, the corners of her lips curling upwards to show a malicious expression upon which a mix of glee and superiority could be seen and found. "Grand words, large gestures, but such puny threats coming from a woman who is now being as obedient as a scared little dog," The snakelike rogue shinobi started to ascend the steps towards the wife of the Land of Wind's former feudal lord, standing still next to the woman when they crossed each other's paths. Slowly, Lamya's head turned towards the Lady, looking down upon her with an air of insurmountable arrogance and superiority, showing her fangs ever so slightly while the Lady returned her gaze with a glare of hatred and seething anger. "You think your words hold any meaning to me? You think your venom will touch me? How conceited can you be? When does the snake look at the ant? When does the ant ever threaten the snake? Now, be a good ant and know your place...down at the stairs you already so graciously have covered, with the rest of the unwanted and disgraced remnants of a bygone era."

When the former feudal lord's wife finally reached the bottom of the stairs, subsequently kneeling down with her face nearly reaching the ground, Lamya had reached the throne atop the stairs and turned around to look down upon the nobles, the infant child and the former Lady, who all responded to her gaze with a defiant look of their own, except for the infant, who had not the slightest idea of what was happening around him and could only start to gurgle and giggle loudly.

Swords were unsheathed and raised towards the sky, while one of the mysterious shinobi suddenly spoke up loudly: "All hail the new ruler of this nation, all hail the birth of the new empire!"

The nobles, disgruntled and displeased with these unexpected proceedings started to mumble and grumble, despite the former feudal lord's hiss at them to remain quiet. Gently, Lamya sat down upon the throne at the top of the stairs, waving her hand in a barely noticeable fashion, yet the shinobi down on the ground who surrounded the nobles, knew enough. "Let the birth of MY nation, be blessed and innaugurated by the death of its predecessor...Kill them all."

The sound of screams and swords slicing through air, flesh and bone was short, but to Lamya...it was a symphony, the true start of what she had wanted for so long: independence.

As the floor of the great hall was strewn and littered with the bodies of the former nobles, with their blood pooling and covering the wooden floor in its near entirity, swords were sheathed again and men and women bowed in silence. A single woman dressed in bloodsoaked silk and gold remained at the center. Her eyes empty, her hair white as snow, looking upwards towards the woman who now occupied the throne of the nation in which she had lived her entire life, the throne upon which her husband sat and upon which she hoped to one day see her own son.

As her empty eyes reached the golden eyes of the one sitting upon the throne, she could feel a sound rise from the back of her throat, her vision shaking and her heart beating louder and faster than it had ever done before. Her legs refused to move, her arms refused to budge an inch, her mouth dry and her nose filled with the stench of death and the distinct smell of iron. What sat before her was not a human, but a monster.

A single scream erupted from her throat, then nothing...

nothing, but silence...

850/7294

[exit thread]

2000/2000 Training A rank: Advanced Recovery Method complete
1500/1500 Training B Rank: Cruel Restructuring Complete
1500/1500 Training B rank: Healing Aura: Longevity (Reiki no Saiki: Enmei ~ 治癒霊気・延命) complete
2000/2000 Training A rank: Yin Healing Wound Destruction (陰癒傷滅 ~ In'yu Shōmetsu) complete

294 wc left/discarded