Hiruzen sat crossly at his desk, Okuri’s father opposing him. Both had just finished a rather heated discussion on the matter of Shichibi Okami being sealed up inside of Okuri.
“I hope you understand that an incident such as this will not be tolerated in the future.”
“No need to worry about that. I have already increased the strength of the seal tenfold.”
“Very well. You should know that your son’s resolve, skill and strength before the transformation occurred had guaranteed him the rank of chunnin. Congratulations. You are dismissed.”
The dreams haunted Okuri vividly. The blood, the gore, the decapitation ….why, why?!!? He didn’t even do those things!
“Oh, but you did.”
Okuri was back in his mind again, standing before the beast. The chains binding the wolf had multiplied in number.
“Why are you doing this to me?!?”
“Your father is the one who did this, Okuri! He was the one who sealed me up inside of you! And it was him who increased the strength of the bonds!” The wolf howled in rage. “Tenfold! That is how much stronger these bonds have become! I told you to take Taro’s head because it would allow me to break these unnecessary chains!” The wolf lurched forward. “Now you must behead 9 more, Okuri! 9 MORE MUST BE BEHEADED BEFORE I AM CAPABLE OF GRANTING YOU UNIMAGINABLE POWER!”
Okuri’s eyes jolted open. He jumped out of his bed, still in his living nightmare. He could not tell what was real and what was unreal. He threw the doors in his way open, running, running away. He didn’t know how long he ran. It was so dark out…..
He stopped, hiding behind a tree. But the voice was never far away.
“Do you not see what I am trying to do? In freeing myself, I could endow you with power beyond your wildest dreams! You could have the entire world trembling before you!”
“I don’t want it…..I don’t want to be feared…..”
“Why do you reject the strength I offer? Everything you desire, you need power to obtain it! Everything you hold dear, you need power to defend it! POWER IS EVERYTHING! How will you ever defeat Itachi and his foul Uchiha brethren if you continue to refuse power?”
“Defeat the….Uchiha?”
“The blood of evil flows in their veins, Okuri. It will inevitably manifest.”
“No, no…..”
“Is this what you really want, Okuri? Think, pup. Think about what power can get you.”
Okuri thought. No doubt the wolf could read his mind, but he did not interfere.
“Power will get me feared.”
“Yes.”
“Power will get me respected.”
“Yes.”
“Power will get me what I want. Food, money, women, land…..”
“Yes.”
“Power will let me finally beat that pathetic Itachi Uchiha!”
“Yes!”
“POWER MEANS THAT NO ONE WILL EVER THREATEN ME OR MY VILLAGE AGAIN!”
“YES! YES! That is the way to think! I could never lure you to my side with power, you had to decide to want it for yourself! Now, go out and get me some heads!”
Reality came into sharp focus, the dream having dissipated. Okuri began to sniff the air around him. A watery smell of humans……the Mist from the Forest of Death? He followed the scent to an opening leading into the sewers of Konoha. Yes, all nine of them! Take their heads, and power was his! He looked around for something to cut their heads off with.
“There is no need for that, Okuri. You know that Koga is always close by!”
Koga?
Okuri remembered that he pulled a sword out of thin air in his fight with Taro. Could he do that at any time? Struggling to remember his actions under the demon’s influence, he grasped the air in front of him. Didn’t work. He felt nothing. He kept his hand in the sword holding position. Still nothing. Maybe he was supposed to use chakra. He forced chakra from his palm into the air.
A handle appeared in his grasp. Well, that worked. Slowly, he pulled out the blade, revealing its sinister glory. Identical to his match with Taro. He looked the blade over, rotating his wrist.
“Cool.”
He jumped into the sewer below.
