Chapter 5: Uninformed

Gakushin Gakure jolts awake in a world swallowed by darkness, an oppressive atmosphere of despair, hope, and tension pressing in. As he sits up, a wave of sadness washes over him, the obsidian surroundings playing tricks on his senses. In the dim shadows, he inspects his hands and feet, confirming his existence, yet a shroud of confusion cloaks him. The air crackles with an enigmatic energy.

He rose with a calm presence, half-convinced that the engulfing darkness was a mere dream. His gaze returned to his hands, now radiating a luminous white glow. Clearing his throat, he shifted his attention to the mysterious expanse stretching before him. The air buzzed with an otherworldly energy.

He rose with a calm presence, half-convinced that the engulfing darkness was a mere dream. His gaze returned to his hands, now radiating a luminous white glow. Clearing his throat, he shifted his attention to the mysterious expanse ahead, a realm where shadows danced with ethereal brilliance.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he gazed around in confusion. He then looked in front of him and noticed the window and the sun setting in the blue-orange sky. The sight captivates him as he raises his right hand to his head and notices a bandage covering his entire head. 

He remembered being violently smacked in the head and becoming unconscious. He returns to lying on the bed, but he quickly sits up and searches for Shikari's sword.

He looked everywhere in the room and couldn't find it. That prompted him to get out of bed and check around the room. That's when he discovered a long cabinets close to the window. He opened the cabinet to reveal four tiers and four swords. Three of them have sheaths, whereas one does not. 

He extended his right palm towards the sword that lacked a sheath. He held it in his right hand and felt it was Shikari's sword. He then closed the cabinet, sighed with relief, and stared at Shikari's blade for a while

After standing there staring at Shikari's blade, he heard a creaking noise and turned to his right to see the door open. He notices an elderly woman holding a plate with food on top of it and a glass of water. The woman was stunned when she saw Gakushin wielding a blade. 

Gakushin sighed, unlocked the cabinet again with his left hand, and returned the blade. He then looked at the other swords in the cabinet and discovered they were custom-made and very different from his. That prompted him to reflect as he closed the cabinet, turned around, and began strolling back to his bed. 

"You must be Gakushin Gakure, a former chief at a very young age I've heard. You've done so much for the nation in the shadows and I couldn't thank you enough," the old woman expresses her gratitude. She bowed towards him and put the plate on top of his bed and held the glass of water.

"Where's Kiyo? And where am I?" He asked politely as he reached the bed and grabbed the plate. The food that was on the plate was a newly baked bread that was still hot and smelled delicious. He grabbed it took a bite and munched. 

"You're in a safe house built by my husband, Kiyoroshi Rigakure himself. I'm his wife, and my husband is out in the wild investigating the earthquake that happened, he hasn't home yet since he needed to leave immediately to check what happened, you can join the rest after finishing your food," the woman answered politely. She smiled at him nodded and handed over the glass of water in his hands. 

She then proceeded to leave the room with a calm presence. Gakushin drank all the water from the glass and ate all of the bread. He then thought about the part she said to join the rest.

"Who's the rest? Does she mean more people are here? That's strange but I remember Rou saying three sets of teams, am I wrong?" He thought as he grabbed the plate and moved off the bed and walked towards the door. He put the glass on top of the plate opened the door and walked out. He sees a way down and two more rooms on the sides, seeing the two doors and the downstairs in front of him. 

He closed the door behind him and walked down the stairs barefoot. His footsteps didn't make a single noise as he walked down. He felt a presence somewhere in the room that made him think and make a solemn expression. 

"Those presence, they're normal swordsman's, wait no. Probably they're the special swordsmen, that's weird, Rou send them? They're a disappointment," Gakushin thought as he reached the bottom floor and saw the living room in front of him. That's where he saw three unknowns sitting on a couch staring at him and six more unknowns behind the three standing menacingly next to the window. 

He turned to his right where he saw the unknown woman washing dishes. He approached the woman and handed over the plate and the glass of water. He then turned around and approached the unknowns that was still staring at him. The six unknowns behind the three have their swords on their left waist.

"I'm Gakushin Gakure, I'm guessing the nine of you are the team that Shimodo Rou sent," Gakushin stated as soon as he reached them and stood in front of them menacingly showing he stands above them.

"Watch your mouth! Shimodo Rou is the head of the East, call him Sir or at least Lead, show some respect!" One of the swordsmen stood and exclaimed and approached him. He faces him and glares at him. It was one of the swordsmen that was sitting on the couch. 

"I'm here to ask you all a question. What are you all doing here?" He asked. He waited for an answer but there was no response and every single one of them just stared at him like taunting him. 

"Who do you think you are swordsman? We are special swordsmen, and you, you're just a normal swordsman, you're even barefoot, what your mother didn't teach you how to wear them?" One of the swordsmen that has a sword and standing insulted him. They all laughed and giggled as Gakushin didn't make a single expression on his face. 

"Looks like someone doesn't have manners because he doesn't have parents to teach him those. That's very unfortunate indeed," Gakushin replied, which angered the swordsman who insulted him and proceeded to approach him with an angry expression.

"You know, what's your rank anyways? Huh?! Answer me if you don't want to get hurt badly, I'll make sure that head of yours won't heal anymore!" He threatened him as he grabbed his kimono and glared at him but Gakushin didn't even flinched a little. 

"Hey! No fighting in this house you ignorant children!" The old woman exclaimed. He let go of his kimono and turned around. He walked back towards the couch as Gakushin sighed still waiting for an answer to his question. 

"I will ask again, what happ—" he asked politely only to get interrupted by the same swordsman. 

"I'm tired of your questions boy!" The unknown swordsman exclaimed making Gakushin approach him menacingly. 

"Will you shut the hell up and answer the damn question? We're on a mission, not on a children's daycare debating who's wrong and right just to get a damn teddy bear! You know I'm not clearly in the mood, to play with you, swordsman," Gakushin lost his temper but he remained his calm voice and expression. Suddenly, the swordsman started pulling out his sword with its sheath. 

He tried to intimidate Gakushin with his sword but it didn't even scare him even a little. The swordsman suddenly raised his sword at great speed with his right hand and swung it down towards Gakushin's head when all of a sudden, Gakushin grabbed the sheath of his sword with his right hand at ease. 

The swordsman tries to move his sword but suddenly, he can't even move it. It shocked him and terrified him as he reached his left hand to his sword and tried to remove it from his one single hand but he could not. 

"You bastard!" Exclaimed the swordsman as all of a sudden, Gakushin broke the swordsmans blade with its sheath with a single hand. He snapped it into two and let go of the other half to the ground. That shocked every swordsman in the room and the woman as the swordsman that had the other half of the sword made him even more angry. 

He let go of the snapped sword and threw a punch towards Gakushin which he received. The swordsman felt he hit a wall in front of him but he hit Gakushin's face and it didn't even make him flinch. That made him take a step back and throw more punches toward him but all of a sudden, the door opened and Kiyoroshi Rigakure walked in furiously. 

"What the hell is going on?! I left you all people for a few hours and this what happened?! Ugh, a bunch of immatures!" Kiyo slammed the door and approached them. Gakushin remained silent and the swordsman pointed his index finger towards Gakushin blaming him. 

"For your information, he started it!" The swordsman exclaimed as all of a sudden, Kiyo grabbed his mouth with his right hand and rose him up till he reached a wall. The swordsman was shocked same as the others while Gakushin remained staring at the remaining eight swordsmen in front of him. 

"Do you know who you're messing with?" He asked angrily to the swordsman and saw him forcefully shaking his head left and right. "That swordsman you messed with led Shira swordsmen, the second highest ranking powerful swordsmen to date, he is a former chief, at the age of fourteen he accomplished it, while you couldn't even accomplish manners and respect for a man alone!" He exclaimed as he slammed him into the wall lightly and let go of him.

"Now, gear up! We're leaving!" He exclaimed. The three swordsmen proceeded to get their stuff same as Gakushin Gakure who remained silent but every swordsman was staring at him. Kiyoroshi shake his head left and right realizing that there could be future problems.

"They're Uninformed of a much greater threat. But Gakushin Gakure is here, as soon as we get there he must be fully recovered in my prediction. As for his friend, Shikari, I don't think we will see him soon enough," he thought. He sighed in frustration and began walking towards the door again passing the swordsmans in the room. 

A couple of hours have passed. The ten of them reached the Mountain of Zigaria once again. The ten of them were standing tall while in front of them was a devastated land and a giant ravine that was probably more than just a thousand feet down. 

Down at the bottom, they could see giant trees lying on the floor and they could also see that the trees were sideways and it had made a path for them to jump on. 

"We're going down, be careful as soon as you land on those trees, it might fall off with you and if so, if you don't jump to another tree, it's a guarantee death," Kiyo warned them as he made his way down. Gakushin immediately followed him from behind while the rest fear of dying. 

Six of them jumped down and followed Gakushin and Kiyo while the three were left up on the top of the ravine to scout the area. After a couple of minutes, Gakushin and Kiyo reached the bottom first. Around them, they could see obsidian rocks all over the floor and half of the walls making them mesmerized. They both began to walk looking around and seeing the giant trees that had fallen from the sky.

"I sense a surge of power in here, Gakushin. A source that no human can permanently wield it. I'm guessing that this place is where one of the lost gems is taken care of yet its guardian died," Kiyo said menacingly as he kneeled on the ground and touched the strange-looking ashes on the ground. 

"Lost gems? What do you mean? I've never heard of that," he said confused while looking around. He looked into the distance in front of Kiyo and saw something lighting up. It was covered by a few leaves but the light was escaping. It made him begin to approach it. 

"Yes of course you won't, it's because it's too dangerous, that kind of information cannot go around publicly. Your friend Shikari on the other hand does know it, he didn't tell you it because he doesn't have to but now he has a reason. We just didn't think the part that they could return this fast, being relaxed is our mistake, this could've been avoided," Kiyo said as he raised his head and glanced into the distance. His eyes widened when he saw Gakushin holding a gem in his right hand. It was glowing bright white and its light was charming.

"This source of power is what I need to become strong, I'll be taking this, Kiyo. To save my friend Shikari. I can feel it, he's alive," Gakushin remarked as a surge of white energy coming from the white gem started flowing toward his hand. The six swordsmans arrived behind Kiyo surprised at what Gakushin's holding. 

"Gakushin! You need to let that thing go now I swear, please. That is not the answer! That is from one of the Legends guarding the gems and they are the only ones who can wield it! Now, I will ask you one more time to let it go before it consumes you," Kiyo warned and warned him wanting to hand over the gem but all of a sudden Gakushin gripped the gem that looked like a diamond in his hand. 

He gripped it tightly that all of a sudden it began having cracks. Kiyo immediately ran towards him. He reached his hand towards the gem as the crack of the gem became bigger and light flashed everywhere. 

He was about to grab it out from his hand when all of a sudden, it exploded and threw Kiyo far away and slammed into a giant tree trunk lying on the ground and lost consciousness. The six swordsmen managed to draw their swords stabbed the ground with their blades and withstood the blast. 

After a few seconds, the blast was gone and Gakushin emerged in the distance unharmed. He appeared to be glowing for a moment all of a sudden then he turned back to normal. He walked towards the six swordsmans as if nothing happened and walked past them. 

The swordsmen couldn't move an inch because of what they were feeling. They're feeling his unimaginable presence that they never felt before and their instincts are telling them to get away from him. 

Gakushin reached Kiyo who slowly gained consciousness. He got out of himself from the tree and felt his back hurting. He grunts as Gakushin gives him a hand and he grabs it and stands tall. 

"I did it, I withstand it and understand its power, it's now within me," Gakushin said as Kiyo walked past him and let go of his hand shaking his head left and right.

"That has side effects! You dumb dumb! As soon as we find Shikari I will order him to extract that power out of your body or you will never see the sun rise again!" He exclaimed and screamed violently as he reached a tree and started punching it.

"What is the matter? I did it for our own good. No enemies will surpass us and those monsters needed to go on top of my body first before they get the power inside me and break the seal that is sealing that monster more powerful than those deities," Gakushin remarked as he cleared his throat and sighed. 

Suddenly, Kiyo turned and glared at him for a moment then spoke. "It's already too late, there's no guardian here but a gem. There's supposed to be another white thing glowing around here that is white, it's a barrier sealing a dark purple cube, yet it's not here means one of the gems is already been used and they're on the way for the others and it is only the matter of time before they break him free," Kiyoroshi Rigakure said menacingly as he started to walk away from them. He made his way back to the surface angry at what Gakushin did.

At the South Nation. The Fourth General of an Army is on top of his horse at the far back gate of the South nation along with his army. They're ready to leave but they are waiting for one of the heads of the South who hasn't shown himself yet. 

After a couple of minutes, the Fourth General got a glance at his horse and himself. The head approached him at his side and they started advancing. The unknown man apologized to the General and all of a sudden they saw an unknown man in the distance wearing a brown hood and a long coat approaching them.

They ignored it and same as the unknown he ignored them. He walked past the general and the countless soldiers without knowing that the unknown was one of the Deity about to do his evil deeds.