The Innocent Murderer (Mary Sue Series)

Chapter 38

The trepidation and fear of possibly killing a comrade was more than enough to cause them to hesitate and stop moving forward to reach the goal. Ino sank to her knees, trying to figure out how to handle the situation. Naruto kicked the walls in anger, throughly irritated at the rules.

Tenten cannot reach the throne room. This was Ino's rule.

I watched her stare at the message, her face twisted in shock and despair. The main goal was to reach the throne room. If they failed to do so, they would be punished. In this case, Ino would die if Tenten survived. If Tenten died before going to the throne room, then Ino would live.

Naruto's rule was simple enough: You cannot use any ninjutsu. This prevented him from using his classic Rasengan or his numerous clones. Naruto currently was throwing a fit because of said rule.

I shifted in my seat and looked over at another monitor. Sakura and Kiba were also in a similar state of defeat. Sakura cannot touch anyone. For example, if a trapdoor opened under her and Kiba and Akamaru attempted to save her by grabbing her hands, Sakura would die. Intentional or unintentional didn't matter in any situation.

My rules were the law.

"What are we supposed to do? We can't tell each other so if I do something by accident, someone will die!" Sakura sobbed. "Aisu is a traitor! She betrayed everyone!"

In Sakura's case, her rule did not specify certain people, unlike Ino's, Hinata's, and Kib's rules. Therefore, she won't be able to kill someone else because of her actions.

Kiba stared at the bracelet in horror. Shino cannot travel alone.

Currently, Sasuke and Shino had been paired up. If they came to an intersection and decided to walk different paths, Kiba would die.

"Akamaru, help me get this off!" The duo struggled, scratched, and fought the bracelet, but it wouldn't budge. "It won't come off!"

"Of course not," I said softly. "It's built to be indestructible."

Meanwhile, Sasuke and Shino had decided to move forward and face the consequences. In fact, in comparison with the other teams, they were closer to the throne room. Just then, Sasuke activated an unsuspecting trap.

"Watch out!" Shino warned the other boy, but Sasuke was already away from the danger. Shino leaped back as well and floor tiles they had walked on before began sinking into the floor, forcing the boys to stand on a small platform.

"Skeletons?" Sasuke grunted, watching several soldier skeletons march towards them form opposite sides, their weapons ready to fight.

"It appears so. They must be Aisu's minions," Shino observed.

"Hn." Sasuke glared severely at the eyeless soldiers who stood at the opposite side. He couldn't fight because of his rule: You cannot attack. That meant he could only defend himself. "Shino, you're going to have to go first."

Shino briefly recalled his own rule: Ino cannot be injured by a trap. He could still fight, thankfully, unlike Sasuke who probably couldn't.

"Understood." Shino flung his hand out, sending his bugs to attack. He had special bugs that could eat humans alive, including their bones. In seconds, the skeletons were nothing but a pile of bones and weapons.

"Let's go!" They leaped off their platform, seized a few weapons for protection and kept going.

They ventured on, determined to find a way to the throne room. "Let's see who dies next," I said, looking at the next team.

By now, Choji had figured out Lee's rule. The rule for the bracelets was you couldn't TELL others your rule. Choji didn't break any rules by figuring out rules. Instead of proposing to run as fast as humanly possible to look for the throne room, Lee kept silent and began walking. After ignoring Choji's request to run, Choji offered to carry him.

"No!" the other denied determinedly. "I can walk on my own, thank you very much!"

"But we might not find the door within twenty-four hours at this rate," Choji pointed out.

"Hm, then I'll just have to walk faster then!" Lee was about to start, but Choji seized his arm.

"No, don't try that. We don't know how fast is too fast, and the bracelet might think that you're...over the speed limit. We can't afford that. YOU can't afford to do that."

"Oh, good point. Then let's march towards youth! We shall find the exit without, uh...fast walking then! It's a challenge! A challenge of willpower and discipline and restraint!"

"Okay then, "Choji agreed, relieved that he had stopped Lee in time. At the same time, he looked at his bracelet, rereading the rule: Hinata cannot use her Byakugan. Previously, Hinata had died, so Choji was the only person in the group who was no longer in risk of being killed by someone else.

The last group, Neji and Hinata were nowhere closer to the exit than when they had started. Neji was tearlessly mourning over his dead cousin who died because Kiba had stopped walking. His own rule was You cannot fight with your hands or feet, which would force him to resort to weapons instead.

"I'll kill her," he muttered, wiping the bloody tears away from Hinata's cheek "I swear I will!"

Number of survivors left: 11

22 hours left