El Make Posted September 25, 2010 Report Share Posted September 25, 2010 [center]Yo. This is a Fan Fic I originally made before Summer, but I had no time to carry on with it. But now, as a Senior in High School, I have much more free time and am planning on carrying this thing through at last. No characters from Naruto will appear here, it's all made by me. As a little twist, some of my more liked friends will appear in this. Now.... read! GOGOGOGOGOGOGO! *shot* [center][img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_jWNhyMUpjSE/Sbm6PB1_6jI/AAAAAAAAC_0/Sho4qWL5Dq4/s400/pedo-bear-seal-of-approval.png[/img][/center] [spoiler=Setting] 500 years have passed since Madara's defeat (that means Naruto and Sasuke are dead for all of those who hate math). The Hidden Sand Village has few allies, and assassins lurk in the shadows. The Tailed Beasts have been sealed away into jars which are held in the secret lair of The Keepers (a cult that guards the great power). This is that story of a boy (yes, a boy...) who will face many obstacles and internal battles. [s]And he is the 9 tailed jinchuriki![/s] .......... Sorry, couldn't resist..... But no, he's not a jinchuriki.[/spoiler][/center] [spoiler=Prolouge, The Introduction]Tenkai Kuroko, at the tender age of 7, was different from the other boys in the Ninja Academy around his age. He was in love. While his friends feared, terrorized, and ran from girls, he had his heart soaring through the clouds. It happened on an early summer morning, a slight breeze was kicking up dust from the surrounding desert on the village outskirts. Tenkai wanted nothing more than to become a Jonin, a highly respected and skilled ninja. All his friends wanted to be Kazekage or a legend, but Tenkai cast these wishes aside because they were nothing but delusions. [i]To dream of becoming Kazekage, is one of the greatest idiocies of all time![/i] His grandfather had once told him, [i]Thinking you can accomplish what most cannot is foolish, for normally you are probably weaker than them.[/i] Combined with the fact he was barely passing in the Academy, Tenkai knew he had no shot at Kazekage. He saw realistically, predicting the obvious results of other’s actions and almost always being right. Up until this day he had always been right but he was about to be proven wrong. As he jogged towards the Sand Village’s gate, panting after his daily run, he spotted a couple walking on the path leading to the gate. “Weird, considering that our security has been beefed up after the accident…” Tenkai mumbled. Only a month before now a spy from the Rock Village had posed as a traveler and snuck in. While everyone was asleep the spy had placed paper bombs in the Kazekage’s office, setting them off as the Kazekage sat down to work on some financial documents. Since then the Sand had prohibited outsiders that weren’t from the Leaf Village, their only trustworthy ally at the time. As he moved forward, the boy noticed that they weren’t from the Leaf. The couple bore Mist Village headbands, and Tenkai instantly shrunk into the shadows. He stood there and watched the couple move towards the gate while his heartbeat slowed. Tenkai knew he wouldn’t have to worry; the security at the entrance would turn them away, but for some reason they kept moving, shaking hands with the guards as they passed. [i]CONSPIRACY![/i] Tenkai focused all the charka he could manage into his feet, blasting off the ground in one mighty leap. He soared through the air, landing on the wall and running upward at a 90 degree angle. He could never manage this technique in class, but somehow thinking that his village was in danger made him better. [i]The guards are in on it, I should have seen this coming! I have to warn our acting Kazekage before it’s too late![/i] Tenkai reached the top of the wall and jumped, slicing through the air at an approaching building. “Crap.” Tenkai slammed into the building, his face 2 feet from the top where he would have skidded to a stop. He felt himself falling, a sinking feeling that a 7 year old shouldn’t know creeping into his mind. The feeling of defeat, failure, and loss. He had failed his village at such a young age already… he would never become a Jonin. As he waited for the ground to crash into his back, his eyes slowly closed and darkness filled his vision. ………………………………………….. [i]Am…….. I dead? I sure feel like it…… wait, I….. I hear….. my parents? Have they reached heaven too? Were they killed by the couple? Is…… it…… my….. fault?[/i] As he opened his eyes, the last thing Tenkai wanted to see was that couple from the Mist. And of course, chatting with his parents were the demonic couple. He could imagine them plotting right now, playing innocent and waiting to kill his parents. [i]No, I can’t fail…… I have to save them!!!!![/i] Tenkai jumped to his feet, immediately taking in his surroundings. He was in a small hospital room with small furniture and a tray of uneaten food on the nightstand beside his hospital bed. Throwable items such as vases and cups were on the enemy’s side, so he had to take his chance now. Tenkai lunged off the bed and stretched his arms out in front of him, closing in on the Mist Village woman. His father looked up and gasped, yelling for him to stop but Tenkai had reached the line of no return and passed it. The woman spun around and yelled, when suddenly the Mist Village man stepped in front of her and caught Tenkai’s wrist. [i]Gah! I’m finished![/i] But instead of the crushing blow he was expecting, Tenkai stared in awe as the man swung his arm while grappling Tenkai’s wrist, guiding him in a circle as he lost momentum. The man jutted his leg out, let go of Tenkai, caught Tenkai on the heels with his leg, which led to the Academy Student landing softly on the bed where the boy scratched his head. Tenkai’s mother ran over to him, cradling him in his arms and softly speaking. “Mom, why didn’t those people kill me? They’re from the Mist…” Tenkai stared at the couple in bewilderment, not only had they spared him but spared his family as well. His father entered Tenkai’s sight and sighed loudly. “Young man, that was some rash thinking you just did. These nice people are NOT here to kill our villagers, but to HELP them. The man is named Laumon Yamata, and the woman is Sangya Yamata. Yes, they are from the Mist Village. The Sand Village recently offered a deal to the Mist, asking for an Academy Student who showed potential in return for one of their Chunin we captured. Laumon and Sangya are the parents of this child, and are now residents of the Sand… understood?” Tenkai nodded his head slowly, relief and embarrassment flooding into his mind. His parents wouldn’t be killed, but he tried to attack a Sand Village resident. He felt his cheeks flush and looked down. “So, where is this Academy star boy?” Tenkai mumbled, to embarrassed to speak up. The couple laughed and were about to say something when the door handle clicked and the door slowly opened. The voice that came into the room was not male, but one belonging to a small girl. “Mother, father… may I come in?” The voice was shy and sounded almost scared, Tenkai watched the door intently. Why would the Sand want a spineless girl for a Chunin? “Yes dear, come on in. There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Sangya replied. The door opened completely and Tenkai’s eyes widened in amazement. Standing in the doorway was, to his 7 year old mind, was nothing short of a goddess. The girl’s hair was a deep shade of brown, landing in curls on her small shoulders. Her eyes sparkled with an unexpected determination, only enhancing their deep blueness Tenkai mused. His mind seemed to overload with a feeling he couldn’t place, but it wasn’t love yet. The girl shuffled forward and clasped her hands behind her back. “Hi, my name is Saki Yamata: the new Academy Student for the Sand Village.” …………………………………………….. And 1 year later is were our little Tenkai stands now. His hand clasped around a daisy he had just picked for Saki, trying to get the guts to walk over to her and give her the flower. A drop of sweat appeared on his forehead, quickly wiped away by his free hand. Tenkai summoned all of his might and took a step towards her. Then another. And another. He kept going until he finally reached her, where he gently tapped on Saki’s shoulder. “The Goddess” turned around and smiled as she noticed who it was. Since that day in the hospital, the two had become close friends that always hung out. That’s how he fell in love, her personality was undeniable. “Is that flower for me Tenkai? All the guys here are too snotty to give a girl a flower.” “Yeah, I saw it out in a desert oasis and thought of you. I know you love flowers because they’re so rare in our village.” He held out the flower, and she took it with a smile on her face. She inhaled the aroma of the flower and laughed. They talked a short while but Saki had to leave, and as Tenkai watched her walk away into the afternoon sunshine, he wondered: [i]Is this what love feels like? I wonder if this bond will ever break? Does she love me back?[/i] 8 years later, he would find out the answer to his questions. [/spoiler] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-9ht9R_vN4"]Arc 1[/url] [spoiler=Chapter 1, Amnesia!]As he opened his eyes, Tenkai Kuroko noticed that the sun was high into the sky, signifying that it was already noon… and that he had somehow fallen asleep on a sand dune. His muscles ached for some reason, and his grey hooded-sweatshirt had a long tear running down the length of his arm. His hand reached for the necklace dangling from the branch of a dried out shrub, something he couldn’t lose. Tenkai had received the necklace as a present from Saki, his “true love”. He always remembered that day clearly with perfect accuracy. Tenkai had just come home from his first mission as a Genin, which ended in failure. His squad had been sent out to retrieve a scroll for some old bag, and he had dropped it in a river. As the depressed Genin placed his foot on the first step leading to his front door, he heard a laugh from above. “Well, I hear the mission didn’t go so well.” Saki said as she walked down the side of the wall using perfect charka control. When she reached the bottom, Saki dug her hand into her pocket and pulled out a silver chain necklace with a flame symbol inserted between 2 of the links. “It’s a good luck charm my father gave me.” Saki proclaimed, handing it to Tenkai, “With this you’ll never fail a mission again.” Tenkai plucked the necklace from the dead plant and locked it around his neck. As he crouched forward he looked around, spotting a few shuriken lodged in a hollow tree trunk. [i]So a fight took place… like I didn’t know that already![/i] The young teenager stood up slowly, continuing to scan the area. His eyes locked onto a half-burnt paper bomb, and instantly Tenkai’s memory flared to life. He had been returning from a solo mission, a request made from the Leaf. His mission was clear: meet up with a squad of Leaf shinobi, accept a coded scroll, and return it to the Kazekage. But of course, other countries wanted to know what this exchange was about, and there’s always a spy to let some info leak. Knowing this, Tenkai wanted to appear as a natural traveler so only minor theft threats came his way. While preparing for his mission, Tenkai had sported his normal attire: A grey hoodie with a pocket on each side at arms length, a pair of worn-out blue jeans, a rugged backpack filled with food, water, and supplies, and his necklace. He had stored his headband and weapons pouch in his backpack, now looking nothing like a shinobi. To make sure he wasn’t recognized by people other than the Leaf squad, he had combed his normally matted black hair and made it nice and neat. After that, he had straightened it back, making him appear as a normal teenager. Of course, due to all these changes the Leaf shinobi were unwilling to hand him the information because of his lack of a headband and ninja look. After some arguing and tests, Tenkai was permitted the scroll and began his trek home. As he was nearing the desert that surrounded the Sand Village, he landed on the last patch of grass before that wasteland of sand. Tenkai reached into a hidden pocket in his jeans, grabbing the lone kunai that was concealed within it. He spun around and pulled his arm back in one rapid motion, arching his arm across his body while releasing the kunai. The small knife soared through the air at a tree, landing with a soft [i]thud[/i] when hitting its target. “Not bad for a passerby… or should I say Sand shinobi?” A tall man wearing a Rock Village headband appeared from behind the tree that the kunai was lodged in. As Tenkai had expected, the shinobi made no attempt to hide his identity: sporting full ninja attire with scrolls hanging from his waist. He also had slick green hair that seemed darker than it was in the shade of the receding forest. The ninja reached into his weapons pouch and produced some shuriken. “So, you knew I was a shinobi, eh?” Tenkai grumbled as he slid his backpack off his shoulders and pulled out a leather pouch, “I was expecting at least one adversary on my mission, looks like I was right! Rock Village… Of course your village would try to obtain the information.” The enemy ninja chuckled, bringing back his arm, “So the Sand still holds a grudge, eh? Well… let us make that grudge bigger!” The man whipped his arm forward, sending a volley of shuriken at Tenkai. Tenkai rapidly opened the leather pouch and reached inside. Grabbing what he needed, he pulled 2 knife-like objects out of the pouch and slipped his hands through the handles the weapons provided. As the shuriken neared at an alarming rate, Tenkai brought his left arm around his right side and suddenly pulled it across his body in a wide arc. Shuriken clattered off of the weapon and landed harmlessly into the ground. Taking a step back, the enemy reached for one of his scrolls hanging from his waist, “A close range fighter, so Intel was right. Of course they sent a long range specialist like me to handle a Chunin with chakra knives. There aren’t many shinobi that still use those weapons… allow me, Daven of the Rock Village, to show you why!” Daven tore a seal from the scroll and took the flap hanging from the scroll’s side, pulling on it which opened it. Biting his finger, the man ran his bleeding digit across the writing contained within his scroll, making dots along the line repeatedly. [i]Now’s my chance![/i] Tenkai rushed charka to his hands, funneling it into the chakra knives. Having them enhanced, he dashed forward; centering his chakra at in the soles of his feet which allowed him to bounce of trees and quickly approach Daven. Tenkai jumped and landed in a squatting position 10 yards from his opponent, using as much strength as he could to jet forward off the ground, chakra exploding from his feet. “Fell for it!” Daven yelled. With blood stroked and dotted all over the scroll, his hands clasped together in a handsign. Smoke erupted from the ground around him, covering the surrounding area. Tenkai sliced through the smoke, nearing his target. His momentum couldn’t be stopped; he was hurtling through the air at an increasing rate. The teenage Chunin suddenly found himself clear of the smoke and in a small opening. Tenkai’s eyes widened and he instantly wished he had been more cautious. “What is that thing!?” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 2, The Price To Pay]“Hahahahahahaha, like my jutsu!?” Daven stood behind a large wall made of interlocking chains. The barricade spread out in an even square, projecting 20 feet across and top to bottom. It floated in mid air with various ninja tools attached to the chains every few inches. “Crap, my momentum will carry me right into that thing! I’ll be sliced to bits… I have one shot at this!” Tenkai drew his arms back in a wide “X” across his body, pouring as much chakra as possible into his weapons. As the wall neared him, Tenkai felt his chakra store draining to a minimum; it was his only shot at life. “Trying to slash through my defenses, huh?” Daven said with a laugh, “Sorry to disappoint you boy, but this way is a special jutsu of mine. I call it my Razor Barricade, because as soon as you hit it… it’s over. But I knew people would see the flaw and slash their way through it, so I infused the chains with my chakra. If you want to get past them you’ll have to hit it with more chakra than I’ve stored in them… Impossible because I’ve stored more chakra in these chains than a Kage has.” “I never got why villains explain their strategy, it gives me the upper edge,” Tenkai grumbled. Reaching his limit, he cut the flow of chakra and stored the rest for later. Now nearly upon of the wall, Tenkai closed his eyes and focused. Opening them he roared, “Chakra Knife Technique: X Slash!” Bringing his arms in an arc, Tenkai pulled both of them to their adjacent side which formed an “X”. But, the “X” only completed halfway; the chakra knives collided with the wall, creating a clash of metal and chakra. Tenkai watched as the chakra in his weapons decreased, but he couldn’t see any difference in the wall! “It’s over boy, I’ll be taking that scroll soon,” Daven chuckled. He made a few handsigns and smirked, “Ninja Art: Grapple Iron!” As he said the words, chains from the corners of the wall shot out and wrapped around Tenkai. Locking the grip on him, the chains swung back and up, creating a swing-set out of the jutsu. [i]This is bad! He’ll swing me right down into the chain at high speed… Please let me have damaged it enough![/i] The chains yanked at Tenkai, sending him hurtling for the spot he had weakened. Raising his arms above his head, Tenkai brought the chakra knives down hard on the wall, seeing the last of their chakra evaporate. That was it. He was out of chakra, with sharp ninja tools inches from piercing him. As he prepared to die, his chakra knives caught on one of the chains, cutting it like butter. Tenkai knew this was his only chance; turning the weapons horizontal, he sliced the chains across in a swift motion and turned the chakra knives vertical again, thrusting upward. With a sideways “I” with a vertical slash through it made out of the chains, Tenkai slipped through it with only a katana tearing his sleeve. Tenkai quickly slashed through the chains holding him and rolled onto the ground. Daven gaped in awe, not accepting that his jutsu was beaten. Yet as Tenkai looked up at the man he was surprised to see a smile form on the man’s face. Daven jumped back some feet and clapped his hands together. “Now,” He said, “You will know why I am a long range specialist! Ninja Art: Shrapnel Blitz.” Tenkai heard multiple clicks behind him, and as he wheeled around to see what it was, he instantly saw his fears were confirmed. The wall of chains de-linked around the ninja tools, leaving kunais, shurikens, windmill shurikens, spiked bombs, katanas, and various other weapons hovering in mid air. As the frightened Chunin watched, the tools rotated to face him and he heard an icy laugh resonate behind him. “Now you realize, I could have killed you when I first activated the jutsu,” Daven explained coolly, “But I wanted to see the extent of the Sand’s power. To hold such information with a weak Chunin is pathetic, so I was assigned to 1. Capture the scroll, and 2. See why they picked this teenager for an important mission. From the looks of it, the Sand Village’s skill has deteriorated… NOW DIE!” The weapons seemed to explode towards Tenkai at amazing speed. Tenkai’s grey eyes saw death flying at him and he knew he had no other choice but to use his [i]ability[/i]. With a sense of dread over him, the Chunin closed his eyes for a few moments and snapped them open. His eyes were now that of a Sharingan, but instead of a deep red there was a dark gold filling his eyes. No tomoe were present, but black diamond-shaped pupil was surrounded by a dark ring. “This is my Kekkei Genkai, the Raikegan!” Tenkai’s body distorted and became fuzzy, soon seeming to disappear into thin air. Daven watched in amazement as it [b]did[/b] evaporate into thin air, leaving the massive amount of weapons to [i]thud[/i] against the ground. As the Rock shinobi scanned the area for his enemy, Tenkai raced through the desert a quarter mile away. “Damn it! I’ll never make it back home without having to face him again… and after using my Raikegan’s special ability,” Tenkai said between breaths, “I’m a sitting duck. My Raikegan allows me to transport myself up to a quarter mile from my last position, but even transporting the distance of a few feet takes lots of energy. And when traveling a large distance, normally you focus and focus until you have a clear vision of where you must go. But today I went a quarter mile on a whim, for all I know I could be dead… I’ll probably faint in about-” Tenkai stopped short and fell to his knees, covering his eyes with his hands. His entire body felt like it was on fire, and his eyes threatened to explode under the extreme pressure. Feeling consciousness slip away, Tenkai grabbed the scroll from his backpack and dug a shallow hole in the sand. After placing it in the meager hiding place and covering it up, he closed his eyes. With nothing but darkness awaiting, Tenkai Kuroko slipped into an unconscious state, only to be awoken an hour later by a hand grabbing his neck. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 3, Return of Failure]Tenkai’s hands reached for the hand grappling his neck, trying to yank it off. His eyes opened slightly and he saw Daven rummaging through his pockets looking for the scroll. Daven emitted an evil chuckle and looked into Tenkai’s eyes. “Now I know why you were chosen. That Kekkei Genkai of yours would allow you to escape any imprisonment or situation. But… at a cost,” Daven said. The Rock shinobi, still holding Tenkai by the neck, pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch, “Now tell me, where is the damn scroll? I’ve wasted enough chakra on a punk like you, so I’ll make this simple.” “Your village can rot for the rest of eternity for all I care! You’ll never get that scroll!” Tenkai screamed into Daven’s face. In his current position, all Tenkai had to do was kick up some sand to reveal the scroll, and if Daven made a move the sand would shift and it would be over. “Ungrateful scum, I’ll turn the sand red with your blood!” Daven gripped the kunai tight and swung his arm at Tenkai’s stomach. The metal pierced the teenager’s flesh, creating a small flow of blood from his abdomen. Tenkai winced at the pain but remained calm, the last thing he needed was to look like a fool. Feeling his mind slip away from suffocation and wound, Tenkai let go of Daven’s arms, pulling his fist back and ramming it into the man’s nose. Daven recoiled in pain, a waterfall of red oozing from his broken nose. “AAHHHH! You’ll pay for-” The shinobi was cut off as a foot smashed into his face, making him reel away from Tenkai. Daven ignored the pain of his wound and stood up, reaching for a second scroll and opening it. Using his blood, Daven made 3 dots on the scroll and immediately made a handsign, “Ninja Art: Iron Dimension!” Metal chains erupted from the ground, coming together at a high focal point in the sky. The mass of chains bundled together and formed a giant wrecking ball, swinging down at Tenkai with incredible speed. Tenkai noticed that a single chain was held by Daven, and a plan formulated in his mind. “Guess I have to use jutsu…” Tenkai flashed his hands in various handsigns and drew his head back, “Lightning Style: Dragon Fang!” The Chunin arched his head towards the rapidly succeeding chains, opening his mouth. A ball of light appeared in front of his mouth, growing to the size of his head. Suddenly, the ball shot at the chains, spreading out and forming a barricade against the metal. The ball collided with the barricade, but the lightning jutsu stopped it from coming further. [i]Now you learn why it’s called Dragon Fang![/i] Tenkai leaned forward and pointed 2 fingers at the collision, a spark of electricity forming on the tip of both fingers. The spark shot out in a continuous stream of electricity and connected with the chains, surging down the line of [b]metal[/b]. The sparks raced underground, reappearing on the chain Daven was holding which transmitted the charge into his body. “AAAAAGGGHH!” Daven’s body surged with electricity until he finally let go of the metal, canceling his jutsu. The chains disappeared and Tenkai cut off his attack, still exhausted from his Raikegan’s teleport. “You should have known I controlled the lightning element… guess Intel wasn’t willing to give that up?” Tenkai chuckled as he knew victory was his. No shinobi could survive that flow of lightning through his body, unless that person was using it as a base for an attack. Tenkai’s eyes widened as his mind dawned on the truth. Looking at Daven now, he realized that his nose was completely healed. [i]It can’t be! That means-[/i] “Intel did give me that information, brat. As if I’d fall for a meager trick like yours…” Tenkai’s vision went fuzzy as the necklace around his neck was pulled back, choking him with something he held dear. Behind his, Daven chuckled and rubbed his bandaged nose, dried blood smearing his face. Tenkai was on the verge on unconsciousness when the pull released and the necklace was pulled off of him. He turned around to see Daven toss it at a dead shrub and pick up… the scroll! Tenkai reacted on instinct and dove for the scroll, in return getting a kick under his chin. The Chunin rolled away and watched through closing eyes as the enemy pocketed the scroll and turned away. Struggling to his knees, Tenkai pulled out a few shuriken and tossed them at Daven. But he was far too weak; the shuriken sailed off and thumped into a dead log. The Rock shinobi turned around and pulled out a bomb kunai, flinging it at Tenkai’s face. Metal clashed against metal as Tenkai blocked the kunai with his own, making it land in the dirt next to him. Reaching his hand out, the Chunin shoved the paper bomb into the sand and extinguishing it. His life momentarily saved, Tenkai fell onto his back. The last thing Tenkai saw was the sand blowing into his face… and then blackness. ……………………………………….. As he remembered the last bit, Tenkai Kuroko noted that his sweatshirt front was caked with dried blood. He struggled to his feet and began to limp for his backpack which held his medical supplies. After he was bandaged up, Tenkai began to jog off into the desert towards the sand. [i]There’s no way I can take him on in my current state. I’ll need help and to be properly healed… Saki’s away on a mission, our finest medical ninja. That leaves…[/i] The Chunin kept jogging, then began to sprint, needing to make it back as quickly as possible. Tenkai thought about using his Raikegan, but he knew that even activating it would paralyze his body. After a while, the Hidden Sand Village came into view and Tenkai could spot a few ninja standing guard on the high walls. His wound aching, Tenkai sped up as he felt fresh blood begin to creep down his shirt. As he neared the Village Gate some Sand shinobi stopped and waved at the familiar silhouette of Tenkai. But when he reached the gate, they rushed over to him as they saw the blood and cuts he bore. “What happened?”, “The scroll! Where is it!?”, and “TENKAIIIIIII! Are you okay?” were yelled by the villagers, but seemed to slip through Tenkai’s mind. The Chunin kept going, flying through the village as blood tainted the sand beneath his feet. Pushing through the throng of onlookers, Tenkai made his way to the Kazekage’s office. Pushing past the guards he barged into a room filled with plants and sunlight. Sitting at a desk covered with paperwork was the Kazekage. “Lord Kazekage! I have to tell you something immediately!” Tenkai yelled as he charged the desk. A man with blond hair, looking to be in his late 30s, peered up from a pile of documents at the sweat covered teen in front of him. “Tenkai, what happened to you? What about the scroll!?” The man pushed away from the desk and hopped over it, his blue robe flapping due to the sudden motion. The Kazekage landed on the floor and ran to Tenkai, grabbing his shoulders and looking into his eyes, “At least tell me… who?” “Rock Village… I was attacked by a Rock Village shinobi… skilled in summoning metal based contraptions… Raikegan used at maximum potential to escape… scroll has been lost,” Tenkai struggled to get out. The blood loss was too much, and Tenkai slumped to the ground and heard his name being yelled. The world swirled around him, voices raced through his mind, and his vision went fuzzy. Tenkai finally awoke in the hospital bed he had been in 8 years ago with the sun shining through the windows. This time, however, instead of Saki’s parents and his own, he saw the Kazekage steadily pacing the room. The man noticed Tenkai was awake and rushed over to him, his green eyes locking onto Tenkai’s grey ones. “Kazekage, has a tracking squad been sent out yet?” “Yes Tenkai, the information you gave me was enough. I’ve just received word we’re on the man’s trail. Is there any other information you can give us?” The Kazekage’s green eyes pleaded for more info, anything to help. Tenkai closed his eyes and reopened them, staring out the window. “His name was Daven… that’s all I know,” Tenkai looked back to see the Kazekage suddenly taken aback. The man got up and paced the room, mumbling. “Why him? Is this… Are they trying to make it worse? They have some nerve to…” The Kazekage faced the window and stared hard at the village outside. Tenkai shifted in the bed and sat up, staring at the Kazekage. “Sir, what’s wrong?” Tenkai asked. The Kazekage did not turn or look his way, but simply kept staring out the window. “Daven of the Rock Village… is my brother, and a traitor to the Sand.” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 4, Just Getting Worse]“Daven is your BROTHER?” Tenkai exclaimed as he bolted up straight, causing his hair to get even messier than it already was. As he did so, a shot of pain ran through him, and fresh blood could be felt seeping from his abdomen. The Kazekage motioned for Tenkai to be quiet, not wanting anyone to overhear. “Yeah, I did everything I possibly could to erase my name from connections with him,” The Kazekage whispered, “I even separated myself from my clan, just to rid the last name I shared with him… Daven had so much going for him, yet… he just couldn’t do the right things! Every time it looked like it was going to work out, he slipped, until finally he betrayed the sand all together.” “What did he-“ Tenkai was about to ask, but the door burst open to reveal a teenager with black hair and blue eyes, wearing a green t-shirt and jeans. On his hands were black gloves with the fingers cut off, and at his side was a medical pack. The boy wasted no time, rushing in the moment he could to Tenkai’s side and snapping open the medical supplies. The Kazekage stepped forward and placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Easy now Hebi, he’s not in that bad of shape.” But even as he spoke, Hebi made a series of handsigns and placed a hand where Tenkai’s wound was. A blue aura surrounded the area, and the pain Tenkai felt eased away. “Ah… Thanks Hebi, you always were a good medical ninja. So, what are your instructions for me to get patched up and ready to chase down the man who did this to me?” The Kazekage sighed, and shoved Hebi aside to get his Chunin’s utmost attention. “You,” He said, “Aren’t going to be hunting Daven. Tenkai, you need rest, and you’ve already seen that he’s beyond you. Those moves he used, he could pull those anytime, they’re nothing to him… I’m sorry, but Daven’s going to fight the tracking group and not you.” With that, the Kazekage began to leave the room when Hebi spoke up. “But Naoto! I mean… Lord Kazekage, he did decently enough against him. I mean, the only real reason he lost was because of his Kekkei Genkai draining him.” “How did you know I used my Raikegan?” “Because Tenkai, I’ve healed you before, and I’ve noticed a pattern. Whenever you use it, the chakra you control surges to your eyes. But after the Raikegan’s ability has been used, chakra seems to refuse to flow into that area as a result of the strain, and when that happens your eyes dim.” “Well, that’s nice and all,” Naoto said with a slight hiss, “But orders from me are final! And come on Hebi, you know I don’t like it when I’m called by my first name… Tenkai, REST.” He left the room, slamming the door behind him. Hebi continued to work on Tenkai for the next half hour, and at last wiped the sweat from his brow and laid down his supplies in the case he had brought them in. “Phew!” He sighed, “That wound ran deeper than I thought. He actually planted metal splinters in you, and if I hadn’t got them out… well, you get the picture. But for now, you do need rest. So take this pill and catch some “z’s”.” Hebi pulled out a white pill from his pocket and dropped it into Tenkai’s hand. After a moment of silence, the pair still hadn’t moved. “You think I won’t take it…” “I know you won’t Tenkai. So I’m going to stay here until you do, and if I grow bored, I’ll force it down.” [i]Pfft, he know’s me too well… But hey, maybe when I wake up Saki will be back from her mission![/i] “Ugh, you’re so annoying!” Tenkai groaned, popping the medicine into his mouth. After a drink of water, his vision began to fade, and his limbs felt like lead. He heard the door open and close, but it seemed so far off, like it happened in another world. Soon Tenkai was snoring, the sun setting outside his window. …………………………… “God! That kid was such a pain in the ass!” Daven yelled into the sky as he walked through an overgrown path. Around him were lush ferns, shaded by the towering trees in the forest the Rock Village used to travel towards the Sand. On his nose were layers after layers of bandages, trying to stop the bleeding Tenkai had caused. Birds chirped all around him, irritating Daven to the point of wasting chakra to silence them. But before he could make a handsign, voices began to come from his left. [i]Voices? Too soft to be my fellow villagers… maybe some target practice for me? Hehehe…[/i] The Rock shinobi slithered over to a group of thick bushes near the voices, peering out into a small clearing that held a group of 4 people. Each wore a Sand headband, and all of them were boys except for one. The girl wore a black jacket and pants, while all the others simply sported ninja suits. Daven made a few handsigns, amplifying his hearing. “… defenses. They don’t seem ready for an army of ninja to burst out from this forest!” “Please Riku! They probably have some weird system for a situation like that. And can we try to focus on other things besides the forest? Our mission was to find all the weaknesses they have, not just one! You know I’m right Saki, don’t listen to these morons.” “All of you be quiet!” Saki grunted, “We’ve gathered enough information today. Let’s move away from this area and sent up camp. I’m getting tired of hearing your ‘tactics’.” The group began to walk away from Daven’s location, and with all useful information acquired, he cut off the hearing jutsu. Making another series of handsigns, he stood up, completely revealing himself to the group. “Hello Sand shinobi! Lovely day isn’t it?” Saki and the others turned around, one of them throwing a kunai at Daven. Easily sidestepping the attack, he grinned evilly at them, “I’m pretty sure you have some information on my village, and I would appreciate you to not tell your Kazekage.” “Like we’ll damn listen to what you have to say,” Saki called out, “You can’t handle a group of Chunin by yourself!” “Oh contraire! If you people are about as strong as that Tenkai person was, I’ll knock you down with ease…” “Tenkai? What did you do to him!?” “Oh nothing much, just gave him a few cuts and bruises. I’m sure he’s resting peacefully in a pool of blood right now… Shame he tried to stop me.” Saki and one of the other Chunin began to charge at Daven, but the ninja made a simple handsign, and two windmill shuriken shot out from behind him. Saki jumped above the attack, but her companion misread the projectile, and the metal sliced open his left arm. The boy fell to the ground, blood spewing out over the lush grass beneath him. Saki, who was still in the air, launched 4 kunai with paper bombs attached to them at Daven. But after another simple handsign, 4 shuriken shot out from different angles around the clearing and clashed with the knives, making them go off course and explode in random areas. Saki landed in front of Daven, making a few handsigns. The ground morphed beneath Daven, turning into quicksand that began to drag him under. “Hmph, I wish you wouldn’t try so hard to die.” Daven chuckled with another handsign, 2 chains shooting out from the ground beneath Saki and ripping through her shoulders. Blood exploded out of her wounds, and the quicksand disappeared. Suddenly, a hissing sound resonated in Daven’s ears. He looked up to see 5 snakes made of water shooting down at him, but he jumped out of the way. The water snakes twisted before they hit the ground and aimed at Daven again, and this time he couldn’t avoid. The snakes each grabbed hold of a limb with their fangs, while the fifth raised it’s head high about the prey. Daven looked to his right to see one of the Sand ninja making a handsign, and the other uninjured one quickly patching up his teammate’s arm (all the while glancing nervously at Saki). “Hehehe… you devils. My clothes are ruined!” The last snake arched down on Daven, but before it could land his disappeared into a cloud of smoke. The ninja who had created the jutsu looked around for his target, but was instantly hit by kunais in nearly all 360 degrees. Now that he was a bloody pulp, the boy patching up his comrade’s arm began to fear when he was going to be attacked. “Kukukuku…. One of your friends is dead, 2 injured… are you sure you can handle me on your own?” Daven’s voice echoed throughout the area. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 5, A False Victory]“I’m not afraid of you!” The only boy uninjured said weakly, not showing any confidence at all in himself. Daven’s laugh pierced his ears, and he noticed it was coming from his left. But then, a second later, the laugh came from in front of him. Soon it seemed as if Daven was everywhere, torturing him to the brink of madness. “Do you know where I am child? Can you tell from my voice? Kekeke… no you cannot!” A shuriken shot at the Sand ninja from his left side, digging into his foot. Blood spurted from the wound as he leapt up and made a few handsigns. Three swords made of earth circled around him, and then turned to where the shuriken came from. The swords launched themselves at presumed target, bursting into thousands of pieces on impact. The ninja sighed in relief, when suddenly a net made of heavy chains landed on top of him, forcing him to the ground immobilized. As he struggled to break free, Daven stepped out from the thick brush around the clearing with a smug smile on his face. “How… did you do this?” The Chunin said through gritted teeth. The chains covering him made breathing an effort for him. “How? How what? The voice? The weapons?” Daven chuckled, “I’ll start from the beginning since you can’t grasp my jutsu. Before you even knew of my presence, I activated one of my strongest jutsu, a little trick I like to call “Iron Burial”! This jutsu creates a dome of weapons around my selected target, and it just so happened the greenery here gave it perfect cover. How else did you think I could make chains pop out of the ground with a single handsign? Hahaha! But that’s as detailed as I’ll go, don’t want you knowing all my tricks.” Daven cackled maniacally at his confidence in victory. “Hmph! Earth Style: Sinking Pyramid!” The Sand ninja whispered, the earth beneath him shooting up to envelope his body. The jutsu formed a pyramid of earth over him, severing the links to the net trapping him. Daven gasped in surprised and made a handsign, four chains bursting out of trees on the edge of the clearing. The chains raced for the earth pile, but before they could hit, it sunk into the ground; leaving the chains to collide into each other. The pyramid shape formed again, but this time near Saki, exploding at the top to let the ninja inside jump out. “Fire Style: Dragon Breath Technique!” He opened his mouth wide, and a jet of green fire streamed out towards Daven. Daven jumped above the attack, a volley of kunai spitting out of the ground beneath the Sand Chunin. The boy had nowhere to go, and was left dangling in the air as kunais ripped through his body, blood staining him clothes and the ground bellow. “Hehehe, you can’t win kid!” Daven laughed as a single chain dive bombed from the sky, blowing a hole through the helpless boy’s chest. He landed hard on the ground, the chain falling into a pile on top of him. Daven floated back down, eying his handy work. One boy was dead, one was bleeding to death, another trying to ignore the gash in his arm, and finally Saki, laying limp on the ground as blood soaked her shoulders. “Man, you guys really suck at fighting! Tenkai alone was a better challenge than you lo-” His speech was cut off by a gust of air than threw him back against a tree, snapping the bark on it. Daven looked up to see the ninja with the arm injury holding his hands together and breathing heavily. Amused, he began to walk towards him, but the boy made another handsign and a blast of air slammed him to the ground. “Shut up Rock filth! We’re Sand shinobi, one of the strongest villages there is! You just caught us off guard, nothing more!” Even with his faced pressed against the ground, Daven still managed to utter a laugh. He slowly stood up, a cocky look smeared across his face. “You’re all talk kid, allow me to silence your annoying mouth for you!” A single handsign was made, and a sword appeared in the boy’s throat. The Chunin dropped to the ground, blood spilling out of his wound. Daven couldn’t help but laugh insanely, these Sand ninja were too easy! After he finished his glee moment he spoke again, “I wonder what I’m going to do with you losers, to leave you here and rot is too good for the Sand. Maybe I could send you to your homes! Oh the faces they would-” “SHUT UP!” Saki yelled as a fist made of rock smashed against Daven’s chin, sending him skidding along the ground. The bewildered ninja looked up to see Saki, with two holes in her shoulder patched, standing up with her hands clasped in a handsign. “You… but how did you…” “I’m one of the best medical ninja the Hidden Sand has, so don’t assume I’m a weakling! Now tell me, what did you do to Tenkai!?” Daven got to one knee, rubbing his chin were the attack got him. “That Tenkai kid was last saw, by me, lying in a sand dune with blood pouring from his stomach. After that I have no clue, but he’s probably dead by now…” Another fist made of rock clocked Daven on the chin, making him reel away from Saki. “You bastard, I’m going to kill you right here…” Saki growled, making a series of handsigns quickly, “Earth Style: Imperial Dance!” The ground around Saki shot up in different places, around one foot high each, and the bumps in the earth began to chase after Daven. The Rock shinobi bolted up and ran to the side of the attack, beginning to sprint parallel to the blasts. But the attack curved and tracked him, soon getting beneath him. The only difference he noted was that running was harder, until all the bumps simultaneously blasted upward at him, smashing him all over. The sheer force of the blow sent Daven flying upward, but the jutsu stretched all upward to him, some of the limbs wrapping around Daven. The wrap squeezed him tightly, forcing the air out of him before throwing him higher into the sky. One lump of earth was waiting for Daven there, free falling down into his stomach. The impact sent him towards the ground at high speeds, were he crashed into the grass with a sickening crack. “That… should end it…” Saki breathed as she fell backwards onto the ground. Using one of her strongest jutsu with gaping wounds in her shoulders was rough, but it looked like the job was done. Without warning, six Rock shinobi landed around the Sand group, making identical handsigns before placing their palms on the ground. A blue aura began to form a dome around the group, trapping them inside. One of the Rock ninja left the group to inspect Daven, who now had broken bones scattered throughout his body. “Ugh, I never would have thought the girl would unleash a jutsu like that… but hey, what can you do?” Daven was transported back to the Rock Village Hospital, where he received extensive treatment. Meanwhile, the Sand group had been patched up on the spot, and released from their imprisonment (all except the dead one). “Guess they’re letting us go…” One of the boys mumbled as they walked away from the ninja. Saki kept glancing back at them, cautious as to why they would be let go. But each member of the group was too fatigued to realize they were in a genjutsu, and that the path “to the Sand Village” they were following was really a trail to a secret prison the Rock Village owned. [/spoiler] [spoiler= Chapter 6, Escape From Home]“Lord Kazekage, I received a message from the tracking squad!” Naoto looked up from a document he was going over to see a Jonin with a scroll in his hand. The ninja placed the scroll on his desk and left, closing the door behind him. Naoto performed a handsign, the seal on the scroll breaking, allowing him to read the message. “No… it can’t be!” His eyes widened as he read the notice, a bead of sweat rolling down his forehead. He rose quickly, running out of his office as his blue robe flapped along in the act. …………………………….. When Tenkai opened his eyes it was already nightfall, and the stars in the sky seemed to be diminished to him. He sat up and stretched his arms out while yawning, feeling wide awake now that the drug had worn off. [i]Hmph, that pill put me out for a while… but I feel so full of energy! Why couldn’t Hebi give me a stronger dosage? On the up side, my wound is fully healed and my chakra levels have returned to normal! Hehehe… But wait… Daven has the scroll! DAMNIT! What do I tell Saki? “Oh, hey! Yeah, my mission failed and I gave the Rock Village valuable information!” Great… just what I needed to make her like me more…[/i] As he began recalling the fight he had with Daven, the door opened to reveal Naoto standing there. Tenkai looked over at him in shock, for why would the Kazekage visit him at such a late hour? “Tenkai, I have some bad news,” He whispered, shutting the door and coming to Tenkai’s side, “The tracking squad located Daven.” “How is that bad!? Did we put the hurt on him good?” “Ummm…. The thing is Tenkai, when he found him it was too late. He was already in the Rock Village.” “Oh… I guess we won’t see him for a while…” Tenkai sighed. Daven got away, and there was nothing the Sand could do about it. As if his day wasn’t bad enough! But before Tenkai could complain anymore, Naoto spoke up. “There’s… another reason why it’s bad,” the Kazekage said nervously, “You see, when we were tracking him… we sort of stumbled upon something… It was the dead body of one of our Chunin.” Tenkai turned to face him, fearing that it was Saki, “The Chunin had been from Saki’s Information Squad, and blood was all over the place. We think the rest of the squad was captured and that Daven was the one who mauled them… from the looks of the place, it was an intense fight.” “Why are you telling me this? Why should I care?” “Pfft, pretend all you like Tenkai, but I know you like Saki,” Tenkai blushed, “Face it, you love her. And THAT’S why I’m telling you. BUT, don’t you dare try to invade the Rock, you’re just a Chunin…” With that, Naoto stood up and walked out, but before he shut the door he stared at Tenkai for a while. At last he closed the door, walking down the hallway to meet up with his assistant. “Um, sir… don’t you think he’s going to try to escape and rescue the squad now?” “Please, you think I’m blind? That’s the reason I told him about it, I want him to rescue that squad.” “SIR! Don’t you think that’s a little rash? He’s only 15, and you shouldn’t be-” “Ah shut up, I know what I’m doing. I’m not letting him go on his own however, he’ll have backup.” The Kazekage began to walk towards the exit, but the assistant called out to him. “But sir, I still don’t think it’s a good idea!” Naoto stopped in his tracks, shifting slightly so he could see the assistant. “Do know who I’m sending as back up? First, get me Koji, then you can say whether I’m stupid or not…” The Kazekage walked out the exit, leaving the assistant there to stand with his mouth open. He quickly regained his composure, and went off to find a willing pair of shinobi to run a message to the Hidden Star Village. ……………………………………. “There, all suited up…” Tenkai whispered as he wrapped his headband on. He had left a note on the bed, telling the recipient clearly that he was not to be expected back for a few days. He strapped his weapon’s pouch to his waist and threw on his hooded sweatshirt, checking if he had forgotten anything. When everything was accounted for he opened the window in his hospital room and jumped out. He landed softly on the ground, darting between hiding places until he reached a quiet alleyway and began to slink towards the wall from there. Not many residents were still awake at the late hour, so he didn’t have to avoid detection that much. Tenkai at last reached the wall and began to run up it with as much speed as he could muster. When he reached the top, Tenkai looked down to observe how many guards were on duty, and to his luck there were practically none. Opening his weapons pouch, he pulled out a few smoke bombs and tossed them at the section in front of him. As soon as the explosion went off, guards rushed to the area, leaving Tenkai only a few seconds to slip through the haze and onto the ground. Nearly bumping into a few people on the way was troublesome, but Tenkai managed to reach the lowest part of the wall before he was detected. “Hey! We got someone trying to escape over here!” A guard yelled, ruining the Chunin’s plan. Before the others could react, Tenkai jumped up into the air and made a blur of handsigns. Water formed an oval around his body, and he began to form a drill like motion as he fell towards the sand below. When he hit, the sand was blown away, allowing him to tunnel away from the Sand Village without a trail. After about five minutes of this, Tenkai roared up out of the sand, gasping for air as the sand settled around him. “Great, I’ve already had to waste chakra…” Tenkai panted as he rose up. And so he began the long trek to the Hidden Stone, with only the moon to give him light on this journey. ……………………………… “Um, Koji, these men want to see you…” A woman’s voice said as she opened the door. In his bed, Koji sat up and rubbed his eyes, his black hair diminishing his view of the people at the opened door. When he brushed it aside, he was surprised to see a pair of sand shinobi walking towards him. He jumped up, grabbing a hidden kunai from beneath his pillow. The Sand ninja stopped instantly, taking a step back. “Don’t worry Koji, we’re not here for a fight.” “Hmph, why else would you be here for me? I doubt you want to sip tea at this hour!” “Koji, we need your help on something. Your fighting style should come in useful for this mission.” “Why would I help you?” Koji said, squinting his eyes. “Because a friend of yours will die if you don’t. Tenkai Kuroko is attempting to invade the Rock Village alone, and you know as well as we do it’s suicide. So, are you going to let Tenkai die, or are you going to help?” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 7, Koji]“I can’t believe you agreed to go invade the Rock Village, Koji!” His mother’s voice yelled at him from the bathroom doorway. Koji had just finished dying the ends of his hair white, liking how epic it looked to him. He wore a dark-blue, long sleeved shirt with a star symbol stitched onto the back of it and light gray shorts. His headband was wrapped around his arm, and his brown eyes showed no sign of turning back. “Tenkai’s a good friend of mine, I’m not going to let him kill himself.” He grunted, shuffling past his mom and into the kitchen. She followed after him, raising her voice with each word. “Alright son, who do you think you are! You’re only 14, and that training of yours could destroy your body any second! And what if we were attacked while you were off playing with Tenkai!? HUH!? I swear, if one thing goes wrong, it’s on your head! Your sister’s still a little frail from her training, so we can’t count on her to defend our house! And we all know your father’s not around after-” Koji slammed his fist against the wall, seemingly shaking the whole room with sheer anger. He turned around to face his mom, eyes glaring with rage. “I damn well know what happened to dad, and I f***ing know what could happen to her. But this is what I chose to do, to help a friend in need. And I’m not going to let your nagging stop me from saving his life!” His mother was stunned at these words, now only able to watch her son walk away from the Hidden Star Village with a near-suicidal mission ahead. …………………………………………… As Koji began his walk down the rugged path leading away from the Hidden Star Village, he began to remember the day he and Tenkai had met… [i]About 2 years ago, he was walking in the woods, about a mile away from his house when he heard the sound of a battle. Darting left and right, Koji soon came to a clearing where he could see a young teenage fighting with two men. Both sides were going at it with everything they had, but the kid was starting to lose. He noticed headbands on all of them, the boy’s representing the Sand Village, and the opponent’s labeling the Mist. “Alright kid, you know you can’t win! Just hand us the little trinket and we’ll be on our way.” said one of the Mist ninja. “As if! I’d die before giving you scum a rare object like this! Besides, it’s meant for the Star Village, not you corrupt bastards!” Tenkai yelled back. Koji’s eyes widened at the mention of his village, and the thought of something worth fighting like this over meant for his home shook him. Now he had no choice but to help. ………………………………………. “Hey, thanks for helping me scare off those Mist guys!” Tenkai sighed, falling back into the soft grass around him. Koji leaned back against a tree, looking over Tenkai. “So… what’s your name? And what do you have for my village?” “Oh yeah, you’re from the Hidden Star…” Tenkai said, “I kinda guessed that from the way you fought… But anyways, my name’s Tenkai Kuroko! A great ninja from the Hidden Sand, come to deliver a priceless object to your people!” “If you’re so great, why couldn’t you beat those punks by yourself?” Koji chuckled, making Tenkai embarrassed. “Well, okay… Maybe I’m not so great, but they still entrusted me with this!” Tenkai said as he pulled out a crystal like object, “It has to do with some rock that’s in your village from what they told me. Something about enhancing the training?” …………………………………… After he had delivered the crystal, Tenkai needed a place to stay for the night. Koji offered a room at his place and the Genin agreed happily. The next morning Tenkai had to return home, saying he couldn’t afford to waste any time. The two kept in touch until Tenkai was announced to be a Chunin, and after that his schedule became too cluttered for free time with Koji.[/i] “Hmph, it’s been about a year Tenkai… don’t worry dude, I’m coming to save your ass!” Koji laughed, beginning to sprint further and further away from home. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 8, Calm Before the Storm]“Hey look! I can see the walls!” One of the boys called out, grinning at the sight of returning home. Saki sighed out of relief, they had made it back to the Sand Village without any trouble. [i]I’m still confused as to why those Rock ninja patched us up and set us free, but I’m sure a quick talk with Naoto will clear it up. But… what about Tenkai? Is he… dead?[/i] The squad kept walking anxiously towards the Sand Village, but it still seemed so far away. Suddenly, the boy in front halted to a stop, acting like he walked straight into a wall. “Um… what are you doing?” Saki mumbled. The boy staggered back, rubbing his nose were a small trickle of blood came out. Without warning the sight in front of them melted away into nothing but brown earth, revealing what the kid did in fact hit. Saki whipped around to see the five ninja that had “helped” them, each of them standing outside what appeared to be the cell they were in. “I really can’t believe you kiddies fell for a genjutsu like that!” one of them chuckled, “Any knowledgeable academy student would have figured it out. We’re frikin enemies for crying out loud! Like we’d let you go! Hahaha!” The whole group proceeded to laugh, walking away commenting on the groups stupidity. “Oh yeah? You were stupid enough to put fully trained Chunin in a cell as weak as a cardboard box!” Saki yelled at them, making multiple handsigns. Yet nothing happened, no earth moved, no jutsu formed. Nothing. One of the guards turned back, a smug smile on his face. “Really now? You should know an extremely intricate jutsu seal was placed on every cell here, we’re not stupid Sand shinobi!” The guards continued laughing, walking out of view quickly. Saki slumped down to the floor, as did the other two. There was no hope for escape, not unless someone rescued them. ………………………………………… Naoto yawned as he shook off the sleepy feeling clinging to him. Last night he had sent a Chunin and a kid who trained with a radioactive rock to rescue a squad captured by the Rock. Normally a full blown platoon of Jonin would be sent for that, but this… this mission was special. Koji’s natural ability would fill in for two Jonin, and when Tenkai put his mind into something as important as this (with Saki involved no less), he could go beyond Jonin. Still, they were kids. There was no getting around that, and as he stared out the window, Naoto second guessed his decision. “Nah… they’ll have Saki’s squad with them after the initial release. Yeah, it’ll be okay…” Naoto said to himself, not confident in his words at all. The Kazekage quickly got dressed, walking outside and into the streets of the Sand. He glanced over to the hospital, which was in view from where he stood, wondering how far Tenkai had gotten by now. Suddenly, a man wearing a ninja suit ran up to him, a worried look on his face. “Sir! Was there any sort of rouge escape last night or something?” “Um, no… Why? Should there have been?” “Sir, it’s just that… last night, someone fled from the Sand Village, using smoke bombs to disguise himself.” “Oh, I’ll see what I can find out.” Naoto reassured the man, letting him be on his way. He walked over to the hospital, heading straight for Tenkai’s room. When he opened the door, the bed was empty aside from a note left on the pillow. Naoto read the note carefully, every detail sinking in. [i]Tenkai… the lengths you’d go for her… That’s truly love when you’d try to take on an entire army just to save her. But, there’s some things that can’t be done alone… And that’s why… I’ll ease the burden on you… and maybe after this, you can live normally, without all this mess…[/i] Naoto dropped the piece of paper, walking off to tell Tenkai’s parents he’d be on a long mission and might not be back for some time. …………………………………………. Three days later, at dawn’s break, Tenkai slowly stood up from the makeshift bed of grass he had been laying on. Around him was nothing but dried grass and rock, the occasional bug scuttling around as well. He strapped on his gear, keeping his chakra knives ready to go at a seconds notice. Walking a couple steps forward, the Chunin came to the edge of a cliff, carved out by time and the elements. “Don’t worry Saki, I’m going to save you… and when I do, I’ll make sure this never happens again… so just hang on, I’m coming…” Tenkai whispered as he overlooked the Hidden Rock Village from his perch. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 9, Stirrings of Evil]The sound of violent wind attacked Tenkai’s ears, his clothes flapping like crazy in the attempt to free fall onto the building below. A few seconds ago, he had jumped off the cliff, letting gravity take him towards a bone shattering drop. As the roof below neared, Tenkai made a handsign. “Lightning Style: Fang Roar!” Electricity shot out of his open mouth like a laser, burning a hole through the roof. He quickly made another handsign, and water began to slow his descent as it formed under him like a cushion. When he was inside, the water splashed to the ground, now useless. And so began the long run between twisting hallways and rooms, barely escaping detection, and not finding information on Saki’s whereabouts. After about an hour of this, Tenkai skidded to a halt at an opened doorway, eavesdropping on the conversation intently. “…yeah, apparently Daven got pretty ruffed up by some Sand ninja! What a wimp, they were only a rag tag bunch of Chunin!” A laugh echoed from the room, and then a gruff voice spoke. “What a loser he is! Did you see his injuries? Some girl basically shattered every bone in his body! Hahaha! Weakling!” Tenkai’s eyes widened, he knew Saki was the only girl in her squad. “So what did we do with the team? Slit their unworthy necks? I would’ve gladly taken our Kage up on that!” “Nah, we sent them to our… ‘safe’. I still don’t get why we can’t reveal its location inside our walls. I mean, come on! Who’s gonna know?” “The insanely powerful guy we named Kage, that’s who!” Tenkai realized no more information would be coming from peaceful chat, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. As he slowly turned into the room, he envisioned the rocky area he had been at a little while ago, focusing on it very hard. Inside the room were the two men, each in casual clothing, red t-shirts and gray pants, looking up in surprise at the visitor. “Hey, who are you? Wait… is that a sand Village headband!?” The one who had talked about Saki said, standing up to face the intruder. As he kept walking, Tenkai activated his Raikegan, shocking the Rock ninja. “You’re going to tell me where that safe is,” Tenkai said ominously, “And if you don’t, I’m going to beat the s*** out of you…” The second man laughed at this, and soon the other one did to. “That’s a good one kid, now why don’t I- hey! What are you-” The man didn’t get to finish his sentence. Tenkai grabbed him by the collar and stared at him with his Raikegan, the space around them distorting. When the jutsu finished, the room was left empty. High above the building, on the cliff were Tenkai had slept, the two men backed away from him. “So, are you willing to give me that information now? Or will I have to force it out!?” “Hey wait… you’re that Kuroko kid Daven ran into! Hehehe… just for the amusement factor, if you can beat the two of us, I’ll tell you the location-” Again he was cut off, but this time by an uppercut to the chin. The unexpecting ninja never saw the first attack coming, and never had time to react to the blur that slammed into his chest. He skidded back along the ground, clutching his chest as he saw Tenkai, arm stretched out as if frozen in time after the punch he just delivered. “Why you…” The man ran forward, making a mess of handsigns. A sudden gust of wind knocked against Tenkai, but before he could be leveled his Raikegan teleported him behind his assailant. Strapping on the chakra knives, Tenkai ripped two deep gashed in the opponent’s back, forcing blood to stain his clothes. Behind him, dozens of bullets made of rock shot at him, bruising him as he turned around to face the blow. Now the second man made a handsign, and a spear made of earth morphed out of the ground beneath Tenkai. The Chunin slashed at the jutsu with his chakra infused knives, rendering it harmless. “Water Style: Chaotic March!” Large balls of water exploded against the earth user, breaking at least one rib. But now the first man was up, and a volley of fireballs was coming at Tenkai. Quickly getting into a steadfast position, he blurred his hands into flashes of handsigns, creating a giant wall of water that negated the fire. “Hmph, you guys are no match for me,” Tenkai taunted as both ran at him from different sides, “I’ll just end this now… Lightning Style: Shockwave!” As he placed his hand on the ground, a blast of static was sent out towards his enemies, doing nothing but spiking up there hair. “Pretty weak kid, it’s over!” But suddenly a second round of static came at them, seeming to slow their movements. Another static wave hit them, and their muscles seemed to stiffen. Now, as the fourth wave came at them, they couldn’t dodge it at all. When it hit, the two men were completely paralyzed, only there eyes being able to work. “Weak, you say? I just immobilized you with one of my weakest jutsu. That’s not weak…” ………………………………………… “If you’re going to tell me where it is, mover your eyes in a circle,” Tenkai said, staring down the Rock ninja in front of him. He stood on the edge of the cliff, one hand gripping the man’s collar, and if he let go it was certain death. As Tenkai saw the eyes move in the pattern he wished for, he made a handsign to unseal the mouth. “THE ROCK VILLAGE WILL CRUSH-” The man got no further before Tenkai let go, watching him soar downward until… splat. He grabbed the second man, positioning him so if he let go the same fate would come of him. However, this one replied to the eye rolling before it was even asked. “Alright, I’ll tell you! It’s outside the village, roughly a mile east of the battle sight! You’ll see two earth pillars, all you need to do is use the Earth Control Seal on it and it’ll open right away!” “Nice little info bag I got here… Too bad I have no more use for you,” Tenkai grinned evilly, letting go of the man and watching fall to his doom. He turned back to the rocky landscape around him, trying to remember the seal that would set Saki free. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 10, Just In Time]A blur dashed through the thick trees, causing birds to fly away in fright. Koji jumped up onto a tree branch, kicking off of it to the next, repeating the pattern to gain distance. “Hold on Tenkai… I’m coming…” He said, nearing the Stone Village with each second passing. ……………………………………… “Lets see… I’m looking for two small pillars made of earth,” Tenkai mumbled as he peered out from behind a tree. He had located the sight of Saki’s battle and followed the directions of the shinobi he had killed, bringing him within the area of the prison. Yet he couldn’t seem to find it, no matter how hard he tried. [i]Never trust the Rock Village…[/i] Tenkai thought sourly, darting to another tree and scanning a different area. After a while, his patience thinned from the lack of resolve. [i]I should be rescuing Saki right now, not trying to find some stupid pillar! God, I hate the Rock Village![/i] He ran to another tree, seeing yet again nothing. Tenkai was about to turn away when he noticed the ground beneath him was different from the rocky, dry grass covered area that normally surrounded the Rock Village. This earth was beaten down, like a path, and had absolutely no grass along it at all. It was hard, but if he paid attention enough, he could make out a trail leading deeper into the wood. Wasting no time, Tenkai followed the path with high hopes. “Well what do you know?” Tenkai chuckled as he looked up from the trail, seeing two pillars roughly 7 feet high, made of earth in a clearing. He jogged up to the structures, quickly making a handsign and forcing his palm onto the ground. A flash of light rose up from the cracks in the dirt beneath him. Tenkai jumped back as the ground broke away, revealing a rough staircase leading into the ground. All caution thrown aside, Tenkai bolted down the passage the second he recovered from shock. The ground above him sealed up as he passed through, and a few torched flickered on as he raced down the stairs. At last the ground leveled out, leaving Tenkai with 3 paths to choose from, two on the side and one in front. “Don’t turns back Tenkai, just go straight ahead!” He quietly said to himself as he dashed forward and into the hands of his enemies. ………………………………………………….. “Alright, out of the cell!” A Rock ninja yelled at the group of Chunin in front of him. Saki quickly got up, and so did the other members of her squad. The ninja raised the bars keeping them in and waved for them to follow, which the did begrudgingly. “So,” Saki called out sarcastically, “You guys gonna give us some candy? Or are we being let go?” The guard laughed and kept walking. “You… could say we’re letting you off easy…” Another laugh came out of his throat, and he stopped at a doorway with a sword symbol on it. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door, ushering the group in. One of the boys whistled as he stared in awe at what they were witnessing. The room’s ceiling was 50 feet above them, and if that wasn’t impressive enough, the whole thing was covered in giant thorny spikes. Around them was what looked like an arena, but in the middle was a catapult. Saki gulped as she realized the intentions of this room. “You understand now huh? I’ll explain in deeper detail though… You see, this room is so big because it’s meant for a brutal fight. We’ll pit you against some of our strongest fighters, and if you can survive… well, we don’t know. No one’s ever survived an ass full of rock ripping through them. Hehehe… the catapult can be used at any time during the battle. But for now, you’re up first!” The guard pointed to a boy behind Saki, and he walked forward into the middle of the room. A door on the opposite side of the room opened up to reveal a tall man wielding a sword as big as him. The gore was cleaned up and the arena was readied for the second boy. ……………………………………………… [i]Really? I haven’t ran into one guard here… this place should be crawling with those Rock Village creeps! But that aside, please let Saki still be alive![/i] Tenkai skidded to a halt, running down a new passageway. He had been at it for around 10 minutes, but nothing came to him as a sign of Saki’s existence. As he ran down the hallway, he noticed a small door, about 4 feet high, on the wall. The label “Cleaners of Arena” was written crudely on it. “Cleaners of… oh no…” Tenkai’s eyes widened as the thought of what this could mean. He opened the door and stooped down, trying to get through the little passage as quickly as possible. ……………………………………………… “You’re up once the blood is cleared away!” The guard cackled, watching Saki step further into the arena as a mass of bones and blood was carted off. The man with the giant sword grinned at the sight of her, giving a weak laugh. “Never sent a girl into the roof before, but there’s a first time for everything! By the way miss, the name’s Shisen!” He grinned wider as he glanced over at the catapult, thoughts of Saki dying exciting his crazed mind. “I’m afraid you’ll be the one hitting the roof,” Saki said casually as she made some handsigns, “Earth Style: Rising Falcon!” The ground beneath Shisen exploded into a life sized flacon made of rock, but the swordsman simply jumped back to dodge it. But the bird made a U-turn and struck him in the cheek. Shisen gripped his giant sword and sliced the flacon in half as it came in for a second strike. “Little birdies won’t save you…” He taunted, dashing at Saki with the sword over his head. Saki slid to his left, a shot of mud slinging itself at Shisen. He made a handsign, and a small wall of rock rose up to block the slur. Saki was now in the air, making more handsigns; a trio of swords made of water formed around her. The swords sped towards Shisen, who only had time to block two. The third severed his right forearm’s muscles as it tore through his flesh. “You dirty b****!” Shisen growled as he made a handsign. A block of earth morphed out of the wall behind Saki, cracking her back and sending her crashing into the ground. As she coughed in a cloud of dust, Shisen sent four of the spikes on the ceiling free falling down onto Saki. The Chunin scrambled away from the attack, but one of the rocks hit her bluntly on the head. Saki’s vision turned fuzzy, and she saw the rough outline of a sword chopping down on her arm. On pure instinct she raised both her arms to block it, but the sword created a gash in her wrists. Blood fell down onto her clothes, and some onto her face, disgusting her. Above her, Saki heard a deep laugh. “Get used to the blood, you’ll be seeing a lot of it soon…” “Yeah, yours!” Saki screamed, a geyser forming under Shisen. Boiling water shot out of the hole, burning the swordsman as it carried him up towards the ceiling. Shisen’s skin suddenly became a dark brown as he was lifted towards the ceiling, and all he had to do was punch at the water to force it down the hole. He began to fall towards the ground, but floating piles of rock came to ease his fall. “Oh little Sand girl,” He said mockingly, “I’m afraid to tell you I can’t be beaten here. This jutsu of mine, the one turning my skin brown, gives me insane power. The ground around me surrenders all of its natural energy to me, and as you can see there’s an abundance!” Shisen punched the ground, a wide fissure ripping the earth up as it came for Saki. Her head was still spinning at the blow from the spike, and she could do nothing but feel the impact knocking her several yards away. Saki struggled to stand, but the enemy’s sword hit her shoulder with the side, bruising it badly. Now she was barely able to stay conscious as Shisen kicked her in the side. ……………………………………………… “God! Where the f*** is the end of this thing!?” Tenkai yelled as he struggled to move at a good speed in the cramped passage. He needed to get to the end before it was too late, and Saki was nothing but a pulp. Suddenly, a light came into view that seemed to be the end. “Gotta hurry!” ……………………………………………. Saki tried to stand, but a decent sized rock slammed into her back, forcing her to stay down. The volley of blows that followed made her cringe with pain, but she refused to let a tear form. Three punches. No tears. A kick to the head. No tears. Pushed upward into the air by a pillar of earth. No tears. “It… hurts so much…” Saki said through her teeth, crashing on her back into the ground. …………………………………………… Tenkai at last reached the end, and was now observing his surroundings. Before him was a vast open area, but just a few feet above were giant spikes hanging from the ceiling. He glanced down to get an idea of how far he was up, and the two people fighting bellow looked almost as big as little figurines. One of them in particular was getting the s*** beat out of them, and they looked like they were wearing a black coat. [i]Saki…[/i] Tenkai then observed the catapult, connecting the dots about its true intentions. He reached into his weapon’s pouch and pulled out a few tag bombs, strapping each onto a kunai. “Please let this plan work… Please…” …………………………………………… “I think the ceiling is calling for you, eh Sand scum?” Shisen chuckled. Saki leaned against the wall, blood spilling over the ground beneath her. “I… am not going to lose…” She struggled to say, the wall behind her suddenly bursting out to attack Shisen with lumps of earth. His sword easily dispatched of the jutsu, and he laughed some more. “You foolish little girl… I’ll chop your arm off first, and then I’ll give you the pleasure of the catapult!” Shisen ran at Saki, who was too weak to do anything. Suddenly, the area above them exploded, sending down dozens of the spikes in free fall. Shisen slashed at the ones coming for him, but Saki stood there as a couple created cuts in her body. The blood covered girl looked up to see a huge spike coming at her. She had no time to react, no time to dodge, no energy to move. Saki raised her arms as much as possible, and closed her eyes. But the crushing blow never came. She slowly opened her eyes to see Tenkai, standing above her with his chakra knives preventing the spike from reaching her. “Damn, what have you gotten yourself into know, Saki Yamata?” [/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DL Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Daven is a pimp :3 Tho I can see many sexual ways to use that 5 snake jutsu. Nice chapter~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 4 for each limb.And the 5th one for the head :3 Anyway cool story bro,but shorten the chapters.Too long(not Inb4that'swhatshesaid). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Bios will be put here! >:3 [spoiler=Tenkai][b]Name:[/b] Tenkai Kuroko [img]http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5124/syaoran2nr8.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Sand [b]Age:[/b] 15 [b]Element:[/b] Lightning/Water/Kirai [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Raikegan [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Tenkai grew up at an unstable time for the Sand Village. His village had few allies, and when he was young the Sand had no Kazekage (because the Rock Village had killed their last one). His parents gave him adequate attention, and his grandfather had made sure his hopes were not unreasonable. As his grandfather had told him, Tenkai refused to believe he could achieve Kazekage, and soon only wished to be a Jonin, where he could impress his friends. However, in all his childhood he had rarely spent time with his older brother, Oson, who he only saw during meals and walking around the house. The two never really cared for “brotherly love”, so they kept to themselves. When Tenkai was old enough, he attended the Ninja Academy and quickly fell to the bottom of his class. But the introduction of Saki Yamata to his life made him want to succeed, and he found himself training hard and harder until the day he graduated. Now he is a Chunin, only one rank from his goal. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Saki][b]Name:[/b] Saki Yamata [img]http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs6/i/2005/022/c/5/Art_File_Girl_Coloured_by_CherylHew.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Sand, moved from Hidden Mist [b]Age:[/b] 15 [b]Element:[/b] Earth/Water [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Chunin [b]Bio:[/b] Saki grew up in the Hidden Mist Village, but when she had just started attending the Ninja Academy, a sudden trade between the Sand and the Mist forced her family to move. The current motives behind the trade are unknown, but she was traded for a captured Chunin around the age of 17, so the odds of it being a normal deal are slim. When she first arrived at her new village, she noticed how dry it was; perfect for the Earth Jutsu she was trying to learn. Saki quickly became close friends with Tenkai Kuroko, all the while blissfully unaware of his secret feelings for her. She often trains with Tenkai, and has a natural gift for jutsu strength (she learned an A-rank jutsu at the tender age of 10). Her childhood in the Hidden Mist seems to have no affect on her, as she loves living in the desert where she has made many friends. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Koji][b]Name:[/b] Koji Saiken [IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/qq8mfc.jpg[/IMG] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Star [b]Age:[/b] 14 [b]Element:[/b] None [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Han Kogeki [b]Rank:[/b] Unknown [b]Bio:[/b] Koji lives with his mother and sister, and his dad has passed away. When he was 7, he began to train with the radioactive rock his village was named after, giving him amazing chakra capacities. However, the radiation took its toll on his body, weakening him physically to the point where he couldn’t move. His father put a seal on him to stop the effects of the training and had him rehabilitated to normal strength before he was allowed to try the training again. One day, he was walking through the woods when he spotted Tenkai Kuroko having trouble with some Mist ninja, and quickly came to his aid. It was revealed to him that Tenkai had brought along a crystal that would better the trainees of the Star Village. With the crystal, Koji continued his training and didn’t suffer from the side effects, allowing him to enhance further than his predecessors. But when he was 13, his father died from the stress of radiation, leaving Koji to be the man of the house. Know he trains regularly with the meteorite and crystal, becoming stronger each time. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Naoto][b]Name:[/b] Naoto, formerly of the Jizen Clan [img]http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5500000/-anime-guys-anime-guys-5554901-400-435.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Sand [b]Age:[/b] 38 [b]Elements:[/b] Fire [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Jaaku Koro [b]Rank:[/b] Kazekage [b]Bio:[/b] Naoto is the good sibling in his family, his brother being Daven. When he was young, he and his brother quickly climbed the ranks of the Sand Village’s shinobi. However, Daven kept becoming corrupted. He stole from people and misused his powers, leading Naoto to be ashamed of his last name. Finally, when Daven did his final act of evil, Naoto stripped the last name “Jizen” from himself, leaving his clan. After this, he confronted Daven, prompting him to the ultimate brother vs brother battle. The winner of the battle would decide the other’s fate, and Naoto was determined to banish his bad sibling from the Sand. The battle took place just outside the walls of their village, and in it Naoto awakened his mutated Kekkei Genkai, the Jaaku Koro. His mutation allowed him to win the battle, and he forced his brother away from the Sand. Soon his ability became famous, and when the last Kazekage was killed, he was nominated for the position. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Daven][b]Name:[/b] Daven Jizen [img] http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs11/i/2006/253/c/2/Green_and_some_red_leaves__by_Arcas.jpg [/img] [b]Village:[/b] Rock Village, Sand Village (banished) [b]Age:[/b] 34 (deceased) [b]Elements:[/b] Metal [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Control of metal objects [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Daven is the younger brother of Naoto. When he was younger, Daven would always get into trouble, whether it was bullying at the Academy, throwing food, or attempting theft. He is the most skilled at using metal to fight out of all his clan, even going as far as creating a jutsu style that used only metal. He unlocked his Kekkei Genkai at the age of 8, being the youngest to ever do so. His older brother, Naoto, always tried to look out for him, yet no matter what he did Daven would still get in trouble. By the age of 21, Daven was using his Kekkei Genkai to slip the coins he paid back into his hand. Later on in his life, Daven helped the Rock Village kill the current Kazekage in exchange for a large amount of money. The act was buried up until Naoto started digging for answers, and he found out his younger brother was involved. At age 26, Daven was kicked out of the Sand Village by his brother. He went to the Rock Village, which gladly took him in and gave him a high position when he showed them his skill. Years later, at the age of 34, Daven was killed by Naoto in a final battle between the two. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Hebi][b]Name:[/b] Hebi [img] http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll305/Spirit-Whisper/Anime%20boy/boy.jpg [/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Sand [b]Age:[/b] 15 [b]Elements:[/b] None [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Chunin [b]Bio:[/b] Hebi grew up in a fairly wealthy family. However, he never really liked the idea of being so fortunate. He thirsted for the life of a lower-class citizen that could work his way up to his current lifestyle, gaining a feeling of accomplishment. When he attended the Ninja Academy, it became apparent that he had no control over any jutsu elements. He envied Tenkai Kuroko, who already knew he was a Lightning and Water jutsu user and, since meeting Saki, had improved greatly. During the days he had no school, Hebi tried learning an element, but he couldn’t complete even one jutsu. One day, after more unsuccessful training, he was approached by a man that listened to him vent about the trouble he was having. The man told Hebi to watch, and he laced together some handsigns to creating a buzzing, blue square that was transparent. For the next month, Hebi and the stranger trained together, turning Hebi into a skilled user at this style of jutsu. At last the man said Hebi was ready to face the Ninja Academy and left, never to be seen again. Hebi showed the teachers his style of jutsu and became a star student, as well as forming strong friendships with Tenkai and Saki, who he trained with regularly. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Kayaku][b]Name:[/b] Kayaku Funmatsu [IMG]http://i56.tinypic.com/sqmgb6.jpg[/IMG] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Sand [b]Age:[/b] 24 [b]Elements:[/b] Earth (Crystal) [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Kayaku grew up with his parents preparing him to be a great shinobi. They took him to various places around the world and told him it was so he could see places he normally wouldn’t, but it was actually to better him with the world. Thanks to this, any missions Kayaku goes on, he knows the terrain better than his companions. His jutsu style was first discovered when he was trained for earth jutsu, but he always formed crystals instead of earth. Kayaku climbed to the Jonin rank quickly, but was demoted to Chunin because of his jutsu’s weakness to wind. Now however, Kayaku has learned a way to overcome this weakness and prepares to join the Jonin rank again. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Kato][b]Name:[/b] Kato Yoshida [img]http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc158/Raven05135/anime-boy--large-msg-119479397947.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Leaf [b]Age:[/b] 16 [b]Elements:[/b] Lightning [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Kato grew up with a family slightly above the average person’s wealth. His sister was two years older than him, and was excelling at the Ninja Academy. One day, when he was younger, he found Daisuke outside of the Hidden Leaf Village. Naturally being kind, Kato took him back to his house where he was fed and given shelter. However, Daisuke, under the pretense of a lost boy, was actually a Chunin, and kidnapped his sister. But Kato and his family thought she was dead, because Daisuke disguised a random girl he had killed as his sister. Since then, Kato has dedicated his life to becoming a great ninja and to seek revenge on Daisuke for “killing” his sister. He has learned to control his chakra flow to certain places in his body to either enhance his strength, durability, and speed. Kato is also highly regarded among the Leaf shinobi. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Daisuke][b]Name:[/b] Daisuke Nakamura [img]http://api.ning.com/files/QFUIXb6MJ3GNg-KlP*S0VuowbRB0yNBFvhn-DJ35iu6RtR-aV-MyNAsbDcULGhlu9FYwjYDkIa0uFrzbSRhKZQIDibY-G5Y-/EresAnimeGuyWinged1.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Mist [b]Age:[/b] 16 [b]Elements:[/b] Water, Wind (Ice), Kirai [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Demonic Ice Style [b]Rank:[/b] Hidden Mist’s Elite Division [b]Bio:[/b] Daisuke was raised in a normal setting. He went to the Ninja Academy, his family had no financial troubles, and he had a decent amount of friends. He graduated the Ninja Academy at age 8, being the first among his class. He quickly rose to the position of Chunin, at which he turned to his darker self. He began to be more cruel to people, and soon ended up being called out for overly aggressive behavior. This brutality caught the eye of the Mist’s top secret project’s leader. Daisuke was soon invited for a meeting with the leader of the Elite Division, and gained entrance after a trial test in which he had to kill on of the members. During his training with the Elite Division, Daisuke unlocked his Kekkei Genkai, the Demonic Ice Style jutsu. He is the first in over 50 years to awaken the Kekkei Genkai, and has learned even more brutality through it. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Kuro][b]Name:[/b] Kuro Murasaki [img]http://images.quizilla.com/A/AQ/AQU/aquabregade/1129589949_evilperson.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Leaf [b]Age:[/b] 32 [b]Elements:[/b] Fire [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Hokage [b]Bio:[/b] Kuro was a star student from the first time he entered the Ninja Academy. He never missed the targets for his shuriken, always did the jutsu right, and was the type of person that was determined to lead. When he graduated at the age of 7, he was put into a squad with Michio and Benjiro. Together they soared through the Chunin Exams and became Jonin after a while, each getting the rank at the same time. Once on an S-class mission, Kuro didn’t come back for a week over the expected time. When he returned, his attitude had changed to a more lonely style, and he began to do things alone. People also noticed that he became stronger, and during battles he would suddenly begin to read his opponent’s moves insanely easy. Due to his skill and intellect, Kuro became the Hokage after the retirement of the old one.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Shimasu][b]Name:[/b] Shimasu Nakudan [img] http://www.quizilla.com/user_images/A/AN/ANI/ANIME.MANGA.RULZ.EARTH/1226397807_3073_full.jpeg [/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Rock [b]Age:[/b] 16 [b]Elements:[/b] Fire, Earth (Lava) [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] Different power depending on sword wielded [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Shimasu grew up in the wealthy clan of Nakudan. He didn’t really care for the Ninja Academy, but instead wanted to learn his own ways of fighting. His evaluation from the Academy was never great, yet due to his personal training outside of it his skills were higher than most students. He graduated at the age of 11, and using his Kekkei Genkai to draw power from the swords he used, Shimasu secured a place as Jonin by the age of 13. Ever since his becoming a Jonin, he has often been paired with Kazu. Together they have gone through deadly missions and formed a close bond, but the reason for Kazu’s reluctance to let him call him “-san” is unknown to Shimasu. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Kazuhiro][b]Name:[/b] Kazuhiro [img]http://api.ning.com/files/s2K1fB1U4p-Cdqt4166-y4KiOt5*MwdwhAufeZSb6r5Z380rFF8QB3pC787NQ8bKPcuUCM*5qvP-kEwLMdfakmktMFLetvtR/Ninja2.jpg[/img] [b]Village:[/b] Hidden Rock [b]Age:[/b] 23 [b]Elements:[/b] N/A [b]Kekkei Genkai:[/b] N/A [b]Rank:[/b] Jonin [b]Bio:[/b] Kazuhiro was abandoned at birth in the Rock Village’s hospital. He always thought his name was too long, and so he shortened it to “Kazu”. Even without a family or last name, Kazu excelled at everything aside from element jutsu in the Ninja Academy. By age 10, he was already a full blown Jonin. However, due to his abandonment at birth, Kazu doesn’t like to keep people close to him. He is brutal in battle, and hardly hangs out with the few friends he has. Kazu met Shimasu on an S-class mission to take out a supply delivery to the Sand Village, in which Shimasu saved his life when he was severely wounded. Since then, the two have become close, but Kazu is still reluctant to let the friendship grow anymore.[/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Am I Hebi? And DL is the water snake user, isn't he?! Good story though, I'm already back into it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 [spoiler=Chapter 11, New Revelations]“Are you in shock or something?” Tenkai sighed as he looked down at Saki. She just laid there, staring at him as if it were a dream. Finally, she put her arms down and grinned, watching her blood drip to the ground. “Tenkai, how the hell did you pull this off?” She laughed. Behind them, Shisen was shaking the dust off of himself, glaring at the scattered wounds across his body. He stared at Tenkai, wondering who the kid could be. Tenkai himself punched upward with a chakra knife, slicing the spike in half which caused it to fall harmlessly to the side. “I have my ways,” Tenkai said, “But for now, you patch yourself up as I take care of this guy…” He turned his back on Saki, facing Shisen with determination in his eyes. “No Tenkai! Shisen is too strong, you can’t-” “Saki… don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just heal yourself, and by the time you’re done, this fight will be over.” “Kekeke… You think you’re gonna take me down, kid?” Shisen chuckled, “I’ll blow you to bits!” Shisen disappeared, and an invisible punch slammed into Tenkai’s stomach. The blow sent him back towards Saki, but what felt like a kick to his back sent him into the air. Shisen materialized above him, swinging his sword from above his head. Tenkai blocked it with his chakra knives and kicked upward with both legs into Shisen’s groin. The swordsman grunted in pain, but let go of his sword with one arm and punched Tenkai in the chest. The sheer force sent out a shockwave that caused Tenkai to plummet to the ground and form a small crater. As Shisen descended swiftly, a large dragon made of water arced up and collided with him. He was sent hurtling to the opposite wall, but his impact was softened by layer of mud he created against the rock surface. Meanwhile, Saki desperately tried to bandage up all of her wounds. ……………………………………. “I can see the Rock Village!” Koji yelled, the high rock walls of the village looming ahead. [i]Hang in there Tenkai… I’m coming as fast as I can! For your sake, please don’t let Saki die![/i] ……………………………………… The two powers crashed into each other, Tenkai’s chakra knives and Shisen’s sword. The ground around them began to crumble, and it was obvious Shisen would win out of brute strength. His sword forced Tenkai’s chakra knives down, and he chopped upward. A small cut formed on Tenkai’s chin, having juts barely any time to pull back. Tenkai ducked below the giant blade and punched at Shisen’s abdomen, the chakra knives digging deep into his flesh. Shisen grunted and kneed Tenkai’s throat, forcing him back as a fist made of rock shot outward and into his forehead. Tenkai skidded back along the ground, making a few handsigns. A string of lightning wrapped around Shisen, but it fizzled out as soon as it made contact. Shisen laughed evilly as Tenkai’s eyes widened. “You weren’t here for the explanation, huh? Well you see, this power of mine allows me to draw energy from the ground, and when electrical attacks hit me… well, if you know anything about lightning, it’s that the earth around us nullifies it completely. Sorry Tenkai, but your lightning jutsu won’t work on me!” Shisen raced forward and punched at Tenkai, but the Chunin created a small barrier of water to block it. Two orbs of water shot at Shisen from behind, but he sidestepped them and broke through Tenkai’s barrier with his sword. Shisen lunged forward, but Tenkai knocked the attack aside and cut Shisen across the cheek. Blood trickled down his chin, but it barely fazed him. Shisen’s sword swiped at Tenkai’s legs, but he jumped up and shot tiny needles of water at him. The needles caused small bubbles of blood to form on Shisen’s body, but once again he wasn’t fazed. Shisen disappeared, and as he was about to punch Tenkai from behind, he was blocked by a lone chakra knife cutting into his fist. He gaped as he saw Tenkai facing him, arm already reared back to punch. “How… did you know? At the start of our battle you couldn’t tell where I was at all!” “Oh really? Haven’t you noticed that the last few times you’ve tried to hit me I’ve dodged?” Tenkai mused, “You haven’t gotten slower, and I haven’t gotten faster. It’s the simple fact that my power tops yours. And my power is my Kekkei Genkai, the Raikegan!” Tenkai’s eyes, now noted Shisen, were in the form of the Raikegan. Tenkai punched Shisen’s face and sent him reeling backwards. “How… is a Kekkei Genkai that allows teleportation supposed to help you here!?” “Hehehehe…” Tenkai chuckled, “I’d expect no less. You see, the Kuroko Clan covered up the true powers of our Kekkei Genkai with the teleportation gimmick. Sure, the Raikegan does allow it, but that’s no the true purpose of these eyes… The true power of a Raikegan is to enhance the user’s lightning style jutsu, and to send images to the brain quicker. The images are sent at three times the normal rate of a ninja without the Raikegan, and this allows all your movements in that form to become normal speed in my vision!” “Kukuku… I see now this speed I have currently won’t be enough to fool you then. I guess I’ll just have to kick it up a notch…” Shisen whispered, an invisible punch bruising Tenkai’s chin as he spoke. His eyes widened when he realized his Raikegan couldn’t keep up with the fast movements Shisen was creating, and he quickly formed his hands into a handsign. Lightning surrounded him, forming a cocoon of electricity. Shisen punched rapidly at it, but even with his current power it wouldn’t break. The lightning shot off towards Saki, carrying Tenkai with it. Saki by now had healed herself to a decent condition, and stood waiting for her savior. Tenkai jumped to her side, grabbing her hand and mentally picturing the way he had entered the prison. Shisen yelled and sprinted forward, but by the time his fist exploded against the wall they were already gone. …………………………………. “Thanks Tenkai…” Saki grinned as she took in the landscape around her. Tenkai winced at the pain emanating from his eyes, deactivating his chakra consuming Kekkei Genkai, “Ummm…. Tenkai? You can let go of my hand now.” “Oh, sorry…” Tenkai blushed as he let go of Saki. [i]Damnit! What was that! Idiot! Now she thinks you’re weird![/i] Tenkai mentally fit himself for the handholding, but before he could say something cool the ground around them began shaking. The pair stepped back from the entrance, and suddenly it exploded into a volley of dust and rock. Shisen stood there, eyes filled with anger. “YOU! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!” He rushed forward, but was thrown back violently onto the ground. Tenkai and Saki looked around bewildered at what could have caused it, but nothing came to light. Shisen got up and ran at them again, but instead was thrown into a nearby tree. “Geez, your one idiotic ass…” Koji chuckled as he landed in front of Saki and Tenkai, startling them. “Koji! What the hell are you doing here!?” “Hmm? Your Kazekage didn’t tell you? The Sand gave me instructions to save your butt on this suicide mission of yours. Seriously Tenkai, coming alone to save a girl… This isn’t a frikin fairy tale!” “Wait! Tenkai, you came alone!?” “And you didn’t even tell the girl you came to rescue! Man, are you one f***ed up-” “Okay, enough about me! I’d like to know what you plan on doing now that you’re here!” Tenkai grumbled. “I’m going to kick this guy’s ass while you people run from the Rock shinobi, duh,” Koji sighed, but noticed the surprised looks on their faces, “Wait… please tell me you didn’t think a commotion like this wouldn’t attract security? God you people are idiots… But for now, just take a few tag bombs and blow them up away from here, the guards will go that way. What are you waiting for? GO!” Tenkai and Saki ran off into the woods as Shisen got up. The man looked at his new enemy and smiled. “You’re even younger than them…” He chuckled softly, “Tell me, you know less jutsu then them, don’t you?” “Old man, I know less jutsu than Academy Students,” Koji said, “In fact, in the past couple of years I’ve perfected one jutsu. And that jutsu is the only one I know.” “Oh yeah? And what is this jutsu you speak of?” “This jutsu was only able to be learned thanks to Tenkai,” Koji said softly, making three handsigns and placing a palm on his forehead, “The only jutsu I know is a seal that stops the trauma on my body from my training. And when the seal is on, all the chakra that would normally ravage my body to death is stored up… so when I release the seal…” Koji’s hand glowed blue, and a shockwave roared over the surrounding area. Bluish-green chakra formed a thick aura around him, and he grinned out of pure happiness of finally being able to unleash his power. “…all the chakra that was stored away, is released NOW!” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 12, Power vs Power]“There! Now to just set these things of and run like hell,” Tenkai mumbled as he placed the last tag bomb on a tree. He and Saki backed up a ways and pulled a wire, causing a rip in the newly placed bomb. An explosion rocked the area, and the flames from that bomb lit the next on fire, and a chain reaction was started. The pair ran away as the last tag bomb went off, surely drawing the attention of Rock shinobi. “So, uh… Tenkai,” Saki hesitated, “Why exactly did your clan hide their secret?” “Oh, well… you see… The original Raikegan user feared that eyes as powerful as the Kuroko’s would be sought by other villages, like that thing that happened with the Hyuga long ago,” Tenkai said as they dodged trees, “So that teleportation ability was used to cover up the true power we have.” “Hmm… Well, don’t your eyes have like, a limit or something? They can’t be able to just send images insanely fast to your brain constantly…” “Well, that’s another secret my clan has. The Raikegan, as soon as it activates, automatically increases the user’s lightning jutsu. But the user chooses to use the other two abilities it has, the teleportation one’s chakra consumption makes the reason obvious. But for the other ability, one would think you should activate it at all times. Yet, the brain of a person can only handle a surge of information like that in short intervals. So technically, each Kuroko member has their own set limit as to how long they can activate that effect… Personally, I figure mine to be about 3 minutes.” “What happens… if you…” “Keep it activated longer? From what I’ve seen happen to other Raikegan users… your brain shuts down completely.” …………………………………………. Shisen gripped his sword with both hands, squinting at Koji. [i]This kid has so much chakra! He could use this stuff to take a shower with! Now matter… I’ll just draw more power from the earth…[/i] Shisen’s skin became a deeper shade of brown, and the ground beneath him seemed to become dry and brittle. He laughed maniacally and rushed forward at Koji. “Idiot,” Koji sighed, thrusting his hand forward. A blast of chakra shot out the attack Shisen, but he dodged and kept running. But as the chakra past him, the side of it reached outward in the form of an arm and grabbed his neck. The arm dragged Shisen through the air and threw him to the ground, disappearing. “What… was that!?” “Chakra, duh…” Koji whispered as he raised his arm. Chakra exploded from the ground under Shisen, propelling him into the sky. As he tried to form a handsign, a pillar of chakra slammed into him from above, causing him to crash violently into the trees below. Shisen’s eyes filled with rage as he struck the ground with his sword, making a group of rocks fly at Koji. On the receiving end, Koji flicked his hand upward, and a shield made of chakra blocked the attack completely. Shisen disappeared, and sent a volley of invisible punches at Koji from behind. “Won’t work!” Koji yelled as he turned around. The aura around him blocked the punches with ease, causing no harm to the protective chakra around him. Koji turned to his left and punched at the air, forming a outstretched punch of chakra that hit the high speed-moving Shisen square in the gut. “What the hell? You can sense where I am too!?” Shisen screamed in anger. “You forget that I control all of this chakra,” Koji sighed, “And that it’s not all above ground. I sent some below to purposely tell me when energy is sucked from the earth. And wherever you go, power is transferred from the ground to you… So by estimating the path your taking, based on the energy loss, I can guess where you’ll be, and when you’ll be there…” A tiger made of chakra tackled Shisen from behind and started slashing at him, but was dispersed by a giant sword swinging through it. Shisen stood up and made a series of handsigns, causing spikes of earth to shoot at Koji from all angles. The teenager merely raised his arms, and pillars of chakra smashed the attack to dust. Koji smirked and ran at Shisen, who raised his speed and disappeared. Koji jumped up and landed on the ground in a kicking motion, and suddenly chakra exploded in a wide ring around him. Shisen was flung up into the air, but quickly recovered and sent a pair of dragon heads made of rock at Koji. “Hehe, do you ever learn dumbass?” Koji taunted as he pointed at the attack. The ground next to him exploded into a long dragon like body, crushing the attack as it soared through the air. Shisen slashed at the chakra dragon, but it reformed and knocked him to the ground. Koji brought his arm down quickly, and the dragon dive bombed into the area Shisen was laying. The ground broke apart rapidly, large chucks of earth flying up into the air. Trees in the nearby area were uprooted and snapped in half, all living beings in a 20 foot radius having no chance at survival. Koji stared through the dust cover that was kicked up, trying to find Shisen’s body. The dust settled quickly, and Shisen stood in the impact zone without a right arm. Blood stained his whole body, and around him was a pool of red. “Y-you…” Shisen gasped, “Are… going to pay! I… will… kill… you… now!” Koji jumped into the air as the ground beneath him began to shake. Shisen’s sword burst out of the ground, slashing upward at Koji. He spread out his arms to form a shield of chakra, but Shisen materialized above him and smashed through the aura behind him with a single punch. Koji tried to spin around, but Shisen’s foot rammed into his spine. Koji hit the ground hard, wincing as chakra rushed to his back attempting to heal it. A few yards away, Shisen landed on the ground. “Kekeke… I think you’ll get quite the bruise from that!” He laughed, crazed looks covering his face. A squad of Rock shinobi came out from the woods behind him, noticing the injured kid with a wary look, “Hey guys, you’re late for the party!” [i]Damn… I have to get up! But… that pain… I think he might have broken something back there… crap… it hurts so much…[/i] [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 13, Win is Another Way to Say Loss]“Alright guys,” Shisen said wearily, “I’m going to seal the deal with this kid… hehehe, he’s been nothin’ but an annoyance!” Shisen began to walk towards Koji, who laid on his stomach with chakra trying to heal his back. As Shisen drew closer, Koji’s thoughts raced through his brain. [i]Damnit! How am I going to get out of this mess… my back is basically out of commission, so I can’t really move… I guess I’ll have… to use… my Kekkei Genkai![/i] Koji struggled to push himself off the ground, but at last did, turning to face Shisen before laying back down. His back injury caused pain to shoot through his body, but he ignored it as he watched his enemy come closer. “Shisen…” Koji said painfully, “That was a nice trick back there… but for now… I’m afraid you’ve lost.” “Hahahaha! You have to be kidding me fool! You think I lost? ME? HAHAHA! What in the world would make you think that?” Shisen laughed as he gripped his sword and pointed it at Koji. “Why? Because the fact that my body is out of commission means I can finally use my Kekkei Genkai… I try to use it as little as possible, because of the strain it puts on my body… but in a situation like this, I kind of have to…” “Sorry kid, but no Kekkei Genkai is going to save you with that back of yours! It’s over!” Shisen pulled back his sword and rushed towards Koji, who let out loud scream. He looked as if his soul was being ripped out, and soon his body was surrounded by a thick layer of light blue chakra. The layer disappeared quickly, and Koji slumped to the ground as if he was dead. Shisen stopped running and observed this new sight, his mind trying to figure out what happened. Suddenly, a intangible, light blue figure of Koji rose out of the boy himself. The figure stood up and looked back at the body it had just come from, but soon turned to Shisen. The chakra walked out of Koji’s aura and into open air, now letting Shisen see that it was merely a chakra version of Koji himself. “What’s up Shisen, miss seeing me standing?” The chakra said, noticing Shisen’s shocked look, “If you can’t understand, I’ll explain… You see, my Kekkei Genkai allows me to leave my physical body and create a chakra version of myself. But, my body can’t handle it for long unless it’s getting healed… like you allowed me to. So basically, you just made me more powerful…” Koji punched forward, and his chakra arm shot forward 10 feet and punched Shisen in the neck. He ran forward and jumped into the air, but Shisen sent a pillar of rock at him. Koji kicked downward at the attack, sending a blast of chakra straight through it. The blast kept going until it hit Shisen, who couldn’t manage to dodge. The swordsman signaled for the Rock shinobi to stay away, proceeding to vanish at high speeds. He reformed behind Koji, but when he attempted to punch him the chakra he was made of was passed right through. “Please idiot, you can’t punch chakra that doesn’t want to be solid!” Koji chuckled as he kicked back into Shisen’s leg, causing him to tumble over in mid air. The young teenage smashed both his fists down on Shisen’s side, cracking the armor of earth power on his skin. Koji quickly formed a kunai out of pure chakra and plunged it into the opened area, destroying the chakra inside Shisen as he did so. “Gah! Damnit eat this!” Shisen yelled. He drew as much power from the earth as he could from the height he was at, and punched Koji’s face. The chakra power amassed behind the punch stuck Koji and sent him reeling through the air. They both landed on the ground at roughly the same time, but Shisen turned his back to the chakra Koji and ran for his real body. “Get the f*** back here!” Koji yelled, pulling his arm back. The aura around his real body shot outward like a beam and collided with Shisen, blasting a hole through his stomach. Now injured too greatly, Shisen lost his earth power and fell to the ground in a heap. The chakra Koji disappeared, and soon the real Koji stood up unsteadily. The Rock shinobi all made some sort of handsign, and a swarm of jutsu came towards Koji in the form of rocks. “Pfft, I’m too tired to bother with you guys…” He moaned, sending a large chakra dragon to disperse of the jutsu. The shinobi jumped in different directions, but the dragon split into several smaller ones and came at them. Each ninja was killed by either getting smashed or bitten, and ended up as a pile of blood and bones. Shisen by now was dead, and Koji wearily placed the seal on himself. The thick chakra died away, and the scene became that of a boy standing in front of dead bodies. [i]God… that was horrible… But, hell I beat their asses! Hehehe, too bad my body feels wasted from that chakra overdose, not to mention my Kekkei Genkai. Man, I need to work on being less injured by my powers.[/i] Koji turned around when he heard some footsteps, wondering if it was a straggling shinobi. “Hey… you must be some moron I haven’t beaten yet!” Koji taunted, but the Rock shinobi only grinned evilly. “Kekekeke… I’m afraid you’ll be the one getting beaten today, boy!” Daven laughed as he made a handsign. ………………………………… “That’s the last of them I think…” Tenkai whispered. He was standing back to back with Saki, around them a ring of dead Rock shinobi. The pair relaxed and put away there weapons, all the while breathing a sigh of relief. Saki fell to the ground, and Tenkai went over to lie against a tree. Above them, night began to set in as the sun disappeared from the sky. “Man, those ninja were pushovers…” Saki complained softly. “Please, you had trouble standing the whole time!” Tenkai chuckled. Saki got to her feet and pointed to her wounds, grunting. “Yeah, because I had to fight with these! I’m pretty sure if I had been uninjured like yourself I would have killed more than you did!” “Really now Saki? If I recall, on this mission to save you I used my Raikegan pretty heavily, and that meant lots of chakra being lost. So I think I’m the better fighter out of the two of us…” “Oh shut up… but… I never got to say thanks. So, um, thanks for, well, saving my life Tenkai.” Saki said softly, looking up at the darkening sigh above them. “No apology needed,” Tenkai blushed, “It’s the least I can do to save your life.” “Oh? So does that mean you’d go to this length for Koji, or Hebi? What about-” “Uh, yeah…” Tenkai said, trying to act cool, “They’re my friends, like you… so of course I would… do that for them! Totally, yeah, your not a favorite or anything, nope, just a friend, yeah… um… maybe?” Saki smiled a little at Tenkai’s ramble, pulling her jacket tighter around her. “Well, it gets pretty cold here at night, to bad we don’t have any blankets…” She sighed. The two Chunin turned to face the dark path in front of them, and began walking back to the Sand Village. “Well, I hope Koji’s all right back there…” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 14, Beginning of Their Last Strife][i]6 days later…[/i] “There it is! The Sand Village!” Tenkai cheered as he climbed over a sand dune, Saki not far behind. The pair sighed out of relief, thankful to see their home after the long travel they took. “Man, our families must have been worried sick all this time,” Saki moaned, “They probably thought we died…” Tenkai brushed the sand off his clothes and stared at the walls, taking a step forward. “Well lets not keep them waiting…” ………………………………………………. Koji wiped the grime off of his chin, a small bowl, now empty aside from brownish slime coating the sides, in front of him. On his left thigh was a cloth matted in dried blood, the occasional fresh stuff seeping through. He sat in a small cell, much like the one Saki was contained in, and he had just finished the “meal” they gave him daily. As Koji went to rest against the wall, a Rock shinobi came up to the cell’s bars and grinned. “How’s it feel?” he said mockingly, “You gave it all up to save your little friends… I have to say, I’m impressed how much you wounded me! A kunai scraping my hand was quite the blow…” “Go shove a cock up your ass Daven…” Koji taunted. “Feisty now, aren’t we? Kekeke…. Like it matters… Tenkai and that girl should have just stayed put, in the end we’ll have an assassination squad seek them out for their troubles. Yeah, they’re dead, and you gave it all up to save them. See yah, loser!” Daven chuckled as he walked out of view. Koji slammed his fist against the wall, but the impact jarred his partially fractured bone. He gasped, yet refused to give the shinobi guarding his cell the pleasure of a scream. ………………………………………. Daven walked out of the prison as another rock shinobi went in, and the ground sealed behind him. He walked down the path to the Rock Village and pulled out a scroll he had just received that morning… [i]”Daven, sir, you have a message from an anonymous source,” The shinobi said nervously, holding out a scroll for Daven to grab. Daven grunted quietly and swiped the scroll, ushering out the man from his private quarters. He made a handsign, and the seal on the scroll disappeared in a cloud of smoke. “Weird…” Daven said in a low voice, “The sender took no interest in trying to code this! Guess they had no fear of it being intercepted, or it was worthless enough to not bother with.” He rolled out the full length of the scroll, reading it silently. “Daven, yes I know your name, this is a message from a person soon to be revealed to you. Wouldn’t want you to get overexcited by knowing the sender, so just listen closely and follow these directions. This afternoon, you will go to the abandoned rock plains north of the Rock Village. Do not bring anyone with you, or they will be killed. Prepare for a fight, you’ll be in for a challenge. Tell no one of this message!” “The hell… who sent this?”[/i] Daven made looked around to make sure no one was around, and when he saw he was alone, he ran away from the path he was on. He darted through the woods, heading for the rock plains designated as the fight location. …………………………………… “Hey who are you? I wasn’t supposed to get relieved yet!” A guard for Koji’s cell said as another Rock shinobi walked toward him. The newcomer stopped and made a handsign. “I’m not relieving you, I’m ending you,” He said calmly, a cloud of smoke bursting out of him. Before the guard could react, a knife made of fire struck him in the heart, killing him. Koji looked up as the bars confining him melted away when a fireball burned through them. In front of the teenager was a cloaked figure in blue, his hand motioning for Koji to come forward. “Who are you?” He whispered, standing up and walking towards the stranger. “Not important,” The cloaked figure said, “Just run back to the Star Village, they need you there… I hate to tell you this, but your village is under attack.” ………………………………… Tenkai waved at his mom as he walked away from his house. The reunion had been nice, but as usual Oson seemed to forget he existed. Now he wanted to see Naoto; imagining the praise he would get for his success in rescuing Saki. Eventually he stood in front of the Kazekage’s Office door, but before he could go in Hebi and Saki appeared next to him. “Hey guys, what’s up? I was just going to see Naoto,” “Tenkai,” Hebi said, “I just wanted to congratulate you, and make sure you were alive. By the looks of it you didn’t suffer much damage?” “Nah, this wasn’t like my fight with Daven. It was only a rescue mission.” “JUST a rescue mission?” Saki said smugly, “So I’m JUST another person?” “God, you know what I mean,” Tenkai groaned as Saki and Hebi laughed, “Anyways, I need to speak with Naoto.” Tenkai pushed open the doors and walked in, but stopped suddenly. Saki and Hebi, hearing no talking, stumbled into the room to see what Tenkai was staring at: an empty chair with a note on it. “To whoever sees this, I’m out on a mission. Will be back in a few days.” …………………………………… “Damnit! Whoever sent this frikin letter come out now!” Daven yelled in anger. He stood on a boulder, only barren earth and upraised chucks of stone around him for miles. Suddenly, the shadow of a person appeared over him, and he looked up to see a cloaked figure in blue standing on a rock pillar, “Bout f***ing time! Now who are you!?” “Daven, you seriously can’t figure it out?” The cloaked figure called out, “Think hard…” “Nope, not a thing. Just show your face and state your name so the fight can begin!” The cloaked figure sighed and pulled back the hood over his head, revealing a light face and medium length blond hair. “How sad is the day when a brother cannot recognize his other’s voice?” Naoto said. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 15, Surpass]“You…” Daven said quietly, a small wind blowing his green hair around. Naoto stepped closer to the edge of the pillar, his eyes kept on Daven without blinking. “It’s been a while brother,” he called out, “I haven’t seen you since that time I ran you out of the Sand.” “Kekeke… I remember that day pretty well, the day you found… your mutation… The only reason you won!” “That may be so, but the fact still stands, my Kekkei Genkai was different from our whole clan’s. Unlike you, I never could unlock my Kekkei Genkai at a young age; I needed something to awaken it. Like the thoughts of losing to my brother, the person I had to defeat! And now, I’ve mastered it. And I’ve come to give you hell, to end this battle once and for all!” Daven chuckled as his brother said the last words. He jumped high into the air and landed back to back with Naoto, whispering something. “You won’t defeat me brother. I’m afraid, I too have gained something from that battle… You see, my Kekkei Genkai was enhanced from that battle as well,” Daven’s eyes widened a bit, “While you gained that mutation, my ability added an effect to it. We both know our original Kekkei Genkai was supposed to be the ability to manipulate metal objects to our will. And we also know I took it a step further by making myself master that ability and creating Metal Jutsu. But, that little struggle of ours gave me a new power… something you won’t be able to win against.” “Mind telling me what this is?” “It’s the power,” Daven whispered, “To draw the natural minerals from rock, and use them as I please!” The pillar exploded upward where Naoto stood, but the Kazekage managed to jump away from the attack. As he landed on the ground, he looked up to see a giant spike, gleaming in the sunlight, standing where he just was. “How the hell did our battle give you that!?” “I guess, the thought of being shunned by a brother would do that to someone! I always was talented at this, you know! KEKE!” Daven spun around and jumped off the pillar, making a handsign. Two chains formed from the spike, attempting to plow through Naoto. He jumped out of the way and landed to his right as chains bore into the rocky earth. Daven, by now, had sent a volley of shuriken at Naoto, who dodged that attack as well. “You’ll need to do more than dodge!” “I know that! Fire Style: Birth of Flames!” Naoto pointed a finger at Daven, and a small flame appeared on his brother’s chest. A split second passed before the miniscule fire exploded into a star-shaped combustion. The ground below Daven charred, leaving a long ling of blacked rock. The flames died down, but when Naoto peered forward to see the finished job, Daven only stood there with a thick layer of metal wrapped around him. The armor fell away, and Daven was revealed with sweat rolling down his face. “Phew! That attack had some heat behind it…” he panted. The rocks around Naoto turned into sharp tacks and flew at him, but he created a wall of fire to block them, “You always were quick with your jutsu brother, but so am I! Just look up and you’ll know how good I am!” Naoto glanced up, seeing a large pillar made of steel coming down on him. “I’m still quicker, Daven!” Naoto taunted. A line of fire shot up at the pillar, splitting it in half as it sliced through it with ease. The two halves fell harmlessly to the sides of Naoto, who sent 3 fireballs at Daven. The attack was met by a steel wall, which split into dozens of kunais that spared no time in flying towards the Kazekage. Naoto made a handsign and dashed to his left, creating a line of tall fire in his wake. The kunais hit the fire and melted to goop upon impact. “Man, I love how I can disable your jutsu with a few notches up on the heat!” Naoto chuckled, lunging towards Daven. The fire trail he left died down, and a blast of air seemed to push Naoto’s body insanely fast towards his brother. Daven put his arm up to block, but Naoto kicked at his stomach. The two of them hit the rock surface hard, but Naoto sprung up and punched at the still collapsed Daven’s face. The Rock shinobi rolled to his side and landed a kick to Naoto’s side, forcing him to back away. Daven got to his feet and thrust his palm at Naoto, a replica of his arm made of metal bursting out from the ground in front of the target. The metal palm struck Naoto’s ribs, nearly cracking them but managing to knock the wind out of him. As he struggled for air, Daven made a handsign. The arm morphed into a sword and lunged at Naoto, who tried to dodge but suffered a cut to his left arm. “Son of a b****! Fire Style: Barrage!” Naoto sucked in a large amount of air, and then blew it out in the direction of Daven. Small pellets of searing flames came out of his mouth like a machine gun. Daven created a wall of metal to block it, but after a few seconds the heat from the jutsu burned through the barrier. Daven grunted in pain as his flesh was boiled in pin pricks of heat. Daven made a blur of handsigns and created the same wall of linked chains and weapons he had used on Tenkai. “I used this jutsu on that brat Tenkai, you know,” he said smoothly, “It would have killed him if not for that pesky Raikegan of his!” The ground behind Naoto morphed into 4 chains, each wrapping around the Kazekage’s limbs, “I learned this jutsu from one of those kids you sent my way. However, instead of five snake heads, there’s four chains and one wall of death for you!” The chains holding Naoto carried him towards the wall at high speeds, a mace seeming to call out to him. As he neared the wall, Naoto closed his eyes and focused his chakra into his mouth. Daven had only blinked, but by the time he opened his eyes a long jet of fire had melted through his jutsu. Naoto burned off the chains on his limbs, jumping through the hole in the linked chains. He landed softly in from of Daven, but before he stood up fully, a wall of fire consumed any metal Daven had left to use in that jutsu. “Daven,” he said, standing up straight, “It appears you aren’t even worthy of my mutation after all. If that’s your limit, you aren’t worth the chakra consumption of a power like that.” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 16, How Far They've Come]“What the…” Daven stammered as he stepped back slowly, “You… couldn’t have become this strong…” “Why not brother? Is it too hard for you to believe you’re not the strongest? Hmph, if that’s the case, keep dreaming. I became stronger than you a long time ago!” “I can’t believe it… for my jutsu to be taken down so easily! I guess…” Daven whispered, “I can’t hold back anymore…” “What-” Naoto was cut off by the rock beneath him forming into an iron fist that hit him in the chin. The Kazekage barely had time to feel the blow before Daven punched him rapidly in the gut and pushed him back. Chains came out of the ground and wrapped around Naoto, who became so incased to the point he couldn’t move. He collapsed to the ground and Daven walked over to place a foot on the binding. “Dearest brother, you didn’t seriously think I as going all out back their, did you? Kekeke… how weak do you think I am?” Windmill shuriken came at Naoto from both sides, slicing through the chains with ease. But the Kazekage disappeared into a small burst of fire. A wave of fire came at Daven from behind, but he simply jumped up to dodge it. Seeing the second attack coming, he raised his arms to block Naoto’s downward kick. “Dude, too predictable!” He chuckled, a pack of shuriken and kunai suddenly coming at his brother from behind. Naoto pushed off of Daven to dodge the attack, but a large block of metal crashed into his head. Blood trickled down Naoto’s forehead as he fell to the ground. His vision seemed to fade for a second, but it quickly returned by the time he landed hard on the rocky surface. Daven made a handsign, still in the air, and metal began to form a shell around his body. The extra weight pulled him out of the air and onto the ground, where he ran towards his brother with metal protecting his body. Naoto jumped up and sent an arc of fire at Daven, but the Rock shinobi ran straight through it. Daven slammed his shoulder into Naoto’s chest, cracking a rib out of sheer force. The Kazekage slid back and got on one knee, placing a hand on his wound. “Daven,” he panted, a blue aura surrounding his palm, “What the hell! How are you so strong… you’re easily at the level of a Kage! This makes no sense… if you’re just a Jonin, then…” “How strong is our Kage? Pfft. He’s well over my level, perhaps the greatest Kage of all time! So don’t think the Rock is weak at all foolish brother, we’re stronger than ever b****!” Daven charged forward and punched at Naoto, who sidestepped and punched in a counter attack. A split second before he made contact with the metal, a layer of fire surrounding his arm and burned through the armor. The armor gone, Naoto made a solid punch to Daven’s shoulder. Daven jumped back and charged again, this time attempting to knee his brother in the stomach, but his attack was blocked by a hand covered in fire. The metal was boiled away, causing Daven to pull back and punch at Naoto’s face. Naoto grabbed his brother’s fist to block it, and Daven sent another punch at him. That attack was also blocked. The metal protecting Daven’s fists began to melt away from the fire covering Naoto’s hands. “So, you’re finally using it…” Daven grumbled. “Yep,” Naoto grunted, trying to overpower Daven, “Jaaku Koro, my mutation… The anti-matter of our clan, the extreme control over fire… it becomes what I want, a skin, an ax, anything!” The metal was fully melted now, and Daven’s knuckles began to sear. “Ow!” He screamed. Daven jumped back and punched at Naoto with each arm, sending the metal covering his arms at his target like missiles. Naoto kicked at the attack, forming a barrier of blue fire that disintegrated the metal. He swung down with both fists gripped together, and a ball of orange fire surged at Daven, causing a huge explosion. When the smoke cleared, Daven stood in the middle of a small crater, a puddle of liquid steel at his feet. “It melted one of my strongest barriers… Interesting…” Daven pointed at his brother, and the ground behind him turned into a large pile of needles, “Let’s see how you deal with some acupuncture…” “Weak,” The needles surged toward Naoto, who placed his palms together in front of him. As the attack drew closer, Naoto suddenly pushed outward with his arms. A shockwave of fire blasted out in front of him and melted the needles, and it continued on for Daven. Daven made a handsign, and the ground beneath him disappeared. He fell into a deep hole, dodging the fire that would have roasted his flesh. The hole closed up, leaving Naoto standing there with no clue about Daven’s location. The rock began the shake violently, almost like an earthquake, and suddenly a similar hole appeared beneath him. Naoto fell through it, landing inside what seemed like a large cavern when the opening closed up. It was pitch black when Daven’s voice rang out in the darkness. “Brother, how bout you shed some light on this? Kekeke…” “f*** you…” Naoto mumbled, punching the ground. A circle of fire roared up around him, lighting a small area. He then punched at different places in the darkness, a blast of fire coming out from his fists with each one. The fire stuck to the walls it touched, acting like torches. Soon the whole cavern was lit dimly. “How do you like my creation?” “I think it’s a monster…” Around Naoto were large spikes of steel and along all the walls were chains sticking out with shurikens lining them. On the ceiling were rows of tag bombs that would be set off on instant contact. Naoto looked around to finally see Daven, who sat atop a throne made of solid iron. “Welcome to my world Naoto, this is where you’re going to die.” “I don’t think so Daven,” he back sassed, “I don’t care where we are or what you did, my mutation will destroy anything you send my way. Fire beats metal in the long run, and I can raise the temperature as high as I want!” “Fool, you really don’t understand the position you’re in, do you? You see brother, in this world I made…” A clone of Daven appeared next to Naoto, who gasped and stepped away, “You don’t know what is real, and what is fake…” The clone wavered for a moment before disappearing; ten more began to form a circle around Naoto. “You won’t stop me with simple genjutsu Daven…” Naoto made a handsign, but the clones didn’t go away. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he heard Daven’s cackle echo around the room. “Man, don’t you listen? Naoto, this isn’t a genjutsu, simply a little trick I had yet to play. Because by now you don’t know if I’m really Daven, I could be long gone… You could actually be above ground right now, who knows? But I’ll tell you this… You’d have to blow up this whole frikin country to decide whether what you see is real or not!” “Fine, I’ll blow up this side of the world right now if you want me to so bad!” Naoto crossed his arms around his body and began focusing all of his chakra into a point in his chest. But before he could try to summon his power, a clone of Daven stabbed him in the stomach with a knife, causing a line of blood to form on his robe. Naoto stepped back, but a metal poll ripped through his stomach, causing large amounts of blood to spill to the ground. He blinked, but when he looked down there was no wounds. “It was all fake Naoto, that right there. So, do you still think you can win?” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 17, An End and a Beginning]“This makes no sense…” Naoto whispered, “If this isn’t a genjutsu… How is he controlling what my mind thinks?” Before he had time to think about the possibilities, a few chains from the walls came at him. Naoto melted them with a single punch, but Daven appeared above him and kicked the side of his head. The Kazekage staggered but managed to send a fireball at Daven, who disappeared. “Brother, you aren’t going to win,” Daven’s voice rang out, “Yet the truth is, I’m not 100% sure I’ll win either…” “What do you mean Daven?” A shuriken skimmed across Naoto’s nose, causing a shallow cut. He turned to where it came from and kicked, causing a jet of fire to sear the area. “I mean, I’m not the one that’s controlling your mind,” Daven appeared in front of his brother and punched his gut, then leapt back and tossed some kunai at him. Naoto dodged the attack, but Daven materialized above him with a hammer. One blow to the skull later, Naoto stood on one knee trying to find Daven in the cavern. “That makes no sense bro, if you’re not controlling this, how do you know what’s going to happen?” “To explain how this is happening, I need to tell you a little something about metal. You see, some metals have… interesting properties. Some explode with water, some smell weird… and others… well, they distort senses!” Naoto’s side cracked as Daven’s leg hit against it, sending Naoto rolling away. Naoto made a handsign and punched the ground, causing a fissure of fire to race towards Daven. The Rock shinobi jumped to the side and ran for Naoto, but before he even reached him a solid punch landed on his chin. Naoto backed up from his brother, who grinned widely, “Kekeke… If you must know, I’ve drawn all the metals that distort senses [i]slightly[/i] from the rocks around us and planted them around this cavern. The reason I can predict what’s going to happen is because I’ve trained with this before, using countless shinobi to test what might do what. Sure it’s not perfect, but I can guess a good amount of the time what you’re going to see.” “Nice jutsu, but that doesn’t answer how you’re not affected…” Naoto jumped up and spread his hands out, causing a beam of fire to fly at Daven. Daven threw his arms up, creating a wall of metal that consumed the attack and then flew at his brother. Before the wall could reach its target, a wave of fire overcame it and exploded around Daven. Naoto gasped as metal sliced into him, the attack being the shuriken laced chains on the walls gripping his right arm. Fire exploded out of his arm, ridding his flesh of its assailant. Daven jumped at him, but disappeared before he reached Naoto. Before he had time to think, Daven tackled him from behind and they slammed into the ground. Daven was kicked away from his brother, who stood panting as blood dripped to the floor. “Damnit man!” Naoto yelled, “I don’t want to have to end it like this! But you’re leaving me with few options Daven, and I can’t afford to lose.” “What the hell… you should realize your doom by now brother! There is no hope for you leaving, I don’t understand why you keep try to tell me you’re going to win! IT’S OVER!” Naoto pointed at the roof before speaking, “Daven, unlike you, I have a righteous cause for what I’m fighting for,” A small flame formed around his finger, steadily growing larger, “While you fight to get revenge and to kill, I’m fighting for my village… and as Kazekage, I’m afraid I don’t have the option of losing…” “What are you talking about?” “This fight was fun Daven, but I’m afraid it’s about time I put and end to this feud between us…” The flame shot up towards the ceiling, making contact with one of the hundreds of paper bombs there. …………………………………………….. [i]That guy said my village was under attack… he must have been lying, yeah. I mean, who would attack us without provocation? Hmph, he just wanted me gone probably.[/i] Koji brushed a hand through his hair, which was getting pulled back by the wind. He crouched on the head of a giant chakra dragon, his current form of transportation. Below him were trees, seemingly endless in the vast area he flew over. Even though he had left the prison only a few hours ago, the speed at which he was traveling got him nearly half way to the Star Village. “God, my mom’s words keep ringing in my head… But there’s nothing to worry about…” Koji told himself, but deep inside he knew something was wrong. Very wrong. ……………………………………………. “I’m amazed Daven, I really am. I wasn’t expecting to have to use [i]that[/i] much power from my Jaaku Koro. You really have grown…” Naoto stood over Daven, who had black scorch marks all over his body in the shape of fists. Behind them was blacked ground and a giant crater, the latter being from the explosion of the paper bombs. Daven coughed, sending a spray of blood onto his chest. “I never… even knew *cough* your power went that far… To be able to do that… God… I’m not as strong as I thought…” “Daven, I’m sorry it came to this. I always had hoped for you to turn around, but… I can’t forgive you for what you did.” “Really now, is what I did so bad? That was ages ago… yet look at me now, bloody and burnt to a crisp…” “If you don’t consider helping the Rock Village kill our Kazekage as bad, you’re no brother of mine. It’s because of you I walked away from our clan.” “Ancient history is ancient my brother… that Kazekage wasn’t nearly as strong as you anyways, he was just going to end up dead either way…” “I used to have respect for you Daven… but now… It’s over for good. Today was the day it was over, because today you died… Don’t think about saving yourself, the nerve damage from those punches go beyond what you can see.” “Kekeke… Don’t I know it… I wasn’t planning on trying to survive, the only point this fight showed me is how much weaker I am… So don’t think I’ve turned good when death comes to my door, this isn’t a fairy tale.” “Daven… I’m sorry it had to end like this…” With that, Naoto turned around and walked away from his dying brother. …………………………………………… [i]3 hours later…[/i] A cloaked figure dropped down next to Daven’s corpse, a small grin crossing his face. He made a handsign and placed a palm on the seared body, a red aura surrounding his hand. “Good, good. I wasn’t to late… Hehehe… The plan officially begins now…” …………………………………………… “NO!” Koji ran through the streets of the Star Village, dead bodies piled up around him. The few that were living scurried away to find whatever belongings they could find and run. Koji reached his house and kicked down the door, instantly rushing for his sister’s room. It was empty. Panicking, he ran for his mom’s room, finding her curled up in one corner. Koji rushed over to her, finding that she had a sword made of ice protruding from her stomach. “Koji… is that you?” “Mom, what happened? Who attacked us? WHERE IS SHE?” “We’re not sure who attacked, they were too fast. But they all used some form of water jutsu. We couldn’t fight them off… they killed us all… the dragged her out of the house while I was in here, getting attacked myself. They stole all of our stuff…” “Do you know if my sister is alive or not?” “Koji… I heard her scream and suddenly stop… There’s probably a pool of blood outside the house with her body near… I’m sorry… But… you should have stayed home…” Koji stared at his mother, who slowly closed her eyes and fell limp. But he didn’t have time to mourn yet, and Koji rushed out of the house to find a pool of blood spilled across the ground. He ran to the side of his house, and there he saw his sister, dead on the ground. Koji fell to the ground, sobs breaking out forcefully. “Damnit! I HATE THIS!” Koji jumped up in a fit of rage and punched his house, cracking some of the wood that made its frame. He turned to the streets of his Village, seeing the few living people run for the pathway out of the village. Suddenly, a person jumped in there way and started firing of water jutsu, killing them quickly. [i]One of those guys![/i] Koji instantly released the seal holding his chakra back and punched forward. A giant fist of chakra broke the bones in the attacker’s body, ending his life. Koji walked over to the man, still not closing his seal. When he reached him, it was obvious the man was a ninja. Koji reached down and gripped the man’s headband, picking it up and staring at it. “The Mist Village…” Koji whispered. ………………………………………… [i]1 day later…[/i] Koji had packed up his belongings and left the night of the attack, leaving his village behind. His mother and sister were still in there death places when a cloaked figure stood in front of the house. “Hmph, mother and sister of Koji… you will serve your purpose.” [/spoiler] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csDJrom32xs"]Arc 2[/url] [spoiler=Chapter 18, Falling Deeper]Tenkai raised his arm to block a punch from Hebi, but he didn’t try to attack himself. Hebi and Tenkai were outside the Sand Village doing there weekly sparring session, but Tenkai seemed uninterested that day. Hebi jumped back and lunged at his friend, who punched him square in the jaw. “Damn Tenkai, you don’t seem like you really want to train…” Hebi moaned. “Sorry,” Tenkai said as he looked up into the sky, “It’s just… Naoto hasn’t come back yet, and the note gave me the assumption he’d be here by now. I mean, it’s been 5 days since we’ve received that letter, and he had already left before that…” “Tenkai, he’s not dead. He’s just a little late is all.” “Tell that to the note… But I do need this training however! I haven’t had much of an opportunity to fight since my return, so I should get a decent workout… Alright Hebi, lets see what you can do!” Tenkai dashed at Hebi with a kunai in his hand. Hebi made a handsign, causing a small barrier to form in front of him. Tenkai hit the obstruction and winced, a small current of electricity flying through his body, “Damn, don’t remember that!” “It’s new!” Hebi laughed. He jumped and pulled out a handful of shuriken, throwing them at Tenkai. Tenkai pulled out a chakra knife quickly and slashed away the attack, proceeding to jump at Hebi. The two collided in mid air, falling hard to the sand below. Hebi scrambled to the side and pulled out two objects that looked like attachable claws and strapped them to his hands. Tenkai was now up and surged chakra into his weapons as his opponent slashed at him. Tenkai blocked the attack with one chakra knife and punched at Hebi with the other. His attack was blocked by one of the attachable claws, and Hebi kneed him in the stomach. Tenkai grunted and pushed away. He made a series of handsigns and pointed at Hebi before a bolt of lightning rushed out of his finger. Hebi tried to dodge, but the bolt was too fast and it exploded against his shoulder. The blast caused him to hurl into the sand, kicking up a large amount of it. Tenkai made another set of handsigns and placed his palm on the ground. Hebi jumped up to attack, but before he could try a tiger head made of lightning burst from the ground below and poured electricity into his body. When the attack finished, Hebi was left on the ground, shaking. “God Tenkai! Did you really need to go that far?” “Yes…” Tenkai laughed evilly, “It was very necessary! It shows me how much stronger I am, how better I am!” Tenkai’s eyes were now the Raikegan, but it wasn’t the same old Kekkei Genkai. His left Raikegan had a splotch of black in it, as if someone had thrown a small drop of paint onto his eye and it had spread. Roughly a quarter of his eye was covered in this black-ness, and when it touched the black ring in his Raikegan, the ring became pure white. “Tenkai… what’s come over you?” Hebi whispered. “Power! That’s what’s come over me fool!” Tenkai dashed for Hebi insanely fast, kicking him in the side. A crack resonated from the blow, and Hebi rolled away in pain. Tenkai’s arm had a faint, black aura around it now, and when Hebi tried to stand up he punched his friend with the dark arm. The punch was stronger than Hebi predicted, almost never having felt a punch as stronger, and it landed right in the center of his chest. “Tenkai! Stop!” Hebi pleaded, but the black spot in Tenkai’s eye seemed to spread farther. Suddenly, Tenkai grabbed his face and screamed, pain flaring throughout his whole body. He fell to his knees and screamed even more, but the pain wouldn’t stop. Yet the pain left him after a few seconds, and he was able to deactivate his Raikegan. Hebi grunted in pain, watching the scene. He placed a hand on his chest and a blue aura surrounded it, healing whatever it could. After he had healed himself to a decent extent, Hebi cautiously walked over to Tenkai, who had blacked out. A slap to the face woke the fainted Chunin, and he stared at Hebi in bewilderment. “Hebi, what just happened?” “You went psycho, that’s what. But there was more to it than that… it’s like you were thirsty for violence, only wanting pain to come to me…” “All I remember is that I sent that bolt of lightning at you, and then something came over me. I had just activated my Raikegan when a huge power seemed to grab my mind, and I couldn’t control any of it. Then I saw myself beating you up, and I was finally able to snap out of it… I’m not sure what the hell took place!” The two pondered what happened for a few minutes before deciding to go home. Hebi was badly injured, and Tenkai felt like there was needles prodding at his arm and eye that were under the power’s influence. ………………………………………. “Hey, what happened to you Tenkai?” A young man, looking to be around 19, called out to Tenkai. He wore a long black coat with a white t-shirt and black pants beneath it. Running across the whole coat were white and grey omega symbols, and along the edges of the fiber were tiny lines of gold thread. On the person’s head was long black hair that almost touched his shoulders. Pale blue eyes locked onto Tenkai, telling him he wasn’t going anywhere until the man got some answers. Tenkai glanced over at the person sitting on a mat in his home, eating a small bowl of rice. “Wow, I’m impressed,” Tenkai said mockingly, “You remembered my name. What a good big brother you are, Oson!” Oson set down the bowl of rice and clapped his hands lightly, looking up at Tenkai. “Well, a big brother shouldn’t forget his sibling’s name, now should he?” “Pfft, you probably only know it because mom yelled it when I came home from my mission. Which you didn’t even care about, even though I infiltrated a village by myself.” “Tenkai, good job. There I’ve praised you. Now, onto what I actually cared about, what’s up with your eye and arm?” Tenkai’s eye that had been attacked was covered in a white bandage, and his arm was being held tightly by his other hand. “None of your business. As if you gave two cents about what happened to them. But just to humor you, I… injured them.” “How so?” “You won’t believe me.” “Oh, I’ve seen quite a lot of things most people wouldn’t believe in my life, try me.” “Fine,” Tenkai groaned, “I was sparring with Hebi when some weird power came over me and I beat the s*** out of him. Then when it was gone a burst of pain flooded into me and I fainted. Hebi also told me that there was some sort of black aura around this arm, and it looked like something in my Raikegan had changed. Believe me?” Oson stood up slowly and walked over to his little brother. He came within two feet of him before stopping. “Tenkai, I need to know, has this ever happened before?” “Well, there was this one time when I was invading the Rock… something came over me and I went sorta… evil.” “Alright, I need to tell you something before-” The door suddenly burst open, and Saki stood in the doorway. Tenkai turned to her and looked confused, Oson simply stared. “Tenkai! Naoto’s returned!” Tenkai dashed out of the room before Oson could try to stop him, and Saki followed suit. Oson sat back down and finished off his rice, the whole time thinking about Tenkai. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 19, New Missions]“So, is he injured or anything?” Tenkai breathed as he ran along Saki towards the Kazekage’s place. Saki was trying to avoid hitting people and Tenkai was just focused on getting to Naoto, bumping into some people along the way. “I don’t know. I just heard that Naoto was heading for his office and that’s the last I’ve heard.” The pair kept running until they met up with two guards blocking the entrance to the Kazekage’s place. The guards wouldn’t let them pass, refusing to let anyone see Naoto until he gave them the command. By now a crowd had formed, and the guards were struggling to keep everyone at bay. Using this chance, Tenkai motioned for Saki to kick some dirt up with her jutsu. Instantly, sand blinded the guards and allowed Tenkai and Saki to run into the building unnoticed. It was dark inside, with only a few torches lighting their path. But eventually they found their way to Naoto’s office and found him there. “Naoto!” Tenkai exclaimed. The Chunin smiled, and Naoto returned a weaker one. Saki walked in and noticed Naoto’s half sad expression, hitting Tenkai lightly on the shoulder to let him know something was up. “Hey Tenkai, Saki. I see the rescue mission went fairly well… How did you like my chip in?” “So you did send Koji! Well, if anything, we wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for him probably. Do you know where he is?” Naoto hesitated a moment, and Saki picked up on it. Tenkai however, was oblivious. “Koji… went back home to the Star Village. You probably won’t see him for a while…” Naoto murmured. Tenkai sighed loudly, but them perked up again. “So, what was this mission that took so long?” “Tenkai, I’m pretty sure its secret.” Saki said matter-of-factly. But Naoto waved a hand and lost his smile. “It was a mission both of you have the right to know about,” He said grimly, “Seeing as how you two were part of it,” Tenkai and Saki looked up quickly, “My mission, was to put down Daven.” Tenkai took a step forward, Saki gasped. “You killed him? Naoto, he’s really…” “Yep. I did the deed myself, I saw him go into the brink. He’ll never cause trouble for us again… But there’s a more unsettling matter at hand. I learned, in my time there, that the Tsuchikage is far stronger that Daven ever was. And let us not forget, I had a little trouble with getting rid of my brother.” Tenkai’s face was pure shock now, and he slowly backed up to the wall were he could rest. “A Kage that strong…” He said shaking, “And the Stone is our greatest enemy! We’ll need a personally army for that one guy!” Saki walked over to Tenkai and laid a hand on his shoulder, trying to comfort him. Naoto frowned and turned his back on them, digging through a pile of papers to find something. At last he found what he was looking for, and he pulled out a file with few words on it. On the bottom of the paper was a seal of approval, making Naoto smile a bit. “By the way, Tenkai,” Naoto grinned, “This is a little… welcome home gift.” The Kazekage tossed the paper at Tenkai, who managed to stop shaking long enough to grab it. He read the paper, and the shaking was replaced by a smile. Saki appeared confused and leaned over to read what the paper said. “Naoto… is this real?” Naoto nodded, and Tenkai continued, “This means… I’m officially a Jonin!?” Tenkai shook out of joy now, and he smiled more and more. At last, his dream of becoming a Jonin was complete. Plus, the fact that he was higher ranked than his friends helped as well. Saki smiled a little and let Tenkai run off to celebrate as the new Jonin went to tell his family. Naoto and Saki were silent for a while, until the Kazekage spoke up. “You need something Saki?” “Cut the crap Naoto, what really happened to Koji?” “I don’t know what you-” “Enough games Naoto. You and I both know it has to come out at some point, so why not just tell Tenkai and me what really happened to Koji? I’m not in the mood for this cherade anymore.” Naoto tugged at his robe’s collar before answering. “The truth is, Koji was captured by Daven. I helped him escape that prison you were all in, and after that I told him his village was under attack.” “Was it?” Saki said lightly. “Yes. So he ran off back to his home. After that… I’d rather keep that secret.” “Can you at least tell me who did it?” “You won’t like this… but… it was the Mist.” Saki bit her lip for a second, but suddenly turned around and left. Naoto stood there, alone. [i]Well, at least she doesn’t know how bad it was… Anyways, I wonder how Koji’s doing… I didn’t give him much to live off of, but he should be fine until I can go get him. Lets just hope he remembers to stay where I left him, and not wander around. The last thing we need is for the last Star Village descendant to fall into the hands of the Mist. After what I found out on that trip, I’m not sure if any of us will be safe from them…[/i] …………………………………… It was dark outside, night filled the world. In the quiet streets of the Sand Village, three shinobi ran beside each other towards the designated meeting place. At last they came to a dark alley where a shadowy figure stood. The figure beckoned them to come, and they did. The four of them stood in a rough circle, the three shinobi sporting Sand Village headbands. The cloaked figure spoke up at last. “Alright,” Naoto’s voice said, “I’ve asked you three to come here because you’ll be the most efficient at it. Oson, you’ll be the leader of this group. Your mission is to leave the Sand Village immediately and head for the Star Village. Look for anything that could be related to the Mist. Next, contact me with this,” Naoto pulled out a small device that looked like a pyramid with a square button on the base, “I had this specially designed for this mission. Push the button on the bottom to start a radio transmition, I’ll receive the signal back here in the Sand. Don’t worry, there’s no distance limit on this piece of work. After you’ve contacted me, head for the Hidden Mist Village. Once there, go undercover and try to find out about a top secret project called ‘Scarlet’. Whatever you find out, give it to me.” “Is there any info we should know about ‘Scarlet’ before we head out?” Oson asked. “Yes, actually, here’s what I know…” Naoto filled the squad in and sent them on their way, prepared to tell Tenkai’s family that Oson had to leave on urgent business for the Leaf Village. But, there actually was a mission for the Leaf, and to keep anyone from being suspicious, a squad of the same size would be sent there. …………………………………… “Alright, you know you’re mission?” Naoto said casually. In front of him were three people, Hebi, Saki, and a ninja with spiky blue hair. “Yeah,” Hebi said, the leader, “We’ll head out to the Leaf now…” The three dashed off into the horizon, leaving Naoto alone in the morning light. Now to tell Tenkai’s family where Oson was supposedly going. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 20, Traitor]“Man, why’d he have to get us up so early for this mission?” Hebi moaned. The group was walking down a worn path that strung through the trees. They had only been traveling for about two hours, and they had already managed to make it to the beginnings of the forest leading to the Hidden Leaf. “I don’t know, maybe because it’s important!?” Saki complained, walking ahead of her teammate. The other ninja simply walked behind them, not wanting to interfere. Hebi went faster to pass Saki, mumbling as he went by. “Pfft, still no reason to wake us up when you could barely see the sun on the horizon! The Leaf isn’t that far away…” “God Hebi, do you ever stop complaining? I’m surprised I’ve been able to put up with you after all these years!” “Shut up, I’m the leader of this squad. Be like that guy, silent,” Hebi smirked, sending Saki into storm of inner fury. Behind them, the blue haired ninja chuckled. ……………………………………… “Hey Oson?” “Yeah?” “Do you really think… the Mist could do such a thing?” One of Oson’s teammates said, staring at buildings frozen in ice. Oson walked forward and knelt beside a man with an ice dagger piercing his throat, examining it. “I’m afraid so… The headbands here and there, the skilled ice jutsu they’ve come to be known for over the years… It adds up to them…” “But, isn’t it too obvious?” “Not if they wanted us to find out…” ………………………………………… “The Leaf Village… I’ve actually never been here before…” Saki gasped as she and her squad walked through the gates. Hebi went over to the reception area as Saki and the other guy looked around. People carried bags of food, sat on benches made of some dark wood, and even disappeared behind doors into shops of all kinds. Unlike what she was used to, Saki was amazed at how a whole village was made out of wood and metal, not sand or rock. “You know, I used to come here often when I was your age…” The blue hair ninja spoke for the first time. Saki turned to him, confused. “Why? Did you need to go on lots of missions here?” “Nah, my parents just liked to take me places that I wouldn’t normally get to go to. They said something about me not possibly getting the chance to see everything in life, so they took me to those places. I made some friends here and there, but as a Sand Village person, you don’t tread well on most ground in these times…” “Well, so he finally speaks,” Hebi said as he walked over to them, “And what might your name be spiky blue?” The ninja ran a hand through his hair, looking up into the sky. “The name’s Kayaku, and I’m also a Chunin if you were wondering. Age is 24, but don’t get confident that you’re good enough to lead me, I’m only a Chunin for special reasons…” “Whatever man, let’s just get on with this mission,” Hebi sighed. The mission wasn’t too glamorous, just a simple find and capture job. Somewhere in the Hidden Leaf Village there was a runaway Sand Shinobi, seeking refuge from his village’s inevitable strike. The reasons as to why he was doing this were still unknown, but he was a deserter, and that was all there was to it. The group walked down the streets of the Leaf, searching for a place to stay. At last they came to a small hotel that wouldn’t dent their wallets and booked a room. Saki and Kayaku wanted to get started right away, but Hebi demanded that they talk first. So finally, they all went to the room they had bought and found somewhere to sit as Hebi rolled out a map. The map showed the Leaf Village in detail, and Hebi drew a “y” on it. “Alright, I’ve divided this into 3 sections, which ones do you guys want?” Saki claimed the section covering the gate’s area, Kayaku took the area near the Hokage Faces, and Hebi was left with a section of civilian housing. Hebi pinned the map to the wall, making sure they’d all remember their sections, “Now that we have that done, Kayaku, got any friends that could help us out?” “Well, I remember there was one guy I bonded with. He was a weird fellow, greasy brown hair, liked the color green… But not very good in the stealth department… Plus, he’s not really…” “Not really what?” Saki asked. “Well, he’d probably spill all of our information and reasons for being here to the person we’re trying to get without realizing it…” Hebi stared blankly at Kayaku, eventually standing up. “What rank is he?” “Jonin…” “Man, this village’s rankings suck…” Hebi moaned, leaning against the wall, “Well, lets head out. Time to track this traitor down!” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 21, Konoha Scouting Part 1: Hebi]Hebi watched Saki and Kayaku walk away and split, each heading off towards their own section. Hebi sighed and turned around, facing a long street that was lined with houses. Walking down the road, he noticed this particular section of the Leaf was slightly poorer than the rest, but it was only by a small margin. [i]The poor sections are always where they hide… Hmph, Saki and Kayaku are going to miss all the action![/i] Lost in thought, Hebi passed by houses until he reached the end of the street, in which it became a pass allowing left or right passage only. Opting to go left, he walked around the village for roughly an hour before stopping at a ramen shop. “Large special,” he called out, sitting down with a groan. There was still no sign of the missing Sand shinobi, and he knew it was going to get harder. As he ate away at the ramen, Hebi realized that, unless Saki or Kayaku found the guy, they were going to have to start digging. Expecting the ramen shop to have customers of all kinds, Hebi looked up at the young women dishing out the food, “Hey, can I ask you a question?” “Why of course,” she replied. “Have you seen a guy with medium length white hair? Blue eyes, skin tanned lightly?” The girl observed Hebi’s headband before responding. “Not sure why you’re here, Sand shinobi,” she whispered, “but I have seen a guy like that. He was talking about coming a long way, and that he was hiding from an evil group of people. You wouldn’t happen to be one of them, would you?” “I’m afraid I am miss,” Hebi sighed, “But before you yell for help, he’s a deserter. I’m a Chunin from the Hidden Sand, and I’ve been sent here with my squad to capture him. Any information you can supply me with will be appreciated.” ………………………………………… [i]Nice, that girl said the man was looking for a temporary place to stay. I would laugh so hard if that bastard was in our hotel…[/i] Hebi pushed open the door to a low-class inn, observing the scene inside. The mood was pretty glum, shifty looking people sat at a bar and a few people walked up the stairs to the lodging area. Noticing the lone clerk behind a wooden counter, Hebi shuffled over and rested an arm on the carved wood. The clerk glanced up at his headband and stepped back. “I don’t want any trouble with you shinobi, you hear?” “Oh please,” Hebi chuckled, “I’m not here to kick your ass. If I was, this whole place would be rubble. I’m here for information about your customers.” “I don’t hand out information.” “That’s nice. So, have you booked a room for a young man, medium length white hair, blue eyes, the works?” “I don’t know, have I?” “Ugh, I didn’t want to do this but… I have direct orders to get this guy. I don’t care if you die in the process. So, tell me if you’ve seen him or your little business goes up in lights.” “The Leaf shinobi wouldn’t allow such things.” “Well, the Leaf isn’t too fond on this place. Some illegal stuff has taken place here… I’m sure a little fire wouldn’t be so bad.” The clerk waved his hand and turned around, ending the conversation. Hebi frowned and made a handsign, creating a small panel of blue in front of him. The panel was one foot long and tall, forming a buzzing square. Hebi lightly pushed forward on the square to cause it to hit the counter, and upon impact an electrical current sparked a fire. The clerk whipped around and yelled, gaining the attention of a whole room filled with sketchy men. The group caught onto what happened, and all of them turned to Hebi. Knives, axes, and maces where pulled out for the sole purpose of pummeling the Chunin. By now the fire consumed the whole counter, and Hebi smirked. “Any of you guys see a man with white hair?” A knife sliced through the air towards his face, but another blue square came up to block it. The buzzing jutsu deflected the attack without moving, and then disappeared, “Man, you people suck. Can I just get an answer?” One of the crowd’s people rushed forward and swung an axe at Hebi’s head, but a blue square blocked it. An electrical current raced through the attacker’s body and made him faint. Now everyone came at Hebi, who dodged left and right, blocking attacks and knocking out thugs. After a few minutes, Hebi was the only one standing besides the clerk, who cowered in the corner as the fire spread throughout the room. “Alright!” He yelled, “I saw a man like that! He didn’t have the money I wanted so I turned him away, suggesting the inn near the village gate! This was yesterday! Now stop the fire!” Hebi made a few handsigns, and a blue barrier wrapped around the fire, and then disappeared. The fire was suddenly put out, lifting a burden off of his conscious. Hebi dashed out the door and jumped on the roof of the nearest building, setting his sights on the great gate. ………………………………………………… Hebi stood outside room 19 of a cheap inn right next to the tall gate of the Leaf village. Holding a kunai in one hand, Hebi kicked open the door and rushed in to see a man with white hair and grey attire ready to jump out the window. The man jumped, and Hebi followed in suit as the man ran away on the street below. The Chunin took off after the man, who knocked aside anyone who got in his way. The two raced down the main length of the Leaf Village until the deserter darted off to the right down an alley way. Hebi pursued the man and saw him climb to the top of a building. He jumped onto the roof just in time to see his prey leap from roof to roof in an attempt to get away. Chakra rushed to the soles of Hebi’s feet, and he launched himself at the man. He came within a rooftop and landed, changing his movement to jumping roof to roof. Saki was walking through an alleyway when the man jumped down from the roof in front of her, taking off towards the center of the Leaf. She was confused until Hebi landed beside her and took off after the stranger. “Hebi! Who’s that?” Saki yelled as she caught up with her teammate. “It’s the deserter!” Hebi gripped his kunai tight and flung it directly at the man, but he ducked and the missile slammed into a random building, “Saki! Pursue on the ground, I’ll take to the skies!” Saki nodded and ran ahead. Hebi leapt into the air and made a handsign, a platform of chakra forming for him to land on. He kept doing this until he was at the level of the roofs, and then started running in the direction of Saki with a chakra platform catching him at every step. Hebi got above the white haired man and released the jutsu, free falling down towards the target. A small blade of buzzing chakra formed in Hebi’s hand, and he crashed into the deserter with the chakra slicing a gash into his shoulder. But on impact the man exploded into a puff of dust. Hebi panted as Saki ran up behind him and observed the scene. “What the…” “We’ve been tricked Saki, that wasn’t him… I’m not sure when he switched, but we’re dealing with a smart ninja… Let’s just hope Kayaku has some was to deal with him…” “So what do we do now, Hebi?” “Start all over…” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 22, Konoha Scouting Part 2: Kayaku]Kayaku sighed as he looked out over the Leaf Village. He was standing a top the Great Hokage Faces, bringing back memories of his childhood. But now he was here to track down a fugitive, and it seemed like ages ago when he had first come here. Sighing again, Kayaku turned around and headed for the path that led down into the village. [i]It’s been a while since I’ve been here… Hmph, but I can’t waste my time remembering old times, Hebi and Saki probably already found the guy. Besides, what runaway would stash himself near the Hokage’s office? Well… No one would suspect it…[/i] By now Kayaku had made it back to ground level. As he passed by a few buildings, he heard a panting noise coming from the side of one. Walking back, Kayaku looked over to see a man with white hair and dirty grey clothes leaning against a wall. [i]“He has medium length white hair, blue eyes, probably dirty clothes. You know, a beggar with odd hair!”[/i] Kayaku remembered Hebi’s description, and it fit this guy perfectly. The man looked up and saw his Sand headband, his eyes widening. Kayaku caught this. “So you’re him… Well dude, it’s over,” He chuckled, but the man only grinned. A burst of dust blinded him, and when he could see the deserter was gone. Grunting, Kayaku jumped onto the roof of the building looking for his target. But he could see nothing. Instead of looking frantically, Kayaku merely closed his eyes and placed his palms together. [i]The reason I was put with this squad…[/i] A white aura began to emit from Kayaku as he focused. In his mind, he saw the Hidden Leaf from a bird’s eye view. Moving throughout the village were little dots of varying colors, but most of them were blue. Each dot represented a person, and Kayaku located his dot, a white one. He looked around his area, trying to figure out which one was his target. Suddenly, he noticed a green dot racing away from his location. Guessing this to be the deserter, Kayaku ended the jutsu and ran in the direction of the green dot. But as he ran, something else was on his mind: the black dot he saw walking among the Hokage’s office. ……………………………………………… “I guess there’s no point in running anymore, if you managed to track me this time,” The man said, turning to Kayaku. The two stood on top of the Great Hokage Faces, each having their hair messed with by the wind. “So, what’s your name? They never told us that,” Kayaku said, pulling out a kunai. “The name’s not important, but it’s Genzaburou, Genza for short. Now that you know my name, Kayaku, we can begin,” “You know my name?” “Pfft, I know a lot of names. I made sure I knew yours, and all about how you fight, because it was obvious they’d send you!” Genza dashed forward and punched, but Kayaku grabbed his fist. Kayaku slashed upward with his kunai, but Genza disappeared into a puff of dust. Genza reappeared behind him and kicked him away while forming a handsign. A great gust of wind knocked Kayaku towards the edge of the cliff, but the Chunin managed to secure a foothold. “You know…” “Yep, wind jutsu makes you completely useless.” “Hmph, you obviously didn’t research enough Genza,” Kayaku said grinning, “I’ve overcome that obstacle, and found a way to fight against wind users.” “That’s impossible. You’re type of fighting…” “Would normally be useless here. But I’ve surpassed my limits. Now, time to show you a power no one knows I have…” Kayaku made a few handsigns and spread his arms out. Tiny particles of dust swirled around him, and they turned into small particles of crystals. The particles attached themselves to Kayaku’s body, forming a layer of crystal armor on him. When all the particles were on him, all but the armor covering his right arm broke away and vanished. “The hell… You mean to tell me you ‘overcame’ that weakness by creating a cast?” Genza laughed, but before he could glance at Kayaku, the young man had already punched him in the stomach. Genza skidded back gripping his stomach, now noticing that the crystal armor on Kayaku’s arm had moveable joints on the elbow, wrist, shoulder, and fingers. “Not a cast moron, a better version of punching. But that’s not all…” Kayaku snapped his arm outward, and a blade protruded from the top of his wrist that stretched just over a foot. Genza took a step back, but Kayaku vanished only to reappear with the blade to his opponent’s throat. “Damn, this isn’t looking to good… Guess I better leave!” Genza rushed to make a handsign, but Kayaku swung downward with the blade and created a deep gash in his wrists. “Not today, Genza,” Kayaku said seriously, “You’re going to tell me why you did this, or I’ll drag you back to Naoto and have him force it out of you. Either way, I’m getting this information.” Genza sighed and put his arms to his side. He glanced over at the village bellow, and looked Kayaku in the eye. “I’ll be damned!” A jet of air rammed into Kayaku from the side, sending him hurtling over the edge. Genza turned away and ran, heading away from the Leaf Village so Kayaku would have a harder time finding him. ……………………………………………… “This is no longer just a mission. He’s more trouble than we anticipated, and that’s why we need the Leaf’s help,” Kayaku stood in front of the Hokage, a slim man with spiky black hair. His red eyes looked deeply into the Sand Chunin before him, and at last he stood up. “Alright, I’ll send a Jonin to each of your group’s members. You said you didn’t need one?” “No sir, I’m already at Jonin caliber, it’s just I have yet to clear it with the Kazekage.” “Alright, I’ll send Jonin only to your partners. Hope you find Genza, I’ll also send the info you found.” Kayaku nodded and walked out of the room. As his footsteps faded away, the Hokage turned and looked out the window, “Just what I need, another village inside of mine. Well, at least they aren’t here for what I feared, merely a deserter. The day anyone finds out… Let’s just not go there…” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 23, Konoha Scouting Part 3: Saki]“Sorry!” A teen with dark brown hair that was rustled up yelled. He wore a Leaf headband, but instead of a ninja suit he had a dark green shirt and black pants. He had just bumped into a lady walking on the street, but continued on his way. Saki was walking down that street and looked up to see the guy running her way. [i]He’s pretty cute…[/i] She thought to herself as he neared. Trying to gain his attention, she “tripped” and fell. He raced by, but skidded to a halt and reached down to pick her up. Saki grabbed his hand and pulled herself up, dusting off the dirt coating her black clothes. “Thanks,” She said kindly, “What’s your name?” She grabbed her arm lightly, as if to look hurt. “Kato,” He said nervously. This type of situation had never occurred to him before, a girl seemingly showing interest in him, “Well, I got to go! Have some ninja to find and lend assistance!” Kato raced off, leaving Saki staring blankly at nothing. “Hope we meet again…” …………………………………………………… “Hey Saki!” Saki turned around to see Kayaku waving at her. She stopped and waited for him to catch up, “So, did help arrive yet?” “Help?” “Guess that’s a no… Man, the Hokage said he’d send help quickly!” “Wait, what?” “Oh, sorry. I fought with are little friend and decided we could use some help, so two Jonin were sent out to help you guys. Each one should be assigned to one of you…” Saki remembered the brown haired teen that had run by her a few hours ago, and her heart jumped a little. “Do you know which were assigned?” “Well, I think my old friend Kato was told to help you, but I’m not sure…” Saki quickly said bye to Kayaku and left, looking for Kato. …………………………………………………………… “Kato!” Saki yelled, the familiar head of brown hair appearing in the crowd. The Jonin turned around and saw her, but went back to walking away. Saki chased after him and grabbed his shirt, gaining his attention. “Listen! I don’t have time for this, I’m on a mission!” He pulled away, but Saki grabbed him again. “Dude, I’m the ninja you’re looking for!” Kato laughed a bit and pulled away, looking at Saki. “Please, the ninja I’ve been assigned to is a proven Chunin! This ninja is a master of ground jutsu and quite adept at water! I heard he escaped the Rock Village himself recently! Now please, go back to whatever tourist trap you are staying at!” Kato turned and ran, but Saki materialized in front of him, placing a kunai to his throat. “I am a proven Chunin. I did escape the Rock. And I’m a girl!” Kato gulped and stepped back, trying to figure this situation out. “Alright, then I guess we’re partners…?” Saki put the kunai away and smiled, making Kato feel awkward. Even though he doubted her, she still seemed to like him. They talked about what to do with this mission, and decided that since Kayaku had fought with Genza that he’d leave. Kato offered to search the outskirts near the gate while Saki took the outskirts near the faces, and she agreed. …………………………………………… “Alright, I know you’re right there… Come out, Genza,” Saki called out. From behind a tree Genza materialized, holding a katana. He white hair had dark red blotched in it, where he had rubbed his wrists in his hair. On his wounds were rough bandages that stopped the bleeding. “I remember you… That girl that teamed up with that other kid… I finally get to end your life…” Genza rushed forward and swung at Saki, but a pillar of earth blocked the attack. Saki’s fist became coated in water, and when she punched Genza in the stomach it exploded against him. The force sent him skidding backwards, but he recovered and made a handsign. Swinging his katana in an arc, Genza sent a blast of air towards Saki. The Chunin raised a wall of earth to stop it, but the attack blasted through and into her. As she was thrown back, a falcon made of earth and mud crashed into Genza to distract him. Saki pulled out a handful of shuriken and launched them at her opponent, who deflected them. “Silly girl, you can’t stop me…” “Fine, if you’re really so intent on thinking you won, how about I show you something that will crush your hope!?” Saki stepped back and made a handsign. A shockwave was sent out from her, and Genza squinted as a bright light began to emanate from Saki. Suddenly, a fist of rock punched Genza in the shoulder, and another grabbed his head to slam into a tree, “Still have hope?” ………………………………………………… “That chakra power coming from there…” Kato said wearily, staring at the Great Hokage Faces, “I guess Saki found him, I should help!” With that, Kato ran off towards the battle. ………………………………………………… [i]That black dot… It wasn’t the Hokage, I looked and found he was a blue dot. But that black one! What could it have been! The only times I’ve ever seen a black one is when there’s a great evil present… I should tell Naoto of this when I get back…[/i] Kayaku placed his hands together and pictured a map of the Leaf in his mind. There was no sign of Genza, but before he ended the jutsu he noticed a disturbance along the edge of the map. He selected that area, and noticed Genza was surrounded by a bunch of white dots in constant motion. Kayaku quickly ended the jutsu and looked at the direction the power was coming from. He didn’t have time to alert the others, so he just ran. ………………………………………………… “You feel that too?” Hebi glanced over at his Jonin partner, who nodded, “Well, let’s go check it out…” ………………………………………………… “That power…” The Hokage whispered, standing up from his desk, “No, I can’t risk anything happening… No matter who it might be that controls it, I can’t risk getting to close…” ………………………………………………… Genza wiped the blood from his chin as Saki stopped her attacks. The light was gone now, and Genza had bruises and cuts all over him. “You can’t win Genza…” “Damn, that was pretty strong… But I think I’ll just run away again!” He formed a handsign, but to his dismay nothing happened. He noticed Saki grinning, and he looked around to see a transparent, blue barrier around them. “It stops you from leaving, Genza,” Hebi said, appearing next to Saki. Before he could react, a long blade made of crystals was put to his neck. Kato landed next to Saki, who inched closer to him. “It’s over…” Kayaku said from behind him. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 24, Secrets and Destruction]“We’ve won, Genza, give up,” Kayaku said calmly, touching the crystal blade to Genza’s throat. The man lowered his card and surrendered, seeing no other way out. As Hebi’s Jonin companion went over to tie up Genza, Saki sighed and leaned against Kato. “Man, I used up a lot of chakra on this guy…” She sighed, closing her eyes. Kato glanced around and stepped away nervously. Saki followed in suit only to lean on him again. “Um… Shouldn’t you get some rest?” Kato asked. “Well, if you would just stand still, I would be getting some rest…” Saki yawned. While she seemed content to lie on his arm, Kato was both happy and surprised. Throughout his time in the Leaf Village, not one girl had shown any particular “interest” in him. But out of nowhere, now, this girl from the Sand seemed to [i]like[/i] him. The only thing that really worried Kato was the thought of her already having someone that liked her, and that person could get jealous. If that was true, and Kato wasn’t far stronger, this could turn into one hell of a fight. Meanwhile, the Jonin had finished binding Genza. Kato and Saki stayed back as the others went up to confront the man. Kayaku dispersed the crystals he was using and stood above Genza, eyeing him suspiciously. “Why did you leave?” “Pfft, it’s secret…” “It’s not going to be meaningful if you don’t answer me truthfully. I swear, I have no trouble with slitting the throat of a traitor,” Kayaku sighed, a kunai suddenly sliding into his hand. Genza saw this and looked him in the eye. “I figured as such. But I guess I can tell you, you guys are Sand Village shinobi… aside from you,” Genza said glancing at the Leaf Jonin, “To be quite honest, you probably won’t believe me. I deserted the Sand Village to save the Hokage.” Hebi burst out laughing before Kayaku could speak again. After he stopped laughing enough to talk, Hebi moved forward. “You?” Hebi said mockingly, “How the hell are you going to save the Hokage? And from what!?” “I knew it…” Genza whispered, “I knew no one else would find out…” Now Hebi was silent, and returned to letting Kayaku doing the interrogation. “Look man, we don’t have all day! If there’s something we should know, you better tell us. Especially if it involves the Hokage. All of us know the Leaf Village is our only ally,” “Seriously, no one got word of it…” Genza moaned, “Alright, this all started while I was out on a mission. It was about some lose ends to ‘tie up’ near the far edge of the Land of Fire. But when I was returning from the mission, I intercepted some Rock ninja.” “While I’ll be damned, it’s always the Rock…” Hebi chimed in. “Anyways, they hadn’t discovered I was there. So I decided to listen in on them, you know, I was wondering why they were there. As I listened, they kept talking about how they needed to get to the outskirts of the Leaf and fast. They also said how they were gonna rendezvous with a partner, who had ‘set the trap’ for the Hokage. When they finally found their partner, he said ‘the Leaf’s going to need a new Hokage’. And they cheered quietly, and headed back for the Rock I suppose.” “You expect us to believe all this crap?” The Jonin whispered. Genza shifted slightly in his bondage, sighing. “Fine, when you’re Hokage is dead, I told you so!” The Jonin started towards Genza, but Hebi grabbed his shoulder, “Look, if you’re wondering why I didn’t go back to the village it’s because I feared it would be too late.” “Why didn’t you tell us when we found you?” Kayaku yelled. “I knew you were on a mission to find me… what could I do? I grabbed some beggar clothes and hid amongst the Leaf, trying to discover what was up. When you came, I knew I had to keep the act up, I figured you wouldn’t believe me and that I could out last you. But it turned out I couldn’t, and now the Hokage is in danger more than ever. Because besides the Rock, we’re the only ones that know of this!” ………………………………………… “Those Sand ninja should be leaving soon I guess, the quicker they’re gone the better…” The Hokage mumbled to himself. He was staring out the window of his office, and the shining light of day gleamed off of his black hair. He was wearing his specialty, a replica of the famous Minato Namikaze’s cloak he used to wear. However, his was changed in color to fit his style, the white body now being black. The normal flames on the bottom were dark blue, making the outfit look more ominous. Underneath he wore a black t-shirt and pants, is feet covered by ordinary ninja shoes. As usual, his red eyes scanned across the view of the Leaf Village. All was good in these times. The Leaf was allied with the Sand and Cloud, and the former needed help less often. However, the recent activity of the Rock seemed to scare the Sand Village, and it was necessary to keep things stable. Letting the Sand venture around the village was decent enough, but having them around could cause trouble. After all, he had his secret to worry about. …………………………………………………… Kayaku, Hebi, Saki, and Kato dashed through the trees that encircled the Leaf Village. The Jonin assigned to Hebi was left to take care of Genza as the others met up with the Hokage. Hebi had given control over the mission to Kayaku, who had noticeably more talent for this kind of stuff. Saki had recovered from her “fatigue” and no longer needed to rest on Kato. All the while, Kato was wondering to himself why she would like him. [i]Maybe it’s my looks? I mean, she did only seem to like me at a glance. So yeah, probably my looks. But at the same time, I haven’t taken a shower in a couple of days with all the work I’ve been doing… My personality? Hell no. Saki only knows me as a clumsy guy who has misjudgment. Damnit, girls and their weird ways![/i] Kato looked over at Saki, who had been looking at him. Their eyes met, and Saki turned to face the twisted path in front of her before they could hold eye contact for more than a second. ……………………………………………………… The Hokage gripped the railing preventing him from falling, and the coolness of the metal soothed him. He stood on the roof of the Hokage’s Office, and for once he seemed to smile. Behind him, suddenly, he heard a yell. He turned his head to see Kato waving his hands atop the Great Faces. “KURO!” Kato yelled. The Hokage went to lift his arms to wave back, but his hands wouldn’t budge. Kuro pulled harder, but it felt like his hands were glued onto the metal railing. The rest of the group appeared next to Kato, and watched as Kuro struggled to move his hands. “It’s the trap!” Hebi yelled, and all of them dashed down the cliff towards the Hokage. Kuro pulled with all his might, but he was still stuck. He quickly closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. Something was slightly different about his red eyes, but it wasn’t too drastic, merely a few added black spots in the iris. The group was now only 100 meters from Kuro, whose hands were suddenly freed from the metal. Yet, before he could move away from the spot, a giant seal appeared beneath him, looking like a lightning bolt colliding with another. The seal glowed bright red, and a explosion of red lighting encased Kuro. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 25, Konoha's Adventure Comes To A Close]The barrage of lightning stopped at last, and Kuro appeared sprawling away from the area. His custom cloak was scorched all over, and small currents of red electricity still flowed around him. Hebi was the first to reach him, and being the medical ninja of the squad, made a few handsigns and placed his palms on the Hokage’s chest. The others had caught up, only to see Hebi surging chakra into the area where Kuro’s heart should be. “s***! This isn’t looking good,” Hebi yelled angrily, “He managed to avoid the greatest damage somehow, but his heart is failing. I haven’t even begun to test for brain damage after all that voltage, but there might be some! Get a medical team over here stat!” …………………………………………… “You see this? It’s your fault…” Kayaku said flatly. He stood next to Genza, who was secured by chakra rope. Together, they watched as medical ninja tried to save Kuro’s life. The latest report that had been given was that the heart was the only main concern, but there might be some memory loss. Genza grunted and looked away. A mission to save the Hokage ended up with him on a hospital table. Only one word could describe this situation: failure. Sitting on a bench not too far from the door was Kato and Saki. Saki faked being scared for the Hokage, giving her the opening to be “comforted” by Kato. Kato was glad to have a girl with him, but at the same time Kuro’s life was on the line. The Hokage had never been a guy like the legendary 4th in terms of kindness, yet he still cared for everyone in the village. …………………………………………… Hebi mumbled something and stood up from his crouched position. While everyone else worried about the Hokage, he took it into his own hands to understand the trap. His Jonin companion had been told to leave him alone, and Hebi was glad to be doing this himself. However, this wasn’t Sand Village business. Leaf ninja would be here soon to take a crack at the seal themselves, so Hebi had to get this done quickly. Placing his hand one the black ink that appeared as the seal, Hebi pushed a little bit of his chakra into it. Instantly red sparks began to dance around, but what really caught his eye was the pale blue sphere hovering where Kuro’s head should have been if he had stayed on the railing. The chakra flow stopped, and the sphere died away. “Now we have something interesting…” Hebi pulled out a kunai and surged chakra into the seal again, creating the blue orb. Now he tossed the kunai at the sphere, and when it hit the weapon was deflected. Hebi decided to do another test, and right before he put chakra into the seal, he chucked a rock at where the orb would appear. As predicted, the orb trapped the rock, and when it hit against the walls it merely bounced as if it had hit a normal wall. Now Hebi was onto something. Recreating the chakra flow, Hebi made one of his electric squares and sent it at the orb. Upon contact, the electricity in the square was neutralized, leaving it nothing more than a wisp of chakra. Dispersing the jutsu and ending his tricks with the seal, Hebi stood up. He hopped over the railing just before the Leaf squad arrived, never knowing he was there. ………………………………………………… “Kayaku, get over here. Kato, stop hugging Saki and come over here as well,” Hebi said, much to the embarrassment of Kato. The group huddled around Hebi in the hospital’s hallway, “I did some testing on the seal that almost killed Kuro.” “Really? What did you find?” Kato exclaimed. “Well, I found that it wasn’t meant to kill Kuro,” the other group members gasped, “I found that if he had stayed glued to the railing, a protective orb would have made sure he suffered no head damage at all. It completely negates any form of electricity, and repels objects.” “So, what was the purpose of this attack then? To scare us?” Kayaku looked skeptically at Hebi. “I’m not sure the true reason, but something along the lines of that is probably the case. I know the Rock just loves showing off their power,” Everyone quickly glanced at Saki, who blushed, “For now we have no reason to stay in the Leaf Village other than to make sure Kuro makes it out alive. After that, we’re heading home with Genza.” “I won’t be going home with you people…” Genza said from across the hall. The group chuckled and turned to face him. “What,” Saki said, “do you plan on doing? It’s over! I alone stopped you in your tracks, you can’t get away now!” “I have no choice but to try little girl,” Genza whispered, “If I go back to the Sand, it’s over. Only one option is left for me: to run.” With those words, the chakra rope around him broke. Kato reached for a spare shuriken, but by the time he grabbed the weapon, Genza had left in a puff of dust. “Guess we’re staying in the Leaf!” Saki yelled, running for the exit. Hebi followed in suit, but Kayaku stayed behind. After the others disappeared around a corner, he turned to Kato. “She seems to like you,” “Yeah, but there’s always a catch to it. She’s from the Sand, it’s not like we’ll see each other again,” “Trust me Kato, with the way our village has been spinning lately, I promise you can guarantee a visit from her again. And hey, she’s sticking around for a bit,” “I know, pretty nice to have a girl into me. But what if there’s some guy back in the Sand that wants her as well, he could also be just as strong! If he’s the jealous type, this could get ugly,” “Hmm… I never considered that. Well, now that you mention it, she has a boyfriend…” “What!?” “Hahaha!” Kayaku laughed, “Just kidding. Got you there, didn’t I? But seriously, there’s nothing really to worry about,” “How would you know? It’s not like you can see what she’s doing everyday, like who she hangs out with,” “None of us can besides her, Kato. But relax man, at least you have a chance. Hey, maybe I’ll see if she hangs out with any guy ‘excessively’ when we get back home. But for right now, I have to go catch Genza!” Kato thanked Kayaku as he darted for the nearest exit. A chance, at least Kato had a chance. ………………………………………………… “Lost em’” Genza sighed. He stood at the base of a tall mountain, in front of him a seal that looked like a yin-yang symbol. The seal glowed each sides respective colors for a moment before the rock split apart to reveal a circular opening roughly the size of a large head. “Who are you?” A light voice said, the only sign of life being a pair of light blue eyes that glowed in the dark opening. Genza stared into the eyes and remained motionless. “I’m a deserter, a bad example of a good shinobi. I heard one of your members died, I’m here to fill the spot,” A laugh resonated from the opening. “Not everyone has the balls to try out for us. Pfft, practically no one knows of us,” “I know, and I’m here to join. I’ve got nowhere else left to go, and I think I can meet the criteria of your group. Tell your master that Genza has come to join, he should know the name.” “Sorry, but he’s away on some work,” The rock closed to create the yin-yang symbol again, but rays of light emitted from the rock to form the outline of a door. The rock door swung open to reveal a pitch black room, with a woman dressed in a dark blue kimono standing in the doorway. She had the blue eyes that had talked to Genza moments earlier, and her hair, which was pale blue, dropped slightly below her shoulders, “Although we’d be glad to see if you have what it takes to join. Only the best of the best gain entrance. The rest are killed.” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 26, Kayaku's New Mission]“I told you, I’m alright!” Kuro groaned. It had been two days since he was hospitalized, and at last he was free to go. Now he sat in his chair behind the Hokage’s desk while Kato and other Leaf shinobi worried about him. “Sir! You nearly died! You shouldn’t be up already!” A random ninja yelled. More shinobi joined in on this, yelling things like “You were nearly killed!”, “Your brain might have something off!”, and “Just take a day off!” At last Kuro’s mind snapped, and a wave of blue fire forced the annoying shinobi out of his office. The door slammed shut. “Hmph, they should be worry about themselves and if anymore traps were set, not me…” Kuro whispered, “But my head is a little messed up. I’m having some memory problems…” “Let us hope you didn’t forget me…” A voice came from the corner of the room. It was a voice of generic evil, but it lacked any sort of cocky ring to it. The Hokage turned away from the voice and looked out over the Leaf Village. “No, I could never forget you… You are the reason, after all, that I have these eyes,” Kuro said softly, his eyes now in the form of the Sharingan. …………………………………………………… [i]3 days later…[/i] “Home at last!” Saki cheered. The squad finally entered the walls of the Sand Village after days of traveling. Hebi was glad for the mission to be over, yet at the same time a sense of failure loomed over him. Originally, the mission was to retrieve Genza, but it had turned into that plus saving the Hokage’s life. Yet in the end, Genza had gotten away. “Guys, I got to go,” Kayaku sighed, “Tell Naoto I had some business to attend to!” With that, Kayaku ran off into the streets of the Sand Village. Hebi and Saki stared at their comrade, but eventually turned to go meet up with the Kazekage. [i]Damn, if screwing over the purpose of this mission wasn’t bad enough, I have to break it to Tenkai he has some competition![/i] Hebi buried himself in thought until they made it to Naoto’s office. They opened the door to reveal the Kazekage sitting at a desk, filling out paperwork. “Ah, you guys are back!” Naoto said looking up. He looked confused to not see Kayaku with them. “Kayaku said he had some important business to do,” Hebi said. Naoto nodded and shoved the paperwork aside, beckoning the pair to come forward. “So, did you get him?” “No,” Hebi sighed, “He got away when we were at the hospital, you see-” “Hospital!?” Naoto interjected. “Yeah, you see… The Hokage kind of got… beat up?” Saki said warily, “The Rock Village placed a trap to kill him.” “It wasn’t to kill him, remember?” Hebi said quickly as Naoto’s eyes filled with hate, “Merely to scare us. If Kuro had stayed in place he wouldn’t have been so injured thanks to the protection system!” “Protection system?” Naoto asked. “Yeah, I discovered a barrier would have been around the Hokage’s head if he hadn’t gotten away from the first trap. It’s a long story Naoto, but the basics are Rock Village did it, and Hokage is okay,” Before anyone could speak up, there was a knock from behind Saki and Hebi. They turned around to see Oson walking towards them. “Oson, Saki and Hebi just told me your mission went well,” Saki turned around to Naoto, confused. “What!? Oson wasn’t in our mission!” “Yeah, it was some guy named Kayaku!” “How nice, I was on the mission, not Kayaku,” Oson whispered. He placed a hand on each of the Chunin’s heads, a black aura forming around them. They dropped to the ground unconscious. Naoto stood and walked over to close the door, not wanting anyone to see or hear what was going to happen next. “Nice job Oson, but for now, take of the mask,” “As you wish,” Oson said, reaching a hand for his face. He gripped from his forehead to cheek, and pulled off a hard mask. Suddenly, Oson’s body blurred and contorted into Kayaku, who held a dark blue mask with lines covering it in his hand, “Though I guess you can call me Kayaku now,” “No, you being Oson is extremely important on this mission! The real Oson is out on an S-Rank mission, but no one except his squad, me, and you know this. Everyone else thought he was with Saki and Hebi. So until Oson gets back, you’re him.” “What if I’m confronted by a family member, or a friend? They’ll know something’s up,” “You’ll just have to do the best you can. Now everyone thinks you went on that mission, even Saki and Hebi thanks to that little jutsu of yours. Replacing all memory of Kayaku with Oson, genius. Now, go do something Oson would do, like train or something!” “Naoto, I still have one question,” Kayaku said, putting on the mask. He returned to being Oson. “What’s that?” “Are you… going to go after Genza?” “I’m afraid there’s no need to do something like that,” “Why not?” Oson watched as Naoto walked out of the room and motioned for him to follow. The pair walked down a long hallway until they reached a flight of stairs, which Naoto led Oson up. At the top they came out to the Kazekage Mansion’s roof, and Oson noticed a trail of blood leading across the surface. “That’s why…” Naoto whispered. Oson followed the trail of blood with his eyes, at last coming to the source. Near the edge of the roof was Genza with twelve swords protruding from his body. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 27, Mist Village Theft]“You wanted to see me Naoto?” Tenkai said as he walked into the Kazekage’s office. He frowned when he saw Oson in the room as well, but his older brother walked out upon eye contact. Tenkai walked over to Naoto’s desk, but was thinking about Oson and why something seemed a little off, but he snapped out of it when he reached Naoto. “Yes, as a Jonin you’re missions will get harder and more frequent,” Naoto continued as Tenkai grinned, “So, as your first mission as a Jonin, I’m assigning you to an A-Rank mission,” “Sweet! What is it?” “You see Tenkai, while you were resting up from that last mission of yours, we had a visitor from the Mist… and no, this isn’t a friendly visit like when Saki came to the Sand. They infiltrated the village alone and stole something that belongs to us.” “What did they steal?” “Nothing much, only something very important to your clan,” Tenkai closed his hand into a fist and turned his back on Naoto. He walked to the door and stopped before exiting. “Is anyone else coming along?” He said angrily. “Yes, in fact. A man roughly your age from the Leaf Village. He has brown hair, is a Jonin as well, should be wearing a green shirt and dark pants. Best description I got. Oh, and his name is Kato. He left the Leaf about a day ago, a few hours after the attack,” “Why didn’t I know of this!?” “You were resting up, and I wanted you specifically on this mission. Now quit wasting your time here and go bring back what belongs to you,” …………………………………………………………… “It’s no use, you’re going to have to fight,” Kato called out to the Mist ninja he had finally tracked down. They were roughly a mile from a port that would take the Mist ninja back to his village, but Kato had finally pinned his location. Now the ninja was stuck against a tree because of lightning shards piercing his body and sticking to the wood, “That is, if you can fight,” “Kekeke… so the Sand isn’t good enough to fight their own battles, eh? They have to get their buddies the Leaf to help! Well, I’m going to enjoy this just because I’ll make the Sand look like dirt!” The Mist ninja had dark blue hair that brushed in front of his eyes and covered his ears. In the back his hair dropped lightly to his neck. He wore something out of the ordinary, a blue jacket made to look slightly like a suit and black pants. His eyes were pale blue, and around his neck was a necklace with a green gem on it. Blood stained parts of his clothes where the shards impaled him, most being on the arms and legs with one in the stomach. “Wait, why do I feel like I know you?” Kato whispered. The ninja looked to be somewhere around his age, and his face seemed oddly familiar. “Really Kato, you don’t remember your old pal… Daisuke?” Daisuke said with an evil grin. Kato looked as if he had been slapped across the face, taking a step back. All his memories of Daisuke came rushing forth, and before he knew it his eyes filled with hatred. “Oh I remember you! We met back when I was a Genin… I’ve waited for a chance to rip you to shreds, and now I’m going to do it!” Kato dashed forward as another electric shard appeared in his hands. Daisuke smirked and made a handsign, creating a violent burst of air to knock Kato back. The shards in his body also fizzled out because of this, and he was now free from the immobilization. “Daisuke Nakamura, legendary bastard of the Hidden Mist!” Kato was now back on his feet and made a series of handsigns. Before Daisuke could move, a spherical cage made of lightning formed around him and shrunk until it squeezed him tightly. The electricity from the jutsu surged through him, bringing pain to every inch of his body. “Kato Yoshida, the man who will kill you!” Kato made another handsign and the cage grew smaller, now hurting Daisuke even more. Suddenly, Daisuke forced a handsign and created a barrier of ice around him that pushed away the cage. Inside the ice, Daisuke dropped to his knees and panted. [i]Damn, this guy’s pretty good! Well, I don’t think I’ll have to use my full power, but I’m going to have to try on this one… Hope no reinforcements arrive until he’s done with![/i] Daisuke looked up to see the lightning barrier was gone, but Kato was diving bombing from above the barrier. Kato clapped his hands together above his head, with was facing the barrier. A shield of lighting formed in front of his hands and spread downward, creating him into a giant, electric bullet. Daisuke made a handsign and more ice formed at the area Kato would impact. But when the Leaf shinobi crashed into the ice, he had more force than the ice could handle, allowing him to easily burst through. Kato’s jutsu ended and he landed behind Daisuke, and the two began a fist fight. Daisuke seemed to dodge all of Kato’s attacks, who seemed to take most of Daisuke’s blows. Kato punched at Daisuke’s head, who raised an arm to block it. But at the last second Kato’s arm seemed to slightly increase in muscular build, and the punch knocked away Daisuke’s block and collided with his cheek. Kato took the moment of shock from Daisuke to knee him in the gut, making the Mist ninja stumble backwards. “What the f*** was that!?” Daisuke yelled in anger, rubbing his cheek. “A little technique of mine…” Kato charged forward and used the ice beneath him to slide tackle Daisuke. The two grappled each other and rolled around throwing punches and random attacks. Daisuke finally pinned Kato to the wall of the barrier, where ropes of ice wrapped around the struggling Jonin. Daisuke stepped back and watched Kato try to escape with a smirk. “That is also a little technique of mine… Now, let’s take a trip down memory lane, roughly 6 years ago, when you were a Genin. Top of the class they said, well, Intel anyways. It was by fate we ran into each other that day. I was a Chunin, but when I met you on the outskirts of the Leaf I played the innocent role of a lost boy. You were so nice, taking me to your home and letting me have dinner with your family. I thought I should repay you… so how did I? I can’t remember… will you jog my memory, Kato?” “You bastard,” Kato mumbled, trying to break free of the ice rope, “You killed my sister!” Daisuke walked forward and slapped him, stunning the Jonin. “I didn’t kill her, fool. I merely left what looked like I killed her,” “What the hell are you talking about!?” “Your sister is alive, Kato, living happily in the Mist Village. Do you remember her? Beautiful red hair, strong willed… She’s grown up to be quiet the attractive woman. Age 18, a pretty nice chest…” “You pervert…” “Pfft, at least I have the balls to look at a girl,” “You also have the balls to kidnap my sister and make me think she was dead!” Kato yelled. The ice ropes restraining him broke into thousands of small pieces as he seemed to get a muscular boost. Daisuke raised an eyebrow, but Kato’s foot was already colliding with his stomach before he could erase his questioning look. The air in Daisuke’s lungs was knocked out, and Kato continued to throw punch after punch at him. Finally Daisuke found an opportunity to strike back, and made a handsign. His hand was covered in a layer of ice that formed into sharp edges, and he struck upward at Kato’s shoulder. The ice sliced right through Kato’s flesh, causing blood to soak his clothes. Daisuke jumped back and made a handsign, instantly the ice barrier around them melted and splashed harmlessly on the ground. Kato gripped his shoulder as his muscle boost faded away, making him return to normal stature. “What was that power of yours…?” Daisuke whispered, pulling out a scroll. Kato’s hand that gripped his wound glowed blue, and the gash slowly began to heal. “A trick I learned to overpower enemies. I simply enhance my chakra flow to my muscles for short periods of time to increase my damage output. I knew you were better than me in close combat, so I used that trick to become stronger,” “I see you know some basic medical ninjutsu… That’s odd, most people who know that kind of stuff focus on it mainly, yet you’re not a medical nin,” “Hey, a good ninja knows all types of fighting. Unlike most shinobi, I try to have at least basic skills in every field. That’s how I became the Jonin I am today, and just you wait, I’ll free my sister from the Mist!” “You moron,” Daisuke chuckled, “She wants to stay in the Mist. She likes it their,” “Then I’ll have to beat some sense into her… but for know, I need to know one thing. Who was the body that resembled hers so much that we couldn’t tell the difference!?” “Oh that? The body was just some girl that passed by your house. I killed her and placed her in your sister’s bedroom, and when she came in to go to bed I simply knocked her out and took her away. It was quiet easy actually. No one would ever guess that it was simply an intricate jutsu making the girl look like your sister,” “So you’re telling me… I grieved over some little girl I don’t even know!? And that my sister is living it up in the Mist!?” “Yep…” “I’m going to kick your ass so hard, and I’m going to enjoy it so much!” Kato made three handsigns and thrust his palm towards the ground. Lightning began to form around his hand, creating an ominous glow about Kato, “This is one of my strongest jutsu… It was created by Kakashi Hatake almost 500 years ago… I tweaked it to fit my style of fighting when I became a Jonin, and since then I have perfected it…” “Ah, I remember something like that being talked about when I was traveling. Nothing more than a simple stab, but an insanely strong stab thanks to all the lightning. What was it called, “Chi” something…” “The original jutsu was called the Chidori, but then Hatake upgraded it to Raikiri. Me, I use the Chidori, but I’ve turned it into a different jutsu… My limit is once a day, so I have to use this sparingly…” “Hmph, if I remember correctly, the only reason Kakashi could use it is because of the Sharingan he had. And if I recall, the Uchiha died out long ago!” “That’s why I tweaked it! This version doesn’t require the Sharingan… I call it… Piercing Thunderhand!” Kato dashed forward at Daisuke, the lightning crackling the air around it. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 28, The End of a Long Lost Struggle, The Beginning of a New War]Daisuke smirked and put the scroll he had taken out back. He made a blur of handsigns and watched Kato intensely, who drew closer insanely fast. Daisuke’s eyes flashed red for a second, and he pointed at Kato. “Demonic Ice Technique: Eternal Binding!” Kato noticed that he was suddenly surrounded by millions of ice needles, each no bigger than a pin. Without hesitation, he continued his charge at Daisuke, but the needles shot at him from all angles. Kato was hit all over, yet he still kept running at his target. Blood began to soak parts of his clothes, but he finally broke through the wall of needles and completed his charge for Daisuke. Kato shoved his palm forward, aiming for Daisuke’s chest. Daisuke simply jumped to the side to avoid it, but Kato jumped into the air with a spin. Once he came around to view Daisuke again, he pointed at him with the Piercing Thunderhand. An extended beam of lightning shot out and pierced Daisuke’s shoulder, sending a spurt of blood onto the ground. “Gotcha’!” Kato yelled. He pulled back with his arm, causing Daisuke to fly at him. Suddenly, the electricity faded from his hand and reformed on his other. Daisuke’s eyes opened wide as he realized what was going to happen. Kato waited until Daisuke was within three feet of him, and then smashed down with his Piercing Thunderhand. Daisuke screamed in pain as electricity bored through his other shoulder, creating burns and muscle loss. After a couple seconds the lightning faded, and Kato’s hand was sticking out of Daisuke’s shoulder covered in blood. The two hung there, motionless in the air, until gravity decided to pull them to the ground. Kato pulled his hand away and kicked off of Daisuke, who couldn’t resist. Daisuke crashed on the ground, spilling blood on the grass, and Kato landed a few yards away. “Told you I didn’t need the Sharingan,” Kato mumbled as he began to brush off the ice needles that coated him. Daisuke slowly got onto his knees and grabbed the scroll he had put away. Opening it up, he took blood from his wounds to dot the scroll, and placed it on the ground. Kato watched this and stood up, preparing himself for the jutsu. “Kato… That was a nice jutsu you had there… But now it’s time for me to show off my own!” Daisuke made a handsign, and the scroll exploded into a vicious gust of snow. Kato raised his arm to shield he eyes from the dirt kicked up by the jutsu, and soon the snow settled down. “What the hell…” Kato whispered, staring at Daisuke. All of the Mist ninja’s wounds were gone, and his normal clothes were replaced by a white jacket, hood up, and a dark blue set of t-shirt and jeans. Snow still swirled around him, but he swiped his arm outward and the snow ceased. “Probably wondering what happened to my wounds, eh Kato?” Daisuke said with a smirk. He disappeared, forming again in front of Kato to punch at his stomach. Kato grunted and stepped back, gripping the spot he got hit in. “Damn that punch was strong… What kind of jutsu is this!?” “One you won’t win against. There isn’t really a name to it yet; all I know is my speed, strength, and chakra increase. Oh, and my wounds heal as well…” Daisuke chuckled and dashed at Kato with another punch. Kato sent chakra into his arm and raised it to block, but the attack almost broke through his defense. “Alright, let’s do this!” Kato yelled as he sent chakra to all the muscles in his body. The two went back and forth with punches for a few moments, until Daisuke hit Kato’s chin with an uppercut that blasted him a few feet into the air. Before Kato had the chance to react, Daisuke jumped at him and tackled him back to the ground. Kato kicked him away and jumped up, making handsigns, “Lightning Style: Lightning Destruction!” Kato placed his hand on the ground and a fissure of lightning raced towards Daisuke, who dashed to the side to avoid it. Suddenly he appeared next to Kato with an ice dagger in hand, which he swung at his arm. But upon contact, the dagger shattered into small pieces. “Did I forget to mention that I can focus a ton of chakra into one point of my body to make it insanely strong?” Kato laughed, slamming his elbow into Daisuke’s chest. He whirled around and punched Daisuke in the forehead, sending him reeling. Kato threw a shuriken at him, but he recovered from the blow quick enough to knock it away. “Fine, you want to reveal more of your tricks, I will too!” Daisuke yelled in anger. A clone of Daisuke appeared next to him and they charged at Kato. They split in different directions when they reached within two feet of him. Kato pulled out a kunai and watched both cautiously as they swerved and came at him from left and right. Kato threw the kunai at the real Daisuke, who simply deflected it. The clone had used this chance to increase its speed, allowing it to already be at Kato without him knowing. When he turned back to check on the clone, it was already sending its knee into his stomach. Now Daisuke jumped into the air and landed his feet on the surprised Kato’s shoulders. The weight forced Kato to his knees, where the clone stuck his throat with his foot. Daisuke jumped off of him backwards, so when the kick caused him to go back, Daisuke was already there. Daisuke caught Kato’s head with his palm, and pushed him upward into standing position. Now the clone rushed forward and punched Kato in the head, causing him to go back at Daisuke. The clone disappeared after the punch, and Daisuke karate chopped Kato in the collar bone, forcing him to the ground. “That’s what I like to call my Blizzard Combo. Quiet effective, ain’t it Kato? HAHA!” Daisuke laughed. Below him, Kato gagged and spewed blood out of his mouth. Daisuke topped the beating off with a kick to his side, which made Kato roll away in pain, “Feels bad, don’t it? That’s what you get for trying to stand up to me…” Kato painstakingly got to a standing position, eyeing Daisuke with hatred. “f*** you…” Kato said before he collapsed. Daisuke laughed more, but was cut off when a sudden burning sensation on his cheek appeared. He looked closely to see small sparks were dancing across his skin, burning it slightly. Daisuke made a handsign and the attack ceased. “What was that? A last resort attempt to beat me, Kato? Pfft, you’ll have to do better than a weak jutsu like that to-” Again he was cut off, but this time by a blow to the back of his head. Daisuke turned to see a teenager with brown hair and a grey hooded sweatshirt looking at him with rage. Daisuke looked closer, and he saw that he was using the Raikegan. “I believe you have something that belongs to my clan,” Tenkai hissed. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 29, The Final Battle Begins, Darkness Grows Closer]“How fitting they send a Kuroko to take back what I stole… Kekeke…” Daisuke chuckled, pointing a thumb at Kato, “He tried to stop me as well, you wanna be next?” Tenkai looked over at the fainted Kato, who still had some ice needles sticking to him. Blood dripped onto the grass below, causing a slightly disturbing scene. “Doesn’t matter! I’ll just do better than him!” Tenkai ran forward and kicked at Daisuke’s side, but he grabbed it and threw Tenkai to the side. Daisuke turned to face him, blocking an oncoming punch as he did so. Tenkai elbowed him in the face with his spare arm, causing Daisuke to go back, “Water Style: Hyper Bullet!” Tenkai drew his arm back, and a torrent of water began to swirl around it, forming a drill up the length of it. He raced forward and swung at Daisuke with it, who raised a wall of ice to block. The water drill smashed through the ice and carrier on towards Daisuke, who watched in surprise as the attack tore into his midsection. “Damnit!” Daisuke yelled, jumping away, “Demonic Ice Technique: Chamber of Death!” Suddenly, a large cage made of ice surrounded Tenkai, and his jutsu was cancelled. Daisuke smirked as he watched ovals, roughly six feet tall each, made of ice form around Tenkai. The ovals morphed and contorted into the shape of knights, each wielding a mace or sword with a shield. Without warning, a knight rushed forward and swung at Tenkai with its sword. Tenkai dodged and made a handsign, but nothing happened. “Sorry dude, this prison doesn’t like jutsu!” Daisuke chuckled. Realizing it was melee only, Tenkai strapped on his chakra knives just in time to block the attack of another knight. He swerved and slashed through the arm of an oncoming ice warrior, but the arm and weapon it carrier grew back after a few seconds. Tenkai gaped and received a blow to the head by one of their shields, making him slam into the cage walls. Pouring more chakra into his weapons, Tenkai sliced off the head of the nearest knight. The ice that created it instantly melted into water that was soaked up by the ground. Before he could try and attack another knight, one of them swung their mace at his kneecap. Tenkai jumped over the attack and took the opportunity to see if he could break the bars that held him within the cage. He punched at the ceiling, but not even the chakra knives could so much as but a crack in the ice. [i]Guess I’m stuck in here until I kill all of them…[/i] Tenkai smashed down on one of their heads, crushing it to nothing. As he landed and the water from his latest victim splashed on the ground, an ice sword’s flat side banged against his shoulder. He gasped in pain, but turned around to incapacitate his attacker. Another rush of water splashed onto the ground below. [i]Hmmm… I think I should just leave him here. I don’t want to make my boss angry if I don’t return on time…[/i] Daisuke looked over at Kato, making sure he was knocked out cold. He turned back to face Tenkai, who was quickly getting rid of the ice soldiers. “Cya Kuroko dude! I have a boat to catch!” With that, Daisuke dashed away and was lost among the trees. Tenkai gritted his teeth and killed off another soldier. He had to stop Daisuke before he could reach the boat that would take him to the Land of Waters. There were still three more knights to go, and Tenkai had to deal with them quickly. …………………………………………………… [i]I hear fighting… Ugh, that guy Daisuke hit me pretty hard… My body feels like absolute crap though! Hey, fighting means that guy from the Sand arrived! Yes! Maybe I held off Daisuke long enough! But… it sounds like there’s more than two people… s***, this could mean two things… Daisuke is outnumbered, or my backup is outnumbered! DAMNIT KATO! WAKE UP![/i] Kato slowly regained consciousness, and the true pain in his neck was realized. It felt as though someone had placed a 100 pound weight on his collar bone, and they kept adding pressure onto it. Glancing around, he noticed, through fuzzy vision, that there was a teen fighting off weird blue things. Kato looked harder, and realized it was his backup fighting off one of Daisuke’s jutsu. He stood up wavering, but after a short flow of chakra throughout his body he felt alright. Tenkai noticed his partner from the Leaf was up, and called out to him as he fought off the last two ice knights. Kato hurried over and talked to Tenkai between his fighting. “Dude, you Kato?” “Yeah, I got my ass whooped by Daisuke before you showed up! Oh, Daisuke is the guy who stole that thing from the Kuroko’s,” “I figured as such,” Tenkai said, flashing his Raikegan at Kato, “Name’s Tenkai, by the way. Look, leave me to fight these guys. Daisuke ran off to the port! I’ll catch up with you later!” “Right!” Kato dashed off into the trees, leaving Tenkai to end the battle with the ice knights. Tenkai struggled against these last two, for it seemed that with every death the remaining warriors doubled in power. One of the knights struck Tenkai’s right arm with its mace, creating a deep wound that bled profusely. Tenkai grunted and cleaved off its head, leaving only one ice knight to face him. The final knight would be a true challenge, and Tenkai began to think he stood no chance. With one injured arm and an insanely strong opponent to face, Tenkai charged at the knight and tried to punch off its head. The knight knocked his chakra knife away with its shield and slapped the back of his head with its sword. Tenkai’s vision went fuzzy, and his Raikegan deactivated on him. The knight slashed upward with its sword, creating a deep cut through Tenkai’s chest. He stumbled backward, and dropped to the floor on his back. The ice knight slowly walked over to him, as if savoring the sight of his blood pouring over the ground. Tenkai’s vision had returned by now, and his head pounded with intense pain. Overhead, the last ice knight raised its sword for the final blow, and Tenkai closed his eyes. In his mind, he could feel himself falling, and it appeared as though he was slowly falling into a dark pit. [i]Damnit… Why… Why does this happen to me? I try to stop Daven, and he knocks me out… I try to stop Daisuke, and I get knocked out… Each time is worse, each time I feel like I’m falling more and more… Each time… the darkness beneath me seems to get closer… No… I can’t lose this time… I have to bring it back… I have to… return what is rightfully my clan… And become stronger… Yeah… Maybe then… Oson will think more of me…[/i] …………………………………………… “Daisuke!” Daisuke turned around and looked for the place his name was yelled from. On the tree covered hill he had just come from, he saw Kato burst out of the bushes and fly through the air at him. “The f***!?” Daisuke yelled, but Kato came down on him with a punch, knocking him to the ground. He quickly got back up and dashed off towards the port, which was only around a turn. Kato stabilized himself and ran after him, but his speed had increased to inhumane levels. He easily covered the distance between him and Daisuke in a few seconds and passed him, only stopping to place his knee out for Daisuke to run into. Daisuke couldn’t react fast enough, and crashed into Kato’s knee, making the two tumble onto the ground. “Like my speed you Mist bastard!” Kato yelled as his punched at Daisuke. Daisuke ducked and stabbed at him with an ice dagger, creating a deep wound. Kato grunted and prepared to attack, but Daisuke pushed him to the side and ran on towards the port. Kato took a few moments to recover with the meager medical jutsu he knew, but quickly got back up and raced after the thief, “So got to learn more medical jutsu when I get back home!” ………………………………………… Daisuke watched with a smirk as Kato struggled to reach the docks. The boat he was on had just started taking off, and soon he would be too far out for his trackers to reach him. Kato had just hit the docks, and the boat was quickly gaining distance from him. “Wind Style: Tiger Claw” Daisuke made a handsign, and three blasts of air knocked Kato away from the docks, “Hmph, mission accomplished,” Daisuke pulled out a scroll and made a handsign, sealing the mode he was still using. His white jacket and other clothes were returned to their original state, the jacket and normal clothes. Kato got up and dashed for the docks again, gaining the same speed he had used before to catch up to Daisuke. The Mist ninja watched in shock as Kato dashed straight off the dock and ran on the water to catch up with him. Kato reached the boat and hopped over the edge, raising his fists as his muscular build increased. “I’m impressed… but I must know… how?” Daisuke said in awe. Kato didn’t let his guard down, but simply kept his fists ready. “Simple. I funnel chakra into my feet to boost the force I generate. Other than that, I spread chakra throughout my arms and legs so they can keep up with the force I’m outputting. End result: I’m faster than anyone you’ll ever meet!” “Alright, I’ll admit you’ve proven yourself worthy… I’ll show you now, what I’m really capable of!” Daisuke laughed and gripped the green jewel on his necklace, and a dark aura formed around him. Kato gasped as two bumps began to form on Daisuke’s back, and suddenly two black wings ripped holes in his clothes’ fabric. Ice crystals swirled around Daisuke, and his clothes changed to a long black jacket with a torn grey t-shirt below and black pants. A few pieces of his hair became white, and under his right eye a layer of ice formed. “God, what is this!?” “It is… your end…” Daisuke rushed forward and leaned in to punch Kato, but a loud rush from behind him made him stop. He jumped back and turned to look out over the water, and to his, and Kato’s, surprise, Tenkai was riding a jet of water towards the boat. The Sand ninja rocketed off the water and landed loudly on the boat next to Kato. “Hey Tenkai, how’d you catch up so fast? It’s not that I don’t like backup but… you got here pretty quick…” Tenkai stood up with his back facing Daisuke, and he slowly turned to face him. Daisuke’s eyes widened when he say what was on Tenkai’s face, and Kato looked bewildered at the sight. “A ninja has his ways…” Tenkai smirked, enjoying the shock in Daisuke’s eyes. Covering the left half of Tenkai’s face was a thin black mask, stopping at the nose and leaving the eye socket revealed. His Raikegan was changed on both sides, being black with a white ring and diamond. Daisuke took a step back and grunted in frustration. “You… how could you possibly know a technique like that!? Only few ninja ever have the blessing of getting that ability…” “Hmph, this is a power you can get? All I know is that for some reason, my wounds are healed and I feel stronger than ever! I’m ready to kick some ass!” “So you don’t even know the full extent of what you’re becoming… How nice… This fight just got a little more dangerous for me…” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 30, What Belongs To the Kuroko Clan]“Alright Tenkai, he just powered up… well… a lot, so we have to be on our guard! I say we see what he can do before we attack fu-” Before Kato could finish, Tenkai laughed and lunged at Daisuke, “Or not!” Daisuke waved his arm, and a wall of ice materialized in front of him. Tenkai smashed into the wall, creating a large crack in it. “Fool, this form of mine is stronger than you can ever hope to be!” Daisuke pointed at Tenkai, and the wall disappeared. A blast of small bits of ice hit Tenkai in the face, blinding him momentarily. Kato by now had dashed behind Daisuke and swung a kunai at his back. But before he could make contact, Daisuke leapt into the air and spun to face him. The wings on his back kept him afloat as he shoved an open hand in Kato’s direction. A glowing orb formed in his hand, giving off a light blue aura. After a second, the orb’s center turned transparent. “Nice knowing you Kato! This is what I call my Grand Hailstorm!” A beam of ice, chakra, and wind exploded out of the orb, roughly five feet across, and shot down at Kato. Before it could get him, Tenkai jumped in its path and shot a similar beam of lightning at it. The two blasts collided, and every time the ice and chakra hit the lightning, they were disintegrated, along with the lightning that hit them. “Kato! Don’t just stand there! I can’t keep up this output for long!” Tenkai yelled angrily at the frozen Jonin behind him. Above, Daisuke frowned, annoyed at how Tenkai’s jutsu was able to counter his so easily. Kato made a series of handsigns and jumped to Daisuke’s level in the air. “Lightning Style: Blinding Flash!” Out of Kato’s eyes came two small beams of electricity, heading for Daisuke’s head. When they were six inches away, they exploded into a giant flash of light. Daisuke held his free hand up to his eyes, but he could feel his control on the jutsu slipping. Below, Tenkai yelled in frustration, and suddenly his lightning blast changed to black. A faint, black aura began to swirl around him, and the blast started to overcome the Grand Hailstorm. Daisuke waved his free arm and a small swarm of ice particles shielded his eyes from the light. Kato was beginning to fall to the deck below, and pulled out a handful of shuriken. The Grand Hailstorm wavered as the shuriken pierced Daisuke’s flesh, and the orb that originally started the beam began to shrink. The light was gone by now, and Daisuke grimly observed the black lightning gaining on him. “Damn! It looks like I can’t win this if he’s using that… Too bad, unlike him, I haven’t learned to put it into jutsu yet…” Daisuke ended the jutsu and shot off to the side as black lightning consumed the spot he was just in. Kato came struck him from below, his hand now covered in electricity pounding into his stomach. Daisuke grunted and fell to the deck, unable to move. “A simple jutsu that stuns the opponent,” Kato grinned as he dropped to the deck. Daisuke went to get up, by Tenkai crashed down on him with both feet and sent them below deck. Kato peered into the darkness below, listening to the sounds of punches and kicks. Suddenly part of the deck behind him shattered, and he turned around to see Tenkai fly into the air. Daisuke shortly followed him out of the hole, his fist raised as though he had just struck someone with an uppercut. Tenkai looked down and fired a small blast of lightning down at Daisuke, who simply deflected it and head butted him in the chest. Tenkai was knocked back, and Daisuke grabbed his neck with his feet and flipped in mid air. The motion dragged Tenkai along, and he was released on the downward motion of the flip. He was thrown into the water, sinking very deep. Kato looked up to see that Daisuke’s face was covered in a mask just like Tenkai’s, but it covered the whole face. Daisuke now turned to Kato, and dive-bombed towards the shocked shinobi. Tenkai burst out of the water and tackled him before he could reach Kato however. “Hey! What’s going on back here!?” A gruff voice came from behind Kato. He turned to see the captain of the ship, and quickly ran over to him. “You have to turn this ship around! The guy you were ferrying to the Land of Waters is a thief that my friend and I are trying to stop! He stole something valuable from the Sand!” “Damn, I thought I was just taking the guy back home! Alright, just cause as little damage as possible to my boat!” The captain turned and went back to the controls, leaving Kato to view the damage to the boat sadly. Daisuke and Tenkai entered his vision again, each of them throwing punches and blocking the other’s. Finally Daisuke overcame Tenkai, and he knocked him down with a blast of wind. Kato rushed over and swung at Daisuke, making contact with the mask covering his face. A small crack formed in it, and Kato punched at him with his other fist. Daisuke blocked this one with ease, and flipped Kato onto his back. A beam of lightning suddenly blasted off his mask, and his power boost left him. Daisuke looked over to see Tenkai pointing at him, small sparks skipping around his hand. “So,” Daisuke said softly, “You’ve gotten rid of my boost… allow me to get rid of yours, Tenkai…” Before Tenkai could see it, Daisuke kicked his mask from below, shattering it as well as nearly sending him over the side. Even with the mask gone, Tenkai’s Raikegan was still in its morphed form. “Too bad, I still feel some of this power! And now I’m going to take back what belongs to my clan!” Tenkai made a few handsigns and dropped his arm to his side. A long spark shot off of his hand, and scattered into thousands of sparks that took the form of an electric sword. “Someone likes to play with swords…” Daisuke chuckled. “Pfft, I suck with weapons other than kunai and shuriken… The only reason I have this is because one swing is all I’ll need,” Kato rammed into Daisuke’s back with his enhanced speed, rocketing him towards Tenkai. No way to stop the fated attack, Daisuke closed his eyes as Tenkai swung the sword down on him. The blade didn’t actually cut his flesh, but poured electricity into his body wherever it was, which was essentially across his torso. Tenkai’s Raikegan faded as Daisuke collapsed to the ground and returned to his normal form. Kato stumbled over to him and looked out on the horizon, the port now back in view. Tenkai kneeled and looked over Daisuke, wondering where the stolen item could be. “So Tenkai, what is this thing he stole anyways? It must be pretty special to your clan if you went through all of this to get it…” “It’s very important to my clan, for it is the reason the Raikegan was created…” Tenkai reached inside Daisuke’s coat pocket and felt a scroll that he promptly pulled out. He made a handsign, and the scroll burst into a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, a small, yellow sphere laid in the scrolls place. “What is that?” Kato asked, his eyes unable to move from the ball. The sphere looked like it was nothing more than a clear shell, and yellow currents of electricity danced around inside of it. “An orb that was created nearly 400 years ago. Some guy in the Kuroko clan decided to capture pure electricity and contain it, wanting to use it somehow to create a strong ability. To this day no one knows how he contained this electricity, every time we tried to copy the process it failed… The Mist probably wanted to get their hands on it to develop a Raikegan of their own…” “Wait, how did your Kekkei Genkai form from captured electricity?” “I’m not sure the full story, but somehow he temporarily sealed the orb into himself. His eyes where affected by it, they were mutated into the Raikegan… It’s a trait that’s been passed down through the generations, and it has become our Kekkei Genkai,” “Damn, that’s a weird way to get an ability…” Kato murmured. The boat was now nearing the dock, and Daisuke still had yet to stir, “What do you want to do with him?” “I’ll bring him back to the Sand. From there, the Kazekage can decide to do with this son of a bitch…” [/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Oh he died? Nuts. And I just saw the green shirt and thought, "Moi?" But that's fine, I wouldn't get why you named me Hebi anyway >.> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 You see, the three ninja with Saki were basically meant to be fodder.... XD And Hebi for now is mainly just a minor character. When I create you, your name will be cooler. >:3 [spoiler=Chapter 31, The Truth Can Really Suck]“Man, this guy sure is wasted!” Kato complained as he shifted Daisuke again on his back. Ever since Tenkai had destroyed half of his torso’s nerves he had been knocked out, leaving Kato to carry him back to the Sand Village. “Dude, you’re the one who offered to carry him,” Tenkai sighed. By now they had entered the Land of Wind, and after a day of travel they would reach the Sand Village. Tenkai glanced around for any signs of life, but only sand dunes and dead bushes were visible. Suddenly he stopped in his tracks and began to mumble to himself quickly. Kato came up behind him and watched for a few seconds before interjecting. “You okay Tenkai? Is this… normal or something?” “The scroll! I can’t believe I’m such an idiot!” Tenkai gripped his hair and tried to remember everything that had happened to him after he returned from his fight with Daven. [i]Naoto mentioned Saki, and the scroll was wiped out of my mind! He never mentioned getting it back! Holy crap, when I returned with Saki, it was as if the scroll didn’t even exist! When she got captured, we all forgot about that information… and now… we never got a chance to get it![/i] Kato dropped Daisuke onto the Sand and walked over to Tenkai, wondering what to do. Before he could try to guess what was going on, a volley of senbon pierced his left thigh. “Gah! What the f***!?” Kato yelled, snapping Tenkai out of his trance. They both looked up to see a blur pass in front of them, and three senbon entered Tenkai’s shoulder as well. Kato went on instinct and dived for Daisuke’s body. He grabbed his arm just as the blur attempted to grab the body, but it passed right by seeing that Kato had taken hold. Tenkai winced as he pulled out the senbon in his shoulder, at the same time activating his Raikegan. The blur now became slower to him, gaining the shape of a female. While Kato guarded the body of Daisuke, Tenkai collided with the woman in a series of blows. The women punched at Tenkai’s face with senbon in between her fingers, but he dodged just enough so the metal only created shallow cuts in his cheek. The woman grabbed Tenkai’s hands and pulled him towards her, while at the same time pulling back her leg and crushing it into his stomach. A small shockwave was sent out and Tenkai flew back, kicking up sand as he bounced away. Now she was no longer a blur, and Kato gasped as he looked her over. She wore a Mist Headband around her neck, leaving it dangling somewhat. Plain jeans covered her legs, and a bright red t-shirt, covered by a ninja vest, took up her top. Her brownish-red hair was slightly curly, and fell to her shoulders. Kato slowly stood, and she turned to face him, green eyes that he hadn’t seen in so long. “Kid, do I know you from somewhere?” She asked, her voice echoing inside of him. Yes, he was sure now he knew who she was. “If you don’t, I’m sad that the Mist has corrupted your mind so much…” Kato dashed at her and drew a kunai, but the girl merely knocked him away. He got a mouthful of sand, which he promptly spat out and turned to her. “I remember that voice… and you do look like a person I left behind earlier in my life… Kato, is that really you?” Kato stood up and stared back at his sister, who seemed to not really care if he was her brother or not. “Yes, it’s me sis…” he said glumly, “And I suppose they made you hate me or something? Don’t worry sis, you don’t have to follow their orders now! You can return to the Leaf Village and-” Kato was interrupted by a laugh, and he looked up to see his sister was the source. “Ah little Kato, thinking you know what I want… I left behind everything on my own free will! I love it in the Mist!” Before either of them could say something, she swayed to the side as a kunai flew past and right into Kato’s arm. “Sorry dude!” Tenkai yelled as he materialized in the air behind Kato’s sister with his leg pulled back. He kicked her on the side of the head with all his might, making her spin away violently. Kato yelled in surprised and ran over to his sister that had already lost consciousness. Tenkai watched bewilderingly as Kato performed medical jutsu on her head in order to heal her, “Alright man, what the f***. I take the courtesy of knocking her out, possibly killing the b****, and you heal her?” “This b**** is my sister!” Kato screamed at him, “And thanks to you she’s out cold!” “To me that’s an accomplishment… And too bad it’s your sis, she’s pretty hot… and is knocked out… Damn you…” Tenkai laid on the hot sand and thought of what they could do if it wasn’t Kato’s sister, anger welling inside him. His perverted thoughts were interrupted after a few minutes by Kato throwing some sand in his face. “Well, I healed her as much as I could, but she’s still going to be out. And I don’t trust you carrying her, and you probably would kill Daisuke, so I guess we’re just going to have to wait here,” ……………………………………………… “Ugh… My head hurts…” Kato’s sister said groggily as she regained consciousness. She looked around and saw Tenkai asleep on a sand dune and Kato pacing nervously a little bit away from her. At the sound of her voice, he rushed over. “Yukiko! I mean sis! You’re awake! How do you feel? Are you in pain?” Kato’s questions bombarded her. She waved a hand, urging him to stop. “Kato, that blow made the jutsu stop. When I was taken, the Mist put a seal on me that made me believe I hated the Leaf! I’m so sorry for attacking you,” Yukiko hugged Kato closely, and he felt a rush of relief. At least now he knew his sister hadn’t left the Leaf on her own free will. They stood up and smiled at each other, glad to have the other back. Yukiko hugged her brother again, “It was horrible… but I made it here, and that’s all that matters…” Kato smiled a little, but felt a sharp pain between his shoulder blades. He pulled away from his sister and winced, feeling blood trickle down his back. “Sis, what’s going on? It feels like there’s a sword in my back!” Kato looked at her, but she didn’t appear worried at all. Instead of helping him, Yukiko reached into her vest pocket and pulled out a handful of senbon. “Man you fell for that one easily… Should have let your friend get rid of me while he had the chance…” She flung the senbon at Kato’s stomach, but he dodged them and made a handsign. “I’ll save you…” A shockwave knocked the senbon sticking out of his back onto the ground, and Kato rushed at his sister. Yukiko sidestepped his attack and pounded the back of his head. “Brother, you’re the one that needs saving,” Yukiko said softly as Kato slipped into darkness. ……………………………………………… Tenkai rubbed his eyes and looked up at the sky, which was dark by now. [i]Wow, night already…[/i] He peered around until he spotted Kato, who lay on the ground face first. Tenkai rushed over to his partner and flipped him over, seeing that he was still breathing. “Damnit Kato, you just got tricked by your own sister… And thanks to your kindness, I just lost Daisuke…” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 32, Falling Into Place]Kato slammed his bedroom door and slumped onto the bed. A few days ago he and Tenkai had stared at each other with dismay, and went their separate ways. After what had happened with Yukiko, he didn’t feel like talking to his family. He just laid there remembering his life before Daisuke, but each time he thought about his sister reality came crashing back into him. The rays of the fading sunlight danced around his room, and darkness began to creep in. Kato rested his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. “Why… why?” He mumbled to himself, sleep seeming impossible. ………………………………………………. Miles away, Tenkai slipped into Naoto’s office with a frown. The Kazekage looked up at him quizzically and Tenkai leaned against the far wall. “He got away thanks to that Leaf guy you sent…” “I’m not really sure what to tell you Tenkai. Did you at least get back what was stolen?” Tenkai pulled out the glowing orb and showed it to Naoto before pocketing it again. “Speaking of stolen things, do you remember that scroll you sent me to retrieve? You know, before all this s*** happened?” Naoto jumped up and slapped a hand against his face. “We forgot it… didn’t we?” ……………………………………………… Yukiko walked through an open doorway, Daisuke in her arms. The door led inside a tall, circular building that had people walking around inside. Near the entrance was a guy behind a rock desk who she walked over to. “I need the Mist’s finest medical nin… This is Daisuke Nakamura from our Elite Division…” The man nodded and walked into a room behind his desk, seconds later walking out. “Second level, room 18,” he said. Yukiko turned and walked towards a flight of stairs, coming to the second floor. Once at room 18, she dropped Daisuke onto a rock table and stared at him until a team of medical ninja rushed in. Once they began to get ready, she left the building and disappeared into the streets of the Mist Village. ……………………………………………… Genza gasped as a blast of water hurled him into the rock face behind him. Around him were rotting corpses, some missing bones that were grinded to dust when they were living. The woman that had first let him enter the mountain base appeared a few yards away with water swirling over her hands. Genza quickly got up and readied his guard, but the woman simply dropped her arms and the water vaporized. “Hmph, not bad for a guy without training here… I must say, you did better than those guys,” She said smoothly, pointing to the corpses. Genza winced and turned to face her again, lowering his guard. “So does that mean I can join?” “It’s not up to me. Plus, you still have a long way to go until you catch up with the rest of us… But, I’m sure he’ll let you in. Plus, you said you know him?” Suddenly, from the darkness behind her, a pair of Raikegan appeared. “You’re right… I will let him gain access…” “Master, you’re back so soon? I thought you’d be out longer…” “I’m back momentarily. But I can’t stay for long, I have more to do… Genza, glad to know my reputation has spread to the likes of deserters,” The eyes disappeared, and the two were alone again. “Alright, what now?” Genza asked. “You’re training begins. Prepare for hell,” ………………………………………………………… “Kato! Get up! Now!” Kato heard his dad’s voice ring through his ears, and he jumped out of bed. Outside it was bright, the sun radiated intense light into his room. Surprised he slept in until noon, Kato wearily descended to the first floor of his house and raised an eyebrow as he saw his father strapping on a armor vest. “Dad, what’s going on?” “I don’t know son, the Hokage just said to get ready for battle and report to the meeting place as fast as possible!” A half our later, the Leaf Village’s forces were crammed into a large hall with their symbol embedded into the wall. Kato sat next to his father and wondered what this could be about, everyone seemed nervous. At the front of the hall sat Kuro, bandages wrapped around parts of his body. “Silence!” The Hokage yelled, and everybody quieted down, “All right, the reason I gathered you here today isn’t good. You’re all armed and ready to fight because we are about to be attacked. A few scouts reported a mass of the Rock Village’s force heading our way, and they’re closing in fast.” The crowd exploded into a fury of yells and complaints. Everyone in the room seemed to remember how Kuro was hospitalized by the Rock, and they weren’t read to let it get worse. The Hokage made a handsign and blew, a stream of dark blue fire rising over the crowd. “Enough! It doesn’t matter what happened in the past! This is now! I need all civilians secured in the shelters! Chunin and Jonin, form a ring on our wall! I want extra at each section so we can relay messages. Genin will be contained at the center of our village, and will only go into battle if attacked or accompanied by a Jonin! A small group of Jonin will join me in my office, where we will come up with a plan. Due to my injuries I cannot join the fight immediately, but I will have arrangements made so I can join you if needed. Now, get to your stations!” The shinobi force burst out of the meeting hall and raced for the walls. Some of them went for home, making sure their families were taken to the shelters, others made sure alarms were put out. Kato was among those that raced for his family, even though it was only his mom. His dad intervened, saying he should go to the walls while he took care of his mom. Kato agreed and ran alongside his fellow shinobi, a battle looming over them. ……………………………………………… Naoto reached for the transceiver shoved in his pocket. It was buzzing, signaling Oson was waiting at the other end. “Naoto! We have a pretty bad situation on our hands!” Oson’s voice came clearly through the device. “What? Did you find out about Scarlet?” “Yes, I did, but not my team. They were… killed…” “What!? They were some of our finest shinobi!” “I’m the only one left with this information Naoto! Scarlet is as bad as you said, and the Mist is on the verge of completing it. But I found out another project they have… the Elite Division… It’s a group of insanely strong shinobi, and they seem to have already sent out a member to attack the Sand,” “Yeah, Tenkai fought him…” “You sent my little brother out to fight him!? He’s only 15!” “Relax, he’s alive…” “Then that means he had to use it…” “Huh?” “Nothing, I just need to get back there quickly. Also, there’s going to be an attack on the Leaf Village any day now,” “And you know this how?” “The Mist and Rock are tight, and they’re enemies of the Leaf and Sand. I think the Rock is launching an attack while the Mist’s Elite Division sneak in from behind. They say it was only possible because of some info they received from your brother…” “Alright, for now, rush back to the Sand. Come talk to me the minute you get here,” Naoto shut off the transceiver and yelled. He slumped back against the wall and gritted his teeth in anger. [i]That scroll… information that enabled an attack on our only ally! Damnit! Daven, even dead, you still bring grief to my village… Well, I’ll have to guess this information is true and dispatch a small force to help the Leaf! Kayaku, prepare to head back to the Leaf Village… it’s gonna be one hell of a fight.[/i] [/spoiler] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWqYoGJCQNU"]Arc 3[/url] [spoiler=Chapter 33, What the World Has Come To]“Be careful, okay?” Tenkai’s mother said softly. Oson stopped in the doorway and turned back to face his family, knowing he might not come back. Tenkai didn’t look at him, as if it wouldn’t matter if he died. “I’ll be back,” Oson said gently, turning and leaving his home. As he walked down the street towards the village entrance, he grabbed his face and pulled. The mask he wore popped off, and his form shifted back to Kayaku, “Oson, please be alive… I don’t want to fake being you anymore…” ………………………………………………………… “Dad I’ll be fine!” Saki moaned as she ran out of her house. Naoto had selected her as one of the few to go back up the Leaf, and she was ready to beat up some Rock shinobi. As she came to an intersection of streets, Hebi came into view. Saki called him over, and together they headed for the entrance. “Yeah, I was selected too,” Hebi said. It was only a small force sent to help the Leaf, but if the need arose more would be sent. The main concern of the Sand’s council was to help their ally but to have most of the force back home in case it was attacked. As the two neared the looming passage that led into the desert, Saki spotted Kayaku walking towards them. “Sup guys? Guess our squad is together once again!” ……………………………………………………… “There is no real leader in this,” Naoto spoke to the small force in front of him, “Once you arrive at the Leaf, you’re main objective is to defeat the Rock. At the same time, I would like one of you to group with the Leaf’s intelligence and give them what we know about the Mist’s possible attack. However, if nothing is happening, stay a day to make sure, and then come home. I wish all of you luck, no move!” The crowd saluted their Kazekage and began the journey to the Leaf Village. Kayaku slid past Naoto and placed something in his hand as he kept running. Naoto looked down to see the mask Kayaku had been given, and he watched as the Sand shinobi ran on to the early stages of war. …………………………………………………… “Intel just brought in a fun fact,” Genza looked up to see the woman in blue walking over to him. Around his left eye was a bandage from the training, along with several wounds over his body, “It seems war is brewing. And that village you left to join us is getting involved…” “Why should I care? Unless we’re joining it of course…” “It would be a great way for you to train, but Master has not given the order to attack. So for now, we’ll just train here,” Genza stood up and looked off into the recesses of the cavern. “When am I going to meet the others?” “When you’re able to fight one on one with me and hold your own,” “So, I guess that means never…” ……………………………………………………… “This just feels wrong…” Kato mumbled as he placed a tag bomb under his bed. He got up and placed another one on his windowsill, putting a seal on it. Each building was to have a set of paper bombs in it that could be detonated remotely. To each person it felt as if war was more promised now, even though it was only a small attack. Sighing, Kato walked out of his house and headed for the wall again, passing a few shinobi on his way. They seemed off, like they were trying to get something done where they didn’t belong. Kato simply took this as nerves, continuing on until he reached the base of the wall. It was there he realized what those people were rushing for. On the ground was a couple of Leaf ninja, each with holes through their chests. Blood spilled onto the ground and created a scene of perfect death, almost like it was signaling the war. Above, Kato heard a scream and watched as a fireball seared a man to ash. As he ran up the wall, an explosion of rocks shattered the wood next to him. The force of the impact made him sway, but he remained standing as a team of Rock shinobi jumped through the hole. On the top of the wall, shinobi fired off jutsu to an enemy Kato couldn’t see and turned around to face the intruders. Kato himself left the other shinobi to take care of them and climbed to the top of the wall. As he peered over the edge, he saw a sight he had never expected. Silhouettes dashed among the trees, dead ninja laid on the ground, shuriken were everywhere, and, most shocking of all, a tall cloud of dust on the horizon. Before he could guess what it was, a kunai buzzed by his ear and made him duck below the edge again. ………………………………………………… “Alright, withdraw the forces from the far wall and send them into the battle field! I want all of our extra men taking down the Rock!” Kuro yelled as a shinobi darted out of the room. His companions murmured anxiously and glanced out the window of his office to view the action going on. Suddenly a young shinobi ran in and saluted Kuro. “Sir, a messenger hawk has been sent to the Sand requesting back-up if the need arises!” “Thank you. Now, there have been reports of a strange cloud of dust on the horizon… Does anyone know what this could be? It’s huge!” “Maybe a jutsu that will be used to blind us?” A man piped up. Kuro closed his eyes and frowned, the stress of an invasion starting to come over him. “I want scouts out there now! I want info as soon as possible!” …………………………………………………… “Last one!” Kato muttered, hiding behind the side of a building. Blood smeared his face, the result of killing two shinobi that had snuck into the streets of the Leaf. Now only one remained, and Kato breathed heavily as he worried if his location was known. “I can sense your fear…” A voice came from inside the wall he was leaning against. A sword erupted from Kato’s chest, spraying blood everywhere. The wall crumbled, and a teen with blond hair and light armor stood holding the sword. He smoothly pulled the sword out and slashed at Kato’s back, creating a deep cut across it. Kato fell to the ground and blacked out, blood loss and pain destroying his will to be awake. The blond haired shinobi smirked and sheathed his bloodied sword. “In war, there is no mercy. War is nothing but chaos, everyday shinobi dieing so rich adults can get land or revenge. You have become a victim of war, and so shall this whole village,” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 34, A Cloud of Mystery]Koji looked up as a buzzing noise came from the darkness in front of him. A hologram of Naoto appeared before him, and Koji spat on the ground. “You ready to tell me I can leave yet?” “No Koji,” Naoto’s voice crackled, “It isn’t time yet for you to be let out…” Koji closed his fist angrily and glared at the hologram. “Damnit! Let me out of here! It’s not as if I can do anything here! At least out in the world I can take my anger out on the Mist!” “So that means you haven’t discovered it yet…” “Discovered what? I’m in a small room filled with darkness,” “What about your hunger? Your chakra?” “Well, I’m not hungry at all, and I haven’t eaten in days. My chakra is increasing… what’s going on here?” “Hmph, if you haven’t figured it out, you aren’t ready to come back to the real world. Oh, and I have some news. The Rock and Leaf are in war,” With that, Naoto’s hologram fizzled out. Koji yelled and grabbed his hair, darkness encasing him once more. ………………………………………………… As the rock fist retreated from his chest, the Leaf shinobi fell to the ground in a pool of blood. Next to him were the crushed remains of his companion. These bloody corpses were the scouting squad that had been sent to retrieve info on the dust cloud, but as they neared the target their fate was met. Above them, a Rock shinobi with short black hair and piercing grey eyes grinned. He placed his arms to his side and turned around to face the oncoming cloud of dust and debris. “No one gets past me… especially low class ninja like yourselves,” The shinobi said darkly to the corpses. ………………………………………………… Kato groaned as he regained consciousness, the pain from his wounds burning like fire in his nerves. He couldn’t move do to the damage, and the blood loss was keeping him from risking jutsu. He laid there for 15 minutes, and when no other shinobi came by, he lost the will to stay awake. The black around his vision consumed him, and Kato rested in his pool of blood once more. ………………………………………………… By now the blond haired shinobi had made it to the Hokage’s Mansion undetected, clinging to the wall right beneath the window to his office. Inside, the Hokage talked quickly with Jonin selected to help form plans, but they couldn’t think of anything except attack until info on the cloud came back. The blond haired shinobi frowned and unsheathed his sword silently. From here he could see the dust cloud was advancing, but it was still at least an hour away. “The main battle won’t happen until that cloud gets here,” he whispered, “but I can still kill of this guy while I have the chance,” He jumped up from his position and bashed in the window with his sword. Glass rained down on the meeting as Kuro whipped around and shot a small fireball at his attacker. The fireball dissipated as the shinobi’s sword passed through it. He landed inside the room, inches away from the shattered window. The Jonin had recovered from shock and made numerous handsigns, but Kuro called them off. “So, the Rock feels the need to strike the heart first… You guys sure don’t waste time!” “I came here on my own time, no one told me to come and kill you… I just thought this war would end quicker if you were out of the way!” He dashed forward and slashed at Kuro, but the Hokage was blocked by one of the Jonin. “Sorry, I’m not in the condition to fight. Benjiro, Michio! Get rid of this kid!” Two Jonin jumped forward and tackled the blond ninja out the window, leaving Kuro to sigh. Before the three of them crashed into the ground, the Rock shinobi made a handsign. The two Jonin barely dodged the stream of lava that shot out of the teenager’s mouth, in the result letting him go. They landed a few yards away from each other, and the blond shinobi observed his opponents. Benjiro was tall and muscular, his headband wrapped around his bicep. Michio was a little shorter and less muscular, but he was looking the shinobi over as if selecting a place to hit perfectly. Benjiro’s head was shaved bald, where as Michio had curly black hair that grazed his eyebrow. “Well, I know your names,” the shinobi said, “but you don’t know mine. Allow me to introduce myself… Shimasu, a Jonin from the Rock Village, and your demise!” Shimasu ran at Michio, who appeared to have the least power of the two, and stabbed at him with his sword. Michio’s eyes suddenly became white with a faint ring in the middle, and veins popped up from his eyes to his temple. Before Shimasu could change his attack, Michio knocked away the sword with two fingers and jabbed his assailant’s stomach. Shimasu grunted and slashed at his side, but Benjiro appeared and kicked him away. Now Michio sprinted at Shimasu and swung at his side, but the teenager blocked with his sword’s edge. The blade cut into Michio’s hand, but before the wound could grow too deep he backed away. “A man of brute strength and a Hyuuga, just my luck. Polar opposites working together, both ends of the taijutsu spectrum… This ought to be interesting… Let’s hope me and my sword can overcome you two…” …………………………………………………… Kato grimaced as someone bandaged up his wounds. The attempt was poor, but the bandages stopped him from loosing anymore blood. He cracked open an eye to see a Leaf shinobi glancing down at him with worry before he blacked out again. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 35, The Strength of the Rock, Countdown To Destruction]Shimasu slammed his sword into the ground and made a handsign. Instantly a yellow aura surrounded the blade, and beams of chakra shot out of it. The chakra beams spread out in a large semi sphere around the three shinobi, each beam forming into a replica of Shimasu’s sword. Shimasu gripped his original sword and pulled it out of the ground. Benjiro eyed the sword hovering around them suspiciously, but rushed forward at Shimasu without caution. Michio looked over the jutsu with his Byakugan, but his partner ignored his attempt to yell for him to stop. “Fool,” Shimasu sighed as he swung his sword across his body. One of the floating swords to his side blasted at Benjiro with a pale yellow aura trailing it. Benjiro moved to his left to avoid the attack, but the yellow aura jutted out in the shape of another sword and made a gash in his cheek. Michio appeared over him and blocked an oncoming sword. He landed and swung at Shimasu’s head, but the Rock shinobi ducked and hit Michio with the end of his sword’s hilt. The Hyuuga grunted and backed away gripping thigh, thanking that the hit didn’t go a few inches to the side. Shimasu raised his sword just as a giant shuriken crashed into it, inches away from his face. He looked up to see Benjiro coming down on him with another one, but Shimasu swung his sword to his side and another sword came at Benjiro. Benjiro knocked the sword away with his giant shuriken, but he became off balance and came down at his enemy with no way to block. Just as his life was about to end, Michio pushed Shimasu aside and slid out of Benjiro’s way. Benjiro landed hard on the ground, but Shimasu was back up and panting. Michio smirked as he watched Shimasu struggle to stand straight. “You sealed some of my chakra points…” Shimasu grunted. “Not only that,” Michio smirked again, “I gave you some special chakra that hampers the movement of the place I hit. So your stomach area is pretty much stuck in that slouched position for this fight,” “Says you!” Shimasu made a handsign, and a yellow aura surrounded him. His upper body became straightened again, and he brought his sword back, “I’m not stopped by trick you have!” Before he could complete the sword swing, Benjiro grabbed his wrist and threw him to the ground. Shimasu tried to slide away, but Benjiro came down on him with a volley of punches that sent small shockwaves out upon contact. At last Benjiro picked him up and punched him in the stomach hard enough to send him flying into the barrier of swords. Before he could hit the wall, Michio appeared behind him and karate chopped his lower back. Shimasu flipped into the air and passed through a gap in the barrier. He quickly regained composure and sent four swords at each of his opponents. Michio knocked away all four, but the aura around them cut into his hands. Benjiro simply sent out a shockwave that forced them all away. Realizing the jutsu wouldn’t get him anywhere, Shimasu made the barrier disappear. For the first time, Shimasu noticed a green aura creating a haze around Benjiro. Before he could think more of it, Michio dashed at him. Shimasu grabbed the fist aimed at his face and pulled Michio into the tip of his sword. Blood dripped down the pale white blade as Michio’s stomach was pierced. “Guess you weren’t quick enough,” Shimasu sighed. He ripped the sword out of Michio’s stomach and pushed him to the ground. Benjiro yelled and raced towards his partner, but Shimasu jumped forward and kicked at him with both feet. Benjiro slid under the attack and quickly stood in front of Michio, who had blood spilling onto the ground. A pair of Leaf shinobi landed next to them and picked up Michio, disappearing in a burst of smoke. Benjiro gritted his teeth and Shimasu grinned. “You’re gonna pay!” Benjiro screamed as he clapped his hands together, “The 5th Gate: Gate of Limit, open!” The green aura around Benjiro became more prominent, and his skin grew redder and darker. Shimasu frowned as he realized what he was up against, and Benjiro blasted off the ground at him. Shimasu swung down at Benjiro’s shoulder, but his hands clapped around the blade and snapped it in half. Benjiro struck the gasping Shimasu in the stomach with his knee, lifting him off the ground. He kept punching Shimasu higher in the air, until he flipped forward and swung at his shoulder with his foot. The blow hit the sharp edges of Shimasu’s broken sword, showering blood onto the ground below. The force of the blow carried through and sent Shimasu to the ground, but he simple hopped away as he hit the earth. His sword’s blade was now only two inches long with jagged edges lining it. Benjiro came soared downward at Shimasu, whose sword’s blade returned in the form of a yellow aura. Benjiro’s fist and Shimasu’s aura blade collided, and the ground cracked beneath Shimasu’s feet. Suddenly a portion of the yellow blade detached and hovered above Benjiro, forming a smaller sword. Benjiro moved out of the way of the blade, but it swerved and cleaved his neck. Shimasu raked his arm with the aura blade, slicing off an inch of pure flesh. “Unlike your friend, you won’t get away…” Shimasu’s blade was behind Benjiro’s back, and he swung upwards, lodging the blade on the side of his spine. The yellow aura began to erode Benjiro’s body where it hit, weakening the bones and diminishing chakra flow. The aura exploded, ripping Benjiro’s body to small pieces that were burned away from the blast. Above, Kuro gaped and turned to his group, telling them to kill Shimasu. But as Kuro turned back and watched the Jonin jump down to the pools of blood, he saw that Shimasu was gone. …………………………………………. “What the f***!? I could have killed him!” Shimasu screamed. He stood in the living room of a random person’s house, the sounds of war echoing outside, “The only reason you should have pulled me out of there is if the Elite Division was about to blow the place sky high!” Leaning against the wall on the far side of the room was the man who had killed the scouts trying to get info on the dust cloud. He wore all black leather clothing, his armor vest coming of in curved spikes the aligned with his shoulder. His arms were muscular and were covered in scattered scars. His skin was tanned, and his hands were covered with leather gloves that had the fingers cut off. Grey eyes stared at Shimasu with annoyance. “You couldn’t take on the Hokage if your life depended on it,” He said darkly, “You should be thanking me from stopping yourself from committing suicide!” “Damnit Kazu-san! I could have-” Before he could finish the man was gripping his throat. Shimasu gasped as the grip was released, and he stumbled back. “I told you never to call me that! My name is Kazuhiro! I’m fine with ‘Kazu’, but you shouldn’t be blessed with the honor to call me ‘-san’” “Sorry if I’m familiar enough with you to call you that… Kazu…” “If anything you should add a ‘-sama’ at the end. But whatever, just don’t tag on the ‘-san’ anymore,” Kazu sighed and looked out the window, “Anyways, you can’t take on the Hokage. He’s too strong for you. That’s simply it, no matter how many tricks you have you wouldn’t be able to match him,” “Way to be confident in me… So let me guess, you could take him on?” “It would be a struggle, but in the end it would be 50/50,” “Damn, he must be strong!” “More than you know,” Kazu turned back to him, “Now let’s do what we came here to do. Our mission wasn’t to kill the Hokage, but to destroy the Leaf’s greatest defense system…” Kazu grabbed a black hood he had placed on a table and dropped it over his head. Only a small slit for his eyes was opened, almost completely covering his face. Shimasu glanced at his broken sword in dismay, but Kazu shrugged, “We’ll get you a new one when supplies come in,” The pair looked out all the windows to make sure no one was there and slipped out the doorway. Together they ran through the streets of the Leaf Village until they came to an abandoned shed at the base of the Great Hokage Faces. Kazu and Shimasu slipped inside and quickly killed the lone shinobi standing guard in it. Kazu gripped a floor board and pulled up, and the section of flooring opened like a hatchway. They jumped down into the darkness below, sounds of fighting coming from the darkness. Below, Kazu snapped the neck of the last shinobi and looked around the dimly lit room. Shimasu pointed to a doorway with a Leaf symbol drawn on it. “I think we found what we’re looking for,” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 36, Konoha's Ultimate Defense]A lone scientist turned around as the door behind him burst open. In the doorway was Kazu, his leg outstretched from kicking the door. The scientist backed away and scrambled to press a security switch but Kazu was already on him, sticking a small knife into his throat. As the dead body rolled to the side, Shimasu and Kazu huddled over the machine in front of them. It was dark blue with only a few switches and buttons covering its surface. On the left side was a large lever that was in the “off” position. Above them was a large screen that buzzed quietly. Shimasu reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scroll, ripping it open and examining the contents. “Man, thanks to Daven this battle is ours,” Shimasu chuckled as he laid out the scroll on the machine’s surface. Kazu pressed a button on the machine and the screen flickered to life, showing a black screen with a single blipping line, “Alright, the password is… nothing,” “What the hell?” Kazu raised his eyebrow. Shimasu stared at the scroll for a while and turned back to his partner. “It says there’s no password. Nothing else can be told from this information about logging in… I guess there’s some DNA thing?” Kazu grunted and observed the buttons he could push. Quickly he observed a slightly different shaded panel on the machine and pressed it. The metal clicked inward and sunk into the machine, a small disk rising out of the hole made. Shimasu watched curiously as Kazu picked the disk up and pressed the other buttons. None of them did anything except the last one he pressed, which opened another piece of the mechanism to reveal a disk holder. Once the disk was pushed in, the screen changed to a white screen with a black bar running across it. In the bottom corner of the screen was the word “off”. “What a weak security system,” Kazu grunted, “Now, does the scroll say anything else aside from how much damage the shield can take?” “Well, it has stuff about the Sand, but it has nothing to do with the current mission,” “Alright, close the scroll and keep watch. I’ll activate the shield when the Leaf wants it,” …………………………………………………… “Sir, the Rock is starting to get in to our village!” Kuro turned around to see the Jonin kneeling in front of him. The Rock shinobi had proven well against the Leaf’s forces so far, and the hospital was lined up with injuries. Kuro looked away for a moment before coming to a decision. “Alright, activate the shield. We’ll rein our forces inside the walls and think over a plan,” ………………………………………………… Kazu nodded as he heard Shimasu disposing of the messenger. He gripped the lever and dragged it into the “on” position, a large crackling noise emitting from the machine. Before he left, Kazu pressed a few buttons and watched a dome figure appear on the screen that represented the power output of the shield. He rushed out of the room and met up with Shimasu outside, staring up at the blue sky. Above them, a distortion began to appear at the center of the village. A wave of blue chakra spread out from it, forming a dome over the Leaf Village. On the outside of the walls, Rock ninja observed the scene and hurried back as if the chakra was death. The Leaf ninja went back as well, but to the meeting hall within the village. The cloud of dust by now was roughly a half hour away, and bits of rocks and trees could be seen swirling around in it. …………………………………………………… “Alright, we need a new plan,” Kuro said to the mass of shinobi before him, “The shield will last us for roughly a day, and after that we’ll crush the Rock forces! But for now, I need people to watch movement on the Rock’s part, I want to know where they are at all times!” As Kuro said this, a squad to his left nodded and rushed out of the room. For the next half hour the Leaf’s forces planned attacks and defensive maneuvers, all the while having the cloud of dust grow unsettlingly near. One shinobi looked onto it and saw there was something beneath the cloud, like a mound of earth. It was just below tree level and smashed through anything that got in its way, which was why trees were flying around in the dust cloud above. A path was carved into the earth from the movement, and it spanned roughly 400 feet across. The shinobi realized what was going on and jumped down from the wall, racing for the meeting hall. Back at the meeting hall, Kuro stood up slowly and silenced everybody. The mass of shinobi turned to see two men in the entrance to the building, one being a teenager and the other being an adult. Kazu took a step forward and spoke so everyone could hear him. “Today marks the demise of the Leaf Village, the day the Rock crushed this pathetic place,” His words were met with an uproar from the crowd, but Kuro silenced them again. “So, you must have snuck in along with that kid,” Kuro sighed, “But I doubt the two of you can defeat all of the Leaf Village,” “In a matter of seconds, the Rock will gain reinforcements and swarm the Leaf Village. There is no escaping your demise…” “Fool, don’t you realize what this barrier is? It is pure chakra, manipulated by our finest shinobi and technology to form a barrier that can withstand incredible force! You could never guess the amount it would take to break this! They tried it in battles of the past, but no one could get through,” “But we do know how much force it can take…” Kuro blinked and watched the shinobi stir, and he tried to regain control of the conversation. “There’s no way!” “We have our information… We know that the shield loses power as time goes on, and that there are ways to focus its power in different parts of the dome. In fact, I managed to change it so most of the strength was focused on the opposite side of our main attack, which will be here right about… now…” …………………………………………………… Underground, in the room containing the shield operating controls, on the screen, the dome figure had changed. On one side of it glowed bright green, but on the opposite side it was dark red. Suddenly, the dome’s red part disappeared, and the area around it became red as well. …………………………………………………… As the crashing noise died down and the dust cleared, Kato looked out of the hospital window to see a large hole in the wall of the Leaf Village. It was about 400 ft across, and the shield that was protecting that area was gone, and on the edges the chakra was cracked and fading. Broken pieces of wood were scattered around the crash site, taking out some homes. In replacement of the wall was a giant wall of earth, which crumbled to the ground and revealed its cargo. A large platform of rock held a large force of Rock shinobi, who rushed forward and invaded the Leaf like kids in a candy store. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 37, The Sand's Arrival, A Great Battle Closed Early]“You sure they went in there?” A Leaf shinobi whispered to his partner. The other shinobi that sat staring towards a building only 100 feet away nodded, turning back to him. “I’m telling you, a whole squad went in there! NOW LIGHT THAT motherf***er UP!” The response to his yell was a single handsign, and behind him the roar of an explosion echoed. They looked over to see charred pieces of wood and furniture sprayed across the ground, with five blackened bodies lying in the midst of it. “Well, that’s five Rock shinobi we don’t have to worry about anymore…” ……………………………………………… Kuro watched the explosion from his fixed office window and sighed. Since the Rock’s full invasion began two days ago when they broke the chakra shield four homes had been blown up. As the Hokage, it pained him to have his own village used as a battlefield, but in times of war there were no other options. He looked down on his fresh bandages wrapped around his chest and arms, flashing back to what the medical ninja had said… [i]“I know you’re the Hokage, Kuro, but the injuries are too strong. The trap was designed to hospitalize you for a long time, yet you treat it as if it was a flesh wound! The treatment is going well, but I think you’ll have to sit this battle out… During this invasion of the Leaf, we will be without our Hokage…”[/i] Kuro snapped out of his trance and walked out of his office, descending to the floor level. Once there, he slipped behind an old shelf piled with scrolls and unlocked a hidden door. Kuro quickly went through and closed the door behind him, lighting only being provided by a few lamps that rested on the floor. Taking one last look at his bandages, he peeled them off and observed the damage below. His skin was slightly charred and red; all the nerves in the area had been harmed or killed. Tossing the bandages aside, Kuro crept forward into the darkness. ……………………………………………………… Kayaku opened his eyes and exhaled, looking out over the Lead Village. Just a few hours ago the Sand’s backup had arrived, and he decided to find one of the stronger opponents and “disable” them. He jumped down from his perch on the Leaf’s wall, running through the streets until he came to Kato’s home. Inside, Kazu destroyed the tag bombs that were lining the house. He whirled around and grabbed the flying crystal shard as it flew towards him. He looked beyond the crystal and saw that it came from a spot in the wall, a small hole from the outside signaling where it had come from. The ceiling burst into a fury of crystal shards that rained down on Kazu. He jumped to the side, but one shard shallowly cut into his arm. Before Kayaku could launch another hidden attack, Kazu made a series of handsigns and exploded off the floor in one jump as chakra carried him upwards. Kayaku blinked as the roof beneath him ruptured, and Kazu’s fist rammed his stomach. Kazu gripped Kayaku’s blue hair and pulled, hurling him at the roof. Leaf shinobi were on him the moment he released Kayaku, and he batted them away in mid air. One shinobi swung at him with a kunai and cut his finger, but Kazu reached out and crushed his throat. Kayaku appeared above his opponent and swung down with a crystal-armored-arm, but Kazu grabbed his fist and used the attack’s momentum to throw him to the ground. Kazu noticed the Leaf’s forces coming towards the area he was in as he fell. As he clung to the wall of Kato’s house, Kazu sighed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. ……………………………………………… “You retreated, I see…” Shimasu smirked. Kazu punched him in the shoulder, causing him to stumble. They were outside the Leaf Village with a small camp of Rock shinobi. A single, grand tent was set in the middle of the camp, which was where the Tsuchikage was staying. Kazu ignored it and kept walking until he came to a decent sized tent, beckoning Shimasu to follow him inside. The tent was decorated with a few mats, a single lamp in the corner, and a small kettle over a fire with cups stacked on the side. Kazu sat down and grabbed two cups, pouring hot tea into them and giving one to Shimasu. “It was a tactical retreat,” Kazu whispered as he sipped his tea. “Oh really now? I’ve never known you to run from a fight, Kazu-sama…” “Well, it was me versus some Sand guy and a good portion of the Leaf’s force, so I decided it would be best to leave. If you’re wondering, it was also because I didn’t want to show off [i]that[/i] power yet…” “Ah,” Shimasu grinned as he finished his tea, “I forgot only you, the Tsuchikage, and I know about that little power of yours… Though I think it would be quite fun to terrorize the Leaf with what they thought was long gone. It would be a flashback to all those centuries ago, back when there were only four Hokages…” “You would like that… Anyways, onto the matter at hand, you need a new sword,” “C’mon Kazu-sama, it’s not like I’m helpless without it,” “Please, you suck without that little sword of yours. So, I’m going to get you a special one…” “Special?” Shimasu said, raising an eyebrow. …………………………………………………… [i]1 day later…[/i] Kato frowned as the familiar voice rang through his ears. “Guess who’s back?” Shimasu chuckled as he landed a few feet in front of the Jonin. Kazu appeared a few yards away on a boulder, his black hood still pulled over his face. He rapidly made handsigns and placed his palm on the rock, tall beams of chakra expanding outwards until they encased the three of them in a giant barrier. “You and… Someone I don’t know!” Kato yelled. The three of them where on the open area above the Great Hokage Faces, where Kato was sent to watch over the village. “I’m Kazu, and the one who nearly killed you is Shimasu. I need to see him try out a new toy I gave him, so I thought I’d pit you two in a fight to the death…” “That isn’t fair! If he’s in trouble you’ll just run over and kick my ass before he dies!” “How cute kid, you obviously don’t know me very well. If Shimasu can’t beat a punk like you, why should I save his life?” Kato felt a bead of sweat come down his face. The uncaring tone in Kazu’s voice shook him, but he needed to focus on Shimasu. “Alright, let’s see if that sword Kazu-sama gave me was worth the trial I went through to get it!” Shimasu yelled. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chatper 38, Waste No Time]“I hope you’re more of a challenge than the lot I took on before,” Shimasu sighed, gripping the sword hilt protruding from the sheath on his back, “It’s quite sad how two Jonin from your village were mauled by me,” “You bastard!” Kato yelled as he pulled out a kunai. Shimasu unsheathed his sword and lunged at Kato, who jumped into the air. With the blade of his sword inches away from Kato’s feet, Shimasu flicked upward and cut through Kato’s shoes and into his feet. As Shimasu pulled away, a kunai burrowed into his arm that held the sword. Kato dropped to the ground and winced as blood began to moisten his shoes. Shimasu was already over him, and Kato barely deflected the sword with his kunai, which was knocked out of his hand. Shimasu swung at his head, but Kato’s hand, now covered in electricity, grabbed the blade and stopped it. A strong electrical current was sent through the metal and into Shimasu, who yelled and withdrew. “Cheap tricks won’t be enough to beat me!” Shimasu grunted as small sparks ran along his arm. “How funny you should say that,” Kato chuckled as he stood, “I believe it was a damn cheap trick you used to nearly kill me last time!” …………………………………………………… “You seeing this too?” Kayaku whispered to Hebi. The two stood in front of a ramen shop, a few dead Rock shinobi around them. Hebi’s left hand was wrapped in a rough bandage, but they were intent on the scene above the Great Hokage Faces. “A barrier used to keep people inside it safe… Looks like a heated battle in the middle of a crisis! Let’s go!” …………………………………........................... “Naoto! I got back as quick as I could!” Oson called out. Naoto turned around to see Oson skidding to a halt in front of him. They were on the roof of the Kazekage’s Mansion, the sun beating down hard on them. “Alright, info on ‘Scarlet’ now!” “That can wait, I have to tell you something else that needs to be taken care of at the moment!” A few minutes later, Naoto and Oson sat in his office. The door was locked and a jutsu had been placed on the room to make it soundproof. Naoto shoved some scrolls aside and looked intently at Oson. “Well?” “Alright, this concerns the battle going on in the Leaf Village. Everyone knows about their ultimate defense: the chakra shield. Well, the invasion of the village was made possible because the scroll Tenkai was to deliver contained information on how much damage that shield could take. The Rock Village found out how much force to put behind a jutsu and did it; they’ve been invading the Leaf for roughly four days now,” “Four days!? Damn! I need to send a few more troops if they haven’t pushed them out yet,” “There’s also the matter concerning the Elite Division. This is all I could gather about them: In the Mist, the best students in the Ninja Academy are brought before the Mizukage and tested in a tournament. In this tournament, it’s a bloody fight to the death, and the five survivors are put through rigorous training to weed out the bad ones. After that, they’re allowed into the Elite Division. From there on out, each Elite Division member is trained in their own special type of combat to the quality of near Kage-level or higher. Because of this power, the Elite Division is a secret, used only for the most important of missions,” “I had no idea such a strong force existed… All this time… We are one of the weakest villages…” “Sorry to interrupt, but the Elite Division is sending three members to assassinate the Hokage and wreak havoc on the battlefield. You should send a squad to get there immediately and stop this from happening,” “Alright, I’ll be right back! I’m sending another small force out with this information!” “Naoto… don’t send Tenkai yet…” “Huh, how’d you know I was going to? And why?” “You always send my little brother out on risky missions. But this time, I need to have a talk with him before things get out of control… If I don’t, he’ll probably die…” ………………………………………………… “Take this!” Kato punched Shimasu across the face and sent him flying at the barrier. Upon contact with the chakra, the sensation of being burned covered his body, and only ceased when he fell away from the barrier. Kazu shook his head and glanced at Kato, whose muscles shrank now that Shimasu was on the ground. [i]What an interesting technique this guy has… He can heighten his strength, defense, and agility with chakra at any given moment… Plus, there doesn’t appear to be any drawbacks! Interesting… Now, I think it’s about time Shimasu got serious![/i] Shimasu slowly stood up and held his sword across his chest, grinning slightly. “Alright Kato, I’ll stop playing around! Time to show you what this sword can really do!” The sword glowed faintly, and to Shimasu’s surprise, exploded in a violent burst of fire. Kato gasped and Kazu grinned, both watching the flames consume the area Shimasu stood. Hebi and Kayaku approached from the outside, watching the destruction. The fire finally subsided, leaving a large cloud of smoke to dangle over the place where Shimasu still stood. A hazy outline could be seen, but it wasn’t until the air cleared that Kato got a good look at his opponent. The sword he now wielded, held tightly at his side, possessed a golden hilt and slender black blade. Shimasu looked at it disdainfully and turned his head to Kazu. “The f*** is this piece of s***?” He said angrily, “My Kekkei Genkai only turned this into a new sword! Nothing else happened!” “Fight with it before you say anything else,” Shimasu frowned and turned back to Kato, who stifled a laugh. Before he could process what was happening, Shimasu was behind him and slashed at his back. Kato focused his chakra and the dark blade merely cut into his flesh for an eighth of an inch. Quickly he backed away while Shimasu gaped at his newfound power. “Even at full defense he got into my flesh!” Kato whispered in fear, “Up until now, no one has broken my defensive ability…” “Man, this sword is pretty sweet,” Shimasu smiled, “My speed and strength have improved greatly, this so beats that other sword!” Outside the barrier, Hebi and Kayaku watched angrily as all of them realized the power Shimasu now had in his grasp. Kato stood up and made a few handsigns, electric shards formed around him and in his hands. “Let’s see how good your speed is then… I won’t lose to you, Shimasu!” Instantly the shards floating around him flew at Shimasu, who gripped his sword tightly and pulled his arm back. Before the shards could hit, Shimasu’s body blurred, and he materialized inches away from Kato. His free hand covered the Jonin’s face, and he slammed the back of his head into the chakra barrier. Kato’s body began to quit on him, but he willed himself to shove the remaining shards in his hand into Shimasu’s stomach. They separated as the shards singed Shimasu’s flesh, but they dissipated after a few seconds. Kato was on one knee, charging his right hand with large amounts of lightning. “Time to end this! Piercing Thunderhand!” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 39, As a Mystery Is About To Be Solved, Another Is Given]“Don’t you know anything other than lightning jutsu?” Shimasu smirked. He made a few handsigns and swung his sword upwards. Kato jumped to his left as a line of fire ruptured from the ground in a straight line from Shimasu. Kato dashed forward at Shimasu and drew his arm back, figuring out a good path to strike right through his heart. As Kato pushed his hand towards Shimasu’s heart, it was stopped by his sword, which now had a blade made of lava. Kato’s hand began to turn red, but his attack was halted by the blade. “You’re lucky the lightning is protecting your hand,” Shimasu whispered, “But this lava is fused with chakra, thus making it resistant to your attack. Withdraw or I’ll end you right now…” Kato’s arm increased in size, and slowly he began to shove through the sword. Shimasu watched without interest, noting the skin on Kato’s hand was starting to become damaged from the heat. Suddenly Kato slid back and changed the lightning to his other hand, sending an extended arm of lightning to grab Shimasu. The Rock shinobi slashed at the jutsu, but it grabbed his sword and pulled him towards Kato. The grip faded on his sword, and Shimasu raised his sword to strike down on Kato, who pulled back his fist. “Lightning Style: Hammer Fist!” Kato’s punch exploded against Shimasu’s stomach, sending out a burst of lightning that launched him at the barrier. Shimasu crashed against the barrier, cracking it, and fell to the ground unconscious. Kato slumped to the ground as the barrier faded, and Kazu walked over to Shimasu. Kayaku and Hebi ran over to Kato, all the while watching the Rock shinobi cautiously. “Pfft, he’s pretty damn weak if he can’t beat a punk like you…” Kazu mumbled. Kayaku gritted his teach and jumped at Kazu, who spun around and grabbed his wrist, twisting his arm. Kayaku howled and pain and dropped to his knees, “Idiot,” Kazu rammed his knee into his chest, making him sprawl backwards. Hebi sighed and dragged Kayaku back to Kato and started to heal them. Kazu turned back to Shimasu and kicked his side, sending him close to the edge of the cliff. “You’re going to kick your partner off the side of a cliff because he lost!?” Kato yelled angrily. “I told you, he’s nothing of value if he loses to you…” “You’re insane! He’s a comrade! You can’t just kill him because he was defeated in battle!” “I have standards, kid, and this guy doesn’t seem to-” He paused, glancing around nervously, “It can’t be… what could [i]he[/i] be here for!? Screw this, I’m getting out of here…” Kazu made a handsign and disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Kato, Kayaku, and Hebi peered at Shimasu, who was regaining consciousness. Kayaku got up and walked over to him, forming a crystal blade on his hand as he came closer. “Don’t! He can’t defend himself!” Kato yelled desperately. “Kato, you’re young, you too Hebi… but this is a war. In war, if you leave an enemy alive, he may come back to bite you. There’s no reason to let him live,” “War…” Everyone looked at Shimasu as he spoke quietly, “You people are getting a glimpse of the clean side of war. This is nothing, there have been wars where villages were absolutely massacred! You idiots know nothing!” Kayaku snapped and struck at Shimasu’s throat with the crystal, but he rolled to the side and grabbed his sword. Hebi formed a small barrier around them, the blue chakra buzzing. “You won’t be able to escape like your friend,” Hebi said softly. It dawned on Kato that Hebi now had the same intentions as Kayaku, and he stared at the sky as the sound of a scream echoed inside the small space. But the voice that screamed made him snap his head in the direction of Shimasu, who kneeled with his sword in Kayaku’s side. Blood spilled over the grass as Kayaku rolled over in pain. Shimasu hacked at Hebi’s barrier with his sword, crushing it. Before any of them could react, Shimasu raced out and fled into the trees. ……………………………………………… The flap leading inside the Tsuchikage’s tent burst open as Kazu yelled for everyone to get out. The Jonin around the Tsuchikage looked at him for orders, and he motioned for them to leave. Kazu approached the Tsuchikage, a fair skinned man with dark blue hair, as the others scurried outside. “What is it that you find so urgent to disrupt my meeting, Kazuhiro?” “Why is [i]he[/i] here!? I thought the guy was keeping the village stable while we were away!” “Calm down Kazu, he was never in our village to begin with…” “WHAT!?” “He has been in the Hidden Leaf for quite some time now, years even. All for one purpose, something that is so secret only him and I know about it,” Kazu squinted and left the tent, leaving the Tsuchikage sighing. ………………………………………………… “I knew I’d find you here…” Tenkai looked up from his bowl to see Oson walking towards him. When he got to him, Oson slid into the seat across the table from his little brother and sighed. “What do you want? And more importantly, how did you know I’d be at this restaurant?” “Simple, this is Saki’s favorite place to eat, she’s away on a dangerous mission, and you’re trying to keep her in your heart by eating here. All because you love her more than air,” “W-what the hell!?” Tenkai stuttered, blushing slightly, “What makes you think I’m in love with Saki? And that I’d go to these kinds of lengths!?” “C’mon little brother, it’s dead obvious. I’m surprised she hasn’t figured it out already, or that you don’t have the balls to ask her out…” “Aren’t big brothers supposed to be nice!?” “Trust me, I’m being very nice. But for now, you need to come with me…” “Why? I’m in the middle of eating!” “If you don’t, I guarantee you will die,” Tenkai raised an eyebrow and pulled out some ryo to leave on the table as payment. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 40, The Dawning of Difficult Battles to Come]Tenkai walked towards the Sand Village’s gate, weapon pouch full and chakra at max. The moon was shaped like a crescent, the light glow giving him diminished eyesight instead of none at all. Oson landed in front of him, as if coming out of the night sky, and made Tenkai halt. “What do you hope to accomplish Tenkai?” Oson whispered, “Now that you know the truth, you shouldn’t be doing something so-” “Good?” Tenkai finished the sentence, “I can’t let what you said rule my life. I’m staying who I am, I’m not becoming like Daisuke or Daven… Just to-” “Live,” Oson finished, copying his brother, “If you do this, your life is in jeopardy. Like I told you, there are ways to balance it out and do the right thing, like I do,” “Yeah, I’m going to follow your example. Your idea of balancing the power led to a childhood where I didn’t have a big brother to look up to or stand up for me! I spent years trying to earn your approval! And now I come to find out you brushed me aside without a glance to be a little more powerful!” Tenkai looked at Oson angrily, all else quiet in the night. They stood there for a while, doing nothing but looking at each other, trying to read the face they saw. At last Oson bowed his head and looked up at the moon. “You know it was more than power… I would have died. It’s not as if the other half could have healed and taken over, both had to be in symmetry. I know it doesn’t mean much, but be glad I was born with both sides, not only one like you. With both, I was able to keep you in my life and not completely hate you,” “I still don’t understand… why me? Why did I have to be the subject of your aversion?” “Because you can’t just have a feeling like that randomly, you need it to be someone close… If you’re wondering why not mom or dad, there was a reason…” “And what was that? You wanted to make my life hell?” “I needed to give you someone to hate… I knew you would have this power, I felt it because we’re the [i]same[/i] in the sense of our power. People who are skilled enough at it will sense when someone has gained [i]that[/i] power if they wield it as well,” “Mission accomplished Oson… you’ve given me someone to hate…” Tenkai pushed Oson aside and resumed walking towards the gate, but his brother reached out and grabbed his shoulder. “Don’t be too righteous out there… Come back in one piece…” Tenkai stopped and turned, raising an eyebrow. “Hey, weren’t you supposed to be at the Leaf Village, helping out with stopping the Rock?” “This was more urgent, and I’ll be going back there shortly,” “Don’t expect me to wait up for you Oson, I need to get to the Leaf as quick as possible,” “You really want to fight with him one on one, don’t you?” “With this knowledge you gave me,” Tenkai said, “I finally know what kind of power I’m dealing with. If he knows the same, we can fight evenly now,” “Tenkai, I never said he was going to be there… I only know three members of the Elite Division are coming,” “I know Daisuke will be there… and Kato’s sister… If they aren’t, I’ll dispose of the Elite Division squad and wait for the next!” With that, Tenkai rushed towards the village’s entrance and called back to Oson, “Let Naoto know I left!” Oson sighed and held his coat tightly, a cold wind suddenly blowing against him. He watched Tenkai go, and when he was out of sight, Oson turned and headed for Naoto’s office. …………………………………………………………… “Yu-chan, you’re not stopping me from going on the mission!” Daisuke groaned. He sat on the edge of his hospital bed, new bandages wrapped over his torso. Yukiko slapped him across the face at a speed to which he couldn’t see it coming, knocking him on his side. “You’re too injured Daisuke,” She said as he rubbed his cheek, “You can barely do a sit up without searing pain from your barely living nerves. If that lightning sword had gone across your heart you’d be lucky to live. It only missed by a few inches,” “Well maybe if we get the Elite Division’s medical nin over here I wouldn’t have that problem!” “Somebody call me?” Both of them turned to see a tall woman in the doorway, wearing a white kimono with a golden “E” stitched into the right shoulder. The woman had very light blue hair that dropped all the way to her waist, and soft brown eyes. “Akemi Sasaki…” Yukiko said in a low voice, eyeing the newcomer. Daisuke smiled and stood up. “So you’re here at last Sasa-chan. I’ve been trapped in this place for days! Can you just heal me so the mission to invade the Leaf will have the best member there?” “You speak highly of yourself Daisuke,” Akemi walked over to him, “But you know you’re not the best… but you are very strong. However, this nerve damage you have may get you kicked out of the Elite Division,” “I know, that’s why I need you to heal me! These two-bit ninja could never heal my wounds, but someone as masterful in the field of medical ninjutsu such as yourself could do it easily,” “No need to try and butter me up Daisuke, I came over to the hospital ready to heal your wounds,” “Huh, why?” Yukiko chimed in. Akemi turned to her and back to Daisuke. “Because a simple injury shouldn’t get one of our best fighters killed. Plus, it’s always good to help friends, isn’t it?” ………………………………………………… “Kuro! We’ve been looking all over for you!” A Leaf shinobi yelled, gaining the attention of the others in the Hokage’s Office. Kuro stood in the doorway with a smirk, enjoying the feel of being free of his wounds. “No time for questions, I want scouts out in the forest now! I need info on the Tsuchikage’s location as soon as possible!” “Alright, I’ll send out a squad!” Another shinobi yelled, rushing out of the room. As the Sand and Leaf shinobi huddled around Kuro’s desk thinking of plans, one broke away and went over to Kuro. “We have reports that Kato was in a fight with the same guy that took out Benjiro, he’s receiving care at the moment but should be back in a day… and Lord Hokage… you’re not planning on doing what I think you are, right?” “Just find me the location of the Tsuchikage…” “Just as I feared,” The shinobi sighed as he returned to the others. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 41, Countdown to the End]“You’re awake!” Kato looked to his left to see Saki jump up and run over to him. Kayaku and Hebi chuckled softly and came over to Kato as well, who looked around his hospital room dazed. “What happened to Shimasu, and that other guy…?” “Both of them got away,” Kayaku frowned, gripping the place where Kazuhiro had kneed him. “Kato, you should save the chit-chat for later, there are people missing limbs out there who would need this room more,” Hebi said flatly, making Kato feel embarrassed. Saki hit the back of Hebi’s head swiftly, and he whirled away with a look of shock on his face. “Don’t make him feel bad! He deserved this room, his chakra was low and his injuries-” “Oh shut up, you just want him to think your kind so he’ll go out with you. I don’t see how hitting other guys will get Kato to kiss you tho-” Hebi was cut off as Saki punched his face, forcing him against the wall. Blood trickled from his mouth, and Kayaku rushed over to break it up. Kato laughed quietly in his bed at the scene that just happened and want Hebi said. “C’mon guys,” Kayaku sighed as he pushed Hebi and Saki away from each other, “What happened to the team we used to be? Remember Genza? We were the perfect team then!” “Yeah, except for the fact he got away,” Hebi mumbled. “Stop being so damn annoying!” Saki yelled, reaching for Hebi’s neck. [i]And somehow these guys are supposed to help us Leaf ninja… hehehe… They can’t even make peace amongst themselves, plus they sure have strange powers. Tenkai, that guy I fought Daisuke with, had this weird mask power. Kayaku can sense energy and control crystals, Hebi can make force fields or something… Saki seems to be the only normal one… Sand Village ninja really are something.[/i] Kato slowly got out of bed and but his gear on, checking to see if all of his weapons were there. The group noticed what he was doing and calmed down as they started to do the same. “No time to stand around, we have a village to free,” Kato grinned. ………………………………………………… Koji stared as the hologram buzzed to life, showing a rough figure of Naoto. Both of them stayed silent for a moment, and before Naoto could speak Koji broke the silence. “I know what you’re doing to me…” “Oh really now, care to explain?” Naoto’s hologram sounds curious. Koji took a deep breath and felt the wall behind him, making sure he knew what he was about to say. “You locked me in here to stop myself from committing suicide, as in going to the Mist and trying to kill all of them. But that’s not the whole reason, only a small part. You wanted me to take revenge on them, but I needed to be stronger… so you created [i]this[/i]” “And what is ‘this’?” “It’s the crystal you gave to the Hidden Star Village to help the training,” Koji said with no emotion, “You knew there was a larger deposit of it, and you decided to lock me up in it. You also combined some of the meteorite with the crystal using a jutsu, and because of the crystal’s properties… it made me grow stronger. But I don’t understand why I’m not hungry, or dead,” “Good enough,” Naoto clapped, “The crystal’s ability to block out the harmful radiation allows the trainer to keep all the power but lose the side effects. While the meteorite’s power was looming around you, your body soaked it up but the crystal filtered out the bad things. As for your hunger and thirst, you actually were fed and given drink. You see, the chakra you have sufficed for when you were awake, but once you fell asleep your body’s needs surfaced. If you had sufficient light, you would see a seal at the top of your room, and when you were asleep the seal would open and water, mixed with nutrients, would drip into your mouth so you didn’t even realize you were drinking. The nutrients in the water seemed to work enough, so I just left it,” “But I wasn’t sleeping in the same position always,” “The seal was designed to hit your mouth no matter what, it would move the water in any direction,” “I’ll say this now… you come up with some weird ass jutsu Naoto,” Koji heard the Kazekage laugh, “But… why didn’t you tell the Star Village about the large quantities of the crystal!? We could have become stronger and fought off the Mist! My village might still be alive!” “Your village, Koji, wasn’t going to survive an attack like that. Plus, I only found this deposit recently, meaning a month before the genocide of the Star Village. I was planning on revealing it, but if people knew of a crystal that would take away the harmful effects of a quick way to insane chakra…” “They would have attacked sooner…” “Yes. Now, go get a nice meal and head on over to the Leaf Village, Tenkai will be there,” Naoto’s image faded away, and the wall behind Koji collapsed. The light from outside blinded him, but soon his eyes adjusted and he left the place that was home for a short time. Koji was in a quarry, the place he had been in for days blended in perfectly with the surroundings. He noticed a crude sign with “Hidd S nd Village” written on it with an arrow pointing to a path that led out of the quarry. ………………………………………………… [i]Two days later…[/i] “Lord Hokage, we’ve finally discovered the Tsuchikage’s location,” Kuro turned to see a young shinobi standing in his office with a scroll. The shinobi placed the scroll on his desk and left, leaving the room full of silence. “Well, let’s see where the greatest battle between the Leaf and Rock will take place…” …………………………………………………. “So I was thinking,” Saki said, “if we get outside the Leaf Village and take out the forces with their backs turned…” “We always have the risk of the army attacking in mass, we would never survive,” Hebi said sadly. The condition of the battle hadn’t gotten better in the past few days; the Rock seemed to be winning more. Plus, the Hokage had received news from the Kazekage that members of the Mist’s Elite Division would be coming to execute him. The war was taking a turn for the worse, and the Sand Village couldn’t supply anymore help or risk weakening itself. Saki, Hebi, Kayaku, and Kato looked around the street they were on, feeling a slight tremor in the ground. Suddenly, a Rock ninja was crushed against the side of a building by a blast of water. “Damn Rock Village, first Saki now the Leaf,” Tenkai sighed as he walked into the group’s view. “Tenkai!” Everyone but Kayaku cried out, making the Jonin turn. Tenkai jogged over to them and looked back at the Rock ninja, making sure he was dead. “War is just so pretty, isn’t it?” He smirked, “Too bad the Leaf was the target, the Rock had to attack a decent village instead of the Mist or something,” “If we don’t win this, the Sand might be next,” Kato frowned, “Tenkai, you hear Elite Division members are coming?” “Yeah, I’m planning on Daisuke and your sister being here, we’ll finally get our rematches…” “Sister? Daisuke? What the hell?” Hebi asked. Kayaku looked curious, but refrained from saying anything; Saki just stood there expecting Hebi’s question to be enough. Before either of the Jonin could reply, a geyser of dark blue fire erupted from the center of the Leaf Village. “Only Kuro uses blue fire!” Kato yelled in shock. The group responded on instinct, dashing through the streets towards the area the attack came from. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 42, A Battle That is More Than What It Seems]“Kuro!” Kato yelled as he and the rest of the group rounded a corner and saw Kuro standing in the middle of scorched earth. The Hokage turned to him and smiled a little. “So, it looks like my plan did have some effect,” “What are you talking about?” Tenkai said casually, with no sign of respect in his tone. Kuro waved off the tone and answered his question. “Well, I was thinking, if someone saw a large geyser of fire in the middle of a war, wouldn’t most people come get a closer look?” “Your point?” Tenkai asked. “I’m going to fight the Tsuchikage, so I need most shinobi to be away from the fight… so it’s just me and him… By gathering all the shinobi around here, battle will break out and the end will draw closer, as well as me being able to fight the Tsuchikage,” “I doubt you will be able to stop him,” Tenkai sighed, “That guy is stronger than anyone of us could imagine. I know a guy at Kage-level that was merely a bug to him,” “Well, you haven’t seen me fight,” Kuro countered, “And trust me, I know what I’m dealing with. Now, I have to go before people start showing up!” Kuro burst into a puff of smoke, leaving the group alone. “What the hell!?” Kato said as he turned to Tenkai, “Do you talk to everyone like that!?” “So he has a higher rank, it’s not like he gave me life or something…” Tenkai grunted, looking away. Before the two could get into a serious argument, a kunai with a tag bomb attached landed at Saki’s feet. “Guess they’re here…” She whispered right before it exploded. …………………………………………………………… Kuro walked out from behind a tree, entering the clearing where the Rock Village’s tents were. Most tents had been abandoned, the ninja either going to check out the fire or dead. The grand tent in the middle had movement in it, and Kuro walked to the entrance and shoved the flap aside. Inside was the Tsuchikage and three other Rock shinobi, who all looked up in surprise. “Leave us,” The Tsuchikage ordered his men. The shinobi left, but one of them pulled out a kunai as he passed Kuro to try and kill him. Kuro grabbed the ninja’s hand and broke his wrist, kicking his body out of the tent. “This isn’t a good place…” Kuro said darkly. “I agree,” The Tsuchikage made a handsign, creating a chakra ball around them. Suddenly they were no longer inside the tent, but instead in the Rock Fields where Daven was killed. The chakra dispersed, leaving the two standing a few yards away from each other as a slight breeze moved along the land. “I’m not here to talk this time,” Kuro said, his eyes forming the final stage of the Sharingan, “This time… I’m ending this,” “You’ve grown cocky,” The Tsuchikage chuckled, “You think you can defeat me? Have you forgotten who’s the master here?” “It doesn’t matter even if you defeat me here, this is body is only a puppet for my true self to use… or have you forgotten that, Masaru? It was you after all, who gave me this mission… but now I’m stronger, and if this body doesn’t suffice, I’ll face you in person!” “And to think I thought so highly of you…” Masaru said, running his hand through his hair, “Just because you know some powerful techniques doesn’t mean you can defeat me… Kuro wouldn’t even be Hokage without your help, how do you think he’ll fare against me?” “But he has my help, and with that, I can destroy you as Kuro!” Kuro made a handsign, and blue fire engulfed his fists. Masaru smirked and threw away his Kage robe, revealing blood-stained brown armor. “I’ll dispose of this body and kill the real you!” Masaru dashed forward and dodged a fiery punch from Kuro, landing his own punch to the Hokage’s stomach. Kuro winced and struck at Masaru’s side with his other hand, scorching the armor and making him back off. As the Tsuchikage made handsigns, Kuro pushed his hands forward, making two beams of fire go at Masaru. Before the fire could hit, a wall of earth appeared in front of Masaru and stopped the attack. Kuro gritted his teeth and sprinted at the wall. Masaru burst out of the wall and grabbed at Kuro’s throat, but the Sharingan let the Hokage read the movement and sidestep. The Tsuchikage landed and whirled to face his opponent, but Kuro had already sent a blue fireball at him, big enough to take down a two story building. “Earth Style: Dragon Roar!” Two dragons made of earth formed beside Masaru and shot mud from their mouths, creating a beam that shot through the center of the fireball and made it fade away. The mud, now hardened from the fire, barely missed Kuro as he jumped above it, landing on the mushy surface. The caked mud suddenly wrapped around his feet, making it so he couldn’t move. Kuro turned his back to see a boulder quickly approaching, and at his current speed it was his end. Kuro made a few handsigns and put his arms to his side and opened his hands. Fire erupted from his palms and the force ripped him out of the mud, as well as sending him high into the air as the boulder collided with the mud. Masaru frowned and hopped on one of the earth dragons; the other crumbled into dust, and he flew at Kuro. The Hokage put his arms back and used the fire to send him at Masaru, who drew his arm back as earth began to coat it. Kuro pulled his arm back and his hand became surrounded by layers of fire. Masaru stood and jumped off his dragon at Kuro, both of them meeting each other’s eyes before launching their fist forward. The two attacks collided, blue fire and rocks came out in shockwaves from the impact. Before either of them began to fall, Masaru’s earth dragon came from underneath Kuro and head butted him in the side. Masaru grinned evilly and grabbed Kuro’s coat, pulling him towards him as his hammered his arm into his shoulder. The Hokage gasped and dropped to the ground, crash landing on the hard rock surface. Masaru was caught by his dragon and flew down to the ground where he released the jutsu, making the dragon crumble. He stared at Kuro’s body, noticing he was still breathing. “Face it, you can’t beat me… especially in a body as weak as that,” Masaru said smugly. He took a step forward, but Kuro got to his knees and he stopped. Both of them stared at each other for a moment before the silence was broken. “I guess I can’t keep playing around,” Kuro stood up fully, “I should have guessed from the beginning you would have been at least this strong… I shouldn’t have gone so easy on you from the get go. All that did was get me injuries…” “Hmph, you act as if I’m going all out!” Masaru laughed. Kuro ignored the Tsuchikage and made a series of handsigns. His arms dropped to his side and his hands clenched into fists. Masaru eyes widened as blue fire exploded around Kuro and enveloped everything within two feet of him. “Alright,” Kuro said as the wind from the violent outburst ruffled his clothes, “if you think this body is weak after this… I’m afraid of what you think is strong,” “So you surround yourself in some fire… and what? You expect me to be afraid or something?” “I expect,” Kuro yelled, “For you to start fighting seriously!” The Hokage crouched and lunged forward, the fire propelling him at high speeds towards Masaru. Kuro punched at the Tsuchikage with both of his fists, but Masaru grabbed both. The two pushed against each other, and Kuro began to slide Masaru back. “Interesting,” Masaru whispered, “You have a similar technique to the Kazekage… except he has much more skill and power in his. Tell me, did you use your Sharingan to copy his style and use Kuro’s Fire Style Jutsu to recreate a poor version of it?” “Hehe… I guess you could say that… but unlike Naoto, I’ve been able to get Kuro’s fighting style to not rely on this one technique!” Blue fire shot out from Kuro’s mouth, and Masaru ducked out of the way. Kuro’s knee bashed into the Tsuchikage’s forehead, making him sprawl on the ground. The Hokage jumped back as a pillar of earth came out of the ground from where he was standing before. Masaru got to his feet as the pillar broke apart. “Okay, I guess you’ve convinced me to take this a bit more seriously now… Kuro’s body does seem a little stronger than I expected…” “Masaru, just in case you didn’t get the message, our deal is off,” “I don’t understand one thing… why? Betraying the Rock Village for the Leaf!?” “Oh no,” Kuro chuckled, “More like for the Mist! I would never side with a weak force like the Leaf, but the Mist seemed pretty favorable. Plus, they had a job for me that no one else could fulfill, and I’m going to be more powerful than all the Kages combined when it’s completed!” “So why are you attacking me?” “I knew you would come after me if I betrayed you, so I’m using this war scheme to make it look like nothing more than the Hokage protecting his village…” “I guess you didn’t have the guts to come out and face me on your own. Instead you just used Kuro’s body to fight me as you sit back and control him like a puppet!” “Enough talk! It’s bad enough I have Elite Division coming after Kuro’s body, but while fighting you at the same time… I need to end this soon…” “There’s no more need for words… From now on our attacks will speak for themselves!” Masaru clapped his hands together and a rock helmet, with an opening to expose the face and a rough outside, formed on him. His normal armor changed to armor made out of rock, and small lizards made of earth scurried around him. Kuro crouched into a defensive stance and increased the fire output around him, widening the radius to three feet. His eyes changed from the normal Sharingan to a morphed one. The parts where the tomoe had been formed breaks in the circle, and bold lines came through the breaks and connected to a triangle filled with red. [i]Masaru sure has powered up, and those lizards are used to bite people and drain chakra… I’ll just have to hope these eyes are enough…[/i] [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 43, The Blood Stained Leaf]Masaru rushed forward and swung at Kuro, who jumped into the air and pushed his palm at him. Dark blue fire gushed from his hand and at the Tsuchikage. Masaru pumped his fist in the air, and a rock wall formed between him and the blast, stopping it completely. [i]That fire I just shot should melt through rock… it merely scorched it…[/i] Kuro turned to see Masaru above him. The Hokage yelled and spread his arms, creating an explosion of fire that sent Masaru flying away. Both landed on the ground and dashed for each other as the earth lizards began to race behind Kuro. He put his fists towards them and created a jet of flames that increased his speed and stopped the oncoming lizards. Kuro focused on Masaru, and suddenly a burst of black flames came out of his eye and shot at his opponent. Masaru raised his right arm to block it, and Kuro increased his flame output to get under Masaru. The two collided and tumbled over the rocky ground, batting each other with senseless blows until the Tsuchikage kicked Kuro away. The two regained composure, checking to see if they had received any major injuries in that brawl. “Fire Clone Jutsu!” Kuro said, making a handsign. Two clones of him appeared next to him, also having fire raging around them. Before they could make a move, one of the clones was swarmed by the lizards, and the fire surrounding it faded and the clone burst into a fireball. The other two Kuros jumped away and headed for Masaru. The Tsuchikage ran at them and made a few handsigns. As he put his arm toward the ground, rocks began to create a wave behind him. Kuro and his clone pointed one of their arms at each other, and a ball of white fire began to form between their hands. “Die!” Masaru yelled, striking his hand at the real Kuro. The Hokage put his second hand near the ball and took it for the clone, who broke off and turned to face the lizards. The wave of rocks behind the Tsuchikage roared along the length of his arm and struck the ball of white fire, which Kuro now held in front of him. Behind the collision, Kuro’s clone blasted a wall of fire out of the earth, stopping the lizards from advancing. The rock and fire raged against each other, the fire melting the rocks on impact but at the same time weakening its flame. Both of the Kages squinted as the heat and wind whirled around them, the latter fueling the fire just enough to keep it white. Suddenly the lizards bit at Kuro’s ankles, the wall of fire now gone. The Hokage grunted and pushed forward, slowly approaching Masaru. All the while, his chakra was drained from him and into the lizards, which began to accumulate. The flame shuddered and turned indigo, signaling its weakening. [i]Damnit, I’m losing it… Kuro’s body can’t take much more of this… I underestimated his power![/i] The flame disappeared all together, and the rocks blasted against Kuro and sent him flying backwards. The lizards halted as Masaru lowered his arm and laughed at the wincing Hokage lying a few yards away. “There’s more than a difference in power here, you fool,” Masaru swiped his hand outward and the lizards turned to sand, “In this place, my resources are unlimited! The ground is the only weapon I need, and it is abundant everywhere I go! And this valley is made of nothing but rocky earth, the best kind to shatter your bones with…” “What happened,” Kuro mumbled as he stood up, blue fire whipping around him, “to not talking?” “Breaking the rules is what I do. But I’m impressed that Kuro’s body could handle such an attack and stand up so tall. Or is it just because you’re channeling some extra power to him?” Kuro’s eyes turned pitch black for a second before returning to normal. The black mask began to form along his face, and the fire output around him slightly increased. Both of the Kages leaned forward, ready to sprint at the other. “Kuro’s body can’t handle much of the Kirai chakra,” Kuro called over to Masaru, “But even if I can transmit to him just the mask, albeit a weak one, it’s better than having nothing!” The two rocketed at each other, their collision of fists sending a shockwave throughout the valley. Kuro winced and pulled back his arm, firing a gush of black flames from his eye at Masaru. “I can see that Kuro’s body isn’t up for this level of fighting,” Masaru smirked as he ducked out of Amaterasu’s way, “I see the pain, I felt his arm begin to splinter along the bone,” The Tsuchikage stuck upward with a punch, cracking the mask on Kuro’s face. But as they looked at each other, Masaru found himself standing on a small square, surrounded by black flames. Kuro appeared behind the flames, disappearing and reappearing in random spots around the ring of fire. “Welcome to hell,” Kuro’s voice echoed around the space. “Tsukuyomi… If you expect to stop me with this, you’re sadly mistaken. There isn’t a single genjutsu I can’t break,” As he said that, a spear of black fire impaled his leg, making him get down on his knees. The fire roared around him louder and louder, every second a small burst of fire hitting him from a random angle. Kuro still moved around randomly outside, and soon Masaru was face down and not moving. “This is the genjutsu you will not break, Masaru,” Kuro yelled, “And so far, we’ve only passed about 30 minutes in my world of joy! Too bad I can keep this up for just 10 hours; I haven’t put much care into the genjutsu part of my Mangekyo Sharingan,” “I told you,” Masaru’s voice can from behind Kuro, “There isn’t a genjutsu I can’t break,” The world snapped back to normal as Kuro was flung across the ground. Masaru stood now without his earth armor, bearing only the normal armor he had came with. Everything around them blurred and morphed, until they were inside the tent where they had met. Kuro’s mask shattered into thousands of tiny particles, and his eyes reverted to normal. “My jutsu’s time limit was reached,” Masaru explained, “I can only teleport to other places for a certain time, depending on the distance. Just a bug I need to fix… As for you… Come back when you have the balls to face me in person,” The tent around them fell, revealing a large crowd of Rock shinobi circling them. Masaru turned and walked out of the ring, leaving Kuro alone. The shinobi began to inch forward, closing in on the Hokage. “This is it…,” He whispered, “Kuro’s body can’t take a fight like this after the struggle with Masaru. Using the Mangekyo Sharingan really damaged this body’s vision, and I can’t send any more Kirai chakra…” Kuro closed his fists, two daggers made of blue fire forming in them, “There’s no way out… Kuro will die as a martyr in the eyes of the Leaf… but for a different reason than what they think…” ……………………………………………. [i]1 hour later…[/i] Kuro’s body, glorified with cuts, gashes, and scorch marks, laid beneath a tree in the afternoon sun. The shadow of the tree hung over him, shifting constantly from the light breeze. In front of him, the entire mass of the circle that had encased him was dead. [i]Man Kuro, you sure have come a long way since I first met you… Without my Kirai or the Sharingan, you took down all of them… Even though I was commanding the whole from behind the scenes, I’m proud of how far you’ve gotten. Sadly, even with this great achievement, there’s a price. You died for something that will crush the Leaf Village… Pretty ironic… eh, Kuro?[/i] The breeze gained strength in that moment, and a single leaf broke from its branch and fluttered downwards. Kuro’s eyes closed as the leaf landed on his chest, slowly being dampened by the blood that rested there. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 44, The Elites Arrive]The three Mist ninja halted as a teenager with black hair, white at the tips, stood in their path. The only female in the group pulled out a fistful of senbon, but a teenager with blue hair stopped her from attacking. The other male in the Mist group, a full grown adult, stepped forward and mumbled something to the others behind him. They nodded and went on past the black haired kid, leaving the two alone. “I’ll exterminate you and catch up with my teammates in a matter of seconds,” The man said. “Obviously… You have no idea who you’re dealing with,” The kid made three handsigns and placed his hand on his head. ……………………………………………………………. “Kayaku, keep that damn barrier up a little longer!” Saki yelled. Kayaku grunted and spread his arms out, strengthening the barrier, made of crystals, that surrounded him, Saki, and a few wounded shinobi. Outside, Hebi shot blue squares off in multiple directions, trying to knock away the oncoming Rock forces. Saki’s palm stopped glowing blue and she stood up, telling Kayaku to let the barrier drop. The newly healed shinobi, along with Kayaku and Saki, rushed at the Rock ninja that swarmed around the village’s center. It was chaos, kunai were everywhere, explosions rocked the earth, and dead bodies were trampled as the fighting continued. Kazuhiro tackled Kayaku to the ground and started punching him, but he was thrown off by a whirl of crystals. The two ran out of the rumble pit and trailed each other through the ruined streets. Suddenly, a red aura surrounded Kazu and he passed Kayaku, turning around and tripping him. The Jonin quickly collected himself and jumped to his feet as Kazu threw a flurry of punched at him, which he barely dodged. The two backed away and looked in each other’s eyes, and only then did Kayaku notice the difference. “The slit eyes… the red chakra churning around you… Did you really manage to take a Tailed Beast from The Keepers?” “Not just any Tailed Beast,” the aura around him grew thicker, and his eyes turned dark red, “I snagged the Nine-Tails…” …………………………………………………………… “Kato,” Tenkai said quietly. The two Jonin stood in a clearing surrounded by tall trees, and a light wind swayed the grass. “Yeah?” “We left them for our own selfish desires…” “In a way, yes, but at the same time we’re going to stop the Elite Division. Albeit it will be three on two, but-” “Shut up,” Tenkai snapped, “You know as well as I do it won’t be that way. The moment they show up, if Yukiko is among them, you’ll fight her alone and try to get her back. If Daisuke is among them, I’ll take him,” “What about the third?” “We let him pass…” “This really is a selfish plan, now that you mention it,” ………………………………………… “Hmph, I guess it’s time I stopped playing around,” The Mist ninja said, getting up from Koji’s last attack, “So allow me to introduce myself: I am Ryo of the Elite Division,” “And I’m Koji, the last of the Hidden Star Village,” His eyes burned with rage in that instant, “The village you people crushed!” Koji sent two arms made of chakra at Ryo, but the man seemed to teleport behind Koji and struck through the chakra aura that engulfed him. Koji whipped around and barely blocked the attack, pushing Ryo away with a blast of chakra. “I fell for a trick like that before, but now I’ve learned my mistakes,” Koji punched forward, sending a cannon of chakra at him. Ryo smirked and vaporized into mist, the chakra passing right through. After the attack ended, Ryo materialized in the same spot. “You don’t become a member of the Elite Division for nothing,” Ryo said smoothly, “Each of us have our own unique abilities. Some are masters in healing, others perfect using ninja tools, and then there’s me, known as the ‘Fading Mist’. Now, how about we get this fight over with?” Ryo turned into mist and flew at Koji, who created a geyser of purple chakra that blew Ryo away. But as the attack stopped, Koji noticed one piece of the mist got through, and it turned into Ryo’s hand holding a small sword. As Koji dodged the sword, the other part of the mist raced behind him and turned into Ryo, missing his left hand. “f*** off!” Koji screamed, the ground shattering beneath him as chakra rampaged around him. Ryo grunted and jumped away, his hand reforming. Koji settled down and turned to Ryo, who was now armed with two identical swords. Koji took a step toward him, and a fissure of purple chakra raced towards Ryo, “This battle is far from over you b****. I have some revenge I need to give the Mist Village, and you’re only victim number one,” ……………………………………………………… “This powder isn’t enough to stop me!” Kazu yelled, breaking through Kayaku’s barrier. Before he could reach his target, a large shot of crystal particles pushed him back. Kayaku breathed heavily and gripped his left arm, which had a deep claw marks on it. “No time to waste then,” Kayaku whispered, spreading his arms out, “I haven’t had time to practice this technique… please… let it work… Crystal Armor Jutsu: Limit Break!” Crystal dust began to swirl around Kayaku, coating him with layers of powder. The crystals began to solidify into one mass, forming full body armor on him. At his joints, the crystals snapped and shaped into movable hinges so his movement wouldn’t be restrained. On his head, the crystals shaped into a helmet with a slit for his eyes and spiked off the back of his head. The remaining crystal dust collected in his right hand, forming a katana. “What do you hope to accomplish with this? All that shiny rock with do is slow you down,” Kazu smirked. “Normally, yes… But it’s called ‘Limit Break’ for a reason. In this mode, not only do I have strong armor, but my body is pushed beyond its limits to make sure I can keep up with the weight,” “So you’re killing yourself in a last ditch effort… idiot…” “You could put it that way,” Kayaku said, appearing next to Kazu, “But I prefer to say I’m risking my life to stop someone who could kill hundreds,” Kazu turned and blocked Kayaku’s sword with his arm, creating a deep gash that poured blood onto the ground. The Rock shinobi moved back and stared at his wound, the cracked bone visible through the blood. “Hmph, if you’re going to try so hard, I might as well power up myself,” Red chakra began to bubble around Kazu, and in a matter of seconds a red cloak formed over him. A lone tail sprouted behind him, and his finger nails sharpened and stretched out like small claws, “Now this fight is pretty damn interesting!” [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 45, Kayaku's Fall, Koji's Revenge]Kazu lunged at Kayaku, swiping with his chakra engulfed hand. His attack was met by the crystal sword, which remained intact even as the Nine-Tails chakra engulfed it. Kayaku grunted and lowered his sword to the ground, pulling Kazu along with it, and kicked his side. Kazu bounced a few feet and crouched, the chakra cloak bubbling at the spot of impact. “Did you expect that to hurt?” Kazu hissed. “Not at all,” Kayaku said coolly, pointing his sword at him. A blast of crystal dust was launched at Kazu, but a single yell diminished the attack. He ran on all four at Kayaku, jumping up and kicking him to the ground. Now on top of Kayaku, Kazu pulled his arm back and punched his chest, breaking through the armor. He pulled his hand out, noticing the blood coating it. “How weak…” Kazu grabbed the Jonin’s face, but Kayaku pierced his stomach with his sword. Kazu jumped back and coughed up a small amount of blood, but the Nine-Tails chakra was already healing his would completely. Kayaku stood up and glanced down at his chest, noticing the blood pouring out and his ever increasing heartbeat. [i]Not good… Limit Break was already pushing me to the edge… but this… I’m not sure how long I can hold out! My vision is turning a little blurry, it’s hard to breath, and I’m losing my Limit Break strength… Soon enough I’ll be at normal strength and by then I’ll have bled out. I can’t run either; he’s too fast for me now! I’ll just have to hope they arrive early…[/i] Kayaku placed his hand over the wound. Suddenly, crystals began to form over the hole and reformed the damaged armor. Inside the bleeding became less intense, and the two men stood up straight. Both became a blur as they moved at high speeds, and Kayaku punched Kazu away as they collided. A chakra claw shot at him, grabbing his torso, and pulled him towards Kazu. Kazu’s arm crunched through the crystal armor, creating a hole in Kayaku’s stomach all the way through his body. “Gah!” Kayaku’s armor burst into tiny fragments and faded into nothing. The Sand shinobi spit blood into the air, some of it landing on the chakra cloak. Kazu pulled his blood drenched arm out of Kayaku and let him drop to the ground, writhing in pain. “Idiot, to think you could beat me is absurd. You deserved everything you got,” “I never planned on beating you,” Kayaku smiled sadly, “From the minute I realized you were a jinchuriki, I knew there was no hope of beating you… After I saw those red eyes, my only goal was to stall you long enough for my back up to arrive,” “Hahaha! What back up could save you from me!? It’s insanity to think I can be stopped by anyone under the level of Kage, and even then…” “I’m pretty sure,” Oson said from behind him, “I can crush you like a bug,” ……………………………………………………… Ryo turned to mist and came at Koji, who erupted into a fountain of chakra. The ground was torn up, and the Mist ninja backed off. “Someone’s got a bad temper!” Ryo’s right arm formed inside Koji’s chakra aura and stabbed at his back with the sword, but Koji turned around and knocked it away. “You haven’t seen anything! Prepare for my Kekkei Genkai!” Koji screamed and fell to the ground, a strong barrier forming around him. The chakra Koji rose from the living body and walked out of the barrier, smirking, “Prepare to be bitched,” Koji ran at Ryo and punched the air, sending a flying fist of chakra at him. But the ninja merely dodged it and moved in on the barrier, pulling back his swords. Koji swung his leg in an arc, creating a wave of chakra that blasted Ryo into a tree. Ryo turned to mist and materialized his top half behind the chakra Koji, who turned and fired a large beam of chakra. Ryo yelled and turned to mist just as he felt his skin begin to burn, forming a few yards away. “I’ve figured it out,” Koji said, “That technique of yours… you can only turn into mist for short periods of time,” “And how do you prove that?” “None of the times you’ve been in that form have you been in it for more than 10 seconds, my longest attack I’ve thrown at you. Plus, while my chakra engulfs you, like when I first launched a beam at you, you can’t move. So that just means, all I have to do is drown you in my chakra long enough for that little technique of yours to run out of time!” Koji spread his hands and threw his arms in front of him, blasting two canons of chakra at Ryo. The man dodged and sprinted for him, but the canons reversed and crashed into his back. Ryo stumbled forward and faded to mist, forming at the barrier protecting the real Koji. He jammed the two swords into the barrier, cracking it. “Over here dumb ass!” Koji’s chakra form yelled, gripping his hair and throwing Ryo to the ground, “Meet hell…” Koji raised his arm, and a blast of chakra shot Ryo into the air. Koji appeared next to him, punching his side and forming again at the place he was thrown, batting him away. Ryo yelled as Koji kicked his jaw and forced him higher into the air, where he opened his eyes to see a massive dragon head made of chakra coming down at him. The ground broke into large chunks of earth as the dragon and Ryo smashed into the ground, a long spire of chakra following in its wake. The trees around the clearing began to snap, and a few of them became uprooted as the torrent blew apart the earth. ……………………………………………… Daisuke stopped and turned back to the direction they had left Ryo, frowning. Yukiko looked and noticed the birds flying away from scene, and the ground lightly shook from the blast that was taking place. “You don’t think…” Daisuke mumbled. Yukiko turned to him and looked ashamed. “Do you honestly think Ryo would lose to some punk kid? He’s the Fading Mist, there isn’t an attack he can’t dodge,” “Pfft, not if the enemy figured out his time limit…” “Shut up, we need to get moving. The Boss will kill us if we don’t take out Kuro, apparently the Tsuchikage himself gave the request,” “Whatever… But still, Ryo doesn’t know attacks like [i]that[/i],” The two became silent and moved on. ……………………………………………………… “Damnit, what kind of power is that!?” Kazu roared, his three chakra tails swishing around behind him. His right shoulder was ripped apart, but the Nine-Tails chakra was healing it quickly. In front of him, Oson stood with his face covered in a black mask, his Raikegan changed by the Kirai power. “Kirai chakra,” Oson explained, “One of the strongest powers you will ever meet. And get this… I haven’t even unleashed half of my power,” “f***,” Kazu grunted. Kayaku was gone; Leaf shinobi had rushed him to the hospital as Oson stayed to fight. Kazu screamed and lunged at Oson, who sidestepped and hammered the back of his head. The Nine-Tails chakra began to heal the crack formed, and Oson turned, outstretching his arm as a shell of Kirai chakra coated it. “Know your defeat,” Oson’s Raikegan glowed, and instantly he was inches from Kazu. The Rock shinobi couldn’t react and Oson’s Kirai layered fist crushed his face, sending him flying into a building, “Learn this: Never take on a master of Kirai chakra unless you use the other half of this damned ability. It is certain death,” Kazu appeared in the rubble that was the side of a house, his nose completely flattened as blood caked his entire face. A fourth tail sprouted, and Kazu’s flesh began to peel away. But before the transformation could be completed, Oson had already jammed his hand in Kazu’s ribcage, seeping Kirai chakra into it. Slowly the mask broke away, along with the chakra on his arm, and Kazu slumped to the ground as his chakra dispersed. ………………………………………………………. “How…” Koji gasped, now in his real body. The earth now sprouted towers of upturned rock, and he stood on top of one looking down in amazement. Ryo stood there, wiping blood from his chin and appearing unharmed aside from some cuts and bruises. “The simple fact is that your attack wasn’t strong enough,” Ryo chuckled as he saw the bewildered face Koji put on, “Look kid, what’s the point if a ninja can only turn into mist and use a couple swords? That makes a Chunin if anything, but I’m Elite Division! I’m incredibly durable and fast, and by the time my Mist Jutsu was done, your attack was nearly finished. And before you ask, I turned to mist the minute I was about to strike the ground; tricked yeah into thinking I never transformed, huh?” “I guess,” Koji mumbled, the sun making him a silhouette against the sky, “I’ll just crush every single bone in your body until you die!” Koji leaped off of the rock and fell at Ryo. As he descended, he crossed his arms across his face and quickly flung them outward, sending a line of chakra at him. Ryo transformed and passed through the attack, reforming above Koji. “End of the line kid,” Ryo threw one of the swords at Koji, striking his thigh. Koji yelped and turned in mid air, just as Ryo came down on him with another sword, shoving it at his throat. Koji grabbed the blade and held it back, the sharp metal slicing his fingers. The two hit the ground, and the momentum carried the blade to Koji’s neck, stopping just as it prodded his skin. Koji pushed it up, but Ryo grinned and forced it back to his throat, Koji’s hands now leaking blood onto his clothes. Koji’s eyes filled with hatred for the Mist Village, and he shoved the sword into the ground next to him and head butted Ryo, making both of their visions blurry. Ryo stumbled away and shook his head, grabbing a knife from his belt. He jumped on Koji and struck at his forehead, but was stopped by a hard kick to the sternum. “ENOUGH!” Koji bellowed, his eyes full of hatred. Chakra rushed around him, shaking the rocks that were upturned by his previous attack. He began to slowly walk towards Ryo, who ran at him but was swatted back by a chakra fist. “I’ll end this all!” Ryo dashed forward and jutted a sword out in front of him, but a chakra hand snapped the blade and used it to create a gash in his torso. A ball of chakra exploded against him and hurled him into a rock. Koji still walked at the same sluggish pace. Before he could get up, a giant hand made of dark purple chakra covered his whole body and pushed him against the rock, crushing his bones. “I told you,” Whispered Koji, now a foot away from Ryo. His left arm was lifted slightly, controlling the hand crushing Ryo, “I would crush every bone in your body,” The pressure increased, and Ryo screamed as his bones were grinded to into splinters and chunks. Barely conscious and coughing up blood, Ryo gazed into Koji’s eyes, seeing the deadly intent. He tried to talk, to ask for mercy, but his lungs were being squeezed by his broken ribcage and he couldn’t utter a word. Koji slowly raised his free arm, clenching it into a fist. “Only a few more to break,” Koji’s eyes flared with rage and anger in that instant, and he lost all will to hold back. His fist shattered Ryo’s skull, backed by the force of hatred and immense chakra. The rock behind Ryo’s body cracked into pieces, leaving his massacred remains to fall to the ground. The chakra around Koji faded away, and he walked away from the reservoir of blood he was standing in and collapsed on the ground, now beginning to be tainted by his own blood. [/spoiler] [spoiler=Chapter 46, The Truth Behind the Mask]Yukiko and Kato appeared in a flash of light above a small canyon, shooting off in opposite directions. Yukiko regained her balance and landed firmly on one side of the rift, Kato landing on the other. He looked around, noticing weathered towers of rock and the deep ravine separating them, the sound of rushing water faintly noticeable. “Don’t try and find him, Daisuke’s not here,” Kato yelled, his hand hovering over a kunai on his belt. “You’re lucky you and that damn Sand Village brat were able to separate us with that jutsu,” she grinned, “Otherwise this fight would have been over in a matter of seconds. Now that we’re alone, I guess I’ll play around and torture you until Daisuke is finished with his fight,” “Kiko, you act as if I’m nothing but a small interference in your plan to kill Kuro,” “Honestly Kato, do you think an ordinary ninja like yourself can win? It’s time for a reality check brother! I’m from a project designed to pump out Kage-level shinobi, and you… you’re just a simple Jonin from a village that lost its spot as number one centuries ago,” “I’ve grown up since you left the Leaf Village… and I will bring you back, no matter how much you love the Mist, you belong in the Leaf,” “You sound like some idiotic hero from a fairytale,” “At least in fairytales, the hero always wins!” Kato swiped the kunai and jumped over the gap, flinging the kunai at his sister. Yukiko knocked it away with a single senbon and moved away as Kato landed where she was previously. “This one won’t have a happy ending,” ……………………………………………………………. “Ugh, good thing I used Kirai chakra to power that technique, it took quite a lot of chakra,” Tenkai whispered and turned around to face Daisuke, who took in his surroundings. The two stood in a grassy field, with nothing else in it. “I must be hearing things, it almost sounded like you said ‘Kirai’” Daisuke said, running his hand through his hair. “I did, as in the power we both share,” Daisuke looked shocked for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. “So, do you also know the origins? The power it holds? The price?” “Let’s just say I learned from a master what it is,” Tenkai’s mind quickly flashed to Oson, “I understand it all now. I know why I felt hatred and bloodlust when I went to the Rock Village, when I fought Hebi, and that time on the boat… I’m not afraid of this power we hold, it’s something I can control,” “You seem to think it’s a something manageable when it’s not. Kirai dominates your life, it doesn’t take no for an answer, and you must abide by its rule or die!” “Enough of this pointless chat! We both know the risks of this power, we both know what it can do, and we know it’s the only way to bring out our true power! So shut up and fight!” Tenkai covered his face with his arm and swung it outward, a black mask materializing as he uncovered it. …………………………………………………. [i]Nights ago… Tenkai and Oson walked through the cold desert, the moonlight sufficing as a light source. Soon they came to a stop, and Oson turned to his little brother. “Alright, there’s no one around to hear; I can tell you how to save your life and become stronger in the process now,” “You drag me out into a freezing desert to do this? Why couldn’t we do this at home!?” “Quiet!” Oson barked, making Tenkai silent, “Before I can explain what’s going on, I need to start at the beginning. First off, everything has an opposite: Night and day, cold and hot… dark and light…” “I swear if this is some Yin-Yang shit…” “As I was saying, everything has an opposite. Well, coming off from that, each opposite manifests in different ways, and some of those opposites form in the shape of jutsu or chakra. Fire and water for example, they’re both two types of elements. Not everyone can have water or fire as an element, some only have wind, some have lightning. Each element is in its own way rare, and some are so rare, only a few people from a generation obtain them. What you, Daisuke, and I have is one of the two rarest elements known: Kirai,” “So it’s just a rare element, what’s with the talk about me dieing?” “Kirai and its counterpart, Resai, have special properties. Kirai feeds on hatred, Resai feeds on kindness. However, in situations like yours, if the person doesn’t fulfill the need for hatred or kindness, the power forces the act upon the person,” “Like when I attacked Hebi…” “Yeah. Though if the person still refuses the hatred or kindness, the power corrupts them. It begins to feed on the person’s mind, making them into the ultimate figure of evil or good, respectively. After that, the host’s emotions die and it is only concerned with the actions of good and evil,” “So… I need to become like Daisuke is what you’re saying,” “Not to that extent Tenkai, you just have to feed the power enough to keep it from taking over,” “So, do you know anyone with Resai?” “You’re looking at him,” “What!?” Tenkai exclaimed, “You said you had Kirai power!” “Hmph, just because I have one, doesn’t mean I can’t have the other. This way, I can be kind and mean, all the while meeting the requirements. Now that you understand the concepts of these powers, I’ll teach you how to use your Kirai powers at will,”[/i] …………………………………………………………… Tenkai’s Raikegan activated, gaining the white ring and diamond with black replacing the gold. Daisuke grasped the necklace he wore and transformed, growing wings and changing some of his hair color. “Remember this?” Daisuke chuckled, the other features of his transformation appearing, “I got around to naming it my Ice Demon Form, fits my personality, doesn’t it?” “You really think you can take me on without Kirai chakra? You had to resort to it last time…” “In the world we are about to enter, your power means nothing,” Daisuke made a series of handsigns, and his eyes glowed black for a second, “Demonic Ice Technique: World of Despair!” The ground shook beneath them, and water began collecting around them. The grass and earth was sucked dry of water, which froze and pushed the two of them up like they were on a platform. Tenkai watched as the ice formed a dome above them, completely trapping them in an air bubble surrounded by feet of ice. “Don’t worry,” Daisuke said, “There are air vents scattered around, we won’t suffocate. Now, this is my zone, you can’t win here. I control every particle of ice that exists…” “I admit, this arena you created is nearly the size of the field we were just in and seems dangerous. But, I separated us from Yukiko and Kato knowing I’d be up against something like this. As far as I’m concerned, this is merely an obstacle to your defeat!” “As you said before, enough talk…” Daisuke flicked his hand at Tenkai, sending a volley of ice spears at him. Tenkai easily dodged the attack and dashed across the ice, being only a blur that got behind Daisuke and kicked at his head. A plate of ice blocked his attack, and Daisuke turned to the Jonin, “How weak,” The plate broke apart and shot ice fragments at Tenkai. Most of them shattered when they hit his clothes, but a few made small cuts in his sweatshirt and skin. Blocks of ice crashed into his back and pushed him away. Tenkai got up and made a handsign, black lightning suddenly encasing his feet. He pushed off towards Daisuke, and the lightning allowed him to skate across the ice at high speeds and avoid the countless needles that shot at him. Daisuke slid to the side as Tenkai punched at his stomach, throwing his arms back and skating away as the ice carried him. Tenkai swirled and followed him, dodging the occasional ice blocks that tried to stop him. At last Daisuke came to a wall and skated up it, pushing off and spinning in the air. His wings flapped and let him glide over Tenkai. A small flash above him made him turn his head, but something hit his shoulder and made him fall. Daisuke squinted at Tenkai and pushed his arm up, sending a serpent of ice past himself as he fell. Tenkai inhaled and drew his fist back as the serpent neared, aiming for a weak spot. …………………………………………………. [i]Nights ago…[/i] “Alright, I can activate this power at will now! What’s next?” Tenkai panted and let the mask fade. Oson laughed softly and placed his hand over his chest, a dark aura forming. Instantly a full set of body armor made of Kirai chakra formed on him, making Tenkai gasp. “So you can create a mask… There’s more than that to this power,” Oson said, the armor shattering, “Besides, you don’t even know what Kirai and Resai chakra does,” “Then tell me! Daisuke already knows, you know, and I don’t! How am I supposed to use this demented element if I don’t know its purpose!?” “Fine. Now, to put it simply, Kirai enhances the physical attributes of a person; like strength and speed. Resai enhances the chakra and jutsu strength of a person. However, both have the attributes of the other, making it so Kirai users gain a slight boost in jutsu and chakra, likewise for Resai users,” “I guess it fits, seeing my style with chakra knives. But I doubt I want to trade off my personality to gain some strength,” “Did I say that was all they do?”[/i] …………………………………………………. Tenkai punched the serpent’s nose, creating a crack down the length of it. The ice broke apart and rained fragments down at Daisuke, who threw them off in different directions with a simple arm motion. Not giving Tenkai anytime, Daisuke snapped his arm downward, making the section of ice above Tenkai drop on him. Tenkai cringed and saw the floor grow near as the ice brought him down. Quickly he looked at Daisuke, his Raikegan glowing gold for a moment. “Is this the best you have?” Tenkai appeared behind Daisuke, his chakra knife lit up with electricity. Daisuke couldn’t react fast enough, allowing Tenkai to cut a gash in his back and where his right wing was attached. Daisuke spun around and kicked off the ice, landing a few yards away. “That’s enough playing around for now…” Daisuke snarled, covering his face with his hand. ……………………………………………. Kato dashed at his sister and tried to punch her stomach, but she simply grabbed his fist and pushed it away. Swiftly she stabbed Kato’s arm with the senbon she had and let him stumble forward. Before he could regain his balance, Yukiko sent five senbon into his left leg. Kato placed one hand on the ground as he fell forward and used it to pivot around so he faced Yukiko. His hand pointed at her and shot a beam of lightning at her side, which Yukiko dodged. “I can sense the hesitation,” Yukiko whispered as she appeared behind her brother, slipping another senbon into his shoulder before kicking him away, “You’re still convinced you can bring me back. Well I’ll give you a hint: You can’t beat me while holding back! At this rate you’re worse than I expected!” “Then I’ll attack with every damn thing I have!” Kato yelled, his muscles growing in size. The senbon lodged in his body popped out, leaving small streams of blood along his clothes. Yukiko and him collided in a storm of punches and kicks, but Kato’s strength overwhelmed his sister’s. Kato bashed her arm, creating an opening at her face. He hesitated, allowing Yukiko to put on a grin and pull a knife from her pocket. Kato punched at her face, but by then she had time to dodge and stab his stomach, but the blade snapped in half when it made contact. “The f***!?” Yukiko screamed. Kato grabbed her wrist and pulled her up quickly, punching her back down to the ground. Yukiko coughed, spewing blood on the ground. The siblings became locked in eye contact, neither of them moving. A loud crashing noise came from behind Kato, and he looked on in shock as a hand made of water gripped his body and pulled him through the hole it created in the ground. Yukiko smirked and pulled her wrist away, watching as her brother was pulled through the rock and thrown into open air in the canyon. She softly rubbed her wrist and gazed into the distance before walking away from the canyon. [/spoiler] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Yeah for cool names! Don't do Fuuta though >.> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Please, like I'd do that. I hate that name. You will be called something that sounds cool.... >;D Dra-man... will be... Zeru! *shot* No, I'll make a new name for him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 El name me Zuko or make a joke about that and die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 *checks off name on clipboard* Damn, that name's out.... XDDDDD I plan on your name NOT starting with a "z". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Oh cool.Even though I love Z a new referance should be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Chapter 5 added foos! XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 1.Damn Daven pulled a Kira. 2.Seriously is it me or did one of the guys had a hole in his chest(lolhollow) and somehow used such a jutsu. 3.A Kunoichi being usefull 0.0 what are the odds. 4.Wait who else was there left alive.It hought they were all dead exept Saki. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 1. lolwut? 2. Umm.... I'll go check that out... 3. She's one of the mains! D: 4. Saki, the one who used the fire style move got healed, and the one with the sword in his throat... yeah, he survived somehow... XD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blake Posted September 26, 2010 Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Pretty good, thus far. Something about the style seems odd, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 26, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2010 Meh, style is... stylish. XD And Dra-man, the only one with a hole in his chest stayed down after that happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Just remembered something I was gonna ask: Why the frig is chapter 1 called Amnesia :/ Nice 5th chapter, you sure are cruel leading them to a terrible fate xP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Isn't it obvious.He had [s]gotten drunk[/s] fainted in the sand dunes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 I don't see any point where he lost his memory.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Fusion... he had no memory of the fight with Daven until at least 2 paragraphs in... plus I couldn't think of anything else. XP New chapter might be up tonight, and guess who's introduced in it? >.> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dranzer Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 DL so betting on it. And post it now please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Make Posted September 27, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 No Dra-man.... the person I'm introducing lives in a village... that used to have a radioactive space rock in it.... >.> Ans the chapter's not even half way done, but I'll see what I can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fusion X. Denver Posted September 27, 2010 Report Share Posted September 27, 2010 Oh so it's Dranzer. I hate anatomy homework. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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