(Disclaimer: I do not own,/endorse any of these characters and all that other stuff that people write in disclaimer messages ^_^. First fanfic I've ever written. This basically picks up where the manga left off with the fight between Zetsu and Mizukage with her other forces).
(Flashback)
"Got 'em!" The malicious floral-like Akatsuki member called out, swooping in from the shingled roof of the safe house. Having been tasked with capturing the five political figures better known as "Daimyo", he had a certain arrogance about his maneuvers which was characteristic of his black-half personality. Zetsu was an unparalleled master of espionage and stealth, yet charged in so brusquely even while being fully aware of the steep circumstances. He'd unknowingly pay for his arrogance, as his deep tan pupils opened wider in utter shock. Seemingly out of nowhere, an elegantly-clad, auburn-haired Kunoichi charged him with a lunging kick. "…Gya!" grunted Zetsu as the kick connected with his chest, causing him to stumble back several meters. He wasted no time to regaining his composure after the woman's swift intercept and quickly realized who she was. "I see I'll have to defeat you first" said the odd-looking plant-like man. Slowly lifting from her crouched position, the Mizukage by the name of Mei Terumi stood firmly with a deviant grin. "No. you'll have to defeat US!" And as sound of the word 'us' parted from her perky lips, roughly a dozen other ninja flickered into view by her side.
It was nothing short of common knowledge that the Daimyo were simply political figures, not ninja, and were relatively insignificant in the role of this war. Knowing this, Zetsu's right foot flinched slightly as a stem branched from him and dove deep into the earth, sending a clone of himself many kilometers away to his master Uchiha Madara's location. Miles away, the towering robe-clad Uchiha quickly noticed the Zetsu clone's arrival. The two Akatsuki members conversed for a short while, ultimately deciding that although the Daimyo weren't worth capturing, it was best for Black Zetsu to continue on with his assault on Mei Terumi and her forces. The decision was made and the tactical plan of action was green lit. Zetsu would combat the Mizukage and her forces to further divide the army.
(End Flashback)
The spiked auburn-haired Kunoichi pointed at Zetsu accusatively. "It was rumored that the Akatsuki criminal organization was formed in my village. Although I wasn't in power at the time, I still bear feelings of guilt for it." She stated in a solemn, monotone voice. "But you are the closest member to Madara, so I'm sure you're privy to much more information about those incidents than I" Finishing her statement, she began forming hand seals in an almost eerily-calm manner as her other allied ninja readied themselves. "It's been a while since Black Zetsu has seen combat" thought Madara, located far off into a cavern quite distant from the battlefield. "But with 'that' jutsu and the King of Hell statue's power, he's probably stronger than Hashirama by now".
A row of flying shuriken sprang from the dozen or so ninja, rapidly aiming to pierce through Zetsu. A swift display of agility would however suffice to avoid them, as the plant-like Akatsuki skillfully evaded each one. "Yoton: Hitsuigeki no Jutsu" (Lava Release: Burning Pursuit Technique). The woman's peachy facial cheeks swelled rapidly as liquid filled her mouth. Aimed at Zetsu, she rapidly belched up a stream of incinerating magma which traveled toward him in blobs. "Too easy!" Zetsu remarked smugly as he leaped clear out of the path of these lava globules. Having missed their target, the lava fell to the ground in a series of viscous puddles. With her lips widening into a confident smirk, Mei Terumi stated "No. You're the one that's too easy…". Her Jutsu was far from complete which became evident as the puddles of lava from her seemingly failed attack rose up and sprang toward Zetsu once more.
"A jutsu that locates a target and that continuously chases it like a homing missile…clever", thought Zetsu. Her slim, venus fly-trapped shaped body contorted rapidly, avoiding each row of lava aimed at him. Suddenly, Genma Shiranui stepped forth to aid the Mizukage with his own combination of hand seals. "Doton: Doryuheki (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall Technique)". Zetsu would soon be alerted to three earthen walls which partitioned themselves around him, effectively trapping him. One side was left open which he could in theory escape through, but not without first dealing with the blobs of lava which once again shot toward him. The trapping walls were strong, but had no roof which Zetsu attributed to his enemy's neglect. Now trapped on all four sides with a collaborated assault, the only other way to escape was 'up'. The plant-like Akatsuki took a sharp leap skyward, only to find Chojuro soaring down with his blade. 'Hiramakarei: Kaiyo! (Hiramekarei: Release). The sword's protective bandages had unraveled themselves as a harpoon-shaped construct made solely from Chakra shot out from the vents in his special sword, aiming to spear Zetsu from above. Zetsu gasped sharply, as the harpoon construct impaled him.
"Did we get him?", thought Mei. Importunely the combined attacks had come to no avail, as the seemingly maimed Zetsu dispersed unto nothing more than huge billows of smoke. "A basic clone jutsu that creates a smokescreen when destroyed?", inquired Raidou Namiashi who was another ninja alongside the Mizukage's forces. Suddenly, Mei's deep green eyes barred themselves wide open in shock. "No! This is…" "Too late!" Mei was quickly interrupted by a second voice which audited itself from Raidou's left shoulder. The head of a white, slimy figure sprang out from Raidou's body as he struggled and gasped in horror. These strange heads would appear on the bodies of all her allies, quickly growing and festering until it encased their entire forms. "Not again!" said Chojuro clumsily, as he the white Zetsu spores on his body became larger. A wave of screams and shouts soon enveloped the battlefield as the spores previously witnessed at the Kage Summit had made an ugly return. "A true Shinobi never falls for the same crap twice.", Zetsu stated arrogantly he giggled intermittently afterward. "So I guess you're the only true Shinobi here then" pointing to Mei of course, as oddly enough she wasn't consumed by the spores this time unlike the others.
"What does that damn woman have that protected her from Hoshi no Jutsu!" Although Zetsu outwardly acted in jest with his previous statements, he could not help but mentally inquire why she was able to avoid his Jutsu. Showing concern, he stood firmly and gained a more serious demeanor. "This is Bakuhoshi no Jutsu (Detonating Sporulation technique), a new and improved version if you will. If you or anyone else even attempts to remove the white Zetsu which are voraciously feeding upon their chakra as we speak, they'll explode and release a deadly toxin whose potency rivals Sasori's." He said menacingly as his twisted visage formed a smirk. "And if that doesn't happen, they'll die anyway in about 15 minutes from having all their Chakra sucked up. It's so potent that I was able to capture the seven tailed demon with it."
With surmountable odds stacked against her along with the endangerment of her comrades, Mei Terumi still managed to retain her calmness. "Well then. I guess I'll just have to kill you before that happens…" A gleeful expression had become apparent on her face as she placed utter confidence in her abilities to end this. Her neck whipped back, flipping her long, auburn bangs away from her eyes. "You can do it Mizukage-sama", thought the incapacitated Chojuro. He struggled and strained to release himself, but this did nothing other bring about death through exhausting more quickly. "I'll show you the true power of the Akats-eh?" Zetsu's sentence ended abruptly as his gaze shifted toward his feet which were in the process of being seared off by hot magma. If one took a quick glimpse at where the lava was prior the formation of Genma's walls, they'd notice a charred hole as if something had burrowed within the earth. Her lava globules had fished themselves underground and resurfaced at Zetsu's current location.
"While you were too busy belittling everyone, I was taking action". Her feminine voice was reassuring as her fellow incapacitated ninja cheered her on. "Heh. I would expect nothing less from a Kage, even a newly appointed one at that." After that statement came to its closure, Zetsu's appearance had degenerated into a wooden-figure that vaguely resembled the shape of his original body. "A Mokubunshin? (Wood Clone). I thought only the first Hokage and the one known as Yamato were able to utilize that. Don't tell me, you're…" Her shaken state of mind was now baffled regarding why he was able to use wooden techniques. "That's because like Yamato, I too was created from the first Hokage's genes. But only those with large amounts of Chakra can utilize his abilities to the fullest. Both Yamato and Danzo didn't meat this criteria…but thanks to the king of hell statue, I do".
With the Mizukage rendered momentarily speechless, Zetsu spotted an opportunity. A series of wooden spears had launched themselves from the ground in a surrounding fashion which jutted toward her neck. "Now die…" said Zetsu. Before even coming three inches close to her body, the spears appeared to fizzle, becoming burnt into naught but brittle, fragile stems. They harmlessly bounced off of her flesh and failed to even pierce it. "What?", uttered the astonished Zetsu. "Kasei no Yoroi! (Caustic Armor)" she stated viciously. Although Zetsu was definitely no Hyuga, his eye abilities had a limited discerning ability as shown a countless number of times. His tan-hued eyes had dilated themselves with the intent of viewing the chakra surrounding Mei. "Futton and Yoton" he stated as he continued studying the chakra around her. "There's acid and lava natured chakra surrounding her body. It's almost like Ei's ration armor. So that's why my spores failed to affect her" As his thoughts ended, he'd notice the Mizukage standing right behind him, arriving via Shunshin no Jutsu. "Eh!" Her slender arm shot across vertically toward Zetsu, ramming into his own arm and through it as well. A loud yelp was made as he scurried to left to escape her assault. The plant-like man's right limb was now detached from his body and charred to the point of being unrecognizable. "With one arm. You aren't going to form anymore hand seals. This is the end for you."
"No. It is the end for YOU young woman", thought Madara whom was still hidden safely miles away while observing the fight utilizing Tomegane no Jutsu (Telescope Technique). The king of hell statue was dormant within his lair but suddenly began to quake with activity. A single one of its eyes began to glow a peculiar red hue as the vast amounts of Bijuu chakra within in it began to excite. Back on the battlefield, the now missing-limbed Zetsu began to course intensely with visible chakra. "Mokuton: Kikoutan no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Tree of Nativity Technique)". he uttered, casting this Jutsu without a single handsign. A powerful quake shook the battlefield as thrums of energy caused widespread cracking and fissuring of the ground. The Shinobi still incapacitated by white Zetsu had grunted and groaned as the earth beneath them rattled wildly. An uncountable mass of thick roots broke from the crusts of the land, erecting a tree so vast that it's canopy touched the clouds themselves. A huge shadow was thus cast upon the land as a result of this massive object to the brink of it seemingly like nightfall. "How…how can anyone have enough chakra to create something like this." She stated with a worried tone of voice as her neck craned up to fully absorb the reality of how massive this tree was.
"You have the full advantage here, Zetsu. But still, don't push your luck. After all, granting you this much of the captured Bijuu's chakras are going to delay my plan even further" thought Madara as he took a quick glimpse at the king of hell statue a few meters away from him. On the battlefield, the immobilized ninja stared in awe continually at the tree that was created before their very eyes. "The second, the fifth, and the seventh tailed beast. I have roughly that amount of Chakra coursing within me! This tree is a product of that." Upon saying this, a mass of wooden roots lunged from the earth at blurring speeds, entangling her within them before she could even react. Her caustic armor did little harm to the roots as the sheer amount of chakra concentrated within them had regenerated any burns or damage. Although still keeping her composure, she could not help but squirm as the massive roots began to crush her. "It's Madara isn't it? He's the reason why you're as strong as you are." she inquired. "Not only that. He's the reason why I exist in the first place".
Distracted by a brief exchange of words, Mei was able to knit her fingers into a single hand seal even whilst bound tightly by the roots. "Uita Herinezumi no Jutsu (Flamboyant Hedgehog Technique)" Her spiked, auburn locks began to grow profusely, shimmering as they gained razor sharp properties. The roots were sawed off completely by her elongated hair, effectively cutting her free of bondage. One of the intact roots instead curled itself around Zetsu, yanking him out of harms reach of her razor-sharp nest of hair. "Youton: Youganryuu no Jutsu (Lava release; Lava Flows Technique)" Upon fishing the required hand seals, a continuous flow of lava had secreted itself from every inch of her body, although not burning off her garments in the process. A continuous stream of magma behaving similar to an enormous wave began to quickly spread into an overwhelming tide in a single direction as to not endanger her incapacitated teammates. The lava flows clashed with the trunk of the tree, creating large billows of steam. The tree only rocked and ebbed slightly, but remained mostly unharmed as it regenerated from any damage it sustained from the lava. The same could not be said for the plant-like Akatsuki member, whose root had been seared off, sending him plummeting into the incinerating pool.
"I did it!", exclaimed Mei as she leaped downward, landing upon the surface of the lava as if it were no hotter than bathwater. "Did what? Prolong the inevitable?" That all-too-familiar voice called out as the venus flytrap-like figure crawled from the tree as if he were merged onto it. Only this time, he was now reunited with the limb he had previously lost "As long as a there's a single, undamaged cell in this tree, I can completely 'rebirth' myself from it. And by the way, I'd say your comrades have about 20% of their chakra remaining. They couldn't destroy the Bakuhoshi clones even if they wanted to." Disturbed, Mei glanced back and could barely distinguish some of her comrades as they were so consumed by the white masses. The frustrated woman's jaws snapped open, unleashing a potent spray of acidic mist which soared toward Zetsu and and overwhelmed him. "Gyah!" gasped Zetsu, as his weakening grip caused him to detach from the tree and descend into the lava once more. His return would be quick however, as another Zetsu formed from the tree."I can tell that you have nothing left to stop me" ,said the newly-birthed Zetsu.
"…" No comment was made from Mei. She simply strung together hand seals and acted solemnly yet still calm. Thick, grim storm clouds began to gather in the sky which symbolically forecasted doom. "Suiton: Suiro no jutsu (Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu)" Mei shouted as she completed her last hand seal. Zetsu, who stood on one of the many branches of the tree lunged back slightly, expecting the water prison technique to be cast upon himself. It was to his astonishment however that the water prison Jutsu target was not him, but Mei's teammates as well as the complex that housed the Daimyo. Spheres of water surrounded all of her incapacitated and nearly fainted allies along with the Daimyo shelter as if its intent was to shield them rather than imprison them. Unlike Zabuza's version of the technique, Mizukage's water prison's did not require that the user keep physical contact with the prisons to sustain them.
"I have to do this quickly before they run out of chakra and out of air" completing this thought, the auburn-haired woman focused chakra to her soles and rapidly leaped onto the tree, sprinting upward along the vertical wooden surface. "Hm?" uttered a confused Zetsu. A plethora of wooden snares and spikes sprang up along the trees surface in an attempt to bind Mei's movements. She skillfully evaded each attempt and simply spewed a spray of acid to fizzle the ones she couldn't avoid. Zetsu rapidly sank into the branch he stood upon, resurfacing in from of Mei to restrict her. A swift heel lung to his jaw empowered by her caustic armor would fatally injured Zetsu, sending him downward to the earth while the impact with the ground would kill him. However, this was futile, as a new Zetsu would spawn shortly hereafter to take the previous one's place.
"Forgive me, Tsuchikage-sama" , said an unnamed ninja with his last, dying breath. A fellow Shinobi from the hidden rock village engulfed by the white Zetsu had been no longer. His Chakra was completely consumed and his body was no longer able to support life. The other incapacitated ninja were in no better shape and began to utter dying gasps for help as their Chakras also dwindled. While scaling the surface of the tree in a sprint toward the very top, Mei glanced backward with a worried look. "Hang in there, fellow Shinobi". Having nullified every attempt by Zetsu to stop her, roughly ten seconds transpired before Mei had reached the top. She peered deep into the clouds with a determined gaze while stringing together a lengthy sequence of hand seals. Once completed, she somersaulted off of the tree into midair, prepared to cast her Jutsu. "Futton: Fu-" she was abruptly cut off by a sudden pike which jutted out from the tree and impaled her in midair. "Auu..ugh!", she uttered painfully. Her pupils became wide as her body was wracked with shooting tendrils of agony. The wooden pike had impaled her through the abdomen, going so deeply into her that it nicked her spine. Sanguine liquid spilled from the would as she struggled to cast her Jutsu even when matched with insurmountable pain. "Gottcha!" , his sickly, macabre voice called out in an almost playful fashion. Lifting her head, her weakening body inhaled deeply, causing her abdomen to expand and thus enhancing the pain. "Futton: Futarano Ame no Jutsu (Boil Release: Boiling Wasteland Rains Technique)", with that final word an enormous funnel shaped cloud of vapor sprayed from her maw. Its gaseous form's width was nearly as great as the tree itself. The mist billowed toward the skies, integrating itself within the clouds and forming an ominous fog.
"I told you I'd kill you before my allies died", she stated mockingly. Her confident words were certainly no portrayal of how critically injured she was.
Plip
A single raindrop from the sky plunged onto Zetsu's forehead, creating sharp pain as it corroded the spot of flesh it landed on. One more. Then another. Then a hundred. Then a million. Then they became innumerable. The corrosive rains showered the landscape unmercifully, fizzling any form of matter it came into contact with. "Gyaaah!" yelped Zetsu as the caustic rain oxidized him. The potent acids melted him into an unrecognizable pulp and did the exact same with every single attempt he made at 'rebirthing' his body from the tree. Large masses of leaves, branches, foliage, and shrubs began to plummet as the tree rapidly decayed. Even after landing the raindrops had did not simply sit still. They crept and slithered into every orifice of the tree by themselves, burning it to the core. "This acidic rain is so corrosive that it dissociates Chakra itself.", stated Mei. Due to an earlier precaution she had made, her comrades were completely unharmed by this rain. The acidic rain was neutralized upon contact with the water prisons which her teammates were safely cocooned within. Mei, still impaled, raised her arm and collapsed her finger into a firm fist. This command caused the downpour to cease and canceled the water prison jutsu cast on her comrades. The woman proceeded to painfully hoist herself off of the branch, causing her to plummet a great distance from the sky. She dabbed her fingers with a spot of blood and performed hand seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning technique)" From a dense fog of smoke spawned a sizeable Albatross which soared by and captured her in midair. The bird flapped vigorously as it descended toward the earth along with her. "They're still in danger…Those spores" said the heavily labored Mei.
"More Chakra…More…to survive. I'll have to…" A heavily rasped voice uttered out which shocked the woman. It was Zetsu, or rather his remnants. The white Zetsu spores which had the Shinobi on the brink of death had suddenly detached from them as if by command. Raidou, Genma, Chojuro, and the other remaining Shinobi had all gasped at once, both out of exhaustion and out of relief. The majority of them struggled to stand on their feet and were certainly in no condition to fight. The detached white Zetsu clones squirmed swiftly toward Black Zetsu, latching onto his pulpy body and filling it with Chakras. Black Zetsu began to regenerate as his form slowly regained its original shape. "I had to sacrifice those white Zetsu and cancel Bakuhoshi so that I could live using the all of the Chakra they stole" he stated, still panting.
"There's no way…he survived?" , said the exhausted and injured auburn-haired Kunoichi while still afloat on her summoned bird. "Good as new eh? I'd say I have slightly more Chakra than I originally started it out with" , Zetsu remarked smugly. "Although, unless Madara transfers more of the stored bijuu Chakra to me, then there's no hope of getting that tree back", he thought to himself on a far more serious note. The freed Chojuro analyzed the situation quickly. "He's so strong. Look at what he did to Mizukage-sama. I have to help her with the little Chakra I have.", he thought to himself.
" It's over!. Mokuton: Mokukaryuuzan no Jutsu (Wood Release: Wood Pellet technique)" upon finishing the hand seals, small wooden pellets spawned from Zetsu's body would bombard the injured Mizukage and her bird. Suddenly, a shaggy-haired, spectacle-wearing mist ninja leaped out. The vent's on Hiramekarei began to exude chakra in the shape of an umbrella construct which he used to shield her and the albatross. Although Chojuro was usually unconfident, he stood firm knowing that he was able to finally protect the Mizukage as opposed to vice-versa. "You guys crawl out like cockroaches. But I must say. I've never been pushed this far" stated Zetsu. Although Chojuro was gleeful that his actions saved Mei's life, this soon turned grim upon realizing he had no more useable Chakra left to fight. "That's.. it. I'm spent", stated Chojuro while panting.
"You did well, Chojuro. I'll take it from here" said the Mizukage as she sat up while still on the albatross. Her wound was still bleeding, but the woman was now more determined to end this than ever. All Chojuro could do from there one was encourage and empower her as he and the other Shinobi were too attrited from the lack of Chakra. The giant albatross lifted its talons and beat its wings vigorously, sending a powerful gust that lifted Zetsu off his feet. "You can only escape by merging onto the earth and trees. Hence I'll finish this right here while you're in midair!" Her vicious and empowered voice spat these words venomously. "Nyah!" uttered Zetsu as he was sent many meters into the air. "Yoton: Hitsuigeki no Jutsu" (Lava Release: Burning Pursuit Technique". After gesturing the proper hand seals, the woman spat several dozen globules of lava which would once again chase Zetsu whichever way he moved.
"You've failed Zetsu" said a spiral-masked figure appearing in the distance. It was at this moment that every Shinobi's head would turn to face him in utter disbelief. That person was none other than Uchiha Madara who then vanished only to reappear by the still-suspended Zetsu. Ripples formed in the air surrounding Zetsu and his form had been twisted and distorted as if time and space were being changed. Quickly, Zetsu's body was absorbed into Madara's dimension, saving him from Mizukage's attack. The remainder of the lava simply phased right through the Uchiha's intangible body. "Sorry. But unlike the other members, Zetsu is far too precious for me to lose just yet". And with that last statement, Madara was no more as he vanished in thin air.
There was dead silence after Madara's departure. This silence had not lasted long before the country Daimyo who the Shinobi were protecting had busted from the house, frightened and frantic. Shortly after, Mei Terumi along with her comrades began to recuperate and prepare themselves for the next day. After what had happened, there was simply no telling what would be in store for them the next day. The sun slowly drifted behind the mountains until minutes later, it was there no longer.
Nightfall had come.