Way of the Hunter-Nin

by BlackShenlong

A young shinobi grows through loss. Rated M for language and violence.

Hoshi was the last to arrive at the meeting point. Although the rain was falling softly, he and his comrades were drenched and dripping. There were four others waiting for him; his four hunter-nin companions. Kuma, the largest of them all by far, approached Hoshi as he got close. "You're late," the man said, placing his hand on Hoshi's head. Although Hoshi was about average height for a boy of sixteen, Kuma still stood heads above him. Hoshi's purple eyes caught Kuma's brown ones and they shared a smile.

"As per usual," Aka, a gaunt-faced young man with long silver hair, whined. He sat cross-legged on a tree branch, whetting his sword with a small stone. "I can't even be properly annoyed with you because I expected as much."

The lone kunoichi of the group gave a loud sigh. "Aka, you complain too much," Uma was a slender young woman with long black hair tied in a high-ponytail. Her natural eye color was green, but her transplanted Hyūga clan left eye was the typical pale white.

"Someone needs to make him more accountable." Aka sheathed his blade and swung down from the branch using only his legs. "He'll never learn if we don't say anything."

"I'm not a kid anymore," Hoshi muttered, his soft features scrunching into a scowl. He hated how Aka still treated him like he was less than the others just because of his age. Aka wasn't even that much older at twenty-three. Hoshi figured the man just liked finally having someone younger around to pick on.

"You are still a child, boy," The gruff voice belonged to none other than Jōchō, their Buntaichō. He was an elderly man with dark skin, but despite his age he physically still seemed to be in his prime. His thick salt-and-pepper-colored beard was the only hair on his face, as he had gone bald long ago. "And you are late. This is true."

The boy bowed his head. "Sorry, Jiichan…"

The old man's stern face softened. "Still, Aka shouldn't complain so much. This is also true," When he smiled, the crow's feet by his eyes were the most prominent. Hoshi owed the old man more than he could ever repay; he had been orphaned as a child, but Jōchō had found him and taken him in. Under the old man's guidance, Hoshi had grown into an exceptional ninja, and was one of the youngest shinobi in Kirigakure's history to be enlisted as an ANBU hunter-nin

Kuma rustled the young ninja's hair. "Have you been reading up on the target, Hoshi-kun?"

Hoshi nodded, his long blue bangs dripping lightly. "Goro Nizuo, missing-nin from Iwagakure. Disappeared… 2 months ago, but was believed to be sighted less than a week ago around Kirigakure…"

"Believed to be?" Aka scoffed. "We were the ones who saw him."

Hoshi frowned. "We didn't get a definitive look at him…"

Jōchō cleared his throat loudly. "Enough, you two. Uma got intel on a man matching his description staying at an inn just outside of town. It's time for us to go take him out."

Hoshi donned his mask and cloak, as did the rest of them. All of their masks had the Kirigakure's village symbol on the forehead, but each mask was different besides that. Aka's mask had upward-arching eye slits and red targets on the cheeks. Kuma's mask had flat eye slits with yellow upside-down triangles underneath. Uma also had flat eye slits, and had blue wave-like patterns on the bottom half of her mask. Jōchō's mask had downward-arching eye slits and three thick green parallel lines running vertical along it. Hoshi's mask had orange star patterns running diagonally across the face, and had upward arching eye slits. Before they took off, Kuma rested his hand on Hoshi's shoulder. "Hoshi-kun," he said in a low whisper, "this is a jōnin-level target we're after. Take care during the mission." Kuma had always treated Hoshi as a little brother, which the young shinobi appreciated but often found irritating as even Kuma didn't take him seriously at times.

"Thanks, Kuma-san," Hoshi replied with a nod, "you too." The five hunter-nin darted through the trees, barely touching down on a branch before going airborne again. Being raised around this type of atmosphere, Hoshi felt most alive when he was on a mission. Feeling the wind rushing through his hair and the chakra running through his feet gave him a euphoria that nothing else could.

The ninjas finally ended up outside an old inn on the outskirts of the town. As they approached the door, Jōchō held up a hand. "Aka, Uma, and Kuma remain outside. If the target makes a run for it I want to be ready." The three ninjas nodded and then vanished into the trees. Jōchō pulled up his hood, and Hoshi did the same. When they walked into the building they were greeted by untrusting stares and glares from all around. This was not an inn for the common citizen, to be sure. Men lowered their gaze to their drinks as the ANBU approached the bar counter. Jōchō held up a photo to the barkeep. "What room is this man staying in?" His voice was low but commanding.

The barkeep, a ugly round man, spit off to the side. "Not sure I should be givin' away info like dat," he said, scrubbing the dirty cup in his hand with an equally dirty rag. "It's, ah, confidential, know what I'm sayin'?"

Hoshi stepped forward, but the senior ninja shook his head. He placed the photo on the counter. "Believe me, it's very important," the old man said. "In fact, it's so important that if I didn't bring back his head… I think the only suitable substitute would be the heads of every criminal scumbag in here, including you." The fat barkeep gulped loudly. The hunter-nin tapped the photo. "Now then, which room was it?"

"U-upstai's, last room on da r-right," The barkeep smiled nervously. "Sorry t' be a botha about dat… J-just gotta follow procedu'es, 's all…"

"Of course," Jōchō turned from the bar and made his way to the staircase, Hoshi following close behind. With every step, the stairs creaked loudly. The hall at the top of the stairs was dimly lit by a small lantern hanging on the wall, and all of the doors were closed. The two ANBU moved slowly down the hall, Hoshi glancing at every door they passed. When they got to the last door they stood for a moment in silence, listening intently to what was on the other side. Jōchō grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

The hallway was engulfed in flames, and Hoshi and Jōchō were sent flying backwards. The two crashed through a wall behind them and landed on their feet outside, with only minor burns on their cloaks. "The room was rigged to explode," Hoshi said, slightly out of breath. "He knew we were coming."

The others appeared before the two. "Jōchō-sama," Uma said, "I detected movement in the woods close by right before the explosion went off. He must have been waiting nearby to see if we'd come for him.

"Have you been tracking him with your Byakugan?" the old shinobi asked, throwing his charred cloak on the ground.

She nodded. "He's moving east, but he's not moving very fast."

"Could be setting more traps for us," Aka said with a sigh. "More problems to deal with…"

Jōchō waved a hand. "Let's move!"

As they darted through the trees towards their target, Kuma moved in close to Hoshi. "You alright, Hoshi-kun?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me," Hoshi said quickly, then moved away from the large man. Hoshi was growing tired of the child treatment. I just want to catch up to this target so we can take him out, he thought to himself. He needed to relieve some stress.

As they got farther along, Uma waved a hand. "There are explosive tags placed all over," she shouted to her comrades, "and the target has picked up speed."

"Then we need to do the same," Jōchō shouted back. "Everyone move with care, but move quickly!" The five ninjas maneuvered through the trees, careful not to set off an explosive and trigger a chain reaction.

Suddenly, something caught Hoshi's eye. "There!" he shouted, grabbing a kunai from his belt. Imbuing the knife with his chakra, he threw it forth as electricity crackled around it. It was lost in the thick of the forest, but a cry of pain told Hoshi that his shot had been true.

The hunter-nin landed around the target, preventing him from running away. Goro Nizuo was a small, unimpressive man with a round face and thin body. He was wearing black robes, was barefoot, and had small black shades that sat at the end of his hooked nose. He has a short blonde Mohawk, and a thick goatee growing on his chin. Hoshi's kunai had lodged in the man's shoulder, and blood was already darkening his robes.

"S-so they sent Kirigakure hunter-nin after me," the man stammered, a quivering smile creeping onto his face. He had a large sack that he carried on his back, and he gripped its strap tightly. "Isn't that a bit m-much?"

"You've been convicted of murdering sixteen individuals, two among them being your wife and daughter," Kuma growled. "People like you disgust me."

"On top of that, you stole a sacred scroll from a temple that they'd very much like back," Aka said, drawing his sword. While all of the ANBU were given standard ninja swords, Aka wielded a massive black claymore that he had forged himself and named Kokuja. Aka always proclaimed that he would become the Eighth Ninja Swordsman of the Mist, but no one really took him too seriously.

"C-come on now, you've got to understand… I never loved that woman," Goro snickered nervously. "In fact, I hated her. I only married her because she was a priestess at the temple, you see… I-I never tried to show her too much love or affection, but still the stupid girl was simply infatuated with me… I had to kill her, yes, I had to… Her s-s-stupid smile was always haunting me. I had to get rid of it. A-and my daughter… I prayed I'd have a son, a good strong son, b-but instead I was given a daughter who had the same mocking smile as her mother… The smile that said she loved you… Despite how terrible of a person you were…"

"He's gone insane with guilt," Uma said, grabbing a kunai.

"…Killing my wife was easy, but the little one had made too much noise… Neighbors came by to investigate… I-I couldn't just let them walk away, right?" He pointed a trembling finger at Hoshi. "Y-you understand me, d-don't you?!"

Hoshi took a step back. Kuma clenched a fist. "Don't you dare try to get us to sympathize with you, you bastard…!"

Goro laughed. "I only wanted the scroll… That's all I ever wanted… And now you want to take that away from me…? The thing I have worked so hard to retrieve…?"

"Enough," Jōchō took a step forward. "Goro Nizuo, by the order of the Mizukage, you are hereby sentenced to death."

The small man laughed again. "K-kill me? Kill me, kill me, no no no… That's exactly what I'm trying to prevent, don't you see?" He pointed at Hoshi again. "Don't you? DON'T YOU?!"

Goro lunged at the young shinobi, who was taken aback by the sudden attack. Before the man was on him, however, a figure intercepted the attack and kicked the missing-nin aside. "Stay focused, fool," Aka's condescending voice stung. "I can't always be there to protect you!"

Gritting his teeth behind his mask, Hoshi dashed past his comrade towards Goro, who was getting to his feet. Throwing up a hand signs, he shouted, "Suiton: Hahonryū!" and a ball of swirling water began forming in his hand.

The crazed missing-nin slammed his hands on the ground, shouting, "Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!" The ground in front of him began to flip upward until it was a tall wall that intercepted and blocked Hoshi's attack. Moving from behind his cover, he flung numerous shuriken at the ANBU, who deflected them all with his kunai.

Soaring overhead, Uma pulled up her mask so that her mouth was visible. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" Cupping her hands around her mouth, she emitted a large jet of water that engulfed the missing-nin.

When the water dissipated, there was no sign of Goro. "You can't hide from us!" Kuma shouted, raising his fists over his head. Electricity began to crackle around his arms, and when he slammed then onto the earth the ground tore apart with electricity. From the earth, five Goro's sprung forth, kunai in each hand.

"I don't have the patience for such nonsense," Aka huffed, swinging his sword. The blade wriggled and stretched like a snake, skewering through four of the Goro's, which melted into mud upon impact. The true missing-nin avoided the blade, and darted forward at Aka with incredible speed.

Forming multiple hand signs, he shouted, "Doton: Kengan no Jutsu!" Rock formed around his right arm, and he swung a heavy punch at Aka.

Jōchō stepped in between them, his own fist pulled back. "Doton: Domu!" His arm darkened, and when their two fists impacted the elderly ANBU's punch shattered through Goro's rock fist and sent him flying back. He slammed into a tree, and slumped to the ground.

Hoshi stepped towards the missing-nin cautiously. "He wasn't very strong at all…" he mumbled disappointedly.

The missing-nin suddenly became conscious, and chuckled. "Don't be so sure…" he said, before his body melted into mud. A clone! Hoshi didn't even have enough time to register what had happened until it was too late. Goro was suddenly behind him, grabbing him around the neck. The man laughed. "Alright, nobody move unless you want your comrade's blood on your hands!" The man still had the kunai in both trembling hands. "Just let me walk out of the forest alive, and I'll spare him!"

"As if," Aka's sword stretched forward and speared through both Hoshi and Goro. As Goro slowly dropped the kunai in his hands, Hoshi's body collapsed into a puddle of water.

"Hey, Aka," a voice whined from amongst the trees. "Did you know that that was a clone and not actually me?"

"It didn't matter," Aka said gruffly. "We ANBU shouldn't compromise the mission simply to save a comrade. We all knew the risks when we took this job."

Hoshi jumped down from his hiding place, scratching his head. "You're a real asshole, you know?"

"Hey, hey, let's all relax," Kuma chimed in, patting Hoshi on the head. "I'm sure he knew you weren't in any real danger."

"Come on boys, mission-at-hand," Uma said, pointing to their target, who was now lying on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. His bag had been knocked off and its contents, a massive scroll, were revealed. The scroll was partially unwound, and it was already being stained by the missing-nin's blood.

"Dammit, are we going to get in trouble for this?" Aka moaned, pointing to the scroll.

Jōchō shrugged. "Our mission was to eliminate the target and recover the scroll, and that's what we did. Take his head, and let's be done with it."

Aka stepped forward, swinging Kokuja in his hand. He bent down to grab Goro's head, but then suddenly jumped back as dozens of earthen spikes shot up from the ground. The five ANBU agents took positions around the target again, each one ready to strike. The missing-nin was slowly getting to his knees, blood dripping from his grinning mouth. "I'm not… Not done yet…" he stammered, coughing up a bit of blood in between words. He began scrawling on the scroll in his blood. "I've come too far… To lose it all here…!"

"It's a summoning scroll!" Jōchō suddenly cried, but by then it was too late.

Goro placed his hand on the scroll and cried, "Kuchiyose: Doton: Doroshitai no Jutsu!" There was a burst of smoke, and then standing beside the Iwagakure deserter was a massive earthen golem. Its body looked relatively human, but more muscular and much taller than any human Hoshi had ever seen. The creature had hollow eye sockets and had a nose with no nostrils, but lacked a mouth and ears. It also had a small gaping hole in its chest. It stood completely motionless, its arms on its sides, feet planted firmly. Goro chuckled, and then hacked up more blood. "This is… The secret forbidden summoning jutsu that has been passed down through Iwagakure temples for generations," he explained, placing a bloody hand on the golem's leg. "Although in its present state it can be used as a formidable puppet, there is still one more forbidden technique that can be used in conjunction with the summoning…" The rogue shinobi formed a hand sign. "Suiton: Ketsueki Suijunkan!" A ball of water began forming in Goro's hands. The blood that had pooled on the ground began mingling with the water, and then it all went surging into the golem's body through the eye sockets. The shinobi formed another set of hand signs. "Fūton: Jinsei no Iki!" Goro breathed green sparkling wind that swirled forth and into the golem. The massive construct shuttered, and its eyes momentarily flashed with a bright light.

"We have to stop him!" Uma said, jumping forward. She began forming hand signs, but was abruptly cut off by the golem stepping forward and punching her hard in the stomach.

Goro laughed. He formed several more hand signs. "Raiton: Ishiki Dengeki!" Electricity surged through his body as he placed his hands on the golem. The golem absorbed the electricity, its eyes flashing again.

Uma, now on her feet, ran over to her comrades. "Jōchō-sama," she shouted, clearly alarmed, "he's transferring his chakra into the creature!"

"What?!" Jōchō's body tensed. "For what purpose…?!"

"To become immortal," Goro replied with a smile. He placed his hands on his chest and shut his eyes. "Katon: Shinzō Hibana…!" Fire erupted out of the man's back and slowly drifted toward the golem, where the flames filled up the hole in the golem's chest. Goro's lifeless body slumped to the ground, and the golem shuttered violently for a moment, and then went still. There was a hiss, and then the golem's eyes shined a bright orange. The creature flexed its arms and hands, and looked all up and down its own body. "This… This is it…" a hollow voice echoed through the air. It sounded strangely familiar, and yet oddly foreign at the same time. "This is the power I've been craving for ten long years…"

"Wh-what just happened?!" Hoshi tried to remain calm, but he couldn't wrap his brain around what had just occurred.

The golem looked at the boy. "Kinjutsu: Homunkurusu Tensei. The ultimate forbidden technique passed down in Iwagakure." Goro Nizuo walked forward in his new body. Each step caused the ground to shake slightly. "With this technique, I have transferred my life and soul into this immortal form. And not only is it immortal, but my chakra has at least tripled."

Aka sighed loudly, his large sword resting on his shoulder. "This makes things a bit more difficult, doesn't it?"

Kuma cracked his knuckles. "Makes things more interesting, more like."

Uma formed a hand sign. "Stay focused, you two…"

Jōchō balled his hands into fists. "The mission hasn't changed: Take out the target at all costs!"

Hoshi gulped. Although he was nervous, he was also incredibly excited. "Finally, a chance to prove my skills…" he said, pulling a kunai from his pocket.

The five ANBU took their positions in a circle around the large golem. This made Goro laugh. "I admire your tenacity," he said, his hollow voice seemingly coming from everywhere all at once, "but I'm afraid you have no chance of defeating me in my present state." His previous nervous demeanor had completely vanished.

Hoshi made the first move, running forward and pulling a small scroll from his belt. Unfurling it, two massive shurikens appeared in the air. He grabbed them and, infusing them with his Raiton, sent them flying at the golem. Goro knocked one of them out of the air, but the other one lodged itself in his shoulder. Unfazed, he performed a set of hand signs. "Doton: Dosekiryū." A massive dragon of mud erupted from the ground and consumed Hoshi before flying away into the forest. Kuma moved in, swinging a stony fist at the missing-nin. Goro caught his punch in a hand and then threw a punch of his own, which Kuma grabbed. Even to the massive Kuma, Goro's new body towered over. "You are strong," the monster said, slowly overtaking the ANBU ninja, "but you cannot hope to match my strength." Freeing one of his hands, Goro slammed Kuma in the head, smashing him into the ground so hard that he bounced back up after impact. The golem grabbed him by the back and threw him away into the woods.

Suddenly, the golem's outstretched arm fell off and crumpled to dust on the ground. Aka appeared, his sword stretching and winding through the air. "You shouldn't drop your guard so easily, no matter how strong you think you are," Aka's blade hissed through the air, flying straight for the golem's head.

Goro caught the blade with his remaining hand. "I have no need to fear you," he said, extending his severed arm to his side. A giant mound of dirt slowly began rising from the ground and taking shape into a massive blade. Once the hilt formed, an arm began to take shape, which gripped the blade and reconnected with Goro's stump. He pulled the sword from the ground while simultaneously throwing Aka's blade away and swung at the ANBU.

Aka quickly formed a hand sign. "Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri!" A small wave of water jetted up from the earth and intercepted Goro's blade as Aka jumped back. The golem stomped his foot on the ground, and two large slabs of rock shot up from the earth and slammed into each other, sandwiching Aka in between.

Goro's sword quickly rebuilt itself after sustaining a few cracks from Aka's jutsu. "We're not finished yet, swordsman," he said, taking a step forward.

Before he could move again, Uma was in front of him, her mask raised to reveal her mouth. "Suiton: Mizurappa!"

Before the water had even left her mouth, Goro's face began tearing open in the middle until a pseudo-mouth was formed. Goro emitted a blast of fire that countered and dissipated Uma's jutsu completely. Moving forward with deceptive speed for his size, Goro grabbed Uma by the neck and lifted her into the air. "That jutsu won't work on me anymore," he said, fire beginning to rise in his throat.

A kunai flew into Goro's mouth and exploded, destroying his head. He dropped Uma and stumbled backwards. As his face slowly reformed, his hollow voice called out, "Attacks like that won't harm me anymore,"

"I'm aware," A hand fell on the golem's shoulder. Jōchō raised his other arm into the air. "Raiton: Hiraishin!"A bolt of lightning struck the ANBU's hand and the electricity flowed through him into his opponent.

For a moment the golem shuddered. Sand covered the flame on his chest. "Thanks for the juice," he said, his head fully reformed. He grabbed Jōchō and smashed him into the ground. He then picked up Uma again and, with a wave of his hand, sent her flying with a strong rush of wind. "Trying to take advantage of my earth body's natural weakness to lightning was smart, but worthless now. As a homunculus, I am composed of all five of the basic nature elements: I no longer possess any weakness to one element or another." He slammed his foot onto the elder shinobi, the fire in his chest roaring. "After I dispose of you five, I will return to Iwagakure with my new power and become Tsuchikage... But why stop there?" He stomped again. "After that, I'll move my forces to the rest of the ninja villages and take them all over! I'll be the Supreme Kage of all the ninja!"

"Fūton: Daitoppa!" A massive gust of wind surged forth from the trees at Goro. He held his ground for a moment, but then his legs began to lift off the ground and he was flung backwards through the air. Hoshi appeared beside Jōchō. "Jiichan," Hoshi said as lifted his teacher to his feet, "are you alright?"

The old man grunted. "I'm not useless yet, boy," he said, brushing himself off. "Still, this might pose a bit of a problem."

"Nothing we can't handle, yeah?" Kuma and Aka came shambling forward, Kuma cracking his neck loudly and Aka twirling his sword.

"The five of us should be more than enough," Uma appeared from the trees. Looking at her from the side, you could see the veins pulsing around her left eye. "He's coming. Get ready."

"Everything has a weakness," Jōchō shouted, holding up a hand sign. "We just have to find out what it is."

"Right!" said the others, mimicking their leader's hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With a large burst of smoke, there were now ten of each of the five ANBU ninja, totaling fifty in all.

Goro came crashing through the woods, stone sword still in hand. With one swing, he took out ten of the clones. A group of Uma's jumped forward. "Suiton: Suiben!" Long ropes of water extended forth from their hands and wrapped around the massive stone blade. Tugging hard, they pulled the blade down into the ground and held it.

As Goro attempted to free his sword, five Kuma's soared through the air and smashed into the golem's other arm, tearing it clean off. The giant golem staggered, but he did not fall. On the ground four Aka's rushed forward, swords raised. Their blades easily carved through the golem's stony legs, causing it to fall. Goro, however, seemed unaffected. "You're only delaying your demise," he muttered with a laugh. "This can't stop me. I'm invincib—"

"Suiton: Suihachi!" A blast of water jetted from Jōchō's palm, tearing off Goro's head.

"My turn," Five Hoshi's ran forward, scrolls in hand. Pulling them open, hundreds of kunai and shuriken shot towards the golem. Most of the knives imbedded themselves in what remained of the golem's body, but the ones aimed at Goro's fiery chest were swatted away by a long sandy tentacle that grew from his body. There it is!

The golem's body collapsed into sand and puddled on the ground. An Aka snickered. "That takes care of that."

"Let's take his head and be done with this mission," Jōchō said with a grunt.

"Where's his human body…?" Kuma was glancing all about.

"Wait, I don't think—" Hoshi started, but then the sand on the ground whipped up into a violent tornado around them. The weapons that Hoshi had thrown were swirling about, cutting and stabbing anything they touched. Clones were dissipating left and right, and the original ANBU were doing their best to avoid being hit themselves. In the center of the hurricane, Hoshi could just barely see a bright red flame burning. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" Water expelled from his mouth towards his target.

The sand around them stopped swirling around them and formed a wall of sand between the water and the fire. The sand wall began to take shape, and after a moment the golem floated overhead, its bright eyes staring down at Hoshi. It landed on the ground with a large quake that knocked everyone off balance. Without even moving, Goro created a large hand made of dirt that grabbed Uma and dragged her underground, a miniature version of himself with a stone sword to fight Aka, a large wave of sand that pushed Kuma back through the forest, and two large boulders that smashed Jōchō between them, fused together and rocketed into the sky. "Now it's just you and I," Goro said calmly. If he had a mouth Hoshi was sure he'd be smiling.

"I'm not afraid of you," Hoshi stood defiantly against his opponent. "I know your weakness now."

"That's precisely why I wanted to face you alone," The golem took a step forward, and Hoshi took one back. "You're the only one right now who knows how to defeat me. So let's see if you can."

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Ten Hoshi's jumped from the smoke and at the golem.

"This again…" Goro waved his hand lightly, and large stone spikes jutted from the ground. All but one of the Hoshi's managed to avoid the attack. A Hoshi threw a dozen kunai with explosive tags at the golem, but each one was grabbed by a tentacle of sand that protruded from the ground and thrown back at the Hoshi's. Two Hoshi's were lost in the explosion, but the others continued to move forward.

"Suiton: Suiben!" Watery ropes grabbed Goro around his arms and legs. The Hoshi's electrified their ropes, and Goro's entire body lit up with electricity. Sand covered the golem's fiery heart again, protecting it from harm.

"Maybe I overestimated your intelligence…" Goro swung one of his arms, and the two Hoshi's that had been roped to it went flying into a tree and dissipated. The golem raised his freed hand overhead, and it grew five times its original size. He slammed it on the ground, taking out two more Hoshi's, and then from the hand more spikes shot out, eliminating the last two clones and leaving the original wide open. "There you are," Goro pulled his hand back to its original size and swung at Hoshi, who dodged backwards. The golem swung again, and again the ANBU shinobi dodge. The third time the golem swung, Hoshi dodged backwards again but the golem's arm extended forward and slammed him into a tree, snapping it in half. Pulling his fist back, Goro saw that Hoshi had replaced his body with a wooden log.

Looking up quickly, Goro saw Hoshi soaring towards him, water forming in one of his palms. "Suiton: Hahonry—"

Long tentacles of sand grew from the golem's chest and grabbed the shinobi, causing his attack to fade away. The tentacles pulled Hoshi towards Goro until Hoshi was staring right at the monster's flaming heart. "Look how close you came," Goro said softly, almost as if he were trying to comfort the young hunter-nin. "And yet you still couldn't defeat me. Unfortunate… But expected. Now you may sleep." The tentacles began pulling Hoshi into the golem's body. He could feel the sand tightening around him, crushing his body and grinding his bones together.

Hoshi's face was touching the fire now. It was warm, but it did not burn him. He laughed. "I'm not… Done… Yet…!" His body began vibrating violently, and then he exploded in a great burst of lightning.

Goro stumbled back, reaching for his chest. The fire was flickering, and for the first time since he had transferred his soul to his new body he felt pain. "Another clone…?!" Before he could get his hands to his chest, watery ropes grabbed his wrists and pulled his arms apart. Looking to his sides, he saw Kuma and Uma standing, covered in dirt but looking relatively unharmed. Goro felt his legs being pulled from under him, and he fell to his knees. Turning his head, he saw Aka and Jōchō using water ropes to hold his legs. "What the hell… How are you still alive?!"

"You really need to work on not underestimating your opponent," Kuma said.

"I guess it doesn't matter now, since you're going to die," Uma said with a sigh.

"Die? Me?!" Goro laughed loudly "I can't die, don't you get it?"

"We've already found your weakness, fool," Jōchō growled. "You're finished."

The Kirigakure hunter-nin sent electricity flowing through their water ropes. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" Four jets of water slammed into the golem. Combined with the electricity, they caused his body to begin to deteriorate.

"I can't… Hold my form…!" The flame in the golem's chest was fully exposed, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "No… NO!"

From out of the ground, Hoshi sprung forth. In his hand was a large torrent of water. "Suiton: Hahonryū!" The water smashed into the flame with a loud hiss and a burst of steam. The light in the golem's eyeholes blinked and then faded out, and its body went limp.

The ninja stood triumphant over their foe, with Hoshi slightly shaky on his feet and out of breath. Kuma gave him a slap on the back that almost made him fall over. "Good going, Hoshi-kun," he said with a laugh. "Even I didn't know where the original was!"

"Yes, yes, fine. He did well," Aka said dismissively. "We need to find Nizuo's original body so we can destroy it and take the head. I'm ready to be done here."

Uma pointed. "Over there, I can see his body through the trees. Let's take care of it."

Jōchō walked over to Hoshi. "Well done, boy," the old man said, taking off his mask to reveal a gruff smile.

"Thank you, Jiichan," Hoshi said, pulling off his own mask and smiling back.

It was late in the night when Hoshi finally climbed into bed. He had had a long few days, but now he could finally rest a while. Kuma, his roommate, was already snoring loudly in his own bed. By the light of his candle, Hoshi looked through his Bingo Book. He needed to find a big target. Something that would get him the recognition he really wanted. Scanning the names, his eyes finally fell on one. This is it, he said. This is the one. He knew the name. This was a big-time criminal, someone any ANBU agent knew about. The villages had been keeping an eye on the organization this man belonged to for a while, but Hoshi had heard rumors that sometimes the Kages employed the members to do work for them. Even so, if Hoshi took out this man, no one could deny him any longer. He'd go down in history as one of the greatest hunter-nin that ever lived. Closing the book and blowing out the candle, Hoshi laid down and closed his eyes. He said the name once before drifting off to sleep. "Kakuzu."

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Hello everyone! I'm starting this new Naruto fanfiction. I hope you enjoy it. Also, this story will be collaborating with Fitz - Catsby's Trauma fanfic in the future, so go ahead and read that one. Anyway, hope you liked this. Stick around for part II coming soon(ish?).