Anime-Titan proudly presents:
The Perfect Lotus
Chapter 1 – Attack at the Outpost
Lee had no idea where he and his team were being led, or what was going to happen when they got there. Just a few short minutes ago Lee was being bombarded with gossip and random chit-chat by Tenten while trying to go though his morning calisthenics, when Neji ran towards them saying their team had orders to assemble for a mission. All three bolted to the village gates where Gai waited. Once they were all together Gai quickly motioned for them to follow him with a swing of his arm and took off into the forest beyond. Lee had never known Gai to be so close-lipped, which he attributed to nerves. Usually when they were about to start a mission Gai would go on and on about information regarding places they'd go and people they'd encounter, often going on tangents which Lee and Tenten fully enjoyed. What really got Lee worried about all this is that Gai only got nervous in the direst of situations. No ninja in their right mind liked going into any situation blind but if there was information that they needed to know they would have heard it already, after all part of the duty of a ninja is to understand the need for secrets.
As they flew almost silently though the trees, Lee had a chance to recount the last few years of his life. He was nineteen years old now, and he, Neji and Tenten had grown into superb Chuunins, as well as fine people and good friends. Their abilities had already become near-famous across the land with acquaintances of the leaf, friends and enemies alike. Lee had always been proud to work with them. Gai had always been a great leader and wise teacher for Lee and the others, and even though he'd commanded them on many missions in the past, Gai's relationship with Lee as a mentor had always been stronger then the connection between commander and subordinate.
They moved as fast as they could for what seemed like three or more hours before they suddenly stopped. Gai crouched on a high branch overlooking a small clearing. Lee and the others joined him on his perch as they peered in to survey the scene. They immediately noticed a stone structure in the middle of the clearing. The building wasn't very large and it seemed to resemble a bunker or tomb of some sort. Lee had only a few seconds to wonder what it could be before Gai snapped for attention.
"Ok, I'll tell you what I can before we head in but this is all top-secret information and strictly on a need-to-know basis, understood?" Everyone sharply nodded. Gai continued. "Good. This bunker is a very precious secret dating back to before the birth of Konoha. Inside there is an important relic that must be guarded at all costs. Our opposition is a band of ninjas supposedly working for the Akatsuki. The two Anbu guards were overpowered but one managed to return to the village and report to us. Our mission is to retake the bunker by any means necessary. An Anbu squad will be here before long but one was not available when all this transpired, so we were sent here to retake the instillation and hold it until the Anbu arrive. Needless to say time is of the essence. We don't have any info about their numbers of strength. Lee, because of the severe nature of this mission I'll allow you to take off your weights, we need you at your best and this is not the time to hold back. Everyone be on your guard, Understood?" Everyone nodded again, this time with a bit of trepidation though, it's never easy going into a situation with this little information about who you'll be facing or what you'll find inside. Gai looked at them for a split second as if he'd just signed their death warrants. He let out a short sigh, "Good. Please be careful." Gai turned and primed to lead them into the fray when he remembered something of the utmost importance. He stopped them from leaving and got their attention once again, "One more thing, under no circumstances are you to touch the relic, it is exceedingly dangerous. Ok…let's go!"
Lee quickly detached his weights. Over the years he's not only increased the weight but has also started wearing weights on the rest of his body. Needless to say this had amplified his performance exceptionally. He vigilantly removed the weights and placed them at the bottom of the trunk. Lee loved the sensation of taking off all that weight. He enjoyed the constant workout they provided but there was always a pleasant sense of power when it was all removed. He grinned faintly before leaping, soaring into the sky, though the canopy and landing on top of the mysterious bunker.
The Bunker's exterior was very uninspired. It was made of tan brick and was square in shape. There were two levels, each holding one room and each had a walkway that ran around the entire structure. Every side of the structure had one entrance into the building, but there weren't any doors to speak of. There was a guard on the ground and the second level. Lee hid on the roof until he saw Neji take out the ground target, then Lee sprang on the guard he'd been observing, bringing his left heel down on his shoulder, knocking him out instantaneously. Lee signaled to the others that his target was out of the picture and that he was ready to enter the bunker. He jumped down to meet the others as they proceeded to enter the structure.
The floor room was empty except for a metal hatch in the middle of the floor. Gai wasted no time in lifting the cover and motioning for his team to enter. They found themselves in a very narrow passageway that led down underground. The hall also twisted in many different directions. They walked swiftly but also took care not to run into any traps. They found disarmed traps along the way but oddly there was nothing set for them. Gai explained these were set by the Anbu guards and they must have been disarmed by the intruders. They had to be a good 50 stories underground before they got to the end of the hall. They entered a large triangular pyramid-like room. The room was about 50 meters from end to wall, there were many torches lining the walls as there were in the hallway so the room was well lit. There was nowhere in a room like this for someone to hide so an ambush wasn't likely at first glance, however they knew that the intruders were here somewhere so nobody was about to lower their guard. On the far end of the room in the corner was a heavy black steel door, which the team slowly made its way over to.
Neji started performing hand seals and activated the Byakugan. He scanned the room gradually and noticed something abnormal. There seemed to be these four blurry transparent forms surrounding them. After approaching one of them he noticed the blur shifted slightly. Neji also noticed that the other blurs were slowly closing in on his team. Neji suddenly realized that these blurs were in fact the invading ninja they were sent to counter. Neji hopped into the middle of the room and yelled, "JUMP! Without hesitating the team minus Neji leaped into the air. The chamber they were in had a very high ceiling so they managed to get about 3 stories high when Neji began to spin at an amazing rate.
"Eight Divinations Palm Heavenly Spin!" called out Neji. Immediately an enormous amount of wind and chakra poured out of Neji and formed a spinning sphere of white-blue destruction. The sphere grew in size and intensity until it burst, knocking the four blurs against the walls. When Lee and his team landed the only thing left standing was Neji in a slight crater he left at his feet. Neji gestured to the walls as the blurs shimmered and revealed four ninjas, all with the forehead protector of the hidden village of the Sound.
"I see," said Gai softly to himself, "…so they must be Orochimaru's men. They must have been using a new kind of ninjutsu, one that cloaks the user and makes them clear as crystal. Everyone attack!"
Lee, Neji, Tenten and Gai each chose a target and sprang on them.
Lee's foe was making a break for the far door but he was halted after narrowly dodging a flying kick by Lee. After a few exchanges Lee noticed his adversary was formidable in hand-to-hand combat, this was definitely a chuunin, or perhaps even a jounin, maybe even their leader. Even without his weights in direct combat this ninja could just about match Lee's speed. Lee leaped onto the walls dodging a flurry of shuriken before jumping off and redirecting straight towards his opponent. Lee decided to take him out in one hit and dashed right at him, staying incredibly low to avoid conventional defences. His mysterious foe grabbed a small round ball from his belt and threw it at Lee. Lee was traveling much too fast to avoid the object and collided with it face-first. The object burst open and let out pitch black soot that blinded Lee for a moment. Lee staggered and heard his opponent run towards the far door. He grabbed a small bottle of water he had in his pouch and splashed it in his eyes, attempting to clear his vision so he could pursue. The water didn't do much but eventually Lee was able to clear away the black agent, but not before his opponent closed and locked the heavy black metal door behind him.
"Lee!" Gai called out, still in the heat of battle with his opponent, "Go after him. He's going for the relic. You have to stop him!" Lee realized that to defeat him he'd have to do something a bit extreme. Lee closed his eyes and focused, willing the initial inner celestial gate open. Over the years he had trained to the point where opening the first three or four gates wasn't harmful compared to what it used to have been for him, but in any case it wasn't wise to waste time in this situation. Gai saw Lee disappear and a fraction of an instant later the door on the far end of the room was ripped off its hinges and thrown aside.
Gai, Neji and Tenten had their hands full for the most part. These were unquestionably powerful foes they were taking on, they had to be tough to defeat the previous Anbu guard. While Neji used his Jyuken skills to professionally disable his opponent's chakra holes, he was also doing extensive damage to his internal organs and inner coils system. With only what looked like the slightest contact Neji sent his target reeling in pain, spewing his own blood from his mouth and other wounds. Gai was fairing equally well. His vigour and swiftness were immensely advanced to his opponent's. Gai and Neji had both their enemies locked in a defensive stance, all they needed to do is finish them off.
Tenten wasn't fairing as well. Tenten's skill with weapons seemed to be enough to create a deadlock with her opponent. The huge Sound ninja she was facing was also a weapons user however, and had an obvious advantage in upper body strength. While Tenten's speed was keeping him at bay, she needed a way to best him hastily, one false step and she'd be right under the might of his giant lustrous combat axe. Tenten knew what she had to do. She began to dart around with a purpose other then just avoidance. She needed to put some distance between them. After a few minutes of dashing and weaving around she managed to place him in the center of the room.
"Now!" she thought to herself, She jumped back in the direction of the wall, while in midair she tossed what weapons she had left on her to keep him in that spot. This was only going to work once, it had to, or else she'd be finished. As she landed she quickly removed two scrolls from her side and positioned them beside her as she crouched. The small scrolls stood there on their ends as Tenten vanished. As the Sound ninja stood there on his guard, axe held at the ready, the scrolls unravelled as if by an invisible hand, they started to burn with an aquamarine flame and then shot into the air spiralling around each other, trailing the unravelled paper behind them. The Sound ninja could have sworn that they looked like two dragons in some kind of grand clash as they rose into the air. They hovered there rotating in a double-helix until Tenten reappeared suspended amid the scrolls. The Sound ninja watched as her hands lightly traced the scrolls and out of oblivion appeared bladed weaponry of all kinds.
"Experience the ferocity of my Twin Rising Dragons!" Tenten called out to her target as she began throwing an unremitting torrent of her mysterious bladed tools of fatality. The pace at which she launched them proved to be too fast for the sound ninja to fully circumvent or counter. He began to suffer wounds all over his bulk, some just minor cuts but others were deep gashes, and the more Tenten threw at him the more damage was inflicted and the more the sound ninja tired. Then as unexpectedly as the onslaught started, it ended. All Tenten's arms were laying on the ground behind the Sound ninja, save a few that were stuck in the ninja himself. The weary Sound ninja was just about to start his counter-strike when he noticed something strange, Tenten was still suspended in midair with her scrolls, and her hands were outstretched towards him.
Tenten chuckled a bit, "Sorry, but this is the part where you die." The sound ninja only had a second to ponder her words before he heard something shift behind him. All the weapons that had missed him were no longer lying on the floor or embedded in it, rather they were suspended a few inches above the ground pointed at him! Before the ninja could speak a word or even turn around, Tenten pulled her extended hands in and sent all those dozens of shimmering blades into the sound ninja's back, literally tearing him apart.
As soon as Tenten's scrolls wound up and she had landed, she noticed Neji and Gai had already finished their opponents off and were dragging what was left of them into the corner. Tenten looked around for Lee but couldn't find him. Before she had a chance to ask she saw Gai and Neji running towards the door.
"Lee went after the last sound ninja, he was headed for the relic! We have to hurry, Lee could be in grave danger!" Gai called out. They all dashed through the door Lee had torn off and moved down a long passage. All they could think about was getting there in time to help Lee. When they were still a new genin team, Lee was still to some extent weak, so during that time Gai and Tenten developed an uneasy feeling when they knew Lee was in extraordinarily perilous circumstances. They all knew how strong Lee was now, but that same uneasy sense seemed to pop up every so often on missions like this. The longer they realized the tunnel was, the more disconcerted they got.
Lee moved as fast as he could down the corridor. He could see a kaleidoscope of light, hums and chime sounds coming from the end of the hall, Lee knew that his adversary was already there. When Lee reached the end he couldn't help but stop and be awe-struck. Before him was a dome-shaped chamber about half the size of the triangle room, and this time instead of just brick and torches the dome seemed to have been moulded out of terracotta. What astonished Lee was that all around danced what seemed to be symbols and seals, all humming and chiming, glowing an incredibly brilliant rainbow of colours. The only thing illuminating the room were the symbols themselves. The glowing pseudo-calligraphy danced on the walls, the floor and even in midair in some kind of lovely and intricate ballet. Lee would have cherished a chance to just watch the show for a few hours but he knew he had more pressing concerns. In the middle of the floor was a pedestal that that looked like it grew out of the floor itself. On it was a very large scroll. There was no uncertainty in Lee's mind that this was the relic his squad was here to protect. The scroll was luminescent with the same light and symbols that were flooding the chamber, and next to the scroll was the Lee's foe, about to lay a hand on the scroll.
Before Lee could call out a rupture of energy came out of the scroll and threw the ninja against the wall hard. Lee recognized the energy as resembling the Chidori used by Kakashi and Sasuke, yet it acted more like a pulse or shockwave. Perhaps it was some kind of security device. Now Lee understood why they were told not to touch it. Lee watched as the Sound ninja slowly got up and walked again towards the scroll. Lee dashed into the chamber, putting himself between the ninja and the scroll, his hand already extended in the direction of his opponent.
"Stop right there. You're not laying one more finger on this scroll. This is Konoha property and you're not welcome here. Go back to wherever it is you came from and tell whoever sent you that The Azure beast of Konoha ruined your plans." Lee couldn't help but grin, but he was already starting to feel his body complain from the open gate, he had to finish this off quick and go help the others if he could.
The Sound ninja looked bemused and snickered. "Konoha property? You're joking right? You don't know anything about what this scroll is do you. Well I shouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't tell you leaf drones anything. Doesn't matter I suppose, you know you can't defeat me."
Lee was happy to see that over-confidant face on his adversary, it meant that he had no idea that Lee had amplified his fighting abilities so radically since they last met, that element of surprise could be what Lee really needed. Lee let his hands fall to his sides, he let it seem as if his body was relaxed and that he was giving up in some sense of hopelessness, it would help to catch his target off-guard. Suddenly Lee vanished and reappeared directly behind the trespasser. Lee watched him turn around and saw the look of shock on his face when Lee performed a somersault kick, sending him flying 20 feet.
Lee landed and got into his signature fighting stance, ready to spring again. "I bet that hurt…" Lee said tauntingly and the Sound ninja struggled to shake off the stun and get up. Before he could regain his footing Lee charged at him once again, this time planning on catching him in a lotus-type chain of attacks and finishing him off, however that's not what the sound ninja had in mind. Lee didn't have a lot of room to manoeuvre and the Sound ninja knew this. He predicted Lee would come straight at him and throw a punch, so when Lee did just that he was ready, he managed to clutch Lee's wrist and put him into a shoulder throw. Lee's speed combined with the sound ninja's strength was all the force needed to send Lee flying at an incredible velocity directly into the scroll.
The last thing the Sound ninja ever saw was Lee disappearing into a blinding aura of light, energy, pain, power and screams.
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©2004 Giancarlo Paniccia (PsycheDiver). All rights reserved.
http:anime-titan.avalon-city.com
Please do not use any of the material herein without the author's explicit written consent. Do not alter anything in this file. I've put alot of time, thought and energy into creating something people can enjoy so please don't mess around with it.
The characters, names, places, etc... within are the products of the fine people responsible for the Naruto series and I'm only borrowing them for fan use.
-----------------------------------
The Perfect Lotus
Chapter 1 – Attack at the Outpost
Lee had no idea where he and his team were being led, or what was going to happen when they got there. Just a few short minutes ago Lee was being bombarded with gossip and random chit-chat by Tenten while trying to go though his morning calisthenics, when Neji ran towards them saying their team had orders to assemble for a mission. All three bolted to the village gates where Gai waited. Once they were all together Gai quickly motioned for them to follow him with a swing of his arm and took off into the forest beyond. Lee had never known Gai to be so close-lipped, which he attributed to nerves. Usually when they were about to start a mission Gai would go on and on about information regarding places they'd go and people they'd encounter, often going on tangents which Lee and Tenten fully enjoyed. What really got Lee worried about all this is that Gai only got nervous in the direst of situations. No ninja in their right mind liked going into any situation blind but if there was information that they needed to know they would have heard it already, after all part of the duty of a ninja is to understand the need for secrets.
As they flew almost silently though the trees, Lee had a chance to recount the last few years of his life. He was nineteen years old now, and he, Neji and Tenten had grown into superb Chuunins, as well as fine people and good friends. Their abilities had already become near-famous across the land with acquaintances of the leaf, friends and enemies alike. Lee had always been proud to work with them. Gai had always been a great leader and wise teacher for Lee and the others, and even though he'd commanded them on many missions in the past, Gai's relationship with Lee as a mentor had always been stronger then the connection between commander and subordinate.
They moved as fast as they could for what seemed like three or more hours before they suddenly stopped. Gai crouched on a high branch overlooking a small clearing. Lee and the others joined him on his perch as they peered in to survey the scene. They immediately noticed a stone structure in the middle of the clearing. The building wasn't very large and it seemed to resemble a bunker or tomb of some sort. Lee had only a few seconds to wonder what it could be before Gai snapped for attention.
"Ok, I'll tell you what I can before we head in but this is all top-secret information and strictly on a need-to-know basis, understood?" Everyone sharply nodded. Gai continued. "Good. This bunker is a very precious secret dating back to before the birth of Konoha. Inside there is an important relic that must be guarded at all costs. Our opposition is a band of ninjas supposedly working for the Akatsuki. The two Anbu guards were overpowered but one managed to return to the village and report to us. Our mission is to retake the bunker by any means necessary. An Anbu squad will be here before long but one was not available when all this transpired, so we were sent here to retake the instillation and hold it until the Anbu arrive. Needless to say time is of the essence. We don't have any info about their numbers of strength. Lee, because of the severe nature of this mission I'll allow you to take off your weights, we need you at your best and this is not the time to hold back. Everyone be on your guard, Understood?" Everyone nodded again, this time with a bit of trepidation though, it's never easy going into a situation with this little information about who you'll be facing or what you'll find inside. Gai looked at them for a split second as if he'd just signed their death warrants. He let out a short sigh, "Good. Please be careful." Gai turned and primed to lead them into the fray when he remembered something of the utmost importance. He stopped them from leaving and got their attention once again, "One more thing, under no circumstances are you to touch the relic, it is exceedingly dangerous. Ok…let's go!"
Lee quickly detached his weights. Over the years he's not only increased the weight but has also started wearing weights on the rest of his body. Needless to say this had amplified his performance exceptionally. He vigilantly removed the weights and placed them at the bottom of the trunk. Lee loved the sensation of taking off all that weight. He enjoyed the constant workout they provided but there was always a pleasant sense of power when it was all removed. He grinned faintly before leaping, soaring into the sky, though the canopy and landing on top of the mysterious bunker.
The Bunker's exterior was very uninspired. It was made of tan brick and was square in shape. There were two levels, each holding one room and each had a walkway that ran around the entire structure. Every side of the structure had one entrance into the building, but there weren't any doors to speak of. There was a guard on the ground and the second level. Lee hid on the roof until he saw Neji take out the ground target, then Lee sprang on the guard he'd been observing, bringing his left heel down on his shoulder, knocking him out instantaneously. Lee signaled to the others that his target was out of the picture and that he was ready to enter the bunker. He jumped down to meet the others as they proceeded to enter the structure.
The floor room was empty except for a metal hatch in the middle of the floor. Gai wasted no time in lifting the cover and motioning for his team to enter. They found themselves in a very narrow passageway that led down underground. The hall also twisted in many different directions. They walked swiftly but also took care not to run into any traps. They found disarmed traps along the way but oddly there was nothing set for them. Gai explained these were set by the Anbu guards and they must have been disarmed by the intruders. They had to be a good 50 stories underground before they got to the end of the hall. They entered a large triangular pyramid-like room. The room was about 50 meters from end to wall, there were many torches lining the walls as there were in the hallway so the room was well lit. There was nowhere in a room like this for someone to hide so an ambush wasn't likely at first glance, however they knew that the intruders were here somewhere so nobody was about to lower their guard. On the far end of the room in the corner was a heavy black steel door, which the team slowly made its way over to.
Neji started performing hand seals and activated the Byakugan. He scanned the room gradually and noticed something abnormal. There seemed to be these four blurry transparent forms surrounding them. After approaching one of them he noticed the blur shifted slightly. Neji also noticed that the other blurs were slowly closing in on his team. Neji suddenly realized that these blurs were in fact the invading ninja they were sent to counter. Neji hopped into the middle of the room and yelled, "JUMP! Without hesitating the team minus Neji leaped into the air. The chamber they were in had a very high ceiling so they managed to get about 3 stories high when Neji began to spin at an amazing rate.
"Eight Divinations Palm Heavenly Spin!" called out Neji. Immediately an enormous amount of wind and chakra poured out of Neji and formed a spinning sphere of white-blue destruction. The sphere grew in size and intensity until it burst, knocking the four blurs against the walls. When Lee and his team landed the only thing left standing was Neji in a slight crater he left at his feet. Neji gestured to the walls as the blurs shimmered and revealed four ninjas, all with the forehead protector of the hidden village of the Sound.
"I see," said Gai softly to himself, "…so they must be Orochimaru's men. They must have been using a new kind of ninjutsu, one that cloaks the user and makes them clear as crystal. Everyone attack!"
Lee, Neji, Tenten and Gai each chose a target and sprang on them.
Lee's foe was making a break for the far door but he was halted after narrowly dodging a flying kick by Lee. After a few exchanges Lee noticed his adversary was formidable in hand-to-hand combat, this was definitely a chuunin, or perhaps even a jounin, maybe even their leader. Even without his weights in direct combat this ninja could just about match Lee's speed. Lee leaped onto the walls dodging a flurry of shuriken before jumping off and redirecting straight towards his opponent. Lee decided to take him out in one hit and dashed right at him, staying incredibly low to avoid conventional defences. His mysterious foe grabbed a small round ball from his belt and threw it at Lee. Lee was traveling much too fast to avoid the object and collided with it face-first. The object burst open and let out pitch black soot that blinded Lee for a moment. Lee staggered and heard his opponent run towards the far door. He grabbed a small bottle of water he had in his pouch and splashed it in his eyes, attempting to clear his vision so he could pursue. The water didn't do much but eventually Lee was able to clear away the black agent, but not before his opponent closed and locked the heavy black metal door behind him.
"Lee!" Gai called out, still in the heat of battle with his opponent, "Go after him. He's going for the relic. You have to stop him!" Lee realized that to defeat him he'd have to do something a bit extreme. Lee closed his eyes and focused, willing the initial inner celestial gate open. Over the years he had trained to the point where opening the first three or four gates wasn't harmful compared to what it used to have been for him, but in any case it wasn't wise to waste time in this situation. Gai saw Lee disappear and a fraction of an instant later the door on the far end of the room was ripped off its hinges and thrown aside.
Gai, Neji and Tenten had their hands full for the most part. These were unquestionably powerful foes they were taking on, they had to be tough to defeat the previous Anbu guard. While Neji used his Jyuken skills to professionally disable his opponent's chakra holes, he was also doing extensive damage to his internal organs and inner coils system. With only what looked like the slightest contact Neji sent his target reeling in pain, spewing his own blood from his mouth and other wounds. Gai was fairing equally well. His vigour and swiftness were immensely advanced to his opponent's. Gai and Neji had both their enemies locked in a defensive stance, all they needed to do is finish them off.
Tenten wasn't fairing as well. Tenten's skill with weapons seemed to be enough to create a deadlock with her opponent. The huge Sound ninja she was facing was also a weapons user however, and had an obvious advantage in upper body strength. While Tenten's speed was keeping him at bay, she needed a way to best him hastily, one false step and she'd be right under the might of his giant lustrous combat axe. Tenten knew what she had to do. She began to dart around with a purpose other then just avoidance. She needed to put some distance between them. After a few minutes of dashing and weaving around she managed to place him in the center of the room.
"Now!" she thought to herself, She jumped back in the direction of the wall, while in midair she tossed what weapons she had left on her to keep him in that spot. This was only going to work once, it had to, or else she'd be finished. As she landed she quickly removed two scrolls from her side and positioned them beside her as she crouched. The small scrolls stood there on their ends as Tenten vanished. As the Sound ninja stood there on his guard, axe held at the ready, the scrolls unravelled as if by an invisible hand, they started to burn with an aquamarine flame and then shot into the air spiralling around each other, trailing the unravelled paper behind them. The Sound ninja could have sworn that they looked like two dragons in some kind of grand clash as they rose into the air. They hovered there rotating in a double-helix until Tenten reappeared suspended amid the scrolls. The Sound ninja watched as her hands lightly traced the scrolls and out of oblivion appeared bladed weaponry of all kinds.
"Experience the ferocity of my Twin Rising Dragons!" Tenten called out to her target as she began throwing an unremitting torrent of her mysterious bladed tools of fatality. The pace at which she launched them proved to be too fast for the sound ninja to fully circumvent or counter. He began to suffer wounds all over his bulk, some just minor cuts but others were deep gashes, and the more Tenten threw at him the more damage was inflicted and the more the sound ninja tired. Then as unexpectedly as the onslaught started, it ended. All Tenten's arms were laying on the ground behind the Sound ninja, save a few that were stuck in the ninja himself. The weary Sound ninja was just about to start his counter-strike when he noticed something strange, Tenten was still suspended in midair with her scrolls, and her hands were outstretched towards him.
Tenten chuckled a bit, "Sorry, but this is the part where you die." The sound ninja only had a second to ponder her words before he heard something shift behind him. All the weapons that had missed him were no longer lying on the floor or embedded in it, rather they were suspended a few inches above the ground pointed at him! Before the ninja could speak a word or even turn around, Tenten pulled her extended hands in and sent all those dozens of shimmering blades into the sound ninja's back, literally tearing him apart.
As soon as Tenten's scrolls wound up and she had landed, she noticed Neji and Gai had already finished their opponents off and were dragging what was left of them into the corner. Tenten looked around for Lee but couldn't find him. Before she had a chance to ask she saw Gai and Neji running towards the door.
"Lee went after the last sound ninja, he was headed for the relic! We have to hurry, Lee could be in grave danger!" Gai called out. They all dashed through the door Lee had torn off and moved down a long passage. All they could think about was getting there in time to help Lee. When they were still a new genin team, Lee was still to some extent weak, so during that time Gai and Tenten developed an uneasy feeling when they knew Lee was in extraordinarily perilous circumstances. They all knew how strong Lee was now, but that same uneasy sense seemed to pop up every so often on missions like this. The longer they realized the tunnel was, the more disconcerted they got.
Lee moved as fast as he could down the corridor. He could see a kaleidoscope of light, hums and chime sounds coming from the end of the hall, Lee knew that his adversary was already there. When Lee reached the end he couldn't help but stop and be awe-struck. Before him was a dome-shaped chamber about half the size of the triangle room, and this time instead of just brick and torches the dome seemed to have been moulded out of terracotta. What astonished Lee was that all around danced what seemed to be symbols and seals, all humming and chiming, glowing an incredibly brilliant rainbow of colours. The only thing illuminating the room were the symbols themselves. The glowing pseudo-calligraphy danced on the walls, the floor and even in midair in some kind of lovely and intricate ballet. Lee would have cherished a chance to just watch the show for a few hours but he knew he had more pressing concerns. In the middle of the floor was a pedestal that that looked like it grew out of the floor itself. On it was a very large scroll. There was no uncertainty in Lee's mind that this was the relic his squad was here to protect. The scroll was luminescent with the same light and symbols that were flooding the chamber, and next to the scroll was the Lee's foe, about to lay a hand on the scroll.
Before Lee could call out a rupture of energy came out of the scroll and threw the ninja against the wall hard. Lee recognized the energy as resembling the Chidori used by Kakashi and Sasuke, yet it acted more like a pulse or shockwave. Perhaps it was some kind of security device. Now Lee understood why they were told not to touch it. Lee watched as the Sound ninja slowly got up and walked again towards the scroll. Lee dashed into the chamber, putting himself between the ninja and the scroll, his hand already extended in the direction of his opponent.
"Stop right there. You're not laying one more finger on this scroll. This is Konoha property and you're not welcome here. Go back to wherever it is you came from and tell whoever sent you that The Azure beast of Konoha ruined your plans." Lee couldn't help but grin, but he was already starting to feel his body complain from the open gate, he had to finish this off quick and go help the others if he could.
The Sound ninja looked bemused and snickered. "Konoha property? You're joking right? You don't know anything about what this scroll is do you. Well I shouldn't be surprised that they wouldn't tell you leaf drones anything. Doesn't matter I suppose, you know you can't defeat me."
Lee was happy to see that over-confidant face on his adversary, it meant that he had no idea that Lee had amplified his fighting abilities so radically since they last met, that element of surprise could be what Lee really needed. Lee let his hands fall to his sides, he let it seem as if his body was relaxed and that he was giving up in some sense of hopelessness, it would help to catch his target off-guard. Suddenly Lee vanished and reappeared directly behind the trespasser. Lee watched him turn around and saw the look of shock on his face when Lee performed a somersault kick, sending him flying 20 feet.
Lee landed and got into his signature fighting stance, ready to spring again. "I bet that hurt…" Lee said tauntingly and the Sound ninja struggled to shake off the stun and get up. Before he could regain his footing Lee charged at him once again, this time planning on catching him in a lotus-type chain of attacks and finishing him off, however that's not what the sound ninja had in mind. Lee didn't have a lot of room to manoeuvre and the Sound ninja knew this. He predicted Lee would come straight at him and throw a punch, so when Lee did just that he was ready, he managed to clutch Lee's wrist and put him into a shoulder throw. Lee's speed combined with the sound ninja's strength was all the force needed to send Lee flying at an incredible velocity directly into the scroll.
The last thing the Sound ninja ever saw was Lee disappearing into a blinding aura of light, energy, pain, power and screams.
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©2004 Giancarlo Paniccia (PsycheDiver). All rights reserved.
http:anime-titan.avalon-city.com
Please do not use any of the material herein without the author's explicit written consent. Do not alter anything in this file. I've put alot of time, thought and energy into creating something people can enjoy so please don't mess around with it.
The characters, names, places, etc... within are the products of the fine people responsible for the Naruto series and I'm only borrowing them for fan use.
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