Destroying Angel: The Legend of Tenten

by Uskius

After the 4th Ninja War, Tenten needs some time off duty to relax and unwind. Thinking she'll simply be camping in the woods near Konoha, she instead returns to a place she hates... The sequel to Genocide Soldier: The Legend of Tenten, which I recommend reading before this.

**Author's Note** Here I go again, sticking on a sequel where I don't really need to. After having the name of a deadly poisonous mushroom in my head for a while, I thought it would make a cool over-the-top nickname for Tenten. This story ended up not being as ridiculous as Genocide Soldier, except maybe in the combat scenes, so be prepared for that. Also, there are a few songs that I thought might fit with certain themes and emotions of the story: Stars, by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals; Disposable Heroes, by Metallica; The Range of Light trilogy by Jakob Eisenbach, Kung Fu Piano: Cello Rising by The Piano Guys, and Somewhere Only We Know, by Keane. Without further ado:

Destroying Angel: The Legend of Tenten

Tenten looked at the picture, and she began to weep painfully and silently, as if she was an old widow. I can't do this right now, I just can't... After drifting around in the memories for a few more minutes, Tenten wiped her tears away and stood up. "I'll go now..." Slipping on some sandals, Tenten left her apartment and headed for the Hokage Tower. She received friendly and excited waves from the Konoha ninja she passed on the way, her exploits in the Land of Frost somehow having spread like wildfire amongst her peers, despite the mission being top secret. Tenten didn't like to dwell on that mission and the tense moments where she had lost herself in the bloodlust of battle, where she had strained relationships new and old. Altogether, the ordeal at Nakamura Pass seemed almost as if it was a fairy tale, a myth told about some ninja other than herself. Before long Tenten dipped into the alleys and took to the rooftops to avoid contact with her fellow ninja. From there, she sped along to the tower.

She couldn't avoid meeting ninja in the tower, though. She received a friendly pat on the back from Iruka, who was on his way out to somewhere. She got a nod from Ibiki Morino, who was carrying a few sheets of paper with him as he sternly walked down the stairs. And as she came up to the mission room, a few new young chunin even pointed and stared. How does Naruto deal with being so famous, it's unbearable... She pushed open the door and slipped in, earning a few puzzled looks from nearby ninja. Patiently she waited, until she was in front of Tsunade.

"Tenten? You're not dressed for duty..." The Hokage noted, seeing Tenten's simple uniform pants and t-shirt, her hair down from her usual buns.

"A- about that, Lady Tsunade... I'm... officially requesting a furlough." The Slug Princess' eyebrows raised. "After the Nakamura Pass mission and everything that happened during the war, I... just need some time away." Tenten was afraid of Tsunade's response, but surprisingly the Hokage nodded.

"I felt the same way after Dan passed away," Tsunade began, noting that it seemed Tenten had been crying recently. "But there wasn't any time to rest back then. Now, there is. I think you've more than earned it, Tenten. Request for furlough approved."

"Thank you Lady Tsunade." Tenten bowed, and began to turn away.

"Tenten!"

"Ah, yes, Lady Tsunade?"

"I'd like to have a few quick words with you later today. Meet me in my office after lunch, please."

"Yes ma'am."

c=={=======

Tenten spent the rest of the morning watching Game of Thrones, at one point replaying the part where Tyrion slapped Joffrey for about ten minutes. But mid episode, she noticed it was almost time to head to Tsunade's office, so she slipped on her ninja sandals and got ready to go. She felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, that she was able to breathe a little easier, and lightly skipped across the rooftops on her way to the office.

She again got odd looks from some of the ninja she passed, who were surprised to see her out of uniform and heading to the Hokage's office. Tenten resolutely kept her eyes on the floor until she reached the office. She knocked and entered. "Tenten! Come on over!" Waved Tsunade. Shizune stood next to the Hokage, wearing an easy smile on her face. "So, have you thought of where you're going to go?"

"Probably just outside the village, somewhere in the woods."

Tsunade nodded, and opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a few scrolls, handing them to Tenten. "Here are some scrolls to study at your leisure. The peace and quiet will help, I'm sure, but I have a feeling you're going to need something to do after the first few days." Seeing Tenten's questioning look, Tsunade further explained, "They contain a variety of jutsu, I thought they'd fall nicely in line with your style."

"Oh, uh..."

"You don't need to worry about returning them, Tenten. Most of the jutsu in there are passed down orally now, and those scrolls in particular haven't been out of the library in years." Then a sly smirk crossed Tsunade's face. "Now how about a bet? In one of those scrolls there's a certain jutsu I've marked out; if you can master it by the time you return I'll octuple your pay from your next mission."

This gave Tenten pause. With the pay(and Tsunade's surprise bonus) from the Nakamura Pass mission, Tenten was, well, filthy rich, so this had to be an S rank, legendary jutsu for Tsunade to make that kind of offer. "What's the catch?"

"There is none, the jutsu is that difficult." Tsunade kept up her smirk.

"Deal." Tsunade grinned, and Shizune leaned forwards to hand a small scroll to Tenten. I was about the size of her palm, the outside black with gold trim.

"I found it behind the scrolls Lady Tsunade sent for," Shizune said. "Who knows? Maybe these lost techniques will bring you good luck." There was a brief suspicious look on Tsunade's face, as if she knew why that scroll had been hidden, or perhaps she was curious as to why Shizune had selected it for Tenten.

"Well, that's all we had for you, I think." Tsunade said, with a glance at Shizune. "But if you need anything, send us a messenger bird and we'll do our best to help."

Tenten was momentarily at a loss for words at the display of generosity, and with some effort forced out a small "Thank you." She bowed, and exited the room before the moment could go on too long. She raced back to her apartment taken with a sudden desire to pack and get out of the village as fast as possible. She gathered her weapon scrolls and camping gear, then paused for a second. What if I need anything to practice those jutsu? Randomly picking one of the scrolls Tsunade gifted her with, Tenten had a look inside. Oh, sealing jutsu! I, I guess that does fit in with my style... what about these other two... shuriken jutsu, yeah that definitely fits with me... and this last one... Earth Style jutsu. I'll wait a little while to check out the one from Shizune. Alright. Guess I'll pick up some extra tools and ink and paper on the way out. After a moment's hesitation Tenten put on her flak jacket, simply because it had pockets.

The cashier at the ninja tools store refused her payments, even when Tenten insisted on doing so. He also threw in a katana with a dark blade that seemed to absorb light for free, which Tenten accepted with a bit of reluctance. She didn't really care for freebies, not when she had plenty of money and was willing to pay. The man at the paper shop was a bit better about this, although he still pushed a new brand of quick drying ink on Tenten at what she suspected was a discount. Wait, of course I get a discount- all Konoha ninja do, duh. With all her supplies packed and ready, Tenten began to walk, then jog, and then run out of Konoha, veering off in a random direction once she passed the gates. She picked up her pace, going full speed into the forest.

c=={=======

The first night was spent trying not to cry. Tenten fought it for as long as she could, but eventually cracked and the tears came raging out. She thought of Neji, and the other faithful Konoha ninja who had lost their lives in the war. After what felt like hours the tide slowed, and Tenten was able to sleep.

Upon waking she went into her morning exercise, defending herself from imaginary assassins, this morning being beset by three. Two had katanas, and the third was throwing shuriken from a distance. She was able to deflect one into a katana-wielding killer, and pulled that one in front of her as she cut the leg of the other, soon cutting the sword arm and stabbing up through its ribcage, taking out one of her own shuriken and making a precise throw to the fleeing assassin's jugular. Feeling ready to eat, she got out her jerky and water bottle, chewing through a few strips of the jerky before eating a food pill. Not feeling like she was where she needed to be yet, Tenten packed up her tent, kicked dirt over her campfire, and raced off again. Tenten ran all day, only stopping to drink from her water bottle. Her feet carried to the North-East, along some unmarked but remembered path. The second stop was a day later. Tenten's heart began to burn, and she cried as she ran, faster and farther. She was tired, hungry and thirsty, but she pressed on, until in the late afternoon she simply collapsed. She fumbled for her water bottle, clumsily gulping down what she could. After several minutes on the ground catching her breath and resting, she slowly began setting up her tent and making a camp fire.

Chewing some unicorn jerky while she waited for her soup to warm up, Tenten got out one of the scrolls from Tsunade. It was the shuriken jutsu one, and rolling out to a random point, Tenten's eyes settled on a jutsu marked as Assault Blade. "-From his hand and into the shuriken or other handheld tool, at a strength so that the shuriken may be manipulated as if held..." "That's it? No hand seals or anything?" Tenten asked herself. She glanced to her spoon in the empty soup bowl, and picked it up. Focusing her chakra into the spoon, she tried to float it up, but instead the ends bent upwards. With a frown she checked the scroll again. Ah, AND into the surrounding area... skipped that part. This try was more successful, as the spoon wobbled upwards a few inches. With more focus its ascent steadied, and Tenten started to move it around in a circle. That'll do for now. Tenten bent the spoon back into shape by hand and used it to get a taste of the soup, which was not quite warm enough yet. Tenten spent the next couple minutes thinking of how to apply her newly discovered jutsu. Start with my arms tied back, definitely. Then start working with it while I'm defending myself... Tenten took a last bite of the strip of unicorn jerky. Then at a distance, and then- oh! Soup's steaming. The simple vegetable and grain soup filled her up, the warmth lulling her to sleep. Tenten barely put out the fire and crawled inside her tent before she was out.

The next day Tenten rested the first couple hours of the morning, refining Assualt Blade with the kunai she kept under her pillow. It zipped to and fro inside her tent, then spun at a high speed, suddenly stopping moments later. It dropped into Tenten's hand, and she sat up, getting her tent ready to be packed. After rolling everything up and sealing it away, Tenten stopped to look at her surroundings: she was in the Land of Hot Springs, South-East of Yugakure. Realizing now where she had subconsciously been running to, Tenten frowned. I hate that place, but if something in me needs to see it I might as well go... And so the run was resumed, Tenten now taking the path her team had when she first visited Nakamura Pass. The memories of those days returned, but Tenten didn't start to tear up, though her mood lowered. The tree limbs she sprung off of reminded her of the ones she had planted explosive tags on, each stream brought her mind back to the river she had dammed up. During her brief stops to drink, Tenten continued her Assault Blade training, now being able to accurately aim and launch a kunai from a short distance away.

Tenten was well into the Land of Frost when twilight came. She still felt the pull towards Nakamura Pass. The waxing moon climbing into the sky reminded her of Neji's eye, and of the arguments they'd had before everything had been destroyed. Maybe, there could have been something more to us... but I was so scared.. it was too much for me back then, just like everything's too much right now. What's wrong with me?! Why can't I reach out when I'm afraid... I could have had him to help me through... I can't go on like this. Just DO something, Tenten! While she waited for another can of grain and vegetable soup to heat up, Tenten grabbed one of her new jutsu scrolls and opened it up. The sealing jutsu one... hmm, Five Seal Barrier. Wait- I know that one! Or what it does, at least... Tenten carefully studied the jutsu, what made it work as a whole and the five individual sealing tags; she didn't look up until she heard the soup boiling. She moved the pot off the fire, and continued reading- and by the time she was done, the soup was lukewarm and it was night. With a sigh, Tenten put the scroll down and ate, practicing drawing the seals for the Five Seal Barrier in the dirt. Soon Tenten settled into her tent, not sure what the next day would bring...

The dawn was bright, with no clouds in sight. Hurrying through packing up, Tenten ran off at full speed to the pass. In a handful of short and increasingly anxious minutes, the mountain came in sight, peeking up over the tops of the trees. Then about a quarter hour later, she was there: the river, the mountain and the valley, the forest, all just as she had remembered it. Unexpectedly Tenten sat down against a tree and cried, not from sadness but from an odd sort of relief. After all the tears were gone, Tenten felt clean, and took in the view of the pass. Her Earth Ramparts were still in place, and upon closer inspection her wires were also still in place. There were no stray Kumo forehead protectors or flak jackets in sight, though. Leaping across the river, Tenten came back to the old above ground camp site from the Nakamura Pass mission.

Might as well start here again... Tenten cleared out the firepit, set up her tent, and pulled up a few of the bushes nearby to have a clear space. Needs a bit more. Pulling out one of the logs from the old spike pit, Tenten set it next to the fire pit, and got to work dulling the sharp end. After all this time, this is the place I come back to... She thought, cutting through the pointy end. But at least I'll be able to relax out here. No Konoha ninja passing by on missions, no noise from a nearby village... In a few relatively short moments, the point was dulled and Tenten looked around her new camp. Aha! One more thing... Going through one of her storage scrolls, Tenten got out blank sealing tags and some ink. She prepared five Dragon Bomb traps, in preparation for the next batch of tags. She placed them on the trees nearby and on the Earth Rampart, not quite two running jumps apart. Taking off her flak jacket, she placed the fifth on the back inside of it. Next, Tenten prepared the Five Seal Barrier, placing those tags over the Dragon Bomb ones. So if they pull those off... wait. Wouldn't it be better if they didn't know they were there in the first place? So with that thought, Tenten disguised the Five Seal Barrier tags, hiding them from view under tree bark and mud, and the one on her flak jacket with some strips of cloth cut from one of her pants legs. Now I'll have a safe place to rest. Tenten breathed with a faint sense of accomplishment, and looked around her camp.

"She was right," Tenten said to herself. Now that I'm here I'm restless and need to do something. Feeling confident in her skill with the Assault Blade technique for the moment, Tenten pulled out one of her new jutsu scrolls and rolled it open. "Hmm, no; that one maybe tomorrow, and..." Tenten began to smile, seeing one of the jutsu she admired the most present on the scroll. "Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. Alright." Nodding, Tenten got out a few shuriken to practice...

c=={=======

That night Tenten dreamed of Neji: he was there at the pass with her, playing another ridiculous guitar solo on top of the mountain with lightning flashing in the background. She woke wearing a small, tired smile, and got ready for breakfast, the lone imaginary assassin being taken down with a sly kick to the groin and slice to the neck with a katana. Today it was simple oatmeal, no berries or anything else added, and after relieving herself Tenten faced the mountain. Why not? And so, taking the black katana that had been forced on her, Tenten set off for the mountain. Across the river and up the other side of the valley, through the brush and over the foothills, and finally to the great stone itself. She paused her, turning around and taking in the view behind her. The sight of the river valley and surrounding forest filled up her senses in a mysterious and powerful way. The climb up began, Tenten sometimes taking the easy path and sometimes going up exposed rock faces, pulling herself up with her grip strength. For a while she moved counter-clockwise around the mountain, looking far away towards the Land of Lightning and Kumo. As she was doing so her hand did not land on the mountainside next to the bush, but went into empty air. Tenten gave a small cry of surprise, then looked up: she had partially fallen into a large cave. After her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw at the far end a stone. She took a step towards it, then hesitated, pulling out a handful of shuriken and flinging them at the ground in the cave. Immediately a barrage of kunai flew from one side of the cave to the other, and a hole opened up in the middle, the ground crumbling away.

Cautiously, Tenten made her way towards the stone. There was rope tied around it with several sealing tags attached, leading to two nearby smaller stones with rope and sealing tags about them, as well. Tenten saw there was a certain finesse to the seals, a kind of dependence on each other like an interlocking puzzle; and after looking at the seals on the large main rock it almost made Tenten's mind ache to think of designing and then using this sealing jutsu. Rubbing her forehead and shaking her thoughts clear, she looked closely at the main rock, kneeling down to see. Some old inscription... a bit of it's eroded. "Here is sealed..." Hmm, Nakamura's something or other... wait! They must mean the Nakamura the pass was named after... Eroded, eroded, and... "Who displayed great valor in defending their village. We have decided to honor Nakamura and his kin by sealing Kawatatsu here." So Kawatatsu, huh. A summon beast, or a great weapon? Looking at the seals once more, something clicked in Tenten's mind. "That's it, they have to be undone in a certain order! That's a job for another day, though." Turning around, Tenten nearly had a heart attack. Take care of that before I leave. Working up her chakra, Tenten used a small version of the Earth Rampart jutsu, filling up the hole in the cave.

The descent went quickly. Bounding from boulder to boulder Tenten almost felt like she was flying at times. With a smile she landed at the base, and ran off back to camp. She rested and ate a few strips of unicorn jerky, before picking up a few shuriken and practicing the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique again. The hand seals came surprisingly easy; it was working her chakra for the shuriken clones that was the problem. She'd always thought making clones with inanimate objects would be similar to making illusory clones, something she could do almost without thought. Tenten checked the outlining of the jutsu again, and gave it another try. A small cloud of smoke puffed out from the shuriken, but still only one hit the tree. Damn it! Just think. Why isn't this working. What's the difference between a shuriken's mass and mine...? My chakra is in both of them, so... Tenten puzzled over this for a few minutes, before thinking up a possible solution. Alright, I've just been focusing on my internal chakra. I think I need to focus on what I'm putting into the shuriken. With this in mind Tenten tried again, throwing out another shuriken and stringing together the hand seals with great focus. This time, instead of one shuriken hitting the tree, several dozen did. Tenten smiled, and though she was a bit tired from the technique she pulled out another shuriken and prepared for another try. This one went smoother, and after several more times a random idea popped into her mind. Before acting on it Tenten collected all the loose shuriken, then went back to the line she'd been throwing behind. A shuriken was tossed to the dirt. Stretching out her hand Tenten used the Assault Blade technique, lifting up the shuriken to chest level and extending the reach of her chakra all the way to the target tree. Here we go! The shuriken shot forwards, Tenten went through the hand seals, and the projectile split many multiples of times, before sticking into the tree. "Not too bad, Tenten."

Smiling, Tenten decided to read through her jutsu scrolls and have another snack. The unicorn jerky was running low, so she got out a Double Chocolate Infinite Energy protein bar and nibbled on it as she rolled out the shuriken jutsu scroll. Let's look for that one Tsunade bet me I couldn't learn... Though she saw a few more useful jutsu on the scroll, there were no techniques marked out for her. So it's a sealing jutsu. Hmm... One scroll was rolled up and the other one opened, farther and farther until the ink abruptly switched to a faded black. There, not too long after the transition, was the jutsu, marked with a smiley face and "good luck!". She has to be kidding. Has to be. I mean, the theory is so advanced, and look at this! Not even a definite shape for the seal! And don't even get me started on the chakra control you need. Tenten looked away from the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, and sighed. No, don't give up yet. Haven't I learned three jutsu in a few days? Maybe I just need to think smarter and not harder. Tenten sighed again, and looked back down to the scroll. If I'm going to be camped out here learning jutsu, I can't think of a better one to master than this. Just break it down at each stage, work at it a little at a time. But until then, I'll just pick another and see if I can get any random insights from there... Rolling up and putting away the sealing jutsu scroll, Tenten got out the one she'd received from Shizune. Even just a few sections in there were a variety of different kinds of jutsu on the scroll. Passing through a long section of fire and lightning style jutsu, an odd seal popped out at Tenten.

A frown came over her face. ...so with that there, it would interefere with their chakra and cause some kind of separation between their coils and their body, anchoring it to the seal... interesting, but not as useful as an exploding tag... maybe, if it was on some kind of weapon... Remembering the weapon on her back, the black katana, Tenten decided to try putting the detachment seal onto it. She carefully went over the design of the seal, drawing each individual segment in the dirt with her finger. The circles are identical, these outer two. The inner ones are the same, too. Good. That helps... I think I can see how this works, I just need to bring in the outer circles to reduce the range to right around the blade. For a good hour Tenten practiced drawing the seal before drawing the black katana. Here we go... Focusing her chakra to a fine point at her fingertip, Tenten leaned low over the blade and began engraving. It was painstakingly slow work, the process perhaps more difficult than normal because of the scale. When Tenten looked up from placing the seal on her blade she checked the sun; it was now in the afternoon. Can barely see the seal formula even in the light. Perfect for a sword made for stealth. Taking extra care not to touch the blade, Tenten sheathed it and ducked back into her tent.

c=={=======

It was twilight now, and Tenten was roasting some fish she'd caught in the river. They were small things with silvery scales; she'd snatched them up in her net when a small school was passing by. While waiting for them to cook Tenten was whittling some sticks to use for wild game traps; her supply of food she'd brought wasn't going to last forever.

The Kumo ninja could see the smoke rising from over the tops of the ramparts. "I think that's them," Homboi said. The Kumo sensor type ninja was stuck on the messenger team against his will, and was elated that the mission would finally be over.

By order of the Raikage, every Kumo team that went through Nakamura Pass was required to have a sensor type shinobi on it. After the mass slaughter involving Tenten and Gurren Lagann, he flat-out stated it was suicidal to set foot in the area without a sensor type to scout it first. The problem was, so many sensor types had been lost in the campaign to expand the Land of Lightning's borders through Nakamura Pass that there were few left, and so any travel through the Land of Frost took the long way around, going closer to Shimo, the land's ninja village. The team lead, a Kumo chunin named Yaboi, nodded. "Alright. Homboi, check out the area first." Homboi had become one of the most sought after and trusted Kumo sensor types, being the sole one to survive The Great Nakamura Pass Disaster.

Calming himself and extending the reach of his chakra, Homboi detected the presence of a ninja. "Just one person."

Yaboi's bald head again nodded. "Let's jump down." The Kumo trio leapt over the edge of the ramparts and found, as Homboi had said, only one ninja present. Their back was to the team, and they didn't look over their shoulder as they approached. "Konoha ninja! This is the Kumo end of the treaty scroll relay! Where's the rest of your team?"

"There is no 'rest of my team'. I'm the only one out here," Tenten answered. The brief reply made Homboi's skin crawl, as he remembered Gurren Lagan would often show up out of nowhere.

"We were told we'd be met by a team of three, just like us." Said the third member of the Kumo team, a genin kunoichi with long dark hair. Her teammates murmured in assent, and stepped around to the other side of the campfire.

"Why would Konoha only send one?" Homboi asked.

"Listen, you three, I have no idea what treaty you're talking about. I'm not even an active ninja, I'm just... out here to think."

"You've come a long ways to be alone," Yaboi commented. "But I understand. I lost two of my brothers during the war." Tenten didn't reply and kept gazing at the fire and whittling her stick. After a long silence, Tenten spoke.

"If you want you three can wait here to see if the Konoha team shows up. I'll move out of your way to somewhere else." Shortly after Tenten finished her sentence, the Kumo kunoichi's stomach growled.

"Shanna," Yaboi scolded.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not a freak of nature like you two. I was so winded I could only catch my breath and get a few sips of water by the time you two were ready to run again."

In spite of herself, Tenten smiled a little. "You three are welcome to have some fish, I still have a little food left in my pack." The Kumo team nodded their thanks and each took two fish off the skewer.

"I swear this is the best thing I've ever had," Shanna swooned.

"Calm down, that's just because you're hungry." Yaboi said. After taking a bite of fish, he asked, "So, what made you choose Nakamura Pass?"

"There's just something about the place," Answered Tenten. "I was in the area on an awful mission once, and I thought I hated this place but... I came back."

Homboi nodded, and then froze mid-bite. "Hey, could you turn a little towards me?" Tenten obliged, and Homboi saw a faint scar on her cheek. He nearly choked on his fish, and spat out what was in his mouth. "Shit! Shit shit shit, it's her!" He pointed, stumbling backwards.

"Homboi, what's the problem?" Shanna asked.

"It's her! She's the fucking Genocide Soldier, Tenten!" Shanna went wide eyed, and Yaboi stood and drew a kunai.

"I don't want to do this, I really don't want to," Tenten said.

"But we don't have a choice," Yaboi said. "In Kumo there is no ninja who has a higher bounty on their head than you."

"Not to mention the Raikage placed a kill on sight order on you," Homboi added. Shanna reluctantly drew a kunai, and moved to stand slightly behind Yaboi.

"If you kill an off duty ninja Konoha won't take it too well," Warned Tenten. "You know what? Why don't I just take that treaty scroll back to Konoha, and we can say this whole thing never happened."

"A kill on sight order is a kill on sight order." With that, Yaboi leapt over the fire and landed a direct thrust to Tenten's chest with his kunai. A jolt of force traveled back up his arm, almost making him drop the kunai."H- how?"

Still thoroughly scared, Shanna nonetheless wanted to make a move. "Yaboi!" Her team leader ducked out of the way as Shanna darted in. "Cloud-Style Front Beheading!" Tenten had no idea where the young kunoichi pulled the tanto from, but she still was able to draw her black katana and block the slash easily.

"All of you, just run!" Tenten said as she locked blades with Shanna. "I don't want to do this right now, just leave here!" The Kumo team said nothing, but they also didn't try to advance on Tenten. She noticed Yaboi had a loose grip on his kunai, and tried to sneak in the Assault Blade technique. It pulled free from the man's grip, and buried itself in the jugular of Shanna.

"Yaboi?! What are you doing?!"

"I didn't do anything, Homboi!" Looking towards Homboi, Yaboi noticed too late Tenten slashing at him. He tried to pull out a kunai to block, but in the process his arm got cut. With a gasp his eyes rolled up in the back of his head, and he collapsed.

At this point Homboi abandoned all pretenses of bravery. "Please, please don't!" Homboi had never witnessed anything like his teammate's deaths; a kunai seemingly acting of its own accord and a man downed with a simple shallow cut to his forearm.

Tenten stared hard at Homboi. "I'll bury one of your teammates. Take the other and go back to Kumo. Now." Homboi nodded and scrambled to obey, slinging Yaboi over his back and dashing off into the forest. Tenten sighed and looked at her black katana, and then over to Shanna, the girl was still breathing, though the pool of blood was spreading. A grimace on her face, Tenten pricked the back of Shanna's neck with her katana, and began to pull the girl over towards the treeline.

c=={=======

The clunk of Darui's mechanical foot still unsettled Homboi. "Did you send the treaty by messenger bird?"

"Yes sir. I made sure to do that as soon as... after..." Homboi swallowed. "Darui, do you think... that I should retire after this? Failing as a sensor type like this when it matters so much, and more than once..."

"No." Darui answered, giving Homboi a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "You couldn't have known it was her any more than the others could have. You still got a good long career ahead of you. Just be ready for Lord Raikage..."

"I still can't believe it! How can a person like Tenten exist...?"

"There are some in every generation: Orochimaru, Obito Uchiha, and now the mantle's on her shoulders. That's just the way the world is, Homboi..." There was a heavy, forlorn silence that hung over the two until they reached the Raikage's office a few minutes later. Upon knocking, it was instantly replaced by fear.

"Enter!" Mabui called. Homboi gulped and pushed open the door, swiftly walking up to A's desk.

"Lord Raikage, sir!"

"Ah, Homboi. I trust you met with the Konoha team?"

"N- no sir."

"Why? The mission could not be more simple. What was Yaboi's reason for returning?" A asked, growing serious.

Homboi fought down the trembling. "Yaboi is dead, sir."

A sighed angrily. "There should be no rogue or enemy ninja in the Land of Frost. Every damn hidden village should have pulled their ninja back by now!" Taking a few breaths to calm down, A continued, "What was the cause?"

"A, a cut to his forearm, sir..."

"Poison?"

"Ah, no, sir. One slash, and that was it. It was as if his soul left his body the instant the blade cut him."

The Raikage held his chin in his hand, rubbing it. "And what about the other team member, Shanna?"

"She... is also dead, sir. It... the... the kunai... seemed to fly from Yaboi's hand. I didn't see him move to throw it, and he swore he didn't do anything, but that's what I saw."

"Assault Blade," A growled under his breath. "Did you get a clear view of the enemy ninja?"

"Yes, sir. We were actually sharing a meal with them before I realized who it was..." Mabui could see the fear all over Homboi's body language, and the drops of sweat beginning to form on his face. There was only one ninja she knew of who could have that effect on someone from Kumo, and she began to brace herself for a mammoth outburst. "Sir, she's back. Tenten's at Nakamura Pass."

Instead of a volcanic outpouring of rage, the Raikage quietly sighed. "At a time like this, just as we begin the steps towards an inter-village registry of missing ninja..."

"But, sir, Tenten isn't a rogue ninja. We know exactly what hidden village she's from." Said Homboi.

"And that is the problem. Though she was under the cover of a rogue ninja, I'm certain she was working for Konoha. It may be that Konoha is planning a coup and wants to delay the treaty until they have everything in line."

"About that sir: Tenten stated she was off duty, that she was at the pass on vacation. At first she even seemed reluctant to attack."

"Tenten being off duty cannot be anything other than a lie! She was there to intercept us; there is no other reason for her to be squarely in our way!" The Raikage slammed his fist down onto his desk, shattering a good portion of it. "Send for Darui and Bachiko. We have some plans to make."

c=={=======

Tenten was making the climb up the mountain to the cave, sooner than she had expected. After burying Shanna, she knew she would only have a few days of peace before Kumo came after her again. She didn't quite feel right going back to Konoha and bringing her pursuers with her, but she knew she needed fire power beyond what she had. After packing up camp she formed the dam again and headed to the mountain. She would be sleeping and studying here for the next couple of days, poring over the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. Tenten also planned to study Kawatatsu's seal, hoping to be able to free it and use or enlist its aid in battle. The flickering light of the fire gave an otherworldly feel to Kawatatsu's stone, as if there was something just behind the shadows, waiting to break out into reality...

It was now well after dark, and with several hours of study, Tenten finally figured out the order to undo the seals. Middle left, middle right, far left, far right, near left, near right; then outside, middle and near until the center tag on the large stone is left, and that's the last one. Still on into the night Tenten studied the seals: as the moon eased over its zenith she puzzled out the sealing tags would not be undone with one set of hand seals. There were two base seals for the left and right anchor stones, Snake and Ram, respectively, followed by two others that changed from tag to tag. The center tag required a sequence all its own, which Tenten was on the verge of figuring out.

Or so she thought. The light of day was was beginning to creep into the cave when she was sure she had determined the last hand seal needed to undo the center tag. A short break for water and unicorn jerky was taken, before Tenten moved into position at the left anchor stone. Here we go: Snake, Boar, Rat! Tenten applied her chakra to the tag, and yanked it free from the rope. A pause revealed no adverse reaction to removing the tag, so she hurriedly stepped over to the right anchor stone. Back and forth, back and forth, until with the Ram, Bird, and Dog hand seals the last tag was yanked free from the anchor stones. Now comes the tricky part... Putting together the Snake, Ram and Dragon hand seals, Tenten reached up and yanked both the outer tags on the center stone off at the same time. A short pause to make sure no trap had been activated, then onto the next set of seals: Ram, Snake, and Dragon. No trap sprung; Dragon, Ram and Snake, and down to the final tag. It was a long and repetitive string of hand seals for the final tag: Snake, Ram, Dragon, Boar; Snake, Ram, Dragon, Bird, and so on. Tenten went at a steady pace, so as to not mess up the trasitions between the seals, and then with a last Dragon hand seal she applied her chakra to the tag and yanked it free.

This time there was a reaction to the tag being removed. There was a sense of a growing presence, like the shadows were rushing together and swarming over each other into a monstrous shape. Tenten quickly jumped back from the stones, all the way to the mouth of the cave, and with a flash Kawatatsu was at long last unsealed. It was not a weapon, as Tenten had hoped. Kawatatsu was a large beast, taking up almost the whole cave. It was long, serpentine and scaled like a dragon, with sharp talons. Its scales were dark, black or perhaps a very deep shade of brown; down its back short spikes rose up. From beneath a short elephant-like trunk two large fangs rose up on either side, not quite obscuring two deep amber eyes that held a confrontational amount of wisdom and power. Fuck. Tenten, what did you do...

After inhaling a long breath, Kawatatsu spoke in a measured, deep, and aged voice. "I do not smell the blood of Nakamura and his kin in you. Identify yourself, shinobi."

Tenten knelt into the seiza position. "I am Tenten, of Konoha."

"Hmph! Konoha? What could such a distant village want with me?"

"I, I..." Tenten swallowed and thought for a moment. "I unsealed you, to... possibly gain your aid in battle."

"What, assistance? Does not Tobirama watch over his men diligently?"

"No, Kawatatsu, sir. Lord Tobirama has been dead for decades. His- Hashirama's granddaughter is now the Hokage."

"I take you to be some outcast, then; or Konoha has grown weak..."

"Neither!" Tenten said quickly. "I, it's just that... I've made myself an enemy of nearby ninja, from Kumo. Help wouldn't get here from Konoha until the Kumo ninja have arrived..." Something in Kawatatsu's eyes changed upon hearing Kumo, the power hinted at in their depths becoming sharper.

"I see..." Kawatatsu said. "Though I warred with Nakamura, this land is my foremost protectorate." Kawatatsu paused, and stared at Tenten. "I sense the heart of the earth in you... your spirit resonates with the bones of the earth." Though Tenten took this to mean he knew her chakra nature was Earth, she didn't know how to respond, and remained silent. "Just as I see the surging of water, the breath of the skies, the heat of the sun and the flashing of lightning."

"I only know how to work earth with my chakra," Tenten squeaked.

"Just the same as the elements have mingled and spread throughout nature, I see that they have met in you. Think upon this sometime, but first you say you work the earth with your chakra. Nakamura did also; show me!"

Trying to calm herself, Tenten formed the Bird hand seal. "Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!" Two rocky spikes shot up beside Tenten, stopping a few feet above her head. Kawatatsu nodded, then stretched out a claw and casually flicked the spikes down the mountain.

"You have only worked the flesh of the earth; neglecting the bones and skin leaves such techniques imperfect. You say the Kumo ninja hunt for you. I will watch, and if you acquit yourself well I shall war on your side and also teach you, that your potential may not wither. Do you agree with this, young Tenten?"

"Yes, Kawatatsu, sir." She eyed her camping gear where it rested under his jaw, and he pushed it forwards to her. Tenten gathered it up, then stood and bowed, and left the cave.

c=={=======

Tenten couldn't sleep. She slipped her pillow under her head and closed her eyes, but she couldn't sleep. She got up and walked around the campsite by the dam, rubbing her eyes and looking around. I almost forgot, the underground base by the old trap zone. I think I'll do something like what I did up here... Getting out her ink and sealing tags, Tenten headed off. Along the way she spotted Shanna's flak jacket where she'd tossed it away, and picked it up to use. She found the tree easily enough. However, it took a few minutes of studying the undergrowth at the base to find the door. Pulling up a nearby shrub and brushing away some loose dirt she lifted up the flap and dropped down.

At that moment Kakashi, Hinata, and her younger sister Hanabi arrived at the edge of Tenten's camp. He glanced at each of them, and they activated their Byakugans to survey the area.

"I'm not seeing anything, Captain Kakashi." Said Hanabi.

Hinata added, "Neither am I."

"Well, let's have a quick look around and wait here for a while. That person Hinata saw a while ago might come back."

"Their camp does look like someone was just here," Hanabi said.

Kakashi nodded. "Hinata, why don't you stay here just in case they come back while we're out looking, and I'll take Hanabi with me to search."

"Yes, sir." The Hyuga girls said in unison, before the Konoha team of the treaty scroll relay split up. Before they had gone too far, Hanabi noticed a forehead protector on a stick in the ground. "Captain Kakashi!" She said, jogging over. "Do you think they might have just left it here?"

Sighing, Kakashi walked over. "No. See how the earth has been disturbed in the middle here? This is a grave, Hanabi." Did the Kumo team make it here before us and something happened to them? "This is something we'll have to remember, and report to Lady Tsunade. Let's circle around it; stay in eyesight, okay?"

"Yes, sir."

Back at Tenten's camp, Hinata was checking inside the tent. Sleeping mat and a pillow, a few scrolls... hmm. Picking up one of the scrolls, Hinata held it up and unrolled it facing away from her; no trap was sprung. Opening the others in the same manner, she then bent down to take a look. Sealing jutsu, Earth Style jutsu... looks like none of these are the treaty scroll. Deciding to leave them in place, Hinata went back out and decided to take in the view from the top of the dam for a moment. Wow... it's like the clouds are just below the ground, with how the river is spreading out and reflecting the sky... ah, if only I was an artist. This scene is beautiful. Right after that thought, though, sudden images of shinobi coming under fire from barrages of shuriken and being impaled on the spikes down river came into her mind. Silently shaking her head, Hinata dropped back down to the ground and slowly walked around the camp, looking at the surrounding trees. Her eyes took their time traveling up the majestic trunk of one, when she noticed something odd. "That piece of bark..." Hinata jogged over and walked up the tree to inspect. This certainly doesn't fit in... Carefully changing her position to the side, Hinata slowly pulled off the piece of bark. That's a Five Seal Barrier tag! Hinata jumped down, and was in the middle of looking for another tag when Kakashi and Hanabi returned. "Did you find anything?"

"We found a makeshift grave, but that's it." Kakashi answered. "Anyone come by while we were gone?"

"No," Hinata began, "But I did discover a couple interesting things around the camp. First, inside the tent were a handful of jutsu scrolls- so whomever disappeared from the camp must be planning to come back. And second," Hinata pointed off towards a distant tree, "I found a Five Seal Barrier tag hidden on a tree."

Kakashi sighed. This just keeps getting better. "This is starting to smell a little fishy. Because either Kumo is hiding something here and they planted a fake grave to throw us off, or a rogue ninja is hiding something here and they took out the Kumo team of the treaty scroll relay. In any case, since they're not here I think that with what we've seen we should report back to Konoha."

"Do you think we could wait a little bit longer to see if the Kumo team arrives, Captain Kakashi?" Hanabi asked.

He shrugged. "Not a bad idea; I wouldn't mind resting for a bit longer. We might also be able to catch the ninja who made camp here." Nodding, Kakashi pulled out some Beef-N-Go from his pack and had a seat on the log near the firepit.

Having finished placing the Five Seal Barrier on her underground base, Tenten decided to exit the area by the Hidden Mole Jutsu instead of through the door. She tunneled towards her camp, but got a surprise when she sensed three ninja already there. Kumo, already? How?! It's only the next day! Forgetting about the Konoha team waiting to meet the one from Kumo, Tenten burrowed closer, until she was right under the ninja. I'll just see if I can scare them off- Forming the Snake hand seal and focusing her chakra, Tenten then thrust her hand up. Earth Shaking Palm!

Kakashi and the team were of course caught off guard. Surprisingly, Hanabi was the only one to land on her feet, Kakashi and Hinata skidded to a stop on their sides several yards away. "On guard, that's not a jutsu you can use long range!" Kakashi called. Hinata and Hanabi closed in and stood back to back with Kakashi, looking for any nearby ninja.

They're still there... with how they've closed in they must be ready to fight... I'll just try one more jutsu then head back to the underground camp. Going to the side and then up into the dam, Tenten drew a shuriken and held it up to the wall, very nearly sticking out into the open air. It was a challenge to channel her chakra into open space while underground, so she let a fraction of one of the points stick out, and found the task became easier. Assault Blade, and then...!

Hinata heard the first shuriken and raised her kunai to deflect it, but in an instant it multiplied hundreds of times. No! Hinata overcame her brief panic and used the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation technique, deflecting the dense shower of shuriken.

"I think we've seen enough! Back to Konoha!" Kakashi ordered. The trio retreated, taking off at full speed. I couldn't sense them, not even when they launched that massive barrage of shuriken. Something big's going on here, and I think we've only uncovered the tip...

Tenten stepped out of the dam and dropped into camp. It was a huge mess: there were shuriken everywhere and her tent could barely be seen under the rubble. She dug it up, relieved to see the rocks hadn't damaged her jutsu scrolls, and looked on the scene again. "There's no way I'm clearing this by hand..." Tenten sighed and moved to the South edge of her camp. Dog, Ram, Boar- "Earth Style: Mudslide Jutsu!" Tenten punched the ground, and a wave of mud rose up beneath her and washed over the campsite, sweeping away the rocks that had been unearthed and covering the shuriken.. "That'll need a while to dry..." With another sigh Tenten walked away to her underground base to study the Flying Thunder God Jutsu.

c=={=======

Kakashi and the Hyuga sisters approached the gates of Konoha, silhouetted by the setting sun. "That's them," Genma Shiranui said to himself. "Team Kakashi, hurry in!"

"Genma! What's going on?" Asked Kakashi as the team jogged up.

"Lady Tsunade needs to speak with your team," Genma said. "There's been a problem with the treaty scroll relay."

Kakashi's team shared a look, then faced Genma again. "What are we waiting for," Kakashi said. "Let's go." The four jumped up and raced arcoss the rooftops to the Hokage Tower, arriving in just a minute. Genma nodded to the chunin watching the door and he led the way in, heading towards Tsunade's office at a fast walk.

"Did you come across the Kumo team?" Genma asked.

"...One member of them. You'll hear the rest in just a second." Genma nodded, wondering if this was Kakashi's usual cool manner or something more serious; but given the situation he suspected the latter. Moments later they came to the office, and Genma knocked.

"Genma here with Team Kakashi!" The door opened at once, Shizune guiding them up to the desk.

Tsunade was there waiting for them, resting her chin on her folded hands. "...Earlier today, this afternoon, a messenger hawk from Kumo arrived. Would you like to know what it was carrying?" There was a prickly silence in the office for a moment, and then Tsunade continued. "The scroll containing the Inter-Village Rogue Ninja Registry Treaty. And, a note, saying the relay team came under attack- hence the messenger hawk." Tsunade looked to each member of the team.

"There was no one at the agreed meeting site, Lady Tsunade. But the team did find a few interesting things: first, Hanabi discovered what could be the grave of a Kumo ninja. It looked recent."

Why wouldn't they have taken the body back to Kumo? "What else?"

"I found a Five Seal Barrier tag hidden on a tree," Hinata provided.

"So someone is definitely hiding something. It's likely they knew both our teams would be there..." Tsunade said quietly.

"Also, Tsunade, we were ambushed at the meeting site," Kakashi said.

Tsunade nodded. "Were you able to see the attackers?"

"No, Lady Tsunade." Hinata answered. "Hanabi and I looked through the area with our Byakugans as we approached, and we detected one person there, and thought it was a member of the Kumo team. But, when we got there, no one was around. After Kakashi and my sister returned from searching the area is when we were attacked."

Kakashi picked up from there. "The area was clean, but right out of nowhere we were hit with an Earth Shaking Palm. Shortly afterwards a large barrage of shuriken was launched at us."

"It may be that your team triggered some traps. Did you remove the Five Barrier Seal tag?" Tsunade asked Hinata.

"No, ma'am. I left it in place."

Tsunade thought quietly for a few moments. "...For the moment, Shizune, anything related to the treaty comes to me first. I'll hand it out directly to the messengers if it needs to be passed along. Kakashi, I want you to take Ibiki Morino and a sensor type out to the relay meeting place, and if you find anyone I want them thoroughly questioned. Hinata and Hanabi, I would like you two to take the treaty over to Suna, along with Genma, first thing in the morning. And keep all this quiet. I want to see how things develop before they know we know..."

c=={=======

After two more days of study, Tenten felt like she was making little progress with the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. She now understood that the seal was user specific, but for the life of her could not figure out what her seal would look like. I'll pick this up later... Slipping on Shanna's flak jacket, Tenten took her weapon scrolls and headed out past the South edge of the old trap zone. Once they see the lake's reformed there's no way any sane ninja would go near it. Not sure how wide they'll circle around, but I'm sure they'll come straight for my camp once they're past it... then it's off to the mountain to see if I can catch part of their force by surprise. Tenten then set a wire out in a long semi-circle, placing kunai, shuriken and exploding tag traps to be triggered by the wire along it. The traps didn't carry as many weapons as Tenten might have liked, but she knew she needed as much as possible stored up for the battles ahead.

Tenten sprinted across the growing lake, and made it to the mountain in just moments. She went around and up to Kawatatsu's cave, needing the view the spot provided. He's not here, Tenten thought with some relief. Skin and bones of the earth, what did he mean by that anyways... wait, hold on, I think I do know- well, have an idea for one. That sense of magnetic force when I'm using the Hidden Mole Jutsu, that's just like how I'd feel something with my skin... Tucking the thought into her mental back pocket, Tenten focused on surveying the horizon, looking for signs of ninja passing by such as the canopy dipping steadily. It was a good two hour watch before she saw the canopy dip suspiciously, the movement being sustained.

Darui heard a squelching sound as he stepped, and paused. He held up his hand, and his ninja came to a halt. "The lake's reforming. Let's head around towards the mountain. We might be able to comminicate with Bachiko's squads from on top of the dam without Gurren Lagann seeing us."

Tenten could not believe her luck: instead of going around the far side, the Kumo ninja were coming between her and the lake. Remembering a handful of boulders she'd climbed over facing the lake, she quickly used the Hidden Mole Jutsu to dig her way there. A quick peek around one of the rocks was taken to see where the Kumo nin were, and moulding a large portion of her chakra, Tenten prepared herself to attack. Dog, Ram, Boar- Mudslide Jutsu! The attack raced down the mountain with startling speed, the boulders in front of Tenten being unearthed and sent bouncing down. The brown tide washed over the left flank of Darui's ninja, and dozens more were not quick enough to escape the mud and were struck by the rocks hidden in it. With all haste Tenten used the Hidden Mole Jutsu to get to the rear of the broken formation. Panting, she ran up.

"Thank goodness you made it," Said an experienced looking kunoichi with cinnamon brown hair. The woman pulled Tenten in for a quick hug, and turned back to the mudslide. "This is an odd season for a mudslide, though. It hasn't rained much, has it?"

"No," Tenten said.

"This was too perfect," Said a Kumo ninja standing to Tenten's right. "Unseasonable mudslide right as we're going through the pass? That's the work of Gurren Lagann."

The cinnamon haired kunoichi nodded. "Not to mention the lake has reformed."

"Weapons out!" Darui called. "I want some of you on guard while we do what we can for the wounded..." Tenten nodded, and drew her black katana. While the crowd was organizing itself into first aid and defense Tenten slyly cut the calves of ninja she walked past, stopping as Darui neared. She turned to face the lake, pulling up her katana into a ready position. Darui faintly recognized the ninja with the black katana's neck, and the way her hair hung around it. "You were with me at Nakamura Pass the first time, weren't you?"

Tenten was immensely glad her scarred cheek was on the other side. "Yes, sir..." Swallowing, Tenten decided to say something else, to cover for her unexplained presence. "I think I'm a runner, sir. Running away was how I survived Nakamura Pass, and I freaked out and ran for cover when I heard the first rumble today. I guess I'm not a brave ninja like I'd imagined I would be as a child..."

"There are moments when all of us get scared," Darui said. "Don't worry. We'll meet up with Bachiko and surround Gurren Lagann's camp, and hopefully this will all be over today."

"Sir!" Said a Kumo kunoichi, walking over. "There are some ninja who weren't caught in the mudslide that went down. It's... I'd like you to have a look at one of them..."

Shit. "Speaking of being scared, I have a small bladder, too." Darui smirked as Tenten jogged off, and looking over her shoulder she saw him kneel down beside one of the ninja she'd cut. Sheathing the katana and ducking behind a bush Tenten Used the Hidden Mole Jutsu, retreating a little ways back into the mountain. She again began working up her chakra, shifting the focus from directly over to between her mudslide and the lake, Tenten formed the Ram hand seal. Earth Style: Antlion! Above ground things slowly began to tilt, and by the time the ground rushed in towards the hole it was too late for most of the Kumo ninja. Back to the underground camp to switch jackets, then I'll see what I can do about this Bachiko and her ninja... if that guy brought five squads just to cover the North side... Tenten shook her head and focused on digging her way back towards camp, not paying attention to what she sensed above ground.

In a few minutes she made it to her underground hideout, and took a moment to breathe and have the last few strips of unicorn jerky for a snack before she switched back into her Konoha flak jacket. The skin... hmm. Using her Earth Release chakra, Tenten let two of her fingers sink into the wall, to see if the sense of magnetic force opened up by the Hidden Mole Jutsu would do so now, as well. It did. Just now moving in... I think some of them have stopped to disarm that trap I set up. There's... at least twice as many as the white-haired guy had with him, I don't know if I'll be able to draw all of them in to the space between the dam. Hey- alright, I think I'll try that. Better hurry before they get too close. Digging away towards her above-ground campsite, Tenten popped up, and began setting up her tent, this time farther North than where it'd previously been. I think I heard a few twigs snap. Better get ready. Jamming down the last tent peg, Tenten turned around towards the firepit.

"We've got you surrounded! Surrender now!" A Kumo kunoichi flickered into Tenten's camp, a woman with shoulder length brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and hard steel blue eyes. "We've got you surrounded, Tenten. I have all my ninja here, and right behind you is Darui and his men. There's nowhere to run."

Time to become the other Tenten... "Surrender? Just who in the Hell do you think I am? This is Gurren Lagann's territory; you're the one who should be surrendering, Bachiko." Tenten's guess payed off, as the kunoichi's eyebrows went up in surprise at hearing the name. "As I said the first time your village's ninja came here, no. Survivors. You think a force as small as yours can take me? Don't you remember the last time?" Bachiko's stare intensified like light coming through a magnifying glass. "I've already taken care of Darui and his ninja. They never even saw me."

"If you didn't get Darui the last time, I don't think you got him this time either."

"The first time he got away was luck. You may think you've got me cornered with my back to the wall, Bachiko, but Gurren Lagann breaks through walls!" Time for another lie. "And you also think I'm alone? In my time upon the mountain I unsealed Kawatatsu, and have entered into a summoning contract with him! He is in the lake behind me!"

A grim look of disbelief came over Bachiko's face, and she shook her head. Raising an arm, she held up two fingers, and dozens and dozens of her ninja came up behind her. "Your act just makes you look scared and weak, Tenten. We've done our research: that Hyuga and the other kunoichi are from Konoha, and we're pretty sure they aren't with you today. And even if you've managed to unseal Kawatatsu he would never ally himself with megalomaniac psychopath such as yourself. You are alone, and if you don't give yourself up now, you. Will. Die."

"Do not threaten me with death when you yourself are mortal. Now, Bachiko: this conflict will be decided by a duel. If you defeat me, the day is won for Kumo. If I should win- and I will- then I will slaughter your ninja with my black blade, severing their souls from their bodies!" Tenten took a breath. "I am feeling gracious, so I will handicap myself and fight with no weapons." Tenten took her black katana and tossed it down behind her, and emptied her kunai and shuriken from their leg holsters onto the ground in a semi-circle. No sooner than she had done this Bachiko drew her katana and thrusted straight at Tenten's heart. The blow recoiled against Bachiko, who looked down in shock at her blade. Tenten knew the strike would be coming, and had been preparing the Assault Blade technique, and as the shuriken and kunai flew forwards she used the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. The thick hail of weapons burst out like a shockwave, hitting almost all of the ninja Bachiko had ordered up as well as those who had stepped out from behind the trees to watch. Kicking a still shocked Bachiko in the groin, Tenten picked up her black katana and darted off to the side. She formed the Snake hand seal, and with a moment of focus she split open the dam in front of Bachiko. The gush of water washed her and the downed Kumo ninja back into the trees, and quickly Tenten closed the gap, and dashed off into the forest. The first shinobi she met offered little resistance, and with her fastest blade work cut through them like a hot knife through butter. She felt a few blows to her flak jacket, and had to remind herself that the rest of her wasn't indestructible. A shinobi who saw Tenten coming her way panicked and ran, and suddenly dozens of Kumo ninja were on the run. Tenten caught about half of them with a well-timed use of Falling Earth Spears, the spikes forming a wall stopping any of the Kumo ninja from fleeing on ground. Many of them had been thinking of doing so, and Tenten sped towards them, cutting down the terrified ninja.

Behind her, Tenten heard the crackling of electricity and turned around to parry the attack. "NO! I willl NOT let you get away with this!" Roared Bachiko. Her hair hung down in wet strings, and for some reason the left side of her face was covered in blood. Bachiko kept up her furious offensive, driving Tenten back towards the dam. Tenten saw she was outmatched in the sword duel, and while her flak jacket offered protection she didn't know what it would do against a blade cloaked in lightning chakra. Doing her best to dodge and avoid crossing blades with Bachiko as much as she could, Tenten backpedaled away. With growing anxiety the two edged closer to the dam, and finally, locking blades with Tenten Bachiko pushed her up against it. "THIS IS WHERE YOU DIE!" Bachiko pulled back her katana for a beheading blow, but without warning a shuriken stuck itself into the base of her neck. Tenten flung away Bachiko's katana, and pushed the kunoichi onto her back. Killing Intent like none Tenten had ever felt before poured out of the woman.

"Look behind you," Tenten managed to get out. "Only a few of your ninja stand with you, and they aren't coming to your side. You are alone, Bachiko, and this is where you die." With a swift slash to Bachiko's neck, the fierce kunoichi was finished. Tenten ran after the retreating Kumo ninja, striking down the ones that had fled upon Bachiko's death. The others were out of sight. Sighing, Tenten knew what she had to do now, and began to seal up the bodies near her camp. For some reason she began to tear up when she got back to Bachiko. She sat down beside the woman and looked at her, and decided to take her forehead protector before sealing her away. Tenten headed off to where she had first spotted the Kumo ninja coming in from the North, over the lake and past the mountain. Coming to a small break in the trees. Tenten unsealed the bodies, and stacked them on top of each other, until the pile reached well over her head, more than twice her height. She unsealed a spear and jumped to the top, and stuck it down through one of the ninja. Jumping down, she looked at Bachiko again. She pulled the kunoichi back into the trees, and using some wire tied her to the trunk of one. Taking blood from her neck wound, Tenten smeared it across the rest of Bachiko's face, and wrote on her flak jacket, "Abandon all hope, you who enter here." Then, Tenten pulled down Bachiko's pants, using the chakra engraving technique to place a powerful exploding seal on Bachiko's hip. The pants went back up, and Tenten walked away.

How many ninja have I killed? Tenten wondered, as she neared the mountain. Just today, it was at least a hundred, probably over two... I don't think any ninja I know of has even come close, not during a war or over their whole career. I guess that's my job now, to just kill everything in sight. This isn't what I had in mind, as a child... this isn't how any ninja should hope to become legendary. Tenten quietly started jogging back to base, the sun still rising and her spirits sinking. As she drew even with the lake, she saw the waters began to stir, a form rising out. He- he actually was in the lake behind me! In the sun, there was a slight green sheen to Kawatatsu's dark brown scales. He turned towards her, and Tenten gulped. The beast gracefully walked across the water, and stopped at the shore.

The stare was long and drawn out. "I have seen enough, young Tenten. I smell the blood of many ninja on your hands... but that is a scent any can wear. I took note of your stealth, and you reaching out to feel with the earth's skin. Your jutsu were done with prescise timing, as well..." Tenten looked back at Kawatatsu, but could not tell anything from his gaze. "I have decided to fight on your side, young Tenten."

Tenten's anxiety lessened, and she thought back to her earlier lie. "Kawatatsu, sir: would you enter into a contract with me?"

"I will do so, as I did long ago with Nakamura before I was sealed away." Tenten got out a scroll, and drew up the summoning contract on it. Washing her hand, she cut a finger with a kunai and signed her name in blood. Kawatatsu took a claw and touched it to the contract, a small dot appearing there. "Now you must prepare, Tenten, for the Kumo ninja are persistent in their military efforts..."

c=={=======

Kakashi, Ibiki Morino, and Santa Yamanaka dropped down from the trees at the edge of the camp near the dam. "Deserted," Ibiki said while looking around.

"But they cleared the camp, so someone is still in the area..." Kakashi said. "Santa?" The Yamanaka ninja nodded, and used the chakra sensing technique.

"The immediate area is clear," Santa said while still focusing. "But far away, near the mountain... something's there. The signatures are a bit fuzzy, almost as if someone or something's blocking me. But... there is definitely a heavy, mountainous chakra out there." Sanata opened his eyes and looked to Kakashi and Ibiki.

"Is mountainous the chakra's feel or amount?" Asked Ibiki.

"Both."

"I'll release my ninken, see what they pick up from the scents in the area. Let's head towards the mountain over the lake." With a quick weaving of hand seals Kakashi summoned two of his ninken: Pakkun and Akino.

"Something big went down here," Pakkun commented, sniffing the air.

"Don't know if I've ever smelled a slaughter like this..." Akino added.

"Well, keep in mind this was the scene of a large battle previously," Kakashi said.

"Yeah, but this is fresh. Some of the bodies can't be more'n a stone's throw away."

"Pakkun's right. We going anywhere else?"

Kakashi sighed. Something big indeed must have happened if his ninken immediately commented on the smell of death nearby. "Towards the mountain." His ninken nodded, and the whole team went up the dam and circled around the lake. A ninja this powerful just doesn't come from nowhere, Thought Kakashi. You hear of them defecting from a village, or you know them personally. Ninja aren't spirits, they have to come from and go somewhere! "You two picking up any new scents?"

"There's something a bit unfamiliar, kinda like a fish or lizard or something," Said Pakkun. "I think it's somewhere on the mountain, maybe around to the other side." The ninja and ninken continued their advance in silence, until they arrived at the foot of the mountain.

"I think they might be using dead bodies to cover their scent," Akino said. "Whatever it was we smelled, it's gettin' tricky to pick it up now."

"Can you pinpoint the source?" Asked Ibiki.

"Yeah, it's uh..." Pakkun lifted his nose up into the slight breeze to sniff. "Ooh! There we go- eleven o'clock, about a minute's run." Ibiki glanced at Kakashi, who nodded. Veering off in a new direction, soon even the Konoha ninja could smell something. Ibiki spied a large mass between the trees, and when they make it into the small clearing the stench was almost overpowering.

"Damn..." Ibiki walked around the large pile of corpses, looking for any living ninja nearby.

"All of them from Kumo... Kakashi, what do you think?" Santa wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe someone ambushed them during a training exercise." Actually I'm pretty sure they sent the ninja after whoever intercepted the treaty scoll relay team, but that's under wraps for now.

Ibiki walked around from behind a tree, holding something. "I found this on one of their ninja strung up to a tree." Ibiki held up the portion of a flak jacket for them to read.

"Abandon all hope, you who enter here..." Santa shuddered.

"I think we've seen all there is to see here," Kakashi said. Ibiki nodded and tossed away the flak jacket, and followed Kakashi back towards the mountain. After a few moments the ninken rejoined them.

"We found the source of that weird smell," Pakkun said as he ran along. "It's from a little bit up the mountain." Slightly adjusting their course, the ninja ran on. Kakashi scanned the mountainside for anything, and caught a glimpse of a large cave.

"It's straight ahead! Let's-" Kakashi's orders were interrupted by a loud, trumpeting roar. The noise stopped them in their tracks, and they slipped behind trees.

"None of this is adding up," Santa said in a whisper. "I understand someone having a vendetta against Kumo, but that many dead shinobi is flat-out an act of war. And that sound... there... there haven't been any dragons in the wild since Lord Second's time."

"But we need to know what- or who- is in that cave," Said Ibiki.

"I agree with that," Kakashi said. "But if there's a dragon involved, it goes without saying we need to tread very carefully here. Santa, could you try to sense what's in the cave? You might be able to get a clearer feel from here."

After a short moment of sensing, Santa spoke. "There's the dragon, the largest chakra signature... and close by is a second, most likely a ninja. The interference is coming from some object, it's hard to read the second signature because of it."

"Keep going." Kakashi ordered. "I want you to tell us all you can about that ninja."

"It's similar to the dragon's, though not as large. In fact, it's merging it's cha- oh shit! Back up!" A couple instants afterwards a large jet of water shot down the mountain, aimed directly at where Kakashi's team was. It snapped off branches as it approached, and was still able to leave a shallow ditch in the ground when it hit.

"You are not welcome on this mountain," A deep voice boomed.

"Sound advice," Kakashi noted. "I'm speaking for myself here, but I think invading a dragon's lair is a little beyond the scope of this mission. Let's remember what we saw here and report back to Konoha."

In the cave, Kawatatsu turned to Tenten. "And that is but one example of using water, the land's blood, in a jutsu."

Tenten nodded, and put her hand back to the ground, concentrating. "They're leaving..."

Kawatatsu gave an approving nod. "Already, you have improved with using the land's skin to feel your surroundings. Yet also there is more the land's skin may be used for. Attempt to strike me with that katana of yours."

"Not this one," Tenten said, as she got out a weapon scroll and unsealed a normal katana. She stood and took a swing at Kawatatsu, only for the slice to be repelled and send her spinning away. What? I'm pretty sure I didn't hit him...

Levelling a knowing look at Tenten, the dragon spoke. "Now, feel my presence with the skin of the earth, and try again..." Tenten picked up the normal katana, and cautiously moved in closer. She put her palm to the ground, linking her chakra with the magnetic force of the earth, and swung the katana with one arm... Oh!

c=={=======

Homboi smelled them long before he saw them. "There's someone tied to a tree," Whispered a ninja next to Homboi. As he closed in Homboi could better see the person: it was a kunoichi, their flak jacket and shirt cut away and their bare chest exposed to the air.

Homboi squinted in the gray light before dawn, and saw something a short ways to the side of the kunoichi. He stepped forwards, but Darui stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Oh, right..." Darui waved forwards his two trap sweepers, who slowly and surely checked the area. Had it been daylight this check would have taken perhaps a few minutes, but it stretched on for dozens.

They gave the "all clear" signal, and Homboi stepped forwards to pick up the object. It was the front of the kunoichi's flak jacket, and with a sinking feeling Homboi recognized it as his home village's style. What's this written on it...? Moving into a shaft of slightly brighter light, he saw the short phrase.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Homboi heard behind him.

"The smell's getting to me, too."

"It's not just that," The young kunoichi said, pointing to the body on the tree. "That's Bachiko. They got her..." Stepping closer, Homboi looked at the face, and could see beneath the blood mask that it was Bachiko. Sniffling, the kunoichi looked down at Homboi's hand. "Is that the rest of her flak jacket?" Homboi nodded, and handed it to her. The girl read it, and holding it up raised her voice. "It says, 'Abandon all hope, you who enter here'!"

"We can't let Gurren Lagann get into our heads," Darui responded. "I want some of you to take care of Bachiko and the other bodies while the rest of us wait for Homboi." One of the three squads under Darui stayed behind as the others walked on. Before moving to the pile a few worked on freeing Bachiko. The wires around her lower legs were unwrapped, and one Kumo ninja tugged on her legs, to see if she'd come down with a simple pull. The effort failed, only pulling down Bachiko's pants a little. Soon the wires up in the branches were unwound, and the Kumo ninja stretched out his arms to catch Bachiko...

Neji turned to Tenten. "What if you never even have it at all?!"

"I can't live a lie, running for my life anymore! I will always love you!" Tenten pulled Neji in and kissed him, and behind them Tsunade rode by naked on a wrecking ball.

"My anus is tingling," Neji said, looking up to the skies. He leaned back and shook his head, licking the air- and promptly exploded.

Tenten woke up. Looking out of the tent, it was just a little before dawn. Eh, might as well stay up. Tenten stretched, then went through her morning exercise. Two imaginary assassins were after her this morning. She deflected a kunai back at one, stabbing back under her arm as the other approached from behind, then springing forwards to quickly slash and down the other. Time for breakfast... As she stirred the embers and added a couple new sticks, her hand brushed the dirt at the edge of the firepit. Oh... Standing and focusing her chakra through her feet instead of her hands, Tenten felt around the area with the skin of the earth. Dammit! Can't I get even one day of rest out here?! Getting her black katana from inside the tent, Tenten slipped on her flak jacket and faced the approaching ninja.

"I come in peace!" Homboi called, walking out of the shadows in the trees. He held up a white flag, waving it around a bit. "I've come to talk."

"About what."

"The- the Raikage is interested in ending this conflict, and-"

"ENDING THIS CONFLICT, MY ASS!" Tenten yelled. "If you come in peace then what the fuck are those two squads doing back there in the trees?!"

How did...? "Just hear me out. If you come to Kumo and allow yourself to be questioned, the Raikage will let you leave..."

"And I'm supposed to believe that? What happened to the kill on sight order? Huh?"

"The... order has been lifted, as it proved ineffective."

Tenten decided to switch topics. "Homboi, have you had any time off since the war?"

"Wh- uh, I've had downtime between missions, but I haven't been... off duty... you were actually serious about that."

"And did you lose anyone close to you in the war?" Homboi didn't answer, and looked down at the ground. Tenten let the silence stretch out before speaking again. "So you can go back to the Raikage and tell him that until I get a couple weeks of peace and quiet out here, I'm not going anywhere. I think you know what I'll do to any more ninja I see from your village until then."

Homboi summoned all his nerves, and replied. "If you submit to questioning from the Raikage, I swear you will get your peaceful vacation..."

Tenten shook her head, and drew her black katana. Homboi started and backed away a few steps upon seeing it. "I'm done with you. Go tell whoever's in charge of those ninja in the trees they have three minutes to leave before I come after them."

"Yes ma'am." Homboi bowed and left at full speed, sliding to a stop beside Darui. "The short answer is she said no."

"And...?"

"And she gave us a few minutes to leave before she comes after us."

"Well, as much as any of us would like to, leaving early wasn't part of the order," Said Darui. "So-"

"Uh- sorry sir- I... should also mention Tenten knows you're here, and that she's carrying the black katana."

A bell went off in Darui's head. "Black katana... so that was her. Tenten was the one who started that mudslide..." Darui frowned. Fool me twice... "...In any case, she won't be close enough to use it. We're here to attack at range. Lightning Release users, up front and move out!" The Kumo ninja moved to the edge of the treeline and spread out a bit, taking careful aim. "Wave one, go!"

Tenten saw the Kumo ninja pull out their shuriken and kunai. Focusing on connecting her chakra with the earth's magnetic force, she formed the Snake hand seal right as the shuriken were thrown. Tenten's magnetic shield went up, the shuriken bouncing back at and wounding the unsuspecting Kumo nin. "That doesn't look a whole lot like you're leaving!" Tenten called. "Thirty seconds to get your asses out of here before I attack, starting now."

Is she getting stronger every battle, or just growing less patient? Homboi wondered to himself. He ran his fingers through his hair, and edged away from the front lines. The Kumo nin who didn't have their shuriken rebound into their faces were weaving their hand seals, all preparing the same jutsu: Thunder Flash. It was common amongst Kumo ninja with lightning natured chakra, just being a quick lance of electric energy. They all fired it at the same time, but much like the shuriken their progress was impeded by the magnetic barrier. The crackling energies diffused, some of the currents returning to strike the users and some to the trees around them.

...twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Still keeping her chakra and sense of magnetic force extended, Tenten walked forwards and used Assault Blade on one of the shuriken by a fallen Kumo ninja, stringing together the necessary hand seals and using the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu. The burst of shuriken caught dozens of Kumo ninja unaware, Darui himself being grazed and taking one into his thigh.

Darui pulled out the shuriken. "Fire Release team, flank her and go! Wind Release team, back them up!" Tenten noticed the advancing ninja, and knowing more jutsu were forthcoming formed another large magnetic barrier. Thinking they could just advance, the Kumo ninja were surprised when the buckles on their flak jackets and kunai and shuriken still in their holsters were repelled, causing them to stumble and back into each other. Taking advantage of the situation, Tenten used Falling Earth Spears to impale the confused shinobi on her flanks. Stomping out an Earth Shaking Palm, Tenten took advantage the cloud of dirt to cover her using the Hidden Mole Jutsu. "Damn... everybody on guard, facing out, now!"

Tenten popped up in the middle of the group, looking out just as she saw everyone else doing. Not being in her Kumo flak jacket, she knew she wouldn't have long. Maybe, if I could form the barrier quickly... As fast as she could, Tenten formed a strong magnetic barrier and pushed it up and out, sending some Kumo ninja stumbling into each other and some into the air. Drawing her black katana Tenten streaked back and forth across the gathered ninja, souls being severed from their bodies so fast it was like the Grim Reaper was holding down the B button. By the time the Kumo ninja knew what was going on less than a quarter were left standing, and their hurried attacks proved ineffective. Seeing Homboi nursing a wounded shoulder, Tenten aimed her next slash at him, but was intercepted. "You..."

"I think you've killed enough Tenten." Said Darui. "This is going to end here, today."

"You're a good man; take your ninja out of here. Leave now and I won't come after you."

"I don't trust the promises of criminals, Tenten."

"Haven't I kept every promise I've made so far? I just want you and the rest of your village's ninja gone!" Tenten pressed in on Darui, trying to force him backwards.

"Sorry, but I was given two possible outcomes for this mission: success, and success. One way or another you're coming back to Kumo with us." By the way Darui relaxed away from Tenten she knew he was going to strike soon. Feeling out with her chakra the magnetic force, Tenten found a metal object unexpectedly close by- and jerked it upwards with Assault Blade. Being pulled up into the air by his mechanical foot, Darui tried to get his cleaver sword up in defense, but Tenten angled his blade away and struck him with a fierce jumping knee to his face. The blow left him groggy, and the left elbow to his jaw that followed it put him out. Upon landing, Tenten summoned all her strength and swung at Darui's ankle, severing the mechanical foot.

"Get away from him!" A Kumo ninja warned. "Just leave him alone, and we'll go like you want us to! Please!" Frowning, Tenten diregarded the ninja and bent down over Darui. Using the chakra engraving technique, she wrote "failure" on Darui's forehead, then picked him up and tossed at the distraught ninja behind her.

"Now you can go. Don't ever let me see any of you around here again..." The ninja nodded, and slung Darui onto his back before turning and running. The few ninja still standing followed him, and Tenten heard a groan behind her. Disgusted with herself, she turned around and got started on finishing the job...

c=={=======

"Come in!" Kakashi, Ibiki and Santa entered Tsunade's office. "Glad to see you're back, I'm anxious to hear what you've found."

"There's definitely someone there," Santa started off. "Kakashi mentioned someone had cleared the camp since the last time he was there, and his ninken smelled dead bodies around the camp."

"And the dead bodies weren't just around the camp," Ibiki added. "Past the mountain we found a pile of dead Kumo ninja about twelve feet high."

Tsunade's eyebrows went up. "That's a little much for just one ninja."

"That was my initial thought, too." Kakashi said. "That the camp by the dam was a decoy and there were more ninja around."

"But there was only one," Added Santa.

"And were you able to apprehend them?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...We ran into a dragon." Kakashi said at last.

Tsunade sighed and facepalmed. "You know, I bet every Hokage except for me has heard that excuse. What really happened?"

"We ran into a dragon." Kakashi's team said at the same time.

"The ninja was in the cave with it," Santa said. "As for what I sensed of the ninja, it wasn't entirely clear. They had a formidable amount of chakra, though nothing too out of the ordinary. However... they appeared to be adept at using jutsu with the dragon. And furthermore, there was an object in the ninja's possession that that made it hard to read their chakra signature."

Tsunade banged her fist on her desk. "One of the Five Great Villages, this confirms it. The smaller nations just don't have the funds to acquire that kind of device."

"If I may," Shizune spoke up. "I think that the dragon we're talking about is Kawatatsu. The Kumo ninja sealed it up in the area of Nakamura Pass during Lord Second's reign. The texts said it was noble, and wise; strongly tied to the earth and Nakamura Pass."

"How many people did it take to seal Kawatatsu?" Asked Kakashi.

"Well, the texts didn't say the exact number, but it mentioned a group. I'm assuming some of them were there to help corner it."

Tsunade nodded. "Alright. First, let's get in touch with Shimo. All this is happening in their territory and frankly it's a little suspicious that they've kept it quiet so long. Second, I want an observation team out there. Santa, could you take care of that?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"The last thing I can think of is to meet with the Raikage. If whoever's doing this messed with the treaty scroll relay, that makes it our problem, too."

"Uh, I'd reconsider that, Lady Tsunade." Shizune said. "I think it's too soon after the war to let things escalate to this level. This mystery ninja could be part of a larger group who's waiting to make a move when Kumo weakens itself."

"That makes sense, which is why the inter-village registry is so important. That being said, if Kumo weakens themselves going after this ninja or group of ninjas, that's their problem; and besides that the Land of Frost is a strong ally. Our main concern here is with the protection and signing of the treaty."Tsunade looked around at Kakashi's team. "Are we all clear on that? Okay, good. You're dismissed."

c=={=======

A heard the rapping on his office door. "Enter." Three ninja entered. It was Darui, who was sporting a new mechanical foot, Homboi, and a young chunin A didn't recognize. The Raikage angrily sighed. He looked to Darui before he began to speak, and saw "failure" written on his right hand man's forehead. A stood and threw his chair through the window behind him with a shout. "HOW! How did it happen this time; what miracle did Tenten perform to escape capture?!"

After a prolonged and frightening silence, Homboi spoke. "It... appears to be a jutsu she uses, Lord Raikage. It repelled any shuriken we threw at her."

"Also, sir," Began the chunin, "I saw shuriken and katana strikes just bounce off of her when she appeared in our ranks. And, she... she has this black katana, and anyone she cuts with it instantly goes down, no matter where they were hit."

"Don't believe in this myth of her being some destroying angel, Tenten is human just the same as all of us in this room are! And what about the jutsu, didn't you attack her at range as instructed?"

"Yes, sir. But again, she repelled the Thunder Flashes with some jutsu." Homboi swallowed. "And she took out the Wind and Fire Release users before they could get into position."

"And what did this jutsu look like?" A asked.

"...It appeared to be rather simple, she made one hand seal and this invisible barrier stopped our attacks," Homboi said.

"Is she just pulling this out of her ass? What the fuck! What in the fucking fuck is going on here?!" And how did she even know there was anyone besides Homboi in the area? I need ANSWERS! There was another long silence in the room, until finally the Raikage turned around to face Darui. "What happened."

"...It's as they said, boss. After Homboi returned with Tenten's refusal, we moved in to attack. I... briefly crossed swords with her. She seemed keen on our force leaving the area."

"Homboi, what exactly did you say to her?"

"I offered her the deal, just like you asked." Homboi stared at the ground for a few moments. "Sir, she also mentioned us staying out of the area to me, as well. She said something like she just wanted a week of peace and quiet, and then she'll leave."

"She mention leaving to me, too, before she tossed Darui at me."

"You know what, we'll give it to her." The ninja in the room looked at A in surprise. "She'll grow relaxed and focused on whatever it was she came out there for, and then we will crush her. We have lost far too many ninja to Tenten to just let her get away!" The Raikage paced back and forth a bit. "How many did we send last time?"

"...At the final confrontation we fielded about twelve hundred."

"Triple that. We'll spend the week planning."

c=={=======

"-And that is how you use the earth's skin, to increase the speed of your jutsu." Tenten took a few breaths, and looked at the Falling Earth Spear she had just called up. Kawatatsu eyed Tenten for a moment. "You have proven to be a quick study, young Tenten."

"...and yet I'm making next to no progress on the Flying Thunder God Jutsu."

"Ah, you are studying Tobirama's technique. How does it trouble you?"

"The chakra control. I'm beginning to figure out what my seal will be, but I can't figure out how to use my chakra to tie everything together."

"Hmm. Though clever, the jutsu is not unique. Come, let us go down the mountain." Hopping alongside Kawatatsu as he flowed down the mountain Tenten wondered what the dragon could possibly have meant by "not unique", Tenten couldn't think of anything like the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. "Now," Kawatatsu said as they reached the foot of the mountain, "Feel for the bones of the earth. They are strong around mountains, so this should be easily done."

Tenten waited, but Kawatatsu provided no further instructions. Sighing, she sent her chakra down into the earth, searching for "bones". After going deeper and deeper into the ground it became apparent the bones were not an actual physical thing, which Tenten had suspected. Sensing instead for energy- of what kind Tenten didn't know- slow minutes passed by. Smarter, not harder... Tenten resumed, seeing if feeling with the earth's skin helped. It did nothing. What that phrase of Kakashi's Naruto was always quoting on our missions? Look... aha, look beneath the underneath. Tenten shifted the focus of her chakra, not smaller and finer, but sharper. It was then that she sensed the bones of the earth, a vein of energy running beneath the mountain and branching out. She lifted her senses up from the ground and took a moment to breathe before starting again. The vein of energy was easier to find, and for a long while Tenten studied the feel of it and how it connected with the earth. When Tenten came up again the small seed of hunger resting in her stomach had blossomed...

When the snack was finished Tenten retired to her camp by the dam to study the Flying Thunder God Jutsu. I have the circle as the anchor point, but... it can't be as simple as a circle, could it?No, no it couldn't... I think the seal needs some distinct direction, something more specific than a circle. Hmm, directions... like a compass? No, wait- yes, that's it! Kun, like a compass, rooted to the ground and always pointing North... Tenten smiled, wondering what Neji would think of her using a trigram in her Flying Thunder God Jutsu seal. Ecstatic, Tenten drew out the seal on a blank tag. It felt right, and she knew she had cleared one of the major hurdles to learning the technique. Not too shabby, Tenten. I think I'll go for a swim before I head back to the cave... Tenten rolled up the scroll and headed out of her tent, jumping up the the top of the dam, stepping out of her pants and slipping off her blouse and walking in. For the first time since she'd come back to Nakamura Pass, Tenten felt like she could relax for a little bit. She opened her eyes under the surface, the clear water giving her a view of the grassy shores of the dam and a passing school of the small silvery fish common to the area. She let herself float and get caught up the the current, drifting around the edges of the lake. The watery interlude passed like a dream, and Tenten rose up from the lake to start a fire and dry off. Heh, I should have brought a messenger pidgeon with me so I could send one to Tsunade. Huh, when I get it down where will I put the tags around here...? Underground base, definitely; and I guess Kawatatsu's cave, too... and of course basically every kunai I have. Stretching as she dried, Tenten started humming before she hopped back to the dam to slip her clothes back on.

Kawatatsu was waiting for her at the base of the mountain, his steady gaze saying everything and nothing about her taking a little too long to get a bite to eat. "Your spirits have lifted, somehow. That is good, for now I will show the art of using the earth's bones to perfect your jutsu..."

c=={=======

Santa Yamanaka led his team around to the eastern edge of the lake, to the edge of the trees near the mountain. "This seems as good a spot as any to me. What do you two say?"

"It seems fine, sir." Replied Hinata and Shino.

"Alright. I'll stay on watch while you two set up camp." Hinata and Shino nodded, and began clearing the undergrowth.

I'm sure we'll find out who the ninja is this time, Hinata thought as she cut at the base of a shrub and pulled it up. Although I wish Santa would have chosen Kiba to go along with us, that would have made it even faster. The old team back together... Pulling up a last shrub between two trees Hinata picked up the loose twigs and fallen branches, and put them in a pile nearby. She looked over to Shino, who nodded and they quickly set up the tents. A firepit was quickly dug, and after stripping away the grass around it Shino and Hinata stepped over to Santa.

"Have you been able to locate the ninja, Captain Yamanaka?"

"Yeah, or... sort of, Shino." Santa sighed. "The distortion from that object the ninja is carrying has gotten stronger, and I hate to admit it but I'm completely unable to read their chakra signature now. That being said, even if they're carrying the object I should be able to locate them by picking up on the distortion." He glanced between Shino and Hinata. "Why don't you have a look, Hinata. They're over towards the mountain."

Activating her Byakugan Hinata peered to the far side of the mountain. Oh. Oh my, that must be the dragon Captain mentioned... beside them... some object is blurring that ninja's shape. Drat. "The ninja you sensed is on the mountain, with a beast that I'm sure is the dragon you warned us of, Captain."

"Okay. And keep in mind dragons are very territorial, so avoid going near the mountain when you can." Santa thought for a minute. "This dragon, which we've assumed to be Kawatatsu, has a particularly sharp sense of smell so that order goes double. Shino, hang back here and get started on sending your bugs out into the area if you haven't already, I want to take Hinata to observe the dam camp."

"Yes sir. I'm sure Hinata will do a dam good job." Hinata smirked, and turned to speed off with Santa.

"I get the feeling that Shino jokes all the time and everyone just completely misses it," Santa said to Hinata.

"True," Laughed Hinata. "He has a very subtle sense of humor." The light-hearted run was soon over, and the tree limbs quivered to a stop as they touched down at the South shore of the lake. The mood sobered up slightly while the two scanned the area. "Clear."

"Same here." Santa and Hinata dropped down over the edge of the dam, landing fashionably on one knee. Those spikes weren't here last time... so this camp is still in use. Erected as a cautionary measure, or during an attack? A quick look around confirmed there were no other obvious changes, and the pair stepped forwards.

The slip of bark's been replaced... Hinata saw. I can't easily tell it apart at this distance... Making her way over to the firepit Hinata bent down to take a look. New logs added recently, maybe a couple days ago. Hinata stepped over to the tent and was about to look inside again when a buzzing sound faded in to her rear. It was one of Shino's Insect Clones.

"I saw the dragon moving around the mountain, headed in what appeared to be this direction..." The clone warned, before dissolving with a buzz.

"Trees!" Santa yelled quietly, leading the mad dash to cover, not stopping until they caught their breath back at camp. "Thanks for the heads up..."

"You're most welcome, Captain."

At the dam camp, Tenten lifted her hand from the dirt. "Someone's off to the North East, watching..." Okay, they want something to watch, they're gonna get it... okay, there's the vein... flesh, skin, and bones, all at once! Bird, and- "Falling Earth Spears!" The jutsu shot up from the ground at an alarming velocity, the sharp points coming to a stop several dozen feet in the air. Tenten smiled. Nakamura Pass? Not anymore... Tenten raised more eathen spears, focusing on making the occasional extra large spike. Though the mental strain forced a break, Tenten found she was not exhausted from chakra use, and soon continued raising her row of sharp hills. That should be enough for now. Maybe I'll work on closing off the North later. Pleased with the minature mountain range, Tenten glanced towards the direction of her underground camp. "I think I'll give it a try," She said to Kawatatsu with a smile.

Hinata heard the rumbling, and with her Byakugan witnessed the ninja raise the long row of tooth-like hills. "Captain Yamanaka, do you think we might need to report this...?"

"...As much of an inconvenience it might be to move around, I think it can wait until we get back to Konoha." Hinata nodded, and turned back towards the hills only to be startled a moment later. "What?"

"They vanished..."

"Who?"

"The ninja. They were standing next to the dragon, and just vanished..."

"The Chameleon Jutsu, perhaps?" Shino offered.

"That makes sense," Santa agreed. "It would explain how the ninja snuck up on your relay team," Santa said to Hinata.

It was more sudden... Hinata thought to herself. But that's the only logical explanation we have so far.

c=={=======

Even in sleep the smile didn't come off of Tenten's face. She had finished the day by raising another minature mountain range to the North, and deepening the lake near the dam. Wet and exhausted and thrilled and hungry she sat by the fire cooking her fish, thinking of what Tsunade would say when she returned to Konoha. Knowing her, she'll probably hand me a D-rank mission... speaking of D-rank mission, it's getting annoying to sense those ninja spying on me when I'm using jutsu. I'll see if I can scare them off tomorrow.

And so the morning came, the memory of a pleasant dream involving white circles and eyes evaporating like mist in the dawn. Tenten woke with a yawn, and stretched. A lot to do today... get started on all those kunai... Touching her fingertips to the ground beside her sleeping mat, Tenten used the earth's magnetic force to feel out the area. Still there. I'll take care of that real quick. Yanking on her sleeveless qipao blouse and Konoha flak jacket, Tenten got out a blank scroll and her ink. "I am lord of this land: the Mountain Shadow, the mountain, the moon and the lake, and the forest. Kawatatsu answers my call, and the land itself bends to my will without question. I have trod the Kumo and any alien ninja underfoot in the winepress of my wrath, and reddened my cheeks with their spirits. Though you have not sought me out you are not welcome here, and should you stay will suffer the same fate as all who have come before. You will not see me coming. You will not hear me. You will only feel the cold embrace of my blade as it severs your souls from your bodies."

Tenten briefly considered replacing the paragraph with a simple "get the fuck away right now or else", but deciding the overblown threat fit more with her Gurren Lagann persona, she kept it. Needs just a tiny bit more... ha! Why not? Placing her Flying Thunder God Jutsu seal at the bottom of the scroll, Tenten blew it dry and rolled it up. Checking the area once more Tenten zipped up her flak jacket and stepped outside. Forming the handseals, she bit her thumb hard enough to draw blood and slammed it to the ground. Kawatatsu appeared in a great swirl of smoke before her. "Kawatatsu, sir: would you deliver this to the ninja hiding by the mountain? I will be close by..."

"You do not mean to pursue them, or deliver it yourself?"

"Something I've learned is that you shouldn't throw stones when you're hiding behind smoke and mirrors. I want to keep up the illusion that I can be anywhere and do anything as long as I can."

"Spoken like a true ninja. Come with me..." Tenten nodded and kept close by Kawatatsu, waiting until he signaled to her with the flick of a claw to slip behind a tree and go into the ground with the Hidden Mole Jutsu...

Santa could not feel any killing intent from the dragon, though it was coming straight for his base. Guess that's just a dragon being a dragon. Mysterious and powerful...

"I can sense you, young shinobi. Show yourselves and we will talk." Santa nodded, and Hinata and Shino came out from behind the trees with him. Kawatatsu was enchanting, the iridescent green shimmer to his dark brown scales momentarily dazzling Santa before he gathered himself. "I bear a scroll from my partner, who has not deigned to grace you with their physical presence."

Physical presence...? Santa bowed, and cautiously walked forwards to accept the scroll from Kawatatsu, who dropped it into his hands. "Thank you, Lord Kawatatsu."

"Hah! What is a mortal creature such as me, that its fame should spread after so long?" Kawatatsu gazed long into Santa's eyes, who gulped and hastily opened the scroll.

What? WHAT?! "Are they implying they're equal to the Kage...? Reddened my cheeks... this is outrageous."

"May I see it, Captain?" Asked Hinata. Santa almost shoved it at her, and Hinata read over it. That seal at the bottom is what worries me. It's not a trap, and very unorthodox for a signature... Hinata handed the scroll back to Santa, who took it and massaged his temples.

"I... I don't know what to say to this."

"Then you will die in silence." With astounding speed and agility for a beast his size, Kawatatsu turned and flowed away.

He's gone... wait a minute... The minute passed, and the ninja had still not moved. Oh well. Time to help them along. Flesh, skin and bone! Snake, and- Earth Shaking Palm! The ground shook heavily, slightly disorienting Tenten. In the upheaval she lost track of the ninja, but moments later when she collected herself she could sense them retreating. Finally! Surfacing, Tenten warped herself back to her tent, and shook her head clear. It'll take some time to get used to the sudden change... but I'll get plenty of practice today with the kunai. Tenten laid them out in rows, applying the seal to them one by one. These first ones, I think I'll place around here. Some by the spikes, some by the lake...

c=={=======

Santa sighed, and knocked on the door. "Team Santa here to report!" A set of footsteps approached from the other side, and Shizune opened the door and led them up to Tsunade's desk.

"You're early..."

"I understand, Lady Tsunade. But I would like to state that we came under attack, and that the rogue ninja was able to sense us there."

"I swear, it's like they have a new jutsu every time we go there..." Tsunade mumbled under her breath. "Well, if they could sense you you shouldn't have stayed there. What were you able to see?"

"One ninja, as with the other times, Lady Tsunade. Miss Hyuga's Byakugan and Mister Aburame's insects detected the presence of the ninja and a beast, nothing else." Tsunade gestured for Santa to continue. "The camp by the dam, as with every other time, appeared recently occupied but was empty. I'm all but certain it's a well made decoy now. Furthermore, with her Byakugan Miss Hyuga was able to see the ninja raising up massive spikes of earth, some of which were the size of hills. It was hard to see from the trees but I'd be willing to bet they were placed to limit access to the pass."

"After they finished raising the spikes, Lady Tsunade," Hinata cut in, "The ninja vanished."

"Some cloaking jutsu, perhaps?"

"That was my assumption." Santa answered.

"It was very sudden," Hinata insisted. "I think a normal cloaking jutsu would take a bit longer to execute."

"Your concern is noted, Hinata, but since we've never even seen this ninja in the first place their ability to vanish is one of our lesser problems right now." Tsunade looked back over to Santa.

"...And we are now able to confirm that the beast is in fact the dragon Kawatatsu." Said Santa. "It delivered a scroll from 'its partner' to us. I'll... allow you to read it for yourself." Santa pulled out the scroll from his coat, the paper being smudged with dirt and slightly crumpled. Tsunade silenty spoke the message from the scroll, her expression rapidly shifting from annoyance to fury. Giving the message a quick once-over Tsunade shook her head and tore away the bottom part of the scroll that bore the seal. "Cryptanalysis." She said, holding it up to Shizune. "A.S.A.P." She sighed, and faced Santa and Hinata and Shino. "I'd like to keep a close eye on the situation, but if they can sense ninja in the area there's just not much we can do about it. The bird from Shimo is late but one would think they'd investigate a rogue ninja camped out in their country, so I'm assuming they'll be sending a number of ninja to the pass. I... would like to offer some help, but after seeing this mystery madman just chew up and spit out anyone that comes close I think that what I'll do, Santa, is send you to meet Shimo's ninja on the way and inform them of everything you've told me."

"If I may, Lady Tsunade, I'd like to volunteer to go with Mister Yamanaka."

"What for, Hinata?"

"I feel like I've known this rogue ninja, that they're hiding their identity behind this outlandish and violent persona. I think if we can uncover who they are we'll be able to handle them more effectively."

Tsunade considered this for a moment. "...You can go, but keep in mind this is just to relay information. I don't want you- or you, Santa- involved in any action. Is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Shino, send my regards to your family. You're all dismissed."

c=={=======

Ichigo Inaba was the only Shimo ninja among the troop that had actually seen combat. During the Third Ninja War Shimo declared no allegiance, instead acting as mercenaries and messengers. Ichigo had served as both, his stealth and speed being an asset in both areas. His deliverance of a certain document was largely credited for getting Konoha and Shimo on friendly terms, and since then had been their go-to man for high risks message deliveries and stealth based missions. Though his hair was now mostly gray, he still retained his boyish good looks, aside from gathering a few crow's feet.

"I dunno, this whole thing smells fishy, boss."

"Ninja's gotta do what a ninja's gotta do, Shimon." Replied Ichigo. "If we want to look like a worthwhile ally, then we sure better keep our own backyard in order... but for whatever it's worth, I say we just let this bitch have Nakamura Pass. Then Gurren Lagann'll have their own place and they'll quit making a fuss." A small chorus of yeah's greeted Ichigo's words, and when they faded he continued. "But we gotta remember this won't be a walk in the park. The utmost stealth; no words, hand signals only. I think we know what'll happen if we get caught snooping around before we leave. Alright?"

"Yes sir!"

"Remember now: never put so much as your pinky toe in that lake. We're gonna circle around the dam and then spli-"

"Shimo?" Ichigo whipped out his tanto and turned to face the voice.

"Messengers, from Konoha." Santa waved.

"Come on over. What's the deal?" Ichigo asked, as Santa and Hinata jogged over.

"Some general information to pass along," Santa said. "Between now and when we sent the bird, the rogue ninja's raised two lines of hills- essentially, from here a bit past here straight to the lake you'll be fenced in."

"Lovely. What else?"

"They've unsealed Kawatatsu." A shock ran through the Shimo squads, swiftly followed by a rising murmur of good cheer. "...And have entered into a partnership- or summoning contract, I don't know which- with it." The cheers equally swiftly died down.

"Uh, I don't know if you have any sensor ninja with you, sir, but the ninja has an object on them that makes reading their chakra signature almost impossible." Hinata said quietly.

"This ninja sure sounds swell, don't they, guys?" A small, nervous patter of laughter greeted the joke. "Thanks for the heads up. You two comin' with?" Hinata nodded "Cool. Hang tight back there with Joseki." Ichigo jerked a thumb towards the back of the squad, and a ninja stuck out his arm and waved to them; he had, appropriately enough, a five o'clock shadow to match the time, and a mischievous slant to his eyes and nose. Hinata didn't trust him, and after a bit of thought she pinpointed the cause as him reminding her of Orochimaru.

"Well, hello, my lovely lady. And to you too, sir." Yup, don't trust him. Hinata thought. "I'm Joseki. What are two fine ninja such as yourselves doing back here with me?"

"I'm here to find out who the rogue ninja is," Hinata calmly replied.

"Ha! I could tell you that right now." He leaned in and winked at Hinata. "But where would the fun in that be? Anyways, just stick tight to the formation, and let me show you the hand signals we'll be using..." Hinata found the gestures simple enough to learn, simply pointing in a drection with a few additives: the number of fingers increased with the distance, the number of gestures with speed; closed fist for stop, v sign for split up, squads took a route outside the southern line of hill spikes, and in moments came to their end near the riverbed. Hinata guessed the hopping hand gesture meant "jump over", and she did so with the rest of the Shimo ninja. Their flak jackets... like the color of shadows on snow. As they crept around the last of the hills near the lake, a loud, trumpeting roar halted them in their tracks. Then, through the trees, Kawatatsu appeared.

"My partner awaits," Kawatatsu rumbled, "And is impatient to meet with your leaders. Follow me." Ichigo signaled for the Shimo ninja to wait, then ran off with Kawatatsu. The journey was a short distance, just going to the large crater where Santa's team had camped. There Tenten stood, her arms folded.

"...I was just wondering yesterday if any Shimo ninja would ever show up," Tenten said. "What're you doing here?"

"We received a message from Konoha stating the Inter-Village Rogue Ninja Registry scroll relay had been intercepted in our territory, and that since then suspicious activity had occured in the area. We're just seeing what's going on." Ichigo cocked his head at Tenten. "What are you doing here?"

Tenten sighed. "I've ended up just doing what I did the last time I was here. Your country and village shouldn't have a problem with that, should they."

"We don't, actually. The treaty's a big deal, though, so if you keep this up the shit's really gonna hit the fan, Tenten." The two stared at each other for a minute, then Ichigo continued. "You're from Konoha, right? We got a couple of your ninja here with us; why don't you head back to Konoha with them?"

Tenten's eyes went wide. "Get them back to Konoha, now. I don't want them getting caught up in this."

"Why? Still got a little soft spot for your old village?"

"It doesn't look like you're leaving to escort them back to Konoha." Tenten drew her black katana, and drilled her stare into Ichigo's skull.

"...You know what'll happen if me and my ninja get offed like everyone else, right?"

"Leave now, and they won't die, it's that-"

"Tenten?!" Hinata's jaw dropped. "It- it's you?!"

"Ah, so you two know each other. Perfect." Ichigo smiled, walking over to pat Hinata on the shoulder. "Don't worry, she doesn't bite," He whispered to her, before whipping out his tanto and holding it to Hinata's neck. "You have two days to leave, or else she dies! Got that?" Without warning, Tenten vanished. "...what? Oh, oh shit..."

Tenten appeared near the back two squads of Shimo ninja. "Are there any messenger birds here with you? I need to know right now." A Shimo ninja in the back squad raised his hand, and Tenten waved him over. "Scroll and ink." The man set down the bird cage and fumbled to produce the writing implements. "The Shimo ninja are holding Hinata Hyuga hostage. I'll do my best to rescue her and get her out of trouble. You also have my word that I won't attack any Konoha ninja in the area. Please hurry." Tenten blew on the scroll and waited for it to dry, then rolled it up and opened the bird cage. "Konoha," she whispered to the pidgeon before putting the tiny scroll in place and setting it loose. With that done Tenten dug into the earth with Hidden Mole Jutsu, disappearing from sight. She dug back towards where Hinata was, and sensed two ninja moving back towards the rest. The three squads then spread out into the trees, and Tenten guessed they were making camp. Still keeping a sharp sense of the first two ninja, after several minutes one of them was put with a group of others and led towards a spot that Tenten guessed was a tent; that ninja was put somewhere between those ninja, who spread out around it. Having never been underground this long, Tenten moved fast to the tent, starting to grow short of breath. Lying down... come up at their feet... moments later Tenten's head popped up from the ground, and it was indeed Hinata in the tent. "Shh!" Coming all the way up, Tenten crouched next to Hinata. "I'll get you out of here," Tenten whispered. "Hold my hand..." Hinata did so, and with a moment of concentration tenten warped them both to her underground base. Feeling around for a bit, she found the electric lamp that had been left behind and switched it on.

"Tenten, just... what are you doing here? Have you really turned against Konoha?"

"What do you mean, turned against Konoha?"

"Every team we've sent out here has been attacked: the treaty scroll relay team, the team me and Shino and Santa were on, and Santa said the one before that, too."

Tenten held her head in her hands. "I never knew they were Konoha ninja. I always stayed out of sight underground, sensing where they were with the earth. I never saw any of them, I swear!" Tenten was starting to tear up and looked to Hinata. "You have to believe me..."

"I... I do." There was a long and uncomfortable silence in the base, until Hinata spoke up again. "...What made you come out here..."

"I'm off duty. I needed some time away to think after the last mission here and the war; I thought I'd just camp near Konoha but I ended up running all the way here..." Tenten shook her head and wiped her eyes, and looked around the base. There. Walking over, Tenten picked up Shanna's flak jacket and handed it to Hinata. "Here, wear this. As long as you're wearing it in here you should be safe." Seeing the puzzled look on Hinata's face, Tenten explained. "I put a Five Seal Barrier up in here, and the fifth tag is in the jacket..." Tenten opened it, and showed where she put the tag and stitched a strip of tent fabric over it. "Nothing will be able to get through the jacket." Hinata nodded, and took off her hoodie briefly to slip on the flak jacket, which was a near perfect fit. "I don't have much to eat in here, I think a few food pills and protein bars, that's it. I'll bring you more food later."

"Thank you..." Tenten nodded and was about to warp out when she remembered something.

"Hinata, who's the other ninja that came with you?"

"Santa Yamanaka."

"Okay. I'll be back, just wait here for me..." Tenten focused and warped away, going back to the spot by the spike hill. The Shimo ninja camp was close, and Tenten walked right in. "Where is he?" She shouted.

"Boss! She's back!" From a tent behind a tree Ichigo walked out, an unreadable stoic expression on his face.

"You ready to talk?"

Tenten nodded. "I want you to hand Santa Yamanaka over to me."

"Alright, I'll bring him out in just a second. But first, I wanna know what you want with him when just a minute ago you told me you want the Konoha out of here."

"I'd forgotten he's a sensor type, and that he's been around my camp. There are some things here I don't want Konoha knowing about."

Ichigo nodded. "Bring out Yamanaka!" From a tent farther away, two Shimo ninja hauled Santa up. His face went wide with shock when he recognized Tenten.

"It can't be you! How?!"

"The how doesn't matter, Santa. The fact is that you're here when you really shouldn't be, so I decided to take care of that myself. In front of all these witnesses. Bring him forwards..." She said to the ninja restraining Santa. "Kneel." Forced down before Tenten against his will, a look of hatred filled his eyes.

"You'll never get away with this. Konoha will curse your name for generations to come."

"I don't care about being hated anymore," Tenten said with an amount of honesty that surprised herself. "You might wanna get out of swinging distance," Tenten said to the Shimo ninja as she drew her black katana. "You wanna know what this katana does, Santa? It severs the soul from the body of any living thing it cuts. And you..." Tenten growled as she grabbed Santa by the neck. Suddenly her black katana flew forwards a couple feet and pricked the thigh of Ichigo, who immediately collapsed. As the katana returned and he fell, Tenten warped Santa and herself to the underground base.

Santa saw Hinata sitting against a wall, and looked between her and Tenten a few times. "What...? What's going on here?"

"The short answer is you're safe." Tenten replied. "I'm gonna go back out to the lake to catch and roast some fish for supper, and I'll explain when I get back..." Tenten stared at the ground for a second, before smirking. "And if you make it back to Konoha before I do, tell Tsunade she lost the bet."

c=={=======

The Raikage saw something looking down at him between the tree limbs. A sprung up into a tree, head to the top of the canopy to get a better look. After seeing what was in front of him, he started swearing loudly and profusely.

"Fifty ryo says Tenten made a giant middle finger with a jutsu," A Kumo ninja bet Homboi.

"Another fifty says it's a penis," Homboi countered.

"And double that says the Hokage is licking it."

"Grow up..." Said Samui from behind them. "When it comes to Nakamura Pass and Tenten it doesn't take much to make him lose his cool."

"-Damn PIG!" A finished as he dropped back down to the forest floor. "There is a change of plans. Half will be coming with me, and the other half will file in from the waterside."

"What did you see, Lord Raikage?" Samui asked.

"Two lines of hills, one directly in front of us and the other one behind the dam. Tenten even had the gall to carve images of a giant middle finger on one and a picture of myself licking a penis on another." A checked the sky. It's not even noon yet. "Pass the orders down the column, and Samui and Darui, take the shoreline half. Understood?"

"Yes, sir." Waiting for the directions to be passed down and the column, Darui tapped his new prosthetic foot. This one was all plastic; after what happened with the last one he wasn't going to risk any part of it being metal.

"...there we go. Let's move, Samui." Darui was a more than a little disappointed he would not be going into battle with A. He didn't want to engage Tenten from behind, he wanted her to see him coming. With A leading the charge, being able to exact his revenge on her would be even less likely of a possibility. He knew Samui was itching to get at Tenten, too, though she remained calm on the outside. Darui eyed the burn mark on Samui's forearm that she'd gotten from the exploding tag, and frowned. Bachiko, Risa, and even me... Believing in the myth? At this point I don't think it's a myth anymore, A. It's real. It's damn real.

Dark thoughts clouded Darui's mind on the run to the coast. The job he'd been handed suddenly, while dull, would be key. Key, but waiting and watching wouldn't get his hands on Tenten. Fifteen more minutes of running and jumping tree to tree later, they came to the coast. "You see anything?" Samui asked.

Darui gazed out to sea. "...Nothing."

"Then let's just cool off in the shade and wait." Samui turned back to the Kumo ninja behind her and raised her voice. "When the time comes, wait for Darui and me to get back to the front before you move out. Stay on guard, you don't know where Tenten will show up!" Samui nodded to Darui, and turned back out to the sea.

A had set a furious pace to his position. The Kumo ninja struggled to keep up as he passed the spike hills, and as he wove his way through the forest. Several times he appeared to have lost them, but at last he stopped, looking up through the trees to check his position. He waved the Kumo ninja into position as he silently watched ahead. No option but to rush ahead... but perhaps we will be able to contain her movement within the area. A walked forwards, until through the trees he observed another obstacle: a rampart, to which Kumo ninja were fixed, and messages written in blood. "My farts are more deadly than the Raikage?!" A fumed, and it was at that moment Tenten chose to warp in to the top of the rampart.

"Like all my new decorations? I thought this place needed a woman's touch." Tenten said, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear.

"They're nice, but this little wall needs another dead ninja."

Don't freak out don't freak out don't freak out don't freak out- "Yeah; I'm thinking the Raikage would be a lovely addition." Tenten gulped. "Most ninja would be honored or scared out of their minds to face the Raikage in battle. I am neither. What is a fly, beneath the weight of a mountain? If you are a fly, then I am also the wind; if you are the lightning's shadow then I am the lightning and thunder! ...If the Kumo ninja ever have the courage to remember this day, then they will weep as widow grieving her stillborn child." Putting together the hand seals, Tenten summoned Kawatatsu. He popped up on the rampart behind her, and Tenten hopped onto his back. "The heart of Kawatatsu beats in my chest, the bones of the land support my flesh! I have taken the sky for my wings, for I am the destroying angel that will cleanse this world of the stain you leave upon it!"

"I would gladly die for my fellow ninja and country!" A roared.

"Then may your death bless the new world to which I shall descend!" Tenten touched Kawatatsu with her chakra, who picked up on it and began to lend her his for the technique. Along the bones, as far as I can reach! Flesh, skin and bones! Snake, Ram, Dragon- Tenten thrust up a half Ram seal with a loud cry, and the land beneath the Kumo ninja violently erupted, rubble and trees and ninja alike flying high into the air. Her chakra still entwined with Kawatatsu's, Tenten felt the dragon draw power from the veins of energy he called the earth's bones, and he shot a wide and voluminous jet of water from his trunk that washed over much of the area covered by Tenten's jutsu. She saw the Raikage land awkwardly, and formed a small magnetic barrier around his belt to hold him in place. "This can end now! All you have to do is kneel before me, and vow upon your eighteen generations that you will leave and never return!"

"The spirit... of my forefathers is with me..." A said, as he struggled against the barrier. "WE WILL NEVER KNEEL TO YOU!" He broke free and leapt at Tenten, who vanished to one of the kunai she'd placed along the rampart. Before he could turn around she formed another magnetic barrier, using it to fling A as high and far away towards his ninja as she could. Panting slightly, Tenten pulled out one of her weapon scrolls and flung it high into the air, extending her chakra to the shuriken and kunai and other weapons that came unsealed. Ram, Rat, Bird, Boar, Tiger! The shuriken and kunai multiplied until it was as if a black cloud descended upon the Kumo shinobi and exploded. Tenten breathed in deep, winded from keeping the Raikage down and using the other jutsu so close together.

"Use the bones of the earth to hold you up..." Kawatatsu advised. Tenten focused on drawing in the energy from the veins, mixing it with her chakra and letting it seep into her. Invigorated enough to move, Tenten signaled Kawatatsu to go East.

c=={=======

Mei Terumi tried to be reasonable about things, to be openminded and reach out to the other villages. So when the Raikage sent a scroll somewhat indirectly(he'd never do it openly, of course) asking for help pursuing a rogue kunoichi who was slaughtering his ninja, she agreed. In fact she herself was there on the front of the prow, Kiri's flagship leading three smaller boats crewed by ninja. Mei turned up to the crow's nest, and called, "Chojuro, check the shoreline!"

Extending the 'scope again, the Mizukage's assistant looked out. "They're there waiting for us!"

"Then oars out, and tell the team down below to step it up!" The orders were quickly carried out, and the ship lunged forwards periodically until the acceleration evened out. The shore crept closer, tiny figures showing up and then enlarging into people who waved and cheered enthusiastically. "Row back, let's drift in! Get the anchor ready!"

"Aye aye, Captain!"

Darui glanced to Samui, the turned to their ninja. "Back on your feet, get ready to move!" As he watched the anchor on the flagship drop, he heard the tearing of trees and screams behind him, and a loud, trumpeting roar.

In came Tenten, standing on the back of Kawatatsu. The dragon ripped through the Kumo ninja until it came to the edge of the treeline. "Did you think I wouldn't find you here?" Tenten yelled. "My black blade is hungry; blood calls to blood, pain to pain. Today, he will dine as a daimyo would!"

"Only the crows will be getting their fill today," Samui said smoothly.

"You speak the truth," Tenten nodded. "For far behind me they have already descended upon your brethren who came from the West. Your Raikage has not pursued me; whether that is because he is dead or injured I do not care to find out-"

"LIAR!" Darui interrupted.

"You know it's true." Said Tenten, narrowing her gaze on him. "If he was chasing me he would be here already." A hateful silence filled out, and Tenten looked up to see ninja ahead on the ships. Tenten focused her chakra, searing for the bones of the earth. One ran parallel to the shore and Tenten pulled its power deeper and deeper before forming the hand seals she needed. "Earth Style: Falling Earth Spears!" Many dozens of the Kumo ninja flinched and jumped away, until they heard a crunching sound out at sea. The flagship had been punctured, sea water rushing in to the hole and causing the ship to list starboard with remarkable speed. This was when Tenten struck with a Mudslide Jutsu, sweeping the front lines out to sea. Kiri ninja were fleeing the flagship, running over the waters to shore. "Kawatatsu, sir. If you would..." Tenten nailed a handful of nearby trees with her marked kunai as Kawatatsu roared, and focused on drawing energy from the bones of the earth.

The tide seemed to curl back in on itself, rising up and rushing forwards. It seemed to crash and crush many of the ninja that had escaped the shipwreck, but it parted around one ninja and those near to her and fell harmlessly about them. "She's standing right in the middle of you, move in on her!" Mei called as she dashed forwards. Taking sudden inspiration from the Mizukage the Kumo ninja pulled out shuriken and kunai. The throws were deflected back at them by Tenten's magnetic barrier, and she shoved up another barrier, causing the nearby ninja's shuriken and katanas to fly up. Switching as fast as she could to using Assault Blade, they rained down on the Kumo ninja below, and Tenten began teleporting back and forth across the scene, slicing down the bewildered ninja with her black katana.

"Stand strong, and get into the trees for cover!" Darui called. Kawatatsu was also active, clawing and slashing and weaving in and out of the trees.

Homboi trembled, and pulled out a kunai. "He's right!" Homboi said as he stepped over to Darui. "Stand strong, we can't afford to fall here!" And with that, Homboi plunged his kunai deep into Darui's exposed shoulder.

"Homboi, what are you doing?!" Samui yelled from his side.

"I'm doing what true ninja do, Samui. I'm going to fight for the winning side." He lunged forwards at his former ally, but Mei caught him by the arm and swiftly slashed his throat wide open with a tanto.

"Trash," She growled, letting the traitor fall to the sand. Looking at the chaos before her, Mei noticed something: the rogue ninja had stayed in a zigzag pattern between certain trees. Working up her chakra she spat out a few globs of lava at where Tenten was due to pop up. The lava, though correctly predicted and well timed, was a miss. Tenten warped away to the next tree over, and jumped to face Mei from several yards away.

"Look around you Mei." Tenten said, panting. "The only ninja left here are the wounded, the rest have fled. The only thing you can do for a coward is run with them! Go! Get back to your ships!"

Mei stared deep into Tenten's eyes. That's not fury there, it's pain. She's hurt... "I will not run with the cowards. I will fight for them."

Tenten frowned and shook her head, and threw a kunai at Mei as fast as she could. It was dodged by a slim margin, but Tenten took Mei by surprise by teleporting to her and hammer fisting the pommel of her katana into her temple. Still moving as fast as she could go Tenten clinched Mei and kneed her in the solar plexus full force and finished with an elbow connecting with Mei flush on her ear. Tenten didn't know whether Mei was unconscious or severely stunned, but she risked sitting down on her chest and using the chakra engraving technique to write "worthless old hag" on her forehead. "Kawatatsu! We're out!" Tenten warped away to the kunai she'd placed before the raid, and then to the one at the edge of the spike hills, and then to her underground base.

c=={========

Sakura Haruno finally caught up with Naruto. Fastest ninja alive, for sure... "N- Naruto, let me catch my breath..."

"We don't know if they got to Hinata or not, Sakura. We have to get busy looking."

"Ten. Seconds!" With an annoyed frown Naruto turned away and scanned the area. "Alright. Let's start at the dam camp." Climbing and leaping between the hills the two spotted their target in the distance off to the left. In moments the camp was combed over, and as with every other time a Konoha ninja searched it it was found empty...

"Naruto!" Hinata ran over, with Santa walking up behind her. Naruto ran forwards and wrapped her up in a hug, laughing and spinning her around.

"Where'd you come from? Could'a sworn this place was deserted."

"We were nearby in an underground base I made with a jutsu," Santa lied. "We hurried over as soon as I sensed you."

"And the Shimo ninja?" Asked Sakura.

"Turned tail and ran when the fighting started. They left us; probably didn't think we'd survive."

"But what about the rogue ninja? I think Granny Tsunade said something about ninja from Kumo, too." Naruto asked Santa.

Santa closed his eyes and sighed, and shook his head. "Taiyocho pulled off a miraculous slaughter like there's never been before... but there was one ninja she couldn't take down..."

"And that was...?" Sakura asked.

"The Raikage himself. Hinata?" Wrinkling up her nose, Hinata pulled out a small scroll and unsealed the contents. The body of a kunoichi dressed in Tenten's green uniform pants and wearing a Konoha flak jacket appeared on the ground. The young woman had dark brown hair that came down to just above her shoulders, and a familiar heart shaped face.

"...I closed the jacket to hide the wound," Hinata said quietly. She unzipped it and in the kunoichi's chest was a large hole. "He punched straight through her."

"The jacket of a Konoha ninja, but I don't recognize her..." Sakura mused. "So likely she stole it off of one of ours." Sakura huffed. "This doesn't make sense, ninja powerful enough that the Raikage himself leads the fight against them don't just come out of nowhere. Madara Uchiha, we knew about. Obito, too; though he wore that mask; and Kabuto and Orochimaru and Pain..."

"Well whoever they were, they're gone and won't be coming back to Nakamura Pass," Naruto said, clearing his throat. "And now that we know they're dead and you guys are safe, can we go check out the cave with the dra-"

"NO."

"Sheesh, no dragons in the wild since forever and we can't take a look..." Naruto mumbled under his breath. But next to Hinata being safe, that was a small disappointment that flew away like a bird towards a sunny sky.

EPILOGUE

The Raikage stared around the small table with his good eye: across from him was the Mizukage, the "worthless old hag" brand dominating her forehead; to his left was the village head of Shimo, a man with long graying hair and a pointed goatee; and to his right... was an empty chair with a Kumo forehead protector on the table in front of it. A's gaze lingered there for a moment. "Are we all in agreement then?" The Mizukage nodded, as did the Shimo village head. "Then after the army's training is complete we will march on Konoha."