[Here's Chapter Four, out a bit earlier than usual. Enjoy~ Also, if anyone wants to submit an OC to be used at a later point in the story, PM me about it. The only restriction is that the character has to be usable as an enemy.]
Chapter Four
1
With Koji and Baúl leading, the group raced through the forests which surrounded the Hidden Leaf Village. The sky that they could see through the dense treetops was still bright and blue. This made sense since they had left the village at about 4PM. It wouldn't start to get dark out for another few hours, but that wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. The sky could let loose an onslaught of rain, washing away the scent forever. Luckily for them, it wasn't supposed to rain today. Tomorrow, but not today.
The scent of Ran Iroh wasn't strong, but it was still there leading them through a strange path that went through thickets of trees and bushes. The group concluded that this meant that Iroh was probably either a shinobi or just a normal man capable of leaping into trees and then into other trees from those initial trees. The first option, Iroh being a shinobi, excited Keiji a bit. Apparently, this would mean that he would be able to put a technique he had learned into use.
"You learned a new technique, Keiji?" Koji asked, somewhat puzzled. If Keiji knew a technique, why hadn't he used it in his fight against Midori that was only a few days ago. It wasn't likely that any Genin could learn a technique which would be useful against a person like Ran Iroh, whom they knew little to nothing about, in only a few days. "Well, now we both have something up our sleeves for this guy."
As a part of the Inuzuka custom, when a clan member becomes a Genin they are to be taught a certain technique. It was a technique that had been developed over the years and this technique was gradually merged in with their fighting style. It was said to make an Inuzuka's techniques and attacks more powerful.
Keiji didn't respond to Koji's statement. He just retained an excited look as he focused on what was to come.
"Are we getting any closer to him, Koji?" Midori asked as Koji led the group down from the branches of a tree.
Keiji looked at Midori as they stopped briefly. He got a strange feeling when he looked at her. On top of that, there were two things that he couldn't believe. He couldn't believe that this was the girl who had almost beaten him in the graduation exam and he also couldn't believe that she could be a Jinchuuriki. He wanted to ask her about it, mostly if the Kyuubi had ever tried to contact her or anything and if it had, what it was like. The strange feeling didn't come from this, though.
He felt as though Midori was radiating with something that he couldn't quite determine. He felt like he was sensing her chakra, or something. It was weird since it had never happened with any other person before.
Koji took a deep breath and examined the scent a bit more thoroughly. He had already noticed that Iroh was moving at an odd pace. At some times, Iroh's scent was thin and barely detectable, which suggested that he was moving at a higher speed. At other times, Iroh's scent was packed together and slightly more noticeable, suggesting that he had been standing in certain places for a longer period of time. This meant that Iroh was alternating between moving at a higher speed and a lower speed, probably to throw off anyone who tried to track him down. At this specific area, Iroh had been moving more slowly so the scent was slightly stronger.
After confirming that the scent had grown a bit stronger, he told Midori that they were catching up to him. Koji also said that they would need to move a bit faster since it was likely that Iroh was a shinobi. Keiji and Midori both followed Koji's suggestion and when they started moving again, they increased their speed.
About two hours had passed before Iroh's overall scent became strong. To Koji, it seemed as though Iroh had come through this area about a half an hour ago. The scent was more spaced out when they came through this area, so it was likely that Iroh had run at a faster pace here. This meant that he would've been walking more slowly in the next area, so it was possible that they would run into him soon.
Koji turned to Keiji and Midori. "We're ready for this, right? I mean... What if he's a Jonin or something? Do you think we can handle him?" Koji asked, Baúl barking at the uncertainty in his owner's voice.
Keiji held out his fist to Koji in response. "Of course we can. I've got my jutsu and Hangetsu, you've got your jutsu and Baúl, and Midori has her clones and the Kyuubi." he said, knowing full well that the last point was only half true. Midori may have been a Jinchuuriki, but contact with the Kyuubi had not yet been established so she couldn't rely on its power to help them.
Koji tapped his fist against Keiji's and nodded. They were slightly more advanced than your average Genin. Keiji knew how to use a unique weapon like Hangetsu, somewhat. Koji and Baúl were already an awesome team. Midori had the Kyuubi, which gave her an unnatural amount of chakra. They were now confident that they would be able to win after Keiji had reassured them.
Keiji, Koji, and Midori kept running through the forest while keeping an eye on their surroundings for about six more minutes before Baúl stopped them with his barking. Koji immediately recognized what triggered Baúl's barking and nodded to Keiji and Midori.
He's up ahead, then? Keiji thought, reaching into a side pocket of the bag. He felt the handle of the kusarigama to make sure it hadn't fallen out of the bag while they ran, or anything. When he was sure that his weapon was still there, Keiji felt confident that this would go well.
2
A cloaked man was walking along a path in the forest. He had his right hand held up to the hood which he had up. He was pulling the hood slightly forward in an attempt to conceal more of his face. His left hand rested snugly in his pocket. The man was walking at a slow pace, as if he was in no hurry to get to his destination.
There were three kids chasing after him. They were sloppy and allowed themselves to get detected as soon as they had entered this man's range. They were only kids, though. Three kids and a dog. It would have been surprising if they had gotten past his sight.
This man was not Ran Iroh. Ran Iroh was nothing more than a hastily devised alias which proved more than useful for this person and the task which he had been required to perform. It was a simple task. He had been ordered to remain in the Hidden Leaf Village and perform medicinal services for the dogs of one of the clans there. Every so often, a drug would be delivered to him which he would test on the dogs. Yesterday's delivery and experiment was the final stage of his instructions. The drug had done exactly what it was supposed to do. It brought the bestial nature out of those dogs. After confirming this, he was supposed to return back to his base with the remains of the drug and a verbal report, to coincide with the written report he had sent out, of what the drug had done.
This man had expected the Hidden Leaf Village to suspect Ran Iroh of drugging the dogs and the man had expected the Hidden Leaf to send out a small group of Jonin to apprehend him. He had been prepared to fight them. With his skills, the Leaf Jonin wouldn't have stood a chance. Instead, they had sent a few Genin after him. He even recognized one of the kids.
Koji Inuzuka. During the time spent infiltrating the Hidden Leaf Village, Ran Iroh stayed with the Inuzuka clan. He had seen Koji from time to time, either training or doing something else entirely. Koji Inuzuka was definitely one of the more talented Inuzuka boys, having already developed a close bond with his hound Baúl. Iroh had even spoken to Koji once or twice, usually about the dogs. The boy was knowledgeable, but a bit naïve.
The cloaked man knew plenty about the Inuzuka clan. The members are born with an extremely enhanced sense of smell. They fight alongside ninja hounds, combining their own powers to overwhelm their opponents. One of their common techniques was Gatsuga, a jutsu where the user spins at a rapid enough speed to create a torpedo shape around their body. The technique was a dangerous one, for the foe, as it could easily shred whatever it hits.
"When you can see everything, nothing can deceive you." the man murmured, a laugh escaping his mouth for a brief moment.
The kids were nearing him, now. From what he could tell, the two other kids had large supplies of chakra. One of them was the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. That had been the first thing that he had found out, upon infiltrating the village. Just about everyone everywhere knew that the Kyuubi belonged to the Hidden Leaf Village. This man wanted to find out who the Kyuubi had been sealed into, in the event that they were an experienced shinobi and had gained control over the Kyuubi. Facing up against something like that could be a problem.
Naruto Uzumaki had become the Seventh Hokage and upon his death, the Kyuubi had been removed from his body and was immediately sealed inside the body of another host. By the time the Ninth Hokage Konohamaru Sarutobi was put into power, the Jinchuuriki at that time had died. The Kyuubi was removed again and had been sealed inside of Konohamaru's daughter who, in turn, had the Kyuubi removed upon her death and sealed inside of her granddaughter, Midori.
Midori Sarutobi was twelve years old and appeared to be nothing more than a weak little girl. Even with the Kyuubi, she would pose no threat to this cloaked man. The third kid was unimportant and was probably just some kid with a naturally high level of chakra. He would pose even less of a threat than Midori would.
The cloaked man let out a sigh and stopped walking. He turned around and faced the direction from which the three kids would come. He saw everything within seconds.
A tree directly across from him, on his left. He saw the small twitching shadow extending just past the right side of the tree. One was hiding behind there, choosing a terrible place to hide due to the position of the setting sun.
A tree directly in front of him. The man watched as two small leaves broke free from their moving branches and drifted down to the ground. One was hiding in the tree, unable to keep still and ultimately caused some of the leaves to fall from the tree. It was probably the random boy with the large amount of chakra.
A tree directly to his right. The angle was in the man's favor. In the corner of his eye, he could a small black-tipped tail sticking out from behind the tree. Apparently, Koji and Baúl were still only an amateur team. Koji hid well enough to conceal himself, but forgot entirely about concealing the dog that rested on his shoulders.
"How did you three even graduate from the Ninja Academy?" the man asked, practically feeling the three kids jump as he spoke to them. They waited a few moments first before stepping out of their hiding places.
Keiji and Midori stood the least distance away from one another. Keiji had his kusarigama out, the handle of the sickle in his right hand and the end of the chain in his left. Midori was holding a kunai knife. Koji and Baúl were standing on the side opposite of Midori's, Koji down on all fours and Baúl's fur reddened with the effects of a food pill.
"So, you're already prepared to attack? What if it wasn't me who poisoned your precious dogs, though?" the man said with a smirk. He all but confessed to the deed by speaking of something that he should have no knowledge of. Ran Iroh had left the village before the dogs had gone berserk. He wouldn't have known that anything had happened to them.
The man's words triggered the attacks.
Keiji leaped upwards and towards the cloaked man. He was swinging the sickle by the chain, preparing to throw it down at the man. He could guide the sickle by using the chain as some kind of control. While Keiji did this, Midori made a few hand seals and uttered the words, "Bunshin no Jutsu." Almost two dozen illusory clones of Midori appeared in the area surrounding the man who they believed to be Ran Iroh. Baúl jumped onto Koji's back and Koji made a single hand seal. Baúl transformed into a copy of Koji and dismounted from his back, the two of them charging at the cloaked man.
The cloaked man smirked for a brief moment before his body vanished, reappearing in front of Koji and Baúl.
"Did you know?" he started to say as he forcefully slammed his palms into Koji and Baúl's foreheads, knocking them back. The man disappeared again, reappearing in front of the real Midori. "Eyes that can see everything..." The man grabbed Midori by the throat, spun to the right, and launched her into the air towards Keiji. Immediately after, the man disappeared again and reappeared in the air, next to Keiji. "...cannot be deceived." The man swiftly grabbed the chain of Hangetsu and used it to pull Keiji. He spun to his left and released the chain when the two of them were facing the incoming Midori, sending Keiji flying at her. The man disappeared a fourth time, reappearing on the ground. At that precise moment, Koji and Baúl both slammed into the ground and Keiji and Midori slammed into each other, being forced down into the ground. Midori's clones disappeared when they hit the ground.
"You can attack me simultaneously or you can attack me individually. You can use hundreds of weak attacks or you can use one strong attack. No matter what you do, I will see through it all, and you three will regret ever coming after me."
Keiji, Koji, Midori, and Baúl lay on the ground for a few moments before standing up again. They had no idea how everything had even happened. This guy had countered all of their attacks perfectly in a span of ten seconds.
"He said his eyes can see everything..." Midori said to Keiji. "Do you think he has the Byakugan... or the Sharingan... or something similar?"
"I dunno." Keiji said, shrugging his shoulders. "With his hood up like that, I can't see his eyes to tell if he has a Kekkei Genkai or not."
From where they were standing, they could see Koji. First, they saw him take a small pill out of one of his pouches and slip it into his mouth. After he ate the pill, they watched Koji start to cast several hand seals. When Koji had finished making the hand seals, he let his arms hang freely out in front of him. Chakra started to gather at his fingertips, soon focusing more at his fingernails. The chakra extended off of his nails, forming into light blue chakra claws which were almost eight inches in length each.
"Tsume: Encho..." Koji growled after the chakra claws had fully formed. The effects of the food pill that he had eaten was starting to show, as well. Food pills were designed to grant the consumer enough energy and stamina to keep them fighting for days. They were commonly used by the Inuzuka clan.
Koji charged at the cloaked man with a speed that had been enhanced by the food pill. He reached the man in a matter of seconds and immediately began to barrage him with a bunch of swift slashes with the claws. Every slash was evaded by the man with unnatural ease. Some of them were dodged by stepping back, some were dodged by twisting out of the way, and some were even dodged with a quick redirection. Regardless of the method in which they were dodged, the man managed to evade every single attack as if knew where the next attack would come from even before Koji, himself, did.
Baúl came up from behind the man, using Koji's attacks as a means to get one of his own in. Baúl jumped at the man and twisted his body, intending to slam his hind legs into the back of the man. Before his attack even connected, the man jumped to the right. Baúl's attack kept going and the kick hit Koji in the face, sending him onto his back. Baúl's kick was powerful too, which was strange considering the overall small size of the dog itself.
"Dammit! Koji!" Keiji yelled, picking the kusarigama up off of the ground. It was his turn. Midori wouldn't be able to fight this guy with her skills. The guy knew exactly which Midori was the real one when she summoned all of those clones, before. It probably had something to do with that sight thing that he had been talking about, too. "Midori. Go see if Koji's alright. I'll lure this guy away."
Midori nodded and started to head towards Koji. Keiji started to spin the sickle by the chain again, keeping his eyes fixed on the cloaked man. Not only did this guy apparently have some kind of strange ability, but he was also very fast and strong. Losing sight of a monster like this could mean the end for all of them, so Keiji kept his opponent locked in his sights.
The cloaked man wasn't moving. He was simply standing across from Koji, watching the Inuzuka boy sit up in a daze, with his left hand in his pocket. He probably wasn't even actually watching Koji. It was probably just some ploy to make it seem as though there was an opening to attack. There was nothing else to do, so Keiji charged at the man and let loose his own attack.
Keiji threw the sickle at the cloaked man. When the sickle was about to hit the man and potentially slice him up, the man jumped backwards and evaded it with ease. Keiji grabbed the chain that was connected to the sickle with both hands and used it to guide the thrown sickle to the left, leading it right for the cloaked man. This was a perfect setup. The opponent was still in the air from having jumped backwards, so there was no way for him to evade the incoming sickle blade.
The sickle sunk into the man's chest, blood immediately splattering onto the blade and the ground. Keiji smirked out of both excitement and contentment. Not only had he managed to land a blow on the man, but it was also a fatal hit. It may have been enough to end the fight, altogether. The man's body hit the ground and lay there, motionless. By now, Midori had already gotten over to Koji and was checking his neck to make sure that Baúl's kick didn't actually do some damage.
Keiji started to walk over towards the man's body. What he saw when he got closer made his jaw drop out of confusion. Instead of the man's body, the sickle was sunk into a log. The blood which had splattered onto the ground and the blade no longer existed. The man had used a Kawarimi no Jutsu, or a substitution technique where the user can replace themselves with a nearby object to avoid an attack. From a distance, it had appeared as if the attack had actually hit the man, but the technique was performed with such a ridiculous speed that Keiji couldn't tell exactly when the switch had been done.
Keiji cursed and threw the weapon onto the ground. Now, he had lost sight of the enemy, which was exactly what he was trying to avoid. The guy could have just up and started running for all Keiji knew. Depending on when he had used the Kawarimi no Jutsu and considering his speed, he could have gotten a good distance away.
Looking around, Keiji first noticed Midori and Koji. Apparently, Koji was just fine after receiving the brunt of Baúl's attack. They were both standing, Baúl whining apologetically by his owner's feet. They seem to have noticed that the cloaked man was no longer in the direct area too and were looking around for him.
Did you know? Eyes that can see everything cannot be deceived.
Keiji groaned as the man's words resounded through his head. Could this guy actually see everything that went on? Was he actually omniscient?
Simultaneously... Individually... Strong... Weak... No matter what you do, I will see through it all...
Keiji fell to his knees clutching his head. This voice didn't even sound like the man they believed to be Ran Iroh. It was different. It was darker and more sinister.
Do you honestly believe you can win? You're weak. He's strong.
"What does it matter?" Keiji muttered to the voice in his head. "The guy's... probably long gone, by now..."
He's still here, watching you fools from the trees.
"How do you-" Keiji replied, now actively sure that he was speaking to a voice inside of his head.
Did you know? Eyes that can see everything cannot be deceived.
At that moment, the voice disappeared and the pain that had been present in Keiji's head ceased to exist. Everything seemed to be abnormally quiet to Keiji. He looked over to Koji and Midori. They had their backs to him, now, and had probably missed the little incident that had just gone on with Keiji and the voice in his head. They were probably still looking for the cloaked man.
He's in the trees, Keiji thought. He looked up at the trees and started looking for any signs of movement. The first few trees that Keiji observed were still. A tree that was a good distance ahead of him and slightly to the left had a few branches that twitched slightly. It may have been an animal, but that would be a good cover to use.
"Is he up there?" Keiji asked, hoping the voice would give him some confirmation. It took the voice a few moments, but it did speak up.
He is. Use your jutsu and knock him out of the tree.
It concerned Keiji slightly that whoever or whatever this voice belonged to knew that Keiji had a jutsu which could hypothetically be used to knock someone out of a tree. It was a good idea, though. If he could execute the technique properly, he could very well cause the tree to shake violently enough to knock the man out of it.
Keiji smirked and stood up. He made the hand seals for the jutsu. The sphere of water started to form in the air before Keiji. The sphere was slowly rotating in the air, the water appearing to be contained within a small circular barrier.
"Suiton!"Keiji exclaimed, both Midori and Koji looking over to him with astonishment. "Todoroku Nami!"
The back of the water sphere, the area directly in front of Keiji, seemed to explode slightly and the rest of the sphere was launched forward with an insane amount of force. The water moved through the air at a high speed, crashing into the base of the tree. The water seemed to continuously pelt the trunk of the tree, more water being used to attack the tree than there even appeared to be in the sphere of water.
The water was making the tree shake and sway. In about forty seconds, the water stopped pelting the tree. The tree swayed one final time after the technique stopped and then the cloaked man promptly dropped from the branches and crashed onto the ground.
"Eyes that can see everything can't be deceived, eh?" Keiji asked the man who had just fallen out of the tree and was now getting to his feet. "Yeah. Now two can play at that game."
Whoever you are... I'm asking you a favor. Be my eyes for me and help me beat this guy. I have to win. Keiji thought, feeling somewhat insane. He thought that the voice wouldn't respond and started to lose some hope.
Do exactly as I say and you'll come out of this alive.
Keiji sprinted towards the man as soon as the voice agreed to help him.
The cloaked man was now standing and merely looked towards the charging boy.
This kid doesn't know when to quit. And what could he possibly mean by two can play at that game? The cloaked man thought with a sigh.
As soon as Keiji reached the cloaked man, he threw a single punch at him. The cloaked man held his palm out in front of his face and grabbed Keiji's fist when it got close.
He's going to punch you with his free hand. Disable the hand and attack him.
Keiji mentally nodded and used his own free hand to reach out and quickly grab the man's free hand by the wrist. This seemed to catch the man off guard, and Keiji used this opportunity to attack. He leaned back a bit, as much as he could, and then launched his head forward, slamming his forehead into the cloaked man's nose.
The cloaked man screamed as his nose was smashed by Keiji's head. When Keiji pulled back, blood was dripping down his head and face. Most of it was not his. The cloaked man most likely now had a broken nose and blood was streaming down his face. He had broken free of Keiji's grip and let go of the hand, bringing his own hand up to his shattered nose.
He knew I was going to punch him! He knew exactly what I was going to do and stopped the punch before it was even executed! He knew I would be stunned by what he did and he used that chance to attack! How?! How did a stupid brat manage to do this to my face?! The cloaked man mentally roared, his eyes blazing with anger and frustration.
Keiji took a few steps back and held his hand to his head. A small cut had opened up on his forehead, but that was nothing compared to the damage he had just done to his enemy. He was grinning from joy. The enemy that he, Koji, and Midori could not even touch before was now injured and clearly in shock.
How did you know? How did you know that that would work? Keiji mentally asked.
It isn't a special trick or anything. I can see through your eyes. Everything has a tell. I notice those tells, like his hand twitching before he goes to throw a punch or his right foot shifting position before he goes to run to the right. It's most likely what he does, too.
I see what he does, now. He tries to psych us out by making it seem like he either has a Kekkei Genkai or like he can actually see everything. All that he actually does is predict our actions before we do anything by looking for our tells. Keiji thought, feeling slightly annoyed with this enemy. This guy used a simple trick to knock them around. If it hadn't been for whatever this voice belonged to, they would never be able to win this fight.
"Speaking of which... Koji, Midori! This guy is mine! Just stand back and watch while he gets taken down!" Keiji yelled back to his two friends. The two of them were amazed by how Keiji had been able to land such an attack on their enemy, who had previously tossed them around like they were simply trash. Keiji looked at the cloaked man, now. "Who are you, really? You don't fit the description of someone selfless enough to go around treating injured animals, so I wouldn't be surprised if you go by a different name."
"Call me Zagi..." the cloaked man said to Keiji, his hand hovering over his broken nose. He was too afraid that touching his nose would cause more pain, but the bleeding would not be reduced if pressure wasn't applied to it. "...it's the last name you'll ever learn, kid!" Zagi charged at Keiji, himself, and prepared to attack.
3
Both Keiji and Zagi fought at a close range. With the help of the voice inside of his head, Keiji was able to parry every single one of Zagi's attacks. He would be warned of a punch coming from the left and Keiji would step out of the reach of Zagi's left hand, before the punch was even executed. He would be told of Zagi's presumed movements and Keiji would manage to get in an attack as Zagi tried to move. With every single attack that was parried or dodged, Zagi grew more infuriated. With every single attack of Keiji's that hit, Zagi became even more infuriated. Every single time he got more infuriated, he made more and more basic mistakes. This attack strategy which Keiji was following was gradually tearing Zagi apart.
After becoming unable to comprehend how this kid who had been so easy to knock around before was able to predict his attacks so well, Zagi jumped back to create some distance.
"You're doing too well..." Zagi muttered to Keiji, reaching into his right pocket. His hand closed over an object inside of it as he pulled it out. In his hand was a syringe with a retractable needle. The needle popped out of the base of the syringe and a clear liquid dripped out of the tip. "I'll have to use this."
Keiji could barely make out the syringe in Zagi's hand, but the voice inside of his head could see it clearly. It noticed Zagi glance over to Koji and immediately knew what he was going to try.
He's done attacking you. He has a syringe in his hand and he's going to use it on the other boy.
"A syringe..." Keiji repeated out loud, knowing full well what would be inside of the syringe. It was probably the same drug which had been used on the hounds. A small dosage had been able to make Keiji go berserk for a short amount of time. What would a full dose do to someone like Koji? "I'll stop him."
Keiji immediately made a run for Koji. Koji had no idea what was going on, but he braced himself. Zagi started to run towards Koji after Keiji did, but Keiji reached him first. Keiji stood in front of Koji with his arms out at his sides.
"He's trying to use the drug on you, Koji. Stay behind me." Keiji said in a whisper tone. Before Koji could reply, Midori cried out in pain.
Instead of actually going for Koji, Zagi had gone for Midori and reached her with ease. He had used his speed to get behind her and knock her to the ground, grab her arm, and inject the drug into her body. Midori let out the cry at that point as she writhed on the ground in pain. As Keiji turned to see what had happened, even though he already knew, Zagi had used the same syringe and stabbed it into Keiji's chest.
"It all... happened so fast..." Keiji murmured as he dropped to the ground, the needle being ripped out of his chest. The drug had been injected into both Midori and Keiji. "He tricked us... with his eyes..."
The drug quickly spread throughout their bodies and effects made themselves apparent quickly. Both Keiji and Midori started to stand up, their bodies hunched over and their arms hanging down at their sides. They were both looking directly up at the sky. A sound was escaping their closed mouths, almost sounding as if they were groaning from some ongoing pain. They were.
The pain came first. All over their bodies, they experienced a severe burning sensation. It was probably from the drug itself, but the insides of their bodies were metaphorically on fire. They couldn't scream or cry out, though. They could barely even think or process what was going on. Everything was a blur to them.
When they looked down and at Zagi and Koji, both Keiji and Midori immediately felt hostility. They wanted to literally break the two of them apart, and they had no idea why. They started to move towards Koji first. He was the smaller of the two, so he would be the easiest to destroy. They moved slowly, one painful step at a time.
"Guys..." Koji called out, his voice weakened. Both Keiji and Midori had been injected with a drug which would make them as insane as the drugged hounds had been. Essentially, this could be problematic for Koji and Baúl. He realized this when they started to walk towards him with their blazing eyes. "Guys... Please stop."
After taking a few steps, they actually did stop. It wasn't from Koji's plea, though. A new development was taking place. Keiji and Midori both clutched their heads and started to scream, a powerful force emanating from both of their bodies. The force was strong enough to make the surrounding trees sway and crack. Zagi's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.
Chakra started to envelop Midori, but it wasn't her typical blue chakra. This chakra was red and malicious. As it leaked out of her body, it resembled an energy aura. Midori's eyes became red and bore a slight resemblance to that of a feline. The whisker markings on her cheeks darkened, making her look a bit more vicious. Her fingernails became claws and her teeth grew into fangs.
A similar thing was happening to Keiji. A darker, borderline black chakra was leaking out of his body, enveloping the entire vessel with a dark aura of chakra. His nails were becoming claws, just like Midori's had, and his eyes became a solid black. A single black streak appeared in his naturally white hair.
I didn't think that this would happen... Zagi thought, his eyes widening as he slowly backed away from Keiji and Midori. Midori was a Jinchuuriki, so it's possible that injecting her with the drug put her into a state where the seal, which kept the Kyuubi inside of her, would weaken and the chakra of the beast inside of her would leak out. The same thing was happening to Keiji, though, and Zagi understood what this meant. The kid is a Jinchuuriki, too, and what's happening to the girl must be happening to him. He must have made contact with the Bijuu inside of him during the fight and it must have been acting as his eyes, which was why he was able to counter all of my attacks so perfectly. How, though? The Hidden Leaf Village was only supposed to have the Kyuubi. Either way, I have to retreat so I can report this, as well.
The force that was exerting from both Keiji and Midori doubled in strength and then proceeded to triple in strength. Koji was watching as his two friends underwent their transformations. He was holding a quiet Baúl and backing away. The trees surrounding them were being pushed back. Koji was afraid that they might get torn out of the ground from the power that was being exerted.
Keiji and Midori both looked over to Zagi. Keiji smirked a vicious smirk as his body disappeared from sight, reappearing by where his kusarigama was on the ground. He quickly picked it up and disappeared again, reappearing in front of Zagi. Keiji now held the sickle by the handle in the air above his head.
"Osen sa reta Tsuki..." Keiji growled, the black aura engulfing the sickle as well. He slashed on a diagonal angle to the left, the sickle cutting into Zagi's chest. The black aura of chakra pushed him away from the blade as soon as the slash was made on his chest. Zagi screamed as he was launched through the air and into a nearby tree trunk.
Keiji then turned to Koji, who Midori was already starting to walk towards. Koji was still backing away, not sure if he should make any sudden movements. They were under the influence of a Bijuu's chakra. If they wanted to, they could easily catch him. A Bijuu's chakra could typically enhance the strength, speed, chakra, and reflexes of a Jinchuuriki. It could turn them into ridiculous powerhouses.
Keiji and Midori moved closer and closer to Koji. Keiji was moving a bit faster than Midori, but they both reached him at about the same time. Midori held her clawed hand up and Keiji held his kusarigama up, both intending to slash Koji.
Koji looked down at Baúl in the last few moments before Keiji and Midori would execute their attacks. Koji wouldn't be able to defend Baúl from either of these two, like they were now. There was only one thing that he could do in this situation.
Turning to his left, Koji dropped Baúl onto the ground. "Baúl. Get away from here." he said. Baúl didn't respond with a bark or a whine. He simply shook his head and stood his ground, refusing to leave Koji's side. Koji wanted to tell Baúl to leave, again, but knew that there was no point. If they were going to die here, they would die together.
Keiji swung the sickle down at Koji's throat and Midori swung her claws down at Koji's chest. Just before the attacks could connect with their targets, they were stopped.
Yasuo was standing in the space between Keiji and Koji, both hands gripped around the arm that Keiji used to execute his attack. Kurizu was standing behind Keiji. He had Keiji's other arm twisted around his back. Takeshi had both of Midori's arms held behind her back. Both attacks had been effectively stopped.
"Keiji... You're always causing trouble wherever you go, aren't you..." Yasuo said, struggling to hold back Keiji's arm.
"Keiji! Snap out of it!" Kurizu yelled from behind the white haired boy. The power that had been emanating from both Keiji and Midori had died down.
Takeshi didn't bother trying to speak to Midori. Right now, she was under the influence of the Kyuubi's chakra. Speaking to her probably wouldn't do much of any good. The Leaf Village had prepared for this, though. After moving Midori's arms together so her wrists were overlapping, he grabbed both wrists with one hand. With the free hand, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. The paper had a single word on it, and it read Seal. Takeshi reached around and put the slip of paper on Midori's forehead. Almost immediately, the Kyuubi's chakra began to recede and all of the signs of the transformation(the claws, the red feline eyes, etc) except for the black whiskers disappeared, too.
The chakra that had enveloped Keiji receded on its own. The claws and the black eyes all disappeared. The only remnant of the transformation that was left was the black streak in his hair. Both Keiji and Midori passed out as soon as the chakra had fully receded.
Takeshi handed Midori's limp body over to Yasuo and Kurizu held Keiji. Takeshi instructed Yasuo to keep the slip of paper pressed onto her forehead for at least ten more minutes. Then he went over to Koji.
"Where is the person you three were fighting?" Takeshi asked. Koji looked confused, as if the answer to that question should have been obvious. He looked past Takeshi over to the tree, which had some blood on it. Zagi's body, which had been laying at the base of the tree mere minutes ago, was gone.
"He must have gotten away. We can still catch him if we-" Koji began.
"No. Our priority is returning you three to the village. You'll give us a description of him and a more experienced team will be sent after him. Let's go, now."
Koji reached down and gathered Baúl into his arms. Takeshi walked with Koji and Baúl, Yasuo with Midori, and Kurizu with Keiji. The seven of them started back towards the village.