Chapter 7: Operation Eliminate Shinpaku

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto of History's Strongest Disciple: Kenichi or any affiliated characters or logos. This story is made strictly for fun, not profit.

It was afternoon at Kouryou High, and Naruto was sitting outside waiting for his friends to return from their club meetings. He wasn't thrilled with being placed on guard duty, although it had partially been his own fault for speaking out during their last meeting. Since Lee, Shikamaru and Choji didn't want the job, he had been waiting on the school grounds each afternoon for the last week. Not only was it boring to sit around and do nothing for an hour, he was also constantly approached by Shinpaku members begging him to join their fighting group.

To make matters worse, they hadn't seen any action in that entire span of time. Their first two days of school had been Hell with enemies attacking, but lately everything had become stagnant again. Shikamaru had insisted that he keep a lookout while the girls were at their club meetings, but it had been over a week and Team Hebi hadn't so much as threatened them let alone made a move to attack. The blonde fighter was never known for being the most patient individual, but this sudden quiet had made him uneasy and even a little bit paranoid. It was an odd combination of boredom and irritation that drove him to this.

The top disciple stood had been wandering the grounds for several minutes now, occasionally making stops to rest. It was maddening that the enemy had been so fearsome when they first arrived, and now seemed keen on ignoring them. As these thoughts shifted through his mind, Naruto felt someone tapping him on the back, prompting him to jump a few feet in the air. He instinctively swung a fist over his shoulder, causing a familiar blue-haired man behind him to duck and sidestep out of his reach.

"Take it easy kid, I didn't come here to pick a fight!" Takeda waved his hands defensively, a joking, carefree expression present on his face.

"Oh, it's just the blue-haired weirdo." Naruto made a distasteful expression as he turned to face the taller man. "I already told that alien guy that I'm not interested in joining up with your little gang. Tell your crazy boss he can take the offer and shove it."

"What an insult calling that pointy-eared freak, our leader." He leaned against the nearby wall, absentmindedly chewing on the end of a piece of grass. "It's just like Kenichi said before… The rest of us don't really have an interest in Nijima's idiotic schemes, we just use the Shinpaku as a means of sticking together as friends and fellow martial artists."

Naruto narrowed his eyes with a clueless expression. "All right, if you didn't come here to annoy me, then would you care to explain why you were following me around just now?"

"Don't go getting all paranoid on me. I was just passing by when I realized you've been skulking around this spot the last few days and was starting to wonder why."

Although the blonde fighter wasn't particular thrilled to see a member of the Shinpaku Alliance, he was relieved to have someone around to talk to besides the wall and quickly seized the chance. "My friends and I have been pretty jumpy since the whole Team Hebi attack started last week. My buddy Shikamaru figured it would be a good idea if one of stayed behind and kept watch while Sakura and Ino were at their club meetings after school. It was just my luck that they saddled me with the job."

Takeda let out a light-hearted chuckle as he considered this. "Let me guess, you opened your big mouth and accidentally volunteered for the post. C'mon, tell me I'm right."

"Yeah, maybe… I don't know why I'm talking to you to begin with." Naruto replied grudgingly. The younger fighter placed his hands behind his head and leaned back slightly, gently exhaling slowly in an attempt to relax. After a moment, he shrugged and turned back to face his unwanted company. "I've got more important things to worry about, being Konoha's top disciple and all."

"Oh yeah, you're that bigmouth kid who said he wanted to be the world's greatest fighter." The blue-haired man began with a smile. "Since your masters obviously consider you to be the best disciple out of the lot, you must get some pretty sweet privileges, am I right? My pal Kenichi's the big fish at Ryozanpaku, and he gets six awesome masters all to himself."

The blonde fighter sighed, although his expression remained cheerful. "It's pretty cool… Most of the masters from my dojo still have their own disciples to teach, but as the number one dude they also have to teach me their techniques too. I've also got a ton of back-breaking training to worry about, and it's beginning to drive me nuts after just the first week."

Takeda spit out the blade of grass in his mouth. "For a dude who screams out his goals for the entire world to hear, you don't sound so enthusiastic about the effort it takes to reach them."

Naruto's expression suddenly turned sour. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you." He said before turning his head away from the boxer. "I met you and your buddies randomly during first period, and all of sudden you're asking me a bunch of random questions!"

"It's called bring sociable, kid." The other man replied with a pointing gesture, his optimistic demeanor remaining undaunted. "Sometimes making conversation with a stranger can result in friendship. Besides, from what you were saying earlier, I can tell that neither of us have anything better to do right now anyway."

"Speaking of which, what're you doing standing around after school like a creep? I thought all of you Shinpaku guys held up in the chemistry lab."

"I'm just waiting for my buddy Ukita to finish at the Judo club. Nijima recommended we watch each other's backs until this mess with those Hebi guys is finally over. They threatened to kill all of us if we didn't join, and we've got a feeling they weren't just joking around after seeing what happened to Natsu Tanimoto last week."

"Looks like these jerks are targeting everyone who can fight." Naruto clenched his fists, his own excitement welling up as he realized something. "If you're worried, that must mean you're a big time fighter too!"

"And one of the best in this school, I might add!" Takeda replied with an immodest grin.

Despite having disliked the upperclassman only moments ago, Naruto found himself suddenly interested in hearing more. Back at the dojo, Master Jiraiya always described him as the disciple with the most tenacity and the deepest dedication, which was partially why the eight masters had chosen him as the one destined to inherit all of their techniques. The others enjoyed practicing their respective styles, by the blonde-haired knucklehead had a certain interest and desire to be the best that none of the others possessed. Upon remembering that the man standing nearby was also a fighter, he naturally found himself hungry for more information.

Before he could inquire about this, the boy realized that he never even introduced himself to the man formally. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, although I don't remember catching your name last time."

"You didn't because I never told it to you." The other man replied with a casual shrug. "If you wanna know, the name's Ikki Takeda. They call me the puncher, because of my powerful left jab and my super-cool fighting style."

"Speaking of which, what kind of martial arts do you study?" Naruto leaned forward with a look of anticipation.

Takeda clenched his hands into fists and swung at the air in front of him before answering. "I've been a boxer for a long time now. There was even a time when I was in line for the pro-circuit, but a nasty accident outside of the ring ruined my chances for that."

The blonde-haired disciple leaned against a railing in the schoolyard with a calm expression. "It looks like you're doing fine now." When the other man didn't answer right away, he stared off into the sky for a moment, lazily watching a flock of birds fly by before working up the nerve to continue the conversation. "So, why did you give up your dream of being a professional?"

"Let's just say that I ran into some trouble not exactly far off from what we're experiencing right now. During the accident, some dumbass smashed my left arm and left it paralyzed, and it wasn't until recently that I finally got the feeling back."

Naruto scratched his head with an innocently puzzled look. "Are you saying that the injury was temporary or something?"

"Nope, far from it!" Takeda refuted with a cheerful expression. "Akisame Koetsuji, one of the masters of Ryozanpaku, examined me after I lost a fight with Kenichi. He told me I must've had a crappy doctor and managed to restore the mobility in my left arm after a long, painful process. Can't say it was the biggest thrill of my life, but being able to box again was worth all of the bumps I ran into along the way!"

"That's actually a cool story." The younger student replied, looking genuinely impressed for the first time since their conversation began. "Another thing I noticed is that you said you managed to fight that Shirahama kid before your arm was fixed. Does that mean you took him on with only one hand?"

The blue-haired fighter nodded. "Yup, and I had him on the ropes for a while too. Although it's not all that impressive considering was over a dozen times weaker than he is now back when we first clashed. I was pretty impressed by the power of his moves, even back then. Even with one hand I was still tough enough to take down about ten guys single-handedly."

"Even if the enemy doesn't have any real skills, you must be pretty tough to be able to fight with a handicap." The blonde fighter commented, looking like he was enjoying himself.

The boxer's expression became more serious while still retaining his jovial nature. "I was a delinquent when I lost to Kenichi, but getting the feeling back in my arm was the best thing that ever happened to me. Even though I didn't deserve his help, that kid saved my life and brought me back to Ryozanpaku for treatment. I'll never be able to repay him for letting me box again!"

Naruto grinned while batting him a thumbs-up. "I may not know you all that well, but you've definitely got the spirit of a true martial artist!"

"Thanks… I think…" Takeda ran a hand through his hair. "If all your bragging is any indication, I'm guessing you're probably not so bad either."

"That gives me an awesome idea!" the younger student smirked again, his excitement growing by the minute. "You wanna see what I've got, then what do you say we go a few rounds right here right now? Since we've got nothing better to do right now, why not try some good old-fashioned sparring?"

The blue-haired upperclassman considered him for a moment before nodding. "All right kid, if that's the way you wanna play it then I guess I'm in." Takeda reached into his sleeve and withdrew a small piece of white chalk. He ran around drawing a square on the concrete before pocketing the utensil and placing an egg timer on the ground.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What is this supposed to be, a boxing match?"

"Street fights are fun, but nothing says sportsmanship like a good old fashioned boxing ring." The older student replied with a smile as he stepped over the line. "Since you called the match, I get to call the conditions. We'll play this game as two rounds out of three! Each round goes to whoever can score a ring out, and a knockout makes it an instant victory!"

"No problem, my buddy Shikamaru's also a boxer, and I've been practicing with him in a real fighting ring back at the dojo. His teacher Asuma specializes in a load of hard-hitting styles!"

Takeda looked intrigued at this. "Surprising that you guys have got a master-class boxer at your dojo, but having a teacher doesn't necessarily mean you're a better fighter than me!" he shrugged absent-mindedly before making a challenging gesture with his hand. "So knucklehead, you ready to step into the ring?"

Naruto jumped over the line and took a fighting stance. "I'm ready when you are, blue-hair!"

"All right, let's start!" he replied with a look of anticipation. "Ready, set… Go!"

Naruto rooted his stance to the ground and began with a sweeping kick, forcing his opponent to jump back to avoid it. He righted his position and thrust his leg forward to strike again, but Takeda countered by throwing his first forward. His hand collided painfully with the other man's foot, causing them both to stumble as the force of the impact sent them staggering backwards away from each other. It was rare that someone could punch with enough force to repel a flying kick, yet this man had done so with ease. The boxer was definitely a skilled fighter in his own right, although he lacked that certain sense of grace.

The blonde disciple quickly noted that his current sparring partner was a much more aggressive fighter than Shikamaru had been. Despite both men using the same style of fighting, Takeda seemed to go more for power, while Konoha's genius specialized in evasive maneuvers. During his previous fights back at the dojo, the lazy disciple had favored footwork over force, instead exploiting the use of careful movements to dance around attacks while waiting for an opening. In comparison, the blue-haired fighter charged straight into the fray and appeared to be trying to smash through his frontal guard.

"You've got a good kick and some awesome moves. I'm actually impressed so far." Takeda replied as he jabbed with his right arm repeatedly.

Naruto ducked and sidestepped each strike with relative ease. "You've got a lot of power and speed behind your fists, but those leg movements could use some work!"

"Thanks for the advice, but you ain't seen nothing yet!" The older fighter swung a few more times with his right, a smile lighting his features as he began alternating swings between both hands. "You've seen what the right can do, now take a taste of my lethal left!"

Takeda shot his arm forward with blindly speed, his movement too fast for his opponent to properly dodge. The blonde disciple was briefly reminded of Lee's lightning fast movements as he raised his arm to block, using the side of his wrist to absorb the impact of the strike. Naruto followed up by extending his own arm outwards and pulling the boxer into a joint lock, thrusting his left arm forward into a fast punch that connected to his adversary's stomach. The force of his own blow knocked the blue-haired fighter off his feet, pushing him outside the boundaries set down by the chalk lines.

The boxer stood up with a look of surprise, realizing that his enemy had purposely held back with that last hit. It made him a little bit angry that the blonde boy was so tough, but lately he had been feeling the same type of inferiority around the alliance's heavy hitters like Kenichi and Tanimoto. Despite this jealousy, he was also quite happy to have met such a strong opponent. Takeda gently rubbed the section of his stomach where he was hit, looking somewhat amused by how swiftly he had been lost the round. As he approached the ring, his egg timer went off again.

"Looks like I win!" Naruto pumped his fists in the air and stomped the ground triumphantly.

"You've got some really awesome moves… I can definitely see how you beat me in the first round." Takeda congratulated him with a cheerful expression. "Of course you're getting pretty cocky considering that was still only the first fight. We're doing two out of three, remember?"

Naruto cracked his fingers and neck with a similar expression, a wide grin appearing on his face as he imitated the boxer's challenging gesture from earlier. "So puncher dude, you ready for the second round, or are you gonna throw in the towel before I kick your butt again?"

"Nope, not a chance…" The boxer did a small skip over the chalk line and raised his fists again, taking a moment to exercise his wrists by doing a few punching motions.

"Bring it on dude! I'm ready for anything you've got!" he cried out excitedly.

"Just because you're a good martial artist, doesn't mean I plan on surrendering when there's still two rounds left until it's over. Giving up isn't the kind of thing a real fighter would do, no matter how hopeless the situation looks."

"That's just what I was gonna say!" Konoha's top disciple replied as he crouched down and took his classic Shaolin stance. "All right, let's finish this!"

Meanwhile…

Since Izumi had been absent from school, the gardening club was reduced back to two members for the duration of the afternoon. Kenichi stood in the corner potting a series of new plants while the group's newest member watered the flowerbeds and tended the seedlings. Ino whistled to herself as she worked diligently, all the while wondering about her fellow gardener. He hardly seemed like the type to be a fighter, and yet she had seen for herself just how strong the boy was firsthand. Most of the martial artists she knew had a certain edge to their personality, but the person standing behind her seemed pure and harmless like the flowers she was tending.

After wiping the sweat from her brow, she decided to voice her thoughts. "Hey Kenichi, I was just curious about something."

The brown-haired disciple set down the plant he was holding and smiled back at her. "Sure thing… What's on your mind, Ino?"

"Nothing really, it was just something that just came to mind." She began with a note of hesitation, causing him to cock his head to the side innocently. "I know this might be a personal question, but I was wondering why someone like you wanted to become a martial artist."

"Someone like me…" Kenichi pondered with a mingled sense of embarrassment and curiosity.

Ino felt a sense of shame in the pit of her stomach and quickly waved aside the notion. "It's nothing bad." She burst out quickly in n attempt remedy her lack of thought. "It's surprising to me that you became the number one disciple of Ryozanpaku, since you don't seem like the type of person that would be into the martial arts. You always seem so calm and innocent, like a rabbit or a bird" the girl took a moment to berate herself for sound stupid. "I don't know, what I'm trying to say is…"

"Relax… I get it." The boy raised a hand to stop her from flustering herself before bashfully scratching the back of his head. "You're not the first person to say this about me. As a matter of fact, my own masters have told me that I have no aptitude for martial arts whatsoever."

The blonde girl looked slightly affronted. "That's a pretty horrible thing to say, especially since you've got some really good moves."

Kenichi put away a watering can he was holding and took a seat on a crate, taking a moment to exhale a breath he had been holding in. "I may have gotten pretty far in learning how to fight, but that doesn't mean I have any talent for it."

"So then how did you get so good at fighting?" she asked with an excited look.

"The only reason I managed to get this far is because my masters put me through Hell on a daily basis. I guess you could say that in my case, hard work trumps talent… The only reason I can fight so well is because I'm willing to put in that extra work in order to reach my goals."

She took a moment to take all of this in and smiled. Most of the students at Konoha were from strong lines of martial artists whose clans had been honing their own styles of fighting for years. The purpose of the dojo was to house these young hopefuls and train them to maximize their potential abilities to extremes by apprenticing the students to gifted masters. Although the people of Konoha had nothing against ordinary students signing up, it wasn't something that happened very often due to the school's reputation as a place where only the strongest gather.

"I came from a family that practiced the martial arts regularly, so my father always made note of my inbred talent as a fighter." Ino replied with a calm expression, her blue eyes wandering off as she thought of home. After a moment, her focus returned and she smiled. "I guess you might say that my own experiences don't exactly match up to yours!"

"No, apparently not… My career's been full of losses, and a lot of them are more humiliating than you could possibly imagine." The boy replied with a note of exasperation.

The new club member took a moment to turn off the water and put away the hose, since she had finished watering the plants for the day. "That's really not such a bad thing." She began with a reassuring expression. "A fighter gains a lot more experience from losing a battle than winning, because they learn from their mistakes. That's what my master always says whenever she spars with me and kicks my butt."

Kenichi rubbed the side of his head as he remembered his last practice. "Well, at least your master doesn't punch you headfirst through brick walls by accident. My Muay Thai teacher does his best to hold back, but he usually gets a little carried away."

"No wonder you got so strong! Sounds like the martial arts weren't taught to you, more like hammered into you." The girl added with a nervous look.

"Seriously, you don't know the half of it." He added with a pained expression, his hand subconsciously nursing the spot where Apachai struck him yesterday.

The two club members shared a small laugh, but Ino paused when she realized something important. She took a moment to clear her throat and worked up the nerve before voicing her thoughts again. "Come to think of it, you never did answer me what I asked why you started training in the martial arts… You don't mind me asking, do you?"

"No, it's fine." Kenichi replied, his eyes wandering off for a moment as he considered the question. He remembered discussing the same thing once before with Kensei's daughter Renka, although it was certainly a personal topic. "Do you promise not to tell anyone if I answer you?"

"You don't need to worry about that. My lips are sealed…" Ino placed a finger to her mouth with a sincere nod.

Kenichi took a deep breath and blushed slightly as several memories began replaying in his mind. "Well, I guess you could say it all really started when I was just a kid." He began with a nostalgic smile. "Years ago I saw a girl protect an innocent woman from some thugs using her fighting skills, and it made me realize that the martial arts could be used to protect those I care about most in this world. Less than a year ago I met this same girl again, and saw her fight off delinquents without even hesitating. Anyone else would have been scared to get involved, but she jumped right without any fear at all."

"I see…" she replied with a thoughtful expression, her own gaze wandering off again.

The blonde thought for a minute, quietly considering his entire story. While she noted that several points he had made were ambiguous, it was only natural since this was obviously a big part of his life. It was simple, and yet Ino could tell that he had a deep desire to protect other people using his skills. Thinking back to what he had done for Lee the previous week, it made a lot of sense that Kenichi would be that type of person. Her thoughts returned to a conversation she had with Sakura a few days ago about the boy sitting next to her, and in that brief moment, everything seemed to come together like the pieces of a puzzle.

"Are you okay?" Kenichi waved a hand in front of her face, causing the girl to look back at him.

"No worries, I was just thinking about everything you said just now." Ino stood up and turned to face him with a knowing smile. "My friends are in your homeroom class, and one of them told me that the girl you're always hanging around with is the granddaughter of Hayato Furinji."

"She's got some pretty amazing talent." He replied with a soft smile.

Ino ignored his last comment. "The girl you met that inspired you to become stronger all those years ago… She wouldn't happen to be the same person you were talking about, would she?"

"I guess you got me…" he replied with a nervous expression, his eyes staring into his lap. "I know it sounds silly, but what I really want is to be strong enough to protect her. Miu's a much better fighter than I'll ever be, but it doesn't stop me from striving for my goal."

Ino turned her back on him for a moment, looking touched that he cared so much about those around him. "Keep going! I'm sure you have what it takes and then some!" she encouraged her fellow gardener.

"Thanks a lot, Ino… I really appreciate it." Kenichi replied, looking a little less bummed out to have found someone else to talk to.

The blonde fighter walked over to a cabinet and put away the bag of soil. "What are friends for?" she added casually.

Although it seemed like the conversation should have continued, they instead took the next few minutes to clean up for the day. Ino finished wrapping up the hose and rearranged several of the plants that her new friends had been working on so that they would receive the proper amount of sunlight and attention. After pulling a few weeds out of the new flowerbed and spraying some liquid fertilizer on the ground, Kenichi collected all of the gardening tools and deposited them tin one of the crates littering the floor of the greenhouse. As they prepared to head out, the sound of footsteps caught their attention.

"Looks out!" Ino cried, pushing her fellow club member to the ground as a series of shuriken soared over their heads.

Ryozanpaku's disciple panicked slightly as he saw the blades embedded in the leg of a nearby table. The blonde-haired girl sitting on top of him pushed him away as she rolled sideways to avoid a kunai knife aimed at her back, her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of the source. A hooded figure garbed in a long black cloak stood at the door of the greenhouse, a series of shuriken in one hand, and a kunai knife in the other. Bother of his targets stood up and took fighting positions, but to their surprise, the attacker peacefully lowered his hands and stepped away from them.

"Who are you, and why are you trying to attack us?" the blonde girl took a step towards him cautiously, her temper rising.

"Forgive me for that, I had no intention of harming you." Them mystery man explained with a genuinely apologetic tone. "My quarrel is with that boy standing beside you, I have no desire to involve anyone else unless they interfere."

Ino stomped her foot on the ground and raised her hands. "Like Hell you don't!" she screamed, only to be stopped by her fellow club member.

Kenichi held out his arm to stop his new friend, his gaze settling on her a second later. "If he's here for me, there's no reason for you to put yourself in danger." He replied sternly. She opened her mouth to yell at him, but he quickly addressed the enemy. "I get it that you want to fight me, but would you care to explain why?"

"People know me as one of the Demons of Team Hebi." The cloaked figure put his weapons away and nodded calmly. "It was not my desire to force the issue, but the Devil Fist gave me direct orders to seal your fate. It is not my place to decline."

"If you don't want to do it, then why are you even a part of this gang?" Ryozanpaku's disciple questioned.

The mystery man hesitated for a moment. "As a member of the syndicate, it is my duty to obey the orders of the superior. My reasons for serving Team Hebi are my own."

"If you want to take out Kenichi, you'll have to take me on to! Members of the gardening club always stick together!" Ino fired up instantly, he fighting spirit flaring around her. "I'll take you on right here if you want, so long as you promise not to ruin the plants!"

Kenichi saw the enemy tense up and quickly stepped between them. "So long as we don't fight in a place where other people could get hurt, I'll accept your challenge as a martial artist! Are you willing to agree to these terms, or not?"

Their enemy nodded in agreement. "I also have no desire to harm to innocent… Follow me and I promise you that no one else will be harmed."

The brown-haired disciple made a move to follow the hooded man, but Ino grabbed him by the wrist to stop him. "You know that this is probably one of their traps, right?"

"I'll be fine." He added reassuringly before pulling away and following the cloaked man and his subordinates.

Ino watched them leave with a pensive expression, although she also decided it was time to do a little digging of her own in the meantime. The blonde fighter was sure that there was probably more going on right now, and although she was confident that Kenichi could handle himself just fine, the idea of this being a trap made it difficult for her to sit around and do nothing. Since most after school activities were probably finished by now, she decided to meet up with Naruto and Sakura and then decide what to do once everyone was together. In her mind things were bound to get ugly, and she wasn't the type to just ignore it.

As she ran from the greenhouse looking for her fellow Konoha disciples, Kenichi followed his enemy up the steps leading to the roof of the school. This particular location was fenced off to prevent anyone from falling, and there was plenty of space to fight without being interrupted by anyone. The brown-haired disciple was overcome with a sense of déjà vu as he remembered the day Takeda had challenged him to a fight in this very same place, and oddly enough his new opponent also seemed to have a similar sense of honor. Kenichi silently wondered how the boy had known this would be a good place to fight.

The cloaked man opened the door to the roof and positioned himself on the other side of the space. "We're here… It's time for us to begin." he stated bluntly.

"Before we start this, just tell me why someone like you would join Team Hebi?" Kenichi asked, causing his opponent to shift uneasily. "You brought me up here to fight so we wouldn't harm anyone else, and you even apologized earlier for putting Ino in danger with your attacks. You don't seem like a bad guy, so why would you be working with these thugs?"

His adversary seemed to hesitate. "Like I said before, people have their own reasons for what they do, and at the moment I don't see why you deserve to know. If you defeat me, perhaps I'd be willing to share this with you."

The boy removed his cloak, revealing long dark hair pulled into a tight bun, leaving large strands to frame the side of his face. His facial features were concealed by the presence of an oval-shaped wooden mask depicting a pair of curved fox-like slit eyes and a red swirl-like pattern where the mouth would normally be, and his basic outfit consisted of a dark bluish green kimono with a white lining and a moss green striped turtleneck sweater underneath. A simple sash held everything in place, and he wore arm warmers in a darker blue color and sandals, giving him a ninja-like appearance.

"I hope you're prepared, Kenichi Shirahama… I regret to inform you that my superior wishes for you to die!" he said while taking a fighting stance.

"What the Hell!" the brown-haired boy's jaw dropped as he registered this last part. "I never agreed to this sort of thing!"

"You agreed to it by challenging a practitioner of the Killing Fist…" The other boy spoke calmly as if he were answering a question. "The philosophy my master taught me claims that a true martial artist must kill their opponent in order to win, because in a real battle, holding back one's own strength in order to preserve the life of the enemy may lead to the death of the person foolish enough to try."

Kenichi raised one hand and extended the other. "My masters always taught me to avoid killing an enemy needlessly."

His opponent considered him for a moment. "I regret having to do this, but I promise to make this as painless and possible. Please do not think badly of me…"

With this, the weapons user tossed fistful of shuriken at his opponent, forcing Ryozanpaku's disciple to dodge and weave to avoid being cut. He remembered doing something similar during his battle with Dosu, Kin, and Zaku, although the three Team Hebi enforcers were much more sloppy and uncoordinated. Although he wasn't the best at weapons training, even Kenichi could see the difference in the skill level between those three grunts and one of the gang's top killers. He was forced to duck to avoid a flying kunai, but as scary as it was, he quickly noted that the opponent was nowhere near as powerful or fast as Shigure.

After exhausting several of his long-range weapons, the masked man reached behind his back and withdrew a tanto from his hidden sheath. The short katana was roughly a foot and a half long with two sharpened sides and no pointed tip, implying that it was mostly used for slicing and cutting rather than stabbing motions. It was custom made, because he disliked using the point to disembowel opponents. Twirling weapon around between his fingers, he tightened his grip and charged forward with incredible speed, swinging the implement in a quick series of complicated movements as he advanced on the rapidly retreating opponent.

"Since you seem to favor close-range combat, allow me to even the playing field." The other man replied emotionlessly as he continued his assault.

"Damn it…" Kenichi moved backwards frantically to avoid being sliced by his opponent's blade, looking shocked that each swing came with such speed and force behind it.

Although the weapon was shorter, the enemy wielded it with such grace and unpredictability, that the reach hardly mattered. He thought back to what Tanimoto had said about Team Hebi's elite fighters and quickly realized firsthand that he hadn't been lying. Not only were they very dangerous, but perfectly willing to kill in order to achieve their goals, making them seem more deadly than the majority of Ragnarok had been. Kenichi did a frenzied leap backwards as his opponent performing a lunging slash, barely managing to escape as the blade shaved a few hairs off of the top of his head.

The fight continued like this for a minute or so until Kenichi finally saw and opening and landed a punch to his enemy's stomach using the principles that Master Sakaki had taught him during their lessons. Using a much force as possible, the blow shot out with the force of a hammer, causing his opponent to crumble under the power, but the masked man had struck at the exact sane time, and managed to score a cut on his shoulder. Feeling the blood leaking out of his wound, the injured boy took a moment to breath, quietly noting that his adversary was still reeling slightly from his own attack.

"It's very rare that someone had managed to strike me while my guard is up." The mystery enemy clutched his stomach, swallowing the pain as he straightened up. "You must have some impressive teachers to have learned how to strike with such tenacity."

Kenichi felt the sting in his left shoulder, causing him to grimace. "I may not like using weapons, but that doesn't mean I've never trained with someone who does!"

"Very interesting to know." His opponent readied himself and raised the tanto over his head in a threatening manner. "My master was also known for his skills with weapons. A trait he passed onto me, his disciple. To fight me without a blade of your own is most impressive. You are truly a worthy opponent, Kenichi Shirahama."

Using the space he had gained with his last attack, the brown-haired disciple finally took to the offensive in an attempt to gain the upper hand. He aimed a series of punches at the other man with all the strength he could muster, but the boy was much faster than he anticipated and continued dancing around his attacks. Kenichi thrust his arm forward in an attempt to land a palm strike to his opponent's center, but was forced to recoil his hand to avoid the ready of the enemy's blade.

He felt a very fine cut on the surface of his hand and realized that reacting even a second later would have had unpleasant results. Thanks to his reflexes he had manages to escape with only a shallow cut, as opposed to the throbbing wound on his shoulder that had come from their previous exchange. Now forced back onto the defensive, he lost his center and was forced to return to his previous method of dodging and countering in an attempt to avoid the blade's reach. He realized he was steadily losing ground to the armed opponent, a feeling of dread entering the pit of his stomach as he felt something bump against his back.

"Oh crap, not now!" the brown-haired disciple realized he was cornered against one of the fences lining the rooftop.

The masked man took a step towards him and raised his weapon. "Please forgive me for what I'm about to do? If it is any consolation, I will do what I can to prevent your friends in the Shinpaku Alliance from experiencing the same fate." He replied before moving his tanto in a slicing motion.

Kenichi felt his blood boil at the thought of his friends being harmed and instinctively swung his fist, catching the flat side of the blade with his arm. Both men were shocked by this sudden change of pace, but he quickly took advantage of the situation and moved into his opponent's personal space, slamming his elbow into the masked man's stomach with as much force as he could muster. The movement caused the enemy to stumbled back in pain, allowing Kenichi to finish the fight with a strike him in the shoulder with a Chinese style chop. He completed the combo by smashing both fists forward in a karate yamatsuki punch.

The powerful move sent his opponent spiraling backwards, causing him to land in a heap several feet away. As he struggled to get back up, Kenichi found himself feeling a little guilty for hitting his opponent so hard. As he bore down upon the shorter man, the sound of footsteps caught their attention. The door leading to the rooftop burst open, revealing the familiar faces of Naruto Uzumaki and Ikki Takeda. While he had half expected Miu to appear, she had actually gone home earlier that afternoon due to her club meeting being cancelled.

"Sheesh, and here I was hoping for some action." Naruto added with a clueless expression.

"Whoa, it looks like you already have the situation taken care of, huh Kenichi?" The boxer replied with a carefree expression, his eyes moving towards the defeated man's form.

"Hey Takeda…" the brown-haired disciple greeted back, his eyes moving towards the other student curiously. "So, what're you doing here, and how come Naruto came with you?"

Naruto grinned cheerfully as he approached. "We were both hanging out waiting for our friends to get out of their clubs, so your buddy started to shoot the breeze. The next thing you know, we were decided to do some sparring. Your buddy's got some skills, but he wasn't a match for me!"

The blue-haired boxer removed his hands in his pockets and shrugged it off. "Turns out this knucklehead is a lot tougher than he looks. He beat me in the first two rounds without breaking a sweat, by scoring a couple of ring-outs. I haven't been this impressed with someone else's skills since that time you pummeled on this same spot."

"We heard the commotion and decided to see what was going on up here." Konoha's top disciple explained as he glanced at the unconscious man. "So, who was this guy anyway?"

"He claims to be one of the Demons of Team Hebi that Nijima mentioned." Kenichi fell silent as his ears picked up a disturbance.

Before any of them could resume the conversation, the defeated man on the ground stirred loudly, his head shifting up to see the source of the noise. The trio of fighters standing across from him stepped back and turned to look at him as the enemy stood up, the splintered remains of his mask sliding off of his face. Naruto and Kenichi were stunned into silence as they caught sight of the man's face, his feminine features and pretty face easily recognizable to anyone who knew him. They both recognized him as the boy who sat in the corner during first period class, although neither would have ever expected something like this.

Naruto closed his mouth, disbelief still apparent on his face. "Haku, is that you?" he asked while observing the struggling man.

"H-Haku Yuki f-from homeroom!" Kenichi stammered slightly with a look of surprise.

Takeda glanced between the others with a bewildered look. "I take it you two know this dude?"

"We're in the same class together, although he was never really the outspoken type." The brown-haired disciple commented with a confounded expression. "I never expected him to be a member of a gang, let alone one of their top fighters."

"It's always the quiet ones…" the boxer added casually as if they were just hanging out at a bar.

The third member of their group remained stunned as he walked over to the defeated boy, his hands clenching into fists. A look of mingled surprise and anger lingered on his face as he looked down at the feminine man. "You've been eating lunch with me and my friends all week… I thought you were our friend."

Haku struggled into a standing position, gently grasping his torso with a pained expression. "Do not interfere, or you'll force me to mark you as my enemy as well. This has nothing to do with you, Naruto… My target is Kenichi Shirahama, no one else needs to get involved."

"What do you mean this has nothing to do with me?" Konoha's top disciple reached forward and grabbed the smaller boy by front of his shirt, giving him a rough shake. "You're a member of that gang that's been attacking my friends, and now you're trying to kill one of my classmates right in front of me!"

"You have no idea…" The dark-haired fighter began, his blank expression wavering slightly.

"Whoa, looks like we're in for some drama." Takeda added with a joking expression, earning him a punch from the angry blonde.

"No one asked you, idiot boxer!" Naruto recoiled his fist, before turning his attention to the man in his grip. "You lied to us, and said you weren't a martial artist. Why did you say that if you were one of the top members of Team Hebi? It doesn't make any sense!"

"I never actually lied to you." Haku began tactfully, earning him a shake from his captor. "I told you that I had no interest in the martial arts, but never once did I deny any training in the subject. Think of me what you will, but the things I said to you the day we met were the honest truth."

It was Kenichi's turn to look confused. "I don't get it… If you have no interest in the martial arts than why did you become this strong to begin with? It doesn't make any sense!"

The feminine boy felt his heart skip a beat as he considered the question, but he looked upset a moment later. "That is none of your concern." He replied emotionlessly, his eyes focusing back on the man whose grip held him. "I suggest you unhand me, Naruto Uzumaki… I have no desire to kill you."

"Not until I get some straight answers out of you, pal! Why is Team Hebi coming after us? Who is this Devil Fist guy that we keep hearing about? I need to know the truth!" he blurted out angrily, his hands tightening instinctively.

"You allow anger to cloud your judgment. This is a mistake." the other man closed his eyes for a moment as if her were praying, his orbs portraying a strong sense of resolve seconds later. "I was actually beginning to see you as a friend… Please forgive me!"

Haku thrust his hand forward and stabbed a kunai knife into his shoulder, causing his captor to release him with a cry of pain. Caught of guard by the sudden attack, he was helpless when the smaller boy raised his foot and hammered him in the face, causing him to hit the ground with a loud thud. Takeda's carefree expression intensified and he started charged forward angrily, but Kenichi held out an arm to stop him and turned to face their attacker with a sense of righteous fury. He darted forward and smacked the weapon out of the boy's hand before aiming his own kick at the petite fighter.

The weapon's user raised his arms to block the strike, the attack sending him reeling back as he barely avoided a serious injury. "Your movements are impressive… Very good!" he commented.

"Enough of that!" Kenichi screamed, his eyes blazing with fire. "You pulled off a sneak attack like that and yet you had the nerve to call Naruto a friend only seconds before! What kind of man are you?"

"As I mentioned before perhaps I will tell you everything if you win." Haku replied calmly, his fist withdrawing a handful of shuriken from the inside of his robe.

His opponent took a karate pose. "I don't intend on losing this fight, so I hope you intend to keep your promises."

A load scream interrupted the battle as Naruto jumped to his feet, his face filled with a sense of outrage the likes few people had ever seen. Takeda felt himself stepping away as the boy stomped past him, his normally calm exterior melting away in the wake of the beastly fighter. The blonde fighter walked as if the pain in his shoulder was non-existent, his blue eyes filled with a resolve. He stepped in front of Kenichi as if the boy wasn't even there and turned to face their mutual enemy.

"Back off Shirahama, this guy's mine!" he fumed while taking a fighting stance.

"Not so fast, Naruto!" Kenichi refused to back down, his position unwavering. "He came here to challenge me to a fight, so I intend to finish it. I accepted his challenge as a martial artist, and I will keep my word the same way he kept his!"

Konoha's top student lowered his fist, looking suddenly curious. "What do you mean by that?"

"No joke man, this dude just stabbed blondie when he wasn't looking." Takeda added with a note of concern.

"Neither of us wanted anyone else to get involved, so Haku agreed to take the battle up here to minimize the chance that any bystanders would be harmed. While I don't agree with his methods, I understand his desire not to harm the innocent." The brown-haired disciple explained with a small measure of respect. "I intend to keep this fight between us as we originally agreed… You guys stay out of it!"

Naruto paused for a moment before grudging accepting the other fighter's decision. He lowered his stance and took a step backwards, giving the other man a small nod. "All right, I'll let you take care of this. Don't screw up, or I'll kick your butt myself!" he raised a hand as he began walking away from the enemy.

"Understood…" Kenichi high-fived his fellow disciple as he stepped up to fight, his gaze resettling onto his opponent. "You show me your best, and I'll show you it's not enough!"

Haku nodded as he gripped the handle of his tanto, looking equally as determined. "I wish to see your best moves before you die! Do not disappoint!" he swung his opposite hand, sending the shuriken whizzing through the air towards his opponent.

Kenichi focused for a moment and moved his arms carefully, bringing his hand around in a series of wide circular arcs. Although the projectiles came close to hitting him, at the last second they were repelled by the force of his movements, making it look like an invisible barrier had enveloped his body. Haku charged and swung his weapon sideways to slash at his target, but he found his arm repulse by the side of his opponent's hand before he could even strike, the force of his second hand sending the weapon user flying with immense force. The feminine man spun around in mid-air and distanced himself from the defender.

"Whoa, did you see that!" Naruto replied incredulously, his mouth hanging open for a moment.

"How did you repel my attacks so easily?" Haku's eyes widened in shock, his eyes locking onto his adversary's strange arm motions. "I've never seen such a technique before in my life! It doesn't make any sense!"

"It's an advanced technique known as the Ryuusei Seikuken, a secret move taught to me by the elder of Ryozanpaku. This special power requires a clear mind and precise movements in order to anticipate, counter, or dodge an opponent's attacks. When used properly, you create a field around your fighting space that prevents the enemy from landing a single blow."

"Wow, that's awesome! I remember my master mentioning a similar move to that once before!" Naruto commented with a wide-eyed expression, briefly glancing over at the boxer. "Your buddy really seems to know what he's doing!"

Takeda grinned as he remembered the final battle against the Odin. "You've only seen a fraction of what he can do. When someone forces him to go all out, there's not much that can stand up to him. The kid with the weapons is just lucky that Kenichi doesn't like to hurt his opponent's too badly, or else this would get ugly really fast."

Konoha's top student turned his attention back to the battle with a serious expression. "Call it a hunch, but something tells me that Haku doesn't want to hurt anyone either."

In the midst of the fray, the weapon's user aimed a series of kicks at his opponent, only to have each bounced back by the force of Kenichi's Seikuken. Haku sensed and attack and braced himself against the ground using his hands, propelling himself upwards into the air while providing him an opportunity for an aerial strike. He spun around and starting raining down a volley of kunai knives, but his opponent shifted back and forth to dodge them as if he could sense where they were going to hit ahead of time. One came close to hitting his face, but he slapped it away with the side of his hand and advanced.

Haku had a quick flashback of his sparring match against Team Hebi's Devil Fist during one of their gatherings, his face paling as he remembered encountering this scenario before. "This isn't possible… What are you Kenichi, some kind of monster?"

"I'm just a regular guy like anybody else who endures Hell everyday in order to get where I am!" he replied sternly. "If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the martial arts are about effort, not talent!"

The feminine boy realized that he had exhausted his supply of distance weapons and instead focused all of his strength into his tanto, his grip tightening as he charged with renewed ferocity. Haku slashed with his blade knowing that the enemy would dodge and instead tried to force his way through his opponent's defense by aiming a punch, but Kenichi responded by grabbing his fist with one hand, using his remaining had to seize Haku by the wrist. Ryozapaku's disciple wasn't used to fighting an opponent smaller than him, but he took advantage of it by lifting the boy over his head and performing an overhead throw, slamming his enemy into the ground with excessive force.

When the enemy didn't stand up to attack again, Kenichi fell to his knees beside the unconscious boy and felt for a pulse, a feeling or relief rushing over him when he sensed the steady beat. He sighed with a weary expression, seeing how he never really enjoyed fights to begin with and hadn't been expecting something like this to happen. Takeda and Naruto approached the scene looking impressed, although the blonde student also felt a twinge of pity for the defeated man.

The boxer bent over and snapped his fingers in front of the unconscious boy's face before turning to the others. "So, what do you guys planning on doing now? We could leave him up here until he wakes up, although I wouldn't recommend it."

"I can tell you one thing, he wasn't just a common thug." Kenichi replied in a quieter tone. "I could sense when we were fighting that he was also holding back, but I still decided to honor his request and give it my all."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking the same thing, but what do you think it means?"

Kenichi gestured towards the defeat boy. "Believe it or not, I think Haku was telling the truth about not wanting to hurt anyone. He might have spoken like he was willing to kill me, but deep down I think he actually wanted to lose."

"There's all kinds of fighters out there, but what I don't get is why would someone want to get the shit beaten out of them?" the boxer asked with a puzzled expression.

The blonde disciple stroked his chin thoughtfully, as if trapped in deep thought before shrugging, causing his two companions to sweat-drop. "I may not have a clue what he was thinking, but we ate lunch together for a week and I never sensed any killing intent coming from Haku in that entire time." He stared at the boy's peaceful form. "I'm betting he wasn't doing this because he wanted to."

Ryozanpaku's student nodded in agreement. "He promised me he would explain if I won our fight, but I didn't expect that toss to knock him out so easily. He looks like he's in pretty bad shape, and I'm almost willing to bet one of his arms was broken in the fall."

Takeda nudged the body with his foot. "You should've known better, especially since this dude could barely stand during the second half of your fight and seemed to be running more off of willpower than anything else. There's not too many people that can take one of your death blows and stand back up."

"Maybe we should get him some help." Naruto proposed, pulling his gaze back to the others. "I don't want people thinking we attacked him, but one of the masters of Konoha is a doctor. She's the perfect person to put him back together after that fight."

"Come to think of it, I've never heard of this Konoha place before you showed up. Where is your dojo anyway?" The boxer asked him.

"It's located across town, although if we hurry it shouldn't take that long to get there."

Kenichi lifted the unconscious boy onto his back. "Ryozanpaku isn't too far from here, and I also have masters skilled in medicine. It's probably our best bet if we take him back to my place and let Master Koetsuji look at him first. Kensei Ma specializes in Chinese acupuncture, so they should be able to take care of this without a problem."

"Are you sure this is the best idea?" Naruto looked slightly unconvinced by his argument.

"Master Koetsuji is the same guy who fixed my arm when other doctors thought I would never move it again." Takeda clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "Girly man over here is probably in the best of hands with these guys, even if they drag him through Hell during the healing process."

"When you put it that way, I guess it's fine." The blonde disciple hesitated for a second before following after the two Shinpaku leaders. "All right, lead the way…"

Meanwhile…

Haruo Nijima walked along with a cocky expression as he tapped away on his handheld computer, all the while flanked by his personal entourage of Shinpaku soldiers. Matsui waved the banner over their heads while marching at the rear of the group while the remaining three grunts surrounded their leader protectively. The man standing in front of the group did the Shinpaku salute as they marched along, causing the group to chant alongside him. Their actions attracted the attention of some bystanders as they passed, but the alien thought of it as good publicity for when the alliance ruled the world.

"Today my brave soldiers, we embark on a great and noble quest to bring our rag-tag army of justice to the top!" he screamed maniacally. "Are you all with me, gentleman?"

"Yes General Nijima, sir!" the others cried out with a cult-like unison, each performing their trademark salute.

The alien-like boy threw his arms into the air as his subordinates hoisted him into the air. "The time is now my subjects, seize the world in the palm of our hands and show these lowly peons exactly why we are the ones chosen by the heavens to dominate!"

His gathered minions began chanting the name of the Shinpaku Alliance repeatedly as they followed after their illustrious leader, making it look like they were trying to start a parade. This continued on for several more blocks, but their leader was so busy basking in his glory so much that he didn't see someone walking directly towards them. The others stopped chanting almost instantly as they felt an ominous presence emanating from the newcomer, causing the demon-like man to grow irritable with his soldiers.

"I didn't give you lowly grunts permission to stop! C'mon guys, show a little more of that good old Shinpaku spirit!" he chastised them before bumping face first into the person blocking their path. The person was no bigger than him, but he was irritated nonetheless. "How dare you get in my way? You best start begging for forgiveness, especially since you have no idea who you're messing with!"

The cloaked figure snickered at his threat before speaking in a light, female voice. "Haruo Nijima, leader of the Shinpaku Alliance… That's exactly who you are, is it not?"

"I'm impressed that you know my name little lady, but I hope you also realize what that means." He began ominously, hoping to frighten his victim. "Now, I highly suggest you step aside and apologize before my boys and I decide to get rough. It would certainly be in your best interest…"

She seemed to find him more humorous than anything else. "Oh my, it would seem that you misunderstand my intentions."

The mystery woman used her hand to cast aside the dark cloak she was wearing, revealing her beautiful face and slim figure. She had a fair complexion, dark eyes, and light navy blue hair styled into a spiky ponytail with long thick strands framing the sides of her face. Her outfit consisted of a green kimono with a fuzzy fur collar and a large yellow and white flower symbol imprinted on her left hip area, a form-fitting bodysuit underneath in the same shade of red, and a pair of stylish boots that came just to just below her knees. A thick yellow rope belt held her outfit in place, and she wore a layer of red lipstick.

"My name if Guren, one of the Demons of Team Hebi, and a loyal follower of the Great Serpent God." She introduced herself with a mocking bow. "I came here under the orders of the Devil Fist to claim the life of the Shinpaku Alliance's leader, Haruo Nijima."

"You've got a lot of nerve woman, popping up out of nowhere and threatening my life in front of my loyal subordinates!" he cried out before snapping his fingers, causing the grunts to surround his would-be attacker. "All right men, show this insolent loser exactly what happens to those who attack your beloved general!"

She eyed the men surrounding her with a look of boredom. "If you hand over your leader, no one else need be harmed." The woman shrugged with a yawn, her expression hardening moments later. "Of course, if you want my opinion, I would much rather do this hard way!"

The group charged in an attempt to attack the newcomer, but she effortlessly dealt with the quartet of grunt with a single movement of her hands. She slammed her right hand into the first man's face, using a sweeping motion to plow them into each other, while dealing several blows with her leg. The complicated movements forced all four of them to the ground with minimal effort. She glanced at her gloved hands as if admiring a manicure before turning to face her target. Guren took a step towards the alien student, causing him to tense up, but stopped as the boy with glasses wrapped his hand around her leg in an attempt to slow her down.

"Run, General Nijima… I'll keep her busy!" Mizunuma screamed, only to be kicked in the face.

"You have a lot of guts to get up after being knocked down, but I do question your intelligence." She replied before lifting her opposite foot and crushing his wrist, a smile appearing on her face as she began grinding his bones with the sharp heel of her boot. "Your screams are music to my ears, please keep going… It gives me such a warm, fuzzy feeling inside that I just…"

"Shut up!" Nijima began waving his hands in the air to get her attention. "You ugly bitch! Get your dirty feet off my minions, or you'll have a real fight on your hands!"

Guren's eyes widened in anger at the insult, but she quickly covered it up with a sinister smile. "Oh my, you intend to fight me yourself… This certainly makes my job much easier."

"I would sully my hands by fighting someone like you, but I know someone who'd be more than willing to take up he challenge." He replied with an equally evil expression, before pulling a flute from his backpack.

His enemy stared in surprise as he played a few notes on his instrument. It was far from being the most entertaining piece of art, but the line of music was actually a signal he had developed not too long ago in case of emergencies. After waiting a moment or two longer, the woman glanced around with a confused look and quickly lost patience with her opponent. She began advancing on him with a menacing expression, looking rather irritated that he had dared to waste her time with such foolishness. Her target attempted to run away, but she leapt over his head and raised her fist to strike.

"It's over for you, Haruo Nijima!" Guren brought her hand down, but was seized by the wrist before she could deliver the final blow.

The woman swung around at the man behind her, but the newcomer dodged with a graceful twirl of his foot, allowing her previous prey to scamper out of her reach due to the distraction. Her new enemy was a man with long grayish purple hair reaching down to his waist, with two long strands tied with loop ornaments on either side of his face. He was a tall, young man wearing an elegant, long-sleeved, dark red coat with a gold trim, and a matching hat with a feather sticking out of the lining. A pair of dark pants covered his legs, and like his opponent, he also wore a pair of boots.

He tilted his hat respectfully towards the pointy-eared man standing behind him. "You have my apologies for being late, my precious demon king. Unfortunately I had several other things to attend to, but it still appears that fate has treated us well this day, for I still managed to arrive at the nick of time."

"Well done my subject, but we have more important things to worry about." Nijima pointed over the man's shoulder, prompting his subordinate to dodge a blow aimed for his head.

"How uncouth of you to attack an opponent when his guard is down." The man did a graceful pirouette as he spun to face her. "I find your ruthlessness to be intriguing, and yet you seem to lack that certain rhythm that allows me to enjoy myself in the midst of battle!"

Guren jumped back away from her new enemy, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Who the Hell do you think you are, butting in like this?"

He placed a gloved hand to his chest and bowed like a gentleman. "Alas, I am known as the immortal composer, Siegfried. So long as General Nijima wills it, I will place my life on the line to protect the melodies of my comrades. This oath I swear, as a loyal captain of the Shinpaku Alliance!"

"So you're one of their top fighters… This should be interesting." She crooned with a sickening expression. "I look forward to destroying you both!"

"If you wish to lay a hand on our beloved leader, you will have to face me first, and I have no intention of allowing this effrontery to go unpunished!" Siegfried cried as he spread his arms out in his trademark stance.

Guren raised one hand over her head and thrust the other forward, gently curling the tips of her fingers so that both cupped hands were facing inwards towards her body. She raised one foot and cocked her ankle at an unusual angle. "The scent of blood always smells the sweetest when it is drawn by my own hand…"

Note to Readers: The fights begin! Naruto will get some action in about two chapters when the problems get worse. This current mess is only the beginning of a much larger slugfest. Another one of the Demon is revealed to be Guren, and as one of Orochimaru's personal experiments in this story, you can expect some unscrupulous tactics from her that most people wouldn't consider fair in a fight. Here's a recap of Team Hebi's leadership so far… Devil Fist: Sasuke, Demons: Karin, Suigetsu Hozuki, Jugo, Haku, Kimimaro, Kiba Inuzuka, Guren… That leaves three of the Demons still unidentified.

I also went for some friendship development between Naruto's group and the members of the Shinpaku Alliance this chapter, since it will be important for them later. This is something else you guys can look forward too during future installments. Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As usual I'm sorry if there's some typos, or errors in spelling and grammar, but I typically write chapters for my stories late at night.

Special thanks to Anime Insaniac, without whom this story might not have lasted this long…

Please feel free to comment if you liked something, want to see something happen, or have any guesses or predictions as to what will happen next! Don't forget to REVIEW! It really motivates me to keep working on this story! If you have any ideas that you think I could use, please contribute!