Hey all, Happy belated New Year. I hope you are all doing well. Well here is the first chapter of the year. I hope you all enjoy it.
Thanks to ABitterPill, my beta.
Shout out to narutorastard.
Techniques
Konoha Nidai Sempuu – Double leaf whirlwind
Konoha Gōriki Senpū – Leaf strong whirlwind
Hakke Rokujūyon Shō – Eight Trigrams Sixty Four Palm
Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō - Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty Eight Palm
Hakke Hasangeki - Eight Trigrams Mountain Crusher
Hakke Chakra Nadare - Eight Trigrams Chakra Avalanche
Seimon - Gate of Life (3rd Gate)
Shōmon. - Gate of Pain (4th Gate)
Tomon - Gate of Limit (5th Gate)
Keimon - Gate of View (6th Gate)
Jixyuuden Buru - Charging Bull
Hirudora.- Daytime Tiger
Nimpo: Fūjikome no jutsu- Ninja Art: Basic sealing jutsu
Chapter 7: Contact
The grassy field went eerily quiet, not even the wind blew. As Team Gai faced Tenten's attacker, most likely the very reason they were summoned in the first place, a variety of emotions were shared.
Lee, the noble blue beast of Konoha, was almost jittery with excitement. If it was not for Gai, he probably would have charged in immediately. Lee always had a thing of serving justice. Curb stomping this thing that had killed so many people and hurt Tenten seemed to be the best way to accomplish his goal.
Tenten was filled with anger and rage. This thing had showed her up, confronted her with her own weakness, and now had infected her hand. Tenten recalled Sarura Bea who lay in a bed, her life officially over before it began because she had the bad luck to run across a thing that eats people. However, the final thought was on her promise to Kodo...the bakuton scroll. It would seem rather unprofessional not to fulfill a promise.
Neji was experiencing confusion and worry. With Tenten having been dealt the 'honour' of suffering the first strike, she now had an open wound that would not close. He already placed an extra layer of bandages around her hand, but already he could see the dressings turn red. His confusion was due to staring at their opponent with an active byakugan, and what he saw troubled him. His vision allowed him to see in a whole other spectrum. What Neji saw, he had never encountered anything like it.
Gai was the very definition of caution. Although his enthusiasm was on par with Lee, it was restrained in favour of reasoning. This boy-whatever-he-was took down two whole teams and two high ranking jounin, there must be a trick up his/its sleeve. Otherwise they would not be here.
"Guys," the team's ears perked up, "this thing does not have a proper chakra network. It looks disjointed, incomplete and...fuzzy." Neji tried to think of a better word but in this situation his mind failed him. The chakra flickered like a fluorescent light bulb, giving detailed but sporadic indications of their opponent. Practically all the muscles in the body were torn and mutilated. Chakra was rerouted in places that were completely unexpected. For example, there seemed to be an absence of several vital organs, and the lower digestive network was completely devoid of activity. "His body has undergone significant heavy trauma. I don't know how he can even stand."
"It doesn't matter. We'll take him down!" Lee firmed his fighting stance. "We have to save Run-san!"
"Okay..." Gai mulled over a quick scenario. "Tenten get in the back, use your range to your advantage and stick to your undamaged hand. Neji you-"
Their opponent charged like a rampaging beast.
"Lee and I will stall him!" Gai and his young doppelganger moved with perfect coordination; Lee aimed for the head while his master aimed for the lower part of the chest.
"Konoha Nidai Sempuu!" With an exponential increase in force their opponent was again knocked back, only this time much farther. They could hear the sound of broken branches and bones. Dust and dislodged grass scattered the air.
"Come on! It could get away!" Lee wore his classic 'nice guy' smile. However, Neji who could see all merely frowned in anticipation.
"I wouldn't worry about that." Lee's query as to why not was quickly answered when their opponent hurled itself at them again, possibly even faster than before. Its steps were nimble and flexible, almost like it was leaping from step to step.
Impossible...that should have broken several bones.
They readied a second volley, only this time all of Team Gai's training kicked in. Tenten who was farthest away unleashed a small volley of kunai. They impacted against the garbed creature's chest or promptly bounced off with no effect.
Gai's instincts immediately instructed him to deliver a quick jab straight into the opponents face, try and get him to stall if only briefly for both Neji and Lee to deliver another blow. So it was to the sensei's great surprise when his jab not only had zero affect on their opponent but the brazen maw that passed for its mouth promptly snapped shut chipping at this knuckles.
"Team he is not going down easy!" Gai took a brief look at his knuckles, strange black and purple markings covered his skin. This unyouthful brute tried to bite me. The brazen jounin dodged several very obvious swipes with little difficulty. It seemed that the creature had very little in terms of technique. Its movements were sloppy and grandiose something you would expect from a feral fighter or drunken brawler.
The creature shifted its weight from side to side rhythmically throwing a wild haymaker of claw. Gai proceeded to dodge every hit until the creature tried to attack his throat like a leaping tiger. Ducking under his opponent he delivered an uppercut into the creature's stomach sending it briefly airborne. Tenten with her uninjured hand launched a small barrage of kunai directly at the creature, who took the attack without so much as a grunt. When it landed on the ground with its own two feet, it immediately readjusted its legs and shifted to its new target; Neji.
Neji spun with all the grace as a juken user could, dodging the swipes and attempted grabs which clawed at his robes. He leapt back and repositioned himself into a low stance placing his arms at wide angles.
"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō!" Surging forward he ducked under the creature's guard and began what he thought would have been the end of the line for their opponent.
"Two palm!" Neji unleashed his devastating combo into this strange opponent. "Four palm!" The creature briefly paused, likely stunned. "Sixteen palm! Thirty-two palm!" It fell several steps back but the genius did not let up for a microsecond. "Sixty-four palm!" The blinding attacks moved as such speed that a novice would have mistaken it for one strike. The creature faltered a few steps backward and fell to the ground like a falling statue.
"Well done Neji!" Gai cheered.
"Dammit! I wanted to have shot at him!" Tenten was relieved it was over, but she wished she had the chance to avenge her honour.
"Unadvisable, Tenten. You don't look well." Lee's brows furrowed in concern.
Tenten waved her good hand dismissively. "Pfft, you're one to talk."
The Huyga took a moment to heave sigh.
Only to have their opponent deliver a good, solid punch to his nose.
If Neji was shocked then his teammates were mortified. Everyone in Team Gai has taken a solid shot to the nose. Except Neji the Hyuga Genius. At least until now. If it was not for the fact that the creature tried to grab his throat in the process, it might have almost been comical.
On reflex, Neji parried the opponent's arms and delivered palm at both the solarplex and face. It took Neji less than a second to realise he might as well have been hurling harsh insults at it. He preformed several backflips well out of the creatures reach and landed next to his former sensei. "No effect." He mumbled as he attempted to wipe the blood coming out of his nose. "I didn't see it coming."
"What do you mean no effect, Neji?!" Lee was easily the most dumbfounded by Neji's simple analysis. "And 'didn't see it coming'? Seriously?"
"I mean..." Neji groaned as he reset his nose, "...my strikes are not altering its chakra flow. It didn't even have to perform any form of chakra pulse or remedial therapy...it just got back up. It seems obvious that Jūken is going to be next to useless with this...thing" The whole team cringed as the creature stood back up and let off a rather loud and eerie crack of its neck.
"As for 'not seeing it coming' well..." Neji grunted, "my Byakugan works off detecting chakra and nerve impulses allowing me accurately predict movements. His chakra system is not normal and it is movements are not being telegraphed in a way that I can detect... What is it?"
The team's regroup was interrupted when they saw the creature leap up into the air and attempted to land on Neji's head. It seemed apparent that their opponent took the clear-eyed jounin's assault very personally. A quick series of back steps moved Neji out of range. However, instead of making a beeline for the Hyūga it shifted its footing to face its closest opponent; 'Konoha's Green Beast' Maito Gai.
"Whatever it is, it's not giving a us a break." Gai dodged the creatures kick to its side only to feel its talon like grip dig into his shoulder. For some reason, a strange sense of light-headedness over came over him "Ugh..."
The creature had an opening right for the sensei's pulsating throat, and it took it.
"Get away from him!" Tenten hurled several more kunai and shuriken directly into their attacker's back which made it pause and stare at the strange impaling objects with mild curiosity.
"How is he so durable?!" Tenten's eyes widened in surprise. The creature growled unpleasantly before resuming its attention on the injured Gai. Gai, who was having trouble believing his present condition, could barely move with the talon embedded deep into his upper chest, he could feel the dagger like fingers working deeper into his muscles paralysing him. Despite Gai's condition he could just feel the bony digits scrape against his collarbone...
Dammit...
"Seimon! Konoha Gōriki Senpū!" Lee's voice was the last thing anybody heard, before the creature simply vanished like a gunshot zipping through the treeline. In its place was a rather a rather worked up and heavily powered chunin with bushy eyebrows. "Gai-sensei are you alright?"
"I'm okay." Gai slurred. "Some kind of poison?" Neji leaned his blood stained face closer to Gai's body. He glanced at the grazed fist and his clawed upper torso. He could see a ugly purple blotch slowly mix with his mentor's bright blue chakra in turn slowly spreading the unpleasant looking infection.
"There is some kind of bacterium in your blood, mixing with your chakra. How is it moving so quickly through the blood?" Neji's frown became more pronounced as he ran their tactical situation through his brain. Currently, two members were suffering moderate to severe injuries. Tenten, the long distance weapons expert was down to one good hand and the necrosis was spreading unnaturally quick already engulfing half her hand including her thumb and forefinger. Gai's bruised knuckles had turned an unpleasant yet eerily familiar black colour, but his upper torso had received some kind of infection in his upper torso that was clearly not necrotic.
If he bites you, you get necrosis. If he scratches you, you get incapacitated? Neji unconsciously rubbed his still sore nose. However, considering the speed at which the symptoms hit if he had not felt anything else then he was safe...at least for now.
Gai's miniature clone ran to his mentor's aid. "Gai-sensei! Are you alright?!" Gai responded with a groan, like was in some kind of drunken stupor. This was so unlike their 'youthful' master; he was already out of breath.
Which doesn't make any sense...Neji thought. He immediately noticed his own elevated heart rate and breathing. Come to think of it, I'm out of breath too. Neji turned to see Lee and Tenten and sure enough they looked exhausted, almost like they had just spent the afternoon undergoing one of Gai's patented insane training regimes.
What is going on? The Hyuga glanced at where the creature was sent flying and sure enough, it was standing back up and walking back out through the tree line although with a noticeable limp. His eyes zoomed in as far as he could go and he paid close attention to the disjointed chakra network.
And specifically the chakra itself. To the layman, chakra normally looks the same colour. However to a Hyūga, chakra is as unique as the individual it belongs to. The problem was that their opponent's chakra did not carry one signature but several, and there was something familiar about the occasional colour that surfaced in the foreign opponent. Specifically, that of Tenten, Gai, Lee and himself.
It took less than a second for Neji to reach a conclusion.
"He is a chakra absorber."
"What?" Tenten blanched.
"He is a chakra absorber." Neji muttered. "And by the way we are feeling, a very powerful one. I can see traces of our own chakra in his body. He is sucking the very chakra out of the very air and us."
"That is why we are tired."
"Tenten," Neji ordered, "take care of yourself and Gai-sensei with our medkits. Lee, come with me, we have to finish this away from our comrades."
"Yes!" Lee and Neji immediately pulled out their own first aid supplies and left them next to their injured sensei. Their opponent seemed to anticipate what was happening as it stayed where it was while the two relatively uninjured members of Team Gai approached it with caution. Neji pulled out a pair of small brown soldier pills, handing one to Lee and biting down on his own.
"We need to be fresh as possible." Neji formulated under his breath. "I will distract him and hit him as hard as possible. But this is just a stall. I need you to build up as much chakra as possible in order to deliver a killing blow. We can't afford to delay any longer, if we keep this up we will lose more chakra and be absolutely useless. You're advanced taijutsu should bring him down."
"Really?" Lee could not help at smile at the implied comment.
"Gai is not well and Tenten will require urgent medical attention soon." Neji glanced at his colleague. "As for me, I am skilled at taking down humans, but this is not an ordinary human, if it is human at all."
"Okay, I'll use my new technique." Lee gave a smirk, a combination between determination and excitement. He never got a chance to use an experimental technique in combat.
"You're new-? Fine. Do whatever you have to. Just make sure it takes him down." Neji's byakugan focused in on his opponent as it advanced on them. "It took only a matter of minutes to drain us to about sixty percent, we won't have another chance."
"I'm ready when you are." Lee nodded.
"Good. Let me know when you are ready. I'll give you an opening." Neji sprinted to his opponent arms in a high guard. Lee closed his eyes and began his physical preparation.
Shōmon.
0o0o0o
Neji dashed forward, low to the ground, like a wolf. Just before he reached the creatures reach, he leaped to his right while hurling several shuriken directly at his opponents head. He might as well been throwing flowers at him. The creature shrugged off the hit and tracked Neji to where he was going to land, mouth open.
When Neji landed the creature was less than a metre from his face. Neji did not even hesitate.
"Hakke Hasangeki!" Chakra formed out from his open palms like a grey hurricane, it instantly formed what could almost be described as a tidal wave of chakra and damage. It quickly engulfed his opponent in a massive explosion. Neji could barely make out the outline of creature in the rubble, even with his gifted eyes. Hesitant about what to happen, he took several steps back.
With a start the smoke parted to reveal sharp teeth and blackened gums.
Shit... Neji prepared an exceptionally low guard, his hair just touching the ground. I need to buy more time.
"Hakke Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō." Again he spun under the opponent guard tapping him in the crucial vital points.
"Two strikes." The creature grunted. Neji felt some satisfaction from hurting this...thing.
"Four-WHAT?!" Neji's satisfaction went immediately out the window. The creature caught both of his hands mid-strike. The Hyuga genius could not help but think that the creature was laughing at him; it was not going to fall for that trick as second time. The iron like grip wrapped so tight around his fingers he was certain they would break if it wanted to. To Neji's horror, his active byakugan revealed his opponents 'gift'.
He could see the chakra being drawn out of his fingers and into his opponents. He felt a very painful burning sensation as he saw his own blood trickle out of his fingernails and crawl up the creatures hands and into its hidden arms.
Neji fell back taking the creature with him, and after digging a foot into its gut attempted to launch the creature over him and dislodge its grip.
Only it did not do that. In fact it held on so tight that sudden jerk from the change in axis, resulted in the creature breaking three fingers in Neji's right hands. The Hyuga desperately tried to shift his hips around so he could get a better advantage on his feet, but the opponent was for more quick. It immediately got back up dragging Neji to his feet. Neji could not help but feel some sense of urgency as the creature held his hands preventing him from striking. On instinct he slammed his heel hard against the creature's foot.
Nothing.
Shit...
The creature, unperturbed, readjusted its grip so that Neji's broken fingers were firmly revealed.
It proceeded to bring the helpless digits closer to its mouth. The urgency quickly turned into panic. With that in mind, Neji decided to hell with saving his chakra.
"Hakke Chakra..." For the briefest moment the creature paused as a small ball of bright blue chakra formed at the tip of each of his fingers. They were shaped like tear drops and had serene almost hypnotising glow. "...Nadare."
The small blue orbs on each fingertip discharged. What was emitted could only be described as firing a cannon point blank. The resultant explosion engulfed Neji, the creature and about ten meters of surrounding area.
"NEJI!" Lee cried. For the briefest moment, Gai's apprentice dared to presume the worst.The Hyuga genius leapt out of the smoke landing a few meters in front of where Lee was standing.
Thank Kami... Lee breathed in a sigh of relief. Toned ninja closed his eyes as he opened another chakra gate. Tomon.
"Dammit Lee are you almost ready?" Neji struggled to keep his voice flat and even. "I can't hold out for long." He grunted as he reset his fingers.
"I'm almost there."
The creature leapt out of the explosion landing in front of them, albeit one of his arms was missing from the shoulder down, the tarp that it covered itself with was on fire...and it barely let out a whimper. It stood up its clothing and skin ablaze as if nothing was happening. It lurched forward, its reaming arm outstretched for Neji's neck.
"Hakke. Chakra! NADARE!" Neji bellowed. The small droplets of chakra reappeared on his fingertips, this time they emitted a small hum, like it was singing. The discharge was even stronger than previous. The Hyuga's technique engulfed his vision up to his peripheral. However just before it hit the target, Neji's eyes widened. This time was different; for the creature noticed the blue orbs and decided to try and dodge; it was not going to fall for it again.
With the amount of chakra that was released, Neji could barely make out his opponent. He certainly hoped it was damaged, his chakra supply was almost depleted. When the rubble cleared, the on fire opponent looked like it was caught half falling, bending itself backwards at the most unnatural angle, reminding Neji again of a coiled snake.
"Lee...Help!" Neji took a step back. The creature lunged forward. "Now!"
Keimon. JIXYUUDEN BURU!"
0o0o0o
Neji felt was as if he was surrounded by a hurricane. Wind flew around and past him at break neck speed. The ground cracked, sending dirt, grass and stone scattering into the air. Neji could not help but shut his eyes, but his byakugan revealed the source of the explosion.
Rock Lee blasted past Neji as a blur, his outline barely visible. Lee headed towards the seemingly unstoppable creature, both fists at the ready, his legs locked into a horse riding stance with his knees slightly bent inwards. The tornado like wind seemed almost dancing in tango with Lee's hands. With a double punch he slammed both fists into the creature's sternum.
The effect was instantaneous.
The hurricane that surrounded Neji channelled into Lee's fists. The fire that engulfed the creature was quickly extinguished and the might of Lee's attack made the earth shudder. On impact the creature tilted its head, almost as if it was confused.
The creature detonated in an explosion of blood. The flesh was flayed off its bones and the bones shattered at hundreds of different locations. Their opponent was blown back, its remains desecrating the brown soil in an unnerving red colour.
When Lee finally released himself from his stance he observed the surroundings that appeared strangely calm. Gai's miniature clone could not help but admire his handiwork, everything more or less in front of him was devastated. The ground was upturned all the way to the tree line and the grass floated gently back to the ground.
"Whoo!" Lee cheered, shooting his arms up into the air, savouring his victory. His smirk was slightly down trodden when he felt the pain shoot up his spine. Nonetheless it felt really good testing his technique for the first time in the field, and a successful test too boot.
"Lee...w-what the hell was that?" Lee spun around to see a flabbergasted Neji. It was almost comedic watching the normally stoic face of the Hyuga branch family member be rendered slack-jawed.
"A new technique that I have been working on." Lee grinned. "I have yet to open Kyōmon so I am as yet unable to perform Gai's Hirudora. So I developed Jixyuuden Buru as a way to produce a similar effect of an ultra-powerful taijutsu move. It is not as powerful but still does the trick. I have been developing it for the past few months."
"By yourself?" Neji quickly regained his composure but his surprise was still evident in his voice.
"Well Gai gave me quite a few pointers." Lee nodded. "I had to train very hard in order to develop it."
Neji rolled his eyes as he moved back to his injured colleagues. "You and Gai-sensei are completely insane."
"Come on Neji." Lee caught up, limping slightly, placing an enthusiastic pat on his back. "You should train more with us often. I even have a green jumpsuit with your name on it."
Neji's eyes did not even glance back at him. "I would rather die."
Lee smirked. "Don't worry, it will be our little secret."
0o0o0o
"Gai-sensei! Did you see it?! It worked!" Lee enthusiasm, although lost on Neji, quickly infected Gai and Tenten.
"You were amazing Lee!" Tenten was busy treating with Gai's injury on his chest with the field kits. Their sensei was looking much better, and was far more alert.
"Now that is what I call the Springtime of Youth!" Gai preformed his nice guy posed. "All those months of training were well worth it."
"So it appears." Neji smirked. This brief banter however was short lived. "How are you feeling Gai-sensei?"
"Doing well." Gai pressed firmly against his chest. "Fortunately the field kit was enough to counter the infection from the claws." However, he gazed at his injured knuckles. "The bite marks however are not doing so well."
"Yeah..." Tenten's smile quickly lost its luster as she gazed at her own wound which was looked like it was deteriorating by the second.
"Give me a minute." Neji reached for her hand. "I can't heal it, but I am sure I can stop it from spreading."
He performed a few seals. "Nimpo: Fūjikome no jutsu." Black lines shot out of his fingers and carefully wrapped themselves around the infected parts of Tenten's hand in a tight lattice formation. The Hyuga preformed the same technique on his sensei's injured knuckle just to be sure. "That should stop the infection from spreading, but it won't help the areas which are already affected." Neji's face formed a serious frown. "Tenten, we have to head back to the village."
"No!" Tenten nearly jumped. "No, I'm fine. I'll be okay."
"Tenten, this is not ANBU." Gai sighed. "This is not a mission that requires us to keep going until we reach our goal or we die trying. You could lose your hand."
That made Tenten go quiet. She was a qualified weapons expert, her hands are her life. If she lost them, even if it was a few fingers, she would be subject to ANBU review. The ANBU do not let injuries slip past the radar, they would put her through a rigorous physical and psychological test and see if she was affected. If she was that little bit more slow...if she was that little bit insecure...
But the weapon master's thought turned to Sarura Bea who was lying in a broken state in some hospital bed. Wasting away as a mere shadow of her former self. And a little girl who could be suffering the same fate.
Tenten loved being in ANBU more than anything in the world, but you never get to be a hero. In fact you are the opposite. Despite the fact that what she did was in the benefit with Konoha, she did miss the times when she actually saved lives instead of just taking them.
It took less than a second for Tenten to decide.
She grabbed a field kit injection in her uninjured hand. With a quick antibiotic shot to her injured hand hoping it would slow down the infection. "Woah, wait a minute Tenten..." Lee was about to grab her hand to stop her but it was too late.
"We don't have time to waste." She stood up and quickly walked towards the woods, glancing back at her stunned teammates. "Well come on! Let's go! We have to save Run-san."
The team smiled warmly both in admiration and excitement and quickly set off behind her.
0o0o0o
Once again, the creature went up against an opponent that quite soundly and absolutely defeated it. An opponent that was absolutely sure they killed the creature.
But that never stayed the case for long.
The creature came back whether it wanted to or not. The creature occasionally found those that defeated it, other times it did not. This did not bother the creature, it never felt pride or a desire for vengeance; it did not even know what they meant. The creature was limited in terms of the emotional spectrum available to it.
It felt a few things; surprise, frustration, guilt and regret dominated it at every turn. The only variances to these primary emotions were very few and far between. It came across fear when its thoughts dwelt on the Red Eyes. Confusion when it started contemplating its existence, and had on the odd occasion when sitting in its home felt loneliness.
Not too long ago, for the first time in its existence the creature ran afoul of the powerful emotion known as hope. In particular, the hope of being free and to no longer feed off the people that unfortunately came across its path.
What the creature was currently experiencing was an irregular...annoyance. Annoyance at the situation if found itself in...again. There was little it could do in its present condition; all it could do was wait.
Disjointed, eviscerated and scattered across a wide field. Any other being, provided they survived and that was a stretch of the imagination, would say it would be absolutely excruciating...torture beyond reckoning. This also happened to be the case for the creature; it could sense its predicament, and it could feel everything from the occasional ache or cramp. It could feel parts of itself being slowly moved and shuffled by some unknown force. It could feel itself being put back together. It felt flesh and bone connecting with more flesh and bone.
The creature's consciousness slowly flickered in an out, getting bits and pieces of the hunters' conversation. That was until it heard a fragment of the conversation.
"-let's go! We have to find Run-sama-"
Run-sama? The creature felt puzzlement. Why does that name mean something? I don't know of anyone by that name...is it someone I...killed?
Then it hit like a bolt of lightning. They weren't searching for the creature.
Run-sama.
The Girl.
They were going to take the Girl away.
No. The creature thrashed, they were going to take its hope away. Its hope for freedom. It could feel its flesh, its very bones surge with renewed power.
It felt its reformed hand and gave it a firm clench.
The creature felt an emotion that it could not immediately identify it was as if its mind was completely ablaze and alert.
It took less than a second to recognise it.
Rage.
0o0o0o
Hey Guys hope you enjoyed the chapter. I looked forward to this, and I always believed that Naruto's passing would force a lot of his close friends to improve to greater heights. Take care!
Review and PM as always.