To the Death
Zabuza and his allies moved forward slowly. Each had a clear target, and each looked ready to kill them. "I'm glad Kurenai thought to come under genjutsu. She can support us without being seen now." Kakashi shook his head and focused on his opponent.
Zabuza had his sword out, and was slowly circling the silver haired jonin, looking for any openings. "Kakashi, Kakashi. You are one of the few people I've wanted to fight. Most of Kiri is absolutely terrified of you, you know."
Kakashi raised his headband, revealing a Sharingan eye. Sasuke stopped and stared for a moment before looking towards the man comign towards him again. "I'm not really that surprised. After what I did to their raiding parties a few years ago, when they tried to invade Ame, I'd be scared of me too."
Zabuza laughed lightly. "Twenty shinobi from their jonin and elite ANBU in three days. By yourself. Weren't those the days, Kakashi?"
"Not really. I was losing freinds rather quickly back then, something I don't intend to repeat."
Zabuza sighed in mock dismay. "A pity. I'd thought you and I were more similar than this. Oh well. Shall we begin then?"
Kakashi glared at him, Sharingan spinning ever faster. "Why not?"
Naruto and Haku stared at eachother on opposite sides of the bridge. The intensity of the killing intent pouring off of them seemed to make the air crackle. Haku shifted his weight less than an inch, and Naruto's eyes turned blazed purple as he charged. Haku flickered out of Naruto's rush, drawing senbon as he went. He threw a handful at Naruto, who deflected them with a kunai before continuing his headlong charge at Haku. Haku continued to dodge and throw senbon, neither able to land a single hit on the other.
Naruto stopped. "It appears that we have to step this up from a taijutsu battle if we wish for it to ever end."
Haku nodded. "Indeed it does. What is your first move?"
An evil grin split Naruto's feral face. "Watch this." He removed his gloves and tossed them to the side, and the mouths on either hand began spewing clay. In less than five seconds, the clay falcon was completed. Naruto hopped on its back, and it flew into the air. "Your move Haku."
A grin identical to Naruto's split Haku's face. This was exactly what he had been preparing for. "Hitaka no jutsu!" As he spoke, water seemed to jump off of the bridge and solidify... into a falcon exactly like the one Naruto was sitting on. Naruto watched open mouthed as Haku rose into the air. "Let it begin!" He cried, as he pelted Naruto with senbon.
Naruto cursed and forced his falcon into a steep dive. This would be a problem
Kiba watched slowly as the hunchback known as Fenrir slowly walked towards him. The shaggy man would have been eight feet tall if it weren't for his back, and even with the hunch, he towered over Kiba. Kiba decided that bravado and bluster were in order. "Hey ugly, back off now and we won't have to hurt you too badly!" Akamaru yipped from on his head.
Fenris raised his head, and for the first time, Kiba saw his face. The broad face and squashed nose were not so unusual. What he noticed most were the eyes.
Fenris' eyes were gold, with black pupils in the middle. Kiba took an involuntary step back.
"Little dog, don't go anywhere. Please. I'm very, very hungry right now." Fenris' voice seemed to reek of death. Kiba was on the verge of total panic, when he remembered something Kakashi had told him once.
"Whenever you face a more experienced, older opponent, they will in general start by trying to panic you, using killer intent and scars to weave a web of terror. The first step to breaking this is to recognize that they are doing it, and then to ignore it. This generally throws them off balance."
"But sensei, how do you get past a really high level of killing intent like that?"
Kakashi seemed to go into deep thought. "Hmmmm. Well one of the time honored ways isto raise your own until its high enough that you can ignore theirs. For you though, the best would be a small, self inflicted wounds. The pain helps you focus."
Kiba bit into his hand, drawing a little blood with his sharp fangs. Fenris seemed to freeze for a moment, before he resumed his approach. Now he appeared agitated. "What did you do that for? I could've let you live before. But now I see your blood. Thats not good for you. I don't like it when people bleed. Bleeding people need to bleed more. They never bleed enough."
As Fenris continued to rant to himself, Kiba wondered what he'd gotten himself into.
Sakura and Hinata looked at the approaching Geshada, thinking furiously. Why would Zabuza say that the sides were even when there were six of them and only five on Zabuza's side? It had something to do with Geshada for sure, as he was picking two targets, but what.
The cloaked man sighed deeply. "I can't believe this. My first fight in almost a year with Zabuza-san, and he has me fighting little girls. I get no respect these days."
Sakura snorted. "Oh yeah? Well there are two of us and only one of you. So don't get too cocky, or we'll beat you down!"
Geshada cocked his head. "Only one of me, eh? Are you sure about that?" He drew both swords , and suddenly his shadow split off. It shimmered in the air, and holes appeared for a moment, but it quickly solidified. It peeled itself off the ground and rose, leaving no connection between the swordsman and his shadow. Geshada handed it a sword. "I am Geshada of the shadow blade. I am never alone."
Hinata activated her Byakugan as Sakura paled. "Sakura, you hold off the real one. I think I can take out the shadow with my jyuuken, but I can't do it if both come after me."
Sakura nodded. "Hai."
The two stalked forward slowly. They were not the best of ninja, but they knew better than to let a swordsman take the offensive.
Sasuke eyed the massive wall of muscle before him. He carried no weapon pouches, no jutsu scrolls, and wore no armor. His only weapons appeared to be his fists, but Sasuke wasn't willing to take that on faith. "Only one way to find out for sure." He braced himself as he rushed in with punch aimed at Handon's torso, expecting the man to dodge, to evade, to do something. But he just stood there and took the punch full on. He merely laughed as Sasuke's strike collided.
Sasuke reeled back, clutching his hand. He felt like he had just hit a brick wall, and his punch had had about that much effect. The only option was jutsus. He jumped back from the still laughing Handon and formed a few hand seals. "Raitama no jutsu!" As he pushed his hands forward, several crackling balls of lightning shot out straight towards Handon. At this, Handon finally paid attention, jumping out of the way, only to have to twist in midair to avoid a pair of kunai. As he was about to land, he heard another shout from Sasuke. "Goukyakyuu no jutsu!" The massive fireball was heading straight towards him.
Just as it seemed certain that he would be incinerated, Handon grinned, pulled back his fist, and punched towards the fireball. A wave of pure force rippled out, dispelling the fire and sending Sasuke tumbling back. "Not bad at all kid, but not good enough. Let's dance!"
Sasuke swore loudly and jumped back. "A shockwave? What kind of ability is that? I need to get the range!" With this in mind, he slowed his retreat, allowing Handon to catch up again. Laughing crazily once again, he swung his hand again from a good ten feet away, and the wave of force once again rippled out. Sasuke jumped back again, and tracked the jutsu with his eyes. At ten feet, the shockwave spread out more, and by fifteen feet, it was no more than a strong breeze.
Sasuke jumped back to twenty feet. He had the range. Now he needed to take the offensive.
But that was easier said than done, and Sasuke continued to be pushed back. Glancing over his shoulder, Sasuke realized that Handon was pushing him towards the edge of the incomplete bridge. Sasuke was no more than fifty feet from the edge, and still being pushed back. As Sasuke saw the piles of discarded tools and building materials, an idea came to him.
The young Uchiha continued his headlong retreat until he came to the first pile of bricks. Handon, as expected, launched another shockwave directly at him, and Sasuke jumped on the bricks, flipping into the air over Handon. The brawler smiled and launched another shockwave straight up, blasting Sasuke higher into the air.
As all the air was forced from his lungs, a fighting grin split Sasuke's face. Perfect.
He began forming hand seals. "Raiyari!" A beam of lightning shot out of his hand straight down towards Handon. The brawler managed to begin moving before it struck him, but the electric bolt still ripped into his right arm. Handon's screams split the air as he fell to the ground Sasuke landed behind him and struck the knockout points behind his head, sending him unconscious to the ground.
The Uchiha stood panting, victorious, over the first serious opponent he'd fought one on one. A grin lit his face as he fell onto his back. "Just five minutes rest. Then I see how the others are doing."
Even as Sasuke battled with his opponent, Kiba was being hard pressed by Fenris. After ranting at him for several minutes, the hunchback had suddenly stopped talking, and his features seemed to warp ever so slightly. After a rush Kiba was hard pressed to dodge, they had become even more apparent.
The bent man's long fingers had slowly hardened and extended into curving, wicked claws, his teeth sharpening into fangs, his face extending. Hair shot out of his body all over, covering him completely. He appeared to be almost a wolf, but at the same time, held the canny intelligence of a ninja. Kiba had learned that the hard way early in their fight, and had a long, shallow cut across his chest to prove it.
Kiba snarled in frustration as the hunchback continued to advance, each strike coming faster than the last. Sweat began to blur his vision, and he knew he'd have to finish this quick.
"Juujin Bunshin!" At his cry, Akamaru jumped off and transformed into a more feral, though uninjured, version of Kiba. Kiba swallowed a soldier pill taken from his small pouch. They both dropped to all fours, grasping kunai between each knuckle to increase traction, and therefore speed.
They sprinted around Fenris until the moment came. Fenris faced directly inbetween them, unable to choose which target to strike at, with both on either side.
He couldn't have put himself in a worse position. "Getsuuga!" Both Kibas began to spin rapidly as they spun through the air, forming blue drills of force which slammed into the wolf like ninja. He was sent flying across the bridge as both drills pursued him, battering him mercilessly until he was knocked off of the bridge entirely. As Fenris dropped, his form shimmered slightly, revealing the hunchback from before, instead of the monster it transformed into. The hunched form looked at Kiba, winked, and hit the water. Kiba stared after him, wondering what the wink was for.
As he tried to stand up, realization hit him. He fell over, and turned his head to look at the back of his legs. Both of his hamstrings had been slashed open, and blood flowed from behind his knees. He was out of this fight.
He looked over at Akamaru. "Why do I get the feeling that were gonna see him again?"
Naruto rolled his falcon yet again, dodging another flurry of senbon. Haku's hawk was not nearly as fast as his own, but it appeared to be far more manueverable.
And durable. He sent yet another swarm of clay birds towards his opponent. Less than one in ten got through, and those that did once again detonated to no effect on the ice hawks stomach and head. Haku wasn't even shaken.
"Time to get crazy with this." Naruto aimed the falcon straight into the air and turned entirely around. Haku was on his belly, forced to hold on to his mount with both hands. Naruto's feet, however, were held in place with the same clay that made up his falcon, allowing him to use both hands to maximum effect despite the ridiculous angle they traveled at. He formed as many clay birds as he could and had them all charge head on at Haku.
Haku cursed and veered off, forced to break off his pursuit by the attack. He'd not been expecting Naruto to be able to do anything while perpendicular to the ground, but he had. As he turned back towards his opponent after dispatching the latest swarm of clay explosives, he saw Naruto charging him head on. A collision would be unavoidable unless he did something.
Haku focused on the moisture in the air, and formed an ice spear directly in front of Naruto's bird. It rammed straight through it, and seemed to suddenly disrupt it. Naruto was thrown forwards as his mount dissolved back into clay.
Straight at Haku.
The fake hunter-nin smiled victoriously as he pulled out a senbon. His only warning of what to come was a viscious grin on Naruto's face. He veered sharply to the side, Naruto flying by above and to the left.
It wasn't enough.
"Kazetate!" The violent rotating orb of wind sliced Haku's mount apart where dozens of high explosvives had failed. Those same blades of wind continued straight through, cutting into Haku's left arm deeply, shredding the battle kimono all over his left side and throwing him downwards violently.
Naruto would have laughed as he saw his opponent tumble away. He had taken on an opponent at least as powerful as himself and come out on top, though nearly out of his clay explosives, and he still had chakra to spare. He would have laughed, but the fall that awaited them both was a very, very, very long way. He tried forming the falcon again, but didn't have enough clay left. He thought desperately as he neared the ground. Only one idea presented itself. "Daitopa!" The massive blast of wind struck the (fortunately) sturdy bridge, exerting enormous force on it. And for all the force that was exerted on it, the bridge pushed back. Back at the air, back all the way up the air flow, straight into Naruto. As he kept up the blast of wind, he began to sweat, but he ceased accelerating, and by the time he hit the bridge, it was only a nasty fall, rather than a bone shattering collision. Haku fell off the side into the water, though he soon resurfaced, barely afloat over the water. Naruto looked around the bridge, trying to see who was left.
Sasuke and Kiba were both completely passed out, and though Naruto could see no sign of Kiba's opponent, Sasuke's was laid out on the bridge. Good. Three enemies down. He continued to scan the bridge, looking for Sakura and Hinata, or even Kakashi. He saw Tazuna and decided to ask him. "Hey old man, where are the rest of them?"
Tazuna jumped a little, but quickly looked relieved as he realized it was one of his guards. "The girls and the fellow with the swords are over near the edge of bridge closer to town. And Your sensei and that Zabuza fellow are under the bridge, if you can believe it. Fighting right in the framework last I saw them, bouncing off of the suspension. Kakashi looked like he had the upper hand, but I'm no ninja."
Naruto nodded slightly. That's okay, I'm sure he'll be fine. Its Sakura and Hinata I'm worried about." He walked off in the direction Tazuna had indicated, looking for any sign of his teammates.
He found them, soon enough. Sakura was slumped against the side of a crate of supplies, a huge gash in her arm pumping blood at an alarming rate. Hinata appeared to be treating her. Naruto could see no sign of their opponent. Hinata looked up as she saw him approach, and smiled warmly. "Naruto! Your okay! I think we've managed to get rid of that swordsman. Sakura blew an explosive tag up right under his feet, and we haven't seen him since."
A voice seemingly emerged from nowhere. "That's because I didn't want you to see me." An arm reached out from the shadow cast by the box Sakura was leaning on, impaling Hinata on a long, thin katana. It just as quickly withdrew and vanished into the shadows. A man stepped forward from the mist. "You defeated Haku. Very clever of you. I wonder though, did you ever wonder what was going on here? Did you ever bother to do anything other than assume that Zabuza was the strongest one, just because he called us here? I am Geshada of the shadow blade, and I have never known defeat. Come, fight me, and we shall see who is truly strongest here."
But all Naruto could see was the blood quickly staining Hinata's jacket. Her blood. Spilled for no reason. Rage clouded out judgement, reason, and logic. Red blurred across Naruto's vision. He could only see two things clearly. Hinata, and the man who had killed her.
(A/N) Phew! Lots of action, eh? Translation time!
Raitama - Lightning Bullet - Fires high speed projectiles of lightning. Accurate, but not very powerful.
Goukyakyuu - Grand Fire Ball - The user unleashes a blast of fire from their mouth. Powerful, but slow in comparison to many other techniques.
Raiyiri - Lightning Spear - Mid ranged lightning jutsu where user fires a beam of lightning. Powerful at close range, diffuses with distance. Requires a lot of chakra.
Daitopa - Great Breakthrough - Powerful wind technique that launches a massive gust of wind ten times more powerful than a hurricane gale. Extreme amounts of chakra required to use.
