Chapter 10: For Honor
"Say something, damn it! We have to make a decision!" Yuuki demanded an answer from Datsu. His eyes squinted and his body tensed. Yuuki could sense his hesitation. He doesn't have a clue what to do, does he? She got in a thinking pose.
"Datsu!" Takeshi shoved Datsu's shoulder, hoping to snap him into logic. However Datsu gave him a much harder push, forcing Takeshi off him.
"Get off me. I know, damn it! Just give me a second." Takeshi clenched his fist, ready to strike. Before he lost his composure, he considered their situation. It's not like any of them had been in such a critical position. Takeshi himself was just trying to push the responsibility off to someone else.
"We can't handle this. We don't even know if these guys are powerful or not. Let's withdraw." As Takeshi attempted to speak reason, Yuuki covered his mouth. He gave her a confused, almost upset look. She responded with a calm, warm smile.
"Seriously, just relax you two. They have numbers; so what! Datsu, I assume you know how to use my technique, right?" As eyes shifted to him, he nodded, slowly forming a grin. "We have two master Swordsman, do we not?" Kaito and Noriko gave their swords a quick check and bowed their heads in unison. She looked at Takeshi. "And we also have the toughest Uchiha with us, yes?" He blushed as she removed her hand finally. "We have to try for the safety of those hostages." She inhaled a breath to calm herself now. "I would be lying if I said I wasn't worried. We all should be, and we all have the right not to follow through with this risk. Right now, we don't have a clue how desperate the enemy is, or what they have at their disposal, but we haven't been training for nothing. I have a plan."
Datsu scoffed sarcastically. "Even with a year's more experience, I still couldn't keep us together." He sized up the girl before crossing his arms. "Alright, let's hear it then."
Yuuki nodded as she created a clone. "I will send a clone back for reinforcements. I'm confident we will have help when we need it." She quickly sketched a blueprint into the ground. "We'll follow the road and travel northeast along the forest line. Whoever we manage to flush out, we will handle accordingly. I have to make it to the hostages, so we aren't stopping. I assume everyone knows their strengths, so I'll leave fighting decisions up to you. Again, I have to make it to those hostages. I've got an ace up my sleeve." The group was slowly gaining faith in Yuuki. "In addition, if you cannot win, stall. Help will be around the corner. Any questions?" Kaito's eyes opened slightly as he nodded. Yuuki then signaled her clone to get reinforcements.
"I may have despised you for so long, but you have my respect." Noriko spoke up and Yuuki felt slightly taller. However, Noriko knew what Yuuki and her shadow clone technique were capable of. If she had a plan, it was likely going to succeed. "I'm willing to put my trust in you for this one."
"Dear lord, are we really going to this? I hope you aren't still planning to keep a step behind me then. I haven't been training for my health, you know!" Takeshi locked eyes with Yuuki as they traded grins. I don't like the risk, but something tells me we have to do this. I have to do this. Takeshi's smile faded as he gulped. "We need to keep in mind that these are the real enemies. Killing…is an option; one I'd prefer to avoid at all cost." The team froze in consideration of the fact. This wasn't something any of them particularly wanted to do.
"Enough!" Datsu entered the scene with a driving knee to Takeshi's face. "Let's find someone to pound already, before I start fighting you!" With a flexing arm and his hardest tough guy face, Datsu held a confident pose for a moment. Can't show any more weakness than I've already shown.
"Quit giving me more reasons to kick your ass!" Takeshi blew Datsu away with a powerful punch, only to rub the pain off his cheek later. The group shared a brief period of laughter before getting ready to move with a positive morale.
"Team Yuuki, move out!" Isami watched as his younger sister took control with confidence. In the tree line, he couldn't help but shed a smile.
"I'll be here for you. I hope you know what you're doing. I have a feeling no one's leaving this one without a scar, considering this has become an A-ranked mission." Isami inhaled deeply to calm his concern for the young group. "Am I doing the right thing, father?"
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"I can't believe it! To think those damned ruins held that kind of information." Rekano crossed his arms and propped himself against the wall. "Thank you for getting me up to speed on the situation. I know it may be hard, but know that you my full support." Konohamaru mimicked his friend's posture.
"I'm happy to hear that. So what about you? When I left, I became completely oblivious to what happened here. Why don't you fill me in?"
Rekano chuckled. "I'm afraid the past few years have just been boring politics. But let's see…when you left, I was decided as the leader here. Of course, I don't need to tell you the Land of Rivers is a dog-eat-dog world. My older rival, Shin, challenged my authority out of the blue. We came to an understanding, ultimately resulting in him leaving the village peacefully. With it, he gained a small following and decided he would try to rival my village. Before he left, he even laughed at the villagers, claiming the village was doomed to fail under my rule. This wasn't the Shin I knew anymore, so I became determined to prove him wrong: Within a few months, I had collaborated with the villagers, elders, and successful financial specialist. Our economy boomed as we exploited our rare chakra trees and promising ninja. Three years flew by and an all too familiar face showed." Rekano let out a long sigh over a serious demeanor. "Shin returned and violently attacked the village. I tried to reason with him, but he hated the success I had. His rule had led to revolt, and he had assumed my fate must be the same. Shin was powerful, but his arrogance made him weak. The fight was not easy and the destruction was heavy. Once I finished him off with my rapids fist, his followers ceased the assault. I allowed them to take his body for a proper burial; he may have died tainted with hate, but I still knew him as a friend." Konohamaru said nothing, but he bowed his head in respect. Rekano turned the conversation to a little more upbeat. "After that, I made it my ambition to take the village to glory. He was my friend, but the village was still depending on me to bounce it back from the attack. Here we are today."
Konohamaru nodded his head and smiled. "Time is a funny thing. Growing older and having a daughter didn't heal my scars, but it really gives you a purpose to keeping moving forward. Just look at this next generation. I never would have expected to be that older guy preaching about the children, but they are just too impressive."
"Maybe for an old geezer like you!" Rekano snickered at his rival. "Can't say I disagree though. I have grown to love everyone in this village. I'm confident those five children have the skill and talent of seasoned chunin. I'd even wager to say they could've made jonin back in our day!"
"Woah now, who's losing their mind to old age? Let's not forget who the pros were back in our day. I don't care how miraculously strong these kids get, we've still got them beat with experience!" Once more, the friends shared a long laugh.
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"Shin-sama, we have intruders! Two absolutely massive chakra signatures and three smaller ones. Do you have orders?" A seated man laughed as he crossed a leg. You could feel the aura of composure and pride as the man smiled.
"Maybe they finally became wise of us. Not that it matters at this stage. We no longer need to live off scraps and we will definitely not show weakness. Do what you will, Nia."
"Very well." The black haired women turned to two bulky men. "You heard Shin-sama!" Her tone cracked like a whip. "Ken! Jitto! Get the fourth division out there!"
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"Woah, heads up!" Yuuki quickly pointed her hand to the forest. "Looks like thirty-eight just split off in pursuit. There are two powerful enemies among them." She could assume the group was feeling the same adrenaline as she.
"Hell yeah, say no more. I got this one easy! Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" I'll prove what water jutsus are capable of, no matter what! Twenty-four clones and Datsu shot towards the enemy platoon.
"You taught that monster your signature technique? Are you mad?" Kaito held a face of concern, but it was likely not for Datsu; rather, any enemy unfortunate enough to challenge him to a fight.
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"Are you sure?" The man stood calmly and nodded. "Very well Akano." Nia faced her leader and reported. "Sir, it seems the smaller of the two large chakra pools has divided into twenty-five different ones. The other four are continuing their progress."
The man sat a little straighter now and engaged his mind. "Intriguing. Send in division three, cut them off. Hopefully they put up enough of a fight to entertain me."
"Jace, take Mila and Kojo. Division three must eliminate these pests."
"Get off my back, women. I can fuckin hear." As the young, red haired man rose, he fastened his set of blades. "I don't know why I put up with this shit anyways. You don't pay for nothin." Nia backed off, knowing the man's conviction. "Better be worth it. Let's get this over with!"
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"I'm picking up an armed group incoming. Three are powerful, and they are well organized. Twenty-three total." Yuuki made eye contact with Noriko and they acknowledged a telepathic message. Both Kaito and Noriko broke off to intercept the division.
"There's a duo I'm not worried about. That leaves thirty-one, right? How far off are we?" Takeshi stuck close to Yuuki.
"We still have a ways to go." She smiled at his interrogative expression. "I know we can do this!"
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"What're we looking for Ken? Five ninja?" Jitto asked his senpai in ignorance.
"You need to pay attention, dumbass! Two of these ninja are likely jonin, according to their chakra size. I wish we had a sensor in our group." The man took a look over his pathetic quality of ground troops. "Who designed these divisions anyways?"
"I did!" A voice boomed out of the forest and startled the entire division.
"Who said that?" Ken turned to his men and signaled them to advance. "Is our challenger an idiot, or an attention whore?"
"I wonder myself: which of us is the bigger idiot?" Two Datsu's appeared in the tree tops. Everyone rubbed their eyes, swearing they were seeing double. In unison they performed complementary jutsus. "Kirigakure No Jutsu, Suiton: Chakra Kenpa No Ame!" A dense fog covered the area as a heavy rain down poured. "I may prefer playing the fool, but this is not for my entertainment. You are my enemies, and I will drown you." Datsu no longer held a playful tone.
Ken grabbed Jitto and commanded his group. "We've been caught off guard. Take him out!" They swiftly retreated underground.
Shit, two of the stronger ones just dropped out of the rains reach. I need to split these weaker ones up.
"Where is he? Hold together everyone! If we stay in a group, he won't easily take us down!" Suddenly, a clone dove into the crowd.
"Yo! Suiton: Hahonryuu!" He blasted a torrent of water right into the center of the division, sending them flying apart. Three clones gathered and simultaneously shouted, "Suiton: Suishoha!", causing massive lake to materialize out of nowhere. One…two…five…nine…seventeen…twenty-three…thirty-six…got it. "Attack sequence alpha!" All twenty-four clones gathered onto the lake and unleashed a flurry of devastating jutsus. "Suiton: Suigandan, Mizu Kamikiri, Suiton: Taihoudan, Suiton: Suihachi, Suiton: Suishi no Jutsu, Suiton: Daibakuryuu!" As the guided wave caught the ninja barraged by water blast, it slammed the victims into the newly formed whirlpools. Not a single grunt was able to retaliate. Mist of water sprayed over a calming battlefield.
Suddenly, the mist and rain dispelled and Ken shot out of the ground. "You've saved me a few steps, boy! Doton: Retsudotensho!" The lake now turned into raging mud rapids, casting the grunts to safety. Datsu struggled against the pulling mud, only finding himself sink deeper into the quagmire. Before he was overwhelmed, his clones threw him onto solid ground as they fell prey to the rapids. He crossed his arms and glared at his opponents.
"K-Ken-senpai, he took them all out! There were so many of him, and he just slammed our forces using only ninjutsu. I doubt I even know more water jutsus than he. You sure we should still fight him?"
With a stomp of his foot, Ken completely filled the muddy lake with solid ground. "Have some faith. I have the elemental advantage, and you can cancel out his techniques. Besides, we were stuck with the weakest lot of foot soldiers. They were expendable to begin with."
"You've got five seconds to walk away!" Datsu was smirking, but he knew what he was up against. A sweat trickled down his face, also aware he expended around half of his chakra already.
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Akano and Nia spoke quietly to each other. After an extended conversation, she accepted his input and reported. "Shin-sama, two marks are still en route. Division four has been reduced to Ken and Jitto, and division three has halted before two ninja. It won't be long before the final two make it here. Your orders?"
Shin sipped on a glass of water as she explained. "Tell Akano to rally division two. I'm aware of what the risks are, so don't even bother." He finished the glass before rising. Shin walked over to the hostages that were loquacious about the possible rescue. "Looks like helps on the way. Wouldn't it be tragic if they couldn't make it in time?" With a maniacal smirk, Shin formed a few hand seals. "Doton Kekkai: Doro Domu!" A massive dome shut the victims inside as he placed a hand on it. "Time's ticking."
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"Stand fast!" Jace put his hand in the air with marginal enthusiasm. "Are you shitting me? They're a couple of kids." He rubbed his head in disappointment. That's when his eyes took a double take, keenly eyeing Kaito's sword.
Chuckles and taunts began to fill the ranks of swordsman. Kojo drew his blade and stepped in front of Jace. "We don't need to waste our skills on a couple of kids. Let the boys have some fun." Jace shrugged his shoulders and leaned against a tree. Kojo saw his approval and smirked.
"Here's your chance to surrender, morons." Mila's eyes drifted between the two emotionless faces that stood before them. Finally, she rested them on Noriko. Mila's blade drew swiftly and pointed at her. "Don't think we'll let you play hero here! You clearly know too much, and we will not hesitate to slaughter you. Are you prepared for death?" Noriko's face didn't even flinch at her words. Mila's blood ran hot and her patience exhausted. "You intend to look down on me and my men? Got to hell, you brats!" Kojo and Mila raised their blades in the air.
"Do you see it, Noriko?" Kaito's eyes remained in their usual closed state as he softly spoke.
"What? The fact that half of them don't even know how to hold a sword, or the contradiction of you noticing things with your eyes closed?" They shared a smile before collaborating into a duel stance. Noriko stood face-to-face with Kaito, placing her left hand on his right shoulder.
Kojo laughed. "Sure, we'll give you a final dance. Courageous or stupid, we'll try to make it quick and painless for you. Ready!" The lieutenants dropped their swords in unison. Without another second, swordsmen poured out of ranks and began the assault. Kojo's unit headed straight for a brunt attack, whereas Mila's unit flanked around the sides. Noriko tightened her grip on his shoulder as he lifted his hand to his hilt. Kojo's unit was only a few steps away from striking distance. Kojo scoffed. "Fools."
Within a blink of an eye, Noriko thrust herself high into the air. The unit lost focus of Kaito as he swiftly drew his blade. In a high sweeping motion, the massive sword swung on its blunt side. The force managed to smash through five men. At this point, Noriko drew a hand full of senbon needles a masterfully picked off four men from Mila's flanking unit. By the time she landed, a single blade was already drawn and slashing the arriving three enemies tendons cleanly. The two pressed against each other's backs as the remaining forces halted.
Kojo and Mila might as well have been trying to filter feed based on how long their jaws remained slacked. Sweat began to run down Kojo's neck and rage began to boil in Mila. Needless to say, the grunt swordsmen were finding it difficult to keep heart. These kids took out over half the division within ten seconds. It didn't help that Jace was beside himself in laughter. "If you were wondering why I get paid more than you, that's why!"
"Quit fucking around! There are eight of you, work with it." Kaito slammed his sword in the ground and sat Indian style. Mila became even more irked. "Take advantage of his arrogance! Do NOT make me come down there!" The men snapped into a surrounding formation and held their swords in a stabbing manner. Noriko mimicked them with her second blade still concealed. The man she pointed to flinched, feeling the hellish aura the teen emitted. It was as if they were fighting two Jaces. He snapped to and took initiative. "Charge!"
As he arrived, his blade was sliced clean off. Using her left hand, she swung around Kaito's blade and followed the pattern. It wasn't an act of kindness, evident by several severed fingers and sliced biceps. The glowing chakra was slicing handily through metal. Just as she left an opening for the final armed swords men, Kaito clenched it in a single hand without rising. In an effortless twitch of the wrist, the blade was snapped off to the hilt. A very sobering fear fell over the remaining eight men. They were being toyed with, only one opponent even standing before them. Kojo, being the more compassionate one, shook for his comrades. He prepared to step in, but Mila restrained him. "Get off me! I'm not just going to let these two get away with this!"
"Shut up!" Mila slapped him across the face. "They are poorly trained, amateur swordsmen. It would be easy for Shin-sama to buy more. Don't ignore his orders…besides; they aren't trying to kill anyone."
Kojo shook her grip off, looking back to the carnage. "Poorly trained, huh? We should have taught them better…" his gaze drifted down.
Noriko let out a soothing sigh as she grabbed two handfuls of senbon needles. The remainder of the grunts were either screaming in pain or were backing away. She raised her hands, eyeing each of her targets carefully. It was easy to pick up their positions, resembling a compass of eight directions. What she focused on, however, was a little trickier. Finally, she put on the face of death himself and spoke. "You are all going to die if you move." Before their eyes could widen, the combination had started.
First came north with the left hand, then south with the right. She continued by slinging needles at the southeast target, followed by the northwest target. In pairs, the needles took on deadly accuracy and pierced the necks of each victim. Whether they were cowering in fear, standing still, or writhing in pain, each one landed perfectly. As she slung the last two needles into the southwest target, Kaito stood. The couple took on a similar standoff as they had before the attack. Emotionless and non-vocal on the inside, relieved on the inside.
Kojo and Mila felt chills run down their backs. The long silence was broken by a less-than-enthusiastic clap. Jace returned to his feet and smiled. "Beautiful teamwork! I didn't even get to take a power nap in the time it took you to wipe out twenty men!"
"Why would you leave your men to a slaughter?" Kaito prepared to interrogate the now division-less captain. "You may have stood a chance had you all combined efforts."
Mila went to vent out her inner steam, but Jace held his hand out to silence her. "I may be a swordsman for the highest bidder, but I do have honor. I will not allow my lieutenants to engage in an unfair match, though what they do with their men is their business. I may be 'captain', but I've only been here for a couple weeks. If they want to send in a bunch of men they could have trained better against honed swordsmen, then it just shows how shitty their leadership is." Both of his lieutenants sank their heads in shame. Jace himself seemed to demand respect from the elder subordinates. He was only older than Kaito by a year or so based on appearance.
"I see. You've been a wildcard your whole life, have you not?" Almost amused, Jace gave him a half bow. Kaito's eyes shot open for the first time. "What do you think of fighting me in a duel?" A fierce glare came across both of their eyes.
"No one has challenged me to a duel in years! You really think you're hot shit, don't ya?" He began to rub his head in thought. "Tell you what. If you manage to kill me, I'll pass these swords on to you." His eyes shifted to Noriko. "Just this once, I'll let my lieutenants engage a single target in battle. It's not that unfair anyways. But if she dies from your selfish decision, you lose." He rubbed his forehead, as if to summon a thought to his mind. "Oh! And try not to fuckin die!" Kaito smiled through the adrenaline. This man promised to be the highest caliber fighter he knew.
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Yuuki bit her lip, considering what her options were. "Hey, we've got six incoming. One of them appears quite powerful; the others are stronger than the other divisions' grunts."
Takeshi observed her body language. It was clear that she wanted to stay and help, but he knew that she had to get to the main camp. "I can hold them off long enough for reinforcements to arrive. How is everyone else fairing?" Yuuki focused backwards to find Datsu with only two opponents left. Then she noticed Noriko and Kaito had only three enemies to take down. She smiled.
"I think we were underestimated. The last two groups only have a combined five enemies left, although all of them are powerful." Takeshi felt his confidence sore, knowing that they were pulling off an impressive feat.
"You are incorrect. We simply failed to recognize our own weaknesses." The young man stood in the way, arms crossed. He had a longer, dark blue hair that lay neatly down. Despite his Proper manner and civilized cloths, he had a very powerful chakra. "I will ask you to cease your advancement at once. If you refuse, my division will be forced to take action."
Yuuki facepalmed, knowing she let herself get caught off guard. Using her byakugan, she reassessed the main camp. Twenty normal signatures, three powerful ones, one slightly greater, and what she assumed was the leader. However, now the hostages were trapped and she could see their chakra slowly flowing into the man. "I'd love to stay, but I can't allow your ruler to drain the hostages to death."
Akano raised an eyebrow. "So your eyes are what have helped you exploit our defenses? You have us wrong; Shin-sama would not lower himself to killing innocents." He calmly pointed his finger to her. "Why am I talking to a copy anyways?" Responding to the signal, five men snapped out and impaled Yuuki with kunai. Takeshi clenched his teeth, exhaling when he saw the cloud of white smoke. Akano shifted back to Takeshi. "I will not be dirtying my hands for this fight unless you are my equal. You will have to defeat division two, special operatives. I'll even let you know what sets us apart; we are well tuned sensory ninja. We have every counter for any jutsu you can imagine." The man gave a simple smile. "We will allow her to do as she will until you fall."
Takeshi looked at the five opponents he was about to face. They were calm, but very alert. It was likely that he would have to be precise when fighting these ninja. Five grunts, likely one for every element. Too bad this group thinks too hard. Takeshi stretched his legs out and smiled. "You know, you talk too much. My mood's so good, I'll even give you guys a handicap." They watched as the young man pulled his forehead protector over his eyes and tied tight. Aside from Akano, everyone was visibly insulted by this teen's arrogance. Akano noticed the chakra at his feet, but said nothing to his teammates.
In a blind rush, two men attacked Takeshi from either side. Takeshi took a jab to his right cheek and a kick to his left side. He allowed himself to feel their chakra, and made an audible chuckle at the pain he took. Despite the power behind their blows, Takeshi didn't budge an inch, and instead smiled wider. "That the best you can do?" Before the kicker knew it, his foot was stuck to Takeshi's side. Using the chakra to pull the man in close, Takeshi cocked an arm back and pumped chakra into it. "One down!" A scream escaped from the fearful man as Takeshi bore his fist straight into his jaw. An audible snap crunched out and the now unconscious foe flew far into the brush line.
The second attacker stared in shock when he felt his spine tingling; a typical reaction to danger for sensory ninja. "Why you!" Before the man could continue, Takeshi clinched his hands around his ears and fluctuated the frequency. The noise forced the man to cease motion and Takeshi shot three powerful knees into his face. Aside from the fact that they were losing numbers, the remaining three proved to be cowards. Witnessing their comrades' faces being shattered so fluently, yet, viciously was numbing them.
"Stand down. You three are to retreat immediately." Akano stepped forward with strong eyes and squared himself with Takeshi.
"Captain, there is no reason you must fight! We just got psyched out, that's all. We will finish this weakling." With a false sense of security, the other two agreed. However, Akano shot them back a terrifying look.
"I recognize someone as a near equal, and you three claim that's weak? If you don't want to lose those tongues, I suggest you retreat. I am making the tactical decision, and you will obey. You will not interfere with the main camp fight either. Is that clear?" Seeing the sincerity in his words, the elder of the three pushed the group out of the battleground.
"It's nice to have a noble opponent with a keen head on his shoulders. Would you rather we fight, or talk first?" Takeshi stood tall as he awaited his response. Just from appearance, avoiding the fight would be the safest option for him.
"It bothers me to say it, but talk. You are ninja from Konoha. What are you doing here?"
Takeshi scratched his head. "Well, three of us are from Konoha; the other two are from the Village Hidden in the Rivers. If you want to know the purpose of the mission, it was originally to investigate bandit attacks on caravans." Takeshi's mouth straightened. "This was supposed to be our second C-ranked mission, but I wager that went to hell."
"You mean that false village Rekano heads when you say 'Village Hidden in the Rivers'. Shin-sama has told us how that greedy man usurped him from power seven years ago. The coward didn't even do it through honor either. He cowardly snaked his way to the top. Your group is representing the epitome of disgrace!" Takeshi raised an eyebrow and lifted his headband. What he was hearing was a blind child worshiping a false god.
"Negative." The bluntness set Akano back a little. "My sensei is his best friend and rival for over ten years. Rekano has been the man in charge for all ten years. This Shin guy is feeding you a bowl of hot crap, and you're eating it right up." A tick of anger and doubt swelled in Akano.
"I can see we have reached an impasse. We talk with our combat skills from here on out. May the best man win."
Takeshi tucked his eyes away and smiled. Judgment day, I guess. "I intend to."
Akano smirked as he widened his base. "How cliché."
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"Yo!" Out of nowhere, Isami sprang up and scared the daylight out of his sister.
"Not now, dumbass. It's serious brother time. Serious!" She analyzed her options better now.
"Yuuki, don't you think it was a little too ambitious to tackle this mission? I've agreed with your ideas so far, but this is too extreme. You can't fight that guy. He is definitely jonin at least. You have one near jonin, three strong chuunins, and twenty genin ahead. Did it even occur to you that you are still genin yourself?"
"Oh, shut up already. I know what I can and can't do. I have the element of surprise on my side, a trump card, and you." He pointed to himself in pretend shock. I see…so I wasn't the trump card after all. "I'm not going to fight that guy, you are."
"I've been waiting to prove myself coach! Just tell me where to go and I promise to do my bestest!" She flicked him in the eye to douse his sarcasm factor. "Look, this isn't the average opponent. I'll be cutting it close, and if I'm detected even a little, he will likely just kill the hostages. This has to be done almost instantaneously, and I don't have the necessary preparations to do so." Yuuki slapped him in the face.
"You done?" He narrowed his eyes and rubbed his cheek. "I know this isn't a game, and I also know how to play this one. Don't show up until the hostages are free. He will lower his guard when he sees his opponent is a little girl. If he doesn't, step in and take him out. All the sensors stayed back with Takeshi, so I have the advantage here. " Isami observed her confident face for a minute before complying.
"The first sign of trouble, I'm finishing them all off. Use that clone wisely." Isami veered into the shadows, strategically placing himself in an ambush ready position.
"Yeah, I hope this goes as smoothly as possible to. Lives depend on it." Yuuki created a clone and sent it out to the camp.
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"Look, you can say I told you so all day, but the fact remains there are hostages. The more time we spend here, the more likely it is that someone may die. I wish I knew more up-to-date information, but this is all I have to work with. Let's go!" Yuuki's clone had made it back to the village and frantically explained the situation. Without a moment of hesitation, Konohamaru followed his disciple out of the building. Rekano wanted to help, but he had an entire village to protect.
"Ninety-two opponents? Are you insane? How is that making a good decision?" Konohamaru was furious with Yuuki for taking such a massive risk. She knew his anger was justified, but it was very off-putting as well.
"I'm well aware how difficult a mission this is. However, our team is exceptionally talented and tactical. I taught Datsu how to use shadow clones and he taught me how to use Suiton: Hahonryuu. With our chakra, we can easily out number them. Not to mention if I'm by myself, Isami can help out to." Konohamaru was shocked at her knowledge.
"Very wise analysis, but you are not supposed to know about your brother. How?"
"Look, I don't need to be a genius to know my own brother is tailing me. On top of that, you two should stop underestimating how quick we learn. We may be two month old genin, but we already know we can compete with chunin." Yuuki didn't look back to notice his shock. In such a short time, the prankster niece was becoming a powerful ninja. It was as if there was a bottomless well of potential just waiting all these years to be tapped.
"Alright. Then let's treat this mission as it should be treated. We'll regroup any stragglers and assist you at the main camp. Make sure Isami knows to back out when we're close."
"How do you know I made it there? I'm not even sure."
Konohamaru smiled. "Because you're Yuuki Uzumaki. If an Uzumaki needs to do something, they get it done. I grew up with your father, and I can see you are just as determined as he was." Hearing her uncle's approval made Yuuki smile. "This is still a critical situation though, so I hope you're ready to see the results off difficult decisions." She prepared to find her friends and get the hostages to safety.
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Datsu panted heavily as he continued to run. Weaving in and out of trees, he avoided the powerful earth jutsus being slammed at him. Any plans he had of countering were thwarted by Jitto, so truly all he could think of was stall. "What's wrong? Where's that cocky attitude you had a second ago, boy? If you come out and fight us like a man, I'll cut you some slack."
Datsu clinched his fist, knowing he needed to stall for more time. Reluctantly, he stepped out into the open and drew a kunai. "Who's running? I just wanted to see how fit you were. What do you say to a one-on-one, bareknuckle brawl? If I can take you down, this fight is my victory." Ken signaled Jitto to keep ready for a counter as he laughed.
"You wanna go toe-to-toe with an earth user? Stupid kid, I accept. Koka no jutsu!" Ken's skin hardened to a deep gray tint. Datsu could visibly tell the already ripped man was even tougher now. "Regretting your decision yet?" There's got to be a weakness behind that jutsu. I wish I didn't have to get so close to find out though…Datsu clinched his kunai and charged Ken. A few feet before striking distance, he chucked the kunai at his forehead. Ken remained still as it clanked off. Shit, that didn't work at all! I need to fall back! He attempted to slow himself into a direction change to throw off Ken.
It was too late. Ken grabbed him by the shirt and pounded Datsu's face. As if a freight train struck him, he was unable to hide the pain. Datsu did his best to keep the fall damage to a minimum, focusing more on staying awake. If I take another hit like that…I'll probably die. With blood starting to pour out of his mouth, he put on a smile. "Is that all you've got?" The fact that he was still conscious was proof enough of his toughness. He's definitely slow though.
"Still want more? I like your guts, kid." This time, Datsu sprinted at him without hesitation. Ken attempted to strike, but the stone cloak proved to make it predictable. Datsu threw every kick and punch combo he could think of, knowing he was damaging himself. I can't afford to let this clown beat me! Ken landed a quick head butt on Datsu, but this time he took the hit and kept his feet. Datsu channeled chakra into his hand and placed it on an exhausted Ken's face. With a bruised over eye and blood still gushing from his mouth, he smiled.
"I suck at chakra control by the way." Ken's expression befuddled. As Datsu gathered chakra into his palm, Ken was sent in the air and slammed a crater into the ground. Jitto's jaw dropped after witnessing the power of his chakra. Slowly, Ken got up rubbing his eyes in pain. Datsu's good eye jolted wide. Bingo! Ken reached his feet and laughed.
"Was that the best you can do? You managed to piss me off completely now. This match has no point in going on any longer." As Ken created massive knuckles of spikes from the stone, Datsu smirked.
"I agree completely. I'd like to make a few parting words, if that's ok with you." Ken was taken back. He snorted and allowed him to, amused. "First of all, I'd like to point out that Jitto over there is a raging pussy. Seriously, all you've done is cancel jutsus and hide behind this guy." Jitto showed his frustration as Ken was beside himself with laughter. "Oh, I'm not even getting started. Your cheap ass has been hiding behind your rock techniques and acting all badass just because you can cover yourself with dirt. As if you'd ever stand a chance against a good ninja." Datsu spit blood in his direction, causing Ken to become infuriated. In response, Ken boosted the size of his fist even more and roared at him in anger. "And you're even dumber than I expected." Drawing two Kunai, Datsu swiftly closed in on Ken. Ken prepared to clobber Datsu with his massive fist, knowing that kunai could do nothing against him.
"I'll pulverize your bones to grains for your arrogance!" His mind suddenly pulsed in pain with words. 'arrogance is why I need you. You two never had a choice'. Datsu saw the easy window as Ken recovered. I know that voice…
Suddenly, Datsu raised his kunai and grinned. "Peek-a-boo!"
With excessive force, he slammed them straight through the eyes of Ken. A blood curdling scream sent him to his knees and made Jitto wince in fear. 'Run now, and never stop, Jitto!' His eyes couldn't help but tear. "Dad?"
"Fuck you! Fuck you! Where are you, I'll fucking kill you!" His skin returned to normal as he wildly swung for Datsu.
"We're everywhere." Suddenly, dozens of Datsu clones appeared from their camouflage. Jitto had no chance of countering them all and was overwhelmed with water jutsus. As they created a lake, a few clones quickly ambushed the two. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" The vortex blasted them into the air, where the clones implemented the brunt of the attack. First a powerful series of water bullets lacerated their skin and battered their bones. "I told you already: you are my enemies, and I will drown you. Ultimate finisher! Suiton: Suiryuudan times five!" Four water dragons all intersected on the two foes in a bone breaking force that launched them even farther up. As they reached the peak of their climb, the final water dragon caught them in a meteor fall. With extreme speed, the thousand gallons of water smashed Ken and Jitto straight into the lake. The only thing that remained was a trail of red and bubbles. There were no signs of recovery.
Datsu's clones dispersed as he fell to the ground with a smile. "Did it. Knew I could do it." He felt drowsy and sore in the mouth. Of the hits he took, that was going to be the one he remembers the most. "I kinda lucked out on that one, huh?" His body stung with every breath. "Is this what it feels like when you run low on chakra?" Datsu's eyes slowly shut as he slept with a grin. He had accomplished what he himself didn't even believe possible. Back on top, baby!
-Authors note-
This is a defining moment for Yuuki and her friends. Keep in mind that there could be serious trouble for Yuuki and the group that will come from this mission. I think it is hard to follow Datsu's fights in some senses with all the jutsus he uses, but it's as clean as it's going to get from me. The whole point was to show that he only just learned shadow clones and the overall combinations he has with them aren't consistently efficient.