Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
RE-WRITE: 3/15/12
The Sacrifice
Five armored ninja stood before the platoon of Leaf genin. Sakura recognized one of the enemies from the cave exit – it was the ninja Kiba had thrown into the forest. Given that and the similar armor they were all sporting, it was clear what their joint objective was.
Four of their opponents scattered to different corners of the field, creating a boxed perimeter with the genin inside. The rogues then began performing hand signs, chanting as they progressed. They held the last seal.
"Ninja Art: Impenetrable Armored Barrier!"
Walls of glass materialized around them, with each rogue acting as a corner for the rectangle that trapped the Leaf ninja.
"A barrier," observed Shino. "I suspect their strategy is to prevent us from escaping while the ninja remaining," – the insect-user pointed to the man with massive metallic claws – "incapacitates us."
"Barriers are simple enough to destroy though," said Tenten. "You just have to force one of the four ninja out of position."
Chouji rested Kiba's and Akamaru's unconscious bodies gently to the ground. "That seems easier said than done."
"Indeed. Their armor will complicate matters," stated Neji. "With our attacks having hardly any impact, moving them out of place will be quite difficult."
"So then, well what's the plan?" asked Ino, her eyes roaming over the genin. "Are we just trapped in here while a crazy guy tries to turn us into mince meat?"
The rogue launched at the genin, his razor-like gloves leading his charge.
"Tenten, Naruto, come with me," said Neji. "We shall occupy the enemy while the rest of you devise a plan."
While the three young ninja were locked in combat, their comrades ruminated over their situation. Their faces were stony, recognizing how bleak their situation was.
"Let me help with that," offered Sakura, pressing her hand against Sasuke's injury.
The dagger of metal which Kiba dislodged from the enemy's armor was still deeply rooted in the Uchiha's shoulder. She gently glided it out of his body, compressing the wound with gauze as she worked.
"Thanks," breathed Sasuke, suppressing the throbbing pain in his chest. "But we've got more important worries to deal with here."
"I know," she said gravely.
She bandaged the gash and was now eying the chip of armor in her hands. There was no glint in the blood-stained shard under the dim, cloudy sky. If they only knew how to counteract this strange invention, they at least stood a fighting chance of holding off these unknown enemies until Shino's insects found their senseis. This hunk of scrap metal was the epicenter of their disaster.
"Sasuke, could you tell me anything about how their armor works?"
"It's like I said before," answered Sasuke, "it absorbs chakra and repels a fraction of it."
"So there's a transformation of energy going on," interpreted Sakura. "But did you see anything that would explain how it happens?"
The boy paused pensively, his mind's eye replaying the events of the fight as seen through his Sharingan. "Vibration. I remember seeing minute, incredibly rapid vibrations as our attacks impacted. I can only assume that's how it's done."
"Vibration," repeated Sakura.
She had read enough rudimentary chemistry books on rainy days in the library to understand the role of vibration in energy transformations. What Sasuke was seeing must represent large-scale vibrations throughout the armor on a molecular level. I'm guessing that's how the metal absorbs and converts the energy. But every set of energy transformations must have its limits.
The girl's eyes strayed to the battle taking place before her, her fellow shinobi using their kunai to fight for dear life against the lethal slashes of their opponent's armored claws.
If there was a way to continuously administer energy into the metal for a prolonged period, I think it would be enough to disrupt the balance of energy conversion and overwhelm the system. The fact that Kiba's continuous Fang Over Fang was enough to break off the armor proves that. The problem is, none of us has the chakra to sustain an attack of that magnitude.
Her hand tightened over the shard of metal, loosening only after a numbing sensation reached her fingers.
Her eyes lingered on the red-tainted plate. I wonder...
"Fall back!"
Neji, Tenten and Naruto regrouped beside their comrades, huffing from exertion.
"What is with this guy?" spat Tenten in frustration. "Nothing we do even fazes him."
"Like hell I'm gonna let someone like him beat me, believe it," exclaimed Naruto. "Shadow Clone jutsu!"
The clawed rogue continued advancing, having little trouble exterminating the blonde's three clones.
"I guess this is as good a time to try it as any."
Sakura took aim at one of the ninja sealing the barrier, the one Kiba had attacked. With a flick of her wrist, she launched the metal shard at her foe, the blade directed squarely into the man's helmet.
Armor clashed with armor, and an electrical surge surrounded the ninja. His image appeared distorted as the air became superheated. The barrier disintegrated as the man clutched at his aching cranium, his scream piercing the genin. The cry was soon overshadowed by an explosion of smoke, and the ninja collapsed to the ground.
Sakura's lips parted in awe, not anticipating her attack to have such a pronounced effect.
"Sakura-chan," gaped Naruto, "what just...I mean, don't tell me you...did you just figure out how to beat them?"
The kunoichi blinked at the group of ninja staring after her.
"I..." Her blank expression shifted to frantic. "Wait, you don't think he's dead do you? I-I didn't want to kill him. I just, I didn't think it would work so-"
"They're trying to hurt us," asserted Sasuke. "You didn't do anything wrong." His assuring onyx orbs met her emerald ones, relieving her of some of her guilt. Though her heart still felt heavy.
"You must tell us what you discovered," insisted Shino, returning her attention to the situation at hand.
"R-Right, well the key to defeating them is to use their armor against them, literally. When the armors collide with enough force, the energies keep going into one and coming out the other, causing them to continuously vibrate at very high speeds. That generates a lot of heat, e-enough to cause a huge explosion...like what we just saw."
"So in order to defeat them," interpreted Neji, "we must slam them into each other."
"Yes," answered Sakura, though her expression had not lightened.
"Well if forcing two people together is our goal," started Ino, "then mine 'n Shikamaru's jutsu seem like the safest bet we've got."
"There's just one problem with that," said Shikamaru. "Look how dark it is 'cause of all these clouds. There aren't any decent shadows being cast so my jutsu will be useless. That's such a drag."
The blonde girl rolled her eyes. "Are you just seriously gonna give up at the first complication? Use your head and work something out, for goodness sake."
"You really get on my nerves sometimes," sighed Shikamaru. "What a troublesome woman."
Sakura shook her head. The dynamics of Team 10 were not to be understood by mere mortals. Or maybe the problem was just Ino. Sakura sympathized for the two boys.
"Figure out a way to perform your Shadow Possession jutsu, Shikamaru," said Neji. "Meanwhile, we must split up and defend against these opponents."
"How are we separating?" asked Tenten.
Before Neji could reply, the smallest ninja of the four darted toward the group. Unlike his allies, his armor was sleek and thin. Watching him flicker toward them, it was easy to estimate why light-weight armor suited him.
Lee shot ahead before the ninja could near the group, countering the foe's speedy taijutsu with his own.
Another ninja dashed to the side, performing hand signs. Before long, the plain erupted in copies of the man, the army charging toward them.
"Guess it's clear who this one belongs to," said Naruto, grinning. "Shadow Clone justu!" Naruto's clones matched the enemy's in number, with the two forces clashing on the battlefield.
The clawed ninja approached next, Sasuke racing to meet him with his kunai in hand. Like I'd let Naruto get all the action. Humph.
Sakura moved with her teammates instinctively, unable to remain a bystander now that her only friends had entered the fight. She decided occupying the fourth and final ninja was a worthwhile endeavor.
Her opponent was rather burly, and she sensed a huge reservoir of chakra within him. What was his special power, she wondered. She vaguely remembered the beam of chakra which had struck the field to stop them in the first place. Noting the cannons strapped to the rogue's arms, she now suspected that he had been the one to fire them. She was conscious of this as she advanced, confident she would be the best person to dodge these destructive waves of energy should he use them.
"We must move quickly to back them up," asserted Neji, observing the fray with the remaining genin. "Shikamaru, can you perform your jutsu or not?"
"I've got an idea of how," he said pensively. "But it'll all depend on how much chakra Sasuke's got left."
"Go to him then, and relay your plan."
Shikamaru nodded. "Ino, make sure you're ready with your jutsu when you see fire. Got it?"
"Right."
The Nara disappeared to assist the Sharingan-user. Tenten began leaving the group as well.
"I'm heading out too, Neji," said Tenten. "I'm going to collect some of the blown up scraps of armor. Maybe I can use them to make some kind of weapon or something."
"Go," was all he responded.
"Judging from the way the fight is going," assessed Shino, "I think the ninja with the clones should be one of our first targets. He appears to be quite the handful."
"Agreed," said Neji. "Ino, I want you to back Naruto up against his opponent with me. I shall use my Byakugan to discover the clones' creator so you may move into position to use your Mind Transfer jutsu."
"I'm going to need Chouji too," said the blonde. "He has to hold him down for me so my jutsu doesn't miss."
"Very well. Shino, fight alongside Lee. Hinata-sama will work with Sakura. Let us move quickly."
Neji's Byakugan was able to discover the real clone-maker with ease. He directed Chouji to the man, and the Akimichi slammed the rogue into the earth with his expanded hands. While Naruto and his shadow clones continued to stall the enemy copies, Ino began her jutsu.
"Ninja Art: Mind Transfer jutsu."
The ninja that had just been struggling to his feet slumped abruptly to the ground. Ino's body mirrored his actions.
The rogue rose shortly after. "Mind Transfer Jutsu complete. Now where on earth is Shika-"
A blast of fire interrupted her. The ball remained in place briefly, continuously fed by Sasuke. Before long, the flame began to move toward Ino and her group, with Sasuke, Shikamaru and the clawed ninja in tow.
Ino, now in control of her enemy's body, raced toward Shikamaru's opponent, who was now linked to the Shadow Possession jutsu. The blonde flung the man's body toward the other rogue, releasing her jutsu in the process.
The clone-maker and the clawed ninja crashed into each other, the resulting explosion repelling the nearby genin. They were frazzled, but otherwise uninjured.
"That was a total stroke of genius, Shikamaru," exclaimed Ino, now back in her original body. "I mean, using Sasuke-kun's fireball to cast shadows so you could control that ninja? Absolute genius!"
"I'm glad you find that so exciting," said Shikamaru. "Now why don't you use all that enthusiasm and help me up, will 'ya? I'm exhausted. Not to mention there's this nice little gash on my side from that ninja. What a drag."
Ino motioned to help her teammate, supporting him as they walked to home base where Kiba and Akamaru lay. She rolled her eyes. "Only you can turn victory into something so sour."
Naruto and Sasuke sluggishly made their way to the safe area as well, supported by the last genin they would ever ask for help from.
Neji's narrowed eyes darted from one ninja beside him to the other, finding no amusement in their stony expressions. "This hardly makes us friends."
Naruto and Sasuke grunted.
"No way," gritted the blonde.
"It's actually making me hate you more, honestly."
Sakura dove to the ground yet again, dodging a blast of chakra from her opponent. She had been grateful for Hinata's arrival to assist her. The Hyuga was able to detect when the ninja briefly accumulated chakra before the next attack. It was not a drastic gap of time, but was helpful enough to aid in just barely escaping some potentially fatal blows.
"I-I'm not sure how long I can continue," gasped Hinata. "I'm s-so exhausted."
"We have to keep moving, Hinata-san," urged Sakura.
The kunoichi shoved the panting girl aside as she pounced in the other direction, the two splitting before another discharge of chakra could strike them.
This is bad, thought Sakura, watching Hinata struggle to her feet. Her body doesn't look like it can take much more of this.
A large explosion stole her attention, but she returned her focus to the battle quickly. They must have managed to defeat someone. Good. Maybe now we can get some reinforcements.
Sakura bounded to miss another beam, using a back handspring to gain some distance. The cannon-wielder turned to Hinata next, who was still staggering to her feet.
"Hinata-san! Look out!"
The pinkette was too far away to help her, but she raced forward anyway. The Hyuga still hadn't regained her breath. She couldn't react. Sakura had to reach her in time.
A flash of green beat her to it, the figure thrusting the weakened girl aside before the blast could connect. Her savior, however, was not so fortunate.
The chakra beam crashed into Lee's side, torpedoing his body along the meadow until it collided into a tree. The boy gasped for air, clawing at the dirt as he fought to rise to his knees. He only collapsed forward.
Sakura continued racing to her opponent at full speed, launching herself into a full body kick. Her feet met the ninja's armored chest, but her body was repelled back. Despite the force of her blow, the man had not even fallen over.
"Hinata-san," called Sakura, "you have to get out of here."
The cannon-wielder aimed his weapon at the pinkette, grinning widely as he charged his attack. Before it could fire, a human-sized fist slammed into the ninja, propelling him several feet away.
Chouji collapsed to his knees, huffing. "You okay, Sakura?"
The candy-haired girl smiled. "Yes. Thanks to you, Chouji-san."
"All right, you lovebirds," called Ino from their rest area. "We gotta regroup so get over here already."
The boy's cheeks burned as he walked toward his teammate without another word. Sakura screwed her lips together, visibly annoyed. The teasing and pestering never seemed to end with this girl. Sakura had imagined her dislike of the blonde couldn't possibly worsen after teaming up with her. But actually, as she got to know her...
"Oh no, Lee!"
Tenten's cry snapped Sakura into the situation at hand. She hustled to the group, a defeated Hinata beside her.
The genin looked worse for wear. His entire right sleeve was ripped apart, revealing a layer of burnt flesh caked in blood. Tenten busied herself over him, disinfecting and wrapping his injury as best she could.
Lee swept a trail of blood from his mouth, attempting to sit up. "Do not worry," he grinned weakly. "I am totally-"
"Don't say you're fine," snapped Tenten. "You're benched for the rest of the fight, got it? Sheesh, you never do know when to quit do you?" The girl only shook her head as her teammate smiled sheepishly at her.
"We still got two more ninja to deal with," reminded Shikamaru, a coating of bandages visible on his side where he had been previously struck.
"Tenten," asked Neji, "were you able to fashion a weapon from the scraps of armor?"
"Sort of," she answered, rising from her position beside Lee to retrieve something. She held a large shuriken, with shards of silver metal fastened at its ends. "It's a lot sturdier than it looks. Firing this into one of the enemies with enough force should do the trick, I think."
"We'll have to be careful with how we proceed next," said Neji. "There aren't that many of us left able to fight. By my count, only Chouji, Shino, Sakura, Tenten and I can adequately handle more combat. We'll split into two teams, with Shino and-"
"What about Hinata-san?"
Neji took in Sakura's questioning look. His gaze pierced Hinata before returning to the pinkette. "Hinata-sama cannot continue."
"I believe she can. She was just out-of-breath before, but she's got quite a bit of chakra left and we could use that."
"She will only be a liability in battle."
"I disagree. I wouldn't have lasted as long as I did without her. She was a real help out there."
"Before or after she got Lee blasted by a ray of chakra?" Neji's tone was icy, his eyes narrowing at the kunoichi.
The girl stared at him, her eyes empty of hostility. "You need to give people a little faith sometimes."
"War has no room for faith, or emotional weaknesses. Even to family."
"Enough enough," said Shikamaru.
Sakura stepped away from the Hyuga, her gaze falling on Hinata instead. The girl had her eyes to the ground, unable to face anyone right now.
"We're supposed to be working together here," continued the Nara. "Now, we gotta pick which of those ninja will be gettin' hit by Tenten's shuriken."
"There is no need to decide that," answered Shino, alerting their attention to the two rogues. "That decision has already been made for us."
The taijutsu master with the small-frame was beating against his armor, his eyes frantic. He gasped and yelled, finally rolling along the floor in panic. The genin were clueless as to what had suddenly plagued this ninja. It seemed even his comrade did not know what to make it.
A steady stream of black bathed the outer portions of his armor now. It was hundreds, thousands, of dark beetles.
"That's right," said the insect-user. "While I was backing Lee up against this guy, I was able to plant a female beetle on him. It was child's play for the rest of my insects to infiltrate the crevices of his suit after that. They've completely drained him of chakra now. And what's more, now all his chakra is mine."
"Excellent work," exclaimed Tenten.
"We must all attack the last ninja," said Neji. "Tenten, look for an opening while we distract him and use the shuriken."
The five Leaf shinobi stood to face their foe, Shino's insects fleeing from their latest victim to return to their host for further instruction.
"So those bugs drained my pal's chakra, ay?" observed the cannon-wielder. "Well that's stolen energy, so I hope you don't mind if I steal it back." The man raised his hands, the guns humming to life.
"What's he doing?" asked Chouji, bracing himself.
The cannon churned louder, creating a vortex of wind suctioning the air. The insects fell in its direct path, and the entire swarm was swept inside the buzzing machine. The device adopted the blue glow of concentrated chakra.
"He's completely obliterated my insects," gasped Shino. "And that machine is extracting every ounce of chakra they've sapped."
Tenten swallowed hard. "Are you telling me he's got double the supply of chakra now? I have to hit him with this right now-"
"Don't, Tenten," commanded Neji. "We have no idea what he's capable of now. We cannot afford to waste this shot."
The cannon whirred louder and louder, concentrating a blast of energy far greater than what they had felt thus far. The man took aim as his device churned, his sights set on wiping out the entire group of genin.
"We have to get out of here now!" yelled Ino.
Sakura bit her lip, her eyes whirling at her comrades around her. They had seconds to act, to possibly escape. But not everyone could manage that. There was Lee and Kiba, incapacitated on the floor. And then Naruto, Sasuke and Shikamaru, far too spent of chakra to heave their bodies fast enough.
The other option was to stop the cannon altogether. Or perhaps just the beam itself.
It was a blast of heat, a coagulation of energy released all at once. Physical objects crumbled against it. Flesh would burn. But what about chakra? Chakra could stop chakra, right? Energy counteracting energy. Enough of it focused in one area should do the trick to stopping the beam in its tracks, shouldn't it?
Sakura had no time to second guess this theory.
The kunoichi bounded forward, in line with their foe. She has low on chakra, though she hardly used any after their escape. As the girl concentrated every ounce of it she had into her palms, she prayed it would be adequate.
The blast of white slammed into her opened hands, her entire body pushing against the beam to hold her ground.
First there was just pressure, pressure and the sapping of her strength as she channeled energy to counter the beam. Soon after that, the pain came. It was like hot coals against her sensitive palms, scalding through her flesh. As much energy as she managed to scramble into her hands, it still burned.
She wanted to let go, she wanted to get out of the way. She gritted her teeth, the images of Naruto, Sasuke and even Kiba, Lee and Shikamaru coming to mind, holding her resolve.
She couldn't register anything that was happening around her, only the wave of chakra and the funnel of wind blasting her face. The pain in her arms was growing worse now; she could feel it traveling up her arms, growing deeper. The pungent scent of her burnt flesh caused her eyes to tear. Or perhaps it was just because of the agony whipping through her. She knew no sensation in her hands but pain. She couldn't even be certain she was still focusing chakra at this point.
The light before her disappeared abruptly, a deafening explosion following.
Her body dropped to the floor, curling on her side. Her bloodied hands were shaking, her face hot against the cool grass as she whimpered. Her drowning eyes were half-lidded, blurs of color the only thing she could make out.
There were yells, and questions and exclamations, but she couldn't make sense of any of it. The phrases were condensed soup on her ears.
"Shuriken worked what must her hands how we must senseis Leaf Village right away..."
Her world was engulfed in black, as she welcomed the painless shroud of unconsciousness.
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