Chapter 14-
Sai's inky, black, and shapeless form wrapped around a tree. Despite the fact that he no longer had possession of eyes, ears, or a mouth he could still see, hear, and talk. He looked down upon the group of ninja now facing him, and something didn't quite click. Below him were Shikamaru, Neji, Tenten, and Lee; and knowing Yosei, he guessed the ANBU to be watching nearby. Artistically speaking, there wasn't just an imbalance but also a contrast; one that was much too deep.
"Where are the others?" He questioned.
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as he continued to smoke. "I think you know the answer to that question."
"... of course..." Sai should have guessed. They split off to provide Naruto with aid. He was definitely going to need it.
"Well then..." Sai removed himself from the tree.
Not far away, the rest of the group was making their way towards what they believed to be Naruto's location. It was the last place they had seen Inoshishi. Normally there might be a brief moment where the ninjas would stop on a tree. A pause of several seconds. There was no pause this time.
They barely touched the hard surfaces before propelling forward again. The wind whistled as they flew through the air. Each one of them was moving at their top speed. Of course, no one was moving faster than Hinata. Beyond all reason, she had become like a missile in the sky; surpassing even those who'd been trained by the Sannin in their group in terms of speed.
The others had tried to get her to slow down. It was no use, she was moving so fast the wind blocked out all sound from her ears. It was just as well. She had the best eyes for this. So she was first in line, followed by Sasuke and Sakura, then Kiba and Shino with Akamaru.
Hinata's eyes caught something she didn't like.
"We have to hurry!" She called back. She then began to move even faster.
"Whaa?!" Sakura couldn't believe it. "She was holding back?"
"Hmm. I don't think so." said Sasuke.
"Then how can she move so fast?" Sakura questioned.
"You of all people should understand such things, Sakura." Shino commented.
"We should try to catch up." Sasuke replied, before anything else could be said.
The battle between the four ninja who'd been left behind wasn't exactly a smooth one. Sai's shapeless form was quite a difficult thing to combat. It was in no way limited to such basic rules as a human body would be. It could divide, re-merge, shift, sharpen, dull, and ensnare. Though that's not to say it had no limitations.
Sai's attack range, though quite large was limited within a scope. He could stretch yards away if he remained a single blob, but separate pieces of him had to remain within a fifteen feet of each other or they'd revert to normal ink. Sai was rather strong and flexible, but as he was a liquid he could easily be blocked or diverted if one had the knowledge of how to do so. Shikamaru being who he was, had that knowledge. He willingly shared it with his teammates who made use of it.
So the match was seemingly at a stalemate. Sai's attacks couldn't hit the team, and the team had no real way of damaging Sai. All attempts on either side was futile. The "Gentle-Fist" couldn't harm him, and neither could the "Heavy-Fist." Shikamaru could cause some damage with his multiple shadow formations, but Sai always healed.
Tenten's weapons weren't of any real use, except for the incendiaries. Sai could easily dodge them and so she had avoided using them. If they weren't careful, they could wind up within the flames of their own making. They tried other tactics such as containing him. Shikamaru attempted something of a shadow-formed inkwell or pot, but it was never strong enough to hold Sai.
Though Sai had been caught once or twice, it left them with their original problem. How to deal with him. They couldn't physically kill him. They didn't have the means. Nothing they possessed that could hurt Sai, would be fast enough to work. So eventually they had to give up on that idea.
'Geez.' thought Shikamaru. 'Where is that freaky ANBU guy? I'd have thought he'd be doing something by now!'
"This is not going very well." Neji commented. He thrust out his palm to send forth a surge of chakra in Sai, to keep from being enveloped.
Sai backed away and hid in the trees, with Neji watching his every move. "Do you have anything new to tell me?" Shikamaru commented.
"Actually yes." Neji replied.
"Well spill it!" Tenten scorned. She was forced to toss two special "lightning kunai" at Sai to keep him at bay and away from Lee.
"It's his chakra. Aside from what I've already told you, it's no different from ours."
"How does that help us?" Lee asked.
"I know." Shikamaru replied. "It means that he'll eventually run out, just like we do. The problem is we can't wait that long."
"I'm surprised at you Shikamaru-chan." Yosei finally reemerged, chuckling in mockery of the young genius.
"Where the hell have you been?" Tenten inquired, on behalf of Shikamaru.
"Oh, you know..." Yosei answered. He snapped his hand, which caused overhanging pods to burst, and take hold of Sai with their emerging seeds and tendrils.
In a way they couldn't understand, the four other ninja watched as it pulled Sai away from them in his latest attack, and caused him to splatter on the ground. "You don't mind if I help do you?" Yosei asked, voice ringing through the air like a crystal bell.
Hinata was of course, the first one to arrive on the scene. She glided through the air, arms stretched out at her sides. She landed majestically on the branch closest to the six men- her beloved Naruto, and the men who had taken him from her. She eyed them all with her fury unchecked. She was ready to kill.
'They may be strong, but they're cowards!' She thought to herself.
She looked Naruto over , for what seemed to be an excruciatingly long time. He was bound in the chain of the one dressed in purple. His face had been painted with strange markings. She looked to his hands and feet. One of the men had taken his jacket- the jacket SHE gave him- and cut it to strips of leather, binding his hands and feet.
That was the final insult. "You let him go, right now!"
The one in black looked at her. "No."
They all had to move out of the way. In an instant, she had attacked them with her Jyuken. Countless needles made from her chakra were sent flying. They pierced everything they touched and then dissipated. When her first volley had ceased, they poked their heads out to look at her. Her face was dark and grim.
If the others had been there, they would be amazed. This wasn't the Hinata they knew. They knew she had gotten stronger. In a way she was always strong, but she was still Hinata. The quiet, cautious, and gentle girl, who was so much unlike the typical Hyuga clan member.
Yet here she was. Strong, brazen, and anything but gentle. Only one person had ever managed to anger Hinata, and he was encased in shell of iron filings at the bottom of a gorge. Yet, compared to this, that fight had merely "annoyed" Hinata. She was something else now.
"I'm beginning to see why he chose her." Gekido chuckled. "Her rage is delicious."
Zōo didn't bother to look at them. "Deal with her."
Itami stood back, clutching to Naruto tightly. The rest of them prepared themselves. They darted out of the way again. She flew in out of nowhere, and slammed her palm onto their tree. The space where she had hit shattered into saw dust and the top trunk flew away.
Gekido was the first to counter strike. He flew up from the ground behind her, and brought down his weapons. She had vanished in a flurry of white feathers, and his war-mace only struck and decimated the tree she'd been standing on. He looked up to see her coming down ready to strike. He blocked her with his second mace, and grinned like a mad beast.
"A 'Feather-Body Flicker.' Impressive." He pushed up with the mace forcing her to back flip on a nearby tree.
Then she was in for a surprise. Two massive red orbs of chakra came flying directly towards her from either side. She back flipped again landing on another tree. One of the red orbs came flying for her again, but she struck at it wither her Jyuken. A hole as large as herself appeared and she passed straight through it unharmed.
Gekido was frowning at her. He held the two maces out in front of him, with their red chakra extensions retracting. "I may have been wrong about these kids. It's pissing me off!"
Hinata wasn't speaking anymore. She was beyond words at this point. She took her stance and began. Leaping into the air she began her signature maneuver.
"Shugohakke Rokujūyon Shō Biyouhan!" (Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms Second Version!)
She began to spin like a top. Her palms outstretched she was a blur of motion flying through the air. Levitated by the technique itself, she released her blades of chakra. They were strong, and sharp. With their wind element added to it, everything that was caught within their path was cut to ribbons.
"Incredible." Itami commented. "Now I can see why he chose her."
"Yes..." Zōo replied. "She'll be quite the vixen."
Zōo bent himself slightly in a crouching stance. Hinata was rising higher and higher into the air, allowing her blades to reach further. He had decided to end this. Time was running out. Crouched in his stance he placed his hand on the jian.
He let go of his sword. It was so fast no one could see it. But they did feel it. Hinata's technique was stopped cold. She hung there for a moment, before she felt the sharp pain in her body.
She fell lifelessly, already unconscious. Setsuna leaped through the air and took her in his arms. He plucked the two arrow shafts from her body, and tossed them to his comrade. Osoru replaced them in his quiver. He then took Hinata from Setsuna and went to work.
"Their chakra signature's disappeared!" Sasuke announced.
"Not Good!" Sakura called out!
"Hinata!" Kiba rushed forward now between them. Akamaru then rushed between his legs on the next jump to once again serve as his mount.
"Hurry!" Shino had abandoned leaping all together, and commanded his bugs to carry him. He was flying through the air at Sasuke's right.
They threw caution to the wind and rushed to their friends. They kept their current formation and kept their weapons at the ready. Then Kiba noticed something.
"Stop!" He called out!
He reached down and picked up two articles of clothing. Naruto's mask, and a piece of cloth torn from Hinata's jacket. He growled as he handed them to the others.
Sai had reformed himself after he pulled his body from the net of pods and seedlings. He gave himself a full sized body this time. A shape of ink to slightly different from before. First a body in the shape of his original. As he stood there it began to shift and grow.
His face and body remained largely the same as the original- humanoid. Yet the hair seemed to lengthen and spike slightly. He grew taller, and his fingers were clawed. Out of his back large scythe like blades seemed to sprout; two on each side. He appeared solid and yet the ink would flow and shift around itself, glistening with the reflection of light.
He looked down at the net, and noticed its dark color. When Yosei launched another attack he slashed at it with one of the body scythes and stepped to the side. The scythe broke off and was carried away. He watched as the flora absorbed the small piece of his body. He turned to look at his former comrade.
"Very interesting. You absorb my body with the plants."
"I think that's fairly obvious." Shikamaru commented.
Yosei didn't speak. He simply ran his hand through a set of seals. He disappeared within a flicker of apple-blossoms and emerged behind Sai. He came down with what appeared to be a wooden spike in each hand. Sai instinctively moved away.
From the safety of his new position he watched the spikes take root and grow to become saplings. He wasn't safe for long however, as Yosei had created clones. Each one attacking with the same weapons. He ducked underneath one, catching it by the foot with an inky lasso formed at the right hand. He threw that one into the second, watching them each fall apart into a mess of vines.
Just as the third clone was about to run him through from behind, Sai's midsection become a circular saw-blade bisecting the clone and forcing it to disperse into another pile of vines. He dispersed his form as a volley of these root-like weapons were launched at him, inking his way over to a small clearing. It was there that Neji sprung his attack. Sai was once again on the receiving end of the Jyuken.
At first, he didn't really care. There was some discomfort but no real harm could be caused to him. He simply waited for the attack to end and then he would force his spattered form to re-merge... or so he thought. Just as Neji had successfully finished his attack, Tenten let fly a volley of her own. Taking a page from Naruto's book, she had managed to create five kage bunshins.
She fired off arrows at the five largest pieces that was Sai's body. Not just ordinary arrows, either. Yosei had created ones made of the roots he used earlier. They flew faster and more accurately with Tenten's weapons expertise behind them. The first one hit it's mark, and it brought down a glob of ink, sprouting into a small wild garden of bellflowers, lilies, and night-blooming roses; soaking up the black watery mass.
One more arrow hit it's mark becoming a maple sapling. The remaining three were dodged as Sai's ink blots reshaped into rings, causing the arrows to pass through without harming him. He lashed out at the clones with ink javelins. One by one they popped, and the original Tenten was about to be run through herself. Some rather quick thinking became the cause of her rescue, as Shikamaru erected another shield to block it.
Lee grabbed her and pulled her back into the shadows. Shikamaru began to attack with more of his shadow weapons. At first Sai was unconcerned. He had seen the move before, and was able to dodge and disarm the young genius quite quickly. Then he received a surprise as Shikamaru created a thresher from the surrounding shadows. Sai was once again split into separate pieces.
"My shadow isn't the only thing I can make a weapon from." He said, tossing away the butt of his smoke.
Once more a section of Sai's body vanished. Soaked into the hanging ivy that was now wrapped around a tree at the edge of the clearing.
"More of senpai's seeds... hidden in your shadows." Sai remarked.
"You got it." Shikamaru smirked.
Then a hand came up from the ground impaling the last of Sai's form. It instantly grew to a pine sapling and took root. Sai was soaked up, and Yosei emerged from the sapling. They looked around, surveying the scene.
"Is it done?" Tenten asked.
"It's about time you got here."
Shino, Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru, and Sakura turned to the voice. It was an unfamiliar one.
"Who's there?" Demanded the pink-haired kunoichi.
It was then that a small figure with a straw-hat flew from the shadows. Landing on a nearby branch it gave a low bow and spoke to them again. "Greetings. I am one of the personal summons for Hyuga Hinata."
"Summons?" Kiba repeated.
"Hinata has learned to summon?" Shino was rather surprised. He didn't know there was yet another summon contract for Konoha.
"Indeed she can, but now is not the time for idle discussion."
Flashback
Hinata stopped only once. She knew she was too far ahead of the group, and she didn't care. Still she couldn't go in there half-cocked. That could only get Naruto further hurt. She looked over at where Naruto's chakra signature was located; it was fading fast.
'If this is not the time for it, then such a time will never come.'
She pricked her thumb with a chakra needle and ran through the seals. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
She slapped her hand down on a branch and waited for her summon to appear. The white smoke cleared and there he stood, eagerly awaiting orders.
"Watch me from the shadows. Should I be captured or killed you are to lead my teammates to wherever my enemies take Naruto. Do not dis-spell until Naruto has seen you. I must still keep my promise."
He bowed in understanding. "Be careful, my lady. Mother greatly cares for you."
"I know." Hinata replied. "I'm grateful."
She left her summon to confront the Dark Five. A few moments later he could hear her.
"Let him go, right now!"
End Flashback
"... I observed the fight. She did well, but fell in the end. How could she not against four ninjas, each one stronger than a Sannin?"
"What became of her?" Shino asked.
"Captured, like Naruto. It seems they have an interest in her as well."
"Can you do as she asked?" Sasuke questioned.
"Yes." There came a soft hoot. "Follow my directions."
The figure flapped its wings softly and silently. It landed on Shino's shoulder, and turned itself to face front. Shino didn't wince at the talons. The summon had refrained from piercing his ANBU armor.
"What's your name?" Sakura asked of the small gray bird.
"I am Fukurōsekkou" he hooted (Owl-scout). "It is an honor to meet you all."
(A/N)- I've decided to give you all a sample of the first chapter to "Sunaarashiden." Enjoy.
The man had the hair color which bordered between red and brown. He possessed black circles under his eyes, and a scar in the character of "love" etched on his forehead. His pale face was given a dash of color with the goatee on his chin. He was Subaku no Gaara. The Fifth- and quite possibly the last- Kazekage.
Author's Section
Hinata's summon revealed! Now you know what they are... but what can they do? You'll just have to wait to find out. Mwahahaha! I've been waiting for the right time to spring that on you. Now seemed appropriate. I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. I definitely enjoyed writing it. Please review, and spread the word.
-bakagaijin