Restoration of Faith
Karrafear
Summary: SEQUAL to Faith in Humanity; Naruto OOC; PG-13. After Sandaime's death, Naruto made a promise to himself to defy his own destiny and pursue a future that will lead to freedom and happiness. Chapter Fourteen: War IV – 10 Gate Guardians II!
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"Demon's talk", /Thoughts/ , "Speech" , 'Speech emphasis' , (FLASHBACK) , Titles , (Author's interruptions)
Warning: (Continue on with the last chapter) A lot of violence... and a lot of jump scenes. Hope you get use to it. This Chapter (like the previous Chapters) will mainly be about the new OCs. I will need all of you people to be patient and slowly absorb each of these characters into the plot.
For those of you who HAVEN'T gone to my website, you will have to now. To look at the images of the 10 OCs described, please go to my website (address is at my profile's page), in the Faith Gallery section, there is a page dedicated to all 10.
The Chapter is separated into several segments: 1) Kisame Vs Mishizu, 2) Koushiro and Hikari, 3) Seiko Vs Sound and 4) Naruto and Maya.
Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 14
(Kisame Vs Mishizu)
"Shall we begin then?" Kisame smirked at the young female Air Nin standing before him. Her silky blue hair floated in the breeze even while her army hat did its best to hold it in place. Both combatants stood stiffly atop the harmonious flow of the canal's water surface. Kisame, holding on to the Samehade over his shoulder in a slight forward slouch and Mishizu standing straight, all the while gazing forward.
Without any noticeable signal for them to begin, both combatants jumped into their attacks. Throwing his precious Samehade into the air, Kisame performed his own set of jutsu. "Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu! (Water Element: Water Shark Splurge)" From the surrounding water, Kisame created a giant shark-like form. The great white shape seamlessly sliced through its aquatic environment heading towards the still Air Nin.
Mishizu, noticing the approaching shark quickly launched into her own set of seals. At the last possible moment, when the great white shark launched itself out of the water, ready to bite into the girl, she completed her jutsu. "Suiton: Suijinheki no Jutsu! (Water Element: Water Barrier Jutsu)" A giant wall of water suddenly rose up to block the great white shark, the smashing of water particle against water particle was so powerful in force that that both jutsus where destroyed simultaneously.
"Eh? A water specialist, are you? I didn't think the Kuunoki had any elemental users other than air." Kisame sneered in hidden surprise, nonchalantly catching the falling Samehade in his right hand.
The blue haired girl snorted and narrowed her eyes further. "It just goes to show how little you know about the Kuunoki." Mishizu snapped back in a cold, unfeeling voice.
"Oi. Arrogant much!" Kisame snorted in irritation.
"Not arrogant, just cold." With that said, Mishizu reached behind her back and pulled out a very short dagger from her belt that was made up of a strange blue crystal instead of a metallic blade.
Kisame's eyes widened at the newly revealed weapon. "WHERE DID YOU GET THAT, BRAT?" He yelled in a sudden fury, completely focused on the weapon and glaring hotly at its current wielder.
"A family heirloom, passed down to me by my uncle, Shinji Kaiba." Mishizu murmured calmly, never flinching from the glare sent at her by Kisame.
Kisame's shark like eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You're Shinji's niece! I didn't even know he had any family left, after the Kaguya massacre..."
Mishizu shifted her gaze away slightly. "I wasn't there. My mother, Mizurin, married my father and returned to the Hidden Air when I was only a toddler. We didn't know about the deaths until several months after..."
"Hm, no wonder Shinji died protecting the current Mizukage. If he still had the Sui Shojin (Water Crystal God) (1) by his side, then there was no way he could have lost to anyone. After all, of the 7 Seven Great Swords created from the Hidden Mist Village, the Sui Shojin is the smallest and the strongest by far." Kisame murmured to himself before refocusing his attention onto the opponent standing before him.
Mishizu tilted her head to the side in slight surprise at Kisame's knowledge. "You seem to know a lot about the Sui Shojin."
Kisame smirked. "I'm not one of the 7 Seven Swordsmen of the Mist for nothing. Not only that, I was once a friend of Shinji's. If he hadn't of died, I might have even stayed back in the mist." Standing up in a straighter poster, Kisame's eyes glazed slightly in remembrance. "Hell, it was Shinji's death that sparked that riot after the civil war. He should have become the next Mizukage, not that pompous arrogant ass that currently runs the mist!" Kisame shouted in passion, reliving his old ideals that had died a long time ago.
Mishizu stilted in confusion. "My uncle was young." She stated in a calm fashion, as if that one comment explained everything in the world.
Kisame showed a sardonic smirk, glazed over slightly in sadness. "Heh. He would have been the first to admit he was young. But he was also strong, the strongest of us all. We needed him to hold us together. We needed him to lead..." Shaking his head as if to clear the thoughts, Kisame refocused on the fight that was taking place. "Well, it's all in the past now. Let's just leave it at that, little girl. Shall we continue with the fight or what?" (2)
This time, instead of throwing the Samehade into the air, Kisame dropped it nonchalantly into the water before launching into his next set of skills. "Kirigakure no Jutsu! (Hidden Mist Technique)" Within a few seconds, the entire canal area was covered over by a heavy, thick fog-like mist, obscuring any person's view as to what was happening.
Within the fog, Mishizu stood still, glancing from one area to the next without showing any sign of true fear. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the Samehade slashed into Mishizu's back, cutting her flesh deeply. Blood poured out of the deep wound as Kisame revealed himself behind the still form of now butchered girl. And just as suddenly as the attack happened, Mishizu's body evaporated into water left to splatter inelegantly onto the watery surface beneath their feet.
/Mizu Bunshin? (Water Clone) I've been had!/ Kisame quickly ducked a swiping blade of water particles as it slashed where his head had been moments before. Dropping into the water itself, Kisame quickly swam some distance away, knowing that as long as he was within the water environment, he was susceptible to any attack made by the Sui Shojin. Unfortunately for Kisame, he wasn't quite fast enough.
Either due to Kisame's slight slowness or his underestimation of Mishizu's true potential, Kisame was truly caught unaware when a hidden wave of underwater currents suddenly pushed him straight up from his aquatic surroundings, pressing him through the water only to burst forth into the air, along with the torrents of water pushing him up. Like the birth of an underwater volcano, the surge of water shot Kisame high into the air before finally dispensing back to its watery grave.
Trapped high in the air, Kisame twisted his head around just in time to see Mishizu finish off a one handed seal. "Hyouten: Aishu Shin no Jutsu! (Ice Element: Ice Needle Technique) (3)" Just as Mishizu finished announcing her technique's name, hundreds of ice needles launched themselves out of the surrounding water, heading straight towards the falling Kisame from all directions.
Knowing that he didn't have time to prepare any jutsu, Kisame swung the Samehade quickly in an uncoordinated fashion around himself, breaking and destroying a few of the needles as they reached him but still unable to stop the entire barrage. By the time Kisame finally smashed into the water he truly thought that he had been rendered into a pincushion. Let's just say, he wasn't very amused.
While still under water, Kisame quickly launched into another set of seals in retaliation. /Suiton! Bakushouha no Jutsu! (Aquatic Shockwave!)/ Above water, Mishizu stood unsteadily as a giant tidal wave of water suddenly erupted before her, heading straight towards her. She knew that Suijin Heki (Water Barrier) would be useless against such a powerful technique. That's why the only thing she did was ready her short sword, the Sui Shojin, for what ever Kisame would be throwing her way.
The tidal wave continued to rise in height until it towered a good 30 metres tall before tipping itself over and smashing downwards over Mishizu's body. Though strong in the use of water elemental jutsus, even Mishizu had to wince at the amount of pressure being smashed into her small form, leaving her disoriented as well as forcing her underwater where any of Kisame's attacks could be waiting for her.
And waiting, Kisame was. /Goshoku Zame no Jutsu/ (Five Shark Feeding Frenzy) From Kisame's finger tips, he summoned forth 5 large, great white sharks, all with their jaws open and ready to feast on the still slightly disorientated Mishizu.
Mishizu, opening her glazed eyes slightly, noticed the incoming sharks. Pulling the Sui Shojin closer to her chest and covering it with both her hands, she forced her mind to concentrate on pushing Chakra into the sword. "Fuuin Kai! Ryuuoh! (Seal Release! Dragon King!)" With a burst of underwater pressure, Mishizu released the seal on the true power of the Sui Shojin and awakened the Dragon spirit that dwelled within it.
The burst of Chakra and underwater pressure widened continuously in a tidal wave, instantly destroying the summoned sharks as he it passed through them as well as forcing Kisame to run away before he, was caught in the sudden impact from the spirit's release as well.
A giant roar in the atmosphere was the only warning given before the giant head of water dragon emerged from the canal, followed by its body, appendages and tail, draining half the amount of water that was originally in the canal. Hanging tightly onto its watery mane was none other than Mishizu, silently commanding the Dragon King not to pour a cyclonic rain onto the environment beneath but only to destroy the one man standing in her way.
"Shxt! These Kuunoki Nins really don't know any restraint do they!" Kisame swore as he stood on the fluctuating surface of the remaining water supply. /I haven't seen that spirit since the last time I've actually had a serious fight with Shinji, and even then, Shinji would never use it so rashly! Who the hell is this girl?/ Kisame mentally cursed to himself.
Having no choice but to pull out the real big guns in such a situation, Kisame quickly formed a second clone of himself in order to help him finish the fight. "Mizu Bunshin. (Water Clone)" Though the clone contains only 10 percent of Kisame's original chakra capacity, due to Kisame's extremely high stamina, the clone was fairly powerful to begin with, at least, as powerful as Kakashi any day. "Let's get this show on the road."
With that said, both the clone and the real Kisame launched into performing different sets of seals. The clone finished first. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu! (Water Element: Water Dragon Blast)" The clone shouted out as out of the remaining water supply, three long, slim water dragons burst forth. Flying through the air, the three small spirits somehow managed to twist and twirl themselves out of harms way by avoiding the snapping jaws of the bigger dragon spirit but with a tightening of the interconnections, Mishizu and her large dragon spirit found themselves entrapped by the three interlocking spirits. Suddenly, realising she was trapped, Mishizu tried to focus and think of a solution out of this dilemma, but the real Kisame didn't give her enough time to think, he had just finished his own jutsus.
"Suiton Daibakufu no Jutsu! (Water Element: Water Explosion Technique)" Every last drop of water from the canal was pulled into this one technique, creating a monstrous, cyclonic whirlpool rising upwards towards Mishizu and her dragon. The Dragon King spirit, as if realising the danger to its summoner, curled in to itself as best it could to protect its master a split second before the force of turbulent water reached them.
The impacting explosion was loud enough to sound like a volcano eruption and with its immediate dispersion, water rained down like a tropical rain storm. Both the Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Explosion) and the Ryuuoh (Dragon King Spirit) had dispersed at the moment of impact, so, in this case, both Kisame and Mishizu had drawn a tie in battle. However, unlike Kisame, still standing safe and sound on the almost empty canal, Mishizu was falling from a very high altitude with very little Chakra in her system to sustain her fall.
Luckily or unluckily, depending on whose point of view you're with, in the last moments of her fall before she literary smashed herself onto the thin layer of water before the concrete canal grounds, Kisame used some of the last ounces of his Chakra to create a water prison in order to protect, shield and cage her into a watery prison. "Suiton – Suirou no Jutsu. (Water Element – Water Prison Technique)"
Confused, tired and frazzled by slight Chakra exhaustion, Mishizu couldn't help but glare hatefully at Kisame for saving her life and yet imprisoning her at the same time. For her pride, she would have rather died than admitted defeat.
As for Kisame, if asked, he couldn't really tell you why he had saved her in the first place. If she had really slammed right onto the canal floor with nothing to break her fall, she really would have died. But in that moment of instinct, he did do something (that some would argue was honourable) to save her. After a moment's silence, Kisame could only grunt in irritation, having had enough of the young girl's glaring. "Ah! Shut up and stop looking at me like that. I'm just repaying the time Shinji saved my life, kid! Since he's dead and buried already, there no way I can repay him directly. Besides, if he really was the one to give you the Sui Shojin then he did it with the wish, that some day you'd become his legacy. And if that's the case, saving you would mean I'm no longer indebted to him, so enough of your glaring!"
With that said, Kisame unceremoniously dropped the jutsu, letting Mishizu drop exhaustedly onto the thin layer of water beneath her before turning around and stepping away. "Next time, show some more restraint and you may last longer, kid." Kisame grunted his advice without ever turning around and looking at the girl. (4)
Left behind by her lonesome self, Mishizu slowly but surely drifted off into unconsciousness, mentally berating herself for loosing. Though admitting to herself that she had been fighting a superior warrior, her pride wouldn't let go of the fact that she had lost this fight. And she swore to herself that the next time they met, she would not lose. Not for her own pride, the pride of her family, and most of all, the pride of her late uncle.
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xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx (Hikari & Koushiro)
Koushiro slammed his fist into the covered face of a Sound Nin, sending in streams of electricity to fry the man's brain and rendering him dead. He had to quickly duck a swing from another opponent, followed by a kick to the enemy's chin as he did a back flip, breaking the opponent's jaw and dislocating his neck at the same time. Landing gracefully on the ground, Koushiro sneered haughtily at the enemy ninjas surrounding them. "This is too boring, Sis. Why don't we go all out?" He asked, starting to get irritated by these annoying ants for enemies.
Hikari rolled her eyes at her twin brother's whining. "We've got our orders, Kou. Naruto-sama specifically told us to take care of these simpletons and that's exactly what we'll do." She ordered in a firm, commanding voice. Slamming her opened palm right into someone's chest, she shocked the man with close to a thousand volts of electricity, instantly stopping the man's heart even while she pushed him away and out of her sight.
"Yeah… but, he never told what means to use. Instead of just using hand to hand combat all the time, why don't we take it a step up?" Koushiro continued to whine, even as he caught an incoming kunai, charged it with his own chakra and electricity before throwing it back and striking the original thrower in the head.
Hikari narrowed her eyes in suspicion while kicking another Shinobi right between his legs. Suffice to say, he went down like a bullet. She ignored his groan of pain as well as Koushiro's slightly hidden wince. "And what do you have in mind by 'a step up'?" She snorted confidently, glaring at the remaining Sound Nins but keeping her ears open to any of her brother's suggestions.
Koushiro gave her a sadistic smirk. "I wouldn't mind trying that jutsu. After all, Naruto-sama never specifically stated how much restraint we have to be. So why not go all out and hold no restraints whatsoever?" He continued to smirk, lifting his right hand up in the sign of a gun, concentrating and then shooting out a small bolt of lightning, striking his intended opponent's heart, killing the man instantly.
Hikari's eyes grew wide in shock. "THAT jutsu! Isn't it going a bit too far? After all, this is Konoha! Naruto-sama would never forgive us if we destroyed Konoha just because you were itching to use try that jutsu out!" Pulling her opened palms in front of her chest, she focused her chakra and soon, sparks and lines of lightning and electricity were formed, condensed within the area between her palms. When she was ready, she pushed her palms forward so that it faces the foes standing in front of her. Instantly, the collected bolts of electricity flew forward, directed towards any living creature, namely, the Sound Shinobis. With that one move, Hikari instantaneous killed up to eight Shinobi.
Koushiro glared at his sister's attempt at beating his record by using high-end jutsus. "That was cheating, Sis. Now, I'm up to 51 kills compared to your 49. I'm still in the lead." Pausing in his speech, Koushiro pulled both his hands together in front of his chest. His right forming a fist and his left covering it, infusing his right fist with chakra and an abundance of electrical power, Koushiro pulled both his hands back and his left leg in the stance of a baseball player, before suddenly launching forward and punching thin air. However, what the eyes cannot see is how he had released the condensed electrical surge just as he was punching forward. The invisible ball of lightning passed right through several enemies standing in a straight line (killing them straight away) before blasting a giant whole three metres wide in the area behind them.
"Oi! That's damaging Konoha property! Definitely not something Naruto-sama would be happy about!" Hikari quickly retorted back, annoyed at the sudden jump in numbers to be added to her brother's tally. And in a fit of fury, she too, released a similar bolt of lightning. This time, only larger, and aimed at bigger cluster of people, killing close to 18 casualties at one go and due to the cluster of bodies, no other property was damaged.
"Look! Why don't we go back to the original issue! I really want to try that jutsu! We were never really allowed to use it while still in Kuunoki and I need to practice in order to fully learn how to control it! You and I both know that practice makes perfect, and this is the perfect opportunity for us to do it! With this one jutsu, we could probably drive off both the Akatsuki and the Sound, I'm sure Naruto-sama would forgive us this time. After all, it was all done in the name of Konoha, right?" Koushiro ranted, partly angry that his sister had somehow beaten his score 83 to 75 with that last shot, and partly because he was getting tired of fighting with such restrictions.
No matter what the mission, no matter what the conditions, he had never really been given any restraints on the force or power he was allowed to use before. And now, in a new environment, forced to follow the orders of someone he had never really followed before, the uncertainty of whether whatever he did would truly infuriate Naruto or not was driving him up the wall. But he truly believed that the sooner they drive the enemy away, the happier Naruto-sama would be, instead of taking their time and maybe giving the enemy more time to do more damage.
Throwing a small tantrum, he flung another bolt at the enemy, but this time, they had become smarter – either that, or because there was simply less of them in the first place – but most of the targeted foes leapt away just in time to dodge the dangerous bolt, leaving Koushiro only killing 3 with that one attempt and infuriating him even further as his sister was still several kills above his own.
Hikari sighed and shook her head, completely understanding why her brother was really ticked off at the moment. Considering he actually missed his targets with the last attempt, he really must have been ticked off and not concentrating enough. It isn't normal for an Air Nin to miss if they really intended to hurt you. After all, with the precise Chakra control and manipulation skills taught to all Kuunoki Ninjas from a very young age, it was highly disturbing to have one's jutsus miss its intended target. "Fine. Whatever! But if he's going to bite our heads off, it's all your fault!" She warned before refocusing on the lowering number of enemies confronting them.
"YEEHA! Finally, you see it my way! Alright! Let's do this! NO MORE RESTRAINTS!" Koushiro jumped up and punched his fist in the air in celebration. It wasn't often he won an argument with his sister. Most of the time, he just didn't feel bothered enough to continue the seamlessly unending squabbles, so he eventually admitted defeat gracefully, which infuriated his twin anyway.
"I'm beginning to think we never had any restraints to begin with!" Hikari murmured to herself, shaking her head in a resigning fashion. She knew that her brother – with his keen ears – had heard her but knew that they both would ignore the insult for the time being. After all, they had a powerful Jutsu to pull off.
The sudden rumbling sound startled the twins as they both (and the enemy) looked around in surprise, watching silently as a very high wall of earth burst forth from the ground, creating a protective barrier around Konoha to stop any invading Ninjas as well as caging those that were already within the walls.
"Well. It looks like Tori and Katana have finally started their stuff. Katana must be in his element." Koushiro smirked. He could just imagine the blood thirsty little boy running around chopping heads off with absolute glee. Hikari, on the other hand, grimaced at the mental image her brother shared with her through their psychic link.
Though rare, Hikari and Koushiro had been taught from a very young age that due to the their condition of birth (as twins), with precise Chakra control and practice, they could actually form a psychic link with one another, communication on a mental level that cannot be obstructed or manipulated by anyone. Through many years of practice, they had perfected this form of communication but nowadays, they use it only to annoy the other simply because they knew that the other could not ignore the messages or images they sent. It wasn't that they couldn't block one another; it was just that they usually only used it in times of hardship and as such, and had grown accustomed to listening when the other sent them something. /Now, it's just down right annoying./ Hikari thought to herself.
"Oi! Are we gonna start or what?" With a sweep of her hand, Hikari quickly killed off all the remaining enemies by release a constant surge of electricity, forming a whip-like form that targets any organisms larger than a dog. So in one fell sweep, she killed off any enemy within the near by area as well as boosting her count to over 105, almost 20 kills above her brother.
Suddenly, in another part of Konoha, a giant water dragon rose, roaring a terrifying sound. The twins watched in silent awe as the dragon was somehow subdued by three smaller dragons and then was destroyed completely by a following attack.
"Damn. I hope Mishizu is okay. But how I wish I was fighting her opponent right now! I wonder why Naruto-sama didn't send one of us against him. After all, a Lightning user is infinitely stronger than a water user, simply because of our clash of elements." Koushiro murmured to himself as he analysed the situation.
Hikari shrugged nonchalantly, but her eyes remained focused. "It doesn't matter what Naruto-sama's reasons are. We are simply to follow them. Let's start our own stunt." She commanded calmly, bringing their attention back to the situation at hand.
"Right you are!" Rubbing his hands together gleefully, Koushiro forgot about Mishizu's supposed dilemma almost immediately. "Let's get started. You start doing your sparkly thingy, and I'll start summoning Raiten Ryuu! (Lightning Sky Dragon) (5)"
Hikari glared at her brother. "IT'S NOT CALLED SPARKLY THINGY! It's the Hikari no Gen'ei! (Illusion of light) (6) Get it right the first time, damn it!" She said waving her hands furiously at her twin who only shrugged and rolled his eyes in reply.
"Whatever! Let's start already!" Dropping on to his butt right on the floor, Koushiro glared at his sister to begin the preparations. This was going to take some time and if there was something they didn't have at the moment, it was time.
Following in her brother's footsteps, Hikari too, gracefully dropped onto the ground and crossed her legs into a meditative position. Facing her brother, Hikari placed both her hands in front of her, one palm on top of the other. Softly, she started whispering the words of the jutsu she was about to perform and Koushiro watched in silent awe.
Though he would never admit it to his sister, he was truly amazed by his sister's ability to just sit there for hours on end and perform the same jutsu over and over again until she got it right. He definitely didn't have that kind of patience. Though twins and they had grown up together all their lives, both Koushiro and Hikari would admit that they have completely opposite personalities. If it weren't for the competitive streak between them, their similar looks and tastes in clothes (though really, their fashion sense was a direct result of their mother and didn't give them much choice in what they wore), it was hard to tell that they were twins in the first place.
What was even more amazing was Hikari's ability to manifest intricate illusions that – for a time – truly existed in reality. It was like breathing life into imaginary creatures, bringing to life whatever the user thought of. Using only light, Hikari has the ability to mold the light particles into real entities using her Chakra – this was her greatest gift. In this case, the only limit to her ability was limits of her imagination.
As for Koushiro, he preferred the direct path of fighting. Until his sister was completely in her trance and in full control of the environment, he would not feel safe enough to start his own chanting and summoning of the great Sky Dragon. It was an unofficial rule between the two. When using their best attacks, one would go first while the other watched his/her back, and then, the roles would be reversed. In this case, because Koushiro would be dealing out the final blow, it was his job to watch over Hikari as she went first.
Overall, Koushiro was feeling very excited at the prospect of calling forth his greatest jutsu again. He had only used it twice before and was looking forward to trying it out. However, he did hope that he wasn't making a mistake. If anything did go wrong, he was sure Naruto-sama would not be please. And an angry Naruto-sama would lead to an angry Ruri-sama and Kaga-sama, which could mean the end of his career if not his life. His shoulders slumped in depression at the thought but Koushiro quickly shook the images away, willing himself to concentrate on the here and now. /I don't have time to be distracted. Ruri-sama had faith in us to send us all here to help. And Naruto-sama had faith in me to take care of the enemy. I won't let them down./ He thought to himself resolutely.
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xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx (Seiko Vs Orochimaru/Kabuto)
Kabuto landed haphazardly atop Manda's scaly backside taking precious seconds to stabilise himself with chakra infused feet, upon his back he carried the unconscious Kimimaro. His arms were aching as they had just recently healed from almost been punctured off by Kakashi's Chidori. However, healing them back into place had literary taken all of Kabuto's strength. Not to mention, finding the Kaguya prodigy – Kimimaro – unconscious and laying on the ground, Kabuto couldn't have let one of their strongest warriors rot in death. With all his remaining strength, Kabuto had taken Kimimaro's unmoving body and quickly returned to Orochimaru's side. The sight that met him wasn't a very welcoming sight at all.
A huge part of the Konoha forest had been wiped out. It seems that Manda – having fought against two other Sannins and their summons – had been forced back out of Konoha's border and into the surrounding forests. However, it was clearly seen that all three summons and their summoners were on the last of their Chakra reserves.
Jiraiya was bent over his body, one arm lying limp as if it had been broken and the other hand holding tightly onto the side of his chest, probably holding in place a few broken ribs. Tsunade wasn't fairing much better either. Though no visible wounds were on her body, her clothes were littered with bloodstains and was wheezing slightly in exhaustion. However, Orochimaru wasn't looking too good either, his face was bloody and burnt, his right arm was crooked looking as if someone had a bit too much fun twisting the bones within into a jigsaw puzzle. If this look had been on Kimimaro, all would have been well, but looking at Orochimaru, Kabuto knew that his master must have been in a lot of pain. However, before Kabuto could do much else, a new voice rang out between the battle of the three Sannins, interrupting everyone's thoughts and bringing all their attention upon itself.
It was a young girl, of possible 9 or 10 years of age. Her short dark blue hair drifted in the breeze even while her piercing violet eyes gazed unflinchingly at Kabuto's position.
/Shxt! Did the Lady send them? Is that what those huge explosions in the distance meant? Crap! This is going to be messy!/ Jiraiya thought to himself even while he grimaced when he recognised the girl. Glancing towards Tsunade (who had a frown of curiosity on her face), Jiraiya answered the silent question for her. "She's Dokudes Seiko, the heir to the Dokudes clan."
Tsunade's eyes turned inward slightly at the recognition of the name. /Dokudes. It's been ages since I've last met a Dokudes. Rika-sensei, do they still sneer your name, even in death, will you ever have peace? Have they changed or are they still so arrogant in nature that they look down upon all half breeds and outsiders?/ Shaking her head, Tsunade rid herself on these sad thoughts. /Times change, and with it, so do our culture and thinking. Hopefully, the Dokudes too will have changed for the better. I can only hope./
/Who the hell is that brat!/ Orochimaru lifted a delicate eyebrow in curiosity and slight nervousness.
Seiko confidently pointed a finger at her target – Yakushi Kabuto. "You, who was born outside of the Kuunoki. You, who was born of the tainted blood of the Dokudes. It is my duty, as the heir to the Dokudes Clan, to purify your existence by sentencing you to death." She took up a formal stance before launching herself up into the air, directly towards where Kabuto stood stiffly on top of Manda's head.
"Heh. Like I'm afraid of a little girl? You won't even make a good enough snack!" Manda roared as he opened his mouth wide in order to gulp down the small girl.
Instantly recognising the name of 'Dokudes', Orochimaru quickly called out for caution but was too late to stop Manda's actions. "No! Manda! Do not get close to her!"
Pulling a small vial of dark, indigo liquid from her vest, Seiko pulled the rubber stopper off the tip of it before throwing it away with all her strength towards Manda's opened mouth (7). An instant later, the small bottle of unknown liquid emitted a strange smell - the smell of burning flesh before it suddenly erupted into a massive explosion. Black clouds of poisonous gases engulfed Manda's entire face and travelled down its body. Orochimaru and Kabuto (still with Kimimaro on his back) escaped just in time to avoid the dangerous chemical within the coloured smoke.
The acidic qualities of the gaseous killer burnt the molten scales right off of Manda's face, its features no longer recognisable as the flesh slowly but surely melted away leaving bone and ligaments to bleed uncontrollably. The rest of Manda's originally long and graceful body shifted in colour tone from its once vibrant purple to a dead and rotting blue. Scaly skin pealed off the very flesh and exposed it to the dying sun, the putrid smell of decaying meat, tissues and muscles filled the air even as all three Sannins stared in terrifying awe at the sheer power a small veil of Dokudes poison was truly capable of. The almost total decomposition of Manda's body had evaporated the giant's snakes' chakra and in the ensuing silence, Manda's body exploded into a large mass of white smoke, tainted by the noxious fumes of the previous poison, now quickly dispersing in the air.
After seeing the sheer destructive force the child could render to a summoning, both Gamabunta and Katsuya dispersed into smoke as well after warning their summoners of their retreat. After all, both did not want to become a target of the child's attacks, and with their sheer size and weight, it was easy for them to become a target.
Jiraiya and Tsunade too, had retreated as far back from the new battleground as they could. Jiraiya, from his experiences in the Kuunoki while he lived there for a time with Naruto, knew that if you stood in the way of what Seiko wanted to achieve, you better hope you die fast because that child could be a sadistic bxxxh if she really wanted to be. And Tsunade just avoided the entire scene, keeping her calm from some distance away as she evaluated the strength of this young girl when compared to her late sensei's talents. Though hard as it was for her to admit it, Tsunade truly believed that in an offensive battle point of view, this girl could probably out stripped her and her late sensei in strength. However, from a medical Ninja's point of view, she probably still had more experience than this battle-loving child.
"That was just a taste of a pure-breed Dokudes's true power. The vial was originally filled with a special non-toxin, that when infused with the poisonic Chakra of a Dokudes, it could create an explosive reaction as the one you just witnessed." Seiko, after landing on a clean patch of land, calmly explained, intimidating her foes with her quiet and young voice, as if an innocent harbinger of death was at your doorstep asking you to kindly die.
Before Seiko could do anything else, a multitude of Sound Ninjas rushed into the clearing, obviously fearing for the safety of their leader's life. Seeing that all that's left is a small girl and two of the remaining Sannin, they all (of course) opted to go after the young girl instead, completely oblivious to the fact that she's probably more dangerous and unstable than the other two.
Narrowing her eyes in anger, Seiko pulled out another vial from her vest. This time, it had a strange orangey-red liquid within. Pulling the stopper off, Seiko confidently dropped the entire vial's contents right into her throat, swallowing the unknown poison in one large gulp. Giving a sardonic smirk to her next victims, Seiko opened her mouth, took in a deep breath and blew forth a dark red and brown poisonous gas from her lips directly towards the incoming entourage of enemies.
The flames from this new attack sliced through the air like a finely tuned Karyuu Endan (Fire Dragon Napalm) and the intense heat emitted didn't just melt off flesh and bone; anyone who even breathed a scent of this toxic incantation will also start to feel the affects. For those Sound Ninjas that had somehow dodged and avoided the first volley of Seiko's burst of flames, they suddenly found their skin itching with dark, violet marks appearing everywhere. Wherever those unnatural marks resided, it started burning with an inner heat that literary ate away at the Ninja's own bodies from the inside out. Their screams of horror and pain filled the air as one after another, the Sound Nins that had once stood in Seiko's path wilted and died from internal consumption of a bacteria that were known for absorbing the tissues of a living animal from the inside out.
Orochimaru, though holding tightly onto his calm and confident visage on the outside, was trembling in frightening awe mentally. This was the first time he had ever witnessed the true fighting abilities of a Kuunoki Ninja, let alone one of the most powerful of the Dokudes tribe. He had prided himself in learning as much as he could about the illusive Dokudes clan – this was one of the reasons why he had hired so many of their deserters into his army.
They were all wonderful scientists and provided him with an endless supply of new ideas and inventions to boost his own Ninja's strengths. However, he had never seen any of them fight in a real battle before. All those who had worked for him were either weak in the offensive department to begin with or they were half-breeds or quater-breeds that showed very little talent when it came to the pure manipulation of properties in poisons.
And now, this mere child stood before him, showcasing one of the most terrifying performances he had ever witnessed in a Ninja battle, and from him, this was a compliment. How he wished he could capture and use her body as his next host. With that kind of fine tuned Chakra manipulation, techniques and the knowledge of poisons under his belt, he would truly be unstoppable.
However, before he would continue on with his fantasy of taking over all the most powerful bodies in the world, a loud rumble in the distance brought his attention away from the terrifying power of this girl. He looked towards the rising of a seemingly impenetrable stonewall that rose from the earth in order to surround the Leaf village in a protective barrier. A few seconds later, an animalistic roar filled the air as a giant water dragon rose even higher than the consuming wall.
Orochimaru watched the ensuring battles in silence, shocked at the sheer power that is needed in order to produce such affects. /If this is the power of a single Kuunoki Ninja, what would it be like if I had an army of them? Is this the kind of power that Ruri has under her fist? Is this the true strength that Kuunoki holds over the rest of the world? Why is there such a big gap between our power? Why am I stuck with such weak excuses when she has such treasures!/ Fuming internally at the unfairness of it all, Orochimaru was then distracted by the large water explosion technique that rendered the giant water dragon dissipated. For the first time, Orochimaru also noticed in the distance, the familiar Chakra signatures of his once comrades, but of which, he had abandoned some time ago – the Akatsuki.
He could feel the familiar presence of Sasori of the Red Sands, Deidara, Hoshigaki Kisame and (to him, the most feared) Uchiha Itachi. The situation was turning for the worse in his case. He knew he was running out of people – his legions of mindless followers were practically useless as fighters and more in the form of zombies, and for those that did know how to fight, they couldn't compare with Konoha's own highly trained Shinobis and especially frightening speed and power of the new arrivals – the Kuunoki Ninjas. Now seeing the sheer power being held by a single Kuunoki Nin, he was hesitant to push his luck and draw even more attention upon himself from the other Kuunoki Ninjas that are bound to have been sent by Ruri in order to help her heir apparent. For the first time since deciding to invade Konoha, Orochimaru was truly afraid that he had made a mistake.
Looking over at a nervous Kabuto and the unconscious form of Kimimaro – both arguably his best and most powerful Shinobis that he had, Orochimaru made a decision. Now that he knew of the extent in power difference. He would not rest until he had bridged that gap between Kuunoki and Oto (Sound). He finally understood why Kabuto and the rest of the Kuunoki deserters detested and feared the power of the Air. There simply wasn't any comparison. And now, he understood. He knew that to achieve his dream, he not only had to befall the Leaf, but he also had to conquer the Air. This was personal now. Decision finally made, all Orochimaru has to do now is find the chance to escape. Easier said than done when you have a seriously powerful foe standing in your way – namely the heir to the Dokudes Clan – Dokudes Seiko.
xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx
xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx xxx XXX xxx (Naruto & Maya)
The constant rumbling in the distance made Naruto feel edgy and nervous as he had ever been. Without the Yochigan, he's become just as uninformed as any normal person. Currently still struggling with Chakra exhaustion, Naruto found himself to be just short of a useless ninja and as such, the frustration of the entire situation is starting to wear him down.
Looking over at his quiet companion as they both stared out into the distance atop the Hokage's tower, Naruto had to quench his pride in order to ask the other for her opinion on the situation at hand. "So, what do you think is happening, Maya?"
Maya's calm pale green eyes gazed at her young master for a moment before shifting back to focus on the Leaf village as a whole. "Just as you have ordered, Naruto-sama. The others are fighting against their selected opponents." She answered quietly and almost shyly. It wasn't that she's exceptionally shy around Naruto, but she's shy around everyone. It isn't often for that an Oniyoubu to spoke, let alone have their thoughts presented in a verbal manner. Maya wasn't use to having attention focused on her.
Naruto sighed and rubbed his forehead in irritation, breathing deeply to calm his nerves. "I mean..." He said slowly and succinctly. "How are they doing now in their battles?"
Maya tensed slightly at the precise way Naruto had phrased his question. She knew he seemed to be angry with her for some reason, but she didn't understand why and this uncertainly was starting to make her uncomfortable. However, as a servant of the Uzumaki family, she had no choice but to answer to the best of her ability. "Jubei-san and Itachi-san are at a standstill at the moment. I can feel them both continuously testing each other and trying to find the other's weaknesses. Their spirits are strong and determined. It will be a while before anything truly dramatic happens between the two. They are both enjoying this fight too much to want it to end so soon." She answered as diplomatically as possible, already feeling nervous about hearing her own voice but she persevered.
"Mishizu-san's Chakra signature has all but disappeared after she released the Dragon King. She still isn't very use to using that technique and as such, her control over it is lacking. It isn't surprising that she lost using an experimental jutsu. However, her spirit – though unconscious – is still strong, I can feel that she is simply resting." Maya paused slightly to gather her breath. Speaking so much really is out of her habit but if this is what Naruto-sama needed to hear then she would try her best.
Naruto nodded at her explanation. Though curious as to why Kisame hadn't pushed his advantage, Naruto was still eternally grateful that Mishizu was safe and sound. He wasn't really close to many of the current Gate Guardians per say but he would still feel guilty if one of them had died due to an order he had sent them on. Calm restored, he promised himself that after some rest, he would go and pick her up himself, just to make sure she stayed safe.
"Akiko-san seems to be having a lot of fun playing tag with Deidara-san. And so far, nothing important has happened between the two. Yami-nisama is still talking to Sasori-san at the moment (8). They haven't started their fight as yet. But I have faith in Yami-nisama and Akiko-san that they would pull through no matter what the circumstance." Coughing slightly to clear her throat, Maya continued with her progress report. Looking into the distance, she could vaguely feel all the spirits that filled the very air. And from analysing the power of these foreign and familiar spirits alike, she could pinpoint exactly what they were doing.
"Katana-kun and Tori-kun are enjoying themselves in the far distances of the Konoha border. They are both safe and unhurt. Koushiro-san and Hikari-san have just started using their most powerful jutsus. It won't be long before they unleash their power and force all the enemies to retreat or die. And Seiko-chan is currently battling off a few Sound Nins to get close to her target – Yakushi Kabuto. It seems that the Sound is preparing to leave at a single notice. With Koushiro-san and Hikari-san's final attack, they will all have to retreat or die." Maya finished her reporting and instantly went back to being quiet.
"I see. Arigato, Maya." Naruto commented, eyes never leaving the scene of destruction and endless fighting before him. "When the Sound starts retreating, secure the borders and start the healing and reconstruction process. I want the Leaf to go back to its original beauty as soon as humanly possible." He gave Maya his final orders for the night, knowing that she would complete it when the time is right. /I must have faith that everyone will pull through this okay. I have to./ He mentally consoled himself thinking about all the friends he had made in Konoha and about their fates which is all in their own hands at the moment. Silently, he prayed and hoped for their safety.
(End)
(1) Sui means 'water'. Sho (or 'jing' in Chinese) coupled with 'sui' creates 'crystal' and jin is a subset meaning for god (similar to "kami" or "shin"). Very complicated I know, but take my word for it; I looked it up on my Japanese Dictionary. ("水晶神")
(2) Not only am I trying to breathe more life into my original characters, but I would also like to give more background and more history on the Akatsuki members. Mind you, these are all from my alternate universe so don't take it in reality but I really wanted to give these Akatsuki members some reason as to how they turned out the way they are. So, I hope you don't mind me letting them talk a bit more than usual, it just adds more into the plot. Not only that, I don't like creating bad guys that are completely evil, I don't believe in completely evil people unless they are completely psychopaths and I can't write about complete psychopaths.
(3) This was an original Jutsu that was first thought up in Faith in Humanity, Chapter , when Haku and Naruto debated on how they could exchange techniques. But after thinking over it a while, I decided to give it to Mishizu since the other two never actually used it before.
(4) Isn't Kisame nice, not killing her in cold blood? Don't ask me why I wrote that, it just kinda fitted at the time and I just left it as is.
(5) Original Jutsu, will be explained in later chapters. Rai means 'lightning', Ten means 'Sky', Ryuu means 'Dragon'; so Raiten Ryuu translate to something like Lightning Sky Dragon.
(6) Original Jutsu, will be explained in later chapters. Hikari means 'light', Gen'ei means 'illusion'; so Hikari no Gen'ei means something like Illusion of Light.
(7) Seiko's use of 'smelling' poisons was inspired by a character from Get Backers – Kimiko, who is also a poison handler (sort of) but not to the extent that I had Seiko use it in this story.
(8) Maya refers to Yami as "Yami-nisama" because she really respects her cousin and it is usually him that pulls her out of awkward social situations in which she is being forced to speak or act outside of her norm.
Hope you guys liked this chapter as well, and I hope I'm not overwhelming you all with the number of OCs all of a sudden. I really tried to make them different and for you to instantly recognise them by the characteristics if not by their appearances.
I know from my own experiences when I read fanfics, I usually forget what OCs look like and imagine my their looks under my own influences, but what I really do want you all to remember is their 'character', their 'personality'. Each one of them is different and they would react to the same situation differently. I just hope that you would grow to like them as much as I have fell in love with creating them in the first place.
Anyway, I'm not going to apologise for the long wait, I think you've all heard it all before. It wasn't exactly a writer's block this time either, just being lazy and I had suffered from sickness for a few days – nothing too major, just the flu that knocked me to bed for a few day. Anyway, I'm going to start working on the next chapter – which should (hopefully) be the last chapter in the "WAR" semi-arc. After that, I have to focus on how Naruto will deal with his new friends (Leaf) and his old friends/supporters/servants (Air). Heh. It'll be interesting.
As always, please read and review. I love reading what you guys think about the characters and how the plot is progressing. I would also like to thank all those people who emailed me asking to be my beta-reader. I truly appreciate all your effort in helping me.