Yo!! The Battles come to a dramatic and unexpected end as Raven is pushed to the limit. But somehow, the American Bad-Ass will pull something out of his hat, and win, I hope. To find out, read and enjoy.

Chapter 21: Engulfing Darkness: Part 3: Trials of Team 7!!

Naruto and Mika were walking around the villa in the Border Village. Naruto was still riding the victory high that he had after defeating Mika, so his mood was pretty jovial. "I can't wait to get some ramen to celebrate my victory!!" Naruto said, while Mika smiled and shook her head.

"Nice to see you are all pumped up, Naruto-kun." Mika said, as Naruto laughed. "Why shouldn't I be? Ramen is the best food ever!! "Naruto said, hopping up and down. Before Mika could comment, Moon and Artemis shot by, as 35 men in black cloaks followed them.

"What was that about?" Mika asked. "Those looked like Raven's friends." Naruto said, as he smirked. "Looks like I get to have a little bit of fun before I eat!!" Naruto then hopped off after them. "Can't wait, can he?" Mika muttered before she took off after him.

(Forest)

"You would try to help Demon-kun, even though it is pointless?" Kirikiri asked, as Sakura got into her battle stance. "Maybe he would rather die in his current state. I blinded him, and he will never be a ninja without his eyes." Kirikiri said.

"Normally you might be right, but my teacher is the best Medic Nin in Konoha. I bet she can find a way to heal his sight." Sakura said, and Kirikiri smiled brightly. "Oh, I see. Well that changes everything! Now I should end him now!!" Kirikiri said, smiling excitedly.

(Elsewhere in the Forest)

"So tell me Sasuke-kun. Do you think that you can defeat me, even though I wield your brother's eyes?" Orochimaru asked, as Sasuke glared at him. "Or maybe better. I will start by attacking your little girlfriend there." Sasuke really scowled this time, and glared darkly.

"Karin. I want you to grab Hinata, and get out of here right now. Suigetsu, Juugo, we are going to end this bastard here and now!!" Sasuke commanded, as Suigetsu looked super excited. "All right!! A battle of this caliber will be so much fun!!" Suigetsu said, excited. "If that is what you want, Sasuke-san. I will back you up." Juugo said. "Isn't this nice? Three of you vs. one of me. Sadly, you will need 300 more before you can hope to match me!" Orochimaru said.

(Border Village)

"Well, they sure are more tenacious than I thought they would be!!" Moon said, as he and Artemis were running through the trees. "They do seem more persistant than usual." Artemis said, as she was hopping backwards and shooting into the swarm of black cloaks.

"Don't bother. I already have a pretty good lead. You won't win." Moon said, smirking. Artemis smirked back. "Well, guess I have to even the field then." She said, as she aimed her chakra bow into the air. "Arrow Rain!!" Artemis said, as an arrow shot into the air. As it began to descend, it burst into 50 arrows, and rained down on the cloaked men. Both looked on as her arrows took out a large chunk of the men.

"I'd say I am ahead by 15 now." Artemis said, smirking, while Moon shook his head. "Playing hard to get, are we? Well then, guess it's time to pull ahead again." Moon said, as more of the cloaked men appeared in front of them. "Good timing. I wanted to try a new move." Moon said, as he pulled out 10 yo-yos.

"Now, go my pets! Dance of the Viper!!" Moon said, as his yo-yos spun down the string, and shot off the ground, and attacked. Moon was moving and weaving his fingers around, which caused his yo-yos to attack various foes in an unexpected fashion. Artemis groaned, as Moon dispatched the men with no problem.

"I'd say we are even again." Moon said, smirking arrogantly. "You haven't won yet." Artemis said. Before they knew it, there were close to 100 of the men surrounding them. "Man. What a bother." Moon said. "I agree. Can't they just die and stop respawning?" Artemis said, as Moon smirked. "Respawning? What is this, Halo?" Moon asked.

"Shut up." Artemis said, chuckling. "You two look like you could use some help!!" The two American nin looked into the trees, and saw Naruto there, along with that girl that wanted to defeat Raven. "Naruto. Your dating tactics are weird. Why a forest for a first date?" Moon asked, as Mika blushed and Naruto frowned.

"You are one to talk! You are here in the forest aren't you!?" Naruto screamed. "In all fairness, this isn't a date. It's a contest to try and get a date. Second: when did you of all people get a chance to date someone as pretty and attractive as her with all the faults you have?" Moon asked, as his smirk became more mischevious as Naruto's face became more annoyed. "Shut up!!" Naruto hopped down, and landed next to Moon, glaring at him.

"I bet you aren't all that good anyway!! All you do is play with those toys!" Moon scowled at Naruto. "These aren't merely toys, Naruto-no-baka!! These are weapons!!" Moon shot back. "Seem useless to me!!" "Okay then, Blondie!! A battle I say!! One with most kills win!!" "You are on!!" Artemis and Mika looked on, sweat dropping and shaking their heads. "Boys…"

(With Raven)

Sakura and Kirikiri squared off to after their little fight, while Raven tried his hardest to stay conscious, though he wouldn't be able to see anyway. Both girls looked a little beaten and winded, with scratches all over their bodies, and a large bruise on Kirikiri's arm from where Sakura landed a clean hit.

"So, you must be someone who is close to Raven if you would help him so willingly." Kirikiri said, as Sakura gave her a confused look. "Both of us are American Nin. We aren't looked upon too highly in the world, and our reputation is pretty bad. But with someone like Krad to bring power to America, then we will become respected again." Kirikiri said, and Raven growled silently.

"That's what you truly believe?" Both girls were surprised to see Raven staggering to his feet, with all the injuries he had attained. "Krad doesn't care about America, hell he probably doesn't care about any of his little subordinates. He is a power hungry psychopath who will kill anyone who gets in his way. He is nothing more than a manaiacal monster who wants the world under his thumb." Raven said, but before he could go on, he heard someone quietly crying.

"What the? Why are you crying?" Raven asked, as tears were flowing down Kirikiri's eyes. "I don't like you talking bad about Krad-sama!! He isn't some monster!!" Kirikiri screamed in anger, as her chakra began to fly off of her. "Ng!?" Raven muttered, before he was blasted by some chakra.

"Raven!!" Sakura screamed, as Raven slid back. "What the hell do you know!?" Kirikiri screamed. "More than you do." Raven said, as he once again struggled to his feet. "You're childish innocent view of him is of one who doesn't know of his true colors." Raven said, as he sat at the base of a tree.

"Krad is as evil as they get. He draws you in and uses you, until he believes that you are useless, and then he disposes of you, without remorse. I know of this, because my best friend was in the group." Raven said. "He won't waste a moment to kill you off." All three turned to the trees, and in it was Katana.

"So we finally meet at last, Raven: Leder of the Death Gods." Katana said. "Katana-sama!" Kirikiri said. "Man. All I hear is his voice, and I already judge this guy as an ass-hole." Raven said, with a smirk. Katana chukled coldly. "The demon is right. Krad is everything that Raven says he is, and then some." Katana said.

"What?" Kirikiri asked, sorrow showing. "He is everything that Raven said, and he also was curious as too if you would be able to do this mission if you knew the truth, being nothing more than a naïve 10 year old." Katana said. Kirikiri looked out of it, as her glazed stare was too the ground.

"You are unfit to complete this mission." Katana said. "What'cha gonna do about it?" Raven asked, as Sakura was beginning to try and heal him. "Kill her."

(With Sasuke)

"No offense, Uchiha, but we really aren't making much in the form of groundwork." Suigetsu said, as Sasuke was standing next to him, the Curse Mark covering half his body. "Tell me something I don't know?" Sasuke asked annoyed, as a giant snake charged both of them, forcing them too dodge.

"That Hinata girl may like you. Did you know that?" Suigetsu asked. "You've asked me that or some rendition of the question 18 times now! Can't it wait until I'm not being attacked by a Sannin!?" Sasuke asked, as they landed next to Juugo, who turned his arms into giant blades.

"Any ideas, Sasuke-san?" Juugo asked. "I'm working on it…" Sasuke muttered. "Well, I hope it's good! Because tall, pale, and snakely is charging!!" Suigetsu screamed.

(With Raven)

"Kill…her?" Raven asked, shock on his features. "Kill her!? Are you mad!?" Raven screamed, anger in his voice. "The girl is expendable." Katana said it like it was common knowledge.

"Human life is not fucking expedable!! Her life holds just as much meaning as my own!!" Raven screamed in anger. "So would mine or the others who follow Krad?" Katana asked. "I'm glad you asked me that. They knew exactly what they were doing. They were not 10 years old!! They were smart enough to know right from wrong!! She didn't have a choice, you bastard!!" Raven screamed in fury.

"Her not having a choice isn't my issue. I was just commanded to kill her if she failed." Katana said, as he summoned an orange blade. "So goodbye, girl!" Katana said, as he threw his blade. To everyone's surprise, and awe, Raven took the hit, and fell to the ground, as the orange blade in his stomach disappeared.

"Raven!!" Sakura screamed. "Why? Why help someone like her, someone who is on Krad's side?" Katana asked. "Because…she…still has…some light…in her…" Raven said slowly, as Sakura stopped next to him. "She is a child. I believe that (cough cough) she can be helped, unlike the rest. It wasn't too late…for Blade, so…it isn't too late for her…" Raven was obviously zoning in and out of consciousness, and Sakura was having some kind of time keeping him stabilized.

"You American Demons are fools. I have no time for your stupidity. At least Raven's death will make this whole outing worthwhile." Katana said, as he disappeared. "Well well well…seems like…I'm done…" Raven muttered sadly, as Sakura pumped chakra into him, which didn't seem to be helping much. "I doubt…I will make…it much longer…so there's one thing…I need…taken care of." Raven said, as he was fading away.

"Make sure…the girl lives…a good life…" Raven said, as he began to fade away. Kiri was quite stunned, and Sakura was beginning to panic. Raven's pulse was fading, and she didn't have the chakra to bring him back. So Kiri decided that his fate was in her hands.

She walked to Sakura, and began to transfer her chakra into Sakura's healing jutsu. "Demon-kun can't die yet. I won't allow it!" Kiri said with determination, and Sakura smiled. "I agree. Let's save him!!"

(With Sasuke)

"Not to sound like a broken record, Sasuke, but we aren't exactly winning." Suigetsu said, as him and Juugo were down, and Sasuke had taken a knee. "Sasuke-san. You need to use your full power." Juugo said. "Hn." Sasuke said, ignoring them. "Uchiha! Refusing to use your power because the girl is here is selfish, especially considering that there is a real chance we could die!!" Suigetsu said, standing.

Sasuke frowned, and Juugo shook his head. "It cannot be helped." Juugo said, and Sasuke shook his head. "It cannot be helped." Sasuke repeated, as the Curse Mark began to overtake his body, transforming to Curse Mark: Level 2. Orochimaru smirked evilly.

"I see you wish to take this fight seriously, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru said, smirking. Sasuke said nothing, but he charged the Chidori. "It cannot be helped. Someone needs to kill you, and I am willing to show my inner demon if it means that goal is met." Sasuke said, as he charged.

(With Moon)

"So Naruto, how many did you defeat?" Moon asked, as Naruto and him were surrounded by the black cloaked men. "How many did you get?" Naruto asked. "More than you." Moon said. "Oh really!?" Naruto screamed, and they both began to argue.

"Boys…" Artemis and Mika muttered, as they hopped back into the clearing. "Other than those two being idiots, that was pretty fun." Mika said, and Artemis nodded. "A normal day for us." Artemis said, as Moon and Naruto began to punch and kick at each other. "Hey guys. If we are done here, let's head back to the village. I'm tired, and I want to see how Raven did." Artemis said, smiling.

(Somewhere in the Forest)

"It should be somewhere around here, if what Ino said is true." Tsunade said, as Shizune was right behind her. "She said that Blade was fighting some bad-ass." Shizune said, before Tsunade gasped. "Damnit!!" Shizune turned, and gasped at the sight of Blade on the ground, with all sorts of wounds, cuts, and gashes on his body.

"What the hell happened to him!?" Tsunade asked, as she began to use her Medical Jutsus to see if he was alive. Surprising her, his pulse was still beating, faint but alive.

"Shishou!!" Tsunade turned, as Sakura walked into the clearing, dragging Raven with her. "Raven!? What the hell is this!?" Tsunade asked, as Shizune grabbed Raven and began to heal him. "Shizune-sempai. Raven mentioned something about his eyes." Sakura said, and Tsunade frowned. "I see. Let's get them stabilized before I make any moves to heal the serious stuff." Tsunade said, as they began to work.

(With Sasuke)

"You know, Sasuke. You always find some odd way to impress me. Whatever that dome you created was, it was strong enough to send Snake Eyes flying, and give us enough time to get you to the Border Village." Suigetsu said, as Sasuke didn't have the energy to glare at him.

"Shut up…" Sasuke said. "He needs to be treated. Let's find Karin. She knows a little bit about Medical Ninjutsu." Juugo said. Suigetsu remembered that he mentioned Karin and his other female friend going to the Border Village, so they would try there first.

ShadowRonin: Yeah. The fights have come to the end, and both sides are in the pains of battle. Raven isn't in the best of health, and Blade is looking worse than he is, but I believe they both will be okay.

Next Chapter: The boys of the Misadventure series heal and recuperate, but that doesn't mean nothing happens! Examining Music, and a new Death God, are the combined recipe for:

Chapter 22: The Light at the End of the Darkness!! A Day to Recover!!