I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Tower Defense
Menma scanned the area around them with his senses. He knew that, even while scanning, Neji would also be staring at him, trying to figure out what jutsu he was using that made him a Sensory type. At Menma's request, no one had said what he could actually do, only that he was a Sensory type. The four teams were now arranged in a large square with Menma on the right die with Sasuke and Sakura beside him, Hinata directly opposite Naruto with Kiba up front, Shino beside Hinata, Neji in the back with Tenten and Lee in front of him, side-by-side, and Ino in front of Shino with Shikamaru and Choji behind Kiba, also side-by-side. With every sensory ninja present scanning for enemies, and Kiba doing the same along with Shino's bugs, there was no chance at all that they would be ambushed. Hopefully.
As they neared the tower, Menma sensed their targets. A lot of them. He signaled a halt and they stopped in the trees just short of a clearing. In the clearing, the same Amegakure ninja that had tried to ambush Menma and Hinata's teams before were standing with a dozen or so clones each.
"Well well," Menma grinned. "Oboro."
"You know them?" Neji asked.
"They ambushed us before Orochimaru," Menma said. "They're not strong. Me and Sasuke will handle this."
Sasuke nodded and the two of them dropped into the clearing, Sakura and Hinata following instantly.
"Why are you two here?" Sasuke asked.
"Neither of you are up to one hundred percent," Sakura said. "We're going to help."
Menma sighed as the clones began to walk forward.
"Best guess on the clones?" Sasuke asked.
"Water," Menma said. "Sup Oboro. Ain't seen you for a couple days."
"Oh great," an Oboro clone grumbled. "You again. Looks like we get pay back."
"Looks like," Menma nodded. "I don't think we were properly introduced. I'm Menma Uzumaki. This is Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga."
"I'm Oboro," a second Oboro clone said. "This is Mubi," he indicated the one with the bandana, "and Kagari."
He gestured to the one with both eyes covered and that one instantly hurled a kunai with a blade on each end of the grip. Menma snorted, slashing the kunai out of the air with his sword then split a Mubi clone as it leapt at him with a kunai. Sure enough, It turned to water, splashing down. Menma grinned, putting his sword away and drawing his trench knives. The clones all drew kunai and the other three got ready. Then, the four of them waded into the clones, dodging kunai and destroying clones rapidly. Hinata was using Gentle Fist, and doing exceptionally at it, as she was dropping almost as many clones as Menma, who was dropping one every time he slashed. Sasuke and Sakura were fighting next to each other and were dropping pretty much the exact same number.
After several minutes, with the clones reforming as they fought, Menma ducked under a kick then jumped, wheel kicking the clone just as one behind it hurled a kunai past it at Hinata. At the same moment, a clone over by Sasuke and Sakura kicked Sasuke away, then stabbed at Sakura. Menma appeared behind Hinata, slashing the kunai out of the air with his sword at the same time as Sasuke appeared in front of Sakura, the kunai stabbing into his forearm before he killed the clone. Menma sighed in relief, putting his sword away just as Sasuke's chakra spiked, his curse mark fueled by his rage.
"Sasuke!" Menma snapped. "Calm down!"
Sasuke looked at him, then glanced at Sakura before gritting his teeth, taking a shaky breath and forcing the curse mark to recede.
"Good," Menma sighed as Sasuke fell to one knee. "That's one fight I don't want to have."
A pair of clones stepped forward, holding swords and raising them to slash Menma and Hinata, who were both distracted. However, before the swords could reach them, Lee appeared behind the clones, hitting both with a Leaf Hurricane.
"Thanks," Menma smirked, turning back to the clones, leaving his trench knives in their pouches. "I think it's about time to level the playing field."
He formed two dozen clones who instantly swarmed outward into the ranks of the Amegakure genin's clones, obliterating them then disappearing, leaving the clearing empty.
"Well that's disappointing," Menma grunted. "They ran away."
"Don't be so sure," Oboro said.
Suddenly some...thing began to move. Everywhere. Globs of some kind of goo or liquid began to appear and slid over the trees, the ground, everything. Then, they would disappear again. Finally, the things began to return, dozens of them. Each one began to darken and grow, a clone forming from each. Except that these clones were all of Kagari except with black body suits.
"What the..." Menma blinked, looking around.
He closed his eyes, sensing the clones but instead, all he could see was a sort of haze of chakra, causing a strange disruption in Menma and the others' chakra when it touch them. He opened his eyes, seeing a clone hurl a kunai with two blades. On instinct he dodged sideways and the weapon stabbed into the ground. He picked it up and stared at it then looked to the clones again.
"Illusion," Sasuke stated.
"This isn't," Menma said handing the kunai to Sasuke and charging forward, punching a clone experimentally then leaping back, the clone exploding into goo on impact, then a second torso and head growing out of the wound, hurling a second kunai, which Menma dodged, the others doing the same.
"Oboro and his friends must be in the trees," Menma guessed, coordinating their moves with their illusions.
Lee nodded, crouching and slowly dragging his right foot in a circle around himself.
"No weapons shall enter this circle," Lee declared, drawing a pair of kunai. "Sakura, Hinata, for the sake of keeping Menma and Sasuke focused on the matter at hand, please step into this circle."
Both nodded, getting in the circle just as several kunai came flying toward them. Menma turned to help just in time to see Lee flash around the circle, easily blocking them all with his own kunai.
"Please leave this to me," Lee said. "I will protect them."
Menma nodded, turning back to the clones, then closing his eyes for a moment, looking around. He spotted the ninja, turning in that direction and hurling a double-bladed kunai he had picked up from the ground so that it spun, carving through a clone then shooting into the trees, cutting several smaller branches and making a lot of noise. About thirty seconds later, the clones all faded from view and Oboro and his team leapt out of the trees into the air, Kiba and Neji following.
"You knew I was signaling the others," Lee said. "So you showed them where to go."
"Yes," Menma said. "And thank you for protecting Hinata and Sakura."
"Not bad," Oboro commended. "You lot are pretty smart teaming up with so many others. Of course, we're not alone either."
"Oh we know," Menma smirked.
Just then, three more Amegakure shinobi landed on the opposite side of Menma's group from Oboro's team. Neji and Kiba landed with Menma's group and Menma smirked. Still uneven.
"What's so funny?" one of the new Amegakure shinobi, a male wearing an iron conical hat, a breathing mask, and a black cloak asked.
His teammates looked exactly the same except that one had everything painted red and the other white.
"Well," Menma smirked. "It's still not even."
"No?" the Ame ninja in black asked. "Then you should have no problem taking our scrolls."
The ninja held out a sack, revealing several sets of scrolls.
"Collectors," Menma growled. "So, I guess that means you're all pretty skilled."
The ninja smirked and drew a kunai, kneeling and cutting a tripwire with it. A moment later, everyone but Menma was in a net, the net made out of steel cables and connected to the ground by massive metal spikes that had opened barbs underground.
"Oh, I get it," Menma smirked. "Trappers."
He shook his head, walking over to the net and taking Hinata's hand, placing the seal to allow someone to wield his sword on her hand then passing it to her and turning back to the Ame ninja, now all standing together.
"A sword?" Oboro snorted. "That's what you think will help them?"
"Yes," Menma nodded. "But only because I don't have time. I'm going to be dealing with the six of you."
"Big words," Oboro snorted.
"Well then tough guy, your team can go first," the ninja in red stated.
Oboro's eyes widened for a moment before he shrugged, drawing a pair of kunai and charging as Kagari and Mubi did the same. Kagari and Mubi went out around the cable net on opposite sides as Oboro leapt over it, hurling a kunai at Menma. He drew his trench knives, slashing Oboro's out of the air then ducking under Oboro. When the other two reached him he jumped, slamming the bottoms of his feet into their faces then landed and blocked Oboro's knives. Oboro glared at him and Menma grinned, head butting Oboro and sending him staggering backward. Mubi attacked next, slashing at Menma rapidly. However, Menma blocked every slash then jumped over a stab and spun, areal roundhouse kicking the ninja, knocking him out. He touched down on his left foot, and spun backward, then wheel kicked Kagari, dropping him as well. Then, he turned to Oboro just in time for Hinata to step past him and roundhouse kick him to the head, dropping him before disabling his arms and legs with Gentle Fist.
"Thanks," Menma grinned.
The others carefully crawled out of the cable net through the hole Hinata had cut in it, then turned to face the other three Ame ninja as Neji disabled both of Oboro's teammates the same way Hinata had Oboro.
"Well done," the ninja in black said. "And that's a very nice sword. I think I'll take it once you're all dead."
"Good luck," Menma smirked.
"You don't think we expected you to beat those weaklings?" the ninja in red asked.
"We've been waiting for you to clear the area so we could have fun with you," the ninja in white said unrolling a scroll.
The other two did the same, all three scrolls on the ground before they slammed their hands down on them, unsealing over a dozen different nasty looking blades each. Menma's smirk faded instantly and he put a hand on Hinata's shoulder, putting her behind himself. Sasuke did the same to Sakura and Lee grabbed the cable net, ripping the anchors out of the ground and hurling it out of the way.
"We're the three best weapons masters in Amegakure," the ninja in black stated. "Enough, in fact, that Lady Angel even said we may be able to help our Leader some day if he needs it. She said something about his Path to Asura or something."
"What?" Menma blinked, confused.
"We don't really understand either," the ninja in black said. "But it's an honor to serve our Leader and Lady Angel. So we'll do whatever it takes."
Menma shrugged, holding up his trench knives as the ninjas all put their blades somewhere on their bodies, being almost literally covered in blades.
"I'll take the one in black," Menma said.
"I will take the one wearing red," Lee said, holding a ten foot bo staff suddenly.
"I'll take the white one," Sasuke said. "And Lee, where did you get that?"
"It collapses into segments," Lee stated.
"Oh," Menma nodded. "Alright then. Neji, protect Sakura and Hinata for us, please."
Neji nodded and the three charged at the Ame ninja who all drew matching cleavers with heavily serrated blades. Menma flipped over his opponent's first slash, slashing at his head as he passed over the ninja but the ninja spun, drawing a katana and slashing at Menma while crouching under Menma's strike. Menma blocked the sword, landing then ducking under the cleaver, stepping forward and slashing at the ninja. The ninja jumped back then stepped forward, slashing at Menma with both, only for Menma to block both and jump, planting his feet in the ninja's face. He landed on his feet, glancing to his right to see Lee beating his opponent around and around with his bo staff, having no trouble at all. On the other side, Sasuke was using a pair of kunai to deflect the blows of his opponent's weapons, a pair of scimitars, one after the other, having no chance to strike. Menma turned his head back to his opponent just as the opponent's katana snapped against Menma's mask.
"What the..." the ninja shouted, jumping back.
"Yeah, should have warned you," Menma said. "My mask is pretty tough."
He sprinted forward, ducking under the cleaver and cutting the blade off, then jumped, roundhouse kicking at the ninja's head, only for the ninja to block his foot with the flat of a pair of his own scimitars. Before he could even slash at Menma, Menma had drawn his sword, slashing at him. The ninja blocked the sword with both of his and his swords' blades snapped. He staggered backward, staring at the blades then throwing them aside, pulling out a sword with a double-helix-shaped blade and a handle long enough for four hands. The ninja sprinted forward, slashing at Menma, who blocked the blade, then kicked the ninja in the knee, breaking it.
"Sorry," Menma said, spinning his sword. "But you're not serving anyone."
Menma took the bag of scrolls and began to walk away as the ninja leapt at him. Menma sensed him coming, having closed his eyes, and spun, slashing with his sword and splitting the ninja in half, his greatsword stabbing into the dirt behind Menma. To Menma's left, Lee smashed his opponent into the air then jumped, flipping over him then smashing the tip of the bo staff into his opponent, smashing him into the ground, knocking him out. To Menma's right, Sasuke leapt away from his opponent, avoiding a slash by the ninja's swords, a pair of broadswords with sword blades shaped like kunai blades. Once Sasuke was at a distance, the ninja stabbed a sword into the ground, making the Seal of Confrontation. Instantly, flames and smoke began to fly off of Lee's opponent.
"Lee move!" Menma shouted.
A moment later, Lee's opponent exploded, blades and shrapnel flying in every direction. Lee had escaped the explosion and was kicking swords out of the air as best he could. Sasuke had attacked his opponent again, keeping him from activating anything similar with Menma's opponent. Menma, on the other hand, had reacted on base instinct, not even aware he had moved until he was standing in front of Hinata, a jagged piece of what he thought might have been a conical hat sticking out of his abdomen.
"Menma!" Hinata gasped.
"I'll be alright," Menma grunted, standing and very carefully pulling the metal out, instantly coughing up blood.
"No you won't," Neji said, shoving Menma to the ground and pinning him, pulling out gauze and roughly shoving it into his wound.
Menma shouted in pain as he did but Neji ignored him. When he stopped, Menma struggled to stand, only to find the pain had sapped him of his strength.
"He's bleeding internally," Neji said. "I slowed it but we need to get him to the tower. They'll have Medical ninja there that can stop the bleeding."
"I'll be...disqualified," Menma said just as Sasuke stepped up beside him. "Take the...gauze out. I can...heal myself."
"You'll pass out," Sasuke said.
"I know," Menma nodded. "Keep my...mask on."
Sasuke nodded and yanked the gauze out while pulling Menma's right glove off for him. Menma instantly bit his own arm, eyes squeezing shut as pain flared through his body. Apparently, healing himself was much less pleasant than he had hoped. He looked down at his stomach, seeing the wound sealing itself slowly. Then, when it was fully sealed, he let his arm go, vision going black instantly.
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