Of Leafy Fans and Hearty Attacks (continued)

A single flame could be detected flickering from the mouth of the mask, and amidst the bright moonlight, nine fleeting shadows burst into action at once, the heightened sense of urgency apparent in the astounding speed they took to perform their jutsus from all directions.

"Suiton! Mizurappa!"

"Doton! Doryuheki!"

"Doton! Doseikiryu!"

"Suiton! Daidohan!"

"Magen! Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu!"

"Suiton! Mizuame Nabara!"

"Choharite!"

"Kage Nui no Jutsu!"

"Shintensen no Jutsu!"

Among the trio nearest the nerve-wrecking scene, the maroon-clad female was the first to leap into the fray, propelling herself towards the mass of black threads and performing hand seals of Dragon Tiger Rabbit, commanding her mouth to expel a jet of water from behind the creature. Taking the form of a trumpet, the water attack splashed squarely against the back of the Fire Mask, causing smoke to rise immediately from its woven threads.

Her male comrades worked in unison with their Earth Techniques, with the leaner man's hand seals summoning a dragon made of earth and stone to scale the air and whizz towards the elemental mask. Following his female peer's Water Trumpet technique, the youth's forceful assault caused the creature to vacillate unsteadily in mid-air momentarily, buying his burlier partner sufficient time to focus his attention on his tedious technique. Diverting all his available chakra to his palms which were now pressing against the rocky ground, the man's muscled arms flexed and twitched, his exertions summoning a solid wall of chakra-infused rock to rise mystically right in front of the one they had sworn to defend.

Having quickened his pace and navigated the air currents expertly, the olive-skinned general observed the Iwa shinobi's varied techniques and took heart that the girl seemed to be out of immediate danger. Without further ado, he followed them hastily with his own Suiton move, his jutsu taking the form of an enormous canon ball that catapulted across the distance and rolled itself savagely against the mass of black threads, tearing them asunder and causing the Fire Mask to emit an ear-piercing screech that floated into the windy night.

While the Fire Mask was kept busy by long-range assailants, two Chunin-level shinobi took the opportune moment to carry out their task. His nose wriggling slightly under the strip of bandage running across its bridge, the first spiky-haired male finally had the chance to perform his Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique to trap his adversary in a genjutsu. Even though he knew that he would not be able to maintain the illusion for more than a few scant seconds on such a well-versed opponent, his aim was to provide ticking seconds for his comrades to move. His brown-haired partner moved in a blur as he somersaulted into the air and establishing a quick Ram Tiger hand seal, spat out charka-infused viscous water that blanketed the ground the towering figure was momentarily caught in. The Suiton technique immobolised the villain as he was freeing himself from the genjutsu, causing him to seethe in fury at losing precious seconds to eliminate the girl who had become a pest and eyesore to him since his resurrection. Before he could react further, however, a glowing colossal clenched fist, fuelled with the owner's impressive chakra, appeared instantaneously and rammed itself hard on his fortified body, crushing it savagely under its weight and splattering his tentacles all over.

As his gigantic teammate took care of the zombie, the descendent of a clan highly regarded for its astoundingly intelligent and strategic members knelt on the ground and performed his clan's infamous Shadow Sewing ninjutsu. Taking advantage of the bright moonlight, the teen directed shadows from all over to materialise near the demonic mask and its greatly enervated body, binding it in mid-air and rendering the woven threads immobile for the moment. He quickly transformed the shadows into sharp needles, restraining the black threads further.

The slight smirk on the Chunin's face vanished instantly, as did the triumphant expressions on the other assailants' faces, when the Fire Mask, amidst its struggles, managed to hurl a small fireball towards its intended target. The intensity and speed of the attack, coupled with the fact that it was at such close range, shattered the rock wall formed by the Iwa youth and upon contact with the ground, erupted into a fiery storm, its ignited flames travelling speedily across the plateau and burning everything in their path into blackened crisps.

Eight voices arose amidst the blazing inferno, each hollering the same two similar syllables, filled with hysterical despair that all their attempts to save the teen girl had been futile.

"You have to let me go."

"I can't… I can't let you do it. Even now in your body, I can feel how weak you are! Please, just let me get you to safety and we'll…"

"My friend… please. I have to do this. Just like how you had to deal with the Tailed-Beast earlier, despite the odds."

The stricken girl froze… hesitant, wavering and extremely afraid as she knew in her sinking heart that her friend was right. She stifled a sob and mumbled an almost inaudible "Okay", quivering in cold fear and desperation.

"Thank you. Please perform a Kararimi no Jutsu and let me re-appear where my weapons are. I'll take it from there."

Just as she felt the fiery torrent blast the rock wall apart, the girl followed her friend's appeal and sent them both, still in the same body, to hover in mid-air just behind the fiery mass of metal.

"Thank you, my dear friend. And Ino… in case I don't make it… please… please tell… tell everyone I love them."

Ino gave a piteous cry as she found herself back in her own inert body, stunning Shikamaru whose face was covered in a sheen of perspiration and fresh tears.

"Ino! What happened? Did you manage…"

"Tenten…she's … barely… barely…" the blonde's forlorn expression and grief-stricken sobs bewildered the Naru youth further.

"Look!" Chouji exclaimed, his right fist still rammed hard on Kakuzu's disgruntled form. "In the air!"

By now, the others had also noticed that despite the blazing destruction on the plateau where Tenten had been kneeling, the fiery metallic raptor she had summoned to annihilate the Wind Mask was still hovering above, a mere hundred metres away from the Fire Mask that had turned to face its steadfast enemy. As the night wind picked up, the dancing flames surrounding the metallic blades and those raging behind the masked creature blazed even stronger, their crackles and sizzles the only sounds emitted around the area, the atmosphere strangely serene despite the potential fatalities that this final match might bring.

"She… she's going to use the fan," Izumo whispered as he dropped to his knees, grabbing onto Kotetsu's wrist. "Don't… don't let her use the fan…"

While Ino and Chouji remained deadly pale and utterly stricken, Shikamaru, from this crumbling form of his Konoha Senpai, quietly nodded, his deductions about the ninja tool that his peer was wielding confirmed. He turned back to take in the scene, and swallowed the throttling lump in his throat as he witnessed his friend raise the fan.

"No!" Mugi roared, struggling against his trembling partner who was restraining him. Kurotsuchi sniffled as her tears fell, biting her lower lip in vain hope that everything would be fine. General Darui who now stood beside her, wore a similar look of despondence, but kept his eyes peeled and stance ready, ever willing to back the girl up despite knowing the outcome.

Tenten stared at the mass of black threads silently, watching the Fire Mask to see if it was going to soar up towards her or launch an attack from afar. She felt her dry lips curve upwards slightly, sensing its fear even from such a distance away. Her heartbeat had accelerated beyond anything she had experienced before, even though she strangely felt very little fear of what was about to come. The turmoil that her mind and body had been thrown into in the past hours seemed to have been totally vanquished, for a sense of serenity was now radiating from her core, numbing every fibre from her head to the tip of her toes. Despite all the upheavals of the day and the trauma that she had been put through, she now looked at the Bashosen she was holding on to with both hands gratefully. A tinge of regret sparked as images of all her friends, old and new, flashed in her mind, Neji's face lingering the longest, but within the next moment, she knew she was ready for what Fate had planned for her on this day.

It was time.

With the first wave, torrents of water coursed through the metallic structure and extinguished the roaring flames, while the second that followed within mere seconds produced gentle, cooling gusts that caused the earlier elemental summon to freeze. Formerly a raptor of fiery intent, the metallic blades were now entrusted in shiny ice, each now resembling a gleaming icicle sharp enough to pierce through flesh.

"Sogu. Hyoso Tensensai."

With a weakly muttered command, Tenten's mind whirled violently as she could barely watch her own Manipulated Tools: Ice Spears Heavenly Chain of Destruction technique at work. Breaking formation from the raptor, the ice-blades launched themselves towards the Fire Mask, their blinding speed making them appear as white streaks raining down on their sole target. Retreating limply, the demonic mass of threads was brutally impaled by the dozens of weapons piercing through manically, its tiger-shaped mask unable to even utter its guttural roar before it splintered into frozen pieces, its day-long reign of terror finally ended in its icy purgatory.

With bated breath, the girl's friends remained silent, watching her still hovering in the air… hoping, praying, pleading.

Two seconds after the fiendish demon's ruthless destruction, the stone-cold figure swooned and plummeted from mid-air, her hand aberrantly still holding on to the fan.