Ninja Profile: The Tanikage

Ninjutsu: S
Genjutsu: ?
Taijutsu: ?
Specialties: Anti-Ninja skills, Sealing, Secrecy

Description: The Tanikage is of a normal height, speaking in a youthful voice, but none have ever seen him outside of his white-and-green Tanikage robes.

Origin: The same Tanikage has led the Village Hidden in the Valleys for centuries, since its formation, never seeming to age or weaken. His presence alone is said to be what kept the Hidden Valley safe during the Shinobi World Wars, and he has never lost a battle. The few times his village was attacked, he has not only seen the attack coming ahead of time and cut off the invaders but also defeated most of them by himself. The only time he has ever acted offensively is when he eradicated the Heat Devil Village for reasons unknown, but other than that his extreme prowess and relative neutrality has kept the Hidden Valley Village safe for centuries.

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Naruko started the match without words, instead launching a fireball right off the bat. Haku dodged it with a quick roll, only to look up and see a shuriken flying towards her, forcing her to duck and go off-balance. Another shuriken towards the off-balance Haku drew blood, clipping her forearm and sending a small streak of red into the air. It's like my match, Kame thought. Naruko isn't giving her any time to think or plan.

Haku looked forward and then visibly flinched at the last second, flinging her head to the side quickly to avoid meeting her opponent's eyes. The Uchiha girl took advantage of the momentary distraction, running through a set of signs and then shouting, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flame Jutsu!"

The blasts of fire flew towards Haku, but she managed to evade them all without making any errors and then backed away. Good move. If her plan is to dodge, then distance between them will make it a lot easier. Naruko came to the same conclusion and began stalking forward- which was exactly what Haku was waiting for. The purple-clad kunoichi tore forward from a standstill and closed the distance in mere moments, swinging up a fist that met with thin air- "Substitution!" Naruko stood by the river, the stone that she'd swapped with dropping the the ground. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Another burst of flames flew forward across the arena, singeing the ground as it traveled, but Haku saw it in time to leap aside.

Naruko must have extreme amounts of chakra, Kame considered. She's been throwing out jutsu like shuriken, even high-cost ones like the Shadow Clone Jutsu. I suppose she does have some Uzumaki blood, so that may contribute to it… but that can't be all. Did she inherit some of the ninetails' chakra stores? She was tracking Haku with her eyes, launching another volley of kunai. Once again, Haku rolled aside to avoid the knives, and the stalemate dragged on.

Suddenly, Naruko spoke, dropping her combat stance for the moment. "What drives you?" What is she talking about? Kame remembered himself asking a similar question the night before, but this was hardly a place for that discussion- Is she pulling a page from Miriki's book? Trying to knock Haku off of her game? "You're not a weakling like the other two in your team. I respect that you've gone this long through the exam without using a single jutsu- if you're trying to prove dominance, you're succeeding." Wait, she's making the same assumption as Zandeina. Kame wondered why she would do that when she had a jutsu-less ninja in her own village.

Haku didn't leave her ready stance. "They aren't weaklings. Kame and Miriki don't deserve the hatred you've directed towards them." Naruko raised her eyebrows bemusedly. "I don't know what you've been through, or what you're thinking, but whatever it is doesn't give you the right to do the things you've done."

"My strength as a shinobi gives me the right to do the things I've done!" Naruko was angry in her response. "Are you seriously telling me that, with the strength that you possess, you're walking down the road of the losers?"

"My strength comes from the faith that the others put in me." Haku sounded less sure of herself than before, and Kame knew why. I shouldn't have told her to give up. "I wouldn't be standing here if it weren't for their efforts."

"You sound like my damn grandfather," Naruko seethed. "'The Power of Friendship' is bull crap. Strength in numbers may be great and all, but in the face of a real enemy or out there in the field, relying on your teammates is a crutch!"

Haku shook her head. "After all that Naruto Uzumaki did to end the war and hate in our world, you want it to come back." Despite the words leaving her mouth, her voice lacked conviction.

"The hate is still there, but now only our enemies have it and the strength it gives them!" Naruko growled angrily.

Haku visibly wavered. "No, it- it isn't…" she trailed off. She knows that it's still there, because she's felt it herself.

The Leaf kunoichi noticed her opponent's indecision and seized upon it. "When the enemies come for Kame, or Miriki, will their complaints help them? Will the fact that if their friends were there, they'd work well together, help them?" She glared towards the Sand box. "They're weaklings, who forfeited rather than take a few hits and don't deserve the name shinobi. We're not like they are, and as long as they're around they're dragging us down with them."

"Kame is not weak!" Haku found her voice again. "You may have won against him, but he is not weak. He's stronger than I am, and I didn't drag him down; he dragged me up!" Kame felt... strange, hearing her actually say the words out loud. Even after what I just said, she still has faith in me, is grateful to me.

Naruko frowned. "I don't understand, if you're as strong as them without even using… wait…" She widened her eyes. "Medical ninjutsu is far enough along that even people with underdeveloped chakra coils can use jutsu, so I assumed… but somehow, you still managed to become jutsu-less?" She sounded angry, very angry, at being made a fool. "I guess this is gonna suck for you, then!"

Haku flinched at nothing and then wobbled a little bit, sinking to one knee. What? Did she accidentally look into Naruko's eyes and get hit with the paralysis!? "What…" No, she can still move, so…

"This vertigo genjutsu is transmitted on my voice," Naruko said while flashing through the handsigns for the Fireball Jutsu. "Honestly, it's usually not even worth the chakra, since most ninja can just release it pretty easily. But you…" she sighed. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

The huge spray of flame tore forward and Haku shuffled to the side, throwing herself out of the way but landing in a heap. She can't use genjutsu release to get out, Kame realized. What's she going to do? Is the rest of the fight gonna be in this state? Haku stumbled to her feet, nearly falling back over again, and then shuffled back towards the forest, taking a shuriken to the back of the arm but managing to avoid the rest of Naruko's barrage. Can she… wait, if she hurts herself she might be able to escape it… but then she'd just hear Naruko's voice and be back in the same boat.

Naruko called out towards the forest, "Hey, hiding won't save you. To think that you made it this far through the tournament without any jutsu… but this is the end of your streak of luck. Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" A barrage of fireballs flew into the trees, spreading flames into the forest at equal intervals. In minutes, there would be no forest left to hide in.

"Seven Heavens, First Activation: Breath of Restraint!" Haku came running from the treeline at inhuman speed, rapidly eating up the distance between her and Naruko. Naruko seemed to focus on something briefly and then panic when it didn't work, jumping backwards and throwing a few shuriken at the charging enemy. The projectiles were simply batted aside as Haku continued her rush and made it to Naruko, unleashing an uppercut that smashed into the Uchiha's jaw- and then continued upwards, shattering the large stone that was in Naruko's place.

Naruko, having again substituted next to the river, shouted angrily: "Covered up your ears? Clever, but you still can't hit me. Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Looking at Haku, Kame could see that she did have her headband uncharacteristically wrapped around her head rather than her neck, holding in shreds of her bandages that were stuffed in her ears. She blocked off her ears and then hurt herself, breaking the genjutsu and stopping it from catching her again… clever.

The fireball flew towards Haku, but with her senses back she dodged around it and kept charging towards her foe. Naruko turned and fled, calling out, "Wind Style: Wind Cushion Jutsu!" The burst of air pushed her forward faster than her legs could carry her and she hit the ground running in a full sprint towards the treeline.

Haku yelled, "Second Activation: Breath of Strength!" as she made it to the river, and then started laying waste to the rocks. She's destroying the Substitution Jutsu targets, Kame thought. Taking away another one of Naruko's options. However, it seemed that the Leaf genin wasn't going to just let her do it, as another fireball came flying in from the trees. Haku dodged it, hopping towards the left and out of the way, but right then another fireball appeared, heading straight for her.

What!? Kame barely had time to register as the first fireball poofed out of existence- An illusory fireball, and then another real one after the target dodges the first one. Haku was caught in the blast of flame and cried out in pain as the fire enveloped her. When the smoke cleared, she was diving down towards the water and managed to extinguish herself by rolling through it, coming out of the roll in a ready position. However, her stance couldn't hide the fact that she had burns on her stomach, thighs, and forearms, and was shaking slightly from pain.

Naruko sauntered out of the forest twirling a kunai. "Come on, is that really it? You're right, Kame is stronger than you if that's all you-" She was cut off as Haku came charging forward towards her, moving in an arc that kept the dark-haired girl's back to the treeline. "Oh, you still got some fight left in you… but you won't after this!" She moved forward to meet Haku in taijutsu, swinging the kunai forward towards her, but Haku wasn't dodging at all…

In fact, the Sand girl simply tore right through Naruko like she wasn't there- which, she wasn't. The illusion fell apart and Haku went straight into the trees, forcing Naruko to leap out towards the river. She landed, grimaced, and then ran through the handsigns for the Fireball Jutsu- but froze up and actually yelped in pain, shuddering violently. It wasn't until Kame heard the crackle of electricity that he realized what had happened.

Haku charged again, now from the patch of river that disappeared into the forest. Lightning crackled around her, more viciously than he'd seen it ever before (perhaps due to the first and second breaths), and conducted through the river to keep Naruko off-balance. Naruko was immobilized, unable to properly respond, and as Haku charged her she desperately reached for her weapon- but not in time, and Haku's enhanced fist struck her straight to the gut and sent her flying up into the air. The purple-haired girl blurred up next to her and spun, beginning the taijutsu move that had put down two other genin opponents. "Hidden Lightning Devil!"

Unable to substitute out, Naruko bore the full brunt of the first strike. Kame saw her pounded hard by a lightning-enhanced leg and sent flying downwards- but something went wrong. A blast of orange chakra and killing intent sent Haku darting back, and instead of completing the finisher technique she fell back and watched as Naruko landed controlledly. That's not… Naruko narrowed her eyes in rage and the ground around her began to fragment apart. How is she… "You're the problem with the ninja world. Haku, you're the epitome of weakness being carried forward by the strength around it, and I will not lose to you!"

What is this power? She strode forward faster and faster, crumbling the ground underneath her feet, and the orange chakra billowed off of her violently. Is she… a jinchuriki? But how!? Her voice was chillingly calm even as she closed the gap with powerful strides: "So this is the power of the ninetails… you don't stand a chance now…"

Haku, instead of fleeing, actually charged as well, shouting her own threat. "Third Activation: Breath of Speed! Ninetails or not, you won't-"

Then she stopped moving, and the ninetails chakra vanished, as did the cracks in the ground and all of the oppressive killing intent. Naruko was staring straight at her, smirking as she walked up. "You fell for my genjutsu, and then you looked into my eyes. Now, how about a taste of another one!" She can make illusions convincing enough to have killing intent and leaving cracks in the ground? This is bad, Haku lost her lightning stance when she got immobilized… Naruko reached forward and grabbed Haku's arm, then backed away. "Shadow Clone Jutsu! Substitution Jutsu!" She used the two jutsu in combination to get back across the arena in the nick of time as she apparently blinked and Haku regained her ability to move.

However, despite having the purple skin and aura of the third breath still active, something was wrong with her- she was moving far slower than the was before, still faster than a normal human but nowhere near where she'd been. Naruko was almost amused as she kept up the distance between them far more easily, even throwing out a shuriken that Haku barely dodged. "This genjutsu requires touch but speeds up the target's perception of time. Not that you can hear me, with your ears blocked up, but I think the crowd should know why you're moving like a slug." She threw another two shuriken, and Haku reacted a split-second too late, getting clipped by the metal projectiles.

"Now, I haven't used these guys since the tournament started and they'll get cranky if I don't use them at least once, so…" She bit her thumb, made a few signs, and then slammed her hand to the ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" A huge cloud of smoke billowed out into the air before her, and then cleared to reveal a massive purple snake, thicker than a tree trunk and hundreds of feet long.

"Naruko-sama, how may I be of service?" it hissed in a surprisingly human voice.

"Nagaida, we have to crush this genin in order for me to win the chunin exams." Naruko was standing on its head, pointing at Haku. "She's already slowed down by my genjutsu, so this should be easy."

"Yes, Naruko-sama…" The snake's head rose into the air slowly, in the controlled manner of predators that have already narrowed down their prey. Haku lowered herself into a defensive stance, but she was clearly still affected by the slowing genjutsu and was unlikely to be able to dodge the snake's attack. After a brief moment of stillness, Nagaida's head shot forward, but moments before its attack landed Haku jumped forward towards it.

Its jaws snapped shut, but before it could swallow or move back, it shuddered violently. "What is-" Naruko was unable to finish her question as she was knocked backwards when Nagaida's jaws flew open and, in a crunch of shattered bone, Haku punched open its fangs and stepped out. She was bleeding heavily from one leg and covered in the snake's saliva, but alive and moving with her full speed again. That's clever, Kame thought, she moved forward into the bite to minimize the damage and then the pain of having her leg bitten shook her out of the disabling genjutsu.

Nagaida shuddered as it rose back up into the air, but Haku didn't let it go far. She dashed forward and slammed a fist directly into the snake's stomach, then when it bent over she landed an uppercut into its jaw that sent another couple of bone fragments flying from its mouth. The huge snake visibly wavered and then wordlessly disappeared in a puff of smoke, presumably returning to the Ryuchi Cave.

Naruko growled as she landed, throwing a fireball at Haku that was easily evaded. Haku closed the distance and swung a fist forward so quickly that she seemed to simply blink up next to the tree that the Uchiha was next to and shatter it instantly. Naruko can't fight her with taijutsu in this state. One solid hit, and it's over. Naruko rolled backwards and made a few signs, but as she came up into a crouch Haku was already standing behind her and grabbed her by the back of her clothing.

She turned with the opponent in hand and then threw her up into the air, dashing up to join her. Is this it? Sureki got put down by this move in a third gate state, so if she hits Naruko with the Hidden Devil I think she's done for. Haku spun, swung out a leg, and then seemed to falter and weakly launched Naruko towards the ground and didn't finish the combo. Oh, no… Kame could see the smoke that most chakra constructs left behind drifting off of her skin. Did she seriously run out now?

Still, Naruko hit the earth hard and Haku landed beside her and swung out a leg, catching the Leaf girl in the midriff even as her muscles shrank and her skin lost color. Naruko went flying and a last-minute Wind Cushion Jutsu was barely enough to soften her impact against the arena wall. Haku completely lost her aura, now standing weakly with both arms hanging at her sides. The burns that Kame had briefly forgotten were now ugly and raw, and the cuts she'd taken over the course of the match were bloodied. She looks so tired… but, if Naruko doesn't-

As if to spit in his face, Naruko chose to stand up at that moment, looking equally hurt after significantly less hits. The way she was favoring one side reminded Kame of his own stance after breaking a rib on his first mission, and she coughed a blood spatter onto her shirtfront. Glancing down at the dark red stain on the light red clothing, the Leaf kunoichi laughed. "Huh, out of everyone in the tournament, the jutsu-less one ends up being the only person to draw my blood. Still…" She flicked her eyes up to Haku, who appeared to also be looking at the bloodstain. "This match is over. Sharingan Secret Art: Blood Vengeance."

Haku froze up. What? Does she have another line of defense? Kame rocked backwards in shock. Another ace in the hole that she held in reserve this whole time!? I've never heard of that jutsu before… Naruko sagged backwards to lean on the wall. "You looked at my blood, which is enough to catch you in this genjutsu I invented. Now, have fun running through all your negative memories, starting with the bad ones and getting worse and worse until you've re-experienced all the pain in your life."

She's… she's not ending the match… Kame growled in anger, tightening his hands on the railing. This girl is putting Haku through mental torment when she could just end it here and now. This is just like what happened to… wait… He turned to Miriki, eyes desperate, but the Kosuki boy was already staring out towards the field with Hatogan active. However, after a few seconds of nothing, he swore and shook his head. "I can't. I think they put a barrier in place between the matches, because I can't get a lock on Haku. Maybe if they put it over the stands as well, Ginsenbo wouldn't have been able to…" he trailed off.

Haku… Kame looked towards the field in helpless horror. His teammate had dropped to her knees, gazing up into nothingness and not moving. What are you seeing? The townspeople hating you? Tetsute and Rakuyo- "Mother… Father…" Haku's voice, while weak, drifted over just loud enough for Kame to hear. What!? Gaara said she had no memories… Wait, Naruko said that this jutsu dragged out even memories that people had repressed. Is she seeing when her clan was wiped out?

Kame remembered, for some reason, Sureki's attempted words earlier that day. He said he saw Gaara's chakra color, and then made a non-sequitur transition to Haku's seal… wait… Kankuro had never left the little viewing area, and Kame whirled around to face the older man. "Kankuro," he said, forgoing the 'Master' title in his intensity, "tell me the truth. Was it Gaara who destroyed Haku's chakra network?"

Kankuro's face hardened. "I can't tell-"

"I don't care if it's an S-class secret, just answer me!" Kame's eyes blazed at the thought of the only person who'd watched over Haku at all being the same one who destroyed her dreams.

Kankuro took a deep breath, glancing around at everyone near them, before grunting in submission and nodding. "Yes."

Part of Kame reeled at the news, but before he could let himself succumb to the thoughts racing through his mind he forced himself to ask again. "Then was Gaara also the one who blocked off her memories?"

"Yes." Kankuro's tone got more aggressive, as though he was gearing up to defend his brother.

Kame started to ask again, but a sudden wave of killing intent from the arena caused him to flinch and turn to see what was happening. Haku was on her knees, head in her hands, with the cloth over her shoulder blades ripped open and revealing a complex sealing mark that was glowing slightly and emitting a dark mist. Is this… the tentail's power? But how could… is her rage weakening the seal?

In his morbid curiosity, though, one more question entered his mind and he asked it before he could think about the repercussions. "Did the Hidden Sand kill her family?"

Kankuro's face lost its defensiveness, and turned somber. "I can't..."

"Yes, you can- no, you have to." Kame wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"Kame, you don't want to know, trust me on this." Kankuro wore an expression of helpless regret.

"Look, I'm pretty sure I already know the answer from how dodgy you're being, but I'm gonna ask one more time." Kame felt his faith in the Hidden Sand, already shaken loose by a number of recent revelations, waver in the balance. "Did. The. Sand. Wipe. Out. Haku's. Clan?" After a long, long silence, Kankuro responded without meeting his eyes.

"No, we didn't wipe her clan out. She did."

As the words left his mouth, Haku started a scream that turned into an unearthly wail, and Kame felt the killing intent multiply until he was all but paralyzed. He forced an unresponsive neck to turn and look at the battlefield, where Haku was no longer… Haku. She was standing on two crouched legs, her arms held defensively and ending in long, clawed hands. Her entire body was cloaked in purple chakra and the very air itself around her seemed to be warping inwards and growing darker. Her face was unrecognizable through the swirling chakra, but on top of the purple mass sat a single line that looked like a closed eye. Behind her, there were two tails slowly floating in the air, with a third one emerging to join them.

Is that really Haku? Is she still in there, or does the tentails have control? The tormented sound quieted to a stop, leaving the arena strangely quiet… and then the eye opened, revealing a red circle that turned towards Naruko.

Then, faster than she'd been before, faster than Kame could see, the creature that Haku had become was standing before Naruko and swinging an arm forward. Proctor Kenken somehow warped the weakened Uchiha over to him, shouting, "Everyone, please leave the arena in a calm and orderly fashion!" The crowd murmured and then roared, a mass exodus of people fleeing the monstrosity in the ring.

Haku's swing had hit the wall and destroyed a three-meter-wide chunk of it, with more crumbling away by the second. She turned around and made another screeching noise, then flashed forward towards the two other shinobi left in the arena. "Earth Style: Catapult Launch Jutsu!" Kenken yelled, and he and Naruko were sent flying just before Haku's next strike created a barren crater out of where they'd been standing. Can I call her Haku, anymore? She's given in completely to the tentails…

The tentails opened a mouth gap in its face and roared, but the chakra that built up there seemed to just dissipate instead of blasting forward. This only made it more angry, but by then several shinobi of various villages were coming down into the ring to join in the efforts to subdue it. It turned slowly, seemingly taking in the various shinobi and jutsu being mobilized, and then disappeared from sight and reappeared behind the mid-air Kenken. The leaf jonin threw Naruko towards the stands at the last minute, trying to shield himself from the attack that was coming-

But instead of following through, the tentails turned to track Naruko with its one eye and then blinked over beside her. One attack from that thing, and she's done for… I have to help… but what if Haku's still in there and I hurt her? Kame remained frozen in place, but others didn't. Kakuzen made a bridge of wood leading up to the stands, which Gunaji and Sagino ran up. The tentails raised its arm to swing at Naruko, but Gunaji arrived to grab and move her while Sagino took on a stone shell and braced to block the blow.

But as soon as the rocky defense appeared, it simply faded away when the tentails opened its mouth wide and inhaled. Sagino seemed to start to collapse as a stream of blueish chakra was yanked from her into the tentails' body, but before she could fall over the arm swung and landed a brutal hit directly to her side. Her body was sent hurtling out into the arena, but Kame could tell she was dead from way her body was twisted and the sheer amount of blood. The shock of watching someone he knew executed so mercilessly forced the emotions out of his mind and left only a strangely calm and logical voice.

Sagino is dead, he thought. Haku is lost somewhere inside of that tentails form, which none of us genin stand a chance against. He watched impassively as the genin up in the stands came running or falling down to the arena floor, watched Gunaji collapse over his dead sister's body. Watched Naruko stumble among them and then twist in fear as the tentails landed beside their group, the sheer force of its arrival knocking them back. Kakuzen forcibly pulled Gunaji back away from the monster. Good plan, Kame contemplated, there's no way that any of the genin here stand a chance against Haku in this state. Maybe some of the jonin, and most likely the Kage, are our best hope. Judging from that roar earlier, the tentails can't use mass area attacks. Numbers could work… no, weaker ninja grouping up won't help thin, since jutsu seem to be ineffective. The Kage need to get involved.

For the moment, they seemed to be still in their box for some reason. The gathered jonin, mostly leaf but a scattering of members from other villages, engaged on the tentails, raining projectile attacks upon it. The hail of kunai and shuriken seemed to actually hit it, eliciting a roar of anger, but then all the attacks in the air and any shinobi too close to the tentails were knocked back as a wave of dark energy rolled outward. Huh, there's four tails now, Kame thought. That's probably not good.

As the fourth tail emerged, the tentails emitted a thick black mist, blocking any sight of it. The unnatural fog swirled around but stayed in that central area, with none of the ninja willing to approach it… and then, a patch of the fog whisked outwards, deceptively peaceful, as a dark form tore out from the cloud and blurred into visibility in a spot occupied by one of the ninja and clutching said ninja in a huge claw.

Kame, still in his stunned state, could only mentally state facts. It's larger now, maybe ten feet tall, but it's hard to tell when it's hunched over the way it is. The arms are longer, as long as the body, and the hands are stretched out into claws- those are probably deadly. There's no aura anymore, just a dark form of black and purple with the one red eye. Haku's completely gone, isn't she?

The man trapped in its claws screamed and struggled, and a few ninjutsu were fired off against the tentails, but each one in turn was simply swallowed up into its maw. It held out the arm, and the captured shinobi's chakra seemed to drain out of him, swirling up his body and into the tentails' clawed hand. I remember when I looked into tailed beasts… they were said to be heartless monsters, but later proved to have personalities. That's why villages don't hunt and imprison them anymore, instead allowing them to choose their jinchurikis. However… whatever Haku has become, it doesn't seem to have any objective other than killing.

The man's cries of pain choked off and he slumped in the tentails' grip. It dropped him onto the earth of the arena, then stomped down where his body lay- but he was gone, whisked away by a patch of sand. Oh, looks like the Kage are finally entering the fray. He remembered the theoretical battles and matchups he'd enjoyed setting up as a child. The Raikage, Hokage, Kazekage, and Tanikage against the tentails jinchuriki. Who will win?

"Haku! Stop this, now!" Gaara had the tone of an angry parent, not the authoritative voice of a Kazekage. "You have to reassert control over the tentails, before it's too late!" The tentails tilted its head confusedly, then thrust an open palm forward… but nothing happened. In a small bit of humor, it turned to stare at its hand, shook it a few times, and then thrust it forth… but again, nothing happened. Is it trying to use some sort of jutsu?

Gaara pushed two open palms to the earth, turning it to sand, and then straightened up as platforms of the newly made sand lifted all the shinobi combatants out of the arena. With all the forms of people rising up, it was a stark contrast to see two ninja leaping down onto the ground- Shira and Rock Lee had decided to attack.

In quick succession, they opened up to the sixth gate and fifth breath and engaged, battering the tentails back. Its huge, devastating swings were uselessly slow and easy to dodge, and it was unable to consume the chakra of the two jonin because there wasn't any. Huh, Kame thought, I guess it would be ironic if the tentails ended up losing to two taijutsu users… but their initial assault wasn't indicative of the outcome. As they forced it further and further back, the tentails screeched and then inhaled towards them. Their chakra-enhanced bodies lost much of their strength, and as the last vestiges of their energy was taken away, they slowed significantly and were forced to try to dodge backwards.

However, Shira wasn't quite fast enough, and the tentails shot forward and swung forward. No... Shira...Millimeters away from the airborne man, the claw stopped its swing and the creature seemed to hesitate. Is that… Haku? Could she be trying to regain control?

Gaara swept in, lifting the two taijutsu users out of the arena like everyone else and tossing a few harassment attacks of sand. "Haku! You have to snap out of it! I'm sorry about your family, and I can never apologize enough for what I did to-" He had to stop talking and drop straight down as the tentails' fist blasted into the space where his head had occupied, going straight through his rock-hard sand shield.

It screeched as it fell down after him, smashing into the ground hard enough to throw up a huge cloud of dust. When the haze cleared, the tentails, now with a fifth tail extended, seemed to open its mouth wide and inhale into the air. All of the Kazekage's sand lost its power and streams of blue chakra funneled into the tentails' mouth, including a thick one that came from Gaara's chest. It's getting stronger with each succesive tail, Kame noted.

When Gaara staggered backwards and then attempted to reconnect with the sand, but in the moment of vulnerability as he bent over to touch the ground the tentails was already upon him. Gaara threw up a shield of sand that was ineffective, and the huge claw swung straight into his body, crushing his midsection almost completely. Somehow, the sight of the monster killing Gaara snapped Kame out of the haze he'd been thrust into after watching Sagino's death, and he felt… too many intense emotions to keep track. Terror of Haku, terror for Haku, rage towards the Kazekage, fear for the Kazekage…

But the claw kept going all the way through Gaara's body, and then he crumbled into sand. A sand clone! Hope returned to Kame's heart as the real Gaara floated down from the stands, with Naruto and Sasuke to his sides. The Raikage and Tanikage were nowhere to be seen, but… with Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara's efforts combined, the tentails stood no chance. Haku stands no chance, Kame realized. That's her in there. They might kill her to protect the Leaf village.

A glimmer of light brought his eyes back down to the field, where the tentails had raised an arm towards its three opponents. The space before its open palm had a tiny, yet incredibly bright light in it, which grew slightly with each second until it was in a line- no, a crack. Is… the seal breaking? The crack opened wider and wider, until there was a veritable spiderweb of glowing lines, and then…

The space simply exploded, and a massive burst of pure power, light and heat beyond anything Kame had ever seen, blazed into existence in a cone going upwards. How… the tentails is so powerful… wait, Gaara! That attack had been aimed to hit where the three shinobi were standing, and as the blast of energy had completely destroyed a huge chunk of the arena. A small wisp of smoke… that's chakra-construct smoke, Kame realized. They were shadow clones!?

"I can't believe that you hid this from me, Gaara." Naruto's voice came from the high and off to the left of the arena. When Kame looked up, he saw the Seventh Hokage standing at the edge of the stands, looking down at the tentails. He glowed with orange energy, a spinning orb of chakra held in his right hand.

"I can't believe I never found it out." Sasuke said, opposite to his old rival and standing off to the right. He had rinnegan out in full force and chidori crackling.

"I'm sorry." Gaara floated high above them. "But right now, the tentails is here in the leaf, and five tails out already… we can't let this go on." He waved a hand and the sand on the arena floor shifted, coming in to pile around the tentails' legs. "Solid Sand!" Kame, who'd grown up in the desert, recognized the sand becoming sandstone and hardening. The tentails shifted a little bit, obviously without much effort, but the sand held firm. "Can you two end... can..." Gaara trailed off. "We can't let her go any further, but... try not to kill her."

"Agreed." Naruto orange chakra blazed bright as he and Sasuke dropped into charging stances. In a burst of speed, the two ninja darted down their respective walls, seemingly confusing the tentails. It crouched in the same spot as they approached rapidly. But they intend to attack it with ninjutsu? Why… Kame noticed that they held their jutsu behind them, keeping their bodies between their weapons and the tentails. So far, this thing has only shown the ability to consume things directly in front of it, and even then only in a small area, so if they only bring the offensive jutsu around at the last moment, then maybe…

They neared it, legendary offensive jutsu coming from both sides, and Kame involuntarily twitched forward in… Fear? Anticipation? But as they flashed in the final few meters, he felt only remorse for the mistakes he'd made that had landed Haku in this mess.

"Chidori!"

"Rasenshuriken!"

After a flash of light that forced Kame to look away, the arena was left completely silent. He turned back slowly, afraid of the image of Haku's lifeless body being left there between the two heroes of his childhood.

What he actually saw somehow filled him with even more horror than that. That sardonic, emotionless corner of his mind chuckled a little bit at the fact that he couldn't have been more wrong. A seven-tailed monstrosity stood between the two ninja, five meters tall and with massive hands reaching out with fingers at least a foot long. All traces of sage mode, tailed beast mode, and rinnegan were gone, leaving the two men standing there and looking far older and weaker than Kame could ever have imagined seeing them.

Then the tentails' hands shot out, securing Naruto and Sasuke, and it disappeared, cracking the ground where it had stood. For a few seconds, Kame frantically scanned for any sign, and then some sixth sense told him to look up. There he saw the monster spiraling downwards, Naruto and Sasuke still clutched in its hands in a move strangely similar to the Lee clan's Lotus. Its two opponents were either unconscious or completely drained of chakra, because they didn't seem to be moving or resisting at all even as they hurtled downwards in a move that Kame was afraid would kill them.

The tentails spun faster and faster, dropping at lightning speed, and then crushed its two immobile foes headfirst into the ground, blasting out a huge cloud of earth and dust. The haze cleared to reveal a crater with the Hokage and Uchiha clan head both lying on the ground, dashing Kame's last hope that they were shadow clones. If THEY couldn't beat it, then… Kame froze as the single red eye snapped up to look directly at him. I'm dead.

But before he could find out whether his prediction would have come true, a flash of green heralded the the Tanikage jumping in from above and falling through the air just behind the tentails. Before it could turn, the man shouted, "Domination!" and slammed an open palm forward. Without ceremony, glowing chakra, or any effects, every trace of the tentails simply disappeared, and Haku fell to the ground battered and unconscious.

What... how is anyone that powerful...

The Tanikage straightened up, glancing down at Haku, and then simply walked off.