Chapter XXI - The Current Ninja World
A female with pale skin and long fuchsia hair tied back in a ponytail, a fringe covering her left eye, her eyes a shade of pale blue was walking in a deep forest. The wind gently blew her hair back, revealing a scar behind her right ear. This female, wearing a light pink kimono, suddenly stopped walking. The Kuraiya clan's symbol was on the back of the kimono.
The woman took a small breath as she extended her right hand. After gently cutting her hand with a blade, crimson red blood quickly came out of it in the form of a whip, which was now headed towards a tree. After quickly moving it side by side, and a faint groan was heard, the body of a tracking shinobi fell from the tree. His mask shattered apart, revealing a fresh slash to his neck. The woman sighed, lowering her hand.
"So... it seems like the Land of Lightning is still after me," she whispered softly, walking forward. Soon after, she stood at Kanabi Bridge. Very far ahead, she could see Iwagakure's entrance. She knew she was protected by the Land of Earth, as the Tsuchikage knew her. She walked forward until a small male with a cloth covering his eyes stopped in front of her, forming a smile. The Tsuchikage's hat was present on his head.
"Kaori Kuraiya. I was expecting you."
"Ah, yes... Lord Fifth."
"Please, just call me Owabi. You were a friend of my father, Onoki, so you're a friend of mine. Come. Everyone else is waiting for you."
"Right."
Somewhere in Sunagakure, a tall male with a white ponytail sat in a chair. Next to him stood a small girl, his granddaughter. The little girl clung onto the elderly man's leg, whimpering.
Outside of their house blew heavy sand, as the village was currently undergoing a sandstorm.
At the Kazekage's residence, Temari, who let her blonde hair straight down, stood by the window, looking outside. A female advisor with short, grey hair, stood behind her, holding a folder.
"Lady Temari, these are the reports sent back from the ninth of the squads dispatched earlier," she said.
The blond-haired Kazekage slowly moved her eyes from the window to her desk. The Kazekage's hat was on top of it. Also, next to it, was Kankuro's hat. It was a memento. A few years earlier, on an important mission, Kankuro was killed in a massive explosion along with twenty-seven others. News of the Kazekage's brother's death tore the village apart from the inside, allowing one of Osore's members, Hide, to slip inside of the village, stealing classified information. He also took the life of Temari's husband, Kichiro.
Temari turned around, giving her advisor a light smile. Taking the folder, she sat down, opening it.
"Thank you, Ayano. I'll review these immediately," said Temari. Ayano bowed before leaving the room.
"Water Style! Water Wall!" yelled a female's voice. It echoed from the training fields of Kirigakure. An adult girl with medium-lengthened blue hair thrust her arms forward, with a mass amount of water spiraling around her. Dozens of kunai bounced off this defence, all of them dashing in random directions. Former Mizukage, Mei, stood behind her with her arms crossed, watching.
A male, looking just like the woman but with shorter hair, stood some distance away, performing hand seals. He smiled and ran forward.
"Good form, Mya! Try this... Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A large line of water in the shape of a dragon formed in front of him, dashing towards the woman. The woman performed the same hand seals, smiling back. The Water Wall quickly morphed into a dragon, colliding with the boy's Water Dragon. Both were submerged with water, being blown back by the impact.
Now sitting on the ground, drenched, they laughed as they shook a little. Mei smiled warmly, walking to the Mizukage tower's entrance, waving for them to follow.
"Mya, Mio, that's enough training for now. Come along, Mya, you have important duties to fulfil as the Mizukage," she said, her long hair swaying in the wind. Her daughter, Mya, and son, Mio, quickly got up, following their elderly mother.
In Kumogakure, bolts of lightning scattered across a field. Killer B, now with a more masculine body tone, and short, fairly light blonde hair, pointed at a boy wearing a black cape. His brother, Ay, taught him lightning style jutsu a few months back. Now he was trying to perfect it.
"Hey, ya fool, ya fool! Think you can stop this next move?!" he snapped, the electricity pulsating from his body intensifying. The boy's adjusted the red shades on his face before putting his hands in his pockets.
"Yeah, just come at me, old man," he sighed out.
"Yo, here comes the killer Thunder Lariat, bro!"
Killer B appeared at the boy's side in almost an instant, delivering a massive clothesline to his neck. The boy smirked as he drew his head forward, his neck crystallizing. He headbutted B in the face, sending him back. B recovered, laughing.
"Nice hit, kid. How about one so fast it'll close ya lid?!" he said while wobbling around, confident with his verses. He never had stopped his rapping gimmick.
"Come on, old man. I don't got all day."
"Yeeeee! Thunder Lariat!"
Somewhere in the Land of Fire, the ground rumbled occasionally. Sounds of shuriken and kunai clashed against each other, the sound of feet pacing across the ground. In a large cave would be Itachi and Zuko, immersed in their battle.
Itachi appeared in front of Zuko, throwing a kick to his chest. Zuko would raise his arm, blocking it, before spinning around, bicycle-kicking him in the face. Itachi moved his head to the right and left as Zuko threw several quick punches while he was still in the air.
The Uchiha clan member gripped Zuko's arms as he landed on the ground, widening his eyes. His Mangekyou Sharingan blazed as Zuko stared back, smirking widely. They stood there, trying to overpower each other. Every time Itachi would push Zuko back a foot, he would push Itachi the same distance back.
After a while, they both jumped back, sliding on the ground. Itachi lowered his body, leaning forward. Zuko did the same as he closed his left eye.
"You're good, Itachi... Very good. But it's not enough at all to defeat me!" said the younger black haired male.
Itachi ignored his comment and dashed forward. Zuko frowned before dashing forward as well.