Really sorry that it took so long for me to update this story. A lot of things came up and I didn't realize until now that it's been over a month since I last updated so I'm going ahead and doing so. Fortunately I'm doing it with a chapter that's a pretty big one. Probably helps that I'm posting this on my birthday. I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 25
Commencement
"Well, look at that. You missed, Sasuke." Suigetsu jested. "Or maybe you're just starting to get sloppy." His remarks didn't get any reaction from the Uchiha.
"So this is the team that Naruto said that Sasuke made for himself." critiqued Sakura to herself. As she continued to evaluate the opposition, she lingered a while on Sasuke. Recognizing where her thoughts were heading she shook her head. "Stop right there, Sakura. Now's not the time or place for you to become your old foolish self."
"How did you know we were coming?" Kin inquired. She got her answer when noticed a particular member of Team Hawk. "So that's how. I expected it to be you but I hoped that it wasn't. How can you be involved in all of this, Karin?"
The one identified as Karin merely smirked as she pushed up her glasses. "Well, isn't this a surprise. Kin Tsuchi. I heard that you became one of Konoha's pathetic lapdogs. You even became the apprentice of someone else who Orochimaru threw away." Her remarks caused Kin and Anko's anger to rise but fortunately both were able to refrain from doing anything hasty.
"Now isn't this interesting." Suigetsu expressed with amusement. "Apparently your former teammates are in a new team of their own and are after you, Sasuke." Again, the Uchiha gave no response. It was then that he took notice of the fifth member of the opposition. "Oh, they brought a gift too. They brought along the two-tailed jinchuriki. Think we'll get a bonus for also giving them the eight-tailed one?"
"They don't know that they were tricked." Anko figured out. Wanting to keep it that way, she decided to move things along. "No more chatting. Are you four going to give up or not?" Nothing was said by those on the other side. "Not surprising. Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." Giving a brief signal to Naruto and he understood what she was trying to tell him.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Standing behind Team Anko were two shadow clones. Moments later those clones used a henge to look like Yugito. "Flash Flare." In a blinding light the area was consumed by the attack.
When the opposition regained their sight they saw members of Team Anko going in different directions, with one of the Yugitos going with them.
"Which is the real two-tails with, Karin?" Sasuke inquired in a commanding manner.
The redheaded lady tried to do as she was told but shook her head. "I don't know. Those clones have the same type of chakra levels as the target. I'm unable to tell the difference." The thought of her ability being fooled was something that Karin didn't take kindly to.
Sasuke wasn't pleased by how things went but knew of a way to fix it. "Go after one of them. Capture the two-tails and eliminate who they're with." Those words being said his comrades left, leaving Sasuke there with the only other person there. "Clever move that you came up with."
"What can I say? I know how to use my jutsus wisely." replied Naruto offhandedly. "Thanks really should go to Anko. She came up with it as we were coming here. We thought you may have someone who can detect chakra, so we just had to make sure that my clones were as identical to Yugito as possible. Bet even your Sharingan can't tell the difference."
Sasuke didn't dispute the claim but the slight narrowing of his eyes confirmed the accusation. "Then why are you still here? Why didn't you hide like the others?"
"I thought it was obvious." Naruto's attitude changed from easygoing to complete seriousness. "I'm here to deal with you myself. And unlike before, you won't hit me with a cheap shot from behind."
Still the Uchiha maintained the same impassive demeanor. "I see you're still as delusional as before. Do you truly believe that you're a match for me?"
Instead of answering, Naruto vanished from where he was standing and was now behind Sasuke with a kunai to his neck. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Again no verbal response was given as suddenly Sasuke faded away. Before anything else could be done, a presence was felt behind him. "So be it." With sword drawn, Sasuke prepared to end things swiftly.
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"The plan's working." Peering over her shoulder Anko saw that not that not far behind was one of the members of the opposition. "This should do." Believing that they were far enough she came to a stop in a wooden area. The Yugito that was with her was a few steps behind the jonin.
Seconds later they would be joined by their pursuer. "You've stopped running. Does that mean you'll be handing over the jinchuriki?" Jugo inquired.
"Actually, I'm not. Couldn't even if I wanted to because…" Anko left the rest unsaid as right then the Yugito there became Naruto before going away in a puff of smoke. "Sorry but had to do something to get you all separated. It'll make things more fun than having it turned into a pile of bodies on top of one another. Which I must admit sounds more appealing when I think about it."
All of this didn't seem to bother Jugo as he simply sighed. "Then you leave me with no other choice. I have to kill you."
"You can try but I wouldn't count on it." retorted Anko. While she may have sounded eager, in all actuality she was a little apprehensive. "What is this feeling that I'm getting from this guy? It almost feels familiar." Forgetting about it for the moment, she decided to play things safely.
"Fire Styles: Fireball Jutsu." Using the fire attack repeatedly they continually missed. That proved to be nothing more than a distraction as Jugo avoided them; she used some of her snakes to wrap around him. As they held him the snakes bit into their captive's body, injecting their venom into his body. "That should do it."
"Don't be so quick to judge." said Jugo in low and ominous tone. "Sasuke's not here. Meaning there's nothing to quail these urges of mine." What he was talking about became clear as emerging from the side of his neck were black blotches that traveled over his face and body. "Kill, kill. I get to kill you."
Anko didn't give one of her witty comebacks as she immediately recognized what was going on. "Oh my lord. It's him. He's actually alive." In the first time in quite some time, Anko was concerned to go against the person that was in front of her.
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"Do you think this is going to work?"
"Hope so because I don't have a clue what to do if it doesn't." Going in their own direction, Kin and one of the Yugitos were being pursued by one of the opposition. They were passing a small clearing when Yugito had their left leg hacked off. A second later they disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Ah, so it was a clone after all." Stopping her running, Kin saw that the one who had attacked was the one with the zanbato. Too bad that it wasn't the real one because it would've led to this whole game of hide-and-seek would be over with."
"He just dismembered someone without knowing that it was a shadow clone. This guy just simply wanted to hack someone for the hell of it." Kin was quick to deduce.
"Oh well, them is the breaks I guess. The name's Suigetsu Hozuki and unfortunately for you, you got paired up against me. Not that I'm complaining." He than gave Kin's body the once over. "How about we forget about fighting and do something else that's physically? I'm sure you won't regret it."
All that did was disgust Kin. "Sorry, I'm already with somebody." Not wanting him to get away for making such an 'offer', she decided to give more of a response. "Besides, I doubt that you'd be able to satisfy anyone. Tell me something. Are you carrying around that large sword it to compensate for something that you're lacking elsewhere?" It was obvious to what that was being referred to.
As expected, that got rid of Suigetsu's toothy grin as he tightened his grip on the zanbato. "Thankfully Sasuke didn't say anything about not killing any of you. I'm not sure I would be able to do so if he did." Kin had no problem in agreeing with that unspoken terms of what was to come.
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"There's no point of hiding. I know you're here." To prove that she was lying, Karin threw a kunai at one of the neighboring trees. A second before it hit, Sakura leapt away and landed on the ground.
"My special ability allows me to locate any chakra when I focus on them. Also, I'm able to tell that little plan that your team came up to confuse us has ended." She then looked pass Sakura. "I know that the real two-tailed jinchuriki is with you." Again she proved to be accurate as walking out into the open was Yugito Nii. "Had her over and we may allow you and your team to go without any from of retaliation."
Whether either of them was actually considering such a proposition were unknown as Sakura stood her ground between Karin and Yugito. "That's not going to happen. It's very doubtful that you'll allow us to leave without incident." Reaching into her pouch she pulled out a kunai. "Besides, who's to say that our plan was foiled? It got all of you to separate from one another. Meaning that there's no need to worry about being ambushed from someone from our allies."
That refusal and revelation seemed to annoy Karin as she started to glare at them as her hands clenched up. "Fine then, be that way. I was being generous but you foolishly decline that grateful offer. I shouldn't be surprised seeing as whom I'm dealing with." That resulted in a confused look from the pink haired medical shinobi.
"I know that you were once Sasuke's teammate while he was in Konoha. From what I gathered he made the right choice in abandoning Konoha. There was nothing you could do to help him achieve what he has set out to do." There was no reply from the medical specialist as she had no clue what her adversary was talking about. Adjusting her glasses, Karin let out a cocky smirk. "As for now, it's time for all of you being dealt with."
Understanding clearly what that meant, Sakura tightened her grip on her kunai. "That'll be easier said than done. I'm wondering if you're even able to backup your boost." Again Karin reacted to remarks by her faces becoming nearly as red as her hair. Obviously the time for insults has come to an end.
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"Is this your best?" In front of the still impassive Sasuke was Naruto. "I was hoping for more of a challenge but I guess I overestimated you."
"Don't be so quick to judge." Naruto shot back. Luckily he was able to avoid getting killed from the attempted strike from the sword but he didn't come out of it completely unscathed as it cut him in his right side. Even with him pressing a hand over the wound, the blood still flowed out that soon his hand was covered by the life-giving fluid.
"You better end this soon, kid." advised Kyuubi. "The wound can be healed but it'll take time. You trying to avoid getting killed will just lengthen the process."
"Thanks for the good news." snapped Naruto. Removing his hand from the wound he saw that it was covered in blood. "I need to buy some time so I can heal." Coming up with something, Naruto decided to ask questions that needed answers.
"Why have you joined the Akatsuki, Sasuke? Wasn't killing your brother enough for you?" Only type of reaction that Naruto got was Sasuke's eyes narrowing slightly. "I guess that organization must be desperate for members if they got a two time traitor like you to join them."
"Akatsuki are just a means to an end." Sasuke professed. "They'll aid me in annihilating Konoha." This time it was Naruto who reacted by what had been said as his eyes widened. "For what they've done to the Uchihas it's only justified."
That didn't make any sense but it suddenly came to the blond to what the reason was for the newfound ambition. "So you learned why the Uchiha Massacre really happened." The shocked look on the young Uchiha's face was the most expressive he'd show since their recent encounter. "Itachi confided that bit of information during our last encounter. Curious though to know how you found out. Was it your brother before he died or could it have been the other Uchiha, Madara?"
To hide his continuing surprise about what his former teammate had said, Sasuke tried to return to the same stoic expression he had before but there was a slight edge of hostility mixed in. "Apparently you've learned a lot since we last met." Gripping tightly on his word, he readied to strike. "Makes more the reason why you should be dealt with so you won't be a bother later on."
"He's going to attack." As Naruto deduced, Sasuke came at him and with his impressive speed he managed to get behind the blond and stabbed his sword into him before he could completely turn around.
"I avoided your vital points but you won't be incapable of getting away anytime soon." Withdrawing the sword from him, Naruto crumbled to the floor. "If it weren't for Akatsuki wanting the biju that's sealed inside your body you be dead. Consider yourself fortunate that you'll be allowed to live a bit longer."
"Thought I told you to not be so quick to judge." someone spoke up from behind the Uchiha. Before he was able to really turn around he got slashed in the back. The culprit turned out to be Naruto and the kunai in his hand. "How did you-"
"How I manage to avoid your attack?" Naruto concluded. "The brief instant that you used your speed to get behind me I substituted myself with a shadow clone." His explanation was solidified as the Naruto that had been stabbed disappeared in a puff of smoke. "You may have the advantage when it comes to speed but I make up for it in other ways."
What had become routine, Sasuke had impassive look on his face. "I've seem to have underestimated your abilities." He followed his words by letting his Sharingan become active. "I won't make the same mistake twice."
Becoming just as serious, Naruto didn't let his guard go down. "We'll see about that. Unlike previous times, you won't be getting a cheap shot from behind." Without being said, the two of them knew that the talking was done with and the real fighting was to begin.
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"Fun, fun, fun. This is fun." Going crazy through a wooden area was Jugo. "Why don't you quit hiding and come out to play?"
Not allowing herself to be baited out from where she was taking cover Anko tried to regain her bearings. "He's completely different from before." That was an understatement as instead of the quiet and calm individual there was now a crazed wild man. It didn't help matters that along with the change of personality, the power that he now exhibited was frightening. This wasn't much of a surprise to Anko as she knew what the cause was.
"So this is how the person who the curse seal originated from acts. Can't say I'm surprised." Although it was nonexistent anymore, the jonin rubbed the spot on her neck that her very own curse seal resided. "He'll sure to be freakishly strong now that the seal is consuming his psyche. Just need to figure out a way to possibly using that to my advantage." Thinking quickly, Anko was able to put together a strategy.
"Enough hiding." proclaimed Jugo in more annoyance if everything. "Show yourself so I can kill you already." It sounds as if the mentally imbalanced individual was reaching his breaking point in this version of cat and mouse.
He wouldn't have to wait much longer as emerging from behind of the neighboring trees was Anko. Reacting seemingly out of instinct, the curse seal transformed Jugo's right arm to a bulkier one with extended claws which was quickly used as he rushed in and skewered his opponent. There was so much force behind the attack that it went through her and the claws embedded themselves in the tree that Anko was driven into.
"I got you. I got you. Now you're dead." Jugo's little boast came to an abrupt end as Anko became nothing more than a puddle of mud.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." From behind Jugo, Anko used a fire attack and have it consumed him in flames. As that happen there were sounds of screaming. When it was thought that it may have been the end, the screams started to become more like laughter.
To Anko's surprise, emerging from the flames was Jugo but he wasn't the same. His entire body was now encased in a brown and by there being no signs of any injuries from fire jutsu, a more harden skin that made him appear as though he was a completely different person.
"Oh, joy. You're still alive. Means that I can have more fun with you before I kill you." exclaimed Jugo and by his voice he was becoming even more crazed by the second.
"He's gone into the second phase." Anko quickly deduced. "Just when I thought he couldn't be more of a problem to deal with." She wouldn't have the opportunity to think about this new predicament as Jugo rushed at her and was struck with an elbow strike. "He's gotten faster."
Along with increase speed, his strength had grown considerably as the jonin was nearly knocked out. "Don't be dead yet. I'm not done having my fun."
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"Summoning Jutsu." Slamming both her palms to the ground two large snakes appeared before Kin and they instantaneously went after the opposition that was before them. They though were quickly taken out as they were hacked apart.
"You got to do better than that if you want to survive." Suigetsu jokingly advised. "Maybe hacking off a few body parts will help you become more motivated."
Kin chose to keep whatever curses that were on the tip of her tongue she instead threw a smoke bomb to the floor, temporarily covering any trace of her. A few seconds of hiding in the smoke, three senbon needles came flying out and went straight at their potential target.
Unfortunately, just like with the snakes, they didn't cause any harm as they were blocked by Suigetsu using the zanbato as a shield. "Nice try. Using that smoke bomb to make me think that you were going to try to create distance between us but instead use it to try for a sneak attack. Perhaps you haven't completely abandoned tactics that were taught in Oto. Probably doesn't help that you became the apprentice of the person who was the apprentice of Orochimaru."
"What I learned while in Oto wasn't something I look back fondly on." replied Kin but her voice didn't come from the cloud of smoke but from behind him. Reacting quickly, Suigetsu turned around blocked the attempts of the needles being stabbed into both sides of his neck. "But they do prove to be affective."
What she meant became apparent as a two inch blade popped out of the front of her right shoe. Kicking her leg upward the blade was lodged into her adversary's chest. Removing the blade, Suigetsu dropped his weapon before falling to his and clutching his newfound wound.
Believing that was the end of it, Kin went to reach for the guy's weapon but Suigetsu grabbed her outreached hand before she could. "Are you too quick to think that this fight is over?" Quickly wrenching her hand free, Kin created some distance between them as she tried to figure out what was going on.
Grabbing the sword, Suigetsu stood up. As he got back up, it could be seen that there was no blood coming out of the wound in his chest. What was coming out was actually water. "Going for my vital points won't work. My body is mostly liquid." He demonstrated by briefly turning his right arm into water.
"Because of that ability, I'm able to move my organs to other parts of my body." As he spoke, his wound healed up. "In other words, unless you know directly where they are, you can't kill me. Sadly for you, the same can't be said." Charging in, he planned on ending things.
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"There's no trying to hide." In the center of a clearly in a woodland area was Karin. She was just standing there, not even trying to hide as she saw no need to do so. "I know exactly where you are." Those words were followed by her throwing a kunai at a seemingly random direction.
Random proved to be in accurate, because when the kunai hit a tree, Sakura emerged from behind it and came out into the opening. "I'm a sensor and once I've locked on a chakra signature it's impossible for me to lose track of it." Karin smugly informed. "You're blond haired friend was lucky to find a way to get around my ability."
"That's Naruto for you. He finds a way to accomplish something that seems impossible." Sakura boasted. Surprisingly, she went in for a frontal assault. For her part, Karin just stood there and showed no sign of defending herself.
The reason for that became apparent as Sakura fazed through her before completely disappearing. "Trying to confuse me with a bushin won't work. I'm able to determine what jutsu is going to be used by the amount of chakra being used and if I've seen it before. That's just more of a reason why me and Sasuke a made for one another." professed Karin in a seemingly girlish glee.
"That girl has her priorities in disorder." thought Sakura. Didn't help that how the redhead was acting reminded her of how she acted when she was younger.
"You do realize that she likely knows where we're hiding?" Yugito's question did hold some merit as they were currently hiding behind one of the large boulders that were there. "We should just start double teaming her. It'll make it more difficult for her to keep track of us if she's defending herself."
"It's too risky." murmured Sakura. She wisely kept glances over to continually know the location of the adversary. "We don't the full extent of what this girl is capable of. Also you got to remember that you're one of the people that her group is after. Having you get into a physical confrontation with one of them isn't a wise decision."
"Yet you allow your friend, Naruto to fight their strongest member by himself?" Yugito quickly retorted. "Look, I'm grateful for you wanting to help and protect me but you have to recognize that I'm not going to simply stand back and do nothing? If so then you're more foolish that I originally thought." There was great resolve with each word that was said.
Sakura really wanted to make an argument but couldn't bring herself to do so as she saw the expression on the young Kumo woman's face. "I swear. I've got to wonder if all those who have a biju in them are all this stubborn." Letting out a frustrated sigh she looked at the blonde. "All right, you win. If you're going to get involved then wait until the moment is right. Good enough for you?" Yugito wasn't all that appreciative of the plan but knowing that was the best she was going to get she gave a quick nod.
Adding this little addition, Sakura set her plan into motion. Going into her pouch she pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it over to where his adversary was. Soon the area was consumed in smoke. Before it had a chance to disperse she maneuvered elsewhere.
"This changes nothing." Karin announced within the smoke cloud. "Even with this, I can still detect where you are. You're only delaying the inevitable?"
"We'll see about that." Focusing chakra into her hand, Sakura leapt into the cloud of smoke. With the technique that was taught to her by Tsunade, she slammed her fist into the ground, causing everything around the epicenter shook and crumbled in what resembled a miniature earthquake.
"You must be getting desperate." stated Karin. She had escaped the essential assault of the attack and had created distance between her and the attacker. "Did you actually think that you'd be able to take me down with such a barbaric attempt?" The smugness was easily detected in her voice.
"Actually...I didn't." What followed was a sudden streak of blue flames rushing toward Karin. Fortunately she noticed the oncoming attack and tried to get out of the way but didn't come out of it completely unscathed as her right side was grazed by the flames.
"Damn it, almost had her there." reported the one behind the recent attempt. Standing straight up Yugito let the blue flames that encased her entire left arm to extinguish. "I couldn't rip out her entire side with that strike."
"Don't worry about it." Sakura reassured. "You were at least able to hit her. Guess you were right about working together to deal with her." Briefly the two women exchanged agreeing nods.
Examining her newfound wound, Karin cursed silently to herself as she kept a hand over it. "Do you really think that going at me at the same time will change anything? You're willing to try but don't expect the result to change."
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"This is getting monotonous." Hiding behind a tree, Kin tried to create sometime to figure things out. That wouldn't be the case as moments later she had to quickly duck as the tree that she was using was cut completely through like a hot knife through butter. Standing on the other side of the freshly created stump was Suigetsu with the sword on his shoulder.
"So running is your game plan, isn't it?" mockingly questioned Suigetsu. "You showed such promise at the beginning but now this is getting sad." Right when that was said, several needles struck various parts of his body.
Pausing for only a moment as he looked at where all the needles had stabbed. "An interesting idea you came up with. Throwing those needles all over my body at once in the hopes of hitting one of my vital organs and kill me. Unfortunately…" Suigetsu let that sentence hanging as the needles stuck in his body fell off him in drops of water. "…that attempt has failed. Maybe I should end this before you embarrass yourself even further."
"Now isn't that hypercritical?" Kin countered. Standing straight up she stared at him in defiance. "You talk as though you're really something but that isn't the case. All you've done since this fight started is hack away with that large sword. One could assume that you're depended on it to fight." That opinion didn't sit well with Suigetsu as his toothy grin became a scowl.
"Oh, did I strike a nerve?" inquired Kin in a mocking manner. "Only other thing that you've shown was basically having your body become a liquid. Most likely that's the reason why Orochimaru kept you around for so long. He probably wanted to somehow incorporate that ability for his use. It couldn't be because of your fighting ability because honestly, it's nothing to really speak of."
"Nothing to speak of you say?" Suigetsu repeated. He had his head tilted downward, making it impossible to see his face. "How dare you say such a thing? You'll regret ever thinking such a thing." Tightly gripping the hilt of the sword to the point that his knuckles turned white he rushed at her. His intentions were clear. "I'll hack you to pieces."
Narrowly avoiding the attended swipe at her head, Kin got behind Suigetsu and again hit him with several senbon needles. Like before they had stabbed into various parts of his body. "We went over this before. This method of attack won't stop me."
"That's why I decided to modify this attempt." Kin's words started to become clearer as Suigetsu noticed that attached to the needles were steel wire. "Funny thing about water. It's a good sound conductor and unfortunately for you, I have a way to use that to my advantage." While still holding the wires, Kin started to perform a series of hand signs. "Subsonic Jutsu."
What followed was Suigetsu's body starting to quiver uncontrollably. Unable to hold on anymore the large sword fell to the ground with a thud. "Wh-What is this?" Peering down he saw that portions of his body actually started to ripple like water. "What have you done?"
"I thought you would've figured it out already. High frequency sound is being sent throughout your body. Normally this would only do minimal damage to a person. But since your body is mostly liquid, it'll pack more of a punch." Kin would follow that statement by pumping even more chakra into the jutsu. The result was Suigetsu reacting even more to the point that his entire body was rippling and was starting to grimace in pain.
"Guess I judge you too quickly." Suigetsu admitted. "You made me believe that you were going for my vital spots. In actuality, you were getting more to lower my guard long enough so you could do this." As he spoke, his body began to look as though it was melting. Slowly his body was losing form and was starting to resemble a puddle. "Wonder if the rest of your team will be as fortunate as you were." No longer to maintain a physical form, he became a puddle of water with only what appeared to be a face within the middle.
"Who's to say?" Kin answered truthfully. Reaching into her coat she pulled out apparently a small tuning fork. "The chances of them getting hurt are a possibility but I have faith that they'll all cone out of this." As Kin spoke, she was pumping a good amount of chakra into the tuning fork before tying one of the threads that were still connected to one of the senbon needles to it. "Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to see if I can aid them. But first though, you need to be detained for the time being."
One at a time Kin repeated the process of taking out small tuning forks, storing chakra into them and tying the threads to them. In the end there were several forks stuck in the ground around puddle form of Suigetsu. "To help prevent you from escaping, I've infused a portion of my chakra to these tuning forks. They'll sustain my Subsonic Jutsu for a few hours. While they won't be as strong if I was actually doing it but it should do the job."
There was nothing else said as Kin left, to go find the others. While she had façade of someone who was self-assured, it was the complete opposite of what she was truly feeling. "Please be all right you guys. Hopefully I'll make it to them before it's too late."
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"What does it take?" That question kept repeating in Anko's head as she continually tried to stop the…thing in front of her. Everything that she had used didn't have any long last affects and only seemed to briefly slow him down. The same couldn't be said for her as it felt as though her body had been thrashed.
As for the thing that she was fighting, they weren't even stopping moving around, wrecking that were within reach. "Come on, come on. Don't be done yet. I haven't had enough fun yet." It was obvious that Jugo was becoming more craze as things went on.
"How the hell do I stop this guy?" wondered Anko as she maintained a safe distance from the raving lunatic. "His curse seal is stronger than any other that I've seen. Clearly it's overwhelming his mind, making him want to go on a rampage." the jonin mentally evaluated. At the same time she placed a hand over the spot of her neck that her own curse seal once was.
"Can see why Orochimaru became so enamored by such a thing. He just keeps on coming and unless I use the Twin Snakes Mutual Death Jutsu I don't see a way to stop him." When Anko started to feel as though that was the only option, an alternative came to her. "It's a long shot but I don't really have much of a choice."
Going into her coat she pulled out some shuriken and a roll of wire. Tying the threads to the shurikens she threw them so that it caused the wire to wrap around a few times around Jugo. When the wire had tightened enough on their target she started to do a few hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Fire Jutsu." Another stream of fire flowed out of Anko's mouth and attached itself to the wires. Following the path that was made by the wires, the fire made their way to Jugo and quickly consumed him as well.
What happened next was something that had started to become repetitive as Jugo showed little damage from the fire attack but a something that was indeed a surprise was that the curse seal that the orange haired individual. The seal had altered his body even further as it turned his skin had seemingly become a form of armor and a version of a mask covered his face. "I'm bored now. You're not fun anymore. I kill you now."
"You keep thinking that. I'll make you change your opinion." Using a kunai Anko slit her palm open and did another succession of hand signs. "Summoning Jutsu." The customary cloud of smoke came with the jutsu but unlike the previous ones that she's done in the fight, when the smoke dispersed there was a gigantic purple skinned snake.
"What's this? Who dares summon me?" demanded the large snake. Looking around he soon found the culprit. "It's you. You better have a good reason for summoning me."
Recognizing the obvious threat behind those words, Anko tried to give a reasonable excuse. "Please, Lord Manda. I beseech you to deal with the obstacle before us." She gestured to Jugo who had halted when seeing the large and menacing new arrival.
There was no immediate response from Manda as he shifted his cold gaze between the only other individuals there. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Anko considered. She knew that the chief snake summoning wasn't the most loyal of its kind. Even Orochimaru had trouble getting him to do what he wanted.
All of a sudden, Manda swiftly dashed for Jugo who was caught by surprised by the sudden move couldn't react quick enough to avoid being literally eaten by the snake. For a moment, Anko thought that was the end of it but that was promptly disappeared when it was seen that Manda was struggling to keep his mouth close. The reason why soon became clear as slowly but surely the chief snake's mouth was being forced open and the cause was Jugo as he was using both his arms and legs to pry the jaws open.
"You can't stop me." proclaimed Jugo with assurance. That could be disputed as every now and then began to give into the strain that he was under. "I will live on. I'll never be stopped."
"A funny thing about living." professed Anko as she looked on what was going on before her. "You never know when the time will come to an end." Almost as though setting it up, the struggle came to an end as Manda was finally able to snap his mouth and in the process, ended Jugo as the force behind the closing bit him in two.
While one half of his body fell to the ground, the other half was swallowed by the snake. "It is done." announced Manda. "Your enemy has been dealt with."
"Thank you for your help." Anko quickly acknowledged. "You're assistance was duly appreciated." Although she was indeed grateful she was still a bit uneasy being as close as she was to the snake. "I won't forget it."
"Make sure that you don't forget that." Manda warned. "Normally I would require a sacrifice of one hundred humans for my cooperation but since you and your apprentice have been more respectful to my kind than the other two who had signed a contract with us so I was generous. However, this was a one time deal. Don't expect such charity a second time." With that last warning, Manda disappeared, returning to whenever it was that he came from.
Now that was taken cared of, Anko was going to leave when she heard something. Looking over to where it came from she saw that the upper half of Jugo, the half that wasn't eaten, was still moving around. Slowly she made her way over to the body.
When Anko was doing that, she noticed that Jugo's curse seal was no longer active and he had reverted back to his original form. Also, along with the lower half of his body being gone, so was Jugo's left arm from the elbow down. Despite all that, Anko remained on guard as there was no guarantee that he was completely helpless.
"I can't feel anymore." murmured Jugo. Whether that was being referred to his missing limbs or simple rambling due to blood lost was uncertain. For the moment he at least wasn't being crazed. "My bloodlust is gone." His eyes were looking all over the place, not focusing on one thing until he caught sight of Anko. "You're one, aren't you? Someone who once possessed a curse seal as well. You must understand what it's like."
Again, Anko touched the spot that her own curse seal was. "I do but not as much as you would. Considering how the curse seal originated with you." She gave Jugo's body was a quick once over. "You're dieing. You don't have much longer to live."
"I know and I'm okay with that." acknowledged Jugo with calmness. "It will put an end to all the carnage that I help to create." As he spoke he started to become incoherent and losing focus on everything around him. "At last I can be at rest." With would almost seemed like a sigh of relief, Jugo finally gave in to his injuries and died.
Certain that it was not some ruse, Anko looked down at the lifeless body and couldn't help but feel a bit remorseful. "Despite how he acted during the fight, I feel sorry for him. Force to suffer from such a burden and not being able to really deal with it. He's at least freed from it."
Regrettably, all the adrenaline that came from the fight came to an end and alone with it, a large amount of pain swept over her body. "Damn. Even if he was a tortured soul, it doesn't change the fact that my body is hurting like hell." Unable to stand any longer, she collapsed to the ground. "I'm just going to go ahead and get some rest." With that last thought, Anko lost consciousness.
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"Damn it. Hold still." Again going for a strike, Sakura narrowly missed Karin. Briefly off balance she was hit with a palm thrust by the redhead. Not enough to seriously hurt her but enough to give Karin time to make some distance between them.
"Maybe you should give up already." Karin advised. "All your attempts to stop me haven't worked. Just surrender the jinchuriki and walk away." A thought must've come to her as a smirk appeared on her face. "Better yet, hand over that blond haired teammate of yours as well. He's a jinchuriki too, isn't he? Doing so may help improve your chances of leaving here alive."
What was said wasn't something that Sakura appreciated hearing. She was close to going after Karin but was stopped when Yugito placed a hand on her shoulder. "Is that why you haven't tried to kill either of us yet? Wanting to capture me and Naruto? I don't think so." Both Sakura and Karin didn't what she the blonde was getting at but were curious to see what it was.
"You're incapable of killing us, aren't you?" No retort was made and Karin was starting to give Yugito a heated glare. "Simply put, your only redeeming quality is your sensory ability. Why else would you be here if that wasn't the case?"
All the mocking remarks were doing what they were intended to do as Karin became angrier. It didn't help matters that there may have been some truth behind the accusations. Thinking back, Sasuke never denied that was the reason why he wanted her to be a part of his team.
Refusing to believe what could be true, Karin focused on the cause of the doubt that lingered in the back of her head. "Stop speaking such nonsense. You know nothing." Going into her weapon's pouch and pulled out two kunais that she had in each hand. "I'm sure that Sasuke won't be too upset if you were more injured than necessary." With one last sneer the redhead went after her target.
The one that Karin went after first was Yugito. Swiping with both kunais she hoped to get a good shot in but was being continuously evaded. It continued to go that way until the blonde happen to back into a tree. Seeing this as an opportunity to deliver a serious wound she tried to thrust the kunai forward but just before hitting, Yugito crouched down, allowing the weapon to embed itself into the tree trunk.
"Have you forgotten that she's not the only one you have to deal with?" asked Sakura from what sounded like from the other side of the tree.
Sound of breaking wood was the only warning that Karin got as she got out of the way just before the tree shattered in a million splinters. The source for it turned out to be Sakura using her enhanced strength to punch the tree to where it seemed to have exploded. "Damn. She dodged it."
"Not entirely." commented Yugito who was sitting against what remained of the destroyed tree. She had crouched enough to keep from being hit by any of the debris. What she was alluding to was that a good amount of the slivers of wood had embedded themselves into Karin's right thigh. Wasn't a serious injury but it would make it difficult for her to get around for a while.
Being basically made a fool of once again only infuriated female member of Team Taka even more than she already was. Without giving much thought, Karin threw the other kunai that she had in hand as hard as she could. Whether it would actually hit its intended target was something that she could only hope to happen.
Due to the position that she was in, Yugito wasn't able to get out of the way in time. Just as she decided to sacrifice her shoulder to the upcoming weapon, Sakura stuck her forearm into the path of the weapon and took the blow instead.
"Shit." Silently cursing she gripped the handle of the kunai and pulled it out then tossing it away. "I know I'm a medical specialist but that hurt like hell." As Sakura vented she was using a medical ninjutsu with her other hand to heal the wound.
"Thanks. I owe you one." Yugito appreciated. Not wanting to be opened for another attack like that, she got back to her feet. Glancing over to her companion she saw that the wound she received was fully healed. "What should we do about her?"
"Don't know. She might not be able to kill us but she could become a problem later on." Those comments infuriated Karin but she kept herself from expressing it. "Maybe we should take her out."
"No, wait." stopped Yugito. "I got a better idea." The smile that she was giving was like the cat ate the canary. The analogy would be somewhat fitting, given the type of demon that she was within the blonde.
What followed next was Yugito's entire body being consumed in blue flames. Along with them, an inhuman power was slowly growing from within her. Wouldn't take long to realize what that was.
The flames began take shape to where it resembled a gigantic two-tailed cat with glowing yellow eyes. "How about I just eat her?" The voice that was used wasn't the one that belonged to a young adult woman but a beastly, practically demonic one. Included with the change was the smile once shown became even bigger that helped to show the huge fangs that the creature now possessed.
Looking up toward the giant creature, Karin was starting to second thoughts about the entire situation. Unknown to her two adversaries didn't know was that during the whole fight she was occasionally keeping track of the chakra signatures of her teammates.
"Suigetsu has been immobilized and I can't even detect Jugo anymore. Did he actually get killed?" The mere thought of that being the case was hard for Karin to comprehend. Focusing all of her sensory ability on where Sasuke was and didn't like what she was sensing. "Sasuke and the nine-tailed jinchuriki are still going at it and from the looks of it, they're not going to end anytime soon."
Taking all this into consideration and what was likely to happen if she remained, Karin did the only thing that sounded reasonable. Turning around, she literally sprinted out of there. "Forget this. I rather live then stay here and die."
Sakura quickly went followed to prevent her from escaping but was stopped when a few flash bombs went off before her. When the temporary blindness was gone, there wasn't any sign of the runaway redhead anywhere. "She got away."
"Let her go." voiced the still demonized Yugito. Giving one last toothy grin, the blue flames began to disappear. Soon they were gone and in their place was Yugito, once again in human form. "Doubt she'll be coming back. By the way, why didn't you get frightened by my demonic form as well?"
"This wasn't the first time I saw someone use a biju to such an extent." Sakura explained. "Naruto used a variation of his own on a few occasions. While different, the method is the same. Still, it proves to be a very useful ability." Her observation was followed by a smirk.
Returning the smirk, Yugito started to leave. "Guess I misjudged you guys. Apparently you're not as an annoyance as I thought." Sakura was annoyed by that comment but let it slide. "We should go find the others. No telling how things turned out for them." Soon both girls hurried off to find their comrades.
Again, I hope that this makes up for not updating for so long. As I was working the story out this was a chapter I was concerned on doing as doing battles, particularly important ones, isn't one of my strong points. Hopefully I did a good enough job that it didn't feel like a letdown and did what was needed to make the fights seem important.
As for when I'll update again, I'm not sure but I hope that it'll be sooner than this one took. Reason being that the fight between Naruto and Sasuke will be continuing with that chapter. Until then, see ya.