CHAPTER 25: LIGHTNING AND RAGE
The ground rumbled as small explosions erupted over the trees, but none of it seemed to affect Tsume, Kuromaru, or Shirokuma as the three stared each other down.
"Your village is under attack," said Shirokuma with a fiendish grin. "Doesn't that bother you? Aren't you going to go help them?"
"They should be able to handle it themselves," said Tsume with a growl peeking through her voice. "Konoha has many able ninja in it; my place is here with you, it would seem."
"Fate does have a funny way of putting people together, doesn't it…" mused Shirokuma. "It does help when one is the controlling factor, but still."
"So what did you have planned?" asked Tsume. "You just gonna talk me to death?"
"This guy's chakra is crazy…" growled Kuromaru softly. "He's nowhere near the ninja he once was; he's on a totally different level now – more chakra than both of us combined…a lot more…"
"Still talking to your pets, hm?" asked Shirokuma mockingly. "You haughty and self-righteous Inuzuka. You should have learned long ago that sharing the power with your animals only limits your progress."
"You would kill your closest friends for power?" asked Tsume.
"If it would result in my betterment…yes," replied Shirokuma calmly. "Come now, don't act so shocked! It's not that crazy an idea; after all, the Uchiha clan has practiced this over the centuries – in cover of darkness, of course."
"The Uchiha were destroyed because of such works," countered Tsume. "Down to one child, and even he fell into that same trap and tried to kill his best friend! Tell me: how this has made anyone better!?"
"Ah, you speak of Sasuke…" chuckled Shirokuma. "I've heard of that one. He is powerful, but his mind is cluttered. He would not hear Master Tetsuma out when we offered him a position in our organization. That Sasuke is troubled inside; half his heart obsessed with Akatsuki and power, the other half longing for the life of weakness and futility he left behind. Overall, however, he is nothing."
"And why is that?" asked Tsume, upon which Shirokuma's eyes grew crazed and an enormous grin shot across his face.
"Because," laughed Shirokuma with a hideous roar that echoed off the trees. "He feels guilt for his murders. That is a weakness that I never had and never will have! Ninpou! Kuma Hengen!" (Ninja art: bear transformation) Shirokuma 's growling intensified as his body began to grow before Tsume's eyes, clumps of hair appearing on his arms and face.
"What are you…?!" gasped Tsume. Before her, Shirokuma had transformed into what looked like half bear and half man. Huge claws protruded out of his hands, his muscles were triple the size they were before, and in his eyes the crazed look now became pure insanity.
"See, Tsume?" roared Shirokuma coarsely. "See what the Inuzuka have been missing out on? Look at me! Look at this power gained from my old bear companion!"
"This is…this is evil at its worst!" shouted Tsume. "You murdered your companion, and now you are nothing more than a monster!"
"Ha! Monster she calls me!" laughed Shirokuma. "There are no monsters in this world, Tsume-chan, only those who are able to strike fear in others. Your clan is weak, just like the rest of your Konoha clods, and after I'm through with you, I'm going to tear out the hearts of everyone I meet in this stinking village!"
"So let's get it started then," growled Tsume. "Ready, Kuromaru?"
"Very," replied the husky. Tsume then fell to all fours, and shouted out with a horrific, raspy growl.
"Kemono hengen!" (Beast Transformation). With a puff of smoke Kuromaru took on the appearance of Tsume, although somewhat more wild looking. Shirokuma looked on at the two and grinned with a laugh.
"Two Tsumes?" he asked. "If I wasn't here to kill you, I would be extremely turned on right now…"
"Gatsuga!" shouted Tsume (Fang over fang), and suddenly she and her clone began twirling rapidly, their fangs and teeth turning them into deadly cyclones. Like lightning the two them smashed into the ground and flew at Shirokuma, who stood motionlessly.
"Boring…" yawned the bear ninja. The two spiraling shredders sped towards him, getting closer and closer with each fraction of a second, and just as they were a foot from his body he finally moved. With horrific speed his clawed fist shot out, delivering a crushing blow that cleaved through and connected with both spirals. Tsume and Kuromaru flew back, crashing and tumbling to a stop upon the ground.
"Gah!" cried out Tsume, blood trickling from her mouth. Away from her, Kuromaru returned to his normal state and got to hit feet, his handsome silver fur now tarnished with several spots of blood.
"Master Tetsuma has helped me reach new heights of power…" said Shirokuma slowly. "Power that you could never can handle. Even the mighty Country of Lightning fell to my power; hundreds upon hundreds of their ninja fell upon me, and all of them died in various painful methods. But please, Tsume-chan, don't give up. Fight me with your full strength…for my enjoyment, of course." Tsume got up, wiped the blood from her chin, and growled as she stared the bear ninja down.
"Kuromaru! Again!" she commanded. "Kemono hengen! Gatsuga!" Once again Kuromaru transformed into a second, more wild-looking Tsume, and the two resumed the violent, blindingly-fast spinning.
"You Inuzuka and your 'bite first, plan later' mentality!" chided Shirokuma. "Some things never change, do they?" Shirokuma swung mightily again with his fist, but instead of flesh he made contact with nothing but air. Kuromaru was gone and Tsume had stopped just short of his range, and Shirokuma found himself flat-footed and open to attack.
"Got you," said Tsume with a low growl, and instantly she resumed the Gatsuga, crushing into Shirokuma's chest and sending him flying back through the air. "Kuromaru! Now!"
"What?!" shouted the bear ninja as he flew listless through the air. Below him he heard the ground crack and rumble, and with a spiraling slurry of dirt and grass Kuromaru's Gatsuga shot up from the earth, striking Shirokuma squarely in the center of his back.
"GAH!" cried out the bear ninja as his body flew higher into the air from the Kuro's strike. Tsume and Kuromaru both watched as Shirokuma rose then plummeted through the air, finally crashing into the ground hard and releasing a fair-sized plume of dust and dirt. After a moment Shirokuma stood back up, holding his arm as though in pain.
"For all your stolen strength you still have at least one weakness," called out Tsume. "You took along with your bear's powers his inability to reject obvious patterns. After only one attack your mind fell for the trick and expected the same result. That is why you are now injured, and why we have the advantage. Give up now and we will allow you to live after paying for your crimes." Tsume waited for a surrendering reply, but instead was only greeted with slowly growing maniacal laughter.
"HA!" chortled Shirokuma. "Me? Give up? HA HA HA!" The bear ninja then pulled out from a sheath on his back a long, wavy katana and looked up at Tsume, his eyes filled with bloodthirsty rage the likes of which Tsume had never seen.
"Then there will be no mercy for you…" said Tsume softly.
"I don't need mercy!" shouted Shirokuma, breaking into a sprint towards Tsume and Kuro. "Die!!!" Shirokuma shot across the field at unimaginable speed, faster than Tsume or Kuromaru expected, and before they knew it he was already upon them, his katana slashing through the air at Tsume's neck.
"D-damn it!" she cried out, but her cry was met with the shriek of steel on steel as the bear ninja's sword was knocked back. A single kunai spun wildly through the air of away from them after striking the sword, and another voice entered the scene.
"Gee, mom," said Kiba atop of his magnificent white dog Akamaru. "You're embarrassing me!"
--
"Come out little girl! Raiko sees you!"
Moegi's body froze as Raiko's voice pierced her soul, igniting her fears all at once. Not since Pain had she felt this way, as though all her training, all her growth and courage – everything inside of her – was meaningless. Behind, Udon was already gone, and Moegi found herself all alone with this terror. Slowly she tried to back up, somehow to get away, but before she could even move a muscle the white-haired man with the crazed look on his face appeared crouching in front of her.
"You don't need to be afraid of me…" said Raiko. "I'm not going to hurt you…I'm just going to kill you. Gyah ha ha!" He then grabbed Moegi's throat and picked her struggling body up into the air, walking out into the center of the street with her.
"Trying to play the hero?" asked one of the ring ninja.
"Found this one in the shadows, Tonbo," replied Raiko, effortlessly holding Moegi up as she kicked and tried pulling his fingers from her neck. "But from the looks of her she's nothing but a weak little genin."
"So what will you do?" asked Tonbo. "Girls like her have a knack for causing trouble."
"She's so darn cute…" mused Raiko as he looked upon her rosy cheeks. "It just kills me to do this, but…" Moegi's face began to turn blue, and she stared with horror into Raiko's eyes, which now seemed to be looking past her.
"But what?" implored Tonbo, but before he could get an answer a boy stepped into the street a few yards away from Raiko, the boy's glasses glinting in the sunlight.
"Oh?" asked Raiko to the boy.
"U..U..don!" stammered Moegi with all the breath she could muster. The boy then began weaving signs with unusual mastery and precision.
"You will not hurt my friend!" growled Udon, his hands moving at an unbelievable speed. "I will destroy you if you do!"
"Call me crazy, but you remind me of that Nine-Tail brat I fought a few days ago," laughed Raiko. "He was a fair foe. You on the other hand…you're just a kid."
"I'm not going to warn you again!" shouted Udon, his hands still flying around in a blizzard of signs. "Let Moegi go!"
"Fine then," said Raiko plainly, and he threw Moegi at a wall across the street, where she crashed hard into it, leaving a deep cracked imprint then falling limply to the ground.
"Moegi!" cried out Udon, but Moegi did not reply.
"You challenged me, so you will fight with me," said Raiko in an eerily serious tone. "Now, let's begin." Udon suddenly felt weak, and his hands began to slip – a fact that did not escape Raiko's eyes.
"I'm not sure what you're trying to do, but you are taking far too long," stated Raiko, now weaving signs of his own. "But if it is to be Ninjutsu, then I can play too. Ninpo: raitesaki!" (Ninja art: lightning fingers) Raiko held out his right hand, his fingers outstretched, and with a crackle a bolt of lightning shot out of each finger, four in all. Udon leaped backwards a few feet just as the bolts zapped into the ground, his hands still weaving signs as though nothing had happened.
"He's a spry one, isn't he?" asked Tonbo with an amused tone.
"Weaving signs can't beat me!" laughed Raiko, shooting out another volley at Udon, who again deftly dodged them. "Don't they teach you anything in ninja school? Is Konoha really this pacified?!"
"When Pain attacked, most the good ninja were killed," suggested Tonbo. "It's only natural they would be left with the weak and useless ninja, the kind that would flee from such a deadly foe."
"What a pitiful village…" muttered Raiko. At that moment, Udon's final sign was set, but not long before Raiko sent out another barrage of lightning bolts from his hand. Udon, however, did not get out of the way, and almost instantly his body disappeared as the radiant bolts turned his body into ashes.
"Was that supposed to happen?" asked Tonbo, but Raiko did not reply. Disintegration was not a result of that technique; at most the boy should have been killed with burn marks across his body.
"To be destroyed like that…" muttered Raiko, his eyes growing wider with each moment. "It can only be a…" Before he could finish the pile of ashes vanished with a puff of smoke, and Raiko instantly knew this little boy had tricked him.
"Shadow clone?" asked Tonbo. "He's pretty good then…"
"He's just a kid…" grumbled Raiko as he looked from side to side and up to the rooftops. "For all I know he was just stalling to save his girlfriend here-…" Raiko suddenly stopped as he saw Udon again standing before them in the street, only now he was not weaving any signs. Rather, he stood somewhat lazily, his hands in his pockets and a bored look upon his face.
"What the…? asked Tonbo. The other ring ninja started mumbling in similar tones; the entire group seemed to be temporarily mesmerized by the sudden change in Udon's comportment.
"You…you're a punk…" muttered Raiko as he lifted his hand again. "Raitesaki!" As Raiko said these words, however, nothing happened – no sound, no light, nothing.
"You really should have been nice to Moegi," said Udon boorishly. "I told you, but did you listen? No."
"What is this?!" gasped Raiko. It didn't seem right to him; how could this kid, this punk little kid…how could he have this much power, power enough to stop his flow of chakra?
"Anyway, didn't you stop to think?" continued Udon in his monotone voice. "With that many hand signs, I had to be preparing something big? Well, I was, and it is big." Tonbo and the other ring ninja began to worry; they too now noticed the seeming lock on their chakra.
"I can still kill you with my bare fists!" growled Raiko, now walking quickly towards Udon, who stood in the same lackadaisical position and enraging Raiko even more. Suddenly, however, Raiko stopped.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you…" said Udon. Raiko looked down with shock as he found himself standing in a large puddle of sticky orange goo. "You can't get out now. My enshoku yumemiru hasn't failed yet." (Orange dream)
"Yumemiru?" gasped Raiko as his ankles, followed by his knees, disappeared into the goo. "This…this is genjutsu! You little prick! Release!"
Raiko opened his eyes only to find his entire party unconscious on the ground around him. He then stood up, Udon now standing a few feet away with a horrified look in his eyes.
"Uh…um…" he stammered as he slowly inched backwards away from Raiko exuding rage.
"You little punk…pulling that crap on me…" growled Raiko. "I've decided not to zap you with lightning; no, I'm going to cut your punk head off!" Raiko pulled out a kunai and rushed towards Udon, who now held a kunai in his trembling hands. Raiko's attack came quickly; with a clang of steel Udon's kunai was sent flying and with a firm punch in the gut from Raiko he flew backwards, falling onto his back gasping for breath. A shadow fell over him as Raiko looked down from above, rage listing like sparks of electricity in his eyes.
"You…" growled the white-haired ninja. "You are dead…" Raiko raised the kunai, and Udon closed his eyes tightly as his doom approached. What happened then was a surprise, however, as another voice interrupted them.
"Picking on children now, are we?" asked Kakashi Hatake from just a few feet away, Shizune, Chouji, Ino, Sai, and Konohamaru all standing behind him, weapons in hand and ready for battle.
New for Wednesday, January 14, 2009: STRUGGLE OF THE SAND – HELP ARRIVES
BONUS! Not really much to say today, other than GO UTES! WOOO!