I'm posting 29 and 30 because it was too long to be a single chapter in my opinion.

Thanks again for the reviews. I really love them. And if anyone has suggestions on council meeting comments or what the ninjas should do (read 30) PLeASE help! :(

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"Get shelter." Ikiryo announced over the com.

"Gozu, Mezu go in. Ikiryo you in?" Yumi glanced to the hole that was still open, but Ikiryo was nowhere in sight.

"No on northwest side." His voice told her he wasn't moving. Probably a barrier of his own... safe but alone.

"Got it." Determination seeped into her voice as her feet dug into the ground.

Yumi ran as fast as she could towards Ikiryo.

Hisssss.

Her skin burned as a drop hit. Like acid, the rain was like acid. She started weaving, hunching over, moving quickly.

Hissss. Hisssssss. Sssssss. She could hear them eating at her clothes. Even with as many layers as she had, it started to creep through. She had no time.

Faster, she ran. Her eyes dead locked on Ikiryo, who now saw her speeding towards him.

"Let me in, let me in, let me in." Yumi jumped to enter his barrier, one way or another.

"Shit!" Ikiryo reacted, unprepared for the speeding Yumi.

Ikiryo's hands went into a flurry as Yumi descended down into his barrier. He just barely opened it in time and then abruptly went to closing it. Yumi crashed into an instant halt, the smell of burning dissolving cloth, skin, and hair reeked.

"Wha! Ha. Jeeze." Yumi did half a roll and started removing her layers, cutting off pieces of damaged-still-sizzling-hair, and stripping down into shorts and her wrap. The acid hadn't made it to those, but still she had burn marks on her arm, parts of her shoulders, back, and legs. Putting her hands together, she healed herself – before smirking idiotically at him.

"ARE YOU AN IDOIT!?" Ikiryo yelled. No wonder the previously murderous-looking, silent Kurokawa Taiki had become much more vocal and loud after finding this girl! Who could put up with her madness quietly!?

"I tend to think not – though, I do think I use to be a bit faster before…" Yumi's words trailed off as she looked at her still sizzling clothes that were being consumed to shreds.

"So did you know and that's why you started singing that song?" Ikiryo eyed the kid. Yumi's eyes slowly moved to meet his own. He knew the answer instantly - she didn't know, she was just being Yumi and had decided to sing a bit to keep her focus.

"Kami, what a coincidence…. If it wasn't for Mizuchi…" He started to mutter before looking at her sharply. "What would you do if we weren't here?" He's tone accusing. She had no jutus ability.

"Ran faster carrying people…" She grinned like an idiot causing him to roll his eyes. Yumi didn't have a good response for his question.

"Mizuchi." Ikiryo spoke, not to her.

Silence

"Jinish" Yumi now spoke, concerned.

The two looked at each other. Nothing. No communication.

Ikiryo broke the stare, looking out past his own barrier into the acid rain. The zetus bodies had vanished. Only down pouring acid remained.


Rain. Acid rain.

Sizzling, boiling, burning, destroying,

Acid rain.

Tomohisa went back to working on the seal. There was nothing he could do but believe the two Jieti-erito, Ikiryo and Yumi, were alive.

Nobusuma, Tenome, Mizuchi, and Jinshi were taking care of the village's protection from the rain. Gozu, Mezu, and Basan were also there to help in case there were any incidences. Only Tomohisa was on his own, but having been first rank before and one of the eldest - he wasn't ill equipped to handle anything that came next...

"Shit." Was all Naruto could say. He could smell the burning chemical.

"Something like this... it's... impossible." Mizukage spoke. She could perform an acid breath to dissolve her enemy, but not a rain that could cover an entire hidden village.

"To combine jutsus and posions into this..." Leader Mubi from the Hidden Village of Rain spoke next, also in shock. The rainfall was so dense they could no longer make out the village in the distance, could hear nothing but the falling sound of acid.

"This is all a genjutsu, right?" Leader Shizuka of the Nadeshiko village asked. Her women warriors were some of the strongest, but they had no defenses for something like this! Her whole village would have been instantly consumed. A thought that now terrified her.

"This is a forbidden Jutsu from long ago, even before my time..." Tsuchikage finally admitted. "Scrolls and info for them were supposed to be completely destroyed, but back in the times of war, people were not so trusting. Someone must have kept something, and that something was found."

"You've seen this before!?" Raikage roared out. None of his ninjas could do anything close to this.

"Not I. But there were stories... Rainfalls that would slaughter lands. Humans that could be turned to demons, never ending chakra attacks, ninja-monsters that could not be seen, heard, or tracked. The horrifics of those stories made most believe they were just tales passed on to keep us from going too far during battles, but there were those who always wondered if it had been true..." Tsuchikage answered.

"In our spying, we would find similar stories. Nearly every ninja history had tales of jutsus and abominations unlike anything we've known. That, there would be assassination groups unrivaled by ninjas. Weapons which possessed more power than a demon. And even, ways to make mindless tailed demons... But if we came across any of those scrolls, they were long hidden or destroyed before my time." Hanare added, glancing towards Kakashi briefly. She was trying to support the alliance, although she was from a village known to be suspicious... He, the man she had met in leaf, had trusted her once upon a time.

"Three days unless we sacrifice someone..." Tomohisa spoke randomly. If the enemy was using old forgotten terrifying forbidden weapons and jutsus, they might need it to defend against such horrors. But the axe was not a weapon of peace or defense. It counted it's victims and was already in the terrifying 40s, and only 3 away from hitting the dreaded 44th. (4 and death sound similar, thus the trepidation)

"We need to free ourselves. Leaders, protectors, and guards all give hope to those around." The Jinkun answered. Sacrificing someone was a horrible act. Most of them however, understood the needs of sacrifice. Most but Yumi. She would be the only one he would have to reckon with over it.

"What do you mean sacrifice?" The Hoshikage, Sumaru, spoke. The hidden village among the stars once had its own past with sacrifice, one that was not remembered with pride or honor.

"In the Jieti-erito - all will choose to sacrifice themselves, if it comes to it." Tomohisa answered, though his answer had nothing to do with what their meaning of sacrifice meant. The axe didn't kill the user, but if the user had killed... the axe would ensnare them completely.


...

"What demon powers are these?" A Suna ninja asked, easily over heard by Basan.

"They will get the Kazekage and others free, and then we'll show them our true way." Matsuri reminded them.

"Yes we must not give up! Power of youth will prevail!" Lee added in, though Guy too was looking at the rock sky above them - silence.

They all could hear the rain outside. The hissing of acid. The stench.

Basan moved quickly to get to the other jieti-erito who were in the village. Only Yumi, Ikiryo, and Tomohisa were outside.

"If it gets into the underground hidden water..." An elder spoke.

"We and your medical team are both monitoring and protecting that." Tenome spoke up to them.

"We have the ninjas escorting everyone into safe locations and the barrier squad setting up a second barrier." A senior ninja answered looking over the elders. The kagekage was not here so they were stepping in.

"How do we stop it?" An elder asked another. They didn't know. None of them knew.

"The special forces have started investigating and are working to halt the rain." Another ninja step forward out of the shadows. - this one wore a mask.

"Water cannot fall from the sky forever. Not when we are playing with the temperatures and jet streams." Nobusuma cracked a smile. Beside him Basan joined Mizuchi in performing slow hands signs as Nobusuma held his own.

"It's shameful for us to rely on outsiders. Ninjas should be able to take care of their own." An elder muttered, thinking he would not be over heard.

None of the Jieti showed they could hear the whispers, but they did.

Bodyguard and ninjas never truly got along. Without the leaders, there would soon be a chance of conflict and resentment between the groups. It had already happened a couple of times where compromises or withdrawals on items had to be made.

"Protecting those who fight is more difficult... especially against something like this... Except for his axe, I've never seen anything like this before - other than during that great ninja war... but even that was not quite like this. We are going to need a better plan." Tenome used his genjutsu to relay to the others. Unlike Ikiryo, he could not wrap multiple people into a world of his choosing and cause hours of conversation to take merely a second or two.

"Evacuate the village."

"Use forbidden jutsus."

"Quiet the ninjas."

Three very distinctly different plans came back to him from the three. Tenome did not know which was the right path to chose. Generally his jobs did not involve large groups or working in large groups. This was a dynamic he was not quite accustomed to, and with a job this large and an enemy this powerful, he was feeling doubt.

...


"I'm going to say this again - You Are An Idiot." Ikiryo glanced over to the only other person with him in his protective bubble.

"We can agree to disagree." Yumi answered. Her clothing was now in shreds and she was trying to tie something together to cover herself more.

"No. That is a fact. No disagreement to it." Ikiryo responded. Just how had she gotten to be number one!?

He remembered her back when she first entered the certs, nearly 14 years ago. Kurokawa Taiki had been number one at that time and he (Ikiryo) had not even been close to being elite. He had looked up to that murderous, terrifying man and thus could not help to notice him yelling a small child who had their hands on their hips, glaring back. The girl was pint-sized, tiny, hair in braided pig-tails, scrawny, and boyish looking. However, she was more single-mindedly stubborn than anything and unafraid of the petrifying man. Kurokawa on had been so horrifyingly angry at her that over a quarter of the contestants backed out last minute... She survived to get an extremely low standing in the Jieti-group, but only by luck as the man who had raised her was the one trying the hardest to get to her and knock her out.

The next time he met her, she was entirely different. Kurokawa, the longest standing number 1 guard had died. Her eyes reflected no life and saw nothing but following through on the past. It was as if she had buried herself with him. At 13, she had made it into the last rank of the Jieti-erito. Because, Kurokawa had been jieti-erito, she became jieti-erito by the grit of her teeth. He knew, she would have accepted death before failure at that time. Tomohisa got first rank, only because of Kurokawa's death.

Her third time and fourth (her ages of 15, and 17) certifications, Tomohisa kept his standing as number one. No matter how he tried, he could not get to Tomohisa's level or close to. Also, sometime between those tournaments she had started to gain her soul back.. Others were starting to notice her as she became less of a kid and more developed. Everyone noticed her as the youngest to be a bodyguard, but also because she was his kid, or so they thought. Tomohisa and the Jinkun had known Kurokawa so they were the most friendly with her. Maybe watching over his daughter out of debt, except her family name was Minawa not Kurokawa...

The great war was when he really got to know her. Her endless strength, rapidly changing taijutsu style, the quirks, and that axe! She jumped in anytime someone was about to be fatally injured and somehow she could transfer the injuries to herself and then heal herself too. The axe which was Kurokawa, she swung as if it was child's play, a demon with clubs had nothing compared to her. But that was when he learned two secrets. The one about the axe and the other was - she could steal a person's charka with a single touch. It was also then he saw her lose it over failing to save someone, with a crying grieving face that did not belong in the body guard profession... Quickly he learned, she had never killed - then again, with stealing chakra, she never had to...

As the jieti knew more about her, they began to talk more. She was known for taking more non-bodyguard jobs than bodyguard ones, only coming into a job on special request or because it seemed impossible. The 5th tournament she was in, when she was around 19, he had taken Tomohisa's spot as number 1 and she got the 15th rank. But, she now had a crowd looking at her and even got some perverted followers including a Lord's son. When she was 21, and her sixth time fighting in the tournament he had knocked her out with a genjutsu, and thus able to stay far enough from her chakra leaching grasp.

At 23, the youngest ever, she took 1st place, and his passive observation became jealously looks and annoyance. Just how could the carefree, soulless, naive, innocent little girl get his first rank spot!? Just looking at her reminded him of these things. She did not belong in the body guard profession... but... she was one of the best.

.

"Ikiryo. Is this a genjutsu?" Yumi finally asked, seriously. The man had been deep in thought for awhile, so she let him be till she saw him start to come back from whatever it was he was thinking. Yumi knew he didn't exactly like her most days, but a respect or something was there on some level.

"I keep thinking that myself. Seeing how they come back after you hit them, something that didn't happen before... and now with this. But, nothing I do breaks it. And if it is then we are in a worse situation than if it isn't." Ikiryo answered, coolly looking her over. He was 23 years her senior... The thought of her strength in 23 years from now, given the strength she had at 11 and the improvements over the last 13 years, was unimaginable to him.

"I can't tell if it is or isn't either. I don't think it is, but I've never heard of anything like this before. Kurokawa use to tell me terrifying horrific stories trying to convince me to take a different path - but never anything this gruesome..." She paused, looking out towards the down pouring acid upon them. Years past her age shadowed her face from things she had seen or knew of.


"Didn't expect you to be helping them. Doesn't matter though. Everyone will soon be informed of the same."

The voice was not theirs. It was that clone thing again. Yumi and Ikiryo both stood looking at the man who was out in the rain, on the other side of the barrier.

"Who are you?" Yumi asked eyeing him. He was that clone/puppet.

"None one. But you are right, it's time to see the truth." A smirk appeared.