Kaibunkage
Arc III
Chapter VII
"True bonds last even after death."
- Nohara Rin
It was quite remarkable that the two of his three surviving enemies were both women and members of the Hidden Smoke Village. One of those said women was now fighting alongside with him, displaying tremendous strength that made him respect her more. She was showing, not just physical strength, but mental and emotional strength as well, prepping their allies up to continue fighting while discouraging the enemies with one monstrous blow to the ground.
Though the real battle was just beginning.
That thought ran through his mind as he saw Haruno Sakura pause in her fight, staring down a man unfamiliar to her, but very familiar to Kageno.
"Sakura of the Salamander," Sakura glanced at the Mizukage as he spoke beside her. "I can handle him."
"Who is he?" questioned the medic.
"He is the reason Kirigakure is known as the Bloody Mist." Kageno explained. "My predecessor… Yagura."
Sakura stared at the former Mizukage and then back at Kageno. While she was not at the Kage Summit in Iron Country, she had heard of the outburst that Kageno made about the Fourth Mizukage.
"Mikadzuki Kageno…" Yagura began. "Judging by the robes you're wearing, you are the new Mizukage."
"I am." Sakura looked between the two men again. This was very weird.
"Has he left the village then? Are you ruling it on your own terms?" questioned the Yondaime.
"Tobi is the reason you've been resurrected, as well as the reason that I had to kill you." Now Sakura's eyes widened. "The Sanbi is safe, its host now residing in Kemuri and being trained by the Kyubi container. We have lost the Rokubi to Tobi and all but the Kaguya Clan has been steadily rebuilding." Kageno bowed a bit. "All in all, I have fixed everything you wanted, Yagura-sama."
"Very well then." Yagura said, reaching for the staff strapped to his back. "Before we begin, have you killed Kisame yet?"
"No." Kageno answered before glancing at Sakura. "Leave us. This battle doesn't concern you."
Sakura left, looking over her shoulder momentarily as she saw the two men separate from one another, preparing to battle. While she still thought of Kageno as one of the shadiest people in the world, she actually hoped that he came back alive. Or at least took Yagura to hell with him if he dies.
"Doki, above you!" Chiyo called.
The large man swung his battle-axe, creating a wave of rainbow chakra that slashed three of Sasori's puppets. Sasori had surrounded them with thousands of puppets made from shinobi from all over. There were even a few deceased Hoshi Nin that was a part of Sasori's collection. Chiyo was splitting her attention between battling her grandson and checking on Matsuri, who was going through some terrible pains. Hokuto was fighting as many puppets as she could to keep Matsuri safe as well, though they were having some trouble.
Sasori was an S-ranked shinobi for a reason.
As for Sasori, he was amused. He had witnessed Hokuto put up a fight before, back when he and Deidara chased Shiori out of the Land of Demons. Apparently the Hidden Star had created adequate shinobi, to say the least. He was almost anxious to know just how well the Hoshikage battled.
Sasori soon caught Doki's axe coming down on him and quickly moved. The earth where he once stood shattered instantly as Doki's powerful blow collided with the crust, debris flying into the air. Sasori commanded two puppets to attack the man's back, only for Hokuto to use her Mysterious Peacock Method: Beast to destroy the two puppets quickly.
"Damn woman…" Sasori muttered before holding his arms in front of him.
Using the flamethrowers equipped in the pipes in his wrists, Sasori attempted to blast Hokuto and Matsuri with a sea of flames. His effort proved fruitless when Doki landed in front of the flames and sliced the blast in half with his axe. The fire circled around Hokuto and Matsuri, and despite the heat, the two women were relatively unharmed.
"Thank you Doki." Hokuto said before carefully lifting Matsuri up. "I'm going to take her further in the woods and away from the canyons. Cover my escape."
Doki let out a grunt with a nod before dispersing the flames with a swing of his axe. Hokuto took that as the sign to flee, leaving the area.
"Now that she's gone," Chiyo said to Doki. "We can use wide-scale attacks without the fear of harming Matsuri."
Doki regrouped with Chiyo. "Is there a weakness to your grandson? You have beaten him before."
"The last time we faced one another," Chiyo stated. "It was the Kazekage who pushed Sasori and Deidara out of the village."
"I understand." Doki said. "However, Lord Kazekage isn't here. We'll need to do this on our own."
Chiyo nodded. "And we will."
Sasori stared at his grandmother. He remembered the first battle that he and Deidara had against Sunagakure in an attempt to capture Shukaku. Despite Gaara being the main reason their attack had failed, Chiyo played a role in the Akatsuki's defeat. Therefore, she would share the same fate that Gaara and the others would.
Just a small price to pay for the village one served, he assumed.
Sasuke could feel the numbers of the cursed seal army fade away and grimaced slightly. Orochimaru's seals were more or less the man's life support, but they did give the wearer a boost in chakra. There shouldn't be a reason for the Oto shinobi marked with the seals should be dying so quickly.
Unless they were trying to push themselves beyond their limits, of course.
"Tobi has bad news." Konan's presence caused the Uchiha to raise a brow. He really was not in the mood for her nonchalant attitude or Tobi's "bad news". "Your brother has broken free."
Now Sasuke frowned. "How is that possible? Kabuto and I have complete control over those resurrected."
"The only plausible answer is that the other eye of Uchiha Shisui has been found and has nullified your controls." Konan explained. "If that were true, then we'll need to find it and destroy it. If it's not…"
"If it's not…?" Sasuke questioned.
"Then the only other way for this to be so is that Danzo was the one behind it." Sasuke's brows furrowed. Though the chances of Danzo betraying him now were pretty small, there was still the possibility. "Those are Tobi's ideas."
"So it's either Shisui or Danzo, huh? It doesn't matter. I've beaten Itachi before and I can do it again." replied the Otokage.
Konan nodded. "Let's just hope the Kaibunkage fights him first again."
"What was that?" The woman showed no fear as the Uchiha glowered at her. "You think I can't defeat Itachi on my own? That I can't kill him?"
"He's already dead." Konan simply said as she turned on her heels. "And I know you can't. I watched his battle with Naruto. I know what your brother is capable of."
Sasuke felt his anger rising. How dare she, a subordinate, tell him that he could not kill Itachi after he had already done so? Did she really think that little of him? Did she really think that a dead-last like Naruto could ever surpass a genius like Sasuke?
"I will take care of Itachi." Sasuke's voice was firm and unwavering. He did everything in his power not to activate his dojutsu due to the irritation this woman gave him.
Konan, however, kept her normal stoic appearance. She had dealt with a true Uchiha genius before and several bloodthirsty men. There were not many who could put fear in Konan whether she knew she could beat them or not. However, picking a fight with Sasuke was not the best thing to do now. They would need each other to survive this war, despite victory being a very small possibility in Konan's mind. She would let Kisame do as he said he would and kill Sasuke after the war is over.
If Tobi allowed it, that is.
"Good luck." was the only thing the woman said as she left the room.
Sasuke let out a quiet grunt as he returned to his former thoughts. Or so, he tried. He could not shake out the words Konan had said. In reality, he knew that whatever Naruto had done against Itachi had lingering effects that lasted for at least three days. His only concern was that, after he defeats Naruto, those same effects would weaken him and someone like Sakura would finish him off. Or maybe that would be the time Danzo and/or Kabuto decided to betray him?
"Karin," Though his voice was hardly loud enough to be considered a yell or demand, Karin was at his door in no time. "I need you to find someone for me."
"Hai Sasuke-kun." Karin replied. "Who is it?"
"Itachi."
Mikadzuki Kageno was a genius who, not only out-smarted her and Kakashi, but out-powered them as well. He had complete mastery over the element water that made the Nidaime Hokage look like a novice. Yet, for some reason, Sakura could not understand why Kageno did not just put Yagura away. Sure, the other man was at one time the Mizukage and was probably powerful in his own right, but Kageno could level armies if he had enough chakra and a large source of water. Defeating one man shouldn't be anything stressful, right?
"Using your own version of the Hozuki Clan's techniques is quite smart." Yagura stated. "Seems as if you've grown these past years."
Kageno only grunted. If only he could find a weakness at the moment and exploit it would he accept such praise. But he could not. Yagura, though not as proficient in water-based ninjutsu as Kageno was, had a counter for everything. Taijutsu and ninjutsu were rendered useless against Yagura's Water Mirror Technique and Kageno was not a big fan of genjutsu. That was the reason he kept Kiyohime around.
When Yagura moved to attack, Kageno let out a small sigh of relief. If the former Mizukage was attacking, then it was just a matter of waiting for an opening. Yagura may have been skilled with his staff, but everyone made mistakes. Kageno had miscalculated in his bout with Sakura and Kakashi and apparently whoever resurrected the Yondaime Mizukage and others were not expecting the Kaibunkage to know the technique. Mistakes were pratically inevitable.
With evasiveness that only a truly qualified kage could possess, Kageno dodged Yagura's strikes. The hook of Yagura's staff would hook him like a fish if he allowed himself to be careless now.
Yagura saw an opening and spun his staff. While Kageno was able to dodge the larger hook, Yagura was hoping that the smaller hook would do damage to the man. His answer came when Kageno created a blade made of pure ice and blocked the second shot.
"Impressive." Yagura commented.
Again, Kageno did not think his counter was impressive. He was using his instincts more than foresight. Instincts are what the Raikage used, going in a blind rage and smashing tables whenever someone speaks badly of his father or brother. Foresight is what Kageno used to outsmart and trapped neanderthals such as the Raikage by predicting their actions.
After a few canceled strikes, the Yondaime Mizukage put space between himself and his successor.
"I'm truly impressed by your skills Kageno." Yagura said.
"Me too." Yagura froze as a blade of ice pierced directly through his back and out through his chest.
Yagura spotted the Mizukage in front of him revert to a puddle of water while stumbling forwards.
"Getting you to step directly in front of this exactly puddle of water was more trouble than it should have been. But eventually you did." Yagura was now more awed as he reached for the blade in his back. "Your arms will never reach it. And now I'm going to finish this so that the others can seal you off."
"You still miscalculate." Red chakra surrounded the former Mizukage, a large tail manifesting behind the gray haired man and grip the ice-made sword, pulling it out.
The taller, brown haired man only grimaced slightly. There was a report that the resurrected Uzumaki Kushina still had some chakra left from the Nine-tailed Fox. Kageno had already assumed the worst and deduced that Yagura held chakra from his previous biju as well.
Creating two Water Clones, Kageno charged for the former jinchuriki. Currently the former Mizukage had four plans in mind right now and was trying to figure out which one was the best. Kageno knew that more plans would come in the midst of their fight, but four was a good number to start with.
"Dodge this." Yagura warned as he thrust a palm forward.
Kageno and his clones easily did. During his chunin days, he was rather unlucky to be put in a block of coral. He'd be damn if he made that same mistake now. However, one of his clones was rather unlucky as Yagura's tail smashed into it.
"I see," Kageno said. "Your control remains the same. I don't know how you even retained the biju's chakra, but your control over it is still the same."
"Which means…?" Yagura began.
"Which means that you have a slight advantage." Kageno replied before staring up at the clouds building over them. "But only for the moment."
"So you're preparing to hit me with your Heavenly Waterfall." Yagura commented.
"Only after you've transformed. It would be foolish to use it now. You'd just get up." Kageno answered.
"Very well."
Sakura watched the former Mizukage do battle with the current Mizukage and a clone of the thin man. She was slightly confused about why Kageno was not as cold-hearted as he normally was, but figured that there was some sort of bond between the two men that still affected Kageno.
"Haruno-san," Sakura looked at the Iwa shinobi that spoke to her. "We have a large force of Zetsu moving our way. Underground."
The last word caused Sakura to sigh heavily. She actually felt more comfortable leading a group of children through a training exercise than dealing with things such as this. Remembering said children in her class, Sakura realized that they were probably back in Kemuri waiting for her return. She had grown on them, and they on her.
"Stand back." Sakura instructed. "And make sure that the Mizukage doesn't get himself killed. I won't be taking over his division as well." Sakura noticed the dark-haired man bristle at her command. "I don't care about your personal feelings for the Mizukage. Watch him!"
The Rock Nin nodded as Sakura took her fist and slammed it into the ground. The shaking earth split and opened, several White Zetsu flying out.
"Impressive…" The man from Iwagakure stated before hearing the sound of chirping. He turned to see Sakura powering up a Chidori. "That… That's Kakashi's signature technique!"
The pink-haired kunoichi smirked. "Believe it."
With that, Sakura dashed off to take care of the nuisance known as White Zetsu. She would have liked to see the ending of the Mizukage battle behind her for one good reason; Kageno. He has never shown emotion before, other than rage that is. Now he was hesitatant with emotions.
But Sakura didn't care. Just like the White Zetsu before her, she would destroy any and everyone in her path. And personally, she couldn't care less if it was the Yondaime Mizukage or the Godaime.
Udon sat quietly. Orochimaru's formerly hidden hideouts came in handy from time to time, that's for sure. He was able to heal some of his minor wounds from his battle with Konohamaru as well as catching his breath. Escaping a team of sensors was tiresome work, even with a distraction like Gyaku.
His mind then wandered to the battle. Isho and Ame were powerful in their own right and with Oto's help, was doing a good job at keeping the battles away from whatever Tobi was trying to summon. However, Udon knew that it wouldn't be long before the other villages spoiled Tobi's plans and made a fool out of him. Or so that's what Danzo had said. Udon believed his grandfather as no one amongst Stone, Rain, and Sound trusted Tobi enough to guard him twenty-four seven. Which is why if anyone were to die at the hands of the Shinobi Alliance, it was Tobi.
Udon's next thought was more or less about his well being. He was in no condition to battle Konohamaru again. Hell, due to the fact that he had nothing set up, Konohamaru would easily blow him away at the moment. Worse, he was dealing with a team of trackers from a village of assassins and lowlives. Ranmaru's eyes didn't miss much, Marashu could sniff him out without so much as a try, and Sayuri could detect chakra as well as Udon could. Then there was their teamwork. Sure, Team Ebisu worked as a single unit for most of their lives, but Konohamaru normally did the heavy work. And if he didn't, he surely did the coup de grace. But with Team Naruto, it was different. They could each play as a diversion and allow the others to hit the killing blow. Ranmaru could use genjutsu to keep his target steady for the werewolf-nin Marashu. Marashu could intimidate his opponent by circling them in the form of a wolf, long enough for Sayuri to sprout up and end her opponents with her dirks. And finally Sayuri could paralyze her opponent with her red lightning, giving Ranmaru a sitting target for a Rasengan.
"There has to be a weak spot…" Udon muttered as he assessed the team.
There had to be one, right? There was no way that a team was unbeatable. To beat the Sannin, take out Tsunade first to avoid her healing Jiraiya and Orochimaru, play on Orochimaru's pride to get him to attack alone, and then deal with Jiraiya before he reached Sage Mode. Of course, it was harder than it sounded, but that was the soundest plan in Udon's mind.
But what was Team Naruto's weak spot? Sayuri was the team's medic, but she sure as hell did not play support. And neither Ranmaru nor Marashu seemed to be the type to let pride interefere in their mission. Marashu hardly showed emotion at all!
They had to have a weakness.
If not emotional, then maybe mental?
Sayuri appeared to have an almost blood-lust personality. Maybe she was crazy? Then again, from what Udon saw, she was only like that when she saw her brother. Marashu and Ranmaru were different. Marashu battled using instincts while Ranmaru battled with tactics. Their minds, in Udon's opinon, were completely void of any and everything but their opponents and how to survive. Yet, all three of Team Naruto had a sense of just knowing where their teammates were at all times. Udon figured that if he took away Marashu's nose, Ranmaru's eyes, and Sayuri's sensor abilities, they could still tell where the others were during a fight. So mentally, they were pretty strong separated, but stronger together.
And now he was back to finding a weakness. He didn't know them personally to dig up old wounds. He didn't know their battling regime or strategies, other than using the Smoke Hide Technique to cover their escape. He did know that they were quite fast and, sans Marashu, used lightning. Fortunately, Udon's affinity for wind was a great counter. But Udon knew that that advantage would not last long against a fire-breathing Sarutobi like Konohamaru or do little to slow Sayuri's top speed. At the moment, with them together, he was outmatched. Badly.
He just needed time to think…
He just needed time…
He needed time…
"Shit!" Udon cursed before leaping out of the way of the two beasts made of white lightning.
"To be so smart, you're really predictable." The voice of Konohamaru reached Udon's ears before he spotted his teammate along with Team Naruto. "You'd already made it clear that you've aligned yourself with Orochimaru. His hideouts would be the first place we looked for you."
Udon smirked. "Then you should also know of the traps I have set up and Gyaku waiting for you."
"Gyaku isn't anywhere near here. His scent went towards the battlefield." Marashu pointed out.
"And I have not spotted any traps." Ranmaru added. "Then again, with everything that has gone on, I doubt you had the time to set up."
Udon grunted quietly. Ranmaru was right. He did not have the time to do what he wanted to. But he had to escape. He had to get away long enough for Zetsu to bring some sort of reinforcements. Reaching into his pockets, Udon felt four smoke pellets. How ironic would it be to use this sort of escape against Kemuri shinobi?
"Well then," Udon said. "Come and get me!"
With that, the teen created a smokescreen in the room that had the others coughing heavily. Knowing the layout of the room like the back of his hand, Udon made his way for the escape route in the wall. However, when he reached out, he touched someone instead of something.
"Looking for the lever?" Udon's eyes widened as he stared into the glowing red eyes of Ranmaru.
"…" Udon is silent before he notices the smoke clearing. His eyes now connect with Ranmaru's teammates as they surrounded him.
"You have the distinct smell of rain and owl pellets." Marashu said.
"And you're the only one in here trying to suppress their chakra." Sayuri added before smirking. "I thought they said you were some kind of genius? You used a smokescreen on Smoke Nin?"
"If you're going to kill me, you should do so before my reinforcements get here." Udon growled.
"We're not killing you. Just making sure you can't run off again." Sayuri said as she and Marashu stepped away.
Udon turned to see Konohamaru standing in the same he was earlier. His former teammate looked absolutely pissed, much like he was years ago when Naruto left and Danzo had done little to retrieve him.
"I'm surprised to see you alive, Konohamaru." Udon said. "I thought I had you buried beneath the forest."
"Looks like you thought wrong." Konohamaru replied. "Are you ready to finish this?"
Udon pushed his glasses up. "Let's finish this."
Sasori was actually surprised. His grandmother had put up a better fight than he had originally planned and Doki was no pushover either. This made him look at the Hidden Star Village in a new light. The village that others looked over for so long was apparently a lot stronger than people gave them credit for.
"You're running out of puppets." Doki stated as he stood with his axe in hand.
Sasori only stared at Doki. Zetsu was spotted during their battle. There was a good chance that reinforcements were on their way. All Sasori had to do was make his art last long enough. And he would. With Chiyo nearly drained of chakra, Sasori knew that Doki would eventually have to fight him alone. Once that happened, he would kill the Star shinobi before using his body as a new puppet.
Again, Sasori had too much respect for the man to just kill him and be done with it.
As for Doki, he was running out of chakra and he knew it. Sasori had proven to be the superior fighter that the books had said and then some. Thankfully Doki's upbringings were a perfect counter for Sasori's fighting style. Rainbow chakra enhanced Doki's already impressive strength and speed and due to him living right next to Devil's Ravine, Doki had a higher resistance to poisons than the average person.
But it didn't mean that his victory was at hand.
A puppet was spotted in Doki's peripheral causing the large man to roll out of the way. Quickly getting back to his feet, Doki was able to completely obliterate the puppet with a slash of his axe surrounded in rainbow-colored chakra. Doki thought that Sasori's attack was over, but he soon caught three more puppets diving for him with an assortment of blades protruding from them.
"Move!" Chiyo ordered as she attached several chakra strings to the large man and pulled him out of harm's way. Doki landed on his back with a thud, Chiyo panting slightly. "You're too heavy for an old woman like me to be pulling around."
"Thank you." Doki said rising to his feet.
"If we're going to beat him, we'll have to do this together." stated the Suna elder. "It is the only way to ensure the safety of the Kazekage's child."
"As well as Lady Hokuto." Doki added.
Sasori just stared at his opponents. Hokuto and Matsuri would probably be dead before the two either died themselves or somehow managed to defeat him. The Kazekage's wife was of top priority to Akatsuki as it would bait Shukaku out. If Sasori did not get her, someone else would.
Hokuto looked down at Matsuri.
"Hold on Matsuri." Hokuto muttered as she searched through her pouch for anything that could help the pale looking Matsuri that would not harm the baby. "I need a medic…"
"You need a miracle." The voice of Hoshigaki Kisame said from behind her.
Hokuto hopped into a defensive stance.
"How'd you get here?!" she questioned.
Kisame gave her a toothy grin. "It's called a trap. Sasori is able to hold off hundreds of Hoshi's weak shinobi and I can deliver the Ichibi bitch."
"I won't let you get Matsuri." Hokuto's bold statement did very little to her confidence. She knew that she was no match for Kisame, and even if she was, Matsuri needed immediate medical attention. The longer the battle went on, the worse Matsuri's condition became.
Kisame gripped Samehada. "Good. Samehada was looking forward to an appetizer before we seal the sand spirit and kill the Kazekage."
Hokuto only retrieve a kunai from her pouch. She had sent a messenger hawk for help and received Doki. Not that that was a bad thing, but now Kisame was here. She would need help with him. She would need…
"Duck!" The commanding voice came seemingly out of nowhere, Hokuto doing what it said as a blast of chakra shot for Kisame.
The former Mist shinobi dodged quickly, recognizing the attack. He bared his teeth and readied himself for his next opponent.
"Finally," Kisame said. "I can finish what we started earlier!"
Sumaru leapt in front of his wife and Matsuri. Hokuto could see small scratches on his face but said nothing. Sure she was his wife which gave her all rights to worry and bicker about such things, but this was war and he was more than her husband. He was her Hoshikage.
"Hoshigaki Kisame, the first time we met, there was nothing between us. This time," Kisame actually grimaced at the power radiating off of his new opponent. "This time it's personal!"
At Shion's former palace, Naruto inhaled deeply as he meditated with his daughter. Shiori was practicing creating a larger shield on her own while Naruto was trying to see how far he could sense others without going into Sage Mode. However, with Killer Bee still training the jinchuriki, most of Naruto's and Shiori's focus was put on them, intentionally and accidentally. Naruto had to make sure that none of the biju broke free, which is why he found himself checking in on their chakra levels every now and again. Shiori's abilities forced her to focus on them and her shield shattered every time.
It was then that both Uzumaki present caught the familiar chakra signature of Terumi Mei nearing them.
"Is there good news?" Naruto immediately asked as Mei entered the room.
"Shimura Udon has been captured and, with a genjutsu placed on him by Ranmaru, we forced the information of some more spies within the Konoha and Suna lines." Naruto inhaled deeply and released a slow, hard breath. "Jakken and Nori are still protecting the daimyo but the Zetsu forces there are growing in number. Guren is awake, yet it will be a while before she can return to battle. In the meantime, she will be on guard duty posted with the Medical Team. Nothing extreme, but enough for her to get the training she desires."
"And what of the fronts?" Naruto questioned.
Mei sighed. "Nothing has changed. The enemies have yet to yield and our shinobi are beginning to lose faith. With no way of ultimately destroying the reincarnated shinobi, the enemies have the upper hand. They know our attack patterns and positions."
"Every jutsu can be beaten," Naruto said rising from his seat. "You just have to find its flaw."
"And how do we find a flaw that the creator is dead?" Mei's question caused the Kaibunkage to smile.
"Simple. You resurrect him." Mei opened her mouth. "It's like Shiori-chan stated. A true Uzumaki always has an ace up their sleeve." Mei slowly closed her mouth but she was now more confused than anything. "Shion-chan and I were developing a way for me to contact those of the past. In a way, it will be like how Shion was able to contact her mother and grandmother in times of need. It might also explain how Shiori sent herself back in time and replaced herself with her older self…"
Mei shook her head, her mind grasping the concept but not believing it could be done without a pretty powerful priest or priestess.
"So how will you do it?"
Now the young kage smiled. "With just a little faith and the strongest shinobi on my roster." The man's blue eyes soon trailed to his daughter, who had long gave up trying to create a large shield and was happily playing with a smaller ball-sized shield that she could throw up and make burst like a bubble. "Isn't that right, Shiori?"
When her name was called, Shiori lost all focus on her shield and stared at her father and dubbed grandmother. Her six-years-old mind could not understand what her father had planned for her but she was happy to be of service and smiled brightly.
As for Naruto, he grinned warmly with the saddened thoughts of him and Shion attempting this years ago. They could not sync their chakra, which is why it failed over and over again. Shion's reserves were no where near Naruto's level, and at the time, Naruto did not have the control needed to level his with Shion's. But now he did. And Shiori had great reserves. Maybe the jutsu would work this time.
Maybe…