Chapter 35: Seeing Through Deception: The Shinobi's Plan Revealed!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. They are the respective properties of Masashi Kishimoto and Tite Kubo.
A/N: Again, I'm sorry about the long wait between updates. I was busy with finishing my Spring semester of College, along with my job and trying to fork on my other story. Again, I hope that the longer length makes up for this.
[Area Near the Land of Rivers' Border, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Recap:
"What the hell do you want with me?"
What the pale man said, specifically the last word, would shock the Uchiha clansman to the core as much as the revelation of Naruto's apparent fate.
"Nothing; this has nothing to do with anything I desire. I am merely following orders that I received from my superior. Sasuke Uchiha... I have been ordered to eliminate you... along with the shinigami."
Current Time...
The Uchiha's eyes widen in shock and confusion at what the Arrancar just said.
"What do you mean by calling them shinigami?"
Ulquiorra raised an eyebrow at this before replying.
"How little you shinobi must know if you asked me that question."
The two then jumped back and separated from each other, ending their deadlock. Ulquiorra then began to think to himself as he and Sasuke had a brief stare down.
"Should I even bother to explain it to him? It would be pointless, seeing as how the Uchiha will die here by my hands."
The Arrancar was suddenly forced out of his thoughts, however, when he felt two strong presences rushing towards him from behind and from his right. Using his speed technique, he disappeared and reappeared, moving out of the way. The two assailants suddenly stopped, revealing themselves to be Hollow Zangetsu and Quincy Zangetsu. Both of them were grasping their respective blades in their hands.
Quincy Zangetsu then faced Ulquiorra before speaking.
"You have said too much. It is not your place to tell the shinobi anything," he said.
The other half of Zangetsu, meanwhile, was less than please with Quincy. Zangetsu's intervention.
"Why the hell were you doing interrupting my fight, again?!" Hollow Zangetsu shouted as his counterpart turned towards him.
"I've simply come to retrieve you. We have to withdraw immediately; the shinobi have been stalling us the entire time," Quincy Zangetsu explained.
"What are talking about?" Hollow Zangetsu asked.
"While I was fighting those two other shinobi, I struck the one known as Kakashi in the leg with my sword. However, he suddenly dispersed. It then dawned on me that he was a clone. His comrade that fought along side him then withdrew to go help out his other comrades. These shinobi have tricked us," Quincy Zangetsu revealed, much to the surprise of his Hollow/Shinigami counterpart.
"That's right."
The two zanpakuto spirits turned towards Sasuke, the one who just spoke, a his placed his left palm on the ground, as if he was about to activate a jutsu (as if to further confirm this Sasuke used his right hand to make a hand sign).
Sasuke's eyes shifted as he activated his Eternal Manegekyō Sharingan. He then uttered one word under his breath.
"Amaterasu (Heavenly Enlightment)!"
Suddenly, a wall of black flames around fifteen feet tall appeared and surrounded the four opponents. It's heat was intense, burning hotter than any fire imaginable. Hollow Zangetsu then spoke his mind.
"What the hell are you doing? Are you trying to trap us here? And what's this whole thing about you tricking us?"
"No, this is just the beginning," Sasuke said as he revealed what he had in mind.
"As for that other question, it's rather simple: the real me, as well as the rest of my team and Anko's team are long gone. I won't go into the details of how it happened but some of our spies managed to locate you and report your position to us over 12 hours ago. It didn't take us long to figure out what was going on and we made a plan. Asuma and Guy's teams would stay and hold you guys back while mine and Anko's team raced to Ame on a few of my Hawk summons, all while leaving clones behind in order to stall you. Thankfully, you guys took your time showing up so even without this ploy, you'd never catch the real Teams Kakashi and Anko. And now that I've revealed the truth you three can do me the favor of dying now," Sasuke explained.
Hollow and Quincy Zangetsu widen at this revelation. Ulquiorra's face betrayed no emotion, but this surprised him. All three of them were quick to regain their wits and, realizing that nothing good would come of whatever the now revealed Sasuke clone was planning, moved forward to attack the shadow clone, with the two zanpakuto spirits clutching their swords and Ulquiorra moving his arm back for a knifehand strike. The Sasuke clone quickly went through a set of hand signs before announcing his jutsu.
"Katon: Hiding in Ash and Dust Technique!"
Sasuke then spewed out a large amount of chakra infused ash from his mouth, covering the area around him and preventing the three opponents from trying to attack him. While this was happening, four other shadow clones of Sasuke appeared at the points of the Amaterasu wall to unleash the jutsu. Sensing that his fellow clones were in position, the Sasuke clone in the middle moved some distance away from his opponents to prepare for his part for the technique he planned to unleash.
At this point Ulquiorra and the two Zangetsus noticed something and looked up the sky. The clouds overhead were darkening quickly and the sound of thunderclaps soon followed it. A very powerful thunderstorm was beginning to form.
"What the hell did you just do?!" A bewildered Hollow Zanegtsu shouted to the Uchiha clansman, who simply smirked in response.
"There were several reasons why this area was chosen for battle. One of those reasons was its weather," Sasuke said, sounding as though he might have heard the Hollow/Shinigami ask a different question, before elaborating.
"The skies above the mountains of the border region of the Land of Rivers traps a lot of moisture form the perpetual rainfall of the Land of Rain up north. Much of that moisture is carried over to the border region by the west winds that blow the moisture eastward, which makes this region a hotbed for low pressure systems. Recently a massive storm system developed farther north of where we're located and has led to one of those forming a few hours before this battle started, which I'm able to take advantage of. To make a long story short, by the making the walls of Amaterasu, I've created enough heat to upset the system and create this thunderstorm."
"That I can understand... but why? What was the point of doing all this?" Quincy Zanegtsu asked as Sasuke replied.
"You're about to find out."
With that, he activated what appeared to be a Chidori in his hand. A large cloud above him started to crackle with lightning, which begin hit the ground in a brilliant display. This lightning, illuminating the ground below, lighted up the sky surrounding the clouds. Sasuke then brought his Chidori covered hand into the air.
Suddenly, the lightning in the cloud began to take shape until it took the form of a giant Chinese Dragon. The sound of a thunder clap greeted its entrance.
"This looks just like Naruto's Raimei no Seirei," Quincy Zangetsu thought to himself, remembering one of the dragons summoned by the Third Division Captain's Arashi no Seirei technique and was quick to guess what the Sasuke clone was about to do.
The four shadow clones who formed the boundaries of the target, zone, meanwhile began to channel lightning chakra into their hands. The lightning chakra then shot out in a stream and connected to the dragon. The lightning streams then began to increase the jutsu's power. Sasuke then stared down at his three intended targets.
"Now disappear with the sound of thunder! RAITON: DRAGON'S LIGHT!"
With that, the Sasuke clone in the middle brought his hand down, causing the lightning dragon to crash down in the blink of an eye, just as the four other shadow clones released a massive explosion of lightning chakra. The power stored in the lighting dragon merged with this explosion and amplified it's power tenfold, creating a powerful and blinding explosion 10 miles across, all while the sound of a powerful thunderclap rocked the area as the dragon hit the ground.
[Northern Half of Land of Rivers Border Area, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Meanwhile...
As the two zanpakuto spirits and Espada were being hit with the Dragon's Light jutsu, the real Team Kakashi and Team Anko were currently several hundred miles away with two of Sasuke's larger hawk summons. The hawk that Team Kakashi had rode had slate grey plumage, with white under parts that had black spots on them, while the hawk that Team Anko rode on had a brown plumage with a tanned colored under parts.
The two shinobi teams had landed in a secluded area in the northern border region, being forced to land because of a sudden thunderstorm. The area they were in had several trees, along with some bushes and a few boulders. The area was also surrounded by numerous hills. The two teams were currently hiding in a nearby cave, waiting for the storm to pass.
Sasuke was standing near the mouth of the cave, anxiously wait for the storm to subside. His breathing was tense and his eyes were constantly darting, looking over the landscape. The storm was not the only source of his anxiety. Ten minutes ago, Kakashi's shadow clone had dispersed during the battle with Quincy Zangetsu, and thus Kakashi had gained its memories. He had quickly shared all everything the clone had seen and learned. This included the fact that he had forgotten about the possibility that all of Sui-Feng's team, including Naruto, could fly over the mountains of the Land of Rivers' border (while the shinobi had faked the whole conversation they had in order to fool the shinigami, Kakashi's mistake was actually real).
As the Uchiha clansman stared into the storm, Sakura approached him.
"Sasuke-kun, we've just gotten word from some of Jiraiya's contacts near Ame."
"What did they have to say?" he asked before Sakura replied.
"It looks liked we've lucked out. It turns out that this storm has been turning into a massive typhoon. It's covered the northern half of the Land of Rivers."
Upon hearing this, Sasuke began to think to himself.
"That typhoon must have led to all that moisture being pushed out to the area where Team Asuma and Team Gai are fighting. It's almost like a perfect storm is brewing. And to think that, even after this storm passes, were still going to a place where the rain never ends."
"There were also some possible sightings of Sui-Feng and her group heading to that area. But because of this storm, they also can't do anything else besides what we're currently doing: wait it out for the storm to subside," Sakura continued, getting Sasuke's attention.
"Was Naruto seen in Sui-Feng's group?"
"The reports weren't able to confirm it, but he would have to be with her if he intended to go to Ame, especially since he wasn't among the third group consisted of Sui-Feng's other teammates heading north."
"Thank you, Sakura," he said before Sakura asked him a question.
"Have your shadow clones already dispersed?"
"They have."
Sakura, who had a good idea of what Sasuke had done, asked him another question.
"Do you think using the Dragon's Light Jutsu was worth it, given what we've learned from those 'zanpakuto'? It seems like it was a waste to me."
"You're probably right. But that's the least of our problems, especially considering what we learned from the clones," Sasuke replied.
"What do you mean?"
Sasuke didn't respond at all.
"Let me guess, you plan to keep this information to yourself, don't you?"
"I'll reveal it once we've finally brought Naruto back home."
Sakura nodded in understanding and started to walk back to join the others, but not before hearing Sasuke mutter something under his breath.
"He's such a fool."
Sakura then turned towards him.
"What do you mean?"
"I was thinking back to the reunion we had with Naruto a couple of days ago. Do you remember the last thing he said to us?"
"Word for word," she said as she sighed. "'Goodbye... and I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... for everything'."
"Well, at least Naruto's idiocy remained the same as before," Sasuke said in a failed attempt to lighten the mood. He had a saddened look to him, with his face formed into a frown and his eyes had an empty look to them. The Uchiha then spoke again as he sat down and leaned his back against the cave wall.
"If anyone should be apologizing, it should be me. If it wasn't for me, none of this would've happened and we wouldn't be in this damn mess."
Sakura sighed before she walked up and sat next to Sasuke. She then, for a lack of a better word, snuggled up next to him and began to comfort him.
"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. We'll definitely bring Naruto back this time... together."
"I know. Thank you," Sasuke said as he smiled at her, his mood already starting to change for the better.
"Sakura, if it's alright... could you stay with me for a while?"
"Yeah," Sakura said as the two shinobi gazed at the rain together.
[Area near Land of Rivers border, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Ten Minutes after Sasuke's attack…
The site where Sasuke's Dragon's Light Jutsu struck down was completely unrecognizable, as if one were looking at an alien landscape on another planet. A crater that was around a foot deep had formed, and it was scorched black. The grass and plant life within it had been incinerated, and smoking and smoke was trailing from the scorched earth, with some parts of the blast site so heavily scorched in that brief moment that part of it had turned to glass, demonstrating the insane amount of energy unleashed in that attack. It looked like nobody could have survived such devastation; as it would turn out, however, Sakura's was right to question all the effort used in the attack.
The smoke then began to slowly clear from the area, and two domes, one pitch black in color and one that was white in color. The two domes then dissipated, revealing both Hollow and Quincy Zangetsu, respectively. The two of them had activated their bankais in the nick of time, and had then used the Getsuga Dōmu to narrowly survive the Dragon's Light Jutsu.
Hollow Zangetsu was now wearing a long, sleeved, ankle length white coat similar to what Ichigo would wear in his bankai state. In his hand was a sword that looked similar to Tensa Zangetsu, but white in color. The coat was singed and tattered due to the Dragon's Light jutsu, however, with the left sleeve of his coat only holding on by a few tiny threads. He also sported several burns and other scars across his body, and was a little blood flowed from his mouth. Quincy Zangetsu, on the other hand, looked completely different. Zangetsu now looked like a teenage version of his older self that was around Ichigo's age and height. He had shorter hair and a slimmer build. He wore a robe-like version of his coat with white lining and a hood. Unlike his Hollow/Shinigami counterpart, he wasn't seriously injured since he was able to activate his Getsuga Dōmu much sooner and, therefore, was able to avoid getting hit by the full force of the jutsu, with a few singes on his coat being the only indication that he was caught in the attack.
"Didn't know lil' Sasuke-chan had something that powerful in his arsenal that wasn't one of his Mangekyō jutsus," Hollow Zangetsu said as he brushed off his coat with his free hand.
"Indeed. Granted, Naruto's Raimei no Seirei alone is far more powerful, as is the entirety of his Arashi no Seirei technique, but the power of this jutsu was definitely incredible. We were lucky to survive it, never mind surviving without any serious injuries," Quincy Zangetsu said, sounding much younger to match his new appearance.
"Easy for you to say. Anyways, I don't see that damned Arrancar anywhere. You think he survived?" Hollow Zangetsu asked.
"I'm not sure," Quincy Zangetsu said before the two of them perked up at something. They began to feel a massive release of chakra.
"This energy... it's coming from where Renji is located," Quincy Zangetsu said, his eyes narrowed as he gazed at the location where the energy was emanating.
Conversely, a psychotic grin grew upon Hollow Zangetsu's face who, despite his injuries, suddenly rushed off towards Renji's location before his Quincy counterpart could even react, intending to fight whoever was there. Quincy Zangetsu simply sighed to himself.
"He can be so reckless. He just headed off towards the battle without a hint of hesitation. I guess it can't be helped."
With that, Quincy Zangetsu headed off, hoping to catch his counterpart and prevent him from doing anything rash.
Quincy Zangetsu soon caught up to his counterpart and then two headed towards Renji's location. However, they stopped near a small forest when they noticed someone as they passed by. It was Sode no Shirayuki, who was standing alone in a completely changed environment. The entire area was blanketed with ice, with some of it reaching the trees. It looked beautiful, like something out of a painting, which was fitting for someone like Sode. Quincy and Hollow Zangetsu then approached just as Sode had sealed her blade.
"Oh, you're here. Are you two alright," Sode asked as the two spirits landed in front of her.
"I am well, Sode."
"I'm fine," Hollow Zangetsu said, not being rude in his response which would've surprised most people (though Hollow Zangetsu will forever deny it, he had a close bond with Sode much in the same way Ichigo had with Rukia).
Quincy Zangetsu looked around Sode's battlefield and noticed that the shinobi that Sode were fighting were gone. He then spoke to his counterpart and his fellow spirit.
"So it seems it happened here as well," he said, as if he were stating a fact rather than asking a question.
Sode was quick to realize what Quincy Zangetsu was talking about and responded in kind.
"Yes. Two of the kunoichi that I was fighting were revealed to be shadow clones, while another, that Sakura girl, was a water clone. The remaining one, the one the called Tenten, went off to aid the rest of her comrades moments ago and-"
Before Sode could continue her explanation, she was interrupted when the three spirits felt a very large tremor.
"What is happening?" Quincy Zangetsu asked as he and the two other spirits flew up and went above the trees.
The three then turned to the location of Renji's battlefield. Their eyes widened at the site of what they saw. It appeared to be a giant doll of Deidara, although it was muted in color when compared to the actual Deidara. The doll then started to expand, looking like it was about to pop like a balloon. It then ruptured, but it did not release an explosion. Instead, a huge amount of dust then spilled out of it.
Sode then broke the silence by speaking what was on everyone's minds.
"W-what was that?"
[Area near Land of Rivers border, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Recap:
Taking a large amount of clay from his pouch, Deidara placed it into his actual mouth rather than the ones on his hands. The Iwa-nin than spat out the clay after waiting a few seconds, and the clay started to form into a giant, Deidara-shaped doll.
"Witness the glory of my C4, hm!"
Meanwhile...
Deidara cackled to himself as he looked down at the shinobi and one shinigami, who looked surprised at the giant doll.
"You're all going to die! This isn't like my other art. This one is made up of millions of microscopic bombs. Breath them in, and you're good as dead!"
The shinobi gathered there (including a recently arrived Gai), looked on in shock, wondering how they were even going this technique. Renji, on the other hand, gritted his teeth in anger. The doll then started to swell up until it looked obese, and then ruptured, releasing the million of microscopic bombs. The Sixth Division Lieutenant flashstepped back a few yards as he mentally contacted his zanpakuto spirits.
"You guys there?" Renji said.
"What's going on, Renji?" the voice of the boy comprising the snake half of Zabimaru asked.
"Guys, this Akatsuki member just lost his mind. He used this jutsu to create this... thing and it's now going to kill everyone here, myself included, unless I can destroy it. I need the full power of my bankai. I don't have time to come up with any other countermeasure," Renji said.
"Damn, the situation sounds pretty bad. Well, it's not like you have to ask so I don't know why you bother. Do you what you have to; just don't get yourself killed, alright," the voice of a woman comprising Zabimaru's ape half said.
That was all Renji needed to hear before he cut the conversation short and shouted one word.
"Bankai!"
A gale of wind enveloped him and his half-power bankai, obscuring Renji from vision. Moments later, the wind began to clear, revealing Renji's full power bankai. It now took the from of a gauntlet that was on Renji's right wrist, and it resembled the top portion of a snake's skull with a cowl of red fur surrounding its base. A large blade came from the snake's mouth. A long, bony tail made up of vertebrae-like structures came from the back of the skull, and hanged around Renji's waist like a loose sash. He also had a large cowl of light red fur draped over his left shoulder, along with a pair of pauldrons that formed a collar.
"Sōō Zabimaru (Twin Snakes Tail)!" Renji said as he began to concentrate his reiryoku. His spiritual energy then appeared above him and began to take the form of what appeared to be an angry ape. Renji then shouted the name of his attack
"Hihi no Hōra (Baboon's Howl)!"
With that, the gathered energy then exploded into a massive shockwave that was accompied by a very loud noise that sounded like a howler monkey's screech. The shockwave hit the cloud of C4, and every last microscopic bomb was destroyed in the blast. Deidara looked on dumbstruck, as one of his most powerful pieces of "art" was reduce to nothing so easily. Renji gave a grin as he pointed the blade part of his bankai at the Iwa-nin. Red spiritual energy began to gather onto it as he announced his next attack.
"Dakotsu-hō (Snake Bone Cannon)!"
The gathered energy was then fired off in the form of a large, condensed blast of energy. It raced towards Deidara, who snapped out of his shock just as he noticed the attack heading towards him.
"Oh shi-"
The attack then hit him before he had time to finish his sentence. Deidara was then launched off of his bird and the crashed to the ground.
Renji then looked down at the shinobi. They managed to escape the C4, but unfortunately, Shikamaru, Lee, and Ino had managed to inhale some of the bombs. Deidara was unable to activate the bombs, but unfortunately, the properties of the bombs also meant that they doubled as a toxin when dormant. It would slowly kill those who had breathed it in unless they received treatment within the hour. All three shinobi began to show symptoms of the poisoning. All three of them had their pupils dilated, and were sweating profusely, along with having a difficult time breathing and began coughing up small amounts of blood, all while collapsing to the ground.
Renji, after deactivating his bankai, then flashstepped to the ground and then rushed over to where the shinobi were located. Asuma and Gai then took defensive positions to protect their students, including a recent arrival in the form of Tenten, as Renji approached them.
"Attack them and you're dead," Asuma growled out as he began to channel wind chakra into his chakra blades.
"Attacking a downed opponent isn't my style. They would've been dead otherwise," Renji said as Gai eyed him.
"Then why are you approaching us?"
"Look, I want to call a brief ceasefire. At least until I can figure out what's wrong with your students. Unless you're planning to let them die?"
"And why should we trust you?" Asuma asked.
"Because I have some medical training and can help them. Do you have any better options?" Renji pointed out.
Gai and Asuma looked at each other, before they both backed up as they really had no other options.
"You better not try anything," Asuma said through gritted teeth.
Renji nodded before he approached Ino, Shikamaru, and Lee and began to inspect them. During the time between the Ryoka Invasion and the mission, Renji had received some basic first aid training from Naruto (which is something Naruto had taught all the members of his own division(s) in order to help save lives).
After a quick examination of the three shinobi, Renji came to one realization.
"It's not looking good. Whatever that psycho did to these guys is far too severe to treat here. We might only have one-"
Renji was unable to finish his sentence before he was interrupted when all of them heard a scream of pure, unadulterated rage. They all looked to the source, which was a still alive, though critically injured, Deidara. His cloak was now gone, revealing that he was wearing a v-neck, sleeveless midriff shirt with mesh armour underneath it along with pants and sandals. The Iwa-nin was currently glaring at Renji with utter hatred. To say that he was pissed off would be an understatement.
With another growl of anger, Deidara ripped off his shirt, revealing something. On the left side of his chest was a large mouth that was stitched up by black thread. The mouths on Deidara's hands grabbed the thread and began to unravel it. While this was happening, Deidara went off on a mad rant.
"You're all fucked! You'll regret having crossed my path! This is my ultimate art! I'm going to blow myself up! Death will make me a piece of art! An unbelievable explosion that will leave indelible scars upon the earth! And finally… MY ART WILL HAVE THE PRAISE IT DESER-"
Deidara's ramblings were cut off when a something suddenly pierced his chest, specifically, the area where his technique, which is known as C0, was activated from. Because of this sudden intrusion, the C0 technique was forcibly deactivated. Renji and the shinobi looked on in both shock and surprise as Deidara let out a pathetic croak. He turned his head back to see who was the one who had stopped his ultimate art. It was a very much alive Ulquiorra, who had his arm sticking through the Iwa-nin.
"Pathetic. You couldn't even kill these shinobi. I have no need for a useless piece of trash such as yourself and I didn't escape one attack just to be destroyed in another."
With that, Ulquiorra charged an energy attack through his arm, which then blasted the top half of Deidara away. The bottom half of Deidara collapsed to the ground as Ulquiorra turned towards his next opponents.
Renji, Gai, Tenten, Asuma, and Chouji were shocked at how the being before them had so coldly and mercilessly dispatched his ally. Renji and Gai glared at him in anger while Tenten and the Chouji trio had looks of shock and fear. Ulquiorra began to speak as he slowly walked towards them.
"My superior wants you dead, Shinigami. I was also ordered to take take out you shinobi as well."
Gai suddenly rushed the pale Arrancar. Chouji attempted to deliver a punch to Ulquiorra's face, but the latter simply moved out of the way before delivering an eblow to the obese shinobi's back. Gai attempted to attack him with the Leaf Whirlwind, but dodged with that speed technique of his before reappearing behind Gai and kicking him in the back. Tenten suddenly appeared with Shibuki, preparing blast Ulquiorra with the sword's explosive note blade. However, he simply responded by grabbing her sword arm and breaking it with some applied strength. Tenten grimaced in pain as she dropped to the ground. Ulquiorra then looked behind him to notice Chouji had recovered from the elbow to this back and rushed at him with an enlarged fist, courtesy of the Partial Multi-Size Technique. He brought his fist down on him, only to find that the Arrancar had blocked the attack with his bare hand. Ulquiorra then delivered a powerful kick to Chouji's stomach, sending the boy flying back and crashing into a tree.
Asuma, who was several feet away, was going through handsigns in order to perform a powerful wind jutsu. Ulquiorra noticed this, and responded by firing off a red energy blast from his right fist. The attack was too fast to dodge, and it easily hit the jonin in the stomach, knocking them flat on their backs.
Renii gritted his teeth and quickly reactived the full power of his bankai as he prepared to activate one of his bankai techniques in order to fight Ulquiorra.
"Hihiō (Baboon King)!"
Renji then swung his left arm forward and the cowl portion of his bankai suddenly transformed into a giant skeletal arm. The giant arm attempted to crush Ulquiorra, but he quickly dodged out of the way as it crashed into the ground, upheaving a large portion of the ground. Ulquiorra then rushed him, attempting to impale him with his hand. Renji then brought the blade portion of his bankai up in the nick of time in order to block the attack. The two opponents then jumped back and began to charge their attacks, Ulquiorra doing his energy attack while Renji charged up another Dakotsu-hō. The Arrancar and the Shinigami lieutenant then released their respective attacks and both beams of energy collided with each other. Both beams struggled to overwhelm each other. In the end, both of them exploded, creating a large explosion and covering the area with clouds of dust.
Ulquiorra and Renji then charged each other again as the dust began to settle. Renji began to slash and stab at the Arrancar, who responded by either blocking or dodging. Ulquiorra then saw an opening as the red haired Shinigami thrust his sword forward. He leaned out of the way and then deliver a powerful kick to Renji's stomach. Renji flew forward, and Ulquiorra followed this attack up by firing a red energy blast into Renji's stomach. Renji crashed on the ground, but he soon quickly recovered.
"I must admit, you're definitely more skilled that I had anticipated, Shinigami. I never imagined I'd have to do this but you've forced my hand. Consider it an honor... that'll die by my sword," Ulquiorra said, the Arrancar finally unsheathing his blade for this fight.
"Thanks, I guess. You're not bad yourself, Arrancar, but you're wrong about one thing: I'm not the one who's going to die today," Renji said as he prepared to use another one of his bankai techniques, all while Ulquiorra began to approach him.
However, Renji never got the chance to use whatever technique he was going to use. What sounded like crackling electricity suddenly filled the air. Ulquiorra suddenly turned to his left and was then hit with a powerful blue beam of electrical energy. The technique was fast and powerful, and Ulquiorra couldn't do anything in response to defend himself. He was sent flying several yards away. Renji's eyes widened, as he recognized that technique.
"That's a Hadō #88 without the name or incantation called out... there's only one person capable of that," Renji thought.
"Is everyone alright?" a voice asked as Renji and the recovered shinobi turned to the source of the voice.
Gai and Asuma's faces had a look of shock to them. The Sarutobi clansman suddenly recovered from his shock and spoke.
"That's… that's impossible… you're…"
[Southeast of the Valley of the End, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Elsewhere...
The land southeast of the Valley of the End was relatively unremarkable. The grass in the area was mostly dried up, with a few patches of green. Hills surrounded the area and boulders littered the land as well.
It was in was in this area, however, Kisame Hoshigaki and Tier Harribel were trekking, in a southward direction, around the time the fighting near the Land of Rivers' Border had started. During this point walk they had also finished having a conversation.
"So what's your answer?" Harribel asked, the Arrancar having made an unspecified proposal.
The former Kiri-nin scratched his chin in thought for a few minutes before replying.
"Well... to be honest, my answer would have been a straight up no if you had made this proposition a few days ago. However, given what you've told me, I guess there's no point in sticking around," he said.
The two's conversation was suddenly interrupted, however, when they both sensed a source of energy. It was clearly a very powerful being, and one that was closing in on the duo fast.
Before either of them could react, however, the figure that was giving off the energy suddenly hit the ground with what seemed like the power of a meteor. Huge chunks of ground heaved and flew into the air due to the power of the impact. Harribel and Kisame jumped back to avoid getting hit by the debris. The person's landing had created a crater upon impact, which had a diameter of fifteen feet and was seven feet deep. A cloud of dust was created as well.
"It seems that our friend here has overdone his landing," Harribel thought to herself as Kisame spoke to her in a joking manner.
"It seems like the time for talk had ended, Harribel. Time to see if you can fight, pup," Kisame said, his little joke clearly directed at Harribel.
The Arrancar merely rolled her eyes at this comment as she unsheathed her blade just as the dust cloud suddenly cleared, revealing the figure in the crater. It was none other Kamikaze who, having raced to the area the moment he picked up Kisame and Harribel's energy signatures, now broke the short but tense silence by speaking.
"I found you..." he said in a taunting, sing-song voice.
Original Techniques List:
Raiton: Dragon's Light: A jutsu that is a combination of the Kirin and the Limelight Jutsu. It requires five people, with four people at the cardinal directions and one person in the middle. The person in the middle creates the Kirinportion of the jutsu while the other four people connect streams of lightning chakra to increase the Kirin's power. As soon as the person in the middle brings down the Kirirn, the four people release an explosion of lightning chakra. The technique is extremely powerful. However, its downsides are that it takes some time to prepare it and requires certain weather conditions to use it.
Hihi no Hōra (Baboon's Howl) - Renji gathers spiritual energy around his body, which takes the form of an angry ape. He then releases the energy, which forms into a massive shockwave. Along with Sōō Zabimaru, Zaga Teppō (Twin Kings Snake Tail, Snake Fang Iron Gun), it is one of his most powerful Bankai techniques.
Dakotsu-hō (Snake Bone Cannon) - A more powerful version of Hikotsu Taihō (Baboon Bone Cannon). Renji concentrates spiritual energy into the blade portion of his bankai, and then fires it off as a concentrated energy blast.
Next Time - Dance of the Ice Queen!