Chapter 35: The Blade that Cleaves the Sky in Two
Nightshroud: Well, this is it. The climax of the battle. And my longest chapter ever! Anyway, I would like to dedictate this chapter to two people. First, I would like to dedictate this to Breanna "Saikio", my very first reviewer and the one who encouraged me at the very beginning. I would also like to dedicate it to Jessica "yourmaster" for being such a good friend and a my #1 fan. Well, here you go, my masterpiece chapter!
Background Music: I Gotta Get Through This by Danielle Beddingfield. This is such a great song, and perfect for the fighting in this chapter. Seriously, you have to listen to it while you read this chapter. It gives you the whole effect.
End Song: Move Along by the All-American Rejects. Hate that band but love this song. Anyway, I had to use it in this story, and I think I found a good spot.
There at his feet lay the Twin Blade of the Heavens. Kakashi retrieved the sword and held it in his hands.
"Zantatsuken, the Twin Blade of the Heavens…" said Kayume. Kakashi looked at the sword with astonished eyes. The hilt was gold, with blades on both ends. The blades, snow white in color, were shaped like angelic wings. The blade gave off its own light, and emitted a soothing but powerful aura. Kakashi brandished the weapon and turned to Karasu.
"No more games. This is our final clash."
Karasu nodded. "I agree. It's time I spilled your blood!"
Karasu flapped his wings and flew at Kakashi, spinning his spear in a terrifying ark. Kakashi closed his, tapping into Zantatsuken's power and mixing his chakra with the blade's. He opened his eyes and in a flash he blocked the spear and slashed at Karasu, slicing his shoulder. Karasu's flesh seemed to burn at the touch of the holy blade. Karasu flew back a few paces and stood poised for attack.
"The Blade Zantatsuken…..now that it has been released, someone will die here…"
Naruto and the chunin had just entered the gates to Konoha. The flapping of the Proclaimer's wings and the hissing of the Convictors was close behind.
Tsunade approached the gates on her slug summon. With her was Jiraiya and Dashi. She approached the chunin and said, "Well done, all of you. But…I fear there is no more you can do. You all must flee Konoha. Try to find shelter in the mountains. Find any way to preserve your own lives."
"No!" came Naruto's shout. Tsunade turned to him with puzzled eyes.
"We're not babies. We're ninja. We were taught to keep fighting in life and death circumstances, no matter how hopeless they seemed. I'm a ninja, and I'm not going to run. This is my home, and I'll protect it with all I am."
"Yeah!" Sakura shouted. "Naruto is right. We've no right to be called shinobi if we run and hide when the going gets tough. I'm going to stay right here!"
The other sounded their agreement, and the quiet ones like Sasuke and Neji gave nods of approval. Tsunade smiled proudly at these fine chunin.
"These chunin, they're so proud to be ninja, and they're willing to do what it takes to protect the things they hold dear…That is the heart of a true shinobi."
"All right then! We three need to make it to the main gate. Shikamaru, I'm leaving you in charge. Defend this area from all attacks. I will let you know any further instruction." Tsunade prodded her slug, and the three made their way to the gate.
"Man, me in charge? Again? What a drag…"
"Okay, everyone in groups of three. Ino and Choji with me. Kiba, Hinata, and Sai, take that side. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, stand over there. Hitomi, Yukiko, and Saikio, have position over there. The Sound Trio will be over here. And the Sand Siblings will be stationed there. Come on, people. Let's do this!"
Karasu took to the air again, this time throwing his spear into the ground.
"Flaming Divide!"
The ground split open at the weapon's touch, and fire shot out of it. Kakashi narrowly dodged it before Karasu flew at him again. Kakashi leaped towards him and the two struck at the same time, sending off a powerful shockwave felt both near and far. Kayume watched the titanic clash in awe. Such a battle had never been witnessed since the sealing of the Zantatsuken. Kayume cast a glance back to Konoha.
"Hold on a little while longer…"
Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Anko, Genma, and Ibiki narrowly made it through the gates before they were again shut. Asuma rushed over to Tsunade.
"Status report?" she asked.
"We've lost significant numbers, and there don't seem to be a limit to these Shadow Riders."
Tsunade nodded gravely. Kurenai rushed over and asked, "How are the chunin? Did they make it back all right?"
Tsunade couldn't help but smile. "Yes, they're all fine. Those brats are the greatest people Konoha has ever produced."
The chunin held their ground as the Convictors burst through the wall. All the chunin felt it was time to pull out their best techniques. Tenten pulled out her scrolls, unfurled them, and then shot into the air with them, the spirals resembling dragons.
"Twin Rising Dragons!"
When she reached as high as she could go, the dragons transformed back into scrolls. Tenten began to touch each symbol on the scrolls, a weapon appearing in each hand. Tenten then began her brutal assault of thousands of weapons, each one hitting with pinpoint accuracy.
Kiba and Akamaru gave each other one last hug and then turned to the enemy.
"Man Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!"
Kiba and Akamaru transformed themselves, and in their place was a large and terrifying double-headed wolf. With a ferocious snarl, the wolf leapt on the snake and tore at its neck. Then it proceeded to turn to the rider…
Yukiko used handsigns.
"It's time to unveal my clan's secret jutsu."
"Rain Style: Ultimate Rain Dragon Technique!"
A huge water dragon emerged from the sky and rested over Hitomi. At her signal, it opened its mouth and proceeded to shoot thousands of raindrops and the Shadow Riders. The raindrops pierced through flesh and burned. When it had finished its torrent of deadly rain, the dragon descended and crashed into any surviving Shadow Riders.
Karasu charged his spear with chakra and sent a slicing shockwave through the air at Kakashi. Kakashi leaped over it and sent a burst of energy form his sword at Karasu, blasting him back. Kayume used the opportunity to quickly use a jutsu.
"Sacred Art: Nature Bind Jutsu!"
Karasu found himself entangled by flowers, vines, branches, and other parts of nature. He struggled to get free as Kakashi flew at him.
The jonin soon found themselves face-to-face with the Shadow Riders in the streets of Konoha. Tsunade's hot temper got the best of her and she commanded her slug forward.
"Chakra Scalpel!"
Tsunade created a scalpel of chakra in her hand and sliced through the snake's arteries, veins, and nerves, while leaving the skin intact. The beast fell swiftly after Tsunade finished with it. Then her slug spit venom on the rider and killed it quickly.
Meanwhile, Jiraiya had summoned Gamabunta, and the giant toad sliced through his opponents while Jiraiya picked off the survivors with his Rasnegan.
Dashi, though serious, was actually enjoying himself.
"Haven't stretched these 'old' bones in years!" as he put it. As his first enemy came on, he used lightning-fast handsigns and said.
"Thunder Style: Lightning Fang Jutsu!"
Dashi shot forward like a lightning bolt and sliced through his foe.
Asuma and the other jonin watched these legendary fighter in action.
"Just amazing."
Karasu struggled to move as Kakashi flew at him. He managed to move slightly as Kakashi's blade sliced into him. He had just managed to move so all vital organs were intact, but it still hurt like the dickens…
With a roar, Karasu broke free from the jutsu and placed his hand over his wound. When he removed his blood-stained hand, he tossed the black blood at Kakashi, shouting, "Blades of Blood!" Kakashi didn't expect the attack and was cut in several places by the surprise attack. Kakashi stumbled back and just had enough time to catch his guard as Karasu flew at him and they clashed blades once again.
Hitomi unleashed her best technique.
"Grass Halberd: All-Directional Blades!"
An unfortunate Convictor found himself surrounded by grass blades, and in a flash was impaled all over.
Hinata was faced by a Proclaimer that had landed next to her. the giant raven snapped at her viciously. For a moment, the old Hinata almost resurfaced. But no, Hinata wasn't about to run…
"Hyuuga Style Taijutsu: A Hundred Palms of Fury!"
Hinata charged her palms with chakra and proceeded to slam her fists into the monstrous bird one hundred times. An awful corpse was all that remained after that.
Choji was demolishing Enforcers with his Human Boulder Jutsu. As he finished with those, a Convictor approached him. Mustering his last chakra, Choji channeled his chakra into his fist and blazed right through the serpent's head.
Kakashi jumped back a step and panted. Karasu pressed forward, bringing his spear down on Kakashi. Kakashi swung his blade and blocked the attack, the metals of the two weapons grinding together.
"Kakashi, get out of the way!"
Kakashi leaped back as he heard Kayume say, "Sacred Art: Blazing Nova Jutsu!" Kayume was enveloped in a searing white light that burned everything near it. Kakashi heard Karasu's cry as he was enveloped in the jutsu.
Lee, having just finished using the Primary Lotus technique, was pretty wiped. But he wasn't going to stop fighting. Mustering all his strength, he proceeded to open the Eight Inner Gates (not all eight cuz that would kill him). His hair shot up and he glowed with an intense yellow chakra. He kicked his opponent into the air and shot after them in a flash. He shot around his enemy, encasing them in a cage of blazing chakra.
"True Hidden Lotus!"
There was a blinding flash of light, causing all opponents nearby to be iradicated. After using the awesome technique, Lee collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Neji faced his enemies calmly. He was surrounded by a Convictor and five Enforcers.
"You're in the zone of my Eight Trigrams…" Neji said, almost as if warning them.
When they advanced further, he got into stance.
"Eight Trigrams Two Palms!"
Neji slammed his two chakra powered palms into the nearest opponent.
"Four Palms!"
Neji doubled his speed, landing four viscious palm attacks.
"Eight Palms!"
Neji landed eight consecutive palm attacks on his opponents, most of how where badly damaged by now.
"Sixteen Palms!"
The snake hissed in agony as Neji landed sixteen attacks to its writhing form.
"Thirty-two Palms!"
Neji landed thirty two more attacks, crippling his opponents bodies.
"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!"
The Convictor was thrown from his snake's back as the creature collapsed from the last attack. Neji took a step back and glared. Oh no…he wasn't done yet.
"I'll show you the Hyuuga Style Secret Technique. Eight Trigrams One Hundred Twenty-Eight Palms!"
With his final attack, Neji annihilated his foes with one hundred twenty-eight attacks. He crossed his arms and sighed.
"No sweat."
Temari and Kankuro stood back-to-back, fighting desperately in the streets. Temari kept trying to keep away the tears that stung her eyes.
"Gaara, please be safe."
"Never better."
Temari looked up with surprised and confused eyes. There stood Gaara before her.
"Gaara, you're okay!"
Gaara nodded and then blushed as Temari embraced him.
"Good to see you, bro" sid Kankuro with a grin.
"Now that the Sand Sibling are reunited, let's take it up a notch!"
Tsunade leaped from her slug as she sliced her chakra scalpel through more foes. She caught shight of Dashi using a jutsu.
"Sacred Art: Heavenly Wrath Jutsu!"
A storm seemed to surge around him and he sliced through his opponents with mere flicks of his chakra empowered wrists.
Tsunade turned to Jiraiya and said dryly, "Too bad you can't do that."
Jiraiya frowned as he blasted more foes with his Rasnegan.
Shikamaru and Ino stood close together, hopelessly surrounded by foes.
"Shika," Ino said "I have to use the Mind Transfer Jutsu."
Shikamaru's eye's widened. "No, Ino, you can't! You don't know what might happen!"
Ino's eyes were steadfast. "I've got to try."
Ino placed her hands in front of her, aiming for a Convictor, and said, "Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Ino immediately screamed and collapsed to the ground. Shikamaru rushed over to her.
"Ino!"
Ino's pupils were barely there, her eyes pulsing. She had her hands to her face and screamed as if in pure agony. Shikamaru clenched his fists in anger and turned towards the Convictor.
"Shadow Style: True Shadow Binding Jutsu!"
A hand-like shadow crept up the Convictor's throat and violently snapped its neck.
Shikamaru rushed over to Ino and pressed her up against him.
"Come on, Ino. Please hang in there."
Karasu lifted his bruised and torn body up. He glared at Kakashi and let his hate pour into his balde as a limitless supply of chakra. The blade glowed an evil black again, and Karasu leapt in for another attack. Kakahshi's blade glowed a shining blue, and countered the darkness of the other weapon. Karasu and Kakashi took off into the air, their weapons clashing over and over again.
Sakura stood near Sasuke and held her own in the fight. She started to become surrounded as she got more and more tired.
"I have to finish these guys off while I can!" she though.
She started performing handsigns and said, "Wind Style: Heavenly Rose Blossom Storm!"
A mixture of white, pink, and red rose petals began to fly around, slicing through all in their path with their incredible chakra.
"I can make a difference…"
Sasuke had been doing fairly well. A Convictor managed to sneak up on him. The snake sent its tail crashing into the ground and flung Sasuke into the air. It quickly shot its neck out to snatch him, but Sasuke cut through it with the Lightning Blade Chidori. Two more appeared then.
"Well, I gotta use this."
Sasuke used handsings and said, "Fire Style: The Dragon's Twin Breaths of Flame!"
Sasuke shot two enormous blasts of fire and incinerated both Convictors. Sasuke saw Sakura knocked down and came to her rescue, killing a couple more Shadow Riders.
"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked.
"By the wall," Sakura replied.
Naruto stood defiantly on the wall, killing as many Shadow Riders before they passed into the city.
"I won't let you destroy my home! I will protect it with all I am!"
Naruto launched a Rasengan at an approaching Convictor, killing it on contact. More than a dozen Convictors began to approach.
"Come on, darn fox, help me out…"
Naruto's eye lit up and he turned resolutely towards the Shadow Riders.
"Kyuubi Rasengan!"
Naruto combined the Kyuubi's chakra and his own to form the ultimate Raisegan. The red chakra blast exploded into the forest, wiping out more than a hundred Shadow Riders.
"T-thanks, cursed fox."
"I think you earned it."
All three turned their heads towards Konoha.
"What was that?" Kayume wondered.
Karasu swiped at Kakashi with his spear and flew back a few paces. Kakash did likewise for a breather. Karasu wasn't looking for air, though.
"Forbidden Art: Shadow of Oblivion!"
Karasu shot a blast of black chakra from his hand at Kakashi. Kakashi narrowly side-stepped the blast, which blasted right through the entire forest and killed everything it came into contact with. Kakashi suddenly felt a surge of strength in him as he looked at Kayume and unleashed one final attack on Karasu.
"Sacred Arc Wind Ripper!"
Kakashi swirled his blade in an arc towards Karasu. It flashed a brilliant white and sent an almighty blast of sacred chakra at Karasu, severing right through him. When the light died down, his corpse could be seen hovering above the ground. But he still seemed to be alive. Kakashi was startled to see Kayume step forward.
"It's time for my destiny."
She approached Karasu and started using a long list of complicarted handsigns.
"Sacred Trigrams Divine Sealing Jutsu!"
A celestial pattern appeared around Karasu. His eyes widened and he screamed out in horror.
"Nooooooooo! Not the Sacred Trigram!"
Kakashi's eyes were dazzled by the magnificent sight.
"Kayume, what's going on?" he managed to say.
He could faintly see Kayume's face, looking very sad.
"The Sacred Trigram Divine Sealing Jutsu will seal his soul to the deepest regions of the Netherworld. But…it requires all my life force to work."
Kakashi's eyes widened. "No, Kayume!"
Kayume placed her hand on the outside of the seal, and she trembled as it began to suck away her life force. Kakashi wouldn't let her go, not after all they had been through. Without hesitation, he placed his own hand on hers. He felt dizzy as the seal drained his life force as well. There was a great flash and Kakashi found himself lying on the ground holding Kayume. Her eyes flickered open.
"K-Kakashi, w-why?"
"It needed a hundred percent life force, so I gave it half of mine."
"B-but."
"People do crazy things for the ones they love."
Both of them closed their eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.
Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking
When you fall everyone stands
Another day and you've had your fill of sinking
With the life held in your
Hands are shaking cold
These hands are meant to hold
Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Move along
So a day when you've lost yourself completely
Could be a night when your life ends
Such a heart that will lead you to deceiving
All the pain held in your
Hands are shaking cold
Your hands are mine to hold
Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Go on, go on, go on, go on
When everything is wrong we move along
Go on, go on, go on, go on
When everything is wrong, we move along
Along, along, along
When all you got to keep is strong
Move along, move along like I know you do
And even when your hope is gone
Move along, move along just to make it through
Move along
Go on, go on, go on, go on
Right back what is wrong
We move along
Nightshroud: The final battle is now over. And what a heck of a battle that was, huh? Please R&R!
Next chapter: Aftermath