Neokenshin: OK, OK before any of you kill me, just know why it took me so long to write this chapter!
Kasumi:Alright...we're waiting!
Tenten: Yeah, we're waiting! (She happens to have her Illumina Sword out right now.)
Neokenshin: Ok first put away the sword Tenten. Second, I had a lot of things I was doing.
Naruto: Like WHAT!
Neokenshin: Well I was working on a special crossover with RasenganFin. I helped him do a three chapter special in his story that has his characters come to our world.
Naruto: You...whoa. You did a crossover?
Neokenshin: Yeah. It's really good! When I finish the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, I'm gonna post it here too!
Kasumi: Wow, you have been busy!
Neokenshin: Yeah, that and I moved into a new apartment too. So I've had a lot to do.
Naruto: Alright...we forgive you.
Neokenshin: Great! Well to get things going, I don't own Naruto, and Akemi is used with permission from Dragon Man 180. Also I want to do a special promotion. To anyone that wants to see a little more of my work, feel free to read RasenganFin's "Hinata's Guardian". I helped do Chapters 29-31. Feel free to check it out!
Kasumi: Well let the next chapter begin!
Chapter 30: Race against time!
"Kasumi, how are you holding up?" Temari asked.
"I'm ok. It's just hard to stay focused knowing they have Sasuke." Kasumi replied.
"Look, don't worry too much. We're going to bring him back." Temari said, trying to reassure Kasumi.
"I know. I just wish I could have done more to prevent this." Kasumi said.
"There's no way you could have done this alone. They greatly outnumbered you. Just be glad that you're still alive." Temari replied.
"Hey you two notice anything up there?" Shikamaru asked.
"No, I haven't found any trace of them yet. Either they're masking their scent, or something's throwing off my senses." Kasumi said. "I may be a Kitsune hanyou, but I'm nothing compared to Kiba and Akamaru."
"Well, just keep a look out. If we find anything, that will help us." Shikamaru replied.
"Gotcha Shika-kun!" Temari replied with a wink. This shook Shikamaru up a little, but he brushed it off.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru said to himself.
The team of shinobi rushed through the forests of Konoha as quickly as possible. Knowing that this mission was one they couldn't fail, each shinobi was more determined to bring back the target…their friend Sasuke.
"Neji, have you picked up anything yet?" Naruto asked.
"Nothing! They're probably still too far out of range." Neji replied.
"Damn! There has to be something to give us a lead." Naruto said. "What about you Hina-chan, can you pick up anything?"
"I haven't seen anything either. If they've laid traps, then I would have seen them easily." Hinata said.
"This is not going to be easy." Naruto said.
"Everyone, wait up! I have an idea!" Ino said, causing the team to stop.
"Ino did you find something?" Shikamaru said.
"No, but I think I can find out which way they're taking Sasuke." Ino said, walking up to a tree. She closed her eyes and focused her Wood Energy into her palm. Gently touching the tree, she asked "Have you seen any other people come this way?"
"Uh, has she gone crazy?" Temari asked.
"I don't know." Tenten said.
"Wait a minute, I know what she's doing! She's combining her Wood Illumina Energy with her Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Hinata said. "She told me that when she first got her powers, she was talking to the flowers in her shop!"
"And what better way to get a lead! If anyone would know, the plants in the area would!" Kasumi said.
"Unbelievable." Shikamaru said.
"Ino, did you find out anything?" Temari asked.
"Yes. The trees told me that five strange figures came this way. They were headed in a northwest direction." Ino said. "I was also told that there are traps set up in that direction."
"Ino, you're brilliant! That was exactly the lead we need!" Chouji said.
"Come on, we have to hurry!" Kasumi said, as she and everyone raced off in the new direction.
"Ugh, can this freak get any heavier!" Jiroubo said, dropping the barrel that Sasuke was in.
"Can you be any more rough? Yeesh, there's actually someone in there you fat idiot!" Tayuya replied.
"Whatever! Give him a while and he'll be fine." Jiroubo said.
"Why are we stopping? We don't have time to waste! With an hour lead, we may not get much ground!" Sakon said.
"Like anyone they send will be able to stop us. We're perfectly fine." Kidomaru replied. "I think we can even prepare a small snack and no one would still catch up to us!"
"Then if you're so confident, why don't you stay behind while they catch up!" Ukon said.
"Whatever! Like those worthless Genin are gonna catch up to us!" Kidomaru said.
"Too bad not all of us are Genin!" Naruto screamed, throwing several kunai at the group.
"Let Sasuke go now!" Kasumi said.
"What the, how did you get past our traps!" Kimimaro asked.
"It's easy when the trees tell you the fastest way to avoid them!" Ino said.
"So I guess you think you're all pretty smart, eh?" Sakon said.
"That's more we can say about you five." Naruto replied.
"Then if you're so smart, get out of this!" Jiroubo said, slamming his foot on the ground. The ground started to shake, causing the Konoha team to wonder what was going to happen."
"What in the…" Naruto said, before he and the rest of his team was surrounded by a huge dome of rock. "Chouji, why'd you set up a Rock Wall?"
"It wasn't me. It was that fat guy!" Chouji replied.
"Too bad you won't be getting out of there. After I drain all your chakra, I'll kill each one of you." Jiroubo said from outside the rock dome.
"He's draining our chakra! This isn't good, we have to get out of here now!" Shikamaru said.
"How are we going to do that!" Temari asked.
"Let me go Bankai, and I'll shatter it instantly with my Gaia Crusher." Chouji said.
"No, save your trump card Chouji." Neji said. "I have a better idea."
"What did you have in mind Neji-kun?" Haku asked.
"Actually it's a move I think everyone would have loved to see at the Chuunin Final Match. Naruto, are you and Hinata-sama up for a double Rasengan?" Neji asked.
"Sure. But will that be enough to break through this wall?" Naruto said.
"It will be when Kasumi uses her Foxfire Chidori, and I use a new technique myself." Neji said, holding his arm in a familiar pose.
"Neji, since when did you…" Naruto asked.
"Sasuke's not the only one that can learn something from Kakashi-sensei." Neji said, gathering lightning energy in his hand. "So are we gonna do this or not?"
"Hehe, I like your plan. Alright everyone stand back." Naruto said, as he gathered chakra for his signature jutsu. Hinata followed suit, and Kasumi gathered foxfire in a motion similar to Neji.
"Hey, they aren't saying anything in there?" Kidomaru asked.
"That's because they're probably all out of chakra!" Jiroubo replied.
"Good. Stay here and hold them off. Kidomaru take Sasuke and let's go." Kimimaro said.
"Don't die on us fat boy!!" Kidomaru said, hoisting the barrel on his back. He and the other four quickly took off leaving Jiroubo by himself.
"Call me fat boy again and I'll rip off your arms!" Jiroubo screamed. He walked back over to the dome of rock to see if anything had changed with his prisoners.
"Hmm, since you're probably all out of chakra, what should I do to finish you off?" Jiroubo asked.
"Maybe you can watch our little surprise!" Tenten said.
"Surprise?" Jiroubo replied.
"Yeah namely this! Naruto, Hinata, Kasumi, NOW!" Neji screamed.
"RASENGAN!" Naruto and Hinata said, slamming their hands into the wall.
"FOXFIRE CHIDORI!" Kasumi said.
"CHIDORI!" Neji said. The four slammed their hands into the rock wall as hard as they could, easily shattering Jiroubo's trap.
"What! No one has ever shattered my rock!" Jiroubo said.
"Well there's a first time for everything!" Chouji said.
"Then I guess it's a first time for you to see this!" Jiroubo screamed, as he reached down and lifted a huge mass of rock.
"Holy cow! Since when could he do that!" Haku asked.
"That thing will flatten us if we don't do something!" Tenten said.
"All of you get out of here and get Sasuke! I'll stay back and handle this guy!" Chouji said.
"No! We're not leaving you behind Chouji!" Hinata said.
"Listen, I'm the Earth Knight. This guy wants to fight with rocks, then I'm the only one that can take him out! GO NOW!" Chouji screamed.
"Alright Chouji. Just don't die, got it!" Shikamaru said, as he and everyone else took off.
"That meant you too Ino! Go now!" Chouji said.
"No! I'm staying! I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Ino cried. "You're my teammate and my boyfriend. I have to fight beside you!"
"Oh how touching. Too bad you can watch as all your friends get crushed like the insects they are!" Jiroubo said, throwing the huge rock at the rest of the team.
"Not if I have to say anything about it! BODY EXPANSION JUTSU!" Chouji screamed, increasing his mass. "ILLUMINA STYLE: MEAT TANK!" Chouji began to spin at an unbelievable speed as his entire body was covered in rock. He barreled at high speed crashing head on into Jiroubo's boulder, shattering it into pieces.
"Hey Chouji, thanks for the save!" Shikamaru said, as he and the rest of the team disappeared into the forest.
"Just great. Now I'm left to deal with trash like you." Jiroubo said.
"Oh we're trash now?" Ino replied. "Seems kind of embarrassing when trash breaks through such a strong wall of rock, isn't it?"
"Whatever. Considering you stayed behind to let your friends go ahead simply says that you're not strong enough to help them. That's why you're considered trash." Jiroubo said, picking up another large rock. "Now it's time I get rid of this trash!" He hurled the rock directly at Chouji and Ino, thinking he would easily crush the two. Unfortunately, he wasn't expecting what would happen next.
"BANKAI!" Chouji and Ino screamed, releasing their full energy. Ino instantly began absorbing all the sunlight around her while Chouji's body was encased in his Diamond Armor. Chouji then countered by using his Body Expansion to increase his arm size, and punch through the rock.
"If that's all you're going to do, then we're not going to break much of a sweat." Chouji said, taking out a small blue pill. "Maybe I need to give you more of a challenge?" He ate the blue pill, and his chakra increased greatly.
"Chouji's using the pills now? I know we've been training a lot, but he's getting this desperate already?" Ino thought. "Whatever it is, I can't let him go as far as to use the red pill."
"So you want to take it up a notch." Jiroubo said, as black markings began to cover his body. "I think level one of my Cursed Seal will be enough."
"Not if you can't move!" Ino said, putting her hands on the ground. "POLLEN STORM!" She channeled her Illumina Energy into the ground, causing a massive cloud to spray up around Jiroubo. "I hope you like my Paralysis Pollen!"
"Heh, you think this will work! My Cursed Seal is already neutralizing any type of toxin in my body." Jiroubo said, inhaling a massive amount of Ino's pollen. "Though maybe you should try a little of your own medicine!" Using his Cursed Seal, Jiroubo blew the pollen back towards Chouji with force. Ino knew that as strong as she made the pollen, it would take forever to wear off on Chouji.
"Chouji, move!" Ino screamed, pushing him out of the way. She then took the full force of her own pollen, instantly suffering from the paralysis.
"Ino!" Chouji said, watching her fall to the ground.
"Oh I'm not done." Jiroubo said, rushing in to deliver an earth-shattering blow to Ino. Chouji could only watch in shock as she coughed up a shot of blood after taking the hit. "I should snap you like the scrawny twig you are, but I think I'll savor this moment."
"You'll pay for that!" Chouji screamed, rushing in to attack Jiroubo. The two began to attack each other in a fury of heavy strikes. Neither was suited for speed, so they used brute strength to try and take the other down.
"So the fatso is trying to get the upper hand?" Jiroubo said.
"Don't ever call me fat!" Chouji screamed. He slammed his foot into the ground, causing a large rock to rise up in front of him. "See how you like this! ROCK SPIKE!" He punched the rock with force, sending thousands of shards of rock towards Jiroubo.
"Like that will work! DOROKU GAESHI! (Earth Shore Return)" Jiroubo screamed, slamming his hands into the ground, causing a wall of rock to flip up in front of him. "I can even do you one better on your Rock Spike! See my version!" Jiroubo slammed his fist into the wall of rock, causing larger chunks of rock to fly towards Chouji. Even though he was encased in his Diamond Armor, the speed and power that Jiroubo put into his attack still caused Chouji damage.
"How the hell could he have possibly hurt me?" Chouji said.
"I told you, you are nothing but trash." Jiroubo replied. "You have no chance of winning."
"That's what you think!" Chouji said, taking the yellow pill from his pouch. After taking it he felt another surge of chakra in his system. About this time Ino had come to and had seen what he did.
"Oh no! He's taken the yellow pill! This isn't good. If he takes the red one…I have to help him end this!" Ino thought. She began to focus all her absorbed energy and channeled it all through her body, healing any damage she sustained. She was even able to nullify the effect of the paralysis pollen in her system as well.
"Ino, are you ok?" Chouji asked, after seeing her get back on her feet.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I shook off the pollen." Ino said, dusting herself off. "Besides I owe that fat tub of lard for hitting me so hard."
"So, you're going to have to make me go all out on you. Well that's perfectly fine with me." Jiroubo said, as his seal began to engulf his entire body. He became more demonic and his power rose exponentially.
"Ino, come on. We'll show him just what it means to deal with us!" Chouji said.
"Got it Chouji!" Ino replied, gathering a mass of solar energy in her hand.
"I'd like to see you try anything!" Jiroubo said, charging at the two.
"He's all yours Ino!" Chouji said, grabbing her hand and throwing her toward Jiroubo as hard as he could.
"See how you like this! NATURE'S WRATH!" Ino screamed, as she channeled every ounce of her stored solar energy into her hand, increasing the size of her Solar Blast. With her speed, she was sure that the damage would end the battle instantly.
"What the hell!" Jiroubo said, before Ino slammed her massive Solar Blast into his chest.
"DIE!" Ino said, as her energy engulfed the Sound shinobi. When her attack hit, it burst in an explosion throwing her back towards Chouji. There was no way that Jiroubo could have survived it.
"Chouji, I got him! We did it!" Ino said.
"You bet we did!" Chouji said.
"Don't be so sure!" Jiroubo said, rushing out of the smoke. This caught Ino and Chouji off guard, causing him to easily deliver a hard punch to Ino, knocking her into a tree. He then set his sights on Chouji, unleashing blow after blow that caused Chouji to struggle to protect himself. Chouji was about to counterattack, when Jiroubo hit him so hard that it actually shattered his Diamond Armor!
"Chouji!" Ino said, struggling to get to her feet.
"Where did you?" Chouji said, before Jiroubo grabbed him.
"I told you, at level two, my seal makes me near invincible. My strength is increased exponentially as well. You can't win!" Jiroubo said, throwing Chouji over towards Ino.
"Chouji! Are you ok?" Ino said, moving over to her injured boyfriend.
"Looks like I have no choice either." Chouji said, reaching for a vial in his pocket.
"No, don't do it! If you take that pill…you…you'll…" Ino said, with tears beginning to form.
"Ino, I have no choice. In order for me to save you, I have to do this." Chouji said.
"No, we can find another way to beat him. We can…" Ino said, before she was cut off by Chouji's kiss.
"Hold the bastard down for me." Chouji said, releasing the kiss. "And know this…I love you Ino Yamanaka." He then took the red pill, causing his body to explode in a rage of chakra as all of his excess body fat was burned off, leaving him quite slim. Two large chakra butterfly wings appeared on his back, causing him to levitate. "Alright fatso! It's time you die!"
"I still find it hard that trash like you can still fight." Jiroubo said, ready to strike Chouji again.
"That's because we're not trash!" Chouji said, rushing at Jiroubo. His new speed caught Jiroubo off guard as he was pummeled by Chouji's strikes.
"How…how could you become so much more powerful!" Jiroubo said, taking another one of Chouji's strikes.
"It's because I have a reason to fight. I fight for my friends." Chouji said, delivering a hard strike into Jiroubo's chest. "I fight for my family!" His second strike was a hard hook to the face, causing blood to spill from Jiroubo's mouth. "I fight for my village!" He grabbed hold of Jiroubo, slamming him hard to the ground. "And lastly…" Chouji turned and looked at Ino. She saw the fire of determination and love in his eyes and knew what she needed to do.
"Spirits of Nature, please bind our enemy." Ino said, forcing the remaining Illumina Energy in her body into the ground. This energy caused numerous roots to wrap around Jiroubo, holding him while he struggled. "Finish him Chouji!"
"And lastly…I fight for the one I love!" Chouji said, leaping high above Jiroubo. He hovered in the air for a few seconds as he gathered every ounce of his remaining power in his fist. Chouji then descended with unbelievable speed aimed directly at Jiroubo. "I hope you enjoy your trip! I've got your one way ticket straight to hell!"
"You can't do this!" Jiroubo said, struggling to break free. He didn't know that he was staring in the face of his executioner.
"I can…and I will! SUPREME GAIA CRUSHER!" Chouji screamed, slamming his fist directly into Jiroubo's chest. The sheer force of his attack created a crater nearly a mile wide. The shock was so powerful it could even be felt back in Konoha. As for Jiroubo, taking the full force of Chouji's Gaia Crusher killed him instantly. All that was left where Chouji landed his strike was a deep indentation the shape of Jiroubo at least 3000 feet deep.
"Holy cow! Did you feel that?" Shikamaru said.
"Was that Chouji? I never knew he had that kind of power!" Naruto said.
"It is possible…if he used his family's jutsu pills." Shikamaru said. "I just hope he didn't need to use the red one."
"Shikamaru, what happens if he used that one?" Temari asked.
"He'll die." Shikamaru replied.
"He'll WHAT!" Naruto screamed.
"It's finished." Chouji said, breathing heavily. He was staring at the hole that Jiroubo had made after taking the hit from Chouji's attack.
"Chouji…are you ok!" Ino said, making her way to her boyfriend.
"The better question…is are you ok?" Chouji asked, before he collapsed to the ground. The giant blue butterfly wings slowly disappeared as Chouji was trying to catch his breath.
"Chouji!" Ino cried, rushing to be by Chouji's side.
"I guess…I overdid it." Chouji said weakly.
"You big idiot! I told you not to do that!" Ino said, taking out one of Akane's energy treats. "Here, take this."
"You know…you always look beautiful…in the sunlight." Chouji said, slowly consuming the energy treat.
"What is it with you big guys?" Ino said, starting to cry.
"The reason…we're so big…is because we need…all that space for our…big hearts." Chouji replied, touching Ino's face.
"Chouji Akemichi…if you don't live through this…I swear I'm going to kill you, you know that!" Ino said in tears.
"I wouldn't have it…any other way…Ino-chan." Chouji said, slowly blacking out.
"Come on…let's get you back home." Ino said, slowly getting to her feet. She wrapped his arm around her shoulder and slowly made her way back to Konoha, in the hopes of saving her beloved. "Please…for all that is good in the world…please don't die on me Chouji!"
"Hmm." Neji said, looking behind him.
"Neji, what's up?" Shikamaru asked. "Any idea on what happened with Chouji and that big guy?"
"Yeah, I think Chouji won. I can see two chakra networks, but one is very weak." Neji replied.
"Dammit! He used the red pill!" Shikamaru cursed.
"Shikamaru, does that mean Chouji's really going to die?" Hinata asked.
"No, Chouji won't give up that easily." Shikamaru said. Though he was really thinking, "I hope he doesn't give up that easily."
"Come on, they couldn't have gotten far. We need to catch those four if we want Sasuke back!" Temari replied.
"Did you feel that shock?" Sakon asked.
"You don't think Jiroubo got his ass killed, do you?" Tayuya replied.
"It doesn't matter if he did or not. We still have a mission to complete." Kimimaro said. "Kidomaru, give Sasuke to Sakon and Ukon."
"What for?" Kidomaru replied.
"I want you to set up a little trap for the rest of those genin in case they're following us." Kimimaro said, with an evil smile.
"Ahh, I should welcome them to the parlor, said the spider to the flies." Kidomaru smiled. "With pleasure Kimimaro." He then tossed the barrel containing Sasuke to Sakon, and fell back into a heavily covered part of the trees.
"Tayuya, Sakon, we need to speed up. Orochimaru-sama needs Sasuke back immediately." Kimimaro said.
"Right." Sakon and Tayuya replied.
"Are you sure you can catch up to them in time? You know you won't be able to track their scents." Tsunade asked.
"Trust me, we'll be perfectly fine." Kiba replied as Akamaru jumped into his jacket.
"That's right. Gaara-kun gave me this special charm that has his chakra in it. He has another one just like it, and they will react when we get close to them." Kin said, pulling out her necklace. "Besides, I have to get my sister back!"
"We know they're headed towards the Valley of the End, so that's the direction we're headed. I'm just surprised he's back up and running!" Kiba said, pointing to Lee who was doing some stretching.
"An injury will not stop me from helping my friends!" Lee replied. "My flames will burn even hotter that Sasuke's fire!"
"That's good and all Lee, but come on, we need to get out there and be their support team." Sakura replied.
"Don't think you're going without our help!" Akemi said, as she and Hanabi were riding on top of Hishou.
"Sasuke's just as important to you as he is to us." Hanabi added.
"That's good. With you guys and Hishou, we'll have some good help." Kiba replied. "Come on, let's rock!"
"Is it me, or has it gotten a lot more eerie around here?" Hinata asked.
"Why would you say that Hina-chan?" Naruto replied.
"I dunno. It's like we're about to fall into another trap." Hinata said, rubbing her arms.
"Let's stop at that small clearing. We can get our bearings and see if anything is up." Shikamaru replied, pointing towards a small clearing in the forest.
"Sound's good. Hinata-sama and I should be able to pick up their chakra trails and then we can get back to trailing them." Neji said, as he and the others landed on the clearing.
"Hinata, I think I'm starting to agree with you when you said it feels more eerie here." Haku said, feeling a chill go down her spine. Unknown to her and the rest of the group, they were being watched.
"So, any idea on which way they are?" Shikamaru asked.
"Yeah, I can see their chakra trails. They're headed to the northeast." Hinata replied.
"It looks like they haven't gotten too far. If we hurry we can catch them." Neji said.
"Then let's move!" Shikamaru replied, before he was cut off by a strange voice.
"You can't leave yet. You've just entered my parlor, said the spider to the fly." Kidomaru said from the trees. As he said that, numerous spiders began to descend from the trees.
"Oh man, why did it have to be spiders!" Temari said, with a slight chill.
"I see my friends have taken a liking to you." Kidomaru replied, climbing down from a strand of chakra webbing.
"You know I thought Shino was a little creepy with his bugs before I got to know him, but this guy is off the chart!" Tenten replied, trying to swat away some spiders.
"You know I don't like it when you harm my pets. I'll just have to kill you for it." Kidomaru replied, spitting out numerous balls of a webbing substance.
"Ok now that is completely disgusting!" Temari said.
"I don't think I'll be eating for a while." Kasumi replied, trying not to throw up.
"Of course you won't be eating. When I'm done, my spiders will be the ones that have eaten…and you are their main course!" Kidomaru said as he finished spitting out the webbing. What stood before the rescue team was a giant spider web that Kidomaru could easily move on.
"Ugh, this is just so wrong!" Haku replied.
"Look we don't have time to mess around with this freak." Naruto said. "Come on let's get…what the hell!" He noticed that he couldn't move and saw a shiny substance near his feet.
"What is this crap!" Shikamaru said, trying to pull his feet free.
"It's my special formula. It's a variation of my webbing that uses chakra to hold its victims in place." Kidomaru laughed.
"Well, this stuff won't hold us for long!" Naruto replied, trying to cut his feet out of the substance. The only problem…is that his kunai didn't make a dent! "I said…this stuff won't hold us for long!"
"Naruto, we can't cut through it!" Temari said, trying to use her wind jutsu to cut through as well.
"My web is as strong as steel. Nothing can cut it." Kidomaru said with an evil smile.
"Steel…Heh, you're not as smart as you look, you six armed freak!" Tenten said, coming up with a plan.
"What could you possibly do anyway?" Kidomaru questioned.
"Why would you have a substance as strong as metal, against someone that controls metal itself!" Tenten said. "Not only that, but it seems that your steel webbing also has another weakness!" She pulled out two kunai and proceeded to fuse her elemental power into both of them.
"So you think you've found a weakness to my web." Kidomaru replied.
"You bet I have. You see, in one hand I have a kunai infused with the elements of fire and wind." Tenten said. "In the other I have a kunai infused with the power of wood. Now watch what happens when I use them." She took the fire/wind kunai and easily cut through the webbing. The element of fire superheated her kunai, and with the element of wind perfecting the sharpness of the blade, it could cut through anything. She then took the wood powered kunai and passed it through the web. The chakra absorbing power disrupted the chakra flow in the webbing and caused it to dissolve. Tenten then moved over and freed everyone else from the webbing.
"How could you! That was some of my strongest webbing!" Kidomaru said in rage.
"Trust me, don't ever mess with the Mistress of Metal." Tenten replied.
"Tenten, awesome job! Since chakra disruption will release the webbing, that means he wouldn't last against the Juuken style!" Neji replied.
"Well if Neji's staying, then so am I." Haku said. "You guys take off and get Sasuke."
"Don't die on us now, ok." Naruto replied.
"Wouldn't have it any other way nii-chan!" Haku said, nodding back at Naruto.
"Neji…show 'em not to mess with the Hyuuga!" Hinata said. Neji could see the fierceness burning in her stare. He knew she wanted him to unleash hell's fury upon Kidomaru, and he wouldn't have it any other way.
"Hinata-sama…it will be my pleasure!" Neji said, cracking his knuckles. He watched as everyone else took off after the other three Sound nin, leaving behind himself and Haku. "So Haku-chan, think you're up for a little spider extermination?"
"Most definitely Neji-kun!" Haku replied, tightening her hitai-ate.
"So you're my opponents. Well I'll finish you quickly. You'll make fine snacks for my spiders." Kidomaru smirked, as he bit his thumb. "Speaking of which, say hello to my friend. KUCHYOSE NO JUTSU!" Kidomaru slammed his hand on the center of the web and summoned a spider…a big spider…ok this spider was huge! Behind it was three giant egg sacs containing numerous smaller spiders.
"N—n—n—Neji!!" Haku trembled. "That—that—that thing is…"
"Haku, don't tell me you're afraid?" Neji replied.
"No, I'm not afraid of spiders. I just don't like them! Especially ones THAT big!" Haku said, rubbing her arm to hide her chill.
"Then there's only one way to get rid of spiders…you squash them!" Neji said.
"Don't make me laugh!" Kidomaru laughed, as the egg sacs opened and hundreds of smaller spiders began to crawl out on the web and even onto him. "Go my spiders, attack!" The spiders shot towards Neji and Haku at high speed, ready to strike. Neji knew exactly what he was going to do to stop them…though Haku had no idea and was about to learn first hand.
"Neji-kun here theyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy" Haku said, as Neji pushed her hard out of the way.
"KAITEN!" Neji screamed, beginning his rotation. The spiders began to fly off in all directions, but then started running back towards Neji.
"Neji, they're coming back!" Haku cried, as the spiders moved faster.
"Damn! Looks like I'm gonna have to get even more serious!" Neji said, finishing his rotation. "Haku, go for that six armed freak while I deal with his minions!"
"Just don't get yourself killed ok!" Haku said, turning her focus to Kidomaru. "As for you…it's time you take a look in the mirror!"
"Oh, so you're going to let me see myself before I kill you? How touching!" Kidomaru smirked.
"Not really." Haku replied, forming some familiar seals. "CRYSTAL ICE MIRRORS!" Kidomaru watched on as Haku's Ice Mirrors started to form around him. Haku jumped in casting her image in each of the mirrors as she prepared to strike.
"Hehe, bring it on girly girl!" Kidomaru said, feeling confident that Haku couldn't do anything to hurt him.
"Time you see what a real ninja can do!" Haku said, dashing out of one of the mirrors. She began to throw a barrage of senbon, easily hitting Kidomaru, but soon she noticed something wasn't right…he didn't seem to be taking damage. "What the…how in the world are you not getting hit by my senbon?"
"Took you long enough to realize. The webbing I used to hold you and your loser friends earlier is made from the same substance that protects me." Kidomaru replied, as a golden substance began leaking from his arms and face. "You see, once my webbing comes in contact with the air, it becomes as hard as steel. To make things better, I can create this substance from not only my mouth, but from every pore on my body!"
"Damn! That means he has armor now! My senbon aren't strong enough even if I concentrate foxfire into them." Haku replied, trying to think of another plan. She even looked back to check on Neji and saw he was having his hands full with the spiders. He was even forced to forgo his Hakke Rokujyuu Yonshou and go straight into Hakke Hyaku Niju Hachi Sho to try and take out the insane wave of spiders. She was hoping he wouldn't be forced to resort to using his new jutsu, but they needed to get rid of this guy, and fast. "I really didn't want to do this but it looks like I have no choice now."
"Trying something new, are you?" Kidomaru said. "Whatever it is, it won't work."
"Oh that's what you think!" Haku replied, dispelling her Ice Mirrors. "Neji, we're going to have to try it now!"
"Already! Damn I haven't had time to perfect the technique yet!" Neji said.
"Well we don't have a choice! Just be ready!" Haku screamed.
"Guess now is as good a time as ever." Neji thought. "Let's just hope the chakra strain doesn't kill me."
"Ok spider boy, try to deal with this! ARCTIC STORM!" Haku cried, summoning the strongest snowstorm she could muster.
"A snowstorm! That's all you have!" Kidomaru said, forming what looked like a bow from his webbing substance. "You two are boring me. I'm just going to kill you now and get it over with!"
"That's if you have the chance!" Haku replied, forming some new hand seals. "Looks like you get to be the first target of my newest bloodline jutsu! HYOTON: TSUBAME FUBUKI! (Ice Release: Swallow Snow Storm)" Within seconds Haku caused the snow around her to form into thousands of small swallows. Each swallow had razor sharp wings that could slice through her enemies with ease. It was a steep improvement from her Flying Water Needles, and it had taken quite a while for her to perfect it. "Just try to block these!"
"How can she…these are sharper than her senbon!" Kidomaru replied, covering his face to block Haku's new jutsu.
"This is the power of water and wind combined! And now you get to feel the force the legendary Hyuuga Clan!" Haku screamed, as she landed a flying kick that knocked Kidomaru from his summon. He began to fall towards Neji, who was in position to unleash the new technique he had been working on himself. "Neji, he's all yours! You can do it!"
"I hope I can. Hiashi-sama said this is one of the most powerful techniques of the clan, and if I wasn't careful it could kill me. But that will not happen this day." Neji thought.
"You stupid fox bitch! I'll make you pay for that!" Kidomaru screamed, as he landed. His focus was on Haku, so he didn't know that Neji was right behind him ready to strike.
"One rule…NEVER address my girlfriend by anything other than her proper title! She is a royal Kitsune vixen, got that!" Neji replied angrily. "And now you're gonna see why you should never disrespect her!"
"What! Where the hell did you…" Kidomaru said, noticing Neji's palm was on his chest.
"DIE! HAKKE HAZANGEKI!" Neji screamed, forcing all of his chakra out of his palm. The chakra exploded through Kidomaru with force, causing him massive internal damage. The landscape behind him took a pretty strong hit as well, as Neji's chakra shattered a large boulder that was about 200 feet away. Kidomaru coughed up a large amount of blood as he slowly fell to the ground. He looked up to see Neji wasn't doing as well either.
"YAA!!!" Neji screamed, clutching his hand. "I knew it wasn't ready!"
"So…your jutsu backfired!" Kidomaru laughed slowly.
"Neji-kun, what's wrong!" Haku said, rushing in to help her boyfriend.
"Too much chakra! It's a potential side effect of the Hakke Hazangeki!" Neji cringed. "I pushed so much chakra out of my palm at once, that it injured the Tenketsu in my hand!"
"Neji, I'm sorry! I didn't mean for this to happen to you!" Haku said, as she quickly channeled some green chakra into her hand. When Tsunade returned she had taught all the girls the Mystical Palm Jutsu to help with healing. Haku could only hope that she could heal some of the damage in his hand.
"It's ok Haku-chan. I knew I wasn't ready to use the Hakke Hazangeki yet. But I think I did some serious damage to spider boy over there." Neji grimaced as he felt the burning pain in his hand.
"You really think that hurt me? My chakra webbing made it so most of your blast was deflected." Kidomaru said with a sinister laugh. As he rose from the ground, his skin began to change to a dark brown as his cursed seal went to its second level. His hitai-ate fell to the ground to reveal a hideous third eye. Horns began to grow from his shoulders as well, turning Kidomaru into more of a beast than human…as if someone with six arms could be considered human. "Now it's time I have some real fun!"
"Oh you want to take this to the next level, do you?" Haku said. "Well we'll do just the same. Neji, do you think you can activate it?"
"I can forgo the pain if it means killing this punk." Neji replied, bringing his arms up to his face. "It's time he witnesses the full power of Lightning and Ice!"
"BANKAI!" Neji and Haku screamed, unleashing the full force of their Illumina Power. Kidomaru was now blessed with standing before a Hyuuga with streams of lighting surging all around his body, and feeling the chill from the Third Kitsune Princess, who now wielded her sword of the shinigami.
"And I thought I looked bad. But blue is definitely not your color foxy!" Kidomaru laughed.
"Say what you want. But trust me that laugh will be your last." Haku said, ignoring the comment about her light blue skin.
"I will kill you here and now for what you've done to Konoha and our friends." Neji said with a deep killing intent in his eyes. He began to concentrate all of his lightning energy into his fist, ready to release it at a moment's whim.
"Not if Kyodaigumo has anything to say!" Kidomaru said, jumping back up into his giant web. His giant spider fell to the ground and began to glow with a black aura. "Thanks to Orochimaru-sama's Shadow Gem, Kyodaigumo is much more powerful than before."
"Whatever! That spider's about to become an ice cube!" Haku screamed, running towards the large spider. As she ran snowflakes seemed to fall from her tails and ears, giving her a more sparkling look. "See how you like getting impaled by Sode no Shiraiyuki!" Haku leapt into the air, landing on the back of Kyodaigumo. She unsheathed her sword, and stabbed it directly into the back of the giant spider. The beast began to roar as ice from Haku's sword began to encase it. Within seconds, Haku had frozen the giant spider.
"I guess it's my turn now." Neji said, looking at the now frozen spider. "Say goodbye to your little pet! LIGHTNING CRUSHER!" Neji slammed his fist into the ground, sending a wave of lighting at the frozen spider. Within seconds he shattered the ice cube, destroying the summon with ease. What the two didn't know is that when Kyodaigumo was destroyed, he left behind a parting gift…namely some very strong webbing, and Haku was right in the path of the web!
"Eww! This stuff is all over me!" Haku said, trying to get the web off her.
"You won't be going anywhere! Kyodaigumo's web is some of the strongest webbing around!" Kidomaru said from his web in the trees.
"Neji-kun! Help!" Haku cried as she tried to break free from the webbing.
"You bastard! Let her go now!" Neji screamed.
"Oh I will…after she's been impaled!" Kidomaru replied, as he began to spit out a large glob of his golden webbing. He crafted it into a large arrow that had a long rope of web attached. "Let's see if I can hit those tails all at once!"
"Hold on Haku!" Neji said, rushing to his girlfriend. He began to strike various points of the web with his non-injured hand in the hopes of weakening the web so Haku could escape. "Damn, this stuff is worse than before!"
"Neji-kun please hurry!" Haku cried, as she stared at Kidomaru's large arrow.
"I won't let you die Haku-chan!" Neji thought, as he continued to strike as fast as he could. He even began to use his injured hand, even though he could only channel very small amounts of chakra through it, it was effective. The only side effect was the intense pain he felt.
"This is perfect! Two with one shot! Have fun in hell you two!" Kidomaru said, firing his arrow.
"Oh no!" Haku cried, closing her eyes.
"There! It's done!" Neji said, as his last strike broke Haku free. He pushed her out of the way and through his Byakugan he saw the arrow coming. He only had a split second to move before he would be killed, so he moved ever so slightly, causing the arrow to pierce just below his shoulder. The arrow impaled itself into a tree and held Neji in place.
"Damn! I missed the girl! Well I'll get her on the next shot." Kidomaru said to himself.
Haku turned to see the arrow had impaled her love, and saw blood begin to fall from his wound. She hadn't felt a pain like this since she watched Zabuza die on her back in Wave.
"Neji, you idiot! What did you think you were doing!" Haku cried as tears streamed down her face. Since she was still in her Bankai form, her body temperature caused the tears to freeze into crystals as they fell off her face.
"Crystal tears…only someone as beautiful as you…could do that." Neji cringed.
"You know, it's mostly your fault I'm like this!" Haku said, wiping away the tears from her eyes. "If I had never met you, I'd still probably be a little colder inside."
"And what about me…you did the same thing to me." Neji chuckled. "But you know…I wouldn't trade it for the world."
"Well then, how about we finish this guy for good. Then I can take care of you. I still have to repay you for keeping me from being captured back in the Kitsune Village." Haku said.
"That's fine with me." Neji said.
"Hey I see someone over there!" Akemi screamed from Hishou.
"Who is it!" Sakura said.
"I think it's Ino-chan and Chouji-kun!" Akemi said. "And it looks like Chouji-kun's hurt!"
"Oh man, this is already getting serious!" Kiba replied. "Come on, we gotta hurry!"
Kiba's team hurried through the forest when they finally caught up to Ino and Chouji. Chouji was still unconscious from using his family's jutsu pills, and Ino was doing all she could to keep him alive. She was nearly drained of every ounce of energy she had from constantly keeping her Nature's Healing active on Chouji.
"Ino what happened!" Sakura said, rushing up to her friend.
"Sakura-chan am I glad to see you!" Ino said, weakly. "We had a run in with one of the guys that took Sasuke."
"Well it's obvious that you two survived. But what happened to Chouji! And why does he look like that!" Sakura said, noticing Chouji was a lot thinner.
"He used his family's jutsu pills. It shot his power through the roof! He then took out the guy we were fighting with one hell of a Gaia Crusher." Ino said with a small laugh.
"You mean that was the shake we felt earlier!" Kin asked.
"Yeah, Chouji put everything he had into that strike." Ino said, nearly falling to the ground. Kiba rushed in and caught her before she fell. "I guess I'm just as out of it as well."
"We need to get you two back to Konoha fast!" Kiba said.
"Leave them to us. We can get back faster than you guys can." Hanabi said, as she, Akemi, and Hishou landed.
"Yeah, once we get them to Tsunade-baa-chan, we can catch up." Akemi said, as Lee and Kiba helped Ino and Chouji onto Hishou.
"You guys are awesome. You're gonna be great shinobi someday." Sakura replied.
"Tell that to us after you bring Sasuke-kun back." Hanabi said. "Just be careful out there."
"Just so you know…they headed towards the northwest. You might be able…to catch up fairly soon." Ino said, before she blacked out.
"Thanks you two. You've done enough now." Kiba said. " Alright guys, let's move!"
"Right behind you!" Lee said, as he, Kiba, Sakura, and Kin took off to follow everyone else.
"Come on Hishou, let's get these two back and fast!" Akemi said.
"As you wish Akemi-hime!" Hishou said.
"I'm through with you two! Get ready to die!" Kidomaru said, drawing another arrow.
"Can I ask you something?" Neji said, taking hold of the strand of webbing coming from the arrow. "You said that when your webbing comes in contact with the air, it becomes as hard as steel, correct?"
"No, it becomes like rope. Of course you idiot!" Kidomaru said angrily.
"Perfect. That probably means it will conduct electricity then." Neji said with a smile.
"Of course it…oh hell!" Kidomaru said, realizing he was in big trouble.
"Fry arachno-boy! LIGHTING RAIN!" Neji screamed. Kidomaru looked to the sky to see numerous dark clouds forming. He could hear the thunder roar and saw flashes of lightning in the clouds. He then noticed the worst possible thing…several bolts of lighting came from the sky, crashing into Neji. He looked on to see the Konoha shinobi was charged with lightning. Neji sent the lightning from his body coursing down the long strand of web to his target, electrocuting Kidomaru. The two could hear the screams of the Sound shinobi as the lighting ran through his body. Kidomaru then fell from his tree and would have landed hard if Haku had not have intervened.
"We're not done with you yet!" Haku said, channeling her energy through her sword. "Prepare to feel the wrath of Sode no Shiraiyuki! WHITE RIPPLE DANCE!" Haku thrust her sword as hard as possible, sending waves of ice at Kidomaru. The ice ripped along the ground, freezing everything in its path, even Kidomaru. Haku however, was able to keep the ice from freezing Kidomaru's head, leaving him free to talk.
"How…how could you be so…powerful?" Kidomaru said, trembling from the extreme cold he felt.
"That's easy…we don't rely of the dark power of some seal. Our power comes from our friends, our family, and our will to protect our village." Haku said.
"And with that said…we now pass judgment on you." Neji said, standing up.
"Neji-kun, you shouldn't stand! You're still hurt!" Haku said, tending to her wounded boyfriend.
"I may be hurt, but I still have just enough to do this." Neji said. "I may not have been ready to use the Hakke Hazangeki, but Hiashi-sama said I'm more than ready to use this technique!"
"Which are you…" Haku asked, before she saw Neji's field of divination.
"Just what do you…what do you…" Kidomaru asked. His voice was trembling as he stared death in the eyes.
"Only this!" Neji said, running towards Kidomaru. He used his new speed from his Bankai to race along the thread ready to deliver the most powerful form of one of the trademark Hyuuga techniques. "HAKKE SANBYAKU ROKUJYUU ISSHISA! (Eight Trigrams 361 Palms)"
"You basta…." Kidomaru screamed, before he was cut off by Neji's strikes. Neji's hands move at an unreal speed, striking every single Tenketsu on Kidomaru's frozen body. He easily shattered the ice that encased the spider nin, and each strike he made was lighting charged, delivering even more damage. He then delivered a final destructive blow to Kidomaru's heart, killing him instantly. Neji looked at the now dead shinobi, knowing he truly followed Hinata's words, and had done the Hyuuga proud. That was before he collapsed.
"Neji-kun! Since when did you know that! I thought you could only take your Juuken style to 128 strikes?" Haku asked, as she began to slowly thread the web out of the hole in Neji's body.
"I had been practicing with…Hiashi-sama." Neji said, grabbing hold of his injured hand once again. "When he saw…the 128 Palms, he said I had…the right idea for the 361 Palms. I just needed…to be faster."
"So you used your Bankai speed to do the technique?" Haku asked.
"Yeah…I did. But I think…I made my hand…worse!" Neji grimaced in pain.
"Don't worry, we'll get you back to Tsunade-sama, and you'll be ok." Haku said. That was when she heard some sounds from the forest back in the direction where they left Ino and Chouji.
"Haku-chan! Are you ok?" Sakura asked.
"Sakura…Sakura! Over here!" Haku said, waving at her friend.
"Haku, thank goodness…Neji! What happened to him!" Sakura asked.
"It was that guy over there." Haku said pointing to the dead Kidomaru.
"Neji, you fought with intense fire! You drive me to work even harder to train now!" Lee said, noticing his wounded teammate.
"Nice to see you too…Lee." Neji said slowly.
"Hey you didn't happen to run into Ino and Chouji, did you?" Haku asked.
"Yeah, Chouji's not too good. Ino's ok, just exhausted. Akemi and Hanabi are taking them back to Konoha as we speak." Kin replied. "You two should get back as well."
"I'll be ok. My Kitsune blood has already started healing me." Haku said, powering out of Bankai. "Neji-kun's a different story."
"I'll stay with him and get him back to Konoha. You can stay in contact with everyone else, so you'll be able to catch up faster." Sakura replied. "I can do more good with Neji anyway with my training from Tsunade-sensei."
"Sakura, thank you. Please take care of Neji-kun for me." Haku replied, hugging Sakura.
"You know it. He'll be ok." Sakura said.
"Haku-chan…be careful out there." Neji said.
"Don't worry. I'll be ok. You just get better for me, ok?" Haku asked, as she leaned down and planted a firm kiss on Neji's lips. "And thank you again for saving my life."
"I'd risk my life for yours…any day of the week Haku-chan. That's why I love you." Neji said with a smile.
"I love you too Neji-kun." Haku replied. "Come on, we gotta hurry!" She took off into the forest in hopes of catching up to the rest of the team.
"Gotcha!" Kiba replied. He, Lee, and Kin followed Haku in hopes of being able to get to Sasuke in time.
"Neji…do you think they'll bring Sasuke-kun back?" Sakura asked.
"I don't think…I know. There's two people…that will risk their own lives to…have him home safe." Neji said. "His brother…and his fiancée."
"You're right. They won't give him up without a major fight." Sakura said, helping Neji to his feet. "Come on, let's get you back home Neji. I promised Haku I'd take care of you, and we gotta have you looking better when she gets back."
"Hehe thanks Sakura." Neji smiled.
As Sakura and Neji made their way back towards Konoha, Sakura looked back into the forest where everyone took off. All she could think was one thing…"Come back home…all of you…even you Sasuke-kun."
And so begins the first part of the Retrieval arc. Part of me feels like I could have done better in this chapter and that it feels a little rushed, but I'll leave that up to my readers to decide. Hopefully everyone likes how I finally revealed the Ultimate Illumina Attacks for Neji, Chouji, Ino, and Haku. As for Neji and Haku's new jutsu, I took Haku's from Naruto the Movie 1, and Neji's from Naruto Narutimette Hero 3, and Naruto Shippuuden: Narutimette Accel. Since the Hakke Hazangeki was a move he uses after the Time Skip, I had Neji suffer major damage from using it, since he was still learning to use it properly. Also, if ANYONE knows what the translation for the Hakke Hazangeki is, PLEASE send it to me! Wikipedia use to have translations for all the video game jutsu, but they took it down and I hate it! Oh and if anyone wants to see what Neji's jutsu look like, you can easily find it on YouTube.
As for the story, I wanted to do all five battles, but I think I should wait a bit and then work on the final three fights before the big one...Naruto vs Sasuke. Speaking of Sasuke, in the chapter when he will fight Naruto, it will pretty much be his cursed seal form talking. I want to give his cursed seal form a name, to differentiate between the two...kinda like how Dragon Man 18 had Sasuke and Akuma Sasuke in his story. But calling my Cursed Form Sasuke something like Dark Sasuke, or Demon Sasuke...well I dunno. That's why I'm hoping for ideas on a name. Anything would help.
Well everyone, sorry it took so long, but I'll do my best to get up the Retrieval arc in full! Keep reading!