Chapter 34 – Death by Sound

Midoshi, Kagerō and Kotohime looked at the four men that surrounded them. Midoshi held a small smirk as she was curious as to who they were and why they were here. She could tell that they were not regular Konoha shinobi. They seem to have a purpose for her and her team.

"So, what can we do for you gentlemen today?" Midoshi said.

"You are to disarm yourselves and come with us." The man said. She watched as they reached for their weapons.

"And if I refuse?" Midoshi asked.

"You will be coming with us. It depends on your how." The man said. Kotohime and Kagerō looked ready to deal with them but Midoshi held her hand up.

"No, you guys make your way back to our camp with the scroll. I will deal with them." She said. The two looked ready to refuse but they started to feel the air shift. They got scared and made their way out of the area. One of the shinobi attempted to stop them but suddenly found their head removed from their body. The others three removed their weapons and faced the young woman. She looked at them with a bored look.

"I really don't know why you Konoha-nins are here. I don't really care who you really work for because I know it isn't the Hokage. However, you are attempting to stop me from getting what I want and I will not allow that to happen. It's time I show you what type of an apex predator I am." Midoshi said and unleashed her killing intent, freezing them in their tracks with just a glance. Two of them were able to get out of her gaze as the third was run through their chest by Midoshi's hand.

She threw the body away as she watched the other two began to do hand seals.

"Katon: Ryūka no Jutsu! (Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique)" Bothe were surrounded by fire and several flames that took the shape of dragons attacked Midoshi. She skillfully dodged and avoided the attack and rushed at the two with a smile. Disengaging their techniques, they launch shuriken at her. Midoshi stopped and held her arms out.

"Sen'ei Tajashu. (Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)" She called out calmly and an army of snakes shot forward. Some caught the shuriken while the rest went at the two shinobi. They cut through the snakes with their tanto but this proved to be a mistake. Midoshi appeared behind from within the army of snakes and wrapped around one of the men. She quickly snapped their neck and at the same time pulled out a kunai and stabbed it into their forehead. She stood up straight and faced the last man. She was impressed that the man was not running away and had his tanto in an attack position.

Midoshi summoned a snake from out of her arm and held it. It then transformed into a sword. The blade was beautiful with red and yellow hilt. It gleamed in the moonlight as Midoshi held it above her head. She brought it to her side and with a flick of her wrist; the blade began to move like a snake, rippling at a high speed. She smirked at him and readied herself to attack. The man dug in as Midoshi's charged at him. Through the night sky, no scream was heard, only the tearing of flesh.

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Guren walked around the village without a care. She wasn't scouting or anything as it would be very soon when the village would be burnt to the ground. She was trying to remain casual but it was beginning to become very hard with her tail on her. She noticed it about five minutes when she stepped outside of her hotel room. She didn't know why they were following her but if they thought that she was going down without a fight. She decided to stop playing this cat and mouse game.

She turned into an alley and made her way to a building that was abandoned. She walked into the building and made her way upstairs. When she arrived on the second floor, she found herself confronted with her tail. She looked at them with a sly smile.

"So, you've decided to stop playing as well? Well boys, what do you want from me?" Guren asked.

"Under orders from our lord, you are to come with us." The leader said and they removed their blades.

"On whose orders? Certainly not the Sandaime Hokage?" Guren mocked. They didn't say anything and rushed Guren. Guren just stood waiting as two blades came down on her. She didn't cry out, only grinned at the two as she broke into crystal particles. The two were shocked by this and they were then suddenly attacked by multiple projectiles that came from under them. They were both filled with holes and felt to the ground dead. Under the floor, Guren waited until she saw small drops of blood come from above. She smirked and dispelled a green snowflake looking mirror. She watched out of the building and made her way back to speak with Orochimaru.

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Anko search lead her deep within the forest. She managed to pick up her sensei's trail and followed it. It wasn't long until she caught up with him. She caught the man's attention and snarled at the smirk that was on his face.

"Well, well, well, my dear Anko, you have grown into a beautiful young woman." Orochimaru said mockingly. Anko calmed herself and glared at him.

"Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin (The Legendary Three Ninja), you are wanted for crimes against Konoha. Come peacefully or I will have to use force." Anko said.

"Why so cold Anko? No kind words for your dear sensei?" Orochimaru asked with a little disappointment. Anko didn't say anything and pulled out her jiang. She got into a fighting stance and waited. Orochimaru just chuckled at her. "So you took up the blade? Are you any good with it?" Anko disappeared and reappeared her blade just missing Orochimaru's forehead. She spun around and attempted to slice Orochimaru in two. Orochimaru flipped out of the way. Anko dug her sword into the large branch and kicked up soon pieces, which was thrown in Orochimaru's face. Orochimaru moved to his left to avoid the stab to his throat. Anko pulled it out and got some distance from him. She did some hand seals and took a deep breath.

"Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique)!" Anko shouted and spat out several medium size fireballs at him. Orochimaru circled the tree like a snake while dodging the fireballs. He then launched a snake at Anko, which wrapped around her neck and began to squeeze. She gasped before dissolving into water. Surprised, he was hit but a torrent of water that came from his left. He landed on a branch with a thud. He quickly moved as Anko appeared and drove the blade where he just was.

Anko continued her assault on Orochimaru who just dodged her attacks. She watched as he ducked behind a tree. She hit the tree with the flat of the blade. It bent and managed to catch a bit of Orochimaru if the small bit of blood was any indication. She pulled her blade back and thrust it into the tree. She heard the sound of her blade piercing through flesh. She waited for a while when four snakes came from behind the tree, each having a blade sticking out of their mouths. Anko quickly pulled her blade free and began to parry the blades. With quick movements, she served the heads of snakes and was at the ready.

She spun and deflected a kunai but could not block the kick to her gut. She slid across the branch before coming to a stop. She faced her former sensei and glared at the mocking smile on his face. She took a deep breath and began to wave her sword around. Orochimaru was amused until he saw multiple images of her blade. He waited and raised his arm. He grabbed Anko's wrist and flipped her onto her back.

"Konoha-Ryū Yanagi (Leaf Style Willow) that is a pretty impressive technique you learned Anko-chan. It seems that you have gotten stronger." Orochimaru said. Anko growled but then smirked at him. He was suddenly struck by several snakes that came out of her sleeve. He released her and Anko did another group of hand seals.

"Fūton: Daitoppa! (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)" Anko shouted and blew a strong chakra enhanced wind which connected with Orochimaru. He was sent into a tree with some force and he slumped down onto a branch. He then gasped when Anko ran him through with her sword. She twisted it, making sure that he would bleed out faster. When she looked at him, she was shocked to see him smile at her. That's when he melted into mud.

"Damn it! Come out here, you coward!" Anko roared. Orochimaru just smirked and decided to make her feel pain before engaging her again. He did a seal to activate the Ten no Juin (Cursed Seal of Heaven) that was on her. After a few seconds, he was surprised to see her still standing. He focused a bit more of his chakra but she was not writing in pain like she was supposed to. That little bit of chakra alerted Anko to his location and she charged at him. Orochimaru moved faster and slammed into her. She hit a branch with a thud and was held down by Orochimaru's foot. He took a kunai and cut off a bit of her clothes to see the curse mark. What he saw made him very curious as another seal was over his.

"Well now, what type of seal is that?" Orochimaru asked.

"It's a brand new seal from Jiraiya-sama. You like it?" Anko asked mockingly, which made the Sannin dig his foot into her some more.

"I think not. I know Jiraiya's work and this is not it. So whose work is this?" Orochimaru asked her again.

"Your momma and she told me to tell you that she's very disappointed in you." Anko spat. Orochimaru narrowed his eyes and placed more pressure on her gut.

"You test my patience. Now tell me, whose seal is that?!" Orochimaru asked loudly. He then heard something coming at him and he moved out of the way. He saw that it was a chain that was attached to a fist-size ball. As he was in mid-air, he was suddenly consumed in darkness. He looked up to see several black swords appear. He tried to dispel the genjutsu and found that he couldn't. The swords dived at him and looked ready to skewer him. He unleashed a large amount of chakra to free himself from the genjutsu. When he looked around, he saw that Anko was gone.

"Huh, I don't know who you are but I will not forget this." Orochimaru said to no one. He melted into the tree, knowing that the ANBU would have felt his chakra. After a few minutes, Yakumo released the genjutsu that she placed after casting the first one. She looked around and could not find any trace of the person who had broken her genjutsu, a jutsu that took a lot of chakra to break out of. Seeing that the coast was clear, she looked at her sensei that was being taking care of Naruto and Jakken.

Anko took a few breaths of air before facing her team.

"Have I told you guys how much I loved you?" Anko asked.

"Not really." Jakken answered.

"Good, I ain't going to start now." Anko said with a sigh. The team just chuckled and prepared to move out with their sensei.

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Anko was being carried by two clones, which was holding a man-made stretcher. She wasn't hurt any more but who was she to stop a free ride. Her team was in a classic position that she taught them when moving with an injured person. As they moved, they came across a scene that made them stop. Anko looked up from her position.

"What's going on? Why did you guys stop?" Anko asked.

"Sensei, you've got to see this." Yakumo said. Anko got off the stretcher and stood. She walked over to what they were talking about and narrowed her eyes. There were four bodies on the ground. They were brutally killed by what she saw. She saw that they were ANBU but she them looked closer at the mask. They were not standard ANBU masks that she knew. She looked to Jakken and showed him the mask. He got the question and shook his head. She pocketed the mask and looked at the team.

"We're moving toward the tower and we're moving fast. We'll use the trees and we aren't stopping until we get there." Anko said.

"Hai!" they said and they took off.

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Midoshi's eyes stopped glowing and she had a grin on her face. She had just seen her prey enter the tower which was very pleasing to her. She was a little worried that it would take them so long seeing that Anko was their teacher. Whatever the case, she was happy to know that they made it to the tower. She decided to get some rest but was interrupted by another serpent. Apparently, Orochimaru had called a meeting. She pressed for more and learned that Guren was attacked as well. She decided that she would not ignore this summons and left via Shunshin.

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