Naruto Genkyouien
- ナルト- 幻脅威宴
Chapter Nineteen: Phantom Menace Party – Festival of Violence (Part One)
A ways from the great wall that surrounds Konoha, a young kitsune and his mother exchanged poorly-disguised looks of worry.
"Mother, that was…"
Yumemigahara Himawari returned her gaze to the distant village. The sounds and visuals of war were clear enough. And the display of power they had just witnessed…
"No doubt about it: Higashiyama Sayuri is in this village."
She had always known they would have to tread carefully, but the young nine-tails suddenly raised the bar to a whole new level. Even worse, she apparently was not in the best of moods.
"Yuuki. Have your girls locate Higashiyama Yurimi. Then we'll make our move."
"Alright."
While her son went to retrieve his two servants, Himawari released a host of kudagitsune and sent them to the village to gather intel. She hoped the circumstances would prevent Yuri from noticing them, or at least from intercepting them. While a part of her wondered how the Silver Lily of the Netherworld got involved in the affairs of human shinobi, the seven-tails was not one to look at a gift horse in its mouth.
She would have liked to wait the three years that separated her from her eighth tail, but this was an opportunity she could not afford to lose. Had she rejected her sponsor's proposal, that person would have just found someone else willing to do it.
No other clan but Yumemigahara deserved the title of Great Spirit Clan.
That day, Himawari would ensure the received what she so rightfully deserved.
What should have been hers centuries ago.
Sayuri deeply inhaled, filling her lungs with real oxygen for the first time in almost thirteen years.
She could perceive the world's smells through Naruto, but the real thing was something more…fulfilling.
Then again, the predominant scent in the air was that of smoke and burning things, which probably improved the experience for her.
Her red pupils flickered from left to right, scanning the scope of her surroundings in a moment. Then she looked behind her, at the large fireball which still roared near the edge of the rooftop. With the massive tails of flame gone, the heat irradiated by the fireball had dropped from 'potentially lethal' to 'exhausting but somehow tolerable'.
Naruto's body was barely visible within the flames.
"Onii-chan…" While her face showed little emotion, her voice was rich with affection and sorrow.
She still did not know how she made it out. She only knew the other Sayuri did something. It mattered little. She was out.
She was out, and she had things to burn.
It was Sayoko, of all people, who attempted a first contact.
"Sayuri-sama—"
"Sayuri is angwy."
And she proved her point by releasing her fearsome chakra.
"Guh-aaagh!"
"Hawa! Yurina-chan!"
The young Yurina was the first to succumb to Sayuri's aura of sheer might. The pulse of power shut the power off her legs and sent her sprawling down until her mother caught her. Yuriyo, too, fell on her knees, looking as if she were about to puke, which she was.
"Guh…I had forgotten…this disgusting feeling…"
"Mayuri-chan!" Yurisa promptly kneeled in front of her daughter. "Please be strong!"
The small Time kitsune nodded weakly while she covered her mouth. No amount of power over time and space protected her from the all-consuming might/rage/wish-to-burn in Sayuri's chakra. It was only the hardiness she had gained after witnessing countless endings which allowed her not to falter like Yurine's young daughters.
"Orochimaru-sama!"
The Sound Four, deeming it safe to return to the roof, appeared behind their commander, and immediately fell on their knees by the metaphysical pull of Sayuri's presence.
"Sayuri…is angwy!" the little girl repeated, this time focusing her burning glare on Itou Makoto, who was trying, and mostly failing, to make sense of the situation.
He could see nine tails. He could feel her power. But it did not change the fact that his image of "Kyuubi" and the scene before him clashed most horrendously.
It bothered him.
"Sayuri, dear," Yuri stepped forward. "I think it would be good if you—"
No more words were allowed out of Yuri's mouth after a golden tail smashed her face and blew her away at meteoric speed. The former Matriarch broke through her own barrier and stopped only when her back smashed the (admittedly already crumbling) wall of a burning building near the stadium, which promptly collapsed under the stress of the impact.
"Yuri-sama!" Sayoko's cry resounded over the lilies' shocked gasps.
Then, with speed that would have made Naruto feel extremely frustrated, Sayuri's blazing aura released a "small" stream of bubbles which rapidly gathered and compressed into a black orb of reckless destruction. With ease born of lots and lots of practice, Sayuri literally pinched the orb with the tip of one of her tails before aiming it in the direction of the collapsing building and unleashing the compressed chakra in the form of a blinding beam.
The stadium was showered with brightness for the most of five seconds.
"Yuri-sama!" Sayoko cried again, before turning to the small nine-tails. "Sayuri-sama! To attack your own mother in such a way—"
The air around Sayoko ignited into a glorious orb of nuclear fire. The shadow bindings on the stadium's audience disappeared the very moment Sayoko released the jutsu to save her own hide.
Sayuri's eyes had never left Makoto.
"Uhh…I take it we should stay quiet, right?" Yuriyo mused.
"Quiet and very still," Yurika agreed.
"Yes, that would be wise," Yuriko concluded with no little sarcasm.
"Onee-sama's gonna kill me."
Idly laying on the floor, a Higashiyama Sayuri from another world stared at the dark ceiling of her younger counterpart's prison.
The Death God's seal was extremely powerful, but its mechanism was fundamentally simple.
Imprison Higashiyama Sayuri.
Therefore, as long as there was a Higashiyama Sayuri inside the cage, the seal would not react in the slightest.
That is why, when the little Sayuri lost it, she pulled her out of the cage at the exact same time she jumped in. Because little Sayuri still does not know the possession technique or the variation that allows access to this metaphysical realm within Naruto, she was immediately sent back to reality.
It would not last forever. The seal was not truly disrupted, so the Dusk of the Silver Lily would not repeat itself, but the fact remained that the Sayuri released was only her yin. Whether her pitiful yang chakra was claimed by the Death God or remained somewhere else within Naruto, as she suspected, the issue was that Sayuri's current form was unstable, and sooner or later it would be pulled back into the seal. Most likely later, because of the little Kyuubi's tremendous power.
At the moment, that worked wonders for the older Sayuri.
The young nine-tails' rampaging chakra would have destroyed Naruto from within. It would have been like that day, all over again. Like hell she would allow such a thing to happen.
Without the disruptive presence of little Sayuri's yin chakra, she could get to work.
Gently releasing her chakra, Sayuri drove it to reconstruct Naruto's critically damaged body. She would heal her beloved, and then she would get her younger self back into the cage.
She could only hope the little one remembered that her precious onii-chan would be very sad if he woke up to a village reduced to ashes.
She also hoped she would get out of the cage before the Empress—or, gods forbid, that white-haired witch—figured out just how her younger self made it out.
"And that is, I presume…" You could actually hear the smirk on Mayuri's face as she spoke. "…how the young Sayuri has made it out of the Death God's seal."
"…I'm going to kill her."
"I would be most grateful."
"Gods, I think I liked you more when you stayed quiet."
"…you thought I was a freak, I remember."
"…shut up, Mayuri."
Orochimaru carefully and very hastily analyzed the situation. In spite of the sheer…ridiculousness of the whole thing, the oppressive presence that enveloped him and rendered his minions utterly worthless.
This was undeniably the power of Kyuubi.
For a split instant, he wondered what was of the seal he had placed on the young Jinchuuriki in the Forest of Death. At this point, however, he doubted it would have made a difference.
Makoto did not move an inch. Nobody did, really. But the recently awakened undead had it the toughest, for the little foxgirl's attention was focused on him.
The fireball that engulfed Sayoko was consumed into oblivion by the ancient kitsune's Aegis. Sayuri's left ear twitched when she noticed the hint of motion from her former caretaker, but she did not act.
Sayoko only wanted to check on her beloved friend, currently buried under tons of rubble.
Sayuri then took a single step, smoke hissing out of the gap between the sole of her foot and the roof tile below.
Makoto wracked his brains out figuring how to get out of this mess.
A pale figure flickered into existence behind and to the left of Sayuri, right arm poised to strike the back of her head.
His name was Kaguya Kimimaro.
Sayuri's left fox ear twitched again. Once.
Only a burst of steam and a loud hissing sound accompanied the unbelievable sight all the present were allowed to witness.
The young male, Kimimaro, was impressive by himself. Intimidating osseous spikes protruded out of his right arm, with the obvious intention of impaling Sayuri's head. But those spikes were no more.
The young prodigy from Water Country stared at where his natural weapons should be, and at the hole on Sayuri's skull which was not there.
There was only vapor.
The bone had vaporized before it could touch Sayuri's hair.
So had his right arm, for that matter.
Fortunately for him, he felt no pain. His pain receptors were obliterated so fast his brain did not register the damage the moment it happened.
Sayuri's left ear twitched, again. She had never stopped staring at Makoto.
"Guh-aaaagh!" Orochimaru's favorite finally felt the vaporization of one of his limbs and stumbled back, crying out in agony with little restrain.
"Shit!" Makoto spat out before disappearing via high-speed movement.
There was a sudden sound burst, like an explosion, and then there was a crater on the street behind the stadium.
All the present turned their eyes in that direction. Sayuri lingered in midair; the short moment before gravity claimed her. Looking at the hole on the concrete far below her completed the wordless narration of what had just occurred.
"Holy…shit…" Yuria blurted out.
"She…punched him out of Shunshin…" Sarutobi gracefully added.
Before Sayuri could be dragged down, a roughly human sized fireball came to existence just under her. Sayuri calmly sat on the floating fireball, which quietly levitated over the Makoto-shaped hole on the street below.
A second Sayuri, still standing on the original spot in front of the fireball that contained Naruto, slowly turned her head to glare at Kimimaro.
Even with all his power, the gifted young man easily succumbed to the waves of indescribable vileness he felt emanating from the tiny foxgirl.
"Ah…aaaah…"
"Kimimaro-kun!" Orochimaru called out. "Pull back!"
But Orochimaru's spare body had lost control of his anatomy, paralyzed by power beyond human conception.
The nine-tails' blazing red eyes gleamed dangerously, and Kimimaro saw fire.
Fire, everywhere.
The world was fire, and even he, too, was fire, but he was also he, and his skin, his organs, his body fat…no! His very cells! They were on fire! Endless chains of nucleic acids in the cell nucleus, consumed by flames! Cells turned into miniature suns, and then into glowing red novas that spread blazing calamity throughout his system. Then the cells became trees, bones became mountains, blood became oceans, and then they all became fire.
The world was fire. He was on fire.
He was the world.
When the Genjutsu came to an end, he vaguely noticed the small many-tailed kitsune was caressing his chest with inexplicable tenderness.
Then she exploded.
It was the explosion which concealed the quiet voice of the real Sayuri seated on her unusual flying vehicle.
"Fire."
Fire Release – The Flying Foxgirl's Mysterious Assault Vehicle.
Like its name says, it is more than a weird ball of flame that flies.
"Pwetty Beams!" Yuriyo cried. "It fucking fires Pwetty Beams!"
Indeed, it was a weird ball of flame that flies and fires Pwetty Beams.
It can also shoot napalm, among other things.
The Assault Vehicle shot three of Sayuri's signature technique, one after the other, into the hole Makoto had ended up in.
The entirety of Konoha trembled like the end of the world was at hand.
"The-The underground shelters!" the Third Hokage called out, suddenly fearing for Konoha's civilian population, again.
"Sa-Sayuri-sama!" Kotonoha cried out. "Please! Please stop at once! It's pointless!"
Curiously, no more chakra cannons of doom emerged from Sayuri's flying fireball. Kotonoha knew she had the little foxgirl's attention.
"He's probably…not there…anymore…" It was hard not to sound disappointed. "He…probably got away."
The pulse of chakra that followed made Yurina shriek pathetically.
"No way…"
Orange and red yin chakra swirled menacingly around the tiny, furry terror. Her tails, too, swayed like cobras eager to strike.
"No way no way no way no way no way!"
Sayuri shook her head.
"He has to burn! He has to BURN!"
Rising a hand to the heavens, Sayuri invoked a gigantic ball of flames almost as large as the stadium itself.
"Sayuri will just burn evwything, then!"
Despite the urgency of the situation, Kotonoha could not stop herself from being impressed. As close as they were to such a massive ball of flames, they should be combusting from the sheer amount of heat that thing would irradiate. Yet she could only feel the air warmer in a mildly uncomfortable manner.
Sayuri's chakra control was abysmal. This was a fact. It was just as well known, however, that manipulation of fire was the obvious and only exception. Sayuri's prowess at wielding fire, even before her promotion to Kyuubi, was god-like. Probably only the supreme Sun Goddess herself could match it.
But Kotonoha could then see it went further than "just mere fire". Sayuri was bending thermodynamics and making it her bitch, if only for the sake of empowering her beloved fire.
Two black tails shot towards the flying foxgirl, growing unnaturally to reach her. Spontaneously combusting in no way stopped them from reaching Sayuri and wrapping themselves around her body.
"Mugyuu?"
"Knock it off already!"
Courtesy of Naruto's trademark grappling hook tail trick, Yuria's head met Sayuri's, which curiously enough dispelled the colossal fireball which spelled Konoha's doom. Unfortunately for Naruto's fiancée, she was not immune to gravity, thus she fell…into Sayuri's transport.
"OH MY GODS IT FUCKING HURTS!"
"Mugyuu…" a teary-eyed, pouty nine-tails effortlessly grabbed her half-sister with her tails and carried her back to solid…roof. "Only Sayuri can wide the aweshum fwying fire shootah…"
Just like a certain magical yellow cloud.
"Muu…not fair, Yuria-onee-chan…"
Sayuri would never use her most lethal defenses against her favorite sister.
"I won't take that from the likes of you!"
"Mou…Yuria-onee-chan's shtoopid! Shtoooopid!"
"Wha-oi!"
But Sayuri flew away from the stadium rooftop, to the streets below, jumping off her fireball to get on all fours next to the crater Makoto left after her punch.
"Muu…where's the mweanie…?"
Yuria scratched her head at the distant sight of her little sister sniffing the concrete. "Sayuri, you're not a hunting dog…"
"Ah, found him!"
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
When Sayuri took off after Makoto's trail (?), her flying fireball flickering out of existence behind her, Orochimaru knew he had his chance.
It was time for Plan B, also known as "Plan Let's Do What We Should Have Done since the Very Beginning of This Mess."
"Edo Tensei!"
Here we go again.
"Orochimaru!" The strange latest events, with the appearance of the child Kyuubi at their peak, rendered Sarutobi utterly unable to properly react to anything. He remained rooted to the spot, desperately trying to figure out how to respond to such a relentless flow of events. Age had really caught up with the poor guy.
At the same time two new coffins emerged in front of the rogue Sannin, Kimimaro's mostly unharmed form emerged from the carbonized remains of a huge snake which protected him from Sayuri's most-fortunately-not-nuclear exploding Kage Bunshin. He was still missing an arm, though.
"Split and get out of this place!" That was the former Konoha-nin's only command. Really, at this point, nothing more was necessary.
"Wha—like hell I'll let you!"
Yuria unhesitatingly leapt at Orochimaru, but a large figure quickly stood on her path. Jiroubou's left arm fell on her left side like a mallet, forcing Yuria to cross her arms to parry the blow.
"Guh!"
Airborne as she was, she was quickly thrown sideward by the powerful blow, sending her rolling and stumbling away until the very edge of the rooftop. The three-tailed kitsune and the large, bald human exchanged glares before he departed together with his companions. Yet Orochimaru remained.
A feral growl departed from Yuria's throat.
"I'll…never let you…get away!"
"Yuria!" Yurimi called out to her sister. "Don't just recklessly go after them!"
"I am not one of your obedient lilies, Yurimi!" the older foxgirl snarled, the rage boiling within her clear for all to see. Her sharp canines all of a sudden looked so much more threatening. "They…they…!"
She glanced at the remaining fireball, which still refused to let go of Naruto's body.
Technically, what happened to Naruto was Makoto's fault, but he would have never made it there in the first place had it not been for Orochimaru's forbidden jutsu. So it was the Sannin who took the brunt of Yuria's heated glare.
Considering the situation, Orochimaru deserved some credit for keeping his cool.
"I must ask you to calm down, independent kitsune Yuria-san."
The people on the rooftop turned their heads to Higashiyama Yuri, who had appeared on a distant corner and calmly walked back to her family, accompanied, of course, by her dear friend Kurosaki Sayoko. While she was doing a good job of maintaining her usual regal composure, it was more than obvious the former Silver Lily had taken quite a bit of punishment. Her beautiful kimono showed burn marks and missing spots, and her hair was no longer fixed in an ornate arrangement on the top of her head, messily cascading down the length of her back.
"This man is not an enemy you can defeat."
Yuri was more worried about the two caskets in front of Orochimaru. They had yet to reveal their contents, and somehow she knew she would not like them. Call it a gut feeling.
"Mother."
The oldest of the lilies curtly bowed to her Matriarch. "There is no reason to be worried about me, Yurimi-sama. Now, your orders…?"
Yurimi frowned. Truly, it was time for her to give instructions. The clan was always first and foremost, but…
Like Yuria before, she, too, glanced at the blazing ball of flames that embraced Naruto's body.
"Lilies of Higashiyama."
The entire clan perked up. Without the influence of Sayuri's overwhelming chakra, the younger ones could act properly.
"Split in small groups and return to camp."
The kitsune nodded uncertainly. They could get the order to return to camp—there was really no reason for them to stick around in this human mess any longer. But, why split…?
"On your way to camp, slay as many of Konoha's enemies as you can. That is your Matriarch's order!"
"Hawaa…"
"Ho-ho…" Yuriyo chuckled and crossed her arms. "So we fight, after all…"
"Hau...Yurina, Yurina really doesn't like to fight…"
Orochimaru did not waste his time anymore. The moment the coffins opened and two male figures slumped outside; he stepped in between the two and buried his controlling tags in their heads.
"Those two…" the Third spoke quietly and sorrowfully. Of all people, to summon those two.
"This…is a worrisome turn of events," Yuri admitted. "Yurimi-sama, if I may suggest?"
"Please, Mother."
The seven-tails glanced at Kotonoha. "Kotonoha, if I may ask, please watch over Naruto-sama."
The swordswoman's eyes brightened. "Of-Of course!"
"Yurisa, dear, please stay with Kotonoha until Naruto-sama is released."
The former Silver Lily had her doubts concerning Kotonoha's current combat capability, considering the latest occurrences.
"Ye-yes! Mayuri-chan, please stay close to me."
"Yuri-sama…"
"Sayoko-san, you may do as you wish. I do not believe your assistance is needed."
The Void kitsune nodded before sinking within her own shadow. As much as she did not want to leave Yuri, she had preparations to conclude.
"As for me…"
"Go!" Orochimaru commanded his two new summons right before leaping away from the stadium. Sarutobi braced himself to fight, but then Yuri appeared in front of him, her clawed hands coated in silvery chakra.
"Soul Mastery."
The double palm thrust met only air. The two undead quickly turned in opposite directions, dancing around Yuri to get at their true target. However, before they could attack the Third Hokage, silver tails like spears forced them to jump sideways and to the very edges of the rooftop.
Yuri rose to her full stature after her thrusting attack.
"Ara…" the seven-tails had to toy around with dangerously loose kimono before it fully slid off her shoulders. "This is really not the most appropriate garment for combat."
While she hurriedly tightened her clothes, Sarutobi dashed past her and after Orochimaru.
"He knows what he's supposed to do. Good man. Still, I would have appreciated some gratitude." Yuri's eyes flickered towards a certain small foxgirl. "Do not go after them, Yuria."
The three-tails growled, but assented. "Fine. I will not go after that guy."
Two of her tails rapidly twisted around each other, creating a very tight helix which Yuria then speared on the roof tiles behind her.
"All the other fuckers are fair game!"
She then commanded the helix to unfurl, transmitting force from the ground and the tip of her tails all the way up to her lower back, which she used to feed her mighty leap away from the rooftop. The result was a missile which streaked through the sky above the stadium and away, intent on hunting down the Sound Four.
Yuri sighed. "Really, such a reckless lady, that Yuria…I'm grateful you're not like…hmm? Where is Yurimi-sama?"
Indeed, at some point, the young Lily Seed had snuck away via Ghost Step. The remaining lilies exchanged doubtful glances.
"Then why are still here, girls? You have your orders, move!"
"Ye-yes!"
Like that, Yurika, Yuriko and Yurine disappeared just like their Matriarch moments before.
Yuriyo twitched as she glanced at the spot where her mother had been kneeling on just before.
"…gods, our mother is an idiot."
"Onee-chan…"
Yurina and Yuriyo still do not know Ghost Step.
"Let's…let's just go, Yurina."
"Um…"
And so they left, the normal way.
Kotonoha, Yurisa and Mayuri stayed, their eyes shifting between the fireball and Yuri, but wisely keeping their distance from both. Still, the Lily of the Netherworld knew it would be wiser to move the fight away from that place.
"But, still…the last known possessor of the Sage of the Six Paths' fearsome power, Senju Hashirama, and his brother…"
The two undead warily trace an ample circle around the seven-tails pondering possible avenues of attack.
"Even if they are undead, I guess it will not be that simple…"
Her eyes then fell on two who had remained ignored this whole time.
"You two," Yuri promptly addressed the two ANBU soldiers. "If you are just going to stand there and be useless, you might as well be of use to me."
Before the masked shinobi had any chance of speaking for or against such words, two tails of silver speared them right through the center of their chests, pulling their souls out of their bodies but otherwise leaving no wound or mark of the attack whatsoever. The glimmering souls became small silver spheres which idly floated around Yuri's body like will-o-wisps.
"They fought bravely but were ultimately defeated by the enemy forces. Yes, that will do, ufufufufu~"
With the preparations finished, Yuri properly addressed the two undead enemies.
"Very well. I must admit, I have not played this game for some time, so you will excuse me if I am a little rusty. That said, then, let us enjoy ourselves, children!"
The games were on.
"So…sorry about this, Neji-san."
Hyuuga Neji did not respond to the words coming from right behind him. He was carrying his teammate, Rock Lee, who was apparently still a bit groggy after waking up from Kabuto's Genjutsu.
The invasion caught him in the stadium's infirmary. Hyuuga Hiashi had just departed, leaving him with plenty to think about, but it seemed he would not be able to meditate on it that day.
His body still hurt, but Neji considered himself still able to move and fight if it came to that. Chakra was more of an issue, but he found half a dozen soldier pills in the infirmary, of which he took two. His immediate priority was finding his sensei, who directed him to awaken the sleeping Lee (everyone, even the author, forgot to wake him up earlier) and take him to safety.
So far they had been successful at avoiding enemy units.
"To think…I cannot do a thing…at such an important time…it's so…"
Neji did not say a word, but he could somehow understand Lee's feelings. He, too, would be extremely frustrated if he were in Lee's shoes.
"Then…make sure it does not happen again, idiot."
Rock Lee blinked a few times, as if to make sure he had actually heard properly…or at all. Only when he became fully aware that, yes, Neji had said such words, did the Green Beast of Konoha smile most gratefully.
"Um! Certainly, Neji-san! I'll be back in the team in no time!"
"Um! Today, today is the day!"
A man of short stature with the attire and headband of an Oto shinobi gazed upon the burning village from the top of the great wall that separated it from the exterior. With hands on his hips and a wide smile, he was a beacon of boisterousness in the midst of the overall quietness and no-nonsense-ness of Orochimaru's nameless forces.
At other sections of the wall, Otogakure's summoned snakes fought against Konoha's soldiers.
"Today is the day my name becomes a legend!"
Behind the loud man, the dozen troops he led exchanged uneasy glances amongst themselves. They found their leader's attitude annoying, but who were they to question Orochimaru-sama's decisions?
"Saa, Katon specialists from Konoha! Come and face me! Let's find out, once and for all, who the best fire master is!"
He had no name anybody knew of or cared about. His colleagues knew him only as "The Pyroninja."
"We're gonna die, aren't we?" a nameless mook inquired.
These guys are awfully genre-savvy.
Yuria's lips stretched into a feral grin when she caught sight of the Sound Four.
"Gotcha."
"I must give you credit, Yuria. You have become surprisingly swift of foot."
"Geh!"
The three-tails looked behind her to meet the impassive gaze of her younger sister.
"Yurimi! What the hell?"
The Fourth Matriarch of Higashiyama followed her sister atop the rooftops of Konoha, seemingly having little trouble keeping up with Yuria's deranged pace.
"What about me?"
"Why the hell are you here?"
"I presume for the same reason you are. We might as well work together."
"Hmph." Yuria turned her head back to look ahead. "Don't get in my way."
"I shall strive not to," Yurimi conceded before noticing a change in the situation.
Orochimaru's four guards split into pairs and took off in different directions.
"I take it this is where we split," Yuria declared.
"I would rather stay with you. I do not trust my chances against two experienced shinobi. If we two chase two of them, our chances of success increase substantially."
"Hmm…fair enough. Then we go right, to the mountain." Yuria smirked viciously. "I have a score to settle with fatass."
"Very well. I shall engage the foulmouthed lady, after all."
Hashirama tried to bury his left elbow in Yuri's gut, but the seven-tails danced around his body before sending one of her tails to capture him. She then raised a second tail to parry Tobirama's airborne heel drop, while she noticed the older brother slipping away from her tail grapple.
"Hmph. Rejecting a fair lady's amorous embrace? How rude."
Ghost-Stepping to a corner of the roof, Yuri sent a swarm of kudagitsune at the two undead Kage, who effortlessly grabbed them and tore them apart with their chakra-coated hands. That actually made Yuri make a face.
"So you have means to see the immaterial. I should not have expected any less—"
The Shodai Hokage closed the distance to the fox woman in an instant, and Yuri Ghost-Stepped away before he smashed her face with his powerful right straight. The moment she emerged, however, the Second Hokage was upon her, and Yuri realized they could somehow read her Ghost Step. She attacked with her tails, but Tobirama swiftly slid in between them and went for a punch to her face, which the kitsune grabbed by the wrist with her right hand.
"Got you-ah!"
Her feet up to her ankles were seized by entangling roots.
"This is! Mokuto—ugh!"
The Nidaime had struck Yuri's windpipe with a fierce kick that made her body bend backwards. The plant outgrowth that emerged from the roof tiles captured Yuri's body and made it lie horizontally, which allowed the seven-tails to clearly see the Second Hokage leapt over her. Water created by chakra gathered and rapidly spun around his right arm.
In an instant, she realized the First Hokage's Mokuton prevented her from becoming incorporeal.
"What a bothersome power!" She hissed.
"Suiton! Soudai Kaisaku!"
"Mother!" Yurisa called from a distance.
The fearsome water drill—Water Release – Grand Water Excavation—froze to stillness the moment it came into contact with Yuri's plentiful chest.
"Do not underestimate Spirit Techniques, child! Reiton! Fushi no Butai no Atakebi."
Throughout the entire village, the corpses of the fallen began to stir. At the same time, Yuri's chakra leaked into the roots that bound her and made them shrivel and fall apart, allowing her to teleport herself away.
"Reiton – Yuujyou no Nobori."
While the first jutsu animated corpses and ensured their obedience, it gave no means to direct their actions, especially not from afar. The second jutsu, Spirit Release – Banner of the Ethereal Queen, connected the animated undead into a single hive mind directed by Yuri's thoughts.
"I said I am not much of a fighter. Now this is more my—Aegis."
Yuri's barrier blocked a rushing onslaught of plants and water.
"Mou, let me finish my sentences!"
The two zombie Kage's attacks were interrupted by the sudden strike of a swarm of zombie mooks.
"Now this is more my thing. Let's see about moving the fight away from here…"
Hidden within a narrow alleyway between two fortunately-not-burning buildings, Tenten desperately hurried to catch her breath. She had just escaped certain death courtesy of the meteorological madness Sayuri's emergence in the real world had initiated.
"That…that was dangerously close."
Close indeed, Master.
"Damn that Kyuubi and her ridiculous power! What the hell is going on over there? And what's the stupid brat doing?"
I do not know, Master. On another note, incoming attack from above.
"Wha—?"
Quick reflexes saved Tenten from being split in two like a watermelon. Hinata's blade only struck soil.
"We're not done yet, Tenten-san!"
"Damn it girl, learn to read the mood!"
A pink blur and a purple blur clashed several times, bouncing off the opposite walls of the two buildings until they made it to the opposite roofs.
"I'll defeat you, and you'll stay away from Naruto-kun!"
"What part of I WANT TO DO THAT MYSELF don't you get! Aah, mou! Am I the only sane one in this goddamned place?"
I would put Master's sanity into question myself.
"Shut up! Magical Shooter!"
Magical Shooter.
Half a dozen pink orbs of energy coalesced around Tenten. Hinata strengthened her grip on the katana.
"Go!"
Hinata took to the air at the same time the energy shots went for her. Tenten's Magical Shooter had a homing feature, and the pink orbs promptly chased after the caped magical girl in the sky.
Hinata then made an inverted U-turn, leaning backwards and allowing the magical orbs to fly straight upwards between her spread legs just before flying back to the top of the buildings as fast as she could.
"She's coming!" Tenten stated the obvious. "Get ready for defense!"
Hinata jumped across the alley to the building Tenten was on. The magical orbs high up in the sky corrected their trajectory and streaked back down to chase Hinata.
Strike Impulse.
The katana girl flickered out of Tenten's sight.
"Fucking fast!"
Behind, Master!
Storm Strike.
Hinata's blade, coated in powerful rotating magical energy, clashed against Tenten's scepter, which the pink-clad girl held in between her hands. Sparks flew in between the two magical initiates, and Tenten felt her knees weaken under the extreme pressure.
"This…is not…my kind…of fight!"
Ow. Ow. Pain. Agony. I'm cracking, Master.
"Guh…sorry…"
Hinata pushed forward, her magical chainsaw gradually overpowering Tenten's feeble defense.
Master, the magical shots.
"Ah, shit! Magical Guard!"
Tenten's Magical Shooter fell upon the two girls, breaking apart a good portion of the roof they were standing on. However, even within the cloud of smoke the explosion created, Tenten could still feel HInata's sword pushing to break her omni-directional barrier.
"Kuh…! Damn it, you're persistent! Justice, blast her away!"
Magical Counter.
Tenten's barrier began to vibrate and emit a high-pitched hum, and soon enough Hinata's sword and the hands that held began to vibrate along.
"Wha…what is…this…?" Hinata muttered as she struggled to keep her assault.
The pink shell that protected Tenten then exploded, releasing all its energy in a single direction and blasting Hinata away from her opponent.
"And now Magical Shooter!"
"Spiraling Barrier!"
Tenten's four shots hit a circular barrier of energy rotating around Hinata's body.
"Kaiten?"
A magical version of it, Master.
Hinata managed to land on her feet.
Boing.
Tenten blinked.
The white-eyed girl glared at her older rival. "You're…strong…"
"They bounced."
Hinata blinked. "Huh?"
Tenten pointed at Hinata's chest. "When you landed just now, your breasts. They bounced."
"Eh? No-no way—"
"No, no, seriously," Tenten insisted. "Try pulling them up." She made a tiny jump on the spot. "Like this."
"Eh?" The blushing Hyuuga looked down at her chest, heavily accentuated by her skin-tight garments. "A-Ano…like…like this?"
She hopped.
Bo-yo-yoing.
"Kyah!" Hinata promptly covered her bouncy chest with her arms. "Tha-that's so embarrassin—"
"Sneak attack!"
TWACK!
"Kyan!" Hinata moaned cutely when she was thrown backwards by Tenten's nasty right hook.
"Haha! Success!"
That was low, even for Master…
Yuri had successfully diverted the reanimated Hokage away from the stadium. That left Yurisa, Mayuri and Kotonoha alone with the fireball that enveloped Naruto's body. The four-tailed swordswoman only had eyes for the blazing ball of flame, which left the other four-tails with the lookout role. It was the reason she had stayed, anyway.
Yurisa then felt a tiny hand tugging at the hem of her kimono.
"Mayuri?"
It was then that she noticed the very air a distance away twisting and distorting around itself. From the distortion stepped a masked figure, holding a tiny female form in his arms. The small lady trembled and squirmed in the ancient Uchiha's embrace, as if hopelessly attempting to conceal her damaged body.
"…can…any of you heal her?" Tobi's voice was full of shame. "I…have no healing skills…"
The voice brought Kotonoha out of her funk. "Setsuna…"
Tobi slowly approached the fox-women, noticing Yurisa's wary expression.
"I…bear no ill will. Please, just…help her…"
Kotonoha had no qualms about it. She gasped, however, when her self-proclaimed arch-nemesis fiercely grabbed her wrist.
"Koto…noha…"
"Ara…" A bitter smile. "You finally call me by my name, Setsuna-san."
"Sh-Shut up…just…"
The rest of the question never left Setsuna's lips, but it was clear in her fiery eyes.
"Sekai…Sekai's diary…was directly addressed to me," Kotonoha began. "That is why her mother gave it to me after I…after I killed Sekai."
The voluptuous fox-woman spoke clearly and loudly, for she was aware not only Setsuna was attentively listening.
"The human, Itou Makoto, was already dead by the time we became a couple. He died the summer before that, in fact."
Setsuna's pupils dilated to the maximum. "Su…mmer…"
"Trampled by a carriage out of control. I had to do some serious digging around to find out."
"However, the kasha that found his soul as it abandoned his body did not do what he was supposed to do. Instead, he devoured Makoto-kun's soul and possessed his body, effectively assuming his identity."
"He did this not only to indulge in the pleasures of the flesh, but to hide from Shinigami-sama. My guess is that he was not particularly satisfied with spending his entire existence as the Death God's servant."
"Sekai found out. That Makoto was dead, that he had been replaced by an amoral youkai, and she killed him at the one moment she caught him completely off-guard. It is quite impressive, if you think about it. Then again, he probably did not expect retaliation from Sekai of all people. All these things I learned from her diary." There was a heart-wrenchingly painful smile on Kotonoha's face. "I think…she knew I would kill her."
Kotonoha sighed.
"When he died, his soul did not return to Shinigami-sama as it should have. Shinigami-sama's guess is that he used Makoto-kun's soul as a sort of anchor to release himself from the geas that binds all kasha to him. He became a wandering soul, avoiding other kasha and the Void itself all these years. These things I learned from Shinigami-sama himself."
Yurisa finally understood. "Kotonoha-san…so, you…"
"I knew," Kotonoha confessed as she nodded. "I knew all this, and I knew that the kasha who took Makoto-kun's identity was an obstinate one, who wouldn't rest until he made it back to the world of the living somehow. The moment he did just that, I wanted to be there. To put an end to him with my own two hands." She looked like she wanted to cry again. "I didn't…expect him to be so powerful. He should not be so powerful."
Within Naruto's seal, the adult Sayuri nodded in agreement. All these things she already knew. Unlike Kotonoha, however, Sayuri also knew just how the kasha who claimed Makoto's soul had overcome the limits of his own power as a kasha.
She knew all these things because the kasha in the guise of Itou Makoto was the being she had originally being asked to slay.
"Koto…noha…"
There was a strange and pitiful mixture of anger and sadness in Setsuna's eyes.
"…why…?"
The busty four-tails wiped a tear off her right eye.
"Why did I not tell you?" Her tender smile could not hide her sorrow. "Sekai…asked me not to. In her diary."
Setsuna's lips parted from each other, a raspy "Sekai" barely escaping the tiny gap between them.
"She did not want you to know. She did not want you to begin a pointless crusade of vengeance. She did not want you to lose yourself to disappointment and disillusion. She wanted you to remember her as your best friend, and Makoto-kun as your first love."
Kotonoha chuckled bitterly.
"It was the impossible wish of an overly optimistic teenager. But, it was the last wish of a human I respected. I will not apologize for hiding this from you."
"The-then…" Setsuna gasped. Recovery to combat condition would take a while. "You…your…the skull…"
Kotonoha's eyes watered again. It was the question she did not want to answer.
However, it was time to move on. Both for her sake, and for Setsuna's.
"I didn't want you to hate him. The kind, thoughtful Makoto-kun, the one we and Sekai truly loved." She closed her eyes, her mind quickly reviewing memories of the last 150 years. "In that respect, I believe I failed in the worst possible manner, Setsuna."
Setsuna's lips trembled, and her own eyes threatened to shed tears.
"No…"
For she had understood what Kotonoha had not said. So had Yurisa and Mayuri, thus they remained silent.
Kotonoha was not naïve like Sekai. Kotonoha knew exactly how Setsuna would feel, and exactly how she would react to the death of the man she loved, at the hands of her best friend.
To protect the memory of the human she once loved, as well as that of a human she once respected, Kotonoha willingly accepted the entirety of Setsuna's hatred.
She assumed the role of a delusional yandere, to keep the memories fresh in Setsuna's mind. So that Setsuna would look only at her, and hate only her.
It was far from the best thing to do, but that, in way, was also Kotonoha's love.
"No…" Setsuna whispered one more time, as everything she had believed, the very foundations of her drive, her vengeance, everything she had done and strived for in the past fifteen decades collapsed under the weight of its worthlessness.
Her entire life, everything that made her who she was…was nothing but a lie.
"I cannot…" Kotonoha was already crying. "I cannot apologize enough…Setsuna…I…I'm so sorry…"
Kotonoha gasped and sobbed even as she healed Setsuna's large wounds. But the smaller four-tails was not listening. She could only hear her own memories, falling apart as their worthlessness came to light. So much hatred, so much dedication to that hatred…
…the human, Itou Makoto. She had believed, for the longest time, that he had betrayed her. That he had used her, enjoyed her and then thrown her away, and then done the same to her best friend. She had believed that human men were despicable, worthless beings who only thought about their own satisfaction. All her effort, all her dedication, all her countless plans were for the sake of vengeance; revenge aimed towards humanity. Itou Makoto had become the symbol of a disgusting world that would forever reject her unless she reshaped it in its entirety.
Everything! What meaning was there for everything she had done? The sacrifices she had made? The evils she had committed!
"I'm sorry…Setsuna…I…!"
Setsuna howled.
Her rage, her misery, the death of everything that meant anything to her.
Setsuna howled, releasing everything she had, now that it had lost its worth.
Misdirected hate, empty vengeance, pointlessness…the pointlessness of it all…what was she supposed to do?
What was she supposed to do with all the hatred which filled her black heart?
Setsuna howled, cried and raged, releasing everything that was Kiyoura Setsuna until nothing but emptiness remained.
That, and uncertainty.
CHAPTER 19 - To be continued...