The Naruto franchise is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 38: Raging Inferno
"Neji. There's something out there."
The ANBU captain was instantly awake, strapping on his sword and armor in silent, practiced motions.
"Byakugan."
Colors inverted and the walls became nothing more than ghostly shadows as the Hyūga prodigy's kekkei genkai flared to life, raising the veins around his eyes.
One... two... three... Three enemies, keeping their chakra signatures low. They're hiding.
"Ambush," he said shortly, "Three enemies. We're surrounded."
Before he could investigate further, the trap was sprung. One shinobi took to the air while the other two flared bright with molded chakra. The cabin shuddered as the beams of wood composing it writhed to life, knotting together and locking the two ANBU inside.
"Mokuton?" Sakura breathed, incredulously, "Is it one of ours?"
There was no time to talk. Neji grabbed the kunoichi by the hand and dragged her toward the south wall as the enemy above them began to glow, preparing an attack on the trapped ANBU.
"Ōkashō!"
Sakura's fist blasted a hole through the living wood and the two shinobi dove out. A split second later, a veritable wall of hurricane gales smashed down onto the outpost. Windows exploded outward and wood splintered into whizzing bits of shrapnel under the extreme duress, reducing the once-sturdy fortifications to a smoking crater in a heartbeat.
The ANBU captain donned his mask hurriedly and rattled off three hand seals.
"Katon: Zukokku!"
The fireball intersected with the tornado gusts and ignited into a fiery vortex, rising to consume the airborne enemy. Neji struggled to breathe as the oxygen was scorched out of the atmosphere from the intense combination of jutsu.
"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu."
From the left!
A cascading torrent of water burst through the trees, flattening them as though they were no more than so many blades of grass. It roared over Neji's amplified flames in an inexorable current, smothering them out of existence under crushing waves and sibilant steam. Sakura met the oncoming rush with her own jutsu.
"Doton: Doryū Jōheki!"
A deep rumbling heralded the rampart of rock that rose from the earth, lifting the two shinobi rapidly above the advancing waves, which raged impotently against the solid bastion. Sakura tied on her own mask as well, hiding her wild grin behind smooth porcelain.
"I didn't expect to see a kid using my technique," drawled a low voice, "And combining it with my wind jutsu. Impressive."
Their previously inactive attacker moved into the clearing, walking easily over the still-boiling water. The obscuring steam was blown away as the airborne enemy landed with a burst of wind, revealing an green-masked boar with insect-like wings and a body of black threads. Beside it stood a tall, white-cowled man with a black sash obscuring the lower half of his face. His eyes were instantly recognizable: eerie, flat-jade irises on a background of dull red sclera.
Kakuzu.
"You were killed," Neji said levelly, "By Konoha shinobi, years ago."
"Ah," the former Akatsuki member agreed, "I was. Fortunately for me, your tactician got careless and forgot about the threads I put in Hidan. I took his heart and tunneled out, bit by bit, until I was able to scavenge a whole body."
"Then... the village," Sakura growled, "All the attacks. That was you."
Kakuzu tilted his head to one side and grunted dismissively.
"Suitable body parts are hard to find," he intoned, "I had to make do with civilians and animals until I could find shinobi to replace my hearts."
A blue-masked ram trotted into view, composed of the same ebony tendrils as the winged boar.
Water, Neji noted, And four more hearts in the main body.
Behind his back, he flashed four fingers, then clenched his hand into a fist. Through his Byakugan, he saw Sakura dip her head ever so slightly in understanding.
"I don't know who you are," Kakuzu continued, "But you're part of Konoha ANBU. Maybe there's a bounty waiting behind those masks. But first..."
The red-eyed shinobi's back burst open in a storm of writhing tentacles. Three more masks revealed themselves: a tiger, a bull and an eagle. The obsidian strands began to weave themselves together to form three grotesque imitations of the animals.
"Like I'd let you!" the kunoichi roared, surging forward. She cocked a fist back just as Kakuzu formed a ram seal and let his jutsu fly.
"Fūton: Atsugai."
The slashing cyclones returned with a vengeance, rending deep gashes in the water. Sakura cried out as the barrage assaulted her body, shredding it into nothing but water. Stunned, the red-eyed shinobi fell back, right into Sakura's waiting jutsu.
"Suirō no Jutsu!"
Lingering bits of the kunoichi's Mizu Bunshin coalesced around his body, forming a nigh-solid orb of imprisoning water and holding him fast. The now-formed trio of animals rushed at the stationary medic, whose arm was stuck in the trap. Neji appeared in a blur of motion.
"Kaiten!"
The monstrosities were blown back by the ANBU captain's defensive technique and he came out of the spin with sword drawn, watching all five free enemies with his complete field of vision.
"Even if you have another heart in there, you'll still die if you have no air," the rose-haired medic said, "Your best chance is to surrender."
Kakuzu grunted.
"Don't get cocky just because you have a Hyūga," he growled, "There are still things you can't defend against."
The yellow bull mask emitted a high-pitched buzz. Neji spun around, hitting the spherical prison with a burst of chakra and shattering it before grabbing Sakura and launching both of them up into the air a mere instant before the technique fired.
"Raiton: Gian!"
Lances of electricity stabbed out at the pair, gouging smoking chasms into the water as the shinobi contorted to avoid them in midair and rendering the surface lethal to the touch. Sakura's artificial island dissolved under the combination, leaving the two nowhere to land.
The kunoichi latched onto Neji's arm and whirled in the air once, launching him higher still, above the influence of the crackling waves before completing her turn to face them.
"Fūton: Reppūshō!"
Sakura's hand clap brought with it an empowered burst of wind, blasting her high enough to let the energy below dissipate before she and the ANBU captain landed.
"Not bad," Kakuzu acknowledged, his body still smoking from being hit with his own high-level lightning jutsu, "Your bodies will fetch a high price."
"Jiongu is an Earth technique," Sakura said with a small shake of her head, "That should have hurt him, too."
"I have Hidan's heart," the former Akatsuki member replied, "This type of attack won't kill me. Now, let me show you the real..."
Neji recognized the subsequent string of seals instantly as one he'd used many times before. He ceased channeling chakra to his feet instantly, taking Sakura's hand and pulling her underwater, as well.
"Katon: Zukokku!"
White-hot flames blazed overhead, bringing the top layers of the created lake to an instant boil and drowning out the world in blinding light.
~o TBC o~
Reviews are appreciated.