The Naruto franchise is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter 54: Emerging Beasts
"How long has it been?" the heiress asked, lifting her torch higher.
"We have traveled for forty-two minutes and thirty-four seconds," Shino answered faithfully, "And have made approximately ten kilometers of progress northwestward."
Hinata couldn't help but giggle a little at the stoic and precise manner of her former teammate. The sound tinkled like fairy bells, hanging in the air for a moment before the heiress realized that a high-pitched whine of the same pitch had replaced it. Shino tackled her from behind, taking both of them to the ground.
A blinding line of electricity ripped through the solid walls boxing them in, leaving a blazing afterimage in its wake, where the two Konoha shinobi's heads had been a split second prior. Torrential waters rushed through the cracks, flooding the narrow corridor at an alarming rate.
Ignoring the frigid touch of the rapidly growing lake, Hinata threw a hand out to the side, forcing her chakra into the ground at several precise points to disrupt the ordinarily even flow. It began to regurgitate thick columns of wood which snaked upward, bracing and smashing into the walls in its rampant growth.
"Up!" she cried and Shino tightened his arm around her waist, carrying her up into the network she had formed just as the shrubs below began to burn, ignited by a powerful electric current that manifested itself in the frothing waves below.
Immense wooden claws burst out of the ruined wall, shredding it and pushing it aside as though it were no more than paper. An unearthly bellow preceded the monstrous head of a ram crowned with two heavy, curved horns, under which eyes like heated iron glared out. As the rest of the barrier fell, its full glory was revealed.
The creature stood on two hoofed legs and was composed of thick plates of ivory colored wood under which bulging clusters of black tendrils, roughly analogous to a muscle structure, was laid out. Even perched in the branches, Hinata could see eye to eye with the beast; she estimated it at five times her height.
"Byakugan!"
Hinata leaped out of the way as an arm shot out, smashing her footing. She touched down easily beside Shino.
"Three hearts," she whispered, "Lightning, water and earth. I can use my technique to destroy the two in his body, but we'll have to restrict its movement and attack the one in the head first, to ensure that we kill it."
The bug host nodded sharply in understanding. Both shinobi were forced apart as a shotgun volley of rifling bullets of stone peppered their previous perch. The Aburame was still in midair when a jet of water transfixed him through the sternum.
~o ( 卍 ) o~
"Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
One flying star became two, then four, then eight, doubling in number until hundreds of the weapons filled the air, slamming into the armored body of the enraged dragon. All either shattered on impact or skipped off the creature's tough hide harmlessly. The serpentine beast retaliated with a blast of white fire.
"Suiton: Suijinheki!"
Neji's defense was turned to steam near-instantly and he shoved Tenten out of the way of the roaring flames before leaping to safety himself. He was forced to keep moving as the colossal tail of the monster they were confronted with flattened the ground where he used to stand.
"Tricky," the doe-eyed captain laughed, her voice tense despite her show of bravado, "I hate opponents like these."
The white-eyed prodigy had already located the hearts of the creature, embedded deep in its breast behind heavy scales of green marble. Unfortunately, to attack them, not only would its formidable armor have to be breached, but also the crushing coils, stone-rending talons and snapping jaws.
"Fire, earth, wind," the white-eyed captain called out, "Be careful, it might use a jinton technique."
For better or for worse, the reptilian monstrosity had thusfar used only potent combinations of fire and wind to keep the two captains at bay. Its hide was far too dense to be pierced by Neji's jūken, and the wyrm had not allowed Tenten sufficient time to summon and draw her bow. Neither believed an arrow would be sufficient, in any case. For as enormous as the dragon was, it was uncannily fast, keeping both on their toes to avoid sweeping strikes of its tail in between potent breath weapon assaults.
Through his Byakugan, the Hyūga heir saw Tenten swipe her thumb across the edge of her wrist guard, drawing a thin trickle of blood. She nodded to him and he did the same. The moment was broken as a claw, easily twice the size of the kunoichi, smashed earthward, and would have pulped her had she not dodged a moment prior.
No reprieve was granted to the white-eyed shinobi, either, as a ball of air, compressed enough to distort the light itself, rocketed from the colossus' mouth at him. He broke out into a dead run to avoid the projectile, which was rapidly followed by several more, each detonating behind him with enough force to rattle his teeth.
Tenten met him halfway and they both slammed a palm against the ground as one.
"Kuchiyose: Sanjū Rashōmon!" they called out in unison.
Black runes scurried out from under their hands, forming lines and circles like frantic insects, bridging the space between worlds to summon forth three towering iron gates, replete with demonic spikes and fanged faces. They shuddered horrendously under the duress of a direct hit from the dragon's wind, and even moreso when seemingly unending fire joined the mix. Neji struggled for breath as the stifling press of incredible heat suffused the air, even behind the protective walls of red, green and blue.
The two ANBU captains hardly had a moment to catch their breath before the gates simply disappeared before their eyes, transmuted into nothing more than dust by the fast-incoming jinton attack.
~o TBC o~
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