((Alright, I'm back! And starting up with some combat right out of the gate. I should enjoy writing these next few chapters. Please R&R.
On another note, I have an internship this summer, which is going take up a big chunk of my time (and why it took me so long to post this chapter). I'll still update this fic, but it might be two or three weeks between updates, rather than my usual weekly update. I am sorry, but my career is a little more important than writing fanfiction. Cheers.))
The Start of Battle
Rei jerked awake, flailing her arms in an attempt to ward off the cold water that had just been poured on her. She hissed violently, before curling in on herself, whimpering. She could feel her head beating against her skull. She knew she shouldn't have drunk so much of the punch.
"Come on, Rei, you've got to get yourself together. There's something going on out there."
Rei turned her eyes on the boy next to her, blinking against the light. When she finally managed to focus, Tounyo came into focus. She stared for a moment before her memory came back to her. She dropped her gaze in embarrassment, blushing bright red. She could feel his glare on her and only shrunk into herself even more.
She was startled when she felt him grab her under her arm and lift her toward the door. "We don't have time for this. Something serious is going on." Without letting her respond, he pulled her out the door and down the hall, back into the living room where the party had been taking place. She was surprised to note that most of the people had left. Had she been asleep for that long?
Tounyo walked the pair over to one of the few remaining adults, Shan's mother if Rei remembered correctly. "What happened?" asked Tounyo urgently, startling the woman slightly.
Mrs. Shan put a hand over her heart but responded as calmly as she could. "Three enemy ninja appeared in the front door and were quickly killed by the Konoha Twelve. They interrogated one and found out that Mist has allied with Sound and are attacking Konoha now."
Rei was having trouble keeping up, her head incredibly sore. She tried to focus on the conversation, blinking weakly.
"Where did everyone go?" Tounyo demanded.
The woman hesitated, trying to remember. "Some headed toward their compounds, a few went to spread the word to the ninja, and the rest went to stop the incoming armies."
Rei's eyes widened as her mind finally caught up, the realization quickly burning off her buzz and headache. "We're at war!" she turned to Tounyo frantically. "We have to get out there!" She grabbed his arms and started dragging him toward the door.
She stopped when she felt him resist. He pulled her around to face him. "We need a plan first. The others all left with an objective. We need one too, or we'll only be out there adding to the confusion."
Rei narrowed her eyes in frustration but paused to take a breath anyway, knowing he was right. "Alright, what do you suggest?"
Tounyo gave her a serious look. "From what I saw, their trying hardest to defend the village. Still, we need to start taking precautions in case the enemy does get in. We should start evacuating the civilians."
Rei grunted in irritation. That was a job for genin!
As if reading her mind, Tounyo continued. "When there are a few genin who know what's going on, we'll pass the job off onto them, but until then, someone needs to get started."
Still clearly irritated, the cat nin nodded. With that decided, Tounyo turned to the people that were left at the party, all no doubt civilians. "Alright, people! We need to start heading toward the safety of the Hokage Monument. We'll be gathering any civilians we come across to get them to safety as well." His announcement was met with silence. "If you all could start moving toward the doorway, we'll get you all to safety."
The remainder of the party started moving relatively quickly at that. Rei put a hand on Tounyo's shoulder as the people started gathering their rain gear, getting his attention. "I'll go wake the neighbors on the way there. Try to make it so that they're leaving as your group goes by."
Tounyo nodded approval of that plan. She was faster than him anyway, so she could move ahead more quickly. He watched her dart out the door, unable to help his eyes wandering to her rear before she disappeared from sight. With a slight blush, he turned back toward the civilians. He needed to focus on keeping them safe, not the puzzle that was his relationship with Rei.
That would have to wait for another time.
Hari darted through the streets, ignoring the rain as it pounded on his front, heading toward the Konoha Shinobi Barracks. He and Taru had quickly decided that he would head there while she went to the Hokage Tower and its carrier pigeons. He wasn't sure how much use they would be in this rough storm, but they were trained to endure rough environments. If she could get there quickly, she would alert the majority of the ninja population using them, and the ninja within the Tower could also take up the defense of the city.
He was to alert the other large gathering of shinobi, likely before the pigeons could be sent out. Those two methods should alert any ninja in the village to the attack. Unfortunately, the sight of the birds would likely alert the intruders to their loss of the element of surprise. Nevertheless, it gave them the best chance of survival.
He was forced to dodge to the side, however, when he felt the chakra of a jutsu activate near him. He glared as a charge of electricity flowed through the water in the street, concentrated on where he would have been if he hadn't dodged. He glanced up and saw three ninja on the roof above him, two wearing Mist headbands and one with Sound. Probably a strike team sent in ahead of the rest of the army to slow Konoha's response to the attack. Hari scowled irritably. He didn't have time to deal with this.
"Where do you think you're going?" asked the one in front, a Kiri nin with a rebreather on his face, making his voice seem somewhat hollow.
The Leaf shinobi just rolled his eyes. "None of your business, asshole. Now, if you'll excuse me, I do have important business to attend to." He shifted his weight as if to Shunshin farther down the street away from them.
However, he Shunshined behind the back two nin and stabbed at the left one with a kunai. His bluff must've paid off because the front enemy was gone, probably to cut him off, and the other two were slow enough that he managed to cut a deep gash in the side of his first target.
The man grunted in pain and jumped back out of reach as his companion pulled out a short sword and engaged Kizui in melee.
With his focus on speed, Hari was able to keep up with his opponent in the short exchange, even though he could tell the man was a jounin, a rank above him. Hari was forced to back off when the leader rejoined the battle with a volley of shuriken.
The Konoha nin landed on the street below and scowled. He knew he couldn't outrun these men; they were all jounin. Similarly, his chances of beating them were slim. He couldn't even hide from them because he was already seen. There was only one conclusion he could come to.
He was completely screwed.
He had no clue what to do.
He wasn't given much of a choice when the three enemies appeared around him, surrounding him. He scowled. The one in front of him smirked at him arrogantly. All three started hand seals at the same time. Hari cursed, starting on his own.
The three foes finished at nearly the same time.
"Raiton: Supea Raikou no Jutsu!" (Lightning Style: Lightning Javelin Jutsu)
"Suiton: Gogyou Otaki no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Cascading Water Jutsu)
"Suiton: Mizugai no Jutsu!" (Water Style: Water Scythe Jutsu)
Hari finished half a moment later, before the techniques could strike. "Doton: Tsuchi Shouheki no Jutsu!" (Earth Style: Earth Barrier Jutsu) A circular wall of earth rose up around him, blocking all sides around him.
The blade of water and spear of lightning sent by the first and third enemies collided with the barrier, sending pieces of earth flying, but the shield held. However, the wave of water that poured over the top of his defensive jutsu and crashed down on top of him, crushing him against the floor beneath him. He tried to groan in pain, but only received a mouthful of water for his effort.
Coughing, he allowed his jutsu to die down, the earth shield dropping back into the ground. He climbed to his feet, trying to control his lungs and still ready to continue fighting. Luckily, he quickly realized that he didn't have to, as none of his foes moved in to engage him while he was weak. He glanced around and noticed that all three enemies had engaged members of the ANBU black ops. Another member landed next to him. "The ANBU are already moving. Keep moving, soldier, and inform the rest of the ninja corps."
Eyes wide, Hari nodded. The ANBU leapt away, moving to assist one of his comrades. He paused only long enough to ensure that the ANBU held the advantage, before moving back to his initial objective. The ANBU captain was right; he had to get the rest of the Konoha ninja moving.
Hitayio landed next to Kiba-sensei, who rode Akamaru, on top of the tallest building in the area and stopped. Chouji-san stood next to them as Hotaru joined them, eyes widening when she caught sight of what they were staring at.
The West Gate, not 200 feet away, was wide open, and enemy ninja were pouring in.
Kiba snarled angrily. "We have to delay them so that the rest of our forces can become active." He glanced at the male chuunin. "Use it, Hitayio."
The black haired teen raised an eyebrow. "I'll kill everything within a hundred yards."
His sensei's eyes darkened. "They'll die anyway, at this rate," he said, motioning toward the enemy. The teen glanced and saw a wave of water crash into one of the buildings, crushing it, the steady pounding of the rain almost drowning out the resulting screams. Hitayio grimaced.
"Hea Gaishi no Jutsu" (Insulating Hair Jutsu) Hitayio turned in time to see Akamaru's fur fluff up in a sort of barrier. The teen vaguely noted that Hotaru and Chouji had moved off to engage foes that had strayed too far away from their companions. "Go ahead and start the jutsu," commanded Kiba, grabbing him under the arms and lifting him onto Akamaru's back. "Akamaru'll get you to the middle of the enemies." At Hitayio's look, he continued, "Don't worry about him. His fur will make your jutsu nothing more than a tingle."
Nodding his understanding, Hitayio started the hand seals. He felt a shiver run down his spine as Akamaru began to move. He didn't often get the chance to use this jutsu; it was just so dangerous. It sent a spike of pleasure and adrenalin through his body.
He felt Akamaru jerk to a stop as he ran through the last few seals, his waist length hair starting to rise around him. The Kiri and Oto nin nearby paused, surprised by the sudden appearance of an adversary in their midst; only one had the presence of mind to attack and even his was still too slow.
"Raiton: Bakufu Laputa no Jutsu!" (Thunder Style: Laputa Falls) Hitayio's hair instantly stood on end, creating a spiked sphere around his head that served to channel an extremely intense burst of electricity. The jutsu, normally with a range of around a hundred feet, flowed through the massive amounts of water in the surrounding area, almost tripling in range. Everything within the radius of a football stadium felt 50 thousand volts flow through them. Only the rain prevented the intense smell of burnt flesh from speading rapidly.
However, the enemy were ninja and only about half of them were taken out; the others used earth, water, and wind jutsu to ground the pulse of energy. He had taken out fifty percent of the enemy but was now surrounded on all sides, with more foes pouring in at every moment.
Akamaru, not wasting a second, darted back toward the other Konoha nin. When one foe moved to make a slash at the pair, Akamaru dodged out of the way with a jerk, forcing Hitayio to grab his fur to stay on. The second one that attempted to intercept them had a kunai jammed into his rib, courtesy of Kiba. The trio fell back, landing next to Hotaru and Chouji.
"There are too many of them!" shouted Kiba with a snarl. "We need reinforcements! We have to retreat!" Hitayio snarled angrily. A group of Mist nin leapt toward them, weapons drawn.
"Bubun Baika no Jutsu!" (Partial Expansion Jutsu) Chouji's arm grew to nearly the width of the street, and he thrust it forward, knocking all four enemies back forcefully. When he pulled back, he had small cuts along his palm, but nothing he couldn't ignore.
"Hotaru, cover our retreat!" They all leapt away, Hotaru running through some quick seals.
"Seireishiryoku Shuudan no Jutsu" (Mass Spirit Sight Jutsu) Hitayio glanced over his shoulder and saw many of the invaders pausing, a few trying to dispel a genjutsu, no doubt seeing the many spirits throughout the area. The four Leaf nin and one dog moved on, looking for a location of temporary safety while they waited for assistance.
Naruto stared at the main gate as it was flooded by enemies, his anger slowly growing. He noted, vaguely, the messenger bird flying overhead through the rain, letting the other Konoha ninja know they were under attack. No, his attention was more on the second gate guard, the first of which had already been slain. Naruto would have to help him or the other guard would be a goner, too. He had to pull their attention…
Naruto flared his considerable chakra, letting some of the demon's chakra join his. All of the invaders hesitated half a second as they turned toward the blonde, a number of them in slight shock. The guard took this opportunity to jam a kunai between a foe's ribs and leapt back to join Naruto.
"Thanks, Naruto-sempai. I needed that." The blonde nodded, keeping his eyes on the approaching foes.
"I'm glad you could stay alive long enough for me to help, Aitaro-san." He was glad to note that a team of four ANBU had appeared behind them. "I hope you're ready for a real fight."
Kaji Aitaro stared ahead, eyes cold. "Aye."
"Good." As he finished talking, an enemy flared his chakra almost as strongly as Naruto had. Even the ANBU behind Naruto took a step back, although the blonde couldn't help a small grin. He would be able to take out one of the strongest foes already, and work out some of the anger from the destruction of the Hyuuga compound to boot.
He raised his eyes to that opponent. He was a man with white hair in a mane around his head to his shoulders and tanned smooth skin. His muscles were lean but clearly strong as he raised a double-bladed sword almost as large as him over his shoulder. Each blade of the sword had indents making it look like an extended, sharp fork, causing it to dig into the man's shoulder slightly.
The two met eyes and started walking toward each other purposefully. Those around them made sure to get out of the way of the two superpowers. As they drew near, the pair darted forward, Naruto drawing a kunai to match blades with his foe. The pair clashed in a shower of chakra speaks.
"Uzumaki Naruto of the Konoha Twelve, you are mine!"
Naruto stared before finally recognizing the man from his bingo book. "Hanto of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist."
Hanto gave him a feral grin. "Spin, Konbou." The two-bladed sword began to spin on its hilt, immediately beginning to cut through Naruto's kunai. Eyes wide, Naruto leapt back. He glared at his foe, glancing once at his kunai, now only a handle. Naruto scowled irritably.
"Fine then, let's see whose rotation is stronger." He held his hand in front of him and allowed a ball of swirling blue energy to form there. A moment later, he pumped his wind chakra into it, turning it a green color.
His opponent gave him a confident smirk. "I had wanted to test my blade against the infamous Rasengan. Looks like I'll get my chance." With that, there was a pulse of chakra as he pumped more of it into the sword, causing it to rotate even faster.
Naruto let his own chakra free, flowing from him with enough force to stop everyone around them, before charging forward. Hanto only stood there, ready to strike back. As he approached, Naruto pushed his Rasengan forward and the swordsman thrust his blade back against it. The spinning sword and rotating sphere connected with a blast of energy so powerful that it threw everyone off balance. A wave of smoke followed, blocking everything in the block from view.
As the dust cleared, a voice rang out among the silence. "Yours may have been more focused, but mine was more powerful." Naruto's form appeared from the dust clouds, unmarked except for his hand, which was held at his side bleeding profusely. His opponent didn't look nearly as good. Hanto had only his torso and sword-arm still intact; the rest was gone, obliterated by the energy from the full-power Rasengan swirling outward and around the blade. What was left of the corpse lay on the ground, blood flowing from the numerous stumps.
Naruto turned toward the gate, the blood flow from his hand already slowing. "Alright, who's next?"
Tsunade moved across the rooftops of Konoha quickly. She had to get to the Konoha hospital and get it prepared to take on the large numbers of patients it would no doubt be receiving shortly. She would make sure the hospital was ready for it. They would lose too many lives if they didn't prepare.
She heard a scream from nearby. As a doctor, she couldn't very well leave someone in need of help when she could be there. Especially if the man was injured. Besides, the hospital would be made aware shortly if Rei and Hari were successful in their endeavors.
She switched directions to assist, increasing speed when she heard another scream, this one female and oddly recognizable to the Godaime.
As she approached, she saw one form hunched over on a roof, blood pooling around it. She could see two other enemies engaged in combat a short distance away. Tsunade quickly recognized the injured form on the roof in front of her.
She landed and immediately started a diagnosis jutsu. Her hands glowed green as she knelt beside the ANBU member. "It's alright, Yuugao-san, you should be fine." She quickly healed the large gash across the woman's chest, ignoring the unresponsive look in her eyes. She had to ensure she had healed any internal injuries, so it took longer than she had hoped. Yuugao gasped as she regained feeling in her body before falling unconscious from the pain.
Just as she finished mending the wound, she sensed a person, the winner of the melee she had seen earlier, approaching her position. She looked up in time to see a woman she didn't recognize carrying a body of one of the junior ANBU members. The woman dropped the ANBU member next to her, flashing her Kiri hitai-ate. Tsunade made sure not to show how ready she was to move.
The woman had a thin, athletic form with a body suit hugging it. Her smooth skin and relatively short black hair would have been attractive to many men. However, to Tsunade it only meant that her enemy relied largely upon speed to win. She didn't even seem to have any kunai pouches except for a small bag on her back.
She was mildly surprised when the woman took a few steps back and motioned Tsunade to heal the injured man she had been holding. The Godaime slowly approached, being careful to leave herself enough time to respond if the enemy decided to strike. Bending down with the woman a short distance away, Tsunade got to work healing the young ANBU agent.
The two were silent aside from the heavy pounding of the rain. It was only a shallow stab wound and a couple cuts along his limbs, so it didn't take too long. The young ANBU member had been aware enough to tell her that his other companion had fallen between buildings, his heart punctured before any of them had even known there was an enemy nearby. That said something about the enemy's skill, to be able to hide from ANBU, at least one of them well trained.
As Tsunade was finishing up, surprised her foe had actually given her the time to heal an ally, the woman decided to finally pull her attention by speaking. "You know, Hokage-sama, the Mizukage was overthrown less than two weeks ago."
Tsunade eyed her cautiously. She had heard rumors of such a thing, but it had not been confirmed. Perhaps this woman didn't actually want to fight but was only following orders. The Godaime asked the woman as such.
The woman only grinned impishly, pulling her bag around to her front. She began digging around in the bag as she spoke. "Silly woman," she said, pulling out a thin blue and white slip, which she began to unfold. As she finished, she placed it on her head, causing Tsunade's eyes to go wide. "I am the new Mizukage."
