A/N: Man...what a chapter. This thing took a while, combined with the follow-up. As I wrote this a WHILE ago, I think it's appropriate for me to say Happy New Year and Happy New Decade! Enjoy! :)
The Otoko Clan were not an ancient clan like the Senju or Uzumaki, but had made their presence known throughout the last few decades via their methods of combat. Their mastery over both Lightning and Earth Release were unparalleled, and yet, even alongside the other shinobi of the Hidden Stone, all members fighting against Pet and Mother could do nothing but survive.
Or perhaps, more accurately, they could not do anything against Pet. Mother was stood beside him as Pet shrieked and kept his head aimed upwards, whole body writhing and twitching. The freakish, tall thing was using a technique that was not known to any of his opponents, yet it's effectiveness was quickly apparent. Anybody that came within a few meters of the duo had their bodies crushed, ripped apart, opened and gutted, their heads violently twisted until their neck snapped, their limbs broken and crushed into limp sacks of meat. All of this...without any sort of physical contact. Any sort of projectile that came in got shot down via Mother's own unique jutsu; she would send out shards of light blue crystal from her palm, ones that flew straight and true like any kunai. She didn't have to do this, but she felt rather bored standing and letting Pet do all the work.
"Please," she said out loud to Pet, "don't use too much of your chakra."
He didn't listen, instead shrieking louder as more carnage began to ensue. The ground was being torn up here and there, like steel whips were lashing at it. Some buildings and houses nearby had holes knocked into the walls, and many trees began to fall like they were shoved aside. And, the Stone shinobi began to die faster, surrounding the two Family members with pools of blood.
At a distance, Boseki's Hidden Stone Team watched on in terror. Suzushi had been close to ground zero, but thankfully the initial attack was only a shockwave...had Pet decided to do whatever it was doing now, Suzushi surely would've been...
The Twins were sweating in unison, unsure of how they could possibly go about fighting it. Even if they knew how, even if Suzushi had formulated a plan, Boseki was not allowing them to run in. He stood with his back to them and his front towards the chaos, eyeing everything. Now, even the shinobi that felt it best to retreat were bursting apart into bloody chunks...nobody was safe, truly.
"The only way to fight them is from a distance," Boseki thought aloud.
Suzushi huffed, his frown growing harder. A hand reached into his weapons pouch, pulling a kunai and spinning it on a finger. "Fine. I think I have a clear shot from here."
Boseki was about to ask what he meant to do, but only looked to his nephew in time to find the kunai soaring through the air and headed straight for the head of Pet. This actually seemed to be a clear shot, but the move was still a risky one. Boseki could do nothing but watch the kunai soar, and hope it hit it's target.
It...didn't. Pet immediately stopped what he was doing and looked straight at the kunai before it could hit him, and the object stopped flying forward. It was stuck in the air, hovering uselessly as he examined it. Hell, Pet even took the time to grab the item and examine it closer...before slowly looking up where it had come from. As soon as direct eye contact was made with Suzushi, the jounin could hear sounds of children laughter surrounding him, growing louder and louder. He had been discovered, and the amount of pressure being put on him from the tall being made him feel as if death was fast approaching.
But there was another odd phenomenon happening. While Pet was looking off to where the attack had come from, he stopped his assault on the other shinobi on a dime. The once-fearing forces saw this, and immediately took action. One of the older members of the Otoko Clan looked over his shoulder at his fellow clansmen, determination burning in his heart. "EVERYONE, THIS IS WHEN WE STRIKE BACK! GET READY FOR THE IRON WALL FORMATION!"
"SIR, YES SIR!"
He was joined at the side by a row of other Otoko Clan members, and all of them slammed their palms together to gather chakra. They were a unit who had practiced techniques like this for years, and now that they had an opening, it was time to act. They could not let these two do any more damage...they could not allow these monsters to reach the Tsuchikage! When the time was right and all the chakra needed was gathered, the group went through very specific hand signs in unison.
"STEEL RELEASE: STEEL FLESH JUTSU!"
One by one, their forms became coated in metal from head to toe. They were lined up perfectly, ready to act as a first line of defense. And then, multiple Hidden Stone shinobi stood behind them, weaving their own signs before slamming their palms onto the ground.
"EARTH RELEASE: STONE HAIL JUTSU!"
Chunks of earth got kicked up all around the two targets, yet Pet was too distracted to notice. Mother could tell right away what was happening, and had acted on instinct alone. Her own hand signs took nowhere near as much time to form, despite having many more she needed to weave. She finished and slammed a palm on the ground just before the chunks of earth flew at her and Pet.
"Diamond Release: Diamond Fortress."
A large cube of transparent light blue diamond enveloped the two Family members, the sound of cracking and stretching minerals echoing throughout the village as it completed it's form. The stone bullets that rained down onto it bounced off harmlessly, rendering the nearly-successful collaboration attack useless. Even still, Pet stared at Suzushi through the defense that Mother had erected, completely oblivious to what was happening around him.
"Pet, please do try to pay attention," Mother requested, as if him being blind to his surroundings was a minor inconvenience. She did not wait for him to respond to her, instead focused on what was happening outside her defense. Some of the Otoko Clan members who had activated Steel Release seemed to be closing the gap, and the few who came close slammed their fists against the sides of the defensive technique. They were stronger than anticipated, for their combined efforts managed to put some damage on the exterior of the barrier. Some, but not a lot. Mother was already preparing a new jutsu, and formed the Ram sign when she was ready.
"Diamond Release: Diamond Rain."
Thousands upon thousands of diamond senbon formed in midair, glistening in the moonlight and giving pause to many of the shinobi. They aimed themselves at the many shinobi who were not using the Steel Flesh skill, and within the blink of an eye, they cascaded towards the helpless individuals. The Otoko Clan's Steel Wall formation bound together and became more tightly knit, but they could only do so much against an aerial technique. Many of the shinobi managed to erect a Mud Wall Jutsu, but unfortunately, the attack had come quick enough to catch some people off-guard, or fast enough to reach them before they could defend.
Boseki grit his teeth at the sight, and began going through his own hand signs. "Suzushi, weaken the ground when I say! Ikari, Kisu, you both take on that diamond lady!"
Everyone nodded in agreement, just as Boseki finished his hand signs. His whole body became steel, and he slammed his hands together right after. Pulling his hands apart revealed a large pole, which he grabbed and pulled with a hand until the rod, nearly as tall as he was, had fully emerged. Boseki made a single hand sign, and the pole morphed into an intimidating-looking war hammer who's head was as beefy as his upper body. He hoisted the massive thing up onto his shoulder, and solidified his resolve.
"AFTER ME!"
Leaping from where his team had been positioned, Boseki held his weapon above his head and fell towards the Diamond Fortress, bellowing out a fierce war cry. Mother looked skyward through her defense just in time to see the large man falling atop her technique, bellowing out as he swung his hammer against it.
There was almost no damage. Her chakra was surging through the jutsu like a vicious sea, making it's form evermore powerful. It would not be broken by a simple strike. Boseki felt his resolve stumble when his attack was rendered useless, and before he could react, he felt an invisible presence shove him back. It was like he was hit with a hammer equal to his own, the force being so potent that he saw his world go black for a moment. But it had not been her technique, had it? No, that cloaked lady had done nothing except stare at him...it must have been that tall one.
What...what's this technique he's using...
Boseki hit the ground hard, slamming into it back-first and sliding through debris until his massive body came to a halt. Suzushi had seen it, and as his siblings ran to help Boseki stand, he had his own plan of action.
I see the barrier, he thought. Your feet aren't protected. He weaved through some hand signs and charged in, dashing between other shinobi and debris that were flung his way. He saw Mother look to him, ready to perform another technique, but his was already complete. He slammed his palm onto the ground and activated it.
"Earth Release: Fissure!"
The ground beneath him rumbled and broke apart into loose chunks of earth, and a trail of cracks and rubble extended from him over to the attackers. It slipped beneath the defenses of the Diamond Fortress, and the massive weight of Mother's technique clearly could not be held up under such loose foundation. She looked up and saw her jutsu was faltering, sinking partially into the crumbling ground below. She glanced up at it and clicked her tongue before making a hand sign. Her jutsu dispersed into thousands of diamond shards.
"You're a brave one," she remarked to Suzushi, right before her technique flew at him with breakneck speed. Shards whistled in the air as they approached the shinobi, but he didn't seem scared at all. A few hands signs came from him before his palms hit the ground, and a Great Mud Wall technique popped up between him and the diamond shards. It...did nothing that significant, as he noticed one diamond penetrate the technique and fly by his head. He was quick to leap away, feeling himself sweat as a flood of the diamond shards broke through his jutsu with ease. He could see Pet staring at him, could hear inside his head the sounds of angry children yelling at him from all around...just what WAS this technique?
Ikari leapt over Suzushi as Kisu did so from below, him charging in with his Mountain Shield jutsu active, and her forming her signature Thunder Cleaver above her head. She yelled out a battle cry as she began to plummet towards the two enemies, and Kisu huffed like a pissed-off bull as he approached faster. Pet had his full attention on the one approaching above, already wriggling his fingers as he made a weird noise, and below, Mother was focusing on the one on the ground. But, to her complete surprise, Boseki had also charged the duo, hammer ready to unleash a heavy horizontal swing and eyes wide with fury. More importantly, he was running towards her. She attempted to move but...a quick glance at her feet revealed that stone hands had emerged from the cracked ground, holding both her and Pet in place, though the latter didn't seem to notice. She could see it with her Byakugan, a trail of chakra stretching all the way back to Suzushi, who had had since landed and was keeping his palm on the floor, staring right at her.
"...I see," she mused aloud. Immediately she formed a thick diamond shield by her side, just in time to block Boseki's massive hammer...but the force could not be denied, as it sent her a good distance away. Boseki pursued, looking back at his team. He could see Pet look back at him, just in time for Ikari's attack to be avoided by him with a sidestep. But he did not react in time to Kisu's charging Mountain Shield, which hit Pet like a car and knocked him into a nearby destroyed house.
"SUZUSHI, WITH ME," Boseki shouted as he chased after Mother.
Suzushi did not need to be told twice, already knowing full and well that the biggest challenge had just been completed. The two Family members were split up, it was now time to take them down. He rushed past Ikari and Kisu, fully confident that together, they could defeat the tall enemy. The twins stood back to back, him with his Mountain Shield between them and Pet, with her Lightning Cleaver being swung out to their side with a heavy slowness.
"We can't let him live, you know," she said to her brother.
"Pft, I didn't plan on it."
Pet emerged from the rubble, haori a little tattered. Stones were floating by him, and the sounds of crying children echoed in the minds of the two vigilant stone shinobi. Pet put a hand on his head as he stared at the two before him, and looked skyward with a shriek.
For such an underhanded tactic to be used against Netsu had her partially in tears. There was a baker she knew, her neighbor, her old sensei from the academy...her parents. She did not understand the technique being used to control them, nor did she understand why all of this was happening, but she did know by the glossy looks in their eyes and the way their bodies struggled to shamble about meant they were dead. They had been killed while she was around, capable of saving them. And she didn't.
Not everyone had fell and become a puppet, others were gathering weapons and fighting to their best abilities...but these puppets all seemed too coordinated. They were hers, and as they chopped down anybody trying to oppose them, shinobi or not, more root-like veins sprouted from the ground to take control of the fresh bodies. Daughter was crouched in the midst of all her puppets, hiding in plain sight as she continued to wreak havoc.
Netsu felt helpless, she didn't know what to do. Her first goal was to stop Daughter so that she could release her victims. Then, her and Bee would have to fight with all the aggression they could muster to bring her down. Son would have to be dealt with after.
At least, thats what she would have liked to have happen. Unfortunately, Son was already attacking them both, and he was not letting up.
"Fireball Jutsu."
A massive wad of fire was flung at the two, and Netsu was quick to counter using her very own Fireball Jutsu. The two collided in a flaming explosion, embers raining down. Bee saw an opening and attempted to take it, Son was still falling to the ground. Bee could beat him there. In fact, he was already in place, and could feel Son's worry through the air itself.
"Lariat!"
Bee's arm caught Son in the midsection, something definitely broke. Bee could feel the damage, and flung Son off into the masses of Corpse Puppets. He knocked down many of them like bowling pins, splitting them off from the veins of their controller.
Normally Bee would celebrate his successful attack, but there was no time for it. He frowned and got into his usual stance, swords at the ready. He knew he wasn't done. A large sea of Corpse Puppets came after him, and his eight swords soon found a reason to leave their sheaths. He began retreating and slicing, bringing down the puppets before he found himself next to Netsu.
"Bee, I don't like this," she mumbled. "All these people-"
"They ain't people anymore. Don't think about it, bring 'em to the floor."
Netsu knew he was right, but still...she couldn't help but feel remorse.
"He's right, you know," they heard a voice speak from behind. Glancing over their shoulders let them realize that Son was right behind them, wilting a little from the attack, but still breathing normally. "They're already dead. You shouldn't overthink it."
Immediately, Bee and Netsu lunged for him in a coordinated flurry of close-range strikes. Bee's sword style was irregular to most, and Netsu's taijutsu could prove quite punishing if one were hit by a single strike. Yet, Son seemed to be dodging with little care, half of the time not even looking towards the strikes.
"Nimble bastard," Netsu swore under her teeth. "I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU!"
Her words earned her a kick in the face from Son, who still managed to avoid more sword swings from Bee. "I'm not looking for forgiveness," he retorted halfheartedly. He landed and threw out another Fireball Jutsu, though this time Netsu had barreled through it with a fist covered in brimstone, and she was quickly closing the gap. She looked furious, and all Son thought to do was jump. He leapt right over her and stood on top of a nearby roof, staring down at the two shinobi. Bee stayed grounded, and Netsu leapt after her opponent.
Taking on two at once would be easier if the area wasn't so crowded...I could do this, but I would have to resort to 'that' again. I think I'll switch off.
Son leapt back just in time to avoid a scorching uppercut from Netsu, who finished scaling the building and was now stood on the roof with him. She began going through hand signs, but Son threw a simple shuriken at her. Netsu sidestepped it with little care, fury burning in every fiber of her body. "You killed them...YOU KILLED THEM!" Her voice was becoming hoarse from all the yelling she had done, her eyes glazed over with a veil of tears. Son did not humor her with a response, and stood unmoving as Netsu fired a large ball of burning brimstone and lava towards him. Netsu believed she had made a direct hit, when her technique exploded and only a charred, melting shuriken was remaining, she knew she had been taken for a fool. She grit her teeth and looked over her shoulder to see Son sailing through the air towards the mass of walking dead.
"He substituted with the shuriken..."
Son landed in the corpse army right beside Daughter, crouching down beside her to take cover beneath her servants. "They are dangerous up-close," he spoke in a flat tone.
"What did you expect? They're jinchuuriki."
"I thought I could perhaps fight them without using my full power, but this may not be the case. I wish to keep my abilities secret for now, so why not switch places with me?"
"...you want ME to fight them for you? Are you a child?"
"No, but I do have common sense. You will have the advantage in numbers. I will defend you if you send your mass after them both. Do not forget the mission."
"...fine."
With that, the entire army of corpse puppets stopped on a dime, and turned their full attention to both jinchuuriki. A pair of black wings sprouted from the mass, and a single flap brought a Dark Angel into the air, veins from her wrists expanding down into a web that contained every single dead body. Daughter could see both jinchuuriki from where she floated, and huffed beneath her mask.
"Must I do everything..."
He flew through the sand-blanketed village with the swiftness of a viper, felling one shinobi after another. Tokage knew he had to prove himself, one way or another, and he hoped that racking up a big enough body count would put him in a more favorable light. He leapt from rooftop to rooftop, his hand automatically reaching for kunai and flinging them with pinpoint accuracy. He could not be touched, his Byakugan was active and warned him of any incoming danger. His other eye, sewn shut and twitching at the stench of blood, prayed for action, yet would have to wait until another day. These fodder were not worth the extra effort, his instincts alone were enough.
Speaking of which, both his instincts and his Byakugan warned him of a special incoming threat just behind him. A giant cloaked being was flying at him from behind, clacking rapidly as it approached. Tokage saw blades emerge from it's palms and elbows before he leapt out of it's path, the being crashing into a rooftop just behind him. The Abyss-nin was airborne, his eyes on the roof he'd land on, yet a mighty gust shoved him off course with insane force. He was flung against a sandstone building's facade, yet the adrenaline flooding his system forbade him from being stunned. Fortunate for him, it was, because he was able to see and jump away from a massive hand of sand rising from the ground of the village in an attempt to capture him. He found himself upon the side of a sandstone tower, and blitzed up it's surface till he was perched upon it's peak. His back was to whatever dangerous chakra signatures he could see in his Byakugan, rising slowly on a mass of sand hovering in the air. He would have to have been a fool to not know just what, or rather, who, this was.
"Hn...so, I've gotten the attention of the Sand Siblings," he announced, spinning on a heel with sharp eye and small grin aimed at the trio. "I'm moving up in the world, aren't I?"
Indeed, the three sand siblings rose in front of him, all stood tall upon a cloud of sand. Kankuro had found himself at home after a long mission and hoped to get some rest, and Temari was simply visiting her brothers at home to ensure they were doing fine amid the recent events. However, the sudden attack had thrown a wrench in their plans to have a calm, quiet afternoon...but also provided an opportunity for the three to work together once more. Kankuro called back Crow, and surrounded himself with his three signature puppets. Temari's fan was at three moons, a subtle swing to position it behind her sending a gust of wind out towards Tokage that threatened to knock him off balance. And Gaara...his arms were folded, glossy eyes fixated on the one of the two men who had been killing his people and destroying his village.
The ex-jinchuuriki lifted his chin, and allowed a little crinkle in his brow to form as the sand from the whole village rose up in non-distinct mounds. The Hyuuga found his forehead was starting to trickle with sweat, and his confidence waned.
The Kazekage's aura pulsed, and he held a single palm out towards Tokage.
"I wouldn't be so sure of that."
Yet, it would be hard for the Kazekage to focus, as he knew that in other parts of his village, his men were fighting, dying, to the sudden influx of Jashinists that were running rampant. They could not be killed easily, and while the Sand Siblings had made an effort to remove many of them, many more seemed to crop up. If it weren't for their most elite shinobi running around down below in an effort to suppress the Jashin threat, then the Trio would find themselves in a corner. They had one of the two Hidden Abyss shinobi who seemed to be in charge, and they would ensure he did not escape.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the depths of the Hidden Sand, a flood of Jashinists are running rampant and refuse to be tamed. A civilian screams as her body is bisected with a rusted sword, and the Jashinist responsible lets out a howl of laughter. People screamed and ran from him, as they did from any Jashinist they saw, but only one man ran towards the dangers, a fist poised and ready.
It flung forward and struck true, hitting the Jashinist square in the jaw and sending him sprawling to the ground. The armored gauntlet that had laid into the killer's face pulled back, and Kyofu made haste to rush towards the downed target and finish the job. The Jashinist was still moving, starting to sit upright before Kyofu grabbed him by the head with both hands, placed a foot on his chest, and ripped the head clean off...just as he had done with many other Jashinists tonight.
"Motherfucker," Kyofu growled through his teeth, eyes wide and trembling as he held the head in a single hand and met it's gaze. Kyofu was covered in blood, his whole body was trembling. The attack had lasted no longer than a few minutes, but already the streets smelled of flesh, blood, and steel. The order to attack his home village had been carried out swiftly, and everybody was caught off guard. "Motherfucker," he muttered again. He had killed multiple Jashinists on his way here, but he had been too late in every instance. An elderly lady who lived down the road from him was beheaded, children he would see playing on a playground near his apartment now lay scattered in the streets, trails of blood and stray limbs lined walkways, and laughing from the demented cultists rang through the village.
The head grinned at him, even chuckling. "My, look at you. A bit flustered, are we? I can feel your whole body trembling just through your hand."
"You bastards...why are you doing this..."
"For Jashin...why else?" The head's smile widened, and it's eyes seemed to twinkle in the dark of night. "You can try to keep fighting if you wish, but the unleashing of my brothers and sisters of Jashin upon your village will mean the end of the Hidden Sand."
Kyofu did not humor the head with a response, instead dropping it to the ground and crushing it into a bloody paste with a single stomp. His body trembled more violently, and he fell to his hands and knees. "The end of the Hidden Sand." Such a phrase made him feel sick, and the overwhelming stench of blood finally overpowered him. Kyofu vomited on the sandy ground below him before shoving himself to his feet; without much delay, he began a quick sprint. He wiped bile from his mouth an flung it aside, unable to keep his thoughts straight. So much was happening in such a short amount of time. Thoughts of Jari were swirling around somewhere in his head, thoughts of her abdomen exposed and covered with a seal of Jashin's symbol, of how she was bloodied and disappeared the moment the explosions began. She was a Jashinist? For how long? He did recall that she was always adamant about keeping her abdomen bandaged up, how she never really seemed to mind getting hurt in battle...her terrifyingly-nonchalant attitude around pools of blood or rotting corpses that they would occasionally find on missions.
The truth was always right in front of him. Of course, he was too blind to see it for himself, as usual. His thoughts came to a halt as he reached his destination, his home. There was nothing special about it, just a sandstone home like any other fool in this village could afford. He burst through his own door and ran upstairs. He kicked open the door to his bedroom and ran to the corner, where something as tall as himself stood, draped in dusty blankets. He ended up tripping over his own feet like a fool, scrambling to stand up. Stopping at the base of the cloaked mass, he found his breath caught in his throat. He knew what was under the cloak...he had seen it only when it arrived at his home that fateful night. A parting gift from his father, sent from family friends in the West...
With a shaky hand, the man reached out until he felt his gauntlets rub against the cloth. He gripped it, giving himself a moment to gather his thoughts and ease his mind. For a split second, he felt conviction rise up in his soul, and he ripped the rags away.
Plate armor. More specifically, his father's plate armor that Kyofu was meant to inherit when his father retired. Unfortunately, the day came rather early after his sudden passing.
Kyofu found himself placing his gauntlet-clad hand upon the chest piece and looking the set over. This set did not come with gauntlets, as he had been given those at a young age (though it was only a few years ago that he managed to grow into them), and the helm was missing as well...but it was all there for him. He could feel his father's aura coming from the armor itself, though frail and fleeting.
Kyofu didn't waste time, and got right to work putting the armor on. Each piece fit him like a glove, his body size was exactly as his father's. There were scratches here, dents there, stories of overcome hardships and victories in battle all scattered along the armor's surface. Each piece that went on brought on another memory of his parents...of how his mother would play with him and train him in the shinobi arts when he was a child, how she would often tell the tale of an encounter between Eastern and Western warriors that ended in peace, and how she convinced one of those warriors to come home with her after getting to know each other better. Memories of his father poured in, how the man was almost never home...but when he was, it was the best time of Kyofu's childhood. He remembered that after his mother had fallen in battle, his father came home almost immediately. They grieved together, and he taught Kyofu in the art of kenjutsu, though it was with a weapon called a 'broadsword' and his father referred to it as 'swordsmanship.' His final piece of armor, the chest plate, was placed on his body...and as he fastened it, Kyofu's final memory of his father's armor arriving with a note of condolence in regards to his father's passing in battle.
He stood back to look at himself in whatever small mirror he had in his bedroom, and once he got a glimpse of himself in the suit of steel, all outside noise seemed to disappear. It was amazing, head to toe...he was damn near a spitting image of his father, just much younger.
"You should consider yourself quite lucky, son. I've no idea what this 'chakra' is that your mother speaks of, and I'm not what you would consider the inconspicuous type when it comes to battle. However, despite inheriting all my bad qualities, your mother's good ones more than make up for it. You can be whatever you want to be, son, so long as you put your mind to it. Use chakra, be a shinobi, but always remember to stay true to yourself."
His face was stone, though his eyes sang a song of sadness. A single tear trickled down his chiseled jaw, and he began to make way for the door leaving his bedroom. On the door hung a brown tattered cloak with the Hidden Sand symbol on it's back, and leaned up against the wall was a sword...a 'broadsword.' Wordlessly, Kyofu grabbed the cloak, a gift from his deceased mother, and the weapon his father had given to him as a gift long ago; as soon as he had both possessions on his person, he left his home. The cold night air of the desert hit him, and the sounds of people screaming and Jashinists laughing echoed loud once again.
"...I'm usually the first one to run into battle," he mumbled to himself with a shaky breath, "...but this is something I'm not sure how to deal with. Jashinists are killing my village, my home...and the girl I loved all my life is one of them."
Though he felt powerful, covered in plate armor and sheltered by a familiar cloak, Kyofu's mind and soul were as vulnerable as ever. More tears ran from his face, and he collapsed to his hands and knees, sobbing through gritted teeth.
"I couldn't...I couldn't k-keep that bastard S-Sakyu safe...Jari is a psycopath...m-mom and dad are g-gone..."
He hunkered down lower to the sand, pressing his forehead against it as his tears dripped to the ground.
"...Kami...I'm all alone...I don't know what to do..."
Sakana couldn't push Yaju's sword away, his monstrous strength keeping the weapon crossed with her own. The long jagged teeth of his Widow's Bane kept Sakana's sword in place, yet protruded far enough that they were barely touching the kunoichi's face. Sweat began to drip down her brow, and her arms started to quiver.
Unimpressed, Yaju sneered at his youngest child and only daughter, showing off his sharp teeth. "Worthless girl, I'm only using one arm. You mean to tell me you're struggling?" He pushed his blade down more, and the jagged teeth of his metal slab of a weapon threatened to start putting holes in Sakana's face; she kept the sword a bay, but her trembling became worse. "Where's that killer that I raised? That kunoichi who abandoned her soft, sorry nature so she could murder without remorse?"
"Y...You made me a monster..."
"Hah...a monster? No, I made you a real Hoshigaki, a real kunoichi. Shinobi and kunoichi are not defenders of peace, we are pawns of conflict. And the Hoshigaki? We were good at it. You had so much potential when you were growing up...and you let one stupid boy ruin everything."
"He...made me see the truth...about you..."
To her surprise, the sword was suddenly lifted off of the kunoichi's own. She had not been expecting it, and jumped to her feet due to all the strength she was using to keep herself from getting cleaved in half. Her eye widened at the sudden change, and could only see her father reel his massive fist back and launch it forward, burrowing his knuckles into the gut of his daughter. Sakana coughed violently as she was lifted off her feet and sent flying onto the water, her back hitting it's surface and her body skipping along before she could catch herself. She stood, but was weakened by the blow, as she was doubled over with a free hand on her gut.
"You know nothing about me, girl," he spat. "You think I'm an asshole? A bad father? Go on ahead and think it, but the truth is that I'm a liberator. I'm a hero of the Hoshigaki! And today? Today I lead us to a better future! Today, we head to our new home!"
Putting his fingers in his mouth, Yaju let out a whistle so loud, so ear-piercing that nobody would fail to hear it. As if like clockwork, a horn was sounded down where more of the Hoshigaki lived along the docks in response, and a muffled, distant series of whooping and cheering could be heard. Explosions rang out down there, and as soon as they were, Sakana caught a glimpse of rising smoke coming from somewhere else in the village, in the direction that the cloaked, scaled person had headed. To her surprise, she heard deep rumbling, cracking, and saw a building collapse from there. Wordlessly, she looked at her father.
The man had a smirk on his mug now, one so wide and prominent that it dominated half his face. "A plan was made months ago. Our people knew who I was, that I was associated with the Hidden Abyss, and understood I would liberate them to a place where we would be appreciated for our talents. No weird looks, no disrespect, no mocking us. The Hoshigaki can finally walk with their heads held high...but first, we're throwing a celebration party. We're gonna blow this place apart, chop up any idiot who stands in our way, and leave the mist in this village tinted red with the blood of the people who never respected us!"
Sakana snarled, gripping her sword in both hands and trying to ignore the pain in her gut from the single strike. "You fucking wish."
"You think you can do anything?"
"I'll gut you alive before you lead our people down a path they'll never be forgiven for taking."
"HAH! It's too late! They're already committed. As we speak, they're killing off any sort of shinobi response that came to save the village...all the ones that aren't busy tussling with Aunt, anyway."
The screaming of civilians became more prominent after each passing second, and Sakana felt her body grow colder as her father's killing intent grew stronger. He gripped his weapon tighter, and looked over his shoulder, Byakugan twitching.
"Speaking, of, which! Here comes MY part!"
It took only moments before Sakana could figure out what he planned to do. The sounds of civilians shouting and footsteps pounding the earth became clearer, and the lack of powerful chakra meant that there were no shinobi mixed in with them. The kunoichi's eye dart towards the docked boats on the pier, and it all clicked.
An attempt at escape, one being made by a bunch of panicking civilians who had no idea the amount of danger they were in.
Yaju's muscles twitched, and he took in a deep whiff of the misty air before performing the seal of confrontation and glancing at his daughter. "If you want to stop me so bad, then try it."
The mist around him grew thicker, and Sakana understood what he was trying to do. She growled and brought her sword to her side before running at the man. "HIDDEN MIST JUTSU?! I WONT LET YOU!"
Her father only rose his brow at her charge, smile never wavering. He stepped back and was swallowed by mist, just in time to avoid a violent horizontal slash from her daughter. Her sword passed through nothing, cutting into the water vapor that now blocked her vision completely. The technique not only impaired her vision, but her hearing as well. She couldn't detect her father...the damn bastard was even lowering his chakra levels to help stay hidden! Sakana cursed under her breath and took a step back, her head whipping around and the sounds of her own breathing and heartbeats flooded her head. There was nothing she could do...except...
She looked to her feet, and saw that she was stood upon the water's surface. Without a second thought, the kunoichi quit channeling chakra into her feet and sank below. Although her hearing still was impaired due to being underwater, at least her vision cleared up. She could see bottoms of boats nearby, the mist that formed above the water...but no bodies, no blood, no sign of her father. Even so, she couldn't afford to wait. Immediately she began to swim along the dock towards where the ships were.
But above the surface, the civilians charging the boats that were docked had no idea where they were going, or what was happening. All of them had come to a sudden halt once the mist swallowed them.
"Wh-What's going on?"
"...this...what's this feeling? Kami...I feel so..."
"Mommy...I'm scared..."
"Damn! Where are the boats? We can't wait, we have to get out of here!"
A chuckle resonated through the mist, it's haunting echo silencing all trapped in the Silent Killing Technique. Footsteps soon followed, slow and careful like a lion circling prey. A single infant wrapped in a parent's arms began to cry, and people began to huddle closer together. Palms and forehead became coated with a sheen of sweat, children trembled and families embraced. A cold, low voice spoke out to them, and it's presence seemed to be amplified in the engrossing silence.
"...larynx..."
The footsteps became heavier.
"...spine..."
The slight sound of scraping was introduced, also echoing around the people.
"...lungs..."
The scraping sound became more defined...it was akin to rough metal.
"...liver..."
The footsteps slowed, and the sound of them as well as the metal got louder still.
"...jugular vein..."
The sounds seemed to get closer from all directions.
"...subclavian vein..."
The metal grinding became damn near ear-piercing, and the footsteps slowed even more.
"...kidneys..."
The sound of metal slamming against the ground rung out like an explosion...but afterwards, there was silence.
"...and the heart..."
Silence. The civilians waited on in silence, save for a single screaming infant.
"...these are eight vital spots on the human body...if even one of the eight is removed, the body can't survive...and unfortunately, many of you will be losing at least one of those..."
And without any time wasted, Yaju dashed in from the mist, Widow's Bane in hand at his side. His entire body tensed, his muscles gigantic and coated with veins as he swung the giant slab of spiked metal. He cleaved through a group of people with minimal effort, sending blood flying onto the other people before they all began to scream. But it wouldn't matter how hard they fought, how loud they cried, nothing could escape when it was swallowed by the mist. Yaju swung again, and again, and again, and again. Each swing killed at least five people, cleanly cutting some while violently ripping others in half. More children screamed and cried, parents rushed to either protect their children or fight off the Hoshigaki, but it meant nothing. He kept swinging his sword, the one he preferred to use over his actual Seven Swordsman weapon, Samehada. Each kill splattered him with a fresh coat of crimson, the warmth of blood from a recently-beating heart blanketed him and the scent of iron filled his nostrils and gills. More swings, more screaming, more blood...more death. He could hear civilians scattering, and pursued them like a child determined to crush ants scurrying along the ground. His targets didn't matter to him...men, women, children...everyone was a target. Each kill was an ounce of payback for this damn village for what it did to him, to his way of life. These people were no longer real to him...merely apparitions meant to be removed from view.
In his careless slaughter, some blood had flown into the waters of the ocean just over the dock. A certain kunoichi had noticed right away, and leapt out of the water...but instead of landing on a wooden dock or a stone walkway, her feet made contact with an open corpse. Sakana went pale, her breathing coming to a full stop as she looked at her feet and what she was stood on...she stepped to the side to get off of the body, but only found she was stepping on another. The mist around her, she realized, was gaining a slight pink coloration...but it was already beginning to fade. The blanket of mist was parting, and the sounds of a few people screaming grew louder, as well as the scene around Sakana becoming clearer. A sea of blood and shredded bodies lay before her, an image straight out of hell with her father in the middle of it. He was half-red due to the blood, and he held an old man by the neck. Tears were running down the elder's neck, but he was unable to sob with Yaju's hand squeezing his windpipe. Yaju's back was to his daughter, but his Byakugan let him know she was there...stunned and watching, unable to move. Yaju let a single 'hn' off before he crushed the man's neck, dropping the fresh corpse into the others. The sound of an infant crying was still present, but Yaju did not seem to be in a rush to silence it. No, instead he let his sword fall onto the man he just killed, ripping the body into two parts, before he massaged his own neck and shoulder with a free hand.
"Ahhhh...you see, my precious daughter, this is what we live for...this is what we were made for." Yaju did not face his daughter yet, instead putting that free hand on his hip and breathing in the scent of blood. "Sakana...you've made a grave mistake. You chose to go against the grain...when you could have followed my wishes. To think that all the obstacles you conquered will have been for nothing."
He grabbed his weapon and flung it over his shoulder to cover his back, and did it just in time to block Sakana's sudden strike from behind. Sakana's eye was wide, trembling, leaking tears. Her teeth were grit and her breathing was heavy, unsteady. She didn't speak, only struggled against her father's own sword as if she could cut through the metal and reach him.
"Still too predictable," he muttered. "You never were going to make it as one of the Seven Swordsmen, I always knew you lacked what it took...and yet, you showed so much potential."
"..."
"...it's a shame you killed mother for nothing."
Sakana let out a cry of pure anger, pure hatred. She pulled her sword away and began swinging in a wild fashion, no real technique or pattern used. She just wanted to kill him, gut him, filet him, rip his head off and stomp on it until even the bone was nothing but dust. But Yaju was calm and focused, he spun around and began defending himself with minimal effort, not even losing his footing.
"Touched a nerve, did I? Your mother was a waste of life, anyway."
"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"
A punch slipped in through the sword swings, and it connected with the broadside of Yaju's sword. The force from the punch had sent him sliding back through the bodies a little, but when Sakana followed up with a drop kick, he was sent airborne...unhurt, but hurled into the air. But, even though he was now being pushed back and could see Sakana pursuing with sword overhead, Yaju couldn't help but grin.
"Yes, SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO, DAUGHTER! PROVE YOU'RE NOT A FAILURE!"
Elsewhere in the village, a counterattack was underway. Hoshigaki and various others who had sought to join the Hidden Abyss were running rampant through the streets, bringing down small buildings and setting places on fire, yet they were beginning to be pushed back by the Mist's own Seven swordsmen, Hunter-nin, and various experienced jounin. Suchiru and Tanken were back to back as they fought off their enemies, the sensei turning portions of his body steel to deflect strikes while the student would jump around him and fatally stab and slice anyone who was foolish enough to attack them. They were doing alright, but as time passed, more and more people came to fight them, more people looking to join the Hidden Abyss. Many of them seemed to be normal people, as well...it was so strange to see shop owners, butchers, ship captains, even other Mist shinobi and the like all fighting alongside the Hoshigaki. The mere thought of what was happening made Suchiru grit his teeth, and when another Hoshigaki got close, he let loose with a straight into their jaw, shattering their teeth and knocking them out. He didn't ponder over why this was happening, how it started, who was responsible...he only cared about snuffing out the flames.
Speaking of which, multiple fireball jutsu were fired overhead, landing and exploding in front of a mass of Hoshigaki. Tsuyo landed beside Suchiru and Tanken, observing his handiwork and clearly ready for another. Unlike the other two, he was well informed as to what the situation fully entailed. If this attack was a battle in war, they were losing. Mass casualties, escape efforts were not going well as both members of the Family were preventing it, and civilians were being slaughtered by those looking to leave the village for good. Apparently Sakana had been seen fighting one of the Family members, who happened to be her own father...that meant he would be stalled for a good long while before Sakana needed backup, preventing Yaju from causing further damage. Aunt, on the other hand, was too fast to intercept. Nobody could catch her, and anybody who got close was knocked out or killed with quick, lethal strikes.
Tsuyo rose his Sharingan-clad eyes to the sky, and could see overhead that Tenshi, as well as other members of the Kyofu Clan, were flying and firing Diamond Beams at enemies below. Each of them had glowing white Angel Wings comprised purely of chakra, an advanced technique only the most elite members of the clan could know. The Kyofu Clan had been a major help in suppressing attacks in many areas, and with Tenshi leading the squadron from the helm, their assistance had been swift and precise.
"HOOOOLD!"
Tenshi shouted the command and all her clan members obeyed, stalling in the air and awaiting the next command. Tenshi's wings flapped slowly as she remained stationary in the air, her eyes darting to and fro before she spotted who she wanted to target next. There, down below, a green blur was darting around the inner village not too far from where her sensei, teammate, and future husband were fighting. She aimed a finger at the green-garbed individual, and focused her killing intent on them with such precision that Aunt actually came to a full stop to look up at her squadron.
"Myyyy, what have we here," Aunt hissed beneath her mask.
Tenshi waved hand signs in the blink of an eye before making the hand formation for the Diamond Beam technique. "EVERYONE! FOCUS YOUR ATTACKS ON THE TARGET IN GREEN BELOW! FIRE AT WILL!"
"Ah, that sounds like a bit of a challenge." Aunt reached inside her cloak and pulled out four paper tags, each one with intricate seals on them. "Fine, I'm game."
It didn't take long before all manner of projectiles began to rain down on Aunt, or rather, where she was. The green-clad kunoichi began blitzing about, easily avoiding the blasts as she jerked from side to side. Any time she felt she had an opportunity, she carefully slapped one of the seals onto the facade of a still-standing building, knowing full well that the Kyofu would not attack their own structures. Aunt did have to give them credit though, they were quite persistent and would have been very accurate had Aunt not been fast-thinking when it came to avoiding projectiles.
Tanken was gritting his teeth as he fought away the final Hoshigaki near him, his sensei, and Tsuyo. He kicked the blue individual away and threw one of his knives into their neck, killing them instantly. From here, he couldn't help but feel enhanced vibrations coming from all around them, allowing him to actually sense just what was going on. A small revelation dawned on him, and his fogged-over eyes narrowed behind the draped hair covering them. "Whoever is being fired upon...they're going in a circle."
Suchiru spat. "Whatever! That means they have nowhere to run!"
But no, Tsuyo understood what Tanken was implying. Why run in a circle when there was an entire village the run through and hide in? He had heard the brief reports from surviving shinobi of Aunt's specialty being speed, so what would stop her from running away? Nothing...which means if she were staying in the same place just running in a circle...
"She's planning something! Everyone, we need to-"
The wall to a nearby building blew apart, and Aunt charged inside so fast that the rubble and dust shielded her from overhead view. Suchiru and Tanken both turned to face her, with Tsuyo just barely looking over his shoulder as she approached.
Tenshi's heart froze. Everything seemed to slow for her when she saw Aunt within striking distance of three people she cared about. She didn't shout a command to the other members of her clan, she didn't even hesitate. With a single flap of her wings, Tenshi rocketed towards the ground where the group was, hoping to reach them before Aunt could do any damage.
She was not fast enough.
Aunt kicked Tsuyo square in the back, shoving him between both Tanken and Suchiru. He found himself rolling on the floor, and while he was recovering, Suchiru was struck with a high spin kick to the head; his head turned steel upon impact, granting no real damage, but the force of the blow was enough to push him to his knees. Tanken attempted to swing one of his knives at Aunt while her back was turned, but a green tail emerged from beneath the cloak and knocked the hand away. Suchiru was punted in the mid-section by Aunt, and again, his body became steel in reaction to the physical trauma, but the force of the blow had sent him flying, quite literally. Tenshi watched on as her sensei became airborne, but was not concerned as she knew he had survived far worse on their missions; regardless, some of her clanmates swooped in and grabbed him midair, helping him land to safety. Looking back, she saw Tanken leapt over a sweeping kick that Aunt launched. He landed and ducked down low, avoiding a high kick next, but when he backed away to avoid a wild punch, he was thrown off balance. The punch hand not been intended for him, but the ground. Contact made the ground break apart, and Tanken lost his footing just long enough for Aunt to rush in and kick him from the side. His arm had been lowered when the strike hit, and he felt his own arm and ribs break in multiple places. The pain was unreal to him, and Tanken let out a yell of pain that Tenshi never thought possible from the quiet man. Tsuyo was back up on his feet, and pulled a bell from his pocket. As Aunt grabbed a reeling Tanken by his long hair, she heard a bell chime right behind her. Aunt was frozen, trembling in place with an iron grip on Tanken's locks. The injured of the two hunter-nin was gritting his teeth and breathing hard, but managed to get on his feet. He took the knife he held in his good hand and cut his hair, breaking away from Aunt before leaping to where Tsuyo was.
Tenshi landed beside the two, and saw Tsuyo standing still and watching the Family member. "Great work, Tsuyo," she said, helping Tanken stand up straight. She placed a hand on his arm and emitted a green chakra from her palm as she began some minor healing. "Tanken, obviously I won't be bale to heal your bones, but I'll try to suppress the pain. You need to get somewhere safe."
"Yes. Thank you, Tenshi."
"Now that we've got her under genjutsu, she won't be going anywhere. Let's restrain her, she'll need to be interrogated," Tsuyo stated.
Unfortunately, things would not be that simple. The moment Tsuyo came to that conclusion, he found a flying knee hurled right into his gut, curtesy of Aunt. He coughed up blood upon impact and his Sharingan went wide...she moved so fast, he never even anticipated such an attack. He was embedded in the wall of a collapsed building only feet away, and Tenshi was so shocked by her husband being attacked like this that she failed to protect the man she was healing. Tanken was grabbed by his good arm, and with a quick strike to his elbow, his other arm was broken. He only got to yell out in pain once more before a punch to the chest sent him skidding on his back, violently convulsing as his heart struggled to keep beating after the impact.
The world, once again, seemed to slow for Tenshi. She saw Aunt swing for her next, and attempted to place a Heavenly Barrier up between them...but Aunt was too quick. Tenshi found herself grabbed by the throat and held off the ground between her and the Kyofu members above. Tenshi struggled to get her neck free, clawing at Aunt's hand and kicking at her body, but Aunt really seemed to not care.
"Me? Stuck in genjutsu? Stupid, I have the Byakugan like any other member of the Family. The moment I felt that things I saw didn't line up with the chakra signatures that the Byakugan allows me to see, I knew what was going on. And what a weak genjutsu it was...I expected more."
Tenshi squirmed more violently, wishing she could shout at her clan members to attack regardless of her safety...but she knew they wouldn't. She was going to become head of the clan, she was far too important for them to even consider attacking around. She knew Tanken would know better and would risk a close-up attack, but she didn't even know if he was still alive after such a vicious strike to the chest. His heart could have stopped beating...
...Kami...Tanken...are you...
A small tear began rolling down Tenshi's cheek, and her eyes then darted over to her soon-to-be husband. Tsuyo was out cold, stuck in the stone wall with his head slumped.
This did not go unnoticed by Aunt, who slowly turned her heard towards the man. "...ahhhh...that one means something to you?"
Tenshi's fighting to free herself got more intense in an instant, but it only made Aunt chuckle. "I see...then I wonder what would happen if I did this?"
Still holding Tenshi between her and the Kyofu members above, Aunt approached Tsuyo with a care-free stride. Her tail slithered to Tsuyo's neck and pulled him out of the wall. Her tail began to tighten, and Tsuyo suddenly woke up when he felt himself struggle to breath. He, too, started clawing at what held him before he struggled to reach his cargo vest. He fumbled around, but did manage to grab a kunai. He went to stab at her tail, but Aunt had anticipated such an action. Her response was simple...
...slam Tsuyo's head into the wall.
The will to fight in Tenshi's body disappeared, and tears began to fall faster as she watched her husband go limp. Aunt released him, and he collapsed to the ground. Aunt kicked him onto his back...he was bleeding from the side of the head that met the wall.
"He's not dead," she said before turning to face Tenshi. "...but he will be. Only because YOU like him so, so, so much, I'll be sure to take my time with him."
Aunt then stomped on Tsuyo's stomach, waking him up with a heavy wheeze and more blood being coughed up, only for Aunt to continue stomping on him. He was helpless, he felt like his insides were becoming mush. When Aunt quit stomping on him, Tsuyo found himself shaking violently in a pitiful attempt to sit upright. He soon found Aunt's shinobi boot on his face, forcing him back to the ground as she stepped on him. Tsuyo fought to push her off, but she was too strong, simple as that.
"You idiots have no idea just how outclassed you all are," Aunt said as she looked back to Tenshi. "You can't see because of my mask, but seeing a bunch of idiots like you lot fight against me just puts the biggest smile on my face..."
Aunt paused, because she saw something that completely threw her off guard. Something so unexpected, so rare, that it completely changed the way she was thought to approach this whole situation. Tenshi was staring back at her, furious, with a new look in her eye...
"I don't get it..." Tsuyo mumbled to himself. "How is she able to do the Uzumaki Chakra Chain Technique? And how is she so effective with it?"
He heard a 'hn' from behind, and found Tanken had shifted where he stood (again, without a sound to indicate he did...that was a little creepy). "It's not the Chakra Chain Technique, but instead Tenshi's own Light Chain Technique. The two are quite different, you see..."
"Yeah, the Chakra Chains are part of the Uzumaki clan's kekkei genkai, something about how they utilize their inhuman levels of chakra and and their knowledge of it's manipulation." Suchiru's low voice was soft and mumbled, but it cut into the small exchange of words like he had shouted. "Tenshi's clan is a descendant of the Uzumaki clan, which means she's able to control and manipulate chakra in a very similar way, yet her kekkei genkai doesn't revolve around having stronger chakra; her's is an elemental ability, Light Release. Her Light Chain Technique is merely homage to her lineage, though instead of being large, heavy, spiked chains meant to pin down large opponents or crush whole groups of enemies, they're thin, small, and razor-edged things meant for one-on-one combat...she's very proud of it."
Tsuyo blinked at this large amount of information, not sure exactly how to digest it all. He turned to Tanken, but the genin had returned to being silent and unmoving as he watched the battle. The bespectacled genin then looked to Jiyuu, who was so caught up in the fight right now that he probably didn't hear a thing.
The Kyofu clan come from the Uzumaki?
"Put her on the stretcher, fast. The sword slipped by any major organs, but she's critically low on blood. She'll die from blood loss if we can't stitch up this wound and get her an emergency transfusion."
Suchiru grabbed the doctor by the shoulder, and pulled him up to look him in the eye. "THEN LETS GO ALREADY! TAKE MY BLOOD, SAVE HER ALREADY!"
"It doesn't work that was, sir," the doctor replied with a disturbingly calm tone, though maybe someone had to be calm while everybody else was hysterical right now. "I need someone with a matching blood type, plus we need to look through her shinobi file to find what her type even is. You might not have the type of blood she needs."
"I'll do it."
Both men turned and faced Tsuyo, his expression firm and serious. There wasn't a hint of panic present in his mannerisms, nothing even indicating that this Tsuyo was the real one that had been pissing himself on his first mission, or crying to himself at night in bed when he had gotten bullied at the academy. "If anybody can do it, it's me. We have the same blood type, B-. We have to move, there's no time to waste."
"Kid, this isn't any time to be joking arou-"
"You're the one wasting time, doctor. I'm her best friend, we know all kinds of stupid things like this about each other. I'm not going to sit here and wait for you to approve, I'm going to the medical bay with you, and you have better have that needle ready for me."
The doctor grit his teeth. This was no time to screw around and start guessing things, and this kid seemed pretty sure. His medics already lifted Tenshi off the ground with a stretcher, and already started to head for the exit. "Fine kid, but you'd better be right," he said in response, already speed-walking away with his medics.
Tsuyo was on the other side of the stretcher before the doctor could even finish speaking, walking alongside the stretcher as he took his glasses off, and placed them on the neck of the cargo vest beneath his opened hoodie, the very same vest that Tenshi had given him long ago as a gift for his first C-rank mission. Tenshi's eyes were wide open, still staring up at nothing with her mouth agape. Her breathing clearly hurt her, as she made small winces every now and then, and vocalized each one with a soft whimper. She lolled her head to the side, looking right at her old friend, who gave her a confident smile. "Don't worry, Tenshi," he calmly said, taking her hand in his for reassurance. "You're going to be fine, I promise."
Her eyelids lowered, the blood loss starting to become much more serious as consciousness began to fade. "...Tsu...yo..." Her throat choked out a whisper, a soft and scared one that could only utter the name of the last person she saw. She closed her eyes slowly, and her hand felt like it was going limp in Tsuyo's own.
He bit his lip, but didn't tear up. This was no time for getting emotional, he had to do what was needed for Tenshi if he was going to save her. It was time for him to man up and act like an adult...even if he was just 14. Someone's life was on the line, someone that was very special to him, and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had let her die.
Through trauma, it seemed all the pieces had fallen into place.
With familial ties stretching and intertwining throughout the ages, the right people in the right place at the right time went through the right experiences...all for this very moment.
The blood of the Kyofu, direct descendants of the Uzumaki who, in turn, are direct descendants of the Senju. The blood of an orphaned boy who was of the Uchiha. Once again, fate would have the Senju and the Uchiha tangle once more, though not via conflict...their mingling was of pure love and compassion. And it birthed the power that all shinobi have dreamed of achieving at some point in their lives.
Tenshi stared back with her eyes purple, black ripples spreading over them.
"...leave...him...alone..."
Aunt was so confused by the appearance of such a doujutsu in a place like this, she was unsure of what exactly she needed to do. "...I don't get it," she muttered to herself, unaware of what words Tenshi choked out.
"I SAID...LEAVE MY HUSBAND ALOOOOONE!"
The area erupted with a shockwave that only the Rinnegan could produce as Tenshi bellowed out in anger. It had not been intended, and as a result, the shockwave knocked away Aunt, Tsuyo, Tanken, and any Hoshigaki corpses left scattered around. Tenshi fell to her feet and was gasping for air now that her throat was free, tears cascading from her face. Her angel wings disappeared, and she looked up to the sky at her clan members. She could see them all watching on, ready to attack if need be...until she heard one of them shout something that even confused her.
"By Kami, look! She's obtained the Rinnegan!"
Low on chakra and lightheaded from the lack of oxygen, Tenshi's mind could barely wrap around what was happening, what had happened, what was going to happen. Her eyes shut closed, and she began to fall onto her back. She was already unconscious, and Aunt quickly figured out what she should, no, HAD to do.
Those eyes were going to be plucked from that skull, regardless of what it took.
At least, that was the plan. See, from a distance the shockwave could be felt, albeit weaker. Those who happened to be closer and weren't occupied with fighting off Hoshigaki, as in those who were rushing to where the Kyofu members were hovering to see what they were watching, were already headed in that direction. If that individual could, lets say, see from a great distance just what was going on, then surely they would hurry into the fray.
This is exactly what happened. Before Tenshi could hit the ground, someone blurred beside her and caught the kunoichi before she could fall. The individual was knelt down beside her, and gently laid her on the ground.
Aunt saw the newcomer, and felt conflicted once again. This added yet another twist she had not been ready for...and yet...
"I had a feeling you might appear, sooner or later..." she stated.
The man stood up, and faced her with a furrowed brow, Four Trigram Mezame Byakugan flaring.
"...The Hyuuga's Black Eye."
Jiyuu could see with his doujutsu just what was going on around him...Tanken with two broken arms was still breathing, but faintly. Tsuyo was unconscious, but didn't have any sort of internal injuries. Tenshi...had a unique chakra radiating from her eyes, but barely had chakra everywhere else...she was drained.
Aunt reached up slowly to her mask and gripped the bottom half, gingerly pulling it off. Her face was similar to that of a female Hoshigaki, though she lacked the gills. Her eyes were active Byakugan, boring straight into Jiyuu. She flung her mask to the side, and removed the cloak she had been wearing. Beneath it all was standard Hidden Abyss-nin armor, though ripped and torn in certain areas from old battles. She was taller than him by about a foot, and her skin (save for her abdominals, frontmost part of her neck, and her face) were covered in scales; anything that wasn't scaled up was fleshy and had a light green color to it. She was smiling, not like a maniac such as a Hoshigaki, but more like someone who was just confident in their odds at winning.
"Now you've made things complicated," she stated.
"In what way..."
"I was never ordered to pull a pair of Rinnegan if I were to come across them, because the only ones around now belong to Sasuke Uchiha...at least, they were. But now I have the opportunity...and unfortunately, you with your special Byakugan had to come waltzing in here. Your eyes have always been in high demand..."
Jiyuu huffed, and took up his usual taijutsu stance. "Regardless of which eyes you want, you'll need to kill me before you can get either pair."
Aunt chuckled, and cracked her knuckles.
"I was hoping your bravado would come through..."