I huffed angrily as I walked through the stadium, my hands still clenched into fists and my eyes narrowed. I heard soft shuffling behind me, so I was slightly calmed down by the fact Kakashi-sensei wouldn't need to go to the psych ward for a month or two.
"Ren-kun!" Lee-senpai exclaimed as he noticed me walking down the aisle towards him, Gai, Sakura, Ino-chan, and Choji-san.
I opened my mouth to snap at him, but managed to catch myself at the very last second. I brought up my left index finger and pinched the bridge of my nose for a moment to regain my control of my emotions.
"Uh... Kakashi?" Gai-sensei muttered as he moved past me to his eternal rival.
The man audibly flinched away and shuffled about for a second before greeting shakily, "H-hello Gai, and Lee-kun too. Is your body alright now?"
"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled at the silverenette before making a dangerously annoyed expression.
"I-I'm very sorry. You must have been worried. I'm really sorry for not contacting you all," the jônin apologized profusely.
"Aaand?" I asked as I looked over my shoulder with a piercing gaze.
"I-I'm extremely sorry for being so late! It won't happen again!" Kakashi-sensei exclaimed, stiffening up dramatically upon making eye-contact.
I huffed through my nose before nodding. "Better."
"Um, not to rude or anything Ren, but what level did you go to?" Gai-sensei asked warily.
"Level 5, obviously," I replied as I crossed my arms.
"Level 5?!" The taijutsu expert shrieked before whirling around to face his eternal rival. "Kakashi! Are you okay?! How are you even standing?!"
"I don't know," the sharingan-wielder replied softly before latching onto the other man's shoulders. "I just don't know, Gai. I never thought that..." He shuddered as if he had just been thrown into a large pile of snow while completely in the nude. "Everything I ever taught him, the things you taught him... I never thought he'd use them against me all at once. I shouldn't be alive right now. I don't even know if this is real or not. What if this is just a big part of the genjutsu Ren cast? Are you really here, Gai?"
"Ren, you broke him!" Gai-sensei exclaimed while looking at me with surprise and slight horror.
I gave a sickly-sweet smile and looked over my shoulder at the two men. "Well the good thing is that Kakashi-sensei won't be late to your challenges again, right?"
The silverenette jolted before replying loudly, "Y-yes, of course!"
"All of this because you didn't bring Sasuke-kun here on time..." Ino-chan muttered with a twitching smile.
"That doesn't matter anymore..." Sakura spoke up as she looked down at Uchiha with a saddened expression. "Kakashi-sensei... On Sasuke-kun's neck... there was a mark, right? Is that...?"
"Don't worry," Kakashi-sensei advised as he too looked down at the emo duck.
My little sister looked over in surprise.
The man replied by giving a genuine closed-eye smile, causing my twin to make such a relieved expression, I thought she was going to cry. His black eye then began to move around the arena, clearly counting up all the ANBU members present.
I motioned for Kakashi-sensei not to say anything since the plan changed while he was away with Uchiha. Upon receiving a silent look for explanation, I causally motioned down to Gaara while putting my hand on my stomach where Uzumaki-kun's seal was.
His black eye filled up with alarm, but he didn't say anything about it. He simply gave a nod before dropping the topic.
"So... I'm going to go get Uzumaki-kun since his dumb ass is missing the match," I said while turning heel.
"Eh? You're going to miss the start of it," Lee-senpai pointed out.
"Relax, I know this match will drag on like Uzumaki-kun's did," I replied while waving the injured boy off. I then continued on my lazy walk towards the chakra coming from my blonde companion. I eventually came across him and Shikamaru-san sitting on the stairs silently. I raised a brow at them and whistled to catch their attentions.
"Haruno-kun!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed as he stood up, a worried expression on his face.
"What's up?" I asked while looking between and the Nara.
"That Gaara guy just killed two men right there like it was nothing," the black-eyed boy still sitting muttered while pointing over to the darkened hallway.
I thought I smelt blood. Well, as long as he didn't touch these two, it's fine. I blinked before watching the blonde run past me. "Where are you going?"
"To find Kakashi-sensei! I'm going to stop this fight!" Uzumaki-kun yelled, causing my eyes to narrow drastically.
I took a step towards him before rethinking my plan. I just teleported to Kakashi-sensei instead and motioned for him to keep his mouth shut.
The man raised a silver brow at me.
"Kakashi-sensei!" The blue-eyed boy yelled about thirty seconds after I had left him, causing the others to look back at him and Shikamaru-san, who had surprisingly run after the blonde despite being so damn lazy.
"Naruto-kun!" Lee-senpai exclaimed with a happy smile.
"Hn? What's up?" The jônin questioned.
"Sensei, stop this fight right now!" Uzumaki-kun demanded, allowing Kakashi-sensei to understand why I told him to keep his mouth shut. "He's totally different from us! He's not normal!"
"Naruto... What are you talking about?" Ino-chan asked, her brow furrowed with worry.
"He lives to kill others! Anyway, at this rate, Sasuke will die!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed, causing the others to start to get antsy. "Kakashi-sensei!"
"Well..." The silverenette drawn out, causing the others to give their attentions to him. "Don't worry. He and I weren't late for nothing."
Down in the arena, Uchiha smirked as he wiped his right cheek with the back of his hand. He soon dropped that hand down and charged for the ball of sand Gaara had encased himself in. He kicked the ball, only for his foot to bounce off. The black-haired boy jumped back before his brow furrowed a bit. He suddenly gained a fierce expression as he put his hands in front of his face.
"You know, I'm beginning to think you favor that duck for all the wrong reasons," I said blankly, my hands in my pockets as I stared down at Uchiha.
"Huh?" The man questioned, clearly not understanding my jab.
"That doesn't matter now. Sensei, what do you mean that you weren't late for nothing?" Sakura inquired.
"Hn? You wanna know?" Kakashi-sensei replied, starting up his damn answering a question with a question bullshit.
"No, she wants to listen to you pathetic-ass voice give an explanation that she doesn't give a damn about," I answered as sarcastically as possible.
"Look, we don't have time for this!" The kyūbi host yelled.
"Be quiet and watch him," the jônin demanded, earning shocked looks from the others. "You'll be surprised."
Duckass jumped back three times before landing about halfway up the arena wall. He summoned his chakra to his feet to keep him in place before performing a few handsigns. He forced both of his hands down and took a moment to focus his chakra to his left hand.
"No way... Is that...?" Gai-sensei looked over his shoulder at the douchebag that was giving a closed-eye smile.
"The reason I trained Sasuke is because he is the same type as me," Kakashi-sensei finally admitted while Uchiha performed the chidori.
Sasuke, who had trained vigorously in taijutsu to keep his hand from being destroyed by the technique, ran down the arena wall, his chidori breaking off small pieces as he did so.
"Hightened flesh?!" Gai-sensei exclaimed in shock before looking back at his eternal rival again. "I see... So that's why you only trained in taijutsu and had him greatly increase his speed..."
The sharingan-weilder gave another closed-eye smile and replied, "Yup."
Uchiha continued up his face pace of running, and his chakra remained visible to the naked eye.
"Incredible... You can clearly see the chakra in his hand... What's going on?" Sakura asked as she watched her crush with great awe.
The boy jumped from the wall and began to move across the ground, his jutsu not giving up even once.
"What is that?!" Uzumaki-kun exclaimed.
I blinked before suddenly dispelling the genjutsu that had begun to fall across the arena. I then teleported to the ANBU headquarters, gaining the attention of everyone who was on standby. "The invasion has started! Move out!"
The shinobi who were the best of the best all moved out without another word or a second's hesitation. They all knew their parts of the plan, just like I knew mine.
I then teleported to a nearby tower where the birds awaited to be released. I quickly opened the cage for the largest bird and sent it out into the sky to alert all the other shinobi on standby. I then moved to the main office of the school and turned on the speakers for the school. "Plan Alpha has started. Move out." I left the teachers to deal with the children before going to the hospital, only to see a few shinobi already there and directing everyone. I then teleported to Ibiki, who nodded once before waving me off.
Apparently everyone was ahead of the ball game.
I gave a small shrug before teleporting back to the arena to where the daimyō and such laid under the trap of the genjutsu. I made a few quick handsigns before making a wooden barrier to protect them from the fighting.
After all, if they were hurt under our watch, we could never redeem ourselves.
I gave a deep sigh before my eyes turned to the ceiling above me. I then gave a smirk and cooed, "Looks like I get that punch to your face after all~." I used the hiraishin jutsu to appear near the Hokage before delivering a solid punch to Orochimaru's face. "You're off guard, Orochimaru!"
The old man moved aside, his sleeve covered in blood from the wound Orochimaru had given himself.
Said snake, meanwhile, skid back as he looked at me in shock. "There's no way-" He cut himself off upon realizing that I had used the hiraishin jutsu.
"I'm ready for the rematch. Are you?" I asked the snake with a smirk while gripping the handle of my tantō.
Besides me, Hokage-sama threw his robes off, revealing the armor that was hidden away underneath.
Orochimaru looked over at the old man and smirked. "So you had your funeral shroud prepared..." He gripped the clothes of the Kazekage before throwing them aside, revealing the tacky as fuck outfit he was wearing underneath. "Heh heh... To be able to fight you two again..."
"Heh... Looks like you won't be able to escape easily," I joked as the people creating the barrier also made a another wall to protect themselves from the inside.
"As if he intended to... You'd rather not have anyone get in your way, right?" Orochimaru question, his eyes moving from me to his previous sensei.
The old man smirked, causing me to look at him with a mix of annoyance and amusement.
I moved back and went on standby as the two released powerful amounts of chakra. After all, I was simply there as backup as was decided from the very beginning. I'd only step in if things got particularly hairy.
The two suddenly rushed forwards while throwing weapons before making several handsigns within the span of a second. Hokage-sama performed the shuriken kage bunshin jutsu to turn his one shuriken into about a hundred while Orochimaru summoned a human-sized coffin thing from the roof, quickly followed by a second one.
I got down to my knee and performed several hansigns before muttering, "Mokuton: Mokusatsu Shibari no Jutsu." My right arm extended out and turned into a strong branch. That branch split off into many to bind the two corpses that had just been released from the coffins, but unfortunately not Orochimaru who jumped away quickly. I clicked my tongue with annoyance, but stayed content with the fact I had at least managed to bind Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama.
"It's been a while, huh Saru?" Nidaime-sama questioned.
"Ohhh... It's you... Hmmm... You've grown old, haven't you, Sarutobi?" Shodai-sama questioned before turning his attention to me. He gave a stupid smile before looking at his brother. "Your great-grandson looks just like you, Tobirama!"
I deadpanned with great annoyance before yelling over, "I'm not his great-grandson!"
"Eh? But you look just like him," the long-haired brunette objected.
"Our eyes are different colors, and he doesn't have markings on his face. That's not adding in the fact he isn't nearly as pale as I am. The only thing that would link him to me is his white hair," Nidaime-sama pointed out to his idiot of an older brother.
Shodaime-sama looked between his younger brother and I a few times before asking, "Ah, right. Did you even have children?"
The facial expression my man-crush made clearly displayed that he would have facepalmed about one hundred times if his arms weren't trapped to his side.
And this, Tenzō-taichō, is why Nidaime-sama is my favorite Hokage, I thought before looking at Hokage-sama blankly. "So... What should I do with them?"
"Can you keep then restrained for the duration of the fight?" The old man questioned.
I gave a small shrug before pulling to two bound men towards me with my kekkei genkai. I knew it wouldn't hurt them to go at such a fast speed, especially since they were technically dead and using someone else's body. I then retreated several meters away from the two powerful and living shinobi before pulling Nidaime-sama and Shodai-sama closer to my being, but not too close. Once they were just outside kicking range, I put my free hand on my hip. "So, how are you two doing?"
Nidaime-sama looked over at his brother and stated, "He definitely has your genes."
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Shodai-sama exclaimed with an offended expression.
"Before any of that," I interrupted with my hand in the air, "Nidaime-sama, you totally messed up by making the police force an Uchiha Clan only thing."
"What?" The albino asked me.
"Yeah, you made them suspicious of your actions, and their curse of hatred lead to them to plan a coup d'état which ended up in a massacre of their entire clan via the one Uchiha who had a strong Will of Fire," I explained, causing the man's face to turn completely blank.
After a few seconds of silence, Nidaime-sama said a single word with great emphasis. "Uchihas."
"Exactly," I agreed.
"No, he has more of your genes," Shodai-sama butted in with a grin.
"Actually, as far as records go, I'm not directly related to either of you," I stated, causing both men to look at me with confusion. "Yeah, we're speculating that I'm related to you via your ancestors."
"Hmmm..." The brunette narrowed his eyes at me suspiciously for several long moments. "What's your name again?"
"Haruno Ren," I answered, completely unphased by his pathetic attempt to intimidate me.
The brothers gave each other looks that one would make if they were just told bullshit that they knew was bullshit - an amused, inside only joke expression that pissed the hell out of me. They then looked at me at the same time and asked, "Are you related to Haruno Mareo?"
I paused for a moment and quickly thought up my extensive family tree. Finally, I answered, "Actually, yes. He's like a distant uncle, seventh cousin, or something similar."
The brothers nodded as if approving my agreement.
Uh, excuse me bitch? Don't go fucking asking me questions and then nod like you knew it was the right answer all along. What if I said no, huh? I thought while glaring blankly into their souls. I decided to drop my annoyance, however, and inquired, "So besides being a wandering monk, what was he known for?"
Without even taking a second to deliberate, both Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama answered, "He flirted with every male he came across."
Of course, I was horrified. Every make he came across?! Did that bastard not have standards?! There's no way I could be related to someone like that!
"Haha! Tobirama made that same face the first time Mareo-san flirted with him!" Shodaime-sama laughed.
"I did not!" Nidaime-sama snapped at his older brother with a face of pure embarrassment.
The two brothers began to bicker over whether or not what Hashirama-sama said was true.
I decided to look past the two while they were distracted and saw Orochimaru and Hokage-sama were battling it out. I hummed softly before worry began to bubble inside of me. Is there any way to make a kage bunshin with one hand?
"So, you seem to be pretty good with this kekkei genkai despite your age," Shodaime-sama stated, causing me to give him my partial attention.
"Hm? Oh, yeah. I've been training hard to learn if the past month," I replied absentmindedly while keeping my eye on that damn snake.
"A month?! You're joking!" The brunette exclaimed, earning even more of my attention. "It took me years to control my kekkei genkai! There's no way you could have learned something like this in a month!"
"Oh, well I actually had down the basics before. I just didn't know how to make trees and the like," I explained while waving him off.
"So did you just make flowers and such before?" The black-eyed man inquired.
"Only lotuses," I answered before a black lotus fell from my hair. I held it towards him with my left hand before looking past him towards the important battle.
"You didn't use a handsign or focus your chakra! That's incredible!" Nidaime-sama approved, his face displaying the shock he had at my feat.
"Indeed! How did you do that?" Shodaime-sama asked immediately afterwards, his facial expression displaying more amazement than shock.
I was only worried about the praise I received from Tobirama-sama. I felt my face practically explode into a tomato red, but managed to awkwardly cough it away. "U-um, thank you for the compliment. As for how I did it, it's part of a jutsu I thought I created. Though seeing as how it's part of my kekkei genkai, I'm sure someone else has done something similar even before me."
"I've never seen that jutsu though," the man in red armor objected.
I gave a deep sigh before rubbing the back of my neck. "Well, as much as I'd like to show you, I have no idea how to stop this jutsu. My taichō didn't really explain that part since he was suddenly called away for an S-Rank mission."
"Oh, that's easy. I can even tell you how to keep us bound up," Shodaime-sama stated with bright smile, giving me the impression he really was an airhead. Nevertheless, he did, in fact, explain how to release the jutsu while keeping him and his brother bound up.
Once I was sure they couldn't escape, I knelt down and took out a kunai. I carved the necessary shape into the shingles before performing the correct handsigns. I watched silently as two black lotuses formed from the carving apathetically. Once they were fully released, I picked them up and placed one in Shodaime-sama's hair and the other in Nidaime-sama's.
"Huh? What are these for?" The brunette questioned as he looked up, trying to see the flower.
"It's a bad habit," I answered honestly before making a kage bunshin. I waved it off, causing it to nod and head in closer to Orochimaru and Hokage-sama.
"Ah, you can use kage bunshins, too," he muttered.
"Yeah. I can use a few of the jutsus made by Nidaime-sama," I beamed happily.
Upon hearing that I had given him the proper credit, Tobirama-sama seemed to warm up to me a bit. "Is that so?"
I nodded enthusiastically. "Yes. I can also use your hiraishin jutsu. It took me a while to figure out how to make chakra seals though. I'm better at physical ones."
"Ah, I understand. The transference does give people problems. But you can use it fine now?" The albino questioned.
I teleported to a further spot away, and then back to the two Senjus. "Yep. For the most part, I use the jutsu to find people and head to their location. Though, for today, it was necessary for me to place seals all around the village to move to."
"What do you mean by "for today"?" Hashirama-sama inquired with a dumb look on his face I had only ever seen on Uzumaki-kun.
"Well, we knew Orochimaru was going to attack the village. He's going after the only Uchiha left in the village after the massacre, or rather, the sharingan," I explained simply.
"You mentioned that the Uchihas were planning a coup," the man with three red markings on his face said slowly, his tone clearly indicating that he wanted a real explanation.
"Well, this is actually confidential information, but since you're a former Hokage, I'm sure Hokage-sama wouldn't mind," I replied slowly while eyeing up how my kage bunshin was actually involved in the fighting, him and Hokage-sama tagging in and out at random intervals. "As I mentioned earlier, Nidaime-sama, when you set up the police force, the Uchihas believed that you were keeping them under control despite the fact you wanted them to use their energy for the benefit of Konoha. In any case, those Uchihas had their seed of hatred planted deep inside of them, and it eventually spread to the rest of the clan over time. Only a few Uchihas, which I can count on my fingers, had a stronger Will of Fire. All but one of them are dead, and the one that is alive was the one forced to carry out the massacre of his clan."
I gave a deep sigh at the remembrance of Itachi. "But I must digress. You see, that seed of hatred had caused the Uchihas to plan something to change the way Konoha function - a coup d'état. Two particular Uchihas, Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, had known about the trouble that would arise and decided to go against their clan's wishes.
"Along the way, Shisui had lost moral deeply and committed suicide which was unfortunately blamed on Itachi. So, it was left to Itachi to find a way to get the clan from committing the coup. As suggested by Danzō, Itachi ended up slaughtering his entire clan one night, leaving his younger brother as the sole survivor.
"Uchiha Sasuke, that survivor, has made it his life goal to kill Itachi since he doesn't know about the clan's coup and Itachi's mission. Unfortunately, he needs power to pull of that task. Orochimaru, the man currently fighting Hokage-sama over there, is offering that power to my stupid teammate." I gave a deep sigh and shook my head at the mere thought of the idiotic duckass.
"Orochimaru... Who is he exactly?" Nidaime-sama asked with a furrowed brow.
"He used to be Hokage-sama's student, but went rogue several years back. That damn snake formed his own kami-forsaken country and is currently trying to destroy Konoha in a joint effort with Sunagakure," I replied with great annoyance bubbling inside of me, my eyes directed towards the fucking snake that needed to be gutted alive and then dumped into a giant forest fire to burn to death Orochimaru.
Tobirama-sama suddenly stood up with an enraged expression, causing me to automatically flinch away. "He's trying to destroy Konoha?"
"A-ah, ch-chill dude," I demanded worriedly as I got ready to grab my tantō. "We knew ahead of time and made a plan to counteract them."
"That's still unforgivable-"
"Otōto, enough," Shodaime-sama demanded, his tone surprisingly serious considerating he had been nothing but an airhead the entire conversation.
"But-"
"Sit down, and let him finish," the brunette ordered with a small glare.
My man-crush slowly sat back down, allowing me to ease up a tiny bit.
"Please continue," Shodaime-sama request with a kind smile directed towards me.
I was a bit hesitant, but gave a nod nonetheless. "Of course. Um, anyway, Orochimaru snuck in through the chunin exams after he literally stole someone's face and wore it around like a mask." I shivered upon remembering that. "He had spies that were inside of the chûnin exams - spies that helped out my team since Uchiha Sasuke was on it. Of course, those spies made it obvious who they were based on their actions during the exams."
"If they were spies, why make it obvious?" The albino questioned with a small tilt of his head.
"Ah, well..." I looked away for a split-second before returning my gaze, a nervous smile on my face. "I suppose it wouldn't be obvious to just anyone. I'm able to pick up different body language cues and connect them with past knowledge that I have. Um, for example, the one spy that had been in Konoha for years had somehow failed the chunin exams seven times in a row. Not only that, but his teammates also failed alongside him. Then, before the exam even began, he approached my team and gave them advice and info on a few other rookie genin taking the exams.
"During the second part of the exams, Orochimaru attacked and used a certain genjutsu that caused to live out your own gruesome death, thus paralyzing you in place. The spy managed to use that same genjutsu on me during the preliminaries for the third part of the exam, granted his was to a weaker effect.
"Of course, the biggest link to his affiliation with Orochimaru was my gut feeling. My intuition is rarely ever wrong." I gave a small sigh before remembering how Orochimaru reacted as he and I practically threatened to kill each other while Kakashi-sensei was paralysed and Sasuke unconscious. He knew about me not being around for much longer, but as it turns out, we were both wrong in our assumptions. I'm not leaving like Orochimaru thought, and I'm not dying as I thought. But I really won't be around those I care about, no matter how much it'll hurt both them and I.
"So, they weren't obvious unless you knew what to look for," the man in blue armor noted softly to himself.
"Yeah, I suppose you could say that," I agreed before clearing my throat. "So back to the second part of the exams. He attacked my team and put some sort of curse seal on my teammate. Unfortunately, that seal won't go away unless a very powerful jutsu counteracts that one. In any case, after Orochimaru messed up my team, he sent three of his disposable pawns after us the next day. A few other teams from Konoha helped us out, thankfully, and gave us enough time to overpower them. Orochimaru didn't make any more notable moves until today, the day he decided to invade the village."
"You said that there is a counter attack. How exactly did everything get set up?" Shodaime-sama inquired.
"Ah, well..." I looked away and scratched my cheek before just sighing in defeat. I turned my gaze back to the two former Hokages and admitted, "I have this weird ability that allows me to properly predict the future. It's a sixth sense, if you will."
"And you use it for betting, right? For example, I bet it will rain tomorrow," Nidaime-sama inferred, causing me to look at him in surprise. "Mareo-san was the same way."
I guess I'm related after all... I thought with a deadpanned expression before just brushing it off. "Well, in any case, I used that ability to predict certain upcoming events, which was used to create a counter attack. The ANBU were dispatched first, then the jônin and chûnin that were on standby, and finally I went around and began to get the ball rolling for the evacuation of civilians and the like. Then, I had to come back here and put up a barrier around the daimyōs before helping out Hokage-sama here, though my real body is only allowed to be used as backup. I was specifically given orders to not fight since last time ended up..." I trailed off as I tried to think of a word that could properly describe the bullshit I had to go through while dealing with Orochimaru and his goddamn shit.
"Poorly," the man who I admired unconditionally offered, causing me to nod.
"Yep. Nearly died from blood loss last time," I said with a completely neutral expression, my hands on my hips as I stared at the old man. "But, my sensei instilled in me a quote that I'm going to live by today given the right opportunity."
The two men looked interested, causing me to look back at them with the utmost seriousness.
"In the ninja world, those who violate the rules and fail to follow orders are scum. But those who do not care for and support their fellow shinobi are even worse than scum," I quoted from Kakashi-sensei.
Their eyes widened in surprise, before admiration began to set in.
"That's a great quote. Your sensei must be a good man," Hashirama-sama said with a genuine smile.
Tobirama-sama nodded in approval. "If he lives by that quote, he must be an even better shinobi."
"Yes, he's a great person," I agreed while turning my gaze back to the three fighting on the far side of the rood. "He's gone through his fair share of trials, but he's managed to overcome them and become stronger. He has an amazing Will of Fire, and I respect him quite a bit for it. I couldn't ask for a better person to be my sensei."
"What's his name?" Shodaime-sama requested to know.
"Hatake Kakashi, also known as Copy Ninja no Kakashi or Sharingan no Kakashi. He is a man who had copied over one thousand jutsu and even invented one of his own when he was a child," I answered as I turned my focus back to the two men.
"If he's not an Uchiha, how does he have a sharingan?" The man in red armor asked with a tilt of his head.
"Well, he's never officially told me, but I can come to my own conclusions," I replied hesitantly. "You see, when he was younger, a boy named Uchiha Obito, his best friend, died to save his life. I believe he inherited the sharingan from that boy and carries it around to this day."
"An Uchiha?" The man in blue armor questioned with his brow deeply furrowed.
"He was one of the good ones with a strong Will of Fire," I replied, earning a hum from Shodaime-sama. Just before I could open my mouth to continue, the memories from my kage bunshin came into my mind. I dropped down to one knee as my disposition took major turn. I performed several handsigns before creating a miniature forest as requested by Hokage-sama.
Bad habit my ass. Though, it's not like you'd ever tell anyone the real reason for why you give people lotuses, I thought with an internal snicker before being waved off by my original. I quickly headed left to get closer to Hokage-sama and that snake bastard.
The man with liver spots on his face glanced back at me once and easily distinguished that I was a bunshin. He gave a small smirk before turning his gaze back to his former student.
Taking that as an invitation, I used the hiraishin jutsu to appear next to Orochimaru, my fist drawn back. I allowed chakra to pulse through my right arm before I managed to punch the damn snake across the face. "You're still off guard, you bastard!"
The yellow-eyed man skin back with his arms up in front of his chest as if to ward off any attacks that may have come in from the front. His pupils narrowed as he came to a stop, his eyes displaying his annoyance with my actions.
I grinned like the little shit that I was before motioning for him to come hit me.
The man moved surprisingly fast considering he was at least fifty. He began to make a few handsigns before he was forced to jump back.
Hokage-sama had turned his one shuriken into at least a hundred once again, causing me to make a mental note of that jutsu for later use. Sadly, even if they were kage bunshins of the shuriken, they could only spread out so far from the original.
Orochimaru managed to get far enough back so he wouldn't be hit. Annoyance was clearly radiating from his body, though that would change to rage after my next move.
I quickly teleported behind the man before drawing my tantō. I slashed his back and then returned to Konoha's leader's side. I sheathed the tantō almost all the way, leaving a centimeter out. After a moment's pause, I forced the rest in, allowing a metallic ring to fill the air just before Orochimaru's pained noise.
It had been a technique that I worked on since finding out my blade was rather unique in its creation. If one were to slice fast enough, the wound wouldn't be noticed right away. Instead, it wound remain closed and give off no pain. However, once the tantō was sheathed to completion, and it made its metallic ring, the wound would suddenly open up with a fury.
"It's not the same as the wound you gave me, but I'd like to consider it proper payback for what you did," I explained with a smirk to the man who had blood dripping down his back.
"Oh? Was the kidney just a down payment?" Orochimaru snarled at me, earning himself a cheeky remark.
"No, that one was because you're an asshole. I'd like to get the other one while I'm here though." I gave a playful wink as my smirk widened. I then jumped back as he suddenly rushed forwards while continuing on with his handsigns.
Hokage-sama jumped in and created a large blast of fire from his mouth to intercept the man. He was a powerful old man, that much was certain.
I dropped down to one knee and began to make a few handsigns as Orochimaru used a water-based jutsu to counteract the fire sent at him. I wanted to get that steam cleared as fast as possible so there wouldn't be any troubles for the old man in terms of visibility.
While that was going on, the two kept sending jutsus at each other despite the low visibility. They were obviously trying to get the other to wear out faster, but unfortunately age was against Hokage-sama.
I forced the palms of my hand together as Orochimaru began to close the distance between him and his former sensei. My eyes narrowed drastically before a tree came between them, allowing for the Sarutobi to gain some space.
His black eyes shot over to me before he gave a single nod while flashing me three fingers.
I grit my teeth before closing my eyes. I calmed myself down and mixed my chakra up so there'd be no mistakes when I created a multitude of trees. I couldn't perform the jutsu to allow me to create an entire forest as Shodaime-sama could, but that didn't mean that I couldn't just make a shitload of trees one at a time at a fast rate as compensation.
"Move back!" Hokage-sama suddenly yelled, causing my eyes to open.
I didn't move back in time, and instead got a hand placed on my head. I saw the kunai thrusting towards my chest and could only think of one final and idiotic thought, When and/or where the fuck did he get that goddamn kunai? I know that bitch isn't wearing a kunai holster.
"Eh?! You can also use that jutsu! You really are an impressive kid!" The brunette gushed, only for me to ignore him since I probably didn't use jutsu he had expected me to.
I felt sweat run down my forehead from the sudden use of so much chakra. Nevertheless, I created two kage bunshins and before departing so I could help out the old man. Just as I arrived to his side, I saw him bite his right thumb before he slammed it into a nearby tree.
A monkey summoning, or what I assumed was a monkey, appeared with a slightly annoyed expression. "...Orochimaru... So it's come to this after all...!" He then looked over his shoulder at Hokage-sama and criticized, "You're pathetic, you know that Sarutobi? This is all because you wouldn't kill him when you had the chance that time!"
This bitch had the chance to kill Orochimaru and didn't take it?! What the fuck?! I internally screeched.
"That's what we're going to do from here on," Hokage-sama stated.
"Hump! You're a little too late!" The monkey commented.
Yeah, no shit, I thought with a sideways glare.
Ignoring the jab, the man with black eyes commanded, "Enma! Use the kongōnyoi!"
"Gotcha," the big monkey, now named Enma, replied before twisting around and yelling, "Henge!" He quickly transformed into a long black pole with yellow ends.
Hokage-sama caught the pole that was bigger than his body and seemed ready for a real battle to begin.
Orochimaru smirked before opening his mouth, allowing a snake to come out.
I forced myself not to make a noise of repulsion and instead asked as a sword began to come out of the snake's mouth, "What the fuck is that?"
"The sword of Kusanagi," the wise old man answered.
Orochimaru grabbed the hilt of the sword and pulled it from the snake before allowing said snake to retreat back into his body.
That was the grossest thing I have seen in my entire life, I thought with the utmost disgust.
Suddenly, Hokage-sama jumped into the air and yelled, "Here we go, Enma!"
"Even if I'm in kongō form, the blade of Kusanagi is gonna be sore, man..." Enma complained.
The Sarutobi paid his companion no mind as he turned the pole's one end towards Orochimaru.
Enma extended outwards at a fast speed, but was blocked by the sword. His head suddenly came out as if he was going to bite the snake. Before he got the chance, Orochimaru kicked Hokage-sama back a few meters.
I gave a small huff before replacing the old man with my tantō drawn. I swung my blade at Orochimaru, only for him to parry it with his sword. I once again swung my smaller blade towards him, only for him to swing his at mine.
Our blades connected themselves, and refused to budge even as we put our weight into them. They just ground against each other, releasing small sparks from the friction of metal on metal.
Upon realizing that I wasn't getting anywhere, I suddenly ducked down while turning right. I quickly circled around and began to lunged upwards with my blade aimed at his head. I felt annoyance run through my bloodstream as his sword ran diagonal in my path.
Our blades collided and rubbed against each other, creating significantly more sparks as my body continued to lunged forwards.
Those sparks were dangerously close to my face as I suddenly changed the angle of my blade. I felt my eyes narrow in on his neck and pushed my blade faster against his. I shot my right hand forwards while aiming for the left side of his neck, only for him to jump back slightly. I felt victorious as a chunk of his hair came falling down to the ground after being cut by my blade.
Apparently, Orochimaru really did get riled up if you cut his hair off. His yellow eyes filled themselves up with rage before he kicked my chest hard enough to send me crashing against the trunk of one of my trees.
I spat out a quick curse as my back made contact with the bark, but didn't have more time to dwell on the pain seeing as how a sword was aimed at my head. I quickly rolled to my right, but was unfortunately too slow. I flinched and shut my left eye after my forehead was cut by his blade. I jumped back a few spaces and cursed as blood began to run down my face from the wound.
Thankfully, Hokage-sama jumped back in with Enma and swung the pole at Orochimaru, hitting said male across the face. He landed in front of me while panting a bit, causing my eyes to narrow.
I stood up quickly and opened my mouth. "Hokage-sama-"
The man shook his helmeted head at me, causing me to shut my mouth.
Orochimaru stood up while wiping his cheek, a smirk on his face as he stared at his former master. "You breath seems to be coming rather fast, you know..."
The man with liver spots on his face grit his teeth in reply.
"Well now, what will you do?" Orochimaru inquired.
The black-eyed man placed his right hand on the shingles where a bit of water laid to cover the ends of his fingers. "The jutsu exchange stops here! From here on, it's gonna be a blood-drenched, free-for-all... Just like how a shinobi battle should be!"
I'm taking that as expressed permission to go all out, I thought with a small nod before taking in a deep breath. Kaimon! Kyūmon! My chakra gates opened up, allowing for my body to be completely re-energized. My grip on my tantō hilt tightened before I once again engaged in battle with Orochimaru, my left eye opening itself since my blood flowed into the air and away from my eye.
He and I exchanged blows to each other's blades, mine overpowering his since I had more power.
I grinned viciously as I kicked him back into a tree to repay him for earlier. I got cocky as he released a pained noise and lunged forwards without a second thought. As my blade reached closer to his head, his blade suddenly went for my arm.
Since his sword had a longer reach, it easily ended up cutting a vertical line right up my damn shoulder. That bastard was probably waiting for me to lose my cool. Well, he was a sannin for a reason.
I quickly backtracked while holding the wound with my left hand. My right hand dropped the tantō to the ground. I figured that he got dangerously close to hitting some nerves, and my muscles spasmed as a result. It was rather annoying, to be honest.
"Are you going to pay me back for that too?" Orochimaru asked with a smirk.
I didn't let him bend me to his will and instead chuckled. "Yeah, eventually." I pulled my hand away from my bleeding arm and shook it off lazily. I managed to calm my body down, causing my muscles to work easier for me. I lifted up my tantō with my left hand as my feet spread themselves apart. "Get up so I can properly take care of you, vermin."
"How rude," Orochimaru muttered before getting up anyway, his sword carefully raised with my blood still on the blade.
I dropped my head down a bit as a shadow came over my eyes. "Great."
The snake sannin flinched back as I suddenly appear before him with a dead look in my eyes. "What?!"
"Great," I repeated as I swung my blade and hit his away. "Great..." I stabbed my blade through his right shoulder and pinned him to the tree behind him. I then jumped back and pulled out four kunais along with four papers. I threw them into a box around him before using my chakra to bind him in place.
"Wh-what the hell is this?" Orochimaru growled as the seals previously on the papers crawled up his legs at a frightening speed.
"A one-way barrier combined with binding seals. It's common among those who use seals as much as I, or at least that's what I've been told," I explained lazily while pulling a small roll of bandages from my back pouch. I wrapped my arm wound as half-assed as one could since my left hand wasn't good at anything but wielding a blade, no matter the circumstances.
The snake narrowed his eyes at me before using his special genjutsu that caused you to experience your own death.
I closed my eyes with small sigh as my body was ripped to shreds so small, nothing would remain for my cremation. I waited patiently for the genjutsu to be over before looking at Orochimaru blankly. "How many times are you going to use that same technique? Why not change it up, make it more interesting?" I gave a shit-eating grin. "Or can you not? Your eyes are nothing near the sharingan, so it wouldn't surprise me if your pathetic little genjutsus are as good as you can get."
The sannin wasn't impressed with my smartmouth, but then again, no one really was. His right hand clutched the Kusanagi so hard, his knuckles were white. It's not like he could do anything else, however, since he was bound by the seals.
I chuckled softly reached in to grab my tantō. I quickly pulled my hand back as the seals came after me, but remained okay as my hand slipped from the square I had made around Orochimaru. I watched as his wound began to bleed before lifting my blade up. I carefully wiped the blood off of the black metal with my pants before shaking my head with slight disdain. "No matter how much I see you bleed, it still surprises me that your blood is as red as mine. Looking into your eyes that are filled with malice and a lack of compassion, it would make anyone think that you're not human..." I looked down at my blade and saw my darkened reflection. "Though I suppose all humans have some sort of dark and twisted side when it comes down to it."
"Hey! Original!"
I turned my head to see one of my kage bunshins jumping towards me. "You're supposed to be guarding the two former Hokages!"
"I'm a bunshin made by the other bunshin," it explained as it landed next to me. "Anyway, Tobirama-sama is really pissed off, and they can't calm him down."
"What do you want me to do about it?" I asked while motioning to Orochimaru.
"I don't know. I was just told to tell you," it said before giving a two-fingered salute. It then jumped back through the trees towards the apparently very upset Nidaime-sama.
"I can't believe how useless I am," I muttered with a palm to my face before suddenly jerking my head up. "Wait! Come back!"
My bunshin stopped while clearly rolling its eyes before turning heel. It quickly returned and gave me a slightly aggravated expression. "What now?"
"What was the last thing said before he suddenly flipped his lid?" I inquired with a hand on my hip.
My doppelganger got a stupid smile on its face before replying, "Yeah, Itachi-senpai has a nice smile."
I slapped the side of its head. "Of course he flipped out! He probably correlated me with Mareo, dumbass!"
"Oh shit!" My bunshin exclaimed before quickly scrambling away.
"Come back!" I demanded while waving the dumbass back over.
The thing grumbled profanities before returning to me one more time.
I pulled it in close before whispering, "Distract him by talking about Senju Tsunade and her bad gambling. It should get Shodaime-sama to start blabbing about something stupid."
"Alrighty, boss!" It exclaimed with a mock salute before quickly rushing away.
I stared silently for about three seconds before noting aloud, "The more bunshins I create, the stupider they seem to get. Or perhaps Shodaime-sama rubbed off on them. Dear kami-sama, I pray that you don't make me that stupid when those three's memories join mine."
Kami-sama didn't reply, but they were probably laughing at my request like they always did.
I turned my gaze towards the canopy. I saw past the tinted barrier and deduced that about half an hour had gone by since the invasion official started. "Well... This is going to be just as I had predicted, a battle royale that will end with a dumpster-fire of disasters unlike any other."
Orochimaru had no reply, but my declining chakra levels reminded me that I really needed to take care of him sooner rather than later.
I gave a small sigh of annoyance before jumping off of the ground, causing my chakra seals to recede. I stabbed my tantō forwards, but the man moved his head away in the nick of time. I jumped back a few times before glancing over my shoulder, only to see no old man. "Where the fuck did he go?"
Orochimaru lunged for me with his sword while I was distracted, earning me a nick to my left bicep.
"Ow," I commented blankly as I jumped back, my tantō still in my left hand. I continued to jump back with the sannin chasing after, his attitude slowly turning into one of sadistic glee. He has so many issues, it's not even funny to the likes of me.
Just as I suddenly jumped to my right to avoid a tree, Enma in his Kongou form hit Orochimaru across the face. "Nailed him!"
Hokage-sama returned from wherever he had ran off to and put his hands together in front of his mouth as if he was praying. His feet were spread apart, and he was giving off some pretty powerful chakra. Apparently the old man had recovered and was ready to finish what he started.
Orochimaru soon returned to a laid-back position, his hands placed on his sword as if it were a cane. "You've grown old, haven't you? I've never seen you strain so much..." The man laughed as he put his hand up to his face.
"What's so funny?" The man in armor questioned.
"It's so pitiful, you know... Even you, he who was hailed as the god of shinobi cannot defeat old age," the black-haired man replied before pulling his face off, revealing another, much younger looking face.
How many faces does this sick fuck wear at once? I thought with a raised brow, not nearly as phased by it as I was last time.
"Who the hell are you?!" The Sarutobi yelled.
I looked over at the old man as if he was stupid, which he really was being at that moment. "Well, well, well... I didn't expect this to be the reason you had such good body reflexes despite your old age."
"Oh? What were you expecting?" The man cooed with the voice of a significantly younger person.
Fucking gross, I thought before giving a one-shouldered shrug. "No idea, but it's not like Anko or Hokage-sama would reveal what they knew about whatever jutsu you were using..." I lowered my head a bit and narrowed my eyes. "Kinjutsu, huh, Orochimaru?
"That one, he's finally done it..." Enma noted as his eye stared wide at the snake before the three of us.
"You... can't mean, you had already achieved the completion of that kinjutsu," Hokage-sama took over.
The yellow-eyed man laughed. "It's been more than ten years since I left the village... I suffered quite a bit."
"You terrifying inhuman creature, you..." The man with liver spots on his face finally realized, causing me to take another step back. "One of the reasons I didn't choose you to be Yondaime was because of your twisted ideology..."
Yeah, no shit. No one in their right fucking mind would choose this nutbar, which is technically an insult to all nutbars, but whatever, I internally stated with a boatload of sarcasm.
"This immortality jutsu is a spell where you anchor your spirit to this world forever. In other words, it's a reincarnation spell where you find a new body and enter it with your spirit and gain possession of it," the supposedly fifty-year-old man explained, causing my brow to drastically furrow.
That means that I won't be able to find his location later down the line. I put a chakra seal on his physical form, not his spirit. Shit! No, wait, I put a seal on Kabuto ad well. I'll be fine so long as they stick together, I noted before glancing at the old man once more to see how he was dealing with this new information.
Orochimaru laughed once again, snapping my focus to him. "The reason why I disguised myself as my old self until now was... because I thought I'd let you feel nostalgic about the past..."
Hokage-sama made a noise that was a mix between annoyance and anger.
"To grow old... How destitute it can be... When I look at you, I can feel it deeply. You will die here... And I will obtain an even more younger, more beautiful, stronger body..." The man that was more than a few branches short of a full tree declared. "Konoha really entertains me to no end..."
"Even though he's trained hard for a month, his sharingan is still in its baby stage. Everyone here knows that. There's no point in going after him," I stared with a furrowed brow, not truly understanding Orochimaru's want- no- need for Sasuke.
"You have a point. That's why I intend to possess Sasuke-kun after he grows up a bit more to my tastes," that damn bastard replied with a smirk and a small giggle.
"So you want Uchiha Sasuke..." The black-eyed man said to himself before asking, "What number face... body... is that one, hm?"
Orochimaru took a second before answering, "...I believe it's the second one."
Second, huh? But that doesn't deny the very fact that he is weaker than before. I bet in a month, he'll need to possess someone else. I raised my head before saying with nothing but pure confidence, "I bet that kinjutsu of yours lasts three years, and every three years you needed to change bodies since the ones you possess naturally get weaker as time goes on."
Snake-like yellow eyes drifted over to me before a dark smirk came to his lips. "Your ability to piece things together will never cease to amaze me, Ren-chan."
"I'll take the "-kun," thank you very much. Only one person in all of existence is allowed to refer to me as Ren-chan, and you certainly aren't them," I replied sharply, my eyes narrowed drastically.
"Oho?" Orochimaru mused.
"Yeah," I agreed with a blank expression. I knew Orochimaru couldn't use that person against me, however, especially since that person was long dead.
"Well, no matter..." He waved the subject off with one of his pale hands. He turned his gaze back to his former sensei and began to put on the face he had just torn off. "To have you die, cursing your fate and regretting your entire life... I suppose this face would be best, hm?"
"Ren, if you could..." Hokage-sama asked, making me give a small sigh while dropping down to one knee.
I watched as the old man took up a defensive stance before me as I made several handsigns. I allowed my mixed chakra, aided by my opened chakra gates, to create several more trees with a significantly better landscape for the fight that was about to occur. I added much more twists and turns to my trees and internally prayed that my bunshins were smart enough to question Shodaime-sama about the proper jutsu to create a forest without having to make the trees individually.
Orochimaru gave a loud laugh before yelling, "You mustn't let your guard down now, sensei! You were always too compassionate!"
I clicked my tongue as I adjusted my grip on my tantō before reaching my mouth down to my right wrist. I bit into my skin and stood up fully, ready to fight. I couldn't have my right arm getting in the way because of its flimsiness.
"Ren, it's time for you to retreat," the Sarutobi stated, causing me to step forwards in objection. He looked back at me with nothing but seriousness in those black eyes of his. "You're in my way."
I bit down hard onto my wrist, blood coming into my mouth as a result. My face showed my displeasure, but I nonetheless retreated back a few large jumps.
The man gave a single nod of approval before glaring at Orochimaru. "I'll kill you now and correct my past mistake!"
How could you lie in this situation? You are known as the Professor, not the Liar, I thought solemnly, but didn't act any further.
"Let's go!" Hokage-sama yelled as he grabbed his partner.
"It's already too late!" The man with purple markings on his face exclaimed.
The white-haired man suddenly made two kage bunshins, causing my brow to furrow.
This wasn't in the plan, I thought with confusion.
"Ha... You've really grown old... To think you'd shorten your own lifespan out of impatience," Orochimaru said with a smirk.
"It... It can't be that you...!" Enma trailed off as I looked to it with the utmost worry.
His two kage bunshins suddenly rushed away, causing me to internally fret.
I decided to just stay put before watching the old man make nine handsigns.
Mi. I. Hitsuji. U. Inu. Ne. Tori. Uma. Mi.
He put his palms together once again as he were praying.
"The order of the seals... There's no mistaking it, that Sarutobi... He's going to use that jutsu!" The summoning exclaimed.
I dropped my wrist and asked, "What jutsu? I don't understand."
"Get back!" The monkey yelled, causing me to jolt away from Hokage-sama.
I didn't see anything, but by the way Hokage-sama looked over his shoulder, there was obviously something there. I looked closely at the air with narrowed eyes, but the object still escaped my vision.
"It's already too late, no matter what you do. I've won. Konoha is going to be demolished!" The snake announced. Good thing he wasn't betting on that.
"Konohagakure is my home! The Hokage is one who continues to act as the main pillar of the house, protecting it! He's the one who carried the Will of Fire, entrusted with it... It won't be that easy for you!" Hokage-sama retaliated.
Orochimaru put his hands together before casting a genjutsu to make the area dark.
I released a small sound of annoyance before closing my eyes. I brought up my left hand and thought of dispelling the genjutsu via a burst of chakra. Thankfully, I managed to break the genjutsu just before seeing a blade heading straight for my chest. I dodged to my right out of instinct and cursed upon getting another slash to my left bicep, only that one was deep enough to make my left arm useless.
Yellow eyes filled with an odd sort of bloodlust stared at me as I continued to move to my right.
I stared sight back as the man continued to lunge forwards, his blade allowing the red of my blood to spread from the speed it was being hit by due to the sharp thrust.
Time passed by in slow motion as the two of us maintained eye-contact. Neither of us could seem to break the trance that had captured us.
It's a good thing Enma was around. With a single punch, he had managed to destroy the mud clone's head.
I blinked once before landing on my feet. I released a small noise of annoyance at the useless state of my arms. Nevertheless, I turned my gaze to the leader of Konohagakure.
Hokage-sama was holding his bleeding left arm. "To me, Konoha isn't just an organization... Every year, there are a lot of shinobi born and raised in Konohagakure... They live... fight... to protect the village... And to protect what's precious to them, they will go to their death... Even if we are not related by blood, those of the village like these are... to me, my most precious... most important... family!"
My eyes widened at the declaration before my heart began to squeeze itself painfully. My feet began to move to my dropped tantō, and I watched Orochimaru and Hokage-sama stand face to face.
The snake laughed cruelly at his previous master. "Well then, I'll break you in half, the main pillar, that is, and that'll destroy the house, Konohagakure."
The old man smirked at that. "Hmph! Even if you were to kill me, the beam won't break! I'm the man who inherited the Will of Fire, the will of Shodaime-sama and Nidaime-sama... I am the Sandaime Hokage! No matter how much you target Konohagakure, there will be a new Hokage who'll inherit my will and become the pillar to protect the house of Konoha!"
I knelt down next to my tantō as tears began to form in my eyes. I would know that kind of death speech anywhere, especially since I've heard a similar thing more than once in my life. I dipped my face into the shallow water before my teeth gripped the handle of my tantō tightly.
Hokage-sama folded his hands together, leaving only his index fingers remaining upright. "Orochimaru! I'll show you a special jutsu from now that even you don't know about! Take this! Fūin Jutsu: Shiki Fūjin!"
"A jutsu I am unfamiliar with..." Orochimaru muttered to himself before smiling widely.
I don't sense anything, I noted before my eyes narrowed at the snake bastard.
"Please do show it to me, this so-called jutsu..." Orochimaru requested before attacking Hokage-sama enough to make him fall onto his ass. "What the matter...? Do you intend to let me kill you bit by bit as I toy with you? Please hurry up and present that jutsu to me."
Hey, fuck you, I thought bitterly while returning to my feet, my arms dangling lifelessly as I slouched down a bit.
Hokage-sama suddenly jolted forwards before blood ran down his chin from his mouth. What the hell was he doing?!
"What's wrong? You're looking rather unsteady on your feet..." The man trying to ruin my sister's love life noted aloud as if everyone else were blinder than anything else on the damn planet.
Hokage-sama didn't reply, but more blood began to pour down his chin. "...You treat even the lives if your subordinates so lightly..." Tears began to come from his eyes, signalling how his heart had begun to break.
"'The lives of your subordinates'"?! How long do you intend to keep spouting such nonsense?!" Orochimaru snapped.
The Sarutobi narrowed his eyes, his tears not stopping at all. He reached his hand out and yelled, "Come Enma!"
The monkey summoning quickly threw itself into the old man's grasp.
Hokage-sama glared down at his enemy with a rage I had never seen from him before. He suddenly jumped down at a fast speed while swinging the kongō form of Enma down at his opponent.
Orochimaru quickly pulled up Kusanagi and parried the attack.
The two began to exchange blows so fast, my eyes barely kept up.
Suddenly, Kusanagi was forced from Orochimaru's hands, leaving the snake bastard without his precious blade.
Enma's hand came out of the pike and reached out for Orochimaru, only to be bound up by four snakes that came from the bastard's sleeve. "Shit! You...!"
The Hokage ducked below his summoning and lunged forwards, grabbing onto the shoulders of his former student. "This is the end!"
The black-haired man released a small noise of displeasure before his eyes widened in horror. He suddenly pointed his right index and middle finger at his blade, and it rose into the air.
My eyes widened as the two demanded that each other die. Before I knew what was happening, a sharp pain filled the right side of my chest. My teeth tightly gripped the tantō still in my mouth before blood began to spill out past the handle. I coughed, only to have pain fill my chest around the area that had a sword sticking through it. I furrowed my brow before glaring up at Orochimaru.
He glared right back at me, though he surprisingly also had a pained expression. "Why... did you jump in the way?"
I forced a chuckle out before managing to raise up my left hand a bit and showed off my most sacred weapon, my middle finger.
He was not happy with that response, but he shouldn't have asked such a stupid question in the first place. He shakily brought up his hands and made a handsign
"This jutsu... You know..." Hokage-sama managed to say with a smirk despite the obvious pain he was in, "In exchange for this jutsu to work, you hand your soul over to death. It's a fūin jutsu you pay for with your life... There's no need to avoid anything... I'll die anyway! Once the fūin is completed, my soul will be consumed simultaneously... It's the jutsu of the hero who once upon a time, saved this village... with this jutsu, from how... you'll die as well!"
"You mean this was the jutsu that sealed even the kyuubi?!" Orochimaru realized, causing my eyes to widen drastically.
So the seal that will appear...! I need to do research on it immediately. After the bridge incident, we can't allow for that fox to take over again. Once I know that the seal is okay, Uzumaki-kun will be free to use the kyuubi's chakra as he wishes, I thought seriously as my shoulders slouched only to have pain shoot through my upper body.
"Yes..." The old man answered, "I'll drag your soul out of your body soon... and seal you...!"
The snake looked alarmed as he failed to do anything but stand there. It was as if he couldn't get his body to respond.
"You too... should be able to see it about now... Your soul is about halfway out too, so..." The Sarutobi trailed off before changing the topid just slightly. "With this jutsu... the one whose soul is sealed will suffer for all eternity in the belly of the Shinigami, never gaining release... The one who is sealed and the one who preformed the seal... Their souls will mingle, hating each other and battling the other for all eternity..."
The snake suddenly jolted and yelled in horror, "What is that?!" Whatever he saw was clearly scaring and provided an obvious death to the one who wished to be immortal. "Don't be foolish! You old fart... I'm not going go down so quietly!"
Another gush of blood came from my mouth as the sword in my chest was suddenly jerked forwards, causing me to move as well. I dug my heels into the shingles as tears came to my eyes from the pain. Don't let him get this sword anywhere near Hokage-sama. Come on, Ren! You can accomplish a task as simple as that, can't you?!
"Damn you," Orochimaru spat at me before suddenly turning his fingers.
I staggered back as the sword withdrew from my body. I managed to steady myself as more tears came from my eyes. Damn it. I just have to- I nearly dropped to my knees upon seeing the blade pierce through Hokage-sama's chest.
Enma had, apparently, grabbed ahold of the blade before it could pierce all the way through. However, even that summoning had to know, just as I had, that the kind, old man's jutsu was going to suffer as a result.
"Hurry up and... die!" Orochimaru demanded like the monster he was.
Let's see if monsters can beat out demons... I release a loud growl as my right shoulder dropped down lower than my left. My head hung down as my right foot extended back. Then, without another thought, I ran past the two men. Once I reached Orochimaru's back, I swerved around before shoving my tantō to the back where my left shoulder had been aiming. I could feel the satisfying way my blade pierced through the chest of Orochimaru as retaliation.
"Heh, I can really see why you picked up the nickname you did, Ren," Hokage-sama noted with a smirk in his tone.
I gave a small grunt in reply, my position not changing in the slightest. I didn't want Orochimaru to escape when we were this close to defeating him for good.
The four of us remained in place while Hokage-sama and Orochimaru struggled for power over their rather precarious situation. Neither of us budged much, and so we remained in a silent deadlock for a long while.
Finally, the leader of Konohagakure said, "Looks like... I don't have enough strength left to pull all of your soul out..."
"Could you please die already... Sarutobi-sensei?" The snake pleaded, causing my glare directed at the spot my tantō pierced through to narrow even more.
I put more pressure on my blade, causing Orochimaru to release a pained noise.
"Your ambitions... end here!" The man with liver spots on his face yelled.
"My ambition is at an end...? That is said a lot... in these types of circumstances..." The S-Rank criminal retorted.
"Good, it's begun the separation process," the armored male noted before releasing several pained noises.
That sure got the former Konoha ninja riled up. "My ambition will not end! You will die here!"
"Your ambition won't affect the village any longer...!" Hokage-sama replied, just as angered.
"Sh...!" Orochimaru began panting desperately from the pain that was surely filling him to the very core. "You've grown old. You're the Sandaime Hokage, do you have the strength to rescue the village? Look around you... I've ordered my subordinates, the Sunagakure shinobi, to come and infiltrate the village. Your Konoha shinobi will be annihilated down to the women and children... Konohagakure will crumble!"
I grinned despite the pain before chuckling. "You fool..."
"What was that?" That damn traitor growled at me.
"You should know, Orochimaru, not to take the shinobi of this village lightly," my precious leader answered for me. "Konoha's shinobi are all protecting the village... They fight with all their life! True strength is not in mastery of ninjutsu. I was never an to teach you... When they are protecting something important, that's when a shinobi's true strength appears..."
"...A boring speech..." The snake sassed, almost making me stop to applaud his audacity.
The old man gave a hum, mirth in his tone. "This is good. I don't feel like letting you off now. For you who is obsessed with jutsu, this is the appropriate punishment. To steal all of your jutsu!"
"What?!" Orochimaru screamed before the Sarutobi gave a war cry. "Can't be...! Stop it!"
Hokage-sama suddenly released Orochimaru, causing me to pull my tantō out and jump back a few steps. "Sealed!"
Orochimaru looked down at his shaking hands with horror. "My arms won't move..."
"You won't be able to use either arm. You won't be able to use them because both are completely sealed... You no longer have any jutsu," Sandaime-sama explained to his former student.
I watched with wide eyes as Orochimaru's arms dropped uselessly to his side before turning a disgusting color - the color of rotten flesh.
"You were unsuccessful at destroying Konoha," the grandfather-figure to all pointed out.
"You old man! Give me back my arms!" The enraged man demanded.
The man with blood still running down his chin smiled. "You're foolish, Orochimaru. They've both been completely destroyed... My apprentice, we'll meet in another world."
"Your light is blown out, old man! All this! All this! My jutsu...!" Orochimaru continued on, his mind still not comprehending what happened.
"The place the leaves dance... The fires burn..." Hokage-sama closed his eyes, a content expression covering his face. He then fell to his right, clearly deceased at that point in time.
Nevertheless, I used the hiraishin jutsu no teleport to him and extend a leg out. I caught him in his fall and allowed his body to ease to the ground.
"This... This shitty old man! What's so funny?!" The former student shrieked.
I lifted my head up slightly before stepping in front of my leader. I straightened my body up and stood proud, my Will of Fire burning with an outstanding brightness. "You've lost," I managed to say around the hilt of my tantō. My eyes narrowed before I commanded, "Leave."
Orochimaru released a loud scream of pain and defeat.
"Orochimaru-sama!" One of his damn underlings yelled.
"The plan ends here... The barrier is no longer needed... We're heading back..." The criminal growled out while glaring at me.
I smirked as the barrier dropped, my eyes narrowing as his four underlings grabbed ahold of their leader. I stood up straight before my three kage bunshins used the hiraishin jutsu to appear by Orochimaru with their tantōs drawn.
"Shi-" Before those henchmen had the time to finish their curses, my doppelgangers stabbed Orochimaru with absolutely no mercy with their perfectly working arms. They each hit important pressure points that were sure to leave Orochimaru with nothing but unbearable pain until he transferred into a new body. They then disappeared before anything else could happen to them.
I spat my out tantō out of my mouth and allowed blood to pour down my chin. With nothing but victory in my very being, I stated, "Payback has been served, you pedophilic, snake bitch." I chuckled as I began to fall backwards, my body finally having enough of my constant bullshit.
Instead of hitting the harsh shingles, two warm arms caught me and brought me into a kind embrace. "You never learn, do you?"
I gave Kakashi-sensei a closed-eye smile.
He released an exasperated sigh before pulling me closer to his chest. He held me with his right arm before pulling his headband down with his left hand. His black eye moved from me to the deceased man no less than a few meters away.
"I'm sorry," I apologized while looking away from my sensei.
"You knew ahead of time, didn't you? He knew as well, and he made his choice so he could die with no regrets," the jônin explained softly as more shinobi began to crowd around their dead leader.
"Still, I-"
"There's nothing more you can do. For now, you must seek immediate medical attention," Kakashi-sensei said as he put me bridal style into his embrace. He stood up and was ready to jump off, but I released a noise of distress.
I looked down at my tantō before turning my gaze to my sensei pleadingly.
"Hey, Genma. Can you pick that tantō up?" The sharingan-wielder asked the brunette who was the closest to said weapon.
The man with a senbon between his lips looked around for a second before spotting my blade. He picked it up and inspected it with an impressed smile.
I leaned up, confusing my sensei until he saw the sheath on my back. "Um, can you...?"
"Hm? Oh, right. Of course," the brown-eyed man mumbled before carefully sheathing my tantō.
I closed my eyes upon hearing the ring and fully relaxed in the lighting-user's grasp.
"Poor kid, having to deal with this because of his abilities," Kurenai-sensei muttered as she stood by her boyfriend Asuma-sensei.
Even though the man was obviously grieving the loss of his father, he still muttered out a soft, "Yeah."
"He can still hear you," Kakashi-sensei pointed out before taking his leave, rushing me directly towards the nearest medical nin standby point.
I chuckled softly before releasing a few pained coughs from my angered lungs.
"Alright, no more using your lungs for anything but breathing. No talking, no chuckling, no dramatic sighs," the silverenette demanded while jumping from rooftop to rooftop.
I would have raised up a thumb, but my arms definitely needed some healing before they could move like that anytime soon.
"Do you remember how Zabuza died?" The masked man asked out of the blue, causing me to crack open my right eye. "The way you stabbed Orochimaru in the back reminded me of the way Zabuza killed Gatô."
I opened my right eye all the way and stared at the passing sky blankly, my mind going back to two months ago. I silently played back the memory of Zabuza running through the crowd before beheading Gatô. I eventually smiled as I closed my eye and just rested my head against my sensei's jônin vest. Good times, good times...
"Oh, and Sakura went with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Pakkun. I'm sure she's safe," Kakashi-sensei said, causing me to raise a brow at the one unfamiliar name. He seemed to notice and explained, "Pakkun is one of my ninken summonings."
I gave a miniscule nod, but I'm sure Kakashi-sensei caught the reply.
The man made a large jump before landing on the ground. "Haruno Ren, as expected."
"We were beginning to worry he died," one of the medical shinobi joked, only to release a small squeak of alarm shortly after.
I couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, right. Now even Kami-sama, himself, can't kill me."
The man holding me cleared his throat before saying with a lightly dark undertone, "Ren."
I gave a sheepish smile in response, not daring to open my eyes to see the death glare I was most likely receiving.
With a heavy sigh, the jônin handed me over to the nins before ruffling my hair. "I'll be back soon, so don't have a panic attack while I'm gone."
I gave another miniscule nod and received a head pat as a reward. I was then left by my lonesome with the shinobi doctors. I, not wanting to deal with my iatrophobia, decided to just jump into the sweet, sweet embrace of death- I mean sleep.
They're basically the same thing, right? Death with benefits.
However, just before I could be fully hugged by death, my right eye cracked open to see the blue sky and clouds. And as my blurry vision faded to black, I could have sworn I saw a very familiar crow flying in the sky overhead.
