Towards the Sun
Chapter 19
The steely grip compressing Hinata's upper body was unrelenting. Wincing, she delved into the deepest reaches of her chakra reserves. Her aim was to release one sudden, brutal strike to regain her freedom.
Next to her, the female shinobi – "Ai" was her name, recalled Hinata – was panting. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Her dark eyes were unfocused, and she seemed on the verge of passing out.
Hinata's eyes never left the great colorless irises staring back at her. She had a fair idea of the goals of Tora and his strange gang. They needed the Byakugan to find the dragon's weak spot and the Sharingan to force it into submission.
The sheer size of Ōryū, the golden dragon, surpassed the other four beasts. Its body was as large as the river below, and its clawed feet could easily wrap around a cluster of trees. Its head, which breathed hot air over Hinata's face, drew slowly closer to the azure dragon holding her captive. She gritted her teeth. Even if she tried to escape, only a free fall to her demise waited below.
"Akio," called Tora, his voice carrying above the forest line. He stood still atop the head of Byakko, the great white tiger. "What shall we do with this fool?" He gestured at the woman next to Hinata.
Akio had no time to answer. A hard kick in his back knocked him down. He rolled onto his side, clutching at his midsection. Sasuke loomed over him.
Hinata saw the golden dragon immediately pull away. Suzaku was circling around it. Its fiery body dove onto Ōryū's head, and took off right after. Its sharp beak had gouged out the dragon's left eye.
Ōryū writhed about, jaws snapping at the vermilion bird. Fresh blood streamed down the side of its golden face. Roars of fury filled the air around them.
A look of horror marred Hinata's face. She saw the golden dragon's tail coming their way. In its enraged frenzy, it had whirled around and, with the full force of its body, struck Akio's azure beast on the head. Seiryū's neck snapped with an audible crack.
Its grip on the two women instantly loosened. Hinata felt herself slip through its claws. A second later, the azure dragon vanished into a misty cloud.
She was plummeting to her imminent death.
"Hinata!"
She looked up at the voice calling her. Overhead, Sasuke was rapidly closing the distance between them. His arm extended towards her. When he was near enough, she took his hand, and he pulled her tight against him.
A cage of violet chakra enveloped the two. The armor-clad body of Susanowo materialized around them. Sasuke let go of Hinata; they were floating inside Susanowo's ribcage. Below, Tora had intercepted Ai and Akio.
"Keep this with you," said Sasuke, extracting a scroll from his weapon pouch. He handed it to her, and she took it wordlessly. "This is Suzaku's summoning scroll. Earlier, I destroyed the one for Seiryū from Akio."
Hinata's milky eyes widened at the explanation.
"We'll have to collect the remaining two," he was now saying, "then destroy them all."
She nodded, and inserted the scroll into the wide sleeve of her kimono. "What about Ōryū?" she asked, eyebrows furrowed. Would that beast simply disappear if the four others were no more?
"Look at its body."
Hinata's gaze landed on the dragon. Ōryū was now hardly half of its original body mass. The vermilion bird was still attacking it relentlessly. Both beasts were covered in large, bloody gashes all over their bodies.
A sudden scream pierced the air. Sasuke and Hinata looked down at Byakko. Atop its head, Akio lay down, unconscious, while Ai was kneeling before Tora. One of her arms was pressed against her eyes. In her right hand was a blood-stained kunai.
"You bitch!" shouted Tora, kicking her in the ribs. "I gave you these eyes" – he kicked her again – "and that's how you repay me? Just die already –"
Ai had lunged at Tora. She slammed him down, plunging her kunai deep into his side. With her other hand, she reached behind him and seemed to search for something.
With a grunt, the young man seized her wrists and shoved her away. At the same moment, Ai raised her left arm. With chakra-induced force, she threw something in her hand high towards the sky. Susanowo charged forward and caught the projectile with ease.
"NO!"
A frantic Tora was glaring at them. Byakko turned around to face the two; it bared its fangs and contorted its face into a ferocious snarl.
"Say goodbye to your cat."
A crooked smile adorned Sasuke's lips. He grabbed the scroll from Susanowo, and unfurled the yellowed stretch of silk.
Ink-black flames erupted along the length of the scroll. The unforgiving fire of Amaterasu devoured every inch, tearing it to pieces like dancing fingers, leaving nothing behind. A single tear of blood rolled down Sasuke's left eye. He watched on silently. The scroll was no more.
The white tiger let out a roar that shook the ground and vibrated through the forest. Bowing its head, it disappeared into a cloud of pale smoke.
Relief washed over Hinata. The golden dragon had reduced in size once more: it was now the size of a small hill, somewhat bigger than Suzaku and the other remaining beast, the black tortoise Genbu. Her eyes swept over the vicinity. By the waterfall, the twins were engaged in a fight atop Genbu's shell. It appeared like the sister had the upper hand. Her brother, Kai, was crouching before her. Soon enough, another figure appeared by her side. It was Tora.
Where's Ai? thought Hinata. Dread clouded her mind. She hadn't seen where the woman had landed among the trees. Had she fallen into the river?
"Hinata, I'll take you somewhere safe first."
"No," was her immediate reply. Her voice was shaky and breathless. "I can fight."
She cast an anxious look at Suzaku and Ōryū. The winged beast was showing signs of defeat. It flew closer to the treetops, and failed to evade in time from subsequent attacks.
Gathering her chakra, Hinata activated her Byakugan. She observed the network of chakra veins running through the serpentine creature. Her gaze shifted between Ōryū and the two other beasts.
"S – Sasuke."
"What did you find?" he asked, his gaze following hers.
"Ōryū's body – it doesn't produce chakra of its own. It mixes the chakra of the other beasts."
"Does it have any elemental affinity?"
"All –" Hinata's words were momentarily caught in her throat. "All five. But … it was too big earlier to amass its chakra in one spot for an attack. Now that it has reduced in size, the chakra flows more quickly through its body."
Sasuke nodded. If they destroyed the two remaining summoning scrolls, the golden dragon would be much easier to fight one-on-one but considerably stronger.
"Sasuke, go and take care of the tortoise."
"What are you – Hinata!"
With a burst of chakra from her palm, Hinata had jumped out of Susanowo's ribcage. She fell right onto Suzaku's back. She knelt by its nape and, pressing her palms on each side, let healing chakra course through her fingers into the beast's body. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sasuke head for the river.
There was a sudden, deafening roar right behind her – the dragon was giving them chase.
Perfect. Now to think of a plan …
Before her, as far as her eye could see, lay the forest streaked by rivers. There was no place to hide.
Despite her efforts, she felt Suzaku's energy deplete the more the fight wore on. Its critical wounds had already closed, but its wings, weighed down by fatigue, now moved more slowly and heavily.
What should I do? Suzaku won't hold on much longer.
They could risk only one maneuver and attack. Afterwards, she would be on her own.
"Just a bit more," she murmured. "Please, just a bit more."
There was a flash, followed by a thunderous sound in the distance. She recognized the shrill noise of Sasuke's lightning-based technique, Chidori. He must have struck the river in which Genbu lay.
Almost instantly, Ōryū let out an ear-splitting roar.
With her Byakugan, she confirmed that Genbu had disappeared. To her surprise, many other chakra signatures had popped up where Sasuke was.
Reinforcement?
To say she was relieved was an understatement. All her attention was reverted back to her present opponent.
Time was running out.
She chanced a look behind her once more. As she expected, the dragon had diminished in size: it was now as big as Suzaku, and closed the distance rapidly between them.
Hinata's scream pierced the air. Suzaku had swerved upwards – throwing her off balance for a moment. In a final, desperate effort, it flew higher and higher towards the sky. The sun was at its zenith; it shone blindingly bright right above them.
Below, Ōryū had halted, taken off guard and blinded by the scorching midday sun. It opened its mouth, gathering chakra for a lethal blow.
An idea formed in Hinata's mind. Gently, she tugged on the nape of Suzaku. The bird understood – in a graceful movement, it bent its course backwards, and relying on gravity now, headed straight for the golden dragon.
"Thank you, Suzaku," said Hinata quietly. She pressed her forehead against its head. "You're free now."
Hinata took the scroll out of her sleeve. With a surge of chakra, her palm tore through the length of silk.
Suzaku disappeared in a thick cloud of fog.
The golden dragon was disoriented. Where had its prey gone? The fog fell all around it, concealing its immediate surroundings.
"Eight Trigrams …"
Ōryū whirled around, intent on finding the source of this voice. It was in vain.
Hinata had successfully landed on its spine.
"Two palms!"
Excruciating stabs of pure chakra pierced into the dragon's back.
"Four palms!"
Its tail fell limp, dragging the rest of its body towards the ground. The rush of wind pushed against Hinata. It threatened to throw her off the dragon's back.
"Eight palms!"
Gradually, the dragon was losing altitude.
"Sixteen palms!"
The needle-thin strikes blocked the chakra paths along its entire body. In vain it tried to fuel it to its mouth.
"Thirty-two palms!"
Ōryū was writhing in pain. Its entire spine was growing numb. It could no longer control its body.
"Sixty-four palms!"
Beads of sweat dripped down the side of Hinata's face. One last effort. She had reached its heart.
"One hundred and twenty-eight palms!"
Her feet spun and slid in a circle around the dragon's core. Her hands hit each chakra point with lethal precision. Her arms were aching, her muscles burned horribly, pleading for her to stop. The hard scales left bloody cuts under her feet.
Not yet.
She had not struck all of its chakra points yet. She clenched her teeth, a deep crease formed between her eyebrows. Her mind was struggling against her body to keep on going. Her face contorted in pain as she inflicted the relentless blows.
She could do it.
She would do it!
With the last strike, she hit Ōryū's heart with both palms. Her Byakugan observed the movement of its chakra come to an abrupt halt.
Its entire body succumbed beneath the fatal blow. Its scales, once golden and shimmering, was darkening. It crumbled, piece by piece, into earth.
Hinata was exhausted. The jutsu had used up all of her chakra reserves. Her eyes felt heavy, groggy. Her legs and arms refused to obey her.
Her mind raced to her late cousin, Neji. She had practised this technique on her own. Now she had proved the fruit of her perseverance.
They were plummeting towards the river.
Before she could feel the impact, before her body was engulfed by the unforgiving rush of cold water, her conscience slipped into darkness.