It's been a while. I apologize.
I've had several stressful weeks, but I am happy with this chapter's outcome.
I don't feel as if there are any trigger warnings in this chapter. However, it might present more questions than answers. Give it time for future chapters to explain more.
As always, thank you for reading and going on this journey with me! Please enjoy and review!
Outside of Shikamaru's first level apartment, Sai appeared before them, already in his Anbu uniform, holding a paintbrush, "We need to touch up those temporary tattoos before the mission begins."
Sakura looked at her exposed skin; the swirling of the ink that Sai had done seemed almost magical, but that was the point. "They look great to me," she twisted her arms around as she said this, looking at the black and pale pink swirls that Sai had given her. These markings almost reminded Sakura faintly of her physical appearance when releasing the Strength of a Hundred Seal.
"One more chakra infused touch-up will help not only to disguise your chakra but to give you extra strength. Not that you need it, you've hit me hard enough to prove that." Sai swirled the paintbrush against her cream-colored skin, twirling the bristles as they glowed in the sunlight.
"Thank you, Sai," Sakura replied; the whole process had taken less than 2 minutes. Her face and pastel pink hair were completely hidden, and now hopefully, her body would be tricky to identify as well.
"Between Kakashi's specially designed Anbu gear and your new tattoos, it'd be extremely challenging for anyone to recognize you; let's hope that plays to our advantage with Dai konran. Also, not that I particularly care if we're on time for a mission usually, but this is one that I don't think we should be late for. Even though it's going to be a drag." The three Anbu members nodded at each other before disappearing to relocate to their designated posts.
"Remember, Naruto, do not let Dai konran touch you, that is imperative." The Hokage reminded the blond shinobi as three of team seven's members awaited the rouge ninja's arrival from the rooftop. "Do not get carried away."
"Alright, alright. But you better believe I'm going to give this bastard everything he has coming," Naruto snarled.
Sasuke stood brooding in silence, staying out of the sight of the village, but strategically placing himself to where all of Konoha was in his direct line of sight.
"Sasuke, that goes for you as well understood?" Lord seventh tilted his head, unsure whether his former student was listening to him. "We have no idea what appearance Dai konran will take. Sense for any strong foreign chakra."
Sasuke gave a slight nod; both shenanigans intensely focused ahead of him towards the village entrance. Slowly he raised his hand, "There, positioned at our 2 o'clock, dressed as a civilian."
Naruto narrowed his eyes and leaned over the rooftop railing, "Is that a woman? She doesn't look that intimidating to me, but her chakra seems off."
Sasuke side-eyed Naruto, giving him an annoyed expression.
"Do you copy that?" Kakashi asked in his headpiece; the sun was beating down on them, making beads of sweet pool against their foreheads. The Hokage let go of the wire placed inside of his mask. "My Anbu team is in their positions. We will wait until Dai konran is in the morgue before making our move. Let's make sure he receives a warm welcome."
Kakashi saw the Anbu flank the adjacent rooftops by the morgue, invisible to the untrained eye. "I'll move out first. Sasuke, you wait 30 seconds before joining me in your position, Naruto, you'll advance after that." Usually, their former sensei wouldn't have to be so explicit with instructions. Still, he had a feeling no matter how many times he drilled the information in them, that they'd act irrationally.
The silver-haired ninja appeared at the open of the alley and nodded at the doorman of the morgue. The woman, wearing a shawl covering her hair and a long silk robe, asked to see a relative's body before the cremation. Sasuke appeared at an adjoining alleyway, across the way from Kakashi.
Soon, Naruto's figure came into view with a bright flash of orange. Kakashi was impressed; so far, they were following orders and keeping their composure.
But plans of mice and men rarely come to fruition.
The Hokage saw long blonde hair swishing as its owner marched their way gruffly towards Naruto. The woman's hip swayed as the purple material sashayed around her curves as the strides became more determined. "Naruto!" The platinum blonde ninja screamed, giving away his position.
The Hokage sighed, of all the most idiotic things to disrupt a mission.
Naruto jumped at the unexpected tone and proceeded to glare at Ino. "Now isn't the time; whatever you need to yell at me about can wait."
"Tell me what you found out about Sakura, and I'll leave you alone. You came back to Konoha days ago, wanting to know where she's at, and I want to know too." Ino's brows furrowed with determination, she would not relent until given her way.
Sai appeared next to them; they were none the wiser that it was a doppelganger. "Hey, beautiful, you weren't in the flower shop. I've been looking for you."
"O-oh, Sai, I need to talk to Naruto about Sakura. I'll only be a minute." The kunoichi blushed.
"Ino, I'm sure Sakura's fine! Let's go back to your shop; I saw a line of customers waiting!" Sai placed his hands on Ino's shoulders to gently urge her to move a different direction.
"Okay, but -" Ino began to protest, but a loud earth-shaking crash rocked the ninjas harshly off balance. "What in the hell?"
Kakashi watched as the ninjas tried to regain their stability; he signaled to Sasuke to take Naruto's place at the entrance doors to block Dai konran's escape.
The building shook again as the raven-haired ninja raced to the steps, determine to be the one to face Dai konran head-on. If team seven could take down a god, how hard could it be to demolish a single rouge ninja? However, Sasuke vastly underestimated the forceful strength wheeled by Dai konran. The doors blasted forth from the morgue; fire engulfed the entranceway expelling Sasuke's body through the air as rubble from the stone cascaded around them.
Kakashi threw his arms over his face as he ducked to avoid the rubble before him. He rushed towards his team, swiftly dodging flying debris.
The flames' blast disintegrated Sai's shadow clone, causing Ino to gasp as she reached through the smoke. Naruto quickly leaped from the side of the building to follow Kakashi's lead.
Sasuke caught his balance relatively quickly; his knees bent as he crouched on the ground bracing himself against the impact of the flames. Drawing his sword, he charged at the shadowy figure before him.
He was massive, built like a bulldog, muscles protruded from his arms, ripping at the edges of his sleeveless shirt. He'd drawn black war-paint like markings vertically underneath cold beady eyes void of all human qualities. Dai konran had painted his lips blood red, and his jaw bone was square and unnaturally wide. Thrown over his shoulder was the lifeless body that mirrored Sakura, the same body Sasuke had cradled in his arms in the morgue.
Sasuke hesitated only momentarily at seeing Sakura's body once more before storming full force at Dai konran. The rogue ninja proceeded to throw the lifeless body at Sasuke, who caught the figure with one arm, missing his opportunity to strike him head-on with his blade.
"Sasuke is-is that?" Naruto stuttered as he flanked his friend on one side while Kakashi appeared on the other, refusing to look at the body in Sasuke's arms.
"Put her body someplace safe." Sasuke heaved the corpse at Naruto, who caught it was outstretched arms, unsure how to proceed.
The Hokage readied his Chidori, "Stay back and let me -"
But the command went unheard as Sasuke leaped through the air, flames caught and engulfed his blade as it sliced towards Dai konran, threatening to send him to the burning depths of hell with a firey welcoming. "Die you bastard!"
He chuckled with a mouth of sharpened mangled teeth itching to sink into tantalizing flesh. Dai konran caught the sharpen firey sword with his bare palm, gripping it tightly with his skin. His finger intertwined as he attempted to twist it from Sasuke's grasp. "Burn me with your flames, that won't be back your dead lover." Using his empty fist, he plunged it into Sasuke's diaphragm using Charka previously stolen from Sakura, sending him trailing back once more.
"PEOPLE OF KONOHA HEAR ME NOW!" Flames flicker around his figure as his arms raised high into the air as if he commanded the fire with his movements. "I have killed your most prised medical ninja! I stole her chakra and infected her with incurable poison! Behold her decaying body in the arms of the Jinchuriki. I'll take great pleasure in destroying him, as well as the Hokage of this pathetic village! But first, I'll permanently end the Uchiha clan." Dai konran maliciously girned his protruding sharpen teeth on their hideous display.
"Stay back!" Kakashi flew with his Chidori on full force as he hurled it at Dai konran. The kinetic energy of the Chidori hit dead on target, smashing into Dai konran's chest.
The rogue ninja screamed as his body absorbed the Chidori's chakra. "You've underestimated me, and for that, your village will suffer!"
The Anbu team that hand been hanging back, transferring civilians to safety, made their way back to the battleground. "He's gained strength," Sai stated the obvious.
"Dammit, all." Sakura cursed under her breath.
"How the hell are we going to defeat him?" Shikamaru cursed.
"Gods help us."
They sprang on the desecrated ground, prepared to die to save their village.
Naruto flew past them, towards Ino. "Here... I can't do anything for her now, but I can help Sasuke. Please take Sakura."
Ino gulped hard, tears streaming down her face as she nodded, taking the corpse, and Naruto rushed back to his comrades.
Sasuke was already aiming his sword at Dai konran; this time, it was pulsating with electric; maybe if he could penetrate his heart directly, he'd be able to stop him before he could absorb any more Chakra.
But, Dai konran had other plans. He arched his back, causing the blade to pierce through his left shoulder blade. Sasuke let out a frustrating snarl as he let go of the sword's hilt; electricity flowed through his hand as his tightly gripped Dai konran massive throat to strangle him. But the rogue ninja titled his head, almost enjoying the pressure of Sasuke's fingers around his throat. Sasuke's Sharingan was swirling in his eyes, but unfortunately, it would have little effect for the highly talented ninja.
Sasuke gasped as he fell to his knees; he felt as if his life force was pulled from his fingertips. He became weak and unstable as he dropped forward. "NO!" Sasuke shouted as his hand fell away from Dai konran's neck.
"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted from beside him, catching him as he fell.
Three flying Chidori's soared over their heads, knocking Dai konran backward before being absorbed into his skin.
"Sasuke, are you okay?" Naruto asked worriedly.
The raven-haired ninja gasped for breath as he braced himself on his remaining hand. How the hell could he have been so careless?! Sasuke internally screamed at himself; his chakra was depleted; he barely had the strength to support himself.
As another Chidori hurled threw the air, Dai konran tightly clasped the hilt of the sword still in his shoulder and ripped it from his flesh. He blocked the next Chidori with Sasuke's sword as it crashed into Naruto.
The blonde ninja slammed into the jagged and torn asphalt. Karuma's chakra began to seep from him as Naruto snarled and pulled himself up. Kakashi gripped him by his shirt collar, "Stay down! Don't move! You cannot let Dai konran steal your chakra too!"
Sasuke struggled to his feet as he staggered forward; he would not let a worthless ninja win. If he died, so be it, he'd be with Sakura, but he would take Dai konran into the depths of the fieriest pits of hell with him.
Dai konran flew at him, twirling the blade in a deadly manner aimed at Sasuke's heart. He had no chakra, no means to defend himself, at least for the time being.
Sasuke's breath caught as he stared in horror as the crimson Sharingan reflected in Dai konran's eyes. It's not possible.
The blade's sharp point inched forward, the rogue ninja's other fist pulled back, surround with green chakra.
Bracing himself for the inevitable blow, Sasuke stood straight, lightening trying to flicker through his body unsuccessfully.
Milliseconds before the impending strike, a figure blocked the attack with their body as the blade plunged into their chest an inch above their heart. Their head whipped back violently as the ninja's chakra filled fist slammed into the protective mask, shattering it to pieces on the ground.
Blood pooled from the figure's mouth as they snidely smile, knowing full well the consequences of their actions. The rest of their mask splintered to the ground below them, as the hood fell from their head.
Swirls of painted lines glowed as they already started healing their owner's body. Pastel pink hair came untangled for their confinement. She couldn't see Sasuke directly but knew that he was saved.
"No! It's not possible; you're dead! YOU'RE DEAD!" Dai konran screamed at Sakura as he attempted in vain to pull the sword from her flesh.
Air escaped from Sasuke's chest as he tried to remember how to breathe in painful fleeting gasps. "S-Sakura?" The painted tattoos blocked him from sensing her Charka, and he couldn't be sure this wasn't a morbid trick. But, whoever she was, the ninja had saved his life. "Sakura?!" He pleaded again.
The kunoichi closed her eyes as she pulled out the sword by the blade, blood spewing from her chest.