The Tragedy of Repetition

by FanFicFreak6669

(Re-upload of SoulShdw's fic) In the years following Konoha's fall during the Sound/Leaf war, the remnants have struggled to survive. After achieving vengeance against the Otokage, Uzumaki Naruto is given and unexpected second chance. A shame he didn't get a choice in the matter.

11. Chapter 11

Hello again everyone. Here's the next installment. Huge thanks to my beta TheWatcherandReader for helping me clean this up and pointing out some flaws in my writing style that I plan on working on in the future.

Thanks for all the positive feedback as well as the constructive criticism. I appreciate it all, though I could probably do without the one word reviews or the ones that don't even make sense.

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Taioah was a prosperous city that rested on the eastern side of the Fire-Grass border. It had originally started as a small group of farms and a minor fortified camp back during the first great shinobi war. Over time, a trading route that had traveled northeast from Wind country, through Rain and Grass before finally hitting Fire country caused the camp to grow into a small trading town. Traders who followed this route from start to finish and back were able to sell their goods through five countries, as the route continued along Fire country's border until it reached the land of Waterfall. The roads were safe, due to the sheer number of shinobi from the various countries that were on long term missions policing the roads that ran through their countries. After all, the trading posts along the route tended to take in quite a bit of money and all of them wanted to ensure the safety of the route. Several towns along the route, including Taioah, had long-standing contracts with their respective shinobi villages to police the route. Incidentally, the agreement that the trading route should be undisturbed, as all parties benefited from it remaining so, was the basis of the agreements drawn up after the second great shinobi war. It locked the five villages (being Sunagakure no Sato, Kusagakure no Sato, Amegakure no Sato, Takigakure no Sato, and Konohagakure no Sato) into a fairly solid peace agreement. At least it seemed to have been working since the last great shinobi war.

Taioah itself was hard to explain without actually being there. What had originally been a farming village and later a small trading post had grown into a prosperous city, with its own form of government and security force. Different sections of the city were divided up into the business markets, the grocers who still got their food from the farms on the outskirts of the city, the residential areas and numerous areas that didn't fall into any of the other categories. It was usually in these places where the residents of the city interacted, held festivals of all sorts and more or less went about their lives. Some of these areas were filled with public parks or gardens, while others fell into shadier categories the likes of which would be pleasant for the somewhat disreputable, like, let's say Jiraiya-sama of the Legendary Three, with the ever-popular red light districts. Other areas sometimes held smaller markets which held an odd combination of food, trinkets, and other such things. Stalls were set up and taken down daily by those who sold their wares at these areas, and it provided them ease since they could set up where they wanted and move wherever they wanted to.

The small stall of one 'Madam Tarot' was one of these. The woman sitting behind the small stall was dressed like some sort of strange foreigner, a purple shawl over her head and shoulders with small dangling chains that were attached to its edges. It was hard to make out her face as the shawl seemed to always keep her face in shadow but she appeared to be in her late twenties to mid thirties. She wore shabby white rags that were starting to change color from the dirt that was blown up within the city daily. A small crystal ball rested on one edge of the stall, resting atop a small black cushion. Stored beneath the stall were various 'good luck charms' or 'cursed objects' that the strange fortune teller sold to those who some would call gullible, and others would call enlightened.

Madam Tarot simply thought it amusing.

She had been in town for a few months and was finally beginning to settle into her life in the busy city. She had not known what to expect when she had headed for Taioah, but she couldn't say she had any serious complaints since arriving. Sure, making fake predictions of love for overly romantic woman and of great wealth and happiness for young couples was not where she had expected her life to lead to but it was better than the alternative of staying in her homeland. Fortune telling really had nothing to do with fate or the future and everything to do with the mood of the person making the request. Although she tried to tell herself that she was lying through her teeth to every customer she had, she found herself telling herself more and more often that it was their own fault for coming.

She had just finished giving a palm reading to an elderly woman, giving her a fortune predicting that her good-for-nothing son would be finding himself a nice girl to settle down with, when she first noticed them. It was hard not to; shinobi just had that effect on people, at least when they didn't bother to conceal their presence. The first seemed average enough. A tall man but of an average build. He wore dark cargo pants and a black shirt, along with a thick tan coat that reached his knees. Blond hair pulled and tied back into a small ponytail that looked either really good on him or utterly ridiculous. She couldn't really decide. A black cloth mask covered his face below his eyes and the fortune teller couldn't help but roll her eyes at the stereotype in action, although his companion couldn't be considered stereotypical at all. Slightly shorter than her companion, the woman wore what seemed to look like nothing at all, other than her coat. Upon closer inspection it was discovered that she was wearing a full mesh body-suit and a skirt that barely covered her feminine assets, at least the lower set. Not much was being done to contain the upper set. Her hair was tied back and resembled a pineapple in a way, if it wasn't for the garish purple color. If not for the metal forehead protectors baring the symbol of Konoha, she would have never thought the two to be ninja and more along the lines of Yakuza, or in the female's case, a whore.

The two were simply walking down the street, neither speaking but they didn't seem to be looking for anything either. She lowered her eyes as they came closer, not wanting to attract attention from those two unless absolutely necessary. She waited a long time for them to pass before raising her head only to jerk back as if struck. Both shinobi were staring at her and she had to fight to keep herself from reacting. The man's stare alone unsettled her like she hadn't felt since she left her home village and idly wondered if they were looking for her. She felt an utter chill travel down her spine as the two both smirked before the blonde actually winked at her and the two continued on their way.

She didn't realize it until after they had left but she had been shivering from their gaze. It was unlike her to be intimidated so easily. She frowned as she began reaching for her tarot cards, her body going through the familiar actions of retrieving and shuffling the cards while her mind kept going. Shit... those two... calm down; they're probably just here on a mission, just like all the others. Don't lose your cool now. They're Konoha nin, the old paranoid fool couldn't have sent them for you. Just don't do anything stupid.

She broke out of her musings as she finished dealing a standard horse-shoe spread. She looked over the cards of the major and minor arcana with more interest than usual. She rarely did her own fortune; fortune telling wasn't real and even if it was, it wasn't like she could do it. It was just a cover after all. As much as she tried to justify this to herself, she couldn't help but feel incredibly uncomfortable as she picked up the last card she dealt in the spread. The card that was supposed to represent the final outcome of a decision in her future.

As she stared at the card depicting the God of Death riding a pale horse, she couldn't help but feel terrified, and she couldn't even begin to justify why.

-/-/-/

The trees on the outskirts of the city were not like those surrounding the village she had grown up in and fought for. They were more scattered, looking less healthy. Hell, they didn't even resemble the trees that she was used to seeing throughout the rest of the Fire Country. Night had fallen quickly over the city and Anko couldn't help but feel nervous about their upcoming task. The lights of the city, small lanterns powered by flickering candles that lined the city streets, gave the city an ethereal glow, that, under other circumstances, she would have found pretty, not that she would have said anything about it. She'd known as soon as they been told of their mission that it was nigh impossible, if not so. She had tried to keep herself in check in the office but surprisingly it was the nameless wonder who had kept her from assaulting that old fool. As she stared at the masked shinobi who was sitting on the ground in what looked like a meditative trance, she couldn't help but wonder when things got so fucked up in her life.

To be fair though, this one I can't really blame on sensei... Who would've thought that saving the brat would result in this?

-/-/-/

She had detected something being off when she and her comrade entered the Hokage's office. She had been expecting to see the old man there, smoking his pipe as usual and lamenting about his paperwork with his eyes if not his voice itself, as per the usual when visiting the Hokage's office. She usually ignored the unspoken plea for release. That, or made sure that the reason he was freed from said paperwork was not something he relished doing. Although, to be honest, that hasn't happened since I was a child. As much as he would sigh in what seemed like disappointment or annoyance at her antics, she knew full well that those same antics brightened up his day.

Instead, she found another familiar face sitting behind the man's desk instead. She had nothing against the elder currently waiting for the pair, but she still felt uncomfortable with anyone save the Sandaime behind that desk. "Elder Mitokado..." She began, trailing off. Somehow she knew that her usual upbeat antics would not be appreciated by the old man and that saying anything else would not be wise. She had never really been forced to interact with the elder before, but she didn't miss that the man beside her had lost his usual confidence and was almost rigid in his movements. That's odd... some history there perhaps?

"Mitarashi-san... Nanashi, was it?" The old man's voice was gruff and it was evident that he was not pleased to be where he was. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. Hokage-sama is currently visiting the Fire Lord for diplomatic reasons and the council has been given authority while he is away. You two have been selected for an A-rank mission. Here are the details," he said, holding up a folder for them to see before placing it on the desk before him.

She only frowned, casting a glance towards her blond-haired comrade as he casually picked up the file. He said nothing as he opening it and flipped through it for several minutes in complete silence, his eyes drifting from side to side as he read. Finally, he closed the file and handed it to her but his eyes were on the elder behind the desk. Those blue orbs were blank and devoid of any emotion but Anko could tell that the man was suppressing 'something'. "And our team?"

The elder simply looked back at the Fuuinjutsu master impassively before answering in a monotone. "There will be no team. We have no hunter-nin or ANBU to spare at the moment so you two will have to handle this." He paused for a moment before letting on a thin grin. "From what your files read, the two of you should be able to handle this by yourselves." Anko frowned as she could also feel the man standing next to her glare at the elder.

Anko decided to see exactly what was irritating her usually calm companion. She opened the file and began flipping through it with a hint of what's got his panties in a bunch... She looked through the papers which seemed to be reconnaissance reports as well as mission reports that dated back to the last war with Cloud over the Hyuga incident. As she finally came to a summary page at the end of the file, as the papers must have been shuffled around by her companion since that sheet was usually the first one in the file, she came to the realization that it was a hunting mission. There was a photo of a kunoichi with short cropped black hair, bordering a shade of indigo, in the upper left hand corner of the mission profile. Brown eyes, high cheekbones and a small nose; all together, a very attractive woman, even Anko would admit. She frowned at seeing the forehead protector of Kumo resting on her forehead but said nothing before shifting to read the other details in the profile. She only read as far as the name before she frowned. Enrai Setsuka... I know that name, but from where? It was the nameless wonder who put together the final piece for her. "Do you honestly think we'll be able to kill the Thunder Empress alone? Are you and the rest of the council completely insane?"

It was only then that it dawned on her and she could already feel the headache forming. Fuck me sideways... Why does my life have to be so damn complicated? "Please tell me this is some kind of joke." She all but groaned out as Nanashi connected the final dots for her.

"Oh, do you two have complaints about your assigned mission?" She didn't imagine it, the old bastard was actually smirking at her. Her hand had already shot down to grab a kunai to shove in the old coot's eye when Nanashi's hand reached out and grabbed her shoulder with enough force to cause her to halt her actions. She glared at him but he wasn't even looking at her.

Instead he merely commented, "Tch, might as well execute me. It'd be quicker." The man snapped as he closed his eyes and looked towards the ceiling. He waited for a few moments before speaking again. "Enrai Setsuka, one of Kumo's 'Heavenly Warriors'." Mitarashi Anko had never really made the habit of knowing other countries' shinobi, unless, of course, there was a damn good reason. She now realized why that name had sounded so damn familiar. While Konoha and Fire Country had the Legendary Three, the other major countries had heros of their own. The Heavenly Warriors were Kumo's version of the legendary three; Kumo's four legendary heroes. Young prodigies, all of them with the potential to become the next Raikage. According to what she had learned over the years, the four heavenly warriors of Kumo first made their appearances during the war with Konoha over the Hyuuga incident. All four were supposedly incredibly strong shinobi but didn't function well with others outside their own little unit. They had actually been Kumo's trump card for a while until the Sandaime Raikage, whom, according to Anko's memory of those days, was a paranoid idiot, pulled them from the front lines and had them solely defend Kumogakure. The Raikage's paranoid actions led to Konoha regaining the edge against Kumo in the war which eventually led to the current cease-fire the two nations held.

And apparently at least one of them is now a missing nin. Fantastic... She continued looking over the profile, her eyes locking on the diagram listing the kunoichi's potential. Enrai Setsuka. Unparalleled mastery over numerous A and S rank raiton techniques, earning the nickname 'Thunder Empress'. Close combat mastery, utilizing a pair of combat knives that no one but her can touch. Bloodline limit has been hinted at but no confirmation as of yet. That little tidbit doesn't bode well... Judging from the accounts listed, the Raikage grew too wary of her and tried to kill her, but failed. Wow... she must've done some serious damage to Kumo for them to place such a bounty on her head. Anko snapped out of her musings as she glared at the elder and declared, "This is bullshit. There's no way the Sandaime would allow a mission like this. Two middle B ranked ninja against an upper A-class, bordering S-class nukenin, who isn't even a threat to Konoha! What the hell is your game here, you old shit?"

The old man didn't seem intimidated in the least when confronted with the borderline psychotic woman. He merely stared at her blankly before saying, "You should watch your words woman."

Anko growled, but actually winced when Nanashi's grip on her shoulder increased in strength to the point where it caused her some considerable pain for a brief moment. "This seems a little much, Mitokado-san. At least allow us to assemble a team for this mission if it's required."

"That is unacceptable." The old man replied, a little heat in his voice as he noticed the blond's lack of the proper honorific.

"That so? Then this mission, I refuse." Anko snarled out, tossing the folder back to the elder. The man proved that he had been a ninja at some point, aged but honed reflexes catching the thick folder.

"As do I." She hadn't expected the blond to follow her lead but she felt a sense of relief when he released her shoulder. "This mission is totally unrealistic. I do not feel that our abilities alone will be enough to neutralize someone who is able to fight on the same level as one of the sannin." He then narrowed his eyes as he glared at the man who had once been a teammate to the Sandaime. She figured that he was frowning beneath that mask of his as well. "This seems like a rather brutal revenge for merely protecting a citizen of Konoha."

Anko blinked at the odd comment but did notice that the old man seemed to freeze at the statement. It was only then that she realized what was going on. Wait a second... those old bastards are sending us on a suicide mission because we saved the fox brat? "You can't be fucking serious."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The old man seemed to be backpedaling and Anko idly wondered if she should just kill the man here and now and end this nonsense but somehow she knew that she would just get in more shit than she was already in. She frowned at her comrade with annoyance. This is what I get for helping this idiot out. I really need to go back to being an anti-social bitch. "Regardless, you cannot turn this mission down. You two are currently the only ones capable of pulling this off and this is an immediate concern of the council. As shinobi of Konoha, you will fulfill the oaths you have taken."

Anko snarled and forgot her earlier hesitation to kill the maggot before her, a kunai already in her hand and prepared to throw when the man beside her once again stopped her. She glared at him, murderous intent in her eyes but flinched immediately when she saw the heat in the cerulean blue eyes of the masked blonde. They were locked on the elder with a hint of hatred and disappointment and she could detect faint traces of killing intent surrounding the man. "...As you wish. Be warned you old bastard, if we survive I'm going to take great pleasure in shoving my foot so far up your ass that it's going to choke you." He then turned and walked out, "Come on Anko." She had followed, mostly in shock. So even nameless wonder gets angry. Well, I guess I already knew that after what happened with the kid, but to openly threaten an elder? That's something I would do, not Mr. 'Calm and Collected and I know god damn everything'. She followed him in silence out of the office, though she did take great pleasure in sending the old bastard that was pretending to be Hokage a withering glare over her shoulder that caused the old man to flinch. She only smirked as she slammed the door behind her. Heh, I still got it.

-/-/-/

Nanashi merely waiting in silence, his eyes closed and his chakra awareness working at its optimal potential. They had to be careful if they were going to live through this. Calming himself with a series of meditative techniques, he only listened in silence as the woman standing beside him finally spoke. "You never gave me a reason why you agreed to that old bastard's mission." Her voice was curious and somehow he could tell she was staring at him.

"I'm surprised you came either way Anko. You could have gotten out of this easily enough. Why did you follow me?"

"Eh, had nothing better to do. Seemed like it'd be fun." Her carefree tone was so convincing but he could tell that she was nervous. Hell, so was he.

Rather than searching deeper, he decided to deal with it the way he always had. He opened his eyes and looked at her, a grin splitting his face beneath his mask. "Remind me to never ask what your definition of fun is."

She only smirked in response, obviously understanding the hidden agreement to not ask anymore. She smoothly ran one of her hands down the front of her body in a tantalizing display before replying in a husky voice. "You sure? You don't know what you're missing out on."

He only rolled his eyes, "Control yourself, woman. Don't make me summon some cold water. Besides, we have company after all." His eyes locked on to the far side of the clearing, waiting for what was to come. He wasn't disappointed as the figure they had been waiting for appeared. The shawl hid her eyes and face and the rags she wore seemed to try to convince anyone who saw them that the woman was well beyond her years. She seemed to stumble forward, as if her legs weren't working well but Nanashi wasn't fooled for a second. He rose to his feet, brushing some of the dirt off of his pants as he greeted the new arrival. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the fortune teller? What brings you out to visit little ol' us?"

He noticed that Anko had dropped her little act and now watched the newcomer with a hint of unease clear on her face. He couldn't blame her, though he expected it was more because the woman had caught her in the act of teasing him more than anything else. The woman spoke up, her face unseen beneath its shawl. "I have come to bring you warning shinobi-san. I have seen your future if you continue down your current path." The woman reached into her rags and withdrew something that looked like a playing card. With a quick motion the figure tossed the card at him with the speed of a kunai, but not too fast that he couldn't catch the thing easily. He turned it up and looked at it and couldn't help but snort at the design present. He held it up to Anko and she didn't bother to concern her amusement.

"Pretty picture." She remarked, a grin on her face before her eyes went back to their guest. Nanashi only shook his head at that. Only Mitarashi Anko would find the design of the card denoting one's death as 'a pretty picture'. Why do I hang out with this psycho again? Oh yeah, that's right, because I'm just as bad sometimes.

"Subtle, Enrai Setsuka-san." He remarked, tossing the card back towards its owner.

The old croaky voice that had been present before vanished in an instant as the woman caught the card. Her posture seemed to straighten up and she dropped the card before pulling her rags away, revealing a flak jacket over a ensemble of black and yellow. Yellow shorts that ended a few inches above the knee and a blouse that was covered in waves of yellow and black, neither color attracting the eye more than the other with the designs that were there. A headband denoting the village of Kumo was present latched to her right thigh, a prominent scratch going through it. A holder for throwing weapons on her left thigh and a pair of knife sheaths, one on each forearm. A hand reached up and removed the shawl, sending it fluttering to the ground. The same face from the hunting profile was revealed and now that he could see her in person he could honestly admit that the woman was quite the looker. She was trim and fit, and could tell that she must have been a real beauty even a few years earlier and would be for years to come. However, anyone who wasn't blind could still the new addition to her face, a scar traveling down in a slant from her right forehead, across her nose until it reached the edge of her mouth. It didn't seem to distract from her beauty though, if anything it only heightened the effect that her brown eyes gave off. Her face was blank as she spoke, "You two have made your point. What do you want?" Her voice was even but there was a hint of an order in there. Apparently, the Thunder Empress had no desire to extend this longer than necessary.

Anko snorted. "What do you think, lady?"

Nanashi held up a hand, shooting his compatriot a look. Best try the diplomatic approach first. "Forgive us for the discomfort we may have caused you, Enrai-san. We are here because we have been assigned to handle your execution by the council of Konoha."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "... You two are hunters?"

"Not at all. We were actually given this mission as punishment. I imagine the council would actually be quite pleased with you if you were to kill us." Nanashi said with a smile beneath his mask. It was evident in his tone however, even causing Anko to snicker. "Of course, if you were to simply leave Fire Country, I suppose everyone would win, save the old bastards on the council. As we aren't hunter-nin officially, we have no authority to pursue you past our borders. You get to go into hiding again, and no one dies." He even sent her a wink to make his point. And in doing so, we won't be killed by you. "What do you say, Enrai-san?"

The woman herself seemed utterly confused. He supposed he couldn't blame her. They were handling this 'hunting' mission in an absolutely absurd way. "... And I thought Kumogakure no sato was fucked up. What the hell did you do?"

Anko snorted, "A good deed."

Nanashi only nodded. "Let's just say we helped someone very similar to Nii Yugito."

That caused him to receive dirty looks from both kunoichi. He had the feeling that if they survived this, Anko was going to give him a beating for not telling her everything. On the other hand, the reaction from the former Kumo kunoichi was telling. She glared at him with suspicion and he knew why. There should be no way for an outsider to know of the girl's existence let alone that she was a jinchuuriki. Nanashi had only found out about the girl third-hand or so, from a pair of taunting Akatsuki idiots who turned out to be quite a pain in the ass during the war. Though, between him and the others who fought them, they tore through the small organization with prejudice. He had never encountered the leader of the group, nor engaged in combat with some of its members, but apparently crippling the legendary Uchiha Itachi had made them more than cautious when dealing with the vessel of the Nine Tails. He wasn't sure what happened after that, as that was when the war began to take a turn for the worse and he had been called back to the front lines.

The victory against Itachi had been pure luck. The psychopath had tried to ensnare him in the world of the grasping moon, that mind-destroying genjutsu of his, and was confronted by the Kyuubi itself. Kyuubi did not take kindly to the descendant of Uchiha Madara entering his dwelling, and according to what the fox had told him later, informed the Uchiha genius of that fact. Violently. Needless to say, the Uchiha had been turned into a vegetable after that encounter, his mind all but destroyed by the strongest of the Bijuu.

"... So its true, Konoha did seal the nine tails... And to think that all this time Yugito-chan always thought that she was the only one." She then narrowed her eyes. "I won't ask how you knew about her, because it doesn't matter. Sorry kids, but since you know that I was here, I can't let you leave. It'll just lead the Raikage's goons to me, one way or another."

Nanashi felt Anko tense next to him and he tried one last time to offset the upcoming fight. "Setsuka-san, even if you kill us here, this battle will attract attention and the council already knew you were in this village. You'll have to leave either way. There is no need for combat." He knew that the request would fall on deaf ears though and both he and Anko began reaching for kunai.

"Don't think she's going to listen, shit for brains. What the hell was I thinking agreeing to this?" Anko muttered only loud enough to hear.

He wasn't paying attention any longer. He only watched as the woman raised both arms and withdrew the blades from her forearm sheaths. They weren't kunai, but instead a pair of wicked looking knives, the handles painted black and ridged in such a way for a better grip. "Foolish." She then charged with a speed the blond had not seen for a long time. He dodged to his right to avoid the stabs but Anko was not quick enough as the missing nin slammed one of her blades directly into the woman's side, piercing her kidney with no problem. He watched as Anko screamed in agony as Setsuka slammed a knee into the blade's handle, driving it deeper before wrenching it out in a fabulous display of brutality. Anko keeled forward and vomited blood and Setsuka followed up by driving one of her blades directly into the back of Anko's head, severing the brain stem instantly and Anko's body collapsed. She turned away from the dead woman and looked at Nanashi with a raised eyebrow. "Come on kid, you're going to have to do better than this."

Nanashi merely smirked beneath his mask. "Might want to check again, Thunder Empress." The woman gave a quick glance over her shoulder at the fallen body only to watch as it dissolved into water. He couldn't help but feel the absolute humor in watching her reaction. "We may have been foolish to approach you in this way, but we are not stupid." Within moments, numerous blondes and clones of the serpentine kunoichi appeared in the same clearing, obviously created earlier and had been waiting within the trees.. He then charged some chakra into his hands, forming seals at a speed that were a blur before slamming them into the ground. The blonde funneled chakra into the earth beneath him and watched the woman's eyes narrow as slabs of Earth began forming in the distance. The blonde only smirked at her irritated expression before explaining, "In a shinobi battle, the field of battle is just as important as ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu. And Enrai Setsuka..." The voice trailed off before the blond burst into water himself.

-/-/-/

"... This is MY field!" Nananshi muttered only loud enough so that his companion could hear him. He couldn't help but smile sadistically beneath his mask, his eyes locked on the chakra trails before him. He shifted his hands, one to each side in two separate activation half seals. He didn't look up from his work, but he did speak to his comrade. "It really is a shame you don't have the Byakugan, Anko-chan. You'd get to see one hell of a show."

She only scoffed at his claim, but didn't say anything else. As if I needed it, you foolish twit. The way that seal of yours works, it's not like any special vision is needed. She only watched the masked man concentrate on the intricate seal that he had prepared. It was a series of circles that surrounded the space where Nanashi was sitting cross-legged. Some circles were in concentric loops while others seemingly passed through others to provide a very strange and bizarre design that somehow fitted together. Numerous kanji and sealing scriptures were written along those rings in blood, adding a more sinister feeling to the seal itself but nowhere near as disturbing as the sealing matrix that had been used to remove her curse seal. Chakra danced above the surface of the seal, motes of color dancing as if some sort of entertaining light show of blues, reds, greens and one white trail of chakra that the others seemed to be surrounded. According to what Nanashi had told her, the white light represented their target, the blue lights represented his various clones in his image, the red lights were her clones, and the green lights represented the sealed traps that the two had spent three days in advance setting up. The sheer amount of blue, red, and green (mostly blue and green. Anko wasn't a chakra tank like the nameless wonder after all) lights were astounding in that respect, but not surprising considering she and her male counterpart had ingested several soldier pills over the course of their trap making in order to get the numbers they needed.

When he had told her his plan she had only raised an eyebrow is disbelief. The sheer complexity of such a thing could only baffle her mind, ignorant of the deep knowledge of chakra and Fuuinjutsu that her companion had mastery of. She learned once again first hand that she should not underestimate the nameless special jounin as he had set into his task. That night, as the moon began to rise, she watched in silence and disguised awe as the blonde simply settled into his seat, went through an incredibly long series of hand seals before ending up with two separate half seals and whispering. "Fuuinjutsu: Worldly Discovery Field". The light show that had commenced reminded her of something her despicable and ever-so hated sensei once told her. She still followed many of the rules the bastard taught her, as they often made sense, but most others she disregarded or never had experience with.

"Fuuinjutsu masters are a dangerous lot, little viper. In a straight out battle, they often fall prey to more balanced shinobi, as the art takes an incredible amount of study and discipline often better spent on normal training. Remember this though, little viper. Never let one choose the field of battle. If they have time to prepare for you, engaging one is total idiocy as even the weakest Fuuinjutsu specialist can cripple you without you even knowing what happened."

I guess the old bastard was right on another count, Anko idly mused to herself as her gaze focused on the small light show dancing before her. From what she could tell, the clones were doing a damn good job in controlling the movements of the Thunder Empress. Nanashi had told her that the light show itself was unnecessary, as the tagged bodies of chakra (the various clones and traps, as well as the foreign chakra which was their target's) were more sensed by the controller of the seal than seen. He was doing it more for her benefit, so she could also keep track of what was going on and prepare herself when it was time for them to make their own move. She frowned at the rate that the lights were beginning to vanish, especially the clones they had prepared for their guest. There were still plenty between their current location and their target but it was still impressive. One of the Heavenly Warriors indeed. Guess she deserves that name from what I can tell from the nameless wonder's pretty lights. "She's holding in there."

"Yeah. She's a fast one, and damn good with those knives of hers from what the feedback from my clones are telling me." Nanashi responded, his eyes once again closed but an occasional wince told Anko that he was reliving some of his dead clones' memories. It made her relieved that she had stuck to mud and water clones unlike her companion who had mixed numerous different types into the mix. From what he had explained, he had even thrown in a few explosive clones. Interesting, considering only that Uchiha nutcase was supposedly able to create those. I've been trying for years and haven't been able to do so. She only sighed as she continued watching the light show, thinking of their overly simple plan.

Wear her down, then enter direct combat. Hopefully by the time she reaches us she'll be so worn down, irritated, and/or paranoid about more clones and traps that she'll make mistakes. An idiot's hope, but right now, that's all we got. Man, I hope the masked idiot appreciates my being dragged into his mess. And when I get back to Konoha I'm so hanging that old bastard by his intestines. "You realize that if she makes it past the traps and clones she's going to be pissed off beyond recognition, right?"

"Of course. I seem to excel at pushing people to that point. I consider it an art form." He remarked and Anko couldn't help but laugh slightly. Mostly because the tone of his voice showed that he was grinned beneath that damn mask of his.

-/-/-/

Bloody fucking hell! They just keep coming! She ducked the trio of shuriken that were flung at her face by another one of the preset traps and once again found herself on the run. She ducked a punch from one of the male clones and sliced the things throat open without even breaking stride. She didn't even wait to see which type of clone it was before jumping away to avoid an explosive seal that had detected her presence. She used the force of the explosion to her advantage, twisting her body until her feet impacted on the bottom of a large tree branch using chakra. She knew better than to stay in one place, however, and instantly dove back into the fray, her twin combat knives slicing and dicing like she hadn't since she left Kumogakure no Sato. The branch itself was soon torn to shreds by yet another hail of shuriken and kunai but she was already back to the ground level, slamming her twin knives into a pair of clones' eye sockets before once again jumping away.

Whatever she had been expecting when she confronted the two hunters earlier that evening, it hadn't been this. Since then she had been swarmed by what seemed like an endless number of clones, who seemed to take great joy in herding her towards areas where kami knows how many traps were set. Had the blond and his companion been allies, she would have been in awe of the amount of forethought the two had put into this confrontation. As it was though, she was just becoming more and more irritated. This is taking too long, and I can't even tell if the real ones are even in the area! She slide around another clone's defenses, driving a kick backwards and dispelling it into nothingness before throwing one of her combat knives at the nearest incoming clone. The blade struck true and she was already running to reclaim it as the clone fell back into a puddle of water.

Enough of this. She frowned to herself as she re-sheathed both blades in their respective places before forming a series of hand seals. While she had been unmatched in Kumo at close combat fighting, especially once she started using her blades, where she really shined was her jutsu and it was high time that this small army realized that. She waited for another group of clones to close in on her before finishing the jutsu, spreading her hands apart with electricity crackling between her two outstretched hands. "Raiton: Thunder Ball." She couldn't help but smirk as she saw the various clones' eyes widen in shock as she threw out two attacks; balls made of contained lightning that tore through the clones before exploding, taking out the entire wave with a flourish and a bang. She didn't have time to celebrate her victory however, as more clones came to take their place. Dodging once again, leaping from the ground back up to the canopy of the tree line, she went to form seals again, the grin leaving her face. This is just getting ridiculous. Stop playing their game, Setsuka. Just wipe out the fakes and hunt down the idiots who had the balls to play with you. "Raiton: Chain Lightning." Once again, lightning leapt from her hands to strike her target and she watched with sick satisfaction as the clone she struck didn't dispel immediately, instead twitched violently in what must have been excruciating pain before dispelling. It didn't matter though; as soon as that lightning bolt struck it immediately split off into numerous other small lightning streams, striking numerous other clones and creating a recursive effect.

Despite the small victory, she felt the find knocked out of her as one of the female clones somehow snuck under her guard and drove a brutal fist into her gut. She was blown out of her spot in the trees back to the ground with flourish, as she recovered and landed in a crouch. She cursed as she hit, however, feeling the trip wire go off and leaping to the side immediately to avoid yet another brace of shuriken that pelted the ground she had been standing on. "Oh screw this!" She growled under her breath. Fine, they want to keep playing games, I'll show them why the hell even that paranoid fuck who runs Kumo has reason to fear me! She went into another series of hand seals, this time much longer than any she had previously used in the battle. Even while dodging attacks from clones she didn't halt her seals, demonstrating her level of concentration in her task. Finally she finished, her hands locked in the final seal. The clones halted as they could somehow feel the gathering of enormous chakra. A few exchanged odd looks, and even more took a few steps away from the kunoichi, despite their numerical advantage and have her surrounded. That was all the time she needed, her brown eyes starting to shift to a even brighter green color. If any of the clones noticed the change, they didn't have time to say anything. She spoke as if delivering an ultimatum the likes of which could end the world. And moments later, it would in a sense.

"Raiton: Thunderstorm."

High above in the atmosphere, clouds began gathering and darkening in the night sky. The sound of thunder and the ominous swirling of clouds in the sky above was warning enough, but none of the clones were prepared when the attack actually began. When it came it was like the wrath of an infuriated kami, lightning falling from the sky as if intent on pure destruction. Bolts of pure devastation fell into the forest, destroying trees and more importantly the numerous clones and traps. A few of the clones tried to escape but none were fast enough to escape their doom. Nothing was safe from the storm's fury, save the one female with the eerie green eyes with her hands locked in a seal. When the bolts struck her, instead of frying her like it was doing to the various other targets, the bolts would bounce off harmlessly, like a dart hitting its board back the tail end first. Whenever one struck, it bounced off and formed a visible dome around the kunoichi, glistening with electrical current.

The onslaught only last for moments but for the few clones who survived the attack, it seemed that it was forever before the fury of the skies settled. The gathered storm clouds didn't dissipate but the woman opened her eyes to glare at the survivors with a blank expression. The forest that she had been in previously had been torn asunder, leaving her the sole being in a newly created 'clearing' (calling it such would imply that it was clean when it was filled the remains of what used to be a section of the forest) that was over forty feet in diameter. Fire flickered freely at the edges of the jutsu's range and the clones that had been waited for the wave before them to disperse merely stared in confounded shock at the devastation. Many of them exchanged glances before looking back at the kunoichi who still hadn't moved from her spot. One of them in the guise of the Fuuinjutsu master summed up the situation best.

"We're fucked, aren't we?"

Yes you are. And so will be your creators when I'm done with you little shits. The kunoichi's answer wasn't verbal, but it was clear what she was thinking as she spread her hands apart, electricity crackling around the edges as her changed eyes narrowed in what was sure to be anticipation. I think I'm going to take my time killing those two idiots. As she charged into the fray once again, she finally picked up a pair of chakra presences in the far distance that matched the clones in front of her. "There you are."

-/-/-/

"Fuck!" Anko glared at Nanashi as the man visibly flinched back as if struck across the face. A large number of lights from the reconnaissance seal the man had constructed had been lost in an instant and apparently the feedback was enough to get the man to react. "Holy shit..."

"What? What just happened?"

He only looked to the sky in the distance, his eyes opening in sheer disbelief. "She just revealed why the fuck they call her the Thunder Empress." She followed his gaze to see the gathered clouds in the distance over where the battle was taking place. Every now and then another bolt of lightning would shoot down from the heaven's as if directing the wrath of kami. "Fuck, we're so in over our heads here. Moreso than we imagined."

Anko frowned at the open unease in the man's voice, which was unsettling to her. This is the cocky bastard who never shows fear and takes great pleasure in mocking people who he should be afraid of? He's reacting this badly? That is not a good sign. "Ditch the mission?"

He only shook his head, disengaging the seals he was holding, the lights vanishing into the air. He pulled out a soldier pill and ate it, tossing her one as well. "It's a little late for that, she's already tagged our chakra signatures. She's on her way. Time for part two of the plan I guess."

Anko only nodded in understanding before taking the pill he had tossed her. She tossed it back and swallowed, feeling the rush of the chemical energy stimulate of her own chakra highway, refueling it almost instantly. She cracked her head to the side once, enough to hear it crack before lowering her hands to her side. No sooner than she did so, with a flash of light they had company. At first she thought she had just seen the technique that had made the Yondaime famous during the last great shinobi war, but that thought was dashed as the electricity crackling around the woman dissipated.

Nanashi didn't glare at their guest, nor did he react at all. He simply watched as the woman straightened up to her full height and glared at the two of them. He felt Anko tense beside him, already palming a kunai into her hand. Silence reigned until the missing nin spoke up, "I have to give you some credit. You've managed to piss me off and that's no small feat."

Nanashi only smirked, feeling the tension but trying to react to it the way he always had. "So I've been told. It's an art form, really." He ignored the glare shot to him from his companion. "So... I'm guessing that you're not going to let us run from you after all that."

The kunoichi's green eyes glared at him, a spark of something passed through those emerald orbs. "No. And I'm going to take great pleasure in killing you two idiots."

Anko only scoffed at that. "It was this shithead's idea."

The man in question only rolled his shoulders as he settled into a stance. "Sure, blame the perfectly innocent fuuinjutsu user. Typical." The words were said with a hint of amusement, but the tension in the air only seemed to increase as he spoke. He leveled a glance at the Thunder Empress before speaking again. "Shall we dance then, Setsuka-san?"

The scarred kunoichi simply charged the two, withdrawing her blades with no excess movement. Anko and Nanashi only had the time to exchanged quick nods before launching themselves into the battle as well. The three began an intricate dance of combat, the two nin from Konoha trying to avoid the sparking blades of the other shinobi. The blades danced with visible sparks of electrical current, informing the Konoha nin of the workings of chakra being channeled through the blades. Anko kept trying to slash the other kunoichi with her own kunai, getting nowhere as she had to spend most of her attention to avoiding the other blades. Nanashi was locked into a similar position. He frowned beneath his mask as he leapt back, preparing a ninjutsu attack while his partner tried to bind the missing nin with her own trademark technique. "Sen'eijashu!" The snakes shot out from underneath the woman's trench coat towards the missing nin with a speed that surprised even Nanashi. It seems that with the curse seal gone that she's begun improving as well. Interesting...

The kunoichi looks surprised to see the appearance of the snakes but proved that she was still a shinobi, reacting fast enough to avoid the first wave of the snakes' jaws. She tried leaping upwards to avoid the snakes' path but was caught off guard as they suddenly changed direction and latched onto her left leg. Nanashi dared hope that the shock would be enough and launched into his own attack. "Wind Slash Technique." He said it softly while finishing the seals and making a sweeping motion with his right arm. Wind was Nanashi's true elemental mastery. Even before venturing into the realms of Fuuinjutsu, he had developed his own wind mastery in order to take advantage of his strengths. While unlike his two elemental matrices, he still needed to do the hand seals to perform most of the wind jutsu he used. However, there was no comparison when it came to destructive power. He doubted that most of his high level Raiton and/or Suiton techniques could even begin to compare with some of his mid-level Fuuton jutsus. Visible only to a wind manipulation master's eyes, a thin blade of wind chakra flew towards the ex-Kumo kunoichi as his arm completed it's motion, rotating in such a manner that it would have surely decapitated her had it struck true.

Sadly, it was not to be that easy for the two would-be hunter-nins. The kunoichi didn't seem to notice Nanashi's attack but she dealt with the snakes trying to latch on to her by merely grunting. Forming bastardized versions of hand seals thanks to her blades that she held, she finished the technique fast enough to avoid true harm from her reptilian annoyances. "Raiton: Static Shock." The snakes released immediately, once again shocked into submission by the same technique that had been used against them once before by their master's current partner. With the snakes gone, she glared at the woman who had unleashed them. She sensed the blonde's attack coming, even if she couldn't see it. When the attack struck true, all that remained was a log that had been split in half by the blade of wind. Anko barely sensed their opponent before turning fast enough to avoid being impaled by one of the Thunder Empress' blades. She would've had her throat sliced open by twin horizontal strikes from her opponent if not for the appearance of Nanashi, driving a fist across the scarred kunoichi's face in a devastating right cross.

Both Nanashi and the scarred kunoichi disappeared when it was revealed that the kunoichi was simply a lightning clone, causing the man's own shadow clone to disperse as the electricity dispelled its attacker. Anko blinked at the sight before sensing danger again and leaping backwards, avoiding a pair of knives thrown from above. She leapt back until she was standing next to the blonde again, nodding her thanks for the shadow clone assist before turning back to the opponent, who had landed where her knives had impacted. She slowly withdrew her knives from the soft dirt and settled back into her stance, waiting for the two Leaf nins to attack again. It was only then that Anko finally noticed the woman's changed eyes and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in interest. "Oh, it looks like we confirmed that scarface has a bloodline limit after all."

Nanashi nodded at the woman's statement but said nothing else. That's nice and good but we have no fucking clue what it actually does. So far all I'm seeing an eye color change. If we have to go up against another damn doujutsu I'm going to be annoyed. "Care to enlighten the ignorant, Setsuka-san?"

The woman only glared at her opponents, before slowly sheathing her twin blades. She stood up straight and spoke softly. "Well, it's not really a secret. I'm surprised you don't already know." She then shot a nasty smirk towards the two before adding, "Like I told those clones of you. Shitty hunters, you are." She paused for a moment, seeming to enjoy the tension that seemed to be growing as time drifted on. "It doesn't really have a name. As only my father and I possessed the ability, it can't even qualify as a true bloodline limit. However, it allows unparalleled control over the manipulation of Lightning based chakra, even going as far as to reducing the amount required for techniques." She then allowed her sadistic grin to deepen as she held up one hand. "Case in point... watch carefully idiots. By the time you see the flash..."

Nanashi watched as a small light appeared in the woman's upheld hand as she began flashing through half seals with the other. He cursed immediately, reacting by throwing one of his three pronged kunai to the side with as much force as he could. Fuck! No fucking way is she doing that here and now! Without another word he moved closer to Anko and wrapped his left arm around her while making a seal with his right hand. Just as he grabbed the purple haired kunoichi, he heard the hum of power in the air and the scarred kunoichi's soft voice. "Raiton: Raikouhou."

Raiton jutsu were, by their very nature, destructive. Even Katon jutsu could be used for other purposes than destruction, although that was still limited in itself. While very weak raiton jutsus could be used to charge electrical batteries or complete an electrical circuits, at their very core they were techniques of pure destruction. Ironically, even allowing for the elemental game of jan-ken-po that jutsu played, it still concealed the true destruction in raiton techniques. Katon was limited, as most were required to come from the user's own throat, which could easily damage and kill the user if they were not careful. Raiton was inherently different as it more relied at the electrons upon the area around the user to form the electricity required. As such, raiton jutsu on a whole had the potential to be far more deadly than the most powerful of Katon techniques.

Enrai Setsuka merely smirked as she watched the burst of light completely annihilate her two foes. The bright light and loud roar similar to thunderbolts were an enjoyable sensation to her, as she watched the technique's effect in something close to euphoria. She rarely used this technique, due to its massive chakra drain and the fact it was far from useful in most shinobi confrontations. She was one of the few from Kumo who had been able to use this jutsu without killing herself from the chakra drain, thanks to her 'bloodline limit'. It was part of the reason she had earned the name 'Thunder Empress' during that accursed war over the damn Hyuuga eyes. As the blast finished and she lowered her hand, she looked over the line of destruction that went farther back than she could visibly see. She knew if one was to look from above that they would see that the forest itself seemed to have a thick line cut into it as if a blade of the divine had slashed through the trees. "... you're already dead."

Perhaps that was a 'bit' of overkill, the kunoichi mused to herself as she watched as more trees and branches fell into the path of destruction, small fires already starting up. Raikouhou was a technique for destroying 'armies', not individuals. She would have to leave this place soon, as using that technique was sure to attract attention, especially from any roaming Kumo oinin. She thought of the two from Konoha and frowned. I wonder if they really thought they could match me? Oh well, it's their own fault for pissing me off.

She was broken out of her musings as she felt something heading towards her. She looked to her right to see a kunai speeding towards her head and she was barely able to tilt her head to avoid the thrown weapon. As the blade passed her head, it cut into her cheek, leaving a very small cut that wasn't even enough to bleed. She looked towards the direction the blade had come from but was caught off guard as she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Fuuton: Daitoppa." The blast of wind caught her completely off guard, slamming into her backside with the force of a small tornado. It sent her flying towards the same trees she had been facing before at an absolutely absurd speed. She gasped in pain from the initial impact of the skill that she had barely heard whispered by her blond-haired opponent but it was fleeting. The technique may have knocked the wind out of her but she was more than able to recover, twisting in mid-air as she approached the trunk of one tree, bracing her own feet with chakra to cushion the heavy impact. Her feet impacted against the tree trunk and even with the cushioning she was still driven through the tree's bark, sending her tumbling.

She rolled with the fall eventually making it into a one-knee crouch. She forced the pain to the back of her mind as she unsheathed her blades in a single upward movement to block a downward slash from a kunai held by the snake using kunoichi. The snake user didn't seem surprised by the improvised block, and sent a brutal kick into Setsuka's face. She grunted in pain from the blow and stumbled upwards into a standing position before feeling a pair of arms holding on to her waist. She didn't bother trying to see who was holding her and was barely able to replace herself with a lightning clone before the one holding her exploded in a display of pyrotechnics. She watched her two opponents from her new position in the tree branches above in surprise. They were able to survive? Perhaps they're worth more of my time than I thought.

Both Konoha nin looked up at her position but held different expressions. The woman's was obvious disappointment at her survival from the explosive clone. The man's was a bit more interesting. His mask apparently had come off during the exchange, revealing a lean face faded markings that almost looked like... whiskers? The expression he held was a mix of being impressed, shocked, and uneasy. Finally he spoke up, "Please tell me you didn't just perform Raikouhou with half seals."

She raised an eyebrow at that. Hmmm, so this one knows of that technique? "Enjoy the light show tree-huggers?" She asked, her voice not sounding amused but rather measuring. The fact they were able to avoid the blast is worrying enough, let alone him getting behind me somehow without my realizing it.

He only shook his head, "Son of a bitch." He then gave a slight bow of his head, not removing his eyes off of her though. "You definitely deserve that title of yours then."

Setsuka watched as the purple haired woman seemed to finally take in the damage the two had somehow avoided. Judging by her actions, Setsuka realized that it was the masked man who had somehow saved them from the wrath of Raikouhou, as the snake user seemed baffled. She spoke up, not turning her eyes away from the destruction. "Oi, shit stain! You know how to do this one?"

"I do." That surprised the former member of Kumogakure no Sato. Odd, I figured that only the upper echelons of Kumo even knew of this technique's existence, let alone have the ability to perform it.

"If we survive this, add it to the list of the jutsu you are teaching me." The statement was calm and casual, as if not talking about a forbidden S-rank attack jutsu but rather an odd C-rank technique.

Setsuka watched as the man simply glared at his companion before returning his eyes back to her. "Fucking psychopath." She couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the two's byplay before raising her knives and diving back into the fray.

-/-/-/

Anko grunted as she pulled herself into a more comfortable position, holding her stomach wound with one hand as she watched from her hidden alcove as her 'partner' engaged the Kumo kunoichi. Shortly after that scarred bitch had used the jutsu that Anko had unofficially dubbed the 'fuck-it-all no jutsu', the bitch had re-entered the battle with a speed that had surprised the two would-be hunters. They had held her off for a while, but the odd combination of raiton techniques and close range knife techniques had begun to wear on the former apprentice of one of the legendary three nin of Konoha. She held no doubt of her own skills; they had fought the scarred bitch in a close battle for quite some time, both her and the nameless wonder using their skills together fluently in order to even give the scarred kunoichi a nasty wound on her left arm. Unfortunately, it seemed the same wound had caused the Thunder Empress to decide she no longer needed her one blade. Anko had been caught off guard by the close range throw of the combat knife, which slammed into an off-center position in Anko's stomach. The piercing attack alone was enough to cause Anko to halt her attack from the enormous pain, but the follow up thrust kick directly into the knife's handle made the kunoichi drop to her knees lick a rock in agonizing pain, vomiting up stomach acids and her own blood.

The pain was far too overwhelming that she didn't even notice the kage bushin that had taken her body from the battle until it made sure she was a good distance from the fight and dispersed itself. As she slowly drifted back into awareness, she realized she had been leaned against a tree trunk a good distance from the battle in a sitting position, the combat knife still in her gut. She cursed in pain but didn't avert her eyes from the battle, wondering how long the masked idiot would last in a one on one battle when the two of them had been barely able to hold the Thunder Empress off. As she watched the blonde redouble his efforts against the Thunder Empress, she was forced to realize something she would have never believed previously.

That Nanashi was far fucking stronger than she had ever realized.

It was amazing really. Her absence from the fight completely transformed the fuinjutsu master's combat style. He once again showed his mastery over the Kage Bushin no jutsu as he summoned clones to aid his fight, allowing them to engage the scarred bitch in both hand to hand taijutsu as well as them concentrating all of their chakra into devastating ninjutsu techniques that Anko had never considered the idiot being able to use. Hell, if I'm right than the bastard actually used the Yondaime's fucking jutsu. It sounded like a god damn myth and then this masked bastard pulls it out of his ass! Who the hell is he? As awareness began to coalesce more and more (unfortunately, this allowed the immense pain to be brought back into the forefront of her mind), she found herself frowning weakly at the fight before thinking one thing. Has that fucker been holding back all this time?

The thought initially angered Anko, as if she had been the link that had held him back from fighting at his full strength, like she was some kind of weakness to the unknown shinobi. She grunted her teeth as she pushed herself to her feet, still leaning back against the tree trunk with heavy breathes. She could feel the blood running down from her wound and soaking into her skirt and running further down her right leg. She made a silent promise that if she survived, she would take great pleasure in driving her foot down the bastard's throat.

Upon closer inspection however, she realized that it wasn't that he wasn't holding back anymore. She was able to understand that he was still going all out. The only thing that had really changed was 'how' he was attacking. His face, usually either amused or expressionless during fights, had twisted into a visage or rage as he attacked the Thunder Empress wildly and without restraint. The number of Fuuton jutsus the blonde was using was increasing and Anko finally realized that he truly was a ninjutsu specialist, despite all his work with Fuuinjutsu. Judging from his choice of jutsu, his affinity must be wind. A real tri-elemental jutsu master then, who would've thought?

She was only able to watch until the two fled in the opposite direction, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She only took deep breathes, trying to stabilize herself with her chakra and breathing as she had been taught before slowly reaching for the knife in her gut. She ignored the burst of electricity that shocked her as she wrenched the blade from her side, tossing it away with a loud grunt. She formed seals as steadily as she could, making sure to not mess up the seals for the one medical jutsu she knew. She couldn't afford to have to start over after all. As she finished it, she watched the odd green glow surround her hands and she went to work to slowly healing her wound. As she continued her work she could only think one thing.

Stay alive, Nanashi. We're not going down to this bitch, not after all this!

-/-/-/

Nanashi was already breathing hard as he led his target as far from his injured comrade as he could. He was wearing down, he knew it and he knew that she knew it. It was his own fault. When Anko had been taken out with such brutality, he snapped and started throwing out wind jutsu in an attempt to tear the bitch to ribbons. He knew that if he had still had Kyuubi sealed within him at this point, he probably would've have already formed two tails from that one attack alone.

Nanashi may have been changed during the war with Sound, but the more things change the more they stay the same. And Nanashi never did stomach attacks against those he cared about very well.

After the initial rage, he realized that moving the scene of battle was more important, lest the snake using kunoichi was caught up in his torrent of overpowered techniques. He calmed himself as best he could, trying to remember the mindset that had served him so well during the remnant period. While the Sound-Leaf war had molded him into a powerful shinobi that could have easily become the Rokudaime Hokage, it was that post-war period that consisted of an even more secret war against Orochimaru that truly made him into someone worthy of the title.

As he broke through the trees to another clearing, he was greeted with the sight of a decent sized lake. He took this into account already, forming a few kage bushins to stall the Thunder Empress for a precious few seconds while he pulled out another soldier pill. He held up for a moment, taking in the surroundings before setting up a rudimentary plan and preparing for his opponent. He then swallowed the pill and hoped that his chakra would hold out on him.

Solider pills were useful shinobi tools for those of Konohagakure no Sato. They were decently expensive unless a more private deal was made with the Akimichi, one such as the Inuzuka clan held. But they weren't the true chakra replenishing miracles that they were touted as. While they would restore a user's chakra supply through the use of the secret Akimichi ingredients that would instigate a chemical reaction within the body, they also had a small side-effect that few noticed. Few noticed the flaw because rarely was more than one pill taken within a certain timeframe. While the pill would restore chakra, it would, however, decrease the shinobi's overall chakra control. It wouldn't be enough to disrupt a shinobi's control to the point where it would cause a jutsu to fail, but it would however start causing the user to use more chakra for their techniques subconsciously. Thus, the same series of techniques would drain the user faster after using a pill. In Nanashi's case, having taken far more of those pills than could be healthy in the last few days, it was starting to really take effect.

He turned and waited for the scarred kunoichi and was forced to dodge as a ball of pure lightning was thrown in his direction. Raiton: Thunder Ball... Using similar attacks against her would be pointless, as even with my matrix I'm sure she has more skill with them than I. Stick to Fuuton and Suiton, with other techniques to mix it up a bit. It's been stupid to hold back my true strength in this case. If I live through this I'll have to apologize to the snake , that allows for Rasengan and its child techniques. Hiraishin no jutsu is out; this isn't a good environment for it and I'm sure she already suspects something considering how I avoided her Raikouhou. Then again, it only need to works one more time. He was snapped out his musings as he was forced to lean back as a knife slash passed near his face, drawing a slash of blood under his mouth. He retaliated, leaping back and forming seals, his eyes locked on his opponent and more chakra anchoring himself to the ground. "Fuuton: Wind Tunnel."

Similar to Setsuka's earlier display over the weather when battling against the score of clones, the clouds in the sky above began gathering ominously, only this time without the thunder. Setsuka frowned as the winds in the clearing seemed to pick up, especially around her. She looked up as she watched the leaves and branches begin spinning around her and realized what was happening. She quickly leapt away from the place she had been standing, watching in shock as the ground she had been standing on was torn to shreds by the debris that was circling it. She landed on the lake's water effortlessly, trying to figure out her next move as she held her defensive stance.

This was exactly what the Fuuinjutsu specialist was hoping for as he lashed out with his left hand, the one bearing his Suiton matrix. With a burst of chakra, he whispered the technique. "Suiton: Uzumaki no jutsu." While he admitted it was a tad arrogant to name this technique using his own real name, it really was the best name for it. The water beneath the Thunder Empress began spinning at a rapid rate, already beginning to pull her under. She noticed this and tried to jump away but was caught off guard as the Konoha-nin forced out another burst of chakra with another technique. "Suiton: Grasping Water Skill." A pair of small hands made completely out of water shot up from the spinning whirlpool, locking onto the woman's thighs, preventing her from jumping away. Now, FINISH IT! He thrust out his arms out to the sides, pumping far more chakra through his body than could be healthy at that moment. Considering what he was attempting to do and his condition from the soldier pills, it could easily fry his chakra system but he needed to end this now. He didn't take his eyes off of the scarred kunoichi as her eyes widened in horror as two dragons formed slightly in front of him. One made of water from the lake that was currently spinning out of control, the other formed from pure electricity, a product of one of her former village's own kinjutsu scrolls. The two dragons roared as one before launching themselves towards the restrained kunoichi, interlocking with each to form a chakra charged missile.

The impact was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Water shot high into the air with the concussive force of a bomb. A good portion of the water had changed into a heavy mist from the blast, providing a fog of concealment that was very similar to the Hidden Mist Technique that made the ninja of Kiri famous. Nanashi didn't notice this however as he feel forward, only catching himself at the last moment to turn his fall to land on his hands and knees. He was breathing heavily, drained of chakra to an extent he had not felt for a long time. He didn't take his eyes off of where his target was though, even as the heavy mist began to dissipate. He didn't know what to think when he saw nothing left at the lake's center, though he was oddly pleased when he noticed that the lake itself seemed a bit shallower.

So distracted by the chakra drain, he could only feel his blood freeze when he heard her voice. "Now that was an impressive display there." He knew he shouldn't show any fear or hesitance to her but he couldn't help but slump slightly as his failure was revealed to him. "Lightning clone." She supplied to his unasked question. "I won't bother asking how you learned that technique, as it's one from one of the Raikage's personal scrolls. I will give you my compliments, however; performing that technique without seals and actually combining it with one of a completely different elemental nature takes skill."

Nanashi chuckled hollowly, still not moving in his position. "I didn't even know that 'could' happen."

Setsuka seemed amused this time as she answered. "Ah. If it makes you feel any better, you were able to get me to not only use my bloodline limit, but a good portion of my chakra as well." He heard her unsheathing a knife and she finished up. "Though, the game ends here hunter-san." Instincts kicked in and Nanashi shifted his body posture and wait, already drawing a three pronged kunai from his coat sleeve as he turned but wasn't fast enough. He was locked in place when her blade stabbed into his chest, generating a level of pain he had not felt in years. Electricity raced through the dagger as well, opening up new definitions of pain for the fuinjutsu master. He couldn't know but his hands began twitching, the one the one holding his special kunai already releasing its weapon of choice. He could only stare in pained shock into the once again brown eyes of the Thunder Empress. He coughed a few times, blood flowing freely from his wound and mouth but was able to say nothing else.

An odd part of his mind thought idly, so this is how I die. It was the last coherent thought he had as he forced himself to do one last thing. He felt the chakra gathering to his hand and he knew that the woman who held his life in her hands noticed it as well, as her eyes glanced down to his right hand. This is it, the last move. Can't even add the wind to this one. He didn't need to look see if the technique was completed; the woman's look of surprise as he locked on her shoulder with his left arm was free enough. "Rasengan." He wheezed out, slamming the ball of spinning chakra into the woman's stomach. He felt the resistance but it didn't last under the grinding power of his father's most destructive technique. He was forced to release his flimsy hold on his target as the jutsu blew her back, slamming her into a tree trunk with enough force to leave an imprint. He fell soon after, unable to support himself with the chakra drain and pain from the blade that was still lodged in his chest.

Setsuka groaned in pain as she forced herself out of the tree trunk. The pain she had been feeling in her arm had vanished in the wake of the overwhelming agony she now felt in her stomach. She took a few deep breathes, trying to will the pain away with a form of concentrated meditation that sometimes worked but it had no effect. Or maybe she just couldn't concentrate enough with the pain. She didn't really want to look at herself to see the wound but forced herself to. She grimaced as she noticed a wide spiral slash covered the area where her prey had struck her. While the blood was present, she could feel that it wasn't enough to truly harm her. Thank god for that. If he had actually been able to sustain it for any longer I'd probably be dead. Her glare was set upon the would-be oinin and she wasn't surprised to see that he had fallen backwards without her to support him. Her remaining knife was still lodged in his chest and she idly considered leaving it there for him to bleed to death while she dealt with her own wounds. It would not take long, considering where she had impaled him. Better not take any more chances. These two fools were more dangerous than you gave them credit for. Kill him now, find the woman and finish her, then bandage your wounds.

She slowly walked towards the blonde, fully aware of all the aches and pains that ravaged her body now, whether they were physical or acute signs of chakra overuse. As bad as the masked man dying before her looked, she knew she looked no better. A shame, really. He could've really been someone in a few years if he hadn't challenged me. She frowned at that thought. Hmm, the pain is causing my mind to wander. I guess I underestimated the damage.

That would be the last thought the kunoichi would have before a thrown kunai slammed into the back of her head. She would not feel any pain from her sudden death, nor would she last long enough to understand what had just happened. She simply collapsed; a puppet with no strings. She would never see Anko stumble into the clearing, breathing heavily and her right arm twitching as if she had pulled it by throwing the blade so fast and hard. She would never watch the purple haired kunoichi stumble over to her comrade and pull the knife out harshly, probably causing more pain and damage than necessary.

"Shit stain, you alive?" Anko rasped out weakly as she kneeled next to him. She was exhausted, and it was obvious to even the most untrained.

He tried to smile, really he did. All it resulted in was him hacking out blood, the wound on his chest pulsating as he did so. "Not for long it seems." He struggled to say it out loud, as the pain seemed to cause him to stutter.

It was as if a bucket of ice water had been poured on the snake user. She instantly went through a series of hand seals and spoke. "No way, you bastard. No one kills you before I do. I owe you far too many ass-kickings." Her hands turned a pale green as she placed it over his wound.

He was able to let out a small smirk at her words. Heh, so much like me it's scary... He knew that he was dying, he honestly didn't expect his healing factor to work so well, as drained of chakra as he was. This is probably it. Looks like I wasn't able to change the future after all. He reached up and weakly grabbed her shoulder with one hand, ignoring her words that he thought were something along the lines of 'fuck off and stop moving.' "The boy... Naruto... take care of him." He was able to wheeze out.

Anko glared at him for moving so much while she tried to save his life. He looked pale and that was a sign that didn't exactly inspire confidence in his chances of survival. She was surprised at how accepting his body was of her chakra though. She knew that while she had sealed her own wound up with this technique, she was truly lucky that the blade she had in her had not punctured any organs, unlike the one she was glaring at. While she knew a lot about human anatomy, she was no medic and therefore would never be able to treat wounds this serious. However, his body seemed to just be accepting her chakra and doing its own thing, which seemed like it was helping. She didn't know why the man was speaking of Konoha's resident Jinchuuriki at the moment, but judging from the man's eyes it seemed like it was a last , is it that bad? Or is he just covering his bases if he does kick the bucket? She had always thought the concept of a last request was idiotic (after all, what do you care anymore? You're fucking dead), but she also knew how sincere the man lying before her was being simply by the shine in his eyes. "Fine, I'll watch over the little shit in case you kick the bucket. Now stop fucking talking or otherwise I'll actually have to do it." The man's body sagged at her words and his eyes drifted shut as if satisfied. Anko was having none of that, raising her voice as she yelled at him. "Don't you fucking dare go to sleep nameless wonder! Stay the fuck awake or I swear I'll beat the shit out of you." She continued her yelling, the whole time her hands pumping in chakra to his damaged body. "Don't close your fucking eyes!"

---

That's it for this installment. Next chapter is mostly an interlude with some of Nanashi's 'past' but will lead into a timeskip (about a year or so, leading into the main naruto storyline.) It's then that the butterfly effect will start coming into play and I plan on having all sorts of fun with some of the characters, especially Anko, Naruto, and Sasuke somewhat. (Let's just say that over the course of the timeskip, Anko will pick up a new hobby of trying to get the Uchiha to snap.) I'm already about halfway done with it, though I admit it'll probably be a shorter chapter. Once I'm done with it, I'll send it to the guys who have offered to beta for me and eventually fix it up per their suggestions and post it.

Now I'll address the complain of the cliche Naruto x Hinata pairing. I'm not a fan of this pairing either. I despise Hinata for a long list of reasons that I will not get into. I think they would be a horrible couple, not just because of her but because of Naruto's own issues at this point in his life. I do however, think it is something that would happen due to Naruto's characterization. Quite frankly, I think he would latch on to the first female who treated him in that manner, as he has essentially been emotionally beaten his whole life. I don't see any of the others girls in the Konoha 12 doing this. They may respect him a bit more after the Chunnin exams and such, but none of them (Hinata excluded) started seeing him as anything other than a friend or 'comrade' if you will. I'm sure that if Hinata ever worked up the courage to actually tell Naruto about her feelings (someone would eventually push her into it) that he would accept them wholeheartedly and return them as such, simply because he feels thats what he has to do.

I don't know, maybe the relations between the two in the manga have changed since I've stopped reading it. (I quit after the retrieve Gaara arc but know bits and pieces of what's happened since then). It's one of the reasons why I have a tendency when I write Naruto stories to do them with an AU time line. I can't be yelled at for inaccuracies that way.

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Edit: 11-15-07. Forgot to add the extra section for this chapter.

Character Profile: Enrai Setsuka

Alias: Thunder Empress, Heavenly Warrior of Kumo, Electric Princess.

Former Village: Kumogakure no Sato.

Former Shinobi Rank: Jounin.

Nukenin Rank: A-Rank, bordering on S-rank.

Bounty: 80,000 Ryou.

Physical description: Average height and slim build. Prominent scar on face.

Age: Roughly 30ish. True age unknown. Youngest of the Heavenly Warriors of Kumo.

Eye Color: Brown normally. Green when using bloodline limit.

Hair Color/Style: Short cropped hair bordering on an indigo shade.

Specialties: Armed taijutsu, Raiton ninjutsu/kinjutsu.

Bloodline: Unnamed bloodline limit. Forces the user's eyes to switch to a green when in use. Allows easier use and manipulation of Lightning based chakra, including reduction of amount needed for high-level techniques. (Note: I originally planned to do much more with this but decided to not to. Her role in this story is minor overall so I wasn't going to go and create the mechanics of this entire bloodline.)

Background: Member of Kumogakure's own version of the Legendary Three. The Heavenly Warriors of Kumo was a group of four shinobi, Setsuka being the youngest and only kunoichi of the group. The group was made famous during the short war over the Hyuuga incident, known for being able to take on large numbers of enemies and emerge unscathed. The four only worked well together, and when separated tended to cause more problems than the enemy due to the fact that they despise people in general. After the war, the four warriors drifted back into their normal missions as ordered by the Sandaime Raikage. Known to be a disruptive influence due to their behaviors and the fact that they held a hero's status. Setsuka was close to the Jinchuuriki of Kumo, Nii Yugito, and treated her like a niece of sorts. The Raikage knew of this, and thinking that she was trying to 'corrupt' Yugito against him, attempted to have her killed. Setsuka fled Kumo after a protracted battle and went into hiding ever since. Roughly four years have passed since this incident.

New Justu:

Fuuinjutsu: Worldly Discovery Field - Unranked support-based Fuuinjutsu. Technique allows for one to seed a field of their choosing with chakra boundaries, and grants the ability to the seal to track chakra signatures within said field. The larger the field, the more intricate the seal, as it can be grown to the user's wishes provided they have enough space to make the seal itself. Technique is mostly used to track movements of soldiers(shinobi) in battle in order to keep track of the battle's progress but if Fuuinjutsu based traps are set, they can be activated via this seal as long as they are picked up by the field. The technique was developed during the remenant period during which Nanashi and his followers were on the run from Sound's eradication parties.

Raiton: Thunder Ball - Mid C-ranked Raiton jutsu. User creates a ball of pure electric charge, held together loosely by chakra, and throws it at their enemy. The size of the ball depends on the amount of chakra used in formation but the larger it becomes the more chakra is needed to actually throw it. When thrown, it has the velocity of a cannon ball, as the throw is part of the technique itself. On impact, releases the contained electricity in an outward blast. The technique has limited range however, no matter the ball size, because the ball begins losing its charge as soon as it leaves the user's hands. If it travels too far without hitting anything, it will dissipate completely.

Raiton: Chain Lightning - Mid B-ranked Raiton jutsu. User shoots a blast of lightning from their hands that strikes a target, electrocuting them. After striking one target, the bolt will split into several smaller bursts that can cause damage as well. Each consecutive strike reduces the amount of power in the free bolts. As such, the first blow is the most fatal and over time the bolts become harmless if split too many times. Due to the nature of of the skill, it becomes difficult to charge as much electric current into this technique than other Raiton jutsu, hence it's B rank.

Raiton: Thunder Storm - High A-ranked Raiton jutsu, bordering on kinjutsu. User summons a violent thunder storm that rains down destruction over a wide area. The bolts that rain down cannot be controlled but are incredibly powerful. User is protecting from the falling bolts by a strong chakra-based shield that causes the falling bolts to bounce off. Since it cannot be controlled, it is rarely used when Kumo nins work with each other, as they could easily wipe out their own team if they are careless. Bordering on a kinjutsu due to the incredible chakra drain that takes place in the user to both summon the storm and maintain the chakra field to prevent themselves from being wiped out.

Fuuton: Wind Slash Technique - Low B-ranked Fuuton jutsu. User creates a temporary blade of wind that travels along the path their arm makes as they complete the jutsu. Unstable to most users, as the chakra required is precise and too much or too little with make the jutsu fail. However, if done correctly, the wind blades that are sent out are capable of cutting through solid iron.

Raiton: Static Shock - High C-ranked Raiton jutsu. User uses the static electricty surrounding them to release a potent burst that is capable of shocking those near the user. Power direct depends on the amount of chakra used as well as the amount of free floating electrons in the area. Range is severely limited, even in the most powerful cases.

Raiton: Raikouhou (Lightning Style: Thunder Roar Cannon) - S-ranked attack ninjustu and labeled as a kinjutsu. Raikouhou is probably the most powerful Raiton technique in existence. User summons and fires off a overwhelming amount of electrical energy focused over anywhere from a narrow to wide area. The narrower the attack path, the more chakra control that is required. This is a technique that is not to be used in normal shinobi combat and is limited in that manner. However, that is an attack that is completely capable of wiping out entire armies if used correctly. The most chakra draining technique ever devised by any shinobi of Kumo as the chakra required is more than enough to kill groups of jounin level shinobi. The use of the technique typically results in death of the user due to chakra drain and Enrai Setsuka is only able to use this skill due to her bloodline. It is unknown how many times she could use this technique if necessary. Only of Kumogakure no Sato's most secret techniques and it is locked within the tower of the Raikage. On a side note, Nanashi(Older Naruto that is) also knows this technique as during the war with Sound, he and his mentor Jiraiya did several personal favors for the Yondaime Raikage. The man never thought that Nanashi would be able to use it, so didn't see the harm in letting the teenager see the scroll with the technique. He cannot however use his lightning matrix to perform the technique as the amount of chakra being channeled becomes too unstable if he tries. He must use normal hand seals to perform it.

Fuuton: Daitoppa - (This technique used to be on wikipedia but I can no longer find it. Thus I do not have a true rank or description of it). Wind based attack that is capable of sending entire groups of shinobi flying if used correctly.

Suiton: Uzumaki no Jutsu (Water Style: Whirlpool Technique)- C-ranked ninjutsu. Creates a violent whirlpool in a body of liquid. Typically used to destabilize an opponent who is using the water walking skill or as a distraction.

Suiton: Water Grasping Skill - C-ranked ninjutsu. Creates arms and hands made of pure water to hold an opponent in place. Like all Suiton jutsu, requires a body of water nearby to summon the hands from and maintain their hold. Using Nanashi's Suiton matrix to form water out of the moisture in the air does not work, as a constant body of water is needed to hold the victim in place. A variant on the Water Prison Technique.

I think that covers it. Sorry for forgetting this section the first time I updated.