Author's Note: Well, here we are. After 17 chapters of war, the Fourth Division is finally getting some love. Enjoy:
Chapter 117:
Sandstorms
or
Battles of Gold and Silver
Ninja Alliance HQ
A couple hours after the attack led by Hebiko, calmness reigned once again in the Ninja Alliance HQ. The Allied Ninjas had already been healed from any injury by the medics, and the summoned animals were no longer there.
Thankfully, it didn't take long for Tsunade to arrive at the HQ building, given that the campsite of the First and Second divisions hadn't been stationed that far away. Naturally, the Slug Sannin tensed up upon seeing several Otogakure ninjas standing around, but given that Jiraiya, as well as many other Allied ninjas were also there, and they weren't fighting, she decided not do anything rash.
"Here I am, Jiraiya. The message said that it couldn't wait," she then eyed at the balaclava wearing ninjas. "Do you mind explaining what the hell's going on?"
"Yes, I imagined you'd have a lot of questions, seeing what's going on." Jiraiya said, before motioning to a white haired young woman clad in Otogakure uniform, minus the balaclava. "Hime, meet Hebiko. Hebimaru's sister. She claims she no longer supports Orochimaru, and wants to help us."
Tsunade raised an eyebrow, and glanced at the clone of her daughter. Hebiko just stared back, her expression unreadable.
"I assume she isn't helping us out of the goodness of her heart," Tsunade said.
"She asked her brother to be released into her custody," Jiraiya explained. "She returned the stolen Forbidden Scroll, and handed us a man with a Bloodline Limit that's the source of Orochimaru's cursed seal. And given that she claims to know where that bastard is hiding, I decided it's a small price to pay."
"I see. And are you sure that this brat isn't taking us to a trap?" Tsunade asked, eying the white haired clone suspiciously. "While those gifts you said she brought were nice, maybe Orochimaru is done with them and doesn't need them anymore."
"I know, but this is too good an opportunity to pass," Jiraiya said. "Besides, I already know what to do in case it happens to be a trap."
"Supreme Commander, somebody's coming!" a ninja warned. "From the south!"
Everybody turned in the direction the watchman had said, and saw a burly man in a black trenchcoat jumping from one tree branch to another. Jiraiya smiled.
"Ah, Ibiki Morino is here. He came earlier than I expected," Jiraiya said, watching the head of Torture and Interrogation dashing towards them. Behind him were several masked ANBU, two of them carrying a restrained white haired man. In no time, Ibiki's party landed in front of the group.
"Greeting, Hokage-sama. Here's your special delivery," Ibiki said.
"Thank you. You arrived here pretty quickly. Good, because with the matter at hand we can't afford to waste any time," Jiraiya said with a nod.
Hebiko's eyes widened upon seeing her brother, though she was smart enough not to rush him. She merely walked towards him slowly.
"Hebiko?" Hebimaru asked, noticing his sister for the first time. He smiled widely. "Oh Hebiko, I knew you wouldn't abandon me!"
Hebiko smiled back. "Orochimaru may abandon you, but I never will as long as I'm alive," she said, before turning at Jiraiya. "He doesn't appear to be injuried, and he definitely isn't a fake. Alright, release my brother, and Orochimaru's location will be yours."
"Not so fast, girlie," Jiraiya said. "I'm not going to release this guy until you give us the location first."
A scowl developed on Hebiko's face. She clenched her fists as she prepared to give the Hokage a piece of her mind, but upon seeing her brother again, she forced herself to calm down. She was so close to get him back, she wasn't going to let anybody, not even herself, to ruin her chance.
Grumbling, she pulled a scroll under her flak jacket, and tossed it at Jiraiya. The Hokage caught it with one hand, and unfurled it. It was a map of the Elemental Nations. There was a mark on the top part of the cape between the Lands of Sound and Waterfall. Jiraiya deduced that's where Orochimaru was hiding.
"I never thought he would be that far away from the battlefields. If he's really there, then we would have never found him," Jiraiya thought, worry growing with each second. "What is the range of that jutsu to allow him to stay that far away?"
"You already have what you wanted. Now release my brother!" Hebiko demanded.
Jiraiya closed the scroll, and nodded at Ibiki. The ANBU quickly undid all the restrainings and removed the chakra suppressing seals that stopped him from using jutsu. Hebimaru quickly rushed towards her sister, the two of them greeting the other with a hug.
"I'm... I'm so glad to be with you again. And to be out of that horrible cell," Hebimaru whispered.
"It's okay, brother, it's over," Hebiko said, patting his back.
The clone twins broke their hug, and Hebiko turned at Jiraiya. "You kept your word. For that, you have my thanks. I wish you luck brining down Orochimaru. Unfortunately, I'm afraid I can't help you anymore. Come on brother, let's leave this place."
Hebiko and Hebimaru leaped away, followed by the rest of the Otogakure ninjas, leaving the Allied ninjas alone. Meanwhile, Jiraiya, Tsunade and the rest of the Allied ninjas went back to the HQ building.
Jiraiya immediately broke the hopefuly good news of how he had traded one of his prisoners for Orochimaru's potential location to the rest of his advisors.
"Those are good news, indeed," Chiyo said with a nod. "If we can take that man out of the war, Akatsuki will lose their strongest assets."
"Indeed," Onoki said with a nod. "First, we'll need to form a strike team out of our best ninjas. May I suggest-"
"Sorry, Onoki-san, but no such team will be formed," Jiraiya interrupted him. "Only two people will go and confront him: Tsunade-hime and myself."
"What?"
"You can't be serious!"
"Just two people...?"
"I know, I know!" Jiraiya said, raising his hands in self defense, hoping to calm the others down. "I know it sounds harebrained-"
"Beyond harebrained," Chiyo remarked.
"-but it's the best possible plan, for a multitude of reasons. "Jiraiya began. "First, Tsunade-hime and I have been his teammates for years. We know him and how his mind works better than anybody. And we're both Sages. We're the best suited to fight him. Second, Orochimaru is a master of escape. If he learns that we located him, he will move to somewhere else. That's why the team going after him has to be as small as possible, in order to minimize the chances of him fleeing. Plus we need our best ninjas on the battleground."
"We also need you here, Supreme Commander," Ao interjected. "The reason you were given such position was so you would coordinate the war effort. What are we going to do in your absence?"
Jiraiya looked around, as he was trying to think of a potential substitute. His eyes then landed on the former Tsuchikage. "Onoki, given that among all of us, you're already a veteran with three wars on his belt, so you're the most fit for it, I hereby name you acting Supreme Commander as long as I'm busy hunting Orochimaru down."
Onoki smirked a little, "Heh, things must be serious if you, a Konoha ninja, is relinquishing your position to an Iwa ninja."
"Temporarily relinquishing my position," Jiraiya insisted, as he narrowed his eyes.
"Sure. I'm past the age of having lust for power. Don't worry, you can count on me," Onoki said with a nod.
"Going back to your previous point," Chiyo intervened. "Even if it's just the two of you, Akatsuki has many spies and watchers. The chances of you being spotted are still there."
"Yes, but if it's the two of us, he won't run away. Because Tsunade has something Orochimaru desires more than anything else," Jiraiya said, turning towards his wife.
Even if nobody said anything, the answer was obvious: the Rinnegan. Tsunade, however, didn't appear that convinced. She walked towards her husband, and began to whisper him.
"Jiraiya, you already used the Rinnegan as a bait to lure an enemy out once, and look what happened," Tsunade told him, sounding a little upset. "Do you want to take that risk again?"
"The situation is different this time. I may be using the Rinnegan as bait again, but as a bait that can punch back. Come on princess, we could beat Orochimaru ourselves even if you didn't have that Rinnegan," Jiraiya insisted, the volume of his voice matching hers. "This is an opportunity too good to pass."
Tsunade sighed. She wanted to exercise more caution, but she knew that caution wouldn't win the war or save potential lives, only decisive actions would do that.
"Alright. We'll do as you say," Tsunade agreed.
"Excellent! We better head out immediately. We'll take a few days to reach Orochimaru's hideout," Jiraiya said. "And the sooner we take him down, the sooner this war will come to an end."
…
A couple days later, Land of Lightning
It seemed that, after numerous attempts at breaking into the Land of Fire, Akatsuki had directed their latest attack into the Land of Lightning. Rather than crossing underground through the Land of Frost like they did in previous battles, this time they decided to use a coastal invasion. Given that neither the Zetsu clones nor the Reanimations needed to breathe, they walked through the sea floor until they arrived at the coast.
Fortunately, Rasa's Fourth Division was in the area to put a stop to their advance. They managed to arrive just in time to stop them from tainting the Land of Lightning with their presence. The Fourth Kazekage and the division's foremost ninjas were at the front, looking at the incoming mass of enemies.
"So far, mostly White Zetsu, and a few reanimations here and there," Rasa observed. "It seems Akatsuki lost those Moon Puppets for good."
Darui, who was besides him, clicked his tongue. "Dammit, I'm seeing a familiar face there."
Rasa turned at the Raikage's right hand man, and raised an eyebrow. "A friend or family of yours?"
"Eh, not exactly," Darui said, pointing to a pair of undead Kumo ninjas waddling through the water. They were tall and imposing, and completely identical, if it wasn't for the different colors of their headress-like hairs. "Those are Kinkaku and Ginkaku, two of Kumo's most infamous ninjas. They're as powerful as they're sadistic."
"Just lovely," Rasa said, rolling his eyes.
"Orochimaru has a vast knowledge of every village's best ninjas. That man's far from a dullard," Darui noted.
"Any idea on how are we going to beat them?" Rasa asked, sounding a little exasperated.
"Like I said, they're strong, skilled, and are used to being overwhelmed by numbers," Darui explained. "Fortunately, I'm very familiar with them and their fighting style. I feel I can take one of them down, but I can't match the two of them together, so I'll need strong backup, commander."
"How about if we separate them?" Rasa suggested.
"Many people already tried that in the past, it rarely worked. In fact, they will expect it," Darui replied, making the Raikage to curse something under his breath. "Fortunately, we have no shortage of powerful ninjas here." Darui replied.
"My three children are also Sages as well. But I'd wish I didn't have to waste them on a couple of enemies when there are so many to beat," Rasa complained.
"They're getting closer. Sorry, but we have to fight them now before they get close to the coast," Darui said, as he took a step forward. "With your permission, I'll deliver the first strike. I have the perfect jutsu for it."
"Alright, I'll prepare and-" Rasa said, before something in the sky caught his eye. "Hey, what's that?"
"YAHOOOOOOO!" a scream was heard from the sky above, as an aritfical looking white bird swooped down. Riding it was a man with long blond hair wearing an Akatsuki cloak. "Missed me, you bitches?"
And Deidara didn't came alone. An horde of Flying Zetsus trailed behind him. Soon the air was filled with a cacophony of flapping wings and hollering.
"Darui-san, change of plans!" Rasa said, as golden started to pour from the canisters attached to his belt. "Whatever you were planning to do, aim to that guy in the sky!"
"Got it!" Darui replied, as his hands weaved hand seals as fast as he could. "So dull. I was planning to start with the Black Panther, but that won't work on an aerial opponent. Anyway, try this on for size! Storm Release: Laser Circus!"
Darui brought his hands together, their index and middle fingers aiming upwards. A spehere of white energy formed around his fingers, before it exploded outwards into a multitude of beams towards Deidara and the flying Zetsu. Alongside Darui, many ninjas in the first line of defense also fired elemental jutsu into the fire, however, most of them missed their marks, since the winged Zetsu proved to be too nimble.
Darui's jutsu fared a little better. The energy beams hit Deidara's giant clay bird, as well as many of the Zetsu surrounding him. However, the blond Akatsuki member managed to jump before his aerial mount went down, and summoned and even larger dragon made of clay.
"Heh, not bad, hn," Deidara said, as he fed the mouths in his hands some explosive clay. They quickly chew it, before being spat in the shape of small birds. "You're not bad with explosions and destruction. But you're nothing but an amateur compared to me! Now taste my art!"
Deidara waved his arms outwards, releasing a flock of small clay birds. Then, all of sudden, there was a chain of multiple bursts of smoke, and the clay birds had multiplied tenfold. They spread out, and dived at the ninjas below them, detonating when they touched the ground, producing a chain of explosions that killed any ninja that was caught directly in them, and send flying those lucky enough to survive the initial blast.
"Everybody, move forward! I can make a path with my art!" Deidara commanded, as he prepared another salvo of explosive clay birds.
"Commander, those explosions created breaches in our formation!" Darui told Rasa. "What are your orders?"
"Shit!" Rasa cursed, as he formed a shiled of golden sand. "Everybody, fall back! We need to regroup and rebuild our ranks!"
…
Ninja ALliance HQ
As the Fourth Division fought Akatsuki, Ao and other sensors were monitorizing the battle. The eyepatch-wearing Kirigakure ninja frowned upon seeing how badly the battle had begun.
"Flying Zetsu. It's been a while since we had to deal with those pests," Ao thought. "Onoki-sama, the Kazekage's division is having troubles with the Akatsuki! Apparently, they've been surprised by a battalion of winged Zetsu, and they've been forced to abandon the coast and fall back into the mainland. Should we deploy our air force?"
The old Iwa ninja frowned deeply. It didn't take long for a difficult battle to present itself as soon as he was given temporary command. Fortunately, Onoki wasn't a newcomer to this kind of situations, as his more than half a century of experience could attest.
"How big this Zetsu battalion is?" Onoki asked. "It is as big as the other times?"
"No. I appears to be at half the numbers this time, Onoki-sama," Ao told him.
Onoki grumbled something, looking pensive. After a few moments that felt longer than they were, the former Tsuchikage opened his mouth. "This smells like a trap. That clone brat already proved that our location is more vulnerable than it looks. Maybe they want us to send our air force to face them, and then send the other half to another target."
"Still, we can't afford to lose ground to these criminals," Chiyo intervened. "We should send at least some of our flying forces to reinforce our positions in the coast."
"It sounds reasonable, but we can't just-"
"Onoki-sama, the Akatsuki Deidara is leading their air force!" Ao announced, interrupting the former Tsuchikage.
Onoki's face contorted into a mask of unbridled anger. "WHAT!?" he roared. "SEND OUR AIR FORCE! ALL OF THEM! I WANT THAT BASTARD DEAD BEFORE THE END OF THE DAY, YOU HEAR ME?!"
Silence followed the Tsuchikage's out of nowhere outburst, as those present wondered if there was more to Deidara besides being a mere Iwa misssing-nin. Ao was among them, but he simply nodded and carried his orders. "Send a note to the Ninja Allied Air Forces! Move towards the designated coordinates!"
…
Back in the Land of Lightning coast, as the defenders were pushed back into the mainland, while Akatsuki's forces rushed in, and engaged the Allied ninjas in hand to hand combat. Meanwhile, Deidara led the Flying Zetsu into attacking the Allied ninja from above.
While the Zetsu merely swooped down and tried to slash a ninja with their sharp talons, Deidara dropped a cluster of explosives towards the densely packed zones, not caring that some Zetsu were caught in the blast, leaving both friend and foe as charred corpses, or sending them flying into the air. Many times the Allied Ninjas tried to bring him down with ranged jutsu, but the blond was fast enough to avoid them.
"Sorry, your earth bound losers!" Deidara laughed as his dragon dirbbled between a stream of fire and a barrage of rocks. "But you won't stop me from sharing my art! A battle is the perfect blank canvas for me to use!"
Deidara dropped another salvo of explosives, resulting in another chain of blasts. When the smoke vanished, there were more Allied Ninjas and White Zetsu either dead or injured. Among them, however, there was also a large dome of ice, with several cracks on it. The dome then quickly fell apart into multiple ice shards that quickly metled, revealing Haku, Kurenai, Yakumo and Hotaru.
"Nice work, Haku," Kurenai praised her student, as her eyes fixed on the flying Deidara.
"Should we go after him?" Haku asked her sensei. "I believe that, until the Air Force arrives, we're the only ones able to deal with him."
"I will deal with that psycopath myself," Kurenai said. "I need you to stay here and watch over Yakumo."
"As you say. Still, I can't help but feel worried that this opponent might be too formidable," Haku insisted. "After all, we did fight him together the last time, and proved to be a match to our combined power."
"I'm aware of that. Don't worry, I'll ask for help if I feel overwhelmed," Kurenai said with a nod, as her hands weaved hand seals. "Still, given that I have fought him quite a few times, I think I can defeat him this time around. Wind Release: Riding the Hurricane!"
A tornado developed under Kurenai's legs, pushing her into the air as it grew, allowing the Genjutsu mistress to fly into the air, and went to meet Deidara. Both Hotaru and Yakumo were watching the jutsu in awe.
"Whoa... I didn't know Kurenai-sensei knew how to fly!" Yakumo said.
"Yeah, that's sure some jutsu!" Hotaru agreed.
"Naruto was the one to invent that jutsu," Haku corrected them. "He taught it to both Kurenai-sensei and myself, since Hinata-san can fly on her own. Unfortunately, I can't use it since it consumes chakra to keep it active, and my reserves aren't that big.
"Anyway, we can talk about that later. There's a battle we need to win," Haku urged the girls.
…
In another part of the battlefield, the Gold and Silver Brothers, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, were laying waste to the Allied ninjas with a combination of brutal taijutsu and ninjutsu. None of the attackers were even able to land a hit on them.
"Lightning Release: Golden Spear!"
Yellow lightning appeared around Kinkaku's hand, which condensed into the shape of a spear. Swinging his elemental weapon in wide arcs, Kinkaku parried the blows and ranged jutsu Allied ninjas sent his way, while at the same time stabbing and slashing those who were close to him.
"Wind Release: Silver Swords!"
Two swords made of wind appeared on Ginkaku's hand, and when the silver haired brother swung them, they released blades of wind of powerful cutting power, slicing through rocks and human meat alike.
"This rubbish is hardly worth the effort, Kinkaku," the younger brother said.
"Indeed, Ginakaku," the older brother agreed. He then stabbed his lightning spear into the ground, releasing a barrage of lightning bolts through the earth in every direction, shattering the earth, and electrocuting the unlucky Allied ninjas caught in the area of effect. "But keep fighting! Maybe we may find somebody worthy of us among all these rabble!"
"Water Release: Great Water Wall!"
Suddenly, the two brothers found themselves about to be crushed by a gigantic wave of water rushing towards them. However, they were fast enough to jump away the moment the wave came crashing down, and skidded on the rushing water skillfully. However, that water attack was merely a distraction for the true ambush.
"What the...?" Kinkaku asked, noticing golden glittering in the air. "Gold...?"
"Brother?"
"Magnet Release: Golden Sand Coffin!"
Suddenly, a mass of golden sand formed around them, and started to swirl. Kinkaku was fast enough to jump away, but his silver haired brother wasn't, and was quickly trapped inside a cocoon of golden sand.
"Ginkaku!" the golden haired man yelled.
"Darui, go!" a voice said.
He didn't have time to mourn his brother's fate, as a dark skinned kumogakure ninja wielding a wide cleaver crackling with electricity leaped at him. Kinkaku parried the attack with his lightning spear. They traded blows with one another, until Kinkaku's lightning spear succumbed to Darui's fast and powerful, shattering into a thousand golden sparks. Kinkaku disengaged his foe, and jumped backwards.
"Not bad," the Kazekage said, as he landed besides Darui. "We got one of them, at the very least."
"It would have better if we dealt with the two of them in one swift strike, but this will have to do," Darui replied, as he eyed at the golden haired man. "Just one of them is quite the dull opponent for the two of us."
"Who are you calling dull, you disrespectful brat!" Kinkaku yelled, as he pointed an angry finger at him. "Do you have any idea of I am?"
"I don't think there are any Kumo ninjas who don't know you two, Kinkaku-sama," Darui sain a tone that was somehow a mix between mocking and respectful. "But right now, who you are doesn't matter. All what matters is that you're a threat to the Ninja Alliance, so sorry, but you're going down."
"I might not be from Kumo, but I got good intel on you," Rasa added. "And with your brother gone, you have no chance to defeat us."
"Oh? You think so?" Kinkaku asked, grinning widely as if he knew something Rasa and Darui ignored. He then opened his mouth wide, and regurgitated what appeared to be a large red and white fan.
Darui''s visible eye widened upon seeing the fan. "Is that...?"
Rasa also tensed up, guessing that such thing wasn't a mere fan.
"Coil of Wind!"
Kinkaku swung his fan, releasing an unbelievably powerful gust of wind that blew not only Rasa and Darui back, but many of the ninjas and White Zetsu clones close to them. And more importantly, it destroyed the sand prison Ginkaku was trapped in, leaving him free to move again. Wasting no time, he quickly jumped back towards his brother, while Darui and Rasa got back on their feet.
"Shit!" Rasa cursed. "That thing was strong enough to undo my Golden Sand Coffin from that distance?" the Kazekage growled.
"That's the Banana Palm Fan, a legendary tool that it's said to be created by the Sage of the Six Paths himself," Darui began to explain. "By merely swinging it, it can create an extremely powerful and wide elemental attack, of any of the five basic elements."
"That sounds like a lot of trouble," Rasa said.
"And if Kinkaku has the fan, then..." Darui trailed off.
Indeed, the now released Ginkaku produced a strange white broadsword whose corners were shaped like flames, a large gourd, and a rope that glowed with a golden light, tied to that gourd. Then, as if it had life of its own, the rope wrapped itself around Kinkaku's free arm.
"... of course they have the other three tools," Darui said, his eye narrowing at them.
"Let me guess, something I should worry about?"
"Short answer, yes. Sorry if I don't give you any details, but it would take far too much time we don't have, commander," Darui replied. "For the time being, all you need to know is this: don't let that rope touch you."
"Understood," Rasa replied.
Kinkaku and Ginkaku both grinned, and prepared to attack.
"They tried to separate us, Ginkaku," the older brother said.
"Indeed, Kinkaku. I didn't like that," the younger brother replied, baring his teeth. "Not in the slightest."
"Neither did I. I say, let's give them a taste of their own medicine!" Kinkaku slammed the Banana Palm Fan into the ground. "Coil of Earth!"
The jutsu manifested into a row of rocks as large as one story houses bursting from underground towards Rasa and Darui, forcing the two living ninja to jump into different directions to avoid the attack. And before he could even land, Ginkaku was already on top of him, sword raised. Darui was able to block the blow, but not the brutal roundhouse kick following it, which send him crashing against the ground.
And while Darui struggled against Ginkaku, Rasa had to deal with the golden haired brother.
"Magnet Release: Golden Sand Shuriken!"
Grains of golden sand gathered in front of Rasa, taking the shape of shuriken, which flew towards the undead ninja. Kinkaku's mouth twisted into a grimace.
"I don't like you. No one has the right to use gold against me, much less some Sunagakure desert cockroach!" Kinkaku roared, as he swung the fan again. "Coil of Fire!"
The fan produced a massive cone of flames that quickly melted Rasa's golden shuriken, forcing the Kazekage to jump backwards in order to avoid the fiery attack. He felt a chill travel down his spine as Kinkaku grinned at him. And unfortunately, he was so focused on his enemy that the didn't notice Darui flying towards him, until the Kumo ninja crashed into the Kazekage.
"They're yours, brother!" Ginkaku shouted.
"Good job Ginkaku!" Kinkaku said, as he rushed towards the fallen duo, who got back on their feet as fast as they could. The golden rope around his arm uncoiled, and he swung it against them as if it was a whip. Rasa and Darui were hit before they could jump away. "Bind and draw out, Golden Canopy Rope!"
Rasa and Darui felt like something was traveling their throats and forced itself out of their mouths, and much to their horrors, they looked what appeared to be their very souls.
"My turn! Curse them, Seven Star Sword! Record the, Crimson Gourd!" Ginkaku said, as he cut a piece of their souls with his large cleaver, and finally, said pieces were absorbed into his gourd.
Two words appeared on the flat side of the Seven Star Sword:
DULL
SAND
"Well... shit," Darui cursed.
…
Meanwhile, not far away from there, the Sand Siblings were fighting against an horde of advancing White Zetsu clones, some of them who were rushing towards Temari. The blonde kunoichi smirked, and wounded her fan back.
"Sickle Weasel Jutsu!"
Swinging her fan in a wide arc, Temari produced s powerful gust of wind that blew them away, aside from making several deep cuts into their flesh. She turned around to face another potential group of attackers, when something in the sky caught here eye; it wasn't those flying Zetsu or Deidara, but several greenish-yellow projectiles, leaving a trail of dust of the same color, flying in an arc towards them.
"Temari, watch out!" the Suna kunoichi heard Kankuro calling.
Tamotsu, Kankuro's puppet that carried a large shield, landed besides Temari, and covered her with its shield, its seals glowing with a blue light as chakra activated them.
"Mechanical Great Light Shield Block!"
The glowing seals projected a blue cone of chakra that protected Temari just in time for the acid spore missiles landed upon her. The projectiles harmlessly crashed against the shield and disintegrated.
"Nice save," Temari thanked her brother, as she slooked at the direction the projectiles had came from. Even if they were hard to notice among the large crowd of enemies, the blond kunoichi could see several Zetsu clones whose right arms were several vines braided around each other, ending in a large flower. "Those bastards brought some snipers as well to pick us off from the distance."
"Then we better get rid of them!" Kankuro replied, while he was directing the Sasori Puppet with his other hand, making it burn some of the Zetsu clones with its palm-mounted flamethrowers. "Gaara, you come with us?"
The readhead was also fighting the aritificial cloned creatures, burying them in sand , or slicing them with blades of sand. However, only part of his attention was in this battle, as most of it looked at how Kurenai was engaging Deidara in an aerial fight. Even if Gaara's face was as stoic as ever, anger was growing within him as he remembered the last time he faced the Iwa missing-nin. That battle costed him his village's Tailed Beast, and almost his life.
"No. I saw another enemy more worthy of my attention," Gaara said, as a sandstorm started to form around him, and he started to float as a cloud of sand started to form under his feet. "I'm sure you will manage without me."
Just when Gaara was about to leave, both he and his siblings were caught by a powerful wind that threatened to pull them away. The Sand Siblings directed chakra to their feet in order to attach themselves to the ground.
"What the hell's going on?" Kankuro asked.
Following the directing of the wind, Temari found the answer. "Over there!"
There was a giant animal, probably a summon, vaguely looking like an elephant with orange fur, huge tusks, and the legs of a feline predator. Its mouth was open wide, creating a suction force in the form of a strong, continuous wind that pushed the Suna ninjas towards its mouth. And rising on the head of the animal was an black haired old man with a scarred chin and a Sharingan on his left eye.
"What the hell's that thing? A summon?" Temari asked, as she stabbed her folded war fan into the ground for anchoring herself better.
"And who the hell is that guy?" Kankuro asked, as he forced his mind to recall if he ever saw him in the past. "Wait, is that a Sharingan?"
The man on top of the vacuuming summoned animal started to make hand seals.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Just as the orange animal closed its mouth, stopping the suction force, multiple wooden roots emerged around the Sand siblings, threatetning to trap them.
"The fuck!?" Kankuro loudly yelled. "Who the hell is that guy!?"
"Gaara!" Temari called, ignoring the puppeteer's question.
The readheaded nodded, and waved his hand. "Sandstorm Shield!"
A tornado of sand formed around the trio of Suna ninjas, protecting them from the incoming wooden vines. They grinded against the sandstorm, grinding against it in an attempt to bypass it, but found themselves unable to. That didn't stop the jutsu's caster, who made a hand seal and pumped more chakra into the attack, summoning even more wooden vines from the seemingly barren desert land.
That moment, the man flinched, and noticed that the air around him was starting to become colder at a rapid pace. Stopping the jutsu, he jumped away.
"Ice Release: Certain Kill Ice Spears!"
Multiple giant spears made of ice formed above the summoned animal and its rider, before they fell down, hitting the animal and undoing the summon, but failing to impale the man.
"You were right, Yakumo-san. That's Danzo right there," Haku said, as he and Yakumo landed besides the sandstorm.
Danzo turned around, and fixed his eyes on Yakumo, making the girl flinch a little. His expression, however, was as stoic and emotionless as ever.
"Akuma. So you're alive," Danzo commented. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."
"Yakumo! My name is Yakumo!" the girl angrily protested. "Don't even dare to call me by that horrible codename ever again!"
"Just as I feared. So, you turned your back on me and Root. After everything we did for you," Danzo replied. He looked around, as if he was trying to assess the situation. "Then again, given what's going on, I doubt that either Konoha or any of the ninja villages is going to survive this conflict."
"Do you underestimate Konoha that much, Danzo?" Haku asked, sounding visibly angered. "Do you really think it's going to go down that easily?"
"Konoha used to be great when the Senju brothers ruled it. But they made the mistake of letting Hiruzen take the reins of leadership," Danzo said, as he started to make hand seals. "Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"
Danzo spat several bullets made of compressed air from his mouth at Haku and Yakumo, who were forced to jump in different directions in order to avoid the attack. The Ice Release user started to make hand seals.
"First of all, let's neutralize that Sharingan. Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Jutsu!"
Haku took a deep breath, and released a huge cloud of mist from his mouth. The mist engulfed the entire area, engulfing the three combatants, leaving them blinded.
"If you hope to defeat me, you'll need more than such a basic trick," Danzo replied, as he started to make hand seals. "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Danzo exhaled a powerful gust of wind from his mouth, quickly pushing the mist away, leaving the battelfield the same was a moment ago. While Danzo could see Haku, Yakumo was nowhere to be seen. This didn't seem to faze the leader of Root in the slightest, who continued to make hand seals.
"Wood Release: Wood Binding Jutsu!"
Wooden vines and roots emerged from underground, wiggling and lashing angrily as if they were alive. However, rather than lunging at Haku, they all wrapped around the undead Root ninja, immobilizing him completely.
"How-?"
"Well done, Yakumo!" Haku said, as he started to form more hand seals of his own. "Ice Release: Breath of Winter!"
Haku took a deep breath, and releasing a huge cloud of frigid fog, covering the ground in a thin layer of ice as it spread and moved towards Danzo. However, the former leader of Root was far from defenseless. Even if he was restricted, he was able to pull a kunai, and throw it in front of him. His Sharingan caught his reflection on the blade for a fraction of a second, but that was enough to cast a genjutsu that was reflected at him. Said genjutsu overrode the one Yakumo put him into, breaking the illusionary restraints, and jumping away before Haku's jutsu could freeze him completely.
"What?" Haku asked in shock.
Yakumo reappeared besides him, just as surprised. "How... how did he managed to break...?"
"Don't forget who trained you to use your power, girl," Danzo said to the brown haired kunoichi, his voice cold as Haku's ice. "You wouldn't think I'd pick a thing or two about how to counter it just in case? Even if I had the mistaken belief that all my agents were completely loyal to me, I always made sure to have a way to counter their abilities in case they turned against me."
While only appearing once every couple generations, the Kurama Clan's brand of genjutsu was one of the most feared Bloodline Limits who ever existed, given not only was it a genjutsu that could cause bodily harm to the victim, but it was impossible to break using conventional genjutsu dispelling techniques. Not even the Sharingan or the Byakugan were enough to counter it.
But alas, while normal means didn't work, it wasn't impossible to break. Given that genjutsu affected the chakra of the mind, Danzo came up with an idea to counter it: use Yamanaka mind jutsu to alter his own mind in order to shield himself from said genjutsu, or at least lower its effects on him. And luckily for Danzo, one of his elite and most trusted agents, Fuu, was a member of the Yamanaka clan. In no time, the two of them came up with a series of ways to use the Yamanaka's jutsu to undo Yakumo's genjutsu.
Of course, Danzo was smart enough not to share such information with anybody. He was tempted to kill Fuu in order to leave no loose ends, but in the end he decided against it. Fuu was one of his most effective minions, and replacing him wouldn't be easy.
Yakumo's face twisted into a grimace of anger. She clapped her hands together. "You think so? Let's see how well you do against this then! Demonic Illusion: Hellscape!"
From Danzo's perspective, the entire battleground burst into flames, with the sky turning red with black clouds, as earth had turned into Hell itself. Danzo could feel how the air's temperature raised instantly as the fires spread around. Still, his expression was unfazed.
"An impressive jutsu, Akuma. I always wondered what our enemies felt when they were caught inside one of your illusionary traps, and now I can experience it myself," Danzo said, before nodding. "I made a truly outstanding job with you."
"Is that pride I'm sensing? I thought you believed that ninjas shouldn't have emotions," Haku retorted. "Misplaced pride, may I add."
"Am I being prideful? Perhaps. It's not that my current predicament can get any worse," Danzo said, his voice remaining stoic. "Then again, I'm going to make the most of a bad situation, and use this fortuitous encounter to punish a traitor to Root."
"You're welcome to try, you decrepit monster!" Yakumo defiantly replied.
…
"This has to be a punishment for my extreme foolishness in life," Harusame bitterly thought.
That was the only explaination the bespectacled Kirigakure Jonin could come up with for his current predicament. One moment, he was trying to extract the Six Tails from his precious student, then there was darkness, and then he was among the living again, only he was unable to control his body, and was forced to fight against what appeared to be a coalition of all five Great Villages and some minor ones, alongside more deceased ninjas raised as zombies –Harusame recognized a few he knew they were dead– and an army of weird plant like, chalk skinned humanoid creatures with green hair, called White Zetsu clones.
And as much as he tried not to fight, he was unable to. His will wasn't strong enough to reclaim control of his body.
"Sealing Art: Mark of Thunder!"
Harusame slammed his hand into the ground, and a lot of circular sealing patterns started to spread around him, glowing with a white in intermittenet patterns.
"Watch out, don't step inside the circle of seals!" Harusame warned. If he couldn't control his body, at least he'd try to minimize the damage he was forced to commit. "If you do-"
"AAAAAAAGGH!"
The screams of many ninjas who didn't hear him filled the air, as they stepped on the seals accidentally or didn't see them form, causing the seals to produce an electrict discharge, shocking their bodies into paralysis. Their screams didn't end there, as many nearby White Zetsu clones took advantage of the situation, and moved for the kill.
Harusame sighed, lamenting the more deaths he was being complicit. "I'm sorry, I just-"
He was interrupted when he saw multiple bubbles headed into their general direction. The White Zetsu merely stared at them dumbly, while Harusame's eyes opened wide in shock, and felt his legs forcing him to jump backwards.
"This jutsu...!"
The bubbles glowed with a blue light, before they detonated, obliterating the Zetsu.
"There's no doubt. It was his jutsu. He must be here!" Harusame said.
Fortunately, whoever was controlling him agreed with him and decided to take him towards the caster of that jutsu.
…
A few moments earlier
While this wasn't the first fight Hotaru had been in, it was her first big battle for sure. Still, she decided that she shouldn't bite more than she could chew, and stick to fighting enemies that weren't too strong, like those White Zetsu clones.
"Time to use these jutsu I developed. This is for you, sensei," Hotaru whispered, as she took Utakata's old bubble, and blew several bubbles while infusing them with chakra. "Water Release: Explosive Bubbles!"
The bubbles flew towards a group of White Zetsu who just had fellen several Allied ninjas, and detonated. The explosion obliterated them.
"Yes!" Hotaru cheered. But her cheers turned into an "eep!" when several kunai flew from the resulting cloud of smoke, forcing her to jump back in order to avoid them.
A man emerged from the cloud of smoke, a Kirigakure middle aged ninja wearing glasses. "You, girl!"
"Me?" Hotaru asked.
"That jutsu! Where did you learned it?" the man asked.
"It's a jutsu my sensei used to use. I copied it by watching him," Hotaru replied, taking a defensive stance. "Why do you want to know?"
"I used to have a student who had a similar jutsu. Using bubbles to fight isn't something many ninjas use," the old man replied. "Was your sensei a tall, slim man, with brown hair, a bang covering one of his eyes? Named Utakata?"
"Yes, that was him!" Hotaru replied. "You know about him?"
"Yes, I did. Far better than most," the man replied, now sounding sorrowful. "My name is Harusame, and I used to be Utakata's sensei."
"H-Harusame?" Hotaru repeated, as her eyes grew wide. She remembered that name. Once Utakata started to opening up to her, Utakata revealed that the reason behind his defection was how his sensei betrayed him, and tried to remove the Tailed Beast inside him for some unknown purpose. "Then why-"
"Watch out, girl, I'm going to attack!" Harusame interrupted her, as his hands started to fly through hand seals. "Water Release: Water Wall!"
Hotaru didn't just stay there and waited for the attack to hit her. She blew more bubbles as she spun around her heels. "Water Release: Bubble Barrier!"
The bubbles merged around her into a single, giant bubble that held Hotaru inside, just when Harusame expelled a torrent of water from his mouth. The torrent hit the protective bubble, but despite its apparent fraility, it managed to hold the attack back, before it burst.
"Well done, girl. Utakata trained you well" Harusame said, as he pulled a kunai and dashed towardsa Hotaru.
The blond haried woman parried the attack with the bubble pipe, which, like the bubbles it blew, proved to be far sturdier than it looked.
"Thanks. Utakata was a great sensei," Hotaru said, as she pushed Harusame back, and delivered a powerful kick to his stomach, making him tumble backwards. "The best sensei I could ever have."
"Where is he now?" Harusame replied, as he regained his balance. He didn't miss how Hotaru was talking in past tense, and he was fearing the worse.
"Unfortunately, he is no longer with us," Hotaru replied, as her hands flashed through hand seals, before blowing more bubbles. "Killed by the very same people who plunged the world into another war! Water Release: Dancing Bubble Flight!"
More chakra-charged bubbles flew towards Harusame. The undead Kiri ninja pulled out several shuriken with one hand while making one handed seals with the other hand. "Lightning Release: Lightning Shuriken!"
Harusame threw the electricity imbued steel stars towards the incoming bubbles. However, when they were about hit them, they moved as if they had life on their own, dodging the attack. The bubbles homed into the undead ninja, forcing him to retreat. He threw more kunai and shuriken towards the bubbles, but they kept moving around, dodging and evading his attacks.
"What's with this jutsu? Utakata never had anything like this!" Harusame thought, as his body moved on his own. "Maybe this girl is strong enough to beat me?"
One bubble managed to land on his leg, blowing it up, stopping him on his tracks, and allowing the rest of the bubbles to reach their target, resulting in a chain of explosions.
"Did I get him? Yes!" Hotaru cheered, pumping her fist into the air. However, when the smoke from the explosions dispelled, all was there was a charred log. Hotaru's face dropped. "Of course, there's no way a newbie like myself is going to take down Utakata-sensei's Jonin-sensei."
"Unfortunately, you're right," Harusame's voice said from behind her. Hotaru quickly turned around, and adopted a defensive stance. "I know it must not be the best moment to ask, but understand I have no other opportunity to ask this: did your sensei told you about me? About what happened between us?"
Harusame pulled several kunai and threw them at Hotaru. Hotaru grabbed her bubble pipe and used it to deflecte them as well as she could.
"Yes! He told me you wanted to extract the Tailed Beast inside him!" Hotaru replied. "He never understood why did you betray him!"
Harusame sighed, looking between sad and ashamed. "No wonder he reacted the way he did. It might not look like it, but I was trying to help my student. The Six Tails... I knew how much of a burden it was for him. I was afraid that he wouldn't be able to carry it. That's why I wanted to relieve him from that burden."
"Help him? How?" Hotaru yelled. "Extracting the Tailed Beast would have killing him!"
"I know! That's why I spent years researching a way to extract a Tailed Beast without killing the host!" Harusame replied. His excitement, however, was brief. "But looking back, I think I was blinded by my enthusiasm. I couldn't even tell if the extraction method would have worked as intended. Guess it was a good thing I was the one who died and not him."
Then, all of sudden, Harusame burst into a puddle of water.
"A clone? No!" Hotaru looked around, trying to find the real one.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet jutsu!"
Hotaru was alerted by a roar, and out of nowhere a serpentine dragon made of water attempted to ram into her from one of the flanks. Hotaru jumped backwards, dodging the initial onslaught. However, the dragon twisted its body and charged its head at her again, forcing the blond kunoichi to be the one onto the defensive.
"Water Release: Bubble Dome!"
Hotaru blew more bubbles around herself, which merged into one large bubble, just in time as the dragon slammed into her. Even if the bubble didn't break, the dragon carried enough force to move it, slamming it against a tree. The force of the impact caused the tree to topple, and Hotaru's protective bubble burst. Fortunately, the Kiri kunoichi was barely hurt.
"You're strong, girl. Utakata had trained you well," Harusame said, as he landed in front of her. "But I'm afraid his training won't be enough to defeat me. Fall back if you wish to live. Or return with reinforcements. My student is dead, and I can't help but feel it was my fault. I don't want his student's death on my conscience."
Hotaru's first reaction was to protest, to tell that man not to underestimate her. But then she remembered Utakata's last words to her:
Live. Enjoy life to its fullest, don't be chained by the past, and make sure that when your time comes, you can look back and smile knowing you have no regrets.
Hotaru gritted her teeth as she fought tears. As much as she didn't want to, she couldn't risk her life against this man. If she died, then Utakata-sensei's sacrifice would have been in vain. She reached into her ninja tool pouch, pulled out a smoke bomb, and used the ensuing cloud of smoke as a cover to fall back from the enemy.
…
Meanwhile, high into the air, Deidara and the flying Zetsu continued their assault on the Allied ground forces.
"You can run, you cry, but there's no escape from my art!" Deidara hollered as he prepared yet another salvo of clay bombs.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Suddenly, Deidara's clay dragon was hit by a powerful gust of wind, causing him to lose balance and drop all his clay explosives to the ground.
"Everybody down there, vacate the area! Those are bombs!" a female voice said.
Deidara turned around, his one visible eye angrily narrowing at the one who dared to get in the way of his art, and much to his growing rage, it was the same raven haired Konoha ninja that had been a thorn to his side lately. She was no longer wearing that red shirt with the white bandage-like dress, but a standard Konoha uniform.
"You again! The goddamned genjutsu bitch!" Deidara yelled, glaring at the floating Kurenai.
"How rude," she said, rolling her eyes, but smiling at the thought of making the missing-nin so mad. "Though, I can assure you that that wasn't a genjutsu."
"Oh really? Well- hey, wait a second," Deidara said, finally noticing something. "How the hell are you flying on your own? Is that another genjutsu?"
Kurenai smirked in a taunting manner. "Perhaps. Why don't you come and find if I'm real or not? If you can trust your senses, that's it."
"Release!" Deidara made a hand seal while sending a burst of chakra through his body in order to cleanse any illusion placed on him. Kurenai was still floating in front of him. "So you're real after all. Well, even if you know how to fly without the help of the ice girl, you aren't a match for me if you're alone!"
Deidara thrust both hands forward, releasing several clay insects that flew towards the genjutsu mistress. Kurenai was forced to fly away. She grabbed a handful of shuriken from her ninja tool pouch, and tossed them at the incoming clay creatures, nailing them with complete accuracy, causing them to prematurely explode.
A shadow alerted Kurenai of a threat coming from above. Looking up, the genjutsu mistress saw Deidara's dragon above her, just in the moment it spat a ball of clay at her.
"Die already!"
Kurenai was able to move away just in time to avoid the explosion. The clay dragon, however, continued its assault, firing more explosives at the escaping genjutsu mistress, her ears ringing from enduring the loud noise of the explosions going off so nearby. While he was able to dodge all of them, she was hit by the shockwave of one that blasted dangerously close to her, sneding her tumbling towards the ground.
"Haha, yes! Direct hit, bitch!" Deidara cheered, before laughing maniacally. "Now do me a favor and splat against the ground below!"
Kurenai tried not to panic at the thought of her impending death. She knew she only had a few seconds to restabilize the Riding the Hurricane jutsu before she could hit the ground, and she had to do it as she was tumbling downwards.
"Come on, come on, you can do it!" Kurenai thought, as she tried regain her stance as she pushed more chakra downards. "This can't be my end!"
"Yeah, die-WHAT THE HELL?" Deidara screamed.
That moment, Kurenai's fall was stopped when her back hit something with a round surface. Something that was floating in the air, and slowly moved upwards. It was soft to the touch, but surprisingly solid. And strangely enough, it was wet to the touch.
"A... bubble?" Kurenai asked. It was then when she noticed that she was lying on top of a large bubble.
"Thank goodness I was able to catch you in time," a nw voice said. Kurenai turned around, and saw that Kiri ninja friend of Haku. Hotaru, she believed was her name. She was also flying, sitting on top of another large bubble. "Kurenai-san, right?"
"Yes, I'm Kurenai," the genjutsu mistress said. "Thanks for the save. I owe you one."
"You're welcome," Hotaru replied, smiling at the Konoha Jonin. She then directed her eyes towards Deidara, riding on his clay dragon, and said smile turned into a frown. "Akatsuki. The same people who captured my sensei and those like him. Even if that man didn't do it personally, I feel like I'll be avenging Utakata-sensei if I help you take him down."
"Your help is appreciated. I thought I would be able to defeat him on my own, but guess I was over my head," Kurenai admitted. She then jumped off the flying bubble, and reactivated her flying jutsu. "Wind Release: Riding the Hurricane!"
Hotaru once again blew several bubbles from her pipe after making several seals.
"Water Release: Water Bubble Drift!"
The bubbles started to float around, quickly growing in size until they reached the same size as the bubble the blond kunoichi was standing on.
"You think you can beat me with mere bubbles!?" Deidara yelled, feeling insulted. "Don't you dare to mock me or my art!"
Deidara tossed a couple of explosive insects at Hotaru. The Kiri kunoichi quickly jumped from the bubble just a second before the clay insects detonated, destroying it. Fortunately, the bubbles she had created served as perfect platforms for her.
"I might not be able to fly like you or Kurenai-san, but I can keep up with you two in the air!" Hotaru boldly claimed. "Ready, Kurenai-san?"
Kurenai nodded and smiled confidently. "Ready as I'd ever be," she said, before shooting Deidara a look of determination. "It's about time we end the career of this so-called artist."
…
"Magnet Release: Golden Tsunami!"
"Coil of Water!"
Rasa summoned a torrent of golden sand to bury the Gold and Silver brothers under it, however, with a wave of the Banana Fan, Kinkaku summoned a torrent of water. Both attacks clashed, neither of them overpowering the other, but did its job in stopping Rasa's attack.
"Damn! No matter what I try, that damned fan counters it with an elemental jutsu!" Rasa mentally cursed. "I should ask for help, but if the men see their commander struggling with a single enemy..."
Darui and Ginkaku were trading blows as they moved across the battlefield, landing on the surface of the impromptu miniature sea Kinkaku had summoned with the Banana Fan. The silver haired man was now using the Seven Star Sword as if it was a normal sword, engaging Darui in a duel of blades. While Darui so far managed to keep up with the undead ninja, he knew it was a matter of time until he grew exhausted and made a mistake.
"You're not bad, brat!" Ginkaku said, his sword locked against Darui's. "But if you're the best Kumo can currently offer... I must say that the village must have gone to shit after we died!"
Darui narrowed his one visible eye, the anger of Ginkaku's insult giving him a brief but vital energy boost to push the undead ninja back, and switch to some genjutsu. "You'll be sorry for saying that! Lightning Release: Black Thunder Blade!"
Darui's broadsword started to crackle with black electricity, before tossing it at Ginkaku. The silver haired man merely smirked, and when the blade was close to him, he parried it with the Seven Star Sword, tossing it away.
"Nice try kid, but-"
"Storm Release: White Tiger Thunder Fang!"
Darui brough his hands together, releasing a mass of lightning bolts that flowed like water, all flying towards Ginkaku, before they merged, taking the shape of a tiger. The tiger lunged forward, letting out a roar, as it pounced towards the undead ninja. Ginkaku, however, wasn't fazed, as he simply jumped away in time to dodge the attack.
"No matter what you try, you wont-HUH?"
Much to his surprise, he saw the cleaver covered in black electricity flying towards him as if it had life on its own. He was fast enough to parry the attack once again, sending the sword away. However, while he was doing that, he didn't see the elemental tiger twisting its body and pouncing towards the undead ninja once, again, sinking its claws and fangs onto his body, piercing it. No blood was spilled, but dust and paper bits.
Darui calmly walked towards the now immobilized Ginkaku as his cleaver returned to him, casually catching it by the handle.
"I'm sorry I had to be so rough, but I hope at least I made you change your opinion on Kumo," Darui began.
"That sword... how did you...?" Ginkaku asked, as he uselessly struggled against the white tiger. Electricity coursed through his undead body, keeping it paralyzed.
"Black Lightning. You already died long before the man who invented this variant of Lightning Release rose to prominence," Darui explained. "More powerful than normal lightning, as well as more malleable and easy to direct. The trade off is its heavier chakra cost and not being as fast. But once you master it, it's invaluable. Now, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your time in this world is over. You will be sealed, and then permanently destroyed."
Ginkaku was going to open his mouth, when something caught his attention. A huge smirk spread across his mouth, something Darui noticed, which caused the young Kumo Jonin to tense up.
"You say you're sorry?" Ginkaku asked, sounding almost excited.
"Yes, I am. People say that I apologize a lot, but I can't help it," Darui continued. "Because yes, I'm truly sorry to see-"
"CAPTURE HIM, CRIMSON GOURD!"
Suddenly, the Crimson Gourd tied to Ginkaku's waist began to suck Darui in, much to the Kumo ninja's shock.
"What? But I didn't say-!"
Darui wasn't able to finish was he was saying, and was sealed inside the gourd. With him out of the picture, the elemental tiger keeping Ginkaku down quickly broke down into a thousand shatters of gliteering sparkles, releasing him. Ginkaku got back on his feet, and looked at the Seven Star Sword.
"Heh, who would have guessed," Ginkaku chuckled.
Where there was once written the word "DULL" now it was replaced with "SORRY".
…
Meanwhile, as those fights took place, the Sand Siblings were still inside the sandstorm Gaara had created in order to shield them from Danzo's attack. Despite Danzo had stopped attacking them, the Kazekage's youngest son had kept the storm active.
Unperturbed, the three siblings were sitting cross legged, with their eyes closed, completely immobile and silent. Or they were, until Temari got back on her feet.
"Okay, I think I'm done," Temari replied. "I hope you guys don't take long. I can sense dad's in trouble."
"I'm done too!" Kankuro replied, getting up as well. "Gaara?"
Gaara didn't say anything. He merely opened his eyes, which were now golden instead of teal. Dark blue marks that resembled Shukaku's body marks were around them. He then got up, and looked at his elder siblings: their eyes were also golden, with Temari having oval-shaped teal marks around theirs, while Kankuro's marks were angular and crimson.
"Yes. I have entered Sage Mode as well," Gaara replied. With a wave of his hand, he commanded the sandstorm to stop. "Let our enemies cower in fear at the sight of our new powers."
Author's Note: You know, at first I wasn't going to use Kinkaku and Ginkaku, given that their only role in the manga is obviously to provide Tobi with Nine Tails chakra to resurrect the Ten Tails, but in the end I decided to include the, since they're powerful ninjas with unique abilities that lend themselves for fun fights. Speaking of which, regarding the words of the Seven Star Sword... truth be told, I don't know how often Rasa says the word "sand", but given that it's the name of what he uses to attack, as well as his village, I felt it made sense. Originally, his word was going to be "gold" for similar reasons, but in the end I changed to "sand". And poor Darui, the same event that saved him in the manga bit him in the ass here.
While writing this chapter, I was SO GLAD that in the end I didn't make Yakumo as prominent as I originally intended, because "unbreakable genjutsu so powerful it makes the brain believe it's real a" is such an OP ability that writing fights for her would have been a major hassle. Thanks a lot to DryBonesKing, who helped me to come with the idea of using Yamanaka mind jutsu to counter Yakumo's normally unbreakable genjutsu.
Given that the chapter ends with Gaara and his siblings about to use Sage Mode for the first time, there's something I'd like to say about it: some people in the reviews have complained about how I'm making Sage Mode less special and unique by giving it to so many people. Thh thing is... it is really such a bad thing? You see, one thing I like about Sage Mode is that it's a power-up that's not tied to the genes, as it's so common in Shonen genre, such as with the Super Saiyan or the Sharingan and all its evolutions. And thus, it can be used to keep other characters relevant power-wise, and give them new abilities. So yes, I'm willing to make Sage Mode less unique if the payoff is making many interesting characters strong enough to be relevant during the endgame.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
I hope you enjoyed the first part of the battle. While you wait for the second one, don't forget to drop a review, no matter how long or how short, I love them all! Reviews make me really, really, really happy.
