The Wanderers
Chapter 10 – Linebreak
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, there wouldn't be just one overarching bad guy.
Kakashi kept a smile to himself as he led his unit through the plains. They had left the village ahead of the main force, with a small defensive force taking position around Konoha's borders. The sky had given the group no respite from its wrath, torrential rain slamming into the group as they ran to the designating location near the edges of the River Country. Kakashi had Hakaru at the front of their group using his Byakugan to scan for any Suna scouts. The rain had forced him to shift his planned formation, as the Inuzuka in the group couldn't use her nose to track enemies with the water covering the area.
During the two day journey Kakashi had gotten to know more about his subordinates. Genma, despite being a jokester, and a bad one at that, was a capable mid-range fighter who used senbon needles and taijutsu to defeat his targets. He also worked well in conjunction with a black-sword wielding Chuunin, a quiet plain-looking shinobi called Raido. The unit had a fair combination of offensive and defensive fighters, though the only genjutsu user was the Senju who had requested the transfer. Kakashi signalled for the unit to stop, pointing to a section of forest ahead of them. Hakaru put up two fingers, Kakashi getting the message immediately.
Sensei is right. I need to show the group that I am worth leading them. Maybe this will show that I'm a Jounin for a reason.
He put his hands together and created a Kage Bunshin, asking Hakaru where the two scouts were positioned. The group's eyes widened as both Kakashis placed their hands towards the ground, using their free hand to reveal their Sharingan. Since the rain had started there had been thundering claps of lightning, so Kakashi felt it an appropriate moment to demonstrate to the group why he was chosen to be their leader. Both of their hands erupted into light-blue lightning as each fixated on their targets, their Sharingan showing them the blue outlines of the two scouts.
That forest would be perfect for our forces to consolidate, if Jiraiya-sama's information network is correct.
Kakashi sent his clone after the eastern scout whilst he ran towards the other. The Jounin was extremely fast when his chakra was activated during Chidori, and as he sped into the forest he noticed that neither of the scouts had moved.
Either they have not spotted my approach, or Jito has covered me with a genjutsu.
His clone jumped high into the air, the Suna scout having no chance to react as the clone drove the lightning technique into his chest, killing him instantly. The rain had slowed the real Kakashi's approach, and as he drew away from his unit Kakashi could tell that he wasn't being concealed anymore. The scout jumped out of the woods, Kakashi barely able to make out a staggered line of shinobi, his eyes widening as he realised how close his group was to the retreating Suna forces.
He swore as he saw the scout getting away from him, he could feel his unit running behind him, but if he didn't do something the scout would get away and give the Suna force key intelligence on his unit. He concentrated hard on a new technique he had been working on, feeling a huge rush of chakra as he opened the first chakra gate. His speed increased three-fold as he rapidly closed the distance to the scout, lightning crashing around him as the scout turned around to face his pursuer.
Kakashi leapt into the air and thrust his lightning-covered arm towards the scout. The brown-clad scout's eyes widened as Kakashi's approach was covered by a deafening strike of lightning between them, the young Jounin feeling a giant surge of power as his attack blasted right through the scout. Kakashi took a moment to realise what he had just done before jumping back towards the tree-line, dodging dozens of projectiles thrown in his direction by the line of Suna shinobi.
When he got to the forest he was impressed that his unit had already begun setting up defences. They had set up dozens of traps for pursuers, and were already taking tabs on the Suna force. The unit collectively acknowledged his return, many of them impressed at the young Jounin's abilities.
"Those were some damn impressive moves there" said Tsuma, putting his axes back behind his cloak as he saw there were no pursuers.
The others in the unit nodded in agreement, their Hyuuga companion having told them in detail how Kakashi had taken down the scouts. He made his way over to their genjutsu-specialist, giving him thanks for covering his approach. The Senju Chuunin barely nodded in response, the rain loudly tinkering off his armour. Kakashi turned to Mikoto, who had just finished giving orders to set up a unit of scouts to patrol the forest borders.
"I want a barrier set up immediately. The Fourth will be here shortly, and I doubt Sensei would forgive us if we didn't have a warm welcome ready for him."
His second-in-command gave him a quick salute before flashing him a smile and going about her duty. It was fascinating for Kakashi to watch the Uchiha matriarch interact with the other Chuunin. Although she was the same rank and near the same age, her soft tones seemed to compel the Chuunin to obey her orders as if they had come from the Hokage himself. Kakashi suspected that the group would have been less enthusiastic if the young Jounin gave the orders, but when the twenty-year old Uchiha told them to move, they did so with gusto. Kakashi let out a long breath, feeling a thud on his back as Genma clapped him with a gloved hand.
"Way to go there, Cap. I thought of a great name for your technique."
Kakashi bit at his thumbnail nervously as he counted the number of Suna shinobi in the defensive line. There was no way his unit could break that line without significant casualties. The Suna shinobi were covering their main force's retreat, this he knew, but held the higher ground against the Konoha forces. Kakashi knew that the Suna forces were aware that Konoha was bearing down on them; he hoped that his Sensei wasn't misinterpreting their movements.
"There is something strange in the formation" said Hakaru, having had his Byakugan activated since they reached the edge of the tree line.
The two scouts sat in the tree for several minutes, Hakaru scanning the enemy forces quietly with his doujutsu. Eventually Kakashi's patience ran out, as he turned his uncovered eye towards the Hyuuga.
"Care to…elaborate on your statement, Hakaru?"
The scout smirked slowly, taking quiet pride in his ability to frustrate the young Jounin. Kakashi knew there was no way for him to win over the branch house member, and knew that his dislike for him wasn't entirely meant for the silver-haired Jounin.
The Hyuuga pointed at a section of several dozen Suna ninja, "Every third ninja is the same."
Kakashi stared at the shinobi across from them, unable to tell any of them apart from that distance, they all looked the same with the flak jackets and brown clothing.
"I don't see what you mean."
The Hyuuga sniggered while his white eyes stared at the Suna shinobi, "Of course you don't. There are forty copies of a ninja with a small scar above his right thumb, thirty-seven copies of a ninja with a slightly larger distance between his eyes, and fifteen copies of a ninja with a tear on the left sleeve of his shirt."
Kakashi was amazed at how much detail the Hyuuga shinobi could pick out at that distance even with the Byakugan, though he still didn't care for his attitude.
"So you are saying that there are actually three shinobi covering for nearly one hundred?"
Hakaru shook his head, standing up slowly and dropping from the tree to the ground. Kakashi sighed and followed him, secretly thankful at the opportunity to stretch his legs. Hakaru deactivated his doujutsu and knelt down on one knee, pulling a scroll from his flak jacket and opening it on the ground before taking out a pen.
"I took another scan, that entire section isn't real" he said as he wrote down a quick report to send to their commanding officers.
Kakashi took a glance at the defensive line, "A genjutsu to cover up their diminishing numbers? That's…quite clever actually."
He ran through the numbers in his head, taking into consideration the disposition of enemy troops Hakaru was writing down and how close his own unit was. Once Hakaru was finished, he leant down and wrote down his own message, before wrapping up the scroll and handing it back to Hakaru. The Hyuuga ran through a set of seals, bit his thumb and placed it on a nearby low tree branch. A small brown hawk appeared in a puff of smoke, Hakaru placing the scroll on the strap on the hawk's back. The Hyuuga nodded to the hawk, watching as it flew towards the new Hokage's position.
"Send another hawk to Mikoto. Have the unit make their way here as quick as they can."
Hakaru looked at his commanding officer with a frown, "For what purpose?"
The Jounin pushed down his anger at the insubordination, "Hakaru, I'm your commanding officer. If I give you an order, you are expected to follow it."
The Hyuuga stared down at Kakashi, wondering whether he had pushed the silver-haired boy too far. He went through the seals again, wiping his thumb on his palm. He didn't respond to Kakashi's statement, simply sending a second hawk with a new sense of respect for the Jounin. He still didn't like him, but could tell that Kakashi wasn't going to tolerate that kind of behaviour. Besides, he was a Hyuuga. He would still do his job to the best of his ability.
The unit wasn't convinced of Kakashi's plan, even as the sky had turned to night. The Jounin had outlined his plan and they had been excited by the idea, but Mikoto had quickly pointed out that they had no way of getting to the enemy lines before being noticed, thus removing their advantage and allowing the Suna forces to collapse in on them quicker then intended, cutting them to shreds.
"I know that the point of us attacking is to draw them away from the Fourth's position, but we wouldn't last very long if they know we are coming. There would be no element of surprise."
Kakashi nodded in agreement to his second-in-command, but turned to another of the group.
"But if we did get through that gap that Hakaru pointed out, then we could set up a position and deal serious damage. This could be the push that changes the fate of the war."
He looked at the Senju shinobi leaning against a nearby tree, "Jito, can you cover us as we move in?"
The group turned to the genjutsu-user, not sure what Kakashi was implying. Jito hadn't spoken to anyone in the group, and as such only Kakashi knew what his abilities were, since Jito's introduction before was entirely an illusion of his own creation. He looked over at the line of Suna shinobi with the same frown he had been wearing since meeting the group.
"It wouldn't be easy. Fooling that many shinobi would mean that I wouldn't be able to assist in the battle much" he said softly.
"But you can do it?" asked Kakashi, knowing the Senju's answer already.
Jito didn't respond, but placed his hands together in a handseal and focused on his technique. Kakashi pulled up his forehead protector to reveal his Sharingan, and could feel himself learning the complex genjutsu that Jito was weaving, but forced himself to look away as he regarded the rest of the group. He had been thankful that it had finally stopped raining, so that the fire-users could participate in the attack.
"I'm not one for speeches, as you all have likely worked out. Remember, we fight as a unit. We are Konoha shinobi. We protect our comrades at all costs."
Several in the group looked at each other with suspicion, but Kakashi knew that when it came down to it they would look after each other. Konoha shinobi knew that if they protected their friends, they in turn would be protected.
"We will tear straight through their lines. I want nobody holding back."
Nagisa stood up as she removed a small scroll from one of her black companion's neck, having sent it to the Hokage's command post to receive confirmation of Kakashi's plan. She handed it to Kakashi without a word, taking her position back within the group with her two hounds holding position behind her in the shadows. Kakashi opened the scroll, read the contents and then destroyed it with a small flame before his hands. He sighed as he knew what he had to say next, not happy with the order from the Hokage but still willing to comply with it.
"No prisoners."
Jito continued to run through handseals, the group noticing the tree line was beginning to waver and swirl. Genma placed a new senbon in his mouth, having broken his previous one on the way to Kakashi's position. Standing next to him, Hayate removed his sword and breathed out slowly, trying to hide his nerves. The purple-haired sword wielder, who Kakashi had learnt called herself Yugao, revealed her own plain looking sword, smiling at Hayate whilst standing next to him. Mikoto had taken it upon herself to tell the quiet swordsman about Yugao's interest in him, and the Uchiha matriarch had found it highly amusing when the two sword-wielders had found each other. They had kept it civil when in public, but Kakashi had seen them together in their downtime. Kakashi hadn't agreed with Mikoto's decision, but he did notice that both of them appeared to be more focused when on the job.
Jito placed his hands together into a fist, and muttered quietly, "Magen: Kokoni Arazu" (Demonic Illusion: False Surrounding).
The group looked around themselves, noticing that at the edges of their group there was a pitch black wall instead of the forest. Hakaru tried to look through the darkness with his Byakugan, noticing with amazement that there was only one section he could see through, the way towards the enemy line. He figured that the Senju warrior had allowed him to see through that section, to guide them through. Jito kept his hands together in the dog seal, a small bead of sweat dripping from his forehead onto his armoured chest. He gave Kakashi a slight nod; the Jounin could tell that Jito would have to maintain the technique for the whole time they were on the move.
He gave a hand signal to Mikoto and then nodded for Hakaru to lead them through with Byakugan. The Hyuuga nodded in turn and began to walk towards the enemy line, hoping that Jito's illusion would do its job. Having prepared themselves as best as possible, the group followed the Hyuuga scout without a word. They were in a tight formation, Jito was only able to cover a dozen metres each side with his powerful illusion.
"If I may, Kakashi-san should I take out the genjutsu-user first?" asked Nagisa quietly, her two black hounds trotting beside her as they crossed from the forest into the open field.
"Do you have his location?" asked Kakashi at the front of the group next to Hakaru.
The Inuzuka female nodded, her dark red painted nails growing into sharp claws slowly.
"Then by all means" said her commander, hoping that she was half as good as her file said she was.
He turned to the rest of the group as they closed the gap to the Suna shinobi. Hakaru had indicated that they were in the clear for the time being, though they could all tell how straining it was for Jito to maintain the illusionary technique.
"That goes for the rest of you as well. I don't want you to be reckless, but we are here to cause as much damage as possible."
As they neared the line, he signalled for quiet, knowing that while they may not be visible, they may still be heard. Jito was a brilliant illusionist, but even he couldn't cover every sense completely. The group stopped at Hakaru's indication that they were in front of the fake Suna shinobi, Kakashi giving the signal to Nagisa to take out the genjutsu user. The Inuzuka assassin's skin slowly changed to a flush red before fading to a coal black, her hounds vanishing into the ground as she followed into the shadows.
Hakaru watched carefully with his Byakugan, and after a few moments he put up a single hand in a fist. He watched the fakes slowly dissipate; counting the numbers until he was sure they were all gone. He saw Nagisa appear behind a stone wall, her claws removing themselves from a Suna shinobi, who Hakaru was horrified to see that he no longer had a face. Knowing that the Hyuuga was watching, she gave a signal with a bloody claw, before vanishing into the background. Hakaru put his hand up flat, Kakashi getting the signal. He tapped Jito on the shoulder, and the Senju gave no response except to release his hands from his seal. The group prepared their techniques and weapons for a final time as Kakashi drew a long breath.
Here we go.
There were four hundred Suna shinobi in the defensive line that they could see, not including the fakes that Hakaru had identified with his Byakugan. Kakashi had thirty Konoha ninja under his command, and with Jito popped a specially-prepared chakra pill, they were all ready to draw the enemy into Minato's trap. The instant Nagisa assassinated the illusionist, the Suna forces knew that they had been infiltrated as the illusions disappeared.
Two hawks immediately departed for the main Suna army, only to be taken down by sharp senbon fired by Genma on the ground with pinpoint precision. Kakashi gave the signal to attack, joining his side in attacking the Sand shinobi. Since their breach was near the centre of the line, Kakashi had divided their forces into two and ordered them to spread outwards for as long as they could before folding back towards the tree line.
Kakashi blocked a thrown kunai with his own, having already sent a large fireball into a nearby brown-clad shinobi. The burning Suna Chuunin flailed around as his companions were forced to defend themselves from the onslaught. Tsuma was very much in his element, dozens of steel black axes rotating around his body as he removed an axe from a Suna shinobi's neck. Besides him one of Kakashi's unit threw half a dozen kunai into a small group of enemies, forming a handseal quickly as the small explosions engulfed the shinobi.
Kakashi nodded thanks to a Chuunin who forced the Jounin to the ground to avoid a large earthen projectile. Having copied dozens of techniques unintentionally with Sharingan during the fight, Kakashi felt the knowledge spring forth from him as he swiftly performed the handseals before driving his hands into the ground.
"Doton: Doryuusou" (Earth Element: Rising Stone Spears)
The ground rumbled as dozens of large stone spikes attacked the Suna shinobi, forcing them to fall back in time for three Chuunin to complete their preparations, a large cage of fire trapping the enemies, burning them alive. One of his Chuunin fell to the ground, his body riddled with projectiles. The surrounding unit swore collectively, redoubling their efforts as more Suna shinobi collided with their forces.
Kakashi didn't want to use the newly named 'Raikiri' (Lightning Edge) too much, as more then three times would leave him with very little chakra. He blocked a sword strike with a kunai, driving a sandaled foot into the shinobi's neck before slicing his throat open. Kakashi noted with interest as some of the reinforcing shinobi were falling to the ground with huge gaping holes in their necks, three falling at a time.
She is not what I expected, though I cannot fault her abilities.
He swore and jumped back, a kunai with an explosion tag attached landing near his feet forcing him to back off from his attack. On his side he had lost five Chuunin so far, though they had reaped a bloody toll in return. Tsuma, the monster that he was, had broken five axes and had dozens of small cuts on his body, but in his static position there was a mounting body count around him.
He grinned wildly as his armour deflected a thrown kunai; sending one of his floating axes straight into the offending shinobi's face, the weapon flying back to Tsuma's position drenched in blood. He parried a sword strike with one axe and drove another axe into the Suna shinobi's arm, severing it at the elbow before slicing off his other arm, turning his attention to his next target as the enemy fell to the ground. The Sand shinobi screamed out in agony for a moment, then was strangely quiet.
Seeing no enemies in his immediate area, Tsuma turned back to his incapacitated foe. While he enjoyed battle immensely, he wasn't a stranger to a soldier's mercy. The Suna shinobi's face slowly smiled a bloody visage that regarded the axe-wielder with dead eyes. Tsuma didn't like the look, so he buried an axe into the foe's chest. He felt a slight resistance to the strike, and felt unnerved as the Suna shinobi's smile widened. A bright light began to shine underneath the dark brown robe and armour, Tsuma's eyes widened as he realised his error. The large explosion threw back both sides of shinobi, many of them blinded by brightness and shards of shrapnel peppered the warring shinobi. Nearby Kakashi placed his hands back into a handseal, trying to use his Sharingan to track how far away his teacher's forces were. He could barely make out a blue shape in the distance, but couldn't concentrate on it as he was forced to duck under several sand projectiles.
Mikoto's reasons for being in the vanguard were purely political for her own sake, but as she concentrated a stream of light blue flames into the Suna shinobi she had to admit she was enjoying herself. She had a constant shield of wind surrounding her body, siphoning sections of the wind off to fuel her deadly flame attacks. She had abandoned her normal calm smiling visage, adopting a war mask as she peppered a small group of Suna shinobi that was preparing a large combination attack.
Some of the enemy shinobi had worked out how dangerous she was and had attempted to concentrate on her, but her fire and wind-covered form was a nightmare to behold. She sent a large wall of orange flame into a line of Suna shinobi, as she flattened another dozen shinobi with a thundering blanket of wind pressure.
"Watch your side" warned Hayate, blocking an axe blow with his sword as Yugao defended his side with her own blade.
They worked in perfect unison, each defending the other's back whilst claiming a bloody toll on the enemy forces. Hayate was considered a prodigy of the sword by his superiors; his innate ability to find and exploit enemy weakness was almost unnatural. Yugao, on the other hand, was quicker and more defensive, preferring to deflect and parry any blows that came near herself and her partner, letting Hayate take the lion's share of the kills. Across the field of battle from the two swordsmen, Genma and Raido regarded a small contingent of Suna shinobi that had splintered off to face them.
"I'll cover you" said Genma, pulling a scroll from his flak jacket before forming a handseal with it between his fingers.
Raido nodded silently and stood defensively with his obsidian blade. Genma bit at the senbon in his mouth before finishing his handseal.
"Hari no Mai" (Dance of the Needles)
Raido blocked a thrown kunai with his sword and ran forward, as a shower of needles shot around him. The Suna shinobi struggled to defend themselves against the torrent of needles, some being struck in the shoulders or neck as Raido suddenly appeared in their midst. He kept a grim look on his face as he cut down the first enemy in front of him, who was already bleeding from dozens of small needle wounds. He noticed an enemy coming at him from the side but ignored him, parrying and attacking another Suna shinobi with his blade. Genma threw a set of senbon at the shinobi attacking Raido, his attacks striking the enemy in both eyes and the throat as he fell to the ground in agony. Feeling left out as Raido cut down another foe, Genma closed the distance with his hands in a different seal.
"Raido! Throw me a blade! I've got a wicked plan in mind."
Raido ducked under a strike and buried his sword in the stomach of an enemy before dragging it up and out his neck with a single strike. He sighed and tossed a scroll to his companion, taking a defensive position as Genma laid the scroll down on the ground.
"That's a pretty dull-looking blade, but fine I suppose this'll work too."
Raido blocked several projectiles and cut down a charging attacker as smoke began to rise from the scroll behind him. Genma smiled as he slammed a palm onto the scroll.
"Shall we have a ball?" Raido groaned at the pun as a small brown sphere appeared above them, spinning rapidly.
He jumped back to Genma's position and both of them activated their technique at the same time.
"Doton: Tsuchiengai" (Earth Element: Earth Dome) called out Raido, a thick shield of earth covering both of the Konoha shinobi.
Genma had ensured that there were no friendlies in range as he activated his technique.
"Shippuu no Mai" (Dance of the Hurricane)
Neither shinobi could see what happened but as the dome receded from around them after a few loud screams and they counted the bodies that had been impaled by the storm of needles, both of them took a long breath. Genma grinned at his companion before wiping his bloody hands on his jacket.
"Shall we break for lunch then?"
His partner rolled his eyes, before seeing the bright flames of their female companion flare high up into the air. Genma bit on his senbon and rolled up the scroll at his feet.
"I suppose not then."
The vanguard unit had taken a bloody toll on the Suna forces during the short battle. In the ten minutes they had been fighting they had killed 60 percent of the enemy forces from what they could see, though the sides of the defensive line had collapsed onto the unit quickly. Kakashi's unit had suffered casualties in return, sheer weight of numbers taking down the superior fighters of the Konoha vanguard.
Jito had experienced war before, the Second Shinobi War had a much higher body count and was a lot worse than this, however as his Hyuuga companion defended his position he cursed his own frailty. The genjutsu master had been forced to remain stationary to recover his chakra, and Hakaru was skilfully deflecting all the projectiles thrown in their direction with small blue chakra blades coming from his palms. Jito rose from his position and walked past the Hyuuga branch member, giving him the slightest of nods in thanks.
Hakaru noticed Jito's recovery and clenched a fist, his Byakugan showing him that Kakashi's half was being overwhelmed, and the young Jounin was struggling against over a dozen enemies. He swore under his breath and ran towards his commander quickly. He didn't like Kakashi for several reasons, but that didn't mean he would leave him to die. Kakashi leapt back as his stone wall was breached by several small explosions, a kunai cutting the side of his cheek as he let off a fireball into the group of Suna shinobi. He felt himself smile as Hakaru landed next to him, the Hyuuga's hands glowing a fierce blue colour.
"You seem to be in a bind, Kakashi" commented the taijutsu fighter.
The young Jounin drew a slow breath before straightening up and putting his hands together.
"Timing is everything, Hakaru" he replied dryly.
Tsuma's explosive death had taken out a significant portion of the forces opposing Kakashi's side as there were only forty shinobi left to oppose them, though it was only Kakashi and Hakaru left to fight them.
"Hakaru, do you have any area of effect techniques?"
The Hyuuga branch shook his head in response, wary of the fact that the Suna shinobi were biding their time, arrogantly waiting to counter any technique the Konoha shinobi could throw against them. Kakashi began a new set of handseals, his Sharingan showing him how afraid the Suna shinobi really were of the two shinobi.
They are mostly Chuunin and Genin. Suna forces must be severely undermanned if this is their defensive line.
His hand began to scream with lightning, as the enemy forces reeled back in fear. Remembering Kakashi's previous fight, Hakaru understood what Kakashi was going to do, giving the Suna shinobi a wicked grin before leaping towards them, sending dozens of shuriken and kunai into the group. The retaliation projectiles were deflected by his chakra hand blades as the Hyuuga branch member dug into a defensible position, forming a perfect sphere with his chakra blades that the oncoming shinobi seemed to bounce off of.
A Suna shinobi finished a hand seal and began to form a large wind blade to cut through the Hyuuga's defence, but Kakashi appeared in front of him before he could complete his technique, driving his lightning-charged hand through the foe's chest before turning to the next foe.
What the hell is keeping our reinforcements? he thought as he moved to his next target.
Jito rubbed a stiff shoulder as he stood within a large group of Suna shinobi, hidden under a subtle illusion that was as simple to him as breathing.
There are eighty-seven shinobi here, most of them Chuunin or higher. They've been holding back until we were less of a threat. If they attack our group, we will be crushed.
He watched as a shinobi wearing a set of plated wrist guards and a red sash barked orders at the rest of the group; Jito could tell he was clearly the leader of the pack. The Senju warrior didn't let off a sound as he figured it might break his illusion, but he knew that he would have to once again break his oath to his long deceased father. He bit at both his thumbs, wiping the blood across his cheeks before quietly clapping his hands together.
Forgive me, Father.
He cut off his illusion and appeared in front of the group of shinobi, the very image of the Second Hokage with his father's fur-covered armour on his body, even changing certain bits of his face to better resemble the past Hokage. The Suna shinobi recoiled immediately at the famous image, but Jito gave them no chance at recovering as he fuelled all the chakra he could spare through his technique.
"Magen: Narakujitsuzai" (Demonic Illusion: Hellish Reality)
Jito never got used to the screams that emanated from victims of the devastating genjutsu, knowing that his personally developed technique was amongst the most dangerous forbidden in Konoha. All eighty-seven Suna shinobi suffered the same fate, each suffering a horrifying illusion personally tailored and created within their own psyche.
To their credit, most of the Suna shinobi survived longer then Jito expected, but the result was always the same with that particular genjutsu. The shinobi fell to the ground with no resistance, their faces covered in blood from their eyes and nose. None of them moved at all, Jito not needing to check the bodies to know that none of them had survived. His technique had been designed for situations exactly like that, when overwhelming numbers needed to be disposed of quickly.
The illusions created were so horrifying and incomprehensible to the victims that their brains were simply overwhelmed by the sensory input. It had been forbidden technique from the moment Jito had created it, as were many of Jito's more advanced illusion techniques. The Second Hokage knew how genjutsu users were perceived by their peers, generally with suspicion, doubt and disgust. Techniques that were so disturbing only served to deepen the hatred, as Jito had experienced.
There may come a time when I may be forgiven for such actions. However there is still war to be fought and comrades to protect.
Kakashi fell to the ground, his chakra spent as the last Suna shinobi fell to a blow from Hakaru's fingers. The two Konoha shinobi were soon joined by the remains of the unit, the Suna defensive line having been completely decimated by the surprise attack.
"I guess we didn't need reinforcements after all" said Hakaru, noticing with his Byakugan that the Konoha forces were still a distance away.
Kakashi looked over his unit, feeling a sense of relief as he saw Mikoto's smiling face leading a small group towards him. He then felt a horrible sense of dread as he saw Jito and Nagisa appeared within the group, noticing that only nine of them had survived.
Considering what we took out, I should be impressed. Yet, all I can feel is this horrible emptiness, nearly as bad as when Obito died.
"Where is the Fourth?" asked Genma.
Kakashi shrugged, he had no idea, and at this point he didn't care. The reinforcements wouldn't have been any help as Kakashi's unit had a high likelihood of losing shinobi anyway, but he had to admit he wouldn't mind seeing his blonde teacher's face again. Hakaru tapped him on the shoulder, pointing a kunai at the direction of the retreating main Suna army.
"What is it?" asked Kakashi, picking himself up with a tired sigh.
"There is a shinobi approaching us."
The Jounin's eyes widened, he prayed that it wasn't who he thought it might be.
"Who is it?" asked Mikoto, popping a soldier pill and flexing her fingers in preparation.
"I don't recognise him. But he is approaching us, slowly and on his own" said Hakaru, noticing his commander giving out orders for the remains of the unit to prepare once again for a fight.
Kakashi took a pill from Mikoto and swallowed it, taking a position next to the Hyuuga scout.
"Is it the Kazekage?" he asked, petrified that he might be correct.
His companion shook his head, as the shape of the single shinobi appeared in the unit's view. At the side of the group, Jito felt a strange sense of foreboding as the figure came into view. Years of fighting had given him a good sense of when to pick his battles, and as he saw the shinobi he felt an overwhelming urge to just walk away. Nagisa's nose twitched and her hounds growled softly, each of them alarmed at the fact that there was no scent coming from the figure.
The group prepared their weapons as the Suna shinobi stopped a short distance away, Mikoto's eyes widening as she recognised the figure. The shinobi was wearing a simple plain brown robe, without any insignia except for the Sand symbol on his chest area. He was a young man, Kakashi could tell he was about the same age as Genma, but there was a strangely dead look in his eyes. The shinobi ran a pale hand through his short red hair before removing a scroll from his back and laying it down on the ground.
"We should retreat" said Mikoto, most of the unit nodding in agreement.
"Who is he?" asked Kakashi, not recognising him from their files on the Suna forces.
Beside him Hayate wiped his sword on his sleeve and stood slightly in front of his purple-haired partner defensively, "He is Sasori of the Red Sands".
Kakashi kicked himself for not recognising the young red head; he certainly knew who their opponent was, he recognised the name.
The terror of Suna he thought, watching a small plume of smoke rising from the scroll in front of Sasori.
He almost ordered his unit to retreat, until he saw what their opponent was doing, realising the opportunity had passed. Sasori placed his hands out in front of him, with his fingers outstretched as he counted his opponents. The Konoha shinobi suddenly found themselves facing equal numbers of enemies as Sasori connected chakra strings from his fingers to the nine ninja puppets he had summoned. One of the puppets, a long crocodile looking creature, stayed next to the famous puppet user, Kakashi figuring that it was his defensive puppet that had yet to be penetrated in the war.
He's cocky to think he only needs on puppet for each of us. Then again, he is famous for a reason.
Behind him he heard a soft growl before a small voice in his head told him to duck. Kakashi fell to the ground immediately, barely making it in time as a devastating whirlwind passed over his head, slamming into one of the puppets directly. If Sasori was surprised, he gave no indication as Nagisa appeared on the other side of the line, jumping around the side back to the Konoha unit as the remains of her target fell to the ground.
"He doesn't seem so scary" said Genma, pulling out a handful of senbon from his pack.
"Don't be hasty, Genma" warned Raido, not wanting to see his friend killed by the puppet master in a foolish attack.
Kakashi picked himself up from the ground and gave a quick thanks to Jito for the mental warning, before regarding the remaining puppets. They all appeared to have a human-like appearance, some of them wearing Suna headbands and flak jackets, while others had multiple limbs that ended in deadly weaponry.
"Don't get cut by his weapons, they are all coated with poison" observed Hakaru, keeping a particularly troubling insight from his Byakugan to himself as Sasori turned his gaze towards the Hyuuga shinobi.
"A Hyuuga? Fascinating. You would make a fine addition to my collection."
Even his voice gave the group the impression that Sasori was little older than them, but if the rumours were anything to go by he had killed more in the war than their entire unit combined. He twitched two of the fingers on his left hand, Kakashi only able to catch the movement of his hands because of his Sharingan. Two of the more monstrous-looking puppets flew forward unnaturally fast, the left one opening its mouth and spitting out dozens of needles at the Hyuuga shinobi as the other one circled around him with a long sword in hand.
Easily able to read the attacks, Hakaru dodged the needles and side-stepped the sword blow, moving to strike the puppets until he remembered that as objects without chakra his attacks would be useless. Kakashi and Mikoto both moved to cover him as the rest of the group faced against the other puppets.
Mikoto blew back the two puppets with a harsh wind from her hands as Kakashi put his own hands together, "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!"
The small fireballs became exponentially larger with the wind force from Mikoto, driving the puppets back further. Hakaru cursed his own inability to damage the puppets, taking up the task of trying to figure out a weakness in Sasori's technique. The Suna shinobi seemed content to fight on multiple fronts, the task of controlling eight puppets at once being no issue as each of the puppets fought with the skills of Jounin-level shinobi.
Having already read her main attack, Sasori had no problem making his puppets dodge Nagisa's taijutsu attacks, even those directed at his body simply bounced off his defensive puppet's large shield. At the back of the group, Jito was struggling against his puppet foe, barely able to dodge the many small blades the puppet was firing at him from hidden compartments. Jito hated fighting in close quarters, but the mere fact that Sasori had sent a puppet after him meant that his genjutsu would not help him. Whenever he felt an enemy presence, Jito would layer on a camouflage illusion so that he could ambush the enemy with a more offensive illusion, but Sasori had merely noticed him as an afterthought.
I've never come across an enemy that I couldn't at least partially influence, and yet here is one right now.
A sword strike hit the armour on his arm, sending a shockwave through his body and he slammed a fist into the puppet's face. The puppet reeled back and fired a dozen kunai from a hidden compartment in its wrist, the Senju warrior barely able to dodge in time before the puppet attacked him once more. The other Konoha ninja were in a similar predicament, though Kakashi and Mikoto had been able to dispatch the puppets plaguing Hakaru by trapping them in an earth-dome and setting them alight.
Sasori gave a slight frown as he regarded the charred remains of the large puppets. The wooden forms of his puppets were very susceptible to their fire techniques, though not as much as normal wood. He observed the Hyuuga in the group gasp loudly; his Byakugan staring at Sasori's cloaked form. He flicked his fingers and renewed his attacks against the Konoha forces, though he gave an almost casual flick with a chakra string attached, his opponents too preoccupied to notice the slight movement.
Hakaru went to yell his revelatory observation to Kakashi, but found his voice oddly silent. Only when he placed a hand on the front of his neck, did he notice the encroaching darkness that was seeping into his vision's edges. He looked at his hand, feeling a sticky red substance on it as his legs became numb. He could see his young commander call out to him but couldn't hear him, a dull silence ringing in his ears as he fell to the ground. Sasori allowed himself a grin as his puppet lowered its bladed hand, pulling itself out of the hole beneath the Hyuuga's corpse. Kakashi ducked under a sword strike as he watched Hakaru fall to the ground with a giant gash in his throat.
He hid a puppet under the ground. Damnit, how did we miss that?
He watched Hayate and Yugao corner a puppet with their swords, driving it back with a barrage of strikes before Mikoto cut it off and helped them destroy the humanoid puppet with a large pillar of blue flame. In another part of the battlefield Nagisa was struggling against two animal-looking puppets with large spinning blades, her normally calm visage broken as Kakashi noticed two black forms on the ground with large sprays of red liquid around their bodies.
The Inuzuka was on the back foot against the puppets, though her speed allowed her to strike hard blows against the wooden puppets, her sharp claws digging holes into the puppets but they still attacked her without pause. Nagisa jumped back and landed on all fours, the two puppets shifting slowly in the air as Sasori was wary of the animalistic shinobi. Biting into her lip and drawing blood with a long fang, Nagisa felt a rage build inside her, the blood dripping into the ground at her feet.
I hope they are able to look after my body. This technique takes far too much out of me.
She rolled backwards and swiped the blood across both palms before crossing her arms across her face.
"Hijutsu Jinjuu Henge: Kageookami!" (Hidden Human Beast Transformation: Shadow Wolf)
Sasori watched with fascination as she vanished from his sight, the only indication of her existence was the blood drops on the ground from her hands. He kept the puppets idle as he turned his attention to his other puppets, figuring she had fled the battlefield. After a few moments the chakra strings attached to the two puppets fell limb, and then collapsed to the ground. Feeling a strange tug as his two puppets sat limp without strings attached, Sasori quickly reattached new strings but felt no response from the puppets.
His keen eyes noticed a very small imprint on the ground between the puppet and his fingers, but he could do nothing as both of his puppets appeared to vanish into thin air piece by piece. Fighting the other Konoha shinobi had distracted Sasori momentarily, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a huge black creature appear behind the group before shrinking back into the unconscious form of the female animalistic shinobi. Sasori had not expected such resistance from the Konoha shinobi, believing that he only needed equal numbers to take out the Konoha unit. He renewed his efforts, as the Konoha shinobi began to encircle the last three offensive puppets attacking them. The vanguard unit hadn't bothered to attack his defensive puppet, knowing that it would likely take a combined effort to take down the advanced puppet.
"Raido!" called out Genma, catching his partner by the shoulders as Raido clutched at his bleeding face.
Genma spat his senbon at the puppet that had dragged its blades across Raido's face, the thin weapon imbedding itself into a joint in the puppet's neck. Sasori felt like laughing at the pitiful attack, as if a senbon could destroy a ninja puppet. Genma's face broke into a grin as he put up a one-handed sign and placed Raido on the ground carefully.
"It's only a small prick" he muttered, the small weapon erupting in an explosion that demolished the puppet, sending large chunks of wood flying all around them.
Raido continued to scream out in pain at the long shallow cut across his face, the poison already seeping into his body. Genma leant down and took a quick glance at his friend's condition.
I've got to get the poison out, right now.
He removed a selection of various needles from his side pocket and rolled Raido onto his back.
"I'm sorry, Raido."
His fallen companion reached up and grabbed his jacket in a tight grip.
He coughed blood onto Genma's front, "That…was a terrible pun…seriously…"
His companion smiled and picked up curved needle. Raido nodded for him to do it, screaming out again as the needle pierced through his cheek. Across the field Jito fell back, nodded his acknowledgement at the two swordsmen who had arrived to relieve him. The puppet across from Hayate and Yugao had dozens of small blades embedded in its wooden form, Jito's projectiles unable to stop the puppets attacks.
Sasori sent the puppet straight at Yugao, bringing an arm back to reveal a long sword that thrust towards her chest. The purple-haired Chuunin read the attack easily, parrying the blade then ducking as Hayate came up beneath her and sliced his sword across the puppet's head, removing it from the rest of the body. They both jumped back as the puppet collapsed to the ground, holding up their blades defensively as they both knew that there was still another puppet to take care of.
Sasori allowed himself a grin as he noticed a small opening in their defence, flicking several fingers in their direction to attach invisible chakra strings nearby. Jito noticed the attack barely, calling out for them to move as the recently decapitated puppet's head rose ominously from the ground, flying straight towards the two swordsmen. They both turned around at the same time to see the puppet's face open up to a large hole, Hayate instinctively pushing Yugao out of the way as a large plume of purple gas covered his face from the puppet's mouth.
The swordsman tried to hold his breath, but found that the gas was seeping into his nose and mouth regardless, almost waiting patiently for him to need to breathe again. Yugao screamed out his name and threw herself at him, dragging him out of the poison cloud. Sasori moved his fingers to make the puppet follow the two, but the puppet was unable to respond as Mikoto ran towards them, blasting it away with a wind attack. Hayate fell to the ground as he was finally forced to take a breath, coughing violently as the poison made its way towards his lungs.
The Uchiha matriarch yelled for Jito to make sure that the puppet was properly destroyed as she ran over to the fallen shinobi, asking Yugao whether he had inhaled any of the poison. The sword-wielder nodded and let the second-in-command through, watching her kneel besides the coughing Hayate. He held a hand to his mouth and continued to cough, a sticky black liquid coming from him as he felt his lungs burn up inside him. Mikoto pulled back his hand and put one of her hands on his chest while the other sat on his neck.
"The poison is in your lungs, Hayate-san. This won't be pleasant" she said, trying to smile to keep Hayate calm but knew that she couldn't waste any time.
Hayate screamed out as Mikoto drove her chakra into his system, her Sharingan able to pinpoint where the poison was as she used a wind technique to force it out of his lungs. Yugao held down the thrashing Hayate, trying to tell him calm words but was petrified that she was going to lose him, only days after getting him. Behind his defensive puppet, Sasori observed the two separate medical operations with frustration, marvelling at the arrogance of the Konoha shinobi, that they could ignore him despite their successes.
He moved his final puppet to attack one of the fallen groups, but found its approach blocked by Kakashi, holding an oddly shaped kunai. The Jounin had run out of other projectiles, and was nearly out of chakra, knowing that he was the only one left to fight the puppet. Jito was disposing of the remains of the other puppets so that Sasori couldn't repeat his previous attack, and Kakashi saw that Nagisa was still unconscious away from the group. The puppet attacked the silver-haired teenager viciously, attempted to cut and slice at his body whilst also firing small needles in his direction.
Kakashi found himself hard pressed to defend himself, realising that with all his concentration focused on the single puppet Sasori was a far better fighter then Kakashi was. He spared a glance at the paper wrapped around the special kunai, remembering his mission to destroy the Kannabi Bridge.
I don't know if this'll work, but I can't think of any other options.
Using what little chakra he had left, he hurled the kunai at the attacking puppet, falling to the ground as his strength left him. Sasori grinned as he saw his victory, making the puppet reveal a large saw from its stomach and sending it straight towards the young Jounin. Unable to move, Kakashi grimaced as he prepared for the fatal attack, his arms held up defensively in front of him.
"Rasengan!"
The puppet shattered into thousands of pieces as Kakashi found himself staring at the long white and red cloak of his teacher. Minato pulled back his outstretched attacking hand and turned around, flipping the kunai in his other hand and handed it hilt-first to the young Jounin.
"You seem to have gone through some trouble" he commented with a smile, Kakashi accepting the kunai as he picked himself up from the ground.
The new Hokage seemed to be unchanged since Kakashi saw him last, though Kakashi could see the sad look in Minato's eyes as he saw the bodies of the Konoha shinobi around them. A small distance away, Genma put away his needles, having been forced to knock his companion out as he finished the procedure. He had been able to get the poison out before it travelled any further, but Genma was no medical ninja. Remembering the medical pack that he saw Kakashi pack, he turned around to find himself staring at the Fourth Hokage's smiling face.
"Ho…Hokage-sama! I didn't notice your arrival."
The blonde shinobi nodded an acknowledgement as he saw the mess on Raido's face. He put his hands together and created three Kage Bunshin, sending them silent instructions as he turned to face the red haired puppet master. Hiding behind his long defensive puppet, Sasori let out a sigh as he recognised the newest arrival. Reaching back into his cloak, he pulled out a long black scroll, placing a finger up to unravel it. He stopped himself as felt a firm grip on his hand, looking up at his attacker with an angry look.
"Enough, Sasori" came a deep voice.
Minato felt a rush as his clone's knowledge hit him, taking out one of his specialised kunai from his pocket as he learnt that Hayate, Raido and Nagisa were all safely back with the medical corps in Konoha. The ugly-looking defensive puppet disappeared into grey smoke, and the Hokage could see two figures standing side by side. Minato was flanked by the remnants of Kakashi's unit, telling Kakashi that he would explain later why the army hadn't come to reinforce his unit. Kakashi, Mikoto and Jito were all attempting to recover their chakra on the Hokage's right, while Yugao and Genma were preparing themselves, annoyed that they couldn't accompany their companions. The smoke began to clear, revealing Sasori's companion to the surprised Konoha faces.
"I didn't expect to see you here" said Minato, putting away his kunai as he recognised the figure.
The tall black haired figure kept a grim look as he saw the littered Suna bodies on the battlefield.
"Quite a victory for you, Namikaze-san. Or should I call you, Hokage-sama?" he said, his blue and white hat keeping the sun out of his eyes.
Minato gave a short laugh, "Not for a little while, Kazekage-sama."
The leader of the Sand village removed his hat and passed it to an angry Sasori, giving him instructions to fall back. The puppet master went to protest until he saw the harsh look in his commander's eyes. He gave a scoff and turned around in a huff, walking away from the Konoha shinobi as they noticed a large collection of shapes approaching them behind the Suna leader. The Kazekage regarded Minato with tired eyes, weary of the constant death his shinobi were forced to experience.
Kakashi heard a sound behind him, turning around as dozens of Konoha shinobi joined their Hokage. The Kazekage glared at the leaf shinobi while his own forces made their way towards him.
"I would have thought Orochimaru would have become the Fourth Hokage. He was always the ambitious one."
Minato didn't respond, but the Kazekage could tell that something had happened between the two Konoha shinobi. The Suna intelligence network wasn't as good as the other villages, but he had still wanted to confirm Orochimaru's departure from Konoha. After a few minutes of an awkward stand-off, both forces numbering in the hundreds regarded each other with barely contained hatred.
"Neither of us wishes for another battle, Kazekage-sama" said Minato, knowing that while the Konoha army outnumbered their enemies, it would be a bloody battle, one that hasn't been seen since the beginning of the war.
The dark-haired Kazekage stared at his fellow Kage, understanding where Minato was coming from.
"Agreed. Suna did not wish to participate in this war to begin with. But…" He indicated around the battlefield with a robed hand, at the shinobi Kakashi's unit had slaughtered. "…this cannot go unanswered. What kind of Kage could I claim to be, if I cannot avenge my own men?"
Minato's face showed his sadness at the senseless violence, knowing that while Kakashi was acting under his orders he did not like what had happened.
"Yet should we fight, more will die. That doesn't help either side."
"This bloodshed cannot just be ignored, Namikaze-san."
The blonde Hokage considered the Kazekage's point for a moment, before turning around to his forces. He gave an obvious signal to his forces, making sure that the Kazekage could see. The Konoha shinobi gave their new Hokage questioning looks, but obeyed his command. The army moved backwards, leaving a considerable distance between themselves and the Suna force.
Minato indicated for several of his shinobi to stay, including Kakashi and Mikoto, who both took a place behind him. The Kazekage gave Minato a questioning look, suspicious of why the Hokage would expose himself to a swift Suna counterattack. The blonde leader stood with his five subordinates, giving them strict instructions not to provoke the Suna shinobi.
"What is your ploy, Namikaze-san?" asked the Kazekage, his forces having never fought with the Yellow Flash before, so he had little idea of what Minato could be planning.
The Hokage gave a signal for his supporting shinobi to fall back a short distance, enough that they could still support him but far enough to not impede him.
"Neither of our villages can afford another battle, Kazekage-sama. We can settle our differences here and now."
The Kazekage cocked his head with interest, curious as to where the Hokage was going with this.
"You would settle a war with a single fight?"
"Yes, I would. What better way to settle a dispute then a battle between fellow Kage?"
The Kazekage took a few minutes to discuss the proposition with several important-looking Suna Jounin.
Kakashi stepped up next to his teacher, "Are you sure about this, Sensei? The Kazekage is renowned as an immensely powerful shinobi."
Minato gave his student a slow smile and a pat on the head, watching as the Kazekage ceased his discussions and made his way back towards the Hokage.
"This is the only way to resolve the conflict with as few deaths as possible. Now stand back, and we will see whether this pays off or not."
The Kazekage stood several feet away from the Hokage, none of his advisors joining him as he regarded the Hokage.
"Your offer is acceptable. No matter the result, our forces will retreat back to our village."
Minato smiled and nodded, "As will ours."
The Hokage indicated for his own subordinates to move away, giving the two Kage space to fight. Kakashi swallowed another soldier pill and opened his Sharingan again. This was one fight that he needed to keep his eye on. Minato clenched his fists as the Kazekage placed his arms out to the sides. The Hokage knew a fair amount about the Kazekage's techniques, and had the advantage of the Kazekage not knowing many of his techniques beyond his signature ability. He removed one of his specialised kunai from his projectile pocket and ran chakra to his feet. The Kazekage shifted into a defensive stance as Minato sped towards him.
Author's Note:
This war may take a few chapters, I won't lie. Initially I was just going to get Kakashi the Mangekyou and go from there, but I'm having way too much fun writing this. So bear with me. There will be more Minato fighting, and even some of Kushina in battle.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.
Anime Spotlight: Clannad. Easily one of my favourite anime. Emotional, funny, beautiful music and fascinating characters. There are some of the most beautiful and crushing scenes I've ever seen in an anime. If you aren't good with emotional anime then perhaps it isn't for you. But this is the kind of anime you don't forget.