Author's Notes: Welp, here it is. The moment you've been waiting for so long. The climax of this rather long arc. Naruto and Mei finally facing Yagura. Hope you enjoy it:
Chapter 49:
The Invasion of Kirigakure, Part II
or
The Shadows in the Water
…
"I won't be the one dying today, Yagura. I won't rest until the Blood Mist becomes a thing of the past, and such thing can't happen as long as you're Mizukage," Mei said as she started making hand seals. "Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"
Mei opened the fight with one of her two Bloodline Limits, releasing a cloud of corrosive mist at the opposing duo. Yagura took a step forward, positioning himself between the attack and his wife, as he made hand seals of his own.
"Stand back, Aiko-chan," Yagura took a deep breath. "Wind Release: Passing Typhoon!"
Yagura blew a powerful gust of wind that easily dispelled Mei's attack. It had such force that Mei and Naruto were nearly blown away. Aiko took the chance to attack as well. She made a hand seal.
"Water Release: Famine Mist!"
A thin mist started to envelop the roof of the palace. However, unlike other times Naruto had seen a mist jutsu (mostly from Haku), the mist wasn't thick enough to block vision.
"Naruto, this isn't the usual mist jutsu," Mei warned him, as if reading his thoughts. "I don't know what it does, but stay alert just in case."
"Then the best solution will be dispel it as soon as possible!" Naruto reasoned as his hands ran through hand seals. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"
Naruto thrust his hand forward, casting an horizontal tornado. However, Naruto noticed that the jutsu was weaker than usual, and only succeeded in stirring the mist, which quickly reformed.
"The hell?" Naruto indignantly asked.
"You foolish child! This mist dampens the ninjutsu used by the enemy, while at the same time enhances mine!" Aiko gloated as she made several hand seals. "Water Release: Water Gun!"
Aiko expelled a powerful torrent from her mouth at the duo. Instinctively, Mei reacted by using a jutsu of her own.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
A wall emerged, getting in the way between Mei and Aiko's attack, but much to the rebel leader's surprise, Aiko's water jutsu tore through Mei's earth wall, before the attack blasted her backwards. Fortunately, the wall at least had absorbed some of the jutsu's original power, and it didn't make as much damage as it could.
"Didn't you hear what I said? My ninjutsu is stronger while yours is weaker! Elemental weaknesses become irrelevant!" Aiko stated.
Thanks to his Sage Mode, Naruto could sense that Aiko was supporting the mist with her own chakra. Even then, the chakra consumption rate was very low, and Aiko had a respectable chakra pool. Waiting until she ran out of chakra wasn't an option. They had to take her down first if they wanted to have any chance against Yagura.
"Mei! If we take out Aiko, the mist will banish! We have to focus on her first!" Naruto shouted as he pulled out his trusty Wind Blade. Upon channeling his chakra, the weapon projected a white, flame like energy blade. "Let's hope the mist doesn't affect my Wind Blade either!"
Now armed, Naruto dashed towards the female Jonin but he was intercepted by the Mizukage. Naruto's wind blade clashed against what appeared to be a rather large black club with uneven sized hooks on its ends, and oddly enough, a green flower on the larger hook. Much to his surprise, the club resisted the wind blade's swipe.
"You're more foolish than I thought if you think I'm going to let you get my wife," Yagura replied in a threatening tone.
Naruto ignored Yagura's words and focused on the staff. 'He's channeling chakra through it. That's why he manages to make it durable enough to resist my wind blade. Boy, this is getting harder by the second. And the mist may weaken my sword as well.'
Still, thanks to his senjutsu enhanced strength, Naruto was able to overpower Yagura and push him backwards. Naruto then ran past him and headed for the kunoichi.
"I'm not afraid of you, Konoha scum!" Aiko challenged as she prepared to fight.
Yagura, however, wasn't planning to go back on what he said a second earlier. "Get away from her!"
"Earth Release: Mud Trap!"
Much to his shock, the ground around him turned into mud, rendering him immobile as his feet were stuck on it. He struggled to get out of it.
"Naruto, now!" Mei called.
Naruto didn't need to be told twice, and prepared to strike the Mizukage's wife down. Aiko unsheathed her katana and used it to parry Naruto's swing, but unlike Yagura, she didn't channel chakra through her weapon to make it stronger, and the Wind Blade cut through her katana as if it was made of butter.
"What?" Aiko asked in shock.
Naruto attacked once, again, and this time, Aiko was forced to dodge the swing, lest she fall prey to its ridiculous cutting power. Despite the power of such weapon, Aiko noticed the boy's swings were unrefined and slightly brutish. He more than likely didn't have anything more than basic sword fighting training.
Aiko pulled out a few shuriken from her tool pouch and tossed them at Naruto. As she was expecting, Naruto used his Wind Blade to parry them away, and she used that window of opportunity to attack. Rushing at Naruto, she extended her hand.
"Water Release: Water Blade!"
Like the name of the jutsu implied, a sword of water materialized in her extended hand, and ran her makeshift weapon into Naruto's gut.
"You're dead!" Aiko shouted before, much to her shock, she saw her sword breaking upon hitting the blond, almost as if he was made of steel. "WHAT?"
Naruto took advantage of the woman's astonishment and kicked her in the chest with such force that she was sent flying away before she fell onto the roof of another building. Even if she wasn't moving, Naruto sensed that she was still alive.
The mist dispelled instantly.
"Good work Naruto! One less problem!" Mei cheered, just as Yagura overpowered her Mud Trap. With Aiko out of the fight, taking out Yagura would be much easier.
"That was a mistake," Yagura said in an icy tone.
"Your wife is still alive. She's just unconscious," Naruto tried to reassure him.
But it was too late. Orange chakra started to form around Yagura, enveloping him in a fiery aura. The aura vaguely took the shape of a turtle with three long tails.
"Get ready, Naruto. Even if we got rid of Aiko, the fight had become much harder," the rebel leader grimly noted.
…
In another part of Kirigakure, Chojuro and Kumori were leading an offensive against what their intelligence believed it was Kiri's Chakra Golem factory, hidden under a mere textile workshop. They were doing a good job so far, but the arrival of reinforcements forced them to fall back.
"Where did these reinforcements came from?" Chojuro asked as he engaged a rather skilled ANBU.
"These ninja were probably guarding the docks. By this point, they must have realized that we don't plan to attack the docks in any way, so they're moving their remaining forces here," Kumori explained as he engaged another red-clad Yagura loyalist.
"We need some time to fall back and regroup, Kumori-san. Do you think you can provide it to us?" Chojuro asked the hooded ninja.
Kumori smirked under his mask. "Just leave that to me," he said, as he started to make hand seals. "Demonic Illusion: Shattered Reality!"
Suddenly, all the Kirigakure defenders saw how the village, its houses, streets, roads, everything, started to crumble and disappear into an endless void below. Naturally, plenty of them fell prey to panic.
"What the hell's going on?" a ninja asked.
"I've never seen anything like this!" another one cried.
"You idiots, it's a genjutsu, dispel it!" a more veteran ninja warned the others.
Even if his illusion was identified, it send the enemy troops into disarray for enough time to allow the rebels to disengage and safely retreat to a more secured position from which they could strike back.
In the rear guard of the division, many medics, Rin Nohara among them, were working tirelessly to heal the wounded rebels. Many of them were too wounded to continue fighting and had to be taken out of the village, but fortunately there were as many who could continue fighting after being patched up.
Among the ninja protecting the medics were Kakashi's Animal Squad, who were positioned close to Rin, as well as other medics.
"How it is going, Rin?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm working as fast as I can, yet I have the feeling that I could do more," Rin replied, as she focused on healing a wounded rebel.
"Even if the situation may not allow it, it's best not to let yourself be carried away by the stress, or else you'll do a worse job than intended," Shino told her.
"Yeah, don't get so worked up. We're here to keep you safe," Tamaki added with a tender smile.
"I know, but still..." Rin insisted. "I think I have enough chakra now to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu. That way I could heal multiple people at once."
"While risky, it's an intelligent idea," Shino commended. "Unfortunately, most people don't have the necessary chakra reserves to carry it out."
"That's why I said that I think-AAAAAAAHHH!" Rin yelled as she clutched her body.
"Rin!" an alarmed Kakashi yelled as he rushed to her side.
"What's happening?" Kiba asked, mildly panicked.
"The...the Three-Tails..." Rin panted. "It's the Three Tails...it's unleashing its power right now!"
…
Despite his small size, the Tailed Beast chakra cloak made Yagura look rather intimidating. His look of pure fury and anger at the rebel leader and her Konoha ally only made it worse.
"Very few people push me far enough to make me use the Three Tails' power. However, such accomplishment will do you no good," Yagura darkly stated.
The Fourth Mizukage leaped forward, his hooked staff raised above his head. A mass of water formed around the hook. Naruto tried to parry the incoming blow with his Wind Blade, but the water exploded outwards, forming a small torrent that blasted both Mei and him backwards. He then raised a hand, forming a massive orb of water.
"Water Release: Great Water Missile!"
Both Naruto and Mei wasted no time to made hand seals in order to counter Yagura's jutsu.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Lava Release: Volcanic Roar!"
The mass of water met a powerful gust of wind as well as a stream of burning hot molten rocks, resulting in a explosion of a multitude of elements. Yagura, however, wasn't going to be deterred, and slammed his staff into the ground.
"Coral Ripples Rising!"
Yagura generated a long row of coral spikes to rise out of the ground. Mei's eyes were wide open.
"Naruto, jump! Don't let those corals touch you!" Mei cried in an uncharacteristic panicky tone.
"Why? What's so bad about them?" the blond asked, unable to repress his curiosity.
"No time to explain! Just trust me on this one! You don't want those corals to touch you," Mei vehemently warned her ally.
"You made your homework after all, Mei. It seems that you have a brain under that pretty face," Yagura complimented. "Too bad no amount of brainpower will save either of you from being crushed by the sheer power I posses!" Yagura brought his hands together, and formed a hand seal. "Water Release: Three Headed Water Dragon!"
Yagura created three massive blobs of water that moved forward when the Mizukage motioned his hands in the same direction. The blobs quickly took the shape of three roaring dragons. Mei was already preparing a defensive measure.
"Earth Release: Double Earth Style Wall!"
Mei slammed her hands into the ground, erecting two large stone walls between her and Yagura. However, much to her shock, her walls proved to be ineffective as the water dragons merely jumped above them, and crashed against the two rebels, exploding into a torrent of water that blasted the two of them high into the air before falling into a nearby empty street.
"Uggggh..." Naruto groaned as he tried to get himself back on his feet. "Mei? Are you alright...?"
"Y-Yes," the rebel leader said, before coughing some blood. "I never imagined Yagura was this strong. And from what I know, he isn't even using his full strength yet..."
"We've been in the defensive all the time. We're not going to do anything like this, we need to attack!" Naruto claimed.
"I know. But we're an even bigger disadvantage now. It won't be long before some of Yagura's troops spot us and join the fray," Mei told him.
Yagura landed in front of them with a loud crash, leaving several cracks in the ground.
"Does it look like I need help to deal with you two?" Yagura mockingly asked. "You're on your last legs, while I'm pretty much untouched. Some help you got there, Mei."
Yagura's taunting had the desired effect on Naruto, who gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes at the Three Tails jinchuriki. Naruto extended a hand, and formed a Rasengan.
"Let's see how you like this help!" Naruto shouted as he charged at the Mizukage, who smirked.
"Naruto, wait!" Mei called him.
But it was too late. Yagura motioned his free hand in a circle. "Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu."
Yagura created a flat, circular pool of water of reflective surface, almost like a mirror, showing a perfect reflection of Naruto. A replica of Naruto came out of the mirror, dashing to meet the original.
"Rasengan!"
Both attacks clashed against each other, but original Naruto's attack was more powerful, destroying the clone, which dissolved into a puddle of water.
"You...you overpowered my jutsu," Yagura noted, genuinely impressed. "How? Is because of your Sage Mode? Yes, it has to be that. Senjutsu can't be replicated."
"Still thinking I'm of little help?" Naruto asked.
"Yes. You might provide a slightly greater challenge than I had originally imagined, but in the end the result will be the same," Yagura confidently said. "Senjutsu is still inferior to the power of a perfect Jinchuriki."
"Naruto, don't try a frontal attack like that again, much less on your own. We're two against one, let's use that to our advantage as long as it last," Mei told him.
"Right, sorry," Naruto replied as he tried to calm down.
"How long until Sage Mode runs out?" Mei whispered the blond.
"It won't until I start using my strongest jutsu. I'm trying to save them for the right moment," Naruto whispered back.
Mei nodded. "Well thought. I'll try to create one such moment shortly."
With that, Naruto and Mei spread out a bit so Yagura couldn't target the two of them at once. The Mizukage noticed that they were making hand seals, Naruto just once, while Mei did several.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Fire Release: Burning Whip!"
Two clones appeared at Naruto's side, while a lash made of flames appeared on Mei's hand. Yagura realized that Mei would try to distract him so he'd be wide open for whatever Naruto was going to prepare. He wasn't going to let such thing happen.
Just as he predicted, Mei rushed forward and used her fiery whip to attack Yagura. The Mizukage parried the blows with his water-enhanced club, all while never taking his eyes away from Naruto.
"I'm your enemy! You have no time to look away!" Mei shouted as she pressed her attack. A second whip made of flames appeared on her other hand, and she continued her onslaught, successfully pushing Yagura back.
The Mizukage frowned and channeled even more water chakra into his hooked club. He swung it at Mei, creating a watery explosion that put out Mei's fire lashes. Mei, however, jumped in time in order to avoid the water attack. Suddenly, a loud, high pitched noise could be heard, coming from Naruto.
"Naruto, now!" Mei shouted.
Yagura looked at Naruto and saw that the blond was holding in his raised hand what appeared to be a huge shuriken made of pure chakra and wind. Wasting no time, Naruto threw it at Yagura.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Upon seeing the chakra shuriken flying at him, Yagura was overtaken by a fear of the like he never experienced before. If he let that jutsu hit him, it would be the end. Not even the Three Tails' chakra cloak could save him. At least not the first version. Fortunately for him, he hoped there would be a jutsu that could save his skin right now. He made several hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Mirror Jutsu!"
Yagura motioned his hand in a circle, creating another mirror of water between himself and the deadly attack, successfully blocking it. Now a second Rasenshuriken, would pop out of the mirror, counter the first one even if it was weaker due the lack of nature energy. Then, the unthinkable happened
The Rasenshuriken tore the mirror apart and exploded into a massive wind vortex. Even if the explosion didn't catch him, the shockwave was powerful enough to blast the Mizukage backwards, being painfully slammed against the floor.
"Ugh..." Yagura groaned as he slowly got up. He raised his head, shooting a look of fury to where Naruto was standing. "You finally show your true-"
But Yagura's words were cut by the unsettling sight of a second Rasenshuriken flying at him. He had learned that blocking them wasn't going to work, he had to dodge it. As fast as he could, he made a hand seal before slamming his hand into the ground, creating a burst of water that propelled him upwards, successfully dodging the Rasenshuriken, which crashed against a nearby building, reducing it to rubble in a few seconds.
"Let's hope those houses were empty, since the collateral damage of this fight alone is going to be colossal," Mei grimly thought.
The rebel leader then looked at Naruto, and noticed that his eyes had returned to normal, meaning that his Sage Mode had run out. Then, he looked at Yagura, and her face became extremely pale.
"Naruto-kun?" Mei asked, a bit panicky. "Can you go back into Sage Mode?"
"Yeah. I have two clones nearby gathering nature energy for me. I only need to dispel one of them and that energy will be mine," Naruto explained.
"Good, because you're going to need it," Mei said, still staring at the coming Yagura.
Naruto looked at Yagura, and was taken aback. "Uh, what's with him? Why does he look like that all of sudden?"
Yagura had turned into a completely different being. He looked now like turtle-man hybrid with three tails, arms ended in claws and spikes on his shell and shoulders. His body was covered by a thick cloak of dark red chakra, and his eyes had become two glowing white dots.
"Naruto, get ready. Yagura is about to unleash the full power of the Three Tails upon us..." a slightly fearful Mei warned, as she knew the real fight against Yagura was about to begin.
…
Haku stood on guard as he saw the bat flying in circles about him. At any time, the bat would swoop down at Haku, and Dagura would attack him from the top of his flying summon, before returning once again to the safety of the skies. While not very effective from an offensive point of view, it kept Dagura safe from Haku's attacks.
This time, he was taking his sweet time to attack. Haku was waiting for him to attack at any moment, and delaying his move would get the Ice Ninja on the edge. However, Haku was somebody blessed with near infinite patience. Especially for battle. That's how he managed to become so good.
He had to be this good. Zabuza wouldn't deserve any less.
Not being able to reach Dagura in close combat, Haku had deactivated his Walking Winter jutsu, since it would be a senseless waste of chakra. He needed to be careful if he wanted to defeat this opponent. The Mizukage's son had to be somebody powerful
Finally, it was Dagura who got impatient, and commanded his giant bat to dive at the Ice Ninja. The flying mammal let out a high pitched cry as it swooped down once again. Both ninja prepared to trade attacks once again.
"Soundwave Jutsu!"
"Ice Release: Piercing Icicle Shot!"
When the attacks collided, Dagura's jutsu shattered Haku's, and still had enough power to push forward. The Ice Ninja jumped sideways, barely dodging the sonic attack, which created a small crater on the ground upon hitting it.
"My Ice Jutsu is ineffective against his sonic attacks. I have to change my tactic, or else he'll beat me," Haku thought as he saw Dagura return to the sky. "Guess it's about time to test that new jutsu."
Haku made several hand seals before clapping his hands together.
"Ice Release: Crystal Bird!"
Ice particles started to gather in front of him, growing into a mass of frost that soon took the shape of a medium sized bird. The Crystal Bird let out a cry, and flew towards Dagura. The Mizukage's son noticed the frozen avian flying at him. He didn't know what it was, but he knew it couldn't be good.
"Better get rid of that as soon as possible," Dagura said to no one in particular as he pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag attached to it and tossed it at the bird.
However, much to his shock, the bird nimbly dodged the explosive kunai and continued its flight towards Dagura unimpeded. The Mizukage's son started to panic a little. The ice bird was dangerously close.
"I'll give you something you won't be able to dodge!" Dagura shouted as he made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
Dagura breathed a wide stream of fire that, true to his word, engulfed the ice bird in a torrent of flames, and it instantly melted, much to Dagura's relief. But his relief was short lived when the fire dispelled and saw that Haku was nowhere to be seen. He was alerted to a creaking sound coming from above, accompanied by an odd cold breeze.
"What the...?" Dagura looked up and saw Haku coming from what appeared to be a mirror made of ice. He made a hand seal.
"Ice Release: Thousand Needles of Death!"
The mirror above him shattered into a hundred shards, which elongated and turned into needles and rained upon Dagura and his summon. The bat was too large, and was unable to move in time in order to avoid the rain of razor sharp ice shards, dealing enough damage to undo the summon, and causing Dagura to fall below.
Despite being caught off guard, the Mizukage's son managed to land on his feet and one hand, leaving a crack on the floor due the force of the impact. Haku landed softly in front of him, as if carried by gentle winds.
"You're good, Yuki, getting rid of my summon like that. Too bad you're fighting for the wrong side, Kirigakure has a constant need of strong ninja," Dagura praised.
"Did you not hear what I said before? I'm not going to side with the village that cost me my family," Haku stoically replied with some repressed anger seeping into his words. He made a hand seal and raised a foot. "For more bloodshed to be prevented, your father and his supporters need to be removed from power by any means. Ice Release: Crystal Blade Field!"
Haku slammed his foot into the ground, creating a row of large ice spikes towards Dagura. Dagura jumped backwards, pulled out a couple of explosive kunai, and tossed them at the incoming ice spikes. While it successfully halted their advance, it was a temporary solution as the spikes reformed and continued advancing towards him.
"Don't focus on the jutsu, focus on the ninja who cast it," Dagura reminded himself as he jumped back even further while making hand seals. "Fire Release: Blazing Nightmare!"
Dagura summoned another flock of bats, though these one appeared to be made of fire, and following Dagura's hand motion, they all flew at Haku, letting out annoying screeches. Haku, however, merely made a hand seal with a single hand.
"Ice Release: Walking Winter!"
Haku's ice aura was reactivated just as the fire bats were close to him. Making another hand seal, the aura expanded, creating harsh, cold winds that pushed the burning fliers away, some of them even being put out by the freezing gusts.
"You can't win this fight. Your father created far too many enemies during his bloodstained reign. Even if we fail today, another group will raise in the future to finish what we started," Haku told Dagura as he walked forward, freezing the ground as he moved.
"Then we will crush them again! That's how the ninja world rolls! Only the strongest are able to survive!" Dagura replied.
"Then you won't mind if I kill you, right? Since so far, I'm proving to be the strongest of the two," Haku fired back. He made several hand seals. "Ice Release: Never ending Winter!"
Haku's freezing aura started to grow around him, blowing with more intensity, freezing everything around him. But it didn't stop there. The cold became more and more intense. All the nearby buildings and Kiri loyalists were covered in frost and snow, until they were completely frozen. The ice spread as far as their eyes could see.
"No!" Dagura made several hand seals. "Fire Release: Dragon Fire Jutsu!"
The Mizukage's son breathed a massive stream of fire around, hoping to melt some of the ice, but it was useless. The ice was so strong that it was impervious to his fire attacks. Soon, the cold also caught Dagura, as ice began to grow all around him. His body started to feel numb, and his movements slowed down.
"No...this...can't..." Dagura said before freezing completely.
What Dagura didn't know is that Haku wasn't really freezing the village, the Kiri ninja, or anyone for that matter. He had caught him in a genjutsu, which made him fall into a harmless coma. Being the son of the Mizukage, Haku thought of a way to disable him without killing or even hurting him much. He hoped keeping Dagura alive would smooth the transition.
A shadow passed over the ice ninja, alerting him. Looking up, he saw two large, strange looking birds flying above him. One of the birds dropped something. It was too small to notice, but there were many things.
The street Haku and other rebels were fighting Kiri loyalist was then engulfed by a massive chain of explosions.
…
"Woohoo! What do you think about my art, you uncultured swines?" one of the men riding the giant bird yelled. He was a young, girly looking man with long blond hair styled in a ponytail, with a bang covering one of his eyes. He was wearing a black cloak with red clouds. He then looked at his partner, and asked: "Hey, Kisame, you don't mind if I share some of my art with your village, do you?"
The man's partner, riding the other bird, merely shrugged. He was a tall, blue haired man with blue skin, small and sunken eyes, what appeared to be gills under them, and sharp teeth, which gave him a shark like appearance. He was carrying a massive sword covered in bandages on his back. "Do as you please. This village has its days numbered one way or another. Just make sure you don't drop your 'art' where the Jinchuriki is," Kisame warned him.
"Don't worry, he should be in the palace, right?" Deidara asked, as he saw the Mizukage's Palace in the distance. "It seems like there was a battle there. I better check that they didn't kill the jinchuriki before we can nail it, hn!"
"Well thought. I'll stay back, and make sure nobody gets in the way," Kisame said, as he prepared to jump off the giant bird.
Deidara grinned at him. "Liar! You only want to have some fun killing those idiots!"
Kisame grinned back, and shrugged. "I'm not lying. Those two things aren't mutually exclusive," the shark-like man said before jumping.
While he was falling, Kisame made several hand seals.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
While mid air, Kisame expelled a massive amount of water from his mouth into the ground, which safely cushioned his fall. Unfortunately, his jutsu drowned a few ninja, rebels and loyalists aside, that were fighting at the moment. While on the mass of water, Kisame then bit his finger, and made more hand seals before slamming his hand into the water.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
A trio of sharks appeared inside the mass of water, which quickly tore the unfortunate ninja caught inside Kisame's previous jutsu.
"Look at that! It's Kisame Hoshigaki!" a red clad loyalist said.
"What is he doing here?" a rebel asked.
"Is he with us or with Yagura?" another rebel wondered.
Kisame couldn't help but chuckle at the rebel's rather naïve question.
"What makes you think that I'm on either side, brat?" Kisame answered, letting out a small laugh. "Now, my pets are a bit hungry and all the blood being spilled around us really got them on edge. And unfortunately for you, they really have a thing for human meat."
Kisame motioned his bandaged sword forward, and the mass of water moved in that direction as if it had life of its own. Most of the ninja there stopped fighting and tried to run away. Some of them managed to avoid Kisame, less fortunate ones were caught by the wave and were devoured by the sharks in a matter of seconds.
"Ah...it's good to be home."
…
In another part of the village, Ao was leading a group of rebel ANBU, when he received a rather distressing news through his radio. His men noticed his expression.
"Sir, is everything alright?" a masked ANBU asked.
"Our men are reporting that Kisame Hoshigaki has been spotted in the village and has joined the fight," Ao gravely replied.
"Is he fighting for Yagura?" another ANBU asked.
"It seems that he's killing indiscriminately rebels and Yagura's men alike. I think I may have an idea as for why he's here, and it's not good," Ao replied. He then tapped his earpiece before relaying his orders. "Attention everybody, according to recent reports, Kisame Hoshigaki has been seen in the Trade District! Zabuza, Ameyuri, Chojuro, move there and engage him before he causes more loses! Everybody else, stay away from him! Kisame is an S-Rank ninja, and only Mei-sama or our Swordsmen would have any chance against him!"
"Ao-sama, do you think Zabuza and the others will be able to beat Kisame?" a female ANBU asked.
Ao sighed. "I hope they can. If they don't, the damage he can do could be catastrophic."
…
Kisame was many things, but subtle wasn't one of them. In just a few minutes, he had killed dozens of ninja of both sides, and brought down half a dozen buildings. He started to notice that most ninja, rebel and loyalists aside, were staring to flee on him the moment he appeared.
"Aw come on, don't leave so soon!" Kisame whined in a painfully fake hurt tone. "Don't you want to play with me?"
"How about if I play with you, you fucker?" a female voice said.
Ameyuri Ringo landed in front of him, her Thunder swords crackling with electricity, as she fixed a determined stare on the missing nin.
"They gave Raiga's sword to a little girl?" Kisame shook his head. "You know, you guys are giving me more and more reasons not to regret defecting."
"I'M NOT A LITTLE GIRL!" Ameyuri roared as she stomped her foot into the ground.
"But then again, if you at least have the courage to face me, maybe then you're worthy of having those swords," Kisame added, almost in an approving tone, as he adopted a fighting stance. "Are you ready then...?"
"A-Ameyuri-san won't fight alone!" a new voice stammered as Chojuro landed besides her.
Kisame raised an eyebrow. "Another one? And this one has Mangetsu's preferred blade. Oh well, the more the merrier, as they usually say."
"If that's the case, then you won't mind if I join them," a third voice said as Zabuza landed in front of them, his Executioner's Blade in hand.
"My, my, Zabuza Momochi! Such a surprise seeing you here! I can't believe that you ended up joining Mei-chan's ragtag group. I thought you had a little more self-respect," Kisame told him.
"Mei is stronger than you think, Kisame. Anyway, it's a fortunate coincidence that you decided to drop by. That way, we can finally collect all of the seven swords," Zabuza pointed out.
"What? You guys killed Jinin, Jinpachi and Kushimaru?" Kisame asked in disbelief, then he smirked. "Even if that's true, it won't change anything. Those three, while strong, were still nowhere near my level. I will send you to hell with them, and I'll take your swords with me."
The three rebel swordsmen tensed up as they felt the killing intent Kisame was releasing. Zabuza needed for them to keep their cool, or else they would be dead.
"Listen, brats, I know we fought and defeated other swordsmen, but Kisame's more than capable of backing those boasts. I can't defeat him alone, but with the three of us working together, we might have a chance. However, you two must not give into the fear, and do everything I say, understood?"
"Y-Yes, Zabuza-taicho!" Chojuro stammered.
"Sure, whatever!" an antsy Ameyuri replied as she crossed her swords and aimed them towards the sky. "I'll finish this with one move! I can call down a lightning bolt from the sky and fry both him and his fishes!"
"Don't!" Zabuza warned as he forced Ameyuri to lower the swords down. "Kisame's sword, Samehada, is able to absorb chakra and ninjutsu attacks and funnel that chakra to Kisame. Using ninjutsu will only make him stronger."
"So...we can't use ninjutsu? Only our swords?" Chojuro asked.
"You're part of the Seven Swordsmen, brat. That should be enough," Zabuza chastised.
"I know, but so is he," an unsure Chojuro replied, pointing at Kisame.
The rogue swordsman adopted a fighting stance, moving his sword to the front, as the sharks under him became visibly restless.
"As much as I love a nice conversation with my fellow Swordsmen, my pets are still hungry. Time to fight!" Kisame shouted as he motioned his sword forward.
The mass of water, that was completely still, turned into a massive torrent, ready to add Zabuza, Ameyuri and Chojuro the list of victims it had already swallowed. Fortunately, the three rebel swordsmen were fast enough to avoid the incoming wave, and jumped out of the way before being crushed by tons of water.
Unfortunately for them, though, Kisame had already planned for that. Without even having to give them a command, verbal or otherwise, the sharks swimming under Kisame leaped out of the water, their jaws full of sharp teeth wide open, ready to taste fresh blood. Too bad their targets were much to closer to being predators rather than prey, and mowed down the attacking animals when they got too close, undoing the summon.
"Aw, why did you do that to my pets? You guys must hate animals," Kisame said as he shook his head.
"Don't worry, you'll go next!" Ameyuri shouted as she leaped at him, bringing down the Thunder swords upon him in a vertical swing.
Kisame raised his sword with just one hand, and easily blocked Ameyuri's attack. Heeding Zabuza's words, she wasn't channeling any chakra through them, lest it feed Samehada.
"Come on girl, that's the best you can do? I'm only using one hand!" Kisame laughed.
While Kisame was busy dealing with Ameyuri, Chojuro landed behind him with a splash, ready to cut Kisame open as he reared back his Hiramekarei.
"Too slow!" Kisame said as he easily kicked Chojuro away, while still keeping Ameyuri at bay.
Ameyuri then removed one of her swords and tried to use it to slash Kisame's legs. The shark-like man, however, reacted in time, disengaged her and jumped backwards. However, before he could counterattack, Zabuza appeared before him, and delivered a flurry of swings with his Executioner's Blade, which Kisame parried with great expertise.
"Ah, I always regretted not being able to cross my blade with you, Zabuza-san. Of all the swordsmen of our generation, I always thought you were the least pathetic," Kisame chuckled as he defended from Zabuza's attack.
"You shouldn't have come back, Kisame. You're alone, all sides of this conflict are your enemies, you have no allies to rely on. You died the moment you set your feet here!" Zabuza told him as he pressed the attack.
Kisame couldn't help but laugh uproariously.
"When did you develop a sense of humor, Zabuza-san? Trust me, there's no ninja, either rebel or a servant of Yagura, that's a threat to me, no matter their number. The few ninja that could be a challenge are far away fighting each other. In fact, the only ones they dared to send against me were you three!" Kisame countered, as he pushed Zabuza backwards with a mighty tackle. He then make several hand seals. "Three versus one is not very fair, let's even the odds! Water Release: Water Clone Jutsu!"
Four water clones of Kisame emerged from the mass of water the original was standing on, all of them also carrying a copy of Samehada, before he directed them at the two youngest swordsmen. Chojuro audibly gulped, while Ameyuri growled at them, and prepared to fight.
"Now that the kids have somebody to keep them busy, how about a duel, just the two of us, Zabuza-san?" Kisame asked as he grinned evilly.
"Alright, but no swords. You carry the strongest of the Seven Swords, but how much of that strength is yours, and how much is Samehada's? Prove you're better than me," Zabuza said, as he extended his right hand, ready to drop his Executioner's Blade, hoping Kisame would do the same.
Kisame, however, replied with a mocking laugh again.
"Do you really think my ego is so fragile that I'm willing to discard my most powerful asset?" Kisame asked incredulously. "You disappoint me, Zabuza-san, resorting to such foolish tactics. I have nothing to prove, and much less to the likes of you."
Zabuza said nothing in return. Kisame had won this round. All he could do is try to best his fellow swordsman in a fight, as impossible as it looked.
"Snap out of it, Zabuza. Don't you want to become Mizukage? You never will with that attitude," the masked swordsman chastised himself, as his expression grew more determined, and adopted a fighting stance.
"I see you stopped fooling around," Kisame said, noticing Zabuza's change of attitude. "Much better. It wouldn't be fun otherwise!"
Kisame then launched himself at Zabuza, Samehada raised above his head. Taken aback by Kisame's deceptive speed, Zabuza raised his sword to parry the incoming hit. He struggled against the shark-like man as their swords were locked against each other, when said man noticed a disturbance in the water.
And indeed, two Zabuza water clones came up from the water they were in, and tried to hack Kisame, forcing him to disengage and fall back. He grinned widely at Zabuza and his clones.
"Not bad, Zabuza-san. Not bad," Kisame praised.
"You forgot I'm also a Water Release user. Even if it was you who summoned all this water, there's nothing that stops me from using it!" Zabuza replied as he directed his two clones to attack Kisame.
"It's you who forgot who's the better Water Release user here, Zabuza-san. The terrain is way more to my advantage than it is to yours," the shark-like ninja confidently replied as he watched the clones approach.
After easily dodging the first one, he smashed it with Samehada, not only destroying it, but absorbing its chakra as well. The second soon followed. The sound of a third splashing footsteps warned Kisame that those clones were merely a distraction to leave him wide open to the original. He wasn't going to let Zabuza catch him off guard like that.
Much to Kisame's surprise, Zabuza pulled out a few shuriken from his ninja tool pouch, and tossed them at Kisame, who he easily blocked them with Samehada. The Akatsuki laughed.
"You weren't very fond of shuriken back then, if I remember correctly. And if that amateurish throw is any indication, you aren't much fond of them now," Kisame replied as he dashed towards Zabuza as well.
Displaying a deceptively fast speed and agility, Kisame dodged Zabuza's rather slow diagonal swing, and smashed Samehada against him. With a hit like that, victory was assured.
Then, much to his surprise, Zabuza dissolved into water, just like the other clones did.
"What...?" Kisame said, mildly surprised. He didn't remember Zabuza creating a third clone. Then he remembered that when he raised Samehada to block Zabuza's shuriken, his view of his enemy was momentarily blocked. "Shit! Those shuriken were just a distraction!"
That brief moment of surprise was the window of opportunity Zabuza needed. Waiting from underwater for the best moment to strike, the Demon of the Hidden Mist rose to the surface, delivering a wide swing upwards. Kisame was able to notice the disturbance in the water and jump away, but not fast enough to avoid a slash to the chest. Kisame's hand was instinctively brought to the wounded area, as he slid backwards.
"You...you made me bleed!" Kisame said, outraged, as he looked at the blood on his hand.
"I already warned you that I could use your water against you, but you didn't listen," Zabuza said, grinning under his mask. "Samehada is a powerful sword indeed, but counting on that much power has dulled your abilities. I don't know what kind of opponents you're used to fighting, but keep in mind that you're against another Swordsman of Kirigakure!"
Surprisingly, Kisame's anger was brief, and the shark-like ninja shot Zabuza an unnerving grin.
"Yes, I admit I probably grew a bit confident in fighting you. Trust me, not only you won't be able to touch me again, but this wound will remain here very little," Kisame replied.
"We'll see about that!" Zabuza retorted as he charged against Kisame once again.
Meanwhile, Ameyuri and Chojuro were fighting the four Kisame clones. Despite being weaker than the original, they were still pretty tough, and their Samehada's retained the original's chakra absorption ability.
The two younger swordsmen were back to back, fighting the Kisame clones, two of them each. However, when they tried to attack, one of the clones would parry the attack, while the other would take advantage and strike them, forcing them to fall back.
"Goddamn it Chojuro, tell me we are not being cornered by goddamned clones!" Ameyuri complained as she dodged a swipe from one of her enemies.
"T-They very strong! Way stronger than normal Water Clones!" Chojuro replied, as he blocked a swipe with Hiramekarei.
"I have an idea. When I tell you, bend forwards!" Ameyuri told him.
"What? What do you plan to-?"
"Don't question me, goddamn it, just do it!" Ameyuri angrily snapped, cutting Chojuro off.
"Y-Yes!"
They kept going like that for some time, until the red headed swordswoman finally saw the opening she was waiting for.
"Chojuro, now!" she yelled.
After pushing a Kisame clone backwards, Chojuro bent forward, placing his back perpendicular to the ground. Then, much to his confusion, Ameyuri jumped on his horizontal back as she dodged another attack as well. The two Kisame clones attempted to strike her once again, but she leaped above them, channeled lightning chakra through her blades, and slashed their backs as she landed.
"Way to go, Ameyuri-san!" Chojuro praised, jubilant that they were finally making some progress.
"Don't get distracted!" Ameyuri warned, as she ran past him, and parried an attack from a Kisame clone.
This time, Chojuro's resolve didn't waver, and slashed the clone across the chest as Ameyuri held it in place, which dissolved into a puddle of water. After that, the two eyed the remaining clone and lunged at it at the first time. The clone was unable to defend himself from both ninja and fell prey to their blades as well.
"We did it!" Chojuro yelled in joy.
"Don't let that get to your head. We only killed a bunch of clones. Come on, Zabuza-taicho needs our help," Ameyuri told him.
Chojuro nodded and the two young swordsmen joined their captain in his fight against the real Kisame.
…
Meanwhile, far from there, Naruto, Mei and Yagura continued their duel. The two parties eyed each other, Mei and Naruto looking cautious and pensive, while Yagura's new visage shot them a terrifying grin.
"Naruto-kun seems to be okay, but I already used a good chunk my chakra. Now that Yagura is using his jinchuriki powers to their fullest, I need to be careful with how I spend my remaining chakra," Mei warily thought.
Yagura didn't wait, and made the first move.
"Water Release: Oceanic Bullet!"
Yagura opened its mouth, and released a huge water missile at Naruto and Mei. The two of them jumped away in opposite directions. However, Yagura wasn't done. Much to their shock, he kept firing watery projectiles nonstop at the two of them. Naruto made several hand seals while running to avoid them.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Naruto blew a powerful gust of wind at the incoming water missile. It spun mid air for a few seconds, trying to overpower Naruto's attacks, before it ran out of momentum, and fell to the ground with a splash. Yagura, however, chuckled, and fired a volley of more water missiles at Naruto.
"Now's my chance to strike!" Mei thought as she made several hand seals. "Lava Release: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
Mei expelled a stream of lava from her mouth and hit Yagura in the side. The transformed jinchuriki let out a scream of pain as he looked at Mei with hate filled eyes.
"You'll pay for that," he darkly said, before he curled into a ball. "Shadow Stroke!"
Yagura then rolled into Mei at a quick pace, trying to bulldoze her. Mei was agile enough to dodge him, but much to her surprise, after passing her, Yagura spun around and charged back at her. The process was repeated several times.
"Naruto-kun, I could use some help here! I don't know how long I will last!" Mei called, in an almost pleading tone.
"I'm almost there! Bring him closer!" Naruto said as he was preparing his strongest attack, helped by a clone.
Mei nodded, and started to run towards Naruto as fast as she could. Yagura, however, was much faster, and would catch her in no time.
"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!"
Naruto tossed the chakra shuriken at Mei, followed by Yagura. Mei was fast enough to jump out of the way. However, Yagura's speed was turned against him when he saw that he had build so much momentum he couldn't maneuver properly, and thus, the attack connected.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRGHHH!" Yagura screamed as he was engulfed by a vortex of extremely powerful and razor sharp winds.
"Finally!" Naruto said, happy to see that his jutsu had connected.
"Will he survive?" Mei asked a bit worried, as she watched Yagura in pain, as the wind currents tore him apart.
"I don't know. A normal human shouldn't. But given the control he has over his Tailed Beast. He might," Naruto said, placing a finger under his chin. "Even then, he won't be in any shape to fight after that."
"Alright then. Let's get ready to...what?" Mei asked, her eyes looking at Yagura once again.
Yagura was completely immobile. His skin had been covered by a coral-like armor that protected him from the razor winds. When the vortex subsided, the coral armor shattered, revealing a very angry Yagura. He was grumbling and moaning in pain, though there was no visible injury on his body. Even then, the Three Tails' chakra would heal them over time.
"That jutsu..." Yagura replied, panting, as his arms and legs trembled. "For the first time in a long time, you, Konoha jinchuriki, made me feel fear..." Yagura said, as if it was an unforgivable offense. "That was your strongest jutsu, right? In that case, let me show you mine!"
Yagura raised his head, and opened his mouth. Red and blue Chakra particles started to gather, forming a dark purple chakra orb that continually grew in size. Mei paled in horror, while Naruto looked worried.
"Naruto-kun, Yagura's charging a Tailed Beast Ball. That's a Tailed Beast's most powerful move. If he hit us with that, we're as good as dead," Mei ominously warned. "Your Rasenshuriken is powerful, maybe enough to stop it?"
"You think so?" Naruto asked, unsure, but realized there was no time to waste asking questions. "O-Okay!"
Naruto and his clone started to work on a second Rasenshuriken as fast as they could. Mei, meanwhile, looked at the forming jutsu with interest.
"So you spin your chakra into a spiraling sphere, then channel elemental chakra through it, right?" Mei said, after a quick glance.
"Pretty much. You're pretty smart if you guessed it after seeing it just once," Naruto praised. Mei didn't say anything, walked close to him, and placed her hands above the jutsu. "Uh? What are you doing?"
"Increasing our chances. Do you think it can handle a second element?" Mei asked, and before Naruto could answer, she started to pump fire chakra into the jutsu.
"We'll see it soon enough," Naruto said as he warily looked at Yagura. The orb in his mouth had reached a worrying size.
"NOW TASTE DESPAIR!" Yagura yelled as he launched the ball forward. "TAILED BEAST BALL!"
"Scorch Release: Spiraling Burning Wind!"
Mei and Naruto tossed the burning chakra shuriken as well, and both attacks met in the middle. The combination attack expanded into a vortex of raging flames powered by powerful winds, while the Tailed Beast Ball tried to power through. Still, Yagura's attack was unable to push forward, ending it in a massive explosion. When the resulting smoke of both attacks dispelled, there was a massive crater in front of them.
"We did it!" Naruto cheered.
"Yes, but don't celebrate it yet. That Tailed Beast Ball wasn't very powerful," Mei told Naruto. "My guess is that Yagura is holding himself back due not wanting to level his village, but that may change soon."
"Damn..." Naruto muttered. Noticing that he was no longer in Sage Mode, he dispelled his last clone. "I have no more clones gathering nature energy. Once all my current nature energy runs out, I will be useless, so we have to finish this now."
"I think that we'll need Tailed Beast power to match his," Mei said, shooting a meaningful look at Naruto.
Understanding what the rebel meant, Naruto looked downwards. "I know but...I still can't control it. Is that a good idea? It can only create even more trouble."
"I know, but may have no choice. And don't worry if you lose control, your sensei gave me..." Mei's hand reached into her ninja tool pouch, to make sure the suppressing seals were there. And the moment her fingers touched them, an idea dawn upon her. "Of course, that's it! I can't believe I didn't think of this earlier!"
"Huh? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.
"Your sensei gave me some sealing tags that would suppress the Nine Tails' chakra in case you lose control," Mei explained.
"Ah, yes. My dad made them so I don't endanger my friends if the fox goes out of control," Naruto continued.
"And if he works on the Nine Tails, do you think it will work on one of its siblings?" Mei asked, as she looked at the approaching Yagura.
Naruto slapped his forehead. "Oh damn! I can't believe we didn't think of that!"
"Do not fret. It's not too late to carry the idea out. Alright Naruto, I need you to distract Yagura. He must not suspect anything," Mei instructed him.
"Alright. Since I don't have clones gathering nature energy, now I can use as many shadow clones as I want, so this shouldn't be hard," Naruto said, as he prepared to face Yagura once again.
Meanwhile, not far away from there, the unconscious Aiko started to stir, as her consciousness slowly returned to her. Blinking a couple times until her eyes adjusted to the light, the Mizukage's wife saw a medic-nin using the Mystic Palm Healing jutsu on her.
"Ah, you're awake, Aiko-sama! Don't worry, I treated all your injuries, you'll be fine in an instant," the medic-nin assured with a reassuring smile.
The blonde woman looked around, and saw a bunch of other Kiri ninja surrounding her. Some looking at her, others looking at something she couldn't see. It was then when she realized of something important.
"What are you doing here!? That rebel whore is trying to assassinate my husband! Go and help him!" Aiko commanded.
"We tried, Aiko-sama, but the scale of the battle is greater than us. I'm afraid that we'd be more of a hindrance for Mizukage-sama than actual help," a Kiri jonin pointed out.
"You were part of that battle, right? That's how you ended up like this," the medic-nin guessed. "If we follow your example, we'll only get caught in the crossfire and become collateral damage."
"You lot of cowards! When this is over, I won't forget this! Now get out of the way, my husband needs me!" Aiko said as she tried to stand up, but winced when a wave of pain surged through her body.
"Easy there, Aiko-sama, I haven't finished with you yet," the medic-nin said as he forced her to remain lying down in the ground.
"Don't worry, we won't plan to let Mizukage-sama die against the rebels. We'll wait for the best moment to strike," a masked ANBU assured her.
…
"Is everybody okay?" Haku asked the people around him.
There were both rebel and loyalist Kiri ninja, and a couple of Konoha ninja as well. All of them equally confused, no longer fighting. Dagura was still in the ground, unconscious. If it wasn't for Haku, all of them would likely be dead.
Haku looked up, and saw his almost destroyed, two-layered ice dome. He saw a strange looking bird dropping something on them. Even if he didn't know what it was, the Ice Ninja had a bad feeling, and tried to protect both him and his allies from the incoming danger. And Haku himself wasn't sure if his ice barriers could resist all those explosions. It was close, but they did.
In all honestly he didn't care about the enemy ninjas, but it was either save everybody, or no one. Though even then, Haku was a bit grateful that he had avoided unnecessary deaths, even from the side he was fighting against.
Looking at the sky, Haku saw the strange bird flying away. Now he could see there was a figure riding it. Dread started to set in as the ice ninja realized that the bird and his rider were heading towards the Mizukage's palace, where Naruto and Mei were fighting Yagura.
"Naruto-kun...please be safe..."
…
"Rasengan Barrage!"
Yagura saw multiple Narutos leaping at him, a Rasengan on hand each. Yagura grinned. While this was a formidable attack, for a ninja of his caliber this would be still insufficient. The transformed jinchuriki once again curled into a ball.
"Shadow Stroke!"
Yagura used the same attack he had employed on Mei, and dashed towards the blond. He plowed into the clones at such speed they were unable to strike him with their chakra spheres. He took advantage of both his building momentum and the rebound to freely bounce from one cluster of clones to another, easily destroying them all.
"That's the best you can do?" Yagura taunted.
"How about this?" The other clones replied as they surrounded Yagura from different directions. "Wind Release: Cyclone Vortex!"
Yagura was assaulted by multiple tornados coming from different directions. The resulting clash ended up forming one massive tornado, so brutal it threw Yagura into the air.
"Mei, now!" Naruto jumped.
Yagura saw a red and blue blur leap into the tornado, and use its currents to fly at him. Whatever they were planned, it couldn't be good. Even if he doubted they could do any real damage to him, he'd better not take any chance. He opened his mouth and started to gather Tailed Beast chakra on it.
"Die, you traitor!" Yagura bellowed as he swallowed the small energy ball. "Tailed Beast Wave!"
Upon opening his mouth, Yagura released a destructive wave of chakra that hit Mei full on, almost instantly vaporizing her. The attack also managed to dispel the tornado, and Yagura landed on the ground with a loud thud. He couldn't help but rejoice at the thought of Mei finally dying. His attack had wiped her off of the face of the planet so fast...and that was exactly what tipped Yagura that there something off.
"Wait a second, that wasn't Mei, but a clone!" Yagura said, looking around. "Where's the real one? What are you planning?"
The ground at Yagura's feet cracked, and the real Mei burst from underground. Before Yagura had time to react, she slapped the sealing tag onto the jinchuriki's forehead, as she made a hand seal while pumping chakra into it.
"Suppressing Seal...activate!"
The seal started glow, as tendrils of blue chakra formed from it and began to wrap around Yagura.
"AAAAAARGGHH! WHAT IS THIS!? WHAT IS THIS!?" The jinchuriki roared as he tried to pull it away, to no avail.
Naruto and Mei watched carefully as the Tailed Beast chakra started to fade, little by little. Yagura eventually regressed into his human form, with a chakra cloak that it too started to vanish. Once there was no more Tailed Beast chakra, the seal instantly burned in a flash.
The experience had left the Mizukage completely drained and exhausted. He tried to call the Three Tails' chakra again, but found himself unable to. He didn't know if it was because of the seal or his current state, but he didn't care. Those bastards had deprived him of his greatest asset, and he would make them pay. That's it, if the rest of his body didn't hurt so much.
"You...you..." Yagura groaned as he tried to get back on his feet.
"It's over, Yagura. You've lost. Surrender so no more lives have to be wasted in this war," Mei told him.
"Like hell it's over! For you, you betraying whore!" a vaguely familiar female voice said.
At that moment, Aiko and a group of Kiri ninja landed around Yagura, Mei and Naruto. Aiko quickly went to check Yagura, and helped him back on his feet.
"Are you okay, dear?" A concerned Aiko asked.
"Much better now that you're here, and you're okay," Yagura smiled at her. Then, he turned at Mei and Naruto, and smirked. "You may have defeated me, but even if you won this battle, you're about to lose the war! My loyal ninja, execute these traitors immediately!"
Mei and Naruto tensed up, and adopted fighting stances as the Kiri ninja unsheathed their weapons and came closer. Mei gritted her teeth at the sight of the current situation. She has been so close to defeating Yagura, and now the tables had been turned. Would her and Naruto, tired as they were, be able to fight Yagura's ninja, and finish the fight before the Mizukage fled? Well, on the bright side, Naruto had still Sage mode.
Said blond then took his eyes from the current enemies to look at something in the sky.
"Hey, what's that?" Naruto asked.
Aiko, being a sensor, realized that Naruto wasn't lying and something was flying above them. Looking up, she saw a giant white bird dropping something on them. A bad feeling washed over her.
"Everybody, duck and cover!" she cried.
But it was too late, and the entire area was engulfed by explosions. While the explosions weren't strong enough to kill them, they did their job and left them temporarily disabled for the bomber to do his job.
The giant white bird landed, and everybody saw a long haired blond man wearing a black cloak with red clouds. While such attire didn't mean anything for most people there, there was one person who paled in horror upon seeing it.
"Akatsuki!" Naruto cried. "Yagura, you need to leave! That man has come for you!"
Yagura didn't hear Naruto. The explosion had sent him to the ground again, and was trying to get back on his feet. Aiko, however, did, and placed herself between her husband and the new threat.
"If you want to get the Mizukage, you'll have to get through me first!" she defiantly yelled.
"While a tempting offer, it won't be necessary," the Akatsuki said, before clearing his throat. "There were nine, but now there's just one!"
The Akatsuki then waited expectantly for something to happen, but everything remained the same.
"Wasn't that the line?" he asked. "Oh, right! It was 'Let's the nine be one now'!"
But again, nothing happened. Everybody looked at each other awkwardly.
"What the hell, those weren't the words either?" the Akatsuki indignantly asked. He then started to search through his cloak. "Where did I put the cheat sheet...?"
Yagura got on his feet, and glanced at his men.
"Execute this idiot too as well," he ordered.
His ninja nodded, and moved to attack the Akatsuki. However, at that point, the Akatsuki pulled a crumbled paper out, and read its contents.
"The time has come for the nine to become one!"
The effect was instant. Yagura clutched his head as he fell to his knees. His ninja forgot about his orders, and went into the Mizukage's aid.
"Yagura, what's happening!?" Aiko asked.
"Mizukage-sama, are you okay!?" a worried Kiri ninja asked.
The, Yagura stopped screaming. He stopped clutching his head and rose back on his feet. He didn't look to be in pain anymore.
"What are your orders, master?" Yagura asked the Akatsuki.
The blond man grinned. "I've been sent to pick you up, so get over here and let's get going," he said, as he pointed at his artificial bird.
"Right," Yagura nodded as he started to walk towards the Akatsuki, much to the everybody else's shock.
"Yagura, what are you doing?" Aiko asked as she grabbed Yagura's arm.
Yagura wordlessly shook her arm off of his, and pushed his wife back.
"That's it. The definitive proof he was under someone else's mind control," Mei thought.
"We can't let this man kidnap Mizukage-sama! Everybody, attack!" a Kiri Jonin said. His comrades snapped, nodded, and prepared to attack.
"Naruto, let's join them! We can't let Akatsuki take Yagura away!" Mei told the blond jinchuriki, whom nodded in return.
"Ah, trying to stop me? That's not good," the Akatsuki said, shaking his head, before he made a hand seal. "Then again, I'm more than happy to have a chance to show off my art!"
A second artificial bird dived from above, releasing more bombs over the group. The Kiri ninja were forced to abort the rescue attempt and run to find some cover. Using the explosions as a smokescreen, the Akatsuki and Yagura took off and flew high into the sky.
"NO! Yagura, come back! YAGURA!" Aiko impotently screamed as she saw her husband being spirited away by the Akatsuki. She fell on her knees and continued screaming as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Author's Note: So there you have it. Akatsuki ends up abducting Yagura. I know it's not the ending some of you were expecting, since you were hoping for him to live, but I can't just spare everybody. Akatsuki needs to score some victories, or they would come off as rather ineffective villains. And boy, poor Aiko. Seeing her husband flying to his death shortly after finding about his brainwashing.
Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed this chapter and all its fights. Naturally, the one I liked to write the most was the main event with Mei and Yagura, but I also loved to do the Zabuza, Chojuro and Ameuri vs Kisame. That's one fight I always loved to do, since unlike Mei vs Yagura, I didn't see anybody doing it, and hope that you liked it as much. Also, this won't be the last time Zabuza and Kisame clash in the battlefield ;)
If anybody is wondering, yeah, the war has finally come to an end. The next chapter will be the last one of this arc, it will feature the reunification of Kirigakure, Mei finally becoming Mizukage, and will wrap up all the remaining loose threads, such as what will happen with Zabuza and Haku. I know that this arc has been rather long (way longer than I had anticipated) and some of you want this story to adapt Shippuden already. To those who think like that, just bear with this a little more, just one more chapter.
Thanks to gio08 for betareading this chapter.
In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!