Author's Note: People seems to be pretty excited for this arc. That's good! Because let's say that tackling this arc intimidated me a bit. With some of the past arcs, improving them was easy, but how do you improve what's considered one of the best, of not THE best arc of Shippuden? Anyway, enjoy the second part:
Chapter 84:
The Akatsuki Invasion, Part II
or
The Most Powerful Bloodline Limit
Jiraiya and Anko were standing in front of the six paths of Pain plus Konan, both parties involved tensed up, waiting for the other to make the other move. Still, Jiraiya wasn't ready to fight. At least, not yet. He needed some answers first.
"I can't understand it... what happened to you? Why did you end up joining Akatsuki?" Jiraiya asked, some sadness seeping through his voice.
"We didn't 'join' Akatsuki, sensei," it was Konan who replied, taking a step forward. "Akatsuki is our very own creation. A tool that will shape the world into a place where conflict does not exist, where no children will have to see their parents getting murdered before their very eyes, a place where revenge and suffering won't be allowed to exist."
"Exactly," Pain agreed. "Sensei, you said you wanted to bring peace to the ninja world. But all your efforts have been in vain. Even with all the power you now possess as Hokage, the world isn't much better than it was twenty years ago. The apprentices shall suceed where the master failed."
"You call THIS to make the world a more peaceful place!?" an outraged Jiraiya shouted, spreading his arms around in order to emphasize the wanton destruction going around him. "It seems that my failure as your teacher was even greater than I thought if you got that idea from me."
"Sometimes, sacrifices are needed in order to obtain a better tomorrow," Pain rebutted. "Yes, this is a war, I won't deny it. And many people will die. But it's a war to end all wars. Once Akatsuki is victorious, conflict will be a thing of the past."
"It's not that easy, and you know it," Jiraiya angrily replied. "The people you are killing today have loved ones. Loved ones that, even if you suceed at the end of the day, will seek revenge on you, feeding the cycle of hatred that plagues the ninja world. That's why conflict cannot be ended with more conflict!"
"Yes, I'm aware of that possibility. But once our plan suceeds, such thing will be irrelevant," Pain replied. "Because what are a bunch of people seeking revenge compared to the power once wielded to the Sage of the Six Paths?"
"So, that's your endgame? To use the power of the Ten Tails to impose peace by force?" Jiraiya asked.
"Peace imposed by force is a better alternative than letting conflict to happen freely," Konan stepped in.
"No, it isn't! Peace can't never be forced, it's something that can only be achieved once all the parts of a conflict reach an understanding," Jiraiya rebutted. "Otherwise, you aren't eliminating conflict, just pushing it under the rug! It will do nothing but fester and grow up, until it can't be hidden anymore!"
"In the current situation, maybe. But like I said before, it won't happen in the new world order Akatsuki is planning to create," Pain reiterated. "Enough chit-chat, sensei, you know what we want. Give us the jinchuriki of this village, and we shall leave in peace."
"You know I can't do that, Yahiko," Jiraiya replied, before he raised an eyebrow. "Or is it Nagato?"
"Neither Yahiko nor Nagato exist anymore, sensei. Only Pain remains," Pain omniously replied, as he took a step forward. "Pain that you, too, shall experience."
"Hokage-sama?" Anko asked. "Your orders?"
"Anko, we are about to fight somebody who wields the most powerful Bloodline Limit that has ever existed," Jiraiya grimly warned her. "My advice would be to stand back and support me from afar, or else you might end up dead. I can't fight and protect you at the same time."
Anko couldn't help but sigh in resignation. "This is like Orochimaru's invasion all over again..."
"Don't beat yourself for this, Anko. No ninja expects to face an enemy of this caliber in their lives," Jiraiya reassured her.
"Alright. I'll try to help as much as I can without getting in the way," Anko told him.
One of the Pains, the one with the ponytail, started to switfly make hand seals, as he prepared to use his only jutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu! Summoning Jutsu"
Slamming his plam in the floor twice, Ponytail Pain summoned a gigantic, multi-headed dog with maroon fur and Rinnegan eyes, as well as an equally massive crustacean.
"So, that's the body that can summon giant beasts to battle. All those other animals wreacking havoc around us must be his doing then. Though I doubt he has that many summons in reserve, meaning that he can't summon more without recalling them from their original positions. And if I can kill him, the summons will be canceled," Jiraiya quickly analyzed. "Gamabunta! Go for the crab! That dog will create clones of itself if it's struck with a bladed weapon!"
"Leave that to us then! Aoda!" Anko shouted.
The toad and the snake lunging forward, Gamabunta delivering a swing of his sword at the giant crustacean, which grabbed the blade with one of its claws, while Aoda wrapped himself against the dog, who trashed wildly in an attempt to free itself from the giant snake.
At that point, puppet Pain decided to attack. He detached his left forearm from the rest of the arm, which was connected by a long cluster of segmented missiles. Said missiles quickly took off, flying at Jiraiya and Anko. Jiraiya quickly countered that attack with a jutsu of his own.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Slamming both hands into the ground, and pouring nature energy into the jutsu, Jiraiya erected a massive wall between himself and his enemies, the wall being twice as tall and thick as they normaly were. There were several explosions that caused a small tremor, but the wall resisted.
"Jiraiya-chan, above you!" Shima shouted.
Jiraiya looked up and saw Konan floating above him, having just finished to prepare a jutsu.
"Paper Drizzle!"
From her paper wings, Konan fired a massive barrage of paper darts at Jiraiya and Anko. Fortunately, Anko was quick enough to prepare a counterattack.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"
Anko breathed a massive stream of fire at the incoming paper, but for some reason, not only she failed to counter the attack, but the paper barrage was slowly pushing the fire back at her, much to her shock.
"Anko, jump back!" Jiraiya shouted.
Both him and Anko jumped in different directions, as they ran away from the rain of paper projectiles, that fell with a force strong enough to shatter the ground.
"The fuck? Papers are supposed to burn!" Anko protested. "How is that bitch able to-"
"Shima, I need some oil!" Jiraiya called.
"You got it, boy!" Shima replied, as her dewlap swolled, before releasing a wide stream of oil at the incoming paper darts, stopping them on their tracks, and even carrying enough momentum to continue flying towards Konan.
"Anko, again! The two of us together!" Jiraiya told her.
Anko nodded, as both she and Jiraiya started to make hand seals.
"Fire Release: Flame Toad Bullet!"
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fi-"
However, only Jiraiya was able to use fire to ignite the oil, as Anko was attacked from the side by one of the Pains, the one with long, loose hair, as he tried to skewer Anko with a sharp black rod he produced from under his sleeve.
"Shit!" Anko cursed, as she barely parried the blow with a kunai. Her enemy continued delivering vicious swings at her, making her to take a step back with each attack she parried. "Shit, shit, shit!"
"Anko, behind you!" Jiraiya warned.
Anko quickly looked back to see another Pain, one with broad shoulders and a very unfriendly face, about to attack her with one of those black rods.
"OH SHIT!" Anko shouted once again, as she made a hand seal just before the two Pain bodies skewered her.
The moment the black rods pierced her body, "Anko" quickly melted into a puddle of mud, causing the two Paths of Pain to franctically look around in different directions. The real Anko appeared from behind a mountain of rubble, and launched her attack.
"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"
Once again, more snakes shot from under Anko's sleeve, ready to dig their fangs into the burly Pain, the one who had her back turned at her. But much to her surprise, her would be victim ducked in the last second. The other pain rushed towards her, forcing her into the defensive once again.
"What the...? How the hell did he know I was going to attack?" Anko said, as she and the other two Pains traded jabs. "Come on you dipshits, get-WHOA!"
Anko was interrupted when she felt a long tongue wrapping around her waist, and pulling her upwards towards the roof of a nearby building with such strength, one could mistake said tongue for a steel cable attached to a crane. When her feet touched solid ground again, she saw she was besides the Hokage, and it was the small toad on his shoulder who pulled her back.
"Goob job, Ma," Jiraiya told the toad.
"Yeah, nice save there, granny," Anko thanked her.
"Don't mention it," the old toad replied. "Come on kids, you need to step up your game! Those guys are kicking your asses!"
"We noticed, Ma, thanks for the observation," Jiraiya replied, rolling his eyes. "In case you didn't hear me before, we're fighting against somebody who wields the most powerful Bloodline Limit to ever exist, so cut us some slack."
"It seems that the intel we have on those guys isn't even complete," Anko pointed out. "That Rinnegan allows them to see in an area around them, kinda like the Byakugan."
"Naruto told me something similar when they fought him in the past," Jiraiya said, rubbing his chin. "Albeit I don't think it's the case, since they sometimes managed to catch them off guard quite a few times."
"What can it be, then?" Anko asked.
But Anko got no question when the Six Paths of Pain landed in the same roof behind them, forcing the two Konoha ninja to turn back and adopt a fighting stance.
"You can't escape from me, sensei," the main Pain said in a menacing tone. "The jinchuriki is your adopted son, yes? If you refuse to tell me where is he hiding, then if I make you scream in agony, he shall come to me."
"You're very bold of you to make such claim, Nagato. Rinnegan or not, you're way above your head," Jiraiya told him back.
"It's you who's over your head, sensei," Pain said, staking a step forward, while raising a palm at him. "You're the one willing to fight a god, after all."
…
Meanwhile, at another part of Konoha, Kisame continued his duel with Team Gai. What it used to be a street was now nothing but mountains of rubble flooded by water, thanks to all the collateral damage of the battle. For most part, Gai and Lee engaged the Akatsuki in hand to hand combat, while Neji and Tenten supported them from afar, trying to capitalize any opening.
"Water Release: Multiple Shark Bullets!"
After finishing the hand sequence, a multitude of globs of water shot towards all members of Team Gai, taking the shape of ravenous sharks, their jaws full of teeth wide open and ready to taste the flesh of the Konoha ninja.
And, as they defended from Kisame's attack, the shark ninja dashed forward, going past Gai and Lee, and heading towards Neji. In less than two seconds, he was already besides him.
"You go down first, Hyuga!" Kisame laughed, as he brought down Samehada.
"I don't think so!" Neji started to rapidly spin as he released chakra from every point of his body, until he turned into a chakra dome. "Heavenly Spin!"
The dome started to splash water everywhere, and in a few seconds those splashes became waves. Kisame tried to push his sword with greater strength, as the two opposed forces grinded against each other. But in the end, Neji's defense coupled with the generated waves won out the struggle, with Samehada being unable to absorb the chakra that moved that fast, and was blown away from Kisame's hands.
"Good job, Neji!" Tenten praised, as she leaped above the now unarmed Akatsuki, while unfurling a medium sized scroll. "Now's the chance to take him down! Manipulated Tools: Electric Steel Rain!"
Multiple kunai, shuriken, swords and other bladed weapons rained upon Kisame. And much to his chagrin, said weapons were all crackling with electricity, meaning that he wouldn't just get cut if he was hit. Still, Kisame managed to dodge all the weapons in an impressive display of agility, even making use of backflips and sideflips for added flair.
"Incredible. I never thought a guy his size could be so fast," Tenten said, panting a little.
"Not bad. Your teammwork is excellent. I think I can consider you a worthy challenge," Kisame praised, as he held out his hand. "But that doesn't mean that you'll walk out of this as the winners."
As if it was pulled by an invisible string, Samehada flew towards Kisame like a missile, the shark man grinning in anticipation as his lost sword came back to him.
"NOT SO FAST!" Gai loudly shouted, falling from above, as he stomped the flying sword so hard, not only its momentum was stopped, but it was even buried underwater with a great splash. "Maybe we can't use this sword ourselves, but we can still stop you from using it! Lee, Neji, Tenten, go!"
"YOSH! You got it, Gai-sensei!" Lee shouted, he dashed towards Kisame. "Gate of Pain, open!"
With the aditional power boost of the Fourth Gate, Lee turned into a green blur, constantly dashing towards Kisame and delivering punches and kicks fast enough not to give the Akatsuki any time to counter. Still, the Akatsuki member was able to block most of Lee's hits, who failed to hit any vital spot.
"Amazing... even with four gates open, he can still keep up with me!" Lee thought, though he was also rather eager to fight such a challening enemy. "Should I go for the fifth one?"
"Lee, watch out!" Neji warned, snapping Lee from his thoughts. "Below you!"
"Huh?" the green clad ninja asked.
But it was too late. A Kisame clone formed below him, and pulled him down underwater. Lee tried to push him away, but even with his boosted strength, being underwater greatly slowed down his movements. And much to his horror, the Kisame clone wasn't the only threat: a couple of hungry looking sharks swiftly swam towards him.
"Lee!" Neji cried, as he rushed towards what he presumed was the real Kisame. "Release him at once!"
"Care about yourself first, Hyuga," Kisame said with a chuckle, as he finished another hand seal sequence. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
The water behind Kisame rose in the form of a spiraling pillar. And from said pillar, a serpentine dragon emerged, before lunging at Neji, letting out a distorted roar. Neji was forced to stop and counterattack.
"Gate of Opening, open!" Neji cried, as his body flared with a green glow. "Multiple Vacuum Palms!"
Neji thrust his palms back and forth, firing a barrage of vacuum shells at the dragon. Seeing that the dragon was pushing through, Neji increased the intensity and speed of his palms thrusts, generating even more vacuum missiles. His efforts paid off as the dragon was sucessfully repelled and destroyed.
Unfortunately, the attack was a mere distraction. Even if he had his Byakugan activated, Neji was so focused on the water dragon, he didn't notice Kisame dashing past him until it was too late, heading towards his true target from the very beginning.
"Gai-sensei, he's coming for you!" Neji cried.
Meanwhile, the green clad Jonin was trying to keep Samehada at bay, which was a much harder task than it could appear at first glance. Samehada would sprout spikes on its handle if Gai tried to grab it, while making its extremely sharp scales grow if Gai tried to touch any other part. Thus, Gai was pretty much reduced to kicking and punching the sword whenever it tried to return to its master.
"Water Release: Water Bullet!"
Gai, fortunately, heard Neji's warning, and had ample opportunity to avoid Kisame's attack. On the other hand, that meant that there was nothing between Kisame and his sword, and soon the two of them were reunited once again.
"I admit that your strategy was a sound one," Kisame praised, as he made a couple of one handed swings in the air. "But as you can see, nothing can keep me away from Samehada for long."
Rather than looking annoyed or frustrated, Gai smirked. "That sword is sure something, isn't it?"
"Indeed. Samehada's already tranferring me the chakra he abosrbed from you while you were trying to futilely keep it away from me," Kisame stated, as he rested his sword over his shoulder. "The longer you take to defeat me, the smaller the chances of such thing happening!"
"I see," Gai said, looking a little pensive. "If that's the case... then I'll have to beat you with my next move!"
"Oh? And what move will that be, taijutsu specialist?" Kisame asked, genuinely curious. Still, the Akatsuki didn't drop his guard, and prepared for pretty much anything.
"I shall incinerate you with my flames of youth! No matter how proficient you are with Water ninjutsu, you won't be able to put them out! Gate of View, Open!" Gai's body exuded so much chakra, it started to blow gusts of wind in every direction, as his skin turned dark red and his eyes opened completely wide. Gai then dashed towards Kisame, the sheer speed carved a path in the water, with the shark ninja almost unable to see him.
"Wha...?" Kisame babblered, as he raised his sword in order to block the incoming attack.
Gai delivered a swift kick to Kisame's chin, sending the Akatsuki flying upwards, before the green clad Jonin leaped into the air, passing Kisame, and readied to deliver his attack.
"Shit, this is bad! Samehada!" Kisame cried as he tried to put the sword before the incoming onslaught.
"MORNING PEACOCK!"
Gai delivered a brutal flurry of punches so fast, his fists were nothing but red blurs. The speed of each punch was such that due the air firction, it produced a fireball with each hit. The flying fireballs created a fan of flames around Kisame, looking almost a bird made of fire with its wings spread out. Gai finished his combo by kicking Kisame in the chest, sending him flying back to the water with a loud splash.
Gai landed on his feet, but as soon as the effects of the Eight Gates kicked in, his body returned to normal, and dropped to one knee.
"Did I... expend more chakra than I thought...?" Gai wondered, panting.
"Gai-sensei!" Lee cried, as he and his teammates went to check his master.
Kisame, meanwhile, stayed underwater for the time being. His whole body hurt as if he had been trampled my a stampede of wild boars. His Akatsuki cloak had been completely burned and teared apart, now only a few tatters remaining. Fortunately, not only he was able to use Samehada to block some of the damage, but the sword had managed to absorb some of Gai's chakra whenever his fists touched the sword, which was now being used to nurse his wounds.
"I don't think I've ever experienced an attack that brutal before," Kisame reflected, as his body slowly recovered. He realized Gai's state, and smirked. "That idiot, he used a technique that would let him completely drained and defenseless. He gambled and lost. Now, it's about time to end this!"
Feeling confident with the amount of recovered chakra, Kisame dashed out of the water towards the now defenseless Gai.
"You're mine!" Kisame said with a predatory glee.
"I can assure you he's not!" another voice said.
Suddenly, Rock Lee appeared between Gai and Kisame, as he delivered a roundhouse kick at the shark ninja. Who was forced to back off. Lee continued his assualt of punches and mostly kick combos, before standing on his hands, spreading his legs, and spinning around himself.
"Konoha Reverse Whirlwind!"
Lee spun at such speed, he even formed a tornado around himself, which pushed Kisame backwards. At that point, Tenten appeared just behind him, her body glowing with a green aura, and a huge sword on each hand.
"Raging Bladestorm!"
Tenten started to spin as well, turning herself into a razor-sharp tornado. Pumping chakra into his feet, Kisame leaped away before he could be skewered. He thought that he had avoided her attack, but he noticed that cuts were starting to open in both his arms and his chest.
"Vacuum Blade Palm!"
While still mid air, Kisame saw several blades of vacuum flying at him, fired by Neji. Using Samehada, Kisame was able to deflect the first two, but the third one blew the sword out of his hand, as the two of them fell to the water below with a splash.
"Good one, Neji!" Lee praised, giving his teammate a thumbs up.
"Time to finish that oversized piece of shushi off!" Tenten declared.
Suddenly, the water flooding the wrecked streets started to roar, before its level started to decrease, slowly but surely.
"W-What's going on?" Tenten asked, keeping her guard up. "Neji?"
"Kisame is trying to escape by going underground!" Neji told them, as he saw the shark man digging away. "And since he used his chakra to create and maintain all this water, it's disappearing now that Kisame is no longer here."
"Should we go after him?" Lee asked.
Neji shook his head. "No. We have plenty of things to do here. We need to protect the civilians, as well as deal with the enemies still attacking the village."
"Not to mention, we need to take Gai-sensei to a safe place!" Lee said.
"No, I'm... I'm okay," the green clad Jonin said, as he stood back on his feet. "Using the Sixth Gate left me a bit drained. I may not be able to help much, but I can still defend myself. You don't have to concern yourself with me."
"But Gai-sensei-" Lee tried to protest, before Gai raised a hand to silence him.
"I appreciate your thought, Lee, but remember, you're no longer a Genin. You need to know who needs to be protected the most," Gai replied. "And right now, the civilians and the wounded take far more priority than me."
"I... you're right, Gai-sensei," Lee said, before giving Gai a thumbs up, his face radiating determination. "We won't let you down, Gai-sensei! You can count on us!"
"I'm seeing a group of ninjas escorting a civilian group towards one of the bunkers," Neji stated, as his Byakugan scanned the nearby area. "However, the White Zetsu clones are giving them some trouble."
"Then that's where we need to go," Tenten said, with her male teammates nodding in agreement.
…
Meanwhile, not far away from there, Dosu, Zaku and Kin were fighting a bunch of White Zetsu clones, alongside a couple of chakra golems. So far, they managed to clear a street of them, which could be used as a safe passage for civilians. However, Dosu would soon find out that it wouldn't remain safe for long.
"I'm hearing multiple steps coming to this direction," Dosu warned his teammates. "They appear to be more White Zetsu."
"Ha! Let them come! We'll blast them into bits like we did with their friends!" Zaku boasted, hitting his fists together.
And just like Dosu said, a horde of White Zetsu clones made itself known in no time, letting out multiple yells and cries as they charged forward.
"I'll stop them in their tracks!" Kin said, as she took a step forward, while making several hand seals. "Demonic Illusion: Spiraling Vertigo!"
The genjutsu took hold of the Zetsu, at least those in the first lines of attack, and they quickly tripped and fell to the floor on their faces as if they were drunk. They tried to get up, but slippered and fell again, much to their still unaffected brothers' frustration.
"You're under a genjutsu, idiots! Dispel it!" one White Zetsu said.
"Maybe we should liberate them ourselves," another clone stated, as he kneeled down besides a fallen clone, touched his back, and send a disruptive wave of chakra through his body.
"Oh no, I won't let you!" Zaku said as he aimed his hands forward, "Decapitating Airwaves!"
Zaku two streams of pressurized air and soundwaves from the holes of his palms, blasting both the incapacitated and abled Zetsu clones away, though those standing the furthest weren't hit by the radius of the attack.
"Good job. It seems you were able to back your boasts this time," Kin praised her teammate with a rogue smirk.
"Yeah, I know, right?" Zaku replied, before Kin's words sunk in, and frowned. "Hey, what do you mean 'this time'?"
"Guys, jump to the side!" Dosu warned, as he charged towards them.
The two of them were startled by the sudden cry of alarm, but managed to did so just in time, as a couple of White Zetsu clones emerged from below them, and tried and failed to grab their legs.
"Underground Sonic Boom!"
Dosu slammed both his Melody Gauntlets into the ground between the Zetsu, sending a powerful sonic blast that ripped the ground appart, killing the aritfical creatures almost instantly.
"How many times do I need to tell you not to lower your guard?" Dosu asked, his voice sounding a little frustrated. "Stay alert, here they come more of them!"
And indeed, since Zaku had only been able to destroy the first few lines, more White Zetsu remained in the further back, which took note of Zaku's wide area of attack, and were now advancing by crawling through the walls of the buildings that made up the street, something that wasn't lost on the spiky haired teenager.
"Shit! I can't hit all of them at once!" Zaku complained, as he tried to decide where should he aim.
"Not to mention, your attack is going to cause one hell of collateral damage if you aim at those buildings," Kin added.
The solution, however, came in the form of the couple of chakra golems, who aimed their cannon forearms at the White Zetsu, before releasing a stream of fire at them, with enough precision to burn the crawling humanoids but only cause minimal damage to the buildings. Seeing their advance foiled, the Zetsu started to fall back.
"HELL YEAH!" Zaku said, pumping his fists. "Konoha has the coolest toys! I'm so glad we switched sides to them!"
As Zaku cheered, Dosu's ears picked a new enemy arriving.
"Something is coming!" Dosu warned.
"More White Zetsu?" Kin asked.
"No, this is... much bigger!" Dosu said, before turning around and pointing to a nearby building. "It's coming from that roof!"
As soon as his words left his bandaged lips, something that looked like a White Zetsu but was much bigger leaped from the roof of said building, and landed on top of a golem, crushing it into scrap metal almost instantly.
"THE HELL!?" Kin screamed. "What the fuck is that!?"
The creature looked like a White Zetsu indeed, but it was far larger. It had a very muscular body, six arms, two thick legs, and three heads mounted on top of each other. The creature turned at the other golem, who raised its flamethrower arm to burn it to a crisp. But the Zetsu mutant was faster, grabbed the arm and ripped it from the body as if it was nothing. Then he used the arm to beat the golem into a pile of scrap. Then, he turned his three heads at the former Oto ninjas, who took a step back, and snarled.
"I think he found the next thing to smash," Kin whimpered.
"DIEEEEEEE!" the three heads of the monstrous Zetsu said at once as he charged forward.
"Zaku, Kin, stop him on his tracks!" Dosu ordered.
"Very well then," Zaku agreed, not showing the enthusiasm he displayed before, before taking aim at the hulking Zetsu. "Decapitating Air Waves!"
The huge Zetsu was hit by the two streams of pressurized air and soundwaves, but it only suceeded in slowing him down. That moment, Kin decided to make her move, as she picked a bunch of senbon from her ninja tool pouch.
"Aim for the heads!" Dosu commanded.
Kin nodded "Lightning Release: Electric Needle Barrage!"
Kin's hands crackled with electricity, which transferred to the steel needles, before tossing them at the cluster of three heads, all of them hitting their mark, with some even stabbing into an eye. The White Zetsu aberration roared in pain, that moment of distraction making him to be pushed back by Zaku's stream.
"Now's my chance!" Dosu said, as he dashed forward to his foe, before leaping, landing on the creature's massive shoulder. "Resonating Sonic Cage!"
Dosu slammed both fists against the trio of heads, creating a cage of high intensity soundwaves that constantly clashed and bounced against each other. The soundwaves soon started to mess with the heads, which started to swole until they exploded like ballooons with too much air inside. The white giant fell forward with a loud thud, as Dosu expertly landed back on his feet.
"Whew, we did it," Kin said, panting a little.
"Yeah, nothing can beat us!" Zaku said, his pride coming back in full force.
As soon as Zaku said that, a huge white meteor landed between them, impacting with so much force it opened a crater and sent the three former Oto ninjas flying in different directions. When the cloud of dirt disappeared, they could see it was yet another mosntrous White Zetsu.
"DIEEEE!" the three heads screamed in unison, as the creature charged at Zaku, who was trying to get back on his feet.
"Zaku, get away from there!" Dosu cried, as he tried as best as he could to get back on his feet and assist his friend.
"Rasengan!"
However, just before the monster could get any of his six hands on Zaku, yet another white and blue meteor fell, this time landed on the giant creature, the impact creating yet another crater, followed by a chakra explosion that turned the giant Zetsu into white mush, which was splattered everywhere. From the smoke produced by the blast, a lone figure emerged. A young boy with spiky white hair.
"Hey, are you okay?" the newcomer asked.
"Y-You!" Zaku said, as he hobbled towards him. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in a coma?"
"Given that I saved your life, a 'thank you' would be appreciated.," Hagane said, as he frowned a little while crossing his arms.
"Thank you for your assitance, Hagane-san," Dosu said, bowing his head a little. "But my teammate's question remains. When did you get better?"
"Well, you see-"
"HAGANE!" a female voice screamed, as yet a third meteor landed besides them opening another crater. A very angry looking blond woman emerged from that crater.
"Oh, hey mom!" Hagane nonchalantly greeted Tsunade –who had a small Katsuyu clone on her shoulder–, who stomped towards him.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?" Tsunade roarer, as he grabbed her son by his shoulders, and started to shake him. "Leaving the hospital without telling anybody, and going to fight on your own! You could have been seriously hurt!"
Hagane lowered his head. "I'm sorry mom. When I woke up, I saw through the window that we were under attack, and went to find out what was going on. I was on my way to meet with Kaida and Tenzo-sensei when I run into them. But I understand that I acted rashly and without thinking, something my sister would do. I could have at the very least leave a note."
Tsunade's anger mellowed out a little after hearing that explaination, and most importantly, seeing that her son was fine.
"Alright. I'll let this incident go, given the circumstances," Tsunade replied. "Can you sense your father or Naruto?"
Hagane closed his eyes, and made a hand seal. "Dad is at the other side of the village, to the southeast. He's fighting against a very powerful Akatsuki. As for Naruto-niisan... wait, this can't be right, I can't sense him anywhere!"
"Don't worry about Naruto, I'm sure he's fine," Tsunade confidently said. "Now I need to go and help your father. I'm sure the Akatsuki is fighting against is Pain himself. That idiot wants to convince his former apprentice to switch sides and drop Akatsuki, but all what he'll achieve is getting himself killed."
"I'm going with you," Hagane stated.
"Definitely NO, young mister!" Tsunade firmly stated. "I'm not going to tell you to find somewhere to hide, but stay away from Akatsuki or any enemy that might prove too much of a challenge, understood?"
Hagane sighed in resignation. "Yes, mom. However, there's something you need to know. It's about one of the Akatsuki, Toneri."
"The guy who put you in a coma," Tsunade seethed, as she narrowed her eyes. "What about him?"
"I remembered my fight against him. I was able to overcome his Truth Seeking Balls, and I think I know how," Hagane stated. "I infuse all my moves with senjutsu chakra, which makes me realize that maybe that's the key to defeat him."
"Right now, besides you, the only ones able to use Senjutsu are your father, Naruto and myself," Tsunade said, placing her hands on her hips. "Your father appears to be busy right now, and I'm not good against aerial opponents. Guess it'll have to be Naruto. Katsuyu, you heard that?"
"Right, Tsunade-sama," the clone on her shoulder replied. "If any of my clones see Naruto, I'll make him know."
"Good," Tsunade nodded, before her eyes drifted towards Anko's students, who looked like they've been put through a grinder. "You three, stay with my son and make sure he doesn't try anything stupid."
"Come on mom, I'm not Kaida, I don't need a babysitter," Hagane complained.
"And while you're at it, you should heal their wounds as well," Tsunade finished. "Now I don't want to hear that you fought against an Akatsuki on your own, you hear me? Alright, see you soon."
And with that, Tsunade leaped into the sky, ready to help her husband.
…
Little by little, the Katsuyu clones started to spread around the village, quickly healing the wounded and allowing them to return to the battle, or just stopping them from being harmed in the first place so they could fight uninterrupted.
One such group was made of Haku and Kurenai, alongside several ANBU lead by Yugao, who continued to fight against the horde of White Zetsu clones and the Moon puppets, though unfortunately they were being pushed back. Haku pulled his collapsible chakra bow.
"Ice Release: Freezing Arrow!"
Haku fired several ice arrows in quick sucession at the incoming Zetsu clones. Some of them found their mark, partially freezing the humaoid creatures, though some of them were deflected or blocked. Those who managed to avoid the ice arrows continued forward, and two of them even managed to go all the way to the Ice Ninja.
"DIE!" one of the Zetsus cried, as he leaped at him.
Haku muttered a curse as he jumped backwards while generating a spear made of ice in his hand, but such defensive measure was going to prove unnecessary.
"Hazy Moon Night!"
The White Zetsu clones were suddenly cut into pieces, just as Yugao appeared in front of Haku.
"You okay?" the purple haired woman asked.
"Yes. Thanks for the help, Yugao-san," Haku greeted, before his eyes darted again to the Zetsu clones. "Watch out!"
"Let's attack from afar!" one of the Zetsu clones commanded, as he and his borthers started to make the same chain of seals. "Wood Release: Wood Stake Throw!"
Sharp wooden stakes burst from the Zetsus' bodies, before being fired at great speed at the Konoha ninja, which they tried to either dodge or deflect them, some suceeding, others not. Kurenai prepared a jutsu to counter this attack.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
The Genjutsu Mistress slammed both hands into the ground, erecting a large wall of earth and rock, which stopped the incoming stakes in its tracks. Unfortunately, it did little to stop the Moon Puppets to blow it to pieces with their golden chakra blasts, allowing the Zetsu to continue their advance unimpeded
"Fall back!" Yugao called, moving back while tossing kunai and shuriken as well.
"Haku," Kurenai called her student. "If we can't defeat these enemies in direct combat, then an indirect approach may work."
Haku nodded, understanding perfectly what she meant.
"Everybody, get ready. Things are going to get a little..." Haku began, as his lips curved into a small smirk, as he made a single hand seal. "...hazy. Hiding in the Mist Jutsu!"
A dense fog quickly covered the streets blinding both friends and foes alike.
"Quickly, use Fire and Wind Release ninjutsu to dispel this fog!" one of the Zetsu commanded.
The others nodded in agreement, and made the proper hand seals before expelling from their mouths streams of fire and gusts of wind. But much to their shock, the mist didn't even waver.
"What the... what's with this mist?" one of the clones asked, as a figure appeared behind him, a kunai in their hand. "AAAAAARRGH!"
Son the screams of the Zetsu clones started to fill the air as they were being picked one by one by the Konoha ninja, who either were unimpeded by the mist, or could navigate around it thanks to some extraordinary senses. That's it, until one of them realized what was going on.
"Everybody, listen! The mist won't dispel because it's not real mist! They trapped us in a genjutsu!" a White Zetsu clone said in realization, before bringing his hands together in a seal, and sending a burst of chakra through his body. "Release!"
Said action was echoed by the rest of the Zetsu, who started to disturb their chakra as well, and soon, they saw how the mist started to dispel...
"Yes! Ha, they think they could trick us with such a simple genjutsu!" one of the Zetsu clones boasted.
...before the mist quickly reformed.
"WHAT!?" Several Zetsu cried in unison. "What's with this genj-AAARGH!"
The Zetsu continued to drop like flies until none of them were left, all of them dying without realizing the truth. While it was true that the mist was a genjutsu, it was one cast by Kurenai. Haku had used the real jutsu as well, creating two layers of mist, one illusory and another real. Because as Kurenai used to say, the beauty of genjutsu was that it could make you doubt reality itself.
"Well done, Kurenai, Haku!" Yugao praised her friend and her adopted son. "Now only the puppets remain!"
Despite being alone against the Konoha ninjas, the Moon Puppets showed no signs of falling back, and prepared to attack. Then again, the Konoha ninja wouldn't be able to use the same tactic to beat them, since as inorganic beings that lacked a mind of their own, they weren't affected by genjutsu.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Of course, being crushed under the weight of a massive toad suddenly summoned a few meters above their heads was something they weren't unaffected by.
"Hey there!" Naruto said, waving from atop the toad's head, before landing besides Kurenai and Haku. Fukasaku, the Toad Sage, was riding on his back. "Sorry for the lateness, hehe!"
"Naruto, where have you been?" Kurenai asked, as she rushed towards the blond. His golden eyes indicated his Sage Mode was active. "Hinata has been looking for you, but her Tenseigan was unable to find you anywhere in the village!"
"I was in the bunker under my house. It's protected against all kind of doujutsu, so guess that's why she was unable to locate me," Naruto replied, as he placed a hand in the back of his head. "Sorry if I worried you."
"Took me a while to find the lad," Fukasaku said, sighing a little. "But now he's here."
"It's okay, what matters is that Akatsuki didn't get their hands on you," Haku stated in a somehwat relieved tone. "What were you doing there?"
"Getting prepared," was Naruto's answer. "I summoned three clones, and the four of us were gathering nature energy for Sage Mode. I had to do that in order to keep the clones protected. Akatsuki knows they have to target them if they want to cut Sage Mode off of me."
"A very intelligent strategy, Naruto," Kurenai agreed with a nod. "Though we could have used your help here a little earlier."
"By the way, where is Hinata-hime?" Naruto asked.
Haku merely pointed into the sky, were some flashes of light could be seen every few seconds.
"She's fighting Toneri alongside Fu," Haku told him.
"Then I need to help the two of them as soon as possible!" Naruto said, as he was ready to leave.
"Naruto, wait! You have no way to help somebody fighting an aerial battle!" Kurenai told him. "Even with that jutsu of yours-"
"Actually, Naruto-kun might be of more help than you realize," a Katsuyu clone said, just as she landed on Naruto's shoulder. "Naruto-kun, I bring knews from your little brother."
"Hagane? Is he okay?" the blond asked, a bit worried.
"He is. He has awakened, and joined the fight alongside Tsunade-sama and other Konoha ninjas," the slug fragment informed.
Naruto sighed in relief. "Thank goodness he's alright," he then crossed his arms, and frowned a little. "Though he could have chosen a better time to wake up, you know?"
"I also have an important message from him," Katusyu continued. "He told me was able to overcome Toneri's Truth Seeking Balls thanks to his Senjutsu. Truth Seeking Balls can't nullify ninjutsu if it has nature energy on it!"
"Heh, I've been a Sage most of my life, and I wasn't even aware of that" Fukasaku said, chuckling a little. "It's true what they say that no matter how old you are, you can always learn new things."
"Really? Great!" Naruto said, as he punched his palm. "Because I have Rasenshuriken with Toneri's name on it!" Naruto then jumped a top of the toad's head, and pointed in the direction of the aerial fight. "Come on, Gamaken! There's a pale ass in dire need of a good kicking!"
…
Several blocks away from there, Kakashi's Animal Squad, accompained by Rin, were clearing the streets of White Zetsu clones. And just like it happened to the Assassination Squad, they also encountered a bunch of monstrous White Zetsu clones. Unlike them, however, they saw how they were born: three White Zetsu clones merged together, becoming a mass of white flesh, until it took a vaguely humaoid form with multiple arms and heads.
"Just when you think that those things couldn't be anymore disgusting..." Tamaki gagged in disgust.
"Disgusting or not, they're going down!" Kiba yelled, as he and Akamaru rushed forward. "Passing Fang!"
Kiba turned into a living drill, as he and Akamaru dived at one of the merged Zetsu. However, the giant Zetsu countered their charge with a couple of brutal punches that send the Inuzuka and his dog flying back.
"Kiba!" Tamaki yelled, before turning at the White Zetsu, and snarled. "You're going to pay for that! Fire Release: Blistering Firecat!"
Tamaki exhaled a massive wall of fire that took the shape of a large cat. The fire cat dashed forward, but the merged Zetsu were already prepared for that, and made several hand seals.
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
Two of the mutant Zetsu heads exhaled a torrent of water from each of their mouths, creating a small tsunami that threatened to flood the street, and everyone on it.
"Shino, Rin, let's lift a barrier, together!" Kakashi commanded, as the three of them went through the same seal sequence. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
The three of them slammed their hands into the ground, erecting a large and thick rock barrier that acted as a dome, sucessfully containing the incoming water.
"Good job, you three," Kiba said, as he hobbled towards them, followed by Akamaru.
"That will only delay them. We need a more permanent solution to deal with them," Rin pointed out.
"Alright, it seems like this is a good moment to use a new jutsu I developed!" Tamaki said, before biting her thumb, and making five hand seals. "Summoning Jutsu!"
From a cloud of smoke, one of Tamaki's cats, Hina, appeared.
"How is summoning a cat going to help?" Kiba asked dismissively. "Akamaru and I have been practicing a new jutsu as well. That will what will help us turn the tables!"
"That's not the jutsu I was talking about! I just need Hina to do it!" Tamaki protested. "Hina, it's time."
"Alright!" the female cat said, as she climbed the kunoichi, and set on her head. "Ready whenever you are!"
Tamaki nodded, and made three hand seals. "Human Beast Combination Transformation: Cat Warrior!"
Tamaki and Hina were engulfed by a cloud of smoke, and when it dispelled, Hina was nowhere to be seen, while Tamaki had changed drastically.
"Whoa..." Rin said in awe.
Tamaki now looked a bit taller and more muscular, but that was the least noticeable change. Her hair had grown longer, and became fuzzier. Her eyes were now yellow with slitted pupils. Her human ears had disappeared, replaced by cat ears that grew at the top of her head. And lastly, Tamaki now had a tail similar to that of a cat.
"In this form, I shall tear those things apart!" Tamaki boasted, before turning at Kiba, and smirked. "What do you think about this transformation?"
"You... you..." Kiba stammared, before his face reddened with anger. "You totally copied my jutsu!"
"What? No, just because I combine with an animal, doesn't mean that-"
"Bah, forget about it!" Kiba huffed, as he sat on Akamaru's back, and made a hand seal. "Human Beast Combination Transformation: Berserker Werewolf!"
Like Tamaki before her, Kiba merged with Akamaru, but while his previous transformation resulted in a alrge two headed wolf, this one was a much smaller white furred werewolf – relatively small, it was still larger than Kakashi,– which still kept some of Kiba's clothing.
"No wonder Kiba thought that Tamaki had copied him," Rin pointed out.
"Still, they'll have to sort their rivalry later," Shino said, pointing forward, as the two merged Zetsu clones teared the rock barrier down, allowing multiple normal Zetsu a free way forward.
Both Tamaki and Kiba smirked, the former looking at the latter. "Bet I can kill more Zetsu than you."
"Oh, you're on!"
Both cat girl and werewolf dashed forward at a speed unseen previously from them, and started to tear the Zetsu apart like they were made of paper. Some of the Zetsu tried to jump back and attack them with ninjutsu, but neither of their attacks found their mark, and soon they found themselves losing limbs and their very lives to vicious claw swipes and brutal bites. Even the merged Zetsu had trouble keeping up with them.
"The two headed wolf was powerful, but it was too big and hard to control and maneuver," Kiba thought, dodging a kick from a Zetsu, before splitting it in half with a claw swipe. "But this form allows much greater control while keeping the same power."
Rin placed her hands on her hips, and smiled. "Well, look at that, it seems they can back those boasts."
"Indeed," Kakashi agreed. "But better join them. I'm afraid they're going to let their power to go to their heads and drop their guard."
"Oh, come on Kakashi, I think your students are old enough to take care of themselves," a new voice said.
Kakashi and Rin froze upon hearing such voice, and turned to the direction it came from. Standing at the roof of a partially collapsed building was Obito Uchiha. The Akatsuki was now wearing a slashed Konoha forehead protector that had a piece of cloth covering his left eye, where Shisui's eye used to be.
"Obito..." Rin apprehensively said.
"Hello there, Rin," Obito said, as he unsheathed his katana. "Now, are you two ready to play with me a little? Team Minato was long overdue of such a reencounter."
Author's Note: And thus, the battle continues. One of the Akatsuki is already out, but there are still many of them causing trouble.
Now you know what happened with Hagane. After so much time, his coma finally ended and is good and kicking! And even better, he was able to pass on the key to bypass Toneri's Truth Seeking Balls. Yeah, I know I didn't show any progress on Toneri's front, but don't worry, the next chapter will fix that. And yeah, Naruto is also back. Given what happened with Pain the first time they fought, he wanted to make extra sure that he has access to his Sage Mode so he can fight at the top of his game.
Another Akatsuki that also showed up is Obito, and naturally, he did so in front of Kakashi and Rin. Rin already fought Obito once, but I think it was about time that Kakashi went to face his former teammate. Though given what happened the last time Obito showed up... yeah, you can imagine what's going to happen next.
You know, I loved the White Zetsu's ability to merge into a single monster. Sadly, they only used that fusion ability once against Naruto and Killer B, and it wasn't very effective. I wish they used this ability more. Hence, I'm going to feature it more prominently. Also, there are going to be different kinds of mutant Zetsu in the future, so the armies of the bad guys don't look so homogeneous and dull.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading the chapter.
The invasion of Konoha continues! With one Akatsuki down, the good guys' chance of winning increase! But there are still plenty of enemies left, and a couple that haven't appeared yet. Tell me your thoughts of the chapter and the arc so far in a review. Reviews make me really, really, really happy!