Author's Note: So, how are you guys doing? I hope you're staying safe. I also hope that this new chapter makes dealing with the lockdown a little better. Enjoy:
Chapter 101:
The First Blood
or
Blast from the past, literally
Land of Fire
Despite the size of the Akatsuki's army, it seemed that they were afraid of going all out. They sent White Zetsu clones in relatively small squads, sometimes supported by one or two reanimations. The Alliance's initial guess was that Akatsuki was "testing the waters", so the speak, before sending a larger attack force.
And said larger attack force came sooner than they expected, and definitely not in the way they imagined. The Sensor Division detected a large mass of chakra traveling underground, and immediately realized that an army of Zetsu wanted to go under them unnoticed. Unfortunately for them, such thing wouldn't happen.
Kurotsuchi managed to move her Second Division en route to intercept this large attack force. It would be the first true battle of the Fourth Ninja War.
"Everybody, stand back, and prepare to attack when I force them out!" the young Tsuchikage commanded, as she took a step forward, and made several hand seals, before slamming both hands into the ground. "Earth Release: Opening Earth Rising Excavation!"
The effect was immediate. The ground in front of Kurotsuchi started to violently shake, as cracks started to form, with large chunks of earth being violently displaced. From said cracks, hundreds upon hundreds of White Zetsu clones were hurled into the air, much to their shock and confusion.
"Everybody, attack now!" Kurotsuchi ordered, before clapping her hands together. "I'll oversee the battle from above, and provide aerial support! Earth Release: Lightweight Boulder Jutsu!"
Kurotsuchi's feet stopped touching the ground as she elevated into the air, slowly at first, faster later, and in a few seconds, she was a good twenty meters above the battleground, which provided her with perfect view of the battle to happen. This was one of the two jutsu she had now that identified as the Tsuchikage, since only those who wore that hat were made privy of their secrets.
The Lightweight Boulder Jutsu was created by the First Tsuchikage, and only passed it down to his eventual successor, Mu, which in turn passed it down to Onoki, and Onoki down to her. Some ninjas asked why isn't the jutsu taught to every Iwa ninja. With an air force, Iwa would reign supreme over the rest of the ninja villages.
However, the Tsuchikages pointed out that making such thing would risk the jutsu to fall into the hands of foreign ninjas, which in turn would create an air force of their own. Hence why it was decided that only the Tsuchikages would be the ones to have this jutsu.
"And from here, I can attack without fear of retaliation," Kurotsuchi said to no one in particular, as her gloved hands weaved hand seals. "Fire Release: Blazing Meteors!"
The young Tsuchikage breathed a volley of massive fireballs at the White Zetsu clones, some of them who had just gotten up and prepared to attack, resulting in a chain of explosions that engulfed them in domes of fire, making the ground shake even further. Seconds after this, the Second Division engaged the Zetsu army in close combat.
…
Mountain Graveyard
So far, there were only two people left on the unofficial Akatsuki Headquarters: Orochimaru, who was directing and coordinating all the zombies on the different battelgrounds, and Obito, who was keeping an eye on the unreliable Sannin. That moment, a White Zetsu clone emerged from one of the walls next to Obito.
"Boss, I have bad news," the clone began. "The division that was traveling underground towards Konoha has been busted. They're engaged with the enemy as we speak, and are in need of reinforcements."
"A pity. Though it was a result I was expecting," Obito said, shaking his head. "Tell the special divisions to move towards the battleground."
"Understood, boss," the clone said, as he vanished into the wall.
"Orochimaru," Obito told the Sannin, who made no effort to acknowledge the Uchiha. "You should send several of your reanimations there if you have some nearby."
"Of course, Obito-kun. I have this group stationed near their position that will be of great help," Orochimaru gushed, as he made a hand seal. "Bloodline Limit Squad, proceed to the designated coordinates."
…
Land of Fire
"Eight Trigrams, Sixty Four Palms!" Neji prepared the Hyuga Clan's signature combo as several White Zetsu Clones converged upon him. "Two strikes! Four strikes! Eight strikes! Sixteen strikes! Thirty two strikes! Sixty four strikes!"
Each Zetsu didn't take more than a two or three well placed strikes to go down. They wouldn't die, but they would be knocked out for quite some time, allowing the Alliance some time to breathe. And Neji didn't seem to be the only one having an easy time with them.
"Konoha Whirlwind!"
With a roundhouse kick so powerful it raised a gust of wind in every direction, Lee beheaded several Zetsu clones ganging up on him.
"It seems that Akatsuki plans to beat us with quantity rather than quality," Lee commented. "These creatures don't put much of a fight, not even in large numbers!"
"Yeah!" Tenten agreed, as he impaled an attacking Zetsu with a naginata. "I remember fighting them alognisde Haku-kun and Karin when we rescued Rin. They weren't very strong back then, and they didn't get any stronger in the meantime."
"Still, you better not drop your guard!" Gai warned them, as he also clobbered two Zetsu clones. "This might be an enemy ploy to make us confident, and strike us down with greater force!
Suddenly, Neji's Byakugan picked up something. A mass of chakra coming from below. The earth suddenly started to rumble.
"Uh? What's going on? An earth jutsu?" Lee asked.
"No! Something's coming from underground! Something big!" Neji warned.
The ground burst open across the battlefield, and more Zetsu joined the battle. However, these Zetsu were not like the ones they've been fighting until now. They were twice as tall, had an extremely muscular upper body, and had four massive arms sprouting from their shoulders. There was a moment of shock that spread among the whole battlefield, as the Allied ninja tried to process what was this new enemy.
"Just... what the hell are those?" Tenten asked, clutching her naginata.
"I don't know. But I saw similar beings during the Akatsuki invasion of Konoha," Neji told her. "Be careful, their chakra levels are much higher than the normal clones!"
"Alright, let's test then if they're as strong as they really look!" Lee excitedly said, wasting no time and dashing towards the closest of the larger Zetsu clones.
"Lee, wait! Don't go on your own!" Tenten cried, as she and Neji went after him.
"Konoha Drop!"
Lee leaped forward, spinning vertically mid air, and delivered a falling kick to the big Zetsu's head. Despite the power behind the attack, the Zetsu barely reacted to the kick, and smiled evily at Lee. Gritting his teeth, Lee tried to punch him in the face, but his much larger enemy caught the green clad ninja's fist in his massive hand, and squeezed it hard.
"Does it hurt, Konoha scum?" the giant Zetsu taunted, his smile unwavering. "Not as much as THIS!"
Lee let out a short squeak as the giant Zetsu hurled him upwards with his immense strength, ready to smash Lee against the ground and turn him to pulp.
"Konoha Strong Hurricane!"
Suddenly, there was a green blur, and the arm the giant Zetsu was using to grab Lee was severed from the rest of his body, allowing Lee to land on the ground safely.
"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" Lee energically said.
"This is why I told you to keep your guard up," Gai said in a mostly chastising tone. "It's obvious that the enemy has more assets under their sleeve than mere numbers!"
"It might be the case, as I'm pikcing four more chakra signatures," Neji warned his teammates.
"More mutated Zetsu clones?" Tenten guessed.
Neji shook his head. "No, these appear to be humans. Reanimations, if I were to make a guess. Just four, but each of them has an exceptionally powerful chakra."
"Alright, whatever comes, we'll deal with it as a team! Keep your guard up, and cover each other's back!" Gai told his students, who nodded in return.
…
On another part of the battlefield, Sasuke and Itachi were fighting together against the coming horde of White Zetsu clones, and as anybody would expect, they weren't having any trouble dealing with them, numbers be damned. Even the larger variants only proved to be a slightly bigger challenge to the unstoppable Uchiha duo.
"How are you going, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, as he tossed a bunch of shuriken in an arc. Each of the steel stars embbeded themselves inside a Zetsu clone's forehead, ending their lives instantly.
"Good, good!" Sasuke replied, as he dodged a mighty blow from a mutant Zetsu, packing so much power it opened a small crater on the ground. "These things provide a better challenge than the normal ones!"
"Challenge this, Uchiha!" the huge Zetsu growled, his voice low and guttural. "Wood Release: Great Spear Tree!"
Sharp, thick roots emerged from underground, and lunged at Sasuke, trying to impale the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke merely jumped back while making several hand seals, and then pulled several shuriken from his ninja tool pouch. He infused the shuriken with fire chakra before tossing them forward.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Scarlet Claw!"
The burning shuriken flew forward, easily cutting through the growing roots, leaving a trail of burning wood behind, before stabbing themselves into the mutant Zetsu's skin.
"GRAAAAHHH!" the abomination screamed as the burning metal stars cut his flesh open.
"I take that back, this guy isn't much of a challenge either," Sasuke cockily said, as he made more hand seals. "Let's finish-"
"Plasma Release: Light of Death!"
Suddenly, the mutant Zetsu's upper body blew up like a bomb, his burning flesh splattering around him, as an orange chakra beam pierced through him. However, said beam didn't stop there, as it continued its way towards a dumbfounded Sasuke.
"What the-?"
"SASUKE!" Itachi yelled, as he rushed towards him.
Almost instinctively, Sasuke activated Susanoo, and purple ghostly ribcage formed around the younger Uchiha, enveloping him like a protective barrier, just in time before the beam could reach him. The beam produced a huge explosion upon hitting its mark that engulfed the Uchiha, before the shockwave violently hurled his body backwards, landing on his back with a couple of thuds.
"Sasuke!" Itachi repeated, struck by panic, as he rushed to assist his younger brother. The explosion left multiple burns across his body and clothes, but given that he was trying to get back on his feet, the harm wasn't as bad as the older brother feared. "Sasuke! Are you okay!?"
"I've been better," the younger brother sourly replied. "Where did that- ITACHI, WATCH OUT!"
"Plasma Release: Light of Death!"
As Itachi turned around, he started to make hand seals as fast as his hand allowed him.
"Water Release: Water Bullet Jutsu!"
Just like Itachi expected the moment he heard Sasuke's warning, another orange chakra beam was coming at them. This time, however, Itachi managed to form a jutsu to counter it in time. Exhaling a stream of water from his mouth, Itachi's jutsu met the destructive beam before it could strike either of the Uchiha. However, the beam proved to be the stronger attack, as it pushed Itachi's water jutsu backwards, generating clouds of steam as a side effect.
"What? I could swear that that jutsu has a fire component, yet my water attack is failing to stop it!" Itachi thought in distress as he poured even more chakra into his jutsu.
Itachi's salvation, however, came in the form of Sasuke, who joined his brother as he made more hand seals.
"Lightning Release: Thunderbolt!"
A mass of lightning botls flew from Sasuke's hand, combining with Itachi's water stream. The electrified water was able to push the orange beam back, which quickly lost its momentum, and disappeared.
"Thank you, Sasuke," Itachi replied, panting a little. "How did you know that lightning could stop that jutsu? It didn't look like an Earth jutsu. Though that would explain why water was ineffective."
"It wasn't. That's Plasma Release, a combination between fire and lightning. You had the right idea with the water jutsu, but the lightning component of the combination needed to be neutralized in some way as well," Sasuke explained.
"Wait, Plasma Release? Wasn't the clan that had that Bloodlimit wiped out during the Warring States Period?" Itachi asked.
"That's right, Uchiha scum!" a new voice said. "But the gods were kind enough to return me to the land of the living so I could avenge my fallen clan!"
Itachi and Sasuke turned around to see a man in his late thirties, wearing dark red clothes under a black antiquated armor. He had pale skin, black hair tired into a slipknot, and the cracked skin and black eyes common in reanimations.
"Let me guess... you're a member of the Sutoku clan, aren't you?" Sasuke guessed.
The man smirked. "It's good to see that we haven't been forgotten. Yes, my name is Akashi Sutoku, last head of the Sutoku Clan!"
"So, Orochimaru got his hands on DNA from somebody who died before the ninja villages even existed," Itachi said in realization. "I have to admit that the man is quite methodical."
"Right now, I wish he wasn't," Sasuke dryly replied.
Akashi started to make hand seals. He held two fingers in front of his eyes, which started to crackle with orange sparks. "Now turn to ashes! Plasma Release: Light of Death!"
Akashi jabbed his two fingers forward, releasing another orange beam of destruction. Sasuke and Itachi decided that it was best to dodge this time, and jumped in opposite directions. Akashi's beam carved a furrow on the ground as it moved while creating a wall of fire, and killing several White Zetsu clones and Alliance ninjas that were accidentally caught in its wake.
"Such destructive jutsu..." Itachi said in awe.
"Plasma is the combination of Fire and Lightning," Sasuke explained. "The two most destructive basic elements form the most destructive bloodline. Fighting this guy isn't going to be easy."
"If I can get close to him, I can seal him with the Sword of Totsuka," Itachi replied. "Sasuke, you should fall back and see a medic-nin to treat those wounds."
"There's no way I'm going to leave you alone against this guy," Sasuke insisted. "Besides, my wounds aren't that bad. They sting a little, but I can continue."
"You cannot beat me, Uchiha! I have returned from the grave to punish your kind for your sins! I'm the demon of the Sutoku clan!" Akashi boasted, as he prepared to attack once again.
…
Meanwhile, at another part of the battleground, Maki's team was fighting alongside other ninjas against the hordes of White Zetsu. While the strongest ninjas could dispatch them with ease, in large numbers they proved to be a formidable challenge. And a particularly large number of them were heading towards the Suna ninjas.
"Alright Yukata-chan, time for our combo!" Matsuri said, as she took a step forward, as she started to make hand seals.
"Right beind you, Matsuri-chan!" the bubbly Suna kunoichi replied, mimicking Matsuri. "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
Yukata exhaled a stream of flames from her mouth, while Matsuri exhaled a powerful gale of wind from her. Both attacks merged, the win fanning the flames, resulting in a massive wall of fire that caught the incoming White Zetsu clones. Some of them were able to jumo back, and others were smart enough to hide underground, but those closest to the fire were engulfed by it, their bodies quickly reduced to ashes.
"Good job girl! That will give us some room to breathe!" Maki praised her two students.
Indeed, the girls' combination attack broke the Zetsu's charge and sent them into a disarray, which was taken advantage by their fellow Allied ninja.
"Everybody, move! We need to push these creatures back!" an Iwa ninja said, as he led a charge towards the dazed White Zetsu clones. "Let's-"
But his words died on his throat as a round, orange fireball landed upon him, resulting in a huge explosion that engulfed both him and a few ninjas close to him. When the explosion ceased, they could see that the bodies weren't charred or carbonized but... mummified. As if the water inside their bodies had been instantly boiled.
"What... what was that?" Yukata asked.
"Where did that attack came from?" Mikoshi asked.
Maki, however, already saw the effect of such attack before, and much to her worry, had a pretty good idea of what they were going against.
"Everybody, behind me!" Maki ordered, and paled upon seeing more of those weird fireballs were about to fall on a group of ninjas in front of her. Maki, however, could only save a couple of them,. "Clothing Binding Jutsu!"
Maki shot two bands of clothes from inside her sleeves, wrapped themlseves around the waists of two kunoichi, one from Kiri and another from Kumo, if their uniforms were any indication, and yanked them backwards a second before another explosion could claim their lives.
"Thanks, nice save," the Kiri kunoichi replied, panting a little.
"It was a close one indeed. You have nice reflexes," the Kumo kunoichi praised. "I'm Ran, by the way."
"Ruka," the Kiri kunoichi said.
"Maki," Maki replied. "And these are my students. Unfortunately, we'll have to leave the introductions for later. We're not out of danger yet."
Maki looked at a figure that walked through the cloud of smoke raised by the explosions. Once she was visible, they could see it was another woman. Pretty tall, with green hair styled in a bun, two bangs framing each side of her face, said bangs colored orange. She was wearing a sleveless black top, a white obi tied around her waist, and short black pants.
"You were lucky to escape my wrath, Kiri scum. But luck won't smile upon you a second time," the woman said, as she formed a couple of those fireballs on each hand. As she walked towards the group, her eyes rested on Maki, and stopped on her tracks. "Wait a minute, those purple marks... Maki, is that you?"
"Indeed I am, Pakura-sensei," Maki replied. "After your death, I always wished to be able to see you one last time. Needless to say, I'm regretting that wish."
"Pakura-sensei?" Maki's three students shouted in unison, before Mikoshi asked: "The legendary Pakura of the Scorch Release was your sensei?"
"How is that you never told us about that?" Matsuri asked, sounding almost indignant.
"I had my reasons. I promise I'll explain you later." Maki said, her eyes never leaving Pakura. "However, you need to go away. Face an easier opponent, leave her to me. She's an extremely dangerous foe."
"What!?" Yukata asked, indignant. "You can't ask us to leave you alone against her, sensei!"
"I'm not asking, I'm commanding you to. Don't forget that you're my subordinates," the Suna Jonin said in a scathing tone. "Now stay away from Pakura and the other reanimated enemies. Let the more experienced ninjas handle them."
"We better listen to Maki-sensei," Mikoshi said, thought there was some resignation on his voice. "Come on, girls. Maki-sensei will be okay."
Now that they didn't have an unified front, Matsuri and Yukata were forced to give up, and she and Mikoshi leaped away, leaving Maki and the other two kunoichi alone against the Scorch Release user.
"You did the right thing sending your students away, Maki. They looked a bit too young and green, and I'd hate killing fellow Suna ninjas," Pakura said, as her eyes drifted towards Ruka. "That Kiri scum, on the other hand, I'll be more than happy to send her to the afterlife!"
Displaying astounding speed, Pakura dashed towards the dumbstruck Ruka with a fireball on each hand, who yelped in shock, before once again being yanked away by a strap of cloth, removing her from the jutsu's way. Pakura saw in surprise and anger that Maki and Ran had jumped in the opposite direction, while the former wrapped a strap of cloth around Ruka's waist.
"Whoa! Thanks again!" Ruka said. "Second time you save me in less than five minutes!"
"Why did you save her!?" Pakura angrily demanded. "She's a Kiri ninja! I died to Kiri ninja! Your father died to Kiri ninja too! Hell, that was the reason you wanted to be a ninja to begin with!"
"Times have changed, sensei," Maki solemnly said. "In case you didn't realize, the Five Great Villages are fighting together under a single banner against an enemy that threatens the whole world. The same enemy that took you from your rest in the afterlife and turned you into their slave. We can't allow old grudges to get in the way."
"Yeah, and they will stab you in the back once they no longer need you!" Pakura hotly repeated, as she started to make hand seals. "Scorch Release: Blazing Heatwave!"
Pakura started to glow with a golden orange light, before said light burst into a wave of intense heat that exploded upwards, burning the grassy ground as it expanded. The trio of kunoichi found themselves forced to jump backwards in order to avoid the lethal attack, but Ruka made several hand seals as well.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Ruka expelled a torrent of water from her mouth, but much to her shock, the water evaporated instantly, turning into a cloud of steam, while barely stopping Pakura's attack.
"A water jutsu. You must think you're so clever, you Kiri bitch," Pakura seethed. "No wonder you chose to stab me in the back when you fooled me into dropping my guard. You scum can't beat me in a fair fight!"
This time, it was Ran who decided to attack. She quickly made a couple of hand seals, before pulling out several shuriken.
"Lightning Release: Lightning Shuriken!"
The Kumo kunoichi tossed a handful of steel stars at Pakura, which crackled with electricity as they felw towards its target, making whirring noises. Pakura, however, was going to respond in kind, her hands flying through hand seals.
"Wind Release: Breakthrough!"
Pakura exhaled a powerful wind current that not only stopped the shuriken with ease, but pushed them backwards.
"And you aren't that much better," Pakura said, looking at Ran with disdain. "You should know that Scorch combines Fire and Wind, and Wind beats Lightning."
"Dammit..." Ran gritted her teeth, before looking at Maki. "Maki-san, how do we beat her then, if our elemental ninjutsu is useless against her?"
"Scorch release is a combination of fire and wind, but what most people don't realize is that it's not fire, but extremely hot air," Maki explained. "That's why water on its own is useless against it. In order to beat heat, you need cold."
"So... Ice Release?" Ran asked.
Ruka's face lit up. "The Konoha-Kiri ambassador, Haku Yuki, has Ice Release!" she said in realization. However, all enthusiasm left her just as quickly when she realized of something else. "...but he's been assigned to another division."
"Fortunately, we won't need Haku-kun to win this battle for us," Maki confidently said. "Next time Pakura-sensei attacks, prepare another Water jutsu. Ran, you get ready to attack."
"But the last time I did that, it didn't work!" Ruka protested.
"Don't argue, just do as I say! Nobody knows Pakura-sensei better than I!" Maki firmly stated. "Here she comes!"
"Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder!"
Pakura dashed towards the trio of kunoichi, holding a sun-like orb on each hand, and thursting them forward. The Allied kunoichi jumped back, while Ruka and Mai started to make hand seals.
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
"Wind Release: Gale Palm!"
Ruka exhaled another torrent of water towards the incoming golden orbs, while Maki clapped her hands before thrusting them forward, releasing a powerful gale. Maki's wind fanned Ruka's water stream, turning it into a tornado of water that filled the air with thousands of tiny droplets. And much to Pakura's surprise, her orbs of heated air quickly shrunk until they finally vanished, leaving nothing but a cloud of steam behind.
"What...?" Pakura asked.
"Ran, now!" Maki urged.
The Kumo kunouchi quickly rushed towards the momentarily shocked Pakura as she made hand seals as fast as her dexterity allowed her, before unsheathing her tanto, which began to crackle with electricity.
"Lightning Release: Thunder Blade!"
In two swing motions, Ran's electrified blade slashed Pakura's forearms, producing two small bursts of ash and paper bits. Ruka then pulled out a kunai with an explosive note attached, and threw it at Pakura's feet. The explosive tag detonated instantly, blowing up Pakura's legs and hurling her backwards.
"YES! We did it!" Ruka cheered, pumping her fists into the air. "We took down such a legendary kunoichi!"
"I'll go and seal her right now with my jutsu," Maki said. "You two stay close and cover me."
"You got it!"
"As you say."
The trio of kunoichi walked towards Pakura, who was lying on the ground, motionless. As expected, her arms and legs were slowly regenerating. But they wouldn't regenerate in time for her to continue the fight.
"Sorry, Pakura-sensei. It pains me seeing how you weren't even allowed to rest in peace. But don't worry, this will be over-"
"MAKI, WATCH OUT!"
"Explosion Release: Landmine Fist!"
The trio of Allied lunoichi jumped back in time just before another reanimated ninja landed between them fistfirst. When his fist touched the ground, it produced a huge explosion that would have obliterated them hadn't been for Pakura's warning. When the cloud of the explosion dispelled, they could see it was a man with long spiky brown hair and a square jaw. His uniform and forehead protector tied on his arm identified him as an Iwa ninja.
"Damn, Pakura, why did you have to warn them?" the new ninja said, clicking his tongue. "You just robbed me of a three for one."
"You almost killed my apprentice, Gari, you piece of shit!" Pakura said, as she finished her regeneration. "If you weren't dead already and I had control over my actions...!"
"But our situation is nothing like that, so your threats are empty," Gari nonchalantly said, before turning at the trio of Allied kunoichi. "You should do like me and try to make the best of a bad situation. Since we are forced to fight, why not have some fun?"
"Are all Explosion Release users this deranged, or it's just you?" Pakura angrily asked.
"Did she said Explosion Release?" Ran asked.
"I don't like the sound of that," Ruka whimpered.
"Pakura alone proved to be a formidable opponent. There's no way we can match two immortal ninjas with Bloodline Limits," Maki assessed. "Let's fall back and see if we can join forces with other ninja! We will engage them when our odds of victory are better."
Ruka and Ran nodded in agreement, and the trio of Allied kunoichi leaped back in order to rejoin with their comrades, followed by the two reanimated ninjas.
…
As the other battles raged on, Gai's squad continued to fight against the White Zetsu clones. On top of the larger variants, a new kind of Zetsu had appeared: this kind of Zetsu had their right arms replaced by a mass of interwoven wooden vines, cropped by a flower. Their backs had sacs of an unknwon substance connected by more vines to the arm. Their method of attack involves firing yellow projectiles of what appeared to be corrosive spores compressed into small bullets.
"Here comes another volley!" Neji warned. "Everybody, watch out!"
And as the Hyuga said, a rain of corrosive bullets fell upon the Allied ninja. Many were able to dodge the deadly projectiles, while others weren't so lucky, and the spores ate through their skin.
"Neji, do you locate the snipers?" Tenten asked, trying to look around while fending off incoming normal White Zetsu clones. "We can't fight like this!"
"I just found some of them hidden among the trees!" Neji said, fighting as well.
"In that case, guide us to them so we can stop them from harassing us from afar!" Lee shouted, as he delivered a roundhose kick to a group of clones.
"Sure, follow -WHOA!" Neji said, as he jumped back, barely avoiding a lightning bolt from striking him. "I'm picking up a new chakra signature! Very powerful! Everybody, stay on guard!"
Wind started to blow, as more lightning bolts came somewhere behind the trees. Between the Zetsu snipers and this new enemy, the Allied forces were on a pinch. However, Neji wasn't going to let the enemy control the pace of the combat.
"Lee, Tenten, Gai-sensei, I'm going to make this new enemy to come out!" Neji called, as his body shimmered with chakra. "Gate of Opening, open! Multiple Vacuum Palms!"
Thursting his arms back and forth, Neji shot a barrage of vacuum shells at the point where the Lightning Release user was hidden. And just like Neji expected, he, or better said, she, was forced to come out from her hiding spot into the open. A woman with dark skin and long white hair, wearing a Kumogakure flak jacked under a long and elegant light blue battle kimono.
Gai and Lee prepared to attack, their bodies also glowing with chakra as they started to open Celestial Gates.
"Lee, now!" Gai said, as he and his protege leaped at her. "Double Konoha-"
"Tempest Release: Blades of Light!"
The Kumo ranimation generated two swords which appeared to be made of light, and swung them at the green clad ninjas. Even if they were mid air, Gai and Lee were able to dodge the attack by sending a burst of chakra through their feet, allowing them to change direction and maneuver around the attack, before they landed on the ground again.
"We avoided her in time," Gai said, looking at the swords of light with narrowed eyes. He didn't know what they were, but they looked dangerous. "Lee, are you okay?"
Lee appeared to be unscathed, but a small cut opened on his cheek, and a thread of blood trickled down from it. Lee wiped the blood from his finger, before staring at their new opponent.
"I am, Gai-sensei. But it's been a close one," Lee commented.
They were soon joined by Neji and Tenten, the two of them already on fighting stances, ready to face the new opponent.
"In all my years as a ninja, I've never seen anybody able to dodge my Tempest Release jutsu like that," the woman said. "One has to be faster than lightning in order to do so."
"Yes, all of us train to be as fast and strong as our bodies allow us to be. And then some," Gai told the woman.
"Tempest Release," Neji repeated. "The combination of Wind and Lightning. It produces jutsu with unmatched cutting power and speed. That's the Bloodline Limit of the Tokimune Clan."
"I see you know about us. Even if Kumo isn't that big on clan culture or promoting clans over the individual. You can all me Sayu, Sayu Tokimune," Sayu said, making a bow. "I have nothing against you, Konoha ninjas, but I'm afraid I have no choice but fight you to the best of my ability. The commands of the one who resurrected me are impossible to ignore. Tempest Release: Razor Starfall!"
Sayu clapped her hands together before making a hand seal. Silver sparkles started to appear around her body, before they shot forward in the form of a barrage of glowing needles.
"Everybody, behind me!" Neji warned, as he started to spin in place while releasing chakra from every single point of his body. "Heavenly Spin!"
Neji turned into a spinning dome of chakra that succesfully deflected the incoming barrage of glowing needles. When Neji's spinning started to lose speed, the green clad Jonin knew they had to go on the offensive, or else their foe would control the pace of the fight.
"Good job, Neji, now it's our turn to attack!" Gai excitedly said, as he rushed towards the white haired woman, with Lee and Tenten behind him.
"I'd advise you not to get close to me if you expect to come out of this fight alive," Sayu calmly said, as she made more hand seals. "Tempest Release: Blades of Light!"
This time, two blades made of light appeared on each hand of the Kumo reanimation, and swung them to strike the incoming Gai and Lee. However, much to her surprise, Tenten appeared in front of her, a katana crackling with electricity on each hand, and parried the twin blows. The two kunoichi struggled against each other, until Tenten's swords were cut in half.
"Your speed is impressive, and you had the foresight of channeling elemental chakra through your weapons to counter my attack," Sayu praised., even if her tone didn't change. "However, with just one element-"
"Double Konoha Whirlwind!"
Both Gai and Lee delivered a brutal kick to the kunoichi's chest, sending her hurling backwards, and making her to release her energy swords into the air. However, rather than falling on her back with a loud thud, Sayu used the force of the kicks to do a backflup, and landed gracefully on her feet. And as a final touch, she casually caught the swords of light as they landed.
"Clever maneuver," Sayu praised once again. "Will you be able to do it again? Tempest Release: All Cutting Crescent Moon!"
Sayu swung her light swords in arcs in opposite ways, creating a crescent shaped energy blast that flew forwards in a straight line, slicing that trees and rocks that it found in its way like they were made of butter, without losing any kind of momentum. Gai's team paled upon seeing the destructive power of such attack.
"Everybody, watch out!" Neji shouted, warning not only his teammates, but the Allied ninjas that were fighting Zetsu clones and other reanimations around him. "Do not let that jutsu touch you under any circusmtances!"
Thankfully, most ninjas that heard Neji were able disengage and jump away in time in order to avoid the attack. Others weren't so lucky, and were caught in the area of effect. While some Allied ninjas and Zetsu clones only lost either an arm or a leg, the less fortunate ones were cleanly cut in half, dying almost instantly.
"The cutting power of her attacks is too great. Any idea on how are we going to counter it?" Lee asked, as he eyed the Kumo reanimation.
"Tempest is the combination between Wind and Lightning. We'd need Wind and Fire to stop it," Neji replied. "And sadly, the only member of our squad that uses elemental ninjutsu is Tenten, and she only knows Lightning jutsu."
"In that case, we have no option but dodge her attacks and try to get close to her," Lee guessed. "We already did it once, I'm sure we can do it again!"
Meanwhile, Sayu made a chain of hand seals as she prepared her next attack.
"Unfortunately, this jutsu isn't as easy to block as the ones before," Sayu warned, and slammed her hands into the ground once she made all the seals. "Tempest Release: Slash of the White Tiger!"
Suddenly, five vertical blades of light emerged from Sayu's hands, moving forward. They grew in size as they advanced, while carving five furrows onto the ground. The gap between each blade also grew bigger as they moved, with arcs of lightning jumping between each blade. The effect was as if a giant beast was slashing the ground with an invisible paw.
"I'll try to stop it!" Neji said, as he rushed forward to meet the deadly attack in the middle. "Gate of Healing, open! Gate of Life, open!"
"Neji, wait!" Lee tried to stop his teammate, but it was in vain.
"Heavnely Spinning Lotus!"
Neji turned into a blue and green chakra dome of spinning chakra, much larger than the normal Heavenly Spin, and moved to intercept the attack. The five vertical blades crashed against the spinning dome, both attacks trying to grind each other, until the former started to push the latter back. Neji released even more chakra and increased the rotation speed in return. Eventally, it proved to be too much, and the five blades of light shattered in a million dots of light.
Still, Neji didn't stop. He advanced towards the Kumo reanimation, carving a large furrow as he moved.
"A Heavenly Spin that allows the user to move while he's casting it... I fought many Hyugas when I was alive, yet none of them managed to push their clan's taijutsu to such levels," Sayu complimented, as she started to make hand seals. "Let's see if you did something about that glaring weakness of yours! Lightning Release: Lightning Flash!"
Sayu's body crackled with electricity for a second, before it was engulfed by a massive and bright flash of light. The effect was immediate, and Neji abruptly stopped spinning, tripping on his feet before falling to the ground, hands clutching his eyes.
"MY EYES!" Neji shouted in pain, as tears of pain streamed from his hurt eyes.
"I see not. Disappointing," Sayu said mostly to herself, shaking her head. She started to make hand seals again. "Unfortunately, you won't have the chance to-"
Suddenly, several kunai landed around her, stabbing themselves into the ground with a thud each, followed by Tenten, already making a hand seal. Each kunai had an explosive tag attached to them, which was already burning, and a couple seconds later, Sayu found herself engulfed by a chain of explosions.
"Well done, Tenten!" Gai praised, as he and Lee landed behind her. Lee quickly but carefully helped Neji back on his feet.
"Thanks, but I'm afraid something so basic won't be able to keep her down," Tenten said, her eyes fixed on the cloud of smoke.
And indeed, just like she said, a powerful gust of wind dispelled the cloud of smoke, revealing Sayu, her arms wide open, and her damaged body slowly regenerating.
"It's okay, you already did enough," Gai told Tenten, before turning at Lee and Tenten. "Stay with Neji until his sight gets better."
"Yes, Gai-sensei," Tenten replied, nodding.
"She's a formidable opponent, Gai-sensei. Won't you need our help?" Lee questioned.
"You're right, Lee, she's a magnificent adversary. But don't worry, since now that I saw how her jutsu works, I know the perfect way to counter it!" Gai told him, as he pulled out a pair of nunchakus from his backpack. "Tenten, I need you to stay close to seal that reanimation once I incapacitate her."
"Understood, Gai-sensei. Please be careful," Tenten said before she and Lee took Neji away, leaving Gai alone against the white haired woman.
Gai walked clamly towards the Kumo reanimation, a confident grin on his face, while skillfully twirling his nunchakus around. Sayu saw this, and raised an eyebrow.
"So, you plan to beat me all by yourself?" Sayu asked, cocking her head to the side. "No matter how good you are with those weapons, they won't be enough to beat my Bloodline Limit."
"Then I'll be more than happy to prove you wrong!" Gai excietedly said. "Gate of Pain, open!"
A blue aura appeared around the green clad Jonin the moment he opened the fourth gate, as chakra poured from every pore of his body, raising gusts of wind in every direction.
"An impressive power up. Let's see if it can really help you," Sayu replied, as her hands started to fly through hand seals. "Tempest Release: Deadly Light Blossom!"
Sayu pulled several shuriken from her ninja tool pouch, and infused them with both lightning and wind, before tossing them at Gai. The two elements combined, granting the shuriken a star shaped aura, greatly increasing their cutting range. It reminded Gai of Naruto's Rasenshuriken. They even made a similar loud whirring noise.
Gai rushed forward, while channeling chakra through his nunchakus, while he made them spin at an even faster pace, producing a strong wind current. Using his enhanced weapons, he quickly deflected the incoming elemental shuriken away, careful they weren't towards areas with allied ninjas fighting.
"You... you deflected my all-cutting shuriken? Impossible!" Sayu cried, as she made more hand seals. "This is something you won't be able to deflect! Tempest Release: Razor Starfall!"
Casting her hands forward after clapping them together, Sayu send a storm of light needles towards Gai. Gai had to admit she was right, there's no way he could deflect projectiles so tiny, some of them would slip past him. Fortunately, he had another way to counter the attack.
"I don't need to deflect your jutsu if it never gets close to touch me!" Gai said, as he started to twirl his nunchakus at an even faster speed, before facing them towards Sayu. "Winds of Youth, blow everything away!"
The nunchakus spun so fast, they started to raise a very powerful gust of wind, taking the shape of two tornadoes. The light needles caught in the wind quickly slowed down, until they disappeared completely. None of them managed to reach the green clad Jonin.
"The Razor Starfall too? How can you nullify all my jutsu?" Sayu asked in disbelief.
"People tend to look up to ninjutsu and underestimate taijutsu, and they don't realize that there's more to taijutsu than just punching and kicking!" Gai shouted, as he took a fighting stance. "I let you attack me twice, now I believe it's my turn to strike!"
Gai crossed the gap between the two of them in less than a second, and swung his nunchaku at the Kumo reanimation. However, the white haired woman was fast enough to generale a blade made of wind anf lightning on each hand, parrying Gai's swings.
"Don't think I'm harmless in close combat just because I'm a ninjutsu specialist," Sayu said, as she and Gai traded blows.
"I would never dream to underestimate an opponent, much less one as formidable as you!" Gai replied. "But this is over now!"
In a quick motion, Gai crouched and delivered a low kick to her claves, making her fall on her back. But before her back touched the ground, Gai kicked her once again into the sky. He then leaped after her, and wrapped his arms and legs around his body. The two of them started to spin as gravity pulled them towards the ground.
"FRONT LOTUS!"
Gai released Sayu just before she smashed against the ground, opening a crater when she crashed down. Her whole body appeared to be shattered, with all four limbs separated from her body. It slowly began to regenerate, but not in time before stopping them from sealing her.
"It is done," Gai said, looking at his fallen opponent. "Tenten!"
Team Gai's only kunoichi landed besides her teacher a few seconds after being called. Without being told what to do, she immediately pulled multiple sealing tags, some chakra supressing and others body immobilizing, and started to place them on Sayu before she could regenerate completely.
"You were a fantastic adversary, Konoha ninja," Sayu praised Gai. "I wish I could have fight you in life, under different circusmtances."
"My feelings are the same," Gai replied. "I know the enemy brought many past ninjas who would be a formidable opponent. Too bad everything that's at stake will stop me from enjoying beating such foes."
"Take joy in peace, not in battle, Konoha Jonin," Sayu told him, as she felt the seals disabling her body and chakra. "Now do me a favor... and help end this war... so my fellow Kumo nin... can return home safe..."
"It's done," Tenten said. "What should we do with her?"
"Somebody should take her to the rear guard, so she can be properly safekeeped," Gai told her.
"Why don't you do it yourself, sensei? Opening the gates must have leave you a little winded, while I'm still pretty fresh," Tenten suggested.
"What!? And leave my students alone in the middle of a battle? That would be mostly unyouthful, and there's no way-"
explosion release
Gai was silenced when he noticed the glare Tenten was shooting at him.
"Gai-sensei, you did a lot here. So take her away and rest a little. Neji, Lee and I may be your students, but we aren't little kids anymore. We will be fine," Tenten chastised the older man.
"A good ninja always recognizes a battle he can't win," Gai said in resignation, but in good humor. He threw Sayu's body over his shoulder, and leaped away. "I'll be back as soon as possible!"
…
Allied Ninja HQ
Inside the Allied Headquarters, Supreme commander Jiraiya and the military experts and advisors brought by the other villages were contemplating the course of the battles, and deviisng strategies according to them.
A multitude of sensory ninja had been linked together through a machine, and were using their expanded senses to monitor how the battles were going. So far, there were only minor skirmishes going on, with the exception of Kurotsuchi's second division, which were fighting a large force of Akatsuki, and coulb be consiered a real battle.
"Supreme Commander, news from Kurotsuchi!" Ao shouted. "The Second Division is losing ground against the enemy! New mutant variants of the Zetsu clones with increased strenght and ranged capabilities are giving them some trouble. Plus several reanimated ninja with powerful Bloodline Limits. Even if one of them have been defeated, the number of casualties has been high."
"Should we divert some troops from other divisions in order to reinforce her position?" Onoki suggested. Even if he was trying to hide it, one could tell he was worried for his granddaughter.
"I suspect that's what the enemy is expecting us to do," Chiyo replied. "Then they'll move to attack our less reinforced positions. We can't allow them to do that."
"While I agree with Chiyo-san," Shikaku said. "We can't afford to lose ground so early in the war. We need to find a way to reinforce their position without compromising our other fronts."
Jiraiya, however, smirked confidently. "That's why I decided to keep our strongest asset in standby, since I knew something like this could happen."
Chiyo looked at Jiraiya. "You plan on sending her, don't you?"
"Indeed," Jiraiya said with a nod. "Send a message to Tsunade-hime. She and a few of her medics must head towards the Second Division's position in order to reinforce them. Let Akatsuki be the ones to taste the power of the Rinnegan."
Author's Note: And thus the war begins.
Aside from Gari and Pakura, I had other two Bloodline Limit elemental combination users, not so coincidentally, the ones that didn't appear in canomn. I teased Plasma release with Sasuke all the way back to the Chunin Exams, and now you saw what the real deal what do (more next chapter), as well as Tempest Release: the name I gave to the combination of Wind and Lightning.
Once again, many thanks to DryBonesKing for coming up with the names of the clans that used these bloodlimits. The Tempest Release clan name, Tokimune literally means "inquisitive", but the name references the Japanese samurai/second-in-command to the shogun at the time, Hojo Tokimune. He was a man who helped lead Japan in a war against the Mongolian Empire. During this time period, Japan was aided by two tsunamis and tornados that managed to do damage to Mongolian warships and armies. The wind references in the history fit a tempest release user, and Tokimune was also a devout zen Buddhist.
Then there's Sutoku. Named from another former japanese emperor that got deposed for supporting the wrong samurai clan in a rebellion. He was removed from office, replaced by his son, and became a monk. In Japanese folklore, Sutoku became enraged and bitter and became a spirit that cursed Japan with bad natural disasters such as fires and earthquakes. Hence how this Sutoku claims to be a demon that seeks revenge on the clan that brought him and his own clan down.
Some people complained (rightfully, admittedly) that I was giving Team Gai the short end of the stick, and they kinda had a point. Turth be told, fights that are nothing but taijutsu are a bit hard to write, since hand to hand combat is something that works better on a more visiual medium rather than a written one. Still, I hope you guys were satisfied with their fight (there will be more in the future, don't worry).
Also, I'd like to point out that Ruka and Ran aren't OCs. They appeared in some filler episodes during the anime's take of the Fourth Ninja War arc.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
Hope you guys enjoyed the beginning of the war, and remember to stay safe, practice social distance, keep washing your hands, and leave a review on this chapter! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!