Author's Note: And here we come with a new battle of the Fourth Ninja War. Enjoy:
Chapter 104:
Return of the Blood Mist
or
The not-so Magnificent Seven
Turtle Island
"Again!" Fu vehemently insisted.
Killer B chuckled as he shrugged in a condescending manner.
"Girl, I already told you, you can't win, I beat you so hard, your head will spin!" Killer B rapped.
"I said again, goddamit!" Fu protested.
Finally, Killer B complied, and the two of them placed a few good meters from each other, and adopted a fighting stance as if they were going to battle. They eyed each other, as their muscles tensed, ready to strike. The Konoha and Kumo ninjas nearby gathered once again to witness their clash. Then, in a blur, the two of them disappeared, reappearing in the middle, ready to strike each other.
"LARIAT!"
Fu and Killer B hit each other with the latter's signature physical attack, and they remained like that for a second that felt more like a minute. Then, Fu found the air knocked out of her lungs as the force of Killer B's strike overpowered her, and was send rolling backwards in a somewhat comical way.
"Ow yeah! Killer B wins again, his foe writhes in pain! WHEEEEEEEEE!" the jinchuriki rapper said, raising his arm with his hand forming the sign of the horns.
"Uuuuuugh! I'm far more stronger! Why I can't beat you!?" Fu protested as she repetadly hit the floor with her fists in a chidlish manner.
One may ask the reason behind this odd clash of strengh. While they were taking a break from their jinchuriki training, B asked Naruto and Fu about how they did became jinchuriki. Much to his surprise, both of them were made jinchuriki almost as soon as they were born. Naruto shared with his fellow jinchuriki the story he heard from his birth parents about Obito's attack the day of his birth. Fu, on the other hand, was made a jinchuriki because her parents were killed during a skirmish with Iwa ninjas, and since she had no other family, she was a conveninet choice.
Killer B also told them his story. How he was chosen to be A's partner when he was the only one to match the power of his Lariat, and a few years after that, he was made the next jinchuriki of the Eight Tails after the previous host was killed by the beast itself.
However, the part that drew Fu's attention the most was the Lariat. She liked the move, asked B to teach it to her, and then challenged B to a duel of Lariats, thinking that her superior muscle mass would be enough to beat her senior jinchuriki. And much to her frustration, her assumption couldn't be more wrong.
"Again!" she insisted.
While Fu and Killer B continued with their little duel of strength, Naruto decided to end the break and continue with his jinchuriki training alone in one of the shores. Killer B had showed them a Tailed Beast's most powerful move, the Tailed Beast Ball. However, before they could do it, they had to learn how to transform into the Tailed Beast itself, something they were unable to do so soon after taming their respective beasts. Still, Naruto wasn't somebody to throw the towel when things turned difficult, and decided that he'll master the Tailed Beast Ball even if he couldn't turn into a Tailed Beast yet.
Even then, Naruto and Fu had made great progress in their training. Without the Tailed Beast's corrupting influence, Tailed Beast chakra proved to be incredibly malleable on top of powerful. Naruto was able to create multiple limbs of golden chakra, either with the shape of arms or tails, or create a single gigantic arm of chakra around his actual arm, in a way that reminded of the Akimichi Clan's Partial Multisize Jutsu.
Fu was also able to sprout multiple limbs, albeit these ones were more solid than Naruto's chakra constructs, and could give them the shape of insect and arthropod limbs, such as the blade of a mantis, the claw of a scorpion, the sting of a wasp or the jaws of a stag beetle.
Despite how powerful and versatile such abilities were, Naruto wasn't satisfied. He wouldn't be unless he could master the Tailed Beast Ball. Not just because it would put them a step closer of ending the war, but because of his own pride and stubborness, even if he wouldn't admit such a thing.
"Okay, here we go. Sixty-three times' the charm," Naruto tried to motivate himself, as he created four arms of chakra. He used them alongside his real arms to focus the chakra into a single point. Soon, red and blue particules started to gather, mixing together, forming a dark pruple sphere. "Eighty percent negative chakra, twenty percent positive one. I can do it!"
Naruto grew optimistic as the sphere began to grew, but said optimism quickly vanished and was replaced why worry and frustration as the growing sphere started to ripple and break down.
"No no no no no no NO!" Naruto said, before firing the ball prematurely into the sea, where it harmlessly exploded. "SHIT!"
"Nice one, brat. If you keep this pace, you might be able to master it before you die of old age," Kurama snarked.
"Shut up, you furball!" Naruto replied out loud. "Instead of mocking me, you could give me some tips, you know!"
"What tips I could give you. What you're trying to do is like walking to me. What kind of tips can you give somebody who is learning to walk other than 'put one foot in front of the other'?" the Fox asked. "Besides, I don't even use the Tailed Beast Ball the way you do."
"Maybe that's the problem. How do you do it, then?" Naruto asked.
"Didn't you notice when you fought me? You're so unobservant," the Nine Tails chastised. "I gather the chakra between my jaws. Then depending on what I want to do, I either fire the ball directly, or swallow it before releasing the explosion in the form of a blast wave."
Naruto imagined trying to do as Kurama said, which ended with the ball exploding and blowing up his head from his body. Naruto shuddered.
"I'm not going to do that. There must be another way to use the Tailed Beast Ball. I know there is," Naruto said, as he continued his attempts.
…
Border between the Lands of Fire and Land of Frost
It didn't take long for the Akatsuki army to make another incursion into Allied territory. A large Akatsuki army had been spotted marching towards the Land of Frost, probably to invade the Land of Lightning. This time, not only with an army of White Zetsu larger than the one the Second Divison faced, but it also included Moon Puppets and an even greater number of Impure World Resurrection zombies. And on top of that, it was commanded by one of the remaining Akatsuki members, Kisame Hoshigaki.
Jiraiya ordered Mei Terumi's Third Division to move and intercept this army before they could make further progress into the Land of Lightning. It was suggested to form a blockade and let the enemy smash against them, but Mei shot down the idea due their inferior numbers, and opted to break the enemy's formation as it advanced. Mei herself and the Swordsmen of the Mist would lead the charge, followed by the division's Chakra Golems for additional support, and the rest of the army would follow suit.
"Commander, I must insist," Kitsuchi had said. "Being outnumbered, a defensive approach is the most sensible solution."
"A defensive approach is the kind of tactic the enemy is expecting," Mei had replied. "And we're going to show them how in Kirigakure we value quality over quantity. This division has six of the seven Swordsmen of the Mist. In both large battles and small skirmishes, their power is best employed on the offensive, not on the defensive."
And while it sounded reckless, the plan worked. With the sheer power the Mizukage and her Swordsmen packed, the Third Division broke the ranks of the White Zetsu army and cut through them like a knife through butter.
"We halted their advance!" Mei called, as she started making hand seals. "Continue fighting until they're pushed back! Boil Release: Corrosive Armor!"
Mei released a cloud of burning mist from her mouth, which surrounded her body completely, her silouette vagely visible. As she moved, so did the corrosive cloud around her. Many hapless Zetsu lunged at her the moment they laid their eyes on her, but their flesh was quickly consumed by the burning mist, reducing them to piles of smoking white goo. The Mizukage smirked upon seeing the result of her jutsu.
After her, it was the Swordsmen of the Mist's turn to showcase their power and skill. Ameyuri was the first one to arrive at her leader's side. She flashed a sharp grin upon seeing a large contingent of White Zetsu clones charging forward.
"Oh boy, look at all these dumbasses walking to their deaths!" she happily shouted, as her swords started to crackle with electricity. "Thundersword Ninja Art: Eye of the Storm!"
The redheaded swordswoman started to spin with her arms spreaded forward, as the electricity created by her baldes quickly enveloped her, turning herself into a moving electric twister. All the White Zetsu who dared to get close to her ended up with at least two limbs cleanly cut off.
"Haha! What about that, huh? Still wanting more?" Ameyuri boasted, once her spinning stopped. Despite all the Zetsu she had killed or maimed, many more appeared to take their place, not intimidated in the slightest by the kunoichi. "I see you want more. Well, I'm more than happy to obligue!"
"Bluntsword Ninja Art: Earth Breaker!"
Before Ameyuri could go on again, Miyaki leaped from behind, and delivered a powerful blow with the hammer half of the Helmet Splitter, which glowed blue with chakra, resulting in a massive quake, shattering the land and sending a handful of Zetsu flying in every direction.
"Hey, those were mine, you asshole!" Ameyuri protested. "Go somewhere else, this is my zone!"
"This isn't a competition, Ameyuri," Miyaki chastised. "This isn't a game either. We stand a better chance if we fight together."
"Bah, these creatures are nothing but rabble," Ameyuri scoffed. "Where are those reanimations? My blade yearns for a more worthy challenge!"
"You're going to have your challenge soon," Suigetsu said, as he landed near the two women. "Our scouts have reported that several reanimations are heading towards our position on small groups!"
"Good! Let them taste the wrath of Kirigakure's blades!" Ameyuri said, her vigor flying high. "To battle!"
…
"DIE!" a Zetsu Brute said, as he brought down all four of his arms down in a slam. Dosu was able to jump back just in time before being turned into bloody pulp.
"More of these monstruous creatures," he said, as he landed near his teammates. "Let's be careful, one hit from them could mean the end of us."
Just as Dosu said that, the Zetsu brute let out a feral roar and charged forward, using his upper limbs to walk as if he were a primate. As this happened, Kin dashed to the side.
"Don't worry, I have a new jutsu I can use to stop them in their tracks!" she said, as the mutated Zetsu rushed past her, before thrusting both hands forward. "Shadow Hidden Snake Hands!"
A multitude of snakes emerged from under Kin's bracers, and wrapped themselves around two of his arms and the shoulder they were connected to. Much to her teammates' surprise, Kin was able to stop the mutated Zetsu's charge, if only because all the poison the snakes injected into him through their fangs. Still, it didn't take long for the aberration to shake the effects off, and moved his other two arms in order to grab the snakes coiled around him.
"Come on guys!" Kin urged. "Attack before-"
"Wood Release: Wood Binding Jutsu!"
Multiple wodden roots emerged from under the Zetsu, and wrapped themselves around his other two arms, immobilizing them completely. Dosu and Zaku saw it was Rin who had come to their aid. The bandaged ninja decided that this was their best chance to strike the monster down.
"Zaku, cover me, I'm going in," Dosu said, as he rushed forward.
"You got it! Heh, Kin isn't the only one who has new tricks under her sleeve!" Zaku said, as he placed his hands as if they were holding an invisible orb, and fired air streams, condensing the air into a sphere. When the sphere reached a large enough size, Zaku thrust his cupped hands forward. "Airwave Blast!"
The air missile hit the Zetsu brute in the head with such force it pushed him backwards, however he was held in place by Kin's snakes and Rin's wooden roots. Before he could recover, though, Dosu was already onto him.
"Resonating Sonic Cage!"
Just like he did when he fought against a similar monster in Konoha, Dosu slammed both hist fists against the giant Zetsu's head, creating a cage of clashing, high intensity soundwaves, making the creature's head explode into gelatinous goo. Kin and Rin released their bindings, letting the monster to fall lifelessly on his back.
"Okay, one down, many more to go," Dosu noted, before his one eye rested on Rin. "Thanks for your assitance, Rin-san. Your help shortened this battle considerably."
Rin smiled at him. "I felt you guys could use a hand. This creature-"
Hearing a new attack incoming, Dosu's eye suddenly widened."Everybody, watch out!"
His teammates and Rin jumped in a different direction just in time to avoid a man with a shaggy afro wearing an Iwa uniform could skewer them with one of his wrist mounted blades. Rin was ready to counterattack, until she realized who this man was.
"This... this has to be a freaking joke..." she said in shock.
In front of her, ready to attack again was Kakko, one of the two Iwa ninjas that captured her during Team Minato's mission to destroy Kannabi Bridge. There was no way that the very same ninja who kidnapped and tortured her with genjutsu was back from the dead and in front of her by mere chance of fate.
"You know, I'm not really sure what happened after you escaped me and Taiseki," Kakko said. "But it doesn't matter! You're not getting away from us!"
"Rin, watch out!" Dosu warned her once again. But in her distracted state, the medic-nin was unable to react in time.
"Earth Release: Rock Crusher!"
Suddenly, many large rocks fell from the sky upon the hapless brown haired kunoichi, quickly burying her under a huge pile of stones. Another Iwa reanimation, a tall and broad shouldered man with black hair and a very intimitating face appeared besides Kakko all of sudden.
"Good job, Taiseki. That girl isn't going anywhere," Kakko noted with a smirk.
Taiseki merely nodded, and looked at the Chunin of Team Anko. "Indeed. We should take care of those other Konoha brats as well."
"More kids. Is Konoha so low on manpower that they have to send kids to the front lines?" Kakko commented with a chuckle. Dosu, Zaku and Kin all adopted defensive stances. "I don't take joy in beating up children, but-"
Suddenly, the pile of rocks Rin was buried under exploded without warning, shattering them, and showering the area in tiny peebles, and raising a small cloud of dust.
"I'm so sick of tired of people trying to kidnap me," Rin growled, as she walked forward. Upon stepping out of the cloud of dust, everybody could see her eyes were yellow rather than brown, and there were deep green marks under her eyes and on her forehead. She made a hand seal. "It's payback time! Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!"
The ground beneth the undead Iwa ninjas started to shake, and before they could react, multiple wooden roots emerged from underground. They jumped away, but no matter where they landed, more roots emerged, until they finally ran out of space, and the roots reached them and wrapped themsleves around the two confused men, immobilizing them completely.
"The hell!? That little girl has Wood Release!?" Taiseki roared, as he tried to break free.
"Can't... move!" Kakko said, as he futilely struggled to break free.
Panting with anger, Rin turned at the ex-Oto ninjas, which flinched upon seeing the enraged Sage. However, her expression and body psoture visibly relaxed, she let out a sigh of relief, and smiled. "Wow, that was so cathartic! I feel so good!"
Kin let out a whistle. "Damn, that was brutal, girl. Remind me not to get on your bad side."
"That's the power of a Sage to you," Dosu observed.
Before anyone could say anything, though, they heard another whistle. One the ex-Oto ninjas recognized.
"Anko-sensei is calling us," Dosu said.
"Some other reanimation must giving her some trouble," Zaku deduced. "Let's go!"
The members of Team Anko and Rin nodded, and head in the direction of the Snake Mistress.
…
While Anko's students and Rin were fighting against one of those giant Zetsu, their sensei was also in the heat of the battle, facing a couple of Moon Puppets, bombarding her with constant golden chakra blasts.
"That's all you can do, you oversized toys?" Anko asked, dodging the attacks as she tried to come closer. She knew her taunts would have no effect on a mechanical enemy, but she was too used to trash talk her enemies. As she ran, she made several hand seals before pulling a shuriken. "Fire Release: Shadow Clone Flaming Shuriken Jutsu!"
Anko breathed fire into the shuriken, giving it a cloak of flames, before tossing it forward. The moment the burning steel star left her hand, a dozen more appeared around it. The Moon Puppets, however, proved to be more skilled than what Anko or other living ninja judged them by expertly dodging the flaming shuriken, or parrying them will small beams of golden chakra. Once the attack was neutralized, one of the Moon Puppets cupped its hands and summoned another sphere of golden chakra ready to throw at Anko. However, thanks to all the noise going around the battlefield, the puppet was unable to hear a Chakra Golem getting close. The much larger Golem grabbed the puppet by the head, and started to slam it against the ground multiple times.
"Now's my chance! Shadow Hidden Snake Hands!"
A multitude of snakes emerged from under Anko's sleeves, and wrapped against the other puppet's neck before he had the chance to assist its "brother". Anko then pulled the puppet towards her, quickly slapped an explosive tag on its torax, and threw it against a nearby bunch of Zetsu. The ensuing explosion ended the puppet's existence, as well as the White Zetsu clones unfortunate enough to be close to it.
"BAM! Multi kill combo!" Anko cheered. "Man, too bad there was no one to record that swift move-"
Anko was interrupted by a pair of Fuuma Shuriken flying at her from above. The Snake Mistress, however, was able to gracefully dodge them by making a backflip, and the giant steel starts merely hit the ground. A reanimation wearing an Otogakure uniform landed besides the shuriken, and pulled them from the ground. Anko was ready to fight this new foe when she realized who he was.
"Wait a second... Mizuki? Is that you?" Anko asked, narrowing her eyes a little.
"Exactly!" Mizuki triumphantly said, as he pulled the second Fuuma Shuriken from the ground. "You thought you had killed me, but thanks to Orochimaru-sama, not only I live once again, but I am immortal!"
Anko raised an eyebrow, feeling more surprised rather than shocked or disgusted. "Orochimaru turned you into a zombie, one that isn't even in control of his own actions... and you're grateful to him? Boy, you have issues."
"Didn't you hear what I say? I'm immortal now! Not only I'll live forever, but I can't be killed!" Mizuki boasted.
"Okay, a few things wrong with that," Anko began. "First, you aren't immortal. We have ways to premanently kill a reanimation. And second, even you'd live forever, you'd do so as Orochimaru's slave, who would release the jutsu and thus send your spirit back to hell once you're no longer useful to him. Hell, I'm surprised that he bothered bringing you back from the dead, given how mediocre of a ninja you are."
"You spout nothing but foolish nonsense. But what can I expect of somebody who feels unfortunate to have been blessed with Orochimaru-sama as sensei?" Mizuki asked.
"Seriously, did Orochimaru wired your brain to shower him with praise or what?" Anko asked, now being annoyed.
"Enough chitchat! Let's see if you can back up those words with actions! Fight me, and try to defeat me if you can!" Mizuki said in a boastful tone, as he adopted a fighting stance.
"Eh, no, you aren't worth my time. But you know what? I know the perfect adversaries for you to fight against," Anko said, before putting two fingers on her mouth, and let out a loud and sharp whistle.
In mere seconds, her students, as well as Rin, landed besides her. Naturally, Mizuki's presence didn't go unnoticed for the three former.
"You called, sense-whoa! Mizuki-sensei? Is that you?" Zaku asked.
Upon seeing his former students, Mizuki looked like he was going to explode. "The fuck!? What the hell are you three doing wearing those Konoha uniforms!"
"They're my students now," Anko stated, lazily placing a hand on her hip. "And they're going to kick your sorry ass."
"Those three useless failures? Please! Even if I wasn't immortal, they wouldn't even be able to touch me!" Mizuki boasted again.
"Useless failures?" Kin repeated, as her left eye began to twitch.
"If we were failures was because you didn't to teach us shit!" Zaku loudly protested. "Now we're going to show you how much we grew under Anko-sensei!"
"Oh, so you little shits think you already surpassed me?" Mizuki asked, chuckling confidently. "I'd be more than happy to prove you wrong."
As the Chunin of Team Anko prepared to fight, Rin was going to join them, but Anko grabbed her shoulder, stopping her from doing so.
"You don't want me to help them?" Rin asked her former classmate.
Anko shook her head. "They're more than able to beat him. Besides, your Wood Release and Sage power would be better used on ther stronger reanimations. Like that one. Is that an Uchiha? Yep, I think it's an Uchiha. I remember the custom uniform they wore during the uprising."
"Alright, let's go then," Rin said, before both kunoichi leaped away.
…
"Blastsword Ninja Art: Bombardment Wave!"
Kumori swung the Splatter in a wide arc, releasing a multitude of explosive tags that flew at the enemies in front of him, which he took no time to detonate. Despite the chain of explosions took down quite a few White Zetsu clones, his main target evaded the attack. A reanimated middle aged ninja with silver hair, squinty eyes, and wearing a black flak jacket similar to those used by Konoha ninjas.
"You'll have to do better than that to match the power of the Uchiha, Kiri scum!" the Uchiha reanimation said, as he started making hand seals. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
The Uchiha exhaled a huge fireball at the masked swordsman, who once again swung his sword in another wide arc.
"Blastsword Ninja Art: Exploding Barricade!"
The explosive scroll unravelled around Kumori, before it ignited, resulting in a chain of explosions whose blasts were directing outwards, creating a protective field of destruction around Kumori. The explosions managed to negate the fireball, however, the Uchiha reanimation took advantage of the ensuing cloud of smoke to close the gap between the two of them. Kumori raised his sword once again, but the Uchiha proved to be faster, and with a roundhose kick, smacked the Splatter out of Kumori's hands, and taking advantage of the building momentum, kicked Kumori with his other leg, sending him a few meters backwards.
"You Swordsmen of the Mist think yourselves so great with your tricked out swords, don't you? But you take the sword away, and there's nothing left," the Uchiha taunted, before pulling out several shuriken and tossing them at the masked Kiri ninja.
Kumori rolled to the side in order to avoid the steel starts, before leaping back to his feet.
"The same could be say about the Uchiha and your Sharingan," Kumori replied. "Though in the end, both the Splatter and the Sharingan are tools. It doesn't matter how powerful they are, but how skilled is the ninja who uses them."
"You'll find I'm plenty skilled," the Uchiha zombie replied.
"Let's see it then," Kumori said, as he made a single hand seal. "Water Release: Hiding in the Mist Jutsu!"
In a few seconds, a very dense fog covered the small area the two ninjas were using to fight.
"I'm deprived of my sword, and you're deprived of your superior sight," Kumori said. "Let's see who is the best of us."
"Idiot! Blinding me is useless if you keep blabbering like that!" the Uchiha thought, as he silently rushed towards then pulled a couple of kunai and lunged one forward to where Kumori was. "DIE!"
However, his kunai didn't cut any flesh, but was parried by another kunai. Though it was less the interceptiong rather than who stopped his attack who surprised the Uchiha.
"What?"
Because he found himself looking to a clone of himself, even if the clone had a dark blue tint to his skin and clothes. The clone then pushed the kunai out of the Uchiha's hand and delivered a swing with the other. The zombie and his clone started to trade swings, with neither of them gaining the upper hand, as the reanimation realized much to his anger, the clone was just as skilled as he was.
"You said you needed more than what I had to match the power of the Uchiha. So I hope you don't mine I used some of your power for that," Kumori's voice said from behind.
"Shit!" the Uchiha zombie said, as he pushed the clone back, and turned around for the inevitable attack.
There was a loud clang, and the Uchiha saw that what he parried wasn't a normal blade, but the Splatter.
"And while you were busy fighting that Dark Mirror Shadow Clone, I took the chance to get my sword back. Now do the polite thing, and please stay put until somebody seals you."
Kumori detonated the explosive tags on the sword, blowing the Uchiha's lower half of his body, while the remaining upper half was launched backwards inside a ball of smoke.
"Any sealmaster nearby, can you guys take care of that smoking hot Uchiha?" Kumori asked.
…
Meanwhile, not far from there, two Swordsmen of the Mist battled as well. However, unlike the others, these two were on opposite sides of the war.
"I'm impressed that you seeked to fight me again after the beating I gave you and your flunkies in Kiri," Kisame said, laughing a little, as he swung Samehada with one hand at Zabuza.
The former Demon of the Mist parried, and with an expert twist of his wrist, pushed Samehada aside before lunging at his blue skinned opponent. However, Kisame managed to skillfully dodge Zabuza's onslaught.
"That was more than two years ago. I knew that our blades would cross again, and thus I've been training non-stop for such battle!" Zabuza said, as he delivered several powerful swings, which made Kisame fall back.
"You can't-"
However, Kisame was interrupted when the corner of his eye caught the Sewing Neelde flying at him, and with a wide swing, he managed to deflect it just before it could pierce his body. The owner of the sword, Suigetsu, landed a few meters away from Kisame, as he pulled the wire attached to his sword to get it back.
It wasn't the end of the attack, as the next second, Chojuro and Ameyuri attacked him from two different directions, while Zabuza and Suigetsu placed themselves in the two possible directions Kisame could jump to in order to avoid the attack. However, contrary to what many believed, there was more to the blue skinned ninja than a mere fancy sword.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Shockwave!"
Kisame expelled a truly massive amount of water from his mouth, forming a torrent that expanded in every direction, and violently dragged Ameyuri and Chojuro backwards just before they could strike him down, while forcing Zabuza and Suigetsu back as well. Kisame smirked upon seeing the result of his work, but the smirk disappeared when the water he had created formed several tentacles which wrapped around his arms and body, and started to pull him down, burying him into the earth.
"Miyako, now!" Kumori's voice called.
"I got it!" Miyako said, already leaping towards Kisame, ready to cut him down with the axe half of the Helmet Splitter.
Kisame struggled against the water tentacles, until he felt Samehada sending a burst of chakra through his body, and the tentacles disappeared, as if they never were there. His limbs now free, he was able to parry the admittedly powerful blow from the blue haired kunoichi.
"Distracting me with a genjutsu while you go for the kill," Kisame said in realization. "Clever. It would have worked on any other ninja, but Samehada can disrupt my chakra if an enemy attempt to ensnare me with an illusion."
"That illusion already served its purpose!" Miyako said, as he moved to strike the axe with the hammer half of her weapon.
However, before she could do such a thing, Samehada burst into a mass of dark blue razor sharp scales, shredding the bandages that were wrapped around it. The scales grew longer and sharper, threatening to impale the kunoichi, forcing Miyako to fall back.
"As you can see, it didn't," Kisame replied, his grin only growing wider, as he swung his sword again. Samehada's hilt stretched to great lengh, while the sword dashed at a seemingly random rock. Said rock, however, rippled before it disappeared, revealing Kumori, who jumped back to avoid being caught by the sentient sword's jaws. The hilt then retracted back to its normal length. "And hiding from me won't work. Samehada can smell your chakra."
"Shit, not even all of us together can-" Suigetsu began, before he realized of something. He looked at Kumori with an indignant expression. "The fuck!? You can talk!?"
"Yes, we can beat him!" a new voice said, as the Mizukage landed between her loyal Swordsmen. "Kisame might be powerful, even more with Samehada, but he can't stand against the combined power of all seven of us!"
As soon as Mei said that, two reanimations, other two Uchihas, given their activated Sharingan, landed behind Kisame.
"I'm not fighting alone either. I'm part of a larger group, you know," Kisame said.
"That pair of Uchihas won't make much of a difference," Kumori confidently said. "I was able to beat one on my own. With my fellow comrades, they have even less of a chance."
Kisame, however, laughed. "I wasn't talking about them."
"Summoning Jutsu!"
The Uchihas slammed their palms into the ground, and after six bursts of smoke, six more coffins appeared. Each coffin was marked with the kanji of "water" on their respective lids. Said lids then fell forward with a thud, revealing their contents. Six Kirigakure ninjas. The Allied Swordsmen of the Mist and their Mizukage were unable to hide their surprise.
"T-Those are..." Chojuro stammered.
"...the previous Swordsmen of the Mist," Miyako finished.
The first three coffins had three people that a couple years ago were still alive: Jinpachi Munashi, Kushimaru Kuriarare and Jinin Akebino, all of them killed during the Kirigakure Civil war that ended with the victory of the rebels.
"Hey bitches, we're back!" Jinpachi boasted.
"Ready to avenge our deaths and get back the swords that you stole from us!" Kushimaru added.
Jinin Akebino didn't say anything at first, until he spotted Miyako wiedling the Helmet Splitter.
"So they gave you my sword in the end, girl," Jinin said. "Make sure you don't dishonor it."
"I'd die before letting that happen, Jinin-san," Miyako said.
Of the three remaining, one was a man that resembled Zabuza, and even dressed in a way similar to him, albeit he was unmasked, had a cross shaped scar under his right eye and a red, grid-shaped tatoo covering his lower jaw.
"Juzo-sensei..." Zabuza muttered.
"Well, well, well, do my eyes deceive me? It's little Zabuza! Though I see you aren't so little now, hehe!" the man named Juzo laughed. His stare hardened as his eyes rested on the Executioner's Blade. "I see you have my sword."
"It's MY sword now, old man!" Zabuza replied defensively.
"No, it's not. You didn't earn it. You were supposed to take that sword after killing me yourself. Yet instead, you waited for somebody else to do your job for you, didn't you?" Juzo said in a taunting manner. "Ah, Zabuza. When they told me about the massacre at the academy, I was overjoyed. I thought I found a worthy apprentice, for only those who know about extensive bloodshed can wield the Executioner's Blade. But you turned out to be such a disappointment..."
"You think I need to kill you so I'm worthy of my blade? Well, guess what, it seems that it might not be too late for that," Zabuza replied, adpting a fighting stance. "I'm not the same confused kid blinded by anger! I'm not afraid if you anymore!"
Mei silently placed a hand on Zabuza's shoulder, who seemed to have a soothing effect on the man.
"Don't let him get to you, Zabuza," Mei whispered. "Keep your head calm. You're better than him, and you know it."
"Oh, look at that, you ended up tamed by some weak woman. It seems there's no limit of how much of a disappointment you can be," Juzo mocked.
"At least I wasn't killed by a mere Genin!" Zabuza fired back. "Is there any more disgraceful way for a Jonin, much less a Swordsman of the Mist, to die?"
While Zabuza continued trading angry shouts with his former sensei, Suigetsu and Chojuro focused on the second of the three remaining coffins, which held a man that greatly resembled Suigetsu, including the shoulder length light blue hair and purple eyes. A person Suigetsu knew better than any other Kirigakure ninja.
"Brother..." Suigetsu said.
"Mangetsu-sensei..." Chojuro said as well, almost in a whisper.
"Suigetsu. I'm happy to see that you're alive," Mangetsu said. "And you finally got one of the Seven Swords. The Sewing Needle, huh? That's not one I would have pictured you wielding."
"I know. But one must work with what is given," Suigestsu replied, chuckling a little, even if his voice was trembling.
Mangetsu's eyes drifted to the bespectacled swordsman. "Chojuro, my apprentice. I'm also happy to see you, and that you still keep my sword. Even if your training wasn't complete, I have faith you made good use of that blade."
"I did my best, Mangetsu-sensei! Every time I swing this sword, I do so to honor your memory!" Chojuro said, almost yelling.
Manegtsu smiled in return. "I'm sure you do. Also, if you guys have all the swords minus Samehada, I take the Rebellion was triumphant?"
"You can bet it was! We invaded the village, and Yagura's forces ended up surrendering. Mei is the Mizukage now," Suigetsu explained. "Though not everything was as clear cut. Turn out Yagura was controlled by Akatsuki, who also captured him for his Tailed Beast."
"I see. That was... very unfortunate," Mangetsu said, shaking his head. "Though, at the very least the Bloody Mist is no more. People from the Land of Water won't fear ninjas as demons anymore."
"Yes. We made plenty of progress on that area. Mei-sama is a very diligent Mizukage, and works diligently to show the entire world that the new Kirigakure is not what it used to be."
As Suigetsu and Chojuro continued talking with the former's brother and the later's sensei, Ameyuri watched in shock and anger the occupant of the last coffin step out of it. A man with long dark green hair, blue eyes and thick lips.
"What the... where am I?" the man asked, a bit disoriented. "And why is a little girl holding my swords!?"
"These are MY swords, asshole!" Ameyuri yelled back, gripping the Thunderfangs even harder. "Go back with the rest of those failed relics, Raiga!"
"Now the numbers are a little more even, aren't they?" Kisame laughed, as he rested Samehada over one of his shoulders. "Seven and seven. Albeit one of you isn't a Swordsman of the Mist."
"Yeah, and six of you don't have swords!" Ameyuri replied, raising her swords above her head for added emphasis. "Numbers mean shit when-"
However, Ameyuri was interrupted when dust and ashes started to gather around the hands of the revived former Swordsmen, creating replicas of the six swords in the hands of the Swordsmen loyal to Mei. Everybody instinctively took a step back.
"You were saying?" Kisame said, before letting out an even louder laugh.
…
Back in the Akatsuki secret lair, Orochimaru was kneeled in front of a board with white and black pellets on it, that he was using to plan his fight, as well as to better monitor his undead puppets. Besides Orochimaru, the only other Akatsuki in the lair was Obito, lazily slouched against one of the cave's wall, accompained by a small group of White Zetsu clones. Probably to act as some sort of escorts if Orochimaru decided to attack and steal the Uchiha's Rinnegan. Not that they would be of much help if he decided to do so, but for now, he would play nice.
"With this improved version of Impure World Resurrection, I can also create replicas of the weapons the deceased ninjas were holding the moment they were killed. And since all the seven swordsmen died with theirswords in their hands..." Orochimaru thought, as he licked his lips in anticipation. "Now, let's take this chance to gather six of the seven swords for my collection. I can take Samehada later, once Kisame lowers his guard."
…
Back in the battlefield, the six undead Swordsmen took a step forward, and flanked Kisame, whom they appeared to consider their captain, and adopted fighting stances. Mei's swordsmen took a step back, looking a little frightened or unsure, with the exception of Zabuza, who kept his cool and held his ground, and Ameyuri, who coped with even more bravado, growling and showing her sharp teeth at the enemy.
"Do not fear, my swordsmen!" Mei shouted, as she took a step forward, moving close to Zabuza. "All of you proved yourselves powerful ninjas of Kirigakure and worthy wielders of those swords! The enemy only has cheap replicas wielded by criminals who fell before us in the past, and they shall fall again! Now stand and fight, and show the world the might of Kirigakure's champions!"
Mei's words seem to have the desired effect, and restored the moral of her ninja, who appeared now less doubtful and more ready to fight.
"Pretty speech, Mei-chan. You always had your way with words," Kisame said, grinning, as he swung Samehada. "Though I think an epitaph would have been more appropriate here, given what's going to happen. Everybody, charge!"
"Swordsmen of the Mist, attack! Show these undead relics no mercy!" Zabuza called, as his fellow swordsmen charged towards the incoming enemy.
Given that they were matched in numbers, the fight split into seven one on one duels. Ameyuri was the first one to charge, and engaged Raiga, her eyes burning with hatred as if the former owner of the Thunderfangs were her natural enemy. Suigestsu decided that he should be the one to face his brother. Miyako faced Jinin Akebino, to show him that she's worthy of the Helmet Splitter. Kumori and Chojuro teamed up against Kushimaru and Jinpachi. Juzo wanted to go after Zabuza, but his former apprentice chose to go after Kisame instead, and ended up facing Mei.
"Who the hell are you, woman!?" Juzo angrily asked, as he delivered a wide swing at the redhead, who dodged it with ease. "You aren't even a Swordsman of the Mist, yet you dare to get in the way!?"
"I dare, yes. Because I am the Fifth and current Mizukage, Mei Terumi," Mei replied, as she started making hand seals. "And my husband doesn't have time to deal with such a little annoyance like you. There's a much bigger fish to catch. Fire Release: Searing Lash!"
A whip made of fire appeared on Mei's hand, which she used to flog the undead swordsman, forcing him to fall back. Still, Juzo wasn't going to let Mei set the pace of the fight.
"Mizukage? YOU are the Mizukage? Just what happened with Kiri after I died?" Juzo said in disgust. "Oh well, let's test if you're worthy of the hat then!" Jumping backwards, he gripped his fake Executioner's Blade with both hands, and the sword started to flow blue as it was infused with chakra, before tossing it at his opponent.
Mei undid her fiery whip, as she started to make more hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
The Mizukage slammed her hands into the ground, erecting a wall between herself and Juzo. Thanks to the chakra it was imbued with, the sword was able to break through the barrier, albeit it did so at the cost of much of its momentum, meaning that if Mei just jumped backwards, she could avoid being hit. However, before she could do that, Juzo burst from underground in front of her and grabbed his sword as he flew.
"You're mine!" Juzo said, as he brought his sword down.
Mei, however, was quick enough to weave a few hand seals as she jumped backwards.
"Boil Release: Skilled Mist Jutsu!"
Mei exhaled a cloud of corrosive mist at the incoming swordsman, who was stopped on his tracks as the force of the mist pushed him backwards while his body started to quickly erode. However, Juzo quickly burst into water.
"Oh, a water clone. Should have seen that coming," Mei said nonchalantly, as she started to make hand seals.
The real Juzo burst from underground behind her, ready to skewer her for real.
"Stop acting as if this is some fucking game!" the scarred ninja yelled, as he delivered an horizontal slash.
"Boil Release: Corrosive Armor!"
Another acidic cloud burst through Mei's position, this one more powerful than the one before, corroding Juzo's body with such speed, his forearms fell off from the rest of his arms.
"Shit!" Juzo cursed.
"Still think I'm weak? Or that I don't deserve to be Mizukage?" Mei asked, as she made more hand seals. "Not that I give a damn about what a caveman like you think. Now time to send you back to the place you belong: into oblivion with the rest of the Bloody Mist! Lava Release: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
Mei exhaled a gigantic stream of lava at the undead ninja. Juzo tried to jump back, but the corrosive cloud eroded his legs until they broke and he fell helplessly on his back. His undead body started to regenerate, but the acidic cloud said regeneration didn't take. And thus, Juzo was buried under a pile of burning lava, leaving him completely immobile. Mei followed the attack with more ahnd seals.
"Water Release: Water Gun!"
Mei spat a stream of cold water at the lava, cooling it down as it solidified into solid rock, producing several hissing clouds of steam. Once the undead swordsman was trapped under a cocoon of stone, Mei placed several chakra suppresing sealing tags to make sure he couldn't be able to break out on his own.
"That's one down," Mei said, before hey eyes drifted towards the spot her husband was fighting Kisame. Zabuza appeared to be holding his ground, but given that Kisame was only using one hand to hold his weapon, it was obvious he wasn't fighting seriously yet. But that could change anytime soon. "Better help Zabuza as soon as possible. Between the two of us, we can bring that monster down."
…
Meanwhile, at another part of the battleground, Mizuki has fighting Anko's students. The turncoat ninja decided to use directly the second Stage of the Cursed Seal, transforming him into a bulky monster of maroon skin, black eyes, and an additional pair of arms ending in a curved bone blade similar to the blades of a mantis, sprouting from his back.
"Fire Release: Cursed Flame Destruction!"
Mizuki exhaled a massive stream of blue fire from his mouth, forcing his former students to jump away in different directions. As he jumped, Zaku tried to move forward, as he aimed his palms at his former sensei.
"Decapitating Air Bullets!"
Zaku fired a barrage of vacuum bullets from the holes in his palms at the mutated ninja, now forcing Mizuki to be the one to retreat, as the bullets blew a trail of holes in the ground, sending bits of shredded grass into the air. Dosu decided to take the oportunity to strike, and dashed towards his former sensei. Once he closed the distance, he delivered a hook with his gauntlet fist.
"You think you can use those patehtic tricks against me?" Mizuki said, as his enlarged hand caught Dosu's fist, squeezing it, crunching the gauntlet as well. "Do you think that I forgot how those gauntlets of yours work?"
Mizuki then turned around, and tossed Dosu away. However, the former Oto ninja managed to regain his balance, and making a backflip mid air, landed on his feet. Zaku and Kin quickly rushed towards him so he wouldn't be alone against his former teacher.
"Now it's my turn to attack! Feel the power of Orochimaru-sama!" Mizuki boasted, as he started to make hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"
A dragon head made of mud and stone rose from the ground in front of Mizuki, opened its jaws, and fired multiple mud projectiles at the trio of former Oto ninjas. However, Mizuki wasn't done.
"Fire Release: Fire Dragon Blast!"
Mizuki exhaled a stream of fire from his mouth, ignitning the mud projectiles.
Dosu's one eye locked onto the white haired man, before slamming both fists into the ground.
"Resonating Echo Tremor!"
Dosu sent a powerful sonic shockwave through the ground towards Mizuki, carving a furrow as it traveled.
"Zaku, Kin, combine your jutsu to counter his!" Dosu commanded. The two of them nodding in unison and taking a step forward, Zaku raising his palms forward, and Kin making hand seals.
"Decapitating Air Waves!"
"Water Release: Water Wall!"
Kin expelled a torrent of water from her mouth, while Haku released two streams of pressurized air and sound. Both attacks combined into a watery storm, putting out all the firery projectiles and blowing them away, creating several clouds of steam that started to expand in every direction. Then, without saying anything, Dosu charged forward, his arms raised to protect his head and torso. And indeed, he managed to parry the blow of a bladed arm.
"How did you...?" Mizuki, the one who delivered the blow, asked.
"You seem to forget about my extremely acute hearing, sensei," Dosu sneered. "And even with all the noise of the battle around us, I can still sense the vibrations your feet make with every step."
"So that's how you knew I was getting closer. Cheeky brat," Mizuki said, before pushing Dosu back and kicking him in the chest, making him fall on his back. "But that's not going to help you!"
"Summoning jutsu!"
There was a burst of smoke, followed by a brief but powerful gale of wind that dispelled the steam in the air. Mizki then saw Kin riding a top of the head of a gigantic cobra.
"Look what Anko-sensei taught me to do," Kin said in a taunting manner. "Did Orochimaru allow you to sign the Snake Contract? For how much you praise him, I'm going to assume he did, right?"
"I don't need to summon some armless lizard to do my job!" Mizuki angily said, as he started to make hand seals. "Fire Release: Cursed Flame Destruction!"
Mizuki echaled a stream of blue fire, so hot it burned the ground above it even if it was untouched, as it flew towards Kin and her giant snake. With an impressive speed despite its lack of limbs, the giant cobra started to quickly slither around, dodging the deadly fire jutsu Mizuki was projecting towards it.
"This is my chance to strike!" Dosu whispered to himself, as he rushed towards Mizuki. "Resonating Echo Tremor!"
Dosu slammed both fists into the ground, sending a sonic shockwave underground, carving a crack in the ground as it followed. Mizuki, however, knew what Dosu was trying, and would have smirked if he could move his mouth. He jumped aside to avoid the underground attack while keeping the fire jutsu active, but rather than Kin and her snake, which were moving further and further away, he directed the fire towards the much closer Dosu.
"Air Burst Propulsion!"
Before Dosu could be incinerated, Zaku slammed into his former sensei with force of a missile, using the air expelled from his hands to increase his speed. The flames disappeared, as Mizuki's air was blown out of his stomach.
"You fucking-"
Mizuku's curse was interrupted when Dosu quickly bridged the gap between them, and delivered a right hook at him. The white haired man instinctively dodged, and realized a second too late of his mistake when his head felt prey of terrible nausea and vertigo that didn't even allow him to walk straight.
"Kin, now!" Dosu called.
Before Mizuki could regain his balance, he heard a slithering sound growing louder, and the blurry image of a snake appeared in his field of vision. Kin's giant cobra slammed Mizuki with its head, sending him flying against a tree. After that, the cobra wrapped itself tightly against the undead ninja, pinning his arms against his body leaving him completely immobilized.
"And I believe that's a wrap," Kin said, placing her hands on her hips. "Literally."
"Look at that, Anko-sensei was right. We were able to beat Mizuki after all," Dosu observed.
"Of course we did! We're super strong! Anko-sensei said we could beat him, and we totally did it!" Zaku excitedly said.
"That's all good, but we just defeated one enemy. The battle is far from over." Dosu reminded his teammates, especially Zaku. "Let's bring Mizuki to the selamaster ninjas, and then resume the fight."
…
Meanwhile, not far away from there, Kisame and Zabuza were fighting against each other, mostly trading blows with their huge swords. The two swordsmen never stayed still, constalty running and leaping from one place to another, being little more than quick blurs for an onlooker.
"I have to commend you for your bravery facing me again on your own, Zabuza-san," Kisame began, as he delivered a vertical slash with Samehada. "You can't use ninjutsu against me, since my sword will absorb it. You can't also rely on your famed assassination skills since Samehada can track your position by sensing your chakra. All you have are your swordfighting skills, while I have no such limit."
"That's the difference between you and I, Kisame," Zabuza said, as he parried the blow, before pushing Samehada aside and lungining his Executioner's Blade forward. "I always relied on nothing but my own skills to get by. I don't need to use a tricked up sword as a crutch."
"Still trying to hurt my ego so I remove my greatest advantage in a fight?" Kisame laughed, as he moved aside, letting Zabuza's sword harmlessly pass by him. "Come on Zabuza, we both know you're biting much more than you can chew. There's a lot of stake in this war, you shouldn't risk it so badly for your own ego."
"You're really confident I can't beat you, that you can afford giving advice to an enemy?" Zabuza asked, visibly enraged.
"I couldn't have said it better," Kisame replied, grinning widely, as he prepared to attack again. "Besides-"
"Earth Release: Crushing Avalanche!"
Suddenly, large boulders started to fall from the sky towards Kisame, making thundering noises as they impacted against the ground. The shark man tried to dodge most of them, and those he couldn't were shattered to peebles with a mighty swing of Samehada. When the attack ceased, Kisame saw Mei Terumi landing besides Zabuza.
"You know what? I think you might be right. That sword is too much for me to overcome alone," Zabuza replied, grinning under his mask.
"So I decided to drop by and balancing things out," Mei added.
"Oh, how cute, the lovely couple comes to face me together," Kisame laughed. "However, your Mizukage isn't going to be of much help against me. She has no ninjutsu Samehada can't nullify and absorb. All she will accomplish is in giving me another source of chakra to devour!"
"We aren't afraid of you, traitor!" Mei replied. "Besides, my husband is right! All your power and strength comes from that sword! If we take that sword away from you, the fight will be ours!"
"Your naivety is adorable," Kisame replied, shaking his head. "Do you think you're the first one who tried to separate me from Samehada? As you can see, that tactic never yielded much results."
"There's a first time for everything. Even if Samehada can return to you on its own, you won't be able to use it if I cut your hands off!" Zabuza said, swinging his blade for added emphasis.
"You're so sure of yourselves, aren't you? Okay, I'll take on your challenge!" Kisame boasted as he removed his Akatsuki cloak, revealing his bare chest, and much to Mei and Zabuza's shock and confusion, he jabbed the sword into his abdomen.
"What the...?" Mei asked, confused.
"You... have no idea... of all the things Samehada can do..." Kisame said, smiling evily. It took a moment for the two Kiri ninjas to realize that there was no blood on Kisame's torax. In fact, it appeared as if Samehada was being absorbed into his own body. And as it happened, Kisame started to transform as well. His head grew enlongated and more shark-like. His hair receded, and a fin grew on top of its head to replace it, with two additional fins grew on his forearms. His hands had now webbed fingers, ending in sharp claws. "SAMEHADA AND I ARE ONE NOW!"
"Man, I'm hating that goddamned sword more and more..." Zabuza grumbled, before turning to his wife. "So, taking his sword away isn't an option anymore. Any other ideas?"
Mei smiled, and nodded, before biting her thumb. "Yes, just one. I still have an ace in the hole I've been saving for this very moment. Something I have been preparing since the moment I became Mizukage, and I think this is the best moment to break it out. Summoning jutsu!"
Mei slammed her hand into the ground, producing a burst of smoke. When the smokecleared, there was a small blue skinned cephalopod with a yellow spiraling shell, large eyes, and very thick eyebrows. Zabuza couldn't help but raise a non-existent eyebrow at Mei's supposed "ace in the hole", while Kisame merely laughed.
"That's it? That's your trump card? Some tiny squid?" Kisame said, laughing out loud. "Heh, if anything, it'll make a great appetizier."
"I wouldn't laugh if I weren't you, Kisame. This is no normal squid, but Rasen-sama, Great Sage of the Depths," Mei said.
"You called me, Mei-chan. I take this is the moment?" Rasen asked.
Mei nodded. "Indeed it is, Rasen-sama. Let's begin."
The small elderly squid climbed Mei's body until he reached the top of her head, while Mei herself started to make hand seals. The Mizukage started to glow with a blue light as her body started to builod up chakra.
"Sage Art: Sage Transformation!"
There was a burst of smoke, and when it dispelled, both Kisame and Zabuza were startled to see the result: it seemed that the squid had fused with Mei, and his shell covered Mei's head as if it was a helmet. Her long locks of auburn hair were now long, reddish tentacles that wiggled as if they had life of their own. Mei's teeth were now sharper, looking like her husband's or Kisame's teeth. Her eyes were yellow, and had black marks around them.
"After seeing Naruto's Sage Mode during the Kirigakure Civil War, I knew I had to master it as well, so I asked the squids to teach me how to do it," Mei explained. "I kept this a secret, training on my own during the little spare time I had. Just for this moment alone. Get ready, Kisame! The shame you brought to your home village with your treachery will disappear before the day ends!"
OMAKE: Mei's Alternate Sage Transformation
"Sage Art: Sage Transformation!"
There was a burst of smoke, and when it dispelled, both Kisame and Zabuza were startled to see the result: Mei had shrunk to half her usual size, having the appearance of a little girl. Her hair was now much shorter, its locks looking like the tentacles of an octopus, with two of them falling down, framing her face to the side. But what was more bizarre was a gigantic water gun she was now wielding, filled with orange ink, as the orange dropltes that fell from the tip of its barrel was any indication.
Both Zabuza and Kisame stared at the weird transformation, stunned and confused.
"Inkling Mode, success!" Mei said in a squaky, high pitched voice. She then cocked her gigantic water gun. "Come on Zabuza, let's splat the shit out of him, woomy!"
Author's Note: Heh, it's been a while since the last omake, hasn't it ? Before you ask, no, I don't really play Splatoon, but the idea for the omake was just too good to pass.
This is one of the battles I've been wanting to write the most since I was planning the Fourth Ninja War. Kiri is easily one of my favorite villages, and has some of my favorite characters as well. I borrowed an idea from "War of the Biju" involving Kisame leading the zombified Swordsmen of the Mist, while at the same time thought that I could have them fight the current generation of Swordsmen led by Zabuza. And man, I loved getting to write the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist once again.
And Team Anko comes full circle once Dosu, Zaku and Kin beat the man who was once their sensei. It might not be among the most spectacular or decisive battles, but it was important for them. As for having Rin fight the revived versions of the Iwa ninjas that kidnapped her, well, I thought it would be both funny and cathartic.
Though even then, all of the above is just an appetizier, as the next chapter we'll get the main course: Mei and Zabuza versus Kisame. Which, again, allowed me to show another user of Sage Mode in Mei. I know I've said this a million times already, but I love Sage Mode and it pissed me off that so few characters got to master it in canon.
Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.
How are you finding the second battle? Hope it's up to your expectations. Tell me your thoughts in a review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!