The Kusagakure ninja's laugh echoed through the forest and it put Akira on edge. It was a cold and malicious cackle, piercing the quiet air around them, chilling the bones. What made it worse was that she was staring directly at Akira the whole time, serpent eyes never leaving her, dissecting everything about Akira the longer she stood there. Sasuke and Sakura were still frozen behind Akira, and the instinct to run that overwhelmed her body wasn't going to pan out even if she did decide to run. There was no way Akira was going to be able to run and manoeuvre around while carrying the both of them. No, Akira had to stay and defend them, no matter the cost. And, as Anko said, anything goes.
"They're paralyzed with fear," the woman said, looking behind Akira. Her cold gaze returned to the female Uchiha. "But you... You knew what was coming. Very good."
"Keep your flattery for someone who cares," Akira growled. The woman smirked.
"Now what happens?"
The Kusagakure ninja began walking forward, towards Akira and her comrades. Akira's jaw clenched and she solidified her stance, although she had no intention of attacking first. Instead, she momentarily closed her eyes, despite it being a big risk, reopening them with her Sharingan awakened. The woman took out three kunai.
"Sasuke, snap out of it, dammit," Akira growled at her brother.
"Ah, the Sharingan," the woman said, ignoring Akira's comment. "Already at stage two? So advanced for such a young age. It's a shame you won't be needing it. I'll make it quick. But I don't have to tell you that do I? Your eyes already see it."
The woman stopped in front of Akira, the girl's blade barely an inch away from the Kusagakure ninja's nose. Akira stared intently at the end of her tachi and suddenly relaxed, her knuckles returning to their normal colour. She immediately changed her mind about attacking first and twitched her wrist so that it sliced at the woman's face. However, in record speed, she dodged it, only allowing Akira's blades to cut her hair as it followed the movement of her head. The Kusagakure ninja smirked.
"You're very quick, but not quick enough."
Her Sharingan caught it, but her body wasn't fast enough to react. The grass ninja threw two kunai, one at Sakura and the other at Sasuke. Akira rose her tachi at her sides in order to block them, but her arms only just missed them. Recuperating immediately, Akira jumped up and out of the way the instant her tachi failed to hit the kunai. The woman was too close, a bad situation for a sword-fighter. However, as Akira rose into the air, she noticed that Sasuke and Sakura were no longer there, but fleeing the scene. Akira followed, making sure that the crazy Kusagakure ninja was nowhere to be seen.
The three of them stopped in a nearby tree, dozens of feet above the ground. Sasuke had stabbed himself in the leg to shock himself out of his fear. It was a smart, but desperate move. He'd be injured for the rest of this mission, although Akira didn't think that it would affect him much—Sasuke was known for persevering despite his injuries. But Sasuke was shaking, and this time it wasn't out of excitement; it was fear and adrenaline pumping through his veins. He wasted no time in removing the kunai from his leg, a trail of blood following it as it came out. Akira removed her gloves, revealing her battered knuckles once again, and she tied them together and then around Sasuke's wound, stanching the bleeding.
"That wound is deep, are you sure you're going to be—"
Sasuke slammed his hand over Sakura's mouth before she could finish her sentence. Silence was best, yes, but Akira never thought that Sasuke would react this way. His pupils were dilated, and his eyes were darting everywhere. He was breathing heavily, scared out of his wits. Akira clenched her jaw. If Sasuke was in no condition to fight and take the lead as he usually did, then it was up to her.
Suddenly, Akira heard something to her right and she swung open her tachi and stood, turning towards what she had sensed. Before her was a giant snake, its head as big as her. Whether it was native to the forest or it was summoned, Akira didn't know, but she knew that the Kusagakure ninja was using them.
"Move now!" Akira shouted, dragging Sakura away from the branch. Sasuke moved the second Akira did.
The giant snake bit down on the branch where they sat only moments ago. The snake twisted itself around a branch then launched itself at Sasuke. Akira's Sharingan caught the movement easily and she quickly put herself between Sasuke and the giant snake. She slashed down at the snake's head with one sword and then at the same place with the other, effectively decapitating it. Blood spattered the surrounding area, as well Akira's clothing and face, but the girl didn't feel it—it was the same temperature as the ambient air. For a moment, Akira felt sorry for the animal she'd just slain, but its body began to break open and out from what was once its throat came the Kusagakure ninja, covered in the snake's blood.
"I sense your fear and desperation," she said, a crazed look in her black eyes. "It's only natural. The brain must never let down its guard, and not even for a moment in the presence of its predator."
The woman's body began stretching at a rapid rate, elongating itself into what almost looked snake-like. She stretched until her body could wind itself around the tree Akira, Sasuke and Sakura were sitting in. Her torso rose to their level and, just as she launched herself at Akira and the others, a volley of kunai stopped her in her tracks. Akira smiled, relieved, and looked up towards the source of the kunai.
"Looks like I came just in time!" Naruto shouted from above.
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted happily, relieved.
"Naruto! Get out of here!" Sasuke yelled. "What are you thinking? You don't know what you're up against! Hurry! Go now while you still can!"
"So, Naruto, you managed to escape from my friend," the woman said calmly. "Well done."
"Okay, look, I don't know what's going on here, but you've been picking on my friends and I don't like that!" Naruto shouted. "So you just better slither on back into your hole, snake lady, before I make a pair of shoes outta you!"
In any other circumstances, Akira would have laughed, but this wasn't the time. Naruto had no idea what he was getting himself into, but she wasn't about to tell him to turn back. She'd need all the help she could get even if Naruto was a bit of a knucklehead.
"You can have it!"
Akira's head snapped over towards Sasuke. He was holding out their Heaven Scroll. Akira had swallowed her anger before, but this time she'd forgot to tame the fire-seed with a cool drink, and so it grew in her stomach until it came out as hot as any dragon flame. Akira pointed one of her swords at Sasuke and she glared down at him, eyes filled with pure rage.
"Don't you dare," she said in a dangerously low voice. "I will not be the sister of a gutless coward. Give me the scroll, and get yourself together, Brother."
"Yeah, Sasuke! Are you crazy!?" Naruto shouted. "We're just going to hand the scroll over to the enemy? No way! What's wrong with you!?"
"Shut up and stay out of it!"
Naruto growled, far angrier than she'd ever seen him, and jumped down, snatching the scroll from Sasuke. He went to Akira's side and tightly attached the scroll to her, shaking it to make sure it wasn't going to move.
"Very wise, very sensible," the Kusagakure woman drawled. "Sometimes the helpless hunted if they are able to save their own skins, realise that their only hope is to distract the predator with something even more precious."
"And sometimes," Akira began, pointing both her swords at the enemy again, "the hunter becomes the hunted."
"Akira, Naruto—stop playing the heroes!"
Naruto suddenly swerved around a punched Sasuke straight in the jaw.
"I may not know the stupid password, and I may not have known that Akira was with me the whole time. But I know who I am," Naruto said, angry. "You, Sasuke, you're the one I'm not so sure about. How do we know you are who you say you are?"
"Naruto he's—"
"No. You may look just like him, you may sound just like him, but there's no way you're the Sasuke I know! I don't care how tough a fight you've been through, you should be acting more like your sister! Surrendering, giving up the scroll? Do you see Akira doing that? No! When did Sasuke become a coward!? You're choking Sasuke!"
"Sad, but true," the Kusagakure ninja said. "But it doesn't matter. As far as the scroll goes, I could simply kill you and take it."
There was a large gust of wind that nearly knocked everyone back and, moments later, the woman was standing atop the head of a giant snake. The snake rose its head and whipped down at Naruto who narrowly dodged it. Akira took a deep breath and gripped her swords tighter.
"Let's do this," she muttered under her breath.
Akira dashed forward, blades at her side, jumping over the snake's tail as it tried to trip her. The snake's tail hit the branch that Naruto was standing on and it couldn't withstand the impact, shattering under its force. Naruto began to plummet down and as Akira went to help him, the snake's tail rammed itself into the tree beside her, blocking her path. Naruto was fine, however, and he pushed off another branch, launching himself towards the snake. He slammed his foot into the snake's head and it visibly recoiled, allowing Naruto to regain his footing and land on a sturdy branch.
A vile feeling suddenly rose in the air. For a moment, Akira thought it was the Kusagakure's killing intent again, but she'd felt this rage before. It was the same uncontrollable anger that she'd sensed in the Land of Waves, the rage that likely came from the beast inside Naruto. Enough of its power had risen inside him and Naruto's blue eyes had turned red. It worried Akira. Was it wise to let the Demon rampage a little? Should she try and calm him down? However, Akira's thoughts were suddenly cut off by a raging yell. Naruto had begun pounding into the snake's head, creating a small crater. The snake flicked Naruto off with its tongue, but the boy came back with equal force, refusing to go down.
"Well, I may regret it, but that's my answer," Akira muttered to herself.
Akira turned back to the Kusagakure ninja. In an instant, the woman blew a wave of fire at Naruto. Akira ran at him, screaming his name. A flash of black passed in front of Akira's eyes and, before her body could react, she was sent flying in the other direction. The impact from the snake's tail knocked the air out of her lungs and forced her eyes to shut in pain. Her back slammed against a tree and her hands opened, releasing her tachi. Akira watched as they fell somewhere in the darkness beneath her until a searing pain forced her eyes shut. She curled up a little, groaning in pain, and when the pain subsided she relaxed. When Akira's eyes reopened, everything was just a little bit clearer.
The Kusagakure ninja was riding a snake towards Sasuke and Sakura, and Naruto was nowhere in sight. Akira scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could towards the snake. Against her better judgement, Akira performed a series of hand signs and moments later, the girl's arms themselves were lit up with crackling yellow electricity. It burnt her skin, searing it as if it were stuck to a white hot grill. Akira wasn't in a position to care. Silently, she leapt forward and shot her fist straight into the snake's head, taking it clean off. Her entire body became covered in blood and her arms were burned up to her elbows when the yellow electricity subsided. For a moment, Akira thought she was in the clear, but the five tomoe of her Sharingan knew otherwise. Another snake was coming at her, and Akira was about to produce another wordless Inazuma, Naruto appeared before her and held the snake's head back with sheer physical strength.
"Hey, you're not hurt are ya?" Naruto panted, almost growling.
Akira knew it wasn't directed at her. She could tell by the fury in his voice that Naruto was talking to Sasuke.
"You scaredy-cat! Standing there frozen like a frightened rabbit while your sister goes and burns up her arms... No way. You're not the Sasuke I know!"
Suddenly, the Kusagakure's long tongue wrapped itself around Naruto's shoulders and hoisted him up to her level. Akira groaned in frustration. She couldn't spot her tachi anywhere and there was no way her arms would be able to tolerate another Inazuma without them. With a flash of purple, Naruto was sent flying backwards and hit a tree, then fell limp onto one of its branches.
"Think, Akira, think," the girl muttered to herself.
She turned to look at Sasuke who was staring mutely at the scene unfolding. With an angry growl, Akira slapped her brother across the face, sending a jolt of burning pain through her arm.
"What is wrong with you!?" Akira yelled. She grabbed Sasuke by the collar and continued shouting. "You're better than this! You know you are! Snap out of it, Sasuke!"
Sasuke growled and ripped his sister's arm away from his collar. His gaze down and he groaned, bringing the backs of his hands to his eyes, clearly experiencing the same kind of pain that she had moments ago. When he looked back up, a fifth tomoe had appeared in his Sharingan.
"That's more like it."
The giant snake vanished in a puff of smoke leaving only the Kusagakure standing on a higher branch ahead of Akira and Sasuke. Sakura was a little off to the side of them, still panicking, but at least a look of determination had replaced the unadulterated fear. A soft orange light began to shine down, signalling that the sun was setting and that it would be darker than it already was soon. It gave a sort of ethereal glow to everything, to Akira, whose dark hair and eyes almost glowed in the fading light. She looked up at the fading sliver of light and breathed deeply, calming herself and forcing the pain away, getting herself ready to affront the enemy before absolute darkness encompassed them all.
Akira and Sasuke shared a glance and sprinted together towards their enemy. They had multiple shuriken and kunai in hand, ready to put double the Uchiha power up against the Kusagakure ninja. Simultaneously, the siblings leapt up high and flipped in midair, throwing kunai and shuriken as they spun and crossed over each other. The Kusagakure ninja evaded all the weapons with surprising ease and grace. Akira and Sasuke each landed on a tree on either side of the woman and they pushed off of them, darting like a bullet straight towards her. They both punched and kicked at the same time, slowly readjusting themselves to become less in sync over time, hoping to lower their level of predictability. However, the Kusagakure ninja was fast and proficient in taijutsu. Looking from afar, one would say they were evenly matched, but had the Uchiha's Sharingan been nonexistent or less developed, the fight would have been lost long ago. Then, the woman began moving faster, stretching her body to weave through branches and reach places she normally wouldn't be able to. She was still being countered by the siblings' Sharingan; they could see her moves and anticipate where she was going to place her attacks, but they knew that this advantage may not last for much longer.
Then, the siblings split up. While Sasuke was running up a branch, Akira ran straight at the woman. She and Akira sparred shortly, matching each other's moves until Akira's Sharingan picked up an opening. She faked another hit and as she turned to flip, performed a few hand signs. When she landed to continue her sparring a current of electricity travelled through the branch they were standing on and hit the Kusagakure ninja directly. She was electrocuted and sent flying upwards to where Sasuke was waiting. He grabbed the enemy when she was upside down and pushed off the tree, sending her head crashing into the large tree branches below. Akira watched as the woman's arms went limp and she stopped moving.
Sasuke jumped back to his sister and they stopped to catch their breath, but by no means did they let their guard down. As the siblings were catching their breaths, the woman's body turned to mud.
"Substitution!" Akira yelled.
A rain of kunai and shuriken came flying at her and Sasuke. They dodged quickly and Akira latched onto her brother as he dove off the tree, flinging out wire strings from his sleeves. He swung one cluster of wires over a branch and caught it as it returned, allowing him and Akira to swing around the tree. Barely had they landed did the Kusagakure ninja return, kicking both siblings and sending them both down.
"What a disappointment you turned out to be," the woman said, almost sadly. "Your ancestors weep. The Uchiha clan should thank me for killing you. Silly little worms."
With her back to the Kusagakure ninja, Akira took the opportunity to perform a few hand signs. As the enemy approached, Akira whipped around and violently slammed her palm on the branch just next to her legs. Immediately, the woman's body was illuminated with bright lightning-style chakra. With a yell, the woman was sent flying backwards into a tree and she remained stuck there until Akira released the jutsu or she found a way to break free. With the enemy contained for the foreseeable future, Sasuke wove hand signs. As he performed the Great Fireball Technique, Akira put her index and middle fingers together at her chest, concentrating the chakra that was keeping the enemy at bay.
"Lightning Fire Phoenix!" the siblings shouted together.
Electricity and flames engulfed the Kusagakure ninja and it burst through the back of the tree. The crackling fire and electricity weren't enough to drown the woman's screams and Akira was sure that, no matter where anyone was in the Forest of Death, they could all hear her screams. If asked, Akira would deny enjoying the sound.
Eventually, Sasuke ran out of breath and the fire died down. Akira released her jutsu as well and fell backwards into a sitting position. The siblings were breathing heavily, exhausted. Sakura came over, far too excited about the Uchiha's victory, and held Sasuke up just as he was about to keel over.
"Sasuke, you did it!" she gasped happily. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yeah, sure, I'm fine, thanks for asking," Akira said sarcastically.
"Sarcasm? Right now?"
"When else?"
Just then, the Kusagakure ninja ripped herself from the tree, some of her singed skin staying behind. Akira's looked over, eyes wide. She went to stand, but there was barely enough energy in her to move. She watched as the woman's face began to peel off, revealing pale skin and purple markings around the golden snake eyes.
"No, impossible," Sasuke muttered, struggling to move.
"Such mastery of the Sharingan at such a young age," the Kusagakure ninja said.
As the sentence went on, the hoarse feminine voice slowly turned to the soft malevolent whisper of a man. Despite the venom that was laced in each sound, the voice drew you in with every word.
"You are both true Uchiha, after all. Yes, you'll do nicely... And you are definitely his siblings."
"Don't you dare bring that prick up," Akira said lowly, finally coming to a stand.
"If anything, your eyes are even keener than Itachi's."
"Who are you? What do you want!?" Sasuke shouted.
"My name... is Orochimaru."