A/N: This is the first time I have written a fight scene, it may or may not have worked. This entire chapter is an experiment with a fight scene on many levels. Back in chapter 3, I used Grass ninja, so to keep continuity that Jounin eventually has to show up, but as it turns out, we actually don't know hardly anything about the Grass. There was Orochimaru disguised as a grass and then there is Zetsu. Nothing very useful so far, so this is further from canon than I usually like, but I think I created some techniques and abilities that have the spirit of canon within in them. If it didn't work out, then luckily I only created one big chapter of this, the story will move on with Anko next chapter. If it does, hey let me know.
Reviewers: Once again thanks for the reviews.
Peter Kim: I agree the Akatsuki wouldn't be pleased, but that didn't stop Orochimaru from trying to kill Naruto in the anime/manga either and back then all Naruto did was use Rasengan. Whatever the case, he doesn't seem to agree with their ideals anyway.
sierra mist: I agree with you about OC's, which is why my objective is to make this character as anime-like as possible. Now I did use Grass for some reason back in Chapter 2, so I'm stuck with them, so I have to create some new techniques for him to use, but my objective is to turn this into a wild ninja battle.
Chapter 07 – Nemesis Part 2
"See, I told you. This place is empty," said Pakkun.
The pug dog led the way through silent halls as Kakashi and Naruto followed. Kakashi had his Anbu masked pulled back on, but his Sharingan was covered to reduce the strain on him until it was needed. Kakashi left the robe off, more comfortable now that he could easily reach for his Anbu sword.
Pakkun was correct, the place was too empty and that bothered Kakashi. An A-rank mission to kill a greedy merchant protected by ninja was one thing, but nothing so far had made since. The Grass Genin outside had largely been unorganized and easily killed. He suspected that there were two Jounin and a Genin left, but if he were to organize a bodyguard mission, he would have had one team with their teacher outside and the other inside. Anything else was stupidity or something other than what it seemed.
"It's so quiet, it's creepy," said Naruto.
There should have been at maid here or there, but everywhere they passed was gathering dust. It was as if everyone picked up and left, without even cleaning up after themselves.
Kakashi flexed his fingers, he was one edge more than ever. "Pakkun, you said there was a smell of death coming from the basement. How exactly?"
"The smell of decay," said Pakkun, his gruff voice tinged with sadness. "There are dead bodies down there, I'm sure of it."
Naruto's eyes shut tightly and he gripped a kunai in his hand tighter in a mixture of grief and anger. "They're dead?"
Kakashi kept a careful eye on the teenager. "Why would a merchant kidnap people from the village? Why would he go through the trouble of hiring Grass ninja? I'm sure they aren't involved, not in a village so close to the border of Fire and Rice Field, its almost as if they were a cover for what is really going on here."
"The old woman Tsunade sent Anbu to the village," Naruto told him. "But they had to take Jiraiya's remains back."
"Anbu were here?" Naruto nodded yes. "If Hokage-sama suspected something then I'm more than certain this mission is no longer valid."
"We can't just leave! What if someone is alive?"
"True, and I won't be happy with the status of the mission until I find out what happened to the merchant. However, this village is on the border. A merchant like this man would have several trade routes into the Rice Field Country. Our knowledge about what Orochimaru is doing inside the Hidden Village of Sound is still as small as it was three years ago. I can't rule out Sound involvement here."
Naruto walked ahead, with an unhappy expression on his face. Perhaps he had hoped to be the hero and return the missing people alive and well back to the village. To find out otherwise must have been crushing.
Pakkun suddenly lifted his head and sniffed the air. "Naruto, stop!"
Naruto stopped and looked back while Kakashi moved ahead to get in front of him.
Kakashi looked around carefully, the hallway was about to end, and he could see it lead to a stairway that led into a huge foyer. He listened carefully, but could only hear flowing water. "What is it?"
"I smell someone, alive."
Kakashi carefully stepped into the foyer: a large room two stories high of open space. There were two huge marble staircases on each side leading down to the bottom and in the middle of the room was a large, pristine-white water fountain. The sound of water came from the fountain, it was still pouring water up into the air and splashing back down in a continuous stream. The entrance was made of glass windows and doors and nearby was several large, tall potted plants, probably the only other thing still living in the mansion.
The individual Pakkun smelled was actually sitting peacefully on the edge of the fountain, resting a hand in the cool water. It was a man about Kakashi's height, wearing a light green kimono with a dark green Grass Village symbol on each shoulder and on center of the back. Strapped to his face, over long wisps of gray hair, was a crude unpainted gray mask with simple slots for his eyes and mouth. Propped against his side was a wooden cane, its top was wider than the bottom beginning with a width as wide as a hand.
"Takegaki?"
"Eh, Do you know him Kakashi-sensei?"
Kakashi didn't both to look at Naruto as he calmly walked down the stairs. The wall of the room was to his right and from that direction, he could only see the other man's arm dipped into the water. "We fought once, let me take care of this."
"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto called back, but he felt Pakkun nudge him in the leg.
"Naruto, don't get into the way. That man hates Kakashi, he was once an elite Jounin of the Hidden Village of Grass."
"Once?"
The man called Takegaki stood up, as if waiting for Kakashi. From the new angle, Naruto could see the right sleeve of the man's kimono was empty.
"Until Kakashi cut off Takegaki's arm. For many, a ninja with only one arm is not a ninja. If you can no longer perform hand seals, your effectiveness is nearly gone unless your a taijutsu type."
Naruto started down the steps with Pakkun following, but he kept a distance behind Kakashi. A part of him wanted to be right at Kakashi's side. Only a few days ago he lost one teacher and didn't want it to happen again, but there was tension in the air. There was clearly history between the two, with the man's killing intent and Kakashi's calm acceptance of it.
The Grass ninja finally spoke, but his voice seemed more muffled behind his mask than Kakashi's. His voice had an edge, as if each word were dipped in hate. "Copy Ninja Kakashi, it's been a long time."
"Yes, it has. Tell me, what's going on here? As strange as it seems for Grass ninja to be involved in whatever has befallen this place, I wouldn't have imagined you fell as well."
"I…can't…say." His voice was harsh suddenly as if he really couldn't say. "But know this, despite the situation I will still take my revenge on you! If I still had my arm then perhaps I could have saved my students and my friend from dying for nothing but the ambitions of another village!"
Takegaki raised his hand up, showing the palm to Kakashi. "Do you see this?" They could see a large seed grafted to his palm; flesh and roots hand blended together. "I have prepared this for my revenge for years, moving my chakra into this seed, slowly transforming it into a weapon.
He moved his palm, almost as if to hold the seed as a soft blue glow gathered as he concentrated his chakra further into his palm.
"What is he doing?" asked Naruto, curious since he was someone with experience with gathering chakra in his palm, although what he saw was nothing like Rasengan, he could see the beginning streams of chakra pouring out of the man's hand.
Pakkun spoke softly. "Grass ninja used techniques that can convert chakra into the power of life, they can accelerate growth in any plants, seeds are common items they use to begin their techniques, but I've never seen something like this before."
"NOW DIE!"
Takegaki charged toward Kakashi with incredible speed. He ran well despite the presence of a cane nearby and had his hand set not unlike how Kakashi ran with the Chidori, but the chakra around the seed was still blue and not a copy of Kakashi's technique just a copy of the execution.
Kakashi was unfazed. He calmly watched Takegaki quickly approach him, knowing just like the Chidori, a high speed thrust like that had a weakness. Takegaki couldn't see his counteraction and thus it would fail.
However, Naruto watched all this in horror. From his perspective, Kakashi wasn't doing anything to avoid an attack the other man claimed would kill him.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto instantly focused his chakra into his legs giving him enhanced speed for just a moment. His panic fueled his speed as he got in front of Kakashi to knock him out of the way. With his speed he also believed he had also made it clear from Takegaki's attack.
"Idiot! I could have avoided that myself!" yelled Kakashi.
Naruto didn't even have to time to defend himself as he watched a root launch from the seed in Takegaki's palm and stab him lightning quick, strangely in that moment he was reminded of a frog's tongue striking out at a nearby fly.
"I…thought I avoided it…too." Naruto gritted his teeth from sharp pain as he gripped his left leg. He watched as the seed left Takegaki's palm and pull itself into his legs by the razor sharp root and it all happened so fast that he couldn't stop it.
"Fool," said Takegaki. "Do you think I thought you couldn't avoid a simple seed? I knew you would try Kakashi, but my Death Seed Bullet used its razor sharp roots to attach itself to its nearest victim. Sadly, it wasn't you, but it seems you are concerned for the boy…perhaps I will enjoy watching you as he slowly dies!"
Kakashi quickly pulled out a kunai, prepared to cut off the seed from its roots, but when lifted up Naruto's pant leg, he found only a bloody gash.
"The Death Seed Bullet uses its roots to crawl further inside its victim." Takegaki spoke calmly as he slowly walked back to the fountain toward his cane. "It will continue to crawl, seeking the heart! I wanted to watch you slowly die, just as you had left me years ago. You should have killed me!"
"Perhaps now I will correct the situation," said Kakashi as he gripped the handle to his sword tightly, prepared to draw it out.
"Yes, you will try, because the only way to stop that seed from killing your companion is to kill me. It is tied to my chakra. Once I die it will stop, but I warn you. I will not die easily!" Takegaki, reached back, picked up his cane, and leaned on it with his only hand.
"Then it should not be difficult," said Kakashi. "As I remember it, you were a ninjutsu user and very skilled with a sword, but I don't see your blade on you now. What hope do you have to fight me?"
"More than even your Sharingan can see!"
Takegaki raised his cane up in the air. "This will be enough." His thumb pushed down on something and suddenly three spring-loaded blades, a foot long and double sided, released from inside the cane. One was straight while the others snapped down to form a cross-guard. He twirled in around with a single hand and then held it one-handed like a short spear, with the wooden cane part resting along his stretched out arm, leaving no doubt to his skill with the custom weapon.
"Very well." Kakashi unsheathed his sword. "Pakkun, Naruto, your in the way."
Pakkun bit down on the cuff of Naruto's sleeve and pulled, encouraging him to move away despite the pain in his leg. Naruto finally collapsed on the first steps of the staircase they came from, screaming in pain, horrified to realize the pain was slowly traveling up.
The whistle through the air and the gleam of a sharpened blade, the two blades smashed down on each other. Kakashi's vertical cut was easily caught against the upper blade and cross-guard of Takegaki's weapon.
Kakashi hopped back, only to be followed by a thrust from Takegaki's spear and then another, each time Kakashi dodged out of the way, left then right then after the third he made a downward swing to prevent from being gutted, blocking the spear aside and letting it slide past him.
With the spear extended past him, he turned his sword and swung up, only for Takegaki to dodge out of the way this time, but he also quickly spun around, slicing the spear through the air in a complete circle. Kakashi managed to raise his sword high and block the spear from cutting his head off.
The blades went back and forth: swing, parry, swing, dodge, and swing. Kakashi leapt back and moved one hand free from his sword, pulled a kunai from his holster quickly, and threw it, but once it reached Takegaki, he easily blocked it with the broad side of his weapon.
The fight was getting nowhere. Despite only having one arm, Takegaki's weapon had a long reach that could keep him at bay, but the man was also incredibly fast at swinging the weapon even in one hand that he could block anything that could get through.
He knew he needed ninjutsu, but it was hard to let go of his sword long enough to use both hands before Takegaki reached him, swinging the spear.
Another one of Naruto's screams told him he needed to hurry.
Kakashi ducked under a wide swing and managed to back flip out of the way of the returning swing. He landed on the edge of the water fountain, dropped his sword, and made a hand seal.
Hiding Mist Technique.
Mist rose from the water and filled the foyer instantly. He could no longer see Takegaki, but on the other hand nor could Takegaki see him. He performed another hand seal then after grabbing his sword, he moved again to hide his position. This time he would have to use his hearing more than eyes to find his opponent.
"Using the water in the fountain for you water technique? I hadn't thought of that. I thought we were equally disadvantaged being inside and away from the elements."
Kakashi turned in the direction of Takegaki's voice. He held his sword out in a vertical defensive stance, ready to attack if needed.
"Trying to hide your position? Unfortunately, this won't work on me!"
Kakashi heard the blade rather than saw it, but still he came dangerously close to it as it swung toward him. He dodged to Takegaki's left, assuming the man couldn't maneuver his spear that direction quick enough without his other hand.
His assumption was wrong as the spear plunged into his chest!
He could hear liquid pour onto the ground as the blade twist within him before everything went dark.
Kakashi could feel the water clone disappear, while pondering its last moments.
That shouldn't have happened.
The water fountain was large, but it certainly wasn't a river or a lake. He didn't have the skill to create a water attack out of thin air and required actual water for his water techniques, but there wasn't enough water in the fountain for a powerful attack.
However, it was more than enough to create a water clone that was meant to probe Takegaki's weakness, but only found a new strength instead.
"Takegaki, how did you attack from that side so fast?"
"An unwanted gift, one with a too high of price that was take from me rather than paid!" Kakashi heard the voice and looked around. Takegaki was close and he could see the faint form of the other man in the mist.
"What?"
"Shall I show you, so you fully understand?"
Kakashi used his speed and skill to get behind Takegaki. With a kunai in his hand he reached around, ready to slash through Takegaki's throat instantly. "That won't be necessary." The kunai slid easily through the old man's throat.
However, the moment he did so he knew something was wrong. His kunai passed through nothing but the stems and leaves of plants and Takegaki's "body" fell to the ground in a misshapen lump of plants.
"Grass Clone? But how?" Kakashi realized just as he used the water from the fountain for a water clone, Takegaki used the plants near the entrance, but it took two hands to perform a technique and Takegaki only had one. Did Takegaki learn one-handed seals?
Kakashi waited and listened, very much aware that Takegaki had created a clone to bait him much like he had. He was careful not to be a victim of the silent homicide attack too.
Yet, Takegaki had other plans.
Kakashi heard a loud clap. The sound of two hands clapping, "No, not possible!"
"Summoning: Building Destroyer Technique!"
At that moment, the entire mansion went into chaos.
There wasn't even the white smoke common with a summoning. Instead, huge vines burst through the ground, each tipped with giant razor sharp thorns. The sound of stone being crushed and crumbled into dust was deafening. There were huge stems of some giant plant, rising up with covered in spines, rising so fast Kakashi had to hurl out of the way in order not to be impaled or ripped into shreds. He used his sword to cut away any incoming vines as he found himself cornered against stone walls.
When it was over, Kakashi had the feeling he was sitting in a forest made of giant plants rather than trees.
He looked over the staircase in concern, but thankfully, Naruto had crawled to the top with Pakkun, but now he was clutching his stomach in pain. The Death Seed Bullet was still moving and now things had gotten worse.
"How were you able to do this with one hand?" he asked. His mist was largely dissipated by now and he could see Takegaki standing on a huge leaf. His spear was held in place harmlessly under the belt of his kimono with the blades sheathed, reverting it back to an ordinary looking cane.
"I didn't…not with one hand," said Takegaki as his left sleeve suddenly moved as an arm pulled its way through it. He adjusted his kimono with both hands, removing the extra room that he left to hide his new left arm.
With the left hand next to the right, Kakashi could see they were different. The left arm was much more light colored than the rest of his skin and the proportion was slightly off, but still Kakashi realized he must have been able to perform a hand seal with it.
Naruto screamed into the new silence and Kakashi looked over, realizing it was going to take a lot longer than he thought.
"What is this?" Kabuto desperately hacked through growing vines with a kunai in each hand.
"The old man is doing better than I thought," smiled Orochimaru. "I thought after all these years his techniques would be rusty, nor would he have the stamina left after everything we did to him." He was doing better than his subordinate was as he had the sword Kusanagi in his hand, swinging in wide, graceful movements. True to one of its names, the Grasscutter, the sword sliced through the vines and leaves with little difficulty. "I suspect this is one of his summoning techniques, a giant plant of some kind."
"This plant is destroying this basement!"
"It does not matter anymore, these corpses have outlived their usefulness, and the trap is almost ready. We would have left this place soon anyway."
"Just who is that Grass ninja to have summoned something like this? Why did we give him that arm?"
"One of the elite of the Grass, until Kakashi was lucky enough to cut off his arm. As someone who can understand the loss of one's hands, I can understand what fuels his revenge. Perhaps, I wanted him to see his revenge before he died."
"Then Kakashi has a chance."
"Kakashi has none, because we also gave Takegaki a new vision that will make him more deadly than ever." Orochimaru's evil laughter echoed through the basement as he looked back to the remains of the other Grass Jounin missing an arm and a Grass Genin missing his eyes.
Naruto gave Pakkun a weak smile. The pug dog looked at him with a worried expression, things were getting worse for Kakashi, not easier and judging by the pain growing closer to his chest, Naruto didn't have much time.
He placed his hands together and concentrated as he allowed Kyuubi's red chakra, slowly flow through his body and heal the wounds. He could access the red chakra instantly now, typically when he was angry, but combining it with chakra molding exercises, he learned back in the Academy he could calmly heal most wounds. Even now the gash in his leg was gone and likely the trail the Death Seed Bullet left as it traveled its way through his flesh and blood, but it wasn't enough to stop the seed alone.
However, if he concentrated, he could actually heal himself before the seed could even move, forcing it to nearly stop. No matter how much its root cut into the flesh ahead of it, the flesh was healed before the seed had a chance. With luck, it would slow it down long enough for Kakashi to win.
Yet, in the back of his mind he could feel Kyuubi's rage, the unlimited animal-like aggression wanting to rise within him and react with its first instinct. Naruto struggled to force those emotions down, fearing he may loose himself.
Kakashi jump down from one of the tall vines and he knew instantly that he was in trouble. His feet didn't land with the hardness of the stone floor, but softness of tall grass and soil. Takegaki now had a huge arsenal to fuel his techniques.
That summoning was really to bring the grass to him, not to cause the destruction that the plant caused.
He removed his Anbu mask and straightened his forehead protector. He was reluctant to use his Sharingan now, he had used his eye too early, wasting it on Genin when he assumed a Jounin may have patrolling outside too. However, he had no choice. Not if he was going to defeat Takegaki in time before it was too late for Naruto.
Just then, a stream shaped like a large dragon made of grass fell toward him. The stream hit an errant vine between him and it, the grass shredded through it like the grass was made of razor sharp blades.
Kakashi moved and ran to the remains of the water fountain. The rising giant plant hadn't completely destroyed it. The water wasn't being pumped into the air anymore, but plenty of water still laid in the fountain itself.
He formed a few quick seals. "Water Element: Water Encampment Wall."
A barrier of water rose up from the water fountain and shielded him just as the incoming stream of razor sharp grass began to strike. The tiny blades of grass hit the water and become useless immediately.
The water from the wall, fell back into the fountain after the grass attack was over. Using the same water, Kakashi performed another set of seals. "Water Element: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
A current of water shaped like a dragon rose from the water. It was more slender than he had used before, the amount of water in the fountain limited its size, instead of the near unlimited water when he used it near a river or lake, but Kakashi knew more than just how to copy a technique, he could also use it skillfully.
He focused his chakra through the smaller amount of water, giving it more force as it blasted through the collection of vines and leaves, clearing a straight path between him and the source of the grass dragon. The other man was expecting the attack as it hit him straight on, but by then it had lost much of its force and only knocked him to his feet, but that was enough.
Kakashi focused his chakra into his hand, until it became visible and releasing the distinctive sound like a thousand birds chirping.
Chidori.
He charged forward, running toward Takegaki, ready to thrust it forward. His Sharingan was already predicting the possible counterattacks and dodges and Kakashi was more than ready for them.
Aim for the heart, end this before its too late.
Takegaki struggled to get up, perhaps now finally showing his age. The wisps of white hair covered his face, but the gray mask fell to pieces around his feet.
He looked up, his face twisted in anger and Kakashi purposely met his look, eye to eye, in some small way respecting one of his most dangerous opponents before he killed him.
It was a mistake…
The eyes he met were not the dark, sharp eyes of the Grass ninja he fought several years ago. Instead, they were mixture of bright red and gold as if they were on fire, bulging out his eye sockets as if they were about to jump out. They were an advance bloodline for sure, but one Kakashi was sure Takegaki didn't have before.
It suddenly occurred to him that he had stopped, that his feet no longer charged forward and that the Chidori had stopped. He was frozen!
It was as if some horrible pressure had glued his feet to the ground yet all he saw were the two burning eyes looking right at him. He couldn't even look away.
His Sharingan was still predicting every future move, but the predictions were useless since he couldn't move himself.
Takegaki slowly started walking toward him, the burning eyes bearing down on him even more. The other man pulled his cane out and let the blades snap back out, but Kakashi couldn't even make his feet move.
"These eyes are a advance bloodline of the Hidden Village of Grass. Not as powerful as your Sharingan, but as you can see, as long as you look into these eyes there is no escape."
"H-How?" he managed. His voice didn't even seem to want to work underneath the penetrating gaze. His body couldn't move, but his Sharingan was still draining chakra, weakening him even further underneath the gaze.
Takegaki spoke softly. "Another unwanted gift. The price was my prized student, the owner of these eyes. I taught him well and I know very well what these eyes are capable of. Remember, I saw right through the mist and found your clone."
Perhaps, Kakashi thought, but if I had two Sharingan eyes that never really deactivated, I wouldn't be able to function unless went around blind. Perhaps he has a weakness and doesn't even realize it. This fight may have already put a strain on him that I can use. If only I could move!
"With the basic abilities of the eyes alone I can finally have my revenge!"
Takegaki pulled back the spear and prepared to thrust it into Kakashi yet all Kakashi could do was stare right into the burning eyes.
"Ah!" Kakashi felt a sharp pain, but not from the spear in front of him. It came from his back.
Takegaki turned is eyes away and looked up. With the burning eyes no longer on him, Kakashi could feel his body sag from no longer being underneath the pressure of that gaze. He looked behind him and saw a shuriken embedded into his back.
"Hey! Kakashi-sensei, wake up!" Naruto's voice was louder than ever as he yelled down the stairs. When he saw Kakashi frozen like that, he used a shuriken to help break him out of the gaze. The combination of pain and the removal of the gaze was enough to free Kakashi. "Wake up and kick his ass!"
"Naruto!" yelled Kakashi. "Don't look into his eyes!"
"Eh?"
"How are you still alive?" asked Takegaki. "Enough time has passed for the Death Seed Bullet to hit your heart."
"Don't underestimate me!" yelled Naruto, but he was careful not to look at Takegaki even the slightest. He saw Kakashi stop right in the middle of Chidori, so he didn't need to be told looking into the other man's eyes was bad. He only watched his own hand clutching his stomach were he could feel the seed beginning to travel up again.
"Don't be a fool!" Takegaki yelled. He held Kakashi at bay with the spear while lecturing Naruto. "I have been apply chakra to that seed for years, slowly evolving it into the perfect weapon that Kakashi couldn't escape. Nothing you can do will stop it."
"Nothing?" From the tone of Naruto's voice, Kakashi knew he took that as personal challenge. Naruto placed his hands in a seal, as if to mold more chakra, but the suddenly the room was filled with an explosion of red chakra.
It was pouring out of him and Naruto's features warped: red eyes, long teeth, and claws instead of nails. The bloodshot red fox-eyes sent shivers down Kakashi's back, they were like Kyuubi's. The foul red chakra in the air didn't help either.
"What is this?" Takegaki yelled, not even paying attention to Kakashi now.
Naruto moved his hands out of the seal and raised one so they both got a clear view of his sharp, clawed fingers…before he plunged his hand into his stomach!
The claws ripped past his own clothes and into his flesh, his own blood spilled to the ground. Naruto reached into his own guts, grabbed the seed, and pulled it and its struggling roots out all at once. He held it up for Takegaki to see, before crushing it in his grip, letting it welt underneath the fiery aura of red chakra.
The hand sized open wound in his stomach slowly closed as flesh whirled together until it left nothing but unbroken skin under the whole in his clothes.
"This horrible chakra? Is this the power of human sacrifice, a Jinchuuriki?"
Kakashi turned back to Takegaki, whose was looking at Naruto now. He pulled the shuriken in his back out and slipped into his pouch. "He is one of my precious students." He quickly unsheathed his sword and made a vertical cut that Takegaki barely caught with his spear. "Naruto, good work. Now I'll finish this."
"You don't have any hope against these eyes!"
"You're new at this, so I'll explain." Kakashi's voice was calm as ever, despite being tired, he focused his thoughts on his new strategy. For the last two and a half years he had been practicing how to fight Itachi and asked Gai to teach him every trick he knew how to fight against a Sharingan. While these eyes weren't the same as the Sharingan, the principle was the same, don't look eye to eye. Takegaki's trick worked once, but it wouldn't work twice.
Takegaki forced his sword down, but he took a step back to free his sword from the reach of the spear and thrust it forward. The spear rose and barely knocked the thrust out of the way.
"I don't know how you got those eyes, but I assume someone with medical-nin abilities implanted them. The problem is an advance bloodline is more than just a body part, even in eyes like ours, they are part of the individual as well. Because of that after using my Sharingan it drains me and I have to keep it covered to keep it from drawing out chakra just for looking at everyday things."
Kakashi moved back a distance, drew three kunai in his hand, and threw them. Takegaki tried to black them, but only managed to block two, the other went into his shoulder.
"If your like me, perhaps you can't turn them off, but unlike me you would have to go around blind to stop them completely. All this time you've been using chakra into those eyes, worse they've been putting a physical strain on you. I imagine like me you are winding down by now, perhaps worse since you have two and you aren't used to the strain like me."
Takegaki pulled the kunai out, blood soaked his kimono. His face had twisted at the thought about having to go around blind, making him less of a ninja than he had been without an arm. "It doesn't matter. I may die today no matter what I do, but I will kill you! When you took my arm you made me into nothing!"
"Whatever happened here goes beyond your revenge. The villagers, your students, even yourself, what happened? Who did this to you?"
Takegaki didn't answer, he merely charged forward with his spear, screaming in rage, a mad feeling over things he could no longer control. Kakashi stood still at first, but as the spear drew closer he then moved past the spear without blocking it in a move that wasn't as simple or graceful as it looked and let Takegaki run right into Kakashi's sword by own charge.
"H-How?" he asked, as blood dripped from his lip, the sword was all the way through his chest.
"Idiot. Even if I was using my sword instead of the Chidori, my Sharingan is still active. I predicted your movement, used my own speed to get inside the opening."
He could have lasted longer, but he got too emotional. What happened here? Who would do this to someone?
Kakashi grabbed the spear and pulled it away from Takegaki's weakening grip as he stepped back, pulling his own sword out of Takegaki simultaneously.
Takegaki fell on the ground, on his knees, his kimono growing redder by the second. All around him, the plants and vines drew away, disappearing back into the ground, leaving only crumbled stone and dust everywhere.
"At least, you didn't take my arm again," the older ninja managed to joke despite the pain. "Make sure, I'm dead this time."
"I will."
"Wait!" Naruto ran up to them with Pakkun following behind him. "What about the people? Did you kill them!"
Takegaki looked away and remained silent.
"No," Kakashi said calmly. "He's as much as a victim here as they were."
"What?"
Takegaki struggled as he put a hand to his head, "It's true, but I still can't say. He…he used…a…" The hand fell, lifeless and limp.
Next Chapter: Silent Death!
Author's Note: No Anko this time. Actually, I was going to have her for a short segment and the Takegaki fight was going to extend into another chapter, but I decided to give Anko an entire chapter dedicated to her and finish this Grass fight in one chapter, in case it isn't popular. So next chapter: Anko versus Mokushi and the one after that is a flashback chapter of Anko's life with the Fourth before he was the Fourth.
Okay, I've made up the grass techniques and the Grass advance bloodline. All of it is based on various anime, bended to work within the real of Naruto. I used grass variations of common techniques we've seen (dragon bullet, walls, clones). I also wanted a bloodline, just to play around with the idea that every village has their own advance bloodlines. With eyes being the more common we've seen, I decided to go with that since it went with the idea that Kabuto could have taken the eyes from one of the students and placed into the Jounin to make him even more dangerous. I was inspired by Gennosuke's eyes in "Basilisk: The Kouga Ninja Scrolls" (another great ninja anime), but they aren't the same thing. I wanted something that could counter the ability of the Sharingan to see counterattacks and dodges when using Chidori. In this case it paralysis so Kakashi could see all the counterattacks and dodges he wanted, he just couldn't move, but just like the Sharingan, it requires looking into the eye and may have really been good for one shot, but as Orochimaru was hoping, that one shot could have been enough to kill Kakashi.
Version 1.1
1.0: Original
1.1: Corrected a mistake, Hidden Village of Sound is in the Rice Field Country, not the Tea Country.