16- The Deadly Oni Tsurugi
Ketsume released the hold on Sharino's neck for a second and she drew a deep breath. Tears were in her eyes; tears caused by the lack of air, and the burning pain at her neck, but also tears of failure.
"Which clan bears the Kagirinai Rensetsu!" he shouted. Sharino glared at him, but was silent. Kenshin had been strong. He had withheld the information, though he surely knew the answer. She had to do the same. As she stared at Ketsume, she saw hope flicker behind him. A familiar figure with a sword.
"Hikoboshi no Mai. Dance of the Altair," said the familiar voice. Ketsume whirled to see Reiboshi standing behind him, the Oni Tsurugi, demon sword, in his hand. His chest was burnt, with a bad wound, but he was alive, and he could still fight.
The blade of the Oni Tsurugi looked to be fluid, changing continuously as Reiboshi fixed his gaze on Ketsume and began to run towards him. Ketsume started to dodge, but Reiboshi swung the sword around to where he was dodging. Ketsume practically fell onto Reiboshi's blade. He could alter it as his will, this time changing the blade to be thin and sharp, cutting straight through Ketsume's neck with the slightest effort.
The Cloud ninja was not to be defeated that easily, though. He had used a Kawarimi, and now appeared on the branch behind him. Reiboshi span around, jumping up into the air.
"Insei no Mai! Dance of the Falling Star," he called as he started falling down towards Ketsume at incredible speed. As he dropped, terrifying phantom flames formed an aura around him. The Oni Tsurugi was held out in front of him, its blade aiming straight at Ketsume's throat.
This time the Cloud Jounin had no way of escaping, but he managed to move just enough that the blade pierced his right shoulder instead of severing his head. He screamed in pain, jumping off the branch away from his two opponents, landing on the ground, forming a technique as he did.
Sharino managed to get to her feet and the two Smoke Jounin jumped away from the incoming lightning strike. They landed together, looking at the Cloud Jounin who still showed no signs of giving up, despite his wounds.
"Reiboshi, summon an Asura," said Sharino. The Asura were the fighting demons. All members of the Yumeda clan with the Kagirinai Rensetsu could summon them to help in battle. Sharino would have summoned Umakaze, but she didn't think she had enough chakra left. Reiboshi shook his head.
"I'm too low on chakra," he said. Sharino cursed, but then a spark of inspiration hit her.
"Then we should use that technique!" she said to him. Reiboshi looked at her and a smile crossed his face.
"Yeah!" he said, nodding. Sharino bit her left-hand thumb and Reiboshi bit his right-hand thumb, drawing blood and swiping a streak of the blood along a tattoo on his left arm. Then, they linked their other hands in a seal they had practiced when Sharino was still a Chuunin but they had never used in battle.
"Ninpou!" they shouted simultaneously, "Kyoudou Ashura Uma Koumajutsu! Joint Asura Horse Demon Invocation." Both slammed their free hands onto the branch in front of them. Around their hands, the black symbols of the Kuchiyose technique appeared, and there in the clearing in front of them, a giant black horse with wings and red eyes was suspended in the air. Still with their hands linked in the seal, Reiboshi and Sharino used their remaining chakra to command the giant demon.
The horse turned its eyes on Ketsume, who couldn't move, transfixed by the stare of the Asura. Then the giant black horse opened its mouth, revealing two rows of sharp white teeth. The demon horse seemed to take a deep breath. When it breathed out again, a fire came with it that was far hotter than any Katon jutsu could be, and far more devastating. The flames licked around the Cloud ninja and he screamed in pain as the flames burnt the flesh from his bones.
Sharino and Reiboshi stood on their branch, shielding their heads from the hot wind and smoke generated by the fire.
Eventually, it subsided, and they dropped to the ground. The demon horse vanished, returning to whatever dimension it had come from, but it was no longer needed. Barely more than a roughly human-shaped pile of ash, Ketsume was well and truly dead. Sharino retrieved her Katana and sheathed it, then, arms around each other for support, the two Smoke Jounin slowly made their way back to the clearing where Kakashi and Genma had fought.
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Sasuke and Naruto looked worn out, Kakashi thought, as he looked his Genin over. He went over to them, to check that they were not seriously harmed.
"Are you all ok?" he asked. Naruto smiled and laughed.
"I'm totally fine!" he said. Kakashi smiled. Sasuke and Sakura just nodded.
"It's over now. I'm going to stay out here to check there are no more, and to find Sharino and Reiboshi. You three go back to the Smoke village and let them know they're safe."
"Yes, sir," said Sakura. They stood up and left the clearing.
Genma walked over to Kakashi, and they stood for a moment looking at the body of Jirou. They were about to start off towards where Sharino and Reiboshi had gone, when they heard a voice behind them.
"Kakashi," shouted Gai, rushing into the clearing and laying the unconscious Smoke ninja on the ground. Kakashi and Genma rushed to their side, quickly assessing her situation. Genma plucked some bandages out of his pouch and tried to bind the wounds, but she had already lost a lot of blood.
"We need to get her to a hospital right away," he said, looking at the ninja's pale face.
"Isako!" Sharino shouted, seeing what had happened as she entered the clearing and breaking away from Reiboshi's supporting arm to rush to her sisters' side. "What happened," she asked, looking over the wounds.
"One of the Jounin among the missing nin managed to separate her from the group. We don't know what happened, but we found her like this and he was gone." Reiboshi appeared at their side.
"Sharino," he said. "Umakaze could get her to the hospital in time," he said. Sharino looked at him, knowing that he was right but also knowing that she had little chakra left, barely enough to summon a miniature pony.
"I don't know if I can. I used the Goken Toujin. I don't have enough chakra." Reiboshi looked at her. He would have helped her if he could, but he only had a contract with the Asura and could not summon Umakaze for her, or even help her to. Their special joint summon was only possible through his contract with the Asura and hers with the horses.
"You have to try," he said, looking at her. "You didn't think you could use the Goken Toujin when you first became a Chuunin," he said. Sharino looked at him, the memory coming clearly to her mind of the first time, with Reiboshi's help and training that she had used the Goken Toujin technique.
>>>
Three years ago"This is a very special Katana, Sharino, where did it come from?" said Reiboshi when his excited friend and student had showed it to him.
"From the Kazekage. He gave it to my father for me when I was five," she replied. Reiboshi was examining the blade carefully.
"I believe I can train you to use it," he said, handing it back to her, hilt first. "That is why you came, isn't it?" he said. She grinned.
"You're the only one I know in the village who uses Katana techniques," she said. Reiboshi smiled, then nodded. He told her how to hold the Katana, forming a hand seal around the hilt, so that it would be easier to push her chakra into the blade.
"Will I have enough chakra? My father said I might not yet," she said, concentrating. Reiboshi smiled.
"You do. I believe in you." She looked at him with wide green eyes, then nodded, closing her eyes again and concentrating on flowing her chakra into the Katana blade. Slowly, the symbols on the blade lit up, gold. He smiled.
"Now," he said, pointing at a nearby tree. "Focus on whatever element you wish to release, and strike." Sharino walked slowly up to the tree, holding the Katana up in front of her. She paused a moment, bringing the Katana to an easier position to swing at the tree, and she concentrated hard.
"Doton!" she shouted. As she swung at the tree, a thin line of mud fell from the blade, hardly doing anything except making pattering noises on the dry earth below. She looked at Reiboshi for guidance.
"More, Sharino. You have more chakra than that. Believe in yourself!" She nodded, once more bringing the sword around to swing, gripping it tightly in both hands.
"Doton!" she shouted a second time, but this time as she swung into the tree trunk, an enourmous release of Earth sprang from the blade, cutting through the tree more than the Katana itself, forcing its way through the wood and bark. Sharino and Reiboshi jumped backwards as the tree buckled and fell.
"See, Sharino. You have enough!" Reiboshi said, laughing. His student smiled at him.
>>>
Sharino looked at Reiboshi, seeing the belief in his eyes, then she looked at her sister, lying, bleeding in the dirt: Dying. She bit at her thumb, reopening the previous wound. She made the seals and stared at Isako as she tried to gather all the chakra she had, summoning strength from every part of her.
"Kuchiyose no jutsu!" she shouted, her hand reaching the Earth. She didn't know how she had done it, but Umakaze stood in front of her.
She quickly explained to the horse what was needed, and gathered Isako into her arms, mounting the summoned horse and rushing her on towards the Smoke village. The Leaf ninja watched her go.
"Sharino has a larger supply of chakra than she thinks she does," said Reiboshi, explaining to Kakashi as the grey haired ninja gave him an inquisitive look. "She often holds back because she doesn't believe in herself." Kakashi nodded.
"No doubt because of her father," said Kakashi.
"Yes. Something like that," Reiboshi replied. Nearby, Gai's Genin were also staring after Sharino, somewhat awed by her ability to summon strength even through exhaustion. Only Neji looked unimpressed, but of course his eyes had already allowed him to see something of her chakra capacity.
"Sharino-san sure is strong," said Tenten. Gai smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, his eyes still looking at the trail of dust left by the Summoning's hoof beats.
"One day you could be as strong as her," he said to his female Genin. Tenten smiled. Neji grunted, his eyes closed as he refuted his Sensei's words.
"Sharino is a genius of her clan. She cannot be surpassed by one who is not a genius," he said.
"Yes she can! A genius can be defeated through hard work, and one day I will prove that to you!" Lee shouted. Gai looked at his two Genin and wondered. It was almost certain that, for the moment at least, Neji was the strongest in body, the genius of the Hyuuga clan. Lee's attempts at fighting him had all failed, often ending with the adorable Taijutsu specialist being badly hurt. Without Lee using his forbidden techniques and thus damaging himself, Neji would win. But Lee had never once let the Hyuuga's comments stop him or bring him down. It was much more debatable which was the strongest of mind.