Chapter 91
Wills of Fire Burning Part 1: A Bright and Beautiful Bloom!
"I thought I caught your scent. But what are you doing here, Mimi?" Kiba sounded relieved and surprised. "I thought you were on border patrol."
Mimi didn't dare to take her eyes off the double-headed ogre in front of her, whose sharpened teeth protruded monstrously from their pitch black lips, lips which were torn from ear to ear on their elongated jaws; whose grey hair went beyond shoulder-length, covering one eye each, revealing a single yellow orb on top of a black sclera; who wielded hideous horns protruding from their foreheads.
Damn, they're ugly.
According to Genma and Raidō, these guys were the fastest of the Sound Four, capable of separating without anyone even realizing they had until far too late. She couldn't afford to let her attention be drawn away from them.
"I was. But then a Crow told me all of you boys were having a party. Decided I'd show you underage lightweights what a real party looks like," she snarled, a result of her transformation and built up anger. The furious red chakra lashed off her.
"Underage lightweights? Hey! You're underage, too, you know! Mom and Hana would kill us both if they caught either of us near alcohol!"
"For Kami's sake," she hissed. "Are you seriously getting caught up on a joke right now, Kiba? Get your head in the game!"
"Uh, ri- right. Sorry."
One or both of these two hideous fiends commanded the Sound Four. They were the ones who led the attack on Sasuke and Amari to begin with. And now they were the ones who tried to kill her cousin and Akamaru.
According to her meticulous calculations and detailed ledger, they owed her an insurmountable debt of blood.
A debt she intended to collect to their final droplet of blood.
"Would you look at that, Ukon. Another gnat has come to die."
"Don't lose focus, Sakon. We don't have time to play around."
Mimi grinned nastily, slit pupils malevolent. "I'm not here to play around, either. I'm here to kill you."
The double-headed ogre hurled itself off the ground, through the air and after Mimi. The Inuzuka's first instinct was to leap out of the way, use Man Beast Clone for Aoko to transform, and then drill the pair from the air. But retreat wasn't an option.
If she moved, they'd just go after Kiba instead, who sat on the pebbled earth behind her, beaten up and exhausted; in fact, she'd bet that was what they expected her to do.
It was her pleasure to disappoint them.
Molding her chakra in her stomach, Mimi weaved handseals, chest expanding as she prepared her attack.
Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!
The powerful torrent shot a sharp line straight for the conjoined twins. Suddenly, they separated like sliced bread, becoming two regular, ugly ogres rather than one single fiend. Sakon and Ukon dashed in separately from both her sides. Mimi held her position, relying on her enhanced hearing and sense of smell to track them.
"Here they come!" Aoko warned.
The Inuzuka rolled her upper body beneath a flying kick from Ukon, pivoted on her feet and quickly rose, parrying away Sakon's punch with a well-timed counter. She entered his personal space, using his right knee as a springboard for a two pronged attack. With pure fury and strength behind her foot, she kicked the Sound Four leader in the chest, the power behind the blow sending him flying into the cliff wall enclosing the battlefield on her left side. The stone ruptured.
As she kicked, the Inuzuka moved into her second attack. Rotating through the air, she opened both of her fists to use her sharp, elongated claws. Ukon, she had sensed, was already on her. He grinned fiendishly as he closed in on his floating prey—prey he believed was helpless.
"Aoko!"
The ninken launched from her head, growling and snarling nastily. Her faithful companion's sharpened teeth punctured into Ukon's bare forearm; the momentum of her launch, combined with the ninken's shredding bite, forced their enemy's arm down and away from his intended target. It also tore a satisfying yell of agony out of him.
Ukon was wide open. Mimi slashed her claws down his face and chest as she landed. Flesh tore beneath her claws, burying an assortment of blood and tissues beneath her nails she wasn't looking forward to cleaning out. Ukon screamed and cursed her, hands instinctively reaching up to grab at the wounds on his face and through his eyes.
She slashed again, this time horizontally and rapidly over his abdomen and chest. Clawing, scratching and snarling, she tore apart Ukon's flesh as Aoko writhed and tore at the limb she was attached to.
Mimi's ears perked up. She curled her hand into a fist, dashed in low and crushed Ukon's abdomen with the oxygen depriving blow. Aoko tore a chunk of flesh off his arm as she removed herself.
Spinning on the pebbled earth, the Inuzuka was too late to fully evade Sakon's attack. His foot collided against her arms, held up in a guard over her chest. Instantly she could tell it would be a massive bruise. The attack forced her off her feet, into the air briefly, but Mimi landed on her feet and dug her heels in.
Ukon launched in from behind. She blocked a punch from him, evaded her upper body out of the way of another attack from Sakon then ducked rapidly. The kunoichi slammed her elbows into their abdomens. They slammed their knees into her jaw.
The Inuzuka threw herself into a backwards roll, using the momentum of their attack to her advantage to evade. Rolling onto all-fours, a trail of blood dripping off her chin from her bitten lip, Mimi grinned viciously. Sakon and Ukon had rejoined as one body. Their wounds were healing right before her eyes.
"I'll tear the flesh from your body until there isn't anything left for you to regenerate!"
She vanished when they blinked. The lashing red bundle of fury reemerged behind them, claws gouging flesh from their right leg. Spinning on her toes, she equipped two kunai, slashing both over the entire length of their backs as they collapsed to one knee.
"Aoko!"
One kunai flew into the air, flipping end over end. The black fur ninken leaped onto her companion's shoulder then into the air, teeth clutching around the hilt. Aoko corkscrewed her small body as she flew over the pair and threw the blade with precision. Sakon and Ukon spun on the ground, ducking their shared body beneath the blade aimed straight for Ukon's head, and kicked Mimi's heels out from beneath her.
Annoying bastards!
The Inuzuka rotated her body and managed to catch herself on her left hand. She carried herself fluidly through the movement back onto her feet. Sakon and Ukon closed in. To parry and block their normal attack was no challenge; Might Guy was her sensei and he had shown her true power and speed time and time again, forcing her to build herself up to a level where she could fight on the front-lines even as a medic.
However, evasions and parries meant nothing when fists and feet materialized from anywhere in their body. It took all of her enhanced speed and perception to hold her own against the Sound shinobi twins. But for every blow they landed, the Inuzuka ensured she carved her blade deep into their flesh.
Mimi evaded back, feet carrying her in a retreat towards the stream. At that moment, Sakon's half prepared to punch. Her eyes couldn't perceive the other two arms, but her ears could hear the wind rippling beneath the other two rapidly punching fists.
Caught in the midst of blocking Ukon's side, there was only one real option. She spun her kunai from reverse grip into a normal grip and stabbed for her target. Two of the three fists landed, and the power behind them guaranteed instant bruising to her side. The kunoichi turned her stumble into a full retreat onto the surface of the water.
Sakon growled angrily. "You little mutt."
The kunai was impaled directly between the knuckle of his pointer and middle finger, all the way through to the wrist. Blood poured from the wound. A normal person would've been screwed, losing the ability to use that hand altogether. But not these shinobi. No, these shinobi's regenerative abilities guaranteed recovery. For now.
Aoko rushed to Mimi's side.
"Their regenerative abilities are incredible. We need a different tactic."
"Don't worry, Aoko. I know what I'm doing," Mimi replied in calm fury. "Save your strength for now. We'll start using combos soon."
Ukon pulled the blade from his brother's hand and immediately threw it at the kunoichi. Mimi simply dodged her head out of the way and began to weave handseals. Aoko recognized them immediately. The ninken grinned.
"Your new Water Jutsu, huh? Their pain will be exquisite."
"Hehehe!" the Inuzuka chuckled nastily. "Let's see how you like your flesh being torn apart by a pack of hungry wolves!
"Water Style: Feast of the Water Wolves!"
From the stream, six wolves constructed of water rose, eyes golden. The pack padded off the water and onto land. Their slow advance quickened until the wolves were at a full sprint. Sakon and Ukon evaded the first wolves pouncing attack by jumping back. The second attack they evaded out of the way of.
Foolishly, they struck the wolf to destroy it. Their arm tore through the center of the Water Wolf. It collapsed into a puddle.
Every inch of the arm to touch the water was coated in blood—their own blood.
"What th—"
Distracted by the pain and the sudden injuries, Ukon and Sakon failed to see the two wolves sprinting in behind them, diving headfirst at the pair and crashing themselves into their back. The wolves became mere puddles. And the shared back of the Sound shinobi—as well as their shirt—was torn apart as if they used sea barnacles as an exfoliator.
They hissed and hunched forward, now acutely aware of the danger of her new jutsu. Every wolf was constructed from water she sharpened to act as a blade. Attacking or being attacked by the wolves would tear open flesh, which made destroying them at a distance the only feasible and safe way to negate the jutsu.
I've only been able to use this jutsu when I have a water source. Mimi squinted as a Water Wolf smashed itself into the ground after a well-timed evasion. And six is as many I can make in one go. I can't risk repeated use of this jutsu. I can't waste all of my chakra battling these guys.
I have to work with my comrades to end them. It's the only way I can fulfill my duty as a squad leader and a medic.
Her enemy's changed course, evading back then circling right, closer to the nearby stream and farther from the cliff wall. Of the final two wolves, only one was able to land a glancing blow; fragile flesh was torn open by the blow. Yet the Sound shinobi showed signs of recovery.
They glanced at her. Then at Kiba, who remained seated, watching his cousin battle in awe.
Mimi's eyes sharpened. The red bullet dashed over the battlefield, sliding to a halt in front of her cousin, hands already weaving new handseals. Sakon and Ukon were rushing in.
Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!
The kunoichi unleashed another sharp blade of water. This time the twins didn't separate. They evaded and dashed in a half circle. The sharpened stream sheared off a part of a boulder and carved a line through the earth, chasing them, hunting their flesh.
Keep them back. Keep them fighting her battle, not theirs. In close-quarters, they held the advantage today. Their strange ability to summon their spare arms and legs from any point of their body changed everything; it provided them the ability to counter-strike in ways no normal human could.
Even with her enhanced speed and senses, it'd be a losing battle.
Then there was the other facet of their abilities beyond speed and their kekkei genkai: Physical strength. That Curse Mark of theirs augmented and increased their natural strength and speed to inhuman levels. For every blow they landed, the kunoichi would steadily slow down, lose steam, weakening her and, inevitably, irritating the Inuzuka into a blind rage.
Mimi cut off her stream and glanced back at Kiba.
"We've both gotta fight, Kiba. I need you on your feet!"
Plus, these two were brothers who shared the same body. Their synchronization and cooperation were on the level of Inuzuka's and the Ino-Shika-Chō trios.
She needed Kiba's and Akamaru's help to finish this fast. Time was ticking. The Slacker and the Goofball could need immediate medical attention. And with the threat of the Stone looming over them…
"But nothing I did even made a dent," Kiba replied, frustrated. "Jus— You're stronger than me anyways. I'd just get in your way at this point."
Mimi hissed out an enraged breath and drew her eyes back to her enemy. Of all the stupid things… He was having a crisis of ego now?! They didn't have time for this!
Where was his fire? She swore he'd found it after she and Amari showed him their full strength. Kiba had finally seemed to get his head on straight. He seemed to find the focus that helped him excel in the Academy and stick right behind the top two students of his class—Amari and Sasuke.
But against the toughest opponent of his life he was what, giving up? Because this guy had unnatural abilities? Because she was here? The little runt. This wasn't the time to feel sorry for himself or suffer from an inadequacy dilemma. This was a life or death battle, for Kami's sake!
"Kiba," she growled lowly. "Get off your ass and fight!"
Sakon and Ukon were on her again. Mimi unleashed a surge of chakra from her hands and feet, springing up into the air while also launching at her enemies. She threw herself into rapid rotation.
"Tunneling Fang!"
Flesh shredded beneath her claws, but as she passed over their heads her rotation ended abruptly—against her will. Hands materialized out her enemy's back, snatching her wrists. The bastards.
Let's see how you like this! Feeling herself be wrenched towards the earth, Mimi dug her claws into their wrist and, with sharpened teeth, bit down on the closest arm. One of the brothers screeched unpleasantly, an ear wrecking soprano.
She tore a chunk of flesh out of their forearm—a large chunk of red, tender, revolting flesh. It made them release her, which was her intention, even if her stomach was churning unpleasantly.
Mimi flipped onto her feet. Spat out the horrid tasting flesh and the blood of her enemy. Strung together several colorful curses. Then tried wiping her tongue over her mesh long sleeve.
It didn't help.
"She bit me! She bit me!" roared Sakon.
Mimi spat more of their blood out of her mouth.
"Gah! Do you even bathe, you rancid freak!"
"Perhaps leave the flesh biting to me," Aoko chortled at her, running up beside her. The little traitor.
Yeah. She wasn't going to do that again anytime soon. Mimi spat again. Fought the churn of her stomach. Then decided to wash her mouth out with a Water Bomb Jutsu, doubling it as a direct attack on her enemy.
Sakon and Ukon evaded into the sky. Perfect. Now they were helpless, unable to change course or attack.
Aoko jumped onto her back. Mimi brought her hands into Tiger.
"Man Beast Clone!"
Aoko transformed into a carbon copy of her companion, settled in a crouch on her back.
"Let's go, Aoko!"
"Right!"
The pair shot into the sky, rapid spirals of shredding claws targeted on the flying enemy. Flesh was torn, clothing ripped as the Inuzuka duo passed by. However, fast punches coming in triplets connected against her body.
Mimi snarled and winced, but the red tornado kept speed. The two spiraling Inuzuka's changed direction in air and charged after their prey again. Gravity was tugging Sakon and Ukon back to earth, back towards a solid foundation from which to attack from; they'd do everything possible to avoid jumping again, which meant this next attack had to hurt them.
They were preparing to counter again. Their speed, their extra limbs and their body's ability to regenerate from wounds without Medical Ninjutsu afforded them the ability to counterattack, even at the cost of deep scratched and gouges.
Looking at this objectively, a close-quarters battle between them would be a Pyrrhic victory for her. That's why she needed Kiba to get his head back in the game. Their cooperative attacks and numbers could deal more damage to their enemies while receiving less damage themselves.
Aoko zipped by first, tearing past their right side. She landed on all-fours and skidded in a half-circle to face the falling enemy again.
"Let's see how you like being kicked by three legs, you annoying mutt!" Ukon yelled.
Mimi grinned. Idiots. Did they really think she'd just attack them head-on with no plan?
She sped through handseals as she drilled closer. Closer.
Point blank range.
Mimi ended her Fang Over Fang before it could land, head already drawn back, chakra molded and attack primed.
Sakon and Ukon's yellow eyes widened.
Water Style: Water Bomb Jutsu!
The first short, sharp stream tore through his right shoulder. The second and third ripped through his thighs. Then, as their bodies were mere feet above the ground, she unleashed a powerful torrent that slammed them into the earth.
At the last moment, she threw herself into a Tunneling Fang and drilled the twins in their abdomen. The earth fractured beneath them. Blood poured from their lips, their cries of agony reverberated off the nearby cliff walls.
Hastily, Mimi handspringed in a retreat, away from her enemy's and in front of Kiba, finally back onto all-fours. Aoko sped to her side.
"It'd be too much to ask for them to be dead, huh?" she asked her companion, despite already knowing the answer. She could hear their heartbeat with her enhanced hearing.
"Yes. Their wounds continue to heal despite everything you've done."
Great. Way to royally screw up her plans for the day.
Kiba still sat on the ground behind her, though Akamaru was barking and growling at him. His ninken couldn't be less pleased by Kiba's inaction and moping.
As his cousin, Mimi wanted to reinvigorate Kiba's spirit and get him back on the right path. He had so much potential to be a powerful shinobi in his own right. But he let stupid things get between him and his goals. Sometimes he just goofed off too much. Other times, like now, he couldn't get over a wounded ego.
As his battlefield commander, she wanted to strangle him. Okay, maybe that was also something she wanted to do as his cousin, but this wasn't the time to split hairs.
"I thought I had pride issues," she huffed. "Kiba, in case you've forgotten, this guy helped kill Amari. His buddies nearly killed Neji and Chōji. But those two put their lives on the line to stop them in their tracks, so you, Naruto and Shikamaru could save Sasuke.
"Right now, they're hovering between life and death back in the Leaf, fighting for their lives. And what are you doing? Sitting on your ass feeling sorry for yourself!"
Akamaru barked and yipped at Kiba. Sakon and Ukon pulled themselves out of the crater, a fiendish snarl on their lips.
"So what you didn't make a dent. I haven't either. But I'm not gonna stop fighting until either they're dead or I am! So man up, Kiba! The longer I have to fight this guy alone, the higher the chances your comrades die!" She sensed him stiffen. "You didn't hesitate to go rescue Hinata from the Cloud in the middle of the Invasion. Show me some of that fire! These Sound bastards may have already killed people we care about. Are you just gonna let them get away with that?!"
Kiba growled and shot to his feet. He took his position on all-fours next to her, Akamaru hopping onto his back.
"I'm not finished with them yet."
Mimi nodded sharply. "Damn right you're not."
"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry: All-Fours Jutsu!" Blue chakra exploded off of Kiba as he took on a more feral appearance. "Man Beast Clone!"
"This again?" Ukon drawled.
"You can enhance yourselves all you like, you'll never match us," Sakon taunted.
"This won't be like last time," Kiba snarled. "We're gonna tear right through you!"
"Kiba, Akamaru, let's rip them to shreds!"
The four tore off at high speeds, racing over the pebbled earth on all-fours, nearly untraceable to the naked eye. Sakon and Ukon held their ground and prepared for the incoming strikes as the four darted off in different directions.
Mimi closed in and slammed her elbow for their shared abdomen. Before the blow could land, a hand materialized and caught her arm at the elbow. Aoko darted around their back, yet her strikes, too, were blocked.
Mimi grinned sadistically.
"Got you."
Opening her hand, she swiped her sharp claws over their abdomen, simultaneously grabbing the arm they'd snatched her elbow with before it could disappear back into their body. Her blade like fingernails punctured their fragile flesh, drawing crimson blood as if performing ancient bloodletting.
With her free hand, she threw a punch for Ukon—his reflexes proved to be too quick. Wind whipped past his face, but no solid contact. Still, he was cringing in pain as she dug her claws deeper, deeper and deeper into his flesh.
She could feel a bone.
"So, this one is you, huh?" she asked, grinning sadistically.
Mimi halted her punch and opened her hand, claws aimed towards his face. Ukon gasped. Her eyes caught a foot materializing from their chest, but it was already too late. The kick hit her square, hard, knocking a breath of air out of her lungs. At the same time, her claws tore through the flesh of his arm and his face as she was knocked away.
"Gahh! My face!"
"Ukon, look out!"
As Mimi stumbled back, Kiba and Akamaru sprinted in. No rest for the wicked. Keep the pressure on so they couldn't react, all the while shredding as much flesh as they could.
Kiba clocked Ukon in his unwounded cheek. Akamaru leap-frogged his companion to chase the stumbling enemy, but they were ready for the ninken. Two fists materialized out of their stomach.
Akamaru caught them, growling viciously. Mimi was already on the move, joined by her ninken as Kiba feinted an attack. Sakon swung for the fences, in what he believed was an expert counter. Her cousin caught the arm. Three of the four arms caught, Sakon or Ukon summoned a foot to attack him, yet that, too, was caught by the Inuzuka.
"Hehe! Look what we caught!" Kiba taunted.
"What are you—"
"Now, Mimi!"
Mimi and Aoko dashed into position behind the pair. Rather than spinning themselves into drills, the duo curled themselves into rapid spinning buzz saws.
"Fang Rotating Fang!"
The two buzz saws ripped the earth apart, sending dirt, shredded pieces of rock and more dirt pelting through the air. Together they slammed into their enemy's back. Together they tore fabric and flesh to pieces.
The smell of blood coated her enhanced sense of smell, the shrieks and curses from their enemies stung her ears as she and Aoko tore as much flesh as they could. Gashes, long cuts from shoulder to lower back, chunks of skin missing; anyone else would've been left on the ground, curled in the fetal position, unable to move without enticing extreme pain.
Moving in synchronicity, the pair ended their attack, vaulting up and over the bloody back of Sakon and Ukon, twisting through the air to land back on all-fours.
"Kiba!" she called.
"Right!"
Kiba and Akamaru dragged their claws through the materialized limbs as they pushed themselves away with chakra. Sakon and Ukon looked mostly in pain, but they looked pissed, too.
Good. The feeling was mutual!
Aoko attacked first with a Tunneling Fang. Sakon and Ukon separated and slammed their fists into the transformed ninken's back, crushing her into the earth.
Mimi jolted in behind Sakon at top speed. She swept his legs out from beneath him. Akamaru launched through the air and charged shoulder first into the airborne Sound shinobi's gut, growling with fury. Ukon jumped after Mimi as his brother and Akamaru skidded away.
Kiba knocked him away with a kick. He began to spin himself as he fell towards the ground.
"Mimi!"
"I've got ya!"
The kunoichi launched forward and snatched her cousin's outstretched hand, acting as a fulcrum as she swiftly spun on her toes to increase Kiba's momentum before, ultimately, throwing him like human cannonball right at Ukon.
"Tunneling Fang!"
She dashed after them. Despite the momentum, Ukon blocked and smashed Kiba into the earth; he let out a cry of pain, but didn't quit. Just as Mimi rushed in, he kicked Ukon in the side of his knee and forced the fiend to collapse with a pained, and immensely annoyed, grunt. The kunoichi closed the distance and, with a snarl, lifted her knee into his jaw.
Hand slipping into her pouch, she retrieved two kunais.
"Kiba, catch!"
Kiba leapt to his feet. Ukon tumbled head over foot. As he rolled onto his toes and hands, two kunais whistled past both his sides, paper crinkling in the wind behind them.
The paper bombs exploded around the Sound shinobi. Before the smoke could clear, the two Inuzuka's appeared in the air above him as rapid spinning drills of fury.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Their rotation cleared the smoke. Ukon was drilled into the earth with a cry, but not defeated.
Opposite of the cousins, who had retreated back with two jumps, they heard the shattering of stone; their ears perked up at the pained noise coming from Akamaru's transformation. The transformed ninken was hunched forward, a crater formed behind him; Sakon was lowering his fist a few steps away.
"Akamaru!" Kiba yelled out in fear.
Aoko attempted to attack Sakon from behind, but the ogre vanished.
The kunoichi tackled herself into her cousin. "Kiba, look out!"
She felt the rush of wind past her; the narrow evasion was almost nearly too late. Once more Ukon and Sakon fused together, leading credence to the hypothesis Mimi was formulating.
They heal faster when they're together. That's why they keep fusing themselves back together after we damage them.
Quickly, the kunoichi returned to her all-fours position and checked the status of Akamaru and Aoko with a glance. Of the two, Aoko was in the best condition. Akamaru was nearing his limits with the injuries he sustained before and during this battle.
We have to force their separation and make it as close to permanent as we can. Then Ino can use her Mind Destruction Jutsu and help me finish this battle quicker.
Mimi linked back up with her companion and dove straight for their enemy as shredding drills.
"Fang Over Fang!"
Wisely, and foolishly, Sakon and Ukon evaded into the air quickly, in spite of their steadily healing injuries.
"Sakon, you fool! This is what they wanted!" Ukon chastised his brother.
Mimi and Aoko exited the Fang Over Fang and dug their heels into the dirt. Reaching out with her hand, she clasped her ninken's arm in a tight grip, being dragged into a swing with Aoko as the fulcrum to maintain momentum. Then, as her eyes locked back onto Sakon and Ukon hovering helplessly in the air, she released the chakra at her feet and torpedoed herself right at them.
Kiba and Akamaru were already in the air, bodies twisting rapidly. Mimi mirrored their rapid rotation and, together with her cousin and Akamaru, drilled herself into their enemy.
The attack connected. Sakon screamed. Ukon cursed them and his brother. But when all was said and done, they were the one's lying flat on their back while Mimi, Kiba, Akamaru and Aoko were still up on their feet.
"Don't mess with the Inuzuka Clan, you ugly bastards," Mimi snarled.
"I don't think they're done yet, Mimi," Kiba stated.
She shook her head. "No. They're not. But I wasn't trying to put them down with those attacks. They have a passive regeneration ability."
Just like Gaara.
Their current level of attack would take them too long to wear down their regenerative powers. Which meant there was only one course of action…
"Kiba, that technique you and Akamaru have been working on, think you can pull that off here?"
"Yeah, but… We'll only have one shot with it. Afterwards our chakra is toast." Kiba glanced cautiously to her. "Do you think we should really risk that? The four of us are doing more damage than Akamaru and I were able to do alone."
True, they were dealing damage. No one could outmatch the cooperation between the Inuzuka Clan. But it wouldn't be enough, not in this situation, anyway. Kiba was back on his game, but his eyes looked at this from the perspective of a single battle—them against Sakon and Ukon.
If only it were that simple.
Unfortunately, this operation was bigger than this single battle. It encompassed more variables than Kiba's previously wounded ego and her desire for retribution. Lives were at stake. The possibility of war lingered on the horizon if news of this mission reached the Stone, and if they failed or lost comrades, the Stone would be emboldened to push into the Land of Fire.
Mimi didn't have the luxury to lose sight of her mission, of her objectives.
Save Sasuke.
Bring everyone home alive.
She had to maintain a view of the entire mission, as well as the importance of her role in it as a squad leader and a medic.
In her hands alone rested the ability to stabilize or heal severe injuries out here in the field. Amari couldn't teleport anyone at this range, which made finishing this as efficiently and as quickly as they could all the more important.
Every second was important. Every minute wasted here could be that crucial minute that spared a friend from death.
No, fighting Sakon and Ukon this way wasn't the right call to make. It'd draw out their pain, sure, but clawing them to death could cost her the life of a friend. And that was unacceptable.
Mimi flicked her eyes into the distance, where she could sense Ino's presence. The kunoichi hadn't made her move yet, which was good. It was the smart, patient play.
By concealing her presence from Sakon and Ukon, who were far too distracted by the Inuzuka's, she could get into range for her attack while waiting for the brothers to separate. Then, when the opportunity finally arose, she'd be able to unleash her Mind Destruction Jutsu, turning the strength and speed of one of the brothers onto the other.
It'd be the perfect attack.
So, it was up to her, Kiba and their ninken to wear this guy down. And Mimi wasn't keen to wait until they decided to separate on their own again. It left too much to chance. If they were the ones to force the separation, though… If they dealt so much damage to sever them in half, that would strain their regenerative abilities to their limits. Maybe beyond it.
And that would mean the end of Sakon and Ukon.
"Kiba." Mimi looked at her cousin. "Do you trust me?"
Kiba furrowed his brow. "Of course I do! We're family. What kind of question is that?"
"An important one. I need you to unleash that jutsu on this guy and tear a hole right through them. No questions asked. Can you do that for me?"
Kiba glanced to Sakon and Ukon rising back onto their feet, injuries beginning to heal already.
"All right. I hear ya. But I'll need you to hold them down to one spot for Akamaru before we can."
"Consider it done. Let's go, Aoko!"
"I'm right behind you!"
Again, Mimi and Aoko dashed after their enemy. Mimi was the first to arrive; she leaped into the air, raining down a series of kicks Sakon and Ukon blocked with their annoying jutsu. She rolled herself into a back-flip; Aoko dashed in beneath her as she did, passing by her companion before she could land.
Landing on all-fours, the kunoichi wasted no time in launching another attack.
Punches, claws, kicks, they all whistled through the air. Sakon and Ukon blocked and countered, materializing their other four hidden limbs to strike Mimi and Aoko. They chased each other over the battlefield, attacking, defending, racing all across the shore beside the stream in their efforts to kill each other.
Sakon prepared to punch her and, as he swung, one fist became three. Mimi aborted her block and swayed out of the way, narrowly. Wind whipped past her face and rustled her long mane of hair.
The three fists and their rapid speed shaved a small chunk of a boulder behind her.
Aoko's attempt to counter ended with a materializing foot in her gut, sending her sprawling over the battlefield. This was just ridiculous. It was one thing to fight two on one. But to fight someone who could materialize limbs from their body?
Mimi blocked a normal punch, but was caught in the stomach by one of their hidden fists. She gasped for air. Hunched forward and…
Mimi snatched the arm between both hands, nails digging into their flesh.
"Akamaru! Now!"
Akamaru, returned to his natural state, sprang into the air and began to spin his body around. Sakon and Ukon mistakenly looked up at him. Foul smelling urine splashed Sakon right in the eyes, and his scream of agony as it burned the sensitive organ couldn't be more satisfying.
With half of his shared body wailing and rubbing at his burning eyes, Ukon failed to dodge the punch Mimi socked him with. She followed the stumbling enemy, using her enhanced speed to overwhelm Ukon. She attacked his front, raced around his back to kick the back of Sakon's leg, dashed around again and dragged her claws over their chest—once, twice and finished with a stiff kick to their chest.
It was then her cousin and Akamaru performed their Combination Transformation.
"Inuzuka Style: Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double-Headed Wolf!"
From the plume of smoke, a giant double-headed wolf, with a coat of fur that matched Akamaru's, appeared. Drool pooled from its mouth onto the ground below as it rested one of its massive paws on a boulder, nearly covering the entire mound of stone from top to bottom. Mimi felt their roar in her bones, and she grinned.
"Time's up for you."
Vanishing in sheer speed, she appeared below her enemy—an enemy with one half functioning and the other half blind and wailing—with one foot and one hand bracing her. She kicked Sakon in the jaw and sent them flying into the air, then immediately sprinted away from them to avoid being collateral damage.
The giant wolf took two rushing strides forward then jumped into the air, spinning into a rotation that she, Kiba or any Inuzuka for that matter couldn't reach the speed of without such a transformation. It was because of that same reason that Kiba required Akamaru to mark his enemy, because once he reached this speed, he couldn't see or track his opponent by sight alone.
"Wolf Fang Over Fang!"
"Go get 'em, Kiba," Mimi said mostly to herself, red chakra cloak vanishing.
Mimi crouched next to the river bed, Aoko at her side as they watched him drill right into Sakon and Ukon. And then straight through them, severing them completely from one another. Blood splattered over the earth as the brothers crashed against the ground and Kiba and Akamaru came out of the spin.
The battlefield stilled. No one moved, the bodies of their enemies didn't twitch or convulse. But Mimi could sense the life in them. She could hear their heartbeats.
Then, without any warning, from their severed halves, muscles, tendons and tissues twisted and spun and weaved together, reforming into new arms, legs and the pieces of their upper body's that were missing. It was a grotesque scene. But Mimi expected this. It's exactly what she wanted to happen.
"Aoko?"
"They've managed to regenerate their vital organs and limbs, so in appearance they are still at full strength. However, such rapid regeneration has come at the cost of a vast amount of chakra. Even the Curse Mark has its limits, it would seem. I would not expect them to show such rapid recovery again."
Mimi hummed and flicked her eyes over to where Ino was hiding.
Now's your chance, Ino. Make it count.
Ino had watched the battle closely from her concealed position. Mimi, Kiba, Akamaru and Aoko put up such a strong fight together; it was no surprise, really. The Inuzuka Clan were masters of Cooperation attacks, and Kiba and Mimi had grown up together. Syncing up like they did came naturally.
But now Sakon and Ukon were finally separated. She'd thought them dead, at first. However, then their strange regeneration ability replaced their missing arm and leg with new ones. The new limbs appeared to be armor plated.
Just by looking at them she could tell getting hit by these new limbs would cause any one of them serious injuries. Injuries they couldn't afford to gain when Shikamaru, Naruto, Sasuke and the others could be just as hurt as Chōji and Neji.
Chōji…
Ino shook the thought of his emaciated frame from her mind. He'd be okay. Amari believed that, and so would she. She just had to make sure Shikamaru and everyone else made it home safely. That was their mission. And now it was time to show the results of all her training against these two Sound shinobi.
It was time to make them regret targeting her friends.
The Mind Destruction Jutsu had a shorter range than the Mind Transfer Jutsu. Where the Mind Transfer could be used at any and all ranges, though dangerous without Shikamaru holding an enemy in a single place for her, the Mind Destruction Jutsu had a range of ten meters. Which is exactly where Ino positioned herself.
Settling into a crouch, Ino moved out from behind a boulder and moved her hands into position; the tip of her right index finger against the pad of her left thumb, with the tip of her left index finger pressed against the pad of her right thumb, creating a rectangular window. She lined the handseal up with Sakon.
"Mind Destruction Jutsu!"
The jutsu took hold immediately. Sakon's body stiffened at first, then she commanded his body to stand up.
"Wha- what's going on?" he questioned, eyes wide in horror. "My body, it's…"
"Sakon, what's the problem?" Ukon demanded.
Sakon then leapt at his brother, his armored arm cracking him in his ogre looking face.
"I can't control my body! Ukon! Rejoin with me!"
Heh, Ino smiled. Now your speed and your strength are mine to control.
Ukon evaded back and punched his brother to get him away.
"You fool! If I rejoin with you then we'll both be under their control. Struggle free!"
"I can't!"
Sakon sped forward and swung his armored leg after his brother. Ukon jumped over it and punched his brother away again.
"Ow! Stop hitting me, Ukon!"
"Grr. This whole situation is your fault, Sakon! It's because you tried to prolong the battle against that mutt the Leaf reinforcements found us!" Ino managed to land another blow on Ukon through Sakon. "If you weren't my brother, I'd kill you for your incompetence!"
"Just break me free, Ukon. Someone has to be casting this jutsu. Find them and kill them!"
"Too late for that. Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
The Water Dragon formed from the stream, large and already bearing down on Sakon and Ukon. The two brothers disappeared in the collision of water. Ino felt her control over Sakon fade as he was forcefully pushed out of her range and slammed into the cliff wall. As the water receded, it revealed Sakon braced against the wall, soaked to the bone, dazed and breathing heavily.
But no Ukon.
Hey, where'd Ukon go? He was caught up in Mimi's Water Dragon, too. But…
Ino cast her eyes about. Mimi and Aoko were doing the same.
"Looking for someone, kid?"
Ino gasped and froze. Slowly she turned her head to see the ogre head staring at her. From her own shoulder.
"Ino!" Kiba called out in panic after dispelling his transformation.
Ino threw a punch, but Ukon's arm appeared from her body and snatched it by the wrist, tugging it so her arm pressed against her throat as he moved to loom over her other shoulder.
"So, you're the little pest who took control of my brother. You're a Yamanaka, right?"
"How did you attach yourself to my body?!" she demanded.
"It's a unique ability, I know. Useful for assassinations. You know our Chakra Networks are deeply interwoven with our organs; it's an intricate maze, threaded through the tissues that make up our organs, the cells that make up those tissues, even within each individual protein. The very building blocks of our cells. Once in Stage Two I am able to use chakra to dismantle and reconstruct these cells and proteins at will. Breaking my body down into tiny particles, I seep into my opponent, and then return to my original form inside their body.
"My cells are swimming freely throughout your body. I can even generate parts that are solely yours. In other words, we are slowly fusing together. We'll be sharing a body."
Ino's eyes widened. "Sharing a body?"
"That's right. I'm going to snuff out your life as only I can, by eradicating all the cells in your body from the inside out. None of your friends can save you. You're helpless and useless to them; they'd be better off cutting loose ends."
Ino squeezed her eyes shut. He was right. Out of the entire team that Mimi had mobilized, she wielded the least amount of strength and power. She wasn't a front-line fighter like Mimi, Hinata, Amari or Sakura, or a weapons specialist like Tenten. Her jutsus required her to fight at range, usually with someone else protecting her.
Ever since the preliminary rounds, I've been fighting to catch up to Amari. Fighting to be strong enough so I wouldn't be dead weight. But here I am, captured by the enemy's jutsu like a complete idiot. I hid in the shadows for this entire battle, and still somehow I screwed everything up.
Ino bit her lip. This was so frustrating!
"Mind Transfer Jutsu alone isn't enough to survive on. Neither is relying on Shika and Chōji to pull the weight of the team."
She hated how right Amari had been about her. Hated how inferior she'd become as a shinobi, all for the stupidest of reasons.
"You're beautiful, Ino, even with shorter hair. And I'm sure you'll be even prettier as an adult. Truly. I mean that. But beauty won't save you in the field. Beauty alone doesn't win a person's heart, either."
No, it wouldn't. She couldn't be a real kunoichi just by being beautiful. She had to be stronger, physically, mentally and emotionally. She had to become a kunoichi like Amari.
"You want to surpass Sakura? You want to surpass your father? To stand as a proud kunoichi of the Leaf? Apply yourself to becoming stronger in every aspect of your life."
Of course she wanted that. She even swallowed her pride and asked Amari of all people for help. The person who'd come to symbolize everything she wasn't. Strong-willed. Powerful. Confident. And she had been applying herself in every aspect of her life. So why? Why did she continue to be so helpless and useless?
Even though everyone is counting on us, I'm still too weak. I still fail.
"Ino, I forbid you from dying!" shouted Mimi. Ino seized up and locked eyes with the fierce sapphire gaze. "You are Ino Yamanaka, a kunoichi of the Leaf. Quitting isn't an option. Amari didn't quit when she was poisoned. Chōji didn't quit against his enemy until that big thug was dead."
Amari…
"Are you seriously going to keep fighting? You won't be able to wield a kunai with either hand, you know that."
She had felt the same disbelief as Hisashi. How could Amari hope to win? Why was she seriously going to keep fighting when she couldn't even wield her kunai properly anymore. With her injuries, with the poison coursing through her veins, what hope did she have of winning?
And yet…
"You're right. I can't wield my kunai against your sword with my hands. But that just means I have to get creative. I refuse to lose!"
There was no other option to Amari. She wielded a kunai in her mouth and with her foot, fought through the poison against an impressive swordsman and won.
Chōji…
Ino could only think of his emaciated body, seated beneath the tree with all those warm messages on them. Had he been able to read them? Did Shikamaru and the others know how much those words would mean to him?
You refused to lose, too. Didn't you, Chōji? Even though you knew what the Chili Pill would do… Even though you always doubt yourself, when people were depending on you, knowing these people hurt Amaririsu and the shinobi like the Hokage Guard and Anko Mitarashi, you put your life on the line to give your comrades a chance to save Sasuke and kill that giant.
I…
I want to be a kunoichi like Amari and Mimi. I want to be dependable. I want to protect my comrades and friends. I don't…I don't want to ever see you that skinny again and be totally helpless like I am right now.
"He's called you helpless and useless," Mimi continued. "Prove him wrong. Prove it to everyone here that you have the heart of a Leaf kunoichi!"
That's what she wanted. She wanted to prove that more than anything. But what did she do? How did she even escape this jutsu when…
They were sharing the same body.
Her friends were better off cutting off loose ends.
They were sharing the same body.
"Amaririsu Yūhi, are you certain you wish to continue?" Hayate asked.
"Don't…count me out…yet!"
Amari brought her kunai to the wound and slashed it across her flesh, opening the wound and causing blood to spread across her arm and plop to the ground.
They were sharing the same body.
"I refuse to lose!"
Ino's eyes flickered with fire. She refused to lose, too. To Amari. To Sakura. To anyone.
Grabbing a kunai from her tool box, she heard Ukon chuckle sadistically.
"And what do you plan to do with that?"
Ino felt her lips tug into a wicked grin.
"This!"
She spun the blade and stabbed it into her stomach. A cry left her lips. Trails of blood were already forming at the corner of her lips while blood soaked the bandages covering her abdomen.
Ukon screamed, too.
With heavy breaths, she looked Ukon right in the eyes, wickedness gleaming in her light blue eyes.
"Hehe, who's helpless now? We share the same body now, which means…" Ino shimmed the blade around in her insides. Every pain receptor in the area screamed. She grunted and fought against tears pricking her eyes. Ukon was heaving heavy breaths and wailing.
"My pain is your pain!"
In a sudden movement, Ino yanked the blade from her stomach. The splatter of blood was worrisome, but she'd made up her mind.
"Su- suicide?!" Ukon groaned in agony and disbelief. "Yo- you're insane!"
"Your giant teammate almost killed my teammate. You tried to kill my rival. And now you've tried to kill me!
Ino's hand trembled wildly as she tried to command herself to plunge it in again.
Mimi can heal you. She can heal you. She can heal you. Just get this weird freak out of your body!
"You called me helpless and useless! You invaded my body!" Ino breathed heavily. Then she turned a bloody and wicked smile to her second head. "I'll make you pay for that."
She swung the blade towards her abdomen. Ukon's eyes widened.
"No! No! NOO!"
In an instant, he was out of her body, all but throwing himself out and onto his back behind her. The blade still pierced into her stomach, but the Yamanaka had enough sense to pull back when she felt him leave. Not nearly as deep as it could have been. Still painful enough to coax out a cry.
Still alive. The pain was making her entire body tremble. She was inhaling deep, controlled breaths, wincing and grunting as it only exacerbated her pain.
Can't…let him regroup. I have to…I have to help Mimi end this!
Ino tried to turn herself around, but ended up collapsing onto her butt as she did. Lying on her back, tilting her head back to look at her enemy, she lifted her shaking hands into the Mind Transfer Jutsu handseal and smiled vindictively at Ukon.
The enemy shinobi lay on the ground, wielding the same injury she had, gawking at her as if she were the ogre and he was the normal looking person.
"You should have known better than to underestimate a Leaf kunoichi," she panted. "After all, the most colorful and beautiful things in this world are always the most deadly!
"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"
Mimi watched Ino's body go limp with rising anxiety. The first wound to her abdomen was deep. Dangerously deep.
Slowly, Ukon made it onto his feet, hand clutching the wound on his stomach. He lethargically strode across the battlefield, further away from Ino's body. Mimi hesitated to attack. Was this Ukon or Ino? She couldn't risk an attack until she knew for sure; otherwise her attacks would hurt Ino's body more.
By using the Mind Transfer Jutsu, any damage done to the body the user snatched was reflected back onto their real body. She couldn't risk worsening Ino's already precarious situation.
Ukon stopped in the center of the battlefield. Cast a glance to Sakon. Then to Mimi. He turned his body to face the Inuzuka.
"Sakon, get over here. Let's take this mutt down."
Mimi growled. Ino must've passed out. Fine. She'd finish this then. But first…
"Kiba, get your ass over to Ino and get some pressure on her wounds. I'll be there shortly."
Sakon, a little better off than his brother but still staggering, joined Ukon.
"All right, brother. Do you want the pup or the girl?"
Sakon stalked a step ahead of his brother.
"I think I'll take…" Ukon speared forward. The horn protruding from his forehead impaled straight through Sakon's back, drawing out a startled cry of agony from his lips. "You!"
"Uk- Ukon! What are you—" Sakon choked up blood as Ukon shoved his horn further in.
Ukon's lips pulled into a fiendish grin. "I'm not Ukon. My name is Ino Yamanaka, and you've underestimate us for the last time." Ukon, or technically Ino, grabbed Sakon's arms. "Mimi! Hit them both now!"
Mimi felt herself hesitate. "But your body—"
"Don't worry about me. We can't risk these two rejoining and escaping, which means we have to do whatever we can to stop them here." Ukon's ugly face smiled at her. "You'll be able to fix me up, I know it. Now take these guys down!"
The hesitation didn't leave. Not at first. But then, with the sudden flare of red chakra consuming her body once more, she set her slit pupils on the two Sound shinobi. She created the Tiger Seal.
"Water Clone Jutsu!"
From the stream behind her ten Water Clone's formed. Mimi wasted no breath on words. She, her clones and Aoko charged towards the pair, intent to destroy their enemies. Sakon did his best to struggle, but with the horn protruding into his back, and the arms holding him down, he could hardly move.
The battlefield seethed. Fang Over Fang from every angle drilled into the helpless prey, ripping, shredding and tearing apart the two Sound shinobi. Screams rang along the cliff walls and up through the ravines. Birds hidden among trees flocked towards the sky, chirping or squawking as they were frightened from their nests.
But Sakon and Ukon did not die. They laid on top of one another, bruises, chunks of flesh missing and scratches on every inch of their body. But they were not dead. And they were not recovering. Their bodies slowly began to revert back to their natural states—a pale complexion and human appearance.
Mimi loomed over them. Red chakra flickered around her as her Water Clones dispelled, creating several large puddles around them; Aoko returned to her natural form once more and climbed onto her head.
"How's Ino?" she asked to her ninken, slit pupils never leaving the pair.
"Bearing some of the same injuries as Ukon, though not nearly as many. She must've released her jutsu in the midst of our attack, when she was certain Ukon wouldn't be able to escape."
Mimi nodded.
"Do you…think this…changes anything?" Sakon grunted out.
"Just shut up already," she snarled. "Sasuke played you all for fools, not that it would take much to do that. You're all so full of yourselves, thinking us of the Leaf were so far beneath you. Yet look at you now. Your buddies died at Chōji and Neji's hands, while they're still alive. And that kunoichi, Tayuya, if she hasn't died by Amari's hand yet I'd be shocked. Way to go pissing Amari off to a place of darkness. That took some serious effort.
"And you. The leader of this so-called Sound Four. My cousin drilled a hole straight through you and your brother. Ino took control of your body and your brother's, and because of her you're about to die by my hands. You couldn't even kill our Jōnin. So bravo! Bravo! You've failed every single objective you've had. I bet the almighty Lord Orochimaru is oh so proud of you."
"You insolent mutt!" Sakon spat.
He attempted to lunge from the ground at her, but Mimi's hands sped through handseals. A blue orb suddenly ensnared them both within a watery prison, one without oxygen.
The Inuzuka glared right through them.
"Remember when I told you I'd grind you into dust? I lied. I'm going to drown you and your brother so you understand the fear, the anxiety, the anger and the hatred you and your group have imposed onto me and my friends.
"So do I think this will change anything? Yeah, I do. Because it'll be two less scum in this world." Sakon and Ukon angrily slammed their fists into her Water Prison. "You're wasting precious energy," she taunted sadistically. "These walls are stronger than steel. You'll never break free. And by the way, 'You insolent mutt' was a poor choice for last words and your last breath of oxygen."
The average human could hold their breath for around thirty seconds. It took less for Sakon and Ukon to inhale gulps of water. Mimi observed them with clinical detachment as anger became distress. And distress became terror as they choked. Eventually they drowned.
Their inert bodies collapsed against the earth when she released the jutsu. She watched them for a moment. Then reached into her pouch. Crouching down to their level, she impaled a kunai into both of their throats.
Just to be safe.
"Bastards," she cursed beneath her breath before rushing over to Ino, red chakra cloak vanishing. Again she reached into her pouch and swallowed the food pill she retrieved.
Kiba, Amari and Akamaru were all at Ino's side, the two shinobi both keeping pressure on her worst wounds. Akamaru lay nearby, injured and exhausted. The Yamanaka was breathing heavily and barely conscious.
Mimi immediately went to work, hands glowing green as she started at the first stab wound.
"Are they dead?" Kiba asked.
"As dead as I can make them."
"They're dead," Amari confirmed.
Good. That was one less problem to deal with, and one less thing to distract her from saving Ino.
"Kiba, in my back pouch are bandages and two pill containers. Ignore the big one. We need the small one. Can you grab those for me? My hands are full knitting together her insides."
Kiba shuddered. "Did you have to phrase it like that?"
"Blame her," Mimi lifted her chin to Amari. "She's the one who taught her to maim herself."
"I wouldn't say I taught it to her…"
"Who stabbed themselves in the Forest of Death? Who cut open their arm in their preliminary match? Who dove in front of the Lightning Blade? And jumped into my Water Dragon?" Mimi sent a pointed stare at the bashful growing Amari. "Do I need to continue? Because I've got a whole list of you acting with reckless abandon for your own health."
"Okay, okay. Sheesh. Don't be a drag," Amari shrank, puffing her cheeks in a pout.
"Where do you want these bandages and pills, Mimi?" Kiba asked, having fished them from her pouch.
"Hold onto the bandages. Don't let them touch the ground. Hand the pill jar to Amari. Amari, grab two from the jar and feed them to Ino."
"Okay," Amari nodded.
"What are those anyway?"
"Plasma Pills. They speed up the formation and replenish the blood in our bodies. Ino lost a lot of blood from these wounds, but that's not her fault. The only way to counter a jutsu like Ukon's would be inflicting wounds to yourself to encourage him to leave. But he'd have to believe you were serious about killing yourself to kill him."
"You think Ino was?"
"Serious about killing herself? No," Mimi shook her head. "That's why the second wound isn't as deep. Ino placed her trust in me to heal her afterwards, but that first wound had to convince Ukon she was serious. And, as we saw, it did."
Overall, a smart play. Ino turned Ukon's jutsu against him and, despite being severely injured, still captured him with her Mind Transfer Jutsu, ensnaring Sakon into a trap and risking her life to ensure they both died.
"She's braver than I ever gave her credit for," Mimi stated. "I haven't known her long, really. I can't say we've spoken more than a handful of words before this mission, but she's definitely proven herself to me today."
"Tactically, it was the right call to bring her to this battle," Amari said. "Her Clan jutsus were invaluable against Sakon and Ukon."
"Yeah, but what about Shikamaru and Naruto? Is the real Amari the only one backing them up?" Kiba asked.
"No. Hinata, Sakura and Tenten are with her. And once I'm done stabilizing Ino, I'll be heading off to join them with Aoko."
If they were lucky, they'd meet up at their designated meeting point with everyone in tow and relatively uninjured.
Mimi held onto the hope that was true.