Chapter 95
An Endless Cycle: Amaririsu vs Kasai
"Why here?"
It was all Amari could think to ask.
Kasai led her through dense forests, through mountain caves to this landmark on the natural border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Sound. The line in the sand dividing each Land was a tall waterfall; memorialized on the Land of Fire's side was Hashirama Senju, First Hokage and co-founder of the Leaf Village. He stood with his right hand in the Seal of Confrontation, his left gripping the hilt of his sword, dressed in the ancient shinobi war armor—similar in essence to samurai armor.
The raging roar of the waterfall refused to let up. Endless. Spiteful. It battled against the calm river leading into and away from it, which stretched east and west along the border for miles; Amari couldn't see where it ended or where it began.
Opposite of her and Hashirama Senju, on the Land of Sound's side of the border, was the statue of Madara Uchiha—greatest friend and enemy of Hashirama Senju and fellow founder of Konoha. He was just as tall and attired in the same ancient war armor of the shinobi as his enemy. Where Hashirama's stone hair was straight and tranquil, Madara's was wild, untamed. His memorialization on the other side of the Land of Fire's border couldn't symbolize his defection any better.
Both enormous stone statues stood taller than the waterfall, and were exceptionally lifelike. Human, almost, as if they'd never succumbed to age or death. As if their spirits were locked here in an endless conflict for the entertainment of the gods.
Kasai stood atop Madara's stone head, white haori rustling in the chilled wind. He hadn't even bothered to taunt her or look back the entire way, nor had there been a single trap, tripwire, paper bomb or kunai or shuriken thrown. It didn't add up.
This was his planned destination, obviously. He could've set any number of traps, just like the simple one she fell for all those years ago.
So, why didn't he? Why did he want to battle here?
At her question, he smirked.
"Poetic justice, old friend. Poetic justice. Do you know what happened here, decades ago? Long before you and I were born, Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha grew up during a time of war. The Warring States Period is the name of this era. Clans rose and fell from power, bloodshed was endless and children were forced to fight against adults. The average lifespan was thirty years old, if you were lucky.
"Eventually two Clans rose above all others—the Senju and the Uchiha. They were the strongest of all the Clans. The Senju were famed for their balanced skill in all shinobi arts, and the Uchiha were famed for their Sharingan. You should know that, at least, since you're one of them."
One of them…
Amari furrowed her brow. He spat the words, meant them to be an insult. As if being an Uchiha personally offended him. She spared a questioning glance to Atsuko. Her feathered features resembled a human squinting in suspicion; she was listening intently, dissecting his words, his tones, gathering information like a veteran spy.
Kasai continued.
"But the constant bloodshed left all people—men, women and children of shinobi—wary of strangers. They never divulged their family names, to protect themselves from threats or their families. Noble ignorance, I'd say. Decisions like that could mean accidentally befriending an enemy. This is how Hashirama met Madara. They became fast friends, bound together by their disdain for war and the suffering it put on their family. They shared their dreams. Discussed the future—one without war where their siblings could live in peace.
"All good things come to an end, though. Eventually, perhaps inevitably, they found out they were each other's worst enemies. The Senju had killed many Uchiha, and vice versa, which meant the bond they formed was destined to be severed. They began to meet in battle. Rose to leadership roles in their Clans. The slaughter raged on. It was an era defined by constant death and despair, the polar opposite of this era of fake peace.
"After many years of war and the deaths of several Clan members and beloved siblings, the Uchiha and Senju declared peace with each other.
"Once bitter enemies relinquished their hatred and laid down their weapons to forge an alliance unlike any before it. Madara and Hashirama established the Leaf Village and permitted other Clans who wished to share in this new peace to join their new Village. In doing so their collective power grew. Fear rightfully spread throughout the entire shinobi world, leading to the creation of new shinobi villages across the continent. I believe you know them."
"I appreciate the history lesson," her voice dripped with sarcasm, "but you haven't answered my question. Why here? Where's your so-called poetic justice?"
"It's all around you!" Kasai made a grand gesture to the valley. "I told you already: All good things come to an end. Their peace was fragile. Wars continued. The reasons Madara and Hashirama bonded, their disdain for children fighting wars, continued despite the new Village system. And when the people of the Leaf decided Hashirama should be the First Hokage instead of Madara, it guaranteed further conflict.
"Madara left all that nonsense of the Village behind, captured the Nine-Tailed Fox and went into battle one last time with Hashirama. This was their battlefield. Their powers carved this valley into existence. And do you know what this valley is now called?"
"The Valley of the End."
Kasai grinned. "Precisely, old friend. This is where their final battle took place. It's where Madara Uchiha was slain by his best friend, bringing an end to their conflict. It's where our conflict will end, too."
"On that fact alone, you're right. This place will be your grave."
"Don't get too ahead of yourself, Amari." He lifted his pointer finger. "There's one detail I still haven't mentioned. I said this was where Hashirama's and Madara's conflict ended, but that was a half-truth. It's true Hashirama and Madara aren't here to fight each other anymore, but the war still rages on between them."
"You mean their ideals?"
"In a way," Kasai nodded. "You're pretty sharp. Almost as sharp as the blade I killed Ryu with."
Amari growled but said nothing.
"Their ideals have survived. Ideals are stubborn that way. They're invincible. No physical power can destroy one once it's created; it can be chased underground, but it'll survive by any means necessary, even if it has to change form and mutate itself. In that way, ideals are like an intelligent virus.
"However it's not only their ideals that have survived. Neither Clan or bloodline has been snuffed out yet. Senju's and Uchiha's still exist, their heirs still walk among us, and as long as they exist the battle between Madara and Hashirama will never end."
"You want to eradicate the Uchiha and the Senju?" Amari was beside herself with disbelief.
"Close again, old friend, but not quite. I want to eradicate you. I've got nothing against the other Uchiha survivors. But you, old friend, you're the person I will erase from this world."
"You may hate me for what I did. But know that I hate you just as much for existing in the first place!"
Amari opened her eyes wide.
Kasai grinned smugly. "You've finally pieced it together, huh? Even your little Crow looks surprised."
"You… You're a Senju?"
With dramatic flair, Kasai took a bow. "Kasai Senju, great-great bastard grandson of Hashirama Senju. Emotions run high in war; stress and anxiety can overwhelm anyone. Then strangers meet, engage in intimacy and never see each other again. Or they take what they want by force. Isn't war wonderful?"
"You're insane!"
"Afraid not. When I learned the truth of my heritage, I was just as shocked as you are, believe it or not. I didn't know what to feel. I was related to the God of Shinobi, the legendary Hashirama Senju. I was destined to be so much more than an orphan, yet there I was, a nobody orphan, barely surviving while the Village my great-great grandfather created was within reach.
"Shock became hatred, you can imagine. Everything those people had was because of my Clan. My great-great grandfather. But I was the child of a bastard lineage. I had no claim to any of it. I realized then and there I would do whatever was possible to escape our life. Even if it meant sacrificing Ryu. You, though," Kasai laughed bitterly and wagged his finger at her, "you I wanted to make suffer. Because the same person who taught me my lineage also told me yours."
"Senju's and Uchiha's still exist, their heirs still walk among us, and as long as they exist the battle between Madara and Hashirama will never end."
"I want to eradicate you. I've got nothing against the other Uchiha survivors. But you, old friend, you're the person I will erase from this world."
"Why here? Where's your so-called poetic justice?"
"It's all around you!"
"Have you figured it out yet, Amari?" Kasai prodded arrogantly. "Surely the Nara in you has pieced this puzzle together. Or is petty denial refusing to connect the pieces I've placed right under your nose."
Amari squeezed her eyes shut. No. She figured it out. She just hated the answer.
"Atsuko, is it true? Am I…the descendent of Madara Uchiha?"
The traitor. The power hungry Uchiha who tried to destroy the Leaf and the First Hokage. The man consumed by the Curse of Hatred.
"Yes," her friend confirmed in a soft voice. "Your father was hailed as the Reincarnation of Madara Uchiha because he not only physically resembled his great-grandfather, but he possessed power akin to his. However, few knew the truth of your lineage. Even fewer know now."
"We were destined to be enemies," Kasai declared wildly. "You, the great-great bastard granddaughter of Madara Uchiha, and me the great-great bastard grandson of Hashirama Senju. This is our destiny! This is their gift to us!"
"Hm. He flaunts his knowledge recklessly," Atsuko hummed.
Amari was struggling to wrap her head around this new reality. Madara Uchiha was her great-great grandfather? Looking at the statue of him, her mind began to see similarities; their wild, untamed hair and shape of their eyes struck her the hardest; she could even see vague similarities in their facial structure.
Was this the reason Master Jiraiya seemed so cautious around her? Did he know of their relation? Did he believe she was bound to follow his path?
"However," Atsuko continued, "he proves his own ignorance in doing so. There is much of Madara Uchiha's history the world has forgotten, or simply never knew. We Crows have not forgotten."
"Meaning?" she asked desperately.
"Madara loved once," Atsuko stated beneath her breath. "The fall of Madara Uchiha is one of the greatest tragedies of this world; he, like the Uchiha Clan, lost himself to darkness, but he was not purely evil. Do not heed Kasai's every word. He's twisting truths. He's attempting to manipulate you. You are not Madara Uchiha, nor are you beholden to the path he followed in his final days. Remember Shisui's wisdom."
Amari shut her eyes and recalled her big brother's words.
"Use these eyes of yours to see a better future. Chase your dream. Live. That's what your parents and I wanted most."
"You are not bound to our Clan's downfall."
Inhaling a deep breath, she glared at Kasai.
"You want to eradicate me because I'm the Senju's arch-nemesis? You're ridiculous. Insane."
"I don't care about the Senju as a whole. The Fifth Hokage could catch fire and I wouldn't bother to pour water on her. I don't feel anything for her, the Leaf or Hashirama. What I want is to destroy everything my great-great grandfather created, from his precious Village to the Village system he's responsible for. My war is against this despicable world. This world consumed by an endless cycle of hatred and violence. I'll crumble its foundations and start a new world."
Kasai grinned and motioned to them both. "Don't you see, old friend, how poetic this is? I've inherited Madara Uchiha's ideals and mutated them into my ninja way. You've inherited Hashirama Senju's Will of Fire. Our roles have switched, but the end result will be the same. You'll die here, and I'll live on."
Amari scoffed. "Don't bet on that. As far as I'm concerned, whether you're the descendent of Lord First or not doesn't mean anything to me; I don't care about his and Madara's quarrel. I have my own reasons to kill you."
"That's good. I like that!" Kasai wagged his finger through the air in appreciation. "This is as personal to you as it is to me. Yes, this is good. This is exactly how I wanted it. Ryu's death has tormented you for years now. It's made you suffer. Now you hate my existence as much as I hate yours."
"Enough talk," Amari spat. "Let's end this!"
"You took the words right from my mouth, old friend!"
"Atsuko, take the sky and look for an opening."
"At once, Young Haya." Atsuko sprang from her shoulder into the sky.
Amari released chakra from her feet. Kasai mirrored her. The two friends turned enemies flew through the air, down onto the waterfall and charged one another, racing over the river, their dōjutsus activated and searing with raw emotions. The waterfall roared with them.
Upon meeting, they crashed their forearms together, growling and glaring into their souls with their violent dreams gleaming in their eyes. Simultaneously they pushed off and away.
They skidded along the surface of the water, the light hue of chakra humming over the soles of their sandals. Then the two shinobi darted back in. Amari was faster, dashing hastily into range to throw a combination of punches, high and low. At his face, at his chest and stomach, power simmering behind her fists, seeking to crush bone, to batter flesh until it was discolored and swelled.
Kasai blocked and evaded, naturally. His hardened and cold lavender and green eyes read the obvious movements, and saw through the feints. He dodged beneath a hook and closed in, fist aimed for her gut. He only found air as Amari twirled and pivoted quickly on the surface of the water like an ice skater. As she spun back around, she cracked Kasai in the jaw, and then felt his knee crush her insides.
Wincing, she stumbled back one step, ducked beneath a wide strike and caught his knee again—this time with her hand. She jabbed him twice in the stomach and rose up for an uppercut. He leaned out of range, caught her arm by the elbow, blocked a counter punch and elbowed her in the sternum.
When she bent forward, pain thrumming and air knocked from her lungs, a rough hand dug into her wild mane, pulling, tearing strands. He stamped on her foot then, with superior strength, threw her towards the rushing edge of the waterfall with a guttural, hatred consumed roar.
Like a cat, Amari spun through the air, landed on all fours then sped away from the rushing rapids tugging her towards the edge. Kasai was throwing shuriken and kunai at the flock of Crows spiraling around him, darting past, their razor sharp beaks and claws narrowly opening wounds. Amari flew through the flock, concealed by their feathers from the naked eye, but not Kasai's Byakugan. At the last moment he lifted his arms up and blocked her axe kick.
The collision of limbs resounded over the deserted battlefield. Water pulsed beneath his feet. As he pushed her leg back, she threw herself into a backflip, landing in a low lunge just as Atsuko sped past overhead, one of Kasai's kunai wielded in her beak. The Head of the Crows bulleted straight for his throat; Kasai narrowly evaded.
A trickle of his blood coated the blade from the graze wound opened on his right cheek. It was hardly anything to brag about.
"You nuisance!" Kasai boomed, stepping into a powerful kick.
Amari was quick to raise her arms into a block, still in a crouched position. But the strength of the blow broke her guard and left her wide open. Or so Kasai thought. As he launched in to strike, her foot—half sunk in the water—flung forward, kicking water up into his face. The water splashed against his eyes, but she was still off balance from his initial strike. The opening passed too quickly for her to capitalize.
Feet planted again, she connected with a sweep kick, taking the legs out from her opponent. Simultaneously she twirled a kunai into hand, sunlight glinting off the onyx blade as she lunged in for the kill. Kasai fell back first towards the stream. Her blade severed the air, plunged towards his throat. At that moment, water thrown by Kasai splashed her eyes, blinding her temporarily.
Running on instinct and her other senses, Amari leapt back; air brushed against her abdomen, the whistle of a kunai narrowly missing her. She was able to clear her vision in time to see Kasai close in and slash his blade vertically at her torso. Another narrow miss. Or it was until he kicked her.
The attack sent her sliding back on the water. His kunai chased her. Amari slashed her kunai at the open air, deflecting the blade into the stream. Simultaneously, Kasai threw two shuriken then began to weave handseals.
Ox, Dog, Dragon, Rat, Dog, Boar, Snake, Tiger.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
The Sharingan perceived every handseal and the result in perfect clarity: two shuriken turned into one hundred, whirling through the air and surrounding her at every angle. Amari spun a second kunai into hand and rushed ahead. The shurikens, duplicated by Kasai's chakra the same way she duplicated herself with Shadow Clones, honed in on her.
At that moment, Amari stopped running, sharpening the chakra on her feet into a blade to skate along the water's surface. She glided around, kunais spinning in her hands, deflecting the shurikens as she twirled and skated. The clang of metal on metal echoed in her ears, sharp and unpleasant. She ducked low, spinning rapidly with her blades and hands moving deftly through the open air to deflect more shurikens as others whirled over her head.
Warm pain ripped open on her right shoulder. Even with my eyes and reflexes there are too many to deflect like this, she realized. There was only one option then. Green chakra suddenly shrouded the kunoichi. Amari jumped into the air and spun rapidly.
Rotation!
The deflection attack worked. Every shuriken bounced uselessly off the tornado of chakra; it stunned and infuriated her enemy. Landing back on the stream, Amari came out of her spin and threw her kunais at Kasai, who tilted his head out of the way of one blade and pivoted away from the other.
Despite the wound on her shoulder, he didn't appear pleased. He was like a kitchen pot of water left on a cooker; he slowly simmered at the start of the fight, but now was beginning to boil.
They met again in a flurry of attacks. No words spoken, their fists did the talking for them. Pent up emotions restrained for three long years unfurled.
Hatred. Disgust. Betrayal. Guilt. Sorrow. Rage.
Envy. Pride. Pain. Hunger. Spite.
The conflict of emotions and shared animosity twisted their feelings. Sometimes Amari wasn't sure which feelings belonged to her and which belonged to Kasai. These deep-seated feelings spurred their spirits, strengthened their blows, quickened their speed, drove them towards the only possible conclusion—killing each other.
Amari caught a powerful punch in her left side, and grimaced. Her ribs hadn't broken or cracked, luckily, but the blow stole a breath of oxygen. Kasai's left fist was already on a warpath for her face. As the powerful strike neared, Amari turned her head and tucked her chin into her shoulder; the sleeve of his haori swiped across her cheek.
Her former friend found her fist buried in his stomach, then, after she rolled her upper body beneath another strike, she fired off two more body shots and swung her elbow for his nose. She caught his lips instead, and noticed a small gash open on his upper lip.
Amari was forced to lean and skip back on the water, away from the heavy blow Kasai intended to collapse her windpipe with. She ducked beneath three shuriken, threw herself into a back handspring and landed near the edge of the waterfall. Every exchange brought them closer and closer to the crest, closer to a descent of at least one hundred meters, if not more.
Body Flickering in, Amari missed her punch. Kasai caught her by the wrist then promptly straight kicked her in the chest with tremendous force. The blow sent her shooting towards the edge.
Even as she landed on her feet, the roaring, churning rapids dragged the kunoichi towards the steep drop-off, and her former friend showed little care for it; shurikens and kunai with paper bomb flickering at the ends whistled and wrinkled through the air at her.
"Atsuko!" Amari called out.
Then leapt into the air, over the edge and into a nosedive. Heat rushed past her as explosions dotted the blue sky above her. The stony ravine enclosing the quiet valley roared with the thunder of echoes, carried along the stones quite some distance from the battlefield. A chilled misting of water sprinkled over her.
Atsuko cut through the smoke like a fletched arrow in a high-speed dive to put peregrine falcons to shame. She dived parallel to the waterfall, wings tucked in to her teardrop shaped body. The Crow's talons touched her shoulder, and then she was weightless, her body vanishing in a flock of cawing black birds.
The flock ascended the waterfall effortlessly. They wheeled around the left hand of the Madara Uchiha statue, which was permanently held in the Seal of Confrontation, and reformed as the great-great granddaughter, perched on his middle finger above the waterfall and Kasai.
The resemblance between the two Uchiha was uncanny.
Atsuko lingered on her shoulder. Crimson and lavender stared hard at Kasai. Her wild blue hair rustled in the wind as she waited for the fight to begin once more.
Kasai didn't keep her waiting long. First he reached into the inside of his haori, retrieving a small scroll from a hidden pocket. He unrolled the scroll, released the storage seal and grabbed the unsheathed sword by its hilt. The glare of sunlight reflected off the steel blade as he pointed it at her. Amari reached for her tantō and shifted her feet on the stone.
The Senju launched off the surface of the water, through the air and directly at the Uchiha. Atsuko took flight as their blades clashed and held in a deadlock.
Again, like in her fight against Hisashi, the length of her enemy's weapon provided reach her shorter sword lacked. But, like in her fight against Hisashi, that wouldn't change the end result.
She was faster than she was then. Stronger. Accustomed to the weapon she wielded and its strengths and limitations, while bearing the knowledge she gained through fighting Hisashi—a future master swordsman.
The deadlock broke. Kasai slashed three quick strikes, advancing on the kunoichi as he did to force her retreat. Amari blocked the strikes and, with chakra beginning to emanate from her feet, stepped lightly down the inside of the statue's finger. The fourth strike was a hazardous thrust, but her dōjutsu perceived it, and chakra was already flooding her body.
The Uchiha vanished, rushing up in a half circle to the tip of the finger again, behind her enemy. She slashed at his back. With a flourish of his sword, he bent forward and caught the blade with his own behind his back. Every advantage the Byakugan granted her was granted to Kasai, she couldn't forget.
Their weapons slid off one another, the Senju spinning around into a fluid strike as he faced his enemy once more. She met his blade in a fierce duel, steel clashing with steel, the metallic clangs piercing the ear, but hardly heard by the two shinobi. Boiling blood rushed through their veins as they descended down the stone finger, their searing eyes never leaving their nemesis, or distracted by the hot sparks jumping from their blades.
Darting another half circle, Amari flickered in at a horizontal angle along the vertical fingers. Kasai prepared a horizontal slash as she neared, aiming for her left side, aware the length of his blade would reach her before she could touch him. She'd have to parry or block with her tantō then he could complete his counter and cut her down; that was his expectation, anyway.
Expectation met remorseless reality. Amari, having prepared a kunai in her pouch, equipped the blade in an instant. Spinning on her toes, she parried his sword away with an upward strike of her tantō, finishing her counter by slashing her kunai at his face.
Metal grated on metal as Kasai, full of desperation, dipped his chin into his neck, forcing the kunai to cut a line through his forehead protector and the Sound Village symbol it displayed.
At the last moment, she tweaked her grip, drawing the line downwards. Kasai thrusted his sword for her. In the end, both Amari and Kasai nicked each other; his was a small gash through his left eyebrow, hers a thin and small cut just beneath her armpit.
Both hissed and attacked again.
"You were our brother!" she spat, attacking relentlessly. "We loved you and you betrayed us!"
"Oh, spare me! Ryu's death was the best thing that ever happened to you! What did you truly lose that day? Two friends? And what did you gain? New power, new friends, a new family and the Village your ancestor co-founded! You're better off without him!"
"Shut up! You two were my family! I would have given everything for you two!"
"You had nothing I wanted!" Kasai roared.
He slashed wildly at her head. Amari blocked and rushed down the stone finger, hopping down onto the knuckle of his curled ring finger. Kasai shot off after her.
"I wanted to be free!"
Their blades clanged sharply together.
"We were going to leave for the Leaf together!"
"And you think they would've accepted Ryu or I with open arms? Ryu would've been forced into the Side Branch, subjugated, branded and imprisoned by their ridiculous beliefs! He was left at the orphanage to escape that fate! And no one would've spared two thoughts to me, because none of us even knew I was a Senju! But you, you would've been taken in with open arms, just like you were without us! You wouldn't have been abandoned or subjugated! I saved Ryu from that fate! And it's because of me you're free, too!"
Amari's tantō ignited with flames as she growled.
"You're twisted!"
"We're all twisted! This whole world is twisted!"
She swiped her blade through the air. Kasai leapt off the knuckles, off the statue hand, over the blade of flames. Amari chased after him, releasing the chakra at her feet and zipping past him. They exchanged a single strike with one another as she flashed by, and then twisted their bodies in preparation of landing on the large stone sword hilt halfway down the waterfall.
Amari landed first. She hastily back flipped off the stone hilt onto the hand gripping it, evading Kasai's downwards slash completely. He followed after her.
Resolved to cleave her head off, Kasai opened with two diagonal downward strikes and finished with a horizontal slash. Amari narrowly evaded his first two attacks, but caught the shimmering steel with her kunai in a deadlock. Twirling the tantō in her hand for a reverse grip, she cut for his throat.
Kasai caught her arm at the elbow. Their eyes burned into each other's souls. Their arms struggled to break free and finish the fatal blows. Neither gave an inch. As endless as the waterfall pouring nearby, their hatred and desire to kill each other refused to simmer. It kept boiling.
Together, in synchronicity, they growled then swung their heads back and slammed them into one another. Anything to hurt their enemy. Anything to finish each other off.
The force of the blow sent them both stumbling back, heads pounding. Their eyes met again. Amari smirked cockily. A silent taunt. The blow landed, and stung; Kasai's cruel and bloodied lips twisted downwards in fury.
Then Amari took off. Away from him this time. She rushed up the stone forearm covered by a stone sleeve. Kasai chased after her, falling in parallel to her. Their blades clashed as they ran. Sharp rings echoed down the valley. Blades narrowly slashed past limbs. Some opened new, small cuts through the fabric of their clothing—wounds they hardly felt.
Finally they stopped—almost in complete synchronicity—just beneath the elbow of the massive statue arm. Both skidded along the stone for a moment, but neither stopped attacking. Amari sidestepped a strike and answered with an attack of her own. It didn't land.
He was good. His taijutsu, his swordplay, he had advanced just as much as she had. But where he held greater physical strength, she held greater speed and finesse.
Amari began channeling chakra throughout her entire body. Kasai could see it, she knew. His eyes squinted as their ferocious assault refused to end. She pirouetted away from his sword and slashed with her kunai. He blocked, and she pirouetted again—faster.
Their blades met again. She could see Hisashi's movements in her mind's eye. See him all but dancing between her clone and her, covering himself with those elegant pirouettes and amazing footwork. Kasai stepped back and rushed in from her side. Dancing on the stone, she blocked his attack, twirled on her toes away from his sword and, with a little hop, struck.
Their blades did not meet. Amari became intangible, phasing through his sword. Kasai inhaled sharply as his Byakugan caught sight of the kunoichi appearing behind him, jumping through the air as her afterimage remained in front of him. He flourished his sword, ducked low and began to turn around to counter her attack.
You saw through my first afterimage.
Kasai's sword phased through the second Amari.
But let's see how you handle two!
The Senju struggled to block the original Amari, who had become corporeal once more and was primed to strike at his side. But as he began to get his footing, and as the second afterimage landed from her jump—having phased through him entirely to land in front of him—his perfect parry of the original met air.
The second Uchiha spun on her toe and slashed at his chest. Simultaneously, the original kunoichi bolted around Kasai to his back. He ducked quickly beneath the first attack, air severing in the flight of the tantō, and aimed a kick for the original. Nothing again. Which meant…
"You!
Kasai jolted forward and attempted to impale the second Uchiha.
"Huh?!"
Nothing. The original had become corporeal again.
He spun around—
"Argh!"
The kunai, hidden in his blindspot, cut past his ear, splitting a permanent gap in the outer rim cartilage. At that same moment, the second Uchiha caught the kunai and launched her attack.
Body Flickering, she raced past Kasai, tantō clanging against his desperate block. She skidded along the stone and launched at him again, repeating the attack over and over again, becoming a bullet he could barely track. Alongside her, her afterimage performed the same attack. They mirrored Mimi's and Aoko's relentless attacks and pincer strategy, zipping past Kasai—who stumbled along the stone and struggled to maintain an effective guard—to wear him down, attack by attack.
Unable to find any leverage or footing, Kasai rushed out of the center of their assault. He raced towards the torso of the statue, chakra glowing at his feet as their field of battle changed once more. Amari gave chase, momentarily becoming one again before renewing the second afterimage when she was in range to strike.
She couldn't see Atsuko's pride over the feat.
Along the torso of the statue they battled. They raced up and down it, in circles, pirouetting, countering with parry's and taijutsu that threatened to send them plummeting off the statue. There were times where all that connected them to the statue was a single foot or hand.
On one occasion Kasai, overwhelmed by the incredible speed, lost his footing, fell some distance then caught the statue with chakra on his hand. He swung his feet back to the stone and slowed his descent, an ugly snarl on his crimson painted lips.
Amari, who canceled the chakra to her feet, nosedived after him. She threw her kunai ahead of her, which he deflected with a slash of his sword. Flames coating her blade, she prepared to strike. The Senju released the chakra from his feet and flew into a backflip; he landed on a boulder sticking through the waterfall, stabbing the blade into the stone to free his hands.
After a quick set of handseals, water surged to life around him, forming into a serpent with red eyes. The water creature lurched after the diving Amari. She formed the Clone Seal and created a Shadow Clone, who she used the back of to launch up and out of range of the serpent's mouth.
Water exploded against stone, sprinkling or down right splashing over her clothes and body. But the serpent remained intact. Amari landed on its body. She dashed along its back with her sword of fire still flickering with orange flames. Three more serpents launched from the endless supply of water.
"I'll reunite you with Ryu if you miss him so badly!"
Evading left then right, she sprang between the violent streams of water that crashed into the original serpent's body and leapt again, landing horizontally on the side of another serpent. Amari's searing eyes locked onto Kasai. She propelled herself off the serpent and slashed her tantō through the air, launching a blade of fire at the boulder.
Water shot from the waterfall to blanket the area in front of him—a water wall to defend. Behind her, trapping her with the wall, another serpent prepared to strike. Atsuko swooped down and the body of the kunoichi dispersed into Crows, flying down to the second boulder protruding out of the waterfall, below Kasai.
He knows Water Style as well, huh?
Amari reformed with Atsuko on her shoulder. She sheathed her tantō and glared hard at Kasai, who glared back at her. The roar of the waterfall was deafening. The rush of water soaked her right side and his left.
"Atsuko, let's show him the power of the Crows and Uchiha. And turn him into a pile of ash."
She began to weave handseals.
"Of course, Young Haya."
From the waterfall, three serpents took form around Kasai. Amari's chest expanded to its full capacity.
Fire Style:—
"Your weak jutsu won't touch me!"
The serpents launched for her.
Fire Ball Jutsu!
A massive wave of fire expelled from Amari's lips, racing powerfully into the collision with the serpents. Steam immediately began to materialize; the streams of water acted as an impenetrable and impervious army, battling and driving the wave of fire directly back at her.
On her shoulder, Atsuko's chest expanded, puffing her up like a balloon. Then she unleashed her jutsu.
Wind ripped from her open beak, controlled in its power and direction. It swirled around the torrent of flames, reshaping the jutsu into an unquenchable tornado of fire. Kasai's eyes widened at the sight. The unlimited supply of water aided him little now. The combined Natures and power of the Uchiha and Crow pushed back the three streams gradually at first. But the two companions weren't finished.
In synch, Crow and Uchiha increased their power output; a shockwave of power emanated off of the kunoichi's body. The gradual push became rapid. Kasai tried in futility to add greater power to his Water jutsu, but the water was evaporating on impact with the violent cyclone.
Steam consumed their vision but did not blind. The roar of flames, wind and water clashing in fury and hatred was all but deafening. Yet Ryu's last wish was at the cusp of completion.
Kasai underestimated the power of the Uchiha and the Crows of the Leaf—a fatal error.
Suddenly, her former friend clapped his palms together and bellowed:
"Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!"
Or it would've been.
Amari's eyes, while wide with shock by the words she heard, flicked to her right, where she sensed immense chakra in the earth behind the waterfall.
She cut off her Fire Style and yelled for Atsuko over the roar of the waterfall.
Tree roots seethed out of the waterfall, and the entire battle changed in an instant.
The half grassy, half sandy battlefield was utterly silent when Mimi and her team arrived. Only the sound of the casual breeze rustling through the leaves and bending blades of grass could be heard. No sounds of battle. Or friendly chatter.
Mimi and Aoko smelled the charred corpse first. Before she even had eyes on the situation, she caught the scent and felt her entire stomach lurch into her throat. She almost puked then and there. But she, much to her own discomfort, swallowed it down and tried to ignore the grotesque scent.
When they finally came upon the injured, the rest of the squad finally caught a whiff of it. No one found it appealing. Tenten offered a sympathetic look to the Inuzuka duo, who looked a little green. But no one spoke about it.
Their injured and exhausted comrades sat beneath the shade of a tree, most too exhausted to move, others trying to tend to the injuries as best they could.
It didn't take Aoko's special senses to see who was worst off.
Hikari likely sensed them first, but it was Lee who drew attention to their arrival.
"Mimi! Tenten! Everyone! You're al— ah!"
Mimi retracted her fist as Lee bent forward, clutching the top of his head.
"You hot-blooded fool! Fresh out of surgery and you go rushing into battle?!" She shoved a bottle of medicine into his hand. "Here's the medicine you were supposed to take. Hope that sake you drank helped you kick someone's ass straight into the bowels of hell."
She kept moving towards the injured. Sasuke was unconscious, from the look of him. His chin was tucked into his chest, and a white bone was protruding through his shoulder. Not his own, but someone else's.
It's good they didn't remove it. He'd have bled out if they did.
Gaara looked exhausted, but no worse for wear. Naruto, who sat with his back against the same tree trunk as Sasuke, seemed to be on the verge of passing out. Lee's injuries were minimal. Hikari had a puncture wound in her right shoulder and a graze wound at her mid-bicep—the former wasn't as bad as it could be, but it needed treatment.
Finally there was Hinata. The sight of her made Mimi's heart pound. Blood coated her right hand, forearm and the sweater. She cradled the bandaged hand, wincing visibly as she tried desperately not to let it move. The entire left side of her face was coated in blood, and her eye…
Mimi rushed to her side first, kneeling down next to her. Hinata offered a weak smile.
"Mimi…"
"Which hurts worst?"
"My hand."
"Then we'll fix that first. You'll be good as new when I'm done with you." Mimi took it into hers, removing the bandages carefully and gently.
"Mimi, the damage to her hand is extensive. You know—"
"I know, Aoko. I know," she cut off her ninken. Then shook her head. "Sorry. I'm—"
"I know," Aoko soothed. "It's not impossible to fix. Do what you can for now. The surgeons back home can handle the rest."
"Right. Tenten, in my pouch are Plasma Pills. Give one to Hikari, two to Sasuke. I'll need two for Hinata, too."
"Okay."
Tenten fished into her back pouch for the Plasma Pills and retrieved two for Hinata, who ate them without complaint. The slight scrunch of her face caused by the iron taste was an expected and familiar response. Then her teammate left to give one to Hikari and to feed Sasuke his.
"Gaara, we're glad to see you and Hikari are all right," Kankurō greeted.
"As am I. Did Orochimaru's other pawns give you two trouble?"
"No. The Leaf shinobi had already finished them by the time we arrived," Temari replied. "It looks like this one gave you and Hikari quite the fight."
"Yes. He was…powerful. Resilient. But utterly brainwashed by his master. If not for Sasuke Uchiha's Curse Mark, it is possible we might have died instead. His fanaticism and devotion to Orochimaru surpassed all pain. He fought in that state."
Mimi glanced up at the charred corpse then to Kankurō and Temari. They appeared troubled by the reality of a shinobi so resilient.
Mimi shook her head. "Sorry we couldn't lend a hand," she said.
"You're doing enough now."
"Naruto, are you all right?" Sakura asked as she knelt in front of him.
"Don't worry about me, Sakura. I'm okay. But Sasuke, and Amari—"
"Where is 'Risu, anyway?"
"She's still out there, fighting. We…" Naruto struggled to stand up, only to collapse back into the tree. He grunted and grimaced. "I can barely move. My whole body, everything hurts…"
"Aoko?" Mimi asked beneath her breath.
"I can't diagnose the source of his pain without knowledge of the battle that took place, nor can I sense what damage he has suffered. He bears no injuries I can sense. No broken bones. No contusions. Yet he is clearly in severe pain. It's as if he has suffered backlash from one of the Eight Gates, without the physical injuries. Perhaps his special regenerative ability has already healed the major injuries, but his body remains fatigued with aches and pains. I can only speculate."
She'd get answers soon enough.
"Fighting? Who is she fighting? Where?" Sakura asked.
Whatever the answer was, it made Naruto growl and curl his hands into fists at the thought of it. But he didn't answer first.
"'Twas Kasai," Hikari informed.
"No way!" Sakura gasped. "He was here?"
Naruto, Hinata and Lee all nodded.
Mimi's hands stiffened. She remembered Amari's memories, the happiness of the bond she used to share with him, his betrayal and the pain he caused her. She'd seen that day, and never forgotten it.
"Are you absolutely sure it was him?" Shikamaru asked, calm and composed on the outside, but she could hear the concern.
"Yeah. He had Ryu's other eye. He taunted Amari and us about what he'd done. And…" Naruto dug his fingers into the grass. "Somebody has to go and help her! Kasai has a secret weapon Amari has no idea about!"
"Wait a minute," Mimi growled. "Are you tellin' me Amari just abandoned all of you to extract revenge on that prick?"
"No." Hinata's serious eye caught the Inuzuka off guard. "I told her to go."
"You… What?"
"Um, anyone mind filling us in on who these Kasai and Ryu guys are?" Kankurō asked.
"Kasai and Amaririsu once lived at the same orphanage," Lee answered. "One fateful day, he killed their friend Ryu, scarred Amaririsu's face and left her to die. Alone. Guy-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-sensei found her there, holding Ryu's dead body in her arms. You could say it is that day that Amaririsu was reborn into the kunoichi we all know."
"Kasai is now a Sound shinobi," Gaara informed in his cold, gravelly voice. "Another pawn of Orochimaru. And he's become quite powerful."
Mimi's sapphire eyes never left Hinata, who in turn continued to stare at her. Words were never spoken, yet they held a full discussion and debate on why the choice was made. In the end, Mimi understood. But she didn't like it.
"What's this secret weapon you mentioned, Naruto?" Shikamaru probed.
"He can use Wood Style. The Clone I killed turned into a wooden dummy. It's still in that crater over there."
"Wood Style? But only the First Hokage could use it," Tenten gasped.
"Not anymore. Kasai can use it, too."
"Wood Style is a kekkei genkai," Shikamaru analyzed. "You can't just teach yourself to use it."
"You think I'd lie about this when Amari's life is in danger?" Naruto demanded angrily.
"No. I know you wouldn't lie. I was drawing a conclusion, one I really don't like."
"Well, spit it out," Temari prodded.
"Since Wood Style is a kekkei genkai, a bloodline trait, Kasai would have to be born into the Clan which the kekkei genkai is prominent. Like the Byakugan for the Hyūga or the Sharingan for the Uchiha. However, no one except the First Hokage of the Senju Clan wielded this power. Not even his granddaughter, the Fifth Hokage.
"We can extrapolate one of two conclusions from this: Either Orochimaru has somehow found a way to give the First Hokage's kekkei genkai to others, or whatever gene activates Wood Style skipped a few generations."
"Wait, you're not saying Kasai is related to the First Hokage, are you?" Sakura asked.
"I can't know for sure," Shikamaru shook his head, the sinking feeling in his gut slipping into his voice. "And I'm not sure which conclusion worries me more. Because if Kasai is related to the First Hokage, and he naturally has Wood Style… What are the odds it's just as powerful as the First Hokage's?"
"That's why we have to go after her!" Naruto claimed.
"You're not going anywhere, Goofball." Mimi flicked her eyes to the rest of the group. "Most of you aren't. Between your injuries and exhaustion, the majority of you won't be of any help to Amari."
"I'll go after her," Shikamaru decided.
"Not a chance, Slacker. With your chakra? Plus Wood Style? You're not fast enough for that."
"I'm not leaving 'Risu behind."
The Inuzuka growled. "The fact you think I'd even consider that pisses me off." Mimi's sharp eyes glared at the entire group. "In case you guys haven't noticed, Hinata, Sasuke, Naruto and Gaara are either unconscious, severely injured or too exhausted to move. We can't just all rush off to save Amari and leave them here on the border. Somebody has to help carry them back to the Leaf, otherwise Sasuke might lose his life.
"On top of all that, Shikamaru, your mission is finished. You've retrieved Sasuke and all your comrades. My mission isn't over, and since I'm the only medic here, that puts me in charge of this mess. Sakura, Shikamaru and Tenten, you'll be carrying them back. Lee, you'll go with them. Your body isn't suited for more combat. And don't argue with me. I'm not in the damn mood."
She looked to Temari and Kankurō. "You two can take Gaara and Hikari back to the Leaf. Aoko and I will go after Amari as soon as we're done here."
"No. I will go, too," Hikari said. Mimi opened her mouth to retort, but the Suna kunoichi silenced her with a smile. "You cannot order me, Mimi Inuzuka, so do not try. My injuries are not severe, and I have rested well since the battles ended. I trust the three of us together will be enough to aid Amaririsu, should she need it."
"One of us can join you," Temari offered.
"No." Hikari shook her head. "'Twould be foolish to leave our injured unguarded as they return. 'Tis too possible Orochimaru will send reinforcements. Kankurō or you alone are skilled shinobi, I do not deny, but we must exercise caution. Until we are all safely within Konoha's walls, the danger has not passed."
"Hikari's right," Mimi agreed. "I'd be grateful if you two watched after my comrades."
"We'll take care of it," Kankurō said. "Trust us."
"I might begin considering it if you're successful."
The puppet user grinned at her. "You're a stubborn one, huh?"
Mimi didn't reply. She focused on healing the hole in Hinata's hand.
"I believe in her, Mimi," Hinata whispered.
"I do, too."
I just need you to hang on a bit longer, Amari. I'll be on my way as soon as I finish healing everyone here.
Amari inhaled and exhaled slowly. Controlled. Her heartrate was in its upper limits, but desperation and panic together always acted as an accelerator.
"Too close," she murmured.
"Agreed, Young Haya."
Crouched upside down on a newly formed tree branch, she examined the area below her, where the scene of thick roots with bladed ends stabbed into the bark of the new forest attraction at the border landmark.
The forest had erupted from the earth behind the waterfall. The roots and foliage encompassed the entire width of the waterfall, from statue to statue, obstructing its path. Water trickled, dripped and poured through the forest; she could hear the roar of the waterfall still, and the new sound of small streams pouring onto leaves and bark, down through the gaps to the stream farther below.
It'd been tooth and nail for Amari and Atsuko to escape. Neither was prepared for the legendary Wood Style of the First Hokage. How could they be? No one, not his brother or his granddaughter, wielded his kekkei genkai.
"This explains Kasai's obsession with surpassing Lord First. When he made the declaration three years ago that he wanted to surpass Hashirama Senju, I never understood why. He'd never wanted that before. At least, he never mentioned it. Maybe I didn't know him as well as I thought. Maybe all he showed me was a mask, and I fell for it. Even today as he raved about being related to the First Hokage, I guess I didn't believe him. Or care to.
"But I get it now." Amari exhaled. "Kasai worked hard to learn Fire Style. Harder than I had to. But the Uchiha rite of passage is learning the Fire Ball Jutsu. Fire is our natural affinity. It wasn't his. But he still learned it. His Fire Ball Jutsu was stronger than mine back then."
"The Senju were famed for their balanced skill in all shinobi arts."
Amari hummed lowly. "I don't have any doubts now. He's a Senju, all right. An heir to Lord First's power. He could have killed me years ago, yet he left me alive to suffer. But I think he also wanted me to gain power, all for this moment. Kasai's obsession is driving him to recreate the final battle between two legends, and its end result."
"I wonder: is he seeking to validate himself? Or has this all been for his own sick entertainment?" Atsuko pondered.
"Or his master's."
"Hm. I fear that possibility most."
So did Amari. She suspected Orochimaru wasn't Kasai's true master. The information about his lineage, her lineage… No, Orochimaru wouldn't have let her escape the Forest of Death without a Curse Mark had he known the truth; he wouldn't have let Kasai leave today of all days if he knew Kasai could use Wood Style.
That left two possibilities, neither of which she was fond of.
Was Kasai working for the Foundation?
Or the Masked Man?
Amari shook her head. None of this mattered right now. Although this forest physically separated her from Kasai, they could both still see one another clearly. She couldn't lose focus. A split-second was all he needed to kill her.
Atsuko's flight will be limited in this forest. She flicked her eye to her left. I could make a break for the open air, but Kasai will be expecting that. He'll be prepared for an escape attempt. But he doesn't have an unlimited supply of water to draw from now. This dense foliage has cut off access to the majority of the water.
But she knew little about Wood Style as a whole. What manner of jutsus could he create with it? Was it dangerous to merely stand on any of this vegetation?
I have to hope I can either kill him before he uses it more, or I'll be able to read his jutsus with my Sharingan to evade them better.
Kasai's chakra fluctuated. Amari snapped her head up, Byakugan eye zeroed in on the Sound shinobi. Wood was growing out of his back, shaping into three Clones.
"He's created three Wood Clones. And they're on the move, but…"
"What is it, Young Haya?"
"They're not advancing on our position."
They scattered, jumping and dashing through the forestry. She watched them all, patient to not simply react. Every instinct demanded her to chase him down and slit his throat, but that'd only get her and Atsuko hurt or killed.
Stay focused. Don't lose sight of yourself.
The four Kasai's settled in four separate positions high above her. She watched them all weave the Fire Ball Jutsu handseals, and realized their plan.
Here it comes.
Fire sprayed from their lips, violent wide streams scorching a path directly to her. It consumed everything in its path; the scent of burning leaves, bark and smoke quickly became all she could smell. Amari leapt from her position, corkscrewing through the air to land on her feet, and jolted right along a thick branch.
The flames drew closer. She could feel the oppressive heat on her skin. She reached into her back pouch and equipped two kunais, throwing the first directly above her into a branch, which water poured off of, and the second into the bundle of roots protruding through the wall ahead of her.
She leapt farther down the forestry, chakra glowing at her feet as she surfed down a curved branch, kunais flying from her hands into strategic points.
Explosions reverberated up and down the forest. Bark exploded, splinters and shards of debris flew through the air. With all the explosions, one might assume two shinobi were desperately trying to blow each other up. But that wasn't Amari's intention.
The forest acted as a beaver dam might obstruct a river. Her paper bomb kunais removed key areas of the pseudo-dam, allowing the waterfalls torrential downpour to resume. Although the Fire Ball Jutsu did not end because of this, it acted as a repellent to the forest fire in the lower areas where she released the water.
Amari took cover beneath a branch being poured on, chakra glowing at her feet as she pressed her back against the thick branch. The water curled around the branch and slowly began to soak her skin, hair and clothing.
At the same time, flames roared past her and Atsuko. The heat licked her skin and Atsuko's damp feathers, but they were left untouched by the attack.
The stream of flames cut off. And though her defense strategy spared her, Atsuko and sections of the forest from their destruction, many areas of the forest remained on fire.
"Welcome to hell, old friend!" Kasai's voice called down to her.
He's turned this environment into one giant hazard for all of us. One wrong step, one bad fall, and we'll end up burned. The longer the flames burn, the higher risk of burning branches falling onto us. And if we stray too far up, we'll slowly suffocate on the smoke.
Kasai and his clones were already descending.
But if he wants this to be hell so bad…
"Atsuko, can you use a widespread Wind jutsu powerful enough to fan the flames?"
"I can." Amari flipped up onto the branch, and out of the way of the pouring water. "However, this is a risky strategy, Young Haya. This battlefield will only grow more hazardous."
"That's the intention. Fire is indiscriminate to who it burns; he launched this attack to show off his power, but a widespread Wind jutsu can turn it against them while they're still above us. Besides, the larger the flames, the larger the shadows."
"Mm. I understand. Brace yourself, Young Haya. It is about to become very windy."
Amari crouched down and impaled a kunai into the tree. Atsuko's body ballooned again, and upon opening her beak she expelled rough gale force winds that ripped through the entire forest. The rush of air left Amari squinting, the gales whipping her hair and clothes into a frenzy.
Tears and scratches akin to bear claws tore apart bark. And as they ascended and ripped past the flames, the fires swelled into an enormous inferno. Looking up, it appeared as if the entire sky had turned red.
One of Kasai's Clones fell prey to the fire, set ablaze without mercy; his screams could be heard over the waterfall before he inevitably perished.
One Clone down. Three Kasai's to go.
The wind ripped open varying sized gashes on the three. None of the Clones dispelled. Unlike the Shadow Clone Jutsu, who dispelled upon taking too much damage, Wood Clones appeared to be essentially another human being.
It's the perfect Clone Jutsu, Amari analyzed as Atsuko unleashed another powerful Wind Jutsu. If I lose sight of the real Kasai, I won't be able to tell the difference between him or his Clones. They're indistinguishable from each other.
The intensity of the inferno grew. Even below the worst of the raging inferno the heat was tangible. The cool air she'd been growing used to with the change of seasons was utterly absent. Indeed, this was a sweltering hell.
As Atsuko's jutsu ended, Kasai, wielding his sword, severed a flaming branch with several precise cuts. Amari leapt to the side and dashed along the tree, avoiding the falling debris. She brought her hands into the Clone Seal and created two Shadow Clones.
Together the trio of kunoichis ascended through the hellfire forest. Atsuko swooped off her shoulder as the kunoichi darted directly for Kasai. He dropped down from above with his Wood Clones, sword held above his head, the forest fire dancing in the shimmering steel and his crazed eyes. Chakra glowed along the blade.
Tantō leaping into her hand, she blocked his strike, green chakra coating her blade. The resounding strike, and power, acted like a sharper, ear ringing sonic boom. Air exploded outward from their attack. The bark beneath her feet sank and splintered into a small crater.
Kasai's foot rushed forward and slammed into her chest. Amari skidded back along the bark; she sensed the Wood Clone land behind her. He created the Snake handseal.
"Wood St—"
He never finished the jutsu. A legion of Crows drilled straight through his back and out of his chest, bursting past the Uchiha on a warpath towards the original Kasai; the Wood Clone transformed into a wooden dummy with a gaping hole through its center.
"That damn bird is beginning to annoy me," Kasai growled.
Amari halted her slide and launched back at her former friend.
"Get used to it!"
The words sparked a vile emotion in the Senju. He suddenly sank into the wood, vanishing completely from sight and evading the Crow assault. Amari's Clones battled the Clone of Kasai higher above her, in the smoke and closer to the worst of the flames. She could hear a mixture of physical attacks and Wood uprooting itself, but didn't dare to lower her guard.
All this vegetation has chakra running through it. I can't see him anywhere.
Beads of sweat trickled down her face. She held her tantō up as she scanned every inch of the forest in search of Kasai.
Her eyes shot down. There!
Kasai's sword sped out of the wood directly for her heart. Parrying the strike, she realized too late the Senju wasn't on the other side of it. The sword careened through the forest and impaled into another tree. Amari whirled around and cut off what she thought was Kasai's forearm, but was stunned to see her blade had severed a sharpened root protruding out of the back of his left shoulder, like a third arm.
Unaffected by the attack, more roots protruded from his entire left side and lurched after her like serpents. Amari retreated in a series of jumps, slicing and severing the roots in what was an ultimately unsuccessful endeavor; the roots continued to regrow and chase her.
When she reached a horizontal V-junction in the trees, she jumped up to the higher branch and rushed along its underside, beneath the flames. Kasai detached the roots from his body. Clasped his hands together in Snake. Then unleashed another Wood Jutsu.
Again her eyes were drawn to the branch she stood upon, where new branches and roots were suddenly and violently sprouting. She released the chakra at her feet, spun, cut through the branches attacking her back then righted herself as she landed behind the Senju.
Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!
The barrage of small fireballs sped for their target. Then exploded. Amari wasn't fooled. She could see through the smoke and the Wood Dome he had formed at the last moment—he was missing again.
Instead of waiting for his appearance, and sensing one of her Shadow Clone's dispel, she jumped higher into the canopy. The heat and smoke were more intense; she could already feel her body temperature rising, and its attempt to cool itself off through more sweat.
The entire area was consumed by a reddish-orange tint. Amari jumped as quickly and as safely as she could through the forest fire, jumping through streams of water she passed along the way to soak her skin and cool herself off.
I don't think there's a limit to this kekkei genkai. Kasai's chakra acts as a source of life, allowing him to grow anything from his own body or the earth itself. He can hide himself inside this vegetation. Every time I step on these branches now I am anticipating it to spring to life. Can I even get close enough for a killing blow without him drilling a root through me at the same time?
She didn't have time to ponder it or worry. Kasai emerged from a branch in front of her, sword in hand, the fires casting a shadowy silhouette over him.
"Why won't you die?" he snarled.
She blocked his strike and jumped back.
"Why?"
Another clash of steel. His strikes were coming harder and faster.
"Why?"
Amari growled in pain as he kicked her in the knee, making it buckle. She lifted her tantō up and blocked his downward strike. Their blades shook in the deadlock, their muscles trembled in exertion. The veins bulging around their Byakugan eyes pulsed visibly.
"Why can't I kill you?!"
The sole of his sandal crushed into her chest and sent her flying through the forest. Amari began to flip out of it, but grimaced. The only place to land is on that burning branch. Damn it.
Kasai charged through the air after her.
"Tell me!"
Landing on the branch, Amari felt the immediate agony of the intense flames burning the flesh of her left leg. She pushed off as quickly as she could.
"Tell me why you're still alive! You, the weakling crybaby! An insignificant girl who shouldn't even be a shinobi! Ryu died to protect you! Someone he owed nothing to. Someone who shouldn't even be alive right now!"
Amari struggled to keep her feet firm with the intense burn on her left leg. But she was able to block his rapid strikes and return the favor. She vanished suddenly, and reappeared below Kasai, her foot planting into his abdomen, sending him back first into a burning branch. The flames burned through his clothes and branded his back.
The Senju roared and launched himself off the branch back at her.
"I hate you!"
"The feeling is mutual, you bastard!"
Chakra erupted around their body's and blades—green and silver, respectively. Another sonic boom reverberated through the burning forest. Debris and embers began to fall around them. Trees creaked, groaned and popped in pleas of mercy as they were victimized by the swelling, uncontrollable rage of flames that seized them all. Sweat poured from their pores. They panted heavily, in anger, in exertion as their bodies shook in the deadlock.
"I hate you just as much," she growled. "You want to know why I'm still alive? I am surrounded by tragedy. Countless people I loved have sacrificed their lives so I could be here. So I could see a future they wouldn't be able to." She felt his strength overpowering hers. "But they also trusted me to endure. They entrusted their hopes, their dreams and the future to me! That's why…"
Amari twisted her blade suddenly, rolled beneath Kasai's wide strike and slammed her fist into his stomach with all her might, screaming in fury and pain as she did. At the same time, as he flew away, his sword cut along the entire length of her back, up and over her right shoulder.
Despite the nearly immobilizing pain, she rushed ahead with a wordless roar.
"That's why I had to become stronger!" she yelled as she attacked with rapid slashes. "Ryu's last wish was for me to stop you and to see a better future for him. One where we weren't imprisoned by the lives we lived. Freedom was all of our dreams, you stupid fool! I have spent every day of my life since then training to become stronger. To become a person worth Ryu's sacrifice! Worth losing the only two people I had in this world!"
"Yet you moved on!"
"I never moved on!" she shouted, sweat and sparks flying through the air. "It's true I have new people in my life, people I love and cherish as my family, but the holes left behind by the people I lost are still in my heart!"
The Senju and Uchiha fought through the flames. Silver and green chakra flickered among the red and orange flames. New wounds opened. Old wounds, unseen to the naked eye, reopened.
Amari sensed her second Clone dispel, and the sudden approach of Kasai's Wood Clone.
"But this new you, this monster you've become, is not the person I called brother! Every breath you take, every venomous taunt you spit at me fractures that memory I held of you. That's why I'll destroy you! So that my Kasai's memory will live on!"
"Just shut up!"
She disarmed Kasai with finesse. She evaded and cut open a wound along the back of his hand, stepping on the blade of the sword and pinning it to the tree. The Uchiha rocked his insides with a powerful fist. Attaching the blade to her foot with chakra as he stumbled away, she watched and prepared as four more Wood Clones sprouted from his back and jolted at her.
Amari sheathed her tantō threw herself into a rapid front handspring, and threw the sword with her foot. The weapon impaled straight through the chest of one of his Clones. As she came up and out of the handspring, hands held in Rat, the three new Clones plus the original Clone, surrounded the kunoichi to eliminate her.
At that moment, four Shadow Dragon tendrils lurched from the tree, wrapping around the throats of the four Kasai's. Remorselessly, in a single instant, the Shadow Dragons crushed their spines and snapped their necks.
Kasai equipped two handfuls of paper bomb kunais, snarling and grinding his teeth together. Then he whirled around and tossed them at Atsuko, who had snuck into his blindspot in a nosedive, formed in a perilous, drilling flock of Crows.
"I'll kill these stupid birds first! And then I'll kill you!"
Atsuko diverted instantly as explosions began to go off all around her. There wasn't enough room to maneuver, though. Too many branches, too much fire. Amari sent her Shadow along the tree, hoping to capture Kasai and finish the battle once and for all. But then Atsuko was caught in the middle of an explosion.
"Atsuko!" she cried out.
The Crow plummeted out of the smoke, unconscious. Straight towards a burning tree branch.
Amari retracted her Shadow and dove from the branch after her companion.
"Just like Ryu, you'll die protecting a nuisance!"
Amari caught Atsuko in her arms. In her Byakugan she could see his last paper bomb whistling right at her back.
Then the tag exploded and consumed the pair.
"Shikamaru!"
Kakashi watched as the Nara boy's head, along with the rest of the Leaf and Sand shinobi, rose to the trees above where he, Kurenai and Pakkun stood.
"Kakashi-sensei? Kurenai-sensei? Pakkun?" Tenten sounded perplexed by their presence.
Kakashi couldn't take his eyes off the group. Sasuke and Hinata both looked worse for wear. Everyone did. But he couldn't stop long.
Amari and Mimi were missing.
"Where are Amari and Mimi?" he demanded.
Shikamaru opened his mouth to answer, but Naruto, who was braced by the Nara, was faster.
"You two have to hurry ahead! Kasai is working for Orochimaru and he and Amari are fighting alone somewhere up ahead!"
"Kasai?" Kurenai gasped.
"Mimi and Hikari went ahead to help her," Shikamaru informed. "The situation is a lot more complicated than that. But Naruto's right, you two need to get going. I've got a bad feeling I can't shake off."
"And watch out! Kasai is a Wood Style user!"
Wood Style?
Kakashi nodded. "Got it. Stay alert, all of you. We'll regroup with you as soon as we have Amari, Mimi and Hikari."
"Don't worry about us. We'll be fine," Temari assured.
"Pakkun, lead the way."
"You got it, Kakashi."
The trio dispersed on the trail.
"Shikamaru's bad feelings have always been a bad omen," Kurenai murmured.
"Yeah. Let's pick up the pace."
"How can he possess Wood Style? Only the First Hokage has ever wielded that power."
No, Kakashi thought. There's one other I know who has wielded that power, artificially. A power he gained because of Orochimaru's experiments.
Was Kasai turned into another test subject? Or…
"Do you know the whole story of Amari's heritage, Kurenai?"
"Yes. After our battle with the Akatsuki, I informed Shikaku about everything that happened. He told me about her parents and their accomplishments, as well as their ancestry. Why…" Her red eyes widened. ""Wait, you're not suggesting that Kasai is—"
"We won't know for sure until we get there. But there's something ominous in the air. You can feel it too, can't you?"
Kurenai pursed her lips in discomfort but nodded. "I can."
"Up ahead of us is the battlefield where Lord First and Madara Uchiha fought for the final time. It's known as the Valley of the End. But was it really an end? Or have their ancestors inherited their quarrel?"
Kakashi furrowed his brow. This feeling he had…
"What if it's just an endless cycle?"
They fell into silence after that.
Hang on, Amari. Just hang on.
Please. Let me arrive on time.
"Amari."
Everything hurt. The pain she'd ignored in the heat of battle thrummed violently through her body. But that voice…
Amari, lying on her side, creaked her eyes open, the burning crimson and intense lavender cooled rapidly by injury back to flat onyx and lavender.
Crouched in front of her was Kasai—her Kasai. The memory of him. He was still so malnourished. But his smile was warm. Behind him was Ryu, bearing a concerned expression.
"That looked like it hurt." No malice. No taunt. Genuine concern. "Here, I'll help you up."
Amari shut her eyes. Go away.
"Hey, I know it hurts. But you can't just quit because you fall down now and then."
She opened her eyes, but kept them away from the ghostly visage of her dead friends. She looked into her arms, hugged over her chest with Atsuko safely secured and protected.
Her back burned. Stung. Throbbed. The fabric of her shirt and mesh top were burned through, ripped apart to the flesh beneath. Every inch of her fair-skinned back was painted crimson by the terrible cut. Her right ankle had a small, thin branch pierced all the way through it; Amari knew she couldn't stand on it, let alone walk or run or fight on it now.
I can't…
"Yes you can. Come on. I'll help you up." He reached his hand out to her. "Everyone fails. Everyone falls over. Everyone gets hurt. But every failure, every fall, every injury is a new lesson we can learn from. And when it's too hard to stand back up on your own, your family will be there to pick you up."
Amari felt two warm tears slide down her slick skin.
"I miss you. Both of you," she whispered.
"Ryu and I are always here for you. It's our bond that makes us family. That's what keeps us connected. That's what I believe anyway."
"Ryu's memory motivated me through my worst days, even as it hurt me. But so did yours. Your smile. Your grin. Your encouraging words. That's the boy I hold onto. The memory I refuse to let go of. But I don't sense you at all in this new you."
Reaching her left hand out, she saw the unscarred ghostly hand of her malnourished self reach out of her and take Kasai's hand. She held on tightly to it.
"Looks like you're finally awake!" Kasai called from somewhere up above her. "Are you ready to join Ryu?"
"I wish I could've saved you both," she whispered to the memory. "But I promise I'll keep standing up. I'll endure and see the future for us. We'll be free there."
The memory of Kasai grinned at her and lifted her malnourished memory onto her feet. The trio disappeared into the fires of the forest. Amari turned onto her back, grimacing through the sudden jolt of pain coming from everywhere. She forced herself to sit up despite the cries and pleas of her body to stop moving.
She didn't bother to look at Kasai. Her eyes were drawn down to Atsuko's defeated form.
"I'm a poor friend, aren't I?" she asked quietly. "All I ever seem to do is make it harder for you to support me. Whether because I get myself hurt when you're handling other duties, or because I ask you to turn a battlefield into a giant hazard for you to fly in." Amari coughed. The smoke was catching up to her. "I'm sorry, Atsuko. I should've let him go and stayed with the others. We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for me.
"But that just means I have to get us out of it. I won't let you die or let him hurt you anymore. I'll show him the true power of a Leaf shinobi and an Uchiha."
"What are you down there mumbling about? Apologizing to that bird for getting you both killed? Saying a final prayer?"
Amari ignored him and reached into her pouch.
"Before you go, though, pass out another food pill. If the Curse Mark powers up Tayuya and Sakon as much as we think, we may all need an emergency replenishing of chakra in the heat of battle."
This wasn't the fight I thought I might need it for, she popped the food pill into her mouth, but it's what will finish this battle.
Green chakra exploded off of her as she ingested the food pill. Her dōjutsus activated and, finally, she drew her hardened eyes to Kasai. The Senju glowered at her.
"What's with that look in your eyes? You think you still have a chance of beating me?"
"I'm going to send you straight to hell, Kasai."
Silver chakra irradiated furiously off Kasai. "Is that so?" He interlaced his fingers. "Let's see you try!"
Amari shut her eyes as she pooled chakra into both of them. Simultaneously, Kasai launched a massive Wood Style Jutsu. Thick roots surged from all directions around her, intent on skewering her and Atsuko.
My Ultimate Defense is still imperfect, and against all these branches it will undoubtedly falter and leave me defenseless…
"Ryu and I are always here for you."
She felt their warm hands rest on her shoulders.
"I'll be at your side to the end, I promise."
The chakra around Amari and its power increased without warning or preamble. Pure, raw power irradiated off of her, causing air to swirl and pulse around the kunoichi's body.
But in this life or death situation, I'll pull out my ace in the hole.
Amari's eyes snapped open. Red and fuchsia eyes glowed in the darkness, their pinwheels, shaped like a four-pointed star, sharpened and ready to kill.
Susanoo!
Hikari lifted her chin suddenly.
"Amaririsu…"
Her light glimmered so small in her void of darkness, an ember of light far in the distant, yet the pulsing swell of power was enormous. Raw and fierce. For her to sense it at this distance…
"What's wrong?" Mimi asked in concern.
There was another light there. Another color she didn't know the name of. Though bright and sharp, its nature was dark. Hatred consumed. And hidden among the shadows was another presence. Darker. Full of malice and ill intentions.
Hikari knew not what was occurring at the battlefield, but she did know one fact with absolute certainty.
"We must hurry."
Kurenai perked up. The sudden sensation and swell of powerful chakra hit her like a bolt of lightning.
"Such raw power," she gasped.
"Amari's?" Kakashi asked.
She nodded, concern threading into her being.
"Yes. She's unleashed the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan."
"You can feel that at this distance?" asked Pakkun.
"It's…incredible! I've only ever felt this raw surge of power from her once before when she unleashed that devastating jutsu."
Her heart clenched tightly in her chest. If her little one was using that power against Kasai, what kind of danger was she in?
I'm almost there, little one. Hold on.
Amari hadn't moved an inch, and yet she remained unharmed.
Green skeletal ribs surrounded her body, with an aura of lighter green chakra pouring off them like cold mist trailing the steps of the Shinigami. The roots hardly cracked the ribs.
"What is this power?" Kasai gaped at the scene.
"This is the power of the Uchiha Clan, the Susanoo," she replied steadily.
Every cell in her body felt like it was on fire. Her eyes felt like blades were stabbing through them as someone tried to claw her eyes out. But she closed her left eye and pooled more chakra into it.
This is only the basic form of it, she panted internally. And it's draining my chakra worse than Ōkuninushi. It hurts worse than the other jutsus, just like Itachi warned me.
"There is one final jutsu you've gained in unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan," he taught her during her month in the genjutsu. "It is the strongest ability for those of us who have unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan in both eyes. It is called the Susanoo. Shisui mentioned it, as you recall."
"He said he had to manifest it in his fight against the Masked Man, after he used a Forbidden Jutsu to cheat death."
"Correct. The Susanoo is a humanoid avatar made of your chakra, anchored to you, and you to it. When fully manifested, it will fight and act as an extension of your will, attacking your enemies or defending you from danger. Further training with it increases its strength, durability and power, allowing you to eventually manifest it in its fully armored forms. In the beginning it will only appear as a skeleton.
"However, be warned, Haya, this jutsu is not to be used lightly. Imagine the pain you experienced from using your Mangekyō abilities." She nodded. "It's worse. And the strain it places on your eyes will damage them far faster than your other techniques."
"So I can't advance it without deteriorating my vision rapidly? I guess it's a good thing I don't intend to use the Mangekyō unless absolutely necessary."
"That would be wise, for now."
Amari heaved a heavy breath, grunting in pain, unable to hide the strain of the technique. I don't have much left…
Like a sudden rush of power and warmth, she felt a third hand rest on the center of her back. And with it, she heard and saw the face of her most precious person.
"You can do it, I believe in you."
Shisui…
His voice was soft and encouraging. His expression determined and full of strength.
No, she didn't have much left. But she did possess just enough strength to finish this battle. To end Kasai and complete Ryu's final wish. Because she wasn't alone.
Within the hue of green chakra, the visage of the fierce green dragon flashed over the Uchiha and unleashed a tremendous, earth-shaking roar. Kasai recoiled slightly at the sight. Amari steeled her heart and set her one open eye upon her target.
In that brief moment, she forgot all of the pain and the war in her heart.
In that brief moment she ascended from a child of Uchiha blood to heir of the Uchiha Clan.
"You won't break through this armor," she warned. "But this battle is already over. You're finished, Kasai."
"I'm not through with you yet!"
"I am."
She snapped her left eye open, tears of blood streaming from her tear ducts.
Amenominakanushi!
A red orb of light formed behind Kasai.
And then, like the explosion of a star, the entire battlefield was encompassed by red light.