Chapter 77 - 起死 (Wake from Death)
"Nine-Tail. Nine-Tail!" Naruto let his voice ring in his mind, until any sound inevitably faded into silence, like many times before.
Understandable. Both Chōmei and Gyūki expressed distaste for being referred to by their tails, Scratching his brain to come up with something more … polite, Naruto poked again, "Oh, the Great Fox?"
"Shut up, Brat! You're insufferable and what the hell are you calling me?" Finally, Naruto got a response as the Fox bared his fangs behind the prison. It always was like this. No matter how hard Naruto tried to communicate with Nine-Tail, the best thing he ever got was angry growls and words of mockery.
That 'Save him' really was the closest Naruto had ever gotten for a peaceful conversation.
"How do I know what to call you if you don't tell me your name?" Naruto asked, unrelenting in his voice. He refused to give up trying, to give up what he told Nine-Tail a year ago, that he would be positive enough for both of them.
The Fox let out a chilling laugh, so frigid that it felt like an icy storm had washed over Naruto's mind. "Calling me 'Nine-Tail' has never bothered you before, brat. Why the sudden hypocrisy? Are you feeling left out that you'll never learn what the other Jinchuuriki can, that you'll never reach what they can achieve with me as the tailed-beast you're stuck with?"
Naruto wanted to shout back against the blatant mockery, saying that it wasn't what he meant at all, that he didn't ask for Nine-Tail's name because he was the only Jinchuuriki left behind - the only one that didn't get a memo.
I just don't want you to be called something you hate when all the others get to be called by their name.
No matter how hard Naruto tried to convey that thought, the Fox remained silent, cutting him out by pretending to be in a slumber.
"Naruto, it's time to get started!" The yell from the toad elderbroke Naruto out of his trance, saving him from having to decide whether he should be fuming, frustrated, or disappointed - possibly a mixture of three.
Natural energy gathered in the pit of his stomach. Naruto felt the caress of nature, touching his skin, seeping into his muscles, and spreading through his blood like melting snow. The process should be a calm one like the way ink flows across the fabric, with no resistance but with every ounce of control …
Damn it, Naruto couldn't stop thinking about Nine-Tail, about that prickly fox that refused to hear his words, refusing to even give him the chance to finish his sentence.
Bonk! Naruto felt a sharp pain on the back of his head as he winced in protest. The natural energy that got concentrated in his body leaked out in an instance, like the air in a balloon that got popped.
"Focus, Naruto, You're slower today in gathering the natural energy, and its flow is messy," the toad elder said with the wooden staff outstretched, no doubt the culprit who bonked Naruto on the head. "Do you want to turn into a toad statue? Or worse, turn into a toad statue during battle?"
Naruto could hear the hint of worry in the elder's reprimands. He hadn't made the newbie mistake of being controlled by natural energy since a month ago. It was a milestone, according to Ero-sennin. It meant that his body was finally learning to treat the senjutsu as a part of it, like an extra appendage that one just knew how to move.
"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," Naruto apologized, making the sage toad let out a sigh. Closing his eyes, Naruto tried to push out the thoughts about Nine-Tail and closed the door on his confusion. At least with senjutsu, he was learning to understand it.
"That's enough for today, Naruto." Naruto flopped down on the ground, feeling the orange hue around the rim of his eyes fade as natural energy diminished in his body. The sage toad bounced over him, landing near a crater. Sticking his staff into the earth, the ground started to repair itself.
He should have lasted longer, just like he should have been able to enter Sage Mode faster. The sage toad said nothing of his wonky state today, but Naruto knew it better than anyone that he was falling back instead of stepping forward.
"I …" Naruto opened his mouth, before realizing that there was nothing he could say that didn't sound like an excuse. With a sigh, the sage toad bounced onto his shoulder and smacked his back.
"Ouch!" Naruto whined, but the sage toad just gave him a look that said he was done with his stupidity.
"Don't dwell on something as stupid as having a bad day, boy. Go take a break and clear your head." With a softer tone, the toad elder patted him on the head and said, "You've already done so well."
Mt. Myōboku was its own world. The sage toads once told him that whatever Naruto saw was merely a reflection in the pond, never its full view. Even after living in it for so long, Naruto still had no idea how big this realm was, nor did he know if the scenery was the same outside the training area set up by the sage toads.
It was a blessing, Ero-sennin told him, that the sage toads allowed mortals to set foot in it for so long. But the prophetic nature of the Toad Elders convinced the sage toads to take in the Jinchuuriki under their protective umbrella, providing them with a place to hide, train, and rest, for Naruto, Fuu, and their newest addition of wanted Jinchuuriki, Killer B.
Fuu's wings shimmered under the sun, refracting the blinding light in all directions before she crashed down and slammed into the cushion of a giant tentacle that shielded Killer B - Octopus dude. Naruto gasped at the impact that shook the ground as if he was the one that felt the energy - Tailed-Beast chakra - that powered such strong strikes.
Fuu and Killer B broke apart when they noticed his presence. "Naruto!" Fuu waved at him as excitement filled her voice. Chōmei's wings retracted from her lower spine as she landed on the ground with a roll. "Are you already done with your senjutsu training? It's earlier than usual."
Yeah, because even the sage toad deemed it a waste of time for him to continue any longer in his distracted state. But Fuu meant well, her tones were always as sweet and kind as her personality.
So Naruto scratched his head in embarrassment and gave her a light-hearted answer. "Yeah, we ended it early today."
"Oh, want to spar with me using Tailed-Beast chakra then? To practice more control?" Fuu suggested, always with the best intentions in mind. Naruto wanted to nod, because why not. But before he could, Killer B let out a yawn as he flopped down on the ground, crossing his hands behind his head as the pillow.
"Kid, you haven't figured out how to use the Tailed-Beast's full power, have you?" There was a pause when the Kumo-nin ignored Fuu's glances and relished the awkward atmosphere. "What's the point of practicing control when you can't even access the power to be controlled?"
Fuu slapped herself in the face before she sent a glare full of daggers to Killer B, who just turned his face away with nonchalance. But surprisingly, Naruto felt relieved, as if someone had finally ripped the facade and said the words nobody wanted to say.
"He doesn't want to tell me his name," Naruto said as he sat down on the ground too, right next to Killer B despite his raised eyebrow. He never expected Naruto to be so shameless, to hand over his wound even when someone had rubbed salt on it.
But what was there to be ashamed of? He couldn't gain Nine-Tail's trust, that was not only the truth but the problem he couldn't solve.
"Why do you want to know?" Killer B asked instead. Just when Naruto thought the question would be easy, the man added, "What would you even gain from knowing his name?"
The answer that he should be able to utter so easily was glued to his tongue. Killer B's question was so suggestive that it made Naruto doubt, for a second, if he really had tried to gain something he shouldn't when he asked for Nine-Tail's name and maybe that was why the Fox refused so harshly.
But he only doubted for a second. Naruto was no stranger to words designed to stir the mind - Nine-Tail was better at it, he could argue. "Nine-Tail is 'a construct made up by ignorant humans', he yelled at me once. I just don't want to call him something that he didn't like."
There was a pause as Killer B observed him from behind his shades. Then, the man let out a cackle. A giant hand rose up and ruffled Naruto's hair, making him flail his arms around to get rid of the blatant act that invaded his privacy.
"You're a good kid, there's no doubt about that," the Octopus dude said out of nowhere, confusing both Naruto and Fuu with his drastic turn of the mood. Paying no attention to Naruto's resistance, Killer B buried his hand in Naruto's hair one last time before finally letting go.
"You have the heart of gold, kid. But you know, sometimes it's not just kindness you should be giving," Killer B told him, being all lyrical and stuff. Naruto figured that he would sound a lot wiser if he didn't just treat Naruto's hair like a fluffy cushion.
Still, Naruto looked up and gave the older man a look of confusion. Naruto didn't have much in life that he could call his own. The only thing he knew how to spare was his positivity. So if not that, what else could he possibly use to reach Nine-Tail?
Naruto had been told that he had a very good puppy eye - Okay, that's just cheating, Sasuke used to say - and it seemed that the streak continued with Killer B, for the Kumo-nin let out a sigh as he pushed himself up to face Naruto.
"Kid, I've been observing you ever since I came here. You spend your time training, splitting your effort between the sage toads and Fuu." Killer B folded his legs together and propped his head up using his elbow. "Let me ask that question in a different way, do you even need Nine-Tail's power?"
"I …" Naruto opened his mouth, trying to answer the question that came out of nowhere, "... his power will help."
Killer B raised an eyebrow as if saying 'what kind of half-assed answer was that?'. He turned to Fuu instead and asked, "You've been sparring with the boy. Can he put up a fight without the tailed-beast chakra?"
Fuu glanced at him, a little surprised that the conversation somehow involved her. Still, she answered, "Naruto, to be honest, with Sage Mode, you fight quite well even when I'm partially transformed." There was a pause while Fuu looked like she was arguing with herself - which was probably true if one considered Chōmei to be her other half.
"Okay, fine, Chōmei wants me to tell you that Sage Mode makes up for a lot of the augmentation that came with Tailed-Beast Chakra. Besides … you never use the Tailed-Beast Chakra with Sage Mode. It's always one or the other, If that's the case, then won't Sage Mode be easier for you?" Fuu rushed through the last bit of her words in one breath, before she covered her mouth apologetically.
She didn't want to say that Nine-Tail's chakra - at least, the measly portion he was able to draw on safely - was incompatible with everything else Naruto was doing, because it sounded like an invalidation of his effort. Naruto had improved in so many other areas, to a point that he was leaving the chakra coat behind.
"For you, boy, if you crave more power through Nine-Tail, then you risk the chance of your seal breaking. But if you don't, then your other skills are far more appealing." Killer B said, summarizing Naruto's situation with simple words. "Jiraiya-san told me what kind of seal you have. It's time to realize how much of an imbalance exists between you and Nine-Tail."
"When you're in control - which is the majority of the time - the seal you have denies Nine-Tail access to your mind and body, making sure that nothing of him will affect you - his thoughts or chakra - unless you allow it first." Unconsciously, Naruto placed a hand over his stomach, where his seal was, as Killer B continued.
"The only way for him to gain some control was for you to lose yours. Never is there a point in time that the two of you are balanced, and it never will be, so long as that seal is there."
Suddenly, the seal that was plastered had such a strong presence that it might as well feel like it was burning. Nine-Tail in Naruto's memory was always this giant fox that loomed over him in his mindscape. He was majestic and immovable, so much so that Naruto didn't fully realize what it meant for the Fox to be in chains.
"So, after you know Nine-Tail's name, what will you do? Continue to chat with him, making conversations that only you can control, but maybe using a name that he doesn't hate?" Killer B said and Naruto didn't need to be a genius to hear the sarcasm oozing out of his voice. "When the imbalance is this big, kindness freely handed out just feels like pity."
Silence hung over them as the older Jinchuuriki gave the younger one some time to let the words sink in. Fuu stood there awkwardly, growing increasingly uncomfortable at the tension in the air. But Naruto took his time to think, to mull over what Killer B had told him, to relive all those conversations - one-sided, but in a different way than he thought - he had with Nine-Tail.
"What is it like for you and Gyūki's seal?" Naruto asked after what felt like forever. Only after the words left his mouth did he realize that he was asking a very sensitive thing that might as well be a state secret. "I mean if you can just give me a vague description. I'm totally not trying to dig for Kumo's secret, I swear."
Killer B laughed at the way Naruto fumbled with his words, even clutching onto his stomach as if Naruto was the funniest thing he had ever laid his eyes on. While Naruto appreciated the fact that he didn't destroy the nearly non-existent relationship between Konoha and Kumo with his mouth, he wasn't so sure about being a source of entertainment.
Eventually, Killer B stopped laughing and waved his hand at the unimpressed glares from both Naruto and Fuu.
"My seal with Gyūki is far more relenting. I hear his blabbering voice whenever he wants to speak and when I draw on his power, it always feels like he's beside me. Sometimes control between us blurs, but none of us ever felt like we are losing control. Moreover, when I asked him to take over, he could do so in the snap of a finger." As if on cue, Killer B snapped his finger and a giant tentacle sprouted from his shoulder.
The tentacle waved at Naruto before giving his head a rub. Naruto yelled in protest, making killer B laugh once more and Naruto swore that he could even hear the laughter from Gyūki buried underneath. Just when Naruto thought that Killer B was just trolling him now, the tentacle snapped back and the man started speaking once more.
"Kumo has a ritual, in fact, to help with the sealing process. People often thought it's part of Kumo's spartan training, to pit the beast against the human until one is devoured." For a second, Naruto wasn't sure if he and Fuu should be hearing this. But Killer B didn't seem to care as he continued.
"But I've gone through that process myself and I've held it for Yugito and Matatabi. It's not just an arena, it's also a negotiation table. It's for the Tailed-Beast and human to know each other, to reach an agreement with the seal as the contract. The struggle was simply a manifestation of dissent."
Naruto was taught to read beneath the line. He wasn't the best, but he'd like to think he was at least somewhat adequate. For Killer B to tell him such patented information, even revealing that he had knowledge on how to perform such a ritual, implied that he was willing to hold it for Naruto.
"Thank you … but why–"
"Oh, your mentor returns," Killer B interrupted Naruto before he could ask why he would go to such length for some random Jinchuuriki he had just met a month ago.
But true to his words, Naruto turned and saw Ero-sennin popping into the sage realm, conversing with the toad elders without wasting a moment.
Naruto was curious, and he knew Fuu was as well. They hadn't been allowed to return to Konoha ever since the attack on Killer B. Naruto could feel the way Chōmei's chakra wrapped around Fuu, augmenting her senses so she could use it for eavesdropping.
A little to her right, Killer B did the same. Alright, there was no helping it, Naruto pulled on a thread of Nine-Tail's chakra as well and suddenly, his vision grew clearer as words - fuzzy whispers barely audible - started to fill his ears.
"The battleground … Konoha … fully evacuated." "Tsunade … Jinchuuriki … nowhere near the village …" " … Tell them?" "..."
Naruto only got broken words, but he knew that Fuu and Killer B heard more than him, enough to piece together the whole picture. The smile on Fuu's face was gone as she stood up straight. When Naruto sent her an inquisitive glance, she was nice enough to explain it to him. "Konoha is readied as a battlefield, and the Hokage doesn't want any Jinchuuriki to appear there, not even to help."
"Come on, it's not polite to eavesdrop." Suddenly, Naruto's shishou popped up behind them, but Fuu merely shrugged.
"Maiko said that this Akatsuki business technically concerns us more than it does anyone else, so I think we should get first-hand information," Fuu said with defiance in her voice, making Ero-sennin shake his head in exasperation.
"We're not planning to hide it from you anyway. But yes, Akatsuki will try to destroy Konoha in hopes of drawing you three there to help. So I don't think it's a surprise that Tsunade doesn't want to play along with their plan," Ero-sennin explained and it was then that Naruto could truly see the tiredness that clouded his face and the smudges of ink around his hand that the man didn't have time to wash off.
"But if the village needs help …" "We can help out!" Naruto and Fuu said at the same time, but they somehow said exactly what each other wanted to say.
"We know you can, but it's still stupid to give the enemy exactly what they wanted," Ero-sennin said with a rare touch of seriousness. "Listen, we're not planning to waste critical war resources like the three of you, but we have to be smart about it."
"Konoha has a plan on how to use us?" Killer B asked as he leaned forward a little.
"We always have plans. It's just a matter of if it will actually be followed through." Ero-sennin said, rubbing his nose bridge as if trying to get rid of a headache. After that, he turned to Naruto, eyes softened as he tried to stretch a smile on his face.
"I heard that Sage Mode is a piece of cake for you now." Ero-sennin nodded at him and all Naruto could do was laugh awkwardly. If he was asked that yesterday, you bet he would take the compliment with chest all puffed out - and he did say those exact words, to make things worse.
"I'm not going to lie, Naruto, we worry about you the most. Fuu and Killer B are already one with their Tailed-Beasts, but you never had such practice." Naruto felt his voice clogging in his throat when he heard those words. He wondered if that meant that he would be forbidden from joining the war effort when everyone else was fighting to keep him safe.
But before Naruto could argue back and make his case, Ero-sennin patted him on the head - he was starting to think he had a 'rub my hair' sign stuck on his head, with how frequently his hair was getting messed up - and said, "but you know what, there are plenty of shinobi fighting formidable enemies without the tailed-beast power, so who are we to coddle you like genin?"
"So … I can help out!" Naruto couldn't help but yell in relief, and Ero-sennin nodded with a smile, eyes all crinkly with the wild make-up on his face.
"But that means you need to be extra careful. The sage realm is a safe house, so promise us that no matter what is happening, you will treat your escape as the utmost priority," Ero-sennin warned and Naruto was reminded again that he worried those that cared for him like nothing else.
When he was still in the academy, Sasuke worried about him not passing his classes - although Sasuke would never admit it even if his life depended on it. Maiko-nee worried that he was not getting enough healthy food, so she always made double the bento whenever she could. Iruka-sensei worried that the not-so-kind whispers around him would get to him and he would get into trouble for acting brash.
Years later, Naruto was still the subject of their worry and it was getting worse when he always seemed unprepared in the face of danger. So he nodded, telling Ero-sennin that he had taken his words to heart.
After that, his shishou examined his practice of senjutsu. Naruto's heart was more than calm now, after the talk with Fuu and Killer B. Natural energy gathered in his body like many times he had practiced, flowing with the vigour and tenacity of a vast forest.
Ero-sennin was impressed, slugging an arm around Naruto and pulling him in with laughter. He wasn't drunk on sake, but Naruto figured that he was drunk on something when he told Naruto over and over again that he always had been, and always would be his pride. But nevertheless, Naruto knew that Ero-sennin meant his words, whether he was intoxicated or not.
"Ne, Ero-sennin. Would it be possible to switch the seal on Nine-Tail to something less strict?" Naruto asked as they lay on the ground. The Sannin looked like he was about to fall asleep in the tranquil scenery, but he was definitely shaken awake now.
"What brought this on, Naruto?" Ero-sennin asked.
"I've been trying to understand Nine-Tail. But the Octopus dude told me that maybe it's not just kindness and positivity that I should be handing out. I wonder if there's something else that Nine-Tail wants more, something else I can give without crossing the line … like the chance to fight for himself."
Naruto was sure that Nine-Tail wanted a lot of things - like taking revenge on Shodaime, roaming freely, doing whatever he wanted, without any Jinchuuriki to restrain him. But Naruto was also a shinobi of Konoha, he had boundaries he wasn't willing to cross. But maybe, just maybe, he could give Nine-Tail something other than his empty words.
"Even when I fight using Nine-Tail's chakra, I'm just drawing on what is his and wielding it by myself. But Killer B told me that when he fights with the power of a Tailed-Beast, it's like Gyūki is fighting with him," Naruto said as he rubbed the seal on his stomach.
"I can tell that Nine-Tail only has contempt for Akatsuki, for Tobi. he wants to rip them to shreds, for what Akatsuki had done to his kins, and to what Tobi had done to him fourteen years ago. I'm not sure, but maybe he'd want to tell them to go suck it, you know, with his own voice."
Ero-sennin stayed silent for a moment. But when he spoke up, the first thing he said was, "Whoa, whoa, language, kiddo." Naruto rolled his eyes. It wasn't even that bad. There were other words that he was sure would express Nine-Tail's rage a lot better, but that would get him into much more trouble.
"But … I suppose you have a point." With a sigh, Ero-sennin pulled out a dusty-looking scroll from his storage seal. Carefully, the older man laid out the scroll, unveiling the seal in full.
Naruto had learned to appreciate the beauty of seals during his study and this one was no doubt magnificent in its design and confident in its strokes. In fact, a sense of familiarity nagged at Naruto, as if he had seen the way the end of the strokes curved as the pressure on the brush lightened …
Ah, he saw the same habit in the seal on his stomach.
"Your father left this design along with the key to the seal on your stomach. It'll allow Nine-Tail the same access and communication as the one on Fuu or Killer B. Your father meant for this seal to replace the old one on your stomach, once you've gotten used to the presence of Nine-Tail … " there was a pause as Ero-sennin looked at him, "… and when Nine-Tail - when both of you, are ready, I supposed."
"To replace the seal means that I have to undo the old one. That moment of a gap is dangerous since Nine-Tail will run rampant if you cannot hold him in check. Moreover, Nine-Tail will have access to your psyche as his chakra blends with yours. You won't be able to tune him out ever again." Ero-sennin said, before closing the scroll and handing it to Naruto.
"I've said it before, Naruto. You do not need the power of Nine-Tail to be a strong shinobi and I will always hold that view. But it is here if you ever want to take that path." Ero-sennin squeezed the scroll one last time before releasing it, so that it was fully, completely within Naruto's hand.
"There's still a few more days until Three-Tail is supposed to be rebirthed in Water Country. We suspect that Akatsuki will fully launch their attack at that moment." That was a warning, telling Naruto that if he wanted to go down that path, he needed to do it soon before everyone was caught up in the war.
But Naruto knew that it wasn't just his decision to make. If he wanted to enter into an arena of negotiation, he needed to have both parties' consent.
After Ero-sennin returned to Konoha, Naruto was finally alone, surrounded by wet soil and shallow swamps. The humidity in Mt. Myōboku was always over the chart, especially when the night had fallen.
Naruto took a deep breath, letting the cold and damp air fill his lungs. "Oh, the Great Fox."
There was a long silence before the Fox answered begrudgingly, "What is it again?"
Naruto knew that Nine-Tail heard everything through the prison window known as himself. He hoped that the fact that the Fox responded only after one try meant that he was, at least in some aspect, interested in what Naruto was going to propose.
"I'm sorry for assuming that I'll make everything better if I just know your name." Naruto started with that and was immediately met with snickers full of contempt. No surprise there. "I can't give you everything you wanted, because I have … stuff I believe in as the Jinchuuriki of Konoha."
"I swear, if you called me out just to tell me this …" The threat ended with a growl of annoyance. But Naruto had a suspicion that the Fox was just too lazy to come up with new threats when none of his old ones had ever worked on Naruto.
"Let's replace the seal, make it so that you're not as confined within me. That way, it won't just be me fighting against Akatsuki - or anything in the future - using your power, it'll be us doing it together."
"What in the world gives you the impression that I want to fight alongside you, brat?" The Fox laughed as if the proposal was beyond stupid that it was starting to amuse him. "Even if I would like to rip Tobi and his damned Mangekyou into shreds, I'd do that right before I stomp Konoha into the ground, just like I had done so to your parents a decade ago."
"You were under the control of Tobi's Mangekyou back then," Naruto argued, holding onto his ideology - his last boundary - like many times he had before whenever Nine-Tail brought up the events of his parents.
"Doesn't mean I won't do the same if I wasn't under his compulsion," the Fox retorted with a snort.
"But you haven't done that yet, and I'm not going to judge you until that happens!" Naruto stood his ground, refusing to waver, refusing to move the line drawn in his heart.
For once, the Fox stayed silent and didn't fight back with his words or his incoherent growls. Naruto thought that perhaps the Octopus dude was right on the mark. It was easy to say the words when Naruto sat behind the safety of his seal. Therefore, the words only meant something if there was an action that followed.
"Will you agree to have the seal be replaced and enter the ritual with me?" Naruto asked again amidst the silence, knowing that this time, the Fox would listen.
"Have it your way, brat. But don't expect me to go easy on you. No matter how much Gyūki's host sugarcoats his words, it is a battle in the arena. If you can't take it, you might as well release me and end the suffering for both of us." Naruto felt his heart stop for a second before it started to beat again in excitement.
He was sure that the Fox felt it too, for he tapped his claw in annoyance, letting the adamantine chains rattle with metallic noises.
"Thank you! Nine … I mean, Oh, the Great Fox." Naruto meant well, really. But whatever he just said seemed to finally push the Fox over the edge as he let out a growl of irritation and glared at Naruto in a way that said he couldn't believe how things had come to this.
"For all of our sake, stop with the stupid names." Naruto could see the way the Fox clenched his teeth, as if what he was about to say pained him greatly. But nevertheless, he told Naruto what he always wanted to know.
"Listen carefully, brat. My name is Kurama."
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
I pulled the jacket close and lined up the zipper. Finally, the Uchiha insignia sewn on the left chest stretched flat when I zipped up the jacket. I ran my thumb over the fan-shaped crest, feeling the rough texture of the embroidery, a mesh mash of red and white threads.
I broke my Anbu mask a few days ago. I thought I had a spare one, but only after I plowed through my locker in the Anbu Headquarters, did I realize that the one I sliced to pieces was the last one I had.
Well, not that it mattered. For today - the expected rebirth of Three-Tail - every shinobi of Konoha was released from their normal battalion. Like all the other Anbu agents, I wasn't known by my masked identity and orders wouldn't be given to my codename. Just like that, the need for those ceramic masks evaporated.
'... Inner perimeter, clear … Outer perimeter, clear …' Inoichi-san's voice sounded in my head along with patches of static. The giant crystal orb in the Sensory Unit was already stretched to its limit, being used for maximum sensory and communication output.
"Are you nervous?"
A hand rested on my shoulder gently, and I turned to see Tsunade-sama standing beside me. The Hokage hat on her head fluttered in the wind as she tilted the rim up. It was a clear day today with barely any clouds. We could see far into the forest surrounding Konoha while standing on top of the Konoha Tower.
"I'm not quite sure 'nervous' can fully describe what I'm feeling," I answered, trying to sound as light-hearted as possible. A little introspection and perhaps I would find a spoonful of anxiety, some morbid sense of excitement mixed in too, and perhaps, a pinch of fear that was always there for the flavour.
"It tends to be like that, during moments before a war." Tsunade-sama's voice trailed off into a sigh as her eyes glossed over me. Melancholy was a rare thing on our Hokage, but perhaps she was seeing through my body the group of young shinobi, newly trained by the village, barely the age of an adult, more likely just teenagers, who would have to fight the most unpredictable war she had witnessed.
Yes, unpredictable, because no one knew for sure what a loss meant. This wasn't a war where nations battled for land and villages fought for resources. This was a war fought over ideals, over the shape of reality itself.
Tsunade-sama gave me another pat on the shoulder, before she walked back to Jiraiya, leaving me alone at the edge of the platform. I thought it was about time, so I bit my thumb and pressed my hand on the ground.
Zansetsu walked out of the smoke a moment later, his heavy armour making a rhythmic drum beat as he move to encircle me.
"Did you take care of everything?" I asked, placing my hand on the back of his neck, feeling the warmth of his body through the strip of exposed skin.
"Hyousetsu has gained the approval of our clan. If I do not return alive, then he will ascend as the next leader," the gray wolf said while I rubbed his fur. For once, Zensetsu did not growl or glare at my sheer audacity, instead, letting me do as I wished - as I used to do with Fuyuki.
"I don't know if I should call you rational or irrational," I said with a hint of laughter.
"Such is the duality of every sentient creature," Zansetsu replied with a snort. He looked at me and I could tell the silent retort from his eyes, asking 'aren't you the same?'.
The wolf nudged me with his body as he tilted his head at the newest object hanging from my belt. "That's new. What's the deal with such a dull blade?"
My hand went to the Hiraishin kunai instinctively. The blades had been dulled by age and the metallic shine was all but gone. I could run my finger along the edge and it wouldn't even be able to cut through my callus.
In contrast, however, was the piece of fabric wrapped tightly around the handle and the unchanging sealing pattern, still sharp and focused even after all these years.
"It's a deposit. Hopefully, its owner won't forget to pick it up." My gaze traveled to my left, at said 'owner', who was chatting with Gai on the other side of the platform.
At that exact same time, Kakashi tilted his face just a little and our gaze met across the distance. He lowered his eyes, just a little, from my face to the Hiraishin kunai hanging on my waist, and back to my face, all in the span of a second.
His right eye curved a little - a smile, an acknowledgment, an apology? I wasn't quite sure, but my breath was nevertheless caught in my throat. I turned my gaze back to the front immediately, fleeing from his attention.
I didn't know what I was thinking when I decided to take the Hiraishin kunai out - the old relic with no tactical value, only meant to be kept in the depth of one's heart - and flaunt it in front of Kakashi, as if I wanted to annoy him.
So yes, I didn't want to decipher what he thought of my insensitive action, because I wasn't going to undo it, not after that chat in the underground Arena made me realize that I didn't really say the words which I truly wanted to tell.
So, remember, Kakashi, don't forget that we owe each other.
Remember.
Remember … me.
"Inner perimeter, clear. Outer perimeter … we have incoming from the North!" The warning from Inoichi-san snapped all of our attention towards the North. "The object is … moving too fast. 800 metres, 600, 500 …"
I didn't need Inoichi-san to call out the distance, for I could see with my sharingan the giant missile flying through the sky, cutting through the air as it crashed closer and closer to Konoha.
"Let's go," I whispered to Zansetsu, who already lowered his back for me to get on. I could hear Tsunade-sama yelling 'Move out!" in the background as I jumped onto the wolf's back. Slamming his hind legs into the ground, Zansetsu leaped into the air like a bullet.
The world turned silent for a moment when the missile hit the barrier dome over the village. The deafening explosion overwhelmed our senses as clouds of fire and smoke painted the sky. The barrier dome, even with all of our barrier corps maintaining it, shook against the impact as veins of energy spread out from the point of damage.
Before the smoke even cleared, Zansetsu jumped out of the barrier - only designed to keep unauthorized things out, but not things in - without any hesitation. From this point, we forfeited all protection from the barrier and stepped into the wilderness.
A shadow plunged down from above, but Zansetsu was quicker, jumping to the side with a twist of his body. The bird stabbed its metallic beak into the ground, drilling a hole into the earth. It only had the time to pull itself out of the ground, before I sent a crimson-red arrow into its body.
The arrow expanded inside the bird's body and the fire quickly swallowed up the beast as a whole. Sadly, Zansetsu and I didn't have time to appreciate the fireworks. We couldn't allow ourselves to be held up by distractions that would keep coming back unless their source was taken out.
I scanned around the forest, seeing the messy dots of chakra being highlighted in my vision. Inoichi-san and the Sensory Unit were also doing what they could to pinpoint the locations of the enemies, but the problem remained that there were too many summoning creatures as distractions.
"Turn left. I see something," I ordered and Zansetsu turned as directed. While the Sharingan wasn't as good as Byakugan in delineating detailed chakra networks, I still managed to catch a glimpse of a fuzzy network more refined than that of the summoning beast.
Quickly, confirmation from the Sensory Unit - composed of numerous sensors and Hyūga shinobi - came back, mapping out the signatures that seemed more human than others.
A flash of green and orange caught up to us before we split. Gai was going to take the signature on the right while Zensetsu continued his path. The bodies of Pein were duplicates in chakra, so it really was a blind box in terms of what would greet us.
Another shower of mechanical projectiles sailed over our head and rained down in the direction of the village, testing the limit of our barrier with heavy artillery. It wasn't coming from the direction that we were heading, so scratch Number 4 from the list of candidates, I supposed.
Of course, it had to be Number 3 - the bane of all chakra - when Gai went the other way. Number 3 even raised his head a little when he saw us racing through the forest as if daring us to try and take him down.
Before we could even reach him, a chameleon shimmered out of existence while clutching onto a tree. It swiped its spiked tail forward, threatening to dissect my torso if I didn't dismount and land on a branch.
The reptilian dropped in front of us, blocking our path as it screeched in a high-pitched voice. Zansetsu didn't even pause as he rammed his body into the chameleon and pushed it to the side. The wolf bit down on the creature's neck, not forgetting to slap his tail on the ground and send a wave of rumbling earth towards Number 3.
Number 3 extended his hand and it looked as if the wave of earth spikes met an invisible barrier, disintegrating into dust as the earth chakra got unravelled. Suddenly, Number 3 turned around sharply, just in time to see a zap of residual lightning as I reached forward with my ninjatō, merely inches away from his neck.
The world around me got flipped upside down as a strong force reeled me away from Number 3. Silver chakra expanded around my body as I brace for the impact and sure enough, 'Yahiko' pulled me to him, sending me on a rocket trip over his head, before crashing me into the forest some distance away.
A humming noise vibrated in my head as I tried to reorient myself in the crater, forcing the wisps of silver to calm and solidify again around my body after being knocked around by the impact. Soon, however, I realized that the humming noise wasn't from a concussion, but from a missile dropping down from above.
Right, so that's why he flung me to the side instead of directly onto a black rod in his hand.
A large portion of the forest got engulfed in a violent explosion. Splinters and rocks flew out like a shower of shrapnel, telling every onlooker that whatever used to be in that part of the forest was probably reduced to nothing but a clearing of destruction.
'Yahiko' narrowed his eyes at the cloud of smoke, wariness evident on his face. Number 4, however, didn't have that concern. Missiles refilled his joint as he raised his arms, pointing in the direction of Konoha.
In the blink of an eye, 'Yahiko' pulled Number 4 towards him with a sharp flick of a hand, right as a ruby-coloured lotus bloomed from the ground. The blazing flower grazed Number 4's foot, but the expanding flame still missed him by a hair as 'Yahiko' fished him away.
But that wasn't all. Soon, a pond of red lotus sprouted from below, trapping the two orange-haired figures as they moved to avoid them. 'Yahiko' was quick, pulling up a wall of earth around them along with a barrier of water to combat the expanding flame.
It was then that Tsunade-sama crashed the party with black lines laced on her forehead. She punched through the mess of ninjutsu before jamming her fists into the two figures, one for 'Yahiko' and one for Number 4, sending them flying back.
Before she could follow up with another strike of judgment, however, 'Yahiko' pushed with his hand, sending her away with a bout of repulsive force.
A piece of rock spike jammed itself into Tsunade-sama's stomach when she crashed into the ground, but the woman paid it no attention, pulling it out without even a flinch as she stood up and met 'Yahiko' in the eyes.
The smoke from the earlier missile strike finally cleared as I knelt in the clearing, a hand was still on the ground. The silver giant blazed fiercely around my body before shimmering away, telling Pein exactly how I survived that bombing.
A little farther, Kakashi, Gai, and Jiraiya dismantled yet another horde of summoning creatures, making Number 2 and Number 3 gather a little closer to their ring-leader, while even more animals from the zoo of horror started to spill out of the forest. Number 5 and Number 6, of course, were nowhere in sight.
"We met again," Number 1 said as his Rinnegan rested on my face. Zansetsu rose out of the earth beside me. The blood smears around his teeth and claws told me that he was quite busy as well.
"Good, you remembered," I replied out of courtesy. That made things easy, I supposed, so I didn't have to spell out to him whose revenge we came here for.
"This will be my only warning to Konoha. Send the Jinchuuriki under your protection here, less you want Konoha to be reduced to a wasteland and a mass grave." On cue with his words, another wave of deafening explosions sounded in the background, like a countdown of doom, telling us that the barrier dome was being shaved away until it was brittle and fragile.
"... the Barrier dome is about to break …" Inoichi-san's voice sizzled in our head with the interference of static. " … unable to locate other signatures resembling Pein's body in a 5-kilometre radius … tracing Pein's chakra signature right now … the frequency is changing! It'll take longer than we imagined …"
I heard Tsunade-sama sucking in a deep breath, probably trying to process one bad news after another. But still, she gave Pein a laugh as cold as ice when she said, "Over our dead bodies."
Pein shook his head at our response before staring us down like he pitied our naivety. "Don't you see, Hokage? The task of staying alive is nowhere as difficult as protecting those fragile beings reliant on you."
"Go underground," I told Zansetsu in a hurried whisper, already foreseeing what Number 4 wanted to do when he raised both his arms and popped his joints open. The wolf descended into the earth while the rest of us rushed towards Number 4.
"Shinra Tensei." A strong repulsive force pushed everything back - our physical bodies, the ninjutsu we fired off, even our surrounding forestry - and sent us flying. An arm materialized from the silver Susanoo and dug its fingers into the forest floor, keeping me grounded before I could fly off and subsequently clear a trail in the dense forest with my body.
Two giant missiles ascended into the sky as they flew towards Konoha unobstructed, one at the tail of the other. The battered dome over the village, however, could only take one more devastating hit.
"All shinobi, prepare for phase 2." Kakashi's voice rang in my head. It would be broadcasted by Inoichi-san to all the team leaders, who would then relay the orders to their team members.
Despite the protection dome we had set up, we never denied that the village would become a battleground. Those who stayed in it, then, were soldiers readied for battle, not just those needing protection.
My attention was set at Number 1 and 4 the moment Susanoo anchored me into the ground. 'Yahiko' had just used his repulsing force, forcing him to enter into a period of downtime. Number 5 was nowhere in sight, at least, not within a working distance that could provide tactical benefit.
That meant, Number 5 was either hidden very well, or there was a way for Pein to transport him to the battleground when he needed him. Either way, we needed to actually kill one of his bodies to make him call out Number 5's revival abilities.
I willed the giant to punch forward, wanting to slam Number 4 into the ground before Number 1 could respond. But Number 3 stepped in at the last moment, pushing his hand forward and the silver chakra unwinded under his touch.
Number 3 made a motion with his hands as if he was pulling something and just like that, I felt my chakra being siphoned away as the giant got thinner and thinner. With no choice, I withdrew Susanoo before a large chunk of my chakra could be absorbed.
A five-headed hound bounced forward, with sharp claws and glistening fangs aimed at me, catching that moment when the Susanoo faded. But before it could reach me, Tsunade-sama slammed her palm into the hound's stomach, twisting her hand, making the canine creature wail in anger before she sent the hound to the ground.
At the same time, Gai appeared from the above and kneed Number 3 on the shoulder, making him stumble from the force, before sending him away with another merciless kick. Zansetsu broke through the ground, biting onto Number 4's leg as he dragged him into the earth, rooting the mechanized figure in place before he could get away.
A hand got detached from Number 4 as the man tried to smash the ground to get away, but Jiraiya whipped his head forward and willed his needle-like hair to lock onto the detached hand, pinning it in place.
I placed my hand on the ground just as 'Yahiko' turned towards me. His cooldown was over, and without any hesitation, he flicked his hand in my direction, trying to interrupt me before I unleashed my attack.
But just because I touched the ground didn't mean that I planned to use long-ranged ninjutsu.
A repulsive force brushed through the clearing, pushing everything on its path back, but only a spark of residual electricity disintegrated at where I once was. Lightning coursed through my body as I escaped Shinra Tensei's area of effect by the margin of a hair.
A lot of things happened in that one moment. With an ugly shattering sound, the barrier dome over Konoha cracked open like an eggshell, barely warding off the damage from the first explosion. The second missile followed suit without giving anyone a moment to breathe, but before it could drop into the heart of the village, it seemed to be slowed and stilled, pulled back by an unrelenting force that materialized at its centre.
A tear of blood dripped down Kakashi's eye and got soaked by his mask, as he focused his Mangekyou onto the missile, absorbing it into his Kamui with a swirling force.
Meanwhile, under the cover of the first explosion, I flashed behind Number 4, Jinrai retracted from my limbs at the last second before a mixture of fire and yin-chakra rushed out towards my hand. I tapped Number 4's back with my palm, pushing my chakra in until a lotus bloomed inside his body.
The lotus fire consumed Number 4's body in one swoop as I flashed out of the blaze. As if in sync, the missile disappeared from the sky just as Number 4's head - not fully burnt to ash by the fire - plopped down near Number 1's feet.
"Localized barrier around Sensory Unit successfully activated … we're decoding the shifts in Pein's chakra frequencies … Structural damage reported, but no casualty or injury at the barrier dome's failure."
The barrier dome that had protected Konoha for decades was gone in the first ten minutes of the enemy's assault. But for now, the village stood in one piece.
"I expected you to last longer." My speculation of Number 5's whereabouts was confirmed when Tobi swirled himself out of existence at the back of the clearing, along with another two orange-haired Rinnegan users.
Summoning animals encroached closer to Konoha now that the protective barrier was destroyed, eyeing the village and the shinobi inside it like fresh meat. But to really put the pressure of mass destruction on our village, Number 4 the artillery launcher was indispensable, especially when Number 1 had to focus all his attention dealing with us.
Tobi looked like he dressed up for the occasion, with his giant gunbai and all, even switched a mask so that he didn't look like an orange-flavoured cookie. Unfortunately, we weren't in the mood to appreciate the fashion, least of all Kakashi.
Not a single second was wasted, a portal opened above Tobi and the two bodies he carried with him, just when they fully materialized. I could feel the rush of chakra going into Kakashi's left eye, lighting up like a beacon as he dumped the missile he just absorbed right on top of Tobi.
Look at that, now that's how one uses Kamui for excessive violence. Among all the Mangekyou I had seen, the distance that Kakashi could reach with his Mangekyou ability was unparalleled.
Tobi might have let out a curse when he grabbed Pein's prized bodies, trying to teleport his way out of the aerial bombing zone. But a fire arrow pierced through his left chest, forcing him to stop the teleportation in favour of activating his intangibility.
Kakashi had long proposed that Kamui, both the left and right eye, was a Mangekyou heavily associated with the Kamui space. The intangibility was just another usage derived from accessing that elusive space. If that theory was correct, then teleportation and intangibility could not coexist on Tobi.
By the looks of it, Kakashi was onto something.
I shaped half a dozen quills with my hand, before releasing them towards Tobi again, refusing to give him any time to breathe, forcing him to keep up with his intangibility so that he had no room for teleportation.
Just before the missile could crash down and explode, however, 'Yahiko' pulled with his hand, dragging Number 5 and Number 6 out of the zone of impact at the last moment.
Even before the smoke cleared, Kakashi moved towards Tobi, catching up to the masked man just as he escaped from the destruction. Kakashi's kunai sliced through Tobi's neck before he ducked and avoided a slap to the face by the swinging fan.
Now that Tobi dropped Number 5 onto the battlefield, we had to keep him busy so that he had no opportunity to teleport himself or anyone away - not until we let him. The only way to do that was to keep pressuring him with attacks, while knowing, even counting on the fact, that it would be negated by Tobi's intangibility.
Number 2's summoning animals crowded around Number 1 and Number 5, determined to keep their revival tool safe along with Number 3 and Number 6.
Gai stormed in with bravado, swiping Number 3 off-balance with his quick and precise taijutsu attacks, but before he could break the blockade, a bird swooped down above, forcing him to block the metallic beak that threatened to turn him into a skewer.
Tsunade-sama struck from the front while Jiraiya and his toad attacked from behind. The giant panda got torn from the stomach just from the force of Tsunade-sama's punch, giving me an opening as I slipped through with Jinrai, all the while Number 1 was occupied with blocking Jiraiya's oil-infused fire attacks with his own ninjutsu.
Zansetsu rose up from the ground again, clawing onto the bird before swinging it back towards the giant hound. Gamabunta pierced both of the creatures with his katana and stabbed them into the ground, taking the pressure away from Gai so that the Jonin could once again, shower Number 3 with relentless taijutsu.
I sliced my blade down as Number 5 summoned the menacing-looking gate next to him. I felt the gaze of the Rinnegan, spread over dozens, maybe even hundreds of creatures, observing all of our movements with a creepy brand of omnipresence.
Pein was learning too, knowing that so long as Kannon Bosatsu couldn't cover all of his minions, my Mangekyou could only trap a portion of his physical bodies, but not all of his consciousness. The technique would have uncertain effects on his ability to react, making me think twice about using a petal when it was already limited, to begin with.
Just like last time, Number 6 moved and blocked my strike with his own body. He faced death with calmness as my blade sliced across his neck. Still, my right eye caught Number 5 hiding Number 6. A spark of black flame started to materialize, yearning to devour.
It was all going well, really, until a force erupted from Number 1, sending a shockwave out, even dispelling Amaterasu as the irresistible force of repulsion knocked everyone and everything it didn't like backwards.
I enveloped Gai and Zansetsu with Susanoo before our bodies could slam into the ground and be impaled by jagged slabs of rocks. Jiraiya had his toad companion for cushioning while nobody needed to worry about Tsunade-sama.
My head felt like it was ringing; my chest felt stuffy from the abruptness of the impact, and it throbbed a little in pain when I took in a deep breath.
In that short second, the hellish gate beside Number 5 wrapped a tongue made of chakra around the remains of Number 4 and 6 and took them in. What came out of it, was two new bodies, as pristine as they were at the beginning of the battle.
By Number 2's command - who had already escaped into the forest that still remained during the chaos - the hordes of summoning animals started to storm the village, racing, flying, crawling past the village wall, their eyes hungry for destruction.
" … Localized barriers currently intact … We're still analyzing the changing pattern of chakra in Pein's rod receivers!"
"Call for Kumo's reinforcement, if they had any to spare while dealing with the mess at Kiri's battlefront." That was directed towards Nara-san through the Mind-Body Transmission, who took over the responsibility of the Jonin Commander for Kakashi.
"Looks like it'll take quite a bit longer," Tsunade-sama said as she pulled yet another branch out of her leg and her flesh healed in an instant. At the very start, we realized that there was no end when dealing with Pein, not unless we could find the root hidden behind the six bodies polished as executioners of Nagato's will.
4:26 pm.
Enemies were spotted near Konoha. Battle commenced.
4:35 pm.
Pan-village Barrier Dome was destroyed by enemy fire. Phase 2 commenced. All war efforts were directed toward protecting the Sensory Unit and locating the origin of Pein's chakra.
Enemies: Tobi, Pein (and all Rinnegan-related entities)
4:40 pm.
New enemies were identified near the Sensory Unit. Their identities were confirmed as [REDACTED BY HOKAGE'S ORDER]
(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ fuwa~fuwa~desu~~~
Utakata felt as if the mist was corroding his skin. That was strange, for he was not just a Kiri-nin who grew up among the mist, but also the Jinchuuriki of a mystical slug that played with acid. It was always his enemies that got trapped by the mist and burnt by the acid, never him.
Three-Tail raged in the middle of the lake as Kiri Anbu reinforced layers upon layers of seals, trying to keep Three-Tail restrained before they could stuff the beast of the sea into a young boy - an academy student selected to be the next Three-Tail Jinchuuriki.
"Do you have to pick someone as young as this?" Utakata asked while Mei raised an eyebrow at him.
"The younger they are, the less likely their chakra has settled in shape, and less chance there is for rejection. The young ones survive the process better, you should know that," Mei said, calling out Utakata's complaints as nonsense, fueled only by the unease he was harbouring.
He did know it, knew it quite well, actually. Utakata was turned into a Jinchuuriki before he even entered Kiri's academy.
At this point, they might as well all be walking on strands of silk hanging over the chasm, wondering when the string might be cut when Akatsuki came for the prize. Some were just better at hiding it - like Mei, while others fell victim to the tension like a slow-acting poison - like Utakata.
It almost came as a relief - which was the scary part, Utakata thought - when the water started to move on the surface of the lake, swirling into a circle before a mirror - flat, unmoving, despite the turbulent waves around it - emerged in front of them.
"So it is you who succeeded me, Mei." It was a voice as young as the man's appearance, but definitely not reflective of his age.
Utakata strived to annoy Terumi Mei, but this was the first time he had seen the woman's hand shaking a little before she clenched her fist to subdue her swaying emotions.
"I should have fought harder for your corpse, give you a proper Kiri cremation," Mei said as Yagura - the Yondaime Mizukage - emerged from the mirror of water, with the charcoal-coloured sclera and cracks running down his skin.
Before their conversation could continue, however, chaos broke through at the other side of the lake as a stream of lightning travelled through the sealing formation before anyone could react. Three-Tail wailed as the seals restraining him loosened, but not before the same bolt of lightning slammed into the giant creature and knocked him to the side.
"Get Kumo's force here! Tell them their Sandaime Raikage is here, very much dead and wreaking a lot of havoc!" Mei didn't waste any time as she shouted the orders to Ao. True to her words, the tan-skinned man stood on the water as lightning engulfed his body like an armour of thunder.
"Our order is to obtain Kiri's Tailed-Beasts, while anyone or anything that stands in our path shall be decimated," Yagura was kind enough to explain to them, but he was already twirling his staff, sending out a stream of water towards the remaining of Kiri's sealing force.
Mei acted quickly, bringing her fingers to her mouth as she shot out a lump of acidic mud that stretched into a sheet, blocking Yagura's vortexes of water from reaching the sealing teams.
"It seems that I missed a lot of things while I was alive," Yagura muttered as he studied the Lava Release in front of him. This must be the first time Mei used her Kekkei Genkai in front of Yagura, given that she somehow ascended her Kage seat not as the leader of a rebellious faction, but as a trusted Jonin under Yagura.
"Indeed, for example, a decade of sanity, I'd say," Mei said, her words biting but humorous at the same time, spiralling into an indecipherable mixture, much like what she was feeling right now.
Again, after knowing Uchiha Maiko and now Mei, Utakata was glad that the subject of his internal turmoil was long gone.
It was then that a wave of bubbles materialized out of the misty surrounding, aiming at the group of Kiri Anbu protecting their Three-Tail Jinchuuriki-to-be. On instinct, Utakata breathed out a wave of his own bubbles, forcing them to collide and explode until all foreign bubbles were accounted for.
"I do not wish for my actions, but I can't go against my orders."
When Utakata saw the man dressed in a blue kimono and a purple vest, like the image that both warmed and haunted his heart in his dreams, he couldn't help but blurted out, "shit, I spoke too soon."
"Language, Utakata." His shishou genuinely looked shocked at the curses Utakata was spitting, but his hands moved on their own, creating more bubbles around him as Kiri Anbu struggled to pop them without being injured by the explosion.
Utakata supposed he was quite a polite shinobi back in the days. But those days were behind him, now he was just a thorn to the Mizukage's side, giving her pain and headache.
"Ha, serve you right." Mei had the time to laugh as she tried to restrain Yagura with her acidic mud, only for the jutsu to be reflected right back by Yagura's water mirror, forcing both of them to jump out of the way less they wanted to be on the receiving end of the piping hot liquid.
Utakata felt that Mei was definitely in a bad mood, and now that she could finally release all those pent-up anger in battle, where she didn't need to be polite or composed as the face of their village, she was unleashing all the discontent she had, particularly towards him.
"There are more of us coming. Please, stop us," Harusame said as tendrils of Saiken's chakra lashed out from Uataka's body and whipped across the sea of bubbles, exploding them from a distance.
The warning came just in time, for the mist thickened around them and it wasn't any of their shinobi's doing, not when everyone was busy surviving the chaos.
An Anbu's body fell to the ground with a thud, having fallen victim to assassination despite being an expert of Silent Killing himself.
A clash of blades, a rush of wind. The fog around their Jinchuuriki candidate cleared as Tsurugi warded off the sword that reached for the young boy's neck. Kill the Jinchuuriki-to-be, and Kiri wouldn't have time to find another suitable candidate to seal Three-Tail and send him into protection.
After all, they couldn't very well protect the Three-Tail from enemies trying to decimate them when the Tailed-Beast was trying to decimate them as well.
The white-haired assassin melted into a puddle of water when Tsurugi struck him in the midriff. Hōzuki Mangetsu, one of the dead Seven Swordsmen of Kiri when they were still a thing.
If one of them was here, then the rest was probably not far off.
Utakata was ready to go and help, but not before Mei called out to him. "Go deal with the Raikage for now. Only your body can withstand the force of his Lightning Release Chakra Mode."
"But the boy …" Utakata swallowed his sentence when a path of ice solidified towards Mangetsu, driving him out of the liquid state unless he wanted to be frozen as a lump of ice. A little further away, Haku and Chōjūrō were already clashing blades with the reanimated swordsmen.
The thin needle-like blade in Haku's hand was wielded with precision and agility. While Haku's talent was acknowledged, he had definitely not gone through the evaluation to qualify for the legendary sword Nuibari.
Perhaps Mei meant this to be his evaluation. After all, no better time than now, he supposed, seeing that if they couldn't survive this battle, there wouldn't be any future chances of evaluation at all.
"Another time, Shishou," Utakata only had the time to say that before he jumped past Yagura's attacks, through an opening Mei created. There would be no 'another time', for Mei and her Kiri-nin would incapacitate Harusame using Konoha's yin-chakra's seals the first chance they got.
But Utakata supposed he was fine with that. His shishou didn't need to know how Utakata had filled his life with hate and doubt for years before he finally learned the patience and courage to listen.
The chakra coating thickened around Utakata's body as he landed in front of Three-Tail. Saiken's tails manifested from his back as they curved in front of him and cushioned the strike when the dead Raikage rammed his elbow forward.
Despite the cushioning, Utakata still stumbled back under the impact. Yep, something definitely cracked. He coughed a little to spat out the blood that gathered in his throat as Saiken's tails fanned out around him defensively.
Utakata could feel the stack of seals inside his yukata, reminding him what he needed to do. At the very least, he needed to occupy the Raikage's attention so that Kiri's sealing team could get Three-Tail under control.
"Will you be able to stop me?" The man covered in crackling lightning asked as he stared down at Utakata. The Raikage raised an eyebrow when he took in the very un-shinobi-like attire Utakata was wearing. Immediately, Utakata felt like he was being judged.
Just for that, Utakata didn't answer the question he was asked. Instead, he taunted, "You want the Tailed-Beast? Here, go for something a little more challenging than an injured creature."
A/N: Yes, I can finally use Kurama instead of Nine-Tail now! I keep on wondering when I get to call Nagato's six paths of pain by their actual names, instead of numbers. But that can only happen if Nagato was kind enough to introduce and explain his technique, which honestly, was probably not happening. So uh, Number it is.
Day 1 of battle, things are already spiralling and will continue to spiral. Don't worry, I remember Suna. No one gets to escape this descend into chaos.