HIDDEN MOON V - DARKENED HEART
Author's Note
This is by far the longest chapter yet, at 13369 words according to Google Docs. I hope I've managed to make Team Five's fights interesting enough to warrant the wordcount! Hope you enjoy it!
Shino deftly dodges the barrage of attacks Tsukino and Yozora are hurling at him, while Hakui just stands back and watches with a gleeful expression.
With the tower now in ruins, their scenery has changed to the outside where they have a close view of the reddened tree that's enveloped the Moon Tower.
The entire time, Shino's been trying to lead the fight further away from the tree. He was never the strongest at taijutsu, at least when compared to some of the monsters he's friends with, but he hasn't gotten to his position without becoming pretty good at it. He ducks between their sword and kunai slashes while parrying with his own kunai when avoiding isn't an option.
'That mask he's wearing, he didn't put it on just for show.' Shino analyzes the situation. 'The markings are similar to the ones on their foreheads which means it must be somehow connected to whatever jutsu's effect they're under… Let's try something out.'
When Yozora next slashes at him, he doesn't dodge or parry it. Instead he grabs her hand, at the expense of being stabbed with the weapon, all so he can get her in place. He focuses his chakra in his right hand that's holding onto her closed fist and performs a quick one-handed sign with his free hand.
[Release]
He fully channels his chakra to cancel genjutsu but when he looks toward Yozora with a glint of hope, she kicks him away.
Hakui laughs. "This genjutsu is a little bit more difficult to break."
"Thank you for confirming that it is indeed a genjutsu." Shino says as he gets up to his feet to block a sword strike by Tsukino.
Hakui scowls. "You little… Always arrogant, you Aburame." He reaches into his pouch to take out a small syringe-like device. With an aimed eye, he throws it right at Yozora.
Seeing this, Shino runs past Tsukino to intercept the syringe before it can hit its intended target. The downside is that this leaves him open long enough for Yozora to slash him across the back.
Hakui takes out a small ball similar to the one he threw at the start of this mess. "Well, it's not like I care if she actually gets poisoned."
'It's an antidote?!' Shino panics for a moment, realizing that Hakui fully intends to throw another poison mist bomb right at them.
Shino turns around to forcefully administer the antidote before she gets poisoned. Of course, she's not about to allow her enemy to stab her with anything. Shino struggles with her and Tsukino for a moment before he himself throws the syringe. Yozora dodges out of the way but the syringe suddenly changes its trajectory mid-air. Several tiny kikaichū carry the syringe right into Yozora's side, just as Hakui throws another poison bomb.
The entire street becomes covered in the gas.
For a moment, there's silence in their immediate area. The sound of clashing metal no longer rings through the air, just the distant cries and wails of the panicked masses, and Hakui has to wonder for a moment if it actually worked; if Shino was taken down.
He walks through the green cloud to find a most tantalizing sight when he leaves it.
Shino Aburame is kneeling on the ground with Tsukino's sword stabbed through his back, while Yozora lies on the ground.
Shino coughs and clutches his chest where the exit wound is. "It… wasn't an antidote."
Hakui bursts into a fit of laughter. "Of course not! Why would I care if some low-rank secretary lives or dies? She had one job and she performed it magnificently." He walks toward Shino with a hop to his step.
When Shino moves in an attempt to free himself, Tsukino tugs on the sword, causing him to cry out in agony.
Hakui stops a fair distance away from Shino, knowing full well that he's still not entirely in the clear. "How does it feel, Shino Aburame?"
"It feels… rather pleasant, actually." Shino looks back to him with a smirk.
Just then, Yozora and Tsukino's form, and even Tsukino's sword, all dissolve in black essence. Buzzing fills the air as where the two kunoichi previously stood are now clouds of darkness that flutter toward him.
[Kikaichū Clones]
'Shit! Shit, shit, shit!' Hakui reaches for his pouch again in a rush as the kikaichū swarm toward him, and slams another poison mist ball into the ground just in time.
The kikaichū that don't manage to stop on time fall to the ground while the rest return to Shino.
"How did you know the syringe didn't contain an antidote?" Hakui demands. "Where are Tsukino and Yozora? How did you pull it off?!"
"It's simple. I had a hunch that you wouldn't want to cure her. In fact, it makes more sense to leave her vulnerable and force me to focus on saving her rather than protecting myself. That's all."
"... That's it? You guessed? You just guessed?" Hakui repeats in disbelief. "Well… that didn't do you any good! You still couldn't get me!" He tries to turn this into a positive.
"I didn't need to. As for your second question." Shino points further back into the street, where the sight of Tsukino and Yozora chasing down another Shino can be seen. "I merely led them away with another [Kikaichū Clone] while I was hidden by your poison cloud."
Hakui's eyes widen in shock. 'No… I have to get them back here.' "You incompetents! Get back here!" He shouts.
"I fear… it's already too late for you to win."
The second Shino turns around to run toward the original, with Tsukino and Yozora in hot pursuit. They still slash at him but even as a Clone, he dodges well. That is, until the final stretch. The Clone leaves just enough of an opening for both of them to lunge at him and pierce him through the back.
The second Shino bursts into a cloud of darkness as the [Kikaichū Clone] dissipates back into a swarm of kikaichū that cover Tsukino and Yozora's entire bodies.
'No!' Hakui internally panics. 'I need to get those insects off of them!' He throws yet another bomb in their direction, aiming to kill these ones as he managed with the others, but this time it's not going to work.
"As I've said, it's too late."
A swarm of kikaichū rises from the ground to intercept the bomb and lead it high up in the air where it detonates, only killing a handful of the parasitic insects. The ones covering Tsukino and Yozora are still intact in spite of their attempts to rid themselves of the beetles that are crawling over them.
Shino uses this chance to [Flicker] right next to Tsukino who tries to swing at him when she spots him, but the distraction proves effective. Shino reaches for the necklace that hangs on Tsukino's neck and crushes it in his hand.
The shattering glass necklace releases a light purple cloud to fill the immediate area, covering both of them as well as Yozora. When the purple mist is blown away, Tsukino and Yozora lie on the ground, panting but very much free of the effects of [Jibaku]. With their faces returned to normal, they look around their surroundings and take in the sights and noises that now fill their beloved village.
"W-what?! How?!" Hakui cries out.
"The sap of the Goshinboku carries with it many properties. One being, the cancelling of genjutsu." Shino explains.
"There's no way the Goshinboku's sap still has the strength to do that! I made sure of it!"
"It's true, you've weakened the sacred tree, but sap that was harvested from before is unaffected."
Hakui now finds himself in a bind. He still has his poison mist to cover for him but he's in a much more dangerous position than before. He no longer has pawns to rely on and he knows he can't take Shino on in a fight. He needs to run. He needs to get to Shinga and hide in the comfort of the Jubokko.
Before he can even take one step, however, the poison cloud is blown away by a strong gust of wind.
He turns his head to see Tsukino, still exhausted but with a fiery glint in her eyes, has slashed the cloud away. Before he can even react, two kunai plunge into his chest as Yozora jumps over with even more kunai prepared.
"Why don't I show you what a low-rank secretary can do." Yozora growls, her memory of the experience restored thanks to the potent powers of the sap.
She throws two more kunai that Hakui just barely manages to dodge but Tsukino takes advantage of his stumbling to avoid the kunai. She runs forward and stabs Hakui right through the chest.
No tricks, no insect clones.
Tsukino unceremoniously pulls out her blade from the shocked and gasping Hakui and kicks him to the ground.
"This… wasn't supposed to happen." Hakui manages to whisper as his final breath before falling unconscious.
Shino walks over to the two of them. "Are you well?"
Tsukino cleans the blood off her sword. "Thanks to you, yes. We could've ended up much worse if you'd taken us on with your full capabilities."
"Perhaps, or perhaps not. Either way, the solution I required was one that left you both still able to stand. Your village needs you."
"What… is that thing?" Yozora looks up and the tree that's now lashing out further into the village.
It seems as if this thing is growing by the minute and lashing out at the Moon shinobi with even greater might.
"Is this another Divine Tree attack?" Tsukino asks.
Shino shakes his head. "I don't believe it is. Whatever it is, it's different, and it's why Hakui has been poisoning the Goshinboku; to ensure that it can't fight back as it did six years ago."
"How are we even meant to fight it?"
"You need to focus on the Hidden Moon Village right now. Your people need you to protect them and you shinobi need you to guide them. Leave this to me."
Tsukino stomps her foot in protest. "I can't just allow someone else to fight our battles for us."
Shino looks back to her with a calm expression. "This is what it means to be part of the larger shinobi world. We aid each other in any way we can but most importantly, we allocate our resources as need be. In this situation, these are our roles that ensure our victory. Not just for the Hidden Moon but the Shinobi Union. I ask that you trust in me and provide aid when everyone is safe."
Tsukino grits her teeth in frustration at how right he is. "Fine. You better not die, Shino Aburame. We'll come back you up as soon as we can."
"Thank you."
"Let's go, Yozora."
"Yes, ma'am."
The two of them [Flicker] away to organize their forces.
Shino looks up at the towering tree. "Well then. Let's get to work."
His cloak flutters as if blown by strong winds even though there are none. He calls forth his kikaichū to cover certain parts of his body, getting the swarm to cover him enough to where they can lift him.
With the aid of his insects, Shino flies upward.
'Wherever you three are, I hope you're safe.'
-x-
Kashiwama Senju and Hifumi Sugibashi vs. Kashiwama and Hifumi
Kashiwama holds his head in pain as a copy of himself just emerges from the ground, with copies of his friends also appearing to face them. Of all the times to get sudden pains, this is possibly the worst.
"Are you okay?" Hifumi places a hand on his shoulder while keeping her eyes glued to their two copies. "These things… what are they?"
"I don't know, but it can't be good." He stands up to his feet despite the mild vertigo he's experiencing.
To the side, Genzai and Jiriki have already engaged their copies and are leading their battles away for now, or more accurately- are being forced to move away. Whatever Dōshin wants, he doesn't want Team Five together, and probably with good reason.
"What should we do?" Hifumi asks.
Before she can receive a question, Kashiwama's clone takes a deep breath as its throat bulges.
[Water Style: Wild Water Wave]
The clone expels out a violent torrent of water from its mouth, aimed right at them.
"We fight back!" Kashiwama answers her question as he weaves his own chakra and slams his hands on the ground.
[Earth Style: Earth Wall]
Casting the jutsu gives him a sharp pain in the forehead, causing him to flinch.
The water crashes into the water and is unable to burst through, the earth simply absorbing it harmlessly.
After barely a second of silence, the [Earth Wall] begins to hum and shake.
Hifumi's eyes widen in recognition of the hum. "Get back!" She grabs Kashiwama by the shirt and pulls him away from the wall.
His jutsu shatters to reveal the metal-passing wires that had been embedded into it, vibrating with Wind Style just. Once the [Earth Wall] breaks, Hifumi's clone sends the wires even further forward to wrap around them.
Kashiwama's clone slams its hand on the ground and Hifumi and Kashiwama feel the earth below them tremble. They lose their balance as the ground cracks and a wide structure appears directly behind them.
[Earth Style: Earth Wall]
With their balance already shaken, they hit their backs against the copy of Kashiwama's jutsu. The wires lash out at them but they manage to duck just in time as they hit the wall behind them and leave indents where they struck.
Hifumi reaches into her pouch and takes out her own metal wires and whips them upward to wrap around the clone's. She sends her Wind Style to coarse through them.
[Wind Style: Sympathetic Vibrations]
The clone's wires snap in half, revealing them to actually be mud, as the parts that fell off crumble to the ground and turn to their semi-liquid state. The clone doesn't allow this to stop it so it just continues lashing with the wires, using soil from the ground to supplement them and keep them growing.
Hifumi does her best to keep up with the barrage but it's visible she's struggling.
Kashiwama begins forming hand signs. "When I say jump, jump." He slams his hand on the ground.
A rectangular plate under them begins shifting, only slightly forcing them to find their balance, and moves up. It comes up at an angle, meaning Kashiwama and Hifumi are being are being moved backward and up.
[Earth Style: Ground Bedrock]
Usually a jutsu meant to create two press-like slabs of stone to crush enemies, this time it's used as a ramp. When the slab reaches its highest point, Kashiwama calls for them to jump and they both do, using the [Ground Bedrock]'s fast momentum to leap over the [Earth Wall] behind them and use it as cover to gain some distance.
Kashiwama skids backward and looks on, prepared to act but still very much not feeling well.
Hifumi stands in front of him, wires ready. 'Kashiwama keeps coming to the rescue despite whatever's happening to him… I need to step up, I need to protect him so he can recover!'
Kashiwama smiles, noticing her clearly worried and focused expression. "You don't need to worry about me, Hifumi. I'm fine. I can keep fighting."
"That doesn't mean you should!"
The clones both run around the [Earth Wall] at top speeds. Hifumi prepares her wires to slice through them and hopefully hold them off.
Her clone uses its own wires while Kashiwama's clone speeds forward with great speeds. Hifumi tries to stop the charging clone first but her own doesn't allow her the freedom. Just when she wonders how she's going to take on both of them at once, while fighting both in close quarters and at range, Kashiwama's clone just… runs right past her.
As if she's not even present, the clone runs right for its original.
'It's going for Kashiwama?!' Her momentary distraction costs her as her clone attacks with greater intensity, not allowing her the chance to give aid.
Kashiwama's clone delivers a solid punch that Kashiwama blocks with both hands, a kick that he blocks with his calf, a follow up strike that he barely ducks out of the way of. Finally, a knee to the stomach that he can't avoid.
He retches in pain as the air leaves him, leaving him in a coughing fit. The clone elbows him in the back to send him crumbling to the floor.
'Dammit…' Kashiwama digs his fingers into the dirt, desperate to get back up. 'I can barely see anything, my head hurts so much. Why now, dammit?'
Hifumi acts. She resolves herself to help him, no matter what happens. She turns her back to her clone and focuses entirely on Kashiwama's clone, sending her metal wires to cut into its body and rend it to pieces. She grabs onto Kashiwama's clone's hand and rips them right off, then cuts at the legs, then the torso. With each wire enhanced with Wind Style, their cutting power is vastly increased
Her own clone obviously takes advantage of this and hits her across the back, each lash tearing her shirt and leaving her clothes slightly more soaked in blood.
She fights through it. She keeps her focus where she feels it's needed most- to keep Kashiwama safe. He, on the other hand, has different priorities. As he gets his bearings back, he looks up to see Hifumi being attacked while defending him.
From his position on the ground, he weaves his chakra and slams his hands.
[Earth Style: Earth Wall]
A large structure juts out from the ground behind Hifumi and provides her with some much needed cover.
Kashiwama stands up to his feet and immediately runs forward. "You keep him occupied, I'll take care of the other one!"
"A-alright." She reluctantly agrees, realizing that splitting her attention two-fold is not possible.
When he passes by Hifumi he places a hand on her back as water gushes out from his palm to cover her body in a bubble of water. The water wobbles a bit before it straightens itself to a move cylindrical shape before the top spouts multiple branches in all directions. Even smaller bits of water emerge from those branches to now fully resemble a tree made completely of water.
[Medical Water Style: Oak]
Hifumi's cuts and bruises begin to mend as the water focuses on her injuries.
The cracking of earth can be heard from the other side of the wall, something very clearly and deliberately hitting Kashiwama's Earth Style.
"This is… medical ninjutsu?" Hifumi stares in awe.
"Yeah." Kashiwama grins. "I guess I haven't actually had the chance to show it off, huh? But I won't have time to heal all your injuries."
"That's fine. Thank you."
After only a cursory heal, Kashiwama takes his hand off Hifumi's back to cancel the medical ninjutsu and begins weaving his chakra in preparation. As he does, the [Earth Wall] finally breaks from the lashing it'd been receiving until now, and he acts right away.
[Water Style: Wild Water Wave]
He shoots a jet of water from his mouth before the wall even has the chance to fully crumble. He hits Hifumi's clone right on the chest and makes his way toward it, while Hifumi keeps focusing on Kashiwama's clone.
Once the water dies down, Hifumi's clone stands back to its feet, wholly soaked and its form visibly washed away. It fights to pull itself back together and take back the form it's meant to have.
"You guys sure are focused on taking our form, huh? Is it that important to you?" Kashiwama banters.
Hifumi's clone runs forward, wires lashing out.
"Yeah, guess I shouldn't expect a conversation."
While he's busy with that one, Kashiwama's clone is slowly piecing itself back together with Hifumi not being able to keep up with the cutting. It's almost as if the mud is getting more and more amorphous and her wires just slip right through.
When it has something even vaguely resembling a humanoid form, it grabs the wires and tugs at them to try and yank them out of Hifumi's grasp. She tries to fight back against it but after a brief tug-o'-war, she loses out. The clone runs forward.
The two prepare themselves to meet the clones head on but much to their surprise, the clones completely avoid them. They fight just as much as necessary to run past their opponents. Hifumi's clone runs past Kashiwama, and Kashiwama's clone runs past Hifumi.
Kashiwama stares in surprise. "She's not even trying to fight me, she's…"
"... Going for the original?" Hifumi has the same exact thought.
The originals run after the other's clone but the surprise tactic left them at a slight disadvantage in catching up. The clones pass each other and intercept the originals.
Hifumi manages to take out a spare set of metal wires to fight and she tries to lash out at both clones, but her copy knocks each attempt away. Kashiwama tries to get past his clone but they become locked in a taijutsu bout, with the original being at a clear disadvantage.
'No…' Hifumi's mind begins racing. 'I have to do something, I have to come out on top. I'm a shinobi, too, dammit! Just because I'm from a smaller village doesn't mean I can't blast through any obstacle!' She realizes something, kicked into action from her own words. 'Wait… blast?'
With a large flourish, she knocks away her clone's wires and jumps back with a flip, in an attempt to distract from what she's actually doing. The clone regains its balance and continues this fight with wires but quickly realizes its mistake.
When Hifumi's wires get too close, something on them begins to glow and sizzle. Explosive tags, wrapped around the wires.
They explode in a large cloud of black smoke that fills the entire area, including the two Kashiwamas.
Seconds after, a figure runs out of the black cloud. For a moment, Hifumi prepares herself but quickly recognizes the injured form of Kashiwama.
"Nice thinking." He gives a weak thumbs up.
"I don't know how well that worked, though. Get ready."
The two jump back to get more distance and this time actually stick together since splitting doesn't seem to be working.
When Kashiama's clone and Hifumi's damaged clone emerge, they pelt them with more explosive tags before Hifumi uses her Wind Style to send them flying back.
"It's working, but…" Kashiwama winces. "It's only holding them back a little bit."
"We need to regroup." Hifumi states. "But I don't know where Genzai and Jiriki went to."
"We'll look for them, or hope they find us. Let's make a big one, one giant smokescreen!"
"Right!"
Kashiwama prepares several explosive tags strapped to kunai while Hifumi channels her chakra through her wires. When they have a visual on their targets, they act.
Kashiwama throws the kunai and Hifumi sends her wires out vibrating.
[Wind Style: Sympathetic Vibrations]
When the tags go off, the wind funnels intensify the explosion to create a much greater boom and larger smokescreen.
By the time the [Mud Golems] reassemble themselves, Kashiwama and Hifumi are nowhere in sight.
-x-
Meanwhile
Genzai Sarutobi vs. Genzai
The clone lunges toward the original with blinding speed. It jumps and flips over Genzai, delivering a series of punches and kicks as it twists through the air. When it lands, it continues its barrage of low sweeps and spins, showing as much skill as the real thing.
Genzai, however, is too familiar with this taijutsu to be so easily caught off guard. He jumps over and ducks under the typically unreadable movements of the Sarutobi's monkey style.
'Damn…' Genzai curses. 'It's copied my fighting style perfectly. I need some distance.'
As they engage in a series of quick jabs, shoulder barges, and kicks, none getting the upper hand over the other, Genzai manages to move his hand to his pouch. From it, he twirls two shuriken on his fingers and manages to cut his clone by using them as makeshift knuckles. With the clone momentarily dazed, he jumps back and throws the shuriken as intended.
He reaches into the pouch on the thigh and pulls out a kunai this time, paper tag tied to it. He throws the kunai and the paper begins sizzling and glowing mid air. It detonates in a massive explosion that creates a smokescreen between them.
'If only that would be enough to end this… In cases like this, Jiriki would be telling us where the enemy is, but he's got his own problems. So I gotta act right away.'
When the clone runs out of the dust cloud, intact, Genzai is already at the end stage of forming his hand signs.
[Fire Style: Flame Bomb]
The clone goes out of the smoke and right into the fire as a stream of flames comes hurling right at it.
The moment of calm that follows is quickly disrupted when the clone comes running at Genzai once more. Its appearance is slightly disheveled and part of its body has returned to being mud but it mends itself to appear human.
"Great, it can regenerate..."
The clone spreads its arms to the side as balls of mud form from its palms, taking on a flat shape and twisting into shuriken. It throws two of them, and forms two new shuriken before its arms have even stopped from the motion of throwing the first two. It pelts Genzai with a seemingly never ending supply of the weapons.
Genzai does what he can to deflect them with his kunai but far too many get through his defence for his liking. He becomes covered in scratches from the ones he barely dodges and stab wounds from the ones he doesn't.
"I need to regroup with the others soon, if only this guy would just let up. I think I can hear where Jiriki is."
After a moment, the clone does stop throwing a rain of shuriken and Genzai braces himself as he sees the final wave coming at him. He just needs to deflect those and he's good to go.
His train of thought is halted when the clone starts weaving chakra.
[Shuriken Shadow Clones]
Suddenly, the wave of shuriken flying at Genzai multiplies a dozen-fold and he knows full well he can't block all of them.
"Shit!"
Genzai is pelted by the wall of projectiles to the point of his own form barely being recognizable under the shuriken stuck to him. His limp body falls back before he disappears in a puff of smoke and a wooden log falls in his place.
[Substitution]
To the side, Genzai wipes away the sweat off his brow, his clothes a bit more torn than a moment ago.
"To think it could use my jutsu…" Genzai gets back to his feet. 'I had to take a few hits for that Substitution, but it's better than the alternative.'
The clone rushes at him again, but Genzai is once again prepared.
[Fire Style: Blazing Meteors]
Genzai breathes out several smaller balls of fire in rapid succession, a jutsu meant more to disorient and confuse than to damage, but that doesn't mean its power should be underestimated.
The clone ducks, jumps, and weaves between the fire with amazing grace that makes Genzai wonder if this is how annoying he is to fight, as well. One well placed and timed meteor does, however, hit the clone dead centre.
Genzai wastes no time with the follow-up. Every second not pelting it is a second it can use to recover. He throws more shuriken and kunai at it that manage to strike its body. The mud begins falling in the areas it's struck but the mud already begins piecing itself back together. Before it can, one kunai begins sizzling and the clone looks down to find an exploding tag embedded into its chest.
Before it can react, the paper tag explodes and sends the clone's top half scattering all over the field.
"How'd you like that?" Genzai smirks.
To the side, Dōshin quietly observes and a twisted and amused smile. "As if it's going to be that easy." He raises his hands in front of him to form a single hand sign.
The clone begins reassembling itself by gathering soil from the ground.
Genzai's eyes widen in surprise but he has no time to be surprised. He reaches for his pouch and throws another exploding paper, hoping to completely eviscerate it. When this one strikes, however, before the tag explodes, the clone turns into a log that takes the explosion.
From the corner of his eye, Genzai sees a hideous form ready to strike him. The mud golem remains in its incomplete form as mud drips down from its body but also slides up its body to repair it. Most of the torso remains an earthy brown colour while it tries to match the colour of the real deal.
Even while pulling itself together, the clone proves to be an overwhelming presence against an injured Genzai. He tries to keep up with its speed and use his taijutsu as best he can but the clone does not let up.
Where before they were an even match, now the clone keeps slowly taking initiative. A kick not blocked, a shove not guarded, a punch not dodged. With each strike against his already injured body, Genzai loses more and more ground until a decisive kick lands in his chest and sends him flying back into a tree.
The clone remains in place to finalize its regeneration.
"Damnit." Genzai coughs up blood. "This thing can do everything I can do, except it doesn't get tired and doesn't bleed." He wipes his bloodied mouth with his sleeve. "I need to somehow take control, I need to-" He glances down at his hand. "Wait a minute, if it can't bleed then it can't do everything I can." He looks up at his clone with a confident grin.
Genzai smears blood on the palm of his hand and weaves his chakra before slamming his hand on the ground.
[Ninja Art: Summoning]
Dōshin scowls. 'He can do that? That's one area where the Mud Golems are lacking. That's cheating, Genzai Sarutobi. That's cheating!' He grits his teeth.
When the smoke from the summoning clears, Genzai stands side by side with his two monkey companions, Enki and Enka.
The sister, Enka, takes in her surroundings and sees the two Genzai in front of him. "Woah! Why's there two of you?"
The brother, Enki, looks up at the injured Genzai. "Are you in danger?"
Genzai pants. "I don't have time to explain, but that thing's a doppelganger of some kind, and I need your help to get rid of it."
"Hah!" Enka chortles. "You expect me to fall for that?"
"What?" Genzai looks at it in disbelief.
"Fall for what, sis?" Enki asks.
"This thing just outed itself." Enka dramatically points to the real Genzai. "How do we know you're not the doppelganger?"
Enki gasps. "You're right!"
Genzai blinks. "W-what're you talking about?! I summoned you!"
"And your ploy almost worked, doppelganger." Enka crosses her arms with confidence that she's cracked the case. "But we won't fall for it."
"That's right!" Enki vigorously nods.
"No! It's even remotely right-" Before Genzai can protest any further, a black flash runs in front of him.
The clone took advantage of his distraction and ran at him to knee him right in the face. Genzai's head bounces back against the tree which stuns him for a moment, but a moment is all that's needed. The ringing in his ears and the throbbing pain in the back of his head make it difficult, if not impossible, to get his bearings back right away.
Enki and Enka jump away on the next tree over and watch as one Genzai pummels another Genzai into oblivion.
Genzai tries his best to block the punches but it proves too much for him to handle.
"Ha!" Enka sits down on the branch. "Thought he could fool us."
"I don't know, Enka." Enki looks down at the slaughter with a worried expression. "I think that was the real one."
"Eh, even if it is, so what?" Enka cleans out the wax from the ear. "That guy's always getting on our nerves, chasing us around like we owe him something." She watches Genzai fruitlessly defend himself.
Genzai grabs a kunai and embeds it into the clone's hand but it just passes through it like mud.
"He's... not even a very good summoner." Enka's voice trails off as she watches this going on, her tone becoming less and less indignant.
The clone reaches down and grabs the kunai Genzai just tried to defend himself with.
"He's just a dumb kid..." Enka's voice turns to a whisper.
The clone steps on Genzai's chest and swings with the kunai. Genzai grabs the foot and tries to push it away, but his strength proves insufficient. While his mind races for a solution, while he begins wondering if this is how he's going to end…
Enki leaps forward and grabs the clone's kunai-holding hand. By twisting his body around and kicking with all of his strength, the arm is completely severed and turns to mud in Enki's grip.
Enka jumps right in front of the clone and kicks him in the head, chest, and stomach. As she lands on the ground, she jumps up and delivers a double kick that sends the clone flying away.
Enki and Enka stand guard in front of Genzai.
"You two…" Genzai manages a whisper.
"We got your back!" Enki declares.
"You might be a dumb brat, but you're our dumb brat, damnit!"
Genzai laughs. "You two are impossible to deal with."
Dōshin stops out of his observing spot. "That's not fair! This was supposed to be one-on-one!"
"Not fair?" Genzai stands up with some difficulty, using the tree as support. "You're the one hiding behind these puppets. Using underhanded tricks to win, but you made one miscalculation."
"And what's that?"
"You didn't know who you're dealing with." Genzai glares.
Enki and Enka jump up and each grasp onto Genzai's hand, with a wide grin. A smokescreen follows that's very quickly cleared by a violent spinning motion. Genzai stands there, holding onto two black sticks with a golden top, attaches with a chain to another stick that's whirling violently enough to rip off the leaves from the branches above.
With a flourish, Genzai stops the spinning and rests his new weapons under his arms.
[Transformation: Adamantine Nunchaku]
"My name is Genzai Sarutobi!" He declares. "I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage and future heir of the Sarutobi clan! You'll carry that name to the afterlife!"
"You bastard." Dōshin hisses and runs forward, finally joining the fight.
The clone weaves its chakra and takes a deep breath before exhaling a sea of flames.
[Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb]
"Let's go, Enki, Enka!"
"Right!"
"Yeah!"
Genzai runs forward, directly at the massive incoming flame, much to Dōshin's surprise and shock. He holds out one of the nunchaku in front of him and spins it with even greater intensity than before. The flames are fanned away by the strength of Enki's adamantine form and don't even reach them.
When Dōshin runs toward him, seeing that the initial idea failed but the result is still the same- Genzai is distracted by the fire. He thinks that by coming at him from the side that'll give him an opening but he's wrong.
Genzai swings his second nunchaku which would normally completely miss. Dōshin sees the attack coming a mile away and steps back to avoid direct contact.
Or so he thinks.
Suddenly, the nunchaku's stick expands to a much greater size, more resembling a greatclub than anything, and slams into his side. He's caught completely unprepared and is sent flying away.
The clone runs at Genzai, the mud that forms its body morphing to create its own nunchaku, but it can't even begin to compare to the real deal.
Genzai turns the tide by completely rendering the clone unable to get near him. With the monkey clan's ability to shift their size in adamantine form, Genzai continuously changes the size of his nunchaku, making them completely unreadable and unpredictable. He slams away at the clone's arms, chest, head, and try as it might to keep up with the assault, it's far too overwhelming.
"Incoming. Behind us." Enka warns him.
From the corner of his eyes, he turns around just in time to see Dōshin slam his hands on the ground, face contorted in anger. Even though the top half of his face is covered by the black mask, the scowl tells everything one needs to know.
[Forbidden Jutsu: Fire Rats Cometh]
The ground underneath him is set ablaze as dozens of small forms emerge from the inferno and leap right at Genzai. On closer inception, they all look like summoned flaming rats.
He turns around, judging that it'll take a while for the clone to regenerate, and swats away at the fiery rodents, causing them to burst into ashes.
"OW!" Enka cries out in pain. "That hurt! That actually hurt!"
"What?" On hearing this, Genzai stops spinning the adamantine nunchaku and dodges the fire rats instead. "It hurt your adamantine form?"
"It did!" Enki confirms. "This isn't normal fire jutsu."
"Then let's try this." Genzai tucks the nunchaku away for a moment to free up his hands.
[Fire Style: Blazing Meteors]
Choosing to literally fight fire with fire, he sends out motes of fire jutsu of his own to intercept the fire rats but even that doesn't fully work. Whatever this jutsu is, it's stronger than his own.
While he runs around to avoid them, he does notice something peculiar. Dōshin is far too out of breath for someone who hasn't actually done much. As he's resting in the circle of fire, he's forming a hand sign that one may think is to maintain the fire, but it's actually stopped spouting fire rats so that's most likely not it. Rather, the clone is regenerating at a faster rate than before.
'So… Those things aren't self-sufficient, after all.'
"Enki, Enka, get ready! We're getting out of here."
"You summoned us just to run away?" Enka protests.
"It's a tactical retreat." He corrects her.
[Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb]
This time he spits out a much larger flame and turns his head around to make sure it covers as wide of an area as it possibly can. Everything in the vicinity is set aflame except for the rats which were already set aflame. Even this more powerful fire style isn't enough to stop their assault, but something else does.
A lack of a target.
When the fire dies down, Genzai is nowhere to be seen.
Dōshin frantically looks around as Genzai's clone fully heals itself and hits the ground with his fist. "Don't think you can run away! If I can't get you, I'll just get your friends!"
-x-
Meanwhile
Jiriki Hyūga vs. Jiriki
Jiriki wastes absolutely no time wondering what to do. As soon as the clone takes one step toward him, he draws his bow and conjures arrows from the seals etched onto the bow. He looses arrow after arrow at the charging clone.
The clone knocks away each arrow that comes flying its way by releasing a burst of chakra from its palms.
[One Blow: Hand]
It's slightly different from what Jiriki normally does, though, it looks more violent; like it's releasing more chakra than normal. It looks unrefined.
'So it doesn't just copy your appearance, but your abilities. This could be annoying.' Jiriki analyzes the situation. 'But something's off.'
[Byakugan]
The veins around his eyes pop as his vision enhances, giving him what he needs to scope out his opponent and his allies. Right now, though, he has to focus on the enemy in front of him.
He takes a closer look at the mud golem's body and notices an oddity, while still continuing to loose arrows.
'It doesn't have a chakra network. It can use chakra and jutsu despite this irregularity. Is that why it's [One Blow] seemed so sloppy? Our jutsu relies on releasing chakra from our chakra points, but it doesn't have any. It's just flailing its chakra around. This could be my key to ending this so I can go to Kashiwama and Genzai.'
The clone, having had enough of this, morphs its own hand to form a bow. It places a hand on the bow's stock and more mud emerges from it to form an arrow. It nocks and looses just as Jiriki does.
'So it can do that, too. But it doesn't seem like it can copy my storage seals. Good.'
Arrows clash with mud arrows as the two trade shots at each other. The projectiles perfectly clash into each other as the clone uses this opportunity to get closer to its target.
Several arrows manage to pass through on each side but are dodged well enough. Jiriki has a few close calls where the arrows pass through his hair and tear his robes, but the clone doesn't seem to even care. It takes the arrows head on and lets them slip through its muddy body. Having a foe not react the way one normally would is very disorienting and makes planning your next step more difficult.
While he considers his options, Jiriki notices something odd about the next arrow that comes his way. The chakra inside is violently whirling and twisting to the point of looking like it's about to explode.
'Can't let that one near me.'
Jiriki conjures a different arrow from the ones he'd been conjuring until one. One of his special trick arrows, with a container wrapped around just under the arrowhead. He releases it at the unstable mud arrow and the container bursts open to release a net that spreads over a wide area and threatens to wrap around the incoming arrows.
Before it can, however, the clone's arrow bursts itself into a massive gust of wind that knocks away Jiriki's arrow and even knocks back Jiriki himself. The large funnel sends him flying back but he manages to get to his feet after tumbling and rolling on the ground for a second.
'That was… [Vacuum Palm]? With the arrow as its source?' Jiriki bites his lip. 'I guess that makes sense. If it created the arrows from its mud body, then the arrows are technically a part of its body. How annoying.'
The clone finally closes in the distance and jabs Jirki with its open palm. Jiriki regains his composure and takes his stance, dropping the longbow on the ground as it's now a burden more than anything.
The two exchange blows with chakra gathered at their fingertips, the deadly Gentle Fist. To the naked eye, it looks like a simple exchange of blows but a trained eye knows how devastating only a single strike can be.
Both Jiriki and the clone move with great precision, parrying or dodging one another's blows while trying to land a hit of their own. Even though the clone doesn't have a chakra network that Jiriki can exploit, which is why the Gentle Fist is so feared, he does have his ways to fight this being. By releasing his chakra in a smaller more concentrated version of [One Blow: Hand], he's able to blow off chunks of the clone's body, sending pieces of earth and mud flying each time their hands meet.
It's not the best scenario for him but he has to work with what he has.
Similarly, the clone's lack of a chakra network is working slightly against it as well. Because it can't focus its chakra with needle-like precision, it can't completely target Jiriki's chakra points to close them. Its strikes still hurt but they deal more blunt trauma than anything.
The two move like water, each strike, each kick executed with finesse.
There's one element of the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist that not many people talk about, but it's also something that not many can master, either. In addition to just closing people's chakra networks, a well-trained Byakugan can spot the chakra composition of a released jutsu and completely negate it.
A well-trained Hyūga can use their Gentle Fist and turn a [Fire Style: Fireball] jutsu into a harmless ember, by using their Gentle Fist to remove chakra from the equation. He knows for a fact that Lord Hiashi and Lady Hinata are able to do it, he's not sure about Lady Hanabi.
That's precisely what Jiriki has been trying to do this entire battle and why he's sticking to taijutsu against this entity. He's hoping to manage to perform this technique and render this so-called [Mud Golem], but he's not any closer to actually getting it.
They gradually pick up speed in an attempt to outmaneuver the other but after a couple minutes of purely trying to outperform each other with taijutsu, Jiriki notices a change in the fight that's not to his favour.
'This thing… it's not getting tired. My body's starting to get sore, but this clone is showing no signs of damage. Does it not get tired? … No, it's made of mud, of course it wouldn't. Time for a change of pace.'
Jiriki concentrates as much chakra to his entire arm as he can and unleashes it when he manages to get a clean hit in.
[One Blow: Arm]
The sudden burst of energy throws the clone off its balance enough for Jiriki to brings his arms back and wind up for a follow-up attack.
[Vacuum Palm]
With a thrust of his arms, Jiriki sends his clone flying. Before it can even realize it was sent back, Jiriki runs to grab his bow. If it can't actually copy his equipment then the storage seals are going to be a lifesaver.
As soon as he picks it up, he conjures an arrow and fires from a kneeling position. Just as before, a metal container bursts open while the clone is still recovering, and the net threatens to wrap it.
Before it even impacts, Jiriki runs into the trees to use them as cover.
The clone doesn't let itself be deterred. It gathers chakra over its entire body and unleashes it in a massive burst.
[One Blow: Body]
The wave of raw chakra pushes the net away.
From his hiding spot within the forest, Jiriki takes a moment to compose himself before getting another arrow. He carefully aims right for the head and releases.
Before it can get too far, the clone whips around and once again forms a bow and arrow from the mud it's made of. With the veins around its eyes popped and its eyes as focused as ever, it shoots its own arrow and intercepts Jiriki's. With its [Byakugan] it stares directly at Jiriki.
'It can even copy kekkei genkai?'
Change of plans. Jiriki runs further away from the clone, hoping to put some distance between them and shoot from outside of the [Byakugan]'s range, but that means he'll have to have visual while the clone doesn't. It's not a likely scenario, but he has to make it work.
Thankfully, Jiriki knows exactly what the range of his [Byakugan] is so he knows how to maneuver around it and stay out of sight.
They exchange several more shots while the clone tries to catch up, but Jiriki constantly skirts around the edge of the [Byakugan]'s range and manages to keep himself hidden.
The clone soon grows agitated with this game of cat and mouse and fires arrows in random directions, each bursting with raw chakra. Jiriki avoids all of them.
After a minute or so of skulking tactics, the clone finds something. Two arrows come consecutively from the same spot, although the aim is very far off, so it runs in that direction in search for its original.
What it finds instead is a device mounted to a tree. It's a cylindrical contraption mounted to a tree that's covered in jutsu formula. After several seconds, the formula glow and conjure an arrow that shoots forward.
It's an automated seal, designed to release its contents one at a time. The power is nothing even remotely close to actually firing with a bow but as a distraction? It's doing wonders.
The clone growls in anger and stomps over to the device to tear it down and break it in its frustration but before it can reach, something hits it in the back.
A sudden jolt of electricity runs through its body and renders it momentarily stunned. It falls to its knees despite its best efforts to to fight back. Through its [Byakugan], it sees another arrow come right for it but it can't move fast enough to do anything about it. As soon as it hits, it also releases an electrical current.
That's another thing that Jiriki is more than familiar with about the [Byakugan]- the weak spot. The clone may not have noticed, or even have the capacity to notice, that there's a tiny sliver in the back that the [Byakugan] can't see. A single spot, a blemish, in the dōjutsu's supposed perfect 360° visual radius.
It takes a moment for it to overcome the stunning effect. It rips the arrows off with a loud roar, but another arrow comes flying right into its head. This one, however, does not release a jolt. It explodes.
The entire upper half of the clone breaks apart and scatters across the area, giving Jiriki some time to breathe.
"I never thought I'd have to exploit this weakness myself, on myself." He muses. "But it looked like the arrows only worked for a bit. I figured I'd give it a shot since it's Earth Style, but… I guess I really would need an actual Lighting Style."
There's little time to celebrate victory. As he steps closer, he sees the clone's chakra already working to mend it. It actively gathers more soil from the ground to repair itself.
Jiriki stops in his tracks and looks back to where they previously came from, where they were split up. At the absolute range of his vision, he sees movement. He sees his teammates gathering together, and with his enemy temporarily disabled, now's his chance to regroup and think of a more permanent solution.
-x-
Team Five vs. Team Five
When Kashiwama and Hifumi emerge from the ground not far from where this whole mess originally started, they don't actually have to wait long to find their friends. Genzai and Jiriki arrive next to them almost simultaneously, both worse for wear.
Genzai kneels down beside them with his nunchaku in his hands while Jiriki already has his bow out and ready to fire.
Jiriki looks around his teammates, noting their scars and overall ragged appearance. "You look terrible."
Genzai glances over to his bruised body, his whole arms and even his chest turned blue and purple from the beating he received. "Like you're one to talk."
Hifumi notes Genzai's nunchaku that he has ready to strike out at any time. "Those look cool."
Abruptly, an eye sprouts from one of the nunchaku stick and a tiny fuzzy hand emerges from the side to wave at her. "Thanks! I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"
Hifumi lets out a startled yelp before she places her hands over her mouth. "I-i-it can talk?!"
"Of course I can! How rude!" A second tiny arm emerges for the sole purpose of crossing them in annoyance.
Kashiwama raises a brow. "Are those… Enki and Enka?"
The other nunchaku sprouts an arm of its own and waves to Kashiwama. "Hey, Senju kiddo."
"So you finally got them under control, huh?" Jiriki smirks.
"Hey!" Enka swings her fist at him. "No one gets us 'under control' you got that? We just felt sorry for the kid, is all."
"We don't really have time to argue." Genzai interrupts their banter.
"You're right." Kashiwama agrees and slams his hands on the ground.
[Medical Water Style: Forest]
With no time to waste, Kashiwama activates his wide range healing. The ground under them become covered in an ankle-high layer of water as some wisps of water rise up their bodies like vines to heal their injuries.
Kashiwama cries out in pain as he does.
"You shouldn't be using your chakra so much." Hifumi protests.
"I gotta." Kashiwama says through gritted teeth. "We have to beat these guys. And get to Shino-sensei."
"What even happened to you?" Genzai asks.
"I don't know, but…" Kashiwama looks in the direction of the Hidden Moon Village. "I think I know."
"Do you know or not know?!" Jiriki argues.
"Okay, now's not the time!" Genzai interjects. "We have something more important to do, my clone shouldn't be far behind me. I don't suppose you all have ideas."
"I don't know if it helps," Hifumi speaks up, "But these golems seem to be overly focused on their original. Kashiwama's look alike barely bothered with me."
"Yeah, same." Kashiwama nods. "We might be able to use their focus to our advantage."
"Maybe." Genzai thinks things over. "Apparently these [Mud Golems] can heal themselves, but the caster can speed up the process and the expense of their own chakra. If we can get them to enough of a beaten down starte, we can force Dōshin to use up even more of his chakra."
Jiriki finally adds. "I didn't really learn much besides that these things don't have a chakra network. When it comes to manipulating raw chakra, like for my Eight Trigrams, they're unable to do it right. It comes out unstable."
"Then how can they use elemental ninjutsu?" Genzai questions.
"I don't know how these things work! They're weird enough as is. Either way, my Gentle Fist can't even work on them because they don't have chakra points."
"They don't have…" Kashiwama mutters to himself before speaking up. "So their chakra is just running wild in their bodies?"
"Something like that, yeah." Jiriki answers.
"Then I might have a way to put them down for good. But I can barely even see straight with this headache." Kashiwama gives them an affirming nod.
"If they're too focused on the original, then that leaves us with an opening we can take advantage of. We'll need to have each other's backs like never before."
At the sound of this, Hifumi's hands begin to slightly tremble. These guys have been amazing and Genzai and Jiriki apparently were able to overcome their copies all on their own. They've been together for years and have had time to work on their teamwork while she's never really had the-
"It's fine." Kashiwama places a hand on her arm. "You got this handled, okay? You cut up my clone pretty good. I know we can work together."
She gives a light smile. "Y-yeah."
Jiriki prepares an arrow from his storage seal. "Hifumi uses metal wires, so her clone should, too. I might be able to tangle her up."
Genzai looks to Hifumi. "While he does that, can you take care of mine? If it's mine, he'll use shuriken or Fire Style."
"Got it." She nods.
"Enki, Enka, when I say go, I want you to return. I'm going to need every single bit of chakra I have for this."
"You got it."
"Okay."
The two revert fully to nunchaku form.
"So I guess that leaves me with Jiriki's clone." Kashiwama says.
"And me, with yours." Genzai adds.
With their roles set, Kashiwama cancels his medical ninjutsu, leaving the water to settle into the ground.
They don't have to wait long at all. Their clones emerge from the forest pretty much at the same time and because Team Five moved further back, it'll be difficult to split them apart like before. The clones are all coming in from the same direction so it should be a simple matter to go at them together.
The clones' bodies all morph to create weapons that match what their originals wield. Bow and arrows for Jiriki, metal wires for Hifumi, shuriken for Genzai, and kunai for Kashiwama.
The real Jiriki, Hifumi, and Kashiwama fire back with the same weapons, but Genzai fights with Enki and Enka.
The field in front of them becomes filled with flying projectiles, some of them clashing mid-air, some whizzing past their targets. The ones that do manage to fly through are swatted away by the adamantine nunchaku.
With each swing of the transformed monkeys, they momentarily grow in size when in front of the group and when they swing back, they shrink down. It always looks as if Genzai's going to hit either Kashiwama or Jiriki but the two don't flinch at all, and the nunchaku woosh past them as they become smaller. Hifumi can't help but be impressed at how much these three trust in each other, the training they must've gone through to get to where they are.
She resolves herself to do better and to not be in their way in this fight.
As the clones slowly move closer, inching their way toward the originals, they switch up the strategy. Rather than just throwing projectiles, they begin weaving their chakra.
"Enki, Enka, go!" Genzai gives the command, and the two summons return home.
A [Fire Style: Fire Bomb] is deflected by Jiriki's [Vacuum Palm]. A [Water Style: Wild Water Wave] is deflected by Kashiwama's [Earth Style: Earth Dragon Mud Bomb]. They counter the clones' jutsu and get closer and closer where it turns into a taijutsu fight.
Once again, Team Five show teamwork as they gracefully go over and around each other to block and deflect the enemies' strikes away. It's not just each other's attacks that they're reading, though. They're also perfectly dancing around Hifumi's wire jutsu as if they've practiced this before.
They fight like a well oiled machine until the exact right moment comes to them.
As if in a dance, Team Five lead their enemy to just the spot they need to be for the definitive attack.
When they line up as they should, Genzai is the first to act. He turns to Kashiwama's clone and spews fire directly in its face.
[Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb]
Genzai's clone turns to Genzai and takes a deep breath in turn. Just as it spews out fire, multiple wires vibrating with Wind Style surround it.
[Wind Style: Wind Cage]
Hifumi's Wind Style creates funnels of air that redirect the Fire Style and trap the clone in a cage of infernal fire.
When Hifumi's clone sends out its wires, Jiriki fires a trick arrow; one that releases a wide net to ensnare them and the clone. When the clone becomes trapped, Jiriki releases a volley of electrified arrows.
Lastly, while Jiriki's clone aims at the original, Kashiwama moves in. The clone notices this and tries to send him away with a burst of chakra but what Kashiwama does catches even his allies by surprise. He channels his chakra into a liquid tree that completely surrounds Jiriki's clone.
[Medical Water Style: Oak]
Genzai spews out fire with great intensity, his cheeks puff out as far as they can and turn red from strain. 'I have to burn it. I have to harden it. Hotter. I need to make my flames hotter! Use up every single bit of chakra I have left!'
The fire begins to gradually shift colour. The more chakra he puts into it, the more he focuses, the hotter the flames get. 'More.' The red fire turns to orange. 'More!' The orange turns brighter and brighter into yellow. 'MORE!' The yellow glows until it becomes a blinding white that incinerates the grass and leaves in front of him.
Kashiwama's clone tries to reach out of the fire but its body begins turning into clay.
Hifumi redirects her wires in such a way to amplify Genzai's clone's fire even further, to reach a level of heat that doesn't quite reach what Genzai himself is dishing out but it comes close. She closes in the cage to make it as small as possible as the fire whirls inside like a hellish tornado. With a flick of her wrists, the wires cut through the clone like a net and split it into dozens of smaller hardened pieces.
Jiriki runs to his temporarily inpacacitated target with his [Byakugan] intently staring into its form. 'If I'm ever going to do it, it has to be now. I can't let myself fall back from these guys. Come on, focus, Focus!" He pours as much chakra as he can into his doujutsu, forcing it to home in on specific parts of the [Mud Golem]'s structure. Until he finally sees it. The structure of the jutsu, the chakra make-up of not just what the clone is using but how the clone itself was created.
It's brief, but he sees what he needs to.
He places his two palms on the torso and swiftly runs one hand up and one hand down.
[Eight Trigrams: Disruption]
The clone splits and crumbles to the ground.
Kashiwama keeps his grip on his medical ninjutsu, despite Jiriki's clone's attempt to break through it. It ties to use the Hyūga clan's signature ninjutsu but it keeps falling short of bursting the [Oak]. Jiriki said it's too rough and each attempt becomes more and more unstable until it can no longer even hold its form.
Kashiwama pushes the jutsu over and Jiriki's clone fall, complete dissolving turns into a pile of mud.
With that, they all take a moment..
Genzai collapses on the ground out of breath, along with Kashiwama who's looking even worse than before.
"Is it… over?" Hifumi asks, hopeful.
"Not yet." Jiriki states as he looks around with his [Byakugan]. "But it will be soon." He [Flickers] away with no warning.
Somewhere to the side, Dōshin is kneeling and kneading his chakra. 'Damnit. They did too much damage. I need to repair them, I need to get them back in fighting shape!' He's sweating and panting as if he himself had just been through the hardest battle of his life.
When he looks up in anger, he barely even has enough time to register the palm that's headed right for his face.
[Palm Bottom]
Jiriki sends a burst of chakra that shatters his black mask and sends him falling like a log.
When he walks out into the clearing with an unconscious Dōshin, the group can finally call this battle a win.
"Now it's over." Jiriki flashes a cocky smirk that's slightly ruined by his state of disrepair.
Kashiwama rolls over on his back and looks to Genzai with a wide smile. "That was the hottest fire I've seen you do."
Genzai tries to laugh but what comes out is a pained cough. "Yeah. I'm out of chakra, though. I don't think I can make a simple [Clone] at this point."
"What did you do, though?" Jiriki asks Kashiwama as he joins them, dragging Dōshin behind. "How did you destroy that thing with medical ninjutsu?"
"I kinda had an idea… when you said they don't have a chakra network. Medical ninjutsu also needs the patient to have some kind of stability. Doesn't… Doesn't have to be a chakra network but it needs to be stable." He pauses for a moment to get his breath back. "Medical ninjutsu... uses the patient's own body to help with the healing, but when I tried to heal the clone…"
"Your ninjutsu couldn't find anything stable. It kept searching but it couldn't find it."
Kashiwama nods and pushes himself up. "I tried to bring order into chaos. Chaos didn't know what to do with itself."
Hifumi sits down and looks between all of them. "You guys are… seriously amazing."
Genzai lifts a hand to give her a thumbs up. "You did pretty damn good, too."
"Now, what do we do with this guy?" Jiriki asks. "If he's apparently a traitor, then is Shinga, too?"
"Sounded like it." Genzai says. "Just… give me a minute and I'll get back to my feet. Looks like we've got to leave this to sensei."
Kashiwama shakes his head. "I can't do that."
Jiriki raises a brow. "What do you mean you can't do that?"
Kashiwama stares in the direction the Hidden Moon is. "I have to get to it. It's calling to me. That's what the headache was! I couldn't really make it out, but now I know. It needs my help."
Jiriki blinks twice. "Wh-What're you talking about?!"
Without saying anything else, Kashiwama [Flickers] away.
They all stare in disbelief.
"OI!" Jiriki calls out to the ether. "Get back here!"
"Why... did he leave?" Hifumi asks.
"I… don't know. He sounded crazy." Genzai looks to them for confirmation. "He sounded crazy, right?"
"I'm going after him." Jiriki starts walking in the direction he ran off to.
"Oh, not you, too." Genzai falls back to the ground. "If you go, you're on your own. I can't move a muscle."
Hifumi nervously looks between them. "I… I don't think it'd be a good idea to leave Genzai behind."
"That's fine. You two stay behind and rest. I'll get that knucklehead back."
With that, Jiriki [Flickers] away in pursuit of his friend.
Hidden Moon Village
Shino is finding himself at somewhat of a disadvantage. With the aid of his kikaichū , he's flying high above other building in the village, close to the peak of the massive red tree but he can't actually get close.
There's some kind of red mist that's being released by the tree and surrounds the top, something that seems to resemble pollen, which instantly kills any of his parasitic insects that get too close.
He's tried to send them through any angle he could find but the pollen encompases the entire area. What he's taken to doing instead, after some trial and error and losing a lot of kikaichū, is to attack the roots. At least, the ones that are freshly sprouted and have just planted themselves into the ground.
The ones that were first planted into the ground and have been pumping something for the longest are far too toxic for the kikaichū. The newer ones apparently haven't had time to develop whatever toxins they develop and so Shino can more easily work on them.
[Bug Bite]
The kikaichū burrow into the roots and enlarge to human size to eat away at them, which is where the Moon shinobi take over after overcoming their aversion and realizing the giant insects are allies.
Thankfully the number of threats has decreased. They have to worry about the roots and some of their fellow shinobi suddenly turning on them while being visibly possessed by something. Due to reasons unknown to them, the mud doppelgangers all just melted away with no explanation and they're hoping they stay that way.
Shino is doing his best to coordinate the attacks from afar by commanding his kikaichū. From time to time, he also places a hand on the gourd on his back to check on the insects inside and see if they're ready yet. Soon.
The red tree's top twists and bends to allow one specific branch to rise upward to be eye-level with the hovering Shino. At the top of the branch, he can see a man seemingly fused with the tree, a man whose skin has taken on more of a bark-like appearance, whose veins are showing with their sickly red colouration.
Shinga laughs. "You're too late, Shino Aburame. Far too late!"
"You…" Shino cocks his head. "I know you."
"I figured you would. I presume you're Shibi Aburame's son, yes? Being annoying know-it-alls runs in the family."
"Shinga the Unrestrained, of the Hidden Stone Village. I thought Hakui was a threat but in reality he was working with you all along. I recognized the markings on his mask. [Jibaku], a forbidden jutsu that controls other people's actions."
"Ah, so my infamy hasn't dwindled. That's good to know." He bows in a mocking manner before adding with a mumble. "Never did like that name, though."
Why are you in the Hiden Moon? What do you hope to gain from this?"
Shinga spreads his arms to motion to the chaos surrounding them. "Isn't that quite clear? Once the Jubokko has drunk enough blood, it'll be able to absorb the Goshinboku. With their powers, I'll have powers at my disposal to rival the Divine Tree of the Fourth War!"
"What do you know about the Goshinboku and this Jubokko? How are they connected to the Divine Tree?" Shino once again reaches back to touch the gourd on his back. Not yet.
The central branches of the Jubokko wrap themselves even tighter around the very top of the tower. Their forms tightly squeeze an invisible cube that Shino recognizes as the barrier that keeps the Goshinboku hidden away from view and protected from external forces.
"Truthfully I don't know how they relate, just that they do. Whatever they are, they're opposing forces." Shinga explains with a shrug. "The Goshinboku strengthens and nurtures while the Jubokko weakes and ruins. That's why we were able to weaken the Goshinboku with extract from the Jubokko seed, you see."
"And you just happened to come across this information? Something that apparently no one else knew of."
Shinga cackles. "What can I say, I'm very thorough. There were stories, old wives' tales of an entity that once roamed the land and fed on suffering and misery. That's the Jubokko. It digs deep into the ground and feeds on the remnant energy, on the blood spilled. The more people have died in a given area, the stronger it becomes. That's why… I'm grateful you asked. It allowed me to stall!"
The barrier ninjutsu shatters under the might of the Jubokko's branches. The Goshinboku becomes visible to those outside of the tower, although even then the fierce red tree has surrounded it so much that hardly anyone is able to actually see it.
This time, unfortunately for the people of the Moon, the Goshinboku does not come to their aid.
"The Goshinboku is mine!" Shinga proclaims as he sends out a branch to lash at the opposing white tree.
"Not just yet." Shino calmly states.
The branch cracks apart to reveal a giant insect eating away at it from the inside.
[Bug Bite]
The kikaichū flies from the eaten branch to the next, seemingly unphased by the necrotic chakra of the red tree.
Shinga glares at Shino. "You…"
"You see," Shino explains, "You weren't the only one stalling for time. I'd like to thank you for clarifying two things for me. One, that the Jubokko does indeed share a connection to the Divine Tree and two, that it's the source of the poison."
"And how would any of that even be useful to you, you brat?" Shinga growls.
"You see, I'd already bred kikaichū whose sole purpose is to survive the chakra of the Divine Tree, and just recently I had two kikaichū die, I suspect, after ingesting Hakui's poisonous substance. And I've been breeding kikaichū to resist it."
Shino finally reaches back and unseals the gourd on his back. Swarms of kikaichū fly out right into the red mist. This time, none of them fall.
[Insect Sphere]
They all latch onto the branch and dig inside to avoid the the thrashing and slamming of the branches- Shinga's attempt to shake them off or squish them, whichever comes first.
"This hive is immune to the Jubokko." Shino declares.
He spreads his arms to command his swarms to move out. A portion of them emerge from the branches to spread out to the roots and branches that have taken hold further into the village. The kikaichū he'd been using until now did a valiant job but even they couldn't hold up to the corruption. These are now able to eat away at even the stronger, more poisonous roots, although it takes them time.
"You think this is enough?! You're just stalling again, you know this won't stop me!" Shinga cries out. "I have spent too much time preparing for this moment to allow a brat like you to get in my way!"
"You should have prepared better."
Shinga continues to thrash the Jubokko's branches about to rid himself of the burrowing insects while also lashing out at the hovering Shino. He manages to fly out of the way of most strikes but some he doesn't outspeed which is when the kikaichū fly out to his aid to create a shield. Some take too much damage from the impact and fall dead to the ground.
The Jubokko's branches and roots continue to grow weaker as the kikaichū slowly eat at them from the inside out, keeping the sacred tree safe in the process. The tree is no longer able to absorb energy from the ground at the same rate.
'The Goshinboku is right there.' Shinga laments. 'I just need time to absorb it! If only I could get these bugs to leave the Jubokko alone! Wait… I just might be able to.'
Now that Shinga is fused with the Jubokko, their chakras are one and the same. They are one entity. The kikaichū aren't just in contact with the tree's chakra, they're in contact with his own, and as long as they're in contact with his chakra…
[Jibaku]
The markings appear on his forehead, as if being burned directly on his skin.
The thrashing stops. The Jubokko's roots and branches regenerate and now they're not being stopped.
Shino looks at his surroundings, confused. "W-what?"
Shinga's laughter fills the air around them. "You miscalculated! You miscalculated, Shino Aburame! Your insects are immune to the Jubokko, but they're not immune to me! Attack him, my minion!"
The kikaichū all leave their burrows and fly directly toward Shino. He tries to exert his control over them but it's futile, he's left with no choice but to run from his own insect.
Shinga now has all the freedom he needs.
Once again, he sends out a branch to dig into the ground at the Goshinboku's base. This time there's no beetles to drain his power and eat away at the branches. This time there's nothing to stop him.
[Earth Style: Ground Bedrock]
Just before the branch can reach the sacred tree, two slabs of earth shift from the ground below and rise upward like a press to crash into the branch.
Kashiwama jumps up from behind the Goshinboku and lands right in front of it in a defensive pose. "I'm here. I'll protect you." He says to seemingly no one.
"Kashiwama?" Shino says in surprise. "You have to get away! It's too dangerous!" He calls out to his student.
"No, I have to be here!" Kashiwama calls back.
"I'm telling you to go!" Shino stops running and turns around to face his own kikaichū. 'I can't afford to run around anymore.' He sends out the insects still under his control to combat the ones Shinga placed under his [Jibaku].
While they fight, Shino makes a break for the Goshinboku to protect both it and his pupil.
Shinga, however, has other plans. Now that the insects immune to the Jubokko are no longer a threat, he can freely spread his pollen to block Shino's path and keep him at bay.
"You're good, boy, I've seen it." Shinga addresses Kashiwama, "But you're not nearly good enough."
Another branch lashes out.
[Earth Style: Earth Wall]
Kashiwama rides the rising earth upward and jumps up once the branch collides and breaks it.
[Water Style: Wild Water Wave]
He shoots a torrent of water to blow away the assaulting branch and the ones coming right after it.
Shino manages to connect with several of his kikaichū that happened to not be in contact with Shinga when he cast his mind controlling jutsu. He still has a fighting force, they just need to get here in time.
Before Kashiwama can land, another branch lashes out. Faster than he can anticipate, faster than he can defend against. It hits him directly and sends him crashing against the Goshinboku.
"KASHIWAMA!" Shino panics.
"It's over." Shinga sends one final branch.
Kashiwama is crushed against the trunk of the sacred tree, coughing up blood. "I'm… not gonna give up. I have to… protect it. Has to be… me."
Blood trickles down the white tree's bark, seeping into the roots.
Shino sends out his immune kikaichū in a rage to chip away at the red tree and reach Kashiwama but the Jubokko is already strengthened. It swats them away and leaves no room for them to break through to get to the Goshinboku.
"KASHIWAMA!" Shino calls out once more in desperation.
"So it was this easy to reduce you to an incoherent mess, Shino Aburame?" Shinga mocks. "You're far too sof-" A jolt runs through his spine, leaving him dazed for a moment. Shinga begins breathing heavier, his hands stiff and shaking. "W-what's going on?"
Just then, large white roots emerge from the ground and envelop the red roots of the Jubokko. They dig into and pierce the Jubokko's bark, chipping away at its massive form.
From the tower and all throughout the village, wherever the red roots threaten the Hidden Moon Village, the white emerge to defend it.
"Is this… the Goshinboku?" Shino whispers. "But how?"
"No. No. NO!" Shinga exclaims. "There's no way it has any strength left. We poisoned it for years!" He retches and coughs up blood, his form beginning to weaken and his connection to the Jubokko severing.
The vibrant red colouring turns paler by the second.
Shino spends no time deliberating. His kikaichū fly directly toward Shinga while he's confused and weak.
[Infestation]
The kikaichū burrow into his skin and eat away at him from the inside.
Shinga screams in pain as he's no longer unable to do anything. The bark that's fused to his skin breaks apart and he begins falling down, tumbling onto the trunk and branches.
Shino flies right past him, only faintly hearing his death throes stop as the kikaichū end him.
The Jubokko slowly withers away under the overwhelming power of the Goshinboku and now that he can pass, Shino sees the Goshinboku itself beginning to lose its bright colours and turns a sickly, ashy grey.
As the Jubokko dies, so too does the Goshinboku.
However, right now, heh as but one concern. He hovers to the bottom of the tree where he sees it's grown much thicker, mostly likely as a secondary defensive wall. He tears it apart to look for Kashiwama, splinters digging into his fingers and nails turning black but he doesn't even notice. Right now, the only thing on his mind is Kashiwama.
He easily enough breaks the brittle wood and finds Kashiwama fused with the base of the Goshinboku.
He arrives just in time to catch a glimpse of some light green markings fade away from Kashiwama's face, as the boy stands unconscious but upright, forming a hand sign. The sacred tree has wrapped a branch around his body to protect him, and sap is dripping over his wounds. The very last healthy remnant of the Goshinboku is protecting and healing him.
Shino looks over the unconscious boy, looks at the pose he's in and then back to the roots of the Goshinboku which are also beginning to wither.
"Kashiwama… You- you couldn't have…"
Name meaning
Shinga the Unrestrained (そぞろの真牙, Sozoro no Shinga)
Trivia
In the game this arc is ripped-of- I mean, inspired by, Shinga is actually a former Hidden Leaf ANBU, as are Hakui and Dōshin. I just changed Shinga from Leaf to Stone because this particular adaptation doesn't really rely on him being former Leaf. It also gives other villages some exposure.