CHAPTER 8: THE KAZEKAGE'S RESCUE (PART 4)
(Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kishimoto. I do own my OCs, however)
"Talking / Jutsu"
'Thinking'
'Flashback'
"Flashback talk"
"Demonic voice"
Letter / Emphasis
Shujinko's body was vibrating with adrenaline as he chased after Deidara like a hound after a fox, along with his sensei and his blonde teammate. The Akatsuki member, who was flying on the back of a clay bird of his own creation, had led them to an underground path that split the land into two sides, with huge tree trunks embedded horizontally inside the trail. Both Shujinko and Kakashi were moving at a similar pace, keeping a short distance between themselves, but Naruto was jumping from one tree trunk to another as fast as he could, ignoring the warnings of his team.
"This is bad," Kakashi said with his Sharingan fixated on Deidara. "We have to stop him before it's too late. If we end up following him to where the rest of the Akatsuki is hiding, they won't hesitate to attack us and it'll be game over,"
"Maybe you should tell that to Naruto, Kakashi-sensei. He's not thinking clearly right now," Shujinko replied. The influence of the Kyūbi's chakra was having a clear emotional effect on Naruto. The Ozuma remembered the time when something similar had happened during the Chunin Exams, when he and his teammates encountered Orochimaru disguised as a ninja from Kusagakure. For a brief moment, Naruto became much more violent and fought wildly against Orochimaru until the latter subdued him using a strange seal. If his teammate released any more of the Kyūbi's chakra, Shujinko didn't want to imagine what would happen then. "What's up with Team Gai? Have you heard back from them yet?"
"Apparently, they were caught in an enemy's trap the moment they removed those seals. These radios have a limited frequency range, so I can't communicate with any of them at the moment. This is a tough spot we're in, no matter which way you look at it,"
Shujinko gritted his teeth. If Team Gai was unable to lend any support, the remaining members of the rescue team were going to have to face Sasori on their own, and Shujinko didn't like the sound of that at all. He knew that Sakura was a skilled kunoichi, and both Chiyo and Renjiro had proven themselves to be capable ninjas on their own right, but would their combined efforts be enough to take on an Akatsuki member?
The golden-eyed teenager shook his head and focused on the task at hand. They had to stop Deidara by any means, and as he stared at the white clay bird flying ahead of them, Shujinko realized he could play the same game as his enemy. "Kakashi-sensei, do you have any long-range jutsu you could use on him right now?"
"As a matter of fact, I do," the Copy Ninja responded before glancing at his student. "However, I haven't perfected it just yet. It would be ideal if either you or Naruto managed to distract him first before I try anything, but whatever you do, don't get too close to him. Think you can do that?"
"Leave it to me, sensei. I know exactly what to do," Shujinko said as he increased his speed and left Kakashi behind.
He then reached for one of the pockets in his vest, taking out a tiny crystal bottle that he always carried around. The bottle contained a small amount of his own blood, and after removing the cork using his teeth, Shujinko poured the blood on the palm of his right hand, making sure that not a single drop of it went to waste. Once he put the bottle back in its place, Shujinko focused his gaze on Naruto and raised his voice loud enough for his teammate to hear him.
"Naruto, listen to me!" the Ozuma shouted, but Naruto simply ignored him, too enraged to care for his words. "Damn it, Naruto, I said listen to me! I need your help!"
After a couple of seconds, Naruto finally turned his head around, his eyes still red and filled with fury. "What do you want?"
"Kakashi-sensei is going to use a jutsu on this guy while I distract him. I need you to throw me at him as hard as you can,"
Under normal circumstances, Naruto would've asked his teammate what was he trying to do, but right now, all he cared about was mauling that bastard Deidara to death, which was why he was willing to go along with Shujinko's plan without making any questions. He turned around in midair and landed on a tree trunk just a little further from where Shujinko was. With his knees bent, the Uzumaki interlocked his hands together, forming an improvised foothold.
As soon the brown-haired boy landed his right foot on Naruto's hands, he was hauled into the air and kept ascending until he was roughly at the same altitude as Deidara. As soon as gravity started pushing him back down, Shujinko weaved a couple of hand signs before lowering the hand that was smeared with his blood. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
POOF
A cloud of smoke burst into existence, and once it dissipated, Shujinko was suddenly flying on the back of a great hawk. The hawk's feathers were chestnut-brown, with golden eyes that matched Shujinko's. Its regal appearance and uncommonly large size made the creature a rare specimen for those who didn't belong to the Ozuma clan or knew about its history.
"You summoned me, Ozuma-sama?" the hawk asked, gliding through the air while extending its wings.
"Asuka, I need your assistance," Shujinko said as he adhered his feet to the hawk's skin using chakra. He was going to need secure footing if he wanted the distraction to work. "That man over there is my enemy. I want you to follow him, but keep your distance while you're at it. Can you do that for me?"
"Of course, Ozuma-sama. Your wish is my command," Asuka replied before letting out a piercing screech that shook the wind. Asuka was a hawk who came from the Great Sukai Tower, and like the rest of his brethren, he was bound by his nature to aid and obey the members of the Ozuma clan. The mighty bird of prey had proven to be an incredibly useful partner during difficult situations, which was why Shujinko had chosen him as his personal summon, something that Asuka considered a tremendous honor.
Deidara looked over his shoulder to see what animal had caused such a loud noise. When he saw the golden-eyed teenager was chasing after him on the back of a giant bird, Deidara couldn't help but smirk. "Well, what do you know? These Konoha buffoons have some tricks up their sleeves. Looks like I can still enjoy some fun,"
The aerial chase began with Shujinko drawing a pair of kunais. Unlike his girlfriend, Shujinko didn't have a giant scroll with hundreds of weapons sealed inside at his disposal, so he needed to make the most out of the ones he had. Once he had a clear shot, the Ozuma took aim and threw both kunais at Deidara before performing the Ram, Snake, Rat, Hare, and Tiger hand signs in quick succession. "Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Ten other kunais materialized out of thin air, and what started as a measly attack gained a little more traction. Deidara watched how a total of twelve knives were coming his way, but far from getting alarmed, he merely scoffed and dodged them with ease. "Is that all you got? What a joke, hmnh," he said as he reached for his back pouch, retrieving a handful of small balls made from the same clay as his bird. "Let's see how you like my Shī Wan explosives,"
"Ozuma-sama, be careful," Asuka warned Shujinko. "Our target is up to something,"
"Yeah, I can sense it from here," Shujinko replied, focusing his gaze on whatever it was that Deidara was holding in his hand. "I'm not sure what they are, but I'm detecting several small bundles of compressed chakra being formed. He might be trying to retaliate with a jutsu of his own,"
All of a sudden, Deidara turned around and flung the batch of clay bombs into the air, which then transformed themselves into tiny birds flying directly in Shujinko's direction. "Katsu!"
BOOOM
BOOOM
BOOOM
One by one, the bombs began to explode, causing a chain reaction that created a huge cloud of dark smoke. Despite their puny size, each bomb packed a punch and had a wider blast range than an explosive tag, making them lethal weapons through which Deidara expressed his art.
The rogue ninja from Iwagakure had never felt regret overusing his creations to kill his enemies. Quite the contrary, he was doing them a favor in his eyes. Out of all the agonizing and gruesome ways a shinobi's life could end, an explosion provided a swift, almost painless death to whoever happened to be caught in it. That was exactly how Deidara wanted to go out when his time arrived, not beaten to a pulp and tortured to death, but with a big and loud explosion the likes of which the world had never seen before.
Deidara glanced back at the enormous cloud of smoke behind him. At first, it seemed as though the brat and his flying pet had been blown to smithereens, but to his surprise, the golden-eyed teenager came through the cloud of smoke on the back of his eagle, both of them still very much alive. "So, they managed to avoid the explosions. How very interesting, hmnh,"
"Asuka, are you alright?" Shujinko asked as he looked at his summoning. The body of the hawk sported several small burn marks and some of his feathers were missing. It didn't seem like they were serious injuries, but even so, Shujinko was worried over his trusted companion's well-being.
"Just a few scratches, Ozuma-sama. Nothing to worry about," Asuka assured him, although his voice sounded noticeably more strained than before. "I was able to push the bombs away just in time by flapping my wings. They sustained some damage, but I can still continue,"
'So that's his game. He uses that white clay of his to produce bombs. Not only that, but he can also shape the clay into creatures capable of movement, which gives him a much wider range of attack. If I lose sight of just one bomb, I'm toast,' the Ozuma thought, his ears still ringing from the blast
"I'm afraid I have no other choice but to ask you to keep going. Kakashi-sensei needs us to distract that guy and this is the best strategy I could come up with. I'm sorry I dragged you into this, Asuka,"
"You need not apologize to me, Ozuma-sama," Asuka replied. "My sole purpose is to serve the Ozuma clan, and I will fulfill my purpose no matter what happens,"
Shujinko frowned. Asuka was loyal to him, probably too loyal for his own good, and he would put up with anything if it meant keeping his master alive. This blind devotion of Asuka stemmed from the fact that Shujinko was the last member of the Ozuma clan who had awakened the Karura Tensei, and as a descendant of the hawk spirit Karura, Asuka was bound by his own nature to obey Shujinko's commands.
The young Jounin had been trying to make his relationship with Asuka more organic and genuine, but no matter what he attempted, Asuka couldn't stop seeing him as his master instead of a partner. It made Shujinko feel like he owned a slave and he generally tried to avoid summoning Asuka unless the situation merited it, because in the end, he refused to put the mission at risk by not exploiting every advantage he had. Did that made him a hypocrite? Maybe, but at least it was a level of hypocrisy that he could live with.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was getting ready to unleash the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan. The three tomoe in his left eye were no longer there, having been replaced by three stretched triangles evenly spaced around the pupil that together resembled the form of a pinwheel. It had taken Kakashi quite a lot of time to learn how to access this stage of the Sharingan, for he was wielding a power that did not belong naturally to him. However, all of his training had paid off, and his reward came in the form of a unique visual jutsu that he was about to use on Deidara.
'Hang in there, Shujinko. I just need a little more time,'
"Listen closely, Asuka. I have an idea," Shujinko said as he wiggled his fingers, loosening them for what was about to happen. "There's a good chance this guy is going to attempt something bigger to get rid of us. Before that happens, I'm going to try to take him down using a jutsu of mine. I need you to cover me so I can get all the hand signs right. Can I count on you?"
"Always,"
And so, Shujinko took a deep breath and zoned out of the persecution as he began weaving a set of hand signs. The jutsu he was about to perform required a total of 41 hand signs that had to be weaved uninterruptedly, which was why he could only do them at a slow and steady pace.
This on its own made the jutsu impractical to use in combat, as Shujinko left himself wide open by focusing on the correct succession of hand signs, meaning that anyone could get the drop on him. There was also the fact that this specific technique took an enormous amount of chakra out of him, and he could only do it when his Fūton was enhanced by Sage Mode. All of these setbacks made it pointless to even attempt the jutsu under normal circumstances, but since Asuka was there to protect him, he could give it a shot without having to worry about getting killed.
Deidara looked over his shoulder and adjusted the lenses of his eye scope to see what the Ozuma and his hawk were up to, and he immediately noticed Shujinko was performing several hand signs. "So the boy wants to try out a jutsu?" Deidara mused as he grabbed another handful of C1 bombs from his back pouch. "Well then, let's see if you can make it while you dodge this!"
Once again, the clay bombs acquired the shape of birds once they were thrown by Deidara, only this time, there were twice as many as before. Asuka let out a mighty screech as the clay bombs approached, and as soon as the explosions began, the summoning hawk began to dive left and right, displaying the reflexes of a true bird of prey. The sound of bombs going off filled the aerial terrain, producing shockwaves that extended far out. By the time the explosions came to an end, Asuka was barely able to maintain flight with Shujinko on his back. The Jounin was still weaving hand signs with his eyes closed.
Deidara raised an eyebrow. "Huh, they really are persistent. It seems I'm going to have to try a little harder if I want to get rid of them,"
"Forgive me, Ozuma-sama, but… How much… longer?" Asuka asked weakly. The hawk's body had taken a real beating and the blast of the explosions had taken a toll on his sense of direction, which resulted in him flying with noticeably less finesse and precision. One more explosion and Asuka would have to either return to the Great Sukai Tower or accept death.
"Hang on, I'm almost done," Shujinko replied, focusing entirely on getting the hand signs right. He didn't have time to feel bad for Asuka. If he hesitated even for a single second, it would all be for nothing.
As he continued to fly on the back of his clay bird, Deidara decided it was time to wrap things up. Not only was he was running out of clay, but fighting while missing a limb was proving itself to be rather annoying, as well as a major handicap. Luckily, Deidara had more than one trick up his sleeve, and although he wasn't much of a strategic genius, being a member of the Akatsuki had taught him to always think at least one step ahead. The explosions artist rummaged through one of his back pouches until he found what he was looking for, retrieving a fat chunk of clay that had a face and a pair of wings.
Just then, Shujinko finished weaving his last hand sign. "Okay, now I'm ready!" he exclaimed, cupping his hands together and bringing them close to his right hip, shifting his shoulders to the side. A whistling sound began to be heard, growing increasingly louder as Shujinko gathered a large amount of wind-natured chakra between his palms, struggling to keep that much energy under control. "Asuka, for both our sakes, slow down and maintain a safe distance. I haven't completely mastered this jutsu, so if it's not strong enough, I want you to disappear and return back to safety. That's an order, you hear me?"
"… Understood, Ozuma-sama,"
"Good," Shujinko said with a smirk before wincing. All of the wind-natured chakra he had garnered and compressed was starting to hurt his hands, and unless he released it soon, he ran the risk of losing control over his jutsu and getting seriously injured. It was now or never.
"Alright kid, you wanna play rough? Let's play rough then, hmnh!" Deidara shouted, pointing his bird-like creation at Shujinko. "Behold one of my latest works of art, the Shī Tsū Fenikkusu!"
POOOOOF
A cloud of smoke erupted from the chunk of clay, and out of it came the imposing figure of an oversized bird that strongly resembled a phoenix, the winged creature of myths. It was easily the size of three grown men together, with even larger wings for flight. It had the body of a falcon, the shell of a tortoise, the tail of a peacock, and the beak of a rooster. Deidara had developed this particular technique as a counterpart to the Shī Tsū Doragon, resulting in a much smaller, but much faster and less chakra-consuming work of art.
"And now, the grand finale! I hope you enjoy becoming one with art! Katsu!" The clay phoenix reacted immediately and made a beeline for Shujinko and Asuka, heading towards them like a giant white torpedo in the air.
Shujinko aimed at the incoming target before thrusting his hands forward, using all of his strength to release the jutsu as hard as he could. "Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu!" The condensed energy shot out of his palms like a beam, acquiring the shape of a wind dragon that soared across the sky with its maw wide open. Shujinko kept expelling the jutsu, making the dragon as big as he could before letting go.
BAAAM
The wind dragon lunged forward and crashed straight into the clay phoenix, wrecking Deidara's creation in mid-air. "Huh?" Deidara turned around only to see his very own work of art flying towards him, dragged by the sheer force of Shujinko's jutsu. Not only that, but the dragon ripped through the clay, detonating the boom in the process. "What the-"
BOOOOOOOOOM
|Meanwhile, Akatsuki hideout|
"What's the matter, Chiyo-baa-san? Why so silent all of a sudden? Are you so overwhelmed with emotion that you can't speak?" Sasori asked, sarcasm all too noticeable in his voice.
Chiyo didn't respond. Instead, she continued to stare at Sasori, who was standing before her in his real human form after Sakura destroyed the puppet he hid inside in.
After spending years in the battlefield and living up to a ripe old age by shinobi standards, there wasn't much that could rattle someone like Chiyo. The old kunoichi had seen many things, more than what she would've wished for, and some of the things she'd seen, well, she'd been the one who made them happen. She had been gone through the heartbreak of learning that her only grandson had forsaken his village to join the ranks of the Akatsuki, becoming an enemy to Sunagakure as well as an enemy to her. If no mother should live long enough to watch her children die, then by all means no grandmother should live long enough to be forced to confront her grandchild turned traitor.
… But what stood in front of Chiyo hurt her more than any wound she had ever received or ever inflicted onto someone else. Sasori had been gone for over twenty years, yet he looked exactly the same as before. He didn't look a year… No, he didn't look a day older.
The fact that Sasori hadn't aged at all was shocking enough on its own, but what really left Chiyo speechless about his appearance was that she could no longer see the member of the Akatsuki that Sasori had become. The only thing she could see now was her grandson, the kid who lost both of his parents in the war and whom she took care of for years.
"Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you this way. It's been a long time, after all," Sasori said. "Do you remember what I once told you, Chiyo-baa-san? It is pointless to live a life that comes with the curse of having to age and eventually perish. I had no intention of becoming old and decrepit just as you have, so I did what I had to do to obtain eternal youth, and honestly, just looking at you reassures me that my choice was the right one,"
"Why you…" Renjiro began to growl, disgusted by Sasori and his words. "Sasori, someone like you has no right to talk to Chiyo-sama like that. You abandoned our village, our people, and our beliefs just to join a criminal organization. You turned your back on your comrades, those who looked up to you and who fought by your side, and for what? Just so that you could pursue your meaningless passion?"
"Meaningless passion? And what is a shinobi's loyalty towards a village if not meaningless passion?" Sasori retorted, brushing a speck of dust off his shoulder. "The nature of war is unstable. Conflicts come and go, battles are started and ended, and lives are always lost as a consequence. All shinobi villages, big and small ones, are responsible for this, and it won't stop until all of them are conquered and beaten into submission,"
Sakura, who had all of her attention placed on Sasori, was a little surprised to hear that kind of answer coming from a member of the Akatsuki. Why would someone who belonged to the worst criminal organization in the world care about the loss of human lives? Weren't the members of Akatsuki a bunch of murderers themselves? This was especially aggravating for Sakura, who was a medical ninja. As such, her duty was to save lives, and while no shinobi was free of sin, Sasori was proving himself to be a shameless hypocrite in her eyes.
"Anyways, that's enough talk. We're not here to discuss why I left Sunagakure… But before we close the subject, allow me to show you something," Sasori said as he unfolded a sealing scroll. "This is one of my favorite puppets. I went through great trouble to acquire it, but that only makes it more special,"
POOF
Once the cloud of smoke dissipated, it revealed a tall puppet with dark purple hair and hollow eyes. Sakura immediately jumped back and began to analyze the physical properties of the puppet, but she was distracted by the loud gasps of Chiyo and Renjiro, who were openly gawking at it. "What's wrong? What is it about that puppet?" Sakura asked.
Sasori let out a chuckle. "I'm not surprised that you don't recognize this puppet," he said, waving the chakra threads to control his lifeless tool of battle. "This one right here is none other than the Sandaime Kazekage, Kanta of the Iron Sand,"
BOOOOOOOOOM
…
"What the hell was that!?" Naruto exclaimed, stopping to observe the giant cloud of smoke in the sky. Shujinko and his giant eagle were hovering still a little further away from the explosion, appearing as a little dot all the way from where Naruto was standing.
Kakashi landed next to him. "Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu," he muttered as he tried to pinpoint Deidara's location amidst the thick smoke. "I personally helped Shujinko learn that technique, and I also warned him to only use it in the direst of situations. There's no way he'll be able to keep going for much longer after pulling that off,"
Despite having regained a little self-control, Naruto was still under the influence of the Kyūbi's chakra, and so he gritted his sharp teeth. "Then what are we standing here for? Tell Shujinko to get out of there so we can take care of this!"
"That won't be necessary," Kakashi said, and before Naruto could reply to that, he saw Kakashi's Sharingan wasn't the same as before. "My left eye is ready. It's time to show you what the Kamui can do,"
000
"… Holy crap… That guy better be dead after that…" Shujinko said, huffing and puffing from exhaustion. The explosion that the clay phoenix had produced had been massive, definitely bigger than what the Ozuma had anticipated. He didn't want to think what would've become of him and Asuka had they been caught by the blast radius. "Are you alright, Asuka?"
"… Just about, Ozuma-sama," Asuka replied, struggling to stay in flight while dealing with the pain of his wounds. "All things considered, I believe we can count ourselves lucky,"
"Yeah, I'd say so too," After saying those words, Shujinko abandoned Sage Mode and dropped to his elbows and knees, trying not to fall off the hawk's back.
The Fūryūdan no Jutsu was one of the few techniques Shujinko wanted to master while hoping he would never have to use it in real combat, as it was the closest thing to a Kinjutsu the Ozuma had in his arsenal without counting the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Even with his natural proficiency in Fūton Ninjutsu, learning the basics of the jutsu alone had taken him years, and the chakra cost that came with it was almost too much for Shujinko to put up with. It was no wonder Kakashi had told him time and time again never to use it unless he absolutely had to.
With drops of sweat dribbling down his face, Shujinko looked down at his hands and winced when he saw the sorry state they were in. From his fingertips to the bottom of his palms, almost every inch of skin was reddish and scraped, as if he had furiously rubbed his hands against scratchy concrete.
There were also a few cuts here and there, but it didn't surprise him a bit. The nature of wind chakra was to cut and slice, and without a complete mastery over wind chakra control, a shinobi could easily harm himself while attempting to hold too much energy steady. Hell, if it hadn't been for Kakashi's help, Shujinko could've easily lost a finger in the process of learning the Fūryūdan no Jutsu.
"Asuka, can you see our enemy?" Shujinko asked, but before the hawk had time to answer, the member of the Akatsuki flew out of the cloud, leaving a plume of smoke behind.
"You damn brat, now I'm really pissed off!" Deidara shouted, a murderous expression on his face. His Akatsuki cloak was left in tatters after escaping from the explosion and his body was covered in a thick layer of ash, but other than that, he seemed to have sustained no serious wounds. His demeanor, however, had changed completely as he looked ready to go ballistic on Shujinko. "How dare you try to use my own art against me! You're gonna pay for that, you hear!?"
"Oh, you gotta be kidding me! How is he still alive?"
The Ozuma's question was hardly devoid of validity. In terms of raw power, the Fūryūdan no Jutsu was his most deadly technique. Coupling that with the enormous explosion provided by Deidara's clay phoenix, it was hard to imagine someone surviving such an attack at point-blank, and yet Deidara didn't have as much as a scratch on him. He was more angered than injured, and Shujinko had become the target of said anger.
"Kid, I hope you're ready because I'm not holding back this time," Deidara spat out, grabbing an even bigger pile of clay from his back pouch. Shujinko frowned while gritting his teeth, trying to figure a way out of this one, but then… "W-What in the…"
Shujinko watched in confusion as the image of Deidara became distorted and blurry. The member of the Akatsuki found himself getting sucked out of existence by a spiraling void of sorts that had come out of nowhere. Frightened, Deidara tried to get out of the way on the back of his clay bird, but the void followed them everywhere, almost as if it had gotten stuck to him. "What the hell is that thing?" the young Jounin asked, squinting his eyes. "Asuka, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"
"I do, Ozuma-sama, but I have no idea what is it that we're both seeing," Asuka replied, and despite his strong tone of voice, even Shujinko could tell his loyal companion was every bit as stunned as he was. "Could it be a jutsu from one of your allies down there?"
Upon hearing Asuka's suggestion, Shujinko looked down and saw both his teammate and his sensei going after the Akatsuki member on the run. They had clearly seen what was happening to Deidara, and since there weren't any other ninjas around the perimeter, the caster of the jutsu had to be either Naruto or Kakashi. He then remembered how this whole thing was supposed to be a distraction to buy time for his sensei so that he could attempt a long-range jutsu on their enemy, and then it all clicked together. 'Of course! This has to be Kakashi-sensei's doing! But what kind of jutsu is he-'
"Ozuma-sama, shall I continue to chase after him, or do I take my leave now?"
"Huh?" Oh, right! Keep moving, Asuka!" The mighty hawk let out a screech and did as told, slowly shortening the distance between them and their target. Deidara was still trying everything he could to shake the stalking void off of him, moving to the sides and spinning around like there was no tomorrow, but it was no use. Then, out of the blue, the void latched itself onto Deidara's remaining arm and closed itself, completely removing his elbow joint before disappearing.
Deidara hollered in pain as his forearm suddenly detached itself and fell off his body like a piece of meat, getting lost somewhere deep into the forest. Shujinko could only gape in awe. 'I don't believe this. Kakashi-sensei just severed that guy's forearm like it was nothing, and he didn't even have to get close to him at all! How can he do this? What trick is he using?' he thought. The golden-eyed teenager then recalled what his sensei had told him back in Konohagakure when he brought up his concerns regarding the Akatsuki.
"It is what it is. We're not who we were three years ago. This time around, we'll be better prepared to face the members of the Akatsuki… And if worst comes to worst, I'm confident my new Sharingan will take care of things,"
"Your new Sharingan? What's that supposed to mean, Kakashi-sensei?"
"Let's just say you're not the only one who's been training in secret, Shujinko,"
'I guess this is what Kakashi-sensei was referring to,' Shujinko thought. 'Still, I'm going to have to ask him about this. I know the abilities of the Sharingan are incredible, but this is insane,'
Shujinko had to put his thoughts on hold as the swirling void appeared once again. Deidara, who was riding his clay bird on his knees, let out a yelp upon seeing his immediate surroundings becoming more and more disfigured. Shujinko entertained the idea of attacking the member of the Akatsuki by throwing weapons at him, but he quickly decided against it as he didn't have a clue as to how the jutsu worked or what impact it may have on Kakashi. It was better to keep his kunais and shurikens ready and just wait until his sensei was finished.
However, he noticed that Kakashi's aim was a little off this time around. Instead of absorbing Deidara, the void seemed to be backing away from him, and it was gradually losing size. 'I don't get it. If Kakashi-sensei can control that thing, then why not go for the head or another vital spot? Is he having trouble with the jutsu?' Whether that was the case or not, Shujinko couldn't tell, and it wasn't like he could just drop down and ask his sensei what was wrong.
SWOOOOSH
Seconds before disappearing, the void moved away from Deidara and landed on his clay bird, swallowing a good portion of its left wing. Thrown out of balance and with both arms chopped off, the explosion artist was sent spiraling to the ground along with the bird that carried Gaara inside. "There he is!" Shujinko exclaimed, pointing a finger at the crashing site down in the woods. "Asuka, take me there as fast as you can! We can't allow him to get away!"
"At once, Ozuma-sama," Asuka began to descend, extending his wings to control the velocity with which they approached the ground.
Once they were close enough, Shujinko jumped off the hawk and landed on his feet, having already drawn a pair of kunais. The Jounin began to scan his surroundings searching for Deidara while the clay bird lay on the ground a few meters away, completely immobile. His instincts were telling him to tread lightly and to avoid getting anywhere near the clay bird, as it could easily be a trap or a decoy that the Akatsuki member had set up.
"Asuka, you can go ahead and leave now. Those injuries of yours need healing," Shujinko said, focusing on his surroundings and trying to detect even the most minuscule of details, such as the direction of the wind and the rustling of the leaves. "And thanks for your help. I owe you one,"
Asuka bowed his head as a sign of respect. "You owe me nothing, Ozuma-sama. Farewell," The hawk then disappeared in a cloud of smoke that quickly faded away.
Holding both kunais in a reverse grip, Shujinko began to approach the clay bird, taking small steps as his eyes searched everywhere for anything remotely suspicious. He couldn't rely on Sage Mode to do this as the Fūryūdan no Jutsu had cost him a considerable amount of chakra. What scared him the most was the possibility of Deidara catching him with his guard down, or worse, accidentally triggering the explosive clay and get blown to pieces. Not a very dignified way to go out.
Just then, he heard footsteps coming from behind. He turned around and saw Naruto and Kakashi making their way towards him. "Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, are you okay?" Shujinko asked, shifting his posture so that he could address them while still keeping sight of the clay bird.
"That's what we should be asking you, Shujinko," Kakashi replied, taking a minute to rest on a tree branch. "Nice job back there. I don't think I could've asked for a better distraction than the one you provided,"
"You already know me. I aim to please," Shujinko said, noticing how weary Kakashi was. He talked like he was out of breath and he was pressing the palm of his hand against his left eye, grunting with pain. "You don't look so good, sensei. What on Earth was that thing you did to Deidara?"
"My new Sharingan jutsu, the Kamui. Basically, it allows me to bend space and send objects into another dimension, though I still haven't completely mastered it. It's not an easy jutsu to control, that's for sure,"
Shujinko's eyes widened before nodding at his sensei in understanding, doing his best to keep his jaw from dropping. How could a Sharingan jutsu be that ridiculously powerful? What had Kakashi done to acquire it? Sealing objects inside of scrolls was one thing, but to flat out twist the laws of physics to the point of summoning a portal through visual prowess alone was just insane. It made Shujinko wonder what else the eyes of the Uchiha were capable of, as if copying Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and Taijutsu while seeing ahead into the future and being able to cast Genjutsu (while being impervious to them) wasn't powerful enough.
Kakashi's voice snapped him back to reality. "Never mind that, we can talk more about it later. Right now, we have to focus on-"
"Gaara!" All of a sudden, Naruto jumped off the tree branch he was standing on and landed next to the clay bird, which he then began to furiously claw at. "Gaara is inside, I know he is! I'm getting him out of this thing!" he exclaimed, smashing and yanking away chunks of solid clay with his bare hands. The look on Shujinko's face was that of sheer panic.
"Naruto, get away from there! That thing could explode in any second!" he warned him, but Naruto was too distraught to even listen to his teammate and kept going at it. To Shujinko's major relief, the clay didn't blow up like he feared it might, but his relief ended moments later when, after tearing off one last chunk of clay, Deidara's bird crumbled into pieces and revealed the corpse of Gaara.
Naruto got on his knees and held the Kazekage's lifeless body close to him as his eyes began to well up with painful tears. "Gaara… Why? Why did you have to…?" The Uzumaki couldn't finish his sentence as he began to choke, feeling as if his sunken heart was slowly getting ripped out of his chest.
The Ozuma remained silent as he stood there, watching the scene unfold with a look of deep sorrow. It hurt him to see Naruto like that, but he knew there was nothing he could say or do to help his teammate except giving him some space.
Unlike Naruto, Shujinko didn't share a connection with Gaara nor had he ever thought of him as a friend, yet none of that was necessary to understand the pain and grief of someone else. Naruto had already experienced what it felt like to lose a friend when Sasuke left the village, and now, that feeling had returned to him stronger than ever, for there was no coming back from death and he knew it.
"Naruto…"
"Good heavens, you guys really don't know when to quit, do you?"
As silent as a ghost, Deidara appeared from behind a tree not too far away, which prompted Shujinko to jump back and raise his kunais. Kakashi immediately jumped down from the tree and focused his Sharingan on the Akatsuki member, ready to react to whatever Deidara had in store for them. Naruto stopped crying, but did not turn around or stopped holding Gaara's body. In fact, he embraced him tighter than before, as if he feared it would be taken away from him.
"Looks like I won't be able to bring Kakuzu the Kazekage's body after all. Oh well, no skin off my nose, hmnh," Deidara said, smirking at them with derision and malice. "I would love to stick around a bit longer, but all this running and fighting is getting tiresome, so I think I'll escape while you mourn the death of your little Jinchūriki friend. No need to make this any more complicated, right?"
"You goddamn bastard," Shujinko growled. "If you think we're gonna let you walk out of here, you have another thing coming to you. You lost your arms, now get ready to lose your legs as well,"
"Is that so? I'd watch my mouth if I were you, kid. Even without my arms, I can still teach you a les-"
Suddenly, the atmosphere around them shifted completely. The temperature began to rise rapidly while a sensation of impending violence and bloodthirst settled in, and the source of it all was none other than Naruto. "I'll kill you," he muttered with enough venom in his voice to send a chill down Shujinko's spine… but it didn't stop there.
Reddish blobs of translucent mass started to grow out of Naruto's body, emitting bubbly noises that promised nothing good. The blobs eventually grew big enough to become one dense shroud of chakra that surrounded the Uzumaki. From his backbone sprung out a long tail and a pair of pointy ears were formed as well, similar to those of a fox. When Naruto unhanded Gaara and finally turned around, Shujinko saw his whiskers had grown thicker than ever and his lips had turned as black as tar. It was a ghoulish sight that Shujinko had seen before, back when Naruto went berserk against Haku all those years ago, and it didn't felt any less dreadful this time around.
"I… will… KILL YOU! RAAAAAH!"
"Naruto, don't!" Kakashi yelled, but Naruto was beside himself with fury. He got on all fours like a rabid beast and lunged forward with the sole intention of massacring Deidara.
BAAAAAM
BAAAAAM
BAAAAAM
Naruto smashed his way across the forest, destroying everything that happened to stand between him and the member of the Akatsuki with the viciousness of a demon. Shujinko raised his arms to shield himself from the rampage as he heard his teammate roaring out of control in the distance. When he uncovered his eyes, he saw a line of fallen trees and shattered ground half a mile long, and the sound of solid earth getting mercilessly pounded reached his ears.
"Shujinko, take Gaara with you and follow me! We have to stop Naruto before it's too late!" Kakashi shouted.
"H-Hai!" The Ozuma did as told and grabbed one of Gaara's arms and legs, lifting the Kazekage off the ground and placing his abdomen against the back of his neck, using his shoulders for support. Once he was stable enough, Shujinko clenched his jaw and followed his sensei into the forest, keeping up the pace as best as he could.
Aaaaaaaand that was chapter 8. Hope you all liked it.
I'm gonna be honest here, I wasn't planning on taking this long to finish this chapter. I don't know why, but I kept getting writer's block, not to mention I don't write as much as I normally do during the first and last months of the year. Alas, the chapter is here and I hope you enjoyed reading it.
What do you think of Shujinko's "fight" with Deidara? I think this was the perfect chance to introduce a new character: Asuka, Shujinko's personal summon. Think of him as a hawk just like Garuda (Sasuke's hawk summon), except he can talk and is dutifully devoted to Shujinko and the Ozuma clan.
As you might've noticed, I created two new jutsus. The first jutsu is Deidara's Shī Tsū Fenikkusu (C2 Phoenix). I took inspiration from the Chinese mythological creature known as Fenghuang, which is the eastern version of the phoenix from what I can gather. It's basically an explosive clay bird that's smaller, but faster than the C2 Dragon Deidara used during his battle with Sasuke.
The second jutsu is Shujinko's Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu (Wind Style: Wind Dragon Jutsu). It's the same as the Water Dragon Jutsu, but with wind instead of water. If ninjas can use water to perform this jutsu, I don't see why the same technique can't be replicated with the other elements. Once Shujinko uses this jutsu, his chakra levels drop considerably, so he's currently able to use it just one time. It is worth mentioning that Shujinko discovered this jutsu along with the Kazekiri during chapter 36 of "Shujinko: The Fourth Member", but chose to learn the Kazekiri first.
Also, the Sandaime Kazekage (Sasori's puppet) was never given a canon name, so I took the liberty of naming him Kanta, also known as 'Kanta of the Iron Sand' (Satetsu no Kanta). Since the Iron Sand was developed by him, I thought the moniker was fitting.
Glossary:
Kuchiyose no Jutsu – Summoning Jutsu
Kunai Bunshin no Jutsu – Kunai Clone Jutsu
Shī Wan – C1
Shī Tsū Fenikkusu – C2 Phoenix
Fūton: Fūryūdan no Jutsu – Wind Style: Wind Dragon Jutsu
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Ja ne!
