Welcome to the next chapter!
joharasbel; Thanks!
Morregen; Thanks! She did yeah, and Ryouta will be facing Orochimaru briefly here, and sometime in the future as well. Kimimaro could be yeah, would be an interesting angle to go with it. That would be pretty fun to see, thanks for the suggestions!
LezarioFanficio; Thanks for the suggestion!
ShadowUzumaki55; Glad that you liked the fights! Garaga did yeah, they managed to wound Manda a good deal. Yeah, Kidomaru didn't stand a chance in the end, and ended up losing. Shizune surely did~ We shall see the climactic fight and what will happen.
Silver crow; Thanks. Yeah, he has quite the summon partner. Yeah, that would be pretty cool. Kidomaru is yeah, we shall see what happens this chapter. Tsunade did yeah. Aoda is quite respectful for sure. Yeah, they took down Kidomaru's spiders pretty well. Yeah, that would be a pretty cool crew to have. Orochimaru wont be using her as a body transfer. Ryouta will do his best. Orochimaru might have a moment like that with Yukine. Yeah, she could be like that. I have some ideas for Sai coming up yeah. Danzo is tricky, so we shall see what he has been doing behind the scenes. Ryouta could be like that with Naruko. Satsuki could do yeah. Aoda could have something like that yeah. Thanks for the harem suggestions.
Guest; Glad you liked it. Guren could do yeah!
TheGreatGodzilla; Sakon, Ukon and Kidomaru were confirmed dead last chapter. Maybe her kids did feel like that, it would make sense seeing what happened during that time. We don't know the extent of how much they knew about the clan, would be interesting to know what they knew. Ryouta has already learned that lesson about love and attachment when his brother died and how he overcame it, it only made him stronger suffering such a thing. Ryouta and Jiraiya came up with the plans together, Jiraiya saw his potential in not only the planning area, but also during the fights against the Sound Four, and in turn has spoken to him about things before the fight. Yeah, filler arcs will only be included if it can either develop characters, or they're useful in some other way to the plot, otherwise they wont be included. We shall see how it comes with Manda. I have a good few of the names planned out for when we get there.
Skull Flame; Thanks, glad you liked it! Yeah, he has joined the fray! Yeah, they're dead. It really had yeah.
Hinata fan; Yeah, he's doing very well. We will see Tayuya again. Garaga might do yeah in the future. I am sure he has some people wanting to go out yeah.
With those reviews out of the way, it is time to start the chapter!
Guren strikes!
Being taken by the mysterious stranger, Shizune noticed a numerous amount of crystals had formed around her, seemingly trapping her in place. They were still on the battlefield, but a good distance away from the battle and in an area that allowed them to hide, but for the mysterious crystal user to observe the battle and be ready to strike at a moments notice.
"What do you want?"
"I want to serve Orochimaru-sama, it seems that this backup plan is needed after all."
The woman replied with a crystal blade forming on her arm.
Placing it towards Shizune's body, the young woman grit her teeth.
"Serving Orochimaru wont get you anywhere!"
"I've served him for a good long time now and I always shall."
Shizune grimaced.
Looking at the woman's eyes, she held serious loyalty.
"You're loyal to someone that targets young people and tries to kidnap them?!"
Shizune yells out, trying to make it seem like she was having a burst of anger.
However, in reality she was hoping that her loud voice would echo to the others.
"Orochimaru-sama has done much, he took me in and helped guide me in the use of my powers. If I been worthy, I would have become his vessel. But that honour goes towards Ryouta Uchiha, I suppose I have to be useful in this manner, protecting him until he gets what he wants."
"He's trying to torture and take over a young boys mind and body, and you're trying to assist him in this? That boy wouldn't have a choice!"
Shizune couldn't understand at all.
The young woman folded her arms.
"It's been my dream for a long time to become someone that would be able to help Orochimaru-sama, to be guided by him, and to be accepted by him. So, serving him is the best that I currently can do."
Shizune just couldn't get this.
Why someone would be so willing to become a vessel for Orochimaru.
She wondered what this woman was feeling at this moment in time.
"...So, even if that boy dies, that's fine with you?"
She didn't reply, and kept her eyes sternly towards the battlefield.
Shizune wondered what was going through this woman's head.
She could only hope the others were fine...but what was going to happen next, she truly didn't know...
Seeing Garaga in such a state, the injury that he had from Manda, was something that was a worry for Ryouta.
Understanding that it could be critical if he isn't healed pretty quickly, he had to get towards him before anything else happened.
Ryouta rushed to his snakes side immediately.
He moved swiftly, as he looked around at the situation.
He saw that Naruko was still passed out, but was safe and guarded so he didn't have to worry about her.
His eyes shifted to Tsunade and Jiraiya, seeing that they were still going strong. Though Jiraiya looks tired, Tsunade seems to also becoming tired, and Orochimaru looks quite tired as well as Kabuto who seemingly couldn't move much after what happened to him.
"Good, it seems that the battle is going to be ending soon. All we have to do is make sure that Orochimaru can't escape...though Jiraiya-san seems to be unable to continue fighting, must be because of what happened back at the other location."
To make sure of everyone's safety, he turned his eyes towards Shizune.
He didn't see her at all.
He saw the downed Tayuya, and Jirobo looked as if he had seen better days.
But no Shizune.
"What the...where did she go?"
Ryouta kept looking for Shizune, but even his eyes couldn't pick up a trace of her at all. He couldn't see her chakra, and he couldn't see any path that she might have taken. She wasn't with Orochimaru, nor with any of the others around the battlefield to his knowledge.
"Ryouta-sama, what is the worry?"
Ryouta stopped, and used his Sharingan eyes to look everywhere.
Trying to pick up her chakra.
But he couldn't.
What he did pick up was something that was surprising.
"Aoda-san, I need you to search for Shizune-san, something's wrong. I'm seeing crystal particles in the air...it looks like crystals anyway. But I don't know what kind of Jutsu that uses crystals is...Kekkei Genkai maybe..."
Ryouta continued observing the crystals that fluttered in the air.
They weren't together, and only tiny shards that were so small that only enhanced eyes such as his, or the Byakugan would be capable of seeing from a far distance, it was near camouflaged for the naked eye, and even with enhanced eyes like his own it was rather difficult.
"Crystals, did you say Ryouta-sama?"
"Yes, that's right." Ryouta's suspicions growing by the moment. "...Alright, please go and search for Shizune-san, I'll join you once I've made sure that Garaga-san is stable."
"Yes Ryouta-sama, your wish is my command."
Aoda bowed his body, and slithered off, while Ryouta went towards Garaga.
He wondered what this was, but the fact that this crystal making enemy was able to slip in undetected to some very powerful Shinobi such as Tsunade and Jiraiya, even if they had their focus on Orochimaru, was a crazy feat in of itself.
But with Shizune missing, he did worry something could be happening with her.
As he did that, Tsunade was staring down Orochimaru, who in turn looked on towards her, and felt his insides wishing to be frozen while Yukine was smirking more and more, seeing that Orochimaru was beginning to have his downfall happen.
Orochimaru looked over, seeing that Kidomaru was also now dead.
"Great, another one bites the dust..."
Despair came to Orochimaru.
He could see that Kabuto wasn't going to be able to fight anymore.
He himself was also drained, if he had access to his arms, then he knew there would be some Jutsu that he would be capable of doing that would help him out in a time like this. But as he was, he knew that he was limited on options.
At least Jiraiya looked winded from the trap they set, but he kept staring at Ryouta and how he still had his eyes up his sleeves. And whole having fought three difficult battles, he still had a good level of chakra left to keep fighting.
"Tsunade...this wouldn't have happened if you didn't disobey me and do as I had said…!"
"What you've done is brought this upon yourself. It seems that your forces have been brought down by the very same boy that you have caused misery to. It is only right that you go through such pain now."
Orochimaru grit his teeth.
His face contorted and twisted into anger, and rage.
But the smart side of him was telling him that giving into anger would be the last thing that would be helpful right now.
"If I went to go and steal the Uchiha's body...no, that wouldn't work. There wouldn't be enough time, and with the difference in chakra, and his damn Sharingan right now, I couldn't counter it as I am currently, and he could kill me...damn it all...damn it all to hell!"
Orochimaru felt the panic growing within his body.
The moves that he could make, he was almost convinced that they were traps, or that he himself wasn't going to have the tools necessary to pull it off.
He couldn't think straight, and even if he could, he wasn't entirely sure what options would be available for this fight to end in his way.
Yukine's eyes went towards Orochimaru, who in turn couldn't keep his focus.
"Well Orochimaru, it seems that you might have to bow down this time."
Orochimaru placed his head towards his chest, wishing that he could move his hands right now.
"No, it can't be...I don't want it to end this way!"
Tsunade heard Orochimaru yell that out, so she took her fist, and pointed it at him.
"It has to end this way! Today, there's going to be one less Sannin in this world!"
Orochimaru looked on with sleep depraved eyes.
"Tsunade...there will be, you are right about that...!"
Because of the situation he was in, he didn't know what he was going to do.
If he had one less opponent, then he thought that maybe he would be able pull off a victory.
He wished that he had Kimimaro on his side right about now.
But as it was, he didn't have Kimimaro, and was pressed on what he was going to do.
He just had to hope that his last ditch plan was going to work.
As that happened, Ryouta managed to get towards Garaga without having to worry about being attacked.
But as he went to see the injuries on Garaga's body, he saw that his summon seemed to be disappointed.
"Garaga-san, are you alright?"
Garaga didn't look at him.
His eyes remained on Manda.
Ryouta could see that it seemed whatever was on his mind, was very distracting, so he tried speaking with the giant snake directly.
"What's wrong, Garaga-san?"
Garaga gave an unsatisfied face.
"Manda, I wasn't able to beat him on my own, he was still superior to me damn it…!"
"I see, so that's what it is."
"Of course boy, I wanted to prove that I was the strongest, but it seems that I still have a good way to go before then. Damn, Master. I'm sorry, it seems that I haven't reached the goals that I've had for a long time yet."
Garaga seemed down about it, and even apologized to Yukine even though she wasn't there, so Ryouta began speaking in a kind manner.
"Garaga-san, you've done well, don't put yourself down. If you aren't the strongest yet, then you can always improve. You managed to wound Manda, didn't you?"
"...That's true, but even then, if I had been a bit stronger, then I could go after Orochimaru."
"Don't worry about Orochimaru now, leave him to me."
Garaga heard those words, and found them to be rather impactful. Trusting in Ryouta to do the job, when they first met, Garaga probably wouldn't have done such a thing. But time and again, he was seeing that Ryouta was determined, and reminded him a lot of Yukine who he respected and loved above all else.
Ryouta looked on, as he weaved through some hand signs, and began using his knowledge on Medical Ninjutsu and snakes themselves, to begin healing the giant snake before him.
Garaga watched on keenly, to see that Ryouta did have a good amount of worry on his face.
"Worried about me, boy?"
"You're my pact partner, my friend. Of course I'm worried about you, I don't want you to suffer, Garaga-san. So please stay still. I haven't really healed a snake like you before, so it is a bit different than a human. However, I think my time with snakes has given me some knowledge about their body structures, and how to heal them."
Garaga was surprised, and kept his eyes on the young man, as he did his best to heal Garaga of his wounds.
He could remember his previous Master, Yukine, being so kind to him. Being there for him, and being beside him with whatever problem that he had. Now that she was gone, seeing how Ryouta was trying to help him, and showed worry on his face, did make Garaga think back on good times, and how her son, had inherited the kindness that she had as well.
"Hey kid...you have to make sure...Orochimaru is finished...you have to finish him off…!"
"You also need to be taken care of first Garaga-san. I'll get Orochimaru, first I need to make sure you're safe."
Ryouta expressed, but Garaga shook his head.
"I can come later, you have to make sure he dies! For the sake for everyone, human and snake alike!"
Seeing the passion in his eyes, Ryouta could see that Garaga was truly serious.
He'd rather have pain than do anything like be healed first.
"Garaga-san..."
"Do it boy...use those eyes of yours, finish him off once and for all…!"
Ryouta understood that.
He knew that now, he would have to get to Orochimaru, while using his eyes on the giant snake like human, to make sure that he was finished off once and for all.
As that happened, Orochimaru looked on, and knew that he would have to try something. So he stretched out his tongue for Tsunade in a surprise attack, with the tongue wrapping around her, throwing to crush her throat.
"Tsunade!"
Jiraiya called out, but Tsunade moved her hands underneath the snake like tongue, and pushed it away from her neck, wrapping it around her body, before she yanked him close, and then she slammed her foot into his face, causing him to let out a cry as he went flying up into the air.
"Don't worry about me, I've got this!"
Tsunade used Orochimaru's tongue against him, pulling him closer once more, and then punched him in the face. She felt a pulling of her muscles within her arms as she did, but she fought through such a nuisance, that she would call it, and then delivered another bone crushing punch to his abdomen.
"You little!"
Orochimaru slithered across the ground like a snake, and opened his mouth. As he did, his tongue formed all around her, binding her arms as he tossed her up into the air. Tsunade didn't have much a choice but to follow.
Orochimaru came up towards her with a sword escaping his mouth.
With her arms bound, she moved her legs, and caught the blade between her feet, with Orochimaru scowling at the sight, as Tsunade twists his body around, before breaking out of his tongue like vice grip, and then tossed him heavily into the ground.
The ground shattered upon impact, Orochimaru screamed out in agony as his arms also felt such a pain.
"It can't be going like this! It is ruining everything! Why do you keep defying me Tsunade?! This is a complete joke! You will end today! I can tell you right now! I wont die because of you or anyone else!"
Tsunade pants, feeling her body growing a bit tired from the fight against such a man.
"Throwing a tantrum now isn't going to help you."
"Do not say that to me! I'll kill you!"
"So far it doesn't seem to be working, does it?"
As she said it, she approached Orochimaru.
"No...get lost Tsunade!"
The look on his face, showed that he was worried about Tsunade and her next attack.
He tried to move, but she got in close, and kicked his leg, making him wince at the feeling.
"Stay!"
He bowed down, and her fist lit up with chakra.
More and more chakra swirled around her fist, while Orochimaru looked on in his growing despair.
"Manda! Do something! I command you!"
Orochimaru looked towards Manda, who snarled and shot a deadly glare towards him.
"If I see you again, I want two hundred souls...you bastard."
With that, Manda disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Seeing that, Jiraiya and Tsunade's summons also vanished.
"Manda! You can't do this to me!"
"He just did!"
Orochimaru panicked.
His body shook with worry as Tsunade approached faster and faster.
Her fist with the chakra she had gathered together, aimed solely at the snake wielder, who in turn gave worry filled eyes.
Tsunade poured her power from her entire body into her fist. Orochimaru couldn't escape the attack, and received a truly hard blow to his face. The blow was more than enough to cause his face to crack in many places.
He was fired backwards, his body smashed into the large sword of Gamabunta, and he fell down to the ground, pain etched onto his face.
Tsunade let out some pants, while Orochimaru let out a few cries of pain.
"No...you can't do this to me...I wont die here...I can't...die to you...I haven't done everything I want to do...I haven't taken over Ryou-kun's body...and have his power...!"
Orochimaru's desperate voice came out, while Tsunade continued to pant harder and harder.
"You have done a lot of evil in your life, I'm making sure you can't do anymore! And that boy you are targeting, I wont let you get your hands on him!"
Orochimaru's face began peeling off, and showed what was underneath.
Another face, another person he had taken over.
"So, that is the face of the person you took over...how disgusting you are Orochimaru."
Tsunade felt disgusted by what she was seeing, and angered at the same time.
She couldn't handle it for long, more than that she felt like she was going to take down Orochimaru.
But when she took a step, she winced at the feeling.
Her chakra depletion was catching up, and the wounds that she suffered also drained her.
She contemplated if she should release all of the chakra inside to keep on fighting, when she saw Ryouta approaching towards Orochimaru.
"Hey Ryouta-"
"Don't worry Tsunade-san, I've got Orochimaru!"
Not wanting her to have to worry, he gave her a soft smile which in turn caused Tsunade to see that he looked to be ready to finish this off now.
Orochimaru panicked as he saw Ryouta's eyes shift to the Mangekyou.
"Back off kid! Don't make me kill you!"
"This time, I'm going to kill you Orochimaru!"
"That's enough! You are going to be my next body, you're coming with me!"
Orochimaru yelled, and spat out several snakes that came for Ryouta.
But he raised the thunder swords up, and spun around, very much like Ameyuri who he had remembered thanks to his Sharingan was able to wield them. The spinning motion of his body, coupled with the stretched out blades that produced lightning was more than enough to cleave through each snake that came for him.
More and more despair came to Orochimaru.
What little hope he had, was fading away into nothingness.
Even without Mangekyou, Ryouta was putting up a very good fight, and he wasn't sure what he was going to do now.
"Get lost boy! Leave me alone!"
"Yeah, right!"
Ryouta kept going, until he was in range for his eyes to not miss. Leaving no room for error, or the ability for Orochimaru to escape at the same time.
Tsunade saw the eyes, and looked at them, remarking "Beautiful." since this was the first time that she saw them.
Even Jiraiya hadn't seem them up close before, and quite liked the design, but did remember how he would have gotten those eyes.
Tsunade also remembered that he got them, when Shisui had died, Ryouta having trusted her enough with such secrets in private, and it was bittersweet seeing them now.
Orochimaru on the other hand was sweating profusely.
His body felt cold inside.
More than that, his life flashed before his eyes.
This, he couldn't handle.
He couldn't avoid.
He couldn't fight it.
Without his arms, and his chakra, he was pretty useless against this.
If it was at the beginning of the fight, he thought that he would have a chance, but because Ryouta was calculating and was able to take advantage of the situation going on, he was able to use it at Orochimaru's lowest possible point.
"You can't do this to me boy! I am going to live!"
"No, you aren't Orochimaru. You're done for this time."
As he said it, Ryouta's eye began to bleed.
Orochimaru knew what this meant as well.
"Ooh shit!"
Orochimaru screamed out loud, as Ryouta activated one of his eyes.
"Nakisawame!"
Orochimaru screamed as fast moving acid came out towards him. Because of his injuries...no, even at full speed he'd have great difficulty avoiding due to how quick the speed of the acid was. He also saw this was more concentrated, going for his chest and therefore came out quicker.
Ryouta had been able to concentrate the attack rather than have the acid go everywhere, to increase its movements.
Orochimaru felt fear, but then something happened.
Before him, a shield made out of crystal was formed, something that surprised all but Ryouta who was fully aware that this could happen.
The crystal however was eaten through thanks to the acid, as Orochimaru tried to escape.
But some acid got through, and a single drop fell onto his pinky finger.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Tsunade was shocked by the high pitched scream Orochimaru gave as the acid began eating at his flesh.
Starting at his finger, it melted his finger clean off within a few moments, and continued on, moving up his hand more and more. It was a slow process compared to if more acid was there, but from even a single drop, it showed that it could be highly dangerous and deadly.
"Even a single drop of that acid can be very deadly indeed...What a highly dangerous ability, if you don't completely dodge it, or nullify it somehow, though how you would nullify it, I'm not entirely sure. Looking at Orochimaru, he's in immense pain right now."
Tsunade mused within her mind, while Jiraiya saw the deadliness of the Jutsu, and the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan could truly bring.
Orochimaru, with tears streaming down his face, produced a sword from his mouth, as the acid continued eating through his hand at a slow pace.
"SHIT!"
Orochimaru sliced off his own hand to stop the spread of the acid, which in of itself caused great pain as his arms already were in incredible pain, now cutting through it almost caused Orochimaru to pass out as he fell face first to the ground.
Tears leaked from his eyes, his mind was being destroyed all the more as Yukine looked on, and giggled away cheerfully.
"Orochimaru, are you alright? You look to be in so much pain right now, no more than you deserve you moron." Orochimaru's vacant eyes were barely able to look towards Yukine who flashed a peace sign. "It seems that your wicked ways are catching up with you again."
Orochimaru couldn't argue back, he was in so much pain that he couldn't even form words.
On the other hand, as Ryouta went to fire once more, he heard a voice.
"If you attack Orochimaru-sama with those eyes again, then this woman dies."
Ryouta and the others looked up to see that Shizune was in the arms of the mysterious woman. With a crystal like blade attached to her skin and running up her arm, the blade itself looked highly sharp and dangerous, and Shizune looked to be inches from it.
Upon seeing her, each of the three Ninja left around, looked on in worry.
"Shizune!"
Tsunade yells and goes to move, but the mysterious woman holds her close, halting Tsunade's movements.
"One more step, and she dies."
Tsunade tightened her hand.
Ryouta looked on, and wondered what he should do.
Seeing that Jiraiya wasn't in a fit state to move as quickly as he usually could, and Tsunade was growing tired, he had to do something to save Shizune.
"Tsunade-sama...I'm sorry...she came out of nowhere..."
Tsunade shook her head.
"Don't worry about that, we'll get you away from her."
Tsunade promised, as the crystal user creates several crystal shurikens in the air. They looked rather sharp and deadly, while Ryouta's eyes saw what she did up close and personal. He could tell what this was now after seeing them with his Sharingan eyes, confirming his original thoughts.
"A Kekkei Genkai..."
"That's correct. This is the power that I was gifted with at my birth, a power I shall use to serve Orochimaru-sama."
The woman replied in a stoic manner.
Jiraiya looked at the forming crystals, as his mind began to shift through different information.
"What...that's...then it must be Crystal Release." Jiraiya began, his eyes focusing in on the woman. "I heard rumours that Orochimaru had gathered someone with a very rare bloodline. Could it be you that I heard of? Guren of the Crystal Release?"
The newly named Guren looked mildly surprised.
But also happy at the same time.
"Your network hasn't failed you. That's correct, I am Guren. Though it doesn't matter either way if you know about me. Because you're going to release Orochimaru-sama, and then you'll allow us to leave this place in peace. Also you Uchiha boy, keep the eyes away from me immediately, or this woman gets it, I wont be killed by your eyes today."
Ryouta found that odd.
Usually, a henchmen of Orochimaru's probably wouldn't sound as nice as Guren did, they usually sounded more wicked, twisted, and evil, but Guren sounded more reasonable, even if her actions suggested otherwise.
When Ryouta didn't move for a few moments, Guren held the blade so close to Shizune that another inch or so would cause her neck to be cut.
"I mean it, keep your eyes off of this woman and myself, now. Also, don't think about looking towards Orochimaru-sama, or Kabuto either. Now do as I say boy, and turn your eyes away, and keep in mind, I see your head turn towards any of us, and this woman dies."
Ryouta gripped his hands tightly, this situation being rather worrisome due to what Guren was capable of, which no one knew currently, how she could use her Kekkei Genkai and the limits of her powers.
"I understand."
So this time, he had to face away from her, looking in a different direction than anyone that was on the battlefield, not sure if Guren actually would kill Shizune if he did keep his eyes on her.
Tsunade saw the situation as dire, and wasn't entirely sure on what they were going to do either.
"Crystal Release, I have heard of that...even back in the wars, but I never saw it with my own eyes, such a rare Kekkei Genkai."
Tsunade mused aloud, while Ryouta furrowed his brows.
"Indeed, what an interesting Kekkei Genkai, crystals, crystals...hmm, it must have a weakness...I don't fully know about this Kekkei Genkai to say one way or the other. But the fact that she has Shizune-san with her. I have to do something to free her as the others are tired...but, what can I do if I can't look...if I knew the full scope of her abilities, then I could go over and grab her before this Guren is able to use her crystal powers. But, what if she could do some other trick that prevents me from getting close long enough for Shizune-san to be killed...no, I have to save her..."
Ryouta thought and thought, wondering how he would be able to help.
That's when he saw in the distance, Aoda looking on, keeping himself mostly submerged underground.
Ryouta then looked towards the different people around that were still alive. Jirobo was still somewhat conscious but near dying thanks to Shizune, while Tayuya was still passed out.
Furrowing his brows, a plan came together from Ryouta.
Looking the snake in the eye, he contacted him via Genjutsu.
"Aoda-san...we have to save Shizune-san."
"Yes, I am sorry Ryouta-sama, a thousand apologies. I couldn't find them before. It seems that these crystals have thrown off my senses as well."
"Don't worry about that now, I have an idea. First, I need you to get into position without alerting her, make the big guy there face me, without being detected. Can you do that?"
"Yes, Ryouta-sama. Your wish, my command."
"Thank you. Now, after he's under my control, make your way under them. The signal will be my voice, the next time I speak aloud, strike."
"I understand Ryouta-sama, I shall not let you down."
With that, their plan begun, as Tsunade and Jiraiya continued speaking to Guren.
"So, he had one last trick up his sleeve. Haha, I am not surprised, Orochimaru is the type to hide these kind of tricks until the end huh."
"He gave me this task, because he believed in my capabilities."
Guren replied strongly, while Tsunade shook her head.
"Let Shizune go, you don't have to bring her into this."
"If I let her go, what's to stop two Sannin attacking me? I am confident in my abilities, but even tired Sannin, are some of the most dangerous Ninja that have existed. That's why, I'm going to be taking Orochimaru-sama, and Kabuto away from this place. Once we're far enough, I'll allow this woman to go."
"How can we trust you'll keep your word?"
Tsunade demanded, as Ryouta saw Aoda make his move.
Near silent, his tail came out, and fully wrapped around Jirobo's mouth, and body, his arms and legs all being bound by the tail. Thanks to Shizune helping by giving him quite the damage and poisoning him, he offered little resistance as Ryouta from a distance looked deeply into his eyes.
As their eyes interlocked, Jirobo's mind was beginning to be taken over.
Only a few precious seconds later, Jirobo was fully under Ryouta's control.
"You can trust me." Guren carried on, as she weaved one handed hand signs, to the surprise of the others. "Crystal Release, Tearing Crystal Falling Dragon."
Using her Kekkei Genkai, Guren crystallizes the surrounding moisture in the air, and creates a bright snake like pink Dragon, two in fact, with jade green eyes, and two pink horns coming out of their heads.
The Dragons of crystal begin going towards Orochimaru and Kabuto.
Tsunade and Jiraiya watch with animosity as they think of ways to quickly deal with this situation.
Fortunately, Ryouta had put his plan in motion.
Jirobo walked over towards Guren.
When seeing him, she saw that he was carrying Tayuya.
To make it as convincing as possible, Ryouta had it seem like Jirobo was coming over to escape together with the others.
"Is she the only remaining living one?"
"Yes."
Guren looked on, glancing at Ryouta, and saw his eyes still looking away.
"I see...then stay close, we'll be going in a few moments."
Jirobo didn't move, and kept close towards Guren.
Guren looked at Jirobo, and wasn't sure if this was or not.
She couldn't confirm either way, but she was about to be surprised.
"Now."
When Ryouta said that, the plan begun.
Aoda burst out from underneath the ground, lifting both Guren and Shizune in the air and away from one another a good deal thanks to how Aoda moved his tail to separate them.
Shizune saw Jirobo jumped up, and as Guren tried to attack, Aoda used his tail to get in the way, swinging it for her body, so she created a defensive shield of crystal.
"I told you to not attack-"
Before Guren could say anything else, she witnessed Jirobo put his hands together.
"Water Release, Water Dragon Jutsu."
Jirobo called out, even going through the hand signs, causing Guren to prepare for the attack.
But after a moment or so, it became clear that she wouldn't actually be seeing any water.
So she went to slice Shizune, when Ryouta managed to get between them, and swung his sword for Guren who in turn used the blade on her arm to clash violently with Ryouta's own, as shurikens of crystal formed in the air.
But Aoda moved and swung his tail for them, changing the trajectory of the attacks, so they'd miss Ryouta by a good margin, Tsunade used this chance to leap up, as Ryouta pushed back and carried Shizune off to safety.
"Haaaaaaaaaaaah!"
Pushing her strength into her fist, Tsunade clashed with Guren who crossed her arms.
Ryouta was stunned to see that as Tsunade hit her, something was formed.
"Tsunade-san, she's formed some kind of crystal armour!"
Around her body, Guren formed a heavily dense armour that came out rather quickly.
As Tsunade punched her, the armour absorbed most of the damage, but Tsunade's strength still proved to be too great, and shattered the armour, along with blasting Guren back a good deal.
Guren didn't suffer major injuries, but they were able to save Shizune, who Ryouta held in one arm.
"No, it can't be! Guren! Not Guren, she's important to me! Damn you all, you're all on my list, especially you Shizune!"
Orochimaru yelled, Shizune being baffled.
"Why especially me?"
"You know why Shizune!"
Shizune didn't know what was going on in Orochimaru's mind, but Ryouta didn't have a time to worry, and turned towards his summoned snake.
"Aoda-san, protect Shizune-san, Garaga-san, Jiraiya-san and Naruko-chan for me!"
"Yes Ryouta-sama."
Aoda took Shizune off his hands, and slithered off, while Tsunade looked towards him.
"So, what are you thinking?"
Ryouta turned to Tsunade, and quickly formulated a plan.
"I need your help Tsunade-san. I put a good deal of chakra into blitzing towards Shizune-san and Guren-san then, I need to save some for one last shot of my eyes, and to do my best in taking them out."
Hearing the seriousness in his voice, she immediately agreed with whatever he had planned, as they saw Guren using her crystal dragons to retreat. Having Kabuto and Tayuya on one, and Jirobo with Orochimaru on the other, Guren rode on the Kabuto one and tried her best to escape the area.
"...I see, then lets do it."
Ryouta was glad that she was on board with this.
"Right, throw me Tsunade-san!"
Tsunade understood that he was going for one last move, from up above. To take them out, and make sure Orochimaru would die.
"Right, then I'll give you the best shot possible, leave it to me!"
Tsunade grabbed his hand, and angled Ryouta within the air.
While the enemies were trying to get away, Tsunade got the right way to go, and threw Ryouta as hard as she could.
"Good luck Ryouta!"
Launching him into the air, his Mangekyou Sharingan angled down towards the enemies, who tried to escape.
Orochimaru looked up, and despair came over him, as he saw Ryouta's Mangekyou aimed down towards them.
Knowing he didn't have enough chakra to avoid or to combat it, along with a good deal of his Jutsu being sealed, he was running out of options.
"Nesaku!"
From his eye that he rarely used to catch opponents off guard, he releases a pure brilliantly white sparkling star like flame, that began raining down towards them at a fast speed as his eye began to bleed.
"What the hell is Nesaku?!"
Orochimaru's face said it all on how he was feeling right now. Seeing the dangerous ability being played out before his eyes, he knew that he would die. He didn't even know what the white flames did, but they had to be dangerous if he had saved them for an occasion such as now.
So rather than him being caught up in the flames that would probably kill him, he looked towards those around and which would be the most disposable.
Then he looked at Jirobo.
Shifting through different possibilities within a short amount of time, he came to a decision.
"Jirobo, you've been a good service to me. But I can't die now, and Tayuya has more importance than you, so you can be the one who goes!"
Jirobo looks astonished, while Kabuto pushes up his glasses, glad that he wasn't being sacrificed right now. Guren looks on, seeing the wildness in Orochimaru's eyes, reflected within his heart at this moment in time.
"O-Orochimaru-sama?!"
Orochimaru wraps his tongue around Jirobo, and throws him up into the white fire.
Showing the cruelty that Orochimaru had for those around him, not even offering any words for him, Jirobo looked at his master but he gave a hard look right back, ignoring the pleas from Jirobo.
Allowing his tongue to unravel around him, he brought his tongue back to his face as Orochimaru sees Jirobo looking down to him in fear, and wishing to be rescued.
But what he was met with was a cold expression on his face.
Guren looks on, seeing Jirobo being consumed by the flames, spreading from his head to his toes at a good speed. Her eyes went towards Orochimaru briefly, seeing his relieved face, while she looked down at herself, wondering about a number of things.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
He let out an unholy scream, as he fell down to the ground, flailing his arms.
But, they saw something odd.
Instead of being burned...he was frozen.
Patches of ice came from his skin, his lips had turned blue and his skin as a whole looked like he had frozen to death.
Even the flames kept going, and coming into contact with the ground, began causing it to freeze, consuming Jirobo's form.
"W-What the hell was that...ice, from fire? ...I don't get it!"
Orochimaru panicked, seeing the true power of the white flames.
Ryouta didn't want to waste this chance, so he placed his hands together, opening up his other eye to release the acid.
"Orochimaru-sama! Look out!"
Kabuto yelled, seeing the acid coming.
Theyt tried to move out of the way, only for white flames to block their path.
When the flames hit the crystal dragons they rode on, they saw that it was beginning to freeze, so Guren cut them off, and tried moving in another direction, but she realized that it was going to be too late.
"Orochimaru-sama, I wont let you die!"
"Aaaah...aaaaaaah...aaaah!"
Guren looked immensely shocked as Orochimaru was struggling to hold on, so she created a large barrier of crystals to try and deal with the acid, but predictably, the acid ate through it without any cause for concern, forcing Guren to dodge with her crystal dragons she and the others rode on.
Because of the brief delay of the barrier, they successfully dodged…
Or rather, that's what Guren hoped.
But then she saw some acid had hit the Dragon and began melting it, so she cut off that part of the Dragon before it could spread up, Guren's eyes going up towards Ryouta who was coming down rather quickly.
"This boys power...is this the power Orochimaru-sama is seeking? The acid that can melt anything, and those flames...they froze Jirobo from a touch and even my crystal Dragons froze as well, what power this boy has...no, I cannot lose composure right now, I have to defend Orochimaru-sama with my life."
Preparing her chakra, she cupped her hands together.
Then she boldly declared to Orochimaru.
"Orochimaru-sama, allow me to deal with this boy!"
Guren tightened her hand, before releasing many shurikens in the air for the young man.
Ryouta took out Kusanagi, and swung his sword out before him, clashing violently, and then saw that she formed a giant Dragon out of crystal.
"Cool Dragon, now I'll shatter it!"
Sending that out for Ryouta, he took out the two lightning blades of Ameyuri's, and swung them down, releasing a highly charged bolt of electricity, clashing against the Dragon. He watched as the Dragon became destabilized, and ended up shattering, the bolt continuing for them.
But Guren was able to use her crystal manipulation to create a shield. Though as she did, the began cracking under the intense pressure of the lightning, which also happened to be a weakness of the enemy themselves.
Then Ryouta raised the swords high, feeling the drain on his chakra from using his Mangekyou, and then released another blast of lightning down to try and disable the enemy as much as possible.
"Aaaah!"
The crystal barrier was shattered, giving Ryouta the chance to get Orochimaru.
Shooting Kusanagi down one last time, like an arrow, the blade stabbed into his stomach and cut left, cleaving through half of his mid section, making him howl in pain as Guren was able to push the blade away before it could fully kill him.
The blade also continued and tried slashing Kabuto, but he managed to dodge a fatal attack, though the blade cleaved into his right hand side, drawing a good deal of blood from him.
Ryouta fell to the ground, as they made their escape.
"JUST WAIT UCHIHA, YOUR BODY AND POWERS SHALL BE MINE!"
Orochimaru's howls escaped into the heavens, he was in extreme levels of pain.
They tried to go after them, but Guren laid many traps of crystal before them. It seemed that she had been responsible for helping them escape. This time, it seemed that Orochimaru's planning ahead had paid off. However, he was currently on the verge of death. With his body being damaged by various attacks, and being cut deeply, unable to do his unique body replacement technique, was bleeding out a good deal.
Ryouta looked on, and tightened his hand while Tsunade came walking up, panting a good deal.
"...It seems that you did, a number on...Orochimaru...and it seems you have also taken out a good number of those he came with today. That will weaken him."
Ryouta looked on, nodding a single time.
"Yes, it seems so...but, he still got away. If he was a normal human, I'd say it would be enough to finish him off...but, because it is Orochimaru, and his wicked technique's he has done to his own body thanks to his experiments on others...I don't know what's going to happen with him...most likely, he'll take over someone else's body."
Ryouta mused, rubbing his eyes with pain etched within them.
Using his Mangekyou rapidly could be damaging, and even though he managed to gain a good deal of damage, Ryouta released a breath as he looked towards Garaga. Seeing the giant snake looking towards him, Ryouta bowed.
"Garaga, I'm sorry, I couldn't..."
Garaga laid there, and began laughing to Ryouta's surprise.
"Aah man, did you see Orochimaru's face!? Hahaha, you drove fear into the asshole! And you even cut him nearly in half! Hahaha! That bastard didn't know what had hit it by the time that the Jutsu had been released all together! Ooh man, that was so cathartic."
Ryouta looked on, and saw Garaga laughing.
Despite not being able to get towards him, and finish him off, seeing Orochimaru in immense amounts of pain was something he immensely enjoyed.
Tsunade looked on, as she noticed Jiraiya being treated to by Shizune.
"So that fire, what was that exactly? I know it was your Mangekyou power, but it seemed really beautiful, and I also saw ice..."
Ryouta pursed his lips, wondering how he was going to explain it.
"Erm...well, I suppose the best way to describe it is that operates differently than normal fire. While that burns, this one freezes. Whatever they come into contact with, living or not, the flames causes everything to freeze...I'm sure Haku-chan and I could come up with some cool ways to use our powers in tandem with her ice and my freezing flames."
Tsunade looked on curiously, and thought that it was quite a unique power.
"Well, it's quite impressive and beautiful at the same time."
Ryouta gave a soft smile.
"Thank you Tsunade-san. Though, it can be tiring to use, and my eyes to suffer when I use my abilities, even now I feel a good bit of pain...still, if I can use them to protect the people I care for, and innocent people...then it is something I am happy to do. Even with the pain, I can fight through it."
As he said it, he looked over the others.
He could see Naruko was resting peacefully.
He also saw that Shizune's ability to take care of Jiraiya was astounding.
The corpses of Sakon, Ukon, Kidomaru, and Jirobo, or in most cases, what was left of them.
He moved to the side of Garaga, and began doing his best to heal the damage that he had been through.
"Kid, don't waste your energies on me, you don't have much left."
Garaga spoke in a mostly dismissive tone.
But Ryouta shook his head.
"I have to make sure that you'll live, Garaga-san. I'm not letting Orochimaru, or anyone from his side get a victory today."
Garaga looked on, before murmuring "Fine, proceed." which Ryouta did.
Ryouta also saw Tsunade deactivate her seal, and it reformed on her forehead. As it did, he saw that she looked rather tired. Jiraiya was able to get healed thanks to Shizune, and was making a better recovery than he was beforehand.
Naruko was safe, which he was happy about.
Ryouta continued healing as Aoda slithered up.
"Ryouta-sama, is there anything else for me to do?"
Ryouta panted, looking towards him, before shaking his head.
"No, it's alright. You can get back now. Thank you for the assist today."
Aoda shook his head.
"It is my pleasure, Ryouta-sama."
The snake bowed his head, and disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Ryouta continued healing Garaga, with the giant snake seeing the tiredness on the young man's face. But it also showed to him at least that Ryouta was willing to go through a good deal to make sure that his comrades and even his summons were saved from death.
Once he finished, Ryouta collapses onto the ground, with Garaga looking on.
"You did good today kid."
"I still didn't get Orochimaru."
Ryouta was saddened by that, he wished he could have finished off the snake man once and for all, so all of his nightmarish stuff could finally be over.
"Any mortal attacked with those Jutsu's would have died. He is something beyond and beneath mortal at the same time. He is a monster, something that you shouldn't have to worry about anymore boy. One day, he'll get what's coming to him. Until then, make sure that you keep training and trying hard to achieve your goals."
Ryouta felt like his words were that of encouragement.
Garaga rarely did that, but to Ryouta it felt like the giant red snake was becoming more and more accustomed to being around Ryouta himself.
"Yes. I do promise that one day, we will get him. And he will be stopped from hurting anyone else. Until then, lets resolve to become even stronger."
"Indeed, lets make sure that he's finished off. We can do that, together boy."
Garaga made that bold statement.
"Yes, you're right Garaga-san, we can do it together."
Garaga laughs as Ryouta gives a fond smile right back.
Then Garaga vanished in a puff of smoke, to go and get some rest.
As Garaga disappeared, Ryouta went to relax...
But then he remembered something, his eyes going towards Ameyuri's body.
Moving past the others, he continued going towards her.
Getting over towards her, he bent down in front of her.
"Ameyuri-san...though you were the enemy, I think that I learned a good deal from you. More than I could have from others, the nature of the world, and others feelings about it. Your feelings...how you chose to live your life, and how you chose it would go... I do hope that you get to have a peaceful afterlife. I hope the pains gone away, and you get to rest in peace."
Ryouta, as he thought about it, noticed the smile on her face.
It seemed that even though she was suffering a lot towards the end, she was able to smile at the last moments of her life.
Peering at her lifeless body, Ryouta continued watching her, and while he didn't like taking her life, he did hope that by granting the wish that she wanted, dying on her own terms, that she'd have some peace that she didn't have in life.
"Thank you, Ameyuri-san. Thank you for everything. These blades helped a good deal, when I use them, I will think of you, I promise."
Bowing his head towards her, he began lifting her body up.
Tsunade noticed what he was doing, and pulled closer.
"What are you doing?"
"I promised her that I would take her body back to Kiri, so I'm going to make preparations for that now. I have to get permission from the Hokage...which I guess now is you Tsunade-san."
"Yes, I suppose it would be my choice. Well, I can't let you go on your own...hmm, you have a team, which Karin is apart of, right?"
Ryouta nods a single time.
"Yes, she is, I am apart of what we've called Team Anko."
"Team Anko huh. Well, after we have relaxed, I'll have word sent and have them meet us here, there would be little point you going back to Konoha, only to set off again, and I have to get back to begin my duties as Hokage and speak with Sarutobi-sensei about a number of things. Of course, we also have to get permission from Kiri."
"I think it should be fine, Mei-san wouldn't mind us going."
Tsunade lifted her brow.
"So, you have allies in Kiri as well? You've got to tell me that story."
Ryouta adopted a small smile on his tired lips.
"I would happily tell you all my stories, Tsunade-san."
Tsunade let out a small laugh.
"Well, lets relax for a day or so, after all that, we need it. And...it sees we have crippled Orochimaru and his forces."
Ryouta bowed his head.
"Thank you Tsunade-san."
Tsunade waved her hand.
As she watched him respectfully take care of Ameyuri's corpse, she couldn't help but adopt a small smile.
"Dan...Nawaki...it seems these young people have their dreams set out for them, and are so determined. I'll fulfil my dreams as well as yours. Becoming Hokage...I'll do my best, to make sure situations like what happened with you doesn't happen again."
Promising that mentally, Tsunade watched as they all began making preparations to have time to relax.
That day truly had taken a good toll on everyone.
But, now they hoped it would all be looking up.
End chapter!
So this is the end of the fight, with Guren showing up, having taken Shizune and tried to use her as bait to get Orochimaru, but Ryouta managed to Genjutsu the barely alive Jirobo who was dying of Shizune's poison, and got the upper hand, though Guren showed her strengths. Then they retreated, with Ryouta using his other eye, producing a white flame that rather than burn, freezes, and killed Jirobo rather quickly, and we shall see some other ways he can use that in the coming future.
Then at the end, he went over, and promised to take Ameyuri back to the Mist Village, with permission from Tsunade, so we shall be seeing Mei pretty soon. Even Gagara seems to have become more comfortable, and accepting of Ryouta, showing the bond they are forming with one another.
Well until next time, thanks for reading!
Ryouta; Satsuki, Sakura, Naruko, Hinata, Gaara (fem), Ino, Haku (fem), Kurotsuchi, Karin, Konan, Mei, Anko, Samui, Hanabi, Mabui, Temari, Pakura,