What is this...three chapters in two years, and now three chapters in a week? I guess I've got my will to write back. It's nice to spend time doing something I enjoy.
Review response:
1. Noahendless: Naruto knows now that he's not human, so he doesn't really feel compelled to act like one. But he also doesn't see a need to drive people to their breaking points for the sake of his amusement. Not unless they personally did something to him. (I make like that monkey puppet gif as my eyes wander between Zabuza and my doc editor...)
2. TigrezzTail: Yes, his army...of course...no other reason to place a seal on a buxom young lady or seven that makes them completely obedient to him...okay, but in all seriousness he wouldn't have needed that seal if she'd taken his deal. And to Naruto, his grudge is specifically with Zabuza rather than Kirigakure as a whole.
I added about 500 extra words for you guys because I didn't want to cut the chapter off at 2975. Let's get this trainwreck moving.
Gore spread into the air as Yuurei ground a ball of chakra into the chest of an Iwa-nin, blood long ago having coated his upper body. Dropping the fresh corpse, he set to work on his next target; Yugito stood nearby, watching the younger blond kill one enemy after another. It almost didn't seem fair—and yet, it gave her a boost of confidence to know that she'd survived when facing off against him. Of course, if she looked back to a few minutes ago, she would have to acknowledge the fact that she'd intentionally been left alive.
Matatabi...what's up with him? She asked the demon inside of her. He uses seals in battle that Kumo's Fuinjutsu masters have only theorized, and jutsu I've never heard of.
He's a demon, just like I am.The Nibi answered, still shaken by the insurmountable fact that had presented itself to her. Aside from her brethren, the Biju, there weren't supposed to be other demons in the world of men. The questions Yuurei's mere existence raised were mind-numbing.
Yugito did her best not to let the shock from that answer show on her face. Especially not when she watched him speed through hand signs and launch a Hyoton attack. Weren't those techniques almost exclusive to the minor village in Yuki no Kuni? Even more strange were the wisps of light that flowed out of corpses and into Yuurei's body. With each one, his movements seemed to become a little sharper, and his blows seemed to land a little harder. Every wound he suffered was healed with shocking speed, but as far as she could tell, none of them left him any more scarred than he'd been before. For all intents and purposes, the young man who'd enslaved her had the look of someone who was born to be on the battlefield.
Raw strength aided Yuurei's fist as it went through the throat of an unfortunate Iwa-nin, the demon's thumb pressing into his spinal column and snapping it. Shaking the hand as he removed it from the newfound hole, he launched a Futon: Teikiatsu in the main direction of his foes. From behind its cover, he called upon the Kage Bunshin technique, and four clones appeared behind Yuurei as they forced chakra into his open hand. Between the clones and the original, all five elements were combined in a volatile mixture; Yugito was the only observer, but she was keenly aware that something like that wouldn't last long before it dissipated. As that chakra swirled like an atom without a nucleus, though, Yuurei managed to subvert her expectations for whatever technique was next; almost lazily, he threw it into and through the miniature tornado he'd brought forth. Almost instantly, the technique dissipated, and an explosion rocked the world as several ninja died and many more were sent airborne.
He's an Oathkeeper, as well, if I'm not mistaken. Matatabi said as, through Yugito's eyes, she watched Yuurei's wanton slaughter. A special existence even among demons. He does not lie, and any promises made to him or by him will be kept on pain of death. But...something is wrong. We demons grow by killing our enemies, and the power he receives is only a fraction of what it should be.
Before Yugito could really begin to contemplate the idea that her captor would never again be as "weak" as he was when she fought him, a mass of arrows entered into the sky and pierced the bodies of the dead and dying Iwa-nin.
"Yuurei? Holy shit, is that you?" A man called out, looking in the demon's direction.
"Kidomaru?" Yuurei asked, confused. "What the hell is going on?"
"To be honest, I'm not clear on a lot of details, but I know for sure that whatever this operation was supposed to be, it's gone completely tits up. Otogakure was supposed to bait Suna into attacking Konoha, I know that much for sure, but I have no idea where Kiri and Kumo and Iwa factored into the equation. No offense, Ms. Nii, but you might be better able to explain that one." Kidommaru said, leaving a pointed stare in Yugito's direction.
Yuurei had no way of knowing this, thanks to his "upbringing" as a street urchin and his otherwise secluded life, but Kidomaru was one of Orochimaru's elite Otoyon, who knew the rank-and-file of each village's premier shinobi.
"A representative from Suna came to Kumo with news that they were invading Konoha, and they were asking for our support. Our villages have a history of bloodshed between them, so there wasn't going to be any love lost by committing to an attack that someone else could take the fall for. Frankly, I'm shocked that someone went to Iwa and Kiri as well."
Tensions and tempers were well-known to run hot between Suna and Iwa, after decades of mutual aggression and their national borders playing host to a bloody theater in the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars. Of course, among the older generations of Iwa and Konoha, hatred ran deeper than the mass graves they'd dug across multiple battlefields. So, while it must have taken a lot of convincing for the Kazekage to authorize a representative taking the trip to Iwa, there was little doubt that the Tsuchikage had put all grudges with Suna on the back burner to take a stab at Konoha's heart. Then, of course, there was the information that Yuurei and Kidomaru were aware of, and Yugito was not: after a squad of Konoha's Genin had killed a handful of their Chunin, razed a critical food source to oblivion, and murdered an incredibly wealthy financial asset, Kirigakure was primed for retaliation.
"Alright. Mystery mostly solved." Yuurei said. "Now, what the hell is going on with you specifically?"
"To be honest, I'm sort of looking for help. The rest of my team is keeping our boss and the Hokage contained in a barrier with the Kazekage, and it won't last much longer without me."
Frankly, Yuurei didn't see why that involved him of all people, but Kidomaru and his team had more or less done him a favor back in Nami no Kuni, and they were bound by a mutual non-aggression pact; would it really be so bad to help him out?
"Lead on." The blond said fearlessly, and Yugito looked at him with shock and confusion.
"Do you even know what you're getting yourself into?" She asked, but the only answer she received was an honest shrug.
Leaping to the rooftops, Yuurei saw a rectangular prism of two barriers, though both were starting to fade. Kidomaru made several great strides, slipping inside of that barrier and reinforcing it, and Yuurei wondered how it eliminated so much noise that he didn't even know there was a battle going on between two Kage inside of it. And then, all of a sudden, he had what might have been his worst idea of the day so far. Arriving at the edge of the barrier, Yuurei ignored the stares of the multi-national observers.
"Tayuya, let me in." He spoke the words more as a command than a request, and the redheaded woman paused before nodding. The barrier wavered for a moment as the blond stepped inside, watching with mild amusement as more than one person outside the barrier burst into flames on contact with it. Wasting no time, Yuurei took out a kunai and tore into his forearm with it.
"Fuckin' shit!" Tayuya swore as the demon's blood sprayed down. But, as it fell, she watched it twist into forms she vaguely recognized as related to Fuinjutsu. Slightly alarmed, she watched his blood race across the tile roof they were standing on, crossing around the inside of the barrier and crawling up both ends of it. A deep, malevolent energy pulsed from the set of once-blue walls, and Tayuya reflexively pulled her hands away in fear—only for the barrier to stay standing, and not flicker in the slightest.
"You can restore yourselves." Yuurei said, his words directed to the Sound Four. "I don't need you wasting chakra keeping up a silly set of walls."
All of the Otoyon cast him a bit of a dirty look for that comment, wanting to retort that he wasn't their boss, but they weren't about to complain. Kidomaru hadn't been gone for long, but Jirobo, Sakon, and Tayuya had all been straining themselves to keep the double-layered technique up without him. Now that Yuurei had given them a chance to recuperate, they'd take advantage of the opportunity. Meanwhile, Yuurei's arm had already healed, and he strode into the concealed battlefield without fear.
Immediately, the blond felt three pairs of eyes fall upon him, and each one brought an intense pressure with it that might have made a lesser fighter fold; the three, together, were enough to give Yuurei a moment of pause as he took stock of the situation.
"It's been a while." He said, his words pointed toward the Sandaime Hokage. "And you, Orochimaru...it's been even longer."
Though the fearsome Byahebi didn't dare take his full attention off of the fight at hand, Yuurei's second statement confused him greatly.
"Have we met somewhere before?" The pale-skinned man asked.
"About a decade ago. It was the interaction that made me decide to become a ninja." Yuurei answered. Though he hadn't formally greeted Orochimaru at the time, he'd watched the snake-summoner walk and talk with the Hokage before returning to help a tired and scared Ayame settle into her new life.
"Well then, Yuurei, I'm glad I made an impact on you. My subordinates gave you a lot of praise for what happened in Nami no Kuni." Orochimaru grinned meaningfully. Obviously, he was well aware of the blond's true name and status. "Now, if you wouldn't mind helping us kill the Kazekage..."
"You're the one who talked me into making this assault!" The Kazekage shouted in rage.
"Yes. It was a ploy to cripple and crush your village." The White Snake never lost his toothy smile, with his serpentine eyes almost seeming to glow. "Your Jinchuriki has been brought down, your children have been captured, and your soldiers are being slaughtered or routed as we speak. The reinforcements you called for from Kumo, Iwa, and Kiri are being dealt with, in no small part because of Yuurei. After you die here, your village will be leaderless and impoverished. You can't give the reparations you offered to one village, let alone three. So what's going to happen?"
Konoha wouldn't have to lift a finger, and Sunagakure would be annihilated.
"Brought down? Brought down? Oh, you poor fool...the worst thing you could do to your village was force Gaara to sleep!" Sabaku no Rasa laughed, his hands coming together in a string of seals that ended in the sign of the dragon. "Sakinton: Uzumaki!"
Fitting its name, flecks of gold dust spiraled out from the Kazekage's position in a vortex that featured him as its epicenter. The gravity of its pull brought Yuurei, Orochimaru, and the still-silent Hokage towards it; suspecting what would happen, Yuurei threw a kunai at the Kazekage, and watched in fascination as the gold dust shredded it. That left little to the imagination about the end result of meeting the shimmering wall of death with his flesh.
"Baku!" Rasa shouted, and the gold dust exploded out from his position with lethal force.
Orochimaru performed an incredibly fast kawarimi, the Hokage spun his giant staff in a circle the defend himself, and Yuurei simply took the blow head-on, only covering his eyes as the fine particles shredded his body open. For a moment, blood leaked out of him like a sieve, but his wounds repaired themselves—at a speed that was just slow enough for their eyes to track, no less.
"What a monster." Yugito said, watching from a slightly further distance than the rest of the battle's onlookers.
He's been driven into a frenzy. Rather, he put himself in one. Matatabi observed. He's not using any youki, he hasn't entered a demonic state, and his human physique is still strong enough to take a blow like that without flinching. How intimidating.
Yugito didn't bother asking whether that last sentence was sarcastic or not. The fact of the matter was, Yuurei did intimidate her. Anybody who was that young, and could go head-to-head with a Jinchuriki, would become a terrifying powerhouse once they fully matured. Although she was several steps behind Kirabi in terms of strength as a Jinchuriki, that status alone elevated her placement among the rank-and-file shinobi in Kumo. It was true that she hadn't gotten to display the full extent of her strength against Yuurei, but he'd been very clear about the fact that he was holding back. All of Yugito's life experience told her that she was supposed to be an elite—she wasn't used to being so thoroughly dismantled.
In the distance, an explosion was followed by a horrendous roar, and a black-and-tan shape was vaguely discernible among the trees to the west.
"I told you it was a mistake to let Gaara sleep. The boy is gone, and only Shukaku remains!" Rasa grinned. "Even if I die here, Konoha will be brought to ruins."
Even from this distance, the Ichibi's foul youki could be felt. Though Yuurei had been able to sense Yugito's nature as a Jinchuriki when she'd released a Bijuudama, that had been a residual aura that he'd picked up on. Shukaku's presence was like a direct threat that resonated with his subconscious; it stirred a fiendish desire in Yuurei's heart. His knees bent under the strain of his body's power as the wind blew outside the barrier and loose stones started to float.
"I can feel him." Yuurei growled as youki began to flood his keirakukei. His bloodshot demonic eye seemed to sharpen its pupil, and his Sharingan began to rotate at ten times its previous speed. The nails on his fingers and toes slowly morphed their way into short claws, a much more subtle version of Yugito's technique, and his breaths became visibly labored as his body struggled to contain its strength. Out from behind him came one tail, which slowly divided into three as all in attendance watched him in horror. Those three tails were a mix of red, black, and gold in color, though they seemed nearly iridescent as they waved in the air behind him. And then, compounding the fears of those watching, each of those tails split into thirds as well. With nine brilliant tails fanning out behind him, Yuurei seemed almost completely otherworldly. Smashing his fists down into the roof tiles he stood on, the blond roared, and his wordless battle cry put a nameless fear into the hearts of those who heard it.
"The demon!" Yuurei shouted. "Ichibi no Tanuki! Shukaku, demon of the wind! I feel your hate! I hear your call! Take one step closer to Konoha, and I'll break you in two!"
Without even thinking about it, the blond unleashed a titanic Bijuudama, one that passed right through the Sound Four's modified barrier and shot straight toward the Ichibi's location. Rasa's scream, as his left arm was burned out of existence, went unheard beneath the vacuous sound of Yuurei's attack. In the distance, a blast echoed, and Shukaku deflected the Bijuudama into the sky.
"Death comes." Orochimaru said under his breath. Otoyon, fall back! The area around Konoha is about to become a wasteland, and I'm not going to be caught up in it!"
"They're a little indisposed. My seals allowed me to pass through unharmed and without effort, but the same isn't liable to be true for anybody else." Yuurei grinned. "The enemies of my enemies are my allies, not my friends."
Having said so, the red-eyed demon stalked toward a shocked, barely-conscious Rasa. His youki was still burning away at the man's arm, spreading into his chest and beginning to corrode him from the inside out. In all truth, it was a pitiful sight, and a reminder that not all men were created equal—the Yondaime Hokage had gone face to face with the calamitous Kyuubi no Kitsune and had fought it to a draw, but the Yondaime Kazekage was being killed by a glancing blow from a much weaker Kyuubi no Yuurei. Seeming to take pity on the man, Yuurei placed one hand on the crown of his head, and another on the stump of his left shoulder, before his teeth tore through Rasa's throat like scissors into paper.
As the Kazekage's corpse fell, now visibly degrading as biological processes stopped slowing the spread of his youki, Yuurei's right hand rose to smear the blood across his face.
"Yugito! We're leaving." He announced as wisps of light flowed from Rasa's body into his own, calmly striding out of his double-layered barrier. Though the Nibi Jinchuriki had absolutely no desire to follow after Yuurei, the seal he'd placed on her left her no choice; in moments, she was a half-step behind him as he began making his way toward Shukaku.
"Get to work figuring out how to break this barrier!" Jirobo called out, beginning to look through the margins of Yuurei's sealwork to see if he could find a weak point or a method of manipulation. If worst came to worst, they could always physically break their way out, but the amount of chakra required for that kind of effort was too costly for the Sound Four to consider as a primary option.
Meanwhile, inside of the prism, the Sandaime Hokage turned to Orochimaru with a pained look in his eyes.
"Sensei?" The Byahebi asked tenatively.
"All these long years, I've trusted and believed in you." Sarutobi Hiruzen said, his breaths still haggard from the battle he'd been fighting before Yuurei's arrival. "I know you've suspected that Danzo has been tampering with my mental state for the last decade, and you're right."
Orochimaru's eyes narrowed in anger, but he showed no outward signs of stopping his onetime teacher from speaking.
"From the beginning of the plan, he intended to use this invasion as a tool to not just cripple and destroy Suna...but to unseat me, as well. Using the most convenient tool available." The Hokage grinned lazily.
"Sensei...no. I couldn't. I won't!" The White Snake nearly yelled in alarm.
"Unfortunately, my boy, I don't think we have a choice." Hiruzen's heart and face filled with sorrow as four intricate matrices of seals appeared on his body, with one on each cheek and the backs of his hands. "I don't know how or when, but...it's not just the seals. He put some kind of compulsion in my mind that I've been struggling to dispel all day."
"No!" Orochimaru denied the Hokage's words with every fiber of his being, showing more emotion in this moment than the Sound Four could ever remember him displaying.
"I'm resisting it with everything I can. I won't last much longer." As Hiruzen said those words, he made a show of locking the muscles in his arms to prevent himself from swinging his staff at Orochimaru.
"If you give me the time, I can undo the seals!" Orochimaru pleaded, looking for any reason not to kill the man who'd made him who he was. But in response, the Hokage merely closed his eyes and shook his head.
"It does my heart good to know that after almost forty years, you still care that much about your friends and your home." The elderly man said, somehow seeming both frail and immutable at the same time. "My bones are old, so it won't take more than one cut. Draw your sword, son."
In the next moment, the Hokage finally lost the ability to hold himself back from Danzo's compulsion seals, propelling himself forward and beginning to attack his former student. No longer speaking, the Kami no Shinobi began to weave hand seals together, and an apprehensive fear welled up inside of Orochimaru's heart.
