I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters.
Kimimaro
"Shall we begin?"
Ryuu shot forward, slashing at Kimimaro, his tanto sparking against Kimimaro's bone spikes. He flipped, Kimimaro blocking the blow with his forearms before spinning, a bone blade sprouting from his elbow as he turned. Ryuu twisted, barely escaping the blade, then flipped, slamming a kick into Kimimaro's gut, launching him backward. Kimimaro flipped, spikes growing out of his sandals around the outside, short and just enough to stop him the moment they hit the ground. Then, he sprinted forward, the extra traction increasing his speed drastically.
Ryuu ducked as Kimimaro slashed at him, slashing at Kimimaro as he passed. The blade of his tanto scraped against a ribcage-like chest-protector that Kimimaro had suddenly grown, and Ryuu spun just past Kimimaro, stabbing at him from behind. Kimimaro spun, knocking the blade aside and stabbing Ryuu. Ryuu grinned, exploding into a ball of fire and throwing Kimimaro backward. Kimimaro bounced once then flipped, landing on his feet and skidding backward a few feet before Ryuu appeared in front of him, slashing. Kimimaro leaned to the side, avoiding the slash while slashing upward, splitting Ryuu up the chest, throwing him backward. The cut was thankfully fairly shallow and Ryuu wasn't bleeding too heavily, but it hurt like a bitch.
Kimimaro held his right hand up, the spike growing into a javelin. He flipped the javelin, catching it and hurling it at Ryuu. Ryuu could sense Sai behind him, directly in the javelin's path, and swore. He braced himself, slashing. Miraculously, he actually hit the javelin, burying it almost completely in the ground. Then, he sprinted forward, Kimimaro reaching up to a bone sticking out of his shoulder as he retracted the other spikes. He pulled up on the bone, removing a bone sword similar to the one he had given Ryuu from his arm. Then, he also sprinted forward. When they met, their blades clashed several times before Kimimaro dropped under a slash, kicking Ryuu under the chin, hurling him backward and chasing him. Ryuu flipped, blocking a kick with his forearms and being hurled backward. As he landed, Kimimaro appeared over him, slashing downward. Ryuu blocked the slash with his own blade, shoving it to the side and stabbing at Kimimaro, slipping his blade between the ribs of Kimimaro's armor, managing to drive the first few inches of the blade into Kimimaro before Kimimaro's knee crashed into his gut, making him let go of the handle. Then, Kimimaro flipped, kicking Ryuu in the side, sending him blasting along the ground. Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet just as Kimimaro hurled the bone sword Ryuu had been using aside and stepped forward.
The ground below Kimimaro erupted, ink snakes by the dozen wrapping around Kimimaro, binding him in place. Ryuu sprinted forward, pushing himself as fast as he could. Before he could reach Kimimaro, however, bone spikes sprouted all over his body, destroying all of the snakes, before retracting and allowing Kimimaro to meet Ryuu's charge with a stab. Ryuu dropped, the blade taking his forehead protector off, then stood, driving a punch into Kimimaro's face, sending him staggering backward. As Kimimaro began to recover, Ryuu jumped, kicking him in the side of the jaw and sending him flying sideways. He shot after Kimimaro, getting under him before placing his hands on the ground and smashing both feet into Kimimaro's side. Kimimaro flew into the air, Ryuu appearing behind him, grabbing him and hurling him skyward. As Kimimaro flew higher, the Ryuu that had thrown him exploded into smoke. Kimimaro looked up as a massive crow appeared from in front of the sun, four Ryuus leaping off of it. One was below the other three, spinning in a blur, two of the others holding the last by the feet. Kimimaro raised his hand, firing three of the bones from his fingertips as projectiles. Just as he did, three more Ryuus appeared in clouds of smoke, blocking the shots. At the same time, the spinning Ryuu yanked on chakra threads as hard as he could as the two Ryuus holding the last fired Gale Palms, sending the fourth Ryuu shooting at Kimimaro in a blurred streak. Kimimaro crossed his arms over his face, growing bone armor on them only for Ryuu's fists to both crash into Kimimaro's stomach, sending him blasting back into the ground, cratering it.
Then, Kimimaro stood, a barrage of fingertips shooting out of the dust and hitting all four Ryuus, all four exploding into smoke. Kimimaro looked around, seeing three Ryuus standing around him. One Ryuu had a Chidori in each hand, one was holding the bone sword Kimimaro had taken from him earlier, and one was barehanded.
"Well come on then," Kimimaro said.
All three charged, the one with the bone sword reaching him first. Kimimaro blocked several slashes before flipping over a Chidori. He flipped crashing down on the Ryuu with the sword, stabbing him in the head and making him explode into smoke. Then, he looked up just as the last Ryuu slammed a fist into his face. A deafening boom shot off at the impact, sending Kimimaro shooting backward. Kimimaro flipped, stabbing his sword into the ground to slow himself to a stop only for two Chidoris to drive themselves through his chest. Kimimaro coughed up blood, staggering forward. Then, he stopped, spinning and slashing that Ryuu as well, making him explode into smoke. He turned back to the last Ryuu as his Curse Mark spread, his bones growing to seal the wound, cutting of his bleeding to a bare minimum, though not entirely.
"Is that even possible?" Ryuu gaped. "What the hell are you?"
"A dying man," Kimimaro said. "A tool of Lord Orochimaru."
"Well, since you're dying anyway, I'll help you speed up the process," Ryuu said, sprinting forward.
As he reached Kimimaro, he threw a punch, Kimimaro leaning out of the way, seeing the seals that stretched across his knuckles now.
"Repulsion seals," Kimimaro mused. "Explains the power of that last punch."
He drilled his knee into Ryuu's gut after having stepped out of the way of a kick and Ryuu flew backward. Then, just as Ryuu landed, Kimimaro appeared over him, driving four bone swords down into each of Ryuu's limbs in the middle of his shins and forearms, Ryuu screaming in pain as he did. Kimimaro knelt, picking up the bone sword Ryuu had used earlier and raised it, tip downward.
"It looks like you still weren't fast enough," Kimimaro said. "Such a shame. I enjoyed having a challenge."
Just as Kimimaro stabbed downward, someone appeared over Ryuu, kicking the sword and redirecting it into Kimimaro's own abdomen before spinning, kicking Kimimaro and launching him away. Kimimaro flipped, landing on his feet and pulling the sword out, holding a hand to the wound.
"Who the hell are you?" Kimimaro demanded.
Ryuu stared up at the ninja, who wore a green body suit, orange legs warmers, and bandages on his forearms.
"Lee!" Ryuu gaped. "But how?"
"Lady Tsunade was able to restore me, though I had to sneak out of the hospital to come here," Lee said.
"I've never been so happy to see you in my life," Ryuu said. "Be careful, he uses his own bones to attack, including firing his fingertips as projectiles."
"Very well," Lee nodded. "Your opponent is me now."
Kimimaro nodded and Lee shot forward, not as fast as Ryuu remembered, but probably only because of having just snuck out of the hospital. As he reached Kimimaro, he jumped, spinning and throwing a kick at Kimimaro's head, only for Kimimaro to lean back out of the way. Then, as he landed, he swept at Kimimaro's legs, again missing. Kimimaro landed and stabbed at Lee, who batted it aside and punched at Kimimaro. Kimimaro stepped out of the way and push kicked Lee, launching him. Just then, Sai reached Ryuu, yanking the bone blades out of his limbs, Ryuu gritting his teeth and remaining silent. He sat up, beginning to heal himself, starting with his arms, then looked up as Lee pulled a bottle out of his ninja tool pouch, draining it. Then, suddenly, he was swaying and staggering from one side to the other, obviously drunk. Kimimaro watched him for several seconds before Lee shot forward, leaping and spinning, kicking at Kimimaro and managing to take a few hairs. Then, as he fell, he twisted, kicking at Kimimaro again only for Kimimaro to leap into the air. Lee landed on his hands and feet, leaping into the air and beginning to strike at Kimimaro rapidly, Kimimaro still managing to block or dodge all of the strikes, but definitely having a harder time of it than before.
Finally, Kimimaro blocked a kick with his foot, using Lee's leg to flip backward, landing a short distance from Lee. Lee landed as well only to tip backward and fall to the ground. Kimimaro stood there, watching Lee as Lee slept for several seconds before walking forward, stopping over him. He held his bone sword out only for Lee to sit up, grabbing the sword and slamming a blistering series of punches and kicks into Kimimaro, launching him backward. Then, he tipped over again, beginning to snore again. Kimimaro watched him from where he was sitting on the ground, Ryuu and Sai doing the same.
"What's wrong with him?" Sai asked.
"I think he's drunk," Ryuu said.
As Kimimaro walked over to Lee, Lee jumped up, punching at Kimimaro a couple times before stopping, swaying dangerously.
"Looks like you fell for it...again," Lee slurred. "If you honestly think...I would...fall asleep on the battlefield...you are sorely...mistaken...Hey, wait a minute...where am I? What am I...doing here?"
Then, he staggered backward before falling onto his ass, dragging his legs inward to cross them and crossing his arms before passing out. Kimimaro stabbed the sword into the ground, picking up the bottle Lee had dropped and sniffing it. Then, he dropped it again, picking up his sword again. He walked forward, nudging Lee with his foot and making him flop onto his back, still snoring. Ryuu grit his teeth as he moved on to his legs, working as quickly as he could. Kimimaro stabbed downward at Lee, only for Lee to roll onto his side. He pulled his sword back, staring at him, before stabbing at him again, this time Lee rolling back onto his back. Kimimaro tried again and Lee rolled to the other side. Kimimaro tried several more times and Lee continuously rolled out of the way before finally catching the blade between his feet, still fast asleep. Then, he spun, throwing Kimimaro away and regaining his feet, opening his eyes and looking around confusedly. Kimimaro spun, slashing at him rapidly only for Lee to dodge the strikes and block a few of them. Kimimaro began to grow irritated as he tried more and more to cut Lee to ribbons, only for Lee to continue to dodge, claiming to be trying to take a nap. Then, he slammed several strikes into Kimimaro, launching him backward.
"How is he doing this?" Sai asked.
"He's using Drunken Fist," Ryuu said. "Looks like he's a natural-born master of it."
Suddenly, Lee and Kimimaro began to attack each other rapidly. For a moment, neither managed to make contact, before Lee began to land several against Kimimaro, launching him backward before shooting after him, spinning like a drill. Kimimaro blocked it with his sword for a moment before Lee flipped backward, landing and sprinting forward again, the two beginning to trade blows again. Lee began to say something about being in the springtime of his youth and enjoying it, but as he did, he flipped onto his hands, kicking down at Kimimaro rapidly, Kimimaro blocking the strikes with his sword before slashing at Lee and missing, Lee flipping to his feet again and continuing his assault on the bone user. After a few moments, Lee managed to land a hit stronger than most, forcing Kimimaro to fly backward, dropping his bone sword. As Kimimaro landed, he grew four bones out of his left forearm around his hand, his curse mark spreading a few inches. Ryuu watched as Kimimaro shot forward, scooping his sword off of the ground and attacking Lee again. Lee avoided everything for a moment before bending forward. Bones suddenly sprouted from Kimimaro's chest, slicing a gash into Lee's cheek as he leapt away. After a moment, he sat up, holding a hand to his head as Ryuu was sure it throbbed painfully.
He pushed himself up, sprinting at Kimimaro and punching, only for Kimimaro to use the bones in his forearm to block the punch. Then, Lee leapt back only to charge again. This time, as he punched at Kimimaro, bones exploded out of his skin all over his body, stabbing into Lee's fist before he spun, Lee spinning opposite him as the bones carved into him. Finally, Kimimaro kicked Lee in the jaw, launching him away. Ryuu stood, picking up one of the bone blades that had been used to pin him down and charged at Kimimaro, appearing in front of Kimimaro as he moved to finish Lee. He slashed Kimimaro's arm aside and stabbed at him, forcing Kimimaro to leap away from him. Kimimaro's eyes narrowed as he watched Ryuu.
"I had thought you would be finished fighting," Kimimaro said. "You're rather resilient."
Ryuu smirked, sprinting at Kimimaro. However, it seemed Kimimaro had had enough of fighting. His curse mark spread over his entire body and he slashed Ryuu's blade aside. Ryuu flipped over Kimimaro instantly, drawing the tanto Sai had given him and exhaling a Vacuum Blade on it, slashing at Kimimaro as he fell. Kimimaro blocked the Vacuum Blade with his own sword, shoving it away and slashing at Ryuu. Ryuu ducked under Kimimaro's blade, forming a Water Blade in his free hand and standing, slashing upward at Kimimaro, only for him to suddenly be gone. Ryuu spun just as Kimimaro's foot crashed into his face. He flew through the air, flipping and setting his feet on the ground only for Kimimaro to appear less than an inch in front of him, moving to stab him with a spike growing out of his left hand. Instead, sand appeared between Ryuu's face and Kimimaro's hand, shooting outward in all directions and launching both away from each other.
Ryuu flipped, landing on his feet and looking back, seeing Gaara standing behind him, arms crossed and a blank expression on his face, as always. However, he had traded his old black outfit for a pair of red pants and jacket matching his hair color. Ryuu smiled, standing and cracking his neck.
"Gaara, I never thought I'd be happy to see you," Ryuu said. "Care to help me beat this guy's ass?"
Gaara nodded once. "My siblings and I were sent to reinforce you and the others."
"I'm glad you made it," Ryuu said. "So, I'll start."
Kimimaro retracted most of the spikes over his body, narrowing his eyes at the pair.
"You," Gaara said, looking back at Lee as Ryuu stopped to listen. "You seem different. When you fought me you had much more agility and power."
"I thought you might say something like that," Lee said. "I am not usually one to hold grudges...however, because of you, I've had a really rough time of it."
"I see," Gaara said. "I'm sorry."
Lee stared at Gaara like he had two heads and Ryuu smiled, sprinting forward. Kimimaro narrowed his eyes, throwing a punch only for Ryuu to spin past it, sand crashing into Kimimaro's gut and launching him backward. As Kimimaro flipped and landed on his feet, Ryuu appeared beside him, spinning.
"Leaf Hurricane!" Ryuu shouted, slamming his foot into Kimimaro's face and blasting him backward. As soon as Kimimaro landed, sand shot up around him, wrapping around him completely as Gaara held his hand out, eyes narrowed as Kimimaro fought to break free. Finally, the sand exploded off of him just as more exploded up from below, almost triple the amount. It swallowed Kimimaro instantly before Gaara closed his fist.
"Sand Burial," Gaara said.
The sand constricted, blood splattering out of it and Gaara lowered his hand.
"Well look at this guy," Gaara said. "He reminds me of him. Uchiha. Uchiha had the same eyes."
"He's not dead, is he?" Ryuu asked.
"Far from it," Gaara said.
Suddenly, a hand burst out of the sand, a hand with chunks of skin ground off and with black lines covering it from Kimimaro's curse mark, now spread over his entire body. Ryuu growled in annoyance as the sand exploded off of Kimimaro again, revealing massive patches of shredded skin and exposed bone. The bones keeping his stab wounds from Ryuu earlier had even been broken open, though the wound had already healed almost half way.
"Jesus," Ryuu said. "This fucking guy."
"Watch out Ryuu," Gaara said as sand exploded out of the ground at his feet. "Sand Tsunami!"
Ryuu used the Body Flicker Technique to get to Gaara and Lee again, watching the massive wave of sand reach fifty feet into the air before flooding outward, covering everything for a mile in sand, destroying the forest before them. Then, Gaara knelt, slamming his hands into the sand.
"Giant Sand Burial!" Gaara said, the ground shaking as waves shot out across the sand as it compressed.
Yet, Ryuu could still sense Kimimaro. He sighed, watching as the sand began to move in the distance.
"Why won't he give up?" Gaara breathed.
"What?" Lee gaped. "He is not dead yet?"
"No," Ryuu said. "He's still alive."
Suddenly, he was up, sprinting forward. Except, he was completely different. His skin was a dark brown, he had six massive bone spikes protruding out of his back, claws, black markings around his eyes with his forehead wrinkled heavily, and a tail with rectangular bone protrusions running down the center of it. Ryuu stared at him. Gaara caught him in a sand coffin but he instantly burst out of it, streaking forward. Gaara began to try to catch him again and again, but he avoided them. Except, Ryuu noticed a change. He could swear Kimimaro was moving slower than before. Then, Gaara formed a massive wall of sand three feet thick, only for Kimimaro to blast through it in an instant, ramming his shoulder into Gaara and launching him away.
As Gaara flew, Ryuu appeared beside Kimimaro, throwing a kick, which Kimimaro blocked, then dropping as Kimimaro's tail swiped at him. Then, he stood, slamming a fist into Kimimaro's completely healed torso, sending him blasting backward and tearing a trench in the ground. Ryuu grinned. He was definitely slower now. Kimimaro stood, growling.
"Okay, fine," Kimimaro snarled. "I'll take you down first!"
He shot forward, a bone spike growing out of his forearm and reaching past his hand. Ryuu flipped as it passed over him, knowing full well that Kimimaro's striking power had more than doubled, then flipped slamming a punch into Kimimaro's back, blasting him into the ground before flipping again and slamming a repulsion seal into his face, sending him bouncing backward over the ground and into a waiting wall of sand.
"Sand Bur-" Gaara was cut off by Kimimaro exploding out of the sand, swinging his spinal column like a whip.
Gaara's sand shot up around him as the bone whip wrapped around the outside of it. Then, Kimimaro's left arm grew bones rapidly until it had formed a drill. Ryuu leapt at him but he smashed the drill into him, batting him away. Suddenly sand shot up out of the ground, growing into a large, fat, raccoon-looking thing with a conical hat.
"Ultimate Defense, Shukaku's Shield!" Gaara said.
Kimimaro shot forward, driving the spear into the shield. For a moment, it began to fight its way through. But then, it shattered. Kimimaro growled in annoyance just before Ryuu slammed a kick into the side of his head, forcing him away from the shield, which he had barely made a crater in. Kimimaro staggered away from Ryuu, leaving the whip behind, and Ryuu flipped, kicking Kimimaro under the jaw, launching him skyward. Then, Ryuu jumped, Gaara launching him into the air with sand before more sand caught him above Kimimaro, launching him back down. Ryuu flipped at the last second, slamming both fists down on Kimimaro's chest in a double hammer fist, the repulsion seals on his fists sending Kimimaro blasting ino the ground and forming a crater. Then, the ground below him came alive, wrapping around him and dragging him downward into an antlion pit.
"I will bury you two hundred meters below the surface," Gaara said from the top of the pit. "Under pressure so great you won't be able to move a finger. And you will remain there until the end of time."
Then, Kimimaro was gone. A few seconds later, the sand stilled and Gaara sighed.
"You did it!" Lee cheered. "This time I am sure of it!"
Suddenly, Ryuu felt Kimimaro's chakra spike massively, spreading rapidly through the ground. Massive bone spikes began to erupt out of the ground, rapidly spreading from the pit. Ryuu leapt away from them, landing and instantly jumping again, a spike barely missing him as it grew. Then, as he landed again, he used the Body Flicker Technique to begin dodging the spikes, which seemed to have slowed down. Finally, he landed on the side of one as they finished growing, looking around and seeing Gaara, Sai, and Lee floating on sand a short distance away.
"Oh man," Ryuu said. "Even you can fly Gaara? What a load of crap! I wanna learn to fly!"
"I am not his pawn!" Kimimaro shouted, suddenly behind Gaara, a bone drill over his arm. "Orochimaru is the only one who ever gave my life meaning! But what could you ever understand about it!?"
He drove the drill at Gaara's head, but less than an inch away, he froze, blood running down his chin and falling to the ground below. Ryuu stared at him. He was dead. His disease had killed him. Ryuu slid down the bone spike, walking out of the forest of them and to where Gaara, Sai, and Lee were resting. Then, he fell onto his back and sighed.
"That was too close," Ryuu sighed. "We need to make sure the others are okay."
"What about Naruto and Sasuke?" Lee asked.
"Naruto will handle him, but if Sasuke wants to fight, none of us have the energy to help Naruto now," Ryuu said.
Lee sighed, nodding.
"I do," Sai spoke up. "I could make sure things go according to plan."
Ryuu watched him for a moment before shaking his head. "I have another task for you. Head back the other way now. Find Kiba and Shin. They're the ones that will need to be helped most."
Sai nodded, turning and sprinting back the way they had come from. Ryuu leaned up against the tree and sighed, letting his head fall forward. He needed to sleep. But he could only rest a few minutes before he had to go after Naruto and make sure Sasuke got away without anyone being hurt too bad.
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