A/N: I had a lot of new reviewers in the last chapter. You all have my profound thanks. I have to wonder where Dragon Noir went, though... perhaps he is on vacation?
Here's good news: I'm finally done with my summer class, and I'll have more time to write.
Bad news: In one month, my fall term starts and time will be dramatically reduced.
End result: You must kick me in the pants all throughout this month so that I remember to crank out chapters while I still can. I have a tendency to sit around a lot these summer days...
Chapter Eighteen: The Forgotten Castle
On the wide tree branch where she rested, Sakura could easily see the entrance to the Hyuuga complex even in the heavy dark of the clouded night. It was only two rooftops away, and she could leap across these and be there in moments should her charge decide to take a nighttime stroll. Granted, most Hyuuga tended to remain in their beds at night (for which Sakura was grateful) but this did not mean that she could relax her vigilance; she had to be ready to respond at an instant's notice.
She and Naruto, since the beginning of their assignment, had been camping in this tree during the nights, taking turns watching the gate. The theory was that while one of them slept, the other could be on the lookout and wake them if one of their charges emerged and have them take over.
There was, however, one flaw in the plan: it didn't work when there was no second person to watch for you while you slept. Sakura had been looking forward to the end of her watch, but now Neji had left and Naruto had not returned; not only was Hinata minus one bodyguard, but if the blond didn't hurry up, then he might not be suitable for any job for a long, long time.
The pink wanted badly to toss vigilance to the winds and go after him, but discipline—her curse be on it—kept that impulse in check. Therefore she waited, eyes drooping, fists clenched, and mind seething, for some sign of her doomed teammate's return.
Her patience paid off. Just as she had been on the verge of toppling the tree in frustration, she found herself facing not just one, but twelve orange-clad shinobi, all of them with happy grins on their faces. This appearance sent Sakura mixed signals; Naruto wouldn't create his Kage Bunshins for no reason, so either something strange was afoot or he had a plot in mind. The great smiles all around implied that something good had happened, or that Naruto was about to make something good happen. Knowing that she was going to be losing yet more sleep, Sakura repressed her tired sigh.
"What are you so happy about, Naruto?"
"Sakura," said the Naruto nearest to her, "They've found it!"
Suddenly the pink-haired girl was wide awake. "Found... what?"
He knelt on the tree limb grasped her shoulders, and smiled wider. "They've really found it this time—Keisuke and his group are going into the Sound's hiding place!"
Sakura's mouth went agape with disbelief. "What? Already? But they've only been looking two weeks, and there are so many hidden places..."
"Shikamaru thinks that this one is the main one," the Naruto said. "If he's right, and they find what they've been looking for, then the next step is full-scale attack! We'll root those bastards out for good, and then..."
Sakura had stopped listening. She could figure out for herself where his train of thought was going: Find the Sound, infiltrate their base, root them out, find Sasuke, beat him up (if necessary), and drag him someplace where he can be made to see the error of his ways...
"You're going in with them, aren't you?" she asked.
All of the Narutos nodded at her. "I'm leaving my bunshins here to watch for Hinata until I get back. They can do your job, too, if that's what you want."
Sakura had expected as much. "Does Kakashi-sensei know?"
"No," Naruto admitted. "This is only the scouting stage, to make sure that this is the real deal. I was going to have him come with the actual raiding party, save him for when he's really needed. You, though... I think you'd want to come along every step of the way, like I did."
This was more kindness and consideration than Sakura remembered seeing from the boy. Three years ago, he would have wanted to charge in without delay, taking no time to think about anything else. It was good to see that he was keeping all of his bases covered.
However, a strange feeling had stolen over her. She really did not think that Shikamaru's team would have been able to find their quarry so soon; Orochimaru, aside from being extremely crafty, had known this village's secrets inside and out in his day, so hiding one hundred or so shinobi should not have been difficult. Then there was the fact that it was not at all advisable to hide all of that force in the same region, lest that one region be discovered and compromise the whole mission at once. No, Sakura did not like the feeling she got from this news. It smacked of treachery.
"That's very considerate of you, Naruto," she said. "But I'm not so sure this is the real thing. There's no way that even Shikamaru and Neji should have found it so quickly. It might be some kind of trap, set by Orochimaru to mislead us. If it is, I don't want to spring it. That's always been your job."
The Naruto in front of her chuckled, remembering those glorious days from long ago when he'd blundered into every make and model of trap set in his path. It hadn't been funny at the time, of course, but the years tended to add humor to even the most life-threatening of experiences.
"Yeah," he said, "I guess it always has. You probably want to sleep, too, since I was out for so long. Sorry about that." His hand found the back of his head and began to scratch, and his smile turned apologetic.
"That's fine, Naruto," said Sakura. "Thanks for thinking about me. Go spring that trap and let me know if I'm wrong, okay?"
"Yup!" said the blond in front of her. "See ya!" His work finished, the bunshin puffed away into smoke, the memory of the conversation flying back to the jutsu's caster. The rest of the bunshins took up positions in the tree, watching the gate in place of the weary Sakura.
"Be careful, Naruto," she whispered to no one.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
"Well?" questioned Haruka. "What's the word? They're about to head down, you know." Her white eyes were fixated on the trio below them, who were pulling up a sewer grate. Her voice was tense with anticipation.
The memory of the dissipated clone reached the true Naruto, bringing a slightly sad expression to his face. "She's not coming."
"A pity," Haruka said, too absorbed in her pursuit to care much. "But it's a stealth advantage to us to have less people, so there's no real loss."
"Speaking of stealth," Naruto said, his sad look replaced with a serious one, "How are we going to follow them without being seen? Neji has the Byakugan like you do; if you can see them, they can see us."
"Neji will be in the front, looking more forward than back," Haruka said. "The only one I need to see is Keisuke, in the back. I follow him, I follow them all. If I can see Shikamaru, I'll know I'm getting too close to Neji, and I can back off a little, but even if I slip up and get Neji in sight range, then I'll have plenty of time to back off before he sees us, because his attention is in front of him."
Naruto frowned. "I don't know, nee-chan," he said. "What if Neji's Byakugan is stronger than yours?"
"Neji is not more perceptive than me." These words were almost a snarl, and Naruto felt compelled not to press the issue.
"Ehehe... if you say so." Almost as scary as Tsunade obaa-chan...
"They're through the grate," Haruka said. "Time to go."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
As it turned out, Haruka's statement was the truth; Neji was completely unaware of them. His attention was fixed in front of him and to his sides, trusting Keisuke to watch their six o'clock. They entered the sewers, sought out the hidden trap door that Shikamaru had found, and climbed through it into one of the darkest passageways that Neji had ever known. Even his own Byakugan could only see the outlines of the walls and the openings in them. For the first time, Neji was envious of one without a Byakugan; Keisuke was completely at home in this environment.
He did not have the luxury of thinking on it long, though. Years of discipline brought his thoughts back to the task at hand, the dangers that the team could face. If this was truly the central hub of the Sound ninjas' hiding place or was close to it, then they ran a high risk of encountering large numbers of enemies. Not only that, they might be made to face one of the most dangerous enemies the village had ever known, against which they would have little chance. The knowledge was very sobering.
And then, of course, one had to consider the possibility of finding Uchiha Sasuke. Neji had never known the young Uchiha well, and had little affinity for him even though scuttlebutt had it that their two clans were related. What he knew, he knew mostly through Sakura, and even she had spoken little of it in the past three years. Neji had few reasons to like him and many reasons to dislike him. But he had all the reason in the world to respect him; Uchiha Sasuke possessed one of the most powerful—and the most feared—Kekkai Genkai techniques known to Konoha, and had been trained by one of the world's most ruthless killers. Surely, his power had to be immense. Just how immense had yet to be seen, but Neji had no doubts in his mind that the Uchiha genius would be a handful if they ran into him.
He remained engrossed in these thoughts until the sudden rise in the effectiveness of his vision brought him up short in the passage.
"What's the matter, Neji?" asked Shikamaru. His whispered words echoed off of the stone walls, causing the whole party to grimace. Yet, when no hordes of Sound shinobi appeared to smite them down, Neji deemed it safe to reply.
"There will be a lit chamber ahead. There is a possibility that we are becoming closer to what we seek."
Shikamaru's nod was lost in the darkness. "Keisuke? Are you picking up anything?"
"Not yet, sir," said the blind man. "Light travels much faster than sound or vibration, and is easier to detect from great distance. Admittedly, my ears are better conditioned than most humans,' but if there's anything over there I'll need to be closer to hear it."
"How do you want to proceed, Shikamaru?" asked Neji.
A pause, then: "Keep to the right wall. Light footfalls, hand signal communication only once we reach better light. Er... is there any way we can communicate silently with you, Keisuke?"
"I can feel the motions of your hands. Tap me on the shoulder to get my attention, then signal away."
Shikamaru hadn't been around the blind man long enough to know how this was possible, but didn't want to question it. This was no time to dally, anyway. "All right, let's go."
As they neared the light that Neji spoke of, Shikamaru's vision began to improve as well. Soon, he could make out his comrades against the blackness.
Keisuke tapped him in the back. Shikamaru and Neji turned to look. I hear voices, he signed.
How many? Asked Shikamaru.
Closer, signed the blind man.
They kept going further, and soon Neji and Shikamaru were able to hear a jumble of conversation. Calling a halt and turning to Keisuke again, Shikamaru repeated his question.
Many many voices, came the reply. See anything?
Not yet. Light growing, Neji assured him.
Indeed, the passageway did brighten. Though it branched off in numerous places in maze-like fashion, Neji could always tell which way the light was coming from, and they did not lose themselves. Shikamaru made careful note of the way they had come, tucking it away for when the time came to return to the surface.
At last, they came to a bend in the passageway around which the light glowed very brightly. Neji nodded to Shikamaru; this was as close to the source as they would get without coming upon it. Keisuke took note of the nod.
Found it?
Yes, signed Neji.
I count thirty voices, signed Keisuke. These were as many as he had been able to distinguish, though his ears might have missed some in the confusion. Not to mention, there may have been more that had not spoken at all.
By now, both Neji and Shikamaru could hear the low jumble of hushed conversation readily, and they agreed with grim looks that Keisuke's estimate sounded pretty accurate.
You look. Stay in shadow, signed Shikamaru to Neji.
The order was obeyed without hesitation, though the young Hyuuga was loathe to believe that there could be so many hidden beneath the streets so near the Hyuuga compound. He crossed to the left wall and, hugging it to stay as well-hidden as he could, Neji peered out into the lit room.
He was astonished by what he beheld. Before him was a suspended stone walkway that spanned the length of the room to a doorway on the other end. On either side of the walkway, all down its length, was a sunken stone pit. Wooden ladders hung from the walkway at intervals, allowing access from it down into the pits. Above the walkway, embedded in the ceiling, was a brightly burning light fixture.
The apparatus cast blaring yellow light into the pits, which Neji could see had been made into comfortable living spaces, complete with pantries, small kitchens, doors that presumably led to toilets, and numerous chairs and couches. And within those chairs and couches...
Found them, Neji signed. His face was ashen.
How many? Asked Shikamaru.
Many.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Hyuuga Shinosuke, aide to Captain Hiroto, observed the intruders' approach from the safety of the control room. The use of the night-vision cameras, even with their greatly magnified range, had to be timed meticulously, for if they were not withdrawn into their pockets in the walls almost immediately after seeing the targets, Hyuuga Neji would walk into Byakugan range and see them. It was difficult work, but Shinosuke was attentive and managed to keep all of the cameras hidden from his clansman's sight. The last camera—the one suspended from the ceiling in the pit chamber—had been hidden away only a moment ago, after confirming their arrival there.
"Hiroto-sama," he said into the radio, "They have come, as you said they would."
"The blind one is with them?"
"Hai, Hiroto-sama. He trails behind, guarding their backs, as Neji-sempai looks forward."
"And the other two that you spoke of, the ones that follow them in the shadows?"
"They hide one corridor behind, just beyond the first group's sight."
A pause on the other end, and then the order came through.
"Proceed as we planned," said Hiroto. "Full facility lockdown, and trap the false Great Father separate from the other two. We will let the two followers alone—they can do little harm or good once the lockdown is in place."
"Hai, Hiroto-sama." The raido clicked off.
Shinosuke was loathe to orchestrate this mission. So many human beings had been brought to life through their hands in the last few days. Now, each and every one of them would die, and in the process fool the whole village into thinking that they had vanquished a great enemy. The council may have believed that there was no threat from Orochimaru, but Shinosuke believed that it was foolish to assume so; for all they knew, the Sound might be hiding in much greater numbers than even the Hyuuga had thought to portray. If they were wrong, Konoha might be wiped off the face of the world.
And for what? Just so the council could rest more easily about a blind man and teenage hormones? Shinosuke did not like this at all, and if he had had any say, he would not be here.
Yet, orders were orders, and under Hiroto, defiance of orders was as good as a death sentence. Therefore, Shinosuke did not question them.
He reactivated one of the hidden cameras to sneak a quick glance at the forward group's back. Thankfully, Neji was still focused forward, and the camera was out of reach of Keisuke's feelers. Seeing that the blind man stood a comfortable distance away from his fellows, Shinosuke waited until Shikamaru came forward to confirm Neji's sighting, then put the plan into action.
Sliding open an old hidden panel and yanking on an old handle, he initiated the fortress's antique defense mechanism. Then, picking up the intercom that the Hyuuga had installed for just this occasion, Shinosuke altered his voice, delivering the proclamation of a doom that would not come to pass.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
As soon as the shadow user laid eyes upon the fifty or so Sound ninja that rested in the pits below, a loud clunking noise was heard. Too shocked by what he was looking at to react quickly, Shikamaru was caught off guard.
Neji, however, was not. He noticed the heavy panels in the walls falling into the floor, saw the death that waited behind. Keisuke groped around with his feelers, trying to figure out where the wall had gone, but he did not perceive the punji trap as quickly as Neji's Byakugan could. Diving back into the passage, Neji shoved the blind man out of harm's way just as the sharp rods slammed closed. Though Neji and Keisuke were separated from Shikamaru, they were unharmed.
A voice emanated from the walls. It was deep and resonant, and it carried the weight of a dirge, if not the melody.
"Welcome, Konoha shinobi," it said. "It is very pleasant to have you here, after waiting so long. We were beginning to grow bored waiting for our master's order."
Shikamaru had recovered his wits, and was now testing the bars that blocked the passage behind him. He could see Keisuke and Neji on the other side, but he could not budge the trap.
"That won't work, I'm afraid," came the voice again. "We are in the ruins of the old Daimyo's castle, in the dungeon level. Did you know that the Daimyo of the Fire Country once resided here? It was some time before Konoha was built... perhaps the Great Father remembers? Ah, but I digress. This ancient prison below the castle was equipped with a very durable emergency lock, which now blocks your way. The prison pits below you, which now serve us as our home away from home, as well as the first sections of corridor leading out from them, could be sealed off by these multi-layer locks in case the guards were ever overpowered by their prisoners. As you can see, it is quite strong, for it was designed to hold even shinobi prisoners."
Below Shikamaru, hooting calls and dangerous leers rose up from the pits. Already, the first of them had begun to climb up the ladders on either side of the walkway. The shadow user, cursing himself for becoming separated from his team, backed against the trap's bars and prepared to fight them off alone.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Shinosuke put down the intercom and looked at his monitor again. He was unnerved to find that he had captured two of them in the corridor rather than just Keisuke. This was not good for the plan; Neji's taijutsu and Shikamaru's mid-range support techniques would have held the narrow walkway much easier than Shikamaru alone. Though the cloned Sound-nin had had advanced combat training implanted in their minds, they'd had no actual combat experience, and could not think as creatively as the genuine articles. They would be significantly weaker than the Jounin intruders. However, they had a fifty-to-one advantage rather than the twenty-five-to-one that Shinosuke had sought to create. Shikamaru might be overwhelmed, his team defeated, which was not according to plan; Konoha was supposed to win this encounter.
To top it off, Keisuke would have help, which didn't fit Hiroto's designs at all. The plan called for Keisuke to be overwhelmed and captured, though for what purpose Shinosuke hadn't the slightest idea. Perhaps Hiroto had found out about his failure to stay hidden while spying on the blind man and had decided to simply study the Rokujuuyon Reiude in captivity?
He couldn't do anything about it now, though; making sure Konoha won was top priority. Thinking frantically, Shinosuke looked for a way in which he might aid the shadow user. Checking his monitors, he found one within a few moments, and let out the breath he'd been holding. He picked up the radio, changed the frequency to the one used by the cloned Sound ninjas.
"Send a single squadron to attack the two stragglers outside cell four. Use the overhead tunnels."
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Naruto tried in vain to dislodge the heavy trap bars. His big blind brother was trapped within the sealed passage, with only Neji to help him. Panels had opened in the ceiling above them, and Sound guards were dropping in to subdue them, as the Daimyo's guards had once trapped and ambushed prisoners in the past. Beyond that, Shikamaru was trapped alone in a cell with fifty enemy ninja.
The blond tried everything he could think of to break through the bars, with the exception of the Rasengan. He held back on that technique for fear of metal shards flying off and impaling Haruka, who stood watching, stony-faced, behind him.
"That's all you can do, Naruto," she said. "I want to help out, too, but those bars are as solid as you'll ever see in this life. We'll have to find a way around."
"That will take too long!" Naruto said. "It'll be over by the time we break through."
"Maybe not. There might be hidden access panels here, that the guards would have used to go through when the defense mechanism was triggered." She activated her Byakugan and began looking for them.
Naruto's Ghostly Arms flared out from his tenketsus, began searching every nook and cranny of the stone walls. "If there are any, I'll find them for sure. Hang on, Keisuke..."
What they sought, however, was not within the walls. A panel opened up in the ceiling.
"Naruto, above us!" alerted Haruka.
Naruto looked up in time to stop the descending enemy's kunai from spiking into his head. Yanking his assailant down, he threw his foot up hard to meet him. The downward momentum of the Sound ninja, coupled with the hard upward thrust of the foot, was not healthy for the ninja, who fell to the floor gagging and did not get up.
Haruka's eyes crackled with the intensity of battle. The next two that came from the opening above fell at once to her sweeping, relentless strikes. Killing one of them with a swift Jyuuken strike to the heart, she flung his body in the path of his comrade, who tripped over it and was felled by Haruka's crushing elbow in his back, pinning him to the floor and fracturing his spine.
The fourth Sound shinobi made the mistake of believing Naruto to be less dangerous than Haruka. He moved swiftly to kill the latter, who had her back turned as she killed his fellows, and was dispatched to the void by the Rasengan, courtesy of the former.
When all four lay dead or unconscious at their feet, Naruto and Haruka looked upward, upon the hatch from which the assailants had come. It had closed up after the last man had come through. It was now indistinguishable from the ceiling stone that surrounded it.
"There's our ticket inside," Haruka said.
"So how do we get it open again?" asked Naruto.
At that moment, the clash of steel and the grunts of men striving to kill one another came from the opposite side of the trap. Among them were the startled shouts of Keisuke and Neji. Apparently, the hidden guard's passage in the ceiling had openings into the sealed corridor, as well.
Haruka looked at Naruto. "I think we may just have to go with the standard Uzumaki Naruto style on this one."
"Quick and dirty," acknowledged the blond. He started the chakra swirling in his right palm.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
There was only one hatch in the overhead tunnel that opened to the outside passageway—after all, who wants to provide more than one way for a prisoner who found the tunnel to escape? However, there were plenty of hatches that opened into the sealed corridor where the escapees were trapped. This allowed the guards to make ambushes from above much larger and more effective.
It worked comparably well for the cloned Sound ninja. Neji and Keisuke soon found themselves surrounded, not by the puny four that had found Naruto and Haruka, but a good thirty-two. All of them had dropped out of immediate range of Neji and Keisuke's counterattacks, and thus they had had time to get organized. Unlike Shikamaru, these two did not have the advantage of only needing to defend a narrow walkway; their opponents had a wide passage in which to maneuver and many angles from which to strike.
"We are disadvantaged," said Neji.
"Tell me something I don't know," mumbled Keisuke.
"Can you detect any escape route, Keisuke-san?"
"No."
"Can you make an escape route?"
"Not without causing us both severe injury, I'm sorry to say."
"Then we must fight."
"Yep."
Neji stood poised in his Jyuuken stance, on guard against the menacing horde. The enemies growled and jeered and drew flashy, jagged blades and heavy clubs. They advanced slowly, step by step, savoring their superior position and reveling in the upcoming kill.
The Hyuuga prodigy frowned at the sight. "Barbarians," he thought aloud. "You may have to use your Sanjuuni Reiude, Keisuke-san. It will cripple you in the end, but we will be alive."
Keisuke grinned. "There's no need to cripple myself over this, Neji. A mob like this is dealt with much more easily with two than one. Especially," he said, snaking his Ghostly Arms toward Neji, "When one is Hyuuga and one possesses the Reiude."
With his nearly three-hundred and sixty degree vision, Neji watched the thin tendrils press into his arms, legs, head, and back. They seemed balked at something, struggling to work past his skin.
"Relax your tenketsus," Keisuke ordered. "Allow them passage."
It seemed odd to Neji that he would ask something like this, and he wondered what the blind man had in mind. Yet, as soon as he complied, Neji forgot that oddity. After the initial tingle of the Reiude sinking through his flesh, the young Hyuuga Jounin was introduced to an entirely new and wider world.
"What...?" he gasped, dazzled at the new sensory input he was receiving.
"Synchronization," Keisuke explained. "Our senses and our chakra are pooled together. Don't be so enthralled with it that you forget our enemies, there, Neji."
Indeed, Neji had almost lost himself in the sudden strangeness of having two sets of ears, two noses, two skins, and a set of long feelers. Keisuke's warning snapped him back to the present, where the mob of enemies regarded them strangely, wondering what the hell the Hyuuga boy was doing just standing there spacing out.
Neji flowed back into his stance, his face returning to its serious state. He still marveled at the new sensations, but he had adjusted to it now. He would be able to fight, and undoubtedly with very heightened efficiency.
"Hai, Keisuke-san. Let us defeat them quickly," he said.
"My thoughts precisely," returned Keisuke. "Now that I have your eyes, this will be much easier."
Sixteen Ghostly Arms wrapped themselves into Keisuke's skin, forming the cryptic sign of conflagration. Fire sprouted immediately, filling the dimly-lit corridor with flickering firelight.
"Come," said Keisuke, his voice low and promising doom.
A few enemies were balked, but several brave shinobi charged forward. They met their end in searing pain as the Reiude trap seal exploded in their faces, the flame dazzling those who had stayed behind. Twenty-six enemies remained alive.
From behind the flames sprang six Keisukes, lunging into the fray like fiery hell-spawn, swinging burning arms and legs into their foes. Enraged, the enemies concentrated all of their might upon these six demons, forgetting entirely the other player in the game.
With the Sound ninjas distracted by Keisuke and his bunshins, Neji darted across the board, taking pieces silently and unimpeded. The enemies never saw the Hyuuga death dealer until their last moment, as Neji drove his Jyuuken—powered with both his own blue chakra and Keisuke's sickly blue-yellow—into their unsuspecting innards.
Despite Hiroto's well-laid plans, the "false Great Father" would not be captured just yet.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Observing from the hatches above, Haruka fumed. She saw the melee below, saw the enemy shinobi drawn to the Keisukes like moths to flames, saw them fall victim to the slapping, stinging death that was Neji. It was a grand and magnificent show, as well as brutal and deadly.
Haruka had seen it done many, many times before. Yet she had always, always viewed it from the perspective of the silent, stinging death, taking part in the symphony of glory rather than being a spectator. The fact that she was not a part of it now, that her part was being played by another, was a slap in the face. It made her blood boil, her fists tremble.
"So," she said through clenched teeth, "It's the truth, then. I've been replaced..."
"Haruka nee-chan!" Naruto's urgent plea came back through the tunnel, "We gotta get moving! Keisuke nii-chan and Neji can handle themselves down there. Shikamaru needs us now!"
Haruka knew this, but she was reluctant to move. She stayed where she was, looking down upon the synchronized combatants below and seething.
"Come on!" insisted Naruto. He reached back and gave her silk shirt a light tug forward.
Complying at last, Haruka went after him. Keisuke would come later; right now, the mission needed to be saved.
The two of them dropped down at the last hatch, Naruto nearly falling onto Shikamaru. It was well that the "almost" was present in this statement, for if it had not, Shikamaru was tired enough to not get back up. The shadow user had been using everything that he had to fend off the enemy. Thus far, he'd succeeded in killing twelve of the fifty, but the enemies that merely fell off the walkway (and these were many, as the walkway was very narrow and a single good push could send them toppling) just dusted themselves off and came around for another try. Thus, when Naruto had picked himself up and Haruka had landed with somewhat less of her usual grace, Shikamaru was glad to—once again—be in the company of a Hyuuga and a Reiude user.
Haruka took over the front at once, wielding her fresh power against the diminished hordes. Her "Sadist's Glow," to those who recognized it, seemed to be more palpable than ever today as she felled the Sound before her. The enemies who came at her were cut down as wheat against a sickle.
"Didn't you have your own assignment, Naruto?" panted the exhausted Shikamaru.
"It's being taken care of, don't worry," Naruto replied. "My bunshins would let me know if something happened. More important, how the heck did you get into this mess?"
Shikamaru would have frowned in annoyance if he wasn't gasping for breath. "Idiot... they obviously had some kind of surveillance system. How Neji didn't see it, I don't know, but that isn't important..."
"No, it's not," Naruto agreed. "What's important is getting the hell out of here before the real trouble shows up..."
"I think the real trouble is already here," said Shikamaru, gesturing below. The doors that they had thought led to restrooms were belching forth more Sound ninja. For every enemy that either Shikamaru or Haruka had felled, two more came forth to replace him. "It looks like these cells are all interconnected. There could be as many as ten more, all with about fifty men inside. Orochimaru wasn't planning any quiet assassination or theft... this is a full-scale raiding party."
"And we're in the middle of it!" Haruka yelled, toppling another foe with a chakra-enhanced leg sweep.
"Well, let's not just sit here and wait to be wiped out," Naruto said. "Come on! We'll go back through the tunnels in the ceiling..."
"We can't retreat that way," Shikamaru said. "I expect they'll have that corridor behind us packed with guards by the time we get over there. Besides, we don't have any cover to protect us from ranged attacks while we climb up the hole."
"Well, what are we supposed to do, then?"
Shikamaru closed his eyes and thought. Screams of the dying filled the air as his mind clicked away. After a few moments that seemed an endless eternity, he spoke again.
"Naruto, take over for Haruka. I need her eyes," he said.
Naruto nodded. "You got it." His Tomoshibi no Kyuubi shimmered into blue life at his back.
Haruka had also heard the order, and sent a final enemy to his grave before allowing Naruto to step in. Then she stood before Shikamaru, awaiting the next command.
"Use your Byakugan and look behind the walls," Shikamaru said. "They wouldn't have this trap mechanism here without also having a way to reset it. The switch to open the trap gates is probably hidden nearby."
"I got it," Haruka said. She turned her eyes to the stone.
A few moments were spent in Haruka's searching, Naruto's whirlwind defense, and the minor explosions that were heard from the sealed corridor behind them. Finally, Haruka's eyes widened. She had made a discovery.
"There is one," she said, "But not in the walls. It's in the floor."
"Where?" Shikamaru asked, eager to release the trap and be on his way home.
Haruka gestured to the middle of the walkway. "A trapdoor in the center. A wheel beneath."
"So we need to get over there and crank the wheel," Shikamaru said. Easier said than done. The tide of enemies was relentless, and Naruto was expending huge amounts of energy to hold it back. They would have to go past and hold position beyond the first set of ladders.
"Well," he said, rising back to his feet, "There's no time to spare. Haruka, make a path for us. Naruto, hold them off of our back. I'll support from the middle. We'll crank those gates open, grab Keisuke and Neji, and make for the exit together."
"All right."
"Let's go!"
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Four of the six Keisukes had been blown into smoke. Twenty-three Sound had fallen to the flaming might of Keisuke and Neji's strike-and-fade tactics. Thirteen enemies remained. Keisuke was running low on chakra and had to borrow from Neji to keep going; dividing into six and then supporting his flame seal for a prolonged period had drained him, for he was not the chakra freak that his little brother was.
Thankfully, it was almost over. The enemy had been reduced to a small enough number to execute the deathblow that was the end of this strategy. Keisuke pushed his clone through to the end of the sealed passage. His true body withdrew, going to stand at the other end. He motioned for Neji to follow him.
The thirteen enemies stood, panting and gasping and growling, in the middle, eying both ends of the tunnel. They spotted the Hyuuga Jounin who had been the death of so many of their comrades, and glowered.
"What a bunch of pushovers," gloated the true Keisuke. "Look, Neji... the brainless brutes standing over there between me and you like they can't tell who it is that's been doing all the killing."
Catching onto Keisuke's ploy, Neji smiled and said, "Indeed. Their stupidity alone must have killed half of them before we even got here, Keisuke-san. I'll have to bathe for a week before their contagious idiocy washes off of my hands."
That tore it. The enemy rushed as one for Neji, howling and gnashing. Keisuke stepped back, getting out of the way. Drawing on the combined pool of chakra, Neji poured power into his palm, releasing it in a single wave at the enemy.
"Hakke Kusho!"
The raw chakra surged forth, bowling the enemies over and backward towards the lone Keisuke bunshin who stood alone at the other end. The true Keisuke ran his hands through a series of seals, ending in the sign of flames.
"Bunshin Bakudan no Jutsu!" (Clone Explosion Technique)
The shockwave rocked the whole passage, blowing chips of stone and steel in all directions. Neji was forced to use the Hakke Shou Kaiten to deflect the deadly barrage. Keisuke, who felt yet more of their combined chakra pool deplete, vowed never again to use that jutsu indoors.
When the dust cleared, the metal bars that sealed the passageway off from the cell had been blown away. Keisuke smiled, and was about to congratulate Neji on a job well done... until he realized that the rumbling had not ceased.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO
Fighting their way through the never-ending swarm of enemies proved to be challenging, painful, and exhausting, yet they managed to do it. Haruka stood before the open trapdoor in the center of the walkway, Naruto and Shikamaru balanced precariously behind her, guarding her back. The enemy had guessed at their strategy and begun coming up the second pair of ladders in front of her, but their progress was slow, and Haruka had plenty of time to crank the wheel.
She knelt on the stone and heaved once, twice, and a third time before the rusted mechanism turned. Muscles bursting with the strain, Haruka ground it the rest of the way around and fought to come back to her feet; she still had to fight her way back across to Keisuke.
As she rose, a huge explosion rocked the cell, and a strangled cry came from Naruto's throat that soon turned into a cheer of triumph. Looking over her shoulder, Haruka saw that the gate had burst open.
"That did it!" she exclaimed. "It's open!"
"Not quite," replied Shikamaru, "Look at the one on the other side!"
Turning to face front and delivering a Jyuuken to the first of the next wave of attackers, she looked to the far end of the walkway. She gasped as she saw that that gate was still in place.
"I don't think that the switch we just threw was the release for the trap!" yelled Shikamaru over the noise.
Then what was it? Haruka thought.
As they fought back toward the exploded gate and Keisuke and Neji emerged, the answer came trickling out in their wake. Water ran across the floor and into the pit behind the two, slowly at first, and then in a river, then a torrent.
"You just activated the Daimyo's old mass execution chamber!" yelled Keisuke. "When the prisons filled up, the prison guards purged them by drowning all of the prisoners!"
"Oh, that's wonderful," said Haruka. "First I'm replaced, and now I'm going to drown..."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru remarked. "How high does the water rise?"
"Well past the top of the pits. We'd best be finding higher ground, and soon," said Keisuke.
"I don't think there is any we can go to, Keisuke nii-chan! Both of the gates are giant waterfalls!" yelled Naruto.
By now, the Sound clones had figured out what was happening and had abandoned the fight, run screaming down their tunnels searching for their own exit.
"We'll have to make higher ground, then," said Keisuke. "Hitoshirezu Shintou!"
Keisuke began hurling shuriken at the left wall. They struck the stone and detonated, Keisuke's blue-yellow chakra ripping a hole into it. Shikamaru and Neji caught on and tied explosive tags onto kunai, and flung those at the wall as well. Soon the hole had become a cavern. When it was too deep to be widened from the walkway, Neji leaped into it, followed by Shikamaru and then Keisuke. Neji and Shikamaru continued to dig with their kunai, while Keisuke, suffering from chakra depletion, sank down to rest at the hole's edge.
The pits had nearly filled with water. Haruka leaped from the walkway, aiming for the man-made cavern. But the walkway had become slippery, and Haruka came up short. She would have fallen into the pits, but Keisuke reached over the side and grabbed hold of her arm.
"Easy does it, Sadist," said Keisuke, flashing his triumphant grin.
"Let go, you damned blind fool!" Haruka snarled. "I can take care of myself." She struggled to break free of his grasp, and the contents of her pockets began to escape, falling towards the watery grave below.
Keisuke wondered what had caused Haruka to act so vehemently. "Come on, Haruka," he said, taking the joke out of his voice, "Let me help you up..."
"No!" She twisted, broke his hold, and began falling again. Keisuke thought she was suicidal until he felt her adhere to the wall with her chakra and begin climbing on her own.
"What the hell has gotten into you?" he asked as she pulled herself into the cavern.
"Nothing!" she snapped. "What's gotten into you, besides your new partner?"
"What?"
"Hey, Keisuke," said Shikamaru. "If you aren't terribly busy, do you think you can help us dig some more? This tunnel is not going to be comfortable at this size with so many people crowded in."
"Huh? Oh... Hai, give me one moment." Keisuke looked back at Haruka, but she was determinedly looking anywhere but at him. The "Sadist's Glow" had mutated in her to something dark and ugly, and it made Keisuke want to leave her be. He sat against the wall of the cavern wondering what in the world had happened, until finally he became aware of the last member of their group, standing stock-still on the wet walkway.
"Hey, Naruto!" Keisuke called, "Come up here! We'll need your chakra and your Rasengan to dig our way to a dry passage.
Naruto looked up from the photograph that he'd been holding, one that had fallen from Haruka's pockets. He appeared dazed for a moment, but then he shook it off and nodded his head.
"Yeah, nii-chan, I'm coming."
OoOoOoOoOoOo End Chapter Eighteen oOoOoOoOoOoO