Chapter 31: Into Battle
Four blurred figures moved across the land at a hurried pace. Silence sat between them as they ran. Keeping their focus on locating the dying Kage before it was too late. Although they could reanimate them if one was to perish before they arrived. With the war going on, there were plenty of corpses littered on the ground to use. Hibiki couldn't help but think of how Orochimaru would get a kick out of resurrecting Tsunade and might let her die just so that he could do it. But time was scarce and Hibiki knew Orochimaru wouldn't waste what little of it they did have.
Hibiki ran alongside the other three, Her Left eye opened and focused displaying the world to her. That man and Haruto's memories of running flooded her mind. She used the memories to keep her movements fluid. Using just enough chakra to propel herself forward. With her attention so split she would often get close to slipping into the old ghostly images, and into another life. But she turned her attention to Suigetsu every time she felt herself drifting, bringing her back to her current life. Every time she looked at Suigetsu who ran closely next to her, She couldn't help but smile proudly to herself. How long has she wanted to do this? To be apart of the team and not just a tool for it. How much she loved running beside Suigetsu, an equal. His hair had gotten longer, the wind blew it away from his face. A cruel smile spread across his lips, the smell of blood and death strong in the air. A soft blush touched Hibiki's cheeks.
"Damn it! Why did we branch off from Sasuke? This wasn't the deal!" Karin complained as she ran on Hibiki's other side dragging Hibiki from her thoughts… Karin continued to mumble harshly to herself. Her cheeks turning red as her hair from anger and the cold stinging wind. As much as Hibiki was against it, Karin was vital to healing the kage.
"I thought you were still pissed at him," Hibiki said playfully.
"I am!" she yelled back before mumbling harder. Hibiki laughed.
"There they are," Orochimaru called, the group landed nearby and looked over to where many slugs slurped around.
"Look at the sorry state you're in, Tsunade." Orochimaru shook his head. In the place where the usually youthful Fifth was supposed to be, was a wrinkled old woman who barely clung to life.
"Gross A gigantic slug. How much salt would you need to take it down?" Suigetsu faked a gag as he asked aloud.
"A lot probably," Hibiki answered. Although she was never one to actively harm innocent creatures without reason, the idea of slugs reactions to salt was interesting. Although she would not normally be able to witness the aftermath.
"That's just one part of Katsuyu that was summoned from Shikkotsu Woods. I'd say it's pretty small." Orochimaru examined the scene speaking aloud mostly to himself. This was one trait Hibiki hated particularly about Orochimaru. She never really minded people speaking aloud to themselves, she often did it herself, but something in the way Orochimaru spoke to himself was ... haunting.
"You don't say." Suigetsu said, thinking of how big it could get.
"I thought we were here for the Five Kage, not the slugs. Lord Orochimaru, stop paying attention to Suigetsu and get to the task at hand." Karin snapped wanting to finish her job as quickly as possible.
"Are you that upset because you couldn't stay with Sasuke?" Suigetsu teased.
"That's not the case! Let's just do this. Damn you, Suigetsu!" Karin yelled at him, her fist raised.
"Why are you picking on me? Doesn't everyone who sees a slug want to sprinkle salt on it?" Suigetsu defended himself.
"Usually no, we're just sadistic Suigetsu." Hibiki smiled, Suigetsu snickered a little.
"Tsunade first! Let's go." Orochimaru ordered as he emerged from his dialogue, leading them down to where the Hokage was bleeding out.
"Lady Tsunade! Wait, was the Hokage always a granny?" Karin grimaced. The elder lady did not look particularly well. Her skin was loose but she was also very bony, her collarbone and ribs sticking out excessively.
"Ugh, It's not like she had a long torso either, right?" Suigetsu squatted looking at the few feet that separated the top half and the bottom half of the women. He stuck his tongue out in disgust.
"She's been cut in half, Looks like something you would do huh Suigetsu?" Hibiki nudged him.
"Yeah, but I don't stand around and gawk at their bodies, besides my victims die, she's still breathing." he shivered.
"It seems you were reckless, Tsunade," Orochimaru commented, speaking mostly to himself again.
"Orochimaru?" A larger slug asked, turning its attention from the dying women to them. She instantly puffed out her cheeks like she was going to spit at them.
"Katsuyu I came here to aid the Five Kage. I'm not an enemy." Orochimaru held his hands up. Pulling a 'sincere' face.
"I have no reason to believe you. Besides, you were dead!" She argued, Still defensive. And Hibiki didn't blame her. She wouldn't trust Orochimaru either.
"If I do anything that strikes you as suspicious, you're welcome to kill me once and for all with your acid." Orochimaru bargained. The slug thought for a few moments considering the few options she had. Although Orochimaru probably still had some tricks up his sleeve, so that even if he was killed, he wouldn't be dead.
"All right. I'll believe you." she gave in resentfully.
"You're quite sensible, unlike Manda." Orochimaru sighed.
"You know Manda died right?" Hibiki asked. The two looked at one another, and for a moment Orochimaru had a shadow of sadness in his eyes.
"Yes I know." he paused. "Now then First of all, where are the other Kage?" he turned back to the slug.
"They're recovering inside my fragments. They sustained serious injuries, and it's very.."
"But Katsuyu With you here, why is it taking so long for them to heal?" Orochimaru interrupted.
"I can only use my power in response to the strength of Lady Tsunade's 100 Healings. But Lady Tsunade is extremely weak right now, so I'm not able to activate my strength fully," she explained.
"Is that how the system worked?" he wondered. "Anyway, for as long as I've known her, I've never seen Tsunade so weak. So it must be true." Orochimaru shook his head at the fallen women.
"I am trying to persevere and focus on healing, despite the Summoning starting to unravel. That's why I haven't been able to properly reattach her body." she continued.
"Suigetsu, bring Tsunade's lower half and join it to her upper half," Orochimaru ordered.
"Huh?! I'm better at cutting things up," he complained. But with a look from Orochimaru, he complied. Using his liquified body to suspend her lower half and safely bring the two pieces together. "Ugh, The slugs are all slimy and wriggly. Gross!" he shivered.
"It always a surprise what you find gross." Hibiki sighed, going to Tsunade's head, lifting it into her lap, the women coughed, Hibiki wiped the blood from her face.
"Well, so are you, Suigetsu! You're grosser and weirder because you have a human form!" Karin argued. Her bad mood only got worse, so any excuse to yell and belittle Suigetsu was taken.
"Karin , Let her bite you so that she can heal," Orochimaru ordered trying to make them focus.
"What? I don't want anyone but Sasuke biting me" she refused.
"Hah! You just admitted you're in love with Sasuke!" Suigetsu laughed.
"You're wrong! How could I hate, I mean, like that damn Sasuke? He tried to kill me And it was irresistible" she contradicted herself.
"No, it wasn't! You were covered in bite marks long before Sasuke bite you!" Suigetsu argued.
"Shut up! Right now, I'm exclusively for Sasuke" she argued back.
"Don't be so defiant, you denture mold model. Besides, how does your body work anyway? You're the weird one." he yelled.
"What? Say that again!" Karin snapped. The two get into each other's face, anger radiating between them.
"You two Make it snappy. You're both weird. So stop fighting. Or else I'll have my snakes ties you up and crawl into your mouth and possess you." Orochimaru demanded, his long tongue hanging down making his threats more powerful. Orochimaru was the weirdest of the lot.
Suigetsu carefully fixed the two halves, leaving only a small seam around her torso. Karin pulled up her sleeve, Hibiki helped the kage bite down onto her. She looked up to Karin, who looked back. They smiled softly at each other. Hibiki was going to do something nice for her once this was all finished.
"She's taking so much, I might end up aging into a hag," Karin complained as she restored her youth and healed her body. And With the slugs aid, her two halves connected again. Suigetsu backed off now that his assistance was no longer needed.
"Lady Tsunade, you're going to be alright!" the slug happily exclaimed.
"Tsunade, be a little grateful to me." Orochimaru smugly told her. She groaned a little as she touched her torso.
"You betrayed the village, So why all of this now?" Tsunade asked as Hibiki helped her sit up.
"The range of things that interest me has expanded. In the past, I wanted to become the wind and turn the windmill myself. But now, I know the pleasure of waiting around for someone else's wind." He cryptically smiled. "One that is unpredictable. And I don't want that wind to get sealed away before I can enjoy it."
"You still don't make any sense. But I suppose you've changed a little. I never imagined you would save me." Tsunade sighed as Hibiki helped stand her up. She was still a little off balance and Hibiki couldn't blame her.
"Even that is possible. Do you remember? The Three-Way Deadlock from that time?" Orochimaru asked. Tsunade had a thoughtful look and the two shared a state of reminiscing.
"People can change. Or they die before they do. It's one or the other." Orochimaru told her.
"Although he died without changing. He probably trusted you until the very end." Tsunade smiled sadly. "Orochimaru If you were like this sooner, Jiraiya might not have had to die."
"And if I had Jiraiya might have changed too." he sighed. "Like how it was for us, the Legendary Sannin, things don't always go the way you want them to. We're not made of stone. Distortions will appear somewhere. Perhaps that's why I want to observe Sasuke's future." Orochimaru said. "While patiently waiting for his wind to blow."
"Fine. I thank you for helping me heal" Tsunade gave in. She gained her balance and Hibiki backed away joining Suigetsu, their hands clasping.
"So do you know about the war?" She asked.
"Of course. That's why I'm helping you out like this." Orochimaru shrugged.
"How long have I been like this?" Tsunade wondered, looking into the distance where the battle waged on.
"I can report on the battle situation." the slug said.
"How did you end up on the front?" Tsunade wondered before realization snapped onto her face. "Oh! I see Sakura must have summoned Katsuyu!" Tsunade proudly realized.
"Around now, a new Three-Way Deadlock is probably making their debut," Orochimaru said.
"What?" Tsunade asked.
"Well, we're heading back. You should work on healing the other Kage." Orochimaru ignored her. "Hibiki what are the current coordinates of Sasuke and the others, Give me whatever information that you can."
Hibiki closed her eyes and furrowed her brows, she found the fuzziest location and relayed the coordinates. "It's the third Hokage's location. I assume that's the one we need to go to."
"Good, let's go." Orochimaru finalized. the group turned away and ran off, leaving Tsunade with the unconscious kage.
The run to the battlefield felt exhilarating. Both her other lives had a certain thrill when fighting. Hibiki couldn't deny her excitement when she rescued Suigetsu and Juugo, but she thought that was just adrenaline. It felt different from the deaths of those she put into Orochimaru's clutch. They had no warning, no way to fight back, but when face to face, blade to blade, they could fight back. Guilt did not flood her as she killed and maimed the men who stood before her. They had just as good a chance as she had.
Suigetsu's rubbing off on me…. She thought.
As they grew closer the sounds of battle became louder, the taste of blood in the air. Carefully the group arrived, the Third stood watching the scene with intensity. Hibiki closer her eyes and settled herself, wiping the blood on her face before Suigetsu could notice.
"This giant tree is closely connected to Obito They're like limbs that suck out chakra," he reported to them. "We can't approach carelessly."
"Such words of weakness. So very unlike you. Sarutobi Sensei." Orochimaru teased.
"Orochimaru You're late What of the Five Kage?" he asked.
"I had them healed. So as long as they don't bow out, they should becoming." Orochimaru said.
"As sarcastic as ever, I see." the third sighed.
"Sorry I'm late, Jugo! Sasuke!" Suigetsu called to the two waving at them.
"You're here." Juugo acknowledged. With the groups presents seen by Sasuke, Suigetsu took Hibiki's hand again,
"This tree is huge now that I see it up close. I wonder how long it'll take to cut down?" Suigetsu wondered peering up at it.
In the chaotic sound of war, Hibiki could hear the faintest toon. A song of sorts?
"What did you say?" Hibiki asked Suigetsu.
"I asked how long it would take to cut the tree down," he repeated.
"Yeah right, forever probably, that's a bit too thick for just anyone to saw through."
"Who cares about that?! What's important right now is..." Karin mumbled off, a devious look on her face.
"Is to heal the Allied Forces shinobi, right?" Suigetsu finished for her.
"Y-Yeah! I know that already, damn it!"
"Look, Karin Isn't that Sasuke's Curse Mark patterning?" Suigetsu distracted her before she could begin to wail on him.
"The Curse Mark is supposed to have lost its power Sage Power is the source of Jugo's Curse Mark. And with Sasuke, back when I experimented with injecting Jugo's chakra into him, he immediately unleashed the Curse Mark. So it's not surprising for Sasuke's Susano'o to adapt to Jugo's chakra in a similar fashion. In other words, you could call it a Sage Jutsu Susano'o." Orochimaru clarified.
"Maybe I'll go over there too," Karin thought aloud.
"You'll only be in the way. You'll get stabbed again." Suigetsu teased. Karin quickly began to beat on him, Hibiki stepped away slightly as to not get caught in it.
"Orochimaru are you simply going to stand by?" the Third accused.
"I have nothing to gain from this war. But Obito fulfilling this dream would be equivalent to ceasing all my precious experiments. I simply cannot have that." he told himself
"Then lend us a hand." the Third yelled.
Orochimaru ran off with the third, Karin finally stopped beating Suigetsu and watched the war in a huff. Hibiki took Suigetsu's hand back. Karin gave a relay of what she could tell was going on. A struggle between Naruto and Obito, a tug-a-war.
Suigetsu grew a little bored, he sat down onto a rock and pulled Hibiki with him setting her in his lap and resting his chin on her shoulder.
"You're a bit too relaxed," Hibiki said.
"Well I have to be here, I'm not doing shit unless I have to, so until then I'm just not going to care about anything other than me and you not dying." he sighed.
The ground rumbled a few times, shaking with large heavy impacts into the earth. Karin still gave her best play by play, but they were a good distance from the center and many roots blocked the view.
Hibiki jumped to her feet, Suigetsu and Karin quickly rushed to her side.
"What's wrong?" Karin asked gently placing her hand on Hibiki's shoulder.
Hibiki just stared blankly forward.
"Hibiki?" Suigetsu worried voice echoed in Hibiki's ear.
AN: writer's block and school starting. I am just horrible recently. The next few chapters may also take more time to write, Ill upload as soon as they are done but be a little patient. Hopefully, it will be worthwhile, the Infinite Tsukuyomi can change the world.
Also, I was reading my naruto official character data book and mine keeps referring to Suigetsu as Kisame …. I can't stop laughing. Poor Suigetsu overshadowed by his senpai.