Devil From The Heavens
Chapter 16: Drift
The Day Before...
Kisame traced the river that flowed out from the bottom of Ame's lake. He had thought it impossible to shock him given what his own Kage had asked him to do when he was still a shinobi or the kind of bounties he had partaken in but ho boy, was he wrong.
Madara suspected Pain would try and kill him so he wanted to strike preemptively. 'Assets', whatever that meant, had already been moved in by Zetsu.
It was a tall order to try and kill a supposed god. Especially so considering this might be the real deal given those eyes of his. But if it meant that the Eye of the Moon plan was one step closer to success, he'd personally stab entire pantheons of deities. Not like they helped him much in this life.
Kisame sank beneath the water, his sharp teeth glistening from the light reflected by the water.
"I wonder how a god dies."
Kisame pulled Madara out of the water onto his feet as he casually hefted an unwrapped Samehada onto his shoulder. The sentient sword was engorged with the chakra of billions of explosive notes and the mouth at the end of the blade looked hungry for more. With both Konan and Pain to deal with, there couldn't be any holding back.
The sharklike shinobi let out a long whisper at the sight of the Uchiha's missing arm.
"You look like shit."
The Uchiha shot him an angry eye. "I had that handled"
The swordsman let out a bark of laughter though it sounded hollow. "Right, I'm sure you're just pretendin' you're missing an arm."
Passed his bravado, Kisame had to admit; he was a little nervous now that he gazed upon the Rinnegan. He knew the legends. How the Sage created the moon and bestowed chakra onto the masses with the power granted by those eyes. Pain wasn't at that level but he didn't need to be. The sheer versatility put all but the most gifted of shinobi to shame and that's before taking into account that he killed Hanzo the Salamander.
Yeah, this was going to be fun.
Pain's fist clenched at the sight. Madara was dangerous enough on his own. Kisame wasn't just a wrench in their plans; he was a stick of dynamite. An S-rank shinobi that specialized in water techniques while they stood on a lake. Why would he join up with the Uchiha? The Monster of the Hidden Mist didn't strike him as a man easily bought or convinced.
"What do you wish to do, Lord Pain?"
"I can dispatch Kisame quickly." The Asura and Animal Paths edged towards the Deva Path. "I'll lend my Paths to help you keep Madara distracted. He must not be given a moment's respite."
Konan nodded and her expression became one of calm determination. They had the advantage here with their surprise attack and their knowledge of Madara's intangibility. It was a shame about Kisame but there would be no tears shed for the traitor.
"Go."
They all rushed Kisami and Madara but three broke off for the shark-like shinobi. With an almost graceful swing, Samehada crashed into the water in front of him and the lake was nearly split by the impact of the massive sword. The Paths avoided his initial blow easily enough but only by the grace of Kami would that have actually landed. He couldn't take all three at once.
Under the cover of the falling water, he charged the freaky bald one but an invisible force pulled him through. A quick flash of his hands and two water clones followed him through. The Asura Path locked blades with a copy as the other grabbed him by the wrist and tossed him away. It was rewarded by being swallowed by a freshly summoned crocodile of utterly ridiculous proportions.
'No playing around.' He raised a hand and flashed through several hand signs.
"Water Style: Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
The water around him erupted into chaos as three massive sharks jumped at the Paths ahead. The crocodile was slow to react and a shark latched onto its neck and dragged it under the surface.
"Almighty Push."
His sharks were blown apart by the attack before it hit him like a damn mountain and he was sent skipping along the surface like a stone. Kisame got up to his feet as the Asura Path's tail pierced where his head was. The cyborg-like zombie was joined in by the Animal Path and the two went into a perfectly synchronized assault against the former Kiri-nin. Kisame and the Paths matched each other blow for blow as the swing of Samehada kept the Asura's lethal tail at bay.
Meanwhile Madara struggled to escape Konan's constant barrage of explosive notes. The Angel of Ame with the Paths at her side was a bad matchup as there was absolutely no ease of the pressure on him. Preta managed to grab his robe but a swift cut with a kunai prevented the Path from solidifying the rest of him.
He glanced at Kisame who seemed to be struggling against Pain. There was one thing he could say about Nagato and it was that the man was smart. Naive perhaps to have trusted him for so long but smart nonetheless. The division of his human puppets was well suited for Kisame and him. Something that would shift in their favor were they to switch.
The Uchiha switched gears and subtly changed his course towards Kisame. The storm of paper going through his body seemed never ending and he couldn't trust that Konan would run out of paper before he ran out of time.
"Universal Pull."
The Paths jumped back as Kisame was violently lifted into the air. The Asura pulled its hand to reveal a cluster of miniature missiles. His eyes widened as they were all launched at him and he swiftly responded with another summoned Shark Bomb. He had to trust that the shark blocked all the missiles as he rapidly twisted around and crashed Samehada against the black rod in the Deva's hand.
"You disappoint me, Kisame."
"Yeah, that's life for ya."
Samehada twisted around the rod and opened its maw for his former leader's head but Pain had already moved out of the way. Kisame jumped back as another rod shot out of Pain's palm. It got him in the shoulder but it was a shallow wound promptly healed by his sword. Pain threw the rod like a kunai and Kisame deflected it with a simple flick of his wrist.
He felt it hit him before he heard the words. The Kiri missing nin was launched back as a barracuda twice his size swallowed him up. Swallowed by a giant fish? First time he was on the other end of that in a while. Its victory was brief as Kisame tore himself from its stomach with a slash of Samehada and a nostalgic grin on his face.
The smile was short lived as the cannon on top of the Asura's head activated. He twisted but it hit him in the side and he definitely lost part of a kidney with that. Samehada had already begun to heal him as he fell beneath the water. He wouldn't underestimate the Rinnegan wielder but Kisame was confident he held the advantage beneath the waves.
He swung Samehada and a created a geyser on the surface with the force of his swing. Above, Pain narrowed his eyes as the water seemed to still for a moment. As the water fell, he noticed that the drops of water were oddly shaped.
'They're all sharks!' The Animal Path quickly summoned a massive condor whose wings covered the three Paths. The bird screeched in agony as the shark droplets tore into its flesh and bone. Pain looked at the water below but Kisame had disappeared in the instant his eyes weren't on the shinobi. Madara and Kisame stood the best chance at winning were they to reunite.
In a flash, the three Paths raced towards Konan and Madara. The shark-like shinobi rose from the water a short distance from the two with a grin. Kisame whistled before he slammed his hand into the surface of the water and a gargantuan swell followed quickly. The swell soon became a tsunami with a crest made entirely of summoned sharks.
"Water Style: A Thousand Feeding Sharks!"
The wave was so high it blocked the setting sun. Pain, unfazed by the sight, raised a hand and gathered his chakra. His next push would have to be pretty powerful to neutralize this jutsu. Kisame's reserves were legendary and his seemingly effortless use of such a high rank jutsu really spoke of his capabilities. He muttered the words and the wave of sharks was blown away in one fell swoop.
In the distance, a dark shape swam underneath the froth of the destroyed jutsu. Konan, singularly focused on the Uchiha in front of her, didn't notice until the water directly in front of her erupted. Her pupils shrank in shock as a massive, flesh-and-blood shark lunged at her. Kisame must have used A Thousand Feeding Sharks to disguise his summoning!
She created a spear of paper in an instant and launched into its mouth where it pierced through the roof of its head. Its death did not stop its momentum and Konan felt what it was like to have several tons of fish crash into a human body. She fell apart into thousands of sheets of paper before she reformed behind the now sinking shark corpse.
Nagato's Paths immediately surrounded her and it didn't take her long to see why. Madara had disappeared. Behind her, she felt searing heat. Preta held its hand to the spiraling flames that threatened to engulf them and the jutsu was quickly swallowed by the Path. She turned back around at the sight of feet hitting water and a storm of paper shuriken flew out of her sleeve. The Uchiha ran through the attack unimpeded and then through her.
The chain trailing behind him touched her for a fraction of a second but she fell apart into paper once again. She reformed well above the fray with her wings keeping her aloft. Below, the Human Path lay on the water's surface without its head. More flames followed her and, with a thunderous flap of her wings, Konan quickly moved out of the way.
Down below, Naraka grabbed the dead Path as the King of Hell, a massive head surrounded by purple flames, rose out of the water. Konan sent waves of paper shuriken down at the Path's as Madara reappeared behind them. Her eyes widened as the Uchiha popped into a cloud of smoke. She'd been so focused on his intangibility that she'd nearly forgot he had other tricks up his sleeve.
"Fire style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Her wings were nearly burned up at the immense heat that erupted behind her. Konan held out a hand and a shield formed between her and the flames. The shield held for only a moment before it was torn to shreds by the fireball. The delay was enough it seemed as her body was pulled out of the way by an invisible force. The Angel of Ame skidded along the water before she stopped next to Pain.
Kisame whistled as he hefted Samehada onto his shoulder. "Gotta admit, that was smooth." Madara appeared behind the duo though he was quickly surrounded by the other five Paths.
"You two are fighting against the inevitable here."
Konan's wings reformed behind Pain as space around him bent once more. "I decide what is inevitable."
Madara glanced over his shoulder before he let out a chuckle and disappeared with a Kamui. It felt like the water underneath them exploded as their collective was thrown into the air. Pain could see Konan flying hard away from the water but she was swallowed along with him and his Paths. The chaos suddenly stopped and they found themselves floating.
He was missing the Animal Path; Madara killed it in the sweep. He recognized this technique. Pain had little time to think of anything else as he witnessed Samehada morph as if made of clay onto Kisame. In seconds, the man had transformed into a creature that was more shark than man.
The missing-nin's voice came through unimpeded by the water between them. "I'd say you're a fish out of water but..." The man laughed as he came at Pain like a thrown kunai.
Two rods, black like the dark between stars, slid out of the Deva Path's palms as Kisame struck out with a clawed hand. Pain, quick as lightning, stabbed a rod through the shark-man's hand and twisted it around. Blood spewed and clouded his vision but he didn't need it as his second rod found purchase in the back of Kisame's shoulder.
He'd only grunted at being stabbed but they evolved into cries as Pain kicked the missing-nin's upper arm. A resounding crack pierced through the prison around them as Kisame flipped end over end away with a broken limb and dislocated shoulder.
The shark-man turned as his limb already began to heal. "You'll regret that."
Pain gestured for the missing-nin to attack.
The Water Prison Shark Dance. That was the best explanation Konan had for the seemingly unending expanse of water that surrounded them. She saw flashes of movement and felt the shockwaves of Kisame and Pain's collisions. She could hear the rapid beat of her heart in her head. Her paper could only handle so much; as it stood, anything she created was destroyed instantly by the ocean around her.
She was practically useless in the water and could do little more than reach out for Asura as it shot by her. She latched onto the Path as it swam away from the conflict with Naraka and Human on the other arm. She wasn't worried about Nagato's Deva Path per se but were she to escape with the others, it would be left vulnerable.
In the distance, Madara watched the group as he held an armless Preta by its neck. He knew that Nagato watched him even now. The man was a good multitasker that way. The Uchiha made it a point to point the Path at the others before he stabbed a kunai in the back of its head.
Pain could only wince at the loss of Preta. Madara's Kamui was lethal against his slowed movement. It was only due to his shared vision that the rest, including Deva, hadn't been slaughtered by now. He blocked another swipe from Kisame but a chunk of flesh was ripped from his torso. He had to destroy this prison. The space around Pain bent as his chakra gathered. This needed to be massive; larger than any he'd made before because they wouldn't survive if he had to wait for another chance.
Kisame closed in again.
He floated weightlessly in the vacuum left by his technique. The water resisted and Kisame's panicked face told him what he did was more than enough. That was enough to level a Hidden Village; Kisame's technique was nothing. The prison resisted for a moment but gravity was ultimately its master and the jutsu was ripped apart.
Konan took in a deep breath as the water fell away. Another minute and she'd have drowned. The crumpled shield fell from Asura along with a good chunk of the machine-like Path's body. It took the brunt of Pain's technique to protect her and the other Paths. Her wings sprouted once more and she held them aloft as the water crashed against the lake.
Ame looked unharmed. She breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn't forgive herself if any harm came to the village as a result of their actions. Their ultimate goal was good but Ame was precious; it could not be sacrificed.
An electric shock hit her system. The warmth in her body left through her back and her grip lost its strength. 'Wha-?' The Paths fell from her hands. Konan looked over her shoulder into a burning Sharingan.
"For the arm." He twisted the kunai and brought her closer as they fell from the sky. "Nagato is what he is because of me. His gift, really, is mine. I think I'll take it back."
Madara left her to fall into the water. She'd read and heard about near death experiences. How time seemed to slow to a crawl the closer you were to death. It seemed like forever that she and, through Deva, Nagato stared at one another. She wanted to tell him that it wasn't his fault; she made her choices. Of course, the passage of time was consistent even if her perception wasn't.
And so she hit the water. She felt Kisame's presence around her as he circled her. She heard the scrape of Samehada rather than felt it.
'Don't die, Nagato...please.'
Her body drifted below the surface and the red that had colored the water dissipated. In moments, it was like nothing happened at all. Pain could only stare at where Konan had lived mere seconds ago. She wasn't supposed to die. It was laid out so perfectly. That should've been Madara; it wasn't right. Kisame admired the blood that remained on his sword.
Yahiko slumped against his shoulder; the kunai in Nagato's hand had pierced his chest. He heard Konan cry for the boy on his shoulder. Kami, they were so young; too young for all of this.
"You and Konan…live...no matter what it takes…You're…the savior of…this world…I know you can do it."
Yahiko's last words echoed in his mind and his throat seemed to close. Even to the end, his first thoughts were of them.
And Nagato failed him.
"It didn't have to end like this, you know." Madara's words washed over the Rinnegan wielder. "If you had simply ducked your head and listened..."
He wanted anger, wanted grief, anything but there was nothing there. It was if whatever light within him was killed with Konan. Pain's gaze fell on the Uchiha and Kisame looked taken aback. The Path's face wasn't different but there was something missing behind the eyes. Their eyes fell to the Deva Path's right hand. The chakra that had gathered there was near incomprehensible.
Nagato's hand opened and within it laid an orb of the deepest black; a void from which no light shone.
"Planetary Devastation."
Author's Notes
Whew, this one was a doozie.
Let me know what you think.
Ent out.
Review Responses!
Abyss Trinity: I'm glad you liked the new movie! It's sooo good!
GamerX568: Yeah, he's one of my faves too so that wasn't easy to do.
Guest: Yeah, about that...
MythAnime: If I create another Broly story after these two, it would be the new Broly. He's great and the potential for stories is greater than old Broly imo.
Rosco Peeko Trane: That was one of my main issues with the movie, that Broly just loses all character once the fight begins. Before that, top tier stuff.
Fightingchampion: Congratulations on your graduation! Luckily, these stories aren't going anywhere so read them when you can!
