"Talking"
'Thinking'
Jutsu/ Bijuu/ Summons
Flashbacks, Letters, and Setting
I don't own Naruto
Chapter 31: The Bloodline Rebellion Part 2
At the Rebel HQ Docks
"Is everyone here?" Ao asked as he arrived with his 100 hand-picked shinobi.
Zabuza nodded. "Everyone else is already onboard. We're ready to leave once your men board the ship."
"Good." Ao commented as he nodded in approval. "Everyone, board immediately. Zabuza, was Naruto-san able to rig the ship with his reinforced sails?"
Zabuza replied with a nod. "All preparations are complete."
"Good. Let's set sail then. We don't have time to waste." Ao replied. Every minute they spent getting to Seagull Island was another minute the outnumbered rebel shinobi under Mangetsu would spend holding off a force that nearly outnumbered them 4 to 1.
A few minutes later, the ship left the docks.
"Naruto-san, when can we start traveling with your special way of traveling faster? If we continue to travel at this rate, it'll be too late." A concerned Ao asked Naruto.
"Give me a few minutes Ao-san. We need to get into deeper waters before I can use my jutsu." Naruto replied, asking for patience.
Ao was anxious to get to Seagull Island as soon as possible, but he had to wait for Naruto's timing. This whole operation hinged on Naruto's ability to get them there after all.
After a few minutes which felt like hours to Ao, Naruto, who had been watching the skies and the water, finally spoke up. "It's time. Have everything taken below deck or bolted down, and have all your men focus chakra on their feet or hold on to something stable to keep them on board."
"You heard him, everyone, hold on tight!" Zabuza yelled out, and the all the men except for the officers went below deck and began to focus chakra on their feet to anchor them to the ship.
Naruto created a shadow clone, who then leapt off of the ship, and stood on the water facing the ship, about 50 meters away.
"What is he up to?" Ao whispered to Zabuza.
Zabuza shrugged. "I dunno. But I guess we're about to find out real soon."
The clone of Naruto closed its eyes, and began to focus and summon up a huge amount of chakra.
The people on deck could feel the chakra, even if they weren't sensors.
Ao was amazed at the amount of chakra a mere clone was able to muster. "Th-this chakra! It's almost like I'm seeing Kisame again!" Ao marveled to himself.
The Naruto clone began to direct its chakra into the skies, saturating the air above it with its immense amount of chakra. Once the chakra was mixed into the atmosphere, the clone opened its eyes. "Futon: Jetstream Jutsu!"
A powerful stream of pressurized air was pulled from the air currents which circle around the planet, and directed into the sails of the ship, launching the ship at blistering speeds.
The clone mixed its own wind chakra with the natural air current to boost the ship's speed, until it puffed out of existence once all of its chakra ran out.
The masts of the ship creaked as the sails caught the hurricane force winds that were focused onto them, and carried the ship across the sea. The hull of the ship sometimes lifted out of the water and skipped along the surface of the water like a skipped stone, before sinking back into the water.
Meanwhile, the people in the ship barely clung on with extreme effort, and some of the weaker shinobi below deck were left pressed against the back wall after they were torn off from where they were standing and tumbled into the back wall, where they remained due to the extreme g-force applied on them.
The officers on deck tried to remain cool and calm, but the gale-force wind on their faces had their lips and cheeks flapping. Naruto couldn't help but laugh beneath the hunter-nin mask he had put on in anticipation of this very effect, as he looked at the usually stern and serious faces turned comical.
Even as he could keep his one visible eye barely open, as his eyelids flapped in the wind like his lips and cheeks, Ao turned to look at Naruto, impressed. 'That has to be one of the most powerful wind jutsu I've ever seen, even if it isn't necessarily meant for combat! He must be one the most powerful wind-type users I've ever seen in my life!' He thought to himself.
Everyone looked at Naruto, awestruck. Naruto stood at the helm of the ship with his arms crossed, looking as tranquil as ever, though his mask hid his face.
However, despite his cool look, which suggested this was nothing for Naruto, his thoughts said the opposite. 'Damn! That worked out a lot better than it did in my mind! Fucking sweet! Oh man, Itachi or Kakashi should have seen this!'
Naruto repeated this trick a couple more times, and soon the ship was almost at Seagull Island.
"At the speed we're going right now, and considering the drop in speed as we approach the island, we should be there in around 20 minutes." Ao informed the officers and Naruto.
"Good. Can't wait to sink my Kubikiribocho into those Loyalist bastards!" Zabuza growled out.
Several others shared Zabuza's sentiments, especially the several Kaguya clansmen that were on board, who were basically foaming at the mouth to get into some action.
"Good to see high morale, but we can't just charge in. We're heavily outnumbered. We'll need a plan if we wish to come out of this alive, let alone saving our comrades." Ao reminded everyone.
He took out a kunai and scratched out the shapes of the key features of the island, as well as the supposed positions of their allies and enemies.
"According to emergency protocol, our allies should be somewhere between these two rocky cliff faces. The civilians should have been evacuated into the cove inside, with the shinobi guarding the entrance, though the sudden nature of the attack probably has them a lot more disorganized." Ao explained as he drew the directions of movement.
"Unless they were able to draw back to form a defensive perimeter here, our comrades are probably surrounded by our enemies from 3 sides with their backs to the cove, as the rocks that surround the crater the camp is located on has narrow openings, here, here, and here." Ao continued.
"We'll be approaching the island from the southern side, while the cave is located on the east side. Now the question is, what should our strategy be to minimize casualties on our side, while getting the attackers to withdraw?" Ao asked the men before him.
"I say we charge in directly from the south side, and crash into their flanks. We'll take the heat off of the defenders, giving them time to fall back to the defensive line they should have formed, so they can protect their flanks. Once the line is formed, we'll slowly inch our way there as well, and reinforce the perimeter, and hold out until our help arrives." Zabuza suggested.
Many of the officers agreed. "Not a bad plan, however, I suggest we actually sail around the island and head north, and do what Zabuza suggested from there." Naruto proposed.
"Why would we waste precious time to do that?" one of the crew asked.
"Our ships behind us would come from the southern side. We'd be in the way of their approach, and we don't have any means to communicate with them right now to direct them elsewhere. By the time they arrive, we'll be exhausted, and need them to help immediately. Also, if all of the reinforcements come from the south, the enemy might get an idea of what direction our HQ is in. By coming from both sides, they'd assume we have help in all directions, and would make them think we have more bases, and by extension, reinforcements, than we actually do." Naruto explained.
"You have a point." Ao commented.
Naruto continued. "Also, instead of joining their line, have some of our men form a line from the northern side, without pushing forward."
"But isn't that a waste of our manpower then?" Zabuza asked.
"No. This will prevent the enemy from just charging into our ally's lines, as it would leave them open to a charge from their northern flank. If they want to engage both lines, they'll have to turn their whole force at an angle to prevent being flanked, taking away their ability to surround our smaller numbers, and also exposing their backs to the south side where our reinforcements will be coming from." Naruto explained.
"What about the west side, where they have their ships? Should we leave a couple men in the south to tell our reinforcements to head over there so we can surround them?" Zabuza proposed.
"No. If we surround them, they'll fight like cornered bears, fighting for their lives. It would only increase our casualties." Naruto countered.
"And let them escape? We have a chance to kill them all!" a Kaguya clansmen advocated for Zabuza's suggestion.
"When people have no way out, they'll fight to the death. If we leave them an opening, they'll take it." Naruto explained. "Besides, I never said we'd let them get away unharmed." Naruto said with a smile.
"You're planning an ambush?" Ao guessed.
Naruto smiled. "Precisely."
"Who's gonna lead this ambush?" Zabuza asked.
"Me." Naruto replied. "It won't need too many people with what I have planned. I can handle it myself."
"Just you?" Ao asked, and Naruto nodded. Ao knew by now that Naruto clearly had something planned. "So, what do you have in mind?"
"We'll make our weak point, our civilians, our strongest position by reinforcing our defensive line, and deter the enemy from engaging. Meanwhile, we'll direct them towards our ambush, by intentionally feigning weakness on that side. We'll appear to be weak by making it look like we weren't able to surround them completely due to our small numbers, and reinforce that notion by setting up a weak diversionary ambush." Naruto explained.
"Diversionary ambush?" Ao questioned.
Naruto nodded. "Exactly. I'll snipe them down from the cliff tops with a few kunai, making them think it's a token resistance. Actually, Haku would be useful here as well." Naruto told Zabuza, who was reluctant to part with his student, but agreed. He didn't want her to be in the front lines after all.
"Meanwhile, they'll ignore the potshots and head for their ships in an attempt to get out of here as soon as possible, with some of our reinforcements giving chase, but not getting too close." Naruto continued.
"So, when does the main ambush come into play then?" Zabuza asked.
Naruto just smiled. "You'll find out when it happens. Just follow my plan, and everything will work out."
The officers discussed a few more plans, but Ao decided Naruto's was the best.
"Fine. We'll go with your plan. We better hope it works, or we'll be in trouble." Ao said grimly.
"Alright men. Lower the sails. We'll be rowing to the north side." Ao commanded.
'What do you have planned, Uzumaki?' Ao thought to himself as he glanced at a Naruto who smiled and rubbed his palms together.
On Seagull Island
"Shit! Just how many of these bastards are there!" Mangetsu yelled as he cut down a Kiri-nin in front of him with his Hiramekarei.
"Mangetsu-sama! We've barely managed to form the defensive perimeter, but we don't have enough men to hold them for long!"
Mangetsu grit his sharpened teeth as he formed the chakra surround his blade into a hammer shape, knocking back two of his attackers, one vomiting blood as his internal organs were crushed.
"Get some of the civilian men that can hold a sword to come out and help! We'll fight till either we die or they die!" Mangetsu yelled out.
The man who reported to him nodded and ran off to do as he was told.
Mangetsu put up a brave front, but he knew they were doomed. They were out in the middle of the sea, with no way to send for help. Even if they did, they would be too late.
"I guess this is where I'll die." Mangetsu said to himself. His scowl soon turned into a smile however. "Then I guess I better take a few friends along with me. COME AT ME YOU BASTARDS!" He took out the bottle on his waist and drank the water in it. His muscles began to swell.
"FUCK YOU!" Mangetsu began to go on a rampage, smashing and slicing people with the changing forms of the Hiramekarei.
Despite the pile of dead bodies that grew anywhere Mangetsu was, the rest of his men were not having as much success. From the initial 300 shinobi, 50 of them were killed when the raid began, as they were caught unaware. 2 hours later, despite staunch resistance, they were down to less than 200, and the civilian men who reinforced their lines were being cut down easily as well. Another couple hours, and there would be too few men to hold the line. Once the lines collapsed… it would be a bloodbath for both the surrounded shinobi and the helpless civilians.
An hour after Mangetsu began his rampage, he was beginning to grow tired. He had used the Hozuki clan's special ability to turn into water to avoid several potentially fatal blows, and he had been fighting non-stop for 3 hours, not sparing any chakra.
Mangetsu took a quick breather after he beheaded the last Loyalist shinobi within 10 meters of him, and took a look around. The situation was bad. The defensive line was beginning to crumble. Wave after wave of attacks had given Mangetsu's shinobi, who had been attacked in the middle of the night and not even fully equipped in their gear, little time to rest, and they were exhausted both physically, and in chakra.
Suigetsu, Mangetsu's younger brother, was locked in a swordfight against a Loyalist swordsman. The man was older and more experienced, but Suigetsu was a talented swordsman in his own right. Despite the odds being against him, he was fully locked into the fight, a smile on his lips revealing his sharpened teeth as well. He was enjoying the challenge.
However, due to his focus in the fight he was in, Suigetsu was unable to see the Kiri shinobi creeping up behind him, a kunai in his hand, ready to stab Suigetsu in the back before he could turn himself into water.
Suigetsu saw the man he was fighting, briefly look behind Suigetsu, and used that opening to deliver a quick stab into the man's exposed sword arm, causing him to drop his sword.
"Stab the little bloodline freak!" The man yelled as the pain traveled up his arm.
Suigetsu's eyes widened as he quickly turned around, and saw the kunai coming down towards his throat.
Splash* *Splash* *Thump*
The hand holding the kunai was suddenly torn off at the wrist, and blood began to pour out of the newly formed hole in the kunai-wielding shinobi's temple, before he fell to his knees and slumped over onto the ground.
Suigetsu whipped his head around to see what had happened.
Mangetsu stood with one arm pointed towards the now dead shinobi, with his index and middle finger stretched out to form a pistol shape.
"The Water Pistol." Suigetsu said with a grin, before stabbing behind him without looking, piercing the man who had tried to use Suigetsu's distraction as an opening to attack with his left hand, in the stomach.
"You better stay focused, Suigetsu." Mangetsu lectured to his brother, before sending another bullet of water through the forehead of the man Suigetsu had been fighting.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I had him on the ropes. Way to steal my kill." Suigetsu said in annoyance.
"This isn't a game Suigetsu. The situation is terrible." Mangetsu admitted. "Listen. Try to climb over the mountain in the east, and get out of here. Go to Mei-sama, and tell her what happened here."
Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "You want me to run away by myself? How about the civilians?"
"They can't climb such a steep mountain, and there's no other openings. They'll only slow you down anyway. We'll keep the enemy focused on us, while you escape. Mei-sama needs to know what happened."
"But, nii-san-" Suigetsu began before he was cut off by his older brother.
"JUST FUCKING LISTEN TO ME FOR ONCE, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Mangetsu roared. "This situation is hopeless. We're all gonna die here. I promised our parents that I'd take care of you before they died, and this is the only thing I can do for you now. So please, just listen to me, and escape before it's too late." Mangetsu pleaded.
"Nii-san! Look behind you! What is that?" Suigetsu suddenly pointed out.
"Hmm?" Mangetsu turned around to see what Suigetsu was referring to.
A thick mist began to roll in from the north side.
"I thought sea mist usually came in in the morning?" Suigetsu wondered out loud.
"This isn't sea mist." A shark-like smile broke out on Mangetsu's face. "Zabuza, ya old dog, coming in clutch."
"Zabuza-senpai?" Suigetsu questioned. "But how did he know we were in trouble?"
Mangetsu shrugged. "I don't know. But frankly, I don't give a shit right now. If there's any reinforcement, I'll gladly take it. Maybe we might get out of this mess alive."
Meanwhile, in the Northern Flank
"What the… sea mist? At this time?" One Loyalist shinobi wondered out loud.
"Who gives a shit? Let's just hurry up and kill all of these freaks!" her comrade called back in reply, as he stabbed a rebel in the shoulder.
"No…" An officer nearby whispered out, as his face began to pale. "This isn't sea mist…"
"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?" The first kunoichi questioned.
"It's Zabuza… Everyone WATCH OUT!" The officer yelled, but it was too late.
5 raging streams of water in the shape of dragons shot out of the mist, and smashed into the unsuspecting northern flank, sweeping away many, and throwing them into disarray.
The Loyalists who were struck were having trouble standing up, as the Suiryuudan (Water Dragon Bullet) had broken bones on some of them, from both the initial impact, and the tumbling that came afterwards. The others in better shape were also disoriented from the powerful blast of water.
Before they could regain their senses and reorganize, Zabuza and several swordsmen, some of them the famous blood-thirsty Kaguya clansmen, shot out of the mist with their swords drawn.
"It's the Demon of the Mist!" The officer yelled out, before he was cut cleanly in half from head to crotch from one swing of Zabuza's massive sword.
"Kill them all!" Zabuza ordered his men, who tore into the disorganized northern flank with an animalistic fury.
Though the charge from the reinforcement was made up of only around 100 men, the Loyalists weren't expecting reinforcements to arrive for the rebels, and were caught completely unaware, resulting in them being pushed back in the ensuing chaos.
"We can't let Zabuza have all the fun, now can we?" Mangetsu said to his little brother, who responded with a shark-like smile of his own.
The two brothers mustered the other shinobi around them, and began to attack the attackers with a new fervor, cutting their way towards Zabuza.
The Loyalists in between were caught in a pincer movement, and soon withdrew into the larger force behind them, while suffering heavy casualties.
"You look like shit, Mangetsu." Zabuza said to Mangetsu, when he finally saw him. "But that's nothing new." He said with a smirk.
"I'd smack you in the head, but I don't want to kill the 2 last braincells in your noggin." Mangetsu responded with a smirk of his own.
The two swordsmen greeted each other by grabbing each other's forearms and giving one firm shake. "Good to see you're still alive." Zabuza admitted.
"And I've never been happier to see you. But I gotta ask, how did you know we were under attack?" Mangetsu inquired.
"We stole some of their orders and found out. I'll explain the details later. For now, we need to reform your defensive lines." Zabuza replied, throwing Mangetsu a soldier pill, which Mangetsu thankfully accepted and consumed.
"So, what's the plan senpai?" Suigetsu asked Zabuza, as the 100 men with him helped fill in the gaps in the lines.
"We hold out until the rest of the reinforcements arrive." Zabuza informed Suigetsu and the rest of the exhausted shinobi who had been fighting for hours.
Hope began to fill their hearts again, reinvigorating them.
"There's more coming? How many? When will they arrive?" Mangetsu asked.
"Around 600 of them. However, they don't have the same method we used to get here that we did, so they'll arrive sometime in the morning." Zabuza replied.
"Shit. That'll be at least 5 more hours of fighting by ourselves. How many did you bring?" Mangetsu wondered.
"200. But half of them are forming a second line up in the northern path."
"Damn it. That still only brings us up to around 400, while they have over 1000 men, from what I can see." Mangetsu said through gritted teeth.
"But how did you get here so fast?" Suigetsu asked Zabuza, pointing out something that had been puzzling him, that Mangetsu skipped over.
"We had a little help from a shinobi we hired to help us." Zabuza replied.
"A mercenary? You know how unreliable they are! They'll sell us out if they get paid more by the enemy!" Mangetsu argued.
"Don't you worry. He's different. And he's gonna help us win this war." Zabuza said confidently.
"Let's hope so. Because here they come." Mangetsu said grimly, as the Loyalists sent another wave towards the defensive line after reorganizing.
Naruto stood above the mountains, looking down on the fight below, with Haku next to him.
"We're supposed to be setting up the ambush, but it looks like they could use some help." Naruto told Haku.
"Should we go down and help, Naruto-sama?" Haku asked.
Naruto shook his head. "Here, stick these tags onto these kunai."
Haku nodded and began to apply the tags onto the kunai that Naruto handed her, while Naruto created more tags.
"Naruto-sama? What exactly are these tags? It's unlike anything I've seen before, but still seems to resemble an explosive tag." Haku asked.
"Right on, Haku. These are explosive tags, but they're my own version." He explained as he finished making the last one.
"That should be good for now. So, how good is your throwing arm?" Naruto asked Haku.
"At this distance, I can't hit specific targets, but I think I'll be able to hit the enemy ranks." Haku told Naruto.
"Good enough. Make sure you don't throw them near our allies. Now THROW!" He ordered Haku.
The defensive line was under a lot of pressure, as hundreds of enemies fell upon them with jutsu and weapons.
While the areas where Zabuza or Mangetsu held out, the rest of the line began to be pushed back.
"Shit, this isn't looking good." Mangetsu muttered to himself, as he took a look around.
Suddenly, massive explosions began to go off behind the enemy ranks.
"Each explosion looks like 10 normal explosive tags going off at once!" Suigetsu commented.
Zabuza smiled. "There's the help we hired."
Mangetsu watched the Loyalists fall back after taking heavy casualties from the bombardment that came out of nowhere.
"You hired a member of the Explosion Corps from Iwa?"
"Not quite. But I hear he can be just as destructive." Zabuza replied.
Meanwhile, Naruto and Haku stopped throwing the kunai.
"That should be enough to make them think twice about sending massed charges. Let's get going, Haku. We got an ambush to set up."
Haku nodded and followed.
In the Commander's ship
The commanding officer slammed his fist on the table. "Who the fuck ordered a retreat?!"
"Sir, we were caught in a bad position with the sudden arrival of reinforcements from their side."
"Reinforcements? How? How many?" The commander asked.
"We're not sure, but they don't seem to exceed a couple hundred." The officer replied.
"In that case, increase the next wave from 300 to 500 men. Get them ready now. Don't give them time to breathe." The commander ordered.
"Sir, the demon Zabuza seems to be among the reinforcements, and another shinobi who was able to rain down explosions from above." A different officer informed the commander.
"Why are you acting like we haven't dealt with explosive tags before? Get them wet and deactivate them! As for Zabuza, have our men focus on him. If he dies, they'll lose morale." The commanding officer shouted out.
An old, grizzled veteran officer stepped forward. "Sir, the explosions weren't from regular explosive tags. They exploded even after we hit them with our water jutsu, and their explosions were easily 10 times bigger than regular tags. They were reminiscent of the Uzumaki explosive kunai from the past."
The commander narrowed his eyebrows. "So, the rebels got their hands on a couple of Uzumaki survivors, eh? Order our men to capture any red-haired shinobi alive. We could use their knowledge of seals to help us finish off these bloodline accidents of nature."
The officers nodded.
"What worries me is the arrival of reinforcements." The commander mused out loud. "How did they know we were here? Even the freaks here didn't know we were coming until we were here. It should take at least half a day for any messengers to even get the message out, let alone have reinforcements arrive. Where the hell did they crawl out of?"
"Judging by their small numbers, they must have been a small party of raiders that happened to be sailing by, or a small camp stationed nearby that saw the smoke rising from this island." One officer suggested.
"Maybe they came from one of the smaller islands in the north?" A different officer proposed.
"After we finish off this island, we'll search the smaller islands in the north and exterminate them." The commander told his officers.
"So how should we approach the rebels here? They've opened a second line in the small passage in the north, protecting their flanks." An officer asked.
The veteran officer spoke up next. "If we just send our wave of men towards the main defensive line, the northern line will smash into our flanks, causing us to fight on 2 sides. With their numbers boosted up to 400, our numerical advantage in 100 extra men will not be enough to fight a fight on 2 sides."
"Why don't we just send all our men in one massive wave at an angle, so we can face both sides?" One officer suggested.
The commander thought for a moment before speaking. "No. That'll open up our backs to the south side. We don't know if they have more reinforcements coming. We'll send 500 men to the main line, 200 to the northern line, and keep the rest in reserve so we can switch them out so we can always have fresher troops than them."
"Sir, aren't we being over cautious? There's no way they were able to send for help. We should just smash through them with our numerical advantage instead of sending small portions for them to defend easily. Even if reinforcements are coming, if we can finish them all off before they arrive, they'll have to withdraw." One eager officer argued.
The commander had to admit the officer had a point. Still, he felt very uncomfortable having their backs exposed.
"We'll attack like I said earlier. 500 in the main line, 200 in the northern line, and the rest in reserve. I don't know what kind of tricks these rebels have in mind. If we are unsuccessful, or if there are no signs of more reinforcement coming, and the ones they got were just raiders that happened to be sailing by, by chance, we'll commit our full force." The commander ordered.
The officers reluctantly agreed, and went out to organize the next wave.
On the Battlefield
The rebel defenders were battered throughout the night without rest, running on the fumes provided by consuming the soldier pills Ao's reinforcements brought with them.
The attackers would attack until their men were exhausted, then switch them out with the reserves who were rested, continuing their barrage of waves.
While this strategy served to keep the Loyalists in better condition, sending manageable, essentially bite-sized pieces of their forces meant the rebels were able to fight them off, time and time again, despite taking losses.
The long, drawn-out fight had left both sides with heavy casualties, with the rebels now reduced to under 300 men, while the Loyalists were left with around 800 men.
In the Commander's Ship.
"Sir, this strategy is only allowing the rebels the chance to take out our forces in manageable chunks. We're completely giving up the advantage we have in numbers, and allowing them to play to their strengths. It's been nearly 5 hours, and there's no sign of any further help arriving. I suggest we just send our full force against them and destroy them in one massive wave." One annoyed officer proposed.
Other officers voiced their support in this strategy, criticizing the commander's over-cautious approach as being ineffective.
The commanding officer had heard enough. He was beginning to reconsider his approach as well.
"Fair enough. It's time we crush these rebels here. Pull our men back to reorganize and resupply. Once they've taken a breather, we'll send them back in. In one massive wave." The commander ordered. "Tonight, we'll have Mangetsu and Zabuza's head on a platter."
On the Battlefield
"That's the first break we've had all night." Mangetsu panted out, leaning on the Hiramekarei as he spoke.
"Do you think they're done?" Suigetsu wondered out loud.
"I doubt it. This is most likely the calm before the storm. I expect an all-out attack coming soon." Zabuza guessed.
"I guess we better make the most of this calm then." Mangetsu responded. "Have the men who have light injuries receive some quick first-aid, and have the seriously injured moved to the back. Have the civilians take care of the injured, and carry water, medicine, and soldier pills to everyone. Get all of our shinobi to equip themselves properly and gear up for another battle, and rest while in defensive formation." Mangetsu ordered an officer, who ran off to relay his commands.
Zabuza handed his canteen to Mangetsu, who looked like he needed it more. The man had been fighting non-stop since the attack began, nearly 6 hours ago. Besides, in exchange for their powers, the Hozuki were more reliant on water, and needed to hydrate themselves more often than others.
Mangetsu chugged the whole bottle after thanking Zabuza. Once he emptied the canteen, he looked much better.
"Thanks. I needed that." Mangetsu said in gratitude.
"So, what's your kill count?" Zabuza asked casually as he sat down next to Mangetsu.
"My what? I've been fighting all night! Who had time to count!" Mangestu shouted back in annoyance.
Zabuza just smirked. "Heh. Sounds like a weak excuse, since you know I'm beating you. I've killed 18 since I got here."
Veins began to pulse on Mangetsu's forehead. "I've probably killed like more than 50! Get out of here with your weak ass count!"
Zabuza waved him off casually, which only served to make Mangetsu angrier. "Yeah, yeah. That doesn't count. You had a head start. You can only count the ones you killed since I joined."
"What kind of shitty rule is that? I've been busting my ass, while you were sleeping in your ship! Of course I was tired by the time you arrived!" Mangetsu snapped back.
"Hate to interrupt your love-spat, but I think they're getting ready for that last push. And there's a whole lot of them this time." Suigetsu informed the two members of the Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist.
"Shit. Let everyone know they're coming. Breaktime is over." Mangetsu told a nearby officer.
"How about we start a new count? Both start a zero. We'll keep it fair for your complaining ass." Zabuza suggested, as he pulled his massive blade out of the ground.
"Fine. Loser has to admit the winner is the better fighter." Mangetsu replied as his sharp teeth reflected the moonlight as he smiled.
War cries began to ring out in the air, as the Loyalists prepared to charge for the final time.
"Sure. I better not hear any excuses from you later on. Well, I guess I'll see you after the battle, whether if it's at camp, or in hell." Zabuza said to Mangetsu, as he prepared for a clash, as the Loyalists began to charge towards their position.
"Heh, I'll pour out a drink at your grave then. I've got no plans to die tonight." Mangetsu replied as he brandished the Hiramekarei.
A rain of kunai, shuriken, and offensive water jutsu began to fall onto their position.
"Suiton: Suijinheki! (Water Release: Water Formation Wall)" The rebels yelled out in unison, as their water release ninjutsu users spat out a massive wall of water to provide protection for their defensive line.
The massive wall of water mostly did a superb job in providing protection for the rebels, but some of the stronger offensive water jutsu used by the Loyalists punched through the wall where the caster of the jutsu was weaker, and killed and injured several rebels.
The rebels released the jutsu when the wave of projectiles was stopped, and began to fire off jutsu and shuriken of their own, while some of their swordsmen got ready to fight in close combat.
Water jutsu and projectile weapons flew back and forth, wreaking havoc on both sides, until the Loyalist lines came crashing into the rebel's defensive line, swords and kunai swinging.
The jutsu and projectiles softened up the formations of both sides, so the clash wasn't as devastating as it would have been otherwise, allowing the rebels to hold on to the line, but the sheer numbers of the attackers began to push their weight onto the rebels.
"That's 6 and 7!" Zabuza yelled out to Mangetsu after his huge sword cleaved two Loyalists in half in one blow.
The Hiramekarei pierced a Kiri-nin in the stomach, before causing him to explode into 2 separate pieces when Mangetsu enlarged the chakra around the sword to stab 2 people behind him.
"Less talking, and more stabbing!" Mangetsu replied, as he shook off the corpses of kills, 6, 7, and 8.
Living up to their reputation, the two Legendary Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist carved a bloody path in the opposing wave. Despite orders to focus their attack on the two, the Loyalist shinobi hesitated in attacking them, watching the pile of dismembered bodies build up around them, as more and more of their sharpened teeth became visible as the mad grins of bloodlust widened on their faces.
However, it wasn't going all well for the rebels, as the northern line began to slowly collapse, despite Ao's masterful leadership, and the growing pile of dead bodies left by Kaguya clansmen.
There was one bright spot in the northern line for the rebels, that held the lines from collapsing completely.
One Kaguya clansmen, a young teen named Kimimaro, was decimating the opposition with elegant ease. He was the only one currently alive in the clan, who had inherited the exceedingly rare bloodline of the Kaguya, the Shikotsumyaku, or dead bone pulse, which allowed him to manipulate his own bones.
Ao positioned him at the center of his line, and rallied around him, and Kimimaro answered the call by using his bloodline to devastating effectiveness.
"Teshi Sendan! (Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets)" Kimimaro yelled out, as the hardened bones from the tips of his fingers dropped several incoming Loyalists dead.
After hours of fighting however, his illness began to kick in, and immediately after killing 6 shinobi with his last jutsu, he dropped to a knee and began to cough out blood.
"Shit! Why now!" Ao quietly grumbled to himself, when several rebels briefly took Kimimaro to the back to give him some water and couple minutes of rest.
Without Kimimaro's deadly dance of sharpened bones to anchor their defense, the line began to be pushed back.
Both lines of the rebels were beginning to see that things were quickly becoming untenable. Despite inflicting heavy casualties on the Loyalists, much more than the Loyalists were able to inflict on them, they knew the moment their numbers dropped to a certain point, it would become a one-sided slaughter.
The Loyalists were down to around 700 from their initial numbers which was closer to 1200 when they first arrived on the island. The rebels were down to around 70 men on the northern side, and 250 on the main line, bringing them to around 320.
Even the strongest of the rebels, Zabuza and Mangetsu, were beginning to grow tired. After all, they still had limited chakra. It's not like they were chakra monsters like Kisame.
"Unless that reinforcement you were talking about arrives soon, it might be the end for us, Zabuza." Mangetsu quietly expressed.
"Just hold on a little longer. They'll be here. Any moment now." Zabuza answered back as he smashed the butt of his sword into a Loyalist shinobi's nose, crushing it, before Zabuza slid the sword through his neck, decapitating him.
The morale of the Loyalists rose in proportion to the falling morale of the rebels.
"Come on boys! Just a little more, and we'll feed these bloodline freaks to the fish!" A Loyalist officer bellowed as he spurred on his men to finish off the fight strong.
With rebels falling left and right, things were looking bleak for the rebels. The rebels were close to giving up hope, when a loud war cry suddenly began to ring out from the south.
The Loyalists scarcely had time to turn around to see where the noise was coming from, when offensive water jutsu and projectile weapons began to decimate the rear of their forces.
"What in the hell is going on?" One Loyalist officer wondered out loud, before a kunai sunk into his forehead, killing him instantly.
"Nii-san! Look!" Suigetsu pointed out to Mangetsu, who craned his neck to see what the commotion was all about.
"Our reinforcements!" "They're finally here!" shouts of hope began to burst out from the rebel lines.
Seeing that the tide of the battle had finally swung to their side for the first time since the attacks began, Mangetsu rallied his men one more time.
"Come on men! Our reinforcements are finally here! Let's give them one last push, and teach those fuckers what happens when they mess with us!"
A rallying cry spread out all over the lines, and the men left their defensive lines to go on the offense.
The reinforcements hitting them from the rear, and the renewed vigor from the rebel defenders completely demoralized the Loyalists, and their courage melted away. When a few men began to run back to their ships, the whole force began to follow suit and began to run.
"Cut them down men! Don't let them escape alive! One of the rebel officers from the newly arrived reinforcements shouted out.
"No! Give them chase, but don't get too close to them. We have a trap set for them." Ao ordered the combined rebel forces. "Use your shuriken and jutsu to take them down as they run."
The Loyalists lost over a hundred men in the rout, as they ran back to their ships.
When they entered the corridor between the central crater on the island and the western shores of the island, where their ships were docked, Naruto sprang the first part of his ambush.
"Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Kunai Shadow Clone Technique)" Naruto called out as he unleashed a rain of hundreds of kunai onto the fleeing Loyalists.
Haku also unleased her jutsu, the Hyoton: Tsurara Rendan (Ice Release: Icicle Barrage), and sent hundreds of sharp senbons made of ice into the mass of fleeing shinobi.
Some of the fleeing shinobi saw the projectiles falling on them. "Incoming projectiles overhead!" They yelled out to warn their comrades, and many of them used their water jutsu to try to protect themselves.
The shield of water dropped the momentum of the heavier kunai, and rendered them rather useless, but the thin needles of ice easily glided through the water, and peppered the stationary Suiton users, who were standing still to maintain their jutsu. They died where they stood.
The commander of the Loyalist forces on the island, and the leading officers on the commander's ship, saw their broken and bloody forces fleeing from a massive force of rebel shinobi that now matched them in size.
The fleeing ninja were almost at their ships, when 50 shadow clones of Naruto suddenly dropped their Hiding in Camouflage Jutsu, and drew their swords.
They engaged the fleeing enemy, slowing them down, while the pursuing rebels stopped, on Ao's orders, at the mouth of the corridor.
When Naruto saw that the fleeing forces were sufficiently slowed down and bunched up, he formed a hand seal. "Kai." He whispered out with a smile, as Haku looked down from the higher ground to see what Naruto's invisble clones had been up to this whole time.
Hundreds of massive explosions, each one the strength of dozens of regular explosive tags, began to shake the beach. The commander could do nothing but look on in horror, when over 600 of his men were blown into gory bits and pieces all over the beach, staining the sand red. Not a single one made it back to their ships.
"Damn. Now that was hell of a firework show." Mangetsu commented, watching the gruesome sight in front of him.
"What did you say?" Zabuza shouted back at him as he cupped his ears with his hands, as he was unable to hear Mangetsu, due to the ringing in his ears from the massive explosions.
The rebels cheered for their victory, especially the weary defenders who had been fighting nonstop for hours. People cried and hugged each other, while some of them collapsed onto their butts, absolutely exhausted from their ordeal. Still, everyone was happy, that what was looking like an absolute disaster had somehow been turned into an overwhelming victory.
"Those of you who are fresh, go and capture the men aboard that ship. Alive." Ao ordered, and the new arrivals stormed the ship to capture the officers.
Ao watched as they secured their victory, nodding his head in approval.
'What else are you capable of, Uzumaki?' Ao thought to himself as he looked over the beach. The amount of devastation one man had been able to inflict was nothing short of awe-inspiring. Perhaps they'd finally be able to turn the tides of the war, Ao mused.
Meanwhile, in Konoha
Izumi suppressed her chakra as much as she could, as she tried to hide her presence as much as possible.
'Come on girl, you can do this. You've done dozens of stakeouts before.' Izumi tried to calm her nerves, as she observed her target at a distance.
She was now a veteran officer of the Konoha Police Force, one of its absolute finest. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous, as her target was known to be sharp, and absolutely deadly. Izumi wasn't too proud to admit that her target could probably wreck her in a fight.
That's why she was taking every precaution to stay undetected. She stood with her back against a tree, as she slightly peered over the side to make sure he was still there.
Her target approached his connects. He passed something on to the three of them.
'What kind of relationship do you have with them?' Izumi wondered to herself. 'This deserves a closer investigation.'
She cast a genjutsu on herself, and climbed a branch of a tree, and inched her way closer, towards the tip of the branch which was pointed towards her target.
She could hear one of the target's connects yelling at him, but she couldn't tell what was being said.
'What are they saying? I need to get closer.' Izumi decided, and crawled into a bush that was closer to the scene.
Sweat dripped down her brows, as she tried to move only when the wind blew and made the leaves rustle, creating a distracting noise for her to cover her movements.
She only had one shot. Once the target realized he was being observed, this whole mission was over.
The weight of the mission weighed down heavily on Izumi. Her muscles were all tensed, as she prepared herself to make herself scarce at a moment's notice. She couldn't afford to engage the target. At least not yet. Not until she figured out what made him tick.
The 3 accomplices of the target began to walk away from him, grumbling some inaudible words under their breaths.
Was this a meeting gone bad? That would be bad for her stakeout. Unnecessary tension would make the target more wary, and more prone to lashing out. She had to be extra careful, or risk being caught by her dangerous target at an inopportune time.
The target sighed and walked away. He approached a tree, and looked like he was about to sit down.
Suddenly, he turned around, and looked in her direction.
Izumi used all of her reflexes honed from years of being a kunoichi, and hid herself behind a tree. She was beginning to sweat bullets.
The man pulled out a kunai. "Is someone there?"
Shit. He sensed her presence. The man was sharp. Still, his question implied he wasn't quite sure, and didn't know it was her.
She needed to escape, and fast. She'd come back to observe him elsewhere. She quickly slid away from the scene.
Later, at night
Izumi was perched on top of a roof, peering into the windows of a bar that her target was inside.
Her Sharingan was activated, as she watched every motion her target made. She observed every person the man spoke to, and saw how they interacted. She jotted down the details in her notebook.
'So the man likes to keep a low profile. He only talks to people who approach him first. I guess he only talks to people he trusts. Smart.' Izumi analyzed.
Soon, the man walked out the bar and began to head home. Once the man was a safe distance away, she jumped off of the roof and trailed him.
She hid herself behind alleys, trashcans, and any other object she could hide herself behind. 'Walking straight home, are ya? You think you're not revealing any of your habits or tendencies, but this is a tendency of its own. I'm gonna figure you out, and soon.'
Suddenly, the man took a turn. 'That's not the way to your house… Where are you going?' Izumi thought to herself as she followed him.
The man kept walking into alleys, turning at weird places, and seemed to be going nowhere in particular.
'Shit. Has he caught on to me? It seems like he's trying to shake me off…'
She saw him enter and alley, and began to follow. Suddenly, his head peeped around the corner of the wall, and looked around.
Izumi dived into an open trashcan, and covered the lid over herself to avoid being seen.
'That was close! I'd better stay in here until he's gone. My investigation for tonight is over. He's beginning to sense me.' Izumi thought inside the trashcan.
She waited. One minute. Two minutes. 3 minutes.
'He's probably gone now.' She thought to herself.
Suddenly the lid opened.
Izumi instinctively drew a kunai and held it up to defend herself.
"AAHHHHHHH!" a scream rang out in the alleyway.
Shizune dropped the bag she was holding into the trashcan and slammed the lid shut, before she fell on her rear, and scooted backwards, until her back hit the wall behind her.
"Wha-what the hell was that? Wa-was that a person?" Shizune stammered out to herself. Slowly getting over her shock, she inched her way closer to the trashcan, before she opened the lid.
"H-hey." Izumi said with an embarrassed look on her face, as she gave Shizune a small wave.
"What the hell are you doing inside a trashcan, Izumi-san!" Shizune asked as she helped pull Izumi out of the cramped hiding spot.
"Oh… you know… a stakeout mission… of sorts." She answered vaguely.
Shizune saw the cuts on Izumi's exposed arms, which were from the broken pieces of sake bottles that Tsunade had her throw away. She then noticed the swelling on the top of Izumi's head, from Shizune slamming the lid on top of her head. The medic in Shizune couldn't bear to see a person go untreated.
"Geez, Izumi-san. What kind of mission were you on? Come with me, so I can get you cleaned up, and patch you up." Shizune told Izumi as she pinched the tip of her nose to block the smell from the trash-covered Izumi.
"Thanks. Though I'd rather not say what the mission was about. It's… top secret." Izumi said sheepishly with a slight blush on her face from embarrassment.
Shizune just shrugged, and led Izumi to her and Tsunade's home, which was nearby. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know what kind of mission would lead people into trashcans.
Meanwhile, the man Izumi had been following began to head back home.
"Hmmm, that was weird. Why the hell was Izumi following me the whole day?" Kakashi thought to himself as he finally entered his home.
"Eh, who cares. Icha Icha Kingdom, here I come!" He squealed in glee as he jumped into bed and grabbed one of his favorite books.
*Author's Note*
And that's the latest chapter of the Jinchuuriki's brother! What did you guys think? It was tough writing out battle scenes, but I think it's alright. Hope you guys liked it! Finally got to introduce some of the other characters in the Bloodline Rebellion!
So some of you might be thinking… Kaguya clan? Aren't they supposed to be extinct except for Kimimaro, who's supposed to be with Orochimaru?
Well, in this story, they're not. I looked them up, and their entry said they died fighting against Kiri. I thought that fit in with my story, as it could be seen to mean that they died fighting against Kiri in the rebellion. The rebellion is supposed to be a Kekkei genkai rebellion, but it was hard finding any other Kiri bloodlines, so I added the Kaguya clan. I might have to write in a couple Yuki survivors or something as well.
Since the Kaguya clan is alive, and part of the reason Kimimaro was with Orochimaru was because they all died out, I'm gonna have him be a part of the rebellion. He basically has one fight and then dies in canon anyway, so I'd rather have him play a bigger role in Kiri. His power is way too cool to waste after one fight.
Also, idk if that's how they work, but I had explosive tags be neutralized if the ink on the tags get wet. I needed some way to nerf them, and I thought this would be the most logical way. I wanted to add some more utility to water jutsu anyway.
I've finally reached over 200k words in writing! I never expected to write this much. I honestly thought my story would be done after like 100k words, but here I am. I haven't even gotten to the Chunin exams yet. So yay! Congrats to myself lol.
After all of the fighting, I wanted to end the chapter on a lighter note, so I wrote an Omake of sorts. What did you guys think of investigator Izumi spying on Kakashi to get info on him to hook him up with Anko?
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Hope you guys have a great day, and stay safe!
Until next time!