REBIRTH OF THE LEAF – THE BRIGHTEST FLAME
Outside the Temple of Jashin
The tension in the air is proportional to the heat. Shikadai can feel it as he looks on from over the shoulder of his recently arriving saviour. This heat is not like the heat caused by a jutsu. Shikadai has fought alongside and against some of the world's most proficient fire jutsu users. As he looks over the fire to his cousin, he notes that there has been no change in his expression. Shinki is just a slave to Jashin now. Still, if only for a moment, Shikadai swears he could see a hint of fear, a hint of intimidation. Perhaps Shinki is afraid, perhaps Jashin is afraid, afraid of this power that Dan has shown them.
Shikadai is quick to realise, this is no jutsu.
"You are the one who understood the invaders power" Shikadai gasps as he looks at Dan's back.
In one of The Circle's meeting, they discussed the possibility of creating a joint academy to defeat any other invaders that should come to this world. Upon this proposal being made, Shinki himself was the one who suggested the academy have new teachings. That students learn not only about the powers used in this world, but the powers used in Clyde's world too. Naruto was deemed an unsuitable advisor, an inappropriate teacher for this subject. Then the 7th Hokage pointed out that one other person had achieved what he had, that one other person had achieved the invaders power. They set about trying to find that person but never could. Until now.
"You are the one Lord 7th spoke of" Shikadai continues with an expression demonstrating his awe. How could he not be, once again, it is someone from the past who has come to their rescue. It is someone from the past who has accessed that power.
"Sorry" Dan smiles, "Have you been looking for me?".
Shikadai shakes his head slightly, deciding to focus on the problem at hand. They still have an incredibly strong opponent in front of them. "That can wait, right now we need to work out how to save Shinki".
Dan has never met Shinki before but assumes it to be the Sand shinobi stood before him. "Any ideas?".
"Some blood passed into his body earlier, it was a slightly different colour to normal blood". This was a terrifying experience for Shikadai, watching his cousin bathe in blood, his cousin that only moments ago he made amends with. He had turned an enemy back into an ally, only for them to be turned into an enemy once again. "It was after that Jashin was able to control him, after the blood passed into his body, he began to follow Jashin's orders".
"I see" Dan mutters. Jashin, that is another name he has not heard before but must quickly make sense of. Judging from the present situation, Jashin is not a living person but some sort of spirit or ghost. Likely, he is using that floating orb above Shinki's shoulder to pass orders to the present-day shinobi. "Is that blood forcing him into this state where he follows Jashin's orders then?".
"Yeah. Is it possible to deplete or purify that blood using the spirit transformation technique?". Shinobi of the past are spoken of in history lessons in shinobi academies. Kato Dan is a talented shinobi, one of the best in the Hidden Leaf's history but not quite prominent enough to be discussed in academies like Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama. Unlike everyone else though, Shikadai has access to extensive databases of information on historical shinobi, he knows of Dan's unique powers.
"I think it's possible I can save him". Dan looks over Shinki, just the chakra he can feel coming from him is enough to tell that he is strong. There is a problem that this presents. "He won't just let me possess him. When my spirit leaves my body, he'll destroy my body before I can possess him, then I will die". It's one of Dan's few weaknesses. Since accessing the invaders abilities, to use his full power he must use his original body and not a clone, just like Naruto.
"We'll have to stop him from doing that" the raven-haired shinobi replies.
"Can you halt him using your shadow possession?". It is unusual for Shikadai to know of Dan's techniques as a shinobi of today. However, Dan worked with members of the Nara clan in the past, he knows all about their abilities.
Shikadai shakes his head. "No, his chakra will overwhelm me fairly quickly. He's too strong for me to stop him for more than an instant".
"Long enough for me to possess him".
Once again, a shake of the head. "I don't want to take that chance".
"OK" Dan sighs, "Then I'll need to incapacitate him".
"I'll support you".
Seemingly fed up of the conversation, the floating ball of light on Shinki's shoulder glows slightly and a deep, intimidating voice resounds around the immediate area.
"Shinki, kill them both".
The Kazekage does just that, throwing his hands around in a complicated manner similar to weaving signs. As he does this, iron sand combines loosely with the acidic blood he was using before. The iron sand slams up and down several times, banging into the sandy floor. Much to the horror of Shikadai, this binds sand together with his cousin's iron sand. It is as if Shinki can control not only his offensively superior iron sand but the sand around them as well.
Now that he has control over the sand, he lifts it up into the air, using it to construct a giant open-palmed hand. Throwing his arms down, the arm pistons using its sandy elbow, slamming down towards Shikadai and Dan.
The two Hidden Leaf shinobi jump away from one another, allowing the hand not to hit them but instead to slam down between them.
As sand flies up into the air, Shikadai quickly emerges on one side of it. The Nara clansmen brings his hand down to his pocket before lifting it out, throwing three shuriken at his cousin as he does so. This is part of his intelligent fighting scheme, normally Shinki would easily see through this, he would know that this is a distraction. Right now, however, the Kazekage is on auto-pilot, he has no ability to distinguish between a distraction and a real attack.
Shinki uses a barrier of iron sand to block the shuriken. What he doesn't see is the attack coming at him from his right. Dan weaves a series of signs before slamming his hands onto the ground. This is the earth jutsu, mobile core. As he uses it, the ground below Shinki lowers, creating a square shaped hole in the desert with the Kazekage at the bottom.
Shikadai sprints over to the newly created hole before leaping over the top. He reaches into his other pocket and takes out some old but useful weapons. A group of paper bombs. He drops several of them into the pit before landing on the other side.
BOOM!
Flames shoot out of the top of the pit in a dramatic fashion, like high pressure water firing out the end of a tube.
Dan gets to his feet before casually walking over to the pit. He looks down to the bottom, checking on the status of his opponent, on whether now is the right time to use his technique. It is not.
Shinki rises from the pit, riding atop a pool of blood like a levitating platform.
After rising out of the pit, he leaps from his pool of blood. He wraps his arm around Dan's waist and tackles him to the ground as hard as he can. Right now, he doesn't have the tactical wherewithal to hold back if necessary, he is just going at it like a raging bull.
As his back hits the ground, Dan ignites his newly acquired flames on both of his hands, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
That moment doesn't come. With his first blow, Shinki hits Dan in the face, stunning him to the point where the latter's flames dissipate. Dan is not like Naruto, he is less powerful as a shinobi and is less powerful using the invaders power. While his current abilities would put him above Shinki normally, or above most Kage from the past, they do not put him above this possessed Kazekage.
Shinki raises his fist into the air once more, this time going for the killing blow. Just as he is about to lower his fist he stops uncontrollably. Looking to his right, he notices a shadow connecting him with Shikadai. The shadow possession can only stop him for an instant but sometimes that instant is long enough.
Dan takes hold of Shinki by the jacket, pulling the Kazekage towards him, he slams his head forward and smashes their skulls together.
Shinki raises to his feet upon receiving this blow. He staggers backwards, overcome by the pain for just a moment.
The blue-haired shinobi gets to his feet as quick as he can and covers the length of his right leg in flames. He lifts it off the ground and slams it into Shinki's chest, pushing him back with tremendous force. Shinki can slow himself down only using a combination of iron sand and the blood Jashin has facilitated his control over.
Shikadai runs up to Dan's side and comments about the new level of power his cousin has reached.
"He's strong, that's for sure" Dan frowns.
"Can you take him down?".
The words sound like a challenge to the lover of the 5th Hokage. That isn't what runs through his mind though, he had wanted to be the Hokage, to be responsible for looking after the village. He may not be the Hokage but this is his moment to shine, to defend the village when nobody else can.
"Yeah, I can take him down".
Dan then takes off, sprinting towards Shinki.
Shinki uses blood as an adhesive, mixing his iron sand with the surrounding sand much like before. He raises his arms into the air, creating a giant hand. This time the hand is closed tightly into a fist and as Shinki swings his arms down, the fist bears down towards the Leaf shinobi.
Dan has a counter for this that he heard Colonel Peterson used in his fight against Hashirama. He places his palm out in front of him before forming his fire into a shield. It is not a quick formation, unfortunately, his ability to mould fire as he wishes is inferior to Peterson's ability to mould lightning. It does, however, make it in time. The shield blocks the fist.
BANG!
A small but noticeable vibration grasps the surrounding area as the two seemingly unstoppable forces collide.
This collision is what Dan has been anticipating. He may not be the quickest in moulding his fire but he can do it quicker than Shinki can throw another punch. He retracts the flames that constituted the shield and morphs them into a spear. He takes one step forward with a bent knee and twists his hips for power, arching his arm from his back to his front, he launches the spear towards Shinki.
The Kazekage can dodge something like this with minimal effort. He keeps one foot mounted firmly in place and uses it as a pivot point. He swings his body around, turning ninety degrees to face what was formerly his right side. When he starts to face that direction, he is greeted by an unexpected sight.
Dan is already there.
'He's faster than before' Shikadai smiles as he watches his comrade show off his newly acquired power, 'It must be because he is using their power'. 'Their' of course, refers to the people who have made their life hell for so long, to Clyde and his followers.
Dan coats his fist in flames and throws it towards Shinki. 'It's alright, don't hold back' he encourages himself as his hand bears down on the chest of his opponent, 'You're fighting against a tough opponent here. He won't die just because of this'. The fist makes contact with flames exploding in each direction from the connection point.
The small shockwave reminds Shikadai of a Colonel's power. After all, Dan was a powerful shinobi even before he added this power to his arsenal.
The punch is well directed so as to not knock the Kazekage too far away, the Leaf shinobi is well aware that he must be close to his Sand counterpart to be safe when he uses the technique. As the Sand shinobi falls onto the ground, Dan looks over his body to see if this is a suitable moment to use his technique.
There is a lot of blood on the floor, leaking from Shinki's side.
'This should be enough'.
Just as Dan prepares to use his spirt transformation technique, he is stunned by his opponent. The blood from the floor starts by wobbling slightly, then it actually lifts off the floor, it begins to flow back into Shinki's wound and actually begins to heal him.
Jashin chuckles. An evil cackle that would be well-suited to a child's nightmare or well-placed in a horror film. "That's it Shinki… kill… kill them!".
Shinki follows orders, he starts to get up!
Dan takes a deep breath before covering his fists in flames once again. It looks like this fight is far from over.
"You can get stronger, Shinki. All you need to do is give in".
The Kazekage opens his mouth and lets out a primal scream. Shikadai can feel it, it's so loud. He can feel his skin tingle, not only with the sheer volume of his cousin's scream but in response to the sensation he is feeling. In response to the incredible chakra that is being used.
"That's right Shinki, let my power flow through you".
Shinki throws several punches at Dan. The blue-haired shinobi does manage to dodge the first few but notices that as they come his opponent isn't tiring at all. Conversely, the Kazekage's punches are becoming harder to dodge. With each punch thrown, the gap between Shinki's fist and Dan's head decreases.
'He's getting faster'.
Dan flips around, placing his back on Shinki's chest before rolling forward. As the Leaf shinobi rolls forward, he extends his legs, bringing his heels up towards Shinki's chin. This is a sound and creative attack, one that would work, if Shinki didn't move backwards.
As Dan's heels pass Shinki's chin and continue to lift uncontrollably into the air, Dan starts when he realises his current position. His hands are fixed firmly on the ground, having been used to help him create for in his attack on Shinki. His legs are high up in the air and have uncontrollable momentum.
His whole body is wide open.
Blood. Shinki uses the blood he has control over to blast into Dan's chest. He pushes Tsunade's lover backwards using high pressure blood alone. He uses it in the same way Sisto used water during the captained-six contest.
As Dan comes to a halt there is a red trail leading to his body. It is unknown though, is that Jashin's blood, or his own.
Shinki sprints towards Dan who is injured poorly positioned to protect himself from a close-range attack. He may have lost some combat intelligence when he was possessed but he still can recognise whether an attack will be most effective from a distance or up close. While the Kazekage's opponent fires several bolts of fire at him, he is able to dodge every last one of them. Then he reaches for Dan's throat. He would reach it, he would end the fight then and there but Shikadai has stopped him once again, he stopped him with the shadow possession technique.
Dan doesn't hold back, he blasts flames straight at Shinki a move that would kill most Kage.
Shinki simply takes the blow however. He flips backwards once before calmly landing on his feet.
Shikadai runs to Dan's side, checking if his comrade is injured despite not being in good condition himself.
"What's happening, is he getting stronger?".
"Yeah" Dan nods through deep, laboured breaths. "That last attack would have had a much greater effect at the start of the fight".
Shikadai watches as blood returns from the ground and enters the wound in Shinki's side. "No" he says as he watches it return, "He's not getting stronger, it's his blood".
"Blood?".
The Nara clan are famed for their ability to work out an opponent. Only a few shinobi in history have been on par with them in this sense. Each of those individuals, the likes of Madara, Orochimaru and Kakashi have gone on to become legends in the history of this world.
"Every time his blood is spilt he purifies it before bringing it back into his body" Shikadai says as he watches the spilt blood slowly return to his cousin. That is unhealthy, any doctor who saw it happen would be horrified. Despite that, something is different about this situation, Jashin has a strong influence over blood. "But that's not all he's doing. He's using that blood as a second means of transporting chakra".
Dan is stunned as he hears this, he quickly turns to face Shikadai. "He's circulating chakra through his blood, is that even possible".
He is met with a grim answer. "It is for Jashin".
Shikadai continues, "Each time his blood is spilt, Jashin is filling it with chakra. You can feel it changing right, it is becoming less like it was at the start of the fight, less like Shinki's and more like Jashin's".
"There is only one route forward" Dan notes, "We have to knock him unconscious".
"That was the plan from the start" Shikadai reminds his ally. "It's easier said than done". To knock the Kazekage unconscious is incredibly difficult. Dan is close to the level of the Colonels who invaded this world which would mean he could knock an average Kage unconscious fairly easily. However, Shinki has always been strong, even for a Kage and his recently enhanced power is only making things more difficult.
"A strong blow to the head will do it" Dan declares as his fists light up.
"How confident are you?".
"I'm not completely confident" the man from the past admits with regret in his voice. "But, I probably won't kill him".
Their conversation is interrupted as Shinki lets out another primal scream. His chakra increases in potency once again, a qualitive transformation.
A bead of sweat drops down from the back of Shikadai's head onto his neck. At first, he puts this down to a cold sweat but then he looks up into the sky. The sun has already risen in the land of wind. The burning heat that this region is famed for is just as intense as it was during his youth.
"The sun is hot here" Shikadai comments as he readies himself for battle.
"Will the brightness make your shadow based technique more difficult" Dan asks.
"It will be fine" Shikadai starts with a smile, "After all…".
He stops mid-sentence. His mouth hangs wide open and his eyes are wide to match it. It's as if he has understood a weakness in his opponent. It is as if he has discovered a way to win. Formerly he felt too small to compare to the likes of the Hokage that came from the past. He felt like he was an ant trying to make a difference in a world of giants. Then this incident happened and now everything is depending on him. It seems muscles aren't the only way to grow. Not only can strong ants become giants but smart ones can too.
"Shikadai, are you alright?". Naturally, Dan is concerned when his sole ally in this battle stops talking.
Shinki uses this opening to create a giant wave of iron sand. The iron sand is like a tsunami, the only tsunami to ever hit the desert. It charges towards them at a speed that only the most skilled shinobi would dodge.
Naturally, both Dan and Shikadai are amongst the most talented shinobi in their generation. They were both, at their peaks, figures that could have a huge impact on the shinobi world. Shikadai is in a trance though, so Dan has to take drastic measures. He tackles his fellow Leaf Shinobi out of the way of the iron sand, only managing to get out of harm's way at the very last moment.
"Hey Shikadai, are you alright?" he asks as he shakes the raven-haired Nara, "This is no time to daydream".
"This is the perfect chance" Jashin declares, "Kill them, Shinki".
As the Sand Shinobi bears down on his two opponents, Dan pushes Shikadai away to try and save him. This doesn't wake Shikamaru's son though, instead he stands there just like he was before, he stands with a shocked expression, looking into the distance as if there isn't another person in the world.
Dan fires fireballs at Shinki repeatedly but the Kazekage dodges each and every one.
Shinki reaches Dan and thrusts his hand, like a sword, into Dan's stomach. As the historic shinobi spits blood onto his enemy's hand, Shinki pulls his hand away, withdrawing it. He watches as Dan loses control of his legs, as he falls down towards the ground. When he falls into the perfect position, the possessed shinobi kicks him at a new target. He kicks Dan straight towards his cousin. Straight towards Shikadai.
Then things change.
At the last second, Shikadai dodges the incoming Dan before catching him as gently as possible. Then he lays him down on the ground.
"Shikadai…" Dan chuckles lightly, "Those reflexes are…".
Dan is right, Shikadai's reflexes have noticeably improved.
"You don't need to worry about my techniques suffering in the sunlight" Shikadai smiles.
"That's because…".
"… my darkness absorbs all light".