REBIRTH OF THE LEAF – THE DARKEST SHADOW
Outside the Temple of Jashin
Dan is in terrible condition with his lower abdomen having been punctured by Shinki's hand. Blood pours freely from his wound and shows little signs of stopping any time soon. The only thing that is stop him from bleeding to death is his own application of pressure. Normally, this would mean that the Hidden Leaf has lost, that they are down and out, that it is over. Dan is shaking. He is not shaking because of his wound, he is shaking because of what he just saw Shinki do.
At the beginning of the fight, Dan was stronger than Shinki. His abilities as a shinobi put him at a similar level of power to a low-level Kage. Combining this with the power he now has, to the power to control fire, as well as the basic physical strength boost that comes with understanding the invaders' power, he had a power similar to a low-level Colonel. Shinki started a bit below this, he started with the power of a high-level Kage but since the fight has started, his power has just increased and increased. This is a testament to Jashin's incredible power.
"Shikadai" Dan calls weakly to the man who just saved him, "Just now… did you…".
"I went to another place" Shikadai explains, interrupting his fellow Hidden Leaf shinobi. "I saw what he saw, I saw what you must have seen".
Just a moment ago, Shikadai fell into a trance, he was unmoving despite the repeated attacks of his opponent. For the next few moments, Dan had to protect him, Dan had to defend him while he was in this state where he could not defend himself. He had no idea at that time that this was what was happening. It is a ray of hope in a world of darkness.
Dan coughs as he struggles to maintain his vitality. That doesn't stifle the curve of his lips. He is smiling. What seemed like a hopeless situation just seconds ago now seems OK.
Shikadai has understood the invaders' power!
"I see" Dan says as he smiles. He doesn't get complacent though. He realises that there is still a job to be done, the man standing across from them is the Kazekage. A Kazekage who has been brainwashed by an evil-god. "I can still use my technique but I can only do it once otherwise I will die. I can't fight though, I will have to leave the rest up to you".
"Yeah" Shikadai nods confidently as he approaches Shinki. He walks closer without any visible caution or hesitation, his struts up and acts like he does with most other things in life. He walks up like it's a drag. "You don't have to worry. He's my cousin, I will take responsibility for saving him".
As Shikadai closes the distance between them, he holds a hand out to his side.
A dark substance forms in Shikadai's hand.
Dan gasps as he feels the power coming from Shikadai. He doesn't know what element The Circle's administrator has understood, nor does he know to what degree he understood it. What Dan does know, is that the power he can feel coming from Shikadai is of high quality.
He knows Shikadai is strong.
"Shinki, he has understood an element as well" Jashin's voice speeds up and raises in pitch as he explains this to his thoughtless servant. "Kill him, kill him quickly".
The deity is right to be concerned. Every single person who understands this power that the invaders use is destined to be strong. Most captains are a handful for low-level Kage, defeating a colonel has proved impossible to even the mightiest of shinobi until recently. However, if an invader did not understand any element, they would be weak, yet a shinobi would still be strong. Given that, if a shinobi understands an element, just how strong does that make them. Invariably, it makes the stronger than their invader counterparts.
Shinki hits the ground running, unlike his cousin's composed strut, he sprints forward. The distance between them closes quickly and Shinki throws a punch, his fist bears down on Shikadai's face.
Shikadai waits for the punch to come close to his face, opting only to dodge at the last second. Even in situations like this where it seems everything depends on power, he is using his brain to fight. If you dodge at the last second it is harder for your opponent to resist the counterattack, so if you can dodge late in the day, why not do it? He feels the wind blow past his ear as the fist just misses. He is not inactive in this moment; his fists are also ready and raring to go. Both of the fists are covered in a dark coloured substance but only one of them is required. He slams his tightly clenched fist into his cousin's stomach.
Shinki's body bends around his stomach, around the point of contact. Blood leaves his mouth as a result of the impact. It is not the acidic blood mastered by Jashin, it is Shinki's own blood. He quickly recovers, he may not be able to think freely but he has still maintained his fighting instincts. He attempts a barrage of punches this time, one dodge can happen by fluke but a series of dodges cannot.
Multiple dodges do not happen by accident. Shikadai dodges multiple punches because he is strong. Shikadai dodges five punches successively before sidestepping the final, most powerful punch that his cousin delivers. After Shinki's momentum carries him forward, Shikadai catches his arm, his elbow.
Shinki sees a chance, he spins away from he caught elbow and holds his body low to the ground. While he spins counter clockwise his attacking leg approaches his target, his enemies leg. He is trying to sweep Shikadai's legs.
The Nara clansmen sees this attack coming and jumps slightly into the air to dodge. His jump into the air isn't linear, he spins counter clockwise too, just like Shinki. This additional spin maximises his power when he delivers a stinging backhand to his brainwashed cousin's face.
Following this brutal, stunning attack, the raven-haired shinobi continues his assault. First, he delivers two solid punches with both his feet and Shinki's fixed to the ground, each of those punches are enhanced by his dark element. The impact of all three blows has been substantial. This is when Shikadai goes for a fourth and even more devastating blow. He moves his dark element down the length of his forearm, from his hand to his elbow before smashing that elbow into the side of his opponent's face.
It begins to work.
Shinki starts to fall down!
Shikadai presses the advantage, shifting the element down to his leg before kicking forwards as hard as he can.
The Kazekage is forced into a roll. He rolls with the length of his body at a uniform displacement from his foe. It takes just over a second for him to stop his momentum, even then he needs assistance to do it. He calls upon his iron sand to stop his own movement. After finally flipping himself back to his feet using his signature iron sand, Shinki then forms it into a giant fist, merging it with the surrounding sand just like he did before.
The giant fist slams towards Shikadai but the Nara clansmen dodges it with ease. The same thing happens again, multiple times. Even as Shinki uses Jashin's blood to merge his iron sand to more of the surrounding desert, it does him no good. Six fists of sand slam down from above, each with the goal of crushing Shikadai but none of them can hit.
"Shinki, when are you going to get the point" the Leaf shinobi asks rhetorically, "I am faster than you".
Shikadai is right and it has been shown in the fight so far. Every time there has been an exchange dependent on speed, it is the Leaf shinobi who has come out on top. That is a testament to the invaders' power. If Shikadai didn't have this power, would he ever be able to fight on a level playing field with the Kazekage.
Shinki angrily swings both arms down from above his head, bringing down a high-pressure jet of acidic blood from the sky. This is, once again, deflected easily by his opponent. Shikadai raises a single palm into the air, doing what Dan did previously and creating a shield out of his element. He uses this shield, not only to protect himself from the attack, but to deflect it back at his opponent, using the blood to destroy the iron sand fists that it helped to create.
As Shinki is distracted by this wonderful counter, Shikadai dashes towards his opponent. He arrives in front of him before he can even realise what has happened.
Shinki pulls his fist back for a powerful punch but his elbow is caught from behind. It is caught by a clone of Shikadai.
"Give me back my cousin" Shikadai screams as he slams his element covered fist into Shinki's chest.
The Leaf shinobi's element washes over the Sand shinobi's body. After the dark wave covers Shinki's entire body it explodes, knocking him onto his back.
Jashin watches on from above Shinki's shoulder and curses his bad luck.
"What the hell is happening?".
Jashin looks on at Shinki and continues to wonder what is happening. He is convinced that Dan was a stronger shinobi than Shikadai, so why is Shikadai able to overcome Shinki while Dan is not.
"Get onto your feet, Shinki…" the evil-god barks.
Shikadai simply chuckles at this demand. "Well, well, it looks like even a god can get flustered".
"Shinki, you have to kill him".
The Nara clansmen notes that Jashin is ignoring him so he raises his voice to gain attention. "But you're not a god at all, are you Jashin?".
Dan starts as he looks at Shikadai. The Nara clan has always been the most intelligent in the Hidden Leaf, they have seen things that others have not, they have a superior affinity for deducing the truth. Shikadai as an even more extreme case, perhaps he is the most intelligent shinobi in the world. He is the one who worked out something was wrong with his father's heart attack, he was the quickest one to put all the pieces together when he was given them all. It is thanks to him that they have made it this far. Still, Dan can't help but think, what is Shikadai talking about?
"You knew that I had understood an element" Shikadai grins smugly as he looks at the floating ball of light, "You're something from the invaders' world, right?".
"What is your name" Jashin questions, speaking not to Shinki but now directly to Shikadai, "You with the black element, what is your name".
"Nara Shikadai".
"Your injured ally is the perfect example. Someone with the most basic level of understanding should not be able to fight against my power". Jashin is right. After all, Dan could not. "Despite all of that, despite your weakness as a shinobi, you can fight against me".
Jashin continues, "The stone tablet in your inner world, what does it say?".
"You already know, don't you?". This power is not original but it is strong. It is something that has been seen before in this world. It is something that Shikadai has complete confidence in.
"You've been watching over this world for years, you must have heard it when General Clyde said it" Shikadai smiles as he explains, "He said that his element was so strong that he could fight someone with a greater understanding than himself".
This is indeed the case. Some elements are stronger than others, allowing their users to transcend gaps in power. Using the basic elemental cloak that colonels use, Clyde would be able to fight on par with an average general, such is his power. There are also monsters like Peterson who can come close to this just through physical training and hard work. The most extreme of someone who can fight above their level is Naruto, who defeated Clyde while only having a captain level understanding.
"I am the same" Shikadai continues.
"My element is also darkness".
Shinki starts to gradually crawl back to his feet. He lifts iron sand and acidic blood into the air using his newly amplified powers. The two begin to spiral closer to one another, eventually settling at a fixed distance from each other. After that, Shinki blasts them both towards Shikadai, a double-helix shaped attack.
The smug smile disappears from the Nara's face. It is replaced by a look of seriousness, of concentration. For the first time, he forms his element into a weapon. He creates a bow and arrow using darkness. He holds the bow firmly out in front of him and pulls back on the string and arrow before releasing his attack to counter his cousin's.
Shikadai's arrow pierces straight through the centre of the double-helix, which he dodges after firing the projectile. It shoots all the way through the middle before hitting Shinki in the shoulder, knocking the Kazekage onto his back.
"Pathetic" Jashin almost screams with rage, "It's as I said, Shinki, you are not worthy of my power".
"Still, you are my only option left" he continues, "So, I'm going to give you all of the chakra I can".
Shinki uses his iron sand to cut his own wrists.
As blood rapidly drains from his veins, it is refined and replaced with its acidic alternative. The acidic blood begins to glow, a brilliant, bright shade of red before it returns to Shinki's body.
"Good, using the part of me that is fused with your soul, I will give you all of the chakra I can" Jashin declares menacingly. "My power may kill you but who cares? Rampage Shinki, kill anyone and everyone you can, bathe this world in blood".
ROAR!
The Kazekage roars once again, louder than ever before.
Jashin cackles maniacally, "Shinki, are you feeling better now?".
Shikadai starts as he notices a glowing red colour beneath Shinki's skin. It's the blood flowing around his veins, it is glowing so brightly he can see it on the outside. He doesn't have long left if he is going to save his cousin. That isn't his greatest problem at the moment. Shinki was strong before, but now his chakra is growing even further. Just what sort of monster is he becoming, just what sort of monster is Jashin.
"Kill him, Shinki, kill Nara Shikadai".
Shinki raises his hands into the air to manipulate the surrounding iron sand and acidic blood, slamming them towards Shikadai at the same time. Shikadai does create a darkness shield in retaliation but Shinki adapts to this the moment it happens. He splits the iron sand and acidic blood apart. First, he slams the darkness shield with blood, creating several cracks along its length. Then he uses his iron sand, he uses it to puncture the shield before using it to drive Shikadai backwards along the ground.
Shikadai focuses his darkness energy on his hands. It is a struggle but he just about manages to push the attacking entities over his head. It is a simple matter for Shinki to return his iron sand and acidic blood to his side but it is even harder for Shikadai to recover. It is important to realise that the Leaf shinobi was heavily injured even before he unlocked the power of darkness, now that he has been hit hard once again, his injuries are starting to open up.
Shinki raises both his hands into the air once again, this time he does something he hasn't done before. He uses the acidic blood, not as an adhesive, but instead he directly fuses it with the iron sand.
Together, the substances for a gigantic red dragon.
With a flick of Shinki's wrists, the dragon bears down on its targets. It intends to devour Shikadai and Dan with one attack. It intends to take them both into its mouth before chewing them to death.
'I have to find a way to protect Dan' Shikadai shouts in his head, realising the desperation of this situation, 'Or else…'.
Just as he thinks this, another giant dragon arrives. It closes its own mouth around the body of the red dragon and tackles it into the nearby Temple of Jashin.
Dan looks to his side and gasps as he spots the newly arriving shinobi.
His arrival is a huge relief.
His arrival means they are safe.
"You're…". Shikadai is stunned, just like Dan, of all the people to show up.
Then he smiles, he realises this means they've won.
"Lord 1st!".
'Why is he not unconscious like the others'. Shikadai didn't know that the 1st Hokage was still awake, otherwise he would have asked him for help in the first place. He had assumed that all of the Hokage were down, that Shinki had held a grudge against every member of The Circle and all their most powerful supporters in the village.
Hashirama approaches. He is using his enhanced sage mode powers.
'I see' Shikadai works out what has happened, 'Unlike the others, Hashirama voted with Shinki, saying we should kill the invaders. Unlike Boruto, Hashirama's vote counted, that's why Shinki thought he was his only supporter'.
The Shikkotsu Forest
Tsunade has been training in sage mode since she left the village, ever since Mitsuki suggested she come here to Shikkotsu Forest. This is her first time experiencing what other sage mode users have felt around both Senju Hashirama and Uzumaki Naruto. Sage mode enhances your power, pushing you beyond your previous limits and turning you into an entirely new shinobi. However, these two, Hashirama and Naruto, are monsters who have taken the power further than any other shinobi.
"What is this…" Tsunade asks.
"Lady Tsunade" Katsuyu calls from Mitsuki's shoulder, "You know who that is, right?".
"It's my grandfather" she gasps, looking directly at the source of this power. "This is the first time I've felt his full power. It's unreal".
"That's the 1st Hokage for you" Mitsuki grins.
Tsunade's thoughts rest on her lover though. 'Dan, I don't know why you left suddenly but you better keep safe dammit'.
The Desert
"This sage power" Jashin growls, "It's unbelievable".
Interestingly, the others are also appreciating the sheer power that Hashirama brings to a fight. 'I can feel it' Shikadai is shocked to find, 'I can feel his sage mode chakra… but why…'. The reason doesn't matter right now, it is not a matter of urgency. Still, he is stunned just like everyone else feeling this for the first time. He knew Hashirama was strong but this is something else. This is the power that currently places the 1st Hokage as being the 3rd strongest inhabitant of this world.
Hashirama approaches Shinki. "Your plan was to use your new power to attack the enemy. That is a plan I can tolerate. I vowed to change, to use my head rather than my heart to make my decisions. Against what I truly desired, I was even ready to sacrifice two shinobi so that you could attack".
The frown on the 1st Hokage's face switches to a grin. "But, two shinobi who have grasped the enemies power, two shinobi this important, even when I use my head, it's no longer worth the sacrifice".
"Your plan stops now, Shinki".
"Shinki, run away" Jashin screams to his power's host, "You don't stand a chance against him".
Despite Shinki turning to run away, the wood dragon that Hashirama created previously lands in the Kazekage's path.
Hashirama's smile becomes slightly intimidating as his approach speed increases. "I only need knock him out, right Shikadai?".
"That's right".
Several poofs of smoke sound, several of Hashirama's clones on the back of the wood dragon dissipate their disguises. Tens of them leap off the back of the wooden construct before attacking Shinki. While the Kazekage is capable of fighting through these clones, it is a struggle and they are insignificant when compared to Hashirama's true body.
When the Kazekage defeats the final clone, he realises they have all been a distraction. The distraction is so effective that Hashirama was able to walk up to Shikadai without being noticed.
The first attack is an uppercut, driving Shinki up into the air.
"You should have listened to The Circle's judgement, Shinki" the 1st Hokage declares.
He appears in the Kazekage's path.
His second attack is an elbow, driving Shinki back down into the ground.
"I didn't like it but I still abide by it and do you know why?".
Shinki bounces off the ground before raising his battered face slightly, he sees that Hashirama has already arrived on the ground alongside him.
"It's because everything, I'm still a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village".
For his final attack, Hashirama takes hold of Shinki's vest before banging their heads together.
The headbutt finally does the trick.
Shinki is knocked unconscious.
For the first time in a while, the desert falls silent.
Shikadai and Dan watch on with smiles on their faces.
They understood the invaders' power but they understood something even more important here today.
They understand why Hashirama is the 1st Hokage, why he was able to defeat any colonel who stood in his way.
It's because Senju Hashirama is strong!
This battle, is the Hidden Leaf's victory.
Author Note:
Hi Everyone.
I just wanted to say that there is one more chapter for Part 4 - Rebirth of the Leaf.
Normally, that chapter would be released on Monday, as per my schedule of writing every weekday but not on weekends.
I may make an exception in this case, seeing as it's the final chapter, and release it sooner than that.
As always, I make no promises.
Thanks for reading,
Cbehrills
Further Note:
Hi Everyone,
I've been unwell as of late and have been unable to write that final chapter for you.
You have my sincerest apologies, I will be writing as soon as I feel that I can do so to the best of my ability.
Thanks,
Cbehrills