The Battle for Yamiji Village
Stijin stared at the giant feline creature, an annoyed look as the chakra cannon rocketed towards him. He couldn't take that blow straight on. He'd die, no questions asked. The creature may be slower than him, but the power it packed in its blows was terrifying. He had been hurt merely by being thrown off the thing. He didn't need to see how strong it was, much less how strong it's chakra-enhanced attacks were.
He liked living.
It was fun.
Switching places with a nearby log Stijin landed on the ground, staring up at the giant creature that stared down at him. The creature roared, swinging its large paw, only for Isshin to dash underneath it, his blade flowing, wreathed in flame as he cut through its skin, leaving a deep gash on its palm. The creature roared before it's tails swung around, the ends of the tails pointed at Isshin before bullets of chakra blasted from the hollow ends. Stijin's eyes widened, the man leaping into the air, but he was too slow, one of the blasts impacting against his leg, causing him to cry out in pain, spinning through the air. The creature reacted instantly, batting him, sending the man crashing into the ground.
Stijin groaned, slowly rising despite the blow only to hiss in pain as he tried to stand, collapsing to his knees. He looked at his injured leg, frowning as he saw the deep bruise on it. He was hurt, bad. His leg might have even have been broken, although he doubted it considering he could still move it. But the pain sure as hell felt like it was broken. He couldn't walk on it, that was for sure, which put him in a perilous situation for the rest of the fight.
The creature howled, a blue light illuminating the battlefield as it called upon more of its chakra. Isshin grunted. He couldn't exactly avoid that in his present situation, and he most definitely couldn't overpower it with a jutsu of his own. He needed help. The man grunted, clenching his fists as he stared up at the feline creatures movements, only for his eyes to widen as the creature slowly began to shrink, becoming humanoid, one of its arms missing, likely the limb he had cut off. The creature was about the same size as your average teenager, only much bulkier, a crazed look in its eyes.
"Don't tell me you're done yet! I want more! More!"
Stijin grunted, leaning on his sword as he stood, glaring at the creature that had tubes extend from its back, its gray skin shifting before it rocketed forwards. Stijin grunte,d preparing to defend himself, only for the creature to go right by him, grabbing another monstrosity and ripping into it with relish, blood trailing from the creatures mouth and hands. Stijin frowned, gripping his blade even tighter. That was...not normal behavior. And for this thing to actually have intelligence, enough to speak. That wasn't normal. But it also meant that the creature was either a weird type of summon or a shinobi.
Either solution was bad for him.
His situation went from bad to worse as the creature's arm regrew, the creature giving it a few test swings before it grinned at Stijin, rocketing forwards with all the force of the added chakra cannons. Stijin swiftly raised his blade, ignoring the blaring pain in his leg, flames coating his blade before he swung, only for his eyes to widen as the blade clanked off of the creatures skin.
It's body was too thick to cut!
Stijin grunted as the creatures blow slammed into his stomach, blood shooting from his mouth before he was sent flying, the creature leaping after him before he even reached the apex of his flight, its arms raised. "Come on! Give me more! Fight! Where's all that strength you had from before bastard!" The creature brought its arms down, Stijin spitting blood into the air as his chest was shattered by the sheer strength of the creature, slamming into the ground from the attack, his sword at his side, his hand still gripping it despite the brutal assault.
The creature came down hard, landing on top of Stijin, causing him to cry out in pain, the creature grinning as it brought back its arm, a dull blue glow coming from behind its arm as cannons formed behind it. "Maybe the other shinobi nearby can give me a better challenge!"
Stijin's eyes widened, Tenten filling his thoughts, before flame covered his sword once more, causing the creature to smile. "Good! I like some resilience from prey on its last legs!"
The creature brought its arm down just as Stijin swung his blade, the flames on his blade burning brightly, clanking off of the creatures arm hopelessly, however the attack wasn't completely ineffective. The creature's arm was deflected just enough to smash into the ground next to Stijin's head, the man completely unconscious. The creature grunted, clearly disappointed before it looked at the gates. With a grin it leapt towards them.
Tenten grunted as she stabbed her kusarigama into another monster, only for it to screech with rage and charge towards her. She grunted, leaping into the air and flipping over the monstrosity, the chain wrapping around the monsters neck before she placed her foot on the creatures back and shoved, grunting as the creature seized in an attempt to gain oxygen once more. However, she quickly managed to kill the creature, it falling dead due to the lack of oxygen going to its brain. Tenten yanked her kusarigama out of the creatures body only to glare at the almost never-ending storm of the creatures, a fire raging to illuminate even those that lurked in the shadows. What she was doing wouldn't work, at least not permanently. The creatures didn't seem to have any limit to their numbers, and they were clearly more than a match for the samurai, killing any that dared to challenge them.
Tenten shook her head. She couldn't focus on them, she had to focus on the shinobi. The samurai would have to hold their own. But it was significantly harder to see the form of a shinobi when caught in the heat of battle. That was why she was happy when they came to her, although she wasn't happy at the sneak attack that they pulled, being thrown into a nearby wall by a blast of wind, her body aching. She opened her eyes, shock registering in her eyes as she saw an arm swinging towards her face. She immediately ducked, launching her kusarigama at the offender, only for her assailant to step away from the attack. The figure grasped the kusarigama chain, yanking her in before smashing his fist into her gut, causing her to cough up spit before she crumpled to the ground.
"You thought you could defeat us," Gozu stated, grunting as he looked down at the girl. Tenten grunted, watching as the man raised his fist, it enlarging, similar to an Akimichi, before she dove away, her kusarigama in hand. However, she had no time to relax, as she heard another cry. The wind user! Tenten immediately leapt away, barely avoiding the storm of wind that slashed the ground and nearby wall, frowning. She turned, a boy with his arms raised glaring at her. Two on one. That would be difficult, but manageable.
Gozu launched himself forwards, causing Tenten to grunt. The girl swung her blade side, yet the man only covered his body in earth, deflecting the attack before launching a punch. Tenten dodged the blow, getting close in his range before she smashed her fist into his stomach, the enhanced blow doing nothing despite her trying her hardest. Gozu grinned, throwing another punch that Tenten blocked, only for the force of the blow to still send her flying, directly towards the Fuuton user.
The girl drew a scroll in the midair, her kusarigama having fallen from the force of Gozu's punch, drawing a blade that she flung towards Zaku, his eyes wide. He was unable to react in time as the blade pierced his chest, Tenten smashing her feet into his stomach, her hand gripping the blade before she pushed off, violently ripping the blade from his chest as she rocketed towards Gozu, blood-soaked blade at the ready.
However, Tenten's attack failed completely as Gozu's body turned to mud, her blade merely sinking into his form. The girl grunted, trying to pull her blade from the mans mud body, only to fail. She leapt away, leaving her sword trapped, glaring at the male as he slowly returned to normal, his hand wrapped around the blade before he broke it in two, tossing the shattered pieces to the ground. Tenten frowned, glancing at her kusarigama. She would have preferred to have fought with that but she didn't really have a choice. She couldn't quite fight with Black Angel yet either. It would be the equivalent of suicide to someone as skilled as the teen before her. She needed something else.
Luckily Gai had taught her how to handle herself with quite a few weapons, only made better with her training from her father. With a flourish the girl drew a chain whip, the blade whipping around her before she sent it flying forwards. The man leapt away from the attack, weaving through a series of handseals, several bullets of mud sent flying towards her. Tenten frowned, lashing out with the chain whip, slicing the bullets in half as she reinforced the weapon with her chakra. Gozu frowned, leaping forwards, moving to fast. But not fast enough.
The girl side stepped his attack, lashing out with a kick that smashed into the teens side, sending him stumbling backwards. He grunted, reaching out with his enlarged arms, only for Tenten to whip the chain whip back and forth, the dagger at the end of the chain slicing into Gozu's arms. The man recoiled, wincing in pain, causing Tenten to smirk before she leapt forwards, launching her chain whip. However, once again Gozu turned to mud, the chain whip submerging in the mud. Tenten grunted, trying to pull it free, only causing the whip to get further entrapped in the mud. Before the girl could let go of the chain Gozu returned to normal, pulling her forwards, his arm already cocked back. Tenten grunted, raising her arms to block, but it meant little. Gozu's punch smashed through her form, the girl being sent flying from the sheer force of his punch.
Tenten groaned, seeing stars as she smashed into the ground, her body rolling before she smacked against something solid. Wet. She shook her head, clearing the stars from her vision before her eyes widened. She whispered she was still seeing stars. It was better than seeing the corpse that was in front of her. Anything would be better than seeing the shredded samurai's dead body, the beast that was devouring him clearly not interested in her, in favor of eating the man. Tenten wanted to retch, but she didn't have the luxury. Not in a battlefield.
The girl lashed out, kunai in hand, jabbing it into the monstrosities head, causing it to screech before it swung at her, only for her to roll away, the creature racing after her. Tenten grunted, sliding underneath another one of the monsters attacks before she spun, drawing another kunai, this one with an explosive tag on it, before she stabbed it directly into the monsters armpit, leaping away just as the explosion occurred, the monster howling in pain. However, even that wasn't enough to bring it down, the creature rushing Tenten like a mad bull, missing one arm. Tenten frowned, tensing herself, drawing another explosive kunai only for her eyes to widen as she heard steps behind her. She flipped into the air, not a second to soon as Gozu thrust his arm forwards, engulfing the area where she once was.
She landed behind the teen, launching her explosive kunai before quickly causing it to explode, smoke covering the area, causing her to tense. If the man was as durable as he had been seen to be that wouldn't take him down. However, Gozu was quickly dismissed from her mind as she heard the roar of the monster again, the creature swinging its lone arm at Tenten's chest. The girl grunted, taking the blow, feeling her ribs creak underneath the force before she was sent flying, smashing into a wooden post that crumpled from the force. The girl groaned, slowly standing, only for her eyes to widen as she saw the monster rushing forwards again. The girl quickly grabbed a rather long and jagged piece of wood, placing it in front of her, smirking as the creature ran straight into it, the stake spearing out of its back. However the girl quickly realized she had miscalculated as the force of the now dead monsters charge smashed her against a wall, pinned, as the wooden stake speared through her shoulder.
Tenten hissed in pain, blinking back her tears before she saw him. Gozu, rushing towards her, his arm enlarged. In this situation she couldn't dodge, she couldn't move. She was screwed. If he got his hands on her she would die, he was simply too much stronger than her. She needed to keep her distance and speed, that was the only reason she had been able to fight him on a relatively even footing. But with the damn stake in her shoulder and the weight of the monster she couldn't move. Gozu cocked his arm back, a grin on his face, causing Tenten to grimace.
Gozu's arm flew forwards, only to pause as the gates of the fort were sent flying, the heavy metal doors smashing through the monstrosities and samurai alike, smashing them against a wall, leaving only bloody smears to remember them by. Tenten frowned, barely able to see the creature with enough force to send the gates flying with a mere punch, despite the raging fire illuminating the area. Gozu however seemed to be able to make out what it was that had caused the damage.
"So Jugo beat that guy huh? Bout time. And here I was thinking we wouldn't be able to take this fort without the second or third attack, that we were sacrifices. Clearly Konoha has been off its A game."
Tenten frowned at the mans words but she couldn't say he was wrong. They were taking the fort, if the never-ending wave of monsters was anything to on. Gaku and Hayama were likely trying their damnedest, but they couldn't put a dent in the sheer number of these things. Hopefully her father was still managing to hold back the giant monstrosity. She couldn't hear it anymore, but this Jugo had come from that...direction...
Tenten's eyes widened in horror as she realized the likelihood of the situation, and her face scrunched up with rage soon afterwards. That...thing had harmed her father. She couldn't let that stand. She wouldn't, let that stand. The girl stared at the small creature, watching with horror as it began to kill samurai in an even more brutal manner than the other monstrosities. She couldn't allow this to go on for any longer. The girl closed her eyes, remembering Gai's lesson. She could do this. She hadn't been able to before, but this...this was something she had to be able to do.
Breathe. The brain. Focus on her brain. Her muscles. Her strength. Her muscles...her strength. Desire. Strength. Strength is what she needed. And she would only get it upon releasing her weakness. She couldn't stand still. She had lost to Kankuro. She couldn't lose to this man too.
Weightless. That was how she felt. She instantly knew what she had done, but she also knew what that meant. She had no time to waste. With a surge she drove the stake out of her shoulder, sending the overgrown monster flying, and brushing passed Gozu, the teens eyes widening as he saw the girls speed. She was nothing like before. She was fast, and strong. He could see it in her movements.
He could see it when she sent Jugo flying in the air before coming down with a powerful pile driver that cratered the earth, her cry of rage heard throughout the fort. Gozu shuddered. He couldn't see her form, the dust cloud from the impact was too large, but he knew one thing for sure.
He was not going to fight that.
With that Gozu dashed away from the battlefield.
Gaara frowned, cracking his neck as he stared out over the desert, frowning as he saw the force of Sunagakure shinobi marching forwards, heading towards one of the nearby forts. They had been travelling for about two days, and were nearing the edge of Sunagakure territory. The young Jinchuriki nodded to himself. The Sunagakure force was going to invade the fort that Konoha had taken, in an attempt to take it back. Gaara could only shake his head. He could only hope that Naruto was there. He had to talk with him one more time. He had to talk with him about the war. Neither had truly experienced it, and maybe it had changed the blondes perception of the world.
Maybe Naruto's words were those spoken by a fool?
Gaara didn't want to believe it, but he also understood the truth. Naruto was still a Genin, a novice by all intents and purposes, when he had said those words. He was no Kage. He wasn't experienced. He didn't know the how the world operated. But he soon would.
Gaara frowned as he felt a hand clasp onto his shoulder. The boy turned, seeing Daimaru staring down at him, a frown on the older teens face. "Daimaru," Gaara questioned. Daimaru only sighed, pointing towards a shinobi that had a sash on his upper arm. Gaara frowned, nodding to himself as he walked towards the commander. He likely had something he wanted to talk to him about, likely about telling him when and where to transform into Shukaku. They had brought the seal to calm him down with them after all.
The only question was would he. He did have to talk with Naruto. He had to know the truth. Gaara shook his head, clearing his thoughts as he came face-to-face with his commanding officer. Ibushi Shirogane. The head of the Sunagakure Puppeteer Corps. Gaara frowned. This man was a threat, undoubtedly. He was one of the most powerful shinobi in all of Suna. He was even the man who got Kankuro interested in puppets. The young Jinchuriki couldn't help but feel like he would be used as one.
Although he supposed he shouldn't have judged despite never having talked to the man. He wasn't particularly interested in Gaara for the most part, more interested in Kankuro.
"Gaara, clear your head. We are on a mission."
Gaara blinked, realizing that Ibushi had been staring at him for quite some time. Gaara frowned. "I apologize," he muttered. Ibushi merely rolled his eyes, as if to say "Don't let it happen again." before he kept talking.
"Anyways, I will repeat what I said, you're too valuable for me not to. I don't like repeating myself, so pay attention this time. When we invade you are under orders from Kazekage-sama himself not to transform into Shukaku unless we are on the retreat, am I clear?"
Gaara blinked. That was...surprising. He would have expected that he would transform into Shukaku as soon as possible to cause as much havoc as possible. Kill as many enemy shinobi. To hear that he was being told not to transform was surprising indeed. In a way it defeated the purpose of him even being a Jinchuriki in the first place. Ibushi seemed to be able to read minds however, as he kept talking. "I understand what you're thinking. It makes no sense, however the Kazekage has his rational. This fort is an important military asset. It makes no sense to just destroy it by suing a Bijuu. No, we need that fort, so we are to retake it with as little damage to its structural integrity as possible."
Gaara frowned. "Then why bring me along? No collateral damage isn't what I excel at, even without Shukaku."
Ibushi sighed, rubbing the back of his head, his gray hair spilling over his shoulders. "I agree, even I am confused. However do not doubt this boy, you are still a strong shinobi, stronger than many Chunin. In the invasion you were only defeated due to another Jinchuriki. From our intel, there are not Jinchuriki here."
Gaara frowned. No Jinchuriki had been sent from Konoha? That meant that Naruto wasn't there. The young redhead sighed despondently. He supposed their conversation would have to wait. Although maybe he could come up with his own answer through seeing this battle? Maybe he, like Naruto, could be enlightened? The redhead nodded. Yes, that was what he would have to do. Naruto gave him an idea, and now he had to see if he was capable of understanding that idea even when it was being tested by the world around him.
It was a challenge he was looking forward to if the shifting of his sandy arm was any indication.
Naruto grunted as Jiraiya sent him flying with a punch, the boy smashing into a tree, bruises covering his body despite his accelerated healing. The two had been fighting for a long while, and it showed. Naruto was covered in cuts and bruises, while Jiraiya only had one bruise on his cheek from Naruto getting lucky with an attack he pulled off with his clones. It was the only marker that the boy was even able to fight back against the stronger shinobi.
Jiraiya raised his hand as Naruto rose, signalling for the blonde to stop. The no-holds barred taijutsu sparring match could be continued later. The kid had stamina, meaning he could work in how to properly fight later. He had to focus on teaching Naruto ninjutsu while he still had the ability to learn.
"Create a couple clones Gaki, I wanna show you something."
Naruto blinked but nodded, forming ten shadow clones. Jiraiya nodded, before he quickly formed the Rasengan in his hand, Naruto's eyes widening. "What the? What are you showing me the Rasengan? I already told you, I know how to do it already."
Jiraiya smirked. "I know, I just wanted to show you the jutsu again, see if you notice anything strange about it."
Naruto blinked. "Strange? Not really?"
Jiraiya nodded. "Think about it? Lots of jutsu are powerful when they're just pure chakra, but what makes them more powerful?"
"Elemental chakra," Naruto muttered, getting Jiraiya to nod, a grin on the man's face. Maybe the blonde wasn't an idiot after all. He sincerely hoped that he wasn't, or else this lesson would take a while.
"Does elemental chakra seem to be something the Yondaime would forget to add to one of his jutsu, especially if that was the original intent of the technique?"
Naruto's eyes widened. "You can add elemental chakra to the Rasengan?"
Jiraiya frowned, shrugging. "Dunno," the sage said, the Rasengan disappearing as he let the technique fall. "It's only theoretical of course. The Yondaime never accomplished it. Neither have I, but you might be able to. Wind is more malleable than the other elements, even more so than water. Since neither the Yondaime's, nor my own, elemental chakra natures are wind we may have a harder time doing it. So what we're going to do is get your wind manipulation skills better."
Naruto grinned. "That's good because I had an idea!"
"An idea," Jiraiya questioned, getting Naruto to nod.
"Yeah. I was at the library and I saw this book on the Kumogakure lightning armor jutsu's, and I was inspired. Even more so when I saw Hina-chan's jutsu during the Finals of the Chunin Exam. They can create armor made of chakra around their bodies. I wanna do that with Fuuton chakra!"
Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Interesting idea, although risky. Fuuton can cut you up if your control isn't good. Any progress so far?"
Naruto frowned, shaking his head. "No."
Jiraiya frowned, waving his arms. "Show me what you got."
Naruto nodded, tensing his body, as did his clones. Slowly the blondes channeled their chakra, the ground at their feet shifting slightly due to the wind they drew upon, however before they could continue a cut appeared on their faces, the clones disappearing in a puff of smoke, Naruto's own cut already having stopped bleeding. It wasn't deep.
Jiraiya frowned. "I think I already see the main issue. You're fighting against the wind. That's impossible. You can't fight wind, you can only guide it. Fuuton chakra doesn't work like earth, or even water. You can stop those two if you really make the effort. But wind is more like Raiton in the sense that you can't stop it. It plows through everything and anything it touches. Wind will cut down whatever stands in its way, even if it takes time. You need to stop trying to force the wind to swirl around your body. You just need to direct it."
"Direct it?"
Jiraiya nodded, before his eyes widened and he drew a kunai, tossing it at Naruto, who caught it, confused. "Do this brat. Have your wind chakra enshroud the kunai. That should be the first step to creating this jutsu of yours. If you can learn the Hien (Flying Swallow), then you should be one step closer to being able to use it on your body. If you need an example find Asuma Sarutobi, he's a master of this technique, although he's currently out training in the forest under the Sandaime's orders. You can work with me on this for now."
Naruto blinked, frowning, but nodding nonetheless, trying to flow his Fuuton chakra over the kunai, only for a cut to appear on his hand. Jiraiya groaned. This was going to take a while.
Tenten groaned as she landed on the battlefield, her body aching from pain. Lee wasn't lying when he said that technique was draining. It was more than draining, it was exhausting. If Lee could only describe it as draining than he really was in monstrous physical shape. Tenten shook her head, her vision blurry as she saw the fires rage, monsters continuing to engage the dwindling numbers of samurai. But it seemed that the monsters too were beginning to thin, surprisingly. It looked like Gaku was finally making a dent in the creatures...but where was Hayama?
Where was the King of the Monsters?
Tenten could only groan as her worst fears filled her thoughts once more. Her father...dead. She couldn't believe it. She wouldn't, not until she saw a body. He couldn't have been felled by the monster that was...standing. Tenten's eyes widened as her vision cleared, the monster glaring at her, its right arm broken. "That was fun! You're pretty strong huh! Give me some more!"
Tenten could only stare in horror as the monster rushed her, seemingly not having slowed despite her attack. She...had done nothing. Her last ditch effort to get revenge for her father had failed, and here she was, going to die because of her own weakness. Was this what her father meant when he said she needed to grow stronger? It was too late now. She didn't have anything less. She couldn't move her body and she was too drained to deal upon any chakra. This was the end. This was her death.
Tenten closed her eyes as the monster cocked its fist back before it shot it forwards, only for it to not meet flesh. Tenten's eyes snapped open as she felt a head-splitting roar, to see Hayama's blade embedded in the monsters hand, Fuuton chakra swirling around it. The creature reeled, blood pouring from the monsters hand, the creature glaring in rage at Hayama who sighed, looking down at the girl.
"Your father would have my head if I let you die, and I like to live." The man shook his head before he stared at the advancing monster, causing Hayama to raise his blade. "I don't now know what Orochimaru has done to you, but I shall absolve you of your sins. Orochimaru is a vile man, and to have mutated humans into such monsters...is beyond despicable. Rest in peace."
The monster roared, reaching forwards, only for Hayama to bring his blade down.
"Shinkūken (Vaccum Sword)."
The monsters rage was silenced.
Hayama shook his head, picking Tenten, placing the young girl on a nearby wall, before he rushed back off into the fray. The battle raged, and he had to keep fighting. Konoha had to win.
Sasuke frowned, Kubikiribocho in hand as he walked down to the training grounds of the former Sunagakure fort, the boy rested. His watch had ended a few hours ago and he had gone to sleep. He had woke up a few minutes ago, meaning it was time to continue honoring his deal with Ko. Thus he gripped the blade, standing on the training field, preparing to begin his sword kata, only for a voice to interrupt him.
"If I may help, dickless."
Sasuke groaned, turning to face Sai who stood behind him, smiling, the plastic look disturbing the young Uchiha. "What do you want?"
Sai grinned. "I want to do what I offered, help you train." Sai reached behind his back, drawing a tanto. Sasuke's eyes widened. "It is more productive to train as though you are in actually combat no? A friend would offer to help correct?"
Sasuke winced at the tone of Sai's voice and his question. He was so...awkward, and he wasn't sure why. The kid was socially awkward, but was that just his personality or was it just some guise? The Uchiha shuddered, unable to make sense of the situation before he glanced at Sai's posture. The teen seemed comfortable holding the blade, indicating that he had some experience with it at least. He might be good to warm up on. But he doubted he would be able to compete with him in swordplay if he was just a Genin. To his knowledge he was the best swordsmen out of the Genin, bar maybe Tenten. But there weren't any downsides to the proposition.
"Alright fine."
Sai grinned, before he disappeared. Sasuke's eyes widened, the boy spinning the Kubikiribocho, barely deflecting Sai's tanto as it thrust towards his neck, the boy grinning before he disappeared in a flash of speed again. Sasuke grunted, spinning the Kubikiribocho like a buzzsaw, barely deflecting Sai's strikes at the last moment, the pale boys laughter whispering through the air like a ghost. Eventually the speedy assault came to an end, Sai appearing in front of him, grinning. Sasuke grunted, his eyes bleeding red before he gripped his blade tightly.
"Bring it."
Sai dashed forwards, causing Sasuke's eyes to widen before he raised his blade, bringing it downwards in an overhead slash, however Sai merely twirled, the blade missing him entirely before he slashed his tanto forwards at Sasuke's throat. The young Uchiha grunted, leaning forwards to avoid the blow, before he leapt into a roll, standing on his feet just as Sai shot forwards once more. Sasuke grunted, swinging the Kubikiribocho as Sai dashed in, the boy leaping back to avoid being bifurcated, only to disappear in a flash of speed, the boy descending like a comet from above Sasuke. The young Uchiha turned, swinging his blade upwards, the two shinobi clashed, only for Sai to be sent flying.
The young boy flipped midair, his feet smashing against a wall before he shot forwards, tanto in hand before he spun midair, and launched the blade. Sasuke's eyes widened, moving his head as the tanto scrapped against his cheek, drawing blood, before Sai was behind him, deftly catching his blade and swinging it towards Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened as he swung the Kubikiribocho, barely stopping the tanto from cutting out his eye. Sai grunted, spinning again, going for an upwards slash that Sasuke spun with, bringing his blade downwards, smashing into Sai's tanto and sending it flying from the boys hands, only for Sai to catch it midair and spin, launching a kick that Sasuke deflected with his heavy blade.
Sai grunted, launching another attack, only for Sasuke's heavy blade to deflect it once more, sending the boy flying backwards. Sai flipped, landing on his feet and dashing forwards, a trail of sand and dirt left in his wake, causing Sasuke to grimace. The young Uchiha swung his blade downwards, only for Sai to leap into the air with a back flip, his foot landing on the back of the Kubikiribocho before his weight was brought down, the large blade smashing into the dirt, Sai's tanto at Sasuke's neck.
"I win," Sai said with a grin. Sasuke grunted, trying to lift his blade, but found its weight combined with Sai's own to be too much.
"I suppose you do."
Sai nodded, getting off the blade, allowing Sasuke to lift it. "Again," The Uchiha demanded. The young shinobi was more than willing to oblige.
Kabuto flexed as he looked down at his new body. He hadn't expected this. This was...different than he could have imagined. This was how Orochimaru felt? Immortality...it was an interesting feel-
Kabuto shot up with a start, a cold sweat on his body. What was that? A dream? He...he had taken advantage of Orochimaru's momentary weakness. He had...he had finally surpassed his master. He had taken his words to heart. He had struck when his target was weakest. Kabuto shook his head. That didn't make sense. He was loyal to Orochimaru. Why would he kill the man? Entrap him in his own body just to grow more powerful? Orochimaru wasn't his target.
Was he?
Kabuto shook his head. No, that didn't make sense. Orochimaru had given him a place to stay, a place to sort out his problems. he had become one when he worked for Orochimaru. Why...why would he...he wouldn't...he shouldn't, betray the man who had given him so much. At least that was what he kept telling himself, but something deep inside him found his dream alluring. Interesting.
Desirable.
Kabuto shook his head. Orochimaru hadn't returned from Uzushiogakure, and that was fine. He had time to sort out his mind. If Orochimaru had returned now...the man wouldn't trust him in the slightest. Kabuto frowned, shaking his head. If he wanted to explore this newfound possibility his subconscious granted him, he would have to make his decision by the time Orochimaru returned, because if he didn't then this opportunity would slip by. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Could he really pass that up?
Ibushi isn't an OC. Sorry that chapter is so short. It would have been longer, but I just couldn't find any motivation to write this chapter, so it was a struggle. So the battle will be one chapter longer than I thought before it finishes off.