Amago Haruhisa found himself in a steadily worsening situation. Despite his patience, a better opportunity for escaping his pair of kidnappers had never came about. They had walked through the night to arrive at the place that Haruhisa now found himself, which turned out to be an entirely new problem in itself. .
The pair that had kidnapped his opponent, and him by proxy, had roughly deposited their prize on the floor of a massive cavern. Haruhisa had assumed that they were in a standard hideout of some sort, maybe waiting for a ransom, but then the pair had done something that made him question that. They had summoned a massive statue from a scroll. The grotesque structure now stared down at the unconscious Gaara with ten closed eyes, bound hands emerging from the earth just in front of the body, while the kidnappers lounged by the entrance. Furthermore, Haruhisa could see no exit to the cavern, with the opening that they had entered through having been covered by a boulder.
As Haruhisa started to consider the feasibility trying to fight his way out, another figure appeared in the room. A dark silhouette, faintly shimmering like an oil slick in sunlight, stood on the statue's thumb. Seconds after, another figure blinked into existence on the statue's left index finger. A third figure followed, as well as a fourth, each appearing on a different finger. As more appeared, a grinding sound echoed from behind Haruhisa's position, filling the cavern. He watched with increasing trepidation, his muscles tensing. "It seems that this would be the time to leave-"
"Ahh~ It's time! Sasori-danna, wake up! You don't want to be late, do you? I know how you hate that, un." Haruhisa's attention was drawn to the front of the chamber. Looking over, he saw both of the kidnappers walking towards the statue.
"Shut up. We're on time. Because the Leader knows how to not keep people waiting- unlike some of us." The shorter of the two rasped back at his partner. Ignoring his complaints, the speaker blurred, leaping to the statue's left thumb with agility not suggested by his frame. His partner followed a moment later, landing on his assigned finger.
As soon as he landed, the first of the transparent figures spoke."From this point, the sealing process will take three days and nights. Mind your real bodies during this time. Zetsu, I assume you've been keeping watch?"
"There's two groups of Konoha shinobi heading out from Suna. The Copy Ninja is leading one team, while the second is coming around from the south. It's being lead by a ANBU- Uzuki Yūgao." Another one of the projections responded.
"That team will be dangerous if we let it get too close, You can't underestimate the ANBU, after all." said a projection on the other side of the statue.
"Let me go take care of it then! I haven't been able to find my jinchuriki, so I need to work off some steam," another voice responded. From his vantage point, Haruhisa had lost track of who was speaking, as only the eyes and outlines of each projection were visible.
"Enough." said the first figure. "First, we must begin the sealing process. Then Kisame will take care of that group. You know that his chakra reserves are better suited for this job."
"I'll take care of the other team, then," responded someone on the opposite side of the statue.
The first figure nodded, and in an instant, the atmosphere in the room changed. Haruhisa dropped his hold on the sand surrounding him as the figures on the statue made a handsign in unison. The tips of all but one of the statue's fingers began to to glow with a pale blue light as he began to call on the winds in the room, a small dust storm swirling up around him and Gaara. He pushed the sand away from around his face just in time to see the statue's mouth erupt with the same blue light that surrounded its fingers. As the sand rose further, the growing howl of the storm was drowned out by a shout from the first figure that had appeared. "Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin!"
Before he could push out any further, that light erupted in the form of several phantom dragons. The spectral dragons covered the distance between the statue's mouth and Gaara in a matter of seconds, expanding out to envelop Gaara and Hisahide both in a cocoon of light. HIsahide was overcome with blinding pain, screaming out in agony alongside the jinchuriki behind him, and his world went black.
A day and a half away from Suna, the southern group was still rushing through the desert. As the evening was approaching, the large group moved in relative silence, what sound there was coming from the steady hoofbeats of the three riders.
"The scent's getting stronger up here," said Pakkun, keeping pace with Yūgao at the head of the pack of shinobi. Taking a few large sniffs, his eyes widened. "Someone's coming!"
Upon hearing that from the ninken, Yūgao immediately began to focus her chakra, attuning her energy to any other chakra sources in the area. Seconds later, her free hand snapped up to her radio. "Large chakra signature rapidly approaching at six o'clock. Be ready!"
The two teams looked back to see a cloud of dust and rocks rapidly growing as it approached. They quickly scattered backwards as the cloud reached the group. The three on horseback yanked their reins backwards, barely getting their mounts to rear back away from the sudden attack in time. As the dust settled, all eyes focused on the black robed figure standing at the center of the cloud. He smirked, baring sharpened teeth. "Let's get started," Kisame stated, his voice carrying across the battlefield. With that declaration, he threw his sword straight up into the air and began a sequence of hand seals.
"Yukimura! Get the horses out of here!" Neji shouted down from the top of the rock formation that he had leapt to. Hanbei and Hideyoshi both smoothly dismounted, leaving Yukimura to grab their reins. With a shout, Yukimura started to gallop away from the Akatsuki member.
Before Yukimura could take the horses more than a few feet away, Kisame reared back before letting loose a surging wall of water from his mouth. Disappearing in the white spray, the Akatsuki member appeared at the top of the wave, looking down at his opponents. He reached back, catching Samehada just before the water began to collapse down over the wasteland.
As the newly formed sea bore down on the fleeing horseman, Hideyoshi stepped in front of the oncoming water. His crimson aura flaring to life, he drew back his fist and set his feet. Just as the first crest of the wave was about to break over him, he struck, punching down towards the ground. The resultant shockwave expanded with such force that the rest of Hideyoshi's teammates had to brace themselves to remain standing in the face of the pressure. The water itself seemed to stop for a solid moment, with the first portion of the wave spraying back upwards in a sheer arc. The rest of the mass shuddered before reversing direction, pouring out over the wasteland in every direction except towards Hideyoshi.
Kisame reacted quickly to the sudden loss of momentum, quickly stepping backwards along the rushing water so that he could stay in place. As he did so, he reached out with his free hand, touching the water spraying up from the impact. "Suiton: Amesuihōka," Kisame shouted over the roar of crashing water. Pushing his chakra out into the spray, the droplets began to form into minuscule sharks even as they fell back towards the Leaf shinobi.
As the first of these droplets rained down over Hideyoshi, he suddenly felt rivulets of blood running down his face. Glancing to the side, his suspicions were confirmed as he saw one of the sharks tear through the fabric over his shoulder guard. He quickly took a deep breath, before leaning back and letting it out as a roar. Waves of the tiny sharks slammed into the dome of pressure formed by Hideyoshi's shout, dissipating into a harmless mist.
The rain of sharks forced the rest of the team into similar defensive positions. Seconds before the first droplets had hit Hideyoshi, Hanbei had already released his sword. With one motion, he set the whip like blade to rotate around him, scattering the falling water. Up with the shinobi, Tenten had unsealed a metal umbrella to shield herself from the tearing rain, while Neji had much the same idea as Hanbei. Dashing forwards, he grabbed Yūgao by the shoulder and twisted into a tight spin as he began a Kaiten. The pair were quickly covered by the shimming dome of chakra. From the outside the dome seemed to flicker, as a large unshielded area rapidly spun around the center, but the rotation was more than enough to evaporate the rain around the pair.
When the rotation began to slow, Yūgao tightened her grip on Neji's shoulder, before kicking out. Using the momentum of the kaiten, and Neji's body as grounding, she launched herself from the dissipating shell into the path of Kisame's sword. Unsheathing her own blade in flight, Yūgao intercepted Samehada, locking blades with Kisame. Rolling her blade to the side, she pulled Kisame's own momentum against him, kicking up at his side. Kisame blocked the blow easily, shifting his sword arm down, but the force was enough to take the pair back to where Kisame had leapt from.
Landing lightly on the surface of the water, Yūgoa faced down the Akatsuki member. "Kisame of the Hidden Mist."
Kisame grinned, shifting his grip on Samehada. "It's always nice to be recognized so far from home."
"I'm surprised. I would have thought even a monster like you would know when the odds were against him." Yūgao challenged, glaring at her opponent.
Kisame's grin just widened as he responded. "Is that so? Well, I would have to see that happen to know for sure."
"You think too highly of yourself!" Spat Yūgao. "You're outnumbered. Just tell us what you've done with the Kazekage, and we'll make this quick."
"Now, you're just asking to get sliced up," Kisame laughed. "But are you so sure about your team?"
A sliver of movement behind Yūgao drew her attention for a second. Looking over her shoulder, she saw half a dozen black robed clones rising up from the water around the Leaf shinobi. When she looked back at Kisame, she had just enough time to raise her sword and block the vicious swing aimed at her side. Leaping off the water to blunt the blow, she skidded out of the way, sliding back into a ready stance. Yugao brought her sword around in a circle in front of her, light gleaming off the blade, while brought his free hand up in a seal.
"Oborozukiyo," Yūgao shouted, while Kisame's own cry of "Kirigakure no Jutsu" followed only moments later. The water below the pair rose upwards as a thick mist even as Yūgao streaked forwards, trailed by faint afterimages. Seconds later, the only thing that could be heard from the cloud was the sound of sword striking sword.
As the top of the rapidly collapsing wall of water burst into mist, the rest of the Konoha team was concerned with their own opponents. The first group of Kisame clones materialized just behind Hideyoshi. Two of the clones moved to attack Hideyoshi, while the others turned to pursue Yukimura. Snapping his sword back to its natural state, Hanbei lunged towards the first passing clone. It easily sidestepped the off target stab, only to be caught as the blade extended back into a whip, wound around a nearby boulder, and came back from the other direction to sweep out its ankle.
Behind Hanbei, two clones brought their copies of Samehada down towards Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi reached back, deflecting one Samehada by striking the flat of the blade. The metal of his gauntlet groaned as the sword spun out of Kisame's grip, splattering into water as it hit the ground. With his other hand, Hideyoshi reached under the incoming sword to grab the clone by the shoulder. Twisting around, he hurled the clone at the Kisame that had started after the horses. Both clones went sprawling as they collided, the one that was struck bursting into water as it slammed into the ground.
As Hideyoshi turned back to focus on the other clone, he felt a sudden rush of water spread across his back. Moments later, he was floating in the center of a sphere of water, staring at Kisame's grinning face.
"I never thought I'd come across another one of you monsters so soon. Still, let's see what you can do without any leverage," Kisame said, trailing off with a chuckle. In response, Hideyoshi crossed his arms stoically, shooting a look to the side, where Hanbei was fighting with his own water clone.
Up on one of the short plateaus that dotted this part of the desert, Neji and Tenten faced their own pitched battle. As soon Kisame's clones had materialized from the water roaring beside the plateau, they had gone on the offensive. The first clone that formed rushed Tenten, bringing Samehada across in a wide horizontal sweep. Leaping back, she deflected the brunt of the blow with the iron umbrella that she had previously summoned. Snapping the umbrella closed, she leapt backwards, keeping just out of reach of the clones continued assault. As one swing left Kisame overextended, she slid forwards. Switching a hidden release on the umbrella, she tossed it up. Snapping open, the umbrella began to pour a rain of senbon down over the clone's immediate area. With a hiss, it lifted its arm over its head to ward off the worst of the flurry as it quickly stepped back out of range.
"Hakke Kūshō!" The clone's head barely had time to snap to look over at Neji before a wave of air slammed into its side, blowing it off of its feet. The clone skidded heavily across the rocky plateau, barely regaining its footing as it came to a stop. As it slid the final few feet, the clone turned to look at the source of a small hissing noise at its feet. Looking down, the clone saw a kunai studded ball with a quickly burning tag on the front. Moments later, Tenten's explosive device detonated in a hail of shrapnel, obscuring the area. Scanning the area, Neji saw the twisted remains of Tenten's umbrella lying on the ground where the clone had been .
Neji twisted back around, even as the clone was dropping out of the air towards him. He flipped back away as the clone brought his sword down in a downwards slam, hands coming back up to deflect the follow up attacks. The clone rushed forwards, swinging Samehada in wide, reckless arcs as Neji wove his way around them. As one strike went high, passing over his head, Neji spun back under him, striking out at his unprotected flank. As Neji's hand brushed the clone's ribcage, it reversed directions with stunning speed, slamming its elbow into the side of Neji's head. Neji spun back with the blow, driving the palm of his other hand into the clone's upper arm.
The clone pushed back through the palm strike, bringing Samehada back out at Neji in another wide swing. Leaping backwards, Neji looked to put himself a safe distance away from the clone. As Neji landed, howelver, he realized that he had miscalculated. Finishing the swing, the clone's free hand was forming a single handseal. Three waves of water rose from the ground in the wake of Samehada's swing, rapidly closing the distance to Neji. He could only cross his arms at the last second, channeling chakra to blunt the impact and adhere to the ground as the waist high water crashed into him.
Keeping his eyes open through the spray of water, he saw the two clones rushing at him through the wave's wake. Both clones had their swords drawn back, one clearly aiming for his legs, the other for his head. As he prepared to move, the clone aiming for his head suddenly staggered backwards as a kunai caught it square in the chest before exploding. At the same time, Neji released the chakra binding him to the ground, leaping forwards at the other clone. As that clone began its swing, Neji pushed off of its Samehada, gaining more height. At the apex of his jump, Neji was inverted over the water clone.
"Hakke Kūshō!" Neji shouted, striking downwards. The first blast of air staggered the clone, opening it up for the second, stronger blast as Neji thrust both of his arms down towards the clone. The follow up knocked the clone into the ground hard enough that it bounced back up. As the clone approached Neji's rapidly falling position, the Hyūga began to spin. "Kaiten!" Caught on the edge of Neji's rotation, the clone was torn to pieces by the fast spinning shell of chakra. Neji landed, and looked over to where Tenten was fending off the other clone with a pair of short curved blades. Moments later, he was moving to continue the fight.
Below the Leaf shinobi, Hanbei scowled, watching one of Kisame's clones get back to its feet and continue after Yukimura's trail. This was quickly followed by a spinning backstep, as Hanbei moved out of the way of a horizontal slash that the other clone he was facing aimed towards his chest. As it brought its copy of Samehada up and back towards him, he stepped into to retaliate. Hanbei stabbed downwards, striking the center of his opponents blade and pushing it down into the ground. Before the clone could bring it weapon back up, he pulled back before unleashing a rapid series of cuts at the clone.
It vanished in a splash of water, leaving a large stone to bear the brunt of Hanbei's attack. His brightly flashing blade cut through the stone several times before it unfurled into a whip. Wrapping the flexible blade around the broken rock, Hanbei dodged to the side again, pivoting around to fling the stone shards back at the clone now coming at him from behind. The clone raised its arm to block the debris before barreling forwards towards Hanbei, water spraying up from the ground as it made a wave to ride. Hanbei leapt backwards, stabbing forwards as he did so. As his sword shot out, the clone abandoned his swing, bring up his sword like a shield.
The clone covered the remaining distance in moments. As Hanbei attempted to step back out of the way again, the clone brought out its free arm in a devastating punch, catching him right under the ribcage. He staggered back, sliding his sword back before stabbing forwards again. The clone stepped to the side as he drew his sword, grinning as Hanbei's extending blade shot wide. This confidence was quickly shaken, as Hanbei gave a self contented smile of his own in return, and his outstretched blade went taut.
The clone looked back over his shoulder at where the blade had gone, only to see Hideyoshi floating at the center of his water prison, the end of Hanbei's whip sword wrapped around his hand. Twisting around in his prison, he brought his arm around twice, gathering momentum, before throwing his strength behind a third rotation. Hanbei was pulled off of his feet by the force, though he kept the attack stable by running in tandem with the rotation. The clone that held the water prison around Hideyoshi quickly abandoned his jutsu, jumping back and over the spinning blade. The clone that Hanbei had been directly fighting was not so lucky, as it was neatly bisected.
The remaining clone landed on the slight slope of water that was still flowing towards Hideyoshi and began a series of handseals. It immediately found itself having to dodge again, as Hideyoshi grabbed one of the slimmer rock outcroppings near him, pulled it from the ground, and hurled it at the clone in a single fluid motion. Hands locked into the final seal of the string, it began to shout the name of its technique, only to dissipate in a harsh spray as Hanbei's sword shot through its chest. The pair looked at each other, having successfully finished off the final clone, then up at the fog shrouding the top of the collapsing hill of water.
While Kisame occupied the rest of the team in their own individual battles, Yukimura was caught up in a very different struggle. Reins clutched tight in his fists, he blinked the rising dust out of his eyes as he looked back over his shoulder. There, no more than five horse lengths behind him, was the tip of Kisame's sword, cutting across the ground like a shark's fin above the water. "He hasn't slowed! And at this rate, the horses will be too exhausted to continue without prolonged rest! And yet, if I turn back, I cannot fight and protect them! What should I do? What would Lord Shingen do?!"
"You should just stop running, little fish!" While Yukimura was thinking, the Akatsuki member's face had risen above the ground as well. "All prey try the same thing, but it never works. You can't outlast a predator!"
"All prey… That's it!" Yukimura's eyes narrowed as his grip on the reins tightened once more. With a hard jerk, he redirected the team of horses towards a large crevice that lead through a large stone outcropping. "I was given this task by my treasured comrades! To think that I would be swayed over cheap taunts is the height of conceit!" Urging the horses to accelerate, he called out behind him.
Seconds later, Yukimura was riding in the shadows of the broken stone. His eyes contracted, suddenly adjusting to the dim light of the crevice. This momentary shift of vision almost cost him his life, as a sudden rustle of cloth drew his attention to the figure above him. Without hesitation, he leapt from his horse, both spears held at the ready to intercept Kisame's overhead blow. The pair collided in mid air, the sound of the collision echoing up and down the cavern.
"Conceit?" Kisame locked eyes with Yukimura as the pair hung in the air, grinning wildly. "It seems that it worked to me!' Kisame almost shouted as they began to fall.
A second shockwave spread through the crevice as they impacted the ground, KIsame's initial attack bolstered by momentum of the fall. Despite the added strength, Yukimura's guard held firm. He quickly pushed KIsame's sword off of his spears, stepping back. "You're mistaken! In fact, you gave me the key to your defeat," Yukimura shouted back.
Kisame just smirked. "Oh? And what would that be?"
"I never needed to outthink you," Yukimura grinned, pointing one of his spears at his opponent. "All I needed was to outthink a horse!"
Kisame's only response was to fix him with a flat stare. An uncomfortable silence hung between them for several long seconds, until the Akatsuki member broke it with a flat "What."
"Prey naturally flee from danger! So, the horses did not need me to lead them away from you! In fact, all that falls to me is to round them up once you have been taken care of," Yukimura answered, undeterred by the pause in conversation.
Kisame's eyes narrowed, thinking back to his initial strike. "There was only one horse, wasn't there… He must have released the others just before the crevice." A grin crept back over his face. "Well, I admit, you've surprised me! But-" Kisame's grin became decidedly more sinister as he hefted his sword back up onto his shoulder."-What makes you so sure that you can take care of me at all?!"
"Simple! If I were to fail here, I could never show my face before Oyakata-sama again!" As he spoke, Yukimura shifted into a ready stance, bringing up both his spears as a fiery red aura began to flicker to life around him, lighting the dim crevice walls. "Now, I, Sanada Genjiro Yukimura will be your opponent! Let us have a fair fight!"
Fūinjutsu: Genryū Kyūfūjin- Sealing Technique: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals
Suiton: Amesuihōka- Water Release: Rain Water Shark Wave
Oborozukiyo- Hazy Moon Night
Kirigakure no Jutsu- Water Release: Hiding in Mist Technique
Hakke Kūshō- Eight Trigrams Air Palm