Time: Same as Remnant Bridge
Shikamaru had no idea how he had ended up in this situation.
His hair was soaked. But he couldn't be sure if that was from the drenching rain or from his own sweat. Whatever it was, Shikamaru hated how it chilled his skin to within freezing temperatures. But what irked him more, was how his cold exterior clashed with his overheating insides. The sensation resulted in him feeling feverish. His lungs begged for reprieve. It almost seemed as if they were attempting to riot inside his ribcage, rattled by his erratic heartbeat. The blood rushing through his ears pretty much drowned out any other noise.
He couldn't decide whether that was a blessing or a curse, considering the alternatives. All around him, the wind worked to tear the trees from their well-rooted bases. The leafy tops were tossed every which way, cursed to follow the ferocious gusts. Underneath his feet, the grass squelched. Any moment, the blades threatened to allow the sole of his boot to slide over them. 'That would just be the icing on the cake' Shikamaru thought, imagining the scenario in which he'd full-on faceplant in the middle of battle. He shivered at the added bonus of Temari witnessing that embarrassment: she would never let him live it down.
Said Kunoichi was currently off to his side. She looked as if she was growling. Her teal irises had shrunk as her eyes narrowed, contorting her face into a fierce snarl. Shikamaru was thankful that her expression wasn't aimed at him because if it was, he knew that he would have begged for mercy. The unfortunate victims of her feral wrath stood firm, somehow. She swung her Tessen fan back and forth, generating forceful gales that almost lifted Shikamaru off the ground. He could see that Shino, Sai and Kiba all had to focus their efforts on their footing. The buffeting winds offered Shikamaru and Temari a small break from their constant assaults. With their concentration distracted, Sai's drawings began to lose form and Shino's bugs looked lost without his orders. Akamaru struggled to keep his owner upright: Temari's jutsu seemingly too powerful for his level of chakra control.
The hillside creaked and groaned under the stress of their battle, especially with the addition of the catastrophic weather that raged on. Shikamaru's hands stung and his knuckles were a ghostly shade of white. His grip on his blade refused to relent. His survival instincts had fully kicked in. The only option he had was to fight. Still no matter how many times it happened, Shikamaru could barely stand having to fight his old friends; the aggressive looks on their faces reminding him of the path he had chosen. The choice to become a rogue shinobi. It was the one thing that separated him from his old life. Instead of growing up to become an average shinobi and having two kids who could outshine him, Shikamaru's dream was to help Naruto to achieve his goals, all whilst saving those he cared for.
After the miniature hurricane had finally subsided, Shikamaru noticed the heavy breaths that Temari was forced to let out. Her chest rose and fell with each of her many pants. Her arms began to drop, just a little, enough for any experienced opponent to notice. Luckily for her and Shikamaru, it would take a shinobi of equal intelligence to be able to make full use of her now fatigued condition. And thankfully, that sort of intellect was a rare thing to find in the Five Great Nations' ranks of shinobi. Temari hid her condition well, adding to her advantage.
Looking around, Shikamaru was met with each of the distinct expressions of his opponents. Kiba's face resembled that of Temari's, twisted into an animalistic snarl. His anger was reflected in his partner. Akamaru was now stalking towards the Temari and Shikamaru, taking a wide berth as the canine tried to flank the rogue shinobi. Sai had the face only formed from years of his one and only hobby. His pale skin turned an intense shade of scarlet as the emotions that he poured into his art now threatened to be infused in his jutsu. However, he still managed to keep his composure, as per his special training from Danzo in the Root. Next to the two of them, stood stone-faced as ever, was Shino. The insect user carried his usual expressionless demeanour with him, even into the intensity of battle.
Standing off against them, Shikamaru wasn't overly confident that their opponents would be simple to overcome. The problems that were provided were mostly from the sensory abilities of the improvised team. Kiba and Akamaru's senses of smell were unmatched. And Shino always had access to a plethora of insects in his general vicinity that could detect threats, reporting back to him. After the initial issue of detection, the problems only multiplied. Sai and Shino's specialised jutsu were a match for Shikamaru's Shadow Style techniques. Seeing their matching snarls, Shikamaru was reminded of their incredible taijutsu prowess. Kiba and his loyal companion were underestimated in the Hidden Leaf Village. They seemed to always be overlooked, but understandably so: considering Rock Lee's status as the greatest taijutsu fighter in the Allied Shinobi Forces.
But Shikamaru knew better than to underestimate the Inuzuka clan's feral form of close combat. The mixture of crouched stances and insane pounces provided an ample amount of difficulties when facing the ninja hound users. With the addition of a ninja hound, the unique style outnumbered its opponent, turning them into the prey for the Inuzuka wolf pack. Shikamaru had a semblance of a plan to deal with Kiba and Akamaru. He turned to the kunoichi beside him. His brain went into overdrive, simulating all the possible outcomes of his plan. In order to go against the ferocious close-range power of Kiba and his ninja hound, Shikamaru would have to rely on Temari's long-ranged Wind Scythe jutsu. He would have to do his best to protect her though: Kiba could close the distance in a single bound. And he was sure that Shino and Sai would provide even more challenges.
Now with the three prepared to unleash their range of attacks, Shikamaru had no choice but to do his best to survive. He took a deep breath, thinking of the right thing to say. "Is there any way that we can just talk this out?" he shouted.
Kiba let out a primal growl that made Shikamaru start to wonder if he was somehow part-dog. "It's a little too late for that Shikamaru!"
"But we're all mature adults, surely we don't have to fight" he reasoned.
Temari shifted sideways. She came shoulder to shoulder with the Nara, bringing her fan into a guarded stance. Around her body, her chakra reserves began to feel the fatigue that plagued her. After exerting so much chakra to produce those powerful gusts, Temari was desperate for a break. But she knew better than to lose focus, especially in the middle of battle.
She leaned in close, making sure the others couldn't read her lips. "What are you doing?" her annoyed twang couldn't be concealed by her hushed tone.
Looking at his face, Temari couldn't discern Shikamaru's thoughts from his cocky smirk. Deep down she was sure that Shikamaru wouldn't have spoken without some sort of a plan. After being the victim of his tactical genius before, Temari couldn't help but feel irritated at being left in the dark. All she got from Shikamaru was just a lazy shrug, making her grip her fan tighter.
"What would be the point in negotiating with you Shikamaru?" Shino spoke up. He kept his hands in his jacket's pockets. And with his dark shades he looked every bit the calm and collected shinobi that he was. Sai nodded in agreeance with Shino's question. Yet he still had an angry expression which gave away his thoughts. The knuckles that were wrapped around his brush were bone white. His grip never loosened as it threatened to snap the tool in half. The partnering scroll fluttered in the natural wind that felt even more powerful atop the precarious hillside.
Shikamaru looked over his old friends. He looked for any sign of the thoughts he assumed they were thinking, his method allowing him to think carefully about what to say next. "The point is that fighting can only cause us harm"
"The same could be said about you leaving the Hidden Leaf Village and becoming a rogue shinobi" the frustration in Sai's voice was easily noticed by both Shikamaru and Temari.
Temari felt her cheeks heat up. She tried her best to control her anger, but the current situation left her little room to concentrate on her emotional state. Especially when it came to protecting Shikamaru. Deep down she knew that Shikamaru's heart was splitting in two at the thought of hurting his old friends. And no matter how well he managed to hide that pain, Temari just wanted to protect him, knowing that she could comfort the Nara.
Stepping forward, Temari felt Shikamaru take his place next to her. They inched forwards, carefully. Not wanting to spook the Leaf shinobi and, in doing so, make them attack them pre-emptively, Shikamaru held his hands up in front of him with his knife in one hand and an empty palm in the other.
"There is no use talking about that anymore, what's done is done… am I right Kiba?" Temari glared at the ninja hound user, making the meaning of her rhetorical question painfully obvious. It worked. Kiba's eyes widened in realisation.
He began to shift his weight between the balls of his feet uncomfortably. Kiba mumbled something under his breath. The way he acted was so unlike the usually bold, and sometimes stupid, shinobi. Completely contrasting his usual self, Kiba's head dropped. Temari grinned at her victory, feeling a wrongful pleasure at damaging Kiba's morale. With only the mention of Hinata's old wound, Temari could see the guilt, that Kiba had tortured himself with ever since begin to make his eyes well up.
Behind her smug expression, Temari's thoughts raced with doubts. She glanced at Shikamaru next to her, wondering if he would think less of her for taking joy in crushing another person's feelings. Would he think her a cruel person? How would he feel about her now? All these questions flew through Temari's head as she darted her gaze to and from Shikamaru, hoping that he couldn't have somehow gained the supernatural ability to read her frantic mind. One thing that Shikamaru could read into, however, was the subtle movement of Temari's thighs. He caught the action in the corner of his vision, raising an eyebrow at the kunoichi.
Sai put his hand across Kiba. He tried his best to reassure him. But Kiba was always the most upbeat and emotional, if just the mention of their last encounter with Naruto and Sasuke and Hinata could get him so down. Sai had been there himself. The memories all flooded back. Kiba losing control. The cut across Hinata's chest. Naruto's expression. Sakura being taken away. All these images popped into Sai's mind. Remembering the aftermath of that encounter, Sai looked over to Shikamaru and Temari. He thought about when they had discovered him and Kiba after that encounter. Kiba had been brutalised by Naruto and Sai could barely keep himself together as he recounted the event to Shikamaru and Temari.
Taking a deep breath, Sai refocused on the task at hand. "That was unnecessary! We only have our mission to be concerned with and so the only thing left to say is that you, Shikamaru Nara, are a traitor to the Hidden Leaf Village! Therefore, we are tasked to eliminate you and your accomplice!" he gestured towards Temari.
She glared at him after hearing the word 'accomplice', clearly irritated by the title she had been given. Beside her, Shikamaru let out a tired huff. Scratching the back of his head he closed his eyes for a moment before revealing the intense look on his face. "Okay then, I guess I tried" he said, bringing his hand together in front of him.
He focused for a moment. The shadows, cast from the foggy mass of clouds above them, began to move. They shot towards Sai and Kiba and Shino, taking a direct path to their feet. Akamaru growled and the three shinobi scattered. Jumping back, Sai raised his brush as it dripped ink onto his scroll prematurely. Kiba flanked to Shikamaru's left with Akamaru at his heel. And Shino headed towards Temari, slowing down as he came closer into the ideal range for his specialised jutsu.
However, their progress was cut short by Temari. She swung her fan in a wide arc in front of her and what followed was incredible. A gust of wind, strong enough to forcefully push them back a few metres, was unleashed from her Tessen fan. The gales dug into their skin. Ripping through their clothes, blood was drawn from the constant barrage of cuts of Temari's Wind Scythe jutsu.
Taking advantage of the disruption, Shikamaru darted to the right. He headed to cut off Shino and Sai. From his left sleeve, three kunai shifted in between his clenched fingers. He flung his fist, sending one of the blades towards Shino and the others were targeted at Sai. The sharp points glinted in the dull light of the sun.
Shino coolly leant to one side. The two kunai aimed at him whistled past his ear. His hands left is pockets, revealing tightly clenched fists. With them came a swarm of buzzing insects.
Sai had to draw his tanto from behind his shoulder. In a spark of light, the kunai fell to the floor at his feet. Fluttering to the ground, Sai's scroll was laid bare after he dropped it to deflect the incoming kunai. Without pausing for thought, Sai dropped to a crouched stance. His brush flew across the paper. And in less than a dozen seconds, a flock of identical birds were drawn onto the scroll.
With his brush in hand, he made a hand sign with his index and middle fingers. He focused and in the blink of an eye the drawings on the page became to take a three-dimensional form. They stretched their wings and shot out of the scroll. Zooming towards Shikamaru, the rogue shinobi responded by flicking another kunai out from his billowing sleeve. He aimed for the centre of the flock. The kunai sailed through the howling wind, making a papery flapping noise.
The paper tag that trailed behind the kunai infused with chakra. It began to glow with intense heat accompanied by a distinct sound of licking flames. All this happened in the milliseconds before it combusted.
Boom!
Every shinobi, from the Hidden Leaf or rogue, averted their eyes from the blinding light that sprouted from the blast. Ears were left ringing as the explosive tag destroyed Sai's jutsu. When sensory-disrupting explosion had ended, even Shino was left dazed. His discombobulation left his insects in disarray, waiting for his delayed commands.
Taking advantage of the confusion, Shikamaru's shadows shot towards Shino. The tendrils shot towards Shino's ankles, aiming for the shadow casted by his body. They wrapped around his legs, pulling his feet out from underneath him. Shino bruised his tailbone landing on the grass.
Seeing his teammate taken down so fast, Kiba snarled. He dropped into a feral stance. His fangs were bared and his hands began to resemble claws. With his gaze set on Shikamaru, his knees bent slightly before he pounced. In mid-air, he twisted his body. Faster and faster, the speed of his rotating body increased, all until he became a blur. He targeted Shikamaru with his Tunnelling Fang technique. But in his constant state of high-speed motion, Kiba wasn't able to see that Temari now had an open shot at his flank.
With all her strength, she raised her fan behind her. Then with incredible force, she swung it in front of her, narrowing her arc so as to make her attack more precise. The powerful wind slammed into Kiba's side like a brick wall, completely stopping his rotation. Kiba let out a grunt as he felt his ribs audibly crack under the blunt force of the wind. If the sensation of his bones being crushed wasn't painful enough, the pain of the razor-sharp gusts cutting open his flesh was even worse. His nose scrunched as his amazing sense of smell picked up the metallic scent of the blood that Temari's Wind Scythe jutsu spilled. Crimson splattered on emerald. And Kiba hit the ground soon after.
Akamaru howled and bounded towards his partner. The massive ninja hound stood his ground, growling at anyone who would dare to threaten his best friend.
Now the only Hidden Leaf shinobi left on their feet was Sai. His tanto was trained on his opponents, the point never leaving their field of view. In his other hand, his brush dripped ink onto the ground around him. The slight trembling in his wrist gave away the severity of his situation.
Shikamaru and Temari moved towards him, staying almost shoulder to shoulder to avoid any surprises. Shikamaru gave his partner enough room for her to swing her fan around: he particularly didn't want to end up being clubbed around the head by the kunoichi and her heavy iron fan. Catching the small movements of Shino as he tried to recover and get back to his feet, Shikamaru sent a shadowy tendril to stop him in his tracks with a kunai pointed right between his eyes. Trapped by Shikamaru's Shadow Stitching jutsu, Shino held his hands up in surrender.
Even with the mask of defiance plastered across his face, Sai wasn't liking his chances. He'd witnessed the Nara clan's abilities during his time in the Root. And he'd heard all about the Hidden Sand Village's Tessenjutsu from Danzo and his superiors; plus seeing it up close a few times didn't make him anymore confident in his ability to go against Temari.
"This is over Sai" Shikamaru reasoned with his old comrade. He did his best to avoid the point of his tanto all the while keeping an eye on his Super Beast Scroll, not wanting to be caught off guard by anything. Out the corner of field of view, Shikamaru noticed Temari stepping onto his flank to put herself between Shikamaru and Akamaru. The ninja hound looked crazed as he eyed the two rogue shinobi suspiciously. Showing her fearlessness, Temari snarled back. Akamaru almost let out a whimper at Temari's deadly expression.
Watching the kunoichi frighten such a hulking beast, Sai couldn't help but feel alone. He wasn't holding out much hope for the other team to somehow appear as reinforcements. They would be fighting Naruto and Sasuke, two shinobi who stood above the rest for their insane levels of power. He had already seen the both of them in action; so he didn't fancy his chances of Kakashi, Lee and Tenten beating them and still have the ability to come to Sai and Shino and Kiba's aid. He lowered his tanto and put his hands up in surrender. "I guess you've got us Shikamaru… so now what happens?"
"Now we ca—"
Crack!
A flash of lightning threatened to burn Shikamaru's retinas, interrupting his response. On the horizon, the storm clouds seemed to amass around a series of brilliant arcs of multicoloured electricity. Even from here, Shikamaru could picture the scene that was currently playing out to its dramatic finale, down on the Great Naruto Bridge.
Sasuke swung his sword in a constant barrage of fluid strikes. He aimed to kill. Kakashi could feel his murderous intent with every attack. It took Kakashi more focus than he would have liked to stay on his feet, whilst avoiding Sasuke's sword. Making his already difficult task seem even more improbable, the prospect of finding an opportunity to return with own strike loomed over Kakashi's bobbing head. In the blurriness of his peripheral vision, Kakashi could've sworn that he could make out the towering figure of his other former pupil standing smugly over Rock Lee.
However, with his back turned, Naruto didn't seem to notice the lithe form of Tenten sneaking up behind him. Kakashi had no idea how he could tell, but he somehow knew he could see the kunai that she held in her hand. When she had finally reached him without drawing his attention, she raised the short blade of sharp steel above her head. Bringing it down, Tenten aimed for the back of Naruto's neck. She saw the point of her kunai come within a millimetre of his flesh. Then the world seemed to flip upside down.
Naruto turned with impossible speed. In an instant, Tenten was met with a cruel expression. She shivered as she saw just how sharp Naruto's fangs were. Letting out a gulp, Tenten imagined the terrifying nightmare of having her throat torn out by those demonic teeth. She could feel her muscles tremble as she froze under the intense stare of Naruto. His eyes, pure crimson, seemed to reflect the nightmarish scenes of torturous massacres that spilled endless amounts of blood as they pierced Tenten pupils, like they were seeing directly through her soul.
Becoming lost in the memories of her life as they flashed through her eyes, Tenten failed to notice that she was now completely entrapped by Naruto's rough hand around her tender throat. His nails dug into her skin, almost drawing blood. And soon Tenten was jolted back to reality as the need for oxygen became imperative.
Clang!
She heard the impact of her kunai on the sturdy stone beneath. All around her, Tenten thought she could hear voices shouting, but they sounded so distant she couldn't discern whether they were truly real or just her imagination. Her hands clawed at the arm that strangled her and her feet kicked at the owner of said arm. But all her efforts didn't amount to anything meaningful. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't feel Naruto's grip loosening. Tears began to well up in the corners of her eyes. Her will was on the verge of breaking.
Then, suddenly, she could feel the cool air return to her lungs. The respiratory organs almost breathed a sigh of relief themselves as they filled to the brim, hoarding the precious oxygen. With a stream of short breaths, everyone of Tenten's senses became sharper and her surroundings became all the more clearer. The voices she had heard earlier appeared to have been the constant back and forth that Kakashi and Sasuke had going on as they battled.
Seeing them now, Tenten understood that Kakashi had managed to rescue the flow of the battle. He pressed his momentum. He used Guy's technique to fight the Sharingan, keeping his eyes low and focused on Sasuke's feet. Realising he needed to end this quickly in order to help his comrades, Kakashi felt as if would be the best time to use one of his newest moves.
Trying to keep in time with his flow, Kakashi quickly formed multiple high level hand signs in quick succession. He infused his chakra. And in his right hand, lightning arced. But not just any lightning. It was purple lightning. He wasted no time and lunged for Sasuke, thankful for the jutsu's more forgiving nature.
Sasuke smirked. Keeping up with his former teacher with his Sharingan, Sasuke formed similar hand signs. But the difference between their jutsu was apparent as Sasuke aimed his towards the sky. Pure blue electricity shot towards the clouds. And in response, the heavens parted. Through the gap, a dragon formed from pure lightning flew down, aiming directly for Kakashi. He had no time to dodge out of the dragon's path. So he raised his purple lightning as a counter, just in time. The energies collided and a deafening blast rocked the Great Naruto Bridge.
Lee watched in horror as Kakashi lay still on the ground. His jacket smoked and residual bursts of electricity made his muscles spasm. Lee stepped towards him to help but was stopped by a muffled scream. He turned to see Tenten restrained by Naruto, a devilish smirk on his face.
"Uh oh! Looks like Kakashi-sensei isn't doing so good nowadays" he snickered as he wrapped his arms over Tenten's shoulders, allowing her to speak.
Her lips quivered at the sight of one of her teachers not moving. "Kakashi-sensei! Can you hear me?" she plead with the charred body of the jonin. She faintly noticed that his chest was rising and falling every second or so. Hopefully he was still breathing and those weren't muscle twitches.
"He's still alive" Sasuke looked over his old teacher. "But he's going to need medical attention as soon as possible"
Naruto smiled. "And not just any medical attention… he's probably gonna need Granny Tsunade's help"
Lee was speechless. He didn't have any idea what he should do. "But what about Tenten?"
"Oh! Looks like Tenten's gonna be staying with us… unless you have any objections" Naruto raised his index finger to her throat. The tip glowed a violent shade of crimson, just like his eyes, as a claw formed, purely out of chakra. He pressed the digit to her jugular, staring at Lee, challenging him to move so he could slit her throat in front of his helpless eyes.
The kunoichi's eyes widened. She realised her situation. The fear that crept into her heart threatened to stop her pulse. But she took an oddly calming deep breath before answering. "Lee it's okay! Just go!"
"But Tente—"
"No Lee, you need to go! Now! Kakashi-sensei needs Lady Tsunade's care immediately!" Tenten ordered her teammate.
Lee's eyes darted from each individual to the next, before landing on Tenten. He saw the determined gleam in her eyes and instantly knew that there was nothing he could do to change her mind. He hurried over to Kakashi, glaring at Sasuke as he passed the Uchiha.
"See ya Bushy Brow!" Naruto waved him off as he carried the unconscious Kakashi over his shoulder, towards the mainland end of the bridge. The Uzumaki grinned down at the kunoichi in his arms, giving her a devilish grin with beaming cobalt irises that glinted with sadistic horror.
A/N- Hey, how are you doing? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It's nice to have these battle chapters but I find them hard to get them right. I'm still not sure if this one is exciting enough, but I tried my hardest. Thankfully, now we can get on to some juicy lemon chapters. If anyone can guess which order they'll happen in, then I'll award them a singular point. But anyways, thanks for reading and I'll hopefully see you next time!
Yours truly,
Signing off