Naruto: Exiles
Hello. I'm back with another chapter of this fic. Thank you to those of you that gave advice on this chapter. It was be helpful in the development of this part of the story. I hope this chapter is everything you hoped it would be.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Opening Song: Journey Through the Decade
Naruto watched as his friends stood between him and the Shinobi that was targeting him. Hinata got into a Juuken stance while Tenten unsealed a Kusarigama and stood by Lee who was ready in a Gōken stance. Tanu watched them as he got into a stance of his own, cracking his knuckles in preparation for the fight.
"It's amusing," said Tanu, "the three of you think you stand a chance."
"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" yelled Lee as he launched a powerful spinning roundhouse at the enemy Shinobi.
Tanu simply twisted out of the way, displaying remarkable flexibility and skill, before countering with a powerful kick that sent Lee flying through a tree. Tenten retaliated by swinging the blade of her weapon at Tanu by it's chain, but he deflected it with a kick to the flat of the blade, before twisting to dodge several Juuken strikes from Hinata.
"Pathetic," said Tanu, "is this the extent of Konoha's Genin? Let me show you how a Shinobi fights!"
Tanu closed his eyes for a brief second and when he opened them, he released a surge of Chakra that caused the three to step back in shock.
"No way," said Tenten, "that was…"
"The Eight Gates," finished Lee, "he just released the first one."
"Now," said Tanu, "let's finish the warm-up."
The three Konoha-nin were shocked when their opponent vanished in a blur of speed, and it was only their training that allowed them to dodge, keeping them from being pulverized when Tanu smashed his fist into the ground where they had been standing, leaving a sizable crater.
Hinata's eyes widened as she jumped away, making sure to keep between this opponent and Naruto's injured form. Through her Byakugan, she had seen the enemy Shinobi focus a great amount of Chakra into his fist and release it when he punched into the ground, which caused the level of destruction he released.
Tanu continued to attack at high speed, demolishing boulders and trees with his strikes. Seeing the power their opponent possessed, Tenten made a command decision and turned to Lee.
"LEE! Take them off!" she yelled.
"Tenten-san?" said Lee in surprise, "But…"
"Gai-sensei would agree that this is the perfect time!" said Tenten, "Hinata and I will buy you time!"
"HAI!" said Lee as he began fiddling with his leg and arm warmers.
Tenten pulled out a scroll and unsealed a pair of scimitars before striking at Tanu, with Hinata using her Byakugan and Juuken to keep the swift brawler from landing any serious blows on them, attacking with the intent to close his Tenketsu if his blows got too close.
"That's not going to be enough," said Tanu as he dodged a slash from Tenten's blades and several strikes from Hinata.
"DONE!" yelled Lee, causing Tanu to pause for a second.
Suddenly Tanu had to shift out of the way to dodge several small objects that had been thrown at him. When the objects hit the ground, they let off a boom and created small craters from their weight.
"Weights?" said Tanu, "Wha…"
He was cut off from saying more when Lee shot at him with speed equal to his own and slammed a fist into his gut. Tanu jumped back and used his speed to put distance between them, but was shocked when Lee closed the distance in an instant and slammed another punch into his face.
"So you had limiters," said Tanu as he spat out some blood and a tooth, "no matter. You may keep up with me, but you're not strong enough to end this."
"Then I will change that!" said Lee as he crossed his arms, "First Gate: Gate of Opening, OPEN!"
"What?" said Tanu in surprise at the Green-clad Genin's release of power.
"I will not lose!" yelled Lee, "You will not have Naruto-san! I will not let him be harmed! Second Gate: Gate of Healing, OPEN!"
Tanu scowled as Lee opened yet another Gate, a feat that he himself could not accomplish safely. If this fight continued like this, he could be defeated here, and that was something he could not allow.
"Third Gate: Gate of Life: OPEN!" yelled Lee as the forced blood flow turned his skin bright red.
"A third one?" exclaimed Tanu before he felt a great impact in his chest and was sent flying above the trees from a powerful kick, courtesy of Rock Lee.
The assault didn't end there, as Tanu was smashed by several powerful kicks and punches that sent him bouncing back and forth through the air before Lee slammed him with a punch and kick that sent him shooting down for a face to face with the cold hard ground, creating a sizable crater from the impact.
Exhausted and fatigued, Lee fell to the ground as well, the rush of power from the opened Gates leaving him unable to move. Hinata quickly rushed to his aid while Tenten carefully walked over to the crater to inspect their fallen foe. Suddenly, hollow laughter could be heard and Tenten jumped back as a dark figure leapt out of the crater to land in front of them. When the dust cleared, Tanu could be seen without a lot of injuries, but his skin had noticeably darkened in color.
"That was a close one," said Tanu, "I almost didn't activate my jutsu in time, but now I'm going to stop holding back."
Tenten rushed at Tanu, swinging her swords at the enemy Shinobi, but her opponent simply raised his arm to block the blade, surprising her when the darkened flesh of his arm held firm while her blade was easily deflected. Tanu then moved quickly and buried his fist in Tenten's gut, sending the Kunoichi flying back. Turning toward Naruto's downed body, Tanu shoved Hinata aside as he moved to apprehend the blond Jinchuuriki.
Hinata watched as Tanu walked over toward Naruto, who was unable to move due to the injury in his leg, and a multitude of thoughts raced through her mind. Lee and Tenten were unable to fight. Jiraiya was too far away to help, even if he did deal with his opponent. If she did nothing, Naruto, the boy who defended her, the boy who swore to beat her cousin when he critically injured her, the boy she loved, would be taken from her. This filled Hinata with newfound energy and she pulled herself to her feet and into a Juuken stance.
"You should not turn your back," she ground out.
"So the princess can still stand," said Tanu as he stopped and turned toward her, "doesn't change anything."
"Don't underestimate me," said Hinata, "I am a Kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato, and you are within my Divination. Two Palms!"
"Wha…?" was all Tanu was able to get out before Hinata shot at him and slammed him with two palm strikes to his torso.
Normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but the power from Opening of the First Gate had left him a bit tired, and he had figured his Jutsu would protect him from physical harm, so he chose to endure the blow.
Big mistake.
Tanu felt a sharp pain, as Hinata's strike directly attacked his tenketsu with a burst of chakra that not only closed the Chakra Point, but caused some internal injuries as well, and Hinata wasn't finished yet. Hinata continued the attack, determined to protect the one precious to her.
"Four Palms!" continued Hinata as she slammed two more strikes into Tanu, "Eight Palms! Sixteen Palms! Thirty Two Palms!"
With each attack, Hinata doubled the number of strikes to her opponent, causing him severe internal injuries despite his armored skin.
'Not enough,' thought Hinata, 'I won't fail!'
"Eight Trigrams," yelled Hinata as she slammed Tanu's body with strikes, "SIXTY FOUR PALMS!"
Blood stained the wrappings around Tanu's mouth as he coughed up his life fluid from his heart being torn apart from the attack's final blows. As he fell to the ground, he managed to clench his teeth and break through a false molar containing a special suicide pill. Chakra flames engulfed the Shinobi's body, reducing it to ash as it fell, leaving the three genin tired and alone.
And Cut!
Don't worry, I planned to split this chapter into two parts. Next time, we find out what happened to Jiraiya and the team reunites and continues to move.