Chapter 28: The Changing Tides of Battle
A/N: To Mr. Nobody, just letting you know that I did get your reviews once again. Thanks for offering your ideas. I will say that all the Rookie Nine will have joined by the Water 7 arc, so I won't be able to use the Hyuga idea. My apologies. But I will say that possibilities for Spandam working with Sound is entirely possible and the bounty related idea. I shall give them amble thought. Thanks! ^_^
Maybe you should try doing your own version of a One Piece and Naruto crossover. With all the ideas you have, I'm sure it would be splendid.
Arc – Captured Rain Genin Resolution, part 8
Baiu is attempting to deliver milk to an elderly woman and has a strained smile on his face. A small poodle is biting Baiu's right ankle as he tries to shake the dog off. A thought bubble hangs over Baiu's head depicting the poodle with a skull mark over it. The elderly woman merely smiles with her eyes closed.
Subtext: Baiu is not a dog person.
XXXXXXX – East Blue, Baratie, Remains of the Port Fin, Sanji.
Sanji was not doing well. It was bad enough he had taken a serious beating at the hands of Pearl earlier, but Gin was skilled in his own right. Even if Sanji was in peak condition, taking a hit from those cannonball tonfas would be bad enough.
So that meant taking a hit in his current state was downright brutal.
Naturally, the rubber idiot of a pirate captain wasn't about to stand idle either. Or keep from talking back and making the situation worse.
Krieg had made a demand to Luffy asking which of them was best suited to be the greatest of pirates: The King of the Pirates.
The Straw Hat captain answered it would be him, and that Krieg didn't have what it took. He even took a shot at the underlings themselves, saying that the reason they were so strong wasn't due to superior skill or might but from the fact that there were so many of them. The declaration made all the pirates facevault in response, a move that, according to their captain, confirmed their weakness.
A low blow perhaps, but a truthful one.
Of course, what pissed off Krieg more than the weakness of his men was Luffy's declaration that he was the superior pirate of the two. It made Krieg mad enough to resort to his MH5 – a bomb that would unleash a very poisonous gas.
"It doesn't matter whose hands kill him. You know above all I detest sentimental tripe like 'Honor', 'Pride', 'Mercy' and 'Sympathy'. This is war! And all that matters is victory!"
With those words he fired his MH5 bomb at Straw Hat Luffy, who readily intercepted it with the intent to bounce it back, only for the bomb to explode in shuriken instead of gas. Krieg had bluffed using a fake bomb, to which Luffy merely nodded, conceding a point to the Pirate Admiral as he pulled the shuriken from his left arm.
So when Krieg demanded a second time which one of them was King of the Pirates material and Luffy still answered himself, that was the last straw for Krieg. He was determined to kill the brat. Painfully.
So while Luffy attempted to get over to the platform Krieg was standing on, Sanji had his hands full with Gin. In no time at all, Sanji was pinned on the deck with one of those cannonball tonfas across his neck, the other one casually resting on Gin's shoulder as he sat beside the assistant chef.
Gin proceeded to bring down his second weapon to smash Sanji's face in, who in turn spat out his cigarette in the man's face. That caused enough of a flinch for Sanji to slide out from the tonfa, get into a handstand and deliver a devastating kick to Gin's chin.
Unfortunately, Gin used Sanji's stance against him. Him being unable to move easily allowed Gin to slam his left tonfa right into Sanji's rib cage.
'Broken ribs on top of more broken ribs,' Sanji thought bitterly to himself as he managed to stand up despite the pain.
"That's Gin for ya!" Sanji heard one of the pirates in the ocean announce. "A true Man-Demon! He can kill any enemy without mercy! Even if that person begs him to spare his life, he'll just continue to torture the man to death, heedless of the screams! That's why he's called the Man-Demon; he doesn't have an ounce of mercy!"
The cook looked at Gin. "Is that right? If you're what passes as the Battle Commander and a demon for this defunct armada, maybe Krieg's pirates aren't so formidable after all."
Gin just clenched his teeth in response as he began spinning his tonfas madly. He rushed the man as he lowered his arms, the heavy weapons cutting through the wooden deck as though it were paper, kicking up many pieces of debris in Sanji's face. The young man had to jump back as a result as Gin leapt towards him, aiming his right tonfa for Sanji's skull.
Sanji raised his left foot in response, managing to strike the handle of the tonfa. He moved his foot and tapped on it, sending the tonfa to the deck as he redirected his left foot at Gin's face.
Gin, however, met the kick with a headbunt. Blood trickled from the strike but he swung his left tonfa at Sanji's right leg, making the man slip and fall right into Gin's left tonfa, hitting Sanji right in the back of the spine.
Sanji gave a cry of pain as he managed to land on his hands then backflip away, just missing Gin's next strike. He landed clumsily as he fell on his rear, his hands massaging his new injuries. 'I'm in trouble. This guy's tough! I've got to deal with him with one move!'
At this moment Luffy tried to rush Krieg across a broken mast, only to be chased away by a flurry of sharp spikes shot from Krieg's shield. "All you can do is charge like a monkey!" Krieg boasted happily.
"This monkey is gonna give you a nasty scratching!!" Luffy promised, grabbing the sides of his mouth and stretching them out, sticking out his tongue.
Gin looked over at Luffy, and then Sanji again before proceeding to spin his weapons once more. "I'm finishing this now!"
With that proclamation he took off towards Sanji once more, twirling his cannonball tonfas as he did so. At the last second, Sanji cartwheeled onto his left hand, allowing him to avoid the blow and kick Gin in the face. The pirate attempted to counter attack, but Sanji hopped off his hands, getting behind him to deliver another kick… only for pain to shoot up from his ribs, making him miss.
'Crud!' Sanji groaned as Gin's weapon struck him in the stomach. Sanji skidded back as he coughed out blood, barely managing to keep his balance. 'Stupid injuries… I need a plan…'
Gin charged at Sanji once more, tearing up the wooden deck. "Just die, Sanji!"
The Assistant Chef had been hoping for that. With a mighty heave he kicked up several chunks of wood, sending them flying right at Gin's own face. The man gave a grunt of surprise as he stopped momentarily, and Sanji struck. Using the last of his energy, he made a run at the man and jumped into the air, kicking with both legs at once and striking each of Gin's hands, causing Gin to lose his grip on his weapons as they flew through the air and splashed into the ocean, sinking into the depths below.
"Heh…" Sanji said as he slowly fell to the ground. "One… last… strike…" That's when he turned both of his legs inward and hit Gin on either side of the face in a scissor-like motion. "Croquette de Crab!"
A second later, both men hit the ground in a heap.
"It's a draw!?" the Chefs and Pirates exclaimed at once.
"No!" Patty shouted as one of the men slowly climbed to his feet. "One's getting up!"
With a final thrust, Gin managed to get to his feet, breathing loudly.
"Uh oh…" the Fighting Cooks stated as one, while the pirates began cheering. "Go Gin! End him! He can't move!"
Gin just stood there for a moment, not responding. A look of determination appeared in his eyes as he looked down and grabbed a sharp piece of wood.
Krieg gave a smile. "That's right." Luffy just looked on silently as Gin knelt down and grabbed Sanji by the collar. He held the wood fragment up high, its shadow landing on Sanji's neck. 'Damn… I can't move…'
Gin made several grunting noises, appearing to struggle with himself before crushing the wood piece in his hand. "I CAN'T DO IT, DON KRIEG!!!" Gin shouted, letting the fragment fall. "I CAN'T KILL THIS MAN!!"
Luffy broke out a broad smile while Krieg grew pissed once more. "SAY THAT AGAIN!!! I DARE YOU!!!"
Images of Sanji giving him the food appeared in Gin's mind as he covered his face in a vain attempt to hide his tears. "That was the first time in my life that anybody was ever so kind to me!!! I… I can't kill this man!!"
XXXXXXX – Outskirts of Baratie. Written by Shang
"Before I kill you, answer me this: how the hell did you make your fat stomach expand without any hand seals?" Zabuza inquired to the Akimichi trapped within his water prison.
"Bubun Baika is basically the same as a simple Baika, only it requires less chakra," Choza explained calmly with no trace of fear in his voice. "The hand seals are exactly the same. Akimichi techniques use calories, so for a skilled member of my clan, it's not that difficult to use Bubun Baika, but keep in more stored chakra then required. That chakra can be released later on to perform the actual Baika… it's kind of like sugar that stores itself in the body…"
"I see… useful. Now farewell…"
"Before you kill me, may I too ask you a question?" the Leaf-nin asked. Noting Zabuza raising his eyebrow, he took that as acknowledgement. "What made you think I went through that water screen coincidentally?" He finished with a smile, making the swordsman eyes widen as he felt something explode beneath his feet.
A quick look down made him realize kunai, shuriken and many other projectiles were flying from the bottom of the ocean straight towards his position. With a quick curse under his breath, he jumped to the sky, releasing the technique, and blocked all the incoming blades with his weapon, annoyance creeping onto his face. 'That fat bastard… he used my own smokescreen to plant a trap! To think he was able to drop a shuriken bomb into the water in that freaking spinning state… and more importantly, wasn't Krieg the only one in possession of that sort of equipment?'
He didn't get much more time to think about this as Choza's giant fist came barreling straight at him from below. Acting on instinct, Zabuza made a motion to block with his palm and the instant his hand touched the huge arm, he used the momentum to displace himself, flipping to the side and then sliding down the massive arm, the tip of his sword already pointed to pierce his opponent from above.
The chubby jounin was not about to give up, however, and quickly bent forward, turning his hair into a cloak of spikes (A/N: Chouji used that technique against Kakuzu and Hidan), forcing the Demon of the Mist to twist his blade, putting it under his feet and using the blunt side to ride down the spikes like a snowboard, landing swiftly on the water floor just behind the Leaf-nin.
In a flash the swordsman spun on his feet, cutting horizontally in an attempt to split his adversary in two, but Choza saw that coming and ducked under the assault, kunai in hand. Without a moment to waste, the chubby jounin pushed the knife upward, making its blade go straight through the small hole in Zabuza's sword and allowing the Konoha shinobi to push the massive blade up, leaving the Demon of the Mist wide open.
With a wild roar, Choza charged forward, ramming his adversary with the entire weight of his body, but as the Mist-nin suddenly gasped for air, he quickly recovered and let go of his sword, which had now been blasted toward the sky, quickly performing another set of hand seals. "Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!"
A powerful stream of water instantly shot up from beneath the Leaf ninja, blasting him towards the sky as well, while Zabuza collapsed to his knee, grabbing more air into his lungs. In the next moment, he gazed up, only to see his opponent growing in size multiple times, now dropping down as large as an island right at the shocked Mist-nin.
Having no other alternative, The Demon from the Mist released the chakra flow to his feet, allowing his body to sink into the ocean seconds before the huge jounin dropped on the water floor, blasting waterfalls to the air. Annoyed to no end, Zabuza swam towards his sword that had already fallen from the sky and grabbed it as it too sank deeper and deeper. With his weapon back in his hand, he performed another chain of seals, making the liquid spin beneath his feet.
In a blink of an eye, his body shot forward while he thrust his sword out front, ready to impale Choza from below as the head of the Akimichi clan was still shrinking and getting back to his feet. Only by a hair did the chubby ninja manage to dodge the attack by bending back, yet the assault did not end there.
Somersaulting in mid-flight, the shinobi swordsman aimed to cut his opponent's back as his own body flew above the Leaf-nin's head. Hearing a whistle in the air, Choza quickly lunged forward and, propping his hands against the water surface, he threw his leg back, hitting the Demon of the Mist right in the stomach and sending him flying back.
Coming to a sliding stop a few meters away, Zabuza panted slightly, settling his gaze on the persistent opponent. 'Dammit, creating that many clones took its toll. I never imagined this guy to be that tough. I need to finish this…'
Meanwhile, unknown to the Mist Demon, Choza had very similar thoughts in mind. 'Using Baika no Jutsu to this extend without prepping myself with the pills wasted too much of my calories. If I take the pill, then I should be fine, but I doubt this guy will allow me to do so… but with the amount of chakra I've got left, I can't really form any strategy…'
XXXXXXX – Remains of the Starboard Fin, Haku
Ice began forming around the boys in the shape of several large rectangles. Several of them formed around the two Straw Hats in a circle, then a small circle of ice rectangles on top of the first row. Finally in the top middle formed a single ice rectangle, resulting in a large dome of these things.
"What do you think?" Haku asked, standing outside of the jutsu. "Do be honest."
"It sucks," both boys said, waving him off.
"Don't be like that," Haku replied, a small tone of disappointment in his voice as he walked towards the nearest ice rectangle. To the boy's amazement, Haku entered the ice completely, his reflection cast on all the other ice instantaneously, revealing them to be mirrors.
"Now, let's begin."
That's when a needle came cutting across Sasuke's left arm. Before either could make a response, a needle came from behind, cutting across Naruto's right leg.
The air was then filled with showering needles coming from every direction, cutting each of the boys in every direction imaginable as more and more cuts appeared on them; on their legs, arms and body. Sasuke grabbed his head in panic as he crouched, closing his eyes and hoping the nightmare would end.
Naruto wasn't much better off; his legs were shaking badly while he covered his face with the arms, his heart thumping like a hammer. This couldn't be real! It just couldn't be!!
"I'll never run away again and I'll always protect those precious to me, no matter what the cost is to me."
Naruto's eyes shot wide open at the memory. Images of his old home on fire, Iruka's picture, and his proclamation flooded into his mind, renewing his strength and determination tenfold. Meanwhile, Sasuke got his own jumpstart.
"Little brother, you're pathetic. If you want to kill me, settle for hating me until you can. Clinging to life like a coward!"
'No!' Sasuke declared mentally as he jumped to his feet at the same instance Naruto did. Images of a large bonfire appeared in Sasuke's mind with Uchiha corpses littered around it in a circle. A monstrous roar was heard in background, a sound that still chilled Sasuke to the bone.
Haku just watched for a moment, noticing how the two had stopped shaking and gotten back on their feet. How did that happen? Whatever it was, he was glad to see it. Preying on the weak and scared was not his way.
That's when he noticed Naruto move, causing Haku to act in response. A split second later, both suddenly vanished and reappeared right by the nearest mirror, Haku kicking Naruto right in the face, knocking him to the wooden deck.
"Trying to use substitution to escape the mirrors," Haku commented as he noticed Sasuke running the opposite direction to escape. "Too bad for you I can intercept even that in here." Next he threw several senbon at the fleeing Uchiha, which went right through him, making him vanish.
That's when the deck shimmered, revealing the real Sasuke. 'A nice trick. Using the moment I was focused on Naruto, you created a bunshin decoy and henged to resemble the deck for an optical illusion.' Haku caught Sasuke's incoming uppercut with ease. "Too bad it's all for naught."
He grabbed Sasuke's wrist and then hurled him up into the air as he jumped backwards into the nearest mirror. Using his jutsu, he zipped from mirror to mirror in a rapid succession, striking Sasuke while he was in mid-air several times, finishing by appearing directly over Sasuke and delivering an elbow strike to the younger boy's back, making him drop like a rocket.
That's when twenty more blonds erupted out of nowhere. Two of them caught the falling raven-haired boy while the others made a mad dash to get outside the Ice Mirrors.
"Better," Haku stated with approval as he reentered a mirror and sent a hail of senbon in all directions, hitting the clones as they exploded. That's when he noticed the first two rearing their arms back as Sasuke repositioned himself.
Using all their strength, they threw Sasuke upward... only for Haku's image to appear in the highest mirror right in Sasuke's path. "No."
Four senbon struck Sasuke's shoulders. The boy gave a grunt of pain as he fell back down while more senbon came from five different directions, destroying the other two Narutos. A second later, Haku appeared back on a lower mirror, blocking the real Naruto's attempts to get out again with solid right hook in the boy's throat.
"I forgot about the real you once already," he informed the blond as he grasped his throat. "It won't happen again."
"Damn... it..." Naruto choked out, still massaging his neck while Sasuke stood up. "There has got to be a way to get out of here... if we only knew what he was doing..." Sasuke said, plucking the senbon out.
"So what is it?" Naruto asked, looking at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye while waiting for Haku's next move. "Clones everywhere?"
"I don't think so," Sasuke answered. "Whenever he appears outside the mirror, there's only one of him. If there were clones, I would think more of them appear when he intercepts our attacks. Maybe it's simply pure speed."
"But he wasn't that fast when we were fighting him hand to hand," Naruto pointed out. "And these attacks are coming from all directions at once. How can that be speed?"
"If I knew that, we wouldn't be trying to figure it out!"
"It's more accurate to call this teleportation," Haku's voice cut in.
Both boys jerked their heads towards the nearest mirror with Haku's image. "This jutsu uses the mirror's reflection to transport me in an instant. I move so fast you two might as well be standing still." At that, all the Hakus moved their arms. "So now you know... there's only one body in the mirrors, casting a reflection on all these mirrors. So even if you could reach my mirrors, the odds of you hitting my real body is one in twenty."
"Geez... you sure love to talk..." both boys complained.
"Try and shut me up then," Haku countered. "I tell you this to show you how futile it is. Your chances of defeating my jutsu... are zero. Not even Zabuza-sama can break out of this."
"Like hell!" Sasuke roared, forming the six signs as he took a deep breath and blasted out a Grand Fireball, striking the nearest mirror. It didn't even melt it in the slightest, much to Sasuke and Naruto's shock.
All the Haku images gave a nod. "See? No matter what you do, no matter what you try, you will both fall to me."
"Then we'll hit it harder to break these damn things!" Naruto shouted as he crossed his fingers again. Another small horde appeared, rushing towards the mirrors while Sasuke prepared another Katon, though his eyes were watching like a hawk as the Narutos began vanishing.
Naruto came tumbling back to the deck while Sasuke gave a nod. "Can you keep it up? There's got to be some flaw to this trick."
"Why don't I take it up a notch then?" Haku asked before Naruto could respond. "I told you I wanted to try out a few new tricks."
Both Leaf ninja paled at the remark. All this wasn't new!?! What else could he pull!?!
"Don't take it too personally. It's just that there are two men I absolutely must defeat."
That statement shocked both boys. What did that mean? Before they could react further, Haku made a one-handed sign by holding up a single finger. "Trick number one." The top mirror began spinning rapidly before coming to a stop. Light streaked down from it as it hit one mirror, bounced off to another, then another until the entire area was blinding from the reflecting light. Both Straw Hat ninjas gave a cry of pain as they covered their eyes, before another wave of senbon hit them from all sides. "Painful to fight when you can't see," Haku taunted. Being in the mirror helped shield his eyes from it.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" This time fifty Narutos appeared. Each and every one of them was groaning from the blinding light, but running towards the mirrors regardless.
"Futile." With that he hurled even more needles at the Narutos, destroying them all... which resulted in a large amount of smoke. At that, Haku raised an eyebrow. 'A smokescreen?'
He could no longer see them clearly. Suddenly a large amount of kunai came flying at the mirrors, all of them fitted with exploding tags, while he saw a Katon spring to life. Ah, so that was their plan...
Wood and metal projectiles collided in midair, setting off a chain reaction of explosions that rocked the entire area. The explosion was enough to rotate the top mirror slightly, throwing off its angle as the blinding light vanished. Meanwhile, Sasuke blew out his fire jutsu at the deck.
If they couldn't get past the ice mirrors, they would destroy the deck and go under it through the sea!
Both gave a grin as they dove downward... only to slam headfirst into a thick sheet of ice.
"OW! What the!?" they yelled simultaneously as the smoke began dissipating. When it cleared, they saw Haku kneeling before them, a hand against the ice.
"Hyouton: Iteru (Ice Style: To Freeze)," the Mist Ninja stated evenly. "As I said, escape is impossible."
Bothboys uttered a curse as they charged Haku as one, determined to keep him from escaping. Haku reached out, grabbing both their punches and pulling them aside before slamming his fists into their faces.
"Don't be so reckless," Haku said, waving a finger in disapproval as he reentered a mirror. "You two couldn't land a hit on me during our two-on-one earlier, and with all those injuries, you're only slower and weaker as a result."
"... I... may be... slower... and injured..." Sasuke stated as he got to his feet. "But don't... ever call me weak!"
"Very well."
"Shut your trap you - " Naruto started, before both boys did a double take. "What did he just say?" they asked together, cocking their heads to the side in confusion.
"I acknowledge that you two aren't weak. Combat-wise, I may be superior, but if skills alone determined the strongest in the world, I and many others would not exist." Images of Mihawk and that man appeared in Haku's mind. "You two have continued giving it your all in this fight, no matter what I have thrown at you. From our physical battle, to my fog advantage, to our present conditions now. You keep meeting me head-on with resolve and determination despite being at a disadvantage in each aspect of the fight. So for that, I acknowledge you two... Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke of the Straw Hat Pirates. You aren't weak."
Despite the situation, both Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but smile in response to this. Maybe this chatterbox wasn't so bad after all.
That's when needles appeared in the hands of all the Haku images in the mirrors. "Don't let it go to your heads. Our fight is still going on until either you both fall or I do. So do not disappoint me in continuing to fight with your all. This fight helps me just as much as you."
With that, Sasuke strained his eyes at all the images poised to throw needles, while Naruto took out two kunai in his hands. 'I've got to see it! Look for every move, every gesture, every action... they has to be a flaw somewhere!'
Haku launched a new wave of needles at the two boys while his left hand held up two fingers. "Trick number two. Senbon Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."
That's when all the already numerous senbon multiplied to mind-boggling numbers. Naruto's face turned a shade of white at the amount, while Sasuke clenched his teeth in frustration, telling himself to focus. He then suddenly gave a side-kick to Naruto, pushing him off to the side as the mass of senbon came at him. Sasuke began weaving in and out of the senbon storm, kunai appearing in his hands as if by magic as he batted large amounts of senbon out of his way. Many of the wooden needles still cut his clothes, but none touched his skin itself.
'What!?' Haku and Naruto thought in amazement. Sasuke was breathing heavily as he looked up, revealing that his eyes were now red with two black comma-like marks on each iris. A satisfied smirk appeared on Sasuke's face. "You think... you're the only one... with a bloodline?"
"A bloodline? You?"
"You said it yourself, punk. Bloodlines allow for unique characteristics, such as producing new elements, altering your body or enhancing your eyes." He said that last part with pride as he pointed to his eyes. "The pride of my family, the Uchiha clan. The Sharingan!"
"Never heard of it. Must be some small backwater ability."
Sasuke flinched as if slapped. He had finally awakened the ability and this bastard mocked him!? "I'm gonna KILL YOU!!!" he raged, and would have attacked again, but Naruto put him into an arm lock. "Calm down! You're just playing into his hands!"
Haku allowed the boys a moment for themselves, his own mind racing. Whatever the abilities this Shurgin granted him, it clearly allowed him to avoid a large mass of needles thrown at him. Sight enhancement was obviously one factor of this Shangin, but how? Or did it enhance his reflexes, allowing him to move faster with it on? Or did it even use a subtle genjutsu, throwing off his aim?
He would have to experiment.
Haku reached into one very special pouch, withdrawing a handful of black senbon with red seals inscribed on them. Another hail of needles came flying at the two, prompting Sasuke to kick Naruto out of the way once more, though this time Naruto was expecting it and turned it into a backflip to catch himself.
Sasuke moved to intercept these ones when the black needles exploded. The Uchiha gave a cry of pain as he fell on his back, Haku appearing in a mirror on top of him, sending down another wave... only for Naruto to come sliding along the ground, kicking Sasuke away. The blond managed to cross his arms just in time to prevent the needles from entering his chest.
"Naruto!" Sasuke yelled, grateful those needles had been wooden ones. That's when a new batch of needles came at his back, black ones again. He spun on a dime in time to see them multiply in number.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" A blazing fireball erupted from the boy's mouth as it collided with the needles, resulting in a premature explosion that nearly scorched Naruto.
That's when Haku physically appeared right behind Sasuke, his fist full of wooden needles as he aimed right for the back of Sasuke's neck. At the last second, Sasuke sidestepped Haku's strike, pivoting on his foot and aiming an elbow straight toward the back of Haku's head, only to have Haku's right hand zip around his head and catch it.
The two backed off each other in an instant. Sasuke pulled out another kunai into his right hand and swung it back at Haku's masked face, only for the boy to block yet again. This time Sasuke was ready as he threw the kunai with a quick flick of his hand. The Mist Ninja managed to dodge by a hair by ducking, only for Sasuke's foot to come right at him.
Haku managed to bring up his left arm to take the hit, but the force still sent him flying backwards as a result... right into the waiting Naruto. The orange-clad boy moved to grab him, but Haku grabbed Naruto's arms, using his full arm strength to flip over and use Naruto's face as a springboard to jump upward.
Only to have another grand fireball come flying right at him. Sasuke smirked. Not even this bastard could dodge in mid-air!
That's when a freezing wind erupted from Haku's outstretched hand. In a second flat, Sasuke's fireball became an iceball, which came crashing down on Naruto's cranium right as Haku reentered the mirrors.
"OW!" Naruto cried as he nursed his head, ice fragments raining all over him. "DAMMIT!!" He didn't know whether to blame Sasuke or this bastard!
"I have now analyzed enough of your Shoeingan ("SHARINGAN!!!") to counter it," Haku declared as all the mirror images threw a new set of senbon at the boys, which multiplied once again, countless in number.
Sasuke hissed in frustration as he helped Naruto out of the way. "We've already been through this, you asshole!"
"Trick Number 3. Sonic."
That's when every single senbon flew at the two boys at supersonic speeds. Sasuke only had time to widen his eyes in fear as both he and Naruto were mercilessly skewered all over their bodies, piercing their arms, legs, chest and even necks completely.
"Game, Set…" Haku declared as both boys collapsed to the ground for the final time. "And match. I thank you for helping me test my abilities."
'NOO!!!' From the Baratie deck, Choji lunged from his position, not even caring how much it hurt to do so as he assumed his Hybrid Lion form. 'BASTARD!! LION TANK - !'
That's when the top mirror rotated once more, allowing the light beam into the ice mirrors and reflecting it right toward Choji. The light hit the chubby ninja dead in the eyes, making him scream in pain as he lost his momentum. Haku appeared right in his face with a devastating elbow to the Akimichi's throat.
The force of the strike sent Choji crashing back towards Baratie, crashing head-first into the wall before falling back to the deck, returning back to unconsciousness.
"I am well aware that we are on the enemy's home turf," Haku told the knocked-out bus boy. "I'm no amateur that would think the boy's allies wouldn't jump in to fight."
On the frozen ice of the Ice Mirrors, Naruto felt darkness closing around him as his eyes slowly began closing. 'Is... this... really the end... I didn't even... get to the... Grand Line... and the Villages... or Iruka... sensei...'
FOOLISH BRAT.
'… huh?' Naruto thought as his eyes closed. 'Who's... there...?'
LET ME SHOW YOU HOW TO TRULY FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
XXXXXXX – Port Fin, a few minutes prior.
Krieg couldn't believe the words coming from Gin. Words of mercy and weakness, asking him to spare the worthless blond chef's life? That son of a bitch had been one of the biggest annoyances in this entire thing! Refusing to go down even after being hit by both Pearl AND Gin! There was no way in hell Don Krieg would ever let a man escape his wrath when he set his eyes on killing him and Gin knew this!
Yet he still had the gall to plead for this man's life? Even worse to ask if the entire ship could be SPARED!?!
Don Krieg wouldn't have it! "YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFY MY ORDERS AND TELL ME WHAT TO DO!?"
Gin didn't respond as tears trickled down his face.
"It's sickening," Krieg growled as he reached for his left shoulder plate. "Morality. Sympathy. These weaknesses I never expected to see from you!" He grabbed the giant plate and held it facing where Gin and the others were as though it were a pistol. "You are not my Battle Commander anymore!" The skull portions moved up and down as the mouth opened up, revealing a gun barrel.
"Pirates... step aside," Krieg ordered. All the pirates grew white with fear as they quickly began pulling out masks.
"The poison gas bomb... MH5..." Gin stated in disbelief, making Luffy, Sanji and all the cooks look at him. Even Choza and Zabuza.
"Bastard..." the Demon of the Mist uttered under his breath.
"He's using POISON GAS!?!" the Fighting Chefs demanded. "That's low, even for Krieg!"
At the comment, Krieg simply smiled. "The only thing that matters in a battle is who ends up winning... even if more have got to die. Poison Gas is just a means to an end. VICTORY is all that decides what's right and what's wrong. If you are dead, no one's going to hear you complain. When you don't hesitate to do unspeakable, horrible things! That is true power!"
Luffy nearly blew with rage, while Sanji couldn't help but think how insane the man was. Gin moved for his own mask. "Don Krieg, please! Just this once! These cooks saved our lives!"
"Don't pull out that mask, Gin," Krieg ordered. "You're no longer a part of this crew. You aren't even worthy to be a poor cabin boy and polish my boots!"
The words hit Gin as though each one of them were a ton of bricks. He could practically feel his soul shatter from them. The other Krieg pirates could hardly believe their ears upon hearing that Don Krieg was ready to kill Gin. Gin had always served faithfully and loyally without question even before he became Krieg's right hand man. When they had escaped the Grand Line, Fullbody noticed them and gave pursuit. Without hesitation or even an order, Gin manned a smaller boat posed as Krieg, drawing the Marines away. It was entirely thanks to Gin that the rest of the crew, including Krieg, managed to escape. And that was just one of the times Gin had put his life down for him. Not even Krieg should toss a man like that aside!
Luffy jumped onto the fallen mast as he started running towards Krieg. "YOU THINK I'LL LET YOU SHOOT THAT, YOU BASTARD!?"
"You're wasting your time, Chore Bo-" Don Krieg was suddenly cut off as a towering blast of red energy shot up from behind Baratie where the starboard fin was located. A nauseating feeling blanketed the entire area, making all present sick to the bone.
The pirates all went green in the face as several lost their lunch. The Cooks went deathly white as several tried swimming back to distance themselves.
"WHAT IS THAT!?!" Patty shouted as he and Carne helped Zeff out onto the battered fin.
"It... can't be..." Zeff said, his own voice showing fear. "... that... has to be... one of the Biju..."
"Tofu?" Carne repeated. How he heard 'tofu' from 'Biju' was anyone's guess.
Zabuza and Choza's heads jerked toward the source as one, completely forgetting about their own fight. "That... can't be..." It felt like the Kyuubi! But it was supposed to be locked away in some prison! That's what the Third Hokage said Minato did!
"Haku..." Zabuza muttered under his breath. Haku had taken two twerps over there to fight. What was going on?
"No... it... it..." Sanji said as he and Gin looked on, fear etched on the man's face as though it had been drawn on. The blond-haired cook would never forget this feeling. It had to be that demon! But how!?
Luffy picked himself up as he looked over, his eyes bulging out as his jaw dropped three feet, barely touching the ocean underneath him. "HOLY FREAKING COW!! WHAT'S THAT!?!"
Krieg himself barely found himself able to move at the feeling of malice and disgust in him... until he noticed something very important. Everyone was now looking at whatever this was...
… which meant no one was paying attention to him!
Perfect! He'd kill them all while they were stupidly distracted! "Take this!" he yelled as he aimed right at the heart of Baratie. "DEADLY POISON GAS BOMB: MH5!!"
XXXXXXX – Starboard Fin
Haku's head whipped around to where his Ice Mirrors were, seeing the boy called Naruto completely engulfed in dense red chakra. It was blazing so much it practically seemed alive!
"What..." Haku said, taking a step back in fear. "... are you!?!"
End of Chapter 28
Hello everyone! Been awhile! I hope that everyone enjoyed the Christmas season! I got a Playstation 3 and the first four seasons of the Funimation One Piece Dub! KICKASS!! That's going to help with writing this story! ^_^
Now that the holidays are over, I hope to get back onto a more reliable writing schedule. Hope everyone enjoys the chapter with the fights. I had fun writing the Haku portion of it, trying out some new tricks and ideas that I hope haven't been touched on before. And we have the Kyuubi showing up! I know people have been waiting for it, so here it is! I plan to make the final portion of the Haku fight something truly eye-opening, so wish me luck on it!
I know some people wanted Choji to help out in the fight with Haku. Sorry. I'm not against the idea, but Choji's already had his chance in the spotlight and I felt he shouldn't get involved as the Haku fight was a big moment for Sasuke and Naruto. Maybe next crossover.
Decided to take a chance and modify the Sanji and Gin fight slightly. The ending is mostly the same, but I hope the changes keep the spirit of the fight acceptable. Do let me know if it did work out or if I should have left the same as canon. It'll help me know how I should handle future One Piece canon fights.
Croquette de Crab (French: Crab Cake): Sanji will jump into the air with a duel kick, then turn both those kicks inward to smash a target inbetween before he lands resembling the pinch of a crab. Original Technique. Named by Paintball Gamer.
Makyou Hyoushou (Ice Style: Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors): A Ninjutsu technique unique to Haku's bloodline. After forming the necessary hand seals, nearby water forms long flat mirrors 360 degrees around the target. Haku then places himself inside one of the mirrors. Once inside the mirror, Haku can then use the mirror reflections to confuse his target. Utilizing the reflections, Haku can then almost instantaneously move from one mirror to the other. Due to the speed, his target will appear to be moving in slow motion. Because of this, he can then unleash numerous needles into his opponent with little difficulty. Utilizing the topmost mirror, Haku can reflect sunlight inside his technique, utterly blinding the opponents within. Using this technique for long periods of time, however, will quickly use up Haku's chakra. No rank. Canon technique
Hyouton: Iteru (Ice Style: To Freeze): A simple jutsu that allows Haku to freeze water and other liquids. Due to Haku's bloodline, the ice is still quite dense and hard to break. D-Ranked Ninjutsu. Original Technique.
Senbon Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: is a Ninjutsu technique that uses Kage Bunshin to create multiple physical clone copies from one thrown senbon. A-Ranked Ninjutsu. Original Technique.
Hyouton: Iteru Jinsoku (Ice Style: To Freeze Quickly): An upgraded form of the Iteru. The freezing power of this is strong enough freeze low class Katons and portions of an opponent's body. C-Ranked Ninjutsu. Original Technique.
Deadly Poison Gas Bomb: MH5 (M・H・5, Mōdoku Gasu Dan MH5): A bomb containing extremely potent deadly poison gas fired from Don Krieg's shoulder plates. It creates a very large cloud of poison upon contact, and the gas is usually fatal to those without a gas mask. Canon Technique.
Nami's Ultimate Idiot Competition – Luffy: 49, Naruto: 58. Currently on hold due to Nami's departure.
May the Kage Bunshin and Gomu Gomu no Bazooka be with you!
Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Naruto. They belong to their respective owners: Eiichiro Oda and Masashi Kishimoto. Big thanks to Paintball-Gamer for beta-reading this!