Last time Hay Lin and Irma returned to Candracar with help, help in the form of Naruto and his fellow ninjas, along with Luffy and his fellow pirates. The reunion was cut short when Tibor found the mirror. Will looked into the mirror, and was so shocked by what it revealed to her, she became catatonic. This was made worse when Nerissa and Pai-Mey showed up. The ninjas and pirates decided that they were to hold off the enemy in order to give Will the time she needed to recover. On with the show!

Chapter 9: Pai-Mey's Power part 1

There it is," said Nerissa to her ally, "The Temple of Candracar." "It's a shame," said Pai-Mey, "that a construction of such beauty must be destroyed." "We do what we must do to further our cause," said Nerissa, and with that, the two advanced towards The Temple. "Did you know," said Pai-Mey, "That when I was young I could have been an architect?" "I did not," said Nerissa in a tone that sounded like she didn't care.

"When I was but a child," said Pai-Mey, "When I was still loyal to The Village Hidden in the Leaves, my instructors said I didn't have what it took to be a ninja, they jested that I'd make a better architect instead. But I had already chosen the Shinobi path. I persisted, and after several years of toil and self-sacrifice I finally achieved the elite rank of Jônin. When the Great Ninja War occurred I became one of the greatest spies and assassins to ever walk the land. And how was I rewarded for all my hard work?"

"I don't know," said Nerissa sarcastically, "Why don't you tell me." "When the war ended I was cast aside like any tool that has served its purpose. So I found a new purpose in the study of ancient jutsus; skills that were marked forbidden just because they were used for the wrong means. I was on the path to becoming an even more powerful ninja, one stronger than any ninja before, when the fools who ran the ninja council found me out. I was hunted down like an animal, all because I was trying to be better than I was."

"How tragic," said Nerissa just before yawning, "Please continue." "When I was finally captured," said Pai-Mey, "The head ninja of the village, The Hokage, sentenced me to life imprisonment. I escaped, and was once again hunted. The Hokage had me cornered on the edge of a swamp. He offered me a choice; return to Konohamaru and finish my punishment, or die right then and there. I chose freedom, so I ran into the swamp. Five minutes later I regretted my decision when I fell into a pool of quicksand."

"How ever did you escape?" asked Nerissa sarcastically. "It was my red Behelit," said Pai-Mey, "The one I had carried around my neck since before the war, the one that protected me from so many dangers. The eyes on the stone opened up, and a man appeared before me, a man that was a demon of unbelievable power. He said his name was Femto, and that he'd been looking forward to meeting me.

"Femto offered me a choice," continued Pai-Mey, "I could give him my soul, and serve him and The God Hand for ages to come, but I would live; or I could keep my soul and die right then and there in the quicksand." "So you chose to live," said Nerissa, "And here you are. Well, it's been 'fascinating' hearing your life story, but we've reached The Temple. And if I'm not mistaken, The Oracle has sent a welcoming committee."

Sure enough, Naruto, Luffy and their friends had taken positions in front of the door leading into the Temple. "This must be my lucky day," said Pai-Mey with a nasty smile, "Two of the three people I want to kill the most are right here. The foolish young ninja with delusions of grandeur who cut my arm off," she glared at Naruto before shifting her gaze to Luffy, "And the stretchy pirate freak that smashed my red Behelit."

"I wish I'd cut your head off instead," said Naruto grimly, "My dreams aren't delusional. I'm gonna be Hokage some day, believe it!" "And I'm not a freak," said Luffy, "I'm a rubber man. And someday I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!"

"You're a 'what' now?" asked Nerissa. "I said I'm a rubber man," said Luffy, who then stretched his face three feet out, "See?" "Indeed I do," said a disturbed Nerissa. "She sees it already!" exclaimed Kiba, "So put it away!" "Oh sorry," said Luffy as his faced returned to normal.

Back up on the balcony Hay Lin and Eric were watching the unfolding drama below, them and everyone else. "They're just standing there talking," said Eric, "Why aren't they fighting?" "Naruto and Luffy are probably just stalling fro time," said Hay Lin, "It's what I'd do."

Caleb meanwhile was gripping the balcony railing so hard his knuckles had turned white. "You're tense," said Cornelia, "And I think I know why. You want to be down there, you want to fight." "Every fiber in my being is screaming to get down there and cut Nerissa's head off," said Caleb, "Every fiber except my heart." "And what does your heart say?" asked Cornelia. "That my place is with you," said Caleb, "And your place is with Will."

Will however was still catatonic. Matt was doing his best to help, but to no avail. "Come on Will," said Matt, "You've got to snap out of it." Will just stared off into space.

Back outside things were starting to heat up. "Enough talk," said Nerissa, "If you fools value your lives, you'd stand aside and allow my comrade and I to destroy this wretched place." "And if you knew what was good for you," said Sakura, "You'd both turn around and go back where you came from."

"Don't bother, Sakura," said Saske, "People like them only understand straight forward facts." "I was being straight forward," said Sakura. "Moving along," said Naruto, "The only way you're going to destroy The Temple, is to go through us." "That's right!" exclaimed Luffy, "All of us!"

"Well why didn't you just say so in the first place?" said Pai-Mey as she removed her robes. She was dressed in a red and black form fitting ninja outfit, "I've been itching to kill you impudent interlopers for some time now."

"This isn't the time for petty fighting," said Nerissa, "I sense Will is at her most venerable point. Now is the time to strike and eliminate The Guardians once and for all!" "In due time," said Pai-Mey as she stretched and limbered up for the fight, "After all, you did promise me that I'd exact my pound of flesh. Well that time is now!"

"Then I shall wait," said Nerissa, "But make it quick, I hate to wait when I don't have to. But remember, Will must be killed." "And the other Guardians marked for sacrifice," said Pai-Mey, "I know. So, whom shall I terminate first?" "Your opponent is me traitor," said Naruto as he stepped forward, "Now you're gonna answer for what you've done. SHADO CLONE JUTSU!" Four clones of Naruto appeared, each along with the original ready to fight. "Bring it on!" exclaimed Pai-Mey, "I can handle anything you throw at me!"

The five Naruto's charged at Pai-Mey, each with a kuni in their hands. They reached her and began to grapple, but it didn't last long, for Pai-Mey dispatched each clone with a single direct hit. "Is that all your precious clones have?" asked Pai-Mey as she attacked the original Naruto. Her fist made contact, and Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"What is this!" exclaimed Pai-Mey, "Where are you hiding boy?" "Right behind you!" exclaimed another clone Naruto, who delivered a strong kick to Pai-Mey's side. This sent her flying over to where three more clones were waiting. They kicked as one, sending Pai-Mey hurtling up. Pai-Mey tried to regain her senses, just to see the real Naruto jump up and slam his heal into her torso, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Incase you're wondering," said the real Naruto as his clones faded away, that's what I call the 'Uzumaki Barrage!'" "Cool!" exclaimed Luffy. "Sweet move!" exclaimed Sanji. "Impressive," said Zolo. "You should be impressed," said Kiba, "he first used that move on me."

Just then Pai-Mey stood up, apparently unharmed. "Not bad," she said, "But you'll have to do better. Now it is my turn." Faster than the eye could see Pai-Mey vanished. She reappeared behind Naruto, and had him in a sleeper hold before he knew what was going on, her red arm choking his neck.

Naruto tried to throw Pai-Mey off his back, but she wouldn't budge. Less than a minute later, Naruto collapsed from lack of air. "Naruto!" exclaimed Hinata. She rushed to Naruto's unconscious form and dragged him out of the battle area. "Is he...?" asked Hinata as Chopper examined him. "He'll be fine in a few minutes," said Chopper, "Sleeper holds don't keep you out for too long."

"Something's not right," said Sakura, "A sleeper hold shouldn't have knocked him out that quickly. Pai-Mey's up to something, and I'm gonna find out what." She made her way to the battle area, but paused. "Saske, keep your eyes open." "I'm way ahead of you Sakura," said Saske. As Sakura entered the battle area, Saske activated his special ability, "Sharingan Eye!"

"So you're my next victim," said Pai-Mey, "My pinked haired friend." "You don't know the meaning of the word 'friend,'" said Sakura as moved her headband from it's normal place (she uses it to tie her hair back) to around her forehead, the symbol for Konohamaru displayed, "If you did, then we wouldn't be here."

"I suppose you're right," said Pai-Mey, "But that's irrelevant now, so attack me, if you can." "O I can attack you," said Sakura as she made her hand signs, "Soul Sonic Jutsu!" Sakura became charged with blue lightning and she attacked Pai-Mey. They grappled, Sakura launching blow after blow, but Pai-Mey blocked each one.

"I thought the histories said Pai-Mey wasn't a good fighter!" exclaimed Kiba. "That's what they said!" exclaimed Shikamaru. "The histories tell of Pai-Mey from 100 years ago," said Garra, "A lot can happen in a century."

"I don't care how much Pai-Mey has improved over the years," said Saske, "Something is wrong and my Sharingan Eye can't pick it up!" "What do you mean you can't pick it up?" asked Neji, "I thought the Sharingan Eye could read any ninja technique!"

"This is no Shinobi technique," said Saske, "And what's wrong right now is that Sakura is exhausting her chakra sooner than she should." Indeed Sakura's movements were more sluggish than normal. "If this is the best you can do," said Pai-Mey, "Then I am not impressed." She backhanded Sakura, sending her spinning to the ground.

"This doesn't look good," said Irma back up on the balcony. "Gee," said Cornelia, "It must be Obvious Day at Camp Stupid!" Will, meanwhile, was still unresponsive.

"My turn!" exclaimed Shikamaru as he made his hand signs, "Shadow Capture Jutsu!" Extending his shadow to Pai-Mey's, Shikamaru had effectively immobilized his opponent. "Do it now Ino!" exclaimed Shikamaru who was already drenched in sweat, "I can't hold her much longer, and I don't know why!"

"Then I'd better make it fast!" exclaimed Ino as she made her hand signs, "Mind Transfer Jutsu!" Her body went limp as Ino attempted to possess Pai-Mey, she didn't stay limp for long. "She blocked me!" exclaimed Ino, "She blocked my mind transfer!" "Stupid little girl!" shouted Pai-Mey, "It'll take more than that to control me!" With a wave of her red arm, Pai-Mey broke free of Shikamaru's shadow hold.

"This is wrong!" exclaimed Saske, "She's defeating our best moves, and I don't know how!" "Then allow me to end this battle!" exclaimed Zolo as he drew his three swords, "This victory shall bring me one step closer to being the best swordsman ever! DRAGON TWISTER!"

Zolo became a whirlwind of blades as he delivered twenty-one slices to Pai-Mey's form. However, when Zolo stopped spinning, he found no bloody scraps of flesh. "Impossible," said Zolo, "Nobody dodges my Dragon Twister!" "Well I just did," said Pai-Mey from behind Zolo. He turned around just in time to be hit in the face with a bright white light. He fell down to the ground, unable to move.

"You've just experienced my Medusa Jutsu," said Pai-Mey as she pulled out a blood stained kuni, "One of the forbidden ninja arts I learned. Now, I was going to sacrifice you and your friends in a proper ritual, but I'll have to be satisfied by rinsing my hands in your blood."

"GUM GUM RESCUE!" exclaimed Luffy as he rapidly stretched his arms out to and grabbed Zolo's paralyzed body, dragging him out of harm's way. "How is he?" asked Luffy as Chopper examined Zolo. "He'll be fine in an hour," said Chopper, "Assuming we're all still here in an hour."

"That's the same paralyzing technique the Naz'riak demons used on us," said Caleb, "Now we know where the demons learned their stuff."

"Hinata," said Neji, "It's obvious Saske's Sharingan eye doesn't work in this situation." "What do you want me to do?" asked Hinata. "I want you to stand back and observe as I fight," said Neji, "That way, if I fail, you can tell the others what you've seen." "I understand," said Hinata as Neji stepped into the battle area.

"Another victim," said Pai-Mey, "You must realize by now that it is pointless to resist. I cannot be defeated." "That remains to be seen," said Neji, "now let's see what I can see, Byakugan!" The area around Neji's eyes began to pulsate with exposed veins as he used his special ability. "I can see your chakra network," said Neji, "time to shut it down!"

He attacked, striking Pai-Mey with the palms of his hands. "I don't get it," said Taranee from on the balcony, "he's just barely hitting her." "Neji is doing more than that," said Eric, "While Hay Lin and I waited for Naruto and the other ninjas, Neji explained his family specialty. What Neji is doing is that he's attacking Pai-Mey's chakra flow. Each hit he lands sends a portion of Neji's chakra into Pai-Mey, blocking off part of the chakra network. Normally one couldn't see this network of energy, but Neji can with his Byakugan."

"You must have had a lot to talk about," said Irma. "Actually he did all the talking," said Eric, "I just listened." "Come on Will," said Matt, "You've got to snap out of it, you have to." She didn't even blink.

Meanwhile Neji's hands were moving so fast as he continued his attack they appeared as a blur. "There," said Neji as he stop his barrage, "I've just finished blocking 64 points on your chakra network, while at the same time inflicting considerable damage to your internal organs. I'd give up if I were you."

"Fortunately for me," said Pai-Mey, "I'm not you. It is you who should give up." "No!" exclaimed Neji as he used his Byakugan to check his attack, "This can't be happening!" "Oh but it is!" exclaimed Pai-Mey, "Ask your cousin, she'll confirm it for you!"

"She's right!" exclaimed Hinata, "All Neji as done is make her stronger!" "How can this be?" asked Temari, "I thought Neji's attacks were meant to weaken his opponents, not make them stronger." "I didn't want to believe it," said a rather disturbed Saske, "but it's true. All of our attacks have made Pai-Mey stronger. Every time we attack with a ninjutsu or a genjutsu she absorbs the chakra used in the technique."

"So you finally realize my power," said Pai-Mey, "Now take the next step and surrender. I might just be in the mood to spare some of you." Things weren't over just yet, as Chouji, in his Meat Tank form, rolled in from behind Pai-Mey. He accelerated and struck Pai-Mey with the force of a speeding truck. The blow sent her skidding several feet.

Chouji stopped rolling, his head and limbs popping out from their retracted position. "How do you like that bitch!" exclaimed Chouji, "Didn't manage to get any of my chakra on that, did you!" "Yes!" exclaimed Nigel from up on the balcony, "They finally managed to hurt her!"

At that time a bruised Pai-Mey was staggering to her feet. "That's going to leave a mark," she groaned. "Then allow me to leave another one!" shouted Chouji. His head and limbs retraced into his expanded form, and he began to roll again. "Not this time!" exclaimed Pai-Mey as she pointed her red arm at the advancing Chouji. The arm glowed with dark red energy, and a crimson beam shot form her hand, striking Chouji.

The force of the blast caused Chouji to roll in the opposite direction. When the energy beam stopped, he stopped rolling beside Ino and Shikamaru, deflating to his normal shape and size. "You all right?" asked Ino. "One extra large pizza with everything to go," groaned Chouji. "He's fine," said Shikamaru.

"I hope that little display was convincing, Nerissa," said Pai-Mey. "It was impressive," said Nerissa, "But what was it to convince me of?" "Of the unstoppable power of The God Hand," said Pai-Mey, "They would be more than happy to accept you in a more permanent partnership."

"I appreciate the offer," said Nerissa, "But I'm nobody's pawn." "Are you calling me a pawn?" asked Pai-Mey, just as a fist attached to a long arm blasted her in the face. As she staggered from the force of the blow, Pai-Mey saw that the long arm belonged to Luffy.

"That was a dirty move," said Pai-Mey, "Striking a lady when she's not looking." "You're no lady," said Luffy grimly, "You're a demon that only looks like one," he readied for another strike, "Gum Gum Blast!" Luffy sent his fist zooming towards Pai-Mey, but she stopped the attack with her red arm, the crimson fist gripping Luffy's. "I must thank you for the complement," said Pai-Mey as she increased her grip on Luffy's hand, "And for your energy."

By now Luffy was panting like he'd just ran a marathon. "What's going on?" he gasped, "What are you doing to me?" "Oh, I'm sorry," said Pai-Mey in a tone that stated she wasn't the lease bit sorry, "I forgot to mention, my power of energy absorption works 4 times faster on those who had consumed a cursed fruit, so say goodbye to your energy you freak!"

Ten seconds later Luffy collapsed from exhaustion. "No!" exclaimed Nami as she, Sanji and Chopper rushed over to Luffy's fallen form. "He's alive," said Chopper, "barely." "Let's get him out of here," said Sanji as he and Nami carried Luffy away from the battle area.

"That does it!" exclaimed Chopper as he glared at Pai-Mey, "You're going down!" "And just what are you going to do to stop me?" asked Pai-Mey, "What can you do, you little freak?" "I'm not a freak!" raged Chopper as he morphed into an 8-foot tall, muscle filled humanoid deer. "I'm gonna rip you to peaces!" roared Chopper as he charged Pai-Mey.

"How quickly they forget," said Pai-Mey in a bored tone. Just as Chopper was about to run her over, Pai-Mey vanished. She reappeared behind him and grabbed hold of his back with her red arm. It didn't take long for Chopper to have his energy drained, and he shrank back to his smaller form.

"This keeps going from bad to worse," said Cornelia, "I'm going down there." "No you're not!" said Taranee, "She'd absorb your energy in a heartbeat." "So what do you want me to do?" asked Cornelia, "Just hang out up here while our friends get the crap beaten out of them?" "She's asking you to trust our friends," said Caleb, "That's all."

"Come on Will," said Matt, "You have to snap out of it. Whatever you saw in that mirror, you've got to come back to us, we need you." Yet despite of Matt's persistence, Will continued to stare off into space.

To be continued. Next chapter, as Pai-Mey grows stronger, our ninja heroes attempt more and more desperate techniques. See you next time!