Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't be publishing it on a website, that's for damned sure
Well, here's the second chapter for ya, I wont waste your time with unnecessary crap so just sit back and enjoy
"YOOOOSH!" the young lion roared, his movements a green and orange blur as his fists and feet decimated the army of Zetsus before they could even blink. Oh sure the Zetsus all tried to run and yes some of them were successful, able to melt into the ground and flow beneath their attacker's feet without hindrance. The rest, however, were not so lucky, for when Rock Lee commits to a battle he does not stop until either he or his opponent are a bloody mess on the floor. And many Zetsus were already smears on the floors and walls, some even on the ceiling.
Eventually the Zetsus' fight portion of their 'fight or flight' instincts overrode their flight commands and they began to fight back. Lee merely laughed and kicked it up a notch, bashing groups of Zetsu into paste with each kick. Despite his enormous advantages over the Zetsu horde Lee was still only one man and the Zetsu were still many despite their grievous loses. Finally they had surrounded Lee and were beginning to pile on top of him, into one big gigantic clump of withering white bodies. In other words: one big ass target. Unbeknownst to the Zetsus a second figure dropped from the hole in the ceiling that Lee had just created, an oversized fan grasped in her hands in a ready position to swing the fan forwards.
"Ninpo: Kamaitachi no jutsu!" Temari cried, swing her fan in time with her outcry. Swirls and whirls of razor sharp wind slammed into the unsuspecting dog pile of Zetsus, the side facing Temari took the brunt of the attack and was reduced into chunks of dark green gore. The other half of the dog pile was blown away by the left over hurricane force winds, landing in piles and clumps with bone breaking force. And standing there where is all happened was Lee with nary a scratch on him. The few Zetsus that could attempted to run but Lee was on them like Sasuke on vengeance and in short order the only living beings in the cavern was the remainder of Naruto's team, Lee and Temari.
"Naruto, report," Temari said, folding her battle fan back and returned it to its holder across her waist, the remains of her squad dropping in from the ceiling like her and Lee. Her eyes looked tired and there was a slight tremor to her hands as well. All classic signs of fatigue, showing that this wasn't their first fight today. They probably came straight to Naruto's aid once they were done dealing with whatever they ran into. On top of that, all of the infiltration teams that went in were ten-man squads, and Temari was missing half of her squad. Naruto couldn't help but shake his head; they had only barely gotten into the place and were already taking heavy losses.
"Not much to report," Naruto said, stepping up to Temari. "We found an entrance, cleared it of traps, and entered this room. We found and neutralized a guard but not before he released some sort of signal and then we were attacked by an entire army of Zetsu. We held them for a couple minutes but then they had gotten reinforcements from three resurrected Ninja. I blasted them—"
"Was Kankuro…" she started but her voice broke and she looked away, unable to finish the sentence.
"Yeah," Naruto said, wishing there was more he could say, to help her. But this was neither the time nor place for such things. He gave her a moment to compose herself and when she looked back at him and nodded he continued with his report.
"I blasted them with the Bijudama and once they reformed they were immediately recalled. One of them did try to warn me about something, possibly a trap but he was gone before he could finish."
"What did he say?" Temari asked.
"'Get out! It's too' was all he said before his coffin closed," Naruto answered. Temari was silent for a moment while she processed that bit of information.
"So either it's a trap or it's too late," Temari said at length, her face a mask. Naruto knew what she was thinking. With his squad at half strength and the remaining men near the point of exhaustion and with no feasible progress made it would be wise to fall back. And then they had to consider that this entire situation could have been engineered to draw Naruto out, the last of the Jinchuuriki. It would definitely be a blow against the allied shinobi forces if both he and Killer Bee got captured, not to mention that the world would be screwed.
"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked. He knew what he was going to do, but he needed to know what Temari was going to do so he could plan accordingly. She looked at him for several agonizing seconds, her eyes betraying her conflicting thoughts and emotions while the sounds of battle slowly grew louder and louder. He could practically see her wishing Shikamaru was here, though he would dare not voice such thoughts to her. She could hit almost as hard as Sakura when angry. She let out a weary sigh and turned towards her squad.
"We've got no choice but to pull back," she said, her voice tired. "If the rest of this place is like what we've encountered already, then there is no way in hell we can continue on with the mission." She said this loud enough so that both squads heard this statement. While most nodded their heads in agreement with her assessment, save Lee who looked disappointed about having to leave. Two of them, Ray from Naruto's squad and a young woman from Temari's squad, looked up at Temari with anger and dissent in their eyes.
"Temari-taicho, what about Bee-sama?" the woman asked, wobbling to a stand.
"We can't just leave him to these monsters!" Ray shouted, standing beside the woman. Temari scowled at them but there was no real heat to it, she was after all in their position at one point so many years ago.
"We aren't abandoning him," Temari said, walking towards them, "But we aren't a lot of help at the moment either." At this the young woman and Ray both looked rebellious so Temari tried the reassuring approach. "Remember that we were not the only squad to enter the mountain, were we may fail, the others will have succeeded," this seemed to do little to convince them, their love for Killer Bee forcing their training into the back burner so Naruto decided to add in his two cents as well.
"We're not all abandoning him," Naruto said, and all heads turned towards him. "I was planning on going on ahead and having my team return. I'm the only one that's still in any condition to fight after all that," he said, gesturing towards the pile of dead Zetsus.
"Naruto, that's suicide," Temari said, concern lacing her voice. Naruto shrugged.
"Its suicide to continue on with a half-dead team," he countered, then he turned to his team and said, "No offense guys," they all just waved him off. "Besides," he continued, "it's not particularly wise standing around in the middle of hostile territory drained as you all are. I'm going; I'll get more done by myself anyways." At this Temari glared at him.
"I can't just let you go alone," she said, and then she whipped around to Lee. "Lee, you're going with him." The young man leaped and cried for joy. Naruto resisted the urge to face palm again. Lee was an awesome individual, passionate, compassionate, determined, but at times he could be too much even for Naruto. Still, he knew he would have to rely on Lee before this mission ended, of that there was no doubt.
Lee came running over to him, his all too white teeth glinting eerily in his wide Gai-like smile. "Yoosh, Naruto-kun! Let us be off. The flames of our youth shall light our way!" Naruto did what he always did in this situation and grinned and nodded at the boisterous man.
"Sure Lee, just one second," He said before turning to the remains of his team, "Guys, I want you to follow Temari out of here. No arguments, you're all running on fumes and I hate to say it but with the way things are you'll just get in the way." At this, his group, and Temari's as well, gave looks of displeasure and anger, not that he could blame them.
Nobody liked being told that they were in the way of things, but sometimes it was a necessity if it got them to see things in the bigger picture or so says the commander in his head. He did soften their looks by saying, "Besides the more that get out, the more that can fight again. We've buried or burned enough of our friends as it is." The last part was said in an almost whisper but everyone heard and many a forlorn expression was to be seen. Nobody fought against leaving after that and they made their way out however Temari turned towards Naruto and Lee one last time before she entered the crevice that served as entrance and exit to the mountain hold.
"If I don't hear from either of you within two hours, I will advise the Generals of your situation and recommend the appropriate actions." In other words 'you have two hours before we come in and drag your asses out, clear? Good.' Finally she saluted them both to which they returned crisply before she bent and exited the building. Naruto turned towards Lee and saw that his odd smile was no longer there, but a small smirk warmed his eyes.
"After you Naruto-kun," Lee said, gesturing towards a doorway at the opposite end of the chamber in a grandiose fashion. Naruto couldn't be sure but there might have been something mocking about it. Lee was just downright weird at times.
The halls and corridors honeycombing throughout the stronghold were bland and lifeless. Naruto and Lee had been running through them for some time and had yet to run into a patrol of any sort, Zetsus or resurrected ninja. Maybe they could have taken their squads with them after all…
Suddenly six white Zetsus burst from the ground and walls just ahead of them, their bodies changing so as to more easily grab and drain them of their chakra. Lee reflexively stopped in his tracks but Naruto burst ahead, wind chakra wrapping around his gauntlets and extending by almost two feet. Three of the Zetsu split off and headed for Lee while the other three met Naruto head on. The first one to get within reach received a foot in the throat and it flew off into the wall. The second one attempted to grab his left arm but was neatly skewered by a chakra blade. Almost lazily Naruto dragged the blade up through its chest and out its head. The Zetsu neatly wilted down to the floor.
The third one had jumped into his guard as he was dealing with the second Zetsu and its teeth were mere centimeters from his throat. It was too close to dispatch with chakra blades so Naruto disengaged the blade on his right arm and grabbed by the head it before it could take a chunk out of his throat. He casually slammed it against the unforgiving stone wall once, twice, thrice before whipping chakra blades through its midsection. The first came charging back into the fray as the pieces of the third were hitting the floor, but Naruto calmly dispatched it with a second kick to the throat, this time with wind chakra. Naruto turned to check on Lee and saw the young man was sitting on a Zetsu body, smiling that smile of his again.
"You're so slow Naruto-kun," he said, smiling widely. Naruto just petulantly glared at him for a second and flicked him off. Lee merely laughed and stood up from his seat. And just at that moment the wall to their right suddenly exploded outwards, showering them with dust, stones, and licking flames.
Naruto looked at the new hole that was suddenly created in surprise. While he would never be an effective chakra sensor, all shinobi possessed the ability to sense chakra. Needless to say he held no talent there whatsoever but he was working on it, without the aid of either sage mode or Kyuubi, and he could sense people a decent bit away and chakra usage much better than simply seeking out people. He was surprised because given how close the attack was, he should have felt something. Logic dictated that there was something, natural or artificial, that seemed to either dampen or completely block off a shinobi's sensory abilities. Naruto took that as a good sign. It meant that they were definitely in the right place.
Before he could order otherwise Lee ran right through the hole, the sounds of your stereotypical last stand echoing around a large cavern coming from the hole were probably enough to galvanize Lee into action. Naruto however moved to a body in all the rubble, a Jounin from the Hidden Mist village from the looks of her. He could only find her torso and her left arm was torn raggedly. Her eyes were staring up at the ceiling sightlessly, and judging from the large scoop that was taken from her neck he could guess that she had activated a series of explosive tags or suicide seals to take out the Zetsus that had killed her. He heard movement at the hole as he bent down and closed her eyes with a hand. When he stood back up he saw a small group of Zetsus, many of them burnt from the blast. 'Leave the dead, aid the living,' Naruto thought, the wind blades of his gauntlets extending to life as the first of the Zetsus rushed at him.
Omoi was having a bad day. He got hardly any sleep last night, one part being to blame the stupidly hot chick he took to bed with him last night and the other part was the fact that he spent the other half of the night worrying. And because he hadn't slept well, he forgot to restock his lollipop holder. By the time he and his team had entered the mountain stronghold, he had nothing to suck on, so now his sugar withdrawal was killing him. To add to it, he and his team had to fight practically from the moment they set foot inside the mountain. They ran into an almost constant gauntlet of midsized groups of Zetsu that just wore on them until finally fatigue set in the squad members were being picked off one by one.
Then when there were only five of them left they entered into this midsized cavern only to be mobbed by at least a hundred of the things. The first three members of his team fell within seconds of each other. And finally the remaining member of his squad blew herself and a fair sized group up with some suicide seals on her body. It was with the near-mindless determination to save his sensei that kept his tired arms swinging his increasingly heavy katana. That stopped when the Zetsu he had just run through grabbed his blade in a tight grip, maniacal smile stretching its ugly face as two more Zetsu rushed at him, now defenseless. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable. 'I'm sorry Karui, Lord Killer Bee. I couldn't save you. Maybe I'll have an angel greeting me when I open my eyes again.'
"Dainamikku Entorii!" Omoi's eyes shot open just in time to see an orange and green blur take out the two attacking Zetsus in one move, the force of the attack creating a large explosion of dust and stone. Once it all cleared Omoi saw his savior, Rock Lee, the beautiful green beast of Konoha. The blinding smile Lee gave him made him want to retch, probably because he wanted to see a beautiful, female angel when he opened his eyes again. Not a man's ass in a skintight green leotard.
The Zetsus instantly recognized Rock Lee for what he was, many screeching in horror at the sheer sight of him. They instantly began to retreat, most melting into the ground but there were a few who foolishly attempted to get away on foot. Their demise isn't even worth noting. Almost. With a great cry Lee surged forward and landed in the midst of a group trying to melt into the floor at their greatest speed. However Lee never gave them the chance.
"Konoha Senpuu!" Lee cried out as he spun in a dizzying circle, his legs scything through the exposed necks of the Zetsu. Their heads flew into the air while their bodies, still partially submerged in the stone floor, slumped in place. Omoi watched as Lee moved on as he leaned against his sword, catching his breath and energy. He couldn't help but admire Lee in action against the Zetsu. It was like the young man had been specifically created to destroy the inhuman creations of Madara. They say that he was still incredibly effective against the Zetsus while they were being buffed by Yamato and that effectiveness increased exponentially once Yamato freed himself.
"Yo," said a new voice behind him and Omoi turned around to see Naruto, a smirk gracing his features. Omoi waved over at him, a small tired smirk of his own on his face. Without a word Naruto tossed him a small bag which Omoi lazily caught. His eyes lit up instantly when he saw what was inside; a couple lollipops and a few soldier pills. Omoi instantly took one of the lollipops, tore off the wrapper, and stuck it in his mouth and contentedly sucked on it for a few moments. Pure, sweet heaven. A chuckle from Naruto broke him out of his bliss and he gave him a questioning look.
"Your face," was all Naruto said, trying to contain his mirth from being too obvious. Omoi only shrugged, he didn't care as he had his sweet, sweet goddess back once more.
"Thanks," He said, before popping two of the soldier pills into his mouth and swallowing.
"The lollipops are from Samui and she says that you 'shouldn't worry so much' and those were my soldier pills, honestly don't know why they keep giving them to me," Naruto explained as Omoi stood back up, his chakra levels noticeably rising. At this point Lee walked back up to them, an easy smile on his face and his fist and legs where covered in the dark green effluence that served as the blood for the Zetsus.
"All done, Lee?" Naruto asked to which the plant-man killer could only nod.
"Hai, Naruto-kun. I tried to get as many as I could but most had been able to get away," Lee said, a frown burrowing its way onto his face.
"What happened to your squads?" Omoi asked. Naruto could only wince.
"We got overwhelmed almost as soon as we entered the mountain and half my squad fell before I repulsed them and then Lee and Temari's squad reinforced us and we forced the rest off," Naruto explained. Lee explained that his and Temari's squad had been caught by a wave of Zetsu, probably going to reinforce the group that was attacking Naruto's squad.
"So basically the two of you were the only ones with enough energy to keep going?" Omoi asked.
"Pretty much though it was a bit of a fight to convince the others that they would be more of a hindrance than help," Naruto answered to which Omoi nodded in agreement. He would have fought to go too if had had been in their position. Thank the Kami that he had been granted a squad of his own rather than being placed in one. After a few stretches to get his muscles primed again, he pulled his sword out of the ground and sheathed it on his back.
"Ready?" Naruto asked. Omoi nodded once and they were off once more into the bowels of the Mountain.
GRASHKOOM! One instant they were running through another vaguely unremarkable hallway and the next something burst through one wall, colliding into Omoi who was running point, and bearing him into and through the opposing wall in a spectacular cloud of dust and stone. Having stood directly behind him in their little line Naruto chased after Omoi and his assailant without a second thought.
Once clear of the dust cloud Naruto saw that Omoi was pinned to the ground by something, though it was vaguely familiar. Maybe he would more easily recognize it if it were facing him. Its right arm, if it could be called that so absurdly deformed as it seemed like a club, was raised above Omoi's head, ready to fall and bash his brains across the stone floor. Naruto wasted no time. With a surge of chakra through his feet and legs, he burst forward in a gust of surprising speed, landing him right next to Omoi and his attacker.
Using the momentum from his surge, he lashed out with a kick that landed with crushing force into the attacker's side, forcing it airborne. It landed and rolled, sadly bleeding off much of the potentially damaging energy from the landing as possible. More surprisingly was that it picked itself up almost immediately. It looked like it hadn't even felt the attack and was grinning manically the entire time. Naruto's eyes narrowed once he saw the creature for who it was; Juugo, one of Sasuke's companions. He was clearly in his Killer mode, his evil demonic-like grin tearing his face in two, and his black eyes wide in an almost orgasmic ecstasy.
Omoi was just picking himself up when the sound of something hard hitting something soft echoed through the cavern, 'Always with the caves,' and a green blur came sailing through the dispersing dust cloud. It landed and like Juugo rolled towards them until Lee got his bearings and placed his feet underneath himself, skidding the rest of the way. Out of the dust cloud strolled Suigetsu, a large shit eating grin plastered on his face and a rather large and recognizable sword wrapped in bandages resting on a shoulder.
Omoi was facing Juugo, his eyes dark eyes never leaving the maniac. Lee was standing opposed to Suigetsu, a very non-youthful frown creasing his features. Naruto positioned himself so that he could quickly give aide to either of his companions, standing with either shoulder facing an enemy. For several tense seconds neither party moved, no one dared to move a muscle save to breathe when suddenly a purposefully loud foot fall echoed throughout the cavern. It almost made Naruto twitch violently with its suddenness, not that it was particularly loud but just so startlingly there. Ninja were supposed to be silent killers, even when they were blowing shit up.
It also caused Naruto to fully take in his surroundings; they were in an incredibly large cavern. The caverns that he had fought in previously were small compared to this one, large and spacious with large, fang shaped stalactites jutting from the roof. It was also dark, almost unnaturally so. It was the sort of darkness that pervaded your sight but did not hinder it; you could walk twenty feet from your original position and look back and not be able to tell the difference. And finally the floor was smooth, almost like polished marble, which only added to the creeping weirdness of the place.
All in all, a great place to suck a demon out of somebody.
Naruto tried to keep an eye out for whoever was taking their damn old time getting there, the echoes in the place distorting from which direction they were coming from. Finally a figured began to materialize out of the darkness, directly in front of Naruto. Naruto wondered for all of a minute who it could be. But the gait, the robes, the handle like protrusion on their right side, the damn hair. When Uchiha Sasuke finally entered into the light, Naruto's face was carefully kept blank.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, Itachi's eyes piercing through him.
"Sasuke," Naruto responded, his brilliant azure eyes conveying the emotion that his voice could not. Sasuke then threw something at him, a lazy underhanded pitch that had the object in a high arc before it slapped the ground at Naruto's feet. His breath caught in his throat and his body became impossibly tense, his eyes wide as he took in the arm that was lying at his feet. It was dark toned, despite it being pale and waxy like from loss of blood, with fingerless gloves identical to what Killer Bee wore. It had been torn off. Torn, not cut. Revulsion rose like bile in Naruto's throat at that small little fact, at the shoulder with a tattoo for iron just at the tear point.
'It couldn't be…' Naruto's eyes snapped back up to Sasuke's impassive face. A little voice, barely heard through all of chaos and strife in his mind was telling him that he was on the verge of losing complete control. But something deeper and darker was telling him to fuck control; he had to hurt this motherfucker just like he had hurt his friend.
"You're too late," Sasuke said, his face and voice impossibly empty.
For one single, endless second nothing happened.
"GRAAAAH!" Naruto's roar shook the cavern and both Lee and Omoi were pitched forward as the air was blasted away from Naruto with violent ferocity as he subconsciously accessed Kyuubi's chakra. He had failed again. His angst and anger filled mind dictated only one possible action, only one direct path to making this all go away.
He charged Sasuke.
Sasuke was ready for it. His Mangekyou Sharingan was swirling rapidly as Naruto's fist was millimeters away from crushing it only to pass through it and carry his entire body along. He sailed through Sasuke in blinding speed, his mind too addled and confused to attempt to stop and crashed into the floor of the cavern with a sickening crunch. Sasuke immediate performed an about-face and charged toward Naruto's crash site, his blade shining in the darkness.
In the same instant that Sasuke turned around, Juugo launched himself at Omoi, his right arm shifting into an axe blade. Omoi had barely a second to whip out his blade and place it in a defensive position; it was a move that Killer Bee had drilled into his mind until it was etched into the core of his body. Omoi knew how strong people could be, hell he even had a light sparring session against A once. That didn't end well for him or his sword. He was used to being thrown around by Killer Bee and knew all the tricks to successfully defend himself from opponents who were obviously stronger than he. Or at least he thought he knew all the tricks.
Sparks flew when axe arm met sword and Omoi himself flew, surprised by the sheer monstrous strength behind the blow. His sword was still in one piece, so Juugo wasn't at A's level. Then there was no need to grab his junk and run…yet. He righted himself and landed on his feet only to defend himself from another attack. This time Juugo's left arm struck and it was shaped like a spiked club but instead of outright blocking it Omoi parried it, letting it slide off his sword and giving him an opening to shove his foot into Juugo's torso. He might as well have been kicking a mountain. Still he wasn't deterred.
It was quickly apparent to Omoi that of the two, he was the more agile as he ducked and dodged where he could and parried the rest. But he was starting to tire, so he knew he had to start upping the ante if he wanted to survive. The chance to strike finally presented itself when Juugo swung his club arm horizontally. Omoi rolled under the blow and directly into Juugo's guard. "Appa-suraisu!" he cried out, his blade crackling with lightning chakra as he swung it upwards from a crouching position.
Impossibly Juugo morphed his right arm into a shield and defended himself from the attack. However the shield did Juugo little good as the lightning chakra coursing through the sword increased its penetrating power exponentially. Dark blood gushed from Juugo's arm as the sword cut its way through his shield until it hit bone, stopping its progress altogether which surprised Omoi greatly. Juugo took advantage of Omoi's surprise and swung his wounded arm with the blade still imbedded and with Omoi still holding on to said sword. For the second time that day Omoi went flying and his sword not too far behind but out of his grasp.
Such was the strength of Juugo's arm that Omoi was sent crashing into the ceiling above them, Omoi having barely enough time to contort himself in the air so that he didn't end up impaled on a stalactite. Juugo's screams, whether in agony or ecstasy he couldn't tell, echoed oddly around Omoi as he shook his head to stop the ringing, clinging to the nearest stalactite with both feet and a hand. Suddenly there was a whooshing sound and he peeked around his stalactite to see a beam of solid chakra shooting up at him from the ground.
Omoi barely jumped away before the attack reduced his cover to dust and rubble. And he didn't sit still after that, which probably saved his life as Juugo had morphed his left arm from a club to a sort of canon that shoots out streams of highly dense chakra and he was sending those streams of chakra out at Omoi like they were party favors. Omoi moved quickly through the upside down forest of stalactites, sometimes using only one hand to propel himself forward.
"Screw this," he said and began flashing through hand seals. Once the last hand seal was formed, lightning began to crackle around him. He sucked in a breath before leaping onto another stalactite, landing on it so that he had to lean forward to face the ceiling. He then leaned back, now upside down with burning energy sparking around him and with Juugo in his sights. The crazed ninja was lining up a cannon arm when Omoi aimed his pointer and middle fingers of his right hand at Juugo, his thumb perpendicular to his fingers so as to act as a sight. His cry of "Raiton: Rakurai no jutsu!" was almost lost within the caterwaul of the thick lightning bolt as it left his fingers and struck Juugo in the same instant.
As Omoi dropped to the ground, he remained wary. The attack took him forever to learn, was one of the more powerful attacks in his arsenal, and it was a bitch to control. For the one clear fraction of a second that he saw of the attack hit, it looked like it struck the ground just in front of Juugo's feet but then the attack exploded and it kicked up a huge cloud of dust. 'This place sure is dusty' he thought moving to the edge of the cloud, wondering what he should do. He felt naked without his sword, the loss of its comforting weight making him feel unduly tense.
It was probably this tenseness that saved his life. He noted it at the last second, a glinting in the dust and his instincts screamed a furious warning that he obeyed without hesitation. The air whistled around his beloved sword's blade as it passed through the space of air that his head occupied a nanosecond before, followed closely by Juugo, his unnaturally dark blood flowing from dozens of tiny cuts. Despite the obvious wounds, however, Juugo was still wearing his disturbing grin and began screaming almost incoherently as he swung Omoi's sword around wildly.
Omoi dodged the attacks almost as wildly, daring to not even defend himself with a kunai against the superior strength of his opponent. Omoi, unlike his adversary, was annoyed. Here was this monkey whipping his own sword at him with nary a single skill in the art of kenjutsu to call upon. His footwork, the way he held the sword, the gaps in his defenses that left Juugo open miles wide whenever he swung the katana, these all annoyed Omoi as a serious swordsman.
It was thankfully one of those miles-wide openings that let Omoi reclaim his beloved. Juugo was going for a powerful over head chop that, if Omoi had stood still, would have cloven him in two from head to knaves. Only Omoi hadn't stayed still. Once Juugo reached as far back as he would go and started to swing down, Omoi pivoted on his right foot, bring him right inside Juugo's guard and right under his sword arm. Omoi then grabbed Juugo at the wrist with one hand and latched onto the handle of his sword with the other and twisted.
As Juugo's arm was already swinging down and with it carried a lot of the crazed man's momentum behind it. Omoi added his own to it as opposed to stopping it altogether, sending the larger man into the air for once. Juugo landed on his back a few feet away, his left hand bereft of Omoi's blade and twisted at an odd angle. Juugo quickly rose to his feet, his manic grin no longer present. In its place was grimace of anger like a petulant child having his favorite toy taken away by an annoyed parent. He would have none of that! Omoi's eyes bugged out as Juugo raised both of his arms, now morphed into twin cannons and his shoulders were also lined with smaller canons.
With a screech Juugo fired all canons at once, the individual beams combining into one large beam headed straight at Omoi. Omoi was too close to the attack to successfully dodge and he knew it. Instead he flew through a series of one handed seals while lifting his blade above his head. With a bright flash of light and charged chakra, Omoi swung his sword down, meeting Juugo's attack head on. The resulting explosion shook the cavern, nearly knocking Juugo off his feet and kicking yet another could of smoke and dust into the air. Juugo watched the cloud expectantly for one, two, three moments until finally his frown slowly turned upside down and he began a soft chuckle. It grew, bubbling forth from his chest until it was a loud, raucous, screeching laugh.
"He's dead! He's dead!" Juugo screamed, his mirth echoing throughout the caverns menacingly. His mirth ended when something, almost literally a small bolt of lightning, struck Juugo high in the chest, spinning and knocking him down. Juugo quickly rose again, his face a model of hate and anger. A hole the size of a fist had been bored through his left shoulder, still smoking even as Juugo's advanced healing closed it. Juugo barely got to his feet as Omoi came catapulting from the dust cloud, his sword held over his head and clenched in both heads, crackling with lightning chakra.
"Kumo-ryu: Tsuiraku Kire!" Omoi yelled as he brought his blade down, to spectacular effect. The lightning surrounding his sword leapt forward toward Juugo, forcing the large man to dodge to the side as the attack cut a furrow in the floor half a foot deep and eight feet long.
"WHY AREN'T YOU DEAD?" Juugo screamed as he formed his arm canons, firing off blast after blast after blast at his elusive target. Omoi once again began an elaborate dance of dodging and weaving, annoyed that despite appearances Juugo was a truly wise fighter. He was keeping a close-range opponent with the capability of slicing you into pieces at distance. One of Juugo's chakra attacks came a little too close for Omoi to dodge or weave to avoid, so he charged his sword with lightning chakra and swatted the attack away. The energies of the lightning chakra repulsed the chakra beam and deflected it off at an angle away from Omoi.
In seeing an attack deflected Juugo's anger deepened for a moment. But then he blinked and an idea entered his noggin, an idea that forced the return of his manic grin. Naturally, seeing the grin return so suddenly had Omoi paling. Juugo ceased firing his arm canons and began to change the shape of canons. Before they were just large barrels, shaped for a large release of explosive chakra that would kill a normal person in a single blast but now they were different. Now both arm cannons were comprised of a dozen small barrels each and they were both pointed at Omoi.
"Oh crap," Omoi groaned. With a renewed battle cry, Juugo let loose his newly formed cannons, streams of tiny chakra bullets shooting towards Omoi. With this new relentless attack, all of Omoi's agility, experience, and luck were brought to bear as he dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged around. The ones Omoi couldn't avoid he deflected much like he had before, trying to angle them back at Juugo but to little effect.
Omoi was getting tired, fast. Having already fought and lost his entire squad earlier, he was physically exhausted, regardless of the renewed chakra from the soldier pills he got from Naruto. He attempted to duck behind a large column for cover and a breather but that idea was scratched when the column was reduced to pebbles in a matter of moments. Eventually it was his legs that betrayed him. All of the constant moving, the dodging and weaving, had reduced his legs to puddles of jelly and all it took was for his left leg to give out underneath him.
In that instant, Omoi was peppered by tiny, stinging explosions, painful enough to make him cry out in pain and stumble. This naturally elicited a delighted grin from Juugo and he morphed his right arm back into a regular cannon, firing off a blast at the unbalanced Omoi. Whether by blind luck or bad eyesight, Juugo blast just missed striking Omoi but it did hit the floor right at his feet, sending him into the air. Juugo let loose a second blast while Omoi was still airborne and as it seared through the air towards Omoi, the young man took a deep breath, shoved aside all the pain and aches that he had accumulated and recalled his father's favorite saying whenever he had to face his irate wife.
"Time to nut up or shut up." He coursed lightning chakra through his sword once again as his left hand sped through a familiar set of one handed seals and as the attack neared he grasped the hilt of his blade in both hands and swings crying, "Kumo-ryu: Raijin no Kiritateru!" a crescent slice of pure electricity leapt from his blade and met Juugo's blast in a crackle of energy. For a sheer, still moment, the two attacks fought one another before exploding in a spectacular light, sending both combatants rolling.
Juugo picked himself up with a low snarl, his teeth gritting and grinding in anger. But his madness was slipping away, and the lines of his curse slowly retreated across his face, his right eye returning to its normal white and golden colors. Omoi was leaning against his sword for support, trying to catch his breath and ease the pain everywhere in his body. 'I don't think I can do that again…' Omoi thought wearily, as he wiped sweat from his eyes.
Juugo then walks over, more than half of his face having returned to normal and a deep frown gracing his features. The man's right arm was normal, if a little emaciated looking, while his left was changed into a weird axe/hammer hybrid and he took a fighting pose. Omoi studied him for a moment before giving a tired smile and standing up straight, if a little unsteady. He gave a salute with his blade to Juugo and assumed his own fighting stance. For a moment neither moved, both trying to build up the necessary strength to give that final, lethal blow. But just as they were ready, just as their muscles tensed to strike they were suddenly and completely engulfed in a formless bright light.
And then they knew nothing else.
The sounds of two fervent battles echoed throughout the vast cavern, but neither Lee nor Suigetsu seemed entirely too concerned. They were both extremely accomplished shinobi and knew not to concern themselves with their companions as they were also extremely accomplished shinobi. So instead they took the time to size each other up. It was during this nonverbal pissing contest that Suigetsu noticed a very intent look from Lee, almost uncharacteristic from the man if not for its inherent intensity.
"What the hell are you looking at me like that for?" Suigetsu asked from across the way, a sneer stretching his face. "Don't tell me that you find me sexy, I was under the assumption that fags had a better fashion sense."
"Have we met before?" Lee asked, seemingly unperturbed by Suigetsu's barb. Suigetsu on the other hand exploded.
"We fought four times already, ass-hat!" he yelled, a vein visibly pulsing on his temple. Lee's face adopts a confused look.
"I'm sure I would have remembered fighting someone four times," Lee responded.
"That's because you're a fucking idiot!" Suigetsu screeched. At this point he was close to throwing a temper tantrum, how many fucking idiots must he wade through to find a decent opponent? That's when Lee finally notices Samehada; white bandages covering the entirety of the sword save for the handle.
"I've seen that sword before," he said, pointing at Samehada. Suigetsu cocked an eyebrow upwards at that, before a slow, vicious smile spread across his face.
"You should. It once belonged to the greatest of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Hoshigaki Kisame!" Suigetsu trilled triumphantly.
There was several second of tense silence before Lee responded. "Who?"
Suigetsu said several naughty words. Very loudly. The vein on his temple was now dangerously close to popping. After growling several more, incoherent curses, he took a deep breath, attempting to calm his soaring blood pressure.
"It was used," he began, growling out each syllable between clenched teeth, "By Killer Bee, you numb skull." It took Lee a moment to absorb this information before he made an affirmative "That's right!" and slapping a fist into an open palm. Suigetsu's lowered his head into two waiting hands, groaning. So many idiots, so little time. Lee suddenly got serious, his dull black eyes actually narrowing at Suigetsu.
"So, you stole the sword from Killer Bee," he said, to which Suigetsu scoffed.
"Please, once we beat him senseless, Samehada was fair game," Suigetsu said.
"Then I'll just have to give him the sword back once we get him back," Lee declared. Suigetsu just bark out a single laugh.
"Good luck with that, ass-hat!" he yelled as he suddenly leapt forward, Samehada clasped in both hands and raised to deal a strike, from left shoulder to right thigh. Lee reacted instantly, whirling around under the slash and brought the heel of his right foot up and around, smashing it into Suigetsu's jaw with vicious power. Almost unexpectedly, Suigetsu's head exploded into a fine mist of water around Lee's foot. However, instead of stopping, Suigetsu's body kept moving, reversing the momentum of Samehada and swung at Lee again. Lee was caught off guard for a moment but he was able to leap out of the way just in time.
As Suigetsu's head began to reform, Lee looked down at his right arm, the bandages that had been covering it were all shredded and falling off. By the time he finished removing the remaining ones; Suigetsu had fully grown his head back and was glaring sharp and pointy daggers at Lee.
"Do you have any idea how much that stings?" he asked to Lee's confused glance. Maybe it was Lee's nonchalant shrug or maybe Suigetsu was just anxious to kick the fight off again but no matter the reason he leapt at Lee again, swinging Samehada with all of his skill and might. What followed was an odd game of cat and mouse where neither party could harm the other. Suigetsu would swing and swing but never would he get a hit in on Lee who was far too agile for a large and heavy weapon like Samehada.
There was also the fact that because Lee had underdeveloped chakra coils which gave him something of an advantage over Samehada's chakra absorption capabilities. Because he couldn't produce chakra like a regular shinobi and relied on his physical abilities, there was almost nothing for Samehada to suck from him. Suigetsu wasn't without his own advantages either. Despite that Lee was much more agile than Suigetsu; he could get off more shots at the man because he could manipulate his body like water. Lee's attacks were having no effect whatsoever. And so they were deadlocked.
"Screw this!" Suigetsu said, finally tired of the stalemate that they were in and liquefied his body instantly. His upper torso still remained, his left arm clutching Samehada, but it had become almost completely translucent as a large pool of water began to well up around Lee. Suddenly a tendril of water shot out towards Lee and only his instincts and reflexes saved him. As he dodged, the entire pool around him becomes active and Lee draws upon every experience, every skill to survive, but still it was all for naught.
As he sidestepped one attack, a foot landed in a still puddle of water and he knew he was trapped. The instant his foot landed in the puddle, it leapt up his leg and suddenly became heavy, like a hand was grabbing him around the ankle. Other portions of the water that composed Suigetsu began to converge on Lee, engulfing him entirely in a prison of heavy water.
"How do you like that, bitch?" Suigetsu taunted as he slid up to Lee. Lee glared for a moment then he closed his eyes and slowly crossed his arms. By the time Suigetsu realized what he was doing, it was too late. In a violent burst of chakra, the prison of water exploded outward and Suigetsu was sent flying.
"Hachimon: Seimon, released," Lee said before he became a literal blur, becoming visible again when he forced his fist into Suigetsu's gut.
'What the fuck?' Suigetsu thought in pain when the hit landed. Seeing the expression on his opponent's face seemed to bolster Lee as the next series of strikes literally had Suigetsu crying out in pain.
"Fuck you!" Suigetsu screamed as he swung Samehada at Lee. Lee, being Lee, dodged the attack handily but not before Samehada sucked the excessive amounts of chakra from Lee's body leaving him dazed and confused. That was immediately cleared up by Suigetsu's fist as it crashed into Lee's face. Lee flew through the air and landed in a heap on the ground. Suigetsu slowly circled around, his body is still a mostly formless pool of water, as Lee tries to pick himself up.
"Guh!" Lee grunts as his leg gives out from under him and his breathing is heavy. The stress of opening the life gate was already wearing him down and like the predator that he is, Suigetsu moved in for the kill. He swung Samehada down, his eyes gleaming in vicious victory. With a cry of both determination and pain, Lee rolled out of the way just in time. However the power of the attack shook the ground and created a small crater, sending Lee flying. Suigetsu immediately turned and pursued his quarry, not wanting this chance to slip past him. Just as Suigetsu was about to strike again, Lee sucked in a breath, knowing that he would be in a world of hurt later.
"Hachimon: Keimon, release!" He cried out and a second, much larger explosion of chakra barreled into Suigetsu, pushing him back. Once the gale force winds died down enough, Suigetsu opened his eyes and saw the geyser of chakra that had become Rock Lee. Suigetsu attempted to shield himself with Samehada but Lee in this form was just too fast. Hepractically appeared from thin air in front of Suigetsu before Samehada could even be brought around.
"Yuuarikoushin!" Lee cried out as he thrust both of his legs into Suigetsu. For a moment Suigetsu couldn't breathe but that wasn't the weirdest thing. When Lee's legs hit, the air shimmered around them for that same instant, and yet Suigetsu felt almost nothing. He should have waited one second more. In a sudden clash of sound and light, Suigetsu was thrown backwards, multiple explosions blossoming all around him and in him. Suigetsu lands with a loud plopping sound, his body partially liquefied but neither was it reforming at his command.
"What the fuck was that?" Suigetsu demanded, bubbles of reddish water slipping past his lips. His body was also steaming; the heat of the explosions causing the temperature of water that comprises his body to rise significantly. Surprisingly he must have hit Lee with Samehada when he was thrown back by the attack as the man was no longer exuding a greenish aura, but his skin was now a redder color, almost brown. As Suigetsu grasped Samehada again he felt of flood of rejuvenating chakra course through him.
"Yuuarikoushin is not a single kick, but a large number of kicks so fast that the sudden friction they create in the air creates explosions on or near the target," Lee said, unconsciously favoring his left leg over his right and he was breathing heavily. If he was nearly worn out from releasing the third gate, he must be near death, Suigetsu figured.
"That's fucking impossible," Suigetsu gripped as he finally pulled himself together. Lee merely shrugged at him, too tired to say anything. Without another word Suigetsu took a deep breath and suddenly the water of his body expanded, some water even began to well up from the ground all around Lee. It was even beginning to shimmer a chakra blue, casting those odd water reflections all around them. Lee took his own deep breath, just like before the deep plunge.
"Hachimon: Kyuumon, Release!" He cried out, the column of chakra that he called forth crashed into the ceiling of the cavern shaking loose stalactites and boulders alike. Just as they began to charge, a bright light distracted them both and the last thing Lee heard from that point was Suigetsu's "The hell!"
Everything after that was formless and blank.
Author's notes:
so a cliffhanger. how badly do you people hate me? :P do you hate me enough to let me continue writing it? parts of this just flowed from my mind and other parts were like pulling teeth but I hope that you all enjoyed it. Many thanks to Tellemicus for be an awesome Beta and an all around awesome guy. please review, constructive criticism sustains my very being, praise increases my self esteem as a writer, and flamers can go and off themselves.
translations:
Kumo-ryu: appa-suraisu: cloud style: upwards slash
Raiton: Rakurai no jutsu: Thunderbolt technique
Kumo-ryu: tsuiraku kire: cloud style: falling slice
Raiton: Raijin no Kiritateru: Slash of the Thunder Lord
Seimon: life gate
Keimon: view gate
Kyoumon: wonder gate
yuuarikoushin: Evening ant march)