Well shit! What can I say folks. This is the danger of writing a fanfic before the series ends. The official plot can diverge from where you'd hoped things would go, or as is this case, things can happen that you'd never expect or think about until it's too late. Those who read the mangas from Japan, know I am referring to Jiraiya. I will say no more for those who have not yet read the issue. But, bloody-hell. Now along with fixing plot-holes in my own writing, and spelling errors, and substandard grammar, i now have to find some way to ret-con the story and make it fit. The whole point of this story was that it was a continuation from Shipuuden. Doesn't work if things here happened differently. It's not an AU. Okay... I've vented. Enjoy the read. Please review. Gods I only had like... eight reviews. Come on people! I want to hear from everybody. You're reviews are like fuel to a fire. The more i have the brighter I burn. Meaning... I GET THESE CHAPTERS OUT FASTER! It's called "encouragement." I know I shouldn't bitch. But it felt like it needed to be said. I do appreciate all my readers. So much so that I've begun to think of a way to truly show my appreciation. Trust me. You'll know when I've come up with something.


Chapter 17

Setsuna gave a long slow swipe at the bush in front of him. In the next instant, he'd found himself with a blade to his neck from behind. This blade was a custom made chokuto. It was positioned to show the reflection of it's wielder.

"Aah. The young Uchiha." Setsuna wept. "Normally I prefer to play with girls. But you're pretty enough to have fun with."

Sasuke just looked at him through his sword's reflection. "That's an interesting blade you have. Are you compensating for something?"

"My, my, you are going to be fun to play with."

At that moment Sasuke stepped out of the way releasing Setsuna from his grip. Itami had stepped in. Sasuke's special eyes could perceive the purple colored chakra surrounding her hands. It was twisted and dark. Similar to a chakra he had once possessed, but different.

Sasuke eyed the woman impassively. She leaped forward and ducked under his guard. He side-stepped her only to come across the tall man's blade once again. The raven-haired youth parried the crossway slash and countered with a slash of his own. He slid down along the blade only to decapitate a water-clone.

The water from the clone began to boil the instant Sasuke had destroyed it. Before it even finished wilting to the ground, the water had evaporated. A blast of steam went off in front of Sasuke's face, in an obvious attempt to blind him. Of course, the Sharingan being what it was, he was more than prepared for it. He closed his eyes.

Within a fraction of a second, his opponents were upon him. With all the quickness of a mongoose, the purple-clad woman flung her hat at the youth. The force of her throw released multiple sharp blades from the brim. It whirled in the air at Sasuke. He merely took a step back.

That's when Setsuna came for him once more. He seemingly came from nowhere, and thrust his nodachi towards the younger Konoha-nin, right between the shoulder blades. The blade pierced the body with ease, and a sickening sound of metal and flesh sounded through the air. This was followed by an unusual sound similar to gravel scraping on the ground.

Sasuke had created a cast-off skin and switched it with his own body just before, the strange blue ninja achieved his strike. Setsuna turned just in time to see a lightning-infused blade slash him across the face. Sasuke then unleashed a snake from beneath his clothing. Itami, who had been rushing to her partner's rescue, was tripped up by the serpent and entangled with crushing strength. All of these things took place within the time it took Sasuke to blink.

"Oh, Yes! The Uchiha is a FUN toy!"

Sasuke turned and barely managed to duck the Nodachi, now infused with Setsuna's water chakra. The extension of the blade immediately retracted, and it had become a regular great-sword once more.


Further away under the dome, a separate battle raged on. Osoru was flitting about atop the ceiling. He faced down the four younger ninja each with their own personal arsenal. So far it had been an even match. The yellow clad man was vexed.

'How can this be?' he questioned himself.

Sweating profusely, he dodged every single attack thrown at him and countered. This wasn't exactly an easy task. The ammunition would be launched every 12 seconds. Boulders, broken pottery, metal barbs, ball bearings, shattered trees, and spears of dark matter would be sent flying towards the diamond ceiling (In fact, he could have sworn he saw a kitchen sink in there somewhere). The arrangement of this artillery would alter each time with no discernible pattern.

A normal man would have already fallen, but the yellow-clad archer took the assault in what Shikamaru could only assume was "stride." A battle of this magnitude required a field far greater than that of any other fight currently taking place. To say that these fighters were utilizing a total area of two whole training grounds would not have been a ridiculous guess.

"Shikamaru!"

The mission's leader briefly glanced at the one calling out his name.

"No, Lee I haven't figured it out yet. He fights pretty well for a coward."

"Hai. No matter how fast we strike he has just enough time to dodge and shoot a small volley of arrows back in our direction." returned the thick-browed youth.

"It's more than that." Shikamaru responded. "True he's having problems right now. But, eventually he'll be able to anticipate our movements. We're only keeping him off balance enough so he can't fire off any of those special techniques he was using earlier."

Lee took a second to look back at where they all originally stood when the fight started. Countless arrows were sticking out of the ground, as though the earth were a pincushion. And, it truly boggled the mind. In random places, there were special signatures of a jutsu. Some times an arrow was just an arrow, and it would sit there almost harmlessly. Sometimes an arrow was something more.

Small pillars of ice would streak out from the ground. Whole patches of grass would be charred black beneath some arrows. And these markings could even be told apart. Places where the grass died by fire, contained red embers. Places where the grass was charred by lighting still held a residual spark of electricity. There were places where the grass was sheared away by wind, or the soil itself would be soaked with poisons. If their opponent ever regained the time to release such a tactic once more they would all be in serious trouble.

"Yes, that is true. As it is, the only reason Ten-Ten is safe is thanks to Neji's ability to redirect the attacks. Unfortunately he too, is beginning to tire."

Shikamaru kept his attention towards they're opponent. "All of this, and he can still dodge while keeping us from reading any patterns in his movements. We haven't put a scratch on him."

For a moment the two of them were covered in darkness, and then they reappeared. The hail of arrows which had been raining down on them tossed aside. With that bit of work done Shikamaru's shadow continued to whirl about. He in turn focused his attention back towards Lee. The green-clad young man gave a sparkling smile... which caused Shikamaru to recoil somewhat.

He regained his composure. "We have to change the direction of this fight. Now."

"Hai." Lee agreed.

"Unfortunately... I don't have any ideas."

When a regular person said something like that, it might not be too horrible of a thing. Yet, when Shikamaru said those words, it meant but one thing. They were in dire straights. Never before had the lazy genius said anything along those lines. Not ever.

'What are we supposed to do? How can we...'

He never finished his thought. At that moment a lightning bolt struck him.


"Damn it!" Moegi swore as everything flew into the cavern.

Udon caught Sakura as she flew in. She was unconscious. He looked up to see their enemy make his way up the now cleared tunnel. Konohamaru and Moegi saw the same thing. But Udon saw something else. He saw the look in Konohamaru's eyes. He knew the plan.

Without a word, he pulled Sakura onto his back. At that moment his friend shrugged off Moegi and pushed her aside. He was standing on his own, despite the pain, and staring down Gekido. So, Udon did what he had to do. He grabbed hold of Moegi's wrist and forced her down a fissure which had opened up in the turn of events.

"Wha? Udon? What are you doing? We have to go back!"

"We can't do that."

"But..."

"For someone in love, you don't put a lot of trust in him."

Moegi ceased her protests. She really couldn't say anything to that. Nevertheless it didn't stop her thoughts. 'Kono-kun...'

Meanwhile...

Back in the cavern Gekido emerged from the passageway and stared down at the young ninja who was in turn staring him down. Under normal circumstances he would have been so pissed off. But, this kid was interesting. He took sight of the boy. He took in every detail.

There he was, standing there in brown pants with white tape around one leg. He wore the typical black zori of a ninja, which matched his black long-sleeved shirt. Over the shirt was a leaf-green vest. Around his neck was an overly-long blue scarf with the leaf symbol plate attached to it positioned on the front. The scarf matched the blue goggles on his forehead, and the fingerless gloves.

It was a funny sight to see. The kid standing there completely serious, looking like he was ready to kill. Yet, he couldn't even breath without a concentrated effort and a wince from pain. Oh yes. This kid was interesting, alright.

"Fine, kid. We'll play a little."

At that, he received the bird. A nanosecond later, he was introduced to Konohamaru's foot. The young boy had slammed it right into his face. It didn't even make Gekido flinch. The force instead spun Konohamaru around, so the chunin rotated his body and slammed a fist into the back of Gekido's head. Still acting the immovable object, the force of the blow only caused the mohawked young man to fly forward behind Gekido and land in the passageway.

"Kid, if you're not going to take this seriously I'll just go play with your other friends. You're just pissing me off."

With a flick of his wrist, Gekido slammed his finger into arch of the passage's entrance. His pinky-finger. The door crumbled. He started to walk down the fissure where the others had gone, win the cavern entrance opened with another blast of rock. Gekido unslung one of the maces on his back and knocked away several chunks of debris flying towards him.

The next thing he deflected wasn't a rock. It was a rock encased fist. This belonged to a rock encased body. A rock-armored body. A flurry of attacks came at him, each one guarded against, by the big metal mace in his hand. Gekido grinned.

"There we GO!" he roared. He pushed Konohamaru away, before placing a second hand on his weapon's grip.

Konohamaru would rebound off the cave-wall, and launch himself back towards his opponent. Just as the older man swung his mace, a large wall grew between them. It was blasted away. As Gekido brought his weapon around for another attack, he realized that the boy was not there. He hastily searched and soon found him. The young shinobi was clinging to a large piece of debris from the wall.

He leaped from one large air-born boulder to the next. While in mid-air, Konohamaru would grab hold of smaller rocks. With little to no effort, he released yet another technique. With each leap he would throw the rocks at his massive opponent. These rocks would instantly change shape into kunai, or shuriken, or something as simple as a sharpened stone.

Gekido took one or two hits, but was able to dodge or block most of the attacks. He then swung his mace. Konohamaru performed a back-flip and put himself out of reach of the weapon. For good measure he sent two final pieces of his "Rock Shuriken" technique. They got Gekido's cheek on either side.

"Not bad, kid. But you're 200 years too early to even THINK of messing with me."

With that he swung his mace, and a bullet of red chakra flew straight and true. Konohamaru didn't have the chance to dodge, and he received a blow to the stomache. Coughing up blood he sent into the cavern wall, which crumbled upon impact and buried him. Gekido eyed the rubble for a moment. Then he walked through the fissure where Udon and Moegi had taken Sakura.


Further down the tunnel, Udon was carrying Sakura on his back. Moegi was running alongside him. they'd gone quite a way, and had no intention of stopping. At least as far as Udon was concerned. Moegi kept looking back.

"It's gotten quiet." she said.

Udon had noticed that, too. Judon'sThen as if to answer their unspoken question, the watch in Udon's pocket gave off three beeps. That was it, then. With perfect coordination Udon came to a halt and turned, with Moegi doing the same thing half a second later. The instant they made their turns, Sakura had changed hands.

Moegi now carried the strongest of their group. She watched as Udon went down the way they had come. He had changed quite a bit since their days as genin. Instead of a small boy in a blue jacket and brown shorts, there was a young man with a blue gi over a white shirt, and a pair of brown pants taped off at the calves. These pants had numerous pockets.

His brown hair which was once cut to eyebrow length and parted in the middle, had been combed back and was now concealed under the blue bandanna with the hitai-ate. His face which once held a blank stare, beneath a pair of circle-framed eyeglasses and a permanent snot-bubble... still held a blank stare. This time beneath a pair of half-circle eyeglasses... and without a snot-bubble. Around his waist was the white obi which tied his gi together. Hanging from the obi in the back were several small scrolls, and a large pack at the back.

"Udon..." She called out.

"Yeah?" He lazily replied.

"Don't hold back."

"Yeah." He said as he continued to walk back. 'Well then... how to solve this problem...'


The air was filled with the song of two dancing blades. At least it would have been if it wasn't already filled with the sound of battles taking place all over the compound. In the end, the only ones who could appreciate this muffled concerto of swords, was the last Uchiha, and the ever-weeping psychopath. Lightning and water clashed over and over. Neither side would give an inch.

The fight between the two swordsmen had carried on for some time. The reason Sasuke could continue uninterrupted, was Aburame Shino. Not long after Setsuna cut himself and Itami free, Shino had stepped in. Sasuke looked at him questioningly. Shino gave a single response.

"I'm beginning to feel left out."

With that, Shino had set his insects upon the woman. Sasuke returned his attention to Setsuna, and things had carried on from there.

"They're really going at it. It really hurts to not join in."

Shino's expression did not change. He stared her down through his mask.

"You will have to settle for me."

"For now." Itami smiled.

She swung the chain, snapping it's weight at the end towards Shino's skull. His bugs immediately intervened, attacking a mid-point of the chain. The weight's trajectory was subsequently altered, and it came crashing down onto the ground. Shino didn't even bat an eye at the crater the size of his own body. He simply stood there.

Itami recalled the chain, and swung again. And again. And again She had switched her positions, and her methods of attack. Shino never moved.

Each time, the bugs had intervened. They altered the weapon's course, or blocked it altogether. The youngest of Anbu was protected on all sides. She began to chuckle. Then, she swung her chain once more.

Shino moved. The weapon was headed straight for his skull. His bugs had placed themselves in front to deflect the blow, but something was different. They had been pushed aside, and it was obvious why. The weight at the end of the chain, which had once been no larger than a human fist, was now the size of a large cooking pot (approximately five gallons worth, is what Shino had guessed).

The change in the weapons size and mass had occurred so suddenly, that the bugs did not have adequate time to prepare and their guard was broken through. The impact had left a crater five times the size of the original one. The weapon than reformed back to it's original size and was yanked back into Itami's hands. She swung it again, with the weight at it's increased size. This time it went straight for Shino's ribs.

The weight reduced in size, and though the insects were prepared for most any new trick, they were pushed aside again. Shino however did not move. All of a sudden the chain had gone slack, and Itami's opponent was left unharmed. She pulled back her chain and found that the weight had been severed. Seconds later the weight impacted with the earth several yards behind Shino.

"Impressive techniques." Shino complimented. "Force equals mass times acceleration. By decreasing the mass of your weapon, the strength used in it's throw magnifies the speed, allowing for greater damage. Had I taken that hit, I would most likely be dead."

"Not for a young pup. Your reflexes are pretty fast to keep up the chain of my Kusarigama."

"Not mine. My insects. They are acting on their own accord. Through generations of breeding and training, they can now independently react to any combat situation. I don't have to lift a finger."

"Impressive." Itami held the broken chain in her hand, observing the clean cut. She cocked her hips to one side, and smiled coyly. "I'd love to hear more."

"The details are not something for you to worry about. You need only realize, that taijutsu is useless."

"Really?" She questioned. "I don't think so, boy. Look around."

In an instant Shino understood what she had been talking about. Scattered about the field, were the insects which had attached themselves to her weapons. 'They died just by touching her weapon?'

"What did you do?"

"I'm not the taijutsu type." She responded. "My very being is pure genjutsu. To touch me or my weapons is to know pain. Your little friends couldn't withstand the shock, and died the minute they touched my weapon."

"Genjutsu that can effect insects?" Shino's voice allowed a mild surprise.

"Hai." She removed the chain from her sickle and unwrapped a scroll. A loud "poof" was heard as another Kusarigama was unsealed. This one without a weight. She attached the end of her other sickle.

"What do you suppose will happen to you, with your advanced mind."

"I see." Shino whispered. 'She must have been the one to trap Uchiha in a genjutsu. That's proof enough that she is not lying. However...'

"This fight is just beginning." He told her.


'Looks like Shino's doing well.' Kiba thought to himself.

With the rest of their enemies occupied, he was able to sneak across the field to the sacrificial alter. Akamaru would be doing the same thing on the other side. A classic pincer technique. Their job was to rescue Hinata, without attracting the attention of the man in black; who had simply been watching the many fights play out. That suited Kiba just fine.

'I've got to get Hinata first. If we can get her out of those chains, she might be able to recover and fight with us.'

He knew he could only get one person away without fighting, and in his mind, it could only be Hinata. She was like another sister to him. In his mind, she was more important than Naruto.

'And somehow...' he looked at his blond friend confined in his chains, writhing away. '...I don't think he'd disagree with me.'

If Kiba did not retrieve Hinata first, Naruto would be angry. And who knew what he might do then? Kiba saw Naruto fight.

'I definately don't want a piece of that. At least not anymore.'

Kiba slinked his way onto the platform, like a dog on the hunt. He kept to the shadows as much as possible, and didn't make a single sound. Slowly making his way to Hinata. He was just about to reach her when he felt the urge to jump away. A howl was sent through the air, as a slicing wind passed him by.

"Did you really think I hadn't noticed?"

Kiba eyed the man in black. "I was kind of hoping, yes."

"Look where you are, young man." Zōo unsheathed his weapon. "There is a very old saying. 'Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.'"

In an instant their bodies flickered. Kiba dodging the dark man's strike, The Dark man moving to strike Kiba only to turn and make a different attack on Akamaru, who had in turn, leaped from his hiding place to take down Zōo.

"I hate dogs." Zōo commented. As Akamaru fell under the strokes the masked-man's sword, Kiba rushed in to save him.

"Akamaru!" That was the last word he spoke.

Hinata looked on in horror, at what happened next. Zōo caught Kiba by the throat, with a hand that removed from it's glove. This Ebony hand mottled with swirling black marks squeezed tightly. Just enough to incapacitate the dog-nin without him losing consciousness. Hinata who had once seen Sasuke's first stage of his Cursed Seal, couldn't help but remember the similarities.

"You needn't worry about your dog, young one." Zōo soothed. "He will live."

Hinata looked down at her poor friend. It seemed as if Akamaru was destined to live the hardest of a dog's life.

"Oh yes. He will live. He will live the rest of his life, knowing he was too pathetic to save his master."

Kiba's throat began to emit a sound. A gurgling noise. Hinata noticed that the entire time Kiba was held, the black markings on Zōo's mottled hand were in constant motion. Blood began to flow from Kiba's mouth. He couldn't breath.

Slowly the blood turned black. The veins visible in Kiba's skin followed suit, and soon his eyes were pitch black. Black as tar. He finally screamed in agony as those eyes burst. The splatter went everywhere.

"Kiba!" Hinata screamed. "KIIBAAA!"

Zōo released his grip, and Kiba fell to the stone floor. Covered in the black dretch that flowed from his mouth, and already cold to the world. Akamaru whined, still incapacitated. He could already tell. He would be alone the rest of his life; his master was dead.


I'd originally intended for this chapter to be longer, but hell. How can i improve an ending like that? You'll just have to wait a little longer to see what happens next. Thank you for reading. Plz review.

Also I want to take this time and apologize for the long wait. Writer's block. What can I tell you? I'm doing the best I can. Thanks for all your patience.

-bakagaijin.

p.s. I have decided what I shall do to show my appreciation. I am looking back on my reviews and I have decided that will be taking the top three reviewers and placing them in my next story. This will include all the previous reviews, and the reviews for the chapters to come, until the end of the story. Of course, these reviews have to be serious and meaningful. You can't just write something to have your name up there, and I will be looking out for that. Thanks again everyone.