Disclaimer: There is a genius in the world who through the sheer power of imagination and creativity created an empire of devout followers who worship him and the characters he creates and the stories he tells them. That empire is Naruto. That genius is Masashi Kishimoto. I am not him.
A/N: Review please, so that I don't feel so empty inside. :( Spoiler warning for those who don't read the manga.
This was the end. Taro looked up at the five figures through his half-lidded, blurry vision. How? He hadn't even seen that kunai coming. He trained for the last twenty-five years, always striving to be the best, to serve his village, his kage. He trained until he could train no more, then would study the texts of the great ancient nin, absorbing every last bit he could on battle tactics and the physics of combat. Well versed in ninjutsu and taijutsu, at the age of twenty-two he was selected from all the ANBU to be a member of Konoha's elite assassination squad, under the command of the legendary Haruno Sakura. But all for nothing. Here, he would die from a single throw of the kunai. And even worse, he would fail this sacred mission.
The three Commanders charged at him, katanas in hand. Taro shut his eyes, not wishing to see the last seconds of precious life. The screeching grating of metal-on-metal reached his ears. The blade of the katanas had probably pierced the metal plating on his chest. But when no further pain came and he continued to draw breath Taro opened an eye tentatively.
"Ten . . . Ten?"
A brown haired girl in a white mask was standing between him and three menacing blades of wrought steel, warding off death wit a summoned shield.
"Can't leave a comrade to die, now can we?"
"Jiro!"
A man in a bird mask appeared in a cloud of smoke next to Ten Ten, his hands already forming seals. With a single, swift movement, Ten Ten thrust her shield forward, sending the Commanders flying feet into the air.
A warm feeling seeped into his right shoulder. Slowly at first but soon it began to grow, replacing the life lost with his blood. The pain shrunk away in fear of the warmth, retreating into the dark hell of its origins. He could feel the tissue of his wound stitch itself back together. When enough strength had returned and his vision had cleared, Taro looked over his right shoulder at the source of this warmth.
"Sakura-teichou!"
"Sleep, Taro." And with that simple command, Taro drifted off into slumber.
"Hehe, look at the suckers we have hear!" exclaimed the blue-haired woman, her crazy smile widening. "I do get to have fun today!"
She made a movement to step forward, but Itachi placed a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Calm, Shinju. These weaklings aren't worth the effort. If they survive the Commanders, then maybe they can offer you some entertainment."
"Very well, Itachi" she growled, with particular emphasis on "Itachi'. Somehow, it seemed that she didn't just say his name, but the word that came out of her mouth was something more, had some strange, twisted power behind it.
"We shall see if these three are worthy to entertain me."
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Three figures stood at the entrance to a hallway, one nervously tapping her foot on the floor, another fidgeting with the sword on his back, and the third staring blankly at the ancient timber before him. A great wood door loomed up before them, trying desperately to contain the radiating bloodlust within. But the three could still feel it, a nauseating, dizzying, chilling feeling.
Slowly, the door creaked on its decaying hinges, opening outward to unleash a swallowing darkness from within. The three walked the length of the hall, numerous oil lamps on either side set ablaze. It was not a long walk by any means, perhaps only 20 or 25 paces from the entrance. But each step was more painful than the last, each fearing a future grave.
They reached the end of the hall and stood before a throne enshrouded in shadow. Not a grand throne at all, merely an old chair placed atop an elevated section of ground. Before the throne, a massive eight by ten foot map lay sprawled on the ground, covered in marks, arrows, and circles.
"It's been years hasn't it, since we were all together, eh Suigetsu? Karin? Juugo?"
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The Commanders recovered quickly from the shock of having been thrown through the air. They stood up and lunged, the metal of their blades glinting in the sun. Jiro completed his hand signs, and a massive wall of rock jutted out from the ground to block them. The three leapt over the rock, each aiming for one of the three konoha nin.
Suddenly, one appeared behind Ten Ten, katana held high to strike. She wiped around and summoned a katana of her own. A great shower of sparks erupted as metal struck metal. Ten Ten stepped back and aimed for the knees. The Commander leapt into the air to avoid the strike, but was met by an onslaught of summoned arrows. The Commander dodged the arrows, landed to the right of Ten Ten, and charged, katana poised to kill and hands flashing signs. Ten Ten repositioned her crossbow and fired. A poisoned arrow seemed to grow out of the Commander's left arm, and his hand fell to his sides, signs never completed. The wound itself was nothing, a pinprick in a limb. But a stinging, numbing pain spread from his arm to the rest of his body, his vision faded, and heart lost the strength to beat.
Jiro's opponent was giving him much more trouble. Already his was missing a finger, and blood was dripping down from a wound on his head and obscuring the vision in his left eye.
"Hahaha! So this is the power of Konoha! This war will not take long at all!" With that, the Commader struck again, Jiro only barely managing to avoid the blade. The katana lodged itself into the ground and would not come free. An opening! In those seconds that the Commander struggled to free his katana, Jiro formed several hand seals. The ground began to shake, and a wall of earth raced towards the Commander. However, instead of crushing him, the wall crumbled in a whirl of electricity. The commander lunged again, having freed his katana. Jiro dodged, and kicked the man in the stomach. He lost his wind, and fell to his knees trying to recover his breath. Jiro whipped out a kunai and stabbed him in the head.
Sakura tossed several kunai at the Commander, and one lodged itself in the Commander's thigh. She swung her blade at Sakura, but hit nothing but thin air. The pink-haired kunoichi leapt into the air, her hands forming seals. She made a movement to toss something, but to the Commander it seemed as though nothing had happened. She leapt into the air too, an exploding tag in her hand. Sakura crushed her hand in her strong grip and the tag fell harmlessly to the ground. The Commander ignored the pain in her hand, but could not ignore the strange, nauseating sensation in her stomach. Something wasn't right. She lunged with her katana again, stopped before Sakura could parry the blow, spun around so that she was behind her, and swung. The blade cut through Sakura's leg like butter, severing it completely. The Konoha ninja fell to the ground screaming, her leg lost forever. The Commander smirked as she made the final blow, the one that would end her enemy's life forever. The blade pierced through Sakura's head, and she laughed as Sakura took her last breath.
But the Commander's laughter was cut short as pain erupted in her chest. The world around her melted away, swirling and spinning. The corpse of her enemy was no longer on the ground, but instead staring right at her. The Commander looked around and found that she hadn't moved at all since the kunai hit her leg.
"A . . .a g-genjutsu?"
"Yes."
With that, the commander fell to the ground, dead. Having defeated their first enemies, the three assassins turned towards the Akatsuki, each poised for battle.
"Now can I kill them, Itachi-sama?" purred the Shinju, her voice saturated with malice and sickeningly sweet, like the scent of rotting flesh.
"Yes, Shinju. I guess they are worthy."
Shinju's smile widened further, and she let out a cackling laugh as she formed a single handsign. The corpses of the three dead Commanders suddenly spurred into life, standing up with their bloody, broken bodies.
"H-how?" muttered Jiro as horror spread across the faces of the three Konoha nin.
The blue-haired Akatsuki cackled again, obviously amused by the terror of her prey.
"Now you shall see the power of the last Necromancer!"
Review of I will eat your face!