Kumogakure Ninja

Posted: 28-09-09

Updated: 28-06-11

CH7: The Legend Unravelled

(Ritoru Haaku)

Takeshi Takezo was a proud man, living by the samurai honour code ever since he could remember. His bushidō was simple and of a few choice words but he lived by it strictly and thus never laid hands on women, children and generally the defenceless (though there were exceptions to this). Takeshi was born as Yamaken Takezo but had changed his surname when he became of age as he felt his clan had degenerated to the point he could not consider them civilised warriors. At aged forty-five, Takezo was unmarried and had only a very few select people he called a friend.. Takezo was not a horrible man, in fact, those that knew him saw him as a man of honour and respect. He considered himself to be powerful, being proficient with earth jutsu like the rest of his clan.

Samurai and other non-shinobi's did not refer to jutsu as ninjutsu, that was simply shinobi arrogance. No, in the real world they referred to it as soshijutsu, the art of manipulating the elements.

Apart from his skill in soshijjutsu, Takezo was a master of the blade and wielded his Kyōsei Ken, Tsuchi Kuma with grace. He had spent many years being a wandering samurai, learning under notable figures such as Torimaru, the blade master of the east and Kendo, the legendary smith that travelled in the south. It would be an understatement to say Takeshi Takezo was a man of power. Unlike shinobi and quite a few samurai, Takezo did not believe in fighting without emotion, this being evident in his behaviour towards fellow Kyōsei Ken holder, Satoru. That man was the only one that could anger him with just his presence. It was not that Takezo was jealous of Satoru for being a shade more powerful, it was the way the white haired warrior - as he was not a samurai - carried himself. Satoru wielded a Kyōsei Ken, and it was powerful one, powerful enough to challenge his own and thus a rivalry had begun between the two of them.

''Fucking brat,'' Takezo voiced his displeasure and unclasped his drinking flask and took a sip of his sake. It was bitter and cold, exactly how he liked it. ''Get back to work! Brake's over!'' Takezo barked to his men, who were on a break, ''Back into the submachines or whatever you fuckin' call 'em! We have to have checked every inch of the river by tonight!''

''Yes, sir!'' their voices rang.

''Fucking amateurs,'' Takezo grumbled, kicking one of the younger labourers' behind. Takezo looked to the commotion on his left, where a submarine had emerged. ''What's going on? Get back to work!'' he barked.

''I found something!'' one of the samurais shouted. ''I think they're the remains of Tōshirō no Shiroi and Yamaken Kuma!''

''What?''

(TL: Kyōsei Ken translates to 'great sword' and Tsuchi Kuma translates to 'earth bear' & Soshijutsu translates to 'elemental techniques.')

-ooo-

''You know,'' Emiko said, breathing heavily as she supported the sleeping Naruto's weight on her back, ''For a skinny boy, you're heavy!'' Emiko blushed lightly, this wasn't the kind of way a girl should take a boy home. Naruto legs were circled around her waist and his hands dangled over her shoulder, far too close to her chest. ''You up yet?''

Naruto didn't respond, he had been sleeping for nearly thirty minutes. Emiko doubted he'd wake up before the sun went down. Definitely not with all the training and lack of sleep he suffered.

'Still,' Emiko thought, 'You gotta admire his determination.'

They arrived at Naruto's camp ten minutes later. Emiko dropped the blond unceremoniously. Her back was aching, but she pressed on. She unzipped a tent which she knew to be Naruto's as his name was printed on it. She awkwardly dragged the boy inside, and laid him out on his sleeping bag and quickly left the tent.

''What are you doing?'' Yugito rasped at the sight of Emiko, she had a kunai blade in her hand and looked extremely pale and sweaty, telltale signs of chakra exhaustion.

''I, er…'' Emiko stumbled over words at the sight of the small blade, ''I was bringing Naruto back. He kind of collapsed on me.''

''How is he?'' Yugito asked.

''He- he's fine, I think. Just tired.''

Yugito nodded, ''I should go back to bed, you should get some rest too. You look fatigued.''

''Yeah, I'll do that,'' Emiko said nervously. There was something about Yugito that unnerved her. She turned on her heels and made her way to the village, longing for something soft to lay her back on.

-ooo-

Seiichi growled, the echo carrying it away throughout the tomb. He could practically smell the fear rolling of his elite samurai guards. This was taking far too long! He needed the damn submarine troops to find the blades and quick. His time was running out, that snake bastard, Orochimaru, was making moves and furthermore, he had threejinchūrikimessing with his plans. He doubted the boy and girl would be much of threat, but the older one, Yotsuki Kirabi was different. He knew that he couldn't take on the jōnin without the power of his Biju, let alone with it. He cursed those fools for sending this monster to the village.

Seiichi took comfort in the fact back up would never arrive. Not with those idiots of Kumo in his pockets. But, nonetheless, he needed those swords. He needed to find out the secret of the legendary swords. Kyōsei Ken were not nothing compared to the Shinken. Despite the obvious power Kyōsei Ken displayed, it was nowhere near the destructive power of the Shinken.

''Brother,'' Shinji called, entering the room, wearing his black battle kimono and equally pitch black haori with blood red kanjis on it that said ''Illusionist Demon'' on the back of haori.

Seiichi growled at his younger brother's insolence as he greeted with his over-cheery, obnoxious voice. ''Has my disease made me unworthy of a respectful bow, my younger brother?'' The question was rhetorical.

Catching on quickly, Shinji did a deep, gracious bow, ''No, Seiichi-niisama, of course not,'' he said, ''I just came here to inform you Takezo's team found the remains.''

''What?'' Seiichi growled, ''When?''

''Ten minutes ago.''

''Fetch me my robe!'' Seiichi barked at one of the servants, ''This is going to be good,'' he said with a dark chuckle, allowing his servant to drape him in the robe.

''Of course,'' Shinji said, the stupid smile plastered on his face, with his always slit eyes perched, glinting the black orbs beneath his eyelids. ''We are, after all the Akumu Shokō!''

(TL: Shinken translates to 'legendary blade.')

-ooo-

Naruto woke up with a dry cough. His lips were crusted and this throat was dry. He needed water and a lot of it. Stumbling out of the tent, Naruto grabbed a bottle of water from his backpack and began drinking it.

''She brought you here,'' Yugito said, making her presence known.

Naruto resisted the urge to jump. How was it that she always sneaked up on him? He turned to Yugito, ''What?'' he asked.

''That villager, Emiko is her name, I believe, she brought you here, in case you forgot.''

''Oh,'' the blond resisted the urge to blush. Getting carried home by a girl wasn't exactly cool. ''Yeah, well - yeah,'' he cut himself of and sat down on a branch opposite of Yugito. ''About last time -''

''We don't need to talk about this,'' Yugito sharply cut of, ''That was two days ago. It is in the past.''

Naruto sighed, picking up a stick and began poking the fire. ''You don't have to get offended,'' he said, ''I know what you were thinking about.''

''Oh really? You know what I was thinking about?'' Yugito snapped sarcastically, ''Then tell me what I was thinking about, Uzumaki.''

He looked her sharply in the eye as she spat out his name as if were venom. ''You're remembering it, aren't you?''

''What?''

''You're remembering what happened when you went crazy last time you used Nibi's powers, right?''

Yugito swallowed thickly. She didn't expect him to get so close to the real answer.

''I know, because it happens to me and, even though he doesn't admit it, Kirabi too,'' he said, ''Kirabi never told me what happened when he was a kid, but I can guess it wasn't pretty. The same goes for the both of us. We should be happy we found a place we belong in Kumo.''

''Hmph,'' Yugito stood up, ''Just shut your mouth, Uzumaki. You speak of that you have no idea of.''

Naruto didn't reply, choosing to poke the fire with his stick. He didn't care what she thought of him. She was a bitch in every sense of the word and only reason he would ever talk to her was because of her status as a jinchūriki. Naruto got up, cursing the blond kunoichi as he entered his tent. He quickly fell asleep.

-ooo-

Hari was in bed, sitting up straight and going through hand seals of the next jutsu he was going to learn. He was quite pleased with himself. Learning jutsu was the best way to get rid of depression. He couldn't believe how powerful his Endan had been.

The brown haired Kumogakure genin looked at the scratched clock hanging in his room. It was six, meaning he could still get some practice in. With a juvenile grin Hari jumped out of bed, chuckling darkly as he pulled on his socks and boots, as though he was committing an unspeakable crime.

''Going somewhere?''

Hari nearly jumped out of his skin. ''Ehehehe,'' he nervously chuckling, turning to Kirabi, hanging upside down from the roof, his muscular arms crossed. ''I, was, er just getting some sleep.''

Kirabi chuckled as Hari sighed in defeat, taking of his boots and socks. ''You can't push yourself too much if you want to get back to proper training.''

''I know, I know,'' Hari let himself drop on his bed with a groan, ''This just sucks so bad.''

''Well, then you shouldn't have gotten your ass kicked, huh?'' Kirabi said, booming with laughter.

Hari rolled his eyes, ''Whatever. I get the message, I'll go to bed now.''

''You better, cause I'm just a clone, so I can stay here as long as needed.''

''You really think I'll betray your trust?'' Hari asked, feigning hurt.

''Yep,'' Kirabi's clone deadpanned.

''Damn it.''

-ooo-

In an underground cavern, the Akumu Shokō made their way to a tomb much smaller than their own. Seiichi growled, he did not like to leave his chamber, but this was for a good reason. Shinji walked behind his older brother, his never ending smile on his face. They arrived in a small open area where many samurai stood in neat rows. None of them face the brothers directly, standing with straight backs, their hands on their hilts. Seiichi growled for no particular reason, approaching Takezo, who bowed in greeting and turned around.

''Show me,'' Seiichi demanded, ignoring Takezo's boisterous grin, ''Show me the remains of Tōshirō no Shiroi and Yamaken.''

''Immediately, my masters,'' Takezo said, as they neared a table constructed of earth. The table had a white cloth on it, made of soft fabric. On top of the cloth there were two pair bones neatly separated and in two separate vats were two brains. ''There are the remains of the blade masters you sought. My great grandfather Yamaken Kuma and his opponent in honourable battle, Tōshirō no Shiroi.''

''What of the blades?'' Seiichi growled, ''The blades are what are really important.''

Takeshi Takezo bit back the urge to violently lash out. How dare this man mock his legendary great grandfather? ''I apologize, my master, the remains were all that we found. It is possible the blades drifted on wards to the sea or made its way to another river by the river mouths.''

Seiichi's black orbs glared into those of Takezo, who, due to his samurai pride, neither flinched nor looked away. The Nightmare Lord grinned menacingly, ''Have your men immediately check Ritoru Haaku's river. It is the closest. Do not engage any enemy unless you're attacked first or they interfere. You're in charge till we're finished here. Satoru shall join you in the battle, you know how to get a hold of him.''

''As you wish,'' Takezo said, bowing deeply once more and making his way out of the cavern. ''Mount up!'' Takezo shouted. His samurai warriors instantly followed him.

Seiichi waited several minutes till the sound of horses trampling the earth vanished. ''Shinji,'' Seiichi said, ''You know what to do.''

''Of course, Nii-sama,'' Shinji said, his hands going through an extremely long array of two hundred eightieth hand seals and dipped his hands in both vats. Chakra strings latched on the brains. ''Ninpō Hijutsu! Jyigaku! Omoide no Shi no Jutsu!'' Seichi grabbed his younger brother's shoulder and within a split second, their eyes went white.

(Jutsu: Ninpō Hijutsu! Jyigaku! Omoide no Shi no Jutsu – Hidden Ninja Arts! Time Reversal! Memories of the Deceased!)

-ooo-

The following day, Naruto woke up with a content groan. He felt so refreshed as he got out of sleeping bag and exiting his tent. A screeching sound caught his attention. Naruto found Yugito about fifty yards from the camp, crouching and going through an array of hand seals.

''Raiton! Raikyū no Jutsu!'' the blond kunoichi set of at an impressive speed and planted her hand in a thick rock, as if she was poking through butter with a hot knife. The rock instantly shattered.

''Hmph,'' Naruto scoffed cockily, ''Is that your best technique?''

''Uzumaki,'' Yugito sneered. It seemed their relationship had shifted back to how it used to be; full of contempt and solid dislike. ''Care for a morning beat down?''

''Don't flatter yourself, Nii, you're nowhere near my level,'' Naruto shot back, his sneer equal to Yugito's.

''Just keep telling yourself that. Whatever makes you sleep, right?''

''I got exactly what you need to get to sleep, a good fist in the face.''

Yugito growled at Naruto, who stared contemptuously back, before looking away, mentally cursing himself for initiating a staring contest with the jinchūriki of a demonic cat for the hundredth time. Yugito sneered in contempt, finding small pride in the fact she could stare the longest.

''Care to show me what you learned then, Uzumaki?'' Yugito asked.

''Not really. A bitch like you isn't worth the chakra,'' Naruto shot back.

''Go fuck yourself.''

Grinning, Naruto turned on his heels, shoving his hands in his pockets and making his way to river, ignoring the slightly happy feeling in his gut. At least things were getting back to normal and he had won the first round. Yugito never spoke crudely unless she was royally pissed off. Something he hadn't achieved in a year. ''Naruto one, Yugito zero.''

-ooo-

''Fūton! Akkai Genshuku!''

The gravity palm strike sped over the river, causing a small divide in the water as it flew across the river. Naruto grinned at his handiwork and took a good look at the river. He had yet to see the entire entity of it. The only bit he had seen was the part closest to his camp. Naruto knew the river was huge though. But Kirabi had explicitly forbid them to go farther than where he was now.

''Katon! Endan no Jutsu!''

Naruto's instincts kicked in and he instantly jumped into the air with a chakra enhanced jump, narrowly avoiding the enormous ball of fire under his feet. He looked down, to the left, seeing someone chuckling. ''Son of a bitch!'' Naruto shouted, creating a shadow clone, which spun him in the air and launched him at his attacker. Naruto made impact, head first, knocking his opponent twenty feet back.

''H- Hari?'' Naruto asked, recognizing his team mate holding his head as they both got up, ''What the hell was that? And what the hell are you doing out of bed?''

Hari laughed, ''Sensei gave me this scroll he allegedly borrowed from the library. I've got an kick ass affinity for fire, you should've seen the one I did yesterday,'' Hari caught his friend's stern look and chuckled, ''Don't worry, the frost bite's gone - well nearly.''

''So you came here for an ass kicking, huh?'' Naruto challenged, his look instantly gone, ''Don't think I'll hold back just cause you got your ass kicked!'' It felt like an million years ago since they last sparred.

''Screw you,'' Hari said, rolling his eyes, but he chuckled anyway. ''Let's do this!''

With a battle cry, the teens attacked each other. Naruto went in for a right hook, which Hari ducked under and tried to counter with a knee in the blonds ribs but Naruto caught his left knee, jumped back and spun Hari's leg and let go, sending him flying in a spiral. Hari back flipped mid-air and landed in a crouch, kicking up dirt as he skidded.

''Not bad!''

Naruto grinned and rushed at Hari, creating two shadow clones. Hari attempted to kick in the incoming blond, but Naruto slid under his legs, one of the clones jumping on his stretched out leg and upper cut him with a swift kick as it back flipped, leaving the second clone to bull charge Hari in the side as he flew.

Hari whipped of blood from his lips with the back of his fist. ''You asked for this!'' he shouted to Naruto as he went through an array of seals, ''I've just learned the theory, so keep your smart remarks to yourself if it doesn't work out!''

''Just do it, ya amateur!''

Hari's black eyes glinted insanely, ''Amateur?'' he asked, ''I'll show you amateur!'' he shouted ending on the forty-forth hand seal, inhaling and shouting, ''Katon! Karyūdan no Jutsu!''

Naruto's eyes widened at the enormous blast of fire crashing down on him. Acting on pure instincts, the blond went through and quick array of seals and shouted, ''Fūton! Daitoppa no Jutsu!''

The blasts merged together into a tornado of fire before an explosion sent both teens flying and skidding over the ground as they came to painful stops.

''Argh!'' Naruto shouted, holding his arm as it popped back into place. ''Hari?'' he shouted getting up and looking around him.

''I'm here!''

Naruto looked up a thick three to see Hari lying in a quite pathetic position, groaning in pain. Naruto held his sides in laughter pointing at his friend, doing a little dance. The situation was just far too comical not to laugh at. ''You suck!'' he said. ''How uncool is that?''

''Go fuck yourself,'' Hari shot back moodily, shakily getting up and standing on the branch.

Unfortunately for him, this just made Naruto laugh even more. Tears started to form at the corner of the blonde's eyes as he fell back still shaking with laughter. It took a good five minutes to get the blond to stop laughing.

''You're an idiot,'' Hari insulted, ''What kind of shinobi throws a wind jutsu against a fire jutsu?''

Naruto shrugged, ''I don't know, but they should do it more often if it gives results like this!'' The blond laughed, infuriating Hari, who plopped down in front of the blond.

''So, what do we do now?'' Hari asked, ''Where's sensei?''

''Who knows? His clone was gone this morning.''

The two spent the next hour talking about their new techniques and whatever came to their minds. It was good to sit down and just talk once in a while. The sun glowed brightly, the wind was refreshing and soothing. Normally, their days would be filled with training and nonsense missions like saving a cat or running errands for the elderly.

''Let's go back to camp, I think sensei will be back soon,'' Hari said, standing up and getting dirt of his pants.

''Can't you sense him or something?'' Naruto asked.

''It doesn't work like that, idiot.''

''Fine, sounds like a lame ability anyway.''

''What?''

…

The short walk home was filled with childish banter and insults. When they arrived at camp, Hari's expectations proved to be true. Kirabi was crouched in front of the fire, in the middle of roasting fish.

''Sensei?'' Naruto asked, ''Where did you go?''

''Huh?'' Kirabi stood up, turning to the pair, scratching the back of his head, ''I was sending another back up request. I don't know why it's taking so long to get a reply...''

''You think someone's taking out the birds you send, Kirabi-sensei?'' Yugito asked, whipping away sweat from her forehead and taking a tug from her water bottle. ''Standard procedure is an immediate reply to all back up requests, correct?''

''Correct,'' Kirabi confirmed, sitting on one of the logs surround the fire. ''We should've gotten a reply by now.''

''So, what do we do now?'' Hari asked, sitting on a log and grabbing a fish that seemed ready. ''We know the Akumu Shokō are no pushovers and they got at least one other strong ally with them that defeated me in seconds.''

''We can't leave the people behind!'' Naruto immediately said, his eyes glowing fiercely. ''I say we round up all villagers and get them out of here. There's another village not too far from here, right?''

''What are you saying, Uzumaki?'' Yugito said, ''That's impossible.''

''What are you saying, Nii?'' Naruto shot back, ''I can make a thousand clones and lead them away from here, so what's the problem?''

''How do you plan on moving the ill? They need medicine, water, food, clothes- to sum it up, we can't move them,'' Yugito said. The kunoichi scoffed when Naruto had nothing to say back. ''How can you call yourself a shinobi? You're letting your emotions get the better of you. It's pathetic.''

Kirabi sighed as Naruto growled angrily. ''She does make a point, Naruto,'' Kirabi said.

''Wait!'' Hari said, ''This area is full of herbs and other natural medicine,'' Hari explained, ''If I can show Naruto which ones to gather and he makes enough clones, we can get enough for the entire trip! As for food, we can electrocute the river again, that's how we got so many last time and I bet we can spare some summoning scrolls for supplies.''

''Yeah!'' Naruto said, turning to his friend with a big smile, ''We can do this.''

''No we can't,'' Yugito said, ''Even if we could waste our time on this, it still wouldn't work.''

''Why not?'' Naruto asked angrily, ''Why the hell wouldn't you want to help these people?''

''Because it is not our mission to help them and it is not up to us whether we do this or not!'' Yugito shouted at him, losing her patience. ''Besides, why do you think this is the only village under Kumo's protection? The myths surrounding this village may actually be true. If the legend Kirabi-sensei told us is true, it is only a matter of time the Akumu Shokō make their move! We cannot move these people anywhere since the other villages despise them!''

Naruto cursed under his breath and turned to Kirabi in the hope his sensei, ''What do you think, sensei? You're the leader!''

''Well,'' Kirabi said, rubbing his chin, ''I know where you're coming from, Naruto, but Yugito makes more sense. It's not that we don't want to help these people, it's that it'll be pointless to lead them to other villages where no one will help them out of spite.''

''Then me and Hari are alone in this one,'' Naruto shouted, picking up his scrolls and turning around. Hari followed suit, smiling apologetically to Kirabi.

''What do you think you're doing, Uzumaki?'' Yugito hissed at him, appearing in front of the pair, ''Do you have any idea what kind of repercussions your actions will have back in Kumo? Defying an direct -''

''Shut the hell up!'' Naruto shouted at her, his eyes switched to blood red slit for an instant as he neared her. ''Get out of my way or I'll make you.''

Yugito was not one to be intimidated, ever. ''You think you can make me, Uzumaki?'' She said, her hand sliding to her kunai holster, ''Then make your move.''

''Enough!'' Kirabi bellowed. ''Yugito, stand down!''

''What?'' Yugito shouted unbelieving, ''You're letting them go after such disrespect and -''

''Enough,'' Kirabi said so low, Yugito instantly shut up. Their sensei may be an odd one, but he had an enormous amount of patience and self-control, but when he got angry, it was best to do as told.

''Yes, sensei,'' Yugito stepped aside, letting Naruto and Hari pass as she glared contemptuously at the blond genin. As the two left the encampment and got further and further away, Yugito turned back to Kirabi. ''Why would you let them go?'' she demanded.

''Because, they would've gone anyway,'' Kirabi said, turning to the fire with a sigh and grabbing a fish and throwing it to Yugito who swiftly caught it and sat down opposite of him.

''So you just let them go?'' Yugito asked, ''Even though they broke all regulations and -''

''If I stopped Naruto, I might as well have ripped his heart out,'' Kirabi interrupted, taking a bite of his own fish.

''What?''

''You heard me,'' Kirabi said quietly. ''If there's one thing I know about Naruto, it's that he is compassionate to all forms of life. He can't help but want to help those can't help themselves. He is simply too attuned to the misery around him.''

''Then he is more an inept shinobi than I thought,'' Yugito said, he beautiful face in a scowl.

''Is it?'' Kirabi asked, genuinely interested in what she thought.

''Shinobi must obey the rules at all times. Personal feelings have no meaning in battle.''

''Is that what you tell yourself at night?'' Kirabi asked her, an edge of pity to his tone, ''I know that's not how you truly feel, Yugito.''

Yugito scoffed, ''What's that supposed to mean?''

''You know what it means.''

''No, how about you tell me?''

''Alright, I will,'' Kirabi threw his mauled fish aside and looked the blond in the eye. ''I know that you're scared to be like Naruto. You hate the thought of being like him, and I don't blame you. You don't want to be vulnerable. But the difference between you and Naruto is that even though he had a miserable past similar to yours, he looks past that to the life he has. He lives in the present time, unlike you who lives in the past and hopes only for the future. You're so young and beautiful yet you don't enjoy life. You have endless potential, just waiting to be used and so much time just waiting to be spent on a good life. But, instead of trying to have a good life and find a goal, you just go on without any objective in your heart. It is as if the mission is all that matters to you. Why do you do this to yourself? Why can't you let go and move on? I wish I-''

''How about you tell me then?'' Yugito shouted, standing up, ''How about you tell me why I can't be as good as Naruto? Or how come I am such a monster that I-''

Kirabi slapped his student, his eyes staring fiercely behind his shades. ''Do not ever say anything like that again!'' he shouted at her, ''You three are like family to me! I would not ever value one over the other!''

Yugito turned around and ran, biting down the tears and ignoring her teacher's shouts, all the while thinking to herself, ''I will never be like them! I will ever be weak!''

-ooo-

''This is the end for you, Yamaken!'' Tōshirō no Shirou shouted, his blade held low to his side, a small dragon head forming at the tip of his blade. The legendary warrior stood on one of the earth plateaus Yamaken had created, dressed in pure white battle kimono. His silver coloured hair and eyes glinted in the moonlight. ''You have been a worthy opponent... my friend.''

Yamaken, a short, bulky man clad in reddish brown samurai attire with kanji for ''Earth Demon'' and ''Master of Earth'' on it chuckled. He was knelt on the ground below, rubbing his equally reddish brown beard. ''You were a worthy opponent, my old friend,'' he said to Tōshirō in his gruff voice.

''Neither of us will live to fight another day, it seems,'' Tōshirō said, looking down to his own wounds. He had stopped the bleeding by lodging eyes in the wounds, which had started to swell and were no purple of colour. ''The third and final day... for some reason I'm saddened that we will no longer do battle in the land of the living.''

Yamaken held his bleeding side, counting at least five broken ribs. ''Perhaps we shall find each other in the afterlife,'' the samurai said, unclasping his flask and taking a long tug from it. ''Perhaps we shouldn't have done this...'' Yamaken said, looking around. Where once had been a long patch of earth, there was now carved up islands with ice in the trenches that had started to melt.

Tōshirō coughed, standing up with his legs shaking. ''Perhaps, but I prefer a demolished land than civil war taking the lives of thousands. Besides, this battle was inevitable, was it not? Our clans had these feuds for many years and the civil war would mean the end of both our clans. As clan heads it was our duty to do battle... for the sake of our next generation.''

''You are right,'' Yamaken agreed, throwing his flask to Tōshirō, who drank the last drips before throwing it aside, chuckling at his adversary's last act of mischief. ''Let's meet in the afterlife once more and continue our battle.''

''Agreed.''

And then, with an instant, huge spheres of chakra enveloped both warriors. Tōshirō's raised his silvery blade as his arctic blue chakra sphere channeled into his blade. A dragon head made out of ice sprang from its tip.

Yamaken stood up, enveloped in his mud brown charka sphere, which grew smaller as he channelled the energy into his brown-red katana. He chuckled with his booming voice as the tip of his blade began to glow and eerie yellow. He positioned it in front of him, a grin on his bearded face.

Tōshirō raised his blade and jumped of the earth platform. ''Bachi no Hiryū! Kagidzume no Hiryū!''

Yamaken barked a laugh as an enormous icy claw came crushing down on him. His still laughing, he stabbed his blade in the earth and shouted, ''Kago! Tate no Bhumi!'' The earth shook beneath the samurai as an hundred feet tall female torso made of jade colour rock shot out of the earth, shielding Yamaken from the ice claw. The claw struck, instantly covering the statue's torso in more ice before it stopped spreading.

Tōshirō sighed, landing in a heap, his chakra drained. ''Who knew I would die at the ripe age of fifty-eight?''

''Hahahaha!'' Yamaken barked as he stumbled over to one of the deep trenches. ''It's time for the next generation to take over.'' With that, the legendary samurai's eyes rolled behind his head and he fell forward, his blade dropping out of his lose hold.

''See you in the afterlife, friend,'' Tōshirō said tiredly as he turned around, knowing full well that his body was about to give out. But he had to see her once more before he died. He needed to pass on the message.

Their clans would do battle no longer.

The land of Sun would know peace.

-ooo-

Seiichi's eyes returned back to their normal black orbs, his younger brother followed soon. Seiichi laughed, his raspy voice filled with utter glee. ''Come, brother,'' he said turning around, ''We must collect the swords of legends.''

Shinji gasped. ''Sure thing,'' he said, whipping sweat of his forehead from holding on to the jutsu for so many hours. He gave himself only a split second before following his older brother as he left the tomb.

Author's Notes

Longest chapter so far, hope it was just as enjoyable. If you have anything to say about this chapter or previous chapters, just leave me a line or two and I'll get back to you if you've got a question. I treasure each review and take it heart, the positive and the negative.

…

Jutsu Used:

(Jutsu: Fūton! Akkai Genshuku no Jutsu! - Crushing Gravity!) - C rank, offensive, mid range. The Akkai Genshuku requires the user to do the necessary hand seals and collect an enormous amount of air, compress it and shoot it off with a palm thrust. The compressed air, when on impact, will explode, momentarily increasing the gravity to the point bones and trees snap and boulders crack.

(Jutsu: Fūton! Daitoppa – Great Breakthrough!) - C rank, supplementary, mid to long range. The Daitoppa is a ninjutsu technique which utilizes wind chakra. After bringing his hand to his mouth, the user will blow a large blast of wind capable of leveling almost anything in its way. A variation of the technique involves a smaller blast of wind which gets ignited with flame. This variation is often used in sabotage and demolition missions.

(Jutsu: Katon! Endan - Fire Release! Fire Ball Technique!) – C rank, offensive, mid range. The Endan jutsu is a C levelled jutsu that utilizes the fire element. By channelling and moulding chakra to the lungs, the user can create a spark and blow out a ball of fire. Those like Hari, who have an extremely high affinity with fire can take this jutsu to the level and expand its heat output and enhance its destructive capabilities.

(Jutsu: Karyūdan no Jutsu – Fire Dragon Projectile!) B rank, offensive, mid range. This ninjutsu technique utilizes the fire element. The ninja will do the necessary hand seals whilst moulding chakra into either his or her lungs and spit out fire shaped in the form of a dragon. This technique can also be done by using an already existing fire source as the medium for the fire dragon projectile.

(Jutsu: Ninpō Hijutsu! Jyigaku! Omoide no Shi no Jutsu – Hidden Ninja Art! Time Reversal! Memories of the Deceased!) - ? rank, supplementary, ? range. This particular jutsu is known by only a few in the world. The user will go through an extremely long string of hand seals, two hundred eighty in total, and latch out chakra strings to the brain of the subject. The user will be able synch his mind waves with the brains and delve into the memories of the subject.

(Jutsu: Bachi no Hiryū! Kagidzume no Hiryū - Divine Punishment of the Ice Dragon! Claw of the Ice Dragon!) - ? rank, offensive, long range. Tōshirō no Shiroi's strongest technique, which could only be used in conjunction with the legendary blade Hiryū no Shikon. During the feuds in the land of Sun, Tōshirō no Shiroi often used this technique to end a battle quickly. Not many techniques can counter this move and not many have lived to tell about it. The chakra taxation on this technique is extremely high and can cause instant death should it be used by one with low reserves.

(Jutsu: Kogan! Tate no Bhumi - Divine Protection! Shield of Bhumi!) - ? rank, defensive, ? range. One of strongest technique Yamaken Kuma's clan knew. This defensive technique summons as jade coloured statue from the earth and condenses all minerals to a degree it can shield the user against any attack. The technique is extremely chakra taxing and even one use can result in instant death due to severe chakra exhaustion. This technique has been named after the earth Goddess Bhumi, which the clan of Yamaken faithfully worshipped.