Kumogakure Ninja

Posted: 13-08-10

Updated: 12-03-11

CH9: Naruto VS Takezo

"Here they come!" Kirabi bellowed, charging up his fists with lighting and karate chopping a samurai, breaking his neck. "Stay sharp!"

Yugito threw multiple kunai coated in lightning chakra in front of her, dispatching at least twelve more samurai. The young beauty back flipped to avoid being pierced by another samurai's blade and retaliated with a flawless round-house kick that sent him flying.

"Where's Naruto?" Kirabi shouted, bull tackling five men and sending them flying into trees and boulders. "They're coming this way!"

Yugito briefly glanced across the battlefield. "I don't see him! Sensei, can you try to sense for his chakra signature?"

"Hold on," Kirabi held his palms together; his chakra spiked as he was completely surrounded by what must have been at least forty swordsmen. "Raiton! Denpa Gekitai!" Kirabi spun on his heels, opening his hands and expelling the electro-magnetic repulse to send the combatants flying.

"Naruto!" Yugito shouted in the hopes of a shout in return. There was none. "Sensei!"

"I'm on it!" Kirabi shouted, propelling himself into the air and closed his eyes. Kirabi kept himself levitated in the air with the effect of electro-magnetic pulses propelled from his feet. 'Now where are you, dumb ass...'Kirabi's mind's eye swept through the battlefield, skimming over countless life signatures. Then suddenly his eyes snapped open. "Found him!"

Yugito hid her relief as she electrocuted another warrior and turned to her sensei as the burned corpse felt to the ground. "Where?"

Kirabi's face was contorted in a grimace, she could see it even from her position. "Where, sensei?" Yugito asked again.

Kirabi merely pointed in to a direction and as Yugito followed to see where, her eyes widened.

Naruto was running straight at the incoming force.

(Jutsu: Raiton! Denpa Gekitai - Lightning Release! Electromagnetic Repulse!)

-ooo-

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Hari's eyes widened in amazement of the fierce duel that was taking place in front of him. Darui and Satoru were fighting so swiftly, so flawlessly – it was incredible. The genin could not take his eyes of the battle, though he could barely keep up with their speed.

"You haven't seen anything yet, kid," Shi commented, brushing his blond locks behind his ear. "Look at their faces. See their expressions?"

Hari dumbly nodded.

"Well, like I said, pay attention and you might learn something."

Hari nodded again, guiding his attention back onto the battle. Darui was effortlessly moving his heavy blade, coated in lightning chakra and parrying as well as stabbing at Satoru. The clad-in-white warrior's swordplay looked like a dance more than anything. These two powerhouses were so focused on their fight, the effect of it on the environment, such as crushed boulders and cut down trees, did not seem to faze them whatsoever.

Finally, in Hari's opinion, something new happened. Satoru dodged the last stab from Darui's giant cleaver and jumped back. "I commend you for your swordplay, Shinobi-san, but it will not be enough to defeat me. Not by a long shot!" And so Satoru sheathed his blade.

"What's he doing?" Hari couldn't help but raise his voice as he turned to Shi, "What's he-"

"Like I said," Shi cut him off, "Pay attention."

Hari looked even more confused but Shi merely pointed a lazy finger at Satoru's direction. "From what I understand you're a sensory type. Feel for it."

Hari looked at Satoru's direction and then to Shi's, "Wait, how do you-"

"Cause I'm one, too," Shi told him. "Now, pay attention."

And so Hari did. Closing his eyes the brown haired genin from Kumogakure concentrated harder than he had ever done. Hari blocked out the clanging metal of the blades, the chirps and crickets coming from animals nearby and even the sound of the water stream close by. Hari could not really describe the sensation that washed over him, but he felt... at peace. And then could feel it. It felt like a wave – an echo of power. In his mind eye, Hari could finally see– no, feel what was going on. He felt the power rolling of Darui and Satoru, but there was a difference in them...

Hari's eyes snapped open, "Hey, big guy, watch out!"

Darui turned to Hari with a confused look and then back to Satoru who seemed just as confused. Regardless of his confusion, the swordsman released his technique anyway, unsheathing his blade and project a vertical tower of ice with sharp edges. "Eirō!"

Darui's eyes widened as the ice swept over him, encasing his entire body with ice. In mere seconds, Darui's form, boxed in ice fell to the ground with a heavy thud. Hari's eyes bulged out of their sockets, "He's... he's...," the genin weakly turned to Shi, "He's... my fault? It's my fault...!"

"Calm down," Shi said, "There is no way Darui would fall for that kind of jutsu."

"W- What? But he's-"

Hari was cut off by the sound of electricity. Quickly, the genin looked back at the block of ice to see Darui's body exploding in an electric current. The genin was speechless. What was going on?

"Thanks for the heads up, kid," Darui's voice suddenly said as he appeared out of nowhere, "But next time," the tall shinobi gave him a lazy smile, "Just leave it to me. I got this."

Hari dumbly nodded, too amazed with what just happened to even say anything. 'How... How did he get away? I nearly died from that jutsu...'

"It's called a Raiton Bunshin, kiddo. It's like the Shadow Clone that Uzumaki kid uses, only more durable," Shi suddenly said, as if he had read his mind.

'What are you, a sensor and a psychic?'Hari thought.

"I'm not a psychic," Shi chuckled, not taking his eyes of his team mate launching himself at Satoru. "It was written all over your face."

-ooo-

"AARGH!" Naruto ran through the crowd of samurai in his way, punching and kicking furiously at anyone in his way. His mind was in a vortex of hate and anger. "You're gonna PAY!" the genin shouted pumping so much chakra in his fist, the veins appeared to be closed to bursting. "OUTTA MY WAY!" Naruto shouted, sending another samurai crashing into another group. "YOU'RE MINE!"

As the blond continued his run, the images of the ruined villages, the starving children and sick people of Ritoru Haaku and the Hari's form locked in thick ice swept through his mind and fuelled his rage. The Akumu Shokō would pay. They would pay with their lives.

"FŪTON! AKKAI GENSHUKU NO JUTSU!" Naruto pumped the attack with so much chakra, the pressure of his gravity palms were sure to kill the twenty or so men he sent flying. "OUTTA MY WAAAAAAAY!" Unbeknownst to Naruto, his eyes had become red with cat-like slits in them. It did not even register in his brain his nails had grown at least two inches longer and his fangs had started to grow so much they pierced his lip.

Naruto had gotten closer now. The enemy reinforcements were only a hundred yards or so away from him. Naruto burst himself in to the air with chakra, easily climbing the small hill and landing in front of the contingent.

"I praise you for your courage boy!" the leader of the samurai, riding the monstrous black horse called. "What is it, may I ask, you are hoping to achieve by rushing to your death?" Takezo burst out in barking laughter as his subordinates remained silent and still like sentinels.

"You're an Akumu Shokō?" Naruto demanded. "I thought there were two of you..."

Takezo roared in laughter, "Boy... you have no business challenging the might of the Akumu Shokō," Takezo crossed his thick, muscled arms, "I have seen you fight, child and you have a talent in destruction. You'd make a fine killing machine one day, but for now, I suggest you go back to where you came from. It would be such a waste to kill you here and now."

Naruto growled, "Are you one of them or not?" he repeated; only this time his tone was much controlled. "Just answer the question..."

"No," Takezo replied, "Now, leave."

"Leave?" Naruto turned his head, "I'm not going to leave before all of you are dead on the ground." And with that, Naruto charged at Takezo, gathering chakra in his arms and legs.

The brutish warrior did not even bother to move, silently commanding five of his men to attack the genin. "Such a waste," he said to himself – but then he saw the red gleaming light in Naruto's eyes, making his own narrow. "Stop!" he attempted to call back his men, but it was too late.

Naruto's chakra had turned red and in one, fell swoop he had unleashed his demonic chakra in the form of a giant claw and smashed the warriors into a several trees and boulders. "Let me tell you something, old man," Naruto breathed heavily, "I am Uzumaki Naruto, the future Raikage of Kumogakure and I'm going to kick your ass!" Chakra exploded all around Naruto, the sheer amount of it changed the wind pressure. The silent sentinels surrounding Takezo were unable to hide their surprise.

"Well then, Uzumaki Naruto," Takezo growled, unsheathing his sword, "Then I Takeshi Takezo will cut you down where you stand! ATTACK!"

"BRING IT ON!" Naruto shouted back, expelling chakra around him as the chakra-using samurai's jumped high into the air, with their blades unleashed as they closed in on him, their swords sheathed in brilliant blue chakra, ready to cut him down. Just as Naruto was about to release his jutsu on the incoming samurai, they were shot down from their air by light beams, one by one, and they fell to the ground, their bodies burned to crisps.

Naruto turned to his sides to see Yugito and Kirabi land next to him. "You guys- ack!" Before he could finish his sentence, Naruto found himself eating dirt due to Kirabi punching him in the head.

"What were you thinking, fool?" Kirabi face-palmed, 'At least he's alright...,' the jōnin thought to himself but then he noticed the prominent change in Naruto's features, 'This is bad. He's too emotionally involved with this mission. Maybe I should have switched him with Hari...'

"You're a disgrace," Yugito said with her trademark impassiveness. She did not even glance at the blond, instead choosing to lock eyes with Takezo. "What were you hoping to accomplish by rushing to your death, Uzumaki?"

Naruto growled, picking himself up from the floor and dusting himself off, "Shut up, I don't remember asking you for your help."

Kirabi slapped Naruto in the back of his head, "We're a team, ya midget," the tall man rebuked, "We help each other – always."

"FINE," Naruto held his head, "Just stop hitting me already!"

"This is so like you, always crying over the little things, like a little bitch," Kirabi remarked, folding his arms, "You would think a Kumo genin would be able to take a little tough lovin'."

"Though lovin'?" Naruto repeated incredulously, "What's wrong with you?"

Yugito sighed. "Can we continue this later? After we've saved the village?" the sole female of Team Kirabi asked, feeling annoyed with her fellow jinchūriki's antics.

"Fine!" Naruto and Kirabi said simultaneously, not breaking their little glaring contest.

"Hahaha," Takezo barked a laugh, "You sure are entertaining, Kumo shinobi, I'll give you that!" Takezo, shifted his weight on the saddle and motioned his samurai forces to get in battle formation. And so they did, silently shifting to into a four-pronged shield in front of Takezo. "Too bad you'll die here!"

On Takezo's silent command fifteen samurai dashed forward and formed a circle around the jinchūriki team. The silent warriors simultaneously unsheathed their swords and ignited them with chakra, making them gleam a brilliant blue.

Naruto reached for his own kunai as he moved into a back-to-back formation with his own team. "I got those five," the genin growled.

"No," Yugito said immediately, causing her team mate to shoot her a glare, "Look at their swords," Yugito said, and Naruto did so. "They're coated in chakra. Unless you know how to do that, you're wasting kunai. They'll cut straight through them."

"Yugito's right, Naruto," Kirabi confirmed. "We need to get some distance."

"Alright, leave it to me!" Naruto grinned, "Just make sure you jump in the middle of it."

"What?" Kirabi asked, but Naruto already went through a multitude of hand seals. Recognizing the jutsu the seals were for, it clicked in Kirabi's mind and he grinned. "Alright, follow Naruto's lead," Kirabi told Yugito who merely nodded, not taking her eyes of the enemies around them.

"Fūton! Daitoppa no Jutsu!" Naruto's chakra spiked tremendously as he reached the last seals; but he didn't release his jutsu -to Kirabi's surprised. Just as the jōnin was about to say something, Naruto began spinning on his heels and a wind vortex surrounded the jinchūriki and lifted them up in the air and carried them to a safe distance.

"Incredible," the jōnin said to himself as the team landed at least a hundred yards away from the enemy. 'Crazy brat modified the technique for defensive purposes... Not bad, Naruto. Not bad at all,'the jōnin thought, looking at the grinning blond who flipped off the samurai in the distance.

Yugito raised an eyebrow, her interest piqued. "When did you learn to do that?" she asked Naruto.

Naruto grinned, "Just now."

-ooo-

Darui smashed his blade onto Satoru's, forcing the swordsman's knees to buckle under the sheer weight. The large black man took the brief opening and attempted to deliver a powerful kick to Satoru. The jōnin succeeded, feeling a rib or two cracks as he kicked Satoru and sent him flying.

Even so, the swordsman managed to land somewhat gracefully on his knee, stabbing the earth with his blade to keep himself from sliding further. "It seems I can no longer afford to hold back," Satoru said with a sense of reluctance. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to use this technique on a mere amateur like you, but I suppose I have no other choice."

Darui's eyes narrowed as the swordsman got on his feet and held his blade vertically and touched its tip with his index and middle finger. "Shi," Darui didn't turn to look at his partner, "Take the kid somewhere safe. I got the feeling this is going to get a bit nasty."

Just as the jōnin had finished his sentence, Satoru shouted, "Hakkei!"

The swordsman began to glow an eerie white before it expanded into a huge barrier roughly the size of a house. All the while Satoru's battle cry became louder and louder – until the barrier expanded till it exploded. The shockwave blew the two jōnin and genin away with such force they could not resist and were carried away by the find. Naturally, Darui and Shi's jōnin senses had snapped on and they had quickly put on their goggles, flipped in the air retreated to the trees. While in mid-air, Shi had grabbed Hari by the collar and dragged him with him. When the light finally died down, the jōnin took their goggles of and their eyes widened visibly as they saw a huge crater where Satoru once stood. Smoke was coming from the crater. Strangely enough, the smoke was arctic blue, rather black-greyish.

Darui had a bad feeling in his gut. "Shi, that's no ordinary smoke..."

"Ya think?" Shi said sarcastically, in an attempt to hide how much it unnerved him. "Kid, your eyes still hurting?"

"Yeah," Hari grunted, rubbing his eyes. Shi passed him his pair of goggles. They worked. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"Shi," Darui called to his partner, "The smoke's clearing."

A vague silhouette became distinguishable in the blue smoke. The silhouette jumped through the smoke and gently landed on his feet outside the crater.

"Is that... Satoru?" Hari asked, his voice came out at a higher pitch than he would have liked, but now was not the time to act like a stammering fool. "He's changed..."

Changed was a rather inaccurate way of describing it. Satoru had evolved. The swordsman elegant white battle kimono was now dark blue and covered by an, what Hari describe as, an ice armour. The swordsman attire now resembled samurai armour, but at the same time kept the same religious theme Satoru had preferred before. The most obvious change was the fact his right hand become encased by spiky ice in the shape of a dragon, with a darker shade of blue for eyes that glowed.

"Shi," Darui turned to his teammate, "This is gonna get even uglier than I thought. You really gotta get that kid outta here and quick. Once you get him to a safe place, come back and help me out."

Shi nodded and turned to Hari. "Let's go, kid, we should clear out from here. Darui's going to go all out, and believe me when I say you don't want to be anywhere near him when he does."

Hari merely nodded and followed Shi's lead as they took to the trees.

Darui nodded, no longer able to sense his comrades. They must have gotten to a safe distance.

"Your friends have left." It was the first time Satoru spoke since his transformation.

"Yeah," Darui said with the same laziness he had before. Only this time it was an act. A ploy to work on Satoru's nerves. "So, what's up with the new armour?"

"Armour?" Satoru repeated, "This is no armour, wretched shinobi. This is a ceremonial battle kimono worn by my people during war."

"That technique you just did... It's called Hakkei, right?" Darui asked to Satoru's obvious surprise.

"Yes, have you encountered it before?"

"Yeah, it's a pretty common technique with warrior clans all over the world," Darui said, "The so-called 'triumph card' against shinobi. I've seen it a couple of times. Though none of the men I encountered before had an ice element Hakkei."

Hakkei was considered the ultimate technique amongst samurai and other warrior clans. It was the inner release of one's soul and soul of the sword they wielded. Naturally, this meant anyone using Hakkei must have wielded a Kyōsei Ken or a Shinken. Through the sword, the life energy of the sword and its master were intertwined and left to a new found power. Many Kyōsei Ken were created with the essence of an animal. Those that had an animal type Kyōsei Ken and were able to use Hakkei were enabled to release the beast dormant within the blade and benefit from its aid in battle. Those that did not have an animal type Kyōsei Ken wielded the power of the spirit bound to the sword. Many believed the spirit of the sword to be the former owner of the blade. It was speculated if a great swordsman wielded a weapon, any weapon, and his bond with it was great enough, he could leave behind a piece of his soul within the blade and create a Kyōsei weapon. Satoru did not have an animal type Kyōsei Ken.

"So what's your Kyōsei Ken? It's obviously not an animal from the looks of it," Darui asked feigning his nonchalant tone. If here were able to determine what kind of power Satoru's blade had, it might give him an edge.

"Kukuku," Satoru chuckled darkly, "You are a peculiar one, Shinobi-san. I shall tell you. My Kyōsei Ken is a spirit type. Within my blade is my long forgotten ancestor, Shiroi no Nisui. My Hakkei allows my deceased ancestor's spirit aide me in battle. His power combined with mine gives me ultimate control of ice. Now... you shall die."

No sooner had Satoru finished his sentence, had he dashed at the taller man with intent to kill. The swordsman's grace while maintaining his deadly performance was a testimony to his skill indeed. Satoru feigned at a stab and immediately crafted a blade of ice from tin air and made for a swift swipe against the Kumo jōnin. Fortunately Darui managed to come of it with a mere scratch.

Grunting, the jōnin charged his hand with Raiton chakra and immediately burned away the icy residue. Even a shallow cut could mean the end of him in this battle. The swordsman's ice was capable of spreading all over his body in mere seconds. Darui dodged to the left, rolling on his shoulder and blasting a good douse of lightning chakra towards Satoru, who dodged, knowing that reflecting a lightning blast with an ice-covered blade was safe as kicking a tiger. Speaking of tigers, Satoru stabbed his blade in the ground and created a sabre tooth tiger. The feline immediately pounced towards Darui and slashed a claw over his thick shoulder as he was unable to avoid the feral beast's quickness.

Darui immediately flashed through a string of hand signs and held out his right palm, supporting it with his left around his wrist, and shouting, "Ranton! Reizā Sākasu no Jutsu!" Unfortunately, Darui could take no pleasure in seeing the absolute shock on Satoru's face as an orb of electricity formed around his hands and when he shot the multiple beams at the feline. The unlucky tiger managed to dodge three beams but when the fourth struck it left front pawn, the rest of the barrage crushed it's icy existence.

(Jutsu: Ranton! Reizā Sākasu no Jutsu - Laser Circus!)

Satoru didn't waste any time in blindsiding Darui and slash a deep gash across the small of his back before holding his blade diagonally to absorb the powerful kick that sent him in the air. The swordsman immediately ran, jumping gracefully through the barrage of electricity beams. Elemental combinations were obviously taking a heavy toll on the jōnin. Satoru held his left index and middle finger in front of him in a V sign and held his blade tip two inches back, channeling his chakra for one of his special moves. "Yari!" as if pushing a pool cue, Satoru thrust arm forward through his fingers and launched a deadly ice spear.

"Argh!" Darui dropped to his knee and felt the Ranton jutsu falter in his hands which resulted in him being on the receiving end of his own electric currently which was only amplified by the icy spear lodged in his previous unwounded shoulder. The jōnin reached for the spear lodged in his arm, but was forced to retract his hand and instead offer his forearm to block Satoru's sharp kick. Ignoring the vibration in his right arm, Darui countered with his right fist, smashing it into Satoru's face and sending him a few feet back. Sacrificing his momentum, the jōnin gripped the spear lodged in his thick shoulder once again and tugged with all his might. This had to be done fast. He could already feel the poisonous ice spread down his arm. "Harrumph!" Darui immediately ceased his pull on the spear. The bastard was smiling at him, meaning this was no regular spear. Ignoring Satoru's sadistic grin, Darui focused on the problem. From what he could see - or better yet, feel, the spear had set out leverages that dug further in his muscles. If he applied more power to his arm and simply ripped it out, he would rip out a good chunk of his shoulder and the blood loss alone would be able to kill him, forget his delirious state after having ripped out the spear in the first place.

Darui held his up his good arm (sans the claw marks) and quickly put on his shades before aiming his hand at Satoru - his face more specifically - and shouting, "Ranton! Kyokujitsu!" A sphere of bright light snapped to life in Darui's hand before exploding in a ray of blindly bright colours.

(Jutsu: Ranton! Kyokujitsu no Jutsu - Rising Sun Technique!)

"Argh!" Satoru covered his eyes with his left arm and held his blade in a defensive kata. When he opened his eyes Darui was nowhere to be found. "Damn!"

-ooo-

Yugito's hands were still smoking as she looked at the multitude of bodies in front of her, all burned to crisps by her ultimate technique. She had worked on it constantly since Kirabi left her to her own devices, figuring she would have no problems improving on her own. And right he was. Yugito nearly moaned, feeling the Nibi's chakra already working on restoring the burnt skin on her palms. The blond prodigy took off her rubber gloves. Even the electric-resistance they offered was not nearly enough. The rubber gloves well on the ground, still oozing steam.

Naruto's eyes had finally stopped bulging. The technique he had just witnessed was incredible. He had never thought his teammate to be capable of handling such a destructive technique, much less actually create one. "Nice," Naruto offered uneasy with the prospect of actually offering his teammate a compliment. Still, he had to give kudos for such an amazing technique.

Yugito didn't even bother acknowledging the compliment and turned to their sensei. "I can take on what's left of the samurai and their master, sensei," the genin told him, "You go on ahead and take care of the Akumu Shokō. Best take the fool with you."

Kirabi scratched his chin in thought. Perhaps the time had come for Yugito to handle her own in a fight. "Alright, just be careful," Kirabi finally conceded. "If you need help... you're on your own. We can't come back for you."

"Then take her with you," Naruto said, opting to face the remaining samurai and ignoring the discomfort in his gut. "You'll need her. She's...," Naruto paused, "Stronger than I am - at the moment," the blond quickly added. "I can take on these lackeys."

Both Kirabi and Yugito barely managed to hide their surprise at the blonde's statement. Openly admitting Yugito was stronger than he was must have taken a lot of effort on Naruto's part.

"You got it, kiddo," Kirabi finally said.

"Let's go," Yugito immediately said.

"I'll be fine," Naruto caught the worried look on Kirabi's face, "I can handle it! It's not like they could kill me."

"That's not what I'm worried about."

Naruto and Yugito both knew what he meant.

"If I - If I lose control, then only you can stop me, Kirabi-sensei," Naruto said. "I doubt I'll make it past two tails with all these reinforcement seals you put on me. Probably Yugito could stop me too."

Yugito reached in her pouch and put on a second pair of rubber gloves and looked at Kirabi, who merely nodded and lead the way. Neither even thought of stopping their glide through the trees for the samurai as Naruto already appeared before them and viciously kicked the swordsman to the ground where he landed with a sickening pop, evident of his dislocated neck.

-ooo-

Takezo made no move to stop the two Kumo shinobi as they took the trees and headed for the location of his masters. Takezo was more interested in the young man in front of him that stayed behind so that his teammates could advance.

"I commend you for your courage but I pity you for your stupidity," Takezo said, stepping of his steed. His heavy boots left profound expression on the ground beneath them. "I shall spare you any further comment, boy. Enjoy the sweet embrace of death."

"Bring it on, fatso," Naruto childishly mocked, his eyes flickering left and right over all the samurai present. Minus Takezo, there were sixteen samurai left. Naruto reckoned he would have a hard time against Takezo alone. He would have to deal with the samurai first, should they get smart and exploit his blindsides.

"There's no need for that, boy," Takezo said as Naruto turned to face his minions. "I am a man of honour. This battle is between you and I. None will interfere."

"Yeah, like I would take your word for it."

Takezo growled. "Don't mistake us samurai for your deceitful shinobi dogs. Unlike you, we know the meaning of honour." The brutish man set his handle on his blade's grip. "Now, prepare yourself for a world of pain, arrogant one."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and a deep growl rumbled in his throat. "Like I said, bring it one. Give it your best shot, old man." Naruto flashed through hand seals and held his hands apart. "Fūton! Shippū Shūren no Jutsu!" Wind began to visibly spiral around Naruto's arms. As their rotation speed picked up, the genin felt the familiar tight feeling of his muscles contracting. The Hurricane Drills screeched in a soft, low hum. It was time to kill.

Takeshi raised a thick leg and placed his heavily booted, right foot down in front of him. The samurai gripped his sword's handle loosely, eyeballing the youth in front of him. Under his grasp, he felt Tsuchi Kuma awaken. The brute smiled. He was intrigued in seeing what else the young boy could do aside from projecting appendage made from that strangely coloured chakra. Deep down, Takezo's gut told him there was more than that what met they eye with this young shinobi.

The second their eyes locked, the battle begun. Naruto shot from his position in the blink of an eye, propelled by the drills around his arms he made a beeline for his opponent and greeted him with a knee-jump. Takezo caught Naruto's knee with his left hand, easily coping with the pressure behind it and tightening his grip Tsuchi Kuma's handle. Naruto saw the movement and send a light burst of chakra through his right drill. The genin was able to narrowly dodge the upwards sweep.

Takezo's blade was thick. The metal was a dark shade of purple-brown and was covered by chunks of earthly brown metal. The blade's handle had an intricate design that foretold its value. On the butt of the handle, there was the face of a fierce bear. It's face was in a snarl and it bared it's fangs.

Naruto charged again, ducking under Takezo's swipe and attempting to drill right through his armour. Unfortunately, Takezo proved to be quicker than he had expected and Naruto missed his opening, being forced to block a powerful kick with his forearm. What was even worse, it seemed the drills did no damage to Takezo's shin guards whatsoever. The shinobi youth attacked with a barrage of stabs with his dual tendrils. Takezo managed to either block or dodge all of them with apparent ease. The frustration built up in Naruto made him make a grave error as he left himself open after an impulsive roundhouse kick. Takezo, a man of honour he may be, was not pulling any punches and exploited the opening by slamming the butt of his grip into Naruto's gut. Too distracted with the pain and loss of breath, Naruto had no defences against the butt smash on his head or the equally powerful smash of Takezo's fist in face.

The Kumogakure genin fell on his back, his arms and legs sprawled and the hurricane drills faltering. Naruto groaned holding his face. He felt as if he had literally broken his face. Grunting and swearing under his breath the ninja got on his feet to face his opponent once more.

Takezo had sheathed his blade and held a disappointed face. "You are not worthy of being cut down by my Tsuchi Kuma," Takezo glared at Naruto, his thick arms crossed over his chest. "How disappointing. I would have expected more from Kumo."

The last particular comment hit a nerve with Naruto. Nobody and he meant nobody, got away with insulting his home. "Watch your mouth, old man," Naruto's growl was deeper and more feral. His slits turned vertical. It was quite a strange sight in his blue orbs. "Nobody insults my home!" Naruto charged at the older shinobi, foregoing the usage of ninjutsu and relying on two kunai held in reverse grip instead.

The genin swiped viciously at the samurai, throwing in kicks and punches whenever he could. After enduring nearly a minute of tedious dodging, Takezo had enough swiftly took down the genin by punching his left wrist and elbowing his shoulder. Before the kunai fell to the ground, Takezo hoisted the boy and shoulder-dropped him on the ground with such force the earth cracked. Winded, Naruto rolled under a heavy boot that easily sunk about an inch in the ground. Naruto attempted what little lightning manipulation he could and jabbed a hand against Takeshi's calf. Due to sheer luck or Takezo's underestimating of him, Naruto managed to briefly shock the samurai by using the metal harness he wore as an electricity conduct.

Taking the opportunity, the genin took his distance and cursed his luck for sending away Yugito. Just when he needed some damn lightning jutsu! "Well, I'll have to improvise then," Naruto said to himself grabbing another kunai from his pouch. It took a brief moment of concentration to charge the kunai with Raiton chakra.

Takezo looked at the blond appraisingly, silently praising him for his ingenuity. "Perhaps I was wrong, boy," Takezo unleashed his blade once more and held it in a countering stance. "Come at me with the intent to kill or do not come at all."

Naruto charged at the man with his kunai held in a reverse grip. However, once he was fifteen feet away from the swordsman, he threw small projectile at Takezo. It turned out to be a smoke bomb as it detonated six feet away from Takezo. The samurai coughed slightly but wasted no time in using his blade's earth affinity to make a vertical swipe at the boy that sent earth spikes into the smoke.

"Ack!"

Takezo grinned with satisfaction. Another powerful wave of his blade blew away the smoke, revealing the boy dangling inches above the ground, impaled by an earth spike through the chest. The boy's chest wound dripped a massive amount of blood. The swordsman sighed, not wanting to have finished the fight so quickly. Takezo eyed the kunai as it dropped out of the boy's limp hand at the lightning coating leaving it's metal.

Just as Takezo was about to sheath his blade, the body burst in a column of smoke.

"A clone!" Takezo looked to his left and right for the original when he felt a sharp pain in his back. Turning around, he saw the boy had thrown a sizeable rock at him. "Why you insolent, little brat!" Takezo sent another wave of earth spikes at the genin. The attack proved to be too fast for him, but Takezo growled again when it turned out to be another clone.

"Hey, old man!" several voices cried at the same time from all directions.

Takezo raised a wall of earth to block some on the incoming objects but was force to dodge several more projectiles from directions all around. The projectiles turned out to be paint pellets that coloured his armour in ridiculous shades of bright yellow and pink. Takezo's anger reached a new point. "Pests!" Takezo raised his sword above him, ready to level the ground when suddenly a puff of smoke appeared before him and the original appeared, upper cutting Takezo will all his strength.

The swordsman flew through the air as it dawned on him. The rock. When it hit him, he had barely registered it in his mind. The clever devil had set him up. Played on his underestimating disposition towards the boy. With finesse way beyond what he should have been able, Takezo flipped through the air and landed on a safe distance from the insolent brat. Takeshi Takezo had no clue whatsoever. Not a second after his feet met the ground, they were grabbed by multiple pair of hands.

All around him there were puffs of smoke as more clones came to existence.

'The pellets! Not all of them were actual pellets!' Takezo's revelation was too late. The swordsman was dragged to the ground and he felt his sword leave his grip, all the while he felt dozens of fists and kicks connect with his body.

The clone that grabbed the blade from Takezo threw it to the original Naruto, who caught it deftly with a large grin on his face. "Such a disappointment," Naruto mocked in a rather convincing imitation of Takezo. "Let me remind you who I am. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the future strongest Raikage and shinobi of all time!"

An enormous spike of chakra cut Naruto's introduction short. Takezo was enraged and had already freed himself of his clones' grasps. The brute made his way through dozens of clones trying to tag-team him without success.

Naruto gulped visibly at the terror that was Takeshi Takezo.

-ooo-

Darui sat against a tree, about two miles from the clearing where he escaped Satoru. The jōnin steeled his nerves and gripped the ice spear that was lodged in his shoulder. He had already prevented the claw marks from Satoru's tiger to infect him future by burning it with his lightning chakra. The spear, however, was far more troubling. Already his arm felt heavier. Within half an hour, he'd have no choice but to amputate himself.

'Alright, calm yourself,'Darui commanded himself,'Concentrate on the ice. Concentrate on the water.' His plan was simple. By using his water affinity, he would cancel out the ice spear. To do this however, he would have to concentrate. Despite his secondary affinity, Darui was far more lightning orientated. However, he didn't have the affinity for nothing! The jōnin had attempted to cut off most of the spear in the hopes that would stop it from spreading further into his bloodstream or at least slow it down. Unfortunately, he had no such luck. The spear kept growing back to his original size.

Slowly, Darui gripped the spear and focused on channeling his own water chakra into the spear. Slowly, Darui felt the spear dampen and his hand wetter. A minute later spear began dripping water. Five more minutes and it should have its balance and it would break apart.

"Oh, Shinobi-san!"

"Shit!" Darui grumbled under his breath. Satoru was getting closer...

-ooo-

Naruto found himself lying on the floor once again. Only this time it happened so fast he could barely register the fist smashing in his face or the kick send him fly up or even the vicious heel drop that send him right back to the ground in a two feet deep crater.

Apparently, taking Takezo's blade from him caused him to become unbelievably angry.

A few feet away Takezo cradled his beloved sword in his arms, as though it was a fragile baby. "Brat, I entertained the thought of toying with you, but you've gone and done it now," Takezo breathed heavily, a sign of barely contained rage. "You're going to witness the power of my Tsuchi Kuma!" Takezo raised his blade, reversed his grip on it and stabbed into the earth. "Hakkei!"

"Argh!" Naruto covered his eyes against the blinding light resonating from Takezo. "What the fuck?"

The light disappeared a moment later. Takezo stood even more hunchback than usual. His armour had changed dramatically, the design becoming even more intricate and the metal thicker. Takezo's head gear turned into a helm of sorts with horns protruding from the sides. The most dramatic changed, however, was the blade. It had disappeared. Now, a giant bear stood on its hind legs behind Takezo. The might beast wore a collar around its neck that was attached to the chain bound to Takezo's sword handle. Though it was very detailed, it was easily to see it was really a slab of rock in the form of a bear.

The bear, it turned out, was fast. It pounced on Naruto in seconds, throwing powerful swipes at his ribcage and face with surprising speed. The bear growled loudly as it swiped it's ten inch nails over Naruto's chest. Naruto propelled himself with a chakra-enhanced back flipped and stuck himself to a tree and hurled a barrage of exploding tags attached to kunai. The bear stomped it's front paws on the ground and formed a two feet thick wall and extended its mud arms so it could swing its powerful legs against the barrier and shoot chunks of rock that connected with the kunai mid-air, causing them to detonated upon collision. Before all the rubble met the ground, the bear struck it's paw out at the boy: it extended ten feet and turned to mud.

"What the-!"

The paw constricted itself around Naruto and yanked him out of the tree and smashed the boy on his back on the hard ground. With another roar, the muddy paw raised itself and crashed the genin through multiple trees before raising him and smashing him into the ground. Takezo made repetitive movements with his sword and the bear proceeded to smash the boy face-first into the ground several times while its master, Takezo, barked in laughter.

"Go on and enjoy yourself, Kuma-chan! He's all yours!" Takezo encouraged his beast. "Make him suffer for taking your from me."

With one last heave, the humongous arm, now at least twenty feet long, raised and smashed Naruto head first into the ground. A small crater formed on impact. Naruto's could practically taste the brain damage as he screamed. His back must have broken by now. He knew for sure his left arm was out of commission.

"Still alive are we?" Takezo chuckled, "Such wonderful determination! Too bad it won't save you. Go, Tsuchi Kuma, release this boy from his misery!"

"Oh, crap..."Naruto swore as his eyes met the enormous bear once more. It bared its rocky fangs and roared at the ninja. To no success, Naruto attempted to stand up. His legs had given out on him. 'I gotta do something. I'll have to get the son-of-a-bitch fox-bastard to help me out.'Naruto groaned loudly. He hated asking the fox for anything - especially to borrow some of its power. Still, the jinchūriki knew it was the best thing he could do in his situation. Kirabi had drilled it into his brain.

Flashback…

"But why?" a seven year old Naruto said in a whiny tone.

They were at Mt. Unraikyo. It had been little over a year since Kirabi had taken Naruto to Kumogakure. Today was the first time Naruto was going to learn how to summon the Kyūbi's power on his own. They had spent over a year on shinobi basics and chakra control. Naturally, Naruto didn't want to have anything to do with his tenant.

"Naruto," Kirabi said sternly, foregoing his usually nicknames in regard to Naruto's height. "The fox is a bastard, I know that. But you're going to be stuck with it for the rest of your life. There are going to be times - whether you like it or not - you're going to have to rely on him, the same way he relies on you."

"Easy for you to say! At least Hachibi-chan is nice."

"He wasn't always like that," Kirabi said darkly. The jōnin sighed and sad down, took of his shades and began cleaning them with a silk cloth. "You don't think the Hachibi and I were always friends do you?"

"Huh?" was all Naruto had to offer.

Kirabi weighed his options, but decided to tell the boy anyway. "The Hachibi wasn't always as mellow as it is now," Kirabi explained, "It used to be an unstable mess. Constantly wrecking havoc and eventually getting its previous jinchūriki killed or so close to death the Council had no choice but to announce another vessel would be in order." Kirabi shook his head, "During these unsealing and sealing processes, it would manage to get out for a couple of hours and kill some more. That's until my dad," Kirabi had a fond smile on his face, "The Sandaime Raikage invented a new seal and captured the beast for and sealed it into me for good."

Naruto's eyes were bulging in awe. "That was your old man? That's so cool!" Naruto paused for a second, "How did you get it calm down, Kirabi?"

"It's Kirabi-sensei," Kirabi lightly punched Naruto in the head, "And I got it to calm down by fighting it. That was the only way for me to earn its respect and, eventually, its friendship."

"You FOUGHT the Hachibi?" Naruto shouted incredulously whilst holding the bump on his head, "No way! How did you win?"

"Well, that's a story for another day. But," Kirabi quickly added after spotting the boy's sour expression, "I learned through fighting it, to understand it and its power."

"So, you're telling me I have to fight the Kyūbi?" Naruto asked skeptically. "That's not gonna happen. There's no way I can beat it."

"No, not now, but eventually you will be able to defeat," Kirabi told the boy. "But for now, just try to come to a mutual beneficial agreement with it. From what I've seen, the Kyūbi just wants bloodshed. So, when in times of need, you go ahead and give it what it wants in return for its power. Ya get it?"

Naruto shook his head with a smile, "Not at all!"

Kirabi raised his fist.

"Ack! My head! Again with the frickin' head!"

… End Flashback

Naruto dusted of his trouser. His expression was hardened and it his resolve was formed. "You know, there's one thing I left out when I introduced myself, old man."

Takezo's eyes widened, but quickly narrowed as he regained his composure. It should have been impossible for the boy to stand up so quickly. Hell, he hadn't expected the boy to get back up at all. "And what would that be, boy?" Takezo asked after a moment.

"Aside from the guy that's gonna kick your ass in a few minutes, I am Uzumaki Naruto, the future Raikage of Kumogakure and the Kyūbi no Yoko's jinchūriki!"

"What?" Takezo's eyes bulged dramatically. A jinchūriki? Here? In his long life of battle, Takezo had never experienced a jinchūriki's power. He had heard whispers and rumours regarding these demon vessels, but never could he have imagined to actually fight one. And this boy... this boy was one of them. "Haha... Hahahaha!" Takezo began laughing. "Unbelievable! To meet a jinchūriki here, and one so young!"

"Yeah, a jinchūriki!" Naruto shouted and red chakra began leaking out of his body. The blond grunted in pain as his fangs grew and his hands became claws. The Kyūbi influence made his hair stand up so strongly his headband slid of his face. Naruto placed it in his pouch and lurched slightly. "There we go...," the jinchūriki said, looking at his clawed hands. Naruto shot Takezo a wickedly, blood thirsty look. His eyes had become a dark shade of blood red. It was a terrifying sight. Naruto reckoned he was just shy of one tail.

Takezo, for what is was worth, had quick enough reflexes to recall his bear to its blade form and hold up his blade in a guard. Unfortunately, however, Naruto smashed straight through his blade and delivered a powerful punch to his solar plexus. Takezo's eyes widened in shock and pain, feeling his armour crack. He knew he was lucky to only feel a portion of the blow's power. However, he had no time to count his blessing as Naruto instantly disappeared and reappeared above him spun forward and delivered a heel drop on his collarbone, which instantly shattered under the pressure despite his reinforced armour pads.

"Urgh!" Takezo found himself lodged into a boulder after a fierce roundhouse kick. "So this is the power of a jinchūriki, aye? Well how about this?" the swordsman spat, moving his arms to push himself out of the rocky grip the boulder provided.

Takezo raised his re-assembled sword in an upward slash, causing the earth behind Naruto to form into a massive claw and grab him into an extremely power vice grip all over his body, "Tomeoku!" Takezo followed up with a forward slash that released Tsuchi Kuma upon the blond with a readied claw, intent on impaling the boy's torso. Naruto quickly poured as much of the Kyūbi's chakra in his arms as he could and broke through the earth grip and kicked Tsuchi Kuma's extending claw into the air and rewarded the earth bear with a heel drop to its nose as it got close enough.

The jinchūriki ran at Takezo and dashed to the left at incredible speed while throwing a hand full of pellets at Takezo. The swordsman was ready and held his blade in a defensive kata, ready to cut through any clone that may reveal itself. Unfortunately for him, Naruto never committed the same prank. Two out of six pellets turned out to be smoke bombs and two more turned out to be tear gas. As Takezo coughed and swung his blade while he covered his eyes, the last two pellets turned out to be clones. The first clone wrapped itself around his arm with a firm lock on his wrist and foot in Takezo's right eye, fully intent on lodging the Tsuchi Kuma out of his grip. The second clone revealed itself by knee-jumping Takezo in the nose. The combined effort made Takezo stumble backwards and drop his sword.

The original Naruto seized the opening and attacked Takezo with a barrage of fists to the face. Takezo managed to defend the first dozen attacks with his thick arms, but his arms eventually faltered as the Kyūbi chakra-induced punches were wearing down on his armguards and gradually cracking the bones in his arms.

"Ouf!" Takezo managed to stand up right for about ten seconds before the rain of punches got him to the ground.

Naruto launched himself thirty feet into the air, reared his arms and screamed as he shot of a giant claw made of red chakra upon the swordsman.

Takezo groaned and locked into the air where Naruto hovered above him with the red claw. Takezo's eyes widened in shock, seconds before the pain came. Never in his entire life had he felt such excruciating pain. It felt as if had just been smashed with the entire world's weight. Every bone in his body was broken. His armour was shattered into a million pieces and his precious sword lay cracked on the floor next to him.

…

Naruto landed in a crouch, already feeling the Kyūbi's chakra leave him. He would have to deal with the pain in the morning. He had gotten close to one tail. Stumbling like a drunk, Naruto walked over to the tree stump and sat down and eyed the reappeared mud bear, or the earth bear - whatever the hell it was growl at him before walking to the sword handle. The beast was much less defined now that the sword was cracked. It looked like it was about to fall apart. The bear sniffed Takezo and licked his cheek before turning around and giving Naruto one more menacing growl.

Naruto knew there was no threat. "Fuck you too," he showed the bear his middle finger. "Now, go on, turn back into your sword form before I destroy you completely."

The Tsuchi Kuma seemed to understand him and reluctantly touched the hilt of the blade with its nose, glowed for a second and then reverted to its sealed state.

Naruto gulped. He knew what he would have to do. "Shippū Shūren," the genin said calmly. In a few hours from now, when his head was cleared, he would be pleased to see he could do the Hurricane Drill with ease. "Sorry, old man, but this is just the way it has to be." Naruto raised the sole drill around his right arm and tightened the grasp on it. The drill's circular tip narrow till it had the point of a sword. "I'll make sure to make it quick-"

"Uack!" Takezo coughed up blood. Slowly his eyes opened and met the blue orbs that belonged to the destructive genin that bested him. "Who would have thought a genin would have taken me down. Haha..."

Naruto shook his head, "I wish that was all me, but it wasn't."

Takezo opted to curve his head as if to ask a question, rather than waste more energy in talking. "Jinchūriki..." Takezo said to which Naruto nodded.

"I haven't really ever told anyone," Naruto lowered the drill and it dissipated.

Takezo's coughed. "I should have known... the second I saw that chakra.. - cough, cough - I thought - cough - red chakra was some kind of - cough - kekkei genkai." Takezo's meaty hand wiped the blood of his chin. "So, tell me again, boy, which one do you host?"

"The Kyūbi." Naruto told the man for the second time.

Takezo suddenly laughed. "At least it took the strongest one to take me down, huh?" Takezo grabbed his blade, "Don't worry, I couldn't hurt you in this state even if I wanted to," he said when he saw Naruto react. Takezo took of his sword sheath and stuck the cracked blade in it. "Here, take it." Takezo offered up the blade in one hand.

"What, why?" Naruto asked in shock. "Why would you give me the sword?"

"I'm dying," Takezo said simply. "I'd like you, the boy - no man, that killed me, to take my Tsuchi Kuma. It seems so fitting..."

Naruto felt as he had a bucket of ice water spilled over him. "I can't take it," the blond said firmly. "I wanted to kill you and that's what I've done. You're a pathetic old man and I don't feel a single drop of guilt for killing you. Not after what you've done to all these people!"

Takezo managed a weak smile. "If you're not guilty, then why are you crying?"

"Wha-?" Naruto roughly wiped the tears of his cheek. "Shut up! You're a relic. You called yourself a man of honour and yet you killed so many defenseless people?" Naruto wanted to take out his rage on the dying samurai badly. Yet he didn't. Something inside of him wanted to know why. Why would someone have done this to the defenseless? Was there a chance, a sliver of possibility, he, too, would be capable of this? "Tell me," Naruto's voice shook with unstable rage. "Tell me."

Takezo began coughing blood. After a minute he regained his breath and looked Naruto in the eye whilst placing his sheathed sword next to him. "The legends," Takezo coughed.

"What?"

"This place, the Fishermen Islands, are known for a certain legend...," Takezo began to explain the story of Ritoru Haaku. The birth place of the might feud between to clans. "There was my clan, the Takeshi and his clan the Shiroi. For many generations our clans clashed. We were mercenaries hired by the Sun country's Daimyo to take out the rebelling monks that were a major front of the civil war. Eventually, many of our young died and the clan leaders of both clan, Takeshi Yama-Ken Kuma, my great grandfather, and Tōshirō no Shiroi of the Shiroi clan settled for a duel to the death. Shiroi managed to live one more day, whilst my great ancestor chose to die in battle," Takezo smiled through his coughs and blood spills, "Eventually the clans decided that they would have to leave the country."

"I don't understand," Naruto said with a pained look, "Why would your great grandfather and the other guy's ancestor fight?"

"There was too many bloodshed," Takezo said simply. "Too much. Many of our clan died and so did the battle monks of the Shiroi. Our elders were too stubborn. Too foolish to understand. It was not until Tōshirō no Shiroi slew the elders on his side and my grandfather killed the elders on our side. After that our clans left."

Naruto sat down and folded his legs. "What I still don't get is why you're here in the Fishermen Island, massacring village after village for some damn antiques?"

"Antiques!" Takezo shouted but immediately went into another coughing fit. It took Naruto two minutes to calm him down. "Antiques?" Takezo growled again. "Those swords are Shinken! Legendary swords of incredible power. If one were to master either sword, he will be invincible!" Takezo took a deep breath. "I thought if I could return the blade to my clan, we would be able to rise to our previous power... No, that's not the only reason..."

"You wanted it for yourself, didn't you?" Naruto caught on. "Then why did you choose to work for the Akumu Shokō? Why not look for them yourselves?"

"They would destroy me in an instant," Takezo admitted. "I thought if I could serve them long enough, to gain their respect and become their lieutenant I could steal the Keikōku Kizamu..."

"I get it now. You were trying to restore your clan's honour by returning the blade. But that still doesn't make it right how many you killed!"

"I didn't kill all those people...," Takeshi had a tears welling up in his eyes, "Not by my hand, but I'm just as guilty for not stopping him! I could have, but the sword was too important... My great grandfather Takeshi Yama-Ken would be so ashamed..."

Naruto said nothing, but he knew deep down he understood. Finally, he looked in the descendant of Yama-Ken and asked him, "Then who killed them?"

"He's the other lieutenant." Takezo said. "His name is Satoru no Shiroi. He's a descendant of Tōshirō no Shiroi... and a deserter." Takezo had another coughing fit but continued. "From what I heard he left his clan nearly two decades ago. He carries himself as a battle monk, but he's not one of them. Deep down inside, he's just as much a monster as the Akumu Shokō..."

"He's the guy that attacked Hari...," Naruto said darkly when a realization hit him and thought back to what Yugito had told them at camp. Turning to Takezo he asked, "What does my village have to with this?"

"Kumo? Kumo's Council aided us in obtaining the submarine prototypes we stole from the Kiri's navy technology department." Takezo felt no further need to lie. "They supplied us with the funds and the most accurate locations in exchange for one the swords."

"What?" Naruto shouted. "So Yugito was right... damn it! Why would the council - wait, you said the council right?" Naruto needed to be sure and felt a gush of relief when Takezo nodded affirmative. "Good, then there is a good chance the Raikage doesn't know anything about it."

"The Akumu Shokō should be close to the Shinken," Takezo told the genin. "Once they have them, your teammates will be powerless to stop them."

"Heh," Naruto chuckled, "They'll be fine."

Takezo gave the blond a curious look, "Why aren't you worried? They couldn't possibly-"

"Because they're jinchūriki too and hell of a lot better at it than I am."

Naruto met Takezo's astonished look with his own grin.

"They'll be just fine."

-ooo-

"How much further," Seiichi growled, his patience had been worn thin. The elder Akumu Shokō tightened his cloak. "I hate these damnable machines."

The younger Nightmare Lord did not look up from the submarine controls. "We'll be there in five minutes, Nii-sama."

The submarine was nearly two-hundred and fifty feet under the water surface. It had taken Shinji only a day to learn how to operate these machines. He found them quite ingenious. Shinji looked at his brother in the corner of his eye. He found it hard to fight down his evil smile.

'Foolish brother,'Shinji almost openly sneered, 'You have no idea how closer you are getting to your own death...'Shinju suppressed his gleeful smile. His brother was had forced his hand into killing him the second he agreed with Kumo. If only one of them would have the honour of wielding a Shinken, then it might as well be the smartest. 'Brute force won't always get you what you desire, my foolish brother...'

There a beep from the control panel.

"What is it?" Seiichi demanded in his usual growl from his seat in the upper deck. "Shinji!"

"Calm down, Nii-sama." Shinji said pleasantly while gliding his fingers swiftly over the panels. "We have arrived. I am starting the necessary programs. We'll have the swords in mere minutes."

"I'll have the swords in mere minutes, brother," Seiichi corrected with venom.

"Of course, Nii-sama. That's what I meant."

-ooo-

Five minutes later Kirabi and Yugito arrived at the great river that separated all the Fishermen Islands.

"I don't see them," Yugito said while scanning her eyes over the area. "Can you still sense them?"

Kirabi merely nodded. "Vaguely... they're under water from what I can tell." Kirabi pointed at the large, newly created dock at the river. "They must have submerged all ready."

"Submerged?" Yugito asked. "You're probably right, sensei. The dock looks to be created for submarines."

Kirabi nodded as crunched, "The question is, where did they get small enough subs? There's no way his dock is big enough."

As if on cue, a large splash of water emerged from the river. Yugito and Kirabi instantly got into their fighting stances. The dock gently floated to the wooden docks and a minute later two figures emerged from the submarine's hatch. The first was heavily obscured by his cloak and wielded two swords in his hands. The second simple waved at them, though they were unable to clearly see his face from the distance.

"Hello there!" Shinji shouted excitedly.

Yugito looked to Kirabi. "Sensei, what are we going to do?"

"We're going to try and talk them into surrendering."

"And if they don't?"

Kirabi turned to Yugito with a pleasant smile that sent shudders through her spine. "We'll kill them."

Author's Notes

I would like to thank all the wonderful readers that left me a review. I've decided to finish up the Ritoru Haaku Arc in two or three chapters. Then, the long awaited Chuunin Exam Arc begins. I apologize for the long wait. However, I'd like to make it up with this extra long chapter of Kumo Nin. I've never gone past the 8-9k words, but here I am with a 12k special for you. I put in a lot of effort in it, so happy readings!

Once again, thank you for reading my story and please drop me a review.

…

Jutsu Used:

(Jutsu: Raiton! Denpa Gekitai - Lightning Release! Electromagnetic Repulse!) B rank, offensive, supplementary, short range. This technique demands a high proficiency in utilizing the Lightning element. The user of this technique converts chakra into electricity and causes an electromagnetic repulse. Advanced users of this technique (Kirabi) can use this technique on a smaller scale for temporary levitation.

(Jutsu: Hakkei - Release of the Internal Power!) ? rank, supplementary, ? range. Hakkei is considered the ultimate technique amongst samurai and other warrior clans. It was the inner release of one's soul and soul of the sword they wielded. Hakkei can only be used if the user is wielding either a Kyōsei Ken or a Shinken. Through the sword, the life energy of the sword and its master were intertwined and left to a new found power. Many Kyōsei Ken were created with the essence of an animal. Those that had an animal type Kyōsei Ken and were able to use Hakkei were enabled to release the beast dormant within the blade and benefit from its aid in battle. Those that did not have an animal type Kyōsei Ken wielded the power of the spirit bound to the sword. Many believed the spirit of the sword to be the former owner of the blade. It was speculated if a great swordsman wielded a weapon, any weapon, and his bond with it was great enough, he could leave behind a piece of his soul within the blade and create a Kyōsei weapon.

(Jutsu: Shippū Shūren – Hurricane Drills!) – B rank, offensive, short range. The user summons a large amount of chakra and, if needed, coats his appendages with chakra. Then, the user simply spins wind chakra around his arms. The spinning of wind chakra is only necessary for a few seconds. Afterwards, the wind chakra will continue to swirl around the arms. At this point, the tendrils vibrant at an extreme high frequency and screech loudly. The technique can then easily pulverize trees and shatter boulders. The true potential of this technique has yet to be met.

(Jutsu: Ranton! Reizā Sākasu no Jutsu - Storm Release! Laser Circus!) – A rank, offensive, mid range. This jutsu is one of Darui's custom created jutsu. Darui uses his rare Storm chakra affinity to create several bright beams of electricity that shoot at his enemy. A halo of bright energy spreads from Darui's hands as he uses this technique. The beams are able to alter their direction after being shot and are extremely dangerous. A direct hit of one of these beams can kill on impact.. An incredible advantage of this technique is that it only requires one hand seal to use: the dragon hand sign

(Jutsu: Ranton! Kyokujitsu no Jutsu - Storm Release! Rising Sun Technique!) – B rank, offensive, supplementary, short to long range. Another jutsu created by Darui which requires the utilization of the very rare Ranton chakra affinity. Like most of his storm release jutsu, Darui is required to make a dragon hand sign to summon the energy current. The Rising Sun is an orb of energy that is usually used to strike lightning bolts from a high altitude, but it can be used on a smaller scale that gives the results of a very effective flash bang.

(Jutsu: Yari - Spear!) - ? rank, offensive, mid range. This jutsu is one of Satoru's specialties. By making a V sign with his left, Satoru uses his hand as a crosshair on his opponents. Satoru will proceed with thrusting his sword through the sign to send a spear made of ice. The spear is roughly two feet long and upon penetrating the skin, the spear will instantly leak out its poison like chakra which will spread over the entire body until the stricken opponent is nothing but a sack of ice.

(Jutsu: Eirō - Life Imprisonment!) - ? rank, offensive, short to mid range. An unknown offensive technique used by the warrior Satoru. With a swift stroke, a wave of ice chakra is cast over the opponent, encasing him or her in ice as hard as steel.

(Jutsu: Tomeoku - Detain!) - ? rank, offensive, mid range. Tomeoku is Takezo's simple snatch and detain move. It is relatively simple to use and very low on chakra taxation. Once he slashes his Kyōsei Ken, Tsuchi Kuma, a bear's claw will appear from the earth and grab his opponent firmly.