Hey everybody, and welcome to chapter thirty-three of the Winds of Change! A couple of things to start with:
I've had a couple of complaints about the last chapter, and how Naruto and co managed to go 'toe-to-toe' with Tsunade. I understand your complaints, and will take them into account in the future.
However, I will not discuss that now, nor any other questions prior to this chapter. Why? Because we're finally here. The Assault begins, people. After 33 chapters, we are here! It's taken this long, and I hope it lives up to your expectations. As for any questions during this arc, feel free to ask them, but I may not answer. I'm sure that I'll clear up any questions in the Assault or the next arc. However, if I cannot think of a reason why they are not, I will answer your questions in a PM and then an authors note.
And that's it! So, enjoy, and I give you Chapter 33, of the Winds of Change!
Chapter 33:
The calm before the storm. That was an expression Kakashi Hatake often heard, and it certainly made sense for these next few hours.
It was the dead of night, a calm cool breeze blowing along the grassy plains. The foliage was thick and long, perfect for concealing themselves. Although, to a trained eye, it wouldn't do much. He silently thanked Kami that they had Kurenai with them for cover, otherwise... well, things would get a lot messier.
It had been a week since Tenten confronted Tsunade, and things were getting better. There had been a lot of training, a lot. Everyday, eight hours a day, pure physical exercise. It was tough, and grueling, but needed.
He felt Sasuke twitch beside him. His singular grey eye traveled to the stony gaze of the Uchiha as he stared forwards. He was anxious. And excited. Beside him, Naruto could barely contain his feelings. The sheer thought of a proper engagement (Naruto swore that the fight with Tsunade didn't count, as she cheated. That led to fists on his head and facepalms allround).
Sadly, Kakashi was forced to go back and stay with the Itachi's group. And he had to say, he was impressed by their level of skill. Their diversity and teamwork was on par with most Konoha shinobi, so Itachi must have done something right. It was impressive, and a complement to his teaching skills. On the run for how many years, picking up random kids and training them as ninja... it must have been tough. Almost unbearable at times.
Kakashi didn't envy him one bit.
He absently flicked his gaze over to Naruto, "Conceal your chakra better."
The blonde grumbled under his breath. "I'm doing the best I can!" He hissed.
"Do better then Dobe."
"Why you-"
"Quiet," Kurenai whispered heatedly, flicking both boys in the back of the head. "We're on a mission."
"Hn."
Kakashi smiled. Although, he did wish he could read Icha Icha. Being caught in a prone position, however, forbade that from happening.
He decided to check everyone's chakra signatures. Sasuke and Naruto were anxious, ready to get into combat. Although, they seemed far more stand-offish around each other than usual, Naruto especially. That was odd. Naruto was certainly stubborn, but so rude and stand-offish? Sasuke seemed more... reserved and thoughtful, if that was even possible.
Team Eight seemed to be in top shape, more or less. Hinata was certainly nervous, but Shino's calm chakra and Kiba's excited energy seemed to be keeping her more or less confident. He attempts to speak to Naruto, however, according to Kurenai, had all been rebuffed. Although, she only spoke of that a little bit, more interested in discussing her students success with-
A flare of annoyed chakra caught The Copy Ninja's attention. He snorted lightly. Shikamaru and Ino were at it again, most likely glaring at each other. It was amusing, although needed to be toned down. Thi was a mission, not a time for adolescent squabbles.
Neji and Tenten were perfectly calm, waiting patiently for orders. Gai was doing the same, although whispering in a hushed tone about the Power of Youth to his charges. Needless to say, they were becoming more annoyed by the minute.
And Shizune was in medic mode, having packed multiple first aid kits, and soldier pills. Kakashi had to compliment her skills as a medical ninja. She easily managed to heal the group after their fight against Tsunade, even after an exhausting day of healing them the day before. And not to mention the helpful training she gave the girls and boys in learning to dodge attacks, or so he was told.
Yes, this mission would be a success. And then he would have his full-set of cute little genin back.
"Kakashi-sensei, why do we need to work with weirdos?" Naruto asked, pointing to the other prone group a few metres across from them.
"Because Naruto," Kakashi gently chided, "They're our new allies. It's complicated, but just know they're here to help get Sakura back."
The blonde nodded, and went back to his musings.
It was determined by both Kakashi and Itachi that keeping both groups separate, especially during an anxious time such as the beginning of a mission, would probably be for the best. They'd have plenty of time to get to know each other when they reached Konoha, however.
The reaction for Itachi's new group was mixed, to say the least. Of course he didn't mention Itachi, that would've sent people on mad rampages and screaming fits. He simply mentioned they were getting help from Missing Ninja who had similar goals in rescuing a teammate. He had neglected to mention about them coming back to Konoha, simply because of the unease that the others showed at the sheer thought of the other nin helping them.
Neji and Shino managed to quell their worries, but Naruto, Kiba, Tenten and Ino were still cautious. Kakashi felt a pinch in the pit of his gut. A small pang of guilt at keeping the truth from Sasuke. He quashed it. It was the right thing, for the good of the village. He tried to tell himself that, anyway.
So, patiently, he waited for Itachi to give the signal. The lowering of the Genjutsu around the dome, and the specific smell that led the way to Sakura Haruno, his student. And he was going to get her back. And he dared anybody to try and stop him.
Their forms were sloppy. The one-hundred men in the room moved so very sloppy. They didn't think about their movements, never tried to innovate. Followed the same basic structure over, and over, and over again.
The conscripts were nervous. Of course they were. Stuck under the thumb of Orochimaru, forced to fight in something they didn't understand, only taught how to wield kunai a few months ago, maybe even sooner. Some looked like they had just learned that day. They stayed near the front. Cannon fodder.
The ones in the back were more alert, more focused. They held their weapons and kept their chakra relatively unnoticeable. They were the secondary cannon fodder. The more experienced, the more trained. The infantry, the basic soldiers of war.
He picked them apart easily.
It was subtle at first; smoke slowly crawling across the floor. Eventually it reached ankle height, and people began to notice. Thick wispy mist soon formed around them. And they heard it then. The hissing. The low, muffled sound of multiple smoke bombs.
Thirty.
A barrage of kunai sailed over the conscripts heads, embedding themselves in three of the chunnin behind them.
Twenty-Nine.
Shuriken flew from all sides, hitting and killing two more chunnin.
Twenty-Eight.
The conscripts began to panic; fear began to set in. The smoke was like an impenetrable barrier, keeping all the good in the world out, and all the evil in.
Twenty-Seven.
A cry from a chunnin punctuated the air as the smoke got thicker and thicker.
Twenty-Six.
A portion of the smoke cleared, revealing the body of a man, throat slit, blood pooling on the floor.
Twenty-Five.
A chunnin flashed through some hand-signs, yelling out, "Fire Style: Fire-"
The words died in his throat.
Twenty-Four.
Two chunnin ambled into the conscripts, their necks caked with bloods as they choked.
Twenty-Three.
Pure horror descended. Screaming and horrific sounds coming from all sides. Something like flesh ripping bounced off the wall of smoke.
Twenty-Two.
A beat of silence.
Twenty-One.
A gut curdling screech.
Twenty.
Six men, their eyes missing, shuffled over, dropping to the floor.
Nineteen.
Drip, drip, drip. The conscripts looked up. A skinned body hung over them.
Eighteen.
Paralysation. They couldn't move, fear refused to allow them that.
Seventeen.
Writhing. Something was writhing underneath their feet.
Sixteen.
They could feel it crawling up their clothes, on their skin. Wet, and slimy.
Fifteen.
Slugs. It was slugs.
Fourteen.
One screamed as the slugs entered his mouth and nose, and he dropped to the floor.
Thirteen.
The slugs seemed to dissipate, replaced with bits of flesh. And blood.
Twelve.
Ravens descended.
Eleven.
They pecked and clawed viciously, scratching at the conscripts heads and backs.
Ten.
The feeling of warmth on their skin.
Nine.
Liquid, pouring from every crevice.
Eight.
New crevices began to form, breaking and cracking the skin.
Seven.
Blood. Blood now streamed from every pore of the body.
Six.
Hands began to melt.
Five.
Bodies began to melt.
Four.
Skeletons, still standing, still conscious, remained.
Three.
Dust.
Two.
Only dust remained of the conscripts, as it scattered to the wind.
One conscript opened his eyes bleary. The blood of his comrades, the chunnin, soaked the floor. Their bodies were scattered, quickly and cleanly killed. The conscripts... were alive?
A figure darted in front of his vision. The conscript looked up.
Obsidian eyes stared back, cold and dark.
"One."
The idea behind the signal was solid. Hatake, Kakashi specifically, had a very, very good sense of smell. While not on par with an Inuzuka's by any means, it was certainly strong enough to detect certain odours.
Kakashi immediately stiffened as he smelt it. Pepper. He wrinkled his nose in irritation. Certainly not the best thing to smell, but it was effective.
"You sense something?" Gai asked from behind him. Kakashi nodded.
"Smell. The signal. Now we wait for Itami."
Itami was the codename given to Itachi. Made it easier to refer to him with a fake name, instead of 'helper' or something equally as stupid.
They waited two minutes.
Kurenai's brow furrowed. "His chakra is moving away from the area at a fast pace."
Kakashi's brain went into overdrive. Was he abandoning them? He glanced at the other group. No, he wouldn't leave them behind. Leaving behind valuable assets such as them would be a waste. And Itachi was not as clinical as he made himself out to be. Besides, his shadow clone was still with them. Perhaps to alert them? No, Itachi wasn't the sort of person to back-stab... or was he? Whatever he was doing, it better not screw up the plan.
"Forget it," Kakashi whispered. "Let's move in."
Kurenai, Gai and Shizune both nodded, alerting the rest of their team. With a practiced hand movement, the group sprinted forward, soft thuds against the long grass.
"Kurenai," Kakashi ordered.
The wine eyed Jonin nodded, placing her hands together in a sign. There was a slight wavering in the air, like something hot shimmering in the distance. Eventually, a rounded grey dome appeared before them. A small entrance hatch was atop it.
Kakashi smiled. This was going good. They were almost there...
The rumbling was distant at first, but audible. And it grew louder, and louder, as if the heavens themselves were shaking. Finally, with three great cracks forming in the ground, and a uproar of earth, the beings appeared.
Kakashi stopped in his tracks. "Defensive maneuvers!" He called.
Three giant centipedes loomed over the group, sharp pincers snapping shut as they eyed their prey. They were a rustic yellow, small legs wiggling, long body writhing.
"What the hell!" Kiba cried out in panic, Akamaru following close behind him.
"Leave this to the Jonin, make it to the hatch!" Gai yelled, reaching for his kunai pouch. "Neji, lead them!"
The Hyuga nodded. "Follow me," he commanded, and dashed. The rest of the genin reluctantly followed him.
"No, I want to fight!" Naruto exclaimed as Sasuke half dragged him forwards.
The Uchiha gritted his teeth in irritation. "Not now! We need to save our energy-"
Sasuke barely noticed the speeding centipede as it's pincers descended upon him. Through instinct alone, he roughly barged into Naruto and leapt to the side. Earth was upheaved as the two teammates skidded on the ground.
Neji turned and grimaced. "Damn them... Tenten, Kiba, with me! Shino, get to the exit hatch!"
The Aburame nodded, and directed his gaze at Kiba as the dog nin bounded off to catch up with Neji, Akamaru at his heels. He felt something deep inside of him... worry.
He quashed the feelings, and quickly directed the group towards the hatch.
"Are they summons?" Shizune asked, as the two centipedes stared at them with unblinking yellow eyes.
Kakashi grimaced. "Possibly. Only one way to find out. We need to deal with this quickly, the others are in danger. Shizune, Kurenai, deal with the one on the left. Gai, with me."
The four Jonin nodded their heads, and then charged.
The centipede on the right made a sickly sound, before spitting out snot coloured blobs at the two nin. Kakashi and Gai dodged them expertly, making note of how the globs began to melt and scorch the earth. Acid? Possibly.
The Copy Nin nimbly pulled out a kunai, throwing it with precise aim. The unpredictable swaying of the centipede made the metal knife fly off target however, the large insect taking the offensive and shooting forward. Kakashi kept running, until the centipede's pincers were almost on top of him. Then, with agility unmatched, he pushed chakra into his feet and jumped. The centipede's head crashed into the dirt as Kakashi sailed over him.
Gai was up next, running forward at full speed as the centipede reared his head. With an almighty squishing sound, Gai's fist collided with the insect's face, breaking through the armour and straight into the brain.. A green sticky substance oozed out of the now crushed and mangled face, the centipede going limp.
Kakashi smiled as Gai pulled out his arm, shaking it to get all the muck off. He glanced over to Kurenai and Shizune.
The Konoha Genjutsu Specialist had put the beast in a genjutsu, causing some form of paralysis. Kurenai and Shizune hacked into the insect, until the number of cuts and gashes far outweighed the normal sticky armour of the bug. Kurenai finished off, wiping down her kunai quickly, before nodding at Kakashi.
The four Jonin sped off.
Sasuke scowled in annoyance as he leapt backwards, fingering four shuriken from his pouch as he threw them at the giant insect. His annoyance grew as the unpredictable movements of the centipede rendered it useless to use thrown weapons.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto quickly dodged as the beast swerved towards him, the blonde shouting obscenities, "Help me out!"
Sasuke smirked, ready to do just that.
"Hold your ground Sasuke," Neji barked out an order, flanked by Tenten and Kiba. "Head back to the others, we'll deal with-"
All four genin leapt out of the way of the centipede as it charged them, narrowly avoiding being caught in it's pincers.
Neji was about to begin organizing an attack, but stopped as a fixture of irritation crossed his face.
A figure leapt into the air, dual katana shining against the moonlight. With a practiced swipe like an x motion, an explosion of sticky green coated the ground from the now headless centipede.
Kataki barely acknowledged the Konoha genin, rushing past them as the others followed.
Neji watched as Raion, Gurei, Fenris, Utsuro, and the Itachi clone transformed into Tali ran off after their 'leader'. But, where was-
A loud slap on Neji's ass jolted the Hyuga into action, as he swung around to strike whoever had assaulted him. Kura was long gone by then, waving back at him with a lecherous grin.
"...What just happened?" Kiba asked, "Were they our reinforcements?"
"I certainly hope not," Tenten muttered under her breath.
"Enough, let's get going."
"Yes master," Sasuke snidely remarked, as the group followed after their current squad leader, Naruto yelling about how he 'didn't get to kick the caterpillar's ass!'
Shino and the rest of the group reached the dome, leaping atop it. "Anybody willing to help me open it?"
Shikamaru looked bored, and Hinata looked nervous. Ino rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll help!"
The two genin, with a lot of physical effort, pulled open the hatch. Why this 'Itami' guy couldn't just leave it open for them was a mystery they would most likely never solve.
"Right, let's wait for the others-"
Shino's Kikaichu buzzed loudly as he dodged a kunai, the little beetles swarming out of his trench coat.
"You killed my pets!" A voice boomed.
A tall, slender man leapt out of the hatch, his purple hair greasy and long. He wore something akin to a formal kimono, or what once was, holes and tears adorning the muddish brown piece of clothing. An Otogakure forehead protector lay around his waist.
"Your pets deserved to die. Why, you ask? Because you are the enemy, and you kidnapped a member of Konoha."
"You're looking for the girl? Heh, which one? They'll be dead soon enough-"
The kunai pierced the man's throat, silencing him. He gurgled, his hands feebly attempting to pull out the knife as his blood ran down his neck and chest. Finally, his eyes glazed over, and he fell forwards, into the hatch. There was a dull thud at the bottom.
Ino swallowed awkwardly. Her first time witnessing a kill was not... pleasent. Not like she expected it to be, but...
Kakashi landed beside them. "Everyone alright?" He asked.
They nodded as Kataki and his group, followed close behind by Neji and his gang, reached them.
The Konoha nin shared some heated glares with Kataki's group, but that was eclipsed by the dark abyss that led down the hatch. All of the genin shared uncertain glances.
"Ready?" Kakashi asked, in a strict tone. There could be no backing out now.
There was silence for a few moments, the group unsure what to say. Finally, Naruto yelled, "Time to save Sakura, believe it!"
The Copy Nin eye-smiled. Naruto was always the moral booster. Even Kataki's group seemed to smirk at his little comment.
"Good. Shall we?"
And with that, Kakashi leapt into the hatch.
Sasuke blinked. "There is a ladder, right?"
Gai nodded vigorously, a bright smile adorning his face. "Yosh! My most youthful and hip rival Kakashi thinks he can out jump me!? Well, onward!"
The Green Beast of Konoha ran towards the edge of the hatch, turned around, and fell backwards.
There was a beat of silence.
"That dudes insane." Kura stated.
Tenten rolled her eyes. "You have no idea..."
Shino adjusted his glasses, his Kikaichu funnelling back down the collar of his trench coat, "It's not as if our cover has been blown. Our attack by the giant Centipede certainly caused loud disruptions, and has most likely alerted the enemy to our presence-"
"Thanks Shino," Kiba clapped his friend on the back, much to the Aburame's annoyance, "Let's go!"
The group followed after the two slightly odd Jonin, one by one. Some would say like a well organized unit. Others, like lambs to the slaughter.
And that's that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, sorry it's slightly shorter than my other ones. I can't comment on the chapter lengths, honestly, since I've got a strict plan of what happens during this arc. So, that's it! I hope you enjoyed, and have a great morning/afternoon/evening/night!