Yo!!! Sorry about things. Laptop issues is partly to blame, but mostly my wandering mind is to blame. Hopefully I will get into a good swing of things, and update more often.

Chapter 17: The Fight to Survive.

"Shit! What did they do to you, Kasumi!?" Tyson yelled, as she held her stance. "Don't make me do this….I don't want to hurt you…" Tyson said. Kasumi then shot after him, and Tyson blocked her punch.

"Ng. This is bad…" Tyson muttered, as Kasumi shot back, and then disappeared. "!? When did she get to be this fast?" Tyson muttered silently. He then turned with rapid reflexes to block one punch, and was immediately kicked in the gut. Kasumi launched him in the air, and followed with fast kicks to his gut, along with a final axe kick sending him back to the ground. Tyson landed on his back, and got back to his feet. (That hurt….quite a bit…) Tyson thought, as he sneered. "Then you leave me no choice."

(Underground Arena)

Lee hopped into the air as the giant wave of Aparoids charged him. He landed on one, and kicked it, knocking a pile of them away and used Leaf Hurricane to bust into another one, knocking him away as well. Lee landed, and began punching and kicking his way through the army, as they continued to use their massive numbers to try and overtake him.

Lee then hopped into the air, and ripped his leg warmers off, and threw the various weights into the army, leaving small craters all over the place. When the dust landed, Lee stood in the middle, with nunchucks in his hand, smirking. "I am sorry, but I do not have time to waste with you guys. I need to find Gai-Sensei and the others!!" Lee said.

(Orange Base Control Room)

Gai stood in his stance, while Orange smirked darkly. "You aren't going to win. This entire world is going to be under my master's domain." Orange said. "Hm. I would doubt that. The ninja of this world are not to be trifled with." Gai said, as Orange summoned his Zweihander.

"Well my friend. You aren't going to be beating me because I need to find my protégé!" Gai said. "Enough talk, freak. Let's fight!" Orange said, as he shot forward, and swung his blade. Gai ducked under the attack, and was about to punch at Orange, but after Orange swung his sword, he twisted, and slammed his foot into Gai. Gai hit the wall hard, and grit his teeth. (That was a strong strike…) Gai said, as Orange smirked. "You need to put more effort into this fight, Green Beast."

(Tyson)

Tyson slid back after a particularly vicious strike, and he charged her again. Kasumi dodged his attacks again, and kicked him once again in the face, and he flew back into the wall. (Damnit!) Tyson thought, as he spit some blood out. (I'm trying to pull my punches so I don't hurt Kasumi, and she just matches me and counter attacks. I'm getting worn quicker than she is…) Tyson thought, as Kasumi held her stance.

Tyson was grateful that Orange wasn't boasting about how badly he was getting his ass kicked, but from the fight sounds coming from the speakers, it sounded like Orange was dealing with someone. "Kasumi! Knock it off! I don't want to hurt you!" Tyson said, as Kasumi just stared blankly at him. "Ng…this isn't working…" Tyson muttered to himself.

(Underground Arena)

Lee began whipping and swinging his nunchucks around, hitting the Aparoids that were trying to attack him. They had massive numbers, and the only advantage they had was that Lee couldn't possibly go like this forever.

Lee twisted and swung his weapons with masterful skill that would have made his sensei proud, but Lee isn't Gai, and he was slowly beginning to tire. Lee combined his two nunchuk and turned them into a Bo Staff and began beating the Aparoids back, as they continued their assault upon him. "They don't seem to be letting up in numbers…" Lee said, as he continued beating them back.

(Control Area)

Gai flew back from an intense swing of the zweihander that Orange had, and hit the wall pretty hard. "So Green Beast. Is that all there is to your power?" Orange said, and Gai frowned. "I don't have any more time to be wasting with you." Gai said, as he stood up. Orange didn't expct anything to happen, so when the ground around Gai began to shake and rumble, he was surprised.

(What the?) Orange said. "Second Gate, Open!" Orange looked to Gai, and saw a green power shooting off of him. "The Third Gate: Gate of Life: Open!" Gai said, and the power blasting off of him began to increase. His eyes turned white, and his chakra blasted off of him in waves. "The Fourth Gate: Gate of Pain: Open!!" Gai yelled, and his skin turned red, and the veins in his head began to bulge a little.

"What the hell!?" Orange said. (This output of power! It's unreal!!) Orange thought to himself. "The Fifth Gate: GATE OF LIFE: OPEN!!!!!" Gai yelled, and gold energy blasted off of him as the green chakra fused with it. "No way!!" Orange yelled, and Gai just disappeared.

"!?" Orange then felt it. Gai clocked him so had in the face, and he flew into the air. He shot into the sky, blasting out of the base. "Ng!?" Orange was dizzy, confused, and in a ton of pain. And when Gai appeared right below him, he knew he was also in a ton of trouble.

"Now!" Gai grabbed him in the back, and begun spinning very fast. "Eat this! Flashing Lotus!" Gai yelled, throwing Orange dead into the ground. He hit the ground in less than 2 seconds, and not a second too soon Gai landed right on him, and flashed right off of him.

(That…that…) Orange was speechless, as he laid on the ground in pain. Gai powered down, and immediately fell to the ground, in intense pain. "Ng…" The power of the Inner Gates drained all of Gai's energy and he could feel his muscles spasming in pain.

"Lee….I need….to find….Lee…." Gai said, as he tried to move, and found it hard to do. "You….bastard…" Gai's eyes widened. He couldn't turn to see, but he knew from that voice that Orange was still alive. "…That was….powerful….but I triumph…." Orange said, as he forced himself to his feet with his Zweihander. "You are going to die for that!!" Orange said, moving shakily to stab Gai.

Gai thought he was going to die. Orange thought he finally had him. So one right hook later, Orange was leveled into a wall, dead. "Damn turtle. Imma be the one to kill you." Tyson saved him, and Gai chuckled in pain. "My youthful friend…how are you here?" Gai asked.

"Che. I had to knock Kasumi out the hard way. But it's good that I take her out quickly…I've used up all my seals to ensure I was fast enough to knock her out and get here at the same time." Tyson said, as his power waned. "And now I'm outta chakra…" Tyson said, as he passed out next to Gai.

Lee ran into the room looking worse for wear after his grueling Ironman Fight. He was surprised to see everyone else on the ground. "Gai-sensei! What happened!?" Lee yelled, running to them. "I won my fight….Tyson is out cold, and the girl is over there…" Gai said, and Lee nodded.

"I am going to wake her up! She seems the least banged up!" Lee said, as he ran over to her. Lee managed to wake the girl after a few seconds, and she was surprised at Tyson's and Gai's condition. "What the!? What happened to them!?" Kasumi asked, as she began to heal Gai.

"I was forced to use my Inner Gates…" Gai said, and Lee's eyes widened. "What!? You used the gates, Gai-sensei?" Lee yelled. "I had no choice…he was a most powerful opponent…" Gai said. "Your wounds are purely physical. Tyson looks fine, but he's out cold. His chakra must be drained…" Kasumi said.

"We have won, my youthful flower!" Lee said. "Hm. We did…" Kasumi said. (But I don't remember when we began to fight against them.) Kasumi thought to herself. (Maybe Tyson can explain it to me when he wakes up.)

ShadowRonin: Another chapter under the belt, and ol Ronin goes to the board to figure out how he wants this to proceed.

Next Chapter: Neji and Shino, accompanied by Hanabi, Kai, and Tenten proceed to the Yello Fortress to save the Hyuugas. Will they make it out alive? Find out on:

Chapter 18: Assault On Yellow: Deception.