Hello my fellow Naruto-freaks! This is another chapter that took a few drafts until I got it right, hope you enjoy! And can I also say I'm getting a lot of hits for this story, but not a lot of reviews :( Come on people! I know you can do better than that! Regardless, time to sit back and read a good old-fashioned ninja brawl
To those of you who don't know, I'm actually just a fan and have no ownership over the Naruto series whatsover...I know...shocking, isn't it?
To those unfortunate enough to enter within the visible plain of the battlefield, a sensation of the uncanny would course through their minds. What a spectacle to behold! All sense of logic would be fleeting in the ethereal display of energy that was being exhibited by unidentifiable forces.
To the untrained eye, a wave of scorching flames would invade all space across the hills, shrieks of pain echoing from the planet itself as the onslaught of fire purged the land beneath it. While monstrous roars of anger rushed through the land, savage geysers of water assaulted the sweeping flames.
To the untrained eye, the cataclysmic terror that would befall both senses of sight and sound were but the start of what would become horror beyond reckoning. Such was the drastic change in climate for the immediate area that nature itself was not one for hosting such a contest of strength. The ground beneath the forces of fire and water became repeatedly scorched, soaked, burned and softened within mere seconds, until the point where one subject would have to break in this cycle.
Said subject was the land. Erupting cries of rage where distinguishable from the now crumbling ground, as wildlife from afar where torn between base instincts and a sense of purpose; to watch the spectacle that had been laid for all to see – if any could indeed identify any visible force now that the thick clouds of smoke and wispy steam compounded with what was most certainly a demonic mist.
To the untrained eye, a storm of hatred and blood-lust had occupied a section of the hills, and was ready to expand. Quakes shuttered beneath the fragile crust of the world as far of the forests of the Fire Nation miles behind, and even quietened the raging storms of sand that surrounded Sunagakure.
To the untrained eye, it was a demonstration of the apocalypse. But Hanabi Hyuga wasn't untrained in eye-sight – it was her greatest asset as a ninja. From within the eye of the storm, Hanabi and the other 'spectators' were fortunate enough to still be situated on land that had yet been punished by these monstrous titans.
She had not taken her eyes off of the fight the entire time – how could she? As a member of the Hyuga Clan, Hanabi's level of knowledge and experience when it came to Jutsu was primarily linked with the Byakugan. She had always been informed of more theatrical displays of chakra manipulation, she was even aware of the properties and traits that went with each person's nature manipulation. At least, she thought she knew.
For someone with such clear eyesight, Hanabi accepted she had her eyes in the mud for a long time. Never would she comprehend a ninja battle could be so…visible. To her, what was beyond the naked eyesight was what always counted; a ninja should be quick, precise, and draw as little attention to them as possible. But what these two were displaying was on the opposite side of the spectrum. They didn't care who watched…because they knew no other Shinobi would even dare to think of crossing their paths at this stage. Hanabi thought she knew what power was…now she knew how wrong she was.
Suddenly a dreary silence consumed the land and humidity and heat from the flames began to take its toll on her other senses. Unbeknownst to her conscious she gripped the nearest thing to her, not once taking her eyes of the two she was watching. The thing she had gripped was Konohamaru's arm, still covering his head as he shivered in fear.
With the landscape still crumbling, Hanabi managed to catch audible breath inhaling and exhaling. It was the Mist ninja's – Kisame.
"Ah, y-you, ah, y-you little…w-coughweasel!" He managed to shout.
"What's wrong Kisame? It seems a little ironic for a shark to be out of breath, don't you think?" Was a callous reply deep within the fog of war the two missing-nin had created.
Hanabi could barely make out Itachi's figure, but his voice said it all. Unlike the dishevelled Kisame, Itachi was displaying no signs of fatigue, weakness or urge to surrender.
"Take your time, my friend. Sit down, have a drink." Gestured the voice as Kisame continued to grunt. Gazing at his sword, he'd yet to make any physical contact, and Itachi's continuous distance allowed him to maintain much of his own chakra. This was getting him nowhere.
"What would you like? Soda? Oh, what am I saying? You're a fish, have some water." Laughed Itachi, still within the fog.
"SHUT UP!" Roared Kisame lunging into the abyss before him.
Hanabi gasped at how stupid the Mist ninja could be; surely he knew that he was just being provoked into a trap.
"A little steamed up Kisame? How about some tea then? I'll boil it for you!" Was the rising cry from within the fog. Kisame could only get close before he and Hanabi saw what appeared to be the gates of hell opening, as flames as black as onyx tore through the landscape and enveloped their aquatic target.
"…this has become boring." Spoke Itachi's deranged remark in between Kisame's screams of anguish.
With each ear-piercing cry, Konohamaru couldn't even begin to contemplate what the man was going through. He would never admit it, but he felt his own mortality slipping from him as quickly as Kisame must have been. He never got to see Moegi and Udon again. He never got to tell them how important they were. He never looked up at the Hokage monuments one last time – never got to etch his face alongside theirs.
It was then that his grandfather's face flooded his mind. He'd never managed to say goodbye to him. He remembered crying so hard, how he had hated him in life and despaired over his passing. The insecurity that bellied his boisterous claims etched away at him during grandpa's passing, and intensified when Lady Hokage took command.
It was then that he also remembered who is grandfather was. Clutching at him in the rain, pleading with every ounce of strength in him not to leave for combat, Konohamaru learnt a lesson from Hiruzen Sarutobi that day. He fought, because he was the Hokage. He fought for the Leaf village. He fought for his family. His family made him strong.
Without realising it, his hands had slipped from the grip he had on his grandfather, and at the same time, he felt Hanabi's grip on his arm tighten, forcing him to finally open his eyes.
Konohamaru turned to see the torture before him. Itachi felt safe enough to walk out from the mist and to the crouching figure of his 'comrade', assuming victory. He was very wrong indeed.
"Hey…may need to get those eyes examined…" whispered the steaming body of Kisame as it dematerialised into liquid and dispersed across the ground as Itachi strained to turn before he heard it.
"…because I was behind you the whole time!" Another cry sliced through the silence. This time Itachi's. There was no time to dodge; a broad swing of Samehada had been enough to slice down the back of Itachi, shredding the skin as it did so. Crumbling like the ground beneath him, Itachi's only thought of condolence was that the attack had missed his spine. Turning as he fell, Itachi had produced shuriken and threw several to Kisame's face.
Lifting Samehada to block it, Kisame's rage had gotten the better of him.
"Damn!" He roared, as he glanced around, confirming his assumption that Itachi had used the second of invisibility behind Kisame's sword to again hide.
"Clones will do you no good, my friend. And on the subject of eyes, vision is only useful when you use it, rather than hiding behind that sword of yours."
"Again with the mocking! Your tongue is sharper than Orochimaru's when you want it to be!" Kisame composed himself by lifting his sword and carrying it on his shoulder.
"Hanabi!" Whispered a voice behind Hanabi.
Turning, she was half-surprised to see her partner had finally steeled himself to move. She was fully surprised however, when the arm he was gripping moved and his hand gripped her.
"Come on, these two don't care about us anymore. We've got to get us and the pickle-guy out of here!" He drastically urged.
"We can't! If we move, they'll see us, and they're both in a blood-thirsty mood already!" Hanabi turned back to see the fight.
"Hey! This isn't a show! We shouldn't be here! Come on and let's go!" He pulled her arm, causing her to tumble off balance. As she fell, he reached down and grabbed her shoulder. They were mere inches apart. Looking into her pearl-like eyes, he saw fear – yet he couldn't distinguish if it was hers, or the reflection of his. Nevertheless, he knew that the bravest thing he could do right now was to get as many people away from disaster as he could.
Hanabi wasn't all too prepared to follow suit. She wasn't even sure why; on one hand she felt totally insignificant next to the two colossal monsters before her, yet the awesome power they displayed compelled her to continue to watch. Not at all like the mundane arts of combat her father had employed, but more expressive, emotion incarnate. She wished she could do it too.
"Move it!" Konohamaru now shouted. He was right about the two not paying attention to them anymore. Clangs of weapons and the odd burst of flames were all he could see within the mist. Lifting her up from the crooked ground, Konohamaru had to drag her from the fight.
"Let go of me you idiot!" She shouted slapping him across the face.
"Ow! Idiot! You're the one that wants to stick around and be the desserts for whoever wins!" Konohamaru squared up to his partner, growling in a menacing manner.
Hanabi didn't back down for a moment, until her wild obsession with the fight subsided, and the sight of the elderly man awoke her responsibility.
"…Okay! We've got to move, now!" She nodded, running over and lifting him up on her shoulder, as Konohamaru also bore him.
Dragging him down the path away from the fight, Hanabi frequently turned – stating it was to ensure neither Akatsuki member persuaded, but in actuality it was so she managed to witness more images of elemental power.
Within minutes, the air became lighter and the two stopped to see the hill behind them was still shaking.
"If they keep that up any longer, that hill will erupt!" Konohamaru exclaimed turning and starting down the path.
"…yeah." Hanabi was still dazed from the battle and was slow on any response she gave to Konohamaru.
Within the smog of battle, Itachi halted in his assault long enough to note the retreat of the Genin and smirked.
"I've got a surprise for you, my friend…" He began, moving in the blink of an eye to his comrade's side, well within his eye-line.
"…it's called…Tsukuyomi!"
Dusk was fast approaching before the two Genin and their unconscious friend arrived at a small town. Gasping for breath, Konohamaru hadn't given himself a moment's rest since the fight he escaped from hours before.
Looking over at Hanabi, he noticed she too was feeling the strain of that encounter. Poor girl. That Mist ninja had threatened her, and he just sat there too petrified to do anything about it. He felt so ashamed at how late he was to react to the situation. He knew they were both ninja, but somehow he felt responsible – after all, this was her first real mission, and he couldn't help but feel it would be a lot smoother for her if he wasn't here.
"Hey, we can drop him off in that place." Hanabi's directions snapped him from his thoughts.
Nodding, Konohamaru noted that regardless of his contributions (or lack of) he was here and he'd be damned if he was gonna leave the mission now. Aiding Hanabi in carrying the man to the inn she had spotted, Konohamaru breathed a sigh of relief when they finally entered, much to the surprise of the elderly manager and her daughter.
"W-what is this!" She exclaimed seeing the two youngsters carrying the unconscious man.
"Please, we need to give him shelter. His cart was attacked by some bandits!" Konohamaru declared, opting to cover up the information that Akatsuki were operating in the area.
At the mention of bandits, Hanabi took a sharp inhale, only noticed by Konohamaru – the two women already moving across the room to help the old man.
Hanabi turned to Konohamaru and mouthed the words 'we need to talk'. She then threw on a face of modesty and concern as she confirmed Konohamaru's story, stating the two were simply passing by and found him, and that they thought his injuries were only minor.
"Don't worry, the town's doctor only lives a few doors down – we'll have him take a look at the poor man. Feel free to stay here for the night -" She was cut off by a groan from the old man.
"Thank…you…" He groaned, rubbing his forehead and struggling to stand.
"Please, sir, you need to rest." The daughter cried, walking the man to a chair.
"m-my cart…that was my livelihood…what happened to my cart?" He asked the two ninja.
"…it got smashed, sorry…" Hanabi confessed timidly.
He sighed and looked down, the daughter and the innkeeper comforting him.
Hanabi took this opportunity to turn towards Konohamaru again. Konohamaru nodded and led her out the inn.
"Where are they going?" The daughter asked.
"They probably want some time alone, young love…" the old man sighed.
Beyond the town borders, Hanabi felt a large tree was the best spot for the discussion. The two leapt up onto the branches.
"What is it? And why do we need to come all the way up here?" He asked, noticing Hanabi's choice in location had a lot to do with her being able to apply her Byakugan powers to the fullest.
"You're looking out to see if that Itachi and the shark-man will turn up?" He asked, suddenly going tense.
"…they're definitely a threat…say either of them survive that, there's good chance they'll want to silence us…but when it comes to being followed, I'm more concerned with someone else." She spoke ominously, not once stopping her survey of the land.
"Huh? Who?" He asked, taken aback by this new mystery threat.
"…I don't know, I only figured it out when you mentioned bandits." She confessed, and was also willing to look at Konohamaru this time. Upon reading his blank face she decided to continue.
"Those Hidden Leaf ninja, I take it you didn't notice anything about them?" She asked, a small grin etched at the corner of her mouth. Konohamaru looked away and frowned, it was bad enough that he chickened out back there, now queen Hyuga-Almighty was gonna hold that over him for a long time.
"Well anyway, I did – and so did that Uchiha guy."
"Well, I'm sorry I'm not a part of your 'magic eye' club, so why don't you explain." Konohamaru snapped.
Deciding to let that slip, Hanabi continued.
"He said they were under a Genjutsu before the fight broke out, right? Who put them under that? I also noticed how…weak they were. If they were real Konoha Shinobi then they'd have show a lot more skill than that. The last two seemed to just wait for death, mocking that swordsman to kill them…as if they wanted it."
Konohamaru was frowning again now, but more out of concern as to where this was heading.
"I also recognized their faces, but at the time I wasn't sure where from – I just assumed that since we're of the same village, I would have seen them in passing, but that's not it."
"Then, who where they?" Konohamaru asked, feeling impatient by all this dancing around the subject.
"They were those guys that attacked us in the Fire Nation." She declared, again looking out into the distance.
"…what!" Konohamaru cried.
"Yep, when you mentioned bandits, it made me think back. There's no doubt, those guys in Konoha clothes were the same ones that held you hostage."
"But then, how -"
"I don't know what happened," Answered Hanabi, shaking her head, "The Genjutsu placed over them obviously made them act like Konoha Shinobi, but the caster must have known he was sending them to the slaughter. Who put it on them? And why go after those two?"
The two mused for a moment. Then Konohamaru had a brain surge.
"One of them was Kisame right? He'd the suspect for the assassination attempt."
"So?" Hanabi asked in a derogatory manner, she knew that much already.
"Well…what if they were put under a Genjutsu, so as to wind him up." He suggested.
"Hehe, I don't think someone would go through all that trouble only to annoy him…I mean, get him mad enough and he'll trash the entire place…" Hanabi trailed off as she came to the same conclusion Konohamaru had.
"Wait…you don't think…the caster wanted him to think Leaf ninja were hunting him…so as to make him take on the Leaf Village?" She asked.
"That's what I heard him say afterwards 'If the Hidden Leaf wants us so bad, then I say we let them have their way'. Do you think there's any chance the culprit may have something to do with the assassination attempts? He could be making those two attack our ninja so as to make a diversion before he get's our Feudal lord." Konohamaru began hypothesising.
"…no. Firstly, we don't know if it's a he; statistics prove women are generally more proficient in Genjutsu." Hanabi retorted smugly.
"You're just trying to wind me up, aren't ya?" Konohamaru growled to the unflinching girl.
"Secondly! The culprit has to be someone within the Fire Nation. Those guys were either still beaten up by me -"
"By us!" Konohamaru interrupted.
"- or they were apprehended by Konoha. With the border patrol being so tight, there's no way the culprit would slip in and out of our lines without detection."
Konohamaru frowned again. Who was it then?
"Regardless…right now all we know is that there is someone trying to start a fight between our village and the Akatsuki, and if that Mist ninja wins the fight we left, they may just get their wish." Hanabi sighed ominously.
Staggering gasps were all that filled the air around the battlefield. In unison, the two Missing-nin collapsed.
Itachi lifted his head with extreme levels of pain, revealing dark crimson lines running down from his eyes. Looking back at him was the shaken face of Kisame.
"To think…I used that for three hours…and I thought Kakashi was strong-willed…" He sighed.
"Hahaha…You're…obviously losing your touch…I could take that all…over again…" bragged Kisame, using Samehada as a stand to help him off the ground.
"The problem with you…is that you always use that trick…on guys less deranged than yourself…the history in my head is more twisted than any torture you can imagine up Itachi…" Kisame was now slowly making his way over to his partner.
"Shut up and burn!" Itachi shouted, casting more flames to engulf his comrade.
Kisame's screams were this time genuine. True he was sturdier than either Hatake or Itachi's younger brother, but three natural hours inside Itachi's Genjutsu had had its toll on his will-power. This attack just compounded the pain he was already under.
"…as entertaining as this is, I've got to tell you guys that enough is enough." spoke another voice that startled the two.
Glancing over what was originally unturned land; now stud the Akatsuki's own personal Venus fly-trap.
"Z-Zetsu…" Itachi stammered.
"How long have you been there?" Kisame gasped, not noticing the flames dying away.
"About an hour. I thought about waking the two of you, but I have to admit I don't know what might've happened to your minds if I did so." He grinned.
"…What do you want?" Itachi groaned, finally managing to stand himself up.
"Leader has heard rumours along the grapevine – about Kisame trying and failing to knock over a land's Feudal lord. He wanted me to investigate. I come along this way and here you two are, kicking the shit out of each other both in the physical and mental plain. You mind telling me what you both were thinking?"
"Hey, who made you boss, messenger boy? I don't answer to you!" Kisame snapped.
"No, you don't seem to answer to anyone but that ego of yours, so you've no right to talk Kisame." Itachi interjected.
"If this is going to be a growing problem between the two of you…then I'm not sure what Leader will do to you both if he finds out. Are you going renegade on us?"
"No. As to the Feudal lord, we had nothing to do with that. We came to the conclusion it was someone idolising Kisame, or framing him. And as to this," Itachi gestured to the land, wiping the blood from his eyes as he did so, "I was trying to stop Kisame from waging open war on Konoha. I think Leader would appreciate that, don't you?" He was by far more polite than Kisame, but Zetsu could tell he was extremely angry.
"Konoha? We're to leave the Kyuubi until Leader says otherwise. Besides, with these assassination attempts, each nation is on a lockdown worse than what the Leader has on the Hidden Rain. Why Konoha?" Zetsu asked Kisame.
"We were attacked by several Leaf ninja, they said their top priority now was my head! If we walked away from this we'd have them breathing down our necks worse than ever. What if they sent Jiraiya next time? Confronting the problem is the quickest way to deal with and get back to finding the Tailed Beasts."
"No…the quickest way to finding the Tailed Beasts is to simply find them, not waste our time and energy on a feat currently beyond us. You say the Sannin may get involved? If there's a chance Jiraiya would pursue us, then it's a chance smaller than us running into him in the Fire Nation." Itachi sighed.
"You two fought…over this?" Zetsu mocked "Ha-ha, you're both thicker than Tobi! No more distractions, no more brawling. I really don't want to have to tell Leader about this…too much trouble for me…just get back on track or I will confess." Zetsu began disintegrating into the ground.
"…If you won't see my reasoning Kisame, you must see Leader's. Stop this, or he is going to get involved."
"…" Kisame remained silent.
"Kisame, did you hear me?" Itachi shouted.
Kisame lifted Samehada and began to walk away. Itachi stumbled forwards but in an instant Kisame had landed a haymaker on his face.
"…You've stuck your neck out for me a few times Itachi. I even consider us friends. But unlike you, I didn't join this organization to find shelter, I joined it on a whim. I followed it to gain power, not gain safety, or to blindly follow orders. I won't kill you here, but know if you follow me, I will. If you want your precious Jinjuriki go and find them. I'm after Konoha."
With that he turned and threw his clock to the ground, along with his ring, "I'm done with this organisation."
"This isn't just me you're betraying, Kisame. Leader, Konan and Deidara won't be so forgiving on your defection. It takes a ninja the calibre of Orochimaru to walk out on us and live…and if you're worried about Jiraiya like you are, then you're not of that level just yet." Itachi mocked from the floor.
"…whatever. I've got some killing to do." Kisame departed into the clear night, leaving a trail of mist as he went.
Having the Scourge of the Mist abandon his infamous band of Ninja - once a traitor, always a traitor, huh? Anyway, hope you've enjoyed your fill, and I'll be praying this chapter warrants some feedback (Good or Bad) from you guys. Keep on Reading :)