Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous.
~Chanakya
"That damn idiot!"
"He ran the other way." Kenpatchi said, looking over his shoulder.
"Of course he did."
"Then..why are we headed this way?"
"Because he's not our problem."
"Huh!" Kenpatchi looked back at the blonde, jaw dropped. Natsuki looked back at him, saw his expression, and groaned.
"Remember what we said to you when you joined us?"
"Yeah."
"What did we say to you?"
"Er..." Kenpatchi thought back. "Something 'bout proving myself."
"And proving that you could keep up." Natsuki said, her eyes now glued to the path ahead of them. The red light remained in their sight.
"The same goes for Sora. He's no different." Natsuki continued. "If he can't keep up, we're not going to bother with him. Why should we get lost in this damn place for his sake?"
"But I thought you said you need him."
"I said I needed him to get the Hayshigakure. Now I know how to get there and I don't need him." She continued. The light faded a little and she speed up just a bit to keep it close.
Kenpatchi followed just behind her.
"You know...if you ever fall behind, I'd go back for you."
The snow missing-nin almost stopped and for just that moment there was some color on her pale skin. "...er...thank you."
"Mm-hm." The other shinobi passed her, grinning a little.
Natsuki groaned again.
"Fucking mud; fucking swamp; fuckin' swamp water; Fuck it all!" Sora shouted. He wiped some sludge off his face with his sleeve and waded through the thick waters.
He believed anyplace would be better at the moment. The shitty Kumogakure; The freezing Yukigakure; The never ending rain of Amegakure; Anywhere that didn't have a swamp!
He felt something rub against his leg and a chill went up his spine. That felt almost nothing like a fish. He went faster.
There was a tree shooting out of the waters just a couple feet away from him. If he could get there, he would grab it's low branches and pull himself out of there. He made his way over and reached to grab it. His gloved hand wrapped around it and he began to pull himself up.
The water below splashed around furiously. A flat, scaled head shot out and closed it's jaws around Sora's right, free hand. Sora yelled out and tried to shake free. The one holding him, a giant alligator, held firmly. The sleeve ripped, but the metal arm couldn't tear. Sora reached to his side and whipped out his katana. He swung it at the gator's face.
The reptile screeched, hissing harshly. It's eyes were hit by the blade edge and the blinded gator opened his jaw and retreated.
Before it could get back in the water, Sora flung out three wired kunai. They stuck into the gator's head and killed it. The green body sunk into the water. Sora took a few deep breathes and pulled the kunai back into the arm.
No damage done. He started climbing. "Damn, I got to get out of this place!"
"Is it just me, or is the light getting dimmer?"
"It's just because it's getting late." Natsuki assured. "It's not going to be a problem. Besides, they'll notice soon and relight it."
On Kenpatchi's back, his lizard dug it's claws tighter into the shirt. "O-ow. Stop stabbing me."
Natsuki rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry!" Kenpatchi said quickly when he noticed. "It doesn't like swamps. Komodo Dragons like warm, dry areas."
"Then why did you bring it then? It won't be needed."
The lizard clawed at Kenpatchi more, bumping it's head into his.
"Cause some thing's bothering him."
"Like how it's cold and we-"
SCCCRRREEEEEEEEEEE
Something shot out of trees barely giving them enough time time to dodge. Kenpatchi got on a tree branch, lizard clinging to his back. Natsuki landed on her feet, but slid on the mud and feel just below Kenpatchi.
"Actually I think that was bothering him."
Natsuki wanted to hit him for such and obvious and stupid comment, but stared ahead eyes wide. The thing slivered around and glared with it's large white head.
She was staring at a giant snake. Maybe not giant, she was sure there were some much, much bigger in the summoning world, but it seemed large as hell at the moment. Twenty, twenty-five or so feet long, with a head that would go up almost to her waist in height. It's eyes were a fiery orange and glared so hard they seemed to glow.
A memory of data flowed back to her from her days as a little girl. Studying foreign animals that couldn't survive their cold. Snakes could dislocate their jaw to eat their prey. They would stretch their jaws open to eat things multiple times bigger than them.
She shook the flashback from her head and summoned her puppet. The dog served as armor. She flicked her fingers and backed herself against the tree. The metal got in front of her. The torso area directly in front, head on top almost a helmet, the limbs locked at the sides to cover any open spots.
A second later her ears rung from the clang of metal as the snakes head clashed with her shield.
Kenpatchi jumped down from the branch, landing on the snake. It hissed and snapped helplessly trying to bite it's attacker. The guy on top got off. As the snake charged, he ducked and it went flying over him.
Natsuki undid her sheild. "Get it upside down." She ordered, making her dog puppet charge into the battle from the distance.
Kenpatchi dodged the jaws as they were extending. The beast looked even bigger now. It's jaw was barely hooked and was bitting down rapidly. A large fang scratched down the shinobi's sleeve, but nothing else could do much damage.
As the snake brought it's head up to strike down again, he whipped out one of the umbrella's on his back.
"Umbrella?" A younger, almost genin, Kenpatchi whined. He held the white object in his hands, giving his dad a disappointed look. "You promised me a really cool weapon that few people ever used."
"Not all weapons are blades Kenpatchi-kun." His father said calmly. "What did sensei say when you had your charka tested?"
"He said it was really strong?"
"And."
"Er...oh yeah! He said I was a wind-type user!"
"Do you know what that means?"
"That jutsu that use wind will be stronger for me, right?"
"And easier for you to learn." The clan head nodded.
"It'll also give you a slight advantage over your cousins." His mother noted, watching her two strong shinobi from the porch. "A wind type user is very rare for a Tokage."
"Your mother's right." Nori Tokage agreed. "Usually it's fire or earth type charkra in our clan. Every once in a while they'll be an odd one with lighting or even water in the genetics work that way. But almost never is one wind. I've never seen anyone before you with chakra like this."
It wasn't parental exaggeration ether. Though Kenpatchi couldn't fully understand, the genetics he had gotten were rare enough for Nori to doubt his wife's commitment to him for a moment. However he also had the Tokagehitomi (lizard eye), making it impossible for him to be the son of anyone but a clan member- and he looked strongly like Nori himself- and the thought was quickly disposed of.
"That's really cool and all, but how's an umbrella going to help me fight. Why can't I get a wind blade or something?"
Nori stood up and Kenpatchi followed example. "I'm going to test something. Remember the jutsu sensei taught you?"
"I-it was...er...Fūton: Kazekiri (Wind Release: Wind Cutter)."
"Okay. That will work." He broke the branch off a nearby tree. "Now I want you to remember the jutsu and focus it on that branch."
"Okay."
Kenpatchi brought his hands together to make the handsigns but his dad put his hands on his and stopped him. "No handsigns. You'll use the umbrella."
"What?"
"Listen carefully. Focus your chakra into the umbrella. Think of the jutsu and swing it forward."
Kenpatchi raised an eyebrow at his dad.
"Just do it."
The kid sighed.
He held the tool behind him and in one quick movement swung it forward
The umbrella opened up automatically as it was swung. It gathered air and focused it in milliseconds. A huge tornado-like gust of wind spiraled out.
The snake was thrown back from the force. It landed upside down. As it began to roll over, Natsuki's canine puppet jumped onto of it and pinned it down. It's cord of a tail swooshed back in forth in the air for a bit. The control's finger's moved, bringing the hooked in down.
The large hook ripped down into the soft snake belly. There was a high pitched, sicking screech as the hook ripped a straight line down it. The hook went up to the snake's neck before shooting out, dyed red with bits of gut dangling loosely from it. The monster's eyes paled.
"It's dead." Kenpatchi grinned.
"Of course it is." Natsuki walked toward him and moved the puppet closer to herself.
Up in the tree, the komodo dragon swung it's tail back in froth nervously. "Is something wrong with it?" Natsuki asked.
Kenpatchi flicked his tongue in and out a few times, talking. Then he said, "It thinks our dead snake had a friend."
"Friend?"
Something rustled through the swamp.
"Shit." The kunoichi muttered and held her puppet up to shield herself.
The blow came quick and knocked her down on her back a few feet away.
This snake was even bigger. Twice as big as the first at least. It could have been the mother never mind the snake's 'friend'.
The snake hissed and moved its head back. The jaw opened wide, reveling sharp fangs.
"Suki-chan!" Kenpatchi jumped in front of her. His eyes turned bright with the Kekkei Genkai and his hands glows with chakra. He clapped his hands together.
"Fūton: Reppūshō (Wind Release: Violent Wind Palm)!"
Air came streaming from his fingers at the force of clap. Green chakra flowed with it. The Tokagehitomi rapidly accelerated the flow of chakra in his body. It came out like fire, shooting across the wind that came from the justu.
The snake couldn't even hiss in pain. The burning chakra went inside the mouth, eating away the flesh from the inside out. The pressure built up.
Just before it reached them, it exploded.
Holes appeared in random parts of the pale body, blood pouring out of them. The head was completely blown off, not even a few skull fragments.
Kenpatchi was covered in blood, mud, and shit he didn't even know what it was.
He looked himself up and down, looked at the snake ahead of him and the damage done to it.
A smile cracked on his face and he did the only thing he could think of. He laughed.
Outside Hayashigakure, guards stood at their posts. Each one a skilled archer, looking alert on and on duty. Each also wore the same dark green coat with the hood covering any view of the face.
The captain walked behind them, observing them silently. He peeked over the gates.
The guards were there to see who had the sign and who didn't. Anyone not carrying the red lantern would be shot down on sight. No risks will be taken; there would be no exceptions.
One of the guards drew his bow and the two beside him did the same and aimed.
"Sir. One with no signal. Will fire on command."
The captain gazed lazily over the edge. It was uncommon, but there had been cases where an animal had been mistaken for human and that was a pointless waste of arrows.
He saw the human coming, a teenager. His mouth opened to give the order, but he stopped.
There was something on the arm, he could just barely see. Armor.
Could it be?
No, to say he knew him personally would be a stupid thing to say. Instead he said, "See that gleam there? It's caked by mud a little, but it's metal armor. Your arrows will have no effect."
"Shall we use the armor piercing ones then, sir?"
The captain gripped the rail on the very edge of the bridge. The sleeves of his coat slipped at little, showing scars of multiple cuts.
"No. I'll take care of him. Carry on without me." He grabbed a red lantern for safety and jumped straight down from the top of the wall. The air blew his dark green hair all over his face, blinding him slightly. He didn't care.
Long time since you've been here, Zealot.