Hey! It's finally here; after over two years of hiatus, the next installment in "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire" finally came. Sorry to have kept you waiting. But, on a plus side, if there's gonna be interest in the tale, I'll do my best to update it more regulary. Basically, if you have waited (or you're a new reader and like the story), review so that I'd know this story is worth continuing.
The chapter itself is a bit shorter then normal installments of the series, but oh well, I'll try to do better next time. Now, since I already made you wait so long, without more of my ranting, here's the newest chapter of "Those…"
Chapter #13: Best Laid Plans…
Title Page: a paper exam; Naraku is leaned over his sheet, panic written all over his face, next to him sits Toramaru with feet on the desk and hands behind his head as he already finished his, while further to the young Uchiha's right Buryaku is sleeping, her test under her head
A tall, pale-skinned man walked into the cavern, filled with tubes on both sides. The cave went down like a corridor, few lamps hanging from the ceiling every several meters being the only source of light. The arrival scanned the area with his serpent-like eyes, settling the pupils on a man with silver haired and glasses who came to greet him.
Upon reaching the tall figure, the other man bowed respectfully: "Welcome, Orochimaru-sama… we've been expecting you" he began, but a harsh, yet surprisingly calm voice that came from the visitor instantly made his words freeze in his throat: "I'm not here for sight-seeing, Kabuto… tell me…"
The white-haired nodded, quickly grabbing his clipboard as he led the man through the dark hallway. The guide pointed at the tube, filled with green liquid as they walked. Each of the containers held a humanoid figure, floating within, most likely in suspended animation: "Tube number 63; body rejects alien cells, making mixture impossible… a failure. Tube number 64; subject exhibits skeleton degeneration… a failure. Tube number 65; subject's bone prove to be weakened… failure. Tubes number 66 and 67; subjects organism are incapable of adapting, the execution of the experiment would end their life… both a failure. Tube number 68; another skeleton degeneration… fai…" but just then the pale-skinned man interrupted him, obviously losing his patience: "Do you have anything interesting for me, Kabuto?"
At that the glasses-wearing man allowed himself to gulp quietly as he quickened the pace, passing by more tubes without a word. Finally he came to a stop at another container, making Orochimaru gaze at the figure inside with an amused look, while Kabuto spoke again: "Tube number 81; subject's chakra managed to combine with the bones, strengthening them. The body's healing factor still leaves few things to be desired, however it's getting there… and it's nothing a little medicine can't fix. Ultimately, this one can be considered a success…"
"Success" the tall man repeated with a smirk, nearing his face to the glass. "Excellent. What is his name?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at his second-in-command. The silver-haired ninja only adjusted his glasses, looking at his clipboard once more: "We do not know… he's a shinobi captured during one of our… recruitment raids. He became part of the project immediately after…"
"That's not good" announced the snake Sannin wickedly. "He's a success… he deserves to have a name" he went on, humming to himself as he played with his lip. Finally his smirk widen as he pushed his face against the glass: "From now on, your name will be Hakkotsu…"
-Flashback end-
"Best prepare yourself, Hakkotsu" Teigo announced, cutting his left thumb with a kunai. "In only a moment… I'll unleash hell" and with that he went through a quick set of hand seals, slamming his palm to the ground and twisting it in a circle. In a flash stone spikes shot up from around the white-haired man, each aiming to pierce right through him.
Acting on instinct, Hakkotsu struck his 'spear' to the ground and jumped into the air, landing on the top of his weapon, while the spikes collide beneath. With one, smooth motion, he jumped forward, ripping the spine from the ground and somersaulting a few times, he brought his blade down on Teigo, forcing the former sound-nin to jump back.
The instant his feet touched the ground, the white-haired man held out his left hand, making small bones shot out from the tips of his fingers, going straight at the masked jounin. Incapable of dodging in time, Teigo covered himself with his melody arm, blocking the assault, but Hakkotsu didn't waste time and was already swinging his spear at his feet. Seeing this, the leaf-nin jumped over the attack, making the swept miss its target.
Immediately the bone user struck the tip of his weapon in the ground again and used it to spring forward at high speed, throwing a kick to Teigo's face, which the former sound-nin caught with his left hand. Feeling his leg immobilized, Hakkotsu put another in motion, this time going for his opponent's stomach, but to no avail as the masked jounin threw this assault off course by tapping it from above with his free hand and using it to prop his own body up to launch a kick of his own.
At this maneuver, Hakkotsu quickly switched hands and now holding his 'spear' with the left, he held out his right one, making bone bullets shot out from it, hitting Teigo in the chest from point blank range, sheer impact throwing the former sound-nin back a few meters.
Coming to a sliding stop, the masked jounin once more twisted his hand, his eyes rising to meet the charging form of the white-haired man. With a quick thrust, Hakkotsu tried to pierce his adversary's chest, but Teigo managed to side-step it in the last moment, swinging his melody arm at the bone user's face, forcing him to bend back.
As the attack went before his face, Hakkotsu's body shook, his vision getting blurry: "Shit, he got me!" he cursed, flipping back a few times to gain more distance. As he came to a stop, landing on his feet, he felt his balance disappearing. The bone user managed to remain on his feet, while a short, intense headache hit him, forcing a twitch of his eye.
"Not strong enough, it would seem" Teigo narrowed his eyes, inspecting his opponent's reaction. "Apparently he somehow trained his senses to limit the effects of my attacks to minimum. Surely this'll make it more difficult then I have anticipated. Two more…"
"It's getting truly annoying having to fight you this way" the white-haired man announced, a few drops of sweat appearing on his face from the fatigue. "It's somewhat disgraceful having to use this against you, but I cannot allow myself to be bested by the likes of you. Let me show you just how many things have changed since you left" and with that proclamation, he uncovered the top of his shirt, sliding a finger on the top of his torso, leaving a string of blood behind it.
"That bastard!" the masked jounin cursed in his mind. "Using that at this time…"
But Hakkotsu didn't care, he just clapped his hands together in a quick seal and with a wicked smirk, he spoke up: "First seal… open!" and in a flash the ground beneath his feet cracked while air currents surrounded his body. A loud whistle filled the air as Teigo felt as if he was being sucked into a vortex: "Such chakra release… this is insane! With just one seal he gets that much effect? I can't fight that… not without opening my own, but if I do… damn it all!"
"What, scared already?" the white-haired man asked amused. "I really thought you were made of sterner stuff. Observe the power your threw away! This is the strength Orochimaru-sama gives to those you are loyal to him!"
"No" the masked jounin responded with his eyes narrowed. "That is the power Orochimaru gives to his pawn to keep them in check. You're too blind to realize the aftereffects of the process… but I know them… I was subject zero after all… I was his favorite…"
Those words seemed to agitate the bone user who immediately grabbed his spine and charged again at the speed far greater then before. Teigo dodged to the left, yet the tip of the spear still managed to scourge his side, ripping some flesh with pain blasting through the former sound-nin's body.
Without delay he reached to his hostel, tossing several shuriken at the assailant's face at point-blank range, but before the shinobi stars connected, another bone shoot up from Hakkotsu's right arm, blocking the assault while the white-haired man grabbed it and spinning on his foot aimed to cut his opponent's chest with it.
Teigo reacted just in time, jumping over the attack, but his eyes widen as his adversary struck the tip of his spear into the ground, coming to abrupt stop. In a flash Hakkotsu threw his right leg up, kicking the masked jounin right in the gut when he was still in mid-air. The former sound-nin was send flying back and flipping in the air, barely landing on his feet as he propped himself with his hand, twisting it a bit.
"Can't keep up?" the white-haired man asked with a note of satisfaction in his voice.
Meanwhile Teigo merely narrowed his eyes, glancing at his hand that still rested on the ground: "One more…"
-Back to the three gennin-
Yobiko's giant blade cut through the air horizontally, slicing all the clones that came within range. But the instant the chopper came to a stop, more bunshin attacked, each with a kunai in its hand. With the enemy charging from all sides, including falling from above, the sound-nin found himself trapped with nowhere to run.
In a flash he pointed one of his choppers down and pushed, making the huge blade dig into the ground. A moment later invisible force blasted the incoming Narakus away, leaving a small crater around the place the man stood with a smirk on his face.
"He used the ground as a deflector to make the sound wave spread quicker" the young Uchiha noted, sweat dripping down his face. "Dammit, with those choppers even if I create more clones, he still has enough range to defend himself from all sides at once… and those sounds of his can nullify the Grand Fireball… what can I do then?"
"Hakke Kuushou!" came a sudden yell that forced Yobiko to spin on his heel and hide himself behind the weapon merely milliseconds before a impact hit the blade, making the man slide a few inches back. His face twisted in anger as he prepared to counter, only to see the blond boy coming right at him with palms ready.
As the attack came, the sound-nin blocked once more with the flat side of his chopper, stopping the white-eyed gennin's right arm. Toramaru didn't waste a second though and quickly pushed himself of the weapon, putting his body into a spin. As he located himself behind the jounin, his left hand went into motion, aiming right at the man's spine.
With a flip back, Yobiko somersaulted over the son of Hokage, landing to face the preteen's back. Immediately he swung both his choppers horizontally in the attempt to catch the boy in between, splitting him into three pieces. The assault was stopped inches away from the blond's body as chakra surrounded it, pressing against the blades.
"Hakke Shou Kaiten!" the white-eyed ninja called out, tossing the blades to the sides and thus leaving the sound-nin wide open. Naraku took that chance, jumping into the air and unleashing a barrage of kunai and shuriken, all of which went at the man's chest.
As the projectiles came closer, Yobiko twisted his wrists, spinning the choppers in his grip, immediately unleashing a whistling sound. Once the noise strengthened, all the knives and shinobi stars got blasted away by the barrier. His eyes widen however as in the meantime Toramaru spun around, placing his body into a new stance: "Jyuken po Hakke! Rokujuyonsho!"
Before the sound-nin could react, the blond already landed two blows upon him with a wild call: "Nisho!" Pain surged through the man's body as he felt his chakra getting blocked within. "Yonsho!" came a cry and two more hits connected, pushing the chopper wielder a bit back, unleashing a new wave of discomfort.
"Hassho! Jurokusho! Sanjunisho! Rokujuyonsho!" the attacks kept getting faster, bombarding every inch of Yobiko's figure, each aimed with deadly precision. Once Toramaru was done, the sound-nin was send flying back, crashing hard against a tree few meters back. As the smash echoed however, the man's body turned into a wooden pale, much to the white-eyed boy's dismal: "Shit, he managed a Kawarimi!"
"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu!" came his opponent's voice from beneath as a hand suddenly shoot from the ground, grabbing him by the ankle. Within a blink of an eye the two switched places, the white-eyed preteen's head being the only part of his body above the ground.
Instantly Yobiko reached for his choppers, ready to pierce the young gennin's face, yet he froze with his arm raised as once more he got surrounded by Naraku's clones that formed a circle around him: "Is that really the best you can think of?" he asked with a bored tone. "I'd imagine we already established this is pointless…"
"Hey, I don't tell you how to fight!" the young Uchiha pointed his finger at the man annoyed, whose eye only twitched as he shrugged, placing his choppers in position. Immediately after the gennin attacked, kunai glittering in hand.
The first clone came from behind, jumping up to the level of Yobiko's head, aiming to stab it. This one was easily dispelled as the sound-nin simply threw his elbow back, smashing the bunshin's face. As a 'puff' echoed in the air, another appeared, running near the ground, with a thrust to the man's right side.
Also this was prevented as Yobiko swung his, other hand, making the tip of the chopper scourge the ground, splitting the clone in two from below. Another explosion of white smoke occurred while the third assailant dropped from the sky, getting his knife blocked by the massive blade, making the bunshin freeze in mid-air.
To the sound-nin's surprise, fourth attacked came through the smokescreen on his right in the attempt to ram him. Letting his instinct take action, the man spun around, dodging the assault from point-blank range and cutting Naraku's back from behind, while smashing the hilt of his, other chopper into the chest of the airborne one, dispelling also that one.
"I need to watch out" he reminded himself, kneeing the fifth boy that came his way. "That brat might be just stupid enough to attack with his real body and if I kill him, the master will rip my skin off for that… failure is not accepted, especially now that the ritual is this close…" he added, throwing a kick to the side at the next replica.
This clone though managed to duck under the assault and grabbed the man's leg, stopping him in his tracks. Three, more bunshin instantly came from all sides, each stabbing at their target, making it impossible to block all the kunai.
With no, other option, Yobiko blocked the knives on his sides, head-butting the replica out front from above, dispelling it before its weapon connected. With this he swung his choppers, tossing the two clones pushing against them back and jumped, throwing a kick to the Naraku holding him, hitting his face hard.
The raven-haired gennin flew back, disappearing in the cloud of white smoke before hitting the ground. The sound-nin did not had time to breath as other clones kept charging, swinging their kunai from all sides. The older ninja danced around the horde of enemies, managing to block all of them, landing both punches and kicks, decreasing Naraku's numbers in a concert of puffs as more smoke embraced the chopper wielder.
With another spin, Yobiko rammed the hilt of his weapon into the stomach of the bunshin that came from behind, already shifting his gaze to the replica that attacked his left. His eyes widen however as they returned to look at the place he just dispelled one of Narakus, seeing a shadow of the raven-haired boy extending, coming straight for him.
His instincts kicked in before he could think, making the sound-nin jump back, away from the shade, yet as he came flying at more clones, their shadows too stretched, aiming to pierce his own. At this the Oto ninja cursed, coming to a sudden stop and strafe right, ramming the closest replica. In a flash the shadows of the surviving bunshin that stood closest mimicked the previous, going after the man.
"With this many clones and shadows they cast, the range and possibilities of my Kagemane are endless" Buryaku thought to herself as she held her hands in the right seal. "As is, there's nowhere for you to run… as long as Naraku manages to hold out the technique, you'll mine!"
"Shitty brats!" Yobiko cursed, switching directions again as shades began circling around him, uniting the shadows of replicas that now had him trapped. "That blond brat attacking was just a distraction to let the hag rely the plan to the Uchiha! That massive Kage Bunshin was solemnly to extend the shadows in the area, making those clones surround me! They kept attacking so I wouldn't notice! I can't even use a jump, since my shadow will still be present and I'll get caught anyway! For the bitch to catch me is nothing more then a matter of time!"
"Looks like he figured it out" Toramaru smirked to himself, his body still trapped below ground as he observed the scene with his Byakugan. "We win!"
The sound-nin narrowed his eyes as the shadows close in on him from all sides, leaving no escape route. With a frown he quickly went through a set of hand seals, slamming his palms to the ground with the last symbol: "Doton: Sakuganki!" he spat out, having his body get instantly sucked below ground.
In a blink of an eye he jumped out through the rocks, appearing right behind Buryaku. The kunoichi only managed to cover her eyes, waiting for the blow, but in stead her ears got filled with a loud 'clang'. As the girl slowly dared to look, she saw a mysterious figure standing right before her, clad in an armor of rocks.
Massive stones covered nearly every inch of the figure's body, leaving only a small visor on the face for the eyes, which now gave the impression of shining. The formation around the head consisted of several, spiky rocks, pointing to the sides and up, almost like a crown. The arrival held his arm high, blocking Yobiko's chopper with it.
"One nuisance after another" the sound user frowned with a stoic face. "But you are certainly not the instructor of these brats, so where the hell have you come from?" he asked calmly, noting that even as he pressed on, the man didn't budge.
"Ishino Ganjou" came a husky voice from behind the stones. "And there's really no need for you to know more, since I'll be killing you in just a moment" at that statement the figure's free hand flickered, making Buryaku's eyes widen in surprise: "Single-handed?"
"Doton: Ishi Gooremu no Jutsu!"
-a mysterious arrival… and the outcome?-
And with that the chapter is complete. Hope you found it worth waiting for and please drop a review before going. It'll help me establish if the story is worth continuing. Also, below, I give you the jutsu translations. The usual jutsu encyclopedia will return (if there'll be popular demand) next time:
Hakke Kuushou (Eight Trigram: Empty Palm)
Hakke Shou Kaiten (Eight Trigrams Heavenly Spin)
Jyuken po Hakke Rokujuyonsho (Gentle Fist: Sixty-Four Palms)
Doton: Shinjuu Zanshuu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Skill)
Doton: Sakuganki (Earth Release: Rock Drill)
Doton: Ishi Gooremu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Stone Golem Skill)
And that's that for now. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and that you'll review. Thanks for tuning in and have a great day!