Necessity is the mother of invention.
-Aesop
Chapter 40: Mother of Invention
Lee glanced over at the man running beside him. Kakashi hadn't said a word since they had left the grandstands. He hadn't told Lee where they were going, nor had he told him what happened. When Lee had seen Genma's body on the ground, he had assumed that Genma had been killed by one of the rebels. The chilling glare he had been sent in return had changed his mind. Lee sped across the streets as Kakashi shunshined every few steps. He was worried about Kakashi, but he didn't know what he could say to make the man feel better. He didn't know if there even was anything to say. Someone had died, and nothing could change that.
Lee bit his lip and sent another nervous look over towards Kakashi. He opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off as a large explosion erupted in the distance. The pair skidded to a stop as a large dust cloud billowed up into the air. "We're going that way," Kakashi said simply, nodding towards the cloud.
"Wait, what?" Lee exclaimed, but Kakashi was already gone. Lee stood there for a second before saying, "This must be the renewal of Kakashi-sensei's youthfulness! I cannot let him down!" Lee took off after Kakashi, who had already made his way out of the city gates. Lee briefly wondered if another country had chosen to attack them at the same time as the rebellion, but his worries were slightly sated when he only saw three people fighting. What didn't sate his fears was the fact that they were fighting in a huge crater, and that Lee distinctly remembered there being more trees in the clearing than there were now.
Lee yelped as a man came flying towards him, and he dropped to the ground as the man slammed into the tree beside him. "Geez. And I thought that the younger generation was supposed to help me in my old age." Jiraiya got up from the ground and gave an "ah" of surprise. "Hatake-kun, Lee-san, hello. You've come awfully late, haven't you? The party already started a while ago!"
"We were occupied," Kakashi replied coldy. Kakashi turned away from Jiraiya and looked at the two ninja standing in the bottom of the crater. Konan watched the three ninja carefully. She recognized Hatake Kakashi, but she didn't know much about the other one. She supposed that meant he was a genin or someone else unimportant.
"Why are we waiting anyways? Let's just go get them!" Hidan yelled, running at the trio. Konan snapped out a hand and grabbed Hidan by his cloak, dragging him to the ground. "Oi! What was that for, idiot?" Konan sent Hidan a chilling glare, and Hidan gulped.
"Let them make the first attack. We are on the lower ground, and we are fighting against a Sannin and Hatake Kakashi. Rushing in would be foolhardy, and we are not pressed for time. Remember our mission," Konan said flatly, crossing her arms over her chest. Hidan gave a loud sigh and slammed the butt of his scythe into the ground.
"All right, all right. I don't see why we have to do such annoying things though. This is so boring!" Hidan complained, rocking back and forth on his heels.
Jiraiya dropped down from the tree limb where he was perched. He wiped a drop of blood off his brow as he walked back over to Kakashi and Lee. "This will become a waiting game unless one of us starts the attack. It might as well be us since we have other places to be," Jiraiya said, stealing a glance at the village. Terrified screams still echoed from over the looming wall, and Jiraiya knew they would persist for a long time yet unless they acted soon. "Lee-san, these opponents aren't any ordinary ninja. I would advise you stay back and try not to get hurt."
"With all due respect, Jiraiya-sama, I am not an ordinary ninja either." Lee grinned cheerfully and gave Jiraiya a thumbs up. Jiraiya laughed loudly and shook his head.
"That's right, you aren't. Be careful though. Now then," Jiraiya turned back to the two ninja in the crater and cracked his knuckles. "Time for round two."
-TSUME-
Naruto had a plan. Well, he hoped that he had a plan. It wasn't a fully formed plan by any means, but he had to act confident to make the others trust him. If he appeared to be unsure of himself, they probably wouldn't agree to try his plan. Naruto's heart pounded in his chest, and he took in a deep breath. He pictured the Kyuubi in his mind and called out for Kurama, hoping the tailed-beast would answer. He felt nervous enough to clear the fog that allowed Kurama to talk to him, but if Kurama didn't respond, he didn't know what he would do.
You've called, sir? Screw that. Do you realize how annoying it is to have a second seal slammed on you by a stupid bratty girl? No, you don't. I've tried and tried to call you out on your stupidity, but no! I can't! I'm stuck in this cramped little apartment waiting to answer to your pathetic "beck and call" because she slapped something on making it so I can't reach out to talk to you myself! How could you do something so stupid without consulting me first? Naruto flinched. He had forgotten that he hadn't talked to the Kyuubi since Kei had put her second seal on him. Darn right, we haven't talked. And I wonder why that is!
Naruto held back the urge to argue with the Kyuubi, but he didn't have the time. He needed to know whether or not the Kyuubi could help him with his chakra control. I can help you, but you'll have to let me pump more of my chakra into your chakra flow. Naruto blinked. What did Kurama mean by that? We're separate entities, fool. We both create our own chakra. It's not as if we're fused together. I'm sealed inside of you, but don't confuse the two. It would be just like you to do something that idiotic though. We both funnel chakra into the same chakra center, your heart, where it mixes together and then begins circulating around your body. I normally have set amount of chakra I send to your heart, but I can force more into you to allow me more control over the chakra mix.
Naruto didn't really want to have more of Kurama's chakra flowing through him, but he needed more control than he had if this plan was going to work. He'd have to let Kurama do it. Heh. Don't sound so reluctant now. It's been done already. I've let more of my chakra into your system, so it'll be ready to go in about 75 seconds. Phew, that was one less thing for Naruto to worry about. "Hinata-chan, I need you to help me out. It's really important that you'll be able to do this." Hinata's eyes lit up, and she gave a nod. "You see that intersection over there?" Naruto pointed at a cross street a few feet away from where they stood. "I need you to get Hyuuga-san into that intersection in a few minutes. Can you do it?"
"I'll try-, I'll definitely do it!" Hinata said, trying to quiet her nerves. She clapped herself on her cheeks and turned to face Hiashi. This was war, she told herself. Failure wasn't an option. If she tried, she'd die. She had to succeed. As Hinata ran off towards Hiashi, Gaara shook his head.
"She won't last longer than ten minutes without any help. This is suicide," Gaara said cryptically. He didn't know the girl that well, but he didn't like the idea of needless death. Hinata didn't have the capacity to face an opponent who used the same style as her, but who had five times her experience.
"I know that," Naruto said simply. "That is why she won't be alone, and she won't be fighting him. She's leading him in this direction, not fighting him. Now come on, we need to prepare for our half of the plan as well. If we fail her, then it'll be our fault she is dead, not hers. Follow me." Naruto turned away from Hinata and ran towards the intersection. Gaara frowned at Naruto's back and cast a look back at Hinata. Seeing the girl preparing to face off with Hiashi, he reluctantly followed after Naruto. He gave a quick snap of his fingers, and a small part of his sand detached from the rest and floated back to keep an eye on Hinata.
-TSUME-
The sword slid out of his stomach, and Shikamaru clasped a hand over the wound before falling forwards. The ANBU towered over him and nudged him slightly with the tip of his shoe. The ANBU snorted as Shikamaru curled up around his stomach. Shikamaru rolled over to face the ANBU and sent him a weak glare. He breathed heavily, sending small waves across the pool of blood that was gathering around his chest. He didn't have much time left. If he was going to do anything, he had to do it quickly.
He tucked his legs tighter up to his chest and winced as pain bolted down his side. This was hurting just as much as he expected it to. "It's a pity that I have to kill you. Nara-san has always been a great comrade, but I suppose that doesn't matter anymore. I have new comrades now." Shikamaru's heart raced as he saw the sword's shadow cross above him. He'd have to move quickly. He shifted his knee closer to him so that his hands would be out of the ANBU's line of sight. His hands flew through the handsigns just as the pool of blood brushed up against the man's shoes. It was now or never.
"Kagemane no Jutsu," Shikamaru gasped weakly. The ANBU heard nothing as he raised the sword above his head, preparing to swing down upon the other boy. Shikamaru's shadow thinned itself out as it crawled along beside the pillar of red. It hide itself carefully along the thing corridor which the blood allowed it, just barely keeping out of sight. Shikamaru clamped one eye shut, trying to hold his concentration as the Kagemane weaved ever closer to the ANBU.
"Goodbye." Shikamaru sent a flash of chakra into the jutsu, and the Kagemane darted forward, attaching itself onto the heel of the ANBU. The sword stopped a few inches above Shikamaru's neck, and the genin edged himself slowly out of the way. Shikamaru cried out as the ANBU sent erratic chakra charges out, trying to disrupt the jutsu. Shikamaru sent a glance over towards Gai and grunted. He couldn't just abandon Gai. He wobbled up to his feet before stumbling backwards into the rooftop wall. He looked at the small ledge before looking back over towards the ANBU who stood just a bit to the left of him.
Shikamaru forced more chakra into the jutsu and prayed that it wouldn't give in within the next thirty second. He turned to the left and began running. The ANBU's body mimicked Shikamaru's movements, and they began running across the roof. Just as Shikamaru reached the edge of the roof, he jumped forward and landed sloppily on the edge of the roof. Unfortunately, the ANBU did not have that luxury. The roof vanished beneath him as his body rocketed off the edge of the building. The black shadow that linked Shikamaru to the ANBU was clearly visible now, but Shikamaru could tell that the connection to the ANBU was weaker than it was before.
Shikamaru dropped to one knee as a wave of nausea swept over him. His closed both his eyes and poured the last of his energy into the jutsu. A few seconds later, Shikamaru heard a dull thump. It was over. Shikamaru stumbled up to his feet before falling back down on the roof. He looked up to where Gai was still slumped against the wall. He needed to get Gai to the hospital. His muscles strained as he tried to force himself to move, but his body refused to comply. Coughed wracked his body as he clutched at the sword wound in his chest.
There had to be some way to get both him and Gai to the hospital. Shikamaru tried to think, but his mind was clouded by fog. Nothing was coming to mind. Shikamaru leaned his head against the ground weakly and sighed. Had he failed after all?
"Good grief. You're a mess." A female voice dragged Shikamaru out of his haze, and Shikamaru blearily opened his eyes. Fiery red hair filled his vision as the unknown woman knelt over his stomach. "It's a wonder you aren't dead, but I'm not sure if it wouldn't be better if you were dead. It would depopulate the world of reckless idiots." The woman put her hands together over Shikamaru's stomach and mumbled a few words under her breath. Her hands glowed green, and Shikamaru felt an unfamiliar chakra make its way into his chest. She was healing him, but why?
"Who are you?" Shikamaru rasped out.
"You can call me Karin, but please be quiet. I'll tell you what I know as long as you stop moving. For goodness sakes, stop trying to squirm around!" Karin elbowed Shikamaru so he lay flat on the ground. The bespectacled girl shook her head and sighed, "Kusagakure has allied with the loyalist Konohagakure forces. It's not in my interests for you to die now. I'd get in trouble later if you did, so don't do anything more idiotic than you have already done."
"But Gai-sensei needs he-" Shikamaru protested, but Karin shoved him back to the ground and sent him a glare. She sniffed and turned back to her work.
"If you mean the man in the green jumpsuit, horrid clothing by the way, my teammates are already bringing him to the hospital. You're going to the hospital too as soon as I finish the first aid. And it's with great relief that I announce that you're not going to bleed to death on the way to the hospital," Karin said callously. The green light vanished around her fingers, and she poked the wound, causing Shikamaru to flinch. "It's not bleeding anymore, so we had better get going."
Karin stared at Shikamaru for a moment before sighing. "I'm going to have to carry you, aren't I? This sucks."
-TSUME-
Kei clutched at her neck as she tried to remember the exact composition of the carotid artery. She struggled to remember what angle it ran up her neck, the atoms that made up the walls that surrounded the artery, and the pressure the wall would have to sustain in order for it to be a proper temporary fix. Unfortunately for her, she hadn't had much practice dealing with neck injuries. She had read books on arm and chest injuries, since those tended to be more common, but this was something she hadn't expected. She couldn't afford to mess up, and that was what made her worried. No, she couldn't think about anything else right now. She had to focus on healing herself.
Kei pictured an image of her textbook in her mind as she felt along her neck. She could make some guess-estimates about the width of her carotid based on the size of the untouched artery, but she wouldn't be able to translate what she felt into an accurate set of statistics. Since she wouldn't be able to tell the exact width, it would be harder to know how much extra skin to create in order for the blood not to crack through the wall. Kei wheezed in a breath and set to work on her neck. She closed her eyes and tried to heal with her right hand while feeling around with her left hand.
She proceeded to slowly mend her artery, and she could feel the blood flow from her neck slow down. At the very least, she had bought herself a few more minutes. Sadly, she could also feel her mind beginning to stumble. She clamped her eyes shut as she tried to concentrate. She only had a little bit left to do around the branch from the brachiocephalic trunk into the carotid. And that was when she made her mistake. Kei lurched forward and gave a hacking cough, spitting blood out of her mouth. "Shoot." Kei shot more chakra into her hand, and ripped open the work she had just completed in her neck. Kei grunted and retraced back over her work, trying to make up for lost time.
Just a little bit away from her, Tenten flipped out of the way of Hana's sword as it swung down from above. They had been dancing around like this for a while now, and Tenten didn't want to waste any more time. She had to find Gai and save Kei. Tenten fished into her left pouch and pulled out a storage seal. She flung the seal behind her and ducked as the last Haimaru triplet dived above her head. She punched the dog's underbelly as it went over her, and it gave a loud yelp of surprise. Hana ran over beside her dog and yelled out, "Haimaru, Juujin Bunshin!" A cloud of smoke rose into the air, and Tenten took it as her cue to break off in a run towards her seal.
A replica of Hana appeared in place of the husky, and Hana smirked. She lowered herself down onto all fours and growled out, "Shikyaku no Jutsu." A thin blue aura surrounded Hana, and the girl gnashed her teeth as the jutsu took over her body. She could feel energy pulsing through her veins. Tenten wouldn't stand a chance. She and Haimaru darted at Tenten, who had just reached her seal. Tenten slammed her hand down on the seal, causing a large scroll to appear in its place. Tenten looked over her shoulder and gave an undignified scream as she saw Hana and Haimaru running towards her. She snatched the end of the scroll and unfurled it before dragging the scroll around her, surrounding herself in a paper cone. Thousands of ink markings were etched onto the outside of the scroll, and a single seal rested on the inside where Tenten stood. Tenten hurriedly brought chakra into her fist and slammed it firmly against the seal, causing it to activate.
The seals on the outside of the scroll let out a thin trail of smoke just as Hana and Haimaru leapt at Tenten. Thousands of senbon stuck out of the seal, surrounding Tenten in a coat of metal spikes. Hana's eyes widened as she tried to maneuver out of the way, but it was too late. Both she and Haimaru were already stuck in the air, and there was nothing they could do to move. She shifted her arms in front of her just as she crashed into the senbon, but even that did not stop the pain that jolted through her body.
After a few moments, she wrenched herself off of the senbon and stumbled back onto the ground. Her muscles screamed at her, and she knew that some had the senbon had gone deeper than they should have, pushed in by the speed granted to her by the Shikyaku. She collapsed backwards, her head hitting the ground hard. She tilted her head over to the side where she saw her last Haimaru triplet rest limply on the spiny tower. A red hot tear pricked at the corner of Hana's eye as a shadow loomed cover her. "Haimaru triplets, I'm so sorry," Hana whispered. She closed her eyes as a sword descended down on top of her, stabbing her in the heart.
Above her, Hayate withdrew his sword and slid it back in its sheath. Hayate sighed. He hated to do it, but his actions had put her out of her misery. The loss of her partners would have been enough to mentally scar her even if her wounds had been less. In all likelihood, she would have a hard time moving her left arm at all even if she had lived. Hayate looked over to where Kei lay on the ground, barely awake. The girl had managed to create a patch for her neck, but her artery had already bled out too much. The blood loss combined with her weak chakra circuit made it difficult for her to stay awake. Hayate ran over to her and scooped her up in his arms. "Hayate-sensei?" Tenten said softly as she let the scroll fall to her feet. She looked over at Hana with a horrified look on her face before turning away, forcing herself to look at Hayate. A deep guilt stirred inside of her, but she couldn't think of that now. She only did what had to be done.
"Come with me, Tenten-san. We need to bring Shimizu-san to the hospital," Hayate said, motioning for Tenten to follow after him.
"But what about Gai-sensei? I have to find him!" Tenten protested.
"He's already been found, Tenten-san. Now hurry! We can talk about this later." Despite everything that had happened that day, Hayate's words were music to Tenten's ears. She gave a quick nod and followed after Hayate as the three hurried off to the hospital.
Author's Note: Before any of you call me out on Karin continuity errors, I have thought this through. Yes, I do realize that Orochimaru had already made contact with her by the time she entered in the chuunin exams, but she was only a jailer for him. She wasn't important to him and was likely not involved in any of his important plans(i.e. the rebellion). She probably resumed her life as a genin of Kusagakure while also working as a jailer for Orochimaru. She would have no idea what Orochimaru was planning. I hope that clears up a bit of the confusion. (:
I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I apologize for drawing out Naruto's battle, but I swear that there will be more development on Naruto's end in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed the Naruto-Kurama dynamic though. Thanks for reading! :D