Hey! Again it's been an incredibly long while since I updated. What can I say? Life happened and basically my exams were the least of my worries throughout the last month. I'm not gonna bother to complain about it, especially since those of you who read it, might require a huge deal of antidepressant pills afterwards. Let's just say I certainly saw better days.
On a more positive note: all that is now behind me and my vacation finally started. Sure, I'll have to work and write my final work for college, but in between, I do hope to find enough time to update more often than I had for the past three months or so. But then, I hoped for a lot of things, so for the time being, let's just say I do my best.
As always I wish to thank everyone who reviewed the previous chapter. It means a lot and sorry I kept you guys waiting so long. Hopefully this chapter will turn out as worth waiting for and that you won't have to wonder "what happens next" too long with the next.
Now, before some final words, one of you asked me about Takai's skeletons and since the reviewer was anonymous, I cannot use the 'review reply' to explain, thus I'm putting the answer here. The question was whether Takai's skeletons are mindless tools or beings that came back to life as they were before. Basically, it's something in between: while Takai does possess total control over his minions (as in they're subdued to his every command, regardless to what the order might be), the creatures did preserve a form of their own will as they can act on their own even without a given order; however having their master's best interest 'in mind'. To sum it up: due to Takai's chakra filling their bodies, they're his puppets above anything else, but they can act to preserve themselves if that does not collide with Takai's plans. Or, I might even write that their existence follows the three rules of robotics Asimov created, having the 'robot' being skeletons, while 'human' being equal to 'Takai'.
Also, DHO is back, so the grammar issue will be improved in this chappie XD
A word from our beta: Well, as you can see, I'm back. It's been a rough few weeks, but I'll cope for the time being. Anyway, I don't have much else to say…
Shang, take it away…
And with that, the only thing left to do is to invite you all to the newest chapter of NNG:
Chapter #119: Thin Line Between Darkness and Light
Title Page: Kai is pushing a shoebox into the lake, in which a small toad is laying with a flower in its hands, while behind the blond stands Takai, with his arms crossed
"Let's get him, Touba!" Takai called out, making Kai take a step back at the sound of the name.
Aoru's eyes widened at the sight, while Sabure collapsed to her knees, tears slowly gathering behind her fox mask.
"O…onii-chan!" she managed to call out in a form that resembled a shriek, piercing everyone's ears.
Gaara merely shut his eyes, lowering his head in the process, but said nothing. Takai remained oblivious to it all and simply tightened his grip on the scythe, charging straight at his opponent, ready to attack. In a flash, the skeleton formed a hand seal, unleashing a wave of sand that came crashing at the blond, following suit of the artificial shinobi. As the distance between the two disappeared, the sand-nin swung his blade horizontally, making the Leaf genin duck under the assault. Yet the maneuver proved to be a fatal mistake, for as the clone user's face went down, sand shot from the ground, smashing hard into it.
In the blink of an eye Kai was sent soaring into the sky, completely opened. His adversary didn't waste a moment and jumped up, his scythe ready for another swing. As the blade ripped the air, the blonde quickly reached for his kunai and grabbing one with each hand, held them before his chest, stopping the assault by blocking the handle, the tip of his enemy's weapon merely inches away from his face.
A wicked smirk crept onto the leaf-nin's face as chakra suddenly began surrounding his knives, forming into blades. Instantly, Kai swung his hands, making the newly formed weapons split the scythe's handle and scourge Takai, leaving deep cuts on the artificial shinobi's chest. The boy's crimson eyes widened in shock as he began falling to the ground head first, his body refusing to respond to his command.
The skeleton, however, was still left unharmed and with another hand seal, sand bullets shot to the sky, going straight at the blond. Unable to dodge in mid-air, Kai quickly performed his standard technique, and as a clone appeared before him, he used its back to bounce off, getting out of the assault's way, while the bunshin took the full impact of the attack. Naruto's pupil flipped, landing safely on the ground and narrowed his eyes at the sight of a sand cloud, gently placing Takai on the surface.
"That skeleton saved him," Kusari thought to himself, piercing the undead sand user with a suspicious glance.
Meanwhile, Takai was already struggling back to his feet, his wounds beginning to close, yet the blood kept on dripping to the ground, covering most of the boy's chest. His single eye was filled with fury as it set on the blonde. In a flash he reached for his backpack, picking out a skull that looked all too familiar.
As white chakra began forming, another four-armed beast rose before Kai, its scythe-like hands pointed at the blond. But to the leaf-nin's surprise, the monster started changing, one of the blades moving to the head, while the rest of the body took a form of a stick. Instantly the artificial shinobi grabbed the handle, wielding yet another scythe, this one all the more terrifying then the previous.
"Why the surprised look?" Takai asked almost playful, seeing his opponent's expression. "Have I not told you I can reform these skeletons whichever way I desire? They're just chakra. The only thing that has to remain the same is the skull. Other than that, there really are no limits to my skill…"
A smirk bloomed on his face as Touba unleashed a trail of sand spikes that shot from the ground straight at the blond.
Allowing his instincts to take over, Kai jumped to his right, avoiding the first spike that rose to impale him, while he somersaulted in the air to slow his flight and bounce off the next, which would pierce his chest should he maneuver a moment earlier. As he flew higher, the Leaf genin performed a quick set of hand seals and as two more spikes came, a sudden gust of wind lifted up his body, out of the attack's range.
The blonde landed safely on a tree branch, while the sand circled around the trunk, just waiting to attack its prey the instant he'd drop to the ground again.
"This is not good," Kai thought to himself as he analyzed the situation. "I cannot execute any successful attacks from here, and furthermore, this won't do for a safe spot. They can just use that sand to knock the tree down at any time. I've seen what can be done with this ability when Ibuki fought that redhead girl… basically; any assaults on that skeleton without my wind chakra are less than useless. Besides, there's still Takai to worry about. Frankly, it's hard to land a hit on either if they were alone and here I am, fighting both at once. How should I play this?" he asked and then glanced to the stands where his teacher was: "I really may not have a choice, Naruto-sensei…"
"Hey boss, so what's da plan?" a sudden voice made him yelp in surprise as a small toad jumped right next to him.
The blond sweat-dropped at the sight, his eye twitching a single time. "Oh, it's you… what are you still doing here? It's dangerous kiddo, go back home…"
"Oh c'mon, don't be like that, boss," Gamashi pled, making puppy eyes at his master. "This is the first time someone summoned me, and I wanna help!" he announced eagerly, resulting only in Kai's sweat dropping at the sight.
"So, all this time he carried around Touba's skull," Horamaru thought to himself with his arms crossed. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but it was still enough for Hari to catch that fact, while the string user tried to take over the chaos that was born in his mind: "Why? What reason can something like that have to do that? And more importantly: how come he's allowed to? Touba was Kazekage-sama's son. Isn't this disrespectful?"
"I think we have given him enough time," Takai stated, glancing over to his skeleton soldier. The undead shinobi didn't seem to respond in any way but raised his hand, making the sand around the tree shoot up, aiming at the blond. Instantly Kai jumped into the air, but as the whips swept below, they bent and went for the leaf-nin again. Incapable of dodging, Naruto's pupil performed a quick set of hand seals once more, allowing his body to get tossed to the side by the wind and out of harm's way.
As he came to a sliding stop a few meters away, another sand spike shot to the sky, only to dive right at the blond in the next moment. Acting on instinct, Kai rolled out of the way, suddenly coming to a stop as more spikes rose from the ground, piercing him should he roll another inch. Immediately the Leaf genin lifted up his body and landed on top of the spikes. He charged forward, preparing his kunai that were already engulfed with wind chakra.
Beating the distance between him and the skeleton, the blond kept on dodging the spikes that emerged from the ground, each aiming to pierce him from below. Managing to avoid the storm of attacks, his eye caught sight of Takai, who came from his left, the sand-nin's scythe already prepared for the swing. Using only his natural reflexes, Kai ducked under the swipe and thrust his knife up, straight at his opponent's head, but the artificial shinobi quickly tilted his head to the left, dodging the assault.
In a flash, Takai's scythe flipped in his hands, placing the blade in the opposite direction it was a moment earlier, while its wielder swung again, scourging the ground with the blade as it came at the leaf-nin again. Left with no other option, Kai jumped back, out of his adversary's range, having the weapon cut merely air once more.
Nonetheless, the Suna genin repeated his maneuver and swung the scythe, making the blond's eyes widen in surprise as the handle of the weapon suddenly extended, forcing him to block with his knives as the blade went for his chest. As the two clashed, Hanamaru choked on his chips at the sight.
"How the hell did he do that?" he asked, stunned.
"That scythe is made almost entirely of that Sand guy's chakra," Rei began, still lying in her seat, her eyes closed and her voice sleepy. "I don't think it's that big of a deal for him to change its form. After all, he could vary the shape of his skeletons, like that time he put together those two snakes. Extending the handle's length is most likely just one of the many options. Frankly, it'd appear that he just keeps on improving, adjusting to the situation at hand. It's hard to believe Kai could beat a guy like that…"
"This is where you're wrong," Ibuki responded with a smirk as her eyes settled of her battling teammate. "Just now, this Takai guy dodged the assault. Since he dodged, it means that the assault in itself had to be dangerous to him in one way or another. Kai already wounded him, broke his scythe and, what I believe, forced him to summon his most powerful skeleton. It may seem that Kai is on the losing side, but judging from the developments, it'd appear this sand-nin was never pushed so far in a fight. While that whole scythe fellow really is getting stronger and stronger… so is Kai. You shouldn't cross out his chance of winning just yet…"
In the blink of an eye, the scythe extended further, passing the blond's body and starting to wrap around the leaf-nin, immobilizing him completely, engulfing him in a crushing hold. Before long, more sand rose around, shaping into hundreds of small needles, each aimed at Kai, ready to pierce every inch of his body at any moment.
"Give up," Takai said in a monotone voice, his face rid of emotion once more, but a little shock that went through his body didn't leave a bit of a doubt that he could no longer hold himself in check. "We have dragged this long enough and should you not comply, I will not waste a second and your life will come to an end…"
"Very well," Kai responded, lowering his head, but the instant he said so, sand shot up from behind the artificial shinobi, hitting Gamashi straight in the abdomen, blasting him away as he aimed to cut Takai's throat. As the toad landed on the ground near Touba, sand whips rose from the ground again, wrapping themselves around the small amphibian.
"Have it your way," the sand-nin only said as the needles shot at their target. Before they managed to reach it however, a puff of smoke engulfed Kai's body, revealing Gamashi. With his body much smaller then the ring around, the toad used the chakra handle to bounce away, out of harm's way.
"Kawarimi?" Takai's eyes widened suddenly as his body automatically turned around to glance back, where the blond stood inches away from Touba: "With the tightness around that amphibian, when the body grew several times, the bonding broke! Shit, this guy… from the beginning…"
"I can't strike that scythe guy down!" Kai figured, already swinging his kunai at the sand user, making the chakra blade around it extend and go straight for the undead warrior: "But if this skeleton's sand is anything like the girl's Ibuki fought, it can't stop wind! I can break it!"
As his wind blade cut right through the wall of sand that rose in its way, it came closer to the defenseless Touba.
And the instant the chakra struck, the entire stadium went silent…
--That time, elsewhere--
The ANBU collapsed to the ground, his body completely devoid of life. As he joined his three companions that had lain motionless, the man who attacked them stood up straight, with his blue eyes absent of any emotion. His long, black hair floated in the wind a bit, covering Kumori's hitai-ate, that replaced the slashed Leaf one he wore on his forehead merely days ago. This man was Kumoshi, a visitor to Konoha…and a premonition of a tragedy.
"It's disappointing," he thought to himself calmly as he glanced to the distance, right over the walls of the Hidden Leaf Village, scanning the surrounding forest. "For Kakashi-san to leave only this many ANBU to guard one of the gates, especially at this time. That's almost like an invitation. Well, I guess that's not my problem, I've done my part; without the lookouts, the alarm won't be raised sooner then we want it to. But I guess the bodies may draw attention to either of our little puppets. Making the same mistake we did with Iwa would be unacceptable. I should dispose of them…" With his conclusion, spiders crawled out of his legs, heading straight towards the unmoving, masked ninja.
A sudden cheer echoed in the air, making Kumoshi gaze in the direction of the stadium, from where the noise came: "It'd appear the fights are heating up. Makes me wish I could watch them. Oh well, can't be helped. Regardless, soon I'll enjoy carnage, one way or another. The stage has been set. Now all we need is for all the actors to show up…"
--the play of life carries on… and the final act is about to begin--
And this concludes this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it and that you'll review before leaving. Also, on a side note, since you may not remember, that Kumoshi guy is Tategamaru's (the jounin leader of Saiken's team) partner. He didn't appear too much so far, but as you can guess, he will have an impact on the story.
KONOHA: Kumiko Murasakki, Ibuki Tanken, Takaru Gekido, Kusari Hagane, Kai Haisha (fight in progress)
KONOHA: Mikka Igaku, Tsume Inuzuka, Kokoro Benda, Senkou Hatake, Galu Kobushi
KONOHA: Rei Konpaku, Kogane Rikoteki, Toku Amagasa, Kitsune Debano, Hanamaru Gusoku
KONOHA: Taki Hamano, Hitomi Hyuuga, Akira Manako, Funbo Tanken, Horohoro
SUNA: Aoru, Torune, Honemaru, Takai (fight in progress), Tarakudo
SUNA: Hari, Sabaku no Sabure, Dekai, Horamaru, Karame
KUSA: Tobane Hokku, Nezumi Kanraku, Taka Kuchibashi, Tokame Kyohaku, Hizoku Wanabi
AME: Youji Kasano, Karei Nokogiri, Ryo Eshaku, Tsuino Furikuzu, Nazaa Hebereke
BAKUFU/TAKI: Kawa Azarashi, Miaka Tora, Tetsu Abura, Shita Makko
TSUKI: Teela Juusei, Tenka, Kumo Chishio, Nobu Chishio, Tasuki Kihako
KANE: Naginata, Reiji Ono, Futatsu, Hogosha
KUMORI: Saiken Tenma (the mysterious, headgear gennin, currently somewhere in the Leaf)
Well, that's it for the time being. Hope you enjoyed it and until next time, hopefully.