Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or The Last Airbender.
Bodyguard of Azula
Chapter 58: Gaining and Taking
"Talking"
"Thinking"
"Bijū/spirit talking"
"Bijū/spirit thinking"
(Location: Kakuzu & Kisame)
They sat in the seats of the underground hall. Everyone else had pretty much left once the Underground Auction had been finished. The families who were in charge this year were packing up and getting ready to leave. "Are we going to leave now?" Kakuzu asked. His patience had run out.
"Yeah, let's get going." Kisame replied. After the Underground Auction had ended and the successful bidders went to claim their prizes, a message had been given to them. It was a simple message that read:
We'll be waiting.
They had decided to wait until they were sure everyone that wouldn't be involved was out of the way (they didn't need any more confusion then was absolutely needed; Tobi got annoyed when that happened). They rose from their chairs and walked out of the hall. In silence, they walked through the tunnel and up the staircase. The day was in the afternoon as they came out of the tree. In front of them were two trees, each had an arrow carved into it, pointing in the opposite direction. Pinned above to the arrows were pieces of paper. The one on the right read:
This way to the bounties.
The one of the left read:
This way to the swords.
"Looks like they want to split us up," Kisame said with a grin. He was looking forward to the fight and quite frankly, he didn't want Kakuzu to be in the way. If he had to guess, they had thought of the same thing and were being considerate.
"It wouldn't matter if they were trying to get us both or trying to separate us." His fellow Akatsuki member replied. "Their bounties are mine and I will tolerate no opposition from that goal. And that includes you." He told the wielder of Samehada.
He could only grin wider at that. He knew that Kakuzu wouldn't hesitate to kill him and quite frankly, he wouldn't either. The difference was that he would a slightly more difficult time against one of the Zombie Combo then the other way around, but that would only make the fight more enjoyable for him. "That's fine by me. Odds are I won't see you later. Goodbye, Kakuzu." He walked past the tree that pointed to the left.
Kakuzu didn't watch him leave, but went past the tree that pointed to the right. He knew that he wouldn't die. He would claims those bounties and collect the money. Perhaps he would be able to cash in on Kisame's bounty as well.
(Location: Team Paragon)
"They've split up." Naruto announced, opening his eyes. His clone had just dispelled, passing the information to him. "Kakuzu coming this way and Kisame went the other way."
"It's been a while since we've had a good fight." Azula commented, readying herself for the upcoming fight. Ever since they had come to help get rid of the Akatsuki, she didn't really have a good excuse to use her Bending (aside from sparring, and she couldn't really let loose there).
"You did read the report on him, right?" Suki asked her. Due to the fact that they were going up against S-rank missing-nins, they read the reports Orochimaru had written about the Akatsuki members he had known (so they didn't know anything about Tobi). To the Kyoshi Warrior, Kakuzu was one of the more unnerving ones.
"Of course, I did." She replied. "That just makes me even more excited."
"Please don't rush into the fight, Azula." Naruto told her, his tone slightly pleading. They were about to fight a guy who had more than the mandatory amount of hearts, who had lived during the time of the Shodaime Hokage, and would probably go after his own mother if the bounty was high enough. "I really don't want to you to lose your heart to this guy."
She managed to smile both sarcastically and warmly at him. "It's nice to know that you care about me."
"Could you two do that later?" June asked them. She didn't mind (or even care) if they decided to act lovey-dovey in their own way when they had time. But when they were about to get into a fight that could cost one of them their lives was not really the place for that kind of thing. Of course, it also reminded her that out of the entire Team Paragon, she was the only one who single. "When this is all over, I should probably start looking for a boyfriend." She thought to herself.
"June is quite right." Jiraiya agreed from the tree branch he was sitting on. "Keep the displays of affection to when we're done here."
"You know, when you said going to murder me, I thought it would've been by your hands." Naruto remarked with a grin, looking up at the Toad Sage.
"Shut up, gaki," He snapped, a little irritated. "I'm still mad at you. Do you realize how much money you cost me?" This was one of the reasons he didn't let anyone take a look at what was in his checkbook (another reason was so that Tsunade couldn't go on a drinking binge).
"It's not you couldn't afford it. You've got much more than that." The blonde replied. "Besides, we both know you're putting the finishing touches on your latest Icha-Icha novel, so you'll probably get all the money back without a problem."
"It's the principal of the matter! I give you my money and I expected you to be careful with it! Instead, you blow a whole chunk of it!"
He rolled his eyes. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, let's call it payback for when you took my money and wasted it when we were looking for Tsunade. The only difference here is I wasted your money on something useful."
The only response Jiraiya could give him was a glare that could've burned a hole through multiple trees. "No, the difference there is that you got your money back."
"And you will too, once you release the next Icha-Icha novel."
"Guys, you're going to have put this fight on hold." Sokka told them as he opened his eyes, put his shoe back on, and drew his Zanpakutō. "He's here." They all went silent at the announcement. Within a second or two of his announcement, Kakuzu walked into the small clearing.
"Very impressive," He commented, looking at the Water Paragon. "I'm surprised you don't have a bounty on your head."
"I probably used to have one on the other side of the planet." The Tribesman replied off-handedly. He was never sure if he did have one (considering he was the only non-Bender in the group and the Fire Nation had been more worried about Aang), and made a mental note to ask Zuko about that.
"It doesn't matter in the end."
"What? You can't have the bounty, so you're going to take my heart instead?"
He went still when he heard that. "…You know about that, don't you?" He asked. It was a rhetorical question, but one he needed to hear the answer to.
"You can thank the snake bastard." Naruto told him, saying "snake bastard" in a growl. "He wrote some good reports on you guys."
"I see." He stood in silence before clasping his hands in a seal. "Then let's skip the pleasantries."
"With pleasure," Azula said with a light in her eyes as she slipped into a stance.
"Defend your kingdom of snow-covered forests, Kuroga." Sokka intoned; his Zanpakutō splitting into two. Both he and Kakuzu charged each other, swords meeting fist in a loud CLANG! They stood in the middle of the clearing, trying to move the other person.
(Location: Kisame)
He walked through the forest. He didn't have his hand on Samehada's hilt, but he knew that he was either walking into a trap or a fight. If he was a betting man (he was more of a rigger), he knew what he was walking into. "It'll be interesting to see how they fight together." He thought to himself. That thought was followed by a bittersweet one. "Raimu has grown." Before he had left, he always had a bit of a soft spot for his nephew. The kid always said that he would join the Swordsmen and take Samehada from him. As he thought about his nephew, the night that he left unconsciously came to mind. He could still see Kenji's body on the ground, the side of his head bashed in from a blow by Samehada. "This isn't the time to think about that." He said to himself as he walked into the clearing in front of him.
In front of him were Chōjūrō, Suigetsu, and Raimu. "You took your sweet time." Suigetsu commented. He had folded his arms, like he didn't care about what happened next.
"What can I say? I enjoy a good walk." He replied with a shark-like grin. "So, are you going to try and capture me? Bring me back to Kiri and face judgment?"
"Lady Mizukage has already passed judgment on you." Chōjūrō told him. He hadn't folded his arms, but instead let them hang down at his sides. They were loose, ready for the upcoming fight. "You are to die by our hands and our swords."
He managed to restrain the urge to snort in disbelief. "You really think you snot-nosed brats have a chance against me? Your brother tried the same thing and he died." He said to Suigetsu, pointing at him. He said nothing in return, but his face turned into a scowl.
"What were you planning to do with the swords, Kisame?" Chōjūrō demanded.
"Would you believe me if I told you I was going to send them back to the village as a gift to your new Kage's reign?" He asked with false innocence, lowering his arm.
"I'd think we can all agree that would be complete and utter bullshit."
"Ah, well, I had to try." He said with a grin. The grin faded when he looked at his nephew. "How have you been, Raimu?" He asked.
"Why the hell do you care?" His nephew snapped. While his arms hung at his sides, they were tightened up. His hands were clenched and almost looked like they were shaking. In his right hand was a kunai.
"I can't be curious about how my nephew's been? Lighten up, Rai, you're too serious." He told him, using his childhood nickname for the kid. When he was younger, Raimu would always get annoyed and told him that his name was Raimu, not Rai.
"You lost the right to call me that the night you killed my dad, Kisame." He spat. He wanted to attack him right then and there. But he knew that wouldn't do much good.
Even though he didn't show it, Samehada's wielder flinched slightly. "That was an accident, Raimu. I swear to Kami and on Samehada, I never meant for that to happen."
"Whether you swear it or not doesn't matter. It happened. And now, I'm going to kill you."
He couldn't help but laugh. "And with which sword will you do that with, Raimu? Will it be Kiba? How about Shibuki? Maybe you'll use Kabutowari? Or perhaps Nuibari will be the one you will wield? Which sword will it be?" He was actually curious about it. If Raimu was with two of the Swordsmen, that meant he was being considered for one of the swords.
"I told you a long time ago, that I would take Samehada from you. And I meant every word of it." He reminded his uncle. It was that dream that kept him going through the years of loneliness, beatings, suffering, and humiliation from both his peers and seniors. To take Samehada from his uncle's cold hands and become one of the Seven Swordsmen.
He couldn't help but grin when he heard that. "Well, here it is." He drew Samehada, who seemed to quiver in excitement for the upcoming fight. "Come and take it." Hiramekarei Kaihō
That was Suigetsu needed to charge him, drawing Kubikiribōchō. With a shout, he swung the blade down at Kisame's head. Instead, it met Samehada, the sound of the swords clashing against each other seem to ring throughout the forest. Both Suigetsu and Kisame wore grins that bordered on manic. "I've wanted to do this for a long time." Suigetsu told him with glee.
"Then I shall gladly provide!" He replied. Using his superior strength, he pushed the Hōzuki clan member back. Suigetsu instantly responded by pushing back. The two struggled to move the other, putting their all into it. That is, until Kisame suddenly disengaged. He pulled his sword away from Kubikiribōchō, making his opponent stumble forward. Grasping his sword in two hands, he swung down at Suigetsu, intent to cleave him in two (or at the very least, bash his head in).
Despite what happened next, he wasn't surprised when Suigetsu turned to water and Samehada passed through him. A shadow fell over him and when he looked up, Chōjūrō seemed to hang in the air. "Hiramekarei Kaihō (Hiramekarei Unleashing)!" He shouted, holding his sword high as the bandages came off. Chakra came forth from the two holes in the blade and formed into a blue hammer. He swung down, aiming for Kisame's head and back.
"Impressive timing, gaki," Kisame told him. "But also stupid!" Spinning his sword with a speed a stranger would think he didn't have, he swung it onto his back just as the hammer came down on him. It struck the sword, making it quiver. The hammer faded away as the chakra holding its form was eaten. "You should've known that it's always a bad idea to use chakra-based attacks against a wielder of Samehada!" Chōjūrō landed on the ground in silence, his blade still locked with Samehada.
"We do know that." Suigetsu told him as he reformed with his sword still in hand. "That was so I could have enough time to do this!" He swung Kubikiribōchō hard and fast at Kisame's head. But while he may have swung hard, he didn't swing fast enough. Kisame caught the sword with free hand, with almost contemptuous ease. While blood did drip from the hand, Suigetsu couldn't make Kubikiribōchō even budge.
"That was just pathetic, Suigetsu." Samehada's wielder told him with disdain. "I expected you to do better than that." Suigetsu only smirked in reply. "What's he smirking about?" Kisame wondered. When he heard the sound of feet charging, he got his answer. He tore his gaze from Suigetsu and looked up to see Raimu charging straight at him. "Still charging into things," He thought with some nostalgia. "And here I thought you had changed." When his nephew had gotten close enough, he pushed Samehada forward, catching Raimu in the stomach. Scales burst through the wrappings on the sword and tried to pierce his chest.
"Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Gun Jutsu)!" Suigetsu took one hand off of the hilt of his sword and fired a round of water at Kisame's face. The blue-skinned man saw it coming and jerked his head out of the way to avoid it, only getting a graze on his broke his concentration long for Suigetsu to tug his sword free and knock Samehada away from Raimu, tearing the scales away.
"Suiton: Mizurappa (Water Style: Wild Water Waves)!" Chōjūrō, having been able to disengage from Samehada, flashed through the handseals and spewed forth a jet of water out of his mouth, directing it at Kisame and forcing him to use his sword as a shield. Even though the water pounded uselessly against Samehada (which ate the chakra that created it), both the sword and its wielder were pushed back away from the Kiri shinobi.
"Are you hurt, Raimu?" Suigetsu asked him as they regrouped.
"I'll be fine, it didn't draw blood." He answered. It may have hurt somewhat, but he was able to ignore it so long as he focused on the fight.
"You were wearing mesh armor underneath your clothes, weren't you, Raimu?" Kisame asked, hefting Samehada onto his shoulder. The graze on his cheek healed and faded away within a matter of seconds. "That's very smart of you." His gaze focused on all of them. "However, I can't say the same for your plan of attack. Calling it 'adequate' would be generous."
"We're just starting here." Suigetsu told him.
(Location: Team Paragon & Kakuzu)
"That's a hell of a grip you've got." Sokka commented as Kakuzu held his Zanpakutō tightly. "You wouldn't happen to be using Doton: Domu (Earth Style: Earth Spear), would you?" The fact that the skin on his hands and arms had darkened had tipped off the Tribesman.
"And how would you know that?" His opponent asked him.
"Like Naruto said, the snake bastard wrote some good reports on you guys." He answered with a smirk. "He made sure to write down all the jutsus you use. He even described the effect of the jutsu in great detail."
"It won't help you. Even though you know what the jutsu is, you cannot escape it. Besides, why bother asking me about it if you already knew what it was and what it could do?" He asked as he tried to put more pressure on the pair of swords in his hands. Try as he might though, he couldn't cause them to break.
"Actually, you're wrong about the first thing." Sokka told him as he pulledhis Zanpakutō out of Kakuzu's grip, slicing his palms open. "As for the second thing, I wasn't saying it for my benefit." He dropped to the ground and rolled away as the sound of lightning filled Kakuzu's ears.
"Fry his ass, Azula!" Naruto ordered. His girlfriend heeded his words and directed the lightning she had been generating straight at Kakuzu's heart. It flew from her fingertips, towards his body, and pierced his heart, tearing through the other end. He went stiff as the lightning entered his body, and when it vanished, he fell to the ground.
"That's one down." Jiraiya commented from his branch. Due to his anger at Naruto for spending so much of his money, he told them that he wouldn't join the fight unless things got out of control. It was met with minimum complaint (mostly because they were no strangers to fighting without his help).
In silence, they watched as Kakuzu stood back up. "Very impressive, you lured me into using an Earth Style jutsu so you could exploit its weakness." He applauded them. "It seems that those of you that have bounties on your heads will probably be worth it. As for those of you who don't have bounties, I'll try to remember your names."
"You make it sound like you've already won the fight." June remarked. It was a little weird to hear him say something like that, if she had to be honest (although she would never admit it out loud). He had gotten a bolt of lightning though his heart, fell down dead, and then just got back up, speaking like nothing had happened at all.
"It's only a matter of time until you're all dead." He told her. "But I may have to be a bit more serious than usual if I want to claim those bounties." He reached up to the zipper of his cloak and began to pull it down. Once it was at the bottom, he shrugged the cloak off and tossed it away.
"By the Spirits," Suki said in horror when she saw what was under the cloak. She had to fight down the urge to throw up at the sight.
"And I thought Orochimaru was disgusting." Sokka commented with disgust. Kakuzu's skin was covered in enough stiches that made it look like he was sewn together. On his back were four masks, with the one that was positioned over where his heart was supposed to be was completely shattered. Before anyone could say anything else, his back ripped open and what could only be described as black blood poured out from it, carrying the masks with it.
"Now, shall we begin?" Kakuzu asked as four monsters-like creatures with the masks for faces stood behind him. It was a little intimidating and anyone else would probably have run away at the mere sight of the monsters. Even shinobi would feel unease when looking at them.
And even though they were a bit disturbed by what they saw, the members of Team Paragon did not allow it to overwhelm them. "You might want to wait on that thought." Naruto told him with a bit of glibness, looking at the one with the broken mask. The creature in question collapsed to the ground and looked like it melted, leaving only a large puddle. "Okay, I think it is dead." The blonde said. "We can now resume the fight."
June took that as a command. She leapt from atop of Nyla (both she and Sokka had decided to keep the shirshu and wolf out of the fight) and drew her whip. "Come on, big fella, let's dance." She told the creature that had the wings attached to its body. It responded by trying to swipe her through her midsection. She danced away and stung it with the end of her whip. "You're gonna have to be faster than that!" She taunted it, spinning low and cracking the whip against one of its legs.
Both Suki and Sokka had decided to fight Kakuzu himself. The two had often sparred against and with each other, so they knew how to work together. When Kakuzu tried to focus on one of them, the other would distract him. They never stayed in one place as they fought him, they always kept moving. Ducking, leaping, turning, and attacking, they kept moving, never letting him get an easy target. Growling in anger, he finally clasped his hands together. "Katon: Zukokku (Fire Style: Searing Migraine)!" He snarled. At his side, the creature with the red lips opened its mouth and an immense amount of fire poured out, flying towards the two.
"Oh no, you don't." Azula said. Bending her own fire into existence, she bent it at the jutsu and cut it off. The two different kinds of fire clashedtogether, trying to claim dominance against the other. They swirled around each other, twisting and curling against one another before the brief conflict was won by Azula, who was able to keep up the stream of fire while Kakuzu had to cancel the jutsu lest he wanted to die from chakra depletion. When she saw that the jutsu had been canceled, Azula didn't gloat. She pressed the attack, bending her fire at the creature.
"Raiton: Gian (Lightning Style: False Darkness)!" Kakuzu said as he clasped his hands in a handseal. The creature with the yellow nosed mask opened its mouth and fired lightning at Azula. But Naruto had stepped into the path of the lightning. He took a Waterbending stance and let the lightning hit him right on the fingertips.
"I guess chakra-based lightning is different than Bender-generated lightning." The blonde thought to himself, gritting his teeth as the lightning entered his body. The pain he felt was sharper than the pain from lightning a Bender would've given him. But he was able to focus on what to do instead of the pain. "June, line them up!" He shouted. The bounty hunter heard his words and began to lure the winged creature towards his line of would crack her whip against it and backed off when it tried to attack her. "Anytime now would be great!" He told her as he struggled to hold the lightning in and not let it destroy him.
"Just give me a minute! This is not exactly easy!" She shouted at him as she twisted to the side, avoiding a swipe from the creature. "Just a little bit…more…and…perfect!" She twisted her head to look at him. "Okay! You can discharge now!"
"Thank you!" He redirected the lightning at the winged creature and let it loose. As the lightning flew towards the creature, June leapt out of the way. Meanwhile, Kakuzu had taken noticed of this.
"I guess he's not as smart as Itachi said he was." The Akatsuki member thought to himself with a small smirk. "Doesn't he know that wind beats lightning?" He clasped his hands again into a handseal, albeit a different one. "Fūton: Atsugai (Wind Style: Pressure Damage)!" Compressed wind spewed out of the winged creature's mouth. It crashed against the lightning and engulfed it, rendering it useless. It flew on, barreling towards Naruto. Kakuzu thought he had him, until the blonde suddenly ducked down and rolled out of the way. "What?" He thought in surprise. But then he realized what he was planning. "He didn't forget that wind beats lightning. He lured me into using a Wind Style jutsu when he directly in front of my lightning heart!" He urged the lightning creature to get out of the way. It managed to do so, but the jutsu clipped it, taking out the entirety of its left arm.
"Damn it." Naruto swore as he and June got back up on their feet. "And here I thought we had it." It had their plan to take out two of the hearts within the opening minutes of the fight. That way, Kakuzu would be down two hearts as well as two chakra styles.
"Well, we'll just have to try again." June remarked as she charged back into the fight.
"How much you want to bet that the others are having an easier time then us right now?" He asked aloud, following her.
(Location: Kiri Team & Kisame)
"How much you want to be that the others are having an easier time then us right now?" Suigetsu asked his two other teammates as he panted slightly. The fight against Kisame was lasting longer than they were expecting or preferred. The mere fact that Samehada kept taking their chakra was something of a hindrance. Not to mention the hilt could be extended, allowing Kisame to use the sword like a flail.
"Do we look like idiots, Hōzuki?" Raimu asked back with slight annoyance. He was too focused on the fight to be properly annoyed by what Suigetsu has said. "We need to figure out a way to get Samehada away from him."
"Thank you for that statement, Captain Obvious." The wielder of Kubikiribōchō replied with blatant sarcasm.
"Obvious or not, he's right." Chōjūrō told him. If they could get Samehada away from Kisame, the danger of having their chakra taken would disappear. But the problem was that if they tried to take it away, there was a good chance that the sword would try to get back to Kisame. And if they tried to wield it themselves, it would pierce their hands in order to get free.
"You know, I'm fairly certain that you three were supposed to fight me, not run away and hide." Kisame said aloud as he got closer to where they were. They had fallen back and regrouped to think of a way to win the fight. So far, they didn't have anything. "Come out, come out, wherever you are."
"I guess we'll have to oblige him if he wants to taunt us like that!" Suigetsu said with clenched teeth. Before the other two could object, he leapt out of the tree he was hiding in and charged at his opponent, his sword ready to be swung. When he was about to strike Kisame, he twisted low and aimed for his feet, intending to slice his target's feet off (or at the very least, knock him to the ground).
"Nice try." Kisame thought to himself. Swinging Samehada low, he not only managed to block the strike, he sent Suigetsu skidding away. "Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water SharkBullet Jutsu)!" A shark made of water formed around his hand and when he pointed it at the white haired shinobi laying on the ground, it surged forward towards him. For a brief moment, it looked like it would hit him.
Of course, that was when reality came back into play. "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bullet)!" Raimu cried. A torrent of water shot out of his mouthand slammed into the water shark, knocking it into a nearby tree. Both jutsus collapsed when they made contact with the wood, turning into a small cascade of water. The ground around the tree was soaked within a matter of seconds. "Next time, wait for us!" Raimu yelled at Suigetsu. "We need to work together as a team. Don't lose your frigging head!"
"I heard you the first time!" He shouted in return. Standing back up with Kubikiribōchō in hand, he charged at Kisame again. This time however, both Raimu and Chōjūrō joined him in the fight. They all attacked Kisame together. While Suigetsu and Chōjūrō had worked together before, Raimu had not. So they weren't working in complete tandem. It was more like a mostly successful dance. When Raimu saw a chance at attacking his uncle, he would try and take it. However, it sometimes interfered with what either Suigetsu or Chōjūrō were trying to do, forcing them to back off to avoid a swipe from Samehada or improvise.
Meanwhile, Kisame didn't really move from where he stood. He made the occasional step to either block or attack. But that was it. He knew that they wouldn't dare risk using jutsu against him; as Samehada would either render the jutsu useless while also take their chakra in the process. He relied on that fact, forcing them to back away every time he tried to hit them with his sword. He was enjoying this fight. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he had even gone against even one of the other six swords, much less two of them.
As Raimu swerved and ducked to avoid a swipe from Samehada that would've sent him flying, he was trying to think of a way to get an edge on his uncle. "Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu!" Suigetsu said, pointing his finger at Kisame's face. A round of water shot from his fingertip and sailed through the air. It would've hit him (and mostly likely have put a hole through his head), had he not used Samehada to block the shot.
That gave Raimu an idea. "Suigetsu, grab his free hand!" He shouted. Suigetsu was mystified, but did as he was instructed. He reached out and grabbed Kisame's free, dragging it close the semi-circle in Kubikiribōchō's blade. He was intent to make the wielder of Samehada have one less hand. Kisame noticed and tried to yank his hand free. It was in that moment when Raimu made his move. Drawing his father's kunai, he lunged forward and plunged it into the hand that held Samehada.
What happened next would seem longer to Raimu then it actually was. Hissing in pain, Kisame unconsciously release his grip on Samehada. The sword fell to the ground and landed with a sound that seemed to echo in the surrounding forest. They all stared at the sword in silence for a long moment before they all moved. Suigetsu shoved Kisame back away from the sword while Chōjūrō kicked it away. Scales pushed out from the wrappings as it landed, making it look like it had grown legs. It scuttled back towards the struggling Kisame, intent on rejoining its master.
When Raimu saw what the sword was trying to do, he leapt for it and grabbed it by the hilt, skidding on the ground as he maintained his hold on the sword. "Guys, I've got Samehada!" He cried out. Both Chōjūrō and Suigetsu immediately backed off of Kisame and leapt towards his side.
Kisame smirked slightly as he stood up, pulling the kunai out of his hand. "Do you think that because you have Samehada, you have an advantage over me?" He asked them, making them have looks of doubt appear on their faces. The look of doubt on Raimu turned to pain as he yelped in pain and surprise. "I see Samehada doesn't like you, nephew. You might want to let go of it now."
"LIKE HELL!" He roared back, even though his body was agreeing with what his uncle was saying. He could feel Samehada trying to get free, the scales biting into his hands. In the back of his mind, he could feel a sense of anger, outrage, and desperation. Like the sword was angry at him and wanted to leave, but couldn't. He tightened his grip on the sword, but that only made the scales dig deeper into his hands, letting the blood drip to the ground. Both Suigetsu and Chōjūrō noticed the blood dripping. "Guys, you take care of Kisame." He told them with gritted teeth before they could say anything. "I'll keep them separated."
"He's not letting go? That's a first." Kisame thought to himself in surprise. Most people that Samehada didn't like would've let go of the hilt within a matter of seconds. But Raimu still held it, even though it was evident that his hands had pierced. "I have to give him credit." He silently acknowledged as Suigetsu and Chōjūrō attacked him again. "He's lasting longer than most people." But there was something else about Samehada when it was held by a person it didn't like. If they didn't let go, the sword would drain them of their chakra. Raimu would let go of Samehada. He would lose his life (and Kisame would regret it), but he would let go. It was only a matter of time.
(Location: Team Paragon & Kakuzu)
It had taken them a while, but they had managed to take out the lighting creature (via a very creative use of a Wind jutsu from Naruto, Firebending from Azula, and Sokka's boomerang). They were now down to two hearts and it didn't look like it was going to be easy taking them out. "I don't think I'll be able to something like that again." Sokka admitted, panting slightly. His use of his Zanpakutō was beginning to get to him. It was one thing to use it in a spar; it's another thing to use it in an actual fight.
The rest of the group agreed with him. They had been cutting it close with that last tactic. They didn't want to admit it, but the fight with Kakuzu was getting more and more horrendous as time went on. Even though they had taken out two of his hearts, he acted like that didn't slow him down (oh sure, he was angry and promised to take their hearts, but he was just threating them, calmly).
"We need to take him out with one blow." June said. She had been fending off the wind creature throughout the entire fight. While she knew the forms of the other three Bending arts, she had stayed with the one she was most comfortable with, the one her grandfather had all but beaten into her. The only time she had strayed from the Airbending forms was when the creature tried to attack Nyla. She beat it back with an aggressive use of Firebending forms and would've gotten hit by either Kakuzu or the fire creature (she wasn't sure who) had Azula not pulled her out of the way and returned fire with her own Bending. "Anyone got any ideas?"
"I've got one." Naruto admitted. Before he could give it to them, Kakuzu decided to interrupt them by landing in their midst. Before he could reach out and grab hold of anyone, they all scattered and backed away. Out of the forest came his two remaining creatures, moving quicker than you would expect from. Everyone focused on their targets, Naruto switching out with Azula so she could join the fight against Kakuzu himself, drawing her daggers from her belt.
"You know, when I once told you that you must enjoy playing with fire, I'm pretty sure I didn't mean this." The Kyūbi pointed out from inside the blonde's mind, watching as he dodged a swipe from the creature. "I'm pretty sure I was talking about Azula!"
"That's actually the same basic thing, fox." He replied as he threw a kunai at the creature, hoping to distract it as he got behind it. "Both are likely to set me on fire if I ever give them a very good reason to be pissed off. And I'd say I already did that with Mr. Creepy here." He took a step back to avoid a claw aimed for his head as the creature turned around to face him. If he had to hazard a guess, the kunai didn't work. "Fūton: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)!" He breathed a gust of wind, aiming it at the creature. It traveled fast and slammed into the creature's midsection. It wasn't enough to tear it in half; just enough to send it flying it back into a leapt for it, hoping to break the mask. But when he saw that it got back up and was ready for him, he made a clone to throw him out of the way.
"Have you ever considered the fact that you might not be the best choice for fighting this thing?" The fox asked him. "The only elemental jutsus you know are Wind Style, and in case you haven't noticed, this thing uses Fire Style."
"Oh, trust me, I've noticed." He silently answered. He glanced over to where Sokka was trying to slash Kakuzu's legs. He had seen what the Tribesman had been working on with his Zanpakutō. The only reason he hadn't used it on Kakuzu was because he wasn't sure if he could be fast enough. "Sokka, switch out!" He told him.
The Water Paragon looked over at him for a brief moment. "Are you sure about that?" He asked, ducking a punch from his opponent.
"Just do it! You're probably the only one fighting who take this creature down in one shot." They silently counted down, pivoted, and leapt for the other's target. Naruto landed with a high kick and created a clone, the two of them setting into his Tsuinken (Twin Fist). They worked together as one, even though they used opposite Bending forms.
Sokka never stayed still for his target, mixing Waterbending forms with Airbending forms. Both he and Suki did it to Kakuzu, always moving, taking Kakuzu's strikes and turning them against, him, allowing them to strike. He applied the same idea against the fire creature. He danced, ducked, stabbed, and slashed. It didn't do much damage to the creature, more like irritate it if the expression on Kakuzu's face was anything to go by. "Too close, too close for comfort!" The Tribesman yelped as he rolled away from a jutsu the creature used.
"Would you stop dancing around and take that thing out already?" Azula yelled at him. While Naruto and his clone were working together, she and Suki were doing the same thing. They weren't really pushing him back, but he wasn't them away. For all intents and purposes, it was a stalemate. "I thought Aang was the one who did all the jumping around!"
"Would you give me a minute, please?" He shouted back at her as he slashed at the creature's side. "This is the first time I'm using it in real combat!"
"There should be less talking and more doing coming from you!"
He held his tongue, even though he had a very (and he meant very) sarcastic response. Leaping back to put some distance between him and the creature, he took a solid stance and breathed deeply. "Garō (Hungry Wolf)," He said, swinging his Zanpakutō down in a cross-slash. From the space where the two swords had crossed, a spectral wolf appeared and leapt for the creature. With a speed too quick to be seen by untrained eyes, it tackled the creature and began to rip it to pieces. There was no hesitation in its actions and held no mercy in its eyes. The wolf tore chunks out of the creature and swallowed them whole. The creature tried to struggle, but the wolf's paws held it down. As more and more of its body were eaten, the struggles lessened. Finally, all that remained was the mask, which broke in half once the wolf stepped on it and faded away.
"What was that jutsu?" Kakuzu demanded. Everyone else, including him, had stopped fighting to watch what would happen. He could feel the heart in the fire creature be torn apart as he watched the wolf devour it.
"It's not a jutsu." Sokka told him, keeping his swords ready. "It's a move used with my Zanpakutō. It creates a spectral wolf that will stop until it eats its target to the last piece." What he neglected to mention was that he wasn't sure if it would work on spirits or jutsus (the former because he wasn't that dumb to try and the latter, he hadn't tried yet). "And I believe it just took out another of your hearts." He reminded the Akatsuki member with a cocky grin.
"Wow, he just completely ignored Lesson number 4." The Kyūbi commented as he listened to the explanation.
"To be fair, he doesn't know what Lesson Number 4 is." Naruto replied.
"That would be your fault, not mine." The fox admonished him.
"Alright, alright, remind me to explain the Lessons to Suki, Sokka, and June when I have the chance."
"Indeed. Nobody has ever taken three hearts from me." Kakuzu admitted. "That just means I will just have to take three of yours and kill the rest." The only remaining creature leapt towards him, entering his back. The blackness of the creature turned to grey strings, sticking out from his back. Strings also burst out of his mouth, which made the mask he wore fly away. It made his arms elongated, breaking the strands that held them together apart. He went from looking someone who had an immense amount of surgery to someone who looked like he was a puppet that had his strings cut. Above his head, the mask of the wind creature appeared in the strings.
"Whoa, and I thought he was nasty before." June commented. Even though the guy looked a lot scarier, the bounty hunter (and Air Paragon) wasn't quivering in her boots. In fact, she looked like she didn't care what the guy looked like. "So, anybody want to take him?"
"I got it." Naruto declared, dispelling his clone. "I actually enjoy taking guys like him out." Holding out his hand and concentrating, he began to form a Rasengan. Once it was fully formed, he focused his wind chakra into, creating the four blades spiraling around the blue center. "They never seem to comprehend the very idea of Lesson number 9." He shouted over the sound of the air being cut.
"What kind of jutsu is that?" Kakuzu asked himself. "It doesn't matter in the end. So long as I avoid it, I will be safe." He watched in silence as the Jinchūriki of the Kyūbi charged straight at him, jutsu in hand. If he could, he would've smirk. "What a complete novice." He thought to himself, thinking lowly of the blonde. "All I have to do is jump…now!" He leapt into the air, just as his opponent went past him.
But unbeknownst to him, that was exactly what Naruto wanted him to do. "Sucker!" He thought in triumph as he quickly skidded to a stop and pivoted around. "Fūton: Rasenshuriken (Wind Style: Spiraling Shuriken)!" He cried as he threw the jutsu up into the air, watching as it slammed into Kakuzu's back. "And the fucker's goes flying!" The blonde shouted in triumph as the jutsu carried his opponent upwards. What he didn't know was that when he was about to throw the jutsu, Kyūbi added a bit of his chakra to it, stabilizing it as well as making his host's eyes briefly turn crimson (although no one noticed this).
They all watched in silence as the jutsu carried Kakuzu high into the sky, cutting him in half as they went. But he was already in so much pain that he didn't noticed. As he was engulfed in a sphere of wind, his mind went blank. He felt he was being pierced through countless times by countless swords. He only realize that he had lost his last spare heart when he saw the mask of the wind creature shattered into pieces and get swept away in the wind. When he felt his last heart getting torn apart and realized that he was dying, he only had enough time to think "How could this…?"
As the sphere of wind finally faded away, the group just watched as the two parts of their opponent crash to the ground with a meaty THUMP! "And that takes care of him." Azula declared triumphantly.
"Nicely done, everyone," Jiraiya congratulated as he walked out of the forest. The fight had covered a lot of ground and he hadn't moved from where he sat during the entire fight. "You've successfully taken out a member of the Akatsuki. With any luck, that'll hinder them a good amount."
"I hope so." June replied. She walked over to where Kakuzu's head laid. "The bounty people on this side of the planet just need the head, right?" She asked as she bent down and grabbed the head.
"Yeah, pretty much." The Toad Sage answered.
"Good to know." She walked over to Nyla, who had followed Jiraiya to the group along with Akela, with the head in hand. Pulling out a sack form Nyla's saddle, she dumped the head into the sack. Twisting it close, she secured it on the saddle.
"Same as always, right, June?" Naruto asked with a grin. It disappeared and was replaced with a brief look of surprise as Nyla tried to sting him with his tongue, making him duck and roll away. "That was a compliment, you blind excuse for an overgrown rat!" He shouted at the shirshu as he stood back up. "I swear, your mother was a rock that got humped by a badgermole!"
"As much fun it is to watch you two play around, we need to get moving and let the others know that we're done." Sokka informed them pointedly. He looked over at the wolf in the group, who was sitting on his hunches and waiting. "Akela, could you please tell the others?" The wolf lifted his head and howled.
(Location: Kiri Team & Kisame)
Despite not having Samehada, Kisame was still able to fend off both Suigetsu and Chōjūrō. He used the kunai that Raimu had stabbed him with as well as a spare one from his pouch. It may have been more than a few years since he fought without Samehada, but as long as he waited for Raimu to let go, he would be just fine.
While he dueled against the wielders of Hiramekarei and Kubikiribōchō, his nephew was fighting with the Samehada itself. The blade kept trying to free itself by wrenching itself free of Raimu's grip. But his hands held on with a steel grip. This made the sword lengthen the scales that were imbedded in his hands, causing him more pain. The blood that had dripped from his hands now flowed. "Forget it." He growled quietly at the small voice that was pleading him to let the sword go (when he had first grasped the hilt, the voice had ordered him). "You're not going anywhere." The sword's response was to try and throw him at a tree but because of his grip, it went with him.
"Raimu, you okay?" Chōjūrō asked as he took a quick look back at his teammate.
"I'm fine. Don't worry about me, just focus on Kisame!" He answered as he got back to his feet. Even though he said that he was fine, he did not look it. His skin had paled and his brow was caked in sweat, making his hair damp. If a stranger had walked by at that point, they would've thought he was wearing red gloves. But he didn't pay attention to the pain. He just focused on his idea. "You will submit, Samehada." He silently promised. The sword seemed to hear, as it tried to get free even more urgently.
"If you want to live, Raimu, then let go of Samehada." Kisame told him as he blocked a strike from Chōjūrō and avoided a jutsu from Suigetsu. If he had to be honest, he didn't want to see his nephew die because he was stubborn. Hell, he was still fond of him. The fact that he was considered for the Seven Swordsmen had made the Akatsuki member proud.
"You should be less concerned about Raimu and more concerned about us, Kisame." Suigetsu told him, swinging Kubikiribōchō up from the side. It missed Kisame's head by one or two inches when he leaned his head slightly to the side. He retaliated by thrusting the spare kunai into the hole of the sword. His intent was to hold it there in deadlock.
However, that was not Chōjūrō's intent. "Hiramekarei Kaihō!" He cried, bringing his sword down over his head. The shape the chakra took wasn't that of a hammer, but of a longer sword. When Kisame realized that his hand and a good portion of his arm were going to be chopped off if he didn't pull it away, he did so quickly. Hiramekarei flew through the space where it had been, hitting nothing but the air. "Kami take it!" He swore, stopping the swing before it imbedded itself in the earth.
"Hey, watch it!" Suigetsu yelled at him. The Hōzuki clan member had stumbled backwards when Kisame had broken the deadlock. The swing would've done serious damage to him if he hadn't pulled back in time.
Before anyone said anything in response, a howl echoed through the forest. "Hm, that's funny. I would've thought all the animals in the forest would've run away after the sounds of battle." Kisame noted as the howl faded away. He knew from experience that a forest during or after a battle was virtually devoid of animal life. Then he remembered something. "That was the white wolf, wasn't it?" He asked the other three shinobi with him.
"Yeah, it was." Raimu answered in a strained voice. He was sweating harder than before and it was obvious that he was trying to stop his hands from shaking. And yet, it seemed odd that, even though he looked like he was weakening, Samehada wasn't struggling harder to break free. In all honesty, it looked like it was struggling less. "If the others managed to win against your friend and kill him, they would signal us with Akela's howling."
"Kakuzu isn't my friend. He was simply another member of the Akatsuki." He told his nephew before looking him over. "You look a little pale there, Raimu. You sure you don't want to let Samehada go?"
"I told you already. I would take Samehada from you." He replied. "Why would I give it back to you now when I have it in my grasp?" As if it had heard him, Samehada lengthened the scales imbedded in his hands. He couldn't help but scream in pain as the scales burst through the other side of his hands.
"That would be why." Kisame answered simply. "And if you're not going to let go of Samehada, then I guess I'll just have to take it from you!" He leapt over both heads of Suigetsu and Chōjūrō, catching them by surprise, and charged directly at his nephew, kunai ready to fight.
"Suiton: Mizudeppō no Jutsu!" Suigetsu fired off multiple rounds of water from both hands at the blue-skinned Akatsuki member's back. But he was running in a zigzag pattern, so the rounds missed. "Kami damn it all!" He swore, grabbing the hilt of Kubikiribōchō and charging forward, still firing off rounds with his free hand. "Come on, Chōjūrō!"
"Don't even try it!" Kisame spun around, flashing through handseals. "Suiton: Suikōdan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water SharkBullet Jutsu)!" Another shark made from water surged from his hand and swam through the air, making both Suigetsu and Chōjūrō leap to opposite sides of it. The shark decided to go after Suigetsu, who turned to water to avoid its teeth. It disappeared when Chōjūrō smashed it with a blue chakra hammer, courtesy of Hiramekarei. But as they did that, Kisame reached his nephew. "Give me the sword, Raimu." He ordered.
"No way in hell!" Raimu growled. He tried to swing the sword, but couldn't get it halfway through the swing before his arms went limp. The tip of Samehada fell to the ground, followed by his legs. "You're…not…taking it…back." He said in small gasps as he sat against a tree. "I…need…it."
"That's where you would be wrong. You do not need it. You want it." He reached down to grab Samehada. "Now give it to me."
"No…" He said as he tried to lift the sword, only for his hand to drop. Trying to focus, he raised the hand again and with a grunt of effort, threw Samehada away weakly. The sword spun once before landing onto the ground.
"I knew you would value your life more than the sword." The Akatsuki member reached out and ruffled his nephew's hair. He stood up and looked over at Suigetsu and Chōjūrō, who watched him in silence. "What? Are you guys going to wait for me to be ready? That's not very shinobi-like of you." They didn't say anything in response, they just watched him. Deciding to ignore them, he walked over to Samehada and reached to down to pick it up. But when he grabbed hold of the hilt, he got a nasty surprise. Scales sliced his hand open, forcing him to let go. "What the…?" He thought in surprise. Scales also came out through the bandages covering it, landing on the ground and pushing the sword up off of it. It was then that Kisame got the biggest surprise he could ever have had: Samehada, for the lack of a better word, hissed at him.
When it tried to scuttle past him, he lunged for the hilt again. "Suiton: Mizurappa!" Chōjūrō spewed a jet of water from his mouth, forcing the Akatsuki member back away from the sword (making him drop the spare kunai he had in the process), allowing it to keep scuttling. When it reached Raimu, the hilt extended and placed itself with an almost gentle care on his hand. As soon as that happened, an orange glow engulfed the hilt and the hand. Immediately, Raimu's breathing got better and the holes in his hands began to heal.
"How is this possible?" Kisame demanded as they all watched Samehada heal his nephew.
Suigetsu smirked. "I guess his gamble paid off." He answered smugly, hefting Kubikiribōchō onto his shoulder.
"What do you mean?"
"He means that this was the plan all along, Kisame." Raimu told him as he stood up, completely healed and with Samehada in hand. "I wasn't just holding onto Samehada so that you wouldn't have it. I was deliberately pumping my chakra into it, all the while willing it to submit to me."
He couldn't have been more surprised. "You mean you risked your life force-feeding Samehada your chakra so it would like it so much, it would choose you over me?" He couldn't help but ask. That seemed like one of the dumbest things anyone could've done. And yet, his nephew had pulled it off.
"It was a gamble." He admitted. "But it was one I was willing to pay if that meant you would lose your greatest asset. And it worked." He lifted Samehada up and pointed it at his uncle. "The fight is over, Kisame. Give up, and give me back my father's kunai." He commanded.
Kisame's response was to throw said kunai at his nephew and leap backwards. "Suiton: Daikōdan—" He began to say as he landed, going through the necessary handseals. But before he could finish, Raimu, who had caught the kunai with ease, leapt after landed and swung Samehada once. Kisame felt his chakra disappear from his control.
"I'll say it again: the fight is over, Kisame." Raimu repeated as he placed Samehada on Kisame's neck. Both Chōjūrō and Suigetsu did the same thing with their swords, forming a triangle around him.
"…Then I guess I'm out of luck." He replied. They all knew he was. He couldn't try to fight against three of the swords, not without one of his own (which had just been taken from him), and he had a suspicion that the rest of the swords weren't there. His time had come, and he wasn't going to try and fight against it. "Well, at least I had a decent fight before I died."
His nephew wasted no time in relieving him of the belt that had carried Samehada for its wielder. "Get on your knees." Suigetsu ordered him as Raimu turned away to put the belt on himself. Kisame did as he was ordered, kneeling on the forest ground with his back straight.
"Do you have any words to say before your execution?" Chōjūrō asked him. Even traitors who were being executed were allowed the right to say something before they died.
"Yes, I do." He turned to face his nephew, who had turned his back. "Raimu Touken, I am proud that it is you who has succeeded me with Samehada. Therefore I, Kisame Hoshigaki, hereby order you to bear the title of Kirigakure no Same with pride and honor." Raimu didn't say anything in response. He didn't even turn to face him. "And Samehada, I want you to keep an eye on Raimu." He continued. "Kami knows he's going to need it." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I am ready." He declared, opening his eyes and bowing his head slightly, showing the back of his neck.
Suigetsu raised Kubikiribōchō over his head and swung down. With that one swing, he beheaded Kisame Hoshigaki. "It's done." He declared as the head fell to the ground. Chōjūrō pulled a bag out of one of his pockets and placed the head inside of it before twisting it shut.
"Let's get going." Raimu declared, still looking straight at the forest. "We need to regroup with the others and let them know what we have done." The other two silently agreed with him. They quickly hid Kisame's body underneath a tree, burying it in dead leaves and branches. When they were finished, they left in silence. It was their plan to come back and properly deal with the body once they had regrouped with everyone else.
That area of the forest was quiet for a good five minutes. Then, what appeared to be a large Venus fly-trap in an Akatsuki cloak, stepped out from behind a tree. If someone was to look closely, they would've seen that there was a head in between the fly-trap. The left side was white, while the right side was black. "Well, this is a problem." He said as he stood in front of where Kisame's body had been hidden.
End
Author's note: Thank you for all the reviews you've sent me.
Wow, I didn't think I would be able to pull it off. But I was able to write an entire chapter that was centered on a battle, two at that! I'm kinda proud of that. It was a little easier than I had anticipated.
I could be wrong about this, but I'm pretty sure that the bounty offices in the Naruto world only need the head in order to give the money. The rest of the body is either left to rot or destroyed on site, if I read it right.
I got the idea of Raimu force-feeding Samehada from Kisame's fight against Killer Bee. If Samehada could like the chakra it was being fed in a fight and decided to switched allegiances because of that, then I think you could do the same thing if you had it in your hands and shoved your chakra down its proverbial throat.
Besides, I don't know about the rest of you, but the fact that Killer Bee took Samehada for himself after the fight with Kisame always seemed a bit…wrong to me. I know it's a spoil of war, but I think Samehada should've gone back to Kiri. At the very least, as a gesture of goodwill between Kumo and Kiri, not to mention it might've helped smoothed relations over leading up to the war.
I think the Kubikiribōchō is the sword that was used executions in Kirigakure. Come on, look at the same and then look at the translations. It makes sense to me. Why else would the Mizukage threaten Suigetsu with it when a normal katana could've done the same thing?
I'll see you all next chapter!