Do I Have A Purpose Anymore?
Chapter 29: "The War vs. The Akatsuki Part.1"
Naruto decided to leave the women and children behind at the Crimson Bandit encampment for their safety and Daisuke had assigned a dozen of his most trustworthy comrades to guard the camp, while rest of its inhabitants marched with Naruto towards the Land of Spring. It would take a couple of days to reach the border of the Spring country, but Naruto was confident in the plans he had made that Princess Kazahana Koyuki and her people would be free from the Akatsuki very soon. Meanwhile, Kiba sat inside the prison pit of the Crimson Bandit encampment; he seethed with unbridled fury, as he remembered the conversation he had with Hinata and Kurenai the day before.
(Flashback)
Kiba looked up through the bars of the prison grate covering the prison pit to see Hinata and Kurenai standing peering down towards him. They were here because Kurenai wanted to offer her former student a chance to redeem himself by helping them to battle the Akatsuki and free the Land of Spring from their tyranny as they were doing. As Kurenai looked down, her gaze bore one of pity for her former student, while Hinata's cold hard glare did not hide what she felt for the Inuzuka heir. Kiba did not like the way they were staring at him and growled out in insult.
"What do you two bitches want?"
"I told you Kurenai-sensei, it's a waste of time trying to talk to him." Hinata stated in a cold tone of voice.
"Perhaps you're right Hinata, but he was our teammate and comrade for a number of years and we should at least offer him a chance to redeem himself."
"Redeem myself; I've done nothing that I have to redeem myself for, unlike you two traitorous whores for siding with the demon against me!"
"Watch your tongue Kiba!" Kurenai spat in angered response.
"Why should I, it's true! I can smell Kakashi's stink all over you sensei and Hinata's got the demons filthy stench all over her. Not to mention she's carrying that monsters baby, while purposely denying me a rightful heir the past three years you deceitful bitch!"
"The only monster or demon around here is you Kiba and as for denying you an heir, yes I did, but that didn't stop you from fathering three heirs from those civilian sluts you bedded during our marriage!"
"You, you know about them." Kiba stammered in surprise.
"Of course I know about them, did you truly take me for a fool. Initially I was angry with them, but now I just pity those poor women and their children, because of how carelessly you abandoned all of them to fend for themselves."
"They can't be heirs to the Inuzuka clan, as they are nothing but bastards. The only heirs that can be produced are from marriage and you betrayed me by denying me the chance to have any rightful heirs to the clan."
"That doesn't absolve you from accepting responsibility for your actions and taking care of the children you fathered!" Kurenai shouted in disgust.
"Fuck you, you're not from a clan so you don't know what the hell you're talking about sensei! Sensei, what a joke, I don't know why I'm even bothering to call you that? You're nothing but an over-the-hill kunoichi now!"
"This is pointless, let's just leave this mongrel to stew in his own filth, he's not worthy or even deserving of any chance at redemption anymore. The Kiba who once was worthy and deserving no longer exists in this pitiable wretch of a little boy anymore." Hinata declared to her friend and former teacher.
"You're right Hinata, because I don't even recognize this pathetic piece of trash, as once being my student anymore."
Both Hinata and Kurenai turned around and began walking away ignoring the rage-filled and insulting shouts and threats spewing from Kiba's mouth, as they left.
"That's right, go ahead and walk away you treacherous whores! When I get out of here and I will, I'll teach the both of you sluts what this little boy can do to you!"
(End of Flashback)
'I swear, I'll make those two bitches pay for betraying me! First I'll fuck the shit out of Kurenai before I kill her! And as for Hinata, I'll keep her alive long enough to watch me carve that bastard demon seed she carries in her belly out of her!' Kiba thought to himself in a psychotic malevolent rage.
It was then Kiba noticed the lone guard of the prison pit leave his post to relieve himself. Smirking to himself the Inuzuka heir put his plan into action. Having freed his hands earlier, he began flashing through a series of hand-seals and a moment later in a puff of smoke Kiba was no longer in the pit, but Akamaru now occupied it. When the guard returned a few minutes later, Akamaru barked to alert him of his presence.
"What the hell, where did that dog come from and where's the prisoner?" The guard asked himself in confusion; as he reached down to unlock the grate.
The moment the grate was lifted, Akamaru leaped out of the pit and his jaws clamped down onto the guards throat crushing his windpipe and tearing through his jugular killing him instantly. A second later, there was another puff of smoke and Kiba stood with blood smeared on his face, as he spit the flesh he had torn out of the guards throat out of his mouth and grinned smugly before saying to himself in appreciation.
"Man that was better than I could have imagined. That reverse version of the Juujin Bunshin (Beast-Man Clone) I've been developing worked out perfectly."
Kiba then knelt down and took the dead guards sword, before rising and sniffing the air. Once the Inuzuka heir fixated on the direction Naruto and everyone else had departed, he sprinted forward into the night to follow his former comrades and friends. His one lone purpose now in life to make them pay for what they had done to him.
As Naruto stood atop a hill gazing through a telescope at Madara's Akatsuki army marching through a valley, he smirked before he snapped the scope closed. Daisuke's strategy had been brilliant, as he had feigned the retreat of his troops perfectly into the valley. Madara's troops were overconfident as they marched after them, thinking the initial battle in which they seemingly overwhelmed the Crimson Bandit army had assured them of victory. Unfortunately, they never realized that the opening battle and retreat was merely a ruse on Daisuke's part to lead the Akatsuki followers into the valley. Daisuke had engaged the Akatsuki troops with only 1/3rd of his troops, as the other 2/3rd of the Crimson Bandit army was positioned in the high ground of the basin and were just waiting for the Akatsuki soldiers to march a little bit deeper into the valley. Once they were sufficiently inside, Daisuke would cut off both ends of escape, while his men on the high ground would begin their assault. And with their means of retreat cut off from them and Crimson soldiers holding the high ground, the Akatsuki army stood no hope of victory.
Naruto felt a bit of relief, as he realized that soon the followers of the Akatsuki would be no more. However, he was still a bit apprehensive about the individual battles soon to commence. For Daisuke's victory would mean nothing if any of the powerful foes Naruto and his comrades would soon be facing gained a victory. As any of them alone, could decimate Daisuke and the Crimson Bandit army if they were allowed to live to do so. That is why he said a silent prayer to Kami for everyone to be victorious, as he marched down the hill to where Sasuke was waiting for him.
It was a little after dawn when Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the battlefield where Madara was located, they paused to gaze at their foe. The elder Uchiha stood proudly across from them, his attire the form of the standard shinobi dress of his era, consisting of bright red traditional armor, which was constructed from numerous metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body, in particular: chest, waist, shoulders and thighs. Unusually, his chest plate left his back entirely exposed, presumably so as to better display his clan's crest. This clothing was accompanied by boots and gloves, as well as an orange-colored war-fan called a Gunbai on his back that had the infamous tomoe pattern of the Uchiha Sharingan colored bright red, in both of the top corners.
As Naruto and Sasuke took in Madara's appearance, he was doing the same with them, as he watched them approach. Once his opponents got within 50 yards of him, the elder Uchiha stated with a sneer.
"I see you didn't come alone Namikaze legacy, I'm glad. Now I can extract my revenge on both you and my clan's traitor at the same time."
"The only Uchiha clan traitor here is you Madara!" Sasuke spat in disgust.
"Hardly, you betrayed me during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War and helped to ruin the Uchiha clan dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi creating the perfect world."
"I never betrayed you Madara, you lied and deceived me into doing your bidding, but I learned the truth from Hashirama and broke free from being your toy to use as you saw fit. And as for your perfect world, don't you mean your perfect illusion, as freewill would have been forever extinguished if your Eye of the Moon plan had been allowed to come to fruition. It was never the Uchiha clan dream for that to happen, only yours. I helped to stop you then and I'll help Naruto to stop you now and end the threat you pose to the world once and for all!"
"This is the last time you will ever betray me Sasuke, for you will die by my hand this day."
"Naruto, what's our plan? Because I'm ready to kill this bastard right now." Sasuke asked, interrupting Naruto's thoughts.
"Have some patience Sasuke, we'll make our move soon enough."
"Hmph, feeling confident are we." Madara spat derisively at Naruto and Sasuke before disappearing.
Suddenly, Madara reappeared behind them and growled out while swinging his gunbai scythe fan in a murderous horizontal arc to lop their heads off.
"Would the two of you be so kind and die!...…."
Naruto and Sasuke quickly ducked and rolled out of the way, before Sasuke leapt up and began flashing through a series of hand seals and shouted.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu!" (Great Fireball Technique)
Sasuke then blew a stream of fire which erupted into a large sphere of flames towards Madara.
"What a pitiful strategy Sasuke, do you think I would be defeated by our own clan's jutsu?" Madara asked in contempt, before he shushin'd away.
"Reppushou!"(Gale Wind Palm Technique)
Naruto shouted, before thrusting his arms forward, as a powerful gust of wind erupted from his hands and impacted Sasuke's fireball causing it to expand and change direction towards where Madara had reappeared.
'They're using a combination attack with Naruto's wind jutsu enhancing the power of Sasuke's fire jutsu, very clever.' Madara thought to himself, before swiftly going through some hand seals and calling out.
"Gouka Mekkyaku no Jutsu!"(Great Fire Majestic Removal Technique)
Madara then unleashed a large wall of fire from his mouth, which traveled over the ground and impacted Sasuke's wind enhanced fireball causing both fire jutsu's to cancel each other out. As both Naruto and Sasuke watched Madara counter their attack, they looked to one another and Naruto sighed before saying.
"Well teme, it appears he's going to be as much of a pain-in-the-ass to defeat, as he was during the Fourth Great Shinobi World War."
"You didn't honestly believe that it was going to be easier to take him down this time did you?"
"No, not really, but I was hoping." Naruto replied, while flashing his trademark grin at his friend and comrade.
"I sincerely hope that the two of you will put up more of a challenge than that? If not, then killing both of you won't have the same satisfaction for me, knowing that I had defeated such weak and unskilled opponents." Madara asked insultingly.
Both Naruto and Sasuke flinched slightly at Madara's biting jibe, before Naruto began to unwrap Zangetsu and Sasuke unsheathed Zabimaru. The two Leaf Jounin then glanced at one another and Sasuke asked.
"You ready dobe?"
"Yeah teme, let's do this!"
Then in the blink of an eye they disappeared, before the metallic clanging sounds of zanpaktou's clashing with a gunbai scythe fan echoed throughout the battlefield.
As Ino sat at a table in the command tent, studying the file on Zetsu for the upcoming battle; her thoughts straying to the last two years she had spent with Shikimaru. On several occasions she'd witnessed his ability to think about 200 moves ahead and even though his constant laziness was a sore spot, he'd made a conscious effort to try and teach her this ability to some degree. While he was still by far a better tactician, she hoped that she had learned enough to give her squad the edge they needed to win this fight tomorrow.
The two lieutenants assigned to her squad, Ikkaku Madarame and Yumichika Ayasegawa were there as well – Ikkaku standing against one wall with his sword on his shoulder and Yumichika sitting across the table from her, hands calmly folded waiting for her to finish.
Her initial assessment of the two was that personality wise, they were complete opposites –Ikkaku seemed like a smaller carbon copy of his commander, Zaraki Kenpachi – interested in fighting strong opponents in order to test his personal strength even at the cost of his own life. Yumichika did mention that he was the second strongest man in the 11th division, so that said something about how powerful he was.
Yumichika on the other hand was without a doubt the more intelligent of the two. Calm, cool and calculated he seemed interested in the file and her analysis of it. But under the surface she could feel the same drive and desire to face strong opponents in battle. His demeanor somewhat unnerved her; it was always the quiet ones you had to watch, as she thought to herself.
'And I'm going into battle with these two. I'm not sure if that's a blessing or a curse.'
"Damn it!" she swore, before adding.
"There's something missing here…it's just too incomplete!"
"I'm sorry, Ino-san but I am a bit confused. Those files are supposed to have any and all intelligence we need to prepare for our upcoming fight. Why do you say there is something missing?" Yumichiki questioned.
"Just call me Ino please; same goes for you, Ikkaku. We're all on the same team so there's no need to be formal. It's not like it's going to help us on the battlefield."
"No problem. All I care about is fighting someone strong. Nothing else matters." Ikkaku gruffly stated.
Ino turned back to the file and said with concern.
"And as to why I said that…I looked through this report, and at best it contains intelligence that I already knew from the 4th Shinobi war. Looks like his powers are limited in scope but backed up by huge chakra reserves. His biggest skill is the number of clones he can produce. When we fought him in the war, the sheer number of Zetsu clones that Madara had at his command – along with the ability to copy an immobilized or killed ninja right down to his chakra signature – made him the most difficult problem we had."
"And one of the first and most basic principles we are taught is that overwhelming numbers can compensate for a lack of skills and techniques." Yumichika affirmed, before asking.
"Exactly how many clones did Zetsu produce to fight against your forces during this last war?"
Ino solemnly lowered her head and stoically answered.
"About one hundred thousand."
Yumichika sat silent. That was a VERY large number.
"Do you know how he managed to create so many clones for this war? Is there some kind of jutsu that does this?"
"Not to my knowledge, no. You can create clones, sure – but they usually cannot do much on the battlefield other than information retrieval. Shadow clones have some solidity to them, sure - but they disappear when they get hit once. The Zetsu clones were just like the original – solid, brutal…they could take a hit and keep coming. You could cut off the legs and the thing would crawl toward you and attempt to take you out. Only head shots or hitting the heart worked."
"Who gives a damn, numbers don't matter. I don't care how they die, as long as they can. I'll fucking kill them all." Ikkaku vehemently declared.
Ino looked at him incredulously before proclaiming in earnest.
"It matters to ME, dumbass. As an ANBU we're taught that information is just as important as skill to ensure your survival. I had an instructor at the academy who once told me 'chance favors the prepared mind'. The more prepared we are, the more CHANCE is in our favor and the LESS we have to rely on luck to win the battle."
'…AND, The better chance I have to come back from this battle alive. I'll prove my love and worth to Naruto-kun and show him that I can protect him, just as he protects me. I just got him back, and I'll die before I lose him again.' Ino said silently to herself before adding.
'Besides…I still have to make sure forehead girl stays the fuck away from him.'
"So how the hell do we get more info? It isn't like we can just waltz up to one of these assholes and say, 'hey – before we fight you, can you tell us about yourself so we can kill you easier?"
'Ikkaku was right, they needed more information, but from where? The only place that might have that kind of info would be in Konoha, and they sure as hell weren't going back there anytime soon…' Ino thought with apprehension.
Then she remembered something. Lifting her face, she looked at them both and said.
"I have an idea. Continue studying the file while I'm gone; maybe you'll find something that I've missed. I need to talk with someone who I think can help us out."
Yugito sat alone in her tent, lost in thought. In just a few short hours, she would be fighting the Akatsuki…the group that held her prisoner for eight years; demeaned her, used her…left her with nothing but pain and despair…and she was ready for revenge. Everyone else was studying the files with the data on each member, but she didn't need to. Being a captive of the Akatsuki, she knew their strengths and their weaknesses…
'And I'll use it to my advantage in the most savage and deadly way I possibly can!'
Her train of thought was broken by Ino's voice outside her tent.
"Yugito, may I come in? I need to talk with you…privately."
Granting permission, Ino entered the tent and sat down. Immediately, Yugito's Jinchuuriki senses told her that Ino was tense and hesitant, almost as if the conversation was going to be about something that was very uncomfortable.
"Yugito, I came to ask your help with something."
Ino paused a moment to choose her next words carefully.
"I know this is difficult to talk about, considering…well, past events. But is there anything you could possibly tell me about Zetsu? Anything that might be helpful? The intelligence report on him compared to the other Akatsuki members is sparse at best, and for some reason I'm getting the feeling that there's something missing...something important."
"Something missing? I'm not sure what you mean? What do you think is missing from the data that you have?" Yugito questioned in confusion.
"I'm not sure, but what's in the file is basically stuff we knew about from the 4th shinobi war. Compared to the files on the other members...Orochimaru's file is 4 inches thick and hell, Madara's file could practically be considered a small novel. But the file on Zetsu, it's maybe one half inch thick. You have his phasing ability…his ability to copy the appearance and chakra signature – and to a lesser extent their skills – of an enemy that he's killed or incapacitated…and the fact that he can create an absurd amount of real, substantial clones to fight on the battlefield. All in all, his skills don't seem like much but if he's got an advantage of sizeable numbers with him this battle is going to be difficult, if not impossible to win."
Yugito listened to Ino, and the anxiety in her voice. She knew that Ino had seen battle as an ANBU operative…sure, she'd probably even killed. And even though she probably knew the answer to her next question and where this conversation was going, she asked it anyway…
"Why are fighting this battle Ino?"
"I'm, I'm fighting this battle for Naruto-kun. He was kind enough to forgive me for the pain my betrayal caused him and give me a second chance with him and I want to….."
"And now you want to prove your worth to Naruto-kun in battle. Now that he has given you another chance, you're afraid of NOT coming back from this battle and the promise of a life with him. Does that sum it up?" Yugito stated interrupting the blonde kunoichi.
Ino looked at her and answered.
"Yes, I will protect him and those who are precious to him, just as he protects us. But I also want them to pay for what they did to you and make sure that they never threaten you or Naruto-kun ever again."
Satisfied with the answer, Yugito nodded and said.
"So, what do you want to know?
"Anything that I haven't already summarized. I really don't want to bring up any…unpleasant memories for you, but whatever you can provide to me that'll help my team survive this would be very helpful."
Yugito sat thoughtfully for a few minutes, recounting every experience she had with Zetsu over her eight year imprisonment. After a few minutes, she sighed and said.
"There's not much else to tell other than what you already told me. To be honest, while I hate all of the members of the Akatsuki and would love to see them all banished to the deepest pit of the seventh hell, my reason for hating Zetsu are much less…carnal than the rest."
"I'm not sure I follow you, what do you mean?" Ino asked in curiosity.
"I mean, Zetsu was violent, sadistic, cruel…But while the rest of the members of Akatsuki used me as their personal sexual plaything, Zetsu never seemed interested. He just enjoyed being sadistic." Yugito replied, before cocking her head to one side and added.
"Now that I think about it, it might explain a few things regarding his ability to make clones…"
"You saw him make clones, did you see the jutsu he used?"
"It wasn't a jutsu. Basically, he gathered a portion of his chakra and essentially…split in two, creating a copy of himself. I think Madara said that his ability came from the First Hokage."
"What? How so? That doesn't seem to make any sense!" Ino exclaimed in bewilderment.
"Well, if I remember correctly, I once overheard Madara say that he created Zetsu using cells from Hashirama Senju. He had some bloodline limit that apparently no one else has been able to copy, and he wanted this ability for himself. So he created Zetsu solely for the purpose of harnessing this ability to use for his own purposes."
Ino thought about this, and suddenly something clicked. She had what she needed. She hugged Yugito and commented.
"Thank you, I think you just gave me what I was looking for. I need to get back to my team mates and finish the mission briefing. Good luck on the battlefield, Yugito. I wish you a safe return."
As Yugito watched the young blonde kunoichi race out of her tent, she was unsure as to what information she provided that was so vital or important, but if it helped ensure that Zetsu died a slow, painful death…
"Then whatever I said was worth it!" Yugito openly declared to herself.
Ino returned to the command tent to find Ikkaku and Yumichika there, studying the file. Well, Yumichika was studying it. Ikkaku was still in the same place he was when she left. Sitting at the table again, she asked with interest.
"So now you've had a chance to look over the file. Find anything that I missed?"
Yumichika sighed and commented.
"After careful inspection, I have to agree with your earlier assessment. His skills don't seem like much, but his large chakra reserves will make the battle difficult. The main issues that we have to prepare for are his ability to copy his enemies and the large number of clones he can produce. Other than that, we simply have no information on how he accomplishes this. It is not a jutsu, as you explained earlier and the skill seems to be limited to him only. Therefore it has to be related to his heritage and inherited by blood."
Ino was impressed with his analysis and thought to herself.
'It looks like I need to fill in the blanks after what Yugito told me.'
Looking at them both, she commented.
"I agree with you, but his ability isn't related by his heritage or blood. Well, not in the traditional sense…If what I was told is correct, Zetsu doesn't create his clones using a jutsu. I think he creates clones by growing them."
Ikkaku and Yumichika looked at each other in confusion and then looked back at her asking.
"Care to repeat that?"
"Like I said – he GROWS clones. Zetsu was created by Madara from cells of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. The skill he possessed was Mokuton (wood release); a combination of earth and water elements and Zetsu is growing clones using the same process. He's basically a plant, and creates clones using an accelerated growth technique."
Ikkaku grunted in response.
"Kinda makes sense, I suppose. I mean, the thing does look like a big fucking Venus flytrap plant."
Ino filed that little bit of information away…funny how she missed that considering her family owned a florist shop.
"I think I've got a plan on how we can win this fight. However, I need to know what kind of skills you both possess in order to make it work. Tell me everything. Leave nothing out."
Ikkaku and Yumichika looked at each other and nodded. There would be no secrets.
Yumichika went first and calmly said.
"Okay. Let's talk about Kido first."
Dawn found the squad of Ino, Ikkaku and Yumichika at the edge of a forest before a large clearing. Everyone was silent; Ino waiting patiently for one of them to ask the question she was sure was on both of their minds. It was Ikkaku who broke first and asked.
"Remind me again why we're attacking the castle across a wide open space, just begging to be fucking ambushed?"
Ino sighed in response before answering.
"I don't like it much more than you do, but based on what we know about Zetsu, his major strength – aside from his large chakra reserves – is his ability to create clones of himself. That means he'll be defending the biggest wide open area that they have. This is the best odds we have of fighting the enemy we've been assigned."
"I concur. However, this brings up two points. One, are we not providing him with the best opportunity to use his clone technique against us? And two, does this not defeat our purpose of stealth?"
"Yes and no Yumichika. We should have an advantage due to the cold. Since he's basically a plant, cold weather slows him down. This should give us the edge regarding the number of clones he can produce."
"So basically you're saying girl that we're going up against an enemy that can create a shitload of copies that may or may not have some of our skills, on his home turf, probably killing us in the process."
Ikkaku smiled after his statement and then shouted in glee.
"SOUNDS LIKE MY KIND OF FIGHT!"
A second later, he launched himself into the open field straight for the castle.
"Ikkaku, wait! A tactical approach would be best…" However, Yumichika's words fell on deaf ears, as he looked at Ino and commented.
"He never was a rational thinker. We have no choice but to follow him at this point."
"Damn it! Let's go. Hopefully he hasn't screwed this up for us."
Halfway to the castle, the group stopped. Rising from the ground was a creature that was black and white, a cruel grin stretched ear to ear over serrated teeth. Small spikes protruded from various points on his body. It appeared that their theory was correct, as it spoke.
"Enemies of Akatsuki, I will kill you all in the most extreme and painful manner possible, before I absorb your bodies and consciousness into mine. You cannot win."
"Says you half moon, one of you isn't even close to being able to take me out. I was told that you can do much better than that…" Ikkaku tauntingly declared.
Zetsu smiled and three dozen copies rose out of the ground, as he asked.
"Does this meet your expectations?"
They all calmly drew their swords, waiting for the group of clones to charge. Ikkaku broke out in a smile that was eerily similar to Zetsu's and screamed with delight…
"NOW THAT'S MORE LIKE IT!"
As the battle raged on, Ino wondered if she had underestimated their opponent. She danced in between her opponents using everything she learned from her time in ANBU, combat instincts coming to the fore and subconsciously controlling her actions. Stabbing a clone in the chest, she turned around and swiftly decapitated another one. Wheeling to the side, she sent poison coated senbon into the chest of two more before jumping back to an open area to regroup.
'It's a shame that I'm not that good at elemental ninjutsu, it would really help in this fight. My mind body switch technique won't do me any good here.' Ino thought to herself, as she darted back in to take on the next group of clones coming at her, she couldn't help but notice the other two under her command and how different their fighting styles were.
Yumichika was graceful, almost elegant in how he moved and flowed in-between his opponents. His sword never stopped and seemed to flow in constant movement…decapitating a clone, the sword never stopped and he spun to his right, slashing downward through the middle of the next, splitting its heart. He continued spinning, kicking the next one away from him before his sword came up from the ground splitting the next clone in two from the opposite direction. A slight smile on his face, his style portrayed that the beauty and grace of the kill was just as important as the kill itself.
In stark contrast, Ikkaku mirrored the ferocity of his commander, Zaraki Kenpachi. He wasn't concerned about the beauty of the kill but the brutality. Charging straight in to a group of clones, he swung his sword overhead with vicious force cleaving a clone in two. Turning, he cut another one in half at mid chest, then performed a roundhouse kick to a third so powerful, the chest exploded. Ikkaku was grinning savagely, laughing maniacally with bloodlust, as he was having the time of his life.
Finishing off his last clone, Ikkaku turned and stared at the last Zetsu standing. Glaring at him with massive killing intent, he proclaimed in supreme confidence.
"You better have something else up your sleeve, because if that's all you got it ain't enough!"
Zetsu looked at him and calmly replied.
"Perhaps you would like to up the ante? Would this present more of a challenge for you?"
Snapping his fingers, 100 more Zetsu clones rose from the ground intent on killing the three of them.
"Heh, you want to up the ante? Well, I can do that too."
Ikkaku then slammed his sword and its sheath together at the ends and loudly exclaimed.
"Extend, Hōzukimaru!"
Immediately, the sword and the sheath seemed to spin and they merged into a naginta (staff with a spear on the end).
"Think you got what it takes to put me down? I bet you won't even scratch me." The former Gotei 13 lieutenant boasted.
Silently, Yumichika sighed. He really wished that Ikkaku would shut the hell up sometimes and not make the situation worse. However, he agreed with his comrade that it was time to take it to the next level. Holding his blade out in front of him, he calmly announced.
"Bloom. Fuji Kujaku."
Instantly, his sword blade split into four, and he held it at the ready, waiting for the clones to charge him.
Zetsu smiled and stated in mirth.
"I accept your wager. But I assure you that once I do manage to scratch you, you won't like the results."
Something was wrong. Very, very wrong.
The battle continued to rage, and Ino knew that somehow she had missed something. The clones just kept coming with no signs of stopping. They didn't slow down. They didn't get tired. And her squad would end before they did.
As Ikkaku and Yumichika continued to fight she wondered how he was still managing to create clones in this cold. The ground was covered in snow, and the temperature HAD to be below freezing. As a botanist, one thing she knew from working all of those years in her parents' floral shop was that plants HATE cold. They hibernate. Sometimes they die. But they cannot grow and reproduce in sub-zero temperatures.
Yet somehow, the clones just kept coming…faster, and in greater numbers. What did she miss?
Ino had little time to think about it as the battle raged on. She pulled out an exploding tag and shoved it in the mouth of the nearest clone, then kicked it into another large group. Making a ram sign, the tag exploded – and took several more with him. As she turned to meet another group of them, she saw a large number of clones charge at Ikkaku. Spinning Hōzukimaru, he sliced two in half before stabbing a third in the chest. With the clone still impaled on the spear, he turned and threw it at another oncoming group of clones to give him a small breather. However, before he could throw the impaled clone off of his weapon, it's hand came down and slashed at his face…scratching him ever so slightly… Just enough to draw blood.
As if that was what they were waiting for, all of the remaining clones jumped back and regrouped around the fallen clone. The nearest one bent down and grabbed the hand that had scratched Ikkaku, looking at the blood glistening on its claws. It brought the fingers to its mouth, licking the blood, smiling as it savored the taste…
…and the remaining clones reformed into perfect copies of Ikkaku, each one holding a sword.
Ino blanched. As a sensor, she could feel the chakra signatures of the clones and knew that they were perfect copies. They felt much more menacing and powerful than before. No matter how you looked at this, it wasn't good and she knew what Zetsu had been doing since the beginning. He wanted Ikkaku's blood because he was clearly the strongest of the three of them, and having it so that he could create perfect clones of him was his plan all along. She wondered how he would react to this.
And surprisingly, Ikkaku…laughed.
"Guess you finally figured out that the only one who can beat me…is me, huh? You better bring your 'A' game, 'cause I still haven't played my trump card…and YOU'RE STILL GONNA DIE."
The original Zetsu stood at the back of the group, unchanged after the rest of them changed. Looking at Ikkaku, he commanded.
"Very well, clones…kill him first. Make the others watch as he cries for help and perishes, knowing his efforts in the end were futile."
And the group of Ikkaku clones charged the real thing…faster than they thought possible.
Ikkaku barely had time to kill the first one, before the second clone punched him in the gut with tremendous force, doubling him over. Then a third clone followed up behind that one, landing a vicious kick underneath his chin, launching him high into the air.
Ino and Yumichika watched in what seemed like slow motion as Ikkaku arced into the sky, only to be met by a half-dozen clones that lifted their left legs high in the air before smashing them down on him as one, rocketing his body back into the earth with devastating results. The force of the impact was so great that it left a large crater about 30 feet in diameter and about four feet deep, with what seemed like a broken and bloody Ikkaku at the center.
Ino rushed to help him, shouting.
"Yumichika! Keep the clones away from me for a minute while I heal him!"
Yumichika jumped to the forefront, swinging Fuji Kujaku and reaping the heads off of the clones like a farmer harvesting grain from his fields. He was pumping chakra into his movements to make him fast enough to take on so many, but he knew he couldn't keep up this pace for very long.
Ino jumped to the middle of the crater, grabbing Ikkaku and looking for any signs of consciousness. Kneeling next to him and making a few hand signs, her hands glowed green as she quickly scanned his vitals. Even though there was plenty of blood on him, nothing appeared to be broken. Even though her chakra reserves were running low, she quickly fixed some of his smaller injuries before waking him up.
Ikkaku blinked a few times before attempting to push himself up asking.
"Ugh. What the fuck just happened? Did dandelion boy just knock me out?"
Attempting to catch her breath, Ino rocked back and placed her hands on the ground before saying, "Yes. Those clones of you charged…" Eyes wide, she stopped in mid-sentence because she was shocked to discover that where her hands had touched the ground in the crater, the dirt was warm. Not shockingly so, but certainly above freezing.
'How? How could there be snow on the ground, covering everything yet the dirt a foot or so beneath the surface is warm? And furthermore, why would it be warm?'
Ino thought in confusion, before she then remembered a comment Ikkaku made during the mission briefing.
The thing does look like a big fucking Venus flytrap plant.
And several things clicked into place…
Out of all of the clones they had seen since arriving on the battlefield, they all missed the fact that not ONE of them looked like a venus flytrap plant. That meant that they hadn't seen the REAL Zetsu yet. Every one of them – including the one at the back of their formation – were copies.
And Zetsu was a plant…and plants hated the cold because they couldn't grow or reproduce in it, which meant…..
Zetsu was still underground, using his chakra to keep the earth warm about a foot or so below the surface so that the snow covering the field wouldn't melt and everything would appear normal. This way, no matter how many clones they killed he could survive…and that's why the number of clones he was producing wasn't slow like she thought it would be and she silently cursed at herself.
'Son of a bitch, I'm a fucking idiot. If Shikamaru were here he would kick my ass for missing something so important. He's played us this whole time. He's still underground hiding, creating clones and waiting for us to exhaust ourselves before consuming us. We need to force him out of the ground to the surface to finish this.'
The problem was that he could be anywhere underneath the ground. They needed a wide ranging attack to find him. Suddenly, she had an idea but needed to talk to Yumichika –that Hado skill of his might be able to finish this…
Turning swiftly to Ikkaku, Ino said.
"Zetsu has been hiding underground this whole time. I've got an idea of how we can flush him out, but I need you to take on his clones for a minute or so and let me talk to Yumichika. Can you do it?"
Ikkaku stood wearily, saying.
"Just watch me. And I suggest you stand back, because I'm playing my trump card and it's gonna get messy…"
As Ino ran to Yumichika, Ikkaku turned to Zetsu and grinned ferociously, as he yelled.
"Hey, asshole! You want me, come get me! But I'm not gonna make it easy on you…let's see how you handle this!"
Holding Hozukimaru in front of him, he pointed the spear at the Zetsu clones and shouted.
"Bankai!"
Instantly, the area around him became a twister of power, growing ever taller, radiating skyward. The force of the blast was enough to throw the clones away from Yumichika, who was struggling to maintain his advantage and was bleeding from a large gash on his forehead.
When it settled back down, Ikkaku stood at the center, with three large guillotine like blades over his shoulders and arms. Still grinning, he looked at Zetsu and stated.
"Bankai. Ryūmon Hōzukimaru (Dragon Light Demon Spirit). "
Holding the blades out in front of him, he boasted.
"You still think you can take me down? These blades will cut through anything. And the longer I fight, the easier it gets!"
Zetsu stared at the former shinigami a moment before he calmly replied.
"I am certain of it. Time has no meaning in this battle, because regardless of how long it takes YOU WILL FALL." As he completed the statement, more clones rose from the ground, each looking exactly like Ikkaku.
"Nnnnniiiiiccccceeeee…..let's dance, freakshow!"
Ikkaku shouted, before he jumped into the middle of the fray, blades swinging in a wide arc slicing clones in half like a hot knife through butter.
Watching the insanity unfold in front of her, Ino was momentarily stunned but managed to recover once he attacked. Those blades looked unbelievably heavy and she had no idea how long he could last. This idea she had better work, and work quick or they were finished.
"Yumichika, are you all right? Can you still fight?"
Panting heavily, the effeminate shinigami answered in labored effort.
"Yes, I think I can. I'm just a bit winded from the effort."
He looked at where the battle was taking place, and commented.
"Ikkaku doesn't break out his Bankai every day. He must be fighting with everything he has because he believes that this battle may be his last."
Looking at up at Ino, he questioned with concern etched in his voice.
"Do you have another plan? At this point I have no strategy in mind as to how we can win this."
"Yes, I do. But quickly, I need to know – do you know any spells that produce instant cold? I'm talking sub-zero temperatures over a very large area?"
Yumichika thought for a moment and said.
"Yes. There is a Hado spell that I know that can accomplish this. However, I will need a moment to perform the incantation to ensure that the size covers the intended area. Why do you ask?"
"No time to explain in detail." Ino said. "But here's what I need you to do…"
Ikkaku was growing tired, but he refused to show it. Even though Hōzukimaru could cut through anything in its Bankai state, it was extremely heavy and exhausted him quickly. He knew that he didn't have very long before he was overwhelmed by an army of Zetsu clones, and they would absorb him as fodder for future battles against his comrades. The thought that his essence would be used against people who he'd fought beside made him sick to his stomach.
And then Ino jumped back into the battle, slashing her sword through clone after clone. Cutting two in half, she turned and sliced another through the head at the eyes. Then she threw several senbon at the nearest clones, hitting them in the chest. Immediately, they started to turn brown and shrivel.
Zetsu seemed amused at this and asked, "I am curious…what did you do to those senbon? I haven't seen you use them in the fight before now, and they appear to have a rather strong poison coating them. I thought I was immune to such…"
"Not poison, Herbicide. I'm a botanist; my parents own a flower shop. You don't think I'd know how to kill a weed in the quickest manner possible? I just haven't used them up until now because I only have a limited supply."
Zetsu smiled slightly at this, and spoke with unbridled confidence.
"Then you must have realized that this battle is coming to an end. There is no further hope for you or your comrades. Why prolong the inevitable? Join me and be part of Madara's new world order."
Stabbing another clone through the chest, Ino declared in equal confidence.
"I'm not even close. We're going to win this thing despite your overconfidence. I WILL protect those who are important to me."
While Ino was keeping Zetsu busy, Yumichika landed in the middle of the crater that was created by Ikkaku when he fell. Gathering his chakra, he began to incant…
Endless night, barren days and shadowed hours
Taking promise and hope, leaving chilling thorns
And bitter breath of naked sky.
Frozen winds and darkened breeze pierce
The soul of all things living.
Life becomes still, hard as stone,
Buried beneath an icy tomb…
With each incantation, the power level of the attack increased. When he reached the final verse, he thrust his hand into the ground and shouted.
"Hado number 57. Creeping Winter."
Radiating out from his hand, the ground that had been so warm before became icy white. It spread rapidly over the field, underneath the blanket of snow, freezing everything that was hidden.
As soon as Ino heard him finish, she turned and yelled to her comrade in arms.
"Ikkaku! Get out of here NOW!" Turning, she ran towards the edge of the clearing as fast as she could. However, looking back she noticed that despite his efforts, Ikkaku was being swarmed by what seemed like a battalion of clones. He wasn't going to make it. And if she tried to save him before the spell was complete, she would be caught as well and killed. She watched helplessly as Ikkaku and the clones he was fighting were encased in a tomb of ice.
The spell continued to expand, freezing all of the clones where they stood, killing them instantly. This gave them a small reprieve, until they heard a scream of pure agony and Zetsu – THE REAL ZETSU – rose out of the ground. Several parts of him were missing; the edges of the wounds brown from the cold. Parts of his body fell to the ground, devoid of life. He glared at them with undisguised hatred as he held his body together with what was left of his arms.
Before he could even utter a word, Ino sprinted back into the clearing, grabbing a special Kunai from her pouch and hurling it with all of the force she had left in her weakened body. It impacted into Zetsu's stomach, immediately turning the surrounding area brown and spreading.
He looked at her with defiance and commented in derision.
"Poison again? I'll have you know that it will take more than this to kill me, Konoha bitch!"
Bruised and bloody, Ino smiled wearily and replied.
"I thought so. That kunai had the most powerful herbicide I know on the blade. But that attack wasn't meant to kill you, just slow you down."
She jumped next to Yumichika, who was panting heavily from the exertion of the Hado spell. She took the last food pill she had out of her vest and shoved it into his mouth. She looked at him and ordered.
"Use everything you have left. Finish this."
Gathering the surge in strength the food pill provided, Yumichika walked forward out of the crater and stood staring at Zetsu. Lifting his sword, he closed his eyes and announced.
"Split and deviate. Ruri'iro Kujaku."
From his blade, dozens of vines erupted and shot out towards Zetsu. Weakened by the poison, he had no strength to dodge and was quickly ensnared. Struggling was useless; he couldn't move, couldn't phase through them. And as he watched, flowers on the vines began to bloom and he felt his body slowly grow weaker.
At that moment, Zetsu felt something he hadn't felt in a long time…...FEAR.
"What…is this? What have you done?"
"Do you see the flowers? That's your soul power in there; your essence. It's what accounts for your very existence. As the flowers grow, they will steal more power from you. Struggling will only make the vines tighter. Any power you use will only make them bloom faster. And when these flowers bloom, they will have absorbed your essence. And your life – such as it was – will come to an end, Zetsu." Yumichiki explained to the dying Akatsuki member.
As Zetsu looked at them, his vision began to grow dark. Feeling his life force ebb, all he could do was listen to the final words of Ino, as she watched him breathe his last breath.
"For Yugito. For Ikkaku. And for Naruto. Know despair as you wither and die."
"Farewell Zetsu, may you rot in hell for all eternity."
As Ino and Yumichika watched the plant-like Akatsuki member expire, they both heaved a weary sigh. Their gaze then turned towards their fallen comrade Ikkaku and as much as they would have liked to have stopped to mourn the passing of their comrade, they both knew they didn't have the time to do so, as Ino addressed her comrade in a respectful manner.
"Yumichika, I'm sorry about your friend, he was a great warrior and we couldn't have won this fight without him, but we'll have to mourn Ikkaku-san later. Right now we need to get to the castle and free Princess Kazahana Koyuki. If we rescue her then the Akatsuki won't be able to use her as a hostage anymore."
Yumichika could only nod his head in understanding, as he took one last look at his comrade frozen in a block of ice, before he and Ino took off running towards the castle.
Sasuke raised his zanpaktou and swung it forward shouting.
"HOWL, ZABIMARU!"
Instantly, his normal sized katana transformed into segmented blade with a pick-like protrusion on each segment. The Uchiha then swung his newly altered blade in an arc above his head and Madara noticed the sword seem to elongate due to the stretchable threads giving it the pliability of a whip. This whip-like blade shot forward with blazing speed towards the elder Uchiha and struck where he was standing causing the ground to shake, sending dust and debris into all directions.
"That finished him." Sasuke commented with a sigh of relief.
"Guess again, foolish kinsman!"
Madara growled out, as he suddenly appeared behind Sasuke and took a lightning fast swing with his gunbai. The bladed fan sliced through Sasuke's back and a searing pain quickly shot throughout his whole body, causing him to hiss as he leapt away cursing.
"Son of a bitch!"
Just as Madara was about to follow up on his attack on Sasuke, he heard Naruto shout above him.
"Getsuga Tenshō!"
Naruto's zanpaktou sliced through the air in a downward arc releasing a highly condensed crescent moon wave of spiritual energy from the tip of the blade, which magnifying the slash attack flew forward towards Madara. The attack hit the ground narrowly missing Madara by a fraction, as he barely shushin'd away in time and the strike sent a huge cloud of dust into the air.
Naruto landed next to Sasuke and helped him to his feet, while asking in concern.
"How bad are you hit teme?"
"Not bad dobe, I don't think it's too deep a cut."
"Well it's your own fault, weren't you the one chastising me earlier about thinking it might be easier to take him down this time and then you go and let your guard down thinking you had nailed him!"
"Alright, I don't need a scolding from you to know I screwed up."
As both Sasuke and Naruto turned their attention back towards Madara who was brushing some dirt off of his armor, it was Sasuke who asked.
"What do you want to do now? We've tried to take him down using our kenjutsu skills and that didn't work. Now he's evading the Shikai powers of our zanpaktou's with relative ease. Should we activate our Bankai's?"
"No, not yet, I know it seems like we're at a stalemate against Madara, but we need to wear him down some more, before we use our Bankai trump cards on him."
"Ok, I can't disagree with that plan dobe. I just hope the others are doing better in their fights than we are doing against Madara."
"Stay focused teme, we can't afford to think about the others right now. We just have to trust that they will be alright, as their fights won't even matter, if you and I end up losing our battle against this bastard. Because if we don't win this battle, then Madara can take everyone else out in a heartbeat by himself." Naruto declared in a stern, but also concerned tone of voice.
"Well, let's get round two started!"
Sasuke announced in confidence, before he and Naruto disappeared and resumed their fight against the former Uchiha patriarch.
Author Note: Well here is the start of the climactic battles between Naruto and his forces against Madara and his army of bad guys. First off, I need to gratefully thank my reader serious-sam for offering his help to me on this story. I would say 99% of Zetsu versus Ino, Ikkaku, and Yumichika battle was written solely by him. The meager 1% I provided was more for cosmetic reasons than actual content of the scene. I think serious-sam did a fantastic job writing that fight, which I considered a most difficult one to do considering the characters involved. However, he managed to produce a fight that was exceptional from the strategies, action, and ultimate climax finish he did with Ikkaku's death and Zetsu's defeat. I feel serious-sam has set the bar high for the rest of the battles that will take place. I can't thank him enough for his help on this story and the awesome work he provided for it.
I'm anxious to see what your reviews will be for the chapter. I do wish to thank everyone both old and new readers who took the time to review my last chapter. For those of you who did review, you all had a lot to say about it and I'm pleased that this story has such a strong fan base with readers who actually write out well thought-out reviews. Because of that, I enjoy reading many of your reviews, so please leave lots of them, as they do help a writer get a sense of the thoughts and opinions of the fans of a story. They also can help lift the spirits of an author as well. Also, to any readers who are staff members to any C2 communities, please feel free to add my story to your community if you feel it is worthy of it. I won't mind, I swear. I'll even pinkie swear if I need to?
Breaking News:
I'VE BEEN PLAGIARIZED!
It was recently brought to my attention that someone had stolen major sections of chapters 2 and 3 of my story "Naruto vs. Sasuke: The Aftermath" and posted it as his own work. Several of you have reported him to FFNET and I thank you for that. However, FFNET once again showing how much they truly care about its members and readers have yet to do anything about this thief. It might be a moot point on my part, but I ask all of you if you would be so kind to report this person to FFNET Administration. The link to this "writers" story is at the top of my profile page, since freaking FFNET won't allow me to list the link here even though it's a link on their own web-site!
Perhaps if maybe a few dozen people report him, FFNET will finally do something about it. I don't know, but it's worth a try I guess and I thank all of you in advance who do report him.
In 2010, my fellow author brown phantom initiated a poll asking the following question.
Who is the best Naruto fan fiction writer on this site?
Upon completion of that first poll I finished a very respectable 8th to which I thank all of you who voted for me on that poll very much for making that happen. Now brown phantom has decided to run a second poll asking that same question. So I humbly ask if you feel I'm worthy of being one of your 10 author picks to please place a vote for me on brown phantoms second poll. I thank you in advance for your support and normally I would provide you the links to the profile pages for brown phantom for you to use. However, one of the "oh so wonderful" changes FFnet has recently made is making it more difficult to list a link anywhere even if it's a link on their own freaking site. So just do a quick search for the author, brown phantom. As I said I finished 8th on his first poll and I would be ecstatic if I could improve on that showing, but I will need all of your help to achieve that.
End of Breaking News:
Thanks to everyone for your support of this story and take it easy!
Kingkakashi
*For those interested, my next update will be this story or "Supreme Genetics - Creation of a New Bloodline"