Journey of the Three Failures

by Kurouga of the Ink and Snow

Uzumaki Naruto's defeat at the hands of Hyuuga Neji changed the course of history. Now an outcast Naruto, Hinata, and Lee must flee Konoha to become stronger, and ultimately save the very village which scorned them. Strong Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. Dark!Neji, Nice!Hanabi. Epic length. NaruHina. COMPLETE!

26. Toward the New Age, Act Two

J3F\\\Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Twenty-Six

I'm so bad at estimating it could be a crime. D:

But I guess when I didn't knock out this chapter during spring break, as was the goal, there was just about no working on it until school was out. Aside from that, what remained to be written of this chapter was a lot more than I anticipated at the time I posted the last one… Well, first year of college has gone great, and I've got a hefty chapter for you now! Sorry for the wait, but you needn't fear – I'm back! I'll ALWAYS be back! Mwahahaha!

O.o That moment when you realize the reason you no longer use single subject, 70-page notebooks for your fanfic is because if you did, chapter (greaterthan) notebook.

Thanks for reviewing, jgresidentevil, Chibbistick, Cuervo Blanco, awkarddnnja, Soraya the All Speaker, Kuromaru-kun, RedRangerBelt, DamionKenley117, hinalover, Omega the darkness, darkdeamon41, Veraozao, I'm Naruto Dude, Adam218, TwiliFay, Malix2, castrjoa001, ToeGirth, kingdom219, Adam-Bloodraven, tokusei04, Mecha-Nii-San, Amer Leon, KoreanGal5, Syron13, Sublivion Mist, Angel of Atonement, william and jack and jake, Superstar For Life, Lunahras, InflatedChimp, Obloquious, and anons signing hinalover, Dan, Gaea's Son, jcmac, Hi, numerous 'Guest[s],' and Forever-A-Guest! Your comments, questions, praise, suggestions, criticism, and the like are as always appreciated! *bows* I am not worthy!

Not too many outside goodies this time, except for drawings of Hinata's and Lee's final outfits on deviantART. Also, I'm posting on my profile a link to a Youtube music playlist I put together to listen to during the writing of this chapter, if anyone's interested in that.

Chapter theme is 'Blackheart' by Two Steps From Hell. Naruto, Lee, and the defenders of the Leaf vs. Orochimaru, Hashirama, and Tobirama gets the theme 'They Fought as Legends' by Epic Score, and Lee's theme is Elementum, also by TSFH. All are in the above mentioned playlist.

Finally, more material has been posted in Gaiden of the Three Failures, chiefly a completed Lee sidestory ('Young Dragon's Gaiden') that covers his personal journey in the Land of Iron during the 24-25 timeskip. Events from it will be alluded to, but not necessary to the understanding of this chapter. *ButIlikehowitcameoutsoyoushouldgotakealookplzkthx *

NOTICE: I will be changing my pen name soon! Wanted to announce it here, first!

Alright, chapter twenty-six is a go!

Disclaimer: I don't own NARUTO!

---

Journey of the Three Failures

Twenty-Six: Toward the New Age, Act II

Part One: The Defenders of the Leaf

Naruto ナルト

My arms were back, my naginata trailing in the grip of a right hand clasped midway down its length, and my head low as racing feet lightly repelled the dust of the ground that passed beneath them. Lord Founder broke ahead of the Nidaime as the two charged; he raised an arm and whisked it forward, and a sprout rose at his feet to come shooting toward us at his command, growing and branching with fluid and dynamic speed.

Without abandoning gliding stride, I wove left as a branch flashed past, and ducked right to pass under another; I left the earth to roll gracefully to the side, passing over a branch whilst whipping the polearm's curved blade in a tight, circular slash for the wicked obstacles. With a clap I held the weapon in a standard two-handed grip, and a pair of swift slashes diced the wooden skewers around me.

The First frowned. The ground before him swelled and cracked, and a massive, flowering column of wood burst on the attack.

Raw force, huh? I thought. The subtle slowing of my dash was the only cue Lee needed to sweep gallantly ahead, his grin glinting and a strong arm drawn back.

As this was happening, the Second dashed from behind the First, hands melded in the Tora seal as, with stunning speed, trailing pools of water expanded from his footsteps and snapped to life, rising to loop around him before going spiraling toward Kakashi.

"ACCELERATE!"

A single whip of a katana rent the crashing Mokuton branch down its length, and Lee came to stand before the First Hokage, stance low and strong, sword outstretched. At Kakashi-sensei's side, a wall of sand snapped erect; dented by the Second's missile though it was, it scattered white water from the impact and instantly lurched in retaliation, disintegrating into a thousand bullets of sand.

The First Hokage kicked out, savagely, in front of him – just as Lee opened two Inner Gates, and vanished. The Second flickered aside from Gaara's Sand Shower, and in doing so flung himself straight across the path of Lee's lunging sword slash.

His eyes widened. "So you were aiming for me all along?! Not–!"

"Quite!" I cut in, substituting with Lee and running my naginata across the Second Hokage's body.

Lee had already been mid-slash when the blade before him would have met the Suiton user; I, a heartbeat behind from fifteen yards away, had only just finished drawing back. The man had pulled a spin move to narrowly escape the range of the passing sword when I swapped to come slashing past, striking in Lee's shadow with the naginata's superior range.

"Checkmate," Shikamaru announced coldly as I substituted with Lee again, and the Second was abruptly frozen in place until the very instant the Blade of Acceleration met his side on the reverse slash, and proceeded to tear him in two.

"Earth Style Sealing: Head of the Stone Inugami!" Kakashi shouted whilst leaping toward the fallen Hokage, and slammed his hand to the ground. Seals raced along the ground from beneath his palm, and upon reaching the Nidaime's form splayed rings of markings upon the ground around it. This area crumbled, and with a roar a statue of a massive, canine head broke through the earth, fanged jaws snapping shut with the shocked Nidaime within them. The Inugami skull fell over quite unspectacularly; then, from the glowing kanji 'seal' engraved on its forehead, lines of running markings unfurled to wrap themselves about the stone prison.

A blur passed me. Snarling, I lashed my arm back whilst depositing myself in the Shodai's path.

Kakashi was able to stay at his work as, a few feet from his side, I appeared before a Hokage who leaned to dodge the sweep of my hopping backfist. Scowling in annoyance, the Founder dropped a foot back, cocked his fist, and brought about a mighty swing.

My light feet met the ground.

WHAM!

Stance square, I held the massive, shuddering fist in a palm swiftly raised before me. "Nope…" I grunted, as he blinked incredulous eyes.

A second slam of force rang out as his other fist connected with my other palm. My teeth ground as the towering man pushed against me, and I held off his strength.

"You've got your granddaughter's touch. I was afraid of that…"

He narrowed his eyes. "So, the slight fellow who dances about in an ethereal charade actually possesses a good deal of strength to him. And here with your lack of presence I thought you might shatter, or vanish in a puff of air…"

"You will witness the strength of my resolve!" I hissed harshly.

"Tall words, boy."

"A mere boy though I may be, I am a Sage…"

Behind me, Kakashi swore. I looked in time to see a large serpent, stretching from Orochimaru's mouth, go shooting toward the jounin in an arc of speed.

Orochimaru's getting involved after all…!

He must have realized it – if we failed to seal the Second in one shot, as we'd intended, things would go far from smoothly on further attempts. Wanting to strike down one of our enemies in the first combined blitz, we'd have shown them a number of our tricks for nothing. If I can make a Kage Bunshin…!

The jounin was still completing his technique, rushing through another string of seals. A curtain of sand flowed toward Kakashi, too slow. Caught off-guard, Lee wasn't about to reach him in time. A Shadow Clone poofed into the snake's path – but if it could stop the thing from interrupting Kakashi, would it hold back a determined Orochimaru?

"Four Branches Jutsu!" Anko yelled, hands locked in the sign of the Snake as she blurred to Kakashi's side. The upper back of her trenchcoat swelled, rippled, and squirmed before exploding in a writhing mass of long, hissing grey-brown bodies. One, its body easily wider than my forearm was long, arced with surprising and deadly speed to plunge its fangs into the neck of Orochimaru's smaller snake, and drive it violently to the ground at my doppelganger's feet. The other three serpents were just as large, and extended rapidly from the Mitarashi's back to tear off toward Orochimaru with vehemence. The surprised sannin managed to spit out his snake and leap back just before the beasts went bearing down with great force. The ground quailed, and hunks of debris were sent sailing from the dust cloud that blossomed.

"A-amazing!" Lee exclaimed, looking on as the four snakes arose and withdrew toward their mistress, hissing and poising their sleek bodies to strike.

"This is Anko-sensei's fiercest technique," Shikamaru said, a proud smirk in his voice. The crouching kunoichi snickered, maintaining her seal as sweat rolled down her face.

"I know his style better than most. I was the apprentice of a sannin, after all," she snarled, glowering at the man I now realized could only have been her old teacher. "Maybe not one of the more 'glorious' pupils, but I'll use what I've got…" One of her snakes nuzzled her cheek as she said this; following her gaze, it flicked its forked tongue at Orochimaru.

"An ultimate technique?" he laughed. "Dearest Anko, it's an inferior imitation in every respect."

"If mastering the true version means becoming like you, I'm rather content with the tradeoff…"

"Sealing, complete," Kakashi sighed, standing. The seals coating the stone statue glowed, and the whole thing went up in smoke as his gloved hands fell apart.

"To think you would defeat Tobirama so quickly," the First mused. "But you should be aware – I was always stronger than my younger brother."

"Figured as much," I said, slipping my hands aside to secure his wrists in my grip.

"Amateurs!" he cried, gripping my own wrists. He swung me above himself, and into the path of the Dragon Flame Jutsu Sasuke had fired toward him from a ways above.

Of course we can't fool him so easily, I thought, cursing inwardly as I vanished from his grip. Fifteen yards away I landed on my feet; Sasuke blurred down with his back half-facing mine as we looked upon an explosion of flame.

The fire died down, revealing a baked dome of wood that promptly split to collapse itself into the ground, leaving a stern-faced Shodai behind.

"Tch," Sasuke spat. I smiled, devious.

"This won't be easy, huh?"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

Crouched silently, with my back to a wall, I took a cursory scan of the building behind me with the Byakugan. That's the structure… and as for rough numbers…

Armed with my estimate, I nodded mentally, holding up a hand palm-up before me. My fingers swept, brushing smoothly at the air. Well, in this situation…

"Demon Fire, Art of the Will-o'-Wisp," I murmured soundlessly, as a marble of flame spun to life at my fingertips. Flicking my wrist as my arms swept back, I sent it on its way. I watched the sleek droplet fade from normal visibility as it curved and flitted through the air; then I lifted a hand, signaling my squad. Ready…

A ways off at the gate, a commotion was stirring.

"Captain! There's a strange light over here!"

"What're you yammering about at a time like this? Huh? No, that's what you call a firefly–,"

BOOM!

My teeth clenched.

Then I took up the bow, notched an arrow, leaned around the corner, and let fly for a shinobi moving toward the scene. He had knelt, had only begun to reach thoughtlessly for a fallen comrade, when a shot through the eye silenced him.

Drawing an arrow, I lunged and rolled from my hiding place. The projectile was fired before the next guard had left the prison building – before he would have been able to see me. He dashed through the doorway to catch an arrow deep in his side.

A roof watchman flung a profusely smoking pellet to the ground and jumped in its trail; he could not have known that their attacker wielded the Byakugan. I was notching still another arrow, dashing to the side, as his crumpled body hit the ground.

The young man who vaulted the edge of the roof and slipped to the ground in a straight, swift shot was keener. Dashing toward me from behind, he lashed his kunai for my neck. I ducked and turned, a sharp heel cutting his feet from under him. Rising, I angled the bow and loosed my arrow with a splat.

A number more were closing in now. A notched arrow was loosed well before a man could fully execute the motion to fling a trio of senbon. A charging kunoichi ducked past him as he fell; she didn't notice the seal tag lighting up on the exposed shaft of the arrow in his vest until its explosion had done away with them both.

I shifted my grip toward an end of the bow as I took it in both hands, lunged back, and turned to slam the wood across the shins of a man dashing from behind. They'd closed in.

The bow was neatly stowed on my back as I rose, right hand darting to shunt a hand that struck with a clawed gauntlet. My left darted to flurry jabs at tenketsu along his inner arm; quick feet rolled me outside the successive strike of his right hand. I whirled left and brushed a Juuken Stream down his arm. The chop of my right hand was sharp at the side of his neck as he flinched, and I kicked up to drop my heel on his shoulder as he fell.

A man came charging in, and I sidestepped, grabbing his striking fist and redirecting his momentum; I spun him around me, releasing him as he crashed into a comrade.

"It's just one girl, dammit!" an Oto-nin shouted, as he and four others came toward me.

I lifted my hand. With pinpoint accuracy, the five enemies nearest to me were brought down by Kidoumaru's wax arrows.

Though he was distant, I felt the second state of his curse recede. Nodding, I readied my claws, altered my feet, and tore without warning toward a few enemies to one side. I slashed one down, and my knee cracked into a New Oto-nin's gut in a leaping strike as the first fell; behind me, the outer gate was blasted down as Jiroubo charged through, bellowing, sending surprised shinobi sailing with the swings of heavy arms and fists.

The prison yard had erupted into a battleground in disarray when a Sound kunoichi went shooting past me so swiftly that I yelped. Wincing at her impact with the prison wall, I scowled. Why on earth would Tsunade-sama have come here?! I had deactivated my Byakugan to conserve as much chakra as possible, but when I turned to spot the Leaf ninja who stood twenty yards away, her fist outstretched, I was met with a surprise.

Sakura-san…?

"Wahooo!"

"Arr-aooo!"

Not far off, the unmistakable twin blurs of the Gatsuuga barreled to join the fray. In the meantime, however, I happened to spot a man drawing back a war axe as he rushed Sakura from behind. She turned in time to see him and barely skip away from the strike, but was unbalanced as a result. The man was trying to pursue the attack when, with a snarled "HA!" my foot crashed against the side of his head.

My cloak fluttered in my wake as he was torn off his feet, and sent flopping to the earth. I landed in a crouch from the leaping kick, and turned my head to meet Sakura's stunned green eyes. "You alright?"

Her mouth opened and shut, and her eyes shifted to something behind me. I whirled to sharply kick a sword from a man's hand as he tried to attack me; I clawed him shoulder to side, drove the heel of my left palm into his jaw as he sputtered in pain, and hopped, spinning into a snapping kick that knocked him back. Fangs bared in a growl, I turned to loose from my mouth a jet of crimson flame that scorched one man before directing itself to strike another, and Kurogiba took form with a roar to carry on the attack.

My eyes were white again, with the Wolf of Fire's spirit expelled. Sakura started this time when I asked if she was alright.

"Y-yeah! But… Hinata-chan?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Look alive. The axe nicked you, didn't it? Your arm's bleeding. Let me seal the wound," I said politely, and leaned in to run my tongue over the bleeding cut just below her shoulder. Her face flushed in surprise, but she didn't ask questions, for more enemies were upon us. We turned back-to-back. I traded blows with a Sound woman before catching her with a crippling series of Gentle kicks – and a strong finishing kick that snapped into her jaw. Sakura seemed to be struggling with her opponent until she got a punch onto the wrist of the knife-wielder's approaching hand. There was a snap; he howled, and with a battle cry Sakura delivered a square punch that now sent him skipping a couple dozen yards.

"Who taught you that striking technique?" I asked quickly.

"No one taught me, exactly… Anko-sensei told me about a kunoichi who could utilize chakra to augment the force of her blows. I practiced until I figured it out, and – well, I think I've sort of got the hang of it…"

She worked out the technique just from a description of it? Even if her strikes weren't yet on par with Tsunade's, it was impressive.

My skin prickled as the air stirred oddly. Swearing, I slung an arm across Sakura's middle and leapt from the path of a shockwave of pressurized wind. As Sakura and I split up again, the jutsu's user came at me with a leaping dagger strike; I dodged with a quick sidestep. Passing me, he pivoted to face me again – and was slashed diagonally across the torso as a snarling grey blur lanced between us. Kiba met the ground and slid a short way past on both feet and one hand, but his claws had only sliced the man's vest to leave shallow wounds. Remedying this, I spun myself forward and hacked a harsh, swift backhanded slash across the stunned shinobi's front, ending the spin with a solid palm strike that knocked him from his feet.

"Kiba-kun!" I exclaimed, turning to the Inuzuka as he rose with a look of bafflement on his face. Akamaru, once more in the form of a dog – a large dog – came to his side with a yip. My teammate's parted lips turned into a grin, and he grabbed my shoulders.

"God damn, is it good to see you alive!" he laughed. "Your scent's a little different, but it's Hinata, all right! Hell! You've gone and gotten stronger on us, haven't you?"

I smiled, blushing. "What are you two doing here?"

"My ma and sister are locked in there," Kiba said. "As soon as we heard some commotion was going down at the prison, we booked it here!"

"There was no stopping him," Sakura groaned, "And I couldn't just let him run off alone at a time like this."

"Thank you for looking after him," I said with a nod of appreciation, while Kiba snorted good-naturedly. I turned my eyes toward the prison, Byakugan awakening. "The security here was probably lighter than standard, as expected; the most powerful shinobi are all busy fighting on the main battlefront. Still, the sooner we can free the village council and get them to safety, the better. We can't allow them to remain as potential hostages in the enemy's hands!" Sakon? Tayuya?

The two New Leaf-nin jumped as the two former Oto-nin flickered in at my back. "About time we got rolling," Tayuya scoffed.

"Your command, taichou-chan?" Sakon jeered, smirking in anticipation for a fight.

"We've cut their numbers pretty well. Sakon, you stay with Kiba and the others and help keep the enemy busy fighting out here. Tayuya, we're going in. If we encounter more of the enemy, you can use your genjutsu without affecting me."

"Simple enough," Sakon said, as black markings crept to pattern his skin. He looked to where Jiroubo, Kidoumaru, and Kurogiba still fought. "Let's help them out, you two."

"R-right!" Sakura said. Kiba nodded with a sidelong but not unkind look, more curious than anything. Akamaru barked, and they took off.

I took a breath. "Okay. Let's go!"

---

(Shikamaru シカマル)

The young man now known as the Leaf Shadow did not need to pause and think, figure, or approximate any numbers to understand that his chances of victory were bleak. As a strategist, he already knew.

With a backflip and handspring, he evaded the lashing moves of a massive serpent.

As one Leaf ninja, however, he understood that whatever logic may say for their chances, the only option at a time like this was to fight alongside Anko-sensei to take the tyrant Orochimaru down.

The snake spread its jaws wide, baring slender fangs as it darted for him again. He formed a seal, smiling wryly. Fighting hopeless odds? Stepping up against the most powerful enemy shinobi? When he'd never even asked for any leadership role, but had it thrust upon his slouching shoulders… Just what had this rotted job done to him?

It's a massive drag, but backing down isn't part of my job description!

"That's close enough!" he spat. The string of shadows he'd tracked on the ground – three linked, aligned clots of darkness left by a footprint, a handprint, and another footprint, and connected to him by a strand extended to his feet – burst upward into a dark web of netting as Shikamaru grasped the line of shadow in hand and pulled. The trio of nets flung themselves to wrap swiftly about the screeching snake's body, tightening and slamming it to the ground. Sensei!

"Katon: Acidic Flare!"

The Mitarashi formed the seals, and shouted the technique's name – and a rearing snake of the Four Branches, as a glimmer of chakra flared off its scales, sent a ball of white-hot slime barreling from its mouth and solidly into the serpentine skull of Shikamaru's immobilized adversary, where it ground into scales and promptly burst into flame.

Anko-sensei's snakes are faster, and better coordinated, he noted, watching as the one to launch the Acidic Flare rejoined the others in tearing at a larger snake that lunged for Anko. Orochimaru had summoned it with the intention of putting some distance between them, but in mere moments the beast was torn by vicious bites and strikes, and could land a strike neither on the racing kunoichi nor the weaving, darting Branches before its long body slumped and crashed lifeless to the roof.

Not missing a beat, the woman bade one of her snakes to go shooting for Orochimaru himself. Chortling in amusement, the man hopped aside, and the hissing reptile went lancing past him, striking the roof to stir a plume of dust and debris.

Then its body coiled and went taut with a thrash – and Anko was pulled off her feet, whipping backwards toward Orochimaru. She turned in her flight, snapping around to bring a lateral kick cracking into Orochimaru's surprised face. There was a solid boom of force, and a moment of resistance – and Anko broke past, her shinguard having split through a bursting mass of small snakes. While the rest of his body melted into more of them, and Anko landed on both hands and feet, a new mess of serpents emerged from the floor, swelled, and rose a few yards away. The throng of scaly bodies fell away, revealing the sannin again.

"Wild, as ever," he sneered, rolling aside as one of Anko's snakes snapped at him. He prepared to kick it, but jumped away at the last moment.

Damn, Shikamaru thought, as Orochimaru glared toward him. The boy had quietly poured his shadow into that of the snake, not binding its movement but using it to extend his range. If Orochimaru had touched the snake, or so much as let its shadow cross his, Shikamaru would have him, but the sly sannin had already caught on. He dodged the snake's following strikes even as it was joined by another, and was not thrown off for a moment when Shikamaru began throwing his shadow deceptively between the living conduits. Of course he's good…

Anko rose, vanishing from his side; with another of the Branches' fangs latched into the roof, she flung herself in a shallow arc and dropped explosively into a whirling axe kick. Her former sensei blocked above his head, and she flipped back onto her feet in a crouch. The man flung a kunai knife, and she left the ground to swing over it in a rolling motion; the moment her feet touched ground again, she pulled with a newly rooted Branch to whip herself forward into a rapid advance, deflecting a trio of shuriken with her armguard and striking out with an angry yell.

Orochimaru blocked the straight punch with crossed forearms, his teeth clenched, and slid back almost a dozen meters on his feet. He blinked, straightening as their battle came to a pause. "Impressive power," he remarked. "Not that it will be of much use to you here, dear…"

"We can't be sure until we try," Shikamaru said; he noticed that Anko was beginning to pant wearily, and he scowled. "It's all or nothing now. Even if the best we can do is slow you down, we won't back down while there are comrades to protect – comrades who believe in and count on us, as the head ninja of New Konoha, to bring you to justice!"

"Kukukukuku… Such entertaining creatures! Tell me this, Anko – in siding with the Leaf, and taking on this boy as your own student, do you feel that you're making amends for your past mistakes…? Perhaps the crimes in which you so adorably served as my unwitting accomplice? Your weak little mind was just so easy to play with–,"

"Shut up!" she cried, hands fisted at her sides as she hung her head, eyes tensely shut.

"Sensei…" Shikamaru breathed, as the kunoichi shook.

"Still quite the sore spot," the man chuckled, oily voice dripping with vile mirth. "But surely… surely they respect you now, hmm? Do the fools regard you with smiles and open arms, for serving as their commander? For making that boy strong? Even by winning here, you wouldn't change a single thing. Why fight a hopeless battle for a village that will always despise you?!"

"Bastard…" Anko's teeth ground. "You destroyed me…!"

"I made you, dear child – a mistake I will be perfectly happy to remedy. I suppose I should truly be more thorough in discarding my trash…"

"I'll kill you! You son of a–!"

"Easy, sensei," Shikamaru muttered, grabbing the distraught kunoichi by the arm before she did anything reckless. The Four Branches hissed, slit eyes intent on the snake sannin, as the fuming woman sweated with apparent chakra exhaustion. "Don't let him get under your skin. You have to keep your cool, or we won't stand any sort of chance. Please…"

She wouldn't meet his eyes. "…Yeah."

Orochimaru smirked. "So you've resigned yourself to such an existence? The resistance was never much more than nuisance – a tenacious nuisance that will finally be silenced today. You yapping dogs can't even reach my feet!"

Anko had regained some composure, but still did not meet her student's eyes. "Let's go, Shikamaru."

"Right."

Golden eyes flashed as the serpent-like man slyly bared his teeth. "My… but aren't you running rather low on chakra?"

Shikamaru saw the woman go rigid, her eyes round.

Before he could even deduce what was happening, her jaw fell, and she screamed in raw agony. Shikamaru could do nothing when an enormous serpent's head erupted with a crash from the floor behind her, in one clean move snarling all four Branches in its fangs. Anko's scream cut into a new sound, if possible more horrible still, as crimson flashed from her mouth and simultaneously spattered from four sets of puncture wounds suddenly gouging her shoulders and legs.

"No!" the Nara cried, lunging for the beast. His hand swept out, and from the shadow within an almost clenched fist shot a blade of darkness; the Shadowblade speared the serpent's throat and burst to protrude again between two rapidly dulling slit eyes. The weapon dissipated, and the enemy snake thankfully relinquished its hold before falling back through the roof. The Four Branches, dazed and bloodied as well as weakened by their master's present state, were drawn back into Anko's bare back; the woman convulsed, mouth dripping blood, and collapsed to slump heavily onto her face.

"Sensei!" Silently, Shikamaru swore. He knew that she suffered any damage the Branches did, and Orochimaru, no doubt suspecting this, had attacked them at the base to strike all four at once. And her neck – she was clutching Orochimaru's cursed seal, her face contorted by petrifying pain, while an angry energy seeped between her fingers. The boy knelt, tentatively grabbing her shoulders. "Anko-sensei, can you hear me?"

She grunted, shuddering. "Sh-Shika-m-maru…run. I failed – run…"

He looked up as dark laughter drifted out to them. Orochimaru lifted a slender hand, tossing him a cold look. "You're quite intelligent, right? You would do best listening to her. So, will you let your precious teacher be devoured by my pets? Or… will the pitiful Lord Hakage now try to entertain me?"

With that, a sea of snakes burst from his sleeve, flowing forth until hundreds of hungry, hissing, venom-fanged bodies were slithering toward the youth and his defenseless teacher. Time seemed to slow for the Shikamaru as the swarm neared them.

He's trying to bait me… of course I should run. Without Anko-sensei, the probability of overpowering him has just dropped to approximately zero.

"R-run…"

Even so…

"What good's a leader who won't protect his people?!" he snarled through bared teeth, weaving his seals.

Kagemane!

His shadow sprang forward and forked repeatedly, exponentially multiplying the number of branches before reaching the mass. The fanned threads of shadow arrested those in the lead, so that those behind them grew cluttered in their attempts to squirm past. Then, just as the density was at its greatest, Shikamaru flung six exploding kunai into the serpents' ranks, simultaneously decimating them and scattering the large remainder. The many left raced on the attack, undeterred. Jaw set, the Nara drew two plain kunai from his tool pouch. He crossed his arms, a knife per hand.

"Shadow Stance!" he cried, sweeping his arms out as the shadows on the underside of either blade projected three meters, hacking through a leaping throng of serpents. He maneuvered the whistling blades to vanquish a few more in a low sweep, caught two in a swatting diagonal cut, and knifed one that slipped behind him by sharply extending the shadow of his right hand's blade tucked under his left arm. He hurled the other knife to a snake on the ground, and it struck true – and was lifted by a tendril of shadow, whirled across the snakes around it with the ferocity of a makeshift buzzsaw, and flung again, where it struck a snake near Shikamaru before being lashed about by a new tendril.

He fended off their furious advance by dishing out strikes with the two kunai, the Shadowblade, and the score of darting, stitching, and knife-brandishing tendrils of darkness that swirled about his feet. As he swept a Shadowblade out low, two snakes were leaping at his unguarded side; a knife whisked by a shadow sailed cleanly through one, and Shikamaru snatched the projectile in the same motion that slashed the second in two.

Virulent pain punched into his leg, just below his calf, and he swore as a Shadow Stitch pierced the offending serpent and tore it away. He hobbled back a bit toward Anko, panting. "I-it's alright. I won't let them near you…"

The voice of logic in him wondered just what he was saying, as numbness began to spread through his leg. He was down to less than some fifth of his chakra, and the enemy had hardly made any effort; it was clear enough that he wouldn't last. He shook his head.

"He looks tired…" Orochimaru mused, his voice already gloating in his victory. "I was so looking forward to quashing the head of your shambling resistance, I'm actually rather disappointed. This was the best New Konoha had to offer, all along?"

"I t-told you… to run…" Anko had just barely gotten to her knees, one white hand still locked against her neck as she sweated in pain, a number of veins standing too sharply on her skin. "Don't throw your life away… With you alive, the resistance might rise again. I beg of you… n-not to protect someone like me–!"

"Look at me – that's an order, sensei, from the Hakage you swore to nurture and protect."

Anko hesitantly raised her head, teeth clenched, to see the youth's clear eyes looking sternly back at her.

"Never say you're not worth saving. I don't care what that bastard of a sensei tricked you into. You've more than redeemed yourself already. Whatever anyone else thinks, I believe in you."

Anko gasped, and light seemed to flicker back into being in her deadened eyes. Shikamaru could have sworn he saw silent words shaping on her lips.

'Lord Third…?'

Orochimaru laughed aloud, amused to no end. "Very well. You vermin can take that faith in each other, and perish with it!" The man ran through five hand seals and pressed his palm to the ground; with a burst of smoke, he was rising upon the head of a great snake.

Shikamaru tensed, eyes wide as the beast dived toward them. There was nothing he could do.

"Die–!"

"Hyaaaaaaaahh!"

And a quartet of snakes, exploding into being, wove into a serpentine spear that leapt to snap into the underside of the giant snake's skull. The crack of impact was accompanied by a splatter of saliva from its gaping maw, and Orochimaru leapt from his summon's head as it fell. He landed behind the two New Leaf shinobi – and whirled to receive Anko's harsh fist across his face. Shikamaru all but gawked as the sannin was thrown to the ground, and the man rolled once and slid to his feet – before Shadow Stitches pierced his soles and stitched up his legs. He yelled.

"Sensei, your curse…!" Shikamaru said as the Four Branches faded again, and he saw the black markings that had spread across half of her body. She tore off toward their adversary again.

"It was more painful to resist it!" she barked, drawing a dagger as Orochimaru held out his hand – targeting the mark directly. To his disbelief the wild-eyed kunoichi didn't falter.

"Besides…"

He grimaced as, at Shikamaru's bidding, the Shadow Stitches began to pierce his torso, and Anko's dagger neared his heart.

"For my leader, this much pain… I can FIGHT THROUGH!"

She stabbed him, just an instant after he threw back his head to loose a slime-caked figure from his mouth. He'd spat out a replica of himself; Anko's dagger was lodged in a swiftly vacated sack of skin. Discarding the weapon, she raced toward him again, drawing a fist back.

THAM!

She actually growled, shivering in effort and apparent pain as Orochimaru held off the blocked fist in his palm. The man scowled. "You're in agony, and yet you think you can defeat me this way?! Wretched fool!"

Anko cried out, shuddering as the mark lit intensely with foul, arcing energy. "N-no…" she managed. "No – I don't expect to defeat you like this."

Her fist opened, fingers interlocking with those of the hand he'd blocked with. Orochimaru's eyes widened, and Anko smirked dangerously.

"Seal!"

Orochimaru's brow furrowed as the two stood with their hands locked. "This isn't… Twin Snake Sacrifice…?"

Anko chuckled. "Unfortunately, I don't have enough left in me to pull that off. Either way, you can't escape now. Our chakras are one, bound at our hands, and our abilities to cast jutsu nullified. You're stuck with me, and you're not slithering out of your death this time."

Orochimaru raised a brow, as if offended. "So you intend to best me with taijutsu?"

"I won't pretend I'm not desperate, here. Even if we're dogs who can do nothing more than nip at your heels – we'll hound you to death if we have to!"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"You're safe now. Follow the wolves to the surface; they'll lead you to safety."

"What she said," Tayuya said, waving for the occupants of the cell she'd unlocked across the hall to follow the bunch I'd freed. "The strongest of you can carry the wounded."

There were wounded, and there were ill. Thankfully, it seemed this lot had not been subjected to the drugging that had occurred at most outside prisons; still they had been tortured, for the secrets they held – perhaps not all, but many, and then left untreated to rot. It was a struggle to stay strong, faced with haunted eyes, plainly shattered spirits, and the smell of festering wounds. But I had to. I had faced such things before; it hadn't gotten easier, but this I could do. I had walked through the streets of razed or plundered towns, and seen absolute misery and desolation firsthand before. So...

I unlocked the next cell, my face firm, voice kind but commanding.

"You're safe. Please get up, quickly."

I-Inu-Tori-Saru-Hitsuji…

Ran, I thought, looking into the eyes of the red-furred wolf that emerged from the cloud of smoke and finding her name in my heart. It's the time I've told you about. I pictured the obscure route, to the rock alcoves behind the village, and comprehension sparked in her bright eyes.

Yes, was the idea of the thought she returned. It would be done.

Thank you. "This wolf will guide you to safety," I told the prisoners as I unlocked more cells, daring anyone to question. "Go, as quickly as you can, everyone!"

There are so many more…

"Go! Take strength – as we speak, our Konoha fights to rise again!"

Whatever the situation at the main battle may be, that was what I had to believe.

The Hidden Leaf will rise again. We'll make sure of it!

---

(Shikamaru シカマル)

Their locked hands clenched and pushed, each trying to gain leverage on the other – and their free hands met in a crack of clashing fists that shook the air. Anko and Orochimaru glared into each other's eyes, furious.

Both pulled back, and their forearms now crossed forcefully between them. The ground buckled at their feet. A moment of tension, shuddering force, pushing desperately for an advantage – and both of the deadlocked combatants' right knees shot up, both landing solidly in the other's stomach. Anko winced, teeth clenched, but Shikamaru had no doubt she caught the flicker of pain mirrored in her enemy's eyes.

"You can't win," Orochimaru grunted, pressing his knee firmly into her freshly bruised abdomen. She withheld a whimper of discomfort and returned the favor.

"I'll kill you…"

He let up on their locked forearms, and swiftly he hooked his arm around hers and rammed home a more solid knee strike for her gut, lifting her feet briefly from the ground. She still lashed out, now that her forearm was unimpeded, and struck a backfist across his face, while he brought his fist across hers. The two struggled with desperate intensity at close quarters, stepping, striking, and evading; it was half grappling, half a trade of blows, and there would be no rest until one or the other fell.

Nor would there be a hope of escape for either one, once his or her foe gained the upper hand. When Orochimaru leapt over a sweeping kick to jam a sole down against Anko's knee, and the kunoichi flinched a moment too long, the victor would have been as good as decided. A harsh kick to the ribs and jab to the windpipe broke her down further; with a sneer, the man brought a hand to the side of her head and pulled to deliver a stunning headbutt. She slumped to her knees, and he whirled behind her, twisting and pinning her bound arm at her back.

"You lose."

"U-urgh…!"

"You thought to kill your master, as I did? I wouldn't give you the pleasure. You're weak…"

"Maybe I am… but I'm not alone." She shut her eyes, and barked one word. "NOW!"

Orochimaru's incredulous eyes rose to meet Shikamaru's steely gaze. He glimpsed the boy knelt a fair distance away, beyond his jutsu's typical range, but with hands locked in the sign of the Rat all the same – just as a flash bomb exploded at the boy's back.

For everyone … who believes in the Lord Hakage!

In the next instant, Shikamaru's shadow had pierced and stitched the blinded, yowling man's feet, leapt, and sewn his free arm to his side. And now…!

Anko had used the opportunity to break free of the man's hold, and was rising in the lingering haze of light. As a kunai slipped from her sleeve into her hand, she lunged for the kill.

"Don't underestimate the Leaf's will!"

He ducked.

The strike passed over his head.

And something, with a glint of metal, began to emerge from his open mouth. Anko was still moving forward, soon to overbalance. Shikamaru's shadow was weakening as the light faded.

It was only by the snap decision to release Orochimaru from the Shadow Stitching, to refocus his jutsu, that a tendril of Shikamaru's shadow struck into the Blade of Kusanagi in time, causing Orochimaru to plunge it through not her heart, but her lung.

The Hakage's eyes grew as he watched fine steel burst from his sensei's and bodyguard's back in a storm of flaring crimson. His overextended thread of shadow wavered, and dissipated.

"Anko-sensei…" he breathed.

Orochimaru released the sword from his mouth, took the hilt in his free hand, and twisted sharply. Anko croaked and hacked, blood spilling from her nose and mouth. She went stiff for a moment as her own sensei tore the blade free, and he grasped the neck of her tattered trenchcoat before she could fall. He lifted their locked hands, uncurling his fingers with a lofty smirk; her hand fell away, limp, as a fading film of entwined chakra weakened and split between their palms. Shikamaru's heart pounded, louder and louder.

–"If I can catch him, the jutsu won't fade until one of us…well…"–

"No!"

He tore toward them, not caring that his left calf was jelly and his chakra was all but spent. If he could get back in range, he could… surely he could do something! Orochimaru gave him a putrid smirk as the boy cried out.

"Get AWAY from her–!"

The man whirled and threw, sharply. Shikamaru caught the kunoichi with a grunt, sent staggering back – and blinked to find that Orochimaru had vanished.

Cold steel, still caked in warm blood, pressed against his neck.

"Lord Hakage," Orochimaru said in mocking acknowledgment. He drew away, and hacked a savage slash clear across Shikamaru's back.

The youth screamed madly, and fell from pervasive, torturous burning to utter nothingness. He fell with his dying teacher in his arms.

---

Naruto ナルト

I straightened, lips parting.

"What's wrong?" Kakashi asked, sparing me a glance.

"Anko-sensei's chakra… it just…?" I gritted my teeth, as if against a blow. "Now Shikamaru's as well! They're fading!" The building we'd all begun fighting on had toppled; those two had moved to a separate rooftop to fight Orochimaru, while our fight continued on the ground.

"Orochimaru must have been too much for them, after all," Lee said, scowling.

"Unsurprising," the First Hokage said before us. He met my eyes, calmly superior; in his confidence he looked down at me not in the manner of gloating, but the belief in simple and unchallengeable fact. "So what now, young sage? I applaud you for managing to keep this little band of shinobi alive so far. You might go to those two and try to heal them… but without your maneuvering, these four will no doubt fall to me before long."

I glowered as he popped his neck. Leaving them dying, but not finishing them off… Was it in the hope of distracting me? Damn you, snake…!

"Actually," the Shodai continued, "I guess all five of you will fall sooner or later either way. That being said, I invite you to try to get past me – to at least save those two – though I am inclined to prevent your escape."

"Dream on," I snarled. "Are you sure you're not just saying that because you know all five of us together can defeat you?"

"Naruto…" Kakashi began, and I shook my head. Orochimaru had fled, but another chakra, strong but compact, was nearing them already. The bundle of soft, warm energy was small, but curiously enough brought the great slug Katsuyu to mind in my sage sense.

Hundreds of them, spreading throughout the village… I see, Granny. In that case, I can fight without distraction!

"I'm the utility player here, right, Kakashi-sensei? I'm not giving up on any of you. But… I do have one request. While Sage Mode lasts, let me go on the offensive."

The man's eyes, one dark, one piercing red, studied me carefully. Wordless, he nodded.

I smirked. "Please follow my lead."

Eyes serious, the Shodai lifted level palms before him, giving a shout that set a tumbling mass of forestry rising and expanding our way with devastating speed. I charged undaunted, hands flashing through five seals as I slipped into the onrushing branches and trunks, weaving and twirling in evasion as I continued deeper into the midst of the thickening trees. Something lancing by nicked shallowly into my side, nipped a tear into my cape, as the world of greenery around me rapidly blotted out the sun – and as a branch came spearing toward my torso I leaped at it, passing over and kicking to the sides as my palm clapped onto the surface. Black markings were splayed from beneath my hand as massive branches splintered under my feet.

"Gamaken, strike!"

"Got it…"

Crackling branches and trunks sailed as a great toad emerged from the summoning smoke with a grand flourish of his shield, and drove his sasumata forward into the tide of the wildly emerging forest. The massive forked spear caught against the Shodai's jutsu, and the ground buckled further as Gamaken's webbed feet lost ground. Then the warrior-toad lurched to a halt with a stubborn grunt – and heaved to wrench the branches away, with a twist of his weapon, as if they were mere brambles to him. The way was clear.

Trees blossomed at the toad's feet, twisting to bind him, but I did not see this directly. Rather, I sensed the movement of the First's chakra with Sage Mode, and read the corresponding action of the lively trees. Gamaken stumbled, catching himself with his weapon against the ground. A clone raced down the cleared path, leaping for the First, but was caught by the arm and hurled aside. The Mokuton-wielder's chakra arced and blazed, and a column of wood shot from the ground, spearing toward Gamaken's eyes.

"You'll do fine," I muttered.

"Hm…"

The toad opened his mouth, tongue darting forward with me upon it. My naginata, streaming with razor-like wind, met the spear before me to split a ways down its length, burning with speed. I was nearing the First when I substituted, leaving the decoy clone in my place to leap and attack the man – while Gamaken's tongue, with the precision to catch a flitting fly, snapped aside. My true body was pressed flat to the wall of living tissue – and slung powerfully forward.

The Shodai's fist was still busting a clone's face when I swapped twenty-five yards, and he found, with improbable suddenness, my speeding Konoha Sempuu inches from connecting with his skull.

Eyes wide, he bent back as my kick cut whistling through the air.

I landed behind him and slid rapidly; I was already slinging a wind slash from the spear as I whirled, feet still crackling through the rushing ground, to face his back. He backflipped over the wave of cutting wind, twisting to face me, as I leapt with great strength, my right fist drawn back. He surged forward with a muted scoff, drawing back his own fist.

We were a breath short of striking when a giant morning star came to be in my grasp.

He caught his momentum sharply, flinging a wooden wall up between us. The transformed kage bunshin whose 'ankle' I held shifted forms as I swung, accelerating as it melted into a great waraxe that cleaved the wall in two.

It nicked armor as Lord First leapt back from me, forced to evade.

Not yet!

My light feet danced to the earth, in two quick moves sending me into an artful twirl. From this move I unleashed the monstrous axe; the First pivoted to dodge the laterally spinning weapon's broad blade. The doppelganger flowed into human form, twirling onto its feet to fluidly fling a snapping-quick kunai. A hand that obtained the texture of wood curtly batted the knife aside, and he diverted the charging clone's strike effortlessly before throwing a kick between its shoulder blades, knocking it to smoke.

"That all you've got?" he demanded, bringing his sandal to the ground with a stomp. I started, jumping back as the half wood wall still standing beside me morphed sharply my way.

The attack pursued me. I landed, glowering as it neared. Teeth gritted, feet braced, I levered my fist into the nearing mass of wood.

"That's just the beginning!" I declared, and the Shodai's head snapped aside as his attack disintegrated beneath my great strength.

Double Fist…

He took the blow well, barely stumbling one step, and faced me with hardly a glance for the blood that spilled from one corner of his mouth. He seemed amused.

"Befitting the fox's nature – a trickster, indeed."

"I once bet two thugs that I could knock them both out in a single punch, and won."

"Misdirection, sleight of hand, and illusion in the absence of illusion, huh?" He smirked as I rose to full height. "You may be a poor matchup for me, after all…"

"No point in pretending someone like you needs a good matchup to come out on top."

"Hm?" he said, effortlessly forming a half-dome of wood at his back as an enormous sasumata crashed in. Incredibly, Gamaken's weapon was caught fast, and vine-like branches spread to drag and pin the magenta toad more firmly down. "There you go, trying to distract me yet again."

"Sorry…" the great toad muttered to me, sheepish. "It is because I am ungraceful…"

"You did well," I said, and dispelled the summon before he might come to real harm.

The First's look was approving. "Good thinking. Your friends are also hanging back, biding their time while I focus on you, aren't they?"

"Ch!" I hissed, and bolted aside to vanish with a hum of speed. "You'll need all the focus you've got, to keep up with me!"

Hyperteleportation Stance! I thought, swapping rapidly and randomly about my foe along with a number of clones, dancing on the transient wind. I had thought so – he was trying to track me, chiefly, with his eyes. He wasn't a strong sensory type then, slightly above average at best; he had probably been able to eliminate this relative weak point in life with brute strength, instinct, and skill. But it had been said that my technique was an unorthodox one.

Now!

Following a misled darting of his eyes, my fist cracked into his face, and I was gone. I slid back in a crouch from where I'd appeared, and dodged a skewer of wood before it shot from the ground. Meanwhile, I can read the flow of every move, every attack, each time that strong Mokuton chakra starts to act up…

Like any good medic, I was starting to use the information at my disposal to read him, connecting certain movements of chakra and natural energy, which all trees and greenery possessed in abundance, to predict the behavior of his Wood Release attacks. I struck again, but as expected, he quickly began to catch on, blocking and dodging most of the strikes as I flung wildly about – Shadow Strikes, true strikes – swapped and attacked, dodged, feinted, swapped, attacked. He flinched from two-footed kick to the kidneys – and predicted my next point of attack. His foot cracked the collarbone of the briefly extant clone before him, and I winced.

I was immediately ensnared in a tangle of branches. He leapt, punching through my vanishing replacement, and, almost off-balance, was forced to dodge a hand shrouded in lightning.

Kakashi's Raikiri tore through his shoulder armor, singing a sleeve. I leapt onto the First's back, hooking my arms under his as the jounin lined up another strike, but I felt a stir of chakra. I substituted away as a wooden spike erupted from his back, spearing the clone I'd left there. His attention was on countering Kakashi, and the instant they broke apart I was flickering by in front of the First, left to right, striking and gone – my fist dodged, and a twisting pulse of lingering Natural Energy knocking him square across the face. He spun on heel, and I flashed by right to left, nailing him again.

I flashed forward, going for him straight on, and was bent over a solid kick to the gut.

The pain was crushing; my breath was gone. Hugging my middle with a shocked grimace, I barely kept from crumpling as he swung his foot around, dropping a heel for the back of my skull. But I located Lee's chakra, as Lee spiked it to show he was ready – and I substituted with the swordsman, who appeared before the Founder blocking the heel drop on crossed arms. The ground buckled beneath him as he bent his knees, began to give, and pushed the man away again. A green blur, he grasped a sheathed katana's hilt, danced outside a punch, and struck with a blade nigh invisible with speed. A streak of hazy silver light was splitting a log in two as the sword slid back into its sheath.

A Substitution!

The Shodai was a ways behind Lee, beginning to weave seals until a number of cactus-like spheres of sand drifted swiftly into the air about him.

"Desert Needle Bomb!" Gaara growled, hand clenching. Each orb compacted and disintegrated into hundreds of needles of sand that burst toward their surrounded target, but the First shielded his face and slipped smoothly underground just before the needle blasts could strike.

"Earth Style Summoning: Fanged Pursuit Jutsu!" Kakashi shouted, slamming his hands down. Tremors shook the earth; the First shot from the ground in an angled leap, flushed out by the ninken, and continued fleeing the eight winding trails of violently cracking earth that raced intermittently at and below the surface behind him, seeking him out. He soon had shooting, lunging streams of vicious sand to cope with as well, and raced swiftly up a building's side to escape the range of Kakashi's hunting ninja hounds.

That's it… we can't give him any chances to return attack!

He had by no mere chance chosen that building, but been subtly herded to it. His attention was on the sand at his back as he sprinted up the wall, and Sasuke, falling silently toward him at great speed, smoothly drew back his sword. He was soon to pass the First by when a beam of lightning projected ten meters from the poised blade.

The Founder sensed the threat, and turned his eyes forward. Grimacing, he altered his step.

"Chidorigatana – Slash!" Sasuke cried, and the blade flashed around in an arc, blue-white power churning the humming air with a decisive slash. The First flipped narrowly over the path of the blade, sandals reconnecting with the wall as the Uchiha's slash inadvertently scattered the clouds of sand. Kakashi, who had been charging down the wall in Sasuke's shadow, headed a lunge with a hand alight with the Raikiri; the strike was dodged by the First, but the silver-haired man spun out of the move to swipe dangerously with another hand suddenly alive with crackling light. Sparks danced as the two Raiton users dished out an explosive combination of electrical attacks, until the Founder happened to dodge an attack from both sides narrowly enough that Kakashi's Raikiri and Sasuke's sparking straightsword were nearing at breakneck speed.

Sasuke turned his hand, pointing the sword aside so that Kakashi could catch his clasped hand in his palm. Disaster averted, they looked up after the Shodai in time to see him unleash a torrent of writhing trees that went cascading down from the wall above them, hunks of rubble and debris falling in its midst.

The two locked eyes, and something there clicked. When they sprang apart it was with a line of lightning stretching between their hands. They took off dashing up the wall, slicing through the mass of crashing branches as the severing lightning chain, indifferent to the element of water, cleanly overcame the earth nature of the wood, while Sasuke's sword – transferred to his free hand – and Kakashi's free hand, still electrically alight, fended off falling debris and refocusing Mokuton attacks. They'd closed the distance. The line had slackened in the wind, hanging behind them from the speed of their charge, and the moment they passed the First on either side they pivoted inward and leapt across, so that a loop of lightning began to close rapidly around him.

A monstrous shove of chakra hurled the First from the wall, just before that side of the building, riddled with forestation, collapsed.

He landed hard, and leapt over me as I phased in with a sliding kick, and away again. With our foe's reaction to this near harmless diversion, Lee came rushing in to lay upon the First a ferocious series of strikes, and a crash of sand forced him to leap back in evasion – straight toward the spear that was Kakashi's hand. He ducked past the thrust, finding himself between the Hatake and Uchiha, and a cool smirk glinted in Kakashi's eye.

Sparking light arced from Kakashi's hand to Sasuke's blade, darting in a blink of speed to just barely sear the dodging Hokage's side. The energy whipped back the Uchiha's hair as it rushed into him – and was unleashed again with the thrust of his sword toward his adversary's torso. The man dodged this ranged strike by leaping aside – but Kakashi leapt in his shadow, extended hand now calling and redirecting a bending stream of projected electricity as Sasuke released it again. Stark shadows stormed across Kakashi's form, and his silver hair was set whipping crazily as the absorbed current of redoubled power dancing about and no doubt within him was rooted to his will. The First's eyes widened as he looked back, and with a bellow Kakashi released a full-body shockwave of electricity that washed angrily across the shinobi before him – and then gathered to zip back to Sasuke, drawn to and caught by his left hand as his right crossed his body with his blade.

He was again cloaked in a blazing shock of electrical power, one that now roiled and thrashed tumultuously about him. Not quite having sensei's superb chakra network mastery, he probably could not unleash a pure shockwave from his body; rather, he channeled it all at once down the sword in his hand, as he sent a momentous slash toward his staggered foe.

The redirected energy manifested in a blinding crescent of blue-white light. The First's hands twitched together, into a seal, as the arc seared out toward him, and with a roar a burst of Wind chakra broke from his open mouth, tearing out the portion of the arc directly before him. The two remaining fragments of the split energy slice crashed down in the distance, causing a great span of the ground to explode.

Of course… Even without a particular affinity for it, a guy like that is bound to have mastered a variety of jutsu…

And I flashed to sling an arm around Sasuke's waist. He stumbled in surprise as I released him twenty yards away, my eyes on the skewer of wood, extending from the First's hand, that had been inches from spearing his heart.

"This guy's ridiculous," I muttered, watching intently as Kakashi traded blows with the Shodai. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, with what thoughts I couldn't tell, as he looked toward me, but I paid it no mind. The First was thrown a few steps as he blocked a hefty kick from the jounin. Sasuke rose to his feet, beginning a short string of seals as the First landed a solid strike to Kakashi's face. I raced through my own sequence, and as Sasuke fired off his own jutsu, it was joined by my own.

"Katon: Gouryuuka no Jutsu!"

"Fuuton: Kazeryuudan no Jutsu!"

Kakashi threw a kick and was blocked once more, keeping the First's back to us. Then, abruptly, the jounin flickered away.

The First turned, gaze taking in the barreling Great Dragon Fire Technique and the Wind Dragon Missile that raced and twined elegantly around it, sinking into its heart to infuse its fire chakra with the power of wind. With a roaring crack of unnamable force, the dragon of flames snapped from red-orange to almost white, bearing down on the Shodai with a shocking jump in speed.

The man wove rapid seals and held out a palm, and branches of wood, twisting into the air, were joined by rising hunks of earth and suddenly materializing streams of water. These elements blended swiftly together into a barrier of wood and mass of rapidly swirling mud and water; our dragon combination met it with an explosive impact, producing a clash of indescribable power that battered and obliterated the earth for dozens of meters around. I half shielded my face and eyes from whipping dust, but I sensed something. The First had been too close – he was disoriented, perhaps deafened, but he would not be for long.

"One more!" I shouted, whisking my palm out and sweeping the other hand by. A ring of clones, there and gone, mirroring the motion – and Sasuke started as the Rasengan burst to form in my hand. Another sweep, with a trio of clones that brushed the breath of wind into the Spiraling Sphere while I maintained its form, brought a new form whirring to life. I held it high above my head, and it set a vortex of stray wind tumbling lightly about my form. Its four branches expanded with my Senjutsu chakra – a flickering wheel of slicing intensity and pale white light about the whorling compaction of deep indigo chakra.

Let this be the end!

"Senjutsu! Fuuton: RASENSHURIKEN!" I roared, and drew back to hurl the Spiraling Shuriken from my hand.

Sasuke flickered from my side.

The Founder's eyes widened as the Rasenshuriken arced toward him, whisking away smoke in its curved flight.

And he dodged it.

In particular, he ducked – ducked, by his cursed sharp instincts, under the level of the cutting plane, so that expanding it would do no good.

Thus he would have been safe, had not a dragon of flame, lancing in from the opposite direction, met the projectile technique dead-on in its flight, swallowing it – scooping it up in its mouth, and carrying it back again. The igniting Rasenshuriken expanded as the dragon dived for Shodai's back.

Its explosion was brilliant.

I slumped to my knees, Sage Mode failing as I watched the First Hokage's battered form shoot from the smoke cloud, and go skipping and tumbling across the ground.

A weary grin spread across my face.

"Tha… that's it…!

"We beat him!"

I saw Lee give a sigh of relief, and Gaara cautiously relaxed a bit. Kakashi headed toward the First, warning us not to let our guard down; we still did not know where Orochimaru was hiding. Sasuke returned to my side, hands in his pockets and eyes on the wreckage as he asked what the hell kind of jutsu I'd used, to scar the ground so deeply. Indeed, our Blazing Wind Rasenshuriken's directed blast had carved a rut many yards deep and some two dozen meters across, extending for some distance along the ground. I shook my head, accepting the hand my old teammate offered. It was true… Together, we were strong enough to–

"Itai… This cursed body really won't fade easily, then…"

Ice brushed over the back of my neck, trickled down my spine. Kakashi, though briefly alarmed, had already finished his hand signs. "Sealing Juts– agh!"

"Sensei!" I cried. At first, I couldn't tell what had happened to him. He had gone stiff, and his eyes were wide; he seemed to have been pulling away from something before going completely rigid, the action frozen in his shuddering form. Then I saw it – his right foot, bleeding and draped with creeping roots that had nailed it to the ground.

"You didn't notice it, then? The seed I slipped into your sandal, when I let you nearly land that kick?" The First, as burns faded and his broken body recovered, rose to his feet. "And now you can't control your chakra, can you? Forgive me – Kakashi, was it? It's not a trick I'm fond of using, honestly…"

In a blur of motion, he was at Kakashi's back.

"Even so… I'll need you to die now."

I snapped out of my fatigued shock as the man prepared to kill. I nimbly rolled and flung into an aerial cartwheel, springing to wheel by at Sasuke's side.

"Throw me!" I barked, becoming a Fuuma shuriken. Without delay Sasuke snapped to focus, lunging to snag my swiftly windmilling form and hurl me forward.

His aim was true. The fingers the First had melded into a wooden spear, preparing to stab, redirected their move to instead sharply deflect me upward. I was still spinning as I eschewed the guise of a Demon Wind shurkien, descending into an angry Leaf Hurricane kick.

WHAM!

"Out of Sage Mode, then?" Shodai noted, as his blocking arms easily held off my kick above him. I snarled, but he snapped a hand to my ankle and threw me, hard. I went careening into Lee, who was driven back catching me.

"Damn it," I swore. The First Hokage studied us calmly.

"You really want to protect this man, don't you?" he deducted, as Kakashi swayed and slumped on his side to the ground. "If it's any consolation, I could always kill him last. The seed has already sapped most of his energy, so he won't be a trouble to me any longer. But even if order is irrelevant, I'm bound to the command to destroy the lot of you."

"Aren't you confident?" I said – but I tensed, bracing myself as he formed a handseal.

"Confident? Your most experienced shinobi is down. If you don't mind me saying so, young fighters – I cannot realistically expect to be bested by four children.

"Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a World of Trees!"

I don't think any of us breathed when a two-leafed sprout poked from the ground before us. Seconds ticked by. Then the ground lurched violently, and I was thrown from my feet and sent surging skyward atop the rising ground. The earth was crumbling apart, giving way to the wild growth of innumerable swelling, blossoming trees.

Teeth gritting, I rose and leapt from the branch carrying me, scrambling along another and springing away again as a separate branch smashed against my perch. I didn't know which way to run, to escape from the dense, interweaving tangle of untamed foliage, if there even was a route to escape; there were only more writhing, ensnaring trees, as far as the eye could see. He had produced a veritable forest, centuries' worth of proliferation, in practically the blink of an eye.

I can't see a thing… We'll be trapped at this rate! I have to find the others!

"Naruto-kun!"

Lee had evidently been of a similar mind, and I spotted him taking a running leap my way after racing along a branch. He hacked through a falling piece of rubble, and I jumped to meet him just before a new branch spurted with violent suddenness from the surface I'd been clinging to. My hand clasped his in midair, and as we came together I heard and caught sight, in what occasional flickering droplets of light chanced to break through to the depths, of Gaara floating on a patch of sand a ways above, Sasuke knelt on a sand platform at his side. Sasuke's Sharingan had found us in the darkness that engulfed us all, and he pointed with a shout; the two started as I appeared with Lee beside them. The Uchiha's voice was frantic, though his eyes stayed calm.

"The walls–the trees–whatever, they're closing in on us!" he said, as the last inkling of light vanished and the already suffocating darkness became absolute. The sand platform lurched to one side, knocked by an indeterminable force.

"Gaara!" I said.

"I need time…!"

"We're about to be crushed–!"

BOOM.

It was an enormous sound – that of the titanic structure's living components, all massive in their own right, crashing forcefully together and locking shut around its captives.

Interestingly enough, I seemed to be in one piece.

The platform had jerked again before the booming sound struck; I was on my backside, pushed up against someone. My breath suddenly seemed too loud. Someone's hands groped in the darkness – checking for sufficient space, I found. Sasuke promptly became visible exhaling a miniature puff of flame. His shifting eyes were wide as they checked each of us in turn in the spreading light – me, fitting awkwardly in the cramped space; Gaara, one eye shut as he held a seal in terse focus; Lee, stance firm, head down, sweat rolling down his face, and trembling arms spread to their full span with palms pressed against two massive, dully creaking trunks, sealed above and below, that had bent and were still trying to close about us. Sasuke's controlled breath ran out, and we slipped into darkness once more.

"Ready." It was Gaara who spoke. An odd slew of sound followed, and twin claps of impact, issuing at once from opposite sides of us, were followed by the further creaking and crackling of wood. Another careful spurt of flame hissed into the air before Sasuke, and I saw Gaara's beast arms supporting Lee's herculean effort, thick, sandy claws spread elastically to press out on the walls. He still had only one eye open…

"He knows we're alive," the Suna-nin was saying quietly as the light faded again. "He's wondering why–urgh!–h-he can't get it to crush us."

His Third Eye was out there, then. Good thinking, I thought, And while I'm sitting still, I might as well…

Gaara swore. "He's forming handseals – it looks like a sequence for fire… This is bad!"

"Can you force an opening?" Sasuke said.

"What?" Gaara asked.

"I'll only need a second! Can you two do it, or not?"

"The three of us can!" I said, shifting. I had only been able to collect enough Nature energy to maintain Sage Mode for a half-minute at best, but I was willing to put faith in whatever Sasuke had in mind. "Lee – back to back, now!"

Sensing his energy, I felt one of his hands parting from the wall of wood, and slipped in to resume its place, catching a lurching branch with my back to his before the space could give out. Two hands apiece on the closing walls, braced against each other, we yelled and shoved outward together, crackling the great trunks that roared in splintering protest. Gaara's transformed arms reached to seep into the cracks, taking firm hold of the weakened prison around us – and with a mighty heave the Ichibi's jinchuuriki pried the wooden fortress apart, letting a single miraculous ray of light, from so far above, drop down upon us.

Upon us, and upon the flashing pair of hands that were finishing a string of signs.

"Katon…"

Sasuke's crimson Sharingan eyes were blazing with his determination as he straightened, arms flung back, and released a shout.

"Divine Wind Pheonix!"

A missile of fire lanced from his open mouth, rising, spiraling clear into the open. It continued to rise, a fiery droplet of light that strove for the heavens as we watched it. Then it burst, unfurling into a brilliant, avian beast of flame. It flapped its shimmering wings but once, leveling its head with a shriek, and dived in a flash of speed, down at an angle, vanishing from sight.

Even the trees that housed us quailed, with the roar of impact that no doubt razed the ground.

"He was forced to defend!" Gaara shouted. "Now's our chance!"

The force binding the trees around us had indeed slackened. Lee, using my back for a springboard, leapt for the wall of tree trunks with his hands on two sword hilts. With a growl of "Acceleration!" he plowed forward and struck out in three fierce swings, punching on the third strike into open air.

Sasuke, Gaara, and I raced and leapt out after him, and I met the eyes of a man who stood among blackened earth and lingering orange, white, and red flames, as a charred and burning dome of wood crumbled around him. He frowned, clapping his hands together as we raced down the side of the product of his Mokuton jutsu – scores of immense trees twisted and woven into the semblance of one colossal, towering conglomerate of wood and leaves, its 'trunk' many dozens of meters around.

He wove a long string of signs, and we jumped away just as it went up, violently, in flames. Gaara's sand spread to cushion our backs from a searing blast wave, and we sailed to the earth roughly no worse for wear. I met the black dirt and dropped into a roll, sliding into a crouch with both hands out. A pair of kage bunshin had flown into being at my sides, two sets of extra hands racing as I poured an abundance of chakra from my palms.

Five more seconds in Sage Mode…!

"Genjutsu!" the First bellowed, his hands shifting as I changed. "Infinite Darkness Jutsu!"

I nearly flinched, as shadows began to eat away at the edges of my vision. But I couldn't stop now. I tore forward, around the assailing spikes of wood that lanced from the earth, while the others fought through at my sides. I could reach him, before the illusion took complete effect. My vision had nearly fallen to it when my foot touched ground strongly, twenty meters short – and I swapped forward just in time to glimpse the dual blows of the Rasenrendan go plowing into the First's armor with concussive force, before my vision faded completely.

I scowled. My Senjutsu chakra… ran out just a moment early…

The darkness cleared. My determined expression shattered as I saw Sasuke flung by what could only have been a Rasenrendan square to the back.

Lee and Gaara were staring at me in shock. I imagine I quite mirrored their faces, gaping in bewilderment and unable to react – or even lower my outstretched palms – as Sasuke's black-clad form collided with a pile of rubble with a crack. He bounced from the impact, swayed unsteadily as he fell onto his feet, and dropped to his knees before falling flat with a heavy thud.

"Wh…what the hell…?" I said, my voice almost reaching a squeak. If I had remained in Sage Mode, that strike would probably have killed him.

"For all your ingenuity, you're still not a genjutsu type, are you? I thought not," the First sighed, still twenty meters away. "I simply led you to think you might land your technique before the illusion fully overtook you. In actuality, you were already fully under the thrall of another genjutsu before you even lunged 'toward' me."

"So you cannot recall it?" Lee said quietly. "You lunged to strike, but instead of swapping forward to attack the First, you placed yourself behind Sasuke-kun…"

I cursed sharply, glowering toward our foe. "Bastard…!"

Shodai smirked calmly back. "And then there were three."

"KUSO!" Gaara shouted, driving a transformed arm into the ground. Our foe leapt swiftly aside as a life-sized semblance of the maw of the Shukaku burst from the earth beneath him with a malicious snapping of its jaws. The man lifted an eyebrow in surprise, watching as it sank again, lost form, and faded.

"For children, you're able to summon unbelievable amounts of power. Your collective inability to land meaningful blows, however, might be more unbelievable still."

I glared daggers. "You think you've won? We're still going to beat you, whatever it takes!"

"To protect the village, right? Believe me when I say I wish you could! Don't say such words, young Uzumaki, if you lack the abilities to back them up. You mock the dreams I left in this place – dreams that I'm being forced to destroy with my own hands!"

"And I'm telling you, I won't let you! I said I would stop you, and I won't take back my words! I'll use every last drop of my power to protect those dreams – you damned corpse!"

The Senju gave a stern, coolly forbidding frown. I glared back, teeth clenched, knuckles white on the naginata clenched tightly in my hands.

It's not gonna happen. I won't let him win!

A hand clapped onto my shoulder. "Calm down."

I glanced back. The green-clad swordsman's eyes were firm on our foe, but in curious coexistence with the fierceness he exuded was an untold depth of tranquility. I blinked, unnerved by the incongruity. "Bushy Brow…?"

He strode a few steps forward, gaze not straying from the First. Then he sheathed the sword in his left hand, as well, and my breath caught. "We will not triumph here by attacking carelessly; willing it is not enough."

"Just what are you saying?"

Lee took a steady breath. "In brief – to stay calm. I will take command now, if you are not opposed to it. Center yourself, and please follow my lead."

Then… then he's going to…? I nodded, gulping. "I've got your back. You know that."

The taijutsu expert sank into a pure Gouken stance.

"There is no other choice. Forgive me… but I am afraid I must let loose."

I had thought so when he sheathed the blades. I would not have wanted to be Lee's opponent – not then. I didn't know what kind of training the guy had gone through in Iron Country, to extract such potential in so short a time, but since returning, he had held power of an entirely new caliber within him.

"Naruto-san?" Gaara asked as I contemplated.

I met his inquisitive eyes. "Do you know why Lee was selected to play the role of an 'equalizer,' a counter-decimator on the battlefield? He can't be beaten. Not in single combat."

"What do you mean… 'can't'?"

Settling into my stance, I shook my head. Lee was ready to move, and we'd do best to keep up.

Lee had returned from Iron, as best as I could make of it, with the ability to flip some crucial mental switch inside himself. It was in no way like opening the Inner Gates; no physical change occurred in him. It didn't seem to be a state he was capable of triggering entirely voluntarily, either. But when he did, faced with a tough opponent, he went off to some place inside himself – some place I could only imagine was filled with pure grit and ferocity and unruffled confidence, and thousands upon thousands of hours of hard work – and became unstoppable.

Hinata and I had tried sparring with him, all-out, in the hills near Sora no Sato. We had tried.

But… when he got that look in his eye, and the resolve to best the opponent before him…

"More than anyone else… that guy's power…

"…Is unreal."

---

Twenty-Six, Part Two: Warrior, God of War

Lee リー

–"Rock Lee, of the shinobi village Hidden in Leaves. Do you admit to your crime?"

A suppressed snarl. Defiant eyes, contradicting the answer as it is given. "Hai."–

I still had not spoken to them – not even to Naruto-kun or Hinata-san – of all that had transpired in the lands of the samurai.

–"Very well. Hear your sentence. You shall remain alone atop the tallest of the Three Wolves. As you sit upon the mountain, you shall contemplate your sins, and lament."

"Hai."–

My breath was steady as I held the Founder's blackened eyes. It was happening; my power was settling. It awaited the time to be shaped and channeled to my will, and my will was certain.

–"Should you live to the daybreak, you will walk free. Pray the kami of the mountain have mercy on your soul…"–

I was entering that place inside myself – a place that was all ice, wind, and bitter snow. A place filled with striking clarity, and a place in the reaches of which dwelled one true conviction.

–"I can…"–

…Face you now.

I breathed in.

My opponent began to blink, and my fist was smashing his jaw.

Behind me, I heard Gaara let slip a shout of surprise as the First was thrown well into the air.

The man flipped back just in time to land on his feet, stirring a tremor of the earth. I slipped aside as the ground erupted in prolific greenery.

The Hokage diverted my fist, wide eyes intent upon me as I blazed by. He spun into a kick, and I slipped under it and jumped away, and stood motionlessly awaiting his next move. The man's eyes narrowed; he did not leave his stance.

"What is this power, suddenly…?"

As he was pondering, Naruto appeared with Gaara at his back, the blonde's hand on the redhead's shoulder carrying him with his Shadow Swap. The instant the two materialized behind him, sand was bursting from Gaara's gourd in a wicked move, arcing to crash into the earth as Shodai-sama leapt away – away, but straight into my fleet-footed advance.

"Shimatta!" he grunted, blocking my fist with a thunderous crack. I tore on, and he ducked away from and diverted a rapid slew of strikes before returning attack. We traded blows until he put a fist solidly beneath my ribcage. The wind was knocked out of me, and I leapt back – escaping the range of a sharp followup swing – before one of my knees dropped me.

"To think you could match me," he wondered, as I suppressed a wheeze. "And you remain conscious and alert, though I struck at full strength…"

Naruto and Gaara were already at my sides, prepared to defend. "You look disconcerted," Naruto told the man as I rose to my feet, and I knew he was using the First's curiosity to buy me time to recover. "Lee's core style of fighting is straight taijutsu. It's like if someone who knows how to play a shamisen is taught to play a flute; you can practice with a new instrument until your proficiency with the two are all but one and the same, but in the end, you'll always feel more natural with the one you mastered first." He raised his head. "When Lee sheathes his swords and starts to really fight, few opponents can stand against him!"

I assumed my stance – and with no further notice, raced on the attack. The First half-evaded, half deflected my strike, and a fierce chop of my other hand cut the long column of wood that came lashing toward my side. You say it smugly, Naruto-kun, I thought, as the two rushed to both stay clear and support my attack. But in truth, this is an imperfect form…

I yelled, pelting blocking, shifting forearms with swift but punishing blows. Lord First lashed out, and I blocked a series of strikes of his own.

It is a regression, to resort to abandoning my kenjutsu – and its potential. That I must do so to hold my own here is evidence of my incomplete mastery of the blade. I cannot balance restraint and attack well enough with the katana, which I should be able to utilize to further focus and channel my power.

THUD! WHAM! THAM!

Because of this, I can match such a strong opponent… but nothing more. I will never best him this way…!

"HYAAAA–!"

Our fists collided with a crash. The air reverberated in a hint of instability for almost a second after we came together. Then great chunks of stone radially tore and flung themselves outward from the earth about us, crumbling up into the air. A shockwave finally split from between our still-opposing fists, and we broke apart.

With his naginata poised after breaking a hunk of earth, Naruto groaned as I landed and hopped nimbly back to his side. "You're ridiculous," he muttered hastily, "you know that?"

I was trading blows with the First Hokage. Ridiculous or not, however, we could not quite gain the upper hand with this alone. I needed something more…

"You can match me, blow for blow…" the man repeated, almost in disbelief. He gave a combative grin, and called out aloud. "What's your name?"

I looked up. "I am Rock Lee!"

"Rock Lee, then… tell me. Why have you yet to vary your attacks with any ninjutsu, or even genjutsu?"

For a moment, I considered whether there was anything to be lost in providing the answer. "I have none," I conceded finally. "None at all."

His brows lifted only very subtly. "You're a rarity indeed."

"I am well aware."

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Did you know that, in the times preceding shinobi, young men were rarely given weapons and sent to fight in wars before the age of eighteen, perhaps at the youngest sixteen years old? Women were rarely sent to do battle at all. Why would you suppose this was the way of things?"

"Physical maturity…" Gaara murmured. "And strength?"

The man nodded. "Even trained with a sword, for instance – in battles depending chiefly on brute force, a mere boy would stand no reasonable chance against a man's strength. For the civilizations of old, this truth was a simple one – so, rather than waste young lives that would have little if any impact on the outcome of a battle, they typically enforced age requirements on their warriors in times of strife. Only those at least nearing or beyond the stage of full physical development were permitted to fight."

"Then…" I began. "What changed that would be…"

"Yes. The advent of ninjutsu and chakra mastery turned the old system on its head. Suddenly the number of a nation's potential combatants jumped; sufficient training in ninjutsu allowed youths to largely compensate for their natural physical disadvantage, while those adults untrained in ninjutsu could now be overpowered easily. Humans scrambled for power as the ninja arts developed. Populations… dropped accordingly. In desperate times, even at the age of six, a child with talent enough might have been sent to the front lines among adults and hardened warriors, without a second thought." His eyes grew somber. "I was born in such a time," he remarked simply. "Viewed in this way, I suppose ninjutsu is quite wretched.

"But that is not the issue here. For a pup just passing through adolescence to possess such formidable power, without the aid or augmentation of any ninjutsu or spell… it's unheard of." He chuckled. "You think what I say is strange, clearly. Picture your Uzumaki friend stripped of Senjutsu, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Fuuton, and that Rasengan of his – or this Suna fellow, without his sand or demonic skills. If they were then forced to fight against that Hatake Kakashi, even similarly stripped of his special abilities, they would lose without fail. Yet you, who wouldn't even begin to attain your full potential for another six or seven years, stand as their equal – would stand above them all. Now do you see how unusual you are, small martial artist?"

"I have worked around my disadvantages," I said, clenching a fist. "That is all."

He smirked sadly. "Hm. It truly is unfortunate… I should have liked to be fighting you after you had grown into a man, and witnessing another power potent enough to shake the world."

He did not need to state it, for me to know he implied my imminent and inevitable death. In spite of myself, my eyes narrowed in defiance toward the one called a god among shinobi. "Plenty of others will have the opportunity to enjoy that honor in time."

He gave that sad smile again, holding my eyes. "Rock Lee, then, huh?"

His hands clapped together, fingers interlocked, and the three of us tensed.

"I acknowledge your strength!"

The sound of activating chakra was emitted from his hands, and the ground beneath us all – beneath Naruto, Gaara, and me, and the First as well – broke from the earth to rocket upward. My ears popped, and my teeth clenched as I spied a tall building, and watched it slip beneath us in height. We are rising so rapidly… is it another tree growing beneath us?

"This same trick?!" Naruto shouted over the rolling rumble of snapping stone.

"No… it is different!" I cried, and a straight skewer of wood burst from the rock at his feet, spearing his chest and spawning three more needle-like skewers that broke from his wide-eyed form as it carried him upward.

Pop!

It took you long enough to dispel it–! "Ack!" I cried as a hand at the back of my shirt yanked me off my feet. Two great, tall thorns were jutting suddenly from the place I'd been standing, and Naruto swapped me away as more skewers sprung outward from them in all directions. The ground was rapidly dissolving, broken up in every moment by dozens more of the pillars. A central one continued to climb, its base several meters around as it spawned offshoots that sprouted even more themselves; more massive pillars tore through the ground space at various angles, giving form to the tree of spears that was rapidly consuming all free space in a large vicinity.

"He is trying to–disorient us again!" I said, jumping aside prior to the eruption of another needle branch, and launching from the side of another before it broke out in skewers. Naruto had dodged in the opposite direction, and swung his naginata to send wind cutting into the branches that rose up around him.

"I don't think getting boxed in will go over so well this time!" he called, blasting a slash of wind that carved out a path before him. The severed stumps were prompt in projecting all the more needles in violent response. The ground churned beneath us, and instinctually I leapt upward with all my strength. The existing skewers' rate of growth spiked with a jolt, effectively eradicating what fragmented chunks of earth had remained as suitable footing.

And from the peak of my jump, I fell toward the flourishing forest of spikes.

There is no other choice now. The Fifth Gate…!

Two arms encircled my waist from behind, and Naruto swapped me upward with him, above the wildly erupting maze of spears. The blonde released me, and we continued to fall until we were swept from harm's way by two rushing streams of sand, just as the forest surged up around us and branched to lock away the sky above.

"We find him, and strike directly!" Naruto snarled, shoving off and vanishing from his platform of sand, as Gaara swept by, riding upon sand that swirled beneath his feet. Both arms were fully human once more, and outstretched before him as he maintained the slightest frown of focus.

"The sand and I both know your chakra well, by now," he said, and plunged in his flight to avoid a skewer that projected laterally before him. "Trust me!"

"Always," I said with a smirk, and shoved backwards from my platform as a bursting roil of chakra a ways before me set a tangle of skewers loose in the platform's path. I backflipped through the air, swinging myself over another branch.

With Gaara-kun's support, I can conserve the power of the Gates until I need it to strike…!

"YOSSHU!" I roared, launching myself from a springboard of sand that materialized beneath my bracing feet. Gaara's sand provided footing, walkways and paths that twisted from the range of lancing skewers and raced in tandem with our moves to guide us through the perilous maze; I glimpsed Naruto gliding, ever-tumbling through the air in graceful flight as he flowed through Shadow Substitutions, while occasional, fleeting leaps from sand footholds kept him aloft.

I swung my right leg around and upward, and then my left, turning my body swiftly in the air as my feet left the cloud of sand beneath them; I passed over a broad skewer while the sand swept beneath it, and my feet returned smoothly to it as the obstacle was left behind.

"Through here!" Naruto cried, and with an indigo flash a kunai was sailing into the bark of one skewer amongst a wall of them.

"Understood," Gaara said, zipping with great speed toward the point the wraith had marked out. His right arm drew back, shimmered with power, and burst to transformed state as he slammed it through the wall of spears. As he did so, the sand beneath my feet was sifting swiftly toward my outstretched hand; with the relocation it stretched forward as a band, and I dug my fingers into the sand so that it could sling me strongly through the gap Gaara had created.

I found our foe's surprised eyes just as a recently tumbling purple-clad form appeared at his back. Naruto's axe kick was centimeters from dropping into the Shodai's skull.

The man shifted enough so that the strike sank into his shoulder instead, but he had sorely underestimated the weight of the blow. Naruto had let himself fall, swapping to keep himself aloft without the aid of any footholds for the last several seconds; the result was that he had accumulated that time's worth of freefall acceleration, and accordingly amassed a hefty deal of momentum.

"Agh!" the First grunted, and the blonde flashed away as three skewers closed for him from all sides.

Now! Kaimon, OPEN!

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" I declared, sailing toward the man with a flying kick. Eyes narrowed, he slipped aside – and gripped my ankle. Whirling, he hurled me toward a projecting skewer at breakneck speed. I felt a hand on my arm, and the hold of Naruto's familiar chakra encompassing my own, and I was deposited before the wall of sand he himself had just leapt from. I turned to meet it feet-first, and launched with blazing speed toward the First once more.

He was charging, but dodged my first strike before he lashed out. I unleashed a focused barrage of intensity, assailing him with blows as he backpedalled and dodged craftily, before I leapt over him in evasion of a sly skewer; I pushed from a patch of sand that condensed in the air to explode vigorously into a high strike. He blocked, shoved me away, and rose upon a twisting pillar of wood that swept him toward me. I tumbled toward the mess of skewers that became of the ground. Gaara-kun!

A rush of sand caught me above them, and I sprinted to meet the quietly surprised First Hokage in an arcing path as sand raced to place itself without fail beneath my feet. With this I can fight freely!

I leapt and snapped into a blinding kick, and the Hokage leaned in evasion; the agile pillar carried him away from the following swing, and his arm shifted sharply – the imprint of Naruto's fist blinked with a thud into his sleeve – and I was shoving from the sand, striking at him again with all my might. An elegant shadow rolled and substituted, pirouetting undaunted from the paths of skewers that angrily targeted him; he landed, crouched for but an instant, on both feet and one hand on a hastily procured patch of sand, darted away, and continued to harass the First with strikes thrown from the depths of shadow. Even with Gaara coordinating for us both, and with the contrast between my direct offense and Naruto's elusive moves, the man masterfully dodged our ferociously concerted efforts to return attack with melee and Mokuton.

Third Gate – Seimon!

Two flying skewers were being cut from the air before me with a flash of wind. In a straight shot, I drove my fist into the First Hokage's stomach, sending crimson sailing from his lips. A Shadow Kick knocked into the back of his skull. Even then, he did not buckle. With unreal swiftness of recovery, he drove the sole of his sandal cleanly into my face.

I was thrown back into the air – and caught by a cushion of sand that plunged as I fell, swept, and swirled forward into a platform beneath my feet. Burning blood running from my nose and lip, I pulled back my fist and swiftly squared my stance – and my eyes grew as the Fourth Gate's power smoothly unfurled.

It snapped into focus – and with a yell, I struck out with a sharpness that twisted and shattered the very air about my fist.

Twenty meters away, the First was torn off his feet, blown backwards with an affronting crack of sheer force.

His eyes were wide as he flicked out two fingers. At a motion of his hand, the skewers behind him turned, reorienting to lay themselves flat, before his back cracked into the wall of wood.

He fell to a similarly flattening patch of ground, rolled forward, and slammed his fist down with finality. The skewers in a line before him came alive again, expanding, spawning unpredictable offshoots, and tearing toward the three of us. Towering branches lanced across the open space, cutting down the potential for motion.

This is bad! As long as we remain in here, he has the advantage–!

A great power electrified the air.

"HORRYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With a wild roar that rang out past heavily fanged teeth in a duality of tones, hands falling from his fiery hair, Gaara threw his head back as the lower portion of his shirt burst to reveal the seal alight on his belly. His maddened eyes lit themselves a similar white as the glow shot downward from the seal, sending twin branches of light down along his legs, spreading from the ground at his feet, and obliterating all lancing skewers that came within a few yards of him.

The ground jumped–lurched–jerked again as a tearing roar of destruction echoed from somewhere far below. Then gravity listed to one side, and I realized that the great, deadly tree had begun to fall.

The First leapt into a shunshin, vanishing. Naruto grasped my hand, and flashed to catch Gaara's dazed, slumping form. A few more substitutions, each of which must have exacted a frightening toll in his chakra for the extra load, brought us miraculously into full sunlight.

As my eyes adjusted, I found we were at the side of the dropping mammoth of a tree, and nearly laughed in shock as I saw what had felled it. A less ineffectual move, indeed, the manifestation of Shukaku's maw had risen through faltering foundations, no doubt having emerged opened wide directly beneath the structure – wide enough to engulf even its roots – and split the trunk with a monstrous snap of its now-shut jaws. I watched the beast's head lose form and fade again as Naruto swapped to hasten us to solid ground.

"Arigatou gozaimasu, Issan," Gaara was muttering with a weak smile of relief, his ringed eyes shut and a hand pressed appreciatively to his belly. Though his words were calm, his face was stark white.

To project its emergence to such a distance… I wondered, blinking in amazement at the boy as he panted and coughed. Gaara-kun… Where did you learn to summon such power?

I had no more time to wonder, however; the First was sailing from the tree's outer branches, having waited for it to near the ground. He flipped away as it came roaring down, and by the time he landed I was there to meet him, Fifth Gate opening, rushing on the attack.

His move to block the obvious threat was countered as a subtle senbon, buried deep in his thigh by the speed of a Vacuum Shot, cut the range of motion of his arm. My kick plowed into his face, crushing, and he hit the ground hard.

Wherever he may have released the senbon from, Naruto was already swapping Gaara nearer. Sand spiraled from the gourd, diving to crash upon the man's weakened form, rolling, contracting – and blown away. The mighty sweep of an arm had cast it aside and freed the First, who studied us as bits of matter drifted to repair the damage to his face. He stood, wincing in annoyance as his nose straightened itself out with a dull crunch.

The Inner Gates fell shut, and I swayed. But I stamped down the mounting exhaustion and returned his glare, as did the others.

"You don't have any sealing jutsu between the three of you, then?" the First guessed, cerrectly. "Your power is nothing short of impressive, but if all you can hope to do is bind me, you'll need a much stronger attack to stop me long enough."

We stared him down. Then the three of us exchanged looks.

Me – determined to fight as long as I needed to.

Gaara – forever willing to protect his comrades.

Naruto – a madman's glint in sharp indigo eyes.

With no further notice, Naruto was dropping to seat himself in a meditative stance as Gaara's sand swirled to encircle the blond in a spherical shield. I leapt into the Shukaku hand Gaara drew back, and was flung at the First, to attack.

The man was incredulous as I hurtled toward him. "Are you insane?! What are you plotting…?"

Smat…!

"That is for us to know!" I growled, as he deflected my punch. I drew back again. "Just take comfort… that your dreams will not perish today!"

He blocked the strike, and I shifted outside two blinding jabs of his own before hopping back from an air-rattling kick. "How can you still fight? Why do you fight? You're children!"

WAM!

I felt teeth shifting; the world seemed to flash black and white a dozen times in the instant his fist bludgeoned against my cheekbone. Blood was spilling from my mouth as I spun and toppled onto my front, half-blind with pain – and as he leapt to pass me, my hand lashed onto his ankle. I was dragged a few feet, but brought him back to the earth.

"We have dreams to protect!" I spat, flinging my feet up behind me to drop twin heel strikes toward his shoulders. These he blocked, and he leapt as I released him and lashed my legs down and around in a sweeping double kick. I caught myself in a crouch, and threw myself into an attack once more.

"Dreams are vital," he said, blocking sharp strikes, "but without power to match the strength of those dreams, such is all they will ever be – fantasy. Delusion!"

The fist that slipped past my guard met my breastbone with a crunch – one that painted the world white, with the sickening screech of an excess of cracking ribs.

I crumpled to the dirt, chest spasming. I had not even determined whether or not I was breathing successfully before I tried to pursue the man walking past me, and found my body would not move.

Shock…?

Gaara stood firm guard before the shell of sand, weary eyes cold as he faced the First down. "As long as we have faith in him, Naruto-san's dreams will not be eradicated so easily," he said with the levelness that was so characteristic of him, and a boldness that was not, as he watched the man approach. "Your dreams can and will live on – in him!"

Sabaku no Gaara was essentially defenseless while he concentrated his sand on shielding Naruto – so he did all he could, and leapt to throw a punch.

His fist was snatched from the air. He held his ground, eyes murderous upon the Shodai and teeth gritted as his hand was squeezed until it popped. Then a hand chop curtly shattered his elbow. His jaw dropped, and his eyes were going white as he was kicked harshly aside. The sand, somehow obeying the strength of the last conscious command it had received, had not raced to shelter him from either blow, and remained as it was, standing in its sphere, even as its master went sprawling.

"N-no…" I hacked, reaching toward them. The man glanced back.

"It ends here," he said solemnly, sharply clenching a strong fist.

And a skewer of wood burst through the heart of the powerless sand sphere, and out of the other side. The heavy crunch of rent flesh met my ears, and I froze.

The sphere collapsed, revealing a blonde-haired shinobi, wide-eyed as blood poured from his mouth.

Naruto bent, slumping against the skewer that had pierced his heart. His clothes and cape were torn. The markings of the Sage faded from spasming eyes.

"This fight… is over now."

Naruto's fumbling hands grasped numbly at his chest, and at the red-streaked spear protruding from it. His body trembled; his teeth shakily clenched, and his eyes slowly, slowly shut.

"My dreams… a-are my power."

And with those last words, he at last embraced sweet, overdue nonexistence, and melted into a plume of smoke as a young Sage, arms crossed, one foot extended, face fiercely stern, and cape stretched straight up, phased down into existence at the wide-eyed Shodai's back.

---

Naruto ナルト

Falling.

–I wonder why… if I drop the stones from increasing heights, the impact craters reach a maximum size?–

Falling.

–"Fukasaku-sensei, I've discovered something interesting!"

"Eh? What is it, lad?"–

Falling.

–"I was dropping stones from atop the pillars in the ravine, and…!"–

Falling.

–"It's… interesting, sure. But what good is it? Huh? Why do you look so down?"–

Falling.

–"Naruto-chan? What're you up to now?"

"Cutting the rocks to the same size – I need to observe it s'more, and I think they'll compare better if they're all the same size, y'know?"–

Falling.

–"Blazes, boy, are you still at it?"

"I shoulda' thought of it sooner – they should probably all be the same shape, too. Oh – do you have any string? I want to measure the craters around."–

Falling, without moving my body.

–I have to Shadow Climb to get there, but there's no question. Any height above that, and the craters are all the same size and depth, about…–

Falling, and meditating as I fell.

–So… they've stopped speeding up? Why the heck would that happen?–

Falling, and no longer feeling the wind in my face.

–When I fly, I feel the wind in my face…–

Falling, and breaking free, so carefully, of all limitations.

–The faster I fall… the sharper the slap of the wind…–

Falling, with the miracle of Wind chakra infusing my form.

–At some point… At some speed?

…Does the air slow things down…

…Just as much as they'd like to be speeding up?–

Minimum resistance – attained.

Maximum speed – attained.

–What should I even call such a phenomenon…?–

The gut wrenching instant when, orienting myself, one last Shadow Swap down left me two yards – and in infinitesimal piece of a second – away from splattering into unforgiving earth. Everything in me said to climb, to get away; at this speed, even a hundred yards from the ground seemed much too close.

Eyes wide as can be, face locked in a scowl of deathly concentration – trained eyes, trained, somehow, on the enemy's back.

A precision substitution – tremendous chakra, the staggering sum needed to not only displace this much energy, but transform its direction.

The decoy was going up in smoke. The Senju's instincts were just barely telling him to react to me – one neck muscle perhaps began to twitch its part in the complex motion of turning his head.

But no man's reflex, no matter how unreal, could even begin to react to something moving so fast.

…Then what am I…? I wondered at the paradox, as I burned into existence with my outstretched foot a millimeter before his stomach.

What exactly did it mean… that I had not gone splattering into the solid earth?

–I'll call it… Shuutansokudo!–

Madness and brilliance, becoming one to propel theory, burgeoning, clean into vibrant reality.

And Sage Mode, barely holding my body together as I felt every bone in the First Hokage's reanimated body surrender to swift obliteration.

Have faith in us, like Ero-sennin – in us, and in the future that's passing into our hands!

"Terminal KICK!"

My mouth, somehow shaping the name with finality as the air exploded, the whole world exploded in the thunderous crack of impact, and we went lancing through space together.

---

It was only due to Sage Mode that I could survive such a collision at all. That being said, the monumental power generated by shuutansokudo pushed even Sage Mode's might to its outer limits.

We blazed in a straight shot through a number of structures before, teeth gritted, I managed to push away with the foot buried firmly in his gut and collapsed ribs. My carefully molded sleeve of wind chakra dispersed, and my cape fluttered and tore, my entire body buffeted as air resistance snatched me again. The Shodai crashed down only a moment before I did, and I saw him beginning to tumble wildly in my shaking, blurring sight before I wiped out.

I would've broken more than a few bones in the harsh landing and rolling that ensued, had not Sage Mode mercifully lasted until I lost more momentum, seized some flailing control over my motion, and slid to a stop on my side. I wanted to puke. It worked… it actually worked…!

The Nature energy was slipping away as I raised my head with a rough breath, eyes intent but half-lidded with fatigue.

That's it. No human, whoever it may be, can withstand a direct hit from forty-eight kilograms at a thousand miles per hour… If that's what I've got backing my words, not even you can challenge it!

Twenty yards away, a motionless figure lay among heaps of strewn rubble that were the remains of some building's walls. His limbs were sprawled at random angles, and seemed not all straight in far more places than they reasonably should bend. His eyes were black, and his gaping mouth ran over with blood.

I caught enough breath to speak, a small smirk rising to my face. "You can rest easy now, see…?"

"Naruto-san!" It was Gaara; I turned my head groggily, seeing him hurrying this way. His face was taut, and a hand, to dissuade its motion, clutched an elbow splotched with a heavy patch of purple, but his eyes were bright. "I'm here! I'll stop his movements now!"

I smiled, and was about to answer when the sense of danger prickled over my skin. A hiss was the only warning before fire knifed into my neck.

V-venom?! I thought, hand shuddering as searing heat bubbled in my flesh, overtaking my senses. I'd let my guard down, but my hand had snapped to grasp the assailant's scaled body just as its needle-like fangs punctured my throat, barely missing my trachea. That guy… has he been w-watching this entire time? Even in the middle of a battle for the village – watching his trump card fight, to examine our abilities?! If so, Orochimaru had seen all I had, and summarily decided not to let me live.

I flopped onto my back in a spasm of pain, chest heaving. I crushed the hinge of the snake's jaw between the thumb and forefinger that had grasped it, and tore it away with a scream. Left lying on my side, I coughed and gasped wetly, tasting venom and succumbing to the sickening feeling of my body going limp. I had nothing left to fight it. I couldn't move…

I couldn't move, and the First Hokage, limbs straightening and bones solidifying with dull crunches and pops, blazing with Orochimaru's chakra, was slowly rising up in battered and crumbling armor before me.

"Extraordinary…" he was saying as I gawked, helpless. "Even if I had been revived with the full strength I possessed in life… I dare say that move alone could still have been my end. But Orochimaru has had more than a year to pour his chakra into this cursed shell; I'm more resilient than even the typical Reanimation."

Gaara was a ways back, exhausted but fighting desperately to destroy a much larger snake that determinedly barred his approach. I could do nothing but watch with unblinking eyes as the Shodai's hands swept through a flurry of seals. He flicked two fingers up and stomped, and a heavy spear of wood, nearly long as he was tall, burst from the earth before him to shoot high into the air.

"Mokuton: Ironwood Javelin!" he announced with an aura of harsh finality. He caught it with a firm clap as the solid weapon returned to him, its blunt end cracking the quailing ground.

No… I was petrified as he lifted and drew back the javelin, turning it lateral in his hand. Gaara was yelling something, running toward me, still so far away. My fingers twitched, numb; my pulse thudded against my ears.

I took one last breath as the legend among shinobi, like a god hefting his final instrument of judgment, gave a thunderous bellow and hurled the javelin to strike me down.

An earsplitting crack.

My eyes were stretched wide, the horrible crunch resounding in my ears, as Lee's half unsheathed katana shattered beneath the lance – his wrist buckled, turned, and snapped as he was pushed a step back – and the Javelin, its course miraculously altered by the collision, blasted through Lee's body and over my head.

Hanging on the flash-frozen air, the ringing of splitting steel and bone continued to reverberate with striking clarity. The ground a ways behind us loosed a grand explosion of dust as the speeding projectile bolted off and fell. When Lee's gritted teeth parted, it was to voice a howl of such agony that my gut clenched even harder than it already was.

Crying out, blood spraying profusely from the hole in a demolished shoulder blade, he crumpled sharply to his hands and knees.

My lips parted, cold.

"B…Bushy Brow!"

"Lee-san, no," Gaara breathed, as the First raised an eyebrow.

"He actually diverted an Ironwood Javelin's flight, even to the smallest degree… You kids are full of surprises, aren't you?"

Lee was coughing, choking on his breath; his eyes were mindless but mad, unblinking on a distraught and blood-drained face. His hand trembled steadily, as the rest of his body did, atop the hilt of a shattered blade he still held before him, in shock. His breath further shook, and the shuddering grew violent before cutting off altogether. The maimed youth finally slumped where he sat, limp with the loss of consciousness.

"You protected your comrade at the cost of an arm, even if only to delay the inevitable. You've got guts," the First noted. "Futile or not, I can respect such an act… Very well. At the very least, I can kill you first. You needn't see your dear friends die before you–,"

Before he could say another word, his jaw fell slack. Mine did, too.

Head down, bloodied face in shadow, Lee was rising to his feet in slow, jerky motions. His arms hung as he nearly stumbled, but he caught himself, straightening. A soft, hollow murmur was rattling toneless from his lips: "I see, I see…"

"Wh… How?" It was all I could say, as he reached abruptly to clench his good hand around the intact katana's hilt.

The moment his fingers made contact with the weapon, a vortex of energy surged from his form, and settled. He remained motionless as, like the beating of a titan's heart, the same power pulsed and ebbed, pulsed and faded, pulsed from his form and throbbed on the verge of awakening, straining the suddenly searing air. This energy wasn't Lee's – it was dark.

No… I realized, and I would have started, had I dared to. Not even. I-It's…

Evil.

Evil, struggling to be given form.

"I don't know what you're up to," Shodai said, unruffled, "but I will end it."

He swept his arm out, and the terrain erupted in a mass of woody greenery that came bounding, barreling and crashing toward us. Lee stood his ground, apparently undaunted, as the attack closed rapidly for him.

Then his head snapped up, with a fresh pulse of shapeless vileness that simmered in the air. Teeth gritted, he drew his remaining sword from its sheath, bringing it first high into the air, and swung with a hellish shout into the opposing tsunami of verdancy.

Branches were sliced through like water and scattered, torn and thoroughly blasted asunder by the splintering slash. I gawked. Before the swordsman leaves browned and crumbled, branches shriveling and withering away from the plane of his slash as he resumed full height with cold seriousness in his eyes.

And then, with a final, reverberating crack of energy from swordsman and from the shimmering sword that glinted darkly in his firm grasp, Lee's hair stood up, his teeth gritted in a snarl of condescension, and his eyes grew intense and then so far beyond merely intense that his expression couldn't be put adequately to words. The voice that emanated from his lips was Lee's voice, but not; it rumbled out low and dangerous, subtly insidious, sinister to the point of being strikingly alien to me.

"Juuchi Yosamu…" he said icily, marveling momentarily at the blade he held before him. He met the Shodai's eyes expressionlessly but for a grandly calm smile, and an insurmountable lust for blood and conquest, shining chaos, flashing in the depths of his own.

The sword pointed toward the old Hokage.

"It desires your defeat, Konoha no Shodai, and so one of us shall be destroyed here."

Lord First's eyes narrowed calculatingly. I noticed with a start the grass that was wilting rapidly about Lee's feet, just as the First's Mokuton had, drying and browning as if with disease. The Shodai turned up his chin at this turn of events. "What manner of jutsu is this…?"

A rough scoff of a laugh broke from Lee's throat. "Jutsu, you say?" he snarled, and he turned the fiendish blade so that its gleaming edge caught the sparse sunlight and split its soft rays into glaring hues of dusk and deep crimson.

The First winced, and Lee was flying on the attack.

The blade made not a sound, not so much as the subtlest whistle or sigh as it flashed to cut the air, its wicked arc passing a hair above the Shodai's forehead as he leaned back in evasion. The man's knee lashed around for Lee's gut, but his airborne foe caught it with a crack against his own knee, and broke away into a backflip.

Lee had no sooner landed lightly on his feet than the First was dodging the quick lunge of the blade; Lee slashed toward him with a smarting snarl, and a tight spin brought the scowling Hokage from the blade's reach. With a devilish intensity Lee dished out strike after strike with no wasted motion, unnaturally calm in the throes of madness that shone from his eyes and seemed to seize and imbue his form. It was unlike anything I had ever witnessed; Lee was a man possessed, his weapon unstoppable, his body but a vessel of supreme lethality, his every decisive move borne upon the will to deliver ruin unto the grand adversary before him.

The First Hokage, backpedalling, weaving through the rapid bombardment of attacks that comprised an utterly relentless assault, summoned a longsword of his own and surged to counter attack.

Cleanly as the wind, the sword engraved with the Senju crest was split by an oncoming slash. However fine the blade had been, its intended parry had offered no detectable resistance – not in the face of the boundless ferocity that strove for annihilation, and impelled the hand of a beast whose eyes shone with dark, whose spirit blazed unchecked and whose coolly malicious smirk chilled all who beheld it.

The First's stomach was split open.

No – superior reflex had caught the man in his advance, pushed him to try to back away again in evasion. Even he, however, had been unable to fully react to a speeding blade that not only sliced through his block, but did so without lending an ounce of sound or feeling. What amount of instinct could prepare a shinobi for so illogical an occurrence? Still, among shinobi he was the best there was, so the slash that destroyed his sword and banished some remnants of his armor was shallow across his torso. He leapt back from an immediately following strike, black eyes wide as blood finally spurted from his ruptured flesh.

"Yes," Lee said, his smile harshly malevolent, his face spattered with blood. The stained blade whipped lazily through the air about him – at his right, above, the left, and before him – dancing as he strode forward in lilting steps, broken left arm swinging limp. "Drink the blood of our enemies, and let us surpass them!"

"Th-that… can't be Lee-san," Gaara breathed at my side. He gripped his stomach, as if ill, but could no more tear his eyes away than I could as Lee flung himself once more upon his foe.

"It can't…!"

Mokuton lanced viciously forward from the earth before the First; Lee hacked clear through the first of it, but could only get off that one slash before the sheer mass of bursting plant life, rushing against his form, carried him back with staggering speed, and drove him to the earth with a cataclysmic crash.

The First was just shouting that if you can't move, you can't cut, when in a burst of foul light the branches in Lee's vicinity were diced, shredded bits withering and reduced to nothing by what I recognized as the Blade of Infinity on a monstrous level.

This power… What am I even seeing here? What…?!

A thick branch lashed in just as he'd freed himself; it caught cruelly across his torso, slamming his shrieking breath out of him and swatting him away. He rolled rapidly as he met ground – and slid to his feet, back hunched and blood dripping from his lips – rose and jerked to full height as the upraised blade pulsated with an angry flash of luminosity – and unleashed a bellow of rage that sent violent light screaming into the air, as he launched himself forward into the pursuing masses of wood, his arm drawing back only to lash forward again as Infinity's Blade. Yelling out his might, he demolished all that opposed him, sprinting, blasting forward with frozen determination and ill intent.

But as I watched him move, a burgeoning whirlwind of living ferociousness, I found what it was that appalled me so. It was more than malice or murderous intent: it was a thousand wars' worth of pain and suffering, anguish, exposure, famine, and rot, assailing the senses with each breath and with every glimpse of the dancing blade's ghastly sheen. This power was catastrophe, and I shuddered to contemplate the price of channeling it.

What Rock Lee now wielded was the power to eradicate all that lay in one's path… a power that yielded to none, and that demanded the prostration of kings, for it could see nations turned to dust and was coupled with the potent desire to stand and watch them as they burned. The mere and barest comprehension of such a bane tore at my soul.

"What on Earth…" Great drops of cold sweat rolled from my chin; my eyes were frozen wide, and trembling in true horror. "No human's body… should even be able to withstand that much power!"

Obstacles, vanquished because he willed them to rubble. A harbinger of turmoil, fixated on a goal – tearing on, forever onward with that singular purpose – steeped in violence, doomed and willing to forge his path in bloodshed.

"This is madness!" Gaara, who was not easily shaken, was distraught. "He may win, but at what cost?"

But you, Bushy Brow… you'd accept any cost, wouldn't you? Even shouldering this terror…

My eyes watched silently, maybe in horror, maybe in awe, as I watched adversaries dance.

For your goals… Would you even become something no longer human?

A solid kick, meeting Lee's wrist, broke his grip on the blade. His expression grew savage.

And the First, the moment he caught the hilt of the great and terrible weapon, experienced an expansion of the pupils accompanied by the tumult of darkening chakra flying into utter disarray, and turned the blade against himself.

The man yelled, hand snapping open; in the course of losing contact with it, his eyes refocused, and he turned the blade away before its tip could pierce his gut. Then it was falling, and swerved impossibly – clapped into its chosen, outstretched hand of calamity, so that Lee could instantly lash out in retaliation.

"It acknowledges only ME," he boasted, and the First barely managed to escape with only a nick to the arm. The man planted one foot, and jammed the other hard into Lee's already shattered shoulder. A sound of pain creaked up from his throat, and he went sailing. He met the ground with a horrid thud, and shoved back to his feet, outraged.

Something sparked in his eye, and confusion rose, so briefly, to his stern features.

Then the sword's glow intensified violently, gushing hellish light, and with it Lee was overtaken once more by cold resolve. My eyes narrowed. He responds to the blade…?

And Lee flipped the blade in his hand, and plunged it to hilt through his own body. I grimaced, dumbstruck, as Gaara loosed a wordless cry of alarm.

No – no, he should have missed the fatal hit by a centimeter…

The First Hokage stared, teeth clenched. The shock and the pained expression together faded from Lee's face as he shut his eyes, pale, and he gritted his teeth only slightly as he drew the blade from the clean wound.

Kuso… I see!

He nearly staggered. Then the blade's glow strengthened vigorously, wildly within its coating of running crimson, and he straightened. Katana held skyward, teeming with new vigor, he opened his bloody, dripping mouth and unleashed a war cry as the blade's bursting power resonated with his own, causing the decaying earth to buckle for a distance around him.

"It's not him… It's a damned parasite!"

"What?" Gaara asked, looking to me.

"It's that sword. A sword that strikes with abandon, of its own accord, with Lee as its puppet!"

Is that how it works? I thought, as the young swordsman, panting roughly, settled into a loose stance. Knees bent and head low, leaning forward, he reached across his body so that the dripping blade in his right hand was extended back at his left. You surrender to its will… and it destroys your enemies?

Or…

His feet spread. The First's hands began to come together.

Or did you even have a choice?

A shockwave, born of speed, violently battering the air. Lee's feet slid to a smoking halt twenty meters behind the Shodai, who himself had suddenly shifted a few yards to his left. The combatants remained for a few moments as they were, the man's teeth gritted, the boy's arm high, stance low, glinting katana outstretched at his right.

Lee rose, sharply whipping new blood from the blade as he spoke.

"Nothing can weather Ten Thousand Cold Nights."

The First's right arm detached with a spurt of blood, lopped off at the bicep, and thudded to the dirt. But rather than regenerate, the stump left behind blackened along its edge, while the lost limb crumbled and faded away, its disappearance not uniform but spreading from the plane of its severing. The reanimated Hokage scowled slightly, eyes still shut.

"A soulsword that robs life force, then… effectively, a sword of sealing."

At this remark, Lee merely, slowly turned his head enough to glare back at the man, exultant.

As he turned, his image shimmered in my eyes. For a fleeting moment, I saw a horrible contortion of my noble-hearted friend; he was a true beast of a man, his ragged, strong, ensanguined form sagging with the encumbrance of shackles and countless bloodstained chains. His harsh eyes were devoid of light, and left as the eyes of one who relished in strength and rejoiced in suffering. Markings decorated his twisted face. But most striking of all were the thick outward-pointing fangs that hung from the mouth beneath a heavy nose, and the long, slender oni's horns protruding from his forehead. The vision then faded, and with an imperious grin, eyes dark and mindless with rising bloodlust, Lee turned sharply about to face his opponent.

"Come!"

My mouth was dry. Was that… a glimpse of your soul, Lee? Or of the future that awaits you, transformed by power?

Either way…

Victory can't be worth this. Not even now.

I clasped my hand over my chest. The fox's chakra, reemerging, was fighting off the venom in my veins, but I could see well enough that anyone who stepped between those two now would be killed.

This must stop…

---

Lee リー

It is… so dark…

Dark, and so oppressive that I could not move – I could not even breathe.

The dragon called chikara… had finally consumed me.

But is there any point in fighting against it? I thought, eyes moistening in despair. I scowled through the tears. Even if I could escape this, what other options remain to me now? I have grown stronger and stronger to protect my comrades. I have fought through endless battles without fearing death, but I was not strong enough on my own to defeat that man… It was not enough.

Killing our enemies is my only means of protecting them. I know this… but if I cannot even do that, what purpose remains to me?

"Hey…"

I blinked in the bottomless darkness. A voice, in this place?

"Oi, kid – you in there? Yoohoo? Anyone?"

Wait… this almost sounds like–

A hand plunged through the darkness, latching strong onto my shoulder. I yelled, as much in floored bewilderment as in alarm.

"Aha! So that's where you were!"

Unblinking in astonishment, I was pulled from the prison and into open light. I thudded onto my backside, dripping with living shreds of some black, sludge-like residue, and looked up at the back of the man who had thrown me. He was taller than I would have been on my feet; short, dark hair was spiked up, and he wore a fluttering, sleeveless black trench coat open over a ragged white tee and blue breeches. Before him was what I could only assume had devoured me – an amorphous, sluggish mess of a thing that perpetually crumbled and reformed, its shapeless body dripping with corrosive black gouts and rivulets of disease.

"Rock Lee of the Leaf, huh?" the stranger chuckled, flicking some of the ooze from his hand. "You've come farther than I woulda' thought, all those months ago. But the demon blade's awakening overtook every scrap of you so quick, I figured I'd check in and see if this is really how you want things to go down. Ain't I sweet?"

I was speechless. Then the great beast before us – a squirming beast that had once shone with the chaos of a thousand hues, but was now soaked in poisonous red and black and many times its former stature – hissed in outrage, managing to shape a monstrous set of jaws as it slithered and lunged toward us.

"Enough of you!" the Stone shinobi snarled, sweeping a dismissive arm out. A wall of chakra arced into being before us, sending the beast reeling from a collision. It lost shape and rolled over itself to fade furtively back, but simmered with palpable rage.

"Stronger… Stronger!" the creature bellowed, frantic.

"Good grief. It's totally outta control, huh… Hey, kid," the man said, "want to take us somewhere we won't have to listen to his chatter? It's your mind. You ought to able to manage that for a sec."

I did not know how I was expected to go about managing it, but as I envisioned the thought the rogue dragon faded. Or… it had not faded, but the man and I were somewhere else in… wherever this was. My mind? I narrowed my eyes at the man, who still had not faced me. "How are you here?"

"Eh? You killed me with a soulsword. Well, in my particular case, you used that soulsword to cut down its former wielder. Not to mention, your first kill tends to stick to ya', right? That makes our bond especially tight, I'd say. Not like I was sure I'd be able to manifest here at all, but hey, it worked…" He shrugged his shoulders, looking back nonchalantly.

I blinked as he offered me a hand to my feet. My lips parted as I took in his scarred face.

"Kozue… Kuri?"

"Who the f#ck else?"

"I do n-not… What is happening? I do not understand…"

"Right now? That's the easy bit. You're in the middle of a toe-to-toe deathmatch with that god among shinobi, lucky punk."

"I can sense that much, somehow…"

He sighed. "You really don't know anything? I guess it'd be more helpful for me to go to the beginning. And the very beginning… Well… Have you ever heard the samurai's legend of Masamune and Muramasa?"

I tilted my head to the side. "I have. What in the world does that have to do with–oh. Oh, balls."

"You never wondered at how those swords never broke?"

---

I knew the tale. I had thought I had.

The young Muramasa had allegedly challenged his master, Masamune, to a contest of craftsmanship, to see who could forge a finer katana. The great smiths had toiled to produce works that would win the regard even of the gods, and at last tested their creations at a stream, by plunging the blades into the current. Muramasa marveled and boasted in the way his blade cut the water and air, the fish and the lotus blossoms – slicing everything that passed its way, without fail, without a sound.

And the pupil laughed upon seeing Masamune's blade stir ripples in the current, allowing all to flit and pass unchanged around it.

"That's how it starts, yes," Kuri said approvingly. "But as Muramasa taunted his peaceable master, a wise man – probably some monk – is said to have approached the two, after witnessing their contest. He praised the smiths' efforts, saying that both had forged blades demanding the regard of gods – but this regard came in different forms." He held up a pointer finger, grinning. "One of them, he said, was a sword of mercy, honor, and just righteousness – a sword of freedom. But the other… was a chaotic sword of madness, bloodlust, and death – a sword of sealing. Thus one was to be adored by the gods, and the other feared by them."

"But such things… I mean, there is no way…"

The Iwa-nin's expression was now level, as if to counterbalance my confusion. "There's more to it. Muramasa, who refused to see anything but beauty and perfection in his work, felt his effort scorned when the wise man deemed Masamune's blade finer. He was either unable to accept or comprehend defeat, and so it goes that he struck out at his master in outrage, possessed by his foul creation's bloodlust. Masamune drew his weapon in defense, and the blades of antithesis, bane to each other that they were, collided in a huge spectacle. The effect of this clash was the effective cancelling out of the blades' unique attributes; they became as one, combined in essence, their powers eternally inhibited by the other's counteracting existence. In this way they were rendered almost physically identical, and seemingly unremarkable."

I waited a moment, clammy sweat cold on my neck. "Then…?"

"Recognizing that something amazing had taken place, the smiths offered the blades to the care of the wise man, for sealing. From there – well, no one really knows. Maybe the monk was slain by bandits down the road, or maybe the blades were snatched from his shrine or temple. But make no mistake. These are the blades you have been wielding, Rock Lee, and the blades that I wielded before you – stolen again and again, coveted and lusted after, fading and resurfacing throughout the times, and passing hands forever with the slaying of the previous wielder."

"That is awful!"

The man shrugged again, thumbing the messy stubble on his chin. "Countless swordsmen have striven to possess those two katana; they're little-known relics of a forgotten era, said to be imbued with mythic powers that none can control. Only in the last five or six years did they come to be known as the katana of Kozue Kuri; in truth, they've been carving their bloody fate through history, intertwining with the lives of all those unfortunate enough to bear them."

My brow furrowed. This, from a proud nukenin who had preyed on the weak? "What do you mean by that? You sound bitter."

He started, and when his reminiscing eyes returned to me, his expression was almost sheepish. "I wasn't always so rotten at heart, I swear it. But the blades' latent abilities still hold the power to sway their wielder, even in their mutually subdued states. I wanted to be acknowledged by the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, even though I'd been born Among the Stones. I strove for that goal without faltering, without looking back… and I unwittingly took up the Muramasa path. I had no idea it was happening, but before I knew it, in pursuit of that goal, I had lost myself."

"For… for your goal, then…" I winced, face falling as I looked upon my own hand.

"Until today, you weren't as far along as I was," he said, smiling. "You're an interesting one – even in the contemplation of sacrificing your soul, the desire to protect your comrades never once faded completely beneath that impulsive will to gain strength. You, despite the number you've killed – feeding the demon sword's wrath – have never fallen to it, for you've fought and killed always with the intent of protecting others. Among all you've slain, you've fed it not a single innocent…"

"'Fed'? By that…?"

"Oh, yeah. The same reason I'm standing here in front of you – Muramasa's blade has another latent tendency strong enough to take effect even clean through the Masamune blade's suppression. The demon blade is never sated, see; as it consumes, its wrath will only redouble with heightened lust. Guess which blade you happened to have in your hands, when you ran me through?"

"The same blade you were first about to kill me with, before I disarmed it… Then, that was…"

"Yup – the same one your true body's mindlessly swinging around right now: the Muramasa blade, which seals away the soul of its every victim."

"N…nani?" I stuttered, suddenly faint. I shook my head left and right. "You cannot mean…?"

He nodded solemnly, managing a nonchalant smile. "Those slain by a stroke of Muramasa's blade, myself included, will never rest in peace."

Thud.

I had fallen to my hands and knees, and remained paralyzed in grief. "No…" My hands trembled. The guilt was closing in, crushing – nightmarishly so. "It is… the one I wield in my right hand, so – b-by mere chance and ignorance…!"

I blinked numbly, head low.

I had unwittingly condemned more than half of all whom I had ever killed.

Out of the horror, a new feeling arose. Loathing… unadulterated loathing, for my own flesh, for this strong body, for the very hands that trembled beneath me. I struck the ground with both hands, swearing, and brought a hand to my face as tears fell. There was no atonement. Not for this…

"I had no right… no right in the world, to mete out such punishment unknowingly." It was worse, far worse, for having been done in the absence of accompanying intent.

I heard a sigh. "Hey – you're sorry, right?"

I grimaced. Even such a light suggestion was a mockery. But…

"You're suffering. If tears for the fallen are all you can offer us for your mistakes, then at least you're doing that much. Right now, there's a more immediate matter at hand, and I can't hang around here much longer."

What is within my power to do, then… Lord Mifune once said something similar, did he not? Miserable, I raised my head. "What now, then?"

He smirked. "Now? Now, you need to make a choice," he said as I rose to my feet, eyes shut. "You faced down some high caliber jutsu made to penetrate any defense, and happened to draw Masamune's sword to block it. You've done what I could never figure out how to do, and unlocked the full potential of an indiscriminate blade that will cut through anything – any obstacle imaginable. The destruction of its counterpart … it makes sense, but I never would have guessed it…"

"Then would I be right in assuming that monster you pulled me from, my power, has grown so tremendously from the influence of that blade's cruelty, its chaos?"

"Seems so."

"Then… that blade can grant me victory."

"If your purpose is truly as singular and unbending as that of the blade – its penchant for annihilation – then there might really be no limit to the power the two of you can wield."

"But in return…"

His eyes were level; he had no personal intentions of swaying me either way, and for that I was grateful. "Its awakened influence has accelerated your transformation into a being of darkness. You're already beyond the level of corruption that I, as a petty outlaw, experienced. You're nearing the point of no return. Look at your reflection."

"Huh?" The ground in this space had been all this time like a rigid liquid, shimmering, drifting, and rough. Nevertheless, as I looked down in search of it, my reflection took form.

Looking back at me was a cold young man with a slightly sterner nose, with an oni's fangs protruding from a perpetual scowl, and with a pair of short horns poking from his forehead. I jumped, stumbling onto my backside; as I realized there was no escape, my hands flew to my face in disbelief. "Wh-what?!"

"Your spirit's already begun to transform. You're being shaped into its ideal master; next the demon blade will steal your sanity, and dye your heart black, your body and soul crimson. Ultimately…"

"I will be no longer human."

"Hai."

I stared back into my half-alien face as I spoke. "I need to defeat the First Hokage… I need the strength to overpower my enemies. But should it require that I be reborn as a blight upon this world…" I paused in torturous thought.

"Kuso… Well, don't ask me. I have no honest idea what I'd choose. Besides…"

I looked up, and was startled to see that Kuri's image was losing substance, fading away. "K-Kozue-san…!"

"This is your tale now, kid. But I'll keep on watching it, whichever way it spins, to the end."

"Wait – please, wait! The Muramasa blade's attribute and essence is power itself. What is the antithesis to such a thing? What does the Masamune blade embody…?"

I trailed off in surprise. Kuri, hands in his jacket pockets, was almost transparent now. He nodded, cracking a cool, subtle grin. "Looks like you already know the answer, Rock Lee of Leaves and Iron."

Indeed, it was already passing across my mind as the wayward spirit vanished in a flash of scattering light.

Restraint…

I nearly stumbled as I found myself once more on the plane that housed chikara. The grotesque creature caught sight of me instantly, fixing me with a blood red eye only briefly visible through the crumbling and swirling pestilence of its decaying form. It screamed a furious roar, filth dripping from its maw, and shot to reclaim me.

I stood my ground, my conviction firm as it drew near.

–"Tell me, Lee – which katana do you believe was finer?"

Hesitating in thought on the story Mifune has told, before shaking my head. "A sharper sword is obviously superior…"–

I understood now. As the monster rushed to devour me, I calmly held out one hand.

"I understand now, you see … which katana is finer."

CHOMP!

---

Awareness snapped into my half-consciously fighting body, and I found myself twenty yards away from the First Hokage, my crouched form tense and dangerous, blade in hand, and a vehement urge to destroy twisting and burning sickeningly through my gut.

My foe was short an arm, scratched and bloodied as was I; the wounds inflicted by this beastly weapon would not heal, even for a reanimated corpse. The blade thirsted for blood – for anyone's blood – but before a strong enemy had chosen to fight until either its wielder or adversary perished. I could feel all of this, but above all else felt that my being was overflowing with power, with this blade in my hand; I had the power to crush gods or demons with sheer might, the power to rule over, to reign sovereign above mere humans. It was unbelievably enthralling. My jaw slackened at the overwhelming sensation as I beheld my own suddenly limitless capabilities. I, who had always been held back, disadvantaged, scorned…

My grasp tightened on the hilt until my fingers popped. Breath ragged, I lifted the blade in my hand … and turned it toward its sheath.

I growled through clenched teeth, eyes mad with effort, voice still unnaturally fierce.

"Th-th…This blade…!"

I held the Founder's observing eyes as I struggled; the demon blade rattled against the scabbard, glinting and sparking furiously, dazzlingly, resisting with the whole of its great wrath and might as I fought to sheathe it.

"This blade can defeat you, but whether it would shall not be seen. This is an indiscriminate weapon that will slay innocents readily as s-scoundrels… and strike down my friends in the same breath as my enemies…! If this path should be the price its power, I renounce it!" I ducked my head, eyes shut, face contorted as my muscles strained. It was a third into its sheath, and it was outraged; I wondered if it might now sooner have me kill myself than any other. I yelled out my conviction, more for myself and at the warring blade than for my enemy's ears.

"I renounce it all now! I disown these desires and cast them away! I will not become a slave to my own power. Cutting down everything that lies in one's path… sacrificing one's soul for power…! This is NOT the way of a warrior!"

And with a cry, and with crackling pain that seared through my entire body, I began to give – and thrust the sword in one move securely into its sheath, where the pommel met it with a solid clack, denying its fervent desire to spill blood, its desire to make me blight and king, and silencing the foul and wrathful energy it exuded once and for all.

All at once my energy snapped down to its natural, unspectacular state; my hair settled down, and I felt as the changes that had begun affecting my form were swept away. I took a deep breath, raising my head, and spoke.

"That is not the Way of Rock Lee."

Several seconds passed in stunned silence; I spied, in the corner of my eye, Naruto-kun and Gaara-kun staring toward me, terse sweat shining on their wide-eyed faces. The First Hokage studied me curiously.

"What are you playing at, child?"

"I will hide no intention; it is as I have said. I pride myself in strength, but strength is not merely the wielding of power. Using power is easy. In truth, what requires the most strength of all… is fighting and possessing the will to overcome the inclinations of one's own desires!"

"Surely you realize your life is forfeit?" he asked pointedly. "You would stay the hand that holds a monstrous weapon, and sheathe your greatest chance of victory? On pure principle?"

I was broken, bruised and bloody; I possessed no longer the strength to so much as throw a decent punch. Even so I stood straight, and held the Shodai's eyes evenly.

"I would sooner face my own death than grant this foul blade even one more victory, and let it to raze and gorge itself on another soul…"

Something flashed, so briefly, into the man's lifeless eyes. Before it might have been identified, his face was again hard as he sank into a stance. "Very well. You are of a rare stripe; of this there is no question. I see now before me a youth who has lived by his way, and shall now die by it! Rock Lee! I, Senju Hashirama, will honor that wish!"

With a roar, he brought his fist forward and smashed it into the solid earth.

Wood tore with great speed through the ground, rising and furrowing, twisting unwaveringly forward, and leaping to plunge cleanly through my gut. I had watched it come; I felt the pain as it carried me, and blasted from my back. I heard two anguished cries, from friends whom I loved but had ultimately failed to protect. I caught the wash of cool air and the scent of green things, and the bubbling, coppery tang of the liquid that burst and gushed freely from my gaping mouth. My mind and body were beginning to disconnect, I knew, through the shivering flashes of pain and numbness.

After some number of moments, everything seemed to seep out of me with my flowing blood, and my rigid form slackened against the spire that had run me through and now held me aloft, leaving my feet dangling. Only when my unfocusing eyes could no longer hold his own did my foe somberly withdraw his hand, retracting the skewer. A new burst of blood went flying past my lips, and I found myself falling a short way. My feet did not begin to hold me. I fell hard to my knees, and then onto my back.

The sky dimmed, shone, flickered, and dimmed rapidly again; an oppressive, inflaming heartbeat pounded in my ears, shaking me enough to tear me in two. I could only assume my torn-open body was bleeding out. It convulsed where it lay, amid unceasing shivers. I realized I was choking on my blood, and helpless to do a thing about it.

Even in so pitiful a state, when the sky was further blurred, its sparse light scattered by the moistening of my eyes, my tears fell for not a grain of sadness.

If I may cry at all, my tears can only belong to the fallen. I am pathetic… and yet, not pathetic in the least. I never saw the village freed… never saw Naruto-kun mature into a fine Hokage, or Hinata-san defeat our common nemesis and restore peace to her clan…

And… what of my dreams? All of this time… have I sought nothing but the acquisition of more strength?

Enough… I am tired. So much fighting… has left me tired…

I have been slain… I know not if this was the 'best' way… but if nothing else, at the end… it was my way…

The crawling heartbeat had stopped buzzing at my skull.

My fingers twitched once. Were they grasping for… something… for the dreams that had never been found?

I am…

…Rock…Lee…

---

Light.

"What a fine soul … child, born of the shinobi and loved by the samurai."

Whose voice now… "Am I dead?"

The same kind voice, soft and elderly, gave a benign laugh. "Unfortunately, it seems so."

"…Oh."

"It is alright to be saddened, lad. You led a short life of strife, confusion, and struggle… and only found resolution in the minute of your violent death. It is tragic…"

I might have scowled, provided the body with which to do so. "So it may be, but just as in fighting – and in life – there are times to strike out and resist, and times not to. I am slain, Ojii-san. I felt the incredible pain as my body was destroyed. I am now dead, and I accept this."

"Then you have made peace with yourself…? But no one can fault you for the will to live, young one."

The faces of so many loved ones flickered up from my living memory – from dear friends, comrades, and teachers, to the distant memory of a beloved man and woman I could not quite recall, but whose arms around me had once made me feel safe – and vanished. "If… if I said I have no will to live, I suppose I would be lying. All the same… there is nothing more for me. No – there is so much more to be done, yet nothing I can now do. I will never smile with any of them again."

"You feel your spirit's destination is not the same."

"I have condemned others' souls. I will never go to where the rest are going."

"And all of this, you accept unflinching. You think yourself wretched, but hold your spirit aloft with untold nobility, discipline, and grace. The power to accept is valuable and impressive, admirable indeed, but…

"Did you not say just moments ago, child, that there are certain times to strike out?"

B-dmp.

A cloudy sky snapped into focus above my widening eyes. My form – my prone body – pulsed with the crackling of a thousand nerve endings springing back to life.

My fingers splayed, and the careening hilt of a broken sword flew and clapped firmly into a grasping hand. The air hummed as it gleamed brighter and brighter, and bathed me in its permeating golden-white glow. I held it before my heart and tilted my head back, hacking out blood and gasping as sublime and convalescing energies raced and skittered whimsically through me, frolicsome, light as the breath of many gentle, faraway chimes. The soft smells of milk and fields of wheat, of sunlight and warm air and quiet life filled my nostrils. A benevolent voice only I could hear brushed against my revitalizing soul.

'Your hand is worthy of wielding the finest katana. Of that, I am sure.'

Strewn fragments of the shattered blade were breaking down where they lay, evaporating in creamy droplets of sparkling white.

Then my hand swung to stretch upward, and a congregation of white light, shimmering into being at a great height, came crashing down upon my supine form, warm and pure and enlivening, as the blade reforged itself in my grasp.

The man's voice was softly joyous, encouraging. 'It has accepted you. I commend you, young warrior, for choosing my blade.'

Pleasant warmth continued to waft across my being, lapping at my flesh. The hole in my stomach, more than my hand's length across, was healing as was my shoulder, pain fading and rolling away as I slipped free of it. I was almost weightless as I somehow began to slowly rise to my feet, guided along as if by a gentle hand; I slid the fine sword smoothly into its proper sheath, taking a deep breath as my wounds closed, as broken bones were made whole and melded back into place. Hand residing on the hilt, I calmly opened my eyes to meet those of the First Hokage, who stared back in wonder at what was taking place.

But if its power lies in restraint, how am I to strike out, Great Swordsmith?

'You already know the answer, great warrior…'

…Restraint… does not mean to lie passive for all time. I do understand. It is the power to strike only when absolutely necessary! This is what Lord Mifune was trying to teach me, all along. Restraint is not the adversary of power, but its dearest companion!

"Impossible!" the First shouted. "What's the source of this regenerative capability? Such a power…!"

Such a power, indeed. I had been granted a second chance to live life on my own terms. I had overcome the brutal will of the demon sword, and selected the sacred sword's passivity in favor of its companion's might, but I had anticipated nothing of this sort. I knew its secret now, for ancient knowledge and wisdom coursed through my veins and rose to my lips.

"Underneath the underneath, the Yawarakai Te's true potential, greater even than that of the Juuchi Yosamu, shows itself only to he who knows restraint. It is a technique that can be mastered not by strength, but a pure heart's resolute conviction…"

My straw sandals spread, one foot forward, as I sank comfortably, smoothly into a stance, leaning a bit forward, knees slightly bent. A world of energy danced around me, light and spirited as it arced and spiraled beautifully – and settled, condensing comfortably into my form.

"Its power is restraint, and its fuel thine will unleashed…!"

And I prepared to draw the sword from its sheath, for the time to strike was now upon me.

The truest freedom, through restraint.

"TRANSCEND! Tender Hands' Pure White Slash of the Ascetic!"

I struck out. The blade flashed around. With the move, riding upon my will and carried burgeoning rapidly forth by the purity of a sound soul's unadulterated and certain intent, a prolific line of luminous power blasted forward as a sea of rolling waves, expanding until it tilled the earth and set the heavens alight. Senju Hashirama raised an arm before his face as if in defense, eyes wide. My concerted will to win, the will to break through, was stronger, faster, and sharper than any defense my opponent might have conjured, and of this will the strike was born – so it ran him through, a million strikes as one blasting against and encompassing him, carrying him back, and breaking him down to nothing.

The grand wave of light faded after several moments, leaving smooth and crumbled upturned earth steaming in its wake. My eyes were cool in the lingering haze as I lowered the sword loved by the gods, the Yawarakai-Te, back into its sheath.

"This is my judgment, and my conviction. I will not renounce it, for it was absolute."

And the soft energy suffusing my flesh, the energy the sacred sword permitted its wielder to touch, gave one last cleansing caress and slipped away. I swayed, vision momentarily listing aside, fading, and returning as I slumped heavily to my hands and knees.

It is done…

I tipped my head back, panting in exhaustion. My strength had been restored in the miracle that had revived me and made my body whole, but focusing, channeling, and unleashing the immense power of that one attack had exacted a great toll just the same.

But to think… these two blades, all this time, have actually been…

"Ex…extraord…inary…"

My face paled.

"Y-y-ou a-are… an e-extraordina-ry… ch…"

My gaze snapped onto the figure approaching through the smoke and dust. Body half-formed of grey dust, clothing in tatters and his voice as gravel, the First reached toward me. He paused, gritting his teeth, and spoke rapidly.

"His c-control is weakened – you've already f-freed me from the Reanimation, and when my connection to him breaks in a moment, I w-will crumble–urgh!" Eyes shut, he shuddered. "Run–please run, now–!"

His one eye snapped wide, and Orochimaru's vile chakra was exuded from his broken body in force as his efforts to hold him off failed. The eye blackened completely. He drew back his hand…

Naruto slid into being at my side, reaching across me, back to our foe, to place himself in the path of a leaping skewer of wood. In the same moment Gaara, whom Naruto had transported no doubt with his last shreds of chakra, similarly positioned himself, unleashing a wavering cloud of sand as a shaky shield before us. I glimpsed Sasuke, battered though he was, drawing his sword with a furious cry as he ran toward the man from behind.

Because Naruto and Gaara both had put the attack at their backs, Sasuke and I were alone in witnessing the instant that a black-clad figure materialized amid the flapping of raven wings and swept from the sky, a short sword's strike splitting the Shodai's head from a body that wanted only to crumble.

The shinobi landed in a low, graceful crouch, sword outstretched in a gloved hand. A blank porcelain mask that covered the face, in combination with the upraised hood of a long-sleeved shirt, ensured no inkling of identity was to be gleaned. Perhaps most disconcerting of all was the storm of crows that circled, now squawking, about the newcomer, having somehow masked their arrival.

Sasuke and I stared. Naruto and Gaara turned their heads in time to see the Reanimation break, and the First Hokage's body at last turn to and collapse as dust. The skewer had pierced Gaara's shield barely slowed, and slashed the Suna-nin's side, but now merely rested unmoving an inch from Naruto's back.

The man – for by his proportions, he appeared to be male – rose to full height, and turned the seemingly sightless stare of unnerving black eyeholes to the side. Following his gaze, I started as I saw, a good distance away, Orochimaru himself. The sannin scowled in confusion.

Then the stranger flared his chakra threateningly, and the snake's white face was struck by something akin to fear. He turned and bolted, flickering from view.

Before a word could be said, the masked man flickered away.

"H-huh?" Naruto blurted out, hand still on my shoulder, eyes stuck wide and teeth still bared. Like me, he was probably unable to believe the danger had passed – let alone in such an incomprehensible fashion.

"Wait!" Sasuke shouted. Sharingan active, he sprinted and flickered in pursuit.

Gaara's mouth flapped once, silently. He paused. "What… just…?"

I grabbed the two in either arm, pulling them in easily since they were already close, with my head lowering between theirs and resting above their shoulders. "I do not care." I said it just as I realized it, all but surprising myself.

"What…?"

"Shush now. You heard me; I do not care what just happened…" I shook slightly, teeth clenching. "We are alive… That is what matters for now, even if for just one minute. Nothing more…"

They conceded easily enough to this proposition, and hugged me back.

His trump cards were eliminated, possibly with no casualties. That itself is a miracle. And even as the First's body was beginning to crumble, he expended a great deal of chakra to maintain it, regain control, and make Shodai-sama attack us.

Fingers furrowing in Gaara's red tufts, I pressed my nose silently to Naruto's blonde hair, nuzzling slightly, half-dazed as I tried to stop my mind from racing. My eyes were unblinking at the moment, coldly contemplative, as I held my pair of younger brothers close. I was sweaty and soaked in blood, but we all were to some extent.

He was injured… Shikamaru-kun and Anko-sensei must have done damage to him after all.

But even so, could we have attained such a level…

…That Orochimaru… is afraid of us?

I looked up. Shimmering light was rising from the pile of dust that half-surrounded the body of a sacrificed Sound genin's greyed corpse. A phantasmal laugh drifted into the air.

"You've freed me, and this poor boy as well. You are the manner of beings that cannot sit idly by… men who will reach out, grasp the world in their hands, and shape it with their indomitable will… You will no doubt be heroes of this era, if you are not already."

The First chuckled again, voice softening as the light vanished without a trace.

"Well done…"

Nodding, I choked down my anger – tearful anger toward the monster who would steal such fine shinobi from their due slumber, and command them, as abominations, to fight to destroy their own village and dreams.

And I shut my eyes, seizing just one minute of peace.

---

(Sasuke サスケ)

"Hold it!"

His cry was almost desperate, as he stared, gasping, into the motionless back of the masked shinobi who had stopped ahead on a rooftop. The Uchiha youth did not know why he had pursued him with such fervor; there was the obvious reason that an unidentified individual, of uncertain strength and motivation – whether he'd just saved them or not, whether the village was at war or not, and even whether Sasuke himself had the power to do anything about him or not – was slipping about Sasuke's village, a fact that didn't sit quite right with him.

The stranger could not have been more nondescript. The generic mask he wore might have been likened to those worn by the ANBU, but for its being smooth, featureless and blank. He wore unremarkable black shinobi sandals, black pants, and a plain black hooded top; his hands were gloved, and simple bands at his wrists and ankles, along with a thin belt at his waist, provided almost excessive additional security in holding the garments in place. It seemed a cloth mask of some sort, covering at least the top and sides of his head and extending down along his neck, underlay the white ceramic one that would only have concealed his face. No skin whatsoever was visible, so not even its tone might have been ascertained. His build was average, perhaps bordering on slender. There truly was nothing distinctive about him, as if he'd come to the Leaf as a ghost.

Despite all of this, something about him had drawn Sasuke to pursue him doggedly, as surely and naturally as he breathed. Still, the young man was almost sure the clandestine fellow wouldn't speak when, too his surprise, the masked man was the one to break the silence between them.

"You've gotten faster… Sasuke."

His heart skipped a beat as that voice met his ears. Never mind that he had tried to unsettle him by using his name. His voice sounded… but there was no way it could be…?

"A particularly necessary skill, I suppose, for shinobi of your… of our specialty."

"What the hell do you know about me?" His mind was reeling.

"I know you've gotten faster," the man said, and Sasuke wondered if it was a subtle chuckle that he detected in his voice.

"You say that, but can't help but do so in a voice that tells me I'd never have caught you if you hadn't let me."

"That's probably true," he admitted, sitting down on the roof's edge. "Orochimaru got away from me… He'll probably hide and wait until the moment he absolutely must strike out, not unlike what I've done. Unfortunately, I can't remain here; if my… associates knew that I'd come here, let alone for what purpose, there would be a steep price to pay…"

Sasuke neatly stored this information, along with the disquieting possibility that this was a shinobi dangerous enough to warrant Orochimaru's fear, but decided against prying further. Not unwary, he sent a sidelong look as he spoke. "When Orochimaru next shows his face in this battle… when he strikes out against us… we'll stop him. Even if I have to fight him myself."

He thought he heard in smirk in the man's low but surprisingly gentle voice. "The Nara boy was right… You may claim to heed only your own ambitions, but the truth is that you've found something worth fighting for – something, as it were, so much greater than any one man's desires. The village you love… as a part of it, have you become one with something larger than yourself, as well?"

Sasuke wasn't sure why this man's words disconcerted him so. His hard eyes narrowed in annoyance. "I just found people that I needed to protect, and they took precedence. That's all."

"It makes no difference. Love, and people that we must protect… these are commendable things to fight for. Sasuke… I'm proud of you."

The youth glowered uneasily, unsure of what to make of the familiar stranger's praise. Somehow he was finding it more difficult to remain wary of the nameless shinobi…

"But have you not suffered enough?" the man went on. "An existence in the shadows is not a kind one, as I'm sure you've discovered. With your experience, if you remain a spy, I fear at the sort of people who may seek to use you…"

"An existence in the shadows, huh? I don't care," Sasuke said flatly. He had no intention, he realized, of letting this person make light of his resolve. "All of this – it was hell, but if the need arose, I'd do it again. In peace or war, there will still be people that I need to protect. There's her… even if she does hate me for the things I've done." He scowled, berating himself for sharing such sentimental thoughts with the ghost-like man. Such a strong shinobi would not think well of him, for being so influenced by his emotions. However, the man offered a response quite apart from the sort Sasuke had anticipated.

"So you would sacrifice your own happiness?"

Sasuke almost bristled through his inexplicable calm, growing suspicious anew. "My happiness? Of what concern is such a thing – is any of this, to you? Who are you?"

A moment of thought. "Someone who cares very deeply for you… That might be an apt description."

Sasuke remained silent, studying the nondescript figure who so carefully left nothing to be ascertained.

"Tell me, then, Sasuke – can you live in the shadows of heroes? Please, think carefully. Are you truly willing to be at the best of times unknown to, and at worst despised by the people you protect?"

"I can … and I will." His fist clenched; shut eyes opened, and he raised his head. "I will protect them, even if that means standing in Naruto's shadow."

He could read nothing in the empty eyes of the mask that finally turned to look back at him. "You… and Uzumaki Naruto, huh?"

In a moment the man's smooth, melodic chuckle lilted out into the air. He turned his head from the young Uchiha again, surveying the still-warring Leaf. "This village will be in good hands, in the years to come. No… the efforts of the people around you cannot be overlooked, either. Your generation will offer the Leaf a kind leader and healer… a master spy… an indomitable warrior… an unrivalled strategist… and if all goes well, a just leader of the now-greatest clan. This place is in fine and capable hands… It seems I can rest easy, after all…"

Sasuke stared into the man's back, unsure of what to think anymore. You…

"And you? You've come into the regard of friends – strong friends – who will consider you a hero. Things may be hard, but they will stand by your side now. You didn't need any help from me, in the end…" The man was getting to his feet. "As I said before, I don't have permission to be here; if I were to impact the battle too rigorously or blatantly, my associates would catch wind of it without fail. I can't let that happen. So, fear not for whatever threats I may pose – I will be departing now, and more likely than not never to return."

Sasuke took a step, thoughtless, and froze as the man raised one hand a bit, without looking back, in wordless salute.

"I wish you luck on this path of your choosing. Even if we never meet again, know that wherever I am, I … I'm proud of you."

A gust of wind picked up, tossing Sasuke's hair, rolling and fluttering against the faceless shinobi's clothes.

Why do I feel … as if I look upon a hero?

The gust broke, and the man shattered and melted smoothly into a flock of ravens that tore off into the sky, squawking all the while.

An illusion, Sasuke realized, as he watched without blinking until the birds vanished from sight.

Then the spell was broken, and he collapsed, confounded by the disorientation that inevitably accompanies the nonsensically insoluble turning of one's world clear onto its head.

---

Twenty-Six, Part Three: Clan Hyuuga

Hinata ヒナタ

Under the clouded sky, I watched freed prisoners hurrying by, waving them along and shouting commands and encouragement in turn. The fighting out here, on the prison grounds, had ended well. I'd ordered, Kiba, Sakura, and the once-Sound four to join the previously imprisoned shinobi, moving themselves between groups on the trail to safeguard them on the path to refuge.

"Good work," I said as a few stragglers passed, among them an Akimichi carrying the elderly councilman Homura carefully on his back. "You'll be fine now. Just keep moving!" Taking a step after them, I watched them go. Kurogiba waited close by, giving a yawn. Though I kept myself from scowling at him, I permitted myself a sigh all the same. Good. That should be about the last of them…

I was about to reactivate my Byakugan for a final scan when Kurogiba lifted his head, curious. 'Pup…'

"Hinata?"

The voice had come before I could follow Kurogiba's gaze to the person behind me. I stopped.

"Hinata… my daughter, it is you!"

The back of my neck was cold; I felt my eyes trying to water, and I didn't really know why. I didn't know why my body was reacting this way. Fists clenching, I swallowed the knot in my throat.

"…You must be mistaken, Hiashi-sama."

I had turned my head just enough to catch a man's unassuming figure in the corner of my eye. He took a step nearer, and faltered. "What are you saying? Hinata, you–,"

"Get to safety, Hiashi-sama." My teeth gritted, and relaxed again. My eyes were frozen, searing cold. "…The last time we spoke, you made it clear enough that I was no daughter of yours."

"I…" He fell silent. There was something strange about his voice; I could barely hear his next words, hushed as they were. "…I'm so glad you're alive."

Why was he acting this way? And saying such things – just what was he getting at? This needed to stop–

"How–how is Hanabi?"

I definitely felt something then. Even so I turned forward. "I don't know. Now. Go. I don't have time for this." I didn't have time to feel this way. Not now. "I have returned – to reconquer the Hyuuga Clan in your name, Hiashi-sama. Don't try to stop me; it's something only I can do."

"You…?"

I didn't answer, but began to walk away.

"Wait! Don't you walk away from me!" he cried, but it came out strangely, more plea than order. I heard his shuffling steps before a hand grasped for my forearm; with a harsh and wordless snarl I whirled, smacking the contact away. He recoiled, dumbstruck.

"Don't touch me!" I hissed, chin up, eyes severe as I regarded him fully. Somehow, to see him this way – gaunt and unshaven and slouching in tattered, grey-brown garb, bedraggled hair sporting streaks of grey, face bearing new wrinkles and firm cheekbones starker than ever they had been in sallow cheeks, and most of all the crippling weakness in his eyes, the whimper in his halting voice – absolutely infuriated me. It didn't fit. It made him a hypocrite, to be so weak.

I flashed my fangs, causing him to flinch in surprise. "Enough. My orders," I said, "are to get the prisoners here to safety. That includes you, Hiashi-sama. I won't tell you again."

As he regarded me mutely, sadness filled his tired white eyes. "…You're afraid."

"I don't fear you," I said, bristling.

"I'm afraid, as well. I was afraid of how you might look at me, if ever we met again. I can understand why you wouldn't trust me… I suppose I've earned that look, haven't I?"

"Just stop it. Stop acting this way…" It would have been horrid, yet so much easier, I realized, if he'd glared or scowled or spat his familiar abuse.

"I won't. Please listen to me… I had a lot of time to think, while I was in there. I realize that I've made mistakes, but – but when all of this is over, I want to try to make things better between us, Hinata… You have to give me one more chance! I'm your father!" he said, and reached to embrace me.

A quick step back brought me from the range of his arms before they could close.

"No."

I shook my head, glowering with a scowl, though my body trembled.

"No."

My body trembled, though with what precise emotions I could not be sure. I had said I did not fear.

"I am no daughter of yours."

I wasn't even sure if it was despair that I saw flash in the man's eyes. I didn't know him well enough to say.

'A-Ani-ue!'

In a heartbeat Kurogiba had come forward to my side; he wheeled about gracefully, and as he passed my hand caught his shoulder. I swung myself onto the wolf's back, and did not look back as he bounded away from the deposed head of the Hyuuga's main branch.

'What the hell…'

'You alright?'

'Mm. I panicked… That man has never once embraced me.'

'Huh…'

'Forget about him,' I thought, needing to be done with thinking about the man. 'I'm alright – I promise. And I'll have more pressing matters to concentrate on very soon.'

---

Hanabi ハナビ

The wind that rolled across the grassy field tossed droplets of light, swirling rain on its crests, blending it with the mists that it procured and sent scuttling from the surface of the nearby lake. Nine persons presently populated the spacious field that ran into the forests bordering the Hyuuga Clan's grounds. Hiryuu's strong aura was palpable at my back; on his right stood Harumi, and at his left Hikujaku and Hitaka.

The four across from us were similarly arrayed, but quite different in composure; three of the leader's dogs stood at his back, barely containing sneers of confidence, derision, and outright loathing. They anticipated a slaughter – eagerly so. The leader himself offered a soft smile of amusement.

"So… the Main House has arrived at long last to put me in my lowly place."

I ignored his taunting. "It seems you were waiting for us, Hyuuga Neji."

"Oh?" he scoffed, quirking a fine, lofty eyebrow. "In a sense. But I must admit I was expecting someone just a bit taller." He snickered. "Come now, cousin, why such a look? It doesn't befit one so young."

You look down on me? If he intended to provoke me, I wouldn't submit to it. I raised my head. "You know why I've come here, cousin. You have assembled your witnesses, as I have mine. But where is honorable Lord Hikaru? A neutral party should be present for such an occasion. You know our customs."

"Neutral?" he said, and laughed. "You're right, you know. Maintaining impartiality is a responsibility of the Hyuuga's Seer – a responsibility the old coot failed miserably with, right up to the end."

I tensed. "Hiryuu-oji-san."

The man's Byakugan activated. Glancing to him, I caught a glimmer of emotion in his cold eyes before, face darkening, he shook his head. "His body is still in his quarters – dead."

My teeth clenched; Neji merely continued to smile calmly, gloating, as if something unheard of had not just been implied. "Are you mad, cousin?" I demanded. "To raise one's hand against the venerable Seer is blasphemy!"

"Is it madness," he countered boldly, spreading his arms, "to comprehend when certain people must die, and to see them off accordingly? Those who would impede the will of Fate must be crushed, without remorse or discretion. I've accrued plenty of wretchedness upon my name; at this point, and as the proponent of a greater purpose, what is one more miserable soul's blood to my hands?"

"No more than pretention," I said, voice shaking, "for you, of all people… and after all you've done… to declare yourself a humble soldier of Fate."

"Such harsh words," he remarked. His eyes sharpened. "Enough lecturing me, Hyuuga Hanabi. Shan't we be seeing shortly whose ideals prove stronger, and who poses no more a threat than empty words?"

"Insolent wretch," I spat. My arm swept out. "No more will you be permitted to do as you please. You will wreak no further havoc on this clan, or this world! It ends here! Usurper Hyuuga Neji! I, Hyuuga Hanabi of the Main House, Hyuuga of Lightning and chosen of the All-Seeing One, as the second daughter of our clan's rightful head, hereby challenge you to a duel! Let us settle this dispute in single combat!"

"Energetic, aren't you?" He shut his eyes slowly, and as they snapped open his chakra was blazing – towering and ominous, effortlessly dwarfing my own. I wasn't daunted by the flashy move; I did not waver in the least, and he smirked smoothly. "I have nothing better to do, and I suppose this does save a fair deal of trouble… Very well, then…"

One palm was extended curtly before the prodigy of the Branch as his feet shifted into position; his other hand was poised near his side.

"But know, little firecracker, that I do not need your or anyone's 'permission' to do as I please. Shall I show you the brute hopelessness of your endeavors, the fragility of your ideals? Yes… I will force you to see it, and taste the excruciation of true and inescapable despair."

His dark cloak stirred in the wind as he met my eyes fiercely, just slightly baring fangs.

"I, Hyuuga Neji, hereby accept your challenge. May our ancestors smile upon the destined victor!"

I settled into my stance, prepared to fight. No… not prepared, but burning to. My will to fight … already it's overflowing.

I have a need to stop this man… this monster… from destroying anything more!

"Go," Hiryuu said simply, a large hand briefly brushing my shoulder. "With Hikaru-sama's blessing, to correct this aberration of fate." Then the touch and my sensei were gone, as he and the others flickered a fair distance to the side, and Neji's witnesses followed suit. I was left alone at the heart of the field, facing the menace down. I heard clipped greetings exchanged by the parties on the sidelines. Then Hiryuu faced us again, and his voice rang out over the chilly wind.

"In the absence of a neutral party, I will call the official start of the melee. Are both combatants ready?"

"Yes."

"Yes…"

"Very well. Then… as our customs dictate. For the resolution of this dispute, to surrender or death, may this duel for the Hyuuga Clan begin!"

I flew forward, on feet lighter than the swiftly racing wind.

Your reign of despair ends today!

---

(Tenten テンテン)

Under cold droplets of light rain, two deep brown eyes, after a moment's twitching of their lids, snapped open with their owner's gasp. The young woman blinked slowly at the glum, dark sky, thoroughly disoriented; she was sprawled on her back, in dirt that was becoming mud. Her body ached, and by the stiffness in her jaw it seemed her teeth had been softly gritted for the duration of her unconsciousness. And her hand was clenched tightly, locked on a dagger's hilt…

Tenten sat bolt upright. Choking down her rising terror, shaking in the bitter rain, she began to look about. Her mouth was dry, and her voice was small.

"Sh-Shino…? Ino?!"

Her eyes found two dark figures that lay motionless on the ground.

Bile rose in her throat as she tried to stand, reaching toward them. She couldn't look away, even as she stumbled, and tried to crawl toward them.

What… what have I…?

She was frozen, seized by horror as flickering memories surged to the forefront of her thoughts. A young man, forcing Leaf shinobi to defile the emblem of their village, smiling ambitiously as he accompanied the Fifth Hokage from his inaugural speech; beating a kicking a young Nara in a market street, until the boy vomited blood; plotting, with white eyes dark, the assassination of a then-seven-year-old girl; arms draped somehow sensuously around the shoulders of two of his Chosen clansmen, as he glared furtively back at whatever eyes might dare to question him. Breaking the bones of defenseless protesters at a rally, in a bout of rage; impartial to the deaths, by poisoning, of New Konoha's refugee civilians and children.

I was complicit … always standing by and watching, every step of the way… I was complicit in all of it, in the deaths of innocents…

The husky voice he had learned to melt her with, as he peered into her eyes; his rapt expression, as he fondled her and watched her squirm. His devilish smirk before he smothered her in a kiss, even if only to silence her attempts to reason.

I'm a fool…

But a girl, meeting the distant, jaded youth who was from that day on to be her teammate. Immediately disliking him. Missions as Team Guy. Earning his respect, with her own power. Blushing, even though she was hardly one who blushed, at the first words of acknowledgement he afforded her. Witnessing his fierce loyalty to his teammates, despite the occasional to frequent spat.

After so long, first seeing his smile.

A fool…!

And somewhere along the line, falling in love with it.

I couldn't do a thing…

Watching those smiles all dry up, never to return.

I couldn't save anyone!

His now sinister smile, his coldly feral eyes, as he tore open Shino's gut, and buried a knife in Ino's chest. Condescension, mockery, as he danced from her dagger's strikes and threatened to crush her skull.

–"You're weak…"–

"I did this to you," she whimpered, eyes sealing shut as she tore her gaze from the prone, unmoving forms of her juniors. How could she look any comrade in the eye?

–"…Seized command, drawing them into your coward's scheme…"–

And for her hesitation, those two had paid the steepest price.

–"Traitor!"–

She had failed herself. She had failed the Leaf. She had failed even at betraying the Leaf, and failed the Sound as well. Who would call so wretched a ninja their comrade?

"I-I'm sorry… so sorry… but…"

She sat straight, mournful eyes rising to the weeping skies; the storm was at its worst. Everything she had done had been wrong. She would not hesitate any longer. No more…

–"Not willing to let go of this dagger, even now?"–

"Someone like me … does not deserve to call herself a ninja."

And with all hesitation eradicated she shut her eyes, to drive the dagger braced in both hands into the right side of her stomach.

The great pain she was braced for, however, never struck – it wasn't allowed to. She instead found warmth – wonderful, living, human warmth – pressing into the wrist of one of her cold hands, and opened her eyes to see another former teammate knelt before her. His strong face was fierce, his eyes wide in terror.

"What are you doing, Tenten?!"

---

Lee リー

"L-Lee?" she squeaked, blinking wide eyes that were deranged and red with the shedding of tears.

I scowled sharply; my pulse was racing. "Just now – what were you just trying to do? Have you lost your mind?!"

It was clear, however, what she had been trying to do. In such a place, she was fully intent and prepared to commit seppuku.

And at the harshness in my voice she shrank visibly, teeth clenching in fear. Tragic, and gut-wrenching – such was the manner of fear that consumed her as she looked up at me, shaken beyond speech. I was taken aback, as she tore her eyes away and shook her head frantically, stammers shaping into words. "I-I-I'm sorry! Look – look at them! I couldn't protect them or avenge them – I might as well have killed them myself!"

At her despairing, spiteful words, my eyes found the two figures to whom she was referring. I paled, but struggled to soften my expression even as my eyes darkened with a slight grimace. "Oh, Tenten…" I shook my head, and inhaled. "Naruto-kun! Please, hurry here!"

"On it!" Perhaps some sense that only healers had brought the blonde who was running onto the scene straight to the two bodies, where he slid to his knees in the mud without a glance our way, and cringed to produce a shadow clone.

Tenten tried to suddenly wrench her hand free, and I reaffirmed my grip, facing her down again. "Tenten–!"

"Let go of me, Rock Lee! I said I did this to them – you've got no right to stop me!"

"Whether I do or do not, I cannot let this happen…" I grasped the dagger by its blade, in the tattered wrap that remained on my hand, and pulled. She fought, but finally relinquished her grip just as my hand began to bleed. I cast the thing bitterly away.

"Wh…why?" she sobbed softly; her shoulders were shaking, perhaps with the cold. "Why save me?" She seemed unable to meet my eyes for more than moments at a time, and hung her head, desolate. I frowned.

What… what could have made you into such a mess? To reduce you to this…

"You are my teammate, Tenten. 'Why' not?" I said, and smoothly enfolded her in my arms. She went rigid, but only briefly. Then her body relaxed, and she rested her head against me, wearily, as she wept.

"Damn you, Lee, you… you crazy kid…"

"I've got a live one!"

That was Naruto. Tenten seemed to attempt to straighten, but all her strength had apparently left her. I turned with her in my arms. Naruto's brow was furrowed in effort as, hands aglow, he tried to work with the expanse of Aburame Shino's gruesome wound.

"It's just barely, but he's still alive!"

The lids above cracked amber eyes twitched in near wakefulness, along with Shino's gaping mouth. "Hai…" he rasped after a few moments. "I seem to be alive. How? I h-have ordered the kikaichuu to continue to deliver oxygen directly to my more vital organs…"

"Stop talking already, ya creep, or you really will die!"

"H-hai…"

"N-Naruto-san is a…?" Tenten murmured, blinking at the young medic. Her fingers tightened in my shirt before she spoke. "Wh-what about Ino?"

"No pulse, not breathing," the Naruto clone reported tersely. "A lung pierced deep – airway blocked by internal bleeding, but attempts to clear it or resuscitate could do more damage."

"But…" the original Naruto said, hand darting into his tool pouch. He pitched a small scroll that landed and unrolled beside his doppelganger; the kage bunshin's deft fingers darted over a pair of seals on the scroll, and drew a scalpel and some hooked implement from the resulting puff of smoke. These instruments held before him, one hand bathed in green light still pressed to Ino's chest about the protruding knife, he studied his patient with a dangerous glint in his eye.

"You can't save 'em all, but you've got to try for some, y'know? I told myself I'd wait until after the battle to be a healer, but screw it. I've seen enough of the young die today – so for as long as you're still warm, I'll keep trying!"

Something clicked in his eye – the selection and plotting of an approach to the mission before him, the salvaging of the fading life in his hands. Then, in a flurry of precision-entwined speed, he got to work drawing what was already nearly a corpse from the brink.

Madman, I thought with a soft groan of remorse, though I knew my eyes could only betray my hope.

"To think," Shino said, "One autumn evening, like fools, we attacked you. You're more forgiving than many…"

"I remember, all right," Naruto scoffed. "Lips sealed, now." And that was the end of it.

"Lee," Tenten said hesitantly. I looked to her, but still she would not, or could not, meet my eyes.

"What is it?"

"Neji… He did this…"

I avoided expressing what shock or outrage I felt, if only for how clearly shaken she was. A strong reaction would not help anything, I reasoned, so I kept my composure, and she clung to the stability.

"He did this… the three of us tried to kill him, so he did this – left the two of them to die…"

"And you to live, with the regret…" Or not to. I scowled at the thought, but could not discard the possibility that he had foreseen such an outcome. It was a twisted, repugnant game our third teammate played. Teeth softly gritted, I watched Naruto's stained hand mending a ruptured organ through Shino's wound, while the clone, with a muted hiss of frustration, produced a small, sharp-ended tube from another mark on his scroll kit. I cringed. "You could not have known it, Tenten, but it needed not fall on you to bear this burden."

She flinched. "He's… he's not the Neji we knew anymore, Lee! You can't go after him. I should've realized it sooner – we can't save him."

"Me? No; I am not the one who will bear it, either. Another has claimed that right."

"Who else can stop him?"

"Hinata-san."

Her startlement was palpable. She shuddered, guilt no doubt rearing its head anew. "Does she think she can change him? She'll be killed…!"

"She will not." It was what I had to believe. "Nor will she kill him, no matter the circumstance." And this, what I knew to be so – so this combination of things, I could only believe.

"It's hopeless. You haven't seen him, Lee. The person he's become… is one that can't understand anything but strength anymore."

I quirked a brow. One who can only comprehend power? The sigh that accompanied this thought was one of relief, however scarce. "Then maybe… maybe Hinata-san can break through to him after all."

Compassion alone may be useless against some; this she already learned. But boundless compassion, with the strength to match, is a power that only the person Hinata-san has become can boast…

I nodded toward the others. "Come – if you are alright now, let us see if Naruto-kun can use any assistance."

Naruto was currently asking after Shino's blood type; the pale Aburame's response was to note that his lips were meant to be sealed.

"You're talking right now!"

"…AB."

The blonde smirked wryly, the look about him all but grim. "At last, a piece of good news…"

---

Neji ネジ

In her first move, she very nearly killed me.

She's…fast? The time it took me to both comprehend this and amend my estimation of the threat she posed left me only a split-second to flit from the path of the subtly sparking palm that almost grazed me. One direct hit from this child could spell any human's death – while this I had known, I had hardly anticipated her wielding sufficient skill to make it much of an issue for me. But the swiftness of her initial dash, along with the sharpness of her move as she pivoted to lash her palm fiercely for my side, made it clear that Hyuuga Hanabi, shy of nine years old though she may have been, could not be taken lightly.

"Kaiten!" I snarled, and as I spun my body the barrier glanced her palm aside before bodily swatting her away. She landed on her upper back, sliding briefly before kicking to nimbly spring in a backflip to her feet.

To think I would be forced to use the Rotation almost immediately, I marveled, but I had no time to share my musings aloud as she rebounded smoothly into another attack. Hey – aren't you being too serious right off the bat?

I dodged and diverted in one moment five strikes of the same palm, thrown so sharply they might have appeared simultaneous. I returned a sharp palm of my own, only for it to be diverted from its target by the curt, well-timed knock of her small forearm rising into mine. She stepped in, two fingers of each hand poised before snapping toward my abdomen. My own darting hands intercepted the strikes before I lunged past her in the midst of my whirling evasion, raising a foot and sweeping for the back of her skull; spinning, she narrowly ducked the cutting path of the boot heel and lunged to strike at me as I faced her again. My hand plunged beneath her forearm and rose before sweeping out, flinging her arm wide as my other palm arced into her chest.

THUD!

"Gh…!"

This sound escaped my throat as I jerked back my hand, fingers searing with the rush of electricity they'd begun to conduct in the fleeting period of contact. I had seen it with these eyes, as my strike neared her – her activated Raiton chakra, lying half-dormant, had fully awakened to contract at once into a barrier concentrated over her heart, and dispersed throughout her system again after diffusing the chakra of my strike. The effect was that she had been minorly winded by the physical brunt of the hit, but nothing more. Meanwhile, following through on my strikes was left out of the question…

"You manipulate your chakra well," I called, shaking pins and needles from my throbbing hand as she wheezed softly. "And your moves aren't like those of a child. I'm impressed…"

She shifted a bit in her stance, declining to respond. I smirked.

"But I imagine you realize it – you can't best me as you are now. It's why you put so much on the attempt to kill me with your first blow, in the hope of catching me off guard. Understandable… and even so, in the wake of the failure of this tactic and the coincident drop in your chance of victory, you transitioned seamlessly into the battle, without wavering for so much as a heartbeat. You're a spirited one – I'll give you that."

She maintained a steady glower through my words of mockery. "I came here to end you, and it is what I plan to do."

I cocked my head, an eye narrowed darkly. "Oh?"

When I rushed for her, she began to step back in alarm, startled by my full speed – and drew her chakra into a shield upon her heart. I came to a halt before her, palm a centimeter above her chest, and this moment of hesitation gave her the crucial time she needed to react. My hand withdrew before she could jab electrified fingers into my wrist, and I kicked the heel of my boot up into her ribcage.

As the strike neared her, I saw her chakra refocus itself over her heart.

Then she was snapping double with a bark of exhalation, and turned around by a sharp kick that clipped her shoulder. Still stunned from the blow to her ribs, she couldn't react before a backhand swing of my arm knocked her flat to the earth.

She may have gotten a faceful of dirt, but she scrambled to her feet and reacted swiftly enough to dodge another palm strike. I flipped over her as she threw a strike for my back, and as she faced me I darted to the left – faked right – and drove a palm cleanly down into her gut.

The chakra shield she'd drawn into her chest faded as her keirakukei was rattled; mouth agape in a fierce scowl, she staggered back with her arms cradling her middle. Hunched over, thin back quivering, she glared up at me.

"My speed easily exceeds that of the average jounin, you know," I noted offhandedly. "As such, I considered it curious, even accounting for your apparent skill, that you should be able to react so well – to read my attacks and manipulate your Lightning shield to counter accordingly. But the truth is…"

I smiled, glaring down my nose as I pointed at her. "You're not reacting 'accordingly' at all. It's nothing more a defensive reflex you've practiced, isn't it? Since a child's reserve of chakra is small, you can't shield a large area effectively; spread it any thinner, and a good Juuken burst might penetrate it. That's why when you can't quite keep track of my movements you automatically shield the most vulnerable and most targeted organ – the heart. A good deterrent, until your enemy finds its flaws. Obviously, there are more… and slower, more painful ways to kill humans with our Gentle Fist arts. And…"

Her eyes widened. She retched, and dropped her head as flecks of red went spraying from her lips.

"And with that, it's over, right? Can you move anymore, for the fear?"

She panted, shivering. "H-how did you…?"

"Have you forgotten about the time when one of your loyal dogs was taken into my custody?" I boasted. "I'm quite adept, I'll have you know, at convincing people to talk."

This implication was a lie, of course; even subjected to prolonged torment, Hiyuki had divulged nothing prior to her forced enlightenment. But the horror on Hanabi's already pale face as she was further shaken, and the subdued, pained cry of outrage from Hiryuu on the sidelines, told me that my ploy had struck well. I almost bristled, even as I showed them a smile. It was not the real, strong Hiyuki whom they grieved, but a fake – a weak, pitiable dog of the Main House. Somehow, this both sickened and infuriated me.

No – there was no time to dwell on these thoughts, however appalling it was that she should be remembered in such a way. The mention had served its purpose. My opponent's morale was visibly crumbling; her head was low, and her mouth in a scowl of remorse as she breathed fitfully. I would need only to weather her down a bit further, carefully, but once more with force…

Smirking, I lunged toward the girl with a fist drawn back.

Hanabi blinked, and her arm flashed up to divert my blow so that it passed beside her head. She looked up, and her watery white eyes were suddenly hard.

"Don't screw with me!" she cried, as her free palm sped for my gut. Since my strike had been only slightly redirected I was still moving toward her, with my body unguarded.

Kuso! I thought, grabbing the striking arm before her palm could touch me. Electricity – not as focused or well directed as it might have been in a blast from her palms, but painful all the same – flared from her arm and zipped into mine, forcing me to release her. I grimaced as I stepped from the path of another swift strike, and deflected a few more. The girl was livid.

"Hiyuki might not have been 'strong,'" she growled, leaping to throw a sharp, neat duo of kicks that I blocked with my forearms. "She might not have been skilled in battle, or good with Juuken…!"

Hanabi was frenzied – but rather than becoming wild, she grew more acute in her moves, seemingly with each word, each breath. It was unreal; I blocked a surprisingly solid kick and diverted more palm strikes, mouth slightly ajar in curiosity. This child…

"But she would never sell out her comrades!"

We broke apart, and she clenched her fists, teeth grinding as lightning simmered in the air about her; it tossed her long hair furiously, as her chakra blazed.

"You, who know nothing of her… I won't allow you to sully her good name with your lies!"

I frowned. She lunged in a flash of speed, and with a half grimace I jumped, spinning tightly to throw a boot into her back as she passed beneath me. She hit the ground, landing on her face, sliding on her front, and scrambling into a quick recovery to whirl and attack again.

What's with this? What 'fear of blood'?! I thought, eyes narrowed on the red that had trailed from her lips as I sidestepped an attack. Diverting the strike of her right hand to my left by hitting her wrist with my right palm, I crouched so low that I nearly knelt – and jammed the heel of my left palm hard into her gut. I withdrew the hand before she could shock me, and rose whilst levering my right elbow back across her cheek. The solid hit threw her off her feet.

She rolled once, rose with a slight stumble, and flew into another charge still faster than the last.

I've never seen such a thing… Just what sort of a genius is she?! I threw testing strikes, and she countered them flawlessly and tore on, never a break in stride. Her eyes could only see my defeat – my death – and seemed dead set on impelling her down the path, through every strike, feint, and subtlety of combat, to ensure it. I scowled as a palm nearly grazed me. I threw a heavy backhand, only to be fronted by a surprisingly intense Hakkeshou Kaiten that sent me sliding back on my feet.

Did I … miscalculate?

Electricity was still sparking across my body when, teeth gritted, I seized her outstretched arm in both hands as she leapt sharply upon me, her dangerously sparking palm arrested an inch from impacting my chest.

And why in the world would her speed now be so much greater than that of her initial charge?! Did she not put her best into that first attack, after all? No, that's not it… I had thrown her off before she could fry my hands; already I was backpedaling, avoiding a barrage of palms whose great power crackled and shrieked on the air.

She hasn't suddenly improved, or gained any new mastery of her abilities. Nothing of this sort has changed.

She simply… truly…

…Has no control over her own strength!

---

Hanabi ハナビ

Yes – yes! With each move, I'm getting closer! I won't stop! I'll close in, narrow the gap, until I've struck you DEAD!

"Lady Hanabi…" I heard Hitaka murmur, in a brief break in activity that followed an exchange of palms. Mouth in a half scowl, eyes keenly focused, I dashed in again. At a time like this, I could not rest.

These eyes will show me the path to triumph over any foe!

How would something as meaningless and useless as some blood on my face distract me, when I had such a strong opponent, and such a loathsome scourge to defeat?! I struck viciously, my controlled wildness keeping my adversary on his toes.

"It's happened," Hiryuu was saying. His stern voice held proud confidence. "No – it's happening. The source of her genius. When that girl's spirit blazes and refuses to be beaten, she will shape herself into the destruction of whatever opponent stands before her. We thought her sole chance lay in a split-second win, but we were wrong! Drawing out the battle is not to be her undoing, but Neji's! This is a child who loves to fight, and who harbors an inestimable well of potential waiting to be tapped. With each passing moment that blaze in her heart glows brighter – with each move she learns and grows stronger. Until she overwhelms her opponent!"

I've got you!

Neji was off-balance this time, eyes wide as my palm arced for his heart.

"Enough!" he hissed, blurring with speed. When my Byakugan found him, coming to a halt behind me, his outstretched hand was adorned with clawed nails.

And my left side was exploding in pain.

I pressed my hand into the fire that seemed to be clinging to my ribs, but I could tell the wound was shallow enough not to incapacitate me before I might kill him.

Even so, for me to suddenly lose track of him… He was holding back? Then I'll just have to catch him again! As I faced him again, however, Neji was settling into a foreboding stance indeed.

"You've impressed me," he mused, a thrill in his eyes. "No more games, little Firecracker. Let's see how well you handle this! Gentle Fist Art…!"

He closed with breathtaking speed, whirling into the opening attack.

"Eight Trigrams: Two Palms!"

He held my eyes, his cool, fierce smile steady as I deflected the strikes with quick hands.

"Four palms!"

This next volley was faster, but I struck into his strikes, breaking them.

"Eight palms! Sixteen palms!"

Sweat poured down my back; my throat was parched. I realized I wasn't blinking, and shut my eyes to entrust my life to the Byakugan.

"Thirty-two Palms!"

The air hummed and churned with clashing chakra as two sets of hands raced to collide and cancel with insane speed. Here it comes!

Da-da-da-da-da-daDA-da-da-da-da-DA-da-do-da-da–!

"Sixty-four Palms!"

As he shouted this I was mirroring his moves, intercepting the final pattern of strikes in the deathly barrage of jabs with my own. We snapped apart, feet sliding back; I was wheezing for breath.

But he had landed not a single strike.

"To match the Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou, and counter it blow for blow… means that you possess the ability to execute it yourself. As you are now," he added, smug. "Truly commendable. You're much better than I expected…"

This wasn't a time to be sitting still, chatting – not when everything in me was screaming to fight. This monster needed to die.

The ground buckled at my feet as I launched toward him with a cry of enmity. He stood his ground – and in the last moment before my palm would have struck and sent lightning tearing through his black heart, he vanished.

He solidified behind me, and a vicelike grip latched onto the muscle beside my neck. The young man clicked his tongue. "Calm down now, will you? You are good. I would suppose you could blaze past a number of foes in moments. But what if the gap between you and your adversary is too great to be traversed in a single bound? I imagine … it all comes screeching to a halt."

"Wh-what…?" I focused my chakra, hoping to let hot lightning course into his fingers.

He tightened his grip, and my jaw dropped as the sensation of pain welled up within me. He must have caught a pressure point – some sensitive nerve cluster. My chakra wasn't listening to my will, wasn't awakening; initially, just by resting his thumb firmly where he had, he had caused my activated Raiton chakra to settle. Now it wouldn't respond at all, as if my chakra, sitting right within reach, had been cut off from me. I grimaced as my Byakugan failed. It was an unnatural, sickening feeling that now needled me. Whatever he was doing, it was bad.

I was at his mercy.

I grunted, gasping as he adjusted his grip and the needling feeling grew more insidious. He crooned as if in pity. "And that rhythm, that momentum you rely so heavily on… it can be broken, can't it?" The sound of strained flesh was prickling at my ears even as it seared in my neck. For a second, I almost forgot how to breathe. "It must be exhausting, to lunge and climb so vigorously beyond the present, fundamental level of your ability. Your trick certainly has its limits. And you can't quite ignore your fatigue indefinitely, can you? Nor can you maintain this… extraordinary tolerance for pain."

He pinched the nerve with horrible force, and it all came crashing through to me at once. I shrieked at the top of my lungs, rigid in agony as my mindless focus cracked and crumbled, blasted away. He let up enough that I could breathe again, just as darkness had begun to flutter on the edges of my vision, but held me delicately on the brink of cruel pain.

"St-stop!" I whimpered out, trying desperately to shock him again.

"No," he said shortly, reaffirming his painful grip in threat. My chakra shorted out again. "You can't do anything to me now, you see? Very few people are capable of controlling their chakra while this nerve is being pinched. Do you understand now – how easily I could kill you?"

"Then why don't you?" I cried.

He only laughed. "Why…?"

This said, he shoved me to the ground. I was freed from the awful hold; I could feel the irregularity gripping my chakra had abated, with the disruption removed. But despite that I'd yet to attain the victory I sought, I could now feel every last hit I'd taken, along with the exhaustion of pushing myself to his level. I got to my hands and knees, shaking, and struggled to rise.

Was this the most I could do, against this monster? Damn…!

I tensed where I stood, fighting to stay on my feet as I became aware of something more.

No… no. Just ignore it…! I thought, desperate. This couldn't happen to me now.

It was a lost cause. In the wretched state I was in, I was no match for the suffocating, inescapable awareness of the lingering taste in my mouth, the thick, unclean liquid matting my robe to my side. My breath pitched uncontrollably as I clenched my teeth against these sensations, eyes wide.

"Her fear's taken hold…" I heard Hiryuu breathe, as if in disbelief. Hikujaku's groan was mournful.

"Lady Hanabi, no…!"

I looked up as Neji gave a light, scoffing laugh. He knew he'd won.

"Well, cousin? Do you fear for your life?" he asked, stepping toward me. I flinched back, trying to look fierce; his subsequent laughter told me I'd failed miserably. My cousin sighed, but made no further move toward me.

"Relax," he said. "Now that you've settled down, I'd like to share a proposition with you."

"A… what?"

He smiled, cold eyes almost soft. "Hanabi… Forfeit this duel, and ally yourself to my reformed Hyuuga Clan."

I scowled, hardly of a mind to deal with jokes. "Th-that's your offer? Are you insane?!"

He only chuckled lightly at this suggestion. "Come, now – it beats dying, right? And look at that lot of dogs," he said, nodding toward my four protectors. Their faces ranged from desolate to distraught. "The piteous souls who dared to place their faith in you… they thought they were training a savior, to find only now that all their efforts have amounted to so much raising, nurturing, sculpting, and polishing a lamb for the slaughter…"

Hitaka looked away with a croaked whimper, shutting his eyes against tears as Neji glared them down in turn. I cringed, bristling. "Leave them out of this!" I cried. "Everything they've done was right! It's my own shortcoming … my fault alone, if I should fail here!"

"You can't win," Neji repeated pointedly. "I thought I had made this clear. But it needs not all to have been for naught. Your skill is great, but your potential is greater still; I feel we haven't even begun to see the depths of the power you can wield. You could be of great use to me. Think about it, cousin. This talk of prophecy only divides us! I'm offering you the opportunity to lay it to rest, and unite our people once and for all."

"So I agree to support your faction, or you'll strike me down now?"

"I believe it's a generous offer," he said. "We could quell much dissent. And what have you done up to this point, really? What will your life amount to, if it must end in your next minute?"

I winced, face flushed. He never stopped smiling, a knowing look on his face.

"You see? Worthlessness. You want to live, don't you?" he intoned, as if speaking to an infant. "To be frank, you won't have much influence; you will be expected to abide by and support all orders and decisions of my clan. In a gesture of good will between our households, you will be betrothed to Hyuuga Hajime-kun, my successor in the leadership of the clan. What matters is that you'll still have a voice in shaping our future – not a strong one, no, but more than none at all. Doing all that is within your capability, for this clan… is that not also within the scope of your duties, Hyuuga Hanabi?"

I had no immediate answer for the challenge. Brow quivering, I hung my head. My gaze edged toward Hiryuu, whose bleak visage was impassive; he was by no means willing to tell me what choice to make. Quietly, I cursed him. My body ached; I was bleeding. I couldn't even think.

Neji held out his hand. "You've heard my terms. Now – in the name of the Hyuuga's dying Main House, surrender!"

Somehow I held his eyes – cold, ambitious silver eyes – even as I continued to quaver. "I…"

With an effort, I straightened.

"I… will never become a pet bride in your clan, or wield my power to the bidding of New Sound!" I spat, recognizing a new feeling kindling in my gut. I was furious. "I won't subordinate myself to the likes of you. I would rather die than betray myself! So, cousin, it would seem I'm of no use to you after all!"

The amusement had faded from his face. "So it would appear… and…?"

Sparks were lighting up the air about me. My hands clenched into fists, trembling fists though they were. "You think people's lives are yours to play with as you please – you, a wretch, a fiend bringing shame upon your mean lineage. You think you can have anything you want. But you're not getting this, Hyuuga Neji. My power is my own, and no one else's!"

The barbs had gotten under his smooth skin this time; his eyes flickered dangerously behind his calm mask. "Oh? A shame, then…" he said, "that I must now see all of that marvelous power and potential rot."

With no further warning, with frightening speed, he was before me. My Byakugan still wasn't active. I had only just registered his dangerous proximity and drawn-back palm, and drawn my Raiton chakra barrier before my heart, when he blurred from sight.

His palm met my back with a thud, sending his bursting chakra, blazing hot and numbingly cold, piercing cleanly through my heart.

And the emitted stream met the barrier on the other side, creating path and causing the electricity to conduct along it. My own chakra jolted sharply back through my chest, and he snapped his hand away before he could be shocked – but for me, the damage was done. I might have loosed a yell, in pain. My vision blurred, shook, and flared to white and back again; my hand clutched at my chest as liquid surged from my throat. And I found myself, so suddenly, crashing to the ground.

"Hanabi-sama!"

"M'lady!"

Neji's laughter broke through these cries of concern. "I wish you could see their faces! Really, you're breaking the poor fools' hearts here."

"Shu…shut up…" I planted one hand in the bloodstained grass, followed by the other. With shuddering movements I shuffled up to my knees, and then, somehow, back onto my feet. I was certainly scared – I was terrified just of the blood on my face and clothes – but the nightmarish smell and taste couldn't take singular command of my awareness. Not here – not in front of this person, whom I'd sworn to kill. Not when he insulted and taunted the ones who had done so much for me – and least of all now, when I needed, more than anything else, to make a stand.

It's only ever happened in the heat of battle before… but right now, my refusal to lose is far stronger than any 'fear'!

"I'll n-never follow you…"

The man seemed amused to no end. "Even if you say that, I suppose…"

Again, with that blinding speed, he was behind me – but this time he did not attack. A hand at rest on my shoulder, he bent to breathe in, slowly, at the other side of my neck. He spoke at a murmur, his low voice rolling through fangs poised treacherously near my neck.

"…I could always make you obey me."

I had no earthly clue what this might actually mean, but the sinister, spine-chilling air to a threat I could only believe to hold gravity, coupled with his oppressive nearness and cold touch, proved acutely unnerving to me regardless. With a shriek I turned, pushing from him with flailing arms, and struck out. He grabbed one wrist, and with my following strike snagged the other. My strength was dwarfed without contest; he held my arms perfectly still between us, smirking as I struggled without thought.

Calm down! When have I ever relied on physical strength? I thought, glowering in defiance as I roused my chakra.

My chakra… which, for some reason, wouldn't flow much further than my elbows. Neji grinned knowingly at my confusion.

"Finally noticed? You fell for it – just as she did," he noted, as if to himself. He lifted my arms above my head; my long sleeves fell to mid-forearm, and I looked up to see the red marks that dotted my arms.

Kuso! After I was so focused on keeping him from landing hits to my vitals… he managed to seal some tenketsu during all of that!

Of course, it was a rule of thumb not to let a larger opponent grab hold of you. I was a bit of a special case, equipped with abilities that could easily discourage foes from – or punish them for – attempting to grapple with me. This, however, was only worthy of note provided that said abilities could function effectively.

So for the second time since the fight had begun, I was at my opponent's mercy, and he knew it. He spoke, whether to himself or in half-explanation I couldn't be sure.

"It would be meaningless to 'turn' you in order to pull you into my fold. You're special, after all," he said, shifting both of my small wrists, crossed, into one of his hands while I tugged my weight uselessly at his grip. "I would so much rather see you first join my side by your own free will … to see you forfeit that defining stature and repulsive pride yourself!"

He pulled on my arms, and smashed my gut over his sharply rising knee. Stars assailed my vision with the crack of impact; the brutish shot's solid connection sent another hot burst of blood sailing past my lips. I could barely comprehend the pain that overtook me. I did not realize my feet had been kicked from the ground; I was turning from the low strike, looking at grass, then sky…

And then I was thudding to the earth, every pound of me nothing more than dead weight crashing down upon my back. My eyes were still wide, and my mouth hung open. My head turned aside. I couldn't really breathe…

I can't… move…? I clenched my teeth, and shut watering eyes with a shaking grunt.

"Hanabi," Neji said, "I've already acknowledged your genius. You must realize that you're more dangerous than any eight-year-old should reasonably be. An anomaly of nature…"

I turned my head again, withholding a sound of pain as I hugged my middle and rolled onto my side, still fighting for air.

"And you, with this prodigious skill, would have surpassed me – given time, you might even become one who would surpass Lord Orochimaru. It's unfortunate… but such a being cannot be allowed to live. Not if you have determined to oppose us."

I cracked an eye to glare darkly up at him, even as I gasped shortly for breath, my face half in the dirt. He frowned at the look; his voice was severe.

"You will join me or die. Choose – now!"

I shut my eyes. "D-do you ever… shut up?"

His brow was stern as I began to rise, but he did not speak. I scowled fiercely as I tried to settle my weight on my feet alone, and gingerly removed my hands from the ground. There we go – I'd been knocked down a thousand times before. Standing up one more time was nothing.

He watched, dispassionate, as I settled into my stance, blood flecking from my chin.

I lunged. He sidestepped.

Sidestepped, and grasped my outstretched right arm, and broke that shoulder with a clean chop of his dropping hand.

---

Neji ネジ

She screamed.

I watched her go down, her eyes wide and unseeing, and crash onto her front and her uninjured arm; that arm's hand twitched near the wrecked shoulder, as if unsure whether to grasp for it. Her legs kicked as she writhed blindly and yelled out again with a sob.

Pathetic…

"You monster!"

I turned, and Harumi, distant though we were, flinched under my eye. I smirked at the woman's determinedly glowering face. Her arm was around the young Hitaka, who had buried his face in her shirt; Hiryuu's hard face was pained, and Hikujaku's appalled – almost sickened. I scowled to think such imbeciles had once been counted among my clansmen. "You should have been prepared to witness as much," I said, "when you sent a child to fight me. Have I not said it before? I will show no mercy to those who oppose me, whoever they may be!" I swept my arm out. "The weak will be crushed! Take a good look, all of you – at the fate that awaits those foolish enough to challenge absolute power!"

At this Hiryuu lowered his head, but not to concede defeat. He sent a level glower, his shoulders square and his eyes as stone.

"All I can do, right now… is to believe in my lady, to the last. Your words cannot touch me, when they have not touched her."

The corner of my mouth quirked upward.

Nani…?

Very slightly, my ear twitched.

Hanabi was standing up.

The shaking of her body was of such a magnitude that it was a wonder her legs would support her weight. She stumbled, somehow catching herself as her knees momentarily gave, and planted leaden feet to stand with her back hunched. There was a fierce grit to her teeth, and a matching glint in white eyes that fought to retain consciousness. Her breath was labored, and she had gripped hard the shoulder from which hung a useless arm. Powerless as she was, and even as a cough that sent crimson from her lips belied her deteriorating condition, she held my eyes with an air that few could command.

My sneer wavered slightly. "What's with that look? In the state you're in, of what worth is such a smug expression? You seem to think you've won something here."

Her bloody mouth gave the barest suggestion of a smile. "I th-think… I get it now… You don't w-want to kill me, do you? You weren't all lying when you s-said … that you don't want to see this p-potential go to waste. You still hoped to convince me to change my mind … but then, you're n-not too good with persuasion, are you?"

"What rubbish…"

"Then why haven't you killed me yet? I can't stop you…"

My eyes narrowed. Always so superior… "You dare to speak down to me?"

"I'm free to decide who's deserving of my respect, and who is not, cousin. I'll say it, once more – I'll never join you. You want my power, and you won't have it no matter what." She shut her eyes for a breath. When they opened, they again struck me without an ounce of hesitation. "It's my choice what to do here … and I won't give in. If you're that afraid of the strength I might attain, come – strike me down now, before the eyes of our ancestors. For as long there's breath in this body, I will fight you."

I was silent for several moments as I scrutinized the girl. "…You disappoint me. You take after that failure of a sister, you know."

"That's the highest compliment I could receive…"

Frowning, I sank into my stance. "Alas, the flowering flame shall never bloom: it was nothing but a dud."

I sprang. It was in a great, smooth bound, with my palm drawn back and blazing brilliantly with darkness, that I leapt to strike down a child who faced her death with a smile.

WHAM…!

The impact rang out with a thud of force and a scattering rush of intensified chakra that went blazing through every bone and tissue in its path.

The blow's recipient, however, was moved not an inch.

She had intercepted the strike with her arm.

A strong arm… that housed no chakra of its own.

I gasped. This person…?!

---

Hanabi ハナビ

My eyes blinked before growing wide, staring into the back of the person before me.

Nee-chan… you…

Neji ネジ

…Came back.

Hinata ヒナタ

"Pick on someone…"

His shocked eyes snapped from my arm to my stern face. I flicked out my arm, grasping his wrist as I did, and ground my left foot into the earth behind me.

"Your own size!" I snarled, head ducked as I sent my right foot with a great boom slamming up into his face and knocking him back. Neji's eyes broke from me as he gagged and went shooting away.

His limbs flailed; he caught me with a fervent glare just before he crashed to the ground fifteen yards away, eyes snapping shut as he struck on his backside and bounced into a flopping tumble before sliding to a halt.

A breeze was stirring through the field as I rose warily to full height, eyes severe, mouth drawn into the slightest frown.

"N-Nee-ch–Onee-san?"

My expression smoothed as I turned. I took in the girl's battered form, and her fine clothes that had been spattered with blood. Had she been standing straight, I realized with a start, she might have come all the way up to my collarbone.

My lip quivered then, at that of all things. Then I realized the bright-eyed girl looking up at me with her mouth slightly open, both like a child and tragically unlike one, was unsure of how to address me. I nearly choked, biting back what might otherwise have become the onset of tears – and wrought up a soft smile.

"'Nee-chan,'" I said warmly. "Always."

She trembled, eyes squinting halfway shut as they welled with held back moisture. I had started to reach cautiously toward her when she jumped on me, with a wail of "Nee-chan!" throwing her good arm around my neck and her legs about my waist; she clung as if for dear life with every small bit of strength she had left, shivering through and through, sobbing shakily into my chest.

"I-I was…so scared…" she confided at a whimper. "I'm sorry…"

I had been startled, but at her tearful words I wrapped my arms tenderly around her and planted a kiss on her head, smiling. How long had she been holding off the child she was? "You're all right, little sister," I said, shushing softly. I would never let him kill you... "I promised you I'd be back, didn't I? I'm sorry for being late … but I'm here now."

"I'm sorry," she murmured again, but the tension had faded from her body. "I wasn't strong enough to go with you… I couldn't even help here. I couldn't do anything for you in the end, Nee-chan."

"But you did," I said, patting her back with a smile. "You believed in me, right? And that gave me the strength I needed to survive. Your feelings have crossed countries and seas to stay right inside my heart, everywhere I went. I made it all this time… because you never once stopped believing I would."

"O-oh," she hiccupped, nestling into me again.

I glanced toward the witnesses gathered on the sidelines; one bunch wore sour looks at this turn of events, but the other, a band of four, contained expressions ranging from bewilderment to awe. These, then… they're the ones who have been protecting you all this time, right? I thought, nodding slowly. I wished they wouldn't have let her fight, but they had meant well, and clearly cared for her. Hanabi-chan has done so well…

"How precious," a smooth voice chipped in, causing me to tense. But I needed not to fear him – not anymore.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my head to face him. The young man still sat, legs slightly spread and elbows propped on his knees as he rolled his head, lazily popping his neck. After laying his head far back with a sigh, he brought it forward again to sharply meet my eyes.

"I was beginning to think you might never show up… Hinata."

"But you knew I would, didn't you? Neji…nii-san."

He rose with a sharp fluidity to his feet, causing his cloak to billow, and began to dust himself off – casually, as though he had not moments prior attempted to murder my young sister. The air around him, around his cold smiles, calm moves, and truly joyful anticipation, was one of contentment. This bit of his fun may have been spoiled, but the promise of what was presently to come was more than enough to appease him.

"You've interrupted a duel," he pointed out. Sure enough, he barely bothered pretending to take offense.

"I ask that you cease this duel. You do not appear to be wounded, cousin. I, Hyuuga Hinata, wish to assert my claim to taking my proper place here, and fighting in the name of the Hyuuga's Main House in my sister's stead. Does the opposing party find this acceptable?"

"I suppose it will suffice. The girl provided me a lovely warmup, at least."

I scowled. As if on cue, Hanabi shuddered with a harsh cough.

"There you are!"

That voice was a godsend. "Naruto-kun!" I cried, turning to see him and Lee crossing the field toward us. Unlike me, they had thoroughly depleted their chakras today; Naruto now ran in favor of Shadow Swapping, allowing his chakra to replenish.

"I thought we would find you here!" Lee called out as they ran.

"And after we finally catch up with you, just for you to get a hunch that 'something's up' and leave us in the dust–great kami." The whisper that cut through his light complaints marked his growing near enough to pick up on Hanabi's condition. His face was immediately serious.

Hyuuga Harumi was flickering to my side just as Naruto, his hands instinctively outstretched, reached us. The older Hyuuga could approach now that the initial duel was off.

"Please – allow me to treat Hanabi-sama," she said, breathless. A face I could only remember as calm was stark with concern.

"Of course," I said. Hanabi relinquished her hold, allowing me to transfer her carefully to Harumi's arms. I looked up at a pop to see Naruto had produced a clone. "Can you help her? Harumi-san knows how to mend Juuken injuries, but there are many wounds…"

"You got it," one Naruto said, already following Harumi back to the sidelines. "Your little sis will be fine!" His eyes were on his patient all the while. Those two wouldn't let her die.

"That guy," the remaining Naruto spat. "With the state he left them in, we were just able to secure the lives of Shino, Ino, and Tenten, and get them to safety. But to beat up on a kid…!"

"I know," I said. "But I'll stop him here."

Neji raised an eyebrow as I looked his way. "A few interesting characters have joined the scene," he mused. "It's been quite a while."

"Neji," Lee said simply. Though his strong face practically radiated disapprobation, he opted not to voice it. In contrast, Naruto took a step Neji's way, lightly clasping my hand.

"Listen well, Hyuuga Neji. You've caused this girl a lot of grief, y'know? Suffering she didn't deserve. You're lucky Hinata can't bring herself to hate you, or you'd be torn to pieces in seconds. But me, on the other hand…" He clenched and unclenched his teeth. "If I, for some reason, get a go at you today… you won't be half as lucky anymore."

I gave his hand a squeeze. "It's all right… please don't worry, Naruto-kun. Please."

He tore his gaze from Neji's snide face, indigo eyes pained. "Hinata…"

"You remember, don't you? This is something I absolutely must do."

"I remember," he said. "I'm not worried."

I nodded. "Now tell me this. Is it truly okay for you to stay here?"

His answer was slipped under his breath – a quick, practiced mutter meant for my sensitive ears alone. "Gaara's joined the guard at the shelters. Orochimaru's abandoned the battle, even hidden his chakra. He's bound to turn up again somewhere, and I'd say it's pretty likely that somewhere might be at the side of his most precious disciple. If we're wrong, there are reliable people on our side who know where to find us. That work with you?" he asked, and I nodded again.

"Then, one more thing…" he said. Still holding my eyes, he lifted a hand to nearly cup my face, but paused. With a slow breath, he moved his hand to instead tug the neck of his shirt slightly aside. Some color had already left his face; now I knew why. "G…go on, then."

"Naruto," I gasped, reaching out – faltering, just before my hands could touch his arms. Little had been made of it… but he hadn't let me feed from him, hadn't even let me lick his wounds, since the time we'd spent captive together. So although my heart had jumped at the thought of his taste, I shook my head. "I can't – not if you're uncomfortable."

"I'm asking you to," he said, employing the same monotone mutter. "If you need to release your youki, it'll work best if you've tasted another human's blood, won't it?"

I didn't deny it. "I hope not to need to release my youki," I whispered back. "That's risky territory as well. It's fortunate we're not on a full moon, but even so, if we end up drawing on more power, the battle will only grow longer and bloodier. At all costs, I want to keep that from happening!"

"So it's not the ideal scenario. But I'm not waiting around to find out whether he decides to make that choice for you."

And he threw his arms suddenly around me – one's hand nestling up into my hair – shut his eyes, and pulled me into him. I couldn't help it, and he had counted on as much. When my lips were guided to the hot, bared flesh by his neck, the only barrier between my teeth and his tantalizing blood, I was helpless to do anything other than open my mouth and let my fangs pierce him. Delicious warmth was drawn into my mouth, rich and powerful and so uniquely Naruto, and he withheld a groan that I felt rumble in his chest.

My cheeks flushed in frustration. I saw what he'd done. The illusionist had played the role of a lovestruck youth seizing his sweetheart in sudden passion, grabbing me close for one last embrace. It could not have been coincidence that he was the one facing toward the others, who saw only my back. He was focusing through the Demon's Bite – showing them what likely appeared as a tense face all fraught with heartache and emotion. Meanwhile, none could have seen my softly blissful face, or known that I had bitten him and now drank of his blood.

I relished the precious gift of lifeblood simmering pleasantly down my throat, and pulled from him while still returning his embrace. He met my eyes, and gave a lopsided grin. "See? I'm fine."

"Thank you," I breathed, almost speechless. "Truly… I feel better now. I'm ready."

"That's what I like to hear," he said, gripping my shoulder reassuringly as we separated. I looked Neji's way; he waited patiently, arms crossed. He inclined a brow as Naruto and Lee stared him down from either side of me; my guys wore matching grins.

"We will put our faith in Hinata-san this time…"

"So get him good for us, will ya'?"

I nodded, turning to face Neji fully. "Right!"

Naruto's hand on my shoulder gave one more squeeze before he released me with a pat. "Kick his ass!" he said, and with that he and Lee blurred from my side.

Neji eyed me in earnest. "I expected more reluctance… but on the contrary, you have the look of someone who's ready to fight."

And what look … indeed, what sort of look did he wear, this tall, sharp-featured but leanly muscled young man who stood before me? I knew he was my cousin, my once-brother – Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy. But I saw now even more, beneath the sloughed layers of composure he'd once maintained simply to survive. I saw the smiling hunger that slept in the eyes of one who lusted for chaos; I saw the inner being who had cursed his callously appointed fate more vehemently than any other. I saw the culmination of not one, but many unending generations of injustice, hatred, and woe, and the transformation it had at last exacted upon another who stood so ardently against its rigid, unquestioned tides of custom.

That was it. We both had realized, years ago, that something was wrong with the traditions so calmly handed down to us. From different sides of the mirror, we both had seen it.

We both had yearned to change the way of things.

He, however… had chosen a very different means to doing so.

And now, without question…

The man standing across from me… was demented.

Yet even so… even now… I love you.

"I am ready," I said, knowing the words I spoke were true.

"Then you'll have me endure no more insipid words? Are you perhaps done trying to talk your 'sense' into me, Hinata?"

My brow furrowed, and memories swept me away.

–Tearful words, met only with unquenchable rage. Pleas for reason achieving nothing for us, save for ever more pain…–

"We used up all our words that day," I said softly. "I won't waste time on talking any longer. Whether I like it or not… simply talking will never let us understand each other. If this can be resolved, it will be by our fists." My gaze had fallen to the earth as I spoke, but with this I met his eyes again, firm as he regarded me with muted interest. After a few moments my gaze shifted to pass over our larger collection of witnesses. Though Hanabi lay prone for Naruto and Harumi to mend her wounds, her head was up, and her eyes attentive upon me as I faced her nemesis with a soft smile.

"You nearly killed my sister," I said, gaze returning to him. "And she was willing to die by your hand. But…"

The loving, always timid smile – the smile of the one I had called older sister – surfaced, and faded again from my mind. Whatever path she had been driven to walk could only have been one rife with tumult.

My fist clenched slowly. "We don't need any more martyrs here. The time has come to put an end to this feud – to close this centuries-old rift once and for all. And the two of us shall be the ones to do it, Brother," I declared, sweeping my arm briefly out. "You don't need to threaten Hanabi to get me to fight you; there's no need for you to involve anyone else now. So don't go anywhere; don't blacken your heart any further. As the person you've become, brother, stay right here… and face me!"

My Byakugan awakened with sharp sureness, as my chakra flared once to send a shock bursting outward through the air and grass about me. My expression remained a calm one, my eyes large and coldly intent on my adversary, my brother.

"Heh…" Veins flared at once about his shut eyes. He opened them, and with a fine wisp of a smile he uncrossed his arms and sank into his stance. His strong frame was held with serene confidence, the utmost and fiercest grace, as he beheld me with the eyes of a predator. "I suppose this was always destined, wasn't it? You and I, two cousins, fighting to command the future of the clan… But the fate of the Hyuuga has already been determined, for I still am the destined victor."

"Destiny, again…?"

–"You can't run away from your true nature…"–

–"That is why we have the elite … and why there are outcasts."–

–"People can't change the way they are. That's just how it is! Just accept defeat, and you won't have to suffer anymore!"–

I extended one palm before me. Sunlight was peeking, so gently, through the breaking clouds.

But my suffering… is an inextricable part of who I have become…

The other palm was poised near my side, as my feet spread, toes pointing out, and slipped into position.

And it's also by enduring, all this time… that I found the strength to survive within me, and came to be standing here today.

"You speak of Destiny, Onii-san… but from here on out, our actions alone will unveil what our Destiny holds."

"So they shall…" He nodded in assent. "The ceremony and posturing was taken care of before you arrived. Shall we now see whom Fate holds supreme?"

"Let us. I'm ready."

–"Defend yourself … my brother."

"Very well, then..."–

Excitement shone in fierce eyes as his lips curled into a derisive grin.

One of his witnesses raised his arm. "I will call the start of the resuming duel!"

My heart gave a firm thud in my breast. Here goes…!

"If both Hyuuga Neji and Hyuuga Hinata are ready…!"

Neji's form tensed to the slightest degree.

"You may b–!"

POW!

"UAAARGH…!"

And a leaping knee strike, blinding in its speed, had suddenly connected with my gut.

---

Neji ネジ

"Foul!" Uzumaki was shouting as I landed on my feet and straightened. "Kuso! That's a foul, right?"

The shock on her face, and her pained cry of exhalation as such a simple strike blew her off her feet, had stirred the fire in my heart – a flame of hatred that had smoldered so long, so patiently, but never died within me. I had to suppress a smile as she flew. A bit of payback, if you will… for laying a kick on me before our match began. But this is hardly the beginning–!

She struck ground with a grunt, slid, and sprang in a backflip right onto her feet.

That… didn't quite make sense. The hit had been vicious; she had taken it directly. She should have spent at least some time on the ground, gasping in pain… Realizing my jaw hung the slightest bit agape, I snapped it shut, pressing my lips into a firm line as I watched her wipe spittle from her mouth. She looked up, evidently unperturbed.

"That was a bit low, Nii-san."

How can she already move? I put enough force behind that blow to lay out someone three times her size! I snorted. A 'demon,' was it? Then she's a touch sturdier than before. As if that would change anything…

I WILL crush her.

---

Naruto ナルト

When I pointed out that Neji'd struck before he finished saying 'begin,' the Hyuuga scowled sidelong at me.

"I saw no such infraction, outsider."

"What? That – good sir – is bull, and you know it!" I looked to the 'good' Hyuuga – what else could I call them, not knowing their names? – and the eldest shook his head.

"The move was underhanded, but Lady Hinata did strike him even before his duel with Lady Hanabi had ceased. It would have been proper to openly demand the free strike, rather than claim it himself … but however barely, he was within his right."

The girl – Hanabi – had been silent in disbelief. "A-amazing! Onee-chan just… took that strike like it was nothing!"

"Hinata-san was grown far stronger than the big sister who was forced to leave you so long ago," Lee assured her, popping a thumbs-up. Neji was speaking again.

"So, you can finally take a hit?"

"Yup – but I'll assume you're still not impressed, if it might save you the trouble of saying as much."

Zing! I thought, smirking as Neji started visibly, his face reddening in anger. It was obvious she'd stolen his words.

The younger man among the good Hyuuga whistled. "And I thought she could only mumble…"

I chuckled. "You haven't seen anything yet."

That's the way, Hinata… He'd worn a sneer, as he hit her. He was craving the feel of seeing her buckle, of asserting his strength and then reaffirming her to be so far beneath his feet, but she'd shortly denied him that pleasure. Thus where Neji had clearly meant to humiliate or unbalance her, he had instead wound up more addled himself.

I would even guess that Hinata had anticipated the early attack, and declined to defend – whether to gauge her opponent's strength, or in acknowledgment of the 'free hit' she owed him, I couldn't really be sure. Even so…

My expression sobered as a rivulet of blood broke quietly from the corner of Hinata's level smile. He'd made an impact after all; to suppose he was incapable of harming her would be comforting, but untrue.

He's drawn first blood…

So, Hinata – what will you do now?

---

Hinata ヒナタ

One arm extended down before me, I cocked a fist back near my ear.

"One more thing, Neji-nii-san. I would like it to be clear that I mean no disrespect if I must strike at times with my fists in lieu of palms, nor will I take offense if you opt to do the same. I'm sure you've already noticed…"

Naturally, he had – he would long since have sized me up in the way any Hyuuga would, gauging the look and health of my eyes, the tone of my muscles, and the efficiency with which my chakra flowed.

The habitual estimation of a Hyuuga's Juuken capability was rarely impacted by something so egregious as the perfect lack of chakra network circulation in one lower arm. He laughed almost companionably.

"At first I wondered that you would block a palm so carelessly with your dominant arm, even in a panic to protect that sniveling brat. So I left you another souvenir on that day, and you really are unable to channel chakra to one of your hands," he mused. Pressing a hand to his brow, he snickered and then laughed aloud. "As a Hyuuga – as a ninja! – you're practically a cripple! A fitting memento from our previous squabble, is it not? For you, who were never fit to bear the family's name upon your weak shoulders… Can't you see it, Hinata? You are doomed to fail, and your every attempt to resist the inevitable has only made things harder for you. You can't deny this."

I sent him only a steady look. Here was another change: words couldn't break the person I was now. "Are you done?"

He scowled, as if I'd refused to play my part in his game. Even then, his eyes shone with amusement. He spoke with soft relish. "Your request is heard, Hinata. We may fight with our palms, our fists, our ninjutsu – whatever we please! No holds barred." He cocked his head a bit, smug. "…It would seem we've peeled back one more layer of formality. No… perhaps we've reached an end to it?"

I returned his smile, this time. "So we have…"

"But I do have one last question before we get started, Hinata." He held my eyes. "…Will you bow to me?"

Something tucked away in some corner of my mind – so faint as to lie unnoticed – stirred. Unused and unknown, it might at one time have elicited an effect in me, but had faded by now to the point that its frail hook of compulsion fell away, shattering cleanly the instant I'd so much as begun to look at it directly. I blinked, suspicious, but it was gone. "Why… would I do that, Nii-san?"

He smirked, pleased. "I see… All the better that you won't. Now I can make you kneel," he said, flexing his strong hand.

"We'll see, won't we?" I said, tightening my fist. "I told you – words alone are meaningless to us now."

At last… At last…

"Let's fight… Neji-nii-san."

My toes dug down, my feet pushing, muscles tearing me forward, as his did the same. We moved with insane speed, eyes locked as we neared.

We, who were bound in love and hatred, connected on an intimate level of understanding…

For the first time since then… let's go at each other on even ground!

Neji ネジ

All right! With no more tricks!

We lunged for each other, fists drawn back.

Show me all the strength you've amassed, Hinata of the Main House, that I may tear it to the ground!

GA-WHAM!

Hanabi ハナビ

A collection of gasps arose as, eyes wide and stunned beyond comprehension, mouth open in the forced expulsion of breath, Neji received a snarling Hinata's purposeful fist square to the gut.

It's true, Nee-chan… you are the prophesied one! And you…

Lee リー

Is it possible? I thought in wonder, staring as Neji was thrown off his feet and sent crashing back the way he had come. Brilliant! After all this time, it appears that now…

Hinata-san, you have…!

Naruto ナルト

Hell yeah! I knew it, I freaking knew it!

I couldn't have contained my grin at that moment, so I didn't try to. Hinata drew herself sharply to full height, head up, as her cousin rolled into a crouch, pushed to his feet, staggered – and toppled to one knee again. He looked up from this quandary, starkly dismayed, with not an ounce of smugness in his eye.

Now, and with everyone watching her…

"She's surpassed him!"

Neji ネジ

Wh-what is this madness…? How?!

I had thought to go at her seriously, and still she had been the one to land her strike. This was utter nonsense…!

Figures whirled across my reeling mind – an adorable, blissfully ignorant toddler. A nervous young whelp, peering uncertainly from a distance. A timid, stuttering excuse for a genin. And then, arising to firmly assert and cement herself in place before them all, the calm-eyed creature who presently stood tall before me, unwavering form betraying neither hatred nor fear. I ground my teeth violently, breath rapid, and jerkily shook my head.

She is, and will always be … a FAILURE!

Hinata ヒナタ

Neji rose abruptly to his feet, a blaze of fury churning in harsh eyes.

Very slightly, I bared my fangs. There were people who believed in me, and there were reasons… reasons why I absolutely could not lose this battle. My mouth opened as I raised my head.

"Come!"

This fight … shall end them all!

---

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Twenty-Six

Random Hyuuga 1: Lord Neji, what does the Byakugan say about her power level?!

Neji: It's over NINE f#cking THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAND!

(static–)

Orochimaru: Did you know snakes are, like, an inexhaustible resource?

Shikamaru:…

Orochimaru:…

(static–)

Hashirama: Wood Style: Forest Destruction!

Gaara: Why would you want to destroy a forest?

Sasuke: I think the forest destroys you.

Naruto: In Soviet Russia–

(static–)

Kuri: The hell? Isn't this thing from Mononoke-hime?

(static–)

PurpleFox10: [all] OMG the jukes!

(static–)

Lee: What is wrong, Gamaken-san?

Gamaken (blushing): W-well... Fighting beside Naruto-san, I probably appear even more ungraceful...

(–STATIC–)

Neji: H…how…? It's not possible!

Hanabi: The one with the will to kill him lacks the power to, and the one with the power to kill him…?!

Naruto: She will turn these tides of Fate onto a new course, where everyone can smile!

Hinata: Beyond 'your' people or 'my' people, to our people–!

Neji: NO! You can't be as strong as me! It's not FAAAAAAAAAAIR!

Hinata: If your resolve is to fight, I will crush your resolve under mine!

Neji: Everything you stand for, I'll destroy it all!

Hinata: Even if I have to mangle you so badly Orochimaru won't WANT your body!

Hiashi: I failed you, brother, and your son…

Lee: Real strength is something you learn, and make yourself!

Neji: The weak are PREY!

Hinata: That's not the answer – I won't let it be!

Naruto: I'll watch you to the end!

Hinata: I'll break this cycle once and for all…!

Hanabi: No – she'll only destroy herself!

Neji: This clan was wretched, filthy, but I – I made it beautiful!

Hinata: For our clan…

Neji: For my clan…!

Hinata/Neji: I will do what I must!

Naruto: Next is Chapter Twenty-Seven: Hinata and Neji.

\\\Er… Weeell, claiming the longest chapter throne from chapter 19 is… ^^;

Let's pretend we didn't finally breakahundredpagesonwordwith12ptTNRfontsinglespace d wut? Well, we've reconfirmed that my estimating is ridiculously bad, but that's not really news, is it?

Good gosh, I've been waiting forever to use that over 9000 joke.

Werds n' stuff:

Shodai - founder/first

Nidaime - second

Mokuton - wood release

Inugami - doglike god/spirit

Gatsuuga - "Fang Over Fang"

taichou - captain; (I was considering having Sakon call her 'Cap'n', but opted for 'Taichou-chan' instead)

Katon - fire release

Kagemane - Shadow Possession/Shadow Imitation

ninken - ninja hound

Gouryuuka no Jutsu: Great Dragon Fire Technique

Fuuton: Wind Release

Kazeryuudan: Wind Dragon Bullet

Itai - 'ouch'

Senjutsu - sage technique

Rasenrendan - 'Rasengan Barrage'

Nativity of a World of Trees - also known as 'Deep Forest Emergence'

Gouken - Strong Fist/'Ferocious Fist'

Sora no Sato - Sky Village

kenjutsu - swordplay

shunshin - body flicker

Issan - Gaara's new nickname for Shukaku; combining 'One' and '-san'

Shuutan sokudo - terminal velocity

Juuchi Yosamu - Ten Thousand Cold Nights

oni - demon, ogre

Chikara - power

Yawarakai Te - Tender Hands

Ojii-san - grandfather; address for an elderly male

keirakukei - meridian system/'chakra network'

tenketsu - chakra point

Though the real Masamune and Muramasa lived at different times (and so could not have been teacher and student, or even have met), there is apparently a folktale that places them as master and student. Though I've taken some creative liberty, it essentially follows the same course as the tale Mifune tells Lee in the third part of Young Dragon's Gaiden, the story Lee recounts here - up to the point that the wise man deems Masamune's katana finer. All that happens after that, the swords clashing and cancelling and being sought by warriors throughout the ages, is my addition to the tale. Still, in folklore Muramasa is said to have crafted evil, indiscriminate swords, perhaps that can cut through anything; some stories say that when a Muramasa blade is drawn, it must draw blood before being returned to its sheath, even if that should mean injuring its wielder, and the sword may even drive the one who wields it to insanity or suicide. Supposedly in another version of the Masamune and Muramasa tale, the two are crafting their katana for a Shogun, and after their contest Muramasa is executed for forging evil swords. Masamune's swords, by contrast, are in some accounts deemed holy, and in some stories said to even have restorative powers, and signify a warrior possessing internal peace. (Main source is Wikipedia... I didn't find many actual or completely reliable outside sources, no...)

How was the chapter? We started with Naruto, Lee, Kakashi, Sasuke, Gaara, Shikamaru, and Anko vs. Hashirama, Tobirama, and Orochimaru, and wound up with everyone out but Naruto, Lee, and Gaara, with Orochimaru MIA for the moment. Orochimaru puts Shikamaru and Anko out of commission. Sage Naruto shows his strength, Naruto and Sasuke use some combos and smooth teamwork, Sasuke and Kakashi toss around lightning, and Naruto reveals his mastery of the Wind Release Rasenshuriken. Lee starts to really fight and match the First, Gaara shows his furthered skill with Shukaku's power.

The great scientist Naruto discovers terminal velocity. Promply breaks it.

Lee intercepts the Ironwood Javelin, breaking the Masamune sword, and triggering the unexpected awakening of the Muramasa. Any thoughts on his dark awakening? I wanted to keep the tone of that distinctly seperate from that of others' transformations, or Hinata's prior rampages for instance. Did it work? Lee's struggle, his meeting with Kozue (returning all the way from chapter 5!), his rampant power, his decision, conviction, death, rebirth, and ultimate triumph - how did it come together? Did it work, or fail miserably? Hope I didn't scare you too badly with his death. Somehow I nearly started sniffling writing that, and I knew he was coming back! Overall, was it how a climactic battle should be, or just too crazy?

Sasuke chases after the 'stranger' (we all know who XD). Any thoughts on that conversation? Hinata busts the village prison with the once-Sound four, Sakura, and Kiba, but afterward has her reunion with Hiashi. I know a lot of people were waiting for this... how did it compare to what you expected? Was it believable? Lee saves Tenten, Naruto fights for Shino and Ino... I was considering killing off one or both of them, but couldn't quite do it. Neji vs. Hanabi happens. Neji gets the upper hand, and tries to recruit her to his side. He entertains the idea of giving her the curse to control her - did anyone anticipate this possibility? - but decides against it. Finally, Hinata's arrival, and the reunion of the three. Naruto and Lee give their support, the cousins face off, and the battle begins.

Pleeeeeeeaase tell me what you thought, about anything! I'll try to reply, and if I don't, feel free to yell at me. "Hey you! Author! Reply to my review now!" You might think I'm joking, but if need be, that really should work ^^ Loved it? Hated it? Comments, questions, praise, criticism, best parts, worst parts - all feedback is appreciated! Love you guys!

Until next time,

Hinata0321