Disclaimer: We do not own Naruto
Co-Author and Beta: Etheral-23
Co-author and Action scenes: Godospartan the kitsune
Roll of the dice
Businesses was brimming with activity within the walls and halls of the stadium, the Exams had brought plenty of tourists, and the amount of people gathering made it very profitable to set up stands to sell all kinds of merchandise. From souvenirs of Konoha to all kinds of food.
They serve people of all kinds in an event like this, from the foreigners to the local ninja even. The owner of a candy stand was currently selling a chocolate bar to a slightly below average height person. She is a girl as the voice indicated, but her features were pretty much hidden with the dark hoodie she wore.
"That'll be ten ryo." The shop keep says as he anxiously awaited for more sells.
"Here you go." The costumer replies with a smile, handing the sum of money in exchange for the bar. She steps away to let other costumers step up, while she eagerly opens the covering and proceeds to take a bite off the delicious dark candy.
She starts humming in delight as the flavor explodes in her taste buds. Oh how she loves these little pieces of heaven of sugared and processed cocoa. Though she regrets that she could never eat them as much as she wanted to.
Getting to Konoha unnoticed had been a challenge, but the Leaf ninja did not suspect of her at all. She is feeling rather proud of that accomplishment to tell the truth. She came here to witness good bouts between the futures of the Hidden Villages and so far she was not disappointed.
She had clapped and cheered when the young Genin of Konoha claimed their victories. A young pinkette civilian born who courageously proved to everyone present her lineage did not dictate her future as a ninja.
And the blonde boy, the Jinchuuriki Naruto Uzumaki. That had been a great display indeed. He bested a strong follow Genin of the Leaf and treated him with the same respect and honor as one is supposed to give to a worthy opponent, a fellow countryman, and a friend.
She once more felt so glad she had decided to come here on her own. Father had pretty much said no to all her requests. If he wasn't attending than neither would she. Such a difficult man... He loved her dearly and she loved him but he treated her like such a child sometimes.
Honestly, he gave her no choice. She wanted to see the Exams, and see them she was doing. Oh she was going to get an earful from him later, but it was worth it.
'That Kiri girl, Haku. She is indeed skilled to best a Jinchuuriki.' The girl mentally muses as she made her way through hall eating her candy. She stops for a moment, seeing a restroom, and decides it best to go while there were no fights going on. She opens the door only to freeze upon seeing the Sandaime, Hiruzen Sarutobi sternly looking at her with his arms folded behind his back.
"Care to explain yourself Maiyuri-hime? Why are you outside the capital?" His voice just as stern, but a softness to it as well.
The girl waves her arms wildly as the door closed; "ME? The princess? Nonsense Hokage-sama, I'm just some girl enjoying the games! Uh, you do know this is the ladies room right sir?"
"You can cut the poor act..." He says with a tone which indicated he was in no mood for games. "No one is here, I made sure of that"
The hooded young woman just remains silent and still for a few moments before finally caving in. Her shoulders slumping as she heaves a large sigh. Taking off her hood, revealing her straight pink hair and soft green eyes, she stares up at the Hokage.
While the color reminded the Hokage a bit of a certain young subordinate of his, there were key differences. Maiyuri's hair was a very soft shade of pink in contrast to Haruno's bright neon, almost like a blend between white and pink. Her green eyes were also of a much softer shade.
Her face was angular, possessing delicate features; she carried an aristocratic air, all giving her a sense of royal beauty. She was a lovely young woman, one whose hand was sought after by many young men of the most influential clans of the Land of Fire.
"How long have you known?" The princess tiredly asks.
"Oh, your father knew you were gone the moment you weren't found in your room." The Hokage answers rather condescendingly.
Maiyuri blinked in surprise. "Wait, he knew and just let it happen?"
"Of course not!" He says as if stating the obvious. "You were followed by a ninja squad of the capital, when your father sent word, I ordered my Anbu to protect you and make sure your identity was kept a secret."
"He could have easily ordered them to take me back." Still not completely understanding the situation, but if she had to guess...
"Oh you and I know it wouldn't do for his reputation that his child was going through a rebellious stage." Her eye twitches at her not-so-successful-escape being labeled a 'rebellious stage'. "Besides, getting you back against your will would have resulted in the ninja hospitalized for a week, and that would have just drawn the wrong kind of attention."
The princess was giving the elderly man a befuddled gaze. "So then..."
"I know full well your father will speak with you after the exam is done. But do you understand the situation you are in?" He hoped that even as secret he kept it, that this young woman knew the dangers present.
Maiyuri sighs and begins pacing around the bathroom with her arms crossed behind her back, reminding the Hokage of her usual posture during the times they've met for more official matters. "You tried to keep the situation contained, but the moment I arrived I heard the rumors... Orochimaru, here?" Her eyes meet the old Kage's, worried, not for herself, but for her people. "What is going on Hiruzen-dono?"
"I wish I could tell you..." The Hokage replied honestly. "But there is something going on and we're missing a lot of pieces to complete the puzzle, I have all of my ninja on alert in case the worst comes to pass."
Her eyes widen in shock. "You fear an attack?"
"It is possible; He has held a grudge against this village for decades. And worse, he has shown interest in Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki." Stating the facts now that they were made light, he did not wish to scare her just to inform her.
"The last loyal wielder of the Sharingan and our Jinchuuriki." She shakes her head. "I don't think I need to tell you only disaster will befall our country if he gets his hands on them."
"I know." Hiruzen nods. "I have faith that whatever happens at least our shinobi will attain victory and keep the village safe."
The princess nods slowly, eyes closing as she ponders for a few seconds. "Are you going to have Anbu escort me back?"
The Hokage actually snorted at that. "As if you'd make it that easy." His tone grows somber. "No, if you leave now we risk getting Orochimaru's attention. We don't need to add you to his targets. Besides..." He smiles. "If the worst comes to pass, and I truly pray it doesn't, then we might need your help, Maiyuri-hime"
At that, the princess chuckles in amusement. "For our people I would gladly bring my sword to bear. And lay down my life for anyone of Konoha."
"Let us hope it does not come to that." Hiruzen sighs, though inwardly smiles.
"That's what the sword is for." She said good-humorously. "It's useful for fixing a mess or making one out of someone"
"My lady, you have your mother's sense of humor." Now slightly worried about the young woman's attitude towards the future events to come.
"I'll take that as a compliment!"
"It is not..."
XxX ~ Jiraiya ~ XxX
Standing on top of one of Konoha's buildings, the Gama Sannin looks at the small note in his hand. Idly he glances back at the arena. "Kushina can rip into my sorry backside later. If this is accurate I need to investigate."
The sage jumps over another building, and looks around, he feels the subtle trace of chakra in the air, tracking it; he pinpoints a particular area of the roof. A small corner underneath the shadows where the entrance to the stairs was. "I can feel the seal. Let me in."
The air ripple, opening like a curtain to reveal a circle of kanji on the ground, along with the people inside it, two figures clad in white with their hoods up and their face masks on.
"S'up, toad man?" Said one of the ninja, Jiraiya could pick up hints of blue and red tissues under their hoods, and quickly identified them. Sort of, he always got the twins mixed up.
Ignoring the 'toad man' comment, he addresses them sternly. "Okay what is it? What's so important that you needed to meet me here in Konoha of all places?" If any Kageken member values their lives, they would NEVER try to set foot in Konoha.
"We were told by the boss to wait here and receive confirmation about something, not sure what, but told us to get you up to speed just in case." One of the twins, Isao he figured, said.
"Should be here any minute now." Says Isamu, looking at the sky.
It had to be something serious for them to take the risk of coming here, especially during the exams. "Alright, I'll wait." He crosses his arms and leans back on the railing. "So, what have you two knuckleheads been doing lately?"
"Ehh, the usual." Isamu shrugs in boredom. "Killing scum, stealing things, same old, same old."
"Oh right." Isao perks up, as if suddenly remembering something. "Yuma says hi, she's hoping to see you soon one of these days,"
The old sage's face was unreadable to the two; "How is she?"
"She's good. Remember that slaver group no one was able to catch. Yuma-Chan brought them down and sent their leader an express ticket to hell." Isamu crosses his arms. "You'd be proud of her toad man."
"... I'll always be proud of her," Jiraiya says quietly.
The twins made no comment; they knew circumstances were very complicated between the two.
The soft singing of a bird caught their attention, their keen eyes saw a small blue robin flying low, and closing the distance it perches right next to them. With a puff of smoke, the robin transforms into an eagle.
"Came as quick as I could." The eagle says urgently. He raises one talon which had a container strapped on it. "I was told this was bad, really, really bad."
Quickly, Isao opens the lid and takes out a small scroll. He opens it and holds it far enough so they all could read it.
The color drains from their faces as they see the information on it.
"Oh crap..." Isamu mutters.
"N-No way." His twin follows suit. "This can't be right..."
"The Kazekage." The Sannin says with dread. "Is dead?"
The twins share a startled look, letting out a nervous breath of air each. "B-But if that's true then-"
"Who the hell is in the arena stands?" Jiraiya finished for them. His mind quickly processing the information to decide the best course of action. His eyes slowly widened as he connected the dots. "Shit... I've gotta warn the old man! And we need to keep princess Maiyuri safe!"
"Wait, your princess is here?!" The shock apparent as they nearly fell over from the news.
"She's at that rebellious age." Jiraiya mutters looking to the eagle; "Thank you for the information."
The eagle nods. "My pleasure Jiraiya. Now hop to it before whatever is going on happens and people are caught in the crossfire."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Hiruzen leans back on his seat, mentally grumbling to himself. Maiyuri-sama was at an age to make her own decisions; he just wishes that age didn't imply rebellious behavior. He honestly wonders why Akiha-sama had allowed following with his daughter's tirade. Perhaps the man thought he could indulge her every once in a while and-
'Hokage-sama!' A voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
Hiruzen blinked in surprise. He quickly hid all facial reactions that might have alerted the other two Kage's. If Inoichi was speaking to him telepathically it had to be urgent.
'What is it?' He replies.
'Jiraiya-sama needs to speak to you!' Loud and urgent as he could make it, so the message came across.
'Very well. Connect-'
He never got to finish as Jiraiya's voice was suddenly screaming in his head. 'We've got troubles old man!'
'Calm down Jiraiya' Hiruzen thought in exasperation, holding back the wince from the headache it was causing him to have someone literally shout into his mind. 'What is it?'
'I just received information from my sources, the Kazekage was found dead in the desert!'
He couldn't react. Hiruzen uses all of his willpower not to react at the sudden revelation. If he did, then the person wearing the Kazekage's robes at his side would catch on that something was wrong.
'Are you sure?' He asks. They needed to be certain of something so dire.
'Yes, I'm sure. Look, whoever is next to you ISN'T Rasa.'
The Sandaime ponders that for a moment. '...Inoichi!' He commands with utmost authority. 'Inform Shikaku; tell him to put all our forces on alert! Help him with that. Tell him we need to guide the civilians not in the arena to the safe zones immediately!'
'But... what about the people in the arena?'
'All we can do right now is getting our shinobi ready in case we need to defend them. Whatever is going on, it is already in motion...'
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Oh for the love of nature, can't you just admit you don't hate this Kushina person." Kya exasperates in a quiet tone.
Both she and her lover Lyn have been nearly mad dashing it to Konoha so not to miss the third exams. And much to the buxom blond's annoyance, her companion has been going on about old stories of the fights between this Kushina. Honestly it was all just a waste of time as far as the Namikaze woman was concerned.
Even if this Naruto kid shared her blood, she had no duty to him. A Namikaze always found their own path. That was their way.
"Okay, maybe 'hate' is too strong a word." The wild haired redhead admitted. She was wearing an elaborate outfit, a golden headband on her forehead, pushing the hairline a bit higher from her forehead. A mix of loose clothes and armor strapped around her shoulders, arms, chest and shins. The clothing was white, and she wore an equally white, beautifully elaborated sleeveless jacket, the collar tall enough that it reaches her chin, and long enough it fell to the back of her knees. Strapped at her back was a masterfully crafted naginata. "Maybe 'absolutely dislike her cause she could never see I'd become a way greater warrior than her' fits better."
"Honestly." The mocha skinned Namikaze sighed. "What is with you and this woman?"
"Oh we always competed to see who Tsukiko-Sama's favorite was. Always practicing so we could one day do the things she did" Lyn flashes a toothy grin. "Now that we're finally throwing caution out of the window and are going to meet her again after so long, I'll show her just how badass I am now. Hehe can't wait to see her face when she realizes my fire element is now close to what baa-chan's was."
"Whatever makes you feel better Lyn." She knew Lyn was actually eager to see her family that she was greatly relieved and happy to hear her cousin was alive after so long. But she kept it all under a facade of bravado and confidence...
No, that was the wrong thing to say. Lyn never hid under a mask, she wore her emotions right under her sleeves. The confidence, the ever optimistic look on life, the joy, she never hid away any of that. Lyn was truly at peace with herself in everything she did.
It was... admirable.
"I bet my breasts are bigger than hers!"
...And then she goes and says stuff like that, reminding Kya that all her traits were admirable but not entirely positive. Making the wild haired blonde sigh in exasperation.
Lyn was about to speak again till she and Kya stops on the dirt path. Their long experience of combat letting their danger senses go on high alert. "The forest is too quiet..." The buxom redhead whispers.
Slowly, Kya kneels upon the ground. Fingers softly tracing the dirt. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Suddenly she slams her palm on the ground with great force, and a shockwave of chakra was sent through the earth, crossing over every nearby rock, blade of grass, and through the trees.
Like a dolphin's or a bat's echo, it came back to her with information of their surroundings. Kya's eyes snapping open. "We're not alone." She quickly stands up, her sleeveless right arm went over her shoulder, and her hand grasps the handle of a sword strapped to her back. She draws it in a swift motion, striking a few things in the air before taking a stance.
Lyn kicks the butt of her naginata, sending it flying through the air before it falls back down and she grabs it without even looking at it. She twirls her weapon with a smirk. "Come on out and play!"
Soon in a blink, least a dozen Oto and Suna Nin surround the two ladies. "Afraid neither of you shall pass."
"...For what reason do you bar us from Konohagakure?" Kya asks in her monotone voice.
"Oh you don't want to go there." A large sound ninja says with a dark mirth in his voice. "It'll be reduced to rubble soon enough... Oops." He laughs. "Wasn't supposed to tell you that!" He laughs along with his comrades as he slips out a pair of kunai, twirling them on his hands as he did so. "We'll just have to fix that now don't we?"
Lyn rolled her eyes. "Really? That's your 'bad guy threatening line'. Dude, maybe you can get away with frightening toddlers with that, but the real adults just laugh at something so non-threatening... The fact that I'm not even laughing should tell you how lame your threat was, you dumbass."
The Oto-nin's eyes widened in rage, his kunai trembling under the strain of his grip. "W-Why you little-!"
"Suna-nin!" Kya announces loudly. "You are allies of Konoha; I know not why you are following this scum!" Her teal eyes narrowing dangerously. The killing intent emanating from her was so intense it was actually forcing a few of them to take a step back. "But if you insist on fighting us, then your life is forfeit. Leave now."
The Uzumaki woman chuckles when she saw the honest doubt and fear in their faces. "Now that's how you intimidate someone." She knew that Kya wouldn't really kill the Suna ninja, there was something going on that they didn't know, and it was better to avoid problems with Suna.
But Oto, heh, no one would mourn them.
XxX ~ the arena ~ XxX
Gaara and Sasuke were called next. The Uchiha's teammates felt anxiety and fear wash up their beings as the Suna Jinchurriki was giving Sasuke a bloodthirsty grin. The Sand ninja vanishes in a cloud of sand, only to reappear at the arena.
"Sasuke..." Sakura calls for him; there was true concern in her eyes. "Be very careful."
"Don't underestimate him." Naruto adds, his gaze sharp, showing how serious he was. "Not even for a second."
The Uchiha looks at them for a moment and nods. "Don't worry." He jumps down unto the arena, where he stands face to face against Gaara.
Glancing to the fighter's box, the Ichibi Jinchuuriki looks back to his prey. "I will make those two what our kind is... monsters..."
Sasuke narrows his eyes, he knows who Gaara meant; "They're not monsters. And I won't let you touch my friends."
The Suna-Nin crosses his arms; "Will like to see you try..."
As the match was called, Gaara's cork turns to sand, and a large amount of it was thrown around him instantly. Sasuke narrows his eyes on the Suna ninja. Quickly, the Uchiha activates his Sharingan and runs at his redheaded opponent. With a single strike, Sasuke started gathering information, and quickly finding out who he was dealing with up close and personal as his fist hit the wall of sand that rose to protect Gaara, and then recoiled. Backing off, Sasuke jumps away from the counter-attack.
Flipping away, the Uchiha jumps into the air and tosses a trio of Shruiken at the Suna-nin. Though as the sand caught the weaponry, what shocked everyone was that the sand starts to turn into another Gaara, a clone made of sand. This was where things turned for the worst, as Sasuke didn't know this about the Jinchuuriki he faced. Coming down and running up, Sasuke twists around and gives the clone a sweeping kick, but the clone jumps over that, and with its own fighting skills, landed with a hard stomp, which would have broken the Uchiha's leg had he not kicked away and rolled back to his feet not too far away. "He can make his sand fight for him?"
In the stands Kuro narrows her eyes. 'You will find the Ichibi is quite dangerous, Uchiha.'
Sasuke steels himself and took a stance. 'Alright. No time to waste'. And then he moves in. Everyone looks in surprise as Sasuke becomes a blur, kicking off dust on his path.
The sand clone made a shocking face as Sasuke's forearm found it crushing its throat. Sand immediately moves to capture his limb, but the young Uchiha was faster, he poured his strength on his left arm and destroyed the clone's head with a single palm strike.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Man, look at him go." Naruto says with his eyes wide in surprise.
"He's become faster..." Sakura points out what was on everyone's mind as they watch the fight
Haku gazes intently at the fight bellow. "Speed alone won't be enough against an enemy like Gaara." She turns to face her friends. "That can't be all your teacher taught him if he wanted Sasuke to survive this fight"
Naruto rubs the back of his head. "We don't really know what Kakashi-sensei taught Sasuke last month."
"We had some group sparing Kushina-sensei said we needed, but he really never showed anything." Sakura shrugs.
Chojuro adjusts his glasses; "M... Maybe he wanted show it off here."
Temari snorts. "The Uchiha can be as strong as he wants. He'll never beat Gaara."
Sakura and Naruto glare over to the smirking older blond who stands beside her younger brother. Haku glances at them and back to the fight. "We shall see."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
As the Sand Clone's head explodes, it soon spread and tries to encapsulate the Uchiha. This was not going well as Sasuke dodges through the several swipes of sand coming at him, each turning into another Gaara and kicking at him before surrounding him entirely. Each Gaara clone rushes in and tries to land as many heavy blows as they could, only to hit each-other and explode in a huge eruption of sand in order to find the missing enemy.
Sasuke had to run for it, he vanished just in time, but the sand was spreading, so he climbs the wall and runs along it before jumping off with all his strength and launching with enormous speed, taking a cue from Rock Lee to appear behind the Suna monster. With a burst of speed, he started jabbing into the sand barrier around Gaara before jumping back when it erupted to stab into him, impaling him with spikes as the plan. Failing, they only hit air as Sasuke gets away, only to fall as the sand under him slips his feet from the ground. The enormous amount of sand in the arena started to converge and encapsulate the Uchiha.
Seeing this, Sasuke quickly vanishes again, just in time to swing around the sand and come in on the blind-side where Gaara couldn't see, jumping in the air and dropping with a large heel axe kick. Again his attack fails when the sand protects the redhead, even from behind. Looking up, Sasuke notices it. The eye Gaara made to see all, staring right at him. He grunts as he channels more chakra through his limbs, he ignored the burn in them as he pushes them further. The Uchiha ran at great speed around Gaara and approaches from his back, the Suna-nin's sand launches itself at him, Sasuke quickly dodges, bypassing the attack and Gaara's defense with his speed.
Sasuke let out a sweeping kick directly at Gaara's face, quickly followed by the Uchiha grabbing unto the sand ninja's clothes and forcing his head to meet his knee, before slamming his head unto the ground and backing away once more.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Well." Kiba says, clearly impressed. "Sasuke is a lot faster than he was before."
"He might be nearing Lee's level of speed." Chouji adds.
"Indeed." Gai affirms with a nod before shifting his gaze to Kakashi. "But tell me that's not the only thing you taught him, Kakashi. Against a Jinchuuriki, especially one as unstable as Gaara, that won't be enough."
"Oh don't worry." The masked ninja did his trademark eye-smile. "I taught him a few tricks."
Further down on the other side of the stands, Saito nods approvingly; "Good thing Kakashi built Sasuke's speed and stamina. But that..." The Uzumaki soon puts the pieces together. "That's why..."
Karin and Soujiro lift a brow seeing Samenosuke also with a serious look also had figured it out. "Why what father?"
The swordsman crosses his arms and legs. "If my guess is correct, Kakashi was preparing Sasuke to use a technique that could be specially used against Gaara."
"From what Kushina-hime told us about the kid's abilities and how his training was going." Samenosuke continues, uncharacteristically serious for a change. "He was being trained to use elemental jutsu."
"Elemental?" Karin repeats. "How is that going to help against Gaara?"
"You can see it in how he moves, the way he strikes, the speed, the precision in his attacks." Saito explains. "That is the kind of taijutsu style befitting of a particular element to mix in to match the style perfectly."
Soujiro's eyes widen in realization. "You mean..."
"Exactly." The roguish Uzumaki grins, head bobbling softly as he chuckles, making his earrings glitter with the light of the sun reflecting on them. "Lightning beats earth elements after all."
On the other side, where Team Kumo sits, Samui lightly smirks; "This will be cool." Yugito, who joined her team after losing, eyes her longtime friend then gazes down to the arena while Karui cheers with the crowd; Omoi moves the lollipop in his mouth.
At the top with the Kage's, Mei smirks as she leans back on her chair. "Well, it appears the Uchiha is giving your son quite the fight Rasa-dono"
"Believe me Mizukage-dono." The Kazekage replies. "This battle has already been decided."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Sasuke takes in a few deep breaths, trying to regain his energy and wear off the fatigue building on his limbs. Gaara groggily stands up, pieces of solid sand peeling off his body, his sand armor damaged by the Uchiha's blows.
"Had enough?" Sasuke cockily taunts.
"...Hardly." The Jinchuuriki replies. The redhead coils his hands in a seal and sand began forming around him, enveloping him in a protective shield.
A savage grin forms on the Suna Genin's lips. "You brought this on yourself Uchiha... I will sacrifice you to mother, a make those two wake up to the reality of our world!" The sand slowly finishes as a large sphere of sand completely covers Gaara.
Sasuke narrows his eyes before noticing the eye becoming even more solid. This looked right at him. 'He's up to something... I can only use it twice; let's hope I only need once.'
The Uchiha jumps back till he is at the far side of the arena. He clinches his fists; "If you can hear me Gaara! This ends now!" He yells, activating his Sharingan.
His hands go through rapid but very familiar hands seals as a bead of sweat comes off Gai.
In the competitor's stands, the other young ninjas watch in amazement. "Woah!" Tenten exclaims. "The chakra in his hand is turning visible like your Rasengan, Naruto." The blonde could only nod numbly.
Temari tightens her fist whereas Kabuto snarls, both were worried not only for their brother, but for the limits the Uchiha was driving him too. No doubt Gaara was preparing THAT technique while under the protection of his sand cocoon. They saw the chakra in Sasuke's hand was vaguely taking form and... Sparkle?
Yes. The chakra in his hands was flashing with sparks, streams of lightning emanating from his hand rapidly. Accompanied by the sound of what appeared to be chirping birds.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Gai's eyes widen. "You taught him your technique."
"That's right." Kakashi nods. "Figured it'd be useful to him for this fight, fate was kind enough that Sasuke has a lightning affinity like me, otherwise this wouldn't have had enough power to be used against Gaara."
"What technique is that?" Ino wonders in amazement.
"That is Kakashi's signature technique." Kurenai answers softly. "The first less powerful version anyway."
Kuro remains expressionless as she watches on beside the others. In their area, Karin puts her hand to her ear. "Sounds like birds..."
"A thousand to be exact." Saito corrected her, smiling.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The civilians could only see the ground erupt as Sasuke dashes forward with blinding speed. 'With the Sharingan you won't have any tunnel vision like I experienced after making and completing this jutsu,' The Uchiha hears Kakashi's lesson from the other day. 'This is on par with Naruto's Rasengan however this is an assassination jutsu so I forbid you to use it in sparing against comrades.'
'A technique made to pierce through any defense' Sasuke let out a valiant battle cry as he sped down to his opponent's sand shield. Spikes suddenly sprouted from its surface to stop the Uchiha, Sasuke deftly evades the deadly sand spikes, letting him be scratched at a few parts of his body just to get close enough. He ignores the pain of the sharp sand slashing over his skin as he lifts his hand and jabs the lightning shrouded attack forward.
CHIDORI!
Both civilian and Shinobi froze as Sasuke's hand passes through the sand sphere like a hot knife. The Uchiha remains where he was as Temari's eyes widen, seeing crimson starting the drip from Sasuke's arm.
"GAARA!"
The said Suna Genin only blinks in confusion. He slowly looks over to his right shoulder; "Why does it feel warm?" Putting his other hand on his shoulder, retracting it. His sea foam green orbs widen.
There was blood on his hand... his blood.
Sasuke jumps away as the sand shield came down, revealing a stunned Gaara who kept looking at his bloodied hand in shock.
And then let out a blood curdling scream that echoed throughout the arena.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The crowd pays no mind to the lone hooded Anbu standing guard behind them as they cheer for the last loyal Uchiha. In his guise Kabuto, narrows his eyes. 'Seems Gaara got overeager. Well we prepared for this just in case. How will you handle this Naruto?'
A man in the crowd claps for his favorite till noticing a feather falling beside his face.
XxX ~ xx XxX
Naruto's breath hitches in his throat at he observed the scene bellow him. 'This is the power of your tenant... Gaara..?' He felt afraid, but he didn't know why exactly. He feared for his teammate, he feared for what might happen.
But he was also afraid of Gaara succumbing to the demon inside him. He couldn't stop imagining what would have happened to him had he remained alone all his life. Gaara was a twisted mirror of himself, a figure wrapped in blood lust and madness feared by all, and he reveled in it because that was all he was taught to be. He didn't receive love from anyone, and his only companion was a voice in his head telling him only slaughter would justify his reason to exist.
It wasn't fair... What Gaara went through wasn't fair. He couldn't let him be lost in that darkness. Not when he himself was given a chance and saved from falling to that abyss.
It was then that he noticed a feather slowly falling with the wind. Followed by another, then another, soon the stadium whole standing was being filled with translucent shining feathers.
"W-What is this?" He hears Haku say behind him. He asked himself the same... and why he felt so tired?
"Oi" The fox inside him calls. "Now is not the time to be falling asleep" A small push from the fox made Naruto snap to his senses, and he flares his chakra so he's not to be caught in what he realized was a genjutsu falling over the entire arena.
He took notice seeing the crowd fall asleep, the blond's danger senses clicking as he looks up to the Hokage box; "JIJI!"
"Hey, what's all this?" Murmurs arouse amidst the crowd, seeing the strange phenomenon of the falling feathers.
A deep feeling wariness and tiredness washed over the people all across the arena. Quickly, many succumbed to a deep sleep.
Over their place in the stands, the ninja of Konoha quickly stood on alert. Kurenai swiftly forming a series of hand signs. "Genjutsu!" She alerted the others, and quickly deployed a counter technique to keep her comrades awake.
"What is going?" Hanabi asked her older sister in worry, Hinata didn't know what to tell her as she too had no idea what was happening.
She worried for her father and Neji, the former having left to see the other as he was being treated. She prayed they were alright...
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The Hokage box soon explodes as Suna and Oto-Nin come pouring through the arena entrances, armed to the teeth as one stabs a kunai through a half-asleep Konoha Chūnin.
"Shit!" Kushina curses, drawing her sword as she proceeds to hold back several of the attackers while Anbu came down to protect their leader.
"With me, Mizukage-dono!" Hiruzen shouts as he jumps towards the roof, Mei didn't need to be told twice as she quickly follows after him. "Anbu, take down the Kazekage!"
"Understood!" One of the masked elite responds, they descend upon the Kage of Suna, blades drawn as they let out battle cries.
The Kazekage regards them with a cold look. "Kukukuku..." A cruel laugh escapes his lips.
Suddenly, snakes burst from inside the Kazekage's clothing, they snatched the Anbu from the air, crushing some in their strong grip or biting them and injecting their deadly poison.
Kushina roundhouse kicked an Oto ninja; he let out a shrill cry as he fell to the arena bellow. The Uzumaki woman quickly gave the Kazekage impersonator a startled look. "It's you!"
Once more, the Kazekage laughed cruelly. The snakes returned to his clothes and the Anbu fell dead upon the ground. He took off his hat and face mask to reveal an unnaturally pale skin complexion, and serpent-like eyes. He smiles at her, it was a terrifying gesture.
"Orochimaru!"
The snake Sannin chuckles in delight. "Kushina-Chan, it has been a long time. Imagine my surprise that you survived the nightmare twelve years ago. Sadly dear Minato-kun never got to see how his idealism destroyed his own son's life."
The Uzu redhead gnashes her teeth as she snarls. "I am going to kill you..." She spoke her words slowly.
"Oh, Kushina-chan." He laughs condescendingly. "Please, don't be so foolish." He waves a hand, as if dismissing her. "Much as I'd love to put your brave yet barbaric attitude in place, I have better things to do" He looked up to the roof, and the Hokage glares directly into his eyes. "And a bigger target to take care of." He vanishes in a blast of smoke, only to reappear on the same roof as the Kage's.
"Oh no you don't..!" She quickly dashes over the wall and quickly made her way towards Hiruzen and Mei.
As fighting took place in the arena and outside it, the ground itself began to shake. Kushina stops, looking over to witness monster sized snakes breaking through the walls. "Shit!" She curses. Great serpents were appearing out of nowhere in bursts of smoke. A pair of green scaled reptiles circled around the edges of the roof, surrounding the structure with their long bodies.
As she landed on the roof and stood next to the two Kage's, she got a better view of the village, foreign ninjas were pouring in from everywhere. And giant serpents kept being summoned all over the village.
She counted ten so far... and she doubted those would be the last.
Orochimaru only cruelly smiles at her. "Magnificent is it not? But we shall take our time as we kill every man, woman and child of this wretched village and watch it burn."
The ground erupts, destroying several buildings as a serpent, bigger than all the others rise up. Upon seeing the familiar silhouette of the snake in question, Hiruzen slowly paled. "You summoned him!"
This great snake stood apart from the others, his scales were purple with black rings running on intervals around the length of its body. Four horn-like protrusions sprouted from its head. Its cold reptilian eyes gazed at everything around them with utter disdain and disgust, like a superior predator staring down at an inferior prey.
"Do not forget our arrangement Orochimaru." Manda, the strongest of the snakes, says gravely with an authoritative voice.
"You will have your sacrifices." The snake Sannin offhandedly promises. "And don't worry; Konoha will make a fine nest once we're done."
Kushina snarls while Hiruzen narrows his eyes dangerously. Mei surveys the situation, waiting to see when it was the right time to fight back.
"Manda is usually not very cooperative." The snake Sannin says with humor on his voice. "I asked him to lend more of his giant kin for the assault, in exchange for a hefty number of people to devour, as well as to claim your lands once we're done." He chuckles more. "It was the only way to keep him content, but it's a fair price"
The great snake grumbled in anger. "Remember you came to US for this deal Orochimaru. You recognized the broods you command were not enough." Manda set his eyes on Kushina. "I agreed because here stands the summoner of our hated enemies... Go ahead whelp!" He shouts. "Summon Genryu so that I may sink my fangs in his neck!"
His challenge issued, he waits for the Uzumaki to make her move. Orochimaru crosses his arms and waits patiently with an amused smirk on his face.
Hiruzen gave the Uzumaki a warning look. "Be careful Kushina, their battle will bring great damage to the village."
"If I don't summon them then it'll be worse." She retorts grimly. "At least they can help end things faster."
The Hokage broadcasts his thoughts to Inoichi, whom he was sure was listening at the moment. 'Inoichi, tell the Anbu to get Maiyuri-hime to safety!'
'She's not making things easy sir. Also, she says you told her she would fight too if it came to it'
Scoffing a little, the Hokage wasn't in the mood for this. 'Tell her that changed, we need to keep her safe, the situation is far more dangerous than we thought!'
'…That just made her angry, sir'
"Damn it!" How things could get worse, he wonders.
Biting the tips of her thumbs, the redhead goes through the hand seals before slamming her hand down. A massive plume of smoke erupted as an earth shattering roar shook Konoha itself. The smoke cleared as Genryu snarled at the mere sight of Manda. "You finally come out of your hole, snake!"
The great snake laughs, a booming sound filled with excitement, anticipation and pure, unadulterated, anger. "After so long, at last we meet again." He bares his fangs at the dragon. "Let us end this, once and for all!"
Genryu roars and lunges toward, flying towards the snake. Manda coiled before launching himself at the dragon, their bodies twisted around one another as they took to the air, snapping their jaws at each other in an attempt to bite the other. The sight made everyone stop for a moment just to witness the impossible scene of the snake and the dragon battling.
Orochimaru smirks widely. "Now that he is out of the way..." He snaps his fingers, and four figures jumped to the roof. All dressed in a manner very similar to his own outfit. A large bellied man, a scarlet haired woman, a man with four arms, and paled haired man who seemed to have another head behind his.
They gather and proceed to do a series of hand signs and extend their hands. Waves of chakra connected in the palm of their hands, before extending upwards and closing above the people standing on the roof, entrapping them in a barrier.
"Hokage-sama!" One of the Anbu shouted in alarm. The elite of the village were battling numerous Sand and Sound ninja on the roofs.
"Quickly, we must break the barrier!" A wolf masked Anbu orders. "Kill the ninja projecting it!"
A Sound Ninja silently lands before him; he raised a kunai and drove it directly towards his back. Blood splattered... and the Sound Ninja fell with a gurgle on the ground.
The wolf Anbu, having realized the danger he had been in, turned his head to see the dead body on the ground, and a familiar figure dressed in Anbu gear, her bloodied sword held firmly in her hands. Purple hair flowed with the wind, and even knows she wore a cat mask, he knows brown eyes held a serious edge behind it.
"You should watch your back more, Tenzo."
The Anbu in question repressed a grunt of displeasure at having his identity so openly used in such manner. She must have been spending too much time around Kakashi-senpai.
"Thanks." He nods in gratitude. "We need to rescue Hokage-sama and the Mizukage!" With a nod on her part, the two Anbu set off towards their target.
The Anbu assembled as they made a bee line towards the shinobi who kept their Kage and the Mizukage trapped, but more and more enemy ninja arrived to stand on their path.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Begin with the secondary layer!" Sakon orders, now that they had formed the barrier to keep the Kage's trapped as lord Orochimaru had ordered, they could now erect the second in order to protect themselves.
Sakon and the rest of the Sound Four began shifting their chakra... when suddenly a series of kunai embed themselves on the tiles of the roof around the silver haired twins.
"What-?!" He shouts in confusion, his brother Ukon lifting his own head to stare in shock as well. The Anbu weren't even close to them, who could-?
It was then that they notice the kunai had tags on them, but they were not explosives. The lettering on them shined and formed an intricate geometrical design, connecting with the other kunai with glowing blue lines of chakra, entrapping the twins inside a seal.
They found themselves cornered, if they moved they could escape but... they had to keep the barrier for lord Orochimaru.
Before they could act, the seal began shining even brighter, thin threads of chakra lifted from the seal tags and launched themselves at the twins, capturing them in a tight hold.
"Guh! What is this?!" Sakon cries out.
Ukon grunts, trying to phase his own body out. "I-I can't move!"
"Woah! I heard about people joined at the hip, but this is just ridiculous." A glibly voice comments. To their shock, two figures suddenly stood some feet away at their sides. They weren't Konoha, of that there was no doubt.
Their outfits consisted of a white shirtless tunic with a red sash around their waists and grey undershirts underneath. Their arms were wrapped in bandages and had metal guards on them. Their pants were baggy with shrilly designs on them, coming short at the knee where leg guards started; their feet were covered in socks and wore sandals. Their white hoods and face masks hid much of their faces, except for their green eyes, underneath the hoods a bit of color could be seen. One of them wore a red bandanna while the other wore a blue one.
"Man I do not want to know what kind of relationship they have to be so 'close' to each other." One of them says, apparently the one who had spoken first.
"You're telling me." The other shares an identical voice, which quickly placed the former assumption into question. "Look bro, I love you and all, but I ain't ever sharing a body with you."
"My sentiments exactly."
"W-Who... the hell are you?!" Sakon shouts angrily.
The white hooded ninja gave him a smug mocking look. "Well, seeing as you're about to die you don't really need to know"
"We sometimes feel like being assholes. Nothing personal."
They reached into their pockets and threw a number of small round objects at the silver haired twins' feet. With a puff of smoke they suddenly increased in size, allowing Sakon and Ukon to realize with horror what those things were; bombs.
The white clad ninja each did a series of different hand signs. The first shot a great stream of fire from his mouth, while the second thrust his fist toward, throwing a great breakthrough of strong wind directly at them.
The two attacks collided with one another, detonating the bombs in a great blast. What followed were a great flash and a thundering explosion. Once the dust settled, the only thing that remained of the silver haired twins was coal black remains spread all over.
The barrier shimmered and began to collapse.
XxX ~ xXx ~ XxX
The Sound Ninja watching the scene gasped in shock. "T-They killed Sakon and Ukon!"
"What the-?" Yugao exclaims in shock. "Who are these people?"
"That uniform..." Tenzo whispers. "Could it really be-?"
"Kageken." A new voice said. The Konoha Anbu turned to see a familiar figure walking towards them, his Anbu gear covered by a long white cloak.
"Commander Fox!" One of the Anbu shouts.
"Kageken!" A bird masked Anbu said in shock. Many other shinobi stared in disbelief. "It-It can't be, they are-!"
"The independent organization who have served as assassins, saboteurs and spies, to the highest bidder, until decades ago when their operations changed radically after a successful operation on their part..." One could feel the glare behind the dark holes of his mask. "The assassination of our first Hokage, carried out by their leader at the time, Hattori Masanari"
Both twins were sweating bullets feeling the angry glares sent their way. Isamu waves at them; "Hey how's the weather today!?"
Isao looks to his brother dryly; "I doubt they give a shit right now. More like skinning us alive alongside Oto and Suna."
"Hey you fucking dick-less pricks!" The redheaded girl of the sound four yells. "You're gonna pay for that!"
"Awww she's so cute" Isamu says mockingly. "She actually thinks that scares us."
"Nope, but THAT does." Isao replied, pointing towards the incoming Anbu who tore through Sand and Sound ninja in order to get to them.
"Yikes... Gotta go!" They threw smoke bombs on the ground, and disappeared the moment they had the chance. Their job was done; there was no more reason to risk their hides any longer.
XxX ~ Naruto ~ XxX
Slashing through an Oto Ninja with his sword, the blond Uzumaki looks up seeing that ugly purple barrier go down along with the feeling of dread he felt. His cerulean absently saw Genryu and a giant snake flying through the air fighting.
He looks down to the arena seeing Temari and Kankuro land beside their younger brother as the sand around him crumbles. Griping the handrail, Naruto hurriedly leaps over and land on the arena. Sasuke stands next to him. The Uzumaki snarls as he sees Gaara's team Jounin sensei appears via shunshin, glaring at him; "You won't pass boy. Jinchuuriki or not, you will die."
He grits his teeth, feeling rage build up inside him. "What the hell is this about?!" The village was filled with the sound of fighting; they were actively trying to destroy their home. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Because we need to." Baki solemnly states. "The survival of our village depends on it."
"By destroying Konoha?! Like hell I'll stand for?!" Naruto lunges forward, ignoring Sasuke's warning about staying together, with a wide slash that Baki easily parried. Not deterred, the blond Uzumaki goes for several slashes and thrusts only to see the Jounin dodge without even trying.
"You've just starting learning the sword haven't you? Your attacks are too wide and easy for someone to counter." Baki said while dodging.
"Oh yeah, how?!"
The Sand Jounin sidesteps a thrust, and firmly impacts his palm on Naruto's midsection. A gust of wind surges from Baki's hand, knocking Naruto away so fast he collides with the arena wall.
"Okay..." He wheezes, the air having been knocked out of him. "That'll work..."
"Naruto!" Sakura yells for him. She and Tenten descended from the stands and ran to his aid.
"Damn it, dobe!" Sasuke curses, looking over as he too ran after him. "Don't you ever think things through?!"
Haku and Chojuro share a look; they nod and quickly follow the Konoha ninja.
"You possibly could have been a unique shinobi Uzumaki." Baki reverse grips his kunai, Konoha's Jinchuuriki was right in his grasp; he needed to take him out before he became a threat. "Sadly that will never come to pass, DIE!" In a blink he charges at Naruto for the kill.
"NARUTO!" His friends shout after him, they tried to reach him in time, but Baki was faster than them. All they could do as they run was see how Baki gained up on Naruto, his kunai ready to strike at the blonde's heart.
'Kit, kit, kit! Move damn it!' The fox shouts inside his head.
He tried to, but he was still feeling the force of the blow resonating through his body. He struggles to pull himself forward, move, anything.
Baki was mere feet away, killing intent emanating from him in waves. He leaps towards him and thrusts the kunai forward.
Naruto closes his eyes, waiting for the blade to pierce him.
But it never came.
"Huh?" He opens his eyes in confusion.
"What the-?" Temari mutters in shock.
"Who..." Kankuro grunts as well. "Just who is that?"
Gaara narrows his eyes and snarls.
"Guh!" Baki grunts with strain as a hand tightly grasps his wrist.
Between him and Naruto was a figure dressed in baggy pants and a dark hoodie, the hood was up, hiding everything except a delicate and feminine chin and mouth. She was holding the Sand ninja back, stopping him from killing the young Uzumaki.
Suddenly, the stranger thrust her palm into Baki's stomach. Spit flew from his mouth as pain erupts from his midsection and extends through his body.
Flying away from the sheer force alone, he rolls on the ground, dragging dirt and picking up dust on his wake. He would have continued if not for Temari and Kankuro saving him, catching him shortly after.
Baki was holding his stomach and coughing, saliva dripping over his lips. "Who... who are you?"
The figure did not answer, not immediately. She took a hold of her hoodie and pants, and ripped them off in one fluid motion.
Baki's visible eye widens as he gasps in shock.
Naruto stares in surprise at the figure before him. It was a girl in her late teens, she reminded him a bit of Sakura, if only because of the hair and eyes. Her hair was a very soft shade of pink, far more softer than the neon pink of his teammate. Long bangs framed her face and covered her forehead, a black bow tied ponytail at the back of her head. Her eyes were green, but again, of a softer shade than Sakura's.
Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless white piece tied together at the waist by a black sash, and stopping at the thighs. Her arms were covered by long black gloves that reached her biceps, her forearms protected by silver guards. While her legs had very long tight black stockings that reached a bit above the knee, from her ankle to her knees she wore a black leather guards. Her heel and toes were bare, the stockings didn't cover those areas, and she wore sandals on her feet. On her hip rested a sheathed katana.
Her face was angular and delicate, beautiful; she carried an air of both elegance and strength. Her body was athletic, lean but with a healthy muscle tone, evidence of training.
"Wait... who is she?" Sasuke wonders out loud.
"I-I thought she was with you guys." Chojuro stammers. "She did save Naruto-san..."
Temari glares at the newcomer for a moment before looking at her sensei. "Are you okay?"
Baki seems to ignore her statement for now, instead focusing his shell-shocked attention at the young woman who struck him. "It-It can't be!" He grunts. "What is someone like you doing here?!" A bead of sweat runs down his forehead as he narrows his eyes at her, the young woman narrowing her eyes back, and despite the air of calmness about her one could see the anger in her eyes. "Princess of the Land of Fire... Maiyuri Sasaki!"
Naruto's eyes widen to the size of dish plates; yeah he knew who she was. He had heard of her of from Jiji. But he didn't actually think he'd come to meet her in person. Nor that the princess would one day save his life like she just did. "Are you injured Uzumaki-San?" Maiyuri's voice was soft but held a strong regal tone.
"Uh yeah just sore, thank you…" He says, too shocked to really respond normally.
"That's the princess?" Sakura exclaims in surprise. 'She looks NOTHING like the woman who constantly loses her cat...'
"Did you see that?" Haku mutters. "She took on a Jounin and slapped him away like he was nothing!"
"I didn't know that royalty had a strong fighter in their line." Sasuke mutters with a narrow gaze. He turns to the others. "We should-" He stops once he saw Tenten; the bun haired girl had stars around her eyes.
"She's so beautiful and strong." She mutters like an awe-struck fangirl. "She's everything I want to be..."
"Um..." Sakura, sort of freaked out by the display, tried to get things back on track. "W-We should probably help Naruto"
Broken out of her daze, Tenten blushes in embarrassment. "O-Oh right..."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Kakashi dodges the punch of a Sound ninja, he grabs the arm and throws the man over his shoulder, who cries as he collides with another of his comrades. He looks down to the arena and his eye widens slightly. He sighs in worry. "Oh geez... seems the Anbu failed to get Maiyuri-sama to go with them to a safe place."
Ino, who was in the process of entering a formation with her teammates, blinks and then shrieks. "Did you just say the princess's here?!"
Ducking an attack, Kuro palm strikes a Suna ninja into a wall; "I heard she is a bit of a free spirit, getting out of the palace every now and again."
"Sadly, I wish that was just rumor." Asuma sighs as he slashed an enemy's throat with his knives. "She can be a bit reckless once in a while."
Using her clan's taijutsu, Hinata renders an Oto unconscious with two well placed finger strikes while protecting her sister.
"By the way," Kakashi says, casting a suspicious gaze at the dark haired woman. "You seem to handle yourself well."
Kuroreimei rolls her eyes. "I did say I was an adventurer. I assure you," She explains tiredly. "I have nothing to do with whatever is going on. Besides, I like this place." The raven haired woman spoke as she grabs an Oto Nin and threw him over her shoulder. "Plus I like Naruto, he is my friend."
"Okay, how did he become your friend?" Kiba asks. "You can't become friend with someone so easily."
"We met up once, he invited me to ramen." Stated so casually, the others nearly face fault from something so simple.
"...That's it?!" The Inuzuka exclaims incredulously.
"Hey, that'd be enough for me." Chouji quips while grabbing a handful of enemy ninja in his giant hands and throwing them away like ragdolls.
A weird gleam came from Kakashi's eye. "You wouldn't happen to be those kind of ladies who likes their fellows really young by chance?" He roundhouse kicks an enemy ninja.
Ino and Hinata both blush while Hanabi looks at both older girls in confusion. A tick mark forms on Kuro's head as she glares over. "I'm not a shotacon you pervert!"
"Thought I'd ask." Kakashi says lazily, making Asuma and Kurenai sigh.
Kuroreimei gives him a look before shifting her gaze to the other Jounin. "He may seem an ass, but once you get to know him you realize he's insufferable huh?"
"Oh you have no idea…" Came their answer.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
"Hahaha!" Samenosuke laughs merrily as he juggles some of his kunai with his own seals engraved on them. He threw them in quick succession and smirks once the enemy ninja blocks them, only to be shocked by an electric discharge. "Oh, it's been so long since I last participated in a large scale battle!" He holds a kunai in between each of his fingers and smirks with a predatory grin. "Cities are always fun places to fight in!"
"Barring the damage to structure and loss of life" Saito dryly states as he sidesteps a Sound Ninja and slashes his back, blood flowed in the air.
"Oh you take the fun out of everything."
Karin lifts a pair of fingers, and trapped a pair of sound ninja in a momentary genjutsu. It gave her enough time to pull out a pair of kunai and throw them directly at the center of their heads.
'Well, now they know I'm a traitor' She thinks. It didn't feel as bad as she had expected. She turns her gaze to see her cousin Soujiro standing still, his own blade still strapped to his side, he had not even pulled it out, and he was just... looking, observing the situation. "What are you doing, why aren't you fighting?"
He turns to her sharply, the strands on his forehead swaying with the movement. "I usually wait until father tells me I can fight."
The glasses wearing Uzumaki face faults, she gets up fast to her feet. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"
Saito sighs while Samenosuke chuckles; "Soujiro, draw your blade and fight beside your cousin."
"Yes father." Before Karin could even face palm, her cousin vanishes only to reappear beside her as three Oto Nin collapse to the ground headless.
"HOLY CRAP!" She screeches in surprise.
"You little punk!" A particular large sound ninja carrying a big studded metal club runs towards him. Soujiro simply steps back as the weapon impacts upon where he used to be, cracking the floor and sending splinters flying. He steps over the weapon and jumps, throwing an upper kick right unto his chin. The man staggers backwards, his weapon leaving his grasp. "Grr, I swear I'll-!" He didn't get to finish as a sword was piercing his chest. Soujiro stood on the handle of the weapon, balancing on one foot as his blade buried itself on the enemy's heart.
With one fluid motion, he retraced his blade and stepped down. He didn't even look back as the man hit the floor.
"W-Well that was brutal." Karin stammers uneasily.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
At the outskirts of Konoha, two women run and fight as fast as they could towards the village, leaving a trail of bodies on their path. "We need to hurry!" Lyn shouted. "Konoha must be under attack!"
They reach the walls and climb up, and were greeted with the sight of the village being turned into a battlefield. Ninja fighting ninja everywhere, on the streets, upon the roofs, giant snakes tearing through buildings like paper while the ninja tried to fight them with summons of their own. But these clearly weren't strong enough.
The only ones they saw standing up against the snakes was a giant orange toad and… A silver scaled dragon which was wrestling in the sky with a great snake.
Kya blinks. "Is that a…?"
"Oh yeah." Lyn smirked savagely. "Kushina is definitely here." She giggles in delight. "Time to join party!"
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
The participants of the Exams stood on one side, the princess standing right before them as she narrows her eyes at the tallest section of the arena, where the Kage's and Orochimaru prepared to face off. She could hear the clash of metal, the tearing of flesh, and the cries of the battlefield… the blood of her people being senselessly spilled.
She tightens her fist. "I'm going to make you pay..." She swears with righteous anger. "For bringing all this death and pain to our country." She slowly moves her arms in fluid motion, until she settles into a firm stance. Her hands open in a relax position, her right arm held in front of her chest with her left arm held beneath the right.
Baki grit his teeth. "Stay back you three, this is an opponent you cannot defeat!" Temari and Kankuro looked at him in shock while Gaara kept narrowing his gaze dangerously. "Fall back and regroup, I'll drive the princess away from here!"
"But sensei," Temari says quickly. "She is just-"
"Someone you are not ready to face." He announces gravely. "I know for a fact that princess Maiyuri is on par with opponents of the likes of Itachi Uchiha"
That made quite a few of the young ninja gasp in surprise.
"W-What?!" The Uchiha exclaims as he looks at the princess, who only keeps her gaze on their opponents.
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Orochimaru glares with indifference over at the corpses of Sakon and Ukon. His remaining Sound four stand protectively at his front as his former sensei, Kushina, and the Mizukage glare his way with a dozen Anbu all around.
"We shall put an end to this, my former student." Hiruzen states with finality
The snake Sannin stares impassively at them, before a cruel smirk starts to form on his lips. "Indeed sensei." He forms a series of hand signs and three coffins rose from the roof. "Indeed..."
XxX ~ xx ~ XxX ~ xx ~ XxX
Princess Maiyuri Sasaki is based off of Okita from Type Moon