Chapter 4- Nergui the Immortal
~In this world, there exist many kinds of ninja, and among them those that were born with incredible talent, rightly called geniuses. Even more incredible are those of special clans, born with powers unique to their bloodline alone. As far as I go, I have none of those, no family, no gifts, no past… and barely any natural talent as it is. That's why I want to become Hokage more than anything. The further away the dream, the greater the accomplishment once I achieve it. Against everyone who were born with their strength and advantages, I'll surpass them all. I'll prove to everyone that it isn't the geniuses and clans with born talent that are the strongest, but the individuals who follow their own path, and strive towards their goal…
-Uzumaki Naruto
(Location- Konoha Village)
"Hmm…" Hinata sat quietly at the village gates, watching the horizon. She smiled to herself, as she thought about Naruto… today's mission had been a complete success thanks to some creative thinking, clever use of her Byakugan, combined with some excellent use of taijutsu… all thanks to a little bit of self confidence! Hinata could still remember the look of shock on Kiba's face, the proud nod of approval from Kurenai, and Shino… simply being Shino. They all noticed a change, and even though they didn't say anything, everyone seemed proud of her…
"…and it was all thanks to you… Naruto-kun." Hinata said to herself. That's what she wanted to say directly to him. She just couldn't wait to see him again… to hear all about his mission, to tell him all about hers in return. "I'm glad I was able to keep my promise…!" she smiled. Right now, she was so happy she could kiss him! "Oh my!" she exclaimed, her eyes opened wide and her cheeks blushed red. "I… can't believe I thought that…!" she said, covering her face while rocking her head in embarrassment.
It was just past noon right now, she had been waiting for a few hours. According to Ebi, Naruto's team would return anytime between afternoon and evening…
"That does not matter… I'd wait forever if I had to…" Hinata said, her cheeks still bright red. "I… I just hope he is being careful…"
(Meanwhile)
"ACHOO!" Naruto sneezed. "What was that all about?" he asked, rubbing his nose
"Naruto, concentrate for a change!" Sakura slapped Naruto on the back of the head, "Don't you realize the situation we're in?!"
"Pfft… they're just common thugs. You're making a fuss about that?" Sasuke scoffed.
"Hey! Ninjas! You'd better not underestimate us!" One of the bandits shouted
"They're just kids, they probably got nothing good on them!"
"Let's hold them for ransom! I'll bet their village will pay a pretty penny!"
"Oh really?" Naruto grinned, looking around
"Quit joking around, Naruto! This is serious!" said Sakura. Kakashi wasn't with them right now. After Naruto boasted that they could handle such an easy mission, Kakashi figured the worst they'd possibly run into would be a bandit or two and stayed behind at a small teahouse down the road. Naruto having decided to take the lead had inadvertently led them right into the middle of a bandit camp! They were surrounded! "What do we do?!"
"Hee-hee!" A wide grin spread across Naruto's face, "Only one thing we can do in a situation like this…" he clenched his fists, "HAAAAA!"
"Hmm?!" Sakura and Sasuke saw Naruto… something was different about him!
"Heh-heh-heh…!" Naruto laughed, his body was brimming with chakra, "RHAAA!"
CRASH!
"AAAAAH!" the bandits gasped and screamed when suddenly Naruto charged straight into their numbers, smashing through them and sending them flying! They finally started attacking, and Sakura and Sasuke began fighting as well.
"LET'S HIT THESE GUYS LIKE THEY OWE US MONEY!" Naruto shouted
(Later on)
"What's the matter? Huh? COME ON! Oh what's that? YOU WANT SOME MORE?!" Naruto shouted as two of his clones were holding up the bandit leader by his arms, while he kept punching him again and again in the stomach…
"That's basically it, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura explained to their jounin sensei. Having been kept waiting longer than expected, he had tracked them down to find his students in a demolished camp littered with fallen bandits… "AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, STOP IT NARUTO! HE'S ALREADY DEAD!"
"Really? Because I could swear he's still breathing…" said Naruto
"That's not the point!" Sakura scolded Naruto, whose clones had dropped the bandit leader and all three continued to kick him as he lay motionless on the ground. They had long won the battle and found the scroll sitting in a decrepit old shrine not far from where the bandits had set up camp.
"Ah, that wasn't much fun! Bunch of scrubs and not even a single missing-nin opponent." Naruto said as gave the bandit leader one more kick for good measure, "I thought a C-rank mission would've been more challenging…"
"Hmph… baka" Sasuke stood to the side, wiping the blood off his kunai. "I can't believe you actually let yourself get wounded by these thugs."
"So?! I beat way more of them than you!" Naruto retorted while sticking his tongue out Sasuke, before he and his clones began to loot the fallen bandits.
Sasuke scowled. While Naruto had indeed taken a number of cuts while Sasuke hadn't taken so much as a scratch… It was also true that Naruto had far more bandits. His blonde teammate had thrown himself into the thick of battle from the start and never slowed down. He wasn't afraid to take some hits if it meant he could take them down even faster.
"Tch!" Sasuke clicked his tongue, realizing that he had taken the battle too lightly and allowed the dropout to upstage him… but that wasn't what really bothered him. There was something strange about the way Naruto fought…"(What WAS that…?)"
"Sasuke-kun! Are you hurt anywhere?" asked Sakura, sitting down next to him. Sasuke grumbled and looked away, but Sakura leaned closer to him, "You noticed it too… didn't you?" her question caused Sasuke to glance at her in surprise, "Kakashi-sensei wasn't here to witness it… but Naruto… was something different about him today?"
"There was a change in him throughout the battle." Sasuke nodded. "At first he was even worse than usual… he was slow, clumsy and taking time for practically single movement. But…" his eyes narrowed on Naruto, who had finished looting the bandits and was now vandalizing their camp. "As the fight went on, his movements were steadily becoming quicker and cleaner. The awkwardness from earlier had disappeared, as if he had gotten acclimated to whatever he was doing…" Sasuke had been too occupied with his own battle to keep watch of Naruto, but he had caught sight of Naruto delivering a punch that shattered a very thick wooden shield and sent its wielder flying into an incoming group of men… scattering nearly a dozen men just like bowling pins.
"Whew! That looks to be the last of it!" Naruto threw the last of the bandit's weapons into a big fire. He had wrecked their camp, destroyed their weapons and left most of them securely tied up. "The town guard can take care of 'em from here!" Naruto ran over to join Kakashi. Sakura and Sasuke shared a glance, before following along.
(Location- Konoha Village)
The library at Ebi's house was filled with many cluttered bookcases containing countless ancient tomes, scrolls and artefacts dating back thousands of years before the village was even founded. Ebi was seated at a desk, using mounted magnifying instruments to analyze the text from a very large and dusty scroll, while nearby lay pages filled with his own handwritten transliterations and interpretations of the long-dead language.
He had long finished with this scroll, extracted every scrap and gleaned any hidden meaning contained within… yet he continued the tedious work to keep himself occupied. At the back of his mind, his worries were constantly nagging at him.
"Shouldn't be long till they come back…" He commented to himself as glanced at a nearby clock, knowing the travel distance to Gakido peak. As he made his way towards the exit, he continued to murmur to himself, "Everything should go as planned…" He said, as if he was trying to reassure himself. The Team he hired was headed by the famous copy-ninja Kakashi as well as the prodigy and last of the Uchihas, Sasuke. He had even taken the time to prepare Naruto, as a contingency… nothing should go wrong.
As he stepped outside and made himself through the busy streets of Konoha on his way to meet with Team 7… unknown to him, he was being watched.
Two men were seated at a table on an outdoor patio. Amidst the bustles and crowds of a Konoha evening, they drew little attention.
"Hey, isn't that him…?" a very large, bald man asked in a deep rumbling voice, setting down an emptied bottle of sake as he spotted their bespectacled prey.
"There is no mistake." Nodded his companion; a much smaller figure with ghostly white hair. From the corner of his eye, he watched as Ebi disappeared into the crowd.
"Then let's move!" The bald one immediately stood up from his stool, revealing his tremendous height and stature, which earned a few curious glances from other patrons.
"You're making a scene. Sit down." The smaller man commanded, causing the larger to quickly obey. "Maoyan has just sent word." A wristband he wore was quietly clicking, delivering a coded message. "He has searched the property and found nothing. Our quarry does not have it… yet." He began to operate the device and sent his own reply. Instructions to where he should go. "Prepare yourself… we will move shortly."
"Finally…!" The giant grinned, helping himself to another drink. He couldn't wait to complete their task and finally leave this stinking, rural little village.
(Meanwhile)
"Hmm… Naruto-kun…" Hinata mumbled quietly in her sleep. The wind blew, and she shivered a little… "Hm?" her eyes opened up, she blinked, "Where am I…?" she asked sleepily, looking around. She was sitting atop the walls, near the village gates, but why? "Ah… yes… I remember now." she said. It was coming back to her, "I was waiting for Naruto-kun…" she closed her eyes and yawned, "Naruto-kun…" she said again, still half-asleep, looking down… suddenly her eyes opened wide "Naruto-kun!" she exclaimed, realising there were four figures down there entering the village, "He's back!" she exclaimed, quickly standing up. "A-ano…! S-should I go see him? Do I look all right? My hair's a mess…!" she exclaimed, trying to fix her hair, which the wind had been blowing all day. "Okay… I'm ready!" she ran down…
"YEAAAH! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" Naruto cheered. Sakura and Sasuke sighed and rolled their eyes after hearing him shout that for the third time already…
"Come on you two, Naruto has a good reason to be excited. Successfully completing a mission's enough to make anyone happy" said Kakashi.
"He's not the only one!" Ebi nodded
"Ebi!" Naruto yelped, jumping up in surprise, "When did you get here?!"
"Never mind that, you were able to retrieve the scroll!" Ebi exclaimed, seeing it in their possession. While Naruto was absentmindedly grinning, Sakura and Sasuke mentally noted that their client seemed just a little too delighted over the successful completion of such a basic mission… "Finally! After all this time, it's finally here…!" he stared down at it with almost trembling hands…
CRASH!
"HUH?!" Everyone exclaimed, turning around when they heard the loud noise. An enormous figure roared as he smashed his way through a wall. They had all initially thought it to be some kind of beast, and it took a moment for Team 7 to realize that they were looking at a man.
The first thing that immediately stood out about this man's appearance was his sheer size. Outside of body-growing Jutsu, Naruto hadn't ever seen a larger human being in his life. The giant wore the loose-fitting, ornately patterned pants and open-chested leather vest of a Bokh wrestler… but what really caught their eye was the one article he lacked: a forehead protector. "GRRR… Hey you!" The enormous bald man pointed a singler finger at Ebi. "Hand that over!"
"What…!?" Ebi exclaimed, backing away in fear. While everyone's attention was directed towards the giant, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he noticed something strange about the way Ebi reacted and the look on the giant's face, as if they recognized each other…
"Oh, so you want the scroll?" Naruto asked in a cocky voice as he stepped forwards. The giant utterly towered over him, but the genin wasn't the least bit scared. "Don't know who you are, but you definitely reek of bad guy! But if you're looking for a fight…!" he cracked his knuckles and began gathering chakra into his body. Both Sakura and Sasuke noticed the change in the air around Naruto… he was doing it again! "THEN I'VE GOT ONE FOR YOU!" he suddenly darted forward, towards the stranger…
"WAIT, NARUTO! DON'T-!" Ebi screamed… but he was already late.
"AAAAAAAHHH!" Naruto screamed when the giant swung one of his incredibly long arms and swatted him to the side, sending him flying through the air like a rag doll before he even knew what happened. "AGH!" Naruto exclaimed as his back slammed into a nearby wall, the back of his head colliding with concrete before he slid to the floor. "ungh…" he groaned, slumping over. Screams filled the air as panicked civilians ran at the sudden outbreak of battle, while Sakura and Sasuke drew their blades…
"No. Stand back." Kakashi motioned with his hand. He could not detect any chakra activity in the man. Other than his size, he shouldn't be any different from those bandits his students fought earlier… but from the way he was able to swat Naruto aside like it was nothing told Kakashi there was something wrong. "He is dangerous."
"I'll take that as a compliment!" the stranger laughed, looking down at Kakashi. Next to him, even Kakashi looked like a child by comparison. The giant's speech was guttural and heavily accented. "I am Nergui… Nergui the Immortal!"
"Hmph. Immortal… right. Naruto got careless and tripped up like a moron. What else is new?" Sasuke disregarded Kakashi's warning as he put his hands together. "Nergui, is it? You're obviously not from these parts, so I'll be happy to show you how it works here! HAAA!" flames gathered around his body, as he performed a series of seals… "KATON! RYUUKA NO JUTSU!" flames erupted forth… immediately engulfing the stranger…
"Hey…!" Nergui squinted his eyes as the flames enveloped him, "THAT'S ANNOYING!" he roared as he lunged towards Sasuke. Sasuke's eyes widened as Nergui's arm reached through the fire and grabbed him!
"MMMPH?!" Sasuke let out a muffled yell as Nergui's enormous hand covered his mouth and lifted him off the ground. Sasuke struggled to free himself, but he simply couldn't escape his grip! Sasuke repeatedly stabbed a kunai into Nergui's wrist, but it seemingly had no effect and the giant's fingers only continued to tighten!
"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed. Gripping her kunai with both hands, she stabbed into the man's arm in order to free Sasuke… but to her shock, her weapon couldn't even penetrate his skin! It was just like trying to stab into solid rock!
"You want him? TAKE HIM!" Nergui roared as he spun around and flung Sasuke's body right into Sakura, sending them falling back. He then turned to Ebi, "Hey there…!" he growled as Ebi trembled. Letting out a mighty roar, Nergui charged.
"AAAAHH!" Ebi screamed as he dove to the side, narrowly missing Nergui's fist…
SMASH!
The ground shook, and a crater had appeared on the ground where Ebi once stood. "Grr…!" The scrawny young man hesitantly took a fighting stance as the giant reached towards him… only for Kakashi to appear in his way.
Kakashi's hand pressed against the ground, pushing his entire body upwards as he kicked into Nergui's jaw… causing the aggressor to stumble back.
"Annoying little…!" Nergui growled, more out of surprise than pain. Immediately, he swung his arm to hit Kakashi, only for the masked ninja to disappear again. "Eh?!" he exclaimed, he suddenly felt the cold metal of a kunai press against his neck.
"Now, settle down." Kakashi held the kunai ready to his throat. "Now if you come along quietly and answer a few questions, then maybe I won't have to kill you."
"Kill me?" Nergui's grin widened, as if Kakashi had just told him an incredibly funny joke. "BEAT IT!" he suddenly turned around and swung his arm at Kakashi.
"NGH!" Kakashi exclaimed when his entire body was sent sliding back. He hadn't expected Nergui to ignore his threat… but he was even more shocked that the man's throat had been slit and he didn't even care! "Too careless…" Kakashi gasped, putting his hand over his chest where he had been hit. He had managed to turn his body a little and take only a glancing blow… but the blow hurt far more than it should've. Kakashi suddenly snapped back to attention when Nergui made an effort to grab him.
Unwilling to put Nergui's grappling capabilities to the test, he retreated to a safe distance with a single leap, landing on the rooftops. "What's with that strength…?" Kakashi asked himself, still feeling pain from that glancing blow to chest. Kakashi could tell this wasn't an instantaneous burst of power produced by a perfectly-timed release of chakra, like Tsunade's technique, "Is it really just raw muscle…?" the longer Kakashi stared, the more he could sense something off about their opponent…
"Demon Wind Shuriken…" Sasuke swung a second folded shuriken, causing its blades to snap open and lock into place. "SHADOW WINDMILL!" He lunged forward to put the full strength of his body into the throw.
"EAT THIS!" Sakura hurled a handful of shuriken with every one aimed at a separate vital point; his liver, lungs, stomach, heart and jugular.
"WEAK!" Nergui shouted as he slapped Sasuke's bladed projectile to the ground and completely ignored the projectiles thrown by Sakura.
"Are you kidding…!?" Sakura clenched her teeth. For all the damage they had done… she might as well have been throwing wet sponges! She then felt a tap on her shoulder, and turned to see Ebi clutching a brush and passing her a piece of paper. Sakura's lips curved into a smile when she saw just what she had been handed…
"Have a good look." Nergui eyed Sasuke and Sakura as he raised his foot and stamped down on the Demon Wind Shuriken, reducing the deadly weapon into a broken mess of flattened metal and broken blades. "This is what I'm gonna do to all of-" He was interrupted mid-sentence when a kunai nailed him in the forehead! He was startled by the attack, but moreso confused by the burning piece of paper on a string dangling from the end of that last kunai… "What the…!?"
-BOOM-
"AAAAAARGH!"
"YES!" Sakura cheered. Ebi had crafted an explosive tag on the spot and allowed the stronger Sakura to throw it, allowing it to detonate right in Nergui's face! "NANI!?" they all gasped as the smoke began to clear.
"GRRR…" Nergui growled, with smoke rising from his body… "Dammit…! Exploding paper?! I hate this country!" He brushed himself off, shaking loose some dust and metal fragments from the kunai that had exploded in his face. Sakura and Sasuke gasped in disbelief, while Kakashi cocked an eyebrow. Nergui had not only survived such attacks, but he was completely unhurt…?! The guy couldn't be human!
"No one ever believes him when he says he's immortal…" a voice sighed behind Kakashi, prompting him to immediately turn around.
"Hmm?!" Kakashi's single eye widened, not having sensed this newcomer's arrival at all!
Before Kakashi stood stood a young man that couldn't have been more than a few years older than his students. Dressed in a silken Tang style shirt, his eyes were incredibly narrow, almost to the point where they looked shut. His spiky blue hair was tied into a single long braid that ran past his shoulder… and in his hands, he was dragging the bloody forms Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo by their collars.
"Who are you?" Kakashi glared, seeing the state of the two chunin guards. To his relief, they were still both alive… but their bodies had numerous piercing and slash wounds.
"Is it not considered impolite to ask for one's name without giving your own?" The young man asked, recalling all he knew about the local customs.
"I would consider injuring our gatekeepers to be a far worse sign of manners." Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. He did not see a headband linking him to any of the village, nor could he exactly place this man's accent. "(Another foreigner…?)"
"In that case, I am called Lei Maoyan." The intruder tossed Kotetsu and Izumo aside, and then pressed his fist into his palm to perform a courteous little bow, "I was curious to find out what kind of warriors this land has to offer…." His lips curved into a mischievous smile.
Almost instantaneously, Kakashi swerved his entire body out of reflex. He let out an involuntary grunt as he felt a sharp pain tearing into his left shoulder. "Ngh…!" Kakashi stepped back, clutching his shoulder. Four slash marks had been left, as if from a sharp blade. Had he not moved sooner, his entire arm would have been taken off.
"I was right… you are strong." Maoyan smiled with his fingers outstretched, before stepping back to adopt a strange, open-palmed stance. Kakashi quickly realized that the puncture and slashing wounds left on Izumo and Kotetsu were inflicted by this warrior's fingers. "I ask again, your name?"
"Hatake Kakashi." He answered, taking a step back as he pushed his headband to unveil his single Sharingan eye. The speed Maoyan had demonstrated was far from ordinary, nor did Kakashi sense any use of chakra… "(First that man Nergui, and now this Maoyan too…?)" Kakashi could feel the unsettling aura in this man as well. These strangers were using unfamiliar arts, and he wasn't going to take any chances.
"I have never seen such an eye. An advanced bloodline, or is it a form of technology?" wondered Maoyan, but received no reply. The two stood off against each other: Kakashi took a readied taijutsu stance while Maoyan was some form of kung fu…
Down in the streets… Sasuke, Sakura, Ebi along with several Leaf chunin were fighting for their lives against Nergui. "Come on… is that all you can do!?" Nergui shouted as the bodies of multiple shinobi lay at his feet, like broken toys.
Shortly after the civilians fled the scene, these chunin came to the aid of Sasuke and Sakura against the intruder… yet their efforts were in vain. Their ninjutsu could not damage Nergui, their blades blunted against his skin, and all attempts to engage in close combat was answered with savage reprisal. Right now, Sakura and Sasuke were gasping for air and sweating heavily, while the giant showed absolutely no sign of fatigue or pain!
Ebi froze in terror as Nergui turned his attention towards him. "S-stay back!" he hesitantly took a fighting stance as the intruder approached him.
"Such weak eyes. Killing you is no different from crushing a worm…" Nergui looked at Ebi in disgust as he pulled out one of the kunai stuck into him and crushed it between his fingers. "No sense of accomplishment… just a messy feeling." He opened his palm to reveal the once razor-sharp blade had crumpled like paper, before he suddenly threw it.
"AH!" Ebi gasped as the crumpled Kunai flew towards him like a bullet. He managed to jerk his head to the side in time to avoid a fatal hit… only receiving a cut on the cheek when the projectile grazed him. Ebi didn't have time to relax, as Nergui charged right at him! Nergui let out a roar as he swung his clenched fist, while Ebi raised his arms in defence. A blue aura surrounded Ebi's body as he summoned his chakra and strengthened his arms and upper body to the utmost limit, as Nergui's fist finally connected.
The soles of Ebi's footwear screeched as his entire body was sent sliding back, leaving two streaks of burnt rubber on the ground. Ebi was trembling as both his arms fell to his side. He had poured almost all his chakra into blocking that punch… yet the skin on his arms had turned a horrible shade of blackish blue, and he could feel the bones had cracked. If he had taken the blow directly… he would have died for sure.
"AGH!" Ebi cried out as Nergui lazily delivered a kick that sent him flying off the ground and hitting the pavement. "Damn you… Ma… shi…" his words trailed off as he blacked out.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was clenching his left hand. His pure black eyes had changed into the patterned, crimson pupils of the Uchiha clan's power: the sharingan. Chakra was becoming visible in his hand, and began to crackle in the form of lightning, accompanied by the sound of chirping birds. "CHIDORI!" he roared, darting towards Nergui…
"Huh?" Nergui turned his head… "ARGH!" he exclaimed, as Sasuke's hand struck him in the waist. There was a loud sound, like the crashing of thunder, as Nergui's entire body slid several feet from the impact of the chidori…
Sasuke growled, as sweat poured down his face. He put everything into that chidori… it had to have worked… "NO…!" Sasuke's eyes opened wide as he got a clear look. The area where his hand had struck had left little more than a bruise! Nergui glared down at him and growled. Sasuke's legs began shaking. "Masaka…! (It's not possible…!)" He had put everything into that chidori… yet Nergui was still unharmed!
Sasuke could see Nergui reaching down for him. He wanted to run… but his legs wouldn't move…! "AAAGH!" he screamed when Nergui grabbed him by the hair and struck him in the stomach with his fist! Sasuke was flung high into the air, before through the air and hit the ground, while Nergui still held a clump of Sasuke's black hair in his hand. Sasuke rested on his hands and knees, struggling to stand… yet his body simply wouldn't obey his commands. "AH… AHHH… GLUAAARH!" he violently threw up the contents of his stomach. His sharingan faded away, as he collapsed to the ground unconscious.
"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura screamed and rushed over to him. "Sasuke-kun… Sasuke-kun! Are you all right?! Please! Talk to me!" she asked desperately, shaking him, but there was no response. "Sasuke-kun…! SASUKE-KUN!" tears gathered in her eyes…
"Sasuke…!" Kakashi exclaimed, looking down at his injured student… "URGH!" he exclaimed as Maoyan slashed him just above his right eye in his moment of distraction.
"You shouldn't turn away, even for a second." said Maoyan, resuming his initial fighting stance, while blood began to drip over Kakashi's regular eye.
Kakashi pressed his thumb over the cut above his eye, and momentarily channelled lightning chakra in order to sear the skin shut and halt the bleeding, while Maoyan looked impressed with his resourcefulness. The two of them have been fighting at a roughly even level, and both had sustained damage. Kakashi was bleeding from numerous cuts and puncture wounds inflicted by Maoyan's fingers… while blood trickled down the left side of Maoyan's from his missing, severed ear. "(It seems that he doesn't share in his friend's invulnerability…)" Kakashi commented to himself.
Whatever martial art Maoyan was using, it made his fingers into lethal weapons strong as steel. The rooftop on which they fought was marked by many slashes… yet none had any cracks or jagged edges. His attacks were so fast and clean, it looked as if they were caused by a very fine sword. More than Lei Maoyan's bizarre martial art, what concerned Kakashi was his unbelievable, almost supernatural speed.
"(There's a natural limit to human capabilities. We may be able to overcome it with chakra, but he isn't using any!)" Kakashi's left eye could not see just what kind of energy this foriegn warrior was using.
"If you don't wanna lose your head, you'd best stay focused," Maoyan could tell Kakashi was more preoccupied with studying him. "If I were going at you seriously, you'd be dead by now!"
"You say you were holding back?" Kakashi said in disbelief. He didn't need a sharingan eye to see his opponent was every bit as injured as he was, if not worse!
"I was hoping to witness the ninjutsu of an expert… just as you were hoping to acquire our own arts." Maoyan smirked. Indeed, Kakashi had neglected several opportunities to make a killing strike, hoping to learn more about their strange new opponents. "Keeping with your customs… I will share mine first!"
"Hmm!?" Kakashi's eyes widened as electricity began to crackle around Maoyan's body. Maoyan's eyes opened… revealing his pupils to be of a deep yellow, with irises slit like those of a cat's. "(Those eyes… that's no advanced bloodline! And that aura… could he be…!?)" Kakashi immediately put a stop to that line of thinking. It was simply too absurd to be true, but the resemblance to his own student was too close for comfort…
"LEIYU SHISHI ZHAO!" Maoyan suddenly leapt forward, grabbing Kakashi by the vest before he could physically react. Kakashi was dragged downwards and slammed against the roof so hard, cracks formed beneath him. Kakashi grabbed Maoyan's hand, trying to get him to let go, but his own hands burned when it came into contact with the electricity this man produced! Maoyan had him pinned so he couldn't move. Growling, he raised his other hand to deliver the coup-de-grace…
-CRACK-
"AH…" Kakashi gasped, his eyes wide open and a bead of sweat running down his brow. A few inches from his face, Maoyan's hand had pierced the floor.
Suddenly Maoyan hopped off Kakashi and sat down a few feet away from him. His beastlike glare faded as he smiled happily, completely betraying his fearsome image just now. "Nah. I don't feel like it. If I killed you right now, it wouldn't be fair."
"What are you talking about…?" Asked Kakashi, still lying down while Maoyan reached to the side and picked up his own severed ear. Kakashi was wary of making any sudden movements, should it suddenly provoke this bizarre opponent to finish him off.
"Good enemies are hard to find." Maoyan answered simply. "Hmm?" he turned his head and looked in the distance. "What's that?" he pointed at five figures rapidly approaching.
"Hm…" even though he was down, Kakashi smiled under his mask, "Looks like reinforcements have arrived." he said, as he could see the ANBU had finally come.
"Huh… then I'd stay down if I were you. It's too late for them, because HE'S arrived…" Maoyan commented as the ANBU squad landed.
"Is this the best this village has to offer?" A voice spoke, prompting the ANBU squad to face the newcomer… a man with ghostly white hair, piercing eyes, and a look of utter contempt. He was garbed in a dark uniform, reminiscent of a military officer of some sort. skin was pale and at his belt hung a pair of sheathed, western-style army sabers. "I shouldn't expect any better from some run-down backwater like this."
"Who… is that?" Kakashi's eyes opened wide, his body involuntarily tensed up… as did the ANBU ninja. While the other two intruders gave off strange auras that brought discomfort, there was something about this swordsman's presence that felt completely twisted and unnatural and made them all feel sick to their core.
"You sense it too?" Maoyan replied, unconsciously backing away from his own ally. "He is Yashiro… Blade of the Emperor."
As Yashiro stepped forward, an ANBU ninja distracted by the sickening aura blocked his path. "You are in my way." Yashiro glared. Faster than anyone could react, he drew one of his twin army sabers and drove it into the belly of the nearest ANBU guard.
"AH…!" The ANBU guard trembled as he looked down. The shock wore off and the realization of what Yashiro had done finally hit, "AAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Be quiet." Yashiro rammed his saber into the ninja's throat. The screams halted, replaced by a pained, bloody gurgling. The other ANBU jumped back, surrounding him. Two drew their weapons while the other two readied their jutsu. "So you wish to fight?" He asekd as he pulled both his blades from the bleeding corpse. "Very well… come at me with everything you got…" he looked up, but his eyes had changed. No longer calm or lazy, his eyes were opened wide and he glared with a look of utmost hatred. Suddenly, the ANBU ninjas and Kakashi who lay still on the ground froze as they felt an overwhelming, almost tangible aura flooding from this man… it was pure killing intent! "YOU WILL DIE!"
"Ungh… agh…" Naruto groaned, rubbing his head and opening his eyes. "Where am I… what's going on?" he blinked… "Ah!" he gasped when he realized what was happening. Naruto immediately sprung up to his feet, when he saw Nergui!
"I'll take that…" Nergui said, reaching down and plucking the scroll off the unconscious Ebi. All around him lay the battered, broken bodies of all the Chunin that tried to stop him, while behind him lay Sasuke's unmoving body, and Sakura crying next to him.
"I'm not through yet…!" Naruto growled, clenching his fists in anger and humiliation for being downed so easily, and charged towards Nergui… "OW!" he exclaimed and fell down onto his butt and when something fell and hit on the head. "Son of a bitch…!" Naruto rubbed his head and looked down at what hit him… his eyes opened wide. "GAAAAAH!" Naruto screamed, his hair stood up on end as he scrambled away from the severed human head that once belonged to an ANBU guard. "HOLY SHIT!" he gasped, his heart pounding like it was trying to escape his chest. "WHAT THE HELL!?"
Another ANBU ninja lay dead up on the rooftops, his head severed while the remaining three engaged him. Two of them fought up close with their special-issue short swords, while the third hung back to perform a jutsu. Naruto and Kakashi watched as both of the blade-wielding ANBU guards struggled against Yashiro's swordsmanship… their movements seemed restricted, while the third was having difficulty at controlling his own chakra!
"AAAAAAH!" One of the blade-wielding ANBU fell back and screamed, when in a single stroke of Yashiro's saber, both his hands had been severed at the wrist!
"Pathetic…!" Yashiro stepped over the freshly amputated ninja and stomped down on his throat, before throwing one of his swords straight through the face of the ANBU who was attempting to cast the Jutsu, killing him on the spot. "THESE are supposed to be the elites?!" He turned his attention to the final remaining ANBU guard.
Naruto gasped at the ease in which Yashiro was slaughtering the ANBU guards, and found himself shaking. "What's wrong… with me…!?" He gasped… feeling an overwhelming, unnatural fear taking hold of him. He couldn't even bring himself to pick up a blade against this man… and it seemed that very terror had affected the elite ANBU as well.
They fought as if they were in chains… their movements were restricted; their tactics forgotten, and their chakra control had gone haywire as if terror had completely seized them! Naruto watched as the final ANBU put up a valiant struggle, only to be cut down against the vicious swordsman. From the furious manner in which he fought to the horrific aura he projected… Yashiro dominated this fight through brutality and sheer terror. Naruto just knew that if he even tried to fight this man, he would be killed…!
"HEY! I GOT THE SCROLL!" Nergui held the treasure above his head, "LET'S GO."
"About time." Yashiro swung both his blades, instantly cleaning them of blood before returning them to their sheaths. At his feet lay the slaughtered ninjas of the five-man elite squad. "Scatter, and meet at the rendezvous point!" With every bit as much skill as any seasoned shinobi, he darted into the shadows and suddenly vanished from sight.
"Well, I had fun, but now it's time to go!" Maoyan smiled, and he turned to Kakashi, "If we meet again, masked-man, don't hold back, because I won't!" he also ran off.
"Just remember just which one of us gets the credit for taking the scroll!" Nergui broke into a run, smashing a hole through the leaf village's gate as he fled into the night…
"No…" Naruto stood there… unable to believe what just happened. Just like that, these strangers… not ninjas… not even missing-nin came out of nowhere, trashed them, butchered some of the leaf's finest and then just ran off with their mission scroll?! "GRRR…" Naruto growled, clenching his fists… "Damn it…" he closed his eyes and cursed himself. Why? Why did it have to be like this?! After all that effort to improve, how did he lose so easily?! Why was he so helpless!? "GOD DAMN IT!" Naruto screamed, slamming his head against a wall and then stood there with his eyes closed.
Naruto stood quiet for a good minute… head still pressed against the village wall. Even the pain of hitting it didn't hurt half as much as the knowledge that their mission had failed… "Huh?" he blinked when he realized the real reason it didn't hurt… "My headband…" With his fingers, he touched the metal plate on his forehead… the plate bearing the symbol of the village… "That's right, I am a Shinobi…" he said to himself.
Memories began flooding his mind, how he had sworn to become the greatest… to gain the title of Hokage… to follow his own code… "My way of the ninja…" he said to himself, looking at his fist. "If I back off because I'm too scared, then I have to right to call myself a ninja. I'll have betrayed my dreams, my ambition, my nindo…" he said, clenching his fist harder… "HM!" his hands reached up and pulled the back of the headband, tightening it. "The promise I made to Hinata… we'd do our best on our missions, whether we succeed or not! I refuse to fail by backing down like a coward! I'll succeed this mission and take back that stupid scroll! I swear on it! I won't take back my words, because that's my way of the ninja!" Naruto immediately started running, outside the village gates, after the one who took the scroll… the one calling himself Nergui the Immortal…
"N… Naruto-kun…" A frail, gentle voice spoke up, as Hinata entered the scene. She looked down sadly at the ground. She saw the whole thing, the entire battle at the village gates, yet she was hiding the whole time. She knew Naruto was upset, being knocked out instantly and unable to do anything… and now he was rushing off, into what was almost certain death. "He refuses to give up, he'll do everything to complete this mission…"
Hinata looked down sadly, feeling partially responsible… "That promise… if we never made it… then he'd never… then he wouldn't be… N-NO!" she suddenly exclaimed "Naruto-kun… he is following his Way of the Ninja… and that's why he isn't afraid!" Hinata said to herself, her voice growing stronger, "He refuses to back down, even if he knows his opponent is stronger than him… he will keep going forward, without fear or regret!" she said to herself, "That is the Naruto-kun I know… and that is the person I want to be like…" she looked down at her headband tied around her neck, "Naruto-kun is my friend… and a person who is very precious to me…" she blushed slightly, "We are also Leaf Ninjas… and if I can't even help him, then I'll have no right to call myself a shinobi of this village either!"
"Naruto-kun needs help, and I'm the only one who can give it to him! I will not be afraid, nor will I run away… because that is also my way of the Ninja!" She stood up straight and unafraid. "Konoha Village needs a real shinobi, not some useless, pathetic, lovesick girl!" Hinata then paused for a moment and looked over to Sakura, who was still clinging to the unconscious Sasuke, "Um… I mean, not ANOTHER useless, pathetic, lovesick girl!"
"HEY!" Sakura shouted.
"Just wait for me Naruto-kun! I'm coming…!" Hinata also started running, outside the gates of the village, into the forest…
(Meanwhile, deep in the forest)
"RHAAAA!" Naruto roared as he charged towards Nergui, "KAGE BUSHIN NO JUTSU!" he shouted, leaping into the air. At that moment, one Naruto became twenty, all of them brandishing kunai.
"This should be fun…" Nergui smirked as the clone army charged at him… "GRAAH!" he roared as he kicked off the ground so hard, it cracked beneath his feet. He charged through the mob of Naruto's, swinging his arms and instantly destroying masses of clones. He sneered as he felt a solid body that didn't break apart. "FOUND YOU!"
"ARGH…" Naruto's eyes opened wide, when he felt Nergui's fist connect with his belly.
"Heh…" Nergui smirked, but he wasn't done yet. He reached down and grabbed Naruto by the jacket and lifted him above his head. "AND STAY DOWN!" he hurled Naruto, sending him hitting the ground with such force that he actually sunk into the ground, his body pushing dirt into a pile before he finally came to a stop. Naruto didn't scream or cry out in pain… only because he didn't have the breath to do so. Not after Nergui's fist had knocked it all out of his lungs. Naruto groaned weakly "Still alive?" Nergui crossed his arms.
Naruto growled, slowly getting up. His whole body ached terribly… it hurt to breathe and he felt like he was going to throw up… but he wasn't about to quit. "You…" he muttered, pointing at his opponent, "The scroll… give it back…"
"Oh, you mean this scroll?" Nergui smirked, looking at the scroll in his hands, "No, I think I'll be keeping it." He chuckled as he stuffed it into his leather pack.
"Big mistake…" as Naruto spoke, his voice grew stronger. All signs of pain were gone, his fatigue was forgotten. "You should've given it back when you had the chance." He clenched his fists, "Because getting that scroll happens to be MY mission…" he growled… "AND I'M NOT ABOUT TO LET SOME PUNK-ASS CRIMINAL MESS IT UP!" suddenly, he charged forwards, towards Nergui…
"Hm?" Nergui's eyes narrowed on the boy, something seemed different about him…
"HAAA!" Naruto roared, moving much faster than before. He swerved his body as Nergui swung his mighty arm, missing Naruto by only a few inches, "HA!" Naruto kicked off the ground and struck Nergui right in the jaw with his knee.
"GRRR!" Nergui growled as he stumbled back a step… somehow that boy had kicked him hard enough to move him slightly! "ANNOYING LITTLE…!" he began swinging at Naruto, but the genin continued to evade the blows and kicked him in the face again!
"HAAAA!" Naruto shouted as he continued to avoid all of Nergui's attacks and struck at him. Naruto's speed and strength were all enhanced by chakra; every hit was capable of crushing a fully armoured opponent… yet against this man, it did little damage. Naruto felt like he was punching stone, but he continued his fierce onslaught!
"ENOUGH!" Nergui roared…
"AAAAAGH!" Naruto screamed when Nergui's powerful fist smashed into his torso… the shock surged through his body, shattering his ribs and pulverizing his insides…
"Hmph…" Nergui sighed when Naruto hit the ground. That blow could rattle an entire mountain… no human being could possibly survive it. "Stupid ninja… wasting my time like that…" he said, staring at the lifeless Naruto lying before him… "HUH?!" Nergui exclaimed when the dead ninja burst into a cloud of smoke. The smoke cleared, and lying on the ground was… "What the…? A LOG?!" he exclaimed…
"HAAA!" the real Naruto shouted, leaping upwards from behind, both of his hands were gripping a Kunai. His whole body turned, swinging his arms with all his strength, he drove the kunai into the side of Nergui's head!
"AH…!" Nergui gasped. The kunai had pierced his skull… his body trembled, his eyes faded, his expression became blank as he fell to his knees… "Heh" all of the sudden, his expression changed, to an evil grin "Just kidding."
"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed.
"HA-HA-HA!" Nergui laughed as he swung his powerful arm, smashing Naruto to the ground. Nergui reached down and grabbed him by the neck…
"AH…" Naruto trembled as Nergui lifted him by the neck and stared at him… with a kunai sticking right in his skull! "Who… what the hell are you?!"
"There's a reason I'm known as 'Nergui the Immortal'!" Nergui smirked, reaching up with his other hand and grabbed the handle of the kunai, gripping it tight… Naruto watched in horror as Nergui wrenched the kunai out of his skull! "You expected to kill me with THIS?" He crushed the kunai in his hand and dropped the crumpled scrap metal to the ground. "I must congratulate you, boy… out of everyone I crushed today, you fought the hardest. As a reward, I won't make this too quick…" he smiled as his fingers tightened around Naruto's neck. "All you have to do is scream…"
"N… NO…!" Naruto coughed and choked, unable to breathe. No matter how hard he struggled, he could not break free of this giant's crushing grip!
"NARUTO-KUN!" a girl's voice shouted. Suddenly, out of nowhere, what seemed like a white blur darted towards Nergui, and struck his arm
"What?!" Nergui released Naruto as his arm suddenly lost its strength, while the newcomer pulled Naruto away. His eyebrow raised as he realized just what attacked him, "A girl?"
"Do not touch Naruto-kun." The white-eyed girl spoke, pulling Naruto away.
"Unh…" Naruto was dazed, he couldn't see clearly. What had happened? Nergui had him by the throat, ready to crush him… was he dead? No… someone had pulled him back, but who was it? The soft, timid voice… the gentle touch… the very presence… they were all so familiar… "Hinata?"
"Please feel safe, Naruto-kun" Hinata spoke softly, giving him a warm smile. She was holding by his arms, so he was sitting up. Naruto wasn't fully conscious, he wasn't sure what he was seeing was real. But before he could say anything, Hinata had turned her head to Nergui. Hinata's shy and gentle expression had changed into a piercing glare. "You, who tried to hurt Naruto-kun…" she slowly let go of Naruto and stood up. Veins became apparent on her face as she triggered the power of the Hyuga Clan's advanced bloodline, the byakugan. Her feet shifted, as she opened both palms. Moving her left hand in front, her right facing down, she took her fighting stance… "I will not forgive you."
As Hinata arrives to aid Naruto in his battle against Nergui, one of the three who had stolen the scroll, they both fail to realize just what they're getting into. Nergui the Immortal and his companions, Maoyan and Yashiro… the true extent of their powers are still unknown. Will Naruto and Hinata survive the incredible strength of Nergui? Will they recover the scroll? Find out next time on Naruto: Way of the Ninja!
(To Be Continued)