Naruto Shippuden -H-: Chapter 033: A Duel with Tetsuga Marshlo
Tetsuga had made an offer to Orochimaru and his team to meet with Hirudeguarn, after making his presence to them known.
"I am being serious, your brother would like to meet with you, I am sure he has such wonderful sights to show you." said Tetsuga to Orochimaru as the rain in the cave grounds started to pour down heavier.
"Hehehehe, is that so, well I decide when it is time to deal with trash like him, as for you, give me a reason why we should not just kill you right now?" asked Orochimaru as he glared his eyes at Tetsuga.
"Now now, let's not do anything we will both regret, you came out here for a reason, it would be best if you stuck to that reason, and not get side tracked." said Tetsuga with a grin.
"You are just counting on your boss to make everything better aren't you, well he is not here right now, and you are all alone." said Orochimaru as he walked closer to Tetsuga.
"I see, the old pressure game, eh?" asked Tetsuga as he also started to slowly walk towards Orochimaru.
"Are these two going to fight right here, at this time?" asked Suigetsu to himself.
"Well, if we can capture one of these so called Knights, then we can get a lot of intel from him." said Jugo.
"If this is really worth it, but whatever Orochimaru wants to do, I sure will not be the one to get in his way." said Karin with a nervous tone.
"Ahh, come on, look at your three subordinates, they are scared shitless, just turn back and resume your cute little journey, you don't want to be doing this." said Tetsuga as he tightened his fists and was prepared to do battle.
"At least you are not afraid, but that is a shame, when your prey is scared, the hunt is always more enjoyable." said Orochimaru towards Tetsuga.
"Well, in this area, you are the prey, and I am the executioner of all things unsightly to my majesty, and you fit the bill to perfection." said Tetsuga with a mocking tone.
"Just for that, I will not let you suffer when I kill you, Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!" yelled Orochimaru as he had several venomous serpents emerge from his sleave that honed in towards Tetsuga's location.
"Now this is a dance, how amusing." said Tetsuga as he quickly jumped above the serpents and landed on top of the nearest pine tree behind him.
"Well, at least your reaction time is on par, but that will not be enough." said Orochimaru as he jumped high in the air and dove towards Tetsuga.
"Myriad of Serpentine Spears!" yelled Orochimaru as over fifty serpents emerged from his mouth and quickly struck Tetsuga, knocking the pine tree he was on down in the process.
"You had nowhere to go this time, although I presume you are still alive." said Orochimaru as he looked around the rainy forest in search for Tetsuga's presence.
"I did not expect to encounter you of all people, this is very grand indeed, I was rather bored after I got back from slaughtering the villagers of Amazeo, maybe you can entertain me for a while." said Tetsuga as he emerged from behind one of the many bushes that covered the area.
"Well this time you will have to face someone who can defend themselves, and you chose the wrong opponent today." said Orochimaru as he started walking slowly towards Tetsuga again.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but you were the one who confronted me, oh well, I get what you mean." said Tetsuga as he took a scroll out of from under his suit's jacket and released it, causing a light brown- bladed sword to be summoned.
"Ikite Iru, with this holy weapon, your time in this life is going to be reduced." said Tetsuga as he ran towards Orochimaru at high speeds.
"My Sword of Kusanagi will make short work of that pathetic weapon of yours." said Orochimaru as he quickly pulled his weapon from out of his mouth and proceeded to run towards Tetsuga, with his blade drawn in front of him.
The two shinobi clashed their blades and quickly jumped back about ten feet from one another.
"So, this is going to be a duel of blades, now I am interested." said Suigetsu with an excited tone.
"I hope that Orochimaru can finish this soon, I am not liking this place at all." said Karin as she made sure to keep her distance from the battle.
"With Orochimaru taking this serious, it will not last long." said Jugo as he was watching the battle calmly.
"With three spectators here, this will put pressure on me to perform at my highest level." said Tetsuga as he raised Ikite Iru into the air and swung the blade towards Orochimaru.
"Yes, these three can be the ones who bury you once I am finished here." said Orochimaru as he clashed his sword of Kusangai with Tetsuga's blade once again.
The two continued to clash swords with one another, cutting down many pine trees in the process.
"It would seem we have a draw, how quaint." said Tetsuga with a sly look about him.
"Maybe at face value, but I will take initiative to finish this now." said Orochimaru as he extended his sword, causing it to reach out and pierce Tetsuga in the chest.
"Ugh, I see, your sword has some special attributes to it as well." said Tetsuga as he turned into a collection of mud that dispersed into the ground.
"Heh, an Earth Clone, how amusing." said Orochimaru as Tetsuga reappeared unharmed in front of him.
"Shadow Clone Technique." said Tetsuga as he created another physical copy of himself, also holding the same blade.
"Heh, you made a nice duplicate for me to kill!" yelled Orochimaru as he ran towards Tetsuga and thrusted his blade into the shadow clone, causing it to disperse.
"Good work, that distraction came in handy." said Tetsuga as he slashed Orochimaru's leg clean off his body with a swift maneuver, and then jumped back to keep his distance.
Orochimaru's body turned into a pile of snakes, before also reappearing before Tetsuga.
"I knew it would not be that easy, but come on, isn't this duel getting a little drab, you have your full power before you, why not show me what Lord Hirudeguarn's little brother has to offer?" asked Tetsuga with a smile on his face.
"Okay, if you wish to die so soon." said Orochimaru as he prepared handsigns, while looking at Tetsuga with an intense glare.
"Oh shit, he is getting serious now, everyone stand back." said Suigetsu as he braced himself.
"Wind Release: Razor Serpent Cutlass." proclaimed Orochimaru as he released a high fluctuation of wind in the shape of three large swords that traveled at high speeds.
"That is more like it." said Tetsuga as he was cut into three pieces by the great offensive power of Orochimaru's jutsu.
"It has been so long since I have been able to battle in a traditional sense, let's not have this end so soon." said Orochimaru with a tone of joy.
"What, did he win already?" asked Karin as she was looking around the now deforested area.
"Well, no regards for the environment eh?" asked Tetsuga as he emerged from the pile of wood that was scattered across the ground.
"Your timing with the Body Replacement is decent, but I will not hold back again." said Orochimaru as he prepared another jutsu to cast at Tetsuga.
"Earth Release: Scattering Serpentine Sealing Spikes!" exclaimed Orochimaru as many sharp spikes shaped like serpents erupted out of the ground piercing Tetsuga's legs and rendering him unable to move.
"This jutsu also acts as a seal, you can no longer move, and that blade of yours is also useless." said Orochimaru to Tetsuga.
"I guess it is over now, he did not seem to use a substitution this time around." thought Jugo to himself.
"Once I start my battle, I finish until the bitter end." said Tetsuga as he broke free of the sealing spikes of earth, with blood dripping heavily from his legs.
"Huh, he was pierced by the jutsu directly, it was not a clone this time, how could he have broken free with such ease?" asked Orochimaru to himself as he remained calm none the less.
"No pain, no gain, they always said, my time in Iwagakure toughened me up some, but my training with the wonderful and pure prince of Heaven has allowed me to rise to an even fuller level of perception." said Tetsuga as his wounds did not appear to phase him.
"Ikite Iru: Tractor Beam Gravitation." said Tetsuga as he held up his blade, with a glow illuminating the weapon.
"I don't know what these theatrics of yours are for, but in the condition you are in, there will be no escape from this battle." said Orochimaru with laughter.
"Then, try avoiding what you cannot understand." said Tetsuga as his blade emitted strong gravitational waves that began to pull Orochimaru and the members of Taka towards him.
"Eh, what the hell, we are being pulled in towards that guy, what the fuck?" asked Suigetsu as he was trying to fight the gravitational pull of Tetsuga's blade.
Jugo had transformed his right arm to a large wing and grabbed Karin and Suigetsu, preventing them from being pulled any further towards the Knight.
"Jugo, thanks, I could not move at all." said Karin with a panic in her tone.
"So you want to pull me in with that little jutsu of yours, fine have me!" yelled Orochimaru as he jumped into the gravitational force and produced many blades out of his body.
"Heh, you are full of surprises, having the mechanics of my jutsu work against me." said Tetsuga as Orochimaru collided with Tetsuga, and the swords that stuck out of the serpentine man piercing him.
"I can summon many blades of the Kusanagi to protrude out of me at a moments notice, keeping a distance is a must with me, yet you wished to fight up close and personal, a deadly miscalculation for you, and one you could not afford to make." said Orochimaru as Tetsuga fell to the ground with many wounds all over his body.
"I was counting on that, you see the more I figure out about you, the easier this battle shall become!" yelled Tetsuga as he jumped to his feet, despite the many stab wounds all over his body.
"This guy just will not die, he is getting really annoying." said Suigetsu with anger.
"I guess you are a glutton for punishment, Tetsuga." said Orochimaru as the blades protruding from his body came out and hovered into the air.
"Well, I do love battle, war, I love it all." said Tetsuga as he made a gesture of confrontation towards Orochimaru.
"Death is my favorite personally." said Orochimaru as all of the blades hovering above him all honed in towards Tetsuga.
"Ikite Iru: X10 Gravity Radius Orb!" yelled Tetsuga as his blade started to glow yet again, causing all of Orochimaru's swords to fall to the ground.
"Huh, I cannot stand, what the fuck?" asked Suigetsu as he plummeted to the ground.
"This jutu is similar to the one from earlier, but instead of drawing us in, he is increasing the gravity in the area to push us down." said Jugo as he was also struggling to stand.
"I feel like I am going to be crushed, I cannot breathe well." said Karin as she was being strangled under the force of the gravity.
"I see, you increased the gravity of this area by ten times it's normal level, and it appears to be a circular area as well." said Orochimaru as he was still able to stand, yet with difficulty.
"I am not affected by the increase of gravity, and the thirty meter radius of the jutsu makes escape an impossible feat, though the fact that you can still stand is somewhat admirable." said Tetsuga as the trees and caves in the surrounding area crushed under the weight of the gravity.
"But if it is only ten times the norm, then it is not too bad." said Orochimaru as spat out a large white serpentine version of himself, that appeared to not be hindered by the gravity.
"Changing shape to deal with the situation, a good move indeed, I am at a lost of what to do now, hehehehe." laughed Tetsuga as Orochimaru had assumed his White Snake Form and charged towards Tetsuga at a quick pace.
"Your movement speed is even the same in this form." said Tetsuga as Orochimaru swallowed him whole.
"You are in my dimension now, all things you have clung to in your former life are about to become foreign to you now!" yelled Orochimaru as Tetsuga stood within Orochimaru's dimension where he used to perform his Body Transfer Ritual.
"Trying to take my body, eh?" asked Testuga as the area around him turned into three large, dark serpentine creatures.
"I have no use for that jutsu anymore, this is merely your burial site." said Orochimaru as he reappeared in the dimension in his original form again.
"That gravity altering jutsu of yours will not have an effect here, this little game is over." said Orochimaru as he started to run towards Tetsuga.
Outside, Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo noticed that the gravity returned to normal, as they were able to stand on their feet with ease again.
"Did you see that, Orochimaru transformed and swallowed that freak whole, hehehe, he is as good as dead now." said Suigetsu with relief.
"Thank goodness, I thought I was going to die for a minute under all of that pressure." said Karin who was still shaken up.
"Something does not feel right though, I cannot tell what it is, but I can feel it." said Jugo with a worried tone in his voice.
In Orochimaru's dimension, Tetsuga was surrounded by the three large demonic serpents, as Orochimaru was running towards him, with Kusanagi in tow.
"From a common dweller's standpoint, I have lost this battle, but from a true human's perspective, this is the ultimate opportunity." said Testuga as he raised his sword and released an aura that teleported him out of the dimension.
"What, he was able to escape, does that sword of his have Space-Time ninjutsu capabilities as well?" asked Orochimaru who was astounded by the feat.
Testuga emerged outside in the Watering Grounds, right in front of Taka, with a look of malice in his eyes.
"Huh, how did he escape from that?" asked Suigetsu with a shocked expression.
"Rah'Zuh's children are not bound by dimensions, of course had I not kept my sacred sword in hand, I would be dead, but no matter, time for you three to die." said Tetsuga as he ran towards Taka with his sword.
"Enough, let's go greet Naruto." said Zaire as he suddenly appeared between Taka and Tetsuga.
"Who the hell is this guy?" asked Karin with a worried tone.
"Another Knight of Dawn I suppose." said Jugo with a worried look.
"Damn, I hope Lord Orochimaru can get back here in time, we are as good as dead otherwise." said Suigetsu as he started shaking.
"Hehehe, you seem to have enjoyed yourself here Tetsuga Marshlo, let me heal those wounds of yours, you have always been too reckless in battle." said Zaire as he healed Tetsuga's numerous stab wounds without forming any hand signs.
"What, he healed that man without even touching him, what the fuck is this?" asked Karin to herself with great despair.
"Thanks, now that Naruto is here, this battle with Orochimaru does not mean anything to me anymore." said Tetsuga as he was fully healed of his injuries.
"So, you have backup after all." said Orochimaru as he emerged from his dimension, in Sage Mode.
"Huh, he looks different, what the hell?" asked Suigetsu.
"That is Lord Orochimaru's Sage Mode, the strongest in all of the land." said Jugo with a smile.
"Sage Mode, you can use that, this is troublesome indeed." said Tetsuga as he was sweating a bit from the occurrence.
"Hehehehe...Hahahahaha, this is perfect, I can drag this worthless piece of shit to Hirudeguarn's door as a prize, I don't care if you have Sage Mode or not, before me, you are just a fucking dog with no bark to go with his bite!" yelled Zaire as his eyes turned bloodshot, and his face growing into an expression of hysteria.
-To be continued next time with Chapter 034...-