(This is the Sixth Chapter in the 7 chapter story arc set in the Land of Snow! Yukiko has joined with Kuroda and Sakura, and now they have a way to escape and rejoin with their comrades. But will they make it back in time to help stave off another attack by Taiki and Funimo? I love feedback and constructive criticism, so please leave a review so I can improve my writing and storytelling skills. Enjoy!)
Sakura sits up and rubs her eyes as she awakens from her long slumber. Once she gathers herself she opens her eyes to find Yukiko sitting in front of her. She instantly searches for a weapon, still under the impression that the snow-haired girl is an enemy.
"Calm down, Sakura," Kuroda fervently orders as he sits patiently cross-legged beside her, "She is with us now."
"What?" Sakura objects, "But she is the enemy."
"Relax," he replies serenely, "Just take a second to analyze the situation."
Sakura settles down for a moment and tries to remember everything that happened. She runs through all the events she can recall and examines the surroundings before she finally figures it out. "So, she signed a contract then?" she inquires.
"And I suspect you signed one as well," Yukiko comments quietly.
"Good, now that you understand how are you feeling?" Kuroda asks with concern, "Do you think you are able to move? Or are you a little light-headed and still tired?"
Sakura runs a quick check over herself, stretching her arms out and testing her strength. "I am still a little stiff," she admits, "But I think I am ready to go."
"We'll wait a little longer so you can eat and regain your strength," Kuroda decides, "Then Yukiko will show us the easy way out."
After a few more hours, once Sakura has recovered, Yukiko leads them through the maze of the ice caverns to an above ground exit from the cave. There are actually a number of different exits that they eventually could have found on their own, but Yukiko takes them to the hiding spot that Taiki and the pirates use in hopes of sneaking aboard one of their vessels. However, when they arrive they find that all ten ships of the fleet are gone.
"It looks like they left for the next attack already," comments Kuroda sighing and letting his fatigue show, "Sakura and I will go after them, but you have a different mission."
"You don't want me to come?" Yukiko asks crestfallen that she won't be able to prove her worth to her new master.
"No, it would ruin my cover, plus I have a more important mission for you. I need you to seek out the strongest female shinobi in the Snow country, evaluate their skills and compile a list for me," explains Kuroda as he gives her a letter, "After you feel you have found all of them send this letter to the Hidden Leaf Village and I will come."
She reluctantly accepts the envelope and the new assignment she has been tasked with.
Meanwhile the freighter is only a few miles away from the Snow Country. All of the Leaf Ninja including Jando, Yui, and Kenta are healthy and at full strength. The day is turning to afternoon, but the sun is still shining bright and the skies are blue with only a few white clouds drifting overhead. "If they haven't attacked again by now they probably aren't going to," declares Jando confidently, looking out at the water.
"You really think so?" asks a doubtful Kenta.
"Yeah, I mean Kayo-sensei said we are close to the Land of Snow. They would be crazy to attack now," says Jando.
"I hope you are right," Kenta responds, "Those rogue ninja were really strong. I don't want to take them on again."
On the other side of the boat Ichimaru is leaning over the rail, in a state of deep thought, not really paying attention to anything else. He has been depressed ever since Kuroda disappeared into the sea. "Damn you Kuroda, what the hell did you go and do that for?" Ichimaru thinks in frustration, "Throwing your life away like that for someone you barely knew. I mean I know she was your teammate, but there is no way you could have gotten that close in such a short amount of time. And what about that dream you were talking about? Did you really just give that all up to go drown in the ocean? Then there are still all those unresolved issues you have with your mother. Stupid idiot, there is so many things you had left to do."
"What is wrong with the weather today?" asks Yui as she walks up and stands by her distraught teammate.
Ichimaru lets out a depressed sigh and looks up at the darkening clouds then gloomily comments, "A storm is coming."
"That is not a good sign," says Kayo staring up at the clouds, not letting the kids see her concern about the state of morale on the ship.
"I think that attack we were waiting for is going to be coming pretty soon," says Yoshikuni.
"Why? Is that another Jutsu?" asks Kenta looking alarmed.
"No, but the weather always seems to know when something bad is coming," replies Kayo, "At least, in my experience that is."
"That is just your bad luck," jokes Yoshikuni, "But, in all seriousness, we need to get ready."
"You sure about this, boss?" inquires Funimo seeming unsettled as he stands on the deck of a pirate ship, "I mean, first you said you wanted to use the whole fleet and then we left without Yukiko."
"We don't need her," says Taiki, cocksure, "The pirates can handle the runts and we can take out the Jonins. I'll discipline Yukiko later; I'll even let you have your fun with her afterwards."
"I told you I'm not interested in her and I never was," replies Funimo, obviously irritated by the suggestion.
"Oh yeah, what about the time I found you both naked in that walk-in freezer?" counters Taiki.
"We were locked in, you know body-on-body contact makes more heat and keeps you alive longer in the cold," Funimo argues, vehemently trying to defend his reputation.
"Sure it does," laughs Taiki sarcastically before becoming more serious, "Now, order the fleet to move ahead. We have almost caught up with them."
"Here they come," announces Yoshikuni calmly as the pirate ships emerge from the mists.
"Whoa man, there are a lot of them!" exclaims Kenta.
"Can we really handle this?" questions Yui, "There are ten full ships of pirates, not to mention the rogue ninja."
"Actually, that probably isn't accurate," interjects Ichimaru, "We dealt with a lot of them earlier. There might be a few ships that are at full strength, but most of them won't be."
"Even if that is true, there are still a lot of them," says Yui stubbornly.
"So, what is the plan, Sensei?" asks Kenta.
"We need to try and prevent the enemy from attacking us all at once. That will be my job. I will go out and cripple some of the ships so they can't catch up," explains Yoshikuni, "Ichimaru, you will be in charge over here coordinating the defenses. Kayo will be here to assist you of course, but her main focus will be dealing with the rogues until I can get back. So that leaves you Genin to take care of any pirates that try or manage to get on board."
"Fine with me," says Jando, "I will take down all those worthless pirates!"
"Are you sure about this, Sensei?" asks Ichimaru.
"This is the best option we have," says Yoshikuni apprehensively, "I'm heading out now I will leave the rest to you."
The Jonin rips off his cloak and tosses it aside before he jumps over the side of the ship, leaving the others to prepare. After a few moments the first pirate ship comes into range. Using the same tactics as before it fires a harpoon at the freighter and then the pirates climb over on a rope. "How dumb, that isn't going to work now that our visibility is better. We can just cut the rope," scoffs Jando as he moves to do that.
"Watch out! It's a trap!" screams Yui as she spots paper bombs hidden on the harpoon. Jando springs back as the bombs activate and several explosions combine into a larger ball of superheated fire. Jando lands unharmed a few meters away, but the starboard side of the ship now has a large hole in it. A gang of pirates flood on board through the cover of the smoke.
"Damn, they must have had a smaller and faster boat approaching us in secret," Ichimaru curses as he lifts up a kunai to defend himself.
"I will take care of these ones," insists Kayo, "There is another ship approaching fast from the other side."
"Are you sure, Kayo-sensei?" asks Yui.
"Oh yes, I can handle some mangy pirates," Kayo assures them.
"Okay, let's set up for the other assault then," orders Ichimaru as the Genin move to the other side of the freighter.
"You're just a woman!" shouts one of the pirates, "You can't beat us anymore than those kids can."
"I'm not just a woman. I'm also a kunoichi," Kayo responds as she weaves hand signs, "There is a very big difference."
"Yeah right," laughs the pirate, "All right then, show us what you got."
"As you wish," says Kayo now that she has finished her hand seals, "Now, step into the realm of the serpents." Thousands of snakes emerge from every corner, every nook and cranny of the ship. Snakes even materialize out of the deck and other structures of the freighters. They surround the pirates and trap them in a circle.
"What the hell is this?" shouts the lead pirate.
"I told you I'm not just some ordinary woman," says Kayo with a slight hiss to her speech. Some of the snakes slither up her body and entwine themselves around her. Her clothes seem to fade away as the jungle-colored snakes twist around her frame and form into a very revealing and seductive snake attire that shows off all the curves and contours of her body. She walks towards the pirates and her snake outfit moves in complete symbiosis with her. The hissing of the snakes grows louder as she gets closer and the animals move into an attack position, their flat snake heads perking up and emerging from the scaly dress wrapped around her, their forked tongues flickering as the snakes prepare to strike.
"No, stay away!" yells the pirate leader as he tries to back up but is blocked by his comrades.
"Oh, you don't want to play?" teases Kayo with a hiss, "How sad."
"Get back, witch!" the pirate yells as he surges forward in a desperate attack. With that all of the snakes jump forward to strike, suddenly multiplying by the hundreds and washing over the pirates like a flood. Only a few outstretched limbs can be seen in the tangle of snakes, but the horrified screams of the men are loud and clear.
The Genjutsu ends and as the snakes vanish Kayo's features return to normal. She looks down at all of the pirates lying unconscious on the ground and comments, "How disappointing. I didn't even get to use the full Jutsu."
Ichimaru kicks a pirate overboard and then sees Kayo across the deck with her opponents on the floor. "Man, that was fast," he thinks to himself, "I know she is a Jonin, but I never knew how good she was." A large explosion comes from out in the distance and he looks out to see one of the pirate ships on fire and sinking into the ocean.
"It looks like Yoshikuni-sensei was successful," comments Kenta as he punches his opponent in the gut and then tosses him overboard.
"Let's just hope he can keep it up for a while," says Yui ducking under a kick and then smashing her heel up into a man's jaw.
"Let's just hope we can keep this up for a while," adds Ichimaru already starting to feel the strain of battle as he dodges an attack.
Jando spins around and his heel connects with two pirates and sends them into the water. "I can do this all day," he announces.
There is another explosion and a second pirate ship goes up in flames. "He is moving faster than I thought," thinks Kayo, "I hope that he can knock off a few more before the rogues start to move against him."
"Well, well, what do we have here?" says a voice from behind her. She turns to see the smaller male, former Snow Ninja standing there.
"Looks like it is my lucky day," smirks Funimo, "Yukiko didn't fare well against you, but I wonder how I will do."
"So you separated from your friends already," Kayo notices, "Is that a smart thing to do?"
"If I am going to properly test my skills against you, then it has to be in a one-on-one battle," he responds.
"Fine with me," she replies, "I'll just take care of you real quick and then get back to helping the others."
"Don't think it is going to be so easy," Funimo warns, "Swallow blizzard!" The ice Jutsu comes out of nowhere and the deadly little clear icicles speed towards the Leaf Kunoichi.
Yoshikuni hops off of a pirate ship and lands on top of the water seconds before there is a large explosion at the aft of the ship. As the flaming ship sinks into the ocean he runs across the water towards the next one. "That is three down," he thinks, "If I can take out three more then we will have the advantage in the fight."
"Well, that was pretty impressive," says a figure dropping down from the sky and landing agilely on the ocean before him. The landing creates a small wave that forces the leaf ninja to focus on keeping his balance for a moment. When he looks up he recognizes the person before him.
"I was wondering when you were going to come out," says Yoshikuni.
"Sorry for being late, I was finishing up my nap," replies Taiki showing his arrogance by checking the cleanliness of his fingernails.
"Or you just wanted me to expend my energy so I would be weakened when you decided to strike," counters the Leaf Ninja shrewdly.
"Don't be so arrogant," Taiki huffs, "I am more than capable of defeating you at your full strength."
"Who is the one being arrogant now?" responds Yoshikuni as he takes out a kunai, "Well, we should get started then."
"I agree," says Taiki as he makes a single hand sign, "Ice Style: Ice Weapons Jutsu." The ocean water leaps up into his hands and then solidifies into a crystal spear. The rogue grips it with one hand and twirls it around to tests its balance and then settles into an attacking stance.
"Only one hand sign for a Jutsu like that?" thinks Yoshikuni, "This guy isn't one to be messed around with. I might need to go full-out against him. I just wish there was a land mass closer to us."
"The time of the Brown Cobra is almost up," says Taiki as he rushes forward. He thrusts his spear forward, but Yoshikuni bats it to the side before it can reach his gut. Taiki quickly recovers and moves into a barrage of thrusts. However, the Leaf Jonin is able to smoothly dodge or deflect all attempts. Taiki changes tactics and swing his spear down intending to trip his enemy. Then he quickly spins around and brings the spear up for a menacing slash down across the chest. Yoshikuni hops over the first attempt, and steps back to avoid the follow-up. But he is a step behind and the attack manages to slice through a part of his combat vest.
"Pretty smart," the Leaf ninja compliments, "You deliberately attacked me with slow strikes to trick me into thinking that was your normal speed. Then with that last attack you sped up, anticipating that I wouldn't be able to dodge."
"You figured it out in one go around," says Taiki, "Not bad. I guess it would be pointless to try it again. I'll just go full speed from now on." With that the rogue dashes forward into his thrusting attacks, which are now much faster than before.
A cold chill starts to consume Kayo's body and she looks down to see ice creeping up her leg and freezing her as it goes.
"You're mine now!" laughs Funimo.
"How could this happen?" says Kayo distraught that she could lose so quickly, a second before the ice encompasses her entire body and she is frozen solid.
(The Leaf Jonin have their hands full with two rogue ninja who are stronger than they've been letting on. Yoshikuni is so far holding on, but Kayo Yuhi is in dire peril. What will happen next? As usual, if you want more information on my characters you can see their bios on my profile page. Be warned, there may be some spoilers. Also I'm in the process of getting pictures drawn for the characters, but I have no idea how long that will take. If you're interested in drawing and have a DA account then send me a Message. Enjoy the next chapter, and please review.)