The Burning Leaves

by ajd09

Naruto has saved his friend and lead to the destruction of Madara. The nations have prospered. However, twenty peaceful years pass and still someone lurks, waiting to take his mark. Will this new generation get caught in the middle of a rising threat? A long fic, recommended for readers who like the focus on future generation OC . Mostly from canon predictions. Now is Alternate TL.

11. For Courage

Chapter 11: For Courage

"What, did you expect the superiors to carry average swords?" Mila whipped her sword around as if to gloat. It was held together by flexible chain. Kojo said nothing as he drew a pair of bladed tonfas. Noriko made some distance between her and Kaito. Mila chuckled. "I can see you have a chakra blade as well. It's a shame you haven't yet refined it well enough." Mila channeled her chakra into her chained blade, showing a blue chakra across it. "You aren't unique at all. My wind chakra will slice through yours."

Kojo hardened his tonfas with his chakra. "I have the toughest weapons around. You cannot defeat them with a single blade." His eyes narrowed. "You will pay for your brutal display earlier." Noriko fought her urge to pull her other sword and squared up in a stance, pumping wind chakra into it.

OoOoOoOo

Jace unsheathed his swords and smacked them together. Now he had his grips in the middle and blades on either side. "You must have a set of blades to draw yourself, no? I saw you use your right hand to punch the grunt."

Kaito's eyes remained open. "Very perceptive of you. Unfortunately, I don't use two swords. I can't say I care for it all that much." Kaito eyed Jace's long, yet thick blades. "However, you seem to have an interesting weapon there. I wonder what material they're made of?"

Jace became infuriated. "I thought we were going to fight. Save the talking for the other's dead corpse!" Before Jace could finish his sentence, Kaito was already sweeping for Jace's legs. Forced on the defensive, he leapt in the air and noticed the circular attack. Using his forearm, he braced the blade for a heavy impact. However, he wasn't quite prepared for how dense the blade was, given the speed it was swung with. Jace was slid a few meters back, barely keeping his feet under him. "I see. You really aren't the average swordsman."

Shifting the sword to his right hand, Kaito returned the smile. "I could say the same to you." Flicking his arm, blood spattered off and to the floor. "Nice counter. I can tell those swords aren't light either. Judging by how well they took the impact, I'd say they're the same density as mine." His opponents eyes remained fixed on him, not even dropping an ounce of guard. "By the way, I'm right handed!" Jace's face dead panned, realizing what Kaito was implying.

Jace disconnected the swords and held them in either hand. "What the fuck are you? Feelin the weight of my swords from a single strike." His eyes glinted in joy. "You're just like me. 'cept that man sized sword must be even heavier than mine. For your information, each of these swords weighs one-hundred fifty pounds."

Kaito smiled. "That's it? This sword is around four-hundred pounds. Those aside, are you certain a man of your caliber should be selling his skills to the highest bidder?"

Jace felt a strange feeling he'd never felt before. As a sweat broke across his face, he smiled. "It's exactly what I intend to keep doing. Money will buy you everything in life. And if you want my weapons that badly, you will have to kill me for them!"

Kaito readied his stance and sadistically smiled. "I intend to."

OoOoOoOo

Her sword was deadly with wind chakra powering it. Noriko took the best way to block it each strike, but as it whipped around the block, the chakra jumped off and slashed her regardless. To make it worse, she was constantly taxed with avoiding Kojo's megaton tonfas. Despite the slow speed in which he swung them, she knew one hit would crush her. As her blade was caught in the chain sword, Kojo swung both of them from right to left. Noriko jumped up and planted her foot on Mila's head and leapt several meters away. A trail of blood followed her, with a deep gash in her abs and left arm.

"You're a quick one, aren't you?" Mila returned her sword to its normal state and smirked. "Wind chakra isn't something a kid could master so easily. Grinding your chakra into two opposing currents to get the finest point possible; that is the true nature of wind. Your version is desperately incomplete by comparison."

Noriko smirked as she healed her wounds. "Thanks for the advice. No one's told me the concept behind it. I knew it was close to a similar medical technique, but that does make sense." Mila was taken back by the fact that Noriko was a medical ninja to. "Besides, I think I could take you in a one-on-one match."

"As if we'd give you the opportunity!" 'The opportunity goes to who I will it, boy!' A mental shock threw him uneasy, but he quickly shook it off. Was that his voice? Kojo prepared his tonfas and charged. Once he was near striking distance, he swung violently with one tonfa, keeping the other in a defensive position. Mila deployed her chain sword and latched it to her sword. Noriko dipped under the heavy strike as it obliterated the tree behind her. "It's over!" Seeing her unarmed, Kojo assured himself victory. And then, she drew her second sword and channeled lightning into it. "What?" With a powerful jab, she shattered Kojo's defensive Tonfa and opened a wound right into his kidney. The added electrocution sent him back to the ground and rolling in pain.

Mila pulled her blade back and stood fast. Noriko assumed her duel sword posture and smirked wider. "Didn't you say I couldn't stop your tonfa blades with a single blade?" As he began losing consciousness, Kojo gasped for mercy. "I never expected you to give me the opportunity to fight alone anyways." Now both swords held a wind chakra in them. "Let's see who the better elemental swordswoman is, shall we?" Mila scoffed.

"So you have two elemental blades. Big deal, wind beats lightning, and my wind beats yours. You won't be able to defeat me." Mila looked at Kojo bleeding out and felt a cold sweat.

OoOoOoOo

Takeshi leaned to his right side to avoid Akano's punch and caught his leg as it came. Akano rotated his body to challenge Takeshi's catch. Feeling his balance, Takeshi pushed Akano's leg up and jumped up with an uppercut. To his surprise, Akano's center of gravity changed rapidly and landed a counter kick. Takeshi swung his leg up as it made contact and kicked Akano in the face. Both of them landed on their feet a few meters apart.

Akano lifted a kunai out of his pouch and raised it up. "You have an interesting ability. I can sense where your chakra is going, so you are matched against the wrong enemy. Being able to feel an opponent's chakra through the ground, and also feeling their center of gravity in the air is quite formidable. However, you leave yourself guessing when the foe is astray." Akano pelted the kunai at Takeshi, but Takeshi effortlessly tilted his head to avoid it. Akano looked closely and realized the chakra focused in his ears. A composed laugh came from Akano. "Formidable indeed. Have I shown you what I can do with my sensory ability?"

Charging Takeshi, Akano fluctuated his chakra frequency. The effect confused Takeshi into dipping what he thought was a punch. Instead, a powerful knee crushed into his face. Disoriented, Takeshi opened up to a wild barrage of punches and kicks, all focused on joints and his face. After a blow to the solar plexus, Takeshi took another knee to the face that sent him airborne and into the ground. "You're tough and emphasize power. In that regard, we truly are the same. If you're considering another beating, I'd suggest you just stay down. I fight because I believe in my leader and defending those under me. You fight for a liar and the thrill. This alone is why you were defeated." Takeshi shot up to his feet now in anger. His limps were battered, but still intact.

He's got some serious power, that's for sure. "You act like you hold yourself to such high standards. Do you always blindly accept something without question? I at least know I fight for the defense of others and for an honest man. I know why you're waves are going to fail; you're afraid to use your head and fail, and pass it off as your cunning strategy." Akano scoffed as Takeshi raised a hand to his head band. "If it doesn't compute, you'll dismiss it as trivial. That's why you're wrong." As he lifted the headband, Takeshi revealed his sharingan. Akano tried to determine the threat and decided he would just have to become even more unpredictable. "I may have fought blindfolded for this fight, but my clan is renowned for its eyes. Sight is our greatest advantage!"

OoOoOoOo

"I have no intention of fighting!" The clone held her hands up as the enemies surrounded her. Nia quickly approached her and observed. "Let me speak to your leader!" Nia observed the hidden leaf head band and nodded.

"The minute you make a hostile motion, I will personally kill you." Yuuki stuck her tongue out as they moved her to Shin. They stopped her around ten meters from him. He kept a hand on the cave and observed the young girl.

"What's the meaning of this? A barely teenage girl is who you bring me?" Shin's eyes were barely open, clearly disappointed his challenger wasn't a challenger.

"We wish to join your group. My teammates were ordered by me to put on a show for you to demonstrate our skill. I have a unique ability that allows me to see chakra from great distances." Shin kept his hand on the wall, but gleefully smiled. "Before arriving, I determined the first wave has been completely defeated by Datsu, only two swordsmen remain, and there is only one sensory ninja fighting my last teammate. What used to be a ninety-two man force has been reduced to twenty-eight, including yourself." Everyone's eyes shot open and whispers began to spread.

"I see. You and Akano would be a perfect team in the second division. However, I need to see your ability for myself. These hostages are an important advantage for me, but if you fail to defeat division one, I will kill them instantly. Interested?" Let's see if she's bluffing.

Yuuki's heart pounded. She was waiting for a good opening, but there wasn't any at the time. Not to mention that this was a clone with only half her chakra. However, this was a chance to take more enemies down and not have to remain concerned for the hostages. "Sounds like fun. I doubt it will be much of a fight though."

Shin laughed heartily. "I like you already, girl. Division one foot soldiers, attack!" As the simple ninja ran in on her, the clone made a single hand seal. They piled on top of her and attempted to smother her to the ground. Suddenly, dozens of her appeared out of nowhere and blasted the fools away. The main clone remained in one spot as the grunts were pulverized. It was a three-to-one ratio against them. With her gentle fist, it wasn't long before every grunt was overwhelmed and taken down. She dispelled all of her clones and smiled.

"Hey, she's good isn't she, Karui? Not to mention creepy. Very, very, creepy." One of the four guardians spoke to his subordinates.

"I'd be good to if I could split myself into sixty people, Zente. I don't know, she didn't even break a sweat either, huh? What do you think, Biton?" The woman focused on Biton as he stroked his beard.

"I'm sure she could become a guardian with that kind of ability. If what she claims is accurate, I'd say her friends will be able to be captains at least. Nia?"

Nia remained focused on Yuuki as she released all the clones. Despite the smoke, the clone did not make any hostile actions. Shin was pleased, but somewhat bored. "You are wise to join me. I can see you are going to become my most powerful asset in a few years." Nia's eyes narrowed. "Show me your loyalty and I will allow these hostages to die quickly." Yuuki's exterior remained calm as she put her hand together and slightly bowed. Ok, ok, ok…oh man I hope Yuuki is ready.

Shin laughed and dropped his guard. "Not even killing innocents fazes such a young lady. You'll do just fine!" Right as he finished his sentence, a clone suddenly appeared before the tall man. It instantly used gentle fist to block chakra flow to his hand and then jabbed a finger into Shin's eye. "You bitch!" With his better arm, shin punched the clone before tending to his eye. Nia immediately impaled the main clone, only to find it turn into white smoke. The guardians quickly formed up and waited for the real one to come out.

"Rasengan!" Isami destroyed the cave and put a hand on all the hostages. "Everyone hold on!" Within a flash, Isami and the hostages vanished, only for him to return alone in a second. Nia's jaw dropped as she saw the young man.

"Who are you? What business do you have here?" She couldn't help but notice how strong he looked.

"I'm her brother, and in the process of being awesome." Isami made eye contact with her breast. "And who are the lovely ladies there?" She covered her cleavage and blushed. With haste, Shin made his skin harder than steel and Blasted Isami through the stomach. The clone disappeared in smoke as it laid its hands around Shins back.

"God damn it! Nia, take the guardians and find the girl. I'll deal with this pest! Kill them on sight!"

OoOoOoOo

"What was that move just now? I've never seen you move THAT fast before!" Yuuki stood next to Isami as they watched the battle field.

Isami grinned. "I call them, shadow clones! They do all sorts of-" Yuuki elbowed him in the side to get him to be serious. "It's a technique our grandfather was famous for. Dad took on the move after he became the Hokage, but with his speed, he doesn't really need it. When I became an ANBU leader, he taught it to me; The Flying Thunder God technique." Yuuki stared wide-eyed at him before he blew her off. "You have more important things to learn first." She puffed her cheeks a little which made him laugh. "We need to finish up here. Try to be decisive. If they give you an opening, take it. I'll teach you something cool when we get back, alright?" It's only fair. She just taught me a new move… Yuuki nodded, looking up her options against the four foes. She knew she needed more information before she could defeat them.

OoOoOoOo

"What's wrong, Jace?" Kaito stood before a battered opponent. Jace breathed heavy, barely managing to evade the fast attacks. "You aren't showing me everything you've got. You will die easy at this rate."

Jace stood up now, less exhausted. "So that won't even drop your guard, will it? I guess I don't have much of a choice. If you do kill me, make sure you do it like a badass. Otherwise, I'll kill you!" Kaito propped his blade in both hands, the left hand fastened on bottom. He knew Jace was going to come hard, but he had no idea just how hard Jace would come. In a flash, he began swiftly chopping at Kaito with both blades. He was almost striking as quick as Noriko was, but the force behind them was far too extreme. Kaito felt his right hand drift up to support his weapon easier, when Jace dipped low and swept his blade up.

"Shit!" Kaito couldn't move his left arm fast enough and his hand was sliced cleanly off. The next blow launched his sword away.

Jace smiled as he prepared to finish his prey. His breathe was heavy, and his legs even became unsteady as he approached. He snapped the blades together to finish him off. "You were a good fighter, worthy of a fine death." He raised the duel blade over his head. Kaito looked at his missing hand and winced as he looked back to Jace. "She's next." Kaito's eyes now exploded with rage.

Jace thrust his sword down as hard and fast as he could, but Kaito caught the hilt and pulled it to the side of his face. As it passed, a massive gash spread from the bridge of his nose to under his ear. Jace felt the power of a monster crushing his fingers and holding the sword. Jace drifted to a quieter place in his mind. There he saw flash of his younger brother bleeding out, and an old man laughing. That's right…I had a brother… A tear rolled alongside his face. "Was I…too careless then?" In a swift thrust, Jace's far side blade came up through his chin and straight through the skull. With terror in his eyes, the young man fell back and created a fountain of blood. Kaito tried to fasten cloth from his sleeve into a tunicate, but fell unconscious. It's up to you, Noriko.

OoOoOoOo

Kaito! Noriko stopped in shock. She could feel his presence usually, but it suddenly vanished. Before she could digest the situation, the chain sword struck once more. Noriko spun off it and threw a few senbon needles to put Mila off balance. "What's wrong, you scared?" Mila had some gashes of her own now as Noriko had been giving her a swift assault. Noriko had also been healing herself when she could, but Mila wasn't allowing her to get much done.

Kaito's presence wasn't returning and she felt an uncontrollable rage shake her body. She was unknowingly grinding her teeth. Mila watched as her wind chakra began growing and the shorter one switched back to a hissing lightning. Noriko's eyes shot back to Mila and made her swallow her tongue. "Run away now, or I will kill you." Her tone struggled to be loud, as if it was harder not to scream.

Mila gripped her sword through the sweat and readied herself. "I refuse to back down. Lightning won't affect me!" '…WON"T AFFECT ME…me…me...!' Mila felt her mind yell a repeat back at her that made her cringe. "What the?" Before she could close her mouth, Noriko's Wind sword sliced cleanly through Mila's chain sword. Now the short sword pierced Mila's heart and stopped it immediately. Noriko didn't even hesitate to continue forward to find out what happened to Kaito. Mila's body fell to the ground and soon made a quiet pool of blood.

Arriving on scene, she saw him lying down with a missing hand and deep wound to the face. "Don't be dead, don't be dead!" Noriko frantically searched for his pulse to find it feint, but present. "Oh thank god!" She got her med kit out and began getting his left hand back on to stop the blood loss. After ensuring she had everything aligned perfectly, she stitched it in place and began the process of mending the flesh and bones together.

OoOoOoOo

"I see Datsu ahead! He's low on chakra, but he looks like he's just unconscious. No enemies around him." Konohamaru listened intently as Yuuki's cloned began trying to search harder. "I can see Noriko and Kaito. Kaito is half dead and Noriko is healing him as we speak. We need to get Datsu to her as well." Kaito, half-dead? Were they that strong?

"On it. Point him out for me." Yuuki pointed and Konohamaru grabbed her and dashed off as quickly as possible. For a moment, he sensed a completely different Yuuki than he'd ever noticed.

OoOoOoOo

Back outside of the main camp, the four guardians began searching for Yuuki. They kept close enough to respond to danger, but far enough apart to avoid conflict. Zente was the only one half-assing the search effort. "Bored! When are we going to just give up and go?"

"Patience is a virtue, young man." Biton stroked his beard as he peered his eyes open.

"Enough with the philosophical stuff already! You're going to bore me to. Not that Zente is right. You don't do anything right, Zente." Karui smiled as she pulled an eyelid down.

"Man, screw you guys! I'm headed this way." Zente stormed off the other direction.

"You idiot! Karui, go get him, now!" Nia barked at her and Karui rolled her eyes.

"Fine, god! Maybe ask a bit nicer next time?" Stern fingers signaled her to get moving.

OoOoOoOo

"No respect around here." Zente mumbled to himself as he began kicking rocks.

"Zente!" Karui jumped out of the clearing and scared him.

"What! God damn I hate it here!" She frowned as he leaned against the tree. "Aren't you tired of this, Karui? We've been working with Shin for a year, and we barely get any recognition for it. The guy's cracked as it is! Hostages? Why the hell take hostages?" Karui leaned against a nearby tree. "We could easily ditch out of this group and do better."

"Aww, but you saw her. She's strong! Let's stick around for a fight at least." Zente sighed. "I know, looting people for money isn't what I wanted to be doing at our age either. Maybe we could go to the village?" Zente nodded in his head, while Karui rubbed her head. "I don't even remember why I joined either. Weird…"

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" Suddenly, they were surrounded by a dozen Yuuki clones. "Splitting from the group is a rookie mistake. I won't go easy on you!" Karui jumped up in excitement as Zente clenched the tree.

"Cool! You have to teach me how to do that after the fight! Right, Zente?" He remained against the tree in sweat. Karui looked at him and hummed, "hmmm?"

Yuuki felt her awesome entrance fly out the window as she deadpanned in confusion. "Are you actually two of these guardian people? You don't look all menacing and bad guy-ish."

"No, we aren't in the group anymore. In fact, we're on our way to escaping it while Shin is busy! Don't kill me, I'm only sixteen!" Karui muffled him as she grinned back at Yuuki. Yuuki's eyes twitched as her jaw slacked.

"He doesn't know what he's saying. We're in the group until we finish our fight with you. He just gets emotional."

Are these two serious? "Look, if you aren't going to be in the group, then why don't you go join the village hidden in the rivers? We can fight later, now's a bad time." Karui put a finger on her lips and thought about it.

"Hmm…give me a second. Isn't that where the evil tyrant Rekano lives? He sounds mean." The simplicity of the girl was starting to make Yuuki irked.

"No, you were lied to. Rekano doesn't hold hostages and threaten their lives. Plus there are powerful people there." Karui again put her finger on her lips. Yuuki crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"Hmm…ok. We switch sides then. " Yuuki's jaw dropped again. "I've never seen a hidden village before! They're hard to find, aren't they Zente?" His shot open his eyes and slowly looked at her as he nodded.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" As the clones pointed, he screamed. This guy's cracked…

"Oh, he's afraid of crowds of girls. It's a pretty strange fear, isn't it?" Yuuki facepalmed as she released her clones. Zente pushed off the tree and caught his breath.

"Right, so let's help her out." Zente's composure returned. "We'll take out Biton, you can handle Nia. Will your brother be able to take out Shin? He was a powerful jonin back in the day. Wait…I have no manners. What's your name?"

She tilted her head. He's actually pretty cool normally. "Uzumaki Yuuki. But yeah, he's apparently one of the strongest ninja in the world. I don't know how, he's mostly…how do you say it?"

"A pervert!" Karui pointed a finger in the air with a smile. Yuuki smiled and agreed.

"Yeah, that's the word." She looked up to see Isami flexing and taunting someone as he flew through the canopy. Nia came flailing out of the brush with a red face." Yuuki's jaw dropped once more. Nia and Biton jumped down to them and grunted.

"Good work you two. Now we can finish this quickly." Nia held a vengeful smile.

"Nope!" Karui stuck her tongue out at Nia. "We're going to fight Biton and Yuuki's going to fight you."

Biton's old eyes widened and he dropped his beard. Nia's eyebrow twitched. "Wait, what?"

"Shouldn't we have deceived them first?" Zente facepalmed. "Whatever, we need to gain some distance, Karui!" Zente grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

OoOoOoOo

"What? How are you doing that?" Akano backed off. Every punch, kick, knee, or kunai he threw at him was effortlessly dodged. Akano was taking a beating.

"This is the power of the sharingan. Time slows down to me, I can see through genjutsu, see chakra flow, and I can copy any jutsu with it active." Akano bowed his head. "Overpowered, right? That's why not everyone gets to see it. I don't think it's wise for you to fight any longer."

Akano knew he was outclassed. Despite the damage he'd given this guy, when those eyes came out, this guy was the only one landing hits. His fist tightened. "Are you sure about Shin-sama?" The question caught Takeshi off guard. "How do you know Rekano didn't do these things to him?"

Takeshi narrowed his eyes. "Think about it! Why would we be on a mission to rescue innocent civilians if Shin was the good guy? At least accept in your head that you have misjudged his intentions."

Akano wiped himself off. "Funny, I'm actually having doubts now. Seems like your help is on the way. This one is much more powerful than the others." Akano now crossed his arms. "I'll surrender to you for now. This is your victory. I will get my answer from your superiors. In the meantime, my name is Akano. Like several people here, I was an orphan."

Takeshi sat down and leaned against a tree. "Uchiha Takeshi. I'm in Team Seven of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I'm a genin." Akano showed surprise as he sat properly on the ground. "I'm glad we can at least chat for a moment."

OoOoOoOo

"Are you sure you are ok?" Noriko asked Kaito, who was slow to get up. Noriko sighed. "Your hand is splinted for good reasons. It needs to stay where it is or you will not have a left hand. Is that clear?"

Kaito pulled the duel blade out of Jace's head and flicked the blood off. "I get it. Thank you, Noriko. You've done more than enough on my behalf."

"I didn't do it out of obligation, you know." Kaito half-turned back and opened an eye. Noriko blushed and pretended to be angry. "You lost a lot of blood! Eat while we move!"

After walking a fair distance, Konohamaru, Yuuki's clone, and Datsu met up with them. "Sorry, we were trying to get Datsu help, but he was really just sleeping the whole time. Lazy bastard!" Yuuki kicked him in the knee making him jump in pain.

"I can tell you three had rough fights; however we can talk about it later. What's Takeshi doing now, Yuuki?" Konohamaru was desperate to get his last two pupils home safe.

"Ugh, nothing. He and his opponent are just sitting down." Everyone's face deadpanned. "And I'm not sure why, but Yuuki is now about to engage the second strongest signature, while the other three are splitting away. The hostages are safe now as well, meaning we did it!" The clone pumped her fist in as she celebrated.

"Let's get to Takeshi and find out the situation. Then we have to go help Yuuki." Konohamaru chain smoked another cigarette as they continued forth. There really did seem to be something strange with the clone's behavior. Who knows, maybe it meant 'we' as in the team.

OoOoOoOo

"Your brother can't watch his hands! That's what I'm saying! Shin-sama will punish him accordingly!" Yuuki rolled her eyes at Isami's behavior.

"As if Shin gives a damn about you! He's just using you to get what he wants."

Nia narrowed her eyes and prepared to fight. "He can use me however he wants. Shin-sama is my savior. What he does makes no difference to me."

Yuuki made a hand seal and created three clones. Together, they made illusion clones. Nia made a few hand seals now. "Katon: Goenkyu!" A meteor-sized fireball began to build. Yuuki quickly made three hand seals and shot out her jutsu. "Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Steam rose in the air as the jutsus clashed. One of Yuuki's clones made another clone where Nia was to find she was flanking already. As Yuuki saw her with the Byakugan, she pinned a finger against her elbow. Nia threw a combo at Yuuki, but she dispersed in smoke. Nia vented out her rage.

"How did you see me? I was in an A-ranked camouflage jutsu." Nia felt a tingle in her arm.

"I have the doujutsu known as 'byakugan'. That's all I need to say. Just now I shut off one of your chakra points. Three more on the arm and you won't be able to use jutsu. Run away while you can!" Inside, she felt adrenaline bursting through her. I think I can do this! "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

OoOoOoOo

"What is the meaning of this? You are supposed to be guardians are you not? Where is your pride?"

"I don't need you to lecture me old man. All you do is bitch about the younger generation. Acting like the wise old man all the time. You're a washed up old coot. That's why Nia was Shin's right hand man." Zente was clearly getting Biton's blood boiling.

"I was the one who advised Shin-sama for a decade! Don't tell me I'm washed up! I am a prominent member of Hell's Phoenix for a reason. The One for Deception!" He put a hand seal up and oddly focused on Karui.

"Hell's Phoenix?" Zente brushed off the nonsense and continued. "Look where that got us! We're scraping by and taking hostages! Shin is not the man he claims he is!" Zente pulled out a massive hunting knife and held it reversed. He then put on brass knuckles. "I don't know why we even joined this group anymore. Maybe you really are one for deception, but I don't think deceiving is a good way to gather following."

"What are you doing, Zente? Have you gone mad?" Biton smiled as he began to stroke his beard.

"He's betrayed Shin-sama, Karui. You must eliminate him at once!" Zente went to pursuit the old man when Karui stepped in front of him.

"Zente, why would you do such a thing? Even after we just saved all those hostages from those ninjas?" Her face showed her concern for him. Zente couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Are you serious right now Karui? He's getting away! Shin's the one who took the hostages, not Yuuki!" He watched as she became teary eyed.

"Who's Yuuki?" She grabbed her three part staff from behind her and put it together.

Zente's expression jolted. "No way. Has this all been Biton's doing?"

Before she could attack, Karui fell forward and unconscious as Isami took his hand off her. "Bingo. Even Shin is a victim here. I should have seen it sooner. I can see an S-Ranked genjutsu that alters one's perception of reality. If he is not cautious enough to refresh this genjutsu, it will wear off. I think in your cases, it almost did. We have to finish him off before anyone else falls prey to it. Stay here with her. I've got to search the area for him."

"Shin! He'd be going for Shin right now. He's a coward like that." Zente cradled karui's head with anger. "My name is Zente. Is Karui going to be ok?"

Isami smirked. "Isami, and yes, I've already released it. Now I've got to go help my sister. Thanks, I'll be able to do this easily then."

"What is Hell's Phoenix, Isami? He may be messing with me." Zente narrowed his eyes and looked to Isami. "He even admitted to being one for deception." Zente watched as Isami gave him a look of shock.

OoOoOoOo

"You are a gifted fighter, young girl." Nia had been pushed into a corner. Yuuki stood straight with her arms down. She had two clones in front of her staring down her opponent. "I will lay my life on the line to protect Shin-sama. That is my true virtue." Nia's chakra began swelling before becoming an aura. A fire rose around her before being compacted by powerful sparks. Nia was now tanned a heinous amber color. Yuuki jumped back into a fighting stance and felt herself uncontrollably backing up. The clones advanced forward to challenge her. The first one on scene attempted to use gentle fist to halt the chakra, but it was immediately burned and encased in lightning. Her second clone attempted a water jutsu to no avail. Before it could even finish the third hand seal, Nia was already punching it in the heart with immense speed. As it dispersed, Yuuki clenched her chest. The terror and agony of the clones were brought back. She's on a completely different level now!

Nia's chakra began to condense around her arm as she cocked her fist back. They were around fifteen meters apart. "You are too naïve of the outside world. If you're lucky, you will survive this attack. I am sorry, but you are too great a threat." A tear formed out of sincerity. As she began to punch forward, Yuuki summoned as many clones as she could to cushion the attack. Not good! When she finished the punch, a concentrated bolt of lightning drilled through them and into Yuuki. Her body began ignoring any command she gave it, only drawing pain on demand. A trail of flames carved the ground to her. Yuuki collapsed drifting into a critical state.

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"I see, so even you claim he's a fake." Akano dipped his head in thought. His memories of Shin ever saving him became hazy. He looked over Konohamaru and judged him. "You don't appear to be lying. I take no pride in it, but I will surrender to you."

Konohamaru roughed up Takeshi's hair making him swat it off. "Good work, Takeshi. You may have saved this boy's future. What's the situation?"

Takeshi inhaled deeply. "Six sensor ninja, including Akano, attacked us. I urged Yuuki to rescue the hostages. That's really all the information I have."

"I think I can shed light on the situation." A man with an ANBU mask dropped down. The deep blue, long hair dipped an inch away from his shoulders. He removed his wolf mask.

"Isami?" Noriko and Takeshi said at once while Konohamaru gave him a glare.

"Yes, not important. Shin, or all of them for that matter, are not you're opponents." The group stood in shock. Isami walked over to Akano and made a dozen hand seals. "Release!" Akano felt a valve that was seemingly untapped burst. True memories of the day he was captured by Biton returned. The over flow of information sent him to his knees. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Biton!" His mind pulsed pain at the name. Everyone but Isami was confused. "He's one of the four powerful guardians under Shin. It seems he blocked off my true memories and used some sort of genjutsu on me. It made me believe Shin had saved my life." Akano stared to the ground in shame.

Isami shook his head. "Not just you, everyone has been subject to this genjutsu!" Shock came over the entire groups face. Datsu, Kaito, and Noriko dipped their heads in depression.

What was it Jitto said? Dad? That means Ken too…

What was 'opportunity' to Kojo? And was Mila freezing up after she said 'affect'?

I knew something wasn't right about him…Jace, just what did you see? Kaito lifted Jace's blade and looked over it. Was he subconsciously telling me to watch over his blade?

As the three searched for answers in their minds, Isami spoke aloud. "You had no way of knowing. We're trained to take the openings our opponents give us. This moment is not easy to cope with, but you can bounce back from it."

"Ahh!" Yuuki's clone fell to the floor, shaking in pain. It attempted to push through the pain and mustered a couple words. "Help…Yuuki!" The clone dispersed finally. Takeshi felt adrenaline burst as he looked to Isami.

Isami searched wildly to find Yuuki down. She wasn't far off. "Yuuki's been hit by a powerful lightning jutsu. She's one hundred meters that way. I've got to get to her!"

"No, let me do it!" Isami's eyes jolted to Noriko.

"Absolutely not! I can make it there faster and withdraw quicker."

"Someone has to take out Biton in order to destroy the genjutsu. Isn't Yuuki fighting an innocent kunoichi?" Isami's mind twist, knowing there was sense to what she was suggesting. "I've mended lighting injuries before." I promise I won't kill your last teammate, Kojo, Mila.

Konohamaru placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's definitely right. This is their mission, and I'll need your help. End Biton, end the jutsu. Let's go, Isami." Isami clenched his fist.

"We will assist in any way we can. We owe her that much." Kaito pointed his new weapon out with his good hand. For Jace as well.

"This is our mission. I'm seeing this last fight through." Datsu squared himself up. "I owe her a lot more than this." Why'd you two have to wear me out so much? I can't redeem myself in this condition.

"Make sure she gets back, Takeshi." Isami locked eyes with the Uchiha. "If you want her to live, go now! She's fighting a jonin level opponent!" Isami and Konohamaru disappeared in a flash.

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The group quickly dashed the short distance to find their leader down face first. Takeshi stepped out front with Datsu and Kaito at his back. Noriko set her swords to the side and began assessing the wound. It was clear why Isami wanted to heal her; she barely had a heart beat left. The lighting had made her heart stop likely, but it wasn't clear what made it come back. She should have been dead.

"You must be the rest of them. You're all kids, leave at once! I don't want to kill all of you." Takeshi flashed his sharingan as Datsu created five clones. Kaito twirled the duel blade swiftly to feel the balance of the sword and opened his eyes. Nia tensed up, almost tearing up again. What's wrong with me, why am I so emotional? "Fine, you're all in a hurry to die, I'm more than happy to let you join you're friend in the afterlife."

She used her advanced camouflage technique to try and finish it non-lethally. Datsu was the only one confused. To her surprise, Takeshi charged her and clinched her head. She put her hands down to block his knee and head-butted him away. Takeshi allowed the blood to flow from his brow as he readied himself. Suddenly, she was forced into dodging blades. The man's eyes were closed, but he was able to swing at her with deadly accuracy. On top of that, rain began falling as Datsu's clones began making a small lake. Nia became annoyed quickly.

"I will not underestimate you! Raiton: Raikou Oonami!" She planted her hand on the ground and caught the group with a shock through the ground. She raised her right hand in the air. "Raiton: Sanda Appu!" Nia summoned a ball of lightning in her hand and quickly compressed it. The result was a massive explosion. The jutsu's powerful radius sent everyone flying. Noriko grabbed Yuuki and her swords as they were tossed into the forest line. At the high speed, Noriko spun to take the impact of the tree. Falling to the ground, she smirked over the pain. They'd made it into a safe clearing. I know she's the only one in good enough condition to fight, but she owes me for that one to!

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"Everyone did it. They managed to overcome their opponents. Did you see the beating they took? Now look at you!" Yuuki could see her clone in her head. The images of everyone beaten bodies projected behind her. Yuuki did as she said and looked herself over. Aside from a burned circle in her arms where she was hit by the lightning. "You don't have the right to give up now. Use that crazy chakra pool you have and finish this fight!" Yuuki felt her strength returning. The clone smiled as she drifted away. "I'm sure we'll meet again soon. And you're welcome, by the way!"

OoOoOoOo

"Wake up!" With a hard slap, Yuuki snapped to. As her hazy vision cleared, Noriko came into focus. She blinked a few times. "Yuuki, you have to focus. My leg is broken, you have to get up and finish the fight. Everyone was hit by a massive explosion. Here." Noriko channeled wind into her sword as Yuuki activated her byakugan. "This is how to manipulate wind chakra." She studied the fine grinding of the chakras closely. "Put you're chakra into this one." Noriko handed her the larger sword. As Yuuki put her chakra in it, a less developed wind chakra began to surround it. "That's it. Try to imagine gritting you're teeth. The harder you push the chakras against each other, the sharper it becomes." She winced, finally applying a bit of healing to her leg. "I'm sure you can figure out water. Listen, she is being brain washed by genjutsu. Now get out of here and help everyone!"

Yuuki held a shocked face, but was determined to keep moving. Datsu and Kaito were out cold. A battered Nia was swiftly advancing towards Takeshi. "Thanks, Noriko. I'll be back before you know it."

OoOoOoOo

"You're quite durable, young man. Allow me to show you the terror you're friend faced." Takeshi watched as she pumped her chakra out and cloaked into an amber colored chakra. What the? He began making hand seals. Before he could react, she already kicked him into a tree. The shocking burn made him cringe in pain, before passing out. As she bowed her head to the boy, a massive water vortex smashed her into the tree to her left.

"Suiton: Hahonryuu!" Suddenly, Takeshi dispersed in a cloud of smoke and the ground beneath Nia burst open. Takeshi landed a spinning kick to hit her against the tree once more. As she collided with it, she flexed a lightning aura to blast him away. Takeshi was sent back into the base of a thick tree. He couldn't will his body to move anymore. "Takeshi, you idiot! You shouldn't have used a shadow clone! Your chakra was already low. You'd be dead if I weren't here to save your ass."

Takeshi smiled when he saw her face. "As if…" When his eyes shut, Yuuki pumped her chakra into a blade. Nia pushed off the tree, panting in fatigue.

"You? I saw you die!" Nia struggled to get her aura back up. "And you managed to get your hands on a chakra blade? Why won't you just leave?"

Her chakra is getting low. That aura Is very risky. Yuuki readied herself. "I'm going to save you, that's why!"