Kaibunkage
Arc II
Chapter I
"People become stronger because there are memories that they will not forget."
- Tsunade
Mei watched as Naruto did his paperwork. She frowned slightly, trying to figure out what his mind was really set on. Obviously it had something to do with the latest mission he had sent his former students and Kazudan on. Plus there was the missing Haruno Sakura that irked Mei. It was bad enough that Naruto periodically stopped to see if the woman was still alive or not, but with Shiori whining over her as well just made Mei that much annoyed. While Mei was willing to forgive Sakura, she would always have have displeasure towards those that hurt her family. And Kemuri was her family.
"Something wrong Mei-chan?" Mei broke from her thoughts to see Naruto staring at her. "You kind of drifted off."
"Are you worried for them?" questioned Mei. Naruto hesitated before shaking his head no. "You are, aren't you? Naruto, you can tell me what's wrong."
The young kage simply sighed. "I'm not worried about my team. I know their strengths and weaknesses. I've trained them to counter out each others disadvantages and use a tactiful retreat when needed."
"Then who are you worried about?"
Mei's question seemed to have hit something inside of Naruto, because he returned to his paperwork. Of course, this did not sit well with Mei who was seconds away from melting the entire desk to get his attention. Thankfully, she had a little bit more self-control than that.
"Naruto…"
"…" The blond continued to do his paperwork until he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Looking up, he saw the telltale signs of one pissed off woman and decided to quell the anger before pain was experienced. "I'm worried about a handful of people, Mei-chan. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata, Nara Shikamaru-"
"Haruno Sakura." Mei added. When Naruto did not argue or deny her statement, Mei just continued. "You're sad, did you know that?"
"Tell me about it…" muttered the young Kaibunkage.
Mei smiled. "Naruto, take the day off and go prepare. Spend time with Shiori, make sure you have all your seals. Do whatever it is that you want."
"Why?" Naruto was a bit skeptical at the smile. It was not her "I'm going to kill you" smile, it was actually a pleasant one.
"Because you and I both know that you told Ranmaru to summon you in Konoha so you can save your precious people." Naruto then smiled. Leave it to Mei to look underneath the underneath. "But Naruto, be careful. If Danzo gets a hold of you…"
"It won't be like last time." Naruto said rising with confidence. "Besides, I owe it to my dad to actually save the village once with the power that he entrusted me…" Naruto grinned once more. "And plus I could always trashed to monument while I'm there."
Mei sighed. "Don't be a child Naruto. What will the bachelorettes throwing themselves at you think?"
"Thankfully I'm not the only one not married. They can find someone else to love." Naruto said. Naruto paused in thought before realizing what he had just said and looked at Mei. "Oh shit…"
They were coming. Every ounce of her body was screaming to leave because they were coming. When they got there it would be too late to leave. She would have to fight on both sides of the war. Why? Because both sides wanted her for one reason or another.
"Sakura," Sakura looked at Shizune. "We have a hideout for you to go-"
"I'm not hiding." Sakura interrupted. "I'm not just a Medic Nin, Shizune. I don't stand in the back and wait for my comrades to get hurt so I can heal them. I'm going to help defend Konoha."
"And how will you do that?" Sakura shrugged at Tsunade's question as the blonde walked into the room. "I've always admired your dedication, but this isn't the place to be stubborn. Stay behind Sakura."
"But what about Shiori's vision? Shishou, I can't allow you to die. Not by the hands of someone that I vowed on defeating." Shizune sighed at Sakura's statement.
"Sakura, there isn't anything you can do about Naruto or Sasu-"
"I have to try." Sakura interrupted. "I'm sorry, but I'm not changing my decision."
"Saku-" Before Shizune finished, the pinkette had left via Pink Petal Shushin. Shizune looked at Tsunade, who was apparently calm by the events.
"Let her go Shizune. Some of us gain closure in different ways." Tsunade said.
"Hai, Lady Tsunade." Shizune replied.
"Stop." Kazudan commanded. Ranmaru, Marashu, and Sayuri did as told as the four-man team paused on a branch. "Something's out of place here."
"If they are going to attack today, where are their forces?" questioned Sayuri.
"I don't sense anything but rain." Marashu said.
"And I don't see anyone out here but the few scouts we passed." Ranmaru added. "Maybe sensei was wrong about this. There doesn't seem to be any threats here."
Kazudan looked at Ranmaru. "He knows when a fresh batch of ramen is being made without being in the village. Never doubt his gut feelings."
Despite the statement being slightly comical, the team knew how rare it was for Kazudan to actually crack a joke so they took it seriously. Besides, what he said was true.
Marashu paused. "Wait… I'm smelling something… In the clouds."
"It's called vaporized water." joked Sayuri.
"No." Ranmaru said looking at the clouds. "It's the invasion…"
The Great Naruto Bridge was named after one of Wave Country's most noticeable figures, despite the guy never living there. Despite Konoha having a small claim to the bridge, the Land of Waves had unanimously decided to keep the name. It had weathered several forces, both man-made and nature, and stood proudly today.
It was also the neutral zone between the standing army led by Kagami Dōsame and the people of Wave Country.
"Pathetic people," Dōsame said to no one in particular. "They allow larger countries run them into the ground, cowarding behind the Hidden Leaf due to their numbers and power. They're too weak to stand up for themselves."
Dōsame's eyes landed on someone crossing the bridge, his men wanting to attack. Instead, Dōsame raised his hand, stopping any assault until his word.
"State your name and business." the old leader of the Hidden Stone said.
"My name is Inari. I live in a village in the Land of Waves." Inari stated. He wore a dark blue and white jumpsuit, his brown hair only slightly longer than how he kept it in his childhood. His crossbow was strapped onto his back. "Why has your men occupied our seas and bridge?"
"Do you speak for all of Wave or are you just being a hero?" Dōsame asked.
"Both." Inari answered fearlessly.
Dōsame's eyes narrowed. "You have a lot of spunk kid. Unfortunately, this isn't the time for you to be playing hero. Run along."
"You are in violation to the laws of Wave Country. I am asking you now to move your men." Dōsame's glare hardened.
"Or what?"
Instead of responding, Inari turned around and begun his trek back across the bridge towards his home.
"What should we do sir?" one of Dōsame's captains asked.
"Beta and Delta, turn this country upside down. Alpha, go retrieve the audience I requested." The large group moved quickly. "I want this area cleared for when I defeat the great hero of Wave Country!"
"Yes sir!" the group shouted in unison as several ships began to set sail for Ash Country.
Dōsame crossed his arms. Regardless of Orochimaru's warnings and planning, Dōsame would initiate an attack on Kemurigakure to gain the Kaibunkage's attention. He would single-handedly kill one of the last Uzumaki and then take Naruto's daughter to train her to be the perfect defense against jinchuriki. No one would question where Ishigakure no Sato stood amongst the ranks again. No member of the Gokage would ever down the leader of the Hidden Stone ever again.
"Vengeance is mine…"
The civilians were put in a safehouse, a precaution that the Hokage had taken. But it seemed as if his tip was wrong. Konoha was not going to be attacked. Just rained on.
"What a drag…" Shikamaru yawned.
"Hey, look alive! The enemy could be coming at any second!" Kiba told Shikamaru.
"Right… You tell me when you see them. I'm going to take a quick nap…" Shikamaru said closing his eyes.
"Shit!" Kiba cursed.
Shikamaru's eyes opened in time for him to roll out of the way from a foot. And said foot was connected to a man with a Kiri forehead protector. The only question that the Nara had was, how did he sneak past defenses?
"It's raining men!" Kiba shouted as he began to dodge strikes from right to left.
Shikamaru sighed heavily. That was a statement that was probably meant for Ino to say. But now was no time for witty jokes.
The battle had begun.
As jonin and chunin moved across Konoha to attack the men and women literally raining from the sky, one pink-haired woman stood atop of the Yondaime's head on the Hokage's monument. Her green eyes narrowed before she saw the Mizukage land in the river that ran through the village.
"That's how…" Sakura muttered. "Bastard's pretty good…"
As Sakura attempted to process how Kageno's Evaporation Technique worked, she saw a group of shinobi attacking the main gates and was instantly reminded of a similar event.
"Orochimaru." Sakura hissed as lightning flashed across the sky.
In the distance, Sakura heard someone call for a Summoning Jutsu, and an eight-headed snake was soon brought to the gates of Konoha. Sakura would have moved until she heard the same technique from a different voice, and the large Gamabunta appeared.
Sakura closed her eyes for a moment, muting out the sounds of battle, rain, and thunder momentarily. Her mind replayed Naruto's new will. She truly did not desire to return to Konoha in its current state. She wanted Danzo to die. She wanted Sasuke to be reinstated. She wanted Naruto to be Hokage. She wanted her old life before leaving. She wanted things that the village could never give her. Her flames had truly died.
Yet, from the Ashes a new life shall begin and a new will erupts from the Smoke. That was the history of Kemurigakure. That was the new concept that Naruto believed in. It was the only reason that she moved to save Shiori's life.
It is what Sakura believed in.
"Ino!" Sakura's eyes shot towards the area where Ino and Choji battled the Mizukage.
"Hold on Ino-pig." Sakura muttered as she used her Pink Petal Shushin to leave the area.
Kageno flipped onto the land, leaving his comfort zone of the water. His opponents were Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, an unnamed jonin, and an unnamed chunin. But this did not scare him. He was not known as the most feared Mizukage for nothing.
The unnamed jonin moved for Kageno. The Mizukage deduced that this man's taijutsu must be his strong suit.
The man swung for Kageno's face but the Godaime Mizukage flipped backwards, now doing a hand stand. Giving his own version of the Leaf Hurricane, Kageno spun on his hands, his legs spread apart. The jonin instantly backtracked, the chunin now on the offensive. However, to the Leaf group's horror, the chunin was instantly snared by a large bear-trap made of ice.
The split second that the unnamed jonin showed emotion for the obviously dead and impaled chunin did Kageno land a kick strong enough to send the grown man skipping in the nearby river. Kageno glared at Ino and Choji, the ice that was impaling the young boy's body becoming water and merging with the river.
"There is no way you can defeat me. I am always ten steps ahead of you." Kageno said before holding a one-handed hand seal. "This will be the fall of the Hidden Leaf."
Ino and Choji watched as the surrounded area was covered by a thick blanket of mist.
"I… I can't see anything." Ino said looking around.
"Stay calm Ino-chan. He's got to strike soon." Choji replied.
"You're right," Ino and Choji froze as the voice reached their ears. Kageno was now standing in-between them. "I do."
"Shannaro!" The battle cry and punch happened simultaneously, the Mizukage's body moving away from Ino and Choji.
"S-Sakura!" Sakura did not glance towards Ino, her eyes solely on Kageno.
"So, we meet again, Haruno Sakura." Kageno stated as he rose. "The last time we met, I believe Orochimarau had the pleasure of disposing you. This time, I will make sure that you will no longer meddle in my affairs."
Sakura was still silent before Kageno quickly inhaled and spat a sphere of ice towards her. The pinkette dodged, the ice ball landed on a Leaf shinobi passing by. The woman was frozen instantly on impact.
"I'm no impressed." Sakura said activating her Yin Seal Release. "Ino, Choji, get out of here. Things may get a little rough."
"I'm not leaving you Sakura." Sakura gave Ino a cold stare.
"Then you will die with him." The threat was completely fictional. Sakura had no intentions of harming Ino or Choji or anyone else from the Hidden Leaf for that matter, but she had to get Ino and Choji out of the area.
"Keep your eyes on me." Kageno stated as he faded into the mist.
"Ino, let's go help Shikamaru. Sakura can take care of herself." Choji said.
Ino hesitated before leaving with Choji.
Sakura calmly looked around the mist for her opponent. His water manipulation had to be greater than Senju Tobirama's and his strategic mind was probably greater than his ninjutsu prowess. However, Sakura has fought against Naruto, Sasuke, Jugo, Suigetsu, Gyaku, the revived Shion, and Aku. If she was able to face the aforementioned without fear, then the sly Kageno would be no different.
Sasuke glared at the scene miles ahead of him. Konoha was in utter chaos due to the Mizukage's surprise attack. Then again, even Karin had problems guessing how many people had been liquidfied into small droplets of water and then gathered into the large cloud. With the height of the cloud and the spreaded chakra, Sasuke understood why.
Deactivating his dojutsu, he gave his team a glance.
"It's time." Sasuke said.
Without another word, Suigetsu, Jugo, and Karin followed Sasuke. They each knew that Orochimaru had not given them the signal, but did not argue. Sasuke governed himself and his team. He hardly paid attention to Orochimaru's words off of the training field.
"Sasuke-kun," Karin spoke. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Sasuke said.
"Oh…" Sasuke did not look behind him at his team. His attention was on what was ahead. "Should we be betraying Orochimaru's-" Karin gave a loud gasp as Sasuke quickly turned to her. "Never mind…"
"Orochimaru is none of my concerns." Sasuke told them. "Konoha will burn so that every remnant of the former and weak Uchiha Clan is gone. I will start my clan anew in a better location."
Karin nodded, not arguing anymore. Sasuke had been a bit on the edge lately. She had no idea if it was the invasion or Itachi, but he was.
"Karin, let's go!" Suigetsu's voice snapped her out of her thoughts and she moved to catch up and get in formation.
It was going to be a long day.
Sakura kept sure that she remained off of any surface of water. Two ninja from the Hidden Leaf who thought it was fit to attack both Sakura and Kageno had been impaled by Kageno's bear-traps made of ice.
"You're starting to get on my nerves!" Sakura glanced when she saw the large water dragon form behind Kageno. She was seconds away from dodging when two more formed. "Let's see you dodge this!"
Sakura moved out of the way of the large water dragons before the last two came for her. She quickly went through her options. Activating her Yang Seal Release before her bout with Sasuke would be hazardous but she needed the extra speed against Kageno.
Or so she thought.
"Chidori!" Sakura was thoroughly shocked as the lightning slashed through the water like a kunai through a stick of butter.
"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura gasped as the man stood in front of her.
"Hello Sakura." Kakashi said in his normal friendly tone. "You look lovely."
Sakura smirked. "Pervert… We're in a battle."
"Yes I know." Sakura realized that Kakashi's Sharingan was revealed. "Sakura, I'm only telling you this for your own good. As soon as we have subdued the Mizukage, leave. If Danzo has you he will use you as bait for Naruto."
"Danzo is the least of your worries." Sakura and Kakashi saw thousands of daggers made of ice floating behind Kageno. "You two won't even make it that far."
Sakura's eyes focused on the ice daggers hovering above and around Kageno. She slightly regretted telling Ino and Choji to leave now.
"Are you ready Sakura?" Kakashi asked.
"Yeah." Sakura answered, half-lying.
Ranmaru paused in his journey towards Tsunade's place. He looked around to check their surroundings.
"We're being followed." Ranmaru said.
Marashu nodded. "I know. Three male. One female."
"Alright! All this fighting and all we got was a mediocre chunin!" Sayuri stated, her hands moving for her dirks.
"Wait! These guys are Leaf Nin." Sayuri groaned in boredom, causing Marashu to lazily roll his eyes. Ranmaru ignored both of his teammates and focused on the four shinobi moving towards them. "They've locked on to us. There's no hiding now."
"Speak for yourself." Sayuri said before using her MayflyTechnique.
Ranmaru hid his small jealousy of Sayuri's technique. He then turned his attention to the approaching ninja, knowing that they were about to attack.
Ranmaru thought quickly, extending the blades from his gloves in time to stop a pole from striking him.
"Smoke Ninja too?" his opponent asked.
"No… We're not here to attack you. We have someone to protect." Ranmaru pushed his attacker away. "We've come to help in a way."
"Like I'll believe that." Konohamaru stated. "You guys house criminals like Haruno Sakura!" Ranmaru saw Konohamaru's eyes narrow. "If you guys want to attack my home, then you'll all have to pay the consequences!"
Ranmaru eyed Kazudan who nodded and did a set of hand seals. Inhaling deepling, the man exhaled a cloud of thick smoke that covered the area (Ninja Art: Smoke Hide Jutsu). The technique was a chunin level technique within Kemuri that taught newly made chunin how to escape a tough situation. While a good number of the Hidden Smoke used it as a diversion to attack like the Hidden Mist Technique.
But now was clearly the time to escape. Due to Naruto's team being a tracking and espionage team, they could separate and find their way back to each other due to their unique abilities; Sayuri was a sensor type, Ranmaru's dojutsu, and Marashu's sense of smell. So Ranmaru did not worry when he took off in a random direction. His goal was to find Tsunade and he would. Naruto counted on him.
"That kid is the Third's grandson," Kazudan said as he ran alongside Ranmaru. "Sarutobi Konohamaru."
"I can handle him." replied Ranmaru.
"Keep an eye out for the rest of us then. We are heading to our destination." Ranmaru nodded. "Ranmaru, don't fail."
"Hai." Ranmaru stated before Kazudan quickly changed directions.
Ranmaru slowed to a stop and scanned his environment. There were a lot more trees within the Hidden Leaf than there was in the Hidden Smoke. In fact, the forest surrounded Kemurigakure, not occupied it.
"You're not getting away that easily." Ranmaru easily dodged Konohamaru's downwards strike as the Sarutobi came from a high tree branch. Ranmaru would have commented on how befitting it was for a Sarutobi to strike from a tree, but he had bigger problems. "You're going to fight me and die Smoke scum!"
Ranmaru's eyes glowed. There was no way but to battle now. And as much of a pacifist Ranmaru truly was, he did know when and how to fight. His orders were not to kill a Leaf shinobi. But he would give this guy a beaten like no other if necessary.
Konohamaru tossed a shuriken towards Ranmaru before doing two hand seals. The one shuriken multiplied into thousands (Shadow Shuriken Jutsu). Ranmaru quickly spun, doing the Black Tornado Technique in an instant. The shuriken bounced off of his attack, following towards the ground helplessly.
Konohamaru saw the black twister in front of him. He thought about moving in to attack, but the cracking of the earth beneath him caused him to look down, seconds before a first met his chin. His only thoughts were how Hanabi descrbied Neji's defeat to Naruto. It had to have happened something like this.
"Now," Ranmaru said, his Shadow Clone behind him dispelling and ending the Black Tornado Technique. "We can talk. I have a mission from…" Ranmaru stopped talking once "Konohamaru" dispelled. "I see… You can clone yourself too."
A large blast of flames shot for Ranmaru (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile). The violet- haired teen flipped out of the way of the attack. Ranmaru's eyes spotted where Konohamaru was located and move for him quickly.
"He's quick." Konohamaru noted before moving from his spot.
Ranmaru landed where Konohamaru was with his eyes glowing. He had to think of a plan and quickly or else Tsunade would be in trouble. He flipped onto the ground while doing hand seals, his eyes keeping track of the moving Konohamaru. He soon formed a beast made of white lightning (Lightning Release: White Tiger) that stood at his side.
"Alright. Let's do this." Ranmaru said before pointing towards Konohamaru's location.
Konohamaru frowned. "He can create tigers out of lightning? That's pretty different." Konohamaru then smirked. "Wish I was a Wind user like Boss was…"
Instead, Konohamaru used the Shadow Clone Jutsu to create three clones. He was going to use them to divert the tiger's attention to get to Ranmaru.
"Let's go Enma." Konohamaru stated to the staff on his back.
Seeing his opening, Konohamaru moved in for the attack. Due to his dojutsu, Ranmaru saw this and moved in time. He did a single hand seal before his eyes gave off another glow. He watched as Konohamaru looked around him, obviously falling for the genjutsu.
"Konohamaru-kun… You've grown into a fine shinobi…" Konohamaru blinked once and then again as he stared at Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"G-grandpa…"
Ranmaru gave off a small sigh. His Demonic Illusion: Ghosts of Past could only work if he knew someone that the intended target has lost or killed in the past. If Kazudan had not given Ranmaru what little information about Konohamaru that he did, Ranmaru's illusion would be off. Thankfully for Ranmaru, Naruto had told him what the Sandaime Hokage was like so creating his personality would be easy.
Konohamaru watched the old man take a puff from his pipe.
"I remember-"
"Konohamaru," Enma stated. "This is genjutsu! Fight out of it!"
Furious, Konohamaru attempted to end the genjutsu and after three tries, succeeded. However, no sooner did the illusion end did reality hit him in the face. Literally. Ranmaru's foot kicked him a few yards away with relative ease.
"I don't want to fight you," Ranmaru said as his tiger dispelled the last clone. "I just came here for my mission. Please. Let me explain, Honorable Grandson."
Konohamaru stood up. "You must've missed the memo. I'm not the 'Honorable Grandson' anymore. My teammate, Udon, is." Ranmaru swore he heard spite in the other teen's voice, but ignored it. "And I don't give a damn about what your mission is! You're here to attack my home!"
Ranmaru grunted. This guy had to be as pigheaded as Sayuri was, if not more. Talking to him would be like talking Shiori into going to sleep.
"I was ordered not to kill any Leaf shinobi by the Kaibunkage, my former sensei." Ranmaru knew that given too much information was against the rules, especially on a mission ranked so highly. Still, he wanted as little bloodshed as he possibly could. "If you would-"
"Shut the hell up!" Ranmaru growled as Konohamaru charged at him.
Extending the claws in his gloves once more Ranmaru blocked Enma with his blades.
"These blades aren't soft, Konohamaru." Enma told his current wielder.
"Right… Sorry." Konohamaru stated before pushing Ranmaru backwards. "Change." Ranmaru saw the staff turn into the Monkey King. "We'll take him on two-on-one."
Ranmaru retracted the blades in his gloves and reached for the blades on his back. He revealed Raiga's former Lightning Fangs.
"Wait a second Konohamaru. Those are the Lightning Fangs, swords of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Konohamaru frowned at the statement. "If this kid is any good with them, then we might have a small problem. They are the sharpest swords in existence and can cut through anything."
"So don't get cut." Konohamaru responded with a small smile.
"You are still too childish." Enma reprimanded.
Ranmaru kept his eyes on his opponents. Naruto was counting on him for this mission to go through as smoothily as possible. And while the Kurosuki Family had moved to Kemuri and upgraded into a full clan with Ranmaru as one of their own, Naruto was as close as family as Ranmaru had. Letting him down made Ranmaru feel worse.
"Alright, Sarutobi-san," Ranmaru said holding the blades in front of him. "Let's finish this!"
Tazuna was a man that many people within his village and country respected. He played a role in the defeat of Gato and his empire. His grandson was the liason between Wave and Ash. There were stories made of the bridge builder's journey to Konoha and back, though most of it was adlibbing.
But he was not immortal.
"So, you are Tazuna, eh?" Dōsame said as the old man cowered in fear. "You know how to reach Uzumaki Naruto."
"Leave him alone!" the shout came from Tsunami, who was being held by two Ishi Nins. Dōsame stared at the woman before turning towards her father. A part of him felt the pain of a daughter watching her father die, as he was a family man himself. But this was war. This was no place for sentimental feelings.
"Know your place when talking to me." The leader of the Hidden Stone stated. "Now, where is this liason that I've been hearing about?"
"Inari isn't here, so leave." Tsunami answered.
Dōsame's eyes widened. "Inari…? The boy with the crossbow…" Dōsame's eyes glared at the man on the floor. "Where'd he go?" Tazuna remained silent. "To Kemuri?" Tazuna still remained silent. "I see… Well if you want talk…"
A crystallizing sound was made before shards of glass formed in Dōsame's palm.
"Wh-what are you doing?" Tazuna asked.
"Getting my answers out of you one way or the other." Dōsame replied.
Riding the waves fast on a small dinghy, Inari kept an eye out around him. While sailing was something he could do in his sleep, war was not. His country had been in small bouts in the past, but sans the decimation of the Uzumaki Clan that happened decades before Inari was even thought about, nothing big. This, however, was huge.
"I have to get to Chuukan Point." he said to himself.
Chuukan Point was his safe haven for the time being. There was bound to be some merchant from Kaibun no Kuni just lounging around there. If he could find one, anyone, they could relay the message to the Hidden Smoke Village for him.
His body shook involuntarily as if he had just stepped into fresh snow with nothing on. He had half the mind to turn around and see what had happened to his home, but he knew that in order for the Land of Waves to remain, their friendship with Kemuri had to be brought into the light.
Even if that meant problems from Konoha.
Kageno chuckled. "My, I didn't expect this much of a challenge. No… Konoha was to be wiped out quickly but, with master and student side-by-side, they have proven to be interesting… Or at least, you two have."
"Sakura, how much longer can you go on?" Kakashi asked his former student.
"I'm not a child anymore Kakashi. I can last just as long as you can." answered Sakura, though she was seconds away from using her Yang Seal Release. Kageno was the Mizukage for a reason and he knew how to keep his distance and manipulate the water around him to do virtually anything. "The water's rising."
Kakashi noticed this earlier but said nothing. He figured that Kageno had something big planned for the two later.
"It's too late to worry about that." Sakura and Kakashi saw the four hand seals Kageno made, the largest sequence he has used all battle long. "It's time for you to see all properties of water!"
Sakura looked next to her and saw a large sheet of ice separate her from Kakashi. She looked around to see herself locked in a dome of ice mirrors (Demonic Ice Crystal Mirrors). Sakura realized that this must have been the technique Sasuke and Naruto were trapped in years ago by the description the two had given her and Kakashi.
"My teammates broke this jutsu a long time ago." Sakura said.
"I bet so!" Sakura turned in time and threw a punch at the charging Kageno, only for her arm to go directly through him.
"What the hell is this?" Sakura said as her arm felt moist.
"My Fog Clone." Kageno stated. "Like I said, you're going to battle all properties of water."
Sakura did not respond as she flew threw hand seals and inhaled. She then exhaled the largest fireball that she could at the moment. She watched as one ice mirror seemed to give off steam, showing her that her flames had weakened it. Thinking quickly, she moved to punch the mirror, only for her right arm to be incased in ice.
"Wh-what?" Sakura exclaimed.
Kageno's laughter was heard once more.
"Your arm was wet, was it not? I think you can figure out how a master of water manipulated that." Sakura attempted to break the ice, but found it as thick as the mirrors. Her arms were getting numb by the seconds. "They say that you are a genjutsu user… Tell me, what do you see?"
Sakura's green eyes saw images appear on the mirrors. Images that showed her an image of the village burning to the ground. She saw dead bodies all around with several Leaf forehead protectors covered in blood.
The image sickened her. The image made her twice as angry as she already was. But when one mirror showed Sasuke standing over Kakashi's body, Sakura lost it.
"Bastard!" Sakura shouted, her Yang Seal Release activating instantly.
Kageno watch from the safety of the highest mirror. His intentions were to see Sakura in her angriest. He had a feeling that Orochimaru would want Tsunade dead. That meant that Kageno had a choice in saving Tsunade or taking Sakura.
Sakura raised her ice incased fist in the air and slammed it into one of the mirrors. That only freed her hand from the ice.
"You've stopped me from moving almost everywhere." Sakura said. "Too bad your little ice dome has a flaw."
"I make no flaws child." Kageno replied.
Sakura only smirked as her body sank into the ground. Kageno's body remained inside of the ice mirrors, waiting for her counter. He knew the flaws in the technique. He knew how easy it was to escape. He only wanted to see her route. If she proved smarter than he assumed, then he would keep her instead of Tsunade. If not, he would leave instantly.
If he got the chance.
A rush of purple flames shot forth from the ground, going towards the uppermost mirror where Kageno was previously at. The Mizukage quickly and easily transported himself into the dome next to Sakura's where Kakashi was currently trapped.
Ibuse shot from the ground, Sakura standing proudly on its head as several shinobi from Konoha, Oto, and Kiri alike stared in awe. They would all remember Sakura of the Salamander.
Konohamaru covered his nose and mouth with his arm as he stood in the thick smoke. Ranmaru had proven to be one of his toughest opponents. It seemed that while Konohamaru was able to land some hits on Ranmaru, he could never get the kill-shot he wanted on the Smoke Nin. Now he stood in another cloud of smoke trying to figure out just where Ranmaru ran off to again.
"Don't move." Konohamaru's eyes widened as the smoke began to clear. When it did, he saw that a copy of Ranmaru stood behind Enma, kunai at the monkey's throat, while the real Ranmaru stood with the Lightning Fangs crossed beneath Konohamaru's chin.
"What are you going to do? Kill us and risk your mission?" Konohamaru asked.
"I thought about it. But killing isn't who I am." Enma noticed that Ranmaru's eyes showed little falsehood in them. "You're a strong opponent, Sarutobi-san."
"Sorry. I didn't quite catch your name." Konohamaru said.
"Kurosuki Ranmaru of Kemuri." Ranmaru answered. "My mission is something that I can't explicate any further than I already have. I'm here to save someone. That's all."
"Leaf scum!" Ranmaru and Konohamaru both paused as an Oto shinobi descended on them, kunai drawn.
Ranmaru reacted quickly, kicking Konohamaru away from him and pushing back on his other foot at the same time. The Oto shinobi landed on the ground and looked towards Konohamaru. Before Konohamaru had a chance to do anything, he heard a technique's name that he thought he would never hear again.
"Rasengan!" Ranmaru shouted as he slammed the sphere into the Sound Nin's back.
The man's body flew for Konohamaru, but was stopped by Ranmaru's clone digging the kunai it held into the man's chest.
"Forgive me…" Konohamaru heard Ranmaru's clone muttered before setting the man down.
"How do you know that move?" Konohamaru asked. Ranmaru dispelled his clone and turned around. "Hey! How do you know a move that our Yondaime Hokage created! The only three people here that know that are Jiraiya, Kakashi, and I and only Jiraiya can use a perfected one like that."
"Some questions are better left unasked, Sarutobi-san." Ranmaru answered. "Especially if you won't like the answer."
Konohamaru glared. "Tell me how!"
Ranmaru opened his mouth before a large black rose knocked him off of his feet. The rose blossomed, allowing Sayuri to step out of the flower and glare down at her former teammate.
"We find our location, wait for you, and you're here playing with some guy and his pet monkey?" Neither Konohamaru nor Enma liked the way Sayuri mentioned them. "We'll have to do it here. I'll take care of those two. Just prepare the seal."
Ranmaru got to his feet. "He's not a threat anymore. And where are his three teammates?"
"You missed it! Kazudan took out all three of them without batting an eye!" Sayuri responded before frowning a bit. "Well… I don't know if he blinks the eye under his bandages so…"
Ranmaru sighed and stared up at the raining sky. Even during wartime, Sayuri would have her moments.
"You found him." Kazudan said coming to the area with Marashu. "There is no time to get to the preferred location. Haruno-san is in battle with the Mizukage with Kakashi. Jiraiya-san is battling at the front gates. Our target is unprotected."
Konohamaru frowned. "I thought you were protecting someone?"
"We are." Ranmaru said biting his thumb. He took out four sheets of paper and wrote the kanji for North on one, South on the other, East on the third, and West on the fourth. Kazudan took the South, Marashu took the West, and Sayuri took the East. "Remember when I told you that some questions are better left unasked?"
Konohamaru watched as the four shinobi moved into a diamond that pointed in the four cardinal directions. They all did the same hand seals, Konohamaru noting that there were fifty in all.
"Ninja Art: Wordly Summoning Jutsu!" Ranmaru called before the other three Smoke shinobi bit their thumbs and slammed their palms on their slips of paper.
Tsunade sighed heavily. There were a lot of Sound Nins that attacked her home for whatever the reason. She cursed Orochimaru several times while taken out the jonin and chunin. Only he would orchestrate an attack like this.
Scanning the area, she noticed that they had stopped coming.
"About time…" the Slug Princess said as she moved towards her house. Her foot stepped into a puddle where she was instantly grabbed. "What the-"
Jugo shoulder tackled Tsunade, causing the blonde woman to fly backwards. At the end of her slide, she noticed a pair of feet near her head. Looking upwards, she spotted Sasuke.
"The last Senju at the feet of the last Uchiha…" Sasuke stated. "I will undo the defeat that Madara endured at the hands of Hashirama!"