Village Hidden in the Sea: Conclusion
"I'm dying." Itachi said, and silence fell before Dairuko burst out laughing.
"Yeah right! Now tell me about the one with the bird; or better yet, tell me what's actually wrong with you?"
"He isn't joking, Dairuko." Tsunade said, stepping back into the room with Itachi's medicine. "I've been treating him." There was a long pause, and Tsunade left, deciding it was best that Dairuko and Itachi talk about this -alone.
"Hold up one fucking minute here. Itachi is dying and only my mother knows about it?"
"That's about it."
"When did this start?"
"I began coughing blood after our fight with the Seven Tails in the Waterfall Village. Once we got back, I had Tsunade-sama give me a check-up and she told me."
"And you didn't think to tell us?!"
"Tsunade-sama created medicine for me, which has slowed the disease down drastically but, every time I use a lot of chakra – my sharingan, for instance- my condition worsens much faster. The medicine can only do so much… eventually it will get to the point where I will require daily treatment."
"That explains how but… why didn't you tell us? Maybe we could've helped."
"And that is exactly why I didn't tell either of you." Itachi said coldly. "There are just some things you can't change no matter how much you want to."
"You fucking bastard, Uchiha!" Dairuko exclaimed grabbing Itachi by the throat with his fist, ready to punch his friend. "So you were just going to lie down and die like some coward!"
"Accepting ones fate does not make you a coward, Dairuko." Itachi said tonelessly, and after a few intense seconds Dairuko released Itachi and walked toward the door, stopping with his fist curled around the handle.
"I thought we were friends, Itachi." Dairuko said softly, almost tenderly.
"I always considered us friends, Dairuko." Itachi said.
"Friends don't keep this kinda stuff from their best friends… and Natsuki has a right to know about this. I intend to tell her."
"So be it." Itachi said after a short pause, and Dairuko left the room. Tsunade walked back in soon afterwards.
"You're not telling them that there is a cure?" Tsunade asked.
"No; I won't put them through that… I wouldn't put my worst enemy through that."
"I'm just going to have to trust your judgement then, Itachi."
"Thank you, Tsunade-sama… how long will it take you to make more medicine?"
"Depends on the amount, why?"
"I'll need several bottles for my coming journey."
"What journey?"
"I believe someone has plans to kill me."
Dairuko headed straight to Natsuki's and saw her and Jiraiya leaving her house. She looked up as Dairuko approached them.
"Dairuko, how's Itachi doing?" Natsuki asked and Dairuko hesitated –suddenly unsure how to answer.
"He's asleep now; the meds Tsunade gave him knocked him out like a light." Dairuko lied.
"So… what happened?"
"He… had an allergic reaction to those pellets; he swelled up like one of those puffer fish." Dairuko said then demonstrated by swelling up his cheeks. "Where you guys heading?"
"While fighting the king under water, he shed some light on why he attacked Konoha." Jiraiya answered. "Some shadow men appeared and dragged many families into the ground."
"Shadow men you say?" Dairuko asked.
"Yes." Natsuki said.
"You guys're going to ask Kuroka questions aren't you?"
"Yep."
"Good start, but she can't make that many clones at once, however… her brother can."
"She has a brother?" Natsuki asked.
"Yeah… up til' a few seconds ago, I was convinced he was dead."
"You don't sound surprised."
"Nowadays it's hard for people to stay dead." Dairuko shrugged, and then walked away. "Good luck, you guys… I have stuff to do." He called over his shoulder.
"Well I guess he isn't joining us." Jiraiya said.
"Looks that way. We better head out now before it's too late." Natsuki said, and the two walked away.
Natsuki and Jiraiya arrived in the Hidden Mist village after a few days of easy travelling; each occupied with their own thoughts.
"Natsuki, let me do the talking." Jiraiya said when they arrived, and walked into the village common while Natsuki just stepped into a shadowy alleyway where a hooded man waited.
"My, my you can really pick your company, Natsuki." The hooded figure said, adjusting his glasses.
"Kabuto, what d'you know about the villagers?" Natsuki asked.
"No 'sorry for impaling you, Kabuto' or 'thank you for agreeing to help me and Ren by putting your life on the line by joining the Hoka and spying on them, Kabuto' but that's alright..." Kabuto shrugged.
"Quit complainin'. You knew the risks."
"Of course." Kabuto said and handed Natsuki a note. "There can be no survivors, Natsuki."
"Yeah… I know." Natsuki said, taking the note. She and Kabuto parted ways. Natsuki walked out of the alleyway, only to be stopped by Kuroka.
"I want in on your mission." Kuroka said.
'Damn you Dairuko.' Natsuki thought. "What are you talking about, Kuroka?"
"Dairuko sent Valiant ahead of you explaining what you and that old man are doing here."
"I appreciate it, but we don't need your help." Natsuki said, inwardly cursing the bird that Dairuko and Kuroka used for personal messages.
"Ah, yes, you don't need me because you have this note." Kuroka said, holding the note Natsuki once held.
"Give me the note." Natsuki said, her expression stony.
"Bring me along and you can have the note."
"Kuroka, I'm not my brother or Itachi, I don't have time for your games." Natsuki said. "Why do you want join us anyway?"
"I want to talk to my brother… maybe talk some sense into him; surely you can understand that, Natsuki."
"And what if Kuroko doesn't want to come back with you? Can you honestly say you will be able to put him down?" Jiraiya asked as he appeared.
"I…" Kuroka trailed off.
"That's what I thought; please stay out of this… for your own sake." Jiraiya said.
"How do you always just show up in the middle of conversations?" Natsuki asked.
"It's my power to always show up." Jiraiya smiled.
"Kuroka, I've had to fight Dairuko with the possibility of being forced to kill him and, despite our differences, I wouldn't wish that on you." Natsuki said sincerely.
"I swear if you weren't… well, you, we could've been friends." Kuroka said.
"Aw, are you guys actually bonding?" Jiraiya asked.
"Shut up."
"Shut up." They both said to Jiraiya, before looking at each other again.
"If you weren't who you are, and obsessed with sleeping with my boyfriend, we could've been friends, Kuroka." The two looked at each other and Kuroka handed Natsuki the note from Kabuto.
"So… she already had the information waiting about her brother's location because Dairuko sent word ahead of us?" Jiraiya asked, as they left the Mist behind them.
"Yeah; it seems Kuroko wasn't trying very hard to hide."
"Oh well, then that's lucky for us, isn't it." Jiraiya said.
The two of them continued walking towards Kuroko's lair to safely rescue the villagers, but Jiraiya couldn't get his mind off the jutsu Natsuki had used. The jutsu in question allowed the user to reanimate a body for five minutes with its memories intact, while remaining completely cooperative to whoever cast the jutsu. It was this jutsu that was responsible for the formation of the hunter-nin, who disposed of missing-nin bodies before the enemy could use the Corpse Awakening kinjutsu, and take whatever information they needed.
"Natsuki, we need to talk." Jiraiya stopped walking, unable to remain silent any longer. "Who taught you that jutsu?"
"Doesn't matter."
"It does to me, Natsuki." Jiraiya said sternly, not surprised that she knew exactly which jutsu he was talking about. "I never taught any of you that jutsu."
"Anyone in any village could've taught me. I mean, you weren't with us 24/7 during our training."
"Natsuki, you are the smartest one of the team; why would you resort to such a jutsu?"
"Because if I didn't, we'd have wasted time investigating instead of heading to save these villagers now." She snapped.
"You would've found another way, Natsuki, you always do."
"What does it even matter? The end result is the same."
"It matters because I don't want you to end up like Orochimaru!" Jiraiya exclaimed. "You are just as intelligent, if not more, and I don't want you to walk down that same path as he did."
"Why would you even think that?"
"I've seen people with talent, skill and intelligence cross the line just once and never come back; I trained all three of you to be better than that."
"If you think I'm that easily corrupted then you clearly don't know anything about me!" Natsuki exclaimed out of frustration. "You know what? We have villagers to save." Natsuki said darkly, then walked away from Jiraiya. Her mind went back to her fight with Itachi, before Dairuko returned to the village, where he had also called her out on how different she was acting. She growled softly and picked up her pace.
Within a few hours Natsuki and Jiraiya reached Kuroko's location, where Jiraiya used his telescope to scout the area while Natsuki planned their next move.
"I see two shinobi." Jiraiya stated.
"Only two?" Natsuki asked, then pulled out the info cards Kabuto had given her. Inside the note were three different shinobi, one of which was Kuroko. "Let me see." Natsuki said, then looked through the telescope while Jiraiya pulled out binoculars. "How many peeping tools do you have?"
"A good researcher always has back-up equipment."
"There were supposed to be three of them."
"Maybe the third one is inside with the villagers."
"Possibly..."
"Or maybe he's standing right behind you." A deep, male voice said from behind both Natsuki and Jiraiya, who both turned to punch the stranger but he grabbed them by their faces, taking both punches and not even flinching slightly. He then threw both Jiraiya and Natsuki off their vantage point, to his partners.
As Natsuki and Jiraiya got back to their feet, they got a good look at their attacker who physically put Dairuko to shame; being both taller and more muscular. He had dark brown hair, no shirt but still wore a flak jacket with grey pants. He was barefoot, and his forearms and hands were made of stone. His partners then showed up. Kuroko wore a black, hooded cloak which hid his face and covered his body, but his black pants and shoes were visible; and the third shinobi wore traditional ninja clothes.
"Drojin, it seems that snake's information was correct." Kuroko said, holding two info cards with pictures of Natsuki and Jiraiya on each.
"Kabuto…" Natsuki muttered as she gritted her teeth.
"So it seems… how long do you think we can play with these two, Ryuhei?" Drojin asked the third shinobi.
"Seven minutes at most." Ryuhei answered.
"Natsuki, I hope you have a plan B." Jiraiya whispered.
"I didn't even have a plan A yet." Natsuki whispered back.
"That's just swell…"
"If no one's going to make the first move, I will." Kuroko said and both Natsuki and Jiraiya readied themselves when a shadow figure of Kuroko appeared behind Natsuki, grabbing her and driving its knee into her back.
"Natsuki!" Jiraiya exclaimed, ready to help her, but a kunai exploded in front of him, forcing him jump away from the explosion and Natsuki.
"Jiraiya-sennin, your fight is with us." Ryuhei said, as Drojin charged towards Jiraiya.
Natsuki barely had time to recover from the knee to her back before another shadow figure punched her in the face. Then the figure behind her kicked the back of her knee, dropping her onto one knee, followed by both of the figures kicking the sides of her head before letting her hit the ground. Natsuki struggled to lift herself up, but as she did, a fist came from the ground and hit her with an uppercut into the air. Before she hit the ground, two more figures caught her by the arms and legs and then stretched her out as the real Kuroko jumped into the air and stomped on Natsuki's stomach and chest, knocking the air out of her lungs.
"You never stood a chance against us, Natsuki." Kuroko said as Natsuki desperately gasped for air. "I honestly thought you'd last longer than this though." Kuroko then straddled her and sat on her chest, wrapped his hands firmly around her throat and started to choke her.
Jiraiya was not doing any better against Drojin and Ryuhei as Drojin kept pressing the attack on Jiraiya and, whenever Jiraiya did get some space, Ryuhei kept throwing kunai at him before he could capitalise on any opening. Jiraiya decided he was going to go for Ryuhei instead of focusing on Drojin so, as Drojin tried to punch Jiraiya, the latter ducked under it and tried to sweep Drojin's legs, but his legs merged with the ground stopping Jiraiya's sweep. He then grabbed Jiraiya off the floor and with giant stone fists, punched Jiraiya in the chest, knocking him away where Ryuhei was waiting, ready to stab Jiraiya but the latter caught himself in time to ready a Rasengan and dodge the sword. His arm was cut in the process, but he was within range to use his Rasengan.
Ryuhei analysed Jiraiya's movements and in a swift movement side stepped the Rasengan, bent Jiraiya's arm in such a way that Jiraiya was hit with his own Rasengan and was sent sailing across the floor into rocks that Drojin summoned. Drojin emerged from the ground before Jiraiya then, and formed stone restraints that trapped Jiraiya to the ground while Drojin just beat on him again and again until Jiraiya was unconscious.
Natsuki was starting to fade, but she bit down on her lip until she drew blood, which gave her somewhat of a second wind and allowed her to overpower Kuroko and hit him with a head-butt, knocking him off her and giving her a much needed second to catch her breath. Natsuki quickly shot a Chidori Spear towards Drojin, who dodged out of the way and Natsuki travelled through the lightning in the justu to reach Jiraiya and free him.
"Now this is exciting." Drojin said. "Transmutation jutsu: Gold." Drojin said and everywhere that was stone on his body was now golden.
"Oh shit…" Natsuki said, blood dripping from her chin.
"It's over." Kuroko said.
"Not today, Kuroko." Dairuko said as he arrived with his new team; Kiba, Shino and Hinata.
"Dairuko." Natsuki said, surprised.
"Bastard!" Kuroko exclaimed at seeing Dairuko.
"Sorry I'm late, I just had to finalise some paperwork and blah blah." Dairuko smirked. "Okay, new Team Dairuko, move out!"
"Hai, sensei!" the three chunin exclaimed and quickly circled Jiraiya.
Dairuko quickly tackled Drojin through a wooden barrier he created, but Drojin slammed his fist into Dairuko's back, dropping Dairuko to his knee, then connected a knee to Dairuko's jaw that launched the young Senju into the air. He then made a stone spike appear below Dairuko, ready to impale him however, Dairuko did a backflip in mid-air to orientate himself with the ground, allowing him to avoid the stone spike.
"Okay, I have to admit that that is a neat trick; but it got nothing on me." Dairuko said. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Emergence!" Large branches of wood emerged from the ground, surrounding everyone in forestation.
"What kind of genjutsu is this?!" Drojin demanded.
"No genjutsu, my ugly friend. I just wanted to bring the odds back in our favour." Dairuko smirked.
Under the cover of the forest, Team 8 moved, easily carrying Jiraiya without being found thanks to Dairuko's remodelling of his Deep Forest Emergence after the Forest of Death from the chuunin exams and, with each of his new team having some of the best surveillance techniques in Konoha, they had the advantage.
"Guys, we need to stop." Kiba said after Akamaru barked.
"I don't see anything, Kiba-kun." Hinata said.
"It's not that. There's somebody nearby. Akamaru smells something off about Jiraiya-sama." Hinata then looked at Jiraiya with her Byakugan and saw what was wrong.
"Jiraiya-sama has been poisoned; the poison is using his own chakra to strengthen its potency." Hinata said.
"Where is the poison resonating from?" Shino asked and Hinata pointed at the cut Jiraiya had on his arm. "Hmm." Shino then placed his hand over Jiraiya's cut, allowing his bugs to enter Jiraiya's body. "Hinata, heal the wound so my bugs can eat the poison." Hinata nodded and started healing Jiraiya's wounds.
"Do you really think a change of scenery will change the outcome of our fight?" Kuroko asked as he searched for Natsuki, who had disappeared once the forest was complete.
"That depends. Can your shadows find me if you can't?" Natsuki answered.
"This is a childish game you're playing!"
"I'm not playing games." Natsuki said as she stood behind Kuroko.
"Good." Kuroko said whirling around and throwing several shuriken at Natsuki.
"Hidden Mist jutsu!" she said and, before the shuriken could hit her, disappeared again. "Now we fight one on one. No more tricks." Kuroko was about to respond when Natsuki sucker punched him in the jaw.
"Fine, if you want to play it that way." Kuroko said and returned with a punch of his own that knocked Natsuki back.
Dairuko and Drojin both punched each other, knocking the other back across the ground. They both stood back up, caught off guard by the other's strength. They stared each other down before charging towards one another but, this time, they both tried to ram each other, which ended with Dairuko falling back and Drojin stumbling.
'What did they feed this guy?' Dairuko thought as he stood back up.
Drojin charged forward with a left punch that Dairuko dodged, followed by a right and another left all of which Dairuko managed to sidestep before hitting Drojin in the stomach with his knee. He then grabbed Drojin's arm and pushed him away. Dairuko used the space he created to jump up and hit Drojin in the jaw with his knee, before grabbing a handful of Drojin's hair and pulling him into several left handed punches, but Drojin managed to grab Dairuko's arm and remove Dairuko's hand from his hair.
While holding onto Dairuko's arm, Drojin formed a Morningstar in his right hand, ready to bring it down on Dairuko but the latter broke free. This didn't stop Drojin as he still swung his Morningstar down on Dairuko, who managed to catch it. Drojin's gold form added more weight to his swing as well as his strength, which made his attacks slow, but powerful. Dairuko figured this out as he powered through and pushed Drojin away again.
Dairuko walked towards Drojin and the latter let out a scream of rage as he attacked Dairuko but again, Dairuko dodged by doing a back-step and, at such a close range, he put his sort-of plan into action.
"Fire Style: Fireball jutsu." Dairuko said as he blew a fireball, practically point blank range, at Drojin- who managed to form a shield. As the smoke cleared, Drojin saw Dairuko running at him. Drojin didn't have time to react as Dairuko unloaded with a series of punches, followed by a rising uppercut that launched Drojin into the air before he came crashing down.
Dairuko looked at the downed Drojin from the small distance between them when Drojin clenched his fists, and then stood up and smashed the ground, sending a shockwave of sand towards Dairuko. Dairuko managed to shield his eyes, but as Dairuko lowered his arm, he was hit by a rock that knocked him back. He looked on to see Drojin forming another rock from the pieces of ground he broke when he smashed it, Drojin shot the second rock at Dairuko who shattered the rock with a punch before it could hit him.
Dairuko charged at Drojin before he could form another rock, but Drojin pulled his hand back and a rock came from behind Dairuko hitting him in the back and knocking him off his feet. Before he could hit the ground, Drojin tackled him then slammed Dairuko into the ground. Drojin was on top of Dairuko using the extra weight of gold to keep him in place and just kept punching Dairuko in the face over again, then began choking Dairuko once Drojin thought he was too weak to fight back, but Dairuko managed to grab a handful of sand and throw it in Drojin's eyes, forcing Drojin off Dairuko.
The sand that Dairuko threw in Drojin's eyes didn't last very long as a distraction. Dairuko tried to sit up, but Drojin grabbed Dairuko's face then slammed him into the ground, Dairuko weakly tried to punch Drojin's hand away but all this did was show Drojin that he still had some fight left.
"Your struggle…" Drojin exclaimed and slammed Dairuko's head into the ground again. "… is in…" Drojin smashed Dairuko's head again, "… vain!" and again.
After the third slam, Dairuko stopped moving, but Drojin didn't stop. Instead, he grabbed Dairuko by the leg and started smashing him side to side like a rag doll.
"I'm surprised you're still breathing. Most people would be dead long before now." Drojin said as he noticed Dairuko was still breathing then slammed his face into the ground again and was ready to punch Dairuko again when suddenly; Dairuko kicked Drojin off him and through several trees before the latter crash landed elsewhere.
"You… talk too much." Dairuko panted, out of breath, before taking off his flak jacket and taking a running position.
As Dairuko took running his position, black lines began appearing all over his body and his muscles grew slightly bigger, then he took off and a few seconds later the sand lifted. Drojin was still getting up when Dairuko slammed his face into the ground and ran, letting Drojin's face grind against the ground before stopping and just watching as Drojin slid across the ground.
A still groggy Drojin tried to get up but Dairuko quickly punched him back to the ground and continued to rain down punch after punch on Drojin, who was helpless to fight back at this point. When Dairuko was done punching Drojin he grabbed him by the arm and spun him round and round, before throwing him straight up into the air, and Dairuko pumped chakra into his legs before jumping into the air after Drojin, grabbing him in a pile-driver position.
"Tombstone Burial!" Dairuko exclaimed, as he and Drojin hit the ground, sending a massive shockwave throughout the forest. Drojin crawled out of the crater, followed by Dairuko, who let out a sigh of relief as his body returned to its normal state. "Well… that was a successful field test." Dairuko said to himself as he walked towards Drojin- who was still struggling to crawl out of the crater.
"W-what is your name?" Drojin asked, struggling to breathe.
"Senju Dairuko."
"Senju Dairuko, despite fate pitting us against each other as enemies… will you honour a dying man's request and hear my story?" Drojin asked and Dairuko hesitantly went on one knee to listen to Drojin. "I thank you, Senju Dairuko. I wasn't always like this. I was a simple blacksmith in a small village. My unique abilities kept the currency in my village flowing, until theycame to my village. They challenged me and, upon my defeat, took me away from my family."
"Who are they?"
"They call themselves Hoka. They forced me to work for them… threatened to kill my family if I didn't join them. So I joined; I committed so many sickening acts I couldn't stand the sight of myself, but I fought in the hopes of meeting someone stronger than myself who could protect my son Atsushi…" Drojin showed Dairuko a picture of a young boy "Please, Senju Dairuko, protect my son where I failed." Dairuko took the picture from Drojin.
"I will try my best…"
"Drojin… my name is Drojin."
"I'm sorry it came to this, Drojin… I'm a father too." Dairuko said sincerely, when black seal symbols began to spread across Drojin's body, and he started thrashing around.
"Senju Dairuko, kill me before the seal completes and kills us both!" Drojin growled through the pain.
"Drojin, what's going on?" Dairuko asked, stepping back.
"The bastards placed a j-jutsu on those of us who wouldn't j-join willingly. If… If we were ever defeated… it would activate and wipe both us and our opponent… out." Drojin panted haltingly, then "Please." Dairuko caved in Drojin's chest before the seal could be completed.
Hinata and Ryuhei engaged each other in taijutsu; both were equally fast. Ryuhei already knew about the Gentle Fist fighting style. He was surprised at how aggressive Hinata's fighting was and he cursed himself for allowing the shockwave to reveal his presence to these kids.
"Whoa… is that really our Hinata?" Kiba asked as he watched Hinata fight on a whole different level than he'd seen her fight before.
"Hinata is no longer fighting like she has to prove something; she's fighting like a true warrior." Shino said and despite his monotonous tone, he was smiling.
Hinata stayed on the attack while Ryuhei focused on defence, until he saw that Hinata left her side open, and Ryuhei attempted to kick her but Hinata hooked her arm around it, leaving Ryuhei open as she kicked Ryuhei between the legs. Ryuhei was struggling to his feet when Hinata stepped up to him and, when he looked up again, she kicked him square in the face with enough force that it launched him into the air a bit.
"Double Air Palm!" Hinata exclaimed as the air wave knocked Ryuhei back. "Stay down."
"Not a chance…" Ryuhei said as he stood up. "I just cracked your code."
Hinata was a bit shocked, but she attacked Ryuhei regardless. Ryuhei expected this and caught Hinata's punch, then twisted her arm before pushing her forward and kicking Hinata in the back. Hinata turned around and tried to punch him, but Ryuhei kicked it away countering with a series of kicks to Hinata's sides followed by a kick to her chin, then Hinata instantly countered with her own cartwheel kick that brought Ryuhei to his knee.
"Kiba, it's almost time." Shino said.
"Right. Get ready, Akamaru." Kiba said.
Ryuhei tried to uppercut Hinata who dodged in such a way that it looked like she was knocked into the air, except she two-footed Ryuhei and while he recovered, Kiba made his move.
"Gatsuga!"
Kiba and Akamaru came at Ryuhei, who quickly got on his back and kicked upwards burying his foot into Akamaru's ribs, knocking the dog off course and into a tree.
"Akamaru!" Kiba called out, then attacked Ryuhei himself.
"I've killed plenty of your clan before now to know how you and your mutts fight." Ryuhei taunted, as he blocked all of Kiba's attacks with one hand but he got arrogant and Kiba managed to scratch Ryuhei across his chest forcing him to jump back.
'It's time.' Shino thought to himself as he sent out his bugs that ate away at Ryuhei, but Ryuhei quickly tore off his mask and clothes, revealing that he was actually a she and she wore bandages around her chest and black tights; she also had short two-tone blondish brown hair.
"Whoa, he's a she?" Kiba asked.
"That was a good plan but it'll take more than bugs to defeat me." Ryuhei said.
"Our plan was to distract you." Shino said.
"Giant Rasengan!" Jiraiya exclaimed as he appeared from behind Ryuhei and hit her with a Rasengan that, on contact, grew into a giant blue ball that launched Ryuhei through several trees. "And that's me out of this fight." Jiraiya said and sat back down - exhausted.
"Do not worry; once the bugs have eaten what chakra you have left the poison will no longer be a problem." Shino said.
"So, what about the bugs in my system, what will happen to them?"
"They will pass through your body in a week's time."
"Eh?! What do you mean 'pass through' my body?" Jiraiya asked and Shino remained quiet. "Oh that's just swell." Jiraiya said sarcastically.
Kuroko jumped into the air to deliver a kick to Natsuki, who blocked it then countered it with her own, knocking him into the air before blowing a fireball at him. Kuroko recovered in time to teleport behind Natsuki using her own shadow then, once she turned to face him, he delivered a powerful right hook, followed by his shadow kicking her in the stomach while he knocked her off her feet.
Kuroko had a clone come from the ground, taking Natsuki into the air before slamming her head-first into the ground; Kuroko looked down at Natsuki, revelling in his victory when Natsuki suddenly stood up with black lightning around her and, before Kuroko could react; Natsuki was in front of him with a lightning infused uppercut, knocking him into the air and away from her.
'Where did this power come from?' Kuroko thought in shock, as went sailing through the air. Natsuki didn't give him any time to breathe though as she jumped toward him and knocked him away again, before landing and running pass him to intercept and kick him across the ground.
Kuroko sent a clone to attack Natsuki from above but again, she blocked it, just as the real Kuroko came at her. Natsuki quickly kicked Kuroko away then activated a lightning aura to disperse the clone instantly but Kuroko recovered again and teleported to Natsuki, unleashing a flurry of attacks with his clone that Natsuki couldn't defend against, as the clone once again took her into the air and slammed her head-first into the ground as they landed.
Natsuki stood up after all that and just looked at Kuroko.
"Is that your best?" she mocked and Kuroko lunged at her but was punched into a tree where Natsuki used her Chidori Spear to pierce his shoulder and hold him in place.
Natsuki had Kuroko pinned against the tree and she began beating on him with left hooks and kicks before finally kicking Kuroko so hard in the chest that he went through the tree, and into the base of another that collapsed on top of him. By this time Natsuki's Hidden Mist jutsu had dispersed, and Kuroko was able to use his shadow manipulation to its full potential again, he teleported behind Natsuki.
"My power knows no limits!" Kuroko cried as he and several clones ganged up on Natsuki, hitting her from every angle but, with Natsuki in her Lightning Sage mode, she was able to block every strike out of pure speed, before she countered with a powerful right hook on the real Kuroko knocking him away.
Natsuki let out another burst of lightning aura to disperse his clones before appearing in front of Kuroko with a shoulder tackle, knocking him off balance, followed by a roundhouse kick that sent Kuroko flying through the air before crashing into the ground. As soon as Kuroko landed, Natsuki jumped into the air and broke Kuroko's leg upon landing on it, she then stomped on his head.
"It doesn't matter how infinite your power is." Natsuki started, and then stomped on Kuroko's head again. "You're still a thief; a trickster who relies on wit and deception to win." Natsuki stomped on his head again. "I am a true shinobi. I've fought Tailed Beasts, armies, I've seen the worst, been through the worst." Natsuki stomped again. "Your 'power' will never beat my experience." Natsuki stomped one final time as the real Kuroko leapt from a tree above Natsuki for a sneak attack, but instead, Natsuki impaled him with a Chidori.
"H-h-how?" Kuroko asked.
"I explained it to you already," Natsuki then leaned close to Kuroko's ear and said. "I'm better than you." Then pulled out her Chidori and watched Kuroko's body hit the ground.
Natsuki made her way to where the hostages were kept and opened the trap door.
After Dairuko sent his team and Jiraiya on their way back to the Mist, he went to look for his sister and found her sitting on a rock in front of the opened trap door.
"Hey, you okay?" Dairuko asked.
"Honestly? I'm not." Natsuki replied and looked at her brother with a tired expression on her face. "They're dead, Dairuko."
"What are you talking about?"
"The villagers are dead… they've been dead a while." She nodded at the open trap door.
"How long is a while?"
"Long enough that the villagers you fought were the last people of that village."
"Oh shit… the Hoka killed an entire village?"
"How do you know about the Hoka?"
"Drojin told me what they did to get him to work for them."
"I see."
"You already knew about them didn't you?" Dairuko asked and Natsuki chuckled.
"Yes I did."
"Why didn't you tell me or Itachi?"
"Because, Dairuko, this is my fight… not yours." Natsuki said and stood up to walk away when Dairuko stood in front of her.
"Don't give me that crap."
"Get outta my way, Dairuko, there's someone I need to see." Natsuki said and walked pass Dairuko who grabbed her wrist and, before she could pull her arm away, Dairuko spoke.
"Why are you pushing us away, Onee-chan?" Dairuko asked. Natsuki froze instantly; Dairuko hadn't referred to her like that in years.
"I… I've never gone up against people like them before. They're everywhere but I can't find them." She said not turning to face her brother.
"We can help you, Natsuki."
"I know, but I can't put our family at risk… just by bringin' you in to help me would put Tsunade, Hinata, Ayame and Keiko at risk and if Itachi died because of me…" Dairuko never let her finish as he brought her in for a hug.
"Everything will be alright, Natsuki… we've been through a lot and we are all still alive."
"Dairuko… I'm afraid." Natsuki said and hugged Dairuko back, burying her face into his chest.
"I know, but now you got me to help you." Dairuko smiled and lifted Natsuki's chin so she'd look at him.
"But Ayame and Keiko… if we slip up there's no telling what would happen to them."
"All the more reason I need to help stop these guys."
"Damn you, Dairuko, you always do this to me."
"Do what?"
"Your stupid 'brotherly love' thing."
"Yes, because you're trying to pull an Itachi and solo everything. Besides… if these guys are as bad as you say, then Team 0 needs to stop them, and I mean the entire Team 0, even our contacts in other villages."
"I hate you." Natsuki smiled with eyes full of tears.
"I know you do." Dairuko smirked. "I need to head to the Mist for my team. I'll meet you in Konoha." Dairuko said and Natsuki wiped her eyes and nodded her head as the two parted ways.
Kabuto went flying across the table that was in his makeshift hideout. Natsuki had decided to pay him a visit after what he had done to her and Jiraiya.
"You set us up, you son of a bitch!" Natsuki exclaimed as she picked him up off the floor.
"I had to earn their trust by any means." Kabuto said defensively, and Natsuki punched him in the stomach.
"You could've given me some sort of warning."
"That's what the cards were for! My way of evening the odds for you." Natsuki kneed Kabuto in the stomach again.
"And the villagers? Why didn't you tell me they were already dead?"
"You had to believe they were still alive." Natsuki gritted her teeth as Kabuto spoke.
"Betray me a second time and I promise you that you won't get a third chance." Natsuki said, and then let Kabuto go before storming out the door. Once she left, a hooded figure entered the room.
"Good work, Kabuto; she knows not where your loyalties lie." The hooded figure said.
"Yes, Hoka-sama." Kabuto said and bowed down, kissing the figure's proffered fist.
"Continue your work and you will have what you desire."
Itachi had left the hospital as soon as he was able to stand, he planned to face his would-be assassin outside the village and dispose of them swiftly. As he made his way toward the exit, he fell through the ground into an underground maze he didn't even know existed beneath Konoha.
'What is this place?' Itachi thought to himself, when he felt a presence behind him suddenly, so he turned to face his potential attacker with his Sharingan active, and what he saw was a samurai in tengu armour in a stance that allowed a quick draw of their katana.
"Who are you?" Itachi asked but the samurai didn't answer. Instead, they lunged forward at a speed even Itachi couldn't keep up with; there was a soft, short whistle of a blade cutting through the air, and then blood splattered on the wall.