Opening - Alones by Aqua Timez
"Get ready, you little shit."
Sasuke's blazing crimson eyes darted between the four Oto-nin, noting the unique patterns of black marks spreading over their skin. All four of them have Cursed Seals... Damn it, there's no way I can realistically win this. "...Hn," he muttered, and relaxed his taijutsu stance. "You've got my attention, now what do you want?"
"It's not what we want, it's what Orochimaru-sama wants," Sakon declared. "And Orochimaru-sama wants you."
"Is that so?" Sasuke held back as much of his smirk as he could. "I'd heard the rumors that he was a pedophile, but I never took them seriously..."
"Hey fuck you, brat!" Tayuya snarled and moved forward, prompting Sasuke to tense his muscles and prepare for battle once more. Sakon, however, held his arm out in front of her. "There's no way I'm letting this arrogant little snot badmouth Orochimaru-sama!"
"The kid seems open to diplomacy at this point, Tayuya. He's listening, and I don't intend to let you disrupt this conversation." Sakon held his arm in her path, until at last she sighed and relaxed. "Now then. Sasuke Uchiha..." he bent down and picked up Sasuke's sword by the blade, tossing it at the Uchiha's feet. "Orochimaru-sama is offering to give you tremendous power. He's taken an interest in your growth, and in your goals to kill a certain Itachi Uchiha. He sent us here to offer you the means to kill your brother."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and his two-tomoe Sharingan spun angrily. "What kind of power could he possibly offer me? He's useless right now."
Tayuya and Kidoumaru bristled at that, but Sakon merely smirked. "That Cursed Seal of Heaven... you don't know how to control it, do you?" Sasuke remained silent, and Sakon grinned. "Well then, let's start with that. Come with us, and we'll unlock the second stage of your Cursed Seal with this." he pulled a small bottle of round black pills from his pouch. "The Mind Awakening Pill. Taking this will increase your power tenfold, but in order to survive the side-effects, we'll need to put you in stasis until the pill finishes its work. In other words, we'll seal you away and take you to Oto while your Cursed Seal matures."
"And what if I say no to this?" Sasuke queried calmly.
"We'll take you by force," Sakon replied.
"...Hn." Sasuke closed his eyes for a brief moment. I can't get out of this. If I run, they'll catch me. If I fight, I'll lose. If I go with them willingly, I can at least gain that power... but wait... Unbidden, Naruto's words surfaced in his mind. There's a piece of Orochimaru's mind inside it that can influence you... It's too dangerous for you to use... Sasuke smirked after a few moments, as a plan formed. There's just one way I can make this work, and I can make it work beautifully...
"Fine. Give me an hour or two to get ready, and I'll meet you outside the village."
Sakon, who by now had made it clear he was the leader of the group, considered this. "...One hour. Anyone who follows you will be killed."
"That's fine by me." Sasuke took a moment to pick up his sword, and he slid it into the scabbard behind his lower back. "Ten times my current power level should be a good start toward killing Itachi."
The Sound Four vanished in a blur of movement that gave off a deep humming sound. Sasuke blinked, recognizing the Pulse Step Jutsu Mizuki had used. Then his thoughts moved back to the more pressing matter, and he made his way home.
He grabbed a backpack and started packing away his equipment, most of it sealed away in a collection of scrolls to save space. He filled his kunai holster and weapons pouch with as many ninja tools as he could comfortably fit inside, then set his plan into motion.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." A single clone of the Uchiha appeared, and seated himself on the original's bed. "Tomorrow morning, tell Naruto and Sakura everything." after a moment, he sighed briefly and added, "Lee deserves to know as well. No matter what happens, do not get dispelled. Convince Hokage-sama to put together a rescue team, and make sure Naruto is on it. If Tsunade says no, approach Naruto alone and get him to come rescue me."
The clone nodded, and Sasuke turned to leave without another word. The next several minutes passed in a blur for him, in a completely literal sense. He was tempted several times to flare his Sharingan, hoping to make sense of what was going on, where he was going, why he was leaving his home... why he might never come back.
If my plan fails... if even a single stage of it doesn't work... Orochimaru will win.
Then he spotted Sakura watching him, so close to the gates of the village, and something inside him cracked just a little.
He closed his eyes; they were stinging for some reason he couldn't fathom. I don't want to tell her this myself... Why couldn't she have found out from my clone? Quickly enough, his practiced poker face descended over his features, and he spoke up. "It's the middle of the night... what are you hanging around here for?"
"Somehow I just knew," Sakura replied quietly. "I knew you'd be here. This is the only road out of the village."
"...You just knew," Sasuke echoed. "Your instincts are pretty sharp, Sakura. I didn't even know I was coming here tonight, until about half an hour ago."
"Why, Sasuke?" he glimpsed moonlight reflecting off a silver line running down her left cheek, and he looked down. He couldn't bear to see it. "Why won't you ever tell me anything?"
"Sakura... I was going to tell you tomorrow morning," he replied shakily. "I was-"
"But you won't be here tomorrow morning," she cut him off, and her voice cracked. "Or any morning after that. Why? Why... how could you choose Orochimaru over us?"
She really does have good instincts. "I-"
"Don't you know how much you're hurting us? Hurting Lee, and Kakashi-sensei, and me?"
"Saku-"
"You don't see it. I've tried so hard, for so long to show you that I love you, Sasuke!" she stepped forward, and by this point her voice was cracking consistently. "I... I can see there's no way I can convince you to stay here with me... I know that. So please just take me with you!"
Sasuke looked back up, surprised, and for a brief instant he wished he hadn't. The tears were clearly flowing down both of her cheeks now, and the way she was looking at him...
There's only one thing I can do here. Only one way I can possibly get her to hear me out. Otherwise, she'll keep cutting me off, and I'm running out of time... Sakura's desperate rant was suddenly cut off when he flashed forward as fast as he possibly could. She flinched backward, but his arms closed around her back and pulled her closer. By this point she was genuinely scared, and she quickly gave a squeal that might have grown louder into a scream, if not for one simple thing.
Sasuke wasn't attacking her, he was kissing her.
After several long, silent seconds, he pulled away and murmured, "Please hear me out, Sakura. I promise you won't regret it."
"T-This is..." Sakura shook her head shakily, and accused, "It's genjutsu. It has to be. You used your Sharingan."
"It's real, Sakura. Even with these eyes of mine, it took me far too long to see that it's always been real." he released her and she stepped back, confused and worried. "I always thought you were just another one of my stupid fangirls, I really did. The only reason I can see it now is because you asked to come with me to Oto. None of those girls from the Academy would ever think of doing something like that for me. If it wasn't for you saying that, I would've knocked you out with genjutsu and left it to my shadow clone to explain everything to you."
Sakura wiped away her tears, and murmured, "What... what shadow clone?"
"I created a clone in the Uchiha compound. Tomorrow, it's going to beg Hokage-sama to send a rescue party for me."
"I... I don't understand..."
"I can't get out of going with them, Sakura. And if I go with them, they'll give me control over this seal," he pulled down his collar to bare the black mark, "before I even set foot in Oto. Look, it's complicated, and I'm sure the clone can tell you everything in more detail, but the short version of the story is that I'm coming back. Make sure Naruto's on the team sent to rescue me, and I should be back in Konoha by nightfall tomorrow. I'll be stronger, Orochimaru will be weaker, and most importantly... I'll have a chance to tell you how sorry I am for scaring you like this."
"S-Sasuke..." without stopping to think, she stepped forward and kissed him. Her heart was pounding harder than it ever had before, with fear, with hope, with excitement. She was kissing Sasuke, saying goodbye to him, and praying that he would truly come back for her. It was almost too much for her to handle.
"What I'm trying to say is... thank you, Sakura." She froze for an instant, expecting to somehow be knocked out, but after a moment she blinked, and she was still very much awake. "For everything. You've waited for me for this long, so I'm asking you to wait one more day. It won't be any more than that, I promise. I'll come back to Konoha for you, or I'll die trying. And I have too much to live for, to even think about dying yet."
"And just in case I don't get to tell you tomorrow... I realized tonight that there's only one girl in this world who looks beautiful with pink hair."
Then he vanished again, and she couldn't help it any longer. The tears resumed flowing.
Meanwhile Sasuke stepped through the gates of the village, for possibly the last time. How much of what I said to her was true? He wondered. I was just making it up as I went along, trying to find some way to tell her it'll be okay... but was I lying? Was any of it really a lie?
Or did I really mean all of it? He sighed in exasperation, and stopped walking. Think, damn it. What did I say to her?I asked her to hear me out, and I told her she wasn't just a fangirl. I said no fangirl would ever offer to go missing-nin with me, and I told her I had a shadow clone waiting to explain everything tomorrow. So far, that's all true.
He reached up to run a hand through his hair, accidentally brushing his fingers over his Konoha headband. After a momentary pause, he untied it and slipped it into his pocket. I said it was going to hire a rescue party for me. Also true. I said I couldn't find a way to avoid going with the Sound Four... not true, I could've looked for a powerful ninja as an escort to the Hokage, I could've explained the situation and had those Oto-nin captured or killed. But it was better to just tell Sakura I only had one way out.
He started walking again. I said I'm coming back... true. I said Orochimaru would be weaker, and I'd be stronger. True. I promised to tell her I'm sorry when I get back. I'm going to do that. Then she kissed me... Sasuke blinked. I never got a chance to really think about how it felt to kiss Sakura. We kissed twice, and I never even thought about how that felt... stupid. That was stupid of me. When I get back, I'll...
He blinked again. Did I seriously just think to myself, 'I'll have to kiss her again and enjoy it this time?' He shook his head. No way. I'm just disoriented from everything that's happened. Yeah, that's it. I'm dioriented... so where was I again... right. After we kissed, I thanked her... and I asked her to wait for me... And then I promised I'd come back for her or die trying. And then I told her she was beautiful... Kami help me, where did all that come from?
"You actually showed up," Tayuya grumbled behind him, revealing her presence and that of her entire team. Sasuke's eyes briefly widened, but he quickly hid his surprise. "I gotta admit, I was expecting you to run for help or something stupid like that."
"You weren't followed," Sakon observed. "Good. That makes things quicker and cleaner for us." Suddenly he knelt before the Uchiha, and the other three members of his team followed suit. "The moment you abandoned the village, you became our new leader," he declared. "Please forgive the rudeness we displayed earlier."
"Hn. Like I care." Sasuke turned around and cast a crimson glare at his home village. Filled with sudden inspiration, he threw on a cold smirk. I'm acting, and I have to make it believable. No matter what, I can't afford to let them suspect anything.
"Let's go. This is the beginning."
X
"At approximately twenty-two hundred hours last night, Sasuke Uchiha was confronted by four unidentified ninjas, one of whom wore an Oto headband. They called themselves the Sound Four and attacked him. Despite being outnumbered, he fought back until they each activated Cursed Seals apparently given to them by Orochimaru. Unable to overpower or escape them, he was forced to resort to outwitting them, which is why I exist."
Tsunade leaned forward with a certain degree of interest, and inspected the shadow clone's expressionless face. "So Sasuke entrusted you to convince me to get a rescue party out there, to bring him back?"
Sasuke's clone nodded. "This is an official mission, for which I'm hiring Konoha's shinobi. I'm willing to pay the fee for an S-rank mission out of the Uchiha Clan's vaults. The original me cannot afford to stay in Orochimaru's care. I'm also offering to double the pay of the mission if I get to handpick the ninja sent to rescue me."
"Who do you want?"
"Naruto Uzumaki, Rock Lee, and everyone they see fit to bring with them."
The Hokage sighed and closed her eyes. "Kitsune."
An ANBU wearing a white cloak and a vaguely animal mask, marked only with three orange slashes on each cheek, appeared in a white blur. "Yes, Hokage-sama."
"You're in charge of the team. Take whoever you want."
Naruto removed his mask. "How many shinobi am I permitted to bring?"
"There were only four Oto-nin," she replied.
"Then I'd like to bring ten ninja with me, along with Lee."
"...Ten?" Tsunade questioned.
"For a total of twelve shinobi counting myself. A full team of three ninja will confront, outnumber and overpower each of our enemies, we'll retrieve Sasuke, and return to the village before nightfall. In addition, if any of them surrender in the face of such overwhelming odds, we may be able to extract valuable information about Orochimaru."
"...We're still recovering from the invasion," Tsunade pointed out. "Our ninja should be taking as many diverse missions as possible; we need the money."
"I'll triple the pay," Sasuke's clone replied evenly. "Three times the pay of an S-rank mission, for each of the four teams Naruto wants to bring, for a total of twelve S-rank payouts. Since Konoha takes a cut of each individual shinobi's pay, you won't get a much better offer than that."
Naruto cleared his throat and added, "Not to mention, Sasuke's exceptionally valuable to the village. Even if he were completely useless as a shinobi, he's the last Uchiha we have left. If we're looking at this from a completely calm, tactical perpective, thinking just about whether this mission is 'worth it,' then we have to remember that Sasuke is one of the only two people left in the world who can pass the Sharingan on to the next generation. If Konoha loses him, then we lose his bloodline."
"Then tell me. Who are you bringing with you to save him?"
"Hinata, Gaara, Tenten, and Haku. That makes six including myself and Lee. I'll take Temari and Kankurou too. I heard Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji are on a team now, so I'll take them, and that leaves one more... Neji Hyuuga, then. I'll be on a team with Hinata and Neji. Gaara, Temari and Kankurou are the Sand Siblings, so they can work together. Kiba, Shikamaru and Chouji are already on a team together. That leaves Lee, Tenten and Haku for my fourth team. Sasuke, can you tell me anything about their fighting styles?"
"I didn't get to see much," Sasuke admitted. "They all use high-level taijutsu, have a Cursed Seal like my own, and they said there was a second level to its power, implying they know how to use it. They also made use of a Pulse Step Jutsu or some derivative of it, like your Empty Wind."
"Which tells us that Orochimaru gave them a degree of access to Mizuki's copy of the Scroll of Seals," Naruto added thoughtfully. "But if I were him, I wouldn't just let them read the scroll until they found an interesting jutsu. That could quickly turn into a mess if they picked the wrong kinjutsu, and there would certainly be a few things in the scroll, like Edo Tensei, that he'd want to keep for himself. I'd expect someone clever and careful like Orochimaru to handpick a set of jutsu to give each member, playing to their strengths."
X
"...So in summary, you're saying you weren't kidnapped, instead you willingly agreed to go to buy yourself time."
Sasuke's shadow clone nodded.
"Good thinking."
"Um... Shikamaru, how the hell was that good thinking?" Kiba grumbled. "Why didn't he make a beeline for the Hokage's office? Or he could have met up with any random ninja patrolling the village. Now we have to go rescue his ass because he didn't think of that."
"I'll admit, this is a drag, but Sasuke really did make the only decision he could." Shikamaru Nara was now wearing a full Chuunin uniform complete with flak jacket, completely typical except for the fact that the entire outfit was dyed black, even his vest and weapons pouch. He sighed. "Think for a second. The enemy was able to slip past all of the patrols around the village. This shows us they're incredibly stealthy, but far more significant is the fact they slipped through the detection barrier surrounding Konoha from all sides, including above and below. The only way they could do that is if they were barrier experts of a heavy enough caliber to reshape the existing barrier created by their enemy, enough to create an entrance."
"So? What the hell does that matter?"
"Simple. It means they're very powerful ninja. With their stealth and barrier ninjutsu skills at the requisite level for them to infiltrate our village, in addition to what little of their combat prowess they showed and their Cursed Seals, Sasuke was entirely justified in believing that whatever help he could find on such short notice would be wiped out by the enemy, and he would be kidnapped for his trouble."
Kiba scowled. Akamaru emerged from the zipper of his new deep crimson hoodie, and growled along with his master. "Great. So what, these guys are S-rank threats or something? Then doesn't that mean he's screwed?"
"Low A-rank is my best guess. And no, Sasuke isn't 'screwed,' for one simple reason. He has us. The Titan, the Hellhound, and the Black Knight."
Sasuke snorted. "You guys have codenames now?"
"That was my idea," Kiba nodded with a grin. "It's pretty cool, huh?"
"So... Hellhound." He glanced at Kiba momentarily. "And with the shadow jutsu and the black outfit, I'd say you're the Black Knight." Shikamaru smirked and nodded slightly. "So that makes Chouji..."
"The Titan," Chouji agreed, revealing his presence behind Sasuke.
The Uchiha turned to face the third member of the Chuunin team, and immediately noted, "You've lost weight." It was true; although Chouji was still a heavyset boy with his bag of chips on hand at all times, he was now significantly less pudgy. He was wearing a full suit of red and silver Akimichi Clan armor, and had exchanged his old, bizarrely shaped forehead protector for a traditional headband. This still left his hair spiked up into two main points, but he no longer seemed to be wearing underwear on his head. "How'd that happen?"
"I've been training," Chouji admitted. "I'm trying to build up a resistance to the green Calorie Control Pill, so I can use it without hurting myself. It's working, but it's also gradually doing this to me. That's a problem, because Akimichi Clan ninja can weaponize the calories we store. If I'm losing weight, I'm losing power." he grinned, and paused to stuff a handful of chips into his mouth. "The good news is, that means I have an excuse to eat even more. Life is good."
Led by Gaara, the Sand Siblings approached the four ninja already waiting by the gates of Konoha. "You guys are early," Temari commented. She no longer wore her fan on her back, instead she wore thin, light wristbands on each arm, bearing storage seals. The one on her left wrist held the gunbai, while her right wrist carried the folding fan she'd brought from Suna. Similarly, the bundle of white bandages Kankurou always carried his puppet inside was absent, and instead he wore a thick, heavy white sash from his left shoulder to his right thigh.
"So, that's your new puppet?" Shikamaru pointed to the sash.
"...How did you...?"
"Please, what else could it be? That sash has to weigh at least twenty pounds, and it's no coincidence that it's wrapped in the same kind of bandages that you kept Crow in. So can we see it?"
Kankurou shrugged. "Fine." he pulled the sash away by tugging on it from his right leg, and it pulled apart at his left shoulder. The bandages cleanly fell away in less than a second, and Kankurou let the sleek metal snake fall from his grip. The snake's fangs were apparently meant to lock into place on its tail, so it could be worn as a sash. "This is Anaconda. It took me a while to learn how to use her, but it was worth it."
He connected his chakra strings to the snake, and it reared up to hiss at Shikamaru. "By the way, stay away from my sister, kid."
"...Troublesome," the Black Knight remarked, and idly noted that Temari was faintly blushing. "Let's see... Those fangs are poisoned, but only the ones on the bottom jaw. The top ones are left clean in case you scratch yourself pulling the snake off your shoulder. That hose I see at the back of the snake's mouth is illuminated by a small electrical spark. A flamethrower. The armor looks easily solid enough to deflect a hit from this..." a straight-bladed black sword appeared in his hand with a puff of smoke, then vanished again before Kankurou could examine it, "...and it's probably lighter and faster than your old puppet. And are those poisoned senbon launchers I see, hidden between the armor scales?"
"Enough," Gaara interrupted. Kankurou and Temari's eyes widened, but they quickly relaxed when Gaara failed to show any killing intent. "Kankurou, if Temari wants to spend time with Shikamaru then you have no right and no reason to step in." Kankurou blinked. "He certainly seems like her type, from what I can see." Temari's blush deepened. "Now put your weapon away; we're all on the same side."
Kankurou quickly nodded, and used his puppetry to lift Anaconda back into place on his shoulder. At the same time, he wrapped it in the white bandages again, and its teeth clicked into place on its tail. Temari promptly cuffed him on the back of the head. "You're b-both idiots," she stammered. "We've only hung out twice, and we're not like t-that."
Naruto, Hinata and Neji appeared in a blur, and Naruto's coat fluttered with the leftover momentum of his movement. "Sorry we're late," he began, "What'd we miss?"
"You're not late, and you didn't miss much," Shikamaru answered. "The Sound Four are barrier ninjutsu users with Jounin-level or higher stealth skills, and their other skills likely meet the same standard. Each one is an A-rank threat as far as I can tell. Once I actually see them myself, I should be able to tell you more."
"Which is another reason I picked you for this mission," Naruto grinned, then glanced to his right to see the fourth and final squad arriving. Tenten was in the lead, with Haku following to her right and Lee to her left.
"We're all here now, so this is it," Naruto's voice took a serious tone, and he addressed the gathered shinobi. "I don't know what Sasuke means to all of you, whether he's a friend, an ally, or someone you barely talk to. But as of right now, he's one more thing to all of us. He's a client who has hired the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and he's counting on us to save his life. We won't let him down! We're going to bring Sasuke back to his village and his friends in one piece. When we lay eyes on our enemy, Shikamaru will assign one team to each of the Sound Four. Trust his judgment, and defeat the opponent he chooses for you. If possible, capture the enemy alive, but don't hold back. We'll return to this point at sunset tonight, all of us! Move out!"
The twelve shinobi leapt through the gates of Konoha in a blur, leaving Sasuke's clone standing there by himself, with his hands stuffed in his pockets. He glanced up at the sky thoughtfully. "...They won't fail," he decided. "I can feel it..."
"I hope you're right." The Uchiha turned his attention to where a young, pink-haired girl was emerging from the shadow of Konoha's gates. "Look," she murmured, "I know Sasuke created you before he met me last night, so you don't remember what happened, but please..." she stepped forward, blushing slightly. "Give him this memory." Then she kissed him, and the shadow clone's eyes widened in surprise. "If they don't bring you back, Sasuke-kun, I'm coming to get you myself."
The clone blinked and nodded, then tried to respond to this. "Sakura..." he shut his mouth hesitantly, unable to think of anything to say for several seconds. "I'll see you soon," he decided, then exploded into a cloud of white smoke.
X
Leaping through the treetops, Naruto ducked under a branch and called, "Hinata, can you tell us how far ahead they are?"
Neji blinked. "Naruto, the Byakugan has a limited field of vision. I can only see for about fifty meters, so-"
"Byakugan." Hinata and Naruto simultaneously dodged another branch, shortly followed by Neji. "I can see them ahead of us, but it's hard to tell how far away they are... if I had to guess, I'd say two hundred meters. They've stopped running, and now they seem to be setting traps. They know we're coming." she deactivated her eyes, and turned to Neji. "It's actually not that hard to extend the range of the Byakugan, but it takes time and practice. Haven't you ever tried?"
"I... I'll have to look into that," Neji decided, clearly surprised.
"They're definitely setting traps," Hinata confirmed. "Tripwires, mostly. I can see the big one rigging what looks like some kind of deadfall. I don't see Sasuke, just the four of them and some kind of coffin, covered in fuinjutsu. Obviously he's inside it, but why?"
"Something to do with his Cursed Seal," Naruto replied. "He told me that the Sound Four had offered to unlock a second stage of his transformation, so I guess the coffin is somehow changing his seal."
"We're closing in on them quickly," Hinata commented quietly, and Naruto nodded. He held up his right hand and signalled for the team to stop as he did the same. Only Shikamaru kept dashing through the trees, and stopped when he spotted the Sound Four.
He crouched, hidden within the branches of the tree, and clasped his hands together in his thinking position. He also idly noted a pair of tripwires just in front of his feet, smirking. None of them are carrying any weapons. The girl has that flute, and I can only assume she uses it for sound-based genjutsu since it's so typical of Oto-nin. It might have other powers too. She's a ranged fighter, and she has to be skilled at evading the enemy long enough to use her flute. The guy with six arms probably uses them to his advantage with taijutsu, but obviously that won't be his only skill.
The big guy should also specialize in close-range combat, but again I'd expect him to use ninjutsu in case he's fighting a ranged foe. That leaves the guy with the silver hair. Sasuke said this one has a kekkei genkai to manifest additional limbs and heal at a faster rate. That would allow him to weave two sets of hand seals simultaneously, and he's probably a heavy hitter with taijutsu like the rest of them. The girl is faster, the big one is stronger, and the other two have extra limbs.
From that, I can infer that they all have different fighting styles. The big one prefers to block attacks and crush opponents with his strength, while the girl chooses to dodge using her greater speed and smaller frame, then counterattack by quickly slipping through the enemy's defenses. The two with extra limbs will go on the offensive with unusually complex taijutsu attacks, and they'll prefer to catch our attacks and counter them.
Shikamaru gave a sly smile, and retreated without drawing any attention. "Listen up," he called softly, and the four teams gathered around him. "Temari, Gaara, Kankurou. You three are to take the tall, fat one with the orange mohawk. He prefers to fight at close range, which is why I set you up against him. You can eliminate him without getting close. Lee, Haku, Tenten. You'll fight the girl; she's fast and she'll try to keep her distance if her taijutsu doesn't cut it. To beat her, you'll have to move even faster than she can, and surround her if at all possible. Haku, you should be able to do that with your ice."
"Kiba and Chouji, we're gonna fight the skinny guy with silver hair. I'm not sure how his kekkei genkai works, but we know he can manifest additional limbs and heal himself. He'll try to use advanced taijutsu with four or more arms, and that's when we'll crush him. Naruto, Hinata, and Neji, that leaves you three to fight the guy with six arms. He'll probably try to use taijutsu as well, but the three of you can counter it with kenjutsu or the Gentle Fist."
"Now, keep in mind that at least one of our opponents is likely to chicken out of their fight at some point, and they'll try to carry that coffin away. If possible, stop them from getting too far away. Understood?" the other eleven shinobi nodded. "Then let's go."
Naruto, Hinata and Neji leapt through the treetops, moving quickly enough that whatever signal the tripwires sent was too late. The Sound Four had no time to react, and so Naruto aimed his right hand at Kidoumaru. At the last second, however, he changed his mind and unsealed his sword, swinging it downward to throw a Banshou Karu blade at Kidoumaru. As the six-armed boy dodged it smoothly, Naruto sealed his weapon away and reached for Sasuke's coffin. "Banshou Tenin!" The coffin shot upward and Naruto caught it, briefly struggling with its weight before tapping into his Bijuu-human hybrid chakra to cope. "Run," he commanded, and Hinata and Neji followed him as he fled.
Clever, Shikamaru observed as Kidoumaru quickly followed, while the other three Oto-nin were preoccupied with their respective teams. The Nara genius glanced over at Chouji, who shook the earth as he grew to a height of twenty feet and charged at Sakon, who blanched and retreated away.
Tayuya growled angrily, watching Sasuke's coffin flying toward Naruto, and moved to follow it. She was immediately blocked by a rising wall of water that solidified into ice. She glimpsed an incoming green blur to her right, and leaned backward to dodge a punch from Rock Lee. The spandex-clad boy retreated for a moment, promptly replaced by a spandex-clad girl wielding a jian. Tenten swung her weapon at Tayuya's throat, but again the pink-haired girl dodged backward.
To her shock, however, a longer ethereal blade of red and orange light extended from the hilt, surrounding the metal one and growing just long enough to scratch Tayuya's collarbone. The wound was cauterized by intense heat before it could even bleed, and Tayuya flinched and cried out. While her right hand reached for her flute, her left went to the fresh and painful burn on her chest.
Jiroubou watched all of this happening, and spotted the Sand Siblings approaching him. He took note of their weapons; a sword, gunbai and metal puppet. He slammed his palms down on the ground at his feet and called, "Earth Release Barrier: Earth Dome Prison!"
Gaara, Temari and Kankurou were surrounded by a rising wall of earth which wrapped around them as a dome of cracked stone. "...Hm..." Gaara slid his katana back into the sheath on his right hip, then turned to Kankurou and Temari. "Do either of you know a jutsu for this?" the older two Suna Genin shook their heads, and Gaara glanced upward. "It's draining our chakra," he commented idly. "I suppose we could make use of that."
He drew his sword again, and pointed it at the wall in front of him. "Bankai: Kuroshi Tanuki." While the massive flood of black sand remained inside the seal on the blade, the traces of Shukaku's chakra mixed with that sand leaked out of the blade as wisps of red smoke and light.
Outside the dome, Jiroubou could be heard screaming in agony, and he cut off the flow of chakra from the dome to his own reserves. While he kept maintaining the dome with chakra, the chakra it absorbed from Gaara merely dissipated into the air, steaming off the outside of the dome. "What the hell was that?" he growled. "What kind of chakra burns a person's tenketsu like acid?"
Shukaku, Gaara called, I need more of your chakra. With it, I can overpower and dismantle the barrier ninjutsu built into this dome. That should make it easy to break free.
A Version One cloak should cut it, Shukaku replied, but ya gotta understand, I can't give you a fraction of my power like the other Bijuu can. It means I can't give you a stable Version One cloak unless you mix it with sand.
"Stain, Kuroshi. Fourth Incarnation: Avatar of the End." Black sand exploded out of the guard of Gaara's sword, and enveloped him in a humanoid form that further developed a robe and hood of sand. The katana itself emerged from the sand monster's right wrist, and settled into its grip as a dagger. Shortly after that, more sand poured forth from the weapon and shaped itself into a scythe. "I'm ready."
Kick his ass, fleshbag.
Deep within the hood of sand, two orbs of crimson light appeared like eyes, and what appeared to be a lantern of shaped and hardened sand then formed in the sand creature's left hand. It was promptly lit by the same red light of Shukaku's excess chakra, appearing as boiling red lava within the lantern.
"True Fourth Incarnation: Death," Gaara named his new form, and swung the scythe forward. It ripped through the earth dome like paper, scattering dirt and boulders out toward Jiroubou. 'Death' stepped backward to tower over Temari and Kankurou as the dome collapsed, shielding them from the debris until the dome was gone, leaving only a cloud of dust which quickly cleared.
Jiroubou activated the first stage of his Cursed Seal, and glared at 'Death.' He slammed his right fist into his left palm, and stalked forward.
Within the sand construct he had named Death, Gaara's face remained impassive. He guided Death forward, and raised the scythe he wielded.
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