Chapter 10: A Typical C Rank

AN: Do you guys watch March Madness? Go UCLA!

Also, kudos to Emrys Akayuki for noticing my inspiration for Akiko's clan jutsu.

-o X o-

I couldn't believe it. Anko was taking us on a C-rank mission, because she was bored. She got fed up with the D-ranks faster than Naruto did! At least it wasn't the Wave mission; that must come later, and hopefully Sasuke's team would pick it up, if it got handed out to a rookie genin team at all. Anko seemed really strong, but I don't think she is on the same level as Kakashi. The three of us genin could probably take Haku together, but Zabuza would wipe the floor with all of us if he got through Anko sensei.

"Welcome to Konoha General, the best medical center in all of Hi no Kuni," Anko announced as she led me inside. Naruto and Akiko had scampered off after lunch to pack their bags, but Anko was taking me to get some quick treatment for my bruised forearms before I was set free for the day.

We walked through the double glass doors and approached the desk secretary, who observed us with a lazy disinterest. I'm sure she was used to seeing worse than some bruised forearms. She might be a Nara, a few years older than me, judging by the faint resemblance she bore to Shikamaru.

"Welcome, how can I help you today?" she drawled, her head resting in the palm of her hand.

"Just a quick patch job to make him mission ready for tomorrow," Anko chirped, pulling up one of my sleeves as she did so. "He's still a bit squishy, like a tomato. They just don't make genin like they used to."

The receptionist snorted as she looked through some paperwork. "Do you have a preferred physician?"

Anko looked at me, and I shook my head. "We'll just take whoever is available at the moment," she said.

The girl nodded and looked through some kind of log book, while passing some forms across the counter in my direction. "Ah, Dr. Yakimoto is available now. Please fill out these forms for me, and then go wait in room number 322. The doctor will be along shortly. Take the stairs on the right here to the third floor, and then take the first corridor on the right and follow the hallway signs."

I took the papers and quickly filled in my name, ninja ID number, and general health information, before handing them back over. A short walk later, and we found our way to the designated examination room. I looked around curiously. The room had the same sterile look and feel as the hospitals I had known in a different time. In this room, at least, there was no fancy equipment. Just a bed for the patient, some guest chairs, a sink, and some cabinets.

A moment later, a young man with tied back silver hair entered the room, looking at notes on a clipboard, and my breath hitched.

"Ah, you must be Tedashi," he greeted warmly, pushing up his round framed glasses to observe me better. "The green-eyed Hyuuga. I've heard about you. How interesting. I have a mentor who's simply fascinated with kekkei genkai variants, and he mentioned-" he turned, and showed the barest hint of surprise upon seeing my sensei in one of the waiting chairs. "Ah, Anko san. What a pleasure. Your reputation precedes you. You must be his sensei," he said, fiddling with his glasses again. She shrugged indifferently, not seeming to care in the least about the devil in our presence.

"Are you Dr. Yakimoto?" I asked with a forced smile.

The boy laughed self-depreciatingly. "No, no, I'm just a genin scribe. But I will be assisting Dr. Yakimoto today. He is an excellent physician; you're in good hands."

It's not his hands I'm worried about.

"Ah, but where are my manners? My apologies, I still get a little nervous when talking to patients sometimes," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I will be doing a simple preliminary examination. It says here that you have some bruising? Let me take a look."

I flinched a bit when his chakra coated hand glided over my forearms. "Are you alright?" he questioned.

"I'm fine. It's my first time being treated at a hospital," I said quickly. "I'm a bit nervous, I guess."

His easy smile returned. "Ah, that explains it. Most chakra treatments cause interesting sensations, but you'll get used to it before long. Besides, this is just a simple diagnostic jutsu. It won't hurt you."

I wasn't reassured. I was completely defenseless here, and this boy had the skills and opportunity to kill me in an instant if he chose to do so. Maybe this is why so many ninjas hate the hospital; paranoia comes with the job, and it seems to only get worse the longer you're in the business. To be examined by people you don't know, while in a physically vulnerable position… it must be a nightmare scenario for some of the more experienced ninja. Seeing that one of Orochimaru's spies had worked his way into the system completely justified those fears. I made a mental note to prioritize finding a doctor that I could trust.

Kabuto stood up straight again and made a few notes on his clipboard. "Yep, just simple bruising, from what I can tell. No fractures, tears, or other damage. Your heartbeat and blood pressure are rather high for a ninja at rest, but that's probably just your nerves coming into play," he shot me a quick look, but I remained neutral faced. Concealing emotion was a Hyuuga specialty. Kabuto went back to taking notes and continued. "I'm sure Dr. Yakimoto will have you fighting fit in no time."

I nodded, and Kabuto left the room

"Tch, poor kid," Anko remarked with a snort after the door had closed. "I could hear his heartbeat from here, and he was nearly as nervous as you are. He must be new around here."

"Must be," I said tersely.

A few moments later, a middle-aged man strode into the room, giving a polite nod to Anko before addressing me in a clipped tone. "Hyuuga san, greetings. Let me see your arm."

I obediently held out my arms, sleeves rolled back, and after a brief visual inspection, the doctor's hands glowed green and he went to work. It was an odd sensation, like cold water was being run through my body beneath my skin, and the dull aches of the emerging bruises faded away. Less than thirty seconds later, he was finished.

"You are now mission ready. I hope we don't see each other again anytime soon," he replied in a brusque, deadpan manner, and simply walked out the door.

"Huh, what a friendly fella," Anko remarked in a chipper tone, hopping out of her chair. "But I guess that is technically a nice thing for a doctor to say. Let's go, my little ninja toddler." I followed her out, waving to the bored Nara receptionist as we passed through the lobby. "You go pack up for the mission tomorrow. See ya in the morning!"

And with that, Anko disappeared in the Konoha Body Flicker technique that I still had yet to learn, and I headed back to the Hyuuga compound to prep for the mission. The Academy covered the basics of what we should bring on long term missions, but my mother was due back from her own mission today, and would hopefully be able to give me some pointers. Besides, she had been sent on a short-term patrol mission the morning of our team assignments, and hadn't heard about my team assignment yet.

Sure enough, I returned home to the smell dinner on the stove, and found my mom in the kitchen. "Tedashi!" she greeted, having heard me coming. "How has it been working with your Genin team? Have those D-rank missions been everything you expected them to be?"

"Tch. We've only done one mission so far, and that cat is half demon, I'm certain. My teammates are great- I got paired up with Naruto, and a girl named Akiko Onikuma. My sensei is a little more questionable- have you heard of Anko Mitarashi?"

My mother started laughing. "Oh, have I! Yes, I know a thing or two about Anko. Quite amusing, that Hokage sama assigned her as your sensei. She is eccentric, but a very gifted kunoichi. Don't underestimate her due to the various personas she puts on- she is quite a skilled actress and manipulator. But if I don't want to give too much away. Just know that you are in capable hands."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? She picked us up a C rank mission for tomorrow, as our second mission ever. I think she did it because she was bored."

My mother hummed noncommittally. "Perhaps. That does sound like her. But she may recognize that you and your teammates are fairly competent, capable of working together already, and won't get each other killed in the field at the first encounter with random thieves and bandits. You know, some villages don't even have D rank missions for their genin; the Leaf is known to be a little more cautious, maybe overly so, in making sure the new teams get some working experience together before doing their first 'real' mission. I'm sure you'll be fine."

I hadn't really thought of it like that; I suppose most C ranks aren't anything like Team 7's in canon. My mother is right, we should be fine. It is just a courier mission, probably to a nearby outpost. No problem.

"Do you know what type of mission you'll be going on? And how long it will take?" she asked.

"Courier mission. I'm not sure where to yet, but supposedly a week or two round trip."

My mother frowned. "Ah, unfortunate. I have a couple days off, then I'm going on an extended mission. Several weeks, maybe even a couple months. I might not be here when you return."

I looked at her, puzzled. "That long? What kind of mission is taking you out of the village for that long?"

She smirked. "Well, I may be a Chunin, but I have a very particular set of skills. Skills that make me a critical asset in achieving certain strategic objectives. I haven't had to do any missions of this particular nature since before you were born- thankfully, Hokage sama is very understanding when assigning missions to parents of young children. But since you are now a full-fledged ninja, it seems like he is wasting no time in getting me back into the field."

I stared at her for a minute, but since she hadn't told me the nature of the mission yet, I figured that it had to remain confidential. I know my mother is competent, but I didn't know of any particular specialties. She was still considered to be in her ninja prime at only thirty-two years old, but what kind of skills made her critical for certain long-term missions?

"Will you give me any details about it?" I asked.

"Nope," she said, smiling cheekily. "I'll tell you when you're older, maybe when you're Chunin."

I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Fine. I'm going to get my mission gear packed up and sealed away. You can give me some tips over dinner."

"Sounds like a plan," she replied cheerfully, returning to the stove.

-o X o-

The next morning, our team met together at the village gate. We checked out with the gate guards, who I recognized but couldn't remember the names of, until Anko addressed them as Kotetsu and Izumo. Naruto made some ruckus about his excitement for leaving the village for the first time, and we began a steady jog along a northward path.

After about fifteen minutes, Anko called us together to give us some more details.

"Alright, kiddos. Here's the deal. Konoha has a C rank missive that needs to be delivered to Taki. Basically, it's important enough to warrant a ninja team to deliver it, but not so important that we expect hostile interference to try to intercept it. That's why Konoha is letting me drag you babies along for the journey."

"Hey!" Naruto complained. "We are totally capable of protecting a stupid letter. Bring on any enemy!"

Anko snorted and ignored him. "Most courier missions involve simply delivering the message and getting back home, but due to the nature of this information, we also need to wait for a response, and then bring that back to the Hokage. I wish I could say we will be lounging around an onsen as we wait, but Taki is a little touchy about letting people know where their village is, so we will probably be camping out in the woods a couple days, no luxury accommodations included. But we have a long road ahead of us anyway, and with that in mind, we're going to practice tree hopping!"

It didn't take too long for the three of us to get the hang of it, and soon we were cutting across the wild forest at a respectable rate. Maybe it was just the novelty, but I found it incredibly fun to go hopping from branch to branch, tearing through the forest like superhuman trapeze artists.

At Anko's instruction, we proceeded in single file formation. Anko was leading, followed by Sokudo, then Akiko, then Naruto, then me. I was instructed to periodically check our surroundings with the Byakugan, and I wondered if Anko had any sensing ability, or if I was the only one with a tool to detect ambushes and traps. I decided to assume the latter, just to be safe.

We had been travelling for about five hours when Sensei called for our first break, and we landed in a small clearing to take our lunch. "How you holding up?" she asked, visually inspecting each of us.

Akiko and I were panting a bit; five hours of continuous exercise had taken a toll. Neither of us said anything though, and Anko took it as tacit approval of our pace.

"Akiko, Tedashi, your stamina is pretty decent for fresh Genin. Which means it sucks by actual ninja standards. We'll work on that when we get back," she said with a masochistic grin. Yay, cardio. "Naruto, you seem better off, but I'll put you through the same hell just for the fun of it."

Naruto just smiled excitedly, the madman. Sokudo also barked in approval. The little black puppy seemed fairly worn out himself, but still delighted in the physical exertion.

We ate a quick meal, consisting of ration bars and other dry snacks, then started the next trek of the journey. "At this rate, we should get to Taki the day after tomorrow," Anko informed us, "sometime in the afternoon, or maybe late evening, if we take a few extra breaks."

I settled into a tree hopping rhythm and tried to ignore the dull protest I could feel in my legs. The Academy had conditioning training, but nothing on this level. At least we would be in friendly territory the entire journey; I didn't have to worry too much about an ambush.

We made camp that evening, and since we were still in Fire Country, Anko deemed it safe enough to make a fire and have a hot meal. Hunting some small game to cook was child's play with the Byakugan, and we enjoyed fresh meat to complement the standard travel rations.

"Alright, now that camp's set up, we have to establish a watch rotation," Anko instructed. "I know we are still in friendly territory, but never be complacent about this kind of thing. There is always the possibility of hostile foreign scouts getting past our outposts and patrols. Akiko, you and Sokudo take the first watch. Then Naruto, then myself, then Tedashi. Two-hour shift, then wake up the next person, and we'll all get sufficient rest for the journey tomorrow."

I didn't miss the fact that she covertly summoned a few snakes to patrol the perimeter as well, before laying out her own bedroll. The rest of us soon followed suit.

-o X o-

The night passed uneventfully, as did our second day of travel and camp. On the third morning, the last day of our journey, I flushed some chakra through my muscles to soothe the dull soreness, and we headed out in high spirits, excited to finally reach our destination.

The woods had gotten increasingly dense as we got closer to the border. It felt like jungle terrain, with several small rivers cutting across the landscape and a thick canopy of foliage overhead. Birds called to each other in the trees, causing a constant, echoing background noise. I suppose it was by luck that during one of my regular activations of the Byakugan, I caught sight of four figures in the distance, one in the process of drawing a bow, and then firing an arrow. Somehow, the arrow seemed to move completely silently through the air, lacking the twang of the bowstring or the whistling sounds of the arrow I expected. Fortunately, the archer made the mistake of aiming at me.

"Ambush!" I shouted, even as I dodged the strangely silent golden arrow and unsealed my bo staff. My team quickly stopped running, and regrouped around me. I took the moment to focus on our ambushers. I recognized all four.

"Four hostiles, there," I said pointing in the direction of our enemies. "Sensei, they're ninja. Their chakra systems are strong. And…" I hesitated for a second, then made a hand seal. "Kai!" a genjutsu broke, and I could hear a female voice curse in the distance. Anko and Akiko followed my lead to quickly break the genjutsu on themselves. I disrupted the effect on Naruto and Akiko freed Sokudo. "The girl used a sound based genjutsu to mask their approach. They… they each have a seal similar to yours, Sensei, on the neck." The enemy were unmistakably Orochimaru's personal bodyguards, the Sound Four, not that I could tell my team that. What were they doing here?

Anko's eyes widened. She muttered a curse, then started giving instructions. "Ok, Naruto, make five clones and send them on ahead, try to make contact with someone from Taki and ask for backup. Tell them we are fighting four A-rank hostile ninja. These guys are out of your league. I will try to stall and distract them as long as possible, but when I say go, we all run for Taki, understood?"

Naruto frowned, but obediently created the clones and sent them on their way. "You're going to run too, right, sensei?" he asked skeptically. "Because if you don't run, we're not leaving you, believe it!"

Anko scoffed. "Don't worry, kid, I'll be right behind you."

The Sound Four were approaching us at a leisurely pace, seemingly unconcerned about our newbie team. But why were they here? Why attack us? For Anko? For Naruto? It didn't make any sense. Orochimaru didn't care about either of them, at least not this early. I don't even think he knew that Naruto was a Jinchuriki. Did it have to do with our mission?

"The blue haired guy has weird chakra," I commented, trying to get as much info to my team as I could, playing it off as Byakugan insights. "It's like he has two separate chakra systems. If you fight him, watch out for that, he might do some weird super clone or something. The guy who has six arms seems like the strongest. The girl cast the sound based genjutsu, and I can't determine much about the big guy but I would assume you want to avoid close quarters combat with him."

Contrary to my comments, based on their chakra, Sakon and Ukon were the strongest, with their freaky double chakra systems. But if we had to fight them, I wanted Anko fighting Kidomaru. I always thought he was the most formidable of the Sound Four, and the rest of us wouldn't stand a chance against his sticky chakra techniques. Naming him as the biggest threat would hopefully cause Anko to target him, if necessary.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here," Kidomaru called as they approached, a menacing smile adorning his face. "We found one of our master's old, discarded toys. It's almost pitiable, looking at the old model like this."

"This worthless bitch was his test run?" Tayuya asked, scoffing. "No wonder he tossed her aside."

Anko shrugged. "Haven't you noticed that sequels never live up to the original? The bastard must recognize that fact himself, considering he sent four of you for little old me."

"Ha, you think he sent us on a mission for you?" Sakon replied snidely. "That's rich. The fact that we get to dispose of you is just a lucky coincidence."

Anko raised an eyebrow, and I didn't miss the implication either. If they weren't here for her, then Orochimaru either had an interest in one of us genin (which would be very bad), or he had an interest in our mission (still bad, but mostly unlucky).

"Huh? Do you know these guys, Sensei?" Naruto asked in confusion.

Anko ignored him, replying to Sakon instead with a grin. "Is that so? Why is old snake face so interested in reading Konoha's mail? Doesn't he have anything better to do than intercept our letters?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," Tayuya replied with a cocky grin. "Perhaps you'll find out in the afterlife. In which case, you'll know shortly."

That was borderline confirmation that they were after our mission. What was in this letter to Taki that was important to Orochimaru himself?

"So…" Anko said slowly, "If I were to give you the missive, would you let us go on our merry way? We could all live to die another day?"

Sakon smirked in a way that oozed deceit. "Sure, of course. Just toss it over, and we'll negotiate the terms of your surrender."

Naruto looked appalled, but at least Akiko was still on guard, seeing the ruse for what it was.

"Alright, here," Anko said, pulling a random scroll from one of her pouches. "Catch."

As soon she tossed it, everyone's eyes flicked to the scroll for just an instant. Halfway through the air, it exploded into a cloud of smoke.

"Run!" Anko shouted, as she slammed her hand into the branch we were standing on. A huge snake appeared between us and the enemy, causing them to hop backwards as we took off towards Taki. Anko pulled out another scroll, and unsealed some kind of flare launcher. Activating it fired a red ball of light into the air, a Konoha standard emergency distress signal. We were pretty far from our village, but still technically on the border of the Land of Fire. It was unlikely, but still possible, that a scouting team was on patrol in the area, and we needed any help we could get. Barely ten seconds later, an even larger puff of smoke behind us signaled the demise of Anko's summons.

"Well, that could have gone better," she muttered.

"Split!" I yelled, pushing Naruto aside as an arrow tore between us. All four enemies were in hot pursuit, and Kidomaru was notching another arrow as they ran.

"They're gaining," I said, watching as the distance between us closed at a frightening rate. "If we have to fight, Naruto, you take the blue haired dude. Attack him with clones, see if you can figure out what that second chakra is."

"Got it!" he said, voice cracking a bit from either excitement or fear. I hoped the former.

"Sokudo and I can take the girl," Akiko stated. "I have some experience breaking genjutsu."

I nodded. "Alright, then the big one's mine."

"Hopefully, none of you are fighting any of these freaks," Anko cut in. "I'm going to stall for a minute, you guys keep running. I'll catch up."

None of us were particularly happy about it, but we nodded in obedience. Anko turned around and started making hand signs. "Fire style, Flaming Dart Barrage!"

A dozen red-hot, flaming senbon shot from her mouth, causing our pursuers to take evasive maneuvers. "She's trying to delay us," Sakon called to his allies. "We have to stop the scroll delivery. Kidomaru, take her out. If you take too long playing with your food, we'll circle back and kill her ourselves after finishing the brats."

Kidomaru chuckled. "Fine, I'll treat this game like a speed-run."

"You think you'll get past me so easily?" Anko asked, cocking an eyebrow.

I couldn't hear anymore as we moved out of auditory range, but I could still watch as Anko tried to engage all four enemies at once, using summons and hailstorms of thrown weapons. In return, black ink spread across Kidomaru's face, causing his chakra to spike before he summoned a giant spider. Webs started flying everywhere, cutting off escape routes, and soon Anko was locked into one-on-one combat while three enemy ninja continued to pursue us.

"Alright guys, sensei is fighting one, but three more are still coming after us," I warned. "Watch out for dirty tricks."

Naruto and Akiko nodded. Sokudo growled.

With the head start that Anko had bought us, we were able to run a few miles before the Sound ninja caught up. On the bright side, we were closer to Taki. On the downside, I couldn't see Anko's fight anymore. Sakon dropped onto a branch in front of us, cutting us off. Jirobo and Tayuya flanked us, forming a triangle around us.

"Looks like we finally caught the little leaf vermin," Sakon said with a wicked grin. "Any last words before you die?"

Gotta stall. Maybe I can start some more useless dialogue.

"Eat this, lipstick boy!" Naruto shouted, fist cocked in an ultra-telegraphed punch as he leapt directly at Sakon.

Never mind.

I unsealed my bo staff and threw a handful of senbon at Jirobo, who dodged with surprising agility.

"Demon Spirit Summoning, Asakura!" Akiko shouted, performing her strange summoning jutsu on top of her body. This time, her hair stiffened and turned grey. Her eyes glowed an eerie blue, and she summoned a katana of her own from a storage scroll. That was new.

She leapt at Tayuya, Sokudo close on her heels, and I threw one more senbon at her target to try to catch her off guard. It didn't work, as Tayuya hopped away and pulled out her flute. I didn't have time to help further, as Jirobo approached, swinging his trunk-like arms with a vengeance.

I dropped from the branch, dodging his first swings and trying to get some distance, but he was deceptively fast for his size. I tried to parry him with my staff, but his blows just knocked my weapon aside. I'd never fought someone so physically imposing.

Jirobo threw a hook, which struck my staff and sent me spinning. Using the momentum, I quickly spun a full 360 and slammed my staff into his head. It connected squarely with the bulky man's ear. He barely flinched.

"Watch where you're swinging that thing, pipsqueak," he said irritably. He grabbed the end of my staff and spun around. I let go, hurling through the air and across the forest floor.

"What is that psycho feeding you?" I asked, a bit dizzy as I stood up. Jirobo stood about thirty feet away, my bo staff still in his hands. "Will that hit I landed even leave a bruise?"

Jirobo held my staff in both hands, then bent it until it snapped in two, holding the splintering remains up in display. "Give up. I'm not one to play around before I kill," he said calmly. "I'll devour you quickly and move on to the others."

Losing the staff was unfortunate, but obviously it hadn't done me much good here. But it had given me some separation, which is what I wanted anyway. I drew shuriken with both hands. I quickly checked on Naruto and Akiko- both were alive, at least- and then focused on my next move. "There is no way I'm going to let you eat my friends, Tubby," I said, and let the shuriken fly.

Jirobo dodged nearly all of them, but used the remains of my staff to block one, which stuck into the wood. It exploded right in front of him, causing him to stumble backwards, into the ninja wire trap being formed by the other shuriken circling around him. The wire pulled tight, squeezing his arms against his body, despite Jirobo straining attempts to break free. I threw two kunai right at his chest.

Before they connected, Jirobo roared, black ink spread from his curse mark across his entire body, and the ninja wire burst. He knocked the kunai away with his bare hands, without flinching. Small drops of blood fell from where he struck the blades with his flesh.

"You better have a lot of good chakra, boy," Jirobo growled. "Using this seal makes me hungry. There probably won't be much left of those other kids by time we're done here, but Kidomaru takes his time, so I'll be able to drain your Sensei too. I've never devoured another curse seal user before. I'm excited to see what she tastes like."

"You're sick," I muttered, trying to think of what to do next. In a straight taijutsu brawl, I was heavily outclassed. If I pushed him into the second state of the curse mark, I was uber dead. It would be best to kill him quickly and decisively, but close combat was suicide. I could also stall, and try to let him feel in control so he doesn't elevate his curse seal, and hope backup arrives or my teammates win their fights.

I decided to stall and held more poisoned senbon at the ready. "What is up with those seals anyway? I saw that my sensei had one, but she never explained what it does."

Jirobo grunted. "Your sensei is an idiot. That seal was given to her by our master Orochimaru. It gives us a huge boost in chakra, but she has hers locked up and constrained. Only a fool turns his back on power like that. If she embraced it, she would have a chance against any of us. As it is, she's as helpless as prey before predators, a nice dessert I'll enjoy after I finish you here."

"Not that I'm complaining, but isn't it foolish to underestimate your opponent like that? I know that we genin aren't much to look at, but she's a jounin for a reason. That has to count for something."

"Underestimating?" Jirobo scoffed. "We are Orochimaru's elite bodyguards, hand selected by the man himself. Your sensei was an experiment, a prototype, trash who got discarded once Orochimaru sama was finished with it. It's not even worth comparing our skill levels."

"I see. Would you like to make a wager, then?"

Jirobo looked unamused. "What kind of wager?"

"It's simple. We head back toward where sensei is fighting that spider freak and watch- from a safe distance, of course. If your spider buddy wins, you'll get to, uh, suck sensei's chakra dry or whatever, right away, nice and fresh. If sensei wins, then we get to fight you two on one."

"And delay having you for an appetizer? I think not," Jirobo scoffed. "You won't last two minutes against me kid. No deal. Enough of this."

He sprinted forward, and I leapt backwards, letting more senbon rain down upon him. I couldn't believe his agility; I half expected him to try to bowl straight through the little weapons, but apparently Orochimaru had trained him better. I reached into my pouch and grabbed another fistful of senbon, suddenly realizing how slow the process is when fighting for my life. This was nothing like target practice or sparring- I needed all the weapons I could get, as fast as possible. He closed the gap quickly, too quickly, and I got my arms up just in time to block a meaty fist aimed at my face. As his fist struck my arms, I could see chakra siphon out me, and enter his own system. Not that he needed it; the curse seal had him pumped with chakra already. The force of the blow sent me flying.

He hits harder than Anko sensei did in practice.

I reoriented myself in midair, twisted around, and hit the ground running, Jirobo pursuing close behind. I glimpsed Akiko, using her katana and impressive acrobatics to fend off three ogre-like creatures while Sokudo chased after Tayuya herself. Naruto had created a small army, fighting a first-stage curse mark Sakon and Ukon. I headed that direction. I couldn't beat this guy on my own, but Naruto and I could fight better together.

"Naruto!" I shouted as I drew near. Several faces turned to look in my direction. Just as Jirobo was about to grab me, two clones sprang into action and shoulder checked him. They dispelled almost instantly, but it was enough to buy me some space.

"Let's team up. Try not to touch this guy, he sucks out your chakra on contact," I informed him, taking in the appearance of first stage curse mark Sakon and Ukon. "Can you send a few clones to help Akiko too? She's fighting three monster ogre things."

"Yeah, you got it!" several of the Naruto's shouted, and about a dozen of them hopped off after I indicated which direction.

"Alright, have some of your clones hold off the blubberous mohawk man, and we'll take down the Siamese twins together first," I instructed. "Let's go!"

"Right!" Naruto cheered. "Down with the freaky chakra tattoo guys!" And with that, several Narutos and I rushed Sakon and Ukon together.

Jirobo was treating the clones he fought like an all you can eat buffet, so I knew we had to make this quick. Naruto couldn't keep up the clone spam forever. I watched as one Naruto threw a high haymaker at Ukon's face, while another went for a slide tackle. I went straight for a body blow.

Ukon, used to Naruto's speed, hopped over the low strike, while casually blocking the other Naruto with his left hand, and went to deflect me with his right. But my taijutsu prowess was still a bit more refined than Naruto's, for all my lack of power. With a midair spin, I deflected Sakon's arm with one hand and stuck a paralytic needle deep into his gut with the other. I watched in satisfaction as his eyes went wide in shock and pain.

He flailed his feet outwards to kick me away, and in the same movement I pulled out a kunai. A Naruto clone leapt over my head, and I tossed a kunai upwards even as I took a kick to the gut. The attack left Ukon open and off balance as Naruto plunged the kunai I tossed him towards his exposed chest. Ukon got his arm up just in time, but Naruto still drove the weapon deep into the man's bicep. "Do it!" Naruto yelled.

"Boom," I whispered, making a hand sign. The tag exploded, destroying the Naruto clone, but blowing Ukon's right arm off in the process.

"AAAHHHGG!" Ukon screamed in pain as he fell to the ground. He struggled to crawl backwards, and Sakon quickly cut a swath through the clones to get to his side.

"Brother, you idiot! What the hell happened to you? Stop being sloppy," he growled, kneeling at his side. "Here, come rest. I'll finish these idiots quickly so we can get you back to Kabuto."

I hardly had time to register that slip as Akiko dashed into the area and slid next to me. She was breathing hard, and had a few cuts and scrapes running across her arms, but seemed mostly alright. Sokudo hopped over to her side immediately after, panting heavily.

"You said she was a genjutsu user," she huffed at me, trying to catch her breath. Her voice was strangely deep and gravelly. "That foul-mouthed redhead summoned three freaking demons with giant, body crushing weapons. That's not genjutsu!"

I snorted. "Sorry. I think she is also adept at genjutsu, if it makes you feel any better. But we are better off fighting together anyway. Naruto can cause distractions, while we team up and take them out one by one. We already took out half of that… oh."

I watched in horror as Sakon morphed into his second stage of the curse mark, gaining demonic features and metallic skin. "I'll kill you all," he growled, looking at me in particular. "And I'll start with you."

"That guy is terrifyingly strong right now," I whispered, noting his chakra spike through the roof. He started pouring out killing intent, and I felt my muscles contract and stiffen in response. I tried to keep my breathing steady as I continued laying out a plan to Akiko. "I've never seen that much chakra in a single person before. I don't think he can maintain it for a prolonged fight though. The mohawk man is the weakest. He absorbs chakra on contact, but if Naruto and I create an opening, you can run him through with your sword. Naruto, keep doing what you're doing- keeping us all alive."

Several Naruto clones nodded in acknowledgement. Then I noticed a shift in the chakra in the air, and then in my own body's chakra flow. "Genjutsu again," I stated, breaking the auditory illusion Tayuya was placing on us. As soon as it broke, I noticed the golden arrow just meters away from Akiko.

"Move!" I shouted, lunging to push her aside. As I did so, I noticed the string attached to the arrow, which caused it to suddenly change direction towards me. Not expecting the altered trajectory, I watched in shock as the arrow pierced through my abdomen. I coughed blood, feeling dizzy and weak in the knees, but I couldn't fall because of the string going through my body holding me up.

"Tedashi!" several Naruto's screamed.

Akiko caught her balance and whirled around, slicing through the string with a chakra enhanced sword. I dropped to my knees and spat out more blood.

As awful as the pain was, it was nothing compared to the sudden despair that rushed upon me. The excitement- and hope- I had felt from injuring Ukon vanished in a flash. The others probably hadn't realized it yet, in the shock of seeing me injured, I suppose. But I knew who shot that arrow. Kidomaru had joined our fight. Anko sensei had lost.

We are going to die here.

And then came a new source of killing intent. And red chakra.

-o X o-