Chapter 165
True Art: The Burning Light of the Leaf!
Karin plodded out of the medical tent on frail, trembling legs. With every step they threatened to buckle, to snap like brittle stems, or so it felt.
They'd sapped her of what little strength her beanstalk frame possessed. They'd taken everything from her—her mother, her chakra, and soon they'd take the only thing she had left to give. The one thing they'd sought to preserve in others by feeding off of her.
Both her head and body felt lighter than air, so light, so weak, so…far away.
She felt her consciousness slip free of her body, nearly detaching entirely save for a few thin threads which kept a fragment of awareness floating in a bird's eye view, like she'd become a kite tied to the red-haired girl below staggering and stumbling to her execution.
What a sad existence that girl went through. Such a cruel world she was subjected to.
Karin watched the girl. For a moment she felt peace, she felt oneness with…everything. The earth. The trees. The air and oceans, the mountains and insects—chakra connected them all. They were all one. She belonged to it…whatever it was.
She never felt it before. She never felt how…interconnected everything was. She'd never felt like she belonged, but here… Yes, she belonged here. It was home, or something like it, and now she was returning to it.
Willingly, she detached a few threads. The girl's knees collided and…
Suddenly Karin slammed into her exhausted and weak body, and all the peace she felt vanished beneath a stampede of aches. Swallowing roughly, she forced herself to keep walking. Instinct, really. She didn't want to be hit again.
The thought of escape—of freedom—was far from Karin's mind. Far…far away. Why had it ever occurred to her to try?
She couldn't remember. She could barely think. Barely process the world around her.
She was so tired. So…
Her eyes slid shut. Then her feet collided together.
Karin's heart didn't jump. The instinct to protect herself from falling didn't flare, nor did she possess the strength to try. Again, for a brief instant, she slipped free of her body and watched on from above as the other red-haired girl began to fall.
I wonder if she'll be okay, she wondered.
A heavy hand caught the girl by the shoulder. Once again she crashed like a meteor falling from the atmosphere back into her aching body.
The hand righted her, it kept her on her noodle legs, grounding the young girl in the moment. Briefly.
Zōsui's hand, Karin recognized. Heavy and secure.
He said nothing. He didn't grunt or chastise her clumsiness. He didn't shove her forward, either.
It was…strange.
Mind blanketed in a thick fog, drawing her once more to that strange plane above herself, Karin observed the other girl with curiosity. She plodded forward again, staggering unevenly like a drunk flamingo walking on sprained ankles. Every step she made looked to be her last.
If only she could help the poor thing walk…
Karin blinked awake. Damp with sweat, the chill of the late-afternoon cut through her thin and loose shirt. Gooseflesh prickled across her whole body, and it was only then she realized she was shivering like a hairless cat left in the snow.
She could feel her muscles spasm and twitch, she vividly felt various beads of blood, like crimson tears, leaking from fresh bites; one dribbled down her lat and to her hip, another down the inside of her left thigh—they would be new scars among the many others.
It didn't matter. This was the last walk she'd ever take.
There was an emergency Zōsui required her abilities for; the people who needed aid couldn't make it to the tent, and since every able-bodied person added strength to their forces, he was bringing her to them.
The doctors didn't question it. They never questioned Zōsui. In fact, they welcomed the use of her abilities, especially in times of crisis like these.
She was just an outsider. A tool. Nothing more.
Now Karin walked towards the end. At her chakra levels, another bite and she'd…
This is it… They're going to kill me like they killed my mother.
No tears formed despite the pain and terror of the realization. She had already cried the last of her tears inside the medical tent. She cried as they bit her, as they drained her of chakra person by person, sometimes two or three, at a time. And then she stopped crying.
Now she only felt a lump in her throat and a tightness in her chest. There was nothing she could do. Nothing at all.
This was the end…and perhaps it was better that way.
Feebly, Karin staggered on, grim acceptance of the inevitable and exhaustion mingling together. Amid the haze she slipped between reality and watching the staggering red-haired girl.
Zōsui marched behind her. He spoke only when commanding simple directions of "straight" or "left here" and so on.
Normally, in times of emergency, like he claimed this was, he would've crushed her wrist and dragged her to the next patient.
Yet he didn't.
Through the reality blurring haze of exhaustion Karin had a single lucid realization—they were close to the edge of town. Closer than Zōsui had ever let her go. It almost felt as if he was leading her to freedom, but she knew him better than that.
She knew better than to dare to hope now.
Maybe it really was better this way, she considered. Better to die now before the Stone could get their hands on her and use her the same way. She couldn't stand another year of this hell anyway.
The edge of town drew nearer and nearer.
Where on earth was he taking her? Where was this so-called emergency he needed her abilities for?
Why couldn't he just kill her already?
"That's far enough."
Zōsui's dreadful voice was familiar. Yet it came from ahead, instead of from the man marching behind her.
Karin felt the heavy hand halt her gently. Unlike the Zōsui she knew.
She blinked once. Twice. A third and fourth time.
What was…
Why was there a second Zōsui standing in the street?
Bewildered, Karin looked back at the original Zōsui. His expression was emotionless and unreadable as ever. Then she looked back to the second, who stood with his arms crossed as a one man blockade. Fury seemed to pour from every cell in his body, his jaw was clenched so tightly, she swore she saw tendons trembling even at a distance.
"You caught on faster than I thought," the original Zōsui said, hand secured on her shoulder. "But I anticipated this possibility and prepared accordingly."
Karin felt suddenly awake and grounded.
What the heck is going on here? Wait, your chakra…
She hadn't noticed it before, too exhausted, too ready to die to care, but now it was all so clear.
You're not the real Zōsui. You're chakra… It's a bit strange, but it's warm.
Like the hand, there was security in the fake Zōsui's chakra. Security that matched the confidence in his fake voice.
"What do you think you're doing?" growled the real Zōsui. "What sort of game are you playing, Leaf shinobi?"
Leaf shinobi?
When had the Leaf shown up? Why had they shown up? And why were they taking her away?
The fake Zōsui dispelled his Transformation Jutsu—it was no longer of any use.
From the cloud, a boy around her age emerged wearing black glasses that completely obscured his eyes and a high-collared jacket. He kept his hand on her shoulder, and the other resting at his side.
"This is no game," replied the boy, as secure and confident as before. "Our mission was to escort all non-shinobi to the border. Seeing as this girl has no headband, she falls under that banner, wouldn't you say?"
"That girl is under my direct authority."
"She was under your authority. Now she's under mine."
"Stand down, Leaf shinobi. She is the property of the Grass."
The boy's brow pinched together; Karin assumed he was glaring behind his glasses.
"Property? I wasn't aware the Grass involved themselves in the slave trade. If that's the case, I'm certain the Hokage would agree that freeing this girl is worth the political capital it will spend."
"What…are you doing?" Karin asked.
Even with the sudden injection of adrenaline coursing through her veins words were hard to form. Hard to grasp. Her mouth felt dry, and her head felt like it was full of feathers, and equally as light.
"Stay calm," the boy reassured without looking at her. "My comrades and I are here to free you. You see, we don't leave missions half done. Now that I know these shinobi—no, they are not worthy of that title now. Only scum would call a child property.
"Now this mission bears greater importance. If you hoped those words would convince me to hand the girl over, Grass shinobi, you are mistaken.
"Let me be clear so there are no misunderstandings: I will not allow you to continue abusing this girl. My comrades and I agree. We will not stand idly by as you callously drain her to absolute zero."
"I'll give you one chance to hand her over, Leaf shinobi."
The boy, the Leaf shinobi, didn't flinch.
"If you want her so badly, come and claim her," he dared, voice colder than a blizzard.
The air ruptured with an ear-piercing explosion at that moment. A shockwave pounded their skeletal structures, and Karin nearly fell over.
In a single flash of light, all the lives within the medical tent vanished. Forever.
When they all whipped towards the explosion, Karin inhaled sharply, then ceased to breathe. Barreling towards them, rising higher than the rooftops, was an intangible wave of smoke and dust, devouring all it touched with insatiable hunger.
The hand secured on her shoulder shifted, grasping firmly around her bicep. She felt her feet lift off the ground.
Then all else ceased beneath the howling of wind, smoke and dust.
"You left an Insect Clone back there?" Naruto was taken off guard by the admission.
"I did," Shino answered calmly.
"But… When?"
"While we were aiding the evacuation. You see, we couldn't use brute force to charge into their medical tent and make demands. Why? Because: Tensions were high. We would've been forced to decide: Do we save the girl and risk fighting off and injuring or killing Grass shinobi while outnumbered, or would we back off and alert the Grass shinobi to our desires to save her?
"I know what you wanted. I do not disagree with the morality of your chosen path, Naruto. However, the Grass shinobi are in a crisis situation. Their Nation is slipping through their grasps, their comrades are dying, and civilians are being slaughtered like cattle.
"They aren't of a mind to listen to altruistic children. Furthermore, as we saw from their actions, and for the reasons I just mentioned, any debate of morality would only fall on deaf ears.
"They cared nothing for the health of that girl. No," he shook his head, "it wasn't that they didn't care. She was a barber's favorite trimmers, a painter's best brush, a shinobi's lucky kunai. To state it more plainly, where we saw a person in need, they saw a powerful tool to survive. Nothing more.
"Our words wouldn't have changed their hearts."
Naruto felt volatile emotions churn within his gut. He grit his teeth at the harsh reality of Shino's observation; he knew it was true, knew Shino was dead-on about his arguments falling on deaf ears, and dammit did that only frustrate him more.
How messed up in the head were these people? They were supposed to be comrades! And yet they are treating some poor girl with the same apathy he'd expect from rogues, criminals, or those Crimson Flowers guys Haku warned them about.
He shook it off. Their behavior wasn't important right now. Hope overcame that raw frustration, that fury which bubble and churned like a shaken can of soda ready to explode.
Maybe there was still a chance to save that girl. That's what mattered right now. To hell with arguing morality with those bastards. They had a shot at saving the girl. A real shot.
After all, Shino was someone he always underestimated. But, when it came down to it, even Amari acknowledged him as tough. She acknowledged him as someone on her level.
"You really gave this a lot of thought, Shino," Ino recognized. "I'd expect a plan like this from Shikamaru, Amari or Mimi, honestly."
"I appreciate the compliment."
"Why didn't either of you bother to tell me about this kid?" Anko Mitarashi asked.
"As the Captain of our unit your hands were full organizing the evacuation. Also, by acting in secrecy, I would grant you plausible deniability should my efforts be in vain. The consequences of my actions then would fall on me and me alone. I would have protected you and my comrades by being an unruly child. A rookie with bad judgement."
"Heh," Anko smirked. "Well, well, seems to me like the two squirts are rubbing off on all of you." She placed a hand on her hip, expression becoming serious. "It was a nice thought, but you should've told me. Would've helped you pull this operation off. Had I known they were doing that to a civilian kid, let's just say I wouldn't have been so polite and friendly."
"I see. Then I apologize for going behind your back. However, there was one final reason why I chose this path." Shino turned to face Naruto. "I had to protect you."
"Me?" Naruto furrowed his brow. "You better not say because I'm noisy and emotional again."
"Your temperament had nothing to do with it."
Ugh, Naruto groaned. Way to say it without saying it.
"While we were aiding the evacuation, I made the effort to gather Intel on the identity of the bomber. There was little of substance anyone could tell me. However, there was one detail which persisted across all accounts: The bomber wears a black cloak adorned with red clouds."
Naruto felt his heart stop and his stomach drop. "No way…"
"You mean the bomber is actually a member of the Akatsuki?" Ino gasped.
"So it seems. Assuming they were right, it was paramount that we—all of us—remained focused on getting ourselves and the evacuees as far as we could out of the town. Out of the range of a potential Sensory Type or the visual sight of a dōjutsu, like the Sharingan. If they spotted Naruto…"
"We'd be in for one hell of a fight," Anko said, thoughts racing visibly in her eyes.
Dread and anger filled Naruto's stomach with molten lava.
The Akatsuki, they were back in the town. At least one member, anyway. Yet they weren't even here for him or any Tailed-Beast. They were destroying that town, devastating this whole Nation and its people all so they could earn money from this stupid war.
His teeth ground harshly together. These bastards. Why can't they just leave this world alone?
"All right," Anko suddenly spoke up. "We need to keep moving. Our priority is getting everyone to safety, including our unit." She looked back at the town, where flashes of light flickered both above the buildings and on the ground level, and her gaze seemed to darken.
"The war is already lost here," she added with a shake of her head.
"What about Shino's Insect Clone and that girl?" Ino asked. "They may need help."
"True. Which is another reason I wanted to make sure Naruto was out of the town," Shino said. "From here he can deploy Shadow Clones to support my Insect Clone. Even if the Akatsuki member recognizes him, they'll assume he's somewhere in the town."
"Seems you thought of everything," Anko said. Then nodded. "Good work, Shino. Naruto, you heard him. Create some Shadow Clones and let's go."
"You got it. Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Fifteen Shadow Clones appeared and darted off towards the town. Anko cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled,
"And make sure you don't draw the Akatsuki member our way!"
Naruto had no choice but to watch his Shadow Clones race back towards the town, where explosions flared like fireworks and towers of smoke rose, darkening the sky behind a thick veil of grey and black.
He could only watch the red whirlpools on their backs sprint towards the fire and smoke, hoping they'd make it in time. Wishing the Akatsuki never existed and that this war never happened.
Mostly, though, his thoughts centered on the red-haired girl. Even as he turned away and joined his squad in retreating for the border, he felt his fists ball up, his teeth grind together, and his chakra churn and burn within his gut.
Damn this war. Damn the Akatsuki.
Dammit. Please, just hold on, he begged. If you can just hold on a little longer, this nightmare will be over. I promise.
Take care of her, Shino. Keep her safe.
Please, don't let that girl be a casualty of this stupid war.
It looks like the Stone's forces are moving in, hm.
From atop the back of his Clay bird, Deidara observed the town far below, smirking in satisfaction with his own handiwork.
He'd need to be just a bit more careful where he displayed his art now.
Of course, whether the Stone's forces found themselves smeared upon his newest canvas wasn't really his problem; dead or alive, all that mattered was the completion of the job. And his supreme art.
However, if the Stone reported that their favored mercenaries were killing them indiscriminately, that would effect the reputation of the Akatsuki, which would make it more difficult to attain new missions, and thus fund their organization. Then all the blame would be laid at his feet, followed by the ire of the Leader—a man only the stupid would irritate.
Assuming the Leader wouldn't just replace him, of course, as he had that traitor Orochimaru and the partner's Kakuzu had killed for "being annoying."
If only they'd find a way to replace those two damnable Uchiha's. If only they could remove them and their damn Sharingan.
Those two… If it weren't for their inartistic eyes, he never would've joined the Akatsuki. If it weren't for them, he never would have suffered such humiliation.
"Before you do something rash, you should look more carefully at yourself," Itachi's emotionless voice had chastised him as if he were a misbehaving child, no more worthy of his undivided attention than a nat buzzing around a stranger's head.
The battle had been won. It was his victory. He had defeated Itachi fair and square by wrapping him in a giant Clay centipede. He had won the bet and would be left alone. Right after he turned the nuisance into a masterpiece of art.
It was then, as sweet victory was his, the world around Deidara had shuddered. Suddenly his own piece of art was wrapped around his body; he'd been moments from an artless and hollow suicide bombing.
Itachi could've let him, too. Yet he hadn't. He revealed the illusion, he revealed that he had the power to kill or spare the former Stone shinobi at any time, and he had wanted Deidara to know that.
In that moment, as he gazed in awe at Itachi, sheathed in golden light of a setting sun shining through his hideouts artistic window, Deidara was enthralled by the Sharingan. Enraptured. And shattered.
He could still hear his own words resounding in the back of his mind.
"This is…true art."
He had nearly become sick upon hearing himself. At his own inadequacies.
Now he merely pulled more detonating clay from his pouches to create his newest pieces of art. He watched them flash and detonate, smirk in place, but mind awash with dark thoughts of that day.
How long had he been under its enthrallment? How long had he stood there enraptured by something so… so…
"Since the very beginning," Kisame Hoshigaki's grin was as sharp as it was malicious.
Since the moment he met Itachi's eyes, he'd been under his genjutsu? It couldn't be. It couldn't…
"Hmhmhm," he could hear Aimi's mocking and ugly laughter in the back of his mind."Is that it? Is that the power you believed would 'blow us away?' Your 'supreme art.' I've seen dud paper bombs sizzle brighter than your clay explosives."
"You're so harsh, Aimi," grinned Kisame Hoshigaki.
"Only because we were promised so much more, Kisame." That disgusting smirk on her face was clear as day in his mind's eye. "We were told to expect an exhibition of supreme art. We were to be blown away. He spoke with such passion. Such bravado. Yet all I see are dull little clay animals a child could've built from mud. And hardly a spark to be seen. I am throughly disappointed."
"Everyone's a critique. Hehehe!" the Swordsman chortled.
He'd felt nothing but murderous loathing for the two Uchiha ever since. Making a fool of him, hm!
Who were they to judge his art? The Sharingan was completely inartistic!
Next time, he promised himself as he prepared his newest pieces of art. Next time, I'll show you what supreme art truly is. I'll blow you both away, hm!
Amid smoke, fire, explosives, and the shrill cry of blades and dying men, Karin found herself in the secure arms of the Leaf shinobi. Together they sheltered in a back alley, waiting for the bomber to finish yet another run through the town.
She trembled and flinched as explosions ruptured the air, as the earth itself and the buildings surrounding them violently shook.
Was this how she was going to die? Not from being drained of all of her chakra, but through the mutilation of an explosion?
The bodies she'd seen in the streets… Limbs were being blown clean off, and sometimes the person was still alive. Sometimes screaming. Sometimes they were so out of it they didn't make a sound.
Others, who had seen her red-hair as the Leaf shinobi darted through the streets, reached out and begged for help.
The Leaf shinobi never paused for them. He never forced her to heal them.
And she was grateful.
Some of the bodies she'd seen were unrecognizable. So unrecognizable they'd need several medical shinobi to piece together what body parts remained, like sewing together dismembered teddy bears.
Without dental records, identification would be impossible for some.
"He- he's head- heading to the no- north side of town now," Karin whispered, voice trembling.
"Good. Can you sense a safe route to the edge of town?"
The Leaf shinobi hadn't asked her for help. He hadn't known she was a Sensory Type.
Yet when he nearly ran them through the haze of war into a conflict area, Karin found the strength to speak up. She didn't want to die.
They'd been working as a team ever since. He relied on her to be an extra set of eyes, and she relied on him to carry her through war-torn streets to safety.
To freedom.
It was…strange. For years Zōsui and the others had just taken what they needed. Demanded subservience, regardless of her feelings. Regardless of her health.
This Leaf shinobi, he was trying his hardest to protect her. If the Leaf Village was all like him, then maybe…
Karin didn't dare hope. But she wanted to.
"Street level. Through this alley." She pointed a trembling finger towards the exit bathed in smoke. "Then, assuming nothing is collapsed, we can cross the street if we go now. The fighting isn't close to us yet, but…"
"They're pushing the Grass back. I understand. And Zōsui?"
"Still pursuing, but there are two Stone shinobi holding him up."
"Understood."
Without another word, he rose and dashed down the smoke covered alley.
Inevitably, like with her past escape attempts, the way to freedom was obstructed. The debris of a partially collapsed building had sagged into the pathway.
They had to find a new route. One that didn't land them in the midst of a battle, reveal their position to the bomber, or end with them caught by a squad of Stone shinobi searching for their next victims.
Karin did her best to help the Leaf shinobi find that path. She sensed the chakra of all the shinobi around them, and from their movements tried to predict their trajectories through the burning and crumbling town.
The smoke and chaos worked in their favor, it granted them a cloak to slip by patrols unseen thanks to her senses and the Leaf shinobi's surprising level of ability. So far it seemed the Stone hadn't employed any Sensory Types for their current mission.
However, by keeping her senses open, Karin sensed the lives of people dying all around her. The gore of death saturated her senses in cold, rancid muck, full of worms and maggots that seemed to wriggle all over her skin, not at all unlike the garbage she had hidden in hours ago.
Through the muck she sensed Zōsui eliminate the Stone's forces and pick up in his pursuit, hounding them like an angry bull annoyed by the constant fluttering of a red cape.
Somehow he always seemed to know where to find her. In this situation, it couldn't be hard.
All he had to do was head towards the edge of town to hinder their escape.
"You should just leave me. Zōsui is moving to cut off our path," Karin said, voice trembling.
The least he could do was save himself. She was afraid of what sort of punishment awaited her, and of the likelihood it would end fatally, yet… That was how it was always going to end, wasn't it? She had already accepted that.
This Leaf shinobi didn't need to burden himself any longer.
"I will not leave you to die," the Leaf shinobi stated emphatically. "I had hoped to avoid conflict altogether, but I also prepared for this moment.
"You see, I never leave circumstances like these to chance. Why? Because: In a rescue mission, ensuring the target of the rescue reaches a secure and safe location is paramount. That means, as the target of our rescue mission, it is my duty to ensure you reach the security and safety of my comrades. That is a mission I will not fail."
This boy… He had such a strange way of speaking. Yet in the din of chaos and explosions, his steadfast nature calmed Karin. It…gave her a flicker of hope she feared.
"Furthermore, Zōsui is actually acting exactly how I imagined he would."
"Really?"
"Yes. Tell me, do your senses reach beyond the city boundary?"
"Well, yes, but…"
They were all but on the edge of town now. But why would the distance of her sensory abilities matter?
"Can you sense any chakra coming our way? A group, perhaps, comprised of the same chakra?"
That was oddly specific. So oddly specific she couldn't deny her curiosity.
Shutting her eyes, Karin extended her senses beyond the walls. Her heart skipped a beat when she found the chakra he mentioned.
"Ye- yes!" she confirmed. "There are fifteen of them!"
"Is the chakra warm, bright and energetic?"
How the heck did this boy know the nature of the other chakra? He wasn't a Sensory Type like her, so…
"It is… But how do you know that?"
"My Sensei and a few of my comrades are Sensory Types. They've described his chakra as such before. I assumed it would be him, but we can't be too careful in this situation. That's why I asked about its properties.
"Seems he'll be right on time, then," the Leaf shinobi nodded once. "As expected."
Karin felt a sudden sensation akin to an electric shock.
"Wait, there's another out there! A Sensory Type. They're coming from the northeast. They're moving incredibly fast!"
"The northeast, you say. Hmm. Could it be…"
Whatever the Leaf shinobi intended to say, Karin wouldn't know. Her body shuddered involuntarily and then seized up at the sudden presence of Zōsui's chakra.
She tried to speak, to warn, but fear slayed her voice before it could escape her throat.
The Leaf shinobi reacted without the warning, impeccably; he felt the involuntary shudder and seizing of muscles, it was all he needed to feel to know who had finally arrived.
At the edge of town, amid a thin veil smoke, Zōsui emerged like a furious ghoul. His body was covered in dirt, grime, and ash; minor cuts leaked blood down his right arm and his chin and neck. Nothing fatal, unfortunately.
As he slashed a kunai for the Leaf shinobi, the boy pivoted mid-run, spinning his body and, predominantly, her body out of the range of the blade.
Yet the tip, she saw, slashed across his neck. Blood sprayed and gushed from the wound.
Karin felt her heart jump into her throat. She felt the flickers of hope die inside of her.
Suddenly, the Leaf shinobi evaded back with a single hop. He slid on his heels to a halt, then held his ground.
Blinking in bewilderment, Karin stared at the boy with her mouth wide open.
"How…"
Like her words before, the question died in her throat beneath distant explosions and a strange buzzing that reached her ears.
The blood… It wasn't blood at all. It was black, a malformed cloud that undulated and buzzed as it flowed back into his skin.
They're…insects?
Was that why his chakra was so strange?
Wait! Were those bugs living inside of him? Were they…feasting on his chakra?
Who the heck is this boy?
Zōsui gripped his kunai tighter. Veins bulged around his jaw.
"What are you?" he growled.
"The last face you'll ever see," promised the Leaf shinobi coldly.
"You think you can take me alone, boy?"
"Certainly. However, you clearly do not understand the ways of the Leaf."
Karin sensed the fifteen chakra sources leap over the walls and onto the rooftops. She sensed them suddenly redirect straight for them.
Zōsui didn't. Not until the shadow of a blond Leaf shinobi appeared through the smoke like a ship cutting through the fog.
"We never fight alone," claimed the Leaf shinobi holding her.
When he turned, the fist of the blond boy crashed into his face.
"Leave them alone, you bastard!"
Zōsui stumbled two steps, then, as he recovered and turned towards his attacker, a second blond appeared through the smoke, planting his foot square in the Grass shinobi's spine.
Zōsui stumbled forward, directly into a third blond.
Growling viciously, the Leaf shinobi slammed alternating fists into Zōsui's stomach once, twice, a third, fourth, and fifth, punching with tangible ferocity, unloading rapid fists she couldn't track that uprooted Zōsui from the ground; he appeared to levitate over the boy as his quick and powerful punches crushed his insides. Flecks of saliva sprayed from Zōsui's lips.
The third unloaded one final powerful fist to his sternum. Eyes wide and close to bulging out of his skull, Zōsui's groan became a silent gasp as his body popped up a little higher into the air. The Leaf shinobi sprang back.
Simultaneously, a fourth blond came flying in from above, spinning head over foot. He extended his leg and connected a spinning axe kick to the spine of Zōsui. Even while in the arms of the dark-haired boy she felt the earth tremble when he shot into the ground.
Karin stared wide eyed. Her heart raced in her chest. In fear. In thrill. Zōsui… Her tormentor was being beaten to a pulp!
A fifth blond leapt in to continue the assault. Zōsui rolled out from beneath his attacks, slashing another as he rose and dispersing the Shadow Clone into smoke. He blocked a follow-up kick with both arms, skidding back on his heels through the dirt.
"There are shinobi coming," Karin said, hope and fear mixing together. "And the bomber."
"Naruto, take the girl and go!" the Leaf shinobi holding her ordered. "The bomber and Stone are coming our way. I'll help you hold them off."
From the smoke, another blond-haired, orange jacket and pants wearing boy appeared beside them.
"You got it, Shino," the boy said.
Karin was in the arms of the blond—Naruto—when she sensed and heard the dispersal of another Shadow Clone.
From his arms, gazing wide eyed over his shoulder, she saw Zōsui lunge through the other thirteen so quickly, had she blinked, it would have appeared as though he had teleported behind Naruto.
His kunai hissed through the air, already on a path for the boy's spine.
Clang!
The sharp cry of a metal on metal startled the girl. Naruto evaded with a single hop, spinning in mid-air in order to face Zōsui when he landed.
Standing between them and the Grass Jōnin was the original Leaf shinobi—Shino. His blade and Zōsui's grated and ground together, shifting and trembling in a contest of strength.
"Your fight is with me now," Shino declared.
"I will not allow you to steal the property of the Grass," growled Zōsui.
"Property?" Naruto's fingers curled into her skin. "She's a human being! Not some kind of tool you can abuse and throw away!" he yelled.
…Was she really?
…Did they really think so?
"Naruto! Calm down," ordered Shino, voice calm and to the point. "We don't have time to waste arguing and yelling at scum like him."
Zōsui won the contest of strength. He shoved aside Shino's blade, then slashed his kunai across his body. The Leaf shinobi stepped back, blade narrowly passing by his chest.
"Protecting her is all that matters," he stated. "I'm trusting you to get her to safety."
Sparks flew from their blades. The shrill cry of colliding metal pierced her ears. The smaller boy maintained a stalwart defense, retreating on agile feet as he blocked and parried; it seemed like he had experience fighting with close-combat types.
She couldn't know it was two kunoichi's who inspired him to ask his teammates and Sensei to help him improve his close-combat training, or how grateful he was for their lack of mercy in exploiting his weaknesses as they did.
Today his training would save a life. He would need to thank them for that.
"I'm leaving this girl and her safety to you," Shino said. "Why? Because: You never give up or go back on your word. And neither do I."
Shadow Clones leapt in to aid him, attacking Zōsui from behind, from his sides, from low to the ground, yet the Jōnin was no longer caught off guard. He leapt over a sweep kick. While in air he batted away two Shadow Clone's with two separate kicks of his own.
Naruto, the one carrying her, exhaled. "All right, Shino. I hear ya. Don't worry, I'll get her out of here."
"I never doubted that for a second."
"Heh! All right, I'll see you soon, Shino!"
"Of course you will. Why? Because: I prepared for every possibility."
When Zōsui landed, Shino darted in through the smoke. The Grass shinobi growled and lunged at him.
Their next exchange flashed by within two breaths. Quick enough that Naruto only had time to turn away and take the first running steps for the town's edge, now within visual sight beyond the veil of smoke. Karin watched the battle from over his shoulder.
Zōsui moved to slash Shino, yet the Leaf shinobi caught his weapon hand around his thick and muscular wrist. Despite the difference of size and strength, the boy's grip was as strong as an alligators jaw.
Frustrated, Zōsui tried to break free with a kick, but Shino, anticipating the counter, blocked it at the ankle with a kick of his own. Her tormentor then tried to slug him with his free fist.
At that moment, the Leaf shinobi, for no apparent reason, dropped his kunai and caught the fist, leaving his arms crossed over his body to block both larger and heavier arms.
"You would've devoured that girl's chakra to the last drop."
"Resources aren't free, boy. Outsiders like that girl and her mother have to earn their right to live here."
"Ah, now I see. You feasted off the desperation of the persecuted, and when the mother was drained to absolute zero, you turned to her child and forced her to heal your people. All to 'earn her place.' You disgust me. However, now it's time for us to come full circle."
"Full— what the? What are you— ahhh! Ahhhhh!"
In the fog of war it was difficult to determine why Zōsui had begun to scream violently. He stumbled away from the boy, swatting at and attempting to brush his skin and clothes off.
Steadily, to her bewildered horror, he began to lose his color and shape to a black void, until nothing remained except a featureless silhouette.
"Now my insects will devour you."
Something about his cold voice and Zōsui's screams sent a terrible chill shivering down her spine. And, though hard to tell, she swore she felt Naruto shiver as well.
With every retreating step, Zōsui's chakra faded. She saw him collapse to his knees, she could hear him screaming, but could not see his mouth filling with insects. She couldn't see how they burrowed into his skin, or crawled beneath his eyelids.
Yet she felt him fade away. Little by little. Until, finally, he collapsed forward into the dirt.
Dead.
Any relief she may have felt failed to flourish. Members of the Stone's forces, four in total, leapt down from the rooftops, yelling things like, "There are more over here," and "Leaf shinobi!"
Two cut off their exit. The other two cut off their retreat deeper into the town
Immediately the group of four, consisting of three men and a woman, moved to attack. One man turned around, away from her and Naruto, to face the Shadow Clones and Shino. The man beside him lunged in at Naruto's back while the woman, back facing their exit, weaved handseals. Her comrade stood at the ready, but made no move.
Simultaneously, Naruto's Shadow Clones leapt desperately to protect them. Shino whirled around and extended his hand out towards them, and from his sleeves clouds of insects emerged. The bomber was almost upon them.
"Don't worry," Naruto reassured despite everything, cerulean eyes flicking about. "We're gonna get you out of here if it's the last thing we do."
Karin wanted to hope.
However, her attention wasn't centered on the boys or the Stone shinobi. Her wide eyed gaze was locked onto the exit.
No one except her could feel the rapid approach of the shinobi. Truthfully, she failed to see them entirely even though her sharp senses told her where exactly to look.
As the Stone kunoichi bent down to slam her palms into the earth, a gale of wind whistled ominously through the street. And, for the briefest of moments, Karin had clarity in the smoke.
A woman attired in grey and black gear, face obstructed by a porcelain white mask, materialized from the haze like a divine apparition.
With purple hair lashing through the air as she finished her rapid, but graceful, spin, her katana reflected the shadows of smoke as it swept a clean cut along the Stone woman's neck. Flesh split apart, and a sudden and violent jet of blood sprayed from the kunoichi. Death was but seconds away for her.
Karin blinked. As her eyelids fluttered open, the Stone woman was in the midst of collapsing, eyes wide, and hands on a path to staunch the bleeding. Simultaneously, the masked woman, moving so quickly, so elegantly, so powerfully, maneuvered into position beside the male Stone shinobi.
His eyes suddenly went wide, drawing to the geyser of blood and the woman responsible in horror. It was already too late.
With another elegant sweep of her blade, whirring with wind, the masked woman amputated the man's leg below the knee. In a fluid and darkly beautiful motion, displaying mastery, the katana rose and eviscerated him from groin to chin.
Who—
The masked woman vanished from visual sight. Karin and Naruto felt the gale whistle by them, and he whirled around in an attempt to track the woman. What Naruto and Karin saw was strange to their eyes.
Both men had their flesh torn open by the blade along their left sides, and gales of wind appeared to be gusting out of the wounds. Although they would later realize it was an illusion resulting from their minds inability to process the speed and nature of the attack, in the moment it appeared their attacker's bodies were filled with air, now let loose with a single cut each.
Within seconds the four Stone shinobi collapsed to the ground amid quickly forming pools of blood.
The masked woman did not sheathe her blade, now painted in wet crimson, but turned to look at Naruto. The white of her mask, designed like a cat, had three red stripes painted upon it, in addition to new splatters of blood.
Who the heck is this lady?
"Hey, you're one of Amari's guards! What the heck are you doing here?" Naruto sounded baffled.
"Later," she ended the line of questioning with a single, firm word. "Is she the last of the evacuees?"
"Yes," Shino answered.
"And the rest of the Grass shinobi?"
"The- they're are only a handful left," Karin informed honestly.
"I see."
"We're Clones. It makes sense for us to hold the Stone shinobi off and distract the bomber," Shino said rather than asked. "You can guard Naruto's Shadow Clone and the girl to safety."
"When you see the red light, dispel immediately."
Red light? Karin had never heard such a strange command before.
"I see," Shino nodded. "So, Amaririsu intends to remove a member of the Akatsuki."
"Yes. Until then, make them fight for every inch."
"Of course."
"We will. Don't worry. Now get going!"
The woman, an Anbu agent, obviously, nodded once and leapt to Naruto's side.
"Let's go."
And they did.
They passed the dead and dying Stone shinobi on their way out, sandals splashing through the mud and blood, and other bodily fluids.
Not long after Karin was outside of the town, watching it as the fighting between Clones, the handful of retreating Grass shinobi, and the Stone intensified at the gate.
This was the road to her freedom. A road coated in smoke, blood, and death.
Was it an omen for the future?
Karin didn't know. She could only watch the town get farther and farther away.
Mother…I think…
Eyes watering, Karin's fingers curled into Naruto's jacket.
"Don't worry," Naruto said again. "You're never going back there. No matter what, we're never gonna let you suffer like that again. I swear."
Karin shut her eyes. Warm tears cascaded down her cheeks.
I think I'm finally free.
For the first time in years, Karin felt hope.
And she dared to dream she was finally free of the nightmare.
Now what do we have here, hm?
Deidara shut his right eye. He threaded his fingers into his hair, brushing aside the blond bangs and revealing a small, grey rectangular shaped device fashioned over his left eye—an eye scope. It's two glass lenses were positioned slantwise, the largest colored green and the smallest and higher of the pair colored orange.
Adjusting the distance and focus of the eye scope, he zeroed in on the retreating backs of two shinobi. One was attired in grey and black; he didn't need to see their mask to know they wore a porcelain mask—Leaf Anbu, hm. The other was a short boy donning unapologetic orange, his jacket emblematized with a red whirlpool crest.
He held no doubts of their homeland now. The boy carried some feeble looking red-haired girl in his arms.
Well, well, would you look at that. So, some Leaf do-gooders swept in to save a girl from her burning village, hm.
They were hightailing it from the town. For the border, no doubt, as duplicates of the boy fought in the streets below. Some of the last Grass shinobi took it as their chance to retreat, too.
How very noble of the Leaf. And how typically stupid of the Stone, oh so prideful and certain in their plans that they utterly failed to consider a small force of Leaf shinobi crossing the border. As if they wouldn't catch the slightest whiff of their attack, hm.
Oh well. Deidara let his bangs down, smiling as he refocused on creating his final pieces of art for those pesky Grass shinobi.
I wasn't paid to pursue Leaf shinobi to the border, hm. And I'm almost out of clay. If the Stone want them so badly, they can do it on their own. I've already done all the hard work for them, hm.
All that was left now was the grand finale to his art exhibition.
Kneeling behind an Earth Style barrier, through the inverted black and white vision of the Byakugan, Amari zeroed in on Miss Anbu and Naruto's Shadow Clone's closing the distance between them; they'd arrive within the next fifteen seconds.
She adjusted her view, zooming in to the fringes of her sight, past the retreating Grass shinobi, to the gates of the border town. Naruto's Shadow Clone's and Shino's Insect Clone were acting as an impenetrable bulwark. They did not leap in aggressively against the superior numbers, instead they held their ground, blocking and obstructing attempts to punch through their defenses to chase the retreating shinobi.
Eye flicking up, she spotted the Akatsuki member hovering over the town; he wasn't pursuing.
Perfect. All of their enemies were caught at the very fringes of her sight.
Just hold them back a little longer, you guys.
"It's almost time. I'm going to start gathering chakra," Amari said to Kazama and Tsugumi, both perched upon her shoulders.
"My chakra is yours, Lady Haya," Kazama said.
"Show them, Lady Haya, that the light of the Leaf still burns brightly," Tsugumi followed.
"Right."
Amari shut her left eye.
I'll end this in a single move.
Chakra pooled into her eye. Yet it wouldn't be enough, Amari knew, not to effectively and safely unleash the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan; she'd expended too much in the last several desperate hours of combat and fleeing.
With no other choice, she began to siphon chakra from her companions.
The Amenominakanushi, with its power she could eliminate the Akatsuki member—incinerate him until not even ashes remained. Then the shockwave of the attack would stun or kill the Stone shinobi below, granting them a clean getaway to the border.
In doing so they would no longer need to fear the pursuit of the flying Akatsuki member, who could then locate the real Naruto and Fū, while halting the Stone's unimpeded advance. At least temporarily.
Two birds, one stone.
Of course, her plan hadn't been universally accepted at the onset—still wasn't. Miss Anbu really didn't want her to use the Amenominakanushi; she understood and feared, rightfully, the progressive damage the Mangekyō would cause.
This was the third time she would use the Amenominakanushi. Given the nature of its devastating power, who could say how quickly the deterioration would occur. For all they knew it could extract the price on her vision faster than the Ōkuninushi.
Likewise, Fū didn't like the sound of the plan one bit, especially because it required them to part ways. She didn't want to be left alone, she didn't want Amari to leave her behind. Like Shibuki had.
Upon hearing the technique would damage her vision, she was even more fervent in demanding that Amari not go.
"I have to do this," Amari recalled her own calm argument. "I know continued use of this technique will progressively damage my vision. Hell, this next use may make it noticeable. But we don't have a choice. If that guy sees us, if he realizes who you and Naruto are, or if those Stone shinobi break through the town and head to the border, we're all screwed.
"We've been on the move for nearly a whole day now. If we're pursued into the Land of Fire, everything we've done, everyone who sacrificed their lives for our safety, it'll be for nothing.
"But if we take this guy out, if we can halt the Stone's advance even by a few minutes, we'll be home free."
Miss Anbu and the Crows recognized the logic of the argument. Neither were any happier about it. Yet they accepted it.
They were out of options. Naruto's Shadow Clone's and Shino's Insect Clone were in that town, doubtlessly trying to rescue someone; it was the only logical reason Shino of all people would be partaking in such a hopeless battle.
They had to stop the Akatsuki member from discovering his real location. They had to halt the advance for the sake of refugees Miss Anbu sensed.
In order to save the most lives, she had to take action. Even if it meant sacrificing her vision.
Fū tried to argue further. There wasn't time for it, though, so Amari took the girl's hands into her own and said,
"I know you have questions. There's so much I need to explain to you. But please, I need you to get across the border. I'll be right behind you, I promise. And then I'll answer everything I can."
"You promise?"
"I do."
Her promise was enough to get Fū to go on ahead. Now she just had to stay true to it.
Miss Anbu and Naruto vaulted over the Earth Style barrier, the latter of the two carrying a red-haired girl in civilian clothes. The prominent bite marks nearly distracted the Uchiha.
Later, she cast the concern aside as they settled in behind the protection of the wall. Once this is all over, I'll answer all of Fū's questions and figure out what happened to this girl. For now…
"I know you're already preparing, but are you sure you've gotta do this?" Naruto asked suddenly, bracing his back against the wall while holding the girl. "There's gotta be some other way. Something that won't force you to damage your vision."
"This is the only way," Amari replied calmly. "If the Akatsuki member realizes the Seven-Tails and the Nine-Tails are within his reach, we're screwed. He could summon his partner, assuming they all travel in groups, and pursue us all the way to the Leaf. A fight against two Akatsuki members is one none of us are in any condition for right now."
"The Seven-Tails?" Naruto gasped, eyes wide.
"Long story," she said. A long, troublesome story they didn't have time for.
"Furthermore," Amari continued, "we can't allow the Stone's forces to pursue us to the border. Not while your squad has so many refugees and injured. We have to end their advance here and now. At least temporarily."
"I know that… It's just—"
"I'll be fine, Naruto. Don't worry," she reassured.
For now, the Nara thought, this is all I can do to protect you and Fū from the Akatsuki. It's all I can do to buy the Leaf time to secure the border, which we thought was secured just this morning.
Amari centered her gaze upon the flying Akatsuki member, then shifted it ahead of him, leading her target to ensure, no matter what, he would not escape alive.
I had to contain the Amenominakanushi against Kasai, I had to aim it far enough above him so Atsuko and I wouldn't be harmed. But this time…
Needles pricked her left eye as the chakra she was amassing coagulated.
This time I have no reason to contain it. I'll hold nothing back, I'll unleash all of its devastating power onto these shinobi.
You of the Stone declared war on my home. On this world. And you of the Akatsuki declared war on my friends.
Amari shut her right eye.
Well, right back at you. Let this technique be my declaration to you. Let its light burn away the shadows that sheltered me, let it reveal my hearts intentions for all to see.
Her left eye snapped open. Hardened lavender washed away beneath a wave of fuchsia, a black four-pointed pinwheel took form within the iris.
For Amari, it felt like a dozen kunai suddenly jammed straight through her eye and into the back of her skull. Pain etched itself onto her face.
The red-haired girl let out an involuntary gasp. Miss Anbu stiffened. Naruto shut his eyes and braced himself for whatever would occur.
I never wanted this power. I never wanted this war, she lamented.
None of us chose to be born with special powers, no child chose to become a jinchūriki. It's people like the Tsuchikage and Foundation that keep the world this way.
So, let the light of the Amenominakanushi burn as bright as the Will of Fire. Someday, please, let me find a way to embody its light without the devastation it leaves behind.
But for now, on this day in my weakness, let its light be a warning to all those who seek to maintain this cycle of hatred.
Let it be a warning to all those who seek to divide our world, and an unwavering promise to all those who dare to target my friends and family or seek to claim my bloodline and unborn children.
Let those people see it across the whole world, and let them hear my hearts declaration.
Off in the distance, a small red orb glowed in the sky.
A warm, crimson tear glided down her left cheek.
I, Amaririsu Yūhi and Haya Uchiha of the Leaf, declare war on you all.
And now it's time for the grand finale, hm.
His masterpiece was ready. Now he would reveal it to the world!
As Deidara prepared to eliminate the Leaf shinobi holding back the Stone's forces and the retreating handful of Grass shinobi, a red light, like a glimmering star, appeared ahead of him. He squinted and shielded his eyes.
A red light?
His Clay bird glided closer. A strange wave of heat brushed against Deidara's skin where only the bitter high altitude chill was moments before, and he felt the atmosphere itself…change. Something…unnatural. Something he could not name cause gooseflesh to rise across his body.
This light, there is an artistic beauty to it. But…what's this feeling, hm? This strange heat. This…dread in my—
Suddenly, and briefly, the red light expanded, searing away his vision.
And then he felt nothing at all.
At the edge of the border town was where the last remnants of resistance to the Stone's forces would be snuffed out. It would be the final battle in their conquest of the Grass.
All that remained were the Leaf's reinforcements—two boys, an Aburame and a boy capable of the Shadow Clone Jutsu—who were fighting their damndest to hold the Stone here, at the gates to a town that history wouldn't remember.
Kawanabe Morosawa watched on from the roof of a small, abandoned inn.
Soon enough his men would finish off the last bits of resistance, and then the fleeing Grass shinobi, too, would meet their end.
There's only five more of the boy with the Shadow Clone's; one of them must be real. However, the Aburame and his insects pose the greatest threat.
The Stone shinobi was searching for an opening. Soon, he judged, the opportune moment to strike would come. In the meantime he would allow the conscripts, mercenaries, and Genin to whittle away at the children's waning strength.
The mission was already a success, after all. He saw no point in risking his life in a forgettable battle they'd already won. Killing these children wouldn't bring glory to his name or that of the Morosawa family.
Kawanabe kept his family's legacy at the front of his mind. His father's father was one of the Stone's glorious heroes; the man, it was said, personally led the inevitably successful mission to assassinate Yua Uchiha—wife of Madara Uchiha, the co-founder of the Leaf Village.
In fact, his father's father had not only killed her, he had captured her priceless eyes and even managed to capture her child as well.
A true hero. A symbol of the cunning and strength of the Stone Village.
And his father? He had survived battles against the so-called Reincarnation of Madara Uchiha.
Growing up, Kawanabe heard many inspiring recounts of his father's heroic battles against Kiyoshi Uchiha, and though there last battle would inevitably end in the Uchiha's favor, his father's legacy was as much a part of the Will of Stone now as his grandfather's.
Now it was his turn to add to his families legacy. His name would be written in history as the man who helped lead the Stone Village in capturing the Grass Village, and eventually, he believed, in conquering the Leaf as well.
And one day my son will add to our family's legacy.
His son, a fresh graduate from the Academy earlier this year, would soon find himself on the fields of war. There he would make his name, like all men in their family had.
Kawanabe noticed the Aburame's head snap upwards. He heard his sharp inhale.
At a distance it almost appeared as though the Aburame possessed the Sharingan, for his glasses reflected a red light of some kind, but Kawanabe knew it was likely the bomber's explosive.
"Naruto, disperse!" the Aburame ordered calmly.
Then his body dissolved into a cloud of insects that buzzed off in retreat.
All five boys raised their heads, made a startled noise from deep in their throats, and then they, too, dispersed into useless clouds.
They were…all Clones? Why did they—
The eruption Kawanabe heard couldn't have been anything less than a volcano. It couldn't have been anything less than the earth's core splitting apart. It had to be the bomber—a rogue Stone shinobi named Deidara, if he had to guess.
Yet it came from the sky. The sky! Where no earth could split apart. Where no volcanos could violently erupt. And that noise couldn't be a bomb from their mercenary shinobi.
Kawanabe and all of his allies, after shuddering and stiffening, all whirled towards the sound, bodies pivoting and heads jerking up to gaze at the sky.
At their doom.
What they saw nearly blinded them, and it stopped their hearts.
Red light, as bright as the afternoon sun, set the sky aflame. It washed away the blue they'd known all their lives, it swallowed the grey and black plumes of smoke, and left only apocalyptic, stomach-churning red behind.
It was expanding, he realized lucidly, horrified. It was expanding directly towards them.
Kawanabe heard the crushing wind roar and howl like a train chugging through the sky.
He felt a sudden wave of superheated air. His skin screamed, his clothes ignited, and then he went blind. The rooftop beneath him vanished—collapsed.
He could hear nothing over the steamrolling train howling past his ears. Not the screams of his comrades as their bodies were crushed beneath the shockwave, not his own screams as he felt bones fracture and his skin ignite.
Suddenly the heat upon his skin reached supernova.
And then Kawanabe Morosawa ceased to be.
"Run! Go, go, go!" Oda Makimura commanded from behind his men.
He heard the blast. Saw the light. And although he hadn't the faintest idea where the light came from or who had unleashed such a devastating technique, Oda felt fear—raw and primal. His heart pounded harshly against his chest, so harsh he was certain he was already dying.
If they did not run faster, farther, if they didn't sprint far beyond the blast radius, he knew in his gut the light would be their end.
Behind him, the sound of howling wind akin to a runaway train roaring through a tunnel approached. Louder and louder. Closer. Closer. So quickly he didn't feel his heart suddenly grow tight.
Nearly three hundred meters away from the epicenter the shockwave overcame them.
It felt like a bull goring his back. Oda struck the earth face first, flattened and nearly flatlined.
Dazed, he scarcely felt the gale carry and throw him mercilessly across the ground until he struck again, and pain exploded through his elbow with the same ferocity of the explosives the bomber had used. Then he became grounded and cognizant of himself.
Oda felt the gale uproot him, flinging him powerfully through the air, and he flew for what felt closer to a minute than a handful of seconds. Before he crashed again.
Dragged through the dirt and grass, thrown and skipped like a stone, it was as though Mother Nature had decided to throw him about herself, treating him with the same disregard a child showed to a toy it had grown bored of. His comrades suffered the same fate.
All the Grass shinobi heard was the train roaring past his ears. All he felt was pain erupt across his body as he was slammed against the earth and continually thrown by the wind like an empty soda can caught in a tornado.
Oda lost consciousness shortly after.
"Hey, Sasori, my ma—"
Air whistled around a heavy blade. Deidara pivoted, narrowly evading his partner's iron tail, feeling the force of its tip vibrate through the earth and up his sandals.
Smirking, the young shinobi glanced over to his fellow Akatsuki member, another artist like him by the name of Sasori.
"A little prickly today, aren't we?" Deidara said, relaxed despite how near to death he'd come. "What's the matter, Sasori, my man? Why such a hostile greeting?"
His fellow artist didn't even look at him. He stood on all-fours, stout and, frankly, appearing like a massive turtle donning an Akatsuki cloak; his mouth was covered by a cloth mask and his hair consisted of several thin black stripes, like little Mohawks, pulled into a ponytail.
"Where have you been?" Sasori demanded, voice deep and gruff.
"Fulfilling our mission, of course, hm. The Stone Village are still as demanding as ever; I had to create a Shadow Clone just to hit all of my targets in time."
"That's because you waste too much time admiring your so-called 'art.'"
"Sasori, my man, is this really the place for another argument about the true nature of art?" Deidara questioned, smirk never leaving his lips.
Their visions of art were as compatible as oil and water. Sasori seemed to believe art was eternal—everlasting—living beyond a single moment.
Although Deidara respected his fellow artists own vision, they had many long arguments on arts true nature. That, of course, being art of a single moment, like his masterpieces.
"Don't taunt me, Deidara. I'm not in the mood."
"Are you really this upset because I'm a little late."
"I am. I hate to be kept waiting."
"So you always say, hm."
The iron tail retracted from the earth, snaked across the grass, and all but its tip vanished beneath the cloak.
"Do not waste my time like this again," Sasori commanded.
"Yeah, yeah. Anyway, my Shadow Clone should be about to drop my latest masterpiece on the final target. And I'll have the perfect view of it from here, hm," Deidara said, feeling pride and excitement for what was to come.
He felt rather than saw Sasori's eyes narrow.
"Is that why you picked this location as our rendezvous point?"
"Heh!" Deidara smiled widely, turning to the east, where the small border town could be seen far, far in the distance. "I'm going to prove to you once and for all what art truly is!"
"Grr! You're a fool."
"You're so harsh, Sasori, my man. I wouldn't have to go to these lengths if you just accepted…"
A sudden red flash of light appeared on the horizon, and Deidara felt his voice die and his heart stop.
He watched the light, like a magnificent star reaching its explosive death, expand wider, vaster, so bright even at their distance that he felt his eyes squint involuntarily.
Simultaneously, the final memories of his Shadow Clone struck him. The change in the atmosphere, the heat brushing against his skin, the artistic beauty of a small grain of red light he was now witnessing the aftermath of.
And, finally, he felt the terrible, primal dread that churned his stomach.
No, Deidara gaped in awe. In horror. No, no, no, no, this can't be… This is… This is…
"That technique wasn't yours," Sasori stated emphatically, staring at the expanding red orb in similar awe.
A knife pierced Deidara's heart.
How could Sasori know that so keenly? How could he just…know his art wasn't responsible for such… For such…
Deidara's knees shook. His legs felt light—hollow. His heart, tight and uncomfortable, slammed against his chest. He felt his breathing pick up.
Had I not used a Shadow Clone…
The red orb, it was enthralling. He couldn't look away, not even to deny its existence. It, he felt, demanded to be seen. It demanded his attention, his awe, and reverence.
It was like witnessing Itachi's Sharingan genjutsu all over again.
His masterpiece was snuffed out by another. Not only snuffed out, but surpassed!
Deidara's legs collapsed beneath him. He slapped a hand to his mouth and swallowed down bile.
No. No. No, how could it be?!
Tears stinging in his eyes, an acrid taste in his throat, he glared at the burning red light, its glorious flicker and gleam reflecting in his glistening eyes.
It was then howling wind and a wave of heat struck the two Akatsuki members, fluttering their cloaks and flattening blades of grass, washing away all of his pride and leaving only inadequacy behind.
Such magnificence, Deidara awed, feeling sick to his stomach.
This is… This is true art!
That admission filled him with resentment, shame and loathing he would never shake.
In the heat and wind, Deidara threw his head back and screamed.
Hmhmhm!
Within the shadows of the trees, the Masked Man's shoulder shook with laughter as he observed the red light reach its pinnacle.
Now wasn't this an unexpected surprise. He hadn't imagined he'd witness the raw, devastating power of the Amenominakanushi so soon, yet even at a distance he felt a thrilling tremble in his core.
As the wind and heat caused the branches to sway and moan, tearing from their limbs swaths of dying leaves that rolled and fluttered through the air, he did not waver or bend.
He watched the Amenominakanushi, his Sharingan eye gleaming in the darkness, his lips split in a wide smile.
Haya, I have heard your declaration to this accursed world loud and clear, he thought, satisfied by not only what he sensed, but by the sound of the Akatsuki member known as Deidara screaming his shame and inadequacy to the heavens a short distance away.
That's right, Deidara of the Akatsuki. Scream. Wail. Cry! Fall to your knees in fealty before your betters. You, who scorns the Uchiha, who bombs innocent towns and villages for money, wail! Wail for the heavens to hear! And let us all know how inadequate you are when compared to those of Uchiha blood.
The Masked Man's shoulders shook once again.
The Akatsuki stand in awe of you, Haya. They now know there is someone out there, someone with the power to stop them.
Yet they do not realize you've only just begun to fully grasp your potential. This is but a taste of your power. A flickering ember existing only in this moment, not yet kindled into the cleansing flame you are destined to become.
More than ever, he was certain Haya was the one.
She was the one who would help him change this accursed world of theirs.
There's no turning back now. With this you've announced your existence to the world. Now you step out of the shadows and into the light, knowing you cannot turn back. And having no desire to.
This bold and brazen use of the Amenominakanushi trumpeted Haya's entrance onto the world stage. It announced to all who would listen that the Burning Light of the Leaf had returned, in a manner of speaking.
Word of the Amenominakanushi would spread to the Foundation, to the Stone and their Tsuchikage, to the Cloud and their Raikage, and, of course, the Akatsuki. Orochimaru would doubtlessly hear of it as well.
They will come for you. Every last one of them will seek to claim your power or eliminate it entirely. But you know that. Yes, you know that all too well now.
However, rather than flee from this, you decide to face it head on. The Stone, the Foundation, Orochimaru, and eventually the Cloud as well have declared war on you.
So you've declared war upon them in return.
The Masked Man's eye crinkled with his smile.
That's my girl.
The light of the Amenominakanushi was fading. Dark clouds gathered in the sky, the atmosphere and weather altered by the sudden rush of heat. The Masked Man watched in serene silence.
They may have declared war upon you, Haya. Yet there is nothing for you to fear.
Because I will be watching over you.
Review Response to Guest: Glad you loved the first sequence with Amari's Clone, and that, for a moment, it made you think she was the real one. Like you said, the circumstances of Amari's heart going a bit dark back there is justified; she's witnessed a lot of death, even before she finally caught up to the Shibuki, in a very short time, and now there are Crows among those who sacrificed themselves for her sake—a Shadow Clone, to top it off. Lots of emotions she's going to have to deal with. It's not quite over yet, as Shikaku pointed out. There's still another fight ahead of her if she intends to protect Fu from certain individuals.
Well, Naruto does get his chance to save Karin, but Shino gets to step into the protagonist role this time for a little bit. Hope you liked it. And yeah, Karin is definitely up there in characters who received the most abuse. Guess we'll have to wait and see what the future holds for Fu and Karin now.
To be fair, although Amari was up against a lot of people, the vast majority of shinobi she faced, specifically from the Stone, as I mentioned, were Genin's, conscripts, and mercenaries, so think of their general level of skill from as low as common bandits to likely low-tiered Chunin, maybe. Rather, think of them as just gung-ho and green as grass volunteers with the minimal level of skill required to wield a kunai and shuriken—really just regular people thrown into uniforms.
Additionally, she had the Crows backing her up, really pulling most of the weight at the end there, which can be attributed to their losses at the hands of the highest ranked shinobi among the enemy forces. So I'm not sure I'd place her as a tokubetsu jonin.
I haven't read the stat books, though I think a long while back another reader asked me to do her stats, although I'm sure I messed it up back then since I didn't really know who placed where among the stats. I probably gave Amari too many points, definitely for how early in the story it was back then.
I'd probably place her around 25, though I'm not sure how I'd distribute the points to get her there. For instance, she has strong genjutsus, but since she doesn't use them nearly as much or as often, I'd think it would probably be lower than ninjutsu or taijutsu, but does how much she uses them change the points, or is it the strength of the techniques, does the fact her strength in genjutsu is a result of Sharingan and Uchiha blood have an effect on the points? I'm not sure, like I said. But I'd place at least around 25. So maybe in points she technically is close in that regard to tokubetsu jonin, but, honestly, I don't really feel like she's at that stage yet. But how I see Genin, Chunin, tokubetsu Jonin, Jonin, and Kage's is different, I think, than how the anime showed them.
As for taijutsu style, I don't really have any particular style in mind. It's really all about choreography for me, where I try to think of how to make the scene tell a story while also being somewhat tactically sound—jury's out on if I'm successful in that regard—and as cool as I can make it. When I use a specific term or weapon in this story I've generally looked it up to describe it as accurately as I can, but in general Amari's style—anyone's style, really—is just how I imagine them fighting that specific battle, with character personalities playing a role.
For example, Naruto is a straightforward brawler while Amari has a graceful and acrobatic style, with hints of straightforward brawling and agility and flexibility, when she isn't using swords or kunai. So there isn't any specific real martial art or anything I base them off of, it's really just trying to tell a story with a fight and make it create images within the readers minds that get them pumped up. I have watched a lot of martial arts movies, so that may be sort of where I pull specific kicks and punches from, but other than that, I have no real knowledge of fighting.
She may copy Gentle Fist someday. Can't really say for certain she will, but there is a possibility.
Kimiko is definitely tough as hell. Glad you liked seeing her again.
Not really sure how into depth I'll go into the magic system, with reworking and explaining. If it's something that I can use to teach about this or that, or to help tell a better story, or I think of a way to explain something about the magic system that I think would add depth, it'll definitely show up. But I haven't put much thought into that. My enjoyment really comes from writing characters, growing them, putting them into interesting situations and seeing how they react, since sometimes I let them take the wheel. Not that I don't like writing about a world and adding depth to it and its magic, but I love writing characters the most, so if a chance comes to do stuff with the magic system through a character, like Rock Lee, for instance, I'll definitely jump at it. Other than that I can't really promise much. Sorry if that's disappointing. I don't really plan a whole lot, if I'm honest. I kinda get a few ideas about an arc and the story and then let the characters guide me forward.
It is an interesting theory about why Rock Lee can't use anything except taijutsu. I never really thought about it, but that could be why.
Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy the newest chapter!