ϟ—Chapter Twenty-eight — Wrath of the Vengeful Spirits—ϟ
Gaara ended up battling much more than just the three clans of the InoShikaCho. It seemed that partially transforming into a Bijuu brought more attention than just three great clans. Many more Konoha Shinobi joined in. It was never overwhelming; they died before their numbers could become an issue.
It was mindless, really.
Shinobi came.
Shinobi died.
More came to take their place.
Those more just died, too.
It all felt so… pointless. Why throw your life away? Why jump so readily into a situation that you know you will not survive? It made… no sense. None at all. Did they not have loved ones? Did they not have the kindness to survive for their sake?
You couldn't be kind if you were dead.
Death was… an utter waste.
Death was—Gaara screamed. The pain was unbearable, familiar—he'd felt this before—it burned. Blue fire erupted from the seal on his forehead. Immediately, he halted. The Shinobi piled on to him as he had to use his full effort to force Shukaku back.
The blue-flaming chakra was destroying his seal. Shukaku was being released—there was nothing he could do to stop it! All Gaara could do was hold him off. In that time, the Shinobi dog piled him. Without the death, without Gaara stopping them—without Gaara being able to do anything… he was overwhelmed.
Konoha's invigorated forces brought down the hulking beast that was Gaara's partially transformed state. Earth turned all sand beneath him to rock. The little domain he could sustain was gone. Water weighed him down and made moving his sand—with the little control he had at all—nigh impossible.
Gaara roared, Gaara tried to fight back—every time he did, Shukaku gained ground. No matter what Gaara did, he would lose.
He would lose to Konoha, or he would lose to Shukaku.
He simply had to decide who?
Who would he lose to?
Sacrifice himself to Shukaku, transform, wreak havoc upon Konoha and guarantee its defeat.
Or… lose to Konoha, the village he attacked, his people attacked, the village he spent over an hour massacring.
As Shukaku's screeches made his ears bleed… Gaara… chose.. Konoha.
He would lose to Konoha.
With all his might, Gaara screamed against Shukaku. The Bijuu was forced back just a bit, but roared out with utter fury.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING YOU FOOL?!
I'm choosing kindness!
Gaara fought Shukaku's will, fighting against the demon that tormented him at every turn—thinking back to his two weeks at the Jinchuriki School… with Naruto, with Ka'rai.
Naruto, he validated his existence by making himself known, be striving to be the best and be the Hokage.
Ka'rai, he validated his existence through joy, through battle, through Hane.
They… they both wanted joy—they wanted love.
If Gaara were to become like them, to obtain the power of kindness, then he needed to start somewhere.
His true start was here.
The mass of sand was constricted by shadows.
Multiple Akimichi grew to gigantic sizes and held him down.
An armada of different minds attempted to enter his own, forcing Shukaku to divide his attention to stop them. Gaara took advantage—he fought harder. As his partial transformation crumbled into wet sand, Shukaku screamed at him and cursed him and damned him.
It all ended when he heard a whirl. A gigantic swirl of chakra in a helicitcal sphere. A white-haired man with rectangular eyes. Golden sand at his back, trying to catch him. It simply… wasn't enough.
"Gallant Rasengan!"
The blue ball grew to the size of Shukaku's miniature head, and Gaara was crushed. Before unconsciousness took hold, golden sand gripped him and pulled.
With fire on his seal, Shukaku screaming from the blue-burning void, Gaara's mind faded to black.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Clowui really was the coolest person from Kumo that wasn't Ka'rai. Fuu had a joy of a time massacring with her. With her wind and lightning, it was easy to keep making cuts and cuts and cuts until Clowui used her Ketsuryugan to suck them dry.
Her scythe of blood could cut through buildings like butter, cut through people like they weren't even there. Cirru, Sami, and Cee more so just guarded Clowui to prevent anyone from sneaking up on her… not that she needed it.
The main show it was Fuu and Clowui—Fuu shrieked. In the red sky of ash and fire, she collapsed to the floor in the middle of the enemy army. Blue, fiery chakra erupted from the seal on her back—Ka'rai what the hell?!
OH! It used Version Two?! Didn't it?!
What's going—sunset chakra erupted from out of her seal, into her body. Fuu couldn't stop screaming as her body was pumped full of Nanabi's chakra, more than she could handle.
Don't worry about it… fleshling.
Blades and other weapons all attempted to pierce her, to kill her—they all scraped against her hardened skin as Fuu could barely fight back—she was too busy fighting Nanabi. The roar of a swarm drowned out the cries of war.
Nanabi! Why are you hurting me?!
So I can be free… So I can fly. It's as you said, when you have power, why not use it? That's what freedom is. I have the power; I have the freedom to kill you right now and FLY!
Nanabi roared, and Fuu wailed out from the agony of her shattering seal. The constant hammering from opponents around her level of power broke through her hardened skin. What followed was a roar of concentrated fire that shattered the exoskeleton of her arms. They wouldn't stop attacking her—even while she was crying on the floor.
From her broken exoskeleton, gas poured out in the place of blood. The poison of the Nanabi herself. On inhale, the Shinobi around her immediately started crying out from the sheer burning agony. Their lungs might have well been set on fire as they were melted from the inside out, liquified into human mush.
It only took seconds.
The seal on Fuu's back wouldn't stop being assaulted. Next, it was Shukaku's chakra, a sandy crumbling threatened to turn her back to dust—Fuu wailed. Kyuubi's chakra erupted in a crimson plume that forced her to collapse. Fuu couldn't stand, she couldn't think, she couldn't…
Nanabi's chakra reached its peak. Fuu's cries of anguish were overtaken by Nanabi's swarming roar. Her chakra formed into the shape of a swarm of locusts, buzzing and shrieking as Fuu rose. Two wings grew out from beside her two existing. Four wings, one tail.
Five Tails.
The stormy gray exoskeleton expanded, overtaking Fuu's torso and fully guarding her chest and back. On both shoulders, the armor grew. It evolved, growing an armored spike with a single pair of insect arms—the size of Fuu's—sculpted themselves from the armor and pushed Fuu off the ground. Lastly, a helmet of Nanabi's exoskeleton encased Fuu's head in its entirety. Fit with the horn, mandibles and everything.
An empty, dark expanse where … then it glowed yellow—golden like the shining sun.
Nanabi overtook Fuu's body and screamed.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Sami had never felt a more horrifying presence in her life. A spewing of chakra the color of the sunset erupted from the Konoha's forces after Fuu just fell. Clowui watched closely with her Ketsuryugan. "Dammit…"
Even Cee, her sensei, an experienced Jonin… took a step back. He was a sensor; he must've felt so much worse. "The Nanabi's taken control! Guys, we need to go—"
Before any of them could even think, register what happened… A beetle's horn pierced Cee's chest. His pupils went vacant from the impact and blood spewed. Sami could only feel the bucket of ice her heart became for a second. The sheer wind from the Nanabi's buzzing wings whipped her back into the ash—her arm snapped in two from the impact. She screamed.
Cee's broken body was thrashed off the horn and collapsed into the rubble below. Cirru tried to defend with a windstorm—the Nanabi cackled at the pathetic attempt. His Typhoon Style was overpowered by Nanabi's own. Bullets of hail shot holes in him. He collapsed to the floor in a heap.
Clowui used her eyes, hardening the blood of everyone present, stitching together their wounds and forcing them to rise. She possessed the corpses like they were zombies. Sami's snapped bone was forced back into place.
The Nanabi set its sights on Clowui, snarling the sound of a hornet's wings. With a single hand seal, she—Nanabi shot a bolt of lightning that destroyed Clowui's heart. Completing the hand seal, her house-sized Scythe of blood slashed at the Nanabi—doing nothing.
Cee rose, Genjutsu rising around the beast as he forced hand seals. "Light Style: Blinding Curtain!"
Majestic bright light attempted to blind the Nanabi—the light turned orange. The color of the sunset and everything burned. Blades of wind and light, like the sun, ripped Clowui's blood-possessed zombies to shreds. Armies of both Kumo and Konoha attacked only to be ripped apart at the seams. Brutal waves of chakra were enough to decimate them all.
The buzzing of the Nanabi's wings and the Nanabi's cackles accompanied the chakra. A glowing tornado of ash, wind, and light made the very earth below shatter. Everything was taken into the whirlwind. It was like a black hole.
All of Clowui's blood was ripped from her control and taken into the tornado. Cirru didn't have a chance in hell of stopping it. His own flight was turned against him as he was sucked in next. Cee tried to shoot bolts of lightning into the tornado but it was simply turned against him—Nanabi took control of the lighting and enhanced her tornado with thunder.
Sporadic bolts turned the earth to dust and human bodies to ash.
Clowui needed to impale herself to the floor a dozen times over with her own blood to stop herself from being sucked in. Cee… wasn't so lucky. He was taken into the vortex tight along with Cirru.
Sami couldn't see if they lived. She could barely see through the welling of tears in her eyes. They rolled down her face. Dammit… Dammit… There was… nothing… no way…
Everyone was dying. Dying like they always did…
Sucked into the void.
Sucked into the whirl…
Sami screamed once again. Pain, desperation, all of it. She ripped off her glove and outstretched her hand, the diamond on her palm shining a sinister violet. "VOID STYLE!" she roared. The diamond shrieked, and she opened up her void with all the strength she could.
Her own black hole sucked everything away. Blood, dead bodies, wind, ash and lightning… all sucked in. The sheer pressure even knocked the Nanabi off its balance. Quickly locating her, the beast snarled.
Horror made Sami scream back—she concentrated the full effort of her void onto it. Sunset chakra spewed off the beast. Its wings snapped and were pulled. The armor was deteriorating as all of its chakra was pulled.
Any attack the Nanabi pulled was sucked right into the void. There was nothing it can do as all the chakra was sucked away.
Fuu's form was visible again as Sami took away the Nanabi's chakra. The girl screamed—fighting back against the Bijuu. That made it all the easier to rip the chakra out of her. It didn't take much longer for Sami to reduce Fuu to her base state.
That… was it. It was over.
The void didn't seem to think so.
It wouldn't stop—Sami couldn't turn it off.
A painful panic stabbed her heart—more than even her broken arm. Nononononono—WHY WON'T IT TURN OFF?!
She forced her palm down as it ate up the rock and rubble beneath her. She still felt the chakra being zapped—anyone who was still alive was being killed from the chakra drain. Clowui's curse was gone, absorbed by her. Cee and Cirru were nowhere to be found—where are they?!
Horrific realization.
They were in the void.
Sami absorbed them—they were in the void.
Her heart skipped a beat, and she cried out. Flashes of her first friend, flashes to where it all began as she sobbed. Nonononono not again—NOT AGAIN!
The controlled blood in her broken arm turned against her. Sami's blood rebelled against her own body. A blade formed inside of her, the arm that held the void—it was cut. Sami's hand was cut off by the wrist.
Her void ceased.
Clowui limped beside her, stitching the hand back on. Sami's hand was limp, but nothing medical Ninjutsu couldn't fix.
Sami met her with horrified eyes. "Are you…?"
"I'm fine…" Clowui managed, her pupils dilating as she stumbled. "Thank you…"
Clowui fell. Her control over her blood ceased. Sami's broken arm came back in full force and the wound around her wrist burned. She cried out from both the pain and the panic of seeing her friend fall.
Sami couldn't grab her as she fell, both arms useless. All she could do was fall to her knees and cry over Clowui… she was barely alive, bleeding out.
There was nothing she could do.
Nothing….
Again.
Again.
Again, the void took everything.
Her first friend.
Her life.
Now her team, now her closest friend.
Something constricted around her. A golden chain—"It'll be okay," assured a motherly voice. Ka'rai's mom…
"I'll get you three to a medical station," she assured before dashing off in the sky. A chain held Clowui, Fuu, and herself.
Sami could barely manage a smile because she couldn't stop crying. "Thank… you…"
"It's okay, Sami," she smiled back at her, eyes closed. "Ka'rai always said you were a good friend."
A good friend…? The grippings of unconsciousness made her unable to respond. Funny… Her last thoughts were of Clowui's bloodied body before it all went black.
Just like the void.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
For the first time in what felt like his life—it wasn't—Bee was on the back foot of a fight. In his defense, he had a single arm, and whatever fucked up Rasengan Hiyenzo used to take it off did not let him regenerate—but it was fine. Gyuki's full domain was reached by growing intensity in battle. So, anything that made the battle more intense worked in his favor. All Bee needed to do was drag out the battle.
A Senjutsu enhanced fist blasted him through a dozen or so buildings. The falling ash reminded him of Yakedo. Said ash burst into a storm that threatened to blow holes through Bee's body, through his Perfect Jinchuriki cloak.
Bee's chakra erupted, and he saw Yosei in the air. She wasn't moving, standing as if she were levitating.
Such skill in Senjutsu… I haven't seen such a thing since Hashirama Senju himself!
What's she doing?!
She made a solid barrier of Senjutsu under her feet, allowing to walk on air!
Gyah!
Lightning struck and Bee barely dodged. His eyes narrowed on the bolt. It was much faster than regular lightning—another bolt struck him from above and his purple skin smoldered. "You must not give a shit about your village if you're destroying it this easily!"
"Infrastructure can be rebuilt. There are no Konoha citizens nearby. I have no reason to hold back." Another storm surged from her hands and pierced Bee—how is it so fast! It almost reminds of Darui!
Wait…
Bee's eyes widened. Storm Style! Of course!
He heard Yosei laugh from up above. "So, it seems that you've remembered my title before I was the Thorn Wraith. The Storm Queen." Yosei weaved a hand seal. Bee braced himself. "Sage Art: Storm Release: Light Fang."
Bee couldn't even react, as there was a purple flash. He was sliced clean, with blood spewing from the wound. So fast—vines grew from the floor, constricting him with the thorns cutting right into him. His chakra churned—they were harder to break out of than the Adamantine Chains.
The Senjutsu platform Yosei stood on blasted into her Storm and she flashed down, surfing on the storm. All Bee could do was erupt his chakra as Yosei blasted her storming fist into his chest. A flash of thunder and a hole was blasted into his chest.
The vines constricting him threw him up and rocked him to the ground—and then back up into Yosei's foot that clobbered into his face—to crush his head. Another eruption and Bee was finally free. He grew a tentacle in place of his missing arm, blocking an attack.
Yosei charged—Bee countered with a slash, severing her arm, but he only cut vines. In a heartbeat, it regrew and thorns on the knuckles of Yosei's fist dug through Bee's hide. Damn! She's powerful! A grin crossed Bee's face at the sheer challenge.
About damn time!
He kicked but Senjutsu blocked it. Yosei kept moving and clobbering him. His arm was constrained by vines. So he gave himself more limbs. Eight tentacles—Eight tails—sprouted from behind him and whipped Yosei across the face, drawing blood. In seconds, the wound closed.
Killer Bee huffed, and ink whirled around his head. He charged and his oxen head impaled Yosei—she leapt back. Ink spewed from Killer Bee. Yosei erected walls of earth to block him. All it took was a roar to turn the earth to sand, and he charged. A kick sent him back down to the earth.
Above, Yosei stood on her Senjutsu platform and weaved a hand seal. "Sage Art: Cleave."
The Senjutsu around her pulsed in an arc—it was sharp. Bee barely had the durability to withstand it. The surrounding area… did not. A ravine over a dozen meters across was cut into the earth from the slash of Senjutsu.
His eight tentacles were cut halfway through, though his main body remained unharmed. That didn't stop Yosei from doing it again. "Sage Art: Cleave!"
Another one, stronger—it cut through the remainder of Bee's tentacles and hit his main body. Blood erupted from the wounds on his shoulders and Bee snarled. He blasted out of the way, under the Senjutsu platform. With his remaining arm, he surrounded his fist with Gyuki's and punched it.
The barrier shattered and Yosei fell into Bee's regenerated tentacle. He whipped her to the floor, drawing one of his seven swords and covering it with ink. He sliced at her, but she blocked with earth. Bee simply cut the earth in two and continued toward her.
Another Cleave, sealless, weaker, Bee withstood it. He felt the beginnings of his arm start to regenerate in the tentacle that replaced it. A hand to hand exchange. Gyuki's domain was starting to kick in. The battle was intense.
He revved his chakra and ripped through Yosei. She donkey-kicked him headfirst into the rubble, but his tentacle whipped her. Another Light Fang sliced at him—both of his eyes were taken out.
Bee snarled at the injury. He didn't need to see, though. Yosei's power level was as bright as a full moon at night. He met her fist, then her leg. His tentacles slammed down on her, but she caught it.
Yosei's chakra—her power spread through the ground and erupted around him. Vines constrained him from all sides and her chakra flared. "Sage Art: Storm Release: Cleave!"
Another Cleave, but Bee heard the shock of thunder. He roared to defend, erupting his chakra like it was a volcano. Ink spewed hot like lava. It still wasn't enough—he felt his own guts start to spill out. He had to catch them with his own chakra.
A storm punch rocked his face and Yosei kicked him far—he landed in a building, onto a couch that blasted into splinters. Yosei's chakra flared. The building above him collapsed. From the severity of the impact, it must've been at least three stories tall.
The heat and roar of fire burned all around him—it was followed by the collapsed of earth into a sinkhole. A gust of wind poured into the flaming sinkhole and Bee was scorched. Another flare of Yosei's chakra and the sinkhole collapsed. He heard vines growing all around him; they constricted him.
Bee couldn't move an inch. The cylindrical column of flaming vines rose into the air. Yosei's chakra flared twice. The most powerful cleave yet cut through the seal of thorny vines and Bee fell to the floor, bleeding out, heaving.
Damn Bee. She's kicking your ass.
Bee snorted. You're right about that—
A storm fist sent him skidding across Konoha. Vines grabbed him, Bee felt his neck crack from the whiplash. It became ten times worse when Yosei slammed another one of her fists into his face.
Bee blasted his chakra out. His arm was… ten percent done regenerating. What the fuck type of jutsu did Hiyenzo use—? Bee was shaken from his thoughts by a stormy kick to the gut. Tentacles and ink stitched his wounds together, Bee was quite literally held together by the thread. At least his vision was back…
"Have you had enough? Or are you a glutton for punishment?" asked Yosei, keeping him still under foot.
"Nah… I ain't done," Bee responded with a smirk before snapping her shin with a tentacle. She collapsed with her eyes wide and Bee headbutt her, breaking her nose before hurling Gyuki's fist right into her chest, snapping a couple ribs.
Yosei wiped the blood from her face and smirked as she met Gyuki's fist with a thorny storm of a hand. Bee saw her wounds fix themselves before his very eyes. Benefits of mastering Senjutsu, it seemed. Her regeneration was better than Ka'rai's Jinsei.
He broke her neck with a punch, but Yosei kicked a hole in his chest. She blasted back with a thunderclap, taking her haven in the air as she weaved three hand seals. "Sage Art… Dismantle."
That's different, Bee muttered before feeling a sense of dread overtake him. His very body was turning against him, invaded by Senjutsu. Before he knew it, a sharp pain burned in his hips. His legs. He couldn't feel his legs. He dropped to the ground, on his back, bisected.
"Damn…" Bee said, coughing up blood.
Yosei walked over to him with a smirk, looking down on him with her golden sage's eyes glowing. "Now have you had enough?"
"You really gotta stop ending things prematurely! You gotta give things room to grow, y'know what I'm saying?"
"Uh huh…" Yosei nodded along slowly. "And why should I give that chance to an enemy Shinobi invading my village?"
"Because, just like me… you're dying for a challenge." Bee grinned at her.
Yosei rolled her eyes. "You're right, I am. You've given me that. But the interests of Konoha come before my own desires."
"Damn… that's real…" Bee looked at her with a brow. "Why ain't you Hokage?"
"Enough stalling," she cut him off, weaving a hand seal. "Sage Ar—"
Bee spat a bullet of ink that shot her through the head. For a tenth of a second, she went unconscious. The moment she regained the control to heal the injury it was too late.
Killer Bee roared. It wasn't his roar, nah; it was Gyuki's. Yosei was forced to leap back to avoid being crushed by the forming Bijuu. Ink wouldn't stop spewing as Bee cocooned himself inside of Gyuki's forming mass.
Being encased inside of Gyuki allowed his healing to accelerate. All he had to do was control the massive form of the Hachibi himself, like he'd done so many times before. It didn't take too long for him to grow to his full size. A triumphant roar shook the earth below—it cracked as earthquakes shattered with the storm above bellowing alongside the Bijuu.
It didn't take long for him to locate Yosei. He looked down on her with a huff that she had to form a barrier of Senjutsu around herself to not be blown away. "If you want a challenge, then you got one baby! WHEEEE!"
Yosei scoffed and weaved an actual series of hand seals. Bee could've stopped her, but… nah, he needed to see what this would lead to. "Sage Art: Vine Release: Thorn Wraith." From the rubble, vines as thick as telephone poles broke the ground and rose. Each and every one was adorned with thorns like scales on a reptile.
They whirled together into a barely defined woman's form. Bee could make out teeth in a mouth with giant thorns. Glowing purple eyes, the shape of a thorn and the size of houses. Two wings stretched out, matching the width of Gyuki's tails.
Her vines didn't stop moving, churning, like the entire avatar was made of maggots. A true wraith, one made of thorns.
Bee grinned. "Really livin' up to the name Thorn Wraith! Was your reputation named after this Jutsu or vice versa?!"
"The latter," Yosei responded with a haughty inflection to her tone. She stood atop her Thorn Wraith with a smirk. It matched Gyuki in size and Bee couldn't wait to give it a durability test.
The Wraith's fist clenched and so did the Bijuu's. They clashed with momentous speed and force. The earth beneath them cracked. To gain favor, Storm arced from the wings of Yosei's Wraith. It flew.
Ink spewed in Creative Blades from Bee's massive tentacles. Stormy cutters managed to shield Yosei from the worse of it. Killer Bee roared, reaching up to grab the wraith's leg and slam it back to the ground. He charged and tore the viney leg off.
Storming beams of thorny blades slashed at Gyuki's form. It cut, but it didn't cut deep. Yosei's assault did nothing to stop Bee's charge. With his horns, he bulled a hole in the wraith. Four tentacles on each wing, Bee ripped them off.
Yosei whirled, and a cleave ripped a gash in Gyuki's hide. An elbow sent the wraith tumbling to the ground. This Thorn Wraith was powerful, but it wasn't a damned Bijuu. Bee roared and commanded the lake of spilled ink below.
It whirled into oily tendrils that seeped below the wraith. With its wings reformed, it flew back up into the air. Yosei sent Cleave after Cleave his way, but Gyuki's hide tanked them all. From below Yosei, the ink formed a Kanji. The Kanji for Erupt.
Just that it did.
The earth beneath Yosei melted, then erupted upward. Yosei's Thorn Wraith was covered in lava and ignited. A shockwave shook the earth. Bee took the time to open his mouth, the remainder of his ink swirling and glowing a searing yellow. "Ink Style: Hachibi Blast!"
Ink whirled yellow, black, and purple per the command of Bee's imagination. It concentrated into a beam that ripped Yosei's Thorn Wraith to nothing. In flames and falling apart, it collapsed to the ground and the impact sent a shockwave throughout all of Konoha.
Bee spied with his giant eyes Yosei crawling out of the remnants of her burning Thorn Wraith. A bit charred but otherwise unharmed.
Those same spying eyes widened. "You survived?!"
"You're going to have to try harder than that if you want to kill me. Much harder."
"Luckily, I got harder things to dish out!" Bee weaved a hand seal and opened his mouth—vines, created from Senjutsu around him muzzled him and constricted his hands.
"I think that you'll find the Jutsu I have much harder than anything you have at your disposal." Yosei clapped her hands and leapt onto the growing avatar of vines beneath her. "Sage Art: Vine Release! Shinsuu Senju! One Hundred Handed Kan'on!"
The following creation of vines was bigger than Gyuki. Not by too much—but still. A hundred arms with balled thorny fists were spread behind the Buddha of vines.
It's a lesser version of Hashirama's strongest Jutsu! Brace yourself, Bee! It's only a tenth of the strength but it will still take you out!
Shit!
Flashes would've flattened half of Konoha had it not already been flattened. Bee didn't sense any powers or strength there—had she coordinated this? Each hit felt like a Bijuu Bomb in of itself. And he had to be hit with a hundred.
By the end, Gyuki's form was utterly ripped to shreds. Bleeding a Bijuu's blood. All eight tails were cut into over a dozen pieces each. Holes pierced him through and through. Both horns were sliced. His lower jaw was cut off so he couldn't even speak his utter pain and awe.
Both Bee and Gyuki could do nothing but feel utter shock and awe at the sheer power on display. Yosei was strong in every sense of the word.
Bee! Even if I was in my full domain I don't think I'd be able to handle that without severe damage! She's on par with the Bijuu! She's the greatest Shinobi since Hashirama himself!
Damn… what about the Yellow Flash?
If he had lived, maybe he could've been on par with her. But the difference is that if you fought a Shinobi like this during the Third War… odds are that I'd be sealed in a Konoha Shinobi instead of you right now.
Killer Bee snorted. Right about that.
Now get out of this damned avatar and face her man to woman! It's falling apart.
Without another second wasted, Bee dropped from the falling mouth of Gyuki. The avatar went limp and melted into ink. Bee landed on the ground with a fist. Both arms flexing and churning with Gyuki's chakra. With both arms and his bisected halves reunited… there was nothing holding him back now. Whatever after effects of Hiyenzo's attack was gone.
At this stage… what Killer Bee could do was limitless. At the same time, the sky above burned from red to blue. Bee… didn't pay it any mind.
Yosei dropped down from her deteriorating Vine Buddha. She was a bit fatigued, that much was obvious. What was equally obvious was that she could keep going at full capacity for a while.
From over a hundred feet apart, they made eye contact.
Killer Bee flashed a grin.
Yosei Senju smirked in kind.
The distance closed so fast that not even lightning would've fast enough to catch them. Bee hit first, and Yosei stumbled back. Storm thundered and whirled in an arc, but Bee tanked the hit. Ink spewed from his skin and Bee imagined it with wind's properties.
The ink obliged and slashed at Yosei's storm, disabling it. Bee took the windy ink and slashed upward. Yosei's arm was held on by just the skin on her back. Senjutsu filled a kick that cracked Bee's hip. Had it been before, it would've broken it.
Bee was getting stronger. Gyuki was getting stronger.
Keep fighting! I'm nearly in my full domain.
He throttled Yosei with a punch then assaulted her with a kick. He took out all seven swords and whirled like an acrobat. Inky wind covering them and cutting through Yosei's storm like ribbons. Then, it cut through her body, but she made herself into vines to negate the damage.
Bee flipped and dug her face into the dirt with a kick. A hand seal and a Kanji. Erupt.
Lava spewed into Yosei's face and Bee flickered out of the way.
The lava dispersed with a force of chakra, and Yosei's head was only left charred by the attack. A hand seal with her repaired arm. "Cleave!"
Bee turned his hand into Gyuki's and caught it. It did nothing. Bee blitzed forward and clobbered her. Yosei responded with a thorny fist, clawing at Bee's chest and making him bleed. A flip and Bee was above—Yosei blasted wind to throw him off.
He landed on his hand, Yosei used two slabs of earth to break the arm. Bee collapsed, but managed to flip a kick into her side. A flash and Bee cut a gash deep into Yosei's chest. Another purple blur and he did the same up her back, staining her blonde hair red with blood. A kick to the face broke her skull and Yosei growled.
Killer Bee blasted forward and snapped her spine. Another hit popped her shoulder out of socket. A spewing of ink soaked her. A hand seal and a Kanji. Constrict.
Another seal and Bee commanded the massive pool of ink to form into a Kanji. It covered every inch of Konoha and Bee's face split in a wild grin. Quake.
The earth shook and cracked and shattered and split. An earthquake off any scales in existence shook Konoha to its core. Even the stone faces of the Hokage rumbled with dust and rubble. Yosei was trapped in the epicenter, being buried by rocks while constricted by seals.
Bee laughed, then smirked at his victory—a crater formed beneath him from the earth. Yosei broke the seals, constricting her. She blasted through hand seals as she witnessed Konoha fall apart. When Bee went to stop her—a barrier of Senjutsu stopped him. He broke it and there was another waiting for him.
He stopped and sensed only to find over a dozen Senjutsu barriers erected around Yosei.
There was no way he could reach her in time. "Sage Art: Earth Release: Calm."
With all her strength, Yosei fought against the earthquake. With the full force of her chakra, she stopped it. Bee didn't stand idly by, however. His next geyser of ink was directed upward. It mixed with the ash of the sky as it formed another Kanji. Storm.
Lightning sparked, and the winds picked up—over a thousand miles per hour. They whirled through Konoha and flattened damn near every building still left standing. In the distance, the tower of the Hokage leaned, sinking into the shattered earth. Any battles going on were halted by the consecutive cataclysms.
Yosei glared—fury made her eyes glow as she took hold of the barriers and weaved a hand seal. "Cleave!"
A vertical slash bisected Killer Bee—again—this time from the groin to the side of the neck. With his ink, he put himself back together. Yosei was in the sky, standing on a Senjutsu platform. "It seems that you've already forgotten my title as the Storm Queen!"
She roared and then… the sky cleared. The blue sky above cleared and the sun shone. The ashen sky died the red of fire was… gone. Bee felt the armies below stop fighting. Except for a few—his eyes widened.
That presence.
It was Ka'rai—
He was using version two.
Who he was fighting—Hidan.
Dammit! Immediately, Bee left to help his student, but a thorny vine cut into his neck.
"Where do you think you're going?!" Yosei asked him before thrusting a kick into his back. It did basically nothing. Bee whipped back and clobbered her to the shattered earth below. A dive kick and he put a hole in her torso.
You can't escape without defeating her! Wrap it up quickly. You're already at my full domain.
Use the Asura Path.
Got it.
Vines constricted Bee, but he simply flexed them off. He picked her up by the head and kicked her across the battlefield. Faster than even she could, punch after punch put hole after hole in her Sage Enhanced body. Purple constructs of chakra formed his seven swords—the real set were destroyed.
An acrobat's dance cut Yosei to ribbons and he kicked her, blasting her through the walls of Konoha and into the outskirts of the village, where the fight began. Every time Yosei tried to defend, Bee countered and countered hard.
Against the strength of a Bijuu's full domain, she couldn't stand a chance.
She may have been strong, she may have respected his legacy… but she was still no Hashirama.
He blitzed around and around and around and around her. Yosei couldn't keep up.
Bee danced in front of her, striking a pose as he revved the chakra of Gyuki's full domain. One arm straight below, and one arm flexed up with his fist beside his head. "What's wrong? You can't keep up with my speed?"
Yosei spat out a tooth, scoffing at his statement. "As if!"
Bee threw his hand back, and Yosei did the same. They both punched and their fists clashed. A true contest of strength. One Bee was, of course, going to win. Yosei's arm shattered into a dozen pieces, held together by skin. She but Bee was already on her.
A purple construct of chakra formed around Bee's fist. A cannon. It fired a chakra blast that burned Yosei's broken arm clean off. "You don't gotta deal with that anymore!"
He whipped and kicked her, the cannon turning into a gauntlet that supercharged his fist and blew another hole through the right side of her chest.
Be careful! You'll kill her.
If I don't attack with intent to kill, then I won't be able to knock her unconscious!
Fair enough.
Most of Yosei's wounds were already being repaired by the ever present Senjutsu going into her. Bee decided that it was time to end it. A whip and a kick and a slice.
Killer Bee spartan kicked her back and clapped his hands together. The purple chakra of the Asura Path formed a gigantic cannon, the barrel the thickness of a tree trunk. It needed two support beams in addition to Bee's legs to keep stability.
It coalesced chakra from both Bee and anything in the area, including Yosei. It killed the grass and surrounding trees as much it took in all the strength in the area.
"Asura Path: Omega Chakra Cannon!"
It blasted in a purple beam and it struck Yosei head on.
She was sent a dozen meters, searing and barely conscious. Yet… alive.
Gyahh! She really does remind me of Hashirama…
Can you stop talking about that man for one god damned second! Let him rest!
Gyuki huffed as Bee turned his back on Yosei, leaping up to the collapsing gate of Konoha. I gotta go help Ka'rai—
A vine whipped around his neck and yanked him back down to the ground. Yosei, panting, broken, bleeding, stood above him. "I didn't say that I was done with you…"
Bee simply blinked. "As… As a single man, this is hot as fuck."
"As a married woman, I accept the compliment but deny any further advances."
"Dammit!" Bee cursed. "I was hoping we could work out a political marriage of some sort."
Yosei snorted. "After what you did to my village?"
"Y'know what they say… make love, not war."
Yosei glared down at him. "And Kumo chose war."
She stomped down on him but only hit dirt. By the time Yosei noticed her vine was snapped, Killer Bee snapped both her neck and shattered her jaw with a punch. She stumbled and Bee impaled her with Gyuki's horns before blasting her back into a tree.
"You, Yosei Senju, have been the greatest fight I've had since… ever, really. If I wasn't here, you would be the Strongest Shinobi in the world." Ink whirled above his thumb and his index and middle fingers. "May we fight again."
Hey! Bee! That technique is going to kill her!
Aye! Don't underestimate her… you ain't the one fighting her, you're just a spectator.
Imagination fueled the ink and it whirled purple, every ounce of strength that Killer Bee could imagine was concentrated into the bright lavender ball of chakra on his fingertips. It grew to the size of a basketball and Bee pointed it at Yosei.
"Ink Style: Imaginary Technique: Murasaki."
A flash and it blasted.
There wasn't even a detonation. It simply just crushed everything. A crater was made… and Yosei sprawled, her entire torso flattened with barely a light in her eyes. But… she was undeniably… alive.
Told 'ya.
Gyuki snorted.
Without another second wasted, Bee went to go assist Ka'rai.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Cobalt blue overtook Ka'rai. His skin was turned to ash and he growled from the pain the fury and the utter urge to tear Hidan to pathetic burning bits. His translucent fire burned denser—Ka'rai couldn't be seen at all behind the visage of Nibi's chakra. The sky above… it turned blue. Not because the ash and sky above had been cleared, no.
It turned blue because the fire dying it red burned blue.
Every flame in the entirety of Konoha burned blue.
Ka'rai roared. Nibi had never been so hard to control—so hard to fight. Their equal amounts of fury were forced to be one inside of the cloak. It created the most horrifying thing to ever exist. Even the most miniscule of flames were turned into a cobalt eruption that turned anything near to ash.
The whirl of blue fire overtook most of Konoha like a hurricane, with Ka'rai at the epicenter.
All Hidan did was cackle as he witnessed the transformation. "Oh… this is going to be raw as fuck."
Ka'rai screamed in response. Two burning tails of Nibi's pure chakra churned a deep cobalt blue. Black claws and markings spread over his body, his face, forming into claws at his hands and feet. One soulless eye of yellow. One soulless eye of green. A black mouth of nothing but predatory teeth.
Version two… has been completed.
Finally… was waiting for you to lose your shit, Ka'rai Uzumaki.
Ka'rai didn't identify the male voice in his head. He didn't fucking care to.
Every fire in Konoha congregated over the village and blasted down into the arena that Hidan created. The sheer force of chakra blew the brimstone to bits and turned the rock into vapor. Hidan himself could barely withstand it—he was blasted back with his nude from crumbling like ash.
"Fuck—" he began, but a claw swipe tore him in two.
"B–... Gami!" he barely managed to speak. The surrounding fire flashed in a gigantic mushroom cloud, the size of the Hokage's tower in the distance, taking up a sixth of the village in diameter.
Hidan was flung that distance and fell apart. The blood he tried to cough up was just vapor. Ka'rai was on him in a second, crushing his skull and screaming out in fury. From right below Ka'rai, an eruption of hell blew a hole in them.
Re-birthed, Hidan cackled and thrusted his Scythe into Ka'rai's spine, picking him up and hurling him into the spikes of brimstone below. Ka'rai's mere cloak melted it into lava—Jinsei shot out in the form of furious, disfigured souls and tore at Hidan.
He ripped through them with an Izanyomi slice and kicked Ka'rai in the chest, knocking him back. A scream as Jinsei collected in his mouth like a beam. It burned a hole right through Hidan—who blocked the worst of it with his Scythe. Bright blue was absorbed into white as Izanyomi tore a wound in the cloak—then his skin.
A seething Ka'rai screamed out, Jinsei, and Nibi flame flooded the area like a Tsunami. "B-Ku-I!" The blast tore through Hidan and Ka'rai leapt forward. His black-flamed claws ripped wound after wound into Hidan, but all he did was laugh.
"So much pain! So much pain! You're experiencing it too! Aren't you?!" Hidan used his charred hands to hold Ka'rai in place, looking him in his di-colored eyes with his own. White against expansive black. "We're both in pain! We understand each other! TRULY! ISN'T THAT GREAT?! A WORLD UNITED BY PAIN!"
"SHUT UP!" Ka'rai roared before clawing Hidan in two. A rebirthed Hidan rose and tore Ka'rai in half with an Izanyomi slice. Both halves of Ka'rai were overtaken by Izanyomi and his everything was consumed by it.
Nibi's intent pulsed—powerfully—and it was blasted off of him. A horde of Jinsei stitched Ka'rai back together and filled all of his wounds. He was a part-Jinsei, part-human zombie chimera as he charged.
FUCK DUDE! GO KA'RAI! TEAR HIS ASS TO FUCKING SHREDS!
That same voice in his head made him roar. Claws from his wounds and his arms went to attack Hidan. Barely he could defend with his scythe, grinning all the while he was ripped apart.
A claw went into his heart and tore it out of his chest. The sheer heat turned his blood to vapor, and Ka'rai leapt up to claw his face off. Muscle—turning black as it was scorched became all of Hidan's head.
Hidan couldn't hold his own weight and collapsed onto the ground in a heap. With a battle cry, Ka'rai injected Jinsei into him and healed Hidan, making sure to cut off his scythe arm in the process. "Suf…r…"
ATTA BOY!
All Ka'rai got was a laugh in response. Fire and fury rose and his countless claws of Jinsei went inside Hidan, slowly burning him from the inside out. Ka'rai hissed and Hidan laughed. He wouldn't stop fucking LAUGHING!
Ka'rai screamed and turned him to ash.
A rebirth and Hidan reclaimed his scythe, cutting Ka'rai's spine in two with an Izanyomi strike. As Ka'rai seethed and convulsed, Hidan raised his head above him with a sick smirk. "Dojinyomi." Rock, the color of black and blood, formed over the blade of the Jigoku Scythe and crashed down before any of them could react.
The sheer weight shattered every bone in Ka'rai's body—mere contact with it ripped through his Version Two cloak and into his skin. Wailing with fury, a massive Bakugami detonated the dense, cloak itself and Ka'rai was left on the floor with charred skin, wailing out with all of the agony he felt. Even the Bakugami didn't leave even a scratch or scuff on the Hellish Earth.
Hidan laughed at Ka'rai as nothing but a signed corpse, pointing the Jigoku Scythe at him. "Yeah bitch. Not even the full Nibi itself could leave a dent on Dojinyomi. You're stuck until I say you aren't!" Hidan continued to bellow out with glee as he fell backward into the mouth of Jashin.
During the time it took him to regenerate, Ka'rai's Version Two cloak was restored and he screamed. On his chest, sunset chakra spewed out of the seal like a fountain. It was followed shortly after by crimson chakra.
Kyuubi and Nanabi worked in tandem to utterly destroy Ka'rai's seal. His cries of pain were melded with fear as Nibi's intent took him over.
You're nothing but a fool, Ka'rai Uzumaki, she snarled his Clan's name. My power is wasted on a Jinchuriki as idiotic and short-sighted as you.
Give me control and I'll kill Hidan the right way.
May your soul rot in purgatory after you die.
Ka'rai wanted to fight back, but he couldn't. Nibi was too strong—he was too sad too angry too fucking weak. Ka'rai screamed, but Nibi's roar silenced him. Her chakra flared and the cloak emboldened itself. The consciousness of Ka'rai Uzumaki was banished into the deepest depths of his own mind.
Nibi took control.
Damn Ka'rai… I wanted you to go apeshit for a little longer—
—Silence.
Ka'rai's body split into three pieces. One stuck under the Dojinyomi with two escaping from either side. His head, shoulders and arms merged into one mini Version Two Nibi, while his legs did the same. They reunited and grew back the remainder of Ka'rai's body with Jinsei, recreating the Nibi's full Version Two form.
At the same time, Hidan emerged from Jashin. He groaned at the sight of Nibi's form. "How the fuck did you get out?!"
"That is no matter to you," she snarled, using Ka'rai's voice. "You, Hidan, have bastardized the purpose of Hell, and tipped the scales of life and death too far out of proportion. For your crimes against my domain, you will have your soul destroyed."
"The fuck…?" Hidan blinked before his eyes widening. "Oh, shit! Nibi!" He laughed. "Ka'rai gave control to you, didn't he?! That fucking pussy… Well, something's telling me that despite the fact that you're a cat, you're not a pussy."
Nibi bared her black-flamed teeth. All of the heat turned cold. Yuurei, the fire of Yin, spread like a plague. Sheets of it rose and rose, taking up a significant portion of the village. Ash dropped from the sky slowly like snowflakes.
Hidan banished it with Izanyomi and charged forward, but Jinsei held the Jigoku Scythe in place. Nibi became one with fire, temporarily turning Ka'rai's body to ash before reforming with his body as good as new inside her cloak. The only reason he survived was because of the hold she kept on his soul.
When she appeared, she was directly in front of Hidan. Her claws grabbed at Hidan. "Ningendo." The black fire of her cloak reached inside Hidan and he screamed as his soul was ripped apart by the claws.
Yuurei burned—but Hidan erupted his body into flames of Izanyomi. Nibi diverted her attention to disperse it, by then Hidan was already consumed by Jashin. His soul was restored when he came back out. "Fucking Shit!" he cursed… then he laughed again. "You can actually kill me… wow… When was the last time someone could do that?"
Nibi didn't respond. Jinsei erupted from the ground to seize him, but Hidan brandished his scythe with Izanyomi to cut through the fire like butter. Again, she turned into fire to avoid any attacks. This time, Hidan yelled, slamming the Jigoku Scythe into the floor to build a barrier of Dojinyomi to block her.
Just that it did. Hidan struck his scythe out to attack—Nibi growled as Ka'rai's body was devastated by the attack. The sheer force of the rock ripped him in half from head to groin from the impact. Instead of wasting her time healing, she split herself in two.
Yuurei enveloped the Bijuu Bomb that one half charged. The other Nibi scanned fore weaknesses in the Dojinyomi, there was none. Nibi decided to speak. "Are you going to face me or hide like a coward?"
A simple taunt… but it proved to be effective.
"Nah! I'm planning something! Just like you are! And guess what?! It's just about finished!" Hidan, with his command over Hell made the Dojinyomi melt. A plume of lava erupted from his barrier of both earth and brimstone. Partial walls of Dojinyomi gave form to his volcano from Hell.
Nibi snarled, projecting her chakra all throughout the battlefield to suppress Hell. In her limited form, Hidan's partial master over the Jigoku Scythe proved superior. It ripped toward Nibi and sliced both of her halves into additional halves.
Her power was cut into fourths—she needed to rejoin.
Up above, the sky went from the black and blue of her fire to straight blue. The true blue of Nanabi's domain.
"FUCK!" Hidan screamed. "I liked the sky like that!"
Nibi ignored him, ignored the sky, and joined her four pieces and Ka'rai's body back into one. As she did that, Hidan was already prepared with a Dojinyomi crush.
Nibi was forced to split again, and his attack only hit his own lava. Jinsei, from one half held him down while the other half charged another Yuurei Bijuu Bomb. With Jinsei at half power, Hidan simply ripped himself free.
She had to shoot an incomplete Bijuu Bomb and Dojinyomi blocked it with ease. From behind, Nibi's free half turned entirely into Jinsei and bisected Hidan at the chest. Reuniting with her other half, Nibi roared. Her cloak of black and blue turned black in its entirety. All of this Hell… Heaven needed to burn it away.
"Amaterasu." The black flames of Heaven spread like sunlight. The lava was burned, the ash was burned, the brimstone was burned, all was burned by the fire the color of night. By the time the peaceful burn was concluded, Hidan rose from his rebirth.
He snarled at her with a cackle. "Oh, fuck off!"
Nibi snarled, turning Amaterasu into tendrils that stabbed him and held him down. Izanyomi screamed and combatted the Amaterasu with all of Hidan's might.
Amaterasu against Izanyomi.
Heaven vs Hell.
Fire or Fire.
Both found themselves at a stalemate.
The stalemate gave Nibi just the opportunity she needed. Again, she burned forward, Ningendo ready to tear out his soul. A new soul approached. Not new, it was old. It was four other souls captured by one.
Nibi snarled.
Kakuzu.
And he was close.
Black tendrils constricted Nibi and held her to the ground. At the same time, Hidan broke free from Amaterasu. "UAGH!" he yelled out, looking up at Kakuzu, who had the unconscious bodies of Han and Roshi on his back.
"Having trouble with this brat, Hidan?"
"I'm fighting the god damn Nibi!" he yelled in his own defense. "I was beating Ka'rai's fucking ass! Then he decided to be a fucking pussy and let the big pussy inside him take control!"
"I see…" muttered Kakuzu, holding his restraints on Nibi even tighter. "Well, let me take care of hit from here—"
A purple flash turned Hidan into paste on the floor.
It was so fast that Nibi could barely sense the approach in her limited form.
Killer Bee, Gyuki's Perfect Jinchuriki, appeared before them all. Kakuzu cursed. Hidan was already rebirthing himself from the ground not too far. "Ka'rai, power down."
Nibi glared at him.
Killer Bee blinked. "Ah… So Ka'rai gave you control?" His look turned dangerous. "Or did you take control?"
"What difference does it make?" she asked, baring her teeth. There was no escaping this… no matter how hard she tried.
"A world of one. Now if you excuse me, I'm going to talk to my student, Nibi." In a flash, ink covered every inch of her. Killer Bee weaved a hand seal. "Subside."
The ink over her formed into a seal that constricted her cloak. It turned from fire to smirk and Ka'rai's devastated body simply fell limp to the floor. His body was charred and entirely cauterized, missing chunks of flesh. He was… basically comatose.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Dammit… Bee winced as he looked at his student's terrorized form. His aura of strength prevented Hidan—who was butt-ass naked for some reason—and Kakuzu from doing anything rash. If he stayed idle for too long, he'd lose his domain. He needed to be quick.
Another hand seal and the ink on Ka'rai morphed into a different seal. "Stabilize." Ka'rai's body relaxed, ceasing all tension. That way, his wounds wouldn't get any worse. He flared his chakra, Arasei appeared in a flash.
A gasp of horror came out of her breath like a scorch. "Ka'rai!" she yelled, holding him.
"Take him and go," Bee commanded… sterner than he would've liked. He played it off with his classic smile. "I got it from here… gotta teach these fools a lesson."
Arasei nodded, took Ka'rai, and flashed out as quickly as she came. Bee's indomitable aura turned hard as he set his sights on Hidan and Kakuzu. His rage shook the primitive Hell that Hidan attempted to create. "Now… as for—"
Bee! Behind you!
He concentrated on sensing—a massive power radiated from behind him.
"HIRUDORA!"
A tiger formed from pure air pressure slammed into Bee and sent him tumbling into the burned up brimstone below. How did I not sense that?!
Can you sense wind?! No! That attack was pure Taijutsu!
Who the hell—?!
"It is I! The Great Blue Beast of Konoha!" announced a man with a bowl cut and green uniform, flowing with the power of the Seventh Gate stood above them on a piece of rubble.
"Might Gai…" Killer Bee realized. He allowed a chuckle to escape his breath. "Y'know, if I wasn't in my Full Domain, this might've been a problem for me!" The moment he hopped to his feet, a blast of white fire that was loud as fuck scorched toward him.
Izanyomi! Don't let that touch you!
Bee weaved out of the way—he blocked a kick from Might Gai. A black arm that shined like a diamond grabbed Might Gai by the neck and flung him. Bee kicked a black tendril lightning monster. An eruption of his chakra freed him.
The Asura Path created chains of explosive swords that he flung at Hidan. He was blown into a couple chunks of flesh. Kakuzu and Might Gai battled in the meantime. Each hit Kakuzu took was tanked by his skin of hardened black diamond.
Except a hit from Killer Bee. He kicked a crack in his armor and he growled as he went flying. The fists of Might Gai and Killer Bee collided and the earth beneath shattered. Damn! His punches pack more punch than Yosei's! Bee grinned and flipped. Gai matched him and met his flip with a kick.
Hidan erected a wall of brimstone between the two. Bee blinked—I killed him?!
Simply killing him isn't enough to kill him.
What type of sense does that—?
Focus!
Bee covered his arm in Asura armor that prevented his blood from being spilled. In his free, he made a purple duplicate and clashed with Hidan's scythe. "Fucking copycat!"
The brimstone wall exploded with an earthquaking kick from Might Gai. Kakuzu flew through, sending out two tendril monsters of wind and fire that Hidan erupted with his weapon. It scorched Killer Bee and Might Gai.
Konoha's Blue Beast growled while Bee shrugged it off like it was nothing. In the ensuing smoke cloud, Kakuzu attempted to sneak attack Bee. He blocked it without looking. Tendrils snaked around Bee's ankles while a blade of Kakuzu's hardened diamond skin formed in his hand.
An Asura Path chain wrapped around Kakuzu's arm and Bee flexed out of Kakuzu's pathetic restraints. Each attack was a flash, he tore Orochimaru's subordinate to shreds with just his fists.
A cataclysmic kick sent Kakuzu flying back. Where the hell did he put Han and Roshi? Gyuki?
They're both suppressed beyond my ability to sense, they have no strength.
Shit! Killer Bee flipped over an attack from Gai. He grabbed his head and slammed him into the rubble head-first. Gyuki's tail whipped the charging Hidan to the side like he was nothing. The tail burned with Izanyomi. It wasn't hot? He couldn't feel pain through Gyuki's limbs.
Which was why catching Kakuzu's blade with Gyuki's hand was utterly effortless, not that he could even pierce his cloak in the first place. Detaching the tentacle, he crushed Kakuzu's hand like an egg in his hand and whipped him into the still floored Might Gai.
Hidan cackled, standing up and whirling his scythe. The moment he opened his mouth to speak, he turned his head into mush with a simple punch. So this doesn't take him down for good?
No… I can't say I'm knowledgeable of this, but destroying his body will only result in him rebirthing as good as new.
Hidan groaned out in irritation as he climbed out of the ground. "WHY AM I GETTING KILLED SO MANY FUCKING TIMES TODAY?!"
Just like that.
Killer Bee huffed. Restrain him, got it. Killer Bee flashed to restrain Hidan, but he was forced to block a kick from Might Gai. It might've even bruised him. A taijutsu barrage took all of his attention for all of five seconds before Bee found an opening to retaliate. The Asura Path formed his seven swords and his acrobatic style tore Might Gai to shreds in five more seconds.
A roundhouse sent him tumbling to the floor with the Blue Beast huffing and puffing. Killer Bee gave him a smirk. "Stand proud, Might Gai… you're strong."
While he complimented Might Gai, Hidan and Kakuzu came from both sides. Kakuzu appeared like a five-hearted monster with black skin and tendrils spewing from every orifice on his body. "Five Elemental Release: Ascended Descension Sear!"
Hidan merely cackled, with Izanyomi above and earth the color of blood below.
Might Gai took the opportunity to join in and make a triple attack. "HIRUDORA!"
Three attacks that could rival a Bijuu Bomb in of themselves blasted toward them. Killer Bee simply stood there. He was going to take it.
Just that he did.
All Five elements formed into one and plummeted down onto him like a force of pure nature itself. The purest from of Hell's fire and Hell's earth erupted up below him. Air itself blasted into primal form pounced toward him.
And Killer Bee stood.
The three attacks detonated on him.
He screamed. The fire wasn't even burning him. All it did was hurt. It was the most excruciating, agonizing, and outright atrocious pain he'd ever felt in his life.
I told you not to let Izanyomi touch you!
Gyuki's tentacles formed around him, forcing the hellish flames off of him as he rushed out. "FUCK!" he yelled out, panting hard. Immediately, Bee set his sights on the cackling Hidan. I need to take him out—
Bee roared out from the pain once again. This time… it came from the inside. His very body rebelled against him.
Is this the Izanyomi?!
Nothing.
GYUKI!
He couldn't hear his closest friend. Violent violet chakra spewed from everywhere out of him as Cursed Magmic Marks feasted on Gyuki's chakra and turned it against him. Killer Bee roared and screamed to fight against it, but he was utterly helpless.
The Curse Marks sealed Gyuki tightly—deeply. The lavender shine of Gyuki's Chakra Mode dispersed as Bee was… trapped. He was trapped. He was trapped and there was no getting out.
Might Gai was… gone. His power level dropped after concluding his attack, he probably ran out of steam.
Hidan and Kakuzu… they were right in front of him. The Prophet of Hell had a sick grin on his face. Kakuzu the Immortal held a stoic expression, ceasing his multi-tendril transformation and regaining his body's more human-looking state.
"Ah… Lord Orochimaru's drugs finally kicked in," Kakuzu noted.
Hidan blinked. "His what—?"
The drugs… the steroids… they were rigged?! Bee's heart dropped into his ice cold stomach. Of course… of course they were…
"Put some damned clothes on, Hidan," Kakuzu snarled.
Hidan dramatically shrugged. "Where the fuck am I going to get some?!"
"I could care less where or how you get them. I'm not walking with you while you're naked!"
"You want me to go rob a fucking store?! TELL ME WHERE A STILL STANDING STORE IS IN THIS VILLAGE!"
"I said I don't care where or how you get it." Kakuzu's tendrils wrapped around Bee's neck, slowly suffocating him. "I'll wait for you outside of Konoha while you get dressed."
Kakuzu's soulless blue eyes was the last thing Bee saw before everything went black.
The Strongest Man Alive… defeated.
A failure once again.
⁑ —ϟ— ⁑
Even five medics together couldn't do much to help Ka'rai. He was always the one that carried everyone on his back, was the strongest, so nobody else had to be. But what happened when the one holding everything up crashed down?
Naturally… everything else crashed too.
And crash Hane did.
Yowui was dead and yet his body appeared before her, alive. It wasn't him. It was Yugito. Hane didn't have to see Yugito behind her to feel the fury in her gaze. All she could bring herself to do was cry. Just past Ka'rai's burned and ripped body was Konoha, or rather, what was left.
Half the village was utterly flattened. Smoldering rubble that was unrecognizable as once civilization. It looked like hell. The other half was riddled with dying Shinobi battles, a few stubborn souls fighting to their last breath. It may have not been razed, but it was an equally horrendous sight.
Craters from explosive tags.
Fallen buildings from both the storm and the earthquake. The building they fought on was one of the few to remain standing.
Remnants of flooding from Water Style attackers.
Scorches of fire from Fire Style assaults.
It made her sob. She cried so hard her lungs ached—begging for her to stop. Her face was sore from being contorted into grief.
"Is this truly how you act when faced with the consequences of your actions?" asked Yowui. No, Yowui's voice… Yugito with Yowui's voice.
Hearing him speak—knowing it wasn't him—felt like a stab to her already hurting chest. "What?!" she choked out.
"This is what you two traitors deserve. A traitor is destined to face the weight of their betrayal eventually. Your pathetic tears and his pathetic state are just the beginning. I assure you that I will bring down upon you so much worse."
"For what?!" questioned Hane, her voice shattered like glass. "For Kumo?! The village that did all of this?!"
"The village that is my home!" rebutted Yugito, raising her voice with fury. "The village that gave me everything. The village that gave you everything! And yet you were complacent and even proud of Ka'rai's betrayal.
"You're scum with no loyalty," she snarled.
Hane grabbed her face as the tears came harder. "I'm loyal… to the right thing. What Kumo did here, what all these villages did here was WRONG!" she screamed. Raising her voice felt like dragging her throat through the aftermath of a broken window. Hane didn't care.
Yugito glared with Yowui's eyes.
Of all her months knowing Yowui, she never once saw him angry.
His glare gave Hane pause. The pause Yugito needed to yell back. Yowui's furious voice broke Hane's heart. "We are Shinobi, Hane—!"
She didn't let her finish. "So that gives us the excuse to do this?!" Hane stood and pointed her hand at the destroyed Konoha. "THIS?! You call me pathetic, you call me scum, all because I don't want to see people die!
"Who are you to tell ANYONE what is or isn't right?! How can you look at this? Look at all this death and destruction and depression knowing that you played a part in it and feel nothing?!"
"I do feel something," Yugito began. "I feel pride. I feel pride knowing that I helped take down an enemy of Kumo. A rival that stood in front of the goals of my village. What Ka'rai did, did n't save a single life. It only tipped the scales out of Kumo's favor. More Kumo Shinobi died.
"How can you know that those who wear the same headband as you, the same uniform as you, died knowing that if he said nothing… they would've lived. How can you know that his actions resulted in the deaths of your comrades and feel nothing?"
Hane's voice cracked as she spoke. "I… feel everything. I don't want anybody to die! NOBODY! Everyone deserves to live! Everyone deserves to be happy… and yet you feel pride from knowing you took that away?! Seriously?!"
"Why wouldn't I?"
For the first time in her life… Hane felt the genuine urge to drive her tanto through someone's heart.
Yugito saw that. It didn't stop her from continuing to speak. 'I served my village. I served Kumo. That's all I care for… nothing else. You should do the same."
Then… Hane felt… bad. All her anger melted into pity. Yugito was brainwashed. Was this really her fault? Really? It all… It all led back to Kumo. It all led back to villages. "I would rather die then end up like you."
Yugito snorted. "Then you will suffer the same fate that Ka'rai will once I get back to Kumo."
"And I'll be happy to."
"Despite all your weakness… I can respect your accountability. Enjoy what little happiness remains in your life." Yugito looked back at Hane and glared. "Because I will take every ounce of it away."
Hane closed her eyes, kneeling over Ka'rai and letting out a sigh. Yugito walked away.
With her hands trembling, she caressed Ka'rai's charred face. "No matter what happens, Rai-Rai, there's one thing they can't take from us. Our happiness."
When Hane kissed Ka'rai… she started sobbing again.
ϟ—Chapter End—ϟ
A/N: Hey! So, this is the final chapter for this batch. Sorry to leave on such a killer cliffhanger (no I'm not) especially because I am going to be taking a longer break this time around. Konoha Crush kicked my fucking ASS bro. But I'm far from dropping DaiSWaB, hell no. I should be back by the summer? Yeah, june/july. I also really plan to step up the quality of my writing for this next batch of chapters as well! So look forward to that.
But you guys should be getting a Databook of sorts, basically just me explaining lore and explaning things that might've been confusing in narrative. If you guys have anything that you really want clarification on, then I'll look and answer it in the Databook if it's not a spoiler that I plan to reveal in story later on. You should be getting that... sometime between now and the next batch of chapters, idk I haven't started it yet.
But... for all of you reading this, who've gotten this far, no matter if this is a year in the future and there is a next chapter already out, just thank you so much for reading. I'm so happy to have been able to share my love for the story of Naruto and my love for storytelling through this fic and knowing that at least some people are interested enough to get this far is honestly just the best feeling ever, whether you comment or stay silent, whether you leave favorite or follow or not, just thank you for giving my story a chance and reading. I appreciate that more than anything.
Lytn, out o7, see you guys soon.