A/N. Warning! Some of this stuff might technically be more into the M category. That's it. Have a nice night! Small revisions on 12/6/2021.
"Found you."
I jumped. Three kunai penetrated the tree bark where my torso used to be. I tried hanging onto the branch above. I was tackled off, Seki's sturdy paw pressing my face into the dirt. My nose broke from the impact.
"Gah!"
"Mmm. Now what will I do with you, Jounin Commander?" I heard Nobuyuki ponder next to me, his voice a few meters off me. "Killing you will cause more problems than it solves. Delivering you over to… silencing parties will probably be best I think. As for you Arata. You die. Now."
The pressure on my skull increased exponentially.
Oh God, oh God oh God oh God, this is the end! A dull headache pierced through my brain as dirt was forced into my mouth. I can't get out! Seki was holding the rest of my body down, I can't move! No! Please! Please!
"NOBUYUKI!'' A roaring mass of chakra crashed through the trees and the weight on me suddenly left. Tsume!
"Huuuuughhk!" I gasped for breath, choking on the earth stuck in my throat. God, this day doesn't end!
"Arata! Are you alright?" Shizuka appeared next to me, slapping my back, as if that would help anything.
"Could be better. Why are you here?" I said, still spitting out chunks of dirt. She didn't get to answer. A giant fireball headed for the both of us, and we just managed to dodge it.
Thankfully it missed Shikaku-san just barely, who very much looked like he had seen better days. Aside from his burned legs he was also bleeding from a head wound, and his right arm was clearly broken.
"Seems I'll have to end up using it, after all." I could hear Nobuyuki say. Something roiled within the air.
"We need to get him out of here." Shizuka said, not answering my question.
Picking him up, we vanished from that place and outward into the deeper jungle. I set my nose back. Ow. Shikaku slightly lifted his head up from Shizuka's shoulder. "Shizuka, I am never going along with one of your crazy plots again. First Uzu, now this? Next time, ask someone else, yeah?"
Shizuka sported a guilty expression. "I'll ask Kushina next time. And hey, you were the one to fall for the obvious trick. I just didn't bother telling you."
"If both of us weren't already injured, I would fight you for that." He added.
What, am I witnessing right now. "Are Tsume and Kuromaru gonna be alright? We kinda just left them there to deal with him." I said, hoping to turn the conversation back to the actual life-threatening situation we were in. And that's not even mentioning Tomoe. Where did she go?
"They're gonna be fine. All we need to do is focus on getting out of this forest."
I grimaced. "It's not Tsume I'm worried about. It's the thing she's carrying along with her. Nobuyuki doesn't exactly fight fair." An explosion went off from the location we had just left, as if to accentuate my point.
"Well, she sounded confident going into the fight. I'm sure we'll be—" The air fissured.
I jumped away immediately.
"Aagh!" I heard Shikaku-san cry out. From the sounds of it, he was knocked into one of the trees, having been upended from Shizuka's carry.
I hid in a branch as quickly as I could. As I looked up, I saw Shizuka and Nobuyuki locked in close combat. Shizuka was barely fending him off, striking away a hit for her cranium with one of her blades. Then, Seki transformed as Nobuyuki raced for her from the sides, and she was forced to dodge.
Fuck he's here! What happened to Tsume and Kuromaru?
What do I do, what do I do! Shizuka probably can't last long against this guy. I'm surprised her ICD hasn't backfired on her yet. If I run, Nobuyuki might not catch me, and his mission objective will vanish. But he's gone too far at this point to stop at killing me. He'll kill everyone in here if I don't do something!
First, I have to calm down. Can't make decisions on a panicked mind. Okay. First objective. Defend Shizuka. Second objective. Take Shikaku and run. So, first objective first, obviously.
Nononononono. It's impossible! Nobuyuki's crazy strong! I'm barely a genin for Kami's sake! How am I gonna—
No. I made up my mind back then, at her hospital bed. I would become strong. And I would protect what I held dear. Now is the time.
Now is the time. This is it. All or nothing. I'm not backing down now.
I took a deep breath and focused. Let's fucking do this.
"Bestial Illusion: Anxiety's Jaw." The chakra rushed through the trees, reaching Nobuyuki and Seki at the same time. They immediately backed off from Shizuka, granting her some breathing room.
Good. Now..
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" I shouted, and a huge mass of wind disrupted the battlefield.
Shizuka thankfully took the hint and hid. I knew what she excelled at, and frontline combat isn't it. Hopefully Nobuyuki didn't catch on.
Now for the hardest part.
"Ninja Art of Beast Imitation: Four Legs Technique." I pumped in as much chakra as was sustainable. I'd have to, if I had even a hope of keeping up with Nobuyuki.
I knew Nobuyuki was running low on chakra at this point, which means he can't afford to do any fancy moves. He'll want to take me out as quickly as possible. So all I'll have to do is run for long enough to get Shizuka the opening she needs.
I dodged a whip crack by the skin of my teeth. Another coming for the trajectory I was headed. I jumped off another tree branch that exploded in red-hot fire.
"Fang Over Fang!"
"Bestial Illusion: Emblematic Pride!" Both of their tornadoes missed the mark. I jumped along further.
Fuck, I'm not gonna be able to keep this pace for long. I have to change my approach.
They came for me again. "Fire style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
"Wind Style: Vacuum Bullets!" I deflected enough of them to matter. They didn't hit me. They came for me again.
One substituted at my back, I could feel the chakra. I can't dodge! "Lightning Release: Depth Charge!" I didn't have time to go through enough hand signs, so the beams of electricity coming out for them weren't very strong. They dodged out of the way, and I Shunshined myself away as soon as their eyes turned from me.
That took way too much chakra just now. Even taking into account the botched execution. Please Shizuka, hurry up!
I deflected shuriken that were coming for my sides away with some kunai. I jumped away again. Sure enough, the ground where I was at exploded. Nobuyuki had gone past words. He was done talking about things. He just wanted me dead now.
After the collapse of two more trees, we faced off against each other. There was no emotion in his eyes anymore, just objective. He started going through hand signs.
"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Ju—"
Two wakizashi blades appeared next to his head from thin air. His eyes widened. His head fell off. It rolled.
Then turned into flames.
"Arata! Behind you!" I turned. But it was too late. My legs weren't fast enough to keep up. The fire whip cracked, and I flew into a half-collapsed tree. I could feel some of my ribs break, my Four Legs vanishing. I had frighteningly little chakra left.
Shizuka engaged Nobuyuki and Seki again. But her leg spasmed just as she went in for a swipe. She was knocked back as well with another slash of the whip. Seki's this time. She wasn't getting back up.
Shit. Is this it? Not only do I die, but Shizuka? Shizuka will…
Even after all this time!? I trained for years for this moment! Set my resolve! I fought with all I had. It wasn't enough. It still wasn't enough. I still couldn't save the people I love! Still can't even save myself!
He walked up to me again. His whip raged with fire. He raised it. "For my brother. Whose name you wouldn't even know."
Now I face my death again, hoping I wouldn't be granted a third chance. I fucked up twice already. I deserve this. I do...
I closed my eyes.
FWOOOOOMMMM!
A great burst of agitated chakra slammed through the trees. It was so strong some plants and bushes uprooted. My tiny injured body flew away from Nobuyuki. All of this power. All of this presence. All stemming from one source.
An obscene amalgamation of mass. Killing Intent so potent you could see it come off of it. It wasn't tall in stature, nor was it bright or showy. What it was, was terrifying.
Fur darker than the night sky barely covering claws that seemed longer than a foot. It stood upright, but hunched, saliva dripping off yellow jaws. It's eyes gleamed with deranged malice, and focused only on one thing.
The chakra was familiar, but different. Perverted. Desecrated. It felt like it shouldn't exist.
"Arata…" Shizuka softly spoke, voice hoarse. "That. Right there, is the final stage of Inuzuka Hiden. What you can accomplish with a perfect ninken bond, and a full surrender to the feral monster inside of you."
The beast growled. Then spoke. It's two voices clashed harmoniously. "Inuzuka Hiden: Human Beast Combination Transformation: Werewolf."
It flew. Nobuyuki, eyes wide with terror ran for his life. He met back up with Seki.
"Human Beast Combination Transformation: Double Headed Wolf!" With the billowing of smoke, more and more chakra was pumped into the air.
Dirt, ash, leaves, intent, chakra, hatred, all swirled into a massive tornado around the battlefield.
The giant silver-haired canine easily eclipsed the werewolf, but the sheer pressure coming off of it made them seem small. You could smell the fear.
"NO! THIS IS NOT THE END! FIRE STYLE: DIVING FANG WOLF FANG!"
The silver wolf jumped up even higher into the sky, rotating fast enough to catch nearby trees in its ferocity, lighting on fire, embers scorching the ground below it. They dove.
"TSUMEEEEEE!"
The monster seemed to be suspended into the air, darkening the sun behind it.
"RGHHRHROOOOOOOOOOOGHRROGH!"
It roared. It gyrated. Its hurricane turned pitch black.
They collided. They didn't clash.
The black tore through silver, fur making way for skin. Then for bone.
Blood shot out in all directions, staining the forest red.
Their transformation collapsed. Two unconscious bodies fell out from the struggle, covered in blood.
They landed face first into the ground.
"RAAAAAAAAAARGGH!"
It wasn't finished. It made for the hound first, tearing limb from body in one rough swipe. Another kick separated her head from her neck.
Voidfilled pupils turned to Nobuyuki as if they would never look at anything else again.
It didn't roar. It didn't scream. It's claws just began tearing. Single Mindedly. Dedicatedly. Faster and faster. Ribs thrown away to make way for torn lungs, shredded heart already flung to the wayside. It kept tearing. Intestines separated. Stomach evicted. The liver joining it. It just kept going.
"NOBUYUKI-SAMA!"
..what.
I forced my eyes away from the carnage, the beast clawing the dirt through the body now.
Tomoe!? Again!?
"No! No! M-Monster! Stop hurting Nobuyuki-sama!" Her face was completely wet with tears, unwiped snot flowing to her mouth. "I won't let you! Passing Fang!"
She screwed herself into a rotation. The beast didn't react, too busy with its self appointed job.
Tomoe made contact with it, and abruptly she stopped turning. No knockback. No reaction. Nothing. Up close Tomoe beheld what was left of Nobuyuki. She sat on her butt, frozen in shock, not a meter away from the corpse.
It moved onto the brain now. Puncturing the headband along with the cranium with a halfhearted swipe. It was running out of steam.
It slowed to a stop. It didn't even seem to look at eyes that didn't exist anymore.
I couldn't hear anyone breathe. Black smoke wafted out from it, separating one into two.