Naruto: The Uchiha Chronicles Re-Version
Hello Everyone, welcome to the last chapter for this re-work (or second to last if I add in a fight scene from Sasuki.
Anyways, not much to say, hope you enjoy this chapter.
Arc III: Land of Waves Escort Mission:
Chapter 18: The Battle of the Bridge, Bloodline vs. Bloodline!
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The next morning, Naruto double and triple checked his equipment after he'd taken a shower and gotten dressed. His assignment today was pivotal to their overall mission, so he couldn't afford for anything to go wrong. Once he was sure he had everything he needed, he resealed his supplies, and went downstairs for breakfast. It was a quiet affair, with very little conversation. There was a tense feeling in the air, as everyone knew that today was important. Naruto himself tried to center his emotions. After all the food was eaten, and the plates put away, there was no more stalling.
Tazuna bid goodbye to his daughter and grandson, while Naruto and his team gathered outside. As they were waiting, Naruto created a half dozen clones.
The clones stood before him silently, and Naruto ordered, "Surround the house, make sure you remain unseen." He noticed the odd looks his team was giving him and shrugged his shoulders. "Better safe than sorry, just in case Gato decides to try something," He explained. "Well, I better get going. It's a long way to Gato's mansion, even by shinobi travel."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. "Very well, good luck, and be careful."
"Yeah, make sure to get back in one piece," Sakura said encouragingly.
Lastly, Sasuki chipped in. She looked slightly concerned, although she tried to hide it. "… I guess I'll see you later," She said.
Naruto smiled at his team. Although they each had their own way of expressing it, it was obvious they all cared about him and were worried. Even if Sasuki had trouble expressing it. He offered them one more wave, before dashing into the forest.
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Naruto alighted upon a tree branch on the perimeter of Gato's property, and immediately settled into a crouch. The trip to Gato's mansion, which was fifty miles away from Tazuna's house, had taken him a half hour; even with his speed. The tree he was standing on was roughly fifty yards outside the main gate of the compound, and the height lent him a view of the inside of the walls Gato's mansion was a massive affair, easily fifty times as big as Tazuna's house, and several stories tall. It was rather modern looking, made of sturdy wood, glass, and brick, with at least a hundred rooms inside. The mansion was surrounded by a vast garden and yard, with a massive stone wall surrounding the compound, and only a single gate to enter through.
It didn't take long for Naruto to notice something was off, though.
During his observation of Gato's organization he'd noticed that there were almost always at least thirty guards on patrol. From where he stood, there was barely twenty, if that.
'Something's off about this.' Naruto extended his chakra sensing capabilities to try and get a feel for how many people were in the compound. It was very hard, as most of the thugs were only normal bandits, which made it difficult to sense them because their chakra networks hadn't been developed. There was the occasional bandit that had a bit of shinobi training, but they were few and far between. What Naruto sensed after he extended his senses to the limit wasn't what he'd expected. There was only a total of seventy chakra signatures in the compound. That wasn't even a quarter of Gato's army of thugs. The twenty he had counted earlier were guarding the perimeter, with two other guards outside the gates. The other forty-eight were spread out inside the mansion.
He frowned to himself. Something was definitely off here. Gato would never leave himself so under protected. It led him to one conclusion. 'Gato isn't here, but why? I have to find out more. Nine, can you sense any negative feelings that would lead you to believe there's a trap?' Naruto asked.
"No, I can't. It's fairly obvious that these men aren't pleasant people, but there's no intent or concentration of dark feelings to suggest a trap." The Nine-Tails replied.
Naruto frowned. He had to figure out what was going on, and quickly. His hands formed the familiar cross-shaped seal for the shadow clone jutsu, and he began to create a huge amount of clones. It took him a while, since he had to create them in groups of ten, which would then immediately take off to surround the perimeter. If he made them in any larger groups they might be spotted.
It took him a while, but as soon as Naruto knew they had the compound surrounded he created and dispelled a clone to order the attack.
Naruto, with twenty clones flanking him, performed three quick hand seals, ending with the dragon seal. 'Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullet!'
Their chests puffed out, as air filled their lungs to nearly their bursting point. Naruto slammed his fist into his chest, and let loose a massive concussive bullet of air, which sped towards the compound gate. Nineteen more similar blasts traveled alongside his own, with something similar happening on all sides of the compound. The veritable wall of air collided with the walls of the compound with explosive force.
Naruto witnessed the gruesome sight of the two guards at the gate being crushed under the pressure of the wind, their limbs snapping and blood pouring from their mouth and eyes as their internal organs ruptured. Around them, the wall was instantly blasted into rubble, a cloud of dirt being kicked into the air. He could hear the screams of other guards as they were crushed under the wall of stone, and the startled and confused yells of those who witnessed it. Under the screen provided by the dust, Naruto and his clones charged the compound.
Like a great black wave, they fell upon the area. Through the dust, Naruto saw a figure loom. He didn't hesitate to draw Senbonzakura and cut the man in half at the waist. The man, a burly looking fellow who was shirtless, collapsed to the ground in a pile of blood and entrails. He and his clones made liberal use of shock tactics to cut down anyone that they came across.
Within a matter of minutes, they had disposed of all the guards on the outside. Around twenty of his clones were dispelled in the process, but that wasn't much compared to the hundreds he had made.
Naruto quickly regrouped his clones and had them surround the mansion as they had the walls. "Alright, we can't destroy the mansion; there may be something to tell us where Gato is. Break the windows with kunai, and then throw in smoke bombs." He ordered. "A third of you stay back to pick off any stragglers that try to escape, the rest, scale the walls and enter through the windows. Use the cover to kill anyone you come across. I'll be headed for the main office myself, once everyone is killed, search this place for anything valuable."
He didn't wait for a response. As soon as the last word left his mouth, he unsealed a pair of kunai, and threw them through the windows on the front door. The steel knives easily shattered the glass, leaving a gaping hole. The knives of his clones did similar to the other windows, and they were quickly followed by smoke pellets/
The pellets erupted into gouts of thick black smoke. Once again Naruto and his army of clones charged Gato's mansion. The clones poured through the windows and scaled the walls, covering the outside of the mansion. Naruto himself went through the front doors, a couple clones on either side. He reinforced his leg with chakra and kicked the oak double-doors of their hinges. The doors flew through the air and landed with a tremendous–CRASH!
Naruto marched into the smoke, his sensing abilities extended completely, and his Sharingan blazing. There was no need to hide it here. None of these bandits would be making it out alive. With it, he was able to differentiate between the guards in the entrance hall, and his clones.
He lashed out with his sword almost immediately, and cut down one of the guards, who was coughing and stumbling about.
Without pause, he proceeded up the main staircase. Heedless of the battle around him, he continued up the stairs, and to the third floor, where he knew Gato's office was. Every once in a while he would have to cut down a guard, but for the most part his clones handled it.
Fifteen minutes after the assault began, Naruto found himself outside the doors of Gato's office. Apparently, it was where he'd kept some of his more skilled guards, as every clone that had approached was taken down. From the memories, he could tell that they were some of the few with shinobi training, as each clone was cut down before they could get a good look. All he knew was that one of them used a sword.
He narrowed his eyes at the guards that blocked his way. There were two of them. The first one was huge, tall, and bulky. He was shirtless, and had a shaved head, with several tattoos, while wielding a large steel sasumata. The other was of average height, and rather lanky. A nasty scar stretched across his face, and he had short cropped brown hair. At his waist was sheathed a long katana.
"Hmm, this one is alone. He must be the original." The lanky one observed. Beside him, his companion nodded in agreement
Naruto's Sharingan picked up the slight twitch in the man's muscles and showed him he was about to attack. Before either man could react, he raised his arms, allowed the Nine-Tails' chakra to envelope them. The bubbling red chakra burned his skin, but he ignored it. He directed it forward in the form of two clawed hands, which shot out and snared the two men in their massive grips.
The men stared at him with wide, fearful eyes at the display of power.
"Sorry, but I don't have time to mess around." He said seriously. A slight tightening of his hands caused the chakra hands to crush the two men in their grips. He then let the chakra dissipate, and the two corpses collapsed to the ground like giant sacks of potatoes.
Naruto stepped over the dead bodies gingerly, careful to avoid the expanding pool of blood, and entered the office. It was a large room, paneled in a dark red wood, with a large, sturdy desk in the center of the room. Papers were strewn haphazardly across the desk. With a frown, Naruto created a couple clones, and they quickly began rifling through the paperwork.
In the distance, he could hear the sounds of battle, the clashing of steel, and the occasional crash of collapsing wood. Pretty soon, though, they began to die off.
He frowned as he went through his stack of documents. It was pretty mundane stuff, shipping invoices, cargo logs. A few looked suspicious, but none of them gave him a hint of where Gato might be. 'Come on, there's got to be something here.'
"Hey boss, you better take a look at this," One of his clones called. Naruto's gaze whipped in the direction of the clone, and he saw him holding up a crumpled piece of paper. "I found it in the trash can," The clone explained, as it handed the piece of paper to Naruto.
Naruto carefully unfolded the note and stared at the contents. What he read made his heart skip a beat.
Boss,
Zabuza is making his move today. He and the kid just left the place we set up for them.
If you're going to make a move to kill them, now's the time.
His mind raced from the contents of the note. Zabuza had recovered, and he was making a move! Not only that, but it seemed like Gato was planning on betraying Zabuza and his partner. Naruto felt like cursing. 'It's a good thing Kakashi thought to keep most of us with Tazuna. Still, I have to get there as fast as I can.'
Naruto immediately began to draw on the Nine-Tails' chakra. A bubbling shroud of red chakra enveloped him, a single tail sprouted out, and waved through the air with a mind of its own. 'Hope you don't mind Nine, but I'm going to need to get there as fast as possible.'
"Hmph, whatever. Just don't mess up, brat." The fox growled. Naruto nodded in understanding.
'Don't worry, I won't.' He began to channel more chakra into his legs. Once it reached a sufficient level, he shot off using a Body Flicker, and made his way to the bridge.
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– Unnamed Bridge, Land of Waves, A.S. 997 –
Sasuki didn't know why, but for some reason she had a bad feeling that morning. A sense of impending danger. The first indication something was wrong was how unusually quiet it was. Every other day they you could hear the metallic groan of the crane moving heavy loads, the muffled–crash–as massive blocks were lowered into place, and the shouts back and forth from workers. Today it was utterly silent. All she could hear was the earie creak as the hook of the crane swayed gently back and forth.
'Something is off here …' She wasn't the only one who was getting an odd feeling. Beside her, Kakashi had already put away his stupid orange book. Even Sakura looked around surreptitiously.
Her head was on a swivel as they walked out onto the bridge. Suddenly, Tazuna let loose a gasp in front of them. He was the first to spot what lay ahead of them. Her heart leapt into her throat at the shocking sight, and tension filled every fiber of her being.
"What the hell is going on here?" He exclaimed.
His workers were strewn across the ground in crumpled heaps. Tools and wooden boards were scattered around them. A groan from one of the men was the only indication they weren't dead.
Sasuki's mind reeled as her eyes darted about. Her blood turned to ice water in her veins as a chill mist rapidly formed. Like a silent, formless monster it encircled and engulfed them in utter silence. This was …
"Everyone, be alert. The enemy is here." Kakashi called. His barking order confirmed her suspicion.
In an instant they closed ranks around Tazuna in a triangle formation, Kakashi on her left, and Sakura on her right. The ring of metal sliding against itself hung in the air. Two kunai seemed to leap into her hands with how fast she pulled them out. They faced outwards into the pale abyss. "So it's true, this is Zabuza's Hidden Mist Jutsu. I can't believe they chose now to strike. The one time Naruto isn't here." Sakura said quietly.
A dark chuckle rippled through the mist. It echoed on all sides with seemingly no origin. Her breath hitched in her throat. With the chuckle came a now familiar ominous sensation. Pure murderous intent crashed down on her and tried to overwhelm her senses. This sensation, the way it tried to invoke terror … it reminded her of the worst night of her life. Of having her brother stalk towards her like some cruel predator. It had gotten to her the last time. This time she was prepared. Her gaze sharpened and darted all around. All her senses seemed hyper-charged. Even as she tried to locate the enemy, she was aware of the cold damp mist clinging to her hair and clothes, yet it didn't distract her.
"It's been some time Kakashi." Zabuza said. His voice reverberated through the mist and made it impossible to pinpoint.
The sound of his voice caused her blood pump faster. She could feel a nervous tingle of excitement. Just as Sakura said, Naruto wasn't here. That meant today she'd get a chance to test herself.
"I see you've got a couple of those brats with you. That black-haired one is still trembling, poor girl."
Shhhff.
In the blink of an eye, several clones of Zabuza appeared around them. Sasuki smirked at the sight of them. So he thought she was afraid? She'd have to show him the error in his judgement.
"Tch, dumbass." She growled. Chakra flooded her body and invigorated every fiber of muscle. Using the same technique they used to cling to vertical surfaces, she raced across the ground in a blur of motion. Her chakra propelled her forward. With a few quick strikes she severed the jugular veins on each of them. Almost as one the clones collapsed into water with a large–SPLAT–of liquid on concrete.
"Just so you know, I'm trembling with excitement. Your little parlor trick doesn't scare me anymore!" Sasuki growled.
Two forms started to appear in the mist across from her. At first they were nothing but indistinct outlines. They started like hazy apparitions, but quickly gained physical forms. Zabuza towered over his accomplice wearing a dark blue tank top and matching pants. His menacing sword loomed on his back, and he was looking at them with an intense gaze. The fake tracker ninja stood by his side, blank white mask staring creepily, and his dark green tunic fluttering in the breeze.
"Oh? It seems you've matured quite rapidly. I think you might have another rival Haku." He said.
Next to him, the fake tracker ninja nodded. His long black hair bobbed with the movement. "Indeed."
"I'm glad to see my hunch was right. That mysterious masked boy was working with Zabuza." Kakashi mused. As ever his tone was absolutely nonchalant. Normally it annoyed her, but today it helped set her at ease. Yes, this was normal. It was a common occurrence for shinobi, and she had to get used to that. 'Especially if I ever want to face him.'
"That masked one is mine." She declared.
A tense silence stretched between the two sides. The tension was almost palpable. After a second that seemed like an eternity, Zabuza broke the silence. "Haku, you know what to do. Don't let me down."
Everything changed in an instant. The masked boy–Haku apparently–disappeared in a blur of motion. Less than a second later he appeared in front of her. His sandal scuffed the ground as he tried to make a spinning stab with those needles he preferred. She met him with a backhanded slash from the kunai in her left hand.
Schiiiink.
The two weapons clashed midair and locked together. Sasuki strained to try and overwhelm her opponent, but he wouldn't budge. Her hand shook at the force required to hold him off.
"Sakura, take Mr. Tazuna and keep him safe. Leave Haku and Zabuza to Sasuki and I!" Kakashi ordered.
She was vaguely aware of Sakura replying, but the entirety of her focus was on her opponent. The boy was only slightly larger than her, yet he was very strong. Such freakish physical skills reminded her of Naruto. Her opponent started to talk, his voice slightly distorted by his mask.
"If it can be avoided, I'd prefer not to hurt you. I don't suppose you'd give up, right?" asked Haku.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously. The mere suggestion she should give up pissed her off more than she could describe. His tone of voice angered her the most. It was almost mournful. As if hurting her was an impossible to avoid outcome. He was looking past her! "Like hell I'll give up!"
The masked boy shook his head with resigned sigh. "That's a shame. You can't keep up with my speed for long, and I've already gained two advantages." He said.
Despite how much he was pissing her off, his last sentence penetrated through the fog of anger and kickstarted the gears in her mind. Advantages? There was nothing in the immediate surroundings that looked like they could be taken advantage of.
"You see, Zabuza's clones have surrounded us with water." Haku explained. Sasuki tensed. Of course! He and Zabuza were from the Hidden Mist. Water Jutsu usually required a pre-existing source. Still, it didn't matter. He couldn't make hand seals. "–and second, I've blocked one of your hands, meaning you can't perform jutsu. I don't have that restriction."
Her blood ran cold as Haku's free hand started to blur through hand seals. The boy could do one-handed seals! She'd heard of it, but never actually met anyone who could actually perform them. Around them the water zipped into the air. They coalesced into a shimmering swarm of nearly invisible needles.
"Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death!"
Zzzup. Zzzup. Zzzup.
The instant Haku said the name, the needles shot towards them like arrows loosed from a bow. She had a split second to act. Forcing chakra into the soles of her feet, Sasuki launched herself into the air. It was just in time. Less than a moment later the water needles crashed into her former position. They slammed into the ground with a tremendous–SLAP!
Haku had to throw himself backwards into a handspring to dodge his own attack. 'Now's my chance!' Even before the boy was halfway through his leap, she clasped her hands in the tiger seal. The air in her lungs became hot. Her chest expanded. 'Fire Style: Flame Bullets!'
The red hot embers burst forth from her lips and exploded into basketball-sized orange flames. Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Fwoosh.
The fireballs splashed against the wet concrete with a hiss. Her opponent was just able to dodge them by doing more handsprings. In their wake was a series of black scorch marks in a straight line. She didn't let the failure of the attack get to her. Even before the last fireball hit, she had already been moving.
Chakra flooded her body. The world around her turned into a blur of colors as she moved at intense speeds. Just as Haku came out of his last handspring, she appeared behind him with her hands locked in the dragon seal.
"Tch, you're not as fast as you think. Naruto's a lot faster." She scoffed.
Pale blue electricity sparked from her hands as her opponent spun around. The smell of ozone burnt her noise. "Lightning Style: Electromagnetic Murder!"
A wave of lightning surged forward. Haku didn't have a chance to dodge. The arcs of lightning danced across the ground and slammed into him.
Bzzzzzzam!
The boy was sent skidding backwards to lay at his masters side. For several moments, everything was silent. The jonin had yet to fight and Haku was unmoving, his clothes smoking slightly. There was a good chance he wouldn't get up from that.
"… Hehehe, if I were you Haku, I'd start taking this serious, or that girl will kill you." Zabuza chuckled.
"I suppose so."
Sasuki's eyes widened in shock when Haku got to his feet. He rose from the ground like some invincible monster. The only marks on him were the burns on his dark green tunic. That shock could kill a human easily. He shouldn't be alive, let alone getting up! 'What the hell is this guy?'
A palpable aura of chakra developed around Haku. "You leave me no choice. Secret Jutsu: Demonic Ice Mirrors!"
The name of the jutsu sent a shiver down her spine. It was like she'd been hit with a blast of intense cold. Wait … that wasn't in her head. 'The air, it's getting colder. What in the world …?'
Sasuki heard a slight rustle behind her that sent her heart into her throat.
Swsh … krrrrkrink.
In an instant, a large mass of water rose into the air. Within seconds they split and hardened into two tiers of rectangular sheets of ice. The second tier was at an angle, leading to a single horizontal mirror in the center. She was surrounded in a dome of ice. Goose bumps erupted across her body from the intense chill. Her breath came out in a visible cloud.
"Now I'll show you real speed."
Her heart skipped a beat. In the blink of an eye, Haku's image appeared in every single mirror. A flash in her peripheral was the only warning. Rrrip! The shoulder of her shirt tore open, and she felt a brief sting from a thin cut opening up on her bicep. Warm blood trickled from the shallow wound. A second later, her opponent started to fly at her from seemingly every direction. She dodged as best she could back and forth. Not that it did much. For every attack she dodged or blocked it seemed like there were two more in the same instant.
In less than a minute she found her cloths and body littered with cuts. There wasn't time to think, only react. A constant haze of motion. The good thing was, with every attack she felt like she was figuring out Haku's pattern. For whatever reason, he seemed to be slowing down a fraction each pass. It wasn't much, but it was enough that she could make an opening.
'Enough.' For a split second she abandoned defense and clutched her hands in the tiger seal. 'Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!'
Brilliant orange flames erupted from her mouth. Spinning in place, she created a dome of fire that spread outwards and licked at the ice mirrors. There was a loud hiss as ice met fire. The mirrors gleamed amongst the blaze, but other than that didn't seem to take any damage. 'Normal fire won't do anything. I have to think of something fast before the flames wear off.'
The range of jutsu she knew was limited to fire and lightning. Unfortunately, very few–if any–could help her escape. In fact, she could really only think of one way she could escape. Kneading the fire chakra inside her body, Sasuki focused on compressing it to make it as hot as possible. Her chest bulged. With her hands in the tiger seal, she snapped her head forwards. 'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.'
Over a dozen whitish-orange fireballs shot out in rapid succession. They burned so hot the air around them became dry. She willed six of them to shoot outwards in almost every direction. The others she focused on a single mirror. FWOOM!
In rapid succession, the fireballs hit the mirror. With the first one it started to hiss and drip. The second and third made rivulets of water slough off. When the fourth and fifth hit the ice started to crack. The sixth, and final, reduced it to half its size.
She didn't hesitate. This was her only shot. Sasuki made a break for the mirror. In seconds she reached it and ducked under the partially ruined mirror. For a brief instant she could see the outside. It beckoned to her. White haze surrounded the bridge, with nobody in sight. Then the breath was driven from her body. A sharp pain radiated from her stomach as she rocketed backwards and tumbled to the ground in a heap. She struggled to lift her head. Haku was leaning out of one of the mirror next to the damaged one, his fist extended.
Her stomach dropped. Despair filled her as the mirror rapidly regenerated. She worked so hard to damage it, and it was restored in seconds. That had been her best shot to escape. Her arms trembled as she pushed herself to her feet. Around her, the steam from her previous attacks started to disappear.
Haku appeared in the mirrors once more like a silent specter. She tensed as Haku gripped his needle. With but a twitch, the boy launched himself at her. In that moment, she felt like she could feel everything. Her mouth tasted of ash. She felt the chill of the air to her bones. The smell of wet stone permeated the dome. Sasuki couldn't help but wonder if this was it. Was she about to die? This was the second time she felt like this. Just like that day, there was only one word that came to mind. 'Naruto …'
She could her heart flutter wildly in her chest.
Badump … badump … badump.
It felt like time had slowed to a crawl. Her eyes saw everything with perfect clarity. The subtle drips of water that fell from the mirrors. How Haku's muscles tensed as he swung his arm. All of it came to her much slower than it should.
In desperation she threw herself backwards. Sasuki fully expected her body to move as slow as everything else. But it didn't.
Swooossh!
The masked boy sailed over her. Sasuki watched with disbelief as he flew into another mirror. What was that? Confusion clouded her thoughts as she pushed herself to her feet.
Surprisingly, the world was still in hyper-focused detail. When next Haku shot forward, she could see it as if he was going at normal speed. It was bizarre. Still, there was no use wasting a good opening. Without any hesitation, she let loose a shuriken directly where he'd be.
The black throwing star spun through the air with a wicked gleam. Clang! At the last second, Haku managed to deflect it. Immediately, he darted to another mirror.
Neither of them made a move. Sasuki took the moment to take stock of her situation. They were barely two minutes into the fight. Yet she could already feel the toll it had taken on her. Her chakra reserves had dropped significantly. Yet, her vision was perfectly clear. Every other sense was suffering. It made no sense.
'How can one sense stay the same while the others deteriorate? It shouldn't be possible without some sort of special tech–' She froze mid-thought. Her eyes stretched wide. She whipped out a kunai so fast it seemed to teleport into her hand. With trepidation, she tilted it to use the gleaming blade as a mirror. In the reflection, her eyes glowed crimson. One eye had two tomoe orbiting the pupil, the other just one. 'I've activated the sharingan.'
A grin stretched across her face. The sound of something whistling through the air made her snap her gaze up. Haku was attacking again. Now that she had the sharingan, Sasuki was able to dodge around his attacks, and even fire back some of her own.
"Lightning Style: Static Line!"
Several kunai shot towards Haku. Crackling lightning danced between the blades and arced outwards. The attack just barely missed as Haku ducked into one of the mirrors. In the small stretch of silence that followed the exchange, the sound of her panting gasps for air seemed deafening. The cold made it painful to breath. Sweat drenched her skin and made sure she felt the chill all the more. Was this what battle was really like? They'd barely been fighting five minutes and she felt like she was on her last legs.
It was getting hard to move, and she was almost out of chakra. 'I can't do this much longer. How can I turn this around?'
A flash of silver entered her peripheral vision. She danced to the side to get out of it's path, only to gasp as she felt a hot flash of pain in her shoulder. It made her stumble as she tried to spin to find her opponent. With her kunai she managed to deflect two more needles.
Schnk–shnk–shnk!
Sasuki gasped. Three hot bursts of pain in rapid succession. Now she had needles sticking out of her upper arm and shoulder-blade. That shocked her into action. She drudged up whatever ounce of chakra she could. Once again her cells flooded with extra energy.
Flashes of silver entered her vision. Cling-clang-ching! She deflected three needles easily.
Her blood thundered in her ears. Over and over she dodged and blocked needles. They came at her from almost every angle, at almost the exact same time. Every once in a while one would get through, but she pushed on. Even as blood trickled from her wounds she didn't stop. She couldn't falter! If she stopped now, she'd die for sure.
Despite her determination, it felt like trying to swim upriver in a raging current. Every second, she felt her chakra levels dropping more and more. Her movements were getting sluggish. She was getting dizzy from the loss of blood.
"GAHHH!" Sasuki let loose a scream of pain. White hot pain shot through her knee. It felt like someone had kicked it as hard as they could. Sasuki crumpled to the ground clutching it tightly. A gleaming needle protruded from the side of her knee. "C-can't stop, gotta get up." She panted.
She tried to get to her feet, but knee couldn't take the weight. It buckled and she collapsed to her knees. The pain was too much. Her eyes felt like lead, and all she wanted to do was go to sleep.
The stab of pain in her neck barely registered. It was only because of the way her world suddenly spun that she realized she collapsed. Her mind was getting fuzzy. Even with the sharingan her vision blurry. The sound seemed to fade. Darkness lurked at the edge of her vision.
Sasuki blinked stupidly as Haku materialized across from her. 'Huh, he looks funny with that mask. I wonder if this is what it's like to be drunk'
Distantly, she heard an odd buzzing noise. No … it was more like a shriek. A purple glow lit the dome. It was rather pretty how the light bounced and refracted off the ice. The mesmerizing dance of light finally calmed her. It mesmerized her, and made her want to go to sleep. Slowly, her eyes closed.
KRICRAAACK!
Tap … tap … tap.
A sudden warmth flooded her body. It felt like she was being cradled by hot rocks. Confused, she struggled to open her eyes. Slowly, her right eye cracked open. Sasuki felt her breath hitch as a familiar whiskered face swam into sight. Sapphire blue eyes stared at her, filled with nothing but concern.
Vaguely, she was aware he was speaking. But her mind was too confused to understand.
"N-Naruto?"
-x-x-x-x-x-x- NTUC -x-x-x-x-x-x-
Well, there's the new fight scene I added. I hope you enjoy it. To explain the difference in the amount of jutsu Sasuki knows, that's due to training with Naruto and Madara.
Anyways, see you next chapter for the last chapter in this re-work.
Until Next Time,
RinneTaicho, Signing Off!
