Chapter 9
Atsumi stepped back a few feet and smirked.
So…this kid has gotten up to my level? Let's see how good he really is. Slowly pulling out the kusarigama, Gengo thrust the scythe towards the fox child. The sickle simply bounced off to the side. Pulling the sickle back and catching it squarely in his hand, he knew now, he'd have to pull out all the stops. He threw the sickle around, binding it around his own waist. He then performed the signs of dragon, serpent and tiger, focusing chakra. He spun around in a whirlwind of chakra, thrusting the sickle towards the demon brat. The purpose of the attack was to make the opponent think the sickle would simply go forward, but in reality, it would dart to the side and strike at the side. This was the last trump card he had. If this failed, he was doomed.
The sickle struck at air from the side and followed the scent of chakra, but the second attempt was thwarted differently. Namely, Jotaro had caught the sickle with his bare hands. He threw the kama towards Atsumi, an orange aura around it, not only increasing its speed, but also its power, as Atsumi saw when he dodged it. The tree behind him was decimated. Atsumi's eyes widened as he pulled his weapon back to his hand, still burning
" Who…what are you?"
Jotaro grinned the same demonic grin, "I thought your intelligence knew everything. I'm the Kyubi, you idiot! Deal with it and fight me!"
The executioner's right cheek twitched as his whole body trembled.
"That's…that's it! I'll tear you to shreds!"
Jotaro shrugged his shoulders and spoke, "Let's see you try…"
Atsumi flung the scythe at Jotaro, the chain following. Jotaro simply smacked it away. Atsumi expected this… He sped up and appeared behind Jotaro, binding him with the chain. The chain snapped in two, leaving Gengo with only the sickle to fight with. Jotaro turned around and began to lunge at Atsumi, clawing at him with the newly acquired abilities of his father's curse. Atsumi blocked every strike, but soon, the sickle was knocked out of his hand. Grappling with the demon child, he felt each individual bone in his fingers slowly crack under the force of the child's new power.
This…this can't be happening…I can't lose! Hattori will kill me when he gets to hell with me… But…this is so much power… And in one kid!
Atsumi forced more chakra into his arms, attempting to overpower this new force, but it paled in comparison to the new power Jotaro gained with every passing second. The executioner shrieked as his entire left arm snapped in two, followed up by his right. His arms dangling, Atsumi grew even more insane, now lunging at the cursed brat with his teeth. His entire face smashed into bits as he crashed to the ground, completely wasted, but only unconscious, spared by Jotaro's true self, which had slowly overcome the Kyubi's power, which he had never felt before. Not this strongly. But as he put a hand to his head, the Kyubi regained control, returning the claws and demon grin to Jotaro.
Basho was impressed at the power Jotaro had. This kind of power was dangerous… he had to stop it somehow. The Mental Chakra Tranquilizers were risky, but he had to stop him before he rampaged. Focusing chakra again, he released two bolts of violet into Jotaro's neck. He continued to walk, but fell to the ground after three slow and steady steps to oblivion. Basho rushed to Kyoji's corpse, noticing his chakra still flowed.
So…the true power of the Steel Style. The outer skin is tough as iron, but the inner bones are as durable as titanium. A little alteration to his platelets and he should be fine. I hope Jotaro will be okay. Guess I'd better stop Hattori. I guarantee that Minoru will finish off that buffoon pretty soon. I can feel his chakra pretty clearly. He's unleashed the full power of the Taigan Left. How powerful are the other two members of the Dragon Clan?

Spear and kunai clashed as Minoru continued to gain more power than Watanabe had ever expected to see. This kid was nothing like he thought. He was smart, too! Somehow, he had managed to keep their fight in one area of the forest. And he was sure that his spear was going to break soon. He just hoped it wasn't now. No sooner than he had thought it, the point cracked and snapped off. Grimacing, he plowed the dull metal edge towards Minoru, who simple let it pass by him as he struck the colossus's jaw, sending him flailing backwards. Watanabe began laughing as he pulled himself up.
Minoru was confused and the light dulled a bit, "What's so funny? You're losing…"
Continuing to laugh, Watanabe performed the three principle signs of the Dragon Clan and slammed his fists into the ground, sending a tremendous earthquake through the forest, knocking Natsumi and Shige out of their tree. Minoru glared and concentrated his chakra again, increasing his own strength, punching a hole straight through a tree next to him.
"It seems like we're evenly matched. We'll see when you fight me face to face." The towering dragon rushed forward like a freight train, his fist raised. Minoru simply held up a hand to block, but found the punch aimed for his chest instead, sending him flying into the air. He caught himself and fell back down, landing a direct kick to the top of Watanabe's head. The kick subsided, leaving Minoru confused. Watanabe simply grabbed Minoru's leg, throwing him to the ground.
"Ready to give up, punk?"
Minoru pulled himself up slowly as he spoke, still shaky from the throw, "N-not…likely…dunce."
Watanabe screamed again, pummeling Minoru's frail form as Natsumi and Shige watched on in horror.
"We've got to do something, Shige!" Natsumi said, still in shock herself.
"But Minoru can't beat that thing by himself and he's the top of the class, next to Hitomi. We'd only get in the way…"
"But…we're his teammates… We have a duty to him… Don't you remember what Minoru said?"
Shige turned to Natsumi and smiled, finally realizing her fears, "…Yeah…let's do it… Here's my plan…"
Natsumi and Shige separated and disappeared into the forest, Natsumi spreading seeds and Shige focusing her chakra.
Watanabe continued crushing Minoru when he suddenly felt a new presence from behind. He turned and saw a huge sphere of red plummeting towards him. He reacted too late and the attack hit him full force. The smoke cleared and Watanabe laughed again as he had felt nothing. Turning to hit Minoru again, he saw only Shige, laughing at him. Punching at the new victim, Watanabe missed and felt a pinprick on his back. Throwing his arm back, he struck air again. He was getting angry, but then he felt the fury consuming him. He couldn't stop the anger from rising. He began to go into a blind rage, destroying trees around him, his vision blurring as he searched for Shige. He ripped the broken spear from the tree and began trampling through the brush, nothing standing in his way. He stopped suddenly as a new tree appeared in his path. This one was different. It was no larger than a small house, and yet it impeded him. Striking it time and time again, the tree didn't move at all. The anger rose even higher in him and striking it again, he saw a light grow brighter and everything went black as Watanabe fell back, both his arms mere stumps and Natsumi completely exhausted. Even with the added chakra of Minoru, she had to use most of her chakra to grow that mere sapling. But the resulting explosion won them the battle, overcoming Watanabe's resistance with his ever-increasing rage. Minoru smiled, still wincing from the pain.
"We'll have to retreat, girls…Go back to Iris Village and get some medicine. I'll wait here…" The two girls nodded and left Minoru to contemplate his loss and the team's victory.
So…a little teamwork goes a long way… Better remember that…

Hattori turned from the battle to look behind him. It seemed as though his brother had fallen. No matter, he thought to himself, his chakra still survived. If I can find his and Atsumi's bodies, I'll be able to unleash the power of the Dragon Flame… Then, not even all nine of the kids will be able to stop me…

Chapter 10
Basho had been running through the forest for quite some time before he sighted the real conflict. Minoru was already finished; he saw that for himself a few minutes back. The real threat was before him. Hitomi was fighting even with Hattori, but he knew there had to be a catch. Hattori had to have some other secret ability that he didn't tell his brothers. But what was it. Perching on a tree branch, he sat back and watched the fight with great interest, still thinking on what he would do. And for that matter, where were Kenta and Risa?

Hattori and Hitomi clashed countless times, Hitomi managing only to deflect the devil Hanzo's attacks away, not able to unleash her full power without risking death. Hattori stabbed forward again and as Hitomi dodged, he spun around and slashed down again. Hitomi ducked down, losing a lock of her hair in the process. This was getting difficult. She couldn't keep this up for much longer. Flinging her hair back, she performed a spin kick that managed to knock back Hattori, but the devil simply stabbed forward. Hitomi attempted to dodge, but was skewered on Hattori's tachi. Hattori pulled the blade back and chuckled to himself, turning to face Akimaru and Kenta lunging forward. Akimaru clung to Hattori's scalp, while Kenta pummeled Hattori in the chest. Hattori flung both of the weaklings off him, splitting Akimaru in half with one slash and cutting through Kenta's chest with the second. He chuckled to himself again, escalating to an insane cackle. He then gasped at the pain of a kunai in his chest. Risa smirked and flipped backwards, landing in front of the devil, a second kunai ready to throw. Hattori slid forward, grasping Risa by her purple hair, holding her up to the tip of his blade.
"Ready to die, you little brat?"
Risa smirked and pointed behind Hattori. Hattori dropped Risa and flailed around, deflecting Hitomi's attack, but getting the full force of Kenta and Akimaru's dual stealth attack, stabbed in the back by two kunai. Wrenching the two daggers out of his back and the one in his chest, Hattori cackled even louder. Hitomi glared, calling out to Hattori.
"What are you laughing at? You're losing!"
Hattori clapped a hand to his forehead and spoke, "So sorry. I get a little confused when I see such a bloody sight. So…a reversal illusion, making me see what I wanted to see? Brilliant… But now your trump card's been played, and I still have mine… It's called Dragon Flame."
Hattori then sat in a meditative stance, focusing his chakra. Suddenly, a cloud of yellow and black smoke rose from across the forest. Kenta and the others wanted to do something, but even Basho was frozen by the power of this technique. The smoke permeated Hattori's body, unleashing a force of power that shook the forest, nearly knocking Basho from the tree. As the dust settled, Hattori stood, his whole body engulfed in an orange flame, similar to when Jotaro was possessed by the Kyubi.
Smirking and pulling out his tachi, now engulfed in the orange flames as well, Hattori spoke to his opponents.
"Prepare to die… This is the supreme power of the Dragon Clan. I use the chakra of my fallen allies and with our strategy, the strongest one left standing; that's me; gets the greatest burst of power. And now…my comrades will be avenged. And soon, we will become as strong as the Uchiha! Nothing will stop us from finding our purpose in the world of ninjas!" Hattori grinned again and cackled, the power surging from his fingertips into the sky. Basho looked on in terror, but then maintained his thinking pose. He then snapped his fingers after about two minutes.
I've got it… The plan to defeat the Dragon Flame and still give the others a chance to test their own abilities. The only catch is… I need Kyoji and Jotaro to help me with this…

Kyoji sat up, still in shock after he survived the near death experience of the executioner. Looking around, he spotted Jotaro's prostrate body. Stumbling over, he shook Jotaro awake. As Jotaro blinked in confusion, Kyoji spoke
"We've gotta go, Jotaro. The others are still fighting that Hattori guy."
"I…I can't…" Jotaro then gasped as Kyoji punched him hard in the cheek. Rubbing his cheek, he retorted, "What did you do that for?"
"To prove a point. You're still strong…I nearly died…okay, that's all horrible, but I'm alive now. Now get up, and let's help Basho." Jotaro smirked and leaped up, still a bit stiff, but ready to fight. He focused his chakra and his right eye glowed bright gold again, shining like the sun. He leaped into the thicket, followed by Kyoji, who smiled to himself at the strength of his friend.

Hattori stepped slowly towards Hitomi, Kenta and Risa. Kenta stepped forward to attack, but he stopped at a voice in his head. Hitomi and Risa also looked around for the source of the noise.
Guys! It's me, Basho! I have a plan to beat Hattori, but we have to buy some time until Kyoji and Jotaro get here. Okay, here goes…
Kenta and Hitomi nodded while Risa readied her kunai. Hitomi and Kenta disappeared, while Risa ran at Hattori, suddenly splitting into 10 clones. Hattori's eyes widened and he flung his sword forward, sending a wave of fire that destroyed most of the clones. But Risa still stood, a bit scorched, but ready to fight. As she struggled to get up, Hattori simply kicked her a few yards ahead of him. Hattori smiled, but gasped at the pain of two kunai in his back. Whirling his head around, he clenched his teeth and smacked the real Risa away. Turning to face whatever challenges would come his way, he saw a new opponent.
"Oh, yes. You're the boy with all the chakra power. I've been itching to fight you. I assume your friends defeated Atsumi."
"Yeah…he wasn't that hard. But my friends won't be coming to help me. I'm fighting you on my own." Performing the sign of the bird, Basho flung both hands forward, sending 10 Chakra Lines across the forest. Crossing his arms, Basho waited for Hattori to attack. Gripping his sword even harder, Hattori rushed forward, slashing and missing Basho, who simply appeared behind him, pointing his pinky at the fiery demon. A line of chakra struck him, completing the first phase of Basho's five phase plan. Focusing his mind, he spoke to Hattori through the psychic connection he just acquired.
Well, then…how does it feel, Devil Hanzo?
How does what feel?
How does it feel to lose everything? To not have a thing to hold on to. No beliefs, no ethics, no code of morals even. You'd kill your own children just to make yourself feel better. Am I right?
Shut up!
What's wrong? Angry that I told you the truth? You don't have anything! Those two guys were the only survivors of the Dragon Clan. You were going to be the new leader, but after the war began, your entire group was destroyed. Only three survived, and not a single shred of integrity lived through those times of suffering. You've all lost every shred of dignity you had!
Shut up! SHUT UP!
And that's not the worst part. You're so full of bitterness; you can't see the real problem. And that is…you're too afraid to admit that you're weak. Just picking on our masters like that. And then…you decide you'll try to have a little fun with even weaker people. That's the real truth… You're just a coward with no real sense of purpose. And this isn't a midlife crisis, I guarantee you. This is just you being a wimp! And the worst thing…you knew it all the time.
Hattori suddenly exploded with power, the sword destroyed by the sheer burst of energy. Performing the three seals of the Dragon Clan again, Hattori procured a new blade. He swung it at Basho, who simply dodged again, penetrating the devil's body with two Chakra Lines. This time, Basho initiated phase two of his five-phase plan. Now he had control. Real control this time. Flinging his hand to the side, Basho sent Hattori flying to the side.
That was all the time I could buy! I gotta get out of here! Turning to escape, Basho stopped suddenly as Hattori grabbed the boy's leg. It began to burn his leg as Basho still grinned. Hattori increased his grip and stopped suddenly. He released the iron maiden grip as he turned to see Kenta and Akimaru. They then rushed at him, knocked to the side by one motion of Hattori's hand. Hitomi appeared and struck once at Hattori's back and the second punch was caught, deflected and turned on Hitomi, knocking her, Kenta and Akimaru out cold. Hattori cackled again at his victory, but stopped as Jotaro and Kyoji appeared in his vision, two more nuisances in his plan. He growled even harder and turned as he heard Basho speak
"I guess I lied… Both my friends are here to help me… Where's yours?"
Hattori continued his insane laughing as he flung a hand forward, sending the orange flame towards the two intruders in a final flaming blast. Jotaro and Kyoji disappeared in the flames as Hattori laughed louder and louder. The smoke cleared and nothing was left.
Hattori turned to face Basho and chuckled as he spoke, "Well, then… that's all your friends… Now it's just you…and me…"
Basho grinned and thought to himself
Well…that was phase 3; let's hope phases 4 and 5 go according to plan.