(Chapter 55: Nonsensical Starfall: Part 2)
It would be a few more days of our intrepid quartet planning and doing more reconnaissance of Hoshigakure, all while defeating the abominations that were once villagers of said village in question; that while they were weaker than anticipated their control over the mysterious power did make them a bothersome threat to contend against. Nonetheless, they still co-ordinated on how if they needed to; they would defeat Akahoshi who was a nonetheless credible threat, given the otherworldly power he possessed and ever ominous chakra that constantly flowed out of him.
(October 8th, 998 S.E, 3:10 Pm, Hoshigakure, 2:10 Pm)
It would be a few short days later as our quartet were making their last few touch-ups to their plan against Akahoshi, and to free the missing shinobi and Natsuhi's son from their prison.
"While we have come up with a rather solid strategy in order to defeat, Akahoshi. We still need to finalize how we are going to get into, and moreover rescue those imprisoned by him. Otherwise, we risk becoming either his prisoners as well, or worse yet one of his thralls." Sasuke spoke as they looked at the replica of said prison made of sand and quartz
"I actually have an idea that could work. It's a bit of a hail mary, but its definitely worth a shot to try." Sakura said gaining the leader of the mission's attention
"By all means, share your idea, Sakura." Sasuke replied
"I was thinking that between me being decent with earth jutsu and Gaara being a powerhouse with her sand. Why not have the two of us burrow our way underneath the prison for the jail-break. That way, we can get in there undetected, take out whatever guards get in our way, then get to rescuing everyone we need to. Then we make a secondary tunnel to go back the way we came and make a clean getaway." Sakura suggested as to how they could make this plan work
"That…That actually isn't a bad idea at all. Between the two of us, we would be more than able to make a stable tunnel. All we would need to do is adjust the size of it, to account for all those we will take with us. Otherwise, creating the tunnels in question will work rather well." Gaara replied as the more she looked over her recreation of the area the more she could see it working out to great effect
"If we do this, we will need to work quickly. I cannot imagine that Akahoshi's guards or his abominations will let us do this freely." Neji spoke knowing that they would be on a ticking clock
"Not to mention, the longer it takes to do this. The more that we risk being caught by both those loyal to him, and those he has made into abominations…Can anyone here make Shadow Clones, as we will need to cover as much ground as possible to make this work." Sasuke questioned as all those in the room raised their hands
"Good to know. However, you are to make 1-2 clones if need be. Every ounce of chakra is needed, if we are to succeed and not be caught in the act…Furthermore, and I cannot stress this enough. Remain vigilant at all times, against his abominations. As we have found in the skirmishes with these abominations, they are a fan of swarm tactics. So under no circumstances are you to engage them alone…Am I understood?" Sasuke further said knowing the abominations created by the Hoshikage favored swarm/pack tactics
"Understood/I hear you loud and clear/Crystal." Were the replies of the 3 other shinobi
"Good…We have one chance and one chance only to make this work; without getting caught. I would rather not have our efforts go to waste." Sasuke spoke his onyx eyes piercing with resolve to get this done as efficiently as possible
"While that is well and good, Sasuke. I do have to ask, what is your contingency should we be caught, even moreso by Akahoshi?" Neji questioned
"That is a good point. If Akahoshi somehow catches wind of our plans, or intercedes. Then we will have a far harder time completing it…Escaping with the 4 of us is easy enough, but with an abundance of prisoners we are leading to escape…That complicates things greatly." Gaara said in agreement knowing that if Akahoshi did so; that things would go from decent to worse in a matter of seconds
"I have something of a contingency plan in that regard. Thanks to one of the abilities of my new Sharngan, known as Amaterasu. I can create flames that burn nearly as bright as the sun itself. So should he attempt to follow after us, or do anything in that instance. I can use it to create a wall of 'hellfire' to buy us enough time to further our escape, with the prisoners in question. It may not be our best plan B, but it will have to do." Sasuke replied
"At least we have something in reserve should things go wrong. Beyond that, I think that this will work…Afterwards, we will have to deal with Akahoshi; who will no doubt want our heads once this is over." Gaara said back knowing that this was going to set said Hoshikage on a warpath
"Indeed, but by the time he comes for us. We will be ready and waiting to retaliate. He may be a monster masquerading as a man. But together we can and will destroy him, this much I am sure of." Sasuke spoke with a combination of unwavering focus and resolve in their mission
"If that is the case, then we should finish our preparations. We have only one chance and one chance only to make this work. Let us not waste it." Neji said to all of them
"Good point, also, I need to talk to Sasuke about something in private. Just give us a few minutes." Sakura said as she lightly tugged on his shoulder
"Very well, then. Gaara, are there any points of entry we can use to make this more viable?" Neji asked the two began to get to work
"What was it that you wanted to talk to me about, Sakura?" Sasuke said
"Well, its' about something I have in reserve should things go south. Something that Naruto said to use on a rainy day." Sakura replied as she pulled out of her pocket a small scroll that vibrated with eldritch might
"And what is that scroll?" Sasuke asked
"It's a one-time use summoning scroll for one of his summons that Naruto gave to me. Since we're family and all that bullshit. Naruto trusted me enough, to juice this up with some his 'gods' power to make a one-time summoning scroll…So if this Akahoshi guy really is a menace like everyone says he is, then we can use it to turn things in our favor." Sakura informed the Uchiha who looked at it with a scrutinizing gaze
"Do you know which of his summons this will bring to our aid?" Sasuke inquired
"Nope. Naruto said that whatever we get, it's ours for the next hour or two. So who or whatever we get, we gotta make 'em count." Sakura answered back regarding the random chance of summons
"Very well…at least we have Naruto here in spirit as a precaution." Sasuke spoke glad that even when not physically there his friend was always at his back
"On the plus side, we have this in the bag is things go sideways." Sakura replied with a grin
"Yes it is, indeed. For now, we will keep this in reserve until we need it. We cannot afford to waste such a powerful tool." Sasuke told the pink-haired bruiser who nodded and put it away for now
'Let's hope that whatever we summon will not cause too much destruction. I would at least like for this village to remain somewhat intact.' Sasuke said to himself knowing that Naruto's 'summons' carried with them incredible destructive power
(10 hours later, Several miles outside of Hoshigakure, 1:46 Am, October 9th, 998 S.E)
It would be nearly 2 in the morning as our intrepid heroes were en-route toward the prison where Akahoshi held the villagers Natsuhi had informed them of, as well as the captured shinobi who had yet to be made into abominations.
"Remember the plan everyone, we go in, get the prisoners, and get out there as quickly possible. We do this, then we can make our counter-assault against Akahoshi all the quicker…Are we clear on the parameters of what must be done?" Sasuke asked his companions as they rode upon the griffon made of sand and quartz that Gaara had made as they nodded yes
"Good…Gaara, Sakura once we get to the drop zone begin burrowing, Neji and I will keep watch for any of the abominations patrolling the area while you do so." Sasuke further spoke as his attention turned toward their mission objective over the horizon
From thereon in the span of 5 minutes did they eventually land at the dropsite in question where upon landing in the small foested area in question, after doing so as Sasuke and Neji stood guard ready to strike at anyone or anything that would come there way. All the while, Sakura and Gaara went to work on creating their tunnel into the prison wherein Gaara used her sand to begin the burrowing process whilst Sakura used her great deal of chakra control and earth chakra to soldify and mold it into a sturdy tunnel to travel through.
The process taking roughly 13 minutes as the duo in question were careful to make sure that it was not only sturdy, but wide and tall enough to shepherd a large contingency of prisoners without the threat of collapse. Once it was done; Gaara sent out a sand clone to inform Sasuke and Neji of their tunnel being completed and that they were ready to move onwards to the next phase of things; whilst her griffon construct would stand guard.
As such in a quarter of the time it took to make said tunnel, both Neji and Sasuke rendezvoused with Gaara and Sakura; with Sakura using her unnatural strength to take two of her fingers with her right hand and use it to slice open a circular hole in the floor for them to enter out of. From thereon as the exited the hole made did they get to work, as they wasted little it any time at all in going about towards the prisoners held captive by Akahoshi.
Wherein they made sure to move swiftly but quietly so as not to rouse the attention of any of the pink/magenta/rose-red skinned abominations patrolling the halls, their glossy pupiless neon pink eyes unblinking as they did so. Yet it did not last for long as our quartet swiftly went about eliminating both the security cameras used to survey the scene entirely, via brief bursts of Ameratasu or Gaara being swift to unleash tendrils of sand that cracked like that of a bullwhip to destroy and or crush them completely.
Meanwhile, as they destroyed any form of surveillance, the abominations that they were not able to sneak past on their way to the prisoners; they were able to navigate it quite well, in finding little if any difficulties in finding the holding cells; given that after they managed their way through the primary level of the prison. Would our quartet find themselves in the place in which they were able to traverse and free prisoners whilst taking out any of the patrolling abominations, wherein Gaara or Sakura would go to work in releasing the prisoners from their cells, either by Sakura using lockpicks she stored for a rainy day, or Gaara using her sand to break the locks and tumblers to do so.
All the while when not doing just that would they assist Sasuke, Neji or both in quickly eviscerating the abominations before they could make a sound, move or call for backup the rare instance that they caught them freeing the prisoners. Wherein Sasuke quick as a blink of an eye would behead or dismember them with his Jian in the span of seconds, whilst Neji would use his fire-infused Gentle Fist strikes to land a swarm of immolating blows that would burn the mutated opposition from the inside out as well as leaving them scorched husks.
What with Gaara being able to crush them by the handful with a wave of sand so fast, that if you looked away for even a slight millisecond you would miss the unnaturally swift swarming and crushing of the red-haired womans sand reducing them into a bloody pulp. Nor would it be if you blinked when Sakura forced to join in would you miss her punching holes in or through brute force impaling the abominations with her bare-hands; destroying their warped gangly and inhumanly stretched forms with a combination of brutish brutality and laser-like precison.
And so in the span of a little under 10 minutes would our intrepid quartet have gone about freeing the prisoners in question, with them following Sasuke and Gaara who were capable of holding the line against the abominations as they would lead the charge in escaping the prison. All the while Sakura was finishing unlocking the last cell in regards to Natsuhi's son who looked somewhat emaciated to the point you could see hints of his ribs and leg bones through his prison uniform, after Sasuke had used Amaterasu to burn 3 of those that stood guard to not even so much as ash.
"W-Who are you?" Sumaru asked
"We're friends of your mom; that came here to get you out of here." Sakura answered back as she unlocked the jail cell door
"M-Mom sent you?" Sumaru asked once more wearily
"Yep, so if I were you, I'd get your ass in gear. Because, we do not have time to waste." Sakura answered back as she helped the emaciated form of Sumaru to his feet
"T-Thank you, it has been..helll here and…" Sumaru tried to speak but months of being held prisoner did him no good
"Hey, you can talk later when your back with your mom. Right now, shut it, save your strength and let's get a move on…Sasuke, I got the kid, let's go!" Sakura told Sasuke who finished cutting down another one of the abominations that managed to find them before it could scream out for assistance
Once Sumaru was helped up to his feet by the pink-haired bruiser, she and her prodigal swordsman of a teammate quickly regrouped with Neji, Gaara and the rest of the prisoners whom after in spectacular fashion were able to deal with the abominations who were patrolling the prison with devastating efficiency. Had swiftly made it to the tunnel they had used to enter into the prison in the first place, wherein after Sakura and a sand clone of Gaara had went ahead to make sure the tunnel would be reinforced with the onrush of prisoners following suit, did the remaining trio begin shepherding the captives through it in pairs of two.
The task while semi-demanding given the number of people they needed to herd through it, was nonetheless managable as they managed to lead them in exodus out of their captivity, as Gaara proper and Sasuke brought up the tail-end as Gaara used her powers of sand manipulation to seal of the hole and path together the floor with sand and quartz to make it as though they were never here to begin with…As such after nearly an hour of navigating through the winding tunnel they had created did they, make it to the starry October morning above, wherein Sakura and Gaara's sand clone began ushering everyone onto the sandstone and quartz griffons and large harpy eagles that Gaara and her sand clone began to make.
Which began to evacuate all those in question far, far and away from the Land of Bears as far as they could fly out, as an additional 20 minutes would pass as our quartet after hearding the last of the prisoners out of the tunnel they had created; soon looked on as they finished their deed in freeing the prisoners in question. What with Gaara making an additional eagle construct made of quartz to inform Natsuhi that her son would be on a long trip back to somewhere safe within the Land of Fire, where she could later rendezvous with her son once they returned.
Yet the quartet knew that their work was not yet over, as now that they had freed the prisoners from Akahoshi's grip, that they would have to follow things through and defeat the twisted form of the Hoshikage for good and end whatever warped designs he had for the village hidden in the stars for good.
(2 days later, 9:25 Pm, Hoshigakure, October 11th, 998 S.E)
It would then be roughly 2 days later, as our quartet would visit upon the Hoshikage's stronghold to inform him that they had 'completed' their mission, but as they went to do so within the quarters of the Hoshikage, they found him strangely absent and as they would given the circumstances with what Natsuhi told them; had began to investigate the premises.
"I believe that I have found something that may help our search for the Hoshikage." Neji spoke his Byakugan stopping at one of the rooms within said building
"What did you find, Neji?" Sakura questioned
"It appears as though, our Kage in question has a secret hiding spot hidden behind our very noses." Neji answered back as he gestured to a Seal hidden behind the throne
"If that's the case, let's get to busting it open and dealling with this sack of shit once and for all." Sakura spoke ready to get this done and done for good
From there Sakura proceeded to brute force shove the throne away to reveal a moderately sized seal engraved on the wall, that in neither of any present being proficient in fuinjutsu; had Sasuke to burn away the seal via Amaterasu. The pitch black and royal violet flames searing away the seal with impunity and in doing so opened a hidden corridor that descended into depths unknown, wherein once the swordsman dispelled the flames; Gaara led the way as they descended down into the corridor lit by hall-light.
With our quartet delving deeper into the winding depths of the corridor, that widened further and further as they traversed deeper into an underground basement-like level that felt much more expansive than it had any right to be, as unnervingly silent minute after minute passed for them; whilst each step taken was one done so with utmost caution. If only for the simple fact; that despite it only being the four of them that descended to track down and fell the warped Hoshikage, as the more they descended the more the lights turned kalidescopic shades of magenta, rose-pink, royal violet, that were almost disorienting to look at directly.
But the one thing that caught their attention were the various crystalline-like pods that had hewn the wall, after what had felt like a solid hour of continuous descending, wherein upon closer inspection that they peered into see many of the villagers civilian and shinobi alike either still human or in the beginning stages of turning into the abominations. All of which was made more disturbing when you could see that they were still struggling from within the fleshy interior, so much so that you could almost hear their distorted screams of claustrophobic agony and fear, as well as see the multiple bloody gashes upon the surface from having tried to claw their way out to the point their fingernails had been reduced to bloody nubs.
Yet it was when they heard screams of struggling and the yells for mercy and anyone to help, did the quartet rush to see Akahoshi in his true monstrous form; pinning one civilian, and 2 Takigakure shinobi with 3 out of his 4 massive arms and were enveloping them in a viscous magenta sludge that in their horror saw them turn the civilian into one of the abominations. All though the 2 Takigakure shinobi were able to resist although not by much due ot them using what fleeting amounts of chakra to push back against the mutations, as their bodies began to painfully stretch and distort into the gangly almost fae-like creatures that were his abominations.
And as such in being furious to see such a thing happen to their allies, Sasuke and Sakura acted quickly and with Sasuke rushing in and severing the arms that pinned the Takigakure shinobi who were partially mutated to the wall, and Sakura dive-kicking Akahoshi in the jaw so hard that he was sent flying upwards into the Hoshikage throne room. What with Sasuke in seeing the partially mutated shinobi writhing in pain from being mutated against their will it only partially, did the only thing he figured to ease their suffering, which was to knock them out with the pommels of his jian and place them in stasis scrolls.
From thereon after doing so, the quartet floated up to the hole Sakura had made with her powerful jaw-dislocating kick via Gaara's sand clouds to see what had become of Akahoshi, who by the time they had floated upwards was in the process of regrowing his severed limbs. Wherein the now four-armed Hoshikage was an almost fae-like nightmare of a man that now stood at a staggering 11 feet tall, his body an in-between being lithe like an acrobats' and having the imposing broad musculature of an oni, his skin hued a dark red-violet as glowing rose-pink veins pulsed and twitched against his frame.
His face was almost elven light with how unnervingly doll-like and angular it had become, yet even this was made horrifying to gaze upon by the unblinking gaze of his blue-violet eyes and his face that was stuck in a perpetual nightmarish grin, that looked more akin to one of an otherworldly predator. All the while his hair was now an opalescent mane of blocky, near-jagged spines that went to his waist; as he stared down all of what could be 4 potential new thralls for his collection/army.
"Since you have caught me in the act, it as thought there is no more need for smoke and mirrors." Akahoshi distorted high-pitched voice rang as Sasuke activated his Mangekyou Sharingan
"At least we know what you were doing with those missing shinobi...how disgusting." Sasuke said as he unsheathed his O-katana
"Yes, they were to become part of my new army. After all, whilst the meteorite may have been stolen. I was able to ascend where everyone else had began to decline and dissipate. For I had transformed into something greater my digging deeper into the remnants of what it left behind, and as such was granted new strength and the ability raise others as my unyielding legions." Akahoshi replied as his grin widened whilst Sakura empowered herself to 50% of her Removal and Neji activated his Byakugan
"And had it not been for your interference, I would have been able to move forward and acquire more for my army…But no matter, once I deal with the four of you, all of you will more than make up fo…" Akahoshi further spoke in his monologue before a fist-shaped torrent of sand punch him out of the building with an echoing THHHOOMMM
"I think, I speak for everyone when I say, that we heard enough. That now…now is the time to act and be done with this." Gaara said tired of hearing his ramblings
"Agreed…Everyone, let's get to work." Sasuke replied
Wherein everyone in the room nodded before going into action against the abomination in question, all the while Akahoshi whose arms had regenerated to where his wrists were once more whole, as he searched for where his opposition was…At least that was the plan before his eyes and still regrowing arms were set ablaze by Sasuke's Ameratasu, the pitch black and violet flames scorching his eyes as they ate their way into his skull, and his being forced to rip out his burning arms from their sockets, so as to avoid the flames further spreading across his body.
This was made all the worse when Gaara used wind chakra in tandem with her sand to hurl a wave of it with such force, that it was able to shred the left thigh and partially blast apart the flesh on his abdomen, as it began to constrict and spread around him as she attempted to quickly encapsulate him in its depths; to do a quick Sand Coffin. However, with blood-curdling a roar that sounded like a Kori bustard and a Koala did the fusion dance, Akahoshi explode with Star Chakra to blast apart the sand that constricted him, and focused it into the shape of a falcon, as he charged after the redhead in question; with immense speeds.
Yet this was prevented by Sakura meeting it with a Cherry Blossom Impact that outright negated the attack, and as the partially blind Akahoshi tried to see where Sakura was so he could attack with his remaining two limbs. This was all rendered null as Sasuke had dashed forward to use Alligator's Severing to slice out the tendons in the back of his knees before launching himself forward, and impaling both his drawn swords into the meaty back of the mutant Hoshikage; driving them into his right shoulder blade and precious few milimeters from his carotid.
Wherein Sasuke activated his Mangekyou once again to burn out the eyes of Akahoshi; leaving him blind once more and open for Neji to attack with his 8 Wrathful Triagrams:: 64 Dragon Fangs, which in combination with Gaara's summoning of twin cestus's made of compressed sand and amethyst quartz; proceeded to rip into Akahoshi's midsection. All the while Sasuke was using his Jian to hook himself into the Hoshikage's back and begin severing his extra appendages, making sure they would not grow back whenever he witnessed the process begin, whilst also flaying off sections' of said Kage's back down to the very bone.
The coup-de-grace coming from Sakura using an almighty Leg Thrust to shatter Akahoshi's sternum and send him reeling back, as Sasuke leaped off of the still reeling Hoshikage to do a Great Panther's Tearing to sever both arms on the right side of his chest. Which had left the now burnt and battered giant of a Hoshikage with only one set of arms, half blind and growling and bellowing in anger as he began to regrow his limbs once more and regenerate from the wounds dealt.
Yet it was as he began to reopen his chakra points did the secondary effect of Neji's; 8 Wrathful Triagrams: 64 Dragon Fangs kick in, as he soon fell too his knees his body spasming and pulsing from the chakra points quite literally burning from the inside out due to having been seared so intensely; that reopening them began to immolate Akahoshi from the inside out. Yet this did little to stop Akahoshi who open his mouth to the point it unhinged like an anaconda, and began charging forth a opalescent beam of silvery-magenta colored moonlight; that echoed with such force behind the ground began to distort and shred itself into a jagged crater.
All before unleashing it as a powerful stream of moonlight and distorted chakra that streaked towards our quartet, and yet it did not come within so much as an arms reach of them as Gaara stamped her feet upon the ground and raised her hands to turn the ground within 50 feet of her into sand, in the quickness it would take a whip to crack. Wberein she then used it as a Sand Tsunami to smother and muffle the Moonblst from reaching them; the attack having done it's job and as such caused the ground around them to shake so violently that they were nearly thrown off their feet from the force of what felt like a near-modest tremor erupting.
Yet Gaara wasn't done as she then molded the surrounding sand from the Sand Tsunami and not only used it to crush the earth around her into more of it, but began forming it into a giant fist in the form of Shukaku's claws that raced toward Akahoshi…However, despite being wounded and reduced to half of his limbs and being burned from both Neji's attacks and his eye sockets seared into ruined pits by Sasuke's Amaterasu, that he was able to evade and contend against the construct in question.
That being said this didn't last for too long as Sasuke in wanting to further end this as quickly as possible, dashed forward with Sakura and Neji in tow, as he put his last sword into his mouth in opting to use his 3 Swords Style to end this as quickly as possible. Evident when he closed the distance against the still-blinded Hoshikage who was using Play Rough alongside squid tentacles generated from the otherworldly power of the Star Chakra to fight against the now 3 monstrous arms of Shukaku that Gaara wielded like a master puppeteer.
Wherein Sakura who had used Raging Fire to swiftly close the distance; used one of her newer techniques called Ironbreaker: Blossoming Chain to deliver a barrage of kicks and elbows with bone-shattering force to Akahoshi's legs that by the time she had finished her rapid-fire assault; had quite literally brought the mutant Kage to his knees. Wherein he struggled to even stand due to the large magenta-colored welts and gnarled bone shards sticking out of his legs, as Sasuke used his Oni-Giri attack the moment Akahoshi felt to his knees to land such a harsh blow to his gut that he had to use his non-severed limbs to hold in his innards that threatened to spill out even with his regenerative capabilities.
For Akahoshi couldn't even retaliate with the constructs he could create with the Star Chakra due to Neji using his modified Gentle Fist to shut down his tenketsu to mitigate, and in reopening them caused Akahoshi further pain as his healing factor worked overtime to repair said damage. As well as the fact that the arms of Shukaku would protect and defend against his creating of constructs from tentacles, to bear and liger heads to retaliate against Sasuke, Sakura and Neji's continous onslaughts, in tandem with smaller arms sprouting immoblize and harass him.
That in his anger, Akahoshi let out another roar of pure rage as he unleashed a Misty Explosion upon them all; the obnoxiously bright shockwave of pink, blue, and pasteel violet ripped into the area with such force; that even as Gaara used her arms to wrap herself and her allies in cocoons of hardened sand and quartz crystal. That everything within a eight hundred and 40-foot radius was reduced to smithereens, the area in question looking as though it had been scorched from the face of the earth entirely, and leaving as the name of the attack intended nothing but the mist and detritus of ruined earth.
"At the very least, we are keeping him on the back foot." Gaara spoke once things were cleared and Akahoshi was left breathing haggardly from expending so much power in his wounded state
"That is true, but the fact still remains that as long as he continues to heal from his wounds. That we will be left at an impasse against him…If anyone has any techniques available to kill him, then now would be the time." Neji said as their cocoons dissipated
"If the three of you can hold him off, I can crush him with my sand. It will take some time to get ready in order to do so. But I am confident; that I can pull it off nonetheless." Gaara replied
"We will buy you all the time that you need, Gaara." Sasuke said as he adjusted the sword in his mouth
"Thank you, now go, I will have everything ready soon enough." Gaara said back as she allowed her allies to leap from the sand cocoons turned platforms
Wherein the moment they touched ground; they immediately went after the still regenerating Hoshikage with a vengeance, as Akahoshi who was in a perpetual state of blindness as his eyes couldn't heal fast enough to counter the otherworldly flames that scorched his eyes into perpetual immolating pitch. Yet this was worsened when Sakura unleashed an Iron Fingers attack to impale the dense musculature of Akahoshi's chest, breaching bone and dense almost rubbery muscle to stab through his right lung, before flexing her hands outward and ripping them out in a claw-like fashion.
The Hoshikage in question roaring from having one of his lungs pierced and his ribs once again sundered, but did not get to do so for too long as he swung out both blindly and wildly at the culprit, but both missing due to Sakura using Phantom Pace to evade with inhuman swiftness. As well as Sasuke using his immense speed to quickly close the distance to unleash one of his 3-Swords-Techniques dubbed the Crossing the 6 Paths, which in swinging them in an inverted S pattern whilst spinning diagonally; cleaved through Akahoshi's all 4 of Akahoshi's arms and shoulders; like a whirlwind of blades 6 times over.
All before Neji landed a harsh fire-chakra enhanced Gentle Fist strike that expelled so much fire chakra into Akahoshi's throat that simultaneously crushed his throat inwards and melted through skin and muscle alike. On top of this Sasuke had doubled back and covering all 3 blades with the flames of his Amaterasu; to unleashing the fiery version he dubbed as Puragtory Oni Giri, whilst Sakura unleashed a massive Irobreaker-enhanced overhand to Akahoshi's liver.
Luckily enough, Akahoshi was able to quickly use the power of the Star Chakra to forcibly regrow his upper left and right arms in order to block Sasuke's attack, and reinforce them with said power to with stand getting sliced through by said blades; at the expense of the flames helping to both cut through his palms and melt through flesh. But in turn he was left unable to react in time to Sakura's attack that was further increased in its speed by the Raging Fire technique to impact his stomach with such force, that he spewed out a gout of almost tar-like ichor, as the flesh on his back rippled violently to the point of quarter-sized chunks being blasted off him.
The devastating attack to his stomach left him open for Neji to unleash his 8 Wrathful Trigrams: 128 Dragon Fangs which had his hands blaze with such intense chakra that they were lit ablaze; before he attacked at 4 times the speed of the standard variant of his clans' famed attack. The attack was so ferocious in its execution that it looked every part of its wrathful moniker, as instead of the almost gentle strikes it truly looked as though a furious dragon were tearing into Akahoshi's entire torso, stomach and waist a severely burnt mess to the pont that grapefruit-sized chunks of flesh began to melt from his body.
With him having to painfully reopen his tenketsu at a furious pace in order to properly regenerate the damage dealt to his warped and incredibly marred flesh; that looked more akin to a block of frozen butter being put before a blowtorch. But whilst he was opening his tenketsu once more, Sakura proceeded to interrupt the process by grabbing him 'round his large waist, jumping into the air and piledriving him into the ground so hard he was buried up to his shoulders in rock.
Which had left him a target for Sasuke to focus all of his immense speed into one swift moment, as he once more rushed forwards to strike out at Akahoshi with his Purgatory Oni-Giri; whilst Sakura rushed forward to use a combination of Raging Fire and Leg Thrust she dubbed Burning Magnolia. The two attacks colliding with great force as Sakura' struck with such force that it imploded half of his ribs and further caved in his sternum, whilst Sasuke's cleaved through flesh, bone and even into spine as the Amaterasu exploded and ravaged his warped flesh.
Yet as Akahoshi in his fury and anger at having been relentlessly beaten down by 4 shinobi; whom he should have been able to dispatch of with his mutated form and the strength of the Star Chakra and all that it granted too him, instead being made a mockery of, had tried to prepare to unleash another even more powerful Misty Explosion. Only as he prepared to do so, he felt endless layer upon layer of sand heaped upon his form that struck at his exposed flesh, and converged around his partially buried form with the strength of a fire-hose on P.C.P and bath salts.
With Gaara converting all the earth around here in a 1,200 foot radius into sand that she had flooding towards Akahoshi, layering it on top of each other whilst also enveloping the mutant Hoshikage in layer after layer of dense compressed sand that she had inadvertently formed it into a towering pyramid that reached nearly 300 feet in its height. As she used her manipulation of sand to form platforms for her comrades to jump onto so that they wouldn't be caught as she continued to form layer, after layer until the construct reached a staggering 350 feet in height and nearly double in its width.
All before clasping her hands together and forcing the structure to rapidly compress in on and crush Akahoshi with such force in what she dubbed as her 'Imperial Sand Burial' thata shockwave that would register a solid 9 on the Richter Scale; ripped to life…The ground itself shaking violently from the rapid-fire series of shockwaves that ripped down scores of trees, earth and wildlife into the cavernous maw of her attack that in the span of 10 seconds; had rapidly compressed down in on itself.
Until all that was left was a dense blood red pyramid the size of her fist, where the hyper-compressed remains of Akahoshi resided in, having been decimated to the point beyond his regenerative powers could withstand after being so rapidly crushed and compressed upon himself that he was flattened beyond any form of healing. As such Gaara stored and absorbed the bloody pyramid to be absorbed and added to her overall sand storage, whilst forming the excess into a flock of quartz condors that were not of Akahoshi's crushed flesh made into bloody sand.
As such after she had finished doing so, the quartet in question were able to breathe a moments' sigh of relief as the terror of Akahoshi was now dealt with, and for all intents and purposes there mission was complete…now the real question was on how to deal with the aftermath of what said Hoshikage had wrought in said village.
(4 days later, Konoha, October 15th, 998 S.E, 1:45 Pm)
Meanwhile, as our quartet would eventually make their return to Konoha, Sasuke and Sakura would make their in-person mission report on what they had witnessed during their time in Hoshikage and what was needed to be done to end the potential horrors unfolding within to the 5th Hokage.
"On one hand, it is great news that your team stopped the threat at hand. As well as prevent what could have been a horrific nightmare across the board, for many, many shinobi had you not succeeded…But on the otherhand, it is also disturbing that this went on for so long without our knowing of such a thing." Dan spoke as he congratulated the two shinobi present
"Thank you, Lord 5th. While it was unexpected for our 1st mission as high-ranking shinobi of the village. It was a task we were able to handle relatively well all things considered…If anything it was only thanks to the combined efforts and planning of ourselves and our comrades that we were able to complete it as efficiently as possible." Sasuke said back
"If this team were comprised of anyone lesser skilled, and or capable. Then I have no doubt the severity of the mission would have been increased significantly." Sasuke added knowing that much was owed to the strength and capabilities of his teammates on said mission
"Then I am glad that I chose well for the mission at hand. Outstanding work toward all of you, as per standard with missions of this caliber, the 4 of you will be given a bonus for what has been achieved." Dan told the members of Team Kazushi
"Thank you Lord Hokage/5th." Were the dual answers from Sasuke and Sakura
"By the way, Lord Hokage. Who are we sending out to help fix what that Akahoshi dickhead, did to his village? We can't just leave them like that?" Sakura questioned in regards to those they had found turned into said abominations
"We will be sending Naruto to handle this; since he is the best equipped to repair the damage done…From what you have informed me of the 'unusual' events that had happened. That sending Naruto to help with this village, would be for the best, as he is the most equipped to handle something like this." Dan answered back regarding his godson
"That's great to know, by the way, what's been going on with Naruto since we've been gone? I know we missed his birthday and shit, but I wanna know what's going on with my little brother since we've been gone, if that's not too much trouble?" Sakura questioned regarding the superhuman blonde
"All things considered, Naruto has been doing quite well in the time you two were away. Honestly, its pretty impressive how he has been able to balance so many plates on his hands at once" Dan informed them
"Between his working on his farm, helping my daughter perfect her Senjutsu, or working with Orochimaru on better understanding his powers. Then he has for the most part kept to himself." Dan told the jonin before him
Something that the 5th Hokage was somewhat grateful for, given that with everything else on his plate; the last thing he needed to tackle was his superpowered godson being a menace around the village…he already had to deal with one Kazushi; the last thing he needed was to have another one in the making.
"With the village not in tatters since our departure. I will take that as a sign that things have not gone to hell." Sasuke spoke as Dan nodded
"Which has been a godsend, in all honesty. Between my new duties as Hokage and untangling some of the messes made by Jiraiya. I will take any small victory i can get." Dan said wearily
"Has it really been that much of a pain in the ass, Lord Hokage?" Sakura questioned as she took in the exhausted state of her leader
"Let's just say that, while Minato was a fantastic leader and did a great job at holding down the fort. That his mentor has made a mess of things behind the scenes. Luckily some of those messes are being handled, by sacking Jiraiya for all that he is worth. However, even now he has made problems for us that will need to be handled at later dates." Dan answered back regarding the growing list of problems left behind by his wifes' teammate
"Is there any way where we can assist?" Sasuke inquired
"At the current moment, no. However, you can expect for there to be future missions for the two of you, and others within the village to undertake…Now that I am Hokage, I plan to have all hands on deck to handle all problems that need to be dealt with." Dan replied in wanting to handle all issues before him as quickly as possible
"Understood, Lord 5th." Was Sasuke's only reply
"Now then, is there anything else I should be made aware of? Other than sending aid to help Hoshigakure rebuild, after the nightmare it must have suffered under their former Kage's regime?" Dan questioned
"Not at all/ Nope we're all good!" Sasuke and Sakura answered back
"Good, and if nothing else the two of you are dismissed for the day." Dan said to the two who nodded before taking their leave
Meanwhile, as the duo in question were leaving the Hokage Tower, Naruto was currently getting stoned with his cousin as the superhuman blonde in question was still adjusting to things after having made the call to absorb the Draco Plate to see what would happen between himself and the Serpent Sannin; which had rather beneficial results going both ways in the process. As such the two were currently eating apple pie at his farmhouse, in deciding to fuck around and chill for the day; given that Naruto had for the most part done all of his tasks needed for the day and Kazushi finishing up her Senjutsu training.
"Are you sure you're doing alright?" Kazushi asked her cousin
"Yeah, as don't get me wrong, Kazu. It still feels weird having the power amp after Orochimaru's been channeling that stuff for so long. But other than that, I feel just great and Orochimaru still has all their stuff too. So overall, I'm doing just great." Naruto answered back
"But the new horns and scales are gonna take some getting used too…The last thing I was expecting, was looking like I'm half-dragon." Naruto said as his horns had grown to take on an almost crown-like appearance while patches of pumpkin orange scales appeared across his skin
"On the plus side, at least you didn't get super fucked up from getting your new power boost." Kazushi pointed out
"Fair point, but its still gonna be a bit of an adjustment call…At least my tail looks even more awesome." Naruto remarked as his tail was now covered in orange scales and had taken on a more draconic appearance
"By the way, how the hell do you maneuver places with that thing? Doesn't it ever get in the way?" Kazushi wondered regarding the ever-moving appendage
Honestly, it's not as bad as you would think. Plus, it's really handy for getting things I'm too lazy too." Naruto said as he picked an peach off one of his trees around the farmhouse
"Not to mention, it is really funny when I smack people with it." Naruto added as he began eating the large peach in question
"Hey, as long as you're happy with it. Then I'm golden with whatever you wanna do." Kazushi said back
"Thanks, Kazu…By the way, we never did have that fight like you always wanted." Naruto said as the powerful stoner had a look of momentary confusion
"What fight?" Kazushi questioned
"Ya know, the fight you and me wanted to have when I got my rank-up? The one where you wanted to see how strong as shit your Sage stuff was against my powers…That fight, you weed smokin' dummy?" Naruto reminded his pot-smoking sensei
"Oh shit, your right?! My bad Naruto, with everything going on, I totally forgot about it." Kazushi said
"Look, you are totally fine. I was just wanting to know when we're gonna actually do it, or where? Because, we are both strong as heck and I'm pretty sure the village can only take so much if we do go all out." Naruto wondered given that with how strong they were the village wasn't built for an all out 'friendly match' between the two
"You wanna just go at it, at the Valley of the End? It's far enough out of the way, where we can do our bullshit at. Not to mention, no one's gonna really give a shit if we fight there." Kazushi told the blonde
"Do you really think that place is gonna work?" Naruto wondered
"It should. If it can handle Great-Grandpa Hashirama and the old geezer Madara slugging it out. Then I am pretty damn sure it could handle our fuckery." Kazushi said in seeing no reason why they couldn't have it there
"Alright. So when do you wanna do it then?" Naruto asked as his cousin finished her pie
"You wanna do it some time next month or in December at the latest?" Kazushi suggested
"Sure, why not. I don't really have anything going on then. Plus with with my harvest just about finished, I'm going to need something to do in my spare time." Naruto said back with a shrug of his shoulders
"Cool! Also, you better give me your best shit, Naruto. Because, I didn't help train my cousin to be a total monster and not have him give me the worst he's got!" Kazushi said with a light shove as Naruto gave a roar of a chuckle
"Don't worry, Kazu. You'll get your money's worth and then some. Besides, Sakura, I haven't really had a good ol' fashion slugging match since the Chunin Exams. So I'm just about itching for a good scrap!" Naruto told his sensei with an almost predatory grin
"That's the spirit! Ah man this is gonna be great!" Kazushi said as she enjoyed
"Your telling me, now I get to really see what kind of cool stuff you can do too." Naruto said excited to see what his cousin could pull off
"Don't worry, Naruto, you aren't the only one's whose got new shit up their sleeves. Your big cousin hasn't been slacking off, while I've been Sage training and shit." Kazushi replied with a matching grin of menace on her face as well
"Awesome…this years' gonna go out with a bang and its gonna be great! I can just feel it!" Naruto said back ready to see what his cousin was capable of
'Finally, I get to see if I can take what I can do to a whole other level.' Naruto remarked to himself as he and Kazushi proceeded to enjoy the rest of their day chilling out together
And so with the abominable terror of the Hoshikage stopped in its tracks and the prevention of nightmarish abberants ended before it could truly begin; by our quartet of intrepid heroes. It looks like things are looking to continue in ever expanding success for all parties involved, and with a date set for both Kazushi and Naruto to further test themselves in terms of strength yet to come. The future for ever upcoming year is shaping to be one of hope and potential ever-growing that will be shown soon enough in the future instalments of, Naruto: The PokeSage!
New Plate Acquired: Draco Plate. Abilities Acquired, Terror Instillment
Moves from Plate Acquired: Dragon Tail, Dragon Rush, Dragon-Breath, Dragon Pulse, Dragon Energy.
Alright, that'll do it for this one, as I hoped you guys enjoy this conclusion to the Hoshigakure part of things as…this was a bit of a doozy to write overall, but one that nonetheless I am happy turned out as good as it did. Furthermore, thank you all again for your continued support, as I do appreciate it, since it continues to be a wondrous motivator in inspiring me to continue writing the story to it's ever approaching conclusion.
But yet and still, this is Pravus666 signing out until next time. What with our next chapter being a more chilled-out chapter from everything that's happened, so stay tuned for all of that good stuff.
Part 3 Theme Song: Themata by Karnivool
Random End Song: Opium of the People by Slipknot
Now then onto some of the reviews from the previous chapter.
Skull Flame: I'm glad you liked the horror vibes of the last chapter and some of what came of this chapter, since I wanted to get into the spirit of seeing if I could pull that kind of stuff off, especially with how I built Akahoshi into being what is for all intents and purposes a horror-movie monster. Since I wanted to show the effects of how far the Plates can have on normal people if not handled correctly, given that where as with Orochimaru having studied them and their effects closely to negate them as much as possible and Naruto being chosen to handle said power...that Akahoshi welll turned into a horror show. Also, Kakuzu being a tailor made the most sense because at the end of the day anything clothing related if your good enough at it, can make you a lot of bank, something that he recognizes given that with the Akatsuki taking such a deep nosedive he might as well get out while he still has a chance before things fully go nuclear into the financial red.
Kourtney Uzu Yato: Yeah, as due to Sasuke's eyes being amped up by the Draco Plate they are a whole lot to get used too, as while he won't go blind, he does have to deal with his sight being mega amped on top of his hearing as well. And hoped you liked the shecainery of the whole mission, because I wanted to do this one right given how much of a loose end its been that's been needd to get tied up. Also, with Konan debating on leaving its one of those things were you can't really blame her for doing when and if it happens, since with their village still in ruins, them losing shinobi faster than they can replace, and now most of the Akatsuki dead, missing and in Kakuzu's case jumping ship you cannot really blame her for saying screw it. Also, glad you liked Sasuke and Sakura showing off what they can do, as I just try my best to make every action scene and what happens in general worthwhile. Also, Chaos says hi from his new account as well, as he's really starting to cook with that new MHA X Warhammer40K story he's got if you haven't checked it out yet.
starravenwolf: Well, I hope that you liked the mini-explanation given since Naruto for the most part was just at home chilling, and pitching in where he was needed. Even demigods need breaks away from the constant action, plus farming is a lot of work as well.
