"Man, that was too close." A lazy, yet stressed, voice said. The person stood from his hiding spot to reveal the lazy genius himself, Shikamaru Nara. "I didn't think my shadow was going to make it in time before you let go of your arrow, but it still was a success."
Kidōmaru struggled against Shikamaru's jutsu, trying to break free from the shadow that connected them. This was the Konoha's intellectual Nara clan's specialty paralysis technique, the Kagemane no Jutsu. He tried with all his might to release his three-finger grip on the bowstring but Shikamaru's possession jutsu had his entire body trapped. Even with the Curse Mark at level two, Kidōmaru was completely paralyzed. Nevertheless, he continued to fight it.
"You can break yourself free from those webs at any time Sasuke!" Shikamaru shouted as he held the hand seal for his Kagemane. He really needed to work on increasing his chakra reserves, his hold over Kidōmaru was already starting to slip. Or this guy was strong enough to resist the jutsu.
"I would if I could!" Sasuke shouted back, thrashing his body to somehow snap the strands. "These webs are infused with his chakra, they're nearly impossible to cut through! I need something strong to break free!"
Kidōmaru's finger twitched slightly, he was starting to resist the jutsu. 'His possession is fading! I just need to hold out a little longer for his chakra to decrease then I'll be able to release my grip.'
Shikamaru felt his hold over Kidōmaru falter and it continued to loosen with his decreasing chakra. 'This isn't good! I can't hold him for much longer. Man, I really need to work on my chakra control!' He concluded that if the possession was already fading then trying to move Kidōmaru with the possession was out of the question. The jutsu becomes marginally weaker with larger movements. It was already fading, and it was only a matter of time before the possession weakened to the point Kidōmaru could break free and let go of his arrow. Shikamaru would have to time a counter perfectly to save Sasuke.
Kidōmaru's fingers twitched again. "Your hold over me is weakening by the second. I wonder how long before it slips just enough for me to release my grip." He teased, trying to frustrate Shikamaru to make him lose focus and weaken the technique even more. "I know of this technique and the amount of concentration it takes to maintain positive control over someone like this. Especially someone well beyond your own strength. Judging by how much your sweating, I'd say maybe a minute, at most, before you're both dead."
Shikamaru didn't let his emotions show but he was thoroughly surprised that this demon resembling thing had knowledge the Kagemane no Jutsu and was able to deuce its flaws, an intellectual rival no doubt. But that didn't help the situation. He still had to save Sasuke. 'Damn it! This is gonna take up a lot of my chakra, but I don't have much choice!' "Get ready Sasuke! This is gonna be a close one!"
"Send it!"
"Kage Nui no Jutsu!" (Shadow Stitching Technique)
Suddenly, Kidōmaru's body felt free, he had control to freely move his body again. But he only needed to release his grip on the bowstring. Just as he loosened his three-fingered hold a small tug against the bow itself threw off his aim. The arrow flew towards Sasuke at blinding speed. But thanks to his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to track the arrow and predict its path. He fought against the webs to position his body ever so slightly so that he would not be cut by the incoming arrow and allow it to be caught in the webs.
What nobody expected to happen was the arrow slicing right through the webbing and freeing Sasuke!
"Yes!" Sasuke shouted.
Kidōmaru looked on in utter disbelief. 'I never would have thought my webs could be cut by my own arrows…a massive miscalculation!'
Sasuke fueled his body with the Curse Mark's power and channeled it all into his lighting engulfed hand. With an explosive burst of speed, Sasuke appeared directly in front of Kidōmaru ready to strike the killing blow. "Chidori!"
'Shit! My kumo-nenkin won't be able to manifest in time!' Kidōmaru was able to dodge death at the last second but he couldn't avoid the lightning completely. Blood sprayed like a gushing waterfall as Sasuke severed two of Kidōmaru's six arms, which were on his right side.
"AGHHHH!" Kidōmaru screamed in agony as he clutched his two bleeding stumps. He quickly created some webbing to act as medical gauze to slow the bleeding and clot it. He clenched his teeth to the point of cracking because he was in so much pain. "How can I be the perfect vessel if two of my arms are missing?! You'll pay for that!"
Sasuke moved back towards Shikamaru. Both chūnin were breathing heavily as they were both low on chakra, Sasuke more so than Shikamaru. "Thanks for that." The Uchiha prodigy said.
"No problem." The Nara genius groaned. "But saving you took almost all of my chakra. I won't be able to hold him in another possession for long, if at all."
"How'd you redirect the arrow?"
"I used a variant of the Kagemane, the Kage Nui no Jutsu. The Kage Nui no Jutsu changes the shape of my shadow into sharp pointed edges that bind and or pierce my opponent. It's an offensive technique but I used it to grab the hand holding the bow itself and throw off his aim."
Sasuke recalled how close the arrow came to hitting him and how much he had to struggle to get out of the way. "You threw it off only a few centimeters. If I couldn't track it with my Sharingan then I wouldn't have been able to dodge it. How'd you know his arrow would cut through his webs?"
"I told you it was going to be a close one, didn't I?" Shikamaru stated in a matter-of-fact tone, Sasuke grunted in annoyance. "Fill me in on this…thing and it's abilities."
Sasuke's stare hardened. "His name's Kidōmaru, his one of Orochimaru's elite henchmen."
"I figured that guy was behind all this nonsense. He's been public enemy number one as of late."
"What you're looking at right now is the Curse Mark…a seal that shows Orochimaru's favoritism and proof of undying loyalty to his cause." Sasuke could feel Shikamaru's suspicious glare on him, specifically Sasuke's own black markings that emitted a similar feel to Kidōmaru. "This is the second level, magnifying his power and chakra ten-fold. He can spit webs from his mouth, they can't be cut by normal weapons. I've only been able to counter them with my Katon techniques and my Chidori. He can also create golden armor from anywhere on his body."
Shikamaru took in the information and began analyzing a possible plan. "How much chakra do you have left?"
"Not much. I had to deactivate my Sharingan to preserve what little I have."
Unfortunately, Shikamaru couldn't say much different. "I'm in the same boat. Just restraining with my regular Kagemane was taxing on me enough, I can only maintain it for so long as is. But using my Kage Nui drained me to near exhaustion." Shikamaru wiped the sweat off his face. "So, this armor, can you break through it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "No, it's a metal that hardens when it touches air. If Chidori couldn't pierce it then I doubt anything you have will do much better."
"You're probably right." Shikamaru watched Kidōmaru closely. He examined the demon looking man to the best of his ability and tried to find some type of weakness. Even if Shikamaru could find something, neither him nor Sasuke had the chakra sustain a long, thought out plan. It would have to be quick and decisive. His eyes drifted to the bow in Kidōmaru's hands then to the arrow that was cemented into a nearby tree. 'If his own arrows can cut his webbing then I wonder if his armor has the same weakness?' "Hey Sasuke…"
"What is it?"
"How good are you with a bow?"
Sasuke was confused by the seemingly random question until he put the pieces together and understood exactly what Shikamaru was planning. "Yeah, I'm a decent shot."
"Good. Now, this is what we're gonna do…" The Nara chūnin leaned over to whisper into the Uchiha's ear. Sasuke nodded when he fully understood what Shikamaru had planned. "Are you ready?"
"Let's take him down!" Sasuke flew through hand seals. "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"
A final fireball burned from Sasuke's mouth towards Kidōmaru. Kidōmaru held a tight grip on his bow as he rolled out of the way of the fiery blaze. He rolled to his feet and came face-to-face with Shikamaru and kunai driving towards his midsection. Shikamaru thought he sunk knife into Kidōmaru's body but looked down to see golden armor had manifested.
Kidōmaru smiled triumphally. "You're too slow! I'll kill you and the Uchiha then Lord Orochimaru will see me as the perfect vessel for him!"
Shikamaru had a look of shock on his face…that quickly turned into his own triumphant smile. He began to rise his arm that corresponded to Kidōmaru's arm that was holding the bow. "I wasn't going for speed. I just needed to get close to you so our shadows could be close, and I didn't have to waste the chakra."
Kidōmaru had no control over his movements, he couldn't stop his arm from moving. "You came this close just to capture me?! But why?! What good does that do you? Sasuke can't do anything to me without harming you as well!"
"That's what you think!" Shikamaru threw his arm up and opened his palm, Kidōmaru had no choice but to mimic. The bow was thrown high into the air. "Do it, Sasuke!"
The bow was snatched with fury as Sasuke was already airborne by the time the bow reached its max height. With the arrow that was launched at him earlier, Sasuke set the arrow as he fell back to the ground. He set his footing, pulled back on the bowstring, and lined up his shot.
"Take this and die!"
Sasuke let go and launched the arrow that was aimed directly at the back of Kidōmaru's head. There was no way Kidōmaru could dodge, his body couldn't move. It was a definite killing blow…that is until a mass of golden armor manifested on Kidōmaru's entire backside, including the back of his head. The arrow smacked against the hardened webbing but did not penetrate fully.
"Shit…" Sasuke gasped.
"How unfortunate for you." Kidōmaru said with great relief. "You were counting on my arrows being able to break my armor like how cut through my webs, weren't you? I'll be honest with you; I didn't know if they'd break through my armor or not either. I guess it's my destiny to be Lord Orochimaru's next vessel after all."
Kidōmaru opened his mouth and began to great another bow and arrow. Shikamaru dropped his possession over the man but was swiftly kicked away and smacked against a tree. Kidōmaru swiftly turned around and fired off another arrow at Sasuke. The Uchiha chūnin ducked out of the way and took cover behind a tree.
"I will say that this has been a fun game." Kidōmaru stated as he turned his attention towards Shikamaru. He spun another arrow from his mouth, this one had a threaded tip. He set the arrow and aimed for his target. "But it's time for this game to come to an end. I'm going be Lord Orochimaru's next vessel…just as fate destined me to be!"
"No!" Sasuke screamed as he channeled as much chakra he could into his palm so he could summon his lightning, but all he could manage was a weak spark. 'No! Not again! I can't let this be the end!'
"Kuchiyose: KiriKiri Mai!" (Summoning: Blade Dance)
A massive whirlwind came flying in and blasted Kidōmaru through the dense woods. The winds, accompanied by a large, white weasel with an equally sized sickle, laid waste to the area, creating a long path of cut down and severed vegetation. And at the end of that path was Kidōmaru, killed by the blades of the wind and the weight of the trees that had fallen on him.
"I'm surprised that the two of you would be in a situation like this. I figured you two were the prodigies of the group."
The two young chūnin looked over to see a girl, roughly, about their age, with a massive fan perched on top of a branch. She leaned against the open fan as the weasel jumped on her shoulders.
"You…" Sasuke let out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Temari patted the weasel on the head, thanking him for his help, before it disappeared and jumped down to ground level. "I am here as one of your allies. We came here to discuss a treaty between our villages and saw everything was under siege. You needed help, we obliged."
Sasuke came over and helped Shikamaru off the ground. "We? Who else is with you?" The Nara questioned.
"My brothers, Kankurō and Gaara." Temari smiled. "No problem, right?"
Shikamaru couldn't help but smirk. 'Man, this chick is even scarier than my mom. But, I guess, being saved by a woman isn't so bad…'
-Three Way Deadlock-
"It's about time all this comes to an end. I'm tired of chasing you around."
"Hehehe…Oh, Jiraiya, I couldn't agree with you more. It is time for this pitiful rivalry to end…Konoha will fall and I will prove how superior I am to the both of you."
"And there's that delusion of yours." Tsunade chimed in. "I will never allow you destroy this village and run free like sensei did. Sarutobi sensei refused to believe how twisted you were becoming way back then. I won't make the same mistake."
"Sarutobi sensei refused to believe in a lot of things. He was just as delusional as you make me to be. Growing old does make one more cynical towards the world."
"Sarutobi sensei certainly did change over his time as Hokage…but he was still that same kindhearted man! He always thought of Konoha and the villagers first before himself!" Tsunade defended.
Orochimaru burst out laughing. "You really think that bastard put the village first?! If you knew the things I knew about him then you'd condemn him with me."
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
"You're the master spy of Konoha. You should be able to figure out how secret information gets out to the public."
Throughout all his years of espionage, there were only two ways that Jiraiya considered to be the best to gather information. The first being straight interrogation. Learning exactly what he wanted to know from the person, or people in a few cases, who wasn't willing to give up the information through many different methods until the person would give up the information. The second, and his most preferred method, was simply having a man on the inside. A traitor that fed him the wanted information. It was the safest, and not to mention the easiest, for Jiraiya because it kept him away from unwanted attention with foreign nations.
"…There's a traitor giving out top secret information."
"What?!" Tsunade gasped.
"Precisely. And they have been for quite a long time."
"Who is it, Orochimaru? Tell me now!" Jiraiya shouted as he aggressively moved towards his former teammate.
"Ah, ah, ahh…I can't give that information out without something in it for me. Maybe if you healed my arms, Tsunade, then I'd say who is throwing out information like candy."
"Not on your life!" Tsunade refused loudly. "Healing your arms would cause more problems for the village than some low life giving out our information."
Orochimaru shook his head in disappointment. "Fine then. Have it your way." The Sannin turned his sight to the last remaining Sound Four member. "Tayuya, you will act as my support in this fight with your flute. But do not engage either of them directly unless you want to die."
Tayuya nodded her head, steeling herself for the coming battle with these legendary warriors. "Of course, Lord Orochimaru. Please, use me as you wish."
"I intend to. Now, follow my lead!"
Orochimaru charged head long into battle with Tayuya trailing behind him, readying her Demonic Flute for her master's direction. The two other Sannin prepared themselves. They knew better than anyone that Orochimaru always had something up his sleeve no matter the scenario. The Snake Sannin came in quick and summoned his sword, Kusanagi, from his mouth and slashed at Jiraiya.
"Hari Jizō!" (Ninja Art: Needle Jizō)
Jiraiya funneled his chakra through his long, spiky white hair to harden it and wrap around him to serve as armor from Orochimaru's sword strike. Tsunade jumped in and cocked her fist back to launch her former teammate into the next life. Before she could make contact, the sound of a flute was heard and Tsunade was smacked with a large metal club. Orochimaru was able to escape before Jiraiya could entrap him with his chakra infused hair.
Orochimaru retreated next to Tayuya and behind her summon. A large, muscular doki in a full, dark green body suit welding an equally sized spiked metal club. With Tayuya continuously playing her flute, the doki launched itself towards Jiraiya. The Toad Sannin ducked under the massive club and formed a spiraling blue sphere in the palm of his hand and slammed the sphere into the doki's stomach.
"Rasengan!"
The doki shot upwards and disappeared into a plume of smoke once more. Tayuya looked on in utter disbelief. "Impossible! How could my doki be defeated so easily?!"
"Girl, I'm the Toad Sannin. I've faced much worse than a demon with a club." Jiraiya stated as Tsunade landed next to him. He looked at her with a mocking eyebrow. "Is all the paperwork dulling your senses, Lady Hokage?"
Tsunade glared back. "I didn't see it coming!"
"My point exactly."
"Oh, you are so going to get it when this is over."
An oddly perverted smirked graced Jiraiya's features. "Oh really?"
A vein popped in Tsunade's forehead and a small blush reddened her cheeks. "Shut the hell up, you perv, and focus."
Orochimaru let out a very audible and annoyed groan from his former teammate's bickering. "I had hoped that stupid bickering would disappear with time. It's just as annoying now as it was back then."
"Maybe you should just leave and never come back." Tsunade shot back. "Then you'd never have to see or listen to us again."
"As much as I'd love to never see you and this village again…" Orochimaru painfully raised his right arm to his mouth and ripped off the bandages with his teeth, revealing the sickly blistered remains of his arm. Surprisingly, there were symbols drawn on the lower part of his forearm. "…I can't leave until my arms are healed. Tayuya, run your blood along the symbols on my arm…and be ready."
Tayuya looked momentarily confused until she realized what the symbols on Orochimaru's arm meant. She nodded her head and bit her thumb to draw blood. She ran her thumb from the elbow to the wrist, smearing her blood over the symbols.
Orochimaru slammed his hand on the ground as even more symbols spread around. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
With a bellowing sound and a massive cloud of white smoke, Orochimaru summoned his ultimate being. The smoke cleared to reveal a massive purple snake with equally massive fangs that was coiled around the watch tower with Orochimaru and Tayuya standing atop its head.
"Hey Orochimaru! What's the big idea summoning me to this piss poor village? This is the second time you summoned me for a low scale battle. Do you want me eat your sorry ass?!" Manda called out angrily.
Orochimaru said nothing as he watched his two opponents jump to safety on a different building. 'I better watch what I say. Manda might actually turn on me this time if he finds out I can't use any jutsu right now. This is a risky move bringing him here…but I can't be picky any longer!'
Tayuya couldn't believe where she was. Besides Orochimaru, none before had ever dared to try and stand a top the great Manda's head. The colossal serpent was the strongest summon from the Ryūchi Cave, one of the three unexplored sage regions of the Sannin. From stories and rumors she had heard during her time as one of Orochimaru's soldiers, Manda allows Orochimaru to summon him because Orochimaru was the one human who Manda couldn't beat in battle. 'I'd better stay quiet, so Lord Manda doesn't eat me…I'd rather not spend my final moments in the pit of a snake's stomach.'
Jiraiya and Tsunade had to look up from their positions to see Orochimaru atop the snake's head. This battle just got a lot more destructive than either of them wanted. But, deep down, they both knew it was inevitable.
"I was hoping to avoid this…" Tsunade said. "I don't have much choice to bring out Katsuyu now."
Jiraiya nodded in agreement. "Katsuyu isn't strong enough to handle Manda alone, Tsunade. I'll summon Gamabunta as well, but we will need to draw Orochimaru out of the village to try and stop any collateral damage."
Tsunade bit her thumb to draw the blood she needed for the summoning contract, Jiraiya was quick to follow the same action. Simultaneously, the two Sannin slammed their hands on the ground and the contract seals appeared around on the ground.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"
Two massive bursts of white smoke collided into one, bringing forth the warriors of the Sannin once more. The smoke was blown away to reveal two enormous beasts, a white with blue striping slug and a rust red toad with a propionate sized smoking pipe in his mouth.
Gamabunta looked at his long-time partners. "Manda and Orochimaru…Tsunade and Katsuyu…it's been a while. Is this supposed to be a reunion, Jiraiya?"
"This is no time for jokes when there's a tough job to be done." The Toad Sannin berated. "It's about time we settle some old scores. We're taking down Orochimaru…for real this time."
The slug noticed the state of Konoha. "Lady Tsunade…the villagers are in danger. Shall I divide myself and provide medical help?"
Tsunade shook her head. "No Katsuyu. I'm going to need your full power to help stop this bastard once and for all. Then we can tend to the injured."
"Very well, m'lady."
Manda growled in anger as he looked on at his opponents, especially Gamabunta. "You…! I've been craving some toad jerky lately!"
Gamabunta grabbed the hilt of his dosu blade, blowing out a puff of smoke. "Purple always has been a nice color for a snakeskin wallet!"
As per usual, Gamabunta and Manda would argue and threaten to kill each other constantly. Katsuyu wasn't sure if she missed their bickering or just was annoyed that she had to listen to it again.
"Even though we were comrades once…that doesn't change what has to happen." Jiraiya shook his head at his former teammate. "You've become too evil to be left alone."
"Comrades? Don't make me laugh, fool." Orochimaru mocked.
"Today is the last day there will be three Legendary Sannin!" Tsunade declared.
There was a still quiet that followed their declarations…then the Three-Way Deadlock broke loose.
Katsuyu spewed a green, paste-like acid that, due to her large height and size, covered a wide area. Manda was quick enough to uncoil himself from the building and slither his way around the globs of acid without getting hit. The acid covered buildings and dissolved them greatly. Manda slithered his way through the buildings and wrap himself around Katsuyu, leaving a decent portion of his body free.
Gamabunta came with his blade to stop Manda from crushing Katsuyu with his fangs. The blade would have cut Manda's head in half of his jaw wasn't strong enough to catch it and stop it in its tracks. Manda tightened his body around Katsuyu and clenched harder on Gamabunta's blade. With both the opponents trapped in close quarters, Orochimaru had the perfect opportunity to strike.
That is until Katsuyu burst into hundreds of smaller clones of herself and dispersed out of the hold. Free to use his body, Manda whipped his tail around to create distance from Gamabunta. The purple snake flung the dosu blade away and it landed outside the village walls, the blade embedded into the ground like a rod.
Gamabunta stayed in close and grabbed ahold of Manda so he couldn't get away, which proved to be difficult for the massive toad. 'Damn! If only I had fangs or claws! Having those would make holding onto this slippery bastard easier!'
Manda was able to slither his way up and through Gamabunta's tight grip and towered over Gamabunta, like a predator waiting to strike. Orochimaru looked down at Jiraiya with a condescending smile on his face, truly feeling superior than his old teammate. "I must say, Jiraiya, it feels good to be up here…it feels right. The perfect symbolism of how much stronger I am than the two of you."
Jiraiya smirked in his own right. "Individually maybe. But together…you're no match. But Tsunade has us both beat in physical strength by a hundred miles."
It was then Orochimaru suddenly felt Manda roughly lurch, as if something grabbed ahold of him somewhere. From a singular point, Manda felt his body being lifted off the ground. Gamabunta felt it too and let go of the massive snake. The motion wasn't smooth, but it was highly effective. Orochimaru and Tayuya were thrown from Manda's head as he was launched out of the village like a projectile, leveling a very large portion of the trees around Konoha.
"Bunta, gimme some oil!"
Gamabunta jumped into position, landing just outside the wall. "Coming right up!"
Jiraiya spewed the flames from his mouth, with his Katon: Endan (Fire Style: Flame Bombs) as Gamabunta spat brown toad oil from his own mouth. "Katon: Gamayu Endan!" (Fire Style: Toad Flame Bomb)
The fire ignited the oil to create a massive wildfire that was dosed over Manda and the surrounding area. Manda disappeared into the flames as they took over the area. Jiraiya and Gamabunta were convinced that Manda had burned alive but were proven otherwise when the massive snake burst from under the ground. Gamabunta quickly jumped away before Manda could strike. The flames died down to reveal that Manda had shed his skin to escape unharmed.
'Damn!' Jiraiya should have known that Manda was too good to be taken down by that.
Tayuya looked on in awe at Manda's ability to shed his skin so quick and easy. This only proved to her how powerful the summon was, and further proved Orochimaru's power and ability to have such a beast serve under him.
"How on earth was Lord Manda thrown so easily?! That frog didn't seem to lift a finger!"
"That's because it wasn't that overgrown bug eater that threw him." Orochimaru looked down from his position on the roof he landed on. "It was Tsunade."
Tayuya gasped as she followed her master's line of sight to see the Fifth Hokage in the direct area where Manda was just in, her slugs were beginning to form around her. "That bitch threw Lord Manda?!"
"Tsunade's strength is no joke Tayuya. She is able to use her chakra to enhance her strength from her mastery of medical ninjutsu. Tsunade stores her chakra in her fist, legs, or whatever body part she uses to enhance her strength to monstrous levels. Even without using her chakra, Tsunade can crush stone with just pure muscle alone."
Tayuya could only blink in awe at the Hokage's abilities. Tayuya knew being a Sannin and Hokage meant that the Tsunade was strong but she never would have imagined that Tsunade could have such physical strength. Tayuya figured that the Fifth Hokage could probably kill someone with a single punch if she wanted to.
Tsunade had to catch her breath before she re-entered the fight. 'It's been a long time since I've had to put this much effort in a fight, throwing Manda took more out of me than I thought. Maybe Jiraiya was right…I need to get out more...'
"Lady Tsunade!"
"Baa-chan!"
With the hundreds of mini Katsuyu clones around her, Tsunade turned to Sakura and Naruto running up to her with the Scroll of Seals hoisted up on her godson's shoulder. But that's not what she was happy about. "Naruto…! You broke the Confusion!"
The sea of slug clones parted as the two teammates ran up to their Hokage. "Actually, it was Sakura who figured out a way to break the jutsu." Naruto answered as he set the massive scroll on the ground. "But more importantly, we found the scroll you were looking for!
"Fantastic! Open it and look for the Gedō Mark: Release. It should be in there."
"Right!" Naruto flipped open the scroll and began reading the contents for the needed jutsu, Sakura read over his shoulder to aid in the process.
Orochimaru couldn't believe his eyes. "The Nine-Tails brat…How on earth did he break the Gedō Mark: Confusion?! That shouldn't be possible!" The Snake Sannin looked closer to see what exactly the brat was looking at. He recognized the scroll instantly and knew what it meant. "That can't be…! I couldn't even find that scroll!" The crazed man jumped off the rooftop and divebombed towards Tsunade, the sword of Kusanagi growing from his throat.
"Lord Orochimaru!"
Sakura pointed at the jutsu name in the scroll. "There it is! The Gedō Mark: Release! And all the hand seals!"
Tsunade brought her hands together. "Read them quickly!" The Hokage commanded.
"Okay!" Naruto shouted. "Here goes…! Inu! Ne! Tori! Mi! Ne! Tora! Tatsu! Saru! Mi! Ushi! Hitsuji! Tori!"
"Be silent you damn brat!"
The sword of Kusanagi pierced through cloth and skin with a sickening impact that froze Tsunade to her core. She looked down to see how bad her wound was, but there was no blade in her. She looked up to see shock on Sakura's face and unbridled fear on Naruto's. She was confused for a moment then followed their line of sight.
Standing behind Tsunade, between her and Orochimaru's killing blow, was Jiraiya. The sword was stuck through his midsection, blood dripping off the angled blade. He was gripping the blade with both his hands so that Orochimaru could not penetrate further and get to Tsunade.
"You stubborn fool! Get out of the way!" Orochimaru shouted angrily.
"Jiraiya…!"
"Finish the jutsu…Tsunade!"
Memories flashed before Tsunade's eyes. She could see the blood-stained bodies of her deceased younger brother and fiancé, the two people she failed to save.
"Forbidden Jutsu: Gedō Mark: Release!"
-Kakashi vs. Kabuto-
"You're fairing much better than I would have thought, Kakashi. I can't imagine the pain you're in."
Kabuto couldn't help but gloat, he had been in control this entire fight. Ever since Kakashi had tracked down where Orochimaru's right hand man had gone, nothing had gone like Kakashi had planned. Obviously, the jōnin had expected heavy resistance from Kabuto, the two were close in strength and skill with his Sharingan. But Kakashi thought he could handle his eye pain better, just simply blinking made his eye hurt worse.
Despite his pain, Kakashi got to his feet once more. "It doesn't matter how much pain I'm in, I'll keep fighting. I'll protect Konoha to my dying breath!"
Kabuto shook his head in mock amusement. "Again, with that, huh? I've said it this already but none of you Konoha shinobi seem to understand. You don't think about the bigger picture. You all rush into an unwinnable situation without considering the outcome. What's your death going to change? You'll just end up being another name craved on that stone."
"If I were to die? There probably wouldn't be much change in what goes on, I'm not that significant of a player around here. But there would be no greater honor if my name was put on that stone. The names on the Memorial Stone are the heroes that live so long as Konoha lives. That's why I fight…that's why we fight." The sliver-haired jōnin drew a kunai from his leg holster. "They protected us when we needed them too…we will do the same for them. But that's where you're wrong Kabuto. They knew the outcome of their actions. We know that we will die when we go into those types of situations. But we go anyway. Because it's our duty as shinobi of Konoha!"
Kabuto pushed up his glasses, the setting sun reflecting off the spectacles like a beacon. His hand began to glow a teal-like color and it formed to a point around his hand, like surgical blade. "Fine…have it your way."
Gripping his kunai with all his might, Kakashi charged into battle. The two enemies clashed with steel and chakra, continuously trying to land a fatal blow. They exchanged punches and kicks in between their clashes, dodging and weaving through each strike. Kabuto was able to land a strong kick that pushed Kakashi back, giving Kabuto the needed moment to possible gain the upper hand.
"Doton: Dochū Eigyo no Jutsu!" (Earth Style: Underground Reflecting Fist Jutsu)
Kabuto tunneled into the ground, leaving no trace of his presence. Kakashi paused and remained still, waiting for his opponent to strike. It did not take long for Kabuto to make his move. At the last second, Kakashi jumped into the air just as Kabuto burst through the ground with his chakra blade slashing for Kakashi's throat.
Kakashi responded just as fast. "Futon: Shinkūha!" (Wind Style: Vacuum Waves)
With a deep breath, Kakashi shot a condensed blade of wind towards Kabuto. The impact was strong enough to devastate the ground. Kabuto emerged from the rubble but had sustained an injury. His was hanging loosely, as if it was dislocated, and blood was dripping off his fingertips from the few cuts on his arms.
"Your reaction time is impeccable, Kakashi." Kabuto admitted grittily as he popped his shoulder back in place. He ran his glowing hand over his wounds and healed them without issue. "But it doesn't stand against my medical ninjutsu. I'll heal whatever you throw at me."
It was an up hill battle any way Kakashi looked at it. Kabuto was just as skilled as any jōnin out there in hand-to-hand combat and had the overall genius to back it up. And his medical ninjutsu prowess was in a whole other category by itself. He now understood why Lady Tsunade was so feared and respected for her trade.
Another shooting pain went through his Sharingan eye caused Kakashi to forcefully grab the left side of his head. He couldn't hold out much longer. His vision was becoming blurry and the pain was getting worse the longer he kept the dōjutsu active. He needed to end this now. One way or another.
"Here I come, Kakashi!"
"Guy?! What the hell are you doing here?!"
Kabuto glanced over his shoulder to see the green glad jōnin landing behind him. Now the two of them were on either side of him, not allowing him to escape. "This guy again…"
"Ha ha!" Guy took a fighting stance. "I wasn't about to let you hog all the glory, Kakashi! We're eternal rivals, I'm not about to let you outperform me. I'll be the one to beat this enemy once and for all!"
Kakashi let out a sigh of relief, he was glad Guy came. He was starting to think he wasn't going to be able to win this battle in his current state. But he should've expected Guy to come help, it wasn't in his nature to let a friend go at something alone. "Right! Let's go Guy!"
-Three Way Deadlock-
Nobody could believe their eyes; it just didn't seem real. The blade dripped with a mixture of Jiraiya's blood and a purple substance that Tsunade recognized immediately. She turned on her heels and grabbed ahold of her long-time teammate.
"I'm sorry, Jiraiya! This is going to hurt!" While applying a healing jutsu to the wound, Tsunade grabbed the handle and quickly, but preciously, pulled out Kusanagi and then tossed Kusanagi away. The Fifth Hokage laid her fellow Sannin on the ground and continued her healing. "Damn it! I knew that was poison!"
"Did you expect any less from me, Tsunade? We used to study poisons together, you should know better than anyone how lethal my poisons are." Orochimaru looked on in sadistic glee. While this was not the way he wanted to see his former comrade die, he would have preferred to actually feel Jiraiya's heart stop, but Orochimaru was not going to complain. "But you were right, today is the last day there will be three Sannin."
Naruto could only stare in utter disbelief; he couldn't tell if he was in a genjutsu again or not. He blinked a few times and realized this was the reality of the situation, Jiraiya had been stabbed. His mentor, his godfather, his caretaker…
"How dare you…"
All Naruto could see was red…rage filled his body like a fire.
"HOW DARE YOU!"
Red charka burst with demonic power out of Naruto's body and danced like a uncontrolled wildfire, his features quickly began to resemble the fox demon that resided within him. Sakura had to shield herself with her arms to protect herself from the blistering heat that radiated off her blonde teammate. Tsunade stopped her treatment and looked on in shock, this was the first time she was witnessing the power of the Nine Tails.
Orochimaru could only smile at the raw power of the beast. This was the second time he was witnessing the untamed power of the Tailed beast that resided inside the young Naruto and it amazed him still, he dreamed that one that limitless power would be under his control. Tayuya suddenly wanted to sink away and hide, this power was far beyond anything she had ever felt before in her life.
"Let's see what you got, Nine Tails!" Orochimaru shouted in sadistic glee.
"YOU'RE GONNA PAY!"
"Naruto!" Sakura shouted in an attempt to stop him but to no avail.
The rage induced Naruto jumped like a bullet and appeared directly in front of Orochimaru. There was no time for the disabled Sannin to react and he was launched away by a rocket punch. The Snake Sannin crashed into a nearby building and disappeared into a pile of rubble.
The raging red chakra began to bubble, like a boiling liquid, and take a form around Naruto. He crouched to all fours, paws taking shape around his hands and a long tail whipping around. The beast-like boy crouched on all fours and emitted a low, demonic growl. The boy turned his head and saw the lone Sound Four member cowering behind a pile of rubble.
The animalistic blonde began to slowly approach Tayuya, like a predator stalking its prey. Tayuya had never seen such a display of malicious chakra, not even Orochimaru's chakra could compare to the rage that filled the air. She was too fear-stricken to even try and get away from Naruto. Orochimaru's tongue quickly wrapped itself around Naruto's midsection and threw him into a nearby building.
"Get over here, fox boy!"
Tayuya was able to shake off her fear momentarily and removed herself from the main battle. She ended up next to the other two Sannin and the pink haired girl. Sakura had quickly taken up a defensive stance between Tayuya and her two superiors.
"Go control your damn monster!" Tayuya shouted.
"He's not a monster!" Sakura shouted back. "The Fox's chakra is controlling him, that's not Naruto!"
Tsunade kept her guard up but continued to focus on healing Jiraiya. She berated herself for allowing this to happen. She could heal the stab wound and have Jiraiya back in the fight no problem. It was the poison that was causing the issues. She should've predicted that Orochimaru laced his blade with poison, it was one of his old specialties.
"Tsu..Tsunade.." Jiraiya tried to sit up but Tsunade was quick to stop him.
"Stay down idiot! If you sit up now, I won't be able to extract any of the poison."
"We need…to stop him before too much damage is done." The white haired Sannin reached into his pouch and pulled out a small square piece of paper with a seal on it. He placed it on Tsunade's hand. The female Hokage looked the paper, it was a chakra suppression seal. "Stick it on his forehead…it'll suppress his and the Fox's chakra. It'll knock him out, but he'll be safe."
"And how do you expect me to corner Naruto and heal you at the same time?"
"Allow me to handle Naruto."
The Sannin slowly looked up to see a young boy, no older than Naruto, with red auburn hair, a kanji 'love' tattoo on the left side of his forehead, and a large tan gourd strapped to his back. Even Sakura turned her head to see who the newcomer was.
"You're Gaara of the Desert…"
The Suna jinchūriki reached down grabbed the paper off Tsunade's hands and began walking towards the battle between Naruto and Orochimaru. The cork that closed the gourd popped out of the hole and sand begin flow freely from the large container.
"I will stop his rampage…as he once stopped me."
Gaara thrusted his hands forward and the chakra infused sand flew like a tsunami towards the feral Naruto and incased him in a protective shell. The sand also launched projectiles towards Orochimaru but the Sannin was able to jump away to safety on a rooftop.
Orochimaru growled slightly in frustration. Just when he was finally able to turn the tide in his favor for this battle and have a little fun in the process by testing the extent of a jinchūriki's power, another thorn was shoved into his side. "It seems your loyalty has sided with the enemy."
Gaara's expression remained neutral as he continued to manipulate his sand around Naruto. "The only enemy I see is you." He closed his fist and the shell of sand slowly closed around Naruto, exposing only the boy's head. The feral boy struggled and fought to break free. Gaara moved to stand next to him with the seal in hand. "In your current condition, it's my assumption that you don't have much chakra left. I suggest you leave this village or you'll feel the full power of two unstable jinchūriki."
Orochimaru remained static. 'It's a bluff, he's trying to bait me. There's no way he'd threaten to unleash them both.' That is what the Snake Sannin thought until he saw the Shukaku's golden star eye in place of Gaara's teal eye.
"It wasn't just a threat."
"Unleashing two jinchūriki just to stop little old me? That seems a bit overkill, even by my standards. What about the village? Or the surrounding forest? Would you sacrifice all of the innocent lives and wildlife just to stop me?"
A single tail of sand began to slowly from behind Gaara. "Would you like to find out?"
Orochimaru growled in frustration. "It seems you aren't bluffing." The Sannin began to slowly back away. "Fine, have it your way." He glared at Tsunade and Jiraiya, who was still being healed. "And do not worry Tsunade, this damn village will burn to ash by my hand! Just you wait!" The Sannin burst into a pile away and slithered away into the village, escaping from danger.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Tayuya yelled, running after her master. "Wait for me!"
Sakura was quick to react and intercepted the Sound Four member with a massive sucker punch to Tayuya's face, knocking her out almost instantly. She cracked her knuckles aggressively as she stood over the unconscious body. "That's for calling Naruto a monster!"
Speaking of the blonde boy, quickly Gaara smacked the paper seal on Naruto's forehead. The Kyūbi's chakra quickly disappeared into the air and Naruto's body went limp from the sudden change, the sand slowly released its hold and gently put Naruto on the ground. Sakura rushed over to make sure her teammate was alright.
Sakura looked her former enemy curiously. "Why'd you let him go?"
"I know my limits and I am nowhere near strong enough to fight a Sannin, no matter how weakened he may have been. I thought best to remove this threat than rather destroy it and save the village."
"That was very smart of you." Tsunade stated while she continued to heal Jiraiya. "And you even managed to capture one of the invaders. Not bad kid."
Gaara nodded. "I am merely repaying a debt I have to Naruto." The jinchūriki walked over to the blonde woman and stood before her. "You must be the Fifth Hokage, Lady Tsunade."
Tsunade had to look up at the auburn-haired boy. "Yes, I am."
"Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Gaara and myself and my two siblings have come to your village in the name of peace. We wish to discuss a peace treaty and issue a formal apology for Suna's actions. We were tricked by Orochimaru and he killed our Kazekage…my father. On behave of Sunagakure's shinobi high council…" Gaara bowed with the utmost respect. "please forgive Sunagakure for it's actions."
Tsunade couldn't help but smirk. "Save it for later, kid. The politics will come. Let's work on securing the village first."
-With Orochimaru and Kabuto-
The invading duo finally stopped a good distance from Konoha, they had been outrunning tracking ninja for hours and had finally lost them and covered their tracks. Orochimaru coughed up globs of blood onto the ground from over exhaustion, his body was giving out.
"Lord Orochimaru!" Kabuto pumped as much healing chakra as he could into his master but it wasn't doing much.
Kabuto was not fairing much better, fighting off Kakashi and Gai was nearly impossible. He spent of the battle dodging their attacks. Things took another turn for the worse when Kakashi's Sharingan magically was unsealed. That's when Kabuto decided it was time to go. He fled into the forest and found his master.
"Your condition is worsening. You need-"
"What I need is Sasuke's body! We must go back and retrieve him!"
"It's impossible in your condition!" Kabuto snapped. "We barely escaped, and your body is deteriorating too quickly for me to heal with any technique! The best option we have is to get you to the closest hideout so you can transfer your soul into another body before you die!"
Orochimaru was silent for a long time. Kabuto held his breath as he waited for what could be his final breath. "…Where is the nearest base?"
Kabuto breathed a sigh of relief. "We aren't that far from the border of the Land of Sound. Our main base just beyond the valley."
Orochimaru painfully nodded. "Take me there…and activate Kimimaro!"