Author's Note: Welcome back, everyone! As this is my first story I welcome constructive criticisms, flaming and trolling will be ignored.
Disclaimer: Naruto and Inuyasha belong to their respective owners.
Dialogue Legend:
"Unforgivable" – Normal dialogue
'Unforgivable' – character's thoughts/speaking to Inner Demon/Inner Spirit
"Unforgivable" – Jutsu name; Inner Demon/Inner Spirit/Supernatural Being speaking to someone on the physical plane.
'Unforgivable' – Inner Demon/Inner Spirit/Supernatural Being speaking to someone on or from within the mental or spiritual plane.
Chapter 22 – The Abyssal Guardians
Iruka was dying. The Oto and Suna regiments that had disguised themselves as spectators in the Chuuin Exam arena represented only a fraction of the invaders who had infiltrated Konoha. Nearly three thousand invaders had slipped into the village through Orochimaru's few remaining hideouts. The Snake Sannin's collaboration with Danzo allowed the invaders to blend seamlessly with the denizens of Konoha. Inoichi had anticipated this, but overhauling Konoha's surveillance and security protocols was a very time-consuming process. While a few hundred enemy Shinobi had been discovered, the vast majority slipped through the cracks. Now that the invasion was in full force, these infiltrators targeted key components of Konoha's infrastructure.
Konoha's Academy was at the top of their list, and hundreds of Oto and Suna were assigned the task of obliterating it. Naruto's purge of the Academy's faculty proved a blessing in disguise, as the retired Shinobi who had volunteered for teaching positions mounted a ferocious defense. Still, the enemy was legion, and one by one the teachers fell. Most of the faculty, including Iruka, was caught completely off guard by the invader's knowledge of all escape routes and contingency plans meant to protect the students during an invasion.
The Chuunin quickly proved to most of his foes that he was capable of far more than his rank would suggest. Iruka had been told several times before that he had the potential to reach Jonin or join the ranks of the Anbu, and that potential was cultivated by the emergency training he had to undergo after being pressed into service as one of Hiruzen's temporary bodyguards. Even so, he should have run out of Chakra several times over before his most current predicament unfolded. Each time his reserves neared depletion, they seemed to replenish themselves, and Iruka fired Jutsu after Jutsu to defend the dozens of students he managed to rescue. With all escape routes blocked and enemies closing in, Iruka – in a flash of desperation – recalled a final contingency written in a much older edition of the Academy's emergency procedures manual. Should all else fail, teachers were to bring their students to the library and await retrieval. The explanation given in that version of the manual for the contingency's purpose consisted of a single sentence: The Abyss protects its own.
"Everyone, get to the tables in the center of the ring of bookshelves! I promise, not a single Oto or Suna Shinobi will get by me!" Iruka panted, blood pouring from dozens of wounds. How many times had he drained his Chakra reserves to next to nothing? How many times had they been miraculously restored? He did not know, but something told him that he was all out of miracles; his Chakra, now barely a quarter-full, would not be replenished again. The ring of bookshelves had only one, small gap. Iruka resolved to make his last stand as over fifty Oto and Suna Shinobi entered the library.
"Oh, dear; such rambunctious children we have in here today!" Koteru descended the stairs that led to the library's second floor, her eyes fading from midnight blue to blacker-than-black. The invading Shinobi were frozen in place by fear the likes of which they'd never experienced.
"Koteru-sensei, Get the students out of here! I'll ho – " Iruka's words died on his lips as Koteru waved a hand in his direction; though he did not lose consciousness, the Chuunin fell to the ground like a marionette whose strings had been cut. He felt an unseen force embrace his body; though his wounds did not heal, his blood stopped seeping out of them. The invisible shroud defied gravity and compelled the sanguine liquid to remain in its rightful place.
The head librarian walked briskly toward Iruka, the limp she demonstrated during her appearance at the Hokage's Tower nowhere to be seen. "Rest, Hero of Konoha." Koteru said solemnly. "You have defended your charges against near-insurmountable odds; you do both your lineages proud this day! Your duty is done for the immediate future, for now I take up the burden."
"Bah! What can you do, old woman?" A Suna assassin yelled. "You're killing intent is impressive, but you're just one single bag of bones before all of us!" Every Oto and Suna ninja launched a Jutsu at the students. In response, Koteru slammed her cane against the ground and four overlapping rings of water materialized around her, Iruka, and the students. Looking closely, Iruka saw the "rings" were not truly circles of water, but were actually aquatic eels moving so quickly they appeared to be unbroken rings. The invaders' Jutsu has as much effect on Koteru's defense as pebbles have when dropped into the ocean: none. Water began to flood the interior of the protected space, causing Iruka and the students to panic, but they soon realized that they had nothing to fear. Though Iruka and his charges were submerged, they could breathe just fine.
A blue-black aura of power surged from Koteru. Her deep blue hair, typically contained in a formal bun style, now flooded to nearly her waist. "Oto and Suna pond scum! You face Ceto: Goddess of Sea Monsters! And my children are so very hungry!" Predators of the deep began surging out of the safe space. Sharks, orcas, octopi and squids, sea snakes, stonefish, lionfish, and jellyfish emerged as the entire library was engulfed in water. The invaders did their best to keep their footing on the water's surface, but their efforts were thwarted by the same force that kept Iruka's blood within his veins. All of them fell beneath the waves, and the pristine water was rapidly dyed red with their blood. Once the carnage was complete, the miniature sea shrank to only encompass the space occupied by Iruka and students and an additional three hundred feet in all directions. The predators patrolled this region with militaristic discipline, knights guarding their queen's most precious treasure.
"H-How?" Iruka managed.
"It is a tale you have earned the right to hear, noble Iruka, but now is not the time." Ceto's power stormed through the ruined library. The shattered bookshelves remained as they were, but the shredded books repaired themselves and every last trace of seawater beyond the safe space vanished, leaving all that was subjected to the impromptu sea as dry and untarnished as before. The books still submerged within the safe space were also restored and received no further damage from the water surrounding them. As the surge of divine will subsided, a new wave of invaders neared the library doors. The predators gazed upon the newcomers with something that many of the students would later swear was pity. The abyssal knights knew what fate their Goddess had in mind for these new enemies, and they did not envy them.
Ceto marched a few feet from the safe space and slammed her cane into the ground once more, this time with enough force to leave it embedded in the floor. "Kuchiyose: Rinne Tensei!" (Summoning: Samsara of Heavenly Life) An ebon pit opened beneath Ceto's cane. Rather than fall in, the gnarled staff hovered just above the opening. A sea-green orb escaped the pit and entered the cane, causing it to swell in size and shape until it gained a humanoid appearance. The pit closed soon after and the wood burst open, revealing a beautiful woman with golden wings, pale skin, and bronze claws. The most startling aspect of her appearance, however, was that her head was adorned not with hair, but by several dozen venomous snakes. She was garbed in a sleeveless regal robe that hung from her shoulders and accentuated her hourglass figure.
The woman's eyes were closed, but as the new wave of invaders neared the winged humanoid they opened, revealing black snake slits that almost instantly shifted to sea-green as they beheld the Oto and Suna Shinobi. In less than a second, the invaders were transmuted to white marble. In the next second, the monster flew to the newly made statues and bit into the closest one. Her fangs cleaved through the stone as if it were butter. For the next few minutes, this newest guardian indulged herself on the statues. When a third of them were completely consumed, she walked back toward the safe space and knelt before Ceto, her eyes once again black. "Queen-Mother, a thousand thanks for my resurrection."
"Medusa, youngest and brightest of the Gorgons, you may rise." Ceto answered. "Though I am certain Lord Hades has already brought this to your attention, I feel obligated – in light of your history – to emphasize that he was most unwilling to permit your resurrection and only did so after a most arduous series of negotiations. There will not be a second time."
"You have my word, Queen-Mother: the mistakes of the past shall not be repeated!" Medusa vowed. Before she could speak further, two geysers erupted from the floor and a Gorgon wearing robes similar to Medusa emerged from each one.
The one to Medusa's left seemed to have sky-blue skin at first, but her skin color gradually shifted to darker tones of blue until it reached midnight blue. The cycle then reversed and her skin steadily shifted to pale blue before beginning to darken again. Her black slits were wider than Medusa's.
The one to Medusa's right had seaweed-green skin and was far more muscular than her sisters, though her beauty was still evident. Her black slits were narrower than Medusa's.
The two Gorgons wasted no time gorging themselves on what remained of the statues. Within minutes, none of them remained. Once their feast was complete, they each took a place at Medusa's side and awaited their orders.
"Euryale," Ceto addressed the blue Gorgon, "You are in command of my soldiers until I return. Defend this haven against all opposition!"
Euryale bowed. "Your word is law, Queen-Mother."
"Stheno," Ceto addressed the green Gorgon, "This place of learning has been defiled; I intend to cleanse it, attend me!"
Stheno licked her lips. "With pleasure, my Goddess!"
Ceto then turned to Medusa and a shit-eating grin spread across her face. "Medusa, go for a swim!"
Medusa gave a matching grin in response before leaving the library, heading out of the Academy and into the blood-soaked streets of Konoha. Ceto and Stheno departed the library through a different exit that led into the heart of the Academy. Once they left, the shroud of force keeping Iruka's blood inside his body lifted. Before he could fall to the ground, Euryale grabbed his arm with her right hand and hoisted him back to his feet. She then slashed her right arm with her left hand and collected a handful of blood from her bleeding arm. She levitated the precious liquid toward Iruka's mouth.
"Drink," Euryale commanded, "blood taken from a Gorgon's right side is endowed with immense healing properties." Iruka complied, expecting to have to fight the impulse to vomit the blood. Contrary to his preconception, the blood tasted of honey and nectar. Within seconds, the wounds Iruka had accumulated healed, leaving not even scars in their wake.
"You have my thanks," Iruka said, "but I hope Medusa-san knows friend from foe."
"Be at ease; our queen foresaw long ago the need to defend this village. Stheno and I have been educated on the history and customs of this land. Once Medusa's resurrection was agreed upon, we were permitted to enter the Underworld and share our knowledge."
"You've been to the Afterlife?!" Iruka gawked.
"One version of it; I imagine Lord Hades' realm differs greatly from the 'Heaven' and 'Hell' you have been raised to believe in, to say nothing of the realms spoken of by those who worship non-Grecian deities." Euryale clarified. "The cosmos is infinitely vast; room for multiple interpretations of what occurs after death is abundant." Before she could speak further, a new wave of invaders reached the library. Euryale telepathically commanded the predators to remain vigilant. They heeded the order, but highly doubted their intervention would be necessary. Euryale blurred through the air, slashing at all of the newcomers. The cuts were shallow, but the Gorgon needed only to draw a single drop of blood for her horrific power to work. Grey marble materialized in the skin struck by Euryale's claws and spread through the invaders' bodies like wildfire. "Awesome!" Several of the students yelled.
"Thank thee." Euryale bowed, her right arm no longer bleeding. "I lack the sheer skill of Medusa and the raw strength of Stheno, but of us three my speed is paramount." Like Medusa before her, Euryale ate exactly one-third of the freshly made statues and left the remainder for her sisters to dine on upon their return.
"Do you know what your mother meant when she said I honored both my lineages?" Iruka asked.
"I know half the tale." Euryale answered. "It would serve you best to wait for my queen to speak of the greater whole." Another wave of invaders reached the library, and Iruka moved to Euryale's side.
"With my injuries healed and my Chakra recovered to nearly one-third, I would be a poor Shinobi of Konoha if I didn't help!"
"Well spoken! Until your Chakra is depleted once more, I'll leave the slower ones to you." Euryale took flight as Iruka began weaving hand seals.
It did not take Medusa long to find new prey. A hospital was burning and several Oto Shinobi were killing anyone who escaped. "Ah, the flames of war, quenched so easily by my might!" Medusa exhaled a stream of water that quickly assumed a serpentine shape. The aquatic snake swelled to gargantuan size and engulfed the hospital, consuming only the flames that threatened all within. The Oto ninja were killed before they could even think to react. The youngest Gorgon had no need of water magic or her stone gaze to destroy these "warriors"; she was a terror in battle before her death, and the Shinobi arrayed before her had nowhere near the skill needed to best her. Heads flew from over a dozen necks as Medusa's claws found their mark. 'It took one of the greatest heroes Greece has ever known – Perseus, great-grandfather of Herakles – to kill me, and even he needed tremendous aid from the Gods to see the deed done!'
The upper portion of one of the hospital's walls exploded, and Tetsuisshi leaped down with Arashi trailing closely behind her. Upon seeing Medusa, both demigods assumed combat stances. "Medusa! How are you alive?" Arashi tried to ask her question with a straight face but ended up coughing up blood. Though the nitroglycerin had been purged from her system, the damage it had caused was yet to be treated.
"By no small amount of effort from my mother!" Medusa slashed her right arm and willed some of her blood into Arashi's mouth. "A gift, scion of Lord Poseidon, from one daughter of the sea to another!" Arashi fell unconscious as her internal organs healed. Medusa turned to face Tetsuisshi. "She should wake within minutes. Now, I have a slaughter to continue!" The Gorgon left in search of more prey.
The invasion had now been in full swing for over an hour, and now a second wave of invaders numbering 500 surged through the warp seals within Orochimaru's hideouts. With Konoha's forces preoccupied with the first wave, the second wave would have minimal resistance while carrying out their mission: the destruction of all weapons production and storage facilities within Konoha and the theft of all raw materials needed to craft weapons and tools. Given her family's legendary craftsmanship, Tenten's forge was at the top of the list. The fifty invaders assigned to the task broke down the door to the shop, and were quickly ensnared in a golden net!
"I once trapped my divine wife, and her extramarital lover, in a net much like this." Hephaestus, his eyes pits of scarlet flame, emerged from Tenten's forge carrying his latest creation: a silver war hammer. The handle was six feet long – nearly as tall as its creator – and its cube-shaped head was twice as wide as a healthy man's thigh. "Naturally, the original net had to be capable of suppressing a God's divine power. You will find that this replica does the same to Chakra." The invaders struggled fruitlessly as their escape Jutsu backfired; the Chakra that would normally leave their body was trapped within, causing severe strain to their Chakra Networks. "Since coming to this village, I've taken the liberty of outfitting every weapon shop, warehouse, ore refining facility, and forge with the same net you find yourselves trapped in." The invaders' struggling ceased, replaced by naked fear as the God of Blacksmiths unleashed his killing intent.
"Unless a crisis capable of destroying or corrupting the entire world is at hand, the most ancient of divine laws forbid Gods from directly challenging mortals powerful or skilled enough to be considered 'heroes'. However, should a mortal with such qualifications challenge a God, he or she is free to respond – with all their might." White-hot flames adorned the war hammer's head. "You and your ilk came to my granddaughter's home – and the workplaces of all other smiths in this village – seeking to destroy their livelihood. Consider your challenge accepted!" The war hammer swung down, incinerating the struck invader and ten others trapped near him. "Hmm, my skill seems to have atrophied somewhat; that strike should have felled a full dozen of you. Unavoidable, I suppose. After all, I've not personally fought another in ages." Hephaestus made a few practice swings. "No matter; between you and the others I've trapped, I'll have ample opportunity to regain my edge." The hammer fell, over and over again across the village.
"Fall back! Protect the Compound!" A Hyuuga Jonin roared as two Hyuuga Chuunin were killed by snakes. Suna was extremely wary of the Hyuuga Clan while planning their invasion. While Orochimaru main goal was obtaining the Sharingan, he had some interest in the Byakugan as well and was curious about how the Juuken would fare against some of his experiments. The serpents invading the Hyuuga Compound were almost seven feet in length and twice as wide as most men. As is true with natural constrictors, most of their mass was sheer muscle; veteran Hyuuga are familiar with the Tenketsu points in animals, but the great mass of the snakes hindered their efforts.
It took several Hyuuga working in unison to slay just one of Orochimaru's experiments, and over a hundred had been summoned near the Hyuuga Compound. All was progressing as Orochimaru intended, with hundreds of Hyuuga either killed or severely injured by the serpents, but as the Hyuuga began to retreat from the streets of Konoha the nearby Namikaze mansion glowed purple. All injured and near-dead Hyuuga were teleported into the mansion's courtyard. The well-kept ground of the courtyard radiated a green light reminiscent of Medical Ninjutsu, and many among those teleported found their injuries healed and the toxins within them purged. Even more shocking, their Chakra was replenished as well.
Whispers of a neutral voice manifested from the air within the courtyard. "Allies of Lord, Allies of Clan – Protect, Restore, Renew."
It did not take long for Orochimaru's snakes to discern the new location of their prey, but upon reaching the Namikaze courtyard, the green healing light ceased instantly, replaced by a baleful red!
"Enemy of Lord, Enemy of Clan – Attack, Destroy, ERASE!" The snakes were incinerated, as were nearly one-fifth of the Hyuuga that had been teleported into the courtyard. "Enemy of Lord, Enemy of Clan." The mansion repeated.
"All right, everyone, move out!" The Hyuuga Jonin ordered. 'When this is all over, I must inform Hiashi-sama of the capabilities of Naruto-dono's manor; it's the perfect means to weed out the traitors!"
"Kami-sama, protect us!" A Suna Chuunin screamed as his comrades fell at Stheno's hands. The Gorgon and Ceto's search for survivors was fruitless at first, but they soon discovered pockets of resistance holed up in more defensible locations throughout the Academy. To Ceto's joy, hundreds of students had been rescued and sent to the library. While she concentrated her efforts on protecting the survivors, Stheno massacred the invaders. The eldest Gorgon lunged at her foes like a wrecking ball, obliterating them with her strength alone. Any Jutsu launched at her seemed to fade out of existence on contact with her flesh.
"Damn it all! Ninjutsu isn't working, we need to use Taijutsu!" An Oto Jonin yelled. He and several of his peers tried just that, but physically assaulting Stheno felt like striking a mountain. "Focus! She must have a weakness!"
"Indeed; for all my power, I am not invincible. However, my vulnerabilities are not to be exploited by mere worms!" Stheno taunted.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Black marble was now spreading across the limbs of the Shinobi who had attempted Taijutsu against Stheno. Though it did not progress as quickly as Medusa's or Euryale's petrification, it still took only seconds for the statues to be fully formed. Ceto teleported the statues to the library; there would be plenty of time to feast upon them once their search-and-rescue mission was completed. They had nearly finished a full sweep of the Academy – only a few classrooms in one of the wings were left – when a tremendous surge of power emanated from just outside the village.
"Go." Ceto ordered. Stheno flew toward the Academy's nearest exit.
"Sensatsu Suishou!" (Thousand Flying Water Needles of Death) Haku's Jutsu felled dozens of invaders. Immediately afterward, a wave of water surged from Zabuza's right arm and knocked the next wave of Suna Shinobi to the ground. Before they could recover, the water shot out from Zabuza's divine limb rose from the ground and congealed into an ice scythe. The Devil of the Hidden Mist reaped the heads of the fallen Suna.
"Tsk! There's no end to them!" Zabuza cursed. He and Haku had taken command of a platoon Chuunin defending a large plaza in Konoha's merchant district. This plaza served as the main thoroughfare to Konoha's various residential districts. The invaders first sought to capture the plaza simply for convenience since they could easily circumvent it if necessary. However, the danger posed by Zabuza and Haku necessitated new orders and a considerable percentage of the invasion force was rerouted to the plaza. The Chuunin were doing well enough, but over an hour of constant fighting was taking its toll on Haku. Though her stamina had improved considerably under Shikaku and Zabuza's tutelage, she wasn't ready for a battle like this.
Zabuza wasn't faring much better. His body had finally adapted to the endless cold seeping from his right arm and he no longer felt like a living icicle, but – much like the Sharingan or Byakugan – channeling Chakra through the arm took time to master and he would waste considerable amounts of it in the process. The vast number of enemies necessitated constant use of the arm, and Zabuza's Chakra reserves were running low. A large ring of Oto and Suna had formed around the plaza's defenders. They were in no great rush to deal with their prey, for they knew Zabuza and Haku were trapped.
"You seem to having a great deal of fun! Mind if I join in?" Medusa cackled as she flew into the center of the ring. While descending, she launched three hundred water spears at the invaders. Her fusillade bought her more than enough time to reach the ground in safety and provided the defenders a much-needed reprieve.
"You have my thanks, Miss?" Any thoughts Zabuza had of this snake-haired woman being a servant of Orochimaru were dispelled by her actions.
"Medusa," the Gorgon introduced herself, "daughter of Ceto: Grecian Goddess of Sea Monsters." She turned to face Haku. "I sense in you a Godly essence not known to me. It emanates from your companion's arm as well."
"I am Haku, granddaughter of Kuraokami-sama: Japanese God of Ice and Snow." Haku bowed lightly. "Zabuza-sama has been granted an arm by my progenitor." Before Haku could explain further, the invaders got over their fear of Medusa and renewed their assault.
"Such barbarism! Didn't your mothers teach you not to interrupt another's conversation?" Medusa's hair lashed out in all directions, biting Zabuza, Haku, and the entire Chuunin platoon on their necks. The snakes then turned to face the invaders and their eyes – and Medusa's – glowed with power. A near-blinding, omnidirectional flash of sea-green light exploded from Medusa. The Konoha Shinobi she bit with her hair were unaffected, but the Oto and Suna Shinobi were flash-frozen into statues.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A trio of Oto ninja standing at the outermost edge of the ring were untouched by the green flash and pooled their Chakra to summon a hundred-foot-tall snake.
"Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu!" (Summoning: Bring Down the House Jutsu) From a nearby building, Jiraiya leaped two hundred feet into the air and summoned a giant toad with sage-green skin and brown spots. He added an extra hand seal to the Kuchiyose no Jutsu that added force to the toad's fall as it was summoned. The snake was crushed along with those who summoned it.
"My thanks, Jiraiya of the Sannin." Medusa bowed. "An omnidirectional petrification blast leaves me unable to move for a few moments afterward."
"Not surprising, a Jutsu like that must take a ton of Chakra." Jiraiya had witnessed Medusa's intervention and knew her to be an ally.
"Not Chakra, Mana." Medusa corrected. "A condition of my resurrection; limits have been imposed on what was once a bottomless well of power. Stone is my birthright, and was once as natural as breathing. Now, no longer, but unlike Chakra depleting my Mana reserves does not exhaust me physically." Before Jiraiya could respond, the ground trembled and a rainbow-colored pillar of light erupted from the ground just outside the village.
"Hmm, I suppose nearly ninety minutes into the invasion is long enough." Kabuto smirked as he weaved a long series of hand seals. A man-sized five-headed snake statue stood near him. Each head had a collar on it. Even before Kabuto began activating the Jutsu that would dispel the seals on Experiment 9-X, close proximity to the statue was fatal to those without high reserves of Chakra. His master had ordered him not to deploy Experiment 9-X immediately after the invasion began but did not clarify how long he should wait. As Kabuto's Jutsu neared completion, an aurora radiated from the statue. It began to swell in size, and numerous cracks appeared in the stone.
"Let's see how you deal with this, Konoha!" Kabuto laughed. The stone shattered, revealing black snake scales beneath it. The aurora became a pillar of light, and the multi-headed serpent swelled to its full three-hundred-feet height. The five heads, all forty feet tall, had a circumference of thirty feet, and its body's circumference was one hundred feet. From left to right, the heads bore the Kanji for "Fire", "Wind", "Lightning", "Earth", and "Water". With a lazy flick of one head, the monster annihilated a huge section of Konoha's outer wall and entered the village. All five of its heads opened and an emerald-green orb manifested at the tip of each tongue. These balls merged into a massive sphere. Experiment 9-X fired the baleful orb at the airspace above Konoha's exact center.
Once the sphere reached its destination, it became a wriggling mass of thousands of snakes composed of spiritual energy. The snake-ball exploded, and the spectral serpents rained down all over Konoha. Each one entered a corpse. To the immense terror of everyone who bore witness the dead began to rise, their eyes replaced with emerald pits. The undead shambled uselessly at first, but their coordination was soon refined as Experiment 9-X perfected its control over them. All living Shinobi rallied to destroy these horrors, but the undead were relentless; only the complete destruction of their bodies could halt them. Far worse, their condition was contagious; each Shinobi slain by the undead joined their ranks.
"KAMI-DAMN IT!" Jiraiya swore as he knocked away an undead. "We need to kill that thing! Hopefully, destroying that overgrown snake will put an end to this madness!"
"Don't worry, help is coming." Medusa's claws lashed out, eviscerating dozens of undead. Her stone gaze would be a perfect counter, but she wished to save what remained of her Mana to fight the snake. Just as Zabuza and Haku were about to be overwhelmed Stheno arrived and intercepted the undead horde! Her fists blasted the undead apart into unmoving shards. Any who escaped her strikes were petrified as they touched her. Medusa and Stheno flew toward the snake, followed closely by Jiraiya, Zabuza, and Haku.
"Sister, this essence – can it be our nephew?" Stheno's eyes narrowed.
"Not quite," Medusa calmly analyzed the energy signature of the monster before her, "the essence is similar to Hydra but there are several discrepancies; this thing is a creation of Man, and our nephew's final head must have been used as a basis for it."
Experiment 9-X's mouths opened again. This time, the five spheres were composed of elements corresponding to the Kanji on each head.
"I THINK NOT!" Medusa's face-eyes and hair-eyes glowed and she fired a sea-green beam at the false Hydra. Experiment 9-X's multi-elemental breath clashed with the beam but was steadily overwhelmed. Medusa's gaze lost most of its potency while overcoming Experiment 9-X's breath, but it retained enough power to fully petrify the monster's central head before dissipating. The Earth Head crumbled to dust, and the remaining heads roared in pain.
"If this abomination is anything like our nephew, then the remaining heads are endowed with immense regenerative properties. It is also possible that the heads must be destroyed near-simultaneously for the beast to truly die." Stheno warned as Medusa collected herself. "My sister's Mana is now exhausted and my petrification cannot be used at a distance, so we will have to get in close to continue the battle. We have the means to destroy one head each. Medusa and I shall destroy the Water and Lightning Heads respectively."
"Haku and I can deal with the Fire Head." Zabuza began weaving a series of hand seals.
"That leaves the Wind Head for me!" Jiraiya leaped atop the toad he summoned earlier.
Medusa and Stheno both impaled their left armpits with their right claws, allowing a torrent of blood to flood onto their right hands and smearing their left claws with it as well. Medusa then used a tiny percentage of her Mana saved for this exact purpose to close the wound, while Stheno simply willed her injury to heal. Once all was in readiness, both Gorgons flew at top speed toward their chosen heads.
The Water Head's breath was useless against Medusa; as a daughter of the sea, she was impervious to water-based techniques. Her golden wings were capable of flight even while submerged, so she had no trouble flying up to, and then down, the Water Head's throat. Once within the beast's gullet, Medusa slashed it repeatedly with her claws. Blood taken from a Gorgon's left side is the second-most potent toxin Greece has ever known, inferior only to the true Hydra's breath. The Water Head died within seconds.
Stheno had almost as little trouble soaring toward her chosen head as Medusa did. Her skin almost completely neutralized the Lightning Head's breath, and the little damage she did sustain barely slowed the eldest Gorgon down. The Lightning Head died within seconds of its aquatic predecessor.
"Suiton: Ouja no Suiryuu!" (Water Release: King of the Water Dragons) Zabuza poured all of his remaining Chakra into a gigantic water dragon that equaled the Fire Head in size. The dragon surged from his right arm and launched itself at the Fire head with Haku on top of it. The Fire Head launched a torrent of flame, seeking to evaporate the water dragon.
"Hyouton: Hirameki Hyouketsu!" (Ice Release: Flash Freeze) Haku leaped to safety after her Jutsu turned the water dragon into an ice dragon. The frozen dragon neutralized much of the Fire Head's heat; though its breath melted the ice dragon it lacked the potency to evaporate it. Haku used the last of her Chakra to will the enormous mass of water down the Fire Head's mouth.
"HAAAAA!" Zabuza screamed with effort as he focused his will on the water he had created. He had no Chakra left within his body, but the dragon was composed of his Chakra, and his arm allowed him to control any water created by or imbued with his Chakra so long as he was nearby. Slowly at first, then with astonishing speed, the water refroze within the Fire Head's throat. The Fire Head exploded as the mass of ice burst through its flesh.
Jiraiya's toad leaped into the fray, barely dodging the torrential blades of air exhaled by the Wind head. Once he was close enough, the Toad Sannin leaped toward the Wind heads open maw and thrust out his right arm. "Chououdama Rasengan!" (Massive Rasengan) A Rasengan three times taller than Jiraiya blocked the newest onslaught of wind blades and forced them back into the Wind head's mouth. Jiraiya let go of his gargantuan Jutsu and it maintained itself for several seconds. Falling into the Wind Head's mouth, the gigantic Rasengan exploded; the force of the detonation was more than sufficient to obliterate the Wind Head.
All four heads had been destroyed within seconds of each other. The undead immediately ceased to move, and Konoha, Suna, and even Oto cheered as their nightmare ended. Orochimaru's servants were not informed of Experiment 9-X and had no desire to serve the snake Sannin after what they had just endured. The Suna Shinobi felt the same; no order from the Kazekage was worth what they had just been through. The corpses of children not even five years old were seen eating the brains of the living. Though the Suna and Oto forces were now willing to surrender, they knew that Gaara and Orochimaru respectively would not rest until Konoha was destroyed.
Chapter End
And Koteru's true form is revealed! In Greek Mythology, Ceto is Poseidon's aunt and embodies the dangers of the sea - specifically its monsters. She is the daughter of two primordial gods: Gaia the Earth Goddess and Pontus the OG Sea God. As such, her power over the sea is actually superior to Poseidon since he is not descended from Pontus and his control over the sea was usurped from Oceanus (the Titan of the Sea). In addition to being the goddess of whales and sharks, Ceto is the progenitor of many of Greek Mythology's most iconic monsters. In addition to the Gorgons, she also gave birth to the Hesperion Drake - a hundred-headed dragon that not even Herakles (Hercules is the Roman version of his name) could defeat directly. She also is the mother of Echidna, who gave birth to the Chimera, Cerberus, the Hydra, and a few other monsters.
Killing the Hydra was Herakles' second labor, and was actually an impossible feat. Eight of the Hydra's nine heads regenerated endlessly (the whole "cut off one, two grow back" thing) but the central head was immortal. After dealing with the other eight heads, Herakles cut off the central head and buried it alive under a massive boulder, "killing" the Hydra in a similar manner to how Shikamaru defeated Hidan. Unlike Hidan, the Hydra's immortality doesn't have a maintenance cost, so its ninth head just stayed under that rock for untold eons until Orochimaru found it and ran all sorts of experiments.
The Gorgons are frequently portrayed as snake-women in modern fiction, which is inaccurate to the myths. Half-human, half-snake is what Echidna looks like and a lot of artists confuse her appearance with that of the Gorgons. Another thing lots of authors/directors get wrong (sometimes on purpose) is that the Gorgons' petrification power activates whenever someone looks at them, not the other way around. That would be way too OP for this story, imagine if Amaterasu activated whenever someone looked at Itachi regardless of whether his MS was activated or not. I also decided to play around a bit with how each Gorgon's petrification power works to let them stand out a bit. Medusa, being the most iconic of the three, kept the equally iconic stone gaze. Euryale got a stone equivalent to the Midas touch, and Stheno got a defensive version of it that lets her whale on people without much fear of counterattack.
While the petrification powers are shown negating Jutsu here, this is not an absolute thing; really powerful Jutsu can overcome it. If the Gorgons come across as being more than a little broken in this chapter, that's the point; the oldest version of the Medusa/Gorgon myth depicts them as the daughters of one of the oldest/most powerful goddesses in Greek Mythology. Stheno and Euryale are straight-up immortal in the myths. Medusa is mortal for some reason, which is how Perseus was able to kill her in his myth, and even then if we go by her OG depictions Medusa would still have to have biological immortality (i.e. she doesn't age, but can still be killed) since she would've been hundreds, if not thousands, of years old by the time Perseus killed her. None of the myths show the Gorgons having water powers, but IMO it makes no sense that the granddaughters of Pontus, the personification/embodiment of the sea, can't manipulate water to at least some degree.
We won't be seeing too much of Stheno and Euryale later on (especially not in combat since they can't die), but I have plans for Medusa down the road. Also, if you think that the Gorgons are going to just give their right-sided blood to any ransom smuck who's about to die, forget it! Unless they're on a mission straight from Ceto to save people or they have a strong connection with someone like Medusa did with Arashi (both daughters of the sea), that miracle blood stays inside the Gorgons' veins. Same goes for their left-sided blood; if they need it to defeat their own opponents, all well and good, but Konoha as a whole did not just gain access to Sasori's poison on mega-steroids.
We'll get back to Sasuke/Naruto vs. Gaara and The Kage vs. Orochimaru/Edo Tensei next chapter. Thank you for reading!
Hyouton: Hirameki Hyouketsu: Ice Release: Flash Freeze (B-Rank) – A Jutsu that instantly freezes large volumes of water. The user can freely manipulate water frozen by this technique.
Suiton: Ouja no Suiryuu: Water Release: King of the Water Dragons (S-Rank) – A Jutsu Zabuza invented after fully adapting to his divine arm. A water dragon at least forty tall springs from his right arm. It can be used both as a weapon and a means of transportation. In its current state, the Jutsu's power and properties are more fitting of A-Rank, but the Jutsu has only been recently invented and Zabuza is still perfecting his control over it. Its full potential is currently unknown and will likely be classified as S-Rank once perfected.