Chapter 31 - The Leaf in Chaos! (Part 2)
Submitted January 21, 2008 Updated September 20, 2008 Status Incomplete | This fic begins as a better version of "hell in the land of herbs". But from there, it becomes a regular story. Enjoy!
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Anime/Manga » Naruto series |
Chapter 31 - The Leaf in Chaos! (Part 2)
Chapter 31 - The Leaf in Chaos! (Part 2)
Ekyt rolled to the side. The broadsword was unquestionably heavy, and it could crush him, if it hit. Now on his back, Ekyt swung one blade at the Raikage’s legs, causing him to jump. The jump was going to make quite an impact, as the broadsword came crashing down. Ekyt used a replacement jutsu. The broadsword shattered the log he had replaced himself with shattered. With shards of wood still flying, Ekyt landed gracefully and grabbed the Raikage. He put one blade to the Raikage’s throat.
“Don’t move.” Ekyt said forcefully.
The Raikage grunted, but didn’t move.
“This is a matter you should have taken up with the Hyuuga clan. However, it is not something I will let go unpunished. If you surrender yourself, your people won’t suffer. They’ll go back to their normal lives,” Ekyt promised. A wind kicked up, and with the wind, up went Ekyt’s warning flagsI can’t see the Raikage’s hands from this position, and his robe makes it hard to detect shoulder movement. He could be making hand signs and I wouldn’t know about it. I don’t like that…
“And what happens to me?” the Raikage demanded.
“You go to jail for this heinous attack, until the new Raikage agrees to our terms to release you.”
The Raikage smirked. Ekyt sensed a movement. He couldn’t move himself, so he turned to look. There was the Raikage- or a clone- standing a few meters away. Ekyt didn’t know which was which. So he didn’t move, he continued to hold his hostage. The Raikage smirked, thinking he had the Hokage distracted.
“So you aren’t as foolish as I presumed. You fight well, for a child. Hya!” The Raikage twisted around. Ekyt grabbed his arm, flipped him and aimed the sword at his throat while stepping on his chest. The tip glowed dangerously, while the snakes helping to hold the sword in place hissed angrily.
“Don’t do that. I’m being nice,” Lord Hokage snarled. That’s when the clone made his move. With the broadsword that had been knocked away in the scrum, he swung at Ekyt. Ekyt saw this, and raised both swords in a block. That left him open to attack from the other Raikage. Using his “Lightning Hand” jutsu, he slashed Lord Hokage across the back.
Ekyt grunted in pain as the strike cut through his chainmail and into his back. He had moved to the side on pure instinct, so the strike missed his spine and anything else vital, but it hurt. He felt himself blacking out.
No…I can’t…I’m their Hokage. The village…love…all they’ve done…
Ekyt’s thoughts changed as he moved away from the two clones. Every move hurt, so leaping backward in a high arch…not the best move. Blood followed the arch, landing on the ground below Ekyt before he landed, crouched.
You think you’re beaten? THIS is pain! You wuss! Why don’t you commit seppuku? You deserve to die! You’re going to die a miserable, old, decrepit bastard genin anyway! You’ll never find love. All you’ll find is pain! You damn retard! DIE!
“Demonic Illusion: Bringer of Darkness Technique!” Ekyt shouted! His emotional chakra went into the genjutsu, making the normal ‘release’ impossible. Ekyt’s mind had forgotten how the emotional chakra worked. Ekyt hoped this would buy him time. He sat down, folding himself into seiza, and closed his eyes. The Raikage was still pawing at the darkness.
“What is he doing?” Tsunade wondered. Is it time to get involved?
Jiraiya looked closer. “Sarutobi told me about this…but this skill isn’t a battle skill…”
Orochimaru looked closely. “Meditation?”
Jiraiya shook his head. “MORE than just meditation. He’s delving into his subconscious, into the heart of his second chakra. But why…he only does that when he needs guidance from an emotional source, the juncture that CAUSES his emotional chakra to exist…”
“What does it mean?” Tsunade said aloud.
“It means that he’s got a plan, and that he needs some special help to perform it,” Jiraiya said. He pulled out his spy glass, usually reserved for bathing women, to see the phenomenon up close.
“Special help? Like a summon?” Orochimaru asked, curious himself.
“Something like that.” Jiraiya’s mysterious reply annoyed both Orochimaru and Tsunade, but neither said anything. They just watched.
Lee raced around the streets, kicking when necessary. He found a cluster of enemies halting the progress of Iruka and Temari. Some were tormenting the children. Lee’s nindo dictated that he go and put an end to that.
“Hey, leave them alone! If you’ve got a problem, fight me!” Iruka challenged.
“Right! Pick on the kids, you bastards! You just couldn’t handle a real fight!” Temari added.
“Shut up, both of you, or I’ll start killing the little idiots! Now, you two back off, and maybe I won’t start slitting their little, useless throats!”
Temari and Iruka had no choice but to back off. Lee had no such obligation.
“Excuse me! That is not the proper way to fight!” Lee declared, as he used his Dynamic Entry kick. The offender went flying, hitting the base of the Hokage Faces hard. Before his two comrades could react, Lee had swept one set of legs. The other man earned an incredibly fast combo of kicks to the face, ending in a kick that sent him next to the other unconscious Stone ninja.
The last Stone ninja blocked Lee’s kick with a halberd. Lee used the weapon as a springboard and flipped gracefully away.
“I see that you wish to use your specialilty. Gai-sensei, I am going to use my specialty!”
The Stone ninja, who was bandaged all over, except one eye, laughed.
“You’ve lost, you eyebrowed freak! There’s no Gai-sensei here!”
Lee ignored him and instead sat down. He pulled off his leg warmers, revealing his weights.
“Weights? You ARE whacked! Let’s see…the writing on them says ‘guts’…that’s fitting, kid, because I’m gonna spill YOUR guts all over the street!”
Lee tossed the weights in the air. When they came down, the sound and the size of the crater they made scared the cocky stone soldier.
“It is too late to apologize!” Lee declared. That was the last the Stone Shinobi saw of him. The next thing he knew, he was flying toward the mountain, in a showdown he wasn’t going to win.
Lee walked over to check on Iruka, Temari, and the kids.
“Is everyone alright?” Lee asked, hitting his nice-guy pose.
The children shrank back in horror.
“This guy’s scarier than the Stone guy that attacked us!” the boy declared. The others ran past Iruka, into the safehouse. A giant sweatdrop and the black lines of doom crossed Lee’s face. Temari rolled her eyes.
“Kids will be kids, Lee. Thanks for the help.” Temari kissed Lee on the cheek, then returned to helping Iruka hide the children.
Naruto and Sasuke continued to mop up enemies. Sasuke killed, while Naruto incapacitated. The number of enemies became fewer and fewer, until they almost completely dried up.
“Y’know, loser, I came back to fight you. I want to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan and face my brother.”
Naruto looked at Sasuke, his face serious. “You’re going to try to kill me?”
Sasuke shook his head. “No. I don’t need to kill you- only to defeat you. My brother lied to me, just like he lied to everyone. I don’t need to kill to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan. I need to win in a fight where my opponent is as skilled as I am. And the fight has to be honorable.”
Sasuke stopped, then turned around.
“How about it, loser? After this invasion, we fight- we see who’s stronger. Because I realized something…”
“What’s that?” Naruto probed.
“That you were right. About bonds, about us being the same. Friends. Something I never wanted a part of. Truth be told, you forced it out of me. And I’m…grateful…” Sasuke said uncomfortably. But he smiled like the old Sasuke as he did.
Naruto stared, disbelieving, at first. Then he spoke. “You know Sasuke, these past two years, my mission was to bring you back to the Leaf Village. After that, it was to become Hokage. The last time we fought, you won, and, to me, the stakes were high. I made a promise to Sakura-chan, and to myself, that I would bring you back. Now that I have…(Naruto smiles) I’ll have no problem kicking your @$$, dattebayo!”
Sasuke shook his head. “Same old loser.”
Sakura yelped in pain. She fell to the ground, hard, tears streaming down her face.
“N-no…I was so…so close…” she sobbed, looking at the ground. She tried to force herself up. She was shaking and panting with the effort, and not really succeeding. But she kept trying, crying out as it hurt.
Sasori was laying on the ground in a half-ruined body. This one had black hair and a thin torso, with the kanji for “builder” written on it.
“It’s pointless to keep trying. The poison will kill you. Just lay down and die quietly. You put up a great fight. Perhaps you DO rival Tsunade in skill…I guess we’ll never know!”
Sakura looked at Sasori, then she smiled. “Is that what you think? That I’m going to lay down and die? You’re wrong!” POOF!
Sakura’s foot cracked down on Sasori’s body just as her clone disappeared. All but the head and torso was gone now. Sakura pinned the torso down.
“I know how you work. You plan on ejecting that damn heart of yours.” Sakura had a kunai in her hand.
“Try it, and I’ll slash it into a million pieces before you hit your next body!” Sakura declared.
Ekyt landed in the office. But this time it had changed. It was an old, Japanese-styled room. Rice paper walls, and candles lined the room. In the center of it, Ekyt saw himself, dressed in his full samurai gear.
“I said I’d get you back,” Ekyt said to his older clone. The clone said nothing. Instead, it reached for the sword in front of it.
“Do you remember, during your test, how your cuts felt so sure? Your aim precise?” The clone asked. Ekyt nodded. During his test for brown belt with his sword, he had been nervous, beyond nervous. But he had gone on to have one of the best tests in his dojo’s history.
“Of course.” Ekyt replied, not sure where his clone was going.
“It was as if you had channeled the spirit of Musashi. It was then that I knew- you have a warrior’s heart. That was the first time you could have ever accessed me. You knew nothing of my existence, not at the time. And I revealed myself at the right time…I know that now…”
The candle wax dripped lower, changing the room’s illumination. With a sigh, the older Ekyt got up and put his sword in his belt, which was mostly hidden under his hakama.
“The time for talking is over now. Your technique is wearing off on the Raikage. But since you’re here, you know of some danger. And you need something from me…” The older Ekyt was forcing Ekyt himself to say it.
“I want the clone again. It’s the only way to end this peacefully. The Raikage won’t stop until he’s killed. And I’m not going to kill him if I can help it. That’s why I’m here. I want you to become my emotional clone again…”
The older Ekyt looked at his younger, ‘real’ self.
“No. You don’t need me. Use your chakra. Now, go!”
Ekyt woke up, disbelieving. H-he left me! To die! Why? Why would he do that? There must be a message!
The Raikage had finally thrown off the genjutsu and attacked. In his frustration, Ekyt felt his blue flame chakra grow. He stood up, understanding what happened.
Anger…I needed anger…I haven’t felt it, so that’s why my chakra was weak. But now, I feel…angry. Frustrated. I needed emotions to make my chakra work! Master Sarutobi was right! I need emotions to fuel my chakra. Now that I’ve got the fuel, I can use that jutsu…
Ekyt leapt straight up. By now, the whole village was watching. A Shadow clone joined him. They both sailed down, blue chakra in their hands.
“Swallow’s Emotional Strike!” they said together.
SCHWING!
POOF!
One Ekyt disappeared. The other was stopped just short of his target. He hadn’t seen this coming, and now it was a mistake.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Blood flowed from Ekyt’s stomach as the spiked end of the war broadsword went in his stomach and out the other side. Ekyt’s hand stopped inches from the Raikage’s face.
“Time to die! Once you’ve fallen, the village will be mine!”
Ekyt was trapped. He couldn’t pull himself off the broadsword. But he couldn’t die, not until he’d won! Slowly, Ekyt reached a hand out. The hand gripped the base of the broadsword.
“Don’t try to escape!” the Raikage said, laughing cruelly. “Haha haha ha-”
The Raikage was cut off. Ekyt was still impaled on the pointed end of the broadsword, but his hand was around the Raikage’s neck. Blue Chakra grew at Ekyt’s feet. He continued to choke the Raikage.
“You (koff) didn’t think…that was it? Did you? This (koff) is a pinprick! I’ve had (koff) my emotions yanked out…my (koff) Tenketsu severed…my chakra coils ruined…and this…this is how you thought…it would end? Every one of my (koff koff) villagers is a hero today. I remain the only one who hasn’t performed that act of heroism. Even if this kills me…I’ll have won our match…this ends here, Raikage!”
Ekyt glowed with energy.
“First Gate, gate of opening: Release!” Ekyt jumped backward, pulling himself off the broadsword. His speed increased ten times, Ekyt ran to the Raikage.
“Leaf Hurricane!” Ekyt kicked the Raikage under the chin, in a move he had learned from Lee. In the same motion, he leapt up beside the Raikage, holding his arms. With a violent pull, both arms broke cleanly in two at the elbow. Hooking the Raikage’s neck and legs, Ekyt steered them both over the edge of the Hokage mansion. 100 feet down. At the 80 foot mark, Ekyt let go, only to drive his fist into the Raikage’s stomach, increasing the speed of both their descents.
Sakura looked triumphantly at the trapped Sasori. Suddenly, a giant white bird knocked her over.
“What the hell- oh, no!” Sakura was too late.
Deidara picked up what was left of Sasori.
“Don’t worry, un! I left you a parting gift!” Deidara called back with a laugh and a sneer.
Sakura looked down to see explosive clay sculptures all around her. Deidara put one hand up in the sign of the tiger. He was ready to detonate…
Sakura almost gave up. But somewhere, she felt that was what the old Sakura would have done. She wasn’t that girl anymore. She was a full-fledged, powerful kunoichi. She could deal with this. She had to.
Sakura punched the ground as hard as she could, causing a crater to erupt in front of her. The explosives slid in. Sakura backflipped away.
“KATSU!” Deidara called. His explosion was contained underground.
“Damnit!” he swore, but could do no more. He flew away with what remained of the (still living) Sasori.
The three sannin were already on their way to the area of impact.
KA-BOOM!
Ekyt leapt aside at the last second, closing the First Gate before it completely fatigues him. He held the hole in his stomach closed. The Raikage didn’t move.
Tsunade bent down to check his pulse.
“He’s unconscious…he’s lucky that’s ALL that happened…”
Ekyt looked from Orochimaru, to Jiriaya, to Tsunade.
“The invasion is over. Leaf, Sand, and Sound win,” he said, smiling.
“Not if you croak, kid! Hang in there!” Tsunade told him, trying to heal the hole in his stomach.
Ekyt pulled away. “I’m fine. There are still problems to be taken care of. Such as getting rid of these intruders.”
Orochimaru looked around. “They’re on their way out now.”
Ekyt looked Orochimaru in the eyes, something few dared to do. Orochimaru stared back.
“I’m not going to curse you. You would survive, but you would reject me. I’m only going to say this: Kabuto was right: you’re a respectable enemy. For now, you’re a respectable ally. The war with the Akatsuki isn’t finished. But my Sound Ninja and I are leaving…”
“Thank you for your assistance, Orochimaru.” Ekyt bowed to a sworn enemy. War makes for strange friendships. Still, I can’t wait until he’s out of my village!
“Don’t move.” Ekyt said forcefully.
The Raikage grunted, but didn’t move.
“This is a matter you should have taken up with the Hyuuga clan. However, it is not something I will let go unpunished. If you surrender yourself, your people won’t suffer. They’ll go back to their normal lives,” Ekyt promised. A wind kicked up, and with the wind, up went Ekyt’s warning flagsI can’t see the Raikage’s hands from this position, and his robe makes it hard to detect shoulder movement. He could be making hand signs and I wouldn’t know about it. I don’t like that…
“And what happens to me?” the Raikage demanded.
“You go to jail for this heinous attack, until the new Raikage agrees to our terms to release you.”
The Raikage smirked. Ekyt sensed a movement. He couldn’t move himself, so he turned to look. There was the Raikage- or a clone- standing a few meters away. Ekyt didn’t know which was which. So he didn’t move, he continued to hold his hostage. The Raikage smirked, thinking he had the Hokage distracted.
“So you aren’t as foolish as I presumed. You fight well, for a child. Hya!” The Raikage twisted around. Ekyt grabbed his arm, flipped him and aimed the sword at his throat while stepping on his chest. The tip glowed dangerously, while the snakes helping to hold the sword in place hissed angrily.
“Don’t do that. I’m being nice,” Lord Hokage snarled. That’s when the clone made his move. With the broadsword that had been knocked away in the scrum, he swung at Ekyt. Ekyt saw this, and raised both swords in a block. That left him open to attack from the other Raikage. Using his “Lightning Hand” jutsu, he slashed Lord Hokage across the back.
Ekyt grunted in pain as the strike cut through his chainmail and into his back. He had moved to the side on pure instinct, so the strike missed his spine and anything else vital, but it hurt. He felt himself blacking out.
No…I can’t…I’m their Hokage. The village…love…all they’ve done…
Ekyt’s thoughts changed as he moved away from the two clones. Every move hurt, so leaping backward in a high arch…not the best move. Blood followed the arch, landing on the ground below Ekyt before he landed, crouched.
You think you’re beaten? THIS is pain! You wuss! Why don’t you commit seppuku? You deserve to die! You’re going to die a miserable, old, decrepit bastard genin anyway! You’ll never find love. All you’ll find is pain! You damn retard! DIE!
“Demonic Illusion: Bringer of Darkness Technique!” Ekyt shouted! His emotional chakra went into the genjutsu, making the normal ‘release’ impossible. Ekyt’s mind had forgotten how the emotional chakra worked. Ekyt hoped this would buy him time. He sat down, folding himself into seiza, and closed his eyes. The Raikage was still pawing at the darkness.
“What is he doing?” Tsunade wondered. Is it time to get involved?
Jiraiya looked closer. “Sarutobi told me about this…but this skill isn’t a battle skill…”
Orochimaru looked closely. “Meditation?”
Jiraiya shook his head. “MORE than just meditation. He’s delving into his subconscious, into the heart of his second chakra. But why…he only does that when he needs guidance from an emotional source, the juncture that CAUSES his emotional chakra to exist…”
“What does it mean?” Tsunade said aloud.
“It means that he’s got a plan, and that he needs some special help to perform it,” Jiraiya said. He pulled out his spy glass, usually reserved for bathing women, to see the phenomenon up close.
“Special help? Like a summon?” Orochimaru asked, curious himself.
“Something like that.” Jiraiya’s mysterious reply annoyed both Orochimaru and Tsunade, but neither said anything. They just watched.
Lee raced around the streets, kicking when necessary. He found a cluster of enemies halting the progress of Iruka and Temari. Some were tormenting the children. Lee’s nindo dictated that he go and put an end to that.
“Hey, leave them alone! If you’ve got a problem, fight me!” Iruka challenged.
“Right! Pick on the kids, you bastards! You just couldn’t handle a real fight!” Temari added.
“Shut up, both of you, or I’ll start killing the little idiots! Now, you two back off, and maybe I won’t start slitting their little, useless throats!”
Temari and Iruka had no choice but to back off. Lee had no such obligation.
“Excuse me! That is not the proper way to fight!” Lee declared, as he used his Dynamic Entry kick. The offender went flying, hitting the base of the Hokage Faces hard. Before his two comrades could react, Lee had swept one set of legs. The other man earned an incredibly fast combo of kicks to the face, ending in a kick that sent him next to the other unconscious Stone ninja.
The last Stone ninja blocked Lee’s kick with a halberd. Lee used the weapon as a springboard and flipped gracefully away.
“I see that you wish to use your specialilty. Gai-sensei, I am going to use my specialty!”
The Stone ninja, who was bandaged all over, except one eye, laughed.
“You’ve lost, you eyebrowed freak! There’s no Gai-sensei here!”
Lee ignored him and instead sat down. He pulled off his leg warmers, revealing his weights.
“Weights? You ARE whacked! Let’s see…the writing on them says ‘guts’…that’s fitting, kid, because I’m gonna spill YOUR guts all over the street!”
Lee tossed the weights in the air. When they came down, the sound and the size of the crater they made scared the cocky stone soldier.
“It is too late to apologize!” Lee declared. That was the last the Stone Shinobi saw of him. The next thing he knew, he was flying toward the mountain, in a showdown he wasn’t going to win.
Lee walked over to check on Iruka, Temari, and the kids.
“Is everyone alright?” Lee asked, hitting his nice-guy pose.
The children shrank back in horror.
“This guy’s scarier than the Stone guy that attacked us!” the boy declared. The others ran past Iruka, into the safehouse. A giant sweatdrop and the black lines of doom crossed Lee’s face. Temari rolled her eyes.
“Kids will be kids, Lee. Thanks for the help.” Temari kissed Lee on the cheek, then returned to helping Iruka hide the children.
Naruto and Sasuke continued to mop up enemies. Sasuke killed, while Naruto incapacitated. The number of enemies became fewer and fewer, until they almost completely dried up.
“Y’know, loser, I came back to fight you. I want to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan and face my brother.”
Naruto looked at Sasuke, his face serious. “You’re going to try to kill me?”
Sasuke shook his head. “No. I don’t need to kill you- only to defeat you. My brother lied to me, just like he lied to everyone. I don’t need to kill to obtain the Mangekyo Sharingan. I need to win in a fight where my opponent is as skilled as I am. And the fight has to be honorable.”
Sasuke stopped, then turned around.
“How about it, loser? After this invasion, we fight- we see who’s stronger. Because I realized something…”
“What’s that?” Naruto probed.
“That you were right. About bonds, about us being the same. Friends. Something I never wanted a part of. Truth be told, you forced it out of me. And I’m…grateful…” Sasuke said uncomfortably. But he smiled like the old Sasuke as he did.
Naruto stared, disbelieving, at first. Then he spoke. “You know Sasuke, these past two years, my mission was to bring you back to the Leaf Village. After that, it was to become Hokage. The last time we fought, you won, and, to me, the stakes were high. I made a promise to Sakura-chan, and to myself, that I would bring you back. Now that I have…(Naruto smiles) I’ll have no problem kicking your @$$, dattebayo!”
Sasuke shook his head. “Same old loser.”
Sakura yelped in pain. She fell to the ground, hard, tears streaming down her face.
“N-no…I was so…so close…” she sobbed, looking at the ground. She tried to force herself up. She was shaking and panting with the effort, and not really succeeding. But she kept trying, crying out as it hurt.
Sasori was laying on the ground in a half-ruined body. This one had black hair and a thin torso, with the kanji for “builder” written on it.
“It’s pointless to keep trying. The poison will kill you. Just lay down and die quietly. You put up a great fight. Perhaps you DO rival Tsunade in skill…I guess we’ll never know!”
Sakura looked at Sasori, then she smiled. “Is that what you think? That I’m going to lay down and die? You’re wrong!” POOF!
Sakura’s foot cracked down on Sasori’s body just as her clone disappeared. All but the head and torso was gone now. Sakura pinned the torso down.
“I know how you work. You plan on ejecting that damn heart of yours.” Sakura had a kunai in her hand.
“Try it, and I’ll slash it into a million pieces before you hit your next body!” Sakura declared.
Ekyt landed in the office. But this time it had changed. It was an old, Japanese-styled room. Rice paper walls, and candles lined the room. In the center of it, Ekyt saw himself, dressed in his full samurai gear.
“I said I’d get you back,” Ekyt said to his older clone. The clone said nothing. Instead, it reached for the sword in front of it.
“Do you remember, during your test, how your cuts felt so sure? Your aim precise?” The clone asked. Ekyt nodded. During his test for brown belt with his sword, he had been nervous, beyond nervous. But he had gone on to have one of the best tests in his dojo’s history.
“Of course.” Ekyt replied, not sure where his clone was going.
“It was as if you had channeled the spirit of Musashi. It was then that I knew- you have a warrior’s heart. That was the first time you could have ever accessed me. You knew nothing of my existence, not at the time. And I revealed myself at the right time…I know that now…”
The candle wax dripped lower, changing the room’s illumination. With a sigh, the older Ekyt got up and put his sword in his belt, which was mostly hidden under his hakama.
“The time for talking is over now. Your technique is wearing off on the Raikage. But since you’re here, you know of some danger. And you need something from me…” The older Ekyt was forcing Ekyt himself to say it.
“I want the clone again. It’s the only way to end this peacefully. The Raikage won’t stop until he’s killed. And I’m not going to kill him if I can help it. That’s why I’m here. I want you to become my emotional clone again…”
The older Ekyt looked at his younger, ‘real’ self.
“No. You don’t need me. Use your chakra. Now, go!”
Ekyt woke up, disbelieving. H-he left me! To die! Why? Why would he do that? There must be a message!
The Raikage had finally thrown off the genjutsu and attacked. In his frustration, Ekyt felt his blue flame chakra grow. He stood up, understanding what happened.
Anger…I needed anger…I haven’t felt it, so that’s why my chakra was weak. But now, I feel…angry. Frustrated. I needed emotions to make my chakra work! Master Sarutobi was right! I need emotions to fuel my chakra. Now that I’ve got the fuel, I can use that jutsu…
Ekyt leapt straight up. By now, the whole village was watching. A Shadow clone joined him. They both sailed down, blue chakra in their hands.
“Swallow’s Emotional Strike!” they said together.
SCHWING!
POOF!
One Ekyt disappeared. The other was stopped just short of his target. He hadn’t seen this coming, and now it was a mistake.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Blood flowed from Ekyt’s stomach as the spiked end of the war broadsword went in his stomach and out the other side. Ekyt’s hand stopped inches from the Raikage’s face.
“Time to die! Once you’ve fallen, the village will be mine!”
Ekyt was trapped. He couldn’t pull himself off the broadsword. But he couldn’t die, not until he’d won! Slowly, Ekyt reached a hand out. The hand gripped the base of the broadsword.
“Don’t try to escape!” the Raikage said, laughing cruelly. “Haha haha ha-”
The Raikage was cut off. Ekyt was still impaled on the pointed end of the broadsword, but his hand was around the Raikage’s neck. Blue Chakra grew at Ekyt’s feet. He continued to choke the Raikage.
“You (koff) didn’t think…that was it? Did you? This (koff) is a pinprick! I’ve had (koff) my emotions yanked out…my (koff) Tenketsu severed…my chakra coils ruined…and this…this is how you thought…it would end? Every one of my (koff koff) villagers is a hero today. I remain the only one who hasn’t performed that act of heroism. Even if this kills me…I’ll have won our match…this ends here, Raikage!”
Ekyt glowed with energy.
“First Gate, gate of opening: Release!” Ekyt jumped backward, pulling himself off the broadsword. His speed increased ten times, Ekyt ran to the Raikage.
“Leaf Hurricane!” Ekyt kicked the Raikage under the chin, in a move he had learned from Lee. In the same motion, he leapt up beside the Raikage, holding his arms. With a violent pull, both arms broke cleanly in two at the elbow. Hooking the Raikage’s neck and legs, Ekyt steered them both over the edge of the Hokage mansion. 100 feet down. At the 80 foot mark, Ekyt let go, only to drive his fist into the Raikage’s stomach, increasing the speed of both their descents.
Sakura looked triumphantly at the trapped Sasori. Suddenly, a giant white bird knocked her over.
“What the hell- oh, no!” Sakura was too late.
Deidara picked up what was left of Sasori.
“Don’t worry, un! I left you a parting gift!” Deidara called back with a laugh and a sneer.
Sakura looked down to see explosive clay sculptures all around her. Deidara put one hand up in the sign of the tiger. He was ready to detonate…
Sakura almost gave up. But somewhere, she felt that was what the old Sakura would have done. She wasn’t that girl anymore. She was a full-fledged, powerful kunoichi. She could deal with this. She had to.
Sakura punched the ground as hard as she could, causing a crater to erupt in front of her. The explosives slid in. Sakura backflipped away.
“KATSU!” Deidara called. His explosion was contained underground.
“Damnit!” he swore, but could do no more. He flew away with what remained of the (still living) Sasori.
The three sannin were already on their way to the area of impact.
KA-BOOM!
Ekyt leapt aside at the last second, closing the First Gate before it completely fatigues him. He held the hole in his stomach closed. The Raikage didn’t move.
Tsunade bent down to check his pulse.
“He’s unconscious…he’s lucky that’s ALL that happened…”
Ekyt looked from Orochimaru, to Jiriaya, to Tsunade.
“The invasion is over. Leaf, Sand, and Sound win,” he said, smiling.
“Not if you croak, kid! Hang in there!” Tsunade told him, trying to heal the hole in his stomach.
Ekyt pulled away. “I’m fine. There are still problems to be taken care of. Such as getting rid of these intruders.”
Orochimaru looked around. “They’re on their way out now.”
Ekyt looked Orochimaru in the eyes, something few dared to do. Orochimaru stared back.
“I’m not going to curse you. You would survive, but you would reject me. I’m only going to say this: Kabuto was right: you’re a respectable enemy. For now, you’re a respectable ally. The war with the Akatsuki isn’t finished. But my Sound Ninja and I are leaving…”
“Thank you for your assistance, Orochimaru.” Ekyt bowed to a sworn enemy. War makes for strange friendships. Still, I can’t wait until he’s out of my village!
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