Chapter 36
They had underestimated Konoha, and that mistake was threatening to end their lives, as Sasori jumped back and avoided a strike from the fabled Sanin.
BOOOM!
The very ground cracked under the white-haired shinobi's feet as he spun his wild mane, unleashing a barrage of senbon-like projectiles towards him.
"Got you," he whispered, as his puppets rose from the ground and tried to pincer him, yet before they could land a hit, the shinobi with those thick brows came and tore through them all with a single move.
"Konoha Senpu!" and with that, the Sanin barrelled towards him.
"Where do you think you are going?" and Sasori saw him make a seal as he used a jutsu.
"Katon: Endan..." and a blast of fire rushed towards him, as he quickly activated the water scroll at his back, as water gushed out of his palm, dousing the area in thick white steam, and yet before he could think of a next move, he stilled as he heard a whisper of chirping birds.
"Raiton: Chidori..." and he moved at the last second, though he was too late, and the Copy Ninja's jutsu tore through his side, cracking his abdomen, as he cursed.
"What the hell are you doing, Deidara?" and his partner in crime shouted back.
"Shut up!" and as he jumped up to avoid his attack, he felt a shadow cover him and turned up to hear a whirring sound, and his eyes widened as he saw the scene.
"Now it's over," and there he was, the White haired Sanin right above him, a buzzing orb of chakra glowing in his palm as he aimed it towards him.
"Ninpo: Rasengan..." and yet before it could connect, he smiled.
"Got you."
"Got you."
And it had been some time since the pair of them had been forced to rely on tricks, but suddenly Deidara's clay construct expanded, putting itself between him and the White haired sanin, as he used a wind ninjutsu to push himself back.
"NOW!" he shouted, and Deidara was quick to move.
"Kats..."
"GAI!" and yet before the clay beast could explode, he saw a kunai hit it. A kunai laced with Raiton, that stopped it from exploding, before the thick-browed shinobi blurred forward.
"Leaf Hurricane!" and kicked away the expanding beast, and this was perhaps their greatest disadvantage, for that dark-haired shinobi had somehow figured out their weakness and passed them onto the three monsters in front of them.
Facing them on even terms was bad enough, yet now they knew of their powers and weaknesses, putting them at a grave disadvantage.
"It's over now, Sasori..." the Sanin raged as the blue orb inched closer.
"NOT SO FAST!" Sasori screamed, as weapons emerged from all his joints and back, laced with his most lethal poison, and rushed towards the Sanin, though before they could hit him, he suddenly felt them tighten and jam as he glanced to see chains coiled around them, with Hatake Kakashi pulling on them from behind.
"You are not getting out of here," and yet as the orb of chakra tore through him, he felt no pain, and in the blink of an eye, Sasori found himself on the ground once more, along with a grunting and bound Deidara, as a loud explosion rocked the air.
BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOM!
"What happened?" Deidara gasped as he looked around, startled by their predicament, for it was obvious that they had been saved by someone.
But who?
And suddenly, he heard crows caw up in the skies, as Deidara stilled in an instant, as the three Konoha nin all landed on the ground in front of them, before the crows began to gather in the form of a human, and Sasori knew immediately who had come to their rescue.
"It's him," and the trio in front of him halted as well, for the shinobi in front of them was none other than the clan killer himself, Uchiha Itachi.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the Copy Ninja gasped as Itachi appeared in front of them, the cloak covering half his face, while the Sharingan spun ominously in his eyes.
"You were to get out, after acquiring the jinchuriki," he said to him.
"We tried, but we were interrupted," he said, looking towards the trio, and now they were even, and the Sanin stepped forward.
"I have wanted to meet you for quite some time, Itachi Uchiha," the man snarled as he smirked.
"But you made a mistake coming here," he smiled, and perhaps it was a mistake for even with him here, they were still at a disadvantage against a man of the Sanin's stature.
"The mission parameters have changed. We must leave at once," Itachi added, and Sasori nodded as he grabbed onto the two jinchuriki.
"As if I will let you," the Sanin declared, yet Itachi was no longer looking forward, but he was looking towards Konoha's jinchurki. Sasori felt the air shift as the Sanin's fist tore through Itachi's form, only for him to dissolve into a pack of crows.
"We will see about that," he whispered, and suddenly he felt an ancient and corrosive chakra ripple through the air, and as he glanced towards the source of it, he saw Konoha's jinchurki covered in a thick cloak of reddish orange chakra that was expanding rapidly.
"Let's go..." and they jumped back.
"Raiton: Lightning Wolves...."
"Wind Hurricane..."
The copy ninja and his comrade attacked, but before they could reach them, Kisame appeared out of the ground.
"Suiton: Exploding Water Wave..." and a massive flood of water rose into the air, and crashed towards the Konoha trio, as they began their retreat, while the cloak of reddish chakra around the Konoha's jinchuriki continued to grow.
"Leave him," Itachi ordered.
"But the mission," he countered.
"Has changed. We have already secured one jinchuriki. And unless we leave right now, none of us here will be able to escape with our lives..."
And as if to prove his point, suddenly a figure tore through the massive water wave and rushed towards them at blinding speed.
"Where do you think you lot are going?" It was the Sanin, and he was cycling through a set of handseals, when he suddenly shouted.
"Summoning Jutsu..." and in the blink of an eye, a massive towering toad emerged through a cloud of smoke, wielding what seemed to be a sword.
"Cut them up, Gamabunta!" he shouted, and the toad pulled out a blade and aimed it towards them, but Itachi moved first as he grabbed the Jinchuriki and threw it towards the blade.
"Shit!"
"Watch Out, Gamabunta!" and Sasori noticed the toad shifting the edge of his blade, yet the unconscious jinchuriki suddenly opened his eyes and spun in the air, as it roared forth.
"RAGHHHHHHH!" and the sheer power from that roar was enough to blow away the attack, as Sasori watched the jinchuriki sprout a third tail.
"Let's go...."
0000
ASUMA SARUTOBI
The village was under attack, and the Hokage had been taken into a trap by one of his former students. Whatever the case, Asuma had to hand it to the Snake Sanin for thinking up such a convoluted plan, for the man had fooled them all.
Though they were not sure yet, the initial intelligence reports pointed out that the man had somehow fooled the entire Sungakaure village into believing that he was the Yondaime Kazekage and had then convinced them to join hands with his newfound village in order to exact his revenge.
Sungakure had not needed much encouragement in the first place, for though Suna and Konoha were allies, tensions had begun to emerge over the last few years as more and more of Sunagakure's customers turned to their village for their missions, dealing a blow to the already dwindling finances of the desert village.
Still, that was no justification for their betrayal. Still, now they were facing both Suna and Otogakure, who had chosen the most delicate time to attack, for as the host nation it fell upon Konoha to ensure the safety of the participants of the chunin exams. So, for the last few hours, Asuma had been presiding over the efforts of the ANBU and the shinobi to rescue all of the participants of the exam.
"We have had two more teams come in. One is from Kusa and the other is from Ame," one of the masked nin informed him as Asuma nodded and glanced at the chart in his hand.
"That just leaves ten more genin," and in many ways, these three were the most crucial teams of all.
They included his team, Kakashi's team, and the team from Suna who had started it all, and as he glanced up at the towering glass statue of the Ichibi, it told him where they may be.
Still, until now, they could not spare the men to go and investigate the area, especially as the main battle was taking place there, but now, with the evacuations nearly complete, they could move in.
"Get a squad ready. We are going to back up Lord Jira..." yet before he could finish, the Hyuga shinobi suddenly cut in.
"Shinobi approaching. It's him," the Hyuga chunin added, as Asuma's heart leaped with joy.
"It's Hikari, and he's carrying five people..." and relief filled him as soon as he heard that, as ANBU rushed forward to his aid. A few minutes later, Asuma stood there with his most promising student huffing on the ground, as the five others lay still beside him.
"They have been poisoned," he announced quickly as Asuma's heart drew still.
"I do not know what kind, but I have a suspicion that it is metal-based," he spoke to the Iryo-nin, who nodded while another healed his injuries.
"We need to take them to the hospital," the iryo-nin announced, and Asuma hated seeing his students in such a state, but he could do little but nod as they began to carry away the injured students, as Hikari turned towards him.
"They captured Naruto and Gaara, but Lord Jiraiya is facing them right now along with Kakashi-san and Gai-san," and that was as deadly a trio as Konoha could muster, and with the evacuations nearly complete, Asuma would be joining them soon enough.
"Hinata is still missing," and he saw the words still his students, but he had to tell him specially as they were more than just comrades. Asuma was a Sarutobi, and the son of the Hokage, which allowed him access to information a usual jounin would not be privy to.
So, he was aware of the political struggle taking place within the Hyuga clan and how important Hinata was to it.
"She, along with the new addition to Team Eight, Kabuto, are now the only two Konoha genin still out of reach," he mentioned and saw a rather strange expression pass through his eyes, as Hikari grit his teeth.
"I am going to go search for her," he said, as he pushed away iryo-nin, and Asuma had expected as much.
"Be careful," he advised, and Hikari nodded.
"I will be," and with that, he jumped into the forest once more, as Asuma turned towards the other side, where the giant glass statue of hte Ichibi stood. Suddenly, a wave of chakra tore through the forest once more.
A wave much similar to the one they had felt when the Ichibi had first appeared, and yet Asuma was not the only one who noticed the difference between them, and how this one felt familiar to him.
ROARRRR!
A massive roar tore through the forest, and sweat dripped down his face as he tried to remember just when he had felt this before, and it took him just half a minute to remember.
"No..." he gasped, with renewed sense of dread as he remembered that painful night from all those years ago.
"It cannot be," he whispered, though another roar quickly tore through the forest and shook the very ground, as Asuma felt his worst fears come to life.
"Kyubi...."
.
.
.
There was a time when Hiruzen could have fought for days on end, and yet age had made him brittle. It had blessed him with experience and knowledge, but few things could make up for the lethargy and weariness of age, and as he held onto his student's shoulder as blood dripped down his lips, he chose to use what little life he had to make sure that his mistake would never again haunt this village.
"Ninpo:..." and as the specter of death appeared behind him, Orochimaru's face paled, as he finally realised the severity of the situation.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, you old fool! LET ME GO!" he shouted, as his snakes bit through his legs and arms, but he did not budge as Orochimaru moved his hand, summoning his blade from behind him, as he finished using the kinjutsu that could seal even a bijuu.
"...Reaper Death Seal!"
"NOOOOOOoooooo...."
00000
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