The Brutal Riposte (Part 4)
"Chiyo-baasan, so you have come to kill me? You're out of luck - you can't kill what's dead already." Sasori greeted his grandmother.
"I came here to ask why did you leave the village, Sasori-kun."
"I stopped carrying about Suna. I don't care about anything - I'm just a puppet in puppeteers' hands. Even if you died, I wouldn't feel any emotions." Sasori replied, "Despite my mastery of human-body-puppetry, that white-faced snake brought me back into a real human body... what a blunder." He continued, pinching the flesh on his arm.
"So talkative, Sasori. Mind telling us how to kill you?" Pakura inquired, standing side by side with Chiyo.
"I don't know who you are, but truth be told, I lack any reasons to stay in the world of the living..." The Akatsuki replied emotionless, "I want to die, but this accursed jutsu will keep me alive, doing my summoner's bidding until he grows bored of me." At this moment, the boulder behind his back slowly moved aside, revealing a short blonde Akatsuki member riding on top of a white-clay bird.
"Huh?" Deidara looked at the group.
'Great, another one?!' Pakura readied herself for combat, looking at the new enemy. This Akatsuki was young, maybe slightly older than Naruto - he had slanted blue eyes and long golden blond hair, which he wore drawn into a half ponytail with the rest hanging down freely. The bang hanging over his left eye is what concealed some kind of tool put over his eye.
"Ah, you were the new recruit. Lots of time must have passed if you're now a member."
"Uh? Do we know each other?!" The young man yelled at the red-haired man.
"... Or maybe not. You're as stupid and loud as you always were, Deidara."
"I'll kill you, mother fucker!"
"Kids these days... This isn't how Akatsuki works. It seems I have to cover your escape... You have your orders, so move your ass, kiddo."
"You are talking about this jinchūriki?" Deidara pointed at an auburn-haired Kazekage carried on his bird.
Sasori facepalmed, "At least I didn't live long enough to see Akatsuki's fall. If they're accepting idiots like you, then it means that damned Uchiha didn't leave Pain much of a choice."
While Sasori was reminiscing about Kaname, Pakura noticed her friend's foster brother preparing to pounce at the new arrival, 'What the heck are they thinking?! I ordered them to stand aside for this!'
Before she reacted, Sasuke flickered above Akatsuki's clay monster and slashed at its neck. The soft material easily parted in front of a blade but quickly reformed behind it.
"What?! Who are you?" Deidara demanded.
"
"Haaa..." Several dozen puppets flew from the ground intercepting the clones, effortlessly mowing them down, "I said, get out of here, you imbecile."
"Un." Deidara groaned in an Uchiha-like reply.
Sasuke noticed the bird below the Akatsuki's feet spread its wings - to hold the blonde back, he jumped to attack. When he got close to one of the bird's wings, a clay spider jumped in front of his eyes.
"Art is an EXPLOSION!"
Sasuke put his hands in front of his face, protecting himself from the now glowing clay spider.
*Boom*
The explosion sent him flying backward until someone caught him. Opening his eyes, he noticed Naruto saying something to him, but the ringing in his ears disabled his hearing.
"-eme? You okay?"
"YEAH. THANKS, DOBE."
"You don't have to shout, Teme ~ttebayo."
Sasuke opened his mouth as if he was yawning and cleared his ear with a finger, "It's still ringing... Be careful, Dobe. He is smarter than he acts."
"Yeah, I noticed. It isn't that easy to prank you, Teme." Naruto laughed, extending his hand towards his rival.
"Prank? Haaa... I won't even comment on how you can compare a shinobi battle and pranking." He replied, grabbing Naruto's hand.
"Let's get him and finish this, Teme." Naruto pulled his teammate back up on his feet.
"Hmph." Sasuke smirked, "Helpless optimist." Looking around, they noticed a bird high up in the sky flying away.
---
"Damnit! Where are they going on their own?!" Pakura gazed at the two troublemakers heading deep into the forest after the blonde Akatsuki.
"Haa-!" A white-clothed wooden puppet flew in front of Pakura, shielding her from a hail of poison needles, "Go after the boys, I have got it, Pakura-chan!"
"Chiyo-baasan? Are you-?"
"
"Shit! Don't you dare to die! I'll be back in a moment." Pakura turned around and chased after Naruto and Sasuke.
"Just stay back, girl. Sasori-chan is my burden." Chiyo walked towards the Akatsuki.
"I'm sorry, I can't do that." Hinata started spinning wildly on her heel. The water from her previous technique reacted accordingly, collecting around the Hyuga, "
Fast-moving water projectiles were aimed at another puppet. Not a second later, the pressurized water droplets impacted the wood silhouettes puncturing and breaking them apart into pieces.
"Bwahaha! You're good at this, girl!"
Hinata blushed at the compliment, "T-thank you, Chiyo-baasama. It's due to my mother's and Kaname-neesan's teachings."
"Look out!" The old woman yelled out. But thanks to Byakugan, Hinata knew of another wooden humanoid crawling towards her and jumped away before she got attacked.
"Bwahaha!" Chiyo laughed out loud, using only ten of her puppets to hold back about a hundred of their enemy's, "I see you were taught well, young kunoichi. You said that this uncouth Kaname I met was partially responsible for this? I can't even imagine how someone like her could teach a proper, young lady like you."
"Umm... K-Kaname-neesan is only acting like that with strangers. She hides it very well, but she can't hide it from her family. Kaname-neesan has a bigger heart than anyone I know."
"Family? Kaname was adopted into the Hyuga clan?"
Hinata's face flushed, "N-no. My boyf-boy..."
"Ah... I see. The blonde one, right? I saw how you look at each other. What would I give just to be young again... I still remember my husband, bwahaha, I hope you will find happiness. If that blonde kid is worth it, then don't wait, girl. Life is too short to think about what-ifs."
----
The skies were filled with explosions. Naruto's shadow clones aimed their chakra chains at the fleeing Akatsuki.
Deidara dodged most of them and sent his clay bombs at the makeshift air defense.
"Not bad, Dobe. It has slowed him down drastically. But he is getting higher and higher."
"Using so many chains is exhausting even for me, Teme. I can't keep it up for long. I think I have a pla-!" Six clay spiders fell from the treetops at both of them.
With a handful of kunais in his palms, Sasuke accurately threw them at the bombs, impaling them on the close-by tree trunks. "Hmph, as if I would get caught twice in the same way. So, what's your plan?"
"Hehehe..." Naruto chuckled, pointing at a leaf near Sasuke's feet.
"Huh? Words, use words, Dobe!"
"Shh... It goes like this..." He murmured.
A minute later, Sasuke growled, "Are you stupid? How will I survive that?!"
"I'm sure you can think of something, Teme."
"... Fuck this. Your stupid plans somehow always play out nicely. Let's do this, Dobe!" Sasuke put lots of chakra into his legs and launched himself into the sky towards a small white dot high above their heads.
"I knew you would like this, Teme!
As Sasuke's momentum started to wane, one of Naruto's clones was thrown towards him and acted as a stepping stone, propelling the young Uchiha further up in the sky. Each clay bomb flying towards him was instantly sniped by a yellow chain.
Three-fourths of the way, a group of blondes zoomed towards Sasuke, "Dobe?"
Narutos winked at him. Two shadow clones pointed their feet towards the sky and leaned on other clones. The Uchiha understood the plan and landed on the clones' soles, "Fly, Teme!" they chorused.
Sasuke was launched towards the bird at high speed. A half of a second later, he found himself in front of the man clothed in black cloak with red clouds. Two short swords in hand, he swung at the back of the man with a long ponytail.
'A clone?!' Uchiha's blades got stuck halfway into a duplicate's body sprouting in defense in front of his eyes.
Before Sasuke reacted, the clone caught his arm, holding him in place. The Konoha's ninja watched one of Akatsuki's arachnoid bombs scurrying towards him.
"Tsk!" he kicked the clone, ejecting himself away from the threat and the clay bird. Flipping around, he smirked at the Akatsuki, "
As the blonde's head was hidden from his eyes, Sasuke aimed his sight at the only part of the body he could see, namely Deidara's right hand. The scream of pain was like honey to his ears. Unexpectedly, it was followed by a small explosion and a burning, with black flames, arm flying away. 'Without hesitation, he just blew his entire arm off?! Heh, Akatsuki really are the monsters... Your turn, Dobe.'
During his short scuffle on top of the flying animal, Sasuke used a tiny amount of chakra to stick an inconspicuous leaf on top of it. Naruto canceled the transformation technique and instantly bolted towards his fellow jinchūriki. Only after hoisting Gaara under his arm, he turned around to look at the Akatsuki.
Deidara was groaning in pain, holding a profusely bleeding stump. "I hope it hurts, bastard!"
The bomber glared at him. "Heh. Now we go down.
'Is Teme still falling?' he looked in the sky, 'Whatever, he won't die from a fall. Is Gaara still alive?' Thanks to the basic schooling of his sister, Naruto knew how to check the pulse. 'His heart is still beating.'
'Hey, kit!' The habitant of his mind called out to him.
'What is it, Furball?'
'*Growl* Don't call me that.'
'Heh, as you wish, Tsundere-kun. What do you want ~ttebayo?'
A long silence answered him, 'That stupid raccoon inside the hairless monkey in front of you is barely alive. Something or someone must have tried to off Shukkaku.'
'You don't follow what is talked around me?'
'Why should I care about lesser beings?!' Kyūbi's roar sounded in Naruto's mind.
'Maybe because those hairless monkeys, as you call us, are hunting your brothers and sisters down ~ttebayo?'
'All of you want are power-hungry! Nothing changed in this century!'
'Yeah? Some people fight for you and your siblings ~ttebayo! Like Sis and me!'
'*Growl* Don't you dare to mention an Uchiha!'
'Heh, sucks to be you, Furball. You may act like you don't care and hate it, but I'm sure you see her as your ally ~ttebayo.' Naruto laughed out, waiting for the reply, but the Nine-Tails quit their conversation.
*KABOOM*
"Wha-?" A massive explosion in the sky made Naruto tumble on the ground. The power of the blast broke the trees apart. "Heh, serves you right!"
"Naruto-kun, are you here?" A female called out after him.
"Yeah!" he waved at Pakura.
Propping up Naruto's teammate, she walked towards the blonde.
"Is Teme okay?" he asked once the green-haired kunoichi walked up to him.
"Ugh... shut up, Dobe."
She clubbed the back of Naruto's head, "I ordered you two to stand back!"
"I'm sorry, Paku-nee. But we accomplished the mission ~ttebayo! See?" Naruto pointed at the unconscious Gaara.
"Huh? But-?"
"Gaara is exhausted but alive ~ttebayo." Naruto reported.
"Haaaa... Okay, good job. Sasuke got hit by the blast mid-flight. I caught him just a moment before he splattered on the ground. You two are too lucky for your own good. I'm going back to help Hina-chan and-" Pakura felt the gust of massive wings above her. Glancing up, she noticed a house-sized clay-white dragon gliding down towards the ground.
"Fuck this! I was asked to draw The Kyūbi's jinchūriki away, but I don't care anymore! I'm going to kill you all!" Deidara proclaimed.
Sasuke pushed himself off Pakura's arm, "You still have an arm for me to take."
"Hehe, let's do this, Teme."
"No, you two will stand back this time. I'll deal with-"
"Deidara." A rumbling voice came from behind the blonde Akatsuki.
"Shit!" Pakura stood between Kakashi's teammates and a new Akatsuki - a man with black skin revealed itself, sprouting from the ground like a plant.
"Zetsu? What do you want?!"
"You're late. Where is Kyūbi's jinchūriki?"
"Are you blind? Whatever, give me a minute, and I will bring him to you myself."
"No." Zetsu shot back decisively, "You've disappointed him. Pain-sama orders you to retreat."
"Huh? I have them where I want! I need just a minute to finish this once and for all!"
"She is here." the plant-man pointed his finger high into the sky.
"Sis!" Naruto laughed out loud, seeing a mountain-sized red Susanoo floating above them.
"Dobe..." Sasuke called out to him, "Nee-san is crying."
-----
"You may have destroyed all my puppets, but it doesn't change the fact that you can't kill me." Sasori said matter-of-factly.
"Haah... haah... haah." Chiyo gasped for breath.
"I may be a little rusty with taijutsu. But your skills don't matter, girl. Just let me kill you and be done with it." The red-haired Akatsuki's body quickly reformed after Hinata's powerful strike.
"Why is it getting so hot in here... Sasori-chan..." his grandmother groaned, "You won't kill her as long as I'm here."
"That can be arranged."
"It really is getting hot here." Hinata swept the droplets away from her temple.
"Oh." Sasori smiled, looking into the sky. "So Kaname Uchiha came as expected."
Kaname's Susanoo landed in front of the cave. Almost crashing everyone present.
"U-Uchiha?!" Chiyo spluttered, looking upon a mountain-sized humanoid chakra being in front of her.
"Nee-san?" Hinata looked straight into Kaname's eyes. The tears were flowing upwards and evaporated once they left the woman's cheeks.
"Hah. I know what you came here for, Kaname! As long as I'm here, you won't break the seal protecting the cave!"
"Get away, Hina-chan." Kaname shouted out. Her Susanoo extended its hand, immense amounts of fire chakra centered on its palm. Five seconds later, the heat of quickly forming Rasengan set aflame every nearby greenery.
"Hahaha!" Sasori jumped upon the boulder blocking the entrance to the Akatsuki's hideout, "Yes! That's what I'm talking about! Feel the hate, girl!"
Through her tears, Kaname stared at the boulder separating her from Utakata. Once the Rasengan with Fire chakra was ready, Kaname used it to impact the blockade.
"Make the world kneel before you, make them fear you! Give the Akatsuki a true reason to exist! Show everyone your power and become a monst-!" Sasori yelled out happily that the plan worked. He continued his ravings until the house-sized Rasengan hit him. The power behind the perfected fire chakra manipulation didn't just burn or kill him - the heat erased everything it touched. Without the ability to recreate his corpse, the Edo Tensei was canceled.
Hinata watched her enemy and the boulder he stood upon deletion upon contact with her sister-in-law jutsu. Once the Fire Rasengan reached the seal protecting the entrance, she noticed enormous glass-like cracks forming around the side of the ravine. Expecting what would happen, she bolted towards Chiyo, pushing the old woman down, and plunged herself onto the ground.
*Crackle-crackle*
*Kaboom*
The resulting explosion blew Susanoo's forearm off. Hinata smelt her hair was singed by the encompassing heat. Before she stood back up, she saw Kaname cancel out her enormous chakra armor and run into the burned cave entrance.
-----
"Fufufu. The time has come for you." Orochimaru chuckled happily.
"*Cough*" The old man prepared for combat.
"Sarutobi-san? Who are they?" Duy wheeled his chair next to the retired Hokage.
"Obito-kun..." Hiruzen looked sadly at the unmasked young man in front of him.
'Why?! Why is it always like this?! They should be angry, feel betrayed, or at least curse me! Why do they always look at me with pity?!' The Uchiha thought.
"I wasn't able to say it before, Obito-kun. I'm sorry for everything. I-I couldn't protect Ren-chan."
"SHUT UP! I don't want to hear this!" Obito exploded in anger.
"Wait, Obito? That Obito? Kana-chan's dead friend?" Guy stood in front of his team, defending them from the trio of dangerous men.
"Yes, Guy-kun. And you must be Nagato-kun. We finally meet face to face." Hiruzen looked upon bolted to a machine red-haired sickly-looking man.
"So this is your target, Orochimaru?" Nagato asked, disregarding the old man's greetings.
"Fufufu. I wanted to kill my sensei. But getting rid of both Konoha's master taijutsu specialists is a nice bonus."
"We will show you the power of Y-" a monobrow young man started shouting.
"No, Lee-kun." His teacher's hand stopped him, "We retreat, isn't that right, Hokage-sama?"
"
"Orochimaru-kun. Please, let them go. You want me - leave the young blood for another day."
"Hmm..." The Snake Sannin put his finger at his chin, thinking it through. Not even a second later, he purred out a: "No."