Chapter 34 Part-1

Gaara stood near the north-western coast of the Land of Lightning, which was where they had predicted the White Zetsu army would come from. They couldn't go through the Land of Iron because it was heavily guarded by that nation's samurai. Because they were on the peninsula of the Land of Iron, it meant they would have to travel by sea, and since Kumogakure had been annihilated, it was the safest route for them to take.

"Commander Gaara!" a shinobi called out to him. He was standing near the Chakra Transmission Communication Device. Another shinobi was attached to the device, his face hidden by a helmet.

Gaara walked over to them. "What is it?"

"The first and second divisions have engaged the enemy," the shinobi reported.

"What is the size of the enemy force?"

"Smaller than we expected," the shinobi said. "Reports indicate that only a small force of about twenty-thousand is attacking our forces."

Feeling the frown on his face, Gaara contemplated this baffling information. 20,000 troops wasn't large, especially when compared to the 100,000 that they had estimated the enemy to possess. That amount also wouldn't be sufficient to contend with the 40,000 that had been dispatched to deal with them.

A feint?

This could be a feint, but if that was the case, then where would the real attack come from? There were three possibilities, provided this was, indeed, a feint. They could attack somewhere else, they could launch a surprise attack, or this could be a feint to lure the first and second divisions into a false sense of security and overwhelm them when they grew overconfident.

Mei is currently guarding all of the feudal lords with a contingent of elite ninja. We have two divisions available for backup, including my own fourth division. I think we'll be fine for now.

"Have our forces keep an eye out for anything unusual," Gaara commanded. "Report to me the moment something happens that's outside of our predictions."

With Shikamaru in charge of planning out their engagement, they had created numerous predictions on how this battle would go. Since it was such a large-scale conflict, even Shikamaru, whose genius was known to everyone, couldn't predict everything, especially since they had so little information on their enemy's true battle strength. However, Shikamaru had predicted that something would happen that was outside of their current ability to deal with. Once they found it, they could inform Shikamaru, who would create a counter-strategy.

From where he stood, Gaara could not see the conflicts currently taking place. As the supreme leader of the Allied Shinobi Forces, his biggest role was to lead the entire army, not just his own fourth division. It galled him to be left waiting on the sidelines, but there was little he could do. Gaara had learned from being Kazekage. Sometimes the most important role a person could take wasn't on the front lines but in the back supporting his people.

He still wished he could fight alongside his companions.

"Supreme Commander!" the shinobi wearing the helmet attached to the communication device shouted suddenly. "A new report just came in! Our forces on the beach are being attacked by Deidara, Hizashi Hyuga, Dan Kato, Kakazu, and the Gold and Silver brothers, Ginkaku and Kinkaku!"

"What?!" Gaara couldn't contain his shock. He didn't know many of those shinobi, but he knew at least one of them. However, Deidara, the one who had tried to kidnap him, was dead.

"Our forces in the Land of Hot Water have reported that they're currently engaged in battle with the Seven Swordsman of the Mist!" the shinobi shouted again.

Gaara bit his lip. The Seven Swordsman of the Mist. Even he knew of them. They were the strongest, most elite force to have come from Kirigakure. However, it was inconceivable that they were fighting his forces. The only current member of the Seven Swordsman alive today was Chōjūrō.

"Update from the fifth division!" the shinobi shouted again. "We have engaged the enemy. Forces consist of… Hanzō, Kimimaro, Chūkichi, and Ibuse!"

It bothered Gaara that he could become even more shocked. Kimimaro? Gaara had fought and defeated Kimimaro when he was still a genin! He remembered that battle, in which he had rescued Rock Lee. Kimimaro had died after succumbing to an illness during their fight. He shouldn't even be alive, much less fighting!

What is going on here? Gaara asked himself. Unfortunately, he wouldn't receive an answer.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto stood on the bridge of the zeppelin along with his team. They were above Mountain's Graveyard, circling around it. From the glass window, he could see the ground below, a thick forest with numerous giant bones jutting up from the vast floral region-like stakes. Even from this distance, he could make out several giant bones that looked like rib cages. There were also a lot of mountains in this area. One of these mountains was no doubt where Akatsuki had stationed their base.

"Captain Naruto," the pilot, a young woman, called out to him. "The air currents have stabilized. You and your team are free to begin the operation."

"Thank you." Naruto turned to the other seven, Neji, Konan, Yugao, Tenten, Rock Lee, Sakura, and Kakashi. "You heard the lady. Let's suit up and get out of here!"

"You seem awfully excited," Sakura commented as they all left the bridge and headed for the emergency exit.

"Of course," Naruto responded, leading the others down the hallway. The bridge was on the bottom floor, so they didn't need to take any stairs. "I've discovered a love for hang gliding. After we finish kicking ass, I think I'll go somewhere with the girls, and we'll try this out for fun."

Sakura wrinkled her nose at his mention of "the girls." She didn't approve of polygamy. Fortunately, what she thought didn't really matter, and Yugao, who happened to be one of those girls, smiled as she walked beside him.

"I think that's a good idea," she said. "Koyuki will love it."

"She'd definitely love it," Konan added. "She's almost as daring as you are."

Naruto grinned. "That's Koyuki for you."

"Is it just me," Tenten began, "or has Naruto become a major player?"

"It's not just you," Neji said with a straight face.

"Yosh! Naruto-kun's flames of youth have exploded!" Rock Lee shouted.

Kakashi just giggled perversely.

The emergency exit hatch was located in the back of the zeppelin, in a large room that had bolted down benches on either side. The room was a lot longer than it was wide. With their heavy footfalls echoed against the wooden floor, Naruto and the other seven walked up to their hang gliders, which hung from racks on the ceiling.

Naruto pulled his hang glider down and hooked himself up to it. He didn't know if these could be called hang gliders. They weren't like the ones traditionally used by most people. The Land of Spring hang glider was basically just a backpack that they strapped to their backs. By pressing a button attached to the chest strap, a pair of wings shot from the backpack. They just called it a hang glider because they couldn't think of anything better to call it.

Pressing a large button next to the emergency hatch, Naruto took a step back as a loud, shrill, whistling reached his ears. The fierce howling of wind echoed throughout the room. Slight pressure was pulling on him, but he held firm and looked at everyone.

"Are you all ready?" he asked.

Everyone except Tenten gave him a loud, "Yes!"

"Is it too late for me to turn back?" she asked.

"Yes," Naruto said.

Tenten's shoulders slumped. "Figures."

Since Naruto was in charge, he lead the way out, leaping from the exit hatch and activating his wings. The air whistled around him. His hair was whipped about. The air was cool from this high up, and it stung his eyes enough that they began to water.

Behind him, one by one, the other seven members of his team leaped out of the hatch and extended their wings. They all formed up behind him in an arrow formation… except for Tenten, who was wobbling all over the place. Naruto sighed and, channeling wind chakra, he forcibly nudged her into the right path, two meters to the left of and slightly behind Rock Lee.

While soaring through the air, Naruto looked at the ground below, searching for the best spot for them to land. Since the forest was so dense, there were few places they could reach without crashing into the trees. The most ideal location would be near one of the large bones. The greenery looked less dense there. They could also land near a mountain, but since he didn't know which mountain Akatsuki was located in, he didn't think that would be a good idea.

Hand gesturing, Naruto directed his two teams to follow him and then soared down toward the largest set of bones in the area. It was the giant ribcage that he'd seen from afar. There was a small patch of forest less land next to it. While this could mean that it had been purposely left there by Akatsuki, and therefore they might be walking into a trap, it was also the only place they could reasonably land without getting stuck in a tree.

As the squadron of ninja descended, Tenten pulled out one of her scrolls and activated it. Her hands shook. Naruto kept her steady using wind chakra as several hundred tri-pronged kunai shot from within the scroll and disappeared into the dense foliage.

The goal in launching his kunai everywhere was to give them a means of moving through the area at a quick speed. If they ran into trouble, Naruto could just use Hiraishin to get them out of trouble by randomly traveling to one of the kunai.

It wasn't long before the ground became much closer. Naruto circled the patch of clear ground several times, checking to see if there were any traps lying in store. He couldn't see anything. He also couldn't sense any chakra emission or killing intent. That didn't mean much. However, it wasn't like they could just stay in the air either.

He made another gesture with his hand, directing everyone to follow him as he oriented himself toward the ground and descended faster than before. He soared past one of the large ribs. Having never seen anything like it, Naruto wondered what sort of creature it was from. Then he was moving past it, getting closer to the ground. Five meters. Two meters. One meter.

Naruto's feet struck the solid ground. He reinforced himself with chakra, skidding along the ground as he slowed down. The other seven followed him. Yugao and Konan landed first, followed by Rock Lee and Neji, and then Tenten and Kakashi, with Sakura coming down last. Naruto took a moment to confirm that everyone was okay before nodding to himself.

"All right. Let's get started," he said. "Kakashi, Neji, Sakura, go set up perimeter seals around this area. Konan and Yugao, I want you to climb up one of these bones and be our eyes in the sky. Tenten and Rock Lee, stick with me."

"Yosh!" Rock Lee shouted with a salute.

"I'll stick around so long as you don't make me fly again," Tenten said.

Naruto smiled. "No promises."

Since he'd given everyone their duties, Naruto started his own task. He made his infamous cross-hand seal and created a dozen clones, which quickly scattered. Then he waited for sixty seconds before created another dozen. He did this several times, spacing out each batch by sixty seconds. After he was done, he sat down and waited.

With luck, it wouldn't be long before one of his clones found Akatsuki's hidden base.

XXXXXXXXXX

The battle had begun. He didn't know how it was going, since he had yet to join the battle, but it didn't matter. This was the preliminary engagement. So long as his forces didn't lose too much, even defeat was acceptable. All his forces needed to do right now was weaken the Allied Shinobi Nation's army so he could use his trump card.

Besides, my prey is already coming here.

Victory would not be determined by which army won, but by whether or not Madara acquired the remaining jinchuriki. Nothing mattered except for that.

Madara stood in the epicenter of his base. Situated in the center of the room was a massive tree, which was further surrounded by large walls that connected it to the floor above. It was from this tree that the White Zetsus were being born. The process was still slow. He was using old Hashirama cells to create the White Zetsu's. It was thanks to this tree that he had been able to build his army of 100,000 strong within the last several decades.

He was not alone; a girl stood next to him, her red hair vibrant and marking her as a member of the Uzumaki Clan. Both of her eyes looked different. One was red with multiple tomoes. The other was purple and had rings in it.

"Tobi," a voice said from behind him.

Madara grimaced as he turned around. The person standing before him had pale skin that was mostly hidden by a large black cloak. What little he could see of the man's skin was not just chalk-white, it was covered in scales. Reptilian. Like a snake. Vibrant yellow snake eyes stared at him from within the hood and a wide smile was stretched across the man's face.

"Kabuto, how are things proceeding?"

He did not trust Kabuto, but so long as this man proved useful, Madara would continue to use him. That said, he was sure that Kabuto had his own agenda. Once his goal had been met, he would probably have to kill Kabuto before he was betrayed.

"Our forces have engaged the Allied Shinobi Nations," Kabuto said. "I've sent out most of our reanimated shinobi to take charge of the battle. I'm sure our enemies will figure out a countermeasure eventually, but they should do a good job of keeping our forces from being defeated for at least a few days."

"Good."

Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation was a technique that revived the dead and turned them into slaves. The jutsu was originally created by Tobirama and further enhanced by Orochimaru. Kabuto had taken the technique and supposedly improved it. Madara didn't know much about the jutsu, but he couldn't deny that it was a fearsome technique.

"Also, a team of ninja have arrived at Mountain's Graveyard," Kabuto continued. "Naruto-kun is with them."

"Is that so?" Madara mumbled. Standing beside him, the girl, Karin, shifted.

He had already expected Naruto to take the fight to him. He wouldn't stand around and let himself be attacked. Better to strike first.

"Send your reanimated shinobi out," Madara ordered. "We'll have Nagato and Itachi deal with Naruto's friends."

"Very well." Kabuto bowed low, mockingly so. Madara pretended to ignore the disrespect as Kabuto turned around and left.

"Madara…" Karin began.

"Do not worry," Madara said. "You will get your chance to destroy Naruto Namikaze."

Karin nodded and grew silent again. Behind his mask, Madara smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto frowned as something tickled his brain, like an itch except inside of his head. Several of his clones had been dispelled, killed, though he didn't know who had done them in. All he could get was a sense of vertigo followed by death. That meant they had likely been placed under a genjutsu before being killed.

Several more clones were dispelled. Standing up, Naruto looked in the direction that his clones were being destroyed. Even as he turned, another team of clones was killed, then another, and another. Someone was killing his clones at a quick rate. What's more, the clones couldn't see them.

Whoever is killing my clones is definitely an S-rank ninja. Even if they only have a portion of my chakra, they are still me.

"Everyone, get ready," Naruto said. "Someone is killing my clones and they are coming this way."

Everyone tensed. Tenten unsealed a pair of swords, Neji activated his Byakugan, and Rock Lee pounded his fists together. Up above them, Konan and Yugao remained on standby, looking in the direction Naruto indicated. It didn't look like they could see anything. The forest was too thick.

"Did your clones get a glimpse of the enemy before they died?" asked Kakashi, putting his book away and pocketing it. Beside him, Sakura tightened her combat gloves.

Naruto shook his head. "No. They killed my clones too quickly for me to see them."

"An S-rank ninja, then." He sighed as he pulled up his headband, revealing his red Sharingan eye. "Sounds like we might have quite the fight on our hands."

As though Kakashi's words were prophetic, a black shadow leaped from within the foliage. Naruto and the others reacted instantly, leaping away from their previous locations, which was a good decision. The ground exploded seconds after they jumped. Landing back on the ground, Naruto looked at the six-meter-wide crater that had suddenly appeared.

Two people set back down on the ground several meters away. One of them was emaciated, his face gaunt and hollow, framed by bright red hair. The other had black hair and red Sharingan eyes. His face had creases in them, making him look older than he was. They both wore a black cloak with red clouds.

"Nagato," Konan mumbled in shock.

"Itachi," Naruto said.

"Naruto…" Itachi narrowed his eyes. "I've heard from Madara that you killed Sasuke."

"I wasn't left with much choice," Naruto said. "Sasuke was dead set on destroying Konoha, and he tried to kill me. Had I gone easy on him, it would have been me who died."

Itachi closed his eyes. "I remember you telling me that the last time we met. I did not think you would actually kill him, though."

"Had he been the Sasuke I remembered, I would have never killed him," Naruto said.

"I understand why you did it, but I can't forgive you," Itachi said.

"I wouldn't expect you to."

Naruto didn't know how Itachi or Nagato was here, though he could easily make a guess. It was probably the Impure World Reincarnation jutsu. That meant Kabuto was likely here as well. He hadn't realized that Kabuto and Madara were working together, but he probably should have.

Konan, Yugao, Kakashi, Neji, Rock Lee, Sakura, and Tenten were arrayed around what might become a battlefield. Itachi and Nagato were in the middle of this group, surrounded on all sides. Neither appeared concerned. If they had been resurrected, then they would regenerate from any damage, so that made sense. The only way to kill them was to seal them.

"Konan," Nagato said as he leaned against Itachi. "I see you have been living happily with Naruto."

"Nagato… I…"

"You needn't say anything," Nagato said. "I realized after Madara killed me that I was just being used this whole time. I'm beginning to doubt that Madara and I even had the same goal."

"That won't stop you from fighting us, will it?" asked Neji.

"The Impure World Reincarnation Technique means that we are being forced to follow the commands of the person who summoned us," Itachi said. "Even if we wanted to, I doubt we'll be able to counteract Kabuto's will."

"Would you even if you could?" asked Naruto.

"I do not know," Itachi admitted. "I am pragmatic, which is why I understand that you probably didn't have much choice, but I still don't like the fact that Sasuke died. However… I also know that the biggest reason for Sasuke's death is Madara's influence. Had I made it impossible for Madara to get ahold of Sasuke, perhaps that would have changed."

"Maybe if you hadn't done so much mental damage to him, he would have been stronger," Kakashi interjected. "It is because you fostered hatred in his heart that he betrayed Konoha, went to Orochimaru, and was ultimately corrupted by Madara."

"Yes, I suppose I am also to blame for what happened," Itachi said.

"Talking about what could have been isn't going to get us anywhere." Yugao readied her katana as she slid her feet apart. "The only thing we can do is move forward. Naruto…" Yugao glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Leave this to Konan, Kakashi, Sakura, and I. We can deal with these two."

"I'll leave it to you, then," Naruto said. "Tenten, Rock Lee, Neji, form up on me. We're heading out."

Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten formed up on Naruto as he ran out of the area. Nagato and Itachi tried to stop him. Itachi, with Nagato still hanging on his shoulder, leaped forward to intercept them. They didn't get far. Konan, with her wings spread, launched several paper mache bombs that exploded the moment they struck the ground. This forced the two shinobi to swerve around to avoid being caught in the explosion, where Kakashi, Sakura, and Yugao were waiting for them.

The last thing Naruto saw was Kakashi, Yugao, Sakura, and Konan engaging Itachi and Nagato in a fierce life or death battle.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya knew from the moment word had spread about former S-rank ninja being brought back to life that the Impure Reincarnation Technique had been used. He wasn't sure who it was that had performed this technique. The only person who should have been capable of it was Orochimaru, but he was dead.

Not that it mattered who performed it. The important thing was finding out a way to counteract the technique, which meant creating a method to return those who had been brought back to the afterlife.

Killing the caster wouldn't work, since this was a technique that only required the caster's chakra once for the resurrection. There were, as far as he knew, two methods of defeating this technique.

The easiest way was to seal the ninja who had been resurrected. Of course, he called it the easiest route, but it was still insanely difficult. It required a sealing master to create the seals. Not only that, but the resurrected ninja had to be immobilized for the seals to be written on them. Given that many of the ninjas who had been resurrected were all S-rank, immobilizing them wasn't going to be easy.

The second way for a resurrected ninja to return to the afterlife was for the ninja to undergo a resolution of the heart. Ninja who were resurrected often had lingering attachments or regrets, which kept them anchored to this world. If a ninja found their regrets leaving, if they managed to attain peace within their heart, the Impure World Reincarnation Technique would automatically release them.

Jiraiya was in Tsunade's division, the Second Division, which was in charge of battling on the Land of Lightning's coast. He was at the beachhead along with nearly 20,000 shinobi, all of whom were either battling with the White Zetsus or trying to fight against the resurrected ninja. Several dozen meters from his position was Tsunade. She was battling Dan.

Dan Kato was Tsunade's former lover. Jiraiya had always been jealous of Dan, who had stolen the heart of the woman he loved, but now, seeing the bitter battle happening between the two, all he felt was pity.

Of course, he had his own battle to contend with.

"Bashosen: Hi no Maki!"

A large spiral of flames blitzed across the ground, toward him, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Jiraiya didn't bother dodging. If he did, then the ninja behind him, who were doing their best to fend off the White Zetsus, would be struck. Instead, he took out a scroll, which he spread across the ground.

"Fuin!"

The scroll was one that he had created in advance. Activating it caused the seal to light up. The fire, which had been right in front of him, warped and bent. Like a funnel, it traveled toward the seal instead of him. When the fire was sucked up into the seal, Jiraiya rolled up the scroll, stuffed it into his ninja pouch, and leaped away from the place where he had been standing while performing several one-handed hand seals.

"Doton: Yomi Numa!"

Slamming his hand into the ground, Jiraiya channeled his chakra through the earth. The area around his opponent suddenly turned into a marshland. The sand became soft and caused the burly figure to sink. Jiraiya didn't let him. He went through another series of hand seals.

"Hari Jizo!"

Jiraiya's long white hair suddenly grew even longer. It wrapped around his body, then hardened into a series of spikes that were harder than steel. Jiraiya, now encased in hair, went through even more hand seals.

"Hari Jigoku!"

The spikes in Jiraiya's hair shot off, detaching as though they were thrown senbons. Several hundred needle-like spikes of hair soared toward his opponent, who was still stuck in the marsh. The needles never reached him. Before they struck, someone else leaped in the way, taking the attack head-on as though it was nothing.

"You need to be more careful, Kinkaku," the one who'd blocked the attack said.

"You're right. Sorry, Ginkaku," the other responded, chastised.

Jiraiya's two opponents were Ginkaku and Kinkaku, otherwise known as the Gold and Silver Brothers. They were both burly shinobi, with thick, muscular bodies that were standard of people from Kumogakure. Their skin was dark and they had three whisker marks on either side of their cheek. Standard attire for a jonin of Kumo adorned them both. A Kumo headband was tied tightly around their heads, keeping their long silver and gold hair out of their faces.

The one known as Ginkaku, whose hair was silver, wielded two ancient artifacts from the Rikudou Sennin's time. One of them was a sword known as Shichiseiken, which allowed Ginkaku to sever a person's word soul, the word they said the most. The other was a giant gourd called Benihisago. It allowed the user to suck up a person's word soul once it has been severed by Shichiseiken. This also meant that the person whose word soul was sucked into the gourd would also be sucked up with it once they said that word. That was how the curse worked.

"This ninja is tough, Kinkaku."

"He is, Ginkaku. We haven't even been able to draw out his word soul."

Jiraiya had been playing it safe, attacking from long range and never letting these two get close enough to use their treasures. As a ninjutsu specialist whose greatest strength was summoning, keeping the two away wasn't difficult, despite how strong they were. Right now, he only needed to worry about Kinkaku, who had a rope known as Kokinjo tied around his arm. That rope had the ability to draw out a person's word soul.

"Of course I'm tough!" Jiraiya called out as he went through several hand seals. "Don't you two know who I am? I am the great Jiraiya, the toad sage of Mount Myoboku. You're not going to be able to defeat me with those weapons. Kuchiyose: Yatai Kuzushi no Jutsu!"

Without warning, a massive toad appeared above Kinkaku and Ginkaku, who leaped out of the way as the toad fell on the beach. While the attack had missed, it did an admirable job of separating them. Jiraiya went through even more hand seals.

"Kekkei: Hyoro!"

A toad appeared in front of Jiraiya. It was small and had pinkish skin. A gray band was wrapped around its stomach, and its eyes were a bright yellow.

The enemy ninja closest to the toad summons was Ginkaku. The gourd toad shot out its tongue, trying to latch onto Ginkaku and pull him into its mouth, but of course, Ginkaku wasn't going to a standstill. He wasn't an S-ranked shinobi for nothing. Just as Jiraiya expected, Ginkaku leaped back several feet and then slammed Shichiseiken into the toad's tongue. This resulted in the toad squealing and retracting its tongue quickly before disappearing in a burst of smoke.

That was okay. Jiraiya had already finished his hand seals.

"Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!"

A fireball spewed from Jiraiya's mouth. Kinkaku waved Bashosen. Several rows of earth rose from the ground, blocking the fireball from hitting Ginkaku. That was okay. It was just a distraction.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Jiraiya created a single. The clone rushed forward, leaped over the large stakes of earth, and created a Rasengan in his hand. He descended toward the ground and tried to slam the Rasengan into Ginkaku. His opponent lept back, but during that time, Jiraiya, the real one, had rushed behind him and kicked Shichiseiken out of Ginkaku's hand.

He would have done more, but Kinkaku had rushed forward and thrust out his left hand. Kokinjo, which was wrapped around his left arm, glowed brightly.

"Bind and Draw!"

Jiraiya didn't flinch as he felt his word soul being drawn out of his body, but he couldn't say it felt pleasant. It was like something had latched onto his internal organs and yanked on them. This was followed by a strange inky feeling, as though his blood was being drawn from his body and soaked into a sponge.

This isn't good.

Now that the Kokinjo had drawn out his word soul, he needed to be careful not to say the word that he used the most. Fortunately, he wasn't like Naruto with his catchphrase. The word Jiraiya used the most wasn't something that could be said on the battlefield.

"Rasengan!"

Since Kinkaku was so close, Jiraiya was able to slam his Rasengan into his enemy this time. Kinkaku screamed as the spiraling sphere drilled into him. Jiraiya felt some resistance. Then, with a shout, Jiraiya pushed the Rasengan into Kinkaku's body even more. The body was ground away before Kinkaku was sent flying backward.

"BROTHER!"

Ginkaku tried to reach his brother, but Jiraiya created another shadow clone to intercept him. While Ginkaku defeated the clone in less than a second, that less than a second was enough for Jiraiya, who sped through more hand seals.

"Ranjishigami no Jutsu!"

Jiraiya felt his chakra go to his head. His hair suddenly extended, growing to an incredible length in less time than it took to blink. The thickly bundled hair slammed into Ginkaku without mercy. Then it wrapped around him. Ginkaku struggled to break free, but Jiraiya sent even more chakra into his hair, reinforcing it to the point where not even a bijuu would be able to escape easily.

"It looks like this is the end, isn't it?" Jiraiya said as he held up his finger. His plan was to use the Shikoku Fuin, the finger carving seal technique, to engrave seals on Ginkaku's body. He was going to seal away Ginkaku without the need to waste paper or time.

Well, that was the plan anyway.

"Let go of my brother!" a shout came from behind him.

Distracted, Jiraiya had no real choice but to let go of Ginkaku and leap away. As the ground that he had been standing on cratered, Jiraiya looked at the large cloud of dust being kicked up and sighed. He was not surprised to see a fully healed Kinkaku when the sand dispersed. That Impure Reincarnation Technique sure was troublesome.

"You two are real pieces of work," Jiraiya said. "Anyone else would have lost by now."

Of course, part of the reason he wasn't doing so well likely had to do with the fact that he only had one arm. Even though he could now use most of his jutsu via one-handed hand seals, it still took him longer because he was so used to having two hands. His brain was hardwired to use regular hand seals.

"Hmph! I could say the same to you, geezer," Ginkaku said. "You're a real pain in the ass. Why don't you just hurry up and die?"

"No can do," Jiraiya said. "The only one who is going to the afterlife are you clowns."

Jiraiya had been trying to think of a way he could defeat these two, but it was hard. They would obviously not return to death themselves. That meant he had to seal them. However, sealing two S-rank ninjas who didn't want to be sealed was a tall order. His only silver lining was that neither Kinkaku nor Ginkaku were any good with regular jutsu. They relied so heavily on the Rikudou Sennin's artifacts that they didn't have any jutsu to use.

"You think you can beat us?" Ginkoku asked.

"I think this geezer needs to realize that he's outclassed," Kinkaku added.

A strange wind blew across the battlefield, an ominous wind, which sent chills down Jiraiya's spine. It was only now that Jiraiya remembered something he'd heard about the Silver and Gold Brothers. Long ago, these two had been eaten by the Kyuubi. Rather than give up and die, they gorged themselves on the Kyuubi's flesh and were eventually spat out. It was their eating of the Kyuubi's flesh that gave them such incredible chakra capacity, and also…

Dark red chakra bubbled from Kinkaku's and Ginkaku's pores. The chakra took shape. Red fox ears sprouted from their heads, two tails sprouted from their backs, and their posture changed. They no longer stood up straight. They were hunched over like a pair of animals.

It wasn't long before the red chakra covered their bodies entirely, to the point where their original bodies were no longer visible. It reminded Jiraiya of Naruto's previous stage-two form.

"It's time to show you the power we gained when we were inside of the Kyuubi," Kinkaku said.

"We're gonna kill you," Ginkaku agreed.

The air around the two shinobi had become heavy, dense, and filled with malice. Jiraiya's bones creaked from the pressure these two were emitting. It wasn't quite as bad as Naruto when he went four tails, but these two had at least enough chakra to match three-tailed Naruto.

"Well… this looks slightly problematic," Jiraiya muttered. "I don't support we could talk this out?"

"It's too late for that!" Ginkaku roared as he tried to slam his tails into Jiraiya.

Being the nimble old guy that he was, Jiraiya hopped back, avoiding the attack. Not that avoiding it meant much. A mass of superheated sand slammed into Jiraiya, searing his face. If it weren't for him activating his Haro Jizo in time, he might have very well gotten his face burned off. Even with his hardened hair surrounding him like a barrier, Jiraiya was buffeted and sent flying through the air from the shock wave that the tail kicked up.

Skidding across the ground, Jiraiya went through another set of hand seals.

"Katon: Endan!"

After gathering oil in his mouth, Jiraiya spat out several tiny pellets that instantly ignited after leaving his mouth. The small fireballs didn't strike Kinkaku or Ginkaku. It wouldn't have done anything. They hit the ground around the two ninjas, kicking up more dust and smoke.

Jiraiya used this moment to take out a scroll, set it on the ground, and activate it with a hand seal. Poof! Smoke burst from the scroll. When it cleared, another Jiraiya was found sitting on the scroll. It was a clone.

After getting his arm ripped off by Nagato, Jiraiya had gone back to Mount Myoboku, where he'd re-trained himself in the use of Sage Mode. It had taken a lot of work. It had taken many lumps from old man Fukusaku's cane. However, Jiraiya had finally mastered Sage Mode, and, using the same method that his godson had thought up, used a summoning scroll to summon a clone that could be used to activate the mode for him.

That brat sometimes comes up with the best ideas.

The clone dispelled, sending all of the excess chakra straight into Jiraiya. He felt his muscles strengthen. His body became far stronger, his chakra surpassed what it had been, and his senses became enhanced beyond the norm. In short, he felt like he could kick the ass of any ninja nearby.

Ginkaku and Kinkaku, seeing their attack fail, charged at Jiraiya, who remained calm as he watched them come closer. The two were fast. No doubts about it. With Kyuubi's chakra enhancing them, they were even faster than Mighto Gai when he opened his gates. However, with Sage Mode, it didn't matter how fast they were.

I have to finish this in 30 minutes.

Jiraiya slid his feet apart as he adopted the Frog Kata stance. The Gold and Silver Brothers were barely five meters away. He took a deep breath. Three meters. Preparing himself, Jiraiya counted down in his head. Two meters. It was time. One meter.

Kinkaku and Ginkaku tried to attack him in a pincer maneuver, coming in on his left and right. Jiraiya leapt into the air. The two stopped themselves before they could hit each other, but they could do nothing as he launched a kick at their heads. Bang! Ginkaku and Kinkaku were blown away. Even though Jiraiya's feet didn't hit them, the effects of Sage Mode ensured that they were hit anyway. As he landed back on the ground, Jiraiya decided to go after Ginkaku first.

"Shikoku Fuin!"

As a master at sealing, Jiraiya's skills when it came to seals was second only to Naruto. Carving seals into someone else's skin was an easy task for him. That's exactly what he did here. Emitting chakra from his index and middle finger, Jiraiya carved a seal into Ginkaku's back. He needed to use more chakra than normal, and his finger burned like it was being set on fire as he touched the corrosive chakra, but he managed to complete the seal thanks to Sage Mode.

"What is this?!" Ginkaku shouted.

"A seal that I made up two seconds ago!" Jiraiya shouted back, grinning as he slammed his only remaining hand into the seal. "Edo Tensei: Fuin!"

"GRRAAAA!"

"BROTHER!"

The seals on Ginkaku's body rapidly spread from Jiraiya's hand to the rest of his body. They formed a series of chains that wrapped around him like snakes of ink. It wasn't long after the seal spread that the Kyuubi's chakra receded back into Ginkaku, withdrawing and leaving the former Kumo ninja in his original state. The seals continued moving, continued expanding, until they eventually covered his entire body in black ink. Ginkaku flopped several times as though trying to escape. It wouldn't do any good. Jiraiya might not have been able to release the Impure Resurrection Technique, but that seal would keep his enemy from breaking free regardless of how strong he was.

"Damn you!" Kinkaku roared as he tried to crush Jiraiya with his tails.

Jiraiya dodged the tails, hopping back and forth as he created a shadow clone and then created a Rasengan. The clone worked in synch with him. The Rasengan in his hand became bigger—much bigger. It expanded in size until it was nearly two times the size of him. Once it was that large, Jiraiya leaped into the air, the clone sacrificed itself to provide a distraction, and he descended toward Kinkaku with his hand thrust out.

"Senpo: Choodoma Rasengan!"

Jiraiya had never used this jutsu before. The Rasengan was created by swirling chakra together in many directions and condensing it. This worked along the same lines, except it was hundreds of times more powerful.

The shock wave that was unleashed when the Rasengan struck Kinkaku was massive, strong enough that it slammed into Jiraiya, its creator, without mercy. He grunted as he was sent flying into the sky. From so high up, he had a bird's eye view of what happened with his attack.

Traveling across the beach was the shock wave itself. It tore apart the ground, an expanding cloud of sand that shot in every direction like a storm. Every battle that had been taking place near him was interrupted. The ninja and White Zetsus were all swept by the shock wave and sent sailing.

In the center of this shock wave, where his Rasengan had struck, a giant sphere of chakra continued to grow. It increased in size. One meter in diameter. Two meters. Three. Five. Ten. Meanwhile, the shock wave struck the cliff of the beachhead. Jiraiya, still in the air, winced as massive cracks spread along the cliff. Large chunks of rock fell, only to be destroyed by the fierce winds that his jutsu kicked up.

This is a lot more powerful than I had expected it to be…

Most of the cliff was destroyed by now, and as the explosion from his jutsu dispersed, Jiraiya could see that the beach didn't exist anymore either. It was gone. Completely. As though it had been wiped from the face of the earth. Now all that remained was the sea.

Jiraiya landed on the ground at what was now the edge of the newly reformed cliff. He looked at the vast expanse of sea and scratched his head.

"I wonder if that destroyed Kinkaku's body so completely that he can't even reform," he mumbled.

He didn't know everything about the Impure Reincarnation Technique; it was not a technique that he had studied in depth. However, from what he knew, the body of any ninja resurrected from that technique should be able to reform their body no matter how damaged. However, what if the body was no longer even around? Could it revive if it had been reduced to molecules?

"Jiraiya…" an angry female voice said from behind him.

Turning slowly, oh so slowly, Jiraiya found himself looking into the irritated face of one Tsunade Senju.

"Ah… Tsunade…"

"Would you mind telling me why you decided to destroy the beach like that?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya gulped as he realized that he might be even more screwed now than he was before.

He already missed the Gold and Silver Brothers.

XXXXXXXXXX

Tenten, Rock Lee, and Neji moved alongside Naruto, leaping through the trees. They were heading in the direction that Itachi and Nagato had come from. Chances were good that the Akatsuki base was located somewhere in that direction.

"Naruto," Neji said. "There's a person several kilometers ahead."

"What do they look like?" asked Naruto.

"Long red hair, not very tall. She has two different types of doujutsu."

Two different types of doujutsu…

"Be prepared for anything," Naruto said out loud.

He received a chorus of "Hai!" from Rock Lee and Tenten. Neji nodded as he prepared to engage in this new enemy. Naruto also prepared himself. He was sure he knew who they were coming up on, though he also knew that he could be wrong.

"Shinra Tensei!"

"Scatter!" Naruto shouted.

Everyone leaped away from the tree branch just in time, for the tree branch exploded in a shower of bark and wood splinters. Naruto landed on another branch several meters away. Neji had landed with him, but Rock Lee and Tenten ended up separated from them.

"Bansho Ten'in!"

Naruto felt a tug on his body seconds before he was yanked through the air. Clicking his tongue, Naruto stuck out his arm and created a Rasengan in the palm of his hand. It wasn't long before he found the person who was trying to pull him to her. It was the girl who'd been with Sasuke. Just like Neji had said, this girl had two different eyes. Her left eye was the red of a Sharingan and her right had the Rinnegan in it.

Thrusting out his hand, Naruto watched as the girl, Karin he thought her name was, leaped away when she realized that he was attacking her. His Rasengan plowed into the ground. An explosion went up. Dirt and foliage flew everywhere. Karin landed on a tree several meters away.

"Let me guess," Naruto began dryly, "you're here to get revenge on me for killing Sasuke, right?"

Karin's eyes hardened. "I'm going to kill you for what you did to Sasuke-kun."

There were so many things he could have said to that. He could have told her that it was Sasuke's fault for trying to kill him, could have said that Sasuke had brought death on himself, could have raged at her hypocrisy… but he didn't. Naruto knew that it was useless to try and reason with someone who didn't want to be reasoned with. This girl was out for blood. That was all she wanted.

"Naruto," Tenten said as she, Rock Lee, and Neji landed on the ground near him. "Please take Neji and go. Leave this girl to Rock Lee and me."

"All right." Naruto didn't argue. "Come on, Neji. Tenten and Rock Lee have got this."

"You aren't going anywhere!" Karin shouted as she held out her hand, no doubt prepared to fire off another Shinra Tensei at Naruto's retreating back.

She would never get the chance.

"Soshoryu!"

Karin was forced to leap away as several dozen kunai with exploding tags attached to them sailed at her. They missed, slamming into the tree behind her and blowing it apart. As wood splinters flew everywhere, Karin landed on her feet and glared at Tenten and Rock Lee, who stood in front of the retreating Naruto's back.

"Your fight is with me," Tenten said as she brandished her two scimitars.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Kakashi," Itachi began, "I see you've become even more proficient with your Sharingan. I'm impressed that a non-Uchiha can show such an affinity with our clan's doujutsu."

"Thanks!" Kakashi replied with a cheery smile. "I've been practicing."

Unlike most shinobi battles, which were fraught with jutsu flying everywhere and mass destruction, their battle was relatively nondestructive. He and Itachi had been attacking each other with genjutsu and sometimes taijutsu. They'd messed with each other visual perceptions, changed their sense of direction, and occasionally struck each other with fists and feet. So far, neither had been able to land a decisive blow on the other.

"It shows," Itachi complimented as another one of his illusions was dispelled by Kakashi.

"Tell me something," Kakashi said, "do you hate Naruto?"

Itachi sighed. "I had a feeling you would bring this up. It is true that I'm angry at Naruto for killing Sasuke, but it's not as if I hate him for what happened. I watched Naruto for a few years when I was still in the Anbu. I know he isn't the kind of person who would kill his friend unless he wasn't given a choice. In truth, I blame myself for what happened to my brother. Perhaps if I was stronger, if I hadn't fostered Sasuke's hatred, if I had discovered another way, then maybe Sasuke wouldn't have turned out the way he did."

"I see." Kakashi grew quiet for a moment. He was molding his chakra and didn't want Itachi to notice. "I'm glad to hear that."

A clone sprang up from behind Itachi, kunai in hand, prepared to impale Itachi through the back. However, the moment the kunai struck him, the Uchiha burst into ravens. Kakashi knew that this was another illusion. He didn't know what kind of genjutsu this was, but he wasn't going to let it take hold. He used his Sharingan to dispel it.

Itachi was suddenly right in front of him.

Don't tell me I was under an illusion this whole time?!

Kakashi ducked, feeling several strands of his hair get cut off from the kunai. That was way too close! Thrusting his palm toward Itachi's chin in an uppercut, Kakashi was not surprised when his opponent tilted and avoided the attack. Disappointed certainly. Even so, he'd expected this to happen, he'd planned for it and prepared a countermeasure.

Before Itachi could move far, Kakashi leaped back as Sakura descended from the sky and slammed into him. The earth around her fist exploded. The ground was shaken, cracks spreading, large chunks breaking apart.

Itachi had burst into ravens again.

Another genjutsu…

As Itachi reappeared, Sakura kicked up several of the broken chunks of earth and punched them. Each chunk flew forward at Itachi, who was forced to evade them.

Kakashi waited for a second until Itachi was suitably distracted, and then he rushed forward, separating the distance between them and engaging in another taijutsu battle.

Duck. Kakashi avoided a kunai to the head. He reacted with a kick to Itachi's shins, though his attack was leaped over. Kakashi raised his forearms, using them as guards against Itachi's kicks. His foe landed on the ground. Sakura came in from behind, but Itachi must have sensed her presence, for he spun around and avoided her punch.

Sakura leaped back when Itachi tried to attack her. Kakashi spat out several balls of fire, though they were all avoided by Itachi despite being at point-blank range. Reacting with enviable swiftness, Itachi attempted to impale Kakaski with a kunai, but Kakashi had seen the attack coming with his Sharingan. He swerved around the thrust attack, then trapped Itachi's arm between his arm and torso. At the same time, his Sharingan shifted, going from a regular Sharingan to a Mangekyo.

"Kamui!"

Itachi's eyes went wide as he realized what was happening. He tried to respond, but it was already too late. He was trapped within Kakashi's jutsu. The air around them both swirled, large and black, like a vortex of nothingness that was trying to fill itself by sucking in everything.

Kakashi leaped back, feet sliding along the ground as Itachi's body was ripped apart from the jutsu. Leaning over, hands on his knees, Kakashi tried to regain his breath. Kamui cost a lot of chakra. He could probably only use that jutsu six or seven more times.

Several feet away, Itachi lay in two parts. His entire torso had been born from his legs. Despite this, he was still alive, no doubt thanks to the Impure World Reincarnation.

"You really have grown strong," Itachi said, and even as he spoke, his body was being healed. Particles floated through the air. They coalesced around Itachi, reforming his once broken body.

"I don't support I could convince you to stay down," Kakashi offered.

"I'm afraid not," Itachi replied as he stood back up.

"I thought that would be the case." Kakashi sighed. Ninjas like him never had it easy.

XXXXXXXXXX

This had to be the place. Naruto studied the cavern walls as he and Neji walked along what seemed like a multi-passage corridor. There wasn't much to look at.

As they walked, their footsteps echoed all around them. It seemed abnormally loud, this sound, which rang in his ears like someone continuously banging a gong.

"Naruto," Neji said, suddenly stopping. "There are two people up ahead. One of them is in this direction, and the other is in that direction."

Neji pointed at two different passages, which separated about a meter in front of them, both passages becoming too dark for even Naruto to see for more than a meter or two in. These passages reminded him of the mouth of a monster.

"What do these two look like?" asked Naruto.

"One of them is wearing a swirl mask."

"That would be the one calling himself Madara."

Naruto nodded at Kurama's words. "And the other?"

"He's wearing a hood." Neji narrowed his eyes. "He has snake-like patterns on his skin, almost like his skin is made of scales. He also has a tail."

A tail…?

Naruto thought that sounded familiar, but he couldn't place who it might be. "What's he doing?"

"It looks like he's staring at a board with pebbles on it."

Yeah. Not ringing any bells. Still…

"Go after that guy. He might be the one who's using the Impure World Reincarnation. If possible, make him release the jutsu. If not, capture him alive so we can have someone else force him to release it."

"All right." Neji nodded. "Be careful, Naruto."

"Yeah, you too."

XXXXXXXXXX

Konan had been doing her best to keep Nagato's attention on her, flitting about through the air, making him attack her with his jutsu. Yugao was somewhere within the forest. The reason Konan was trying to keep his eyes on her was so her partner could sneak up and attack.

Nagato's aim wasn't as good as it could have been. This Nagato was crippled, his body emaciated. He looked up at her with his Rinnegan eyes visible through parted red hair. He held out a single hand, finger splayed.

"Bansho Tan'in."

Konan felt the tug as Nagato's technique yanked her toward the ground. She knew more about this jutsu's flaws than anyone save Nagato himself. Instead of trying to fight it, she flew forward, toward Nagato and prepared one of her own jutsu.

"Kami Shuriken!"

Thanks to Nagato's Bansho Tan'in, all of the shuriken flew at him far faster than they would have otherwise, though this was Nagato. He probably knew she would do this. Indeed, after he finished his first attack, he raised his other hand at her.

"Shinra Tensei."

Konan swerved out of the way, barrel-rolling through the air like a madwoman. All of her shuriken sliced through the airspace she'd been flying.

"Paper Chakram!"

Holding her hands over her head, Konan gathered paper, large quantities which swirled around her head, forming a large chakram. These slips weren't regular paper but paper bombs. She threw the chakram at Nagato, who didn't even bother to move. His body opened up as though he were made of machine parts instead of flesh and blood. Then several dozen missiles shot from him, striking the chakram and exploding.

The paper was shredded. It tried to scatter, blowing to the four winds, but Konan channeled her chakra and exerted influence over the paper. She moved her hands like a conductor leading an orchestra. The paper quivered before shooting at Nagato, who leapt backward just in time to avoid the massive explosion that followed.

He knew I was using paper bombs? Of course, he did. This is Nagato.

Konan sent more chakra into her paper bombs, launching them at Nagato in groups of two and three. Rather than dodging, Nagato raised his hands and a shield sprang up around him. The paper bombs exploded against the shield, detonating with an earth-shaking rumble.

Konan didn't stand still as Nagato was consumed by flames. She flew away, knowing better than to assume he'd been defeated by something like this, and indeed, a second later, she heard a shout from within the fire.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

The smoke and fire cleared away, revealing a large bird with a number of piercings, a giant beak that resembled a drill, and Rinnegan eyes. It was the Giant Drill-Beaked Bird. This was one of Nagato's summons.

With a loud caw, the bird flapped its massive wings. It flew into the air and shot straight for her. Konan flew backward and held out her hands, unleashing a massive amount of paper slips that formed a wall in front of the bird. This didn't do much. It broke through with ease. However, Konan went through several hand seals, and suddenly, all of the paper that the bird scattered slammed against it. The paper slips bound the bird, which tried to fight to no avail. Konan formed another hand seal.

"Kai!"

Fierce winds slammed into her as the detonation displaced the air in front of her. Konan flapped her wings to keep steady, watching the fireball from her paper bombs. She hoped that would be enough to defeat this thing. As the fire dispersed, Konan saw that the bird was gone and breathed a sigh of relief.

That was too close. Now to deal with Nagato.

Konan looked down to discover that Nagato was already in combat with Yugao, who must have tried to launch a sneak attack while she'd been fighting the summons. The woman was doing her best. Her blade struck at Nagato swiftly and without pause, a mere blur of silvery luminescence.

This did very little. Nagato was using the Asura Path. His body glistened with augmented mechanical parts. He raised a hand, which split apart and revealed several dozen metal wires that sought Yugao. Though she managed to dodge each attack, one of the wires wrapped around her blade and attempted to yank it out of her hands, while the others came in from behind. They would impale her.

Konan wouldn't let that happen.

Manipulating her paper to create six chakrams, she sent them all sailing at the wires. Nagato was so busy fighting Yugao that he didn't notice them until they had already sliced through the wires. He jumped back, but Konan sent her chakram at him while Yugao threw the wire off her sword and attacked from the front.

"Shinra Tensei."

Spinning around, Nagato released a large shock wave of chakra that slammed into Konan's chakram and sent Yugao flying. As her partner skid along the ground, Konan landed next to her, the wings on her back retracting.

"I'm impressed by how well you two work together," Nagato said. "Konan, it seems you and she have become familiar with each other."

"We have." Konan allowed. "Yugao is a part of my family, so it's only natural that we would."

"I see." Nagato closed his eyes and smiled. "You've found happiness. I am glad. I have always wanted to apologize for what I did. I pushed you and everyone else away. I allowed Madara to use me. In the end, all that did was make me susceptible to betrayal. I'm glad you left before that happened."

Konan felt an acute pain in her chest, like a stake being driven through her heart. She took a slow, shuddering breath, and said, "I had been hoping to save you. Naruto and I had been so sure we could do it, but then the war happened."

"That was my fault," Nagato told her. "You can't blame yourself for what happened to me. I was the one who lost my way."

"Nagato…"

"It seems this battle will not end unless you manage to seal me, or the person who resurrected me releases the technique," Nagato said. "I am sorry, Konan. I wish we didn't have to battle."

"Me too," Konan said before, once more, the entire area became engulfed in the sounds of combat.

XXXXXXXXXX

Rock Lee charged at Karin while Tenten unwound a scroll from which several dozen weapons were stored.

"Kaifu no Jutsu!"

Nearly a dozen weapons of varying size flew at Karin. Swords. Kunai. Shuriken. Maces. Scythes. Their sharp tips gleamed brightly in the sparse amounts of sunlight that filtered through the canopy. Karin raised her hands. One was pointed at the weapons. The other was pointed at Rock Lee.

"Shinra Tensei!"

Rock Lee knew of this technique, but even though he knew what it did, that didn't mean he could dodge while moving at this speed. Something invisible slammed into him. It was an incredible force. Rock Lee would have screamed as he was pushed back by the powerful invisible attack, but he couldn't even do that much. He was slammed into a tree, which shattered under his back. Then he hit another, another, and another.

Despite how his body ached from that attack, Rock Lee didn't give in. He reoriented himself. Landing on the ground, he skidded backward for several meters before stopping. Crossing his arms, he took a deep breath and then released his power.

"Kaimon! Kai!"

He felt the constraints in his brain disappear. Power flooded his body as his muscles, held back by his own mind, gained their full strength.

"Kyumin! Kai!"

More power. Rock Lee's body was rejuvenated. Energy flowed through him, unlimited and powerful, like a mighty hurricane.

Over by Karin, Tenten was using Sogu: Tensasai, a technique where she tossed a scroll over her opponent's head and unleashed hundreds of weapons, which rain down from above. They didn't seem to be doing much. Karin had both her hands raised. A barrier of some kind was keeping the weapons at bay. They struck the invisible shield. Despite how it looked like Tenten's attack was ineffective, Karin was wincing, proving that she was having trouble.

She must be running out of chakra…

"Seimon! Kai!"

Blood pumped through Rock Lee at an accelerated rate. Like a mighty river, it flowed through his body, moving swiftly to increase his power. Were he to look in a mirror, he knew that his skin would have been dark red.

This should be enough.

Bending his knees, Rock Lee shot forward. He was on Karin within seconds. She noticed him. She was looking right at him with her Sharingan eye. However, from the way it widened, her body was not accustomed to the speed he had moved. It was just like with Sasuke during their bout before the Chuunin Exams. Even if she could see him, she wasn't fast enough to react.

He slammed his foot into her chin, sending the girl rocketing into the air, and then leaping after her. Rock Lee hit her again. And again. Again. Each strike sent her further into the air. Finally, he appeared above her and slammed an open palm into her.

"Ura Renge!"

It wasn't even a second later that Karin struck the ground head first. Dust flew everywhere. Fierce winds made Tenten cover her face. Rock Lee landed beside her, staring into the expanding cloud. When the dust cleared, it revealed Karin, lying in a crater, her neck bent at an awkward angle. She wasn't moving or breathing.

Rock Lee sighed and resealed the three gates that he had opened. Fortunately, he'd grown strong enough that three gates weren't debilitating.

"It seems our fight is done," he said.

"Looks like it." Tenten pouted. "I didn't do much more than serve as a distraction."

"Yosh! But you were such a magnificent fighter, Tenten! You are the lotus blossom of Team Gai!"

"Are you patronizing me?"

"Of course not! How could you say that?"

Tenten sighed. "Never mind. Let's hurry up and help the others. I'm sure they could use a hand."