XIV 01.14

The assault on the Tanataki's clan compound had finally begun in full. Kimimaro's half of the clan breached the compound walls, a handful of paper bombs carving a large enough hole in the thick perimeter to allow passage.

If they hadn't been aware of the Kaguya's rapid approach, the sudden explosion had been more than enough of a warning for what approached the Tanataki. A few members wandered the streets of the compound, water plants and conversing among themselves. They were the first victims, buried under the bulk of the Kaguya's numbers.

It hadn't taken long for the Tanataki to mount their defense. A large jet of water crashed into the rampaging Kaguya, temporarily halting their advance. Around a dozen shinobi lined the roofs of the nearby houses, their hands blurring as they began another attack.

The few Kaguya good enough in ninjutsu moved forward, erupting a large wall of stone to meet the rushing water. The others scattered outwards, dispersing within the alleys and scaling the buildings nearby.

They were met by smaller jets of water, the Tanataki that'd been stationed in their homes joining the ensuing chaos. Kimimaro stood near the back of the advance, watching the events unfold. 

From the looks of it, the Kaguya had a numbers advantage even split as they were. Once the rest of their clan arrived, they could easily overwhelm the Tanataki with their bulk. The true problem lay in the terrain in which they were fighting on.

Standing atop the medium-sized buildings and upper levels of the nearby houses, the Tanataki had control of the high ground. The Kaguya that were proficient enough in ninjutsu had been pushed onto the defensive, leaving the taijutsu focused members to lead the attack.

With their high ground and constant volleys of ninjutsu raining down upon them, the Kaguya wouldn't have any lane to attack from. Their superior numbers would become useless and they'd slowly be whittled down.

As time passed, more Tanataki had joined their kin along the rooftops, raining down primarily water ninjutsus. The ground below became muddy and soggy by the continuous streams of water, small puddles forming around their feet.

With a deep breath, Kimimaro began his ascent towards the front of their rank. More and more Kaguya had scattered into the alleyways and connecting streets, making his march forward easier.

The chakra-enforced wall of earth was starting to dwindle, even as the forefront Kaguya fed their reserves towards keeping it in tack. They wouldn't have long before the wall crumbled, allowing for the waves of water to strike at them.

Kimimaro weaved left, diverging into one of the connecting streets of the compound. Chakra traveled to the soles of his feet as his legs raced, connecting him to the walls and bringing him parallel from the ground.

He'd only managed to get to the second floor of the house he'd been scaling before a jet of water shot out from one of the windows. Kimimaro quickly halted his advance, the water passing just a step before him.

His eyes darted to the now shattered window, ducking downward in case the person inside attempted another attack. His legs began moving again, this time towards another window a little further from it.

The glass shattered as he made his way inside, his head frantically darting around to scan for any enemies. The sight of the empty bathtub slightly eased his nerves as he crept towards the only door in the bathroom.

His ear pressed against the wood, listening for any movements behind it. He quickly jumped to the side, cradling himself in the previously empty bathtub. Another jet of water shot through the wooden door, cracking the walls behind it as well.

The sight of the person's shadow within the bathroom was all he needed. Kimimaro shot out of the bathtub, a nail-blade growing from his palm. The enforced bone struck down at the man, meeting the quickly risen kunai they held in their hand.

Another nail-blade formed in his hand, racing across the open air towards the man's throat. His head shot backwards in an attempt to dodge the strike, but one of the hooks caught onto his shirt, pulling him in.

Kimimaro's elbow smashed into the man's nose, sending a crunching sound through the bathroom. The man's head shot backwards again, this time from the force of the blow, nearly impacting the wall nearby.

His grip on his kunai weakened slightly, allowing for Kimimaro to overpower the man. The opposite nail-blade arced downward, knocking the small blade onto the ground. In the same movement, Kimimaro brought it upwards at a diagonal, creating a large slash along the man's torso.

Kimimaro twirled on the heels of his feet, sending a spiked foot crashing into the man's side. His body caved at the blow, crashing into the toilet nearby. Kimimaro quickly approached the downed man, stabbing him in the neck with both blades.

His eyes lingered on the man's bleeding form for a few seconds before returning to the window he'd arrived from. With a leap, he found himself back outside, the chakra within his soles sticking him to the house's exterior.

He'd been joined by a few of his clan members, who yelled screams of rage and ambition as they made their way up the buildings as well. The wall of earth had finally crumbled, causing the defending Kaguya to disperse into the alleyways as well.

The roof-bound shinobi were the largest threat, so they'd have to be dealt with first. The black-haired bodies along the street expressed that the Kaguya had their fair share of losses from the initial assault.

Just as he'd suspected, their numbers were slowly being picked apart. Katsuo's group would arrive eventually and hopefully divert the enemy even more, but until then, it was Kimimaro's job to make sure as little Kaguya were lost as possible.

/6/​

Dodge, dodge, block, dodge.

Katsuo moved to avoid the kunoichi's strikes. Her assault remained at the same pace, even as the blood from her arm and palm began to drip towards the ground below. Each strike still stung at his arms as if the bone encasing them were non-existent. 

Punch, punch, punch, kick. 

Their dance continued, Katsuo's own strikes soaring forward. The constant threat his bones provided forced the woman to abandon blocking all together, instead weaving in and out of his range as his limbs soared through open space.

Dodge, block, dodge, block.

Whether it were from their movements or the natural wind, the thick dust that surrounded them was finally starting to rise. The increase in visibility allowed for Katsuo to better see the woman's face, the painted scowl from before having grown in intensity as the time passed.

Feint, punch, punch, punch.

Time seemed to slow as the two maneuvered around each other. Neither of their resolves had faltered in the slightest, barely any progress being made on either end of the overarching dance of gray and blue.

Block, block, dodge, block.

Each leg movement saw the dust that had fallen renewed, clinging onto the fabrics of their clothes. Each punch disturbed its peaceful falling, ushering it in one direction or the other.

Kick, punch, punch, pu–

Katsuo overextended. Katsuo tightened his core as quickly as possible in an attempt to rein the damage that the rising knee would ensue. The younger boy found himself bent over the woman's leg, unprepared for the force of her fist that followed shortly after,

Instead of fighting it, Katsuo allowed for the momentum to move his body. His head snapped towards the opposite side, and so did his body. Katsuo's leg shot outward as the ground grew closer, the spiked foot attached to it clipping the kunoichi on the leg.

The attack hadn't hindured the woman much, whose foot smashed into his side before he could recover to his feet. For what felt like the hundredth time during their fight, Katsuo found the air in his lungs forcefully ejected. 

His body hopped along the ground slightly, further imprinting the grounded dust into his clothes. Katsuo continued his roll, barely dodging a harsh stomp that sent even more dust towards him, this time intruding in his eye.

Katsuo's emerald eyes forcibly shut at the new intruder, preventing him from seeing the second kick that landed directly on his chest. Katsuo's roll hastened in speed, sending him flying backwards.

The momentum carried him a few meters until his back collided with a pillar of stone. He didn't even get time to process the pain he'd been dealt before the Kunoichi was on his again. Her extended fist nearly shattered the pillar into pieces, Katsuo moving his head to the side half a second earlier.

Her other hand raced towards him, this time carrying a kunai along with it. Since it was her injured hand, it moved at a slightly slower pace than its healthy counterpart. Katsuo ducked underneath the metal, extending his leg outward in an attempted sweep.

The kunoichi hopped over the limb, its arc sending even more dust into the air. Katsuo used the opportunity to rise to his feet once more, his bone-encased arm rushing upward to meet another attempted strike from the kunai.

Block, block, block, block.

Katsuo was starting to get pushed back, each attack from the kunoichi adding onto the effects of its predecessor. Even his high defenses had limits, and the constant force the kunoichi applied onto him were like sharpened pickaxes mining away at his cave walls. It wouldn't be long before those walls caved in on themselves.

Block, block, block, block, block, block.

Earth and water mixed within Katsuo's body as he split his attention. His neck bulged slightly as the unpleasant taste spread through his throat. The woman continued undisturbed, her fists starting to crack the armor surrounding his arms.

Block, dodge, spit.

A blob of brown mud shot out from his mouth, smashing into the kunoichi's face. Katsuo hadn't used Mud Release or any ninjutsu at all during the entirety of their fight, so the sudden switch had caught her by surprise. 

The wet mud sculpted around the kunoichi's face, spreading towards the top of her head to the beginning of her neck. Katsuo dodged under the stray strike she threw out while blinded, the bone encasing his left arm returning to its sanctum underneath his flesh for just a moment before erupting from his palm.

It was the biggest spike he'd ever created, the mass of bone long enough to cover his entire forearm and still move room to spare. The massive spike surged forward, aiming directly for the kunoichi's heart.

Somehow, someway, the kunoichi had been able to surmount a dodge, even as the mud began its rapid drying along her face. The massive spike missed its mark on her heart, instead piercing through her left side. The mass of bone continued forward until Katsuo's fingertips could touch the woman's clothes, creating a gaping hole in her side.

Just as Katsuo began to pull the bone free, the woman's injured hand gripped onto his wrist. Her kunai raced forward, quicker than it had been at any point in their battle. Katsuo tried to dodge the strike, but with the two attached he had little room to move.

The kunai stabbed into his trapezius, burying itself deep within his skin. The woman mustered up all the strength she had into the attack, so much that even the hilt of the weapon buried itself into him. Katsuo could feel the rib that the woman had pierced split in two.

Katsuo's free hand shot up to the wound immediately, the world beginning to swirl and fade as he did so. The extended bone in his palm returned underneath his skin, causing the kunoichi to fall forward.

Katsuo quickly pulled the kunai free, the red of his blood staining every inch of the weapon and spilling onto the dust filled ground below. Katsuo forced as much bone as he could muster to the wound, hoping to stop himself from bleeding out.

The damage had already been done, though. His legs grew weak and wobbly, especially with the weight of the kunoichi crashing onto him. Katsuo fell backward, the body of the kunoichi forming a pile among the two.

His brain throbbed in anger, attempting to burst from his skull. His body grew numb within a second, not feeling the harsh way in which his head struck the ground in the slightest. His hands cupped his wound as tightly as they could, his pale skin painted with the red of his own blood.

The last thing he heard was a harsh coo before the entire world went black.