227 Darkest Night Hidden in The Leaf (12)
{A/N: Thank you for bearing with all the setup till now. The remaining chapters of this invasion will now consist of various battles and set-ups concluding—to a satisfying end, I hope.}
***
Nosuke, Shizan (Senju), a Nameless Jonin, and the Late Sui dying at Tsume-Kuromaru's fangs are the designated team deployed to stall or kill the current Jinchuriki of Konohagkure. Of these men, Sui is dead—unable to deal with Tsume's reckless use of an incomplete jutsu, saved by one of Kushina's remaining clones. Nosuke is still stalling Kushina's real body brilliantly, reducing the number of her clones to a zero on their battlefield. Minato and three of Kushina's clones face the nameless water-lightning Jonin and Shizan, an admitting Senju Jonin born in Kumogakure—and a clone of his.
Needless to say, the situation is dire for all of them in a sense. Kushina's clone is keeping Tsume and Kuromaru stable. The duo's minds are tired beyond imagination.
Nosuke's dojutsu poses enough threat to Kushina to make her consider going all-out.
And Shizan's addition with the nameless surviving Jonin makes Minato's battle a real threat to his life since the lab-Senju has enough skills to take out the remaining force of Kushina's clone in their section of the forest not too far from the appearance of Hachibi.
Kushina's eyes steel as the bubbling coat of chakra around her hides a flash of orange-gold on the soles of her sandals, her figure blitzing near the annoying Shizan kiting her. Her hand rips through his neck, his body bursting into a poof of smoke as the clone cannot even register the sudden burst in speed. Yet, the plume of smoke explodes in that fraction of a second, reducing Kushina's clone into a plume of smoke, too.
The Senju's clone was explosively insured with a paper tag.
"It even the odds somehow, no?" Shizan smiles breezily, his tanto swinging on one of Kushina's remaining two clones when Minato flashes beside her. The enemy Jonin's tanto shifts seamlessly toward Minato while a clone forms in front of Kushina's clone to block her attack.
'Amazing chakra reserve and skills not too far from an Elite,' Minato disappears again, bugging the other Jonin and stopping him from using a jutsu for umpteenth time. The Blonde Chunin can assess if someone is an 'elite' or not because of his memorable sparring sessions with Kai. Chakra reserve alone does not make up for the skills. And a shinobi like Shizan, who has yet to use any other major elemental jutsu, feels far more troublesome. It is only because of Kushina and her Kyubi 'goodness' they are standing alive!
'What would Kai do?' Thinks Minato before focusing on the matter at hand. 'He isn't here. What can I do?'
All he can do at this moment is act like a fly and annoy the enemies, who are superior in every way but Hiraishin and his reaction time.
'I cannot try to construct a [Taiyogan], or it will give the enemy a chance to weave a jutsu—'
His thoughts still when Kushina, facing the unnamed shinobi, charges at speed almost invisible to Minato save for a flicker of orange-gold he catches in time as her tanto bifurcates the enemy from shoulder to waist as her body flickers away, not letting a drop of blood catch her as the enemy vaporizes in another second and explodes out!
'What was that?' Minato thinks while throwing one of his special kunais at Shizan, who raises his eyebrows in muted surprise.
"You've used such speed twice, now," He jumps away but doesn't let Kushina's clone catch him in a similar. Blood graces his palm as he waves his hand, creating a web of seals mid-air in that very second.
*Poof*
An enormous pitch-black crow caws aloud, his feathers flapping Shizan to the sky quickly as he assesses the situation calmly.
"Tch, that bastard," One of Kushina's clones scowl.
"If you could do that, Kushina-san, how did your clones disperse? Did none of them catch Shizan by surprise?"
"I don't know, dattebane! The bastard is not hostile at all!"
"Why would that matter?" Minato questions, but Kushina doesn't speak anymore. Her crimson-foxy eyes stare at the flying Shizan with frustration.
She can sense emotions using Kyubi's special chakra molding in her senses, and it should help her original against 'Nosuke.' But it looks like Shizan got high and entered the battlefield because he just wasn't feeling anything negative! It gave Shizan the chance to sneak up on her.
If Minato can point out her snarl, the enemy won't be kind in ignoring it either. Shizan narrows his amber eyes and shrugs. He taps the crow's neck to signal what his summon should do without voicing his thoughts.
"He will have enough time to perform a jutsu now," Minato exhales.
"We'll see what he can do." Two of Kushina's clones stare at the enigmatic Shinobi, wondering again if they should go all out. Things may get troublesome if Minato reports it to the Third, after all.
"Hmm?" While she cannot sense an ounce of malicious intent from the Senju, she does sense hostility from the group of three in hiding toward Shizan.
The clones even remember the trio from her days in the academy, forming an idea. The clones nod at each other before one of them comically picks another on her shoulder.
"Huh?" Shizan and Minato blink, but this is all the distraction 'they' need.
Shizan's crow freezes suddenly, tumbling down like a brick reintroduced to gravity as Shizan's eyes steel slightly, and he jumps off, landing at the nearest branch only to feel a foreign mind swoop into his own. The mental struggle lasts for a second, his mind proving far too strong for the inexperienced mysterious chunin, but it's nothing compared to his body falling into someone's control.
Or, in this case—his shadow.
"A golden shinobi rule—" A distinctly lazy voice drawls from the other side of the tree as Shizan views his pitch-black shadow threading out to a mysterious existence known far too well in Konoha—a Lazy Nara. "—question the enemy after he miraculously survives a fatal wound in the event—"
*Kcchhhh*
*Kcchhhh*
*Kcchhhh*
"—he proves to be powerful and smart enough."
The voice's actions prove more fatal than his voice as a physical manifestation of shadows punctures the man from every corner, including his eyes and the rest of his orifices, as Shizan's blood start flowing in great amount.
"You three were supposed to capture him! He was a lab-rat Senju of Kumo!" The Kushina Clones express their frustration as Shikaku walks out of the bushes, his shadow-clone on the tree dispersing quietly while the tremor from Shizan's corpse exploding reaches them.
"Oops?" He shrugs. "A life of a lab rat means little when one of Konoha's greatest assets is fighting Hachibi. We need the real Jinchuriki of Konoha to deal with Hachibi."
The two clones cock their heads.
"Kai can't deal with him alone?"
"He is talking about Jiraiya-Sensei," Inoichi smirks, the smear of blood from his nostrils revealing how tough Shizan actually was.
"Che, he isn't an asset at all, 'ttebane!" One of the clones makes a face, but they are happy for the support.
"The real one is in this direction. I'll take the lead. The enemy is a weird one, we'll fill you in on the details, but the original would probably know more." The other clone turns around, while the first clone disperses to communicate everything to the Original and to plan accordingly.
Minato, meanwhile, looks in the direction of the torn tree Shizen once stood on.
The youth has already killed a few times, staining his hands in the red. But the sight of monsters dying is always eye-opening. It fills him with the thought—I could be one of them should I be the less prepared or caught off-guard—Or just plain unlucky.
Shizan must have quite a backstory. His life must have been meant for something else. If Kushina was right, he wasn't the least bit hostile.
And now he's dead.
It is chilling as it is revealing of the world he is in.
'And to thrive, I must always be prepared. Hiraishin is just a part of it. I can no longer spend my days willingly on research when I haven't even fully trained myself physically. I need to suspend aspirations for rapid growth.'
He needs to work on his weaknesses because this world isn't so forgiving that he can only work on his strengths and hope for the best.
"Are you coming?"
Kushina turns around and calls for Minato, sensing his inner conflict but not infringing on his thoughts.
"Yes, Kushina-san."
***
"Remember, Nosuke. Our clan's move into Kumogakure depends on your performance. You have trained in the art of Shinobi with the Clan for years and polished your jutsu in Kumogakure for the last few months."
His thin frame looks at his aged father as the wizened man's eyes turn blood-red with horizontally white pupils.
"I shall confer the Clan Chinoike's Forbidden Jutsu unto you."
The man's expressions turn visibly sad as he whispers, "Goodbye, my son—"
***
"Nosuke?" A bleeding Kushina expels the hostile chakra from her systems again, now more intimate with her enemy's abilities. Her words cause the thinly-skinned pale man with bulging eyes and reddish veins mapping his body to pause.
"How do you know that name?" Questions Nosuke, his words more hoarse than before as he burns his blood to compensate for his chakra to compete with the Nine-tail's Jinchuriki and keep stalling her for as long as he—lives!
Kushina doesn't answer anymore. Her intention had merely been to confuse the enemy briefly, dodging the attack. She is still prone to emotions, but Kushina tries to keep things as close to her chest as possible. And unlike her clones, Kushina isn't in the mood to chat when facing a hydra.
A BLOOD HYDRA!
Calling it a hydra might be a stretch since the blood construct has more than nine heads—14, to be precise.
The long necks rise from the stretch out of the whirlpool of blood around Kushina that Nosuke unfroze. Something she believes has to do with his rapidly thinning skin and enlarging arteries as if mosquitoes bit the entire length of his vessels!
Kushina feels the same chakra creeping on her at his sight, causing her to snarl in frustration as her blood freezes for the barest moment before she expels the chakra again.
'What kind of Dojutsu is this?' She groans inwardly, a little annoyed due to her blood matting her clothes under her flak jacket. 'It's like Sharingan when using a Jutsu at sight, but instead of a genjutsu, this freak uses some form of blood-related kekkei genkai. It's obviously a control of chakra in a way, but similar to a genjutsu when it comes to controlling the enemy's body. Not to mention I cannot use any cold weapons on him, something Minato should explain to the reinforcements.'
But this isn't the worst part.
Kushina stares at the boiling construct of blood roaring in her direction and spitting jets of blood, easily tearing through any physical obstructions!
She dodges again, unwilling to let his chakra anywhere near her in any form, for that matter.
'A ninjutsu cannot just form again. I never see Kai's water dragons forming again until he weaves his chakra again. But this blood jutsu is weird! It started from nine heads, and I destroyed it a few times, but the chakra in this blood is weird—the jutsu forms again without any effort from the user. Well, the more I destroy it, the thinner Nosuke gets. His body is looking worse for wear behind the Hydra, but I don't think he'll kick the bucket anytime soon using this method. Anyway, how is he even getting in my system when I'm in four-tails mode, dattebane!'
Her life could be far simpler than this bullshit!
What did she do to deserve such a fate when she could have spent her time better pushing Kai against a wall in a dark alley or on her bed?
Maybe both on the same day?!
Her gaze suddenly sterns, and she scowls, expelling a sneaky stream of chakra disguised under the usual blood-controlling dojutsu.
'What the fuck?' She sends her intent to Kyubi. 'You let me fall for such a weak genjutsu?'
"You keep thinking stupid things, and you'll eventually win stupid death," comes a casual reply.
Kushina quietly works her jaw while admonishing herself. Unwilling to fall into complacency again by thinking—'At Least I caught it in time'—she narrows her violet eyes and decides to go all out herself.
'I'll end this quickly,' She affirms, still a teensy bit nervous about her life being a ghoulish routine of being forced to wage wars for Konoha should her skills get known to others.
It's at this moment she feels a source of reaffirming chakra quietly patting her on the back.
'What a drama queen.' Kushina snickers internally at the silent and 'oblivious' fox. The bubble of crimson chakra around her suddenly gains an orange-gold sheen before sticking to her body like a second skin. Her red hair turns the same glowing color while parts of her front locks rise to form fox-like ears clad in chakra. The sudden transformation catches Nosuke by surprise. His blood hydra explodes the next second with a flashing figure bulldozing through it!
Years of expertise kick in as Nosuke's entire body mummifies and dries, only for a flashing figure to freeze in front of him with a look of surprise. But before Nosuke can do anything further, Kushina's own instincts work against him as arms of golden chakra bloom out from Kushina's torso, tearing Nosuke's wiry body as easily as tearing a sheet of paper!
"Who?"
Kushina doesn't stop. Her entire body feels disgusted at once with the sheer hostility she faces the next second—not from Nosuke's corpse, but—
*Boooommmmm*
Several chakra hands smash into a particular spot on the ground at once as Kushina stares at the empty mark in confusion.
'What was that, 'ttebane?' Frowning, she deactivates her chakra.
Kushina had not known she was as bright as a sun to a slithering cum-man hoping to 'enlighten' Nosuke and a Toad Sage.
She quietly returns to look at Nosuke while keeping her guard up. His eyes are as dry as a beautiful carving of sand—his abdomen torn open to reveal dried organs and fuming blood.
'I was… we were stronger,' Kushina stares at the strange man. 'But his dojutsu was too weird.'
'Search for Ketsuryugan. If you're lucky, Konoha's archive may have something for you.' Kyubi lets out a throaty hum.
'Why are you telling it to me now?'
"Better late than never."
Kushina seethes slightly, understanding she has a long way until Kyubi and her can look eye-to-eye as the friends she wants them to be.
"Stop disrespecting your flesh on that man, and we might have an accord." A beastly grunt echoes in Kushina's mind.
As the redhead thought—a long, long way.
She stares at the reinforcements with a hint of smug pride.
"Took you long enough!" She grins once they come to a stop in front of her. Shikaku looks at the corpse and the glassy Dojutsu that may just turn to ashes with a touch.
"As I suspected, it's the Chinoike clan," he reveals and looks at Kushina with unveiled praise. "Works best this way. Now you can support Jiraiya-Sensei, and I can take it easy until needed."
---
'I was unaware a jinchuriki could achieve such heights. Maybe that is why HE is obsessed with the notion?' Ura thinks while making his way out of Konoha to a predetermined meeting spot in a forested region. 'I wanted Nosuke Chinoike to harm Tsunade to the best of his capabilities. I swept through the Senju compound and found nothing. The Senju Matriarch must have hidden the Rinnegan. Until new information surfaces, she and her Legacy Guardian are the prime suspects. Not only were they in the same war and met Nagato there, but the archive records of Konoha also relay Kai was appointed the Legacy Guardian during the war, during the time they encountered the Ame Orphans and Tsunade decided to take them in.'
Ura grows out of a tree and watches the distant Konoha from a cliff.
'I only had Nosuke from the men under my seal enter this invasion, and with him gone, my only effective piece is Mukai for now. Let's see Mukai's situation play out. Sakumo should be on his way out of Ame, too. These two can help start the plan of feeding that husk. But I need more valuable and talented men. I would have chosen the Dragon Sennin, but to think such a boastful man can keep his identity hidden somehow—Kai must have Hiruzen's eye for something more. Biwako should suffice on that front.'
He further narrows his pale yellow eyes, 'It's not just Kushina Uzumaki who has attained great heights as a Jinchuriki. Killer B is an intriguing prospect, too. Unfortunately, his fate as a Jinchuriki is sealed. I must reevaluate the plans and use Ita, Rama, and Tobi to lay a net around the Senju Clan to retrieve the Old Man's eyes.'
***
Alternate Title: Curtain Slowly Closes; The Higher You Rise, The Harder The Fall; Intrigue Alone Does Not Entail to Plot Armour; Conveniently Lazy; A Timely Support; Need for Raw Growth; Minato Understands His Weakness; Experience is Merely a Part of Strength; A Deceptively Dangerous Jutsu; A Forbidden Jutsu; Becoming Husk to Stall; Kumo's Plans; Unhostile As Fuck; Unbothered Mind Stitched By Shadows; Chinioke; A Blood Hydra; A Jutsu Breaking the Norm; Kyubi is Becoming Based AF; Becoming a Torch; Tearing the Mummy; Two Great Powers Against One Another; Understanding One's Enemy; Sensing Dickless Hostility; The First of Many Plans; Shikaku Actively Trying to Cut His Responsibilities—Nara Seal of Approval
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