Chapter 32

Chapter 32

KITSUCHI

Kitsuchi jumped to the side as he avoided a huge torrent of flames. Yet the shinobi behind him were not so lucky. The flames had blown past their hastily erected mud walls. And once more Kitsuchi understood the reservation and hesitation of Onoki sama to attack Konoha.

S-rank shinobi, the monsters that roamed these lands. Single shinobi that could change the tides of a whole conflict. And despite their losses, Konoha still boasted at least two such monsters. The two Sanin, monsters that had been trained by The Professor himself. Their prowess was only an indication of the man that had stood on the same pedestal as tsuchikage-sama, called the God of Shinobi.

He pushed chakra in his coils as his hands went through several handseals.

"Earth Style: Mobile core." And his hands struck the ground and the land began to move, shifting the whit-haired sanin back for a second. Their opponent sent a huge dragon of fire at them, yet Kitsuchi was prepared.

"Earth Style: Multiple Earth Walls."

And several huge walls of earth rose between him and the Sanin. The heat from the attack still reached him, yet the walls held. This gave Kitsuchi time to evaluate their standing. He looked around and his heart dropped as he saw the conditions of the platoons. They had been reduced to barely forty to fifty in number, with several of his comrades injured or exhausted.

All this because of a single man. A single shinobi had turned the tide of the battle. They had been dominating the famed ANBU of Konoha previously but with the addition of a single shinobi, the tides had shifted. The scenario reminded him of a similar situation with a blonde-haired shinobi years ago. It had been the same back then as well.

"Everyone I want each of you to get behind me, do not rush to attack we are going to retreat."

BOOM. And several earth walls were shattered suddenly and the debris spread across the whole area.

CLACK.CLACK. CLACK.

He heard the sound of someone approaching from the debris. Kitsuchi gritted his teeth as he spotted the form of the white-haired opponent.

"Where do you think you guys are going? I am not quite done with you guys just yet," the man said cheerfully. And Kitsuchi saw the silhouettes of the remaining ANBU behind him. This was not good for them.

He made several handseals, gathering huge amounts of chakra.

"EVERYONE MOVE BACK! RETREAT BACK!"

"EARTH STYLE: GREAT EARTH ERUPTION!"

And Kitsuchi could feel his reserves drop to half, yet the attack was huge as the whole area in front of him erupted with thousands of Earth spikes.

Perhaps he had finally defeated him, he thought. Yet suddenly he was broken out of his thoughts by a very similar voice.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

BOOM. And he was pushed back as a part of the mountain of spikes simply broke down. He felt a huge shadow blocking the Sun. He opened his eyes and saw a huge form blocking his view. It was a huge toad holding something like an old smoking pipe in his mouth.

The Legendary Toad summons. And at this point, Kitsuchi knew that there was no retreating for him. He had to cover the retreat for his comrades. So, he gritted his teeth as he pushed his chakra through his coils. Not caring about rationing it anymore. This was going to be his final stand.

"Commander!" one of his comrades spoke up.

"Hurry back, I will stop him!" Kitsuchi shouted back. He could see his comrade struggling for a moment.

"But sir!"

"It is an order, go back to the village and relay everything. I will stop him," the man hesitated for a moment but after a second or so nodded his head and vanished as a blur.

But before Kitsuchi could push chakra through his coils he felt the presence of two foreign chakras. Their volume was huge, comparable to what he had only ever felt from Onoki sama and the Sanin in front of him. Yet this chakra was different. It felt more sinister. The shinobi from Konoha had also sensed the chakra, for he had stopped for a second.

"Didn't I tell you to hurry, now all those sacrifices have run away. How will I please Lord Jashin now!" he heard a rant from one of them. Two people were walking nonchalantly toward the battlefield. Both of them, clad in black gowns, embroidered with red clouds. Kitsuchi's eyes widened as he recognized the pattern of the uniform.

He had listened to a report regarding this group from Onoki sama. A rogue group formed by S-ranked shinobi. Their name was still a mystery. Many had even doubted their existence yet now they stood right in front of him.

"Shut up you religious fanatic, it was you who insisted on arranging a sacrifice for your God before we began to move!" another voice replied with a bit of irritation.

"Bounty Hunter Kakuzu and Hidan the village slayer, what brought the two of you out here!" he heard from the side as he looked to the side and saw the form of his opponent.

"Oh, so you recognize us. We must be getting quite famous!" the one with a huge red scythe shouted elatedly. Kitsuchi did not recognize the first name. Yet the second name was quite familiar to him. Kakuzu, the man who had fought against legends of the old like the First Hokage, and had lived to tell the tale.

"Jiraiya of the Sanin and Iwa's Immovable Mountain, well this could be quite a profitable endeavor it seems," the masked man spoke up.

"I am going to sacrifice you to Lord Jashin. With your blood I will show the Lord my devotion!" the man with the scythe said with a huge smirk.

CLAP.

"Well, it is good that you guys are here. This spares me the trouble of looking for you. I did have a couple of questions about this whole group and organization thing!"

And Kitsuchi could feel the atmosphere thicken with something. The sensation was not sinister yet it felt ancient, it was like the whole surrounding was thickening around the Sanin's form. He saw him jump in the air once more, as he reached the top of the huge summons head once more.

"I believe you guys failed to send me an invitation!"

0000

HATAKE KAKASHI

Kakashi covered his face with his arms to avoid the debris getting into his eyes. Yet the Sharingan in his eye had caught the form of the intruder and this had sent a pulse of relief through him. The truth was that even with everyone with him, he was not very confident in facing the two shinobi in front of him.

Itachi Uchiha, an unparalleled prodigy. The boy who had slaughtered one of the most powerful clans in the whole elemental nations in a single night single-handedly. The boy had been his comrade once, serving with him in an ANBU. Kakashi had considered his disposition similar to his own, yet he had been wrong.

The debris began to clear with a swing from the huge sword of Itachi's companion. Kisame Hoshigaki was perhaps the most dangerous produced by Kirigakure. Wielder of Samehada, the man was said to be as strong as a tailed beast.

Yet the person they were facing was more famous than either of them. Famous throughout the whole continent for her healing and her unprecedented strength. It was speculated that she could demolish a whole mountain by herself.

"You must have some nerve, barging into my village so blatantly!"

Tsunade Senju spoke as she stood confidently between them and the two rogue S-ranked shinobi. Her face had not aged at all since the last time Kakashi had seen it. She glanced back at them and said with an admonishing tone.

"What have you guys made of the village that shinobi like them have enough nerve to barge in so blatantly," Kakashi saw the relieved expression on his comrades' faces morph into those of embarrassment.

"I am going to have to school you guys once more, it seems sensei had been quite lenient on you guys!" She said with a smirk, that made shivers run down Kakashi's spine.

"But before that, I have to deal with you guys!" she then turned to face their opponents.

"Tsunade Senju, the Slug Princess, what are you doing in Konoha? Weren't you on a journey to enhance your medical techniques?" Itachi spoke up. Lady Tsunade smirked.

"I had to come back to deal with kids like you, so I cut my trip short," and as soon as the words had left her face, she vanished from her position.

BOOOOM.

And a loud sound erupted and Kakashi saw Kisame blocking her punch with his giant sword. Yet the blue-skinned shinobi had been pushed back due to the sheer force.

"AHHH, such strength even in your age. Just what would I expect of a shinobi of your reputation," the daimyo killer spoke with a slight grunt. The man readied his sword once more.

"I am going to have a lot of fun!" he added with a huge smile. But before the man had moved he felt a very familiar chakra build up from his comrade. And Kakashi shouted immediately.

"Don't look into Itachi's eyes no matter what!" yet perhaps he was too late as his ex-comrade shouted the name of his technique with blood running down his face.

"Tsukoyomi!" and Kakashi felt dread rise in his gut as he saw Lady Tsunade's form stiffen for a moment. He immediately jumped in front of her to shield her from the attack from the blue-skinned shinobi yet he had not expected the sheer strength behind the attack and was pushed back.

"NO!" he shouted; he could spot his other comrades moving as well yet they were not going to make it in time. The wielder of Samehada swung the huge sword, but instead of connecting she saw Lady Tsunade duck and kick the man in the gut.

Kisame of Kiri was sent spiraling back and collided with the wall with extreme force. BOOM. Lady Tsunade shrugged her shoulders, her eyes focused on the form of the Uchiha.

"Your paltry tricks do not work on me boy. Try again when you grow up," she said dismissively.

He saw Itachi clutch his bleeding eye. His breathing was slightly uneven. Yet suddenly Kakashi felt the presence of another intruder. This chakra was much smaller and much more familiar to him.

He saw the form of one of his students appear. Sharingan blazing in his eyes, Chakra thrummed from him as Sasuke Uchiha appeared face to face with the person that he had once called brother. The same person who had destroyed everything he ever held dear. Kakashi could feel the sheer hate and anger emanating from the kid.

"ITACHI!!" he shouted, and before Kakashi could stop him, the boy had already completed the hand signs and with a gathering of lightning in his hand had rushed towards his brother. Yet his attack would not connect. The Chidori stopped inches from Itachi's body as Lady Tsunade stopped the kid by pulling his shirt.

The blade of Samehada inches from his shirt as he saw shadows from Shikaku reach to that of Kisame, probably stopping the rogue nin from cleaving Sasuke into two.

"OH, isn't this your brother Itachi? I can quite see the resemblance. But didn't you kill your whole clan? It seems to me that you missed one!" the blue-tinged man spoke and Kakashi could see his body move slowly as he resisted the Shadow Possession. Lady Tsunade flung his student back and Guy caught his student. Sasuke struggled in the grip of his friend.

"You are not ready yet kid! Not yet!" She spoke with a hint of sadness.

"Kisame!" suddenly Itachi spoke up, and he saw Kisame look towards his comrade. Itachi continued.

"We are aborting the mission. It is time to retreat!" Kakashi's eyes widened as he saw Kisame Hoshigaki break free from the shadow possession and begin to make handseals.

"Well, I was just beginning to have fun!" and Kakashi felt a huge amount of chakra gather in a second. An amount much larger than he had ever felt getting used for an attack.

"Suiton: Great exploding water colliding wave!" and Kakashi's eyes widened as he felt the whole area getting drowned by an unprecedented volume of water.

"Suiton: Water Shark Bullet!" and several sharks formed of water appeared in the water. Kakashi could see the two intruders getting away. Yet before he could pursue he had to avoid the attacks from the sharks."

He began making handseals, yet he stopped as he felt a huge amount of chakra from Lady Tsunade's direction.

"SUMMONING JUTSU!"

BOOM.

And the whole water dome exploded. Kakashi felt himself land on something soft. As soon as his skin touched the summoned creature, he felt his body getting rejuvenated. The sheer size of the summons made him reassess his surroundings several times.

He looked up and saw the form of Lady Tsunade standing on the head of Lady Katsuyu. He shunshined behind her. His other comrades did the same as well.

"Lady Tsunade! Should we pursue?" Shikaku Nara asked. Lady Tsunade shook her head.

"No, we cannot risk the lives of our elites at such a time." She then turned to face them and Kakashi could feel the air thicken with chakra. Lady Tsunade stared at all of them, her pressure making even Sasuke stop squirming.

"Plus, I have you guys to deal with in the meantime. Because from what I can see it seems that sensei had been quite lax with you guys!" she said with a very grave tone.

0000

And how was Tsunade able to escape the Tsukoyomi? More importantly, why was she able to escape?

Kisame just used my favorite move from all of Naruto. And just for the sake of it.

SUITON: DAIKBAKUSI SHO-HA

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