[Land of Rice, Northern Farmlands - Kumogakure Outpost]
The storm came at dusk—a howling gale that bent pine forests into submission.
Marui, the Two-Tails' jinchūriki, stood atop the watchtower, her blonde hair whipping like a battle standard. Below, Kumo shinobi fortified the outpost, their laughter drowned by the wind.
"Another squall," scoffed her lieutenant, Raido. "This cursed country's weather-"
Marui's hand snapped up, silencing him. Her senses prickled—not with the electric tang of lightning, but the razor-edge of chakra. "Sound the alarm. It is not just wind. Enemies lurk in shadows"
However, Marui's senses were too late.
The first bell tolled from the woods—a deep, dissonant chime that slithered into their skulls.
Kinzoku Genjutsu: Bell of Oblivion [B-Rank]
Kumo sentries staggered, clutching their heads as memories unraveled. A genin forgot his own name. A chūnin dropped his sword, convinced it was a serpent.
"Genjutsu!" Marui roared, her voice cutting through the haze. "Scatter! Find the caster!"
Shadows detached from the trees—figures cloaked in Iwagakure's signature brown flak jackets. Their hands flickered in unison.
Doton: Earth-Style Wall [C-Rank]
Stone ramparts erupted, boxing the Kumo forces. Marui snarled. "Pathetic! Iwa's rocks can't cage lightning!" Blue chakra surged around her fists, as she engaged the vanguard's commander
—then the "Iwa" nin smiled, their faces melting like wax.
Kaonashi Art: Thousand Faces [B-Rank]
Voices overlapped, a chorus of perfect mimics. The Kaonashi clan was not famous, but in the warring state era, many clans had been adeptly wiped by them. Although they lacked political force and true strength, they were expert at mimics, and under Danzo's leadership, they became a fearsome asset.
"You're surrounded, Kumo dogs!" "Die for your Raikage!"
Marui's lightning fist punched through a clone, but the real attackers were already among them. A kunai grazed her arm—poisoned. She hissed, chakra flaring to burn the venom. "Genjutsu? Stop hiding and FIGHT! Cowards!"
The sky split.
Futon: Vacuum Dragon Barrage [S-Rank]
Twelve dragons of condensed wind plunged from the clouds, their maws wide enough to swallow buildings. Kumo's barriers shattered like glass. Marui leapt skyward, weaving hand seals—
Raiton: Black Lightning Guillotine [A-Rank]
A jagged spire of darkness met the lead dragon. The collision detonated in a vacuum implosion, sucking tents, tools, and screaming shinobi into the vortex. However, Raiton was weak to futon, a fundamental weakness that Danzo had identified long ago. The black lightning dispersed, and the dragon crashed onto Marui, who blocked the strike with an arm to deflect it to her side.
To her surprise, the futon dragon spinned with such force that she was sent flying, her arms dislocated and battered...even with jinchuriki vitality, she groaned in pain, her eyes widening at such force. Never did she expect to encounter such a strong foe in the Land of Rice, much less an unknown kage-level threat.
Danzo was not finished, however, as he materialized atop the maelstrom, the Shimura Heirloom raised in the air.
"Marui of Kumo. Your beast's chakra… let's see if it's worth harvesting", he muttered, but first, ordered the rest of his squad to attack.
Although Danzo was incomparibly stronger, his clan had gone through the same- if not bigger leap of strength. Most genins had reached chunin standards thanks to the combination of Body Refinement Elixirs [A] using shinobi's blood as a strong regent, and chakra injection supplements [B], using their marrow.
Vacuum Shurikens [C] started raining onto the settlement. Taken by surprise, the Kumogakure were not ready. Most were still affected by the Otogakure Genjutsu Corps, which had surrouded the settlement and unleashed their most efficient wide-range genjutsu, a piece of work that affected both allies and enemies likewise.
Of course, using cotton ear plugs could prevail against this defect. The biggest weakness of jutsu had turned into a window of opportunity under Danzo's analysis.
"Shimura?!" Marui realized. She did hear the report regarding the rise and disappearance of Danzo, an infamous shinobi of the leaf who had achieved more than their current Hokage, "Konoha's lapdog, have you gone crazy?"
Marui was not idiot. She had fought Konoha in the past, and the name of Shimura was deeply engraved in her minds. One of her rival was the Stone Titan, and the latter had been not only beaten, his whole platoon had been annihilated. This single event had shaken the whole continent, just as much as the Shimura's downfall in Konoha.
"You...Konoha faked your death, so that you could strike Kumo in the dark! Your hokage is as sinister as they say...We should not have underestimated you!"
Knowing the Shimura clan's strength in formations, Marui gave up on defense, and instead gave in to her beast. Red chakra flared, her fists now blazing with red lightning. At this point, she was neither beast nor human, but a delicate host balancing the two for utmost power. In other words, Marui was the perfect jinchuriki, a being on top of the chain food, a kage-level figure.
Unlike Roshi, who was inexperienced and young, Marui was a full-fledged shinobi, a trump card of Kumo.
However, Danzo was not the same either. Although his mastery of the four-tails left to be desired, his seal completely cutting off the connection between his soul and the soul of the tailed beast, he still benefitted immensely from it. His chakra reserves had now reached the requirements of kage, and more importantly, its density was now sharper than ever. His weakness used to be his body attributes. Barely at elite jonin level, they were now at its pinnacle, and this sudden change caused the Kumogakure jinchuriki to underestimate him.
His sword hummed, resonating with the storm's frequency.
Shimura Kenjutsu Art: Fūton Resonance [A-Rank]
The blade struck Marui's lightning cloak—and sang. Vibrations bypassed her defenses, fracturing ribs. She crashed into the mud, cratering the earth. Again, the strong wind vibrations dispersed her layer of defense, making his sword a natural enemy of her techniques. As the sword crashed down, her vest was cut through, leaving a deep injury. Blood splashed, her tied hair falling.
"You… bastard!" Blood flecked her lips as twin tails of blue flame erupted from her back. The Two-Tails' growl shook the battlefield. "I'll incinerate your soul!"
Danzo didn't flinch. "Now."
Byakuro's Shimura Support Corps unleashed chained kunai, with a special Chakra Suppressing Seal [C] on it. The chains were far from being of low quality. They were the latest creation of Otogakure's factories.
Shimura Chains [C]
Her movement bound, Marui shouted in vain, as Danzo came crashing onto her. In an attempt to break free, Marui attempted to bite Danzo, but she misunderstood his charge with an intent to kill. Danzo, however, had foreseen it and aimed at her legs instead.
*SLASH*
The difference in attributes was not overwhelming. However, Danzo had been controlling the battlefield from start to end. The element of surprise helped wreck havoc on Kumo's main forces. C-rank vacuum shurikens claimed the lives of hundreds of genins and chunins in one attack. Those who survived, were no match against the Shimura Kenjutsu Corps.
Most shinobi attempted to leave at this point, but Kaonashi shinobi taking the form of Kumogakure shinobi hijacked their retreat, herding panicked squads into Kinzoku sound traps, shouting insults and behaviours that were similar to that of Iwagakure shinobi. In their pursuit, they would use Doton too, making it more realistic.
In other words, those who were strong enough were killed in priority, while the weaker ones who could escape were vulnerable to genjutsu and Kaoanashi's mimicking manoeuvres, allowing them to frame Iwagakure for their doing.
Marui's bijuu form faltered, pupils dilating as poison seeped into her chakra network. "Lies… This isn't Iwa's doing…! Do you hear me?"
However, her voice was not nearly loud enough for anyone with a clear mind to hear her plight.
Danzo landed beside her crumbling form, sealing tags already spiraling across her torso. "Perception is reality. You should have never gone to the Land of Rice. This is just the beginning of Otogakure"
In the forest shadows, Kaonashi Rin peeled off her Iwa disguise, golden stitches reforming her lips. "The script went perfectly"
Seeing this scene, Marui's eyes rolled to her head. Her body was crippled, her connection with her tailed beast sealed from the Shimura seals, her platoon completely decimated. However, perhaps the worst part of it all was the fact that her failure would turn into a massive conflict between the two hidden villages who somehow managed to find a compromise to face Konohagakure.
Marui, the black thunder, had fallen.