Chapter 68
Anko was on her last legs. She lay on the ground, while she bled out as the Sound four stood around her, triumphant.
"I told you, didn't I?" the red-haired girl began.
"We are the upgrade," and her giant summons tried to crush her head, and in that moment, she could only hope that she had done enough to buy time for Shikamaru and Hinata to finish what she had started.
"I have fai..." yet before the giant foot could crush her, she heard the sound of glass shattering, and a shadow came over her.
The pain she was expecting never came, as she opened her eyes and saw a shinobi standing over her, with a skeletal arm stopping the foot from crushing her being.
"YOU! WHO ARE YOU!" and she recognised that red and white uchiwa symbol at once, as relief filled her heart.
"I will take care of this," he assured her as Anko closed her eyes.
"Ok..."
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SHIKAMARU NARA
Shikamaru was intelligent and was not deluded enough to think that he could win against the likes of a Sanin. The title came with a lot of cache, and these were shinobi who had faced Hanzo Hattori and survived. They were shinobi who could decimate armies and change the tides of battle single-handedly.
Orochimaru, the traitor that he was, had defeated Sandaime-sama and Shikamaru was nowhere near that level, and yet he was never one to shy away from his duty. They knew one thing, that Orochimaru was instrumental to Akatsuki's plans, and so if they were dealing with the cloaked bastards, he would need to handle him.
So, he had to come up with a plan, and it was a rather simple one. If he could not defeat Orochimaru on equal footing, then he would just need to rebalance the scales. The Nara clan's kinjutsu allowed him to seal away his opponents' chakra and their ability to mold it at the cost of his own mobility.
He had yet to master the technique and exclude a person from its sphere of influence, but that did not matter in the case of Hinata. The Hyuga Princess had broken the traditions of her clan, had mastered Raiton Ninjutsu, and was perhaps the most lethal long-range fighter in Konoha's forces.
Her abilities allowed her to shoot Raiton cahkra projectiles from long distances at absolute accuracy, and without his chakra, all of them were equal. Sanin or genin, it did not matter.
Hinata's attacks tore through Orochimaru's armies, and the Sanin himself was torn apart by her ration ninjutsu. His body had was littered with wholes, and the ground was drenched in blood.
Shikamaru was nearly out of chakra himself, but it did not matter for the mission was complete. Orochimaru was dead.
He walked forward, stepping through the pool of blood, guts, and human remains as he walked up to the Sanin's charred remains, and looked down at him with disgust.
His body was littered with holes, and the heat from the lightning had burnt of his skin, and he could not help but laugh.
"It's finally over," he whispered, and then suddenly he saw something move, and it was slight and he was quick to throw in a kunai, and then in the next second the ground began to shake, before suddenly he jumped back on pure instinct as a large monster rose up from the ground and swallowed up, the charred remains of the Snake Sanin.
BOOOOM!
And it was a giant snake, and Shikamaru could sense the vileness of its chakra fill up the air, as a familiar voice cut through the silence.
"I never thought that I would be forced to use this form again," and the giant snake looked at him, and Shikamaru was both disgusted and horrified by the sight of its humanoid face.
"Impossible," he gasped.
"It was quite a novel technique that you used, and your plan was rather perfect. If it were any other shinobi you could have won, but I am no ordinary shinobi," and it was Orochimaru. He was still alive.
"I have long transcended the realm of a typical human, and now you stand witness to my true and ultimate form," and it was nauseating, as Shikamaru took out a kunai.
"DIE!" and with that he, rushed forth as he tried to bite him down, and Shikamaru jumped back but he was not fast enough, and he saw those giant teeths surround him, and thought his life forfeit when another familiar voice reached his ears,
"Raiton:..." and then all he heard was the sound of some birds chirping, before Hinata appeared infront of him.
"...Chidori!" and the Sanin was forced to retreat, as it coiled up on itself to shield itself from the attack, as Hinata's Chidori failed to pierce through its white scales.
"Stay away!" and it swung its tail at them, and both of them were sent flying back as their backs hit the wall of the cave, as Shikamaru grunted in pain.
"Damn it," he cursed as he fell to his knee, and wiped away the blood coming out of his mouth.
"That was Hatake's jutsu," he began as he turned towards Hinata, who had put herself between him and the Snake Sanin once more.
"I must say you continue to surprise me, little Hyuga, but your time is over," and he rushed forth once more, as a thousand snakes came at them from all sides, trying to destroy them.
"I can hold them back for some time, but we will need a new plan to deal with this," she said as she turned towards him and took a stance he had seen Hikari take a dozen times before.
"Resistance is futile. My scales are harder than diamonds, and my chakra is infinite. You cannot kill me!" the Sanin raged, as he tried to think of a solution to their predicament.
He was out of chakra and could not use his kinjutsu again, and he doubted that Hinata had much chakra left either. They may have managed to make the Snake Sanin reveal his true form, but in the end, they were out of options.
He racked his mind, as time continued to slip away, and it pained him to see that they were out of options.
"We retr..." but before he could finish the sentence, a new voice cut through the carnage.
"Katon: Majestic Destroyer Flame..."
And suddenly screeches filled the hall, as the storm of snakes surrounding them was burnt away, as Hinata stopped her jutsu. She was huffing, as she saw their surroundings burn, while a new person came and jumped infront of her.
"That jutsu. That power. It couldn't be," the Snake Sanin gasped, and Shikamaru recognised that symbol in the blink of an eye.
"I am sorry for being late, Hinata," and it was her teammate, and yet for some reason, this was not the Sasuke he had met some twelve hours ago. No.
His chakra had changed. It had matured, and his eyes. They were different.
"Sasuke Uchiha," the Snake Sanin chuckled in joy, as Sasuke turned towards the giant monsteresque creature.
"You are rather ugly," and then he saw blood drip down his cheek, as he whispered.
"Amaterasu..." and the Sanin moved quickly, as he covered himself with its tail, as black flames began to burn away his body, and it began to shed away the snakes that had caught the fire.
"The Amaterasu," the Sanin whispered.
"So you have finally awakened them, the same eyes as Itachi Uchiha," and Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"You are finally at his level," and Sasuke shook his head.
"No," he cut in.
"I have gone past it," and then in the blink of an eye, he was above the Sanin's head as he pushed it hard.
"BAAAAA!" and the giant snake hit the ground, and made a crater as Sasuke landed on top of its head.
"And don't you dare take my brother's name with that filthy mouth of yours you thief..."
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KAKASHI HATAKE
And it was over. They were powerful, but in the end, they were faced with impossible odds. Kakashi was powerful, but none of them could face the combined might of six jinchuriki even if they were not at their full power yet.
It was a tragedy, and in the face of this overwhelming might, they could do nothing. His comrades had fallen one by one, and now only the three of them remained as Gao, he, and Ao stood together against the six chakra-cloaked jinchuriki.
"Is this the extent of your power, Kakashi!" Obito shouted, and Kakashi was running out of chakra, while Gai and Ao were in better condition.
"I thought you were going to stop me! Tell me, Kakashi, do you really think you can stop me at all?" and it was humiliating to be forced into this situation, and Kakashi wondered if this would be another one of his failures.
He had failed Obito twice already. Would he fail him again?
"Kakashi," Gai whispered as he turned towards him, and throughout their fight, all of them had been looking towards him for leadership and hope, yet he had let them down. He had failed them all.
He had failed his students. He had failed his sensei.
"Oi, Copy Ninja," Ao-san added from the side.
"Tell me you have a plan to turn the odds," and he did not.
"Don't worry, Kakashi," and suddenly Gai stepped forward, with a smile on his face.
"I have got this," and Kakashi was taken aback by his words.
"It seems like it is time for the Leaf's Red Beast to make his appearance," and Kakashi stilled as he heard his words.
"Red Beast? What is he talking about?" the Kiri nin asked him, and Kakashi could not help but gulp as he saw Gai's resilience and felt himself shatter.
This was his burden. His responsibility.
"Eigh..."
"Wait," Kakashi made up his mind as he put a hand on Gai's shoulders.
"I appreciate the thought, but this is my burden," and he took in a deep breath as he prepared himself for one final gamble.
"I will take care of the jinchuriki," even if that was the last thing he would do.
"I just need you guys to get them together," and Gai and Ao frowned.
"So be it," and then they rushed forth as Gai used his seventh gate, and Ao san used his Doton to push the Jinchuriki together, as Kakashi gathered all the chakra he had.
"What do you think you are planning, Kakashi?" Obito raged from atop the Gedo Mazo, but Kakashi paid him no heed, as both Gai and Ao shouted together.
"NOW!" and suddenly all of the six jinchuriki came together as Kakashi pushed all his chakra into his sharingan, and the space began to distort and twist as the jinchuriki screamed out in agony.
"Kamui..." he whispered, as his reserves emptied up rather quickly and his vision began to blur, yet he did not relent as he continued to push and push, and Obito finally realised his plans.
"What do you think you are doing, Kakashi?" Obito raged.
"I have failed you too many times already, Obito. I will not fail you again," he answered back.
"I won't let you destroy my plans," and the giant statue came crashing down at him, and yet he still did not relent as Gai appeared above him in a blink.
"Hirudora!" and his attack pushed back the punch, as Ao san slapped his hands on the ground.
"Doton: Great Mud Swamp!" and it made the ground under its feet turn into a mud swamp as it fell down, yet Obito was not one to give up, and jumped towards him and took out a kunai and tried to strike him down.
"Not so fast..." Gai and Ao san jumped in his way, but he simply passed through them, as Kakashi struggled to maintain his jutsu. He had long run out of chakra and had nothing to offer.
"Shit!" Ao san cursed as Obito inched closer to his face.
"It's over, Kakashi," and his kunai was now centimeters away from his sharingan.
"It's time for you to give me back this eye," and yet the pain never came as another figure appeared just beside Obito, as Kakashi heard a whisper.
"Hiken!" and he saw the attack connect as Obito's body was sent flying away as green flames roared forth, yet just then another person appeared infront of him and placed a hand on his head.
"You have done enough, Kakashi," and that voice. Kakashi wondered if he was dead, and this was a vision, for in front of him stood a man who should be long dead.
"Sensei," he gasped, and the chakra exhaustion hit him hard as he fell down but then he felt a hand on his shoulder, and the world stopped spinning.
"You have done well, young shinobi," and this was a thick voice, and his chakra was restored in the blink of an eye, and the dizziness and the pain both vanished at once as he turned around and saw another man who should be long dead standing there behind him.
"Shodaime-sama," he gasped.
"You can rest now, Kakashi," his sensei repeated as he turned away from him, and with his jutsu, interrupted the bijuu that had gathered together to attack them all.
"Minato Namikaze," Obtio stepped out of a dust cloud, as he looked straight ahead at Sensei.
"I should have known better than to summon you back," and Kakshi could not fathom what must be going through his mind, as the jinchuriki began to gather their chakra into one massive tailed beast bomb.
"It pains me to see what has become of you, Obito," and Obito ground his teeth.
"I have no need of your pity! Not when I am now far greater a shinobi than you could ever hope to be," and with that roar, the tailed beasts all let loose the giant tailed beast bomb straight at them.
"Hashirama-sama," and the first Hokage stepped forward.
"Leave it to me," and then he saw sensei cycle through a series of handseals, as the massive orb of chakra rushed towards them all.
"Ninpo:.." he heard sensei whisper, as a massive sealing formula appeared infront of him.
"Hiraishin!" and then in a single blink, the massive tailed beast bomb was gone, as the Shodaime Hokage slapped together his hands.
"Senpo:..." and suddenly, large red tori gates began to drop down from the skies and pin down the bijuu.
"... Gracious Deity Gates!"
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PS: Have a look at my new fic, with an SI Hatake inspired by Gojo Satoru.