We quickly found an open plain near one of the rare ravines in this country. We set up a few traps, and Itachi sent out his crow with a cry for help. There were no expectations of the traps working at all, but sometimes fate can be in your favor; it's called sheer dumb luck.
The rolling hills were eerily silent, and we were still at least a hundred kilometers from the front lines. Even at full speed, the ninja crow would take about an hour to deliver the message.
Thankfully, the ravine was between us and our pursuer; it should take them about twenty minutes to reach our location.
"I think you made a good call, Itachi. They would have caught us near Kumo's frontline camps, and that would have meant certain death for both of us," I said, mentally preparing for the fight of my life.
"The camps seem to be relatively empty, though," Itachi mumbled under his breath. "Maybe there's a large battle taking place further away." He finished his thought in an even tone. That could prove to be either a blessing or our undoing.
"Let's hope our guys win quickly. We really need them to push through and help us out," I said, voicing what we both thought. And so we waited, nervous and on edge.
It didn't take long before a lone figure could be seen rapidly approaching our position. As the figure got closer, we could finally identify our enemy, possibly the last person we would ever face.
"What terrible luck we have today! First, a convoy of five hundred, and now a Jinchuuriki? Are we a joke to some sadistic deity?" I grumbled. The look on Itachi's face told me he was thinking along similar lines.
"Do you think your Sharingan could suppress her?" I asked Itachi, trying to come up with a strategy, preferably one that wouldn't get us killed.
"I have absolutely no idea; I've never tried," he replied, which was an expected response, but still worth considering.
"What about your Fuinjutsu?" he inquired, looking slightly desperate, although he hid it well.
"If I can see her seal, I can try to tamper with it. Otherwise, I could possibly leech her chakra using my crystal along with a lot of paralysis seals," I rambled, aware that apart from the paralysis seals, all of this was still untested and in development.
"At least she has a lot of chakra for you to steal," Itachi said dryly. I couldn't help but let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." I looked toward our soon-to-be adversary. "She looks rather annoyed, don't you think?" I said, trying to distract myself from the imminent danger.
"Hmm, I wonder why..." Itachi mused quietly. But before he could shoot another joke my way, the angry woman was almost upon us, orange chakra surging to life around her, almost like a thick coat.
Her fingernails elongated to sword-like lengths in an instant, and she pounced directly at us.
Itachi jumped away, attempting to figure out how to suppress Bijuu chakra in the middle of the fight, while I braced for impact, summoning Senbonzakura to my hand.
I focused hard on reinforcing both my body with chakra and my blade with haki.
A small surge of black lightning erupted from the sharp edge of Senbonzakura as I swung toward my enemy, meeting her Bijuu-enhanced fingernails. The sound of steel clashing against steel echoed across the plains, reverberating for a few seconds as I barely held her at bay.
Even though she would soon win our little strength competition, I didn't mind her being this close to me. It would only make my next jutsu more effective; this battlefield needed a makeover if we were to stand a chance.
"Crystal Release: Advent of a Crystal World!" The corrosive chakra that was almost touching me was instantly siphoned away from her, surprising her and causing her to halt her charge.
With just this chakra, the jutsu became almost twice as large as it was when I had harnessed the chakra of fifty people.
She looked our way, looking rather incensed. "Two kids? An entire battalion of soldiers was almost wiped out by two fucking kids?!" She sounded furious, mostly because of the sheer improbability of the situation.
"How do you think we feel? First, we fight them, and now we have to deal with you..." I blurted out before my rational mind could stop me.
She stared at me for a moment, considering that I was a kid half her size. "At least you're not a little pussy..." she said, struggling to suppress a small laugh.
Honestly, I couldn't blame her; it was truly a bizarre situation we had found ourselves in.
"Says the woman with an actual cat sealed in her gut," I shot back. The more time she spent trying to insult me, the less time she had to kill us.
She looked away for a second. "And a young Uchiha... Why am I not surprised? Your clan is always up to some bullshit," she said, delivering the line in the most deadpan tone I had ever heard.
Once again, she wasn't wrong; the Uchiha were indeed troublesome characters, especially if you had to fight one of them.
"Is there any chance you'll let us go? Fighting sounds rather troublesome," Itachi said, perfectly mimicking her deadpan tone.
She stared at us as if we were some weird alien creatures. Then, almost like a switch flipped, she was back to her angry self.
"Of course fucking not! What do I look like to you two?" The orange chakra swirled around her again, further feeding my crystals.
"Like a bipolar house cat. 'Hellcat' Yugito, my ass..." I replied immediately, grinning at her.
That was not a good idea. As it turns out, cats really can't take a joke, and I was promptly attacked by another enlarged fingernail slash.
This time, I used Hirenkyaku to dodge out of the way, letting her bury her claw into the crystal-covered ground, sapping her chakra even faster.
"Crystal Release: Blooming Crystal Grove!" I declared with conviction. We could win this; I could actually dodge her, and hopefully, Itachi would suppress her soon.
Many tree-like crystals sprouted from the ground, making direct charges more difficult for her. The accumulated chakra made them grow thick and tall, taller even than my 'Great Crystal Spire.'
"Get a hang of that suppression, Itachi. I'll be a decoy," I said as I landed close to him. Hopefully, she couldn't hear us over the sound of rapidly growing crystals.
Itachi nodded and jumped onto one of the branches above us, hiding as much as possible. I sensed Yugito charging up even more chakra behind one of the crystal trees. She rushed around it and came directly at me again.
I coated Senbonzakura in Shiden, wanting to test the durability of her chakra cloak. My blade met her claw again, but this time, I was pushed back almost instantly.
The lightning-covered sword couldn't even scratch her.
As I was pushed back into one of the crystal trees, I let myself melt into it, getting a very brief respite from her onslaught.
She didn't take kindly to my disappearing act and swung her other claw at the crystal, severing it as if it were made of paper. Fortunately, she missed me, if only barely.
"This could've killed me, woman!" I yelled at her, trying to keep her attention on me.
Her expression didn't change, but she charged at me again, still clad in the orange glow.
"Time to fight brute strength with brute strength," I mumbled, infusing every bit of Haki into Senbonzakura.
Haki, usually an invisible force, was now clearly present in the blade. The edge of Senbonzakura gleamed black instead of the usual silver, with arcs of reddish-black lightning dancing around me.
"Haki truly grows when you are about to die..." I muttered under my breath, racing forward to meet her charge.
"Divine Departure!" This time, our clash ended differently. My sword cut clean through her claw, continuing to her torso and passing effortlessly through her chakra cloak, cutting her open from shoulder to hip.
She was flung backward, directly into another crystal tree, snapping it completely in half. With her chakra cloak gone, I caught a brief glimpse of the seal on her stomach.
Unfortunately, she healed almost instantly, her injury sizzling as it completely closed, and jumped down to the ground, looking as if the damage had never happened.
"This is bullshit! You realize that any normal person would die from that, right?" I said, annoyed by the lack of meaningful progress.
The look on her face was more serious now; an attack like that would not work again.
"Cats have nine lives, Konoha brat," she replied with a slight playfulness in her voice. She pulled even more of Nibi's chakra, forming a cloak of black and blue flames around her, with two tails sprouting from her lower back.
A large ball of blue fire raced towards me, faster than anything I'd ever seen.
"Hirenkyaku!" I barely managed to escape the heat, knowing that if I was hit by her in this form, it would be over.
"Well, I don't have nine lives, so could you please chill out?" I taunted again, really regretting the life choices that had led me here.
"If not for Observation Haki, I would have never been able to dodge that," I thought as I repositioned using another Hirenkyaku.
"At least I have a massive amount of chakra to work with." I sighed, trying to think of a way out. I needed a protective layer of my own if I was going to fight her.
"Here goes nothing... Crystal Release: Dragonscale Armor!" Thousands of tiny crystal scales sprouted from my skin, creating a form-fitting armor of interlocking scale-like structures. It was almost like a second skin but extremely durable.
It wouldn't save me from heat, but it should hopefully withstand a physical attack. I didn't have time to think, as Yugito was upon me the second my jutsu finished forming.
Another blue stream of fire barreled towards me at incredible speed. I stomped on the ground, raising a thick wall of crystal to block the flames while simultaneously jumping back to avoid as much shrapnel as possible.
A loud explosion filled the air, and the crystal wall was reduced to dust, completely gone. I didn't stop moving; if I did, I would have died on the spot.
I dashed around one of the large crystal trees, using it as a base for another jutsu.
"Crystal Release: Impaling Crystal Branches!" From the large crystal tree, many thick, branch-like structures grew and were soon fired in a volley at Yugito.
She didn't even blink. Some of the constructs were cut clean in half by her claws, some were avoided due to her inhuman flexibility, and some she allowed to hit her.
Unfortunately, the damage they caused was minimal, if any, but it slowed her down enough for Itachi to distract her further.
His Sharingan spun wildly, straining his eyes beyond anything he had done before. The chakra cloak flickered briefly, and I seized the opportunity.
"Crystal Release: Thousand Staking Spears!" From every crystal surface around us, numerous ornate spears shot out, flying at high speed toward the weakened Yugito, aiming to inflict painful injuries.
Itachi also fired an attack at her, a focused jet of water that threatened to cut her in half. The attacks seemed to hit her, but Haki told me otherwise.
I quickly activated Hirenkyaku to step away from my previous position, just a moment before Yugito's knee crashed into the ground, creating a sizeable crater.
I looked back at her; her chakra cloak was back at full strength, and despite being impaled by four spears, it appeared as though she could simply ignore the holes in her thighs and abdomen.
She swiftly pulled the spears out, healing instantly as she removed them.
"Nice try, Uchiha brat. But Nibi and I are one; we always help one another in a fight," she said, her voice deep and layered, as if two people with completely different voices were speaking at once.
"I take it the Genjutsu or suppression won't work then," I sighed, hoping Itachi had another plan.
"We have to limit her movement. I can barely track her, and you don't seem to fare any better," Itachi said, equally reluctant to fight.
"Good thing I have a massive amount of siphoned chakra at my disposal." I grinned, preparing to unleash my first truly massive jutsu.
"Crystal Release: Endless Spire Forest!" The ground shook as nearly all of the siphoned chakra transformed into countless large spires all around the battlefield.
Even as Itachi and I rose from the ground level atop one of the spires, we still couldn't see the end of the pink forest I had just created.
Each spire was incredibly thick, almost thirty meters in diameter by my estimate, and there were hundreds of them, siphoning chakra from everything they touched.
My chakra reserves were replenishing rapidly, primarily from Yugito, who was still standing on the crystal surface, but also from all the grass and small animals caught in the crossfire.
"So much power..." Itachi whispered in awe, taking in the sheer amount of chakra I stole from Yugito.
"And we will need even more of it," I added, noticing some of the spires beginning to collapse.
I concentrated more of the siphoned chakra into myself, forming a spinning ball in the palm of my right hand.
"Let's see how powerful this can get," I muttered under my breath as I jumped down from the spire, Itachi close behind me.
The moment my feet touched the ground, I sensed it, an enormous amount of chakra gathering in one place.
I dashed at full speed toward Yugito, determined to interrupt her attack. "There's no way I'm letting her fire a Bijuudama at us," I thought with resolve.
Even a small Bijuudama could obliterate most of the battlefield if unleashed. I utilized Hirenkyaku to position myself directly above her and slammed my right hand down.
"Rasengan!" I shouted as her head turned toward me, the unfinished Bijuudama hovering in front of her cat-like jaws.
We collided, creating a massive explosion of compressed wind, but neither jutsu yielded.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave!" Itachi's attack shot through the air, a highly pressurized jet of water that sliced into Yugito's leg, forcing her off balance and causing her jutsu to buckle under the strain of my Rasengan.
I pushed nearly all my remaining chakra into it, forcing it to slowly grind through the Bijuudama.
Suddenly, everything went white. My ears were ringing like never before, and my head felt like I had just woken up from a wine-induced hangover.
My back must've hit something extremely hard, probably one of the crystal spires, and if not for my Armament Haki and the Crystal armor, I would have been dead for sure.
I blinked several times, my vision slowly returning. I was lodged deep inside one of the crystal spires, far away from my clash with Yugito. I must have been flung directly through multiple spires before stopping here.
The crystal armor was completely gone, leaving my body exposed. The right sleeve of my coat and half of my poncho were disintegrated in the explosion, and my right arm looked like a rough approximation of what an arm is supposed to look like.
I couldn't feel it at all below the elbow, and for a good reason. I could clearly see small shards of bone piercing through my skin, and all of my fingers were bent in unnatural directions.
The entire right side of my body was covered in blood, my blood. For the first time in this life, I was seriously injured. The only thing keeping me awake and at least somewhat functional was the adrenaline.
I stood up, my knees weak and arms heavy. I tried to take a step, but my body just didn't cooperate, forcing me to cough up a concerning amount of blood.
"Looks like my ribs are broken too..." I pondered as I focused on my Observation Haki, not trusting any of my other senses.
Itachi was fighting Yugito on his own now, and he was not having fun.
"Even though she had to have been injured as badly as I was..." My thoughts drifted to very unpleasant places.
I forced myself to stand again, finally moving slowly. At least I could still create crystal constructs, since there was an insane amount of siphoned chakra stored directly under my feet and across the battlefield. I moved, using a crystal platform to carry me to the top of the spire I just stumbled out of.
I could finally see both Itachi and Yugito; they were fighting inside a deep crater. If I were to guess, it had to be twice the size of the opening in the mountains where we ambushed the Kumo contingent.
Itachi was holding his own, but he was being overwhelmed; his endurance obviously could not match a Jinjuuriki.
Conquerors Haki surged to life around me. This couldn't be the end. Itachi, at least, has to live through this. I breathed in and out, trying to ignore the pain every time I did so.
I looked myself over one more time. My right arm hung limply to my side, and cutting her proved to be useless so far. She needed to be knocked out and her chakra sealed in one hit.
The haki grew even more intense, the now familiar reddish-black lightning chipped the spire I stood upon. There was no time to waste.
"It's good to at least go out with a bang, right?" I tried to convince myself as I jumped high above the two combatants.
All the rest of my chakra, every last drop of willpower I still had left. I focused it all onto my left fist. The reddish-black lightning around it intensified, cracking menacingly around my fist as I started to descend.
I could tell that Itachi sensed my attack the moment I jumped, possibly even earlier.
He really didn't look good; there were many small wounds on him, mostly cuts and a few stab wounds. I must have been unconscious for a while.
Time to make up for my lack of endurance with raw power. I fell faster and faster, focusing solely on my target.
tachi fired a powerful jet of water at Yugito as he jumped away, disengaging from melee, his Sharingan eyes spinning as he stared directly into Yugito's soul. For a split second, her chakra cloak retreated, taking on the earlier orange form with a single tail.
But even this was enough. I used Hirenkyaku with the last ounce of power left in me. Now, directly above the weakened Yugito, I brought my fist down on her with all my might.
An attack like this needed a name, something to remind me what I fight for, something to represent the next generation, those who would hopefully lead the world to its golden age. Something close to my heart and soul.
"Sakura Impact!" I cried out as my fist made descended. But confusingly enough, it never connected with her.
The Haki pushed outward from it, pushing her to the ground before my fist could touch her.
A loud, thundering explosion could be heard, and the world around me exploded with color. The reddish-black lightning surged to life for the last time and cracked the ground beneath us. The wind picked up around me and pushed Yugito even further into the ground, and after a small delay, it exploded in every direction, deepening the crater we fought inside of.
I fell to the ground right next to Yugito. She looked horrible, a lot of blood dripped from her head and left arm.
"I guess we are even now..." I managed to mumble under my breath.
I could see Itachi rush to my side, placing multiple paralyzing seals on Yugito's body while checking me for injuries.
"We did it! We actually did it," I muttered repeatedly, struggling to stay awake. Itachi collapsed next to me, equally exhausted.
"I thought you were gone for a moment..." he trailed off, barely able to keep his eyes open.
I was faring no better, but we needed to stay awake for a little longer.
"We're lucky," I managed to stutter out, "that she didn't fully transform." An overwhelming mix of good and bad luck had hit us today.
"Yeah, it was like she was playing with her food," Itachi agreed, trying to keep the conversation going to stave off sleep.
"Good suppression in the end. I don't think she would have been knocked out without it..." I continued, being completely honest.
If I sensed it correctly, she might have been stunned and forced to the ground, but probably not unconscious.
"You're still thinking too much," Itachi said, his voice quieter than before. The adrenaline was fading, and we were both drifting off.
"Someone is close; just a little longer!" Itachi urged us.
"Yeah, just a few more..." I tried to respond, but my voice was too weak.
The last thing I saw before falling asleep was a tall man with white hair sprinting in our direction, accompanied by a sizable number of ninja in Konoha gear.