VI

---

━━━━━━┓༻❁༺┏━━━━━━

---

Arc VI Chapter 10

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

“Captain, should we pursue them?” Taki turned to Yoshio, their squad leader. The Oto squad had assembled on the roof of the arena. They were awaiting Yoshio's orders.

 

Orochimaru-sama assigned them a special mission. Their objective was to secure Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha, in case of emergency. Konoha was under attack and a dangerous place. Their master didn't want his future body to be damaged. Uchiha were a precious resource these days. Hard to come by.

 

“...” Yoshio watched the three genin. They were moving away from the arena. A dog, a pink haired girl, this Naruto, and the Nara boy. The Nara had taken quite a beating, barely able to keep up with his friends. A fatal mistake. His wounds and bruises slowed them down and made them an easy target. Intercepting them would be child’s play.

 

Yoshio grinned beneath his mask. “You are right, time to move out ...”

 

“An excellent idea~. I hope you won’t encounter unexpected difficulties on your way. That would be ... unfortunate~.” Her voice was sweet and tender.

 

“...” The Oto-nin stiffened. A girl in black had joined their group without invitation.

 

Asami grinned in evil delight and extended her arm. Smouldering fire covered her palm, a sphere of blazing heat. Her fire danced. The detonation was imminent, and the Oto-nin sensed the danger. Their hair stood up. 

 

“Show me how fast you can run~.” Asami clenched her fist. Of course, she knew the answer. The Oto-nin dispersed, but it was too late. The flash blinded them and the heat turned the roof into a sea of flames. Her explosion expanded, cutting through the air. It was over. Her fire won.

 

Asami smiled, pleased by the outcome. Eight Oto-nin died, their flesh burnt alive. Only a mass of unrecognisable charred corpses remained of the enemy.

 

In the meanwhile, chaos gripped the entire village. Death and destruction spread everywhere. Suna-nin, Oto-nin, Konoha-nin, ANBU fought and clashed across the village. Explosions. Denotations. The village burned. A giant three headed snake crashed through the wall and wrecked havoc upon Konoha. And Hiruzen was trapped inside a magic barrier together with Orochimaru in fight to the death.

 

Furthermore, no adequate intelligence was available. The enemy's strength, their movements, their intentions were unknown. In short, everything was going according to plan. Chaos, confusion, disorganisation were what she needed. The trap was set, and her prey remained ignorant.

 

Asami moved, heading east. Linking up with Fumihiko was the priority. He and his men were located at the eastern gate.

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

Akihiro led the vanguard of the relief force. His Suna-nin advanced through the streets and approached the arena. Orochimaru was crucial to the invasion plan, but even the famed Sannin couldn't win the war on his own. He required support. They received orders to relieve Orochimaru and his men if things didn’t go as planned.

 

Orochimaru had the brilliant idea to attack the Hokage directly behind enemy lines with only a handful of ninja. For some mysterious reason, the Kazekage approved of his suicidal plan. Akihiro and his four companies were ordered to take the arena and break Orochimaru out.

 

The arena appeared on the horizon. Heavy fighting had already commenced.

  

“Captain, unidentified subject approaching!” Hideki joined him and reported.

 

Akihiro grumbled. “Friend, or foe?”

 

“Unknown, but we suspect foe.”

 

“...” Akihiro scanned the area, detecting a single girl in a black kimono. The girl and her sword rapidly closed the distance. They would clash soon. “Get ready! We will make contact!”

 

His men unholstered their kunai and increased their speed.

 

Akihiro threw three kunai. They connected, but they struck ... a barrier. A purple shield deflected his attack ... A purple shield ... A purple shield ...

 

His eyes widened. “Fuck!” He knew the girl. They all knew her. Konoha, Kunoichi, short girl, black kimono, sword, princess, purple. It was Konoha's grim reaper. They were not just fucked. They were royally fucked.

 

A purple sphere intercepted them, shrouded in an ominous aura. Akihiro sensed the danger. “Disperse! Disperse ...”

 

The sphere contracted and Akihiro braced himself against the detonation. The shock wave hurled him through the air, yet he survived. The rest of the squad didn’t share his luck. The blunt force, the trauma killed them ... 

 

A sharp, stinging pain filled Akihiro's lungs ... A sword pierced his chest ...

 

Her blade severed his head, allowing Asami to maintain her momentum and continue her advance. Her body turned left, right, left, right, navigating through Konoha's labyrinth of streets and alleys.

 

Dispersed Suna squads blocked her path, but their resistance proved negligible. They were a minor annoyance, at most. They didn’t last long, dispatched easily despite their ever increasing numbers ...

 

Asami passedaround a corner. This time, however, she was forced to an abrupt halt, nearly tripping. An entire battalion greeted her, but Asami didn't care. The enemy would yield, and if by sheer force alone.

 

Asami clapped her hands together, channelling her chakra. Her eyes shimmered purple, her sharingan answering her call. Her chakra coursed through her veins. A purple sphere darkened the sky. Its ominous presence was suffocating.

 

“Get ... out ... of ... my ... way.” Asami released her jutsu. For the fraction of a second, her sphere burned brighter than the stars themselves, summoning the vengeful light of the sun.

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---

“Hehehe.” Orochimaru chuckled, deriding him.

 

“What's so funny?” Hiruzen panted, breathing heavily.

 

“You have grown old, sensei.” Orochimaru smirked. “Such a pitiful end. Even the once hailed God of shinobi can’t escape the curse of old age ...”

 

An explosion shook the ground, unbalancing Orochimaru. The foundations of the arena trembled. Shock waves in the distance and three columns of burning ash rose into the sky.

 

“...” Hiruzen grinned pleased. He also had a few aces up his sleeve. Konoha’s little princess had finally become active.

 

Hiruzen's forces returned. “You are right, I can’t escape old age, but I don’t need to. Because unlike you, I don't stand alone, Orochimaru. The entire village will fight you.”

---

━━━━━━┛༻❁༺┗━━━━━━

---