First Encounter with Akatsuki

Chapter 32

Puff!

A cloud of white smoke appeared and disappeared revealing Yamato and Izaya in the middle of an open field with a giant rock wall and a waterfall flowing down it. "Eh? Yamato-sensei? Izaya? Didn't you say you were going to get extra insurance incase the Nine-Tails flares up Yamato-sensei? How come Izaya is here too-dattebayo?" Naruto inquired.

"Haha, well Izaya is my insurance." Yamato replied.

"Uh? What do you mean?" Kakashi asked also out of the loop. I took a good look around and finally understood why Yamato-sensei only asked me to come along. So Naruto is going to begin training for his Rasenshuriken eh? I mentally noted. I then stepped forward to give an explanation. "I've been keeping it a secret until now but some troublesome people already know so there's no use keeping it hidden anymore. The truth is I can also use the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai. If the Nine-Tails chakra starts to exert its influence during Naruto's training, I'll help suppress it with Yamato-sensei."

"Ah?!" Both Kakashi and Naruto were surprised at this revelation.

"Well this is unexpected." Kakashi mumbled.

"Alright! I don't really understand the whole situation but thanks for your help Izaya!" Naruto gave me a thumbs up.

"Mn." I nodded. Yamato set up his Wood Style technique ready to act if he needed to as I stood on standby while watching Kakashi-sensei explain to Naruto about the different chakra natures and how he could speed up his learning with Shadow Clones. I sat in bored silence as I watched Naruto attempt to utilize his wind nature to cut the leaf in his hands. A few tens of minutes later and he succeeded in creating a small cut in the leaf. "Ha! See that! I did it! I can d-..." Before he could finish his sentence Naruto fell unconscious as sleep overtook his body. Kakashi quickly arrived by his side to gently placed him on the ground.

"Jeez. Pushing himself so hard like that already from the get go." Kakashi commented. Yamato relaxed a bit as the Nine-Tails chakra didn't flare up.

"It can't be helped. He's eager to learn a new technique soon and become stronger as fast as he can." I said. Kakashi turned to me and said, "Right, I haven't seen you in the village for a long time Izaya. Were you away on missions?"

"Mn. I was. I just returned not that long ago." I replied.

"I see. Even if you were away on missions, how has your training been going?" He asked curiously. I gave a small smile and said, "Lord Third has taught me a lot of different techniques and even given me the knowledge and information of Jutsu that he can't use. After many trial and errors I have been successful in some. Would you like to see?"

"Hm? Sure." Kakashi replied. I stood up from my seat and walked over to Kakashi before placing my hand out in front of me and said, "Rasengan!" A dense blue ball spinning at high velocity appeared in that moment and greatly shocked both Kakashi and Yamato. "WHAT?!" They both exclaimed. I then deactivated the technique and said, "Although Lord Third can't use this technique himself, he is aware of the principles behind this technique and told me about it. I haven't told Lord Third that I can use it yet, but as you can see my training has also gone quite well." Kakashi and Yamato were still too stunned and shocked to reply to my words. Soon after Naruto woke up as he slowly got back up.

"Eh?" Naruto had a confused look as he saw Yamato and Kakashi still with shocked expressions on their faces. "Um...Izaya, what happened to Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei? Did something happen-dattebayo?"

"Well...Not really. Don't mind them. How do you feel?" Naruto just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Mn. I can continue." Naruto stood up and began his training once more.

"He's sure got spirit. And a lot of stamina to continue training right after that." I said to no one in particular. Kakashi and Yamato finally snapped out of their daze as Yamato's stoic facial expression returned focusing on Naruto and his training. Kakashi just gave me a complicated look before saying, "Flying Thunder God and Rasengan. You remind me of Lord Fourth a bit."

"Thank you for the sentiment, but I don't deserve such praise. I've done nothing worthy yet to earn such a comparison to Lord Fourth." I replied.

"That's not necessarily true. Your track record says differently. You successfully protected the village from major external damage during Orochimaru's attack. You saved Lord Third from Orochimaru's entrapment of him. And now you are also capable of utilizing the Wood Style to help suppress the Nine-Tails if it gets out of control. I have a feeling you'll continue to accomplish great feats." Kakashi said seriously. I stood there in silence for a moment before replying, "I'll continue doing my best so as not to let everyone down." It wasn't long after that Naruto succeeded in completely cutting the leaf in half and began training by trying to cut the waterfall in half with his wind nature chakra.

"He really does progress fast by using the Shadow Clones." I commented.

"Mn. He does have a lot of chakra so this training is suitable for him, but…" Kakashi said as he glanced at me. "...You have even more chakra than he does don't you."

"Ah...Well I did train hard to obtain my current chakra output." I replied.

"I see. Naruto has about 4 times as much chakra as I do. If he uses the chakra of the Nine-Tails he'd probably have about 100 times more chakra than me at the very least. You have at least 6 or 7 times more chakra than I do. That's impressive. You could technically utilize this training method also." Kakashi said.

"That's true. I won't deny that I have used my Shadow Clones before to help speed up my training before, but I haven't ever tried it to the extent of Naruto's clones." I replied. Days turned into nights and nights into days.

"Big brother sure has been gone for awhile." Haku commented.

"Mn. I guess whatever Yamato-sensei needed him for wasn't a small matter." Kimimaro replied. A hawk flying in the air cawed once prompting Haku to look up. Eh? Lady Tsunade is calling for me? He turned to Kimimaro and said, "Maro, Lord Fifth has called me to her office. I'll be back after seeing what she wants."

"Alright. I'll go to the library first and wait for you there." Kimimaro replied.

"Mn." Haku nodded and dashed off.

Knock Knock.

"Enter." Tsunade said. Haku walked in and saluted Tsunade before saying, "You called for me Lord Fifth?"

"Yes. Haku. After careful consideration and consulting with other Jonin on this matter I have decided to promote you and Izaya to Jonin."

"Eh?!" Haku exclaimed in surprise.

"What? Surprised? There's no need for you to be too shocked. I've heard from Sarutobi-sensei of how skilled you and your brothers are. In order to be promoted to Jonin you need the approval of several Jonin or you have to at least pass an exam. I feel that an exam is unnecessary for you though. I know Izaya is busy right now so I'll have to tell him the news later. I have just informed the other Jonin and Chunin of this village about two members of the Akatsuki infiltrating the Land of Fire. I have sent them out to search for them. Now that you are a Jonin I hope that you can also lend us your strength and search for them. I know from Sarutobi-sensei that you and your brothers were expert trackers while you performed your duties as Anbu. Although Kimimaro has yet to be officially promoted as Chunin, his skills are definitely at Jonin level. I want you to form a team with Kimimaro and search for these members of Akatsuki. I want them either dead or alive. Understood?" Tsunade said in a commanding tone.

Haku knelt to the ground as he said respectfully, "Yes. Understood." He then disappeared in the next moment.

"Was that really okay Lady Tsunade? He's still so young?" Shizune said.

"What. Hyuga Neji is only a year older than him but is already a Jonin. Plus, Sarutobi-sensei has spoken highly of his skills and has given his approval. Not only that but after consulting with Might Guy and other Jonin who were present during Orochimaru's attack on the Leaf, they agreed that he was skillful enough to be a Jonin. It is only right for me to give credit where credit is due and promote him to a position he deserves. Besides, we need all the help we can get. This concerns the Akatsuki and the safety of the village after all." Tsunade commented with a serious face.

Fwish!

Eh? Kimimaro turned around as he held a book in his hand. "Haku? That was fast."

"Maro. Lord Fifth has given us a mission. Follow me. I'll explain on our way out." Haku replied. As Kimimaro and Haku dashed off Haku explained the situation to him.

"Then we should begin our search at the Fire Temple where they were last seen." Kimimaro suggested.

"Mn. I had the same thought." Haku replied.

At this moment Naruto had finally mastered splitting the waterfall with his wind nature and so Kakashi had him prepare for the next step in his training. As Kakashi showed him his own Rasengan Naruto put on a salty expression. "What? So you can use the Rasengan too Kakashi-sensei? And you can do it with just one hand? Jeez...I still have to use clones. Maybe I should give it another try with one hand-dattebayo." Naruto exclaimed and mumbled as he attempted using Rasengan with one hand. At this moment Kakashi and Yamato had the same thought. It's probably best not to tell him that Izaya can use the Rasengan as well as they both glanced at me discreetly. I just smiled and rubbed the back of my neck as I let out an awkward laugh. If they are super shocked about me using Rasengan, probably shouldn't show them my Taiyougan. It's even more powerful than the Rasenshuriken since it combines fire nature, wind nature, water nature, and lightning nature all in one. We continued to watch as Naruto attempted to fuse his wind nature into his Rasengan. It wasn't long before his Nine-Tails chakra started to flare up causing Yamato-sensei to act and suppress it. We watched as Naruto fainted soon after.

"If this happens too often, even with Izaya's help I don't know if we can keep this up." Yamato commented.

"Hm...Unfortunately you both have to. The only safe way for Naruto to master his new technique is if you and Izaya are able to help suppress the Nine-Tails." Kakashi responded.

"Then...I have an idea to help Naruto speed up the process." I said.

"Huh? And what's that?" Kakashi asked.

"Naruto uses one clone to spin the chakra while he himself supplies and contains the chakra. What if he just uses two clones instead of one. While he supplies and contains the chakra, one clone spins the chakra and another one supplies the wind nature." I said.

"Uh? Hm...That actually might work. I'll suggest it to Naruto after he wakes up." Kakashi said with a thoughtful look.

Swish Swish!

"Hm?" Bansai, an elder and one of the only surviving members left of the Fire Temple after the Akatsuki's attack said. He noticed two figures approach the ruined Fire Temple at this moment. "You two are...Leaf shinobi?" Bansai said.

"Yes. We came on orders to investigate and locate the Akatsuki." Haku replied.

"Oh? Some of your Leaf shinobi members were here earlier. His name was Sarutobi Asuma." Bansai said.

"We apologize if you have to repeat this but will you tell us what happened?" Kimimaro asked.

"Mn." Bansai nodded as he repeated exactly what he told Asuma and his entourage as well as what Asuma and his team discussed before leaving. Haku turned to look at Kimimaro and said, "What do you think Maro?"

"Hm...If what elder Bansai said is true then Asuma-sensei really does have a bounty on his head as well. The leader of the temple Chiriku had a 30 million ryo bounty on his head and it seems Asuma has a 35 million bounty on his. If the only body that wasn't recovered here was Chiriku's then it's a good bet that the Akatsuki members took his body for the bounty. If that's the case they would probably be interested in Asuma-sensei's bounty as well. It's better to follow Asuma's group before we look for any others." Kimimaro analysed.

"Mn. Then let's do that." Haku nodded in agreement. They both gave their thanks to elder Bansai before dashing off to follow Asuma and his team's trail. Haku and Kimimaro ran with great speed through the forest. As they approached closer and closer to the location where Asuma, Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo were they heard a loud explosion.

BOOM!

Haku and Kimimaro turned to look at one another. "That didn't sound good." Kimimaro noted.

"Mn. Most likely Asuma and his team encountered members of the Akatsuki. Let's speed up." Haku said as they increased their speed to the max. Just as Haku and Kimimaro made it to the edge of the forest they saw one Akatsuki member standing idle by the building watching his partner battle with team Asuma.

"What is that form?" Kimimaro said as he observed the situation. Haku narrowed his eyes as he too observed the situation. "It appears that guy is standing in some sort of blood seal. Asuma-sensei looks hurt but Shikamaru has him in a shadow paralysis technique right now. Let's hurry."

Just as Kakuzu was going to walk towards Shikamaru, Kotetsu, and Izumo, Haku and Kimimaro jumped from the air down in front of them. "Huh?" Kakuzu looked on in surprise. Kotetsu, Izumo, and Shikamaru also had a look of surprise on their faces, but they were also greatly relieved. The situation was not looking good for them so Izumo had sent word for backup, but he didn't think backup would arrive this quickly. At the very least he estimated 20 minutes before backup was supposed to arrive.

"Oi! Hidan. I told you it was taking too long! Now they have reinforcements. I'm not letting the bounty on that guys head get away. I'm taking action myself." Kakuzu said.

"AH? Damn you Kakuzu! I told you to stay out of this!" Hidan replied.

"The hell I am. Look at you. Pathetically caught in this kids Shadow Paralysis Jutsu!" Kakuzu retorted as he struck out with his fist towards Shikamaru and the others. They all dodged out of the way as the fist collided with the ground causing dust and debris to fly into the air.

"Damn! I was forced to cancel my Shadow Paralysis Jutsu!" Shikamaru cursed. Kimimaro placed his hands on the ground after he dodged Kakuzu's attack and said, "Earth Style Bottomless Swamp Jutsu!"

"Ah? What the hell!" Hidan yelled as he jumped out of his blood circle ritual technique which was now engulfed in a dark murky swamp of mud. Haku arrived beside Asuma at this moment and helped him off the ground and jumped off to Shikamaru and the others.

"Teh! Damn it you bastards! You ruined my ritual!" Hidan cursed as he watched the mud swamp swallow the ground where his ritual was prepared.

"Ugh!" Asuma groaned from the injury he incurred earlier.

"I don't really understand what's going on, but it seems that his blood circle has some sort of special ability so it's best that I got rid of it. Can you guys explain in more details." Kimimaro asked as he focused his attention on Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Yeah. You guys showed up right on time. Thanks for the save. I'll explain. That guy Hidan made that circle he stood on with blood. He then turned some sort of dark skeletal color which somehow links his body with someone else. We saw him lick some of Asuma's blood before he stepped in that circle of his so our guess is that's how he links bodies. Any damage he incurs is also inflicted on the linked person. Not only that, it seems like he might be immortal or something. No matter how serious the damage he doesn't die. As for the other guy Kakuzu, we're not sure what his abilities are yet since he didn't make a move until now." Shikamaru said.

"Immortal? Tsk...Sounds like trouble Maro." Haku said.

"Mn. I'll handle that Hidan guy then. You keep the guy named Kakuzu busy." Kimimaro suggested.

"Mn. Then let's go with that. Kotetsu, Izumo, you guys stay in the back and provide support if you find any opportunity. Shikamaru, keep an eye on Asuma. He's in no shape to fight now and you've used up too much chakra. Asuma-sensei, focus on stopping your wounds from bleeding. Leave the rest to us." Haku said.

"Mn." They nodded in consent.

"Heh. Just some brats. I'll kill you all here and now and get my reward." Kakuzu said.

"You ruined my ritual so I need a replacement. Which one of you wants to be a sacrifice to Jashin first then?" Hidan said.

FWSIH!

Both Hidan, Kakuzu, Kimimaro, and Haku rushed at each other at incredible speeds. Bang! Swish! Ting! Ting! Boom! Bang! Clang! Boom! Tch!

Skid Skid Skid Skid!

After several exchanges of close quarter combat both sides stood exactly 15 feet opposite of each other as they all narrowed their eyes and became extremely focused. The four of them had the exact same thought at this moment. Strong! In that short moment of an exchange both teams acknowledged the other party's strength. Neither one coming out on top, however, Shikamaru, Kotetsu, Izumo, and Asuma had shocked expressions on their faces. They thought the same thing at this moment. Those Akatsuki bastards were holding back their real strength earlier, but Kimimaro and Haku were also just as strong! This revelation made them feel both relieved and complicated emotions inside. Is this really the two little kids from way back then? Kotetsu mentally thought to himself in awe as he stared at Kimimaro and Haku.

I had a feeling Izaya's teammates were just as monstrously strong as he was, but to think that they were strong enough to even face off against Akatsuki members equally? Shikamaru thought. Kakuzu thrust out both arms as both hands flew out from his arms with long tendrils attached seeking to bind and restrain Haku. Haku formed the Tiger hand sign and said, "Ice Style Ice Swallow Snow Storm Jutsu!" Frost quickly condensed in the air as hundreds of ice shards in the shape of swallows maneuvered in a way to effectively obstruct Kakuzu's hands and tendrils, at the same time they flew towards his main body to strike him down.

"Oh? Ice Style Kekkei Genkai? How rare." Kakuzu commented as he jumped back to dodge the ice swallows and pulled his arms back smashing into the rest of the ice swallows flying towards him. Hidan was also exchanging several moves against Kimimaro as well. He threw his long scythe at Kimimaro except Kimimaro perfectly countered by sticking out his right hand and said, "Dead Bone Pulse Dance of the Willow Vines!" Long bone tendrils shot forth from his right hand as it's property was slightly changed through Kimimaro's chakra making the bones strong yet flexible. The tendrils easily wrapped around the scythe and pulled it off to the side sticking it firmly to the ground.

"EH? What the hell is this guy? He's got bones sticking out of his body. Oi! Kakuzu, this guy is just as weird as you and me!" Hidan said. Kimimaro formed the hand signs of Monkey, Snake and said, "Dance of the Weeding Cage!" A bunch of flexible white bones immediately rushed out from the ground beneath the red scythe and tightly bound it preventing Hidan from recovering it.

"Tsk! You bastard!" Hidan cursed, however, before he could make a move towards his scythe more white bones rushed out from under him attempting to bind him as well. Hidan quickly let go of the rope attached to his scythe and jumped backwards through the air out of the reach of the bone weeds before landing beside Kakuzu. Izumo used this chance to form the hand sign of Ram, Tiger and said, "Water Style Syrup Trap Jutsu!" He spewed forth a large dark and murky stream of water trying to envelop both Hidan and Kakuzu in it.

"Tsk. How troublesome." Kakuzu said in frustration. He formed the hand sign of Tiger, Snake, Rat, Snake, Tiger and said, "Water Style Water Wall Jutsu!" A large wave of water was expelled from his mouth as it pushed away the syrupy water made from Izumo. Haku immediately used this chance to form the hand signs of Ox, Snake, Ram and said, "Ninja Art Hidden Mist Jutsu!" The area quickly became fogged and obscured Hidan and Kakuzu's vision. Kimimaro also used this chance to stick out both of his hands and said, "Dance of the Honey Locust Spear!" Two long and thick sharp bones protruded from his hands as they flew out at incredible speeds towards Kakuzu and Hidan.

"Eh?" Hidan and Kakuzu felt something off. As they turned, they saw two sharp bone spears pierce through the veil of water right at them. Kakuzu dodged to the side as the spear missed him. Hidan didn't bother moving and so the spear struck him right in the chest. Kakuzu once again felt something off and instantly unleashed one of his dark tendril masked dolls behind him. Just as Haku appeared behind Kakuzu with his silent killing technique and was about to incapacitate him a strange scene appeared in front of him. A dark tendril like masked doll appeared from Kakuzu's back and opened its mouth. Feeling a sense of danger he immediately formed the seal of confrontation hand sign and said, "Ice Style Crystal Ice Mirrors Jutsu!" Just before a blue streak of lightning shot forth from the masked doll more than twenty mirrors surrounded Kakuzu as Haku disappeared inside of them.

"Hm? He was able to escape?" Kakuzu said in surprise as he stood there in the center of ice mirrors seeing Haku's reflection in every single one. On the other hand, Haku stood in his mirrors wondering exactly what technique Kakuzu had just used. Hidan on the other hand was struggling against Kimimaro. He no longer had his scythe and he couldn't get close to Kimimaro unless he wanted to be impaled on a bunch of bones and have his movement restricted.

"Seriously who are these kids?!" Hidan complained as he continued jumping around like a mouse being chased by a cat dodging all of Kimimaro's attacks. At this moment Kimimaro lowered his guard on purpose giving Hidan a chance to strike back. Hidan smirked and took this chance as he quickly took out a rod-like spear and stabbed it towards Kimimaro's side. Kimimaro smirked and said, "Wushu Style Southern Movement Floundering Fish!"

"EH?" Hidan exclaimed in confusion. Before he knew what was happening Kimimaro expertly side stepped the incoming spear and grappled Hidan's wrist. He then utilized Hidan's momentum to throw him onto the ground.

"Kuh!" Hidan coughed up blood as he was fiercely thrashed on the ground. Kimimaro didn't stop there. After Hidan hit the ground and bounced back off the ground from the forceful impact Kimimaro used each bounce to forcefully throw Hidan in the air and on the ground again and again and again and again. Hidan just saw his world spinning not understanding what was going on. Didn't he drop his guard for a moment? He thought to himself as his world continued to spin. Kimimaro only stopped his thrashing of Hidan after the 50th throw and formed the Monkey and Snake hand sign saying, "Dance of the Weeding Cage Jutsu!" Thick flexible white bones ensnared Hidan and tightly bound him not letting him move. Kimimaro then took it one step further and created thick strong and sharp bones to pierce Hidan's body in multiple areas greatly reducing his ability to apply any strength.

"AAAAAHHH! Damn it you bastard! That hurts you know!" Hidan screamed.

"Huh? Kakuzu said in surprise as he heard Hidan's scream, however, he couldn't see outside this damn mist and these damn mirrors that blocked his view. "Looks like I really have to go all out this time. I never expected that you kids would be this strong." Kakuzu said as three other masks came out of his body to join his lightning mask.

"Eh? What kind of weird technique is this?" Haku questioned as he watched. None of my senbon needles are working against this guy and what are these weird mask like doll things? Haku pondered. "Uh?" Haku immediately jumped outside of the mirrors as all four masks let out a powerful blast of fire, lighting, wind, and water in all directions effectively shattering his mirrors.

"Tsk. This guy seems like more trouble than that Hidan guy." Haku mumbled. Kakuzu utilized his wind mask to dispel the mist in the area. At this moment everyone noticed Hidan trapped and incapacitated by a bunch of bones.

"Maro! Nice job!" Haku praised.

"Mn. It seems you got stuck with the more troublesome one." Kimimaro commented.

"He's a bit difficult. It seems each of those masks can use a different element and he has weird long tendrils that extend from his body." Haku replied.

"Oi! Hidan you idiot! How could you let yourself get captured?!" Kakuzu reprimanded in frustration.

"Ah, Kakuzu! Help me please? This guy has weird bones growing out from everywhere it couldn't be helped." Hidan replied. At this moment many bones protruded out of Kimimaro's body as he took up a Taijutsu fighting stance making him a terrifying living weapon. Haku also decided to get serious at this moment as his aura and battle intent instantly oozed out from his body causing the temperature to drop by several degrees and wind to kick up a whirling storm around him. Kakuzu narrowed his eyes in seriousness and extreme focus. "What the hell. These two kids are way stronger than those guys from earlier. This icy kids aura is giving off a dangerous feeling now and this other guy is covered in bones and easily incapacitated Hidan." Kakuzu mumbled to himself. All the while Shikamaru, Asuma, Kotetsu, and Izumo just stared in awe and shock at the entire play of events. Never in their dreams did they imagine that not only did Kimimaro and Haku incapacitate Hidan, there wasn't even a chance for any of them to step in and offer a helping hand. In fact they would most likely just get in the way.

Just as Kakuzu was about to make a move Kimimaro said, "First Gate of Opening, Open! Second Gate of Healing, Open! Third Gate of Life, Open!" PWISH! A strong torrent of green energy surrounded Kimimaro as his body turned a shade of red.

"HUH?" Kakuzu exclaimed. Before he had the chance to move Haku placed his hands on the ground and said, "Ice Style Shattering Ice Spear Jutsu!" Immediately large spears of thick sharp ice rose from underneath Kakuzu and his four masked puppets. Kakuzu jumped in the air avoiding any severe damage that could have been dealt to his body. One of his masked puppets, the water one, was struck in the head breaking its mask causing it to fall down and wither away. Kakuzu widened his eyes as he shouted, "You bastard! You'll pay for that with your own heart!" Before he had time to react Kimimaro appeared beside him in the air and struck out with his fist saying, "Wushu Style Three Sovereign Hands 1st Hand Suiren!" A powerful azure colored light lit up Kimimaro's palms as he struck out at Kakuzu's chest.

"Shit!" Kakuzu shouted as he placed his right hand in front of him and used the tendrils in his left hand to grab onto one of his masked dolls to pull him away. Kakuzu successfully protected his vital organs as Kimimaro's palm drilled straight through Kakuzu's right arm effectively mutilating it off. Kakuzu reappeared next to his fire masked doll as his lighting one shot out a bolt of lighting at Haku and his wind one shot out a blast of wind at Kimimaro. The bolt of lightning instantly ripped through Haku only for it to turn into an ice clone and the blast of wind forced Kimimaro a few tens of feet away from Kakuzu. Haku appeared above Kakuzu in that moment and used his two one handed weaving skills forming the signs for the Water Dragon Jutsu. At the end of the sign he clapped his hands together changing the elemental nature of his technique and said, "Ice Style Ice Dragon Jutsu!" Instead of a water dragon Haku transformed the nature of its element into that of ice.

A powerful cold icy dragon with bright gold eyes rushed down towards Kakuzu in that moment. Kakuzu quickly jumped back in alarm and used his wind and fire mask to form a combo technique to counter the ice dragon. Kimimaro used this chance to place his hands on the ground and said, "Dance of the Seedling Fern Jutsu!" At an incredible speed thousands of large white sharp bones came piercing out of the ground towards Kakuzu and his lightning masked doll.

"What the hell is this!" Kakuzu yelled in alarm. He quickly transformed his body into a forbidden technique called Earth Grudge Fear as his body instantly sprouted thousands and thousands of grey tendrils. Using these tendrils he pushed himself off the ground and grabbed onto different large protruding bones from the ground to maneuver himself around successfully evading being pierced through. Haku's technique was successfully countered by the combined might of the wind and fire mask. As Haku was still in the air the wind and fire mask prepared to launch another attack at him, however, he bit his thumb letting blood seep out and formed the hand signs of Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram and said, "Summoning Jutsu!" He placed his right palm out beneath him as a giant puff of white smoke clouded the area before a dark shadow blotted out the sky.

Wh-What the hell is that?! Everyone thought at the same exact time. Kakazu stared at the sky with wide eyes as he felt an incredibly suppressive aura weigh down on him. It felt as if a mountain was being dropped out of the sky. It wasn't long after that the smoke cleared and in its place was an earthy brown titanic 40 meter long and 25 meter tall catfish that had dark blue rock like armor around it. With its large size and incredibly thick skin it dropped right on top of the wind and fire mask instantly crushing them into flat pancakes with its mighty weight. Even the bones protruding from the ground were instantly crushed to dust.

"Hahahaha! So you finally called me out eh kid? So tell me, who gave you such a tough time that you had to call me out?" Mazu said as it rolled its giant yellow eyes upwards towards Haku who stood on its head.

"Mazu! Sorry for calling you out like this. I was in a bit of a bind. That guy over there was particularly tough to deal with." Haku said as he pointed to Kakuzu.

"What the hell is that?!" Kakuzu said in alarm. The giant catfish in front of him was so shocking that he momentarily forgot that two of his masks which made up two of his own hearts were destroyed.

"Oh? This is the guy causing you some problems huh?" Mazu said as it turned its giant yellow eyes onto Kakuzu. Kakuzu instantly felt that it became difficult to breathe. How can this beast exert such tremendous pressure? He thought. The lightning mask stood in front of him prepared to act at any moment.

"Fuck…" Hidan mumbled to himself as he noticed that the situation didn't look good for them.

"Hm...I suppose he does practice some weird technique kid. Kid, you should come train at Ryuga-Jo for a bit. I'll teach you how to gain massive power. Even guys like this won't be able to stand in your way. Anyways, want me to get rid of him for you?" Mazu said.

"Mn. If you don't mind." Haku replied amiably. Mazu stared at Kakuzu and said, "Sorry little one, but this kid doesn't seem to like you much. Guess you'll have to kick the bucket."

"Don't fuck with me!" Kakuzu screamed in anger and panic. He thrust forth all of his tendrils towards Mazu while also having his lightning mask release all of its power at the same time. Mazu stared indifferently as it said, "Kid. Watch closely at how awesome I am. Heavenly Sage Art Earth Style Great Mud Burial Jutsu!" Before any of Kakuzu's attacks could reach Mazu a huge trembling and quaking sound shook the earth beneath everyone. A large pool of dark brown mud instantly shot up from the ground like a geyser and interrupted Kakuzu's attacks. It then fell down from the sky and enveloped both Kakuzu and his lightning mask drowning them into the unfathomably deep mud in the ground. The only sound that could be heard after that was a loud rumbling before all of the mud slowly seeped back into the ground revealing Kakuzu's dead form next to a broken lighting mask.

"Kid, the summoning time for me is up. You need to increase your strength a little bit more if you want me to stick around longer. Think about what I said. If you ever want to get stronger just summon me. I can bring you back to train at Ryuga-Jo Palace. See you later kiddo." Mazu said as it disappeared in a thick cloud of white smoke. Haku dropped from the sky as he no longer had a foot hold atop Mazu's head and expertly landed on the ground.

"Thanks Mazu." Haku said to no one in particular.

"That's the catfish you told Izaya and I about?" Kimimaro said in shock.

"Mn." Haku nodded. Shikamaru, Asuma, Izumo, and Kotetsu were still sitting a fair distance away from the battlefield with their jaws dropped and eyes wide open in shock.