30. Absolute Chaos

"That's… that's the Ichibi no Shukaku." Han spoke in awe at the sight of the bijū.

"That's the Ichibi?" Naruto shouted, his eyes not leaving the tanuki for a second. "That's… a bijū?"

Han nodded, not giving a verbal reply. The Gobi jinchūriki had seen and experienced many things during his life and career as a shinobi. He had gone against shinobi with summoning contracts and has personally faced many large, dangerous animals. Nothing in his experiences, however, competes with standing directly in-front of one of the nine bijū.

At first, the Ichibi no Shukaku seemed as if he was motionless. Naruto and Han took advantage of its lack-of-action to study him properly and think of what they were going to do. As the two continued to study the giant tanuki, they noticed Gaara's human body on top of the bijū. It was as if he was sticking out of the bijū's head. The red-head made a hand sign, causing him to droop his head, as if he had fallen asleep. Immediately, the giant tanuki started to move. A grin crossed the bijū's lips as he looked up into the sky.

"FINALLY! I'm free!" Shukaku screamed.

The bijū proceeded to jump upwards and stretch his limbs, adjusting to life out in the real-world. His jump created a large crater underneath his body. Naruto and Han both stared blankly at the bijū.

"Kid, this is bad. This is really, really bad for you." The Kyūbi spoke within Naruto's mind.

'I realize that Kyūbi!' Naruto replied quickly. '… How do you suggest I do this? You're more familiar with him than both Han-nii and I are.'

"Nothing you do will ever beat Shukaku. Your body wouldn't be able to handle the amount of chakra it would need to actually take him down. Hell, even with it, I don't think you could do it. It's beyond a human's capabilities to defeat a bijū." The Kyūbi answered. "So, your focus shouldn't be on defeating Shukaku, but rather forcing his jinchūriki to become awake. You saw that jutsu he made that released Shukaku? What the boy did was simply force himself asleep. His seal seems to contain the tanuki only when he is awake. What you and your 'nii-san' need to do is to bring him out of his sleep. That should force Shukaku asleep and make this a winnable fight for you."

Naruto listened carefully to the advice Kyūbi had for him. Once the fox told him how to get rid of Shukaku, he turned his attention towards Han.

"We need to somehow reach Gaara. The bijū will only be here as long as Gaara is asleep and unable to contain it. If we wake him up, then we force Shukaku away." The blonde told the armored-wearing shinobi.

"Understood." Han nodded. The Iwa jōnin took a deep breath before he looked towards the bijū in slight amusement. "I have to admit, I've been curious how a bijū fights. Guess I will finally get an answer to my curiosity." He then glanced towards the Uzumaki. "This won't be easy for either of us. Are you ready?"

"Of course." Naruto nodded his head.

"This'll take more than I think either of us can handle on our own. Use the chakra of the Kyūbi. I will use the Gobi's." Han stated. He then made a hand sign and was surrounded by the demonic chakra of the five-tailed dolphin-horse. One singular red-tail formed directly behind Han.

"He's right, Naruto. You'll need my chakra to reach him, and more than you normally use." The Kyūbi informed the blonde sharply. "… Your body can handle one-tail worth of my chakra without you being overwhelmed. I will grant you the necessary chakra to use that much. Just don't die, kid."

'I promise, I won't.' Naruto replied to the fox as he made a hand sign.

As he made the hand sign, a similar shroud of demonic chakra surrounded his body. His features became more 'feral' and his eyes picked up a reddish-tint. One-tail of chakra formed around the boy's body, showing that Kyūbi gave him the right amount of chakra. Naruto took a deep breath and recalled all of Han's teachings, making sure he had complete control of himself. Once he was certain he was in control, he opened his eyes and gave Han a thumbs up.

"Let's do this." He said, determination running through his body.

Shukaku finally stopped stretching and adjusting to his 'freedom'. The bijū then turned his attention to Naruto and Han. His eyes were focused intently on them and the shrouds of chakra that surrounded them.

"Kokuō and Kurama, I hope that you two are watching this! I will prove my superiority to you two by killing the two that have you under their control." Shukaku taunted.

'Kurama?' Naruto repeated the name in his head. He recalled that 'Kokuō' was the real name of the Gobi. This meant that 'Kurama' could only refer to one creature. 'Is that your-'

"You have no right to call me by that name, but this isn't the time to argue about that!" The Kyūbi hissed. "Focus on the giant tanuki!"

The Uzumaki was snapped out his thoughts just-in-time to see giant bullets of wind flying in his direction. His eyes widened as both he and Han jumped out of the way before being hit. The bullets, instead, collided with the trees that were behind them, destroying them instantly.

"We need to approach with caution." Han said, his eyes focused intently on Shukaku. "I'll lead. You follow behind me and take advantage of any openings I create. If you see an opportunity to get an attack in, go for it."

"Right." The Uzumaki nodded his head.

With those words, the two jinchūriki charged forward, using the enhanced speeds of their bijū. Han led the charge with Naruto following right behind.

Upon being released from their coffins, the consciences of Hashirama, Tobirama, and Ishikawa started to return. The three men looked around the land-of-the-living in confusion. Their eyes then focused on the men in front of them: Hiruzen, Jiraiya, and Ōnoki.

"Sarutobi… Monkey… Is that you?" Hashirama questioned with a sad-smile on his face.

"It is. It's been a long time, hasn't it Sensei?" Hiruzen replied, returning the man's sad-smile with one of his own.

"It really has. You've grown old." The Shodaime Hokage chuckled.

"Ishikawa… Shodaime-sama, do you remember me by chance?" Ōnoki asked, slightly hesitantly.

"Hmm…" Ishikawa stroked his beard for a moment, his eyes focused intently on Ōnoki. A second passed before he chuckled. "Young Ōnoki. It has been a long time since I passed. When I last saw you, you were nothing more than a small, mere pebble. Now, though, I see a man who has become a massive boulder. And it seems that you've replaced me at some point and become the Tsuchikage. You've done well, Ōnoki."

Ōnoki couldn't resist the urge to smile. Despite the circumstances involved with the Edo Tensei, he was thrilled to here such words from the Shodaime Tsuchikage, the man who had inspired him to become the shinobi that he was today.

"It's touching to hear these conversations. It truly is! It almost hurts for me to have to cut them off so soon." Orochimaru commented with mock sadness.

Tobirama, who had been silent since his reincarnation, turned his head and glared at the Sannin.

"So, you are the one who summoned us with the very technique I designed." Tobirama noted with disgust.

"I am. I must say, you designed a marvelous jutsu that I am still working on improving. There's so much potential with it, after all." Orochimaru chuckled as he pulled out three kunai knives with tags attached to them.

Tobirama recognized them immediately and turned his head towards Hiruzen: "One of you needs to destroy those! Now!"

Ōnoki was the first to react, making a series of hand signs. After completing the hand signs, he clapped his hands together. He then created a three-dimensional cube of chakra between his hands. He then made a gesture, causing the cube to move forward. It then surrounded the kunai in Orochimaru's hands. The Sannin's eyes widened and he pulled his hand back before the Tsuchikage could finish his jutsu.

"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

Immediately, the cube exploded from the inside. In the process, the kunai and the tags were destroyed. Orochimaru scowled at the Sandaime Tsuchikage in response.

"The Dust Release is as deadly as I had heard." He noted. "I'll be more cautious around you, Ōnoki-san. I was going to eradicate the memories of your predecessors, but I suppose I can let them be conscious when they fight you." Then man then started to chuckle again. "I suppose this works out better this way. They can be conscious and note exactly how they destroyed you all!"

The Snake Sannin made a hand sign, causing the three deceased kage's bodies to stiffen. Hiruzen, Ōnoki, and Jiraiya immediately prepared for battle.

"I know you are familiar with the subject, Hiruzen, but are either of you by chance an expert in fūinjutsu?" Tobirama questioned Jiraiya and Ōnoki. Jiraiya nodded his head, which prompted the Nidaime Hokage to continue speaking. "Fight me and my brother. While we are fighting, I'll try and talk you through how to dispel the jutsu."

"Just make sure we don't accidentally kill you. I'll try and help out by telling you how to avoid my attacks. Or something like that." Hashirama offered.

"I'll do my best. Just tell me how to end the jutsu and I'll do what I can." Jiraiya nodded his head in understanding.

"While you keep them busy, I'll be fighting my own predecessor." Ōnoki said, his eyes focused on Ishikawa.

"… You know, I choose to look at this as a blessing. I believe this jutsu will be dispelled and that no life-threatening harm will come to you or Iwa. Therefore, I can just take this time to see what kind of shinobi you have become." Ishikawa noted with a smile.

"Enough chatter. Try and offer help if you can. I assure you, it will all be for naught. Today, the Sandaime Tsuchikage and Hokage, along with the Toad Sage, shall perish!" Orochimaru spoke up in irritation. He made another hand sign, expressing his orders and intent for the deceased kage.

Immediately, the three reincarnated shinobi charged at the group. Both Hashirama and Tobirama charged at Jiraiya, who jumped backwards to place distance between him and them. They then followed him to another area of the balcony to do battle. Ishikawa and Ōnoki, also, moved to a different area to have their own battle separate. Orochimaru and Hiruzen remained alone in the center. The Sandaime Hokage glared at the man.

"I'm surprised you let Ishikawa-san and my predecessors simply challenge the others. Do you really think you can take me on by yourself, Orochimaru?" Hiruzen spoke coldly to his former student.

"Perhaps I'm being a little overconfident. I did intend on fighting you with them. I suppose I can call them back here if I do need a little extra help and you prove more of a fight than I expect. But I guess, with the opportunity presented to me, I'd like to try and take you on myself." Orochimaru chuckled. "This attack's primary goal was to make sure you die after all, Sarutobi-sensei. It'd be more fun if I was able to kill you off by myself."

"You can try, but nothing you can do will help you kill me." Hiruzen replied, glaring at his former student.

Orochimaru's chuckling stopped as a snake extended from his mouth. The snake's mouth opened up, spitting out the Kusanagi Sword. The Sandaime Hokage, seeing his student pulling out his own weapon, bit his finger and made a series of hand signs before slamming his palm on the ground. A few seconds later passed before a tall monkey with white fur wearing a black suit and a Konoha forehead protector appeared next to the Hokage.

"Enma, it has been a while since the two of us have been in combat together. I need your help today more than ever." Hiruzen spoke to the monkey.

Enma looked directly at Orochimaru and nodded his head: "It's about time this fight happened. Let us make up for your mistake years ago and kill this man."

After finishing his statement, Enma's body transformed into the shape of an adamantine staff. Hiruzen grabbed the staff and swung it around for a few seconds before turning his attention to Orochimaru.

"Enma is right, Orochimaru. It's time I did what I failed to do years ago and finally bring you down myself." The Sandaime Hokage spoke, determination evident in his voice.

"I'd like to see you try!" Orochimaru taunted, gripping the Kusanagi tightly in his hands.

The former teacher-and-student charged at one another, gripping their weapons tightly in their hands.

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Temari swung her fan in the direction of Shikamaru, causing a massive gust of sharp winds to come forwards the Nara. He jumped out of the way, causing the wind to hit the trees behind him. The trees were cut up with branches and the tops of trees falling to the ground.

The Suna kunoichi proceeded to swing her fan, using the same jutsu once again. Shikamaru, once again, was forced to jump out of the way to dodge the incoming gusts of wind. The tree branch he was on, along with the trees behind him, were cut and destroyed once more.

'This could go on for a while. I need to go on the offensive myself.' The Nara told himself.

'Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu.' Shikamaru ran through hand sings before bringing breathing out a series of fireballs.

The fireballs flew directly towards Temari. Instead of dodging, Temari simply grinned and swung her fan hard. The resulting wind collided with the fireballs, causing them to turn in direction. The wind also fanned the flames, making them larger. The fireballs proceeded to fly back in the direction they came from: directly at Shikamaru. The Nara's eyes widened as he was forced, once again, to jump out of the way. The flames proceeded to hit more trees, lighting them on fire and destroying the environment around them.

"You thought you were so clever, having fire-style ninjutsu against me, a wind-specialist. Too bad for you that I'm better at wind-style ninjutsu than you are with your fire attacks. I'll just blow them right back in your face." Temari taunted, hoping to psyche out her opponent.

"I figured." Shikamaru grumbled, annoyed that his 'fire element' was going to be useless in this fight.

The Nara looked upwards toward Temari and noticed that there was a tree right behind her that was higher than her. He then tossed a kunai with a hidden explosive tag directly at it. Temari braced herself to dodge the kunai, but the weapon didn't even come close to hit her. Once the kunai made contact with the tree, it exploded, causing the tree to fall apart. The trunk of the tree then fell forward, directly towards Temari. Her eyes widened as she jumped out of the way and moved closer to Shikamaru.

Seeing her getting closer, Shikamaru quickly rushed forward, making another set of hand signs. He finished his jutsu just as he landed on the same tree branch Temari was on. "Ninja Art: Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

Shikamaru's shadow moved directly towards the Suna kunoichi. The girl quickly noticed the approaching shadow and jumped off the tree branch, heading to another nearby branch. To her surprise, the shadow continued to follow, extending past the tree branch it was on and floating over the air to reach the tree branch she was on.

'So the shadows don't need to be on solid ground. It can be flexible and even move over the air if it needs to.' Temari made a mental note of this fact.

Realizing that trying to avoid Shikamaru's shadow wasn't going to help her fight, Temari proceeded to swing her fan directly at Shikamaru, creating another set of sharp gusts of wind heading towards him. To avoid the attack, Shikamaru was forced to cancel his jutsu and jump away from the wind.

Seeing that the shadow had stopped chasing her, Temari took the moment to charge Shikamaru. The girl jumped directly at him and swung her fan at him as if it were a staff. The Nara was forced to use a kunai knife to block her fan. Immediately afterward, Temari's heavier fan overpowered him and his kunai. The knife was knocked away and Shikamaru was momentarily stunned. Temari took this moment to swing her fan again, causing it to collide against the Konoha genin's stomach. He winced in pain as he was sent backwards slightly in pain.

Temari smirked, noticing the distance that was placed between the two as she prepared to swing her fan again towards him. "Ninja Art: Wind Scy-!"

Before she could finish her jutsu, Shikamaru tossed a kunai knife with an explosive tag at the tree branch she was standing on. He activated the tag just as Temari swung her fan, finishing her jutsu. The tag exploded, resulting in the destruction of the tree branch and causing Temari to fall towards the ground.

Her jutsu, however, was not canceled. As Temari fell towards the ground, her fan was now facing upward towards the tree above her. The gust of wind was released upward towards the tree, causing all of the branches and the top of the tree to fall downward towards Temari on its way to the ground.

'Shit!' The Suna kunoichi cursed.

Shikamaru watched intently, hoping that the falling tree branches would hit the girl before she could get away. To his disappointment, however, Temari managed to get over the shock and actually jump away before hitting the ground and before getting hit by the falling tree. She landed on another branch of a separate tree. She proceeded to give the Nara and amused smile.

"You're not pretty bad. Smart on feet and still standing, even though you actually had two fights already. I'm impressed." She admitted her praise.

"I'd return the compliment, but traitors don't impress me that much." Shikamaru replied, shaking his head in disgust. "What happened? Why is your village attacking ours? Konoha and Suna are allies. Something like this shouldn't be happening!"

Temari winced at hearing Shikamaru's questions. She remained quiet for a few seconds before she spoke up.

"I don't know why my village is attacking yours. I'm just a simple shinobi; nothing more. What I do know is that I pledged my loyalty to Suna and I will act in my village's interest. And if it means fighting in battle against my wishes, then so be it." She answered proudly as she gripped her fan tightly, preparing for her next attack.

"… Whatever." Shikamaru shook his head again. "I understand I guess. You act in your village's best village and try to invade our village. And I'll act in my village's best interest and stop you!"

Kankurō made a pushing gesture with his hands, causing Karasu to fly towards through the air towards Hinata. Hidden blades appeared on the palms of the puppet. It attempted to slice at Hinata with the blades, but the Hyūga jumped backwards to avoid the attack. The puppet, however, continued its pursuit of the girl, making another attempt to cut her with its blade. Hinata, this time, side-stepped and dodged the puppet. She moved herself directly behind the puppet, her Byakugan focused on the strings of chakra she could see connected to the puppet.

'If I get rid of those, then he is out of weapons. That would end the battle fast!' She told herself as she tightened her fists.

The Hyūga immediately cut through the chakra strings with a chop. The puppet, without its connection, slumped over on the tree branch. With the connection destroyed and the puppet being useless, Hinata turned her attention towards Kankurō and charged at him. The Suna genin, despite her rendering his weapon 'useless', seemed completely unconcerned about her approach.

'He has no weapon now. I can end this now-' Hinata's thoughts were interrupted as she noticed something in her Byakugan's extended vision. "What?"

She was forced to jump out of the way as the puppet, Karasu, had charged at her once again. She landed on a separate tree branch, avoiding being grabbed by the puppet. Karasu turned its head in her direction before opening its mouth. It then spat out a series of senbon in her direction. Hinata, once again, jumped to another tree branch, avoiding the attack. She then studied the puppet and noticed that it was, once again, connected by a series of chakra strings.

"How did they reform? I just cut through them." She commented aloud with a frown.

Kankurō heard her speak and chuckled to himself: "Any puppeteer worth their title can recreate chakra strings, even from a distance. Try and cut them all you want; I'll just keep reforming them."

The Suna puppeteer made a gesture with his index and ring finger on his right hand, causing Karasu to release another barrage of senbon from its mouth. Hinata jumped out of the way. She then pulled another arrow out that had explosive arrow attached to it and fired it with her bow towards Kankurō. He, unable to see the explosive tag on it, responded by making a pushing gesture with his left hand. Karasu flew through the air directly between him and the arrow. The puppet then caught the arrow with its own hand.

Before the puppet could dispose of the arrow, Hinata grinned as she made a hand sign, activating the explosive tag. Karasu's body was strong and managed to resist taking too much damage. However, the explosion did knock its head and its arm away from its body.

Seeing that the puppet was, at the moment, unable to fight her off, the girl charged again at Kankurō. On her way through the branches, she pulled out arrows and fired them at the boy, preventing him from making the concentration necessary to piece together his puppet. The Suna genin cursed as he was forced to concentrate on avoiding her arrows instead of fixing Karasu.

In a few seconds, Hinata finally landed on the same tree branch as Kankurō. The girl rushed him, her palms extended. Kankurō jumped backwards to avoid an attack to her stomach. Before she could try and attack him again, however, the boy pulled out a poisonous smoke ball from his pocket and dropped it between the two. Upon making contact with the tree branch, the ball released the poisonous smoke.

'Crap!' Hinata's eyes widened as she jumped away to avoid inhaling the smoke.

Kankurō, as well, jumped backwards to another tree branch. Now that he had recreated distance between himself and Hinata, he made a few gestures with his fingers to create more chakra strings. The pieces of Karasu that had been knocked off reconnected with each other and reformed the puppet whole.

"It's gonna take a lot more than that to defeat a puppeteer!" Kankurō taunted, gripping his fist tightly. Karasu mimicked the actions of its puppeteer.

"I can see that…" Hinata mumbled in response before she stared at the Suna genin with determination in her eyes. "But I'll defeat you and your puppet and get back to my friends. I won't let your or your village due anything to them, or Konoha!"

"… It's a little late for that." Kankurō sighed in response. He didn't want to admit to his own concerns about the invasion to anybody – let alone a Konoha shinobi that he was fighting. Therefore, he pushed his own doubts to the side and looked at the kunoichi in front of him as coldly as possible. "But we'll see what happens. Right now, your concern is me."

"I realize that." Hinata replied as she reached for another arrow.

Instinctively, Kankurō's fist tightened as he prepared for his, and Karasu's, next action.

In the center of the battlefield where the Chūnin Exam final matches had occurred, Anko and Baki charged at each other. Both shinobi had attempted to land a punch at the other, but ultimately ended up catching each other's fists with their free hand. Anko winced in slight pain, feeling cuts develop on the palm of her hand that had captured Baki's fist, but didn't let the pain stop her from holding him back.

The Suna jōnin proceeded to try and kick her. Anko decided to jump backwards, letting go of the man's fist and pulling her own away from his grasp. Baki, however, charged at her and prevented her from placing distance between them. She side-stepped to avoid a punch directly to her face, but she was once again cut slightly on her cheek.

"… So that's what you are doing." Realization dawned on Anko's face how she was getting cut. "You use the wind to augment your taijutsu. It makes your attacks stronger and gives them the ability to cut, even if you miss the target." The woman stopped talking for a moment to jump backwards and avoid another kick from the man. "I guess the bingo book doesn't lie about your proficiency with the wind element."

"It is my specialty, yes." Baki replied with a smirk on his face as he continued to charge Anko.

Seeing that she had the disadvantage in hand-to-hand combat, Anko decided to switch the style of fighting. She held out her hand directly in front of Baki's face just as he finished charging her.

"Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!"

Snakes appeared from under Anko's coat sleeve, shooting forward. Baki side-stepped to avoid the attack from the snakes. The man was about to continue to charge at the woman, but the snakes she had released turned direction and tried to attack him again. He cursed lightly to himself as he was forced to jump backwards to avoid being bit by them.

Now that she had placed distance between them, Anko recalled her snakes and proceeded to run through different hand signs. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"

The tokubetsu jōnin released a blast of fire from her mouth that charged forward in a straight line towards Baki. The Suna jōnin smirked as he made a series of hand signs of his own. "Blade of Wind!"

Baki's fingertips concentrated chakra and wind together, forming a wind blade. The Suna jōnin made a slicing gesture with his fingers. The wind went straight through the approaching fire, cutting it in half. The blade continued flying towards Anko, who jumped to avoid being struck. Still, she felt the edge of the wind's blade hit her and caused a deep cut on her shoulder. She winced in pain, once again.

'Wait a second!' Anko's eyes widened as she began to piece together some information together. 'This technique he just used… highly concentrated wind that functions almost like a sword that can completely cut up somebody hit by it directly. This man… he's been in Konoha since the beginning of the exams. He was here when Hayate was killed. He…'

"You killed him. You're the one who killed Gekkō Hayate." Anko spoke up quietly.

"Hmm?" Baki gave the woman a curious stare for a second before realization dawned on his face about who she was talking about. "Oh yes, the exam proctor. He was snooping around during a meeting with one of Otogakure's spies. I didn't want him leaking any information back to your Hokage." The Suna jōnin developed a smirk on his face. "Surely you understand. This is war, after all."

"You… You're the bastard who killed him. You killed Yūgao's fiancée. You killed one of my best friends!" The tokubetsu jōnin nearly growled.

"Don't get all self-righteous about it!" Baki shouted in response, his eyes narrowing into a glare. "We're shinobi. Killing comes with the occupation, especially killing those who are a direct threat to our mission and our village."

"… You're right." Anko replied as her eyes narrowed on the man in cold rage. "Then I hope you and anybody you are close with don't get too offended when I kill a direct threat to my village – when I kill you!"

'He's tough though. If I'm going to take him down, I have to use everything I got. Kakashi… Thank you for all the training we've done these past months.' The snake user mentally thanked her sparring partner as she ran through another set of hand signs. 'It's time I used the original jutsu and fighting style you helped me develop. With it, I'll get revenge for Hayate!'

"What… the… hell?" The Otogakure Jōnin commented as he arrived on the scene.

The man had sent his eight chūnin subordinates forward to intercept the group of Konoha shinobi that were chasing the Ichibi jinchūriki. He had expected the number advantage to overwhelm the opponents and defeat them easily. When had finally arrived at the area, he was shocked to see his eight subordinates lying on the ground, dead.

Standing by their bodies was only one man in the group that had been sent after Gaara, and he wasn't even a Konoha shinobi. The Oto jōnin recognized him immediately as the Yonbi jinchūriki: Rōshi.

"I was wondering when you'd show up. The other shinobi you sent weren't that good, to be honest." Rōshi noted with a shrug. "I suppose you Oto shinobi aren't worth that much, I suppose."

"You killed all my men…" The Oto jōnin hissed quietly before his voice grew louder. "YOU KILLED THEM!"

The man proceeded to charge at the Yonbi jinchūriki, gripping a kunai knife tight within his hands.

The Iwa jōnin proceeded to jump, avoiding the Oto shinobi's attack. He then made a quick series of hand signs before his fist became encased in molten-lava rock. As Rōshi's body lowered, he prepared to land a punch directly at the man's body. The Oto shinobi, however, was able to dodge just in-time. Rōshi's fist, instead, made direct contact with the ground, creating a small crater and causing it to catch on fire.

"So you avoided one attack. I guess you move faster than at least seven of the eight shinobi you sent after me." Rōshi commented with a snicker.

"YOU'LL PAY!" His opponent continued to growl and charge, acting purely on his rage.

As the Oto jōnin charged, he ran through a series of hand signs. Before he could complete them, however, Rōshi placed his hands on the ground. Shortly after, lava rushed forward from underneath the ground directly in front of the man in a plume, causing him to break his concentration on his jutsu and stop moving to avoid charging head-first into the lava. Rōshi, noticing that his opponent was now standing still, rushed forward and grabbed the man by his neck. The Oto jōnin gasped for air, unable to breathe due to the tight grip on his neck.

"Just like your subordinates, you fell victim to your own emotions. All it took was a few choice words to anger you and you charged at me like a bull without a second thought. You youngsters tend to just rush in, letting your emotions cloud your judgment. You should have been more careful in a fight with me, especially if you saw that I was able to defeat your subordinates by myself." Rōshi lectured the man. The Iwa jōnin's eyes were narrowed on the Oto jōnin within his grasp. "I actually do see some potential in you. You do move pretty fast and I'd be curious to see what techniques you have to help with that. I almost wish I could let you live and see if you actually listened to what I had to say. Unfortunately, you're working for the enemy and tried to invade Konoha. Many innocent people are going to die because of yours and your fellow shinobi's actions. It's only fair that you die with them."

With those words, Rōshi solidified the hand that was gripped around the Oto jōnin's throat in hardened molten rock once again. The Oto jōnin attempted to scream, but he couldn't due to how hard Rōshi was squeezing. He died soon after from being unable to breathe and from burns.

"… It really is a shame. Maybe he and the others could have been something if they were in a different village." Rōshi mumbled.

"Does it matter? You shouldn't concern yourself with those shinobi. They're already dead. Your focus should be on catching Shukaku's vessel." A voice spoke within Rōshi's head. "Surely you can sense his presence."

Rōshi nodded at the voice's suggestion. "I realize that. Hell, I don't even need to sense it; I can see it." The old man looked ahead. Like he had said, the giant tanuki was visible in the distance in a clearing further away from him. "I'm heading that way. I am probably going to have to use some of your chakra if I want to be of help to stop Shukaku if that's okay, Yonbi."

"You know how I feel about being called 'Yonbi'!" The voice nearly growled. "Nevertheless, you can use my chakra. Do what needs to be done to stop Shukaku from doing too much damage."

Rōshi nodded at those words as he started to rush through the forest in the direction towards Shukaku. Along the way, the man started to make a hand sign, channeling some of the Yonbi's chakra in preparation for the battle.

"DIE!" Shukaku screamed as the bijū raised his hands into the air.

Sand-like spikes developed from under the ground directly beneath Han and Naruto. The two jinchūriki were moving fast enough to avoid being hit by any of the spikes. They continued on their pursuit, getting close-and-closer to the giant bijū.

Upon reaching Shukaku's body, Han proceeded to concentrate both the demonic chakra of the Gobi and the steam from the furnace on his armor into his fists. He then jumped into the air and punched Shukaku in the stomach with as much force as he could. The bijū inched backwards slightly from the force, but didn't seem to take much damage from the attack. The Ichibi raised a claw into the air and attempted to slam Han with it and crush him on the ground. The Iwa jōnin, however, managed to jump away just in time the strike. Shukaku's claw, therefore, made direct contact with the ground.

Seeing his opening, Naruto rushed forward and jumped onto the claw. He then moved upwards along Shukaku's arm, running as fast as he could to try and reach the top. Shukaku quickly noticed what he was doing and glared at him. Almost immediately, spikes appeared on the bijū's arms and the rest of his body. The force of the spikes took Naruto by surprise and knocked him off. The edge of one spike managed to cut into him, giving him a deep wound on his leg. The blonde cursed in pain as he flew through the air.

"Naruto, be careful!" Han called out as he jumped into the air. He managed to catch Naruto before the blonde could make direct contact with the ground.

"Hmm… What's the name of that technique that Gaara always loved using?" Shukaku spoke up in mock-confusion. "… Oh yeah! Sand Coffin!"

As soon as Han and Naruto made contact with the ground, sand rushed over towards them and surrounded them in a large circle, trapping them within it. The sand then started to rush forward to crush them within it.

"Dammit." Han cursed. He dropped Naruto to the ground and proceeded to rush through hand signs. "Ninja Art: Steam Cannon Jutsu!"

A blast of steam was released from Han's furnace forward, directly against the surrounding sand prison. To his surprise, however, the sand was not breaking. Han attempted to pour more chakra and strength into his jutsu, but the sand continued to stay sturdy.

"Shukaku's sand is a lot stronger than Gaara's. It'll take more force to break it." Kyūbi advised within Naruto's head.

'More force… Like a combined jutsu!' Naruto realized as he went through hand signs. "Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"

As Han continued to use his steam cannon to release a blast a steam at the sand, Naruto breathed out a large gust of wind from his lungs, powered by the Kyūbi's chakra. The steam and wind based ninjutsu worked together and finally managed to destroy the 'Sand Coffin' around them before the sand could crush them. The two jinchūriki proceeded to jump out before the sand could reform around them.

Shukaku, seeing that both Han and Naruto made it out of his sand alive, scowled. He swung his tail directly at them. Naruto managed to duck in-time, but Han was unable to do so. The Iwa jōnin was smacked hard by the tail and was sent flying. He made contact with the ground, hard.

"Han-nii!" Naruto shouted.

"Wind Style: Drilling Air Bullets!" Shukaku shouted.

The Ichibi took in a deep breath before expelling out a large air ball that was headed directly towards Han. The Gobi jinchūriki was still recovering and pulling himself off the ground after being struck last, making him unavailable to dodge the technique. Naruto's eyes widened, causing him to immediately make his own hand signs.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"

The Uzumaki quickly traveled under the ground and managed to reach Han before the air bullet could reach him. He then quickly grabbed the man's hand and pulled him back down into the ground. Han was pulled away just in time before the air bullet collided with the surface. They then hurried away just as the bullet reached the location where Han had been. Upon contact, an explosion resulted, hollowing out the ground.

Naruto and Han jumped out of the ground where Naruto had previously been. Han looked over to the younger jinchūriki and smiled at him.

"That… may have been life-saving. You have my gratitude, Naruto." Han told the boy.

"Don't thank me. What our brothers for?" Naruto replied with a chuckle. "Besides, you caught me that last time."

The Gobi jinchūriki opened his mouth to say something back in response, but the words died on his lips as the two heard the approaching footsteps of Shukaku.

"For a couple of humans, you're rather annoying to kill. I suppose that's fitting for the containers of my brothers." Shukaku grumbled. "This has gone on long enough, though. I want to move on and get some other kills as well, so you're both going to die by my hand shortly!"

"He's clearly overpowering us." Naruto noted with a sigh. "We have to find some way to get past him and get up to Gaara so we can wake him up."

"Something needs to distract Shukaku. I'll keep trying to do just that. You're priority will be waking up his jinchūriki somehow." Han continued to suggest.

The plan hadn't worked so far, but Naruto found himself nodding in agreement with it. They really had no other options or thoughts at the moment. They just had to keep trying until something worked.

"Ōnoki, you recall what I was most famous for, yes?" Ishikawa asked the Sandaime Tsuchikage as the two engaged in a battle of taijutsu.

"Yes, I remember. Those bee-related jutsus of the Kamizuru clan." Ōnoki recalled the very techniques that made the Shodaime Tsuchikage a feared opponent. "Many of the surviving members of your clan have gone to great lengths trying to perform half the techniques you could. And so far, no one has succeeded."

"No one has? No one in my clan surpassed me? Not even any of my grandchildren? Suzumebachi? Jibachi? Kurobachi?" Ishikawa questioned, almost desperately. Hearing no comment from Ōnoki caused him to frown and sigh deeply. "That's… so very disappointing to hear. I had so much faith in them and my clan." The man then felt his body making hand signs, causing his frown to turn into a grimace. "Regardless, for your sake Ōnoki, I hope you recall everything you've seen and heard about my jutsus. After all, the bees that had been bonded with me during my life, the bees that died with me, seem to have been revived by this Edo Tensei jutsu as well."

Less than a second passed before the Shodaime finished his hand signs. "Thousand Bee Stings Jutsu!"

A swarm of bees flew out from underneath Ishikawa's kimono. Upon appearing on the battlefield, the bees released their stingers from their body, aimed at Ōnoki. The Sandaime Tsuchikage proceeded to float in the air to avoid many of the initial stingers. The bees then started to fly upward and continue their attack. Ōnoki proceeded to move quickly, dodging each-and-every stinger.

'I know how poisonous those are. One hit and I'm surely dead in ten minutes.' Ōnoki told himself as he made a hand sign. 'I got to have some type of protection to avoid any chance of getting hit by one.'

"Earth Style: Earth Golem Jutsu!"

Ōnoki opened his mouth and, almost instantaneously, a large rock-like creature developed. The creature's rock body proceeded to surround Ōnoki, giving him an armor of earth. After creating the golem, Ōnoki did not fear getting stung by the bees' stingers. They bounced off the rock, unable to reach the Sandaime Tsuchikage's skin. Now that he was safe, he charged forward towards the bees, ready to crush them.

Ishikawa felt himself making a hand sign. "Careful Ōnoki. I'm making the bees harden into rock. They're going to be a lot stronger than you think in their new condition."

As Ishikawa had predicted, the jutsu he was forced to use caused all of the bees that were flying in the air to harden their bodies into stone. Ōnoki made direct contact with one of the bees. Although the force of his attack would have destroyed it normally, the rock around the bee managed to protect it.

Ishikawa felt himself making more hand signs. As soon as he finished, his rock-covered bees started to charge directly at Ōnoki, one-at-a-time. Each bee hit the golem in the same location. The rock bee would shatter into pieces before being replaced by the next one, which would continue the assault.

Ōnoki's earth golems were strong and able to resist even the strongest of explosions. The collisions with these rock-covered bees, however, were slowly starting to damage the golem. The bees would, eventually, destroy the golem and would begin attacking Ōnoki directly.

'I need to stop this before they reach me. I surely wouldn't survive more than a few of their blows.' Ōnoki realized. The man closed his eyes in thought, ignoring the crumbling noise of the golem around him falling apart. 'To stop the bees, I need to destroy their summoner. Simple as that. I have enough time to prepare a jutsu to completely destroy him.'

The Sandaime Tsuchikage began making a series of long complicated hand signs. He continued to ignore the assault of the rock bees, focusing only on his jutsu. Before his golem collapsed, the man finished his jutsu and created another cube-like structure between his hands. This one, however, seemed to be larger than the previous one he had made. Once it was created, Ōnoki made a pushing gesture, causing the cube to move through the golem's body, past the bees, and completely surround Ishikawa's body.

"Dust Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"

Ōnoki activated his jutsu, once again, causing a massive explosion within the cube. Smoke filled the inside of it and, for a moment, the bees stopped attacking him. The Sandaime Tsuchikage, feeling as if he won, released the golem around him to make sure that Ishikawa had been defeated. As he looked around, he saw the rock-covered bees flying around him had fallen to the ground and crumbled into pebbles. His eyes then turned towards the smoke that resulted from his jutsu.

To his surprise, however, Ishikawa remained there with his body fully intact. The only noticeable change to him was chunks of golden armor lying on the ground next to his feet.

"Whatever jutsu you used on me, Ōnoki, was truly impressive. I don't think I can recall the last time someone destroyed my Beeswax Armor all at once." The Shodaime Tsuchikage praised his successor.

"… I can't recall the last time my Dust Style ninjutsu didn't completely destroy someone on a molecular level, armor or not." Ōnoki noted. Despite the situation, the Sandaime Tsuchikage allowed himself to smirk as he developed a stronger appreciation for his village's founder. "That beeswax armor must really be something."

"It is, and you managed to ruin it. It takes way too much chakra to recreate, so I think it's safe to say that you won't have to worry about my armor for the rest of the fight." Ishikawa noted. "… But you still need to be careful, Ōnoki. My bees aren't done yet."

The Shodaime Tsuchikage felt himself snapping his finger. Instantly, all of the pebbles on the ground changed shape, turning into his bees. The bees flew back in the air and surrounded Ōnoki. It appeared as if the exact number of them had grown.

"I can see that. I'd expect nothing less from you." Ōnoki replied. "It doesn't matter, though. I'll find some way to destroy them yet."

"How familiar are you with the Edo Tensei… Jiraiya, was it?" Tobirama questioned the Toad Sage.

Jiraiya was about to answer, but he was unable to properly speak as Tobirama's body attempted to punch him in the face. The Sannin was forced to focus on dodging the attack. He then had to block off an attack from Hashirama.

The man was forced to block and evade a continuous barrage of attacks from the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokage. A few seconds passed before Jiraiya was able to jump away and establish some distance between himself and the deceased Hokages before he could get the opportunity to speak.

"I've read your notes and research on the jutsu in the forbidden scroll. I know mostly everything about how it works." Jiraiya finally answered. "I know that it's useless to try and kill you both, for example. Thanks to the Edo Tensei, your bodies will reform. Essentially, you have immortality."

"Brother… What a dark jutsu you have created." Hashirama noted, a frown evident on his face.

"In hindsight, it was an error to design. Thankfully this Orochimaru doesn't seem too skilled in it. He didn't summon us with our full power, after all." Tobirama noted. He then felt his body making a series of hand signs. "Careful of my next attack, Jiraiya." The man then finished his hand signs. "Water Style: Water Severing Wave!"

Water concentrated in the air from the atmosphere. After enough was concentrated, the water shot forward rapidly towards Jiraiya. The Toad Sage jumped out of the way before being hit by the blast. He immediately was forced to jump again, as Tobirama continued to release another high-pressured stream of water at him.

As Jiraiya continued to dodge the attacks, he made a series of hand signs. Once he finished, the Toad Sage clapped his hands together. A massive wall of earth and rock formed between himself and Tobirama. The wall absorbed the damage from the blasts of water, shielding Jiraiya from damage. While safe from the attacks and before the two Hokage could try and charge him again, Jiraiya ran through another series of hand signs.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The surface underneath Hashirama's and Tobirama's feet changed, turning into mud. The deceased Hokages attempted to move, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Their bodies were stuck within the mud.

"My body can't move at all. I can see you really are a skilled ninja." Tobirama complimented the Toad Sage. He felt his body still continue to resist and try and pull itself out of the swamp, but none of its efforts were working. Neither were the efforts of Hashirama's body. "With your skill, I could see you becoming Hokage."

"Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not interested in the title. I have my own responsibilities that I need to do that are separate from the title." Jiraiya replied back. "But enough about that. While you're stuck, let's talk about the Edo Tensei. How would you propose releasing the jutsu?"

"The primary method to releasing jutsu is to seal our souls away. If you do that, then the physical bodies of the Edo Tensei will be destroyed." The Nidaime Hokage answered. "The only sealing method that wouldn't end your life is slightly complicated, but if you are indeed a master of fūinjutsu, then you should be able to accomplish it. You have something to make the seals with, yes?"

"I do." Jiraiya replied as he pulled out a scroll from a pocket in his clothes. "I always have scrolls on me in case I need to do a seal."

"Good. Then listen carefully. The seal is going to need to be done in your blood and needs to be exact." Tobirama started to explain. Jiraiya nodded and immediately bit his thumb, so he could write the proper seal on the scroll. "The first stroke-"

"Jiraiya, be careful!" Hashirama shouted, interrupting his brother's explanation. He felt his body making a series of hand signs. "Wood Style: Deep Forest Creation!"

Trees started to grow underneath the battlefield. In a moment, their battlefield was covered in trees and resembled a dense forest. A few trees had formed from underneath the swamp. These trees ended up lifting Tobirama and Hashirama out of their 'imprisonment' in the swamp. Their bodies were now free. Immediately after, they charged after Jiraiya again.

"Shit!" Jiraiya cursed as he was forced to put his scroll away for now.

The Toad Sage was, once again, forced into combat as he tried to avoid the attacks of both Hokages. Both Hashirama and Tobirama seemed to possess great skill with taijutsu. Even though they were not summoned with their full strength, their combined taijutsu prowess was enough to overwhelm Jiraiya.

'At this rate, I'll never be able to focus on the seal. I have to buy myself time…' Jiraiya realized.

As Hashirama and Tobirama, again, tried to attack him, the Toad Sage pulled out two sets of explosive tags. With both deceased Hokage in close proximity to him, Jiraiya sneaked both tags on to their bodies and jumped away. He immediately activated them both, causing both to explode. Both Hashirama's and Tobirama's bodies were blown up, separating their torso from the rest of their bodies.

"Can you still talk? I know that didn't kill you." Jiraiya questioned frantically as he pulled out his scroll.

"I can, yes." Tobirama answered in affirmation. "… Our bodies will reform though in just a few seconds. We need to get back to work with the seal."

"Right." Jiraiya replied. "Please, hurry. What's the first stroke?"

"It seems as if your predecessor, Hashirama, was forced to use his kekkei genkai and create a forest battlefield. How intriguing. I suppose Jiraiya has gotten better than I thought." Orochimaru noted with a smirk.

Hiruzen did not reply to Orochimaru's comment. Instead, he focused solely on fighting off his former student.

The two were engaged in close-combat as Orochimaru and Hiruzen attempted to strike at the other with their sword and staff respectively. Both were locked into a stalemate. Each of them had occasionally landed strikes at each. Orochimaru's body was starting to bruise heavily as a result and Hiruzen had many cuts from the Kusanagi. Still, both men ignored the pain and their injuries. They focused solely on landing a decisive hit that would kill their opponent.

Orochimaru swung his sword at Hiruzen, causing the Sandaime Hokage to block the attack once again. This time, however, a snake appeared from underneath Orochimaru's sleeve and charged straight toward Hiruzen. He was forced to jump backwards to avoid the attack, placing distance between himself and Orochimaru.

"Multiple Striking Shadow Snake!"

Ten, large snakes shot out from Orochimaru's sleeve and charged at his former teacher. Seeing the approaching snakes, the Sandaime Hokage ran through a series of hand signs.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Hiruzen breathed a large stream of fire from his mouth right as the snakes reached him. Immediately, the snakes screeched in pain before their bodies melted under the intense heat of the flames. The fire continued as it approached Orochimaru. The Sannin smirked as he jumped in the air to avoid the flame. He then pulled out a singular shuriken and tossed it at his former teacher. Realizing what Orochimaru was doing, Hiruzen pulled out a shuriken of his own. They both then made a singular hand sign.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The two shuriken multiplied, creating thousands of shuriken. Each shuriken collided with each other, causing the attacks to miss. All of the weapons fell to the ground between the two men. As they hit the ground, though, Orochimaru smirked as he made another hand sign. Instantaneously, his set of shuriken transformed shapes, taking the shape of a thousand, tiny snakes.

Each snake rushed forward on the balcony towards Hiruzen. The Sandaime Hokage made a singular hand sign, turning the balcony titles around him into mud. The mud made it difficult for the snakes to move as fast as they had previously been moving, but it did not stop their advances. As a result, Hiruzen then made a series of hand signs.

"Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet!"

A dragon's head formed from the mud. The snakes that were all moving in the mud were forced together and brought into the dragon's head. The dragon then proceeded to spit out bullets of mud towards Orochimaru. Within each bullet, a series of his snakes were trapped inside of them.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon Bullet!"

Once again, Hiruzen released a stream of fire from his mouth. The fire ignited with the earth dragon and the mud bullets, causing both to be consumed in fire. The snakes that were inside were destroyed due to the intense heat. These flame-covered mud bullets were sent flying towards Orochimaru.

The Sannin was hit-head on by the combined jutsu. His body melted, turning into a pile of mud and revealing himself to be a clone. Realizing this, Hiruzen turned around just in-time to see Orochimaru attempt to cut him with the Kusanagi. Once again, Hiruzen used his staff to block the attack.

"Your reflexes have not dulled at all in your old age." Orochimaru commented with a smirk on his face.

"Age hasn't made me weak, Orochimaru. I'm still strong enough to defeat you, as I was when I first met you when you were a genin!" Hiruzen informed his former student sharply.

"Such confidence. I always thought you were more cautious than that, Sarutobi-sensei." The Sannin replied.

"I am confident, because the life of the village is in my hands. In a moment like this, I can't lose. Even if I were to die here, I'd save Konoha and take you with me!" The Sandaime Hokage exclaimed.

With those words, Hiruzen pushed harder with his staff, managing to knock Orochimaru off balance. Seeing an opportunity, the Sandaime proceeded to swing his staff again directly towards Orochimaru's chest. Unfortunately, the Sannin managed to squirm away, using his flexibility to duck underneath Hiruzen's attack. He then jumped backwards and gripped his sword tightly, ready to continue their battle.

"I'll repeat myself: such confidence! If you really feel that strongly, then come. Show me exactly how you intend on 'saving Konoha'!" He taunted his former sensei.

"Gladly." Hiruzen nodded his head as he charged at his former student once-again.

Anko, upon finishing her hand signs, clapped her hands together. Her eyes seemed to light up as she channeled chakra around her entire body.

"Ninja Art: Flare Aura!"

The chakra that surrounded Anko's body changed shape to resemble red flames. The tokubetsu jōnin was now surrounded entirely by fire. The flames, however, were most concentrated in her hands.

"This is… unique. An original jutsu." Baki noted, trying to figure out the secrets behind Anko's attack. "I presume that's an armor of sorts that you think can prevent you from getting cut up."

"I wouldn't call it 'armor'. It's a lot more than that." Anko replied as she glared at him. There was now a literal fire in her eyes as she glared at the Suna jōnin.

The Konoha shinobi jumped into the air directly above Baki. She clapped her hands together, causing the fire that was concentrated in her hands to form into circular balls of flames.

"Fire Style: Hellfire Rain!"

Anko proceeded to toss the fireballs down towards Baki. The Suna jōnin moved out of the way, causing the fireballs to hit the ground and cause the ground to catch on fire. The tokubetsu jōnin continued to spawn fireballs in her hands that she chucked towards Baki. With each attack Baki dodged, the more the battlefield proceeded to catch on fire. After avoiding ten fireballs, the Suna jōnin decided to change tactics. Once he finished his jutsu, he breathed out a heavy gust of wind to redirect the fireballs back towards Anko. To his surprise, however, the fireballs moved directly through the wind and towards him. He was hit directly on the leg by one of his fireballs, causing him to wince from the burning.

"Remember that fire overpowers wind. That wasn't a wise decision." Anko taunted.

"Unless the wind is stronger, in which I can redirect your fire." Baki retorted with a glare. "That jutsu you used earlier… it's no armor. It's just converting all of your chakra to pure fire. All of your fire style ninjutsu is augmented by it, isn't it?"

'I could probably use it for armor as well, but that is true. It also allows me to use other mediums besides my mouth as a means to create fire. But I'm not going to admit to any of that that out loud.' Anko thought to herself. Instead, she proceeded to run through a series of hand signs. "Fire Style: Widespread Ruin!"

The fire that was surrounding the battlefield due to her missed fireballs started to move on its own accord. The flames started to spin around in a circle around Baki before they began to rapidly close in, preparing to both crush and burn him to death simultaneously.

'So she can manipulate any form of fire around her now as well. This means even avoiding her attacks won't help me. If the battlefield catches on fire, then she'll just have other fire that she can use that I'll have to watch for.'Baki cursed as he became aware of the situation he was in. He then proceeded to concentrate a heavy amount of wind and chakra in both hands. 'I have to extinguish these flames!'

"Blade of Wind Hurricane!"

Baki swung his hands in a circle, releasing the heavily concentrated blades of wind in his hands. The heavily concentrated wind created hurricane-like winds that flew in all directions towards the approaching flames. After making contact with the fire, Baki's wind managed to overpower the flames and extinguish them. Once he was free from the fire, the Suna jōnin turned his attention towards Anko and charged at her, concentrating both wind and chakra in his hand again.

"Blade of Wind Barrage!"

Both of Baki's fists were covered entirely with heavily concentrated blade-like winds. Anko, seeing his move, retaliated by concentrating the fire around her into her fists.

The two shinobi continued their earlier fight using only taijutsu augment by their element. Baki's wind-style taijutsu managed to pierce Anko's flames and still cut her, causing her to continue to get cut. Similarly, Anko's flame-covered fists managed to create burns on Baki's body. The two ignored the pain, however, and continued their fight of taijutsu.

"As I said earlier, fire is only superior to wind if the wind is not strong enough to put out the fire, and I have the necessary strength to create winds that can blow out all of your flames." Baki taunted Anko amidst their taijutsu fight.

"We'll see about that. I've been training hard these past few months and developing my strength and my skills with fire. My flames aren't going to go out easily!" Anko replied.

The two said no more words; they simply concentrated on their fight, trying to land blows on their opponent.

"Wind Style: Great Task of the Dragon!"

Temari swung her fan upward toward the sky. Immediately afterwards, storm clouds began to develop in the sky directly above the battlefield. Shikamaru's eyes briefly went towards the sky, trying to piece together exactly what Temari had planned for him. His attention, however, returned back to the Suna kunoichi. The girl, once again, proceeded to swing her fan at the Nara.

"Ninja Art: Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

Another gale of wind flew towards Shikamaru. The Konoha shinobi jumped away to another tree branch, avoiding the cutting winds. Temari then rushed towards him, gripping her fan tightly. She jumped to the tree branch he was on and attempted to swing her fan at him. He managed to move out the way before being slammed by the fan. He then made a hand sign, causing his shadow to extend forward again. Temari jumped away immediately to avoid the shadow.

The Suna kunoichi proceeded to move from tree branch to tree branch, avoiding the Shikamaru's shadow as it followed her. The Nara continued to try and catch her, but he was starting to notice something suspicious.

'Why has she not tried to confront me? She knows that she could do something to have me deactivate my jutsu. Why is she just letting me chase her like this? Surely she has to be getting tired by constantly running around.' He questioned, his eyes focused intently on her as he tried to question her logic.

Temari's eyes, for a second, looked upward. She noticed that the clouds were ready and her jutsu was complete. The Suna kunoichi smirked as she made a singular hand sign. The clouds proceeded to disappear and were replaced by a giant tornado that began to descend from the sky, directly above Shikamaru.

The Nara looked upward and he canceled his jutsu. His eyes widened at the sight. "Shit-"

Shikamaru did not have enough time to move away from the attack. The tornado surrounded him completely before he could do anything. The strong winds of the tornado began to cut deeply into his skin, tearing his clothes and causing him to bleed extensively with each cut. Shikamaru screamed in pain with each cut. Despite the pain, he attempted to make a series of hand signs.

"Shadow Protection Jutsu!"

The shadows in the area moved quickly and surrounded Shikamaru in a protective barrier, stopping the tornado around him from cutting more into his skin. The Nara, on instinct, sighed in relief. He soon noticed, however, that the wind was cutting into his shadow barrier. He saw cracks beginning to form, which caused his eyes to widen and forced him to put more chakra into his jutsu to maintain the barrier.

'Goddammit… please, let my jutsu hold. Please…' Shikamaru pleaded in his head. He saw more cracks developing on the barrier, which caused his thoughts to become more frantic and desperate. 'PLEASE!'

Outside the tornado, Temari watched while breathing heavily. Creating the tornado and maintaining it required of a lot of her chakra. She couldn't see inside her jutsu, so she wasn't certain about the Nara's condition. She had heard him screaming near the beginning of her jutsu, but now she couldn't hear him anymore.

'He has to be unconscious by now… or dead.' Temari realized, feeling a little sick to her stomach at the thought of making her first kill during war.

Making a hand sign, the Suna kunoichi canceled her jutsu and dispelled the tornado. As the tornado began to slowly fade, Temari walked forward closer to it, wanting to inspect Shikamaru's body and make sure that he was dead.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!"

To her surprise, Shikamaru was both alive and conscious. The moment the tornado had completely disappeared, the Nara's shadow extended forward at a rapid rate. Temari was not able to react in time and was captured by his shadow, making her unable to move her body.

"How… How are you still able to fight after that?" Temari questioned in complete shock.

The Nara did not answer her question. Instead, he made another hand sign. A shadowy hand began to creep up Temari's body, heading towards her neck. The shadow reached just above her chest before it slowly started to recede down her body.

'Dammit!' Shikamaru cursed in his head, gritting his teeth. 'Not again… Not now!'

"… It seems you're running out of chakra." Temari commented, relief filling her body. She knew that his control of her would soon fade and that their fight would be over. He wouldn't be able to fight her properly with no chakra.

"No… I'm not… out of chakra… NOT YET!" Shikamaru shouted.

The Nara closed his eyes as he tried to focus more of his own energy and chakra into his jutsu. A moment passed before the shadow hand continued to crawl up Temari's body, once again. It only stopped upon reaching the neck of the kunoichi.

"Shadow Neck Binding Jutsu!"

The shadow tightened around Temari's neck, strangling her. The Suna kunoichi attempted to resist and get away, but there was nothing she could do. She was still under Shikamaru's paralysis. Her eyes slowly closed and the girl fell into unconsciousness. Realizing that she had been defeated, Shikamaru released his jutsu. Temari's body fell down on her stomach. Once she had fallen over, Shikamaru walked over to make sure that she was unconscious. Realizing that she was, Shikamaru then turned his attention towards the giant bijū in the distance – towards Shukaku.

'I was… kept here for too long… And used too much of my energy on her…' Shikamaru noted to himself. His own thoughts were interrupted by his need to take deep breaths. The boy was physically exhausted. '… I probably can't help out much… but I can't let Naruto and Hinata be alone…'

With that sole thought, Shikamaru started to move towards the battlefield with Shukaku, hoping that he would able to get back some energy on the way there and would be able to help out his friends in the battle.

Hinata and Kankurō were locked into a stalemate at the two continued to try and attack each from a distance. The Hyūga used her arrows and her Water Style: Gunshot to attack the puppeteer. In response, Kankurō would urge his puppet to release a wave of kunai or a poisonous smoke ball at the girl. Their attacks would either cancel each other out, or the two would simply avoid the attacks by moving to another tree branch.

'This fight is going nowhere for me if we continue to fight like this from a distance. This is where he is strongest at. I need to get close-up to him. The only question is how.' Hinata questioned to herself. 'His puppet is in the way and it moves to fast for me to get past it…'

'I can't afford to waste my time here for too long. Temari may need me… or maybe even Gaara.' Kankurō thought to himself as he looked backwards towards the giant bijū in the distance. '… I really can't afford to just 'stall her' any longer. I need to take her down now!'

"Poison Mist Hell: Hundred Continuous Firing!"

Kankurō made a sweeping gesture with his hands, causing Karasu to move forwards toward Hinata. The puppet quickly surrounded the Hyūga and continued to move rapidly in a circle around her. Hinata kept her Byakugan-activated eyes focused on the puppet, preparing for its next attack. After a few seconds of continuous movement, Karasu launched multiple poison smoke balls from its mouth. The balls made contact with the tree branch and immediately released the poisonous gas. Hinata quickly jumped upwards, avoiding the poison smoke.

'Got her.' Kankurō smirked as he made a tug on one of the strings of his puppet.

Karasu's elbow opened up before releasing a barrage of senbon at the Hyūga. Hinata, although she could see the upcoming attack, didn't have the time to avoid the attack. She was hit hard by the senbon and was knocked downward, back into the poison gas.

Hinata began coughing the second she entered the poison gas cloud. She proceeded to make a series of hand signs before using the Water Style: Gunshot to clear the air around her, causing the poison gas to move away from her. Still, the girl had inhaled enough of the poison. She was continuing to cough and looked as if she was having difficulty standing.

'She'll be knocked out in thirty minutes… maybe even die if she doesn't get treated before the day ends.' Kankurō noted in his head, recalling the particular poison he used in his smoke balls. '… Only a little more should do it. Then she'll be done.'

The Suna puppeteer made a pushing gesture, causing Karasu to rush to Hinata. The puppet grabbed her and held her tightly against its body. Hinata tried to resist and managed to free her hands from the puppet's grasp, but she was unable to pull herself completely away. She continued to choke as the puppet started to squeeze her body. Despite her pain, Hinata focused on bringing her hands to the chakra strings attached to the puppet.

'… He said cutting them won't do anything, because he's fast enough to create new strings and attach them again…' She reminded herself of Kankurō's words. '… But he never said what would happen if I did something else to his 'puppet strings'."

Instead of cutting the chakra strings, Hinata grabbed them and injected some of her own chakra into the strings. Her chakra created a disturbance with the flow of Kankurō's chakra, causing Karasu to let go of Hinata. Similarly, Hinata's chakra maneuvered itself through the puppet strings back to Kankurō's body. The brief spike of chakra paralyzed his body momentarily.

"Wh-What the hell?" The puppeteer mumbled as he felt himself unable to move his body.

Now free and with her opponent immobile, Hinata jumped towards Kankurō. She moved slower due to the poison in her bloodstream, but she managed to reach him before he could move. Kankurō's paralysis began to fade as she jumped on the tree branch he was on, but it was already too late. She had managed to get close to him and was in a stance to attack.

"Eight Trigrams, Thirty-two palms!" She called out. "Two palms!"

Hinata began a series of strikes at Kankurō's tenketsu. She and her body moved quickly, striking him as fast as she could despite the poison. Kankurō was unable to move as he was forced to take each subsequent attack.

"Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms!" Hinata continued to shout. Finally, she ran through a series of strikes at various tenketsu across his body with more force. "Thirty-two palms!"

Hinata's last strike managed to push Kankurō backwards, knocking him off the tree branch he was standing on. The Suna puppeteer hit the ground at the bottom of the forest hard, breaking a few bones on impact. He groaned from the pain, but attempted to ignore it as he moved his head towards Karasu and attempted to use his hand to create new strings for his puppet. He realized, however, that he was unable to move his hand and create the new strings.

"Dammit… I can barely move my body." He grumbled to himself. "… Hell, I can barely feel any chakra in my body."

"I sealed half of your tenketsu… You won't be able to use chakra properly for a while. Or move…" Hinata told the puppeteer as she jumped down towards the ground. She then walked forward towards him, coughing in her hands from the poison.

"… You beat me. Fine. You win. Just kill me now." Kankurō closed his eyes, ready for the worst.

To his surprise, however, Hinata did not attack him once she reached him. Instead, she started digging through the pockets of his jumpsuit.

"What are you doing…" He asked slowly in confusion. "Why… aren't you-"

"I'm not going to kill you or anything. I'm just looking for an antidote to your poison. Surely you have one, in case you ever accidentally inhaled your own poison." She informed him as she continued to look through his pockets.

Kankurō gaped at the girl's words. Although it did make sense for her to check his body for an antidote to the poison, it did not make any sense for her to just simply let him go. Their villages were fighting each other right now and he had just tried to kill her. Why was she just going to let him go?

"… There it is." Hinata mumbled to herself as she finally found a small pill bottle in one of his pockets. There was writing on it that identified it as the cure for the poison in her bloodstream. She coughed as she opened the bottle and took out a pill.

"… You managed to beat me, but I really would just flee and get out of here if you can." Kankurō advised the girl. "Gaara… he's going to kill everyone around him. There's nothing you, or your friends, can do to stop him."

At first, Hinata didn't respond to the Suna puppeteer's comment and instead simply took the pill in her hands. Although the poison wasn't instantly removed, she felt a little better knowing that the poison would be cured in a few more minutes. Once she was sure that she was going to be fine and the poison wouldn't affect her too much, she turned her attention to the puppeteer.

"That's what you think, but I know that we can do something. I know that I can offer some help." Hinata told him. "I won't let any of my friends have to face Gaara alone!"

With those words, Hinata hurried off towards Shukaku. Kankurō was left alone, left to think about her words and her chances against Gaara.

"Steam Clone Jutsu!"

Han's furnace released a barrage of steam that solidified into nine separate clones of himself. He, along with his clones, rushed forward at Shukaku. Shukaku, again, created sand spikes out of the ground to try and skewer the approaching figures. Each of them avoided the spikes and jumped into the air.

"Erupting Strong Foot!"

Han, along with his clones, delivered a powerful kick augmented by Han's steam to Shukaku's stomach. The force of ten powerful steam-enhanced kicks caused Shukaku to tilt over slightly. His tail, in particular, became a lot closer to the ground.

Noticing this, Naruto rushed forward and jumped on the tail. He then proceeded to start to climb up the tail to reach Shukaku's head. The bijū quickly regained its composure and noticed the Kyūbi jinchūriki climbing his body.

"You're trying this again? How boring." Shukaku rolled his eyes.

Instead of creating spikes in his body, Shukaku opted to shaking his tail and force Naruto off. The blonde grabbed onto the tail tightly and resisted the tanuki's attempt to shake him off. Seeing that Naruto wasn't able to continue his climb, Han and his clones started making a series of hand signs.

"Ninja Art: Steam Cannon Jutsu!"

A blast of steam was released from the original and his nine clones towards Shukaku. Each blast collided with the bijū's head, causing him to wince slightly in pain. He stopped shaking his head, giving Naruto the opportunity to continue his climb.

"Why you…" Shukaku hissed.

The bijū raised one of his claws and attempted to crush Han and his clones underneath it. The original and his clones, however, managed to avoid the attack. With Shukaku's hand on the ground, Han and his clones began to climb up the arm of the bijū, mimicking Naruto's actions. Shukaku proceeded to create spikes on his arm to force Han off. Although the spikes managed to hit and dispel Han's steam clones, the original version of the Gobi jinchūriki predicted the attack and jumped into the air. He then flew directly towards the bijū's face, his fist covered in steam. Before he could make contact and hit Shukaku with his fist, the bijū grabbed hold of the jinchūriki with one of its claws.

"Pesky little shit. I'm going to enjoy ripping you apart!" The Ichibi hissed.

Han gave no verbal reply and, instead, focused on trying to get out of Shukaku's hold. Steam poured out of the furnace on his back in an attempt to weaken the sand, but his attempts to break free failed. Shukaku responded to his attempts to break free by tightening his grip, causing Han to gasp in pain and start to choke. He could feel a few of his bones about to break.

Naruto, who had managed to reach Shukaku's back, noticed that Han was caught by Shukaku. He immediately ran through a series of hand signs. "Wind Style: Wind Release Stream!"

The Uzumaki released a powerful stream of wind, amplified by Kyūbi's chakra, from his mouth. The stream hit Shukaku's claw head-on with enough force that the bijū was required to release Han. The Gobi jinchūriki fell to the ground and managed to land on his two feet.

"Sneaky bastard!" Shukaku growled.

The bijū slammed its claws together. A barrage of sand was released from his back. Naruto, who was still on the back, was sent flying off Shukaku's body and was hit by the different blasts of sand. The Uzumaki coughed up blood.

Shukaku turned his head towards Naruto and opened his mouth. A sphere of black and white chakra developed in his mouth. The bijū then released the ball from his mouth directly towards the Uzumaki. Naruto quickly ran out of the way before the ball made contact with him. Upon contact with the ground, the ball created a massive explosion that completely destroyed the ground underneath it.

"I can't believe Shukaku is actually using his Bijūdama. Does the tanuki actually think two humans could defeat him, or is he really that desperate for a kill? Either way, it's shameful to use that technique so freely." The Kyūbi noted in Naruto's head, his tone-of-voice filled with disgust. "Kid, I don't think I need to say this again, but if you get hit by that attack, you will die. No exceptions."

'… I figured.' Naruto replied, a frown on his face.

"Naruto, are you alright? What was that technique?" Han called out, his eyes wide in surprise at the devastation caused from Shukaku's technique.

"I'm fine. I got away in time." The Uzumaki sighed in response. "The fox said that Shukaku's attack will kill us if we get hit, so make sure you're on your toes. We can't afford to get hit even once."

"Try and avoid me: I dare you! You'll only fail after a while!" Shukaku shouted, interrupting their conversation.

The tanuki opened its mouth and began to form another Bijūdama. Before he finished preparing his attack and before Naruto and Han could get away, another figure jumped on to the battlefield.

"Lava Style: Scorching Rocks Jutsu!"

A series of molten rocks were released. The molten rocks made direct contact with the sphere before Shukaku finished his preparations, causing the move to explode in his face. Shukaku was momentarily knocked back, completely stunned by the action. When he had recovered, he looked down to face his two opponents. To his surprise, however, they were joined by a third human.

"Couldn't wait to start fighting the bijū without me, could you?" Rōshi spoke with a chuckle to Naruto and Han. Just like the two of them, the Yonbi jinchūriki was covered in a shroud of his bijū's chakra. Unlike them, Rōshi was wearing a shroud with two-tails worth of chakra.

"Old man! You got away from all of those Oto shinobi." Naruto exclaimed, a grin on his face.

"Give it a rest with the 'old man' thing, kid! There's many shinobi older than me." Rōshi replied with an eye roll.

"It's good to see you are well, Rōshi. We could use your assistance." Han spoke to his fellow Iwa jinchūriki. Despite the request for help, there was a positive tone to Han's voice that revealed that he was relieved to see that his friend was okay.

"I'll do what I can." The red-head replied as he cracked his knuckles.

Shukaku finally realized exactly who the newcomer was. A wide grin developed on his face.

"Looks like Son Gokū has graced me with his presence as well! Three of my brothers are here in front of me, trapped in the flesh of their containers!" Shukaku exclaimed, laughing almost maniacally. "Look at me now, brothers! Watch as I kill the very humans that keep you prisoner! Watch as I prove that I, the Ichibi, prove my superiority over you all!"

With those words, Shukaku charged forward at the jinchūriki in front of him. Naruto, Han, and Rōshi all got into position to continue fighting the bijū.

Quick General Notes:

1: The technique Hinata used by channeling her chakra through Kankurō's chakra strings is actually the method how Neji defeated Kidōmaru during the canonical Sasuke Retrieval arc. I wasn't certain if I conveyed that properly, so I wanted to make note of it here.

2: Remember the Bikōchū Arc? If I recall, it is one of the more popular filler arcs in the entire franchise. Anyway, the three Iwa shinobi in the arc are from the Kamizuru Clan and they claim they are the grandchildren of the Shodaime Tsuchikage. Since I recognized this filler arc as canon by having Hinata develop the Protection of the Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms, I decided that the Shodaime Tsuchikage must be a bee user. Therefore, Kamizuru Ishikawa uses bee-related ninjutsu. He's just a lot more advanced and has a much more diverse fighting-style than the Kamizuru members in the actual Bikōchū Arc. You know... because he's the founder of Iwa and a former Tsuchikage, after all. :)