48. Early Victories in War

"It's a legitimate question. I've never known why so many shinobi like to chat when they fight." Dosu replied. His eyes narrowed on the Kirigakure shinobi in front of him, waiting for her to make the first move. "So enough talk. Let's just get to the point."

Tomoe's response was to release a large lightning bolt from her right hand directly towards Dosu and Misora.

Both Dosu and Misora jumped out of the way, avoiding the lightning bolt. Tomoe quickly rushed forward towards the two shinobi, gripping her staff tightly in her left hand. She jumped into the air and prepared to swing it at Dosu.

'Bit of a mistake, striking at me with a weapon when you are so close.' Dosu thought to himself as he raised his right arm up to guard her attack.

"Dosu get back! Don't let her hit you!" Misora hissed.

It was too late; Tomoe had already struck at him. The 'melody gauntlet' on his arm blocked the staff, preventing her from directly hitting him. Dosu immediately prepared to release soundwaves and attack her with them, but before he could channel the chakra and use his jutsu, a sharp jolt of electricity shot forward from Tomoe's staff and rushed through his body. He immediately shouted in pain before quickly jumping away in an attempt to get away from her and hopefully end the pain. Dosu could feel little jolts of electricity running through his body, causing him to grit his teeth in pain, but the pain began to slowly fade away with each passing moment.

"Wh-What was that?" He questioned Misora.

Before she could answer, Tomoe let out a loud, triumphant laugh.

"Electricity, and a lot of it." The Kirigakure shinobi stated proudly as she gripped her staff tightly. "I designed this thing based on my own chakra. I can send my chakra straight through it and cause it to electrocute anything it touches. Even the lightest of taps with this is enough to send incredible amounts of electricity into its target."

'Tsk. It seems as if I can't use my sound-related ninjutsu as easily as I would normally like to. Intercepting a blow from her staff will just electrocute me before I can actually use the soundwaves against her.' Dosu realized. 'How unfortunate!'

"Stay safe, Dosu. Just keep avoiding her." Misora declared upon making a singular hand sign. "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

A thick mist began to develop around Misora's body. The mist began to slowly extend itself forward, heading directly towards Tomoe's body. The woman smirked as she jumped away, avoiding the mist. She then jumped high into the air, above the mist. She quickly began her descent, preparing to strike at Misora with her staff. The Kirigakure rebel moved away just in time, causing Tomoe to strike the ground instead, creating a hole in the ground as a result of the impact. Misora then made another hand sign, causing the mist she had created to start moving back, towards Tomoe again. The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi proceeded to jump into the air again to avoid the attack.

"I'm not going to let your mist hit me!" Tomoe declared proudly. While still in the air, the woman proceeded to point her staff towards her opponents: "Lightning Style: Raigeki!"

Tomoe's staff started to glow a bright, golden color as a series of lightning bolts rushed forward from the staff's end towards Dosu and Misora. The two shinobi moved began to avoid the subsequent lightning bolts. Each one left holes in the ground, destroying the swampland that they were using for a battlefield.

With each lightning bolt released, Tomoe's attacks began to get faster. One of her lightning bolts managed to hit the ground under Dosu's feet just as he was jumping away to avoid the attack. Although the attack did not cause him to get shocked, the resulting destruction on the ground caused him to lose his balance as he moved and forced him to fall to the ground, leaving him wide open.

"Heh, sucker!" Tomoe grinned as she finally began her descent back to the ground. Once again, she was preparing to swing her staff downwards directly onto Dosu's body. "DIE!"

'Won't be able to avoid this.' Dosu cursed. His legs weren't moving as fast as they needed them to. He must have injured them slightly when the last impact caused him to fall down. Realizing this, he changed tactics and focused on his arms. 'Hopefully this works.'

Before Tomoe could land her attack on him, he quickly slammed his right arm downwards, causing the sound amplifier on his hand to make impact with the ground. He then closed his eyes as he focused on channeling the necessary chakra. "Sound Barrier!"

The soundwaves created from Dosu's 'melody gauntlet' quickly surrounded him and formed a visible, white-colored protective barrier around him. Tomoe's staff made contact with it, but was unable to pierce it and reach him.

"Wh-What the-" Tomoe shook her head in frustration as she put more force into her attack. Various bolts of lightning were released in various directions due to the amount of force and chakra she was putting into the attack. "Break through already!"

While initially fruitless, Tomoe's efforts appeared to make headway as the barrier around Dosu began to grow smaller as soundwaves began to slowly dissipate.

As the 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi was about to finally pierce his barrier, her arms were gripped by the mist clouds that Misora had formed earlier, stopping her attack on Dosu.

"What?" She hissed as she turned her head to face Misora.

The Kirigakure rebel was making a series of hand signs, causing more mist to rush forward toward the woman. Her entire body was grabbed by the mist before it was flung away from Dosu. With another hand sign, Misora forced the mist to pin Tomoe down to the ground.

"Thank you, Misora-san." Dosu told the rebel as he managed to stand up. "That intervention may have very well saved my life."

"We're comrades, Dosu-san. No need to thank me." Misora replied with a shrug. She was mostly only paying attention the Kirigakure shinobi she had pinned on the ground. "Now, to end this before she can do anything else."

With another hand sign, Misora urged the mist holding Tomoe down to begin suffocating her. Tomoe's eyes widened as she began to feel herself unable to breathe. Misora remained concentrated and tightened her mist's grip on the woman, intent on killing her as quickly as possible.

Before the final blow could be dealt, however, a massive burst of lightning was shot forward from Tomoe's body. Various bolts of scattered electricity left her body, forcing the mist away from her and causing it to vanish. The bolts then rushed at Misora and Dosu at a rapid rate. The two shinobi weren't able to jump away time and took the attacks head on. Both shinobi screamed in pain before falling to the ground in pain. Scattered shocks of electricity ran through their bodies as they attempted to get up. While they struggled to stand-up, they were able to watch Tomoe pull herself off the ground. The woman was breathing heavily and had a few scattered 'black' markings over skin, but had that same, triumphant grin on her face.

"Th-Thought you had me there, didn't you Kawada?" Tomoe said Misora's clan name with a snort. "I'm a-able to release lightning directly from body in all d-directions at a rapid rate. It's powered off my own internal ch-chakra network as opposed to the chakra for a single jutsu, so your p-pitiful mist clouds stood no chance to its force."

"You don't seem much better yourself, though." Misora commented as she finally pulled herself off the ground. The kunoichi felt her legs grow weak, but stayed strong focused on standing. She then proceeded to help Dosu up before continuing to speak. "You're panting and your skin doesn't look too good. It seems that a technique like that took a lot out of you."

"You're one to talk about weakness! Both of you are barely able to stay standing!" Tomoe snarled. "I'm one of the strongest shinobi Kirigakure has ever seen. I'm an elite, loyal shinobi!"

"Loyal to what?" Dosu questioned. Tomoe gave him a glare in response, which prompted him to continue. "Your Mizukage is actively destroying Mizu no Kuni. Innocent people are dying all throughout the country. What good is loyalty when you pledge loyalty to a tyrant?"

"What good is loyalty? LOYALTY IS ALL WE SHINOBI HAVE!" Tomoe growled. "We are all tools for those that we serve. They give us purpose and a paycheck, in turn, we give them our entire being by fighting for their purposes. It's a mutual system that benefits all of us." She proceeded to shake her head, almost in exasperation. "You're such a young brat. You haven't learned the one thing that all shinobi must realize; morality has no place in the shinobi world. You can't be bothered to be concerned about your ethics when your life is on the line. Loyalty is the only thing that actually matters. You stay true to your leader and do what they say. They pay you and ensure your livelihood in exchange for your service. It's the only constant in this world… and loyalty is the only virtue that matters."

"You're wrong." Dosu shook his head in response. "Loyalty only matters if the person has given you a reason to be loyal."

After spending years devoting his loyalty to Orochimaru, he knew that she was incorrect. She, like he used to be, was blindly loyal to her 'leader'. As far as he believed, that was not a virtue that anybody should have.

"Don't lecture me kid! I've known this truth about the world longer than you have been alive!" She snorted in response. "Brats like you two don't understand anything about the way world works and it seems like neither of you will. You, Konoha trash, have a misguided view of loyalty. And you, Kawada, are an outright traitor." The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi then raised her right hand into the air as she began to channel chakra into her fingers. "Brats like you just don't belong in the shinobi world, so it's about time you were both forced out of this world. Lightning Style: Raigeki Break!"

Tomoe brought her hand down and pointed her index finger at her two opponents. Various bolts of electricity shot forward from her fingertip towards Dosu and Misora. They proceeded to move away, avoiding the attack. Misora, however, winced in pain upon doing so. Her legs were in a great deal amount of pain.

"Fuck, that was close." She mumbled to herself.

"Ha!" Tomoe laughed as she pointed her finger back at the kunoichi. "As I said earlier, you're in worse pain than me! You're legs are acting up from my onslaught. It'll only be a matter of time before your body gives out and you won't be able to dodge."

The woman proceeded to release another set of lightning bolts from her finger directly towards Misora. The kunoichi proceeded to jump away, resisting the pain in her legs and trying to keep herself standing. Tomoe grinned as she watched the girl's facial expressions become more-and-more pained. Her laughter stopped, however, as she noticed Dosu approaching her. He swung directly for her with his 'melody gauntlet'. She quickly intercepted the attack with her staff. Upon making contact with her staff, a jolt of electricity ran through Dosu's body, causing him to shout in pain.

"HA! Did you forget about this?" Tomoe taunted the boy.

Unlike last time, Dosu didn't try and get away from the electricity. Instead, while his 'melody gauntlet' was clashing with her staff, he pulled through the pain in time to make a singular hand sign. The gauntlet proceeded to amplify the soundwaves of the attack and sent them towards Tomoe's ears.

"AH!" Tomoe let out a blood-curling scream.

The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi kicked Dosu in the stomach, knocking him back and getting him and his soundwaves away from her as quick as possible. Dosu attempted to pull himself up from the ground as more-and-more electricity was running through his body. His body was growing incredibly weak and, ultimately, gave up on him. He fell down again, unable to stand. From his position, however, he managed to look towards his opponent and get a glimpse of her condition. Tomoe was breathing heavily and she was gripping her right ear with her right hand. Blood was coming out at a pretty rapid rate from both of her ears. Tomoe's eyes were also hazy, as if she wasn't seeing properly.

"You… what… what did YOU DO?" She hissed at him. Her legs were wobbling and her eyes were under a lot of pressure to see properly.

"You used… a lot more electricity and lightning… in that attack. You used so much that I knew I could use those soundwaves… against you." Dosu admitted with a chuckle. "The ears of a human body are… important in ways most people aren't aware of. All of that… concentrated sound is messing up more than just your hearing, you know?"

Tomoe brought her hand away from her bleeding ear and took a deep breath in. A few seconds passed by before she felt her body relaxing to a degree. While her vision was still shaky, she felt herself able to move better. With that realization, she quickly charged forward at Dosu.

"I don't know what else you did to me, but I don't really care. You… you're pretty bad off from all the electricity you allowed yourself to take. You should die with just one more blast!" She shouted, gripping her staff tightly.

Before she could reach Dosu, Misora jumped in-between the two shinobi. With the blind shinobi now standing in her path, Tomoe turned her attention towards her and prepared to strike at her with her staff and release a blast of electricity into her body. Misora managed to side-step away from her attack with relative ease. She then, using her scythe, attempted to cut Tomoe. The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi jumped back, thinking she jumped away from the attack. To her surprise, however, she did not move far enough away fast enough; Misora was able to deeply cut her left arm. She screamed in pain and was forced to drop her staff to the ground.

"H-How? I dodged your attack! I know I did!" Tomoe hissed, both in anger and in pain as her right hand was now gripping her left hand in an attempt to prevent too much blood from pouring out.

"It's as I said earlier," Dosu spoke-up, "the damage to your ears… is affecting more than your sound. Damage to certain areas can lead… to hallucinations and dizziness. Your ears are bad off, Tomoe-san… you can't fight properly anymore."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Tomoe questioned.

"I believe he's telling you to surrender to us if you want to survive this." Misora said bluntly as she raised her scythe. "Or don't. It makes no difference to me."

"Surrender? Survive?" Tomoe repeated Misora's words with a snarl.

Her shaky vision grew red as killing intent began to leak at alarming rates from the woman's body. Tomoe clapped her hands together as she proceeded to glare at both Dosu and Misora. Almost instantaneously, her body began to get surrounded in electrical energy. Lightning was being emitted from her body. Tomoe winced in pain with each passing second, but the pain didn't seem to bother her too much.

"I don't need proper hearing or vision to kill you both. I'm an elite Kirigakure shinobi! I've fought in war and have killed thousands of shinobi! AND I WON'T SURRENDER TO A BUNCH OF SNOT-NOSED, TRAITOROUS BRATS!"

"Wh-What kind of technique is that?" Dosu mumbled to himself.

Tomoe had not heard his question, but decided to take the time to taunt and elaborate on her technique, anyway: "This jutsu is based on the fighting style of the Yondaime Raikage. It's nowhere near as capable as his lightning armor or anything, but it definitely has some use." A malicious, bloodthirsty smirk developed on her face as she bent down, preparing to charge. "Now… DIE!"

The Kirigakure shinobi charged forward at Misora, extending her fist to deliver an electrically-charged punch at the rebel. Misora was unable to jump out of the way in time and was sent flying backwards into the ground. Electricity, once again, was rushing through her body. She struggled to pull herself off the ground, but Tomoe was, once again, charging directly at her.

Realizing that she had no time to jump away, the blind shinobi opted to make a hand sign: "Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu!"

Instantly, a thick cloud of mist surrounded Misora's body. Tomoe continued to charge forward, either unaware or uncaring about the mist. As she charged forward, the mist grabbed onto her, preventing her from charging forward.

"THIS WON'T STOP ME!" Tomoe roared as she struggled to free herself.

Misora, in response, put as much chakra as she could into her jutsu, trying to keep the enraged woman constrained in her mist and potentially suffocate her. To her frustration, however, her efforts were not working. With each passing second, her mist was growing weaker.

'Dammit. Come on Misora! Put your being into this! You can't die!' She told herself.

Dosu watched the two kunoichi struggle in their stalemate from his position lying down on the battlefield. He tried, once again, to pull himself up and help his comrade but was unable to get the strength to do so. His attempts began to get more frantic as he noticed Misora being to falter in her confrontation with Tomoe, but they still proved fruitless. He wasn't going to be able to stand and fight back against her.

'… But maybe there's still something I can do.' He told himself.

Stopping his attempts to pull himself up, Dosu proceeded to raise his right arm upwards, as high as he could. He then slammed it down onto the ground: "Crushing Sound Wave!"

Dosu winced in pain, having put all the force possible in his body into slamming his arm into the ground. He managed to ignore the pain, however, as he channeled his chakra. Immediately, massive soundwaves rushed forward through the ground directly towards Tomoe. She felt the impact of the attack, causing her legs to become weak and for her to fall down slightly. In addition, the soundwaves came with so much force that it managed to crack the ground directly underneath her, causing her to sink into the ground itself. For a moment, Tomoe's attention was no longer on Misora.

"Wh-What-"

'Now!' Misora told herself.

With a slight advantage placed on Misora's side, the rebel proceeded to channel the mist that was holding Tomoe in place to compress solely on her neck. The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi resisted instantly, diverting her attention back to Misora and trying to push back against her attack. Lightning was starting to fly in random directions from her body as she tried to free herself from both the ground and the mist.

'A-Again!' Dosu told himself as he proceeded to lift his arm once again into the air before slamming it back on the ground.

Ignoring the pain again, Dosu released another burst of soundwaves into the ground that charged directly for Tomoe. With her body actually now partially in the ground, thanks to Dosu's last attack, the soundwaves affected her more as they rushed through her body and struck her ears.

She attempted to scream in pain, but now, Misora's grip on her neck was overpowering her. She attempted to struggle for a few more moments, but eventually, the struggling stopped. Her body stopped emitting electricity and her body grew limp. Misora snapped her fingers, causing the mist to dissipate. Tomoe's body remained unmoving, stuck within the earth. The 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi was now dead.

"One of Yagura's… strongest shinobi is dead…" Misora breathed heavily relief.

Within seconds, Misora rushed over to Dosu's body and attempted to pick him up. Due to her own exhaustion, she had difficulty lifting his body up. However, she managed to finally place him over her shoulders and she started to walk off.

"Misora-san… you d-don't need to do this." Dosu informed her. "Put me down. M-My body just needs a little more rest. I'll… be able to move in a little bit."

"Not happening." Misora replied simply. "Need… to get you to medical. This… isn't a good place to be by yourself and injured."

Dosu took the moment to look over his shoulder. For a moment, due to the conflict with Tomoe, he had almost forgotten that there were other shinobi involved on the mission. There was scattered fighting between the various Kirigakure shinobi under Yagura and the rebel shinobi and the Konoha shinobi. All shinobi seemed focused on their own particular battles and didn't try to intervene in other conflicts. Upon seeing the ruthless fighting, he knew that if even one 'loyal' Kirigakure shinobi looked over and saw him, alone, trying to stand-up, he'd be dead.

"… Thank you… Misora-san…" Dosu told the girl carrying him.

Misora proceed to shake her head: "You don't need… to thank me for anything. You risked your life… for my village and country… I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Both Misora and Dosu remained silent as Misora rushed him back to a medical unit stationed away from the conflict. Dosu realized that there was a high likelihood that, based on how drained he was physically and in chakra, that he would be out of commission for the rest of the mission. All he could do now was hope for the safety of his comrades and his friends.

'Everybody… Naruto-san… I hope everything is going well for you all.' Dosu prayed.

"HYAH!" Jinpachi shouted as she swung his sword downwards.

Anko quickly jumped out of the way from the attack. Jinpachi's sword made direct contact with the floor of the room and created an explosion. Fragments of wood were scattered after the impact.

"What did you say about maintaining the room's honor? Seems like you're intent on blowing it up." Anko sneered at her opponent as she clapped her hands together.

"A room can be rebuilt. And this one needs one!" Jinpachi replied with a snarl. "It lost its purity when you stepped foot in it!"

Anko gave no verbal response; she simply channeled the 'flaming chakra' around her into fireballs in her hands. She then quickly tossed them forward at Jinpachi. The swordsman charged her once again, side-stepping to avoid her fireballs. He quickly reached her, raised his sword upwards, and swung down. Anko jumped away, causing his sword to collide again with the ground, creating another explosion and causing more wood to scatter into the air.

The Konoha shinobi continued to jump back and place distance between herself and Jinpachi. She looked in the corner of her eye and noticed Zabuza and Kushimaru in a stalemate. Both swordsmen were swinging their swords, trying to land a single strike on the other. They were focused intently on their opponent. Seeing a possible opportunity, Anko channeled her chakra once again into fireballs and chucked a series of fireballs directly at Kushimaru's back. Before her attack hit him, however, the shinobi quickly turned her around and used his Nuibari longsword to slice the approaching fireballs in half, causing the flames to dissipate.

'Hmm… he can swing that thing in a way that can cut through fire? Interesting.' Anko noted.

Kushimaru, seeing Anko intervene, quickly jumped away and placed distance between himself and Zabuza. He then quickly stabbed the floor of the room with his longsword.

"Longsword Ninja Art: Earth Spider Sewing!"

Zabuza's eyes widened: "Anko, jump!"

Both he and the Konoha jōnin jumped into the air just in time; a series of wires rocked forward from the floor and covered the entire room in a checkerboard pattern. Zabuza and Anko landed directly on top of the wires, making sure not to land on the floor in between the wires, and rushed over to each other's side. They both then turned to look at their opponents. Jinpachi had jumped over to Kushimaru's side. Both 'loyal' swordsmen were also standing on top of the wires.

"Whatever you do, do not step on the ground in between those wires." Zabuza warned the Konoha shinobi. "Unless you want your feet actually cut off."

"I figured." Anko replied with a shrug.

Before she could say anything else, Jinpachi and Kushimaru charged forward on the wires towards them. Kushimaru, being more agile, reached the two first and attempted to use Nuibari to pierce Anko's body. The Konoha shinobi quickly jumped back, making sure to stay on the wires. Kushimaru continued his offensive however and rushed her again, preparing to swing his sword again. Anko, however, stood her ground and made a singular hand sign.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Anko breathed out a massive fireball in the shape of a dragon's head just as Kushimaru was about to attack her. Kushimaru immediately stopped his attack and proceeded to jump upwards, above the dragon's head. He landed on the wire directly behind Anko. Before he could charge at her again, however, Zabuza rushed him, gripping Kubikiribōchō. He swung the blade at the opposing swordsman, but Kushimaru quickly jumped into the air again and avoided the attack.

Seeing an opening, Anko quickly made another hand sign: "Fire Style: Widespread Ruin!"

The massive, dragon-shaped fireball that Anko released proceeded to change directions and flew back towards Kushimaru. The flames moved much more rapidly. Kushimaru, unable to dodge while in the air, was quickly engulfed in the flames. He let out a hiss in pain.

Jinpachi reacted quickly by making hand signs with one of his hands. "Water Style: Rising Water Slicer!"

The floor underneath Kushimaru was destroyed as a jet of water rose from the ground underneath and completely surrounded him and the surrounding flames. The fire was extinguished immediately. The water then proceeded to evaporate, leaving the swordsman alive. His clothes, however, were burned and some of his visible skin already had scars developing.

"Dammit." Anko cursed.

"That same old trick again, bitch? Didn't you learn anything? I countered it the exact same way I did when we fought in Kibō!" Jinpachi taunted as he swung the Shibuki sword in a circular pattern around.

"I must say, it's been a while since I actually let myself get hit by an attack. I'm impressed. For a moment, I was worried." Kushimaru spoke-up with a slight chuckle. "Thank you for that. I forgot how fun it can be when an opponent actually puts up a fight worth my time." He then pointed the Nuibari longsword at Anko. "However, I must admit, I would like to hurry this up. Your little invasion is still going on and I think Jinpachi's and my presence are needed on the battlefield."

Immediately, a nearly-invisible wire shot forward from Nuibari and flew at Anko. The Konoha jōnin attempted to dodge the attack, but the wire moved fast enough to pierce her shoulder before she could move. The wire cut deeply into her skin before continuing to move until it collided with a wall, creating a hole. She winced in pain, still feeling the wire in her shoulder and feeling it cut into her. Kushimaru let out a small chuckle before he extended his longsword forward. Instantly, the wire that had pierced her body pulled Anko back. The Konoha jōnin was forcibly slammed against the wall. Instantly, the end of the wire that had pierced the wall came forward from the other side, creating another hall on the wall and piercing Anko's other shoulder in the process.

"ACK!" She hissed.

Kushimaru chuckled once again and was prepared to finish her when he noticed Zabuza charging at him again with the Kubikiribōchō.

"Jinpachi, kill her while I take out Zabuza-san." He ordered as he jumped, dodging Zabuza's strike.

Jinpachi did not have to be told twice; he immediately charged at Anko, gripping Shibuki tightly and preparing to blow her body up with his blast-sword.

Anko attempted to pull herself away from the wires that had her pinned against the wall. She channeled the fiery chakra in her flare aura in an effort to melt the wires. Just as her plan was working and the wires were starting to melt, an idea entered her head.

'Wait, I'll stay like this for a little longer. This'll help me catch him off guard.' She told herself as she stopped her attempts to melt the wires.

Jinpachi continued to charge forward at her. He was now directly in front of her and was about to slam the Shibuki blast-sword on her. With him now so close to her, Anko channeled all of the chakra around her to her mouth.

"Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Jutsu!"

Anko released a gigantic dragon-shaped fire ball from her mouth just as Jinpachi was about to swing his sword. He was too close to her to properly avoid the attack and was immediately engulfed in the flames.

"AH!" He screamed in pain.

Anko smirked, feeling triumphant, as she started to channel her chakra into melting the wires pinning her to the wall. She quickly freed herself. There was still an incredibly, stinging pain from the holes in her shoulders, but she ignored the pain. She then, realizing that she could melt the wires, immediately reached for the wires that were on the floor of the battlefield. Channeling her chakra through them, she quickly melted them away, eliminating them from the battlefield.

Her eyes moved towards Zabuza and Kushimaru. The two were, once again, fighting each other with their swords and strike at each other. Unlike their stalemate at the beginning, though, there was clear sign of a fight on both of them; Zabuza had many pierced wounds on his shoulder and his left arm from Kushimaru's Nuibari while Kushimaru had a deep cut on his side. Both swordsmen were breathing heavily as they continued in their attempts to kill the other.

She then turned her attention back to Jinpachi. While he was indeed in flames and still screaming, the man had completed a series of one-handed hand signs. Another jet of water shot forward from underneath the floor and drenched him, extinguishing the flames. With the flames gone, he glared at Anko while breathing heavily.

"That fucking hurt you bitch!" He hissed.

"That's the point." Anko rolled her eyes.

"You really love doing that thing, don't you? Just putting us on fire and hoping that we burn to death? Well, let's see how you like an old trick of mine!" Jinpachi snarled as he made a gesture, causing his blast-sword to be completely covered with explosive tags. "Explosive Blade Technique: Explosion Rain!"

Jinpachi slammed his sword into the ground, causing the explosive tags on his sword to get launched into the air and fly towards Anko at a quick rate.

"Not this time!" Anko hissed as she jumped backwards and proceed to channel her chakra into her hands. "Fire Style: Hellfire Rain!"

Anko chucked multiple large fireballs directly at the approaching explosive tags. She managed to hit a few of them, but there were too many explosive tags to destroy. The ones she wasn't able to hit were now starting to get dangerously close to her. She cursed softly to herself before continuing to jump backwards to avoid the approaching attack.

She momentarily turned her focus back to Zabuza and Kushimaru. Kushimaru had managed to get behind Zabuza and delivered a kick to his stomach. The rebel Kirigakure shinobi was sent backwards directly at Anko. She didn't have the time to react and the two of them were sent back together and collided on the ground. The explosive tags that Jinpachi had released were now surrounding the two shinobi as they were getting off the ground. They then proceeded to light up before activating, releasing a series of massive explosions that created a large cloud of dust and wood. Both Anko and Zabuza shouted in pain.

When the smoke cleared, Zabuza and Anko were breathing heavily and struggling to remain standing. Their clothes had burn marks and holes. They were also cut from the wooden debris that resulted from the explosion.

"Pretty merciless technique of yours, Jinpachi." Kushimaru mentioned.

"Hell yeah it is." Jinpachi nodded his head as a grin developed on his face. "So, you ready to end these fuckers?"

"Yes. Let's finish this." Kushimaru replied with a nod. He gripped the Nuibari longsword tightly as he turned his attention to both Anko and Zabuza. "Fair warning, but I will make this slow and painful."

Zabuza and Anko turned to face each other for a moment. They both exchanged a look with each other before they nodded and turned their attention back to the two swordsmen in front of them. Zabuza immediately swung the Kubikiribōchō sword forward at the swordsmen. Kushimaru side-stepped out of the way while Jinpachi jumped, avoiding the attack. The sword impaled itself on the wall. Anko then raised right hand at the duo. Two, large snakes rushed forward from the sleeve of her coat at the shinobi. Once again, Jinpachi and Kushimaru dodged the attack. Jinpachi proceeded to rush forward, gripping his Shibuki blast-sword tightly.

"Is that really the best you two could do?" He taunted as he lifted his sword.

Neither shinobi gave a verbal response. Anko's snakes, however, continued to move through the room. They grabbed the Kubikiribōchō sword in the wall with their mouth. Anko made a quick gesture with her right hand, causing the snakes to rush back to her with the sword. The Kubikiribōchō was now rushing back again towards Jinpachi's back at a much faster speed than Zabuza had thrown it at.

"Jinpachi-"

Kushimaru was unable to finish his words before it was too late; the Kubikiribōchō reached its target and sliced through Jinpachi. The swordsman's body was cut in half; his legs and torso fell to the ground separately. Now lifeless, his grip on the Shibuki blast-sword was nonexistent, causing it to fall to the ground.

"… Idiot." Kushimaru shook his head as he looked at his fallen comrade. 'Were you honestly not paying attention? You just fucked us both over with your mistake!'

Anko quickly tossed the Kubikiribōchō back to Zabuza. She then reached for the Shibuki blast-sword and gripped it tightly in her hands. She and Zabuza then looked at Kushimaru intently.

"Looks like the tide of this battle just changed." Zabuza declared.

"So it seems." Kushimaru sighed.

The masked-swordsman of Kirigakure was a rational man; he knew his odds of survival against both Zabuza and Anko by himself were not particularly high. He really did need Jinpachi to either fight one of them or fight with him.

Knowing that, however, caused a grin of excitement to develop behind his mask as he gripped the Nuibari longsword tightly. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting.

Kushimaru charged forward at both Anko and Zabuza, attempting to pierce through one of them with his longsword. Both shinobi side-stepped to avoid his charge. Zabuza swung the Kubikiribōchō in an attempt to cut him in half, but Kushimaru jumped in the air to avoid the attack. Seeing him airborne, Anko breathed out a large fireball from her mouth directly towards the shinobi. Kushimaru used the Nuibari to slice through the fireball, preventing it from striking him.

He landed on the ground safely. Zabuza immediately rushed him with the Kubikiribōchō. Kushimaru rolled out of the way, avoiding the attack. He then attempted to pierce Zabuza's body, but Zabuza reacted in time and used his sword to block Kushimaru's attack.

Kushimaru attempted to jump away and place some distance between himself and Zabuza, but before he could do so, two snakes charged forward from the left sleeve of Anko's coat. The snakes bit him in the shoulder, causing him to wince in pain. The snake bites injected a poison into his body, causing his motor control to weaken. The incredibly-mobile swordsman was now unable to move.

"So you wanna finish him off?" Anko questioned.

Zabuza nodded as he tightened his grip on the Kubikiribōchō.

"… Hmph. Some last stand." Kushimaru grumbled under his breath. The swordsman took a deep breath, preparing for his finishing blow, before turning his attention to Zabuza. "Zabuza-san, since you're most likely going to give the Nuibari away to some traitorous rebel, make sure to give it to a traitor that's a competent swordsman at least."

A small snort left Zabuza's mouth. "I'll make sure it goes to a true swordsman."

With those words, Zabuza swung the Kubikiribōchō and decapitated Kushimaru. His head rolled on the ground while the body fell down in its own pool of blood. With Kushimaru dead, Zabuza then reached for the Nuibari longsword.

"Mission complete." Anko declared.

"Finally, the traitors to the legacy of the Seven Swordsman are dead, and the swords can be in the hands of true Kirigakure shinobi again." He mumbled to himself.

With that thought in mind, Zabuza and Anko quickly left the room to check in on the rest of the squad and assist in routing any remaining swordsman in the building. The main targets of the mission were now dead and it was now time to continue in assisting with the invasion in anyway they could.

"Fire Style: Toad Oil Flame Bullet!"

Jiraiya breathed out a flame bullet from his mouth directly towards a Kirigakure shinobi. The shinobi, who had been covered in oil from one of Jiraiya's previous techniques, was completely engulfed in flames. He screamed in pain before falling down, dead, as his body began to slowly burn away.

With his opponent defeated, Jiraiya quickly rushed over to a rebel shinobi standing near the entrance to the village that Jiraiya had made.

"Status report." Jiraiya requested.

"Jiraiya-sama!" The rebel bowed his head in response. "The invasion is going better than expected. We've proven an incredible division and many Kirigakure shinobi have charged out here. We've done a great job with fighting them off and killing as many as we can so Mei-sama and the other three squads in the village can accomplish their missions safely."

"Do we have any estimate of the casualties on our side?" Jiraiya questioned.

"It's too early to say, Jiraiya-sama, but I would say not as many as expected. Most shinobi that have taken serious damage have already been taken to medical and are being treated. If the invasion continues at the rate it's at, though, then we can predict the number of casualties to be low for both Mei-sama's rebels and your Konoha shinobi." The rebel continued to report. "That could always change, though."

The Sannin nodded his head, accepting that answer.

"Good. Continue with the mission then-"

"Jiraiya-sama!"

Jiraiya turned his head just in time to see Aō approaching him. A grimace crept on Jiraiya's face at the sight of the man.

'Aō and a few other shinobi were assigned to stay at the rear and keep a lookout for any possible shinobi that could be approaching us. If he actually is coming to me, then he detected somebody. Yagura has reinforcements on his way, it seems.' The Sannin shook his head at the thoughts.

"Report, Aō." Jiraiya spoke to the blue-haired rebel.

"Sir, we've detected two incredibly large chakra sources nearby. They should be arriving any instant" He stated.

"How large are we talking? Have they been identified at all?" The Sannin questioned.

"At least one of them has a chakra reserve the size of Yagura's." Aō answered.

The answer caused Jiraiya's eyes to widen in shock: 'As big as Yagura's? This is bad. Very bad. Our forces are probably going to have to redirect our focus to wiping out these two'

"I actually have seen a chakra source this large before." Aō continued to speak, pulling Jiraiya out of his own thoughts. "I believe I know at least one of the two who is approaching. It's Ho-"

Before Aō could finish his words, a barrage of shuriken fell down upon the two shinobi from the air. Both shinobi noticed the oncoming attack. While Jiraiya was able to jump away in time, they came too fast for Aō to react; the blue-haired shinobi was struck in his back and his neck by multiple shuriken. The man quickly fell to the ground.

"Aō!" Jiraiya shouted.

The Sannin was about to rush over and check on Aō, but he stopped in his feet at the sound of a bird's caw. His eyes quickly scanned the air and noticed a crow flying in the sky above him.