Chapter 35

Fuck, they completely caught us off guard!

"Get back to the town!" I shouted, weaving through hand seals.

'Earth Release: Earth Wall Jutsu.'

The wall rose, blocking off any potential attacks. I looked back at Naruko, her body shaking in fear as she looked down at the fallen man.

Tazuna. He had taken the hit in Naruko's stead after pushing her out of the way. Upon closer inspection of the wound, I realized the attack was a powerful wind bullet. Judging by where it had hit Tazuna, it likely would have taken her head.

"Naruko!" I shouted, her head snapping to me, tears budding in the corners of her eyes. It melted my heart to see her like this, but we were under attack. She couldn't just stand there idly, there was shit that needed to be done! "You and Satsuki bring Tazuna back to the town. Protect the people there!"

Satsuki, whose emotions were still in check nodded. She made a clone that carefully picked up Tazuna who was bleeding out. He had been hit in the chest, luckily it had been the upper right side, but his life was still in danger. Judging by the amount of blood pouring out, he likely had a hole in his organs, a lung if I had to guess.

…That didn't bode well for him.

The real Satsuki dragged Naruko along, all while ushering the townsfolk back to safety.

"Damn, I missed. That sucks."

Our heads snapped up to see a dark-skinned shinobi with black, shaggy hair tied into a ponytail and black eyes standing on the earth wall. His most distinguishing features were his six arms and the black markings that were spread over his body.

My body shook at the implications of Kidomaru being here. Orochimaru had sent him, but why? Why now?

Moments later four more people landed on the wall. A girl with red hair and three men. The first of the men was burly with orange hair, and another one had light blue hair with a conjoined twin on his back. The last was the one who had me on guard. The man had white hair and two red markings on his face.

The Sound Five.

"How the fuck did you miss? We gave you a ton of our chakra!" The light blue-haired man asked angrily.

"Well, it's not like my fucking aim was off! That old fuck just happened to push the chakra bitch out of the way!" Kidomaru snarled back.

Chakra bitch? Is that what he calls jinchuriki? Or did he not know about Naruko? If the latter is the case, did he just attack the person with the largest amount of chakra?

"I can already tell I'm not gonna like you bastards much." Anko sneered, her eyes glazing over the abnormalities in Kidomaru and the blue-haired guy.

"The feelings mutual bitch." The orange-haired man curled his fists in anger. I think his name was Jirobo or some shit.

"So, why did you sound shinobi attacked us?" Yamato-sensei asked, his expression and voice completely calm.

"None of your business." The red-haired woman, Tayuya frowned.

Well then if it was like that, we would get nowhere talking.

'Come.' I mentally ordered and moments later my wood golem burst out from under the water where it had been waiting for us.

With a flex of my finger, the wood dragon launched towards the earth wall, the sound four and Kimimaro jumping away to avoid the explosion.

I needed to end this shit quickly before the man who sent them decided to make an appearance. There was no way in hell Orochimaru believed they would be able to beat me along with the Jonin. I frowned when the smoke cleared to reveal they were still standing. I had sensed as much, but it fucking sucked seeing it.

"Strong," Kimimaro remarked. "Perhaps you do have as much use as you were claimed to."

Fuck this guy.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" The wood golem bellowed, launching itself onto the mainland and moving towards them at incredible speeds.

"Fascinating." An unfamiliar voice declared from the forest in front of us. I sent a ping of sensory chakra so that I could feel his chakra and knew that victory was impossible. The massive reserves of chakra completely surpass any Jonin I've faced thus far and rival a kage.

A large explosion ensued and as the smoke cleared, a massive snake could be seen. It launched itself towards the wood golem, wrapping itself around it and immobilizing it. I continued controlling the golem, trying my best to break it out from the snake's powerful constricting body.

"You're everything I expected you to be and so much more." The voice spoke again, this time stepping out of the forest and revealing himself.

The Snake Sannin, Orochimaru.

Why the fuck was he here so early!? He wasn't supposed to make an appearance until the chunin exams in three months…

He had wanted to attack Konoha as well as steal Sasuke's body in canon, but attacking now would make that an impossibility. Why would he give away that he's the leader of the Sound Village and attack us here and now?

Well, judging by his words, he wanted me, as for why, I had several guesses, and none of them were good for me.

"Brat, get lost," Anko ordered, and I looked at her like she had lost her mind.

"What are you talking about, I'm not some weak-"

"Exactly, you're not some weak genin, you're much more important than that. It would be a massive loss to the village if you died here, and even worse if you got captured." She explained, looking at me with a seriousness I had never seen on her.

"You can't win, you need me here!" I insisted. Ebisu and Anko were both tokubetsu jonin and Kakashi was still exhausted. Yamato-sensei was the only one who could carry his weight against Orochimaru.

And I didn't like his odds in that fight.

"Anko's right. We can't let you go down here. If Orochimaru gets his hands on you, there is no telling what he may do." Kakashi stepped forward and gave me a light push backward. "You're in over your head if you think you'll be able to take him on as you are now."

He was one to fucking talk! I shook my head, unwilling to leave. I had taken a soldier pill this morning. I had the chakra necessary to fight. I knew I stood no chance against someone like Orochimaru, but leaving all of them to their deaths was something I couldn't do.

"No, I'm not going anywhere and you can't make me," I said with finality.

"Good, I would have been so disappointed if you decided to turn tail and run. I never like chasing down my prey." A slithery grin split Orochimaru's lips. I couldn't stop my body from shivering. The killing intent he was leaking was getting to me. My knees shook beneath me. I had to force myself to take steady breaths.

How the fuck did he even know that I was here!? We killed all of the mercenaries, so there's no way one managed to escape and end up telling him or some shit like that. I knew the details of our mission wouldn't travel so fast after a single day.

Which means someone in the village who had access to our mission details told him. Fucking Danzo!

I started infusing my chakra with my right hand and opened my left palm. Within it, a mass of wood gathered and shifted until it shaped into the form of a bird.

The bird didn't waste time, taking to the skies and heading back towards Konoha. We couldn't win alone. We needed backup.

I saw Orochimaru's eyes snap to it. I wouldn't allow him to shoot down our lifeline.

'Water Release: Water Bullet.' A blast of pressurized water was launched out of my mouth, heading towards Orochimaru. I could feel him moving chakra throughout his body and into his arm as he reached forward-

…And slapped the jutsu out of existence like it was nothing.

That display of power alone sent me into a cold sweat. Water release was my most powerful ninjutsu outside my Wood Release, and he disregarded it so easily. My eyes looked over to Anko, who was grasping at her neck tightly. She was starting to get affected by his presence through her curse mark, and the fight hadn't even started yet.

If my bird didn't hurry up, we were fucked.

"Shall we begin our clash?" Orochimaru asked, his sound shinobi adopting fighting stances behind him. I watched as their curse marks activated. First, the black inky tomoe spread around their bodies before they evolved into completely different forms. The amount of chakra each of them possessed was impressive but still beatable. The only one who raised red flags in my eyes besides Orochimaru was Kimimaro.

The sharp bones that shifted their way out of his flesh with gruesome crunches made me more queasy than I'd like to admit.

The Jonin beside me also adopted fighting stances. They drew their kunai and prepared for battle.

"Alright, brat. If you're staying, you leave Orochimaru to us. Take care of the others." Anko ordered. I damn near gasped at the stupidity in her words.

Oh yeah, Lei, we don't want you to die, but if you want to stay and fight, handle the five shinobi with curse marks. Sounds like a great fucking idea!

"Get that look off your face. You know she didn't mean alone." Kakashi walked forward, slightly in front of me. "I think I can handle this much."

His exhaustion still bothered him, but he took out a soldier pill and swallowed it. I could feel his chakra burst with renewed vigor. He reached for his headband and pulled it up to reveal his Sharingansharingan.

I also prepared for the battle. 'Wood Release: Wood Clone Jutsu.'

Three clones grew out of my back and landed beside us. One clone for each of the other members.

Silence held firm on the battlefield as no one moved. The struggle of my wood golem against the snake Orochimaru had summoned was still going on, but no one dared take their eyes off of their opponents.

Ebisu, Anko, and Yamato-sensei glared at Orochimaru who smirked back at them with his long slimy tongue sticking out of his mouth.

Kakashi stared down Kimimaro, and I stared down Kidomaru. My clones warily eyed the others.

*BOOM*

Wood roots burst out of the ground where Orochimaru was standing, directed by Yamato-sensei. The snake sannin jumped away to avoid the attack, but that was our cue to commence the battle.

I rushed forward towards Kidomaru. The man in his second stage of the curse mark pulled his bow from his back and aimed a large arrow at me before releasing it. With my speed, I easily maneuver around it, closing the distance and engaging in hand-to-hand combat.

He was fast, but not as fast as me. I landed several hits to his body, though he blocked any hits I aimed at his face before jumping into the trees. I chased after him. I knew he wanted to lure me into the forest so that he could have the advantage with his spider bullshit and superior mobility, but I didn't have the luxury of avoiding this fight.

If I didn't go, he would take his time sending arrows at Kakashi and the others.

As I clashed my kunai against his bow, I hoped they would all handle their fights and come out alive. That Tazuna would live. That Naruko and Satsuki stayed alive.