Chapter 22: Survival and Answers

Itachi was a skilled Shinobi. He knew it, his partner knew it, and anyone back in Konoha even remotely aware of his name knew it. His life was more than a little crazy and hectic, but he only turned that into his advantage to make him a better Shinobi.

Every day, he and Kisame sparred to keep their abilities up. Their battles were fast, precise, and more than a little straining in fact. He had been known to capture Kisame in a Genjutsu using Kisame's reflection in a damned puddle.

Unfortunately, he also had a liberal curiosity that could, on more than one occasion, get him in serious trouble.

Hearing Naruto's bold claim of Susanoo had made Itachi more than eager for the upcoming fight. But Kisame was the first to react being the first attacked.

A man nearly Kisame's size, wielding a large broadsword that looked more than a little like a cleaver was actually pushing Kisame back with his initial blow. The man had short spikey black hair and his lower mouth was bandaged around his mouth and nose. He was topless save for a single leather strap crossing his chest and wore arm warmers and a pair of baggy striped pants.

Itachi was looking at Momochi Zabuza, wielder of the Kubikiribôchô.

And he had a pair of Rinnegan eyes.

"Hello Sushi." Zabuza said before spinning and kicking Kisame in the gut, having clearly surprised the other swordsmen.

"Zabuza-chan!" Kisame said cheerfully. "I thought you were dead! Looks like I get to kill you myself!" Kisame took a hard swipe at Zabuza with his own brute like strength, Samehada shredding its bandages as it clanged against Kubikiribôchô.

Hidan grinned, looking on with no small hint of blood lust, readying to throw his scythe. His exposed back was hit with four projectiles that thumped into his back and he turned to see a teen stepping from the smoke.

The teen had pale skin and white hair, with bright green eyes that held a lack of expression that could rival Itachi. He had two scarlet dots in the middle of his forehead. He wore a light lavender zip up top that was already around his waist, leaving his upper body exposed, with a pair of black pants and blue sandals.

Hidan noticed that this one too had Rinnegan eyes.

"I will be your opponent." The teen raised his hands up and fired off his fingertips, revealing it to be a Kaguya.

Hidan leapt back away from the projectiles and threw out his scythe on the cable, looking to end the teen's life, or even sacrifice him to Jashin.

Kakuzu looked on in interest as Hidan battled against the Kaguya. He had known of the boy in Orochimaru's employ, his own network of spies telling him the boy had a terminal illness that caused his death, yet he fought like a man with a new lease on life, unhindered by the disease.

Kakuzu turned to see a teen with fair skin and long black hair pulled into a bun pierced by two senbon needles. She had large eyes and a slender appearance. She also wore the standard Green pinstripe Kiri Hunter Nin outfit, Over it, she had a green haori with white trim kept closed by a brown sash. At her hip, she had the pale porcelain Hunter Mask of Kiri.

She too had Rinnegan eyes.

"I shall be your opponent Taki-san." She said in a soft melodic voice that was damned polite. She even gave a small bow. "I hope I do not disappoint you." She then put the mask on her face and opened up with a barrage of Senbon.

Kakuzu brought up his arm and felt the Senbon slam into his skin, most bouncing off but a few penetrating even through his Jutsu toughened hide.

Itachi looked all around him as the battles were raged and he glanced to the smoke cloud which finally began to disappear, violently being ripped apart from within. Itachi's eyes shifted to the Mangekyo, even if he hadn't expected to be using them against the Kyuubi Jinchûriki to be honest.

Naruto's Susanoo was impressive. It was Samurai in appearance, with four arms, it had two crossed at its waist and holding dual Katana at his waist. In one hand that was freed, it held a large long sword, the same sword Naruto held deep at the core of the Susanoo. The other arm held a mirror not unlike his Susanoo's Yata mirror. Lightning arced all around the Susanoo and it was made out of a deep water blue chakra. The helmeted head lowered in his direction, showing the Oni Mask hiding the face of the powerful creature.

Itachi calmly watched the creature before he activated his own, feeling the pressure on his eyes as performed the technique. He would need it if he had any hope.

Naruto dashed ahead, his Susanoo moving wickedly fast as he crossed the distance and slammed the sword against Itachi's own blade. Itachi was momentarily surprised as he locked Sharingan eyes with Naruto as the two colossal figures clashed blades.

With Zabuza

Zabuza had no idea what the blonde had used to bring him and Haku back to life but he liked it. He was faster, he was stronger, and he had a few new tricks that he never even thought he might have. He rolled under Kisame's blade and slashed out with his own, looking to lop off Kisame's leg.

Samehada reacted and took the blow before trying to lunge forward to maybe eat his leg. Zabuza was never sure with the sword.

Zabuza shifted his sword and deflected Samehada upwards as he rose up as well.

He swung his blade again, this time trying to take Kisame out at the waist, but the bigger man leapt back before Zabuza could build up the proper speed needed for it.

"Suiton: Suikôdan no Jutsu." Kisame swung Samehada up, blasting out a shark made of water at Zabuza.

Zabuza held his ground and took a traditional kendo stance with both hands on the hilt of his sword channeling large amounts of chakra into his blade. He inhaled briefly before stepping into his slash, cutting through the water and destabilizing its shape. He put both hands over his head, closing his eyes as he summoned up his mist silently. Kisame was the absolute worst at the Hidden Mist Technique.

Kisame clicked his teeth in annoyance before he closed his eyes, dredging up all those old memories of training for days at a time in the thick mists surrounding Kiri. It was impossible to be one of the Seven Swordsmen without the basic technique coupled with Silent Killing.

Kisame spun and blocked an overhead strike from Zabuza and slid back a little bit from the force of the blow. He clicked his teeth in annoyance again when the water clone splashed down. "You're a one trick pony!" Kisame roared out as he swung his sword at Zabuza this time, and felt some satisfaction hearing the other swordsmen grunt.

Kisame flashed through some hand signs. "Suiton: Daikôdan no Jutsu!" Kisame roared out and thrust both hands forward at Zabuza's general direction. A sharp much larger than the previous one shot out at his former colleague.

Zabuza knew he wasn't just cutting through this one. He spun his sword around in his right hand and stuck it in the ground before turning and holding out his left hand. This was the first time he had tried this in life or death combat, he just hoped it would work. His hand began to break apart, turning into panels that slid backwards along his arm, showing his wrist was a cannon-like device that began to form a ball of extremely concentrated chakra.

Zabuza knew the Daikôdan was capable of absorbing chakra, making it larger and faster. It was one of the things that made it dangerous. "Absorb this." He said as he fired the ball of chakra from the cannon. The unstable nature of the weapon ended up ripping apart and blasting open Kisame's Jutsu, making it rain down upon both of the men who then continued to clash with their swords.

Zabuza leapt back from a horizontal slash and countered with a rising slash of his own. He was momentarily surprised when Kisame caught the underside and tried pulling it close. Zabuza dug his heels into the ground and grit his teeth. "Fuck, I hate this one." He said as panels opened up at his sides and two spare arms came out, catching Samehada. Even Kisame seemed surprised by it. Zabuza brought up his hand and prepared another volley of Chakra, feeling it turn back into a cannon.

He still wasn't one hundred percent sure if he liked what the blonde did to him, but seeing Kisame's shocked look when Zabuza grew an additional two arms and caught Samehada with them, arms that refused to budge and released the sentient sword, Zabuza had to say, it was fucking worth it.

With Kimimaro

Kimimaro dodged his opponent with disdain as he continued to occasionally throw out his fingertips like miniature projectiles to keep his opponent on his toes. Still, he was unable to kill his enemy, even when one of the projectiles caught his foe right in the forehead.

He saw the berserker like swings of the Jashin worshipper to be a disgusting style.

Still, the blonde had said that if Kimimaro could kill his opponent, then he would be granted one week to go to Orochimaru. He had not expected to be left out in his field of bones for whatever wanted him. Still, his Master was likely in need of his assistance and Kimimaro could possibly prove useful for the Snake Sannin still.

He just had to kill his opponent.

He deflected a scythe slash with the bone from his arm and he proceeded to stab the silver haired Nin twice in the chest before once in the leg through the knee cap, ducking down under another slash of the scythe to do so. He twisted out of the way and moved back, launching his fingertips once more.

He already grew tired of his foe.

He would have left already for Orochimaru had it not been for that damnable blonde. That piece of trash had completely forbidden him from seeking out his Master. He had tried, even tried to kill the blonde, but some invisible force had stopped his hand every time. Kimimaro clucked his tongue in annoyance thinking about it.

Still, he just had to kill this idiot then he would be able to head for Orochimaru. Then he and Kabuto could figure out how to keep him from listening to the blonde.

Kimimaro would endure any amount of pain, so long as he did not have to serve the enemy.

Kimimaro caught the scythe once more with his bone and he kicked the Akatsuki member back, sighing in annoyance. He wasn't even worth any of his Dances. Kimimaro glanced at his shoulder and saw the trickle of blood.

Hidan was grinning like a madman. "Finally! I can sacrifice you to Jashin-sama properly you heathen!" Hidan licked along the top most blade of his scythe, licking off Kimimaro's blood. He stood in some sort of seal that activated and Hidan's skin turned black and showed his skeletal structure.

Well, Kimimaro found himself slightly interested. He had gotten stuck with the enemy that was literally a one trick pony. Why couldn't he have fought someone like Kakuzu or Kisame?

Hidan revealed a spike at the other end of the cable and he proceeded to drive it into his side, wanting to inflict as much pain into the non-believer as possible.

Kimimaro grunted and pressed his hand to his side. He pulled his hand away and saw thick wet blood from the same wound on his body as it was on Hidan. So it would seem that whatever Hidan did to himself while in that seal, it would be reflected on the individual whose blood he drank.

Kimimaro grabbed his left smallest finger and snapped it, trying something. He looked on as Hidan's own little finger snapped in a sickening direction.

"You're going to have to try better than that to hurt me!" Hidan shouted, bringing the spike up to drive into his heart.

"I already have." Kimimaro said as he jerked a bit. He watched as Hidan's eyes widened and he jerked forward as well.

Kimimaro reached up and dragged his spine from his body. He watched with satisfaction as Hidan's own spine was dragged from his body by some invisible force before the Nin crumbled forward onto the ground, unable to regrow his spine like Kimimaro could.

Kimimaro turned, about to start heading to the Land of Rice where he could find Orochimaru.

"Come back here you fucking blasphemous heathen! I gnaw your fucking kneecaps off!"

Kimimaro turned, unable to fathom how the silver haired Nin was still alive without his spine. He walked over to the silver haired Nin and dragged him out of the circle, noticing the man's body turn back to normal.

Kimimaro then drove his bone sword into the man's chest, watching as the man's arms tried to slash at him with the scythe or the spike. Unfortunately, without the vertebrae to act as support for all the nerves and synapses, it made such an action look more like he was trying to flop around on the ground.

It seemed he wasn't going to visit Orochimaru until he figured out a method to kill Hidan.

"Prepare yourself." Kimimaro said looking down at the Jashin Worshipper with a cold rage in his eyes.

"Bring it you little shitty bitch!" Hidan screamed out.

With Haku

Haku twisted around the strike from the older Nin. Her speed and footwork from years of training under Zabuza allowed for her to move backwards in time to dodge the strike. She threw out some Senbon as she moved backwards.

She saw the mist that Zabuza brought up and she dipped into it, forcing the fight more into her favor, even if Kakuzu had decades more experience than her. Haku was also unaware of what exactly Naruto had done to her to bring her back, but it at least gave her full movement of her arm after having taken Kakashi's Chidori to her chest.

Kakuzu made a small sound of annoyance. The technique on his body barely cost him any Chakra anymore, but even he was getting tired of being peppered with Senbon needles. "Katon: Zukokku" he Commanded of his Fire heart, feeling the mask pull off his back and blast the small fireball which quickly turned into a wide spread technique into the mist, quickly evaporating a lot of the water in the area. He was sure the little girl was cooked.

"Sensatsu Suishô" Kakuzu leapt back as thousands of needles made from Ice came firing at him from the mist.

"Katon: Zukokku" He called out, commanding his fire heart to blast the needles. "Fûton: Atsugai" He commanded of his wind heart which peeled off his back and blasted at the fireball, causing an engulfing firestorm.

The steam caused the mist to thicken for a bit before the sheer heat and the various fires began to cause the water to evaporate more. Still, the little girl was standing there completely unharmed.

Haku kept up with the blank façade she had used against Sasuke even though on the inside she was in awe. She had been so sure that the combination technique was going to kill her. Then she had done a most amazing thing.

She had absorbed the chakra behind the attack.

Instead of a raging inferno to deal with, she was having a warm summer's breeze brush against her. She didn't know what Naruto did to her, but she was glad to of had it. She flipped through a few hand seals, attempting a technique she had not used in many years, partially due to a lack of chakra.

Now she was flowing with it.

"Hissatsu Hyôsô!" she called out and stomped the ground just as Kisame's giant shark was blasted apart by Zabuza. From the flood of water, she commanded them into hundreds of massive ice spears that moved at Kakuzu.

"Suiton: Suijinheki!" Kakuzu pumped as much chakra as he could spare into the Water heart so that it could form an impenetrable wall of water that got peppered with the massive ice spears. "Raiton: Gian!" His lightning heart moved to flank the girl and blasted out a spear of lethal lightning at her.

She managed to dodge it entering into a mirror made of ice that she had formed without words. With a flick of her wrist, she commanded two of the spears to stab into his Lightning Heart and he grunted in pain as he felt the heart die through the Jiongu. He severed the threads to the heart and brought them back to his body.

"You know, I always wondered what would happen if I stole a Blood line user's heart." Kakuzu said as he cracked his neck to go again.

With Naruto

Naruto clashed his Susanoo's sword against Itachi's again and again. His was just a little faster, but Itachi had much more experience using the chakra construct, evident by the way it moved without him having to move with it.

Naruto used the shield to block a strike and deflect it over his Susanoo, he swept the sword out for the bottom part of Itachi's Susanoo, but the older Sharingan user leapt backwards, physically distancing them.

Naruto moved ahead once more, trying to mentally command his Susanoo to draw the other two swords at its hip, but the chakra construct refused and continued to work with just the one blade. Even still, Naruto felt something through his Susanoo and the Kusanagi.

It was like the feeling of being in the middle of a thunder storm and just feeling freedom.

Naruto clashed his sword against Itachi's Susanoo once more, examining the blade of the Susanoo as well. It seemed like it was something to be wary of, especially considering it had a Sake bottle attached to it.

Something like that happened for a reason.

Itachi felt the pressure of his eyes continuing to build, he felt the light slowly fading from them and his vision was getting fuzzier and fuzzier. He couldn't keep it up much longer. Not if he planned to battle Sasuke like he intended to.

"Impressive Naruto-kun." Itachi said as he blocked another strike. "Most impressive, but your Susanoo is not up to par. Even now, you use lightning and wind chakra to make it lighter, to make it faster. Mind is all natural."

Naruto grit his teeth in annoyance as Itachi dismantled what he was doing to improve his Susanoo.

Itachi gazed about the battlefield for a moment. "Kisame! We need to retreat; this battle has been too drawn out already! Kakuzu, grab Hidan and move while Kisame gives the distraction!" Itachi leapt away, disengaging his Susanoo as he watched as the other members of Akatsuki, veterans in their own merit, work on his orders.

Kisame disengaged from Zabuza and whistled loudly, causing Samehada to obey and expand its spikes to destroy the metal hands. It then moved over to its owner before Kisame tapped deep into the Samehada's reserves. "Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shôha!" he cried out and spit out the massive amounts of water which quickly turned into crushing waves.

Kakuzu moved quickly, grabbing Hidan and Hidan's spine before taking off, using his threads to launch himself high into the air, over the waves and behind Kisame, moving to run with the other Akatsuki pair to get out of there.

Naruto swore. "Move!" he roared out at his squad. Miraculously, the hands of his Susanoo moved away from the swords at its waist and began to circle the other hand after it put its sword on its back. He commanded the air to chill, to freeze. "Hyôton: Dai Rasen Hi Hana!" he roared out as he drove his hand forward with his Susanoo into the crushing waves.

The chakra construct violently exploded, both the massive Rasengan and the Susanoo. All the water, as impressive as it had been, that Kisame had summoned up was frozen solid into a twisted icy sculpture.

Naruto fell onto his hands and knees coughing up blood as he tried to calm himself.

"You fool!" Kyuubi screeched at him from inside his mind. "You used too much chakra! Your coils are collapsing or exploding!"

"Can you fix it?" Naruto asked as he attempted some medical Jutsu to try and help his own body along.

She snarled in his mind. "Maybe," Naruto began to feel her