SHIMMERING MIST: HATAKE SI Chapter 27 (Patreon)
Content
Chapter 27
HIRUZEN SARUTOBI
The Third Hokage of Konoha struggled back to his feet as he found himself surrounded by a rather familiar technique. A reddish skeletal structure appeared around him, stopping the attack from the Third Raikage.
“Are you fine, Lord Third?” he heard the familiar voice of Fugaku Uchiha as the Uchiha patriarch appeared behind him in a blur, his eyes glowing an eerie red as blood dripped from his face.
“Kukh. Kukh! Yes, I am,” he reassured the man as he winced in pain. The attack from Ay had left more damaged than he had expected.
“ARGH!” the Third Raikage shouted, and then suddenly he was forced to look up.
CRACK!
He stilled as he heard the sound of cracking, and looked up to find, the skeletal rib cracking as the lightning cloak around Ay, began to crackle loudly as black lightning arched over his body.
“Impossible,” he mouthed as he saw, the Susanoo beginning to crack. Fugaku by his side frowned as well and closed on his eyes and Hiruzen felt him gather a lot of chakra, as he suddenly mouthed.
“Amaterasu!” though suddenly he heard another shout.
“Ninpo: Rubber Style: Rubber Wall!” and suddenly, a wall of brownish rubber appeared infront of Ay, and was lit up by the Black cursed flames of Amaterasu.
“Ay sama, I bring news!” he heard this newcomer shout. It was a middle-aged shinobi, with one of his eyes covered by a seal, and with the special rubber style he had used, he could only be one person.
Though them another shinobi appeard right beside him, his body covered in a familiar lightning cloak. Blood caked his bdoy, as this young shinobi looked at the third Raikage with a concerned gaze He wore the headband of Kumo and had the same coloring as Third Raikage.
“Pops, your arm!” he heard the man shout, and his guess was right. This was supposedly the next Raikage, Ay’s son.
“Dodai! What are you doing here?” Ay questioned hiss second in command gruffly.
“Sir, Iwa has failed to provide back up. Our forces are suffering great losses. This is unsustainable, we have to pull back,” and he saw the young shinobi to his side nod.
“Yes, you are injured, me and Dodai can cover the retreat….” But before he could finish, Hiruzen was surprised when he saw the Third Raikage’s chakra shift suddenly as his cloak expanded and began to turn into a darker hue.
“NO!” the man said, his cloak now completely black, the very ground beneath his feet cracked as he stepped froward towards him and Fugaku who had recovered some of his chakra.
“Dodai! Have the men retreat!” and he saw his second in command’s eyes widen as he realized the implication behind those words.
“I shall cover your retreat myself!”
“But Pops!” the younger man tried to speak up, knowing what the consequences of this would be. However, the second in command was quick to intervene.
“As you command, Lord Third!”
And he saw Ay glance back at the young man who had become quiet, and their eyes met as the Third gave him a small nod before he turned to face him and gave a massive smirk.
“Come Hiruzen. Let me show you the true might of a Kage!”
BOOOM! CRACKLE! CRACKLE!
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OHASHI HATAKE
BOOOM!
Ohashi jumped back as he felt a massive chakra entity appear infront of him, crashing the buildings around them. The massive chakra entity endured his attack and used the massive sword to cut through the smoke.
And as he landed on the ground once more, he saw exactly what Jiraiya-san had summoned. And as he had expected, it was Gamabunta.
“Amegakure! It has been some time since you were last here. So, tell me who is that we are going to fight, Jiraiya,” the massive toad grumbled as his eyes narrowed onto him.
“I believe you are looking at him,” the Toad sage answered, and Ohashi looked straight into the massive toad’s eyes as he noticed that it wasn’t just the massive toad he had summoned.
“That chakra! It feels ominous…,” muttered Gamabunta as he reached for his sword.
No, atop the massive red-colored toad, with a massive smoke pipe in his mouth, stood the Toad sage. Two smaller toads, one green and the other purple, were present on his shoulders. He had summoned them and was looking at him in an imposing way. It seemed like the man wasn’t taking this lightly, and while Ohashi was confident enough in being able to take him down, if he were to use senjutsu, then the fight could become troublesome.
“It is good that you are taking this seriously,” Ohashi began as he pushed his own chakra through his coils, cycling through a set of handseals in a flash as he put his hand on the ground.
“For it wouldn’t be any fun now, would it? Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu,” and the water shifted below him before he was lifted off the ground. A massive torrent of water gushed out of the ground coiling around itself, as several massive dragons made of water appeared.
He pushed his chakra and had them attack the summon, as the dragon with him on top rushed towards the toad sage, who quickly made handseals.
“Katon: Fire Ball Jutsu!” and spewed out a massive torrent of flame. Ohashi pushed chakra into his feet, and as the area was dyed in a thick torrent of mist as the fireball collided with the water dragon.
SHISH!
He clamped down on his chakra and vanished into the mist before he suddenly appeared at the toad sage’s feet, whose eyes widened as he saw him appear infront of him.
“Shit!” the man shouted, and as Ohashi was about to attack the man, he suddenly felt the vapors in the air shift. It was his own sensing technique he had established using the vapors in the air to keep a dynamic field around him to use as a sensing range. In this area around him, it was nearly impossible to catch him off guard. So, he moved to the side, and suddenly, the ground below him broke, and he smirked as he heard the sage mutter.
“Impossible!” he heard the toad sage mutter as he turned and kicked the man in the gut.
“ARGHH!” the man shouted, and his guess was right. That was senjutsu.
“YOU PEST!” the massive toad below him grumbled as the water dragons coiled around him. It sliced through a dragon, but the other tightened around him. And as he jumped towards Jiraiya, the massive toad swung its sword towards him, and Ohashi clicked his teeth and somersaulted in the air, and kicked off of the massive sword, cycling through a set of handseals.
He his hand, as a massive amount of water began to coalesce into his hand, condensing down into a small ball. He chewed his lips, and he felt the drain on his chakra as a literal of water was condensed into his hand, in the form of a ball. As he pushed forward his hand, a small blue orb, containing nearly enough water to fill in a massive lake, was at the palm of his hand. The massive toad was smart enough to realize the danger he was in.
“Shit!” it cursed as it tried to jump away, but the dragons wrapped around it stopped it from moving. Its summoner was quick to come to his aide, as a massive fireball rushed towards him from where he had sent the man flying, though Ohashi didn’t stop, as a water clone appeared out of his back and put itself between the fireball, and him.
“Gamabuntaa!” he heard Jiraiya scream, though the massive road could do nothing as he pushed forward his hand and slowly muttered the name of his technique.
“Suiton: Chi no Kozuki!” (Flood of Blood)
And just as the orb hit the massive toad, the whole area was flooded with a torrent of water.
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JIRAIYA-The Toad Sage
BOOOM!
Jiriaya’s eyes widened as he saw the area infront of him getting devastated by a massive flood. He felt the clear sign of his summon vanishing as he jumped up on a rooftop as the whole area was flooded. The whole area was still filled with thick mist.
“That technique!” Fukusaku-sama muttered in a shaky tone, and Jiraiya understood the implication. That last jutsu had taken him by surprise, for he could tell in an instant which technique it was based on. His opponent had dodged the senjutsu attack, something that very few shinobi had ever managed to do. Yet how had he known about the attack from Lors Fukusaku? This propensity of knowing things he shouldn’t remind him of certain shinobi he had helped train.
“Yes, I see it too,” the technique reminded him of Minato’s signature technique, a technique which he had taken two years to establish. He himself knew just how difficult it had been to develop that technique. Yet somehow, this opponent infront of him hadn’t just deconstructed but had nature chakra to it as well.
His eyes narrowed as he saw that sole figure appear out of the flood, and despite being submerged in water, he was completely dry. That mastery over suiton and that fighting style reminded him of a certain grey-haired monster of their own. And with each passing second, he could see more and more resemblances between them.
Yet the coloring of his hair was different, and Jiraiya couldn’t confirm his suspicion unless he got a full look at the man’s face. And so, there was only one way for him to confirm his suspicion.
“Pa, how much more time before we can use that,” he asked, and the aged sage master narrowed his eyes as he replied.
“Just a little longer, however, let me warn you, Jiraiya boy,” spoke the senjutsu master in an ominous tone.
“Even after using senjutsu, if we were to face this man infront of us, I cannot say with certainty, that we would be victorious,” Jiraiya stilled as he heard those words and let his senses expand, becoming as serious as he could as he let all the years and years of experience run through him, as he nodded slowly.
“I understand, but I need to do this,” he said in a grave tone as his opponent vanished in the glimmer of smoke as the mist around him thickened. Jiraiya looked around and suddenly ducked as he felt a kick pass just where his head had been.
Then, suddenly, he jumped to the side, as another kick passed by his side, and then before he could jump, a punch hit him in the gut, and he grunted in pain as he gripped the arm of his attacker.
“Katon: Flash Burn!” and his hand grew red hot; however, his opponent’s arm suddenly dissolved into water, and he frowned once more at the use of this technique, knowing just how difficult it was to use such a technique.
The fact that his eyes were covered up by that mask made it difficult for Jiraiya to predict his attacks, yet his opponent didn’t have that trouble and had even managed to dodge senjutsu attacks from Pa and Ma, continuously much to his surprise.
He dodged another attack as both of them engaged in a taijutsu brawl, and his opponent was fast. With his focus divided, Jiraiya was getting pushed back, yet as they traded more and more blows, he didn’t miss how he found the taijutsu style so similar.
Though every shinobi’s taijutsu was different, they were mostly based on another established style. His opponent's style reminded him of a style that belonged to one of Konoha’s founding clans.
The interceptor style of The Uchiha clan was a style based on the use of quick multiple blows supposed to dismantle an opponent in a systemic manner. And as another punch landed on his shoulder, pushing him back, Jiraiya was sure that his opponent’s style was based on that very same style.
“Suiton: Water Mantis,” he heard his opponent mutter, and suddenly, Jiraiya was forced to jump back as water-natured chakra coalesced onto his arms, glowing eerily blue.
“Now!” he heard Lord Fukusaku shout, and he jumped back, as he felt his bodies morphology shift as he found himself coming into balance with the nature around him. As the blue mantis fang was about to strike him, he smirked as he felt his senses expand as a sense of calm took over him.
CRUNCH!
The chakra claws were crushed by his nature chakra-infused body, as he gripped his opponent’s hand, and felt his whole chakra still as his opponent saw the markings appear on his face.
“Now why don’t you show me what you are hiding under that mask of yours!” he shouted as he struck a blow in the man’s face. Pulling off his mask, Jiraiya stilled as he saw what lay underneath.
His opponent was quick to react, and his body dissolved into water as he quickly jumped back, as half of his mask fell down. His opponent stood up, one of his eyes visible, and Jiraiya frowned as he saw the all too familiar red glow in that eye, along with the special pattern inscribed into it.
It was a doujutsu that had no place here in Amegakure, nor did it have any place belonging to the person standing infront of him.
That red eye with a pattern inscribed into it. The signature doujutsu of the Uchiha, a kinjutsu, a secret known only to a select few.
“The Mangekyo Sharingan, how do you possess that eye?” Jiraiya asked as his mind tried to race to figure out the identity of his opponent.
“I should have expected nothing less from the infamous Toad Sage. It has been quite some time since I have fought with a sage,” and Jiraiya frowned. This implied that his opponent had fought with a sage before, and as far as he was aware, he was only the second shinobi ever to master the art.
“Of course, that was years ago. Though I believe he was in a different league than you,” his opponent continued, making him frown.
“Just who are you?” Jiraiya asked and saw his opponent smirk as he began to cycle through as et of handseals.
“Perhaps this will jog your memory,” his opponent spoke as he pushed his hand onto the ground.
“Summoning Jutsu,” and Jiraiya stilled just exactly as he saw what his opponent had summoned. It was a weapon that had long gone out of fashion because of its sheer difficulty of use. The symbol of the infamous Uchiha clan, a weapon that belonged to perhaps one of the greatest shinobi to grace these lands.
It was a long gunbai, painted in black and white with three tomoe inscribed on the end in black ink. It was the gunbai of Madara Uchiha.
“Let’s end this,” he heard his opponent whisper as blood began to drip from his Sharingan, and then suddenly, before he could react, he was right infront of him. Somehow, he had managed to evade the sensing capabilities of his Senjutsu.
As he tried to punch at him, his opponent suddenly moved away even before he had launched the attack, and he grunted in pain as he felt the gunbai hit him in the side.
“ARGH!” he grunted in pain, even his nature chakra-enhanced body unable to take a hit from one of the legendary weapons of the sage.
He was sent rolling onto the ground, and then before he could react, the grey-haired bastard was infront of him once again, his Sharingan spinning ominously as blood dripped from his chin. They both engaged in a short taijutsu brawl, with his opponent continuously predicting his moves, moving before he had even begun the attack.
And as he tried to retaliate, pushing chakra into his hair as he swiped at the opponent, who again was quick to react and jumped back while waving through a set of handseals, his hands a mere blur.
“Suiton: Water Dragon Jutsu,” and several water dragons appeared out of the ground, making him grit his teeth as he saw them rushing towards him.
“Jiraiya boy!” Lord Fukusaku warned him as he continued to keep his nature chakra in balance with his own chakra.
“I got it,” Jiraiya answered as he held one of his wrists and pushed chakra into it, as an eery blue orb of chakra began to appear in his hand.
He pulled back, and just as the water dragons were about to hit him, he pushed forward his hand,
“Rasengan!”
BOOOM!
0000
Back in Konoha, Tsunade Senju sat in her office working, a sense of unease continuously unsettled, making it difficult for her to focus on the work. Suddenly, an ANBU appeared in her office and uttered the fated words.
“Hokage-sama. It’s Jiraiya-sama!”
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