Been a while, eh. I haven't had the heart to end this series, even though I've finished writing every chapter (though I may tweak some of the coming chapters). At any rate, this is one of the last chapters to come, so prepare yourselves for the final act of the 6th Great Ninja War. Hopefully it will be finished in time enough for me to unveil my latest project before Christmas.
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The 6th Great Ninja War
Chapter XXXVIII- Fanfare for the Burning Soul
Chapter XXXVIII- Fanfare for the Burning Soul
IN KIRABI’S THRONE ROOM JUST PRIOR
Roku looked to Ragnaroc decisively after thinking for a few seconds.
Roku: I have a plan……Hiruzen! Come here!
Akira brought Hiruzen to Roku, allowing Roku to inform Hiruzen of his plan. Akira and Caliburn looked to each other for a moment before nodding, affirming the other’s silent question. Kirabi looked on with intrigue, not lifting a finger to deliver the first strike to his opposition. Roku stood up, facing Kirabi with a sober look.
Roku: Bisha is fighting hard as well. We cannot afford to miss an opportunity…he’s counting on us. Hit him with everything you’ve got…
Akira drew the first fire, opening with Lightning Illusion: Flash of Lightning Pillar. His body released a tremendous amount of light that blinded Kirabi for a moment, catching him off guard temporarily. When Kirabi could open his eyes, he noticed several surprisingly large tendrils of sparkling blue and white energy closing in on him from all sides, further impeding his vision.
Madara: Storm Release: Laser Circus!
Kirabi lifted his staff slightly above the ground and then slammed it to the ground again, activating an invisible barrier around him that caused the Laser Circus to disintegrate upon contact some 5 meters from Kirabi. He looked rather unimpressed at Madara, but before Kirabi could say a word, he noticed Caliburn striking swiftly behind him with a low crescent-shaped swipe.
Kirabi: I suspected as much…
Kirabi reactively stopped Caliburn’s strike with his staff, his overwhelming power providing him with a defense that made it impossible for Caliburn to push through. Kirabi immediately parried Caliburn’s strike, redirecting Caliburn’s angle of striking by one hundred and twenty degrees, and he spun his staff vertically, the resulting spin causing the bulb of the staff to smack Caliburn on the head several times. Kirabi abruptly stopped the spinning staff and tightened his grip, changing the orientation of the angle of his attack to a horizontal strike across Caliburn’s face, knocking him to the ground violently. As Caliburn struggled to lift himself from the ground, blood dripping from his mouth, Kirabi sent him crashing into the wall almost a hundred meters from him with an invisible, gravity-based attack. He then turned his attention back to Roku, Madara, and Ragnaroc, still apathetic and rapidly losing interest.
Caliburn: I’m alright!!! Oww!!!
Ragnaroc: He sure loves to counter-attack.
Roku: That’s fine. We’ll capitalize on that penchant.
Kirabi: Enough whispering!
Kirabi held his arm out to his side and brought it to his other side with a sweeping motion, prompting Roku’s group to take a defensive stance. To their surprise, however, no attack occurred. In front of Kirabi, instead, where he had made the arc with his hand appeared series of very sharp needles that seemed to be made entirely of white and blue chakra and lightning.
Madara: That’s…Storm Release! O_O
Kirabi: Sharp as a lightning bolt, Madara.
Kirabi pointed his finger, and near instantaneously, Madara’s flesh was pierced by three needles. He had not even turned his head down to look at the wounds when three more needles pierced above the others, just two inches above his abdomen. Kirabi continued to point his finger, now only sending single needles, albeit in rapid succession, after the others, and Madara was powerless to stop the onslaught as he was continually skewered by the storm needles, Kirabi taking much pleasure in Madara’s suffering. Kirabi continued his assault gleefully, but as he did, he noticed a whirlwind surrounding him rapidly. The wind swirled until he could hardly see past several feet in front of him, and because of the whirlwind, his storm release needles could not reach Madara. As Kirabi reached to clear the whirlwind with a gesture, a torrent of blazing golden flames rolled over Kirabi, immersing him completely as the stream of fire flowed directly into him. The flames swirled in the direction of the wind, and the heat was such that a certain dry wind of scorching heat instantaneously spread across the room, causing the walls of the palace to crack and the ground to turn to ash. The flames, however, quickly dissolved into natural reddish orange flames, and their initial effect was quickly alleviated. Ragnaroc and Roku landed from above, having aimed their respective techniques at Kirabi. Madara’s pierced body stood idle, but when the body began to lose color, the real Madara came out from the back of the body, as though the two were mostly merged, almost as he were shedding. Madara emerged, injured and burned but not mutilated as heavily as the lifeless shell he left behind. Roku and Ragnaroc watched closely as they finished their attacks.
Madara: Did you get him?
Ragnaroc: Of course not…
When the flames cleared, Kirabi could be seen glaring at the trio. He was completely unfazed by the attack, and his impenetrable shield still persisted, naturally. He gripped his staff as he looked rather unpleasantly at the Sages.
Kirabi: …is that all you’ve got?
Roku: Far from it.
Ragnaroc: Roku, are you guys set yet?
Kirabi: With what?
To the trio’s surprise, Kirabi was standing immediately behind them. They were dumbfounded, too much to even turn, at how he could get behind them without them so much as noticing his presence until he spoke. Madara and Roku stumbled back, catching themselves before falling, while Ragnaroc reacted sharply, quickly turning to strike Kirabi. As he did, Roku noticed Kirabi attempting to activate the shield, but when he did, the shield activated around both Kirabi and Ragnaroc, effectively enclosing the two within the barrier. Roku’s eyes widened, and before he lost himself in thought, he rushed hand seals with Madara to assist Ragnaroc.
Ragnaroc: Fist of the Lynx!
As Ragnaroc rapidly thrust his palm into Kirabi’s abdomen, he felt his strike connect, and a mass of air blew behind Kirabi, shattering part of the ground through sheer force. Kirabi stumbled, as if injured, but he then looked to Ragnaroc with a serious look on his face and removed his hand from his abdomen. He was unaffected—merely staggered momentarily.
Kirabi: This really is all you’ve got…how unsightly.
Kirabi knocked Ragnaroc aside with the back of his hand, sending him violently crashing into the wall almost one hundred meters away. Kirabi looked un-amused at the general performance of his opponents, but he was impressed by his own power. Akira rushed to help Ragnaroc, and Kirabi noticed him and prepared to strike, but Roku spoke, much to Kirabi’s intrigue.
Roku: Let me ask you something, Kirabi.
Kirabi: Very well, seeing as how your last minutes are upon you.
Roku: What will this war accomplish? I know you are an imitation of the original Kirabi—a man growing up with the identity of his predecessor for the sake of being the Cloud Village’s lapdog—a jinchurikki not by your own choice. It must have been hard living in the shadow of another, forced to bear his identity and discard your own—having your legacy taken from you in order to prolong someone else's. So…why did you do all of this? Was it to make the world recognize who you truly are?
Kirabi: (chuckles) No………simply…I wish to restore balance to the Shinobi World.
Roku: Balance…I see………Let’s go, Hiruzen……Sun Fire Mode.
Roku’s eyes glowed bright golden and he gained a golden yellow and orange aura around his body. For what purpose he did this, neither Hiruzen nor Kirabi knew. Roku signaled to Madara.
Madara: Ninpou: Kumogakure no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Hidden Cloud Technique)
Roku put some distance between himself and Kirabi, moving toward Hiruzen now, and Kirabi looked fairly uninterested. The thick fog emerged around the room, nay, the entire palace, and shrouded everyone in a screen of obscurity. Kirabi could not see well, but he could sense the presence of the group. He stood, not wanting to exert himself, in wait. Roku threw up a single hand seal and prepared his move, and Kirabi sensed Roku’s chakra building up.
Roku: (Thinks to self: This will be the end of it) Kage Bunshin no Jutsu! (Shadow Clone Technique)
A huge cloud of thick, white smoke engulfed Roku and Hiruzen, and once it cleared, four new figures dispersed into the fog. Hiruzen smirked as he held a specially-shaped kunai and prepared it. The fog began to clear very rapidly, as though Madara had purposefully let it do so. Kirabi could now pretty clearly see Roku directly ahead of him. Roku was smirking, as though he had something planned. Kirabi frowned at him and motioned Roku toward him. Roku obliged, and he began a slow sprint ahead. Hiruzen aimed his kunai and threw directly it at Roku with blinding speed as he shouted to get Roku’s attention. One of Roku’s clones caught the kunai, covering the handle with his palm as he brought the kunai to an aimed stance with his right hand on his left side before flinging it at the Roku directly in the line of sight of Kirabi. Roku caught the kunai and gripped the handle, surprised for a moment but satisfied.
Roku: (Thinks to Self: I see…Nice, Hiruzen!) Alright Kirabi! Just try and dodge this!
Roku hurled the kunai at Kirabi, and it sliced through the air blindingly, but just as it approached Kirabi within a split second, the kunai stopped in between Kirabi’s fingers just before the weapon cut in between his eyes.
Hiruzen: He…he caught it?
Roku: That works for me. Madara!
Madara nodded and formed a hand seal, and again, the fog thickened and the room became clouded heavily. Kirabi spun the kunai about and threw it to the ground next to his feet, as if to mark his territory. Kirabi focused, looking about him, noticing that the clones of Roku were masking their presence, but he could still sense them slightly. As he felt a passing wind, Kirabi swung his staff in one direction, wiping away a portion of the heavy clouds and catching Roku in a net of stone. Kirabi raised his hand and Roku’s veins began to pop and his skin twisted. Immediately, however, he disappeared and turned to smoke; it was a clone. Kirabi chuckled confidently.
Kirabi: This little run-around isn’t going to help you. Once I get a feel for your masked presence, I will be able to sense you regardless of what you do to hide your chakra signature.
Roku’s Voice: Is that so?
Kirabi: Four left…I don’t sense one nearby. That must be him in hiding…very well then.
Kirabi felt a presence just two meters from him, and he instinctively reacted by swinging his staff around in a sweeping motion and smacking the presence, which turned out to be Roku, with the bulb of the staff, which enveloped Roku in purple flames and shot him into the wall like a beam, completely incinerating him. What was left of Roku dispersed into white smoke, much to Kirabi’s chagrin.
Kirabi: I suspected another clone…three left. Time to end this.
Again, Kirabi heard Roku’s voice within the fog, unable to pinpoint his location
Roku’s Voice: How can you be sure…can you catch the real one?
Kirabi: How naïve of you. You made one elementary mistake.
As Kirabi said this, the fog in front of him cleared and Roku leaped ahead valiantly, carrying in his right hand a highly compressed spiraling sphere made of pure water, ready to throw his attack at Kirabi; however, Kirabi simply stood, as though he was about to take the attack head on.
Kirabi: Trying to flood my entire palace with that technique, are you? It’s a shame……you aren’t the real one.
Roku looked surprised, and his attack was delayed when Kirabi immediately turned behind him and noted another Roku, moving swiftly but silently and about to cleave Kirabi in two with a blade of water. Kirabi promptly thrust the pointed end of the Staff of the Ancients into Roku’s heart, and he stopped. Roku was shocked, unable to yet feel the pain that would soon follow. The clone stopped in his tracks and stood, fazed completely. Kirabi smirked and brought Roku closer to him, allowing the two to look face to face. Roku coughed up blood onto Kirabi’s face, but Kirabi did not flinch nor did his smug demeanor change.
Hiruzen: ROKU-SAN!!!
Madara: Roku!!
Kirabi: You are the real one…
Roku: D…dammit.
Kirabi: The Shadow Clone technique. As excellent for confrontational combat as it is for a diversion. Your purpose was the latter. The fog was to help mask your presence, so I had to rely on my other heightened senses. The first two clones were just tests. You, see, you made one crucial mistake. The chakra between the clones is meant to be evenly distributed, but you failed to even do that. Right now, you have slightly more chakra than the remaining two clones. And you thought I wouldn’t notice. I am disappointed…that someone of your caliber would make such an elementary mistake. To prove my point…if I injure you…
Kirabi tightened his grip on the staff and wrenched it deeper in Roku’s torso, causing him to groan in pain.
Kirabi: Your clones should disperse.
Surely enough, the clone behind Kirabi disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving just Kirabi and Roku.
Kirabi: So my assessment of the situation was exactly on point, as expected. So much for your master plan. Did you really think you could dupe me with such a simple tactic?
Roku mumbled as he flinched, feeling the pain of his wound, which luckily did not pierce his heart completely. But at that moment, Roku was being kept alive only by the energy of the staff and his powerful life force. Kirabi brought Roku closer and spoke into his ear.
Kirabi: Fare thee well, Grand Master Kiyoshi.
Roku struggled to breathe, but he slowly inched his lips toward Kirabi’s ear and tried, trembling, to speak. He gripped the staff, which was still lodged in his chest, with his free hand.
Roku: ……….
Kirabi: What? (smirks)
Roku: …Wrong
Kirabi: Huh?
Kirabi looked confused for a moment, and suddenly, Roku turned to smoke, too, and the smoke spurted directly in Kirabi’s face, masking his vision completely and disorienting him slightly. At that exact moment, a hand reached out from underground, next to Kirabi, and grabbed Kirabi’s ankle firmly. It was Roku’s hand. Kirabi thought to himself in disbelief.
Kirabi: (To Self: Impossible. He distributed his chakra unevenly on purpose to make me believe that the clone was really him…)
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Roku’s voice echoed throughout the room, and Hiruzen clenched his fist in a victorious gesture.
Roku’s Voice: Kiyoshi Art: Grand Explosion
Kirabi’s leg suddenly ruptured partially, as much of the tissue and blood in his foot expanded rapidly, causing his leg to become covered in blood. Kirabi reacted quickly, just as he was about to stumble from loss of balance, and he jabbed the pointed end of the staff into Roku’s hand violently, sending a surge of black lightning through the ground. This time, however, to Kirabi’s astonishment, it was another clone. As Kirabi lost his footing, his head fell naturally forward, and though he tried to stand, as he looked to the ground beneath him, he was immediately stunned as, in that instant before he could comprehend exactly what was occurring, the kunai that he had thrown to the ground transformed into Roku, who delivered an uppercut punch, his fist engulfed in sun fire. Kirabi was hit, and Roku’s punch so managed to disorient Kirabi as to have his head thrown back. In a last effort to protect himself, Kirabi activated the 360 degree shield around him, but Roku smirked as he did and reached to grab Kirabi by the hair with his left hand and hold his right hand out, palm up and spread at an angle. A small crescent of solar-colored flames formed in Roku’s right hand and began to brew. The shield was up, certainly, but now, both Roku and Kirabi were inside of the shield. Roku activated his technique, and a huge mass of sun fire enveloped the entirety of the inside of the impenetrable sphere, searing Kirabi in a torrent of agonizing flames. Roku persisted, and as the first torrent of sun fire ended, leaving naught but sparks and ozone within the dome, he produced another torrent from his palm. The amount of heat and light energy was blindingly intense, and Akira, Madara, and Hiruzen all had to squint to see vaguely what was happening within the sphere. The heat was spreading throughout the room, and rouge flames seemed to slip through the shield, which was weakening with Kirabi’s grip. Hiruzen just barely dodged one thin stream of a flame which razed the ground next to him and turned it to ash. The air in the room became dry and void of moisture. Roku continued his onslaught, not relenting for a moment as he continually fried Kirabi. While Kirabi was regenerating from near incineration each time, his rate of recovery was slowing. Kirabi at once was able to let out a cry of pain once another surge of flames ended, but Roku gripped his hair even tighter and prepared another volley.
Kirabi: GAAAAHHHHH!!! (To Self: He transformed himself into the kunai that was thrown…but when?)
Roku: “Not yet!” (Mada Mada!)
From Roku’s palm, again, another burst of flames erupted and again covered the inside of the sphere in an intense blaze. Kirabi’s bodily defense could not hold up against the onslaught, and he felt his trachea drying and turning to ash as he continually tried to scream in agony. The on looking members of the team were appalled and astonished at Roku’s burning spirit, and they cheered him on as he continued to deliver fatal blows to Kirabi which would have killed any man several times over had it not been for Kirabi’s granted powers. Once the next assault ended, Roku prepared yet another, and Kirabi, in desperation, released all of his energy at once.
Kirabi: ENOUGH!!!!!
Roku was sent flying back by a burst of energy originating from Kirabi’s own chakra and the staff, and the ground beneath him flew out accordingly, leaving Kirabi standing in a deep crater. Roku rolled on the ground as he was sent crashing away, but he was quickly caught by Ragnaroc, who looked to him and nodded with assurance.
Ragnaroc: Now that’s more like it.
Kirabi, in frenzy, let out a savage wail that sounded throughout the entire village. Madara stepped back, and Hiruzen formed the tiger seal as Roku rushed past him and stopped short of Kirabi by a few meters. Kirabi was prepared to retaliate with the full force of his power, and he drew his arm back, charging a dark purple mass of energy in his hand.
Kirabi: Die, fools! Die!
Kirabi’s attack, as he proceeded to launch it, suddenly dissolved and vanished from his hand. Several glowing white tendrils of light energy and chakra began to surround him and they rapidly constricted about Kirabi’s body, binding him and removing the staff from his direct grip. Kirabi struggled, confused, but he could not escape. He looked around him and spotted, on his leg, a paper seal from which the tendrils of chakra originated.
Kirabi: This chakra…A seal?! But…when did they…(eyes widen) Of course…then…
Kirabi remembered Hiruzen throwing the kunai and Roku’s clone catching it before throwing it off to the foremost clone and then to Kirabi. Kirabi then remembered Roku’s clone from underground gripping his ankle. Kirabi looked to Roku with stark realization.
Kirabi: From the beginning. He somehow removed the paper seal from the handle of the kunai and managed to place it on my leg when he tricked me earlier. Yes…from the very beginning, this was what he wanted to happen……but how can a mere mortal…(glares at Roku). This old fool…outsmarted me.
Roku: You relied too much on the power of that staff. Your arrogance was more costly that you anticipated, Kirabi! Ace!! Watch carefully. This is how this technique…
Roku gripped his right arm, and it surged with misty blue chakra.
Roku: …is properly used!
Roku rushed toward Kirabi with his hand held out, still gripped by his left hand. He leaped and thrust his palm into Kirabi’s face, covering it completely and producing a bright white light.
Roku: Corruption of the Mind and Soul!
Kirabi’s look of amazement froze, as did Roku’s look of ferocity. Both Kirabi’s and Roku’s visions blurred and they saw the surreal scene fade to white. After a moment of silence, Roku saw himself standing in an endless, pure white space. He could see in the distance the silhouette of a man. Believing he knew the identity of the man, Roku rushed to him anxiously. The man’s back was turned, and he was hunched over, as though completely unaware of his surroundings. When Roku reached him, he gasped. The man was slightly tall, fair-skinned, and had loose dark blue dark. He was clothed in a pale yellow kimono and a blue obi, and he wore zori without socks. He looked disoriented, as though he wasn’t exactly asleep but he was unable to properly perceive his environment. Roku grabbed him and shook him eagerly.
Roku: Mizutoki! Mizutoki!! Wake up!
Mizutoki stood, still in a state of unresponsiveness. Roku continued to shake him, frantically so. Mizutoki’s eyes stayed half-shut, but when Roku finally punched him in the face, Mizutoki’s eyes widened and he fell to the ground of the white space. Mizutoki rose, slowly, trying to obtain balance as he attempted to stand as though he had not done so for years. He looked at Roku with uncertainty and the two exchanged gazes for several seconds.
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Roku: M…Mizutoki?
Mizutoki: ……Roku…my…my friend.
Roku smiled, overwhelmed with joy and cheer as he looked upon his longtime friend who he had not seen for what seemed to be an eternity. Mizutoki looked dazed, but his eyes soon widened and he had awakened. His body was still tired, and he felt exhaustion. He looked emaciated and pale, but his awakening seemed to restore some color to his skin.
Mizutoki: You……came…for me?
Roku: Of course! I’m here to bring you back.
Mizutoki’s look became regretful and he turned to his side while addressing Roku.
Mizutoki: …I can never go back…Roku…I’m dead.
Roku: ………that’s right, isn’t it…………
Roku looked off into the white space above him and looked back to Mizutoki again, smiling and brimming with delight.
Mizutoki: …huh?
Roku: You’re lucky…………Mizu…you’re no longer subject to Kirabi’s control…
Mizutoki: …so earlier…what I felt…you really did beat him?
Roku: …well, not yet…I can only do so much against the staff’s power with this technique. But you’re free.
Mizutoki: ……I see……I’m glad (smiles)
Roku: (smiles back) Mizu……remember when we first met?
Mizutoki laughed softly. He remembered a very young Roku charging at him with several kunai. One of Roku’s older teammates lay against a tree stump, defeated, and Mizutoki prepared an attack against Roku with the tiger seal.
Mizutoki: We tried to kill each other.
Roku: Who would have thought we would end up such good friends.
Roku saw an image of himself and Mizutoki smiling together with each other’s arm around the other’s shoulder. They were smiling as three other ninja, a younger Ragnaroc, Madara, and Bishamon, stood behind them. Mizutoki shed a tear and his bodily image became more ethereal and he began to glow slightly. Mizutoki looked at his hands and sighed before looking up above him to the great white beyond.
Mizutoki: Hmm…I think it’s time for me to go.
Roku: Yeah…so it seems.
Mizutoki: Roku…thank you for being my friend.
Roku: ……yeah
Mizutoki: ……Roku…
Roku: …yeah?
Mizutoki: ………win.
Roku: …………yeah, I will……farewell, old friend. We’ll meet again…I promise.
Mizutoki smiled and closed his eyes as he began to fade. Roku shed several tears and promptly wiped them on his sleeve. He looked above as he watched Mizutoki rise into the great beyond, returning home. The scene began to fade to white, and Roku then saw himself gripping Kirabi’s face again, and he let go, allowing Kirabi to stumble back. The rest of Roku’s team looked on, astonished, and Roku gripped his right arm. Roku looked at Kirabi and noticed that his power was waning rapidly. His glow disappeared, and the air of power about him faded. His hair drooped over his face and was now messy. Roku smirked and clenched his right fist.
Kirabi: *pant* *pant* Mizutoki……I cannot feel him…what....what did you do?!
Roku: (smirks) Nothing…Mizutoki just went home.
END OF CHAPTER
