Capítulo 68: The Dark Horse
Kaname was woken up by a light kick to the face, she couldn't feel her right arm, with a grumble she opened her eyes. Anko was hugging her arm with her head resting comfortably on Kaname's palm, the snake-mistress legs were wrapped around her appendage, with one of the feet resting on Kaname's cheek.
"I see you woke up Kana-chan"
"*Yawn* Hi Paku-chan"
"So? Did it help? I noticed you were having more fun than both of us"
"Yeah, well, that was an unconventional way for lightening my mood. Thanks"
"*Pft*" Pakura snorted with a laugh, "Oh, Kana-chan, the unconventional one was you, five clones? Damn girl…"
"Yeah, I would hate to miss such an occasion-"
"*Purr~*" both of them heard the sound of their third sleeping companion.
"The heck? Are you a snake or a cat? Wake up and let me get the feeling in my arm back!" Kaname tried to tussle her arm out.
"*Nyaa~* More…" Anko murmured feeling Kaname's arm moving around her body.
"Hahaha, I think we broke her Kana-chan. Have fun with liberating yourself, I will prepare something to eat"
"HEY! Don't just leave Paku-chan, help me!"
"...Nah" and with crushing her hopes the green-haired girl left the tent.
Ten minutes and small electrocuting of a sleeping kunoichi later, Kaname's arm was free.
"That was mean Kana-chan…"
"No complaining Snake-pecker"
"Guh! No, it did not happen! It was just a dream!" Anko was in complete denial.
"Oh, it did happen Anko-chan"
"Nooo! Just, how am I going to look into the eyes of my summons?!"
Leaving the tent the girls noticed Pakura boiling some rice over the campfire.
"Mornin' Snake-pecker!" the woman greeted with a smile on her face.
"... Damnit"
"Hahaha" Pakura laughed loudly, "Let's change the topic. Kana-chan, so what is your plan of action? Even I know that everything across the border is lawless. We will have a constant supply of highwaymen flooding the border, without any sign of our targets."
"We will hunt down bandit camps one after the other on the Fire Country side, Anko-chan will personally interrogate our unlucky prisoners for any information of Shisui-kun's attackers"
"There is only three of us, how will we- Ah! Your shadow clones? How many can you spawn for reconnaissance purposes?"
"It depends Paku-chan, if you're both up for my plan of dealing with the rabble I'm able to create ten clones"
"Hmm, what did you think of this time?"
"Seals Anko-chan, lots and lots of seals" the Uchiha replied with an ominous smile on her face.
In two days Kaname compiled a list of nearby bandit camps, scouting them out in the following days, the trio was ready to take action against the most urgent threats.
"Kana-chan, bandit at two o'clock" Pakura reported.
"Thanks, I will deal with him" taking cover on the tree branches, Kaname noticed a man to her right taking a piss. Using her hand she loudly rustled one of the branches, the last thing the man saw while looking up was a pair of red eyes.
"Done, got him in a genjutsu"
"You said that this camp has a bunch of villagers in it Kana-chan?" Anko asked.
"Yes, I saw a group of kids and women with cuffs on their hands. That's the only reason we did not flatten this encampment of human traffickers already"
"Should we use this guy to lead the prisoners out?"
"No, it would cause an alarm" Pakura replied.
"That's true, I will order him to show us in which tent they're holding the prisoners. Paku-chan, you're the most experienced of us can I leave this job to you? I and Anko will attack from both sides simultaneously. Just give us a signal when you're out of the encampment"
" Kana-chan, do you want only to neutralize the threat or are we going for the kill?"
"The rapists and scoundrels don't receive a second chance in my books. Anko-chan, interrogate the man, he will not lie to you, I made sure of that"
"Eh? Pity, you took away the pleasure of breaking him…"
A moment later Anko finished her job, letting the man go back to the camp, she walked towards her companions.
"He did not know anything about our targets. I got something else, did you know they were going to attack a closeby settlement this night Kana-chan?"
"Nope, from the treetops I noticed that they were preparing for something. Good Job! Now, Paku-chan, take your time, if you have to take the civilians out one after the other then do so. I don't want to have any collateral damage with the villagers"
"Will do!" Pakura shunshined away.
"Hmm, you look sexy ordering us around Kana-chan"
"Get your head out of the gutter. Here are some seals, put them around the camp on the treeline, don't let them see you" Kaname passed her black-haired friend a deck of fifty seals.
"What are those?"
"Four arrayed seals, the first array collects the humidity out of the air, the second one stores it-"
"Okay! You lost me at the 'four arrayed', whatever. You want me to place and activate them?"
"Yep, that would be swell Anko-chan"
Because of the landscape filled with rivers and waterfalls around them, the seals easily collected humidity. No long after Pakura sent a small red orb above the trees, the bandit camp was damp with water reaching everyone's ankles.
"They are looking for us Kana-chan, should we attack them normally?"
"Here you go, the last seal. Activate it and move back Anko-chan"
"Will it go boom?"
"Maybe next time I will prepare something for you Anko-chan."
"Boooo…" Anko took the piece of paper into her hand, placed it on the ground, and prodded it with her chakra activating it. In the corner of her eye, she saw that the last-placed seal started shining brightly, looking between the trees, Anko noticed two other seals glowing as well.
"You should take a step back Anko-chan" Kaname proposed jumping as far as possible.
"Ugh!" Anko followed her, "What was this seal? It seems you are worried it could blow up in our faces"
"Well… It was a relay, 3...2...1"
Anko heard the crackling of electricity coming from behind their backs, a short moment later she heard the sound of instantly evaporating water in high quantities, only for the seals to push out another torrent of water and repeating the process of electrocuting their enemies.
"...It works! Hahaha" Kaname laughed out.
*Crackle-crackle*
"Baka! It was overkill!"
"Oh, don't worry about the bandits, they suffered, at least for a moment"
"*Sigh* What now? I'm not going near those damp death traps. They're still releasing electricity"
"To answer your previous question, the last seal was a relay, it guided all those seals to activate their fourth array, which contains <Raiton: Jibashi> (Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder), and looping the process back to the third array. It should lose its power in a minute or two… probably"
"The heck was that Kana-chan!?" Pakura joined with them.
"Help me Nee-sama, she is a mad scientist!" Anko hid behind the woman with crocodile tears in her eyes.
"*Sigh* Okay, can anyone explain to me what happened and how did the two of you eliminate a battalion of bandits in an instant?"
"Hey! It was Anko-chan's doing, I only gave her some paper slips!"
*Bonk*
"Okay-okay, Paku-chan" Kaname massaged the back of her head, "I tested if I can recreate one of the Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limit) with the seals. Combining water with lightning should create a Storm Release, but it seems I failed"
"*Sigh*... Couldn't you test it in Konoha Kana-chan?"
"Like, recreating the Explosion Jutsus in the middle of it?"
"Okay, I didn't think of that. Just, keep me informed. I want to get the first seat when you lose your freaking hand experimenting with something you do not fully understand…"
"Hehe, just you wait, Paku-chan. For the next encampment, I prepared the experiment for the recreation of Lava Release"
"...What could possibly go wrong…"
Eight hours later the trio was jumping and dodging around the front of the second ruined camp.
"Hey, Kana-chan, just a small question"
"Hahaha, I'm listening, Paku-chan."
"Is the fucking volcano you created gonna stop spewing lava anytime soon?"
"Yes? You know how those pesky volcanoes are, sooner or later they all go to sleep. At least it's a small one"
"*Growl* Once we stop dodging those flaming balls of basalt, I'm taking the dibs on kicking your arse"
"In my defense, I did not expect that creating a chamber deep under the earth and pulling all the heat I could, would open the freaking gates of hell. I'm sorry."
"*Sigh*... I just can't be mad at you, Kana-chan"
"Then," Kaname started.
"Still I want to kick your arse today!"
The following month was spend on clearing of the entire north from the bandits plaguing the land, at one of the last now hidden bandit's camp, Anko heard a rumor about a group of ninja, that were hunting down Konoha's stray "dogs", the group was camping north of the border with Otogakure.
"So? Should we quit? We can't exactly cross the border without repercussions" Green-haired woman asked.
"Nah, it's just across the border Paku-chan. I say we finish this once and for all"
"Yeah, I'm up for it as well!" Anko gave her support.
"Okay, but send a report to the Hokage, he should at least know we crossed the border"
Sending a message with one of her butterflies, Kaname turned back to her friends, "I know I shouldn't, but I need to ask. I have one more seal to test, I will limit the *boom* part to the minimum, I want to test the non-lethal part of it the most, I promise"
"Okay. Just what is it this time Kana-chan? Are you erasing the Moon?"
"Eh? How did you-" Kaname replied mortified, "Just joking, it's something a lot harder than that"
"Wait, what?!" Anko loudly shouted out.
-------------------------
Late evening Kaname walked alone into the forest on the other side of the Valley of the End, soon her trek was interrupted by a dense fog.
'If this is not a trap, then I do not know what could it be… It should work against Sharingan at the least' she thought, calmly entering deeper into the forest.
'Not bad, I barely see the tip of my nose. I could just blow the fog out, but meh, the experiment takes precedence. Hmm?' Kaname heard a rustling of the leaves in front and to the right of her position.
"Heh, so you have come" she spoke loudly to the invisible enemies.
The next moment she felt a cold blade put near her windpipe, "Yep, that's Anbu level speed" Kaname calmly replied, a small nick of a blade drew a drop of her blood causing the round murmurs of her enemies.
'That's one…' she counted.
"You're surrounded, give up sens- Uchiha" emotionless voice commanded behind her back.
"This voice… Fu Yamanaka-kun? I thought you had died. *Sigh* You can still call me sensei Fu-kun"
"I was saved, give up now Uchiha! We both know you're not a clone" Auburn haired Yamanaka ordered pressing the blade below her larynx.
"Ah! So that's why you knew most of Shisui-kun's tricks, you were his classmate and a friend… You know that I could still easily get through all of you, traitors, don't you Fu-kun?"
"We are not traitors, Konoha cowardly pushed its greatest benefactor to his retreat, and you sensei were the biggest-"
"I give up!" Kaname answered rising both of her hands up, ending his rant.
"... I did not expect that out of you Uchiha. Terai, blindfold, and bind. Do it better this time, Danzo-sama wouldn't forgive us if we let her go. Once we secure our target, pull of the fog, I do not sense anyone else coming" Fu called out to his comrades.
Kaname heard a pair of feet coming from her left, someone hardly pulled her hands behind her back and very tightly bound them with thick ragged rope. "Ouch! Be careful asshole, I'm just a woman, I have delicate skin. I advise you to watch out what you are doing" she shouted out, 'That's two? It works as intended?'
When her eyes got covered by some kind of cloth, she heard a kid's comment coming from the left of her, "Delicate skin? Bullshit, she has the thickest skin of them all!". Activating her Sharingan to look through the fabric, she gazed towards a cat masked child close to fourteen years of age with silver hair and a short ponytail.
'Hmm, I remember that voice and hair, but from where? Four ninjas with Anbu levels of chakra and couple more hidden behind the bushes barely above jōnin. With the right attitude and good preparation they had a chance to catch Shisui-kun'
The man called Terai started pushing her towards their would-be camp. "Did your mother not teach you that you should treat a lady like a flower, you moron? That's my last warning" Kaname declared angrily.
"This time you are done Uchiha," her late student marched behind them, "You were making too much noise south, we knew you were coming"
"Ah you know me sooo much Fu-kun, my entire life is just one big dose of overconfidence and incompetence"
"Everyone stop!" the auburn-haired Yamanaka ordered loudly, "*Sigh* What have you done this time sensei?"
"There is not enough time Fu, she is our primary target, Danzo-sama requested us to extract her eyes as soon as possible. Don't listen to her rambling, she is only buying herself time!" Terai replied hitting Kaname's to the back of her head with his hand.
----------------
Twenty kilometers (~12 mi) down south the trio were calmly eating the supper.
"Oh, my clone popped" Kaname replied.
"How many times?"
"The seal took over the damage of two to three hits Anko-chan"
*KABOOM*
At this exact moment, their camp was shuddered by a shockwave coming from the loudest explosion each one of them ever heard.
"Kana-chan… You were to limit it!"
"I did! I mean, it shouldn't kill anyone standing too far from the clone"
"*Sigh* Dumb it down a little for us and explain" Pakura requested.
"Hmm, what is the most dangerous in an explosion excluding the heat?"
"What do you mean Kana-chan? Explosions are always like *Fwoosh*" Anko gesticulated picturing the flames with her hands.
"Hmm, do you mean the shockwave?"
"Yeah, you are close Paku-chan, the shockwave is created by a drastic change of pressure, it kills more people then, as Anko-chan called it, the *Fwoosh*. Instead of losing the power on creating the flames like with a normal explosion seal, my array released only the pressure. I limited it to below ten percent of power, so it should not change the landscape too much. We should go, I reckon that some of them may have survived."
Running towards the last known position of her clone, they soon stumbled across twelve men on the ground screaming from pain, a steady stream of blood was coming out of their earlobes. Quickly ending their suffering the trio walked further north.
"Yeah, it's good you toned it down a little Kana-chan…" Pakura commented on the sight.
"Well-well Kana-chan, I did not know you could paint the forest with somebody. That's a first"
"Damnit!" the man that hit her clone and was the closest to the explosion simply evaporated, leaving behind gruesome blood-red markings across part of the forest.
"Oh, it's a hand!" Anko picked up an amputated hand that still held a tanto blade.
"Hmm, it is Fu-kun's? Anko-chan can you look for a body of auburn-haired Root and silver-haired kid?"
"Sure"
"Kana-chan!" Pakura shouted out, "I found something!"
"Yes?"
"You said that there were four Anbus here? Excluding the one you smeared I found only two other bodies with an Anbu tattoo on their shoulders"
"Did any of them had his arm torn off, or had auburn hair Paku-chan?"
"No"
'Wow, good job Fu-kun, you stood just behind Terai, maybe he inadvertently shielded you with his body' she thought, "I understand, continue"
"The rest of our targets had these weird tattoos on their bodies resembling the three tomoes of Sharin-"
"Kana-chan! They are Orochimaru's goons!" Anko yelled out.
"Ah! One more piece of the puzzle. Anko-chan have you found the corpses I asked you to?"
"Nope, we have some tenacious bastards on the loose, should we hunt them down?"
"Nah, they're disabled from any further combat, at least for a time. We need to report to Jiji as soon as possible, the news about the alliance between two of Konoha's sworn enemies is much more important"
Turning around the trio made their way back to Konoha. They saw the walls of Hidden Village the next day at sunrise.
"What is this sound?" Anko asked.
"Hmm, it seems like a cheering crowd to me"
"Isn't it the time for Chūnin Exams? It seems we're a little late" Pakure replied.
"*Woof*" they were met with a happy, but rather rushed border collie waving her tail.
"Hami-chan? What are you doing here?"
Hamimaru walked towards Kaname and lightly pushed her towards Konoha.
"You want me to follow you?" Kaname guessed.
"*Woof*!"
"*Sigh* Okay girls, It seems I'm needed somewhere, can you report everything to Jiji?"
"Sure, just don't get into too much trouble this time Kana-chan" Pakura replied with a smile.
"Ciao~!" Anko waved her hand.
Soon Kaname understood they were heading to the hospital. Walking up to the second floor, Hamimaru stopped near one of the rooms.
"*Woof*"
"Hmm, okay? Thanks Hami-chan?" she petted the dog and opened the doors. The first thing she noticed was a pair of *beeps* signaling the heartbeats from two persons hidden under the white beddings. Looking closer she recognized the sleeping faces of Torune and Koji. Pulling her eyes up she saw the mortified face of Kakashi.
"Oh, Kana-chan, ehm… Shouldn't you come back in a week or so?"
"Hehe, Doofus-kun, are you ready for some divine punishment?" Kaname's smile promised him a lot of pain.
"Wait! It's important! I think I heard an old lady shouting for some help!" Kakashi jumped towards the opened window.
"Not so fast!" Kaname caught his outstretched leg, making the silver-haired man faceplant the frame of the window
"Guh! That hurt, Kana-chan…" Kakashi answered massaging his nose.
"Hehehe, you do not know anything about pain, but not for long…" Kaname answered cracking her knuckles standing above him.
"Okay, stop that Little Butterfly. I felt your bloodlust from the ground floor, you're scaring the patients" Sachi admonished her, "It wasn't Kakashi-chan's fault, your students just fought against the dark horse of this tournament, no one expected someone like that coming to Konoha"
"*Sigh* We will talk later Doofus-kun, prepare yourself"
"*Gulp*"
"Mom, What about Izumi-chan?" Kaname asked.
"At the moment she is probably fighting in semifinals, but if she wins, she will most likely end up here as well because of the kid I spoke of. *Sigh* That stupid child sends each of her opponent with at least a dozen broken bones…"
"Hmm, interesting. Not so fast, Doofus-kun" Kaname pulled Kakashi by his collar before he sneaked out of the room, "You're an Anbu Captain, I'm willing to let you off if you scare up some tickets for the tournament"
"Like now? All seats are already taken already Kana-chan"
"Hmm? Okay, I will ask for help from Guy-kun, we will spar against you 2 on 1 for three days straight. Your call"
"Damn. That's a cheap shot Kana-chan… I will see what can I do"
Five minutes later a civilian was escorted by an Anbu squad out of the stadium, with the alleged money laundering. Taking the empty spot Kaname sat down, down below she just noticed Izumi happily walking off the arena, Genma was commanding the iryōnin to take the limping underdog out to the hospital.
"It's time for the second semifinals!" Genma shouted out, "Iruka Umino from Konohagakure, and Hermione from Amegakure!"
[AN: If you did not yet understand, it's our reincarnator. He is just having fun here…]
With Sharingan active Kaname closely observed the long-bushy-haired girl close to twelvish years of age, her face was snorting at her opponent. The very notable thing was an oversized dangerous-looking gauntlet on her left arm, it was made of red-plate armor, two yellow appendages, and some kind of deep-green crystal in the middle of the hand. The second thing she noticed were the girl's eyes, her irises were glowing purple, the first thing Kaname thought of was Rinnegan, but the purplish color did not cover the girl's white sclera.
'Is it Henge?... No, I do not feel an ounce of chakra coming from her. Hmm interesting, I'm sorry Iruka-kun, you will have to feel some pain for me to understand what is going on'
"I repeat once again, no killing, you stop the fight once I order you to" Genma ordered, mainly to the girl, receiving only the nod from Iruka, he walked back, and shouted, "Begin!"
Kaname felt a spike of chakra coming from the girl, at this moment Iruka jumped away hurling a couple of kunais with attached explosion seals towards his opponent. An unknown force squashed Iruka, creating a deep crater with him in the middle, just then Kaname noticed a long straight stick in the girl's right hand, it was made of dark wood with a smooth shaft and a handle of two conjoined spheres. With a flick of Hermione's hand, all the kunais were redirected away from her. Iruka was squashed by another attack deepening the crater he was in.
Kaname heard the murmur of discontent coming from the civilians sitting near her.
"As always, the girl doesn't have any finesse in her attacks, every single fight she ends it the same way…" One of them said.
Then another attack hit, 'Hmm?' Kaname noticed a regularity in the attacks, '...4...5' when she counted to five Iruka was smashed again.
"Stop the fight!" Genma ordered.
'...and 5' the girl finished with the last hit on Iruka, 'A beginner? There is a cooldown to her attacks, instead of making your enemy guess, the kid attacks every time she can reusing her single overpowered ability… Brawns for brains type maybe?'
Kaname observed as the girl from Amegakure walk towards the unconscious body of Iruka and spat on him, creating another round of murmurs around the stadium.
Genma rushed to Iruka, calling another group of medics, he walked out of the hole, "You're not a Chūnin material, but that's only my opinion" Kaname read the words coming from his lips.
"Not like I care for your appraisal, you are hardly a secondary character. Now, bring me my last opponent" the bushy-haired girl replied.
"*Sigh* You are insane, little lady." Genma whispered, with louder voice he announced, "Time for the finals, Hermione from Amegakure will fight against Izumi Uchiha from Konoha!"
With Hermione back turned to her, she could only read the lips of Izumi, "She is not here" her student replied, "You will need to get through me first bitch!".
"Begin!" Genma shouted out retreating to the side.
As before Kaname felt a spike of chakra coming from the purple-eyed girl, the next moment Izumi's body was shot towards the ground, the impact created a cloud of dust and a deep crater.
"Hahaha!" Hermione laughed loudly, "a little girl thinks she is some kind of hotshot?!". Five seconds later another attack was sent clearing the dust and deepening the crater, "Wha-? Where is she?!" the girl from Ame shouted to the air.
Izumi jumped out of the ground right behind Hermione delivering a bone-braking kick to the girl's side disabling her armored hand.
"Grah! You bitch… <Shinra Tensei>!" [tl. Almighty Push] the girl replied by attacking from the point-blank, only for Izumi's clone to pop out in a cloud of smoke.
'Heh, so Izumi-chan copied the Shadow Clone Jutsu from me. Good for her'
"*Growl*, I fought against gods, you ninjas are too weak to compete against me!" With a swish of her stick, Hermione created a colorless orb around her, just in time before the ground beneath her feet exploded in a storm of fire. Izumi sent her opponent flying, being sent out of the arena bounds should qualify as a knockout.
To everyone's amazement, Hermione sprouted out twelve white-bird like wings behind her back and slowly drifted back towards the ground. Izumi attacked sending another ball of fire, but it only has flown around the protecting orb.
[AN: I doubt there was a concept of devils and angels in Naruto world :-P]
"Every single time I find someone to throw a wrench in my plans … I see chakra does not work, so let me use something else" Hermione aimed her stick towards Izumi, flicking her hand, she shouted "Die you bitch! §є¢ṫцṁšєṁþяå!"
[AN: I tried to use characters that you can read almost normally this time, if you do not feel like deciphering it says "Sectumsempra" - a rather nasty curse of HP universe, that can cut down and kill a person]
'Shit! It's the language that Shinigami is using. No-no-no...' Kaname flickered down to the area, but she was too slow, Izumi was sent flying. A bloody blade-like gash, starting from the side of Izumi's face all the way to her right lung was seeping wet with her blood, that soon started to color the ground red around her body.
"*Gurgle*" Izumi was drowning in her own blood.
"Stop the fight!" Genma shouted out, only to be pushed towards the ground.
"Still alive? §є¢ṫцṁšєṁþяå!" Hermione sent another attack, but this time it got stopped by a massive ribcage with a red flaming aura.
"I believe that's enough Hermione-chan" Kaname kneeled next to Izumi with her hand lighted up with green healing chakra.
"Sen-...-sei, I *gurgle* sorry…"
"*Shh* Don't speak, I'm here Izumi-chan. Everything will be alright"
"At last we meet Kaname Uchiha" Hermione greeted bowing mockingly.
"Not sure what did you want to accomplish killing a young-. Wait, what's wrong with your face? It's… boiling?"
Hermione touched her face, it now had grown bulges that were increasing in size and quantity, "Fucking bookworm and her potions! Even after her death she still defies me!" the girl, that started growing taller, angrily shouted out, "That was fun, we will meet again soon" with a swish of her right hand she disappeared from sight.
"Damnit! First things first" Kaname turned all her attention to her bleeding out student.
REFLEXIONES DE LOS CREADORES 
dahnik
dahnik Wow, 4,4k words in this chapter. I had to make this chapter a little more interesting, that's why I made the reincarnator show up ヽ(｀Д´)⊃━☆ﾟ. * . If you do not understand why he became a woman, then the answer is in Harry Potter lore - there is a potion called Polyjuice Potion that lets you transform into someone else. I'm not exactly happy at how I portrayed him, I wanted to make him an overconfident lazy asshole, not just a cruel s.o.b :-P
Well, what's done is done :-) I'm always open for your ideas, there is always more, that I can put into the story :-) Waiting for your comments and PS - yes, they do work already, thank you all for turning my attention to this problem! :-) Next week I will let the story "move forward", a time skip is before us :-).
If you found any mistakes please inform me :-) I don't like mistakes :-)