'Normal Speech'
'Thoughts'
'Bijuu/Summons/Gamer/Techniques'
'Bijuu/Summons/Thoughts/Techniques'
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, The Gamer, or any series for that matter. If I did the last thing I would do is write fanfiction for your amusement. I am also way too lazy to come up with new creative and funny disclaimers to post on every chapter, so I'll be copying this one and pasting it on every chapter. I've got better things to do with my...
(P.S. Did you guys know I like fanfiction?)
Chapter 29
I snapped open my eyes and cracked a few joints in my neck before I sat up from my meditation. After rotating my shoulder a few times, I henged into my Anbu gear without the mask and looked down to my legs to see Levia asleep while coiled up like a spring.
After meeting Mei, the next couple of days had been relatively peaceful. Every once in a while, I would find the occasional shinobi spying my way which now didn't surprise me. Usually, I couldn't care less as long as they made no moves. It wasn't like I had done anything noteworthy in the past few days anyway. However, those who showed large amounts of hostility while spying on me…I made sure to remove any physical traces of them from this planet. This usually applied to Iwagakure shinobi and, surprisingly, some small shinobi villages such as Amegakure, and even Kusa…Were they all so jealous of my looks? Or was my bounty really that enticing? Maybe they were promised something from Iwa considering that two of them bordered that country.
Breaking from my train of thoughts, I gently ran my finger across Levia's scales, rousing her from her sleep. "Let's go."
She flicked her tongue and wrapped up around my arm before resting her head in my shoulder.
Since a few days ago, I had simply been in meditation. The primary reason was just to pass time since I had nothing better to, though secondarily, I was trying not to focus on the image, (that had been imprinted in my mind thanks to Eidetic Memory) of Mei's fine a-
"god fucking dammit."
hiss
I rolled my eye. "Yeah yeah, language."
With that failure, I stood up from the couch and in my energy & emotion radar, I sensed that Kabuto and Itachi had already been roused from sleep and were more or less ready. I had no idea where Orochimaru had disappeared off to since he hadn't come back last night. It wasn't like he actually needed to be here anyway, so I didn't really care much.
In a few moments, Itachi and Kabuto were prepared and ready to go, so we all flickered to a featureless building somewhere near the edge of Sunagakure. We were immediately greeted with a bustle of activity from the numerous genin (and not so genin) teams of the various villages, big and small.
It didn't take long for our group of 3 to enter the building where we were immediately greeted by a desk manned by a few Suna shinobi, each one having a line that led to them. We got in line and waited for a moment until it was our turn.
"Name and affiliation." The desk man asked disinterestedly without even looking up from his paper. It seemed like he was already tired of doing this shit.
"Kabuto, Itachi, Yorudan."
He paused and looked me in the eye before his expression flashed for a brief moment-one which I captured thanks to Empathy. "Team 10." Saying so, he handed me a small circular metal emblem with the kanji for the number 10 (十) inscribed on it. "Keep this on you at all times. If you lose it, you'll be disqualified."
Using Magnet Release, I twirled it on my finger for a moment before gripping it tightly. "Thank you."
He nodded and gestured behind him. "Past those doors and to the backyard."
Keeping the emblem safe, we followed the directions given to us and found ourselves in a large clearing. There were numerous teams who were already milling about, some keeping to themselves and others blatantly eyeing each team that came by.
Oddly enough, when my team walked by, the area became somewhat quiet as they looked at us…or was it me?
"Is it my good looks I wonder…" I muttered, though seeing the strange expressions on numerous individual's faces, I hadn't been quiet enough.
Not that I cared.
"Yoru!" A familiar voice called out, breaking the awkward silence.
I turned to see Mei along with the other two people that had been with her yesterday that I now identified as her teammates. She waved at me with a charming smile on her face.
I smiled back in kind.
Mei then placed her right hand's index and middle finger to her lips. With a light kiss, a ball of lava in the shape of a heart formed above those two fingers before she blew it towards me.
Sensing no danger from the attack, I didn't move when it appeared in front of me and created a heart-shaped burn on my clothing another where my heart was.
My mouth was slightly agape.
I had no idea she was so bold as to do this in public…
The silence now became so uncomfortable that it somehow became deafening.
Itachi gave me a knowing look and smile.
"…Let's just go to a corner." I stated, bringing Itachi and Kabuto with me to stay at a relatively inconspicuous part of the clearing. Though with me here, nowhere we went would be inconspicuous enough.
The silence slowly dissipated as the teams did their own thing, though I could still sense many gazes directed at us.
I idly fingered the heart-shaped hole on my henge clothing and smiled before repairing it with a thought.
I looked across the clearing at Mei and her team.
Perhaps somehow sensing my gaze, Mei turned to look at me for a brief moment before winking in my direction.
"Mei Terumī. Age 18. Has dual Lava and Boil Release Kekkei Genkai. Proficient in Water, Fire, and Earth Release nature transformations. She was demoted to genin on the premise of failing an important mission assigned to her by her Kage." Kabuto stated, adjusting his glasses and causing the sun to glare off of them.
I blinked and looked at him. "How did you…?"
"I'm very good at this." Was all he replied.
I raised a brow and looked saw him in a new light. "Then, what about her teammates?"
"The one with Kubikiribōchō is named Zabuza Momochi. Age 18. Proficient in water release and has high Jonin level capabilities. He became a genin under the same pretense."
I rubbed my chin in thought and narrowed my eyes on the last guy. "And him?"
At this, Kabuto's voice became low. "Utakata. Age 16. Proficient in water release. Most importantly, however…" Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "He is said to be in possession of the 6-Tails and has some measure of control over its power."
"I thought so…"
I then looked around and paid attention mainly to the shinobi from the other great villages. What next caught my attention were a group of three shinobi from the Stone Village who was eyeing me intently. One of them had a calm and collected countenance, another looked at me murderously, while the last one, a kid about Itachi's age, just seemed excited. "What about that lovely trio?"
Kabuto slightly furrowed his brows. "The one with the spiky light-brown hair is Gari. Age 19. A user of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai. Proficient in Earth and Lightning Release and a member of Iwagakure's Explosion Corps. Next to him is Ittan, age 18. He's a decently high leveled shinobi who is proficient in Earth Release. Finally, there's Deidara, age 11 and wielder of the Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai, also…"
Here, he paused and adjusted his glasses before speaking in a hushed tone. "My sources and investigations have concluded that he was granted access to Iwagakure's Kinjutsu on behest of the current Tsuchikage, Kitsuchi."
I tilted my head. "What relation does Kitsuchi have with Deidara?"
"None that I could find," Kabuto stated. "But he did have a relationship with the previous Tsuchikage as he was Onoki's stepson."
I kept that information to heart and scanned around the area before I found a trio of Kumo Ninja hanging back, the same trio I had seen yesterday. Now that I was looking at them up close, that blonde woman was really attractive…
"What about her?"
Kabuto blinked for a second before explaining. "Samui. Age 16. Proficient in using Lightning Release and bladed weapons, more specifically, tanto."
I kept her in mind and looked for Sunagakure before I found their team. I, of course, only paid attention to the woman in the group. "And She is?"
"Maki, age 15." Kabuto began. "Proficient in sealing techniques and uses a binding cloth to ensnare her enemies. She was trained by Pakura of the Scorch Release, so she should be highly skilled."
Interesting.
Interesting indeed.
With that, I observed for a moment longer until it seemed like all the teams who were going to participate came by. With just a glance, I counted about 52 teams of three meaning a total of 156 genins and 'genins'.
Then, it began.
"Alright, settle down because I'm not going to repeat myself." A guy said as he walked out of the building and stood in front of us. His visage painted the image of a guy who would rather be anywhere else than here, but who had to take this unassuming position because he had no choice in the matter.
"Let me make it clear: 90% of you are trash and some of that 90% will die within the first two portions of these exams because you are cannon fodder. If you have an issue with this, please leave. It would really make this entire process faster."
He scanned the crowd and after seeing no movement apart from a few teams, he shrugged. "Suit yourself. Now, I'll explain the first portion of the exam so listen and listen well. The first portion is all about Survival." Reaching into his pocket, the examiner took out an emblem similar to the one I had received at the desk. "This here is necessary for the first two portions of the exams and if you've already lost it or you don't have it out of any sort of storage seal by the time I'm done explaining the test, then you'll automatically fail and I won't have to deal with you."
I saw many teams shuffling to get them out of whatever storage seal they had kept the emblem in, while I simply floated mine above my palm with Magnet Release.
The proctor continued. "In this first portion, you'll be transported, by a reverse summoning jutsu, to the Korin Mountain Range nearby, a mountainous area filled with many hills, ridges, and valleys. That place will be surrounded by a barrier that will be visible to you and all it does is notify us when a team's emblem has lost its signal. That goes without saying, if you leave the barrier, your team is disqualified; If your emblem's signal disappears for even a second, your team is disqualified, so don't think about hiding them in storage seals and whatnot; if it's destroyed, you're team is disqualified. Any questions? No? Really? Great!"
He then put the emblem away and sighed in annoyance. "Your objective is to survive until only 10 teams are remaining. When there are only 10 emblem signals registered by the barrier, obviously not including signals that disappeared and reappeared, the barrier will automatically be removed. At that point, you and your team need to reach one the exit point located at the north end of the mountain range in no less than an hour. If at least one of you don't get there with the emblem on time, your whole team will be disqualified. If only one or two of your teammates make it, the one(s) who didn't make it will be disqualified. Once you get there, the shinobi in charge will check to make sure you have your team's emblem and they'll reverse summon you back here using the same array."
He then walked past the team's and made his way to the door before he stopped for a moment. "Also, your teams will be teleported to completely different areas of the region and you'll have to survive there for as long as it takes. The sooner you guys kill each other off, the sooner you'll be able to get back and the less time you'll have to spend foraging like wild animals." He then snapped his fingers and walked out the door.
Instantly, the ground beneath everyone here shined brightly, the light forming an intricate pattern. The luminosity of the light sharply increased in intensity for a brief moment and obscured my vision.
When the light disappeared, I found myself in a barren area surrounded by thin tall rocky structures that would make navigating this terrain a nightmare. The sky had a light purple hue which must have been a result of the barrier the proctor had talked to us about. Both Itachi and Kabuto beside me as surveyed the area.
Kabuto pushed up his glasses. "Quite frankly, the most appropriate course of action with our lineup would be to get rid of as many teams as necessary as quickly as possible."
Itachi nodded.
Levia hissed in agreement.
"Then how do you propose we get it done," I asked.
Kabuto explained. "How far can you detect chakra signatures?"
"About 20 kilometers," I stated. "It doesn't cover the full area of this barrier's range, but I already have a lot of enemy chakra signatures in my radar."
"Then this should be fine." Kabuto then went on to explain. "If you create some clones and have them scout out, they can take care of all the necessary teams. All we have to do is stay put and wait for the barrier to disappear."
I raised a brow. It was a simple but very effective and efficient plan. Even though shadow clones inherently had low durability, I could increase the durability of my own with a bit more chakra. Additionally, my clones were just as powerful as I was so they wouldn't have trouble handling anyone here. That being said, I didn't just want to stand around. After all, there were some people I wanted to take care of.
I took out the emblem I was keeping and floated it towards Itachi who took it with a questioning gaze. I explained, "I'll leave a clone with you guys as well. I want to do my part to hurry this along."
As Itachi fiddled with the emblem, he gave me a knowing look. "You just want to see Mei again don't you?"
Why was this the conclusion he came to…?
Apparently taking my silence as agreement, he nodded in approval. "Well, don't keep her waiting. The sooner you get with her, the sooner you can stop hitting on my mom."
No, that would never happen.
I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to explain. "Whatever. Just keep it safe till I get back." With that, I created numerous clones with a puff. One stayed here with Itachi and Kabuto while the remaining ones dispersed throughout.
I turned to Kabuto. "Just in case, give me your hand."
Blinking, he did as I asked. I grabbed his hand and implanted my Natural Healing mark on him. "Since you're a Medical ninja that Orochimaru has taken an interest to, you'll be able to use that technique effectively. You already know what that is, don't you?"
Somewhat wide-eyed in surprise, Kabuto nodded. "Mystical Healing. An improved upon Mystic Palm Technique that incorporates natural energy in order to improve the effectiveness of the technique and regrow lost appendages. It was thought to be created by Jiraiya of the Sannin but…" he adjusted his glasses. "I have my doubts about that."
"Orochimaru told you didn't he."
"…"
"I thought so," I said, shaking my head. "In any case, stay safe and Itachi…" I began, turning to face him. "Don't be afraid to go all out if necessary. Both my clone and Kabuto can heal any damage you receive."
Itachi nodded.
With that, I used Steel Release to coat my arms and legs in the chakra-based substance before I took to the skies with Magnet Release. By utilizing Magnet Release on myself while my body was coated with Steel Release, I had much better and much faster control of my flight. It was much simpler than manipulating the wind around me. The only downside, however, was that I couldn't just Magnet Release regular humans unless they either used Steel Release like I did, wore a suit of armor or something, or they, for some reason, had large amounts of metal inside their body. Like if they had metal coated bones or something.
But who would be dumb enough to inject metal into someone's bones?
With those strange thoughts, I made my way towards the area where I could sense a few chakra signatures. As I flew above the sky, I looked down below and eyed my targets before plummeting down rapidly. My feet cratered the ground as I landed and I turned my gaze up towards the surprised visions on my targets who were panicking.
I quickly noticed the Suna headbands on their forehead, but they weren't the same Suna team I had paid attention to earlier. In a blur of motion, I appeared in front of one of them and before he could even comprehend where I had gone, I chopped the back of his neck. He slammed face first into the ground, his body leaving an imprint on the solid surface.
I knew he was out cold so I instantly appeared next to the second person who had just barely recovered. I slammed my knee into his gut and he puked. Holding his stomach for a moment, he lost concentration and fell to the ground unconscious.
I then turned towards the last person in the group who was eyeing me in severe trepidation and walked towards him. He stepped back in fear, but in a single step, I was already upon him. I reached out my hand towards his person-
"P-Please don't-!"
-and grabbed his team's metal emblem. I could use Magnet Release to sense metals in the environment and since all the emblems were made of the same kind of metal, they were easy to detect.
He opened his eyes as he noticed that he was still alive before he stared at the emblem I had in my hand, sweat dripping from his brow.
I smiled and spun it in the air with my control over magnetic metals. "I'll be taking this off your hands. I hope you don't mind?"
He rapidly shook his head.
"Good," I said as I snagged the emblem from the air and crushed it. "Be safe."
With that, I launched into the air once more and focused on reaching my true destination. Along the way, however, I came across two groups of shinobi who were fighting each other. Seeing as they weren't my enemies or anything of the sort, I decided not to simply blow them up.
I dropped down from the sky on top of two shinobi who had been fighting each other. My feet slammed into their heads and knocked them out cold. The remaining shinobi stopped what they were doing and looked my way, their bodies turning tense.
Swift Release
In a blur, I appeared in front of one of the remaining four ninjas and grabbed his face. Utilizing another burst of Swift Release, I rammed the back of his head into the face of another shinobi before he could react.
Only two more were left.
By the time I turned to look at them, Spears of water and bolts of lighting shot out towards me from them.
I took a single breath.
Majestic Destroyer Flame
The water was vaporized and the lighting overwhelmed from the energy of my attack. They screamed as they were engulfed by the flames, but I adjusted it so that they wouldn't die. They weren't my enemies, so I had no reason to kill them off.
This was just the chunin exams after all.
I walked towards their bodies and plucked the emblems from their downed forms before crushing them.
With that, I took to the skies once more.
I could sense intense fluctuations of chakra coming from my destination, fluctuations that I was familiar with, and in a few moments, I saw who was fighting.
From below, I noted Mei and was facing off against Samui in a confrontation of lava and Lightning. Mei seemed to have the upper hand in the confrontation, but I found it odd that people from two powerful teams would meet and fight each other so early in the game. The surface area of this mountain range was extremely wide and the odds of any two teams finding each other this quickly was quite low.
It made me wonder if our appearance here was as randomized as we were told.
Unfortunately, I didn't have time to ruminate as I sensed foreign concentrated chakra signatures on their bodies. With Instinct telling me that they were dangerous, I quickly dashed towards the two fighting women in flight and landed on the ground right between them.
I augmented my free hand with Steel Release to intercept Samui's Lightning coated tanto from above while I simply placed my palm over Mei's mouth to block the corrosive mist that was eating at my hands. Their eyes widened in shock at my sudden appearance.
"!"
I didn't get even a moment to explain as my hands blurred and grabbed at the foreign chakra concentrated objects that had been hidden on their bodies. They appeared as small white spider-shaped objects, but I didn't delve any further.
My hands coated in Steel Release, I enclosed the objects into my fist, just before they detonated violently. I didn't flinch from the sting of pain as smoke emerged from my palms and quickly moved once more.
Before the two women could comprehend what was going on, I grabbed them both and took to the skies.
The ground abruptly ruptured.
In a terrifying explosion, the radius of the blast encompassed over a kilometer of land and vaporized all of the landmarks that were in the way near instantly.
Soon after, there was silence.
"What…?" Mei asked incredulously as she looked at the devastation beneath her.
"You both were being targeted," I explained. The chakra signature of the explosive white spider and whatever explosive had been planted underground was a familiar one that I had met not too long ago.
It was from one of the Iwagakure ninjas…
Gari of the Explosion Style.
"…So not cool." Samui stated coldly before her face slightly warmed up as she looked at me, though her expression still seemed quite aloof. "Thank you."
"Thank you Yoru~!" Mei stated as she happily wrapped her arms around my neck before she looked at me questioningly. "Though I have to ask why you came all the way over here…Don't tell me you already missed me so much?"
I shook my head. "My Instincts warned me there was someone that could be dangerous to me here so I hurried along. Meeting you here was a coincidence."
Mei pouted. "You know, when a woman asks you that sort of question, you're supposed to agree."
"Is that so?" I stated while my brows furrowed as I looked above me and saw a white bird circling the sky. I hadn't sensed it earlier because it had been outside my detection range, but now that I was more elevated, it was clear to me now. Those bombs seemed to be made from Gari's chakra, however, I was unaware of any technique that could concentrate explosive chakra in such a manner.
"…Is that him?" Samui asked as she looked up.
I nodded before inquiring, "Why are you two so far away from your team? Traveling with them would be a much safer option than traveling alone."
"Just like what you're doing right?" Mei asked with a teasing smile. "I was just supposed to be a scout but then I found her."
"Likewise," Samui replied. "We were too focused on each other to realize the dangers around us, so I once again thank you, but…" she narrowed her eyes. "Why did you save me as well? You seem to already have a relationship with her so that is understandable, but we have no such thing. I doubt most Konoha shinobi would save someone from Kumo…What are you after?"
"!"
I tightened my grip around their waists and performed evasive maneuvers as the sky became blanketed with small, white, explosive chakra bombs. The mini-bombs began to move towards me with a humming sound and looking behind me, I noticed they appeared to be little hummingbirds.
Numerous thoughts flitted through my mind. "They appear to be concentrated blasts of Explosion Release which is a combination of Earth and Lightning Release. How about…"
From my open mouth came a large number of dense storm clouds that crackled with electricity. The clouds propagated around us and spread towards the white explosive hummingbirds. As soon as they came into contact with the storm clouds, the hummingbirds began dropping like flies. They plummeted towards the ground as electricity flickered off their form before they landed uselessly on the earth.
I looked at Samui whose expression was wide-eyed. "Believe it or not, I don't really have any feelings either way towards Kumo." The only problem I had had with them was with their decision-making body, hence the reason I got rid of them and didn't just nuke the entire city.
Yugito was a different situation…
I actually hadn't wanted to kill her but Sage Yoru was a different story. My original idea was to blindfold her or use some other method to prevent her from seeing my face before questioning and releasing her.
I personally had no grudge with her in particular.
Unfortunately, Sage Yoru would never stop people from "Witnessing the magnificence of his presence" and he disdained to hide his face from people. As a result, Yugito saw our face and he killed her.
"…That form of Storm Style." Samui muttered before staring at me seriously. "Where did you learn it?"
"I picked it up along the way." Was my reply. I didn't feel like explaining how I allowed Hiruko to absorb the bodies of the other Five Great Ninja Village's shinobi so that I could profit at his expense…
She obviously didn't seem to buy it, though Mei seemed to find it interesting as she whispered closely. "How many secrets are you hiding I wonder?"
Before I could answer that (not that I would have) the flying bird above began to drop before I heard a voice from it. "I'm not sure whether I should be thankful towards you…If not for your existence, I never would have obtained the opportunity to use my village's kinjutsu." Gari said as he looked down from above his bird construct. He outstretched his hand, showing off the extremely out of place mouth on it that seemed to be chewing something. "My Kage really wants you dead."
I looked at him intently.
My Instinct was telling me that something was off with him.
I wasn't going to take any chances.
Sage Transformation [Mode]!
Pristine white scales covered the outer portions of Yoru's face, neck, and body.
A white chakra shroud formed around him, portions of it turning into ethereal snakes.
Two horns grew from the top of his head.
His irises turned golden.
His pupils were slit.
With a thought, iron sand clouds appeared out of Yoru's inventory and formed into an imposing glittering throne which Yoru sat on, the women in his hands sitting on either side of him: Mei on his right and Samui to his left. He placed his arms around their waists and dragged their bodies closer to his own before crossing his legs.
"Rejoice, you have the distinct honor of sitting by my side."
-Yoru: Gamer-
Inside a small earthen made shed courtesy of Yoru's clone, Kabuto's hands blurred rapidly as he shuffled a deck of cards, the sun's glare from the partially exposed roof reflecting off his glasses and preventing Yoru Clone and Itachi from seeing his eyes.
He then stopped.
"Cut."
Itachi fiddled with the red colored plastic card he held in his hand, his sharingan fully activated. With a simple flick, the plastic card shot out and vertically spun across the air towards the deck before it cleanly slid into the stack of cards in Kabuto's hands.
Kabuto then moved the cards above the cut card to the back of the stack. The cut card was then reinserted into the stack of cards by him at a pre-defined position.
His glasses gleamed. "Place your bets."
"1000 Ryo" Yoru Clone stated as he slid the appropriate amount of money in the betting circle in front of him. The table they were playing on was created with precision to match an actual blackjack table; it's ridges and grooves mimicking the betting circles.
"1500 Ryo" Itachi claimed as he placed his bets forward.
His eyes still hidden behind his glasses' glare, Kabuto dealt a single card face up inside the betting circle starting from Itachi to Yoru then to him. He then dealt another round of cards clockwise around the table: From Itachi, Yoru, and then to him. This time, however, Kabuto's second card was face down.
Yoru Clone narrowed his eyes as he stared at the cards dealt. "Kabuto has an Ace face up, Itachi has a pair of 5's, and I have a 5 & 6…"
"You can place an insurance bet," Kabuto stated.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Hit me."
Kabuto slid another card face up from the deck and placed it face up on Itachi's side.
"A 10 for a total of 20" Yoru muttered as he looked at Itachi's hand. He then pointed at his own deck of cards, signaling Kabuto to hit him as well.
Kabuto slid him a card.
"A 9 for a total of 20…" Itachi stated as he looked at my cards. He seemed to struggle for a moment before he shook his head. "I'll stand."
"Likewise." Yoru Clone stated. The probability of Kabuto having blackjack was very slim…
His glasses gleaming, Kabuto flipped his face down card.
Itachi's eyes widened.
Yoru's pupils constricted.
"Ace counts as 11 plus the 9…"
"…We each have 20" Itachi concluded after Yoru's statement.
With a sigh, each of them took back their money.
"Another round?" Kabuto asked.
Yoru and Itachi nodded.
Kabuto began shuffling.
"…Something's been bothering me." Itachi began as he looked at Yoru Clone as his sharingan spun. "Where exactly did you get your money from? Yoru didn't hand any to you before he left and you keep pulling out more from somewhere…actually, where did you even get these cards?"
Yoru blinked. "Maybe your sight isn't as good as you think it is…?"
Itachi narrowed his eyes.
"Round two," Kabuto stated as he began to deal out the cards…
"!"
Yoru Clone's expression drastically changed. "Move now!"
Even while saying that, Yoru had already been in motion as he secured them within this grasp before ramming through the shed's walls.
Following his sudden movement was a spiral distortion of space that encompassed the entirety of the shed they had just been in...
Before everything vanished.
With his ability to fly, Yoru quickly stabilized himself mid-air before softly landing on the ground with his teammates in hand. His gaze carried such vast gravity that both Kabuto and Itachi looked ahead intensely, neither saying a word.
"This chakra signature…!" Yoru Clone thought as a bead of sweat dripped down his face. "Why the hell is he here now?! The boss couldn't have picked a better time to ditch us…"
"It seems like he did his job…The signal led me to the correct team after all." A deep voice tinged with indifference spoke out from within the smokescreen of the attack. Footsteps echoed loudly throughout the canyon as a man stepped out from the smoke. "30% should be enough to get rid of you…oh?" The masked man stated as he looked at Itachi. He had long, black, spiky hair that reached down past his shoulders and wavered slightly in the wind. He wore an orange mask with tiger-like stripes running across it and an eye hole for his right eye. On his body, he wore blue robes, their appearance similar to those that Uchiha typically wore.
Yoru Clone's expression turned ugly as his eyes glowed. "Obito…and he is much stronger than before." He thought while noting how similar Obito now looked like the murals depicting his predecessor, Madara Uchiha. If he hadn't already known who he was before, Yoru would have been inclined to believe he was the real deal.
Itachi froze. "You…"
"What a surprise." The Masked Man said, though his apathetic tone belied any feelings of true astonishment. "The information told me an Uchiha was part of the team but I never would have imagined it to be you…"
Yoru frowned. "Itachi, you know him?"
Itachi's sharingan began to transform. "He's the one…" he said as the tomoe in his eyes fused and formed into three spiraling curves around his pupil. "The one who killed my teammates…!"
"You've developed such nice pairs of eyes…Itachi." The Masked Man stated as he stepped forward-
Itachi's right eye began to bleed, red veins visible in his sclera.
Amaterasu!