012601
Chapter 55
In Root you have no name.
Tsukiko sat deep underground, her disguise tightly wrapped around her skin and her familiar armor a comfort amid the grim news of the day. She could feel the deaths, countless ANBU operatives had fallen in defense of Konoha and she was left with a thinned army. Familiar names, kids she’d kept alive through careful mission screening and meticulous planning dead in the dozens. Fathers, mothers, sons and daughters, reduced to little more then memories and shattered corpses. Konoha had survived, but so many of her children had perished.
Tsukiko glanced down at the seals on her desk, a three dimensional map of Konoha sprawling before her. Countless dots of chakra, marking ANBU agents populated the board. Most of her soldiers had survived, but the casualties were absurd considering how many years it took to forge someone worthy of her ranks. Rage, steady and unyielding beat within Tsukiko’s chest, her heart a war drum hammering away as she saw other marks nestled deep below the city, staying well out of combat.
‘Danzo knew, his forces were already sheltering and standing aside for this attack.’ Tsukiko had suspected that was the case. But she had hoped, naively, that Tobirama’s wayward student had meant to double cross the serpent. ‘I cannot stand by any longer.’ Tsukiko had no real love for Konoha, but she loved what it had stood for and even all these decades later, her heart still belonged to the two men and three women who had founded the village.
Tsukiko watched Sakura’s blip, which like the other members of Team 7 was currently glowing in two colors. One for the ANBU seal and the other for a custom tracker that Tsukiko had given the rosette, just in case she was ever attacked within Konoha. Indigo eyes saw the moment the ANBU seal’s blip vanished, the girl’s signature turning a bright red to indicate that only the secondary seal was tracking her. How long that lasted depended on how cocky Danzo was but Tsukiko doubted she’d be able to track Sakura all the way back to the cretin’s base.
‘Hashirama, forgive me, I am going to kill your brother’s precious students.’ Tsukiko let out a tired sigh and sent a pulse through all ANBU tattoos, recalling them to base once the all clear sounded. Danzo had fired the opening shot, likely intending to hide Sakura’s disappearance within the chaos. Nobody would ask questions if she was killed in the fighting and a believable corpse presented. ‘I knew he’d make a move on her eventually. The man always craved anything to do with the Uchiha clan, regardless of his hatred for them.’ Tsukiko picked up her mask and slipped it on. It had been some time since she took to the field personally but she was still young, for a Chinoike, and desk work was never her passion.
***
You have no feelings.
Madara woke slowly, Sakura’s chakra absent and nature remained quiet. His quarters in Hikyo felt cold and gray, as if all the color had drained away from the world. Onyx eyes scanned the dark room, hoping to find silky pink or a flash of brilliant emerald. He knew he wouldn’t find her and the disappointment left his eyes stinging as tears threatened to fall from them. Madara looked at the seal on his hand and felt his stomach twist as he traced the pitch black lines that contrasted sharply with his pale white skin.
‘Where are you?’ Madara rested his face in his palms and let out a shuddering sigh. The funerals for the fallen would begin in only a few hours and with Sakura absent he would have to stand strong in front of the clan without her support. ‘Kami, please give her back.’ Madara received no answer as his palms grew damp.
“Aniue,” Izuna’s voice caused Madara to jolt in his seat. Bloodshot eyes met their equally irritated opposites and the two brothers stared at each other, both missing the same soul with equal ferocity. “We have to look after the clan. She’d want us to be strong.”
“Yeah,” Madara nodded, swallowing painfully as he wiped his eyes dry. “Yeah, you’re right.” He repeated and drew in a shuddering breath, wiping his palms against his pants before pushing himself up. His head swam at the sudden motion, his equilibrium utterly thrown off by his emotional turmoil.
“She’ll be back. The kami wouldn’t take her from us, not without warning. They aren’t that cruel.” Izuna’s words restored some hope to Madara’s heart and he shot the younger Uchiha a grateful, if watery, smile. “Come on, let’s get you ready.” Izuna’s voice cracked, revealing how close to falling apart he was and Madara let out a self loathing laugh.
“Thank you otouto, it seems I’ve forgotten myself.” Madara was an Uchiha and while their enemies only saw the rage, the so called Curse of Hatred, there was so much more to their clan than anger. They felt all emotions with inhuman intensity, they loved with all their heart, grieved with their entire soul and felt loss deep within their bones. Sakura’s absence was a wound that the entire clan would share and if she didn’t return soon, the Shimura would be burned from the face of the Earth. Such would be their wrath.
***
You have no Past.
Anko stood alongside the rest of her team, doing her best to hide her exhaustion. Even after a night’s rest, her chakra reserves had yet to recover and her body was still covered in bruises and healing scrapes. To her right stood Hatake Kakashi in his ANBU uniform alongside Tenzo, the boy she had once upon a time tried to rescue from Orochimaru’s lab only for him to fall into Root’s choking darkness. To her left was the entirety of Team Naori with one glaring absence.
“I assume you can all guess as to why you’re here?” Bear-sama’s voice was grave as he sat behind his desk. A pair of axes covered in fuinjutsu engravings were strapped across the ANBU commander’s back and the man’s presence was palpable as he looked over those gathered before him.
“Sakura-chan is missing and you have reason to believe she was taken alive.” Anko answered when nobody else looked like they were going to speak. This had Danzo’s fingerprints all over it but she wouldn’t be surprised if it had been her traitor of a sensei. Honestly, it could be both of them considering the attempts they’d made on the rosette in the past.
“I confirmed her survival and relocation to a known Root entrance before my tracker was disposed of, though likely undiscovered.” Bear was certain the Root agents hadn’t noticed the tracking seal hidden in Sakura’s weapon pouch but they had removed her clothes at some point and thus removed the tracker. Anko shifted, her hackles rising as she grit her teeth angrily.
“I cannot tell you where Headquarters is located.” Tenzo stated bluntly, earning a dry chuckle from Bear that dropped the temperature of the room below freezing. The legendary man shook his head and waved his hand, dismissing Tenzo’s words.
“That isn’t why you’re here. Danzo aided Orochimaru in pulling off this attack.” Somehow the room grew even colder as Bear stood up and walked towards the group. Idly, Anko noted the man’s ever present gloves were absent as he reached Tenzo and slowly raised his hand to the younger man’s throat. “If I ordered you to bring me Danzo’s head, would you do it?” Bear’s voice was silken as he rested his thumb over Tenzo’s pulse.
“Yes,” Tenzo rasped, his voice shaky with emotion. Bear hummed and withdrew his grip, turning to face Kakashi who stiffened as the commander’s hand came to rest against his throat, brushing aside his mask so the man’s fingers pressed against the delicate skin beneath. It was a testament to the sheer respect and awe the man commanded that Hatake allowed it without a fight.
“And you, if I asked for you to bring me his co-conspirators, those who made his crimes possible, would you Hound?” Bear’s voice was quiet, almost a whisper though it might as well have been deafening in the silence that had fallen over the room. Bear was famously aloof from politics. He had stood by through every major decision in the village, had let the clans and the Kage decide the fate of Konoha without a word of protest. Clearly that had changed. “Would you abandon your student, your apprentice because of duty? Because of loyalty to those who would break her, turn her into an emotionless doll for their ambitions?”
“I…” Kakashi’s hands twitched, his muscles spasming as he fought with himself. Anko could taste the anxiety, the sheer despair as the man finally realized he was just as attached to the pink haired prodigy as the rest of them were. “I’d protect her, I won’t abandon her.”
“That is all I can ask. I will not order you to do anymore then that, though they will not see it so simply.” Bear answered coolly, his hand leaving Kakashi’s throat as he moved to Anko. The two looked at each other and the man didn’t bother raising his hand to her. “I know where your loyalties lie Mitarashi. You’ll get your shot at Orochimaru soon, but first we’re going to have to clean up at home.”
“I can wait if it’s for Sakura sir. I’m rather protective of my little siblings after all.” Anko flashed a fierce grin, though her amber eyes blazed with rage worthy of an Uchiha. Bear dipped his head in understanding and stopped in front of Izumi. The tension between them was immediate as Bear raised his hand to her throat. Anko couldn’t help the widening of her eyes but she silenced any protest at the look on Izumi’s face.
“You were exposed to Itachi’s genjutsu and held by Shimura, you understand don’t you Izumi-san?” Bear asked, dispelling some of the tension in the room. Izumi took a slow breath, Bear’s grip loose even as his thumb rested against her pulse. “Would you kill Itachi if it came down to it? If I ordered you to fight Danzo and he interfered?”
“I would use Izanami on him to free him from his brainwashing. I have spent the last four years learning to fight blind. I will follow your orders but I won’t kill Itachi, I love him.” Izumi’s voice shook slightly but her determination was clear. Anko couldn’t help but admire Izumi’s dedication, though that didn’t stop her from worrying about her friend. There were no Uchiha with whom she could swap eyes, if she followed through and used Izanami on Itachi, she’d be blind for the rest of her life.
“Very well.” Bear removed his hand from the woman’s throat and then looked at Naori. The two eyed each other, Naori’s calm expression unchanged despite everything that had happened. She was a perfect match to Bear’s serenity and the Commander came to a stop in front of the purple haired Uchiha. “Do not blind those eyes of yours unless you would die, is that understood?”
“Crystal clear Bear-sama.” Naori’s eyes glittered and a whisper of killing intent swept over the room. The calm mask shattered as Naori’s lips pulled back into a wild grin that wouldn’t look out of place on Anko’s face. “Now, can we get to the killing?”
“Soon,” Bear promised and Anko couldn’t help her own bloodthirsty grin. Danzo had been Orochimaru’s backer, the man who had first lead the serpent Sannin down the path of madness. His death was long overdue and now that he had taken Sakura a second time, there was nothing that could stop Anko from ripping his head off aside from her own death.
***
You have no future.
Darkness surrounded Inner as far as the eye could see. She was used to living within a blank void, the blackness familiar though now she nested deeper within the depths of Sakura’s mind then she had ever ventured before. She had burrowed down until time was meaningless and all sense of the outside world had ceased. She couldn’t hear or see what was going on as she desperately guarded what little humanity Sakura had left.
Even now she continued to sink, the world growing thicker and the pressure increasing as if she had dove into the depths of a vast ocean. This was the abyss, a place alien to her as the bottom of the sea was to those who lived on dry land. Inner looked around, her hair fluttering in the invisible fluid of her mind’s depths and feet finally coming to rest on pitch black grains of sand. Her tails and tiger stripes had faded, the effects of her summoning contracts stripped away as she delved further into her core, freed from outside influences.
A breeze, sudden and unexpected blew across the obsidian sands, sending the fine grain flying and Inner closed her eyes against the onslaught. The world seemed to flip, up becoming down and the pressure suddenly vanishing, replaced by an eerie sense of otherness. Opening her eyes, Inner saw a black landscape unfurled before her. Lavish gardens spread out in all directions, inky streams flowing through carefully manicured paths, graceful bridges arching over them.
Light spilled down upon the blackened world, a crimson ringed moon decorated with tomoe staring down at all beneath its imperious gaze. A shiver ran down Inner’s spine at the wrongness of that moon, it felt like a gateway to hell and her instincts screamed at her to hide, to flee from its sight but there was nowhere she could reach that was beyond its perception.
The gentle crunch of grass underfoot drew Inner’s mind off the horror in the sky and to a woman who stood opposite her. Sharingan swirled in her eyes while a third looked out from her forehead, the rings matching the moon overhead.
“Hello child of chance,” the woman’s voice was jarringly familiar and the cadence unmistakable. Sakura had never met her, but she knew who this was without any need for introductions.
“Uchiha Kagami.” Inner murmured, the blank white voids that were her eyes focused on the Uchiha who graced her with a small, fleeting smile. Kagami dipped her chin in confirmation before she turned to face the garden sprawling out before the. “Why? How?”
“A long time ago I was known by another name.” Kagami’s spiky black hair flickered white and strait for just a moment, her eyes turning pearlescent briefly before returning to their Uchiha coloring. “I tried to build a world without war and to do that I committed a taboo. I stole chakra from the gods and became the first human to ascend.”
“For a time, things went well, but conflict is part of human nature. Greed, fear, jealousy, war is not fought simply because of hatred or a cycle of revenge. My husband and sons grew jealous and many of the gods were willing to back them for their own capricious desires. In the end, they defeated me and sealed me within the moon but not before I cursed them and their descendants for their transgression.” Kagami’s head leaned to the side as she looked up at the moon overhead, her hair falling like a black curtain over half her face as she did so. Her lone uncovered eye slowly shifted to Sakura, the tomoe within it spinning dangerously slowly as a predatory smile split her lips.
“I hated my sons, still do, but they are dead and ages have come and gone. Yet my curse remains, branded on innocent souls while the spirits of my two children linger, bound to the earth by my grudge.” Kagami paused and fully turned to face Inner. The two watched each other, a child of the age of gods and a child caught up in the legends of heroes. “When I finally gathered the strength to slip a part of myself beyond my divine prison, I saw the world and met the successor of my youngest. In this life he was my little brother and I, well, I could not help but love him and I came to realize that he should not bear the sins of his forefather.”
“And me?” Inner asked and Kagami let out a soft chuckle. Inner bristled at the sound but kept her mouth shut, after all only bad things happened to those who offended gods.
“You were uniquely placed. At the crossroads of fate with none of your own. Hundreds of children were born at the same time as you, any of them could have worked but you, you are the brightest of your age. Brilliant, kind, determined, your qualities outshone the rest, your soul brighter than any other. A child of merchants with no clan ties or history to bind you. Unwanted and in need of companionship but above all, strong of heart.” Kagami’s expression turned fond as she looked over Sakura. Inner was utterly still, unable to process that such praise had been delivered to her by a goddess. A sly grin stole over Kagami’s face and Sakura felt a shiver at how familiar the expression looked.
“I approve by the way, you may court my younger brother. It was not my intention to set you two up, merely provide you both with companionship, with bonds that would hopefully break the curse once and for all, but how could an older sister not wish for her little brother’s happiness?” Kagami’s words would have caused Inner to blush furiously had she not been a thing of void and shadow. Even so, Sakura couldn’t help but shift, embarrassment boiling within her bright and hot, alongside an emotion she only just now noticed.
“I love him.” Inner realized and tomoe spun in her white eyes briefly before fading. It was a childish love, not yet romance but it was still deep and unyielding.
“I’m glad you two get along. I could not have forced a better outcome if I tried.” Kagami admitted and then waved her hand, several paths unfurling in the grass before them. “But sating your curiosity or endorsing your relationships is not why you are here. I have answered your questions and now I will pose one of my own.” Kagami walked forward towards the many branching paths and then turned to face Inner. “Who will you become, child of chance?”
A pale hand slid from from the sleeves of Kagami’s kimono, her finger pointing at one of the many branching paths and a girl, a young woman rather with bright pink hair and lively jade eyes snapped into existence. She wore a red shirt paired with a pink medic’s skirt. Underneath the skirt, she wore leather shorts and knee high armored boots. She looked innocent, free from the grief and agony of war, alive in a way Inner couldn’t remember ever being. The girl’s smile was blunt, her teeth ground down until they were flat and her instincts muted and dulled away until they were only a whisper.
“This is Haruno Sakura, the path you most likely would have went down had I not reached out to you.” Kagami chuckled at the pained look now decorating Inner’s face. This was a Sakura who had rejected her heritage and her potential, had forced herself into the box of a Konoha shinobi, who had ground down her fangs, abandoned her pride and allowed the sexism and expectations of her village to crush her. She might hold a fire within her, she might have a temper, but she was a pride-less, broken soul. “But I will not ask if you will become her, that path has long since closed off.”
With Kagami’s words, the path and the image vanished. Grass covered the walkway, growing over it and the image of the broken girl fading away until it was nothing but a sad memory. New images flickered into existence, four paths winding their way out into the future. Inner took in the four rosettes looking back at her, three pairs of emerald eyes and one pair of crimson.
The first was a Sakura proud and unbroken, built upon nothing but her own merits and effort. Her eyes were human, her teeth were bestial and her hair woven into braids and decorated with carved bone. This was a woman of the Isles, wild and free, vicious as a shark and as unyielding as the tides. Fuinjutsu was inked into her skin, carved into the beads in her hair and sewn into her clothes. She had not been born with the gifts of a shinobi but rather the blessings of a civilian, a razor sharp mind and the ability to dream of things beyond bloodshed and steel. Creativity was lethal in the right hands and in Sakura’s it had become a sword sharp enough to cut down legends.
Inner shifted her focus to the next image and couldn’t help the ferocious smile that split her lips and revealed her fangs, for before her stood a shogun, an empress. A young woman with silver hair, pink tiger stripes decorating her wild locks and highlighting her cheeks. Her eyes were demonic, the pupils flickering with lightning that crackled over her skin and armor. Claws tipped her fingers and power rolled off her person as she looked out on the world with an imperious glare, challenging anyone to dare stand against her. She was the incarnation of might and while there were those stronger, those deadlier, none would be more worthy of their power.
“You have so much potential child. Your lack of a set fate is truly freeing, you can chose where so many others have to accept.” Kagami mused as Sakura’s attention shifted to the third. A kitsune smiled back at Inner, canine fangs on full display. Nine pink tails, tipped in white swished behind her while her pupils were diamond shaped slits. The chakra around her crackled and burned, itching at the skin, though it was playful, mischievous, discomforting but not malevolent. A sword hung at her waist, its shape and length impossible to discern as the illusions that covered it wreaked havoc on Inner’s perception.
Dragging her eyes away, Inner finally came to see the last Sakura, standing proud in the Uchiha clan’s war regalia. A fierce smirk decorated her face while sharingan swirled in her eyes. She was the matriarch of a clan, Madara’s equal and a battlefield legend. Her emotions burned white hot with a force only the Uchiha could experience and her convictions could shatter nations. She was the willing heir to a curse, a war, that stretched back to the very dawn of chakra itself.
“Except I don’t actually have freedom. I’m here, this deep within myself because of that,” Inner countered and Kagami’s smile turned mournful. Beyond the void, above the depths of Sakura’s mind, they both knew what had happened, what had forced Inner to flee so deeply into herself she had crossed into the seal that bound her to Kagami’s influence.
“You have the freedom to dream child, so why deny yourself?” Kagami replied and Inner looked at the four paths and let out a small chuckle before shaking her head. Kagami’s expression turned curious and Inner let tomoe blossom within the black voids of her eyes, tails unfurling behind her and claws replacing her nails. Lightning crackled over her skin which was covered in delicate, swirling fuinjutsu tattoos and a distinctive breastplate forming over her chest, the Uchiha mon emblazoned on the shoulder straps.
“If I am going to dream, why would I deny myself the chance to be all that I could be?” Inner asked and Kagami smiled as she strode across the distance that separated them. Uchiha Kagami had not lived to adulthood, yet she was undeniably a fully grown woman as she stood in front of Inner, towering over the mental presence with a proud smile.
“You can make it a reality, if you are willing to put in the work. If you hold onto that flame burning within your heart, one day you’ll become fully realized.” Kagami slowly lifted her hand and Inner felt a shiver run up her spine as the pale hand slowly lowered itself onto her head. “But for now, sleep, dream of who you wish to become. Find your truest self.”
***
There is only the mission.
Shimura Danzo looked across his desk at the kunoichi he had selected for today’s mission. Empty emerald eyes looked back as 012601 awaited her orders. Rarely had Danzo’s expectations been so utterly surpassed but the rosette had crushed every test he’d given her. Kotoamatsukami had made finishing her conditioning a simple thing and the seal now burned into her tongue was proof that she was a completed product, the perfect weapon for Konoha’s hour of need.
“012601, your orders are simple. In two hours, 012110, working as an undercover asset within Akatsuki will bring his partner, Hoshigaki Kisame, into the village.” Danzo paused, almost expecting a reaction from the girl but her eyes remained dead and empty. Her conditioning, like all prodigies, proved a unique challenge. Preserving her talent while crafting her into a tool took finesse and while Itachi’s conditioning had been ham-fisted and clumsy, Danzo had four years of practice with Shisui’s eye to perfect his technique.
“You will eliminate Hoshigaki and recover his weapon for Root’s use.” Danzo looked at the rosette who would put Konoha back on top of the elemental nations. Her resemblance to the legendary Uchiha Byakko would only make her more feared, once he was ready to let her step out of the shadows, though that was still many years in the future. Before that could happen, he’d need to establish his hold on the next Hokage.
“Orders understood and accepted.” 012601’s voice was blank, emotionless and her chakra utterly still even though she was being ordered to kill an S rank shinobi. It would be a challenge, but he knew she could handle it after testing her combat capabilities and inspecting the seals she carried. 012601’s only weakness was her small reserves and unfortunately Orochimaru wouldn’t likely be available for some time to correct that issue.
“Here is the dossier on your target. Memorize it and arm yourself appropriately. Failure will be punished.” Danzo intoned, waving his hand and watching with satisfaction as the girl vanished without a sound. Bear would be upset, but the man would be powerless to actually do anything about the situation once Danzo had a few words with their next Hokage. Tsunade was weak willed at the best of times and her appointment had all but ensured that the Roots of Konohagakure no Sato would flourish.
***
012601 watched from the trees as her target and 012110 walked through the village and settled down in a small tea house. Emerald eyes focused on the pair, her chakra perfectly suppressed and her lips parted to allow for silent breathing. Below her, Hatake Kakashi, a traitor to Root but still a valuable asset to Konoha, met up with a few of the village’s jounin sensei. It was obvious they were aware of 012110’s presence and the tension in the air was palpable.
012110 was the first to break the stalemate as he rose and pulled off his hat. His skin was pale, sickly even and the stress lines that 012601 remembered had deepened considerably. ‘012110 appears ill, information to report to Danzo-sama.’ The thought was cataloged quickly before 012601 refocused on her target. The man was constantly radiating bloodlust, his chakra a vast crushing ocean filled with songs of death and violence. Fortunately, he wasn’t the strongest opponent that 012601 had ever faced, that honor belonged to her undercover comrade, for nobody could match Uchiha Itachi.
“Kakashi-senpai, it has been quite some time.” 012110’s voice was calm as he greeted his former taichou and mentor. Kakashi eyed the young man, his one uncovered eye narrowed and carefully focused on Itachi’s center of mass to avoid falling prey to his sharingan.
“I’m not your senpai anymore.” Kakashi answered and 012110’s fingers tensed. His chakra swirled around him dangerously, crackling like embers within a campfire. It was a volatile display of emotion, proof that his conditioning was slipping.
“Hey, you know these tree huggers Itachi?” Kisame asked, tossing his hat aside and smirking. His lips were pulled back to reveal the same razor sharp teeth that 012601 had. The blood lust he had been emitting constantly ratcheted up to full blown killing intent as the Konoha shinobi tensed. 012601 prepared herself to engage, the moment the man made himself vulnerable she would strike.
“Hoshikagi Kisame, the tailless tailed beast.” Sarutobi Asuma murmured and the giant of a man slammed Samehada into the concrete, leaving a crater of shattered stone as his beady black eyes widened, the whites bloodshot and pupils dilated at the prospects of an imminent kill.
“Enough talking, let’s get to the killing.” Kisame growled and 012110’s eyes slid to him, sharingan spinning to life in his graying irises, a sure sign he was slowly going blind from overuse of the mangekyo.
“Shall we relocate?” Itachi asked casually and 012601 felt all three chakra of the jounin burn in agreement. A moment later, the group shunshined away from town, arriving at a nearby park with a large lake and no civilians anywhere in sight. The silent alarm had been tripped and shinobi were already shifting to combat positions throughout the village, leaving the direct confrontation to the jounin-sensei and 012601.
Kakashi’s hand sparked with chakra and he rocketed forward towards Itachi. At the same time, Kisame shot forward towards Asuma, Samehada raised high. 012601 went over what she knew of the jounin and unsealed a massive pair of chui. Her signature speed and scythe would give away her former identity and 012601 was under strict orders to preserve the secrecy of her survival. Few knew about her superhuman strength however and it was exactly the kind of skill a Root shinobi would develop seeing as Danzo had the necessary infrastructure to train such an agent so that would have to do.
Gripping the massive maces tightly, 012601 waited until Samehada crashed down on top of Asuma’s guard before jumping high into the air and then flipping upside down. A barrier seal fluttered in the wind above her heel momentarily before activating, providing a fleeting solid surface for the disguised rosette to kick off of, allowing her to rocket towards the ground. The flash of chakra that accompanied the barrier’s activation drew Kisame and Kurenai’s attention upwards as 012601 descended like a meteor, her maces pulled back for an earth shattering blow.
“Huh,” Kisame managed before he jumped backwards and the earth where he had been standing exploded under the force of the twin maces. Chunks of shattered concrete whizzed through the air, ripping into the trees and surrounding landscape and leaving gouges in the sidewalk and dirt paths but 012601 was far from done. The force of her blows had completely gone into her strike, leaving her free to move and she immediately shot forward in pursuit of Kisame.
The blue skinned swordsmen flashed a mad grin as he raised Samehada and then brought it down, his chakra momentarily glowing around his body as the weapon met 012601’s maces. Thunder echoed through the park, the weapons rebounding off each other and 012601 spun, using the recoil to bring her maces around for another strike. Kisame reacted just as quickly, shifting his stance and snapping the massive blade down towards the disguised rosette, only for their strikes to collide a second time.
“Hey Itachi, why didn’t you tell me Konoha’s ANBU had someone like this?” Kisame roared with laughter as he thrust his weapon forward, the scales catching on the haft of the mace in 012601’s left hand and ripping the weapon away from her along with a solid chunk of flesh from her shoulder. Gritting her teeth, the girl yanked her chakra away from Samehada’s influence, forcing it to remain within her network and redirecting it towards healing her wound as she jumped backwards and flicked a hand full of poisoned senbon towards the swordsman.
“I am unfamiliar with that ANBU.” 012110’s words drew no reaction from 012601 and it was likely the truth that he didn’t recognize her. Her hair had been dyed for this mission and a henge applied over it. Her scent was neutralized and a scent distorter added for when she began to sweat mid battle, while all Root members had almost identical chakra signatures thanks to their conditioning.
“Yuuhi, Sarutobi, his blade absorbs chakra and shaves off skin. Leave directly engaging him to me and provide support.” 012601’s voice sounded deeper thanks to the seal on her mask while her cadence and intonation were perfectly monotone, devoid of any personality. The two leaves tensed, aware of Root but unaware of its disbandment. Hatake knew but right now he was far too busy with 012110 to worry about such things.
“Alright,” Asuma pulled up his trench knives and the moment Kurenai began casting a genjutsu, 012601 charged. Kisame let out a barking laugh and met her head on. With only one mace, 012601 could feel the weapon creaking and straining with every clash. The Shock waves from their exchange ripped up the dirt and threw dust and debris high into the air. Asuma’s chakra burned bright before transforming into cutting blades that zipped through the haze but Kisame merely shifted his sword’s arc and absorbed the attack as he jumped away from a spine crushing blow.
“You’re strong but you’re not quite fast enough,” Kisame stated as he brought his hands together in seal pattern that 012601 recognized. Water surged up from the near by lake, spiraling forward in a massive crushing vortex and 012601 immediately pumped chakra into her legs and jumped. The earth ruptured under her heels despite the chakra she’d pushed into it to provide a solid surface and 012601 flew over the horizontal whirlpool as it gauged out the landscape.
Gripping her one remaining chui with both hands, 012601 launched it at Kisame who jerked to the side to avoid being splattered across the park. The weapon slammed into the ground, creating a massive impact crater as 012601 fell towards the swordsman, her fist pulled back and glowing with chakra. Kisame let out a laugh, grinning madly as his chakra shattered Kurenai’s attempts to pull him into a genjutsu.
“Let’s see if you can survive this one ANBU!” Kisame roared and swung Samehada upwards towards 012601. At the last moment, the disguised rosette let her chakra flex and substituted with her mace. The world shifted around her and a resounding boom rattled her ears as Samehada met her weapon, utterly destroying it as Sakura shot upwards following after Kisame. The man’s head turned, realization dawning on him as he continued his strike in a massive arc, scaled blades slamming into 012601, the edges biting through her armor and shattering her collarbone.
“Fuck,” Kisame rasped, blood spilling from his lips as he took a step backwards, the motion yanking 012601 forward as the blades dug in and pulled her. Beady black eyes met her masked gaze briefly a wet laugh leaving his lips as they traveled down to where her fist had punched clean through his chest. “Good fight.” Kisame rasped as he ripped his sword forward, shaving flesh and bone from 012601 as he hit the dirt, the last of his chakra dissipating and his eyes going dully and lifeless.
012601 popped a blood pill and the most powerful stimulant she had as she raised a hand to her wounded shoulder and neck to staunch the bleeding that would otherwise have killed her. She’d be able to heal the damage fully once she had proper medical equipment but for now, she had a sword to secure. Reaching down she gripped the blade and ignoring the needle of bone that rammed through her palm.
A quick glance towards 012110 and Hatake showed the Root traitor was now unconscious, Might Gai had joined the fight and 012110 was making his escape. Sarutobi and Yuuhi moved to follow the undercover operative only to fall back on Gai’s orders. Content the situation was under control, 012601 held up a half tiger seal and flickered away. She needed medical attention and rest, after all broken tools were no use to Konoha.