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| - "Can you walk any slower?" Kimiko shouted at Akemi from the end of the path. "Yeah, hurry it up." Her older brother Hikaru chimed in. Suppressing her urge to smack both the bratty children on the sides of their heads as she approached. It had been awhile since Akemi had been assigned a mission, 4 weeks in fact. Though Akemi had taken advantage of the surplus of free time to train, she had longed for a mission, simply to ease her boredom. Acting as the sole guard for two rather unpleasant teens was not the mission she had in mind. Hikaru and his younger sister Kimiko were the children of one of the wealthiest merchants in the Land of Fire from what Akmei knew. They had been brought to Akemi out outside the boundaries of the Hidden Leaf Village by a team of five chunin. Their father had began traveling to the Land of Craters with his caravan, while his children were to be escorted South, to The Land of Tea where their mother resided. The task had seemed simple enough, an easy task for a ninja of Akemi's caliber. No one had told her the hardest part of the mission would be NOT killing the people she was supposed to protect. Kimiko was an attractive young girl of 16, her long brown hair cascading over her back, obscuring the pink floral pattern on the expensive Kimono type overcoat she was wearing. The Kimiko's knee high boots had a similar pattern, stretching from the fur peering out from the inside of the boot to the thick heel that added an inch to Kimiko's height. Her brother Hikaru was only a year older, sporting a sleeveless shirt, no doubt showing of the weapon tattoos on his arms. Apparently his father dealt in rare weapons, several of which were now a permanent part of his son's body. A heavily embroidered black and gold staff ran up the teen's right arm, surrounded by am equally decorated whip sword of the same color. His left arm bore a set of decorated knives laid out across his flesh. Hanging from his expensive leather belt, Hikaru had a sheath completely concealing a finely crafted knife. Akemi knew it was finely crafted, because she had helped make it. Her and Yoru sensei had spent hours crafting a blade that was both beautiful and efficient. That knife was now around the waist of Hikaru, son of one of the richest merchants currently in existence. The thought left a bad taste in her mouth. Hikaru and Kimiko had been nothing but a thorn in Akemi's side since they had left the village. They were typical spoiled brats, nothing less and certainly nothing more. Kimiko went into a momentary rage every time dirt was kicked up from the trail and onto her attire. The outbursts occurred every ten minutes or so, the spaces filled with Hikaru making passes at Akemi, the last of which Akemi had threatened to drag him by a broken leg to their destination. The edge in her voice and the threatening look in her eyes had convinced Hikaru to remain distant from Akemi for now, but it was likely only a matter of time before his arrogance once again got the best of him. In addition, the siblings seemed to view Akemi as more of a servant than a hired bodyguard, constantly showing displeasure with her pace, whether slow or fast and insisting she perform laboring tasks such as carrying their bags when they got tired, which had been about 90% of the journey so far. Worst. Mission. Ever. Akemi thought as she began grinding her teeth. "Your so slow." Kimiko exclaimed. "We're never going to make it there in time if you keep slacking like this, and I am not sleeping outside on the dirt. If it gets dark before we reach the inn, you better come up with something fast." Hikaru slowed to allow Akemi to come even with him, stretching one of his tattooed arm over her shoulders. "Are you tired?" he asked with a tone that somehow emanated his confidence. "If you like you can rest in my room once we get to the inn?" Akmei shot Hikaru the same icy look she had before, getting him to immediately remove his arm and take a step away from Akemi. "I told you to back off." Akemi said with a hard edge in her tone. "I'm getting really sick of these advances. If you keep this up, you won't like what I do to you." Despite them obviously being a threat, Akemi's words didn't seem to have the desired effect, as Hikaru continued to look at her with a smug grin on his face. "Your so rude." Kimiko joined. "Our father is paying the Hidden Leaf a lot of money to keep us safe. We were told you were professional, not rude. Stop being so rude." Akemi could feel the veins in her face bulge for a moment before she took a deep breath to calm herself. Arguing with the brats would do nothing but slow them down. It was in Akemi's best interest, and theirs, that this mission be completed as quickly as possible. So far nothing had gone wrong. Akemi could only hope that the remained of the mission go as smoothly. Shai Uchiha looked out beyond his hideout. The sun shined through the leaves, causing them to glow in a glistening manner. "This moment, is proof perfection exists." He turns away from it, and opens up a scroll. "KILL HIKARU AND KIDNAP KIMIKO. A LEAF SHINOBI WILL BE TRANSPORTING THEM. DESTROY ANY EVIDENCE." Shai ignites the scroll, signaling his acceptance. "Minor jobs like this are bringing me one step closer.." He whispered. After walking for a while, Shai found a shinobi with two others. He looked closer, and to his surprise, saw a leaf headband. "That's them.. Time to strike!" He pulled out a sword, flying towards Hikaru. Akemi had barely had time to finish her thought when a sword wielding man emerged from seemingly no where. His weapon was aimed at Hikaru, but Akemi had not intention of letting the teen be injured, even if he was a brat. In a flash, Akemi had dropped the extra bags which hit the ground as Kimiko let out a high pitched scream, and maneuvered between Hikaru and the attacker. The man's sword clashed with Akemi's drawn kukri, the blades sparking off one another as they collided. Using her enhanced strength, Akemi pushed the man back, furthering the distance between him and the siblings. "What the hell?" Hikaru stammered as he fell back on the dirt trail. "You bastard!" Kimiko shouted from behind Akemi. "Your going to get dirt on my outfit if you keep moving around like that. Do you have any clue how much this costs?" Hikaru shot his sister a look. "Forget your outfit." he said annoyed. "He just tried killing me, with a cheap-o sword like that." Hikaru pointed to the sword in the man's grip. Hikaru rose to his feet a dusted his body off. "The Hell I'm gonna let a common blade cut me down." Akemi stomped her foot down, forming a small crater under her feet. In reality, the feat was accomplished with Earth Release, but I had successfully intimidated the siblings, as both suddenly became silent. "Shut up and keep back." Akemi ordered. "Your safe a long as I'm here." Shai sighed as he saw his attempt fail. "Children always have to be difficult.." He performed hand seals and touched the ground. "Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder!" The lightning flowed through his hands, breaking apart the earth. The crater now held an opening, giving Shai a new opportunity to attack. "Fire Release: Ash Burning Pile..!" He created a fog of ash, covering the whole area in the black smoke. Pushing the siblings back to avoid the powerful lightning, Akemi tossed her kukri in the air, forming four hand seals in rapid succession. A wide earth wall emerged behind her, separating the three of them from the black smoke the enemy combatant had spewed. "Stay here." Akemi instructed the siblings, who were both too shocked to do more than nod. Akemi stuck her hand to her side, catching her kukri as it descended back down to Earth. Akemi back flipped up onto her earth wall, adding a 180 twist so she would be facing the man when she landed. Akemi looked down at the man, taking in his features. His wild white hair and kimono over coat caused him to stand out against the forest backdrop. It seemed like an amateurish choice of attire, but looking into is battle hardened eyes, Akemi could tell the man was no rookie. This wouldn't be a simple confrontation, not with the siblings in play. Akemi would need to either end the confrontation quickly, or escape with both the siblings. "What is your business here?" Akemi asked the man, pointing her Kukri in his direction. Shai pulled out another sword, staring at Akemi. "My name doesn't matter. I have a mission to fulfill. If you let me do my job, I won't engage further." He finished his hand seals, igniting a huge blast of flames in the whole area. Walking through the forest of a country they were familiar with Shiga and Fangu were walking around when they heard loud explosions in the distance. They simultaneously looked in the direction of which the noise was generated from. "Bro. Look. That's smoke." Fangu pointed out. "I wonder what's going on over there?" Fangu looked at Shiga. "I think we should go check it out." Shiga suggested. The twins agree and starting for the area where the explosion where coming from. The explosion threw intense flames upwards over Akemi's earth wall, but the flames were simply absorbed through the pours on her skin, causing no harm. Steam radiated off of Akemi, as she quickly formed the Torā hand seal. "I was assinged a mission as well." Akemi explained. "To protect those two brats behind this wall." "What was that?" Kimiko shouted up at Akemi. "Did you just call us brats?" "To think, I was going to take you to dinner after this." Hikaru chimed in. Ignoring the two siblings, Akemi continued talking to the man. "I have no intention of letting you get to them. Now I am going to warn YOU. Leave now. Whatever your being paid, it's not worth making an enemy out of me." Akemi, now having not choice but to release the fire she had absorbed, strung together a rapid series of hand seals, completing all eight seals in mere moments. Thrusting her hand outward, a concentrated blast of fire shot from Akemi's arm, striking the ground next to the man and leaving a scorched rut in the earth. "Just leave." Akemi calmly instructed the man. Shai smiled, watching the sun shine again. "No more.Wind Release: Pressure Damage." The wind tore up everything, exposing the two children and the hiding spot. The wind began slicing towards Akemi, who's earth wall crumbled due to the wild force. Akemi reacted fast to the powerful technique. It appeared more than simple words would be required to solve this confrontation. Jumping off her wall, she landed between the two siblings, sheathing her kukri and wrapping an arm around each of their waists. "Wait, don't be so rough." Kimiko commanded. Akemi, replying on her enhanced strength, jumped back with the siblings, bringing them out of the range of the man's devastating attack. Akemi released both the siblings and covered her eyes as dust from the blast was kicked upward, stinging her face. "My outfit!" Kimiko shouted. "That bastard ruined my outfit!" "This is totally going to mess up my hair." Hikaru stated, brushing dust form his shoulder. With the bast clearing, Akemi could see the devastation left in its wake. Her earth wall had been devastated, now just the ends of the wall remaining on the edge of the crater that had been formed. The man stud tall at the epicenter of the destruction, not a single one of his white hairs having even been ruffled by the powerful attack. He was good. Better than Akemi would have originally guessed. Best to keep this fight simple. "It appears your skilled in Kenjustu." Akemi shouted to the man, referring to his blades. Akemi once again drew her kukri, angling it to catch the bright sunlight bearing down on the land. "How about we keep this simple. Blade to blade." Shai looked around, noticing the landscape. He ran his fingers through his hair and laughed. "Look at what I've done.." He thought. He turned and heard the kunochi yelling to him. "A sword fight huh? Let's see what that leads to.." Shai threw all seven of his swords in the air, catching them in a unique position. "Acrobat!" He yelled. With that, he began a high speed rotation of slicing blades towards Akemi, attacking with moves not even a dojutsu could keep up with. A bead of sweat formed on Akemi's forehead. She hadn't expected that. With seven swords swinging around freely, it would be near impossible for Akemi to keep up with her single kukri. Reaching into her tool pouch, Akemi produced a single kunai knife. She didn't typically use such weapons, but she always carried one as a last resort weapon. Though Akemi also had a trick up her sleeve, the man's unique form of sword play would be challenging, even for someone as skilled with a blade as Akemi. She had only heard of the Acrobat style of combat, made famous by the former 8-tails Jinchuriki, Killer B. Though she had heard volumes worth of information on how it was deadly effective and unpredictable, she had never heard anything about how to combat the particular style. Likely because such a method didn't truly exist. As the man drew near, Akemi began blocking the furious strikes with her kukri and kunai, sparks flying off of each contact of the two blades. Though Akemi's reflexes were far beyond that of a normal human, she could barely keep up with the man's slashes, frantically moving her weapons the keep the continues succession of attacks from cleaving her flesh, though she knew at this rate it was only a matter of time before one of the wild slashes made it through her defense. Shai continued to slash, focusing on weakening Akemi's defense. Akemi continued blocking, taking gradual steps back as the man's furious attacks forced her to backpedal. Akemi seemed to be fighting a loosing battle, the strike not letting up as her weapons were repeatedly knocked away. While focusing on her defenses, Akemi made a wrong step, leaving her slightly off balance as the mans pressed forward. "Damn!" she grunted out loud. Shai was finally able to move Akemi, and she was pushed over. Shai began to run at full speed, aiming for the two children. Not letting the man get far, Akemi allowed both her weapons to slip from her grasp as she fell, forming the Mi hand seal. A space opened up in the ground, underneath the man's foot. As the man sank knee high into the hole, the dirt returned to its original place, trapping the man's leg. With the man immobilized, Akemi quickly formed several more hand seals while lying on the dirt trail. Following which, several stone spikes emerged from the soil, surrounding the man and preventing any sudden movements on his part. Akemi scooped her weapons off the ground and swiftly positioned herself between the man and the siblings. "That's right you scumbag!" Hikaru shouted from afar. "You better hope she holds you back from he." "Shut up!" Kimiko screamed, obviously more shaken than her older brother. "Now, Akemi said, pointing the tip of her kukri between the man's eyes. "Who are you, and why are you so interested in these two?" Shai closed his eyes and began to smile. "Our mission..." As Shai whispered the words, Maroi and Vega jumped from the sides and ambushed Akemi. Vega knocked the stones from around Shai with his enhanced strength, and Maroi returned his swords back to him. Vega and Maroi stepped in front of Shai, announcing their appearance. "...is to take those two and do as we are being paid for!" Maroi and Vega finished. Shai walked in front of them, opening his eyes once more. "Now... Meet the full strength of Kanpeki!" Damn! Akemi shouted in her head as she was forced back by the emerging blond man's attack. This was bad. There was now way she could hold off three attacker from the siblings. There wasn't much choice now, the battle had started and there was no way to outrun them. Akemi had to fight, had to accomplish her mission, even if the situation was dire. Akemi skidded across the dirt, throwing her kunai back into the ground in front of the siblings. She heard Hikaru shout something at her, but tuned it out as she formed several quick hand seals and fired a volly of small fireballs at the trio of ninja. "Water Release: Water Trumpet!" Vega shouted. The fireballs made contact with the water, causing a mist to rise. Maroi activated her Byakugan, looking around. "The kids are over there! Let's go!" Kanpeki all went running towards the siblings, using the mist as a cover up. Shiga and Fangu has reached the area where the explosions came from. They noticed there was confrontation. "Bro. There's a fight!" Fangu pointed out. "Obviously Fangu. But there is something off about this. I don't think the two in the fancy clothes are ninja. I think this could be an ambush!" Shiga stated closing watching the fight. He continued, "It would be best to wait to see what happening before we act." The twins simultaneously activated their Sharingan. The group got closer, getting ready to attack. Shai pulled out a sword, while Maroi and Vega pulled out kunai. The siblings couldn't see thorough the mist, so they couldn't notice the assault. Kanpeki then began to attack, focusing on the two. Akemi's Fire Release attack had backfired, now being used as cover by the trio of ninja. They were good, no doubt. But Akemi wasn't about to allow her mission to fail so easily. Swiping her arm in a wide arch, Akemi launched a dozen Diamond Shuriken in a half circle, followed by a quick spin. Akemi's kukri was quickly surrounded in a veil of fire, which expanded and fell from her blade as she swung, forming a line of fire in front of her that spanned the length of the trail. After setting up her defenses, she jumped back out of the thinning mist, her kukri prepared to strike at the first enemy that made it past her defenses. A lunging slash to the jugular would be her attack of choice, her enhanced speed adding to the odds the strike would find its target. She would then have to double back after landing the first hit, catching the other attackers before they reached the siblings. "They are clearly outmatched. Fangu! Let's go!" Shiga exclaimed drawing his short swords. "Right behind you!" Fangu unraveled a scroll to summon his sword. After gather their weapons the twins rushed from the bushes where they were hiding, appearing in front of Akemi's group facing Kanpeki. "This is as far as you good." Shiga stated glancing at the three shinobi. Shai stood there, suprised at the new shinobi who appeared in front of his team. He looked at them, seeing their Sharingan. "If your going to interfere, I won't be hesitant to fight you either!" He awakened his Sharingan, and jumped back along with Maroi and Vega. "Water Release: Water Trumpet!" "Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!" "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullet!" With that Kanpeki had sent a devastating combo towards the group, ensuring damage to someone near it. Akemi, having rushed back between the siblings and the two shinobi that had suddenly appeared, Akemi quickly clasp her hands together, erecting a wide shield of diamond, blocking the triple team attack by the Kanpeki trio. Though the attack spanned a wide range, Akemi's shield provided adequate protection, halting any water, earth or wind that threatened to harm her, the siblings or the two armed ninja. To their flanks the mix of water and earth, its speed magnified by the powerful gust of wind, washed away everything in its path. Gravel and stones were picked up by the current, along with several small trees that crashed into the trunks of their larger brethren, some with enough force to snap them in two. The attack was well designed, each jutsu complimenting the other nicely, indicating their opponents were an experienced team, rather than just individuals. Once the attack had passed, Akemi, the siblings and the other ninja stud on a island of untouched earth, trenches of stripped earth roughly a foot deep ran on either side of them, displaying the effects of the triple team. Akemi separated her hands, allowing her shield to disintegrate into a fading cloud of sparkles that slowly vanished. Akemi bent over and plucked her kunai from the earth. She had thrown it back towards the twins to use in the event her kukri became lodged in a target, but she luckily had not had to implement the tactic. The sudden appearance of the two back haired shinobi had given her precious seconds to refocus, and forced all three of her opponents back to one side. Best of all, they appeared to have taken her side in the conflict. Perhaps they could be helpful, but for now Akemi preferred them to stay out of her way. The Kanpeki had picked a fight with her, interfered in her mission and pissed her off. though she didn't believe their assistance necessary, she was not so naive as to waste such a valuable resource. Stepping ahead of the two ninja, Akemi returned her kunai to her ninja pouch and stated "If you two wish to be of use, you can focus on guarding the two civilians behind us. Otherwise, don't get in my way and stay on my good side." Fangu gave Akemi a deranged look, a look that could clearly show his dissatisfaction from the response that come from the girl's mouth. "What in the holy fuck?!? We just came along to help, clearly seeing that you are outnumbered. Of all the-" Fangu's rant was interrupted by Shiga's response, "Not now, Fangu. All we will do is aid her in combating these three shinobi, protecting the children and then we will be on our way." Fangu sighed smacking his lips and silently cursing to himself. "Whatever." He sternly said lifting sword in the air to quickly bring it back down to his side. "Who are you calling children?" Hikaru shouted from behind the three shinobi. "I'm 16 damn it!" "Forget that!" Kimoko joined. "I got mud all over my shoes. Mud! You better make those filthy ninja pay for that!" "Blah Blah." Fangu interrupted them still facing foward. "For a couple of weak brats, you two sure do talk a lot. I think it would be best if you two to shut up and worry about if you are going to live pass today, rather than bitch over your age and shoes." Shai and his team sat there, waiting for the next move. Shai stepped out, pointing his sword towards the group. "Enough talking. We have a mission to do." He turned back to his team, nodding his head as to signal the next attack. Maroi jumped back, keeping watch with her Byakugan. Shai aimed for the sky, while Vega aimed for the ground. "Fire Release: Ash Burning Pile!" "Steel Release: Destruction Palm!" With that combo, Vega had destroyed the ground beneath the group, while Shai released a dangerous ash that was dangerous to breath. With little time to spare Fangu leaped into the air while Shiga grabbed the siblings and threw them into the air for Fangu to catch, retreating them to a safer distance. The ground gave in under Shiga after he threw the two to Fangu. With his great speed, Shiga was able to barely escape using the Body Flicker Technique. Akemi quickly rushed forward, her unnaturally strong legs propelling her forward. Akemi fired off a single small fireball form her mouth, aiming into the pile of ash the white haired Kanpeki man had spewed. Akemi leapt into the air as the ground began crumbling from the blond man's attack, throwing herself into the now ignited ash, her figure vanishing into the inferno. The flames surrounding Akemi seeped into the pores on her skin, being converted into Fire Nature chakra while also allowing Akemi to evade any burns. Akemi suddenly emerged from the other side of the flames, soaring toward the Kanpeki trio with her arm cocked back, still engulfed in flames. The massive amount of Fire Nature chakra concentrated into Akemi's arm would devastate whatever she hit. If she was lucky, the resulting fireball would be enough to engulf all three of her enemies, but her primary target was the white haired man. Shai ran on ahead, going after the twins. Vega saw the fireball and sliced it, cutting Akemi in the process. Meanwhile, Shai had reached the twins and his targets, and put out his hands for the next attack. "Lightning Release: False Darkness!" Shai's lightning had been released in a fast manner, aiming for the two children. Being near the brother and sister, Fangu proceeded to guard the with a barrier of pure yang chakra which made Shai's attack ineffective to strike them. "Nice try!" Shiga shout bringing Shai's attention to him. Shiga, using his immense speed, moved to Shai's position preparing to strike him with one of his falx short swords. Despite being knocked out of the air by the highly pressurized water release attack, Akemi was uninjured, having protected herself utilized Diamond Release: Armor to shield her flesh from the attack. Still, she had been knocked back and hit the ground hard. She was dazed but quickly regained her composure. The white haired man had gone after the siblings, but the two ninja, twins judging by their remarkable resemblance and similar stances, were providing more than adequate protection for the two brats. Akemi couldn't help but glance over as one of the twins slashed with his curved blade at the white haired man. Shai saw the attacking coming with his Sharingan, and blocked it with his own sword. "Sharingan eh? We're always open for donation for dojutsu!" Pulling out another sword, he thrusted it towards Shiga's chest, but was a false move."Wind Release: Godly Wind From the Mountains!" Shai blasted Shiga back, and set his eyes on the next brother. Meanwhile, Vega decided to go to Shai's side, noticing the battle difference of 2 against one. "Maroi! You fight her!" Maroi moved up, licking her lips. "So.. A girl on girl fight.." She stood in a Hyūga stance, prepared to fight. "Let's go!" Shiga's Sharingan could predict, Shai's moves and predicted his fake move. Using his immense speed with the Body Flicker Technique, Shiga moved to Shai's side. Immediately, Shiga covered his swords in flames, slashing waves of fire at both Shai and Vega. Akemi ignored the woman, apparently a Hyūga as indicated by the veins bulging around her eyes, at first as arm-like piles of earth rose from the ground and wrapped around the legs of the two men contending with the twins. The Earth Release Shadow Clones would only provide a momentary distraction, but nothing more. Hopefully her new found allied were competent enough to take advantage of the assistance. Though Akemi hated having to put her trust in complete strangers, it couldn't be helped in this situation. The three enemies were at least jounin level shinobi. Not even Akemi would be able to keep all of them at bay while protecting the siblings. It was a stroke of luck not doubt, but still Akemi watched them warily. Once one of the Kanpeki members had fallen, she would likely try and escape the battlefield with the siblings, whisking them away to the Land of Tea. But for the moment, Akemi had to deal with the Hyūga. "Hold on a minute." Akemi said to the woman. "We can play later." Shai and Vega were stuck. They had a flaming sword attack coming, and also had two earth clones holding them. Shai turned to Vega and smirked. "Vega, stop the flames. I can deal with these clones." With a sharp nod, Vega turned and spit out a huge wave of water, and kept going even after the flames were dispersed, to keep attacking Shiga. Shai released a huge wave of lightning that destroyed the Earth Release clones, giving him the chance to go after the other twin and children. On the other side, Maroi sat there, annoyed. "Seems like the Hyūga-style won't come in handy.." She began running towards the direction of Akemi, aiming her sleeve towards the kunochi. "Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands! Devour her my minions!" The snakes came in a fury, going straight for Akemi's body. Fangu noticed Shai coming toward him, gripping his sword tight, Fangu hurried toward Shai at quick speeds. "Bring it pretty boy." Fangu stated getting into close range of Shai preparing to clash sword with him. Meanwhile Shiga was avoid the jet of water being sprayed at him. "Is that really all that you've got?" Shiga insulted Vega. "Bro. You might want to give up now." As the snakes sped towards Akemi, she did little more than turn her head in the direction of the attack. As the snakes drew near, long spikes shot from Akemi's body, impaling each snake one by one as they came withing range. Within a single second, all the snakes had been impaled. The spikes broke off from Akemi's skin, allowing the pile of dead snakes to fall at her feet. "I told you to hold on." Akemi said, sounding nothing more than annoyed. "If you get impatient I'll have to kill you." "Don't underestimate me boy.." Shai whispered to Fangu. He threw all his swords in the air and caught them one by one. "Acrobat!" Shai yelled. He began his assault, attacking Fangu's whole body. Vega has been sitting there, ignoring the taunting of Shiga. "Hush you little Uchiha. You don't want me to get serious." Vega aimed for the ground, and began rapidly striking the ground, instantly trapping him and Shiga deep under the earth. Vega smiled, seeing the reaction of the Uchiha. "We can really fight now." Meanwhile, up on the surface, Maroi saw her failed snake attempt. "Did she really just threaten to kill me? A medical prodigy?" She sat down and folded her legs, channeling chakra. "This next one won't be so gentle.." As Maroi began channeling her chakra, a mound of mud leaped form the ground, taking on Akemi's form as the arms wrapped around Maroi's upper body, pinning her arms to her side. Akemi clasped her hands together, focusing her Earth Nature chakra as she did. Withing moment's, four earth walls formed around Maroi's body, proving no room for movement. Each wall stud ten meters tall and two meters thick, trapping Maroi in a tower of stone. The Earth Clone wrapped around her body snickered as it brought its hands in front of Maori's face to form the Mi seal. Maori felt her feet sink into the earth, preventing any possibility of an easy vertical accent. "Get comfortable." Akemi's clone laughed. "Your going to be here awhile." Fangu tried his best to defend against the speeding attack formation of the Acrobat kenjutsu. Ultimately, Shai outmatched Fangu speed but with his gigantic sword in hand, one swings of it could bisect his Shai's body completely. Decided out to for the fatal move, Fangu turned his sword on the unsharpened side and swung it with great strength to knock Shai away for him without killing him. Down underground, Shiga gave Vega a blank facial expression. "Dude. Do you realize what you just did?. That wasn't really a smart choice to enclose me in an area of this size." Shiga quickly moved to Vega's position, using his intense speed, Shiga slashed at Vega using his dual wield falx blades avoiding vital spots. Upon the time of attacking, Shiga activated his right Mangekyō Sharingan watching out of any sudden counter attacks. Vega smiled as the blade made contact with his body. "Did you attack me ?" The two of them looked down. Vega had his body fully armoured, meaning the attack did nothing. Vega had his Steel Release: Titan Style activated, so he was stronger than ever. "Your eyes.. Mean nothing to me!" He activated his Sharingan, and had moved Shiga away from his body. Meanwhile, Shai's sword has made contact with Fangu's body. "Finally! Activate!" Suddenly, Fangu dropped to the ground unable to move. "This is my wonderful technique, Magnet Release: Conserving Bee Twin Blades. You won't be moving for a while!" He saw the kids, cowering with each other. "Sorry kids, but I've got a mission. Magnet Release: Magnetic Prison!" Out of nowhere, Shai had trapped the hostages in a magnetic field, unable to move. On the other side of the field, Maroi was in Akemi's trap. "Hmm.. Seems like my jutsu will have to wait." Moving her jaw around she dislocated it, and emerged from her own body in a new one, and escaped the trap. She slammed her hand on the ground, activating her jutsu. "Sage Art: Dragon Barrier!" At that moment, Maroi trapped Shai and the hostages in her barrier, making escape futile without her abilities. "This way.. We can complete our mission!" Akemi watched as the barrier formed around the siblings, mortified that the enemy had gotten to them. This wasn't safe. She had to get the siblings out of here. Simply leaving them to the tug and war between the twins and Kanpeki men was bound to fail. She should have known better, leaving her mission in the hands of strangers. No doubt, she would first have to deal with the woman in her Earth Release trap. Her clone has release, relaying the fact that the woman not only was bound to escape, but cast the barrier technique. She would be the first to die. Again forming hand seals in a blur of motion, Akemi pressed her hands to the earth at her feet. The earth beneath the stone tower began to turn in on itself, collapsing the stone tower and forcing the debris, and hopefully the woman, underground. Maroi struggled to dodge the attack, due to the chakra taxing barrier she had set up. "If I get trapped, I-" suddenly, Maroi had slipped, and the rocks had collapsed all on top of her. From underground, Shiga heard screams of succession and his started to fear the worst. "Did Fangu fail?" Shiga silently thought not showing his worried tensions. "I've go to get back up there." With his blades ready, Shiga sprinted toward Vega covering them in fire. Up above them, Fangu could feel the magnetic field grip slowly loosen from his body. "Thank goodness." Fangu stated slowly lifting his body from the ground. After getting up, he noticed how close Shai were to the children and Akemi's worried expressions confirmed what was happening. "This isn't good!" Fangu stated hurrying to Akemi side. "What should we do?" "Just don't die." Akemi replied, not even looking the Uchiha in the eye. Akemi's hands whipped around in a blur of motion as she rapidly formed her hand seals. Akemi thrust her arm to the white haired man, firing a concentrated fire blast at the man's chest. The infamous Fire Release: Rivet technique. A concentrated fireball that flies at an incredibly fast pace. The fire is capable of striking a human's chest and still have enough power left over to scorch whatever lies behind. Akemi had, on several occasions while training with the technique, burned holes through several thick plates of steel in a single blast. The man would have to act quickly should he not want to die is a blaze of inglorious defeat. With his new found defense, Vega was able to block the incoming sword attack, and pushed Shiga back with a thrusting palm of wind. "I can tell you want to leave.. But we'll finish this!" Vega once again had struck the ground, making the underground battle field once again get dreper. Meanwhile on the surface, Shai had focused his chakra on the magnetic prison. "As long as Maroi keeps this barrier up, we won't be harmed.." Suddenly, the barrier disappeared, signaling Maroi's defeat. It left Shai exposed, as he sensed a huge chakra coming straight at him. "Damn it.. My life comes before a mission!" Shai used his Magnet Release sand to block the fire, keeping him safe. However, in the process, Shai's control over the sphere was lost, and the siblings were free from Shai's control. "Oh no... I have to get them back.." Shai whispered. Without any time to spare, Fangu quick charged toward Shai. "I'll hold him off while you get those brats!" Fangu equipping his sword with massive flames. Upon reaching Fangu swung his sword to knock Shai away instead of cutting. Underground, Shiga plunged deeper under the surface. he was growing frustrated with Vega's tactic to seperate them. "Is this it? Is this all that you have? Pretty lame." Taking advantage of the chaotic situation, Akemi again clasp her hands together, concentrating Earth Nature chakra underneath the siblings. In a moment's notice, and tunnel formed underneath the two siblings, causing them to plummet into the earth. "This is so dirty!" Kimiko screamed, her voice echoing to the surface. With the twins now out of the battlefield, Akemi rush toward the tunnel at full speed, dropping several small smoke bombs as she ran. The smoke quickly filled the area, masking her movements as she jumped into the tunnel's opening, shutting it behind her. Now underground. Akemi pulsed Fire Release chakra through her hand, forming several small flames at her fingertips that illuminated the darkness. As her feet made contact with the slanted surface she had formed, she began sliding downward, hearing the screams of the two siblings just ahead of her. It was no small feat forming a tunnel of this size on such short notice. It had taken a notable chunk of chakra to do so.Akemi had taken advantage of the terrain, knowing the battle was taking place on a plateau, with a valley not far away. The tunnel led downwards towards the valley, hopefully ending in the river Akemi had spotted earlier. The escape method may earn her a lifetime of complains from the bratty siblings, it was much better than taking their chances with the Kanpeki. Fearsome ninja indeed. Shai's rage began to boil, his chakra leaking out. "I have a goal. And I won't let pesky ninja ruin it!" Activating his Mangekyō, Shai took the attack head on, using his Susanoo to block Fangu's attack. "Don't underestimate me Uchiha.." Shai took his skeletal arm and knocked Fangu with it. "Vega! Maroi! Find those children NOW!" He screamed. Vega deactivated his Sharingan and smiled at Shiga. Sorry, but my boss wants me to do something else. Maybe we can fight another time!" Vega began jumping on the walls, in his attempt to leave the underground battlefield. Meanwhile, Maroi's body was trapped under the rubble. "I can't let my master down..Sage Mode!" Sensing the chakra of Akemi and the siblings, she found their chakra signature in the ground. "I'll inform Shai with a snake. I'll go after them." Without distrubimg the rubble, Maroi used her snake form to travel through the ground, tracking the snakes. Using her own snakr summons, she had them take other paths in the ground to search for the kunochi and the children. Fangu was able to guard against the Susanoo arm by using his sword. Only being knocked away a few feet. Fangu then infused lightning in his sword to continue battling Shai to allow Akemi to escape. Meanwhile Shiga watched as Vega made his escape. "I don't think so." Shiga stated focusing his dōjutsu on Vega. With Vega being Shiga's line of sight, Shiga would be able to instantly move to Vega's position to grab his leg to pull him back down. Seeing the exit he would then use the same thing to get to the surface. Vega landed harshly when he was pulled down. "Grr... You pesky Uchiha!" Suddenly, Vega felt a sharp pain in his side. "Fuck! I used too much of the-" he passed out, exhausting his chakra. Up on the surface, Shai was trying to get past Fangu. "I refuse to use anymore chakra fighting you.." He formed two swords, and began slashing at Fangu. Meanwhile, Maroi was hot on the trail of finding Akemi and the siblings. "Found them.." She thought. She burst through the area, and came from behind Akemi to grab the kids. "Mission complete." Maroi laughed as she began escaping with the kids. As the snake-like woman burst through the wall of the tunnel and slithered past her, Akemi had already started forming hand seals. It wasn't too difficult to form her seals while maintaining her balance, as her intense training had forced her to do so in much more compromising situations. Still it felt like an eternity against the impressive speed the of snake woman. By the time Akemi had completed the seals, the woman had already grabbed the siblings as they slid down the tunnel. Kimiko's screams shift from sounds of fear to cries of sheer terror as she laid eyes on the half-human, half-serpent creature that had grabbed her. Akemi couldn't blame the poor girl. Akemi could see Hikaru frantically grabbing for his knife, but between the rapid sliding and the grip of the snake woman, it was proving too challenging for him. Not that the weapon would do him much good, as the woman was without a doubt the superior fighter. The siblings were completely helpless as the woman began carrying them away. Not allowing her adversary time to escape, Akemi fired off a volley of quick fireballs, intentionally shooting past the woman and the siblings, knocking derbies form the tunnel down on the woman, forcing her to evade them and thus slow her pace. As her target drew closer, Akemi pushed her feet off the stone surface she had been sliding on, shooting towards the woman at great speed. As Akemi drew her kukri, time seemed to slow. This was a pivotal moment. Should her attack fail, the woman would undoubtedly escape with the siblings, leaving them to whatever fate was in store. In order to save Kimiko and Hikaru, she had to make this attack count. The speed alone was enough the catch her enemy off guard, let alone the sheer boldness of the maneuver. Whether this would be enough to save both the siblings, was about to be decided. Akemi flew toward the woman, catching up in mere seconds. Akemi spun her body around, allowing her feet be the first body part to pass over the woman's head, followed by her legs and abdomen. Akemi swung her kukri, the diamond blade slicing cleanly through the arm holding Hikaru. The slash continued, moving towards the arm holding Kimiko, but before the blade could slice through the woman's flesh, Akemi felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. Maroi wasn't paying attention when the kunochi was coming for her. She felt a sharp pain go through her right arm, until she didn't feel anything. She quickly turned and faced Akemi, blood leaking from the arm. "I can't allow let her go freely.." She thought. Quickly opening her mouth, Maroi released a snake that contained a sword in its mouth, and it aimed right for Akemi's abdomen. Shiga managed to catch up the his brother, who was fighting Shai. Immediately going to aid Fangu. Upon getting close Shiga swiftly interfered with Shai's attempt to attack by block with his swords."We should also take this chance to retreat." Shiga suggested. Fangu quickly agreed throwing a smoke bomb that allowed them to escape. "I hope she got away as well." Shiga thought leaving the area alongside his twin. Shai realized he couldn't sense neither one of the twins, and used his Susanoo arms to push back the smoke. The only thing he saw, was a battered battlefield. He sensed Vega's faint chakra signature, and went after him. Seeing the huge tunnel Vega had created, he looked down, discovering a Vega Senju lying in place staring up. "Get up here." Shai sails calmly. Vega climbed up until he reached the surface, and faced Shai in the opposite direction. "They got away didn't they?" Vega asked. Shai proceeded to turn around, deactivating his Susanoo. "The twins did. I'm not sure about Maroi and the targets though.." He turned towards a tunnel, facing the direction of a river. "Let's just hope Maroi didn't go overboard." The blade drove itself into Akemi's abdomen, piercing her mesh armor vest. Akemi felt the familiar sting of metal parring flesh as the blade made it's way several inches into her body. She hadn't had time to create a defense for the attack while she was attempting to slice through the woman's arms, nor did she expect such an attack to come from her opponent's mouth. The thrusting attack pushed Akemi backwards, causing her kukri to only graze the second arm, leaving Kimiko trapped in the woman's grip. Falling off the blade, Akemi began tumbling down the tunnel ahead of the woman, no longer gracefully sliding, but violently bouncing along the rocky surface. The woman was close behind, the blade still sticking outward from her mouth. Kimiko continued to scream hysterically, her mouth being the only part of her body not paralyzed with fear. This was bad. Though Hikaru was free, Kimiko was still in enemy hands. Akemi's eyes closed as her mind raced through the few options she had. She could of course attack the woman again, the boldest option. This was of course the most immediate way to save Kimiko, but this also put her in the line of fire. Even if Akemi was to attempt to be precise with her attack, The woman was of notable skill, and in her snake-like form, striking her would be difficult. Trying to take her out seemed to provide more cons than pros in this given situation. That left Akemi with the more morally questionable, but perhaps wiser option of cutting her losses and escaping with Hikaru. Since the woman had made no attempt to stab Kimiko with her mouth sword, it was clear to Akemi they were trying to capture Kimiko, not kill her. She was unsure if the same went for Hikaru, but Akemi had no intention of giving the woman the opportunity to do either. Akemi had little choice, she had to at least save Hikaru. Akemi regained her balance and sheathed her kukri. She would have to block off the tunnel without hurting Kimiko, and she had just the jutsu. Akemi clap her hand together, closing her eyes and cursing under her breath. A diamond spike shot upwards form the edge of the tunnel, separating the woman from Akemi. The spike shot into the side if the tunnel opposite its origin, digging into the stone as more spikes began branching off of it. Withing moments the stone surrounding the tunnel was filled with diamond spikes, making pursuit near impossible for her enemy. As Akemi slid down the tunnel, she heard Kimiko's screams fade as she grew further away. Akemi growled at herself, simply for allowing her mission objective to slip away with such ease. She felt a moment of remorse, almost feeling bad for Kimiko, but the thought was quickly replaced by a bubbling rage. "Damn it!" Akemi shouted, her voice echoing through the tunnel, reaching all the way to the ears of her rival. Maroi had finally caught up with her team mates, who were waiting there for her. "Mission is partially accomplished.." She whispered. Shai turned away from them and began walking. "Next time, we won't fail. But for now.. We have another target to finish catching."
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