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| - As Utakata left his camp, he heard a small disturbance in the brush behind him, but when he checked for chakra, there was none. What was it? Warily, he continued on. Several minutes later Josho Adashino materialized in front of Utakata, holding a large curved blade of obsidian. "Good to see you again! But then, I doubt you feel the same way." With a kunai in hand, Utakata began to pulse with a sickly white light, as a slow, bloated chakra began to surround him thickly. No use waiting; I know I can't match this one without the Six-Tail's chakra. He matched Odayaka, and if he's Akatsuki, he may have some new tricks up his sleeve. "No, I can't say I am, sorry." Josho's grin broadened. "Well, then..." He hurled the blade he had been holding with extraordinary force, and Utakata was just barely able to change its course with the Slug's chakra. "Very good." Utakata crushed the ground where Josho was standing with immense force, ripping up the grass. Josho blocked the blow, spun around his opponent, and gave him a clout to the back. Utakata gasped in shock and pain. "How are you this fast? Speed wasn't your strong point when we last met." The trees echoed an evil laugh in a way wood shouldn't have. "You see," Josho said, "When you camped last night, I saw you, and knew you would be coming this way. So, I prepared a little something special." He crushed his fist into the tree. As he pulled his fist away, a bit of bark fell to the ground. Beneath it was the black rock that was obsidian. "I turned this section of the forest into my turf, from the inside out!" Suddenly, the surrounding trees all gave a twist, and the bark and leaves were thrown off, revealing large obsidian shapes. The same happened with the grass. "The more obsidian I have to funnel my energy and chakra through, the faster I can go." Drawing two black kunai, he charged Utakata at great speed. Suddenly, the chakra around Utakata seemed to congeal, obscuring his face. As Josho reached it, it wrapped itself about him, impeding him. At Utakata's nod, it pushed against Josho, and then molded itself against it's owner's arm, brushing Josho aside. "Not so easy." Josho scowled as he picked himself up. "Like you said, speed isn't my strong suit. That's a neat little trick I've picked up, but I have plenty of others." Suddenly there was a sharpening noise from above. Utakata began to move his head upwards, but had no time. The branches of the obsidian trees, which had formed themselves into blades, suddenly catapulted at Utakata, splitting into two blades as they did, and from every knot, or squirrel hole, spikes shot out. The glassy black leaves spun about, turning into deadly carving knives as they went. In a burst of smoke, Utakata summoned an enormous scale, larger than himself. Moving as quickly as he could, he raised it over himself and cowered against the ground. There were a number of loud impacts which made his ears ring, and then silence. The shield vanished, the puff of smoke covering Utakata as he moved towards Josho. "Not quite!" says Josho as he impales the form in the smoke with a kunai. "Sorry, but I was not born yesterday!" As two exploding bubbles thrust Josho forwards and leave soaking gashes in his arms, Utakata bows. "I am apologetic, but I have to point out a lie there." "That's IT! I've had enough!" Josho formed several hand seals."I'm stopping this farce', here and now! Fields of Despair!" As if a droplet of dark water had been dropped and spread, the grass lying above the obsidian vanished in a rippling motion, and the obsidian itself turned darker, more like a black pond. The chakra about Utakata lessened a little, and a look of doubt entered his eyes. Shrugging off the strange feeling now beginning to permeate his thoughts, Utakata formed some hand seals of his own. "Bubble Containment Sphere!" A film of water and bubbles formed around him, encasing Josho completely. However, suddenly Utakata hesitated for a moment. Then, his eyes widened in fear, and his lips bared. The orb around Josho began to wane in strength, and he pierced it with a spike of obsidian which he drew from his belt. Struggling to get to his feet, Utakata braced himself with a kunai for the oncoming attack. Josho simply spread his arms wide, and smiled. Utakata looked suspicious for an instant, but then he immediately sank to his knees, a look of grief on his face, and the kunai dropped from his hand. "No... I won't..." Suddenly, Utakata's face looked extremely strained, as what is almost an extension of his body appears behind him, and a large quantity of chakra bubbled around him. With it, he melted away the obsidian, and dug himself into the ground. Once he was off the rock, his expression cleared."This isn't so easy." "Ha!" Josho concentrated for an instant, and several spikes shot up from the ground. The chakra around Utakata's lower body seemed to bulge for an instant, and appeared blue. The spikes melted away once again, as if touched by acid. Then, taking a deep breath, Utakata released a spiraling stream of bubbles. "Curse you! This was easy!" Once again showing his speed, Josho dodged under a tree's branches. Then, he looked up and grinned. With a flick of his hand, he sent the tree spinning, losing its shape, about Utakata. "Escape that!" Seeing that he could not easily melt through the entire tree, Utakata simply waited for the tree to spin around to his back, then, using a bubble to slow it down ran out. "No!" Josho was slowly losing his temper. "Tomb of Creation!" Focusing the endpoint on the now curved obsidian behind Utakata, he created a long tunnel of fire and rock. As two more tails grew, gorging on the chakra of the Slug, Utakata's skin began to dampen extremely, like that of a slug, so he was not burned. "You're pushing me here." "I will throw you before I'm done!" Without relinquishing the jutsu, Josho rammed Utakata with a large chunk of obsidian from the ground, sending him into the fire directly. As he tumbled through the fire, Utakata gasped in pain. "Very nice, very nice." Standing up, he fixed his gaze on Josho. "I'm going to make you pay." He formed the necessary signs. "Osprey!" A torrent of bubbles merged together, forming a large sea hawk with waves of water streaming off it. In shock at the retaliation, Josho was too slow in reacting. His obsidian wall didn't catch the entire bird, and he was thrown back, seeing spots. "I can't keep holding back any longer!" A fourth tail grew, and the four surrounded Utakata, each as thick as his body. The chakra condensed with more which bubbled up from his throat, and then was blasted outwards, ripping up the ground as it struck at Josho. "Menacing Ball!" Eyes widening, Josho drew all the surrounding obsidian around him, and quickly drilled into the ground. The force was mostly dissipated, but he was still tossed backwards. Standing, he performed several hand signs, and yelled, "Obelisk Guardian!" "Wha-?" Utakata was suddenly pushed aside from behind. As he turned around, he saw a puppet, half covered in obsidian, being crushed by Gyrawani's jaws. Next to the crocodile was Odayaka. "YOU!" Suddenly Josho's eyes seemed more red than the Sharingan, blazing with unbridled fury and hatred. "You will die here!" Two other puppets, these completely covered in obsidian and resembling winged lion warriors nearly twice the height of a human, crouched in trees above Odayaka and shot brimstone and fire in a stream at him. Gyrawani vanished, and as he did, the green crocodile statue on Odayaka's shoulder began to glow. Suddenly, he vanished and reappeared several feet behind where he was. "I don't care what new tricks you have... I have some too, and I will kill you if I have to use them all and lose the Jinchuriki too!" Josho concentrated for an instant, and then he vanished, and a kunai stabbed Odayaka in the arm. Odayaka turned to see Josho standing, one arm on an obsidian chunk, right beside him. "You won't kill me, but you may use all your tricks, and you will lose the Jinchuriki." Suddenly Gyrawani reappeared besides Utakata. Gyrawani shot out a burst of water at Josho, which was easily dodged. "Odayaka, you can't beat him alone." "Yes I can. Go!" Suddenly Gyrawani, with Utakata and Odayaka on his back, leapt into the water. "Good riddance Josho!" "No!" A puppet grabbed onto them, stopping them from leaving. "This won't stop us." Odayaka said, and Gyrawani crushed it in his jaws. Then the crocodile spoke. "Technique of Forefathers: Primordial Immersion!" The three began to sink into the water, deeper than should have been possible. Concentrating once again, Josho appeared on the puppet's body, grabbing Gyrawani as they sank. It isn't OVER!
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