The man carrying the basket stopped as purple smoke erupted from its seams. He stepped back as the top came off and a figure shot out from the opening.
Sasuke landed in front of the man with his head down.
"Sasuke Uchiha, you are to continue west for another four hours. Our allies await you at the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of Rice Fields."
Sasuke simply nodded as he stood up fully and sprinted off. The man spoke to himself as he looked back in the direction he came from.
"In the meantime, I hope you can be a good enough challenge for me, Leaf Ninja."
Three figures landed before the man moments after he spoke.
"Naruto, Sakura, you two go on ahead. Sasuke's heading directly west. We've lost enough time already."
Adrik stared down the man as his two teammates nodded back. They began running in the direction that Sasuke had left in. Neither of them noticed when a white knife was thrown in their direction, only to impact with a black wall of hardened ash.
"So, you wish to be the first to die, then?"
The man turned back to Adrik.
"May I have your name?"
Adrik shrugged as he drew his daggers.
"Adrik Uzumaki. You?"
"Kimimaro Kaguya. For your sake, I hope that you are strong enough to keep me entertained."
Adrik narrowed his eyes before rushing forward, each of his steps being traced by small clouds of ash. He jumped up high before stabbing down with his left hand dagger.
Kimimaro crossed his arms and grabbed each of his shoulders. From his skin, bones popped out. He grabbed the bones and pulled, revealing a sharp, white sword in each of his hands. He blocked the downwards stab with his right hand sword and slashed upwards with his left.
Adrik pushed himself off of Kimimaro's blade and rotated to his left, avoiding the slash. He continued his spin into a stab to Kimimaro's side. The white haired man jumped back to avoid the attack before rushing back in to deliver a cross slash with his swords.
Adrik crossed his daggers in front of him to block the attack. He grit his teeth as he skidded back from the force of his opponent's strike.
Adrik quickly sheathed his daggers and thrust his open palms forward.
"Cinder Bomb!"
A large ball formed in Adrik's hands before it was launched forward at high speeds. Kimimaro didn't even flinch as the attack grew closer and closer.
Adrik narrowed his eyes as he noticed Kimimaro hadn't even moved. The smoke cleared to reveal the white haired man with his arms in a cross formation. What seemed a shield of white bones protruded from each of his arms, further protecting him.
He rested his arms at his sides as the shields began to recede back into his arms.
"This is the Dead Bone Pulse, the bloodline of my clan. I can manipulate my bone structure at will to do whatever I desire-"
Kimimaro was cut off as he was punched in the face by an ash covered fist. Adrik was surprised when a hand shot up and grabbed his outstretched wrist. It pulled his fist away to reveal Kimimaro without so much as a scuff mark of his cheek.
"-Such as forging armor."
Kimimaro reared back his free left hand before thrusting it forward straight into Adrik's gut, sending him flying back with his eyes widened in pain.
Kimimaro watched as the dust settled to reveal another figure helping Adrik to his feet. The figure seemed to pay no mind to him until Adrik was standing once again.
"Huh? The hell are you doing here, Lee?"
Rock Lee smiled at his friend as he held the teen by the arm to steady him.
"I was discharged from the hospital in no time thanks to Lady Hokage! I am back at one hundred percent, now! Oh, and I helped Shikamaru before arriving here!"
Adrik tilted his head slightly before nodding along and looking over at their enemy.
"Well, I could probably use some help with this guy. He's definitely jonin level and I can't even leave a scratch on him."
Lee nodded and his smile dropped as he and Adrik got into their fighting stances.
"I see! Then let us fight together! I am sure we can win as a team!"
Adrik let out a small grin as he nodded and unsheathed his daggers.
"Glad to have you back, Lee."
"And I am glad to be back, Adrik!"
X
"Damn it, Sasuke, I said stop!"
Naruto and Sakura chased Sasuke up the cliff face of a place known as the 'Valley of the End'. The three genin stopped as they landed on the head of one of the two statues that faced each other, being the statue of Madara Uchiha.
Sasuke turned around to face his teammates with a strange look. His three tomoe Sharingan slowly spun as he stared at them.
"Please, leave."
Sakura stepped forward slightly.
"What are you saying? Come on, you need to come back to the village."
Sasuke didn't make a single move, instead staring down the two genin across from him. He slowly drew his tanto, making Naruto's and Sakura's eyes go wide.
"I can't go back. Please, just leave me."
Naruto stepped forward but turned his head back as Sakura put a hand on his shoulder.
"Naruto..."
Naruto flinched when he saw Sakura's expression become one of horror. Just on his instincts alone, he leaned back, narrowly avoiding a slash aimed at his face.
"If you won't leave, then I'll make you."
Naruto stared at Sasuke wide eyed as the dark haired teen's body became covered in black markings. Naruto silently drew his katana with concern in his blue eyes.
Sasuke leaned back to avoid a punch from Sakura before slashing upwards at her arm. Naruto ran forward and intercepted the slash with his own weapon, clashing with Sasuke for a short time.
Sasuke let go of the clash to block a barrage of mud bullets from his left with his tanto. He quickly back stepped again as Naruto sent a kick towards him.
Sasuke sheathed his tanto and made quick hand seals.
"Fire Style: Grand Fireball!"
Naruto and Sakura had to jump far back to avoid the raging fire that spewed from Sasuke's mouth. They landed next to each other on the statue opposite of the first, depicting Hashirama Senju.
"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?! We're your friends!"
Sasuke looked blankly at Naruto.
"That is why I need to leave."
This confused the two genin even more than they already were.
"Okay, you seriously need to tell us what the hell is going on! You're one fight away from becoming a missing nin, and we all know that!"
Sasuke stared at Sakura for a moment before shaking his head.
"That is fine with me. I need to get stronger and Orochimaru can give me exactly what I require."
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he shouted back at his teammate.
"Oh, hell no! If this is some stupid power grab so you can get revenge or somethin', I swear I will beat your ass until you can't move!"
Sasuke simply shook his head before raising his hands into a short string of seals.
"Lightning Style: Lightning Bullets!"
Naruto and Sakura acted quickly, performing hand seals of their own.
"Wind Style: Wind Bullets!"
"Earth Style: Mud Bullets!"
The various elemental bullets shot towards each other, impacting and causing a large cloud of dust to cover the area.
X
Kimimaro raised his hands to either side with each of his fingers pointed at his two opponents.
"Dead Bone Pulse: Drilling Bone Bullets."
A loud bang sounded out as ten bullets pierced through the air heading towards Lee and Adrik. With his weights off, Lee managed to completely avoid the five bullets that were shot at him. Adrik, however, was forced to block the bullets with a barrier made of solid ash.
Kimimaro lowered his arms before turning to the right to block a punch that came from Lee. Lee ducked under the punch aimed at his face and tried to sweep Kimimaro's legs. The man didn't even flinch as Lee kicked him in the ankle.
Lee's eyes widened as he was grabbed by the collar and pulled into an elbow that crashed into his face. Kimimaro made a small bone blade from his palm while still holding onto Lee before turning around to deflect a dagger slash from Adrik.
After his left dagger was deflected, Adrik crouched lower before sending his right hand dagger up. Kimimaro saw this and, on his torso where he would've been stabbed, a ribcage appeared to catch the dagger before it could reach his skin.
In a panic, Adrik tried to pull his dagger away, only to realize it was wedged. Kimimaro took a step back as he shifted to grab both of the Leaf Ninja by the backs of their heads. Now out of the way, he slammed the two head first into each other, producing a loud cracking sound.
Before the two teens could recoil from the impact, he kicked them away in the same direction. He caught the dagger that was in his ribcage that began to break down and threw it at the two teens before they could land.
Adrik cracked an eye open and barely caught his own dagger in time before it could hit him. He and Lee tumbled as they landed before catching themselves.
Adrik and Lee stared down Kimimaro, panting lightly as they tried to think of what to do.
"Neither of you will make it out alive if that is all you have to offer. You would be better off giving up."
Adrik grit his teeth as he stopped panting. He and Lee stood up fully, having come to the same conclusion. Kimimaro is too strong for how they are. They were too weak to injure the man and barely fast enough to keep themselves alive. While their heads were in pain and they struggled to focus, this seemed like their best option. They both got into the same stance as they concentrated.
"First Gate: Gate of Opening, Open!"
Kimimaro felt a sudden change from his two opponents and readied himself. Whatever they had done, it was clear they were taking this fight much more seriously than before. He drew a bone sword in his left hand and brought it up to deflect a cross slash from both of Adrik's daggers. He was somewhat surprised as he had to put much more strength into defending than before. Being preoccupied with Adrik, he couldn't put his free arm up in time to block the kick aimed at his side.
Kimimaro grunted as he took the kick. He jumped up to avoid the black spike aimed at him and aimed his fingers down.
"Dead Bone Pulse: Drilling Bone Bullets."
The two teens easily avoided the bullets. Lee jumped up as high as he could while Adrik stayed grounded. Kimimaro flinched as he felt something wrap around his ankle, not allowing him to move. With the man being held in place, he was forced to block the punch from Lee. Kimimaro grunted in slight pain as he felt cracks beginning to form in his right arm.
With his bloodline, it wasn't much of a problem as he could easily repair the damage done to his bone structure. What got to him, however, was the fact that he had purposefully made his arm bones denser to defend against the attack like he had before. It seemed the two Leaf Ninja had more up their sleeves than he was prepared for. Perhaps it was time for him to get a little serious, too.
X
Naruto ducked to avoid his Shadow Clone that came flying at him. He flinched from the painful memory of being hit by a lightning enhanced palm strike.
He rolled to the right to avoid a volley of shuriken engulfed in fire before jumping to the left to avoid a bullet made of lightning.
Sakura wasn't much better off, only being able to block a few attacks before having to spend chakra to make more Earth Walls. The Shadow Clone made by Sasuke wasn't giving her any room to breath, constantly bombarding her with sword strikes while throwing in some taijutsu and even a Lightning Bullet jutsu.
Sakura threw a few senbon at the clone as she jumped back, only for none of them to come close to hitting their mark. She narrowly avoided a slash before jumping back once again and spewing a few Mud Bullets.
She landed next to Naruto right as the blonde teen felt his last Shadow Clone dispell.
"Naruto, we've got some problems here! Any ideas?!"
Naruto scowled as he looked between Sasuke and his Shadow Clone.
'We need an open space, brat. Losing your footing could get one of you killed.'
Naruto nodded seemingly to himself before he grabbed Sakura by the wrist. The two took off down the cliff face, running on the wall to hopefully reach the flat ground surrounding the small lake in the area.
Naruto turned around to see Sasuke following after them, his Shadow Clone having been dispelled. He made a few quick seals as he stopped on the wall and faced his rogue teammate.
"Water Style: Water Bullets!"
Water rose from the waterfall he and Sakura were running next to before gathering into a small orb. Three water bullets shot out towards Sasuke, making him halt his pursuit to avoid the attacks. This gave Naruto and Sakura enough time to get to the flat ground and get some distance between them and Sasuke.
They looked up just in time to see Sasuke land on the ground safely in a crouch. His face was shadowed by his hair as he held his position. Still filled with worry, Naruto called out to his dark haired friend.
"Sasuke, you need to tell us what's goin' on! For God's sake, we're tryin' to kill each other right now! What the hell happened?!"
Naruto and Sakura flinched back as they felt a malicious chakra begin to form. All across Sasuke's body, the black markings began to spread further. Sasuke began to change as he activated the second level of his Cursed Seal. His skin became a dark grey and his hair elongated, becoming dark blue in color. A four point star appeared on the bridge of his nose. Two fleshy wings in the shape of claws appeared on his back. His sclera changed to a dark grey as the red of his Sharingan became a golden yellow. He stood up and stared down his two friends with a sorrowful expression.
"Then leave before one of us ends up dead. Please, Naruto, Sakura. I... I can't watch it happen to you, too."
Naruto and Sakura were shocked by the new appearance of Sasuke, so much so that they barely noticed in time that the dark haired teen had already begun attacking them.
X
Adrik pulled himself up from the miniature crater he made while panting heavily. He should have figured that their enemy would have a Curse Mark, but he never thought it would give him this much power.
He looked over at Lee and the two nodded to each other. Now seemed as good a time as ever, he supposed. Kimimaro saw the two take the same stance they had before and watched them.
"Second Gate: Gate of Rest, Open!"
Both Adrik and Lee had their lost stamina restored almost instantly. Kimimaro noticed a sign of this being that they both had stopped panting and seemed much more focused than before. He raised an eyebrow as they both took the stance again.
"Third Gate: Gate of Life, Open!"
Adrik and Lee bared their teeth in effort as their skin turned shades more red and veins bulged on their bodies. Their pupils disappeared and their hair stood on end, Adrik's short ponytail coming undone in the process.
Kimimaro's eyes widened as he was hit in the stomach with a punch from each of the teens. He both felt and heard as his bones cracked under the impact. They didn't stop, however. Adrik and Lee jumped up slightly before sending an axe kick to each of Kimimaro's shoulders, sending him to the ground. Adrik lifted the man back up where the two teens then sent a spin kick into the center of his chest, sending him flying back.
Kimimaro impacted with a tree and coughed up blood. He looked over to see his two opponents furiously racing towards him with their fists held ready to strike him. His eyes narrowed as he made a split second decision.
Lee and Adrik stopped and watched as a powerful chakra let its presence be known. Kimimaro stared them down as his body began to change. His eyes became yellow with dark sclera and his skin became a dark red-ish brown. Six large bones sprouted from his back, three on either side, with smaller spikes running down his spine that elongated to form a tail.
Kimimaro stared at the two teens blankly as he pulled himself from his place embedded in the tree.
"Dance of the Clematis: Vine."
Kimimaro reached back and grabbed the topmost spike on his spine. He pulled on it, creating a spiked bat of sorts out of his spinal chord. He raised it and pointed it at his opponents.
"Be grateful that you will die at my hands. It is the last gift you will ever receive."
Kimimaro rushed forward, swinging wide. Lee and Adrik jumped back to avoid the attack. Adrik crouched down while Lee jumped up high. At the same time, they sent kicks towards Kimimaro. The man took a small step back as he blocked the kicks with a grunt of effort. The two teens flinched as they realized the bones from the weapon in the man's hand could move like a whip and their ankles were caught.
Kimimaro reeled his hand back, dragging the two teens behind him. He swung his weapon up, lifting his opponents into the air before slamming them back down painfully. They both instinctively rolled to the side as best as they could, narrowly avoiding a branching spike of solid bone that shot into the air.
Thinking fast, Adrik reached back and drew a dagger in his right hand that he threw at Kimimaro's weapon. The blade spun through the air and got lodged between two vertebrae bones. Just as Kimimaro pulled the blade out of his weapon, it erupted in heated black smoke that shot directly into his face.
Kimimaro recoiled as he dropped his weapon and held his eyes. Adrik and Lee got to their feet and jumped back. They landed painfully as they hadn't realized through the adrenaline and strain of using the Eight Inner Gates that their ankles where they were grabbed had been cut up.
Kimimaro hissed in pain as he moved his hands away from his face. He opened his irritated eyes with a scowl and stared daggers at the two Leaf Ninja.
"Dance of the Clematis: Flower!"
Kimimaro stuck his left hand out to the side and bones began to take shape, covering his entire forearm. Moments later, a spiked, drill-like weapon made of bone practically replaced his arm.
With a speed they weren't expecting, Kimimaro rushed towards them. As his ankle was damaged, Adrik drew his daggers to try and defend himself. He held them in a cross formation and braced himself as the man thrusted his weapon forward like a bullet.
Adrik's pupilless eyes widened as the material his daggers were made of began to visibly crack. Even so, he continued to hold the clash as he saw no other option. Moments later, his eyes would widen as far as they could as his two weapons shattered under the sheer strength of Kimimaro's attack. The world seemed to slow down as Adrik's pupils returned and his hair began to fall back down. The tip of the drill-like weapon inched closer and closer towards his face before a sudden crash was heard and he blinked.
Adrik looked over when he saw that Kimimaro had been sent flying, making a trench crater in the ground. He looked back over to see it was Lee who sent the man flying, his fist still held out. Lee unclenched his fist and reached down to help Adrik back up. The two teens noticed the effects of the Eight Inner Gates had worn off but decided not to comment. They had more pressing matters, such as where Kimimaro went, as the man was no longer anywhere in sight.
The two teens looked around in a slight panic as they tried to catch a glimpse of their opponent, though there was nothing but a large pool of blood on the ground where the man had originally crashed into. Instead of seeing, however, they felt the ground begin to shift under their feet. They painfully jumped up as high as they could as dozens, perhaps hundreds, of bone spikes rose up from the ground rapidly.
Adrik grabbed Lee by the arm and threw him to the side as another spike shot up rapidly, heading directly towards them. Lee landed on another bone spikes right as it stopped growing and watched as Adrik got speared through the stomach.
Adrik gasped as a sharp pain erupted in his torso. He shut his eyes as he was pushed a little higher up by the force of the spike. The spike went in a little deeper, widening the hole made in his stomach. Adrik coughed up blood as he desperately held onto the bone spike. Lee watched in horror as Adrik raised his hand high before slamming it into the bone spike. It seemed to do nothing, instead making the spike reverberate, sending more pain through his body.
Adrik did everything he could to contain his pained yells as he raised his hand again. Lee hopped over to the spike he was on and firmly held Adrik's wrist.
"Adrik, stop! You cannot exert yourself any more than you already have! Give me a moment to break it and we will-"
"W-We don't have time, Lee! J-Just get back!"
Lee held onto his friend's wrist for a moment longer before a determined look made him let go. He hopped back over to the spike he was originally on and watched as Adrik's fist became covered in a cloud of ash.
The embers in the ash grew brighter and Lee could feel the heat coming from it. Adrik slammed his fist into the bone spike once again. After a few moments, ashes surrounded the area that he had hit and began to break away the material, turning it into a burnt dust. Moments later, Adrik began falling to the ground. Lee jumped down and caught his friend carefully before he could hit the ground.
"Lee, get down!"
Lee looked over just in time to be batted away by the drill weapon of Kimimaro. Adrik fell forward onto his hands and knees as Lee crashed into the side of one of the bone spikes.
Adrik cried out as Kimimaro stepped on his back, pushing the piece of the spike stuck in his abdomen back out, leaving an empty hole in his torso. Adrik fell to the ground, no longer having the strength to hold himself up.
The teen looked up as he heard a violent cough come from his enemy. Kimimaro stumbled as he put a hand over his mouth. He leaned on one of the bone spikes for support only to fall to a knee shortly afterward. He stabbed his weapon into the ground, trying to stabilize himself as he hunched over. Kimimaro turned to face Adrik as Lee limped over to stand in front of the downed chunin.
"L-Lee..."
Adrik could barely get a word out as he felt his mouth fill up with blood that he spat out. Lee held his stance with a steeled expression, intent on protecting his friend.
The two partially standing ninjas stared each other down for a time before Lee's eyes went wide. The older teen took a step forward and noticed the enemy ninja's eyes hadn't moved.
"L-Lee... His s-signal is gone... H-He's dead..."
Lee glanced back at Adrik and looked at Kimimaro. Indeed, there was no longer any hint of life behind the man's eyes. He nodded and crouched down next to Adrik.
"Bear with me, my friend! I will try to get you to the hospital as soon as I can! Your flames of youth will not die out on my watch!"
Adrik hissed in pain as Lee picked him up as carefully as he could.
"M-Make sure the... r-recovery team gets my d-daggers."
Lee nodded with a small smile.
"Of course! Now, you need to rest! You will be treated in no time!"
Adrik grunted as Lee began to run as fast as he could back to the village with a messed up ankle and an aching body. While the trip would be painful, this certainly wasn't the worst thing Adrik had felt before.
Adrik closed his eyes as he began to lose consciousness.
'Bring him back, you two... Even if you have to beat the shit out of him...'