Face to Face

After so much stress and inner turmoil from discovering one of his old partners was a traitor and arguing with kids in the street, Hotaru decided he needed some time to relax. He had wandered through the streets of Konoha a bit longer, and spotting a ramen bar he figured that a bowl of the warm soupy substance would help calm his nerves. The place had an open front, with only a few curtains separating the restaurant from the street and floors were little more than a wooden platform raised off the street. Inside there were four tables for those who wished a little more privacy, though the close proximity of them due to the place’s size made that a moot point. Of course there was a bar with stools along the back wall that at just in front of where all the ramen making took place. Never one to sit at a table alone if he could avoid it, Hotaru approached the counter sullenly and took a seat on a stool nearest the wall. A girl that was around his age approached him clad in something like a waitress’ or chef’s outfit, complete and hat and after a concerned looked she finally spoke.

“Hey, you look like you could use some ramen,” she said with a smirk.

“That’s why I’m here,” the Uchiha stated flatly.

“What can I get you?”

“Well, ramen. I want lots of beef in it, nothing else. Okay?”

The girl seemed a little off-put by her customer’s harshness.

“O-Okay. Got it. It’ll be done here in about ten minutes.”

“Thanks,” the teen rasped.

The girl turned and gave his order to the cook so he could begin with his order. The place was deserted outside of Hotaru so it was not as if the cook was doing anything else. For a few minutes his mind wandered and he began to brood again. It was doing little to improve hid mood when the sheet were lifted flooding the place with excess light and two shady looking gentlemen came in, one holding the sheet up for the other. The distraction snapped him out of his depressing trance for a moment as he glanced over his shoulder to see who had come in. It was no one he knew, so he paid the two little mind, as they did him and he turned back to stare aimlessly at the counter as he waited on his meal. The two newcomers also didn’t really acknowledge his presence as they took a seat at on the tables.

“Man, can you believe that guy!?” One whispered harshly to the other.

“I know. Submitting us to a search even though we were only away from the village for a couple of hours.”

“Just because we are not shinobi we have to be searched for weapons or other shit because of this crap with Suna.”

“It’ll just be something we have to deal with Ryugen.”

“My ass! He held us up for two hours. Someone should teach him a lesson.”

“Heh.” The other barked softly trying to keep their conversation private even though they were unaware of Hotaru’s identity. “Szabi is back in the Land of Fire I hear. Maybe you could hire him.”

“Shit. Szabi? Didn’t he help take out all the Uchiha?” the other man asked excitedly.

At this Hotaru took an interest in their poorly hidden conversation as a pang is rage jolted through his chest. He did not move from the stool however and sat listening to what else they might have to say.

“Shhh! Keep your damn voice down. Any knowledge of that can get you killed.”

The other man mumbled something and the other man mumbled back. It quickly occurred to the teen that they were actually caring enough to keep their voices as low as possible at this point. He couldn’t let such a lead escape and his eyes fading from aqua to red, he turned his head around to face them ever so slightly, his left eye carefully keeping a watch on their lips.

“ – yeah, but Bishi-san said he was back in the Land of Fire since two days ago on some kinda business.”

“He would be great for the job, but I don’t think I could afford someone of his caliber just for some petty revenge on a gate guard.”

“True, maybe look around for one of the more corrupt ninja around here?”

“Not a bad idea. You think Natsuko would do it?”

“Not sure -”

The conversation was going away from the information he wanted and he could not let such a lead slip away, not after all the things he and his clan had suffered those years ago. The waitress returned and sat his bowl in front of him, the dish filled with tasty morsels of beef and noodles.

“Here you go sir.” She stated beaming.

Ignoring her, Hotaru stood and slowly walked towards the table with the two men. She looked after him confused.

“Sir? Sir is something wrong?”

At the commotion the two men looked up to see what was happening. What was happening immediately registered with them at the sight of the boys Uchiha fan emblazoned on his vest and the two tomoed sharingan sitting in each of his infuriated eyes.

“Shit!” The farthest one said as he attempted to stand.

Hotaru was on him immediately drawing his blade and impaling the man’s sleeve into the table deeply so that he could not get away without stripping. He then quickly took the closer man by the neck.

“Where!? Where is this shinobi that you spoke of!? Where is this Szabi!?”

“I – I don’t know! I swear! Don’t kill us!”

The man’s chakra was bouncing around wildly in panic, but the sharingan could still tell that he was lying by the irregular flow.

“Bullshit! My eyes can see your lies traitor!” He thrust his hand behind his towards the stove, “Tell me the truth or I will cook the ugly from your face, I swear it!” He said severely.

“Sir! Sir calm down,” the waitress pleaded.

“What the hell is going on here?!” The cook said turning from his stove.

“H-Hanurin! He’s in Hanurin. I swear! Please don’t kill us.”

“We didn’t do anything,” his partner said struggling to get free of Hotaru’s blade.

He could see from the man’s chakra flow that he indeed told the truth this time. The best thing to do would have been to alert the ANBU and hope he would be allowed to accompany them there. But his rage and thirst for revenge clouded his judgment. Snatching his wakazashi from the table with one hand, he loosed the man’s throat with the other and stormed out of the restaurant and towards the village gates, one vent for all of his frustrations on his mind.

It had been years since Szabi’s last job in the land of fire. He had not set foot in the land of fire since he took part in the cleansing of the Uchiha vermin. That was many years ago, it was shortly after his exile from Kumogakure and the land of lightning for his crimes. Szabi had been a part of a rebellion aimed at gaining control of the village, the revolt was not successful. Those that survived the ordeal fled from the land of lightning becoming criminals never able to return to their village. Since that time, Szabi has resorted to taking high risk jobs mostly mercenary work or bounty hunting, the most prominent job on his record was his participation in the destruction of the Uchiha clan.

His current mission has brought him once again within the land of fire to a small village called Hanurin. He was supposed to assassinate the local village leaders; his client had been humiliated by the elders and demanded payback. Which is how Szabi once again ended up in this place, though he couldn’t complain the pay was good. Especially just for killing a few old men.

Szabi had been traveling through the land of fires territory for two days now according to the briefing with his client it was only another half a day walk from his present location. He needed only to follow the dirt path he was on through the forest, over a valley, and past a small lake. The sun was setting fast and there was not much around, only grassy fields on either side of him and a long winding dirt path ahead and behind him. Szabi decided to stop and make camp for the night knowing he would reach his destination the next day.

After regaining his head as he stormed from the ramen shop and out into the village, Hotaru stopped by his place to grab a few provisions and tools for the trip. The village of Hanurin would take about a day to reach as it wasn’t too far away from Konoha itself. Still he made haste, as he couldn’t be sure how much of a head start this Szabi had or what his intentions would be once he arrived in that village. Knowing he had taken part in the slaughter of the Uchiha clan a few years previous, Hotaru doubted he was there on vacation. No doubt he was planning or paid to carry out some form of mayhem and that fact definitely put a spring in the Uchiha’s step. He arrived at the village gates draped in a thick raincoat that hung from a large collar around his neck. Underneath and on the small of his back was a small pack that held the provisions and equipment he had snatched from his house. His aunt had been concerned about what he had planned. She had not seen him like this before, with this determination, with this mood. He hadn’t said anything, explained nothing. He couldn’t yet, not until the deed was done. Sure, it wouldn’t be everyone who took part in that treachery, but it would still feel better. At least that’s what he thought for now. The guard jumped in surprise when Hotaru appeared in front of him.

“Ah! What the hell?”

“I’m leaving the village for a couple of days. I have a personal matter to attend to.”

“Wait, what kinda matter? I can’t just let you leave without a mission.”

“I am on a mission. A personal one,” he grumbled.

“Look that’s not a good enou – ”

Hotaru snatched the shinobi towards him by the collar of his green flak vest. Normally, it would never be something he would have done, not even something he would have considered. But this was different. This was revenge and he didn’t care how reckless he had to be. He would kill this man and anyone who tried to stop him, even this guard who was just doing his job.

“I am Uchiha Hotaru and I am going to kill one of the people who massacred my clan,” He growled into the man’s startled face flashing his sharingan to add to the menace. The guard was silent for a few moments and the other guard on duty took notice of the situation and turned slowly to the two from across the large threshold of the large gate.

“Hey…what’s going on here?”

“I can see where you are coming from kid,” the grabbed guard whispered, “but you really need to report something like that to ANBU…”

“There is no time for that. He’s on the move right now and I am not letting him get away.”

With that the teen pushed the guard away and dashed through the gate and out into the forest.

“Hey! Hey where do you think you are going!?” The second oblivious guard shouted.

“Let him go. Watch the gate for a moment. I gotta report this to ANBU. Something big is going down.”

Hotaru didn’t take the roads. If they sent anyone after him then it would be easier to track him if he kept to the roads. He didn’t care if they did send someone, or didn’t. All that mattered was killing whoever the Szabi was. The Uchiha didn’t yet know what he looked like or how to find him, but he would figure something out. He would find him, no matter what. Jumping from tree to tree he went directly in the direction of the village of Hanurin. If he continued to push himself like this, he would be there within four hours. Hopefully it would be enough to sleep and get his strength back before his target arrived within the village. He wasn’t too sure just how strong this guy was, so he wanted to be at full strength when he fought him. If that wasn’t possible though, he wasn’t going to back down.

Sunlight was flooding through the slight in his tent causing Szabi to wake. Opening his eyes he continued to lay in the same position. He could tell by the position of the sun through his tents thin lining that it was nearly midday, groaning he sat up. He had wanted to be underway by now, throwing his sleeping bag open he climbed out of the tent and stood up. The day was warm and the sun was hot on his face, squinting his eyes he peered about him. He had set up camp in the grassy field to the left of the path and just as last night, there was nothing but grass to be seen in all directions with the forest he was to be crossing off in the distance. Packing up his camp Szabi slung his pack onto his back, he could not afford to waste anymore time. With that in mind, he set out along the dirt path once more heading towards the forest.

It took nearly an hour to reach the edge of the tree line among this time he had not seen another living thing, which made him somewhat on edge; Szabi halted for a short time and peered into the shadowed woodland. The dirt path continued through the forest this he knew through his mission briefing with the client. Not wanting to waist anymore time he continued his journey, entering the forest. The trees brought a welcome relief from the scorching sun; it was cool but muggy within the forest. Szabi looked up at the treetops as he walked, he could see patches of sun light piercing the green foliage canopy. Brining his attention back down to his surroundings, he stared into the depths of the trees as he past. The forest was an excellent place to ready an ambush, keeping on his guard he preceded through the forest without incident. At last he could see the tree line with sunlight illuminating the surrounding land, as he exited the forest he was momentarily blinded by the change in light intensity. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted and he took a look around. Ahead was a small valley in which the dirt path wound around then up and over the other side.

The valley obscured his vision to the north and the forest was at his back to the left and right was nothing but grassy fields, he was beginning to get annoyed at the dissonance of this mission. However, he knew that would change when he reached the village. Continuing along the dirt path, he eventually came to the beginning of the grassy valley. It was not really that large, maybe 60 feet high but the path was long running in a diagonal direction along the valleys side climbing a few feet every several yards. After another hour of walking or so Szabi found himself at its peak, as he stood on the peck Szabi looked back in the direction he had come. He could see the forest extending like an ocean of green in all directions and the grassy fields way off in the distance. At his current elevation, it was slightly cooler than it had been and the winds ripped by more furiously almost knocking him to the ground. Deciding it was better to make his way down as soon as possible rather than risk rolling to the bottom, Szabi set out heading to the bottom of the large hill.

By now the sun was beginning to droop low in the sky, telling him it was late in the day. Szabi could see his last landmark coming up; the small lake was off to the right side of the dirt path. It was glistening in the failing sunlight like an ocean of diamonds, disturbed only by the occasional ripple of wind as it broke the surface of the water causing a small wave. As he passed the small lake, he could see off in the distance human made structures. “Finally the village,” The sun was now nearly gone and already the moon was rising in the sky.

Szabi’s first instincts were to locate a place to stay the night, proceeding to the village’s inn; he opened the door and stepped inside. Walking up to the front desk where the receptionist was seated,” I would like a room for the night” he said roughly.

“Certainly sir what name will I put it under,” she asked cheerfully

Szabi thought for a moment, it would not be good to give his real name within the land of fire. It could be recognized due to his past involvements. ” Karafuda, Karafuda Goken,” he said plainly.

The receptionist nodded and marked the name down in her registry. “That will be 30 ryo Karafuda-san” Szabi nodded and placed the payment on the desk in front of the woman. Turning the receptionist removed one of the keys from the wall behind her and gave it to Szabi. Taking the key he proceeded up to his assigned room Where he retired for the night.

Just as he had planned, it had not taken Hotaru long to arrive in Hanurin. It was already well into the evening as he showed up within the sleepy town. Not much activity was going on in the village streets, and the only thing open were a few low caliber restaurants and inns. Stopping at the closest one the Uchiha booked a room for the night under the name ‘Hotaru’ only. His room was small, and run down, but he didn’t intend on staying in it for very long. He didn’t sleep well that night, a combination of poor sleeping facilities, his late arrival, and the emotional torment he had been experiencing. Still, the teen got at least four hours of rough sleep so it was enough to do something. The next day he was quick to bathe and dress and went out into the village both trying to keep a low profile and keep a watch on everything at the same time. He thought about asking the village authorities for assistance or at least permission for what he intended to do there, but decided not to. If they denied him it would be too much trouble to deal with as he was sure Konoha would not let the incident he had caused at the village gates go unpunished or uninvestigated for long.

He spent most of the day hanging around and along the few roads that led into the village keeping an eye out for any individual that looked suspicious. Anxiety and anger swirled within him all day and built as the day continued with no discovery or leads to the man called ‘Szabi.’ When the evening finally came he returned to the inn and sat in a darkened corner attempting in vain to extend his patience. He had kept an eye out all day, but either the shinobi had not yet arried, had been there and already left, or Hotaru had missed him. The teen loathed to consider this possibility, but it was still one none the less. After waiting around for a while he left and went back to his room where he found little sleep once again as he boiled in frustration. In the morning, he got dressed again, not even bothering to bathe today, donned his cloak once again and returned to the inn’s lobby where he sat considering his next move should be. It would not be too much longer before someone from Konoha showed up to apprehend him in some form or another. He couldn’t really stay another day in Hanurin, but where else was there to look?

Szabi was up early, he had a mission to complete. Leaving the inn he headed to the village markets, his first goal was to ascertain the wear abouts of his targets. There were three village elders his client wanted silenced, Kora Saki, Minra Himatchi, and Goro Akurta.

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

They had cast his client out of the village for a reason not known to him, but none of that mattered to Szabi. It was his job to end their life, the only thing left besides locating them was deciding how to conduct the execution. He possessed many forms of skills, but most would be familiar to the inhabitants of the fire country. Within his arsenal, there was skill exclusive to his clan and known little outside the land of lightning, that was his ability to control the weather. Szabi was one of the few able to use Ranton chakra a rare ability even within the land of lightning. Unlike other elemental chakra, it appeared a deep purple when used. “The priority at least for the moment is to locate the targets,” thought Szabi.

Now within the market district, he peered about looking for any one that looked like they could provide the information. There were many people to choose from, but few looked like they could give what he wanted. Szabi decided to ask some of the merchants, he walked over to a food stand. The merchant was selling many different kinds of fruits and vegetables. Upon walking up to the stand the merchant a younger man of about mid twenties spoke up, “can I interest you in some fine quality fruits or vegetables kind sir?”

“I was actually I would like to ask you a question, can you direct me to any of the elders?” he said rather bluntly.

The young man looked slightly dumbfounded, “you must be from out of town the elders homes are on top of the small hill at the center of the village. Are you sure I can’t interest you in some fresh vegetables.”

Szabi turned without saying another word to the retarded merchant and headed through the village towards the hill which held the elders homes.

Sitting in his darkened corner at a table in the inn’s lobby, his confusion and frustration continued to swirl around within him. In desperation he activated his sharingan and looked out the lobby’s window and at passer’s by within the lobby hoping to garner some clue. Dozens went by initially with nothing to raise his suspicions. Everyone was born with a chakra nature of some type even though shinobi were the only ones trained to utilize it. This made things much harder. Hotaru saw every color of the chakra rainbow, Katon, Suiton, Doton, Raiton, and Fuuton. Any one of them could have been Szabi. All looked like average people. He caught no one within any kind of transformation jutsu or disguise. It seemed like he was truly grasping at straws when a man came into the lobby ebbing with a color he had never seen before. It was a deep purple. The hue was brilliant. The Uchiha searched his mind carefully, trying to remember if he had ever seen such a color before. When nothing came to mind he became suspicious. His eyes fading from red back to aqua he got up from the table and followed the man out into the street at a distance. At first nothing seemed out of place but the color of his chakra. He stopped and talked to a local vegetable vendor as he sold he wears along the street. Not really wanting to give himself away by closing the distance he activated his sharingan again and carefully eyed their mouths.

“ - uld like to ask you a question, can you direct me to any of the elders?” His mystery man asked.

The grocer didn’t seemed really alarmed though, “you must be from out of town the elders homes are on top of the small hill at the center of the village. Are you sure I can’t interest you in some fresh vegetables?”

With this the man walked away rudely. Suspicious indeed but nothing that was out and out damning just yet. He continued following the man, but tried not to be too obvious about it, stopping occasionally to fake a glance at another street vendor’s cart or standing just close enough to two talking people as if he was part of the conversation. After he was sure he hadn’t been spotted, he would continue his slow pursuit.

Szabi was now nearing the specified houses on top of the small hill. The next task was to make sure the targets were at home. He needed a reason to speak to the elders, looking around Szabi spotted a medicine stand. He made his way over to it and spoke to the salesmen running the booth. “What can I get for you sir, I have the finest medicine in the village.” The man said proudly.

Szabi smiled at the man in a creepy way, “Yes I think I will take some of your fine product off your hands.” Szabi bought as much as he could cram into his backpack, paying the man he turned and continued towards the elder’s residences. Making his way through the crowded street Szabi pushed passed; the groups of people gathered at the random booths and exited the market district of the small village. The residential area was far less crowded with only a few people making their way to and from their destinations.

Finally reaching the first elders house, Szabi knocked on the door. Kora Saki opened the door a few minutes later.

Spoiler:

“Can I help you with something?” asked the old man.

“Yes my name is Karafuda Goken, Im a traveling medicine salesmen. I was wondering if you would like to look at any of my wares? My goods are reasonably priced most likely the cheapest you will find around.” asked Szabi calmly.

The elder stroked his head, “we have a medicine salesmen in town, but I suppose I could take a look at what you have to offer.” The elder bought a few of the items Szabi had bought earlier; he sold them to him at a reduced price then what he had bought them. Thinking he was getting a deal, the elder was glad to do business with the out of towner. After receiving his goods, the elder bid Szabi a good day and shut the door to his residence. Szabi did the same thing at the other two elders homes both times noting that they were in fact at their residence. Bidding the last elder a good day the lightning ninja headed back down the hill towards the village exit. After his walk through town once again he found himself in the towns outskirts amid some of the trees which surrounded the village. There he began focusing his chakra into his palm, a halo of bright purple chakra began to form around Szabi’s hand as he prepared his attack taking careful aim at his distant target the elders hill. He could control the attacks trajectory but it best to get it as close as possible before hand.

As the man continued strolling through the villages meager market district, Hotaru followed along behind him, but never got closer than ten feet. He still did nothing suspicious. The man stopped at a medicine stand and bought as much medicine as a person could carry. That seemed odd at first but then the Uchiha reasoned that if he was a trader he was probably stocking up for wherever he went next to sell the stuff, at a decent profit too no doubt. After this the man walked onwards into the village’s residential section. Here it became harder for Hotaru to remain looking as if he were out for a causal stroll, somehow the man remain oblivious however. He stopped at three houses that contained older men, the village elders the teen presumed from his conversation with the vegetable vendor. He offered the three the medicine he had just bought in their own village market, and some of them even bought some. That was indeed odd, and the Chunin knew by now that this many oddities at once meant something was amiss. After making his sells, the man walked towards the village exit and some of Hotaru’s suspicion ebbed away. Perhaps he was just someone who wished to sell some old men some aid before he went on to his next destination. He would follow him for a bit more, then head back to Konoha to face whatever punishments waited him.

The stranger strayed from the road just outside of the village and made his way into the wooded outskirts. It was another odd move, but perhaps he just needed to use the bathroom. It became easier to stay out of sight among the trees however. Here things took a quick change for the worse as a bright chakra began to swirl in the man’s hand as he concentrated. He glanced menacingly back towards the old men’s homes in the residential section of town and it struck Hotaru immediately that this was indeed the man he had been seeking. The teen couldn’t let Szabi let off whatever attack he was charging. From the sheer amount of purple chakra surging through the enemy’s body and into his hand, he could tell the effects of such a jutsu would likely be devastating. Quickly he forced his Katon nature towards his left fingers as he hastily prepared his own sneak attack. Slamming his left palm onto the grass he released his fire into the ground in a drilling spiral that moved under the earth, unseen toward his foe. The Katon continually streamed from his palm and when he felt it arrived just underneath Szabi he forced it upwards underneath the man’s feet. The speed at which he redirected his chakra took much concentration as he could not see his own chakra underneath the ground, even with his sharingan.

Used Jutsu:

Szabi continued to concentrate and focus his chakra into his right palm, when he suddenly felt the ground beneath his feet tremble, “!!! What’s happening,” milliseconds later a jet of fire erupted from underneath him. “Aaahhhh,” was all he could mutter as the fire scorched his body. The sudden ejaculation of pain caused him to cancel his preparation on his attack and throw himself to the ground attempting to put out the flames. Once the flames were out Szabi forced himself to get up even though pain was racing through his body. The bottom half of his pants were gone and his legs were scorched, his upper torso was slightly burned and his hair had patches of bald within it. The attack had left him shaken and dazed he was not sure where his attackers were or even how many there were. Szabi peered around him but saw nothing but the stillness of the forest. Where had that attack come from he wondered. Regardless he started performing hand signs.

His ambush was already working out swimmingly thus far, but Hotaru was already thinking ahead. He unfortunately had not killed Szabi with his initial attack, but he had injured him. Having had burned his feet and legs would help slow the man down and make the Uchiha’s attacks hard to dodge. Better yet, it did not look as if his foe had seen him amongst the trees just yet. Forming a single handsign, a copy of Hotaru appeared just to the right of him, and glancing to it, it nodded, he having imbued it with the knowledge it needed to carry out its purpose. It started off in a low run, flanking right, quietly through the trees though it wouldn’t really matter if his foe saw it, it was to serve as a distraction anyway. Without missing a beat he formed a few handsigns and began to exhale a large cloud of thin mist that slowly began to permeate the area of the forest containing both his clone and the treacherous Szabi. Burning has been satisfying, but not it was time to blow him away completely.

Used Jutsu:

There was malice in Szabi’s eyes as he rapidly made hand signs. He caught a glimpse of someone moving through the trees, “There could be more than one around hiding among the trees, but not for long” he thought. His body was gripped with a convulsive laugher, “hide from me now you vermin” With that he bent his body and began spewing massive amounts of water out of his mouth. “I will drown the entire village” the thought as the forest became submerged only the treetops were still visible sticking a feet above the water line. In the village only the elders houses could be seen on the lonely hill.

Spoiler:

Hotaru could see his opponent mouth something angrily through the use of his sharingan, but couldn’t quite make out what was being said. He wasn’t concentrating on it. What concerned him more was the massive amount of blue Suiton chakra building up in the man’s gullet. The Uchiha was unsure of what he was doing, but whatever it was, it was big. As the ebb of the blue color reached a fever pitch Szabi reared back and spat out a massive quantity of water. It seemed to go everywhere at once, dowsing the forest and the village all at once. Thinking quickly and seeing the attack coming with his doujutsu, Hotaru leapt up onto the nearest tree branch, but had to keep climbing as the water quickly rose higher and higher. When it finally stopped he stood near the upper branches of the tree.

"Bastard! All those people," he spat angrily in his head.

Szabi stood on top of the small ocean he had created and glancing around Hotaru noticed his clone stood atop an oak off to the right a good ways away, nearly behind the enemy but not quite. It was no doubt thanks to the clone’s copy of his sharingan that it survived. It was a big help that it had, as he could use it as a distraction as he had planned initially. His gas cloud however had been displaced by the water. It was still around somewhere, but it was of no use now anyway. For the time being the teen decided to readjust his strategy. Hoping that his foe had not spotted his copy he concentrated a small amount of chakra into his feet and tore out across the water in a run. He broke off to the left, hoping to get Szabi’s back further to his clone. While running he began to build up a strong concentration of Futon chakra in his chest, and brining his hand to his mouth sent a terrible gust of wind at his foe. Though it was an area attack, he didn’t care if it hit or not, his only goal was to distract him further. The cool Futon felt much better streaming from his lips than the heated Katon did. His clone remained still hoping to continue to avoid detection. If it did, it would continue to flank the enemy until it was in a good position as he had originally planned.

Used Jutsu:

Water exploded from Szabi's mouth until the landscape was flooded and the village was underwater. He breathed heavily after the exhausting jutsu, whizzing as water dripped from his lips. For a moment he thought he had killed his attackers, then he caught movement and a lone shinobi jumped from a treetop on to his newly created ocean and began running off to his right. Szabi's body swelled with rage "one, they send only one to silence me!" Mistakenly thinking the shinobi had come from the land of lightning to make Szabi answer for his past crimes. Then he saw it, "!!!" those blood red eyes. He knew them well, they were ever present in his dreams. Another of his past demons had finally caught up with him, his hands were working again rapidly making signs "Uchiha, Damn You. DIE!!"

The Uchiha had released a powerful jet of wind from his mouth which rushed at the lightning ninja. Standing his ground he increased the chakra concentration below his feet, which allowed him to keep from being blown away by the power gust of wind. Finishing his hand signs a giant shark assimilated out of the surrounding water and was launched forward at the running Uchiha.

Spoiler:

Despite not having intended anything to come from his attack, Hotaru still felt disappointed that he had not hampered the enemy ninja in any way. With the height of the water, there was little debris to help cast the ninja back or damage him at all. Having finally caught sight of him, his opponent finally spoke to him directly.

"Uchiha, Damn You. DIE!!"

“Humph.” Hotaru mumbled to himself. It was just the response he expected from a man such as him.

Not wasting any time, the man formed new handsigns and from beneath his feet a watery apparition of a shark came to life. Even from the distance between them he could tell the ‘shark’ was quite large. It immediately rushed forwards and Hotaru glanced around quickly for a way out of the line of fire. There was a tree nearby that he could use to get his feet off the water, but he wouldn’t make it there in time on foot alone. Just as before he quickly concentrated Futon chakra into his chest and into his feet. Diving chakra flow in two places was a feat some Jounin couldn’t pull off, but he needed to do this if he were to survive the attack. Releasing the flow from his feet the Uchiha leapt into the air, and clapping his hands in front of his face he angled his head down towards the water and released a fine but strong stream of Futon, the wind assisting him to angle his fall. He landed gently on the upper branches of his target tree, though they immediately began to creak with the sudden change in weight.

“Please,” he pleaded within his head, “don’t break.”

Meanwhile, his clone saw its opportunity. With Szabi’s hatred assisted attention focused on the real Hotaru it plodded across the surface of the water trying to be as quiet as possible. It continued left until it was directly behind its opponent and then charged straight towards the man at a jog to keep the noise down. As it got close, it did just as its creator had moments earlier. Focusing Futon chakra from its mouth it leapt into the air and controlled its decent until it was coming down nearly just behind the rouge ninja nearly noiselessly. No longer needing to hide its presence it guided the stream of chakra across the water up Szabi’s back, switching the focus from Futon to Katon just as the stream blew between the man’s legs and up his back onto his head. There it kept the stream of fire concentrated until it hit the water, forcing chakra back into its feet again.

Used Jutsu:

Clone Used Jutsu:

Szabi watched as his attack was evaded by the lone Uchiha, as his water shark collided with nothing but water there was a large eruption of water as the missile exploded. "awww I'll kill you just like we killed the rest of your clan!" As he finished his statement a blast of air hit his back, "!!! WHAT" Szabi exclaimed just before that blast of air turned to fire. Releasing the chakra beneath his feet he sunk in to the water, but not before the fire had left second degree burns on his back and set the back of his hair ablaze.

Once again acceding from the water Szabi body was aching all over the burns would slow him down, but he wouldn't surrender. The Uchiha wouldn't spare him even if he did, that much was certain. Glancing around he now realized what had happened, "a clone. He had a fucking clone" thought Szabi. "He's not the only one that knows how to make clones." Quickly forming a few hand signs a clone made of water formed beside him. Szabi sent his clone to deal with the Uchiha that was behind him, though he doubted he could win over the clones sharangan.
While he began forming another set of hand signs.

Spoiler:

Just as the shark missile exploded into a geyser of spray from the false ocean, his clone successfully attacked Szabi who cursed in pain and frustration as Hotaru had suspected. The man sank into the water to extinguish the flames only to arise moments later. Catching onto his ploy the man quickly formed handsigns to create his own clone from the water.

“Damn it,” the Uchiha cursed to himself. “If he is drenched he’ll be a lot harder to set ablaze and I cannot burn a water clone.”

Meanwhile his own clone saw the water copy of the enemy ninja closing but instead of attempting to maneuver it gathered Futon chakra in its palm compressing it densely as the clone continued to come. After a moment it thrust its palm forward at the approaching clone releasing a wave of forceful wind at the copy. At the same time, it reached into its pouch and flung a kunai just behind the wave of wind. The weapon was little more than an illusion, but it was doubtful the enemy knew which Uchiha was a clone. The real Hotaru knew his clone would be close to exhausting the supply of chakra he had left it with, and he himself could still only continue to do so much against a ninja that primarily used Suiton as a Katon user. As much as it pained him to admit, he couldn’t last forever in this environment as it was. If he wanted a victory he would need to pull out his more dangerous jutsu. From his position atop the tree, he began to concentrate chakra into his feet and legs for the journey and drew his wakazasi, Banshou Kira as he stared menacingly across the field at his opponent, sharingans ablaze with determination. Stepping onto the water from the branches, he held the blade backwards across the length of his arm as he got into a low, aggressive stance, then seemingly stood motionless.

Clone Used Jutsu:

Szabi was running low on chakra, his next maneuver would likely use the last of it so he intended to make it count. Finishing his hand signs the water around his feet began to swirl and then it leaped upwards creating a 360 degree protective barrier around him. Moving quickly he shot out another set of hand signs. As the protective barrier began to fall a two large streams of water raised from the ocean and headed towards the Uchiha's, Szabi's pushed his chakra into the streams controlling there flight, tracking the Uchiha's movements. The attack was powerful but required Szabi to remain still which could be a serious down turn if his enemy lived through his attack.

His clone ran toward the other uchiha only to be pushed back by a gust of wind he shot forth from his hand.

Spoiler:

Hotaru continued concentrating as the enemy summoned a tornado of water from the pond around him. He wasn’t sure what Szabi was doing, but stayed his feet until the wall of water fall from around him. To his surprise, the shonobi launched two streams of water at both him and his clone. The copy of himself began to move evasively as the torrent approached it, but his opponent moved the torrent to chase him.

“Good. That will take concentration.”

He stood his ground as he readied his strike, still pumping chakra into his legs. As the attack came within a few feet Hotaru appeared to still stand there. However he had quickly moved from the spot, his sharingan leaving only an apparition of himself where he once was. Just as the water attack passed through his illusionary self, and the other ravaged his clone, he flashed behind his foe, his legs burning from the strain. The teen was tempted to say something stereotypically badass, but didn’t wish to give his surprise assault away. His wakazashi still angled along his forearm, he plunged it towards Szabi’s back, targeting an area just below his left shoulder blade with the tip. The attack would slide in just underneath the bone and pierce the man’s lung and heart both, hopefully killing him. If the attack missed he was not sure what he would do, as he was running low on options and chakra. He was confident he could do this however as no living person had yet to witness his personal sword style. And if he had it his way, no one would witness it and live to tell about it.

Used Jutsu:

The streams of water crashed into the uchiha that his clone had confronted. It disappeared in a puff of smoke. The other stream crashed into the Uchiha to Szabi's front, "Yes, Die you damn Uchiha." Those words were to be his last, as the Uchiha had appeared behind him only to drive his sword through the lightning ninja's heart. Szabi's water clone dispersed and the small ocean began to drain marking in defeat. The two streams of water came crashing down no longer having a guidance. Szabi's body lay motionless impaled by the Uchiha's blade.

As his blade slid effortlessly from the man’s back, he fell into the water and bobbed there like an apple that had fallen from a tree. His water clone disappeared into the pond that was now draining away into surrounding rivers and ponds carrying away debris from the trees and the village much like the stream of souls that were flowing into the afterlife. Hotaru stood motionless, blade still in hand, as he starred at the floating corpse in the water. He had done it. He had killed one of the people that hurt his clan, that had hurt Konoha. He was victorious, but he didn’t feel any triumph. There was no big weight removed from his shoulders, or no release from the tightness in his chest. There was nothing. Even though he had won he felt hollow. The teen just continued to stare at the floating body, the sharingan fading from his eyes. Soon the water flowed away and his feet once again touched the soggy ground. The forest and village had been ruined. The ninja formerly known as Szabi lay on the wet grass and a pool of red started to gather around him. Water dripped from the Uchiha’s long rain cloak. He hadn’t even planned on getting wet. Shaking his head, he decided he couldn’t stand around dwelling on this. So much had happened. He needed to get back to Konoha and explain. He went to sheath his sword when he was startled by a voice.

“Don’t move.”

Immediately he froze in caution. Glancing in the direction of the voice, his aqua orbs caught sight of an ANBU agent standing among the limbs of a ruined tree, arms crossed, his face hidden by an owl motif mask. Moving only his eyes, he could see two more hidden among the broken trees and water-logged debris.

“Who is that man?” The same one said referring to the body at Hotaru’s feet.

“Szabi…Just Szabi. I don’t know his last name.”

“You slew him. Why?”

“He was a missing ninja, partly responsible for the massacre of my clan.”

“How do you know this to be true?”

“I –,” he hesitated. “I overheard from two patrons at a ramen shop. I ques – ”

“Look at this destruction!” The agent cut him off. “You took part in this in pursuit of a mere rumor from two old men at a ramen bar?”

“My sharingan indicated they were telling me the truth,” Hotaru said adamantly. He felt his resolve flare up. It was true with the man said. He had not done all this for nothing.

“And rather than report this information, letting the proper authorities handle it you went out on your own, reckless? Because of your actions, many in the village have been killed and wounded.”

The teen was quiet for a moment.

“It was a clan matter.”

“It’s a Konoha matter now,” the agent responded harshly. “Surrender your weapons and come with us. You’re to be brought in for questioning while we confirm your story. You will offer us a full debriefing of what happened here, or you will be attacked, as a traitor.”

With a demand like that, what choice did the Uchiha have? Maybe something good would come from all this. At any rate, he had learned many lessons here. But at what cost?