As soon as I realized that I had stabbed a clone instead of a person, I quickly scrambled to the side. Instincts screamed at me as I moved, warning of the impending danger nearby. Almost at the same time something speared by me from behind. I caught a glimpse of glimmering silver, and then it disappeared into the earth. It was only my motto of never underestimating my opponent and the conditioning that Itsuki had previously put me through that let me dodge the attack. Standing quickly, I focused back where that attack came from and saw that there was a corpse standing up, its body wet from the water that had filled up the crevasses that Itsuki had previously created. It placed a hand on the rippling surface, and pushed as if the liquid were a solid surface. I frowned at the display while blaming Chakra. "Wow, I can't believe a filthy treehugger could actually dodge that." The corpse laughed as it rose to stand on the surface of the water. "I have to give you props. Was it something Sensei taught you?" The frown on my face made it clear what my words would be. Instead I worried about Itsuki who was still rolling on the ground, moaning in pain. A shattered collarbone and shoulder really was taking him out of the fight, and with one of his arms gored at the elbow and his other indisposed by virtue of a large hole in his shoulder all I could see him do was kicking the opponent. "Naruto! What are you doing here?!" Itsuki groaned as he finally found the strength to stand. I marveled at the casual display of Shinobi bullshit; injuries like those would have bedridden literally everyone in my past life if they had even lived to tell the tale. Keeping my eyes on Transformation-wearing Katsura, I responded to the Shinobi beside me. "Honestly, I thought I would get him with the first attack." I tore my eyes away to look at him for a second. "Don't worry I made sure Hinata is as far away as possible, just in case we fail." "Naruto, do you have any idea how dangerous this man is?" Itsuki sighed, knowing that he couldn't convince me to leave. "He's one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist! Nuibari in his hands means that you have no chance getting him. You need to leave... Or at least be careful." I smiled as my knife appeared in my hands, a calm reassurance filled me. "Don't worry, Itsuki, I have an idea on what to watch out for. Plus, he's wounded, and I," I paused to place my knife in my mouth and split. "Well, I cheat." The world around me expanded, and I found four more water clones surrounding us in the nearby puddles. It struck me that Katsura was taking me seriously as both Itsuki and I conversed, or he was still wary of Itsuki. And that wariness translated into surrounding us with water clones as well as distracting our attention to the fake under the Transformation Jutsu that was standing in front of us. The real Katsura was directly to my right, and staying perfectly fine underwater. Honestly, I would have missed him if it wasn't for the combined senses of the Byakugan and the fact that I could still smell him through my split form. He smelt of dirty water and fresh morning dew, and oddly, that fit him well. While silently praising the amazing Byakugan, I shifted my body to angle more towards the real enemy. Itsuki saw this, and I watched as his eyes flickered in the direction. A silent conversation passed between the two of us as I shot towards the fake that was standing on the water. It laughed with some vocal cords that I had no idea how they worked, and threw Nuibari at me. The joke was on him as I tilted to the right and pretended to roll out of the way. The end of my roll made me land right next to my underwater target. When I was about to stab him with the sword still in my hands, many things happened at once. Katsura realized that I had somehow found him, and tried to move away, his water clones popping out from their hiding places and charged me. Idly, I found that he was no longer wearing his mask, revealing his features filled with scars and a disgustingly, toothy smile. His eyes were a innocently deceptive blue. Itsuki, however, wasn't down for the count yet as he burst through the distance with legs full of highly molded Chakra. His speed was eons beyond that which he used to fight Katsura as he no longer had Kabutowari's massive frame weighing him down. Two water clones were downed by sharp kicks on his way towards us, and Katsura was forced to engage me without his precious Nuibari. For a man who was as exhausted as he and covered with wounds that would have put down a man thrice his size, Katsura was impressively nimble. He jumped from his little water hole and sent a flurry of punches and kicks my way. Maybe it was him just being better at using Chakra than me, or the fact that I was just turning five, but I was having trouble dodging all the attacks. Sure, I could see them with the virtue of my split self, but physically bringing my body out of the way of his techniques designed with the sole intent to kill, was a little difficult. And by difficult, I meant that he had effectively suppressed me without giving me a chance to strike back. I couldn't even get a hit in as I had to dive roll out of the way of a particularly nasty kick. Every time I tried to lop off an offending limb with my sword he would seamlessly flow to a different attack to either make me stop my own or slip out of the way entirely. It was frustrating. And I liked to believe that I was inconveniencing him just as much, but his face just had an ever calm smirk as if all his bleeding injuries or his lack of actually scoring a hit on me wasn't anything to worry about. Itsuki was having even more trouble as his injuries were profusely bleeding, and, on top of that, more and more water clones were slowing down his advance. "You know, you're rather good at this, brat." Katsura commented while I saw Itsuki dispatch three more water clones that burst out to greet him. Our enemy was just exhausting him now, and we both knew it. "What do you say I extend an invitation to take up your late Sensei's weapon, and join Kirigakure. I can feel killing intent from you that those treehuggers would never be able to have." I nearly laughed at the offer. Seriously, I was getting scouted by every single Shinobi I met. Was this going to be a constant thing? I really, really hope not. My concentrated silence didn't seem to bother the man as I continued trying to take his head off. He laughed at my attempts. "See, you have talent. Sure, you're still a brat, but, after your first kill, I think you'd fit right in." That got my attention. Dodging a less meaningful kick, I scowled as his words brought up bad memories from the time that I had already killed. I had no idea what their names were, but I could remember faces. I hated remembering their faces. "Here," Katsura, a hateful man, pulled something with his free hand, and I watched as the wires in his hands that were connected to Itsuki were yanked somewhere else. Itsuki was yelling in pain as the razor thin wires didn't cut him like I expected them to, but flaked off into hundreds of smaller wires as the Chakra inside of them expanded. Itsuki hung in the air, suspended by the wires that bored into him with bloody abandon. "I'll give you your first target." Katsura was speaking again. The water clones were no longer held up by Itsuki's struggles, and were now all collapsing in on me. Katsura's real body had jumped back, eyes locked on me as if I were a particularly interesting animal. The clones struck out with the intent of killing me outright. This was a test, and he knew that I knew it was. If I wanted to get to him I needed to get past his defenses. I was going to take great pleasure in killing the clones. My blade danced as I could literally see the entire battlefield. The clones numbered in the forties by the time I started killing them. They were rather annoying to put down as my blade sometimes got stuck in the sheer mass of water that one had. I ducked underneath an attack, stabbing downwards into the clone's foot. It lost its cohesion and broke apart into water, sloshing down on top of me in an brisk shower. I skid by another one while slicing a long line along its side. It splashed down harmlessly. I continued on to the next in my path, cutting my way through their encirclement with ease as all their attacks were easily seen through. The water level was rising ever so slowly. It now touched a level just barely above my sandal sole. With all the water clones adding more water to the floor, I was beginning to have a hard time moving without almost slipping everywhere. My feet were cold, and I promised myself to buy a closed-toe form of my sandals as I sliced open the last of my watery foes. I was breathing hard. My toddler body wasn't used to all this exertion, and I blamed the fact that Shinobi were bullshit for the fact that a toddler could even do all the stuff that Hinata and I did. The fact that I even had the energy to continue moving was definitely outside my knowledge on biology. However, Katsura wasn't letting me off so easily. This form of a test wouldn't be complete without taking on the boss, and that meant himself. He threw Nuibari faster than my physical eyes could follow just as I cut open his last water copy, needle-point fllying through the air with deadly precision. It was aimed directly at my heart. My split self was always good at seeing things with its perception somehow being much greater than mine. With the Byakugan, my perception with my split was rather unfair, and that let me react to attacks that I wouldn't fesilby be able to even see. This very same attack was one such instance. However, the only problem was my body. I was in an awkward position from completing my previous attack, the needle was currently moving faster than I had the energy for, and Katsura was definitely planning on attempting to kill me as part of his insane test. My only option was to try to parry the thrown weapon with my sword. I stepped forwards, digging my foot into the ground while raising my weapon to meet its approaching foe. Nuibari arrived before I could blink, and I felt everything go wrong as soon as its tip met my naked blade. My sword twisted in my palms, but I held on with desperate strength. Then, when I shifted Nuibari away from my torso, my weapon shattered into shards of shimmering steel. The pieces of errant metal slashed small cuts and scrapes into my body. I muffled a hoarse scream as a particularly nasty shard even stabbed into my toes that were unprotected by my open sandals. Definitely getting those closed toe ones. To make matters worse, Nuibari still scored a hit on me. I was lucky that I had diverted it away from cleanly piercing through me, but I still felt like fire had been poured down my veins as it gored a strip of flesh from my right arm. Distinctly, I felt like something was actively trying to twist my arm as the tip passed by. Biting my lip hard enough to draw blood, I forced myself to endure the pain that forced me to my knees. How had Itsuki handled this pain? What was it that caused this? It was definitely the tip of Nuibari. Some kind of pain inducement? No, I clearly felt something twisting the object hit as it struck both my sword and arm. If I had to describe it, then the tip of Nuibari was forcing some manner of high-speed twisting on whatever it hit to create a hole large enough to force the rest of it through. The pain was just caused by my flesh trying to resist that torsion with all its might. I cursed internally from the sense that that thought had to it. Was this the Shinobi of weapons along with Kabutowari? It was completely unfair shit no doubt. "Wow, you actually blocked that." Katsura praised from his position. He had used the moment that both Itsuki and I were preoccupied to make a makeshift sling for his broken arm as well as dress some of the cuts that littered him. "I have to say that I'm very hopeful in your acceptance to Kirigakure." "How about you…" I frowned, looking up to the twitching Itsuki. He was bleeding profusely, but still looked alive. I swallowed heavily. "How do I join?" "Naruto don't!" Itsuki yelled from his prison of wire. "Katsura-san won't let you-" He was silenced as the wires inside him tugged, causing him to grunt in pain. Katsura laughed. "Don't worry about him, brat. He's nothing but a traitor, and you know what we do to traitors in Kiri?" I tried not to roll my eyes and say 'Oh gee, I don't know, make them a fresh batch of cookies, and a slap on the wrist for being a naughty boy/girl'. Instead, I faked a gulp of nerves and layered on my act. "Kill them." "Yes, exactly that!" Katsura smile was full of malice and a promise of agony. "I am liking you more and more, brat." He pointed behind me. "Why don't you use Sensei's own weapon to do it. You'd prove your worth, and take out a traitor at the same time. The Mizukage would have to accept you into our forces." I nodded as seriously as I could, trying to act scared at the same time. My steps were echoed throughout the strangely silent area as ripples followed my feet. I reached Kabutowari after what felt like an hour of walking. My heart beat through my chest as I grabbed the axe portion of the weapon. The hammer dragged along with it, and I spent the time realizing that I could easily remove the leather wrap that connected the two of them. Doing so, I continued back to the tied up Itsuki. He eyed me as he looked at the weapon in my hand. Kabutowari's axe felt heavy in my hands, and it only got heavier as I raised it towards it target. "Do it." Katsura ordered. I winked at Itsuki, and swung the weapon the next second. Kabutowari passed through the wires that hung him in the air. He flopped down onto the floor in a little splash of water and blood. Then I was gone, rematerializing next to a startled Katsura. My split had traveled into his blind spot, and I continued with my swing. I had no idea if he could react fast enough to my transition, but I continued with my sneak attack. Kabutowari bit into Katsura's side with all the force that I could muster within the short time that that I reappeared. Sadly, the weapon was blunt, and my arms weren't strong enough to swing it fast enough, even with Chakra flowing through me, to make up for this fact. The only thing that it caused was knocking the startled Shinobi away with an added bonus of a cracked rib. He let out a shriek of pain as I heard his shattered left arm let out some desperate pleas to stop. "What the hell?!" Katsura yelled in complaint. He was quick to shoot up from the ground. "There were no hand signs!" He yelled, and I realized that that was how I got the drop on him this time. "You're a damn Bloodline user!" "Maybe." I finally responded to him, feeling the sensation of Chakra flowing through me again. "I knew that Sensei was a filthy traitor, but to actually train disgusting Bloodline users is a new low." Katsura growled as Nuibari danced in his free hand. "The Mizukage would reward me for my services of purifying the land of you vermin." I frowned. What did the people from Kirigakure have against Bloodline users? It made no sense to remove such advantages from Shinobi. Did they want to remove their fighting force? The sudden appearance of a thick fog ruined my musings as I returned back to the fight. My surroundings were filled with white so thick that I could barely see in my feet. Water sloshed underneath my feet with a ringing echo, alerting me that someone was walking closer. "That was some stunt you pulled, brat." Itsuki said, and I inched away from him. He looked at me oddly. "What is it? Is it Katsura?" I swung at him instead of answering. Itsuki disappeared into the fog, but I saw that there was an addition of smoke. Idly, I recognized that the Transformation Jutsu had been canceled. Like hell I would be deceived by someone who won't call me my name when I know that Itsuki had been yelling it everywhere. I found his efforts of deceit rather sloppy. What kind of Shinobi was this? I could've thought of plenty of different ways of using the very same technique. Did his ninja magic actually get to his head? "You think you're a clever brat?" Katsura's tone echoed around through the fog. "Well, now that you're trapped within the my Water release: Hiding in the Mist Jutsu(Suiton: Kirigakure no Jutsu)! You're at my mercy now, brat!" I sighed, not scared in the least. The more I fought him the more I thought: was this really a Shinobi? Sure, he knew quite a few terrifying Jutsu, he had an equally deadly weapon and he was trained to kill. However, all this seemed so excessive to deal with me and Itsuki. He seemed more like a weapon of mass destruction in the form of a human. Was that what counted as a Shinobi? On top of that, he was so inefficient, almost as if he was just flailing around with all the toys he had been given instead of actually mastering them. Even I had seen several other things that he could've done with his skills, but didn't. The water on the floor sloshed again as I summoned my knife and split. My other half clued me in on the fact that this fog was barely an annoyance to the Byakugan. I easily found Katsura circling around me with slow steps. He was trying to psyche me out by using the fog's unusual echo to appear as if he was everywhere. I saw every move he made, and when it seemed like he was just moving around randomly I decided to take matters into my owns hands. Running through the fog, I found my way to Itsuki's prone body. He was breathing softly, his blood loss had finally forced him unconscious, and the small wires that still covered his wounds weren't helping anything. To make matters worse, Katsura began laughing. "You're seriously checking up on him now, brat?!" He's echoing cries filled the fog. "Sensei's dying! I filled him with enough wires to kill a man ten times over!" What… My mind went blank with his words. Some part of me was telling me to focus on that later and deal with the current threat, but the rest of me was just dreading that he was telling the truth. That I would have to watch as another good man died. I needed to fix this. The answer came to me faster than I thought it would. It was in the form of Nuibari. It had somehow produced these wires, and I was sure that it would at least help. I rematerialized in front of him this time, rage holding onto my features. Katsura had apparently been waiting for me to do my trick, and smiled wickedly while dodging my anger fueled strike. He kicked the weapon out of my hands and forced the axe head into the floor before stabbing at me. There was no warning as Nuibari bored through my stomach. Without my split, I could barely catch the needle's shadow as it bit into me. The spacial torsion effect of its tip sent waves of crippling pain shooting up my nerves as I twisted so that the weapon wouldn't cut into my spine. Nuibari sunk into the dirt behind me with a soft thump. The pain was unbearable. The anguish was mind numbing. And Katsura's laugh was annoying. However, as Katsura didn't throw Nuibari, I was in the perfect position to grab onto the fist that held onto the weapon that impaled me. Cracking of bone rang out in equal measure to his startled yelp of pain as my hands held fast to the Shinobi's one good arm. My feet dug into the wet ground before he could try to escape. "Let. Go. Brat!" Katsura said as he tried to pull Nuibari out. Hot spikes of agony spasmed through my gut as I bet on whether my healing would be faster than the damage he could do. He leaned in, face curled into disgusted anger. "Why are you still uselessly struggling? I have already beaten you and Sensei! You're alone! Just give up!" I laughed, spitting small globes of bloody saliva on his face. "Who said I was alone?" Katsura wiped the blood off while thrashing his arm again. His features twisted into a deprecating smile, as if he knew something I didn't. "You did, brat. You sent that other one as far as possible, remember? Or is your brain as useless as you?" "Right." I couldn't keep the smirk off my face. "Well, I lied. Also," I couldn't help but laugh through the pain. "I'm just the distraction." As if on cue, Hinata entered the scene with a small battle cry, the hammer portion of Kabutowari trailing behind her in Chakra reinforced strength. Katsura didn't have time to curse until she was already right next to him. Kabutowari smashed into the side that I cut earlier, and I didn't have to split to see the damage that that action caused. I only had seen it in action a couple times, but I realized that Kabutowari could be used seperately to have an immense effect. The axe portion of it seemed to induce weak points into whatever it hit by forcing Chakra into a crack that formed whenever the edge touched something. The hammer forced more Chakra into those induced weak points till they exploded. It was safe to say that Katsura's good side was suddenly less than okay as he was ripped from my grip, flying towards another piece of raised earth. I saw that the side that Hinata hit was a disgusting shade of purple when he collided with the earthen barrier with a wet slap. Blood was pooling from his mouth from all the internal injuries that I knew, firsthand, that exploding Chakra gave someone. The only problem was that he was still alive. His eyes burned with an unbridled rage, and he tried to force himself to his feet. After stumbling a couple times, he got his legs underneath him. I laughed, finding some disturbing joy in showing this monster his place. I felt like he deserved all that for unjustly killing this entire town, and causing so much harm to someone who I respected. I was in no way resolved by knowing that he was weakened. In fact, I still needed to beat Nuibari out of his hands while taking revenge for everyone. The hole in my gut was burning as it was beginning to close. My feet plodded through the water towards my target. Pure malice coursed through my veins as I walked. And my anger burned orange.