A Shard Among Leaves: Settling

This one fought me hard!

[Settling]

It didn’t take very long for Hirari to find an enemy nin. They seemed to infest the forest just outside of the wall, dozens of bodies full of chakra, charging single-mindedly towards the opening they had made like ants who had caught a sniff of a fresh meal. They did not take care to mask or otherwise hide their chakra signatures, indicating either overconfidence or ineptitude.

Given how the first group reacted to her approach, Hirari was willing to bet that it was the former. 

Hirari’s swarm reached then, a black fog sweeping through the forest, accompanied by a deafening drone that stopped the enemy ninja dead in their tracks. They would not know what they were looking at, she was sure. It was extremely rare for one of her clan to engage in open combat, as their skillset leaned more towards clandestine operations. 

As such, it was no surprise that they panicked when the first man was consumed by her swarm. Her kikaichu, already agitated due to their number, crawled into the man’s mouth and ears and nose, draining his chakra from the inside out. The man fell to his knees with a choked scream while his comrades attempted to retreat. They did not make it far before they too succumbed to the same fate.

At the same time, Hirari’s clones began to spread across the forest, forming a loose fence which the enemy would have to pass to continue into the village itself. They took position less than a mile away from the village wall, the swarm spread between them evenly, sharing the available resources. 

In the center of the formation, the real Hirari surveyed the battlefield. It spread out before her, every tree, every blade of grass was known to her swarm. Even before the bulk of her kikaichu made it out into the furthest reaches of the forest, she’d scouted its majority. When the enemy began to throw themselves into the wall, they would all know. 

This was the main invading force—there was no doubt about that simply due to the sheer number of them. Hirari didn’t have an exact estimate of how many enemies were outside of their gates; her range didn’t extend all the way into the forest. No matter how many of them there were, her directive remained the same. None of them would make it through the gates.

Hirari felt the second group make contact and hesitate. Her swarm did not. The exchange was brief and panicked, and her kikaichu retreated into the bulk of the swarm, feeding it with the chakra they had siphoned from the Oto nin. 

Two more groups faced a similar fate. The next was much more cautious and decided to try a probing tactic. A wind jutsu tore several hundreds of her kikaichu to shreds, but a thousand more rushed in to fill the gap left behind, rendering the effort completely pointless. The lives of the suna nin responsible was snuffed out shortly after, along with five or so of his brethren, while the rest retreated deeper into the forest.

Hirari was careful not to overextend her swarm. She kept a faux frontline with the bulk of her insects, a hollow fortress that would seem impossible to penetrate from the outside. Meanwhile, miniature swarms of kikaichu would patrol the interior, between her clones and the front lines. If any ninja managed to make it past the initial front, they would not return to tell their comrades what they had found.

Some of them tried to coordinate. Paper bombs were used in abundance as their frustration peaked, but very little of it made a difference. They could not move forward, and Hirari’s swarm would not fall back. They were at a stalemate, and Hirari was more than fine with keeping it that way while those that were in the village were slaughtered to the last man.

A foreign chakra signature approached from the village, landing beside Hirari as she held dominion over this slice of territory. She glanced up and relaxed upon seeing the familiar insignia emblazoned on his horned forehead protector. After a moment, she recognized the man as well.

“I was not aware that another Sannin had decided to return to Konoha.”

Jiraiya glanced at her, before his eyes turned to the forest in front of them. He let out a low whistle that drowned out the distant screams of yet another squad who attempted to pierce her fence. “Sensei said he had a new problem child in the village. I’m guessing that this is all your doing?

“It is.”

Jiraiya scratched the back of the head, looking surprisingly laidback considering that his village was currently under attack by his own former teammate. “I was planning to lay out a few traps to slow them down long enough to deal with the ones inside, but it looks like you’ve got it taken care of.”

It was a good thing that she did. If she had not, at least ten separate squads would have already made it inside of the village. That many fresh ninja being introduced to the battlefield would have caused an unprecedented loss of life. 

Jiraiya didn’t notice the stare boring into the side of his head as he stared off into the distance, one hand rubbing his chin. “How long can you keep this up?”

“Indefinitly.” Hirari responded promptly. Jiraiya turned to stare at her and she continued. “Assuming they continue to utilize the methods that they have been, they are not capable of depleting my colony’s population faster than I can replenish them. If every shinobi on the battlefield attacked at once, there may be some issue but…” 

Hirari paused as someone used an earth jutsu to burrow underneath her colony. When he surfaced deeper in the forest, one of the roaming colonies swarmed him and drained him to the last drop, leaving his body to block the tunnel he had created. 

“I will be able to handle it,” Hirari finished after a moment. “Focus your attention on the village itself. This is merely the largest opening. It is possible they will attempt to create more entrances while I am preoccupied.”

Jiraiya nodded slowly, seeming to trust her word. “You’re probably right. I can’t see them wasting all of their time—”

He stopped mid-sentence, while Hirari had already turned, sensing the wave of malignant chakra that washed over the village far before it even reached her. On the far side of the village, a mass of sand rose as tall as a small mountain. It quickly took shape, forming arms, a head, and a single tail, all covered in black markings. The dog-like head raised to the sky and its maw opened in jubilation.

“OH YEAAAAHHHH!”

The shout crossed the village in a shockwave of wind and sound as Hirari gaped at the creature. Even from across the village, she could feel its chakra. Her kikaichu writhed in discomfort, and a few of the weaker generations failed to withstand the posion that it seemed to be pouring out of every single pore. 

“What is that?”

Jiraiya’s face had become drawn and serious. “The Ichibi. So they’d really go that far…”

He turned, clapping her on the shoulder and giving her a tense smile. “You look like you’ve got a handle on things here. I’m going to go deal with that. Good luck, kid.”

The Sannin leapt away, his hair whipping behind him like a thin flag. He moved straight in the direction of the giant sand beast.

Hirari stared at it, just barely rising above the buildings and the wall between her and it. Its chakra was unlike anything she had ever felt, massive and intense. He intended to combat that thing alone? She was unsure if he could manage it.

The enemy shinobi in the forest had pulled back after the Ichibi's appearance, likely repositioning in response to the shifting battlefield. She could feel as some of them disappeared from the forest altogether, repositioning in response to the monster’s arrival. Hirari assumed it was part of their plan, and so altered her own.

Hirari reached into the mass of chakra that her kikaichu had gathered from the fallen enemy ninja and drew from it, creating four more clones, two of whom immediately set off into the forest to take a more role in the battle. Meanwhile, the last two moved into the village. They would assist where they could, given that the bulk of Hirari’s resources were being used to maintain her swarm.

Returning her attention to the battlefield, Hirari resumed her vigil.

Hiruzen’s heart was breaking with every swing of his staff. But the rage consuming him made him swing it even harder to drown it out.

The vibrations of his staff landing against Orochimaru’s blade resounded across the space they were confined in. Old wounds pricked and pained him every time he swung his weapon. He was getting old, he knew, but his current state would be more than enough to deal with his upstart student. It would have to be.

Enma's form shifted in Hiruzen's grasp, the adamantine staff extending outward in a vicious thrust that Orochimaru barely twisted away from. The snake summoner's pale skin was sheened with sweat, his golden eyes filled with hatred.

As they broke apart, Orochimaru licked his lips in a self-satisfied manner. “You're slowing down, Sensei.”

Hiruzen's staff cut through the air, coming to a rest at his back as he narrowed his eyes. “You're as arrogant as ever, Orochimaru. Have you taken a look at yourself, recently?”

Orochimaru's eyes widened, one hand coming up to rest upon his cheek. The black mottling on his neck had grown, spreading across his skin as inky tendrils, stark on his pure white skin. Hiruzen did not know what it was, but it clearly wasn't something of Orochimaru's own design, given the way he snarled.

“Your chakra is unstable,” Hiruzen said. “You're not in the condition you thought you'd be in, are you?”

Orochimaru's expression turned murderous. “I'll show you, you old fool.”

He bit his thumb, and his hands moved through a rapid sequence of seals. He slammed his palm on the ground before Hiruzen could react, and Hiruzen watched as a large brown coffin burst from the earth in front of the snake Sannin. 

The lid popped open, tumbling forward onto the ground, and Hiruzen's expression became horrified.

“Orochimaru... what have you done?”

Orochimaru's face, slicked with sweat, morphed into a cruel grin. “What's wrong, Sensei? Do you know the work I had to go through to put together this reunion? You should be thanking me.”

Hiruzen's throat bobbed as a hand gripped the side of the coffin and the figure pulled himself out. Ruby eyes gazed at Hiruzen from a dead face. “You've grown old, Hiruzen,” the man said. “I'm glad.”

Hiruzen felt his heart clench at the sound of his sensei's voice. He had known Orochimaru was depraved, but he had not realized how far he had fallen. To desecrate the dead, to twist the fallen into weapons against their own village…

“Orochimaru!”

Orochimaru's grin stretched wider at his heartbroken shout. “Don't get too comfortable, Sensei. This is only the first course.”

Orochimaru formed a seal and his chakra surged. Hiruzen lurched forward, ready to stop him, but he didn't need to bother. Orochimaru's face twisted, and he began to scream in unadulterated agony. 

Hiruzen watched as the snake Sannin doubled over, his hands clawing at his own face and the black marks on his skin. His legs buckled and he hit the ground on his knees, retching, one hand carving furrows into the dirt.

“Is time finally catching up with you, Orochimaru?” Hiruzen called out past the unmoving form of his former master. “You don't look well.”

Orochimaru growled in an almost animalistic manner. Sweat poured down his face in rivulets, pooling in the earth beneath him. His breathing was ragged and shallow. He looked up at Hiruzen, and the sheer hatred burning in those slitted golden eyes was almost tangible.

“That wretched Aburame...” Orochimaru gritted through clenched teeth. “She will pay for doing this to me.”

Ah, so she's responsible for this. A smile cracked Hiruzen's weathered face and he found himself chuckling at his student's misfortune and pain.

“Bested by a Chunin?” He shook his head slowly. “And here I thought you couldn't sink any lower. I truly have failed you.”

“Do not think this changes anything.” Orochimaru pushed to his feet, eyes murderous. He reached into his tool pouch, retrieving a kunai attached with a strange purple tag which he then pushed into the back of Tobirama's head. The dead Hokage lurched and then straightened, assuming a combat stance. “Once I finish you, I will find that girl and destroy her.”

Tobirama lurched forward, swiping at Hiruzen's neck with a kunai which the Hokage ducked underneath. He quickly found Orochimaru in his guard and just barely managed to bring Enma up in time, the Sannin's blade catching the staff with a screech that sent sparks showering across the dirt. Hiruzen pushed him away with all of his might, slinging shuriken after him and lifting his hands to his chest.

“Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!”

Three shuriken became thirty, all screaming towards his former student. Orochimaru wrenched himself to the side, but not fast enough and a shuriken caught his shoulder. He hissed in pain, stumbling. Before Hiruzen could press the advantage, however, Tobirama appeared in his peripheral vision. The Second Hokage closed the distance, engaging briefly before Hiruzen managed to kick him away.

He's slower than I remember. Hiruzen thought as he threw himself backward, batting a kunai away with his staff. Yet still faster than me.

Hiruzen's feet had barely hit the ground before he was forced to jump away again as a wall of water crashed onto the ground. The force of the jutsu tore gouges into the earth, and Hiruzen felt the spray wash over him as he flipped through the air.

“Hiruzen!” Enma's voice was tense in his mind. “We can't keep this up. You need to end this quickly.”

“I know,” Hiruzen muttered, landing in a crouch. His knees protested, and one of his old scars pulled tight across his ribs. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of indulging his age.

He turned his eyes back to Tobirama  to find the man's hands flowing through another sequence of seals. Hiruzen recognized them just in time, his eyes widening.

“Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!”

The massive construct surged from the moisture in the air and on the ground, snapping at the air with liquid jaws. It slithered upwards and then crashed down upon Hiruzen who finished his own set of seals just in time. Inhaling deeply, he angled his head towards the attack. “Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!”

Flames erupted from his lips and surged upwards towards the dragon. The jutsu clashed in an explosion of billowing steam that quickly spread outward to fill the space.

Hiruzen kept his eyes peeled for any sign of movement through the fog. After a moment, he spun at the sound of footsteps on soft earth, but there was nothing there. 

The aged kage lurched as something cold and sharp slid through his abdomen. Orochimaru's face materialized in the steam inches from his own, golden eyes alight with manic glee as he twisted the blade. Hiruzen's vision went white.

“Just die, Sensei.”

“No!” Enma's roar echoed in his mind.

Hiruzen's free hand shot out, grabbing Orochimaru's wrist as he tried to pull the blade away.  The snake Sannin's expression flickered with surpise and he tried harder to remove his blade, but Hiruzen's fingers did not loosen.

With a grunt, Hiruzen wrenched Orochimaru forward and brought his staff around. Enma's form caught the Sannin across the jaw with a crack that echoed through the barrier, sending him flying back into the steam. His blade exited Hiruzen's stomach a moment later.

The aged kage dropped to one knee, one hand pressed against the wound. Blood seeped between his fingers as numbness spread across his body.

“Hiruzen!”

“I know, Enma,” Hiruzen said through gritted teeth. He could feel the poison the blade had left behind, coursing through his veins. But he would not waver. Slowly, he stood.

Through the parting steam, he could see Orochimaru picking himself up, rubbing his jaw. Blood trickled from the Sannin's lip. Beside him, Tobirama stood motionless.

Orochimaru frowned. “Still standing? You truly are stubborn, Sensei.”

“That is the one thing that hasn't changed with age,” Hiruzen said, though his legs shook beneath him

“You truly are a fool,” Orochimaru said, straightening to his full height. The black marks on his face had crept even higher, reaching his hairline. His hand twitched towards his cheek before he forced it back down. “Look at you. You can barely stand.”

“Then come and finish it,” Hiruzen said. “Or are you afraid of a dying old man?”

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed, and beside him, Tobirama lurched forward. 

Enma extended, catching Tobirama's forearm and deflecting the first strike even as Hiruzen jumped over the following leg sweep. Hiruzen remembered the way his sensei had fought in the wars, fluid and creative and relentless. This was a poor imitation. He could see that now.

He slammed the staff into Tobirama's chest, sending him skidding backward, and turned just in time to meet Orochimaru's descending blade. Hiruzen met it with Enma and pushed upwards with everything he had.

Orochimaru flipped backwards, landing in a crouch. Sweat dripped from his jaw, and his face was frustrated as he continued to fail to kill his old sensei.

“You think this changes anything?” Orochimaru hissed. “Even if you defeat me here, I will return. I always return. Your village will crumble. Everything you've built will be nothing but ash!”

“As always, you underestimate the Will of Fire,” Hiruzen twirled Enma, pointing the tip toward his wayward student. “That has always been your greatest mistake. Konoha is not buildings, it is not one man or woman. It is every soul in this village who would give their life to protect it. You can come back again and again, and no matter what you do, there will be someone there to meet you. To stop you.”

Hiruzen's eyes bored into his student. “No matter what you do, Orochimaru. You will not win.”

“We shall see.”  Orochimaru snarled and rushed forward. Just as before, Hiruzen moved to meet him.

Zabuza drew in long, heavy breaths as he shouldered his sword. Kubikiribocho was lighter than normal, probably owing to the hole that had been punched out of the upper third of the sword.

“Kid was strong,” he said grudgingly. In front of him, the boy he'd been fighting laid on the ground in two separate halves, sightless eyes staring up at the sky as the life had long since left his body.

“He almost killed you, Zabuza-sama.” Haku’s voice was laced with disapproval as he wrapped a thick layer of bandages around Zabuza's abdomen where he'd been nearly run through. “You should have been more careful.

“Any more careful and I would have been dead.” Zabuza grunted as Haku pulled the wraps right. “You wouldn't know his kind; they were slaughtered when you were still in diapers. When you fight a Kaguya, you gotta put them down hard.”

Haku just hummed in displeasure as he stood. His mask had shattered partway through the fight, revealing his feminine features and a long cut across his cheek. He looked around, his expression solemn. “The fighting has stopped.”

The stadium around them was almost silent. Corpses of shinobi and civilians alike were draped over the stands in a macabre display of death. More than used to slaughter, Zabuza was unaffected by the sight. But that did not mean he was pleased. Especially considering more than a few people from Kiri were thrown into the mix.

He turned, looking over the forest towards Konoha proper. Smoke rose from the village. Screams carried on the wind. It reminded him of home in the worst ways.

Grunting, he hefted his blade. “Come on, Haku.”

  A little over fifty minutes into her vigil, Hirari noticed a shift.

The enemy forces at the edge of her range had begun to pull back.  It was different to the way they had done so when probing her defenses. This was a full retreat. All of the remaining chakra signatures in the forest were moving away from the village.

Hirari frowned beneath her scarf, unsure what this sudden shift could mean. She dispatched one of her clones to follow and report back, whole the rest of her swarm maintained position.

More and more, the enemies began to thin. Ten minutes passed, and Hirari could no longer detect a signature in range at all.

She waited another ten minutes, just in case. When no new contacts appeared at the edge of her range, she pulled her swarm inward, consolidating the outer perimeter into a tighter formation around the breach in the village wall.  The clones holding the line adjusted their positions, and the kikaichu withdrew from the furthest reaches of the forest, ready to redeploy if needed.

Leaving two clones to maintain the defensive line, Hirari turned and made her way back into the village.

It was quiet in Konoha. The fighting had ceased and now all that was left was the flickering fires that had yet to be out out. Hirari walked among the devastation. Ally and enemy shinobi lie dead in the streets, but there were more of the latter, and few civilians.

That was good. It meant the defenders had managed to rally after the initial breach. The damage to the infrastructure, however, was going to cause significant issues. Entire buildings had been reduced to rubble, and a not-so-small section of the village was burning.

It could have been worse. Hirari understood this. An invasion force of this size, with the element of surprise, could have razed the village entirely yet they had not.

But the word “worse" did not change what was in front of her. 

Hirari found Ibiki on the main road leading toward the Hokage Tower, standing with his arms crossed as a line of Suna shinobi was marched past under guard. She came to his side and he tilted his head to regard her.

“I assume the battle has concluded." 

Ibiki nodded. “It seems that way." He glanced at her. “Your plan worked perfectly, by the way. Your bugs in the forest had a nice lunch."

“Was anyone caught in the crossfire?"

“Not anyone who wasn't supposed to be," Ibiki said cryptically.

Hirari's gaze swept across the ruined street. A building to her left had caved in and the upper story hung at an angle, exposing the interior of someone's home. Further down the road, a team of medics was working to pull a crushed body from beneath a collapsed awning. Hirari did not detect an active chakra signature from the corpse.

“You seem angry."

Ibiki's words caught Hirari slightly off guard, though it wasn't the sentence itself that was to blame.  She found there was a pressure in her chest, behind her eyes. Her jaw was clenched beneath her scarf, yet there was no reason for it.

Was this anger?

“No," Hirari said after a long moment. “I do not think that is the correct word for it."

Ibiki raised an eyebrow but didn't press the issue. He turned back to the road, watching as a pair of ANBU flickered across a rooftop in the distance.

“All of this was avoidable," Hirari said.

Ibiki was quiet for a long time. When he spoke, his voice was low and even. “Yeah. It was. I won't argue that." He shifted his weight, arms still crossed. “But we can't prepare for every eventuality. We did the best we could, and it wasn't enough. That's just how it is."

He walked off, following the line of capture nin. Hirari stared after him.

That is not how it is, she thought. They were given so many warnings, and yet this had still happened. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it had still happened

She looked back at the ruined street. The medics had finally given up on the crushed corpse and moved on to the next one, leaving the body where it was.

Hirari found that anger was insufficient for what she was feeling. Yet she did not have a word for it.

This was a waste.