Chapter 64

Chapter Inspiration: Don't Stop by Innerpartysystem

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"How much longer?" Karin sighed heavily.

That was one thing Sasuke did not miss during Taka's time apart. Her constant whining. Along with her attempts to try and win him over romantically made him want to throw her into a hole and leave the young woman behind. Unfortunately, she was essential due to her ability to sense chakra to track down their targets. Her involvement allowed them to speed up the process. Jugo attempted to train the young woman in the ninja arts in some way, but she was nowhere near their level.

"We've only just reached the border," Suigetsu stated. "It's going to be a while until Sasuke wants to stop."

They were so close to finding their latest target, there was no way the Uchiha wanted to stop. The Lightning Ninja was nearing the Sound, having been on his trail since the early morning. Keeping up at this pace they would most likely catch up around evening.

"Why aren't we running?" Karin wondered. "I mean, a faster kill the better."

"We don't want them to catch on," Sasuke answered. No one questioned their approach further because the Uchiha knew what he was doing. The three of them had been rather surprised when the young man sought them out once more. Suigetsu was reminded of the good old days when being released from Orochimaru's test tube. The proposal behind their reinstatement made him excited. Immediately, the young man was in. Things had been rather boring since the war ended.

"You sure?" he asked. "This is all very sudden. Thought you were a goodie-two-shoes again living the high life in Konoha."

"Things change, and this isn't some mindless mission," Sasuke said. "It has a purpose for the good of the nations."

"So... we're becoming goodie-two-shoes?"

"In a roundabout way," Jugo muttered.

Suigetsu smirked widely. "The old team's back together again. Count me in."

Karin paused, brows pinching in confusion.

"What is it?" Jugo asked.

The others noticed her hesitation and paused as well.

"Something's wrong," she answered.

Turning in various directions she tried to sense something, anything to pinpoint the target they were following.

"I can't sense it anymore." Now it was Sasuke's turn to look at her confused. "The Lightning Ninja, he disappeared–"

Chakra filled the air so suddenly it made Karin drop to her knees. It had become difficult to breathe, even think straight. The others were thrown off as well.

"This... this... can't..."

These levels were way beyond anything she had ever sensed before. These levels terrified her to the very core.

"Where is this coming from?" Suigetsu asked in wonder. His eyes were wide, looking between Jugo and Sasuke for answers.

Jugo was trembling, but not from fear. The curse seal was breaking out as it began to darken the skin, and cover his entire body. The chakra was threatening, causing a reaction.

"Can't... control it..." he managed out.

Before Team Taka could say anything to try and convince him to not transform it completed – yellow eyes wide and wild for the kill.

"Damn it, how many are there, Karin?" Suigetsu questioned.

She couldn't tell, head shaking. Oh god, it was too much. It felt as if she was suffocating.

"There," Sasuke finally spoke.

The ex-Mist Ninja followed his eyes, looking up into the trees. A ninja was crouched between the branches, and they weren't trying to be discreet about it. They wore all black to blend in with the shadows, but one thing stood out that told the Uchiha exactly who they were. A stark white mask with eye and mouth slits giving nothing away to what lay underneath – the last member of No Face. How they managed to escape for so long didn't matter. They were still a rogue. One that needed to be eliminated.

Taka searched for weeks eliminating the rest of No Face across multiple countries. In the end they came up one member short. A female. No matter where they went there was no sign of them. Even Karin couldn't find the criminal. As if they disappeared completely.

"Could've gone to the Moon Kingdom," Suigetsu stated. "Or elsewhere off the mainland."

It made sense. They weren't safe here while the Uchiha hunted. And now the rogue came straight to him. If they really wanted to live, they should've stayed away.

"Well, looks like we don't have to search any longer," Suigetsu spoke up.

Yes, and this was intriguing. All along Sasuke thought Beon had been the strongest out of all the members being the leader. He was a worthy opponent. Obviously, there was someone in No Face that had been hiding what they truly were. This was the rogue he had been wanting to fight all along.

"About time you showed up!" Suigetsu taunted. "Are you done hiding and being scared?"

Apparently, that was not the thing to say as something slammed into the front of the swordsman without warning throwing him backwards through the air. Just as swiftly, the rogue was gone from the trees. A shadow cast over Suigetsu's falling figure, eyes going wide and watching as the target appeared right in front of him. A foot landed in his gut throwing the young man violently into a tree and breaking it in half from impact. Sasuke and Jugo whirled around realizing what had happened as their comrade disappeared into the destruction. Teleportation Jutsu. That changed things considerably as the Uchiha became more on guard.

A strangled screech suddenly ripped forth, their eyes darting to where Karin was hunched over. There was an arm protruding from the ground holding a kunai. The weapon was halfway buried in her chest as blood trickled down the sharp edge.

"S-Sasu-k-ke," she managed to gasp out.

The other hand came out of the ground in order to pull the occupant free, exposing the expressionless No Face mask as the clone jerked the weapon to the right into Karin's heart. Instantly the senor went limp, being shoved out of the way. The figure pulled themselves free and crouched close to the ground. It wasn't the only clone as more crawled out of the ground around them. This was a highly complex jutsu Sasuke observed with his Sharingan.

Jugo snarled beside him, hearing Suigetsu struggle to stand behind them. Even if the young man could turn his body into water, he hadn't been able to do it in time. The Transportation Jutsu had made the rogue too swift. And now they joined the ranks among the clones. The Uchiha tried to pinpoint their location, but it was impossible to tell the real one from the fakes despite using the Sharingan. This had never happened before.

Jugo attacked, shouting at the top of his lungs. He didn't care which clones he engaged. His only wish was to rip something apart. A fist landed in the gut of a clone as he punched his way through. Multiple rogues ganged up on him, while three others took on Suigetsu. They sent him flying once more and managing to separate the broadsword from his grasp. This person had a Kekkei-Genkai, noticing the way their hands moved in front of them in some ways. A force field, just like before after killing Beon. It had thrown all of them off their feet in an instance, but he hadn't seen who had been the cause of it.

Earth Ninja. Had to be with their enhanced knowledge of earth techniques as lightning danced off Sasuke's fingertips when Chidori ripped through two clones. A blast of wind threw the Uchiha backwards through the air as he went to attack a third clone, flipping around to his feet and sliding to a halt. With a single hand sign a fireball flew from his mouth growing in size as it barreled forward towards three duplicates. But they transformed before it touched them into water, no inch of skin left to burn. Instead, the flame was snuffed out and the forms collapsed to the ground in a puddle, darkening the soil. This ninja had skill in all the elemental chakras and was able to complete most without hand signs.

Sasuke stared at the dark patch for a moment before looking up at Jugo and Suigetsu still engaged. Earth was being used against the rampaging ninja to try and trip him up, hold him down. Meanwhile, every time Suigetsu attempted to use his water technique on the clones they shocked him so bad it left the young man convulsing. They were both struggling as more clones materialized out of the ground. But which one was the right one? Which one was the original?

Suigetsu struggled, each jolt to him feeling like a thousand knives being driven through his body. He couldn't get away. Couldn't shake them even with his own clones and water tricks.

"Tell me how it feels," the clones taunted.

Every jutsu he used to cut one down produced another in its place. There was no end.

"To be hunted. To hurt."

The young man couldn't even retrieve his weapon as it lay carelessly on the ground.

"To feel everything the other rogues you hunted felt before you ended them cruelly for sport."

Suigetsu's eyes widened. How did they know that No Face was not the only–? A hand drove through the swordsman's chest and out the other side, causing his eyes to widen. There was no blood, having liquefied that section of skin to prevent serious injury. But it honestly wasn't a better option either. Lightning coursed through the arm and transferred to him. Suigetsu screamed in pure agony as his heart raced at an unnatural speed, body convulsing painfully.

"Now..." the rogue spoke lowly for only his ears.

Suigetsu could barely see from the pain, looking at the thing before him. And that was when he realized this wasn't a clone. The real rogue was causing this as he fell to his knees.

"Now you have my permission to die."

Jugo fell. Snarling, the clones held him down as vines and roots ripped up from the ground. Wrapping and tangling around limbs, hips, and torso, it was growing harder and harder to move. He began panicking staring up at the white mask's surrounding him. Why couldn't he kill them? Why couldn't he rip them apart like the other opponents he went against? Squash them into smithereens like the insects they were. He wanted bloodshed, death.

It landed on his stomach, a heavy weight that had his eyes ripping away from the clones that held him down to the one now perched over him, hovering, watching, examining. Pulling free two short swords from the weapon belt the young man tried to jerk them off without success.

"You can't kill me!" Jugo raged. "I'll kill you! Rip you to shreds starting with your arms!"

Rock rose from the ground and compressed around the rogue's hands completely covering up to the elbows till only the sharp blades remained visible. It was a very clever and calculated move Sasuke noted as he threw away another clone. It would take a considerable amount of strength to hurt the experiment. The rogue ninja gave a feral shout that could've rivaled Jugo as they began to stab at the harden skin with such speed and accuracy it began to chip away at it before finally drawing blood around the neck, collarbone, and chest. The young man was raging and thrashing. For the first time in his life unable to break free as the earth that tangled around him refused to let go. Including the heavy pressure from whatever invisible force restricted him.

It grew harder to breathe and see. Jugo's vision started to falter and fear rose in him. He feared death staring at the stark white mask in horror. The rogue raised their weapons high overhead before using all of their strength to drive them down. Embedding in the flesh underneath the cursed seal and ran out the back pinning Jugo to the ground. Blood pooled from the horrible wounds, a gurgling noise coming from his lips. One eye had returned to normal from the brutal attack. Trying desperately to hold onto the transformation because the moment he returned to normal he would die in an instant.

Staring down at the pinned ninja, the No Face rogue allowed the jutsu around the hands to fall away releasing the short swords. That wouldn't kill him just yet. But it would be painful and slow. Which is what he deserved.

They watched as Sasuke disposed of the last clone. The Uchiha came to a halt, the two sides staring one another down. The ground was coated with blood, and few speckles having splashing up onto the white mask. This was the real target as the clones disappeared around Jugo's body no longer needed. Both sides did not immediately engage with the other. Because the rogue knew what this all was. The body before her altered before materializing into a flock of crows. His Sharingan was in full effect. This was an illusion. He was merely biding his time, waiting, watching to see what he was up against. The rogue reached for two short swords in the weapon belt. There was a shift off to the side. The rogue threw up an arm to block the oncoming attack allowing the real Sasuke to come into focus. This surprised him. That someone could see through his Sharingan.

They matched blow per blow, twisting and turning around the other in a dangerous display of weapons and jutsus. Even with his Sharingan and its many stages that had gone up against formidable opponents in the past, it was still being pushed back by the rogue before him. There seemed to be invisible attacks and force fields countering him at every turn. Sasuke grew impatient. It was obvious waiting until the target tired and for their chakra to drain was out of the question. He began to wonder if the longer this went on how much more dangerous would the No Face rogue become?

Both ripped the area around them to pieces, their blades clashing and sending sparks flying. At times they managed to nick each other's skin drawing blood. But it wasn't enough. Sasuke wished to fatally harm them before taking their life. This little display further proved that the rogue was far from innocent. That's why they deserved to die. Not all ninja who deserted remained good. There was always a craving for revenge, which led to hatred and eventually to war.

Sasuke gathered enough chakra to push back. The rogue stumbled, lashing out to keep him at bay from the oncoming attack. Impressive, but the Uchiha was done marveling. The attacks were consistent, brutal, and the rogue faltered. There were no clones to help and new ones were never summoned. This person wished to fight the Uchiha alone. Big mistake on their part as he faked an attack for a Chidori to charge in a palm. The rogue attempted to counter with their own lightning attack. It was useless as a jolt rushed through them from the sheer voltage of it.

They stumbled away to gain some distance. Sasuke followed swiftly. A foot landed in their gut with such force the rogue went flying backwards. There was no time to stop, no time to try and think of a way to counter due to the speed. The cushioning was too late as something wrapped around their body for some sort of protection. Their back cracked against a tree trunk splintering the wood. It went collapsing to the ground the destruction even taking a few others around them down with it. Sasuke watched from the outside as the No Face member disappeared into the growing cloud of dirt and multiple sections of wood. Completely burying the target alive. [song ends]