Chapter 8

Chapter Inspiration: Eon (Epic Massive Hybrid Drama) by Ninja Tracks

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Sakura and Kakashi sprang forward, moving through the array of Chakra Strings with the precision of a Sensor Ninja. It made Yuji take quick steps backwards in an attempt to distance himself. And understand for himself what was happening as his niece remained in place, not yet joining the ranks of her teammates.

"Puppet manipulation," Momo breathed. "Even we couldn't perfect it with others outside the Clan to such a degree." A smirk reached her lips. "Damn, what I would give to have been able to do that."

Finally, Hisoka broke free seconds before Sakura was about to land a blow to the head. The ground where the man once stood crumbled to pieces alarmed him. With that much-concentrated chakra, he wasn't even sure if the Resurrection Summons could handle a reformation. It would definitely render him immobile for a long period of time.

"I take it these are your teammates," Hisoka mused.

"Yes," she answered. "You should see the others."

They were formidable.

As the brothers stood side by side, the Binding Squad sealed up Momo. Taking care to stay out of the way of the fight a few feet away.

"What is your role within Konoha?" Yuji questioned. He was very interested to know what he was up against after what he had already witnessed.

"If I were to say I'd have to kill everyone in attendance," Mai said.

And it was then the former members realized what branches she could possibly be a part of with that kind of answer. Only they knew of the endless possibilities being heads of the Be Fong Clan. The brothers were the ones to assign the Clan ninja within the Leaf alongside the Hokage in order to fill their military roles. How interesting this was turning out to be.

"The puppeteer is making his final move," Hisoka stated. "There will be no holding back, no stopping until there is a victory. You know what to do."

Of course she did.

The traps were being laid and set with the twitch of their fingers. The final assaults that would decide who would stand and fall in the end.

"I've got the Third Division covered," Belva stated. To prove her point a hand shout out, catching an advance with her own chakra. "Take those two down and be done with this."

"Understood," Mai answered.

Both sides advanced, rushing forward across the field and launched into a series of strikes. The ninjas twisted and turned around each other avoiding direct hits. It almost felt like a dance. A dangerous one, as the Leaf Ninjas ducked and dodged through the complex Chakra Strings. The scrapping of blades, the panting breaths, explosions of dirt and rocks, dripping sweat from the extensive fight. Some encounters were too close for comfort for those watching. And the younger Be Fong knew she had to take it up a notch. Find a way to surprise the enemy.

As Sakura was jerked backwards from Yuji, he followed quickly only to feel a sudden presence behind him. Head whipping around it was Sai who had quickly entered the fray. A fist slammed into the man's jaw with such force it instantly came apart from the concentrated chakra. Upon closer inspection one could see rock lining the skin to intensify the impact.

"She's overpowering them," Gai breathed. It was astonishing really that the teen managed to control so many puppets at once. While taking on two very lethal opponents on top of engaging herself.

"Don't be celebrating yet," Belva said. With the flick of a wrist the ground feet from a group of Water Ninja burst. The strings had caught another sneak attack and cut it off. "Anything can happen in an instant."

With Sakura and Sai teaming up on Yuji, it allowed Kakashi and Hisoka to go head-to-head. There was no possible way that the teen could use the Sharingan to her own advantage, manipulating the weapons in the young man's pouch to hold off her father. And she too became caught in the fray, clashing three ways on a number of occasions.

"Do you have a plan?" Kakashi muttered under his breath when they were side by side.

Without even looking the hovering palms parallel to the ground, one twitched to shift the Medical Ninja out of the way as one of Sai's ink beasts pounced. As it tore into the corpse Yuji didn't cry out in agony. He couldn't feel any pain, but he grunted trying to escape as the strings sliced through the animal's body.

"I'm working on it," Mai answered. The General cocked a brow in her direction. "Don't look at me like that. I'm not going to throw you in there without a thought, but it's coming together as we go."

There was no way to prepare for this and come up with a simple solution.

"I know... I just wish I knew what you were thinking."

Kakashi then moved in a wide arc around the field as Hisoka and Mai clashed. Spinning around the man's form, the teen sliced through his own strings. It made his eyes narrow, hands reacting. One could easily see the constricting coils pressing into Mai's clothing as Belva and Kakashi went to shout in warning. It was too late as the Chakra Stings ripped the female apart.

"NO!" Belva screamed.

Hisoka shouted enraged at what he had just done. Though their anguish was short lived as what remained of the ninja suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Clone..." Kakashi breathed in relief.

Then where was the real one? When had the Be Fong peeled off? Obviously, she was nearby with Sakura and Sai still engaging Yuji, and he had yet to be detached himself. But where? There was nowhere to hide out here in the field, the surrounding tree line too far away to be a strategic location. His thoughts were cut off when an arm rose to fend off Hisoka's sharp blade. The two came to a standstill.

"Kill me," Hisoka grunted out. "Kill me before I kill my own daughter. Do not allow me to do it again."

It didn't matter if that had only been a Shadow Clone. The situation had shaken him greatly. He seemed to be fighting off the control on him harder than before, seeing as how he did not move to strike again like the last few times. Muscles tensing, they twitched every now and then as the unseen puppeteer attempted to regain control.

"Listen to me, Mai's alive," Kakashi spoke quickly. There was no telling how long they had to be like this. "She is planning something, what, I do not know, but whatever happens you must trust her methods."

"You willingly allow yourselves to be put in danger," Hisoka stated. Speaking of the other two ninja engaged with his brother. Finally, they ripped into Yuji eliminating the threat.

"Because we trust her as teammates. Mai knows what she's doing."

"Then I will no longer fight whoever this is that controls us. His attention is solely on me now that my brother is down. I hope what you said is true."

"I guess we're about to find out."

Sakura and Sai could feel the strings retreating. The teammates watched as the men clashed on the other side of the field.

"Did you know?" the Medical Ninja asked.

The Root Ninja blinked in her direction as the shinobi continued to watch the battle.

"That she was going to pull you in?"

"No," he answered. "But I've heard of what happened when Hinata and her fought against Pein. And how the two of you would offer yourselves to protect the others. It wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be."

"Did you think it would be painful?"

"I wasn't sure how she manages to connect with others so I was a little... apprehensive."

Sakura chuckled under her breath. "She wouldn't intentionally harm anyone. Even if Mai appears cut off and distant, she still cares."

A fist slammed into Hisoka's gut, causing his mouth to snap open in surprise as it ripped through. It brought them close together so the Be Fong whirled around to engage the second strike. Kakashi managed to alter his path. A loud crack resonated through the air, causing his brows to pinch and wonder what caused the sound. The man was stunned when the General was removed from the line of fire only to be replaced by Mai.

The movement of the Jounin's revealed the broken ground the teen sprung out of. Quite the effective hiding place. Something she learned from Naruto during the Chuunin Exam years ago. Hisoka would've never thought to conceal one's self in plain sight. It left the individual blind to what was happening above ground, trapped in the darkness. Only those with acute chakra sensors could pull off such a thing. The Chakra Strings had become an extension of Mai herself.

She was barreling forward with blinding speed that he had no hopes of countering. The closing space between them became electrified as sparks danced off the tips of the pointed fingers before moving down the skin and covering the hand completely. Lightning. And with a battle cry the younger Be Fong drove the attack straight through her father's heart and out the back without mercy.

"Damn, what a show," Yuji chuckled. Before his vision was obscured and surrounded in darkness by the Binding Squad.

Her chest heaved, breathing ragged as Hisoka stared down at the top of his daughter's head in wonder. Even her limbs were trembling from the lingering lightning chakra that had just pumped through her system having paralyzed the enemy. [song ends]

"How... the hell did she do that?" Gai breathed.

It was astounding. That had been Kakashi's signature attack. Then there was the fact that Be Fong was known to not possess that elemental chakra.

"She borrowed and replaced the lost chakra in order to enhance her own," Belva realized.

But... the whole idea of it was impossible. Unheard of at that kind of speed and distance between two bodies only using strings. The adrenaline. That could be the only possible reason the teen had managed to pull this off.

"We're moving in," Ensui stated, breaking through the Mai's overwhelming emotions. "Please, separate from the corpse."

The free hand pressed against the man's chest and jerked free from how tightly it was wedged inside. But instead of allowing his body to fall the teen carefully lowered the shell to the ground and took a step back. His eyes never left her as the Binding Squad advanced.

"You have taught her well, Belva" Hisoka said. "I expected nothing less from someone of your caliber." Finally, the man offered a smile. "Your best student. She has surpassed everyone before her. Mai." Through the heartache that was beginning to settle in, her head turned to look him in the eye. "You are the true leader of the Be Fong Clan. I could not be prouder."

A strangled sob escaped Mai's lips, teeth clenched together trying to hold it together. But the tears had begun slipping out, causing the eyelids to squeeze shut and jaw to tremble.

"Thank you... Dad."

The man continued to grin at the last sight of his daughter before being surrounded in darkness.

Kakashi could feel the Chakra String control on him slipping away as the tense atmosphere lifted. There were no more enemies to speak of, as the area grew eerily silent. The day had been won, but it felt like a loss with the countless bodies of the dead and injured ninjas. The General's eyes turned to look at Mai, who was standing as still as a statue among the destruction. She had distanced herself, which wasn't a good sign, and Kakashi warily approached. Upon closer inspection he realized her arms and shoulders were trembling.

"Mai..."

There was no answer.

"You're hurting yourself."

Blood dripped form her palms where the clenching of the fists had the nails dig into the skin. Her body gave a lurch as if to hold in a terrible sob and across the field the tree line exploded into woodchips and dirt particles as the strings tore into them savagely. The ground trembled beneath the feet of the Third Division, who struggled to remain standing. Her teammates were the only ones to run forward, alarmed. The moment the Jounin gripped the ninja's shoulders she seemed to collapse as the weight of everything settled in.

Mai screamed out of heartbreak and rage. It wasn't fair. None of it. No one could blame the Be Fong for her anguish in front of them. Many looked away not wishing to watch, to give her privacy. Kakashi slowly lowered them the the ground, arms now wrapped around his former student to hold her back tightly to him. It was the most he could do for the Phantom Ninja in this situation allowing Mai to cry. Sai tugged Sakura to a stop. The shinobi was confused as to why they didn't join their teammates. Something was seriously wrong. But with the shake of his head, they watched Belva advance too. Then the Medical Ninja understood what he meant. There was nothing they could do for Mai physically. And with the division leaders occupied they had to rally what was left and make preparations for the coming hours. Sakura and Sai turned to address their allies.

As the minutes ticked by and the two adults silently consoled the erratic ninja. Slowly her cries grew quiet. Whether it was from the energy being sapped from her due to the day's events or the throat growing hoarse, or maybe even a combination of the two, neither questioned it. Still, it was unnerving seeing the hollow look in Mai's eyes when Kakashi pulled slightly away to observe her. In a way she was broken.

"Let's all get some rest," the General finally spoke. His eyes locked with Belva, who appeared to be in her own pain. Facing her former fiancée and forced to fight him after all these years... Both of his Lieutenants were in need of a recovery period. "It's been a long day."