"But what about -"
"MOVE!" Shikamaru cuts off the crew member from finishing his sentence. "Your life is more important! Those are shinobi! Get your asses back to the ship! NOW!"
...
Everyone explodes into motion. The movie crew is scrambling around like mad to gather as much as they can before running back to the ship but I don't really think they're in any danger. Shinobi are trained to remove the biggest threat as quickly as possible and right now that threat is the other shinobi. Us. These Snow shinobi will deal with us first then move onto their true mission goal.
Which is something Yukie has wrapped around her neck and I've sworn to protect said neck from all harm.
"I fucking knew it would spiral out of control." I seethe as I grab Yukie's wrist. "Come on, that means us. I'll have to get that snowboard later, your life is more important. Though it is close."
"You're not getting away that easily Princess!" Mizore, the guy with the heavy armor, is making excellent use of his snowboard. He's careening down the iceberg at breakneck speeds with every intention of snatching Yukie away from me. "You're mine!"
"No she's NOT!" Naruto springs forward and lands a heavy punch to the side of Mizore's face and it knocks him off course away from Yukie and I. "You'll have to go through all of us before we let you touch her!"
"Well that makes my life easier." I tug on Yukie's arm and she stumbles. "Oi. Princess. Walk or I drag you. I don't care which."
"You're not getting her back to the ship." Fubuki shouts at me as she flies through hand signs. "Ice Prison Technique!"
The ice between me, Yukie and the ship surges to life. It bursts from the ground like a geyser and forms a very tall wall blocking the shortest route back to the ship.
"You have a bloodline?" I divert almost my full attention to Fubuki, I've only met one other Ice user and Haku was deadly.
~No, she doesn't. She's a water affinity but must have undergone extensive specialized training to learn how to manipulate ice. Haku was a true carrier of the Hyoton, Fubuki is a cheap imitation. All she's doing is manipulating the water in the ice instead of creating ice itself for her jutsu. She's nothing special, if not for that armor enhancing her abilities she'd have no hope of making a wall this size.~
"Aw. Lame. Guess I won't be stealing your heart." I turn away from her and walk straight at the wall.
"Sorry kiddo, you couldn't steal my heart if you tired." She darts at Yukie while talking to me. "You're way too young for me. I'm not a cradle robber."
"Not what I meant but whatever." I glance down at her feet. "Oh, this is going to be funny."
"No this is going to be victory!" She shouts as she's barely a meter from Yukie.
Then all of her momentum vanishes and she's rooted to one spot.
"WHAT?!" Fubuki yells in fury. Her mouth curls in distaste and her face scrunches up in anger. "Why can't I move?!"
"Shadow Possession Complete." Shikamaru smirks at her back, he snuck up behind her while her attention was on Yukie and I. "I'll take her away from here and deal with her. Get Yukie back to the ship."
"Fuck off I was going to do that anyways." I stick my tongue out at him. "You don't get to order me around!"
"Just do it." Shikamaru sighs as he sprints away with Fubuki mimicking his movements which forces her to follow him.
"If I let go of you are you going to run away?" I spare Yukie a glance. She's deadly pale and trembling. Her eyes are out of focus and she seems like she's not here, as if she's lost in her own memories. "Right. Well at least I don't have to worry about you running away."
I let go of her wrist and fly through the hand signs for one of my favorite jutsu. "Fire Release: Intelligent Hard Work!"
Long story incredibly short: The pathetic ice wall didn't stand a chance to my awesomeness.
"Now then." I grab Yukie by the wrist again and proceed to pull her behind me. "We're going to the ship, I'm shoving you into a room, then I'm going to leave a minion behind with you, after that I'm coming back out here to get that snowboard."
I quickly march Yukie back to the ship. Not everyone is back onboard yet, Anko and Ino are both standing guard as the movie crew are scrambling to get all of their equipment back on the ship.
"Alvarcus!" Ino's eyes light up with relief as she sees me. "You're okay! And you've got Yukie!"
"Pfft it'll take more than those morons to beat me. Have you seen their hats? Stupid, all of them." I spit in their general direction. "Besides I'm not fighting a single one of them."
"IS THAT A FREAKING WATER DRAGON!?" The Director cackles in glee. "DON'T STOP FILMING! DON'T STOP NO MATTER WHAT!"
"Huh." I glance over my shoulder. "Kakashi is getting serious to go that far."
"You want to go help him?" Anko asks. "I'll take the Princess off your hands for you."
"He's a big boy, he can handle himself." Even if he's scared of Nadare. I've got to find out if that's going to be a problem later. "He's just stalling so you have enough time to get everyone back on the ship. Not to mention I've fulfilled my part, Yukie is alive still."
"But what if they're losing!" Ino shouts in frustration. "You have to go help them!"
"No I don't." I bluntly tell her without a single regret. "They all know exactly what they're capable of and they haven't once called for help. But if it really bothers you that much then go yourself. Sure you might not be able to help Kakashi but Shikamaru might appreciate it."
Ino shoots Anko a questioning glance, she's asking for permission.
"Go ahead, I've got this on lock down." Anko assures her. "Help your friends."
"Thanks!" Ino sprints off to join the battle.
I maneuver the all but catatonic Princess behind me and turn to watch the battle with Anko. We're both surprisingly relaxed considering what is happening right before us.
Kakashi and Nadare are darting around all over the tall peaks of the iceberg, they're clashing together with brilliant sparks of metal on metal. Every once in awhile Nadare will back off and use a jutsu but Kakashi counters with the same exact one to render it worthless. Except Nadare is slowly gaining the upper hand, it's barely noticeable right now but Kakashi's chakra usage is wearing him down much faster than Nadare is tiring.
Naruto, on the other hand, is having the time of his life. He's constantly bombarding Mizore with Shadow Clones while Mizore is doing everything he can to either dodge them or pop them. I do have to say I was wrong about the snowboard, it's an effective way to maneuver around in the snow but I have no idea what exactly he's using to propel himself forwards. Maybe he's a Wind type and shoots blasts of air out the back of the snowboard? Eh, I'll figure it out when I steal it.
Shikamaru was struggling with Fubuki, once he reached his stamina limit with the Shadow Possession Jutsu she broke free and instantly took to the air. So her armor grants her wings and she uses it to fly, that's unexpected. But being in the air causes her shadow to disappear so all of Shikamaru's favored shadow jutsu can't be used. He's had to rely on dodging and his own kunai to attempt to bring her down. But that was before Ino came to his aid, now with both of them it's Fubuki on the ropes. She's constantly having to dodge sharp objects that are thrown at her from two sources.
"You can go too you know." Anko offers nonchalantly. "I'll watch the actress."
"Not part of the deal." I dismiss that idea instantly. "I'm here on defense for Yukie. That's it. Nothing more and nothing less. This fight is their own."
"You weren't always this big of an asshole." Ano conversationally says to me as we continue to watch everyone battle.
"Orochimaru changes a person." I shrug indifferently. "I'm a lot more jaded as a person now."
"Orochimaru." Anko venomously snarls his name. "What will it take for you to tell me where he's at? I'll give you anything you ask for."
"No." I bluntly deny her. "Ouch. Naruto that was a low blow even by my standards, I avoid the balls."
...
A/N:
If we hit 500 Power Stones by the end of this week, I'll drop an extra chapter as a thank-you!
Thanks for the support! ;)
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