"Damn it!" Naruto cursed and started forming seals, "Summoning-"
"Too late!" Kisame snarled and brought his sword down on Naruto.
I reached out with my own sword just in time, stopping it from hitting Naruto. There was a massive drain in my energy and Naruto's as well.
What's going on?!, I panicked, my arm started to shake under the weight of the huge blade.
Kisame lifted his sword and held it in front of him, displaying it, "W-what the hell?! What's going on?!" Naruto cried as he tried to summon more chakra.
Kisame laughed, "My sword, Samehada, eats chakra," he smiled, showing his abnormally pointy teeth.
"W-what?! How!" I leaped between Naruto and Kisame, "Even if I don't have chakra, I still have life... and taijutsu," I lifted my sword up to challenge him.
"Well at least you guys can't cause any trouble using jutsus. Hm, should I chop off a leg or an arm?" he snickered.
His large, bandaged sword came swinging down again and I caught it on my own sword, I was being crushed under its weight. Liz stumbled to her feet and threw three kunais, one after the other.
"Foolish tricks," Itachi chided.
Liz ignored him but as Itachi moved to the side to avoid the kunais, Liz sped up, shooting towards us at supersonic velocity. Itachi eyed her, obviously unhappy but he did not make a move to stop her. Liz lashed out with her sword and caught the edge of Kisame's cloak on her sword, ripping a hole into it. She slid underneath his sword and added her strength to pushing the sword back.
"Looks like I made a mistake a few years ago. I should've made sure that the both of you were already dead before I left... but then again, I was in a hurry," Itachi gazed at us with analytic eyes.
While we were distracted by Itachi's comment, Kisame took the chance to renew his attack, redoubling the strength at which he was sucking away chakra and doubling his own strength in which he swung his halberd. I was sure that this time around, the sword would shred us to pieces but a frog suddenly appeared in front of us, the armoured pads on his arms were able to deflect the strike.
"You don't seem to know very much about me. I'm better at getting girls than they are trying to get me... even though it doesn't look like it. It's my specialty," came a low and rather wonky voice.
I turned to see a man with long, white hair and red markings around his eyes and down his face. He had a curious headband on and he was quite tall. He also had an unconscious woman slung over his shoulder.
Naruto sighed heavily, "We're saved," he panted.
I looked at the man again, "Saved? Is this some kind of joke?" I narrowed my eyes.
"I, Jiraiya, this epitome of manliness! I will fall for no woman's feminine wiles! When you are someone like me, you'll only have to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!" he looked like an old, perverted fool.
Liz and I turned around, "Who the hell is this? Get out of here, old man, this isn't the place to express your drunken frenzy. You'll get hurt," Liz waved her hands at him, shooing him away.
"Hey! I'm not an old- oh, well, hello there ladies! Care for an exchange of names?" his face was flushed.
"Please, leave, this is not the place. We don't want you to get hurt," I repeated Liz's harsh message.
Naruto decided to burst out now, "Yeah right! You just fell for these two with one look! They didn't even do anything! And that girl from before! She just winked at you and you scampered after her! Now you're trying to look all cool and awesome! Not happening, Perverted Hermit!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Perverted Hermit?" Liz cocked her eyebrow.
"Or Pervy Sage, your choice," Naruto shrugged.
"Hey! I told you to stop calling me that in front of other people!" the old man whined.
Was he really one of the Legendary Sannin that the ramen shop owner had mentioned?
"Screw that! We should be worrying about those guys over there, Pervy Sage!" Naruto had obviously ignored Jiraiya's request.
Kisame decided to join in the conversation, "Hm, well, well, well, so you are one of the three Legendary Sannin, the great Jiraiya? I heard that you like beautiful women but I never thought that such a simple trick could lure you away and stall you so easily," he smirked.
"What? You guys know the Pervy Sage's real identity?!" Naruto exclaimed, obviously not expecting that.
"Well, I wouldn't call it a real identity..." Jiraiya contradicted, scratching his head.
"It seems that you have released the woman from the genjutsu that was binding her," Itachi mumbled.
Jiraiya set the lady down, propping her up against the wall, "To lure me away, you used Sharingan on her... quite cowardly if you want my opinion," Jiraiya stood up, I could see that his face was serious now, completely different from the perverted old man I had seen just a few minutes ago, "So you really are after Naruto," he noted.
"More like after the Nine-Tails," Liz butted in.
Naruto was frozen, he looked afraid. Sasuke's face was dominated by a painfully angry expression.
"No wonder Kakashi knew as well, you were his little bird," Itachi narrowed his eyes.
Jiraiya was silent. I couldn't hold myself up anymore, I grabbed Liz's hand, trying to stay standing up but I fell to the ground anyway. Liz fell on top of me, imbalanced from my pull. She rolled over onto her stomach, off of me. She didn't feel like getting up either, I guess that last move took a lot of her energy after being thrown against a wall with the speed of sound.
"Ugh..." I groaned and tried to push myself up.
Liz was a bit more successful, she was able to get to her knees, but that was as far as she got.
Itachi looked at us curiously but then turned his attention back to Jiraiya, "Hm... 'abduct Naruto'... those were our orders from the higher ranked people of our organization, Akatsuki," he explained.
There was silence, Akatsuki... I will remember that and will one day hunt you down, I thought while simultaneously glaring at Itachi with the coldest fire in my eyes.
The summoned frog disappeared in a poof of smoke and Kisame's sword came to a rest on the ground in front of us.
"You won't get Naruto," Jiraiya said firmly.
"And why not?" Itachi questioned, I could see his body tense ever so slightly.
"Because... right now, right here... you two will die by my hand," Jiraiya vowed.
Liz and I grimaced and I forced myself to my knees as well, "No, he is ours to kill, my sword must be bathed in his blood!" I stared Jiraiya down.
Liz spoke up too, "So shall mine!"
"No! Don't do it," came a shaky voice.
Sasuke was up on his feet again, trembling but standing up.
"This guy is mine!" he claimed.
I bared my teeth, I will allow no one to take our revenge away from Liz and I.
"I already said so... he is ours to kill," I snarled.
"Oh ho ho, Itachi, I never knew you were so popular," Kisame clucked his tongue.
Itachi ignored him but spoke to Sasuke instead, "I have absolutely no interest in you right now," he said dismissively.
"Elvira... Elize, I hate repeating myself... he is mine!" he snapped back, "This fight is mine," he panted.
Itachi walked over to Sasuke, moving slowly.
"Come on!" Sasuke thundered.
Itachi was still several paces away from Sasuke but suddenly, Sasuke was coughing up blood and Itachi's fist was at his gut. Sasuke doubled over and Itachi's elbow came down on his neck. He fell forward and Itachi's knee came up to meet his face. Sasuke's body was straightened out again and Itachi punched his chest, blood spewed from Sasuke's lips and I could see shock, mingled with fear, in his eyes. He fell to the floor, entirely spent.
"Sas... uke!" I wheezed and tried to push myself up using my sword but I just couldn't find the strength.
"Heh, no mercy at all," Kisame smirked, "Too beat up to go save your boyfriend?" he mocked.
I shook with anger and my knuckles had already turned white from gripping my sword too hard. Itachi stooped down and picked Sasuke up by his neck, then pinned him against the wall.
"AH!" Sasuke's eerie scream echoed down the wrecked hall.
"No! Stop!" I attempted to get up again but this time, I fell flat on my face.
"Itachi, I suggest that you shouldn't use your eye so many times in one day," Kisame chided.
Sasuke's screaming intensified, informing us of Itachi's denial. I gripped my sword harder and a sudden feeling of cold water washed over my body. It felt rejuvenating. I stood up gracefully and looked around. Everything was blue, several different shades of it. I could still see the world as it was but just in blue.
"T-that chakra... it's so powerful," Kisame stuttered and took a single step back.
I felt an amazing chakra beside me and looked to see Liz, on her feet and ready to fight. White chakra seeped out of her in tendrils. I looked carefully in her face and noticed that something was different, her eyes were pure white, not golden yellow.
"This... this feeling... it's fantastic," Liz looked at her hands and then glanced at her brilliant white sword.
It glowed iridescent white and it was surged with air currents. I looked curiously down at my own sword to see that it was surrounded by water, rippling in place and occasionally extending a tendril to lash the air randomly. It glowed iridescent blue.
I looked at Kisame again, "Move... if you do not wish to die," I slashed my sword experimentally through the air but accidentally created a wave of chakra.
Kisame brought his sword up just in time to suck the chakra wave up, "That was a juicy snack, wasn't it?" he licked his lips, apparently talking to his sword.
"If you liked that so much, I'll give you something else to sink your teeth into," Liz snarled and spun around sideways.
A whirlwind of sharp air immersed with chakra whipped towards Kisame. He plunged his sword into the whirlwind to try and soak up chakra but the attack was fierce, it blew him backwards only to be caught by Itachi.
"Release him... now," I demanded, I raised my swordpoint up to chest level.
Itachi narrowed his eyes, studying Liz and I while righting Kisame, "Interesting..."
I rushed him without warning. My sword danced in front of me, it seemed to be leading itself with a life of its own.
What is this incredible power?, I pondered.
My blade met with Itachi's kunai, "For my parents, for my friends, for my village... Liz and I will kill you," I pressed against his strength.
There was a clinking sound and I looked down to see that I had put a large crack in Itachi's kunai.
"I've always wanted to try shark fin soup," Liz snarled as she twirled her blade in her hands and surrounded Kisame with a high-speed barrage of attacks, "I'll dice you up fine," I saw a spurt of blood and another... and another.
My morale boosted, I resumed my own attack, "You will die here, Itachi!" I jabbed at him, his movements seemed slow to me.
I could see everything, shades shifted in my vision to signal movement and everything looked so much more detailed. I caught sight of Sasuke behind Itachi, still held up by Itachi's other hand while he fended me off. I grunted angrily and managed to put a shallow cut in his cloak. Realizing his disadvantage, he tightened his grip around Sasuke's neck.
"Continue to attack my partner and I... and Sasuke will die," he threatened.
I stopped mid-blow, "Tch," I refused to move.
"Ugh..." Sasuke moaned as his esophagus was completely shut off.
"Damn it," I cursed and leaped back, dragging Liz with me.
"I'm not done with you, fish head!" she screamed at Kisame, "You smelly, brainless, anchovy!"
"Anchovy?!" growled Kisame.
"Kisame... now is not the time," Itachi warned, holding him back.
I heard Jiraiya mumble a few words and suddenly, the walls weren't walls anymore. They were pink and sticky, gluing everyone still.
"You guys can't retreat either... you are already inside my stomach," Jiraiya smirked with his hands on the ground, fueling the jutsu.