The sun was sinking beyond the horizon already, yet even with the darkness of night slowly encroaching upon the realm of mortals, all the rogue shinobi could do was run. She had made a few mistakes in trying to face off against that kirigakure shinobi earlier. It was such a terrible disgrace, such a fatal error to have chosen that bridge as her staging ground. However, that wasn't her worst concern, as in her arrogance she had revealed herself openly and thus lost all chances of keeping herself under the radar without constantly having to use some sort of veil or cover for herself.

If only she could get back to her own nation, if only she could get back to the former kaze no kuni, she'd be fine, or at least she'd be able to shake off any of her pursuers. Alas, with only short intervals of time to take a breather and regain some of her strength, any and all face to face confrontation would be out of the question. In fact, it was nearly a miracle that she had gotten out of  the hidden village of the cloads without much issues, given that she had been drained of her chakra to such a point that she had to fight just to maintain her consciousness.

The missing nin had already managed to at the very least stave off that issue, but every time she thought to take more than a few seconds of rest, she could hear the faint footsteps on branches, rocks and other surfaces upon which she was resting, making it quite obvious that the ones tracing and tracking her were without a doubt of high caliber and not to be underestimated. "Tsk...again?" She had only been leaning against a tree for a few seconds when she could hear those same footsteps on the branches again, her pursuers were still at it, even if night was arriving, they just didn't seem willing to let up. Such a bunch of persistant fools. "I just need to reach the border, no doubt Uraeus would have been smart enough to prepare a welcome comittee at the agreed location if anything went wrong."

It was certainly a blessing to have a loyal and strong pet such as Uraeus to serve her. If anything, he was probably her most valuable possession: a child from the great white snake sage himself, practically family in that way and highly intelligent to the point that unlike the snakes of the earthly realm, he had the capability of speech like most of the Ryuchi Cave inhabitants. So it was no wonder that Lamya had always depended on his council and his advice whenever necessary. After all, thanks to him, she had a direct link to the Ryuchi Caves and also thanks to him, she was able to expand her powers greatly during her time in Konoha.

Again, after having run as fast as she could through the forest she was traversing at that point, Lamya decided to take a breather, calmling herself to make sure that she wouldn't miss anything happening around her, allowing herself to sense whatever would dare to come close to her. For a few seconds, she seemed to be relatively safe, with no sound alarming her, yet to all good things would come a swift end in especially her case and as expected it did not take more than a few seconds for the missing nin to realize that those hunting her were still at it, hearing their faint footsteps from quite a distance. "Seriously, do they even need any rest at all...I wish I was better at setting traps for crying out loud."

Letting out a deep sigh, the rogue shinobi got herself up to her feet again, making herself scarce once more to get to the border of the land of lightning. She had to deal with these incessant stalkers somehow though, no matter if they were from Kirigakure or from Kumogakure, they'd need to be taught a lesson and she wasn't above the idea of facing them when she'd be in a better position and more importantly, a better physical and spiritual state.

705

After running for quite a while, Lamya finally sensed nothing close to her, having reached a river coarsing through a steep canyon of rock and stone. It was there that she found herself a small alcove in which she decided to take off her helmet and take a breather again, closing her eyes for a bit.

Never coming back - Violet Evergarden

Her thoughts drifted away, through the darkness of her past, to the time when a sudden light appeared in her life. Days spent in sheer bliss, days in which it seemed her future would be one of peace and tranquility, days of love and friendship.

Time spent with friends like Senju Chisaki, Chi Rippa and even the hokage at the time: Senju Sousetsu, but most of all she remembered the man who had managed to sweep her off of her feet, the man who had taken so many firsts from her and who had given so much in return. Risu could remember his scent, his touch, his smile and even his tears. Everything about him was perfect, everything would've been perfect.

In her mind, she simply envisioned him like how he looked at the last time they had spend an entire day and night together. She remembered how they talked jokingly about their future together, having squabbles about the amount of children they would have, how old they'd both become and even laughing when imagining how they'd be in their gray years as grandparents and maybe even great grandparents. With her eyes closed, she smiled softly, a single tear running down from the corner of her left eye, silently reaching her chin before dropping towards the cold rocky exterior of her hiding place.

"Hey Kyohei, if you would see me now, what would you say? If you'd see what I became, would you scold me again, would you rub your knuckles on my head or would you hold my head gently in your hands and kiss me like you used to?" Opening her eyes again, Risu stared at the moonlit sky; a black and blue velvet tapestry filled with a rain of a thousand sparkling diamonds. "Would I still be your lovely snake and would you still be my crimson prince? Would you still..."

For a moment she went silent again, feeling her energy return, but somehow her heart sinking slightly deeper: a feeling she thought to have lost the day she left Konoha behind her."Would you still love me with all your heart, like I loved you with all of mine?"

She could hear them again, the footsteps of the restless, the breath of the ones bearing immense hatred towards her. It was as if they were the reapers, hunting her to collect her soul and to end the path she had taken. Hastily she got back up to her feet, letting her eyes wander up into the sky one last time...

"From this night on, you belong to me, Risu," The words seemed to be carried on the wind into Risu's ears, while she put on her helmet again."From this night on, you will belong to me, Kyohei."

528

Running again, trying her best to stay ahead of the hunters, who's persistance had begun to irk her greatly, but Risu wasn't going to give up. She had just been strengthened by remembering the past, by knowing that she was stronger. There was no need to kill them, no need to fight her persuers, all that was necessary was her own survival and just getting past the border into kaze no kuni territory would no doubt put the cards in her favor.

"You'll never escape the truth..."

It was a voice she knew all to well, the voice of the man who had turned her into a monster, the man who had broken her time and time again. Just thinking about this particular individual brought the worst kind of memories back into her mind. The sight of her first squadmates being brought down and crushed by him with such ease, as if they were but insects to him filled her with tremendous amounts of fear and hatred at the same time. However, clenching her fists as hard as she could while running, she tried to erase the man's image out of her mind, hoping she could retain her grip on her mind for as long as necessary.

"You are mine, mine to control, to command...for all eternity..."

"No, no," Lamya's breathing became rather shallow as she jumped off of a tree onto the ground, continuing to run as fast as she could, though not hearing any footsteps behind her. She thought it was all just because she had been running for so long, that perhaps her mind; depraved of proper sleep as it was, was simply playing tricks on her. However, she somehow couldn't erase the memory of this man, this particular person who had controlled so much of her life, who had steered her into whatever direction he had wanted. "I'm in control now."

"No matter how hard you run, I'll always be there..."

Lamya suddenly stopped, looking at the darkness around her, her eyes darting from left to right, almost panicking as she thought he could be emerging from any shadow. The rogue shinobi had to force herself to calm down, yet as she closed her eyes, she could see him, she could hear him, she could feel him.

Strung up like a pig ready for slaughter, her back burning from the lashes she had gotten, while the wet feeling of her own blood running down from the wounds discomforted her even more. In front of her, He was standing, looking at her with a cruel smile on his face, his empty and emotionless eyes looking straight at her and as he came closer to her, she could feel a shiver crawling up her spine. His hand reached for her face, his fingers spreading, ready to dig deep within her skull, ready to once again turn her into an instrument of his own design.

"You're mine and mine alone, my dear niece..."

She stopped with running, standing right in front of a large cliff of gray stone and jagged rocks. Lamya was close to the border of the land of wind, yet she stopped and smiled. It appeared that Uraeus had managed to do as he was told. "You made sure to teach me that I can be just as cruel and destructive as you. However, you don't control me, no one does...I am the one who reigns supreme."

With those words, the missing nin turned around and watched the windswept opne plains behind her, awaiting the arrival of her so-called hunters and readied herself to deal with them in the most appropriate manner possible.

620

"I'm tired of running," A tremor coursed through the ground, the cliff behind the rogue shinobi started to crumble, with a multitude of rocks and stones of varying sizes and weights dropping down onto the ground behind her. The air became heavy and thick, making it feel as if one was wading through mud rather than jumping through air. "I don't like it when I am being reminded of both my most painful memories. I don't like it when I am being pursued as if I was some sort of rat and I certainly don't like it when people start to believe in the idea that they can take me down without so much as a single thought of not making it out alive themselves. Such arrogance is only allowed to those who know death, such arrogance is only allowed to ME!!"

Displacing the air around her in her fury, the missing nin's impressively powerful display of chakra seemed to whip up a gale of wind right when her pursuers finally arrived at the location, wearing a slight variation of the known Kirigakure Huntermasks and carrying themselves with an air of confidence only the highest ranking shinobi would display, this team of hunters seemed precariously prepared and meticulously maintained just to keep check on charges and threats that exceed the capacity of most regular hunters and hunter teams. Team Zero, created and appointed by the Mizukage herself, a force to be reckoned with and a squad of shinobi known to have dealt with various incredibly large threats to the nation of water and the hidden village of the mist. They only answered to Ayakashi and all of their missions ended with a trail of death behind them, they were truly worth the Zero name, as there were zero witnesses to their actions and zero survivors in their wake.

"So...Hunters than," Like a pillar of black and purple energy, a colum of pure chakra seemed to rise from Lamya's body, just to show that while she was running, each and every second she managed to regain her breath was a moment to regain her strength and right now, she had finally managed to regain her full power. Alas, even she knew that this display would only deter the weaker sort of Hunters, but these Hunters seemed different, as of they were trained to withstand the pressure of her chakra and to maintain a level head in the presence of a force such as hers. "Hmm, not ordinary hunters, going by your masks and overall presence. I must say I am impressed by your strength of will. If I had displayed my full, raw power at the start of my match with that colleague of yours, it might've made her tuck tail and run, yet here we are: me on the run and you guys hunting me as if it were a sport to you, really interesting and most impressive."

Her chakra calmed down and her head, covered by the black lacquered helmet tilted to the left, as if she was thinking about something, or just simply observing her adversaries. The rogue shinobi knew that trying to run now was but a poor and ill-adviced idea, not with them being so close and with greater numbers. "Your masks are unfamiliar, your attire too expensive to be regular Hunters...hmm," She suddenly clasped her hands together, making a loud clacking noice as both her hands slapped together with their palms, slightly shocking a few of the Hunter team that stood before her, as this action of hers was so random and unexpected that it nearly made them attack her, their muscles twitching as they managed to restrain themselves from doing so just yet. "An elite squad, I know you're all numbered...but I reckon you don't have a number. You are no one, you are nothing...ah I see, you are Zero."

660

The members of the squad did not answer when their prey seemed to be rather pleased with the discovery about the high secrecy and high rank they seemed to have. In stead, the squad simply formed up into formation, their hands close to their preferred  weaponry, all the while keeping a close eye on their target. Yet as they seemed to be entirely motionless at one moment, at the very least one of their members did not hesitate to suddenly launch himself towards the rogue shinobi, a sharp bladed, sword on a stick or Guan Dao being thrust forward towards her head with great skill and precision, but more importantly: great speed.

Lamya tilted her head to the side, the blade of the strange Hunter-nin's exotic looking weapon digging itself into the rocky cliff behind her, sinking easily a half dozen inches into the rock, elluding to the man's force and the weapon's high quality craftsmanship. The rogue shinobi smiled, yet as her cruel grin appeared, she could feel something wet trickle down the side of her face and as her eyes turned a bit towards the weapon she had thought to have dodged expertly, she could see that her cheek had been nicked ever so slightly by the guan dao's sharp blade. "Tsk, that's a more annoying weapon than I thought," The words had but just left her mouth, when the man using the guan dao simply jumped backwards and the three other shinobi suddenly threw a handfull of strange, dangerous looking shuriken towards the rogue shinobi. The shuriken seemed to scream through the air like a bunch of angry hornets, eager to hit their target. Annoyed by this fact, the rogue shinobi tried to jump aside and dodge the incoming projectiles to the best of her ability, forcing a few of the shuriken to veer off course simply by slamming her armored forearms against the projectiles. Alas, when all was silent again, Lamya realised that there were at least two shuriken that had dug into her upper right leg. Not a dibilitating wound, but a certain discomfort nonetheless...not to mention the fact that removing them would be a pain. "Sheesh, you guys got some good aim, managing to sneak in so many hits when I'm at the top of my game...you guys really are the elite, aren't you?"

No answer was given, yet instantly the captain of the squad rushed at her again, this time throwing what seemed to be two knives at her, yet when she raised her arms to block them, they got stuck into the hooks of her vambraces, to which the man reacted by pulling at the ropes that were attached to the sharp, thin knives, obviously with the intent to draw the rogue shinobi closer and pin her down. Alas to the man's surprise, Lamya turned her arms a bit, grabbed the ropes herself and by surprise managed to pull him to her rather than the way around. "Annoying gnat," She hissed when snapping her head forwards towards the masked hunter nin's face, her helmet crashing loudly with the hunter nin's mask, which cracked after the two heads collided. At that point, the captain of the squad seemed smart enough to let go of the ropes and jump backwards again, giving a simply nod to the other members of the squad, now finally each taking on a stance. "Seems you guys have finally realised I'm not some mere jounin for you to catch, haven't you?"

597

It seemed at first that there was no way this could turn into Lamya's advantage, the squad was certainly well trained and was without a doubt one of Kirigakure's best and brightest team of shinobi. However, even now, there was such an air of mystery around their opponent, that it was highly unlikely that they'd just act as they usually would. In a case like this, where they were facing someone who was at the very least equal to, if not superior to most of the current and past kage, it wasn't smart to employ the same tactics as one would do against a regular mid tier jounin on the run. No, they were hunting, but there was no certainty that they'd actually be the hunters compared to their prey.

They were surprised though, that Lamya had been running for so long, only to suddenly turn on them with her teeth bared and her chakra released. They had no idea that she was able to recuperate so quickly, not to mention that most information that was available on their prey was either severely outdated or at the very least incomplete. The captain of this particular Hunter-squad: Slaine, was a careful man, knowing that his squad would pay the price for any mistake he'd make, he always managed to observe an opponent before an engagement and if an observation was not a possibility, he'd go for the tried and tested method of provoking an enemy to simply reveal their strength. In this particular case though, the elite hunter squad's captain  was quite surprised by what they were up against.

His Guan Dao's blade had barely managed to scratch her skin, just a few of the shuriken had managed to hit and she had managed to play him on his own use of the ropedarts by employing her surperior strength, speed and reflexes. He was loyal to Kirrigakure, Loyal to the mizukage and loyal to his squad's members, but Slaine also knew that despite their status as an elite squad among the already elite hunter division, he and his subordinates were still expendable and it was expected of them to go beyond their best to follow their orders.

The captain of the hunter squad let out a sigh, his hand sliding accross the crack that had formed upon his mask. It was funny, how his opponent had chosen not to wear her mask, but he understood it now. She had already revealed herself before, not caring about her own safety as it seemed and more bent on theatrics and an imposing show of power. However, it seemed that even without her helmet, which he had seen her wear in the recap of the fight she had with one of the Mizukage's chosen successors, this individual's brutal strength was still enough to break or at least damage his equipment without any repercusions to her own body. In short, this was a frightening person to be facing, but for now... she did not yet seem to be someone his team could not overcome.

He had his orders and though they were to take her in, he decided against taking her alive if this was not a viable option, even if this went against the wishes of the raikage, it wasn't against the Mizukage's orders...and those were still more important than the desires of some other hidden village's leader.

581

Four members of an elite hunter's squad stood before her, in but a few moments they had seemingly decided on how to approach her and how to deal with the situation at hand. It annoyed the rogue shinobi that they seemed to believe that they had the upper hand, it was really frustrating how weak people suddenly believed her to be, simply because she had made a few rather dumb mistakes. However, it did end up proving her assumptions that Kirigakure, though being a strong military power, lacked any good actual ANBU or in this case hunters, as they should've been more wary of her and more careful if they really possessed any actual information or intelligence on her.

"Pitiful bunch of kiri-nin, trying to hunt someone who'd be best left alone," Letting out a soft chuckle, the woman's hand rose to the side of her head, pulling the helmet over her head again and laughing when the golden rebreather made a wheezing sound to announce it had connected properly and taken over the duty to filter the air for her. "It seems like practically all who have defected from their respective villages are more capable of gathering information and intel than any of the so called hidden shinobi villages themselves. It really makes you think about the legitimacy of their power, don't you agree?"

With this one line, she had basically called Kirigakure and by extension all other villages weak and lacklustre in terms of information and intelligence transaction. With just a few words, she had basically shown how outspoken she was on the subject of the hidden villages, showing her disdain for an antiquated design which only helped to fan the sparks of war during every passing decade. Though, in essence she did not hate war in itself, she did dislike the fact that the dogmatic ideals of the villages were essentially the cause for most wars, making their so-called peace pacts and policies look rather dimwitted and ignorant of their own and other's faults.

"Now than, shall we take this a bit more seriously now?" Letting out a harsh cackle, it was clear that Lamya was actively trying to taunt the squad into attacking her, making it all the more apparent that she had the confidence or at the very least the tactics to deal with all of them at once if she so desired. "Well...unlike you guys, I've got more important things to do, so are we going to have our little tussle or not?"

The hunters looked at eachother and then at the captain with his cracked mask, yet Slaine only needed to nod for them to know the plan, showing how cohesive they were as a unit. Right after that single nod, they started to swarm out, circling around Lamya until all her escape passages were covered safe for the huge cliffside behind her, with Slaine right in front of her, they decided upon a attack en group, intending to overwhelm this particulary dangerous individual with numbers and tactical teamwork. "Interesting..."

517

They instantly drew their weapons, each of them brandishing a tanto except for the captain, who wielded his Guan Dao again, the four of them rushing towards Lamya without any lack of cohesion in their assault. A swing came from the left, which the rogue shinobi managed to dodge by bending backwards just in time, the blade of the tanto barely missing the frontal part of her helmet, while with both hands, she simply used her fingers to grab the two other incoming tanto by the tip of the blade, halting their advance instantly. "Is that it?" Her words had but left her lips, sounding distorted and rather dull when she realised that there was still that captain with his cracked mask and more importantly that strange weapon which had made her put on her helmet again in the first place.

When Slaine's weapon soared through the air, reaching for Lamya's abdomen with a powerful thrust, she suddenly jumped upwards, her fingers pulling the blades and consequentially both wielders towards eachother, while she herself landed gracefully attop the bladed part of Slaine's Guan Dao, forcing it to stab into the ground, while she held her left foot firmly atop the weapon's shaft to keep it in it's place. "That was close, but not good enough just yet," Letting out a sigh, she took a single leap backwards to pin herself with her back against the cliffside, feeling the jagged edges of the rocky wall dig themselves in her back. "There is no way I'd believe you're an elite force of an already elite division if this is all you'd have to show me. Do please show me what you are truly capable of, or this would be a rather dull fight. Or is it not that you're holding back for my sake, but because there's something holding you back?"

Slaine simply pulled his weapon out of the ground and made a swift nod towards his squadmates, of which one instantly dropped their tanto and reached for their back. With a sickening, ripping sound, this particular individual suddenly ripped out their own spine and seemed to wield it like some sort of whip blade, while the two other members suddenly pointed a finger towards Lamya. "A Kaguya and...oh," She suddenly had to tilt her entire body sideways, just to avoid a single volley from the two other squadmembers, who were seemingly proficient in using the water release-gunshot technique, using it without any handseals and thus betraying their heritage. "Two Hozuki clansmembers as well...this might actually be interesting."

not giving the rogue shinobi any chance or possibility to retaliate, the Kaguya instantly lashed out with her spinal sword, only to have it blocked by what the entire squad could only perceive as a pair of scalpels. "heh, you really didn't think you were the only ones packing a safe supply of tools, right?" It was interesting for the Hunter squad as well, given that it was noted that Lamya had brandished those same scalpels during her exhibition match with the kirigakure Hunter-nin and member of the seven swordsmen: Himitsu Nozomi, but she had not shown anything particular with the scalpels. However, if it was a criminal of her rank wielding them, there was no doubt about the notion that they had to be special in one way or another.

572

Noticing that Lamya herself was now wielding some sort of scalpels, both of rather high ranking caliber, made it more than apparent that their target was getting the hang of it more and more, feeling less pressured and more confident with every passing second. However, the squad thought to have the upper hand not only because they had numbers, but because they were capable of taking down much stronger enemies and had without fail taken down many high ranking threats to their nation before. Even if slaine and the others remained cautious and never underestimated their prey, they were certain on the outcome of this hunt. For it had always been as thus: the Mizukage commanded someone dead and they would bring her the head of whomever it was they were ought to hunt. That was the task of their squad, the only squad to truly operate within shadows, for their targets would never live to tell their tale.

"You all look like you're the kind of people who'd go through great lengths to keep the upper hand on an enemy, but you make a mistake in the world of shinobi," The rogue shinobi laughed, putting her scalpels away and making a single handseal, her entire skin seemingly shimmering and shiny with a permeation of chakra being forced into it, allowing herself to turn any and all chakra into medically changed chakra instantly. "You seem to think this world revolves around how strong you can make yourself."

The kaguya suddenly raised one hand, fired off five of her fingerbones like bolts and rushed in towards Lamya with the intent to rend the blade through her gut, while the two hozukis made water whips which grabbed at Lamya's limbs. It was without a doubt rather interesting to behold for the missing nin, who was surprised when being grabbed by the hozuki's extended and liquified arms, when they grabbed her legs and arms tightly from each side. "Hmm, liquification?" She hadn't seen it up close yet, in fact Lamya had had little altercations with Kirigakure shinobi during her time as a konoha nin and even when she was an ANBU and later as a missing nin, she just had the basic information on kirigakure and its people, but not much first hand experience. This was to be her first time facing off against a squad with such a diversity in skills and techniques. For someone like Lamya, this was basically a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered and dissected. "Interesting."

The bone bolts found their target against her superior armor, which didn't really budge and when the Kaguya's sword ran against it, it was not the armor, but the sudden increased muscle mass and skin underneath which prevented any damage from truly occuring to the missing nin. It was only after this slash that every member of the squad noticed that their target had become scaly, more muscular and was practically smiling from ear to ear.

"Sure, making oneself stronger is important," With her strength increased greatly, the woman drew the two hozukis together with a single pull, slamming the two blobs of water into eachother, while rushing forward to deliver a painful punch against the Kaguya's face, hearing bone crack underneath the force of the rogue nin's punch, Slaine jumped in to slash down at Lamya with his Guan dao, only to see it bounce off with little to no effect. "It's about how weak you can make your opponent!!"

Spreading out her arms, Lamya suddenly let go off a massive burst of chakra, which passed through the entire squad. Though it seemed to have no immediate effect, the rogue shinobi knew that now it was time to send Kirigakure, Kumogakure and any village that have signed a pact at the past chuunin exams to know that hunting the World Serpent, the Dragon Empress, would not be an easy task, for she would swallow their "sun" if need be, as well. "Now then, are you ready for another lesson?"

678

Slaine watched as the burst of chakra seemed to pass harmlessly through himself and his squadmembers, almost making him believe that this entire show of their prey was a mere fluke, a sort of distraction to make them lose focus. Yet, despite that idea, it was strange to see that Lamya actually wasn't running, in fact, she seemed to feel rather confident for some reason. The squad of hunters, slightly taken aback by this burst of energy's apparent lack of effect were looking at each other and at their captain, wondering what to do now, since it seemed that their target had failed to incapacitate them, as they thought that to be her primary objective.

"Would you quit gawking at each other and just try and attack me, you bunch of nitwits," The rogue shinobi was feeling quite eager to show the difference between them now. Wih her entire body covered with hardened skin and scales, her muscles slightly engorged and her knowledge that all those within the range of this particular burst of chakra she had unleashed would soon enough know the folly of their ways, she suddenly burst towards the Kaguya member of the team.

Though she seemed slower, she was still by no means a slouch and only Slaine was now a match to her overall speed, even at this point. The kaguya squadmember turned towards her and reached out with his hands, trying to fire off his fingerbones...but nothing happened and before he knew it, he could feel Lamya's fist smash against his mask, hearing it crack loudly and shatter while he was flung a few meters backwards. "Now than, I did say that making an opponent weaker was the smarter strategy, shall I demonstrate it to you all by how much you are weaker than me?" The two hozukis drew their blades and aimed to land a hit on her, their steel aimed at her gut, the result was a surprisingly uneffective halt against her armor, their blades screeching against the scaled skin underneath and leaving naught but the most minor of scratches. In shock and awe, the two Hozuki decided to use their signature moves, by trying to conjure up a thick mist with the intent of incapacitating their target when she'd have a hard time seeing them, but their actions ended up looking like some cheap mime show and only then did Slaine realise that they'd been trapped, their jutsu and thus their chakra completely neutralized by that strange burst of chakra she had unleashed moments before and for some reason she was now much stronger and seemingly had an impenetrable skin. What kind of monster had they thrown them against?

"Well well well, I think I'd better use this time alotted to me to bring you guys down a peg or two," Making a single snake handseal, she formed two long whips made out of water on her arms and slashed with each of those at the Hozuki hunters, twisting her arms a bit after her initial slash to grab them by the legs and slam the two of them together before tossing them aside like a bunch of discarded dolls. "That leaves just you...so you decide, captain-dono...who of your men will die and who will live?"

Slaine readied his Guan Dao and made a swift bow before taken on a rather peculiar stance. "Let my men leave, they are but pawns in a game you and our kages have created. I shall fight in their stead and on their behalf, but know this...if you kill me, you will only seal your fate and the whole might of Kirigakure will oppose you and bring you down. You will fall not before me, but you will fall nonetheless."

"Such an ominous promise, such a dreadful vow," Slaine rushed towards Lamya, slicing with his Guan Dao from the right, yet suddenly flicking his wrist to make the initial move a faint and aim to stab the woman through the throat with his fearsome weapon. he closed his eyes and felt it connect, yet as he opened his eyes, his jaw practically dropped to the ground in shock, as Lamya held the weapon by the tip of the blade, the palm of her hand having stopped his Guan Dao in the middle of his intended stab. "Such pointless resistance."

Before another word could be said, Slaine could feel something cold reach into his chest and as he looked upwards, in a single flash of lightning, he could see that atop the cliff there were easily a dozen men clad in black robes and wielding blades of various shapes and sizes. "My death will be your undoing...desert serpent..."

As the captain's lifeless body started to slump, Lamya removed his mask, quite surprised to notice that the man seemed so normal, so unassuming. Standing up again, she noticed the other teammembers looking at her in a mixture of anger, fear and confusion. "Do not deface this man's brave defiance. Bring his body to your leaders and tell them this: whomever you send, I will send them back, whomever you dare to steer in my direction, I will send them back and whomever you dare to send to capture me... I will devour." With this being said, the squadmembers grabbed Slaine's body and rushed into the woods, at which point the shinobi clad in black jumped down the cliff and surrounded Lamya, a large white snake slithering off of one of them and approaching her. "Are you well, Milady?"

Glaring at the snake, the Serpentine woman fell to one knee and started breathing heavily, showing that she had been showing off her power with but little chakra to spare and was only lucky to have regained even that much. "Bring me to our base, Uraeus. They were not the last to be seen from Kirigakure. I need to regain my full power if I want to face this new threat to my plans."

In another flash of lightning, the area around the cliff was empty, with only a shattered mask from one of the squadmembers as a sign that a battle had been fought. A small skirmish to serve as an entry dish to the grad war that was about to happen.

1059/6517

[exit thread]

ALL wc used in this thread: http://www.narutosaga.com/t26633-for-the-wonders-we-have-seen-private-plot