A sudden flash of light blinded Tatsumaru. The loud shriek of noise dazed him, and he found himself completely confused as to what was happening. Trembling, his hand darted towards his left pocket. He fumbled for a few seconds before withdrawing a kunai, holding it with both hands in-front of his face as he darted back and forth on the spot in absolute terror. He could hear screaming, rustling, and muffled talking, but had no idea what was happening. It wasn't until his vision returned that his mind put together the events that had just unfolded. Blood was everywhere, and his sensei had fallen from the tree. His right leg was detached and lying a fair distance away from him. "AMBUSH, SCATTER!" he screamed, his body acting without thinking. Tatsumaru leapt from the tree-branch, landing next to Takashi. His sensei wasn't moving, but there was no way that blow could have killed him. He must have blacked out. Holding his kunai in his left hand, which was shaking like a leaf, Tatsumaru grasped the wrist of his Sensei's left hand, dragging it over his neck as he crouched down, leaving it to hang over his shoulders. Hooking his right hand under his Sensei's armpit, Tatsumaru pushed off with his legs, forcing himself to drag Takashi off the floor. Although he was lifting the catatonic body of his sensei, only a single morbid thought flashed through his mind: Imagine how heavy he would be if he still had his leg. Still, he managed to lift him, and, with no small amount of groaning, even managed to return to the tree branches. The thud of two pairs of feet landing on the branch next to him was familiar, and a quick glance to the left revealed Hayate and Kyo by his side.

"Hah, he's still alive boys!" Tatsumaru's head snapped to the right at the sound of the foreign voice. The three thugs they were looking for stood shoulder to shoulder just a branch away. a sudden squirming on top of Tatsumaru made him flinch as Takashi began to move. "Leave me" he barked at Tatsumaru, his tone harsh and his breathing laboured. With his one good leg he kicked off the human crutch that Tatsumaru was acting as, flowing chakra to his foot and arm, bracing himself awkwardly on the tree. It was clear that he was using all of his strength to simply stand, but at least he was conscious. The distance between the branches the grounds stood on was irrelevant, less than an arm's length away. Tatsumaru was furious at this point, and his wit and wisdom gave way to fury. He tossed his right fist straight at the throat of the thug on the right, who caught it in his left hand. Tatsumaru grinned, and a sudden "BANG" rang out from his fist. The thugs hand was reduced to nothing but a stub in an instant; the power of explosion release in action. Complete havok quickly broke out, with Kyo and Hayate splitting off to fight the other two thugs, while the thug that Tatsumaru had just destroyed the hand of stayed to fight him.

The thug was in shock, and Tatsumaru took advantage of his surprise to land a second blow to the left side of his face. He fell, hard, falling from the tree-top and landing on his back with a loud "Thud". Tatsumaru was surprised at the force his punch delivered, but a quick glance at his left hand revealed why; he was holding a kunai. He was in such a state of shock that he had completely forgotten his weapon and reverted to his Taijutsu training; completely throwing away an easy kill. "FUCK!" he barked at himself, looking back down to where the thug had landed. He was gone. An arm grabbed the scuff of Tatsumaru's collar, throwing him off the branch he was standing on. Tatsumaru turned mid-air as he grabbed at another branch with his right hand to see that Takashi had thrown him, and that where he was standing was now covered in Shuriken. Another shuriken was flying directly at Tatsumaru's face. Letting go of the branch, Tatsumaru dropped to the jungle floor, his eyes darting around in fear. A familiar thud let him know that someone had landed behind him. Turning in fear, he saw the now one handed thug, sword drawn, charging at him. Tatsumaru barely managed to bring his kunai up in time to block the sword swing, his reactions dull compared to the stronger and faster opponent. The thug raised his blade once again, bringing it down with force. Again, Tatsumaru blocked his blade with the kunai, but the blow had so much force that the kunai forced it's way out of Tatsumaru's hand, the blade bouncing to his left as it dragged the kunai free. Luckily for Tatsumaru, the force bounced the blade far enough to the left that it didn't dig into his shoulder. Tatsumaru leapt to the right as soon as he realised he had been disarmed, but before he could draw another kunai, the thug was upon him. The blade swung again and again, slashing wildly towards Tatsumaru, and every time he only barely managed to duck it.

After about a minute of pure blade dodging, Tatsumaru saw an opening in his opponent's guard. He lunged forward, dashing under the sword arm and ramming his right shoulder blade into the soft meat of his opponent's arm-pit, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying. He stepped forward confidently towards his enemy, who was scrambling for his blade, Drawing a kunai and readying himself to deliver the finishing blow. Just as he raised his blade, however, his right leg gave out, forcing him to drop to his knees. His back arched and Tatsumaru found himself vomiting blood. His mind screamed at him, ordering him to find his feet before he was slaughtered, but his body refused to reply. It took all his will to raise his head enough to see the thug beginning to raise his blade over him. Tatsumaru closed his eyes, knowing he was a dead man. If he was going to die, he would not die a coward, at least. The loud thud of steel meeting bone jarred Tatsumaru, forcing him to open his eyes. He knew the blade hadn't connected with him, but he was certain that was the sound of someone being hit with a sword. Looking him, Takashi stood between Tatsumaru and the thug, a sword forcing it's way down from his left collarbone to his right hip, bisecting him. Tatsumaru's sensei had used his last breath to save him from the thug. Tatsumaru was still coughing up blood, but the sight of his sensei dying for him forced a new life into his veins. He could feel the fury of the Uchiha pumping through him, and he found himself on his feet, kunai in hand. The thug swung the sword, but his movements were slow and easy to read. Tatsumaru easily ducked under the blade, shoving the kunai into the right cheek of his opponent. It got lodged in his jaw, and Tatsumaru let go of it, instead directing his left hand to grip the thug's sword wielding wrist. Grasping the thug's wrist firmly, Tatsumaru stopped his second sword swing before it connected, and once he had removed the strike's momentum, he released the wrist, sliding his arm forward and wrapping it around the man's forearm. He locked the forearm firm against his torso, and then pivoted his hips to the right. The man's elbow snapped with a jarring CRACK and the audible clang of steel let Tatsumaru know he had dropped the sword. Falling to his knees, the thug screamed in pain, but his howl was quickly silenced by his own blade piercing his heart.

Tatsumaru dropped to his knees, exhausted. His hands were covered in his own blood, as well as that of both his Sensei and his Sensei's murderer. He wanted to go find his comrades and help them in their engagements, as he could still hear the all too familiar sounds of conflict surrounding him, but his legs refused to move. He was at his limit, and no amount of effort would convince his body to do what he wanted. At this point, he simply had to hope that his comrades could manage their fights, and trust that he would see them again. Collapsing face down in the dirt, Tatsumaru begin to wheeze and gasp. His breathing was laboured, and every muscle in his body burned. Trying to remove pressure from his lungs, Tatsumaru slowly and painfully forced himself onto the back, his eyes wandering casually along the jungle canopy. He could see details he had never seen before, even with his sharp eyes. He could see every leg on a centipede a fair distance away, as well as the detail on every feather on the crow that ate it. He could see the hues of hazel in it's eyes, and the detailed ridges on his talons.

Tatsumaru's eyes snapped open, his lungs letting out a harsh gasp. He was in his room. "Another bad dream?" Shiho asked softly. "How'd you know?" "Your sharingan is active" she said with a smile, kissing him gently. "Yeah... I was just remembering the battle where I first activated my eyes. Don't worry about it, dear" Tatsumaru replied casually, shutting his eyes once more as the red glow of his eyes turned back to their typical deep blue. It was just a nightmare of a time long gone, nothing that could hurt him now.