Missing chemicals and a rapid growth spurt!

Don't play with nature! (C-rank mission)

It a was a glorious day to be a Shinobi. The birds were chirping and the squirrels were playing across the Forrest floor. The sun was just beginning to rise casting its golden glow across the vibrant forest. A young black haired boy was leaping from branch to branch at a rapid rate. He was dressed in all black with a few splashes of white around his wrists, ankles, and torso. A thin long katana with a black holster was secured tightly on his right hip and a small pouch filled with basic ninja tools was on his left. The young boy was moving with a sense of purpose. His small frame looked like a blur as he weaved in and out of the tall trees that surrounded the leaf village.

Zainketsu was given an order this morning to check out a neighboring village. He was informed that a young child got into some chemicals his father was working with. These chemicals were supposedly dangerous and could have devastating effects on who or what were to come in contact with them. Not many details were given beyond that. The young genin was now racing against time to get there before any more damage could be done. In truth he was excited, he knew the situation could be harmful to others but it was also his first C rank mission. He couldnt help but be happy. He was stoked to finally be making his way up through the ninja ranks. It was about time he started to get some challenging missions under his belt. Chasing squirrels and helping old ladies was deeply rewarding in its own way, but it was not exactly putting his ninja skills to the test. He needed a mission with a little more substance

Zainketsu reached the neighboring village after just a couple of hours of travel. He made his way straight over to the scientists house without delay. From the outside it looked like a massive mansion compared to the rundown shacks that surrounded it. It was easily the largest home in the area. The two story mansion may have even been the biggest individual home the young Uchiha had ever seen. The dark mahogany paint was still fresh and vibrant. The house looked like it had just been built a couple of weeks ago at worse. The  weather had not had a chance to wear the wood down yet like it had done to all the surrounding buildings. It was very grandiose and felt out of place. The young boy knocked on the door enthusiastically. He waited for what like an eternity before trying again. On this second knock he was met by an older gray haired man in a long flowing white lab coat. He was a heavier set man with wrinled and saggy skin. The man eyed the young Uchiha with distatse with silent disgust when he took notice of the headband around the boys neck.

Leave it to the village to send a child in a time of crisis. I needed ninjas, full grown men, not brats. I guess they really don't care what happens to us lowly villagers so long as they get paid.  Stupid sons of bitches just want their money. Fuck! Darn no good dirty bastrds, I'm not paying if you fuck this up! This is bullshit! Where are the rest of you?

Zainketsu was immediately off put by the reception he received. The disrespect was real. If it was up to him, he would have just left the old geezer to figure it out on his own,  unfortunately it was not up to him! He was given an assignment and was not going to turn it down over something as silly as pride. He instead stood tall and acted as unbothered by the situation as he could. The young uchiha squared his shoulders and responded to the old scientist with as much authority as his little ten year old body could produce.

I am the only one needed to handle this situation. I assure you sir that I am more then capable to handle anything that comes up. Should I fail for whatever reason all debts will be nullified as per the standard agreement between you and the village. How about we start out with you telling me what you know. where is your son and what exactly do these chemicals that he stole do?

The old scientist seemed uncomfortable immediately. He seemed embarrassed by the way he acted but that was only a small part of it. His hand ruffled his messy hair and his feet nervously shifted under his own weight as he searched for his resolve. A slight air of suspense lingered as the old coot struggled for the words to explain what was going on.

Well you see that is just the thing. I have spent my entire life trying to cure a rare chakra disease. Its a rare disorder that some ninja get after continuously using too much chakra. Normally proper rest and time restores the users chakra without a problem, no real damage is ever done to the chakra circulatory system. When one suffers from this disease their body begins breaking itself down hyper aggressively in an attempt to replenish their missing chakra reserves. The more a person uses their chakra the faster this disease effects the body.

The goal was two fold, The first is to be able to passively amplify their bodies chakra recovery so that is does not take from the body, the second was to try and temporarily increase ones reserves so that their body could contain more chakra. Essentially this was meant to "grow" ones chakra. In my pursuit i have had many failures. This recent expierment was my biggest!

Whoever injests these chemicals will recieve a sudden burst of chakra. Their body will produce and recover chakra at an exceptional rate. Their speed and strength will drastically increase. For a couple minutes they will truly become super human! The effects of this booster actually work way to good! This sudden surge of energy does not mix well with the host and overwhelms the natural flow of their chakra circulatory system. This causes it to break down and destroy tenjetsu, destroying entire sections within the body permanently. Not only will the person be unable to properly mold chakra in the future, but if too much damage is done to their chakra circulatory system then they could die.

To make it worse this drug has adverse side effects on the mind. Subjects will start to hallucinate and suffer from terrible anger, fear, paranoia and irritability. They exhibit overwhelming signs of violence. Everybody they come into contact with instantly becomes an enemy. They lack all morality and will kill anybody around them without remorse. They tend to fully lose themselves in a state of pure violence. We have had terrible....mishaps...in the past with human subjects.  Due to this we were going to shut the project down. We had every intention of burying the research and starting all over from scratch.

That is where my son comes in. The dumb fool didnt know any better, He couldnt have! All he saw was the growth in chakra, not the side effects or after math. He was totally tricked by my old buisness partner Hito, i just know it! Hito somehow got his hands on my research notes awhile back and knows that this mixture could boost one's physical ability drastically. He has been unsuccessfully trying to replicate my formula and turn it into a marketable commodity ever since. He just wants the Ryo! He does not care about thr harm it causes. He wants to sell my research as a drug to the open market. He needs a sample of the drug to break down the chemical composition and attempt to reverse engineer it. He has been out to try to steal this sample ever since!  He must have blackmailed my son into stealing the chemicals for him. No good dirty crook!

I havent seen my son since my chemicals went missing. I know it was him that took them because he was the only other one with a key to my private study. I just dont know why he would do such a thing! Stupid fool! You need to find him! He could be in danger! If you go to Hito"s hideout just east of the village im sure he will be there. Its just over the otherside of the lake hidden into the Cliffside. Everyone knows where that thug is at but nobody can do anything about it. He is to powerful and protected. If you leave now you may catch my son before he makes it to the hideout. Once inside the hideout, it would take a small army to take on Hito. My boy is a short scrawny little kid. A little smaller then yourself with rust brown hair, names  Itamae! Now hurry and go get him.

Zainketsu listened intently but was irritated by the tale. This mission was more complex and had way more risk then he had been led to velieve. Part of him wondered if this was beyond the scope of his parameters. He had to weigh on the spot whether the village would dissaprove of him proceeding. He debated for a minute about reporting back to the village to see if he should continue.

Shit, What should I do? This could get ugly fast! I would be walking straight into an enemy whose strength is a complete  unknown! Can I handle this?

If he waited for the village to respond he would miss his opportunity to catch up with the son before he reached the hideout. If that were to happen the son could die and who knows what would become of the chemicals. The mission would almost be guaranteed to be a failure. The young Uchiha thoroughly mulled it over for a minute. He knew he needed to make up his mind quickly. Time was of the essence! He knew these were the tough decisions shinobi had to face in every mission.

He decided he would  proceed with his mission. His reasoning was that nothing really changed in his orders. The mission he was given and the parameters were exactly the same. To  keep it simple in his brain he went over the details again.  There was a kid that found chemicals, stole them from his father, needs to be caught, and the chemicals need to recovered and returned safely.  These chemicals sounded way more dangerous then they were led to believe, but that doesn't change what was asked of him by his village.

Zain nodded in acknowledgement before taking off towards the east. The lake was about five kilometers away. If he hurried he could make it within the hour. He might still have time to catch them. He began zipping through the trees at breakneck speeds. He tried to maintain a steady but monitored speed to keep his stamina up. Luckily for him he always felt like he had an excess amount energy. He always thought of himself as a walking battery.

After what felt like no time at all he was near the lake. He could tell because the air was moist and sticky, and if you listened closely you could hear the rumblings of the waterfall in the distance. It's vibrations created ripples that permeated the earth. He knew that in just a moment the wood line would break open and turn into the beachline that surrounds this massive lake. He slowed up his pace so he could creep out of the trees without being seen.

He was shocked when he looked down at the shore of the lake to see three people getting ready to walk across the water . He quickly got as close as he could without being seen.

What the hell?

One person was a small child, the other were two bandit type looking men. They both wore black matching hooded cloaks so they were hard to identify. What was not hard to identify is that that they were clearly armed with swords. One long thin rapier type blade hung from each hip. They were definitely of the thug variety, not normal civilian type individuals.

For a moment they were halted at the lake before they slowly started walking across, each grabbing one arm of the boy to carry him along as they went. Zainketsu scanned his surroundings thoroughly. There was a definitive opening on the opposite side of the lake built into the base of the waterfall. The entrance was small and very easy to miss. Zainketsu probably would have missed it himself if he had not been told where to look. The waterfall itself was majestically massive. It must have been fifty meters high. Its huge walls that surrounded it looked virtually unscalable without chakra.

The young Uchiha had to act now before they dissapeared into the hideout. He needed to get the boy away from the two men first and foremost. Once he was safe, Zain could get the chemicals and deal with the bandits. He began making some seals to cast a genjutsu. He was hoping to use his false surrounding tecnique to disguise the entrance of the hideout and make it look like it was somewhere else entirely. Essentially he wanted it to visually look as if the doorway was a just a few meters away from where it actually was. His hope was that the two would get confused when they ran into a solid wall and struggle to find the exact opening. It wasn't the best plan but it was at least a plan!

He didn't wait around to see if it worked. The small statured Uchiha burst forth from the treeline after the trio. He moved as fast as his short little legs could carry him. He made sure to keep his body low to the ground as he approached. As he got close he realized the two men had not noticed him yet. He carried all his speed with him and leapt into the air. The young Uchiha flipped forwards and tried to use his momentum along with a downward kick to break one of the bandits hold on the boy.

I got you!

To his surprise the bandit released the boys arm just in time to turn around and block Zainketsu's foot with his forearm. The bandit tossed the boy to his companion and then shifted his weight to face the young genin. His companion scooped up the boy and ushered forward towards the entrance. Meanwhile, The young Uchiha pushed off the bandits forearm and back flipped away. He landed on the water and smoothly treaded across the lake in reverse to create some space.

A Konoha brat...and a baby one at that! Go home kid! Your going to get yourself killed if you don't mind your own buisness! You are out of your league punk!If you think i wont kill you because you are a kid then you got another thing coming

The bandit spoke with authority and drew his swords to try and further intimidate the genin.

Damn, this guy is tougher then i thought. I have to catch up the other one. I have to get those chemicals back before it's too late. I don't have time to fuck around with this guy. I need to finish this quickly! I cant fail this mission!

Zainketsu lunged forward and drew his own sword from his waist band and charged forward a second time.. He tried to slice through the man's torso with enthusiastic Vigor. To his dismay the bandit was much much more skilled then your every day run of the mill thug. He parried the sword strike effortlessly and with the second sword sent a cleaving strike straight down at Zain's head.

The young Uchiha was barely able to avoid the strike. He could see strands of his long black hair floating helplessly in the wind where the sword made contact. If he had been a fraction of a second slower in evading then the sword would have cleaved him in two. The two warriors clashed again and traded strikes for a moment. Zainketsu pushed himself to fend of the two swords simultaneously. It was clear by the couple of scratches he received in quick succession that he was the inferior swordsman of the two. Frustrated he was forced to activate his sharingan. The boys eyes turned a deep crimson and one Tomoe floated around his pupils.

With his increased vision he was better able to accurately predict the bandits movements. They went back and forth again only this time the Uchiha was better able to parry and evade the bandits attacks. Even with his enhanced sight he could not really make any headway on his opponent. He watched as the other bandit and the arcitects grandson made it to the other side of the lake. They reached the small shoreline near the base of the waterfall. They noticably seemed tripped up by the genjutsu he had cast earlier. His plan had totally worked even better then he thought. There was just enough distortion of their senses to prevent them from finding the already elusive and easy to miss entrance.

Zainketsu knew he only had moments before they figured it out. He was going to have to move fast before it was to late. He sprang at the bandit with his katana trailing behind him in his right hand.

I need to get past this guy. If they make it into those caves there is no telling what's inside. It could very well be an ambush or i could lose them altogether. I need to finish this up here on the lake. I have to find a way to group them back together!

When he got close to the bandit he sent a feint jab out at the man's chest with his katana. It was easily parried away by one of the bandits swords. The second sword the bandit was holding lurched forward in its own lighting fast mannor to impale the young Uchiha straight through the Jugular.

The small statured genin used the sharingan in his eyes to help him predict and evade the blow at the last possible second by narrowly side stepping it. He wrapped his arm around the bandits arm in the process and pinned it securely to his armpit. He made sure to keep his hand free and able to move. With the bandit stuck in place he whipped his sword around and sent a horizontal slash at the bandits hip. It was blocked again by the bandits rapierand the two blades became locked in a struggle, each one fighting for dominance over the other.

Zainketsu smirked confidently while the two clashed. With his enemy pinned down he began making handseals with just his free hand. A clone of himself appeared right next to himself and took off around the trapped bandit towards the other assailant and the arcitects son. The other bandit had just noticed he was under a genjutsu and was in the process of dispelling it with the genjutsu release.  The time it took him to break it and regain his bearings allowed Zain to close the distance.

The bandit had no choice but to throw the arcitects son to the side of the beach front and draw both his swords to defend himself. The clone of Zainketsu came in katana already drawn. He began going back and forth with the bandit in a flurry of strikes on the small strip of land between the lake and the cave entrance. His sharingan was working tirelessly to try and read the bandits movements.

At the same time the real Zain and the other bandit were still dueling it out in the middle of the lake. The echoing of all the swords rang out over the roar of the nearby waterfall.

It was a good battle but the young Uchiha clearly had the advantage. The bandits were good but they were not nearly as skilled as a full fledged ninja. It didn't take too long for Zain to drive the two fighters back into eachother towards the center of the lake. Once they were corralled the clone of Zainketsu disarmed one of the bandits and held him by the throat with the edge of his sword. The second bandit was forced to start retreating.  With his buddy being held hostage the situation immediately changed. He shouted out to the group of fighters in a desperate and slightly crazed voice. You could hear hysteria echoing in each word.

You've got skills kid. I will give you that. The boss is going to be mad but I don't see any other option. I cant beat you as is! Let's see what all the hype is about these chemicals. I'm told they can give a person a pretty big boost of energy. Lets find out if thats true. GET READY PUNK!

Without another word the bandit removed a small vial from inside his shirt. Zainketsu was quick acting and launched a kunai at his hand just in time to stop him from injesting it.  It pierced his hand causing the vial to go flying straight up in the air.  The bandit let out a vicious roar of agony. When the chemicals were thrown into the air a couple drops spilled out and splashed the bandit right in his face. Acting quickly, the real Zain sprang fourth after the vial. With a jumping dash he was able to collect it before it hit the ground. He placed it firmly in his ninja pouch. When he landed on the water he turned around to face the bandit and immediately knew something was wrong.

The bandit had fallen into the water and started writhing in pain under the lakes glossy surface. Foam came out his mouth and fused with the water. Zain could see the man's chakra rapidly growing and swelling up inside his body with the power of his sharingan. The chakra's intense power radiated outside of the bandits body and covered him in a thick vibrant purple aura. Its violent nature began to push the water away from him violently, creating massive waves across the lake. When the bandit rose to his feet on the lake floor there was now an emptiness in his eyes. The lights were on but nobody was home. The only thing that could be felt was a pure and unbridled rage. It was a raw emotion devoid of reasoning and personality.

What the fuck is going on? This is bad! This is very bad! That chakra is intense and it's still growing. I need to to put an end to this before this gets any worse!

The Clone version of Zainketsu was the first of the four to act. With precise chakra control he maintained his balance over the rolling waves that were being generated. He threw a precise karate chop into the neck of the bandit that he was holding hostage. The bandit was off balance and unable to react in any way. The bandit immediately went limp and fell unconscious. The clone picked him and threw the bandit over his shoulder. He quickly made his way back to the beachfront where the arcitects grandson was. He placed the bandit on the ground and stood guard over him and the grandson.

The real Zainketsu rushed towards the raging pool of chakra. With his sword he attempted a downward slash at the one remaining roided out bandit. The lunatic evaded so fast it looked like he telaported. He reappeared on the left side of Zainketsu and viciously swung his sword diagonally at Zain's shoulder. It was so fast his Sharingan was not able to pick up the movement until the very last second. He barely got his sword up in time to try and parry. The force of the attack was overwhelming. Zains blade was driven back and he the bandits weapon embedded itself into the flesh of Zains shoulder. The force of the attack sent Zain flying and skipping backwards across the water like a stone. After a backwards roll he was able to take his feet again and grabbed the water with the chakra in his feet and his free hand to slow his momentum.

The bandit was on him almost immediately. He struggled to fend off the bandits continuous strikes. He took multiple slashes across his chest and arms. All were superficial but hurt nonetheless. It took every ounce of skill to avoid being skewered. After what felt like an eternity of trying to fend off the crazed madman,  Zainketsu's guard was finally broken. He felt the cold steel pierce his sword side shoulder. He struggled with all his might not to let his clone didsapear or drop his blade into the water. He even went as far as to use chakra in his fingertips to grip the handle. He cried out in pain as a vicious head kick caused the lights in his head to flicker and stars to burst onto the scene.

Once again he was sent flying backwards. This time he relied on his training and began making handseals in his one good hand. He took a deep breath and let out a humongous fireball. The great fireball ripped across the top of the water towards the bandit leaving a trail of steam in its wake.

RRRAAAAWWWRRRRRRR!

The bandit let out an angry wail as the nasty purple chakra that covered his body grew and expanded. It met the fireball head on. After a few seconds of being locked in a stalemate, the fireball began to lose steam and eventually evaporated. The bandit was left unharmed although his Chakra coating was visually diminished.

He turned away from the real Zain and slowly began his menacing walk towards the clone varaiant and the son. A violent but souless expression lingered on his face. Malice was thick in the air and almost palpable. It was clear he meant to kill everyone here without exception!

Crap what do I do? If he strikes me like that then the grandson will be defenseless. Would he really kill him? This is very bad!

The clone thought to himseld as he nervously bandied his sword in front of him and stepped in front of the son to protect him. He was so scared and shaken up that he started trembling. The tip of his blade vibrated in the air as he fought to hold it still. His confidence was clearly breaking

This time it was the opposite end of the beach that broke the real Uchiha's fall. He came to a screeching halt where he laid helpless for a moment.  He struggled mightily to pull himself out of the sand and onto his feet. Blood flowed generously from his mouth and shoulder and mixed seamlessly with the water and sand. That last hit had really taken a toll on the young genin. He couldnt raise his arm and had to switch his sword to his off hand.

He is to fast, My eyes can't keep up! At this rate I don't think I can beat him. Why is he so strong? What do I do? What CAN I do? I have never been in this position before, everything up until this point has been so easy! Is this what it's truly like being a shinobi? Maybe I'm really not cut out to be the best! Some genius I am! Am I going to die? Are these my last moments?Is the arcitects son going to die? Is this the end of my story already? This can't be! I was just getting started! I have dreams and goals. It can't end like this!

The two Zains were virtually thinking in unison. Doubt and fear reeked from them. He was stuck in a feeling of hopelessness. Time slowed down as random thoughts and memories sprang into his head. He thought of his mother and brother who had passed away, and the promise he had made to them. Mixed emotions welled up inside of him. He was angry that he was not going to be able to keep his promise, he was angry that he was going to lose. Not since the death of his brother has every ounce of his body dripped with seathing rage.

His heart simultaneously broke and swelled with  sadness as his brain played different variations of the grandson getting cut down in the maniacs rampage. The boy did not deserve such a fate! It was true this was all his fault, but he did not know any better! He was just a child! What would his grandfather think? Would he blame Zain for failing? Would this encounter stain the villages reputation?

He couldnt help but picture his own funeral within the village. In his mind it was almost completely empty and void of people. There wouldn't be very many people who would miss him! He didnt really have friends except for a couple ninja he had met briefly in his short career. Apart from his dad he really didn't have any family to mourn for him. The old bastard was already crazed and consumed by loss from the death of his wife and eldest son.

Maybe if he was lucky Tatsuo or Nokino would come! He didn't know them well but he truly felt the slightest semblance of relief believing that his death would sadden them even if only momentarily. His time with them was short but for the first time he had people he felt like he could call friends. He wondered if the rest of the village would call him a Hero or a Fool for his actions here today?

It wasn't supposed to be this way! This was supposed to be a relatively simple mission.  If the village had known what the chemicals truly did they would have prepared differently. They would have sent someone much stronger then a genin, or a whole team of genin at the bare minimum. That crazy old man should have been more specific! This was all his fault!  No, Zainketsu only had himself to blame. It was his weakness that put him in this position. If he had been stronger he could have stopped this bandit. This was his shame to bear.

The plethora of emotions that surged within him was almost too much for the black haired brat to bare. So many different emotions at once caused something to stir in him. It was not to give up yet. There had to be something he could do, some way that he could win! He needed to steele his resolve and dig deep. He slowly cast aside his fear and doubt. He let all the emption he was feeling seap out of his body. An eerie calm washed over the young genin. He needed to embrace walking the razor thin line between life and death. He was a shinobi, The only thing he should ever fear is fear itself!

No, I won't die here! Not today! Not like this! I refuse to lose to the likes of you! I WONT ALLOW IT! I am a shinobi of Konohagakure! I am an Uchiha! I WONT LET IT END LIKE THIS!

The two Zainketsu screamed at the bandit in unision. The sudden outburst caused the mindless heathen to stop in his tracks for just a moment. A surge of power flowed through the young Uchiha. His vison focused and grew much sharper The chakra radiating off of the bandit seemed more defined, almost life like. Everything felt like it slowed down and happening in slow motion. A confidence welled up inside him that he did not know he had. It bolstered his resolve and fueled his body. Unbeknownst to him his sharingan was evolving. It didn't just take the one step though, It rapidly skipped forward. The one tomoe in his eye turned to two tomoe just for a plit second. A mere moment later his two Tomoe turned into a three tomoe. The sudden change in ocular prowess was extreme. It was equivalent to a blind person suddenly being able to see! The sensory overload momentarily crippled the young Uchiha. Who knows why his sharingan suddenly evolved the way that he did. It could have been the emotion, or the fear, or his newfound resolve! Maybe it was some small microscipic technicality, like having a clone expierencing twice the rush of emotions. It possibly could be because he was a secret genius or maybe it was just a mere fluke and had nothing to do with him! Either way it really didn't matter. The important thing is that his confidence was restored and truly felt like he could win!

The pain he was in all but dissapeared. He still couldn't quite lift the arm he was stabbed in, but he could move his hand around well enough to still make his one handed seals. It was time to finish. Like a bullet both Zain and the Clone each dashed after the bandit. The three began exchanging blows with their swords in a violent flurry of back and forth strikes. The bandit was strong and was able to continuously parry with his two rapiers and apply pressure to the young boys.

Zain found it hard to focus with his new and improved eyesight. It was hard to get used to the timing and the depth perception down. Multiple times he would move too early or strike where his target would be before they actually got there. It definitely was not a smooth expierence!

The young Uchiha took multiple slashes and small flesh wounds to add to the collection he recieved since this battle had begun. His clothes were tattered and bloodstained. With each passing second he felt like his timing was starting to get a grip on these new eyes of his. A particularly violent clash caused his clone to poof out of exsistance from getting stabbed in the chest.

When the clone dissapeared all the knowledge it had gleaned in this battle passed to the original. He suddenly got a quick boost to his mastery over the three tomoe sharingan. His movements became fluid with no wasted movements or energy. The bandits own chakra had started to diminish quicker and quicker with each ensuing clash. It looks like the chemicals had a time limit. All he needed to do was to wear him down. Hopefully when the bandit ran out of steam Zainketsu could put him down without killing him. It shouldn't be too much longer.

The young Uchiha  created some space from the bandit while using his busted arms to do the seals for the great fireball jutsu. He didn't have a lot of chakra left but he could still produce one final blast and still have a little energy left to keep fighting. The fireball raced out towards the bandits like a heat shaking missle. The lake sizzled from its intense heat and once again caused steam to form.

For the second time the bandit met it head on with his intense chakra. The two forces pushed against eachother in a bid for dominance. Neither one was willing to give up any ground. Each second caused the man to use up more of his chakra to protect himself. When the fireball was finally fizzled out the man's chakra was essentially all gone. Only the smallest amount remained that Zain could see with his sharingan. The bandit seemed to far gone in the mind to notice.

He came charging again but his attacks were much slower this time. With the power of his sharingan he was able to slip right through all of them with ease. After letting the man tire himself out, Zainketsu finally was able to disarm the man one sword right after the next. Zainketsu floated in the air and hit him with a couple swift kicks to the stomache that sent him careening backwards. When the man fell in the water a couple meters away,  Zainketsu used the basic lightning technique "sparks" to electrocute the water. The current traveled across the lake and hit the man nearly instantly. His body twitched violently before suddenly going limp. It was clear this fight was now over!

Zainketsu stood for a moment and savored his victory. The air was suddenly crisper and the smells of the forest was sweeter. For just that moment the small statured Uchiha felt on top of the world. He let his sharingan fade away and could immediately tell the impact had on his chakra levels. He suddenly felt very tired and struggled to stay concious. The dozens of cuts and superficial wounds all began to flare up at once. His shoulder where he had been stabbed was surprisingly numb and throbbing at the exact same time.

He hobbled his way over to the arcitecs son who was still cowering by the entrance to the hideout. He seemed no worse for wear, just rattled.

You ok Itame? Let's get you back home to your grandfather before anybody else turns up!

Zainketsu used the last of his chakra to make one final shadow clone. The two Zains grabbed the boy under each arm and help carried started the long trek back across the lake and back to the village. The long journey back was arduous. Each step caused the boy pain. It grew worse once they made it back to solid ground. It was such a long trip back that Zain was beginning to wonder if he could do it without rest. He plowed forward though the best he could and reflected on the expierence he just had.

This was his first real challenge as a ninja. It was also the first time he ever had to put his life on the line! It felt surreal now that it was over. He certainly had a newfound respect for all the chuunin and jonin who put their lives on the line like this everyday. He truly felt like he had a new understanding of what it meant to be a Shinobi. He was glad everything worked out in the end! With the chemicals and the son safe it was pretty safe to this mission was a success. This was definitely going to be a mission he would remember for the rest of his life

[EXIT]

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