Tanshu had never seen similar behavior to that of Hanasaku, most people when confronted with his "leave my katei or die" proposition either left because they were afraid of the general concept of their own death or fought him because they believed they could beat him. This woman was afraid, her eyes revealed her to be almost crippled with fear but... She did not move a single inch backward. She was petrified by the power of Demonic Pentalimbo seals but she did not let this fear make her move back. Tanshu sheathed his blade and prepared to strike, he took the woman's refusal to move as a sign that she won't.
With a single powerful leap, Tanshu closed the distance and slashed at the woman, channeling his fiery chakra through the blade. The woman did not attempt to defend or block it, she just took the slash as it went - straight through half of her face and her chest. Luckily for her, her body was strong enough to prevent Tanshu's blade digging deep enough to cut through something vital and his Fire Chakra cauterized her cut. Despite the fact that the cut was not dangerous fire amplified the pain tenfold, and yet this woman did not whimper or moan, it was like the pain did not affect her at all. Tanshu leaped back. "Are you not afraid of death at all!? Don't you get it yet? In this room, you cannot heal yourself! These injuries will kill you!" he shouted at the woman but she just stood like she was standing this whole time, no, her eyes changed.
Hanasaku's eyes became different, she was not afraid anymore, but she was just looking at Tanshu as if she felt sorry for him. "You don't have a sword, cutting you to pieces won't feel fair..." Tanshu murmured to himself as he tossed the seal straight into the wall. The katana bounced off the wall and landed somewhere further in the room. The young man raised his fists.
"So... You want to fight me? You'd honestly kill your Older Sis?" Hanasaku spoke as her eyes became the combination of her previous expression and the changed one.
"Don't joke with me! As if that's what was scaring you! This room bumps your chakra down to the level you need to survive, in here you are literally just another person, there is no need for your idiotic act! It's OK to fear for your life now!" Tanshu shouted out. Hanasaku kept looking at him with those same eyes, it was obvious that losing all that made her special did not matter to her. Perhaps it wasn't her abilities that made her special but her personality and her mind!?
"So... Your parents died in the war and you decided to forever protect their graves?" Hanasaku spoke up again. Did this woman not intend to fight him? Was she stupid? Of course, she was. She was Chestnut Hanasaku after all...
"Yes, I must protect the place where I am the happiest, my katei. The place where my happiness and those dear to me are..." Tanshu replied.
"I know you love those people, that pink-haired girl, that other one you spoke of to Misu, but we will catch them and move them to Konoha, they will be put in prison for their crimes. Unlike you, they have a history of some pretty nasty crimes. How will you protect Hana-chan and that girl you asked Misu not to hurt from here?" Hanasaku asked.
"My bonds with Konoha died the day when my parents were sent to war to die, my purpose now lies with protecting my katei - their resting place!" Tanshu repeated. Hanasaku raised her fist and tightened her glove.
"You retarded brat! What kind of nonsense is that!? Your parents would be ashamed of you knowing that you have thrown your life away to watch over the place where they died. This place means nothing, they've moved on to the Afterlife by now, this is just a dirty wasteland and a young man throwing his life away for it. There is no greater shame for a parent to see than their child being miserable. I shall bring you back to Konoha as my Little Bro, I shall bring the smile back to your family's face!" Hanasaku yelled out loud with so much conviction and volume that Tanshu's body almost trembled.
The woman then lunged forward, did she intend to actually fight? How? Tanshu reduced all of his opponents to just their physical bodies and he trained his body to be naturally superior to any people that enhanced their bodies using chakra. Where most people worked to increase their chakra level to increase physical strength which was the element of chakra Tanshu just trained his physical strength, completely ignoring his spiritual side and therefore not increasing his chakra. Without their chakra control, most ninja were average physical combatants, Tanshu was peak human condition one. With a thrust of his palm, Tanshu pushed Hanasaku's fist away and headbutted her back.
"You have no right to talk about my parents!" Tanshu shouted leaping forward and starting to pummel Hanasaku, throwing his fists out of instinct, rage, and frustration just like Oni Mask sensei taught him. This woman was on that battlefield, she deserved having Tanshu's rage directed at her! The young man shouted that out as he pummeled the woman with his combination of punches, the force behind them made it feel like the woman's body broke with each punch, each strike blew her body away, throwing it up or further where he tried to push her. And yet not a single sound of pain came out from the woman's lips. A powerful thrust of her elbow sent Tanshu back, stumbling into the wall. This woman was fighting back, it was true - losing her abilities did not trouble her at all, she did not hesitate, it was like power to her was not a factor, as if she was too dumb to consider strengths of her own and her opponent before fighting.
"No, Little Bro, I deserve to take all of your rage not because I was on the battlefield that day. I shall take your every blow, I shall shoulder all of your rage because I am your older sister and that's what family does. I am happy that you took my healing away, now I can truly earn your trust and love and crush your rage and darkness with my body alone. So come at me! Attack me with every bad emotion in mind, show me what troubles my little brother!" Hanasaku yelled out again as Tanshu's mouth opened wide.
This stupid lady really believed that he was her family despite meeting him just recently, just a couple of hours ago. This woman was unbelievable. "No! Don't just take my punches, punch back... I lost many friends today, it might be that I will lose Vashia and God-Eyes too just like I've lost my parents. While I do want to punch something because I'm angry..." Hanasaku leaped towards Tanshu and punched him in the face, stepping forward and pushing her fist towards his face, throwing Tanshu like a ragdoll. This was taijutsu prowess, she was a good martial artist and wasn't just insanely strong, she could compete with a stronger and faster opponent using just her skill and experience alone just like Sorano did with Oni Mask, just like Howoku did with Hana, just like Misu would have to do if he was to beat Vashia... These Sannin did not fight with power, they fought with their experiences and their emotions. That was what made them so strong!
Tanshu recovered throwing punches at Hanasaku wildly, he was by no means a lousy taijutsu user, Oni Mask perfected Tanshu's taijutsu but Hanasaku blew both of them away, she dodged those blows almost effortlessly and tried to return some. She moved without wasting a single movement, without any difficulty, her body was her best friend, her strongest tool, not an obstacle. Hanasaku's foot rose to the position of an upward kick, Tanshu leaned under it and quickly moved to the other side, kicking the woman as a counterattack while she was open. The impossibly powerful kick made Hanasaku's face swell and made her bleed from her lips and nose. Tanshu did not stop, but not because he wanted to kill this woman, he believed she could and wanted to take it all, he trusted her as his Older Sis. He decided to return her feelings for once. With a combination of blows, Tanshu sent the woman down again. Without a doubt, these blows would've broken some bones...
Bleeding and broken Hanasaku rose on her feet, she didn't do it effortlessly, she huffed and struggled, she did not moan out of pain but out of sheer force to keep her body up. "I can only promise you one thing. If you die here with that God-Eyed guy, your life will feel pointless. You will die thinking that you have thrown your life away watching a bunch of rocks. If you return with your sister home... You will be like me, like Sorano-san, you won't be afraid to lose your life because you will know one thing - you did not live in vain. Instead of regret your mind will be full of joyful memories of times with those you love, those very same memories will help you stand when some punk takes you down, those memories will help you bust through the wall of any amount of pain!" the woman muffled out through her swollen face.
The two jumped forward and started exchanging blows again. The woman was incredible at redirecting Tanshu's nearly superhuman amount of strength to the side while attacking and not opening herself up too much. She was the best taijutsu user in Konoha, she had to be! Better expertise in the field could simply not exist, her movements were already flawless and not a single move was wasted. Did she fight like that when she had her full strength too or was this her Plan B?
Tanshu leaped forward, thrusting his foot and aiming at Hanasaku's chest. This kick was able to stop one's heart but, inside of his own heart, the boy knew that his "sister" could take it, no... He believed she could. She wanted him to express all of his darkness, all of his anger and he'd be damned if he didn't. Hanasaku moved to the side and tipped her foot to break Tanshu's balance in the air. With a powerful thrust, moving his imbalanced body with her arms straight into her own knee with a powerful grab she roared out expressing rage of her own. Tanshu yelled out, he felt great shock going through his spine but miraculously it held. For a moment he envisioned his spine snapping, him dying in the arms of this woman and it didn't scare him! He'd die having discovered the true way of life - moving past all the darkness and enjoying life with those whom one truly loved, letting those wonderful memories guide him happily to the Afterlife when the time came.
Tanshu struggled to get up, "Leaf Whirlwind!" Hanasaku shouted out with three powerful twisting kicks pummeling Tanshu's chest, the boy flew back into the wall with so much force that he bounced off of it. "Sis... I'm finally... I think... I'm finally... Almost rid of it! My darkness!" he grunted as through willpower he forced his body back up, huffing and grunting in pain and due to the tremendous effort spent to get up.
The woman smiled, or at least tried - her face looked like she went on a date with a beehive. "Let it all out - now!" she yelled out as Tanshu leaped forward, he stretched his fingers and then bent them bursting his body with violent flames that burned his torn top off. Roaring from the chest, the boy thrust his palm forward, striking the woman three times while doing it so fast that it appeared he had only punched once - this was his Secret Sword Technique re-enacted with a palm.
"Fire Style: Red Cerberus Bite!" Tanshu yelled as the force and flame tossed the woman's body back through the entrance door smashing out of the Pentalimbo room. Tanshu collapsed on his knees, smiled, and laughed out. He won! He wasn't exactly fighting Chestnut Hanasaku, he was fighting his own inner darkness and his own despair but... He obliterated it, he could feel it! The boy fell down on his back and breathed heavily. Suddenly, he heard Hanasaku standing up. He lifted his head and looked at her, a green light started emanating from outside the Pentalimbo room.
"Are we done yet?" he asked, "Yeah, there's no reason for us to fight now, I give up..." Hanasaku mumbled out in a much better sounding voice - slowly she was putting her body back into shape. "Thing is, I wanted to fight the whole day but those douchebags didn't let me! Thanks, Tanshu!" she smiled at him as the green light illuminated the most beautiful smile of anyone Tanshu had ever seen. Most beautiful not because this woman was incredibly beautiful, but because his sister was smiling, she was happy! "So, did you find your new katei?" she asked, Tanshu lifted his fist into the air.
"Screw that, now I'll fight for whatever I want to fight for, there will be no person or place that binds me to fight. If I don't like someone I'll deck them in the face, it's as simple as that..." Tanshu replied. Silence dominated the room from that point on up until Hanasaku finally stood on her legs and entered the room again, she helped Tanshu get up and hugged him.
"That being said... There's one guy I wanna deck right now." Hanasaku spoke, Tanshu nodded and the two bumped their fists and left the room.
Howoku was huffing as he made his way up to the top floor of the tower. With a powerful leap, he jumped up to the final floor that had the roof tiles still all over it with one man sitting bored in a giant throne-like chair. "One with the Eyes of God?" Howoku asked looking him right in the eyes before pointing at him with a finger. The man stood up and tossed his coat aside revealing a muscular, bandaged up to his nose build.
God-Eyes took his great sword from the side of his throne and tossed it onto his shoulder bringing his palm up forward to face Howoku and prepare an immediate "Universal Push" if this Sannin decided to attack him too fast. "You have done well, Sannin of Konoha, bringing my plans back at least several more years but now that you stand against He who possesses the eyes of a God... You stand bare and naked, not a Sannin but a mere man for One with the Eyes of God to do as He pleases with."
Howoku breathed out, he was a bit tired from his previous two encounters and it was quite likely that Misu and Hanasaku may not have been in much better condition. This man, however, was not only completely fresh but also had those troublesome eyes - the Rinnegan. "You are not a God, God-Eyes. You are just a fruit of a forbidden union of two people who should not have been together, your very existence would threaten all of our villages if your ancestors knew that you are alive. You are also a terrorist plotting to overthrow Konoha and later other Ninja Villages, as a threat to peace I shall kill you." Howoku said in a calm tone. He had a little bit of rest and caught his breath but he was far from fresh entering this fight, still, he was probably the luckiest one with the injuries he had sustained, or rather, not sustained.
"To address me thusly... For that, I shall destroy you!" God-Eyes shouted visibly getting angry and attacking Howoku with a swing of his giant sword, slamming it into the ground. The tower shook from the weight of the sword and the force with which it was slammed into the ground but only because of how damaged it already was. Howoku punched, successfully, the man continued to strike, again and again, the man's blade was too heavy to defend in time and Howoku's punches were too powerful to give the man breathing room and readjust his stance. The Sannin kicked at God-Eyes' chest and leaped backward, bursting with Starlight Release chakra his hands started glowing. The man thrust his palms forward sending a barrage of small spheres of chakra bombarding the ruined tower.
"Starbright Jutsu!" Howoku yelled. The man could not see what was happening, suddenly everything shook and a loud popping sound emanated. Something cracked incredibly loud - as if the ground itself was opening and the tower started to sink down.
Howoku started descending as well but he would've died had he fallen right down, he had to burst his body with Starlight chakra at the last moment and spend some of it to kick off of air itself breaking his fall. That was easier said than done... "You heathen!" Howoku heard a voice behind him as a powerful kick made him grunt in pain. God-Eyes bombarded Howoku with kicks, sending him crashing down with a final finishing kick. Howoku felt so weightless as he went down... He couldn't even begin to think about activating his Starlight right now, he was too hurt and couldn't concentrate properly.
"Darn it! The Sannin of Konoha cannot die falling down from a tower he himself finished off!" Howoku cursed as he felt something bump into him hard. As Howoku snapped out of it he saw the face of Misu holding him.
"Well well... Brought the whole damned tower down, didn't you... I was running on it you know..." he spoke up. Misu looked really injured.
"Where's Hanasaku?" Howoku grunted looking at the rubble of the tower still falling down while the whole construction sank into the goo of the wasteland leaving just oversized blocks of bone structure around the place.
God-Eyes descended slowly - using his weird gravitational jutsu. "Your fellow Sannin are dead... And soon I shall finish you two off as well!" God-Eyes spoke pointing his sword at Misu and Howoku, Misu placed Howoku on his own feet and shrugged.
"Nah, I'll pass, I'm pretty cut up, you can have him, Howoku, I'll let you be the next Hokage in return." Misu laughed out. A loud and powerful bang shocked the earth behind God-Eyes as the bony rubble shot up into the sky, flung by a powerful force of nature. "GOD-EYEEEEES!" Hanasaku roared out as she leaped out from under the goo, holding Tanshu by the boy's collar. She looked banged up too - she must've been hit by some of the rubble on her way out but she looked pissed and ready to pound someone. Even One with the Eyes of God looked quite worried and just for a moment - fear found its way in the heart of a God.
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