Chapter 28 - The Bloodline Thief: Kazuko Uchiha!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. For those claiming these characters are OP, keep in mind that's how they came to me when I adopted the story and I agreed not to change that.

[Uzu no Sebone]

Naruto's teammates kept their focus on the tail-like appendage that Sasori had nearly used to skewer them. At the same time Kazuko, who had already activated her sharingan, kept a close eye on Deidara after he created a giant bird out of white clay that he kept in two pouches latched onto his bird was incredibly generic in shape, bearing no resemblence to any specific species, though if one had to call it something the most likely answer would be either a pigeon or a dove.

Deidara got on the bird's back and had it fly around fifty yards away, despite there being no natural way for such a construct to be aerodynamic. At least it was kept at a low altitude, but still enough to stay out of everyone's reach and give it time to avoid many jutsu. He looked very confident in his high ground, his hands were in his pouches like he would ready more clay before they could start any attack on him.

"Don't do it, Deidara." Sasori warned. "You'll just play right into her hands." His eyes gestured towards Kazuko.

Deidara did not heed the words of the former Suna-nin, though whether it's because he didn't hear his partner's warnings or he simply refused to heed them was anyone's guess. His focus was on both Kazuko and Sasuke.

"Two sharingans, huh? This is a perfect opportunity to finally prove the superiority of my art, hmm!"

Deidara withdrew his hands from the pouches. Sasuke and the others were surprised when they saw two mouths, one on the palms of both hands, spit out a glob of white clay. In doing so they could see human teeth and a tongue.

'Those portions of clay now have chakra kneaded into them... what is that man up to?' Neji thought to himself as he observed Deidara's jutsu with his byakugan.

Deidara was now grinning at Sasuke and the others as he closed both hands for a few seconds, keeping them separate. When the former Iwa-nin opened his hands he revealed that he had somehow molded the clay into ten small clay birds, five in each hand. It would have been a very impressive display of artistic dexterity if it weren't done by someone whose hands needed a dental plan.

"Let's start off with some C1, hm!" Deidara said excitedly.

The former terrorist-for-hire threw the ten clay birds, the wings of which spread open once in midair. Like some sort of homing missiles, the birds charged right past Kazuko and towards Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji. The three boys were surprised and tried to dodge the projectiles, but this proved to be in vain because said projectiles simply followed them around. Neji acted the fastest and begun a Rotation, protecting himself but not the others, who were stuck relied on dodging.

Sasuke took out a kunai but Shikamaru grabbed his wrist. "Don't! We don't know what will happen if you counter it directly!"

"What could clay-" Sasuke protested, pausing to duck under a projectile. "-possibly do?"

"This is the beauty of my art!" Deidara exclaimed, excited. He got his left hand ready for a hand seal, unaware that below him Kazuko was making a few hand signs of her own. "And art... is an EXPLOSION!"

Triggered by their maker, the clay birds suddenly swelled up before they all exploded. Six of the ceramic bombs blew up next to Shikamaru and Neji, three for each genin, while Sasuke had four of the bombs detonate in front of him. Dust clouds obscured them from view, making it impossible to tell from the outside if any were still alive.

'Okay, apparently it can do that.' Sasuke noted grimly.

Deidara on the other hand began laughing, reveling in apparent victory. "Hahahaha! So much for Itachi's kid brother and those two other brats, hm! They couldn't even withstand-!"

While Deidara congratulated himself, the dust clouds started to dissipate. The blonde bomber's eyes widened in shock when he got a good look at the site of the explosions. Instead of seeing the mutilated and torn corpses of the young Leaf nin, Deidara saw three alive and unharmed kids.

"How...?" He started, only then did he take notice that Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji were surrounded by four mirrors. Mirrors made of solid ice. Sasuke was also surprised by this turn of events and didn't noticed that the ice mirrors had dissipated in that shock.

'Isn't this the same jutsu that was used against me back in Wave?' Sasuke asked, seeing the mirrors crack and shatter now in a sort of delayed reaction to the explosion. 'How is this possible?'

"Interesting..." Kazuko thought out loud. "So you've managed to combine the Explosive Style with an Earth Style jutsu and that strange forbidden jutsu from Iwagakure. The one that allows a shinobi to turn inanimate matter into animate matter for a temporary time. All things considered, that is a very impressive combination, even if it's a bit too flashy in its execution."

Deidara looked down at her, taken aback by what she said. 'How the hell did she figure that out so quickly? There's no way...'

Kazuko quickly planted her naginata in the ground at an angle, then in a display of great agility and leg strength, she jumped into the air, swiftly closing the distance between herself and the blonde artist. She managed to grasp onto the underbelly of Deidara's large white bird even though the clay construct was still four stories above the ground. Deidara couldn't see what she was doing from his side, but he was concerned. One wrong move and they could both blow up, and Deidara wasn't yet ready to be that much at one with his art.

Kazuko held her grip but reared back her left fist. "Explosive Style: Landmine Fist Jutsu!"

The Konoha nin looked on in shock as Kazuko threw a left jab at the clay bird's stomach. The punch caused a massive explosion directed right at both the bird and the blonde missing-nin. And as to be expected, this caused the clay bird to detonate as well, blowing up right under Deidara's feet and propelling him upwards. Kazuko was naturally propelled downwards. She spun in the air and at the right moment reach for her naginata, swinging on it to divert some momentum and slightly cushion her landing. It was still a rough landing, but one she could walk away from. And any landing you can walk away from is a good landing.

'I don't think I've ever seen any Uchiha do something like that before.' Sasuke thought, not sure how to feel about what he had just witnessed.

'If I didn't have a byakugan, I wouldn't have believed what I just saw.' Neji contemplated, tempted to rub his eyes in disbelief.

'This woman is a complete wild card. Truly unpredictable, just like Naruto. I don't know if I can handle two of them.' Shikamaru worried.

The female Uchiha retrieved her weapon from the ground and rejoined the members of Naruto's team. "Unless the three of you wish to meet your ends here, I suggest that you try to be more careful next time. That mad bomber isn't dead yet and I can't shield you three all the time."

"Shield us? So you were the one who created those ice mirrors?" Neji asked.

"Who else would have done it? Him?" Kazuko asked back, her gaze on on Sasori who was sitting back observing the situation, likely now trying to plan around her current display of talents.

"But that's not possible! I've seen that exact jutsu before and it's a kekkei genkai! There's no way you could know it!" Sasuke argued.

Kazuko sighed at her fellow clansmen's skepticism. "Under normal circumstances that would be correct, Sasuke-san. But these aren't normal circumstances. You'll have to wait for explanations later, the fight is not over."

The three preteens turned to see what Kazuko was looking at and were surprised to see Deidara standing next to Sasori. While the bomber was still standing, he did not escape the explosions unscathed. His Akatsuki cloak was gone, presumably torn apart in the blasts, and the man himself was sporting several burns along with a dislocated left shoulder with his left forearm visibly incinerated. Naturally Deidara was less than pleased, to say the very least.

"Damn you! How the fucking hell did you copy my kekkei genkai, hm?"

To the blonde's surprise Sasori was the one to answer that question.

"She didn't copy you, you fool. She had already copied it from another Iwa nin before she left Konoha. Maybe now you'll listen to me when I try to warn you." He then turned towards Kazuko. "It would appear that you still live up to your reputation Kazuko Uchiha, the Bloodline Thief."

Sasuke, Shikamaru, and Neji turned towards the older Uchiha, herself keeping an eye on the Akatsuki members.

"It's an old nickname people gave me before I was forced to leave Konoha. I got the name because I'm the only Uchiha whose sharingan is able to copy kekkei genkai jutsu despite not having the kekkei genkai itself. I was able to master all five of the basic chakra natures in about a year so I combined that with my sharingan's enhanced copy ability, hence my unique ability. I can't copy things like physical effects, for example other doujutsu, so there are limits."

'She can copy the jutsu of kekkei genkai without needing the bloodline itself?' Sasuke asked himself. 'If that's true, then no wonder the Akatsuki want her in their ranks. That ability would be very advantageous to have since she could be capable of nearly anything. But then why would Konoha let her go?'

Just as Kazuko finished her explanation she spun her naginata, blocking a surprise attack from Sasori.

"I think those guys have had enough of letting us talk." Shikamaru suggested, prompting the three of them to take their respective fighting stances.

"Yes, we have." Sasori hissed, lifting his arm and having some kunai fire out of a hidden compartment built within. Kazuko spun her naginata to stop the weapons, then jumped at the puppeteer. The three preteens chose to gang up on Deidara since he was visibly the weakest.

"I beat you once fourteen years ago Sasori, I can do it again." The Uchiha clanswoman claimed, swinging her weapon at him. Though he blocked it with his scorpion tail.

"Much can change in fourteen years woman." Sasori warned, bringing out two puppets to defend himself. One looked like a man literally made of blades of various sizes and the other looked like a string of featureless glass orbs connected to each other, though each orb was filled with a visible liquid. Kazuko was certain she did not want that stuff to get out of its container.

"Magma Style: Lava Shot Jutsu!" Kazuko spat out several globs of magma at the glass containers, hoping that the chemicals inside would not have a reaction to the heat. The lava made contact and shattered the glass, with a sizzling sound and some steam resulting but nothing else. Though the rest of the puppet remained.

Sasori winced but didn't show it. Last time he fought Kazuko, she had used that same jutsu to give the Hiruko puppet some serious damage that took him quite a while to repair. Puppets weren't exactly lava-proof, especially ones that used to be made out of people. He sent both puppets at her, intending for one to cut her and the other to restrain or distract her. Kazuko went on the defensive, her naginata not as effective against the bladed puppet, and she was going to evade the glass one trying to wrap itself around it as much as possible without breaking it in her vicinity.

As this was going on Deidara fought back against Naruto's teammates, but in his current state his common sense was being hampered by his anger, and his fighting capacity was diminished by his injuries. So it wasn't that hard for a juuken user, a talented if somewhat overhyped Uchiha, and a strategic shadow user to collectively back the injured former Iwa nin into a corner. In doing so they could hear a rather audible snap and Deidara have a harder time standing. If the battle had continued on as it was Deidara would've met his untimely demise... keyword being "if."

Before either of the battles could continue a man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Tobi, the man with the spiral mask who had gone of to confront Naruto alongside the other masked man. This appearance surprised everyone and forced a brief pause to the fights, giving Tobi the opportunity to involve Deidara and Sasori in some sort of unknown teleportation technique. It looked like a rippling of the air and bending of light, resulting in the disappearance of the masked man and the duo of self-proclaimed artists, leaving Kazuko and the preteen ninja to their own devices.

"Is... this good for us? Or bad?" Sasuke asked.

"A little of both, leaning towards the latter." Shikamaru groaned.

"If you got the energy to complain then you got the energy to help out your other comrade. You shouldn't leave him hanging." Kazuko informed them.

The three boys looked at each other, all wondering if Naruto really needed their help after all. For all they knew he was already done with his fight. Still, might as well see just so no one could accuse them of abandoning him later.

The group had to go over the top of a ridge that went parallel to the valley they had just came from, and when they got there they got a good view of the battle occurring ten or so miles from their current location. From that distance they could see a statue-like creature with the man with the marked mask atop of, and opposing it was the Nine-tailed Fox itself, with Naruto floating beside the bijuu.

"That's not a genjutsu, that's definitely the Kyuubi..." Neji asked, gulping for a second. "Did Naruto actually summon it?"

Sasuke sighed at this, remembering how Naruto had explained to Team 7 the nature of his 'summoning' ability. 'This fight's over. Even that... thing... can't last long against the Kyuubi.'

"Not to burst anyone's bubble, but what are we going to do now?" Shikamaru asked.

Everyone suddenly realized what he meant. They were standing in an exposed area... with a real life kaiju battle about to begin only ten miles away from them.

As the fake Madara looked on in obvious shock, even with his mask hiding the look on his face, Naruto turned to his tailed beast/zanpakuto. "Do what you like with the doll, Kurama, but take it somewhere else. The masked bastard is mine."

Kurama simply grinned at this. "FINE BY ME. HE SHOULD BE THANKFUL THAT YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S GOING TO KILL HIM AND NOT ME."

Kurama charged at the Gedo Mazo, accidentally flattening a few small mountains with his tails as he closed in on his prey.

The fake Madara was able to snap himself out of his shock in time to respond to Kurama's initial assault, ordering the Gedo Mazo to retaliate against the gigantic vulpine. As 'Madara' did this, however, he almost failed to notice Naruto flash-stepping right behind him and was barely able to turn transparent before the young Uzumaki-Namikaze clansman could run his sword through the masked man's heart.

"You do realize that without any of the bijuu sealed inside it that little toy of yours doesn't stand a chance against an actual bijuu, right?" Naruto asked as he completely phased through 'Madara', flash-stepping back ten yards away from his opponent.

"Do you really think you can stop me so easily, Uzumaki?" The fake Madara asked.

As if to respond to 'Madara's' question the Gedo Mazo was sent flying back at least forty miles away by Kurama, who smacked the summon with a swipe of his claws. Both ninja took a moment to pause and looked at the battle of giants, with one feeling secure in his confidence and the other's own wavering a little.

Kurama, in an impressive display of speed, closed the distance between himself and the Gedo Mazo before using his left paw to grab the strange summon and push it deeper into the ground. Kurama then began running on its three other legs while he kept his grip on the fake Madara's summon, dragging the summon for another fifty miles, leveling terrain and another mountain as he did so. Then the bijuu mustered all of his strength and threw the creature high up into air. Keeping up with his attack Kurama then jumped above the Gedo Mazo while the latter was still in midair, getting on top of the statue-like creature and driving it into the ground. The resulting impact leveled several other nearby mountains in the process and created a gust of wind that nearly knocked everyone off their feet.

Kurama, who was now using his massive size to keep the Gedo Mazo pinned to the ground, then cocked his head upwards and opened his mouth before he began creating a massive black orb of reiatsu. When he finished creating the massive attack, Kurama compressed the orb into a dense sphere before he ate said sphere. A few seconds after ingesting the orb Kurama's mouth began bloating while steam seeped out of the fox's mouth through the gaps between his bared teeth. He got into position where he could face the struggling Gedo Mazo.

"IT'S OVER!" Kurama yelled out as he released the attack he had devoured in the form of a massive beam, hitting the Gedo Mazo at point-blank range, causing a massive explosion that engulfed both summons.

Next Time - The Battle of Uzu no Sebone, Endgame!