Author's Note: And another day of battle comes to an end. Here's the aftermath. Enjoy:

Chapter 106:

Calm Waters

or

Another Day, Another Battle Done

While Mei and Zabuza were fighting against Kisame, Suigetsu was helping Ameyuri to deal with Raiga Kurosuki. The two living swordsmen were staring down at the undead one, who was ready to attack at any moment.

"So, what's your plan to deal with this guy without getting fried?" Ameyuri asked in a whisper.

"I know something that can work. But I need you to act as fast as possible, and cut down both his arms," Suigetsu told her, as he adopted a defensive position. "Will you be able to do it?"

The redhead frowned at him. "Your lack of faith in my abilities is insulting."

"Just wanted to be sure, no need to get so touchy, geez..." Suigestsu said, before he caught something in the corner of his eye. "SHIT!"

For less than a second, the Hozuki clan member took his eyes from Raiga, which the zombie took as a cue to strike him down. Fortunately, Ameyuri was just as fast, and she was able to parry the blow with both her swords. Electric sparks danced from both blades.

"Still doubting my skill?" Ameyuri said, before pushing Raiga back with an oomph, before delivering fast paced swings, forcing the undead ninja into the defensive. That moment, Suigetsu jumped forward, and tossed the Sewing Needle at Raiga as if it was a javeline. Raiga, however, managed to deflect the piercing blade without much effort.

"Ha! Amateurish!" the undead swordsman boasted.

"You think so? How about this then!" Suigestu pulled the wire attached to the sword to retrieve it back his sword, as he aimed at Raiga with his other hand, making a finger gun. "Water Release: Water Gun!"

The white haired ninja fired multiple bullets of pressurized water at Raiga, but the undead swordsman deflected them with his electrically-enhanced swords, pushing him a little backwards with each shot. Ameyuri dashed to Raiga through his left flank, and decided it was time to attack. Her own swords also crackled with electricity. However, one hand was all what Raiga needed to block the readheaded girl's blow.

"And you aren't much better!" Raiga said, before kicking her back. "You aren't proving to be worth of a good funeral!"

"Kind of ironic, from somebody who appeared out of a coffin. And to the coffin you'll go back!" Suigetsu said, as he tossed his sword at Raiga again.

The result was the same, with Raiga easily parrying the giant needle, and Suigetsu pulling it back with the attached ninja wire. That moment, Ameyuri choose to attack once again, but Raiga's relfexes proved to be far better than they appeared, and expertly blocked her thrust, before pushing the sword aside and sending her tumbling on her back with a powerful kick.

"I'm starting to get tired of you, you cheeky little girl!" the former Kirigakure swordsman yelled, as he dashed towards her. "Die already!"

"Shit!"

Still on the ground, Ameyuri raised both swords to block the incoming swing, but said strike never came, much to her confusion. Raiga's right arm was held in the air, trembling, as if it tried to move but it was unable to.

"What the...?" Raiga said, looking at his immobilized arm in disbelief. That moment, both Raiga and Ameyuri noticed a brief metallic shine, and the two of them realized that his arm was wrapped in ninja wire. Wire that was attached to the Sewing Needle Suigetsu was pulling.

"You thought that by parrying my sword, you'll be safe, didn't you?" Suigetsu said in a mocking tone, as he pulled with even greater strength. "The greatest danger is the one that it's not so easily seen."

"Idiot! You're the one who put himself in danger!" Raiga replied, as his body started to crackle with electricity. Said electricity ran through the wires, until it reached Suigetsu, who started to scream.

"AMEYURIIIIIIIII...!" he yelled between spasms.

The redhead took no time to strike. Raiga raised his other sword to protect his immobilized arm, but the redheaded swordswoman already anticipated what he would do, and feinted to the right, before the true swing came, slicing Raiga's right arm. Not letting him any time to react, Ameyuri moved once again, and sliced the immobilized arm, breaking the connection between Raiga and Suigetsu, much to the watery ninja's relief.

"Like we said before, this is going to be YOUR funeral, nobody else's!" Ameyuri shouted before he kicked the now armless Raiga into the chest, making him fall on his back, before stabing her two swords into the zombie's chest, and unleash an electric discharge through his body. "Sealmaster Ninjas! Take care of this asshole!"

Fortunately, a couple sealmasters happened to be around the zone, and quickly rushed to Raiga in order to seal his body. While they worked, Ameyuri walked towards Suigetsu. The last Hozuki clansman was on one knee, using the Sewing Needle as a cane, smoke coming from his body.

"Hey," Ameyuri said. "You okay?"

"I've...I've been better..." Suigetsu replied. He looked up, and saw that the redhead was offering him a hand. Suigetsu accepted it, and let her pull him to his feet. "Thank you."

"Nice stunt you pulled there. That was quite badass," the redhead complimented. "Not to say that I wouldn't beat him on my own, but thanks to you, we got rid of him much faster."

"Heh... nice to hear that..." Suigetsu said, as he felt his watery body slowly recover from the electric shock. "So, let's go help Chojuro. He won't last long against my brother on his own."

"Sure. Lead the way, Suigetsu."

…

Mangetsu and Chojuro continued their duel, both Hiramekarei clashing against each other. However, it was quite obvious which one was the most skilled swordsman. Mangetsu was the one dictating the pace of the fight, while his poor bespectacled apprentice could do little other than defend while being pushed back, until he inevitably run out of space to fall back to.

"Come on Chojuro, fight back!" Mangetsu shouted, as his onslaught intensified. "If you keep fighting like this, I'm going to kill you!"

"I'm trying!" Chojuro said, as he tried to put more strength into his blows. However, that didn't change that for every time he tried to attack his former sensei, Mangetsu attacked five times in return. "But no matter what I do, my skill pales compared to yours!"

"Your skill matches my own at the very worst! If that wasn't the case, I would never have chosen you as my apprentice!" Mangetsu yelled, as his swings became more brutal. "Come on Chojuro, show me that I wasn't mistaken! Show me how much you've grown since I last saw you!"

Mangetsu delivered one final swing with his fake Hiramekarei towards Chojuro, but the blue haired ninja reacted in time, and parried it with his own. Mangetsu tried to push forward, but found that Chojuro was pushing back with just as much strength. The bespectacled ninja wouldn't buldge, not anymore.

"You mean it, sensei?" Chojuro asked.

"I'm not one to deliver compliments if I didn't mean them. Life's too short to waste it on lies and deceptions," Mangetsu said, before smiling sadly. "I should know that better even now, given that I'm no longer alive."

Chojuro's Hiramekarei started to brightly glow with chakra, before he pushed his former sensei back.

"I always believed that I wasn't worthy of being your apprentice, sensei," Chojuro said, as he delivered a wide horizontal swing, releasing a cresecent-shaped chakra blade at Mangetsu.

Mangetsu's sword glew with chakra as well, and with another strike, shattered Chojuro's chakra blast. "I know. That's why I always made my mission to make you see the amazing potential you possess. Once you see it, you'll become more confident, and will be unstoppable."

This time, the chakra around Chojuro's Hiramekarei took the shape of a hammer, as Chojuro leaped at his former sensei, slamming the hammer down. Mangetsu jumped backwards just in time to avoid the blow, but the resulting hit resulted in a powerful shockwave that pushed Mangetsu backwards, almost making him fall on his back.

"When you died, I thought it was fate's way of telling me that I was never meant to be your apprentice," Chojuro said, pulling his sword back from the shattered ground. "That maybe if you had a more competent apprentice, you would still be alive."

"Neither you nor any other apprentice would have prevented my death, Chojuro," Magetsu replied. "Yagura's troops outnumbered us too much. Somebody had to stay in order to give the others a chance to escape. I was the best suited to delay the enemy."

Mangetsu raised the sword above his head, causing it to shine even brighter, before slamming it down, sending an underground shockwave at Chojuro, cracking the ground as it traveled and sending many rocks and peebles flying in every direction. Chojuro tried to jump away in order to dodge it, but one of the rocks hit his glasses, breaking one of his lens, and making him lose balance and fall on his back, dropping Hiramekarei.

"Come on Chojuro, this isn't your end!" Mangetsu yelled, as he leaped at the defenseless ninja, who stumbled to recover his blade.

When Mangetsu brought his blade down, it clashed against metal rather than flesh, but it wasn't Chojuro's Hiramekarei, but the Thunderfans the ones blocking his sword. Wielding them was Ameyuri Ringo.

"Hello, Ameyuri-chan," Mangetsu said, smiling down at her. "Nice to see you."

"Feeling's mutual. AND DON'T FUCKING CALL ME AMEYURI-CHAN, ASSHOLE!" the enraged redheaded said as she channeled electric chakra through her swords, forcing Mangetsu to disengage before they could reach him.

"I'm glad to see nothing was able to keep that temper of yours down. Kunoichi as fierce as you appear only once every generation," Mangetsu said, his smile persisting. "By the way, weren't you fighting Raiga?"

"We already took care of that," Suigetsu said, as he landed besides Chojuro, and helped him back on his feet. "We figured out Ameyuri would be the best suited to defeat you, brother, so I made sure to help her finish her fight as soon as possible."

"A sensible tactic. Now-" Mangetsu said before he was suddenly interrupted when he was hurled backwards. A opened coffin emerged from underground, and Mangetsu was pushed into it, before the lid slammed it closed, and finally vanished.

"Uh? What's going on?" Chojuro asked, as he adjusted his broken glasses.

"Hey, look around us!" Ameyuri said.

Looking around, they could see that the remaining reanimations were also retreating, and so did the few White Zetsu Clones present. It seemed that the enemy had conceded the Allied Ninja Forces another victory in the war.

...

Moon

Hinata and her group had arrived to another place of interest: the ruins of a temple. Despite being obvious that no human being has been near the stone building, given its state of disrepair and the vegetation growing around it, they decided it would be a good idea to check it, since it may give them some insight into the Moon, and maybe the enemy they were going to face.

Shisui was the first one to enter, and once he checked that the place was safe –to no one's surprise–, the rest were allowed in.

On the inside, the temple was just as ruined as on the outside, with numerous puddles of water around the floor, and many piles of debris scattered around, some of them in the process of being claimed by nature, given the number of plants growing on them. Only two things appeared to have survived time: the murals on the walls –the walls that were still standing, that's it– and a large statue of a woman with horns and four arms.

"Well, that certainly looks familiar," Hinata commented, as she walked towards the statue. "Nori-san, I remember seeing that statue in your previous home. Do you know who she is?"

The Moon acolyte walked towards the statue as well, and took some time to admire it. It was partially eroded, and had moss growing all over its legs and spreading upwards, but one could still appreciate its fine cratfmanship.

"I never told you about her? Odd," the priestess said. "Anyway, this is a statue of Kalika, eldest daughter of Hamura. And before you ask, no, she didn't have horns like her father, or four arms. It's the way she was commonly depicted."

"That's... odd," Hinata said.

"It's not that Kalika looked like that, you know," Nori replied. "But there were some myths that spoke that she could turn into some sort of four armed giantess, as some kind of power she developed with the Tenseigan. No hard evidence, but our scholars and historians saw enough mentions of this to be taken into some consideration."

Hinata continued to observe the statue, but her interest quickly evaporated when she was unable to find anything else from it, and her attention was drawn to the murals of the walls, which were already being inspected by other Moon Acolytes and Hyugas.

"Hey, Nori-san, let's check the murals instead," the Hyuga Clan Head suggested. "They may provide us with some hints as to what to expect from the Moon."

"Understood, Hinata-sama," Nori agreed.

Thankfully for the two women, the acolytes already working on the walls had already deciphered what the murals said: it was an historical record detailing the Sage of the Six Paths and his brother, how they defeated Kaguya and the Ten Tails, and how Hamura and his followers left for the Moon, creating a new civilization that would safekeep earth from outworldly threats.

"Interesting," Nori said, as she inspected the last pictures of the mural.

"Something caught your eye, Nori-san?" Hinata asked.

"This," Nori said, as she ran a hand through the picture of a castle that seemed to float in the sky. "According to these glyphs, this is were Hamura and his direct descendants lived. Inside some kind of palace built inside a star."

"A palace built inside a star? That doesn't make sense," Hinata said. "Unless it's some sort of metaphor, right?"

"Not necessarily. Did you notice that, even if we're inside the Moon, it appears that there's a sun that provides light and heat? That's an artificial star Hamura-sama created with his power, and was mantained by the ensuing generations of Tenseigan wielders."

Nori pointed out a symbol that appeared to be an eye with an eight point star inside it, which according to her, represented the Tenseigan.

"That means that Toneri must be powering the artificial sun himself," Hinata said, not knowing how that could be used to their advantage. However, there was something that didn't feel right, that made no sense. The young Hyuga took no time to realize what it was. "No, wait, that can't be right. The Tenseigan was lost for literally centuries, and Toneri and I awoke ours not long ago. If the aritifical sun was put out for so long, there's no way all the vegetation could have survived without sunlight."

"Very well, Hinata-sama," Nori praised her with a nod. "What's the conclusion then?"

"That the Branch House weapon powered up the aritficial sun instead," Hinata said, before looking up into the sky, through one of the many holes in the temple's ceiling. "That's where Toneri is hiding his weapon. That's where we need to go next."

…

Third Division Base Camp, Nighttime

After Kisame's death, Mei and Zabuza returned to the fight, only to see it dying down as well. Most of the reanimated Swordsmen of the Mist had been put down and sealed, with only Mangetsu, Jinpachi and Kushimaru managing to escape before they could be neutralized. Other reanimations also escaped with their lives (or living deaths) but most of them were sealed and captured.

The next course of action, naturally, was to set up a base so the tired ninjas could rest and the wounded could be healed by medics, and wait until the next supply convoy could replace all the weapons, food and medicine that they had used during the battle and in the aftermath.

Thankfully, the battle has cleared quite a lot of the surrounding forest, leaving an excellent place in order to set up a base camp. Everybody took no time to do so, given that they were both hungry, exhausted and hurt, and wanted to do nothing but to rest and relax.

Though, one ninja couldn't rest no matter how much she wanted to, given that, as the Division Commander, Mei had to report the result of the battle to the Allied Ninja Forces HQ. Mei was now inside the tent designated for communications, covered in sealing tags that both shield those inside from praing eyes. She was sat with her legs crossed in front of a similarly sat Yamanaka, this one wearing a special helment that amplified his mental powers in order to create a link with HQ.

"You brought us excellent news, Mizukage," she heard Jiraiya's voice inside her heard. "With the death of Kisame and the recovery of Samehada, Akatsuki has lost a very important asset."

"Unfortunately, it didn't come without a cost," Mei replied in resignation. "Kisame alone killed dozens of our ninjas before we could put him down, and many more died to the other enemies. Akatsuki is an even more fearsome adversary than we thought."

"Bah, the important part is that we won, didn't we?" Onoki's voice said. "That means that they lost more people than we did."

"How can you say that, Onoki?" Mei could hear Ao's voice quaver with anger. "Plenty of human lives have been lost! How can you dismiss them like that? Did you lose your tact in your advanced age?"

"Watch your mouth around me, you one eyed Kirigakure brat. I already experienced my fair share of deaths, so don't dare lecture me about that!" The former Tsuchikage replied. "This is a war, and people die in wars! I don't like it anymore than you do, but that's the way it is!"

"You only say that because you know that Kirigakure ninjas are the majority of the Third Division!" Ao fired back. "If it was the division lead by your graddaughter-"

"Ao, enough," Mei interrupted her head of intelligence before things could escalate. "This is no time for such petty quarrels. Onoki-san is right, tragic as it is, we can't fight a war without losing soldiers. This isn't the first time I led my men in battle. And while it never gets any easier, I know what it feels to see ninja under your command die in battle."

Neither Ao nor Onoki continued their argument, much to the Mizukage's relief, and probably those in the HQ with them. Now it would be the best time to divert attention to other matters.

"My ninja will need new weapons, armors, clothes, food and medicine. When can I expect the next supply convoy to arrive?" Mei asked.

"I already sent one the moment news of your victory reached my ears," Jiraiya replied, much to her joy. "It should be there by tomorrow morning. Can you hold up with what you have?"

"I believe we can, Supreme Commander. Though we can't never be sure as for when the enemy will strike again, so it'd be for the best if those supplies arrived as soon as possible," Mei told him.

"They're going as fast as they can, Mizukage. I can assure you that," Jiraiya replied, before he decide to change the topic. "Now, what can you tell us about the enemy? What kind of opponents you and your troops had to face?"

"As expected, most of their forces were composed by those Zetsu clones. The majority were what we called the "standard" variety, but there were several Brutes and Snipers. Fortunately, we knew about them in advance and thus my ninjas weren't caught by surprise, and knew how to deal with them."

"No flyers?" Mei heard Chiyo's voice ask.

Mei shook her head, before realizing that they couldn't see her. "We didn't see any of them. And thank goodness, because this battle was bad enough without the enemy having aerial support."

"If I'm allowed to give my opinion, my guess is that they didn't use their air force because they expected us to counter it," Shikaku chimed in. "It may be a ruse to make us lower our guard, and deploy it once we did so they can hit us when it hurts the hardest."

"Whatever they're planning, it won't catch us off guard. I already devised a plan to put in motion whenever they think they can use the sky against us," Jiraiya firmly stated. "Now, Mizukage, what about the reanimated ninjas?"

"You believed that the first batch of zombies were merely testing our strength before Orochimaru would break out the big names at the right moment. So far, it seems that he decided that the moment has already arrived. The reanimations had many members of the Uchiha Clan, as well as some other strong individual ninjas of many villages, both major and minor. But chief among them were six deceased members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, complete with a fake replica of the sword they used to wield, led by Kisame Hoshigaki. Though you know about that part," Mei explained. "Unfortunately, we were only able to permanently neutralize about half of them, so expect Kushimaru, Jinpachi and Mangetsu to show up again in another battlefield."

"Understood. That was... troubling. We'll make sure to nail them down the next time they show up," Jiraiya replied.

"Supreme Commander, may I suggest that every village makes a list of their strongest or at least well known ninjas? It is likely that we will face more of them and having readily available info would be a big boon," Mei asked.

"Already doing that, Mizukage-sama. Hopefully we'll have a comprehensive and detailed list before Akatsuki decides to strike again," Shikaku told her.

"Understood. I'm glad to hear that," Mei said with a nod. "In that case, I have nothing more to report. Permission to retire, Supreme Commander?"

"Granted," Jiraiya said. "You and your troops did a good job today, Mizukage. You earned a good rest."

Mei opened her eyes, and let out a sigh of exhaustion, before getting back on her feet, and exiting the communications tent. Her mouth curved into a smile when she saw her husband. He had been standing there, probably making sure nobody got close to the tent while she was inside, keeping guard like an angry watchdog.

"You done?" Zabuza asked.

"For the time being, sweetie," Mei said, as the two of them started to walk together towards their private tent. " Dealing with those old drones can be even more exhausting than fighting Kisame."

Zabuza chuckled, smirking under his mask. "Heh, it's on moments like these where I'm glad that I'm not in your shoes."

"What happened to your ambition of taking my place?" Mei asked, quriking an eyebrow. "Were those times in which you had to take over the hat such harrowing experiences?"

"Let's say they... opened my eyes," Zabuza grumbled. "I'm a man of action. The battlefield is where I belong, not caged in an office behind a desk. In fact, I don't know how can you stand such soul-draining job."

"I like to see it as a necessary sacrifice that I have to make in order to keep our home stable," Mei explained. "Plus the pay is pretty good."

"Not as good as all the money I bring with all the S-Rank missions I'm doing," Zabuza replied, sounding a little boasting. "And now that that blue skinned fool finally got his deserving comeuppance, that means that I'm the strongest Swordsman of the Mist alive!"

"I'm sure you are honey. Especially since you helped me so much dealing with Kisame," Mei replied, as the two of them finally arrived at their private tent. Mei sat on her bed, and started removing her boots. "Ugh, I'm so tired, I could sleep for a whole week."

"I feel you. Not even the Civil War back at home was so draining," Zabuza replied, as he sat besides her. "So, you said you have an idea about who's getting the Samehada, right?"

"Yeah. It might be risky, but it's our best bet," Mei replied. "Yagura's son, Dagura. He was training to be a swordsman. From what I heard, he was going to inherit the Helmet Splitter, even if he didn't train under Jinin Akebino himself."

"So, good old Yagura wanted to get rid of Jinin and replace him with his own son. Classy," Zabuza said, letting out a chuckle. "That would explain why did he sent him to the Crimson Citadel instead of having him executed on the spot when he felt his loyaltly wasn't genuine. His brat wasn't ready yet."

"Yet being the key word. As a sign of conciliation, I allowed Dagura to continue his training, and keep him as a reserve swordsman in case of you or any of the others fell in battle, given that neither of you have formal apprentices. I wasn't expecting to recover Samehada so soon, so I didn't think he'll get his hands on them. But given the convenient timing, I think he's the best choice."

"Let's hope you're right, and he doesn't turn traitor the moment he gets his hands on Samehada, and wants to avenge his father," Zabuza said.

"Come on, have a little faith in me. I'm a very good judge of character. I mean, I think I made an excellent choice with you, didn't I?" Mei teased.

Zabuza grumbled something she was unable to understand, as he averted his gaze.

"Aw come on, don't go all tsundere on me. I thought that we left that phase behind after our honeymoon," Mei said, smiling mischeviously. She then placed a foot on Zabuza's lap. "Now come on, be a good husband, and give my feet a massage. I could use your expert hands."

"I'm not going to massge your feet," Zabuza replied, as he pushed the foot back.

"Awwww, come on!" she begged, sounding like a child asking her parents to buy her a new toy. "Do it, and I let you be the one on top tonight."

Once again, Zabuza grumbled something unintelligible as he begrundingly started to massage one of Mei's feet.

"You've been the death of my reputation, woman," Zabuza said in resignation.

"Because you know that I'm worth much more than any reputation you might build, sweetie," Mei replied. "Plus, if you care about your reputation that much, you wouldn't have spent so much time taking care of a kid, because-YEOWCH! Careful! " Mei shouted when she felt Zabuzas sqeezing her foot with far more force than necessary.

"You know exactly why I took Haku under my wing," Zabuza angrily replied.

"Yes, because you wanted to turn him into your personal weapon, we all know that story," Mei replied, rolling her eyes. "That's why, once his training was complete, you let him go live to another village so he could be with his friends, girlfriend and other loved ones he met there instead of keeping him close to you. Such a heartless monster you are."

Mei expected Zabuza to react even worse to that taunt, but much to her surprise, her husband left that taunt unaddressed.

"I always have faith that that kid will be smart and resourceful enough to stay alive," Zabuza said. "But now, with the war and the kind of enemies we're facing... I wish I could keep him at my side."

Mei removed her foot from Zabuza's lap, and inched closer to him before placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I can imagine how you must feel," Mei began. "But you should remember that Haku isn't alone. He has his friends and sensei to watch his back. Plus, given that you helped train him, I'm sure he's strong enough to survive this whole ordeal."

"I tell myself that," Zabuza replied. "If only we were on the same division..."

"But you are not. Sad as it is, you must deal with it. Listen, I can't afford having you distracted like that," Mei stated sternly. "But if that makes you feel better, I'll pull some strings to give you two some time to catch up, alright?"

"I'll...I'll appreciate that," Zabuza admitted.

Mei smiled widely. "Of course you would. Now come on, you have to do my other foot."

…

"Well brats, you did it! You survived your first day of war!" Anko cheerfully shouted, as she sat among her students, sitting across a campfire. "I guess that you never felt more alive than you do now, right?"

"You can't be serious, sensei," Kin replied, shooting her a deadpan look. "How can war make you feel alive?"

"Because nothing makes you appreciate life more than being in the constant presence of death!" Anko rebutted. "Of course, being ninjas, that's a constant for us, but in times of war the feeling becomes much greater."

"Anko-sensei, I always thought you were insane," Zaku began, as he started to slowly inch away from the purplette. "But never to this extent."

"Aw, come on brats! I'm only trying to make you see the bright side of a grim situation," the Special Jonin said as she pulled several sticks of dango out of nowhere and started to devour them with gusto. "Don't think I'm somebody who thinks war is beautiful or some other nonsense."

"And how did you develop such a... bizarre outlook on war?" Dosu asked, as he carefully measured his next words, for they would touch a sensitive topic. "Was Orochimaru who taught you to think that way?"

Zaku and Kin cringed upon hearing their teammate mention the man Anko hated the most. The three ex-Oto ninjas expected the Snake Mistress to explode in a blaze of anger, but such reaction never came.

"Yeah, pretty much," Anko nonchalantly replied, as she happily munched on her dango. "One of the very, very, very few things that son of a bitch taught me that were worth keeping. I fought under him during the Third Ninja War, just like you guys are fighting under me right now. Did I never tell you that?"

"Not really. You never talk about Orochimaru," Kin replied, now sounding a little more relaxed, given that Anko didn't take offense to the topic Dosu brought up. "Not that we can't tell why."

"Ah, yeah, you have a point. It's kind of hard for me to talk about that asshole without being consumed by the burning anger of a thousand suns. Well, let's try to make an effort," Anko said, as she let out a deep breath. "I think it was like... seventeen years ago? Yeah, that sounds about right. You brats weren't even born yet. I mean, you aren't seventeen, right? Anyway, I'm digressing.

"My team rarely fought in open battles like we're doing right now. Well, both my team and many others. Konoha was outnumbered by both Iwa and Kumo, and our forces were spreaded thin. So we mostly relied on guerilla tactics to disturb the enemy troops from behind, while our powerhouses like the Yellow Flash or the Sannin fought them head on and whittled their numbers down.

"Orochimaru always requested missions that involved high profile targets. Back then, I didn't realize that he did this so he could get his hands on Bloodline Limits for him to study, and hopefully replicate. That was a pretty big red flag flashing in front of my face, and me none the wiser."

"Orochimaru also allowed you to sign the Snake Contract, didn't he?" Kin asked.

Anko frowned. "Yep. Another of the few things that didn't come with a price tag. Or so I think. When he gave it to me, he told me I was his favorite and that it was a gift for being such a good student, and that more gifts were to come if I continued improving," Anko's hand instinctively rubbed the spot on her neck when the cursed seal used to be, and mentally thanked Hinata once again. "Son of a bitch... anyway, what about you? You used to work for him, didn't the asshole promised you a cursed seal or something like that? Many of his minions carried them, including your former sensei."

"They said that the cursed seals were only for the strongest ninjas," Zaku began. "Given how many people died trying to adapt to them."

"Otogakure's motto was that only the strong deserved to live, and the weak were nothing but stepping stones for those destined to greatness," Kin added.

"For some reason, I don't have a hard time believing that," Anko said, as she rolled her eyes.

"Otogakure had a more... experimental and unconventional approach to training ninjas," Dosu interceded. "Orochimaru believed that normal training could only get you so far, and in order to truly break your limits, you need to go beyond what was natural, and become something greater."

"Body modifications," Anko concluded.

"Exactly. Zaku was the only one brave enough to undergo such process," Dosu continued. "Kin and I weren't so sure. I decided to join the experimental weapons program instead. That's where I got my Melody Gauntlets."

"Orochimaru was also developing a program to grant ninjas Bloodline Limits. I was training to become strong enough to be accepted as a candidate," Kin added. "Orochimaru used to say that humans aren't born equal, that some have either talent or powerful inherent abilites, while others were born with neither, and that he sought to change that."

"That explains how the bastard was able to lure so many people under his wing in order to build himself an army so big," Anko commented, before shooting her students a sharp look. "I'm seriously hoping that your time in Konoha made you realize that all of that was nothing but pure bullshit."

"We realized of that before we even trained under you," Dosu began. "Mizuki-sen...Mizuki rarely trained us, and all our experimental weapons or body modifications weren't enough to beat those Konoha Genin. The fact that the three of us weren't even able to beat that Hyuga girl alone was a real eye opener."

"Though, didn't that girl develop godlike powers or something like that?" Kin chimed in. "I've been close to her, and even if I'm not a sensor I can feel the sheer power of her chakra. And those eyes of her aren't a Byakugan."

"The Tenseigan," Anko told the black haired girl. "Though, by the time you fought Hinata she didn't have the Tenseigan nor any of its assorted powers, so her victory over you was genuine. I hope that taught you that honest hard work pays better than some risky body modification or forbidden jutsu. And before you said that those worked for Orochimaru, you should realize that they came at the cost of hundreds, possibly thousands of lives. Do you really think that Orochimaru cares about his underlings? If he was willing to grant his ninjas exotic powers is because they were convenient test subjects that allowed him to experiment until the process was safe enough to use it on himself."

"You don't have to tell us twice," Kin said, looking down. "So far, we're still alive. Had we continued in Oto, we would be zombies like Mizuki."

"Actually, I have the feeling you would have been used as sacrifices to summon those zombies," Anko stated. "No offense, but I doubt that Orochimaru would have bothered to raise any of you. I'm still wrapping my head around Mizuki being raised, and the only explaination I find is that he found it funny."

Before the conversation could follow, a new voice interrupted them. "Hey there. Mind if I sit with you guys?"

Anko and her students turned around to see Rin Nohara, standing there a bit awkwardly as she awaited their response. Anko smiled and pretty much dragged her to the group.

"What kind of question is that? We used to be classmates, of course you can!" Anko energically said, as she made Rin sit next to her. "Guys, she might not look the part, but this gal here used to go to the Acadmey with me. She's-"

"Rin Nohara," Kin interrupted her. Before Anko could ask, she added: "I already met her shortly before we were deployed. Her, and those other Konoha girls."

"Oh, I see. Nice!" Anko happily said. "Anyway, you already know Kin, so meet my boys, Dosu, and Zaku."

"Hello. Nice to meet you," Rin politely greeted.

"Hey, I think I heard of you," Zaku said. "You're that girl who was dead, right?"

Anko bristled, while Rin laughed awkwardly.

"Hehe, I get that a lot-"

"Just what's wrong with you, dumbass? How do you ask something like that to her?" Anko chastised him.

"Don't worry Anko, it's oka-" Rin tried to say, but the Snake Mistress wouldn't let her.

"Nope, don't defend or justify him! Otherwise he won't learn manners," Anko insisted.

Rin chuckled and shook her head. "Oh boy, you're just the same as when you were my age, Anko-san. Then again, it's a bit refreshing to see that some things stayed the same."

"What do you mean, I stayed the same? Come on, I changed a lot since you were gone!" Anko protested, pouting comically.

"Well, for once, you're still addicted to eating dango," Rin said, chuckling a little.

Anko scowled. "Sure, I like my dango, but I don't eat it constantly. Don't exaggerate so much.-"

"I'm not exaggerating!" Rin replied. Then, she placed her finger under her chin as she recalled a memory. "In fact, I do remember this one time back in the Academy where you ate so much dango, that during a sparring session you-"

Dosu, Zaku and Kin saw color disappearing from Anko's face, as she slapped a hand over Rin's mouth, silencing the brown haired medic, who tried to remove the hand keeping her quiet.

"What? What happened during the spar?" Zaku asked, leaning forward in interest.

"NOTHING! NOTHING HAPPENED!" Anko loudly shouted.

"Your reaction doesn't convey such feeling, sensei," Dosu pointed out.

Anko continued to struggle in order to keep Rin silent. "WELL, THAT'S THE TRUTH! AND WHOEVER SAYS OTHERWISE-"

However, much to Anko's horror, Rin managed to remove the muffling hand, and finished her tale.

"While she was fighting Ebisu-san, she let out the loudest fart you could ever imagine!" Rin said, giggling at the memory. "Poor Ebisu-san didn't even know what to do, and he even forfeited the spar!"

As Anko's face turned as red as a tomato, her students to laugh loudly in return. Except Dosu, who wasn't laughing openly, but one could see that the way his bandages covering his mouth were stretching, he was snickering at the very least.

"Oh boy, this is golden! With this girl, we can get so much dirty laundry on Anko-sensei!" Kin laughed. "Please tell us more!"

Then, all of sudden, multiple snakes emerged from under Anko's sleeves, wrapping themselves around the neck of her students and Rin.

"Rin, the next time you reveal any embarrasing past event involving me, all of you will suffer a slow and agonizing death," Anko seethed, as she glared at all of them.

"Come on Anko-san, what I told them wasn't that embarrassing," Rin tried to protest.

"You mean that you have stories even more embarrasing?" Kin asked, elated. The snakes around her neck tightened their pressure. "...which I'm not interested in hearing, and neither are my teammates."

Pleased, Anko finally released her snakes from her students and childhood friends.

"Now, enough talking about my past, let's switch the topic to something less... infuriating," the Snake Mistress said. "Say, did you guys get to watch the Seven Swordsmen in action? The fact that they had to fight a previous generation of Swordsmen made the fight even cooler! Oh, those swords! Who could get their hands on them! My favorite is the one that makes explosions!"

Rin, Dosu, Zaku and Kin had to spend the rest of the night hearing Anko fangirling over the Swordsmen of the Mist and their swords.

…

Speaking of which, the Swordsmen of the Mist –minus Zabuza, who was with Mei– were also sitting around a bonfire, enjoying a warm meal after such a brutal battle. Some other Kiri ninjas also gathered near them, hoping to see, and maybe even talk with the foremost ninjas of their village other than their Kage.

"I might have take it a little longer, but I tell you, I could have destroyed that Raiga creep and his fake Thunderfangs myself," Ameyuri boasted, before taking a bite of her fried squid.

"We know. You only said it about sixty times already," Suigetsu groaned, as he rolled his eyes.

"Because it's the truth!" Ameyuri insisted. "Anyway, thankfully that guy's spirit will be back to whatever hell Orochimaru pulled him from."

"Yeah, and Kisame, Juzo Biwo and Jinin Akebino have been sealed and terminated as well," Miyako added, hopeing to introduce some positivity in the conversation. "Of the enemy seven swordsmen, more than half have been eliminated."

"Too bad my brother isn't part of that half, but the one that got away," Suigetsu said, his voice laced with some bitterness. "Well, minus the hell part."

Ameyuri didn't say anything, but his expression visibly softened.

"It had to be pretty hard for you, seeing your brother being made into such a mockery of his living self," Miyako sympathetically said.

"A bit, yeah. Though, admittedly, it was nice to get to talk to him again," Suigetsu admitted.

"Agreed. I always thought that I was an unworthy apprentice to him, but hearing his words of reasurance..." Chojuro chimed in. "It renewed my strength."

"That's why we have to try our hardest to make sure my brother goes back to the place he belongs to," Suigetsu firmly stated. "Orochimaru won't defile my brother's soul and memory any longer!"

"For that, we'll need Ameyuri," Miyako said, looking at the redhead. "So make sure you don't get killed until we face Mangetsu again, okay?"

"Ha! As if any of those pathetic zombies could even be close to kill me," Ameyuri scoffed. "If I didn't know you any better, Miyako, I'd feel like you were trying to get under my skin."

"Given that zombies are so below you, maybe we should have let you fight Kisame," Miyako said, smirking at the redhead. "It took Mizukage-sama and Zabuza-taicho's combined power to put an end to him, but I'm sure you would have done it in half the time."

"See? That's what I'm talking about. Now, that's a proper challenge. Too bad they had to call dibs on him," Ameyuri said, taking another bite of her squid. "Chojuro and I got to fight him back when we conquered Kiri, but the coward ran away."

"A-Actually, we only got to fight water clones of him, while Zabuza-taicho fought the real one," Chojuro felt the need to correct her. "While we beat the clones, Zabuza-taicho could barely hold his ground against the original, and I don't think that even with our help we could have defeated him."

The bespectacled swordsman felt an overwhelming killing intent focused on him, and realized that opening his mouth was a huge mistake when he saw Ameyuri piercing him with a furious glare.

"You really are a glutton for suffering, aren't you, four eyes?" Ameyuri seethed.

"Hey, hey, calm down," Miyako said, placing a hand on Ameyuri. "Don't be mad at the boy because he revealed the truth behind your boasts."

"Besides, you don't need to boast. We all know how strong you are and how hard you worked to be worthy of carrying those blades," a new voice said.

Suigetsu turned around, and saw that besides Chojuro was sitting a man he never saw before. He had tanned skin, shoulder length black hair, a thin moustache and a goatee. He was happily eating some fried beef.

"And who the hell are you?" Suigetsu asked, wondering how this stranger felt entitled to intrude in their conversation. Though for some reason, his voice sounded oddly familiar.

"I'm Kumori. Couldn't you tell?" Kumori said, before nodding at the Splatter besides him.

"THE FUCK!?" Suigetsu asked. "YOU TOOK OFF YOUR MASK!"

"Yeah. How else I'm supposed to eat?" Kumori asked. "Though, even if you don't know what I look like, at least you should have recognized me through my voice."

"I didn't know you spoke! I never heard you speak before today!" Suigetsu angrily protested, before he turned at the others. "Did you guys knew he could speak?"

Much to his shock and growing frustration, all of them nodded.

"He only stayed silent whenever you were present. Said he liked to get a reaction out of you," Miyako said, giggling a little.

"And it was worth it every time. Too bad I won't be able to do that again. Oh well, better end it on a grand note than run it into the ground and let it become stale," Kumori said, shrugging.

"Did you guys saw him without the mask as well!?" Suigetsu asked, his anger not disappearing.

"No, not really. At least, this is the first time I see him unmasked," Chojuro said.

"Same here," Miyako admitted. "And honestly, I was also wondering who was that guy and why he was eating with us."

"Me too. And damn, you're kind of hot," Ameyuri said, letting out a whistle. "Why do you hide that handsome mug behind an ANBU mask?"

Kumori smiled. "So when I take my mask off, the ladies gush about how handsome my face is."

Author's Note: And thus the second day of battles conclude. Hope you found it as good as the previous one, at the very least. This time, the battles were getting to long, so I had to include the end of the minor fights in this chapter. Still, I don't think it messes the flow of the chapter too badly.

And another insight into what Hinata and her team are doing in the Moon. How will their new findings affect the outcome of their mission?

Man, gotta love to write moments between Mei and Zabuza. Aren't just they the cutest? I hope you enjoyed their interactions here, because sadly they aren't going to appear again in a long time, since we need to move the focus to other divisions as well.

I also appreciated the opportunity to write more development scenes for Anko and the ex-Oto trio. I created the team at the end of Part I, and never had the chance to give it proper spotlight until many arcs later, and again I had to keep them in tha background, because I decided that I wanted to give every character Kishimoto screwed their proper dues, which resulted in having a massive cast that can be such a pain in the ass to juggle. Oh well, guess I can't complain since I did what I wanted.

Also, I'd like to point out that yes, I'm aware that Anko is about three years younger than Rin, meaning that they couldn't have been classmates. However, in the flashbacks to Obito's childhood (post unmasking) we do see both Anko and Rin as Obito's classmates. This one of the many, mnay, mnay, and I do mean MANY inconsistencies that one can find examining the time period of Kakashi's formative years.

Thanks to Ookami88 for betareading this chapter.

Next chapter, it's time for Mifune's Fifth Division to see some action, and for Kakashi in particular to meet and fight a very important person from his past. I'm sure you all can imagine whom I'm talking about ;)

Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!