Delfim: So I finally got done with my exams and I remembered that I still have to update this story.

I will be honest, I had to rewrite this chapter so many times that I was almost didn't write an author's note, but I had to give you some news.

From now I will try to focus on my original Digimon Fanfic. I will still do an update on other stories but I will try to update the Rise of the Dark Tamer on Foxes more.

Also if someone still remembers, me and some authors had just joined to do a fic: Rise and Fall of Tamers… well I am sad to say that that project has been cancelled. Two of our writing members gave up and a lot of the people helping as both models for characters and giving ideas gave up too. I was really disappointed cause I personally wrote the second chapter all by myself and I was sad to see it go to waste.

So we are redoing it with a new look, a similar beginning but with a smaller cast. Also it will only be me and Noirenamon writing it, so hopefully since me and him have been in contact for over a year and we are both head set on making this work this time the story will go without a hitch.

You can read the first chapter on my account. The name is Digimon World Cyber Chaos. It is not based on Digimon World Online, it's based on what could be the greatest Digimon Game if it existed and, of course, the digimon world which we will enter.

So without further ado, here is the new chapter.

Chapter 11 Fight in the bridge... with a surprise.

Both sides were tense, none moving as a breeze passed through them. Then Togemon rushed forward, trying to get Seadramon right off the bat, with Seadramon dodging a fist by rolling around Togemon's arm.

"What?" The answer was a resounding whip like attack from Seadramon's tail to Togemon's face, making it stumble.

Rick laughed, his white hair falling around the sides of his head and obscuring most of his face, but not the shark like teeth. "Let's see how you like this!" he then took a card and a digivice. "Digi-modify: Water Style Spiraling Drill!"

Seadramon started spinning until a drill of water formed around him. Then he charged at Togemon who took a hit to the chest and was sent stumbling back. Rose saw this and pulled a card. Her digivice's mechanical voice called out "Digi-modify: Ointment chakra pill!"

Togemon got up, feeling re-energized and ready to fight.

"Huh, so you have the card system too." Said Rick with a smirk. "Such a coincidence, my lord had the same idea!"

Rose glared at him. At this points she truly hated not being able to talk, she could interrogate him. Instead she was reduced to glare and hope he will continue on that train of thoughts, revealing more about the illusive "true sovereign".

Seadramon wasted no time shooting it's "Water Breath" which literally were small blasts of water spit at high speed. Togemon did it's best to defend with her gloves, but it was obvious she was at a disadvantage.

Rose saw this and wiped a card. "Digi-modify: Infected Style Infected Spear!"

Togemon's right arm started mutating until it looked like it was a spike coming out of black reddish flesh. She threw the spike forward, it flying quickly and catching Seadramon off-guard on the side, and pulled back to Togemon.

"Digi-modify: Substitution!" said Rick with a swipe of a card.

And just like that, Seadramon was replaced by a fish. Togemon got mad and was about to pull the fish out of the spear when the ground beneath her exploded with the yell "Rising Current!" revealing Seadramon surrounded by a coat of water.

Togemon landed on her back near Rose who ran to check up on her. Rick laughed at the situation.

"This is fun, I didn't know fighting another tamer could be so… competitive. But you must have realized by now that you are outmatched here." Rick then extended his hand. "Join a real sovereign and you can become just as strong as me! Well…" He then crossed his arms. "Maybe not as me, but maybe close to it."

Rose glared at him while Togemon groggily got up. "Rose… this guy… he is strong…" Togemon brought his fists up, though they were shaking. "That last attack almost knocked me out."

Rose then grabbed a card and swiped. "Digi-modify: Energy bar!"

Togemon nodded in thanks. "Give me something that can hit him. He already pulled a substitution, I bet he can't pull another."

Rose brought a card out but before she could a kunai almost hit it, making her drop her hand full of cards. "HEY!" yelled Togemon only to be clotheslined by Seadramon.

"Now now, don't you go thinking you can pull a fast one on me!" said Rick. "I wonder if you have any good cards. I might have to take a look after I am done with you."

Meanwhile Naruto wasn't faring any better. After knowing that what they were facing were clones, it was obvious that the way to go were large area attacks to dispel a greater number of clones.

However, that proved futile because as soon as one wave was done, another took it's place.

"Seriously, has he spend an entire month doing nothing but make clones of Seadramon! Even you girls can only produce five clones at a time!" yelled Fox as he panted in exhaustion. "Target all: Digi-modify: Wind style: Gale winds!"

The three foxes threw a huge gust of wing while Naruto called "Fire style: Raging flames!" with that flames appeared around him and rushed forward in a circle which joined the wind. "Collaboration: Raging fiery Wind!"

Another group of Seadramon burst into water as the attack hit them, leaving a huge amount of steam to cover the field. But as the steam lifted, a new group of Seadramons raised from the water.

"But how? Unless the tamer is nearby, there is no way that he could keep spanning the cloning technique!" yelled Fox pointing towards the Seadramons. "Even then how does he have so many, I don't get it!"

The vixens couldn't give him an answer for they two were looking in shock as yet again the Seadramons blasted them from afar. "If it weren't for their numbers this would be pretty easy, they are basically a one trick pony." Said Vulpamon.

"Yeah but they are enough that one trick is more than enough!" yelled Yokomon. "And I am running out of juice here!"

"Same here." Said Kyubimon as she sent another "Fox Tail Inferno" at them. "I can feel myself reaching a limit."

"Dammit!" yelled Fox as he reached for a new card to use only to realize he had ran through the entire thing. "Shit, I'm drawing a blank girls, no more power-ups."

"Crap, what now?" asked Yokomon.

Fox's eyes hardened. "You girls get back and recharge a bit, I'm taking this head on. I'm still full of chakra and can pull a few wicked tricks on these pricks." With that he jumped forward and yelled "Fire Style: Dance of Fire Balls!"

Around him several balls of fire formed, each as big as he was, and started to fall erratically along the Seadramons while Fox yelled "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" and with a few clones, started spanning fire techniques on the incoming sea dragons.

On the other side of the river, watching with glee, an exact copy of Rick, holding a digivice with a sinister black card in his hand, chuckled in mad glee. "How long can you last? Even with three digimons, you can't stop an army!"

-/-/-/-/-

Togemon lashed with "Light Speed Jamming!" trying to hit the illusive Seadramon which kept flowing around her attacks with an annoying smirk. She cursed as yet another fist missed her mark only for the beast to try and bite her gloved hand.

"GAH, get away from me you worm! NEEDLE SPRAY!"

This time not even Seadramon could dodge as a rain of needles hit every part of his body, making him grunt in pain. Seeing this as her opportunity, Togemon went for a "Knock-Out Fist" which hit the target right on, sending Seadramon flying away.

"I admit this is surprising." Said Rick as he saw the attack, not even worried. At this point he was parrying blows from a sword with a kunai in hand. "Your partner is stronger than she looks."

Rose made a quick stab but Rick jumped above her and went for a low kick, which she rolled away from. Bringing her sword up to stop his own stab, Rose shoulder tackled him before making a slash motion, which ended with a cut on Rick's cheek.

"Tsk!" He jumped back in surprise as he grabbed his bleeding cheek. "You bitch." His tone was still calm, but there was no more amusement hidden in his words. "And to think I was starting to like you."

"What are you doing, Rick, I paid you to kill her not to flirt with her!" yelled Gatou.

"Technically you paid me to kill Tazuna, she is just a bonus. And relax already." Seadramon came back with an impressive speed, slamming into Togemon before shooting a Water Breath point blank in her face. "We are still up and running."

With that he started to do some hand signs. "Water clone Jutsu!" A copy made of water appeared near him. "Keep her entertained." He said as he grabbed his digivice. "Digi-modify: Seal of the Forgotten!"

Seadramon's eyes were washed away as they turned completely into a bright red, it's entire body surrounded by a purple mist. It roared with a power that made the bridge tremble.

"EHAHAHAHAH! Behold the power of a real sovereign." Said Rick as he pointed his finger forward. "Go Seadramon, destroy that weed!"

"R-R-ROSE! IT'S ENERGY JUST SPIKED! IT'S EVEN MORE POWERFUL THAN BEFORE!" said a panicked Togemon as she tried to shield herself from the tail lashing that Seadramon laid on her, each strike leaving gashes all over her arms.

Rose looked alarmed but had little time to answer as the water clone tried to cut her throat. Cutting it in half and turning towards the original, she saw that he was too immersed in the fight to notice her so she decided to try helping Togemon. Pulling a card, she flashed through the digivice.

"Digi-modify: Wind Style Great Breakthrough."

A large gust of wind blew Seadramon back, but did no visible damage. Seadramon roared again as it rushed, even faster than before. This time he bit into Togemon's arm, which made her yell in pain.

"AHAHAHAHAH! That's IT! Eat the fucking freak already!"

"ROSE!" yelled Togemon while bashing Seadramon's head as hard as she could.

Just as the situation was going to get worse, a tiny white flash jumped in front of Seadramon's face yelling "Cat eye hypnotism!" Seadramon stopped, completely immobile. The same white flash landed on it's head and yelled "Cat-tastrophy!" before clawing away at the paralyzed creatures eyes.

"WHAT?" yelled Rick in disbelieve as he saw a cat of all things immobilizing his partner and clawing his eyes out. Seadramon was soon released from his paralysis, only to scream bloody murder as his eyes were now filled with scars. Quickly letting go of Togemon, Seadramon rushed backwards even as Gatomon jumped out of it's head.

"I hope we are not too late." Said a voice behind Rose, making her sigh in relief. Turning around, she saw Lioness in her normal attire ready to fight. "I was nearby, saw that you were in need of a hand."

Rose did a few quick signs but Lioness just said "Don't worry about Fox, help is on the way."

-/-/-

Fox gritted his teeth in frustration as he felt a burning sensation through his body. "Running out of juice very quickly. I need a plan, fast!"

Just as another Seadramon was about to attack, a rain of kunais hit it and burst it apart. "Dynamic Entry!" yelled a small green blur that slammed into another one, bursting it as well.

Fox blinked as three ninjas appeared in his front. "FOX-SAMA, WE ARE HERE TO BACK YOU UP!" yelled the unmistakable green clad ninja.

"Team 9?" asked Fox. "Thank you for the help, but we need to find the source of the…"

Before he could finish, something was kicked out of the woods from the other side of the forest and landed on the water where he stood, holding his arm which seemed hurt. From the forest, a bigger version of the green ninja emerged.

"YOSH! I FOUND THE SOURCE OF THE CREATURES!" yelled Might Guy.

Fox frowned and saw the dark card. "Hey, that card. What is that?"

Rick sneered. "Tsk, and here I thought this was going to be easy." He then grabbed the card and slashed again. As he did, 4 more Seadramons burst from the water. "Go, kill them now!"

"Guy, help me stop him from using that black card! Team Nine help my girls deal with the Seadramons!" yelled Fox before he ran at Rick.

Rick put his card away and decided to pull out a Kunai but had to jump back as Guy went for a round kick to his head. Fox threw two shuriken which he deflected but this allowed Fox to get close, who started to punch him repeatedly with all he had, in both face and stomach, before he jumped over and let Guy barrel in with a show of both speed and strength as his kick sent Rick back.

"Nice one!" said Fox.

"YOSH, THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS FOX-SAMA!" yelled Gai.

Meanwhile, the three vixens were once again on full attack, throwing balls of all kinds, dragons and overall destroying their enemy, only this time they weren't alone: Neji ran across the water as he poked any remaining Seadramon that emerged from the water. Tenten had unsealed her scrolls and was barreling the Seadramons with kunai, senbon and shurikens. Lee was near her, punching any that came to close to them.

"You have a good team here, Gai." Praised Fox. "Good teamwork, nice use of everyone's skills, even facing an unconventional opponent. A bit more variety wouldn't hurt, but for a team of Genin you should be proud."

"Don't worry about the kibbles." Said Rick with a smirk as he got onto water again. "Because you won't last much longer: Water Style: Piranha Assault!"

From the water, thousands of little water made piranhas jumped at the two, who got ready to continue to fight.

The real Rick was in real trouble. Seadramon was barely dodging the two digimons, with one throwing relentless punches and the others jumping at every opportunity to scratch at him. Then He couldn't get a single card out, cause the two girls were adamant that he did not reach and scanned a single card.

The pink haired chick was trouble by herself, what with her sword that she kept trying to skewer him with, but the other chick was something else, moving like water itself as she bended at every single one of his strikes and attempted to poke him.

He was not stupid, he knew what that meant: she wanted to shut down his chakra points, to get him all weak and fucked up. Not good. He needed a plan.

He tried to jump back only to crouch as a sword passed over him. As he rolled to the side, he had to put his hand back for support as he leaned away from a poke coming from the side. Coming back onto his feet, he grabbed the girl's arm and was about to attack when he screamed in pain as his back exploded in pain.

Rose had just made a nasty cut on Rick's back, from left shoulder to the right hip, which was the reason why he screamed so loud. While trying to steady himself, Hinata hit three points before her fourth jab sent him skidding back until he was near Gatou.

"What are you doing?" asked the pudgy man. "Hurry up and finish them."

Rick gritted his teeth. His chest hurt and he knew at least 4 points near his heart were closed, which was making it a bit hard to breath, much less fight. "Shut up, old man. Let me think." He then brought a card out, only to dodge to the side as a kunai nearly hit his wrist.

"Don't even think about it!" yelled the lion masked girl as she ran towards him. Rick jumped back, trying to keep a distance from her. Any more closed points and his heart might stop.

Seadramon roared in pain as Gatomon scratched it's eyes. The damn kitten had turned the battle upside down. Now he was the one being beaten. Worse still his partner was proving to be useless as he was too busy dealing with the two chicks.

"Digi-modifi: Infected Style: Infected Claw"

The monotone tone was the only warning he had before Togemon, now armed with wicked claws, slashed at him for all she was worth. He avoided most of the swipes, but the last one left huge gashes on his stomach making him roar in pain.

"Dammit!" yelled Rick as he realized that while he was busy with the lion faced bitch the other went and swiped a card. Now his partner was surely fucked. "Out of my way! Water Style: Piranha Assault!"

From beneath the bridge rose little water piranhas rose and went after Lioness, who just extended her hands and yelled "Eight Trigrams: Sixty-four Palm Guard!"

Lines of light formed a dome around her, slicing the piranhas into pieces which fell like water puddles around her. However this allowed Rick to move after Rose, with a crazed yell as he readied his kunai.

Suddenly the floor beneath him blew up, sending him tumbling back. As he got up, he saw a faint glow on the ground, like a circle, where he had just stepped. That's not all, there were circles like this all around Rose.

Rose pulled a scroll and unraveled, showing that it had written "Rose Special: Bomb Seal Guard!"

"You gotta be kidding me!" yelled Rick. "When did you have the time to put all these?"

"While I was busy with you." Yelled Lioness as she hit some points in his back, sending him tumbling to the ground. "Give up, you are done."

Rick coughed as now he was completely immobilized. Not a single part of his body was free from pain as he laid on the cold floor.

Far away, Seadramon fell to the ground, exhausted. Both Gatomon and Togemon reared their fists back and yelled "Knock-out Fist" "Catastrophy!"

Seadramon roared as both attacks tore him apart, forcing him back to Betamon.

"See? Even your partner is down for the count." Said Lioness. At a few signs from Rose, she yelled "So who is this Sovereign you work for?"

Fox and Guy were having just as much luck. With Fox jumping between attacks and Guy barreling through the piranhas with Taijutsu attacks, the two were easily coming through the barrage of piranhas quite easily.

Rick slashed his card a few more times, creating more clones of Seadramon much to Team 9 and the Vixen's chagrin. He smiles with dark glee as he sees the group fall back to a barrage of "Water Breaths".

He had to jump away as Guy's fist nearly collided with his face followed by Fox's Axe Kick. Rick crossed both arms to take the kick but was hit hard by Guy's powerful flying kick right in his stomach.

"He is a persistent one." Said Guy, awfully serious.

"Yeah, and somehow he can keep reusing that black card of his." Said Fox.

"Does that mean he shouldn't be able to?" asked Guy.

"No, each card can only be used once and then has a cool down of at least an hour or two. Somehow he is just respawning that card over and over again." Said Fox.

Guy turned to his opponent seriously. "And that card spawns these water dragons?"

"Pretty much." Said Fox. "It must be an altered version of the water clone."

"WATER STYLE: PIRANHA ASSAULT!"

"Again?" Fox jumped in between piranhas. "He is not that creative, is he?"

"That works in our advantage! LEAF HURRICANE!" yelled Guy as he kicked through the piranhas gaining momentum. When he was near Rick, his kick created a tsunami.

"Fools, water is my element!" said Rick with a smirk.

Until Fox burst through the water, hands locked in the tiger seal. "Fire Style: Flaming Meteor!" yelled Fox as he was engulfed in flames and head-butted Rick, who couldn't take it anymore and burst into water and steam.

Fox fell on his hands and knees, panting. Guy helped him up, grabbing him by the shoulders. "Easy there, Fox, you okay?"

"I'll be fine, still have some chakra on me." Fox said that while getting up. "Let's help your team, they might need it."

"Oh don't you worry." Said Guy with a smile. "I think they are just fine."

Tenten brought out two scrolls. "Twin Dragon Scrolls!" she yelled as she jumped and fired all kinds of Kunai and Shuriken. Lee busted a group with a weakened "Hidden Lotus" without the chakra gates and Neji was finishing his 64 palms on three different targets. With that the last of the group burst apart.

"Well what do you know, a competent genin team. You have quite the students, Guy."

Might Guy just reared his head back and laughed at this.

Rick growled. "You think that just because you beat me here, I am going to spill the beans?"

"No, but I bet my partner can make you change your mind." Said Lioness as Rose showed her sword, sharpening the blade with a small rock.

"AH, you really think that half assed attempt of a threat will work on me?" asked Rick. "Well tough luck, in fact your time is up."

Before they knew what was going on, two black portals opened behind Rick and Betamon. From those, dark tendrils came out and grabbed both of them and started to pull them in.

"Oh no you don't!" yelled Togemon. "Knock-out…"

Before she could get near, one of the tendrils hit her, sending her flying back and turning her back to Palmon.

Rose ran to her partner while Lioness glared at Rick, who was laughing.

"See? My master came to pick me up. Enjoy your minor victory, it will only make it sweater when I crush you both next time." At this point only his head was out of the portal, but stopped there so he could say his last line. "Mark my words, I will kill you both. You are either with us… or against us."

And with that, he was pulled in and the portal closed. At this point, Lioness turned towards Gatou, who realized that he was alone in this.

"Hey wait now, let's not do anything hasty!" he said as he walked backwards. "I mean, we can work something out right?"

Before she could answer, an arrow passed right over his head. On the other side of the bridge, the villagers had gathered and were more than ready to dish out some punishment.

"I don't know Gatou. That is up to them." Said Lioness as she turned. "He is all yours, folks."

The villagers roared as they rushed past her and towards the screaming man, who had no way to escape them all. While they were tearing him apart, she walked towards Rose, who was watching over her unconscious partner.

"How is she?"

Rose didn't answer, which worried her. Gatomon was worried to as she yelled "Hey, Rose, pull it together girl, what's wrong?"

It was then that she realized what was wrong: on Palmon, from her lower tight to her upper chest, a diagonal purple scar was visible and from it small purple blocks of data would come up only to disperse.

"Let me see that." Said Lioness as she got down to examining the wound. After a while, she started charging her healing chakra, changing it slightly to a variant she created to heal digimon, before she applied on the wound.

The purple scar lightened up and hissed as if alive. More purple squares rose from it as if it was a volcano ready to burst, yet Palmon didn't seem to react to any of it. Slowly the corners of the scar started to come together, the purple scar slowly disappearing but struggling.

Lioness growled as the scar wavered a bit. "Oh no you don't, be gone you!" she yelled as more chakra was poured into the scar.

And with that, the last of the scar was gone, releasing a high pitch scream that stopped even the villagers who covered their ears in pain. As soon as it started it was over, leaving the place in an eerie silence.

"ROSE!" Fox's voice cut through the silence as him and team 9 appeared. "What, Lioness? You are here too?"

Lioness laughed. "Well, I'm standing here, so unless I am a genjutsu, it must be me."

"But how? Did the Hokage sent you?" asked Fox.

"Let us move to a better location, I am tired after that, and you look worse to wear." Said Lioness.

"Well you can come into my house." Said Tazuna as he appeared with Inari. "I was going to bring Inari back anyway, things are getting over the PG-13 rating over there." With that he pointed to the villagers, who were now more bloodied and crazy than they were before.

"Thank Kami you guys arrived when you did." Admitted Fox once they were back in the house. "The situation got out of hand way too fast."

"YOSH! IT IS ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO HELP A FELLOW LEAF NIN!" yelled Guy with a thumbs up and a sparkling smile.

Fox nodded. "So Lioness, what are you doing here?"

"Well, it all started a few weeks ago…"

*****Flashback*******

"Lioness, I have a task for you." Said Sarutobi.

"Yes Hokage-sama."

"You and Gatomon will join Team 9 in a C-rank mission. Their mission is to take a scroll containing a few artifacts of great importance to a client who is thinking of baking us up financially in exchange for said artifacts."

"Sir, with all due respect, I think that this is a little bellow our skills." Said Gatomon.

"It would be, but recent activity and some strange sightings suggest that there might be something more on the road towards the Daimyo's house. Something only the Hokage Hand can deal with."

Lioness narrowed her eyes. "A digimon?"

"Yes, but it is outside the range of the crystal ball, so I cannot see what it is. It might be a summon creature, or just a wild animal, but better safe than sorry."

"Understood sir." Said Lioness. "However you do realize that one member of team 9 is a Hyuga and that may complicate things."

"I know that." Answered Sarutobi. "But the thing is that all the other members of the Hokage Hand are busy right now." He got up from his chair and walked to the window, overlooking the village. "It is tough, with it only being five of you, and there is so much I want you and to check upon in this village I have growing doubts about. More and more Root ANBU are discovered, traitors within us, we are a tree rotten from the very core, just waiting to waste away."

Lioness looked at the man sadly. This was one of the few moments Sarutobi revealed his true feelings about the village but she had to agree with him. More and more conspiracies were discovered among the civilian and the more influential families in the village. The amount of Root ANBU captured was equal to 1/16 of the current ANBU forces and she knew there were many more out there. And the traitors were something that just hurt the man deeply, since most were found closest to the old man.

Sarutobi sighed to himself. "Plus, it will be much easier for you to deal with one stubborn and foolish Hyuga than with a clan of obnoxious bastards, don't you think?" he said, now turning with a small smile in his face. "After all, Hiashi still has his Hyugas up and about, searching the entire village for you. This should be easier to handle."

"Understood Sir. I will see this as a test to my self-control then. Should I fail, I will personally ask you for more training." Said Lioness with a bow.

"I will hold you to that." Answered Sarutobi. "Now my dear, wait by the north gate while I call for Team 9. Knowing their Sensei, you shouldn't be waiting more than 9 maybe 10 minutes."

"Understood sir."

Lioness then left the building, with Gatomon perked on top of her head. Gatomon then purred on her head. "That submissive side of yours is so sweet. I wonder if I can bring it out of you one day."

"Hush you. We are being tailed."

"Hugh, bad pun considering who you are talking to!" Gatomon then jumped off and ran towards the shadow who, upon discovering that he had been noticed, made for an escape. A bit too late as a claw passed his throat. "Done… HEY WAIT UP!"

Lioness shook her head at her partner's antics. She did not wait for her and now the feline was running at the top of her speed to catch up. At last she once again jumped onto her back, where she sighed contently. "Honestly, you just took a life, have a little bit of respect."

"I respect no rotten eggs, my sweet lioness." Said Gatomon. "These people are one of the many reasons this village is in bad shape and you know it. How many conflicts have this guys started?"

Lioness knew what her partner meant. Over the past week, they had stopped many plots by root ANBU to have wars start between other villages. Mostly minor villages, by planting incriminatory info or artifacts in critical places, but there was once or twice where they tried to involve one of the five big villages.

"Still these are just drones, it is their master that deserves the hatred, not them."

"Thus I hold no emotion as I take their lives." Completed Gatomon. "So why should I respect them again?"

Lioness sighed, finally stopping at the gate. "Alright we will wait here for the team. I am going to take a quick nap, I pulled a night shift while you were all lazy so you get to wake me up if they appear."

"Ay ay, kitty!" yelled Gatomon with an exaggerated military gesture.

Lioness laid back in a sitting position and closed her eyes, her breathing slowing down. She wasn't really asleep, as she felt the world around her. She was more in a meditative state, where she saw anything and everything outside of her, a state many ANBU use for quick rests so they don't get caught off guard.

She did it out of pure force of habit. Sarutobi forced all members of the group to train this form of rest until they could do it in less than a second. He said that they would be in missions where they might stay in enemy territory for long periods of time and this technique was the most efficient to get some sort of rest.

She felt the villagers going about their lives, largely unaware of their presence. That was good. She didn't sense any Hyuga spying on them yet, so that was good too. And aside from the corpse that now ornamented the rooftop of… oh wait never mind, a regular ANBU just cleaned that up… well apart from that guy no more Root ANBU seemed to be spying on her.

Now all that was really leaving her on edge was the giant energy cloud coming towards her… wait no there are two of them… they are chakra clouds… they can only be Might Guy and Rock Lee then, judging by how fast they are moving.

"Kitty, they are coming in hot!" yelled Gatomon.

Hinata opened her eyes and looked towards the oncoming dust cloud. The thing measured up to a building in height and was as wide as they came. She had to confess, she did not want to be the opponent that has to see this menace coming at her. Gatomon decided to jump up to the walls and wait there in case it was hostile.

Finally, the cloud stopped right in front of her unblinking eyes. From the dust cloud, two people stood, one a smaller and younger version of the older, both smiling with sparkling white teeth.

"YOSH, LIONESS-CHAN, WE OF TEAM 9 SALUTE YOU!" yelled Guy, energetic as always.

Lioness looked behind him at the only genin that was there, smiling the same smile. "Not to sound like a killjoy, but where is the rest of Team 9? Or are you two alone and representing the team?"

Before Guy could answer, Lioness leaned her head to the side as a poke nearly hit the back of her head. She then turned, avoiding a few more pokes, before hitting with a single palm on the surprised Neji, sending him back due to the strength of the strike.

"Is it common on your team to attack others, Jounin Guy?" asked Lioness, ever so calmly. "Because that was an assault on a superior officer. I will warn you now, The Hokage wants us to analyze every team and ninjas we work with, to try and determine whether or not they are worthy of the rank." She then turned to him, her eyes burning with determination. "Am I clear, Might Guy?"

Might Guy gulped as he looked at the ninja in front of him. Unlike his friend, Kakashi, he had payed attention when the Hokage mentioned that he would have the Hokage's Hand monitoring the teams and ninjas that they worked with. While many ninjas avoided them like the plague, Might Guy wanted to prove that his team was up to the task.

"You… You are Hinata Hyuga, aren't you?" asked Neji, getting up while glaring at Lioness. Lioness turned to him and stared at him in silence, pissing him off. "AREN'T YOU?"

"… I do not have to tell you my name, Hyuga-san." Said Lioness, never losing her cool, even as Might Guy cringed in worry. "I am Lioness. Number 5 of the Hokage's Hand. I will be coming with you on this mission."

"SENSEI!" the yell of a female voice drew the attention of all of them towards a girl with buns in her head. "Sorry I'm late, sensei. I just had to get a few extra supplies and… huh?" She stopped as she spotted Lioness. "Do we have an escort?"

Guy actually started to sweat. Lioness took a quick look at her digivice and said "Actually you still had 5 more minutes, Higurashi-san. And yes I will be accompanying you on this mission because my objective is on the same route."

"Ah, Okay ANBU-san." Said Tenten.

Lioness raised an eyebrow. "ANBU? Well I guess I can see the similarity, but I am member number 5 of the Hokage's Hand, Miss Higurashi. My code name is Lioness." Gatomon, who had stayed hidden up until then, decided to drop from her position right onto Lioness's shoulders. "And this is my partner , Gatomon."

"Heyo!" yelled Gatomon as she waved her pawn.

Tenten's eyes went wide. "Oh my gosh! Are you really Lioness? One of the youngest Kunoichis to obtain a rank beyond genin?"

Lioness nodded. She was not prepared for Tenten to take Gatomon of her shoulder and start petting the ever living crap out of her. "And you are so cute too, are you a summoned animal? Or are you a trained ninja partner?"

"HEY HEY HEY, put me down, put me down!" yelled Gatomon as she struggled in Tenten's grip. Once she was able to jump off Tenten, she breathed a sigh of relief and muttered. "Your cute and all, but I'm a taken kitty, have some consideration."

Tenten had to resist not to squeal at Gatomon. Lioness decided to take pity in her partner and coughed to gain Tenten's attention. "As amusing as that was, I need to check the supplies you brought. Just as a precaution." She then turned to look at everyone. "I will have to check everyone's supplies to see if they are the required amount."

Guy started to sweat again. So far things were going… well not good, but not bad either. He was afraid that either Lee had forgotten anything or Neji decided to be a prick and only carry some essentials. He knew that Tenten had her side covered.

Proven true when Tenten brought out a scroll filled with all kinds of supplies. Lioness took a look through the pile that was presented to her. "Good amount of food, an exaggerated amount of ninja weapons… then again you are a weapon's mistress, so I don't think that term applies to you… two tents? Concern for other teammates… also noted… there is also a change of clothes here, yes we can't forget those… not to mention you carry them by sealing them in a scroll, so weight won't be a problem."

Tenten was literally jumping from toe to toe as she looked at one of her role models go through her supplies in such a calm and methodical way. Finally, Lioness nodded and turned to her. "Congratulations, Miss Higurashi. I believe you are very well equipped for this mission and well within the parameters."

"Thank you, Lioness-sama." She said with a bow, bursting with joy on the inside.

Lioness then turned to Lee, who wasted no time yelling "YOSH, THESE ARE MY SUPPLIES!" he then took a large bag off his back and took out it's contents under the watchful eye of Lioness.

"Food… check, healthy too… Ninja tools on an acceptable balance and number… a tent… a change of clothes, fit for a taijutsu master no doubt." She then raised an eyebrow as she picked a small book. "What is this?"

"Hum… it's where I write Guy-sensei's lessons, Lioness-sama." Said Lee, rubbing the back of his head.

"… you should not feel embarrassed for showing dedication to a teacher, believe me I took notepads like these when I was learning healing jutsus and medical care at the hospital." She then gave it back. "Well within parameters, and considering your chakra disability, I can understand the use of a bag instead of a scroll. Very good, mister Rock."

"You can call me Lee, Lioness-sama." Said Lee, with a small smile.

Lioness nodded. "Keep up the good work, and I might." She then turned to Neji, who was glaring angrily at her. "I need to see your supplies next, Hyuga-san."

"Why should I show my stuff to a weakling like you?" asked Neji with a sneer.

"NEJI!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEJI?" yelled both Tenten and Lee at their teammates behavior.

"Neji, please do as she said." Said Guy, now awfully serious. "She is here as both an escort and to evaluate you. In case you don't know what that means… she could pull you from the program."

"What?" asked Neji, in shock.

"Let's try this again, Hyuga-san." Asked Hinata, though the calm was accompanied by an aura of deadliness. "Show me your supplies… now…"

Neji gritted his teeth but took a scroll and unsealed his supplies. Lioness looked through them. "Well, you are well on food, but a bit lacking in tools. Only a few kunais and shuriken. A change of clothes and a tent, still… the lack of ninja tools concerns me. Considering that you know sealing to the point that you can take your supplies in a scroll, weight isn't an issue, so really you should have stocked better…" with every phrase she made him more and more angry.

Until finally she sighed. "Alright, I will overlook the lack of ninja tools based on the fact that Hyugas overly rely on their Gentle Fist over other techniques. Still, for future reference, my colleges would not be so lenient. Fox for example takes the rules seriously, and so does Crow. If they were to catch you with such a pathetic amount of tools, you would be charged with restocking and a recommendation to go back to the academy and learn about the correct amount of supplies to take in each mission depending on it's rank."

"That is if they didn't give the lesson right on the spot." Said Gatomon. "Consider yourself lucky, boy."

Neji couldn't take it anymore. "How are you a member of the Hokage's Hand?" Lioness stared at him and he continued. "You were a disgrace when you were taken by the Hokage, barely able to do a single kata. Now you are supposed to be my superior? Was it because you belong to the main house?"

"Neji enough!" yelled Guy.

"No, let him vent." Said Lioness with a wave of her hand. "None of his words really hurt me. I have nothing to do with the clan Hyuga." When Neji was about to say something, she completed with "At least not anymore. So yes, I may at one point have been the Hinata Hyuga that you remember. However if you truly believe that, in all my years, I did not develop from that point, then you are dead wrong."

"But you were a weakling." Continued Neji. "Fate has decided…"

"To leave me alone." Concluded Lioness. "Quit putting all of your beliefs and theories in the hands of faith, she won't help you succeed. A person can change, though it is not easy, hence why most don't do it." She then took a deep breath. "I decided to stop being a weakling and a coward. And believe me, if I did not have my partner, I would still be the meek little Hinata you remember."

He stared at her, with his eyes wide, as he tried to understand what she had just told him. Meanwhile, Lioness turned to Guy and said "We must get going, prepare your team and walk me through your usual methods. Pretend I am not here."

"Right." Said Guy, not losing the hint. "Well, as I told you before, we are going on a diplomatic mission: we are to carry this scroll." He then showed them the scroll, which had a red tint. "And take it to the client."

"Along the way, it is expected that we be attacked by bandits, missing nin, hired ninjas from the opposition… and maybe something more." Continued Lioness. "I am here for the something more part."

"Don't worry, we will help if the group is attacked, but we also want to see how good you are yourselves." Completed Gatomon. "So don't expect us to deal with everything ourselves."

"NOW, WE ARE MOVING OUT: LEE, TAKE THE POINT, TENTEN YOU AND I WILL STAY IN THE CENTER WITH LIONESS-SAMA. NEJI YOU TAKE THE REAR, AND LET THE FLAMES OF YOUTH GUIDE YOUR PATH!" With this final yell he turned to Lioness. "What do you think?"

"Keeping the ninja with the byakugan in the back is a good idea. Surprise attacks from the rear are a lot more common than most ninjas would like to admit." She said with approval. "I suppose Lee is good at keeping his senses in tune with his surroundings?"

"YES MA'AM!" yelled Guy, proud to talk about his student. "LEE WAS TRAINED TO BE ON GUARD AND KEEP HIS SENSES SHARP. I DIDN'T WANT TO PUT YOU ON POINT BECAUSE…"

"You want to prove what your team can do." Concluded Gatomon. "Nice."

"Very well, lead the way." Said Lioness.

******Days Later******

The travel to the client was a peculiar one. For one, Rock Lee kept sprinting ahead to check for menaces, Neji stared at her, still incredulous, Guy kept giving encouraging words to them…

And Tenten kept asking questions. What surprised both Lioness and Gatomon was that those questions were rather intriguing. As in, they were all about the more practical parts, with a bit of fangirlism, but not too much to make it annoying: What kind of training did she go through? Was her partner a summon creature? What areas does she specialize in? What skills does she thinks a ninja should focus on? Was she thinking of taking an apprentice?

"Oh Goddramon isn't she cute?" asked Gatomon as she kept staring at Tenten talking. "I don't know, Lioness, we might just have to keep this one, cause she is darn right irresistible."

Lioness politely ignored the blush that overcame her fellow nin and answered calmly. "In order… I went through a training that took me years to get in tune with, but consists of over 12 hours of training per day when I am off duty. My partner is a special creature whose description, I am afraid, is classified. Not only do I specialize in infiltration, poison making and using intel gathering and torture techniques along teamwork drills, but I, as far as members of the Hokage's hand goes, am more of a physical warrior, focusing on Taijutsu for battle complemented with Healing Jutsu."

"And being a true tiger in bed." Whispered Gatomon, making Tenten blush even harder.

"Hush you. Where was I? Oh yes, the skills. I believe a ninja should have a fair knowledge of all skills, from Genjutsu to Taijutsu and Ninjutsu and so on, if only to know what he or she is dealing with, and I do not wish to enforce one as more important, even if I have preference, if only not to impose on you, who may not have the skills for said areas." By then, Tenten had stars in her eyes. Lioness than turned to her and continued "And about the apprentice… why do you ask?"

Tenten looked down, a bit embarrassed. "I… you are a symbol of what I believe: that kunoichi are not weaker than Shinobi. And I… I want to become like you…"

Lioness frowned. "Like me?"

"Yes." She said before she realized how that sounded. "I mean… I want to be a strong Kunoichi, one that people look upon and see as an example. I want to one day dye knowing that I was not just another failure. But most of all." She then turned serious. "I want to triumph in a world that is, right now, dominated by Kekei Genkais and clans."

Lioness hummed at that. "Well, before I can even consider, I want you to answer me this: what kind of ninja do you want to be?"

Tenten looked at her, unsure. "But I just said…"

"You said what kind of person you want to be, now we want the kind of ninja." Clarified Gatomon.

"Think of it like this: There is the ninja that is on the front line, flashing powerful techniques and skills to wipe out enemies. There is the silent ninja, the one that lays a trap and waits in silence. There is the aces ninja, the one that never reveals the full extent of it's skills until he or she needs it." Exemplified Lioness. "What kind of ninja do you want to be?"

Tenten frowned and looked down. But then felt a hand in her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Lioness looking at her with tender eyes. "You don't have to answer now. Better and older ninjas still fail to answer that question. Most people answer with a mix: they want to be in the frontline, but hide an ace for special moments. Whatever your answer is, be sure to look deep within yourself, find your strengths and weaknesses and what role is best suited for you before answering my question."

Tenten nodded. "Does that mean, you are thinking of taking me as…"

"Don't get excited." Said Gatomon. "We need to ask the Hokage if we can, we are his personal ninja, can't do it without his authority."

"Besides you might be better off with your current sensei." Said Lioness. "With all the interactions I have had with Might Guy, he is and upstanding jounin and a very competent sensei."

"Well, yes he is a great teacher." Said Tenten, looking down in thought. "But I…"

"You want to be the best." Concluded Gatomon. "Oh, Lioness we really should keep her. I can get a collar with a little bell and a tag with her name."

"Hush you." Spoke Lioness, while Tenten blushed up a storm. "Well, when you have the answer, I will consider your… apprenticeship."

Tenten nodded at that, a relieved smile filled her face.

Guy looked at the two, hiding a small tear. He was very close to his team, and while some might say that he plays favorites with Rock Lee, the truth is when he entered the team he was the weakest. Still he care for every member, so in his mind, all he could think was Hope that you succeed, Tenten.

Suddenly, a roar was heard. Lioness crouched at the sound while team 9 got tense. "What was that?" asked Tenten.

"My objective." Said Lioness, looking forward. "Guy, get your students out of here. I will handle the beast."

"Do you need some assistance?" asked Guy.

"You have your own mission, the artifacts are more important." Said Gatomon. "Besides, we are pros, we will catch up with you in no time."

"Gatomon, we need to go, now!" yelled Lioness, rushing forward.

"Calm down Kitty, I'm right here you know?" said Gatomon while gripping Lioness's shoulder.

They finally reached a clearing where they saw a digimon that was pure disaster made truth: with a body covered in orange flames and walking on four legs, the feline being growled at their appearance.

"Oh Goddramon, it's a Lincemon!" whispered Gatomon.

"Why are you so nervous?" asked Lioness.

"That could have been me." Said Gatomon. "I mean… it's one of my possible evolutions… it's just… I never thought it was this… please don't let me turn into that."

Lioness never got to answer because Lincemon decided to attack them right off the bat. He rushed at them even as both split up to avoid the charge.

"Digi-Modifi: Infected Style: Infected Spear!" yelled Hinata.

"Here kitty kitty kitty!" called Gatomon as she pointed her new spear. "Aunt Gatomon wants to play!"

The spear hit the body, but that only made Gatomon yell in pain as she pulled the now burning spear out of Lincemon. "Ow ow ow! Hinata! That was a bad idea!"

Hinata cursed. The enemy didn't even seem hurt. "Long distance fight, my least favorite type of fighting." She then took another card. "Get Ready Gatomon!"

But Gatomon was far from ready. Lincemon took no time to give chase to the poor cat, who ran away like a scared mouse. "Shoo shoo! I don't wana play!" She yelled frantically.

"Gatomon, what are you doing? Use hypnotism on him and get away!"

"Oh, right!" said Gatomon, turning to her opponent and yelling "Cat-eye Hypnotism!"

Lincemon stood still as if he was made of stone even as his fiery fur waved in the hair. Gatomon took this chance to get a safe distance. "Pfew, even my tail hair is crispy."

"Don't take a break, we only have a few seconds." Warned Lioness as she scanned another card. "Digi-modifi: Wind Style: Wind Tunnel!"

Gatomon trust her paw forward. As she did, a tornado left her pawn and went straight at her opponent. Lincemon came to himself only after he was lifted from the ground.

"Water Style: Water Bomb!" yelled Hinata as she inhaled and threw a large ball of water into the hair.

The tunnel of hair threw Lincemon in the path of the attack. When the two hit, Lincemon roared in pain as his skin hissed with smoke coming off it. He fell on the ground, the flame that sustained him severely weakened and him near death.

"Let's finish this." Said Hinata as she scanned another card. "Digi-Modifi: Vulpamon: Crystal Storm!"

Gatomon Jumped up and yelled "Time to get frosty! Crystal Storm." Thousands of small blue shards rained on the helpless feline. And thus Lincemon turned to data. "Sweet, come to mama!"

As Gatomon absorbed the data, Lioness checked as a new card formed in front of her. "Hum… Lincemon huh? So that talk about you becoming it?"

"What?" asked a drowsy Gatomon, still absorbing. "Oh that, well it is a possible future, but I really don't like it. Its most of the times a dead end evolution, means no more evolution after that one. That and it's ugly. Or at least I think it is. Not my style." She then turned, with a sultry smirk. "If you want an armor digivolution, Nefertimon is the best choice."

"Armor digivolution?" asked Lioness.

Gatomon sighed. "Okay, I am one of the few digimons that can perform armor digivolution. Basically you have an egg, I use it to transform into another digimon. Now armor digimons don't have a fixed level of power like most digimons have. They can be as weak as a Champion and as strong as a Mega. So some digimons prefer to go down that road."

"And Nefertimon is a possible future?" asked Lioness.

"And what a future." Said Gatomon. "Lincemon is one too. Though if you truly want something to look forward to, stick with the original digivolution, you won't be sorry."

Lioness shook her head. "Fine, let's go meet team 9."

"Where? They didn't tell you where they were going." Said Gatomon. "Besides, our job is done and soon shall theirs. They are fine."

"No Gatomon, It is our responsibility." Said Lioness. "Now stop being so stubborn. We can easily find them, they must be nearby because the battle wasn't that extensive."

Gatomon sighed. "I swear if I didn't love you… all this work is bad for my fur!" She then jumped on Lioness's shoulder. "So, where to?"

Lioness activated her Byakugan and looked around. "North East, they are entering a mansion… hang on, everyone else is leaving the mansion…"

"What are they running away or taking a break?" asked Gatomon.

"More of a getting out of a place discreetly thing." Said Lioness. "It was a set up. We need to go, now!"

Lioness ran through the woods, Byakugan always active as Gatomon grip on her shoulder tightened. They could not leave team 9 in this situation. They just couldn't.

*******Change Character Focus: Might Guy******

Guy was feeling a bit of unease. Lioness had just left the group in such a haste that left the team a bit wobbly, even him. Just what are these kids fighting? Wondered the Jounin.

"Everyone, we have our own mission to attend." Said Guy, trying to remain serious.

"But, Guy-sensei, she… she might need our help!" said Tenten.

Guy looked at her. She seemed genuinely worried about Lioness. He sighed and said "Tenten, you have to understand… THAT THERE IS NO FORCE IN THIS PLANET THAT COULD BEAT LIONESS-SAMA!"

While she facefaulted, Lee turned to him with his eyes sparkling and Neji tried to avoid looking at him. He knew that not everyone appreciated how he acted, but he wasn't going to change because others didn't like him. He was proud of how he was.

"LISTEN UP, MY STUDENTS! THE HOKAGE'S HAND ARE ELITES, THE BEST OF THE BEST IN NOT ONLY THEIR SPECIALTIES BUT IN NINJA ARTS IN GENERAL. THEY DEAL WITH TASKS THAT EVEN WE JOUNIN ARE NOT UP TO. SO DON'T WORRY ABOUT HER AND LET US CONTINUE OUR MISSION."

"YOSH! GUY-SENSEI IS RIGHT!" yelled Lee, pumping his fist up. "We must continue so we can prove our worth as ninjas. To stop now would mean that we don't deserve to wear these headbands!"

Neji looked down in thought. When he looked up, he was serious. "Yes, if she can challenge faith and become strong, so can we. This mission will not stop us."

Tenten narrowed her eyes, trying to hide the worry. "Yes, she is one of the best kunoichi of the village. There is no way she will fall… we must do our part now."

Guy smiled. He got what he wanted, his team was back in the spirit. "ALRIGHT EVERYONE, GO BACK TO THE FORMATION WE HAVE BEEN GOING AND CONTINUE DOWN THE ROAD! WE ARE JUST A FEW STEPS AWAY! IF WE DON'T REACH THE HOUSE OF THE CLIENT IN HALF AN HOUR, I WILL CARRY YOU ALL HOME ON MY BACK!"

Naturally, this part wasn't as well received by his students: Lee had stars in his eyes, Tenten had a sweat drop and Neji ignored him.

Fortunately, Guy was right, in less than a few minutes they had reached a mansion where a few guards received them and told them their master awaited them.

So now they stood in a big room. A very decorated room, in golden tones, with all kinds of trophies and collectibles, from blades to cups and other trinkets were all around them. Sitting in a small throne was an old man, whose eyebrows were thick enough to cover his eyes and his beard was twice his height, which didn't mean much because he was a very small man.

"Are you from Konoha?" he asked in a weak voice.

"Yes sir." Said Neji, deciding that Guy's normal outburst wouldn't be good here. "We come with the artifacts you requested."

At this, the two guards that had awaited by the door behind them looked at each other and left the room silently.

"Ah, you do?" the old man asked, with unmistakable joy in his voice. "Could you please unseal them so I can take a look? I want to see if they are the originals you see."

"Of course sir." Answered Guy with a smile as he took the scroll and unsealed it. From the scroll, 3 artifacts came out: a hand-held mirror entirely made of bronze, a small cup made of silver and a golden necklace. Each one had two wings engraved: the mirror had it on the back, the cup had it on the side and the necklace had it as the center piece.

"Splendid, they are in fact the relics of Kyarasat." Said the old man. "Do you know his story perhaps?"

"Hum, we really don't have time for a history lesson old man." Said Tenten.

"Nonsense, my child." Said the old man. "It's getting dark anyway, it would be better for you to spend the night, so why not hear what this old man has to say?"

"Of course sir! We will listen to what you have to say!" yelled Lee.

"Oh good boy." Said the ancient. "You know, Kyarasat was a weapon smith, but not from this land… Oh no, he travelled from a land beyond, the last of his family, coming to the elemental nations in hopes of rebuilding his family anew."

Team 9 paid close attention to the ancient as he grabbed the mirror. "He did his best, most brilliant work here, some of the best swords you could ever imagine. But he made little money, as people preferred the craft from the land of Iron or from one of the Hidden villages, thus while he had a few children and was on his way to rebuild the family, they had little to call their own."

Then he brought the mirror and put it near the cup, where the two started to tremble. Team 9 looked on confused as the old man walked to the third object while continuing his story. "That is when he build his masterpiece: A living sword carved from the three most nobble metals and brought together in one element that would forever bind this sword to his family: his blood!"

Bringing the necklace to join the other objects, the three started to become erratic and shining a sinister blue light. "But he was afraid. His family had much hatred in their minds, hatred for being mistreated just because they were foreigners, in the lack of faith in their work and for living miserably. So he separated his sword into the three metals and from them forged three artifacts who he sold to high profile costumers, all from different areas of this damned land but I… I got them back."

"What is going on?" asked Tenten. "Is that chakra?"

"Not just chakra, Tenten." Said Guy before turning to the man. "And how do you know all this, if I may ask?"

"Simple." Said the man as he took a small knife and cut his hand, letting his blood fall in drops onto the three objects. "I… am his descendent. And now I, Markyolopus, have all the necessary pieces."

The three vibrated all together before breaking into liquid, mixing with the blood. Then the three metals joined together and started to gain a new shape.

When it was down, a sword rested on the man's hand. This sword had a western look, with a silver handle and bronze guard in the form of wings, finishing with a sharp and curved golden blade. The entire blade was covered in the sinister blue light.

That light extended to the man, who suffered some changes of his own. His eyebrows slowly got thinner and took a brown tint, until they were as thin as nails, but long and going over the limit of his face. His hair slowly grew until it reached his shoulders, light brown. His beard was completely gone, leaving his face without a tint of old age as even the respective marks, like wrinkles, were gone. His eyes, when open, were a clear green and filled with malice.

"Well, what a disappointment." Said Markyolopus. "It seems it is not complete. Like I said, the blade is alive." At this, the sword hummed in response. "As such it needs to drink, and what do you know, I have the perfect people for her to feed on."

Might Guy lost no time running to him, fist drawn back and filled with chakra. But as he brought it down on him, he was surprised as his opponent defended him with his blade, as if it was nothing.

"I forgot to tell you, now that I have this blade, it's strength is mine." He said as he started to push Guy back. "So tell me this, Jounin, what was your plan exactly?"

Guy let his chakra flare, opening a gate in the process. "You won't touch my students! Second gate open!" With the second gate opening, Guy brought his other fist into the man's chest, who doubled over due to the hit. Guy took the opportunity to kick him up and jumped after him.

Markyopolus had his eyes closed as he was sent up. But just as Guy was about to Kick drop him, he opened his eyes with mad glee and twisted himself in mid air, so that Guy passed right by him, before cutting into his back.

Guy yelled as he fell to the ground. As he did, his blood literally flew from the wound to the sword who had cut him, making it shine brighter and making Markyopolus, who had landed behind him, laugh.

"What do you know, this one is quite strong." He mocked. "A pity that a single slash is enough. You see, this sword drains chakra and blood from the opponent, weakening body and energy alike. And not by a small amount either. Do you still want to fight, jounin?"

Guy got up, frowning at the situation. He then rushed, bringing his foot out to start a "Leaf Whirling". However just as he was about to hit, the man gave a step back before making a stab motion with his sword, which hit Guy in the middle of his leg.

"GUY-SENSEI!" yelled Lee as Guy yelled in pain.

"Feeling slow, Guy is it?" asked Markyopolus, as his blade shined brighter again. "The blade made you weaker, remember? And me stronger. You have to pull something better than that."

"Well, you asked for this!" yelled Guy as he jumped back. "I have no choice, but to open more gates do defeat you."

"So that is what that was. Chakra gates. Sorry, that could become a problem." Said the man, raising his sword. "I am dealing with you right here right now."

"Leaf Whirlind!" yelled Lee as he jumped forward, only for Markyopolus to simply swat him aside with a flick of his wrist, making Lee fall with a bad gash in his leg, and look at him with pity.

"Is this your student, Might Guy?" he asked with a sneer. "How piti…"

Just then, a deafening sound was heard, as the ground beneath Guy broke with his release of the third gate, his skin taking a dark brown color. "Let's see how you like this! Fourth Gate of Pain, open!"

"Damn, a distraction!" yelled Markyopolus. "Still, how many gates can you actually open? Guess this dance is not over."

Guy lost no time running towards Markyopolus, who defended his fists with his sword. The two continued to trade blows to the astonishment of the genin present as even with the increase in speed and strength, Markyopolus was keeping up and hurting guy with stabs and slashes.

"How is this possible?" asked Neji, trying to understand as he used his byakugan. "He can match Guy's speed with 4 gates, how?"

"That can't be!" said Tenten. "What can you see?"

"I… I don't know, it's like the chakra pathway in his arm merges with the sword's own chakra system, effectively linking them." Said Neji. "But how? Such a merge should not be possible as even between living beings of the same species such act is risky at best."

"Then how?" asked Lee as he tried to get back up, only to fall down.

"Lee!" Tenten rushed to his side, trying to help him up.

"I don't know. Most likely the sword was made for this one purpose, to link with the user without side effects."

"GETTING TIRED ALREADY GUY?" asked Markyopolus as he made another cut in Guy's cheek. Guy stepped back, breathing heavily and with several gashes on his body. "Don't tell me this is it."

Guy gritted his teeth. "Trust me, I got a lot more where that came fro… gh!" He then fell on his knee, grabbing his leg in pain. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"GUY-SENSEI!" yelled Tenten.

"This is bad, his leg muscle is torn, he can't fight like this." Said Neji.

"Oh, so this was your limit?" asked Markyopolus. "A shame, this was starting to get interesting.

Guy tried to get up, but pain shot through his leg and he fell down again, with a painful yell. Markyopolus sighed. "It seems that this ends here, Might Guy. I hope you can forgive me, because I won't be gentle with you."

He then raised the sword above his head and was about to slash when a sound made him turn in time to avoid Neji's attack, which would have hit his heart from the back.

"Insolent kid, what do you think you are doing?" asked Markyopolus, more than a bit mad.

"My part." Answered Neji. "You may have beaten Guy-sensei, but you haven't beaten us all yet. Now Tenten!"

"What?" asked Markyopolus as he turned to see a rain of all kinds of weapons falling towards him. "Oh, such an amateurs job." He then proceeded to cut through the weapons with ease.

"This is not the end! KAITEN!" yelled Neji as he started to do the spinning defense of the Hyuga. This had the side effect of sending any weapon that hit the sphere towards Markyopolus back.

"Tsk!" gritted him as he started to spin around himself. "Dance of the warrior: Performance of a thousand slashes!"

Each weapon was cut in half an broken as it got near him while he moved at speeds where only a slash was visible. He also slowly walked, while doing this, towards Neji.

By then the weapons had stopped falling but Neji kept spinning, knowing that an attack was coming, Markyopolus than raised his sword and said "Divide and Conquer!" And in one single slash, he cut through the Kaiten and even through Neji's side, leaving an ugly slash mark.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" yelled Neji as he felt his strength leaving him. At last, he too fell on the ground.

"Well, weren't you a nuisance." Said Markyopolus as he turned to Tenten, who was trembling at what was happening. "And now the girl with all the useless tools. What did you expect was going to happen?"

Tenten looked at him in shock as he continued to rant. "You bring all these toys to fight this blade? The sword of Kyarasat? You might be better of bringing kitchen tools, you could prep me a sandwich while I killed your friends."

"They are not dead yet." Said a voice from the door. "But you will…"

Both turned to the door where Lioness stood with Gatomon on her shoulder. She looked around, Byakugan still active and said "Gatomon, take care of the others, I deal with the swordsman."

"Cool, can you give me the healing paw thing then?" asked Gatomon. "It's time for kitty nurse!"

Lioness sighed as she brought a card out. "Digi-modifi: Healing Technique: Healing Palm!"

Gatomon's paws started to shine in a green light. "Kay, be right back!" yelled Gatomon as she jumped off and rushed to Might Guy.

"What is this? Did the Circus come to town? I didn't ask for clowns." Mocked Markyopolus.

Lioness calmly stared at him before saying "So who was sacrificed to give life to that sword? It is obvious it is alive and has life force, but who did it belong to I wonder?"

"What?" asked Tenten. "Life force?"

"Yes, that sword is filled with it, it's a part of chakra that is different for every person, like a strand of DNA." Explained Lioness. "But I see a myriad of Life forces, is that how you gain your strength? Your speed? You absorb the Life force, tied to a person's physical side of chakra, and thus gains their physical prowess to mix with yours, effectively making you stronger."

"So you figured it out huh?" asked Markyopolus. "Then you know I am far beyond your…"

"But the thing about that method…" continued Lioness. "Is that your current power and physic were rather poor, so you knew that asking for a more powerful team could spell disaster for you. In short you asked for a weak team to keep the illusion that you are as powerful as you claim while slowly building strength from weaker opponents."

"Weak, me?" asked Markyopolus, incredulous.

"Weak and predictable." Answered Lioness. "You may have a powerful weapon, but your skill with it is pretty basic. My friend Rose could fight better than you with a kitchen knife. There is no finesse, no skill, only stabs and slashes with no style or form."

"Enough! You won't be speaking so highly once I have finished you off!" yelled Markyopolus as he rushed forward, sword coming in a downward slash towards Lioness' head…

Only it was stopped… by the tip of two fingers.

"What?" asked Tenten.

"It can't be!" murmured Markyopolus.

Lioness stood there calmly with the sword right above her head, only two fingers separating the two. "So when exactly are you going to finish me off? I have a tight schedule, so let's make this quick. Come at me with everything you got."

The two started a complex dance: With every slash, two fingers; with every stab, two fingers. Every time he tried to attack, she defended, never moving from her spot and only moving her arm.

"Now don't move will ya?" asked Gatomon as she started to heal Guy.

"Thank you, but you have to help your partner, this guy is stronger than he looks." Said Guy.

"She has things under control." Said Gatomon with a dismissive wave. "It's my kitty we are talking about, she is fine…"

"Is she?" asked Tenten as she rushed to stand next to Gatomon even as she continued to heal Guy.

"She does." Answered Neji before coughing violently. "Her fingers are coated with chakra and it is so thin that it could cut like a blade. Plus, a lot of her Tenketsu are in overdrive, she must have activated them."

"Does that mean that she is faster than him?" asked Tenten.

"It's like opening the chakra gates, so yes except She is far more controlled since she is still keeping key points at normal rate, allowing her body to use the power without overheating." Explained Neji

"Incredible, she can do that?" asked Tenten, looking in awe.

"Only the strongest Hyugas can pull such a move off. In fact, Hiashi can hold all of his Tenketsu in overdrive for half an hour." Said Neji. "And I bet that she is not even serious in this fight."

"She isn't, but not because she is underrating her opponent." Said Gatomon as she took her paws off Guy. "You stay down now, you still need to rest." She then moved to Neji. "Tell me, can you see anything else?"

Neji frowned as a bid of sweat fell around his face from the effort of keeping the Byakugan working. "Well… wait is she…"

"She is…"

"What is she doing?" asked Tenten.

Gatomon smirked. "Keep watching, you will get in a second."

A horizontal slash was pushed aside, a vertical one was parried, and a stab was held in between the slender fingers of Lioness while Markyopolus was getting more and more angry.

"Damn you! How are you this good?" he yelled. "I wield the best blade this land has ever known!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, the Seven Swordsman of the Mist might have something to say about that." Said Lioness, inspecting her fingers. "Anyway, you are really disappointing. I bet you went your whole life trying to find the sword without a minimal of training…"

"This sword… can make me a GOD!" yelled Markyopolus, waving the sword. "Don't you dare mock it!"

Lioness smiled. "Inner Surgeon…"

Just then Markyopolus felt his chest burst with pain and fell to his knees. Along with the chest, his legs irrupted in pain and he could see some parts of it turning dark purple. "What… what in the…"

"Every time you attacked me, I injected a small amount of healing chakra into your sword." Explained Lioness, showing her fingers to him. "Normally that wouldn't be a problem, but your connection to the blade makes it so that I can access your body's chakra pathways through your blade."

He felt pain all over his body, like volcanos becoming active under his skin as more and more was covered in purple. "But healing chakra heals…"

"Technically, the skill I used could be used to heal, but I found a better use for it. You see, Inner Surgeon is so called because I can guide the chakra inside of you and perform inner surgeries without cutting you open. Or in this case… burst the veins inside of you."

Markyopolus eyes widened before he started to feel an itch in them.

"Well? How are you going to use your sword now? What mysterious power are you going to unravel for us?" mocked Lioness. "Well, I believe this is the end. A pleasure to fight you… GOD."

Markyopolus released a strangled yell before his eyes burst, spewing blood everywhere. Tenten yelled in horror as the body of the man fell into the ground, limp and lifeless.

Lioness then turned to them and in a tone that sounded like nothing happened, she said "So who needs extra treatment?"

None of the members of Team 9 answered.

*******End Flashback******

"We had to stay a few days because Guy's injuries and depletion where severe." Explained Lioness. "But afterwards we were good to go."

"Quite the tale, Lioness." Said Fox. "Well Team 9, I have to say I am impressed. After Team 7, I was afraid that the other teams were in similar condition. Good to see competent ninja."

"But… we would be dead without Lioness." Said Tenten.

Rose did a few hand signs with Palmon translating them. "True, but that does not make you less competent. The guy expected you and had the upper hand with that sword of his. Besides thanks to you Lioness was able to devise a plan to beat… what was his name again?"

"I didn't ask." Said Lioness. "Can't say I remember."

"Marcus?" asked Guy, stroking his chin. "I think it was that."

"No Guy-sensei." Said Lee, with his finger raised. "It was a big name. Maybe Marcelion?"

"Guy was closer, but Lee is right." Said Neji. "It was a big name… and that name… was Marcurio."

"It was foreigner's name." said Tenten. "Maybe…Marcatepus?"

Fox blinked and then sighed. "Let's hope Hokage-sama kept his name in the records or else making the report for this mission is going to be a pain." He then got up. "Well, I am going to call Tazuna. Now that Gato is dealt with, we shouldn't be needed."

"We are leaving?" asked Lioness. "Not for anything but Team 9 and I could use the rest. They aren't fully recuperated."

"I didn't say we were leaving." Said Naruto. "We will stay a few more days just to be sure and to help finish the bridge. Then we go…"

Author Notes:

Delfim: Finally ended this chapter. It was a bitch to finish, but it is here at last.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Up next is my digimon story, then I will try to update Master Of Foxes and Serpents, cause that to deserves an update.

Sorry for the delay.

Peace Out.